From: enp.production41@gmail.com [mailto:enp.production41@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Crescent Petroleum Uae Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2016 12:10 PM To: undisclosed-recipients: Subject: JOBS OPENING AT CRESCENT PETROLEUM UAE Dear Candidate, We have seen your CV Posted on Naukri.com which has been shortlisted and recommended to our HR Department together with your application CRESCENT PETROLEUM DUBAI, are recruiting new workers, opportunities are available NEW YEARS RESOLUTION? -FIND WORK IN DUBAI IN 2016. (OVER 3800 NEW JOB OFFERS IS AVAILABLE WITH US HERE IN DUBAI.QUALIFICATIONS, (a) MEN, WOMEN, FRENCH, SPANISH, ARABIC AND ENGLISH SPEAKERS. (b) SECONDARY CERTIFICATE TO PhD HOLDERS. Well offer You Air Ticket , Accommodation, Medication, Feeding and other relevant services as attractive salary awaits you. AGE IS FROM 17 years TO Unlimited age provided you can render the needed service. Please find below enclosed list of Online Questionnaire, herewith list Questionnaire for your endorsement, and also in the list are our current and available positions. You are to fill the below Online Questionnaire and send along with your CV. NAME :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . POSITION APPLYING FOR :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CURRENT SALARY :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXPECTED SALARY:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CURRENT EMPLOYER:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . POSTAL ADDRESS:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CONTACT PHONE NUMBER:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Full time Project required candidates with above 2 Years of experience All updated resumes,passport copy and other documents should be sent to us via email as below e-mail: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Good luck! as you take steps to the right path in building your career. Best Regards, Mr. Majid Hassan Ahmed Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Sharjah, UAE From: Crescent Petroleum Uae [mailto:careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com ] Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 9:35 PM Subject: CPC OFFICIAL OFFER LETTER Dear, REF: CPC/2020/AE/1605. Congratulations over your success!!! N/B Contact the Travel Agency if the terms below and attached are okay with you. Indicate your telephone numbers while contacting the Traveling Agency. we have received your application and CV which has passed through screening and was confirm ok, you have been confirm capable of working with our COMPANY,we hereby present to you the soft copy of your appointment agreement letter which proofs that you have been employed to work with CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY (UAE). This is an affirmation that your experience and qualifications were found successful for the requirements of CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY (UAE). Please find attached herewith, relevant document containing the Prototype of your Contract Package for your perusal and approval. Upon thorough review and acceptance of this Contract Package, sign on the last page and Send us a Scanned Copy of the Acceptance page. Now, you have to contact the ROYAL WING TRAVELS for the acquisition of your work/residence permit papers which will empower you to live and work in U.A.E. also sign the Contract agreement and send to ROYAL WING TRAVELS MANAGEMENT. Attention: CARLOS TOVAR ROYAL WING TRAVELS MANAGEMENT D-Nata Building Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel: +971529657492 Email: royalwingstravels@consultant.com This is in line with the Expatriate Statuary Law of UAE in compliance with the U.N. Terrorism Act. Update us with the process between you and the ROYAL WING TRAVELS MANAGEMENT in case of advice where necessary, and ensure you provide them their requirement quick for the fastest process from their office. Also remember that any Expenses you make on the process of registering your documents shall be refunded back to you immediately you submit your expenses report to us via email. Also be informed that once the process is completed your hard copies will be delivered to any postal address of your choice. There will be a mandatory Orientation/Training Exercise for all Newly Employed Expatriates which will take place within the Work Metropolis of CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY and this Program will start 7 days on arrival for work sign-on. Ensure that all inquiries, signed contract papers and relevant documents be forwarded to us via the official email as stated below. Best Regards, Mr. Ahmed Massaad Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Crescent Tower P.O. Box 211, Corniche Al Buhaira Sharjah , United Arab Emirates Tel: +971552987269 Email: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Website: www.crescentpetroleum-ae.com From: Crescent Petroleum Uae [mailto:careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2016 6:31 PM Subject: Re: CPC OFFICIAL OFFER LETTER RESPONSE Dear , kindly proceed further by sending a copy of the signed offer to the Travels Agency as instructed on the Offer Letter for immediate processing of your Visa/Work Permit. Upon successful completion of the process, you are advised to keep us posted to enable us make adequate plans for your arrival to join our team. Kindly direct your queries to you HR department(hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com ) In your next mail also update us if you are coming alone or along side any family member of yours, this information will enable us secure a befitting accommodation depending on your family status. Meanwhile, try to furnish us with the receipt of all expenses incurred on the process of acquiring your Visa/Work permit with the accredited agency. This will enable us update your files for your reimbursement and two months upfront deposit into your nominated bank account as stated on the contract paper before joining our team of workers. Congratulations once again while await your immediate response asap. Best Regards, Mr. Ahmed Massaad Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Crescent Tower P.O. Box 211, Corniche Al Buhaira Sharjah , United Arab Emirates Tel: +971552987269 Email: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Website: www.crescentpetroleum-ae.com From: Crescent Petroleum Uae [mailto:careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2016 11:38 PM Subject: Re: CPC OFFICIAL OFFER LETTER RESPONSE Dear, We acknowledged the receipt your signed acceptance of our job offer letter. Kindly proceed further and submit all the requirements and processing fees to the travels office to start up with the processing of your UAE valid visa and working permit to enable you travel down to DUBAI and resume work with our teams of experts. Also remember that any Expenses you make on the processing of your UAE valid visa and working permit shall be refunded back to you immediately you submit us the expenses report via email. Best Regards, Mr. Ahmed Massaad Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Crescent Tower P.O. Box 211, Corniche Al Buhaira Sharjah , United Arab Emirates Tel: +971552987269 Email: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Website: www.crescentpetroleum-ae.com From: Crescent Petroleum Uae [mailto:careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 1:54 PM Subject: Re: CPC OFFICIAL OFFER LETTER RESPONSE Dear, We acknowledged the receipt your signed acceptance of our job offer letter and i am the right person to received the signed offer of appointment letter. You are to contact the below travels agency who we have appointed to care of visa and work permit processing of all our newly employed candidates and it is your duties to bear all expanses of processing your visa and working permit once contacting the below travels agency and submit all the relevant documents needed and processing fees and get back to us for your reimbursement all expanses you inquired while processing your traveling documents with the travel agency. ROYAL WING TRAVELS MANAGEMENT CONTACT PERSON: Mr. CARLOS TOVAR D-Nata Building Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel: +971529657492 Email: royalwingstravels@consultant.com REIMBURSEMENT: we will reimburse you every expanses you made while processing your UAE valid visa and working permit with the above travels agency and the reimbursement will come along with your two months upfront salary which we are going to process to any of your giving local account before you embark to resume job with us and it will be after you have finished the processing of your UAE visa and resident permit with the above travels agency not before. Best Regards, Mr. Ahmed Massaad Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Crescent Tower P.O. Box 211, Corniche Al Buhaira Sharjah , United Arab Emirates Tel: +971552987269 Email: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Website: www.crescentpetroleum-ae.com From: Crescent Petroleum UAE [mailto:hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com] Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 2:46 PM Subject: RE: Questions- We are well noted your queries and below is answers to your queries. 1) Am I expected to secure & purchase my own fight ticket to travel to Dubai or is that done through your agency? It is the duties of we your employer to purchase your fight ticket once the travel agency finishes the processing of your UAE visa and resident permit and inform us that all your paper work is ready we will purchase your fight ticket and send it to the travels agency for them send it to you through DHL with hard copies of your traveling document and the hard copies of your offer of appoint letter to enable you travel dwon to UAE and resume work with us. 2) Do you need a copy of my U.S. Passport? Yes the travels agency will need a copy of your U.S passport for the processing of your UAE visa and resident permit. 3) Will you need my banking account information to transfer money to me? Yes but it will be after you submitted all the requirements with the processing fees to the travels agency to start processing your paper work and after they finished the processing of your visa and work permit we will reimburse you all expanses you made with your two month upfront salary. then you will send us your banking account information to do transfer to you. 4) I am unclear as to the process to obtain the Visa & Work Permit before coming to Dubai . Kindly contact the below travels agency who we have appoint to take care of your UAE visa and work permit processing and submit all the requirements with the processing fees and get back to us for your reimbursement. ROYAL WING TRAVELS MANAGEMENT CONTACT PERSON: Mr. CARLOS TOVAR D-Nata Building Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel: +971529657492 Email: royalwingstravels@consultant.com 5) What is the typical procedure to obtain a residence in Dubai without being there? You are to submit all the requirement to the above travel agency with the processing fees, it will take them three working days to finish the processing and send all hard copies to you through DHL delivery service to your address provided to them to enable travel down to UAE and resume work with our teams of experts. 6) What do other Expats coming to work in Dubai do to obtain a residence? They contacted the above travel agency and submit all the requirement with the processing fees and follow our instruction and obtain there UAE and work permit papers. 7) Do other managers going to Dubai rent a vehicle at the airport? We will purchase your air ticket after the process of your paper work and we will like you keep us noted on your arriving date and hours to enable us send our driver to pick you up at the airport to the company complex. Kindly keep us update on the process between you and the travels agency and once any payment is process kindly send us the receipt of payment to keep records with our account department for your reimbursements. Best Regards, Signed By MANAGEMENT CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY U.A.E From: Crescent Petroleum UAE [mailto:hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com] Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 9:54 PM Subject: RE: Questions- -response Dear, Noted your below email. Kindly proceed further with the process of your papers work with the travels agency and keep us updated once you submits all the requirement to them for your visas processing. Best Regards, Signed By MANAGEMENT CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY U.A.E From: Crescent Petroleum Uae [mailto:careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2016 2:55 AM Subject: Re: FW: CPC OFFICIAL OFFER LETTER RESPONSE Dear, Your trails emails with the travels agency for our update is well noted. Kindly proceed further and keep us updated if any further advise is needed and for us to keep in records for your reimbursement with our account department. Best Regards, Mr. Ahmed Massaad Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Crescent Tower P.O. Box 211, Corniche Al Buhaira Sharjah , United Arab Emirates Tel: +971552987269 Email: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Website: www.crescentpetroleum-ae.com From: Crescent Petroleum Uae [mailto:careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2016 1:51 PM Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Subject: Re: Questions- -response Dear, Noted your update with thanks. Kindly keep us posted once all document is been sent to the travels agency today. Best Regards, Mr. Ahmed Massaad Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Crescent Tower P.O. Box 211, Corniche Al Buhaira Sharjah , United Arab Emirates Tel: +971552987269 Email: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Website: www.crescentpetroleum-ae.com From: Crescent Petroleum Uae [mailto:careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2016 2:10 PM Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Subject: Re: Questions- -response Dear , Have a nice weekend. We acknowledge the receipt of your trail emails and the required documents with the processing fees which you have sent to the Royal Wings Travels for the processing of your UAE valid visa and resident permit. Note that we have also keep in record with our account department with the payment which you have made for your visa and work permit processing for your immediate reimbursement once your visa and work permit is ready and also kindly keep us update with the process if any further expanses occur. Best Regards, Mr. Ahmed Massaad Human Resources Director CRESCENT PETROLEUM COMPANY Head office: Crescent Petroleum- Headquarters Crescent Tower P.O. Box 211, Corniche Al Buhaira Sharjah , United Arab Emirates Tel: +971552987269 Email: careers.crescentpetrouae@gmail.com Cc: hrd@crescentpetroleum-ae.com Website: www.crescentpetroleum-ae.com From: Royal Wing Travels [mailto:royalwing@outlook.com] Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2016 7:51 PM Subject: Resend Documents Please Dear, I just checked the email now but did not receive the documents as you said. Kindly resend for our perusal. Regards, Carlos Tovar From: Royal Wing Travels [mailto:royalwing@outlook.com] Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2016 10:57 PM Subject: RE: Resend Check Dear , Your mail and all attached files has been received. We shall get back to you within the shortest time for update. Thanks for your corporation and await our response asap. Warm regards, Carlos Tovar From: Royal Wing Travels [mailto:royalwing@outlook.com] Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2016 3:01 PM Subject: RE: Resend Documents Please Dear, We are having issues reaching you over the phone. Meanwhile, yesterday Abdulazeez was not on duty and today he has gone to pick the payment but it was not found. You may need to be in touch with the Western Union office where you made the transfer and update us to enable him pick the fund wile we commence on submission of your application. Warm regards, Carlos Tovar From: Royal Wing Travels [mailto:royalwing@outlook.com] Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2016 8:32 PM Subject: RE: Resend Documents Please Hello, Like I said earlier, the transfer you said you made was not found according to the western union officer here in UAE. Kindly reconfirm from the western union office there and get back to us asap. Thanks, Carlos Tovar From: Royal Wing Travels [mailto:royalwing@outlook.com] Sent: Monday, May 23, 2016 2:17 AM Subject: RE: Resend Documents Please Dear, Ok, just try and go to the western union office in the morning and find out what the problem is and rectify it so as to enable us start up the process and make submission of your application in the morning. Warm regards, Carlos Tovar From: Royal Wing Travels [mailto:royalwing@outlook.com] Sent: Monday, May 23, 2016 1:14 PM Subject: RE: Resend Documents Please Dear, I humbly apologize for what ever inconveniences this transfer has caused both parties. Western Union office here in the UAE still confirms that the information provided was not correct, they said they could not find the transfer online. Could you please go to the western union office and inform them just to cancel the initial transaction and resend it on the following information, I think that will be our best option on this context as we never experience this before. RECEIVER: ABUBAKAR KASIM CITY: DUBAI COUNTRY: U.A.E Meanwhile, your application has been submitted and in progress. We shall update you on the status soon. We hope to have your positive response and confirmation of transfer soon as completed. Thanks for your mutual understanding and corporation. Warm regards, Carlos Tovar If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... : 1000 - , , , 1000 . GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us. The Phoenix Force comes to the Momokoverse in February's Demon Wars: Down in Flames Peach Momoko's Momokoverse is moving into X-Men territory next year Recall of Sleep Apnea Device Is Not Going Well As the long Memorial Day weekend and its celebration comes to an end we have many famous people paying tribute to the military in their own style. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump told a biker gear-clad crowd, many sporting military patches, that Memorial Day is "our day." Trump claimed that his attending a military academy during high school years was essentially the same as serving. He also effectively dodged the draft during the Vietnam War with claims of bone spurs, educational deferments, and a high draft number. "When you think of the great Gen. Patton and all of our great generals, they're spinning in their graves when they watch we can't beat ISIS," Trump said. He added later, "Our country doesn't win anymore; we don't win with military." On the other hand Robert Downey Jr., Reese Witherspoon, Justin Timberlake and Others took it to Tweeter to pay tribute to the military on Memorial Day. From Justin Timberlake to Courteney Cox, stars are thanking the troops for their service and honoring those who have died. "Happy Memorial Day!" Robert Downey Jr. wrote on Twitter. "Eat, laugh, & remember those who sacrificed their lives for you to be able to do those things." Added Reese Witherspoon: "To all brave souls who risked their lives for our country - today, we honor you. #MemorialDay." And the President of America said, "The Americans who rest here and their families, the best of us, those from whom we asked everything ask of us today only one thing in return, that we remember them," in an address that followed a wreath-laying ceremony at the Virginia cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Apple's Beta Software program members now have access to the latest iOS 9.3.3 which can be downloaded for testing purposes, except for those who own 9.7-inch iPad Pro. According to the recent reports, last iOS update, 9.3.2, bricked the device for many users and the latest one still doesn't provide a fix for the problem. For now, it is not known what additional or improved features will iOS 9.3.3 bring for its users, except the fact that it contains performance improvements and bug fixes just like any other update. Releasing the beta version gives the company an opportunity to fix the glitches before they release the official update for the people. However, just as soon as the beta version came out, an Italian hacker, Luca Todesco, claimed that he could jailbreak iOS 9.3.3 with the help of Cydia jailbreak. He captioned it, "plz send moar hate." A user when asked him when the jailbreak for the latest iOS version will be available for users, he replied on Twitter and said that it will be available for public on May 30. But it turns out, he was only trolling the commenters because he said that it would be for iOS 19. In his bio, hem mentions that he does not release the jailbreak, even though he was also able to jailbreak the previous version of iOS 9.3. It has disappointed several users as despite the availability of jailbreak tool being available for iOS 9.3.1 and/or 9.3.2, it has not been released for public yet. In a news report, it was noted that the jailbreak teams like PanGu and TaiG, they may entirely pass iOS 9 version. Rumor has it that iOS 10 is already in development process. Shark attacks in California's beaches during the Memorial Day weekend. Corona Del Mar State Beach: A woman was found bleeding profusely Sunday about 100 yards off the shore. Large bite marks on her upper torso and shoulder were reported by the Associated Press. The Newport Beach, Calif. shoreline were shut down through Monday. Neptune Beach, Florida: The same day, a 13-year-old boy was bitten on the calf by a nearly 6-foot-long shark while he was wading in waist-high water in the beach which is about 17 miles east of Jacksonville. Though he suffered severe lacerations, he was in stable condition at UF Health Jacksonville on Monday. "[May is] when our sharks become more abundant in our local waters ... and the animals peak in abundance around June and July," Jim Gelsleichter, a shark expert at the University of North Florida told WJXT. "These are entirely predictable things just as you can predict drownings or car accidents as a result of this being a huge holiday weekend," George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, told Reuters about the weekend's incidents. Reason of the attacks: Increasing population of people and sharks. A 2015 study by the NOAA Fisheries Service found that shark populations have been increasing on the East Coast, an ongoing trend. "We've seen an increase in the number of sharks in every survey since 2001; that reflects management efforts to conserve the populations of various shark species," Lisa Natanson, the scientist at the Narragansett Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries' Northeast Fisheries Science Center who led the survey, said in a press release. The survey samples coastal waters from Florida to Maryland and Delaware, where migratory sharks concentrate as the waters warm in the spring and summer. The last survey, in 2012, found 1,831 sharks. The 2015 survey found 2,835, which is a 55 percent increase. The receding water levels at Lake Mead have become one of the prime concerns of the authorities in the US. It is estimated that the country's largest man made water reservoir is currently at the lowest level as it has even been in the history of its existence. According to the officials, the man made water body currently has only 37 percent of the water that it can actually possess. What is more concerning is the fact that the water levels are further expected to recede in the coming months. Lake Mead, which exists near the Nevada-Arizona border, supplies water to Mexico, California, Nevada and Arizona. The reduction in the water levels is bound to affect the supply of water to these areas. Moreover, if the water levels do not return back to normal by the end of the year, the West could be deeply affected by the shortage and this could have major consequences for the region. As of now, the water level is above the mark that triggers mandatory water restrictions. According to Dave White of Arizona State University, if water restriction is put in place, the cuts to the states of Arizona could deeply affect the farmers and industrial and municipal users. White further blames the continuing drought conditions for the fall in the water levels. Significant drought conditions have been prevailed in the western United States for more than 15 years now. Moreover, California has been hard hit by acute drought in the past four years. In addition, the water deficit could also have resulted because of the increasing demand and decreasing available sources or supply of water. Finally, climate change, increasing temperature and decreasing surface water supply into the system are the other factors. Lake Mead, along with Lake Powell, is considered to be the two major water storage reservoirs on the Colorado river system. The entire river system, including the lakes, provides drinking water to at least 40 million people in the western United States. Prompting security and privacy concerns, Iran's government has ordered that all user data of Iranians should be transferred to servers within the country. According to Reuters, Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace said new regulations where in line with concerns of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamnei. Social media and messaging companies have one year to comply. Social media like Facebook and Twitter are already blocked in Iran but many continue to use from behind VPNs. Telegram is highly popular in the country and estimated to have around 20 million users. "Foreign messaging companies active in the country are required to transfer all data and activity linked to Iranian citizens into the country in order to ensure their continued activity," state news agency IRNA quoted the Council's guidelines. News of new guidelines has sent concerns among Iranians. Some have voiced discontent while others alleged the move aims to bring more Iranians under surveillance and curb down on freedom of expression. The state's agencies have maintained that the move is aimed to at curbing immoral activity perpetuated through the social media and messaging apps. "This isn't about data protection or anything, this is about spying on the users. The answer is that a copy of the data would be in both countries, allowing the governments to read it all and making them happy," reads a user comment. Telegram has gained popularity in countries with internet restrictions like Iran. Given its end-to-end encryption facilities, only users can see messages as data is completely encrypted on the servers. Whatsapp has also evolved a similar mechanism for all its messaging. End-to-end encryption facilities make it impossible for external agencies including government to read messages. So the move to park data on internal servers may not serve the intended need, argued some security analysts. More than a third of the coral in the northern and central sections of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia reportedly died due to mass bleaching. The corals to the south of the reef barely escaped with minimal damage according to researchers conducting the study. After months of aerial and underwater surveys spanning a 1, 400-mile stretch (2, 300-kilometer) off Australia's east coast, scientists discovered that 35% of the coral in the northern and central parts of the Great Barrier Reef are either dead or dying. Some parts of the reef also sustained enormous damage from bleaching after losing more than half of the coral. "Is it surprising? Not anymore. Is it significant? Absolutely," remarked Mark Eakin, the coral reef watch coordinator for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as quoted in a US News report. "We're talking about losing 35 percent of the population of coral in some of these reefs - that's huge." According to scientists, mass bleaching occurs due to global warming and El Nino- a phenomenon whereby some parts of the Pacific Ocean warms causing erratic weather patterns around the world. Warm water stresses out the coral causing its color to turn white and making it extremely prone to diseases. Other severe cases of mass bleaching also lead to more than 80% death rate of the coral in some Pacific islands, Fox News reported. Meanwhile, the Australian government received hefty criticism for its seemingly indifferent attitude toward climate change following the omission of references to the impact of global warming on the Great Barrier Reef and the country's Kakadu and Tasmanian forests in a United Nations report on UNESCO World Heritage sites. The removal of the said sections from the report was reportedly done to protect Australia's tourism industry. "The science is really well known, that's not a problem at all so it's nothing new to the tourism industry. It's nothing new to the scientific community at all. So it's really hard to see what's so provocative in that report," said climate scientist and UN report contributor Will Steffen as per CS Monitor report. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Washington: The US has called for improvement in bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan, expressing concern over nuclear and missile developments in South Asia, saying a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours is important. We are concerned by nuclear and missile developments in South Asia, a State Department Spokesman told PTI when asked about the recent statement of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, 80, the father of Pakistans nuclear program, that Islamabad has the ability to target New Delhi in five minutes. We are concerned by the increased security challenges that accompany growing stockpiles and the increased risk that a conventional conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate to include nuclear use, the spokesman said. Improvements in Indo-Pak bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, the official said yesterday. It is important that there be a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours, and that all parties in the region continuously act with maximum restraint and work collaboratively toward reducing tensions, the State Department spokesman said. Meanwhile, the State Department said it is looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We look forward to the prime ministers visit and we want it to be successful, State Department John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from June 4 which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on June 7 at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. During his stay, he will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: A Congressional commission will hold a hearing to examine the current state of human rights in India, coinciding with the White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission said the hearing among other things will also examine the challenges to fundamental freedoms, and opportunities for advancement in India. A wide variety of serious human rights concerns persist, the commission said in a statement explaining the reasons for holding the hearing on India. Despite Constitutional provisions abolishing the legal existence of untouchable, the caste system remains deeply ingrained within Indian society, leading to ongoing discrimination, it said. Dalit communities, which make up a quarter of Indias population, are also disproportionately at risk of suffering from another major human rights concern in India, that of human trafficking. Tens of thousands of individuals, including children, are believed to be trafficking annually within India for the purposes of commercialised sexual exploitation or forced labour. Religious minorities also face growing challenges, the commission said. A large number of international non-governmental organisations supporting a range of causes, including human rights, have been added to government watch lists or had funding cut off by Indian officials, it said. These actions, coupled with perceived crackdowns on groups or individuals critical of the Indian government, have many concerned that the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association are being increasingly curtailed, it alleged. The hearing will examine these and other issues, while seeking to provide concrete recommendations for how US policy makers can most effectively encourage the protection of human rights given the strategic importance and continued growth of the US India bilateral relationship, the commission said. In 2015, religious tolerance deteriorated and religious freedom violations increased in India. Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims and Sikhs experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its latest report. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from June 4 which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on June 7 at the invitation of Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. During his stay, he will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Kuala lumpur : Malaysia has sacked 15 immigration department officers and suspended 14 others after an investigation found staff had colluded with criminal syndicates to manipulate systems that track entry and exit, the government has said. The subterfuge was centred at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and had begun in 2010, the departments director-general, Sakib Kusmi, said in a statement released yesterday. Around two dozen other department staff have faced administrative action or were under observation, 63 have been transferred, and criminal charges could be forthcoming, he said. The syndicates hacked or breached our system with the help of the involved immigration officers, he said. Sakib added that the activity allowed the criminal networks - which he said included foreign elements - to manipulate information on who entered or left the country. No further details on the syndicates, or other specifics of the nature or scope of the sabotage, were given. Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi said last week that about 100 people, including both immigration officers and criminal syndicate members, were under investigation by authorities over the security breaches. The punishments were meted out beginning in February. Sakib said the immigration department also would implement a large-scale transfer of personnel at KLIA to guard against a recurrence. No mention was made of any terrorist or extremist involvement in the affair, and Sakib said no high-level immigration officials were implicated. Muslim-majority Malaysia has said that scores of its citizens had gone to join the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, and authorities have been on heightened alert against extremists returning to carry out attacks at home. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Lucknow: Five persons, including four minors, were killed today when a truck rammed into two houses in Thakurganj area here, police said. The incident took place in wee hours when the truck lost control and dashed into the houses in New Haiderganj locality, killing members of two families, they said. Police said the matter is being probed and efforts are on to apprehend the driver, who is absconding. They said the vehicle has been seized. Chennai: A CRPF jawan today allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. Head Constable S P Singh, who was on leave from duty, was found dead in his room at around 3:00 AM in the district, officials said. Singh, of the 12th Central Reserve Police Force battalion, hailed from Kawalpitti village in the Thoothukudi district. A team of local police and senior CRPF officials soon reached the spot. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered by the paramilitary. He was on leave for the last few days, they said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Hyderabad: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has favoured a debate on common civil code in the country and said the government would not thrust it and would move ahead only after a broad consensus emerges on the issue. Definitely, there is a need (for a debate on common civil code). The Constitutional framers, they advocated it and they have put in directive principles (of state policy) hoping the country in due course will go for a uniform civil code. I call it as a common civil code. Uniform conveys a different meaning, he told PTI here in an interview earlier this week. Noting that issues like marriage, divorce and right to property should be common, he said otherslike way of worshipbe left to individuals. What is best in every religion, in every society should be taken out. I am of the firm view, marriage, divorce, inheritance and right to property these things should be common. Other things, of course, what is the way of worship, what is the way of other practices. That is left to...there is nothing against any religion in common civil code, he said. Naidu made it clear that the government would not thrust it and move forward only when there is consensus. There is more and more awareness generating. But, we will not thrust it; unless consensus emerges and the country is now waiting for this. But, as I told you, we will move forward only when there is a broad consensus though we are committed to that, he said. Observing that Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections are important to BJP, Naidu said the party would assess the situation and take a call whether to project any leader as a chief ministerial candidate. That has to be discussed. Strategy varies from state to state. Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana, we have not projected a CM candidate. Still, we have won. In Assam, we projected. There also, we won. We will assess the situation and take a call, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Haryana government has made special security arrangements in order to avoid repeat of violence that seared the state in February, leaving at least 30 people dead and around 170 injured. A canal which is a major source of water for Delhi will be protected as the Jat community members will hold sit-in demonstrations across Haryana on June 5, Sunday to press for reservation. As a precautionary measure, gathering of large groups has been banned by four of Haryanas districts. On Tuersday, security forces staged flag-march in many districts, including Rohtak, as Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said law and order would be maintained at any cost. Central forces, along with the Haryana police, conducted the flag marches. In February, the violence lasted for nearly a week and spread till Gurgaon. Protesters set shops, vehicles and malls on fire, bringing normal life to a standstill. The agitators took over the Munak canal for three days, which left Delhi without water till the army took control. In Rohtak district, which was the epicentre of the Jat stir in February, police and Rapid Action Force personnel took out the flag marches. The police appealed to the public to help maintain law and order. Security forces set up check points at several places at Rohtaks entry and exit points. Border Security Force personnel have been deployed on the outskirts of the town. Khattar said that any kind of undesirable act, which threatens peace, would not be tolerated during the demonstration announced by members of the Jat community on June 5. He said there was no objection to holding a peaceful demonstration. However, those who disturb law and order, would be dealt with strictly as per law, he said.He said the government has made all arrangements to thwart any untoward incident. In addition to their reservation demand, the leaders of the Jat community have called for cancellation of FIRs registered against some of its members during the stir in February this year. (With inputs from PTI) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: 'Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress President' has been a topic of debate since long and it seems soon there will be an end to it. According to sources, Rahul has agreed to take over as the Congress President, saying the decision has to be taken by the party. Meanwhile, as speculation raged over the issue, Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh said on Wednesday that time is right for Rahul Gandhi to take over from his mother as Congress President. He also favoured Priyankas entry into active politics. Sonia Gandhi is a brilliant leader. I have said that she has been working (as Congress President) for the last 20 years. If she feels that time has come to give it to a new generation, then she should pass it on and we will fully support Rahul (to take over), he said. He was replying to a question whether time has come for Congress Vice-President to take over from Sonia Gandhi. Singh said, Look, she has not talked to me (on the issue). But what we are coming to know is that she is now feeling that the time has come for a new generation (to take over), which everyone today is saying. We are also saying so that 70 per cent of Indias population is under the age of 40 years. She also knows this, may be she feels she would like to hand it over to the new generation. I think there is nothing wrong in it. Asked if Rahul could take over this month itself, Amarinder said, look, I do not know this. If Sonia wants to hand it over to Rahul ji, I think everybody will support. (With inputs from PTI) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Erstfeld: The worlds longest tunnel officially opened on Wednesday, with the trailblazing rail passage under the Swiss Alps aiming to ease transit through the heart of Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi were on board for the inaugural 20-minute trip through 57-kilometre (35-mile) Gotthard Base Tunnel. Constructing the 57-kilometre (35-mile) rail tunnel took just over 12 billion Swiss francs (USD 12 billion, 11 billion euros) and some 2,400 workers, according to Swiss government statistics. More than 28 million tonnes of rock had to be excavated from the mountain near the Gotthard pass. The bumpy road from Gruners initial idea to the official start of construction in 1999 included bureaucratic delays and concern over the projects financial viability. Switzerlands federal government set up a committee in 1963 to look into the building of an alpine base tunnel but opinions were split over various proposals, before an official body eventually ruled in 1983 that the project was not urgent. Momentum in favour of the GBT built again ahead of a 1992 referendum, which supported the project, but public outcry about the expense put work on hold. Eventually, a November 1998 referendum closed the deal, when 64 per cent of Swiss voters approved the final plans along with funding schemes, including a new road tax. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Lucknow: The Dadri lynching sparked fresh political sparring today over a forensic report on a meat sample that led to the attack with BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh targeting the ruling SP after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav questioned its authenticity. With a clarity from where exactly the meat sample was found yet to emerge, a report prepared by a forensic lab in Mathura concluded that it was beef, eight months after the attack set off a fierce debate over intolerance and political slugfest. The meat was said to have been found in a garbage dump outside the victims house while some reports said it was recovered from the freezer inside. The finding was in contrast to the preliminary report of an enquiry by the Uttar Pradesh Veterinary department which said the meat over which Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was lynched on September 28 last in Dadri on rumours that his family stored and ate beef was mutton of goat progeny. With UP headed for a crucial assembly polls next year, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath hit out at the Samajwadi Party(SP) for questioning the authenticity of the report, alleging they only want votes. He also demanded registration of cow slaughter case against Akhlaqs family. He said the report has put UP government, opposition parties at the Centre and a section of media in a spot. They are mum on this report. The innocent Hindus arrested in the matter should be immediately released and a case of cow slaughter be registered against Akhlaqs family, he said in Gorakhpur. I also demand that the state government should withdraw all facilities given to his (Akhlaqs) family, he said, adding the report has exposed those who questioned the Hindu community and the Modi government and who led the intolerance debate that had raged for months. Akhilesh Yadav said nothing objectionable was found at Akhlaqs house. Where was the sample sent, who received it? There was nothing objectionable in his house. Every eye is on this matter. Everyone wants that the victims family should get justice as murder had taken place. After this incident, there was debate in the world regarding what to eat and speak. I think one should not get involved in such matters, Yadav told reporters in Ambedkar Nagar district. Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan said it was really unfortunate that Yadav was questioning the authenticity of a report since he wants to politically satisfy a particular constituency. The report has been submitted by a state-run university, he said, adding, Yadav must admit the report. The testing was done by the Forensic laboratory of the Uttar Pradesh University of Veterinary Services(Animal Husbandry) in Mathura. Akhlaqs brother maintained nothing objectionable was recovered from their house. Beef eating is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh, only cow slaughter is. Sanjay Rana, father of Vishal, one of the accused, demanded that a case be registered against Akhlaqs family. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Los Angeles: Two men have died in a murder-suicide at the University of Californias Los Angeles campus, prompting a lockdown and a massive security deployment at the sprawling facility. Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said yesterday both victims were found with gunshot wounds in an office on campus. At least three shots were fired and a gun was found at the scene. At about 10:00 this morning a homicide and a suicide occurred in the engineering facility... of the UCLA campus on the south side, Beck told reporters. It appears it is entirely contained. Officials said they were still piecing together what prompted the deadly UCLA murder-suicide case. There is evidence there could be a suicide note but we dont know at this point, Beck added. Tragically so many of these active shooter situations end like this. The shooting prompted a campus-wide lockdown as hundreds of officers and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the university, where students are preparing for final exams. All university classes were cancelled for the day. The lockdown was lifted shortly after noon. We are in the process of releasing the campus back to the students, Beck said. They are in their finals. This is a very stressful time for them, and were trying to alleviate that. Scott Waugh, the universitys vice chancellor and provost, said classes would resume as normal today and next weeks final exams would not be disrupted. We want to resume normal operations as quickly as possible, he said. Faculty, staff and students should show up tomorrow and go through their regular routines and complete the quarter as planned. The is a tragic event but it does show that with adequate preparation and good cooperation with all our law enforcement agencies, we can bring it to a successful close. Some 43,000 students are enrolled at the massive UCLA campus, according to its website. Students and staff on campus were urged to take cover when the shooting was first reported as officers went from building to building searching for a possible active shooter and other victims. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The greatest crimes in history are not committed by those who break the rules but by those who follow the rules At the tender age of seven my father asked me if I knew the Golden Rule. Sure, I responded. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. His tight-lipped somber smile and arched eyebrow indicated that I was right, but I was also wrong. Dad had been a U.S. Navys gunners mate in World War 2. At eighteen, he defended his ship from Kamikaze pilots amidst the waters near Japan. This shaped his larger, more worldly understanding. He took a deep breath before giving me a life lesson. Thats the spiritual way of understanding and thats good. But in this world, the golden rule goes like this; he who has the gold makes the rules. I was reminded of my youthful exchange while reading Bill Bupperts insightful article about willful submission to illegitimate authority. My dad was right. The brotherhood of darkness still controls the gold of banking and Wall Street, the food supply, media, education, Congress, the UN, WHO, WTO, trade policy, tax codes, the pharmaceutical industry, the Pentagon, the every other agency I dont have the space to list. And, as Mr. Buppert points out, America is on the path to a Fourth Reich: The US Federal government through its satraps and political goons in Nevada just crowd-sourced and thug-scrummed fourteen folks from the Bundy circus in 2014. The prosecution complex at the beck and call of the DC Orcs will print out reams of charges and indictments to bury these hapless souls in The massive Stasi-like scheme to make preemptive speech and behavior actionable for kidnapping, fining and imprisonment under color of law is moving apace. Read the indictments carefully because more of the same and worse is coming. I took his advice. I read the indictments carefully. It was beyond Orwellian. Here, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, if you assisted Cliven Bundy to make his stand for his inalienable rights and Constitutional limits, you are guilty of the following: One count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, and at least one count of using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer, threatening a federal law enforcement officer, obstruction of the due administration of justice, interference with interstate commerce by extortion, and interstate travel in aid of extortion. The indictment also alleges five counts of criminal forfeiture which upon conviction would require forfeiture of property derived from the proceeds of the crimes totaling at least $3 million, as well as the firearms and ammunition possessed and used on April 12, 2014. Lets compare those folks who were protesting at the Bundy Ranch to the crimes of those who own the gold. Heres a very short list 9.11. Iraq, Afghanistan, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, NSA, Funding ISIS, GMOs, Agenda 21, Mandatory vaccinations, Operation Paper Clip, Vatican ignored pedophilia, Freddy Gray, The war on drugs, Private prisons. Remember, I said this is a very short list. As to the growing list of illegal laws that are instilled by fear, Buppert is clear where this is heading: The US government is seemingly in the throes of a coup that is exponentially creeping and expanding into what was formerly a fairly autonomous province. Every sector and branch of human transactions that are palpable in this mortal coil is now being subject to regulation, taxation or both. With no authority whatsoever, entire swaths of American society are being subsumed under Leviathan state. Frederic Bastiat, a French economist and journalist wrote his classic treatise The Law in 1850. He proclaims that when plunder is organized by those who make the laws, the populos must make a choice: When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law. These two evils are of equal consequence, and it would be difficult for a person to choose between them. Of greater concern is when a nations people have lost their moral sensibility and thus have no discernment between good and evil. This is America, whose Torah origins have been traded for a mess of pottage. Soon, very soon, youll be forced to decide who to serve. Sources: Zerogov.com Justice.gov Bastiat.org Youtube.com Science.NaturalNews.com Submit a correction >> This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Nederlander Marjon van Grunsvens resume appears enviable; shes a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer and event producer, who at various times has called Amsterdam, Paris, Montreal and New York home. None of which, however, compares with her current status (living out of a suitcase) and position as artistic director for Cirque du Soleils Ovo, the Portuguese word for egg. Think of me as a manager, who is involved in every aspect of touring life. My job is to make Ovo my baby to nurture it and the (cast), everything from (overseeing) rehearsals to budgets, and to absorb and implement the vision of Deborah Colker, the shows writer, director and choreographer. No detail is too small, she added, laughing, during a recent telephone chat from a Philadelphia tour stop. Van Grunsven brings the production, which delves into life in the insect world, and a cast of 50 gymnasts, tumblers, jugglers and hand-balancing artists from 12 countries to Bridgeports Webster Bank Arena Wednesday through Sunday, June 8-12, for seven performances. Although Ovo is Cirques newest arena show on tour (which began a few weeks ago), van Grunsven has many years experience working on the production. Her association with Ovo began in 2008 as part of the creation team, and she continued to the present. According to the company, more than 4.5 million people worldwide have experienced Ovo, from its premiere in 2009 as a Big Top show in Cirques hometown of Montreal until it closed last year. More Information Webster Bank Arena, 600 Main St., Bridgeport. Wednesday through Sunday, June 8-12 for seven performances: June 8-12 nightly at 7:30; matinees on Saturday, June 11, at 4 p.m. and Sunday, June 12, at 5 p.m. About $35 to $150, at cirquedusoleil.com/ovo, at the arena box office or websterbankarena.com See More Collapse To transform Ovo from a Big Top production to an arena show entailed enormous work, requiring about two years of planning, she said. Among the priorities were tweaking the plot, creating a new stage and making sure each characters persona could transfer successfully from an intimate Big Top setting to a vast arena space. As Cirque du Soleil (pronounced Cirk do So-lay, meaning Circus of the Sun) describes the plot: Its a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a nonstop riot of energy and movement. When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye and the feeling is mutual, according to the companys announcement. Its a cute love story, with a day-in-the-life (aspect) of a fly and a ladybug, said van Grunsven. Its uplifting and colorful appropriate for all ages. It is so gratifying for me to watch the show evolve over these past few weeks. We want to make it the best we can. Enormous reward comes after every performance, during every standing ovation. Cirque du Soleil, founded in 1984, has 19 different shows running in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America, Australia, South America and Mexico. pasboros@ctpost.com; Twitter:PhyllisASBoros This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Carol Kaliff Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3 The criminal cases of two former Brookfield school district employees charged with larceny and fraud were again postponed until later in the summer. Former school finance chief Art Colley is now scheduled to appear on June 29, said his Attorney Eugene Riccio. Colleys former assistant, Liz Kerekes, is next due in court on July 18, said her Attorney Vicki Hutchinson. / Carol Kaliff DANBURY - Volunteers are encouraged to help get Tarrywile Parks trails in shape for the busy season on Saturday during the state Forest and Park Associations Connecticut Trails Day. Volunteers are asked to spend a half day of doing trail maintenance at Tarrywile, which at 722 acres is the largest municipally-owned park north of Manhattans Central Park. It is also the largest municipally-owned park in the state. Thumbs up to the Trinity Christian Tabernacle Church in Danbury, and its co-founder Pastor Annette Bush, for its growing and compassionate ministry to the needs of body and soul. The 30-year-old church on Spring Street recently completed a $500,000 addition impressive for the 75-family congregation and will use some of the extra space as an overflow shelter for the homeless in cold weather. When caring for the homeless in downtown Danbury has become a controversy, the church counters with open arms and kindness for all. Thumbs down to the ongoing travails of Connecticuts fiscal situation. Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings lowered Connecticuts credit-worthiness rating to AA-, down a notch from AA. An analyst from Fitch, in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, said the states relatively high fixed costs including labor contracts, pension obligations and Medicaid costs, and the states comparatively high debt, all leave it without much flexibility to manage its way through tough times. We hope these are observations that are not lost on our states leaders, from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on down. BROOKFIELD A woman who was sentenced to prison for illegally enrolling her daughters friend in the town high school is seeking to overturn her conviction. Madeline Griffin, 44, was sentenced this spring to 10 years in prison, suspended after five years, for forging custody documents so a Bridgeport girl who was living in her home could attend Brookfield High. Authorities said the fraud cost the district nearly $47,000 in unpaid out-of-district tuition. But the womans new lawyer, Josephine Miller, has vowed to fight the conviction, arguing her client should not have been charged in the first place. Griffin was arrested in March 2014, five months after a new state law took effect decriminalizing placement of students in schools outside their home district. She was making sure the kid went to school somewhere, rather than living in her house and just hanging out, Miller said. Thats no longer a crime. Court records show Miller forged juvenile court documents to gain custody of the Bridgeport teen and enroll her in the school. The woman told the district the student was her niece, but the girls biological mother said the only tie between the two was their daughters were dating, according to an arrest warrant. The biological mother, who lives with her husband in Bridgeport, told authorities in October 2013 that she had been in contact with her daughter mostly by telephone for the previous year and did know she had been living in Brookfield. The girl would sometimes come home on weekends, stay for a little while and leave when her parents went to work, court records show. Miller said jailing someone for trying to ensure children get educated is draconian. Its very upsetting to me that she was given a sentence of 10 years, with five to serve, all over an issue of her having enrolled a child in school, Miller said. Brookfield school officials told authorities the girls education cost about $23,000 for each of the two years she was a student at the high school. Per-pupil spending in the district is $13,700, but the cost can be higher when including special education services officials. The relevant law, signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in 2013, decriminalized the practice of placing a child in an out-of-district school known as boundary-hopping. Passage of the law followed two prominent cases that sparked outrage across the country. In 2011, a homeless woman, Tanya McDowell, was charged with first-degree larceny for sending her child to a public elementary school in Norwalk despite living in Bridgeport. She was sentenced to five years in jail. Years earlier, a woman was charged with larceny after it was discovered she and her grandchildren, who were attending Stratford public schools, actually lived in Milford. Griffin has the support of the Connecticut Parents Union, one of the key advocates for the 2013 bill. She shouldn't have been charged with stealing public education, absolutely not, said Gwen Samuel, founder of the union. Samuel added her organization would play an active role in the case. We believe the lawyers, the judge and the prosecutor should have done their homework, she said. Whatever people may think about the issue, the law is the law. Miller said her client did not know when she pleaded no contest to the felony charge that she faced a possible 10-year sentence. Griffin was convicted of first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery. Part of the reason was that, although she appeared to be lucid, she has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and shes on lots of meds, Miller said. Griffins previous public defender and the states attorney who prosecuted the case did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday. Even if Griffins conviction is overturned, she will still spend several years in prison. Five days before her sentencing in state Superior Court in Danbury, Griffin was sentenced to 12 years in prison for setting her mothers Stratford home on fire in May 2013 so they could share the insurance money. A jury found her guilty of first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit first-degree arson and insurance fraud. A month after the 2013 fire, Griffin was arrested in Brookfield and charged with interfering with police after officers said she fought with them. Later that year, police said she called 911 and, using a false name, claimed she had been assaulted by her sister, who was a witness against her in the arson case. Griffin was charged with falsely reporting an incident. Samuel said the case is unique because its not clear why the teen wasnt living with her parents. Theres more to this story than the world knows, she said. I cant imagine not knowing where my child is for a whole year. A hearing on a motion to vacate the convictions against Griffin is scheduled for Friday in state Superior Court in Danbury. noliveira@newstimes.com, 203-731-3411, @olivnelson VANCOUVER, June 1, 2016 /CNW/ - "British Columbia is way ahead," says Christina Burridge, executive director of the BC Seafood Alliance, "according to Environment and Climate Change Canada's February 2016 report on Canada's protected areas (http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/478A1D3D-5B40-4DF4-B4E2-EE41C4EB470D/ProtectedAreas_EN.pdf). We have both sustainable fisheries providing food for Canada and the world and areas of marine protection supporting healthy resources and ecosystems in our part of the Pacific Ocean." The ECCC report calculates areas protected using international standards and is part of Canada's reporting on its commitments to meet its 2010 Convention on Biodiversity targets, calling for "at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas" to be conserved by 2020. The first priority of federal fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo's mandate is "increase the proportion of Canada's marine and coastal areas that are protectedto 5% by 2017 and 10% by 2020supported by new investments in community consultation and science." "Wild seafood in BC is actively part of the solution to getting to five and ten", says Burridge. "BC residents want more than ever to buy local, sustainable seafood. Our fisheries embrace Marine Stewardship Council certification, Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch and Oceanwise endorsements." Based on data current to December 2014, the ECCC report shows that for BC 6.9% of the Northern Shelf, 4.5% of the Strait of Georgia, 2.8% of the Southern Shelf, and 2.0% of the offshore is protected. "Add in areas in the process of being protected, such as the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound sponge reefs and the Scott Islands National Marine Wildlife Area, and we are at 14.9% for the Northern Shelf, the area where we catch most of our seafood." By contrast the ECCC report identifies no other Canadian ocean region as exceeding 1.2 per cent of protected area. "Fishermen understand instinctively that a healthy ocean means healthy fisheries. Practical protection brings benefits to families and communities up and down the coast and provides food for our country and the world," Burridge said, adding that current science suggests that well managed fisheries contribute more to biodiversity than the large scale no take zones used in jurisdictions with less effective regulation and management. Other studies show that seafood harvesting contributes far less greenhouse gas emissions than the provision of most other forms of animal protein. "Celebrate this Oceans Day on 8 June by enjoying wild BC salmon, prawns, tuna, halibut, sablefish, rockfish, sole and other groundfish species, as well as specialty items like sea urchins and geoduck," Burridge suggests, "they're healthy choices that are good for you and the environment." The BC Seafood Alliance is an umbrella organization whose members represent approximately 90% of the value of wild harvested seafood from Canada's West Coast, worth some $850 million annually. SOURCE BC Seafood Alliance For further information: Christina Burridge, Executive Director, (604) 377.9213; [email protected] McDonald's pilot establishes path for Canadian beef industry on journey to a verified sustainable beef supply TORONTO, June 1, 2016 /CNW/ - McDonald's Canada announced the successful conclusion of its Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot today, an industry-first. This marks a major milestone of its collaborative partnership with the Canadian beef industry over the past 30 months to advance more sustainable beef practices and supports the global company's broader aspirational goal to source all of its food and packaging sustainably. As one of the country's largest Canadian beef purchasers, McDonald's Canada, through the Pilot tracked the journey of nearly 9,000 head of Canadian cattle, or the equivalent of 2.4 million patties. The cattle spent their entire lives, from 'birth to burger', raised on or handled by verified sustainable operations. The Pilot has successfully demonstrated that not only can sustainable practices and outcomes be verified through the entire Canadian beef supply chain (from farm to processing), cattle from verified sustainable beef operations can also be tracked through these operations. The Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot Project in Canada is the first program to make the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) principles and criteria actionable across the entire beef value chain. In celebration of the Pilot's wrap-up, executives from McDonald's, World Wildlife Fund U.S. and members of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) met Wednesday with Pilot participants, industry stakeholders and elected officials to share the progress that has been made towards verifying a sustainable beef supply. In addition to discussing the outcomes of the program, the Pilot's findings were officially handed over to the CRSB who has responsibility for mapping the path forward for verified sustainable beef in Canada. By the Numbers 182 Number of operations (121 ranches, 34 backgrounding operations, 24 feedlots, two beef processors and one patty plant) completed the third-party process to verify their beef operations as sustainable under the Pilot project. 8,967- Total number of head of Canadian cattle that were tracked as moving through verified operations. 65 million - Number of pounds of beef McDonald's sourced last year from Canadian beef farmers to produce its beef patties. Quick Facts McDonald's Corporation, WWF-US and Cargill are founding members of the GRSB established in 2012. are founding members of the GRSB established in 2012. In 2014, the CRSB was formed creating a truly multi-stakeholder organization of experts representing every aspect of beef production, including McDonald's Canada , Cargill , Canadian Cattlemen's Association, Canada Beef, Loblaw Inc., government and producer groups. , , Canadian Cattlemen's Association, Canada Beef, Loblaw Inc., government and producer groups. McDonald's Canada sources 100% Canadian beef for its hamburger patties from ranches, primarily from Alberta and Saskatchewan , making Canada a natural fit for the globally-supported Pilot. sources 100% Canadian beef for its hamburger patties from ranches, primarily from and , making a natural fit for the globally-supported Pilot. During the Canadian Pilot, local indicators were developed in line with the GRSB's principles in consultation with a cross-industry advisory board, and mechanisms for third-party verification and chain of custody management were agreed upon. The five indicator categories, which Pilot participants were measured on, called principles, encompass: Natural resources, such as ensuring soil health, water supply, and wildlife and plant biodiversity. People and community , include ensuring a safe work environment and commitment to supporting the local community. Animal health and welfare , such as adequate feed to drinking water and minimizing animal stress and pain. Food , such as ensuring food safety and beef quality, including training and registration in the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program. Efficiency and innovation , such as recycling and energy efficiency programs. Quotes "As a progressive burger company, we are changing the way we source and serve food in our restaurants. We have an important role in helping build a more sustainable food system globally through initiatives such as the sustainable beef pilot in Canada and we're committed to continuing this important work around the world." - Steve Easterbrook, President and CEO, McDonald's Corporation "The Canadian beef industry is one of the best in the world and McDonald's Canada remains committed to serving our guests only 100% Canadian beef. The Pilot has demonstrated the remarkable progress and success that can come when industry and ranchers work together towards a more sustainable future." - John E. Betts, President and CEO, McDonald's Canada "We are so proud of the innovative and progressive work accomplished through the Canadian Pilot. We're committed to leading a sustainable beef movement, and will work alongside the GRSB to help advance the continuous improvement in sustainability of the global beef value chain." - Francesca DeBiase, Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability Officer at McDonald's Corporation "Keeping the grasslands healthy in the Northern Great Plains is crucially important to ensure that the rich biodiversity of the region can thrive. This project has played an important role guiding and defining principles that help ranchers better manage these natural resources while also addressing many of the environmental impacts of beef production along the supply chain." - Tim Hardman, Director, Sustainable Food, WWF-US "The McDonald's Pilot has provided us with new insights that will support our thinking and direction as we advance existing and new sustainability efforts within the Canadian beef industry." - Cherie Copithorne-Barnes, Rancher and Chair of the CRSB About McDonald's Canada In 1967, Canadians welcomed the first McDonald's restaurant to Richmond, British Columbia. Today, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited has become part of the Canadian fabric, serving close to three million guests every day. Together with our franchisees, we proudly employ nearly 90,000 people from coast-to-coast and approximately 85 per cent of McDonald's 1,400 Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs. Of the almost $1 billion we spend on food, more than 85 per cent is purchased from suppliers in Canada. For more information on McDonald's Canada visit McDonalds.ca. About McDonald's Corporation McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with over 36,000 locations in more than 100 countries. More than 80% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business men and women. About the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) is a multi-stakeholder organization focused on advancing sustainability efforts within the Canadian beef industry. The CRSB is the go-to forum on sustainable beef in Canada. SOURCE McDonald's Canada Image with caption: "As one of the country's largest Canadian beef purchasers, McDonald's Canada, through its Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot, tracked the journey of nearly 9,000 head of Canadian cattle, or the equivalent of 2.4 million patties. The cattle spent their entire lives, from 'birth to burger', raised on or handled by verified sustainable operations. (CNW Group/McDonald's Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160601_C8947_PHOTO_EN_703042.jpg Image with caption: "The McDonalds Verified Sustainable Beef pilot ended Wednesday, marking a major milestone of its collaborative partnership with the Canadian beef industry over the past 30 months to advance more sustainable beef practices. (CNW Group/McDonald's Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160601_C8947_PHOTO_EN_703981.jpg For further information: McDonald's Canada, Adam Grachnik, 416-446-3354, [email protected]; Weber Shandwick, Jennifer Wasley, 416-642-7903, [email protected]; Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Monica Hadarits, 306-221-6227, [email protected] MARKHAM, ON, June 1, 2016 /CNW/ - In 2016, Canadians continue to demonstrate a commitment to fight the terminal disease ALS, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's. Over the course of the summer and fall, 93 WALKs for ALS will occur across Canada with over 10,000 participants rallying for the cause. The majority of the WALKs are happening in June in conjunction with ALS Awareness Month, in order to raise both awareness and critical funds. In 2016, our goal is to continue to build on the momentum from the Ice Bucket Challenge and renew the strong sense of community for people living with and affected by ALS. ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a terminal disease with no treatment that affects approximately two to three thousand people across Canada. It is a devastating disease. People affected with ALS typically die within 2-5 years. The motor neuron cells that connect the brain to the muscles die, causing progressive paralysis throughout the body, which affects a person's ability to eat, swallow, speak, and eventually to breathe. 90% of diagnosed cases have no known cause or hereditary link. It can affect people of any age, sex or ethnicity. The direct and indirect costs to families is between $150,000 - $250,000 over the course of the illness. "As well as experiencing the loss of a close family member, on a daily basis I see the challenges and devastation of this disease. June as ALS Awareness Month helps to bring the reality of ALS and the need to make a difference to the forefront," - Tammy Moore, CEO, ALS Canada. There will be many events across the country to acknowledge ALS Awareness Month. Today, MP David Tilson is making a Member's Statement in Ottawa. This year, as well as Mr. Tilson's personal loss of his father to the disease, his message will be even more poignant, as MP Mauril Belanger was diagnosed with ALS late last year. "I am pleased to be the National Honorary Spokesperson for the WALK for ALS, to draw attention to the ALS cause and to have the opportunity to make a difference," said Belanger, speaking through an assistive device. "I call on everyone to join me to participate in a WALK in their community, so that support for people living with ALS is available today, and critical research is funded, providing hope for the future." Forty percent of the proceeds from the WALK for ALS go towards investments in the ALS Canada Research Program which funds the most promising research as reviewed by a panel of international experts. In addition to funding research, the rest of the proceeds are used by the Provincial Societies Across Canada to provide assistance to people living with ALS and their families as they navigate their journey, including services that provide individual and group support, and funding or provision of equipment like mobility aids and assistive equipment such as wheelchairs and hospital beds. These services are critical to people diagnosed with ALS and their families when facing such an insurmountable and devastating burden. To contact or donate to a Provincial Society go to www.als.ca/en/living-als/register-your-provincial-society. Canadians can get involved in ALS Awareness Month by donating to an ALS Society across Canada, by joining walkforals.ca and continuing to raise awareness using #ALSAwarenessMonth. About ALS Canada The ALS Society of Canada was founded in 1977 and is the only national registered charity dedicated to ALS. ALS Canada is responsible for the ALS Canada Research Program funding peer reviewed research grants and fostering collaboration amongst Canadian researchers, helping to nurture new ideas and build capacity. ALS Canada has a role in Ontario, similar to that of the Provincial ALS Societies, providing services and support for people living with ALS within our provinces. Together with our Provincial Partners, we support Canadians living with ALS and invest in research to make ALS treatable, not terminal. Follow ALS Canada @ALSCanada and for more information visit als.ca. SOURCE ALS Canada For further information: Vanessa Blount, Director Policy and Program Development, ALS Canada, 905.248.2052 x213, [email protected] MONTREAL, June 1, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - HNZ Group Inc. (TSX: HNZ) (the "Corporation"), an international provider of helicopter transportation and related support services, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, HNZ New Zealand Limited, has entered into an offshore oil and gas helicopter support contract with Shell Philippines Exploration, BV ("SPEX"). HNZ New Zealand Limited has been awarded a five year extension to its existing contract with Shell Philippines Exploration, BV (SPEX). This extension replaces the original five one-year option periods at the expiry of the existing contract, and will be in effect from August 2017 to August 2022. The contract for SPEX is for the supply of two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters for the provision of services to the Malampaya Gas Platform. Revenues for the extension period of five years are expected to be approximately $61 million ($47 million USD). There are non-recurring costs of approximately $3 million USD in relation to transition of replacement aircraft into the contract which will occur during financial year 2016. These costs will be recovered across the term of the extension period. "We are very pleased to continue supporting Shell's offshore operations in the Philippines" said Don Wall, President and Chief Executive Officer of HNZ Group. "The confidence Shell has placed in HNZ for ongoing helicopter support services both in the Philippines and other regions across the globe demonstrates the reputation we have gained for providing safe, reliable and cost-effective solutions. We look forward to supporting Shell over the course of the renewed contract." ABOUT HNZ GROUP INC. HNZ Group is an international provider of helicopter transportation and related support services with operations in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Southeast Asia and Antarctica. The Corporation operates in excess of 115 helicopters to support offshore and onshore charter activities. Offshore operations worldwide are provided through HNZ Global and partner Norsk Helikopterservice while onshore charter operations are managed by Canadian Helicopters in Canada, Asia-Pacific and Antarctica, and Acasta HeliFlight in Northern Canada. Clients consist of multinational companies and government agencies including offshore and onshore oil and gas, mineral exploration, military support, hydro and utilities, forest management, construction, air ambulance and search and rescue. In addition to charter services, it provides third-party repair and maintenance services and flight training, including the internationally recognized HNZ Topflight advanced training centre in Penticton, British Columbia. HNZ Group is a publically traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: HNZ) and is headquartered near Montreal, Canada employing approximately 600 personnel from 35 locations around the world. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future contractual relationship between the Corporation and Shell Philippines Exploration, BV (SPEX) and in particular with respect to the expected revenues, costs and duration of such relationship. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Consequently, readers should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. In addition, these forward-looking statements relate to the date on which they were made. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless being required by applicable laws. SOURCE HNZ Group Inc. For further information: HNZ Group Inc., Matt Wright, CFA, MBA, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Tel.: 780-429-6903 The financial information reported herein is based on the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter and the six months ended April 30, 2016 and prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). All amounts are presented in Canadian dollars. MONTREAL, June 1, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - National Bank is reporting net income of $210 million for the second quarter of 2016, down from $404 million in the same quarter of 2015, essentially as a result of a sectoral provision for credit losses recorded for producers and service companies in the oil and gas sector. Diluted earnings per share stood at $0.52 in the second quarter of 2016 compared to $1.13 in the second quarter of 2015. Excluding the sectoral provision of $183 million, net of income taxes, and excluding the specified items described on page 4, the 2016 second-quarter net income totalled $420 million, up 2% from $411 million in the second quarter of 2015, and the 2016 second-quarter diluted earnings per share stood at $1.14, relatively stable compared to $1.15 in the second quarter of 2015. For the first six months of fiscal 2016, the Bank's net income totalled $471 million versus $819 million in the same period of 2015, and its first-half diluted earnings per share stood at $1.19 versus $2.29 in the same period of 2015. Excluding the sectoral provision and specified items, the Bank's first-half net income totalled $847 million, up 3% from $821 million in the same period of 2015, and its first-half diluted earnings per share stood at $2.31, essentially unchanged from $2.30 in the same period of 2015. "In the second quarter of 2016, the Bank continued to benefit from good growth in personal and commercial loan and deposit volumes and maintained tight cost control," said Louis Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank. "In addition, the Bank took action, by way of a sectoral provision, to address credit uncertainties in its oil and gas producer and service company loan portfolio. The credit quality of the overall loan portfolio, excluding the oil and gas producer and service company loan portfolio, remains within expectations," added Mr. Vachon. Highlights (millions of Canadian dollars) Quarter ended April 30 Six months ended April 30 2016 2015 % Change 2016 2015 % Change Net income 210 404 (48) 471 819 (42) Diluted earnings per share (dollars) $ 0.52 $ 1.13 (54) $ 1.19 $ 2.29 (48) Return on common shareholders' equity 7.7 % 17.6 % 8.6 % 17.7 % Dividend payout ratio 61 % 44 % 61 % 44 % Excluding specified items(1) Net income 237 411 (42) 664 821 (19) Diluted earnings per share (dollars) $ 0.60 $ 1.15 (48) $ 1.77 $ 2.30 (23) Net income excluding sectoral provision(2) 420 411 2 847 821 3 Diluted earnings per share excluding sectoral provision(2) (dollars) $ 1.14 $ 1.15 (1) $ 2.31 $ 2.30 Return on common shareholders' equity 8.9 % 17.9 % 12.8 % 17.7 % Dividend payout ratio 50 % 42 % 50 % 42 % As at April 30, 2016 As at October 31, 2015 CET1 capital ratio under Basel III 9.8 % 9.9 % Leverage ratio under Basel III 3.7 % 3.7 % (1) See the Financial Reporting Method section on page 4. (2) During the second quarter of 2016, a $250 million ($183 million net of income taxes) sectoral provision for credit losses was recorded for producers and service companies in the oil and gas sector. Personal and Commercial The segment posted a net loss of $9 million in the second quarter of 2016 compared to net income of $164 million in the second quarter of 2015 as a result of the sectoral provision for credit losses recorded for producers and service companies in the oil and gas sector. in the second quarter of 2016 compared to net income of in the second quarter of 2015 as a result of the sectoral provision for credit losses recorded for producers and service companies in the oil and gas sector. Excluding the sectoral provision of $183 million , net of income taxes, the segment's 2016 second-quarter net income totalled $174 million , up $10 million or 6% from the second quarter of 2015. , net of income taxes, the segment's 2016 second-quarter net income totalled , up or 6% from the second quarter of 2015. At $698 million , the segment's 2016 second-quarter total revenues rose $15 million or 2% year over year. , the segment's 2016 second-quarter total revenues rose or 2% year over year. Rising 6% from a year ago, personal lending experienced sustained growth, with the most significant increases coming from mortgage lending, and commercial lending grew 6% from a year ago. The net interest margin was 2.20% in the second quarter of 2016 versus 2.24% in the second quarter of 2015 and 2.22% in the first quarter of 2016. Before provisions for credit losses and income taxes, the segment's second-quarter contribution rose $23 million or 8% year over year. or 8% year over year. At 56.6%, the efficiency ratio improved from 59.0% in the same quarter of 2015. Wealth Management Net income totalled $80 million in the second quarter of 2016, down 22% from $103 million in the same quarter of 2015, as a gain on the disposal of Fiera Capital Corporation shares had been recorded in the second quarter of 2015. in the second quarter of 2016, down 22% from in the same quarter of 2015, as a gain on the disposal of Fiera Capital Corporation shares had been recorded in the second quarter of 2015. Excluding specified items (1) , the 2016 second-quarter net income totalled $86 million , up $2 million or 2% year over year. , the 2016 second-quarter net income totalled , up or 2% year over year. Excluding specified items (1) , the 2016 second-quarter total revenues amounted to $355 million , down $4 million or 1% from $359 million in the second quarter of 2015, mainly due to decreases in transaction-based and other revenues, partly offset by growth in net interest income. , the 2016 second-quarter total revenues amounted to , down or 1% from in the second quarter of 2015, mainly due to decreases in transaction-based and other revenues, partly offset by growth in net interest income. Excluding specified items (1) , the 2016 second-quarter non-interest expenses stood at $238 million , down from $245 million in the second quarter of 2015. , the 2016 second-quarter non-interest expenses stood at , down from in the second quarter of 2015. Excluding specified items(1), the efficiency ratio was 67.0%, an improvement from 68.2% in the second quarter of 2015. Financial Markets Net income totalled $169 million in the second quarter of 2016, a 7% increase from $158 million in the same quarter of 2015. in the second quarter of 2016, a 7% increase from in the same quarter of 2015. Excluding specified items (1) , net income was $169 million , down $5 million or 3% year over year. , net income was , down or 3% year over year. Excluding specified items (1) , total revenues amounted to $429 million , a $1 million year-over-year increase owing to revenues from banking services and the operations of the Credigy Ltd. subsidiary, tempered by decreases in trading activity revenues, financial market fees, and gains on investments. , total revenues amounted to , a year-over-year increase owing to revenues from banking services and the operations of the Credigy Ltd. subsidiary, tempered by decreases in trading activity revenues, financial market fees, and gains on investments. At $195 million , the 2016 second-quarter non-interest expenses increased $6 million year over year. , the 2016 second-quarter non-interest expenses increased year over year. Excluding specified items(1), the efficiency ratio was 45.5%, increasing by 1.3 percentage points when compared to the second quarter of 2015. Other The Other heading posted a net loss of $30 million in the second quarter of 2016 versus a $21 million net loss in the same quarter of 2015. The higher net loss stems mainly from a tax provision recorded to reflect the impact of changes to tax measures. Capital Management As at April 30, 2016 , the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio under Basel III was 9.8%, relatively stable compared to 9.9% as at October 31, 2015 . , the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio under Basel III was 9.8%, relatively stable compared to 9.9% as at . As at April 30, 2016 , the Basel III leverage ratio was 3.7%, unchanged from October 31, 2015 . (1) See the Financial Reporting Method section on page 4. HIGHLIGHTS (millions of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts ) Quarter ended April 30 Six months ended April 30 2016 2015 % Change 2016 2015 % Change Operating results Total revenues 1,425 1,421 2,714 2,831 (4) Net income 210 404 (48) 471 819 (42) Net income attributable to the Bank's shareholders 193 388 (50) 432 785 (45) Return on common shareholders' equity 7.7 % 17.6 % 8.6 % 17.7 % Earnings per share Basic $ 0.52 $ 1.14 (54) $ 1.20 $ 2.32 (48) Diluted 0.52 1.13 (54) 1.19 2.29 (48) Excluding specified items(1) Operating results (taxable equivalent basis) (2) Total revenues 1,507 1,497 1 3,037 2,956 3 Net income 237 411 (42) 664 821 (19) Net income attributable to the Bank's shareholders 220 395 (44) 625 787 (21) Return on common shareholders' equity 8.9 % 17.9 % 12.8 % 17.7 % Efficiency ratio 57.8 % 58.7 % 58.2 % 58.7 % Earnings per share Basic $ 0.61 $ 1.16 (47) $ 1.78 $ 2.32 (23) Diluted 0.60 1.15 (48) 1.77 2.30 (23) Common share information Dividends declared $ 0.54 $ 0.50 $ 1.08 $ 1.00 Book value 27.75 27.01 Share price High 45.56 49.15 45.56 55.06 Low 35.95 45.02 35.83 44.21 Close 44.84 48.75 44.84 48.75 Number of common shares (thousands) 337,418 330,141 337,418 330,141 Market capitalization 15,130 16,094 15,130 16,094 (millions of Canadian dollars) As at April 30, 2016 As at October 31, 2015 % Change Balance sheet and off-balance-sheet Total assets 220,734 216,090 2 Loans and acceptances 121,116 115,238 5 Impaired loans, net of total allowances (316) (112) As a % of average loans and acceptances (0.3) % (0.1) % Deposits 130,271 128,830 1 Equity attributable to common shareholders 9,364 9,531 (2) Assets under administration and under management 368,168 358,139 3 Earnings coverage 8.75 10.49 Asset coverage 9.59 6.78 Regulatory ratios under Basel III Capital ratios(3) Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) 9.8 % 9.9 % Tier 1(4) 12.9 % 12.5 % Total(4)(5) 14.8 % 14.0 % Leverage ratio(3) 3.7 % 3.7 % Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) 135 % 131 % Other information Number of employees 19,717 19,764 Number of branches in Canada 453 452 Number of banking machines 935 930 1 (1) See the Financial Reporting Method section on page 4. (2) See the Consolidated Results section on page 6 of the Report to Shareholders for the quarter ended April 30, 2016. (3) The ratios are calculated using the "all-in" methodology. (4) The ratios as at October 31, 2015 include the redemption of the Series 20 preferred shares on November 15, 2015. (5) The ratio as at October 31, 2015 includes the $500 million redemption of notes on November 2, 2015. FINANCIAL REPORTING METHOD The Bank's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS, as issued by the IASB. The Bank also uses non-IFRS financial measures when assessing its results and measuring Bank-wide performance. Presenting such information helps readers to better understand how management analyzes results, shows the impacts of specified items on the results of the reported periods, and allows readers to assess results without the specified items if they consider such items to not be reflective of ordinary operations. Securities regulators require companies to caution readers that net income and other measures adjusted using non-IFRS criteria are not standard under IFRS and cannot be easily compared with similar measures used by other companies. Financial Information (millions of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts) Quarter ended April 30 Six months ended April 30 2016 2015 % Change 2016 2015 % Change Net income excluding specified items Personal and Commercial (9) 164 175 335 (48) Wealth Management 86 84 2 170 165 3 Financial Markets 169 174 (3) 355 351 1 Other (9) (11) (36) (30) Net income excluding specified items 237 411 (42) 664 821 (19) Items related to holding restructured notes(1) (3) 23 (4) 36 Acquisition-related items(2) (6) (6) (26) (14) Write-off of an equity interest in an associate(3) (145) Impact of changes to tax measures(4) (18) (18) Gain on disposal of Fiera Capital shares(5) 25 25 Share of current tax asset write-down of an associate(6) (16) (16) Impairment losses on intangible assets(7) (33) (33) Net income 210 404 (48) 471 819 (42) Diluted earnings per share excluding specified items $ 0.60 $ 1.15 (48) $ 1.77 $ 2.30 (23) Items related to holding restructured notes(1) (0.01) 0.07 (0.01) 0.11 Acquisition-related items(2) (0.02) (0.02) (0.08) (0.05) Write-off of an equity interest in an associate(3) (0.43) Impact of changes to tax measures(4) (0.05) (0.05) Premium paid on preferred shares redeemed for cancellation(8) (0.01) Gain on disposal of Fiera Capital shares(5) 0.08 0.08 Share of current tax asset write-down of an associate(6) (0.05) (0.05) Impairment losses on intangible assets(7) (0.10) (0.10) Diluted earnings per share $ 0.52 $ 1.13 (54) $ 1.19 $ 2.29 (48) Return on common shareholders' equity Including specified items 7.7 % 17.6 % 8.6 % 17.7 % Excluding specified items 8.9 % 17.9 % 12.8 % 17.7 % (1) During the quarter ended April 30, 2016, the Bank recorded $3 million in financing costs ($3 million net of income taxes) related to holding restructured notes (2015: $4 million, $4 million net of income taxes). In addition, for the quarter ended April 30, 2015, the Bank had recorded a gain of $37 million ($27 million net of income taxes) upon the disposal of the restructured notes of the MAV III conduits. During the six-month period ended April 30, 2016, the Bank recorded $5 million in financing costs ($4 million net of income taxes) related to holding restructured notes (2015: $9 million, $8 million net of income taxes). In the same six-month period of 2015, the Bank had recorded $23 million in revenues ($17 million net of income taxes) to reflect a rise in the fair value of these notes as well as a gain of $37 million ($27 million net of income taxes) upon the disposal of the restructured notes of the MAV III conduits. (2) During the quarter ended April 30, 2016, the Bank recorded $7 million ($6 million net of income taxes) in acquisition-related charges (2015: $8 million, $6 million net of income taxes). For the six months ended April 30, 2016, these charges amounted to $34 million ($26 million net of income taxes) compared to $18 million ($14 million net of income taxes) for the same six-month period of 2015. These charges consisted mostly of retention bonuses and also included the Bank's share in the integration costs incurred by Fiera Capital Corporation (Fiera Capital) as well as the Bank's share in the charges related to its equity interest in TMX Group Limited (TMX), particularly goodwill and intangible asset impairment losses of $18 million ($13 million net of income taxes) recorded in the first quarter of 2016. (3) During the six-month period ended April 30, 2016, the Bank wrote off its equity interest in associate Maple Financial Group Inc. (Maple) in an amount of $164 million ($145 million net of income taxes) following the February 6, 2016 event described in the Consolidated Balance Sheet section on page 14 of the Report to Shareholders for the quarter ended April 30, 2016. (4) During the quarter ended April 30, 2016, an $18 million tax provision was recorded to reflect the impact of substantively enacted changes to tax measures. (5) During the quarter ended April 30, 2015, the Bank had recorded a $29 million gain ($25 million net of income taxes), net of underwriting fees, on the disposal of Fiera Capital shares through one of its subsidiaries. (6) During the quarter ended April 30, 2015, a loss of $18 million ($16 million net of income taxes) had been recorded following a write-down of an associate's current tax assets. (7) During the quarter ended April 30, 2015, the Bank had recorded $46 million ($33 million net of income taxes) in intangible asset impairment losses on technological developments. (8) During the six-month period ended April 30, 2016, a $3 million premium was paid on the Series 20 First Preferred Shares redeemed for cancellation. CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS From time to time, the Bank makes written and oral forward-looking statements, such as those contained in the Outlook for National Bank and the Major Economic Trends sections of the 2015 Annual Report, in other filings with Canadian securities regulators, and in other communications, for the purpose of describing the economic environment in which the Bank will operate during fiscal 2016 and the objectives it hopes to achieve for that period. These forward-looking statements are made in accordance with current securities legislation in Canada and the United States. They include, among others, statements with respect to the economyparticularly the Canadian and U.S. economiesmarket changes, observations regarding the Bank's objectives and its strategies for achieving them, Bank-projected financial returns and certain risks faced by the Bank. These forward-looking statements are typically identified by future or conditional verbs or words such as "outlook," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "expect," "intend," "plan," and similar terms and expressions. By their very nature, such forward-looking statements require assumptions to be made and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific. Assumptions about the performance of the Canadian and U.S. economies in 2016 and how that will affect the Bank's business are among the main factors considered in setting the Bank's strategic priorities and objectives and in determining its financial targets, including provisions for credit losses. In determining its expectations for economic growth, both broadly and in the financial services sector in particular, the Bank primarily considers historical economic data provided by the Canadian and U.S. governments and their agencies. There is a strong possibility that express or implied projections contained in these forward-looking statements will not materialize or will not be accurate. The Bank recommends that readers not place undue reliance on these statements, as a number of factors, many of which are beyond the Bank's control, could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ significantly from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. These factors include credit risk, market risk, liquidity and funding risk, operational risk, regulatory compliance risk, reputation risk, strategic risk and environmental risk (all of which are described in more detail in the Risk Management section beginning on page 55 of the 2015 Annual Report), the general economic environment and financial market conditions in Canada, the United States and certain other countries in which the Bank conducts business, including regulatory changes affecting the Bank's business, capital and liquidity; changes in the accounting policies the Bank uses to report its financial condition, including uncertainties associated with assumptions and critical accounting estimates; tax laws in the countries in which the Bank operates, primarily Canada and the United States (including the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)); changes to capital and liquidity guidelines and to the manner in which they are to be presented and interpreted; changes to the credit ratings assigned to the Bank; and potential disruptions to the Bank's information technology systems, including evolving cyber attack risk. The foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive. Additional information about these factors can be found in the Risk Management section of the 2015 Annual Report. Investors and others who rely on the Bank's forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. Except as required by law, the Bank does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, by it or on its behalf. The forward-looking information contained in this document is presented for the purpose of interpreting the information contained herein and may not be appropriate for other purposes. DISCLOSURE OF SECOND QUARTER 2016 RESULTS Conference Call A conference call for analysts and institutional investors will be held on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. EDT . at . Access by telephone in listen-only mode: 1-866-862-3930 or 416340-2217. The access code is 5882795#. A recording of the conference call can be heard until June 30, 2016 by dialing 1-800-408-3053 or 905-694-9451. The access code is 4441499#. Webcast The conference call will be webcast live at nbc.ca/investorrelations . . A recording of the webcast will also be available on National Bank's website after the call. Financial Documents The Report to Shareholders (which includes the quarterly consolidated financial statements) is available at all times on National Bank's website at nbc.ca/investorrelations. (which includes the quarterly consolidated financial statements) is available at all times on National Bank's website at nbc.ca/investorrelations. The Report to Shareholders, the Supplementary Financial Information, the Supplementary Regulatory Capital Disclosure, and a slide presentation will be available on the Investor Relations page of National Bank's website shortly before the start of the conference call. SOURCE National Bank of Canada For further information: Ghislain Parent, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice-President, Finance and Treasury, 514-394-6807; Jean Dagenais, Senior Vice-President, Finance, 514-394-6233; Claude Breton, Vice-President, Public Affairs, 514-394-8644; Linda Boulanger, Vice-President, Investor Relations, 514-394-0296 CALGARY, June 1st, 2016 /CNW/ - The National Energy Board (the Board) will release its decision on an application to extend the sunset clauses for the Mackenzie Gas Project on Thursday, June 2, 2016.The NEB's decision will be available at 2:30 pm MDT on the NEB website. On August 20, 2015, Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited, applied to the Board to extend the sunset clauses for the Mackenzie Gas Project to December 31 2022. The project is a proposal to develop three natural gas fields in and near the Mackenzie Delta, and to transport the natural gas and natural gas liquids to southern markets via 1,842-kilometres of pipelines. The Board originally approved the project on December 16, 2010. The National Energy Board is an independent federal regulator of several parts of Canada's energy industry with the safety of Canadians and protection of the environment as its top priority. Its purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest. For more information on the NEB and its mandate, please visit www.neb-one.gc.ca. SOURCE National Energy Board For further information: Sarah Kiley, NEB Communications, Phone: 403-299-3302, Email: [email protected] MONTREAL, May 31, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Sales for the three months ended April 30, 2016 were $203.5 million as compared with $201.7 million for the three months ended May 2, 2015, an increase of 0.9%, with a net reduction of 60 stores primarily attributable to the closure of Smart Set stores. Same store sales1 increased 8.8% with stores increasing 6.3% and e-commerce increasing 52.5%. The Company's gross margin for the three months ended April 30, 2016 decreased to 55.8% from 59.5% for the three months ended May 2, 2015. Gross profit for the three months ended April 30, 2016 decreased $6.6 million or 5.5% to $113.5 million as compared with $120.1 million for three months ended May 2, 2015, with the weakness of the Canadian dollar vis-a-vis the US dollar negatively impacting gross profit by approximately $3.5 million, while also being impacted by increased markdowns. Results from operating activities for the three months ended April 30, 2016 was a loss of $12.5 million as compared with a loss of $10.2 million for the three months ended May 2, 2015, an increase of $2.3 million. Net loss for the three months ended April 30, 2016 was $6.0 million ($0.09 basic and diluted loss per share) as compared with net loss of $7.7 million ($0.12 basic and diluted loss per share) for the three months ended May 2, 2015. Adjusted EBITDA1 for the three months ended April 30, 2016 was a loss of $4.3 million as compared with earnings of $2.3 million for the three months ended May 2, 2015, a decrease of $6.6 million. The reduction in adjusted EBITDA was primarily attributable to lower gross profit as a result of the impact of the weakness of the Canadian dollar vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar and increased markdowns. The Company operates three stores in Fort McMurray (two Reitmans and one Penningtons), which were impacted by the wildfires. In response to the Fort McMurray disaster, the Company moved quickly to support our employees and their families. Additionally, the displaced residents of the community were offered, for a specified period, clothing at any of the Company's stores located across Canada at a 75% discount and the Company was delighted that many people affected by the fires were able to take advantage of this offer. The Company looks forward to re-opening its stores in Fort McMurray and continuing to support and serve the community. Dividends At the Board of Directors meeting held on May 31, 2016, a quarterly cash dividend (constituting eligible dividends) of $0.05 per share on all outstanding Class A non-voting and Common shares of the Company was declared, payable July 28, 2016 to shareholders of record on July 14, 2016. Sales for the four weeks ended May 28, 2016 Sales for the month of May (the four weeks ended May 28, 2016) increased 1.1%. Same store sales1 increased 7.9% with stores increasing 4.9% and e-commerce sales increasing 66.9%. About Reitmans (Canada) Limited The Company is a leading ladieswear specialty apparel retailer with retail outlets throughout Canada. The Company operates 750 stores consisting of 327 Reitmans, 130 Penningtons, 104 Addition Elle, 83 RW & CO., 66 Thyme Maternity, 17 Hyba and 23 Smart Set. The Company also operates 21 Thyme Maternity shop-in-shop boutiques in select Babies"R"Us locations in Canada. 1 Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company has identified several key operating performance measures and non-GAAP financial measures which management believes are useful in assessing the performance of the Company; however, readers are cautioned that some of these measures may not have standardized meanings under IFRS and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar terms used by other companies. In addition to discussing earnings in accordance with IFRS, this press announcement provides adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("adjusted EBITDA") as a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net earnings before income tax expense, other income, dividend income, interest income, net change in fair value of marketable securities, interest expense, impairment of goodwill, depreciation, amortization and net impairment losses. The following table reconciles the most comparable GAAP measure, net earnings or loss, to adjusted EBITDA. Management believes that adjusted EBITDA is an important indicator of the Company's ability to generate liquidity through operating cash flow to fund working capital needs and fund capital expenditures and uses the metric for this purpose. The exclusion of dividend, interest income and net change in fair value of marketable securities eliminates the impact on earnings derived from non-operational activities. The exclusion of depreciation, amortization and impairment charges eliminates the non-cash impact. The intent of adjusted EBITDA is to provide additional useful information to investors and analysts and the measure does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA should therefore not be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA differently. From time to time, the Company may exclude additional items if it believes doing so would result in a more effective analysis of underlying operating performance. The exclusion of certain items does not imply that they are non-recurring. The Company uses a key performance indicator ("KPI"), same store sales, to assess store performance (including each banner's e-commerce store) and sales growth. Same store sales are defined as sales generated by stores that have been continuously open during both of the periods being compared and include e-commerce sales. The same store sales metric compares the same calendar days for each period. Although this KPI is expressed as a ratio, it is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Management uses same store sales in evaluating the performance of stores and considers it useful in helping to determine what portion of new sales has come from sales growth and what portion can be attributed to the opening of new stores. Same store sales is a measure widely used amongst retailers and is considered useful information for both investors and analysts. Same store sales should therefore not be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. The following table reconciles net loss to adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended April 30, 2016 and May 2, 2015: (in millions of Canadian dollars) For the three months ended (Unaudited) April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 Net loss $ (6.0) $ (7.7) Depreciation, amortization and net impairment losses 10.3 11.9 Dividend income (0.6) (0.7) Interest income (0.1) (0.2) Net change in fair value of marketable securities (4.1) 1.2 Interest expense 0.1 0.1 Income tax recovery (3.9) (2.3) ADJUSTED EBITDA $ (4.3) $ 2.3 ADJUSTED EBITDA as % of Sales (2.1%) 1.1% Forward-Looking Statements All of the statements contained herein, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, are forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's expectations only as of the date of this Press Announcement. Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current estimates, beliefs and assumptions, which are based on management's perception of historical trends, current conditions and currently expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This Press Announcement, for the Company contains forward-looking statements about the Company's objectives, plans, goals, aspirations, strategies, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, performance, prospects, opportunities and legal and regulatory matters. Specific forward-looking statements in this Press Announcement include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's anticipated future results and events, future liquidity, planned capital expenditures, amount of pension plan contributions, status and impact of systems implementation, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and cost reduction and productivity improvement initiatives as well as the impact of such initiatives. These specific forward-looking statements are contained throughout the Company's MD&A including those listed in the "Operating and Financial Risk Management" section of the Company's MD&A. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "foresee", "could", "estimate", "goal", "intend", "plan", "seek", "strive", "will", "may" and "should" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company and its management. Numerous risks and uncertainties could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the "Forward-Looking Statements" section of the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis for the year ended January 30, 2016. Other risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that the Company presently believes are not material could also cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in its forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The reader should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included herein. These statements speak only as of the date made and the Company is under no obligation and disavows any intention to update or revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstances or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable securities law. The Company's complete financial statements including notes and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended April 30, 2016 are available online at www.sedar.com . Montreal, May 31, 2016 Jeremy H. Reitman Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: (514) 385-2630 Corporate Website: www.reitmanscanadalimited.com REITMANS (CANADA) LIMITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (Unaudited) (in thousands of Canadian dollars except per share amounts) For the three months ended April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 Sales $ 203,487 $ 201,731 Cost of goods sold 89,993 81,636 Gross profit 113,494 120,095 Selling and distribution expenses 115,193 118,881 Administrative expenses 10,775 11,378 Results from operating activities (12,474) (10,164) Finance income 4,826 1,477 Finance costs 2,237 1,250 Loss before income taxes (9,885) (9,937) Income tax recovery 3,903 2,266 Net loss $ (5,982) $ (7,671) Loss per share: Basic $ (0.09) $ (0.12) Diluted (0.09) (0.12) REITMANS (CANADA) LIMITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited) (in thousands of Canadian dollars) For the three months ended April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 Net loss $ (5,982) $ (7,671) Other comprehensive (loss) income Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to net earnings: Cash flow hedges (net of tax of $7,716; 2015 - $1,506) (21,117) (4,169) Foreign currency translation differences 479 182 Total other comprehensive loss (20,638) (3,987) Total comprehensive loss $ (26,620) $ (11,658) REITMANS (CANADA) LIMITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) (in thousands of Canadian dollars) April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 January 30, 2016 ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $ 75,749 $ 67,658 $ 118,595 Marketable securities 49,259 58,933 45,189 Trade and other receivables 5,729 6,095 4,103 Derivative financial asset - 5,458 14,405 Income taxes recoverable 5,413 2,992 3,301 Inventories 139,550 134,977 124,848 Prepaid expenses 9,467 24,396 8,921 Total Current Assets 285,167 300,509 319,362 NON-CURRENT ASSETS Property and equipment 131,165 147,461 134,363 Intangible assets 24,459 20,997 24,347 Goodwill 38,183 42,426 38,183 Deferred income taxes 35,764 30,397 25,828 Total Non-Current Assets 229,571 241,281 222,721 TOTAL ASSETS $ 514,738 $ 541,790 $ 542,083 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Trade and other payables $ 84,789 $ 70,442 $ 98,135 Derivative financial liability 19,549 132 1,816 Deferred revenue 18,476 16,115 19,325 Current portion of long-term debt 1,926 1,808 1,896 Total Current Liabilities 124,740 88,497 121,172 NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES Other payables 7,699 9,491 8,112 Deferred lease credits 9,977 12,120 10,640 Long-term debt 1,162 3,088 1,655 Pension liability 19,578 22,218 19,336 Total Non-Current Liabilities 38,416 46,917 39,743 SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Share capital 38,397 39,229 38,397 Contributed surplus 9,208 8,152 9,007 Retained earnings 318,221 357,681 327,370 Accumulated other comprehensive income (14,244) 1,314 6,394 Total Shareholders' Equity 351,582 406,376 381,168 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 514,738 $ 541,790 $ 542,083 REITMANS (CANADA) LIMITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY (Unaudited) (in thousands of Canadian dollars) Share Capital Contributed Surplus Retained Earnings Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Total Shareholders' Equity Balance as at January 31, 2016 $ 38,397 $ 9,007 $ 327,370 $ 6,394 $ 381,168 Net loss - - (5,982) - (5,982) Total other comprehensive loss - - - (20,638) (20,638) Total comprehensive loss for the period - - (5,982) (20,638) (26,620) Share-based compensation costs - 201 - - 201 Dividends - - (3,167) - (3,167) Total contributions by (distributions to) owners of the Company - 201 (3,167) - (2,966) Balance as at April 30, 2016 $ 38,397 $ 9,208 $ 318,221 $ (14,244) $ 351,582 Balance as at February 1, 2015 $ 39,227 $ 8,014 $ 368,581 $ 5,301 $ 421,123 Net loss - - (7,671) - (7,671) Total other comprehensive loss - - - (3,987) (3,987) Total comprehensive loss for the period - - (7,671) (3,987) (11,658) Cash consideration on exercise of share options 2 - - - 2 Share-based compensation costs - 138 - - 138 Dividends - - (3,229) - (3,229) Total contributions by (distributions to) owners of the Company 2 138 (3,229) - (3,089) Balance as at May 2, 2015 $ 39,229 $ 8,152 $ 357,681 $ 1,314 $ 406,376 REITMANS (CANADA) LIMITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) (in thousands of Canadian dollars) For the three months ended April 30, 2016 May 2, 2015 CASH FLOWS USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES Net loss $ (5,982) $ (7,671) Adjustments for: Depreciation, amortization and net impairment losses 10,347 11,880 Share-based compensation costs 201 138 Amortization of deferred lease credits (795) (1,443) Deferred lease credits 132 385 Pension contribution (368) (275) Pension expense 610 525 Net change in fair value of marketable securities (4,070) 1,168 Net change in fair value of derivatives - 9,536 Foreign exchange loss (gain) 3,634 (946) Interest and dividend income, net (702) (785) Interest paid (54) (82) Interest received 161 252 Dividends received 560 613 Income tax recovery (3,903) (2,266) (229) 11,029 Changes in: Trade and other receivables (1,591) (1,494) Inventories (14,702) (28,537) Prepaid expenses (546) (12,248) Trade and other payables (13,218) (19,469) Deferred revenue (849) (4,958) Cash used in operating activities (31,135) (55,677) Income taxes received - 2 Income taxes paid (430) (1,178) Net cash flows used in operating activities (31,565) (56,853) CASH FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES Purchases of marketable securities - (2,736) Additions to property and equipment and intangible assets (8,218) (10,132) Proceeds on disposal of property and equipment and intangibles 416 - Cash flows used in investing activities (7,802) (12,868) CASH FLOWS USED IN FINANCING ACTIVITIES Dividends paid (3,167) (3,229) Repayment of long-term debt (463) (435) Proceeds from issue of share capital - 2 Cash flows used in financing activities (3,630) (3,662) FOREIGN EXCHANGE GAIN ON CASH HELD IN FOREIGN CURRENCY 151 1,128 NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS (42,846) (72,255) CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD 118,595 139,913 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF THE PERIOD $ 75,749 $ 67,658 SOURCE Reitmans (Canada) Limited For further information: Jeremy H. Reitman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Telephone: (514) 385-2630, Corporate Website: www.reitmanscanadalimited.com A group of volunteers from the Carlisle area will hold an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 25 at 6 Mill St. in Mount Holly Springs to showcase the special wheelchairs being built for people in Third World countries. The wheelchairs, made by the Carlisle Personal Energy Transportation group, are described on the organizations website as sturdy (wooden) hand-cranked vehicles that offer mobility to people who are unable to walk due to injury, disease or birth defects. They cost about $300 each but are free to recipients. They are kind of like a tricycle, said Carlisle PET secretary Wanda Boyles. They have three tires, but there are no tubes (in the tires), and theyre made for the terrain in third world countries for people who cant walk like people who have contracted polio or have lost their legs in landmines. They use their upper bodies to pedal (the wheelchairs). She said the PET vehicles are specially designed for travel over uneven ground. Its because of the wheels Our tires are wider so its easier to get around, Boyles said. Around here, people can get wheelchairs and usually the insurance pays. Over there, they cant. Even if they could, our wheelchair wheels are so skinny that they couldnt get around. The Carlisle PET group, which was formed two years ago, operates under the direction of PET International. They oversee the organizations that build the wheelchairs, Boyles said. They give them the plans, and any updates, rules and regulations. Were the only one in Pennsylvania that makes them. There are groups in other states, but were the only one in Pennsylvania. Once the wheelchairs are built, Boyles said they are sent to a PET affiliate in Penny Farm., Florida for shipment abroad. In the past two years, local volunteers have built and shipped 28 wheelchairs; 50 more have been assembled and are ready to be shipped. This year, they hope to build at least 200 wheelchairs, but they need help to reach that goal. Boyles said monetary donations are needed to cover the costs of materials and shipping, and new volunteers are needed to construct the wheelchairs. Were trying to get the word out and trying to get donations, she said. Everything is by donations. She said there are just 12 people who volunteer regularly. Area churches and civic organizations also send groups of volunteers to help occasionally. The group holds fundraisers like yard sales and participates in hikes and bike-a-thons. On Aug. 1-4, volunteers will be at the third annual Bike Fund Raiser at the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon in Wellsboro. Boyles, who also serves as secretary for Project SHARE in Carlisle, said the work she does is very rewarding. Its Christian-based, she said. I enjoy doing it. Its giving back to somebody else. It has empowered me. I dont think of me and my problems. Theres somebody else out there that I can help. I am thankful for the things I can do and to be able to give back. TORONTO, May 31, 2016 /CNW/ - Thirteen of Canada's most innovative retailers took home top prizes tonight at the 2016 Excellence in Retailing Awards (ERA), a highlight of Retail Council of Canada's STORE 2016 conference in Toronto. In addition to the ERA honorees, three Awards of Distinction were also bestowed at a gala presentation attended by Canada's retailing elite. The ERA program recognizes pinnacle achievements in a variety of in-store, online and omni-channel retail operations. This year saw 87 finalists from 50 retail companies vying for the coveted trophies. KPMG LLP Canada is the presenting sponsor of the Excellence in Retailing Awards program. "As befitting the name of this competition, the winners of the Excellence in Retailing Awards are true exemplars of the best that Canada has to offer," said Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO of Retail Council of Canada. "Each of these retail organizations is driven to deliver superior customer service, innovative business solutions and leadership in store operations, and we applaud their many accomplishments." Ms. Brisebois added: "I also join the industry in saluting the recipients of this year's prestigious Awards of Distinction. All of them are game-changers leaving a lasting, positive imprint on their employees, customers, peers and the communities they serve. Quite simply, retailing in Canada is all the better for their vision, passion and business acumen." 2016 Awards of Distinction recipients: 2016 Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year Award Presented to Andrew Lutfy, CEO, Groupe Dynamite, in recognition of his exceptional achievement and leadership in retail. Sponsored by: MasterCard Canada 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Louise Wendling, former Country Manager, Costco Wholesale Canada, for demonstrating outstanding business success and community service throughout her career. 2016 Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year Award Presented to Cameron Baty and Karina Birch, Co-Owners, Rocky Mountain Soap Company, for embodying the true spirit of entrepreneurship and community service. Sponsored by: Chase Paymentech 2016 Excellence in Retailing Award Winners: E-Commerce Experience SHOES.COM "Building a Brand for the Young, Engaged Guest" Health, Safety and Wellness, sponsored by Workplace Safety & Prevention Services LCBO "Work Smart Work Safe: LCBO Safety Initiative" In-Store Experience and Design Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd. "Edmonton Showcase Store" Hudson's Bay Company "Hudson's Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue Together in One Historic Location" In-Store Merchandising IKEA Canada Limited Partnership "Creating Inspiring Kitchen Solutions for the Many Canadians with IKEA's New SEKTION Kitchen Range" Loss Prevention Sears Canada "Let's Get Technical: Leveraging Technology to Increase Productivity and Reduce Shrink" Marketing & Communications, sponsored by KPMG Reitmans "Reitmans. Really." Walmart Canada "Discover Another Side of Walmart Canada" Omni-Channel, sponsored by VISA Best Buy Canada "Leadership in Total Retail" Philanthropic Leadership, sponsored by Chase Paymentech PetSmart Canada "PetSmart Charities of Canada: Canada's Adoption Story" Supply Chain Innovation La Maison Simons "Synchronizing the Supply Chain to Support Growth & Expansion in an Omni-Channel Environment" Talent Development H&M Hennese & Mauritz Inc. "Investing in Our Future Leaders at H&M Canada" Michael Hill Jeweller "The Michael Hill Retail Academy" About Retail Council of Canada Retail is Canada's largest employer with over 2 million Canadians working in our industry. In 2015, the sector generated payroll over $59 billion and $340 billion in sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline). Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members' represent more than two-thirds of retail sales in the country. RCC is a not-for-profit industry-funded association and represents small, medium and large retail business in every community across the country. As the Voice of Retail in Canada, we proudly represent more than 45,000 storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers and online merchants. RetailCouncil.org @RetailCouncil SOURCE Retail Council of Canada For further information: Colin Asuncion, Retail Council of Canada, [email protected] The Nigeria army says 77 Boko Haram members have surrendered themselves to troops of the 117 battalion in Borno state. The Nigeria army says 77 Boko Haram members have surrendered themselves to troops of the 117 battalion in Borno state.According to Sani Usman, army spokesman, 16 of the surrendered insurgents are women while 28 of them are girls.Seventy-seven Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered themselves to troops of 122 task force battalion. They comprised 17 men, 16 women, 16 male children and 28 female children, Usman said in a statement.The surrendered terrorists have been moved to Yamteke by combined team of 26 task force brigade for preliminary investigation and screening.He also disclosed that troops rescued 157 captives in operations to expel the insurgents from their hideout.The advancing troops linked up with their counterparts of 25 task force brigade at Gombori village and rescued 157 persons escaping from Boko Haram terrorists captivity. The rescued persons comprised 47 women, 91 children, and 19 men. They are currently undergoing preliminary investigation and thorough screening to also determine their status, Usman said. German champions Bayern Munich have rejected Real Madrid's 50 million euro offer for 23-year-old defender David Alaba.Real Madrid's director general Jose Angel Sanchez has held meetings in Munich on numerous occasions with the players father George Alaba who oversees in business matters relating to his son.The Bundesliga club are anxious to retain the versatile player who can play in midfield as well as his established left back position and will not consider any offer of less than 80 million euro for the Austrian's servicies with Alaba renewing his deal at Bayern last year which contractually would see the player stay in Munich through to 2021. Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is desperate for a move to Real Madrid.A private agreement is said to have been reached - according to reports in Germany - between the Polish striker and Los Blancos, after Real director Jose Angel Sanchez met Lewandowskis agent, Cezary Kucharski, when he was last in the Spanish capital for Bayerns Champions League semifinal against Atleti.Real Madrid will make an offer for the Bayern forward, but only if the Bavarian club would be willing to sell. For now, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the executive director at the German giants, has already announced that he has no intention of negotiating. Its also hard to believe that the Bundesliga title holders would let one of their most important players leave, especially seeing as there are no other strikers on the market that match the Poles characteristics and quality for less than 100 million.Although there have been various meetings between Bayern and Kucharski to try and close out the 27 year olds contract extension, the German side are not in any rush to sign as Lewandowskis current contract doesnt end until 2019. Whats more, Lewandowski is requesting an annual salary of 20 million, a figure that Bayern are not keen on reaching.With that in mind, Lewandowski has been planning on and would be more than ready to force a move. After two years in Munich winning all there is to win in Germany, his intention is to realize the transfer of his career and a childhood dream by arriving at the Bernabeu.I find it strange that some players stay at a club until the end of their contract, the Pole affirmed recently. Ive never said that I was going to finish my career this club or that club and Ive never kissed the badge. Its just not the way I do things. Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, has condemned Mondays killing of over 30 Igbo protesters, who were mainly members of the Indigeno... Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, has condemned Mondays killing of over 30 Igbo protesters, who were mainly members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), saying it appeared that President Muhammadu Buhari was turning the people of the South East and South South to politically endangered species.He called on the international community to take note of the wanton killings being perpetrated by the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government.A statement on Wednesday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said there was no justification whatsoever for the killing of over 30 Igbo youths just because they were marking Biafra Day in memory of the former leader of the defunct Biafra Republic, the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.He said it was worrisome that Nigeria and its people had been more divided since the advent of Buharis government, adding that approach to civil unrests of any kind under the government was causing more security problems in the country.The governor, who reiterated his avowed belief in the unity of Nigeria, said it was unspeakable for security men to have used life ammunitions against the Igbo protesters and went on to justify the murder of innocent Nigerians just because their views were different from those of the President.To even justify the killing by claiming that the Igbo youths protest was orchestrated in order to mar the first anniversary of Buharis government is to say the least, wicked and animalistic, the governor said.He said it was worrisome that more than 150 Igbo youths had been killed by Nigerian security operatives under the directive Buharis government from August 30, 2015 till date, adding thatIt appears that President Buhari has made up his mind to eliminate as many South East and South South people as possible and lovers of the corporate existence of Nigeria and its people should call the president to order.I am alarmed that Nigerians who were only on peaceful protest could be shot at and killed by security agents and after the senseless killing of innocent Nigerians, security agents could demonstrate their heartlessness by coming up with justifications for the criminal act.One is however not surprised because every evil perpetrated by the Buhari-led government against Nigerians, especially those the presidents appears to hate have been justified by those who perpetrated them.We were in this country when over 1,000 Shiite Muslims were killed and buried overnight in Zaria, Kaduna State and the murder was justified. We were also here when over 400 Agatus were killed in Benue State and the President said nothing.The Monday killing of over 30 Igbo youths is therefore condemnable. Its justification is barbaric, heartless, crude and must be condemned by all lovers of unity of Nigeria and its people.I therefore wish to express my sympathy to the people of the South Eastern part of Nigeria and I urge them to remain resolute in their agitation for a Nigeria in which all Nigerians are treated equally irrespective of their tribe and religion. Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, has attributed the ongoing tomato scarcity in the country to Boko Haram. Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, has attributed the ongoing tomato scarcity in the country to Boko Haram.The staple has been very expensive in the last two months as a result of acute scarcity, which the federal government blamed on tuta absoluta, a pest also known as tomato ebola.Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture, had said the government was making efforts to contain the outbreak which had ravaged six states.But speaking in an interview on Channels Television, Mohammed said insecurity in the north-east had forced many farmers out of the zone.People talk about the price of tomato but they forget one thing; they forget that the price of tomato today is a direct result of the fact that we have lost two years harvest to Boko Haram insurgency, he said.Most of the people you see riding Okada (motorcycles) in Lagos are people who would have been in the farm to produce consumable items.When asked if he was convinced that the tomato scarcity could be attributed to insurgency, he said: Absolutely! Do you farm where there is war? We have lost two seasons of harvest, in addition we have had very poor rainfall last year and this year. These are the combined factors responsible for the scarcity of tomato. Go and ask economists and agriculturists, they will tell you.Mohammed also said the prevalence of clashes between farmers and herdsmen was as a result of climate change, saying government refused to heed past warnings on the situation.When you look at the herdsmen and farmers clashes, I think its neglect of many years. More than 15, 20 years ago, we were warned all over the world that as a result of climate change there could be conflicts and we should take steps to avert such clashes, but we did not listen, he said.What is happening is that there is a gradual reduction in natural resources. If you take Lake Chad for instance, it has lost almost 90% of its waters over a couple of years and Lake Chad sustained and supported livelihood of farmers and fishers, with the loss of waters, you see a migration southwards. Now government all over the world were warned that these were the consequences of climate change. Hope Ihesiaba and his brother, Ifeanyi, have been arrested by the men of the Nigerian police for their alleged involvement in production o... Hope Ihesiaba and his brother, Ifeanyi, have been arrested by the men of the Nigerian police for their alleged involvement in production of fake Naira notes and a syndicate.Punch Newspaper reports that the Ihesiaba brothers, who are members of a syndicate that produces fake Naira notes, were nabbed on Oluwakemi Street, in the Ojodu Abiodun area of Lagos State.It was further reported that the suspects were arrested by the Isheri Police Division on Saturday, May 28, 2016 after the police were tipped-off by a trader who alleged that the suspects spent fake N1,000 notes at her store and the operatives swung in on them.80 pieces of fake N1,000 notes - amounting to N80,000- two laptops, a sledge hammer and a cutlass were said to have been recovered from the suspects house after a search was conducted before their arrest.However, Hope Ihesiaba denied producing fake Naira notes saying, it was his friend, Odiyi, in Aba, Abia State who was involved in such illicit act.The 33-year-old suspect said, I do not produce fake naira notes. I have a friend who does that. His name is Odiyi, and he sells in a market in Aba."Continuing, he said, 'I gave him N28,000 real money and he gave me the N80,000 fake naira notes. I knew the money was fake; but I did it to help myself. I gave my brother parts of the money. He in turn gave some to two of his friends. I am not married. I just needed money and I was tempted to collect the notes.'Meanwhile, the police had reportedly launched a manhunt for Odiyi, the Aba trader, who is alleged to have been producing the fake notes.The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, confirmed the arrest saying investigation is currently ongoing. President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday held a closed- door meeting with some South East politicians led by former Senate President, Ken N... President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday held a closed- door meeting with some South East politicians led by former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.The meeting came a day after members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) held demonstrations in the South East and South-South parts of the country.The 18-member delegation, which arrived in a bus belonging to the Ken Nnamani Leadership Institute, came under the aegis of Southeast Group for Change.They comprised mainly members of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).The delegation included the National Auditor of APC, George Moghalu; former Senators Ifeanyi Ararume and Osita Izunaso; former House of Representatives member, Sharon Ikeazor and former Executive Vice-Chairman of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe.Also in the team were the APC National Vice-Chairman (South East), Hon. Emma Eneukwu; member of the APC Board of Trustees, Chief Austin Edeze; Dr. Uzoma Obiyo and Chris Akomas.Nnamani and other member of the delegation declined to speak with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.As he walked past the journalists, Nnamani only replied the question from journalists on whether the issue of Biafra came up for discussion during the meeting with: "No, no, not now."No official statement has been issued on the meeting at the time of filing this report. Paul Strickler has had an undeniable impact on the Carlisle community, as many residents will attest. Paul is one of those people in Carlisle who has been a visionary and has been dedicated, responsible and just a plain wonderful person to know, said June Shomaker, a close friend of Stricklers. He is key to what makes the Carlisle community a great one. Strickler, a native of Boiling Springs and a 1951 graduate of Dickinson College, has aided the community in a number of positions throughout his life. He will be honored for his services Thursday during the annual Carlisle Salvation Army Civic Dinner where he will receive the Others Award, which honors an individual or organization exemplifying extraordinary service to others and exceptional service benefiting the Salvation Army. Strickler has served on the Salvation Armys Advisory Board for 34 years and has been a lifetime member since 2006. My husband and I have been in Carlisle for two years now and from the beginning, Paul welcomed us very warmly and extended himself to us as someone who could help us settle in in terms of getting to know people in this community who could support the Salvation Army, said Salvation Army Corps Commanding Officer Maj. Alma Riley. I think that his warm heart and his pleasant manner and the way that he shares his love for others has blessed me the most. According to a press release, Strickler has devoted time to the Salvation Army in leading fundraising efforts, directly serving clients through My Brothers Table and aiding a variety of Christmas events, among other contributions. (The Salvation Army) does a wonderful job, Strickler said. They do very well. They dont get a lot, but they produce a lot. It is wonderful. Stickler served as a trustee at Dickinson College from 1995-1999. There, he achieved emeritus status, which generally refers to board members who have demonstrated exceptional service to the college and have completed at least two full terms. Mr. Strickler has remained devoted to the college after graduating in 1951, said Dickinson Associate Director of Media Relations Christine Baksi. He is a steadfast supporter of the college and greater Carlisle community, and we are delighted to offer our congratulations to him. Strickler previously worked with the United Telephone Company in several capacities for 36 years, retiring as Executive Vice President in 1989. Additionally, he served as President and Campaign Chair to the United Way of Carlisle and held board memberships with Child Care, the Network Board and the Arc of Cumberland and Perry Counties (CPARC). Before Strickler retired, he was active in several community affairs, including Leadership Carlisle (with which he also held a board membership), Carlisle Hospital Foundation, Carlisle YMCA, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Cumberland County Historical Society, Financial Trust and Pennsylvania Blue Shield. Paul is a wonderful guy, said the Rev. Daniel Dennis of Otterbein United Methodist Church, where Strickler is a lifelong member. He is one of those guys that is a true gentleman. He is most caring and very sensitive and an individual of faith. He is also an individual that is quick to help anyone that is in need. The award is the latest in a series of honors presented to Strickler over the years, including a Carlisle Rotary Ethical Standards Award, a Carlisle Exchange Club Molly Pitcher Award, a United Way Volunteer of the Year Award, an Alexis de Tocqueville Humanitarian Award, a Salvation Army Advisory Board Life Member Award, a Carlisle Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award and a Bubbler Foundation Outstanding Alumnus Award. Strickler said he is excited for the event, adding that his two sons will be attending from out of state. I am very happy, but I certainly didnt go for (the award), Strickler said. It is certainly not needed, but it is very much appreciated. The dinner will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday at Dickinsons Holland Union Building. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Salvation Armys Pathway of Hope initiative, which focuses on self-sufficiency for impoverished families. Individual tickets are $30 and may be purchased by calling 717-249-1411. Senate President Bukola Saraki has accused anti-graft agencies of preferring to harass government officials than investigating allegations... Senate President Bukola Saraki has accused anti-graft agencies of preferring to harass government officials than investigating allegations of corruption in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).Speaking when a delegation of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) led by Waziri Adio, its executive secretary, presented the organisations audit report to him, Saraki advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to channel its energy into helping the country recover funds that have been allegedly misappropriated in the oil sector.According to NEITI report, which was unveiled last week, the NNPC did not remit $12.9bn to the federation account between 2005 and 2013.The unremitted funds were said to be the sum of dividends, interest and loan repayment from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).The report also revealed that Nigeria lost $518m to offshore processing arrangement and crude for product swap arrangement in 2013Commenting on the development, Saraki said Nigeria was only paying lip service to the fight against corruption, vowing that the senate will fight to ensure that appropriate measures were taken to correct the anomalies that have been uncovered.I studied the report in the early hours of this morning, and honestly I was just dumbfounded about the figures that we are talking about, he said.This is just 2013, one years report. It is not cumulative. In one years audit report you are talking about figures of over $3.8billion at that time I am sure the rate was close to N150 per dollar. So you are talking about N650billion. Then you are talking about another N358billion which brings it close to about N1trillion.Then you are talking about assets that were undervalued and transferred to NPDC but still no payment was made. You are talking about NAPIMS paying cash calls for an asset that doesnt belong anymore to NNPC and you truly wonder that this is going on right under our nose here in this country.What is the ICPC doing? What is the EFCC doing? This is what is killing this country. Honestly, I just concluded that as a country I dont think we are serious. We are just paying lip service to this issue of fighting corruption because this is the real terminology of economic sabotage.This is what I believe agencies that are truly fighting corruption should have taken up. Meanwhile you see them sometimes chasing a local government chairman for N10million or chasing even the state governments for less amounts.These are just astronomical figures and nobody is being asked where the authority came from. Even if you say it was a minister, do we have where managements of those organisations have been able to say this is not what should be done?There are people who are responsible in management to advise on what should be done. And these people am sure are just walking the streets up and down without anybody asking them any question. It is incredible.Honestly, we must begin to do something about this because unless we do that we are just wasting our time. We are just chasing areas that maybe catch news headlines but they dont have any effect. Workers in Ekiti State on Tuesday shunned the meeting called by the state government to resolve the ongoing strike in the state. The wor... Workers in Ekiti State on Tuesday shunned the meeting called by the state government to resolve the ongoing strike in the state.The workers on Thursday began an indefinite strike to press home the demand for the payment of five months salaries arrears of workers among other issues.The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday (yesterday), followed a declaration by Governor Ayodele Fayose to invoke the doctrine of no-work, no-pay in the face of labours insistence to continue with the strike.It was to be attended by the chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress, the Joint Negotiating Council, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees and the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools.But the labour leaders failed to show up for the meeting.Instead, the secretaries of the NLC, TUC and JNC wrote the state government and asked for a new date, time and venue.According to a copy of the letter sighted by our correspondent, the unions said the meeting should be rescheduled in the interest of peace.A leader of the labour told our correspondent that the unions took the decision because of the protest staged by driver unions against the strike earlier in the day.The leadership of organised labour has met this morning and resolved that in the interest of peace, security of life and property, the proposed meeting should be rescheduled to another day/date and venue, the letter said.Earlier on Tuesday, some artisans and commercial drivers, under the aegis of the Concerned Trade Unions in Ekiti State, had staged anti-workers protests in Ado Ekiti, accusing the leadership of labour of taking N25m bribe to destabilise the Fayose-led government.The protesters, led by the Chairmen of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Samuel Agbede, and the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Clement Adekola, alleged that the ongoing strike was politically-motivated.The protesters, who carried placards with various inscriptions, gathered at the popular Fajuyi Park and marched to the Ijigbo area of the state capital to mobilise support for Fayoses government. The federal government says it is now in charge of the Chibok schoolgirls who were admitted into US schools after fleeing the custody of B... The federal government says it is now in charge of the Chibok schoolgirls who were admitted into US schools after fleeing the custody of Boko Haram.Two-hundred-and seventy-six girls were kidnapped, while 57 managed to escape, the government said two have been rescued though there is controversy over the identity of one and 216 are still in captivity.According to Al Jazeera, Emmanuel Ogebe, a US-based Nigerian human rights lawyer, collaborated with a Nigerian couple to help about 10 of the girls to America.Schooling is an incredibly high-risk activity in northern Nigeria, Ogebe had told Al Jazeera, explaining that girls freed from Boko Haram captivity could face security risks, survivors guilt and discrimination from their community.Most had been stigmatized as a Boko Haram wife, which further traumatized them.Ogbe later joined some Nigerian activists, who later formed an initiative called Education Must Continue, which assisted the girls to obtain US visas so they could attend reputable private schools that offered scholarships for them.However, the ministry of women affairs and social development said the government had decided to revoke guardianship of the girls after a meeting with their parents.The federal government of Nigeria has taken over the care of the girls currently studying in the USA, who escaped from Boko Haram captivity after being abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14, 2014, the statement issued by Temitope Bamgboye, director of social welfare of the ministry, read.Following a meeting held on May 25, 2016, between parents of the escaped Chibok girls studying in America and officials of the federal ministry of women affairs and social development in charge of the Chibok Girls Desk specially set up by President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government, including its representatives and agents, is now in charge of the girls. The parents signed declaration forms authorising the ministry to take over guardianship of their daughters.Any previous guardianship arrangement has thus been revoked. This information has been transmitted to the ministry of foreign affairs, which is to ensure that this is effected through the Nigerian Embassy in DC. The same will also be communicated to the US State Department through the US Embassy in Nigeria.The plan is that the girls remain in the US to pursue further education and to graduate, uninterrupted, in a safe and nurturing environment and away from the public glare, which was supposed to be the plan in the first place.The parents were also advised to exercise care and caution when signing away to any individual or group, the rights of guardianship to their children. The bitter row between two agencies representing Manchester City starlet Kelechi Iheanacho is expected to continue till September.The hearing of the case before the England FA was slated for May 9, but up till now what has happened have being arguments and defences by the agencies involved Stellar Group who are based in the United Kingdom and First Eleven from the USA.The longer this case drags the better it is for Manchester City and bad for the player, one of the interested parties told reporters.In October, First Eleven tabled a new Manchester City offer that will pay the Nigeria youngster 50,000 pounds a week, but it was later learnt the other agents told the player they could clinch him a much better deal.First Eleven are arguing that Iheanacho breached his subsisting contract with them by agreeing to work with Stellar Group. The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has associated incessant stormy rainfall being experienced in the country to the much tal... The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has associated incessant stormy rainfall beingexperienced in the country to the much talked about negative impacts of man on the environment.The Governor stated this during a courtesy visit and the opening ceremony of the Osun Architects' Sustainable Information Synthesis Forum in Osogbo.He attributed much of the destruction of the global ecosystem to anti-nature activities of human beings, adding that it is these human activities that have led the worse state the global climate has receded into, manifesting in the harsh weather and incessant natural disaster that the world is witnessing today.According to the Governor, even though nature is calm, it does not respect human beings and as such could be devastating in form of protest against unconscionable human activities.Aregbesola, who warned of danger ahead, appealed to all stakeholders in the fight against climate change to sensitise people on the need to engage in reasonable activities.Besides, he also canversed for a serious commitment to the greening of the environment by planting multiple trees where one is felled."Let me call our attention to the danger or is it tragedy the whole world faces today with our climate."Have we paused to ask ourselves why we have stormy rainfall constantly nowadays. It is either we experience this hail storm before or during rainfall and we go about as if this is a normal occurrence."No! We are today at the mercy of the nature and it is human activity that has led to this worse climatic conditions we now experience," Aregbesola said.Aregbesola also expressed his worries in the inability of the professional body to come up with a suitable material for building plan 56 years after the exit of colonialism.Aregbesola said what also gave him anxiety was the impact of professional in the lives of the people and whether the professional cared about the welfare of the people when the plan, design and build houses.He also lamented that over two decades after the continent's contact with the European and 56 years after independence, Nigerian architects have yet to come up with a policy on which material is best and suitable for building plan.He averred that the recommendation of NIA on a building roof suitable and durable for Nigeria is enough catalyst to revamp the nation's economy.He stressed that the situation has gone so awry that not only the roofs, but also the buildings in both urban and rural areas have so much degenerated to the level that significant numbers of them are no longer fit for human habitation."Up until this moment, it is not about the roofing materials alone which are unsuitable but also our buildings both in rural and urban areas have become a serious challenge."Our houses in urban settlement even depresses me more: most of them have passed their age of usefulness."If the country is committed to reviewing our human habitation through government-inspired efforts and you professionals recommend a new and durable building roofing, this alone is enough and capable of revamping our economy," Aregbesola said.He called on Architects to be helpful in preventing the building anarchy of modern times, adding that they should also see to era of incidents of encroachment on roads and illegal structures that is becoming rampant in our society.Aregbesola held that encroachment and illegal structures will have been avoided if architects have helped their clients do due diligence by obtaining proper documentation for their property before building.According to him, "in Osun, we have not only reduced the cost, we have also simplified the process of obtaining land documents and building approvals in this state."This is in our quest to enhance urban aesthetics, prevent future separation of buildings from roads and bring about the security that possession of documents brings. It is my hope that our architects will support this programme adequately and increase the awareness on this with their clients."The President of Nigerian Institute of Architecture (NIA), Arch. Tony Oliver-Braid, has described Osun as a very unique state in the whole of the country.Oliver-Braid, who also described Governor Rauf Aregbesola as an extraordinary governor, disclosed that Osun is the only state in Nigeria that has at least one architect in a local government and over 50 architects engaged by the state's Local Government Service commission.The NIA President gave the statistics during a courtesy visit to the Governor and the opening ceremony of its two-day conference tagged Osun Architects' Sustainable Information Synthesis, OASIS Forum 2016 and the 20th Anniversary of NIS by the by NIA, Osun.The theme of conference is: "Join the Race to Make this World a Better Place" taking place at the Multipurpose Hall, Local Government Service Commission, State Secretarial, Abere.Oliver-Braid, who was represented by the institute's third Vice President, arch. Enyi Ben Ehbo, said the governor's landmark programmes and achievement are visible for all to see.He said "We commend you for the tremendous work you are doing despite the lean resources."As a seasoned Nigerian, we can see the work you are doing. With the number of architects we have in your state, Osun should see itself as the home of architecture in Nigeria."He said the theme of the conference was designed to herald the United Nations Environment Day, which comes up every June 5th of the year and the World Habitat Day, celebrated First Monday of October every years.He called on governments and all stakeholders in the preservation of planet earth to take affirmative action to save the world, adding that there should be zero tolerance for killing of animals and take time to safeguard some of them, who are now endangered species.He assured the governor that the impact of architects would be noted in every local government of the state very soon. The Hausa/Fulani community in Cross River has appealed to Gov. Ben Ayade to allocate a portion of land to herdsmen in the state in order t... The Hausa/Fulani community in Cross River has appealed to Gov. Ben Ayade to allocate a portion of land to herdsmen in the state in order to enable them graze their cattle. Mr Sani Baba-Gombe, Leader of the association in the state, made the appeal on Wednesday in an interview in Calabar.According to Baba-Gombe, the land if allocated will put an end to the crisis between herdsmen and farmers in the state. He said that the land would help the herdsmen to stop encroaching into peoples farmlands in search of food for their animals. He said that one of the main challenges facing herdsmen in the state was a grazing land, hence the need for the state government to come to their aid.We use to instruct our people to always ask for permission before entering into any land to graze. If I were to be a farmer, I wont be pleased if any cattle come along to destroy my crops.If a grazing land is provided, the animals would not stray into farms and this would further prevent any future crisis between herdsmen and farmers in the state.All we are appealing for is a grazing land that is different from the farmlands; this would help us to stop encroaching into peoples farmlands in search of food for our cattle.We have also sensitised our people to always have a good understanding with their host communities, he said.He further said that herdsmen in the state were tired of moving their cattle from one place to the other in search of food for them, hence the appeal for a reserved land for them. The Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, on Wednesday painted a gloomy picture of his states economy, saying it had become im... The Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, on Wednesday painted a gloomy picture of his states economy, saying it had become impossible for him to pay salaries.Bello spoke with State House correspondents shortly after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.We have laid the cards on the table; we are not hiding anything. We are very transparent as much as we can but the truth of the matter is that I cannot give what we dont have. I wish I had; personally if I had, I would have paid (salaries) from my pocket but I cant, the governor told reporters.He said his government had been borrowing from banks since January to augment whatever came to the state in form of federal allocation.He said as of May ending, his government was in debt to the tune of N3bn.According to Bello, if the trend continues till December, his states debt profile will have risen to N10bn.He said his government decided to sit with labour leaders and discuss the issue because it could not offer what it did not have.While saying it was not healthy to continue borrowing to pay salaries, the governor said there were other pressing issues that needed his governments attention apart from salaries.I think we should go back to the table. Of course, we cant give what we dont have.We are facing difficult times now, so let us sit down and see what we can do.I really think it is unhealthy to keep on borrowing just to pay salaries. Apart from that, we are not just there to pay salaries, there are a lot of issues.I got a call this morning from one Girls Secondary School that their roof is off in six out of seven dormitories. Where will they sleep? Now if I take the whole revenue and pay salaries, how am I going to fix schools, hospitals? the governor wondered.He said the state has a population of over four million, while he put the civil service strength at about 40,000.Bello explained that with N1.5bn from federation account, the state still had to borrow to pay 40,000 people against over three million people that it needed to cater for.While saying that nobody should be blamed for the sharp drop in oil price, the governor said everybody should be ready to make sacrifices.He said, I am willing to make sacrifices, all my appointees are willing to make sacrifices.We have shown example by cutting down our expenditure, we have cut down the expenses of the Government House from N150m a week to between N20m and N25 million a week.So we have cut down Government House expenditure by over 70 per cent and I mean these are all sacrifices.The governor disclosed that his government is currently probing the administration of his predecessor, Babangida Aliyu.He said although some pension funds that were misappropriated in the past had been recovered, investigation was still ongoing.Although he said he did not want to interfere with the investigation, Bello said the team had met with the former governor. The Committee of Unions of Tertiary Institutions (CUTI) comprising of COLAASU, SSUCOEN and NASU Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic ... The Committee of Unions of Tertiary Institutions (CUTI) comprising of COLAASU, SSUCOEN and NASU Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS) chapter has condemned the neglect by the state government of workers of its institutions.A statement from the group signed by its chairman, Comrade Mohammed Umar Faruq, and its secretary, Comrade Usman K Ali, said Sequel to the suspension of the four month strike action by CUTI on 18th February, 2016 following the intervention by stakeholders and the acceptance of responsibility by the state government to pay salary arrears according to the management, the staff are still being owed from August, 2015 till date(10 months salaries).We have over time endured non-implementation of annual increments, non-monetisation of 2013 promotion, non-implementation of 2014 and 2015 promotions and non-implementation of 2013 migration of concerned staff.Our members can no longer withstand the predicament caused by the above situations. In view of the above at the congress held last week Wednesday, it was resolved that the management must effect all the above prayers on or before Friday, particularly payment of 10 months outstanding salaries or be left with no option from the staff than to immediately resume the suspended strike action.Also, the workers of Kwara State College of Education, Oro have also commenced an indefinite strike action over unpaid eight months salary arrears.A statement signed by Comrade AbdulKareem Amuda-Kannike on behalf of the three unions of the striking workers in Oro, said the strike began last week Tuesday. A suspected member of a newly established militant group in Nigeria has warned the life of President Muhammadu Buhari is in danger if he v... A suspected member of a newly established militant group in Nigeria has warned the life of President Muhammadu Buhari is in danger if he visits the oil-rich Niger Delta region. In a recording sent to IBTimes UK, a man is heard saying during a phone conversation with one of the hosts of UK-based Radio Biafra, that Buhari "should sign his death warrant" before his visit.Buhari is due to visit some states in south-eastern Nigeria to discuss with local leaders ways to tackle renewed violence in the area.The president's planned visit which is expected to begin on Thursday (2 June 2016) comes as attacks on oil pipelines blamed on the new group Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) partially halted oil production, and forced Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell to close at least two plants."Buhari is trying to visit Ogoniland, but he should sign his death warrant before coming to Port Harcourt or try to visit any state of the Niger Delta community, Biafra land," the suspected NDA member said during the phone call."We are starting a dance he cannot finish. We shall dance like vultures. He [Buhari] has dared to wake a sleeping lion, but I promise him this time around if he tries to step his foot in any community of the Niger Delta, in Biafraland, he will not go back alive. Any Niger Deltan who will try to walk with Buhari shall also go to his grave that day. This is our assurance."The man also condemned the fact that Nigerian security forces opened fire on pro-Biafran demonstrators during commemorations to pay homage to the victims of the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, also known as Biafran War, on Monday (30 May 2016). Police confirmed the deaths of 10 protesters and two police officers during clashes in Anambra state, claiming demonstrators were armed. Pro-Biafrans denied the allegations."The Nigerian government shot and killed our brothers. They showed us are the monsters," the man said. He then urged all pro-Biafrans to pray for their leader Nnamdi Kanu director of radio Biafra and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra [IPOB] who is standing trial on six counts of treasonable felony charges.Buhari 'can go wherever he wants'Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, Nigeria's director of defence information, told IBTimes UK the government does not perceive NDA as a threat. "Niger Delta is part of Nigeria and will remain part of Nigeria for life. Buhari is the president, he is number one, he can go anywhere he wants," he said."[The] NDA are just criminals and we are treating them as criminals. We are not being intimidated, we remain focussed to ensure security in the country and that Nigeria remains one. Nobody is above the interest of the country," he continued."No nation can tolerate an individual group causing havoc and advocating for separation. There are measures in our constitution to ensure this will not happen. We cannot and will not tolerate what these people are doing. In the long run, they will surely pay for they have done."Pro-Biafrans are demanding the independence of Biafran territories forcibly annexed to Nigeria during British colonisation, which ended in 1960.Intelligence consultant David Otto believes NDA also has secessionist views, and this can explain their support for the Biafra cause. "The Avengers could be that official military wing that IPOB and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) never had," he said."The direct threat to the life of the President may not be substantiated, but it is bold move for the Avengers. On the other hand, NDA could be teasing the government security services to overreact with more brute force a move that will galvanise more hatred and distrust. These are signs of future uncertainty in the region but how the government reacts will be key to peace or further chaos," Otto, who is the CEO of UK-based global security provider TGS Intelligence Consultants, continued."Some prominent ex militants of the Niger Delta region promised hell if their brother, then President Goodluck Jonathan, did not win the 2015 election. We are now seeing those threats manifesting in various shapes and sizes in the South East and South South."Source: International Business Times IBT The State Departments inspector general released a report this week concluding that Hillary Clinton is a breathtakingly brazen and consistent liar. No, thats not a direct quote. Bureaucrats dont talk that way under the best of circumstances and this IG, Steve Linick, is an Obama appointee whose report is about the apparent Democratic nominee for president. So its all the more shocking, then, that the report confirms nearly everything Clintons critics have been saying. By setting up a secret email server in her home in Chappaqua, N.Y., without proper authorization from any legal or security official, Clinton displayed a cavalier disregard for national security and an outrageous desire to hide her doings from Freedom of Information Act requests, government archivists, Congress, the press and, ultimately, the American people. Whats infuriating about all of this is that it is not, in fact, news. Yes, the fresh details are justifiably headline-grabbing. But the underlying conclusion is about as shocking as a Department of Interior report confirming that bears are currently using our national parklands as toilets. Over a year ago, Clinton held a press conference at the United Nations intended to put the whole controversy to rest. Nearly every significant statement she made was a lie. And weve known it for a year. For instance, she said, I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material. We know thats untrue. Of the emails she handed over (remember, she unilaterally deleted some 32,000 on her own), 2,079 of them contained classified material, some given a classification even more sensitive than top secret, some fairly mundane. Her campaign clings to the fact that they were not marked classified. Nonsense. Classified material is born classified, and it was Clintons job to understand that. Moreover, how could the classified material she sent be marked classified if the whole point of her shadow server was to avoid oversight by the people who do the classifying? Its like selling bootleg gin and then claiming that no one from the government marked it bootleg. Another major lie: that she did this out of convenience because she didnt want to carry two devices. The whole thing sort of just happened on auto-pilot while she was concentrating on much more important things, Clinton insisted. More lies. Not only did she carry several devices, but the IG report makes it clear that this stealth rig took a lot of planning and effort. She told staffers, I dont want any risk of the personal being accessible. When two employees in the IT department raised concerns that Clintons stealth server would not properly preserve records, a supervisor replied that the matter had been reviewed and approved by lawyers and that the staffers were never to speak of the secretarys personal email system again. Thats a strange instruction for something lawyers approved, isnt it? The IG couldnt find any evidence of this legal review of Clintons system. These mystery lawyers are surely unreachable because they are aiding O.J. Simpson in the search for the real killers. If such a review existed, youd think the Clinton campaign would provide it to investigators (and the press). Then again, if Clinton did nothing wrong, she also would have talked to the inspector general, like every other relevant secretary of state did. And she would have happily told her team to cooperate with the IG to clear the air. They all refused. I wonder why. Just kidding. Of course I dont wonder why. From the earliest days of this scandal and it is a scandal Clinton has lied. Unlike Donald Trumps lies, which he usually vomits up spontaneously like a vesuvian geyser, Clintons were carefully prepared, typed up and repeated for all the world to hear over and over again. I would think this is an important distinction. Neither of the candidates is worthy of the office in my eyes, but voters might discount many of Trumps deceits as symptoms of his glandular personality. Much like Vice President Joe Biden, who always gets a pass for launching errant fake-fact missiles from the offline silo that is his mouth, Trump is often seen as entertainingly spontaneous. Meanwhile, Clinton who lives many time zones away from the word entertaining is marketing herself as the mature and upstanding grown-up. She does nothing spontaneously. And that means all of her lies are premeditated. Jonah Goldberg is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor of National Review. You can email him at goldbergcolumn@gmail.com. Months of militant attacks on pipelines and oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta region have crippled production in Nigeria, Africas l... Months of militant attacks on pipelines and oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta region have crippled production in Nigeria, Africas largest producer of crude.Militant group Niger Delta Avengers NDA has vowed to reduce Nigerias economy to zero.Exports, according to Voice of America (VOA) analysts, have fallen from about 2.2 million barrels per day to as low as 990,000 barrels per day, making Angola Africas largest producer of oil, at least for now.The drop in production and the low price of oil globally are major reasons why Nigeria is expected to enter a recession in coming months.Gail Anderson, research director at energy research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie, says the militants have been careful in their sabotage.The attacks themselves have been well-targeted and theyve been designed to cause maximum damage, and I think theyve been quite successful in that respect, Anderson said.The NDA came out with a blog that took credit for a number of attacks on pipelines in the Niger Delta. It also listed demands, including apologies from politicians, the release of an imprisoned separatist leader and a redistribution of ownership of oil blocks. The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has appealed to the 2016 Stream 2 Batch A prospective Corps Members to be patient following delay ... The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has appealed to the 2016 Stream 2 Batch A prospective Corps Members to be patient following delay in their mobilization.The NYSC Director of Information in Oyo State, Mr Stephen Bankole made the appeal in an interview in Ibadan.The appeal followed protest by some of the affected graduates on May 25 in Ibadan over the delay in mobilising them to camp. Bankole said the NYSC shared in their pains and was working assiduously to call them to camp soon.NYSC depends solely on budgetary allocation from the Federal Government and all hands are on deck waiting for fund to be released for the scheme.The Director-General has the well-being of the members as the number one agenda in his heart and he will do everything possible to make them comfortable.So please, the incoming members should be at peace, they will surely be mobilised as the Director-General has promised, Bankole said. Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Caedinal Okogie, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to return to his... Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Caedinal Okogie, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to return to his inaugural address to the nation, incorporate his ruling partys blueprint and redirect the ship of state or risk a revolution.Addressing newsmen in his Archbishops Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, as part of preparations for his 80th birthday and his 50th priestly ordination anniversary, the cardinal averred that one year after the inauguration of the Buhari administration, the poor masses were left to roam about without proper guidance, adding that majority wallop in penury in the midst of plenty.The swearing in of the APC government last year was perceived as a major milestone in the peoples quest for positive change and improvement in their quality of life. But a year later, thousands of workers are being laid off every day, the value of the Naira is falling drastically, while many states are owing their workers many months of unpaid salaries, Okogie further agued.Okogie, who took a cursory look at the state of the nation after one year of Buharis administration, warned that the Federal Government, which gave so much promise last year, must tread softly with the Biafra agitators and Niger Delta Avengers, noting that there was so much poverty among the youth.There is a popular saying that to jaw jaw is better than to war war, I am aware that the Niger Delta Avengers have reeled out a number of conditions to be met before seizing further attacks on oil installations.I am equally aware that President Buhari has vowed to deal decisively with the militants, he maintained, adding that just a few day ago, the Nigerian military stormed Gbaramatu Kingdom in search of ex-militant, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo.While condemning the disruption of our oil facilities under any guise, I equally want to, stress that the use of military force is not a solution, noting that option of military would only aggravatthe situation. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, on Wednesday, reaffirmed that the military would intensify its offensive in the... The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, on Wednesday, reaffirmed that the military would intensify its offensive in the Sambisa Forest until the area was completely rid of terrorists.Speaking at the inauguration of some projects at Navy Town, Ojo, Lagos, he said that the Operation Crack Down recently launched into Sambisa was yielding positive results.The operation is progressing and part of the benefits was the rescue of the two Chibok girls.The operation is ongoing and we will continue until we rid that place of all terrorists, he said.Olonisakin said that Boko Haram had been decimated, adding that it had become increasingly difficult for the insurgents to carry out their nefarious acts.We will continue to step up our game with the multinational task force, he said.He commended the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Ibok Ibas, on the projects which were initiated to improve the welfare of personnel.The projects inaugurated by the CDS were the refurbished Intensive Care Unit at Navy Reference Hospital, Ojo, as well as residential and administrative buildings. The Code of Conduct Tribunal has adjourned the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, indefinitely, after a star witness for the prosec... The Code of Conduct Tribunal has adjourned the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, indefinitely, after a star witness for the prosecution failed to show up at the court.The tribunal announced the decision on Wednesday. Mr. Sarakis trial was on May 25 adjourned till Wednesday, for the cross-examination of the witness, Michael Wetkas, to continue.The tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, said the adjournment was to give the court time to hear other cases. The prosecution and defence teams also said the break would allow them prepare their cases better.A court official, who asked not to be named, told PREMIUM TIMES Mr. Wetkas was attending another trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The development is coming a day after an expected ruling on Mr. Sarakis case at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, stalled after the court failed to form a quorum. The tribunals spokesman, Ibrahim Alhassan, later told PREMIUM TIMES that the decision was taken at the instance of the prosecution counsel.He said his prime witness one is to appear before another court to testify against another high-profile personality today in Abuja, Mr. Alhassan said.Tribunal chairman was initially resistant to the request but we later asked them to make a formal request in writing and suggest a date which the tribunal would look into and take decision at its convenience. As I am writing you, I dont have the knowledge of whether the letter has come to CCT or not. The Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), the defunct militia group led by the late John Togo, has urged the embattled former militant le... The Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), the defunct militia group led by the late John Togo, has urged the embattled former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), to surrender himself to the Federal Government.The group also Urged the rampaging Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to call off their campaigns and accept dialogue as nobody can successfully fight government.In a statement circulated in Warri by the NDLF spokesman, Captain Mark Anthony, yesterday, the group described destruction of oil and gas facilities as criminal, noting that those involved in the current campaign were fighting a selfish course, aimed at protecting a failed business empire.The group urged the armed forces to be responsible in their conduct in the ongoing operations in the communities, recalling the level of destruction and killing which followed its campaigns in Ayakoromor in time past.We are appealing to members of the Niger Delta Avengers to surrender and accept the part of dialogue. No group or individual can fight federal Government. We also appeal to Tompolo to surrender himself to the authorities on the part of peace to reign in Gbaramatu communities and parts of Niger Delta.We NDLF have staged FG and untill today, we are still nursing our wounds. We also appeal to FG to employ internationally accepted military practices in Niger Delta. We could recalled during our experience, you guys (soldiers) bombed and burned Ayakoromor and killed several innocent persons.Similar genocide is about to take place now, if caution is thrown into the wind on both parties. We repeat resolve once again, pipeline bombers are criminals, fighting a selfish course over failed business empire with the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari.We will always support Biuharis administration to succeed just as we supported former President Goodluck Jonathan, the statement said. WILLINGBORO -- Authorities are searching for a 17-year-old girl reported missing from the township Wednesday. New Jersey State Police said Nia Gronau was last seen at 8 a.m. near cranberry bogs in Pemberton Township. Anyone with information about Gronau's whereabouts is asked to contact New Jersey State Police's Missing Persons Unit at609-882-2000 ext. 2895. Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find NJ.com on Facebook. DELRAN TOWNSHIP -- A high school teacher is accused of showing photos of nude women to his students, according to the Burlington County Times. The newspaper reports 62-year-old James Cottingham, who teaches photography at the township high school, was arrested Thursday and charged with a third-degree crime, promoting obscene material. The charge stems from an incident on April 8, when Cottingham allegedly used an interactive whiteboard to show naked pictures of women to the students. Authorities didn't disclose how many photos were shown but did say they were of adult women. The district reported the incident to authorities, and Cottingham is suspended with pay as the investigation continues. He's currently free on bail. Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Real Estate: Saint Michael's Medical Center St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark is settling charges it billed the federal government for unnecessary procedures. (Alex Remnick |The Star-Ledger) NEWARK -- St. Michael's Medical Center is settling federal whistleblower charges that some of its physicians performed medically unnecessary cardiac and kidney procedures and then billed federal health care programs for the costs. The Newark-based hospital will pay $450,000 to settle the charges, which were brought to federal prosecutors' attention by a hospital insider four years ago. According to the settlement order, St. Michael's and four physicians between January of 2009 and January of 2015 "knowingly" filed false claims for payment of renal and carotid catheterizations and cardiac procedures, including angiograms and implanting stents that were medically unnecessary. The physicians were not identified in the settlement. Under the terms of the settlement, St. Michael's admits no liability for the false claims. In a statement, St. Michael's attorney Bruce Levy said the center was happy to resolve the issue without admission of liability. St. Michael's, or SMMC, "never knowingly submitted false claims and always acted in the best interests of its patients.," he said. "SMMC has been fully cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office during the course of its investigation. SMMC elected to settle this matter to avoid the additional legal and defense costs in what was already a four-year investigation." U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said agents from the FBI and the Dept. of Health and Human Service's Office of Inspector General led the investigation leading to the settlement. According to the settlement, St. Michael's will pay $22,500 to the state of New Jersey for its share of Medicaid billings. The rest, $427,500, will be paid to the federal government for Medicare and the federal share of Medicaid. Since whistleblowers by law get to share in the proceeds of the settlement, the unnamed individual who alerted prosecutors to the issue will receive $112,500 from the state and federal governments. The hospital, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, was sold to Prime Healthcare Services, which owns or operates 43 acute care hospitals in 14 states. Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook. NEWARK -- Dozens of Newark police officers and firefighters were sworn in Wednesday at a ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the city's North Ward. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called on the 40 new police officers and 34 newly-minted firefighters to keep focused on their missions and praised the responders as they prepared for duty. "Today, right now, at this moment, at this hour you are exactly what the city needs," Baraka said in addressing the graduates. "You are part of the finest public safety department in the entire state of New Jersey. We expect the best from you, we know you will give us the best and the people of Newark will be better for it." Baraka moved the police and fire departments into divisions under the city's new Department of Public Safety. He picked Anthony Ambrose, former chief of investigations with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and a local law enforcement veteran, as Newark public safety director late last year. Reforms under the new department are designed to focus on collaborating with the community to reduce crime, according to city officials. The new police officers would be assigned to walking patrols across the city, Ambrose said in a speech Wednesday. He told the graduates to remain focused on the department mission, work hard and be problem solvers. "Treat people like you would want to be treated," the director said. The new police officers and firefighters serve different functions, but were united by their courage when facing danger, Ambrose added. Thirty-one men and nine women completed the 26-week training program at the Passaic County Police Academy, which included lessons on criminal law, cultural diversity, firearms skills, physical training and community relations. The fire division graduates completed 12 weeks of training at the city's Orange Street academy. Officials said the recruits faced intense physical training, classroom work and tests, along with simulated rescues. The ceremony included scores of excited family members, who stood to snap cell phone pictures as their loved ones took the oath of office. New firefighters and officers posed for photos outside the basilica, where a large American flag hung from firetrucks and police horses were stationed. Newark's last class of police recruits graduated in March. Baraka's 2016 budget calls for 150 new officers to join the approximately 950-member force in what officials say is an effort to eventually offset the loss of 400 officers since 2010. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. The historic Arcadia Valley Academy was the site of Saturday's first AV Chalk Festival, and with the help of some beautiful weather, the event brought out both the creative, the captivated and the curious. Children and adults alike were given the chance to let their inner artist shine as they knelt down on a cordoned off section of parking lot with various colors of chalk in hand. The subject of the pictures ranged from grand structures to a wide range of animals, along with a variety of people and places. Along with youngsters like 7-year-old Knox Beard who worked diligently on his drawing of a tiger, there were several more experienced chalk artists who amazed festival visitors with their talent. Taylor Leighton, a native of Maine and an art student at Webster University in St. Louis, was busy in one section of the parking lot starting the process of filling in the intricate details of a chalk drawing she was making of the academy's chapel. She wore a black shirt with white lettering that read "Chalk Riot," the name of the artistic group she's a member of. "I've only been doing this for about four months now," Leighton said. "I believe there are four or five other people in our group. One of them actually lives in San Francisco. We've branched out over there. It's really exciting." She explained that the group's co-founders were interested in "public art" that can be enjoyed by people rather in the regular course of their day rather than simply hidden away somewhere in a museum. "They wanted to offer beautiful works of art to the community," Leighton said. "It started out in St. Louis and it's branching out from there." Along with chalk art, she said the group recently finished a whiteboard mural. "Doing this is inspirational, but it's also fun," Leighton said. "I really enjoy it." Working on another portion of pavement was Cape Girardeau freelance artist Craig Thomas who is internationally known for his murals, plein art and street painting. The straw hatted artist was working diligently on a chalk drawing of what appeared to be a 1930s-era woman wearing a red beret. "I've been doing this 28 years," he said. "I first did it down at Riverfest in Cape. They had a working artist thing and every year I'd do straight airbrushing, caricatures or plein air. One year I decided I was going to try this and see what happened. It was very popular." Thomas said he gets a lot of attention and praise for his chalk art. "I even get jobs out of it sometimes," he added. "More people see this than most of the other things I do, other than murals, of course. Thomas said he creates about a dozen chalk art pieces a year including both the United States, as well as in other countries. "I've been to Italy, France and the Caribbean," he said. "I've also been to Canada and any time I get a chance to go to Florida in the winter, I go there. I was there in the winter for a few weeks. I did a couple of festivals plein air in between them. I go all over." Asked about the response he receives from his chalk art in Europe, Thomas said, "Chalk art started during the Renaissance in the 1600s, so they're more familiar with it. It's been getting more familiar in the United States over the past 10 years, but I used to have to rope them off, put up flags all because people just weren't conscious of it. Over in Europe it's just so obvious they're used to it." Cosmic Reunion was a hit in spite of the rain with handmade crafts, art, activities, demonstrations, food, and plenty of music this Memorial Day Weekend. The four-day music and arts festival featured 21 bands at Astral Valley in French Village. Vendors and festival goers set up their camps along the winding creeks that run through the 232 acre-property set in a green valley among the lush forests. Those who arrived on Thursday talked about the deluge that they endured until it let up for most of Saturday and Sunday. There is a swiftly running stream with a low-water bridge near the entrance. Organizers were cautioning drivers not to idle on the bridge because of the higher water level. Weve already lost one car down the creek were the words of one woman at the gate Saturday. The Cox family owns the property currently but previous owners Ann and Donny Goldman still hold it near and dear to their hearts. They were on-hand to view the festivities and expressed an appreciation of the events progress over the years, including this one. The Goldmans began a similar type of festival during an eight-year time frame with their last one about three and a half years ago, according to Ann Goldman. We tried to have our festival around harvest moon time, Ann said. The new owners have had it (the property) and took it (festival) to another level. The Goldmans are not just taking it all in, they are still contributing by volunteering at the festival. Donny is part of the huge musical venue as a musician in the band Donny and the Wondering Trails, which he described as being Jam Grass. Its kinda folk, blues, jazzy, and rock all rolled into one, Donny described. The entire area was Koester Springs Village from about 1860 to 1940, Donny said. A group of German immigrants settled there and helped to establish the settlement when they brought their grist mill technology with them. Based on this grain grinding the land become more populated. There were church retreats held there. Also, the village has a history of music dating back to those early days, especially harvest times. We felt like stewards of the land, Ann said. Like the Goldmans, Mickey Merriman of St. Louis and Luke Sanford of southern Missouri, provided an example of stewardship by offering a library on the event site under a canopy of trees along the banks of Plattin Creek. Merriman has hosted temporary libraries at other outdoor festivals, however, this is a first for the Cosmic Reunion. The rules are not to take a book from the library unless one agrees not to let it touch a bookshelf again after reading it. In other words read it and give it to someone else right away to keep it from collecting dust on a book shelf. I like to write songs and myself and others might like a private and quiet place to sit at a place like this, Sanford said. I hope the library keeps going. Sanford was visiting the festival and Merriman took him up on his offer to assist with the library. The two met and talked for hours before it dawned on Sanford that he just happened to have library donations in his car. This event was wealthy in the way of stewardship because of the numerous artisans, musicians, and other specialists who worked hard to share their craftsmanship and talent with the attendees. DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a younger widow. I married my husband when I was in my 20s and he was in his 50s. After 34 years of love, he passed away. This was a few years ago. Originally, I was not looking for much and was not sure I could ever be happy again without my husband. Now, I find myself lonely. I have my friends, but they are all in happy marriages or in long-term relationships following divorces. Our children are all out of the house, but I just don't see many good things on my horizon. To top it off, the family dog is now about to pass, and I will be the only one left in a four-bedroom home. I feel apprehensive about trying to find someone new in my life. I don't even think I would want to date again. I would just like to meet some new people and have activity in my life. My friends act as though I am unavailable for love and fun, so they don't invite me to events. I am tired of feeling so alone, but I don't know where to turn. How can I find a group of people like me in this technological age? -- The In-Between, Pikesville, Maryland DEAR THE IN-BETWEEN: You have a few choices to consider. Start with selling your house and moving into an apartment building. You could downsize and buy a condo or co-op and be in closer proximity to other people in a more manageable home. Take a class that puts you in the company of other like-minded people. You can also consider checking out dating websites for mature people. Even if you don't find a soul mate, you could have fun meeting new people. What you don't want to do is feel stuck in awkward connections with old friends who aren't sure how to include you. Expand your horizons! DEAR HARRIETTE: I got my tonsils taken out about a week ago. I am 24 and live alone, but I went back home so my parents could take care of me post-op. I am not supposed to smoke or drink for two weeks following the operation. Well, I messed up and smoked. I needed to go to the doctor because of the complications, and I asked the doctor to omit the reason for the complications from my parents. Needless to say, they're incredibly curious and haven't let it go. They're afraid I could have more complications. I am not afraid of my parents since I am an independent adult with a job, but I just want to shield them from my not-so-family-friendly hobbies. Should I wait for this to fizz out, or come clean? -- Smokey the Bear, Denver DEAR SMOKEY THE BEAR: You may be independent, but you are not making wise decisions for yourself. I'm sure you already know, but smoking is one of the worst things you can do to your body. That you couldn't resist when you were healing should tell you that it is a habit that you need to examine seriously. Telling your parents is not necessary. It will make them worry -- for good reason. If you are unwilling to try to stop smoking, shielding them may be for the better. But I would suggest that you consider this health scare a wakeup call for you. Get help to stop smoking. Ask your doctor for help. Lifestylist and author Harriette Cole is president and creative director of Harriette Cole Media. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106 Marie Curie Biographical Marie Curie, nee Maria Sklodowska, was born in Warsaw on November 7, 1867, the daughter of a secondary-school teacher. She received a general education in local schools and some scientific training from her father. She became involved in a students revolutionary organization and found it prudent to leave Warsaw, then in the part of Poland dominated by Russia, for Cracow, which at that time was under Austrian rule. In 1891, she went to Paris to continue her studies at the Sorbonne where she obtained Licenciateships in Physics and the Mathematical Sciences. She met Pierre Curie, Professor in the School of Physics, in 1894 and in the following year they were married. She succeeded her husband as Head of the Physics Laboratory at the Sorbonne, gained her Doctor of Science degree in 1903, and following the tragic death of Pierre Curie in 1906, she took his place as Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences, the first time a woman had held this position. She was also appointed Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris, founded in 1914. Her early researches, together with her husband, were often performed under difficult conditions, laboratory arrangements were poor and both had to undertake much teaching to earn a livelihood. The discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1896 inspired the Curies in their brilliant researches and analyses which led to the isolation of polonium, named after the country of Maries birth, and radium. Mme. Curie developed methods for the separation of radium from radioactive residues in sufficient quantities to allow for its characterization and the careful study of its properties, therapeutic properties in particular. Mme. Curie throughout her life actively promoted the use of radium to alleviate suffering and during World War I, assisted by her daughter, Irene, she personally devoted herself to this remedial work. She retained her enthusiasm for science throughout her life and did much to establish a radioactivity laboratory in her native city in 1929 President Hoover of the United States presented her with a gift of $50,000 donated by American friends of science, to purchase radium for use in the laboratory in Warsaw. Mme. Curie, quiet, dignified and unassuming, was held in high esteem and admiration by scientists throughout the world. She was a member of the Conseil du Physique Solvay from 1911 until her death and since 1922 she had been a member of the Committee of Intellectual Co-operation of the League of Nations. Her work is recorded in numerous papers in scientific journals and she is the author of Recherches sur les Substances Radioactives (Investigations on radioactive substances) (1904), LIsotopie et les Elements Isotopes (Isotopy and isotopic elements) and the classic Traite de radioactivite (Treatise on radioactivity) (1910). The importance of Mme. Curies work is reflected in the numerous awards bestowed on her. She received many honorary science, medicine and law degrees and honorary memberships of learned societies throughout the world. Together with her husband, she was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for their study into the spontaneous radiation discovered by Becquerel, who was awarded the other half of the Prize. In 1911 she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity. She also received, jointly with her husband, the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 1903 and, in 1921, President Harding of the United States, on behalf of the women of America, presented her with one gram of radium in recognition of her service to science. The Curies elder daughter, Irene, married Frederic Joliot in 1926 and they were joint recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935. The younger daughter, Eve, married the American diplomat H.R. Labouisse. They have both taken lively interest in social problems, and as Director of the United Nations Childrens Fund he received on its behalf the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in 1965. She is the author of a famous biography of her mother, Madame Curie (Gallimard, Paris, 1938), translated into several languages. Mme. Curie died in Savoy, France, after a short illness, on July 4, 1934. From Nobel Lectures, Chemistry 1901-1921, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1966 This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above. Copyright The Nobel Foundation 1911 To cite this section MLA style: Marie Curie Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Tue. 25 Oct 2022. FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating. WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all. Just less than a year after producers of the unscripted A&E true-crime series "The First 48" found themselves accused of "complicating" a New Orleans triple murder case, the city has ended its contract with show and will soon follow suit with its sister series "Nightwatch," according to an NOPD spokesman. - and - The city's deal with "The First 48" -- which for 15 seasons has embedded with police departments conducting real-life homicide investigations in various major cities including Dallas, Cleveland, Memphis, Tulsa and Atlanta -- ended in April. NOPD spokesman Tyler Gamble said the city decided not to renew the contract "to ensure that all of our available time and resources are focused on fighting crime." In the show's most recent 15th season, no fewer than seven episodes featured New Orleans investigations. That followed some 10 locally shot episodes in the previous season. The city's contract with "Nightwatch," which also airs on A&E and which for two seasons has seen camera crews embedded with New Orleans first-responders, ends this fall and will not be renewed, Gamble said. Earlier this year, A&E announced it was renewing "Nightwatch" for a third season. It is unclear if those plans have since been scratched or if the show plans a move to another city. A&E representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the ending of the New Orleans contracts. Gamble said the city has no other television production agreements in place involving the Police Department. Slidell-area firefighters to be featured on A&E TV show A new A&E television show called "First Responders" will feature members of the Slidell-area fire department on Thursday night (Aug. 2). NOPD Capt. Michael Glasser, the president of the Police Association of New Orleans, said he was sorry to see the contracts end. The medium allowed the public to put names and faces to the "otherwise anonymous" investigators and first responders as they "risk(ed) their lives to protect perfect strangers," he said. "At a time when community relations are so fragile, locally and nationally, it was of enormous benefit to everyone to have an avenue open for the public to see what we do and how we do it," Glasser said. In June 2015, "The First 48" made local headlines when attorneys for a New Orleans murder suspect accused the show's producers of withholding footage they said could have benefited their client. +7 If deal with crew behind 'Cold Justice' goes through, New Orleans police could once again be reality TV stars New Orleans police could again be stars of the small screen and potentially get a little help doing their jobs if talks with a Los Angeles While New Orleans Criminal District Court Judge Laurie White eventually shot down what lawyers representing the show called "a total diversion," she acknowledged that the city's contract with the show complicated the prosecution's case. That was especially true since it was a capital murder case, which opened it up to added scrutiny. "I wish that the city would never contract with 'The First 48,' and I hope in the future they would think through that," she said at the time. "I now have a death penalty case in which three people were alleged to have been murdered. It causes the court great concern to have to deal with the additional problems." In December, the defendant in that case, Shawn Peterson -- who was accused of killing his son, estranged girlfriend and her daughter in a 2013 Gentilly triple homicide -- was sentenced to 80 years in prison as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe The Memorial Opera House in downtown Valparaiso was built in 1893 as a tribute to the Porter County troops who served in the Civil War. But one thing has been missing all these years until Monday, anyway. We've been told that Porter County was the first in Indiana to muster a company of men to serve in the Civil War. But we don't have a list of Porter County men who died in service to their country during that war. We still don't have a complete list at least, I don't think so but we're close. The David D. Porter Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans presented a list of 146 names of Civil War dead, all of them from Porter County, to the Memorial Opera House of Monday. An adjutant general report said 149 from Porter County died in service during the war, noting the number including those who died of disease or injuries as well as combat wounds. That report didn't list names, however, so the names of the three missing men remain a mystery. Monday's Memorial Day concert highlighted the Civil War heroes from the county, and for good reason. The building itself is a memorial to those Civil War troops, built by the Grand Army of the Republic in 1893. Valparaiso Community University Concert Band Director Jeff Doebler told the history of the opera house a few years ago. This is the 10th year the band has held a Memorial Day concert there. It serves as a "food raiser" for the Christian Food Pantry in downtown Valparaiso, with guests donating canned goods to the food pantry as a freewill offering for admission. This year, Doebler was inspired by a feature in The Times a few years ago, on the 70th anniversary of D-Day, to have three men read excerpts from columnist Ernie Pyle's stirring reports from the scene. Pyle, who died of a Japanese sniper's bullet on Iwo Jima, was popular with the troops during World War II because he wrote so well about what the soldiers, sailors and Marines were going through. The concert also included a rendition of "Taps," as so many Memorial Day concerts do, to honor those who died in service to their country. Bobs Discount Furniture has opened its first-ever Indiana store in Merrillville and another in Calumet City. The Connecticut-based furniture retailer opened a new 43,000-square-foot store along furniture row on U.S. 30 in Merrillville and a smaller 25,000-square-foot store in the former Home Depot in Calumet City as part of an expansion into the Chicago market. That furniture row area in Merrillville also recently saw the opening of an Ashley HomeStore and an Art Van Furniture. Bobs Discount Furniture was acquired two years ago by Bain Capital, a hedge fund co-founded by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and is now aggressively expanding its national footprint. Bobs Discount Furniture is now the 14th largest furniture chain in the country, with more than 70 locations. The chain carries a wide array of furniture for both homes and offices, and is known for cafes that offer free gourmet coffee, ice cream, cookies and candy. The Merrillville location at 1488 East 79th Avenue employs around 50 people, and the Calumet City store at 1370 Torrence Avenue around 40. For more information, call the Merrillville Bobs at 219-796-0370 or the Cal City store at 708-933-8950. The G7 pledged to take action on global steel overcapacity at its summit in Japan last week, but the United Steelworkers union questioned whether it was enough. The Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States said international cooperation would be needed to address a global import crisis that's led to thousands of steelworker layoffs in the United States. The group declared there was a need to move quickly to "eliminate subsidies and support." "The number of U.S. jobs lost in the steel industry since January of 2015 has climbed to nearly 15,000 primarily due to the high levels of unfairly traded imports fueled by the massive buildup in steel capacity in other countries," American Iron and Steel Institute President and CEO Thomas Gibson said. The world is estimated to have 700 million tons of steelmaking overcapacity, including 455 tons in China alone. The G-7 statement gets us closer to action, but still falls far short of whats really needed," USW International President Leo Gerard said. "China is the single largest contributor to the glut of steel swamping world markets. Diplomats are still doing what they do best talking. But American workers need more than talk and empty promises. They desperately need action." After mill idlings across the country, Gerard said it was time to stop talking and force China to stop subsidizing its steelmakers, so they can export steel for 50 percent less than what it costs here. What workers need are clear, comprehensive and enforceable commitments by China that they will reverse course, dismantle excess production and abide by market principles," Gerard said. "USW-represented workers making industrial goods ranging from basic steel to stainless pipe and tube need immediate relief. China cant be allowed to again sit at a negotiating table to make commitments they have no intention of fulfilling. More empty promises will only lead to more empty factories." Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy CROWN POINT A Gary man was sentenced to prison after admitting to shooting his friend during the sale of two guns. Shawn A. Horde, 20, pleaded guilty to battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony. Lake Criminal Judge Diane Boswell sentenced Horde to three years in prison followed by two years in community corrections. The shooting happened Nov. 7, 2014, at the intersection of Burr Street and Ninth Avenue in Gary. Horde met Marlon Scott Jr. at the intersection after agreeing via text messages to sell him two guns, according to the plea agreement. As Scott was texting his brother, Horde pointed a gun at him, according to the plea agreement. That prompted a struggle between the men. Horde then shot Scott in the chest, according to court records. Scott survived the shooting. Scotts mother, Katina McCoy, told Boswell Horde left her son for dead in an alley that day. She recalled how her son, who was 17 at the time, managed to ride his bicycle home after the shooting. McCoy, who was in court on her sons behalf, said her son thought Horde was his friend. She said her son was also in the wrong that day. Both of you shouldnt have been there in the first place, she said. McCoy said her son was labeled a snitch, leading to an exchange of words on social media. Hordes cousin, Davonta D. Horde, is accused in a separate case of shooting at Scott on Dec. 1, 2015, in Gary. Charges against Horde, whose name is also spelled Devanta Horde in court records, are pending. Hordes mother, Jacqualine Williams, testified she has seen a change in her son. She said her son goes to school and takes care of his son. Wearing a red button-up shirt, Horde said he has been trying to own up to his mistakes. I know what I did was wrong, he said. I made a mistake. When asked by Boswell what he wanted to do, Horde said he wanted to work at a factory to support his son. Defense attorney Casey McCloskey chimed in that Horde said his favorite subject was English and he wanted to work as a news reporter. Hes a hell of a writer, McCloskey said. McCloskey said he has known the Horde family for years, and said this was his clients first conviction. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Salina Malone argued for Horde to be sentenced to prison, because of the severity of what happened to Scott. She said he now works out of town for his own safety. Boswell said the shooting was compounded by the fact that Horde was selling guns that day. This is not a mistake, she said. You knew good and well it was wrong. As she handed down Hordes sentence, Boswell told him his mother had taught him to do better. Tears streamed down Williams face as she watched bailiffs handcuff her son. Horde nodded toward his family as he was escorted out of the courtroom. Trial preparation continues in death penalty case CROWN POINT Attorneys for the state and defense continue gathering evidence in anticipation of the trial against a man accused of killing Gary Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield. Carl Blount, 27, appeared Wednesday for a brief hearing in front of Lake Criminal Judge Samuel Cappas. Blount, wearing a Lake County Jail uniform, did not say anything as he stood between his attorneys Robert Varga and Richard Wolter. Blount has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder he faces. The Lake County prosecutors office is seeking the death penalty. Wolter told Cappas the defense was working with the state to complete the questionnaire that will be sent to prospective jurors in the case. He also said the state is waiting to get reports regarding the firearm allegedly used in the crime. Wolter said the defense already has a firearm expert ready to review the material. Blount will return to court June 29 for a further proceedings hearing. He is accused of shooting to death Westerfield, 47, on July 6, 2014, in the 2600 block of Van Buren Place in Gary. Westerfield was inside his patrol car searching for Blount, who was a suspect in a domestic disturbance, police said. Attorneys will begin selecting jurors Jan. 9, 2017, and the state will begin presenting evidence Feb. 6, 2017. MICHIGAN CITY A suspect in the Tuesday shooting of a man in a car was being held by police Wednesday. About 3 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to the 1100 block of Providence Street near Trail Creek for reports of a man shot while driving down the street. He was transported to the hospital and was last reported in stable condition, said police, who did not release further details about the victim. Police said a person of interest later showed up at the police station and was being held while a decision was made on possible charges. Shannon Hatchel, 20, said she was in her backyard when she heard what sounded like fireworks then spotted three spent shell casings in front of her home. The back window of the victim's car had also been shot out, she said. "I was scared. I didn't know what was going on," Hatchel said. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Kay Pliske at (219) 874-3221, ext. 340. Dahreaus Howard, 24, was in a car when fatally shot in September in the same neighborhood on Salem Street. CROWN POINT State police have begun looking into why the Lake Station City Court failed to report license restrictions to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Indiana State Police First Sgt. Al Williamson said Monday he has assigned Indiana State Police Detectives Chris Campione and John Holman to investigate drunken driving cases that were improperly handled between 2008 and 2012. Lake County Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter requested the investigation last month after discovering the convictions and notices of suspension of a number of cases heard in Lake Station City Court weren't submitted downstate for inclusion in the permanent driving histories of the defendants. Carter said his office uncovered the Lake Station City Court problem last month during an investigation into why the City Court failed to submit to the BMV a 2011 reckless driving conviction for Randolph L. Randy Palmateer, 37, business manager for the Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council. Carter said his office would have more vigorously prosecuted Palmateer's arrest at a Hammond sobriety checkpoint earlier this year if it had known it wasn't his first offense. Carter said the failure to submit convictions may involve hundreds of cases. Carter and Mayor Christopher Anderson, who was Lake Station city judge at the time, said earlier that Miranda Brakley, clerk of that city's court from 2008 to 2012 and a stepdaughter of former Mayor Keith Soderquist, was responsible for transmitting convictions and driving restrictions to the BMV over that period and failed to do so. Brakley already is awaiting sentencing for a guilty plea in January to embezzling about $16,000 from the Lake Station City Court. Soderquist, the former mayor and Brakley's stepfather, has pleaded guilty to trying to cover up the theft by trying to replace the missing money with other funds. Thomas Vanes, a Merrillville attorney representing Brakley, said Monday his client, whose family has been feuding with Anderson, is being made a scapegoat without any proof. He said, "Why don't they look at all the courts? Why just Lake Station?" Vanes said former Mayor Soderquist complained to Carter's staff four years ago about how drunken driving plea bargains were being handled in Lake Station City Court, including Palmateer's. Carter said Soderquist complained only about Anderson's performance as a judge, not about missing conviction records. Vanes said Brakley spoke to the U.S. Attorneys office and the FBI about missing records, but said federal authorities only seemed interested in pursuing allegations against Soderquist and her. Carter said earlier this week he is concerned the reporting failure could involve hundreds of drivers who should have had their driving privileges suspended. State law requires courts to mail convictions for serious moving violations to the BMV, which assesses points for such convictions that remain on an individuals driving record for two years and can result in license suspensions and higher insurance rates for the drivers. The investigation is an echo of a federal probe, called Operation Bar Tab, which focused 30 years ago on allegations of fixing drunken driving tickets in Lake County Court in Crown Point. Two county judges, a county clerk and a deputy prosecutor, bailiffs and lawyers were among several convicted of making court records disappear, so drunken drivers wouldn't receive points on their driving records. CROWN POINT A woman charged in the 2012 shooting death of Richard Taylor was released two weeks ago on an ankle monitor, according to court records. Jacqueline C. Kennedy is one of two people who face murder charges in the Dec. 17, 2012, homicide of Taylor, 25, of Gary. His body was found in an alley east of the 900 block of Aetna Street in Gary. According to court records, Taylor was standing outside a gas station in the Aetna neighborhood when Kennedy allegedly pointed a gun at him. She later told police she wanted to rob Taylor, because her birthday was the next day. She and Anthony Hood are accused of chasing Taylor after he pushed the gun away. Taylor was killed after they eventually caught up to him, according to court records. Hood, 21, of Portage, remains in Lake County Jail. His case was most recently set for trial May 9, but it was delayed by the defense because of a family emergency. Taylors mother, Patricia Gee, said she is disappointed by what has happened in her sons case. She said prosecutors had told her about the possibility of Kennedy being released, which is why she avoided attending the last court hearing. I have gone to hearing after hearing and only to witness the defendants be released one by one, she said. Gee, who recently went back to college to study criminal justice, said she knows everyone is overworked at every level, and that everyone has a role within the justice system. She just wants to see some form of justice for her son, she said. She would like to see the suspects eventually receive some form of punishment. My hope is not in the system, its in God, Gee said. The system has failed me and my loved ones. I know the system, but I cant depend on it. Taylors father, Glynn Taylor, echoed his former wifes sentiments. He doesnt understand why it has taken so long for either of the cases to go trial. It dont make no sense, he said. Taylor, who hosts an annual anti-violence march in his sons memory, said hes not going to give up on pushing for justice in his sons case. Im not quitting and I aint letting it go, Taylor said. Kennedys defense attorney, Alexander Woloshansky, said he made the motion to have his client released, because she had been held in Lake County Jail since May 2, 2013. Woloshansky said his clients grandmother, who has been present at every court hearing, agreed to allow Kennedy to stay with her. According to court records, Lake Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray agreed May 17 to place Kennedy on house arrest with an electronic monitor while the case is pending. She is allowed to seek employment, though her grandmother will have to travel with her at all times. Kennedy also is required to check in bi-weekly with the probation department. Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said the defenses motion was granted over the objection of the deputy prosecuting attorney on the case. Carter said Murray noted that Hood has made a number of continuances that has delayed the cases. Devonte J. Green also had been charged in the homicide, but murder charges he had faced were dismissed a year ago. According to court records, the case was dismissed because the state needed more time to investigate the case. The state can later refile the charges. Kennedys next court hearing is scheduled for June 16. Hood is scheduled to appear Monday for a hearing. The system has failed me and my loved ones. I know the system, but I cant depend on it. Patricia Gee, mother of 2012 murder victim NEW ALBANY The State Board of Education approved Trine University becoming the new authorizer for Thea Bowman Leadership Academy in Gary. The board met Wednesday morning at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany. Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz recused herself from the vote. SBOE member Eddie Melton, who represents the 1st Congressional District and has been elected as the democratic candidate for state senator to replace Earline Rogers, said Bowman has been around for more than 13 years, and has done a great job in the community. "Although we know in the last few years it has suffered academically, with this new leadership in place we expect them to move forward," he said during the meeting. "I'm excited to learn that Phalen Leadership Academy and Trine University will make improvements. Parents and community members have been calling me regularly and they are concerned about what's next for the school. I'm glad that Trine University stepped up and will authorize Bowman." Melton also said he is "encouraged" by Trine Universitys commitment to work collaboratively with the families, staff and board to strengthen academic and administrative achievement at Thea Bowman Leadership Academy. While some have accused Bowman leaders of "charter shopping," SBOE member Gordon Hendry said he thought this process was an example of how the increased accountability under the law was actually working. SBOE member Vince Bertram said he has some reservations about the three-year timeline that Trine University gave Bowman. "It seems to me that given the deficiencies, rather than a three-year authorization, it should have been one year with clear benchmarks to meet," Bertram said. Ritz said there are special conditions to Trine's approval, and the university and the Indiana Department of Education have been very specific about what has to be done. Lindsay Omlor, Trine University's Director of Charter Schools, said her board was not comfortable with a five-year authorization. "I think we need three years. It's difficult to recruit qualified teachers who would be excited to sign a one-year contract," she said. "Three years allows them the flexibility they need. They will have an accountability timeline. Everything will be measured. I will be there monthly. We will have very clear conversations throughout that three-year period. I believe three years is necessary to make the changes they need to make and get their feet back on the ground." Omlor told SBOE that in her talks with Ball State, the Department of Education and a parent group headed by Taryl Bonds, it is clear that Bowman had deficiencies in three areas: board governance, academic performance and Title I and Title II compliance. Omlor said some of the teachers were not highly qualified but Phalen Academies would now be responsible for all hiring. She said in her conversations with the Department of Education, she feels sure that Bowman will be able to correct the deficiencies cited in the Title programs. Bonds, who helped to form a parent organization standing ready in case the Drexel Foundation was unable to find an authorizer, said he is just glad the school will remain open. "It's not about what we want, it's about the kids," he said. Bowman's current authorizer, Ball State University, declined in January to renew the charter citing numerous school board management issues and failure to comply with state and federal laws. The charter expires June 30. The Drexel Foundation, which held the charter, was completely replaced in late March and Indianapolis-based Phalen Leadership Academies was selected to operate the school for 2016-17. HAMMOND A local lawyer is being credited with spurring a recent National Labor Relations Board settlement that spells out employee rights at Menards Inc. Marissa McDermott, a Highland attorney and Democratic candidate for Lake Circuit Court judge, said Monday that her client, Janet Payne, of DeMotte, decided to fight the Eau Claire, Wisconsin, home improvement chain after she was fired as a cashier at the Menards store in Valparaiso. This historic settlement affects the rights of approximately 45,000 workers and is, to my knowledge, the first time Menards has ever settled with the NLRB, McDermott said. Spokespersons for Menards Inc. and the NLRB didnt return calls seeking comment. McDermott alleged last year that Payne, 58, was injured May 28, 2014, when a case of ceramic tile fell from a shopping cart onto her shoulder and arm. A medical provider told her to restrict her left arm movement. But Payne was returned to the cashier job three days later over her objections that she was still in pain. Payne alleges she was fired six days after the accident, after an audit blamed her for a cash shortage at her station. McDermott filed suit in U.S. District Court last summer alleging Menards violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to accommodate Paynes injury, for making unfounded allegations of a (cash) drawer shortage against her, and promoting younger employees over her. McDermott said Payne had worked almost a decade at Menards. McDermott said Menards sought to dismiss the suit on grounds Payne had signed an agreement requiring her first to submit her complaint to arbitration. McDermott said, I thought it was time somebody pushed back on the arbitration agreement Menards was trying to enforce. I dont think the people that go to work for Menards understand what theyve been signing. McDermott said Menards employees dont belong to a union, but an attorney for the Office and Professional Employees International Union in New York noticed Paynes suit and asked Payne to join his union in filing a complaint before the NLRB. She said the NLRB and Menards reached a settlement in April requiring Menards to post a notice to its employees stating they wouldnt maintain a mandatory arbitration program requiring employees, as a condition of employment, to waive the right to sue. McDermott said Paynes suit, which has been on hold pending the NLRB outcome, now may go before a federal judge to decide whether to let Paynes suit continue or to dismiss it until it has been submitted to arbitration. The Social and Recognition Committee of Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City collected 6,744 packages of snacks for children attending this years Safe Harbor Summer Camp in the city. The summer program builds values and friendships, provides educational experiences and teaches teamwork. Safe Harbor collaborates with the Michigan City Area Schools system, Michigan City Parks and Recreation Department, the Michigan City Public Library and the Lubeznik Center for the Arts. Hospital committee members organized the collection of treats for the approximately 130 participants attending the six-week camp. The hospital's Intensive Care Unit collected the most snacks. With some campers and among hospital staffers are Safe Harbor and Michigan City Area Schools representatives. For more information on the Safe Harbor program, call (219) 873-2026, ext. 310. LAPORTE A man police said was killed after walking into the path of a truck has been identified. The LaPorte County Sheriffs Office is investigating the fatal accident that occurred at about 10:24 p.m. on Tuesday at Ind. 39 north of County Road 1000 N., about 200 yards south of the Michigan state line. According to police, Steven Kniola Jr., 36, of Michigan City, was crossing the road when he walked into the path of a northbound Chevrolet truck driven by a 26-year-old Michigan City resident. The driver of the pickup told deputies that he was driving north on Ind. 39 when the victim suddenly ran into the roadway and into his path of travel. The driver said he was unable to avoid striking the victim. Police said Kniolas blood alcohol level was reported to be .18 percent, which is believed to have been a factor in the incident. Police said the driver tested negative for alcohol and is not suspected of any wrongdoing. The investigation is continuing in the matter however there are no apparent criminal violations. PLEASANT TOWNSHIP A fire Tuesday destroyed a barn being used for storage in rural Porter County. The Kouts Fire Department just before 3 p.m. was called out for reports of a barn fire in the 600 block of East 1000 South in Pleasant Township. Flames were visible from the barn upon arrival, Kouts Fire Chief Jeremy Dittler said. Fire departments from Morgan Township, Hebron, LaCrosse, Washington and Boon Grove responded to Kouts Fire Department' request for mutual aid, he said. The fire was under control within half an hour and firefighters cleared the scene within the hour, Dittler said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries. VALPARAISO Girl Scout Troop 163 from Northview Elementary School in Valparaiso earned their Bronze Award in November after completing a mural donated to the Valparaiso American Legion Post 94. The girls, now in fifth grade, had been participating in the Legions annual Veterans Day Ceremony since they were in kindergarten. One of my main focuses as a troop leader is patriotism, and this tradition and friendship we have with the Valpo Legion and its members is very important to me, said Troop Leader Deena Lawley-Dixon When we talked about what to do for our Bronze Award, the Legion seemed like a great place to donate our time. We thought the goal of completing a mural thanking the local veterans would be a great idea. Lawley-Dixon enlisted the help of former Valpo classmate Hannah Hammond-Hagman, a local artist familiar with the mural process. The troop spent several days on the 10-foot by 5-foot mural, working in shifts. Each girl has ownership in their spot on the mural, and some girls worked in teams on different sections. The execution is all the girls. Hannah and I simply assisted with stenciling, mixing paint, and measuring, Lawley-Dixon said. What they were able to accomplish is really something to behold. I could stare at the mural for an hour just amazed that it was drawn by hand and painted by 10-year-olds. As part of the Bronze Award, each Girl Scout also got a veteran buddy who they interviewed and became friends with through the process. At the Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 11, last year, the mural was unveiled, much to the surprise of the Legion members and the Girl Scout parents because we did a great job of hiding what we were doing from the families so they would be surprised too, Lawley-Dixon said. The mural hangs in the upstairs hall of the Legion. I've written before about dysfunction in Porter County government. This isn't that story. The Porter County commissioners are making progress now, addressing a number of lingering concerns. "We've been quietly doing a lot of heavy lifting," Commissioner Jeff Good said last week. It shows. After years of saying a new animal shelter is needed, that construction plan is finally moving forward this month with Porter County Council approval expected for funding the facility. A bigger facility means additional operating costs as well as start-up costs associated with any new building. But that new animal shelter is just the tip of the iceberg in Porter County. There are a lot of changes under the surface that you might not have seen but should appreciate. Good and Commissioner Laura Shurr Blaney have been focused on changing the culture of county government. "We've seen a lot more smiles around the building than what we've seen in a while," Good said. In part, that's because of what the commissioners, in concert with the council, have been doing to professionalize county government. Employees' concerns are being heard with the addition of a new human resources director and the hiring of some other experts. The HR director is a neutral sounding board for employees' concerns. "I think that's helping morale as well," Blaney said. That's just one example. New accounting software doesn't sound exciting to the average citizen, but think of the big change it means to go from an MS-DOS program to a modern version that lets the commissioners and others track cash flow and other data with real-time data. When the commissioners want to get the council's blessing on spending money on a project, for example, they will be prepared to show from which funds the money should come. Good, who operates a string of hotels, knows the importance of planning instead of merely reacting when making business decisions. Blaney, who served on the Porter County Council before her term as commissioner began, was frustrated a 2011 facilities study sat dormant. "There's a lot of deferred maintenance out there," Good said. Now the county is hiring its own experts to address issues including heating, ventilating and air conditioning instead of contracting that work out. Instead of paying a vendor $100,000 to do that work, the county is paying an HVAC employee $60,000. And with an HVAC expert on staff full time, the county can get caught up on overdue repairs and begin routine maintenance to keep repair costs down. At the Porter County Expo Center, the HVAC systems are 20 years old. Those should be replaced for greater efficiency, Good said. "We look at them as assets. We need to take care of them," Good said. The commissioners also are working with department heads to improve contract work. There's a check sheet for contracts now. Auto-renew clauses are being taken out, and officeholders can't extend contracts beyond their terms in office, Good said. If you're a fan of good government, this new culture at the Porter County Government Center is exciting. HAMMOND The pedestrian struck and killed Saturday night by a freight train in Hammond has been identified. Ronnie Harrison, 47, of Lansing, Illinois, died from blunt force trauma after being struck by a freight train 10 p.m. Saturday at Willow Court and Hohman Avenue in Hammond. He was pronounced dead at 10:55 p.m. The manner of death remains under investigation pending toxicology reports and interviews with family members, Lake County Coroner Merrilee D. Frey said Tuesday night. Dave Pidgeon, spokesman for Norfolk Southern, confirmed in an email the freight train that hit Harrison was on a NS rail line, but deferred additional comment to local police. Hammond police Lt. Richard Hoyda could not provide additional information Tuesday afternoon. FreshDirect's decision to move its headquarters to the Bronx has generated opposition from some residents, but the online grocer is determined to get the commuity on its side. NY1's Erin Clarke got an exclusive first look at the company's new home and filed the following report. FreshDirect's new home is beginning to take shape. The 800,000-square-foot building in Port Morris will consolidate the company's food manufacturing and distribution operations that are now spread among three buildings in Long Island City, Queens. "It's got three to four stories," said Jason Ackerman, CEO of FreshDirect. "We'll also have our corporate office here, probably around 6-, 700 office workers, as well as a few thousand food workers." The project has not exactly enjoyed smooth sailing. When he ran for mayor, Bill de Blasio bitterly opposed the Bloomberg administration giving FreshDirect nearly $130 million in tax breaks and subsidies to move to the Bronx instead of New Jersey. And local activists warned the project would bring traffic and pollution to a neighborhood already suffering high asthma rates. As FreshDirect move forward with its project, the company is being mindful of the challenges it has faced. About a year ago, the online grocer hired someone to improve community relationships. "We meet regularly with tenants. We have a community advisory council that meets bi-annually," said FreshDirect Public Affairs Vice President Larry Scott Blackmon. "We have local elected officials, community leaders, nonprofits, people who are really stakeholders in the community meet with us to tell us what they would like to see." The new vice president also works to in his words clear up misconceptions. "They showed us exactly how the trucks are going to be going in and out," said Dianne Spears, a resident of the Mill Brook Houses. "They would not be coming through our neighborhood here our community here. We would not be affected by any pollution from their trucks." Some critics are still skeptical. They call the company's olive branches, like giving away free food, as a buy-off and say there's no compromise. "It doesn't equal the end game, which is our ability to breathe healthier air," said Mychal Johnson, co-founder of South Bronx Unite. But some others see an opportunity. "This is a way to bring fresh produce, fresh food, quality food into the community," said Andrew Jackson Houses Tenant Association President Daniel Barber. There is still time for both sides to become more comfortable with each other. The headquarters opens next summer. A Bronx man is back home, now charged with assault in the beating death of a man who police said allegedly tried to rape his wife Monday. It happened around 10:15 p.m. at a building located at 1240 Washington Avenue near 168th Street in Morrisania. Investigators say 43-year-old Earl Nash, seen in the photo to the left, forced his way into the 51-year-old woman's apartment and attacked her. She managed to run away and used her cell phone to call her husband, 61-year-old Mamadou Diallo, who was just outside the building. Investigators said Diallo confronted Nash in the hallway and beat him with a tire iron. Nash later died at Lincoln Hospital. Diallo was released on recognizance. Community members showed an outpouring of support and defended his actions. "Everybody's excited that he's out, but I think everybody nobody would like to be in this kind of situation. He's put in a situation where he has to defend his family, defend himself, which resulted in an unfortunate situation," said community activist Abdoul Diallo, who is not related to Mamadou Diallo. "We hope that this case will go away, so that he can go ahead with his life." Police said Nash had 14 prior arrests, dating back to 1997, and had served time in prison. In court, the state had argued for some sort of bail, saying it is still reviewing a surveillance tape and 911 calls. However, Diallo's attorney argued he was not a flight risk, calling him a deeply religious man with strong ties to the community. "I just needed to point out how much of an outrage and how really disappointing and questionable it is, that a gentleman like this 61 years old, a family man will have to resort to this kind of situation to defend his family," Abdoul Diallo said. Supporters point to Nash's lengthy criminal record and charges that include robbery, assault, harassment, and the sale of a controlled substance. One community activist called the charges a travesty. "This should not have happened," said Charles Cooper of the Bronx African Advisory Council. "His family cannot sustain without him. He's the provider for the family, and it sends a really bad message." Diallo will have nearly a month at home; his next court appearance is not until June 27. Dear Diary: Lil Kim defended me once. Now, its my turn. When I played Prozac Girl on a New York City morning radio show in the early 2000s, Lil Kim visited the studio. We were in the middle of or maybe just ending a promotion called something like Win a Lipstick Lesbian Date With Prozac. Those details are fuzzy, but Lil Kims reaction when the host teased me about the contest is Ultra HD clear. Its O.K., Prozac, if youre gay, she said. Theres nothing wrong with that. Its O.K. Im Im not gay, I stammered. I wanted to explain that the contest had been the hosts idea after Id lost control of my stake in one of our winding and raw on-air conversations, but, humbled by her compassion, I could muster only, Thank you. Recently, the Brooklyn-born rapper posted an Instagram photo that revealed a lighter skin tone, an image that released the internet kraken. Everyone from bloggers to trolls had a theory on Kims appearance and her motivations. The sentiments ranged from pity to rage to confusion to, in true social media fashion, maliciousness. Even the headline of an opinion piece shared by Newsweek asked, Why Has Lil Kim Turned White? I dont know why shes lighter, and I dont care, because when given the chance to judge me, to criticize my humanity, she demonstrated hers in an unexpected and important way, natural or manufactured skin tone be damned. In recent years, a rise in greenhouse gas emissions has tended to follow nuclear plant closings, since they are most often replaced by natural gas, industry executives say. This was the case in California and New England after the San Onofre and Vermont Yankee plants folded. But the nuclear industry is facing a crisis of old age. The majority of the countrys 99 nuclear reactors are more than 30 years old and were opened before deregulation. Starting in the late 1970s, under federal rules established to help reduce the price of electricity, independent power producers gained the ability to compete in wholesale electricity markets. When prices were relatively high, nuclear plants were able to fare well because their facilities, once up and running, were inexpensive to operate. However, the recent slowdown in the demand for electricity and the glut of natural gas from the rise in fracking has driven down wholesale prices. That lower revenue poses special challenges for nuclear plants, which operate potentially for as long as 80 years, and so require costly upgrades and repairs during their life spans. At these prices, said Jay Apt, a professor and a director of the Electricity Industry Center at Carnegie Mellon University, they cant save up enough to have cash on hand for periodic capital investments. Supporters of the bailouts say the current prices undervalue nuclear power, given the methods lack of greenhouse gas emissions and ability to operate at all hours. The low prices make it hard for the plants to compete with other clean technologies like wind and solar, which receive subsidies and are bolstered by mandates that require purchases of clean power. They argue that the environmental and efficiency value of nuclear plants mean they should be eligible for similar subsidies or be included in clean energy mandates. We get no recognition for the fact that we emit nothing, said Marvin S. Fertel, chief executive of the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group. Support for plans to save nuclear energy has come from a seemingly unlikely group environmentalists, some who have come to believe that the climate benefits of nuclear energy far outweigh the risks. No more sticking fingers into cake batter or cookie dough. On Tuesday, General Mills announced that it was voluntarily recalling various batches of its Gold Medal, Gold Medal Wondra and Signature flours that federal officials have potentially linked to illnesses in 38 people in 20 states caused by a strain of E. coli. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about half of those people became ill after making something at home with flour, according to a news release from General Mills. Some of those who were sickened may have eaten raw dough or batter, the company said. In general, C.D.C. recommends that people not eat raw dough or batter intended for cooking or baking, and children not be provided raw dough to play with, an agency statement said. People should use safe food-handling practices when preparing such products, including following package directions for cooking at proper temperatures; washing hands, surfaces and utensils after contact with these types of products; avoiding cross-contamination; and refrigerating products properly. Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but E. coli O121, the one found in the 38 sick people, is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Seniors, children and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk. WENZHOU, China Chen Furong and his wife bought their home 23 years ago for its proximity to the city center and for the tree-lined canal just outside. Their dream was to pass it on to their children and grandchildren, a piece of wealth giving their family a share of Chinas economic miracle. Then their neighbor tried to sell her place and it was all thrown into doubt. Like every other homeowner in China, Mr. Chen and his neighbor own their homes but not the land underneath them. All land in China is owned by the government, which parcels it out to developers and homeowners through 20- to 70-year leases. When the neighbor whose surname is Wang tried to sell her apartment, local officials told her that her lease on the land had expired. To sell her apartment, they told her, she would have to pay them one-third of the sales value. Ms. Wang protested in a move that drew national attention. Suddenly millions of Chinese who had socked away billions and possibly trillions of dollars were worried as well. If the local authorities in other parts of China did the same thing, they thought, a big chunk of their own wealth could end up with the government as well. Sam Sifton emails readers of Cooking seven days a week to talk about food and suggest recipes. That email also appears here. To receive it in your inbox, register here. Good morning. I was down in Houston recently to hone my enchilada skills, in advance of writing an article for todays Food section of The Times about the joys of making them at home as one-pan family meals. My recipes are authentic insofar as they adhere to the precepts of the Spanish verb that gives the dish its name enchilar: to season with chiles but I doubt Diana Kennedy or any other dons of Mexican cuisine would approve. Theyre Tex-Mex-ish, by way of the precepts of the American casserole. Theyre delicious. So why not give one a try this week? I have a recipe for enchiladas verdes that you can make with leftover roast chicken or one bought from the supermarket and shredded, enrobed in a simple green salsa of tomatillos and cilantro, with queso fresco. Theres a recipe for enchiladas con carne as well, that sees the tortillas filled and topped with a simple skillet chili and plenty of melted cheese. At first blush, it seems like a project. Maybe it is the first time you make it. But after two times? Its a terrific weeknight family meal. And for those who seek side dishes or a meatless variety of main, there is a recipe for cheese enchiladas with chili gravy that can accompany a bowl of rice and a vat of beans, or serve as a base for fried eggs. Youll notice, perhaps with antipathy, that I use a combination of processed American cheese and Cheddar to fill and top the dish. Its a technique I picked up from the Tex-Mex scholar and Houston restaurateur Robb Walsh, who defends it heartily for how it provides superior meltability, while anchoring the dish in the cultural history of South Texas. Time was, there was a lot of government cheese circulating down there. It plays a role in the cuisine not dissimilar to the one Spam plays in Korean and Hawaiian cooking. Dont knock it until you try it. For weeks, as Mayor Bill de Blasio has sought to fend off a flock of investigations into his political fund-raising, he has clung to a potent defense: A confidential report about one of the inquiries was leaked to a reporter at the behest of his chief political rival, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. In the labyrinthine world of New York politics, the accusation appeared to have legs. The leaked memo described how the State Board of Elections had found potential campaign-finance violations in Mr. de Blasios efforts to raise money for Democratic candidates for the State Senate ahead of the 2014 elections, and its appearance in the pages of The Daily News in April added to the mayors mounting troubles. The reports author, Risa Sugarman, the election boards chief enforcement counsel, is an appointee and ally of Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who has a well-documented habit of undercutting the mayor a connection that Mr. de Blasio has taken pains to highlight. The squabble, however, took a turn on Tuesday that hinted at more chapters to come. Releasing the results of her own investigation into the leak, the New York inspector general, Catherine Leahy Scott, announced that John Conklin, the election boards spokesman, had admitted to providing the report to a News reporter, Ken Lovett. Before joining the board, Mr. Conklin was a staff member for 16 years for several Republican senators, including the Senate majority leader, John J. Flanagan. The news provided more political intrigue to a situation already laden with it, raising the possibility that the Senate Republicans, rather than Mr. Cuomo, were behind the leak. Republicans had made the complaint that prompted Ms. Sugarman to investigate, a detail not lost on Mr. Cuomo, who suggested to reporters in early May that it was the Republicans, rankled by Mr. de Blasios fund-raising for their opponents, who were responsible for the leak. A former United States Army sergeant with the nickname Rambo who led a team to kill a federal drug agent and a government informer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday in Manhattan. The Army veteran, Joseph M. Hunter, 51, had worked as a sniper instructor and senior drill sergeant and was honorably discharged in 2004 after two decades. But a few years later, prosecutors said, he went to work as a mercenary for a shadowy South African businessman, helping to orchestrate murders and other violence before becoming ensnared in a sting operation run by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. In late 2012, as part of the sting operation, Mr. Hunter began assembling a security team for what he had been led to believe were Colombian narcotics traffickers but were actually confidential sources working under the direction of the D.E.A., the government has said. The following March, he told team members that they would have the opportunity to do bonus work that is, assassinations for which they would be paid extra, prosecutors said. New York Citys Correction Department has made significant progress toward establishing enduring reform at Rikers Island, though violence against inmates remains a significant concern, the federal monitoring team overseeing a remaking of city jails wrote in a report filed on Tuesday. In the months since a federal judge gave final approval to a sweeping settlement agreement meant to break a culture of brutality and neglect at city jails, the department has hired hundreds of new correction officers, revamped training procedures and policies governing when guards can use force on inmates, added 1,350 additional surveillance cameras and significantly reduced the use of solitary confinement, the report said. In many areas, the department has met or surpassed requirements, the report said. The departments performance to date should make the stakeholders cautiously optimistic that real reform is underway and building momentum, the report said. The report is the first major assessment by the monitoring group, which was established as part of the settlement of a class-action suit brought by Rikers inmates and eventually joined by the office of Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. Its authors cautioned that the findings were only preliminary and identified problems that continue to fester, including abysmal conditions at the departments training academy and officers persistent use of physical force against restrained inmates. 1. President Obama returned to Elkhart, Ind., the first city he visited after taking office, to celebrate it as a showcase for his economic policies success. He took his most forceful stance yet on the presidential election, accusing Republicans of aiming to help the rich at the expense of the struggling middle class. He did not mention Donald Trump by name, but railed against his pledge to roll back rules on Wall Street. The videos released by Italian authorities of ships packed with African refugees capsizing last week are painful to watch. But they should be watched: The refugee crisis is these children, women and men spilling into the sea from grotesquely inadequate, rusting tubs. It is these desperate human beings who risk everything to escape violence, chaos and poverty. European leaders have seen these brutal scenes before, but many are closing their doors and their ears. The United States has done even worse: The Obama administration declared eight months ago that it would resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees, a piddling number, but so far it has admitted barely a fourth of that total. There are ways to reduce the exodus, like the deal between the European Union and Turkey, which is fraught with human rights issues and effectively drives Syrians back to jam-packed refugee camps. That is cruel and impermanent, as desperate refugees will find other cracks through which to squeeze into Europe. And warming weather is reviving the flow of people from sub-Saharan Africa. Many are making the perilous sea crossing from Libya, where violence and anarchy have created a haven for traffickers and ISIS recruiters. Last Thursday alone, 4,000 people who had shipped out from Libya were rescued at sea and 550 died when their overloaded boat sank. There are no easy solutions. Europe and NATO have increased patrols, and the Italian Coast Guard and Navy have done their best to rescue people. The number of people fleeing requires more patrols and more sanctions against smugglers. Meanwhile, a court in Buenos Aires on Friday convicted 15 former military officers for their roles in Operation Condor, an international crackdown by allied right-wing dictators that led to the killing and forced disappearance of hundreds of opponents and government critics. Reynaldo Bignone, 88, a former general who ruled Argentina from 1982 to 1983, was among those convicted. His 20-year sentence was largely symbolic because he is already imprisoned for other crimes, including the abduction of babies during the years of military rule. Operation Condor allowed paramilitary squads from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay to track dissidents across borders, and intelligence officers used an American telex system based in Panama to communicate. That fact and others disclosed in newly declassified American documents were revealed in the trial, shedding light on Washingtons complicity in the abuses. Secretary of State John Kerry applauded Mr. Habres conviction and said it was an opportunity to reflect on, and learn from, our connection with past events in Chad. There was no statement about the case in Argentina. Mr. Habres conviction in an African courtroom, by African jurists, was a milestone in the effort to bring authoritarian leaders from the continent to justice. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan and other African leaders have been critical of prosecutions outside the continent and have accused the International Criminal Court, which has secured only two convictions in 13 years, of targeting mainly African leaders. The Chad and Argentina cases should be a warning to Mr. Bashir, who in 2009 became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, but he has managed to remain in power. They should also resonate with an increasingly despotic leader Washington supports and arms: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt. While it often takes decades and seismic geopolitical changes, determined victims can succeed in jailing the men who once assumed they could kill and jail citizens arbitrarily with impunity. Trumps successful deployment of the issue of immigration to mobilize voters raises this question: Why is his opposition to immigrants and Mexicans in particular so resonant when immigration liberalization ostensibly has majority support in most polls? Research conducted by Lefteris Jason Anastasopoulos, a lecturer and data science fellow at Berkeleys School of Information, provides one answer: Support for immigration may be greatly overestimated. In an email, Anastasopoulos writes that polls conducted by large survey organizations never ask about immigration in geographic context. Instead they ask questions about whether respondents support increasing immigration or granting amnesty for undocumented immigrants in the United States overall rather than, say, Dayton, Ohio, or Wilmington, North Carolina, places where immigration has been rapidly increasing over the past few years. This kind of abstract framing tends to push respondents toward giving more politically correct answers to standard poll questions about immigration. The result is a significant underestimation of the backlash against newly arriving immigrants and an overestimation of the support for immigration among the public. The refusal of Democrats and the American left to hear or to grant some legitimacy to the grievances of white America as it loses power and stature to ascendant minorities and to waves of immigrants from across the globe undergirds the Trump movement. In the zero sum world of immigration politics, it has proved impossible so far to convincingly affirm the validity of the claims of both sides. The quest by American liberals and progressives for support, or at least tolerance, of diversity, inclusiveness and multiculturalism is likely to prevail particularly if the compulsory dimension of compliance is curtailed. Jonathan Haidt, a professor at N.Y.U., suggested to me that one way to better understand the intensity of Trumps appeal is by looking at something called psychological reactance. Haidt describes reactance as the feeling you get when people try to stop you from doing something youve been doing, and you perceive that they have no right or justification for stopping you. So you redouble your efforts and do it even more, just to show that you dont accept their domination. Men in particular are concerned to show that they do not accept domination. The theory, first developed in 1966 by Jack W. Brehm in A Theory of Psychological Reactance, is directly relevant to the 2016 election, according to Haidt. Here is Brehms original language: Psychological reactance is an aversive affective reaction in response to regulations or impositions that impinge on freedom and autonomy. This reaction is especially common when individuals feel obliged to adopt a particular opinion or engage in a specific behavior. Specifically, a perceived diminution in freedom ignites an emotional state, called psychological reactance, that elicits behaviors intended to restore this autonomy. Haidt applies this to the 2016 election: Translated to the Trump phenomenon, I would say that decades of political correctness, with its focus on straight white men as the villains and oppressors now extended to straight white cis-gendered men has caused some degree of reactance in many and perhaps most white men. In both the workplace and academia, Haidt argues, the accusatory and vindictive approach of many social justice activists and diversity trainers may actually have increased the desire and willingness of some white men to say and do un-PC things. In this atmosphere, according to Haidt, Trump comes along and punches political correctness in the face. Anyone feeling some degree of anti-PC reactance is going to feel a thrill in their heart, and will want to stand up and applaud. And because feelings drive reasoning, these feelings of gratitude will make it hard for anyone to present arguments to them about the downsides of a Trump presidency. Trumps anger at being policed or fenced in apparently speaks to the resentment of many American men and their resistance to being instructed, particularly by a female candidate, on how they should think, speak or behave. On April 26, Trump wheeled out a spectacularly offensive attack on Clinton, perhaps designed to provoke the response it got. He accused her of playing the womens card when she has got nothing else going. Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I dont think she would get 5 percent of the vote. Hillary rose to the bait. Three days later, appearing on Jake Tappers CNN show The Lead, she countered: I have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave and how they speak. I am not going to deal with their temper tantrums, or their bullying or their efforts to try to provoke me. He can say whatever he wants to say about me, I could really care less. Trump responded on Sean Hannitys Fox News show on May 2. What Clinton said was a very derogatory statement to men, Trump declared. It was almost as though shes going to tell us what to do, tell men what to do. He continued, It was a real put-down. Donald Trumps presidential candidacy presents decent people everywhere with a dilemma: Sprayed with an open fire hose of schoolyard insults, locker-room vulgarities and bizarre policy pitches by the presumptive Republican nominee, they must make hard choices. Is this latest comment so outrageous, so much worse than all the others, as to require its own response? Speak up too often and you risk sounding like a car alarm, so urgent and yet so familiar that residents no longer hear it. But dont speak up often enough and you risk turning the unacceptable into the unremarkable. At a rally in San Diego on Friday, Mr. Trump again steered his pirate ship into uncharted waters, firing off personal and racially tinged attacks against a federal judge hearing a case in which Mr. Trump is the defendant. The judge, Gonzalo Curiel of the Federal District Court in San Diego, is presiding over a class-action lawsuit that accuses Trump University of defrauding and misleading customers who spent $1,500 for three-day seminars that promised to teach Mr. Trumps secrets of success in real estate. Shortly after Mr. Trumps rally, Judge Curiel ordered the unsealing of about 1,000 pages of the companys internal documents. The release, which came in response to a request by The Washington Post, was standard procedure for a civil suit. Four times a week this summer Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:15 to 11 a.m., and Sunday afternoons from 2:45 to 4:45 a public swimming pool on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn will be temporarily unmoored from the laws of New York City and the Constitution, and commonly held principles of fairness and equal access. The pool will instead answer to the religious convictions of one neighborhood group. At those hours, women (and girls, too, on Sundays) will have the pool to themselves. Men and boys will not be permitted. Orthodox Jewish beliefs demand modesty in dress, and a strict separation of the sexes, and those are the beliefs to which the taxpayer-owned-and-operated Metropolitan Recreation Center will yield. Sex-segregated hours have been the rule at the pool since sometime during the 90s, according to a spokesman for the parks department. The policy was instituted at the request of Orthodox women, apparently without any serious community objections. But a recent anonymous complaint led the citys Commission on Human Rights to notify the parks department that the policy violated the law. Then a new pool schedule was issued, with the womens hours removed. That alarmed female swimmers, who alerted politicians, including the local assemblyman, Dov Hikind. ROME If theres a gayer country than Italy, I havent ogled it. I dont mean demographically gay. Thats unknowable. I mean spiritually gay. I mean the self-conscious style and gaudy opera of the place. Its shaped like high-heeled footwear. Its a mecca of high-priced mens wear. Its signature hunk of marble, the David, looks less like hes girding for Goliath than like hes posing between squats at the local Equinox. And have you seen those Venetian glass chandeliers, with their wild colors and wacky tentacles? They could be gay octopi on their way to an underwater Cher concert. So why isnt Italy kinder to gays? Just a few weeks ago, after considerable shaming by the European Union, it finally legalized civil unions for same-sex couples, and while that was a step forward, it was also a reminder of how far Italy still lagged behind such densely Roman Catholic European peers as Ireland, Portugal and Spain, all of which had already accorded gays and lesbians actual marriage rights. And shortly before that, when an international L.G.B.T. advocacy group released one of its gay-rights report cards, Italy ranked in the bottom third of the 49 countries that the group classified as European, behind Albania, Bulgaria and Estonia. FRONT PAGE An article on Saturday about a new study of African-American genetic diversity misstated the number of Africans brought to the United States as slaves. Though a precise figure is not known, scholars believe the number to be in the hundreds of thousands, not millions. NATIONAL An article on Saturday about efforts by NASA to inflate a new room for the International Space Station misidentified the body of water in which SpaceX has landed four booster stages of rockets on a floating platform. It is the Atlantic Ocean, not the Pacific. NEW YORK An article in some editions on Saturday about the crash of a vintage warplane into the Hudson River misstated, in some copies, Albert J. Parisis title at the Army Air Forces Historical Association. He is its operations manager, not its operating officer. The article also misidentified, in some copies, the model of planes he described as being stalwarts of World War II. They were P-47s not P-40s. An article on Thursday about plans to close the Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital in Manhattan misstated, in some editions, the number of beds at the hospital, using information from its website. It is 825, not 856. The error was repeated in a picture caption in some copies. The origin story behind the British pajama brand Desmond & Dempsey is romantic-comedy cute. Its founders, Molly Goddard and Joel Jeffery (shes a charming, loopy Australian; hes a composed, soft-spoken Brit) met in a Canadian ski town and fell in love long-distance. When Goddard made the move to London, she brought her collection of frilly little nighties with her, but soon switched to wearing Jefferys button-ups around the house for the sake of modesty around his flatmates a practice that soon became a problem, thanks to Goddards self-professed clumsiness. Id wake up and there are breakfast stains all over them, and I was like, Molly, I have to wear this to work! Jeffery says of those shirts. And Joels like, proper English, never spills anything, Goddard rejoins, with an infectious giggle. And one day he was like, I know you moved all the way over here and its really nice, but you have to get your own pajamas! They went out in search of a pair that fit her specifications light, breathable cotton, in a cut inspired by mens wear but tailored for a woman and came up short. Theres so many silk brands, and I was like, Theyre beautiful, but you cant wash them, Goddard says. Sorry, thats not going to work. So they made their own, starting with their first hundred sets in Sept. 2014, under the moniker Desmond & Dempsey, which comes from their grandfathers names. Gray and navy styles feature smart white piping (My grandma taught me that when you iron it and you shake it out, the piping holds the structure of the garment, Goddard says), while pineapple and botanical prints were hand-painted by Jefferys brother, a graphic designer for Adidas. Interest soon came in from stockists including Fortnum & Mason in London and Bergdorf Goodman in New York. RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. Jeff Bezos built Amazon into an e-commerce and computing powerhouse. Now his ambitions are more sprawling as he takes on ever larger civic and business challenges. Those diverse interests were on display on Tuesday when Mr. Bezos, Amazons chief executive, spoke onstage at the Code technology conference here, where he commented on an array of topics, including workplace culture, privacy and his decision to buy The Washington Post in 2013. Mr. Bezos said he bought the newspaper because he wanted to make it into a more powerful national and even global publication, and that The Post was well situated to be a watchdog over the leaders of the worlds most powerful country. If it had been a financially upside-down salty snack food company, I would not have bought it, he said. The Amazon chief also addressed an investigation last summer by The New York Times that found the company had a tough workplace culture. Mr. Bezos said the article had not made him rethink how Amazon treated employees and that the company was the gold standard for pioneering work. TULSA, Okla. A former volunteer sheriffs deputy in Oklahoma who said he mistook his handgun for his stun gun when he fatally shot an unarmed suspect last year was sentenced on Tuesday to four years in prison. Judge Bill Musseman gave the deputy, Robert C. Bates, 74, a wealthy insurance executive, the maximum penalty recommended by jurors who last month convicted him of second-degree manslaughter. Mr. Bates fatally shot Eric C. Harris on April 2, 2015, while working with Tulsa County sheriffs deputies during an illegal gun sales sting. Mr. Harris, who had run from deputies, was restrained and unarmed when he was shot. The shooting, caught on video, led to several investigations. The inquiries revealed an internal memo questioning Mr. Batess qualifications and showed that Mr. Bates, a close friend of the sheriffs, had donated thousands of dollars in cash, vehicles and equipment to the sheriffs office. The Obama administration on Tuesday escalated a feud with the federal judge hearing a challenge to the presidents executive actions on immigration, accusing the judge of overstepping his authority by imposing sanctions on government lawyers for what he said were ethics violations. In court papers, the Justice Department responded to an order on May 19 by Judge Andrew S. Hanen of Federal District Court in Brownsville, Tex., in which he ordered government lawyers practicing in the 26 states involved in the case to take ethics courses. He also barred some from appearing in his court. In the scathing ruling, Judge Hanen ordered the department to provide the names of tens of thousands of immigrants who were granted protection from deportation for three years under the presidents programs, before the judge imposed an injunction in February 2015. The Justice Department disputed the judges claim that its lawyers had intentionally lied to him and called his punishments grossly disproportionate, even if they had committed the missteps. The department said the measures ordered by the judge would cost the government as much as $8 million over five years and force the administration to reveal the identities of innocent immigrants who played no role in the dispute. SOUTHWEST Texas: State Official Advises Schools To Ignore Directive on Bathroom Use Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday encouraged the states 1,200 school districts to defy the Obama administration and ignore a directive calling on schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Last week, Texas and 10 other states sued the Obama administration over the federal recommendation to United States public schools earlier this month. Mr. Patrick, a Republican, who has previously said Texas is willing to forfeit $10 billion in federal education funding rather than comply, said he was sending a letter to all school districts this week emphasizing that the state would support schools that defied the directive. Transgender students deserve the rights of anyone else, he said. It does not mean they get to use the girls room if theyre a boy. Several parents of transgender students criticized his comments. You, specifically you, are endangering my childs life, said Ann Elder, the mother of a 10-year-old transgender child near Houston. You have now told everyone in the state of Texas it is O.K. to harass my child. Also Tuesday, a federal appeals court said it would not reconsider a three-judge panels ruling that a transgender teenager must be allowed to use the boys restroom at a Virginia school. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the Gloucester County School Boards appeal of a case brought by a student at Gloucester High School. (AP) Texas: Brazos River Hits Record Crest As More Rain Is Forecast Residents of some rural southeastern Texas counties were bracing for more flooding along the Brazos River, which reached a record crest on Tuesday but could swell further with more rain expected in the coming days. Suburban areas southwest of Houston were underwater and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes before the Brazos crested at nearly 54 feet in Fort Bend County, just two years after it had run dry in places because of drought. The sky was clear in the affected areas on Tuesday, but an additional one to three inches of rain that is expected later this week could keep the Brazos in major flood stage into the weekend. A Brazos River Authority map showed that all 11 of the reservoirs fed by the river were at 95 to 100 percent capacity. The crest on Tuesday eclipsed the previous record by three feet and exceeded levels reached in 1994, when extensive flooding caused major damage. (AP) In blunt testimony revealed on Tuesday, former managers of Trump University, the for-profit school started by Donald J. Trump, portray it as an unscrupulous business that relied on high-pressure sales tactics, employed unqualified instructors, made deceptive claims and exploited vulnerable students willing to pay tens of thousands for Mr. Trumps insights. One sales manager for Trump University, Ronald Schnackenberg, recounted how he was reprimanded for not pushing a financially struggling couple hard enough to sign up for a $35,000 real estate class, despite his conclusion that it would endanger their economic future. He watched with disgust, he said, as a fellow Trump University salesman persuaded the couple to purchase the class anyway. I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme, Mr. Schnackenberg wrote in his testimony, and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money. For Mr. Trump, whose presidential campaign hinges on his reputation as a businessman, the newly unsealed documents offer an unflattering snapshot of his career since branching out, over the past decade, from building skyscrapers into endeavors that cashed in on his name to sell everything from water and steaks to ties and education. BERLIN At least 26 women who attended a four-day music festival in the western German town of Darmstadt this past weekend have reported that they were groped or sexually harassed, a police spokesman said Tuesday. Several of the women said they had been surrounded by groups of up to 10 men, said Ferdinand Derigs, a spokesman for the Darmstadt police. These people then approached the women, danced around them and touched them in an inappropriate way, Mr. Derigs told the public broadcaster in the state of Hesse, where Darmstadt is located. Groping was apparently the main motivation, Mr. Derigs said. Crowds of 90,000 to 100,000 people attended each day of the festival, which ran Thursday through Sunday. Initially, the police received only a few complaints of sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior. But the total of such reports grew to 26 by Tuesday afternoon, according to German news media reports. German news media also reported that three men, including two Pakistanis who had recently sought German asylum, were detained early Sunday, apparently in connection with the episodes. But the reports added that all three were released. UNITED NATIONS Alarmed at the spread of a Palestinian campaign to boycott Israel and particularly its resonance on college campuses, the Israeli Mission to the United Nations and World Jewish Congress held a conference on Tuesday aimed at galvanizing support for an effective countermessage. Precisely what that countermessage will be, and how it can successfully be conveyed, were among the goals discussed at the conference, titled Build Bridges, Not Boycotts, held at the United Nations headquarters. Many of the speakers and guests, who included Jewish students, educators and policy experts, agreed that the Palestinian campaign, known as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or B.D.S., had made popular inroads that Israel advocates had failed to stop. A range of speakers, including Danny Danon, Israels United Nations ambassador, and Ronald S. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, described B.D.S. as a dishonest effort to delegitimize and destroy Israel. ANKARA, Turkey A court on Tuesday convicted a former Miss Turkey of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan through social media postings and gave her a 14-month suspended sentence, amid deepening concerns that the country is moving toward an increasingly authoritarian form of rule. The court in Istanbul found Merve Buyuksarac, 27, guilty of insulting a public official, but immediately suspended the sentence on the condition that she does not reoffend within the next five years. Her lawyer, Emre Telci, said he would file a formal objection to the verdict and appeal her case at the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg, France. Ms. Buyuksarac, a model, who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2006, was briefly detained last year for sharing a satirical poem on her Instagram account in 2014. Prosecutors considered it insulting to Mr. Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time. She has denied insulting him. Allen Ginsberg and the Beat Generation will be celebrated with a six-day festival starting on Friday in downtown Manhattan. Beat & Beyond: A Gathering, presented by Howl! Happening and Bowery Poetry, will run through Wednesday, June 8, and include readings, screenings and musical performances. Ginsberg, who died in 1997, would have turned 90 on Friday, June 3, and contemporaries including Michael McClure and Ed Sanders will offer readings and remembrances at the gallery Howl! Happening on East 1st Street. At 8 p.m., a group of musicians will discuss and perform selections from Last Word on First Blues, a collection of Ginsbergs music that was recently reissued. On Saturday, June 4, Mr. McClure will present a historical re-enactment of the first time Mr. Ginsberg read Howl, in 1955 in San Francisco. On Monday, June 6, Howl! Happening will screen a collection of short films related to the Beats, including the Jack Kerouac-written Pull My Daisy, from 1959. A full schedule is at howlarts.org. Dmitri Shostakovichs Symphony No. 7 is a monumental, historically freighted score. Composed partly during the Siege of Leningrad, it is a programmatic evocation of war that was broadcast at the invading Germans. Used as propaganda and often denigrated as such, it can be interpreted more subtly, its crude bombast sardonically indicting Stalinist as well as Nazi totalitarianism, its pathos expressing private emotions forbidden by the Soviet state. Personal Symphonic Movement, by the Finnish choreographer Elina Pirinen, acknowledges this heaviness by dodging and resisting it. Against world-historical significance, this dance sets personal banality. The mismatch is intended ironically, but that dissonance is too weak and brittle to sustain the work across the scores 75 minutes. The program, which had its United States debut at New York Live Arts on Wednesday as part of the Joyce Theaters Joyce Unleashed series, gives Shostakovich the first word. Much of the symphonys first movement plays in darkness, and then, as the Bolero-like snare drums kick in, lights come up and fog swirls. Eventually, Ms. Pirinen, Kati Korosuo and Katja Sallinen emerge with awe-struck, expressive faces. Then they smash plastic baggies on their heads, and colored paint drips down like egg yolk. Is this comedy? The sense of vulgar farce continues as the women twitch and flop on the ground. They grab their own crotches and tweak each others nipples. They exchange kisses and spit. Ms. Korosuo squeezes a marshmallow between her bared buttocks. These ladies cant keep their pants on. These artists were compelled to focus on Harlem, their adopted home, which despite being the center of a cultural revival during the Harlem Renaissance, suffered a great economic toll tied to the Depression. They also witnessed the mounting postwar frustrations among their neighbors, black men who had been enlisted to fight but whose freedoms remained limited upon their return home. Harlem Is Nowhere gets at these disparities and shows the economic effects of segregation at the Lafargue Mental Hygiene Clinic in Harlem, the first racially integrated psychiatric center of both staff and clientele in New York City. It was also the site of an earlier photo and text collaboration, between Richard Wright and Richard Saunders, and studies there played a role in Brown v. Board of Education. Ellison really viewed the clinic as a prism for understanding African-American experiences, primarily with migration and urbanization and the precariousness of life in a ghetto, Gabriel N. Mendes, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego, who wrote a book about the clinic, Under the Strain of Color, said in a phone interview. He was able to capture what African-American patients were reckoning with in regards to different forms of mental disorders. But he also used Lafargue as an elaboration of what African-American life was in a profoundly contradictory system. 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. Janice Crouch, who founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network with her husband, Paul, and preached a gospel of prosperity with him on TBN programs, reaching millions of viewers around the world, died on Tuesday. She was 78. Her death was confirmed in a family statement on TBNs website. The network said she had been hospitalized on May 25 after a stroke, but gave no other details. At her death, the network and members of her family were fighting in court over multiple lawsuits, including one involving an accusation of rape and a cover-up, and another claiming financial improprieties. Mrs. Crouch was a convivial and colorful presence on the air, typically appearing in a bouffant frosted pink or champagne. Speaking with a singsong lilt, she referred to herself as Mama as she delivered an uplifting version of Scripture that included personal encounters with the divine and linked spirituality to material success. The higher-risk airbags are not fitted with a drying agent that helps protect the interior from damaging moisture. Fourteen automakers are recalling more than 60 million vehicles to fix the defect in the biggest and most complex recall in automotive history. I find it bizarre on multiple levels, said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, an automotive research company. Multiple mainstream automakers essentially know that they are selling cars that already have a defective part in them. And its not a defective windshield wiper or sun visor hinge. Its an airbag, a primary safety device, he said. Mr. Brauer said a tight supply of airbags worldwide meant automakers were struggling to find alternative suppliers. But he said that he thought automakers should be required to disclose which models have the airbags that will be recalled. If a company is unwilling to disclose which models, I as a consumer would hesitate buying any of their cars until I know which ones are affected, Mr. Brauer said. What if they required every car with these airbags to have an additional sticker put on them? At the root of the problem is a compound called ammonium nitrate, which helps generate the gases that inflate the airbag. Ammonium nitrate breaks down over time when it is exposed to moisture or temperature swings and, when activated, can cause its metal casing to disintegrate. In some versions of the airbags, a drying agent is used to prevent moisture from damaging the interior. Nanette Rainone, who as a reporter and programmer at the New York radio station WBAI in the late 1960s and early 70s created some of the first programs dedicated to feminism and womens issues, died on May 23 at her home in Manhattan. She was 73. The cause was complications of breast cancer, her son, Bruno Blumenfeld, said. Ms. Rainone (pronounced ray-KNOWN) was a volunteer at the station in 1969 when she developed the idea for Womankind, a feminist news and information radio show that included interviews. At the time, feminism was struggling to earn a place in left-wing politics, where radical ideas still coexisted with sexist attitudes. Ms. Rainone hoped to overcome this paradox, taking a point of view shaped by her membership in groups like the Feminists and New York Radical Feminists. She soon added Electra Rewired, a program produced entirely by women for women. It was broadcast live at night and ran until dawn, with listeners calling in to discuss the topics addressed by the host, Liza Cowan, and her guests. He is not alone in that reckoning, although many people in both parties declined to be quoted by name given the tenuous politics of the issue. Besides a new president, the Senate could have a new majority leader next year, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, if Democrats win control, and he is unlikely to promote an issue that so divides the union-friendly party. There is a pathway forward here, Mr. Froman said. And what were trying to do right now is just maximize the likelihood that well be able to walk down that path successfully. Whether that is wishful thinking or a real prospect will have to come into focus well before November because supporters would likely need to begin congressional hearings in September to clear the path for a vote in the lame-duck session of Congress after Election Day. And the forces do seem aligned against the pacts approval. Months ago, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader who is pro-trade but worried about keeping Republican seats, ruled out a vote before the election. The so-called T.P.P. would phase out thousands of tariffs, open markets and impose new trade rules, including for labor rights and environmental standards, on signatory nations that span both sides of the Pacific, including Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, Chile and Mexico. And Mrs. Clinton appears to have put her finger on the scale against a vote in the lame-duck session. Asked by an anti-T.P.P. group if she would oppose a lame-duck vote on the accord if elected, Mrs. Clinton responded, I have said I oppose the T.P.P. agreement and that means before and after the election. Forget see now/buy now; think see now/take now. Early Tuesday, just two days after its extravagant Cruise show at the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Louis Vuitton experienced the downside of the applause it had attracted as the first major European brand to take a fashion show to Brazil: Its Ipanema store was robbed. According to a Brazilian spokesman for Louis Vuitton, thieves broke in at 2 a.m. and stole handbags worth about 500,000 reals, or nearly $140,000.The military police later secured the store, the spokesman said, as many local customers and tourists were lining up to buy items as a result of the show. They came after the robbers, the spokesman said. The theft could be seen as either karmic justice for daring to bring a very exclusive event to a city and country in the throes of economic turmoil and political unrest, or perhaps the result of inciting so much desire and bringing so much attention to the brand that criminals realized there could be a lucrative black market for its goods. (Coincidentally, part of the Vuitton itinerary for its Cruise guests was a shopping venture in Ipanema, an affluent neighborhood of Rio, on Sunday.) Either way, the timing of the theft probably was not a coincidence. It will be interesting to see what lesson, if any, brands draw from the event, especially as the Cruise shows continue to escalate in far-flung destinations. It was the party to be at for those in the stationery world, and yes, there is one. Paper, obviously, is not the main medium for messaging these days, but increasingly it is one that can transmit like none other wry pop-culture commentary about the digital age and the odd connected-yet-disconnected dynamics it has created. Wedding announcement cards exclaim, They Swiped Right! Romantic cards extol the promise of a night of Netflix and Chill. Congratulation cards may combine a heavy stock of paper, letter-pressed printing and a Twitter-friendly hashtag, #Instablessed. Creativity is the thing that rose to the top when the internet screwed up stationery, said Melinda Morris, who has attended the show since she was little, then alongside her mother. Ms. Morris now owns a paper-goods store in Park Slope, Brooklyn, called Lion in the Sun. The curious started to show up at the soaring, gallerylike space in Red Hook, Brooklyn, around 10 on a recent Sunday morning, wearing skaterish black knit caps, or on-trend Italian sneakers, or minimalist single-line tattoos. They paused, as in reverence, at the doorway, taking a quizzical glance at the striking metallic installations (industrial sculptures, in a sense) glimmering on the bare concrete floors. They had come to this remote waterfront neighborhood, once home to longshoremen and now to galleries and Post-Expressionists, to check out the latest work not by Koons or Hirst but, rather, by Musk Elon Musk, a founder of Tesla Motors. In a corporate statement as audacious as anything in the Whitney Biennial, Silicon Valleys futuristic maker of electric luxury cars has opened a showroom, of all things, in the middle of one of Brooklyns edgiest arts quadrants. The man who received the first penis transplant in the United States left a hospital on Wednesday, three and a half weeks after the operation. He is recovering well, with good blood flow to the transplanted organ and no signs of rejection, his doctors said. Everything seems to be healing, said the patient, Thomas Manning, 64, a bank courier from Halifax, Mass. Everythings fine. Its going to get better, too. Mr. Manning needed the transplant because his penis was removed in 2012 to treat cancer. The replacement organ, from a deceased donor, was attached during a 15-hour operation on May 8 and 9 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Hes doing great, said Dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. So far, so good. Were very pleased. Pop Out Boyz, a rap collective from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, took their lyrics from real life when they released a single this spring all about the material rewards of a crime not often mentioned in urban pop music credit card fraud, prosecutors said. The song, titled For a Scammer, was rooted in experience, the prosecutors said. Members of the group and their associates have been indicted in Manhattan on grand larceny charges, accused of stealing more than $250,000 worth of luxury goods from Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue over the last year. The songs chorus boasts, Im cracking cards cause Im a scammer, using a street term for card fraud. At one point, one of the vocalists raps, Watch the money do a back flip, early morning up at Saks Fifth, you see it, you want it, you have it. The case reflects a broader trend in New York City, the Manhattan district attorneys office said. As street crime and drug dealing have declined over the last two decades, there has been a surge in identity theft and credit card fraud, and these crimes are increasingly being committed by relatively unsophisticated young adults from working-class homes, the police and prosecutors said. But on Wednesday, in a strongly worded statement, Success said that the courts decision would not come in time to allow it to prepare for the next school year and blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio for forcing the network to cancel its program. Image Eva S. Moskowitz, the founder of the Success Academy charter network. Credit... Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times Success currently has 72 students in prekindergarten at three schools and was planning to expand the program to two other schools next year. The dispute over prekindergarten is the latest skirmish in a continuing feud between Ms. Moskowitz and the mayor. Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, is a critic of charter schools who pledged during his campaign to end the practice of giving such schools space in public school buildings. After taking office, he sought to block three Success schools from getting space, but backed down after the networks supporters unleashed $5 million worth of television advertisements attacking him. In a letter sent on Tuesday to parents of students accepted into prekindergarten classes at Success school for next year, the network blamed Mr. de Blasio for the decision to cancel the program and urged parents to sign an open letter to the mayor accusing him of hypocrisy and of putting politics above childrens education. The letter, which the network released publicly on Wednesday, states in part: You say you care about all kids but then discriminate against public charter kids and families. You say you care about inequality, and yet you keep working-class families who cannot afford private school or to move out of the city from getting access to world-class education, our ticket to equity. Sauna is an essential place for cleansing and purifying our minds and bodies, Paakkonen says. In Finland, its not a luxury. Its a part of everyday life. No cellphones will be allowed in any of the three saunas, as its generally considered a quiet place where the Finns go to practice omissa oloissaan, or aloneness with ones thoughts. The original design for the Avanto Architects project located in a formerly open stretch of land in Hernesaari, a small peninsula in Helsinki that is transitioning from an industrial to a residential area was so ambitious, construction companies wouldnt even provide a quote. We loved it so much, we tripled the budget, Paakkonen says, referring to Antero Vartia, his business partner and a member of Finnish Parliament. The duo also worked with Nextimber, a start-up technology that converts waste wood into wood panels, to make the building as environmentally friendly as possible. As a result, Loyly is the first project in Finland to earn certification from the Forest Stewardship Council. Virtual reality is all fun and games, until your avatar gets strip-searched at the border. Things havent gone that far yet, but it might be time to get ready. As Farhad Manjoo reports, the biggest American technology companies appear to be headed for a global clash with governments that want to curb their practices. The most familiar controls have to do with the storage and movement of personal data, which compelled Amazon to build data centers in Germany to abide with laws on keeping personal information inside that country. At the time, an Amazon executive called German law a form of customer demand. New types of control go into things like perhaps compelling Netflix to offer local content in Europe and forbidding Facebook to provide a limited type of free internet access and refusing Apples attempt at selling refurbished iPhones in India. The Indian government wants smartphones that have 30 percent local parts, but the big global conflict here is equally about the way that technology is now overtly steering culture, something nations often protect as vigorously as their borders. Testing Backup Services Apples iCloud was straightforward. In the iPhones camera settings, flipping on iCloud Photo Library uploads all your photos to iCloud, which is accessible by Apple and Windows devices. Dropboxs photo-backup service uploads photos to your Dropbox folder, which is compatible with various devices like Windows PCs, iPhones and Android phones. For Google Photos, as soon as you set up the app, it starts backing everything up in Googles cloud service called Drive, also accessible on various devices. All three services took several days to back up my entire library over a Wi-Fi connection while I was asleep. Image Google Photos sorts, organizes and safeguards your photos. Google Photos quickly set itself apart with its smarter auto-sorting features. It scans your photos and organizes them in several ways. For one, it can detect the face of a person and group all the photos of that person into an album, which you can name. With photos taken within a short time span, like your trip to a beach over the weekend, Google Photos might create a video montage or an album with a label like A weekend in San Francisco. The service also managed to identify pictures of items, like receipts and food, and group them into their own albums with labels. Dropbox and Apples photo services had auto-organizing features, but not the smarts of Googles service. Apples app groups photos into collections based on when and where photos were taken; it can also organize photos by faces, similar to Google. Dropbox uploads photos into a folder labeled Camera Uploads and labels each file by the date and time it was taken. Another benefit of Google Photos is its free offering is the most generous enough to let you try out the service thoroughly before deciding whether to pay. The service offers to store an unlimited number of compressed images at no cost. For full-resolution images, you get 15 gigabytes of free storage and can pay at least $2 a month for 100 gigs. Image In the iPhones camera settings, flipping on iCloud Photo Library uploads all your photos to iCloud. In contrast, Apple offers five gigabytes free and thereafter charges at least $1 a month for 50 gigs; Dropbox offers two gigabytes of free storage before charging at least $10 a month for a terabyte. Silicon Valley technophiles cannot necessarily claim the same. In April, as Mr. Trump was wrapping up his quest for the nomination and beginning to look ahead to the general election, a handful of people who work in tech around the country gave a grand total of $5,395 to his campaign, according to figures that will be released Thursday by Crowdpac, a start-up that tracks donations. Add that paltry sum to the $16,420 that Mr. Trump raised since last summer from people who work in tech and it is still nowhere near enough to cover the cost of a year at Stanford. Hillary Clinton has raised $2.7 million from tech donors since beginning her campaign, while Bernie Sanders has raised $6 million, according to new Crowdpac research. Mr. Trump was largely self-funding his campaign. Now, however, he requires cash and lots of it. Out of the millions of people who work in technology, from engineers to Uber drivers, just 52 have given to Trump. Hell need many more if he truly intends to build a world-class finance organization, said Mason Harrison, a Crowdpac spokesman. Mitt Romney raised over $8 million from the technology sector in 2012. Thats a lot of money to leave on the table. Whether those tech backers are out there, however, is an unsettled question. Scott Slinker, a 55-year-old entrepreneur in San Jose, Calif., gave the candidate $250 last summer. I know Trumps supporters are here, he said. Theyre just not vocal. They dont want to be stereotyped and pigeonholed and labeled. Other tech darlings have been busy raising money from private investors as well, pushing back any need to join the public stock markets. The messaging company Snapchat raised $1.8 billion in its most recent round, according to a regulatory filing last month. Among Snapchats new investors in the round were the Alibaba Group of China and the investment firms General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price and Lone Pine Capital. Other tech start-ups have not fared as well in raising money over the last several months. Some so-called unicorns businesses valued at more than $1 billion have struggled, and several, like the wearables maker Jawbone, have had to raise money at lower valuations. Uber has been spending not only to expand but also to defend its territory which covers 460 cities in more than 69 countries against incumbents in regions like Southeast Asia and Europe. China, in particular, is a difficult battleground, as Uber is spending millions in a subsidy war with Didi Chuxing, the dominant ride-hailing start-up in the country. The Middle East is among Ubers increasingly important overseas markets; the company has already said it plans to invest $250 million there. Uber has rolled out its service in 15 cities and nine countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia. The start-up said that it now has over 395,000 active riders in the Middle East, up fivefold from a year ago, and 19,000 drivers. Uber said expanding its service may be a boon for Saudi Arabia, a country where women are not allowed to drive because of fatwas, or religious edicts, issued by conservative Muslim clerics that uphold a distinct segregation between the sexes. There is no formal law prohibiting women from driving in the region. Each week, Nate Cohn, The Upshots elections analyst, and Toni Monkovic, an Upshot editor, will discuss the 2016 race and post a lightly edited transcript of their written exchange. The Democratic primary season has led to some grumbling from supporters of Bernie Sanders that the primary system is rigged. This week, we start on that subject, and look ahead to the California contest on June 7. Toni Bernie Sanders has benefited from the caucus system; its a major reason he has been competitive. If Hillary Clinton had dominated caucuses instead of primaries, I suspect that he would have complained that caucuses were flawed that they were less democratic than primaries and less accessible to the working class. And if Sanders had dominated with Democrats and lost among independents, instead of the other way around, I suspect we wouldnt be hearing calls from him to open more primaries to independents. Thats just standard politics any other candidate would have behaved the same way. And Sanders is far less of a finger-in-the-wind politician than many. But it goes against this general idea that his side is trying to convey: that hes pure, that hes above politics. In recounting the events on Facebook, Ms. Ulrich said she and her companion, Ms. Kenyon, had gone with Ms. Saltzer to the restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel for happy hour. At one point, Ms. Ulrich noticed Ms. Kenyon making a funny face. What had caught her attention? A man nearby had just slipped something into his companions drink, Ms. Ulrich wrote: He pulled her glass toward him, kind of awkwardly, then he took out a little black vial. He opened it up and dropped something in. Then he tried to play it cool, like checking his phone and hiding the vial in his hand and then trying to bring it back down slyly. Ms. Ulrich continued: Now, Fig is a nice restaurant. We were enjoying our charcuterie platter and some fancy cheeses. That type of place. She wrote that the couple had a bottle of wine they were splitting. It seemed like a first or second or third date, she said. The mans dinner companion had gone to the restroom. After a few Oh God. What do we dos, I got up to find her in the bathroom to tell her. Warn her. Tell her to get up and leave this creep. Make him drink it. Something, Ms. Ulrich wrote. She awkwardly loitered by the sinks in the bathroom, waiting to speak to the woman. I approached: Hey! Um, this is kind of weird, but, uh, we saw the guy you were with put something in your drink. A Texas man posted a photo of his dead girlfriends body on her Facebook page on Sunday after fatally stabbing her as part of a suicide pact, the police say. The image remained on the site for 36 hours before Facebook removed it. The man, Kenneth Alan Amyx, 45, told the authorities that he and his girlfriend, Jennifer Streit-Spears, 43, had discussed a suicide pact for months. They had been drinking at an apartment in Plano, Tex., and had agreed to stab each other until both died, according to a Plano Police Department affidavit. But Ms. Streit-Spears chickened out, Mr. Amyx said, and he had to finish her off, according to the affidavit. Officer David Tilley, a spokesman for the department, said that Mr. Amyx not only posted a photo of Ms. Streit-Spears nude and with her neck cut on her page, he also posted a selfie of his face covered in blood and the words Pray for us, the officer said. Officer Tilley said the photo of the body was dark, as though the lights had been out and the photo had been taken without a flash. Still, he said, it was quite disturbing. BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. Two Minneapolis police officers will not face federal charges in the fatal shooting of a young black man in November, an episode that roiled the city with days of demonstrations, federal officials said Wednesday, citing evidence that seemed to bolster the officers account of what happened. Most crucially, the evidence suggested that Jamar Clark, 24, was not, in fact, handcuffed when he was shot, despite claims by eyewitnesses that he had been, Andrew M. Luger, the United States attorney for Minnesota, said at a news conference. And he pointed to evidence that could support the officers claim that Mr. Clark had been grabbing one officers gun. To prove that the officers had violated Mr. Clarks civil rights, the government would have had to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the use of force was objectively unreasonable, and that the officers had acted with the specific intent to do something that the law forbids, Mr. Luger said. After a lengthy investigation by his office, the F.B.I. and the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, he said, prosecutors could not make those claims. There are no winners here, and theres no victory for anyone, he said. A young man has died, and it is a tragedy. Hillary Clinton holds a small lead over Donald J. Trump nationally, according to a poll released on Wednesday that shows United States voters sharply divided along gender and party lines. The poll, by Quinnipiac University, found that 45 percent of voters supported Mrs. Clinton, while 41 percent backed Mr. Trump. When adding candidates from other parties, such as Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee, and Jill Stein of the Green Party, the race becomes a virtual tie, with Mrs. Clinton leading Mr. Trump by just two percentage points. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The results suggest that Republicans and Democrats are ready to line up behind their likely standard-bearers, with 86 percent of Republicans supporting Mr. Trump and 90 percent of Democrats backing Mrs. Clinton, who is still working to defeat her opponent in the primaries, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Like in many polls, Mr. Sanders performed better than Mrs. Clinton against Mr. Trump in a hypothetical matchup, leading him by nine percentage points. A wave of prominent Republicans have announced their intention to skip the partys national convention in Cleveland this summer, the latest sign that Donald J. Trump, who last week secured the delegates needed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, continues to struggle in his effort to unite the party behind his candidacy. The list of those who have sent regrets includes governors and United States senators almost all facing tough re-election fights this year and lifelong party devotees who have attended every convention for decades. Some are renouncing their seats like conscientious objectors. I could not in good conscience attend a coronation and celebration of Donald Trump, wrote one Indiana delegate, Josh Claybourn, in a blog post resigning his position. The coolness toward Mr. Trump amounts to a remarkable rebuke. A broad range of party leaders are openly rejecting the man who will be their nominee. And the July 18-21 convention, usually a moment of public catharsis for political parties after contentious primaries, is shaping up to be another reminder of the disarray and disunity that is still rocking the Republican Party after a bitter 17-way fight for the nomination. NEWARK Hillary Clinton on Wednesday seized upon revelations about Trump University, the for-profit institution started by Donald J. Trump, calling him a fraud who wants to rip off the country he is running to lead. In the first minutes of her speech at a rally here, Mrs. Clinton brought up newly released testimony by former employees of what she called the so-called Trump University, telling the crowd, You cant make this up. The testimony, released on Tuesday, portrayed Trump University as an unscrupulous business that used high-pressure sales tactics and deceptive marketing to lure thousands of people to enroll in classes. In many cases, the employees said, customers were persuaded to purchase classes they could not afford, by opening credit cards or borrowing the money. Speaking at the Newark campus of Rutgers University, Mrs. Clinton told the crowd that employees had testified that Trump U. was a fraudulent scheme where Donald Trump enriched himself at the expense of hard-working people. She said that Mr. Trump and those who worked for him took advantage of vulnerable Americans. The head of Hispanic media relations at the Republican National Committee is resigning this month in what appears to be another indication of the lingering discomfort some party officials have about working to elect Donald J. Trump president. Ruth Guerra, who is of Mexican descent and was in charge of carrying the partys message to Hispanic voters, is joining the American Action Network, a Republican-aligned super PAC, she confirmed in a brief interview on Wednesday. The American Action Network is expected to spend millions on congressional races, and the new job is in essence a promotion, one co-worker said. But Ms. Guerra told colleagues this year that she was uncomfortable working for Mr. Trump, according two R.N.C. aides who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the difficulties surrounding the partys presumptive standard-bearer. William Weld, the vice-presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party, said Wednesday that he believed Hillary Clinton had done nothing criminal in using personal email as secretary of state. Mr. Weld spoke during a wide-ranging interview alongside Gary Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico and the Libertarian Partys presidential nominee. Both secured the Libertarian nomination Sunday at the partys contentious convention in Orlando, Fla., over the weekend. The remarks from Mr. Weld, who served as the governor of Massachusetts as a Republican in the 1990s, are deeply at odds with criticisms from Republicans over Mrs. Clintons tenure at the State Department and the scandal involving her use of a private server for all work emails. His comments could also fuel further skepticism among some Libertarian voters who view Mr. Welds right-of-center years as governor with suspicion. They could also inflame criticism that he is a de facto stalking horse for Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic front-runner for the nomination. ELKHART, Ind. President Obama on Wednesday forcefully inserted himself into the 2016 presidential campaign, assailing Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party for peddling economic policies that he said would benefit the rich and connected at the expense of a still-struggling middle class. Mr. Obama framed this years presidential contest as a choice between a Democratic Party committed to working families and a Republican Party he said was beholden to China, big oil, big banks and the wealthiest Americans. White House aides cast the speech as the presidents first major attempt to influence the race to succeed him. If what you care about in this election is your pocketbook; if what youre concerned about is who will look out for the interests of working people and grow the middle class, Mr. Obama said in a fiery, campaignlike speech, if what youre concerned about is the economy, then the debate is not even close. Aides said the president, who is expected to ultimately endorse Hillary Clinton, was eager to jump into the carnival-like political debate between Mr. Trump, the presumptive G.O.P. nominee, and the Democrats choice. OAKLAND, Calif. After Friday Prayer at the Oakland Islamic Center, Mamoun Kund, a 51-year-old Sudanese-American, sat at a table and did something he had not done in the 11 years he has been a citizen: He registered to vote. Until recently, he had no interest, he said, but now I hear talk about Muslims, Hispanics and women. It doesnt make sense, he added. Americans arent like that. Upstairs in the area for women, Dina Agag, who wore a bright red head scarf, picked up voter registration forms for herself and five members of her family. As she did, a friend whispered, This is the most important vote in our life. These are unsettling times for many American Muslims. People are losing their sleep, said Naeem Baig, the president of the Islamic Circle of North America. The political environment is creating a divide in America by race, language, gender and religion. But it has also had an unintended consequence: galvanizing Muslims to vote. In late December after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., and the call by Donald J. Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States the United States Council of Muslim Organizations, a national umbrella group, announced plans to register a million voters. HARARE, Zimbabwe Joice Mujuru became a legend at 18. Everyone in Zimbabwe knows the story of her shooting down an enemy helicopter in her countrys war of liberation. Spill Blood was her nom de guerre. She married an even more famous freedom fighter, and the couple became political royalty after independence in 1980. She considered herself to be like a daughter of the only leader Zimbabwe has known, Robert Mugabe. She served as a vice president and was destined, it seemed, to succeed him. But perhaps she and her husband, Solomon, were a little too eager for a succession. He was killed in 2011 in a mysterious fire that Ms. Mujuru now says was an assassination by forces loyal to the president. The presidents increasingly powerful wife, Grace, rushed to the Mujurus palatial estate to offer her condolences in a way that heightened Ms. Mujurus suspicions. Instead of showing she had come to mourn, she was now busy admiring the house, Ms. Mujuru said. The presidents wife eventually led a purge of Ms. Mujuru from the governing party, accusing her of plotting a coup, performing witchcraft and wearing miniskirts. OTTAWA Some residents returned to Fort McMurray, Alberta, on Wednesday for the first time since wildfires forced them out and ravaged their city four weeks ago. But it was hardly a triumphant homecoming, as the citys gradual reopening came amid concerns that it was premature. The returning residents, identified by government-issued wristbands, were watched over by more than 300 officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and were given a long list of warnings. Officials told them to keep their gas tanks topped off, and to take at least two weeks worth of food, water, medicine and other essentials with them, because stores and other services in the city have not fully reopened. And many of the 88,000 evacuees have been told that it is still not safe for them to return: older people, children under 7, pregnant women and people with any of a variety of medical conditions. The citys tap water is not drinkable yet, and may not be available for weeks. Other utilities are not back online, either. They have been years of white terror and suffocation, the groups 131 surviving members said in a statement issued on Wednesday. This year, it highlighted the police harassment they face and once again called for justice for the victims. The government has never apologized for the killings or revised its judgment that the protests in Tiananmen Square were a counterrevolutionary rebellion. Here are excerpts from the statement, as translated by Human Rights in China: Twenty-seven years have passed since the June Fourth Massacre of 1989. For us, family members of the victims families, it has been 27 years of white terror and suffocation. For 27 years, the police have been the ones who have dealt with us. For 27 years, they have also been our frequent visitors at home. Each beginning of the year, from the anniversary of the late premier Mr. Zhao Ziyangs death, to the Two Congresses, Tomb Sweeping Day, anniversary of June Fourth, to major national events and foreign politicians visits we the victims families are eavesdropped and surveilled upon by the police; we are followed or even detained, and our computers searched and confiscated. The police use contemptible means such as making up stories, fabricating facts, issuing threats, etc., against us. For 27 years, we, victims families, have rationally maintained our three appeals: truth, accountability and compensation, in an effort to seek a just resolution to the miscarriage of justice of June Fourth. But the government has ignored us, pretending that the June Fourth Massacre that shocked the whole world never happened in China, and refusing to respond to our appeals, while our fellow countrymen gradually lose the memory of the event. This year may be triply painful for Ms. Ding. Her husband died in September, and her daughter in December, of cancer, at the age of 49 or 50, according to Ms. You of the Tiananmen Mothers. Ms. Ding has a second son, believed to be in his 50s. The investigation centers on five officers in the Changping District, a northern suburb of Beijing. Mr. Lei was detained outside a Beijing foot massage parlor on the night of May 7, according to official police accounts at the time. The term massage parlor in China often refers to a brothel. One of the most detailed official accounts appeared on May 11 in Peoples Daily, the Communist Party newspaper. The officer in charge of the Dongxiaokou station in Changping, Xing Yongrui, said in an interview with the paper that the police had detained Mr. Lei in an anti-prostitution raid. Mr. Xing said Mr. Lei had bitten police officers and tried to escape twice. It took five officers 20 minutes to subdue Mr. Lei, Mr. Xing was quoted as saying. The police said Mr. Lei had a heart attack in custody and was declared dead at a hospital, according to Chinese news reports. A report by Xinhua, the state news agency, quoted family members as saying that they had seen bruises on Mr. Leis head and arms. On Wednesday, the Beijing Procuratorate said on its official microblog that the preliminary investigation into the episode had been completed, and that Mr. Lei was suspected of visiting a brothel and died after the police took enforcement measures. Beijing - June 1, 2016 1. Various of press conference with two former Chinese Mitsubishi forced labour victims and a relative 2. Representatives from Mitsubishi company bowing to the public 3. Various of reporters and audience 4. Mid of two former Chinese Mitsubishi forced labour victims 5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Masatoshi Uchida, lawyer representing victims and relatives ++APPROXIMATE TRANSLATION++ The verdict is a final one, and there will be no more legal procedures. Mitsubishi admits the forced labour conducted in the past was illegal, Mitsubishi accepts it was a crime, and that it violates international law. The company wants to start a process of reconciliation. 6. Relatives pushing into the meeting room 7. Close up of picture of forced labour victim being held by relative 8. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Wang Yumei, granddaughter of man forced to work for Mitsubishi: It has nothing to do with being satisfied or not. It has been more than 70 years and we have been waiting for an answer. We are here because we want to find out the result. 9. Various of relatives trying to enter news conference 10. Various of slides being shown of process of reaching agreement between plaintiffs and Mitsubishi 11. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Kan Cuihua, daughter of victim of forced labour: It has been a difficult task, and we have finally reached a result today. We want to tell the media and the whole world, this is our victory. 12. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Zhang Yide, 89, victim of forced labour: I want to say my two words, I do not agree on this peaceful agreement. 13. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Yan Yucheng, 87, victim of forced labour: The Second World War ended 70 years ago, our forced labour case today has reached finally a solution. We have won this case. This is a big victory that merits a celebration. NEW DELHI Eight months after a mob beat to death a Muslim man rumored to have slaughtered a cow and eaten its meat, a new analysis has found that the meat of a cow or its progeny was retrieved from the victims home. The forensic report, leaked to the Indian news media on Tuesday, directly contradicts a previous analysis released five months ago by a local veterinary hospital, which determined that meat seized at the home of the victim, Muhammad Ikhlaq, was that of a goat. A police official said on Wednesday that the nature of the meat had no bearing on the prosecution of those implicated in Mr. Ikhlaqs killing. All accused are booked for murder, and it does not matter to us whether the meat is of a goat or of a cow, said Abhishek Yadav, the police superintendent in rural Noida, where the crime occurred. A murder is a murder. Engulfed in complete darkness, the scholars made a beginning in the direction of locating Kapilavastu like a wild-goose chase, K. M. Srivastava, of the Archaeological Survey of India, wrote in a memoir of his expedition to the Indian town of Piprahwa. His discoveries, he wrote, a bit huffily, so infuriated a particular set of scholars that they derived pleasure in indulging in the most unparliamentary language questioning the identity of Kapilavastu. The Indian consensus has held at least in India, where tour operators market Piprahwa as the place where the Buddha spent his childhood grappling with the overwhelming and puzzling problem of human existence. This spring, Indias minister of culture opened a museum there, displaying evidence, mostly in the form of inscriptions on ancient seals, that was said to prove it was the true site of the Buddhas childhood home. Image A Unesco-backed team cut down through brick structures in Tilaurakot, Nepal, last year and discovered a second fortification with ramparts made of clay. Credit... Hari Thapi/Unesco Across the border in Tilaurakot, a Nepali-British team supported by Unesco has been plowing ahead with its own hypothesis: that an Indian-organized expedition in the late 1960s had simply stopped digging too early. The leader of that Indian expedition, Debala Mitra, uncovered traces of a sprawling brick city, but she said it could not have been Kapilavastu because it had been built hundreds of years after the Buddhas life. Last year, the Unesco-backed team cut down through the brick structures Ms. Mitra had found and discovered a second fortification whose ramparts were made of clay. Then they dug even farther, slowing their work to a crawl. They were watching for cylindrical depressions in the earth: evidence that under the clay fort had once stood timber fence posts, perhaps for so long that the wood had decayed, leaving a shell of earth behind. He further unsettled South Korean officials by declaring in May, during an interview with Reuters, that he would be willing to negotiate directly with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, to try to stop the Norths nuclear arms program. I would have no problem speaking to him, Mr. Trump said. At first, Mr. Trumps remarks were largely dismissed in South Korea, but the news media here sounded a growing alarm about them as it became clearer that he would become the Republican nominee. It is scary just to imagine Trump, who often doesnt remember what he has said, getting elected president and manipulating Korean Peninsula issues by drastically shifting his positions, a South Korean newspaper, Kyunghyang Shinmun, wrote in an editorial in May. South Korean officials have told reporters that they are trying to reach out to Mr. Trumps policy advisers in hopes of persuading him that the American military presence here benefits the United States as well as South Korea. The Rodong Sinmun article was the second about Mr. Trump to appear in North Koreas state news media in two days. On Tuesday, a lesser propaganda outlet, the website DPRK Today, carried what it called an opinion piece submitted by Han Young-muk, whom it identified as an ethnic Korean scholar in China. Such articles are seen as having less authority than official commentaries in Rodong Sinmun, which hew closely to the party line. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan had successful open-heart surgery in London and is expected to return to his country by the end of this month, family members and government officials have said. Mr. Sharif, 66, underwent four bypasses on Tuesday at a hospital in London and was in stable condition, said his daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Ms. Sharif said in a series of messages on Twitter that the surgery, which lasted over four hours, required arteries to be grafted. It was the second open-heart operation for Mr. Sharif, who has been treated for heart problems over the past five years. Last week, Mr. Sharif went to London for medical treatment, for the second time since April, as political controversy brewed over revelations that his family had amassed wealth offshore. Opposition politicians have pressed Mr. Sharif to resign or step down until an inquiry into the accusations clears his name. Mr. Sharif has resisted those calls but has offered to be investigated. BANGKOK The Thai wildlife authorities found 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer on Wednesday at the Tiger Temple, a controversial tourist attraction in western Thailand, and were investigating whether the carcasses were evidence of the temples involvement in the illegal wildlife trade. The discovery came as Thai wildlife rangers were removing adult tigers from the temple in an effort to shut down the attraction after receiving complaints that the temple was trafficking in endangered species. The temple, a Buddhist monastery that offered paying tourists close contact with tigers, has long been accused by conservationists and animal rights activists of exploiting and abusing the animals, accusations the temple has denied. Wildlife officials said that only one of the dead cubs found on Wednesday had been reported to the government as required by law and that the police were investigating. BEIJING Chinas president, Xi Jinping, met with a senior envoy from North Korea here on Wednesday, in what appeared to be a slight thaw in a bilateral relationship that has been strained by Beijings concerns about the Norths nuclear weapons program. Mr. Xi greeted the envoy, Ri Su-yong, the day after North Korea tried unsuccessfully to fire an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Their encounter also followed the news that Mr. Ri had brought to China a stern message insisting that the North would not stop trying developing nuclear arms. Mr. Ri, a former foreign minister and a confidant of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, told Chinese Communist Party officials on Tuesday that his country would continue to expand its nuclear arsenal and had no intention of giving up the weapons, the state-run Central News Agency in North Korea reported. In the meeting with Mr. Ri, Mr. Xi seemed to strike a positive tone, telling him that China attached great importance to developing a friendly relationship with North Korea and was seeking calm on the Korean Peninsula, Chinas state-owned news agency, Xinhua, said Wednesday evening. It must be possible to work through a historical event that took place 100 years ago, he added. But Aydan Ozoguz, the governments commissioner for integration, said that while she would vote for the resolution, I still think it is the wrong path and that it will backfire. Mr. Erdogan and ultranationalist Turks will get a huge boost, Ms. Ozoguz said this week. They will use the resolution as proof of a further attack by the West on Turkey, she said. Reasonable, considered voices will be isolated and will have no chance to be heard for a long time. Mr. Ozdemir, though, argued that the resolution would not be to blame for limiting or stopping historical investigation, since Mr. Erdogan has already intervened expressly to squelch any such moves. The Green leader has also been critical of Ms. Merkel, accusing her of paying little heed to Turkey for most of her decade in power and now being forced to deal with Mr. Erdogan. Increasingly, the chancellor has engaged in a balancing act. When she visited Istanbul for a United Nations summit meeting last week, she spent time with Turkish intellectuals and lawyers critical of Mr. Erdogan before meeting the president. After a German comic lampooned Mr. Erdogan with a crude poem, Ms. Merkel initially criticized the verses, giving the impression which she later said was a mistake that she advocated curbing the freedom of satire in Germany. The Armenian resolution has illustrated the many sensitivities of dealing with Turkey. Mr. Ozdemir said that Ms. Merkel and her foreign minister, Mr. Steinmeier, had pushed last spring to postpone the vote on it. That was before the migrant crisis, when ties between Germany and Turkey were less complicated. And he has some lessons from the Scottish experience to impart. First, he said, psychology matters more than psephology ignore the polls, at least until the very end. Both telephone and internet polls are flawed when assessing support for referendums, because they are so rare, and what matters will be the overriding question in peoples minds as they vote. So it will be vital to manage the news cycle in the last 10 days, to shape the anxieties and aspirations of voters. In Scotland, opponents of independence focused on the economic risks and the inability of the yes side to answer crucial questions about currency and the sustainability of the oil-based economy. Now, both sides are pushing fear. Those who support membership are concentrating on the economic risks, while those who favor Brexit, as it is commonly known, are concentrating on immigration and risks to British identity. Cost versus control, Mr. Alexander said. But you also need a movement, not just an argument, since for voters, emotion matters as much as facts, he said. LONDON The worlds longest and deepest rail tunnel opened in Switzerland on Wednesday, nearly seven decades after it was first proposed and 17 years after construction began with a blast in the main shaft. The 35-mile, or nearly 57-kilometer, twin-bore Gotthard Base Tunnel clears the way for a high-speed rail link under the Swiss Alps that the Swiss government says will revolutionize freight and passenger transportation. The current four-hour trip between the economic hubs of Zurich and Milan will be cut by about an hour. The ultimate goal is a seamless high-speed rail trip from the Dutch city of Rotterdam, Europes busiest port, in the north, to Genoa, on Italys Tyrrhenian Sea coast, in the south. The society doesnt like him; he is the anti-Putin, Mr. Venediktov said. Putin is the constructor and he is the deconstructor. He called that perception unfair. In the interview, Mr. Gorbachev said, I keep saying that Russia needs more democracy. The hourlong interview took place at his shrinking foundation, where his office is dominated by an oil painting of his wife, Raisa, who died of leukemia in 1999. We hear, even from people close to Putin, statements that emphasize authoritarianism, that emphasize decisiveness and that suggest that democracy can only be achieved far into the future, Mr. Gorbachev said. I think if democracy is firmly rooted, if it is based on elections, if people have the chance to elect leaders at regular intervals, I think that is what we need. That is the basis for stability in foreign and domestic policy. In his twilight years, Mr. Gorbachev has become an isolated figure. Most of his contemporaries are dead. He is just critical enough about the lack of democracy under Mr. Putin that state-run television channels avoid him. His death has been announced more than once. Mr. Gorbachev does not fault Mr. Putin directly for the lack of democracy in Russia, although he was more critical of the president when his book was released in Russia last year. He began suffering from the same disease from which I used to suffer: self-assuredness, Mr. Gorbachev said at the time. He considers himself deputy-God, I dont know for what matters, though. He and others listed several reasons for muting his criticism. First, Mr. Gorbachev enjoys no immunity from prosecution, and hence like many government critics, feels increasingly uneasy as the Kremlin chips away at civil liberties. He said he feared being declared a foreign agent, a revived Stalinist label that basically means spy, and that is now being used to shutter dozens of civil society organizations. LONDON The European Unions executive branch chastised Poland on Wednesday after determining that it had failed to uphold the rule of law, a rare intervention that reflected increasing alarm in the West about the governments commitment to democratic norms. The adoption of the formal opinion by the executive branch, the European Commission, which could ultimately lead to sanctions, came after the commission opened an investigation in January into whether the right-wing government was subverting European Union values by threatening an independent judiciary. After days of negotiations intended to find a compromise that could save Poland and the governing Law and Justice party from an embarrassing public rebuke, Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the commission, said the bloc had decided to adopt a formal opinion. The opinion, the details of which were not disseminated, found that the government of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo had violated the principle of rule of law. It reflected the blocs concerns that Poland had, among other things, undermined the ability of the Polish constitutional court to rule on new legislation and appointed party loyalists to the judiciary, according to European Union officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. LONDON The Rhodes Trust announced on Wednesday the largest expansion of the Rhodes scholarship program in its 113-year history. The trust will open the program, which finances graduate study at the University of Oxford, to students from Ghana, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Our goal is to be completely a global scholarship, Charles Conn, the warden of Rhodes House and the chief executive of the Rhodes Trust, said in a telephone interview. Theres never been an increase like this before. The number of scholarships awarded each year will rise to 95 from 83, an increase that includes four new scholarships for Chinese students, announced last year. The number of Rhodes scholars studying at Oxford at any time will rise to about 250, from around 220. The announcement comes amid international, mostly negative, scrutiny of Cecil Rhodes, the 19th-century British diamond-mining magnate and imperialist who helped establish white minority rule in South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He endowed the scholarships in his will. PARIS A French naval vessel fitted with sophisticated underwater sensors has picked up a signal believed to have emanated from one of two data recorders from EgyptAir Flight 804, Egyptian and French officials said on Wednesday. The flight crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 while en route to Cairo from Paris, killing all 66 people on board. Data signals, and the discovery of wreckage and human remains, have suggested a rapid loss of control just before the crash. But the cause of the disaster remains a mystery. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility, though the Egyptian aviation minister, Sherif Fathy, has said that terrorism is a more likely cause for the crash than a technical failure. The flight recorders will be critical for determining whether the crash was the result of a deliberate act or an accident. The vessel that picked up the signal, the survey ship Laplace, has been taking part in the search for the data recorders from the Airbus A320 since last week. As the battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State fighters intensified outside the city of Falluja, at least 20,000 children were among the civilians believed to be trapped and coming under fire in the city, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Very few families have been able to leave, the United Nations childrens charity, Unicef said in a news release. According to reports, food and medicine are running out and clean water is in short supply. A visit to the front lines by The New York Times on Sunday showed heavy and continuous shelling of the city by pro-government forces. Shiite militia commanders said the tempo of the fighting might be slowed before any assault on the city itself to allow more civilians to leave. But the commanders acknowledged that relatively few civilians around 3,700, according to the United Nations had been able to escape as the fighting intensified over the last week. More than two years ago, Falluja became the first Iraqi city to be captured by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh. In the months afterward, the group blitzed across northern and western Iraq, consolidating power in Sunni Arab areas where hostility toward the Shiite national government had long been boiling over. RIYADH A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 men to death on Wednesday in connection with attacks on security forces in a Shiite area in the countrys east, the Al Arabiya satellite network reported. Of the 24 people tried, one was acquitted and nine others were given sentences ranging from three to 15 years, the network said. Those sentenced to death were accused of terrorism. The men were arrested a few years ago, when protests by members of Saudi Arabias Shiite minority roiled the Qatif area of Eastern Province, leading to clashes with the security forces that left dead about 20 protesters and a number of police officers. Many Shiites complain of discrimination in the Sunni-majority kingdom whose official creed considers some Shiite beliefs and practices heretical. Facing a United Nations commitment to start airdropping aid to civilians in rebel-held areas, the Syrian government eased some limits on humanitarian truck convoys on Wednesday and allowed one into a deprived Damascus suburb blockaded since 2012. Despite appearances of a relaxation, however, international aid workers, opposition figures and Western officials said the aid deliveries, conducted by the United Nations and the Red Cross, were minimal and contained no urgently needed food. Britains top diplomat described the convoys as a cynical gesture by the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, and suggested that the promised airdrops would soon begin. One government opponent called the truck deliveries farcically small. A five-truck convoy to Daraya, a rebellious Damascus suburb that had been denied deliveries for more than three years, contained some wheelchairs and a few dozen boxes of items like infant formula, vaccines, mosquito nets and anti-lice shampoo, according to residents reached by telephone and the internet. The first Beethoven sonata I learned as a young pianist was the dramatic Pathetique. When I started working on it, I tried to copy the way the great Rudolf Serkin played it on a recording I loved. There is a place for learning by emulating masters, but it can easily become inhibiting. Fairly early on, aspiring musicians must develop their own voices. So when a score that meticulously transcribes every detail of Glenn Goulds famed 1981 recording of Bachs Goldberg Variations was published recently, while I was impressed with the painstaking effort involved, I questioned what it was for. Whats its purpose? For whom is it intended? From what we know of Gould, he would have been baffled, even horrified, at the idea that a student learning the Goldberg Variations would precisely mimic his performance. He was too restless a thinker to consider any recording of his at all definitive. And imitating a pianist as idiosyncratic as Gould may not be a good idea for impressionable young musicians. Goulds 1981 version, issued just days before his death from a stroke at 50 in October 1982, electrified the classical music world nearly as much as his classic 1955 recording had. That first version turned what had been considered a harpsichord piece for Bach specialists and erudite audiences into an unlikely hit that made the gangly, 22-year-old Canadian a sensation with the new generation. The fascination remains, judging from a new hip-hop remix project of Gould recordings by a young music producer. The bulk of the book is Browns adaptations of Bible stories, some very familiar and others less so, all given some degree of explicitly interpretive spin. His evenhanded pace of four small panels on each page keeps the tone understated, and he gets a lot of comedic mileage out of rendering biblical dialogue into modern vernacular. (Jesus, on being told that he should be anointed, replies, I dont know Im not into ceremonies.) But Brown zeros in on the human drama in each story his images of David silently regarding Bathsheba make very clear the way power flows between them and his visual craftsmanship is as sharp as its ever been. Browns drawing on the books front cover alludes to the historiated initials of illuminated manuscripts, even as it presents the Bible as a clitoris. The only section of Mary Wept thats entirely speculation on Browns part concerns Matthew working on his Gospel, wondering how to hint that Mary had been a prostitute without having that revelation censored by scribes, and deciding to invent a genealogy for Jesus that included several women who took the sexual initiative for social advantage . . . I hope that, eventually, readers with eyes to see will understand. He hid his meaning well if it took close to 2,000 years for a curious artist to catch on. As a child, the British novelist Evie Wyld spent part of her time on the Australian coast, visiting her family, relaxing on the beach and having terrible fantasies about shark attacks. EVERYTHING IS TEETH (Pantheon, $24.95) is a lyrical reminiscence of her youthful fixation with sharks and with the conservationist and shark-attack survivor Rodney Fox. (The cover, following an unwelcome trend in publishing, follows Wylds name with illustrated by Joe Sumner, in smaller lettering. To read their collaboration, though, is to experience Sumners artwork at least as much as Wylds sparse, reflective narration.) Wylds fearful childhood visions are juxtaposed with her actual encounters with sharks: variously dead and beached, or small and helpless on her uncles fishing line, but never causing her as much trouble as a jellyfish that stings her. Sumners artwork here is mostly as broad and plain as a woodcut, black lines augmented with nothing but pale sand-yellow and sky blue; he draws Wyld and her family with circular heads and blunted triangles for noses. But when the sharks and other scary sea creatures turn up, he renders them in detail, and sometimes with a full spectrum of color. The water where a shark has been turns red although the largest crimson pool we see in the book is one that ripples outward from a butchered pregnant shark. If I think the worst, Wyld notes as she plunges into one of her awful reveries, then the worst is unlikely to happen. Her sentences often just two or three of them on each page are clean and subdued, with an occasional poetic swerve: I get in up to my knees and the sun turns my hair to hot bread. The bloody fantasy of a shark encounter gives her young self something to cling to in the face of the ambiguous real-world violence she cant quite grasp: When her older brother comes home from being beaten up, Evie tells him stories of shark attacks to calm them both down. Image From Peplum. Famous in his native France and nearly unknown here, the cartoonist who goes by Blutch (real name: Christian Hincker) has a magnificently expressive line, so bold and ragged that it often looks as if hes snapped his brush in half and is mashing its splintered end into the drawing board. Of his two dozen or so books, his 1998 graphic novel PEPLUM (New York Review Comics, paper, $24.95) is only his second to appear in English. Were able to follow this thread and others from the impact of cinema on fashion to theories about skirt lengths and American versus French women thanks to Golbins unusual approach. Rather than tell the designers stories in her own words, the chief curator of fashion and textiles at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris has spliced together existing quotes to shape interviews with Poiret, Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, Madeleine Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Madame Gres, Pierre Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent and McQueen. So what if theyre all dead? Golbin has devised lively and charming dialogues. What could be cringe-inducing instead feels intimate and insightful, as each designer reveals his or her personality through Golbins respectful cues, as though she were curled up next to them on a divan. And so we are delighted by Elsa Schiaparelli, the woman whose wicked humor and radical modernism brought her fame through trompe loeil sweaters and lobster-emblazoned dresses. Its inspiring to learn that during World War II she kept her fashion house open as an act of protest (The opposition of feminine grace to cruelty and hate reached farther than plays or books) and designed her cash and carry collection with huge pockets everywhere so that a woman, obliged to leave home in a hurry or to go on duty without a bag, could pack all that was necessary to her. She had firm beliefs on style: Buy good things only and never be afraid of wearing them too often or of not being in style. If you have good clothes, in good taste, you will always be chic and you can ignore passing fads. Were similarly enthralled and taken aback by the force of Chanel, who, in her almost six decades as a reigning designer, only became more outspoken. Miniskirts? An exhibition of meat. Yves Saint Laurent? The more he copies me the better taste he displays. Growing old? Age doesnt count: You can be ravishing at 20, charming at 40 and irresistible the rest of your life. She had no qualms about staying true to her vision of elegance as the world around her changed. Reading the interviews together, what becomes so impressive about Chanel as with Lanvin, Gres, Schiaparelli and Vionnet is that she was self-made, building a business with many female employees at a time when many women had yet to enter the work force. In the 1920s, Vionnet gave her 1,200 employees maternity leave and health care and set up an emergency fund they could draw on. Money is the key to freedom, said Chanel. Fashion was one of the sole arenas in which women could find freedom and wealth, and Golbin lets the groundbreaking designers explain how. The male couturiers are both enamored of fashion and pragmatic about its uses. We are treated to the diplomatic politesse of Dior, the Proustian melancholy of Yves Saint Laurent, the architecturally driven perspective of Balmain, the operatic egotism of Poiret and the famous reserve of Balenciaga, the designer many of the subjects in this book cite as the master. (Having given only one interview in his life, he is represented here by others quotes and just one of his own, which concludes: Nobody knows what a hard metier it is, how killing is the work. Under all this luxury and glamour . . . cest la vie dun chien.) What changes is that by the time we come to Saint Laurent and McQueen, couturiers had become accustomed to revealing their inner workings to the media. These two interviews read more as psychological portraits of fragile yet fiercely determined geniuses. Huangs second memoir, Double Cup Love, is, quite literally, a far cry from its predecessor. A majority of the book takes place not in the United States but on the Chinese mainland as Huang, with his younger brothers and assorted local retainers in tow, samples various native dishes in the hopes of enhancing his own; meanwhile, he anxiously awaits the arrival of his American girlfriend, Dena, to whom he intends to propose marriage. Dena and her family are white, a fact that occasions no small amount of Seinfeld-esque tergiversation on the part of Huang, if no one else. His mother, questioned by her son, doesnt care No! So silly! Your dad Chinese, he the worst. Ha ha, no, I love your dad, but it doesnt matter. Who cares if not Chinese? and her response is typical of every other Chinese person Huang sounds out on the prospect of his marriage. Hes hardly wrong to touch upon the inherent social, cultural and moral tensions of a love relationship between an Asian man and a white woman; still, the absence of resistance from the culture he frets about betraying leaves him talking essentially only to himself. The brashness of Fresh Off the Boat was an offense mechanism evolved by its author to overcome the barriers put up by Americans, especially white Americans, to recognizing his existence. But in China, Huangs presence and opinions are welcomed without conflict as a friendly, overworked, underpaid massage therapist he interviews on the job notes, hes generous, smart, kind, prosperous: a very special Chinese man. Who would begrudge him his happiness? Overt antagonism has been Huangs muse, and its absence leaves Double Cup Love a baffled and elliptical book compared with its predecessor. Its loose meditations on cuisine, Chinese culture, dating history, touristic exploits and fraternal drama constitute rich ingredients that, in the absence of a firm, unifying tone, never quite cohere into a real dish for the reader. Huang remains as dynamic and intelligent as ever at the sentence level, but productively exploring his anxieties regarding whether a straight Asian-American man can be loved by a woman outside his race, and can love himself sufficiently to return such love this would require a far more vulnerable mode of candor than the one with which he bracingly proved that Asian-American men could throw down, deal drugs and get rich. For now, Huangs depictions of girlfriends and recountings of his love life seem most compelling during obsessive even psychotic, in his own words scenes of intrusion and strife. Here as elsewhere, Huang is taking after his parents, but in this case his emulation brings him no reward. At the heart of Fresh Off the Boat lay a secret awareness that the ultraviolent tendencies (and keen business sense) instilled in the narrator by his parents had, in fact, prepared him perfectly to integrate into the savagery of American life. What Double Cup Love shows, though, is that overcoming the formidable obstacles to romantic intimacy imposed by such an upbringing will have to be something Huang achieves all by himself. MODERN LOVERS By Emma Straub 356 pp. Riverhead Books. $26. When do the wheels come off the wagon? In your 20s, after a short-lived stint in a rock band? In your 30s, after your kids have sucked the life out of you? In your 40s, after you acquire gray hair and a real estate license? How about when your almost-adult child starts having sex with your best friends almost-adult child? Or maybe its when you, nearing 50, find a guru? And the guru turns out to be a con artist? Sigh. Its all of the above in Emma Straubs witty third novel, Modern Lovers. Elizabeth and Andrew are a married couple in their late 40s living in Brooklyn, a few doors down from their former college band mate, Zoe, and her wife, Jane. Along with their college friend Lydia, their band, Kittys Mustache (a nod to Tolstoys heroine), first sang what later became a monster hit called Mistress of Myself, one of those anthemic, eternally meaningful songs whose lyrics people tattoo on their inner arms. Lydia died glamorously of a drug overdose at 27, leaving the remaining three band members to round the corner on hipster senescence without her. Theres a saying about beautiful women and champion athletes dying two deaths. To that, I might add this: To be once young and briefly famous and painfully of-the-moment and then morph into regular-people middle age is rather more insulting, as if your whole life is the worst Instagram fail. And this is where we find the novels 40-something friends, past millennial hipness and on into hot flashes. Zoe and Jane own a restaurant; their daughter, Ruby, is sullen, sexual and terribly chic. Their marriage has traveled into the chill zone of lesbian bed death. Meantime, Elizabeth, a rebellious rocker in college, has traded her guitar for a career selling real estate in Ditmas Park, in one of those enclaves where you brew your own kombucha or risk the neighbors disdain. Her husband, Andrew, an aimless trustafarian, perceives himself as a brave escapee from the limestone canyons of Park Avenue. In reality, hes a dilettante who meanders from career to career, working vaguely at a lifestyle magazine for Brooklyn fathers and seeking fulfillment through cinematography classes and carpentry. At one point, his guru Dave, distinctive mainly for his large, shiny teeth remarks on the artful imperfection of the shelf Andrew is fabricating: This is beautiful, man. Wabi-sabi, right? It is, in fact, not an example of wabi-sabi, the Japanese term for artful imperfection and decay. Its just sloppy woodwork. What distinguishes a good chefs memoir from the forgettable ones, after all, are the anecdotes. And Ripert has one very big anecdote in the form of Joel Robuchon. At 19, he went to work at Jamin, the tiny Parisian restaurant where Robuchon was noisily overturning French tradition with innovative flavor combinations and a near maniacal quest for perfection. For the great chef, that meant not only using the very best ingredients but employing a savantlike precision that was as likely to drive a cook mad as it was to inspire him. A lobster salad, with its crystalline bouillon, its separate cookings of claw and tail, its garnishes of apple and tomato and avocado balls and its multiple sauces, was challenging enough even before the young cook given the unfortunate job of preparing it began squeezing onto the plate the 90 perfectly spaced dots of sauce that were one of Robuchons signature flourishes. So nightmarishly consuming was the work, Ripert says, that he regularly dreamed of dots. The stories of his efforts to keep up with his chefs unreasonable demands and the sulky, unrelenting tirades unleashed by his failures make for the funniest passages in the book. Ripert recalls hiding pre-made rabbit terrines in the refrigerator lest Robuchon reject one as it went over the pass and insist he make another on the spot (an impossibility, since the terrine took six hours to prepare). Then there was the need to cook a meal for the chefs dog each night and withstand the animals critique, as conveyed by its owner. Throughout, Ripert conveys the terror and dread the great chef cultivated; Robuchon wanted his cooks to fear him. Ripert is not the first to tread on this terrain; in his own memoir, Gordon Ramsay described his time in Robuchons kitchen as similar to a stint in the British special forces. But Ripert is a more introspective soul, and we can see him still struggling, some 30 years later, to reconcile his conflicting images of Robuchon as genius and jackass, and to assess what the anxiety and pressure did to him as both a chef and a man. We never get to see that for ourselves. 32 Yolks ends abruptly with the 24-year-old Ripert about to depart for a new job in the United States. The happy ending that most readers know to expect never materializes. (Le Bernardin had already been awarded four stars by The New York Times by the time Ripert became chef there in 1994, and it has held them ever since.) Perhaps its being saved for a second volume. But like the first glimpse of Buddhism that captures the young chefs attention in an airport bookstore, the question of what he will make of all that training and abuse, that terror and creative vision, once he has his own restaurant remains unaddressed. Its a curiously frustrating end to a book that, until this point, had been satisfying indeed. LABOR OF LOVE The Invention of Dating By Moira Weigel 292 pp. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $26. Two thousand sixteen has been another year of radical upheaval. Americans who thought they were approaching something resembling a post-post-utopian ideal of a society had their views adjusted as recurring instances of police brutality and protests against racism on college campuses continue to force a closer consideration of our political and cultural institutions. In Labor of Love, Moira Weigel, a Ph.D. candidate at Yale University, joins the discussion by examining the institution of dating, exposing the unfair gender dynamics it reinforces and just why it makes so many of us so miserable. The logic of transactions deep in the structure of dating encourages us to see love as something we compete against others to get, she writes. The illusion that we can only win love and never will it leaves many people feeling paralyzed. The book begins the way all good existential pursuits do with heartbreak. The end of a relationship prompted Weigel to realize that she had no idea what she wanted from a partner, and that she had been taking her cues from popular culture and womens magazines. I was trying to make a life according to rules I did not understand, she writes. The process had blinded me to my desires. She detects a conspiracy: American culture tells women that romantic love is the most important thing they can achieve but beyond that there were no clear rules. Nobody even seemed to know what dating was. And so she embarks on a study of more than a century of courtship in America, from the early 1900s, when dating could get a woman locked away for delinquency, to the present day, when Instagram likes can be interpreted as flirting. Weigel is best when dismantling pop theories through the ages. She brilliantly eviscerates the self-help industry for stoking mutual mystification between the sexes, and unearths intriguing continuities like the way technological advances (including the invention of the automobile) have always led to hand-wringing over the moral bankruptcy of youth. She links a study in the 1980s that found that female flight attendants required to smile nonstop at passengers were unable to relate emotionally to their families to The Rules (1995), that cornerstone of modern courtship that advised women to ignore their feelings for fear of scaring off eligible men. But he doesnt agree, and hes right to suspect that the conventional career Welles botched might have turned him into just . . . another filmmaker. Instead, once Welles relocated to Europe and embarked on his fantastically improvised course of acting in claptrap to help finance movies he shot in bits and patches (Othello took him four years), meanwhile experimenting industriously in other media and turning his superb personality into a brand as no movie director before or after him has, he became utterly unique. Even as America (in the person of The Herald Tribunes Walter Kerr) was dismissing him as possibly the youngest living has-been, European critics had begun lionizing him as a thwarted genius. That became the conventional wisdom once their stateside epigones took up the cry. In 1949, he also played his most indelible role in a movie he didnt direct: Harry Lime in Carol Reeds The Third Man. That part somehow got assimilated into his autobiography well, not least because the film itself looked quasi-Wellesian enough for him to seem like its uncredited auteur. A bit of doggerel he wrote for a Faust pastiche he staged in 1950 sums up how his careers real unifying principle and focus of interest became the drama of Welles conjuring art however he could: All that you see / Is all about me. Callow is circumspect about Welless private life, including the all too public battle for his waistline he lost for good at age 45 or so something whose psychological effect cant have been trivial for a man so handsome in his youth. But no previous biographer has so expertly and convincingly analyzed Welles the creative dynamo, from his ebullient love of what Callow calls Higher Hokum to the depths of rue in his recurring themes of loss and betrayal. This Welles isnt the tragic martyr permanently nailed to a celluloid cross his devotees once saw him as. But he isnt the self-destructive dilettante his legends detractors claim, either. Considering how often this period of Welless life has been portrayed as one frustration or defeat after another, the fecundity of what he did achieve is astonishing. One sideline Callow explores at length is Welless prescient understanding of television as more than imitation movies, but a distinctive new medium with a special gift of intimacy. (Among his other 1950s forays into TV, which are too little seen even today, The Fountain of Youth commissioned by, of all people, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball is a witty gem.) Callow is also particularly good at reconstructing Welless fabled 1955 London stage production of Moby-Dick, which he himself judged as his best work in any medium. The movies he titanically struggled to make all along included a couple of misfires. Im no great fan of Mr. Arkadin, from 1955, or his 1962 adaptation of Kafkas The Trial. But his arduously cobbled-together Othello is a thorny, dynamic visual marvel, and both Touch of Evil his one return to American filmmaking and Chimes at Midnight are as good as movie directing gets. Chimes was also the capstone of his long rivalry with Laurence Olivier in interpreting Shakespeare for modern audiences, and though Olivier easily outpointed him onstage Welless New York King Lear in 1956 was a costly flop their duel on movie screens was a different story. However widely acclaimed at the time, Oliviers Shakespeare films look awfully square today. But Welless much more adventurous ones still teem with emotion and life. Seven new paperbacks to check out this week. OUR KIDS: The American Dream in Crisis, by Robert D. Putnam. (Simon & Schuster, $17.) Putnam, a political scientist and Harvard professor, examines how upward mobility for low-income Americans has stalled. As income disparity has grown, so too has the gap between what rich and poor children can accomplish. As Putnam, who came from modest origins and succeeded, puts it, I assumed, so could kids from modest backgrounds today, but now, I know better. THE BEAUTIFUL BUREAUCRAT, by Helen Phillips. (Picador, $16.) Josephine and her husband have recently moved to a large, unnamed city, where she finds work at a mysterious, unnerving agency. As she adapts to the secretive atmospheres of both her workplace and her new home, she grapples with existential questions about God and the universe and intimate inquiries about marriage and fidelity, our reviewer, Jamie Quatro, wrote. JIM HENSON: The Biography, by Brian Jay Jones. (Ballantine, $20.) Jones revisits the life of the beloved puppeteer, synonymous with his Muppet universe, who died in 1990. Among Hensons remarkable gifts was a fortuitous combination of creative vision and business savvy: He saw in television an opportunity to reinvigorate the art of puppetry for a wide audience. THE BOOK OF ARON, by Jim Shepard. (Vintage, $15.95.) Shepards narrator, Aron, is an impoverished 8-year-old boy in Poland at the beginning of World War II. After the deaths of family members, he is taken in by Janusz Korczak, the real-life director of an orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw. Their bond gives heart to this bleak story of loss, deprivation and betrayal, Geraldine Brooks wrote here. PAUL McCARTNEY The Life By Philip Norman Illustrated. 853 pp. Little, Brown & Company. $32. Fans of old white guy passive aggression will love the prologue to Paul McCartney: The Life. As perhaps youve heard, McCartney has been famous since 1963, and in response to multiple biographies and decades of scrutiny hes made himself as reclusive as the corner mailbox. At 73, he plays his Beatles hits joyfully and answers questions about John, Yoko, Linda and Sgt. Pepper without offense at the implication that his life peaked before the moon landing. His current One on One tour stops in Sioux Falls, S.D., Hershey, Pa., and quite possibly your living room. Philip Norman acknowledges all this yet insists that this seemingly most open and approachable of all mega-celebrities is actually one of the most elusive. And at least in Normans experience its true. Norman is a prolific writer best known for Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation (1981), an indispensable history of the band that had one notable dissenter: a guy named McCartney. Shout! had a few too many snarky asides about Pauls money lust and a particularly cutting and unwarranted line about Johns superior talent. McCartney was hurt, and made sure Norman knew about it by freezing him out. Paul McCartney opens with Normans confession that, in hindsight, the offending passages in Shout! were fueled by a lifelong case of Paul envy: All those years Id spent wishing to be him had left me feeling in some obscure way that I needed to get my own back. This is weird territory. It gets weirder as Norman, also 73, details the very slow, very British detente that led to McCartneys tacit approval of the current book. The prologue is just a few cliche-clogged pages, but the messiness is tense and exciting. It teases a biography prepared to reckon with the lifetime of co-dependence between a thin-skinned icon and his covetous baby boomer fans. The book that follows is vastly more conventional. Paul McCartney is an 853-page cinder block of facts in which we learn that young Paul enjoyed condensed milk and every kind of meat except tongue. Early letters and school assignments are reprinted and mined for future irony. Cats are named. Later, there are lengthy sections about McCartneys sex life and drug preferences but then, there are lengthy sections about everything. Real estate transactions, management squabbles, vegetarianism and seemingly every Wings rehearsal. Even Mum and Dads daily inquiries about little Pauls poops get a mention. Lovecraft Country centers on two African-American families navigating the Jim Crow 50s. These pages are rife with unwelcoming diner workers, violent lawmen, unwarranted and belittling verbal and physical attacks that are both omnipresent and unrelenting. Oh, and the characters are also troubled by the occasional dark magic of ghosts, hidden chambers, disembodied heads and secret societies aiming for an immortal white race. The story kicks off when a young man, Atticus, is blackmailed into being unmade by the ethereal first light of creation to bring immortality to a white cult called the Sons of Adam. At every turn, Ruff has great fun pitting mid-20th-century horror and sci-fi cliches against the banal and ever-present bigotry of the era. And at every turn, it is the bigotry that hums with the greater evil. IMPROBABLE FORTUNES By Jeffrey Price 400 pp. Archer, $24.95. This novel, Prices first, offers patient readers the narrative satisfaction of watching an underestimated character prove his detractors wrong before he falls inevitably from grace. The story, centering on a small Colorado town, Vanadium, begins with an explosion and a mudslide that destroys most of Main Street. Price then jumps back in time and spends much of the novel catching everyone up to speed. Vanadiums troubles begin with the arrival of one wealthy New Yorker, Marvin Mallomar, at first hailed as the towns savior because of the money he spends there. But soon enough, the residents tire of him and his efforts to change their way of life. In the middle of all of this an unlikely friendship springs up between Mallomar and Prices slow-talking cowboy hero, Buster McCaffrey. Mallomar hopes to give McCaffrey, considered a buffoon by the rest of the locals, the chance to prove himself a good intention that goes horribly wrong. Price, through his attempts to poke satirical fun at Vanadium and its inhabitants, demonstrates affection for the weird little town, but the novel often feels overburdened by his attempts to capture what he finds so charming. He stuffs the book full of romances and trysts, small-town politics and jokes that feel cutesy more than funny for instance, a meth-manufacturing biker gang called the Busy Bees, who model their business after the Mary Kay company. The novel succeeds most when Price focuses on characters and their flaws rather than on the village and its quirks. Williamss alarm at humanitys calamitous impact on nature is indelibly imprinted in her writing. Two chapters in particular stand out. In July 2014, she and her father visit the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the badlands of North Dakota, some 70,000 acres surrounded and encroached upon by the Bakken shale oil field, which at that time produced more than a million barrels a day. The effect of the Bakken on the region is, the park superintendent explains, something like that of the California Gold Rush, bringing a huge influx of transient workers. Its a free-for-all, she adds; everyone wants to make a quick million and get out. Williams delves into the catastrophic effects this has had on the local population and the landscape as the park becomes an island within a sea of oil development. Its just one example, Williams insists, of how many issues in the national parks are political rather than ecological. Then she uses her father, who started a family business that lays pipes for natural gas, to provide another perspective. John Tempest is a hardy man who loves the wilderness, yet he also declares that fracking has freed us from the Arabs. You environmentalists, he reminds his daughter, cant have it both ways being against the war in Iraq and also against oil and gas development here at home. But although hes proud of the scars Ive left in the West, he also thinks that this country up here is too pretty to be an oil field. And he concludes that the haphazard nature of the drilling near the park hurts everyone. Williamss chapter on the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida and Mississippi focuses on the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, which she observed as a reporter, arriving in July 2010, on the 100th day of the oil spill. This section of the book from her description of the slow rolling laziness of oil-covered waves to her outrage at the lies told by the oil company makes for painful reading. But then, just as everything seems to be diving into darkness and gloom, Williams describes the recovering wetlands of the Mississippi River Delta. I am holding the word resilient, she writes. I feel my soul lighten. And, she concludes, I realize it is not the devastation of the oil that has undone me, but the beauty that remains. Williamss language has its own visceral beauty. Cracked mud is the violence of heat waves made visible, she writes of Big Bend National Park. At Alcatraz, she notes how the island is haunted by a dark history . . . which you can hear in the relentless cries of gulls. One of the strongest chapters takes her to the Gates of the Arctic National Park. Wilderness, she writes, viewing the Alaskan landscape, is a knife that cuts through pretense and exposes fear. THE TIME TRAVELERS HANDBOOK 18 Experiences, From the Eruption of Vesuvius to Woodstock By James Wyllie, Johnny Acton and David Goldblatt Illustrated. 338 pp. Harper Design/HarperCollins Publishers. $21.99. Its possible to have a crush on a guidebook. Like that more famous fount of lovable nurturing the cute teacher in a cardigan guidebooks gently usher you into new, potentially life-altering experiences while somehow making you believe that the rice-producing regions of the Po River Valley are all about You, You, You. While The Time Travelers Handbook didnt quite instill in me such heights of affection, I nevertheless listened with unflagging attention and never missed a class. As its subtitle indicates, this jocular, fact-filled volume imagines what it would be like to witness or participate in various historical events, complete with tips on where to eat, what to wear, what the weather will be like, where to stay and how dire the bathroom situation will be. History repeats itself, the authors write. First time as tragedy, second time as vacation. Hindsight, of course, would be a huge boon to any traveler: Think of the thousands who, had they been informed of the overcrowding and heavy rains theyd meet at the Woodstock festival, might have more happily channeled their energies into attending a mellow Odetta concert or pressing wheat pods into clay. But hindsight both giveth and taketh when the book has you go to the 235th Olympic Games in Greece, in A.D. 161, the authors helpfully tell you to enjoy the six-foot-tall sculpture of Nike before its removed to Constantinople in the fifth century and destroyed in a fire. But at the Rumble in the Jungle, the 1974 smackdown between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, youre told you wont be allowed to bet, since you already know who jungle-rumbled better. Maya Stern is a former special-ops helicopter pilot, now a suburban flight instructor and mother, who was forced out of the military when the whistle-blower posted a video online of her ordering an airstrike that killed a number of unarmed Iraqi civilians. As is the wont in such books, death follows her home, and the story opens with the murder of her husband, scion of a wealthy Establishment family, by masked gunmen. (It turns out her older sister was also a murder victim, killed before the book begins, when Maya was still in combat.) Left a single mother with a small child and some residual PTSD, Maya installs a nanny cam in her den, and the next thing you know, her dead husband shows up, alive and on video. The twists begin there and dont stop until all the murders add up, company fraud is exposed, the rot at the heart of a twisted family is revealed and the rug is entirely pulled out from under the reader. Its a good thing, because the effort required to pick your jaw up off the floor masks the thinness of the characters, who function more as plot devices than fully realized people. Granted, thrillers arent generally considered a genre that prioritizes multidimensional protagonists. But as Elizabeth Brundage proves in the literary mystery ALL THINGS CEASE TO APPEAR (Knopf, $26.95), it doesnt need to be that way. Indeed, as much as anything, this is a character sketch: of a marriage, a sociopath, a family destroyed by the economy, the things we do for love all finely drawn within the confined environment of a creaking old farmhouse on a homestead in a town far, far away. The better to scare you with, my dear. The story begins, once again, with a death a gruesome one, involving an ax in a young mothers head then cycles backward in time to how it happened, playing peekaboo with the motivations and history of its cast: the grieving widower, a professor at a local college; his lovely wife, a.k.a. the victim; their young daughter; and the three damaged brothers who once lived in their home and act as their babysitters and renovation team, and whose parents committed suicide. All of the above are sympathetic and suspicious in equal measure, a result of Brundages ability to peel away the onionskin layers of emotion that define any relationship. As the clues accumulate and the killer is revealed, the truth becomes both horrifying and inevitable. In the end, justice is done and redemption found, though not as one might expect, which makes the book all the more satisfying. Sometimes, as the cliche goes, we are our own worst enemies. And sometimes we work with them, as Will Rhodes discovers in THE TRAVELERS (Crown,$27). Rhodes is the hero of this book, Chris Pavones third thriller, though hero may be a bit of a stretch. Pavones great skill is in rendering believable people in impossible and occasionally absurd situations, and The Travelers is no exception. Indeed, it may involve his most far-fetched premise yet. Travel writers of the National Geographic-meets-Departures kind populate the book, with Will as the exemplar. He is the employee of a magazine called (surprise) Travelers: a man with a big expense account, a small salary, a mysterious boss who keeps disappearing into a hidden back room, and a disgruntled wife who was also a Travelers writer until she left her job for other opportunities, as yet unspecified. On a junket to French wine country Will meets a gorgeous Australian, and though he refrains from breaking his wedding vows, when he encounters her again on a trip to Argentina he gives in to temptation, an act that has some unexpected repercussions. Needless to say, no ones job is quite what readers might assume. Simply consider the fact that Travelers is a magazine where communications are delivered by hand, by couriers, in sealed envelopes, as opposed to email or mobile phone. And it seems to suffer not at all from the current economic malaise affecting its competitors, and for that matter old media in general. Its enough to make anyone raise an eyebrow. When Conor McPhersons Shining City ran on Broadway in 2006, it received some rapturous reviews and two Tony Award nominations. Those of us unlucky enough to have missed Mr. McPhersons haunting tale of urban isolation then are in luck now: The Irish Repertory Theaters revival opens Thursday, June 9, in a production directed by Ciaran OReilly. Matthew Broderick stars as John, a grieving widower who visits a neophyte counselor (Billy Carter) for help dealing with the ghost of his wife. The show is the first to be presented at Irish Reps newly renovated theater, which has undergone a significant transformation since work began in the fall of 2014. (An entertaining blog at campaign.irishrep.org shows the step-by-step progress.) (In previews, opening Thursday, June 9; 212-727-2737, irishrep.org.) NYTimes.com no longer supports Internet Explorer 9 or earlier. Please upgrade your browser. The Irvine Fine Arts Center will host its annual Studio Arts Festival on Saturday in Heritage Park. The festival features artists from across Southern California and their original works of arts for sale in ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, painting, photography, fiber and glass. Visitors also will enjoy music, art demonstrations and a variety of food including ice cream sundaes served in collectible ceramic bowls. Tomoya Shimura A dozen second-graders in Kim Kihms Bible class watched slide shows about the Ten Commandments on the classrooms smart board and scrolled through Bible passages on their iPads. While reading about the Good Samaritan, the Capistrano Valley Christian Schools students formed hearts in the air with their arms and sang a Bible verse about loving your neighbor as yourself. I like how we can use iPads so we can read and see pictures how it was back then, said Scarlett Vukich, 8, of San Juan Capistrano, about the lesson. Its all part of the schools digital Bible pilot program, which goes beyond teaching the Bible with high-tech tools. With the help of a $1.5 million grant from two south Orange County families who wish to remain anonymous, Capistrano Valley Christian Schools are creating a web-based program that teaches Christianity using evidence they say can prove the truth of the Bible to better equip students to defend their faith a discipline known as Christian apologetics. Our goal is to revolutionize the way the Bible is taught in Christian schools so kids will be firm in their faith, said Kim Van Vlear, director of Bible curriculum development at the schools. We want to show why the Bible is true with proven evidence like science, archeology and history. Kihms second grade class is one of 13 elementary classes in private schools in San Juan Capistrano, Fullerton and Georgia that are using the DeepRoots Bible Curriculum for Defendable Faith program. The curriculum is being created by a team of 80 people, from archeologists and educators to graphic artists and musicians. So far, the school has completed programs for grades 1 through 3, which will be available for other schools to purchase in the fall while the team continues to work on curriculum up to 12th grade, about one grade level each year, Van Vlear said. The program includes slide shows, songs and music videos, online work sheets, crafts and assessment tests. It is divided into 12 topics, including scripture, God, Jesus, salvation, origins of the universe and people, truth and knowledge and heaven and hell. The Good Samaritan class teaches about showing love and being selfless like Jesus, Van Vlear said. Older students who study evolution will examine the debate between the Neo-Darwinists, who say the universe is a result of a blind, unguided process, versus the intelligent design thesis, which states the design and purpose of the universe demands a designer, said program editor Catherine Waller. The curriculum will give students the opportunity to learn, understand and compare and contrast the claims of Neo-Darwinism and the claims of the intelligent design thesis, Waller said. We invite students to follow the evidence where it leads. The lessons ultimately will help students with life choices, peer pressure and career choices, said Lisa Swaney, elementary principal at Eastside Christian School in Fullerton, which is using the program in three of its classes. We were looking for a curriculum to dig deeper and bring more than stories to the students, Swaney said. But some question the idea that whats in the Bible can be proven. Aaron James, professor and chair of philosophy at UC Irvine, says apologetics is an idea used by Christians to reassure themselves or give arguments to convince others of the truth of the Bible. There is no such thing as proof, except in mathematics and logics, he said. It might be a disservice to the students if it (apologetics) is used as a tool of persuasion. One could argue that it would do them better to teach them open critical thinking, like philosophy. But the program is in a Christian school, where it is expected that Christianity and faith are already accepted and one reason the students attend the school, he said. Teaching a narrow evangelism instead of seeing it as philosophy with open-ended questions seems fair game in a Bible class at a religious school, he said. PREPARING STUDENTS TO DEFEND THEIR FAITH Studies show that Christian teens are disengaging from their faith as they grow older and that tough questions about faith play a central role, school leaders said. There are so many kids going to college and having their faith rocked by a secular roommate, Van Vlear said. Ronald Sipus, head of schools at Capistrano Valley Christian, started searching about a decade ago for a Bible curriculum with all the essential components that would lead a young person to develop a strong and vibrant Biblical worldview, he said. He and others finally decided that the best program would be one they wrote themselves. The school team, led by Van Vlear with assistance from Sean McDowell, assistant professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University and a teacher at the San Juan Capistrano school, started doing research in August 2013 and began to develop the program in the spring of 2014. The online lessons are written from a non-denominational evangelical perspective in chronological order and not in the order the events occurs in the Bible. Many adults dont even realize that the Bible jumps around from time to time and era to era, so we want to solidify the order of events in our students minds, Van Vlear said. San Clemente resident Stacy Fitzsimmons second grade daughter Rhyse is studying the new Bible lessons while her fourth grade daughter Ryleigh is still studying the Bible the traditional way, both at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools. Fitzsimmons said she sees a difference in their learning. If you ask Rhyse a question about the (Bible) stories, she can go deeper about the stories and explain details and facts, she said. CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY The flaw of Christian apologetics is that people tend to find evidence that confirms their viewpoint, James said. And conflicting evidence and alternative viewpoints can often be found to oppose the found facts, he added. But Mike McAteer, head of school at Mission Viejo Christian School, said the new apologetics-based Bible curriulum is simply a necessary exercise to maintain cultural relevance. There will be no new discoveries or positions created, but merely taking events and attitudes of our day and bringing a fresh way to address the same questions every generation has: Why was I born? What is my purpose in life? Is there a God who exists? And what happens to me when I die? he said. Van Vlear said if her curriculum developers find conflicting facts to back up a certain Biblical claim, the curriculum will include both viewpoints. We dont want to lead the kids down the wrong way, she said. If we dont know the truth or find evidence for it, well tell them both ways. The program will help students understand why they believe the way they do, Van Vlear said. Times may be changing and what people think is acceptable to hear and do, but that doesnt mean Gods truth changes, she said. Contact the writer: marieek@hotmail.com FLORENCE, Italy An Italian appeals court has upheld the conviction and 16-year prison sentence for the Italian captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that capsized off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 people. Prosecutors had sought 27 years and three months for Capt. Francesco Schettino, but the court kept the original sentence Tuesday, according to the ANSA news agency. Both the prosecution and defense appealed the conviction by a lower court last year. The prosecution sought to toughen the sentence while the defense argued that blame didnt fall solely on Schettino. He remains free, and has one final appeal to Italys highest court. Schettino was convicted of manslaughter and causing the shipwreck by colliding with a reef near tiny Giglio island and of abandoning the capsized vessel with people still aboard. Meg Roh pauses for a moment to make the calculation. At least five waves a day. Times 365 days give or take a leap year. Then multiply that by five years. Thats roughly 9,125 waves, said the 17-year-old surfer, not factoring in leap year days. But, usually, I catch way more than that. In 2011, Roh made it a goal to surf every day, and Wednesday she celebrated five years of paddling out, rain or shine, every single day. The goal started when she was 12 and hoping to go just 300 days straight. Now, shes on day 1,827. When the waves are dismal and most other surfers scoff at the tiny waves, she paddles out. If its big and bombing, she pushes herself to catch at least five waves. When its pouring rain, it doesnt matter, Roh still surfs. Each year she casually says she probably wont continue through the following year. But each year, she keeps going. Im super-excited, it doesnt feel like Ive surfed five years yet, she said. It feels like yesterday I started surfing every day. Shes become a quasi-celebrity at surf breaks like San Onofre and Doheny State Beach. The long-haired beauty shows up on her longboard, peppered with sponsor stickers, to take on waves. Longtime locals have stickers on their car that feature her name, some in the shape of pink hearts. A few years back she was honored at a womens exhibit at the Surfing Heritage Foundation, and she even appeared in a surf film that also featured 11-time world champ Kelly Slater. Roh planned to spend part of Wednesday celebrating with friends on her San Juan Hills High School surf team. My friends usually make me a cake or something. In the afternoon, she surfed Doheny State Beach. We asked Roh a few questions about her journey: Q. Whats the longest session youve had? A. I think it was my first year in the summer, I surfed from like 9 in the morning and didnt get out until 8 at night, with a little lunch break in between. I was very sunburned. The waves were super-fun. Q. Whats the shortest? A. Ive gotten pretty fast, just doing five waves before school when Im rushed. The shortest has probably been about 20 minutes. Q. How many boards have you gone through? A. Too many to count. Probably like 10 or 11, maybe more. Q. Favorite board? A. Probably my Timmy Patterson longboard. Its 93. Q. Whats the biggest day youve surfed? A. I went to Hawaii last summer. It was pretty big. It felt overhead. Q. Whats the biggest lesson been so far? A. I feel like Ive learned so much from surfing every day. Ive learned to follow my dreams and to believe in myself. And to never give up when things are bad. Q. Are you going to keep going? A. Im not sure yet. I want to take off this winter, maybe to go to the snow or something. But well see. By the way, Meg, one beauty of Southern California is that you can surf and snowboard in the same day. SANTA ANA A dispute over a robocall urging voters to support a local ethics commission had Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and an Orange County supervisor on Tuesday accusing each other of wrongdoing. The insults continued a yearslong feud between the two. In dueling news conferences at the Orange County District Attorneys Office in Santa Ana, the two elected officials debated the wording of a recorded phone message in support of Measure A that was dispatched to voters last week. Hello, this is County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, the message begins. I have always played by the rules. As an assistant district attorney, I know that many politicians do not. Rackauckas accused Spitzer of false impersonation of an assistant district attorney, because the supervisor hasnt worked for the District Attorneys Office since 2010. On Tuesday, the district attorney called on Spitzer to formally apologize, to promise not to identify himself as an assistant district attorney again, and to make an apology call to those voters who received the first message. No one, especially Mr. Spitzer, a career politician since 1992, would make that mistake, Rackauckas said. Its a false representation, and he should clear it up. Spitzer, in an impromptu news conference, denied any wrongdoing, saying it was unequivocally clear from the first sentence of the call that he was representing himself as a county supervisor. Spitzer said the district attorneys allegations are payback: The supervisor has chastised Rackauckas, recently bringing attention to an Orange County grand jury report criticizing the District Attorneys Offices running of the public administrators office. The only person who could misinterpret what Im saying in this robocall is a paranoid district attorney who has failed to do his job as the district attorney of Orange County, Spitzer said. The animosity between Rackauckas and Spitzer who has toyed with running for district attorney in the past is nothing new, with the two sides verbally sparring over the years. If approved by voters in Tuesdays primary, Measure A would create an ethics commission to police county officials, campaign donations and lobbyists. The panel would investigate written complaints, track campaign contributions and provide quarterly reports. A backer of the measure Citizens for the Orange County Ethics Commission paid for the robocalls, said activist Shirley Grindle and Chapman University political science professor Fred Smoller, both of whom authored Measure A. Rackauckas declined to weigh in on Measure A on Tuesday. Contact the writer: semery@ocregister.com GAZA CITY Gazas Islamist Hamas government executed three men convicted of murder Tuesday morning, highlighting its power struggle with the rival Palestinian faction Fatah and resuming a practice widely criticized by international human rights groups. Hamas said the executions would serve as a deterrent against rising crime in the coastal enclave. Human rights groups had attempted to stop the executions. But Hamas said the three men two civilians and a militant had been found guilty of terrifying crimes. There were indications that as many as 10 more men might be executed ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins next week. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and its use always violates human rights, James Lynch, Amnesty Internationals deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement Tuesday. The deep flaws in the Gaza Strips justice system, with repeated reports pointing to the widespread use of torture, make todays executions particularly egregious. The Hamas authorities must halt any further plans to carry out executions and immediately establish an official moratorium, he said. Sari Bashi, from Human Rights Watch, said Hamas was using the death penalty as a deterrent instead of addressing the issues that have led to a rise in crime. According to Hamas, the executions were carried out after all necessary legal procedures had been completed. The sentences were not, however, ratified by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as is required by Palestinian law. Abbas heads the rival Palestinian faction, Fatah. The two groups have not reconciled since Hamas ousted Fatahs forces from the Gaza Strip in 2007, and attempts to ratify a unity government have been ongoing since 2014. Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasmi said executions without Abbas approval were a crime, a clear violation of the law and a deepening of the split. Its a clear message that Hamas doesnt want national unity and it doesnt care about Palestinian law, he said, according to media reports. Hamas officials said that authority for ratifying death sentences lies with the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza because presidential and parliamentary elections in all Palestinian territories have been postponed indefinitely and the Palestinian Authority had failed to assume most of its functions in the besieged coastal area. The executions were carried out behind closed doors at the police headquarters in Gaza City, despite fears that they would take place in public. Only the victims relatives and officials were present. Two of the men were hanged, and the third was killed by firing squad. According to human rights groups, as many as 60 people, accused of criminal activity or of working with Israel, have been executed in the Gaza Strip since 2007. During the 2014 summer conflict with Israel, Hamas executed 25 people for collaborating with Israel. After more than four decades of service, San Clementes 73-bed hospital shut down at 11:59 p.m. Monday, its owners announced. Tony Struthers, hospital administrator, said in an e-mail that the closure of Saddleback Memorial Medical Center San Clemente at 654 Camino de los Mares followed a detailed operational and patient transition plan that MemorialCare Health System worked out with state regulators and the countys emergency medical services agency. MemorialCare had decided that the small community hospital was not viable and had announced a plan in 2014 to replace it with a comprehensive outpatient medical campus with advanced emergency care. Some local doctors launched a Save San Clemente Hospital Foundation to try to preserve the hospital and 911 emergency services in town. The closure leaves the I-5 corridor with no public emergency room between Mission Viejo and Oceanside, nearly 40 miles. Drs. Gus Gialamas and Steve Cullen filed suit last week in Orange County Superior Court in hope of securing a court order to prevent Mondays closure. Saddleback executed it with sensitivity to its employees, relocating many of them to new jobs, Struthers wrote. As of March of this year, we had 166 full-time and part-time employees. Since that time, we have transferred over 30 employees and offered an early retirement to 18 employees. Weve placed over 60 employees within our hospitals, outpatient facilities and affiliated organizations in Orange and Los Angeles Counties since our original announcement in the fall of 2014. Gialamas said that MemorialCare is abandoning San Clemente. For two years this community has pleaded to keep this hospital open, he said. Four cities have opposed the closure. The community presented a win/win solution that has been ignored for over 430 days. The city tried to bring them to the table but are now threatened with a $43 million lawsuit and this nonprofit MemorialCare says its not a viable option when they have billions in assets and hundreds of millions in profits each year. In January the City Council rezoned the six-acre hospital site to require a licensed hospital with emergency room. MemorialCare filed suit, seeking to overturn the rezoning which it said keeps it from fulfilling a vision of providing convenient, less expensive outpatient services than a hospital can provide. The City Council said it rezoned the site to preserve critical services. Struthers e-mail said the San Clemente ER treats less than 2 percent of patients seen in Orange County emergency departments. Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach is seven miles away and Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo nine miles away, Struthers said, and San Clementes ER was not a designated trauma center or stroke center, he said, nor was it licensed for inpatient psychiatric services, nor did it offer obstetrical services. San Clemente Mayor Bob Baker said the closure will impact other emergency rooms and increase ambulance transport times to outlying hospitals sometimes unable to accept more patients. He said a 2014 study found that closure of an emergency room increases mortality rates from 5 to 15 percent. Its not right, and heres a public benefit corporation that is providing public benefit for San Clemente, Baker said. They cant break out the numbers for us on how much money theyre losing. They havent done enough. Struthers said MemorialCare will continue to serve San Clemente and surrounding communities through physicain health centers, urgent care centers, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, breast centers, dialysis centers and other programs and services. Contact the writer: fswegles@ocregister.com or 949-492-5127 Many women and children in Orange County could end up homeless in the coming months with the loss of federal funds that support transitional housing programs, according to elected officials, union representatives and directors of nonprofits who gathered Tuesday to urge for a change in public policy. At issue is a decision by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to eliminate millions of dollars once dedicated to short-term housing that serves as a safety net and bridge to stability for people dealing with temporary setbacks. HUD wants to focus on permanent supportive housing, which targets chronically homeless people, who tend to suffer from more severe health and behavioral issues. The change is resulting in an increase from $19.5 million to $22 million for Orange Countys Continuum of Care Services that includes funds for two new permanent supportive housing projects and veterans-specific housing. But money for 10 transitional living programs, which cost an estimated $1.5 million, was not renewed. Theres a whole group of people being left out in the cold, said Billy OConnell, a Huntington Beach councilman and founder of Colettes Childrens Home, which runs housing programs for single women and mothers in Orange County. OConnell helped organize the series of public awareness events Tuesday that included a morning visit to a tent encampment along the Santa Ana River. Congressional representatives Loretta Sanchez and Alan Lowenthal joined city council members from Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Santa Ana at a news conference in Santa Anas Civic Center and later for a forum at Teamsters Local 952 headquarters in Orange. All those who spoke union representatives, elected officials, faith leaders, and formerly homeless women with children called for public pressure to reverse the funding decision. OConnell also said Representatives Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce, who couldnt attend, have spoken with him about addressing the issue. Maxine Waters, the long serving congressional Democrat from Los Angeles County, came to the town hall to talk about a $13 billion emergency relief bill she introduced in March to boost spending on homeless initiatives across the nation. Orange County, she said, Im with you. Lets fight for transitional housing. Contact the writer: 714-796-7793 or twalker@ocregister.com A pair of new Aquarium of the Pacific exhibitions calling attention to fascinating and endangered sea animals are scheduled to open Friday. The Horses and Dragons showcases several species of seahorses, pipefish and seadragons, the last being animals that resemble seahorses but their bodies are adorned with appendages that look like growths of seawood. Eight seahorse species around the world are listed as being vulnerable or endangered, according to Endangered Species International, and the Aquariums second new exhibition Vanishing Animals, is the product of organizers efforts to call attention to endangered species and prospects of preventing threatened animals from disappearing from the planet. We have the opportunity to shape the future of ocean life, but were going to have to act now, Aquarium Chief Executive Jerry Schubel said during a media event previewing the new exhibits Thursday. Schubel went on to tout Vanishing Animals as one of the most scientifically relevant and complex exhibitions. Its galleries call attention to environmental problems and potential solutions in fresh and salt water. One gallery is built to resemble a freshwater stream and allows visitors to see local fishes and amphibians as well as a bright-red crayfish, an invasive species that preys upon local animals. Atlantic cod swimming through a nearby tank provide an example of what could be considered to be a literal vanishing species. The species is commercially extinct and is included on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations overfished list, as of the agencys 2015 report on the status of U.S. fish stocks. The exhibition also features a quartet of months-old American alligators, a species that was considered to be endangered in 1967, but alligator farmers helped the species make a comeback, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Vanishing Animals also includes a gallery featuring aquaculture, essentially the commercial farming of sea animals. The gallery showcases mussels, oysters and white abalone. UC Santa Barbara ecologist Douglas McCauley, who contributed to Vanishing Animals, said Thursday that although humans failed to benefit from the Industrial Revolutions without also causing environmental catastrophe on land, it may yet be possible to protect the oceanic environments while still benefitting from food, medicine and oxygen derived from the sea. We have a unique second chance now in the ocean. We essentially blew it on land, he said. Wild Pacific seahorses, including in the exhibit, dont usually swim in the waters near Long Beach; the species range typically extends from Peru to San Diego. Local diver Roger Hanson, however, snapped pictures of a rare orange Pacific seahorse this past February in Alamitos Bay. Other creatures on display include the tigertail seahorse, the sea moth, the razorfish, the bluestripe pipefish and the ribbon sea dragon. The exhibits are scheduled to be at the Aquarium through the end of March 2017. Information: 562-590-3100 or aquariumofthepacific.org. KABUL, Afghanistan The number of Afghans internally displaced by the 15-year conflict in their country has more than doubled since the beginning of 2013, with an average of 1,000 people a day forced from their homes this year alone, Amnesty International said Tuesday. A sign that the war continues to affect civilians in large numbers came even as Amnesty sought to draw attention to their desperate situation. The Taliban attacked passenger buses in the northern province of Kunduz early Tuesday, killing at least 10 passengers and abducting dozens, local officials said. The Amnesty report, released at a news conference in Kabul, the capital, said that many of the 1.2million displaced Afghans were living in miserable conditions in camps, lacking adequate water, food and health facilities. While their number, which stood around 500,000 at the end of 2012, has more than doubled since then, resources allocated to dealing with the situation have reached the lowest point since 2009, the report said. In 2015, it said, the United Nations allocated $292 million for its humanitarian response to displaced Afghans. The violence on Tuesday in Kunduz province, whose capital briefly fell to the Taliban in the fall, came after weeks of concern about the insurgents disruption of the main highway in the north. The number of passengers killed and abducted Tuesday was unclear, with officials providing different figures. The deputy police commander for Kunduz, Masoom Khan Hashemi, said the Taliban had abducted about 175 passengers from two buses and a van that were traveling to Takhar and Badakhshan Provinces. The attackers killed 10 of the passengers, and nine bodies were retrieved by police, Hashemi said. They held 18 others and freed the rest. When we were opening our shops early in the morning, they were slowly freeing some of the passengers, among them women and children, said Khial Mohammad, a shopkeeper in the nearby area of Shna Tapa. Hashemi said the passengers were not soldiers, government contractors or related to the government. But local elders and family members who came to retrieve bodies at the main Kunduz hospital said that at least some of those killed were members of Afghan police or local government militias who were traveling home. The Talibans main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement that the insurgents had detained 26 members of the Afghan army and police who were traveling in civilian clothes and had let go other passengers from three vehicles they had stopped. GENEVA The treacherous Mediterranean Sea crossing from Libya to Italy has claimed the lives of over 1,030 migrants in the last week, mostly as barely seaworthy smuggling boats foundered and sank despite calm seas and sunny skies, a migration agency said Tuesday, citing new accounts from survivors. The staggering death toll foreshadows more disasters ahead in the next few months as the region gears up for its traditional summer-fall spike in human trafficking as the weather improves and the seas grow warmer. Aid officials said it also suggests that Libyan smuggling gangs are using even riskier tactics than before to profit from the torrent of those desperate to reach the safety or economic promise of Europe. Making matters worse, the jaw-dropping tally is only from capsizings or shipwrecks that are known to authorities, who readily admit they simply do not know how many people are being cheated by smugglers, jammed into obviously unsuitable vessels and swallowed up by the vast waters of the southern Mediterranean. Two Eritreans interviewed by The Associated Press among the hundreds of shipwreck survivors brought to Italian ports were haunted by the fact that so many women and children had been on their capsized boat and did not survive. They said they could still hear the cries of the children. I started to cry when I saw the situation and when I found the ship without an engine. There were many women and children, said 21-year-old Filmon Selomon who plunged into the sea to save himself. Water was coming in from everywhere, top, bottom. The children were crying and the women, said Habtom Tekle, a 27-year-old Eritrean. At this point I only tried to pray. Everybody was trying to take the water out of boat. U.N. refugee spokesman William Spindler told reporters at a news conference in Geneva that this year is already proving to be particularly deadly on the Mediterranean, with some 2,510 lives lost compared to 1,855 in the same time span a year ago. The International Organization for Migration, citing what could be a record weekly death toll on the Mediterranean by its count, said Tuesday that 62 people were confirmed dead and another 971 were missing and presumed dead in nine separate deadly emergencies since May 25 on the Libya-to-Italy sea route. The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday it had tallied at least 880 deaths on the Mediterranean over the last week. Spindler noted such estimates are an inexact science, and said his agencys figures tend to be conservative. Last week marks only the second time since January 2014 that 1,000 deaths or more on that route have been tallied in a single month let alone a single week, said IOM spokesman Joel Millman. The only other time was in April last year, with 1,244 dead. He said up until last week, only 13 migrant crossing deaths had been recorded in May in the southern Mediterranean. Spindler gave the following estimates: about 100 people died in a shipwreck Wednesday; some 550 others died in another capsizing Thursday, the one that the two Eritreans survived; and a third sinking Friday left 170 others missing and presumed dead. The discrepancy between the agencies stems largely from Wednesdays sinking: IOM now estimates that 250 people died in that incident. Like UNHCR, it had originally estimated about 100 deaths. UNHCR said shipwreck survivors who landed in Augusta, Italy, over the weekend indicated that another 47 migrants were missing at sea after a raft carrying 125 migrants deflated. It said eight others were lost overboard from another boat and four deaths were reported after fire on a separate vessel. Spindler, speaking alongside Millman, said authorities were still trying to understand the jump in deaths, even as they know the region is moving into its high season for human trafficking. He said some survivors told his agency that some Libyan smugglers appeared to be trying to earn extra cash before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins next week. Spindler also noted new and strikingly risky tactics from the smuggling gangs: he said before this, he had never heard of smugglers using one overloaded boat carrying hundreds of people to tow another vessel without an engine packed with even more people. The second boat sank Thursday the most deadly capsizing last week and carried mostly Eritreans, according to the IOM. Millman said traffickers could be also cutting prices to draw in new migrants mostly from elsewhere in Africa and have recently been seen using bigger boats that can carry up to 750 people. Over the last year smaller rubber inflatable dinghies were more prevalent on the smuggling route, he said. Those factors appear to mean that more people were dying even as fewer were coming. IOM said nearly 19,000 migrants arrived by sea to Italy in May more than twice the figure in April but less than the 21,221 arrivals in the same month a year ago. A deal between the European Union and Turkey to return migrants has significantly dampened the key route into Europe from Turkey to Greece, which hundreds of thousands of people used last year. That has left international refugee agencies watching for signs that migrants may be shifting to the much longer and more dangerous Libya-Italy option. As of now, UNHCR has not seen evidence of a significant diversion of Syrians, Afghans or Iraqis from the Turkey-Greece route to the central Mediterranean one, Spindler said. He reiterated UNHCRs appeal to the EU to allow for more legal pathways for refugees to reach Europe, calling it shameful that the 28-nation bloc had resettled fewer than 2,000 people under an EU plan announced last year to resettle 160,000. LONDON The Polish government said Tuesday that it would revive an effort to extradite filmmaker Roman Polanski, whom U.S. authorities have wanted for decades. He pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl but fled to Europe the next year, on the eve of his sentencing. The announcement is the latest twist in a long-running legal battle that, at least in Poland, seemed to have ended. On Oct. 30, a judge in Krakow, Poland, ruled that turning over Polanski would be an obviously unlawful deprivation of liberty and that the state of California was unlikely to provide humane conditions of confinement for the filmmaker, who is 82. The next month, the Krakow prosecutors office said it would abide by the judges ruling. But in a statement on Tuesday, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is also Polands chief prosecutor, said he had decided to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, calling the trial judges decision a serious breach of the extradition agreement between the United States and Poland. Ziobro did not cite the judge, Dariusz Mazur, by name, but he said the judge had assessed the gathered evidence in a biased and selective way. Ziobro added that the time limit for prosecuting Polanski in the United States had not passed. The justice minister also said he disagreed with the judges decision that Polanski had effectively already been punished. Polanski spent 42 days in jail before fleeing the United States in 1978, and he was held in Switzerland from 2009 to 2010, before the Swiss government declined to extradite him. The detention in Switzerland was a consequence of his escape abroad from American justice and avoiding criminal liability, not a punishment for a crime of which he is accused, the minister said. Ziobro said he also found incomprehensible the Krakow judges findings that Polanski would face inhumane or degrading treatment if extradited to the United States. In an interview with Polish state radio, Ziobro suggested that Polanski had escaped justice because of his fame. If he was just a regular guy, a teacher, doctor, plumber, decorator, then Im sure hed have been deported from any country to the U.S. a long time ago, Reuters quoted him as saying. The immediate implications for the filmmaker, an Oscar-winning director famous for films including Chinatown and Rosemarys Baby, were not clear. Polanski, a Holocaust survivor, is a dual citizen of his native France, his primary country of residence, and of Poland, where he grew up. Polanski, who has a home in Krakow, has been working on a film in Poland about Alfred Dreyfus, a French army captain who was wrongly convicted of spying for Germany in 1894. Last week, Polanski appeared at a news conference in Katowice, Poland, with the French composer Alexandre Desplat, who has written the scores for several of Polanskis films. Jan Olszewski, a lawyer for Polanski, told the Polish television network TVN24 that the announcement was not a surprise. We had been expecting the minister to do it, he said. We are not pondering here the question of whether Polanski is guilty or not the judge was very clear in this regard, he added. We are discussing whether Roman Polanski can be extradited. These are two different things. Several institutional and political changes have occurred in Poland since the Krakow courts ruling. In November, a government led by the right-wing Law and Justice Party, which swept parliamentary elections, took office. The party has moved Poland to the right and taken steps to curb judicial and news media independence, alarming European Union leaders, who say the shift might violate the democratic norms of the 28-nation bloc. The party is known for its law-and-order approach, and for its appeal to Roman Catholic and nationalist voters. Ziobro, who became justice minister in November, has consolidated power, and regional prosecutors like the one in Krakow now report to him. In his statement, Ziobro suggested that his decision was not politically motivated. He noted that his predecessor as chief prosecutor, Andrzej Seremet, requested a review of the Krakow courts ruling in December, with an eye toward a possible appeal. Polanski was arrested in 1977 on charges that included the rape of a teenage girl at the home of actor Jack Nicholson. That August, he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor under a deal that allowed him to avoid conviction on other, harsher charges, including sodomy and rape. He fled the United States the next year, after learning that the trial judge in California, Laurence J. Rittenband, had decided to revise a plan to limit his sentence to a 90-day psychiatric evaluation, a portion of which Polanski had already served in a state prison. (The judge, who died in 1993, once vowed to remain on the bench until Polanski returned.) In 2009, a California appeals court panel suggested that Polanski could be sentenced in absentia to time served, opening the way to a possible resolution of the standoff. But the plan was rejected by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. After the unsuccessful effort to have Polanski extradited from Switzerland, where he was arrested while at a film festival in Zurich, the U.S. Department of Justice asked Poland in December 2014 for help in extraditing Polanski. Ziobro, in his statement on Tuesday, took pains to recite the serious crimes for which Polanski was convicted, including sex with the 13-year-old, who was under the influence of alcohol and methaqualone, a sedative. In a 2013 memoir, the victim, Samantha Geimer, said she had forgiven Polanski and moved on with her life. During the court proceedings in Krakow, two of Polanskis defense lawyers, Olszewski and Jerzy Stachowicz, repeatedly cited the 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, which suggested prosecutorial overreach and judicial misconduct by U.S. officials. They argued that extraditing Polanski would violate the European Convention on Human Rights and his right to a fair trial. FULLERTON As many as 100 people were present when a teenager was stabbed to death early Saturday during an illegal street race in Fullerton, police said. The victim has been identified as 19-year-old Brian Jefferson Sanchez of Anaheim, Fullerton police Sgt. Kathryn Hamel said in a statement Tuesday. Sanchez was stabbed after a fight with a male during the street race in the 1400 block of Manhattan Avenue, Hamel said. People brought Sanchez to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Hamel said. No one has been arrested in the stabbing and police have not determined if there were multiple people involved in the fight or if anyone came to Sanchezs aid. The illegal race was part of an informal car club event that began in Anaheim and moved to Fullerton, Hamel said, adding that about 50 to 100 people were in attendance. We wont know until we talk with people that were there, Hamel said. We were dispatched to the hospital after the fact. Police are seeking witnesses to the stabbing. We are asking the public to come forward, as we need assistance in solving this case, Hamel said. Anyone who has any information should contact Fullerton police detectives Mario Magliano at 714-738-6753 or Sgt. Matt Rowe at 714-738-6776. Those wishing to remain anonymous may contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or at occrimestoppers.org. Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 sschwebke@ocregister.com Twitter: @thechalkoutline IRVINE Two men and one woman have been arrested after being found with property stolen from four cars that were burglarized near the Irvine Spectrum Apartments, police said Tuesday. Early Monday, police learned that property had been stolen from locked and unlocked cars at the apartments, which are near the intersection of Alton Parkway and Irvine Center Drive. According to police, the cars that were locked had their windows smashed. At around 5:30 p.m., a victim of the burglaries called Irvine police to report that property was missing from his car, including a smartphone. Then, at about 10:30 p.m., the same victim tracked his stolen phone to a hotel in Costa Mesa. Costa Mesa police went to the hotel and found the suspects room. After they knocked, the suspects threw stolen property out the back window. One of the suspects, 35-year-old Derrick Trent of Santa Ana, left the room and was met by police. Irvine police arrived and searched the suspects car, a gray Toyota Tacoma truck with a camper shell. Investigators found stolen property in the truck and hotel room, including laptops, passports, access and credit cards, clothes and other items. All three suspects were arrested without incident. Apart from Trent, police arrested Chad Clausson, 35, of Fullerton, and Laurieal Sellers, 23, of Westminster. Each suspect had outstanding warrants for previous crimes. Trent had a warrant for driving without a license, Clausson had a warrant for a parole violation and Sellers had a warrant for petty theft, shoplifting and drugs. They were all scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. Contact the writer: 714-796-7865 or afausto@ocregister.com SANTA ANA In her bid to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Rep. Loretta Sanchez is getting a glowing endorsement from an industry thats increasingly dabbling in politics: legal marijuana. The CEO of the first licensed medical marijuana dispensary in Orange County sent a letter to some 80,000 area customers encouraging them to support Sanchez, D-Orange, in the race against the leading contender, state Attorney General Kamala Harris. David De Wyk with South Coast Safe Access wrote that Sanchez has a history of supporting the decriminalization of medical marijuana, halting federal raids on dispensaries and defending a states right to regulate use. Rep. Sanchez has been an advocate for public policy that will allow for safe access to marijuana in the state of California and across the nation well before it was the popular thing to do, De Wyk wrote in an undated letter sent two weeks ago. Luis Vizcaino, senior adviser for the Sanchez campaign, acknowledged that its a very unconventional type of endorsement. But he said Sanchez was appreciative to get it. Its the epitome of grass-roots outreach in terms of people talking to each other, Vizcaino said. Sanchez isnt the only candidate who might appreciate support from the pot industry. Nathan Click, spokesman for the Harris campaign, described the California Attorney General as a longtime proponent of medical marijuana. The states top cop has spoken about a need for the federal government to change how it classifies marijuana on its schedule of controlled substances. Shes defended Californias right to regulate medical marijuana, and Click said she generally supports legalization. Sanchez and South Coast Safe Access connected a couple of months ago over organized labor. In March, the congresswoman attended a news conference announcing that De Wyks Warner Avenue shop was unionizing under an agreement with United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 324. Vizcaino said De Wyk approached Sanchez after that event to discuss how he could support her campaign. While its not unusual to hear industry insiders advocate for legalizing marijuana, Fred Smoller an associate professor of political science at Chapman University, where Sanchez graduated with a degree in economics said its still not common to hear them actively campaign for candidates. They are now becoming a legitimate industry, and industries get involved in the political process, Smoller said. Smoller doesnt think the pot shop endorsement will affect the battle between Sanchez and Harris. Public acceptance of the marijuana industry has never been higher, he pointed out. So while the endorsement isnt as beneficial as, say, police groups or the Boy Scouts, its not detrimental the way support from tobacco or oil companies would be. Also, it seems a lock the Democrats will face off Nov. 8, Smoller said. The top two vote-getters in Tuesdays primary advance regardless of party affiliation. Contact the writer: bstaggs@ocregister.com or jkwong@ocregister.com The California Legislature had a rare opportunity to offer public employee union members some transparency and choice, but chose, instead, to cave to the interests of union bosses. Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, introduced two reform bills after being approached by a number of disenfranchised union members, who helped draft the legislation. Assembly Bill 2753 would have required public employee unions to offer union members access to an itemized and updated budget on their websites. It also stipulated that public unions must provide timely answers to members financial questions. AB2754 would have offered public union members the opportunity to vote to reauthorize or replace their unions every two years. America is a beacon of freedom to the world because its people have real choice when picking their leaders and real transparency on how those leaders spend public money, Ms. Grove said in a statement announcing the measures in February. Why shouldnt public union workers have the same freedoms regarding the unions that represent them? Nonetheless, the bills were rejected last month by the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee without a single Democratic vote in favor of either bill. Mariam Noujaim, a Department of Motor Vehicles employee and 20-year member of the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, has been suing her union for three years because it has refused to show her how it is spending the more than $60 million it receives in member dues and representation fees. I give you my money, Ms. Noujaim said at a news conference the day of the committee hearing. Show me how you spend my money, I will know how much you care for me, how much solidarity, and how much you work for us. Rick Gay, formerly a steward for SEIU Local 721 in the Inland Empire, became dissatisfied with the unions leadership and joined an alternate employee association, the Regional Employees Association of Professionals. Unions have a stranglehold on our political system, and complete unfair advantage, he asserted. No one body should have this much influence and power. There needs to be a legitimate alternative to removing bad organizations. Unions, like politicians, should be re-elected on their merit, not how deep their pocketbooks are. If the leadership of the public unions is as wonderful and effective as they claim to be, then why are they afraid of transparency and competition? Perhaps they fear they would be exposed as being out for themselves more than for the interests of the members they represent. Their opposition to the reform measures only corroborates the need to offer union members real choice in their representation and openness about how their dues are spent. Guy Murrel Communicating in a manner thats authentic, engaging and compelling has always been a challenge in the tech market. Constant change and the fact that nearly every organization is becoming a tech/software company of some sort only exasperates the problem to create positioning and messaging that stands out and inspires desired outcomes. As we often like to say, everyones using the same 16 words. As the marketing world continues to address and gain value from the new digital landscape, two current dynamics stand out to us. One is the promise of purely automated social-based marketing, which clearly lacks substance without content hence the rise of content marketing therefore causing many forms of marketing to look more and more like PR every day. The second is the avalanche of content much of it lightweight or bordering on spam which will likely result in a content bubble to which potential customers who become wise will, ultimately, ignore. While PR has gone from cool to old-school and back to cool again remember the cry of PR is Dead! we all know how everything works in cycles. We believe those of us in the PR industry have forged the skills around messaging or storytelling to add a higher level of value to todays marketing mix. We must constantly look to elevate the practice of PR into a strategic, high-value asset and not slip into becoming just a tactical commodity. While any and all forms of content may be king, what we say and the messages we convey are more vital than ever. It should be our collective goal as an industry to own and guide not just stories, but the strategic narrative. This higher-level messaging helps organizations define our constantly changing world. The practice of telling an industry strategic narrative, which is based on the unique perspective and vision an organization has for its industry, is often lacking in todays marketing communications. And, when you look at the disruption and mash-up of industries and capabilities all around, theres a great opportunity to create messaging that defines new market spaces, topics or processes. With a focus on industry leadership, a well thought-out strategic narrative provides the much-needed fuel to drive all forms of marketing that require quality, meaningful topics and themes to be effective. A strategic narrative is less about the company and what it does, but demands an organization define its view of the world (industry), what positive change needs to occur and what role it will play to promote and advance that positive change. This is a powerful proposition today, considering how difficult it is to not only stand for something, but to stand apart and above the competition. Our road to up-leveling messaging to an industry narrative happened when a local Colorado manufacturer of industrial hardware products came to Catapult with a specific request: can you help us build a new market category? The company had acquired a software platform that automated the gathering and processing of data that had been done manually for decades. The technology was new and disruptive for the market, within an industry that was very old school and set in its ways. The main issue, according to the customer: the sales team was struggling to sell its software because an existing category did not exist. The sales team needed to show customers there was a credible market category that supported adopting the technology. And, equally important, made it easier for prospects to sell the concept internally to management and the folks in purchasing. Without a nice bucket to categorize the product, sales efforts were bogged down in explaining technical features, how the product worked and other lower-level issues that derailed the sales process. We agreed to take the project and, while prepping for the kickoff strategy session, realized we needed to spend almost all of our time digging into industry dynamics not talking about the company and product. What were the prevailing trends? What were the perceptions and misperceptions that existed when it came to automation and technology? What were the opportunities as an industry to adopt automation software as a means to improve the overall success of the bigger, overall industry category? The result was the development and launch of a new category that was based on Lean manufacturing principles. The ensuing messaging development and launch revealed several things to us: We were telling more of a strategic narrative, defining the industry, helping advance it, changing long-held perceptions and shifting away from talking about the company and product. We were communicating more like industry analysts and true industry thought leaders. The less the company talked about themselves the better, and the quicker the company was recognized as a software innovator and not just a products company. It was the industry vision that made the company stand out and made the market take notice. Media and analysts loved it. They were eager to learn, hear the companys vision and feel part of an emerging trend to help their industry. It provided endless topics for thought leadership, including white papers, by-lined articles, speaking and other educational outlets. It also provided meaningful fodder for social media and content marketing. It attracted support. One of the largest manufacturers in the world loved the idea, and partnered with the client to co-present the new category concept at a major industry conference. It was fun. Defining and launching a new category was exciting and different. Seeing how it was being accepted within an industry was fascinating and rewarding. As marketers, it moved us from convincing to leading. And, finally, it dawned on us that all of our successful clients had one thing in common: they all were category leaders! I hope you can see the opportunity that lies in defining a market category or creating a new one as a means of talking less about me, and more about the world. Over the years we created a formalized process for developing a strategic narrative, and using PR and associated marketing practices to develop an entirely new market space. We call it Strategic Narrative Marketing, and are now publishing a guidebook, as our own contribution to the marketing industry, to help PR professionals think about and develop messaging that adds value and matters in the market. * * * Guy Murrel is Co-Founder and Principal of Catapult PR in Boulder, CO. Westhampton Beach, N.Y., trustees hope to pull a fast one on the village Thursdayslipping a sealed eruv package under the door that would give permanent control of 46 utility poles to the East End Eruv Assn. for its religious symbols. WHB Board (L to R): Rob Rubio, Charles Palmer, Mayor Moore, Ralph Urban, Brian Tymann, counsel Anthony Pasca Approve Litigation Settlement is the only one of 16 items on the agenda that is not explained. A WHB employee said Tuesday that an explanation would be posted when it is ready. As of 6:45 p.m. Wednesday June 1 there is still no explanation. This proposed under-the-table, last-minute deal echoes similar capers in Southampton, where Council members on Aug. 25, 2015 agreed to EEEA demands at the end of the meeting and with no discussion, and the middle-of-the-night session of the N.Y. State Legislature that in 1996 that created a special school district for the Satmar Hasidic Community. Arnold Sheiffer, chair of Jewish People for the Betterment of WHB, said in a letter to the Southampton Press Sept. 3, 2015 that he and others were shocked by the hasty and secretive actions of the SH Council that caved to the threats and blackmail of the EEEA. He ended his letter with: FOR SHAME! Lawyers tell this website that any agreement passed by the trustees Thursday could be challenged legally and invalidated because of irregularities in the adoption process. Church/State Is Topic of Book By coincidence, Louis Grumet, executive director of the New York State Society of CPAs from 1998-2010, has published The Curious Case of Kiryas Joel: The Rise of a Village Theocracy and the Battle to Defend the Separation of Church and State. Grumet knows what it is to fight Orthodox Jewry. He sued Gov. Mario Cuomo and carried his fight through 11 hearings because he felt state funding of a religious school was a Constitutional violation. The Supreme Court upheld his complaint. However, that was not the end of the battle. The Hasidim did not give in. Louis Grumet Grumets book, written with John Caber, former reporter for the New York Law Journal and Albany Times Union who is now with the NY State Unified Court System, notes that the state Legislature, in the middle of the night and on the last day of the session, created a special publicly-funded school district for the Satmar Hasidic sect. Sect Small but Powerful The blurb for the book says it shows how a small, insular, and politically savvy religious group can grasp legal and political power. The Kiryas Joel saga is an object lesson in the ongoing debate over freedom of vs. freedom from religion, says copy. The 1994 case, Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet stands as the most important legal precedent in the fight to uphold the separation of church and state, the books description further says. WHB residents are now being treated to the same ploys that worked in Southampton and for the Satmar in Kiryas Joel. Its hard for residents to make a judgment about an agreement that is being withheld from them as late as one day before the meeting at which it will be voted. We lay this strategy not only at the feet of EEEA but Mayor Maria Moore, who by her actions, if not words, has shown herself to be in full sync with the pro-eruv people which we think includes local real estate firms. Hamilton Essay Belonged on WHB Site If she were opposed to the eruv, she would have placed on the WHB website the 18-page essay by law Prof. Marci Hamilton of Yeshiva University who argued convincingly that eruvim are unconstitutional. WHB paid for that essay in 2008. Hamilton quotes Kiryas Joel, 512 U.S. at 711 (Kennedy, J., concurring) as part of her opinion. She says WHB has a closely regulated sign ordinance applicable on both private and public property. Hamilton was retained on First Amendment issues by Quogue when it was sued by EEEA. Hamilton argued, on the ODwyer website, with Prof. Michael Helfand of the Pepperdine Law School when he supported on forward.com the erection of eruvim on the ground they are not a symbol of impermissible government entanglement with religion and are therefore Constitutional. Hamilton agreed that lechis are symbols but they are symbols with religious content. Eruvim are highly informative to believers and cannot be treated as though they have no content, she told odwyerpr.com. WHBs legal costs for its battle with the EEEA are covered by insurance, a fact that Moore does not point out. Claims that WHB would have to pay millions in court fees and fines and the legal bills of EEEA are pure hogwash, say eruv opponents. Terms of the insurance policy and the name of the insurer are being sought, Opponents note that eruv supporters are lying about lechis being on 46 utility poles since no one can find any trace of them and say nothing can be trusted from the pro-eruv side. Upfront people would not be trying to sneak something past the citizenry, they say. Moore: Stealth Advocate for Eruv Moore has been a stealth advocate for the WHB eruv for the past two years, a mole in the village government that is pursuing a course of action opposite to that of 95% of citizens, as former mayor Conrad Teller said. We dont see her or anyone else challenging that statement. No poll was ever conducted by WHB on the issue and no town hall ever called on it. Moore and the four other trustees, Charles Palmer, Ralph Urban, Brian Tymann and Rob Rubio, have not responded to emails asking how they will vote on the proposed agreement with EEEA. This writer has standing in this matter because we are a tax-paying homeowner and a registered voter in WHB. Passing the agreement with the EEEA without giving citizens a chance to examine at leisure and consult with lawyers, would be an act of governmental corruption. The trustees would be selling out not only WHB and its citizens, but the U.S. Constitution. There is no need to rush on this issue. Outside legal counsel Brian Sokoloff has noted that WHBs legal costs on the issue are covered by insurance. We would like to see all the terms of that insurance. We hope enough citizens show up Thursday to convince them to drop this plan the way that citizens blocked the $350K for twin police chiefs last year. Mark Title Title Click to Access The OECD Observer online archive takes you on a journey through half a century of public policy and world progress. Since November 1962, the OECDs experts and leading guests offer insights on the questions facing our member countries with concise and authoritative analysis, and provide our audiences with an excellent opportunity to understand policy debates and consider solutions. Each edition of the OECD Observer reports on a core theme of the OECDs on-going work, from economics and society through governance, finance, and the environment, and articles are bolstered by tables and graphs. Loading... OilVoice will be with you shortly... We know Obama hates our military, and America, hence his fundamental transformation of a nation that needed no transforming. Had Ovomit gave all the hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to the needy in America instead of to our enemies abroad, we wouldn't have the problems we have. Obama has done everything in his power to destroy America's economy, traditions, Constitution, Rule of Law and Culture. He is the epitome of sleaze, corruption and racism. ConAgra Foods and the activist investor that is pushing for changes at the company have agreed to continue to work together cooperatively, extending an agreement made last summer. The two ConAgra Foods board members backed by activist investor Jana Partners will for the second time be nominated for election to the companys board of directors, at ConAgras annual meeting this year. And Jana will designate two people to join the board of the new company that will be created when ConAgra spins off its Lamb Weston potato business. Those are among the terms of a cooperation agreement signed Friday by ConAgra and Jana, according to documents filed Tuesday. The agreement keeps in place several of the terms of the parties relationship and avoids a public battle like those seen at some companies under pressure from activists. The New York hedge fund disclosed a stake in ConAgra in June 2015 and has pushed the company to make changes that boost the value of shares. ConAgra has since sold its money-losing private label foods business and has announced that it will spin off its frozen potato unit and sell a smaller spice business. Those changes leave the company with essentially its core consumer foods business, and analysts believe that further divestitures of food brands could be on the horizon. As of May 16, Jana held 21.5 million shares in ConAgra, about 4.9 percent of the shares outstanding, and held options to buy 6 million more shares. Bradley Alford, former chief executive officer and chairman at Nestle USA, and Timothy McLevish, former chief financial officer and executive vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., were appointed to the ConAgra board in July 2015. They were elected by shareholders at the 2015 annual meeting. Both are seasoned, accomplished veterans of our industry, and we continue to benefit from their deep expertise as we uphold our ongoing commitment to delivering value for all shareholders, ConAgra spokesman Jon Harris said Tuesday. Among the terms of the renewed deal: Jana agrees not to acquire more than a 9.9 percent ownership interest in the company and agrees not to influence any shareholders votes on the election of directors or approval of any shareholder proposals. Jana also agrees not to make any disparaging statements about ConAgra during a standstill period and agrees to use its shares to vote in favor of re-election of all current ConAgra board directors. A Jana representative declined to comment. The agreement is no biggie, said Michael Levin, a Chicago-area investor and management consultant who runs the Activist Investor website. Jana intends to continue to work on remaking the company and wants to keep its two directors on the board. Looks like a long-term investor to me, which contradicts the conventional wisdom about activist investors, he said. However, Levin said, he sees the relationship as at least a little adversarial. The company still imposes all the same restrictions we discussed last year around this time, he said. If there was a lot of love in the room, the company would just renominate those two without any restrictions. Jana fears, a little, that ConAgra might slow down its progress. ConAgra fears, a little, that Jana might escalate the situation. So, they agree to continue as before. Contact the writer: 402-444-1336, barbara.soderlin@owh.com North Korea Praises "Wise Politician" Donald Trump Just days after President Barack Obama said international leaders were justly "rattled" by the unlikely rise of Donald Trump, state-run media from North Koreaone of the world's most unpredictable dictatorshipshas endorsed the presumptive GOP nominee. In an editorial on Tuesday, the country's state-run media outlet DPRK praised the presumptive Republican nominee as a "wise" and "far-sighted" politician who would work toward unification with South Korea. "In my personal opinion, there are many positive aspects the Trump's 'inflammatory policies,'" Han Yong Mook, who according to the outlet is a Chinese North Korean academic, wrote. "Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North. Isn't this fortunate from North Koreans' perspective?" The editorial also called on American voters to reject "dull" Hillary Clinton. The article criticized the likely Democratic nominee for pushing sanctions against North Korea in order to limit its nuclear capabilities, similar to the strategy adopted in Iran. In previous remarks, Trump has proposed withdrawing American troops to abandon its stations in South Korea, and he has slammed the country for being a national security freeloader by not paying to protect itself and forcing the US to foot its national security bill. The real estate magnate has also suggested replacing troops with nuclear optionscomments that alarmed both South Korea and neighboring Japan. The plan, however, has apparently found support in North Korea. "Yes, do it now," Han wrote. "Who knew the slogan 'Yankee Go Home' would come true like this? The day when the 'Yankee Go Home' slogan becomes real would be the day of Korean Unification." COUNCIL BLUFFS - Dozens of local foster kids as well as their friends and family members gathered together Saturday for the first of four MasqFest parties. Children of all ages created masks, played games, hopped up and down in bounce houses, ate food and relaxed on Saturday at Sunset Park. Its just about having some good family time, said 17-year-old Sergio Estrada. This is just a cool place to spend time together. Were all having fun with our families and friends. MasqFest celebrations will be held throughout the summer at different Council Bluffs locations. After Saturdays at Sunset Park, MasqFest will also take place on June 25 at Roberts Park, July 23 at Valley View Park and August 27 at Bayliss Park. The festivals are organized by Share My Smile, a nonprofit organization created in 2010 as a supportive organization for foster and adoptive families and children in 33 counties in Iowa, including Pottawattamie County. Founder Chelsea Taggart said MasqFest, which encourages children to wear fun homemade masks, gives children not an opportunity to hide but open up. All of us at times put on a face or a mask, and its especially true with foster children, Taggart said. It takes time to get to know those kids and a lot of times the foster kids will just put on a face to give the impression that they are okay, when maybe they are not, or smile when maybe that is not how they are feeling. The mission of Share My Smile is to make it possible for kids to smile that true, honest and happy smiles that under those masks. Today (Saturday) we want to see a lot of happy smiles under the masks. Along with making and wearing masquerade-style masks, the children had opportunities to win prizes by popping a balloon with a dart, long throwing toilet papers rolls in makeshift wood toilets and other homemade games. Share My Smile always put on fun events for kids, who probably wouldnt have those opportunities, said Melissa Groves, a mother of 10. Groves has nine adopted children, along with her biological daugher. She and her family members have participated in many Share My Smile events, including skate parties, holiday dinners and Saturdays festivals. They always make the kids feel special and its always individualized, Groves said. Its wonderful to see the kids have fun and enjoy themselves. LINCOLN Saying demands for party loyalty dont always result in good lawmaking, Nebraska State Sen. Laura Ebke has switched her affiliation from Republican to Libertarian. The senator from Crete, elected as a Republican in 2014, said she filled out online forms last week with the Secretary of States Office to make the change. But she said shed been considering the switch for months. I got frustrated with some of my colleagues who dont recognize civil liberties and dont seem to agree with getting government out of peoples business, she said Wednesday. Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts recent hardball play with GOP senators like Ebke who dont always vote along party lines was one of many factors in her decision, she said. The governor called out several lawmakers by name last month during the state GOP convention, saying the Legislature needs more platform Republicans. I suspect that better policy would be made if there was more conversation and fewer demands of partisan loyalty, Ebke wrote in a letter to donors explaining her decision. The rise of Donald Trump toward the Republican nomination for president, although a factor in her decision, was not a major reason, she said. She said she now intends to support the Libertarian presidential ticket of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, both former Republican governors. Longtime Capitol observers believe Ebke, a first-term senator, may be the first Libertarian to serve in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. Clerk of the Legislature Patrick ODonnell said Wednesday that he could not think of another registered Libertarian who served, although other senators have had strong libertarian leanings. But because the Legislature is formally nonpartisan, his office doesnt keep records of past members party affiliations. Michael Knebel, a party spokesman, said that a Libertarian now serves on a City Council in the state, but said Ebke is the first in the Legislature. Libertarians favor a limited, fiscally responsible government that does not infringe on personal freedoms making sure government is out of your wallet and out of your bedroom as much as possible, Knebel said. The party has been on and off the ballot since the 1980s, but has qualified as an official political party in the state since 2010. With two statewide candidates receiving at least 5 percent of the vote in 2014, the party will remain on the ballot at least until 2018, Knebel said. Ebkes decision to join gives the Libertarians momentum at a key time, Knebel said. It is a watershed moment, he said. Ebke said she grew up in a strong Republican household and took an early interest in politics. At age 16, she was elected to lead the Teen Age Republicans in Nebraska and counted Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and Carl Curtis as her political heroes. But in recent years, she said, party leaders seem more interested in winning partisan skirmishes than in cutting taxes, addressing the national debt or upholding the individual liberties protected by the Constitution. She helped start the Republican Liberty Caucus in the state. And when she ran for Legislature, she made it clear she adheres to key libertarian principles, she said. Right now, she said, the Libertarian Party offers her a better fit. Ebke is one of 13 state senators who recently signed a letter asking Ricketts to respect the nonpartisan tradition of Nebraskas legislative branch. But on most issues, she said, she agrees with and will continue to support the governor. She said she hopes voters will judge her voting record, not her party affiliation. I hope that they can see that by taking the road less traveled, I may be able to better serve all of our citizens, and not just the Republicans, she said. Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, joe.duggan@owh.com The Piaggio Aerospace P.1HH HammerHead drone crashed yesterday off the Sicilian coast while on a test flight. According to . the drone lost contact with the ground station during the flight and crashed into the sea, about 20 minutes after takeoff. The 14.4 m long Hammerhead drone is based on a Piaggio P.180 Avanti II commercial aircraft. Its maximum take-off weight of 6,146 kg. and the wingspan is 15.6 meters. The drone operated from Vincenzo Florio Airport, Trapani-Birgi Air Base in Sicily under a test flight series. There has been no damage to people or things, announced Piaggio Aerospace, which has commenced an internal investigation to understand the causes of the accident. The company plans to recover the drone to assess the cause of the mishap. Unveiled in 2013, the new drone was acquired by the UAE, as part of a $350 million acquisition. The Italian Air Force is also interested in operating three systems (6 drones in total). The Hammerhead drone can be fitted with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) equipment for use in maritime surveillance, monitoring of illegal immigration, border surveillance and security of critical infrastructure. Solar eclipse to be sighted in Bengaluru for 45 minutes: Report Exclusive: Everest can't be scaled with physical weakness, says Sherpa body chief Bengaluru oi-Shubham By Shubham Bengaluru, June 1: Expedition to scale Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, turned a nightmare in the last week of May as four people lost their lives while trying to accomplish the risky feat. Another woman climber from Bengal was rescued but her condition was precarious. Another experienced climber from the state, a former Everester, also died while descending from Mount Dhaulagiri. [Missing Indian climbers found dead in Mt Everest] Has mountaineering become a life-threatening venture? Is there a particular reason for explorers dying while scaling the highest peak? Oneindia spoke to Nima Tshering Sherpa, the 40-year-old convenor of West Bengal Sherpa Cultural Board (WBSCB) and general secretary of All Sherpa Association Darjeeling & Terai Duars, on the issue, over phone. Here are a few excerpts from the interview: Oneindia: What are your thoughts on this frequent occurrences of mishaps on Mount Everest? Nima Sherpa: It is very difficult to say the exact reason for these accidents. The mountains decide everything in their territory. The weather matters, so do the physical conditions and discipline. If anybody is physically not fit for mountaineering, he or she should not try this hard sport. If you are indisciplined, then also you have a problem. Many are adamant in climbing the summit and don't listen. Oneindia: How many sherpas were accompanying this ill-fated team? Nima Sherpa: There were around three-four of them. Oneindia: Tell us something about the sherpas. Is the government taking enough care for them? Nima Sherpa: Yes, it is. The current West Bengal government not only set up the sherpa association in 2015 but also took care of the families of the 17 sherpas who died in an avalanche in 2014. The government has given jobs to members of the families of the deceased. Oneindia: Are their big enviromental hazards related to the Himalayas/Everest? Nima Sherpa: Of course there are. And with more and more people queuing up to scale the summit, the challenge is getting even bigger. Oneindia: What is the ideal time of scaling Mount Everest? Nima Sherpa: the summit should be scaled in the night only since the weather remains cool. Oneindia: Are you aiming to expand your organisation throughout the country? Nima Sherpa: Yes, currently the association is the biggest Sherpa body in Bengal. We look to expand our base at the national level. Oneindia News J&K budget anti-trade, anti-poor: CCI Business oi-PTI Jammu, May 31: Terming the Jammu and Kashmir budget as "anti-trade and anti-poor", the Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI) has threaded to call a strike in Jammu from June 4, if the government does not rollback the increase in VAT and toll taxes as proposed in the budget. "The Chamber feels totally disappointed from the traders' point of view as the main demand of the trading community for rationalisation of taxes has not been met in the budget," CCI president Rakesh Gupta said. He said that while CCI hails the extension on exemptions to the industrial sector but at the same time feels dejected that there is no comprehensive industrial policy that will help the existing industry and in absence of which no new industries will come up. "The Chamber welcomes the decision to reserve land for woman entrepreneurs in industrial estates but we ask the state government where the land bank is?" he said. He said CCI feels that pre-budget meetings were just an "eyewash" and the people in financial department have rushed to just fulfil the formality of presenting budget without sensing what impact this increase of VAT and toll taxes will have on trade and the common man. "CCI declares this state budget as anti-trade and anti-poor. We demand complete roll back of increase in VAT as the trade can't survive with highest ever taxes being imposed as compared with the rest of India. Also, the increase in toll tax which we have termed illegal will make all commodities costlier," Gupta said. He said CCI has convened a meeting of all business associations tomorrow as it has been left with no option but to call a strike if the state government does not roll back the increase in Vat and toll tax. PTI Caught on camera: Cop 'accidentally' fires at at mobile shop employee in Amritsar Tuesday is now No Meeting Day in Haryana and officers to be with people on Friday Fire breaks out at cattle-feed manufacturing unit, 5 injured Chandigarh oi-PTI Ludhiana, june 1: Five labourers were injured when a fire broke out in a cattle feed manufacturing unit at Ikolaha village, 50 km from here on Khanna-Malerkotla road on Tuesday, May 31. All the injured persons were working on a machine when the incident took place, police said. The cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained, SHO Khanna Sadar police station, Bhupinder Singh said. However, the fire was controlled in time. The injured were identified as Baldev Singh, Hans Raj, Balwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Ravinder Singh. Three of them who were stated to be critical were rushed to a Ludhiana hospital. PTI Wahabis have infiltrated Chennai mosques, says letter to TN police, CM Chennai oi-Vicky Chennai, June 1: A recent letter written to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa and also the state's police chief has warned about the infiltration of Wahabis and Deobandis into the managing committees of Chennai based Dargahs and Mosques. The brief of the letter written by the Ahlus Sunnath Wal Jamaths Federation is that Wahabism and its preachers are attempting to threaten Hindu-Muslim unity in Chennai. The ISIS which adopts to the Wahabi style is no stranger to Tamil Nadu. Incidents of youth posing with ISIS t-shirts were reported from this state. Moreover the first alleged ISIS recruit from India, Haja Fakkruddin was also from Tamil Nadu. The state has been a peaceful one where religious fundamentalism is concerned, but the letter indicates that this is a threat that should not be ignored. Infiltrating the Mosques in Chennai The Wahabis follow the same pattern in every place they attempt to infiltrate. They infiltrate into the managing committees of the Mosques and similar incidents have been reported in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala Once they make their way into the committees they promote their ideology which incidentally is followed by 34 terrorist groups across the world, the ISIS and the al-Qaeda being the main ones. In the letter it is stated that the Madrasas and Masjids which have been constructed by followers of saints is under immense threat from Wahabis. If they continue this way then peace between the Hindus and Muslims will be under threat, the letter also notes. The Chennai police say that they are seriously looking into this letter. An intelligence bureau official posted at Chennai says that there have been attempts by Wahabis not just in Tamil Nadu but in other parts of the country as well. They attempt to change the thinking of the youth and tell them to be more radical in their approach. The land of Wahabis, Saudi Arabia pumps in a lot of money to send these preachers across the globe. The easiest way for them to go about their business is to be part of the managing committee in Mosques. They either take over by force or by sheer money power. They have not been very successful in a lot of places as the moderates have retaliated hard. However they will continue to try and the police need to be on guard. Moreover the Mosque and Madrasa authorities must report such cases to the police immediately, the officer further informed. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 10:57 [IST] Know constituencies of UP Assembly polls 2017: NAKUR (GEN) Feature oi-Shubham By Shubham Uttar Pradesh will go to Assembly elections early in 2017. The state has an Assembly comprising 403 seats and a party/alliance has to win 202 seats to form the government. In 2012 when election was held for the last time in UP, the Samajwadi Party had won 224 seats to get a decisive majority. --------> Next seat: SAHARANPUR NAGAR (3) We, at Oneindia, will take one Assembly constituency a day and have a look at electoral information related to it: Constituency Name: Nakur (General) [comprises KCs 1-Nakur, 3-Sarsawa, 4-Sultanpur, Sarsawa NPP & Nakur NPP of 3-Nakur-Tehsil] Constituency No. 2 District: Saharanpur ( Nakur is an Assembly segment under Kairana Lok Sabha constituency ) ) Area of district: 3,689 square kilometres (rural 3,582 sq km) District population: 34,66,382 (78% general caste; 22% SC; 0% ST) District literacy: 60% District urbanisation: 30% 2012 Assembly election result in Nakur Winner: Dharam Singh Saini (Bahujan Samaj Party) Votes received: 88,288 Vote percentage: 38.6 Nearest rival: Imran Masood (Congress) Votes: 84,498 Percentage: 36.7 Difference: 4,330 votes Margin %: 1.88 Total voters in 2012: 2,30,155 Turnout: 76.98% Party which has won Nakur most number of times: Congress (7 times since 1952) BSP won it 3 times; BJP once; Samajwadi Party never. 2014 Lok Sabha result in Kairana Hukum Singh (BJP) defeated Nahid Hasan (SP) by 2,36,828 votes (margin% - 21.05) About Saharanpur and issues: Saharanpur is famous for exporting handicraft and woodcraft of which moorhas come from Behat. However, because of the middleman problem, the local cratsmen do not gain much. Major issues of the constituency: Lack of development in infrastructure, lack of higher education centres Shortage of facilities for traders of fruits and furniture business. Electricity shortage is also a major problem in Saharanpur. Communal clashes have also been a problem in this district. Always admired his zeal, energy: PM Modi greets VP Naidu on his birthday Venkaiah Naidu in Germany for 100 Smart Cities India Conference Feature oi-Lisa By Lisa Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu is in Germany to attend a three-day conference on India's Smart City Mission. The conference is being held in Berlin with the objective of receiving more cooperation from Germany for the project and promoting more investments. Amidst global interest in the initiative of development of smart cities in India, a three day '100 Smart Cities India' Conference is underway in Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated by the Minister of Urban Development Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu and Germany's Minister of Nature Conservation, Forests, Building and Nuclear Safety Dr. Barbara Hendrics. Leading global companies, policy makers and experts are attending the conference being organised to highlight investment opportunities in smart city development set in motion in India. Later, Mr. Naidu and Dr. Hendricks discussed mechanisms for bilateral cooperation in the country's Smart City Mission. Germany has earlier agreed to associate itself with the development of Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Coimbatore as smart city through technical and financial assistance. Mr. Venkaiah Naidu suggested that German companies can organise as consortiums to take advantage of investment opportunities by undertaking different aspects of smart city plans for execution. Mr. Naidu later went around the exhibition that showcased latest technologies in urban mobility, solid waste management, ICT solutions, solar technologies etc. Mr. Naidu visited Berlin Traffic Management System and was highly impressed by the centralised traffic control centre. Visited Berlin Traffic Management System. It's a centralized traffic control centre handling Berlin road transport pic.twitter.com/fb8zJFwaZS M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) June 1, 2016 Impressed by the level of automation, accuracy and efficiency of the system. pic.twitter.com/gXCJC6QoJg M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) June 1, 2016 Hope to see such systems in Indian Smart Cities also very soon... M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) June 1, 2016 For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 16:16 [IST] Why politicians dont stand up against racism? Feature oi-Oneindia By Maitreyee Boruah The Minister of State of External Affairs VK Singh has come up with a great solution to solve all the ills affecting the country. Actually, Singh thinks there is no problem at all. The minister over a period of time has developed a unique theory that most of the issues plaguing the nation are actually "minor" and the media is "blowing up" small incidents into big ones. The former Army General shares a very volatile relationship with the media and often loves to attack journalists. It was Singh only who had earlier labelled media persons as "presstitutes". So in his trademark style, instead of condemning a series of attacks on people belonging to various African countries staying in Delhi in May, Singh tweeted, "Had detailed discussion with Delhi Police and found that media blowing up minor scuffle as attack on African nationals in Rajpur Khurd." He added, "Why is media doing this? As responsible citizens let us question them and their motives." Attacks on Africans indicate a pattern? The latest racism row broke up after a Congolese national, Masonda Ketada Oliver, was beaten to death in a brawl in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj on May 20. A week later, seven African nationals were allegedly attacked in three separate incidents in Rajpur Khurd village, in south Delhi's Chhatarpur area. While Singh dismissed these attacks as "minor scuffle", the African nationals were hugely outraged over growing number of "racist attacks" against them. In fact, the African envoys also threatened to boycott the Africa Day event over Oliver's murder. The African nationals also staged protests in the national capital to end frequent attacks against them. According to statistics, most of the African nationals in India are students and are pursuing their higher education in big cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune, to name a few. Make no mistake that Singh is the only person in the current ruling dispensation good at making insensitive comments. Causing further embarrassment to India's reputation at the international podium, the Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said the killing of a Congolese man in New Delhi was unfortunate, but "even Africa is not safe". Thus he suggests that we need not worry about the safety of foreign nationals as the entire continent of Africa is also unsafe. Similarly, the Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said a strict pan-India law should be enacted to deport Nigerians facing criminal charges within a month. He said Nigerian nationals don't just "create problems" in Goa, but across the country, too. Sushma Swaraj: The saving grace The only silver lining in the entire controversy is the way the Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj responded and handled it. Swaraj was not only careful in choosing her words before saying anything on the social media, but worked sincerely to quell the diplomatic row since it broke out. On Tuesday (May 31), she chaired a meeting attended by African students and their leaders in Delhi. Swaraj assured them of government's commitment to provide safety to the African nationals in India. "We tried to explain them that the incident is huge but it isn't an incident of racial discrimination," Swaraj said. "The CCTV footage clearly shows that Indian citizens, who were present at spot, tried their best to save Masunda Oliver. We held a meeting with African students and told them the incident of death of Congo national is not only unfortunate but painful for us," she added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 11:16 [IST] Yet another gangrape but Mamata Banerjee 2.0 handles it differently Feature oi-Shubham By Shubham West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has begun her second stint with caution and most importantly-maturity. Just like in 2012, when a woman was gangraped inside amoving car and dumped by the road side, another similar incident happened a few days ago when another woman was gangraped, again in a moving vehicle. In the first instance which happened just nine months after Banerjee became the CM for the first time, the second instance took place just days after she took oath as the CM for the second time after getting a massive mandate in the election. In 2012, Mamata Banerjee said the rape was a concocted issue to malign her govt The first case saw the CM calling it "concocted"---a deliberate attempt by the Opposition to malign her government. Her strong reaction on the issue saw one controversy after another snowballing---about her own remark, her party leaders' dishonouring the victim (the late Suzette Jordan) and also making changes in the police ranks. [Suzette Jordan deserved a better media coverage] The net result of all this was: Mamata Banerjee earned a bad name of an insensitive and reckless leader who did not care for a woman's dignity despite herself being a woman. In 2016, Mamata Banerjee says nothing on yet another rape issue In 2016, Mamata Banerjee 2.0 is a much changed personality. Neither she nor any of her party members made any remark on the matter and the law succeeded in reaching out to the accused without facing any obstacle. In fact, Banerjee's composure was observed even on the day the election results were out. Unlike in her aggressive best which the people saw during the month-long election, Banerjee sounded like an administrator who wants to give everything a second thought. [What Mamata said after election victory] This is good news for West Bengal. Given the fact that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo is the only choice the state has at the moment, any act of maturity on her part is always welcome. Her first stint had seen several occasions where the administration was perceived to be a clueless one in dealing with issues. The people seemed tired with Banerjee blaming her predecessor Left for all the ills the state faced. This has to change if Banerjee aspires to be in power for another decade. Will Mamata Banerjee 2.0 see a change in Bengal's violent political culture? Her critics and opponents hope that the CM's composure, as it was seen in case of the latest rape issue, will also be witnessed in the realm of politics where the Opposition parties have accused the government of targeting their supporters. Politicians, like all human beings, become mature with time and learn from their past mistakes. Can Banerjee, who is known to be mercurial, prove to be a better administrator in her second term? 7-year-old pays the price for father's enemity, stabbed by goons India oi-Pallavi Thiruvananthapuram, June 1: A 7-year old boy was stabbed by miscreants who came searching for his father at their house. This happened in Kannur, which is highly politically charged after the assembly elections last month. Family members revealed that a four-member gang arrived at their house on Tuesday night to attack Rahul, the boys father. But when they did not find him, they stabbed his 7-year old child, who is a student of Class 2. He was admitted to a hospital in Iritty. His parents claimed that the attack was carried out by CPI(M) cadres. Karthik's mother had fought the last local body elections on a BJP ticket, following which her husband started getting death threats. BJP members said that Rahul too was an active party worker in the BJP office there. A picture of th einjured boy was also Tweeted where he is shown with a bandage on his left elbow. Rajasekharan further added, "CPI(M) miscreants attacked the boy as they couldn't find his father. It is a savage incident. It seems CPI(M) men are in no mood to end violence." Police, however, dubbed the BJP allegation as false and said that the attack was the result of a family feud and the main accused was Karthik's paternal uncle. The town is notorious for bloody clashes between the CPI(M) and the BJP, which resulted in 200 workers being killed from both the camps in Kannur for over the last three decades. In the last three months, 2 BJP and 1 CPI(M) worker was killed. This has become a national-level concern as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh raised the matter with Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan when he called on him two days back. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 12:23 [IST] Akhilesh questions authenticity of Dadri report India oi-PTI Lucknow, June 1: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday questioned the authenticity of the forensic report which stated that the meat found from Dadri lynching victim Mohammad Akhlaq's house was of "cow or its progeny", even as BJP leader Yogi Adityanath demanded registration of cow slaughter case against Akhlaq's family. "Where was the sample sent, who received it? There was nothing objectionable in his house. Every eye is on this matter. Everyone wants that the victim's family should get justice as murder had taken place. "After this incident, there was debate in the world regarding what to eat and speak. I think one should not get involved in such matters," Yadav told reporters in Ambedkar Nagar district. Meat found in Dadri lynching victim's house was beef: Forensic report His remarks came after a report prepared by a forensic lab in Mathura concluded that the meat found in the victim's house was beef. The finding was in contrast to the preliminary report of an inquiry by the Uttar Pradesh Veterinary department which said the meat over which Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was lynched on September 28 last in Dadri was mutton of 'goat progeny'. BJP MP Adityanath said the report has put UP government, opposition parties at the Centre and a section of media in the dock. "They are mum on this report. The innocent Hindus arrested in the matter should me immediately released and a case of cow slaughter should be registered against Akhlaq's family," he said in Gorakhpur. Everyone wants that the victim's family should get justice: Akhilesh "I also demand that the state government should withdraw all facilities given to his (Akhlaq's) family," he said. The report by the Forensic laboratory of the Uttar Pradesh University of Veterinary Services(Animal Husbandry) examined the sample of meat recovered from the house of the lynching victim in Dadri. It was stated that on the basis of chemical analysis the forensic investigation of the sample showed that it belonged to "cow or its progeny". The report was sent to the Noida police and submitted to a fast-track court in a sealed cover, an official said. The veterinary officer in his report that was cited by the police had earlier said that the sample which was investigated was not beef, but meat of "goat progeny". The sample was later sent to the forensic laboratory in Mathura for 'final diagnosis', according to its report. Akhlaq was beaten to death on September 28 in Bisahra village in Dadri district by a mob infuriated by rumours that he and his family had stored and consumed beef. According to police, the meat was sent for testing only to establish the motive for Akhlaq's killing. Akhlaq's family, which has always denied allegations related to beef, has rejected the Mathura lab report. PTI Attacks on Africans: 99 percent of cases were crimes not racial India oi-Vicky New Delhi, June 1: The Union Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj clarified that the attacks on Africans is not racial in nature. While statements have emerged from the African nations and several of their unions stating that the attacks are racial, India has maintained these were crime related. We have seen several times in the past incidents such as these involving African nationals. There were incidents in Bengaluru too in the years 2013 and 2016 involving African nationals. There was a hue and cry and many were quick to term them as racial attacks, but detailed probes found that these were incidents relating to road rage. Crime not racial: In 2013, an Ivory Coast national, Wandoh Timothi had complained to the police that he had been beaten up by the locals. He said that his assaulters had hurled racial slurs against him. The police probed the matter in-depth and found that the incident was a result of road rage. The locals and Timothi had entered into an argument which led to an assault. The police did agree that during the attack racial slurs were hurled. However the police also clarified that Timothi was assaulted not because of his race, but due to road rage. Africans are 'our guests', attacks on them 'despicable':Ansari There is a difference here, the police state while completing condemning the use of racial abuses. Another incident reported from Bengaluru in February 2014 took a similar turn. In this the allegation was that a Tanzanian student was assaulted. They were quick to once again term it as a racial abuse. This once again was a case of road rage. While there was some politics involved in this with a section in the opposition deciding to term it as a failure by the Karnataka government to curb racial abuse, the narrative was toned down as it threatened to blow into a full fledged diplomatic tussle. Handling African nationals no easy job: The police in various states have complained about African nationals. They party so hard that it causes a nightmare to the residents. The police say it is a very difficult situation to handle. For one they are much bigger than the local beat constable who in most cases is unable to overpower them. In this context one must recollect the incident in Goa where a gang of Nigerians held the police hostage during a protest. Another incident in which an African national assaulted a night beat police man in Bengaluru must also be mentioned here. There have been various incidents reported on the Airport Road, Bengaluru involving these students. Drag racing, rash driving and also incidents of drug peddling in Kamanahalli have all been reported. In most of the cases, the police are threatened if they file complaints. The standard answer that the police always get is that they will complain to their embassy. Most police stay away when the embassy threat is handed out. This is because when a complaint goes up before an embassy it tends to blow into a diplomatic issue. We get such threats from drug peddlers also a police officer said. OneIndia News Bihar: When asked to take off hijab to check for bluetooth device, Muslim student leaves exam centre Bihar govt curbs mass copying, but loses badly in pass percentage India oi-Pallavi Patna, June 1: Bihar government was left red-faced after a photographed showed how people were scaling the walls of a school to help their relatives during the class 10 exam last year. Following that, strict measures were taken to prevent examinees from adopting unfair means. However, the government has even more reasons to feel ashamed this year. As a result of the measures taken by the government, only 46.6% students passed, a drastic dip of 28%, in comparison to last year when 75.17 % had cleared the exams. Out of the 15.47 lakh students who appeared for the exam, 8.21 lakh failed and 7.8 lakh students have failed in mathematics alone. The pass percentage of boys was 17% more than the girls. The pass percentage of boys was 54.44% while that of girls was 37.61%. Only 10.86 per cent students attained first division as compared to 21.45% students of last year. The result of 1,669 students are pending. Incidentally, all top 10 students are from a government residential school- Simultala Awasia Vidyalaya of Jamui district. This was opened just a few years back on the footsteps of Jharkhand's famous Netarhat School. Last year, after the photographs went viral, the then Education Minister P.K. Shahi said, "Over 14 lakh students are taking the examination, what can the government do to prevent copying if parents and relatives are not ready to cooperate? Should the government give orders to shoot them?" However, this year, at the behest of the new Education Minister Ashok Chaudhary, CCTV cameras were installed, apart from 70,000 officials and policement deployed at the examination centers. The government also announced fine of Rs 10,000 and imprisonment for those who tried to help the examinees with answers. Apart from this, Section 144 was also imposed around the centers to keep guardians and relatives away. Some schools that are notorious for mass copying have been identified and blacklisted. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 14:45 [IST] Dhobi Ghar, an initiative to integrate patients with mental illness in society India oi-Pallavi Kolkata, June 1: Patients with mental illness are often cast aways of the society. But here's to 'Dhobi Ghar', which shows that even they are capable of working and earning themselves. Dhobi Ghar is an automated laundry service launched in a mental health hospital-Calcutta Pavlov Hospital. It has been inaugurated on Saturday by West Bengal's minister of Social Welfare, Shashi Panja. Ratnaboli Ray, Founder of Anjali, which is a mental health rights organisation said, "The idea is to challenge the very notion that people with mental illness can't become workers. The work they are doing in the laundry proves they have a value-based role in life". The program was set up by Anjali, with the support of the state government's health and family welfare department. Sparsh Foundation is a technical partner and it is enabled by the Hans Foundation. Menawhile, Minister Panja said, "It is for empowerment and livelihood and hygiene, You won't find this anywhere in India". OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 16:38 [IST] False cases against Muslim youths should be checked: Law minister Gowda India oi-Pallavi New Delhi, June 1: Union Minister for law and justice- DV Sadananda Gowda- has said that he is concerned about the false terror charges against Muslim youth and their rising numbers. Gowda, who was in Aligarh to celebrate the 'Vikas Parv' to mark two years of Narendra Modi-led NDA government informed that legal reforms are in the pipeline to address such cases. Gowda further added, "Cases of arrest of Muslim youths on false terror charges are a matter of concern. We are thinking of bringing in changes. The law commission is working on a report in this matter to bring about reforms in criminal procedure, bail, prosecution lapses, etc. A Supreme Court judge is the chairperson of a panel preparing the report, and there are other legal experts who are helping in preparing this report, and it is being worked upon." Earlier Rajnath Singh said, "the government has settled for a calibrated approach to terror investigations, advising police to adopt a more sophisticated approach, including de-radicalisation strategies, rather than necessarily prosecuting all suspects". Ironically, despite NIA's last minute opposition, a Special Mumbai Court released all the Muslim men accused in the September 2006 Malegaon blast case. Out of the 9 discharged, one is dead, six are out on bail and 2 are convicted in the Mumbai 7/11 train blast case. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 10:41 [IST] Partial Solar Eclipse updates: See stunning photos of Surya Grahan from Chennai, Bengaluru, Patna and more India reports 862 new Covid cases, lowest in six months News Flash: We have clocked 7.6 per cent GDP growth: FM India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, June 1: Arrest of Muslim youth on false terror charges is matter of concern, says Law minister Gowda. Get all latest news updates of June 1, 2016 here: 6.20 pm: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa demands rollback of the latest hike in petrol and diesel prices. 6.00 pm: World No.5 Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Aegon Championships tennis tournament. 5.45 pm: Army apprehends 2 Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) linkmen in Dhubhri, Assam. 5.30 pm: Sounds absurd,this is a betrayal of people's mandate, says Jitendra Singh, MoS, PMO on Sonia Gandhi's Shehenshah remark. 5.15 pm: Sushil Kumar-Narsingh Yadav matter: Hearing postponed for tomorrow. 5.04 pm: Right time for Rahul Gandhi to become Cong President, says Sandeep Dikshit. 4.42 pm: Elevation ke baare mein jab bhi kuch kehna hoga hum apko zaroor batayenge: Congress on Rahul Gandhi. 4.18 pm: The hearing in J Jayalalithaa disproportinate assets case has concluded. Matters pertaining to the the role of the companies will be taken up next Tuesday. 4.15 pm: Al-Qaeda claims attack that killed four in Mali's north. 3.20 pm: ICC Champions Trophy 2017, India vs Pakistan match on 4th June 2017. 2.45 pm: V P Hamid Ansari to deliver a speech in Mohammad V University in Rabat, hoarding had Indian map with Pak in it. 2.15 pm: PM Narendra Modi releases National Disaster Management Plan(NDMP). 1.54 pm: Who is Aristotle asks SC? Aristotle stands up and says that he is the standing counsel for Karnataka. 1.52 pm: SC wants to know what is the proof that the money circulated among the accused belongs to Jayalalithaa? Can you prove that the source of the money is illegal, SC asks. 1.51 pm: Supreme Court observes that disproportionate assets is not a crime per se. Only if the source of money is found illegal is it a crime observed the Supreme Court hearing the Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case. 1.46 pm: We have clocked 7.6 per cent GDP growth and core sector growth has been 8.4 percent, says FM Jaitley while addressing CEOs Round Table in Tokyo. 1.34 pm: Rajyavardhan Rathore meets Panchayat Raj delegation from Rajasthan, bring him a traditional Rajasthani Pagari. 1.16 pm: The Supreme Court will in the afternoon hear the income tax department in connection with the Jayalalithaa case. The prosecution had alleged that Jayalalithaa and others had tried to conceal the disproportionate assets by paying income tax. Income tax payment cannot be a cover to hide disproportionate assets, the SPP had argued. 1.15 pm: SPP, B V Acharya tells the Supreme Court he has argued every point. The arguments ended with him praying to restore the order of the trial court which had convicted Jayalalithaa, sentenced her to four years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore. 1.14 pm: B V Acharya concludes his arguments in the J Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case. He thanks the Bench at the end of the hearing and also says these were the finest hours of his professional life. 1.07 pm: We don't want farmers' produce to be wasted. We will try and help them as much as possible, says MP CM 1.05 pm: I read that onion produce were being discarded by farmers. Govt will buy Rs.6/kg, then will decide how to take it forward, says MP CM. 12.50 pm: Japanese delegation meets Varanasi Nagar Nigam's Mayor & Commissioner in Varanasi (UP). 12.49 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asks Sachin Tendulkar to be the face of Kerala Government's anti-narcotics campaign. 12.25 pm: Karnataka Govt invokes Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against policemen over their decision to go on mass leave on June 4. 12.15 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Raebareli (UP), chairs monitoring committee for the development work in the constituency. 12.00 noon: Fire broke out at Agarwadi dumping ground in Kalyan yesterday, dousing efforts being made. 11.58 am: Mortal remains of 2 more persons recovered at the site of Pulgaon Central ammunition depot fire during overnight search. 11.52 am: Cabinet hikes the MSP of paddy by Rs 60 to Rs 1,470/quintal for 2016-17 crop year. 11.46 am: Court to hear bail plea of Bindi Yadav on June 6th. Hearing could not take place today due to non submission of case diary in Gaya road rage case in Bihar. 11.30 am: J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti files nomination papers for the June 19 by-poll to Anantnag Assembly constituency. 11.15 am: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar speaks on diesel vehicles ban issue. (May 30) 11.00 am: Woman steals a new born baby from a hospital in Nadiad city of Gujarat. (CCTV Visuals: May 31). 10.55 am: Four labourers died after reportedly inhaling a poisonous gas while cleaning a water tanker. 3 critical. 10.37 am: Non-subsidised cooking gas price hiked by 21/ cylinder. 10.20 am:Death toll rises to 18 in Pulgaon (Maharashtra) Central ammunition depot Fire. 9.50 am: Sensex opens at 26715.79, Nifty at 8182.30. opens 6 paise higher at 67.20 against the US$. 9.33 am: A car caught fire at Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road, late last night in Mumbai. 9.05 am: Muslim boy topped Class 10 exam in a right-wing backed school, securing 590 marks out of 600 in Guwahati. 8.55 am: Bank employee's wife goes missing while travelling in train in Bihar, case filed with Katihar Railway, probe underway. 8.40 am: Three of a family run over by goods train in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. 8.38 am: That chap does not know what Lata Mangeshkar means to us: Javed Akhtar on AIB video 8.25 am: Nigerian national issue: People of Goa are not happy with these people. Goans, in general, are complaining about these foreigners, says Goa CM 8.10 am: China-Pakistan economic corridor will have adverse effect on Gilgit, says Kashmiri leaders. 8.05 am: Arrest of Muslim youth on false terror charges is matter of concern, says Law minister OneIndia News Who is Louis Kahn? Find out why IIM-Ahmedabad wants to raze 14 dormitories designed by him Good News! IIM Rohtak to offer entrepreneurship course India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, June 1: Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Rohtak has tied up with Talentedge, an Ed-Tech firm, to offer students a course in the executive programme in entrepreneurship. The course will commence on June 5 and offer students knowledge of the nuances of kick-starting one's own business and the numerous aspects that are needed to identify in order to set up a successful venture. The programme includes mentoring sessions and lectures from the core faculty of IIM Rohtak and other prominent entrepreneurs. Aditya Malik, CEO and MD Talentedge said: "It gives us great pleasure to join hands with IIM Rohtak, one of the most reputed management schools in the country, to offer aspiring entrepreneurs, the right mentoring through the executive programme in entrepreneurship." IANS Security at all time high as Lashkar, JeM look to strike at heartland Death keeps no calendar: The writing on the truck that JeM terrorists came in Jaish-e-Mohammad infrastructure is intact, Azhar not questioned even once India oi-Vicky New Delhi, June 1: There is more proof to suggest that trusting Pakistan does no good. A visit by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi to Pakistan had earned him both cheers and criticism. However a cloud overshadowed that visit when the Pakistan sponsored Jaish-e-Mohammad launched an an attack on the Pathankot air force station. India allowed a team of Pakistan investigators to visit Pathankot and probe the matter. The website of the NIA continues to proudly display a photograph of the Pakistan investigating team holding talks with the Indian agency. These sugar coated exercises look nice, but the reality is everyone knew that Pakistan would not act against the Jaish-e-Mohammad. A reputed NGO, the International Crisis Group has pointed out that the probe in Pakistan has gone nowhere and how the Jaish-e-Mohammad's infrastructure remained intact. Jaish-e-Mohammad's infrastructure is intact: The Jaish-e-Mohammad is headquartered in Bhawalpur. The report by the ICG points out that its infrastructure remains intact. Further it also points out that there is little progress in the probe made by Pakistan. Maulana Masood Azhar remains inaccessible to police investigators. JeM chief Masood Azhar " title="NIA court issues arrest warrant against JeM chief Masood Azhar " />NIA court issues arrest warrant against JeM chief Masood Azhar Rauf, brother of Azhar remains in the good books of the military. The infrastructure at Bhawalpur remains intact. The report also quotes local observers while stating that the Jaish-e-Mohammad continues to run a training cell on a main Bahawalpur road toward Ahmedpur tehsil, which attracts youngrecruits from around southern Punjab. The report also states that the January 2016 Pathankot attack raised Jaish's profile considerably in its Bahawalpur home district, as the 2008 Mumbai attacks raised LeT/JD's. Unless the state prosecutes their leaders and dismantles their networks, it will reinforce the allure of radical Islamist organisations that appear to be above the law. Further the report also notes that groups such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad offer a sense of power and prestige to the disenfranchised youth. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 10:06 [IST] Phase 1 of Panchayat polls in Haryana on Oct 30, Nov 2 2 killed, 1 injured in a brawl at dhaba in Haryana's Karnal Haryana govt orders to stop production of cough syrups by Maiden Pharma Tuesday is now No Meeting Day in Haryana and officers to be with people on Friday Jat stir: Report confirms mass rape in Murthal India oi-Jagriti Chandigarh, June 1: The Prakash Singh committee appointed to probe the violence during Jat agitation in February this year, sumitted its report to Punjab and Haryana High Court. The report submitted by the committtee confirmed the mass rape during the agitation in Murthal. Several women were raped in Murthal in Haryana on February 22 during the agitation by Jats. The rapes were also confirmed by the dhaba owners there, the court was informed on Monday, reported the NDTV. The victims were offered clothes and blankets at dhaba. People at dhaba also helped them reach back their home. At least 30 people were killed and over 320 injured in the nine-day long Jat agitation for reservation. The reports emerged earlier, some 30-odd people attacked commuters, set their vehicles ablaze, dragged women out who couldn't escape and raped them. Jat stir: Torn ladies' undergarments seen near Murthal road Initially Haryana government denied such reports. The Haryana Police also dismissed the report and said that 'this is just a rumour' but eyewitnesses have a different story to tell. Torn dresses of women, including jeans and inner-wears, were found on the site. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 10:48 [IST] LEBANON Erin Guiliano is pretty sure shes going to cry Friday morning during the second annual commencement of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, when she and 104 other new doctors officially start their medical careers. They will be tears of joy, representing four years of hard work, juggling the demands of medical school with her role as a single mother of four. And they will be tears of sadness, in the knowledge that Guiliano's father wont be there to celebrate his daughters well-earned accomplishment. He died of cancer two years ago. I had to prioritize my study time, Guiliano said. It often depended on what the kids needed. Sometimes, I had to study extremely hard the week before a big test. But I had very supportive classmates and instructors and my kids have learned to be very self-reliant. We made it work. It has been a winding road for the 39-year-old Corvallis resident, who was valedictorian for the South Medford High School Class of 1994. Friday, she and her classmates earn the title, doctor, which carries with it professional, social and economic responsibilities. After high school, Guiliano wanted to experience life outside of Oregon and spent her first two years of college at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a great school and a beautiful campus, Guiliano said. But after two years and thinking she would like to become a pharmacist, Guiliano transferred to Oregon State University, where she quickly fell in love with the mid-valley although not with the concept of a long-term career as a pharmacist. I found out quickly that I want to be directly involved in patient care, not counting pills, she said. Guiliano completed her bachelors degree in human development and family science. She already had a son, Sean, now 18, and she graduated on the due date of her daughter, Julia, now 15. (Julia was born 13 days later.) The family later added Dana, 13, and Jenna, 9. Guiliano was a full-time mom and then took on a part-time job at the OSU Student Health Center, a job she calls fantastic. The hours and benefits were great and I got to experience working in the medical field. Guilianos interest in medical school began to increase when COMP-Northwest came to Lebanon. It provided her the opportunity to go to medical school without moving away from the mid-valley. I had wanted to be in the first class, but couldnt get everything done in time, she said. Im very happy to be in the second class. I came into this a little naive and didnt know exactly what I was getting into. She was accepted to medical school about a week before she and her husband separated. But Guiliano said that thanks to friends, classmates and excellent babysitters, it all came together. It was the only school I applied to, Guiliano said. I have no regrets at all and I enjoyed every minute of it. Guiliano said her favorite class was essential clinical medicine, in which actors role play as patients and interact with student doctors. She said osteopathic medicine also fits perfectly with her approach to health care. Osteopathic medicine takes a holistic approach to looking at the whole person, Guiliano said. I want to work with my patients for the long-term. Guiliano said it was a bit daunting at times being in classes with fellow students who were 22 or 23 years old and fresh out of college. But she said having life experience as an older student also had its advantages. You realize most things arent life-or-death situations and we can work through them, she said. In addition to her classes and family life, Guiliano also found time to be involved in student government and earned two awards, the Larry Mullins Scholarship and the American College of Family Physicians Award. She will spend the next three years in family medicine residency with Samaritan Health Services, primarily at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. Its ideal and exactly what I wanted, Guiliano said. My hope is that this leads to a permanent job in three years. Guiliano took her family to Disneyland recently as a way of saying thank you for their help over the last four years. My kids have become amazingly self-sufficient, she said. They get ready for school without poking or prodding and they even make their own lunches. Guiliano said thats important since each child attends a different school and they have their own after-school activities. This worked out wonderfully for me and my family, Guiliano said. I wouldnt do anything differently. It was a huge decision, a big leap, 180 degrees from the work I had done for 11 years. Im proof that its never too late to go back and do what you really want to do. Of Guilianos classmates, 53 will complete their residency training in primary care fields, including internal medicine (17), family medicine (25), pediatrics (four), and obstetrics-gynecology (seven). About 65 percent of the Class of 2016 hails from states in the Pacific Northwest. Of the 105 new physicians, 25 will complete their residency training in Oregon and Washington. Of the 25, 10 students will train in Oregon: five in Portland, four in Corvallis, and one in Klamath Falls. Kerala priest abducted in Ooty, rescued by police India oi-PTI Udhagamandalam (TN), Jun 1: A Christian priest from Kerala, abducted by a gang from this tourist town for Rs 10 lakh ransom two days ago, was today rescued and his eight captors were arrested in Gudalur near here, police said. Father Joseph George, hailing from Kollam, was rescued when his family members, as advised by police, were about to hand over the cash to the gang members at Devarsolai in Gudalur, about 50 km from here. The gang of eight led by Asaithambi, said to be members of a little known political outfit Makkal Tamil Desam, had kept a watch on the priest since his arrival here May 27, they said. The gang later kidnapped and took him to Gudalur. They then contacted the relatives of George and sought Rs 10 lakh as ransom for his release, police said. On information from the relatives to senior police officials, two special teams were formed to probe the case, they said. As planned, the relatives agreed to pay the money and came to Devarsolai. When they were about hand over the money, police immediately nabbed the gang members and rescued George safely. According to police, Asaithambi is reportedly involved in the murder of an AIADMK councilor some time ago. PTI Why a terror angle should not be ruled out in the Coimbatore cylinder blast case Letters, purportedly from JeM, threaten to blow up temple India oi-PTI Anand (Guj), Jun 1: Avichaldasji Maharaj, the high priest of the Sat Kaival temple at Sarsa in Anand district of Gujarat, today received two letters threatening to kill him and blow up the temple. The senders claimed to be members of terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad. Sat Kaival is a religious sect with a big following in the region and also among NRIs. The letters were written in Hindi and Gujarati, local police said. The writers claimed to have conducted a recce of the temple and said they will blow it up and kill Avichaldasji to take revenge for Babri Masjid demolition and Godhra riots. "Police can't do anything and even (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi can't save you... You know what happened to Pravin Togadia's relative in Surat," it said. VHP leader Togadia's relative was among the three people who were recently murdered in Surat. Avichaldasji, who is also the national secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samaj, recently attended Simhasth Kumbh Mela in Ujjain where he delivered discourses against cow slaughter, a member of the temple management said. Superintendent of police Saurabh Singh said police would provide security to the temple and the priest. Manager of the temple trust Hitesh Patel filed a complaint regarding the threat letters at Khambhoji police station. PTI Rahul Gandhi will be seen in new avatar after Bharat Jodo Yatra: Digvijaya Singh Fact Check: This image of a massive gathering is not from the Bharat Jodo Yatra 'Hard working leader'Rahul Gandhi to take over reins from Sonia Gandhi? India oi-Reetu New Delhi, June 1: After suffering loss in the recent Assembly Elections, it seems now Congress has found hope in Rahul Gandhi as he may be elevated as party president any time soon. Reportedly, the Congress also looked elated amid reports of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi be given the party's throne. The party feels that grand old party would strengthen under the leadership of a hard working leader. "All India Mahila Congress president Shobha Oza expressed her delight over the news and said that the entire party was waiting for this moment, " according to an ANI report. "The entire Congress has been waiting for this and we are very happy that Rahul Gandhi is going to become the party president," Oza told ANI. She further stated that Rahul Gandhi has been working hard for revival of the Congress from the streets to Parliament. "It is high time that the youngsters should be given the opportunities. It is for Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has served for 20 years, to take a call on her successor. We hope that Rahul would do a good job as the party president," former Punjab chief minister and senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh added. The grand old party is also likely to make major changes in senior positions following a series of defeats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the recent elections in various states of the country, said an ANI report. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 18:00 [IST] Telangana to have special probe units for crime against women India oi-PTI Hyderabad, June 1: To ensure speedy probe in cases of crime against women and render justice to victims, an elite Investigative Unit for Crimes Against Women (IUCAW) will soon come up in all district headquarters of Telangana. The Telangana Police has already submitted proposals to the state government in this regard and a response is awaited, senior police officials said. The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier directed all the states and Union Territories to establish IUCAWs. The proposed IUCAWs will assist local police in investigation of heinous crimes against women like rape, dowry deaths, acid attack and human trafficking, they said. The objectives of these units are - to provide additional functionalities of pro-active policing, intelligence gathering, tackling crime, monitoring and implementation of legislative provisions and to help in awareness generation and social participation in crimes against women. Initially, the Telangana Police sent a proposal to set up two units in Karimnagar and Warangal districts, but later the MHA issued guidelines asking all states to set up IUCAWs in all the district headquarters. As per the MHA guidelines, a unit headed by Additional Superintendent of Police will comprise of 15 personnel out of whom one-third will be women. When contacted, Additional Director General of Police (Telangana CID) Satyanarain told PTI, "We have submitted a proposal to establish IUCAWs in all district headquarters." To investigate crimes against women and achieve good results and convictions, the Central government conceived the idea of opening investigative units, he said. Each unit will consist of 4 sub-units headed by an Inspector. It will form the core investigative unit, while two DSPs headed by one Additional SP will function in supervisory capacity. These units should be equipped with specialised investigators, as per MHA guidelines. The Central government will pay 50 per cent of the salaries of staff in each unit. The rest would be paid by the state government. Another senior official said that setting up of specialised IUCAWs would enable investigators to conduct a detailed inquiry after a case is registered and ensure speedy detection and also conviction in such cases, rendering justice to the victim. PTI 32-year-old critical after being shot at in Gurugram Gurugram: Guards thrash teen boy for trying to enter society's Diwali fair; 5 held Two Swachh Bharat officials arrested for graft India oi-IANS By Ians English Gurgaon, May 31: Two officials, working with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan here, were on Tuesday arrested for misusing funds, a senior officer said. The officials - Praveen kumar and Pravesh Sharma - working in the Additional Deputy Commissioner V.P. Singh's office were arrested late evening for allegedly transferred over Rs 13.5 lakh of the mission funds to people close to them. "Kumar and Sharma were found guilty of graft and have been arrested," Singh told IANS. The accused have been arrested and investigations are on, senior police officer told IANS. IANS German music festival sexual assault toll rises to 26 International oi-Pallavi Berlin, June 1: The number of women who have reported of being sexually assaulted at a German music festival last weekend has risen to 26. Police reported that thewomen filed 14 criminal complaints, saying that they were encircled and groped by groups of men in ways that recalled mob attacks at chaotic New Year's festivities in Cologne. The festival was held in the western city of Darmstadt. Initially 18 women had reported assaults, which is when the police said, "The women have reported that the (perpetrators) appeared to be men from the South Asia region." Police arrested 3 Pakistani men between the age of 28 and 31, two of them asylum seekers. The Cologne attacks on New Year's Eve-- committed in a crowd of mostly Arabic and North African men-- bewildered Germany and raised public concerns, especially when over 1 million asylum seekers arrived last year and most of them from the Middle East. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 13:08 [IST] 12-year-old Indian in Guinness World Record for identifying most aeroplane tails in UAE Indian security forces get non-lethal weapons inspired by traditional weapons to tackle Chinese army After attack in DR Congo, India calls for UNSC meet Watch: Four Indian women racially abused in Texas in most horrific manner 8 month old among 4 Indian origin people abducted in California Indian banker awarded 'Green Economy Visionary award' in Dubai International oi-PTI Dubai, Jun 1: A Qatar-based Indian banker has been awarded the 'Green Economy Visionary award' for his contribution in environment-friendly activities and for promoting green economy for nearly two decades. R Seetharaman, Group CEO of Doha Bank, was awarded at the 2016 Union of Arab Banks International Banking Summit held in Rome on Monday. He received the award from Mohammed Jarrah Al-Sabah, Chairman of Union of Arab Banks. It was given to him for his outstanding contribution close to two decades towards environment-friendly activities and thereby promoting green economy. Seetharaman is a recipient of multiple doctorates. Doha Bank was incorporated in 1978 and commenced its banking business (including its International Banking services) in Doha, Qatar on March 15, 1979. PTI N Korea media praises Donald Trump, calls him a 'wise politician' International oi-Sandra Washington, June 1: North Korean state media has praised Donald Trump and called him a 'wise politician' and a 'far-sighted candidate' who could unite the Korean penninsula. An editorial in DPRK Today welcomed Trump's proposal to hold talks with Kim Jong-Un, and said that Trump could help bring about an end to the country's 'Yankee go home' policy of hostility with the US. Donald Trump wants to speak to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "There are many positive aspects to Trump's 'inflammatory policies'," wrote Han Yong-mook, who described himself as a Chinese North Korean scholar. "Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North, isn't this fortunate from North Korea' perspective?" Trump in an interview on May 17 said that he would talk to Kim to dissuade him from going forward with the nuclear programme. "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," he had said. However, So Se Pyong, the country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said that 'Trump's call for speaking with the North Korean chief was just a political gimmick.' OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 16:20 [IST] Are you awake?: EAM Jaishankar recalls when he got a call from PM Modi at midnight Several Afghans on Germany's evacuation list have died 13th batch of medical assistance to Afghanistan delivered by India Nine killed in Afghan suicide attack International oi-IANS By Ians English Kabul, June 1: At least nine people were killed and 13 others injured in a suicide bombing in Ghazni city on Wednesday, an official said. "The nine casualties included four civilians, four attackers and one policeman," Xinhua quoted an official as saying. A four-member suicide-bomber group stormed a court in the city, triggering a gun battle. The attackers then blew themselves up. The Taliban militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. IANS PM Modi, Obama have forged close working relationship: think-tank International oi-PTI Washington, June 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone from somebody who was basically a "pariah" to someone who is now going to be celebrated, in the course of just two years, a top American think-tank has said ahead of his meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House next week. "This would probably be the Prime Minister's seventh meeting with the President since he took office which probably is a record both for Modi and for the President with respect to meeting a head of government from a country which is not a formal ally of the United States," Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said yesterday. "This speaks to the personal relationship that the two have developed over the last two years and also the surprising quality of it, given the history that Modi had with the United States," Tellis told a group of White House reporters ahead of the Obama-Modi meeting next week on June 7 at the White House. During his US visit, the Prime Minister would also address a joint meeting of the US Congress on June 8. "The close personal relationship that has now developed between Modi and Obama is one of the surprises of the last two years," Tellis said. Echoing Tellis, Milan Vaishnav of Carnegie said the personal transformation that Modi has undergone is nothing short of remarkable. "In the course of just two years, Modi has gone from just who could not step foot on American soil as a legal matter to addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress. He has gone from somebody who was basically a pariah to someone who is now going to be celebrated by Washington. "Despite that President Obama and the US Government having zero relationship as a matter of stated US Government policy, it is fair to say that the two have forged a close working relationship. It is an achievement that should not be minimised. The two have forged a pretty close rapport and Modi has invested in broadening and deepening ties with the US," Vaishnav said. Giving "full marks" to the foreign policy success of the Prime Minister in the two years that he has been in power, Tellis said it is "really hard to identify any conspicuous failures" and oddly the two areas where he has fallen short is within the region Pakistan and Nepal. "The broader foreign policy of India (under Modi) has been remarkable successful," he said. Modi has demonstrated, if not in words, but certainly by his actions that he is willing to take the relationship as far as he can take, Tellis said. The India-US relationship, he noted, has a full agenda. "Defence and defence cooperation is going to be the flagship deliverables coming out of this visit," Tellis added. PTI The Albany Bank of America branch will close as of Aug. 23, and the business will not have any standalone automated teller machines in the city, said Britney Sheehan, company spokeswoman. The decision is driven primarily by a decline in transactions at the location, Sheehan said. And we can blame the Internet, at least in part, for the trend. Customers are relying more on mobile and online banking rather than visiting a physical bank branch, which contributed to the drop in transactions, Sheehan said. Customers were notified of the closure beginning in mid-May, Sheehan said. We want to give them plenty of time to be able to decide whats right for them, she said, adding that clients could move their accounts to the Corvallis branch if they wanted to continue banking with the company. The Albany branch, 1250 Waverly Drive S.E., is a leased property that essentially is an island in the middle of the Fred Meyer parking lot. Bank of America has 50 financial centers throughout the state, and there are no plans to close other locations, Sheehan said. Sheehan said she could not disclose the number of clients or workers at the local branch. However, Bank of America is providing assistance to Albany employees, including helping them find other jobs within the company, Sheehan said. Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000 Bihar's Gopalganj by-poll to see a tough fight between BJP and RJD Aditya Sachdeva murder case: Court to hear bail plea of Bindi Yadav on June 6 Patna oi-Shalini Patna, June 1: On a fresh note, now on Monday, June 6 the Gaya court will hear the bail petition of Bindeshwari Prasad Yadav alias Bindi Yadav, Father of Rocky Yadav who is the prime accuse of Aditya Sachdeva murder case in Bihar. The case hearing could not take place on Wednesday, (June 1) due to non-submission of case diary. Earlier also the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Om Sagar rejected the bail petition of Yadav after hearing both prosecution and defence. Last month on May 7, Aditya Sachdeva, class 12 student was shot dead allegedly by Rocky Yadav for overtaking his vehicle near police lines in Gaya district. Later after numerous raids and investigation Rocky was arrested on May 10 from his father's mixer plant located at Mastpura village in Bihar. On violating the new excise law for liquor, Former JDU, MLC Manorma Devi was booked, as many liquor bottles were recovered from her residence during search operation by the Bihar police. Gaya road rage: Court to hear bail plea of Bindi Yadav on June 6th. Hearing could not take place today due to non submission of case diary. ANI (@ANI_news) June 1, 2016 OneIndia News Bihar: Arts, science topper's results put on hold Patna oi-Jagriti Patna, June 1: Bihar education board has decided to put the results of arts and science toppers on hold after they failed to answer some basic questions. One of the toppers of Bihar intermideate board, even failed to pronounce political science properly and termed it as subject about enhancing cooking skills. While on the other hand the science topper who scored 485 out of 500 failed to answer question related to periodic table. Taking this as an embarrasment, the authorities have asked the toppers to appear before a panel for an interview. These students will be asked simple questions related to their subjects. "Top five students of all the streams- Arts, Commerce, and Science would be interviewed by a special committee about their subject and also take a small test," BSEB chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh was quoted as saying. "I have received a complaint that arts topper was not competent enough to top the subject. But we have re-examined her papers and could not find any problem in that. Hence, we have decided to call the top five students of all the streams and interview them. This is to find out the root cause behind this problem," he said. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 14:28 [IST] Old bridge razed through controlled explosion in Pune BRO Recruitment 2022: Check details for 328 vacancies, last date and salary details here COVID: India reports first case of a highly infectious Omicron sub-variant in Pune Police unearth prostitution racket; Six persons arrested Pune oi-PTI Nashik, Jun 1: Four women and two men were arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket in a beauty parlour in Canada Corner locality of the city, police said today. Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Raju Bhujbal raided the premises, police said. Four women and two men were arrested, they said. A case has been registered at Sarkarwada police station, they said, adding further investigation is on. PTI 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. The Jefferson Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on a proposed 15-acre annexation during its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall. And thanks to a recent change in state law, residents wont be able to vote on the matter, as required by the city charter. The City Council may still hold a public hearing and must determine if the property should be annexed, but the government body, unlike the past, cannot refer the decision to voters. In a city report, planner Lissa Davis concluded that the annexation and zone change comply with the applicable criteria and recommended the approval of both. The property is located just north of town, along Scio Road and east of Fifth Street. It is adjacent to a nearby residential subdivision and within the Jefferson urban growth boundary. The applicant, the Hamby Family Limited Partnership, led by Nancy Hamby, seeks to secure a zone change from the Marion County urban transition zoning to the citys low-density residential zone, which has a minimum lot size of 6,000 square feet. The annexation brings the potential of about 60 new homes to the area, said a representatives of the city's engineering firm. Mayor Patrick McKenzie declined comment about the potential annexation and the Senate bill until after the meeting. Senate Bill 1573, which narrowly passed in March, limits the ability of cities to require voter approval for annexation of land into cities as part of development plans. Cities including Corvallis and Philomath plan to fight the bill and are considering legal action. The League of Oregon Cities has voted unanimously to assist municipalities in such efforts. Now, its very important for the citizens to go to the planning commission meeting and a city council meeting on an annexation request and voice their opinions, because they wont be able to vote on it, said Jefferson resident Stan Neal. Ive talked to numerous citizens who didnt know this law had been passed. Theyre unhappy about it, he added. Neal hoped that Jefferson city officials will fight for residents right to vote on annexations and participate with other cities in challenging the new law. He said the annexation was not a good idea as it would create additional traffic in neighborhoods and other areas of town, impacting safety. The new houses would also create pressure on Jefferson schools just after a school bond measure to improve facilities was defeated in the primary election, Neal said. BEND Oregon State Police say a man was fatally shot by police at the High Desert Museum. According to the Bend Police Department, on behalf of the Tri-County Major Crimes Team, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, the Oregon State Police and the Bend Police Department responded to the museum around 3:25 p.m. after receiving report of an assault in progress. Deschutes County 911 Dispatch had received information regarding an adult male holding a female by the throat and threatening to kill her. Further information from witnesses indicated that the man was armed with a knife. Within minutes of the call, an Oregon State Police trooper arrived and entered the museum, where he found the male. During their subsequent encounter, the trooper fired his weapon. The suspect died from his injuries at the scene. His victim received non-life-threatening injuries and is cooperating with investigators. There is no known connection between them at this time. The trooper was not injured in the incident. A multiagency crime team was activated with the Bend Police Department as the lead investigating agency assisting the Deschutes County District Attorney's Office. The Tri-County Major Incident Team is made up of all law enforcement agencies in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. Bend Fire and Rescue, Deschutes County Behavioral Health and the Central and Eastern Oregon Chapter of the Red Cross responded to assist with the multiple witnesses at the museum. Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom, with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom. FOX Sports 07 Jan 2022 Isaiah Mobley helped the USC Trojans avoid any type of rust by going off for 19 points and nine rebounds. Drew Peterson also came.. GlobeNewswire 25 Oct 2022 The global seafood market size was valued at USD 160.2 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 207.2 billion by 2030 at a.. UCLA students say a former postdoctoral fellow sent an email to the philosophy department threatening to hurt faculty and.. Upworthy 01 Feb 2022 Papua New Guinea's Opposition members are confident they will be file another motion of the vote of no-confidence to topple Prime Minister Peter ONeill.Leader of the Opposition Don Polye said they won't rest until ONeill is removed.We will not rest until this corrupt government is gone, Polye told journalists in Port Moresby."The Governments actions were being monitored and were now on the roof top.Polye said the Opposition has been increasing in numbers and will increase further as MPs will be moving to their side to fight this monster.Meanwhile, ONeill has maintained his stand that he will not step down until proven guilty by the courts.PacNews THE principal of Wasu Secondary School in Morobe was attacked by male students because he was allegedly going around with female students, police say. Morobe rural police commander Insp David Warap said police learned about this after they sent a team into the area to investigate why the principal was attacked. Warap said 10 policemen that included five mobile squad members, four rapid response unit members and one detective were sent into Wasu last week after reports of the incident reached police. Their trip was funded by the Kabwum district development authority. The attack (on the principal) was not related to his job, Warap said. The angry male students attacked the principal because of his personal conduct. He was reported to be going around with schoolgirls, which made the male students angry. Police last week said the new school vehicle which the principal was using and his home were damaged by the students. The principal, from Enga, and his family escaped unhurt after they were rescued by Wasu police. They were transported to Lae on a dinghy. Since arriving in Lae, I do not know where the principal is, Warap said. He did not come to see police to lay any official complaint. Warap said police have moved into Wasu and took control of the situation. He said police would be there for some time and travel to the interior Kabwum station and surrounding areas to attend to outstanding sorcery-related killing cases. Provincial police commander Supt Augustine Wampe said this was the second incident involving the principal. Wampe said the same principal was earlier held up by armed criminals at the Nadzab Airport in Lae, and escaped with K150,000 in cash belonging to the school. Meanwhile, provincial education chairman Andrew Gena condemned the action of the principal, saying if the allegation against him was true then he ought to be suspended and investigated. Such behaviour is uncalled for from a senior education officer, Gena said. I do not know how he is managing the school. I call on the SSO (senior standardsofficer) and the PPA (provincial programme adviser) education to send a team to Wasu to find out what happened. The National / ONE PNG Tobacco use poses the biggest threat to public health in the world today, even as more than 1 billion people consume it globally. It is the leading preventable cause of premature deaths worldwide, killing more than 6 million people each year, and is a risk factor for 6 of the world's 8 leading causes of death. It is also the greatest preventable risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) - such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, etc - which account for 63% of all premature deaths. According to the Tobacco Atlas 2015 tobacco consumption costs the global economy over US$1 trillion and may have an economic impact of as much as US$2.1 trillion. At the recent Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016) Dr Prakit Vathesatigkit, Executive Secretary of Action on Smoking and Health Foundation of Thailand, had said that an estimated 23% of all lung cancer deaths in the ASEAN region are due to smoking, and that tobacco control is the most cost effective way to reduce not only lung cancer but other NCDs as well. Plain packaging World No Tobacco Day, that takes place on May 31 each year, highlights the devastating impact of tobacco use on health, as well as advocates for policies that help people quit tobacco use and discourage non-users from starting. This year's World No Tobacco Day theme is 'Get ready for plain packaging'. Tobacco package design is particularly effective at influencing consumers' decisions to buy (or not buy) tobacco products. For the tobacco industry it acts like a mobile billboard promoting consumption of tobacco products by making them look more attractive, distracting users from health warnings and deceiving people into thinking that some products are less harmful than others. Plain packaging, on the other hand, makes tobacco products less attractive and directly informs the users of the negative health effects of tobacco use with a graphic picture and health warning. In this context, plain packaging is particularly threatening to the long-term growth of the tobacco industry. Plain packaging means having packs of a standardized unappealing colour, and large graphic pictorial and text health warnings, sans any branding. It prohibits the use of logos, colours, brand images or promotional information on packaging other than brand names and products names displayed in a standard colour and font style. In a World No Tobacco Day (WNTD 2016) webinar organised by CNS (Citizen News Service), Dr Tara Singh Bam, Regional Advisor (Tobacco Control - Asia Pacific) at the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), said that there are only two ways to reduce tobacco use - preventing youth from starting to use tobacco and encouraging/helping users to quit. He reiterated the benefits of plain packaging - "It reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products; eliminates the effects of tobacco packaging as a form of advertising and promotion; addresses package design techniques that may suggests that some products are less harmful than others; and increases the noticeability and effectiveness of health warnings." Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Donald Trump Sr. at #FITN in Nashua, NH (Image by Michael Vadon) Details DMCA Politicians have always had an admittedly antagonistic, sometimes adversarial, relationship with truth telling. I'm the first to say that its human for political leaders to gets facts wrong from time to time, put their own "spin" on certain uncomfortable facts, and twist and bend the truth to suit their own political long and short term ends. I am not naive to think that our political leaders are always pristinely honest or embrace pious puritan principles. After all, we're not electing people to political sainthood and we expect them to fall short sometimes. They're only human. But I fear that things have changed in the political landscape, perhaps irretrievably so, for the worse. Lying is not the norm in politics and this 2016 Presidential Election cycle has confirmed our worst fears in this regard. It is neither routine nor normal for a political leader -- Democrat or Republican -- to tell the American people a brass-faced, crass lie and 24- hours later when brief, passing outrage erupts, behaves like Dr. Evil and says that "I misspoke." And should the outrage become sustained outside of the 24-hour news cycle, the same news outlets that first helped enable the lie in the first place, now backhandedly apologizes for said politician by saying that he or she "was now walking back" the statement. The end effect of these carefully crafted lies, misspeaking, and walking back falsehoods, is a populace now thoroughly and completely confused bumping around in a sea of deliberate misinformation. Politicians no longer admit to lying since they could "misspeak." In this presidential election cycle the question is not if there are run-of-the-mill tale-tellers -- the standard political fare -- but what sparked the kind of political lying that is surpassed only by the propaganda spun by Josef Goebells, the Reich Minister of Propaganda, during the Nazi era. To the ordinary American citizen and voter who has an inkling of interest in things political taking place in their homeland, there is always a glimmer of hope, if not a presumption, that people running for the highest offices in a city, state, federal and at the national level, should strive to tell the truth as often as they can. If this was the case then we can idealistically say that in America our politics has a set of rules and established behaviors that are binding on everyone -- including the news media that cover these political parties, contests and individuals. But things are now so grotesquely misshapen in this political cycle that reasoned, organized consciousness, has not yet caught up with the magnitude of the changes taking place at warp speed in both political parties, their bases, and the percolating anger on both the left and right. Being "flat-footed" would be a kind characterization of the state of affairs. Indeed, the gaping disparity between the continuing political metamorphosis and the dissonance of truth is responsible for the perpetual fog of confusion that has so engulfed and confused the masses. So in essence there are political untruth tellers and then there's Donald J. Trump. The outcome is that Trump has led a total and complete political putsch grabbing the Party of Lincoln by its neck shoving it kicking and screaming to the extreme right. Here's a strutting pseudo generalissimo who allegedly impersonated his own publicist in order to inflate his own sexual mythology, whose glaring ego and belligerent posturing renders him the well-earned caricature of a blustering nincompoop with the unique gift as antagonist against truth. Mr. Trump's M-60 tweeting, his attacks against women, and his penchant for repeating, over and over again, long discredited lies suggests two things only about the man and his character: he's impervious, even contemptuous, of anything resembling truth, and secondly, he does not give a damn. Actually, there is a third consideration -- a combination of both positions. For him, simultaneously masturbating on and kissing up to the denizens of the whirligig phenomenon known as the "breaking news" cycle is both indispensible and measured. Mr. Trump's new age political perambulations are noteworthy for the sheer number and extensiveness of the falsehoods that concludes an adversarial and antagonistic relationship with the truth. His distortions of his opponents backgrounds, records and activities, his hilarious and comical exaggerations and half-truths, his embellishments of his own record, fantasy creations of events to suit his own narratives, and ability to repeat these lies and truth-bending memes over and over again without any repercussions makes Donald Trump a new political entity and sets him apart from all other politicians. You see, for "other politicians" -- be they Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or the elected members of the United States Congress or state leaders -- they usually have one or two areas of political shenanigans and dishonesty tagged to them. It is quite normal, for instance, for a politician to hide anything in their record that would be viewed with disfavor by the voters. Others still will routinely pad their resumes to bolster their favorability in the eyes of the electorate. However, no one in American political history has ever encountered a politician who lies so reflexively, so frequently, and blatantly as does Mr. Trump -- over and over again. Should Mr. Trump become the next American president there is bound to be question marks about his trustworthiness and his ability to tell he truth. Indeed, the danger of a politician like Mr. Trump who has a flagrant disregard for the truth is that even when he's caught in a lie he continues to repeat it unendingly. For example, he's told his supporters, the news networks, town halls, and just recently the NRA that "Hillary Clinton wants to take away your Second Amendment Rights." He's been called out numerous times for this bold-faced lie yet he continues to repeat it and many of his supporters now unquestioningly believe it. Ole Josef Goebells must be smiling approvingly at such a star pupil! To bolster his anti-Iraq war credentials Mr. Trump has said that he opposed the war BEFORE it began. That's completely false and yet he repeats it up to this day. This opposition to the Iraq war was a figment of Mr. Trump's fertile imagination and conjured up in his "reality TV" mind. He even went so far as to suggest that his non-existent opposition to the was so embarrassing to the Bush Administration that "I was visited by people from the White House asking me to sort of, could I be silenced because I seem to get a disproportionate amount of publicity." And in the waning days of the Republican Party primary Mr. Trump uttered perhaps the most damaging and far-fetched falsehood of the entire primary season when he said that Texas Senator Ted Cruz's father was an associate of Lee Harvey Oswald the man who assassinated President John F. Kennedy. This utter fabrication, not supported by any facts, is the kind of lying that Mr. Trump gets away with because it is so outrageous and preposterous that people conclude that "Mr. Trump must be joking; its just politics." The incredible thing is that Mr. Trump soldiers on even as polls rate him unfavorably at 60 percent and only 27 percent of Americans believe that he's trustworthy and honest. And too, this Pinocchio style of politics many have worked in the Republican Primary when ONLY registered Republicans could compete and caucus. The general election is a different beast when Independents, large swaths of women, and pissed of Bernie "bros and gals" can vote. That means that Mr. Trump will have to reach out to consistencies that he's systematically maligned, insulted and abused. His die-hard supporters, long told to dismiss anything that the mainstream political class and its mouthpieces in the media says as lies and character assassination, are not expected to doubt Mr. Trump's every word. But convincing a more educated, sophisticated electorate to forget his lies will be a tall order. Still, day of reckoning is still some months away in November and a lot could happen during this time. But I shudder at a Trump Presidency for a whole set of different reasons. If the man can lie with impunity before he's even elected what is going to happen if he does get to the White House? Right now Mr. Trump's truth benders are far-reaching and wide-ranging as they are breadth taking. Its not possible to find ANY areas that he's remained truthful and has not dissembled. And perhaps his biggest lie is that "America is in decline" so he's going to "Make America Great Again." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Reprinted from Other Words First came withering hoots of laughter when the honchos of George Mason University named their law school the Antonin Scalia School Of Law -- or ASSOL, for short. It was an honor Scalia might've merited, but very embarrassing for the university. Even though administrators quickly changed the name to the Scalia Law School, their embarrassment turned into shame. It turns out they'd sold the naming rights to none other than Charles Koch, a multibillionaire right-wing extremist. For years, Koch and other moneyed corporatists have quietly pumped millions into pseudo-academic centers on college campuses to promote their laissez-faire ideology, including a handful at George Mason itself. But here was Virginia's largest public university letting the infamous Koch brother and another un-named right-winger give $30 million in exchange for branding George Mason's law school -- one of the university's core academic institutions -- with Scalia's name. Students and faculty rebelled at the idea that the integrity of their university, supposedly a center of enlightenment and erudition, was to be identified with a judge notorious for veering into racist and homophobic rants, and for being the Supreme Court's most obsequious servant of plutocratic corporate rule. Rebellion turned to fury when it came out that the "donation" also required school officials to commit taxpayer money to finance 12 new professorships and two new centers to promote the Koch brothers' fantasies of free-market plutocracy. The university's president calls this perfidious transaction a simple "naming gift." But who is he to put the name of the people's law school up for sale? And why was it sold in a secret, no-bid process? Koch wasn't making a gift. He was buying a public asset -- including the university's integrity. survivor (Image by davidswanson.org) Details DMCA Dateline introduces us to drones with the claim that drones have saved lives by "hitting terrorist targets." Unlike any negative statement about drones made in the course of this Dateline video, such positive statements are never immediately countered by somebody authoritative saying the opposite in a different vocabulary (such as "murdering human beings never convicted or even indicted for any crime" rather than "hitting terrorist targets"). Much less is any positive statement countered with actual facts. At the very end of the program we'll hear that during this "war on terrorism" terrorism has increased, but the causal connection recognized by numerous experts is brushed over. In fact numerous top officials involved in the U.S. drone program blurt out, the moment they retire, that it is generating more enemies than it is killing. Numerous such statements are publicly available, and such voices could have been included in this program. Next Dateline shows us a drone pilot in Nevada in his car and "on his way to fight ISIS." In fact, U.S. drone pilots (who dress up as pilots and sit at a desk) blow people up in numerous countries, have (like their commanders) no idea who most of the people are whom they blow up, and have seen ISIS recruitment soar since the U.S. began bombing that organization which its earlier bombings and occupations and prison camps and torture and weapons sales were absolutely central to creating. Dateline shows us footage of drones, but none of what they do -- only fuzzy videos selected by the Air Force in which we see no humans, no bodies, no body parts, and are just told that the people murdered were ISIS, which is supposed to make it moral and legal. Endless footage exists and is available, including of course from the Air Force, of the people blown to pieces by drones. Plenty of reporting explains that this type of warfare kills more innocent people than even other horrific types of warfare. But Dateline will instead eventually get around to focusing on phony critiques like "Is this too much like playing a video game?" Dateline lets us meet "pilots" and hear their views. We meet no victims, no survivors (available footage includes testimony before Congress), and no targets. A man recently traveled to London from Pakistan to request to be taken off the kill list and for the United States and Britain to stop trying to blow him up. He was not arrested, by the way, which CIA Director John Brennan falsely claims later in the program is always preferred. Drone pilots and the narrator (should we call him a "reporter"?) tell us on Dateline that they protect human lives, rather than destroying them: "Operators often keep watch over U.S. troops on the battlefield." Dateline glorifies the technology describing "an exotic array of onboard bombs and missiles." Dateline shows us drone footage of their "journalist" that is fuzzy but that he tells us is clear. Yet that's the closest we come to seeing footage of an actual drone victim. Government documents that reveal that most victims have never been identified or targeted, and which contradict much of what government officials say on this program, are public. "Drones are decisive weapons, key to U.S. military dominance," Dateline tells us. Then we see Brennan claiming drone murder protects the United States. Then we see fuzzy distant footage of an unarmed drone's film supposedly showing Osama bin Laden prior to 9-11. The implication is that blowing him up would have prevented 9-11 and its thousands of deaths, if not perhaps the millions of deaths caused by the U.S. wars marketed as responses to 9-11, since those wars might have been given a different marketing theme. But the cartoonish implication that a single evil mastermind was the source of all resentment and violence toward the United States, and that murdering him wouldn't have further enraged many others, is torn down by Dateline itself which later claims triumphantly that drones have murdered seven potential replacements of bin Laden. The CIA's role in the Dateline film is more extensive than in the production of Zero Damn Truth -- er, I mean, Zero Dark Thirty -- and we next hear Brennan claiming that "Counter-terrorism professionals always would prefer to capture individuals." That counter terrorism is terrorism, that children living under the constant buzz and threat of drones are traumatized, never comes up. And Brennan's claim is false. We know of numerous cases when someone could have been easily arrested, but murdering them and anybody nearby was preferred -- or at least murdering whoever had that person's cell phone at the time. Brennan's next utterance is ludicrous: "Taking kinetic action against a target or individual usually is a last resort." Because the option of not doing so doesn't exist? This flood of propaganda is not impeded by the voices of critics, protesters, lawyers, survivors, or victims, by the views of foreign governments or the European Union or the Pakistani courts, by the perspective of families afraid to step out of doors. The "successful" drone war in Yemen that predictably led to a larger war is not examined. The spread of terrorist groups, the strengthening of al Qaeda in places like Yemen goes unmentioned. Instead, Brennan blatantly lies that al Qaeda has been "very methodically dismantled." No voice replies to that provable falsehood. In fact, Brennan tries to fudge his words to leave a way out, but the message received by the viewer is false. Dateline's "reporter" who is to a reporter more or less what a drone pilot is to a pilot holds up what he says is a list of "285 names of terrorist targets" and exclaims that "about half are gone" -- clearly expecting us to shout Hurray! Then -- blink and you'll miss it -- we hear from critics of drone killing, specifically three former participants therein. But it's the Dateline reporter who claims this: "It's because drones are so effective that we use them more than we should, critics say." Effective at what? The critics he then turns to say drones are counterproductive and immoral, but they don't say that on Dateline. The seconds they are given do not allow them to say on NBC what they've said elsewhere. The former pilots and participants do raise the topic of killing civilians, and the "reporter" asks whether they didn't realize the military kills people. He also asks them if drone warfare is "video game warfare" and then takes that line of his to the commander of Creech Air Force base and asks him the same silly question. He also lets that commander claim that "every effort is made" to avoid killing civilians, before devoting one sentence to what "international human rights organizations say," without putting them on the air to say anything. But our "journalist" counters that with what Obama says -- allowing Obama to say it directly -- and then brings on a pseudo-critic to wisely tell us that the truth must lie somewhere in the middle. Isn't it more likely that the truth lies somewhere near the serious journalism that identifies the victims? Dateline brushes aside the question of who's being murdered and never touches the question of legality, focusing instead on the supposed need for "transparency" from the White House. Dateline briefly mentions signature strikes and double taps, and even has Brennan acknowledge that the number of terrorists has grown (without commenting on why). The best question Dateline asks is when it asks the base commander what the U.S. will do if other nations do drone murders (perhaps in the United States). But the reply is not met with laughter or critique: "We'll adapt. We don't rest on our laurels." Adapt how? Wasn't that the question. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Reprinted from Campaign For America's Future More and more the word is getting out that President Obama, along with the giant multinational corporations and Wall Street, will launch a push in Congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during the "lame duck" legislative session following the election. President Obama should put a stop to this talk right now. It hands Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a powerful issue to use against -- and embarrass -- Hillary Clinton, should she become the Democratic nominee. TPP In Lame Duck The Los Angeles Times has a story, "Obama races to cement the big Pacific Rim trade deal that all his potential successors oppose," that includes this: "The most optimistic timeline in Congress appears to be for the deal to come to a vote in the lame duck session. Obama predicted recently lawmakers might vote after at least the primary election season had ended." This story is one of many in various outlets covering administration, business and other sources describing a coming effort to push TPP through Congress after the election. A few examples: Wall Street Journal, May 24: "Obama Reasserts Hope for TPP Passage This Year": "'The goal is, I think, to try to complete TPP by the end of this year,' Mr. Obama said. "...The White House hopes Republican leaders will help pass the TPP in a lame-duck session before Mr. Obama leaves office in January." The Hill, May 6: "President Obama urging Congress to pass TPP": "The Obama administration is working closely with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to build support for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), arguing that delaying votes on the deal will make it harder to pass the agreement, the president said in a Washington Post op-ed. "Congressional leaders have said that the deal won't likely be considered until the lame-duck session after the November elections." The Hill, April 25: "Chamber's Donohue: TPP vote likely after the elections": Memorial Day weekend was replete with parades, American flags, and tributes to our war dead, but little reflection on war, particularly the tragic fact that the United States has fallen into the death trap that President Eisenhower warned us about: the military-industrial complex. Instead of defending our nation as the Constitution stipulates, since the 9/11 attacks the U.S. military, CIA, and military contractors have been waging aggressive wars or interfering by proxy in other nations' internal affairs. Looking at our national budget, you can see the overwhelming power of the military. The $600 billion price tag, way over $1 billion a day, eats up 54 percent of all federal discretionary funds. That's almost as much money as the military budgets of the rest of the world combined. It's no wonder we don't have money to address the crisis of global warming, build a decent public transportation system, institute a medicare-for-all health system, or provide the free college education that all our youth deserve. There have been a few great wins for diplomacy under President Obama, particularly the historic Iran nuclear deal and opening to Cuba. For the most part, however, President Obama has carried over many of the Bush policies. Fifteen years after 9/11, the U.S. military is still in Afghanistan (the longest U.S. war in history) and the Taliban remain strong. U.S. soldiers are still in Iraq, where our invasion opened up the floodgates of sectarian violence that gave birth to the Islamic State. President Obama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has bombed seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Syria. He never made good on his promise to close the prison in Guantanamo. But he did do something unique: Instead of capturing prisoners and locking them up in Gitmo, he decided instead to kill "suspected terrorists" through drone warfare. The barbarism of targeting "suspects" by remote control from the comfort of an air-conditioned base in the United States, including in countries where we are not at war, should enrage all Americans who cherish the rule of law. As Army Chaplain and Unitarian Minister Christopher John Anton said last month when he resigned from the military: "The executive branch continues to claim the right to kill anyone, anywhere on Earth, at any time, for secret reasons, based on secret evidence, in a secret process, undertaken by unidentified officials. I refuse to support this policy of unaccountable killing." A practical reason for focusing on nonviolent approaches is that violence rarely works. A Rand study examining the 40-year history of groups once designated as terrorists found that out of 268 groups, 43 percent came to their demise through their participation in the political process, 40 percent through effective policing, and only 7 percent through military force. Add to this scientific evidence the wisdom of the Great Chinese philosopher Lao-Tseu, who said, "It is only when you see a mosquito landing on your testicles that you realize that there is always a way to solve problems without using violence." The problem is not just our frequent military interventions, but also the massive amounts of weapons sold by our merchants of war. The United States has become addicted to the lucrative business of war, with U.S. companies now accounting for 31 percent of global arms exports. While the manufacturing base of our nation has been gutted by globalization, the weapons industry is alive and thriving. The country that is the number one purchaser of U.S. weapons is Saudi Arabia. U.S. arms dealers have sold the Saudis a record $97 billion in weapons in the past 10 years, most of those deals made under President Obama. These transactions represent the largest weapons deals in the history of humankind, and they have been made to one of the most repressive regimes in the world. How tragic that U.S. businesses are arming a country where nonviolent protesters are beheaded in public squares; where bloggers are sentenced to ten years in prison and 1000 lashes; where it is prohibited to set up a church or synagogue; where women are not even allowed to drive; and where the government exports the intolerant form of Sunni Islam, Wahhabism, that forms the ideological basis of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. For the past year, the Saudis have been using U.S. weapons, including internationally banned cluster bombs, to decimate neighboring Yemen, creating a severe humanitarian crisis. (One bit of good news is that just this month, the campaign to stop the sale of cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia was successful, with the administration placing a hold on these sales.) When Pope Francis spoke to Congress in September 2015, he said this: "Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade." Congress applauded enthusiastically but then turned around to "dial for dollars," collecting millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the weapons makers and Pentagon contractors, and in turn awarding them billions in contracts, often no-bid contracts. Just prior to the Memorial Day commemorations, President Obama made a trip to Vietnam. How did he seal our friendship with that nation, after slaughtering two million of their people? By agreeing to sell them weapons. From there, Obama went on to Japan, thankfully visiting Hiroshima and giving a very moving speech. Left unsaid, however, was that the Obama administration has agreed to spend $1 trillion in the next 30 years to modernize U.S. nuclear weapons instead of eliminating them. The anti-war movement was strong and vibrant under George Bush, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets in protest. When Obama became president, the movement fell apart, mainly because many people thought Obama would end U.S. military adventurism. Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "Rob Kall has certainly acquired the firsthand experiences and knowledge gained through interviews to deliver some interesting insights about the "bottom-up" information revolution. Whereas the old 'top-down' systems created stove-pipes and excessive secrecy that blocked information sharing and led to the 'failure to connect the dots' before 9-11, the bottom-up approach should be the main fix. Kall's concept would seem to interface equally well with the founding fathers' idealism in setting forth their democratic theory of governance as with the realism that makes the multi-sourced, bottom-up Wikipedia work. As someone who shares my support of both government and corporate whistleblowing -- which is nothing more than encouraging greater horizontal sharing of information, I commend Rob Kall's important work on this topic." Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent and named one of TIME Magazine's "Persons of the Year" in 2002) What do America and Papua New Guinea have in common? We are the only countries without guarantee paid maternity leave. Among developed nations, it's worse: The U.S. stands alone in denying that kind of critical support to new parents. New Parents (Image by mikecogh) Details DMCA In over half of the nearly 200 countries that do provide paid leave at last 14 weeks of compensated time off is granted. But in the United States, new parents aren't guaranteed any paid time off. Instead, if they have worked for a certain amount of time at a company with 50 or more employees, they can take 12 unpaid weeks off for the arrival of a new child or for the care of a parent or spouse. I got a sense of what the consequences are of that situation when I received a Change.org petition from two very different mothers, one from Oklahoma and the other from Brooklyn. They had a shared experience: Both had lost babies in daycare because "neither of us had the luxury of choice. Our respective employers would not grant us any more time for parental leave and we couldn't afford to quit our jobs." Very few babies die in child care, of course, but the tragedy of these two infant deaths, one of whom suffocated, is significant because one in four American mothers have no choice but to return to work just a couple of weeks after the birth of a child. As the two petitioning mothers wrote, "No parent should have to choose between leaving their baby too soon and making ends meet." Of the 87 percent of parents in this country who have no access to paid leave through their employers, parents with sick or premature infants in particular should not have to leave their babies in neonatal intensive care units, as one distraught mother reported on Facebook recently. Various studies have shown that for each additional month that a woman has paid parental leave infant mortality goes down by three percent. That is important to note in a country that has the highest infant mortality rate of any industrialized nation in the world. Further, mother-child bonding is stronger and babies are breastfed more when mothers can stay with their babies longer. There is also less post-partum depression. Paid parental leave is also good for business. Productivity goes up, along with morale, and there is less workforce turnover. The vast majority of Americans, whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, now agree that it is important for Congress to consider improving the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. Most of them realize that parental leave is a necessity, not a perk. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Learning From Egyptian Revolution What if people in the United States came to understand "revolution" as something more than a campaign slogan in a presidential election campaign? Ahmed Salah's new book, You Are Under Arrest for Master Minding the Egyptian Revolution (a Memoir), early on characterizes its own title as an exaggeration, but over the course of the book works to substantiate it. Salah was indeed as involved as anyone in building public momentum in Egypt over a period of years, culminating in the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, though all of his accounts of in-fighting among various activist groups necessarily have other accounts from each individual involved. Of course, master minding a revolution is not like master minding a construction project. It's much more of a gamble, working to prepare people to act effectively when and if a moment arises in which people are willing to act -- and then working to build on that action so that the next round is still more effective. Being able to create those moments is itself more like trying to control the weather, and I think must remain so until new democratic forms of media become truly mass media. Salah starts his story of movement building with the enormous criminal action that for the first time in many years inspired people in Cairo to risk taking to the streets in protest: the U.S. attack on Iraq in 2003. By protesting a U.S. crime, people could also protest their own corrupt government's complicity in it. They could inspire each other to believe something could be done about a government that had held Egyptians in fear and shame for decades. In 2004, Egyptian activists, including Salah, created the Kefaya! (Enough!) movement. But they struggled to exercise the right to publicly demonstrate (without being beaten or imprisoned). Again, George W. Bush came to the rescue. His lies about Iraqi weapons had collapsed, and he'd begun spouting a bunch of nonsense about war bringing democracy to the Middle East. That rhetoric, and communications from the U.S. State Department, actually influenced the Egyptian government to exercise a bit of restraint in its oppressive brutality. Also riding to the rescue were new means of communicating, in particular satellite television channels like Al Jazeera, and blogs that could be read by foreign journalists. Kefaya and another group called Youth for Change that Salah led used humor and theatrical performance to begin to make it acceptable to speak ill of Mubarak. They created fast, small, and unannounced public demonstrations in poor neighborhoods of Cairo, moving on before police could arrive. They did not betray their secret plans by announcing them on the internet, to which most Egyptians did not have access. Salah believes foreign reporters have overstated the importance of the internet for years because it was easier for them to access than street activism. These activists stayed out of electoral politics in what they saw as a hopelessly corrupt system, though they studied the Otpor movement in Serbia that brought down Slobodan Milosevic. They organized despite serious risks, including government spies and infiltrators, and Salah, like many others, was in and out of prison, in one case using a hunger strike until he was released. "Although the general public tends to doubt," Salah writes, "that placard wielding activists can change anything, Egypt's security apparatus treated us like barbarian invaders. . . . State Security had over 100,000 employees devoted to monitoring and eradicating any group that challenged Mubarak's rule." Momentum for greater public resistance ebbed and flowed over the the years. In 2007 it was given a boost by workers going on strike and people rioting over the lack of bread. The first independent labor union in Egypt was formed in 2009. Various groups worked to organize a public demonstration on April 6, 2008, during which work Salah recognized a new and important role played by Facebook. Still, struggling to notify the public of a general strike on April 6, activists got a boost from the government which announced in state media that nobody should participate in the planned general strike on April 6 -- thereby informing everyone of its existence and importance. Salah describes many difficult decisions over the years, including choosing to work with the U.S. government and to travel to the United States to urge the U.S. government to put pressure on Egypt. This risked ruining or did ruin Salah's reputation with people who quite correctly doubted U.S. good intentions. But Salah notes important instances when phone calls from Washington may have allowed protests to happen. At one point in late 2008 Salah speaks with a U.S. National Security Council official who tells him that the war on Iraq "tarnished the idea of 'democracy promotion'" so therefore Bush wasn't going to do much to promote democracy. At least two questions leap to mind: Should murderous bombing give a bad name to actual nonviolent democracy promotion? and When in the hell did Bush ever before do much for democracy promotion? Salah and allies tried to convert huge lists of Facebook friends into real world activists without success. They fought with each other and grew frustrated. Then, in 2011, Tunisia happened. In less than a month, the people of Tunisia (with neither U.S. help nor U.S. resistance, one might note) overthrew their dictator. They inspired the Egyptians. This was the weather getting ready to blow a storm through Cairo if someone could figure out how to surf it. The online call for a day of revolution on January 25th was posted by a former Egyptian police whistleblower living in Virginia (which is also, as I recall, where leaders of the Egyptian military were meeting at the Pentagon at the time -- so perhaps my home state was on both sides). Salah knew and spoke with the whistleblower. Salah was against such quick action, but believing it inevitable due to online promotion, he strategized how to make it as strong as possible. Whether the action was inevitable or not is unclear, because Salah also went out and questioned people in the streets and couldn't find anyone who'd heard about the plans. He also discovered that people in poor neighborhoods were more likely to believe the government propaganda that came over the only news media they had access to, whereas the middle class was spitting mad at Mubarak. An incident in which police had murdered a middle class young man showed people that they were at risk. Salah also found that most people who said they would take part in a protest said they would only do it if everyone else went first. They were afraid to be the first to step into a large public square. So, Salah and his allies went to work organizing numerous small groups to begin protests in unannounced locations in middle-class neighborhoods and small streets where the police would be afraid to come after them. The hope, which was realized, was that small marches would grow as they moved toward Tahrir Square, and that upon reaching the square they would collectively be large enough to take it over. Salah stresses that, despite the existence of Twitter and Facebook, it was word of mouth that did the job. But how would one duplicate that sort of organizing in a place as large as the United States, with the middle class spread across the soul-numbing sprawl? And how would it compete against the highly skillful propaganda of U.S. media outlets? Salah may be right that activists in other countries who have heard about the "Facebook Revolution" and tried to duplicate it have failed because it wasn't real. But a form of communication that can drive a revolution remains greatly to be desired -- with hints at it, I think, visible, not so much in social media, as in independent reporting, or perhaps in the combination of the two. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Write-in Voting (Image by Helen Werner Cox) Details DMCA The beauty of a massive write-in protest vote is its bipartisan appeal. There may be as many "Never Trump" Republicans unwilling to hold their noses and vote for Donald Trump, as there are progressive Democrats who are proclaiming "Bernie or Bust" in their opposition to Hillary Clinton. Even those voting for Libertarian and Green Party presidential candidates, in states where they are not qualified, might consider doing so by writing in their choices. The only problem is that--with the control of voting left up to the states by the Constitution and with tabulation taking place on the local and county level--most write-in votes would not be counted. Under state laws, political parties must "qualify" for their candidates to be listed on the ballots and counted. The two major parties are qualified in every state, but the Libertarian Party candidates will appear on the ballots in only 33 states, the Green Party in 21, and the Constitution Party in 13. By definition, the names of write-in candidates are not listed on ballots; however, interested candidates must still file various forms of paperwork in 35 states for their votes to be counted, and seven states do not allow write-in votes for presidential candidates. While permitted in the remaining eight states, votes for write-in candidates may not be counted or reported by local registrars. Even after the end of this year's political conventions and the statutory period to qualify for the ballots in individual states, steps could still be taken by alternative candidates, such as Bernie Sanders or an establishment Republican, to register a willingness to accept write-in votes in those states where they are permitted. All of this could change with the enactment of the U.S. Voters' Rights Amendment (USVRA), which will finally guarantee that every citizen has the right to cast effective votes in all elections. In addition, the USVRA mandates a national, hand-countable paper ballot in all federal elections, allows write-in candidates for all federal offices, and requires that all such votes be counted. Moreover, for presidential elections, the ballots would list the 12 most critical questions facing the Nation, compelling all candidates to actually address the true issues. The People would be better informed and empowered to make their own national policy--and to elect representatives most qualified to carry out their policies. A national policy referendum, in conjunction with presidential elections, would create broad federal guidelines, rather than binding laws. Elected representatives would be expected to carry out the policies and direction of the People, and could be held accountable if they fail to do so. Rather than responding to billions of dollars in negative advertising about the inadequacies of opposition candidates, a barrage of slick promotional propaganda concealing those deficiencies, and misleading party platforms, voters in the 2016 election should have the power to create policy for themselves. They should decide whether international trade pacts should be approved; the cap on Social Security withholding taxes should be eliminated; a supplemental national retirement system should be enacted; space-solar energy should be generated to energize the national highways in lieu of a reliance on polluting petroleum products; and whether the crumbling national infrastructure should be repaired and upgraded. The People should have a direct say about whether the war on drugs should end and private prisons should be prohibited. Those most affected by domestic policies should decide whether everyone has a right to national health care; whether paid maternity leave should be provided; women should have the freedom of choice in childbearing; and everyone should have the right to marry whomsoever they chose. Voters who are smart enough to earn a paycheck and pay taxes are certainly qualified to decide if a national minimum wage should be guaranteed; all existing student loans should be forgiven; the right to education extended through college; and whether military spending should be reduced. Instead of an income tax disproportionally imposed on salaried workers and small business owners, the People should have the right to decide whether government initiatives are to be paid for by a tiny tax on the movement of all money in the economy, including stock and currency transactions and the financial manipulations of all banks, insurance companies, and other corporations. In doing so, the burden of taxation would be lifted from those who work the hardest and shifted to those who profit the most from our economy. Those who founded the United States and drafted its Constitution did not trust the vast majority of its citizens to vote. They left voting questions up to the states and established the Electoral College--rather than a majority vote of the People--to elect the president and vice president. At first, only white males owing sufficient property were permitted to vote, but slowly over the years, others have been allowed to participate. These rights are fragile and can be taken away at the whim of state legislatures--as is being done by the widespread enactment of voting suppression schemes, such as voter identification laws. The USVRA will eliminate the Electoral College and implement a national popular vote for the offices of president and vice president. It also establishes a uniform presidential primary, limits the length of campaigns, requires universal voter registration, and outlaws voter suppression. Finally, it declares that corporations do not have constitutional rights and that campaign contributions are not the same as free speech. If America is to continue as a representative democracy, it must transform its government into one that actually represents and cares for those who elect it--rather than the corporations and financial elites who are now paying for election campaigns and bribing the candidates. The USVRA provides a constitutional basis for the transformation of the United States government; however, the energy to compel its enactment will come from the incredible power of the pen literally held in the hands of the People. William John Cox, a retired public interest lawyer, is the author of "Transforming America: A Voters' Bill of Rights." Internal Politics Threatens to Destroy Venture Capital Firm https://www.orixtrading.com Los Angeles - Xfund, an investment firm created in 2011 as tech companies were being birthed left right and centre, started falling apart a year ago when the relationship between its two partners went stale.Paris, France, May 31, 2016 -- The two capitalists, Patrick Chung and Hugo Van Vuuren, contended over the rejection of a representative and who controlled the company. The argument putrefied, setting off a series of events including allegations of abuse, a limiting request application, disclosures that a concealed camera was utilized to record a meeting, and an examination by the firms financial investors.Presently the firm, which oversees more than $100 million and has placed cash into new businesses like the genetics organization 23andMe, is in rescue mode. Indeed, even along these lines, Xfund is at no risk of promptly closing down.Xfund's main investors including Saudi Aramco and Jim Breyer, the Silicon Valley investor who supported Facebook have ended its principle store from making further investments, as indicated by court records. The investors are attempting to correct the asset's structure to push changes, including conceivably expelling one of Xfund's investors. The proposed changes, if passed, would deflect Xfund's shutdown and would mean its investors would stay wrapped up in the asset for no less than 10 more years.Xfund has arranged to "work through this move and advance," a representative said.The mishap offers a look into the murky universe of investment, where associations are easy to shape yet are tricky to unwind. New start-up firms frequently appear, particularly in boom eras, when an investor chooses to set up alone, or with a partner. But their assets, which are made up on a 10-year plan, rarely need to represent their activities and ordinarily do not have a solid corporate administration structure.When things go wrong, the endeavour assets can limp along for quite a long time, with venture cash tied up in the tiers. After the dot.com bust a decade ago, which hurt numerous firms, the funding business did not by any stretch of the imagination shake out in view of these elements. Starting 2015, there were 1,224 venture reserves in the US, up from 1,009 10 years prior and almost twofold from 1995, as per the National Investment Association."There are no simple separations in funding," said Steve Rogers, Director of Asset Allocation at Orix Capital Trading. "A normal investment firm is dynamic for over 15 years, so you can be bogged down with your partners for more than most normal Americans will be with their marital companions."Mr. Chung, who will stay with Xfund, and Mr. Van Vuuren, who is being pushed aside, declined through representatives to remark.Los Angeles - Xfund, an investment firm created in 2011 as tech companies were being birthed left right and centre, started falling apart a year ago when the relationship between its two partners went stale.Ichiro HoshiOrix Capital TradingTokyo, Japan+81-345781539marketing@orixtrading.com proximity tokens with desfire ev1 for asset tracking system(gyrfidstore) GYRFID Store is a Chinese supplier of offers a wide range of products embedded with contact chip and contact-less chip (LF, HF, UHF), and there are some competitive products like ISO CARD, KEYFOB, WRISTBAND, DISC TAG, LAUNDRY TAG. 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We will be happy to give you a quotation upon receipt of your detailed requirements.ADDRm1516, Qiangjin Building, QiXin Rd No.1318 ,Shanghai, 201100, China Spaulding Clinical Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for 12-Lead ECG Device Spaulding Electrocardiograph 2100iQ 12-Lead ECG Device Wireless, hand-held electrocardiograph designed to streamline the collection and transmission of ECG data for doctors and patients.May 24, 2016 - West Bend, Wisconsin, USA - Spaulding Medical, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spaulding Clinical Research, LLC and provider of cardiac safety solutions, today announced the FDA 510(k) Clearance for their newest 12-Lead ECG device: the Spaulding Electrocardiograph 2100iQ.The Spaulding 12-Lead ECG product line was originally launched in 2011 and is now in use in over 35 countries.The Spaulding Electrocardiograph 2100iQ has been optimized to visualize collected real-time digital ECG data via Bluetooth using iOS 7+, Android 4.2+ and Windows 7+ devices. Data is wirelessly uploaded to the Spaulding webECG management cloud for Cardiologist over-reads and is designed to integrate with electronic medical records and clinical information management systems.The Spaulding Electrocardiograph 2100iQ is the tangible culmination of our mission to deliver high-quality data in less time and at a reduced cost, said Randol Spaulding, CEO of Spaulding Clinical. With our FDA 510(k) Clearance in place, weve reinforced our commitment to being an innovation leader in cardiac safety by providing patients, partners and physicians with a mobile ECG solution our competitors cannot.About Spaulding MedicalSpaulding Medical, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spaulding Clinical Research, LLC. Spaulding Medical is where innovative engineering meets purposeful design, ushering in a new paradigm in cardiac safety. The Mission: to make hospital quality cardiac care affordable and accessible by leveraging 150 collective years of cardiac safety expertise into viable health solutions.Spaulding Clinical Research, LLC525 S. Silverbrook Drive, West Bend, WI 53095Tyler C. Borst, Manager of Marketinginfo@spauldingclinical.com Theres no way around this: Last weeks report that Linn County finally has more jobs than it did before the recession was welcome news indeed. The Oregon Employment Department last week reported that the unemployment rate in Linn County tumbled to 5.7 percent in April. Its the lowest rate since at least 1990, when the state started keeping county-by-county unemployment data. Linn Countys total employment for April was 52,704 workers, which is 20 workers above the countys prerecession peak in March 2008. Thats not exactly crushing the previous mark, but you know what? After almost a decade during which the countys unemployment stayed stubbornly about 10 percent for, at one stretch, 49 consecutive months, well claim this as the significant milestone it is. After all, it wasnt that long ago May 2009 when the countys unemployment rate was sitting at 14.9 percent. So to have a current rate thats less than half that is a big deal. Even state economists say the jobs picture is looking bright for the county, and these are economists, followers of the so-called dismal science. But despite the sunnier jobs picture, we still are troubled by what appear to be potential economic clouds on the horizon. First, its undeniable that the economic recovery in more rural areas of Oregon has not been as robust as it has been in its urban areas. Linn Countys unemployment rate, although its lower than it has been in at least a quarter-century, still is higher than the statewide rate. And consider this: Its taken Linn County seven years to get to a point where its essentially even with the number of jobs it had seven years ago. In roughly the same period, the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metropolitan area is up more than 8 percent from its prerecession peak. Thats not all. Linn Countys labor participation rate (roughly defined as the percentage of adult Americans working or actively looking for a job) was 57.3 percent in 2015, lower than the state average of 61.1. (This percentage has been declining for decades, not just locally and in Oregon but nationally as well, a long-range trend that could spell trouble across the board.) Average wages in Linn County are lower than the state average in virtually every industry. The exceptions come in a couple of economic sectors: agriculture and logging. Theres a catch to that, of course: We dont have as many of those jobs as we did before the recession, and they might not be coming back. Figures from the state show that, from 2001 to 2015, Linn County lost about 800 jobs that involved the production of goods in some way logging or agriculture, for example, or manufacturing. During the same year, we added more than 3,000 service jobs. Look at this another way: In 2001, Linn County had about two service jobs for every goods-producing jobs. By 2015, the balance had tilted even more in favor of service jobs, to the point where were closing in on three service jobs for every goods-producing job. Now, to some extent, a job is a job, and plenty of people in the county are happy to have those service jobs. But the fact of the matter is that these service jobs weve added to our economy tend not to pay as well as the jobs that weve lost. Dont misunderstand: We need to celebrate that weve finally pushed past that prerecession employment mark, and its good news for Linn County workers. But forgive us if our celebration seems perhaps a touch muted. (mm) Triposo launches Walter - the worlds first travel compass app www.triposo.com Amsterdam & Berlin based start-up, Triposo, known for its popular travel guide apps with over 10 million downloads to date, recently launched Walter, the worlds first travel compass app.Walter is a smart travel compass that shows you where things are. When you launch the app you automatically get a radar view of whats around you. Walter displays four bands of color representing sights, shops, restaurants and nightlife. The wider the band, the more things in that direction. All you need to do is point your phone and start walking. Walters clean interface is insanely simple to use and is ideal for spontaneous travellers. There is no signup page, no login and no settings. Like Triposos signature travel guides, Walter works offline and works anywhere in the world.The idea of a travel compass popped up at our quarterly Jamboree in Berlin - a much anticipated week of brainstorming, coding and exploring, says Douwe Osinga, CEO & Founder at Triposo. We were sitting on the couch, sipping German beer and chatting about innovative ways to improve travel experiences, when a new idea arose: lets create a beer radar. We quickly realized the world not only needed a beer radar, it also needed a simpler tool to find nearby hotspots and Walter was born.Walter borrows heavily from Triposos impressive algorithms to build its location and contextual awareness, explains Douwe. Triposos technology platform crawls through gigabytes of open source data, parses it, extracts information, matches sources and ranks relevance to create a comprehensive database for 50,000 destinations worldwide. We are really excited about Walter, and hope this will be the first of many such innovations from Triposo this year, adds Douwe. You can learn more about Walter by downloaded it in the iTunes App Store or visiting the Triposo blog Introducing Walter - Your Smart Travel Compass.Triposo was founded in 2011 by ex-Googlers Douwe Osinga and Jon Tirsen and diplomat-turned-entrepreneur, Richard Osinga. It was kickstarted with a $700K round of seed funding from marquee investors such as Chris Sacca, Lars Rasmussen and Crunchfund followed by two rounds led by InterWest partners: $3.5 million in July 2012 and $3.1 million in December 2015. The latest round of funding is expected to drive innovation for in-destination travel experiences in the mobile space.Related links:- Visit the iTunes app store to download the app- Visit the Walter website to know more- Visit the Triposo blog to learn more about Walter- Visitfor more information about our mission and related productsTriposoWeesperstraat 61, 1018VNAmsterdam, NetherlandsPress Contact:Nishank GopalkrishnanChief Marketing Officer (CMO), TriposoEmail: nishank@triposo.comPhone: +31 611136352 20 years in business, La Bodega Restaurant celebrates it's anniversary with a new website www.labodegamerthyr.co.uk www.weeare.co.uk Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the La Bodega in Merthyr Tydfil, the Spanish restaurant has launched a brand new website that is fully responsive across all devices and allows reservations to be taken online.Over the last 20 years Merthyr Tydfil has changed considerably with an array of businesses opening and closing. During this period we have also seen a massive change in technology and especially web development with the focus in 2016 being on mobile responsiveness and user friendly websites.La Bodega knew that the majority of its users would find the restaurant by using their mobile devices, so it was of uttermost importance that the new website would be user friendly to those accessing the new website on mobile devices as well as desktop computers.La Bodega enlisted the help of Merthyr Tydfils recently launched web development and digital marketing agency Weeare, who specialise in building search engine friendly websites that are also mobile responsive. The result was a beautiful website that allows users to make bookings from mobile and desktop devices.Restaurant owner Emilio Ortiz said I still cant believe its been 20 years since we first opened our doors in Dowlais.To celebrate the 20th anniversary and launch of the new website, La Bodega is offering a free bottle of wine for reservations made online through the month of June for tables of 4 or more. In order to claim this offer visitor for more information call 01685 384532.About La BodegaEmilio Ortiz, the restaurant's owner and lead chef, has over 40 years of experience in the Spanish tapas and wine bar industry, and is originally from Bilboa, Spain. After successfully bringing a unique range of Spanish cuisine to Merthyr Tydfil, this year celebrates the La Bodega's 20th anniversary.Contact: Emilio OrtizNumber: 01685 384532Email: Labodegamerthyr@icloud.comAbout WeeareWeeare is a web development and internet marketing agency based in Merthyr Tydfil that is less than a year old but already has an impressive client list from the UK and USA. Weeare build easy to use, search and mobile friendly websites for small business owners helping them get more customers online. For more infomation on Weeare visitContact: Ricky DaviesNumber: 07950298583Email: here@weeare.co.ukAddress: La Bodega,1 Pant Road, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 3DH Supercar Vacations Come To British Columbia BC Supercar Vacation by Butiq Escapes http://butiqescapes.com A vacation company in Canada's British Columbia recently announced that they will be the first to offer their customers "supercar" vacations. Customers will be able to choose a supercar of their choice for the weekend and then experience some of the best roads in British Columbia, traveling in style.With packages starting at $5,000 CDN, tourists will be able to experience the exhilarating speed and luxury of sport cars they might otherwise never set foot in. Customers will have the choice of Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Aston Martin, Porsche, and Bentley. When driving a supercar of this magnitude, clients will be torn between the subtle power of their supercar and the amazing sights and experiences of British Columbia.There are three different packages; clients will have the option of an overnight vacation, weekend vacation, and a five day Grand Tour. Each package includes world class luxury accommodations, amazing restaurants, and sightseeing experiences hand picked for each client.The crown jewel, the five day Grand Tour, features a tour of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Clients will experience be able to experience the beautiful scenery of Whistler, the sunshine coast, and Tofino from the driver's seat of their very own supercar. The Grand Tour also includes stops at local wineries, where travelers can sample the local vintages. Along the way, clients will dine in handpicked restaurants for amazingly personal food experiences. As if that is not enough, the Tour will conclude with a heli-tour that allows clients to view British Columbia from daring new heights.These supercar vacation packages are personalized for the discerning client who wants to experience all that British Columbia has to offer. Driving a supercar through the breathtaking sights of British Columbia and experiencing world class accommodations, food, and wine. This supercar vacation in British Columbia is sure to be one that customers won't want to return from.Butiq Escapes provides bespoke luxury travel experiences in beautiful British Columbia.Butiq Escapes5655 Greenland DrDelta, BCV4M2P7Press Contact:Ryan Clarkryan@luxurybranded.com Global Atomic Layer Deposition Market Growth, Trends, Forecast and Growth 2014 2020 http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/market-analysis/atomic-layer-deposition-market-global-industry-perspective-comprehensive.html http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/request-for-sample.html?flag=S&repid=61512 http://goo.gl/gUK5yy http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin layer deposition process that is based on the chronological exploitation of a gas phase chemical course. ALD is considered a subclass of chemical vapor deposition. The majority of ALD reactions use two chemicals, usually called precursors. ALD is mostly used to produce competent semiconductors. Nanotechnology, microelectronics, electronic displays, optical data storage devices, electronic components, and the bio-medical field are the key applications of atomic layer disposition market.ALD market is primarily driven by increasing demand from electronics industry especially in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America. Improvement in nanotechnology is likely to propel the demand for atomic layer deposition over the years to come. However, substrates employed in atomic layer deposition instruments compared to conventional methods is expected to hold back the growth of the market. Investment for advance manufacturing equipment is expected offer new opportunities for this emerging market.Browse Full Report atThe report forecasts value of the global atomic layer deposition market and its various applications with respect to main regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S., Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India, and Brazil. This segmentation includes demand for atomic layer deposition market based on individual products in all the regions and countries.The report provides a comprehensive view on the atomic layer deposition market we have included a detailed competitive scenario and product portfolio of key vendors. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the atomic layer deposition market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein application segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.The global atomic layer deposition market is segmented on the basis of applications and regions. Based on different application, market is segmented as IC applications and non-IC applications. IC applications include gate oxide, barrier layers, primer layers and gate electrode. Non-IC applications include sensors, flat panel displays, solar panels, magnetic heads, memories and fuel cells.Get Request Sample atEurope is a leading region among all regions for atomic layer deposition market. In addition, North America and Asia Pacific are the mature market and further estimated to have significant growth during the forecast period. From Asia Pacific region, India and China are likely to be the major markets for atomic layer deposition owing to the existence of reputable end-user industries.Some of the key participants of the global atomic layer deposition market includes Tokyo Electron Ltd., Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Ultratech, Inc., Air Liquide S.A., Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG, Tosoh Corporation, Applied Materials, Inc., and ASM International N.V. amongst others.Key segments of the Global Atomic Layer Deposition MarketAtomic Layer Deposition Market: Application Segment Analysis IC Applicationso Gate oxideo Barrier layerso Primer layerso Gate electrode Non-IC Applicationso Sensorso Flat Panel Displayso Solar panelso Magnetic headso Memorieso Fuel cellsGet Illustrative Sample before buying:Atomic Layer Deposition Market: Regional Segment Analysis North Americao U.S. Europeo UKo Franceo Germany Asia Pacifico Chinao Japano India Latin Americao Brazil Middle East & AfricaSyndicate Market Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Syndicate Market Research cover more than 30 industries includsing energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Contact US3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442,USATel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@syndicatemarketresearch.comWeb: North America Market for Blood Collection Tubes to Exhibit 8.60% CAGR from 2015 to 2023 due to Growing Prevalence of Chronic Diseases http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=8689 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Transparency Market Research announces the publication of a new market research study titled Blood Collection Tubes Market - North America Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2023. The research study talks about the North America blood collection tubes market, its product segmentation, current trends, key growth drivers, restraints, major geographical segments, and vendor analysis. The study also covers the opportunities available for major players operating in the North America market for blood collection tubes.As per the research study, in 2014, the North America market for blood collection tubes stood at US$300.8 mn and is predicted to reach US$632.1 mn by the end of 2023. The market is estimated to register a promising 8.60% CAGR between 2015 and 2023. The research study offers insightful inputs by industry experts along with projected figures to help decision-makers in formulating business strategies in an effective manner.Blood is an important component of the human body and is widely used in hospital for diverse procedures. In addition, millions of blood units are donated across the globe to be used for accident victims, cancer therapies, organ transplantation, and other surgical procedures. Blood plays a crucial role in saving life; however, it can also prove to be fatal as it is considered as a potential vector for several infectious diseases.The increasing geriatric population and growing prevalence of diseases in developed regions such as North America are some of the key factors expected to fuel the growth of the market throughout the forecast period. The increasing number of diseases affecting the general population is boosting the number of diagnostic blood tests, further driving the overall market. The availability of advanced medical infrastructure in North America is further estimated to augment the growth of the market in the next few years.Get a Sample of this Report:The North America market for blood collection tubes has been categorized into rapid serum tubes, heparin tubes, EDTA tubes, serum separating tubes, plasma separation tube, and others. Among these segments, at present, the serum separating tubes segment holds a substantial share in the North America market for blood collection tubes. The North America market for blood collection tubes has been divided on the basis of geography into Canada and the U.S. The research study has included the market share, size, and projected figures of both the regions to give the readers a clear picture of the market.Furthermore, the research study offers an in-depth vendor analysis of the North America market for blood collection tubes, including detailed company profiles, contact information, business policies, financial status, SWOT analysis, and recent news and developments if any. Some of the prominent players operating in the North America market for blood collection tubes are Terumo Corporation, Becton, Dickinson & Company, Sarstedt AG & Co., Greiner Group AG, QIAGEN N.V., and FL Medical srl.The North America blood collection tubes market has been studied as follows:North America Blood Collection Tubes Market, by Tube TypePlasma Separation TubeHeparin TubesSerum Separating TubesEDTA TubesRapid Serum TubesOthersNorth America Blood Collection Tubes Market, by GeographyU.S.CanadaTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Mr. Sudip STransparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Skin Replacement Market - Global Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11672 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Global Skin Replacement Market: OverviewThe skin, which is the largest external organ in the human body, is also easily prone to injuries and damage. It is formed of two protective layers while the epidermis is the outer layer of the skin, the dermis in the layer that lies just beneath the epidermis. It is imperative that the skin functions properly because it protects the musculoskeletal system, important organs, and regulates the fluid levels in and temperature of our body.Skin diseases such as eczema, psoriasis, and skin cancer can be a painful experience and one that can also compromise a persons quality of life. Likewise, injuries and trauma to the skin can affect a persons ability to lead a normal life. Moreover, the impact of various diseases and injuries can prevent the skin from performing its normal functions even after it has healed. However, these issues can be addressed to a large extent by using artificial skin. The availability of artificial skin has today led the emergence of a worldwide market for skin replacement techniques and technologies.The roots of this market can be traced back to the early 1980s when John F. Burke of the Massachusetts Institute of technology co-invented synthetic skin. Since then, several advances have been made to the way artificial skin is produced. It has been a boon to people who have suffered from severe burns and patients of skin diseases. It has now become easier for medical experts to rapidly graft artificial skin or produce it in large quantities. Newer varieties of artificial skin can be stored at room temperature and can also be sterilized easily.The skin replacement market is thus being shaped by numerous trends that will contribute to its healthy growth. The market is especially being driven by the use of advanced skin replacement therapies in treating chronic skin wounds and severe skin burns.Global Skin Replacement Market: Important Drivers and RestraintsThe continued efforts being directed at improving the efficacy of artificial skin have helped the global skin replacement market grow steadily over the years. This has also helped in the expansion of the current base of products available on the market, giving consumers access to specific skin replacement therapies in line with their existing condition. It is interesting to note that every time a new artificial skin product is launched on the market, more niches are being created in this space.The ability of consumers to spend on these products has further encouraged companies to bring newer products to the market. A rise in the number of skin diseases and injuries and the consciousness among consumers to have healthy-looking skin are all helping the skin replacement market grow in size.The future of the global skin replacement market lies in bioengineered skin replacements. These are a relatively newer class of products but are capable of being developed to closely mimic virtually every function of natural skin. However, the market does continue to face competition from lower-priced substitutes.Get a Sample of this Report:Global Skin Replacement Market: Segmentation and Region-wise OutlookThe market for skin replacement can be broadly segmented basis material used and end user. The two most common materials used for producing artificial skin are collagen and spider silk. The uses of artificial skin are widely seen in cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and chemicals sectors.From the geographical standpoint, the global market for skin replacement can be segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. The market for skin replacement in North America contributes a sizeable portion to the global market revenues. With countries in Asia Pacific offering attractive medical tourism packages to patients worldwide, the demand for skin replacement is expected to rise in these regions.Companies at the forefront of the global skin replacement market are: Cynata Therapeutics Limited, Cellular Dynamics International, Platelet BioGenesis, TissueGene, Inc., and Tengion.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Mr. Sudip STransparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Seafood market - An insight on the important factors and trends influencing the market by 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=10940 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Sea food refers to all the varieties of fish, crustaceans and molluscs either in fresh or processed form. Sea food is rich in proteins and is considered one of the best foods for body and mind. Farmed fishes or aquaculture have become mainstream in supplying seafood to the retail segment as well as for export.Download Free exclusive Sample of this report:Global seafood market can be segmented on the basis of product categories such as Crustaceans, Molluscs, Fish and other seafood. The market can also be segmented on the basis of retail market varieties as canned seafood products, frozen (ready meal) and chilled (smoked and slated). The seafood market can also be segmented on the basis of geographies namely North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World.East and South-east Asia combined is the largest producer of seafood. Innovative farm practice, slaughtering and packaging techniques have made the market highly lucrative and is expected to grow with a considerable single digit CAGR from 2013-2019. There is a high demand of sustainable and eco-friendly production of seafood to fulfill the rising demand of seafood in an ethical manner. Growth in distribution network and rising affluent class demanding for luxury food has increased the demand of seafood globally.The key driving factors are innovations and variations in seafood dishes and demand for proteinaceous fat-free food worldwide. Exclusive restaurants providing exotic seafood and changing taste of consumers are some other factors responsible for the growth of seafood market globally. Some of the restraining factors are short shelf life of the product, government regulations on raising and packaging of seafood and diseases outbreaks while raising and processing seafood.Key players dominating this market include Grupo Pescanova, Marine Harvest ASA, Thai Union Frozen Products, Royal Greenland, John Westfoods, Abba Seafoods, Cuulong Fish and Stone Seafood Company.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactMr. Sudip S90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Laboratory Accessories Market expected to reach $504.7 Million by 2020 - Report http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=90233555 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=90233555 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalyst.asp?id=90233555 1/Jun/16 - The report "Lab Accessories Market by Type (Label Printer/ Pipette tips/ Pumps/Microplate/Reagent Reservoir/Valve/Tubing/Wash Station) & End User (OEM/Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Companies/Hospital/Private Labs/Research Institute) - Global Forecast to 2020", The global laboratory accessories market is segmented on the basis of products, end users, and regions. Based on products, the market is categorized into microplates, label printers, pipettes, pumps, reagent reservoirs, valves, tubings, and wash stations. The microplates segment includes microplate accessories such as microplate storage racks, well orienters, and well stands.Ask for PDF brochure of this report -This report studies the global laboratory accessories market over the forecast period of 2014 to 2020. This market is expected to reach $504.7 million by 2020 from $327.0 million in 2014, at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2014 to 2020.The wash stations and the syringes and syringe pumps segments are expected to account for the largest shares of the market by 2020, accounting for CAGRs of 6.2% and 9.7%, respectively. However, the reagent reservoirs segment is the fastest-growing segment of the laboratory accessories market, with an estimated CAGR of 12.8% during the forecast period of 2014 to 2020.On the basis of end users, the laboratory accessories market is segmented into original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, hospital and private laboratories, academic institutes, and research institutes. Based on regions, the market is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World.The demand for laboratory accessories in the near future is set to rise due to the increasing trend of hospitals and research institutes resorting to automate their testing laboratories. The driving factors that are expected to boost the growth of the market are greater productivity and reduction in costs, improved personal safety, rising adoption of laboratory automation systems in drug discovery and clinical diagnostics, large-scale disease outbreaks, availability of funding for research, and higher reproducibility and accuracy in laboratory automation.The major players in the market include Roche Holding AG (Switzerland), Abbott Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Tecan Group Ltd. (Switzerland), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), Beckton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.), Greiner Bio-One GmbH (Austria), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.) Hamilton Company (U.S.), Analytik Jena AG (Germany), Brooks Automation, Inc. (U.S.), and Corning Incorporated (U.S.).To buy this report or inquiries before buying, visit -Ask your queries over this report to analyst at -About Report Publisher:MarketsandMarkets is the worlds No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.Markets and MarketsUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, HadapsarPune, Maharashtra 411013, India1-888-600-6441 Real Time GPS Tracking System for Kids from Anywhere in the World https://www.letstrak.com/ https://www.letstrak.com/ https://www.letstrak.com/ 1st June 2016 : Letstrak GPS Tracker, a highly versatile GPS tracking system which was named the best GPS tracker for kids in 2016, now features global quad-mode GSM capabilities for secure and dependable GPS tracking from anywhere in the world.With the global quad-mode feature, the reliability of the Letstrak is exceptional, for any application, including personal safety, fleet tracking and covert vehicle monitoring, said Vikram Kumar, CEO of Letstrak Limited (letstrak.com/).Letstrak GPRS as the best GPS tracking system for kids in 2016, citing the Letstrak outstanding performance, and solid tracking in low reception areas such as movie theaters, basements, and parking garages.In addition to global quad-mode capabilities, the Letstrak GPS tracking system offers many other features in a conveniently compact GPS tracker. The Letstrak provides real-time GPS tracking updates as often as every 5 seconds, and is equipped with a panic (SOS) button which initiates a series of 20 location reports within 2 minutes when activated.The Letstrak GPRS is entirely self-contained, and is smaller than a set of car keys. With 12-volt DC adaptability, Letstrak GPS tracking systems can also be installed using a permanent hardwire connection. Quad-mode GPS tracking systems such as the Letstrak GPRS cover all 4 GSM frequencies, including 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz bands.As with all Letstrak () GPS tracking systems, the Letstrak GPRS is designed to work with the firms innovative GPS tracking software, which provides geo-fencing capabilities, and worldwide satellite mapping with birds eye and street level monitoring options. In addition to GPS tracking software, Letstrak offers optional accessories for the Letstrak GPRS, including a waterproof, motion-activated hibernating battery pack designed for months of continuous use.Letstrak Limited., based in London, United Kingdom, is a leading developer of GPS tracking systems and GPS tracking software for personal security, business, and law enforcement use. For more information about the Letstrak GPRS tracker or other GPS tracking systems and accessories, please visitor call us +44 020 3375 4259.Letstrak GPS tracker, a highly versatile GPS tracking system which was named the best GPS tracker for kids in 2016.44 Broadway London E15 1XH, United Kingdom,Letstrak LimitedT: +44 (0)203 375 4259E: support@letstrak.comWebsite : Emillo Santo - Everything you would demand for in a luxury shoe Handmad shoes for men www.emillosanto.com 1/06/2016, Instanbul, Turkey: Emillo Santo has never relented in creating their range of luxury shoes for a while now. With a perfect torch of formal, contemporary and customized styles Emillo Santo emphasizes on making comfortable, stylish and attractive shoes with very high quality materials. Little wonder the shoes are unrivalled by none but rather the taste of many.Purely handmade, utilizing the services of skilled Italian shoe makers to produce its high quality footwear, Emillo Santo shoes come with exquisite and very neat assembling making use of superior Italian leather and corresponding leather soles, in order to give every wearer the feeling that is so desired.With the likes of its handmade leather and classic shoes, Oxford and Darby shoes and Monk Strap Shoes, come in different designs, style and colour, Emillo Santo shoes can never go wrong. A customized luxury shoe comes with the privilege whereby a customer could make specifications on exactly how you want the shoe to turn out after production.For every shoe size and for all occasions, Emillo Santo says it always makes something spectacular that will definitely be admired by all. No wonder from every nook and cranny of the world encomiums have kept pouring in from a large number of satisfied clients, customers like, John Frederick who says, When I really want to give myself a treat, Emillo Santos shoes are one of the few things I know that once I adorn on my feet it makes me feel fabulous, their shoes look incredible and fit great.After a prolonged desire of many to purchase a luxury handmade shoe for their occasion, the need for the birth of Emillo Santos customized shoes was a necessity. Now, as the most renowned shoemakers in the world, we are keen on ensuring the best of shoes with the best quality are produced. With stylish, comfortable footwear that that will last a lifetime, Emillo Santo says you should walk the walk in style in the well fabricated luxury shoes.Easily accessible and just a click away, Emillo Santo can be connected with onor on telephone number +90 212 553 6326. Dont also forget to follow us on Instagram,Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to get the latest update on our range of remarkable handmade shoes.Sanayi Mh. KursunluSk. No:20 K:2GungorenIstanbulTurkey34160 Waterproof Textiles - An innovation that redefines the NextGen Textiles industry - Industry Survey by 2024. http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11717 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchanalysis.blogspot.in/ Global Waterproof Textiles Market: DescriptionWaterproof textiles were first introduced in the mid-1970s. These are used to make garments that offer protection from the rain and wind as well as prevent loss of body heat. Also known as waterproof breathable textiles, these fabrics prevent the penetration and absorption of water and are actively ventilated. Repelling precipitation and providing an escape route for perspiration vapor are the two major requirements of waterproof textiles. Therefore, waterproof textiles are extensively used to manufacture sportswear and outdoor equipment.Raw materials such as polymer and polyurethane, synthetic microfilament yarn, and others including expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) are employed in the production of waterproof textiles. These raw materials are hydrophobic. For example, pores in ePTFE are smaller than the size of the smallest raindrops. However, these pores are large enough to let water vapor molecules pass through. Nowadays, waterproof textile manufacturers are shifting from harmful but high-performance formulation of C8 perfluorinated compounds toward C6 perfluorinated compounds for rainwear textiles. However, the formulation of C6 compounds is not as durable as that of C8 compounds.Download Free exclusive Sample of this report :Based on outlook, waterproof textiles are classified into membranes, coated, and densely woven. Demand for membranes is significantly high in the market, as these offer protection against ultraviolet radiation, temperature variations, and airborne pollutants. Waterproof textiles find applications in the manufacture of work wear, sportswear, outdoor equipment, tents, leisurewear, and others. Increasing demand for antiviral, antimicrobial, and dirt/stain resistant waterproof textiles in the sportswear segment is fuelling the growth of the market.Global Waterproof Textiles Market: OverviewRising consumer preference for comfortable and high-performance apparel has boosted the growth of the global waterproof textiles market. Increase in disposable income coupled with growing awareness about fitness has further augmented the market. Introduction of plasma- and silicon-based technologies for manufacturing waterproof textiles is expected to create new opportunities for the growth of the market in the near future.Manufacturers are focusing on creating thin and light waterproof textiles with customizable properties such as waterproofing, windproofing, and insulation. Conventional waterproof textiles are composed of two layers, along with a liner as the third layer to improve durability. However, the presence of three layers of fabric in waterproof textiles makes them heavy. Some market players are devising techniques to create single-layered waterproof textiles that are lighter. Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are being increasingly used to manufacture waterproof textiles. As an initiative to counter environmental pollution due to the excessive usage of plastics, PET bottles are recycled to create polyester fiber that is further utilized to make waterproof textiles.Global Waterproof Textiles Market: Region-wis OutlookThe global waterproof textiles market has been segmented into four key regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World. North America has been the leading region in the market due to the presence of some of the top players. In North America, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. drive the demand for waterproof textiles. Expansion of the sportswear market in North America has played a pivotal role in the growth of the waterproof textiles market. Europe is also contributing significantly to market growth; the U.K., France, and Germany account for major share of the market in the region. Increasing demand for waterproof textiles in China, India, and Japan has boosted the market in Asia Pacific.Key players operating in the global waterproof textiles market include Heartland Textiles Co. Ltd., Columbia Sportswear, Dow Corning, Clariant, General Electric, Huntsman Textiles Co. Ltd., APT Fabrics, Archroma, Lowe Alpine, and WL Gore & Associates, Inc. These players are focusing on developing innovative waterproof fabrics to increase their market share.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactMr. Sudip. STransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit : Kerala startup pioneers solar-powered mobility with ferries & boats Transportation system which doesn't use fossil fuels has been almost every futurists dream. A few commercial success stories of the latest technological advancements, such as Tesla Motors electric cars, have given us hope. Moreover, unique projects such as NASAs Mars Rover have gone a step further, being powered by solar energy. Now, a Kerala-based startup is gearing up to make solar-powered mobility a commercially-viable reality. NavAlt, is planning to deliver Indias largest solar-powered ferry to the Kerala State Water Transport Department within a few weeks.The ferry will be 20m long, and will be able to ply 75 passengers in the backwaters near Kochi, Kerala. According to Sandith Thandasherry, CEO, NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats, this solar-powered ferry will not pollute water and air, will be silent for the passengers and the environment, and have negligible operational expenditure as it will not require any fuel.Sandith saw the technological advancements in energy storage and photovoltaics as an opportunity to create a cleaner water transport system. A solar-powered car is still far from commercial reality, but a large boat with huge surface area to install solar panels and lower power requirement seemed to be more realistic. We joined hands with other global organisations to make this shared vision a reality, says the IIT Chennai-INSEAD alumnus. NavAlt is a joint venture between Navgathi, an Indian marine engineering firm, and AltEn and EVE systems, French companies with the technical expertise.Implementation of an innovative idea, Sandith adds, is always a challenge. His team was tasked with building this 75-passenger ferry from scratch, while tackling two challenges - optimized energy management and reduction in propulsion power. The ferry will utilize a 20kW solar photovoltaic array to power two electric motors via 50kWh Lithium batteries, and it will not require any diesel at all. On rainy days, the solar ferry has the option of getting charged by the grid-supplied power.Even though building a solar ferry would initially cost considerably more than building a single-hull steel ferry of the same capacity, it is commercially viable in the longer run. While the diesel-powered fuel may consume fuel costing more than INR 25 lakhs a year, the solar ferry will have negligible operational expenditure. At the same time, staying true to Indias frugal innovation reputation, this ferry will cost about one-third of building a similar one in Europe. Compared to a conventional diesel-powered ferry, a solar-ferry will break-even in 4-6 years, making it a profitable venture. According to Sandith, many other government bodies in India as well as abroad have shown interest in NavAlts solar ferries, and he is hopeful of 20 orders within the next year or so.So next time youre planning a trip to Kerala in 2016, do make sure you stop by and enjoy the beautiful backwaters on this unique ferry and experience the future of water transport.NavAlt is based in India which is pioneering in solar powered marine transport. It is already commercially viable where NavAlt build small to large size solar powered electric ferries and boats.NavAlt Solar & Electric Boats Pvt. Ltd.XXXII/193B, Excellence, Rajagiri Road, Rajagiri P.O, Kalamassery, Kochi 683104, India Expats Population Forming 75.6% of total HNW population in the UAE https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/wealth-uae-hnw-investors/29314-93.html Wealth managers have tremendous growth opportunity in the future in the UAE real estate sector. Challenge for UAE wealth managers is to offer a holistic service proposition that can fulfill the needs of complex investment portfolios of expats in UAE.Ken Research has announced its latest publication on, Wealth in the UAE: HNW Investors, which offers a detailed analysis of UAEs wealth management landscape. More precisely, the report profiles the average Emirati HNW investor along with analyzing the opportunities with respect to expats. The report also identifies which mandates and asset classes should wealth managers focus upon in order to fully capitalize on the expat opportunity.In the past decade, UAE has become a hub for international trade with organizations from across the world establishing their footprints. In addition, UAE also attracts tremendous investment because of its position as the leader in the oil and gas industry. With a lot going on the investment front, UAE has become home for a large number of both High Net Worth (HNW) individuals and wealth and asset managers. In addition, to further make it easier for investors, the UAE government does not levy any corporate or personal income taxes at the emirate or federal level. Moreover, there is no exchange controls applied on the remittances of funds. On the political front as well, UAE is known to be highly stable and secure. Thus, UAE has earned tremendous reputation for being a safe investment haven for both locals and expats.In UAE, private wealth investment is on a rise. Private wealth primarily includes deposits and cash, listed securities, money market funds, pension and life assets and other offshore and onshore assets. It does not include the investors own business, luxury good or real estate. As per some recent figures, private wealth in the UAE is expected to report a CAGR of 10.7% and reach almost USD 1 trillion by 2019. This is estimated on the basis that private wealth in UAE, driven by equities, grew by almost 8.4% in 2014. In addition, the ultra-High New Worths individuals private wealth is expected to grow by 2.11% by the end of this decade.Talking about the UAE investment landscape in terms of current trends, research has revealed that the Emirati HNWs either come from a service (earned income) or an entrepreneurial background. This means that there is increased demand for innovative investment solutions and the desire for gaining access to highly sophisticated investment products has also increased. Also, there is a general bent towards advisory mandates for discretionary or other types of asset management options. Overall, the HNW portfolio in UAE is well-balanced, with property and bonds accounting for the largest share of allocation followed by equities. However, the focus is expected to shift from properties towards equities in the coming five years. This is because, historic data reflects that, in the last three years the amount of private wealth held in equities grew by almost 13.8% as opposed to the 1.6% and 6.9% growth in bonds and other deposits respectively.The Global Wealth Management Industry TrendsWealth Management has been amongst one of the most appealing and growing sectors within the financial services industry. Over the past one year, the wealth management industry has grown steadily. However, with rising expansion has come significant challenges that are adding to the costs of doing the business. High Net Worth individuals across the globe are showing a change in attitude with a greater interest in alternative investment options that offer better profits at lower risks. Apart from this, the new regulatory framework, changing consumer preferences, digitization and very competitive landscape all add to the challenges for wealth managers.Some of the important factors that the wealth managers will have to keep in mind include: Be on a constant lookout for new opportunities Rethinking and reviewing the firms value proposition Aiming at transparency to retain clients Going as digital as possible Adjusting costs structure as per revenue realitiesKey Topics Covered in the Report:- Detailed profile of Emirati HNW clients and their attitudes- Critical success factors for wealth managers in the UAE- Market landscape of Emirati wealth management industry- Expat opportunities for wealth advisors in the UAE- Emirati HNWs investment style preferences- Understanding the asset allocation trends among the Emirati HNW investors- Emirati HNWs product and service demand- The future outlook for Emirati HNW industryTo know more on coverage, click on the link below:Related Reports:Self-Directed Investors: Implications for Wealth Managers; Understanding how self-directed investment affects the wealth management industry.Wealth in the UK: HNW Investors; Understanding HNW investors and wealth management strategies.Contact:Ken ResearchAnkur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communicationsquery@kenresearch.com+91-124-4230204Ken Research is a Global aggregator and publisher of Market intelligence research reports, equity reports, data base directories and economy reports. The company is engaged in data analytics and aids clients in due-diligence, product expansion, plant setup, acquisition intelligence to all the other gamut of objectives through our research focus.27A, Tower B-2, Spaze I Tech Business Park, Sohna Road, sector 49 Gurgaon, Haryana - 122001, India Just in time for the EuroBLECH, AICON 3D Systems launches version 3.1 of the software platform BendingStudio. Especially user-friendliness was revised. Interconnected work at different workstations becomes even more efficient. The module DATA SERVICE is more transparent: Connections to other workstations are visibly displayed. The user sees network problems immediately and can directly restore the network connection. Furthermore, currently used components are marked in the selection lists. They are displayed in So, Portland beer snob, be honest -- you think Portland is the center of the universe, right? And you think all worthy things involving hops, malts and yeast begin and end in Beervana? Well, put down that pint of 120 IBU, 10.8% ABV, IIIPA and hold onto your barstool. Because the hottest thing in the Portland beer scene is ... (gulp) Vancouver. No, no, not the cool Canadian one, eh? Rather, the one across the Columbia River. You know, the Couve? That's right. Oregon may have Beervana, but Southwest Washington has Brewcouver. From downtown to Hazel Dell (Google map it), the past few years have seen the growth of a vibrant, delicious, walkable scene in once sleepy Vancouver. At least a dozen breweries have sprung up to take advantage of cheaper real estate, a less-intense competitive environment and a thirsty yet underserved community. Unlike a Portland landscape loaded with professional talent, many of the Vancouver start-ups come from former homebrewers, passionate to turn their hobby into a career. And while they admit their fermenters might not push the boundaries like their neighbor to the south, they're still making approachable, robust brews that are turning heads - Loowit Brewing Co. won a silver last month at the prestigious 2016 World Beer Cup. The confidence they could make great beers and succeed in uncharted waters is a streak that runs through all of the brewers. "This was an untapped market," says co-owner and head brewer Rodney Stryker of Heathen Brewing, which poured its first batch in August 2012. "There was nothing here. Everyone wanted to go to Portland. But we were pretty confident that if you brew it, they would come." Seizing opportunity downtown You would think it wouldn't have come to that. Downtown Vancouver is, after all, arguably the birthplace of brewing in the region. The soldiers of Fort Vancouver for the early part of the 19th century drank beer brewed in small saloons in downtown Vancouver, at the time more populous than Portland. Henry Saxer opened Liberty Brewing in Portland in 1852, and four years later John Muench opened one of the area's first large commercial breweries, Vancouver Brewery. It would be the first Northwest brewing home for German immigrant - and future Portland beer godfather -- Henry Weinhard. And soon one of the region's most iconic brands, Lucky Lager, would begin being brewed downtown under a giant cursive red "L." A century and a half later, downtown Vancouver struggled with blight. That changed, however, with the restoration of Esther Short Park and addition of a Hilton hotel and convention center over a decade ago. The early seeds of craft beer's return were planted in 1993, when Phil Stein opened Hazel Dell Brewery, then in 1998 Larry and Ana Pratt took their Salmon Creek Brewery and Pub from Woodland to downtown Vancouver. A year later, McMenamins opened its brewpub on the banks of the Columbia River east of downtown. But those breweries would toil in relative isolation until downtown's resurgence gave rise to a new group of young, eager brewers. The first was Mt. Tabor Brewing, which raised eyebrows in Portland when it relocated north of the river in October 2011. Loowit and Heathen soon followed. Loowit would become the first to win big, earning silver in this year's World Beer Cup in the rye category for its Grimlock Rye Porter. When it opened in October 2012, in a downtown space near the old Lucky Lager brewery, such an achievement was barely imaginable for co-owners Devon Bray and Thomas Poffenroth. "At first it was scary for them, they put a lot on the line," says current head brewer Matt Freeland. "Their investment, their savings. They were having to work full time in other jobs just to make it work." Today Loowit exemplifies the Vancouver vibe: an unpretentious, casual garage-style setting with a neighborhood feel, populated by regulars, professionals, families and beer geeks, what Freeland calls "a nice little Cheers style atmosphere." A few blocks north, Heathen's Feral Public House boasts a taproom and full-menu brewpub. Adorned in a hardcore biker industrial chic motif, it's in step with the blue-collar ethos of its hometown - a quality that's important for Stryker, the co-owner with founder Sunny Parsons. "Portland probably still laughs at us," says Stryker. "But it's been really fun. Aside from the brewing scene, downtown has really developed, and things have been very welcoming in the community." "Some people wouldn't even give us the time of day," he says. "They're like, if it's not made in Oregon, they don't want it. I still see people poking fun at us." But the pub is consistently busy, the brew site a few miles north is at capacity and expanding, and at the most recent Washington Beer Awards, Heathen pulled in a silver for its Epitaph Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout and a bronze for its Absolution Kolsch. New kid on a united block The latest to throw down is Trusty Brewing. Owner and brewer Gary Paul, a West Linn resident and another converted homebrewer, opened his taproom and pub in mid-May in the former Dirty Hands brewery. Previously unfamiliar with Vancouver, he opened there for many of the same reasons - real estate costs and a less-congested market. "Over in Portland, your brand is dissolved into 'Portland beer,''' Paul said recently, taking a break from the one-man production line in his on-site basement brewery. "Over here, we have a chance to stand out. Even though there's a good Vancouver beer scene building, with the waterfront development, growth is just going to continue. That will draw people here, and hopefully beer will grow with it. Trusty Brewing wants to be part of that." Beyond the prospects brought by the massive Columbia River development Vancouver has begun, he cites other reasons: access to quality ingredients and a better business atmosphere. The Great Western Malting Co. is just across town, and some of the world's best hops are found in the Yakima Valley, Paul said. And Paul tells none of the nightmare stories of opening a business repeatedly muttered down south. "Being a business owner, this is a gem here," Paul says. "The community has been great, the other brewers have been great, and the city of Vancouver has been great. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be." Such cooperation has led to the creation of the Brewcouver brewery passport, the brainchild of Michael Perozzo, a founding partner at Zzoom Media, a marketing group in downtown Vancouver. Zzoom is pitching in to harness a cooperative spirit among the Vancouver brewers, whose margins don't always leave much for a marketing campaign. He sees the passport, which allows beer drinkers to collect merchandise after accumulating stamps from nine breweries in and near downtown, as a local version of the Bend Ale Trail or Columbia Gorge breweries tour. About 15,000 have been printed, he says. The energy in Clark County isn't isolated to Vancouver breweries. Barrel Mountain has opened in Battle Ground, and Amnesia, Doomsday and 54o 40' are brewing in Washougal. Brothers Cascadia is building its brewery now in Hazel Dell. And taprooms such as The Thirsty Sasquatch and Ben's Bottle Shop are popping up as well, with more planned. Perozzo has seen the downtown transformation evolve over the past few years, and he's watched the nascent beer scene develop with it. "It's really happening," Perozzo says. "I'm amazed on a Friday and Saturday night at the people in downtown. They're at the restaurants, the bars - it's neat to see." -- Andre Meunier The Oregonian/OregonLive 503-221-8488 Bloomberg Asks Fed Gov't For Permission To Ban Food Stamp Purchases Of Sugary Drinks NEW YORK - OCTOBER 07: A file image of a sign in a market window advertises the acceptance of food stamps on October 7, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Spencer Platt//Getty Images News/Getty Images) Welfare programs have declined in the past two decades across the U.S., but in Oregon, a higher share of poor families is on welfare, and most of them are white, according to a recent report from The Atlantic. In the story, "Welfare Utopia," The Atlantic took a close look at Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF). The article shows as states have received more power over the welfare program, fewer poor families are receiving help because states have "gutted" their safety nets by increasing work requirements and decreasing the length of time allowed on the program. Former president Bill Clinton said he would "end welfare as we know it" in 1996, leaving it up to the states to determine who can receive Temporary Aid to Needy Families, The Atlantic reported. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows TANF's role has declined from 68 percent of poor families in 1996 to 23 percent in 2014. While most states have followed the downward trend, Oregon is among just five states, including California, Minnesota, Hawaii and Vermont, that still provides a safety net to more than 40 percent of poor families. However, Oregon's extra supports for needy families means that the gap between services in different states can be vast. The Atlantic reports: That Oregon still maintains a safety net while other states have eradicated theirs is testament to the state's progressivism. But the example of Oregon also highlights a troubling aspect of federal policy that turns social programs over to the states. Now that states have so much discretion, a few miles can make a big difference in how a poor person is helped by the government. Across the border, in Idaho, poor people are not as lucky. The story also makes a connection between Oregon's "whiteness" and the degree of services and supports it provides needy families: By contrast, states with poor populations that are predominately white are more likely to be generous, adopting the federal government's five-year lifetime limit, waiving work requirements if participants have young children, and continuing to give benefits to children even if the parents reach the time limits. While nearly 80 percent of Oregon families on welfare are white, the other four states with strong safety nets don't necessarily follow the theory. For example, 72 percent of Hawaii's welfare recipients are Asian. In California, 40 percent of the recipients are Hispanic, while just 25 percent are white, and 17 percent are black. Vermont does, however, follow the trend, as 96 percent of its recipients are white. Minnesota's recipients are 58 percent white and 22 percent black. Check out the breakdown of race by state below: Read the entire Atlantic report here. -- Natasha Rausch MODA Tower Moda Health Plans, which works out of the Moda Tower in downtown Portland, is taking on the federal government. It blames its significant recent financial problems on the U.S. government's failure to deliver $180 million in promised financial assistance. (LC-) Moda Health Plans on Wednesday became the third insurer in the country to sue the federal government, saying the company could have averted nearly-fatal fiscal problems if the government delivered $180 million in financial assistance it had promised. The Portland insurer filed the complaint in the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington, DC, arguing it was counting on the $180 million as part of the Affordable Care Act. Two weeks ago, Highmark Inc. of Pittsburgh filed a similar suit seeking $233 million in unpaid Risk Corridor money. In February, Health Republic, a health insurance co-op based in Oregon, filed its own complaint blaming the company's demise on the federal government's broken promises. Robert Gootee, Moda's chief executive, said his company never would have jumped so aggressively into the new markets created by the Affordable Care Act if it knew the federal government was going to renege on its obligations. Moda's parent company was forced this spring to sell off assets and borrow additional funds in order to replenish its depleted capital reserves. Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services took Moda into supervision in January. Moda staved off being put into receivership only after raising more than $165 million this spring. The lawsuits over the Risk Corridor payments raise more questions about the Affordable Care Act. The law has successfully gotten insurance coverage and health care for millions of Americans formerly locked out due to pre-existing conditions. But it has also led to enormous losses for some insurance companies and double-digit rate hikes for many consumers. Unlike some of its competitors, Moda embraced the Affordable Care Act. It moved aggressively into the new markets created by the controversial law and enrolled more Oregonians -- in excess of 121,000 at the peak -- than any other insurance company in the state. Gootee said his company knew it was entering dangerous territory. As it said in its complaint, insurers lacked sufficient information to accurately set rates. Government officials devised the Risk Corridor program as a way to encourage insurance industry participation despite the unknowns. Moda says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pledged to Moda $89.4 million for 2015 and $101.8 million in 2016. Midway through 2015, it became apparent to Moda officials they had a problem. Their new customers, many of whom had been uninsured for years due to pre-existing conditions, proved far sicker and more expensive than Moda had anticipated. The high claims volume led to punishing financial losses in 2015. But Moda's issues were just beginning. Executives didn't realize until October that Congressional Republicans had managed to quietly kill off the Risk Corridor program. They inserted a provision into a 2014 spending bill that ended up limiting the payments. Sen. Marco Rubio helped kill the federal financial assistance Moda was counting on. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) Led by Sen. Marco Rubio, the Republicans claimed credit for averting a $2.5 billion taxpayer bailout of the insurance industry and pounding a stake into the heart of the Affordable Care Act. Instead of the $191 million it was counting on, Moda received just $11.2 million. "We would have been fine if that money had shown up," Gootee said. "We wouldn't have gone through any of what we went through over the past six months." Mitch Greenlick, an influential state legislator, said Moda fell victim to partisan politics. "I just can't believe what Rubio instigated and the federal government did -- essentially reneging on those promises," said OGreenlick, D-Portland, who was briefed on the complaint. "The insurance companies were left holding the bag. It just about put Moda out of business." Moda is a much smaller company in the wake of its financial crisis. It has pulled out of Washington and California and has stopped offering individual policies in Alaska. In Oregon, has limited enrollment and cut back its provider network, which the company says will likely result in enrollment plunging from around 100,000 in 2015 to an estimated 30,000 in 2017. Despite this 70 percent net enrollment decline, Moda will carry on, Gootee vowed. "This is a strong corporation," he said. "Moda impacts hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon. And it will continue to have a significant role in health care in this state." -- Jeff Manning 503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com A former Clackamas County sheriff's detective has been charged in a 2011 Wilsonville home invasion robbery in which he allegedly zapped one of the residents with a stun gun, court documents show. An indictment against Floyd W. Marsh Jr. was unsealed Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court that accuses him of first- and second-degree robbery, second-degree kidnapping, second-degree unlawful use of a stun gun, first-degree aggravated theft and money laundering. He is accused of stealing property worth $50,000 or more from a then-68-year-old woman and 73-year-old man, and stunning the woman with the device in October 2011, the indictment said. Marsh was booked into the Clackamas County Jail on Saturday, jail records show. Marsh, 59, retired from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office in 2007. He had been in an Illinois jail since February 2014, after deputies seized two handguns and $80,000 in toolboxes from his pickup truck during a traffic stop, the Kane County Sheriff's Office said. Investigators subsequently found 55 pounds of marijuana and more than $2,100 in two storage lockers linked to him in the Chicago area. While talking to Marsh during the stop, deputies became suspicious that he might be involved in narcotics trafficking and searched the pickup, the Kane County Sheriff's Office said. At some point, Marsh told the deputies he received $1,500 every time he transported marijuana and cash between California and the Chicago area, according to a search warrant affidavit. The Clackamas County Interagency Task Force launched an investigation involving Marsh after his arrest in Illinois and four days later seized 6 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 2 pounds of heroin and nearly 6 ounces of cocaine from a Milwaukie storage locker rented under his name, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. It is not clear if he will be charged in that case. Deputies in Oregon also arrested Gerald M. Wiese, a 48-year-old acquaintance of Marsh, in connection with the storage locker searches. Wiese told investigators that he was paid $5,000 twice to help Marsh move marijuana from California to Illinois, the search warrant affidavit said. Wiese pleaded guilty in September 2014 to delivery of meth and heroin in Clackamas County, court records show. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August. On May 4, 2016, Kane County prosecutors dropped charges of armed violence, cannabis trafficking, money laundering and, delivery and possession of cannabis against Marsh, court records show. A judge ruled the searches in Illinois were illegal a month earlier and the evidence found was deemed inadmissible, according to court records. Marsh filed a federal lawsuit in February against Kane County, the deputy who arrested him and other officers alleging false arrest, false imprisonment, unreasonable search of property, unreasonable seizure of property and other accusations. Marsh claims Kane County deputies routinely pull over drivers to perform illegal arrests and searches to confiscate their cars, money and other assets for the benefit of the county. Sgt. Ron Hain wasn't legally justified to stop Marsh on Feb. 13, 2014, but proceeded to pull his pickup over anyway, the lawsuit said. Marsh claims he asked if he was free to go at least twice after Hain determined there were no outstanding warrants for his arrest, but the deputy continued to question him and at one point leaned through the driver's side window making Marsh unable to leave. Other deputies arrived and Kain told Marsh they would be searching his pickup, but Marsh didn't consent to the search and they didn't have a warrant to go through the pickup until after they arrested him and towed the truck to the sheriff's department headquarters, the lawsuit said. Hain searched the pickup without a warrant and didn't find anything, the lawsuit said. He then called over another deputy with a police dog to search the pickup. The dog didn't indicate finding anything after sniffing inside and outside the pickup, according to the lawsuit. Marsh claimed he was then put in handcuffs and taken to the sheriff's office. According to the lawsuit, a search warrant was obtained based on false information and the pickup was searched again at the sheriff's office. The truck was seized for forfeiture. Marsh is seeking at least $64,000 in damages. -- Everton Bailey Jr. ebailey@oregonian.com 503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey antenedessert.jpg One of Nora Antene's final desserts at Le Pigeon: A strawberry and rose Good Humor bar. The pastry chef will take her talents to the upcoming Tusk this year. (Michael Russell, The Oregonian) On a warm evening in early May, Nora Antene crouched over a loaded counter, squirting carrot frosting from a pastry bag over 33 small rectangles of golden beet cake. It was the last night of LaMama, a series of pop-up dinners led by chef Sam Smith as a warm-up for his soon-to-open restaurant Tusk, and Antene was plating the last course. Tusk, the first project from Ava Gene's chef Joshua McFadden's Submarine Hospitality group, is eagerly anticipated by those who follow Portland's restaurant scene. Smith and chef de cuisine Wesley Johnson were on the opening crew for Zahav, Michael Solomonov's influential Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia. Their experience shows in the Middle-East-meets-Northwest dishes Smith has tried out at LaMama. But diners should be just as excited by the involvement of Antene, who in just over five years in Portland has become one of the city's finest pastry chefs. At Le Pigeon, where she has worked for the past two years, Antene crafts playful reinterpretations of nostalgic classics like Whoopie Pies and Good Humor bars with unexpected twists -- sunchoke ice cream, romesco sauce, candied red pepper -- on plates dappled with leaves, berries and flower petals. Antene is modest about her work. "I think at heart I'm sort of a home baker. Nothing I make in the restaurant is something people couldn't make at home," she says. "I don't use any kind of magical techniques or equipment." Her most high-tech tools are a stand mixer and an ice cream machine. She credits her approachable but exacting style -- "done well, but nothing too weird," she calls it -- to her lack of formal training in pastry. Originally from Chicago, Antene studied French at the University of Wisconsin, but found her interest drifting toward the kitchen. "In my junior year I realized I was spending all my time cooking and not studying," she says. After an internship at Madison's L'Etoile, a year of culinary school and a stint teaching cooking classes children, she got a pastry line position at the Chicago restaurant MK. "There were prep cooks who came in and made everything, and I just put it on plates," she says. A year later, in 2010, she moved to Portland with a friend and landed a job as assistant to Lauren Fortgang, the pastry chef at the just-opened Little Bird. "She became a crucial part of the restaurant right from the start," Fortgang says. "It's rare to find a chef, pastry or savory, who has an innate talent for both the visual and flavor aspects of food." When Fortgang took a break from Little Bird after having a child, Antene took over as pastry chef. Later, she jumped to Little Bird's sister restaurant Le Pigeon. Le Pigeon chef Gabe Rucker says, "Normally I'm the one who comes to people with flavor combinations where they look at me like I'm stupid, and then it works really well. She's the person that does that to me. She's absolutely trustworthy." Nora Antene's final dessert for Le PIgeon: A pistachio-mint Whoopie Pie. Last summer, Smith told Antene about his vision for a vegetable-driven Middle Eastern restaurant. She was intrigued. "I like working with other people's styles and molding my style to match theirs," she says. She brought the idea up with Rucker, who suggested she join the project. Antene and Smith both expect Tusk to showcase collaboration. Antene will oversee pastry and baking, including the restaurant's whole grain flatbread, but each of the three lead chefs will contribute to the entire menu. "With Nora's creativity, and the way she approaches dishes and ingredients, I really don't want to limit her talent," Smith says. While the menu is still in flux, some ideas in play are parsley and mint granita layered with hibiscus soft-serve and topped with strawberries and rose-syrup; rotating vegetable cakes featuring celery root, parsnip, beets and carrots; and sweet sunchoke custard. "Tusk is a very vegetable-focused restaurant. I wanted to carry that into the dessert menu by having elements of vegetables," Antene says. "Root vegetables translate the most easily, but I'm hoping for summer to do things with cucumbers that will be really refreshing and light." A hint of that focus was on display at the LaMama dinner in May. After frosting her dozens of golden beet-cake rectangles, Antene dusted each with crumbled halva -- candy made from ground sesame -- and sprinkled on marigold leaves and petals. The result looked like the aftermath of a windy spring day, messy in a beautiful way, and tasted mildly sweet and earthy, with hints of lemon and cotton candy. Done well, but nothing too weird. -- Ben Waterhouse Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. In the first five months of 2016, half of the 43,858 Vietnamese laborers who headed overseas for work touched down in Taiwan. Labor exports have fluctuated in the first five months of 2016. In May, the number of people who chose to work overseas fell slightly by 3.1 percent on-month. The vast majority of laborers were male, accounting for 63.4 percent of the total. The main export markets for Vietnamese laborers are Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Macau. Since the beginning of the year, Taiwan has welcomed approximately 50 percent of Vietnam's labor exports. In May, Taiwan continued to top the market, followed by Japan, Korea and Malaysia. Source: Department of Overseas Labor Vietnam more favorite among German investors than China, India and other Asian peers German companies in Vietnam are expressing more confidence in the economy and business development than those in China, other ASEAN countries, and India, a survey has shown. 46 percent of German businesses expect a better situation of Vietnam's economic development comparing to China (16 percent), India (45 percent), Thailand (29 percent) and Indonesia (35 percent), according to the AHK World Business Outlook released by German Chamber Network worldwide on May 31. The AHK World Business Outlook Survey 2016 also stated nearly 70 percent of German firms operating in Vietnam said they were satisfied with their general business results in Vietnam while only 42 percent of them in China or 51 percent in India and 43 percent in Thailand expressed satisfactory with the repsective countries. In term of increasing total investment capital, only German enterprises in Thailand (56 percent) have higher rate than Vietnam's (54 percent) while China, India and Indonesia are lower with 27 percent, 37 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Moreover, 54 percent of German companies operating in Vietnam said they will spend more in the country, while 58 percent plan to hire more people for 2017. Representatives of German enterprises in Vietnam at a job fair organized by German Industry and Commerce Vietnam. Photo by baocaothuong.com.vn 58 percent of the respondents perceive their business outlook as positive while many German investors plan to expand their investments and recruit more staff in Vietnam with 58 percent having recruitment plans for 2017 comparing to China (32 percent), India (42 percent) and Thailand (54 percent). Basically, German enterprises are now seeking for investment opportunities and for further investment in Vietnam, because they see Vietnam as an attractive destination in term of all integration encourages of Vietnams government (EU-VN FTA, TPP) and other location advantages of Vietnam, the chief representative of German Industry and Commerce Vietnam, Marko Walde, said. Indicators show that Vietnams investment environment is a safe, sustainable and potential investment destination for German firms.Firms from Europe's leading economy have also seen noticeable improvements in infrastructure and material and energy costs in Vietnam. However, they also pointed out some of the problems they are facing, including economic policies (46 percent), the lack of skilled workers (42 percent) and labor cost (35 percent), which are the main factors stopping them from expanding in Vietnam. The purpose of the survey is to show German businesses' confidence, outlook and expectations in ASEAN, China and India for the next year, in comparison with the previous year.The survey gathers the feedback from about 3.400 German companies this year. These are either members of the Chambers Abroad (AHKs) or connected to the German Delegations or Representative Offices. Follow VnExpress International on Facebook and Twitter The U.S. has found traces of banned chemicals and antibiotics in some batches of catfish imported from Vietnam. The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has sent a letter to Vietnams Department of Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance, saying it had discovered banned substances in catfish shipped from Tan Thanh Loi Limited Liability Company and Nam Song Hau Joint Stock Company. The FSIS asked the Vietnamese department to send a report about the origins of the banned substances as well as remedial measures suggested by the two companies within a month. The FSIS added that it will to take samples of fish from the two companies until the case is resolved and the samples meet regulations. The European Union has also announced that it will stop importing seafood products from Vietnamese companies if it detects banned substances. On May 13, the European Commission sent a note to the department about Vietnams overuse of antibiotics in seafood exports. On May 24, the EU sent a warning to its members, asking them to strictly monitor seafood exports from Vietnam. Gary Briggs ancestors have been property owners in the Averill area since the mid 1800s when George and Carrie Briggs bought property in a village that was noted chiefly for its lumber camps. The lumber camps have long been gone as a part of history. And so are George and Carrie Briggs and their six sons. But their great grandson carries on the tradition of land ownership and today the name Briggs Landscaping and Contracting sets prominently between the village of Averill and the small town of Sanford. But lets begin at the beginning. George and Carrie Briggs bought property in the lumbering area of Averill when they were first married and proceeded to have six sons born in the family homestead. At one time they lived in a log cabin before the clapboard farmhouse was built. Earl was born April 11, 1892 followed by Floyd born on Aug. 19, 1894. Joe Hazen (always called Hazen) and a twin brother were born on October 19, 1896. Herbert was born June 6, 1904 and soon was nicknamed Herb. The baby of the family was named George Arthur, Jr. and always went by the nickname Art. George and Carrie Briggs lost two sons. The twin baby born with Joe Hazen died shortly after birth in 1896 and their oldest son Earl drowned in the Tittabawassee River in Averill on May 29, 1909 at the age of 17. Garys line of descent is from Floyd Briggs who was born in 1894. Floyd married Lorena Knoop (born Sept. 20, 1896) on Aug. 4, 1915 and their first child was a daughter they named Eola. On Aug. 28, 1919 their first son Robert was born followed by Bill born on Aug. 13, 1921. (Bill would become Gary s dad). A daughter named Gene followed and on June 14, 1930 the baby of the family was born and named Gail. Shortly after Gail entered school, Lorena began working as a telephone operator at The Dow Chemical Co. Lorena was following in the footsteps of her mom Carolyn Knoop who was a telephone operator for the small telephone company operating in Sanford, Michigan. Floyd continued working the family farm while working full-time at The Dow Chemical Co. Its evident that Garys penchant for hard work at a young age was a Briggs family trait. On Feb. 3, 1942 Bill Briggs married Edna (Toni) Perry. World War II was in progress and Bill and his brother Bob were both in the service. Garys Uncle Bob made the service his career. Gary was born on Feb. 5, 1943 in the Floyd and Lorena Briggs home on Sanford Road. Toni, their daughter-in-law was living with them while her husband Bill was away in the service. Gary has been told that Dr. Wilbur Towsley was the doctor who brought him into the world. Dr. Towsleys car got stuck in the deep February snow and he had to walk the rest of the way to the Briggs home. The Briggs farmhouse on Sanford Road saw three generations of Briggs born there: Floyd, Bill and Gary. Toni Briggs mom and dad were Jack and Elsie Perry and Jack Perry owned property in Averill reaching from the banks of the Tittabawassee River to north Price Road. Jack owned a white house just before the curve on the sliver of Wackerly Road that went from U.S. 10 at Averill to U.S. 10 close to Sanford. The county drain that went under Saginaw Road by Clarence Varners house to the Hazen Briggs farm on Wackerly Road was named the Perry Drain after Jack. Years later Gary would buy the Hazen Briggs farm to extend his construction and landscaping business. Bill, Garys dad, was in Pattons Third Army during World War II and a photos of Bill in a tank with EDNA painted on the side of it appeared on a Time magazine cover. Bill was in the first tank to enter the liberated city of Paris, France. The first tank named EDNA was blown up and Bill was wounded. The second tank Bill named GARY. Bill received two Purple Hearts during the war. When Bill came home from the war, Gary remembers that he hid behind his mother because he had no idea who the strange man was that walked in the front door. Gary began Kindergarten in the Averill country school and one of his most vivid memories is being held over the chemical toilet by Denny Finney holding him by his jacket. Eventually the old Averill school was torn down and a new school was constructed. This time with flush toilets. Today the former school has become the town hall and fire station in Averill. Garys grandfather Jack Perry opened up Jacks Log Cabin in 1938, the same day that the new U.S.-10 went through. Later Jack gave the tavern to his son Don and his son-in-law Bill Briggs. The partnership didnt work out and eventually Jacks Log Cabin came under new management. Today Jacks Log Cabin has been remodeled and renovated inside and outside and the familiar log cabin on the corner of U.S. 10 and M-30 no longer exists. Sharon, Garys first sister, was born with the family continuing to live in the white house on the curve of Wackerly Road. Sharon was followed by Carol, Beth, Mike, Jeff and Mark. The Sanford that Gary remembers no longer exists. Gary said, I remember when steam engines ran through Sanford with hobos sitting in the boxcars with their feet hanging out. On Railroad Street (U.S.-10) running through Sanford was Olsons Party Store, Dancers Department Store, Sanford Hardware then owned by Bill Argyle, J & D Plumbing and Heating, Coles Garage, Enders Grocery, Maticka Construction and Budges Drug Store. Gary said, When Mom took Sharon and me to the drug store for ice cream she always said we had to take the same flavor ice cream. One wanted chocolate. One wanted vanilla. Toni had seen Mr. Budge lick the spoon after scooping the chocolate ice cream before dishing up the vanilla. (This ends Part I of the Gary Briggs Story.) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Bernie Sanders' pitch for changing the way presidential candidates are chosen appears to have broad public support. As the tortured primary season concludes, Americans say in a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that they have little faith in the Democratic or Republican system for selecting a presidential candidate. They prefer open primaries to those that are closed to all but party members, like primaries instead of caucuses and oppose the party insiders known as superdelegates, who have a substantial say in the Democratic race. "It's kind of like a rigged election," said Nayef Jaber, a 66-year-old Sanders supporter from San Rafael, California. "It's supposed to be one man one vote. This is the way it should be." According to the poll, 38 percent of Americans say they have hardly any confidence that the Democratic Party's process for selecting a presidential nominee is fair; 44 percent say the same of the Republican Party's process. In addition, about 4 in 10 say they have only some confidence in each party's nomination process. Just 17 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats have a great deal of confidence in their own party's system being fair. "The common man needs to be included more," said Gwendolyn Posey, 44, a registered independent from Sparks, Oklahoma, who said she could not cast a ballot for Texas Republican Ted Cruz because she had not changed her registration to Republican in time. Changing the process has become a rallying cry for the Vermont senator, who won 20 states but has little if any chance of catching up to rival Hillary Clinton in votes or delegates. Still he hopes to influence the party platform, as well as spark debate about the rules. He's not the only one to bash the system presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has called the Republican process "rigged." Both parties have complex mechanisms for choosing presidential nominees, with each state holding caucuses or primaries under different rules. Candidates earn delegates to back them at the summer nominating conventions, with a certain number required to clinch the nomination. Democrats embraced superdelegates in 1982 to make sure party leaders have a say in who is nominated. By giving key insiders more voice, leaders hoped to avoid what some saw as a mistake in 1972, when George McGovern won the nomination but was a weak general election candidate. About 15 percent of the total delegates this year are superdelegates, and critics say this group has given Clinton an advantage. She holds a commanding lead over Sanders, however, even without counting the superdelegates. Republicans have no equivalent to superdelegates, but each state has three Republican National Committee members as part of their delegation. In most states those delegates are bound to the primary results. Supporters of Sanders are especially incensed about the use of superdelegates, who can back any candidate at the convention regardless of how people voted in primaries and caucuses Fifty-three percent of Americans say the Democrats' use of superdelegates is a bad idea, according to the polls, while just 17 percent say it's a good idea. Among Democrats, 46 percent say it's a bad idea and only 25 percent say it's a good idea. Sanders has also called for more open primaries, slamming states that won't allow independent voters to participate, as well as ones where people must register with a party in advance. Americans generally also say that open primaries are more fair than closed primaries, 69 percent to 29 percent. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say open primaries are the most fair, 73 percent to 62 percent. Caucuses, too, are on the outs with many people. They are often lengthy meetings held at a fixed time, unlike primary elections, which just require a stop at a polling place, if not a vote in advance. Poll respondents preferred primaries 81 percent to 17 percent, with overwhelming majorities of Democrats and Republicans saying so. Sanders has performed well in caucuses, however, in part because his supporters are willing to invest the time in them. Looking ahead, both sides are talking about potential changes. Sanders supporters in a number of states have sought to change the rules governing superdelegates at state conventions, though a true overhaul would have to come at the national level. That process could not start until next year, said Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, who serves on the Democratic National Convention rules committee. On the GOP side, changes could be debated at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July, though RNC member Randy Evans, who serves on the rules committee, said it was more likely that Republicans would take a longer look at possible changes after the convention. He said a key criticism has been that the current process does not ensure that delegates won in a primary remain loyal at the convention.The AP-NORC poll of 1,060 adults was conducted May 12-15 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by telephone. Online: AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/ Swanson reported from Washington. A motorcycle ride and spaghetti dinner benefit is planned for Sunday to help the family of a man who was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident earlier this spring. William Oswald was airlifted to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor after the April 27 accident, which occurred in Sanford. He suffered numerous broken bones and is expected to endure multiple surgeries. The new chairman of Dow Corning is calling the companys acquisition by the Dow Chemical Company a natural progression that will produce better growth and results for the now-wholly owned subsidiary. Dow and Corning Inc. have operated Dow Corning as a joint venture for more than seven decades, a partnership that officially ended June 1 with Dow acquiring total ownership of the silicones manufacturer. The end of that partnership started December 11, 2015, when Dow chairman and chief executive officer Andrew Liveris announced the planned acquisition. During an interview with the Daily News Tuesday, Dow vice chairman and chief financial officer Howard Ungerleider discussed what went into preparing for the first day Dow Corning would become part of the Dow family, and what he hopes to see as a result of it. It has gone by exceptionally quickly, but we are excited day one is upon us, Ungerleider said. The new restructuring has led to several announcements, including the retirement of former Dow Corning CEO Bob Hansen and the appointment of Mauro Gregorio as the new CEO and Andy Tometich as business president. Im really excited with the organizational design we have set up, Ungerleider said. He compared it to Dow Agrosciences, which is run by a board of directors and employs its own business president who manages the subsidiary with a team of professionals. Tometich and Gregorio will lead and manage Dow Corning day-by-day, Ungerleider said. It is not typical to have such a long-lasting joint venture, he added, and he is not aware of any others in the industry that have been around for seven decades like Dow Corning. The conversation to end the partnership began by looking at the similar markets Dow and Dow Corning operates in, and the similarities between the two companies and their strategies. Its hard for 73 years to keep partners aligned on a common objective, but weve been great partners, Ungerleider said about Corning. It was just a natural progression into the strategy of narrow and deeper that drove Dow toward Dow Corning. Both Dow and Corning retain equal and proportional equity interest in Hemlock Semiconductor, located in Hemlock, Mich. THE NEW DOW CORNING As the newly appointed chairman of Dow Corning, Ungerleider said the goal for the company can be summed up in three words: accelerate growth efficiently. Were doing this to grow, Ungerleider said. By combining the two technologies, combining the two capabilities of the organizations, we think theres a real opportunity to grow even faster." In a company press release sent out Wednesday morning, Liveris described the acquisition as a hand-in-glove, strategic fit for our material sciences portfolio. By linking our two robust innovation engines, we will bring greater value to our shareholders and a wider range of differentiated, high value solutions to our customers, Liveris said in the press release. In a conference call in April, Ungerleider said the Dow Corning acquisition would act as a tailwind for the second half of 2016. Revenue not previously included in Dows financial reporting would now be added in. Dow Corning's silicones business earned more than $4.5 billion in revenue in 2015. It will be a tailwind in our earnings, and in our top line, Ungerleider said. Certainly by bringing in Dow and Dow Corning together, you will be able to do things more efficiently as one company than you would as two separate companies. Those efficiencies do include cost synergies, which Ungerleider said people are no doubt concerned about. He did not have any information about possible job cuts, and said the companies need time to bring ideas on how to achieve those efficiencies to the table before making any decisions. The company press release said Dow is "positioned to capture a minimum of $400 million in annual cost and growth synergies" due to the acquisition. There will clearly be some short-term pain, Ungerleider said, but he is convinced both companies will be able to grow faster and support more jobs in the long-term. Those who are employed by Dow or Dow Corning could expect a better answer about their job status by the end of the third quarter in September. If we can do it faster, we will but we want to do it right and we want to do it with respect for all our stakeholders: the communities, not just mid-Michigan, but around the world, as well as the Dow team and the Dow Corning team, Ungerleider said. We want to make the best decisions we can make. He also touched on the impending merger of Dow and Delaware-based DuPont Co. into a company known as DowDuPont worth $131 billion. Ungerleider said there no immediate plans to relocate Dow Cornings headquarters, now currently in Williams Township in Auburn. WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE REGION Dow Corning would become part of the new Material Sciences business, a result of the spin-offs 18 to 24 months after DowDuPont is formed, to be headquartered in Midland. Ungerleider will then transition to a new role as chief financial officer for DowDuPont, but said the companys commitment to mid-Michigan will not change. He points at Dows footprint across the Great Lakes Bay Region and said that commitment spreads throughout the area. Over the long-run, assuming we do a good job at accelerating growth efficiently, long-term that should mean more jobs, it should mean more tax revenue and philanthropy for the community, Ungerleider said. In his 26 years of working for Dow, Ungerleider has had several roles and said he would like to see Dow and Dow Corning employees look at this change in ownership as an opportunity to take on a new position. You get a tremendous number of options and capabilities to prove yourself and deliver results, Ungerleider said. For me, that should be the most exciting part. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Combining family history with old fashioned research has netted Charlie Parsons a berth as a national finalist of the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest for his website Bypass Odorizer: Stinky Sulfur Smell Saves Lives. The Midland High School 10th grader will be heading to the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., June 12-16, where he will be competing with high school and middle school students from not only around the United States, but Guam, American Samoa and international schools in China, Korea, South Asia and Central America. Im going in there cold, he said. I have to be able to relate and be passionate about my work. You answer questions and just go in there and have fun. The judges are very nice. They just want to know more about you. The young man should know. This is his second trip to the finals, placing 11th for his website on Joseph Stalin last year. Under this years theme of Exploration, Encounter and Exchange in History, Parsons stayed closer to home, by developing a project about his grandfather, Charles E. Gill, who owned Natural Gas Odorizing Inc. in Bay Town, Texas. After a gas explosion killed more than 500 school children, Gill set to work inventing the Bypass Gas Odorizer, which consistently inserts a gaseous form of Mercaptan into a gas stream giving off an odor, allowing people to detect a natural gas leek. I wanted to do something unique, Parsons said. I got 11th place last year and I wanted to do a lot better. Eleventh place is amazing. I wanted to give the judges something they hadnt seen before. It would be very easy to interest them in something theyve never heard of before. It was family stories and a presentation his sister, Caroline LeCureux, presented in the third grade, that steered Parsons to dig deeper into his grandfathers life. But it wasnt easy for the son of Scott and Gabrielle Parsons, given the fact there isnt a lot of Internet information out there. Its a pretty small topic, but it is a huge story, he said. Looking on line I just found two references, just general information. I learned how to dig really deep into research. The internet was not a big source. I had to go into old company files, go to the library and use the microfiche and microfilms, looking at different aspects of odorization from articles written in the 1950s. One important item he did find on the Internet was his grandfathers patent on Google Patent. I was so excited, he said. I was totally jacked about it. I came across this fountain of gold. Given the undertaking, Parsons began last September, doing research, cross referencing what he had, and organizing the website. With research in hand and a working website, Parsons still had one more hurdle to get over - he didnt have a sponsor since Midland High doesnt participate in National History Day. It was a chance meeting at a rummage sale, that not only got him a sponsor, but a mentor as well. Neighbor Valentina Woodcraft, an associate scientist at The Dow Chemical Co., happened to be browsing through mom Gabrielle Parsons garage sale and the two got to talking. When Woodcraft found out Gabrielle had a child in high school, she offered to help in any capacity needed, and jumped at the chance to help out with the website. This is a tremendous opportunity to meet the grandchildren of the man who enabled the use of natural gas in the world safely, Woodcraft said. Prior to that invention, natural gas wasnt safely used. Woodcraft also had a family interest in the process. My grandfather and grandmother worked in the gas industry in Russia, she said. My grandfather worked at the local distribution sites and they actually have those odorizers at the stations he had to check. I was familiar with that as a child. Here I get to meet somebody who is a descendent of the inventor. That was very cool to me. I love to help when I see somebody who has talent, ability and desire to go out and seek things rather than sitting on their butt all day playing video games, Woodcraft said. Noting that Parsons is self propelled to find out what he wants to know, Woodcraft said all he needed was a bit of guidance. She also decided to sponsor him for the contest. It is a civic duty to help those individuals who self propel, she said. That guidance began with the laymans explanation of how a Bypass Odorizer actually works. My grandfather used monster words, Parsons said. It was very hard to understand, I looked at his masters thesis and his patent. (Woodcraft) explained it to me. She explained a lot of the science stuff and grammar. She learned English (Woodcraft was born in Russia) through grammar. She has better grammar than I do. The two also went through the website making changes here and there. She said, Hey, you might want to change this to that, Parsons said. What do I need to change it to, whats the correct way to say it? She refined my thesis. She asked a lot of questions and let me come to my own conclusions. The website begins with the explosion, followed by sections on the early gas industry, the crisis encountered, the process explored, the inventor emerges and the exchange of Bypass Odorization. The website has already picked up an award at the state level, winning the James Campbell Award for Best Use of Oral History at the Michigan History Day State Finals, sponsored by the Historical Society of Michigan on April 30 in Bay City. Parsons received a gift of $100. Woodcraft nominated Parsons for the Legacy Award from the Creativity Foundation, which comes from a codicil to Benjamin Franklins will to students who are curious, innovative and motivated. National History Day is a Model Legacy participant. He has also been nominated by staff at National History Day for the Corps of Discovery Prize from the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and the Discovery or Exploration in History prize. In addition, Parsons will attend the Breakfast on the Hill, where he will meet with members of Congress and discuss his project. This is such an amazing experience, he said. I had no idea there was this much history in my family. As for his path in life, Parsons is leaving his options open. So far, I really want to go into something involving business, he said. I found business and economic performance, history and politics intertwine. Im very interested in business and economics and I really like history and politics. The law is pretty cool too. Im a big people person. I want to find a good career where I can interact with people. Check out his website at http://56826246.nhd.weebly.com/the-race-is-on.html. For more information on National History Day, head to http://nhd.org. Vietnams export value to Canada over the first quarter of this year hit $836.1 million, making the country the largest supplier of goods to Canada in Southeast Asia. Data from Canadas statistic agency showed that Vietnams export value to Canada was up 23 percent on-year at $836.1 million, while import value was down 38.7 percent at $92.9 million. Machinery and electronic gadgets were Vietnam's key exports. Over the first three months, the export value of these products jumped 123 percent on year to touch $273 million, making up more than a third of Vietnams export value. Footwear also rose 33.5 percent on-year to touch $103 million, while textile products were up by 7.3 percent at $76 million. Imports from Canada also saw significant growth in the first quarter of 2016. Fertilizer recorded the highest value at $23.5 million, up 80 percent on year, while electrical appliances and components recorded the highest growth of 176.5 percent to reach $14.7 million. The ten countries in the region exported $2.9 trillion worth of goods to Canada in the first three months, up 5.4 percent on-year, while the import value was down 29.7 percent at $1 trillion. Laos had the largest export growth of 254 percent, while Cambodia had the most significant import growth of 226 percent. An 36-year-old Isabella County inmate who attempted suicide on Friday has died, the Isabella County Sheriffs Office reports. Cory Theis, of Grand Rapids, was an inmate in the Isabella County Jail and was found at 3:41 p.m. attempting to hang himself in a shower with a bedsheet. He was quickly assessed and corrections staff began CPR, a media release states. Mobile Medical Response paramedics, along with the Mount Pleasant Fire Department, continued CPR and treatment. During this time Theis began to breathe on his own and regained a pulse. He was taken to the McLaren-Central Michigan emergency room, then transferred to Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw. Theis died Monday evening. Theis was incarcerated on a Michigan Department of Corrections parole detainer and was also waiting to be sentenced for first-degree home invasion, conspiracy to commit home invasion, breaking and entering, larceny of vehicles and fraudulent activity. The investigation of the incident was turned over to the Michigan State Police to investigate, which is normal protocol. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Paris, France; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; and Beijing, China, June 28. Secretary Kerry will travel to Paris, France, June 24. The Secretary will participate in the French-hosted ministerial on Middle East peace, and meet separately with Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to discuss the Counter-ISIL Coalition efforts in Iraq and Syria, as well as a host of other issues. The Secretary will then travel to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where he will meet with senior government officials. He will also host a town hall with young leaders and attend a traditional Mongolian cultural festival. Secretary Kerry will travel to Beijing, China, June 57. Secretary Kerry and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew, as President Obamas Special Representatives, will join their respective Chinese co-chairs, State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Vice Premier Wang Yang, as President Xis Special Representatives, along with members of the U.S. delegation and their Chinese colleagues for the eighth U.S.China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). The Dialogue will focus on the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global areas of immediate and long-term economic and strategic interest. Secretary Kerry will also join Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong for the seventh annual U.S.China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE), to be held concurrently with the S&ED. The CPE promotes and strengthens people-to-people ties between the United States and China in the fields of education, culture, science and technology, sports, womens issues, and health. It provides a high-level annual forum for government and private-sector representatives to discuss cooperation on exchanges in a broad, strategic manner. WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Ash Carter will travel to Singapore to lead the U.S. delegation and deliver a keynote address June 4 at the 15th Asia Security Summit at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual conference hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Pentagon officials announced today. The secretary will be joined in Singapore by senior military leaders, including Chief of Naval Operations Navy Adm. John Richardson and the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Navy Adm. Harry Harris. Bilateral Meetings While in Singapore, the secretary will hold a number of bilateral meetings with regional counterparts, including Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, officials said. The annual forum will feature in-depth discussion on critical regional security topics, bringing together defense ministers, military chiefs, leading defense and security experts and representatives of the private sector from the Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe and other regions, they added. On his way to Singapore, officials said, the secretary will stop May 31 in Arizona, where he will visit Fort Huachuca, home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and a hub of Army activity in cybersecurity and remotely piloted vehicles. He will visit with troops at Fort Huachuca and get an update from leadership on key initiatives. MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- 'CONTACT FRONT'- the sound of metal to metal clanking echoes as the bolt slams forward and the magazine is put into the rifle. The instructor yells 'FIRE' and one last sound of the charging handle ricocheting back into place dissipates before a loud BANG rings throughout everyone's ears. In the Air Force, there exists a special cadre of security forces Airmen: combat arms training and maintenance instructors. These highly qualified instructors teach Airmen a multitude of weapon knowledge and capabilities through a rigorous CATM course. "The mission of combat arms is to train Airmen in peacetime to prepare for war," said Staff Sgt. Chelsea Moschell, 35th Security Forces Squadron assistant NCO in charge of combat arms. "We ensure all Air Force personnel who have to carry a weapon during their day-to-day mission know how to operate, be proficient and be safe with the rifle in case they need to operate it." CATM at Misawa AB has a unique mission because it not only trains U.S. Air Force personnel, but also Japanese National Civilian Guard members. "The mission is different because we train our bilateral counterparts, i.e., civilian guards, on the M-9 pistol and M-4 rifle like our security forces personnel," said Moschell. "We have to use a translator, so the students are able to understand what we're saying to them." CATM classes for USAF personnel take roughly a day, but due to the language barrier the civilian guard CATM class takes two. Day one consists of a classroom setting where instruction is given to familiarize everyone with the M-4 rifle and to learn proper weapon safety. Day two is dedicated to hands-on training where students fire the weapon to determine if they meet qualification standards. "Working with a translator is time consuming, hence our two day course, but instructors wouldn't have it any other way due to safety concerns," said Moschell. "Overall, it's a rewarding experience because even though there is a language barrier, we're still able to make each other laugh, have a good time, yet still remember weapon safety is always first." Due to manning constraints, members who fall under "Group A," e.g., security forces members, AF Office of Special Investigation agents, security forces augmentees, etc., are able to step in and be a range safety official when needed. "I had to take a five-day course to become qualified as a RSO," said Senior Airman Lauren Moschell, 35th SFS CATM range safety official and acting NCOIC of physical security. "As the RSO I ensure everyone on the firing line is practices proper safety procedures such as weapons level and down-range, no horseplay and follows the tower official's instructions." When given the opportunity to be an RSO for a day or two, SrA Moschell doesn't hesitate, knowing she gets to play a key role in qualifying her counterparts. "Getting the opportunity to work with the CG's and Japanese security guards is awesome," said SrA Moschell. "Being able to teach them our fundamentals and broaden that relationship with our partners is key in knowing we all are qualified the same." From training Airmen to bilateral partners, SSgt Moschell's passion for teaching always remains the same. "I love teaching," said SSgt Moschell. "Especially when students have that "ah-hah" moment and the light bulb finally turns on. This job is very rewarding, but I want my students to remember how to accurately use their weapon without even having to think, so when duty calls to protect themselves, their wingman, and base personnel, it's instilled in them as muscle memory." The State Bank of Vietnam has asked five state-run banks to extend the low-interest home loan package worth VND30 trillion ($1.3 billion) that was initiated in May 2013 to bolster the gloomy real estate market and help spur economic growth, according to a statement released on Tuesday. The central bank said the loan program will allow individuals and families, who are in need of housing and find it hard to access affordable loans, to get their hands on low-interest funds if they have signed their loan contracts before March 31, 2016. The government is trying to create conditions for individuals and families to get access to low-interest loans to buy, lease, build and revamp houses, said the central bank in the statement. Workers seen on a construction site for new apartments in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by Reuters Statistics show as of May 10, the five lenders that worked with the central bank to draw up the loan package have offered low-interest home loans worth VND34.8 trillion, of which 74 percent has been disbursed. The latest estimates indicate that as of May 20, the lenders have disbursed VND26.7 trillion. The central bank is considering whether to extend the loan program until the end of this year, for which it will need government approval. If the government decides to give the green light to the plan, the loan program will increase to an estimated VND32.7 trillion. BLOOMINGTON Democrats and Republicans will face off for three McLean County Board seats Nov. 8 after party-candidate filing ended Tuesday. Slated candidates those selected by local political officials for the general election because no party candidate ran in the March 15 primary include Democrats Jessielee Hinshaw and Kimberly Pfeifer, who will challenge Republican incumbents. Hinshaw, who works for The Illinois Network for Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, will take on District 3 member George Wendt. Pfeifer, a compliance analyst at State Farm, will challenge District 5 member David Selzer for a two-year term. Selzer was appointed after the resignation of Sondra "Sonny" O'Connor last fall. A third contest, Republican challenger Jacob Beard versus Democratic incumbent Victoria Harris for a District 7 seat, was set up months ago after both filed for the primary unopposed. Third-party candidates may file between June 20 and 27. Two slated candidates are in line to run unopposed: Scott Murphy, a District 2 Republican member appointed after the resignation of Matt Sorensen; and Laurie Wollrab, a District 6 Democratic member appointed after the resignation of Paul Finch. Wollrab is running for a two-year term. McLean County Democratic Party leadership issued a news release calling 2016 the "Year of the Woman" after Hinshaw, Pfeiffer and Wollrab stepped forward to be slated. "These women will bring new experiences and new perspectives to our County Board, (ensuring) diverse local voices are heard, said Democratic Party Chairman John Penn. Josh Barnett, who defeated District 10 Republican Ben Owens in the primary, is also in line to be unopposed this fall. Other incumbent members currently unopposed are District 1 Republican Catherine Metsker; District 4 Republican William Caisley; District 5 Republican John McIntyre; District 6 Democrat George Gordon; District 8 Democrat Carlo Robustelli; and District 9 Republican Susan Schafer. Republican officials slated Murphy after Sorensen withdrew from the fall ballot in May. Sorensen, then the board's chairman, resigned his seat in January after the release of a federal indictment accusing him of defrauding State Farm, but he had already filed for the March primary. Murphy, a write-in candidate, finished second in that vote to Sorensen. Charges against Sorensen are pending in federal court. Other county-level offices on the fall ballot include auditor, circuit clerk, coroner and state's attorney. Republican incumbents Michelle Anderson, Don Everhart, Kathy Davis and Jason Chambers, respectively, are currently unopposed. Davis defeated two Republican challengers, Dale Township Fire Chief Ryan Gibson and former Deputy Coroner Gary Morefield, in the primary election. HUDSON Breanne Smith remembers being a camper at Timber Pointe Outdoor Center and using its marina for boating. "It was fun," recalled Smith, now 26. "But it (the marina) got a little rickety after several years." By the time she returned to Timber Pointe as a staff member five years ago, the aging, wooden marina had become "a little scary" for Smith, who uses a wheelchair. "It was hard to transfer (campers and counselors in wheelchairs) from the dock to the boat because both would move," said Smith, who has caudal regression syndrome, which means she is missing the lower half of her spine. Some campers in wheelchairs decided against trying to get into a boat. "With the new one (marina), it's stationary," said Smith, of Mackinaw. "It doesn't wobble. It's so much easier and accessible. The campers this summer will love it." "The old one (marina) served its purpose but safety is most important," said Liz Lindstrom, 24, of Aurora, starting her fifth summer as a Timber Pointe staff member. Lindstrom, who has cerebral palsy, can walk briefly but generally uses a scooter. "It's safer," Lindstrom said of the new marina. "I'm excited that more people will have the opportunity" to go boating. Timber Pointe, owned and operated by Easter Seals Central Illinois, provides specialized camps and programs to people with disabilities and illnesses. "We'll see 2,000 campers and camp staff throughout summer," with most of them from Illinois, said Deb Townsend, executive director of Timber Pointe, which is at Lake Bloomington. Timber Pointe's previous marina formerly called the waterfront was erected in 1994 as a temporary structure and included a wooden pier and rock and fence sea wall, said David Bateman, a member of the Timber Pointe Charitable Foundation. "The dock was floating so transferring campers out of their wheelchairs and into pontoon boats and then back into their wheelchairs was labor-intensive and difficult," Townsend said. Over time, the wooden dock began to deteriorate and the sea wall began eroding, said Timber Pointe Facilities Manager Matt Wiser. The foundation raised $242,000 from The Woods Foundation (created by Robert J. Woods and Joan Jarrett Woods) in partnership with the Timber Pointe Charitable Foundation and Easter Seals Central Illinois, Bateman said. The new marina includes a steel frame boardwalk of composite decking, four stationary piers, two covered pontoon boat lifts and one canoe/kayak lift to make it easier to transfer campers and counselors with mobility impairments into and out of boats, Wiser said. The marina also includes a new shaded, steel sea wall to limit erosion and provide a place for fishing. "This will be advantageous to all our campers, not just campers in wheelchairs," Townsend said. "This encourages independence," said Gina Mandros, Easter Seals Central Illinois community president. "It's a huge success and a wonderful thing for the camp and campers," said foundation President Jim Waldorf. "I can't wait to see how many lives we can change with one simple addition," Lindstrom said. Paul Blackthorne, an American TV series star has headed to Vietnam since May 19 on a campaign to promote awareness about rhino conservation in a country which consumes up to 90 percent of rhinos poached from Africa. Rhinos were extinct in Vietnam since 2010 and now the country has rapidly grown into the worlds largest consumer of rhino horn. "You got some of the most incredible species in the world but you saw the last rhino in 2010, so that should be a lesson. Dont go make them go extinct everywhere else," Paul said. According to "Save the rhino" - an international organization that supports endangered rhinos in Africa and Asia, the rhino populations are in crisis, an insatiable demand for their horns is driving rhino poaching levels to unprecedented levels, and if this continues we are predicted to lose all our wild rhinos within the next decade. During the last three years, more than 3,000 rhinos have been illegally slaughtered in South Africa alone. It is estimated that an average of three rhinos are killed each day. This horrific trend is not only confined to South Africa but being witnessed across the globe, threatening all five of the remaining rhino species. Asias rhino horn trade appears to be linked directly with economic development and increasing levels of disposable income. Over the past decade Vietnam has experienced rapid economic growth, with demand soaring for wildlife products. Paul with Vietnamese diva, Hong Nhung. Photo by James Moore. Rhino horn is very desirable amongst the wealthy classes of Vietnam, where it is considered a symbol of power and wealth. It is also associated with business success and high social standing so in this campaign, Paul is trying to change that perception. "We want people to perceive that rhino horn in a very different way, not a symbol of status and wealth but a symbol of extortion because people are being conned to spend $6,000 per kilogram on this stuff (the horns) when it does nothing for you. It is also a symbol of terrorism funding, lots of the poaching that takes place is to fund terrorism. Its also a symbol of extinction because the creature has been around for 55 billion years and now in our generation, so its the responsibility of all of us, will be gone in 10 years currently of killing," he said. In Western countries, rhinos do present something too, but "its so prevalent in Vietnam, its such a consumer hot spot," he added. So far, Paul has done a lot of press, lots of television appearances, presentations and met with the government, business leaders, ambassadors, comedians and pop stars to promote the campaign in Vietnam. The campaign is expected to last for two weeks. Paul hopes that he could come to other countries like Kenya and South Afria in an effort to save rhrinos. Save the Rhino international is committed to addressing the source of the demand for rhino horn, and reduce consumer behaviour across Southeast Asia. Twenty three police officers from Vietnam, 17 other countries and Taiwan have attended a three- week training program in Hanoi starting May 31 to promote joint efforts to combat transnational child sexual exploitation, according to a statement from the Embassy of Australia in Vietnam released Tuesday. The Asia Region Law Enforcement Management Program (ARLEMP), which is held in Vietnam for the first time, will tackle issues involving online child sexual exploitation, child trafficking for sexual exploitation, and sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism. One of the most serious transnational crime threats in the Asia-Pacific region is child sexual exploitation, both via online exploitation through the production, access and distribution of child exploitation material and through abuse perpetrated by travelling child sex offenders, Australian Federal Police Manager of Victim Based Crime, Commander Glen McEwen, said at the opening ceremony on Tuesday. Because crime is no longer restricted to one country's borders, the exchange of information and the cooperation between police forces around the world is crucial, Chief Constable Frans Heeres of the National Police of the Netherlands added. Participants in the program that will last from May 31 to June 17 include those from Vietnam, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Timor-Leste. ARLEMP is a long-term partnership between Vietnams Ministry of Public Security through the General Department of Police, the Australian Federal Police and RMIT International University in Vietnam. Around 750 police from various countries have attended the course since 2005. "The Young and the Restless" is welcoming another face back in the daytime soap with the return of Elizabeth Hendrickson. Daytime Confidential reports that the actress will play as the troubled fashionista, Chloe Mitchell. Big Storyline Reports say that Hendrickson's appearance in Genoa City will not be short this time. The publication said that according to sources, there is going to be a big storyline for Chloe Mitchell, the ex-wife of Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) and Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart). Spoilers via Celeb Dirty Laundry bets on the story of Chloe bringing her child. The question now is who could be the father? Before she left for the treatment after her daughter, Delia Abbott (Sophia Pollono), passed away, she slept with Kevin. But she also stole a sperm sample of Billy Abbott because she was so obsessed of recreating her child. This baby daddy issue could shake things up between the current love teams, Mariah and Kevin, and Billy and Philly, CDL added. Quick Recap Chloe went into madness after Delia was run over by a car and died. She believed it was Adam Newman (Justin Hartley) who did it and so she also tried to kill him. It was Kevin who pointed out that Chloe was having some mental issues. Whether he brought her to the mental hospital or just let her be somewhere far, that remains to be unfold. Elizabeth Hendrickson, 36, is known for her role in "All My Children" from 2002 to 2007 as Maggie Stone, "Corn Star" (2013) and "Imaginary Bitches" (2008). She was with Y&R from 2008 to 2014 and she appeared in other primetime shows such as "NCIS: New Orleans" (2015) and "Major Crimes" (2015). Are you excited to see her back in "The Young and the Restless"? What do you think could be her long storyline? Shout out what you're thinking through the comment box below! "The Young and the Restless" airs Mondays to Fridays on CBS at 12:30 p.m. The continuous increase of Zika-recorded cases in the U.S. starts to worry many residents. The latest addition to the number of confirmed Zika cases was in Virginia, where there have been 18 reported victims. Due to the urgency of the threat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a level 2 alert for those who will be traveling to areas where the occurrence of the Zika virus is still high. Level 2 alert means "practice with enhanced precautions." According to WJLA, the 18 cases were located in different regions of the state. The highest number of cases reported in Virginia was in the central region, with the rest of the numbers spread almost evenly in other regions. Other states that were affected by the Zika virus include D.C, where four recorded cases were known. In Maryland, 17 cases were recorded. This rising number of Zika cases has prompted the World Health Organization to be more vigilant. NBC News reported that WHO issued guidelines for the practice of safe sex. Aside from this, it also recommended abstinence from sex for eight weeks. It can be recalled that previously, WHO recommended abstinence of four weeks. This new WHO guideline was made after it was discovered that the virus lingers longer in the blood. If a male is found to be exhibiting Zika virus symptoms, it is best to abstain contact for a period of 6 months. This is considered the safest period. At present, many U.S. states are looking at spraying infected areas with a mosquito repellent. The Department of Agriculture of Maryland is already looking at this option to combat Zika in the state. The efforts being conducted by the government to arrest Zika are promising. Although there is no guarantee that Zika can be prevented from entering the U.S., these efforts can still greatly help in preventing its spread. Johnny Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, has come to his defense amid divorce drama with Amber Heard. The 17-year-old Chanel model said that her actor dad, who recently starred on "Alice Through The Looking Glass," is the "sweetest most loving person" she knew. In two Instagram posts, Lily-Rose Depp showed her support to her dad. She shared a throwback photo of herself as a toddler with the young-looking Johnny Depp holding her hands. "My dad is the sweetest most loving person I know, he's been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother and I," Lily-Rose Depp captioned the cute photograph. She added that everyone who knew Johnny Depp would agree to her statement. A photo posted by Lily-Rose Depp (@lilyrose_depp) on May 29, 2016 at 4:57am PDT In another Instagram post, Lily-Rose Depp shared a screengrab of an article that shows a police sergeant's statement that "there was no evidence of any crime" and "the person reporting the crime [Heard] did not insist on a report." It can be recalled that Amber Heard was granted a restraining order against Johnny Depp after she claimed that her estranged husband physically abused her during a "drug and alcohol-fueled fight" on May 21. A photo posted by Lily-Rose Depp (@lilyrose_depp) on May 29, 2016 at 2:50pm PDT Lily-Rose Depp's mother, Vanessa Paradis, also leaped to the defense of her ex-husband. The French actress said that Amber Heard's domestic abuse allegations against Johnny Depp are "outrageous," as per Daily Mail's report. Vanessa Paradis disclosed that Johnny Depp was never abusive to her in their 14 years of being a couple. Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp were married from 1998 to 2012 and have two children, Lily-Rose Depp and 14-year-old Jack Depp. Aside from Lily-Rose Depp and Vanessa Paradis, Johnny Depp has also earned the support of his friends including comedian Doug Stanhope. In a column with The Wrap, Doug Stanhope alleged that Amber Heard threatened Johnny Depp "to lie about him publicly in any and every possible duplicitous way" if the actor will not agree to her terms. What can you say about Lily-Rose Depp's gestures to defend her dad Johnny Depp? Leave some comments below. A 12-year-old aspiring scientist in Mexico has apparently found "proof" that vaccination and autism are linked. The young boy created a video to show his discovery. But the video was actually a slap on anti-vaxxers. Marco Arturo's video post on vaccination and autism links via Facebook has drawn nearly 4 million views since May 25. In it, the young boy showed a folder containing evidence that he has found the links after doing extensive research. Except that the folder is actually empty. Instead, Marco Arturo pointed out in his video that there is "absolutely no evidence to support the statement that vaccines are linked to autism in any way whatsoever," he said. He also implored parents to vaccinate their kids. Watch the video below: Marco Arturo is on the right track as a budding scientist given that discoveries linking vaccines to autism have long been discredited. In fact, after countless of studies, the Center for Disease Control has confirmed that there really is no link, via its Autism info page. Romper cites nine actual studies on vaccination and autism links, which have been done over the years but have the same conclusions. Yet, the argument on whether vaccines cause autism still rages on among pro and anti-vaxxers in light of the fact that many diseases, which should've already been eradicated, are resurfacing. Proponents of vaccination said that since many parents are still choosing to keep their children unvaccinated for fear it may turn their babies autistic, infectious diseases -- such as measles or rubella, or polio, or the black plague -- are becoming more prevalent again. Meanwhile, anti-vaxxers are not partial to science, despite the countless studies debunking the myth, per Windsor Star. Where are you on the debate about vaccinations? What do you think of the video created by Marco Arturo? Sound off in the comments below! The worst drought and saltwater intrusion in almost a century has cost Vietnam VND15 trillion ($669 million) so far this year in agriculture losses, according to a government report. The southern Mekong Delta, Vietnams largest rice-growing region, has been hardest hit by the worst drought since French colonial administrators began recording statistics in 1926. The Department for Agricultural Economy under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, which conducted the assessment of the drought, said the country's south central region, Central Highlands and southern Mekong Delta have been hit hard. Lam Thi Loi, a farmer, holds a bundle of dead rice that was killed by a combination of drought and salt water in Soc Trang Province. Photo courtesy of The New York Times The historic natural disaster has taken a heavy toll on agricultural production. Thousands of hectares of fruit, rice and sugar crops have been destroyed. It is estimated that nearly 250,000 hectares of paddy fields have dried up, and Vietnam's rice output is likely to fall this year for the first time since 2005. The Mekong Delta's winter-spring output fell 10.2 percent from last year, but total production could fall by just 1.5 percent to 44.5 million tons this year, Reuters cited a government official as saying, explaining that the decline will be limited as farmers expand their plantations for the current and final crops. "Overall the annual paddy output will only be short by 700,000 tons," said Tran Cong Dinh, deputy head of the Agriculture Ministry's Crops Department. Seafood off the menu Vietnam exports $7 billion of seafood a year, mostly from waters off its southern coast, and the industry has started to feel the impact. Thousands of hectares of farmed aquatic products have been seriously affected. A boy searches for small insects in a parched field in Soc Trang Province. Photo courtesy of The New York Times The southernmost province of Ca Mau, which accounts for 25 percent of the countrys shrimp production, has lost VND260 billion after the drought and saltwater intrusion killed 52,000 hectares of farmed shrimp. Local authorities in Ca Mau are concerned that the affected area will double to 100,000 hectares if the harsh weather continues. Adverse weather conditions, including the prolonged drought and saltwater intrusion in the southern Mekong Delta, and the mass fish deaths in central provinces, have been blamed for the countrys economic slowdown in the first quarter. Statistics show Vietnams gross domestic growth in the first quarter reached only 5.6 percent, lower than the 6.7 percent recorded in the same period last year. The World Bank last month revised down Vietnams GDP growth rate to 6.2 percent from its previous estimate of 6.5 percent after taking into account the impacts of the historic natural disaster. An 8-year-old girl, who has been suffering from prune belly syndrome all her life, has been given a new lease on life thanks to one of the teachers in her school at the Oakfield Elementary School in Wisconsin. Natasha Fuller received part of Jodi Schmidt's kidney for a complicated procedure, but doctors at the Froedtert Hospital say that both are now doing fine. Before the kidney transplant, Natasha Fuller had to get frequent dialysis due to the complications of her rare condition. Prune belly syndrome affects the abdominal muscles, which results in renal failure and the young girl has been receiving treatments at the Milwaukee Children's Hospital for several years. Because she would often have tubes attached to her body, Natasha Fuller didn't get to enjoy the things most kids her age do. She couldn't swim, nor ride a bike, nor hula hoop. So, her family decided to enlist her for kidney transplant, per ABC 7. Meanwhile, Jodi Schmidt signed up for tests when she learned that the Fuller family was looking for a potential match for Natasha. In March, doctors told Jodi that she's a good candidate and the procedure was then scheduled, per New York Daily News. Jodi Schmidt told the Fuller family of her intentions via a gift-wrapped message. Her husband said that he's sure his wife was nervous about the impending transplant, but she was determined to do this. Fortunately, the procedure went on successfully and now the two share a unique bond together. Jodi Schmidt checked up on Natasha Fuller hours after the transplant and said that she's very excited to see what's in store for the 8-year-old now that she can have a normal life. "I can't wait to watch her get married, go to prom and all that kind of stuff," the teacher said, per USA Today. She calls Natasha her kidney twin. Meanwhile, the Fuller family is grateful for the support they received from the community and the Oakfield Elementary School in particular. They hope that Natasha's story will inspire others to become organ donors via the Wisconsin Donor Registry. The Duggars have been in the spotlight for over a decade. Unfortunately, due to Josh Duggar's molestation scandal, the family lost their long-time running reality show, "19 Kids and Counting." However, according to reports, the family wants to regain their fame and return to the small screens again. The Duggars Want to Return To The Small Screens Earlier reports suggest that Josh Duggar is broke and wants to return to TV. However, it seems that he is not alone on his goal. According to reports, the Duggars want the same. Per the Examiner, the controversial family realizes that the "19 Kids and Counting" spinoff "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" will not flourish without the support of their fans. In view of this, the Duggars encourages fans to bombard the social media with the hashtag #BringtheDuggarsBack to get the attention of TLC and renew the show for the second season. "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" is a special episode on TLC that became a hit, due to the large volume of Duggar followers. The network decided to turn it into a mini-series, similar to the family reality show, "19 Kids and Counting." Their loyal fans were delighted that the Duggars are back and they extended the same support. "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" performed well in ratings. Some naysayers claimed that it is unlikely for the show to be renewed but their followers are hopeful that it will spawn a new season. Josh Duggar Has Less Chances Of Returning Parent Herald previously reported that some fans want to see Josh Duggar back. They find Josh and Anna a good inspiration in keeping a marriage intact despite his infidelity and porn addiction. However, it is unlikely for fans to see Josh on TV again. Per the Hollywood Gossip, TLC has already assured fans and advertisers that the eldest member of the "19 Kids and Counting" clan will never appear on the Duggar's show. In fact, Josh is a persona non grata on the network. Do you want Josh and the rest of the Duggars to return on TV? Do you agree that Josh is an inspiration? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. Australia may only have one regional autism center dedicated to early learning and care for children with autism at the moment, but it has served its purpose well. Research has found that the children studying in the center and in its four satellite centers have improved in many different aspects of their lives. The University of Tasmania Rural Clinical School investigated the Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre (ASELCC) in Burnie. ABC.net.au reported that in over four years, most of the 98 children who attended the Burnie centre had better behavior, communication, language development and motor skills. The same was true for the two satellites in Devonport and the remaining ones located in Smithton and King Island. #Autism study shows early intervention helping children in regional areas https://t.co/ojkuUROexo via @abcnews Anna Kennedy OBE (@AnnaKennedy1) May 31, 2016 ASELCC And Satellites Meeting Objective "The ASELCC curriculum is designed to support and enhance the abilities of children with ASD to participate in childcare, early education, and interact with other young people. Our findings suggest these centres are meeting this important objective," said study co-author Miranda Stephens as per the Health Canal. Stephens is a Clinical Psychology Lecturer at the University of Tasmania Rural Clinical School. Kathryn Fordyce, another author of the study was quoted by The Advocate as saying that even though Northwest Tasmania was a small community, it has been able to know more about autism through the help of the ASELCC. In this light, Fordyce, the manager of the ASELCC, said that the centre has helped not only the children with autism, but the community as well. Involving The Child, Family And Community According to the centre's website, it caters to children with autism spectrum disorders who are aged zero to six. Early learning programs and specific support are given to the children while in a "long day care setting." Sessions with children are of three types. The long morning session commences from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., the day session is from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm while a full-time weekly session starts from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. on weekdays. Programs for each child are developed in consultation with the family. The ASELCC also helps families and parents care for their children and also helps the local community be capable of providing support to children with autism and their families. Think again before you take another dose of opioid to relieve chronic pain. A new study found out that instead of killing pain as opioids are supposed to, it may prolong the agony instead for many months. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the latest research found out that opioids may actually worsen pain by sending signals to immune cells located in the spinal cord. The study team from the University of Colorado Boulder used laboratory mice to observe how opioids work inside the body, and the implications their findings may mean to humans (via Fox News). First, a peripheral nerve injury sends signals to damaged nerve cells, activating glial cells that are responsible for removing unwelcomed waste and microorganisms. Once the person feels the first outbreak of pain, glial cells are awakened to work. However, after five days of opioid intake, glial cells work more than enough and sends off a signal from inter-leukin-1beta (IL-1b), a protein that can cause pain in the spinal cord and brain for many months(via Fox News). In the U.S. as per American Society of Addiction Medicine, 1.9 million Americans in 2014 developed a substance addiction to pain relievers. Drug overdose is the number one cause of accidental deaths with 18,893 cases related to prescription pain relievers. On 2015, more than 20,000 Americans died because of opioid abuse (Fox News). Opioids are prescribed by doctors to kill moderate and severe pain among their patients. The patient can eventually become dependent on the medication every time he/she feels pain, but a physician must be consulted for long-term use(via Patient). Do you take opioids when you feel chronic pain? Based on your experience, did it work or not to relieve your pain? Share your story on the comments section below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates. Digestive experts have said in a report that there are disturbing statistics showing obesity and other digestive health issues are affecting children in Europe. They also said that children are not being treated for digestive health issues in a way that is tailor-fitted for their age. The report, called "Paediatric Digestive Health Across Europe" was commissioned by United European Gastroenterology (UEG). It contains insights from paediatric gastrointestinal specialists, some coming from the UEG and current and past presidents of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). Children's digestive health across Europe in crisis, with vastly insufficient health care or research on solutions https://t.co/qQaIUE1VjX Sarah Robertson (@RRI_Director) May 31, 2016 Digestive Health Report Highlights Data from 46 European countries show that one in three children from ages six to nine is overweight or obese. According to The Guardian, the report said that come 2025, overweight children all over the world aged under five would be 70 million from today's 41 million. Another area of concern is that 20-30% of all inflammatory bowel disease cases can now be traced to children and that. Lastly, children as young as age 3 have been diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The disease has reportedly become the most prevalent cause of chronic liver disease among children and adolescents in Western countries. Digestive Health Treatment For Children Not Specialized The experts found out that in a number of aspects of digestive health, children are being cared for in the same way as adults, according to EurekAlert. "It is important for stakeholders and policy makers to appreciate that children have complex physical, psychological and social needs and these must be met by trained paediatric specialists to improve the accessibility of optimal care for children today and in future generations," said Professor Berthold Koletzko, President of ESPGHAN. Koletzko revealed that despite the rise of gastrointestinal diseases in Europe, pediatric health is only one out of 58 topics receiving research funding from the European Union. "Priorities need to change quickly to appreciate the specific issues of paediatric digestive provision and ensure greater investment into prevention, cost-effective diagnostic measures and harmonized training," Koletzko said, as per MedicalXpress. Private schools in Australia receive more government funding than public schools. Mid-range private schools are reportedly set to receive around $1000 more from the federal and state government by 2020. There's No Equity The recent info was based on nationwide funding trends recorded between 2009 and 2014, the Sydney Morning Herald reported from think tank Center for Policy Development, or CPD. Colette Colman, executive director of Independent Schools Council of Australia, argued that the think tank's funding projections are based on imperfect suppositions. Colman said the 2015-16 Commonwealth Budget data indicated that federal funding for government schools exceeded than what non-government schools received. The report agreed with Colman's assessment, but it also noted that public funding to government schools rose by lower than three percent annually from 2009 to 2014. Non-government schools, however, got a six-percent increase in public funding. The CPD said radical reforms should be done to solve this funding inequality. They suggested implementing a freeze on funding increases to non-government schools so the money will be distributed equally. Ross Fox, executive director of the National Catholic Education Commission, said delaying the funds of Catholic and independent schools would possibly increase school fees and taxes. This will likely be shouldered by parents and the working class. Funding Battles Kansas is locked in a crisis where public and private schools aren't funded equally. Public schools in the state, especially in poorer districts with little property wealth, are receiving less funding from the government, according to a report from the New York Times. Students in poor districts like Kansas City and Wichita are overcrowding in buildings with poor conditions. In Canada, private and independent schools are funded by taxpayers, while public schools remain overlooked and underfunded, CBC reported. Jim Iker, the president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, said public schools deserve taxpayer-raised money more. A total of $358 million were provided to private schools in Canada this year, while some public schools are being closed due to lack of money. Parents Like Private Schools Better Parents usually prefer private schools after trying out public schools. They think public schools cannot offer the same quality of education the private ones provide. The preference is also due to social capital, religious reasons and forming relationships with influential people who can help your career, according to Charles Ungerleider, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia. Ungerleider said public schools offer competitive programs like private schools, but small enrollment numbers affect this. The full potential of the academic programs cannot be utilized if there's only a small amount of students. The DC Extended Universe is definitely setting itself apart from TV, and there is no one more annoyed about it than "Arrow" star Willa Holland. The young actress has just spoken up about how DCEU killed "Arrow" plans for Suicide Squad characters in the show and declared that Grant Gustin should play Barry Allen in "The Flash" movie! Willa Holland Attacks DCEU For Ruining "Arrow" Suicide Squad Plans Willa Holland recently attended the MCM London Comic Con, where she casually discussed how DCEU squashed "Arrow" plans for the show's Suicide Squad story arc. The CW series has already introduced Suicide Squad characters like Amanda Waller, Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot and Harley Quinn, but they were all unceremoniously written off "Arrow" to make way for the upcoming "Suicide Squad" film. "When DC found out they were going to be doing their own movie we had to axe all of the characters before we even got to show them," Willa Holland said during the MCM London Comic Con (via Mirror). However, the "Arrow" Suicide Squad characters were not the only one who got the snub from DCEU. Willa Holland Takes DC to Task Over Forcing 'Arrow' to Kill Off 'Suicide Squad' https://t.co/N9Mg2RXW1l pic.twitter.com/mR7kW5aasA Comics Alliance (@comicsalliance) June 1, 2016 Should Grant Gustin Play The Flash In The "Justice League" Films? Willa Holland also spoke out about how DCEU decided to recast Barry Allen in the upcoming "Justice League" movies as well as "The Flash" solo film (via Youtube). The "Arrow" actress pointed out that her co-star Stephen Amell initially believed that he would portray Oliver Queen in the "Justice League" movies but the character seems to have been completely ignored. "When Stephen found out there was going to be a 'Justice League' movie it only seemed, rightly so, he would be playing Green Arrow on it as well as Grant playing the Flash," Holland told the audience at MCM London Comic Con. "It just seemed like the right normal answer." However, things didn't work out the way they should for the stars of "Arrow" and "The Flash," and Willa Holland believes they shouldn't bite the hand that feeds them. "Once they said no, you can't really fight against them for it, because they are the people that gave us a job in the first place," Holland stated. "You just have to sit there on your hands, like okay, I get it!" Barry Allen will be portrayed by Ezra Miller in the upcoming "The Flash" solo film. Amanda Waller will be played by Viola Davis in "Suicide Squad," which will also feature Will Smith as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot. Do you think Grant Gustin is the right guy to play Barry Allen in "Justice League" and "The Flash" solo film? Let us know in the comments. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions A promising student who dreamed of going to university, Mary was 16 when a woman approached her mother at their home and offered to take the Nigerian teenager to Italy to find work. Pushed to go by her family who hoped she would lift them out of poverty, Mary ended up being trafficked into prostitution. Her voice faltering, Mary described three years of being forced to sell her body, beatings, threats at gunpoint and being made to watch as a 14-year-old virgin was raped with a carrot before being sent on to the streets of Turin in northwest Italy. After being arrested by Italian police, Mary was repatriated to Nigeria's southern Edo state in 2001, but she was rejected by her family and left feeling like a failure. "I returned with nothing," Mary, now 35, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Benin city in Edo. "I hated myself." While Mary's ordeal ended 15 years ago, a soaring number of Nigerian girls like her are being trafficked to Europe - mainly Italy - and forced to sell sex by gangs taking advantage of the chaos caused by the migrant crisis, anti-slavery activists say. Thousands of women and girls are lured to Europe each year with the promise of work, then trapped by huge debts and bound to their traffickers by a religious ritual - the curse of juju. "The victims are getting younger as girls, mainly those in rural areas, are more likely to focus on the positive stories of those who made it to Europe and didn't end up in prostitution," said Katharine Bryant of the Walk Free Foundation rights group. She spoke ahead of the launch of the third Global Slavery Index, which found Nigeria has the world's eighth highest number of slaves - 875,500 - and is a key source country for women trafficked to Europe and sold into sex work. Bound by Juju More than nine in 10 of the Nigerian women trafficked to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state with a population of about 3 million, according to the United Nations. While Edo is not among the country's poorest states, its history of migration to Italy has fuelled locals' hopes of easy money in Europe - leaving people vulnerable to traffickers, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. Before going to Europe, women and girls must sign a contract with traffickers to finance their move, racking up debts of up to $100,000. They then must seal the pact with a juju ritual. "I was taken to a native doctor's shrine, and told to bite the neck of a chicken to add its blood to a concoction made with bits of my hair and fingernails, and my underwear," Mary said. This belief in black magic means victims fear they or their family may fall ill or die if they do not pay off their debts. Most of the women and girls know they will have to sell sex but are pressured by their families and deceived by traffickers, said Nigeria's anti-human trafficking agency (NAPTIP). Many have no idea they will live under the control of older "madams" and be forced to work for several years to clear their debts, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Madams, who make up almost half of traffickers in Nigeria, are mostly former victims who target others in order to escape prostitution - perpetuating a cycle of exploitation, the UNODC said in its latest global report on human trafficking. Migrant crisis Traffickers and gangs in Nigeria are now exploiting Europe's migration crisis - moving girls to lawless Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean to Italy on flimsy, overloaded boats, said Bryant from the Walk Free Foundation. More than 5,600 Nigerian women and girls arrived in Italy by sea last year, up from 1,200 in 2014, and at least four in five were trafficked into sex work, the IOM said. At least 1,250 Nigerian women have landed in Italy this year, up from 373 for the same period in 2015, IOM data shows. Traffickers also take victims to Europe by plane, using forged documents and flying via other West African countries to avoid suspicion, said Mikael Jensen of the UNODC. British airports such as Gatwick are increasingly used as entry points by Nigerian trafficking gangs with forged documents, Spanish police said earlier this year. "Many traffickers are careful with their goods, they don't want to risk them on a dangerous sea crossing," Jensen said. About 3,770 migrants and refugees died in 2015 crossing the Mediterranean, making it the deadliest year on record for those fleeing conflict and poverty, according to the IOM. Re-trafficked Human trafficking by Nigerian organized crime gangs is one of the greatest challenges facing police forces across Europe, according to the EU's law enforcement agency Europol. A lack of coordination between European states and Nigeria is allowing traffickers to act with impunity, said Kevin Hyland, who was appointed Britain's first anti-slavery chief in 2014. "There has been some progress, but it's been a piecemeal plan, and responsive rather than proactive," Hyland said. Nigerian anti-trafficking official Arinze Orakwe said more European nations should criminalize the purchase of sex to curb the number of Nigerians trafficked into prostitution in Europe. "If nobody is buying, nobody will sell," said the official at NAPTIP, which has rescued some 1,340 victims in Nigeria over the past year, and works with NGOs to support them. The Women Trafficking and Child Labor Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) clothes and feeds victims, provides counseling and attempts to reunite them with their families. "But sometimes families are hostile, and not interested in getting them back," said WOTCLEF coordinator Veronica Umaru. Disillusioned by her parents' disappointment at her return home, Mary hoped to go back to Italy before being resocferred to Girls' Power Initiative, a Nigerian NGO that housed her, trained her to run a business and encouraged her to help other victims. Yet Mary says many former victims have been re-trafficked to Italy, and fears not enough is being done to stop traffickers or persuade women and girls not to go abroad and into prostitution. "Girls today, unlike me, know exactly what they are in for when they agree to go to Italy to work," Mary says tearfully. "But they do not understand the trauma they will face." Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Last July Patently Apple posted a report titled "Xiaomi's Barra Says that they can't allow a Company (Apple) to Take Ownership of Smartphone Design." We noted in the report that "Xiaomi's Barra hinted in a segment of a Bloomberg interview that Xiaomi will be selling smartphones in the U.S. market within the next 18-24 months. When asked about the potential problems of fighting patents, Barra noted that they're licensing what they'll need to sell smartphones in the US but are also building a war chest of patents to defend against any potential lawsuits." Today we're learning that Xiaomi just signed a deal with Microsoft for their IP. According to the South China Morning Post, "High-flying Chinese smartphone supplier Xiaomi is bulking up on its patents for smoother international expansion by forming a partnership with software giant Microsoft, the company said Wednesday. Xiaomi said it had purchased nearly 1,500 technology patents from Microsoft covering the fields of video, cloud technology and wireless communication. Microsoft transferred to Xiaomi patents to help ease the firm's operations in new markets, according to a spokesman from Microsoft. "Xiaomi is looking to build sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders," said Wang Xiang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, who leads its supply chain and intellectual property teams. Faced with declining smartphone sales at home, Xiaomi is trying expand to other countries, including India and the US." If Hugo Barra's forecast comes to fruition, then Xiaomi is likely to land in the US sometime in 2017. In a Microsoft press release they stated that "Microsoft Corp. and Xiaomi Inc. have expanded their global partnership to provide innovative user experiences on mobile devices. As part of the agreement, Xiaomi will ship Microsoft Office and Skype on Xiaomi Android smartphones and tablets. As a result, tens of millions of consumers and business customers in China, India and around the world will have new ways to work, collaborate and communicate. The companies new collaboration also includes a cross-license and patent transfer agreement. Beginning in September 2016, Xiaomi Android devices, including Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3, will come pre-installed with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype applications. Specific offerings may vary by device, market and mobile operator. This agreement builds on the companies partnership with Windows 10 on Mi Pad and Microsoft Azure powering the Mi Cloud service." About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. I just came across this story from early May about a lecture given by Pulitzer Prize winning geography professor Jared Diamond titled The Evolution and Function of Human Religion. Diamond is best known for his books Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Hes demonstrated a brilliant insight into human behavior and if he has thoughts on the evolution of religion I thought Id like to hear them. Ever since I realized Genesis is not literally true Ive wondered about the origins of religion. Humans are the only animals with religion it had to arise somewhere in our evolutionary history. As non-theistic anthropologists like to point out, religion is costly if it didnt provide an evolutionary advantage, it would have died out long ago. But it hasnt, so it must provide some tangible benefits. Diamond lists six benefits of religion: Explaining the natural world, absent scientific understanding of the universe. Diffusing anxiety over dangers beyond human control. Providing comfort in the face of pain, suffering and mortality. Teaching obedience toward political leaders. Teaching peaceful behavior toward strangers within ones own society. Justifying killing enemies from other societies. This list isnt bad, but its not particularly original Ive seen variations on it from other sources. It lacks building group identity and cohesion which is frequently cited as the primary non-theistic driver of religion. And by Diamonds own admission, the final three items are unique to the relatively modern organized religions they are not present in tribal religions, and #4 and #6 are in decline in the liberal religions. There are two serious problems with the list, though. The first is the idea that religion evolved to explain the natural world, absent scientific understanding of the universe. When we read stories of Apollo driving the sun across the sky in a chariot or Ra traversing the perils of the underworld each night to bring the sun back to the east, we are reading myths stories people told themselves to give their world meaning and structure. To imply the ancients thought they were literally true because they didnt have proper science is an ethnocentric insult. Look at the precision with which the pyramids are laid out. Look at the stellar alignments at Gobekli Tepe. Look at the midwinter sunrise at Newgrange. These were sophisticated people with exactly the same brainpower we have they understood the natural world quite well. But unlike many of us, they didnt try to convince themselves that literal truth is the only truth. But whats really missing from this list is anything resembling religious experience. Christianity as we know it began with Pauls Damascus Road experience of Jesus. Islam began when the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad. Buddhism began when Siddhartha Gautama sat under the Bodhi tree until he received enlightenment and became the Buddha. The traditional religions Diamond supposedly knows so well from his decades-long work with tribal cultures of New Guinea are based on the near-constant experience of ancestors and spirits, with customs and rituals designed to keep people in right relationship with them. Experience, experience, experience. It is possible to study religion and its origins and only consider non-theistic hypotheses. It cant be done particularly well, but it can be done. But it is impossible to make even a half-hearted attempt to explain the origins and evolution of religion without considering the impact of the interaction of humans with Gods and spirits. Call them numinous forces if you cant bring yourself to even consider the existence of Gods and spirits, but at the very least academic integrity demands that a researcher pay serious attention to what the objects of said research actually say theyre doing. Theres a lot we can learn from Jared Diamond here its just not what he intended to teach. Its hard to study something you dont believe is real. Now, we all know religion is real drive down the street or turn on the TV and you can see it. But theres a difference between recognizing something exists and accepting that people find meaning and power in it. We need not accept every faith claim of every religion to understand theres something to it, even if a dispassionate dissection cant quite figure out what it is. A quote alternative attributed to Confucius and George Bernard Shaw (both incorrectly) says people who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. If you want to understand the origins of religion, to go talk to someone whos having a religious experience. Or better yet, go talk to someone who can show you how to have one of your own. The Gods move according to Their own desires and we cannot command Them to appear for our amusement (or even for our education), but there are practices, rituals, and techniques that have been shown to be quite helpful in facilitating communication between humans and spirits. Our mainstream culture tells us religion is all about what we believe. Theres a place for belief in modern Paganism and polytheism, but that place comes after experience. Meet the Gods. Meet the ancestors. Meet the spirits of the land where you are. Feel their presence. Listen to them speak sometimes in words, other times in feelings and impressions. Experience them for yourself. Then, when its over, you can start to think about what you believe about it. Even after youve had time to start forming beliefs, resist the urge to cut open the goose that laid the golden eggs. Remember the words of chaos magician Peter Carroll: magic works in practice but not in theory. Religious theory helps us locate our practices and beliefs within the wider world, but it is not necessary to prove its real. Our proof comes in living our lives: does our religion help us live fuller, more meaningful lives? Does it help us form and strengthen connections with other people, other tribes, and other species? Does it help us draw close to the Gods and to Their virtues and values? So yes, if you want to investigate the origins of religion, you can dispassionately dissect all the worlds religion, distill it down and see what remains. Youll find something whether its meaningful or not remains to be seen. But if you really want to understand the origins of religion, begin with the reality of religious experience. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Iranian Gold Miners Lashed for Protesting Layoffs 06/01/16 Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran Seventeen miners in northwestern Iran have been lashed on orders of the Judiciary after their employer sued them for protesting the firing of hundreds of their colleagues, the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported on May 25, 2016. In December 2014, miners at the Agh Darreh gold mine in West Azerbaijan Province protested in front of the mines guard station after 350 miners were laid off. Pouya Zarkan, the company that operates the mine, filed a complaint and 17 of the miners were summoned to court. The miners were sentenced to between 30 to 100 lashes each and fined up to five million rials ($164 USD) based on two separate court rulings made in the city of Takab, according to their lawyer Vahid Yari, who represented all 17 miners. The United Nations has declared lashing a cruel and inhuman punishment tantamount to torture. In the first court case, according to Yari, eight miners were accused of preventing people from conducting business by brawling and creating noise, insulting the company guard, destroying the guards clothes and detaining him illegally, and deliberate destruction of the companys sign. In the second case, nine miners were accused of preventing people from conducting business by brawling and creating noise. In 2014 three of the workers who were fired by Pouya Zarkan attempted to commit suicide, but survived after being hospitalized, according to ILNA. I have been a seasonal worker with minimum wages at this mine for a few years, one of the miners who tried to take his own life told Eghtesad News on January 3, 2015. Neither I nor the other workers have felt good about knowing we could be fired at any time, he said. When I realized that no one cares about my job and my familys fate, I decided to end my life. Independent unions are not allowed to function in Iran, workers are routinely fired and risk arrest for striking, and labor leaders are prosecuted under national security charges and sentenced to long prison terms. Europeans are new customer of Iranian heavy water 06/01/16 Source: Tehran Times TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Salehi, chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, announced on Tuesday that European countries seek to buy 20 tons of heavy water from Iran. He also said Iran will sell 32 tons of heavy water to the U.S. only after it receives the money for it. Ali Akbar Salehi, chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran On Sunday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the U.S. is about to pay for the heavy water it has purchased from Iran. On Sunday, Salehi also said Iran is negotiating with Russia to sell 40 tons of heavy water to the country. In an interview with RIA Novosti on Monday Russian envoy to international organizations Vladimir Voronkov said "the Americans have bought a significant amount of it [heavy water]. Moreover, Rosatom is thinking and is likely to follow this path." Producing stable isotopes in Fordow The AEOI chief also said that new activities are planned to be carried out in Fordow such as producing stable isotopes. Many scientific works for producing stable isotopes have been done through cooperation with Russia, Salehi said. He also said part of the Fordow nuclear plant will be turned into very advanced technical and scientific laboratory. Salehi, a nuclear physicist, said IR1 centrifuges will be installed in Fordow to produce isotopes. According to the terms of the nuclear deal between Iran and Western powers struck in July 2015, Iran will convert the Fordow facility into a nuclear, physics and technology center. Also, international collaboration including in the form of scientific joint partnerships will be established in agreed areas of research. Iran inks economic agreements in Finland, Poland 06/01/16 Source: Press TV Iran has struck a number of economic agreements worth some 1.2 billion dollars during an Iranian delegation's trip to Poland and Finland, says an official. Foreign companies and investors are eager in making deals with Iran after the nuclear agreement reached. (cartoon by Salman Taheri, Iranian daily Shahrvand) Mohsen Jalalpour, head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture told the official IRNA news agency on Wednesday that Iran's economic delegation signed 50 agreements; 30 in Poland and 20 in Finland, in different sectors. The agreements were either in the form of contracts or memorandums of understanding (MoUs), added the official, noting that some $700 million worth of deals were inked in Poland and the rest were sealed in Finland. Jalalpour said the agreements in Poland mostly involved economic cooperation over power plants (worth $240mn) and fisheries (worth nearly $200mn). He said the $500mn deals in Finland were sealed on information and communications technologies (ICT) as well as industrial machineries. The agreements were reached during the European tour of Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif, whose visits are aimed at developing energy ties, joint investments and the exchange of trade delegations among others. Zarif arrived in Warsaw on Sunday on the first leg of his official European tour at the head of the 60-strong politico-economic delegation. Official data shows the value of Iranian exports to Poland stood at $13 million while the imports were at $13 million in the first five months of 2015. Polish officials say trade between the nations could rise within a few years to one billion dollars. Iran's top diplomat is also due in Sweden and Latvia for more economic exchange on the final leg of his latest European trip. "Why Do They Hate Us?": Ask the Catfish! 06/01/16 By Kambiz Zarrabi, June 1, 2016 Imagine a kind of news and information media where the programmers, the show hosts, their guests and the reporters are all people of honor and integrity and not beholden to special interest groups or lobbies just to keep their privileged positions and tenure. Well, keep on deluding yourselves with such utopian dreams. That said, lets turn to a recent program aired Monday evening, May 23rd, on CNN, and repeated on Saturday, Memorial Day weekend. I never had much respect for Mr. Fareed Zakaria or his syndicated GPS show that follows the State of the Union program every Sunday morning on CNN. I do watch certain so-called news and information programs on television, not to get informed about world events, but to read between the lines and see what might be going on behind the scenes, which is really my true passion. The well-advertised Why Do They Hate Us? program by Mr. Zakaria was no different and did not surprise me at all. The they were, of course, Islamic terrorists; and the us were the Americans and, by extension, our Western allies. By the time we reach the end of the one-hour program we are supposed to be convinced that the reason can be found in the Islamic religion or ideology, whether wrongly or even correctly interpreted, which is, Mr. Zakaria tries to demonstrate, opposed to true civilized values of freedom, democracy, human rights and tolerance. Taking advantage of the fact that the attention span of the average viewer does not extend beyond cliches and short clips, Fareed throws in some carefully chosen and cunningly worded phrases to drive in his points. He goes back to the very first, as he maintains, seeds of the hatred of Western values planted in the Islamic world by Seyyed Qutb, a young Egyptian student who was horrified by what he saw at a church social he had attended in a Colorado town in 1949. According to Fareed, this man, who had opposed Gamal Abdel-Nassers westernization programs in Egypt, and was jailed and executed as a result, founded the anti-West ideology that led to the rise of people like Bin Laden and his mentor, Aimen Al-Zawahiri, as well as the Wahhabi style Islamic extremism in Saudi Arabia, etc. Seyyed Qutbs exploratory journey to America to see firsthand what the Western civilization had to offer that might be worthy of emulation by the Egyptian state was, interestingly enough, coincident with the establishment of the state of Israel, a non-indigenous Western transplant in the heart of a traditional Islamic culture. Contrary to Fareed Zakarias portrayal, Seyyed Qutb was not a cartoon character who, after hearing some innocent dance music played on the turntable, and seeing young women with their breasts amply profiled in their tight sweaters at a church social, storms out of that town in disgust and returns to Cairo condemning everything Western as vile and corrupt. No, Fareed; you should read what the man also wrote in praise of Western democratic values and industrial progress, particularly the former, which was perhaps the main reason the Egyptian dictator, Nasser, had him incarcerated and finally executed. While debating a hot-headed English Imam, who is no less prejudiced in his ideas as is Mr. Zakaria in his own, Fareed asks the Imam to explain why the Vietnamese or the Cambodians dont resort to terror and violence against America, even though their countries were also bombed by the Americans. Rather than answer that question, the Imam begins his usual bombastic diatribe and goes on a tangent about the horrors of Abu-Ghuraib and other diversionary issues. It was quite clear why Mr. Zakaria had sought out this self-proclaimed Imam to interview; this nutcase played right into his hand by exhibiting the fanaticism and unmitigated hatred that Fareed wanted to amplify as demonstrative of Islamic attitude toward the West. Had Fareed bothered to ask a better educated and savvy antagonist of the West, the response would have been markedly different; something like: There is no oil or Israel in Vietnam or Cambodia; stupid! In another segment, Fareed asks a Moslem lady scholar if it is true that martyrs of Islam are rewarded by 72 virgins once they arrive in Heaven. The lady corrects him by explaining that the word huris mentioned in the Ghoran has been misinterpreted as virgins, while the true meaning in the Arabic language of the times was sweet raisins. Fareed then shows a bagful of raisins and repeats with clear sarcasm: 72 raisins! and jokes about the surprise the young martyrs must feel being rewarded a mere handful of raisins upon arriving in Heaven. Mr. Zakaria is not an illiterate man; with a degree from Harvard, even if having majored in needlepoint, one cannot be regarded as illiterate. He must know that it is not inferred in the Ghoran that the Heavens gatekeeper is going to carefully count 72 little raisins out of a bag and hand them to each martyr upon their arrival. He must also know that here 72 does not indicate a number between 71 and 73, but it has a historically symbolic or metaphorical significance; and neither does the word raisins refer to actual grapes. The phrase is simply a promise of sweet rewards for those who have sacrificed their lives in the cause of religion. I was somewhat surprised that Fareed did not pursue the issue further and suggest that the female martyrs reward of 72 virgins in Heaven might have rather intriguing connotations! In short, Fareed Zakaria has struggled to show that the hatred against us and the attempts by they who want to do us harm is purely and simply ideological and rooted in Islams religious ideology. He does not point to any real and down to earth pragmatic or material socioeconomic reasons for any mistrust and anger against the West, which has evolved into the mayhem, bloodshed and terrorism increasingly rampant in the region, and now targeting the Western homelands. How nice and comforting to know that we are not to be blamed for any wrongdoing; the blame falls strictly on them and their religious beliefs, and that it is their responsibility to break out of their dark ideological cocoon. But, lets not gloat in our own delusional self-righteousness: The reality is that the breeding grounds of they who hate us has been the Islamic world of the Middle East, and even the us-haters outside that region have been inspired and are increasingly guided by sources inside the Middle East, and not from Indonesia, China or India with the largest populations of Moslems in the world. But why is it the Middle East where we find the roots of practically all the animosity toward the West? It was long before Seyyed Qutbs journey to America that the imperial, colonial Western powers divided the Middle East into their desired spheres of influence, regarding the indigenous populations with less concern than in dealing with various species of animals in Africas hunting grounds or game reserves. Despots and ruthless dictators were installed in various strategic areas of the chopped up Middle East to rule over their hapless populations, while protecting and preserving the economic and strategic interests of their Western masters. The newly discovered oil reserves in the region, as well as the trade routes and markets for Western goods, made the Middle East a highly prized piece of property to hold and control. Worn out, deposed or dead dictators and despots were replaced by new ones, protected and supported by their masters as long as they could maintain the kind of stability that the colonial powers desired. That meant decades of tyrannical suppression of the disenfranchised populations, from Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Jordan, to Egypt and Libya, and beyond. Perhaps of all that exemplified this unmitigated intrusion into the world of the Middle East, the most consequential was the formal establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948, the seeds of which were already planted by the European Zionists in the late 1800s. To ensure the survival and security of this foreign transplant, a non-indigenous entity that the host body would by nature reject, no effort was spared by the colonial European powers, and later by the United States of America, to pump money and pour military and diplomatic support into this organ, and to create an existential dependency by the regional rulers to remain obedient to the mandates of the Western imperial powers. It mattered none at all how unpopular regional military juntas and dictators have been, and continue to be, among the populations they rule over. And it has mattered even less how the entire Palestinian nation has been treated by the expansionistic occupying Israeli apartheid state. The three principle reasons for the United States to stay involved in the Middle East region have been control over the hydrocarbon resources, curtailing Soviet Unions expansion toward the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, and protecting the Jewish state. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the remaining rationale for Americas deployments in the Middle East remains oil and Israel. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, regional political instability, social unrest and internecine military conflicts between the regional states have provided ample justification for the United States to remain directly and indirectly engaged in the regions political and socioeconomic affairs. The management of the regions dictatorships and preserving Americas control over the vital hydrocarbon trade did not cost much at all, at least not until the 9/11 wake-up call. Oil moneys paid to the kings and despots were recirculated back into major financial institutions in New York and London, and what excess money they had left was spent on Western technologies or for the purchase of surplus, mostly outdated equipment from American arms suppliers! Arabia under the Saud clans leadership had become host to American military bases to not only safeguard the Persian Gulf region from disobedient rogue (read independent) elements, such the Islamic Republic of Iran, but to provide more support for the Saudi Kingdom, which had quietly become Israels ally of convenience and had allowed the presence of Israeli bases inside Islams so-called holiest land. Osama Bin Ladens stated main target was the Saudi regime, and by extension, the House of Sauds principle protector, the United States. Has anyone bothered to examine why it took so long, some fifteen years, to track down and eliminate Osama Bin Laden? During that period Afghanistan was driven back to the Stone Age, and Iraqs infrastructure was basically wiped out, with almost one million casualties, and at a cost of perhaps two-trillion dollars. If instead of the original twenty-five-million dollar reward for the capture of the 9/11 culprit, a mere pittance, the reward money was set at twenty-five or even fifty-billion, not even the Pakistani military command would have hesitated to hand him over dead or alive. If we were serious about eliminating Bin Laden, that would have done the job, and had saved us trillions, not billions, of dollars and spared the hapless populations over a million lives! But quite understandably, a perpetuation of instability and bloodshed in the region has been serving manifold purposes: the major industries that feed our military (the Military-Industrial Complex) depend on such, actually manageable, regional unrests that our policy makers in Washington can turn on and off as the situation demands. Our obedient regional allies are told to be scared of Irans nuclear ambitions, a fabricated myth that has been serving the purpose; these Gulf States have already purchased hundreds of billions of dollars of defensive arms from the United States and some from our European partners. And our so-called best and most trusted ally in the region, Israel, has been, with the help and unquestioned support of our Congress, selling us the big lie about facing an existential threat from Iran, for which it has received billions of dollars of financial and military aid, plus a free hand in expanding its illegal settlements in the Palestinian homeland and immunity from condemnation and punishing sanctions by the international community for its barbaric atrocities committed against the Palestinian people. To me it was extremely significant that during that entire hour-long program the word Israel was not mentioned once, not even once ; and no reference was made to the decades-long Palestinian plight, the biggest issue in the Islamic World of the Middle East. Why?! What happened, Fareed; you invited us to your cheeseburger party, but held back the buns, the meat and the cheese! So, Mr. Zakaria, there are more real, pragmatic and material reasons for the anger against the policies of the United States in that part of the Islamic World. The Islamic ideology, which is clearly taken out of its true context and amplified by the extremist elements to commit their atrocities, has been serving, not as the cause, but as a rallying flag for the frustrated and disenfranchised people whose ignorant fanaticism is being exploited, encouraged and further inflamed by some of our friends and allies in the region, from Turkey to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and also Israel, to serve their own special interests. Finally, why did Fareed Zakaria embark on producing such a big farce of a program? Had he failed to amply demonstrate his servitude to those who feed the catfish? Some seven years ago I resembled him to a bottom-feeding catfish who was struggling to reach the top of the food chain by resorting to similar sycophantic tactics. I wished Jeff Bezos of Amazon who owns the Washington Post newspaper would fire this catfishs ass as a columnist. As for the CNN, it is simply the flip side of the Fox coin when it comes to issues dealing with foreign affairs, especially concerning Israel. I am neither an Islam apologist nor supportive of the barbaric savageries committed by the Daesh or IS fanatics. I have simply tried here to expose Mr. Zakaria for the journalistic fraud that he is. I think Donald Trump should consider Mr. Zakaria for a new Cabinet position, should he be elected President this November: The Secretary of Self-Righteous Indignation! About the author: Kambiz Zarrabi is the author of In Zarathushtra's Shadow and Necessary Illusion.He has conducted lectures and seminars on international affairs, particularly in relation to Iran, with focus on US/Iran issues. Zarrabi's latest book is Iran, Back in Context. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a project to borrow $100 million from the World Bank to improve teacher training institutions. The funding will be allocated to a number of institutions from 2016 to 2021. Management officials from the institutions and the ministry will also benefit from the project. Vietnamese students in class. Photo by VnExpress/Lan Ha Details of the project, such as funding allocation and selected institutions, will be announced by the Ministry of Eduction and Training. At present, 63 out of 64 provinces in Vietnam have at least one university or college that provides teacher training programs. Bui Van Quan, principal of the Hanoi Metropolitan University, said earlier this month the level of training does not live up to public expectations, and both the facilities and human resources at many universities are poor. Intels upcoming 7th Generation Core processor family, code-named Kaby Lake, is off to a quick start. More than 400 devices with Intels upcoming chip design will reach the market, said Navin Shenoy, corporate vice president and general manager for Intels Client Computing Group. One of those devices will be Asus Surface-like Transformer 3, which will ship in the third quarter starting at US$799. The device has a 12.6-inch screen that displays images at a resolution of 2880 x 1920 pixels. It weighs 695 grams and is 6.9 millimeters thick. The device has a 13-megapixel camera, and it can be configured with a 512GB SSD and up to 8GB RAM. Shenoy, speaking during a keynote at the Computex trade show in Taipei, also showed a 2-in-1 made by Compal during the keynote. Its not clear if the first Kaby Lake chips to reach PCs will be low-power Core M or the faster Core i chips. Other PC makers will also announce Kaby Lake devices, though its not clear when. Devices with Kaby Lake will include Thunderbolt 3, IR cameras for Windows Hello, and the latest graphics technologies to handle 4K content, Shenoy said. He didnt share more information about Kaby Lake, however, and Intel declined to provide additional chip details. Kaby Lake will succeed the current crop of 6th Generation Core processors code-named Skylake. The processor design has the underpinnings of Skylake, but should have better graphics, power management, and integration of I/O technologies. The look ahead to Kaby Lake comes as Intel retools its PC strategy to be in line with the realities of todays PC market. Intel will focus on a handful of distinct markets, primarily 2-in-1s and gaming and enthusiast PCs, with sales growing in an otherwise slumping PC market. The company will also continue to focus on mini-PCs like NUC desktops, Shenoy said. At the same time, Intel is restructuring operations to shed its long-time reliance on PCs to focus on growth areas like the Internet of Things, cloud computing, data-center hardware, communications technology, and memory. Intel in April said it would lay off up to 12,000 employees worldwide and would cut products it deemed unprofitable or irrelevant. Some Atom chips for mobile phones are already on the chopping block. Shenoy reiterated the companys commitment to PCs, saying computer designs are constantly changing with emerging applications like virtual reality. The addition of Kaby Lake to Intels chip lineup last year was unexpected and broke Intels tradition of making two Core chip designs with every manufacturing process. It is the third Core chip design on the 14-nanometer process after Broadwell and Skylake and was added after manufacturing issues caused Intel to delay a move to the 10-nm process. Kaby Lake continues Intels tradition of delivering yearly chip upgrades. The successor to Kaby Lake is a chip code-named Cannonlake, which will be made using the 10-nm process and be available for PCs in the second half of 2017. Intel later this year will also ship processors code-named Apollo Lake for entry-level PCs and tablets. The chips will sell under the Pentium and Celeron brands. Competition to Kaby Lake will come from AMDs processors based on the Zen CPU architecture, which will first gaming systems later this year, and to mainstream laptops and desktops next year. AMD has focused on improving raw CPU performance in the Zen-based chips. Microsoft has agreed to transfer some patents to Xiaomi, ahead of plans by the Chinese smartphone maker to enter the U.S. and other advanced markets. The deal with Microsoft also involves Xiaomi bundling Microsoft Office and Skype on its Android smartphones and tablets, according to a statement issued by Microsoft on Tuesday. The smartphone company has agreed to buy about 1,500 patents from Microsoft, according to news reports. Xiaomi is also signing a cross-licensing agreement for some other patents with Microsoft. Expanding the Xiaomi-Microsoft partnership: new deal for Office & Skype pre-install, IP cross-license and patent transfer agreement, Hugo Barra, vice president for Xiaomis global division, wrote in a twitter message. It wasnt immediately clear whether Microsoft had sold Android related patents to Xiaomi. Im assuming that Microsoft would want to keep its Android patents, and thus probably wouldnt sell those, said Bryan Ma, vice president for devices research at IDC. Either way, Xiaomi was trying to build up its patent portfolio, particularly to help it in its overseas efforts, so this sounds like it gives them a nice boost, Ma said. The deal also gets for Microsoft more potential users in its ecosystem, which is increasingly becoming more important for the company than Windows, he added. Xiaomi did not immediately comment. The company has had its sights on the U.S. market for some time, but has apparently held back because of concerns about patent infringement lawsuits, which have become a common part of the arsenal of smartphone vendors to try to keep rivals out of the lucrative U.S. market, according to analysts. Xiaomis entry into India, for example, was met with a patent infringement lawsuit from Ericsson. The acquisition of the Microsoft patents would likely fit into Xiaomis strategy to build its own patent portfolio with which to fight back. The Chinese vendor held the fifth place in the global smartphone market with a 4.4 percent share in the first quarter of this year, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. It faces pressure from other Chinese vendors like Oppo and Vivo in the Asian market and will have to target the North American and European markets more aggressively, the research firm added. Under the deal with Microsoft, starting from September, Xiaomi Android devices, including Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3, will come pre-installed with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype applications. Specific offerings may vary by device, market and mobile operator. The agreement builds on the companies partnership with Windows 10 on Mi Pad and Microsoft Azure powering the Mi Cloud service, Microsoft said. Microsoft has signed up a large number of Android smartphone vendors to its intellectual property licensing program that protects them from infringement suits, including from the software company. The company has signed more than 1,200 agreements since it launched its IP licensing program in December 2003. Enterprises using Microsofts Office 365 have a new security product that they can use to better lock down their organizationsfor a price. The company introduced a new Advanced Security Management service on Wednesday that gives companies a trio of tools aimed at helping detect security threats, provide granular controls and let IT administrators track if people in their organization are using unauthorized services. Its another part of Microsofts push to lure businesses over to its subscription-based productivity suite. By providing more advanced security capabilities, Microsoft may be able to convince security-conscious businesses to buy into Office 365, rather than avoid a subscription or choose one of Offices competitors like Google Apps for Work. Advance Security Managements threat detection capabilities allow administrators to set up policies for detecting possible security anomalies. The service will scan user behavior, looking for indicators that somethings not right and then informing IT. It uses behavioral analytics to help IT make better calls about whether or not someone is acting normally, or if something could be wrong. In addition, IT administrators can also use the service to set granular controls that protect against a variety of threats. For example, the system makes it easy to detect and block when a user is downloading an unusually large amount of data, and can then automatically generate an alert for IT personnel. After that, an administrator can act to shut down the offending users access right from the alert. Alternately, its also possible for an admin to set the system up to automatically act on certain alerts so that human intervention isnt necessary to protect a companys systems. As more end users bring outside, unapproved software into the work environment, it can be important for IT administrators to at least monitor what services are being used without their say-so. Advanced Security Management will monitor the usage of about 1,000 different applications at a company, including productivity and online storage apps. That detection is important to help IT departments clamp down on unauthorized apps and services, or figure out how they can secure those applications alongside their existing infrastructure. Customers who already pay for the top-of-the-line Office 365 E5 plan will get the new advanced security capabilities for free. Other Office 365 Enterprise customers can pay $3 per user per month for these capabilities. Intel has doubled down on servers as it looks to shed its reliance on PCs, but the chip makers ARM competitors are ready to challenge it. New server and appliance chips based on the ARM architecture were announced at Computex in Taipei this week. ARM-based chips dominate smartphone and tablets, but the new chips from Cavium and Marvell show the processors are maturing quickly for use in servers. ARM servers are seen as a power-efficient alternative to Intels x86-based systems, with companies looking to cut electric bills in data centers. ARM server chips have been around for years but have failed to register an impact because of hardware and software problems. But ARM server chips are becoming more competitive with support for DDR4 memory and the latest I/O and networking technologies. Intel had a 99.2 percent market share in server chips in 2015, according to IDC. Despite struggling for years, ARM server chip makers are holding on to create alternatives for Intels Xeon chips, while hoping the market for their products becomes viable. In a research note issued Tuesday, IDC said ARM server chip makers will start gaining traction next year. AMD, which sells x86 and ARM server chips, is predicting ARM to have a 20 percent market share by 2020. At Computex, Cavium announced the ThunderX2, which is a second-generation server chip based on its homegrown design. It delivers roughly double the performance of its predecessor, ThunderX, which was introduced more than two years ago. A two-socket server with ThunderX2 could have up to 108 CPU cores and 3TB of memory. A ThunderX2 CPU has a maximum clock speed of 3.0GHz and new I/O technology, and it supports the latest DDR4 memory, all of which combine to boost server speed. Cavium estimates the ThunderX2 internal interconnect is 2.5 times faster than ThunderX. The ThunderX2 is targeted at networking, Caviums bread-and-butter business, and rack servers. ARM servers are being widely considered for use in cloud deployments, and this chip could be used in hyperscale environments, where servers are continuously added to meet growing data center needs. Cavium didnt respond to request about when the chip will be available for servers, but vendor Gigabyte said it will ship ThunderX2 server products. Marvells new Armada 7000 and 8000 family of ARM-based chips dont provide the high levels of performance delivered by Caviums ThunderX2, but they are aimed at smaller home office deployments. The chips are mainly targeted toward storage and networking appliances but could also be used in entry-level servers. The Armada chips are based on the ARM Cortex-A72 chip design, which is also used in smartphones. The new design has more oomph than typical Cortex-A72 smartphone chips, with support for virtualization, DDR4 memory, error correction, Gigabit ethernet, and many storage and I/O protocols. The chips are available in dual- and quad-core configurations, with clock speeds up to 2.0GHz. Marvell did not respond to comment on shipment dates. Other ARM-based server chip makers include Qualcomm, AppliedMicro, and Broadcom. Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners paid about 22 percent too little for Dell when they took the company private in 2013 and will have to pay millions of dollars more to shareholders who opposed the deal, a Delaware court ruled on Tuesday. Though the buyers paid $24.9 billion, or $13.75 per share, the companys actual fair value at the time was $17.62 per share, according to Delaware Vice Chancellor Travis Laster. The decision comes in response to a lawsuit brought by a number of Dell investors who felt shortchanged by the deal. Through whats known as an appraisal suit, they asked the Chancery Court to determine the fair value of their shares at the time. Only shareholders who voted against the deal are eligible for compensation, which reportedly will total about $35 million. Owners of about 5.5 million shares reportedly were affected by the decision. Oddly, because of what Vice Chancellor Laster earlier this month called byzantine complications in the voting process, one of the deals biggest opponents mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price mistakenly voted in its favor. That, in turn, rendered the firms roughly 30 million shares ineligible for compensation. Dell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Silver Lake declined to comment. Toyota is close to acquiring two robotics companies from Google, according to a report in Wednesdays Nikkei newspaper. The newspaper said the two companies are in final talks, but details are yet to be discussed so the deal could still fall through. The deal would see Boston Dynamics, a developer of advanced two- and four-legged robots for the U.S. military, and Schaft, a Tokyo-based developer of humanoid robots, transferred to the Toyota Research Institute. The unit is a recently launched billion-dollar research arm based in Silicon Valley. Google acquired Boston Dynamics and Schaft several years ago as part of a push into robotics, but that hasnt gone anywhere since robotics head Andy Rubin left the company in late 2014. Toyota has been researching robotics for more than 10 years and the acquisition of the Google units would give the company access to cutting-edge robotics development, especially in the field of humanoid robots. Toyota already has ties to Googles robotics work through two key staff members it recently hired. Gill Pratt used to run the robotics challenge contest at the U.S. Department of Defenses research and development arm, DARPA, in which both Google companies participated. He joined Toyota in late 2015 to launch and run the Toyota Research Institute. In January this year Googles then head of robotics, James Kuffner, left the company to join Pratt at the research center. Salesforce.com is moving beyond CRM and into e-commerce with the acquisition of cloud service provider Demandware. It will use the purchase to kick-start a new field of business, the Salesforce Commerce Cloud, it said Wednesday. The company already has its Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Analytics Cloud. By rebranding Demandware Commerce Cloud as its own, Salesforce will be able to combine e-commerce, order management, point-of-sale, store operations and predictive intelligence into its own platform. Commerce Cloud will allow Salesforce customers to connect with their own clients in new ways, the company said, while Demandware customers will gain access to sales, marketing and analytics functions from Salesforce. Demandware customers include LOreal and U.K. retail chain Marks & Spencer. There are so many ways it accelerates our mission to transform retail, Demandware CEO Tom Ebling said in a conference call to discuss the deal. Being part of Salesforce will add to Demandwares credibility when approaching large accounts, he said. It will also help the company expand to new countries. Weve just got started in places like Japan and Italy but there are many other untapped geographies for us, he said. A third area where it will benefit is omnichannel marketing, helping retailers engage customers everywhere. The combination of CRM capabilities, knowledge of the customer, with the commerce engine will be a way to accelerate that capability, he said. Salesforces Chief Product Officer Alex Dayon said the deal will increase its customers insight into their business. Our customers information systems are going to be powered by data. You need a complete view of your customers. Having commerce as part of the CRM platform is important, he said during the same conference call. He hammered home the need for more data in response to a question about Salesforces ad targeting capabilities. For us its all about the data, whether you use your own data, your own targeting, or whether you connect to companies like Google or Facebook, he said. The companies expect to close the deal, worth around US$2.8 billion net of cash acquired, before August, subject to customary closing conditions. Google is giving iPhone users another way to find their misplaced devices by searching the Web for it. Soon, when iPhone or Android users enter I lost my phone at Google.com, the search engine will respond with options that will allow them to ring the device, or locate it on a map. Right now, users can already get access to that functionality through Googles My Account feature, which serves as the nexus for people to understand and access the information connected to their Google account. Unlike Apples Find my iPhone, Googles phone location feature isnt capable of locking an iPhone or remotely erasing it. Still, it may be a useful feature for someone who have misplaced his phone and just wants to figure out where it is. People can also use the feature to prevent the device from accessing their Google account, meaning a thief couldnt get access to private information. Whats interesting about this capability is both that Google is providing the functionality to users of a competing mobile platform, but also that it is capitalizing on its position as a search engine to field a common query. On one side, its possible to see this as a public service Google is making it easier for people to find their lost phones. On the other hand, its also possible to look at this as a more cynical, competitive move to try and draw people away from using Apples tools and make them more comfortable with using Google services. That, in turn, could make iPhone users more likely to switch to Android in the future. UPDATE (Thursday, June 2): UCLA student identified by sources as gunman in murder-suicide Hundreds of heavily armed officers swarmed the sprawling UCLA campus Wednesday following a shooting that forced thousands to barricade themselves in classrooms and offices, some using belts and chairs to secure doors, until authorities determined the gunman and the professor he shot were dead. About two hours after the first 911 call came in around 10 a.m., with the center of campus still saturated with officers, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said it was a murder-suicide and declared the threat over. Two men were dead, and authorities found a gun and what might be a suicide note, he said. William S. Klug, a professor of mechanical engineering, was gunned down in an engineering building office, according to a law enforcement official. The official has knowledge of the investigation but wasnt authorized to publicly discuss it. The shooter has not yet been identified. Colleagues of Klugs tell The Associated Press he was a married father of two and a kind, gentle person. UCLA biology and chemistry Professor Charles Knobler said those who knew Klug are in shock. He described the professor as a very lively, lovable, likable guy. The response to the shooting was overwhelming: Teams of officers in helmets and bulletproof vests looking for victims and suspects ran across the normally tranquil campus tucked in the citys bustling west side. Some with high-powered rifles yelled for bystanders to flee. Groups of officers stormed into buildings that had been locked down and cleared hallways as police helicopters hovered overhead. Advised by university text alerts to turn out the lights and lock the doors where they were, many students let friends and family know they were safe in social media posts. Some described frantic evacuation scenes, while others wrote that their doors werent locking and posted photos of photocopiers and foosball tables they used as barricades. It was the week before final exams at the University of California, Los Angeles, whose 43,000 students make it the largest campus in the University of California system. Classes were canceled Wednesday, but they are expected to resume Thursday. Olivia Cabadas, a 22-year-old nursing student, was getting ready to take a quiz in the mathematics building when her classmates began getting cellphone alerts. Through a window, they could see students rushing down the hallway. An officer yelled that everyone should get out. Live coverage of suspected shooting at UCLA It was just a little surreal this is actually happening, Cabadas said. It was chaos. Those locked down inside classrooms described a nervous calm. Some said they had to rig the doors closed with whatever was at hand because they would not lock. Umar Rehman, 21, was in a math sciences classroom adjacent to Engineering IV, the building where the shooting took place. The buildings are connected by walkway bridges near the center of the 419-acre campus. We kept our eye on the door. We knew that somebody eventually could come, he said, acknowledging the terror he felt. The door would not lock and those in the room devised a plan to hold it closed using a belt and crowbar, and demand ID from anyone who tried to get in. Scott Waugh, an executive vice chancellor and provost, said the university would look into concerns about doors that would not lock. Overall, he said, the response was smooth. Tanya Alam, 19, also was in the same classroom with about 20 other students. She said she saw an alert on her phone that warned of police activity near Engineering IV. Then, several minutes later, an alert said there was an active shooter. I let that sink in. Then I realized there was a shooter on campus and Engineering IV is right here! So I said it out loud, she said. The teachers assistant told students to shut their laptops, turned out all the lights and switched off the projector. They were ordered to be quiet and got under their desks. Sitting on the ground, Alam cried. Students were told to put their phones away, too, but no one did, she said. In the darkened room, the glow of screens illuminated many faces. On one hand, yes, this is an emergency. But on the other hand when your mother is calling from miles away Alam said, trailing off. Their entire classroom was finally allowed to leave. Students were greeted by a phalanx of SWAT team members but were not searched. SWAT officers cleared occupants one by one at the mathematical sciences building. One man walked out with his hands up and was told to get on his knees. An armed officer searched him and his backpack, then sent him on his way with his hands still in the air. LIVE blog Thailand hopes to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) when the pact opens up for new membership in the near future, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said during a visit to Tokyo yesterday. Thailand will seek support from member countries including Japan, said Somkid at a gathering of business leaders in Japan. "With more than one year left before the TPP is open to new member states, Thailand will take this opportunity to conduct a public hearing to voice opinion from all involved sectors before signing the agreement, in order to reduce conflict in society and find remedial measures or an 'introduction program' in advance," he explained. Thailand will hold public hearings to gather feedback from all shareholders - a process which is expected to take about a year. These hearings have been previously used to sound out public opinion before the country signed free trade agreements with other countries. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has confirmed the country's readiness to join the TPP, and a committee chaired by Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn has been set up to prepare for the move, Somkid added Somkid said the government believes joining the TPP will do more good than harm for the country, adding that even future governments will remain committed to the TPP as it has significant implications for the country in the long term. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Tuesday that Thailand will apply to join the U.S.-led Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) as soon as possible. He made the commitment when he delivered the keynote speech at at Nikkei Forum 22 International Conference on the Future of Asia (2016) in Tokyo. Photo courtesy of Thailand's Government House. Studies have been conducted to assess whether or not it is suitable for Thailand to join the group. If Thailand opted out of the TPP, Thailands exports to member countries would decline by $396 million annually, cutting its trade surplus with them from $8.4 billion to $8 billion. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), including 12 nations, was finally signed in February after several rounds of negotiations that took over five years. It is expected to take effect two years from now, and there is widespread speculation about how it will affect Thailand. With a week to go before the June 7 primary, two Republicans in the 31st Congressional District race are going after each other. In a mailer sent out last week, candidate Sean Flynn called opponent Paul Chabot No Show Chabot for refusing to vote while serving on the California Parole board. Paul Chabot took over $100,000 of your taxpayer money and was supposed to make tough decisions to keep us safe, the flier reads in part, but he didnt show up to vote. Chabot served on the board from 2006 through 2015. He posted on his Facebook page on Monday that he missed votes during his deployment to Iraq, and hit back against Flynn, an economics professor, during a campaign event in downtown San Bernardino on Tuesday. A naval reservist, Chabot returned from Iraq in 2008, but the flier specifically cites votes he abstained from in August 2009. According to parole board records, Chabot abstained on six of the eight votes held by the board on Aug. 18, 2009. (He did vote on the other two.) Abstaining is a vote, Chabot said after a campaign event in downtown San Bernardino on Tuesday. I had no knowledge of those particular cases. Chabot had just returned to the country the year before and wasnt up to speed on those six cases, he said after his campaign event. The right and ethical thing for me to do was for me to abstain, Chabot said. But he defends his record overall: I have one of the toughest recods on the California state parole board. Chabot lost to Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, in his first run for the seat in 2014. Were up against a campaign thats equally as dishonest as we faced in 2014, Paul Chabot told a group of supporters during Tuesdays rally. Officially, this is Chabots second attempt for the seat, although, by Chabots own admission, hes never really stopped running against Aguilar after losing to him two years ago. In addition to Aguilar, Chabot and Flynn, former Rep. Joe Baca is running as a Republican, along with retired school teacher Kaiser Ahmed, whos running as a Democrat. Contact the writer: beau.yarbrough@langnews.com; @LBY3 A state Senate bill that would have funded 12 Superior Court judge positions to help overworked and under-judged Riverside and San Bernardino counties was killed in the Legislature last week. But an Inland legislator has stepped in to introduce an Assembly bill that would at least go part way toward filling the Inland judge deficit. Assembly Bill 2341 by Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear Lake, would require the Judicial Council of California to determine which five vacant judgeships elsewhere in the state would be shifted to the Inland counties. Wouldnt you know it? The legislation has already attracted opposition from unions representing trial court employees. The Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, said making counties compete against each other for the same scarce dollars has created an atmosphere of instability in the trial courts. Every single court in California is underfunded, the SEIU wrote in a letter signed by the California Labor Federation, California Official Court Reporters Association and others. A more honest and fair approach is to provide funding equalization dollars to bring those courts up to an appropriate level (instead of) robbing Peter to pay Paul, the letter said. Hear, hear. I couldnt have said it better myself. Unfortunately, court funding has been at a standstill for nearly a decade, since 2007 when the Legislature approved 50 new judgeships but didnt appropriate the money to support them. A bill by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, that would have funded 12 of those judgeships, including seven in the Inland counties, was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Judges in Riverside and San Bernardino counties today have the heaviest caseloads in the state. San Bernardino County is short 57 judges and Riverside County is short 51, according to a Judicial Council study. (Even if the 2007 legislation had been fully funded, the two counties still would not have enough judges.) Meanwhile, Santa Clara and Alameda counties, in Northern California, have more than their fair share, according to the Judicial Council formula. Obernolte told me he is extremely passionate about providing more judges in the Inland area. The freshman legislator told me that when he served two terms as mayor in Big Bear Lake, the first official call he took was from then-Presiding Judge Marsha Slough telling him the courthouses in his city and Twin Peaks, Needles and Barstow would be closed because of budget cuts. This left constituents faced with long drives to Victorville or San Bernardino for access to justice, Obernolte said. People in Needles had it worst, with three-plus hour drives one-way and no bus service to Victorville, he said. This is disproportionately impactful on members of our society who cant afford to take a day off work (to go to court) or pay for fuel, Obernolte said. With a limited amount of money in the state budget, hes hoping the idea of shifting vacant judgeships to where theyre most needed will get support. The governor proposed a similar plan in his 2016-17 state budget. The Judicial Council hopes this will be resolved in a budget conference committee, said Cathal Conneely, spokesman for the council. The governors office declined to comment. If the governor thinks its a big deal, hell push for it, and I certainly hope that he does, Riverside County Presiding Judge Harold Hopp said of the vacancy-shifting plan. The employees union raised another concern: that Obernoltes bill would be unconstitutional. The state Constitution gives the Legislature the authority to allocate judges, not the Judicial Council, the SEIU said. I asked Hopp about this. He said the Legislature has allocated the judges already in the 2007 legislation. Its just a matter of funding the positions and deciding which courts will get them, according to a Judicial Council formula already agreed to. If anyone knows the state Constitution, Jerry Brown does. He was California attorney general 2006-2010, before returning to Sacramento as governor. If the judgeship reallocation by the Judicial Council violated the Constitution, I think he would have blown the whistle on it himself. Contact the writer: 951-368-9470 or cmacduff@pressenterprise.com Voters in the Third Supervisorial District in Riverside County are in the enviable position of having three highly qualified candidates for supervisor. Since March 2015, the district, which includes Hemet, Murrieta, San Jacinto and Temecula, has been served by Chuck Washington, appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to fill the vacancy left by Jeff Stones move to the state Senate. Mr. Washington, former mayor of Murrieta and Temecula, has brought to the office a fresh perspective informed by deep experience in local government. An advocate of finding greater efficiencies in county government, public-private partnerships where possible and expanding policing services in the unincorporated areas, he has been a welcomed addition to the Board of Supervisors. Challenging Mr. Washington are council members from very distinct cities. Randon Lane, presently serving as mayor of Murrieta, points to the successes of Murrieta, a low-crime city with consistently strong economic growth, as something to strive for at the county level. Shellie Milne, a councilwoman in Hemet, a city that hasnt been quite as fortunate as Murrieta, has spent much of her time combating public employee union influence in her city. Ive been tried by fire, Ms. Milne told us. Riverside County is currently facing a structural budget deficit, much of it created by the past generosity of the Board of Supervisors to public safety unions, but also a culture of waiting for things to get bad before taking any meaningful action. Though we greatly respect all three candidates, Shellie Milne impresses us the most with her proposals to streamline county government and steer the county in the necessary direction. Calling for performance audits of county departments, removing barriers to economic development in the county and clearly articulating the need for responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, even when it comes to public safety departments, Ms. Milne is a principled conservative with the experience to stand up for taxpayers. We are also intrigued by Ms. Milnes proposal to create a Property Rights Advisory Committee, consisting of volunteers from the district, to review and make recommendations regarding land use policies in the county. Her experience on the Hemet City Council speaks to this. In a city without the advantages of Murrieta, Ms. Milne has consistently stood up for the best interests of taxpayers, even when it may be politically unpopular to do so. Given the dire predicament the county finds itself in, we think Ms. Milnes perspective would best contribute to pushing the county in the direction it needs to go. Federal prosecutors filed a court action Tuesday, May 31, to seize $275,000 payouts from life insurance policies taken out by San Bernardino terrorist shooter Syed Rizwan Farook in the years before the Dec. 2 attack that claimed 14 lives. The insurance policies one for $25,000 in 2012 and another for $250,000 in 2013 were obtained through his employment with San Bernardino County, where Farook was a health inspector. Farook had named his mother Rafia, who is divorced from his father, as the beneficiary of the policies. The government says the insurance money should go to the attack victims instead. Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik, who died with him a few hours after the attack in a shootout with police, also left behind a then-six-month-old daughter. Farooks co-workers were slain at a holiday-themed gathering in a rented meeting room at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. They accounted for all but one of the fatalities. Another 22 people were wounded in what the FBI called the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Terrorists must not be permitted to provide for their designated beneficiaries through their crimes, Los Angeles U.S Attorney Eileen Decker said in a statement Tuesday. Farook, Malik, their infant daughter, and Rafia lived in a rented, two-bedroom Redlands condominium at the time of the attack. The FBI said the couple were inspired by the Islamic State, but were not under the command of the terrorist organization. In addition to the shooting, a remote-controlled explosive device which failed to detonate was left inside the center. Farooks death during the San Bernardino Attack triggered the payment of the Policy benefits, and those benefits are the defendant assets here, the government argued in its court papers. The benefits were derived from a Federal crime of terrorism against the United States, citizens or residents of the United States, or their property, rendering them subject to forfeiture, the government wrote. County spokesman David Wert said the county had just received word of the lawsuit when contacted by telephone Tuesday and declined to comment. Part of the due process will be to give notice to all interested parties to appear and show cause why forfeiture should not be declared, presumably Rafia Farook. Federal forfeiture laws have been on the books since the First Congress in 1789, and received a major reform in 2000 which established the procedures currently used, outlining how the government has to prove it is entitled to the funds. The government document filed Tuesday outlined how Farook got his health inspector job with San Bernardino County during the 2011-2012 period he and friend Enrique Marquez Jr. of Riverside were plotting two gun-and-bomb attacks which never took place. Agents said Marquez told them the two men planned an assault at Riverside City College and on a stretch of the 91 Freeway where it wold be difficult for people to escape the gunfire. Federal agents said Marquez was the straw buyer at that time for two assault-type rifles used in the Inland Regional Center attacks, and also bought explosive powder tha was eventually used for the failed explosive device left inside. Marquez, whom prosecutors said had been radicalized by former Riverside neighbor Farook, is awaiting trial on charges of terrorism conspiracy and illegally obtaining the rifles used in the attack. He also faces charges for an alleged sham marriage to the Russian-born sister of Farooks older brothers wife. Authorities said the two men grew apart in 2012 after FBI agents cracked an unrelated terrorism conspiracy case in Southern California. Marquez was not aware of the San Bernardino attacks before they took place, agents have said. Staff writer Joe Nelson contributed to this report. Contact the writer: rdeatley@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9573 A day after the 45-acre Pala Fire wildfire forced the evacuation of 100 people south of Temecula, crews extended their fire lines around 45 percent of the perimeter and said the blaze is no longer growing. That containment figure announced late Wednesday, June 1, essentially tripled the 15 percent that officials had claimed early in the day. Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire Captain Issac Sanchez said seven unoccupied San Diego County Department of Parks and Recreation outbuildings had been destroyed by the Pala Fire, but those buildings had been vacant since the 1980s. The fire started at a home in the 38800 block of Pala Temecula Road about 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday, but spread to nearby brush. Residents were briefly evacuated from about 20 households along Pala Temecula Road while roughly 250 firefighters, seven air tankers and four helicopters fought to put out the growing blaze. Those with proof of residency were allowed back down Pala Temecula Road about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and evacuation centers were all closed as of late Wednesday morning, Sanchez said. A weekend rollover crash fatally injured a 3-year-old Phoenix girl along a desert freeway, say California Highway Patrol officers. Bhavani Math died in the emergency department at Loma Linda University Medical Center following the 2:48 p.m. Saturday, May 28, along the westbound lanes of Interstate 10, west of Highway 177, near Desert Center, San Bernardino County coroners officials reported. A 43-year-old Phoenix man was driving the 2016 Dodge Caravan when it ran off the freeway and repeatedly overturned, CHP Officer Mike Radford said in a written statement. The child was ejected during the accident. She was taken to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital and airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center. The driver suffered minor injuries, but a 34-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl suffered major injuries, according to the CHP statement. There was a child safety seat in the Dodge, Radford wrote. It is unknownif it was being used properly. As requested by local officials and residents, the California Public Utilities Commission is allowing more time for the public to comment on two Southern California Edison power projects that would impinge on Lake Elsinore, Perris and adjacent areas. The commission agreed to extend the deadline two months to July 15 for responding to the enormous environmental impact report compiled for Edisons proposed Valley-Ivyglen Subtransmission Line and Alberhill System projects. Thats good news, Lake Elsinore Community Development Director Grant Taylor said. This EIR is huge, and its going to take us a lot of time to do our due diligence, read everything and make some accurate and meaningful comments. Taylor was among those at PUC-sponsored meetings earlier in May in Lake Elsinore and Perris who complained they did not have sufficient time to review the document, while voicing concerns about the visual impacts of electrical towers, lines and the substation as well as the closeness of some power line segments to residents. As proposed, the Valley-Ivyglen project would consist of 27 miles of transmission lines running from a substation in Romoland through Lake Elsinore to a substation north of the city in Glen Ivy, along Interstate 15. At the same time, Edison wants to install a substation it has dubbed Alberhill and associated transmission lines just beyond Lake Elsinores northern border along the 15 in Temescal Canyon. Edison representatives say the improvements are needed to meet growing energy demand in the region. In all, the project would result in nearly 50 miles of power lines, with only a couple of miles proposed to be placed underground. Our preference is for undergrounding, especially near sensitive receptors, said Taylor, referring to features such as residences, schools, parks and churches. We want to reduce the impacts on our residents and our businesses, and also make sure the poles would be outside our ultimate road improvement right-of-ways. After the deadline, the environmental consultants selected by the commission to do the study will finalize it, setting the stage for the commission to take action. If approved, the projects could take more than two years to build, officials say. Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com Enrique Marquez Jr., charged with terrorism conspiracy and supplying weapons in the Dec. 2 terrorist shooting in San Bernardino, had ties with a group of Southern California men that the FBI arrested in 2012 for plotting to travel to Afghanistan and join al-Qaida. The FBI has previously said agents could not find a connection between the Riverside man and the other group, who all lived in the Inland area. The revelation was in a paragraph about half way through a complaint for forfeiture the U.S. Attorneys office filed Tuesday, May 31, to seize $275,000 in life insurance payments to beneficiary Rafia Farook, the mother of Syed Rizwan Farook. He died in a shootout with police after the attack at the Inland Regional Center that killed 14 and wounded 22. Part of the document describes the alleged plotting in 2011 and 2012 between Marquez and Farook, who was then his neighbor in Riverside, to attack the Riverside City College campus and the 91 Freeway with guns and bombs. During this period, Marquez had ties to a group of jihadists (California jihadists) who were arrested in 2012 when they attempted to travel to Afghanistan to join al-Qaida, the document says. The paperwork speaks for itself, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Wednesday, June 1. The California group that the court document referred to were Ralph Kenneth Deleon and Sohiel Omar Kabir, who were tried and convicted in their cases. Two other men, Arifeen David Gojali and Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales, entered pleas before trial began. The men were accused of a plot that started in 2010 to kill American soldiers overseas after traveling to Afghanistan and linking with al-Qaida. Kabir, a U.S. citizen, was already in Afghanistan by July 2012 to make connections for the other three men. The FBI previously said that their arrests caused Marquez and Farook to abandon plans for the terrorist attacks at Riverside City College and on the 91. Marquez was the alleged illegal straw buyer of two assault-type rifles for those attacks; they were instead used by Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, in the Dec. 2 San Bernardino shooting. The Redlands couple died the same day in a shootout with police. Marquez is in custody and awaiting trial. He has pleaded not guilty to five counts, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. Federal agents said Marquez did not know about the Dec. 2 attacks. Kabir, of Pomona, and Deleon, of Ontario, were sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. Their cases are on appeal. Santana, of Upland, was sentenced to 10 years and Gojali, of Riverside, to five years. Federal prosecutors filed a court action today, Tuesday, May 31, to seize the assets of $275,000 in life insurance policies taken out by San Bernardino terrorist shooter Syed Rizwan Farook in the years before the attack that claimed 14 lives. The insurance policies one for $25,000 in 2012 and another for $250,000 in 2013, were obtained through his employment with San Bernardino County, where Farook was a health inspector. The legal action by the Los Angeles U.S. Attorneys office seeks a judges order to seize the proceeds of the policies, as well as the policies themselves. Under federal law, any assets derived from a crime of terrorism against the United States, its citizens or residents or their property are subject to forfeiture by the government, the prosecutors office said in a release. Court papers identfied Farooks mother, Rafia Farook, as the prime beneficiary of the policies. Los Angeles U.S Attorney Eileen Decker said the government wants the make the funds available to the victims of the Dec. 2 shooting at the Inland Resource Center, where 22 people were also wounded. My office intends to explore every legal option available to us, she said in a statement. A San Bernardino eatery will be hosting the annual Dollars for Dogs fundraiser to help expand the Redlands Police Departments K9 unit. For the twelfth year, San Bernardinos Mexico Cafe will again host the event Monday. In the past, the fundraiser has benefited the San Bernardino Police Departments K9 unit. This year there will be K9 demonstrations by Redlands police dog Chewy, a 4-year-old German shepherd which the department acquired in 2013. The department is hoping to use the funds raised during the annual event to bring another dog onto the force. RELATED: Public rallies to aid Chewy the police dog The charity event was launched in 2005 and during that first event, the restaurant was able to raise $5,000 for the SBPD program. The annual fundraiser has grown each year. Since its inception in December 2008, the RPD K9 Unit has operated using only private donations. The departments first drug-sniffing K9 was Radar, a black Labrador mix. His handler was Officer Dan Figgins. Four years later, Radar retired from the department, which acquired a trained 3-year-old chocolate Labrador, Kass, who worked with Officer Patrick Estrada. Kass was retired from duty in 2013 and still lives with Estrada and his family. The Redlands Police Department also accepts direct donations to the K9 program. Donations may be made out to the City of Redlands, attention Police Canine Fund, tax ID number 95-6000766. For further information, email Officer Estrada at pestrada@redlandspolice.org. RELATED: Donor pledges $2,500 to Redlands K9 unit The 12th Annual Dollars for Dogs will held from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday at The Mexico Cafe 892 E. Highland Ave. in San Bernardino. The public will be greeted by K9s throughout the day as well as demonstrating their abilities. For more information, call 909-882-3000 or by email at mexicocafe01@gmail.com. The inspection costs were unnecessarily high and led to potential trade barriers, violating WTO regulations and the spirit of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), said Le Hai Binh from Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Vietnam appreciated the decision to cancel the inspections by the U.S. Senate. This is the right step and will contribute to the U.S. fulfilling its pledges to bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, he said. Vietnam has also called for the House of Representatives and the U.S. government to fully lift inspections of catfish, he added. On May 25, 2016, the U.S. Senate voted to cancel the U.S. Department of Agricultures inspection program on catfish. On December 9, 2015, Senators John McCain and Kelly Ayotte introduced the resolution to nullify the inspection program. According to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnams export value of catfish to the U.S. rose 7.2 percent year on year to $151 million during January-April this year. Sierra Romero twice had watched other players accept the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. The third time was the charm for the Vista Murrieta alum, who received the sports highest collegiate honor at a banquet held at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, the site of the Womens College World Series. Romero, a senior second baseman at Michigan, was chosen over Auburn third baseman Kasey Cooper and Florida pitcher Aleshia Ocasio. Romero was a Player of the Year finalist each of the previous two seasons, but those awards were given to Florida States Lacey Waldrop (2014) and Floridas Lauren Haeger (2015). Its an unreal feeling to win the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, Romero said in a release issued by USA Softball. Im glad my team is here to celebrate it with me. It would not be the same if I was here without them. This award is great, and now we focus on the big picture of winning a national championship. Michigan, ranked No.2 in the nation, will open the Womens College World Series on Thursday against LSU. Romero is considered one of the greatest players in NCAA softball history. Entering this years WCWS, she has a career batting average of .444 with 82 home runs, an NCAA record 300 runs, 301 hits and 304 RBI. Romero is the first player in NCAA softball history with at least 300 hits, runs and RBI in their career. Romero is the first Inland player to win USA Softballs top honor. She is the third player from the area to win a national college softball player of the year honor. Trinity Johnson (Temecula Valley) and Kelsey Bruder (Corona Santiago) won the Honda Award for softball in 1997 and 2012, respectively. Federal authorities say they have discovered connections between a friend of the San Bernardino attacker charged with conspiring to carry out other attacks with him and a group of men arrested years earlier in California as part of a different plot. This comes after the FBI had said in the weeks after the Dec. 2 rampage in San Bernardino, Calif., that they found no evidence of any ties between husband-and-wife attackers and a group of men arrested in 2012 and charged with plotting to travel to Afghanistan to kill American soldiers. Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, opened fire inside a company holiday party in December, killing 14 people before dying hours later in a shootout with police. Authorities later said Malik pledged allegiance to the head of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in a posting on Facebook after the attack. Investigators have since sought to determine whether the couple had any other accomplices or connections to other groups, an issue that FBI Director James Comey highlighted in arguing for why the bureau needed to access Farooks locked iPhone. Law enforcement officials have said the iPhone, which was eventually unlocked, has not revealed any connections to foreign terrorists. Comey has also said authorities believe the attackers were inspired by foreign terrorist groups. Weeks after the attack, authorities arrested Enrique Marquez Jr., a former neighbor of Farooks, and charged him with plotting to carry out other attacks in 2011 and 2012. Farook and Marquez had put together detailed plans for the attacks, according to the FBI. In one plot, they discussed attacking the heavily-trafficked Route 91 by throwing pipe bombs into the road to stop traffic and then shooting at trapped motorists and first responders alike. In another, the FBI alleges that they talked about going to Riverside City College a community college both had attended and hurling pipe bombs into the cafeteria. Federal authorities say Marquez bought the guns later used in the San Bernardino attack during this plotting and purchased explosive material later used to build the pipe bomb found at the scene of the December rampage. Prosecutors have said there is no evidence Marquez had any knowledge of the San Bernardino attack before it happened. The attacks plotted by Farook and Marquez were never carried out, and according to the criminal complaint filed against Marquez, he told authorities that he distanced himself from Farook and ceased plotting with him after 2012 for a variety of reasons, including the arrest of Ralph Deleon and others on material support charges in November 2012. All four men later pleaded guilty. Around the time of Marquezs arrest in December, Comey said investigators had not found any evidence suggesting that Farook had any connections to these men. But in a court filing Tuesday, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys Office in Los Angeles revisited the allegations that Farook and Marquez had been plotting attacks together and drew a connection. During the window when he plotted with Farook, Marquez had ties to a group of jihadists . who were arrested in 2012, the filing states. After these men were arrested, it continues, Marquez distanced himself from Farook. The filing does not elaborate on these ties or when federal authorities discovered them. An attorney for Marquez did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. This information was included in a court document filed Tuesday by federal prosecutors who say they want to seize payments on life insurance policies Farook took out years earlier, arguing that the money should be forfeited because it stemmed from terrorism. The policies, worth a total of $275,000, designated his mother as the primary beneficiary in case he died, the civil forfeiture filing states. Prosecutors say Farooks death in the shootout with police triggered payments from these policies. Terrorists must not be permitted to provide for their designated beneficiaries through their crimes, Eileen M. Decker, the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, said in a statement. My office intends to explore every legal option available to us to ensure these funds are made available to the victims of this horrific crime. We will continue to use every tool available to seek justice on behalf of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks. In the new filing, prosecutors say that Farook set up the life insurance policies after he had already begun plotting attacks, highlighting how he and Marquez began discussing plans as early as 2011. Farook and Malik began communicating online about jihad and martyrdom the following year, the FBI said. The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California says that in 2012, Farook got a life insurance policy with a $25,000 death benefit through his job working for San Bernardino County. Prosecutors say he got also a supplemental policy worth $250,000 in 2013. Under federal law, any asset derived from terrorism is subject to forfeiture. Prosecutors argued in their filing Tuesday that money stemming from Farooks life insurance policy fit this bill because Farooks death during the attack is what sparked these payments. Prosecutors say they are seeking all money, as well as benefits and interest, stemming from Farooks two policies. An attorney for Rafia Farook was not immediately listed in court records. Since the attack, police arrested and charged Farooks brother, Syed Raheel Farook, as well as Raheels wife and sister, charging them all with marriage fraud. Raheels sister-in-law is married to Marquez, and authorities have alleged that their marriage was a sham designed to get her immigration benefits. The California State Senate is advancing a bill to eliminate the states 10-year statute of limitations on rape and child molestation charges. The legislation approved Wednesday was driven in part by prosecutors difficulty in pursuing sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby. Earlier this year, several of Cosbys accusers told a Senate committee that they were unable to bring charges because they didnt come forward years ago. Cosby has consistently denied sexual abuse allegations made by dozens of women around the country. Some of the claims date to the 1960s. Canyon Lake resident Judy Huth is suing Cosby based on her allegations that, when she was a 15 in the 1970s, Cosby lured her to Hefners Playboy Mansion and sexually abused her. The bill was opposed by civil rights groups and public defenders, who say it wont resolve the under-prosecution of sex crimes. Senators approved SB813 by Democratic Sen. Connie Leyva of Chino in a 32-0 vote. It goes next to the Assembly. RELATED Comedian wants Canyon Lake womans case dismissed Cosby to be deposed again in Huth suit Womans lawsuit against Bill Cosby to proceed Canyon Lake residents suit against entertainer can proceed Access to water is a given for the students at Dehesa Charter School in Murrieta, but the children know its a struggle for people in Sudan, who often walk many miles to get their water. To get a better feel for the struggle, 15 students in grades 6-8 took a 3-mile walk around Murrieta on Wednesday, May 25, carrying gallon jugs of water. The walk was part of a project for their Project Brainstorm class, led by instructors Carrie Clanton and Amy Stratton, where students work on group projects. The students also read and discussed a book called, A Long Walk to Water, about the people of Southern Sudan and their trek for water. In addition, they heard from a local high school student who had previously visited Africa. He discussed his experiences helping to dig wells. I thought the walk would be hard and so did my classmates, said Sarah Schaeffer, 14, of Murrieta, an eighth-grader at Dehesa Charter School, a homeschool program in Riverside County with a branch in Murrieta. It really wasnt though, because when we remembered what we were doing it for, it helps. It was a lot of fun, actually. People in Sudan have to walk 6 miles twice per day and carry five-gallon jugs to get water, Schaeffer said. The water that they get is muddy water, its not even clean. It made it real when we were walking, she said. The project was a fundraiser as well. The students raised $500 to donate to Water for South Sudan, which funds the digging of wells, provides access to clean water and offers hygiene education. Our goal was $150 and we raised $500. Most of the people got it from grandparents and family members, said Sarah, who with classmate Emily McCaughey crafted a donation letter they shared with their classmates to spread the word about the fundraising effort. After the walk, Clanton said the students had to write a short reflection essay and research a charitable organization that they could help. Amy and I and had tears in our eyes. It was the best presentation we had all year, Clanton said. When these middle school students had to look outside themselves, it was the best thing we had ever created. Contact the writer: community@pressenterprise.com The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted on Thursday the Russia-Ghana business forum which attracted representatives from Russian industrial and commercial sectors. The forum was also attended by a Ghanaian delegation. It was meant to highlight investment opportunities as well as find ways of promoting trade between the two countries. There were various presentations on the economic and investment potential of Ghana. In a welcome speech, Ghana's Ambassador to the Russian Federation and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Dr. Kodzo Kpoku Alabo, noted that Ghana is rich in gold and diamond, in addition to which it recently found oil and gas reserves. According to him, Ghana is investing heavily in industries including agriculture, timber processing, telecommunications and tourism. He also told the business gathering that the countrys stable political atmosphere contributes to the attraction of foreign investors, and expressed the hoped that Russian investors and business people would engage in joint projects with local Ghanaian partners. Russia and Ghana are linked by nearly 60 years of diplomatic relations, but business relations are not well developed, as markets in both countries still remain largely untapped and unexploited. Ghana is one of the fastest developing countries on the African continent, interested in attracting foreign capital. The factors that attract foreign investors to Ghana can be attributed to the favorable investment climate, rapidly developing infrastructure and a skilled labour force. The country has developed a stable political environment in the last two decades, leading to economic growth. In his contribution, the Russian Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Vladimir Padalko noted that relations between Russia and Ghana can be regarded as f riendly and partnership. In recent years, constructive dialogue at the political level, both in bilateral and multilateral formats, have been established between the countries. However, it has to be acknowledged that the economic activity between Russia and Ghana is insignificant. Ghana is Russias 6th trade partner among African countries South of the Sahara. In 2015, bilateral trade increased by 32 per cent and amounted to $216 million dollars. Mr Padalko pointed out that perspective directions of bilateral trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries include mining, energy, housing, utilities, transport infrastructure, agriculture, information technology, telecommunications, tourism and health. But a significant deterrent to the development of bilateral relations is the absence of information on Russian companies doing business in Ghana. To resolve this task, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2009 created the Coordinating Committee on Economic Cooperation with Africa (South of Sahara), combining about 120 Russian companies and organizations interested in working on African issues. Mr Padalko therefore urged representatives of Russian companies to make relentless efforts to obtain the most relevant information about the current economic situation in Ghana, its investment potential, as well as discuss promising areas of business in the country. In his discussion, the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, who is also the co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Russia-Ghana Commission on Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, Mr. Yevgeny A. Kiselyov, drew attention to the implementation of the already signed agreements between Russia and Ghana, in particular, the contract Russian State Corporation "Rosatom", with the Government of the Republic of Ghana on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. According to Kiselyov, Ghana also has excellent prospects as a country with a large number of minerals. Mr Alexander Dianov, the Deputy Chairman of the Intergovernmental Russia-Ghana Commission on Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, said with the resumption of the work mechanism, the Commission must significantly step up cooperation in trade, economic and scientific-technical spheres. Speakers at the forum expressed the optimism that both Russia and Ghana had the chance to strengthen their business contacts, increase exchange of visits and participation in economic events to significantly promote trade and investment between the two sides. Russia and Ghana will soon sign two agreements, one on protection of investment and the other on avoidance of double taxation, as additional measures to bolster mutually beneficial economic cooperation. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video About 25 families of the victims of the June 3 flood and fire disaster have received the stipulated cash support of GH10,000 per head from government. This addition brings the total number of families that have received the cash support so far to 71. If it would be recalled, the disaster claimed about 160 lives. Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), presenting the money to the families of the victims in a short ceremony held in Accra yesterday, stated that the gesture is to enable dependents left by the victims have some financial support. He also held that it is to clear any cost that may have been incurred on behalf of the victims, especially the cost of burial. Though the monies would not bring the victims back, we are hopeful that it will lessen the pressure on the survivors and, to a large extent, their families, he reiterated. Speaking on when the assembly would cover all the families of the victims, he detailed that as of now some deceased persons are still unidentified and are at the morgue. As soon as the bodies are identified and claimed, the necessary procedure will follow to ensure that their families receive the cash support, he added. To commemorate the June 3 disaster, Dr Vanderpuije detailed that on Friday a non-denominational service would be held at the Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church at Adabraka for the departed souls, which will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony. Dr Oko Vanderpuije seized the opportunity to assure the general public that the AMA is working tirelessly to ensure that the June 3 disaster doesnt ever occur again in the history of the country. He expressed his profound condolences to the families of the victims and encouraged them to take refuge in the Lord. Two families who spoke to The Finder expressed their gratitude to government for the support, and assured that the money would go to support school-going children of the deceased. Source: The Finder Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video On May 26, 2016, a Mauritanian journalist was summarily dismissed from his post for mispronouncing the name of the wife of President Mohammed Ould Abdoul Aziz. While presenting the 7 oclock news in Wolof (one of Mauritanias four national languages) on the state-owned Radio Rurale, Pape Khalilou Diop mispronounced the Arabic name of the first lady, Mariem Mint Ahmed. According to news reports, Diop was threatened with a dismissal right after presenting the news. The new Director General Abdallah Hormatallah, whispered into my ears that I would be sanctioned, Diop told Mauritanian online journal Alakhbar. Some hours later, the Manager of Radio Rurale informed me of my sack without prior official notice. The online journal also reported that the station manager in charge of national language broadcasts, Idy Soumare, has confirmed Diops dismissal. Prior to his dismissal, the newscaster had been with the Wolof Section of the station for six years. This is the second time in two months that a journalist in Mauritania has landed in trouble in connection with a matter concerning President Mohammed Ould Abdoul Azizs family. On April 7, 2016, Bedr Ould Abdel Aziz, the presidents son, caused the arrest and detention of Jedna Deida, manager of the mauriweb.info website and Baye Ndiaye, webmaster of cridem.org. The two had reported an incident at the presidents cattle ranch in which Bedre allegedly shot at one of his fathers herdsmen. After a flurry of protestations from the Mauritania media, the prosecution withdrew charges against the two when they appeared in court on April 15th, 2016. The MFWA finds Pape Khalilou Diops dismissal arbitrary, harsh and unnecessary. Mispronouncing the name of the first lady or anyone for that matter should not warrant such an action. We call on the authorities of Radio Rurale to reconsider the decision and reinstate Diop. We also appeal to the first lady of Mauritania to intervene on behalf of the journalist to dissociate herself from such a blatant abuse of power by the management of the national broadcaster. Source: bbc Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Kwesi Pratt has commended President John Dramani Mahama and his government for reviving the Komenda Sugar Factory. According to Mr. Pratt, revival of the factory will help create thousands of jobs for the people of Ghana. President John Mahama on Monday, May 30, commissioned the Komenda Sugar Factory at Komenda in the Central Region. Over 7000 jobs are estimated to be created for Ghanaians as a result of the opening of the factory. The factory became defunct years ago. In 2014, government partnered the private sector to revive it. The factory will produce sugar both for domestic use and export. Speaking on Kokrokoo on Peace FM, Kwesi Pratt noted that reviving the factory has always been a part of the CPP manifesto and believed his party, the Convention People's Party (CPP), would have reinvigorated the factory if power was handed over to the party by Ghanaians. In his view, it's only appropriate to laud the efforts by President John Mahama and his government as the Sugar Factory comes alive. Its our prayer to win power to revive all the major projects that we sold and collapsed. How can I as a CPP member sit here and say that what we say we will do when we get power, someone has done it and so its not good? How can I say that? How can I possibly say that? Mr. Pratt further addressed critics of President Mahama for commissioning the factory. He wondered how the critics expected the factory to immediately go on large-scale production. To him, every factory begins on a small scale before it becomes full-blown but he strongly held that the important thing is that what President Mahama has done will help the nation to make giant strides. I dont believe this will solve our sugar import problem completely. I dont believe this will solve the unemployment problem in Ghana. It cannot but it is one step forward. A Chinese saying goes that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step," he stated. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Deputy Communications Director of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fred Agbenyo has responded to NPP flagbearer, Nana Addo's assertion that Ghana imports plantain from Cote dIvoire. Nana Addo, addressing an NPP branch meeting in Paris on Saturday, May 28, disclosed that the once buoyant country - Ghana - particularly in the agricultural sector is sharply declining as it imports plantain from Cote dIvoire. "When Kufour was leaving office in 2008, the food import bill for our country was $600 million. Mills and Mahama criticized Kufour for his performance and they promised to reduce it. Last year, the food import bill of our country was $1.5 billion. We are now importing plantain into Ghana! Agriculture, which in Kufours last year was growing at 7.4%; this last year was 0.04%. These are the facts about Ghana, they are not my inventions. You look at the official and budget statistics, youll find it there, he said. But the NDC Deputy Communications Director has punched holes in Nana Addo's remarks about the economy, claiming that statistics from the World Bank prove that Ghana's economy is greater than that of Cote dIvoire. Fred Agbenyo noted on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' that Nana Addo seems to be enthused in making arguments and comparisons of Ghana to other neighbouring countries and leaders. He cited Nana Addo for comparing President John Mahama's leadership to Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari. But to Fred Agbenyo, the NPP flagbearer is missing g the plot because Ghana's economy is doing well under the Mahama administration. He however wished that Nana Addo could be given a 30-minute opportunity to rule the nation and see if he could remedy the economy, claiming that Nana Addo thinks when he becomes the President; "you can fix everything. You can do it. You have the solution to Ghanas problems." Ghanas economy is far greater than Cote DIvoires economy today. It is truein every area. Even electricity penetration alone, the whole of Cote DIvoire; (people who have) they are under national grid and have electricity is about 30% whereas Ghana, we are talking close to about almost 84%. In terms of economy, Ghana is next to Nigeria," he further added as evidence to the good governance system of President John Mahama. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Tomorrow, Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, will represent the Commission at the Energy Council meeting in Luxembourg. Former Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly boss and New Patriotic Party [NPP] member, Maxwell Kofi Jumah says he has always believed that life is too short for rows and disagreements. According to him, it will be prudent to apologize for his wrongdoing and remain friends with the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin rather than win an argument and be an enemy. Kofi Jumah on Monday May 30, launched a verbal attack on the British High Commissioner to Ghana and angrily described him as a fool for his swift defence of the Central Regional Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Allotey Jacobs, who was alleged to have been arrested in the UK. So if Britain wants someone as a High Commissioner to Ghana, must they appoint a fool like Jon Benjamin as their Commissioner to Ghana? That man is a fool, Mr Jumah angrily said on NEAT FMs morning show 'Ghana Montie'. This was after Mr Jon Benjamin had tweeted that I can confirm that the rumor about Mr. Jacobs is definitely not true . . . Mr. Allotey Jacobs transited Heathrow this morning without incident. However, the former NPP lawmaker, Kofi Jumah after days of his invectives has shown compunction and is pleading for forgiveness from Mr Jon Benjamin for his gaffe. What happened was unfortunate. On my part, I was misinformed about the whole issue so that triggered me to say things I shouldnt have said. But I havent met Jon Benjamin yet, but if I have the opportunity to meet him, I will plead with him to forgive me. . . I say sorry to the man. What I said about him isnt appropriate. He should forgive me, a remorseful Kofi Jumah said in an interview with Kwesi Aboagye on NEAT FMs morning show. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007 Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The New Patriotic Partys elected parliamentary candidate for the Mfansteman Constituency, Mr. Ekow Kwansah Hayford, is steadily winning the heart of several electorates by demonstrating glimpses of what leadership under him would bring to his constituents. After months of organizing free healthcare screening for over two hundred and fifty people in the Biriwa area within the Mfansteman Constituency, Mr. Ekow Kwansah Hayford, has shown no sign of tiring. He has presented assorted construction logistics to a deprived community and pledged to support them in the construction of a six seater KVIP. Aside this, he also interacted and presented 50 bags of building cement to the Biriwa VTRI school. In an address to the student, the aspiring MP made it clear that my desire is to empower the youth through entrepreneurial skills and vocational skills. My dream is secure a partnership package from countries like Germany, Netherlands and Canada to offer scholarships and training packages for the students. The students greeted his speech with cheerful noise when he announced he would help them in acquiring a school bus which they currently lack. He ended his tour by visiting the Methodist JHS in Biriwa to renovate it. Photos below: Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/ email:[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Organiser of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Adams, thinks Ghana would have been far better without the inclusion of NPP in Ghanas politics he described the party as a disgraceful party no person must join. His comment comes after the NPP in a statement called for an investigation into Allotey Jacobs US travel and alleged arrest. The NPP in a statement issued by Nana Akomea, NPPs Communications Director on Tuesday said If this trip is sponsored by the Ghanaian taxpayer, we wish to know if it is in consonance with the recent directive from the Office of Chief of Staff, ostensibly issued to curtail wasteful, expensive, luxurious travels by public officials. Portion of the statement also reads Indeed, the corruption and incompetence that have characterized the Mahama administration is readily evidenced in this Allotey Bernard Sag where the dealings of an important State institution, the National Petroleum Authority, is subjected to party cronyism and left in the hands of a board member who is bereft of the competence and expertise in the activities of the institution mandated to regulate, oversee and monitor the petroleum downstream industry in Ghana. Nonetheless, Kofi Adams believes the call by the NPP is unneeded and must be slammed NPP is a disgrace to Ghana politics. Indeed Ghana would have been better without NPP but unfortunately we have to contain them. Because of their lies, Ghanaians are insulting UK and their commissioner to Ghana, yet their flagbearer (Nana Addo) has kept mute on the issue before of his benefits he said The NDC National Organizer also criticized heavily the NPPs statement and maintained that its content is below standard. Are you satisfied with the content of their statement? I will be surprise if anyone is satisfied with the content, he told host Kwesi Aboagye on 'Ghana Montie' programmee. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007 Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Central Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwamena Duncan has cast shreds of doubt over President John Mahama's commission of the Komenda Sugar Factory to function. The Komenda Sugar Factory at Komenda in the Central Region was commissioned by the President for domestic use and export. President John Mahama reportedly announced that the factory will pay GHC 60 per ton of sugar cane for processing at the factory. The commencement of the Komenda Sugar Factory is also geared towards creating over 7000 jobs and further save the country $300 million. But speaking on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, Kwamena Duncan shared contrary views that the factory would help the Ghanaian citizenry, particularly by creating jobs. According to him, the foundation for the project to work has already been broken by the government because payment of 60 cedis to motivate people into sugar cane plantation is a major disincentive. Though the factory will depend primarily on sugar cane production, Kwamena Duncan believes the plantation has been extinct over years; hence the factory may face challenges producing sugar and other commodities for export. He noted that the factory can be sustained when there are sugar cane farmers but paying them 60 cedis per ton of sugar cane will not give the sector a boost. Already the foundation is broken even before we proceed because there can never be an incentive in this pricing. There can never be an incentive in this. The President has already announced it; GHC 60 per tonYou ask yourself what thought processes went into this. How did he arrive at the GHC 60 per ton and you think that this will be incentive enough for people to get into the sugar cane plantationand to get the factory sustained? To him, the Mahama government has already failed the nation adding that they cannot revamp the factory as it should. Ghanaians, he stated, need "somebody who will come and manage the economy in such a way that there will be availability of jobs. Not this type of shambolic deceptive type of lets go and do it in a fan fare waywhen indeed the real effect is nothing. Its zero. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ever been insanely deep in a heated argument when you realise that you are incredibly, incredibly wrong, but youve dedicated so much time and effort into your frankly absurd point that you need to keep fighting anyway? Queensland shadow Attorney-General Ian Walker knows that feeling. He knows that feeling well. Bit of background. The Queensland Police has finished a nine-month investigation and a commissioned three month independent inquiry into Government MP Rick Walker over alleged intimidation and unscrupulous conduct, after which no charges were filed. The Liberal National Party Opposition clearly smelt blood in the water, and are demanding the Government release the results of the independent inquiry. One problem: the Government are not the police. Thats a reasonably important foundation of our democracy. This was a police-initiated investigation. So when Walker decided to call a press conference demanding the Government explain the result of the investigation, it probably wasnt ever going to go well. What followed was an absolute trainwreck of a presser, in which journalists repeatedly schooled the man who wants to be Attorney-General on the absolute fundamentals of the separation of powers. The Brisbane Times released the transcript, and HOO BOY. Peep some highlights: WALKER: Im suggesting that the government owes Queenslanders a better explanation of what has happened REPORTER: Why? Its a police investigation W: Well, they need to explain the nature of that. R: But its a police investigation. It continued. Agonisingly. R: Its not their investigation though, so why is the government responsible for a police investigation? W: Because the police are part of the executive arm of government, the executive arm of government deserves to explain to the people of Queensland whats gone on here? R: But no, thats not how the separation of power works. You can almost pinpoint the part where he realised that his interpretation of the preceding events is dramatically, perhaps critically, wrong. R: Can you understand the confusion you are asking the government to explain the results of a police investigation do you understand that a police investigation is separate to the government? W: Correct. I am asking the government to explain the process, and the process was a nine-month police investigation, a three month referral to an independent lawyer, during which time was Mr Williams himself asked anything. So he said this morning. The entire thing is absolutely worth a read. Theres only so many times you can make a The Thick of It comparison before it becomes painfully laboured, but this fits the criteria. The peak is when a reporter asks Walker whether the very existence of this press conference could perhaps harm [his] credibility as a future Attorney-General. We know Queensland has a very sketchy history with separating the police and the government, but cmon. Source: Brisbane Times. Photo: The Simpsons. Fears are increasing for the safety of the Japanese boy missing in a forest in Hokkaido after being left alone by his parents to teach him a lesson, with rescuers saying he has passed the crucial 72-hour mark. Yamato Tanooka, whos just 7 years old, was throwing rocks at cars and people when his folks got fed up and decided to pretend to leave him on a mountain roadside. Unfortunately, when they came back soon after to get him, he had already disappeared. Rescuers are saying that the chances look grim, as the boy was only wearing light clothing, had no food or water when he went missing and the forest is known for its bears. A party of around 130 has been searching for Tanooka since Saturday, but the search had to be called off today due to heavy rain. Two hunters who had joined the search party thought they had found bear droppings in the area but they turned out to be from smaller animals. Satoshi Saito, a spokesman for the rescue team, says they are having trouble trying to pinpoint where he might have gone: We just have too little information about how the boy would have acted after being left alone. He must have been able to walk around himself, but we are having a difficult time projecting which route he would have taken and how far. Unless he started climbing the mountain, he would have hit a main road after walking for two-three kilometres in any other direction. Tanookas father has expressed deep regret over their actions, at first telling the police that their son had gotten lost while they were out searching for vegetables: We have done an unforgivable thing to our child, and we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone. I just hope he is safe. Police are considering filing neglect charges on the parents, who are probably already in a world of pain. Source: News.com.au. Photo: Getty Images / JTB Photo. Welp. That headlines a sentence you definitely didnt expect to read today, I can almost 100% guarantee it. Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson is incensed after the bodies of 14 tiny wee penguins that had sadly been killed at the Stanley beach on Tasmanias north-west coast were discovered this past Sunday night. Its believed that the penguins were all killed by dogs that had been allowed to roam free on the beach. Whish-Wilson, mincing very few words, stated that the situation was absolutely unacceptable, and called for drastic action to be taken to ensure the future safety of the resident penguin colony. Drastic action like employing a sniper to camp out at the beach. A sniper that would shoot any rogue dogs wandering the beach unattended. Seriously. Our party has spoken to Parks and Wildlife, [and we need to do] what they did in Sydney and bring in a sniper, bring in an army sniper. I think it is the only thing we can do here. Whish-Wilson stated that the plan would involve letterbox dropping around the local area informing residents that any dog found on the beach alone would be shot. If your dogs are going to be down there, theyre going to get shot, this is what weve had to do in other areas. The other areas Whish-Wilson refers to is the remarkable plan back in 2009 that did see two marksmen employed to protect the fairy penguin colony at Manly and North Head, after nine of the animals were killed. However, this was largely due to foxes, and was used in conjunction with a fox-baiting program, along with infrared cameras. With Tasmania being an effectively (and officially) fox-free state, any potential plan to pay snipers to provide covering fire for commando-rolling penguins would solely be targeting domesticated pet dogs. Fortunately, Circular Head Mayor Darryl Quillam expressed extreme doubt as to whether residents would stomach having a bloke with a high-powered rifle just chilling on the banks of their beach. Snipers on the beach in a town boundary I dont think would be acceptable, and I dont think our community would accept that as being a practical solution. Well need to be prosecuting people that arent looking after their dogs properly. Its not acceptable that people leave their dogs roaming around streets. So there you have it. Maybe just lock your dogs up securely at night and make sure they leave the poor wee little penguins alone. Yknow. Like a responsible pet owner. Source: ABC News. Photo: Auscape/Getty. A town in Fuck Off Nowhere, America has made a super interesting choice with their public art, erecting a statue immortalising the incredibly important art of the selfie provoking responses that vary from oh ok sure to THE END IS NIGH. Sugar Land, TX (just southwest of Houston) has had ten statues donated to them by a resident, one of which shows a dude doing the much more obnoxious, heinous act of playing an acoustic guitar public. The statues are meant to depict the sort of shit people usually do in Sugar Lands public areas, which I guess makes taking selfies a pretty reasonable if pretty weird choice. People however, do not like it: Theres a statue of 2 girls taking a selfie in SL Town Center..hahahahahahahaha wtf has this world come to. #Ridiculous Mohammad Elsaadi (@_brohammad) May 27, 2016 The new statue in sugar land town center of 2 girls taking a selfie makes me really sad. If youre going to put one, make it meaningful. Rachel Lee (@RachelLee1_) May 27, 2016 Others were super ready to embrace it: THERES A SELFIE STATUE IN MY TOWN. pic.twitter.com/hEV0MLM04L ( ?? ??)/ (@Gemrick) May 28, 2016 Is it the end of society as we know it as narcissism and vanity are enshrined in gold (well, copper probably)? No. Is it a very odd looking statue? You betcha. Source: Nine News. Photo: Twitter / @Gemrick. Well this is absolutely bloody fucked: a court has found strong evidence that NSW Police deleted photos off a womans phone which identified a police officer who groped her. Simone White, 41, took part in the anti-Reclaim Australia protests in Sydney in July 2015, during which she says an unidentified officer twice grabbed her breasts during a jostle between police and demonstrators. Video footage shows her turning around and taking photos of the officer. This is fact, despite police later accusing her of lying during a cross-examination. Shortly after taking the photos, White was arrested by senior constable John Wasko and charged with assault. Wasko claimed she had attempted to elbow him in the crowd, and she claimed that hed pushed her and grabbed her around the neck, causing slight injury. Its here that the issues of ~casually destroyed evidence~ become apparent: White was taken to a mobile police station where a female officer took her phone, saying that it was necessary to identify her (shed already produced a bank card to verify her identity). White told the court that she asked the officer not to delete any photos, yet when she received her phone back, the photos of the officer (the one she said had groped her in the crowd) had been deleted. Her defence team tried to subpoena the footage from inside the mobile police station as evidence, yet this was ignored by police, with Wasko telling the court that the camera was faulty that day. However, in response to the subpoena, police eventually produced video footage that showed Wasko pushing White in the back, but no evidence she had tried to elbow Wasko the assault she was arrested for. Magistrate Geoffrey Bradd dismissed the charges against White and took the unusual step of forcing police to pay her legal costs, awarding her $13,400. He then gave the police a savaging, saying that theyd investigated the case in an unreasonable and improper manner by accusing White of lying about taking the photos during a cross-examination, despite video footage proving their existence. The evidence strongly indicates that Ms White believes her breasts were twice clasped by a police officer, that she took photographs of the police officer she suspected of indecently assaulting her; the photographs were deleted by a police officer before the phone was returned to Ms White, he said. Whites lawyer Lydia Shelly said this sends a very clear message to police: It is not a criminal offence to protest nor is it an offence to film police if you are not hindering their duties. Source: The Guardian / Fairfax. Photo: Getty / Mark Kolbe. CONTENT WARNING: This article contains graphic imagery of injuries sustained by alleged domestic violence. If this topic could cause you distress of any kind, please be wary of continuing. If you would like to speak to someone about domestic violence, you can speak to the amazing people at 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).The details surrounding the domestic violence and divorce case between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp continues to get more and more sickening and hectic. Heard, who filed to dissolve their marriage and subsequently placed a domestic violence restraining order on Depp, citing years of physical and emotional abuse, has since been the subject of doubt, victim-blaming, accusation, and misinformation from all comers; notably from both certain sections of the public, and even from Depps own legal team, who accused Heard of falsifying her claims in order to gain a financial payout. Depps representatives have hung their entire case on the fact that Heard initially refused to provide the LAPD with a statement, which would have provided a backbone for any criminal assault proceedings against Depp. However, a lengthy statement issued by Heards legal team confirms that she has since provided a statement to the LAPD in an effort to stop the lies and attacks being aimed at her by Depp and his representatives. The statement, which is extremely lengthy and particularly spirited, notes that Heards reluctance to speak to police is merely indicative of the typical reaction by victims of domestic violence; one of placing the feelings of the perpetrator above their own. As the result of Ambers decision to decline giving an initial statement to the LAPD, her silence has been used against her by Johnnys team. Amber did not provide a statement to the LAPD in an attempt to protect her privacy and Johnnys career. Johnnys team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts, as she cannot continue to leave herself open to the vicious false and malicious allegations that have infected the media. Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny. In domestic violence cases, it is not unusual for the perpetrators playbook to include miscasting the victim as the villain. In reality, Amber acted no differently than many victims of domestic violence, who think first of the harm that might come to the abuser, rather than the abuse they have already suffered. Amber can no longer endure the relentless attacks and outright lies launched against her character in the Court of Public Opinion since the tragic events of May 21st. With her statement Amber hopes to give the LAPD the opportunity to conduct an accurate and complete investigation into the events of that evening and before. If that occurs, and the truth is revealed, there is no doubt that Ambers claims will be substantiated beyond any doubt, and hopefully Johnny will get the help that he so desperately needs. From the beginning it has been Ambers desire to keep this matter as private as possible, even though LAPD officers responded to a 911 call made by a third-party. The LAPD officers viewed not only the disarray that Johnny had caused in the apartment but also the physical injuries to Ambers face. We filed the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage at the very end of the day on Monday May 23rd and we did not serve Johnny with the Petition at the premiere of Alice Through the Looking Glass that evening. We sent a letter to Johnnys counsel team the next morning making it clear we wanted to keep this matter out of the media. We then held off requesting a domestic violence restraining order as we knew that Johnny was out of the country. We took the high road. Unfortunately, Johnnys team immediately went to the press and began viciously attacking Ambers character. Amber is simply a victim of domestic violence, and none of her actions are motivated by money. Amber is a brave and financially independent woman who is showing the courage of her convictions by doing the right thing against Johnnys relentless army of lawyers and surrogates. The Family Law Court is not going to be influenced by misinformation placed in the social media based on anonymous sources. Amber is the victim. Amber is a hero. Meanwhile, reports are also alleging that Depps highly publicised arm injury suffered whilst filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was the result of an argument between the couple. Variety reports that Depp injured his hand after he punched a wall during an altercation between the pair in March of 2015. The injury halted filming on Pirates and forced Depp to leave the Gold Coast set and return to the US for surgery. In a court appearance last Friday, Heard stated that Depp had a short fuse, an exceptionally scary temper, documented issues with drugs and alcohol, and was profoundly paranoid. I live in fear that Johnny will return to (our house) unannounced to terrorise me, physically and emotionally. Source: Just Jared. Photo: Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty. One has to pity Greeces battered citizenry. European finance ministers have agreed to provide the country with a much-needed loan disbursement, but have attached the most onerous of budget austerity strings. If Greeces own past experience with budget austerity in a Euro straitjacket is any guide, those strings are likely to ensure that Greece will not emerge anytime soon from its six-year economic depression. That has to be regretted since that depression is now on a scale of that experienced by the United States in the 1930s. It has also seen Greek unemployment rise to its present 24 percent level. To its credit, the International Monetary Fund has finally, if belatedly, come around to the view that excessive budget austerity within a Euro straitjacket was a principal contributor to the Greek economic implosion over the past six years. For that reason, the IMF has been forcefully arguing that Europe should offer Greece substantial debt reduction. The IMF has done so with the hope that this might limit the amount of budget adjustment that might be required of Greece to ensure debt sustainability. In that context, the IMF has been suggesting that the most that should be reasonably required of Greece on a long-term basis is a 1.5 percent of GDP primary budget surplus (a surplus excluding interest payments). That is to be compared with the 3.5 percentage points of GDP primary budget surplus still being demanded by Greeces European partners. Sadly, European finance ministers chose to largely ignore the IMFs counsel. While agreeing to release Greece a much needed $10 billion loan tranche, it insisted that any notion of Greek debt restructuring be deferred until 2018. Though of course not explicitly stated, that latter date would conveniently be after the German elections were safely out of the way and would thereby ensure that Greek debt reduction did not become an issue in those elections. In the meantime, the Greeks are now expected to deliver on their original commitment of attaining a 3.5 percent primary budget surplus by 2018. They are to do so even though the IMF estimates that delivery of such a budget surplus would require as much as 4.5 percentage points of budget adjustment over the next two years. To make sure that the Greeks deliver on this primary budget surplus target, the European finance ministers not only required of Greece painful upfront tax increases as a precondition for releasing the latest loan disbursement. They also required of Greece a firm commitment to contingency budget measures amounting to close to 2 percentage points of GDP. Those measures are to be implemented in the event that the primary budget surplus target appeared to be going off track. The very scale of the budget austerity measures now still being required of Greece has to raise two basic questions. First, if excessive budget austerity in the past within a Euro straitjacket has brought Greece to its dreadful current economic and social pass, will more budget austerity within that same Euro straitjacket now produce any better a result? This question would seem especially to be of relevance when the Greek government is in an even weaker position now than before to undertake structural economic reforms. Second, if Greece fails to have meaningful economic growth, why will Greeces debt become any less unsustainable than the IMF thinks it is today? This is not to suggest that these questions are not being seriously asked by the European finance ministers. Rather, it is to suggest that Greece is once again being cynically sacrificed for the political convenience of its European taskmasters. This is all too likely to prove shortsighted as this latest round of austerity runs the real risk of ensuring that Greece becomes a failed state as its economic depression only deepens. Desmond Lachman is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He was formerly a deputy director in the International Monetary Fund's Policy Development and Review Department and the chief emerging market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney. Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, e21 delivers a short email that includes e21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the e21 Morning Ebrief. Writers at E21 have generally been critical of regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I argued that the Clean Power Plan, an EPA scheme to reduce carbon emissions, placed unjustifiably disparate burdens on different states. Senior Fellow Diana Furchtgott-Roth showed that the EPA used dubious methodology, including double- and triple-counting of benefits, in its cost-benefit analysis of the emissions regulations. However, in the case of the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) currently moving through Congress, new powers granted to EPA are warranted. The bill, passed by the House and awaiting final approval from the Senate, is sponsored by Illinois Congressman John Shimkus, a Republican. It authorizes the EPA to conduct testing of toxic chemicals used in common household products and determine whether they pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. If this determination is made, or if the EPA decides there is insufficient information to render a determination, the agency is authorized to regulate or prohibit manufacture of the chemical. These are sweeping new powers, and advocates of limited government intervention are right to be skeptical of them. However, since the EPA is currently not authorized to regulate these chemicals, individual states have taken the lead. Since 2003, states have passed a grand total of 167 statutes regulating toxic chemicals, according to Safer States, an advocacy group. Over a hundred more bills pertaining to chemical regulation are currently working their way through state legislatures. California alone has 23 recent laws on the books pertaining to chemical regulation, with six more in the pipeline. And this does not even take into account the countless regulations issued by state agencies under the laws. Number of Laws Regulating Toxic Chemicals by State, 2003-Present Darker colors represent more laws. States in white have passed no recent chemical laws. This creates an inconsistent patchwork of regulations that manufacturers must deal with individually. It is far easier for businesses to deal with a single regulation from the EPA than with up to 50 different regulations from the states. Under the TSCA reform bill, states cannot prohibit or restrict a chemical that the EPA has determined to be safe (with exceptions for grandfathered regulations). While it does mean an expansion of federal power, the bill will reduce the cost, time, and uncertainty associated with bringing a chemical to market by largely superseding state requirements. This will lower costs for consumers and enable faster development of new wares. A company that can sell in every state, rather than just a handful, will be more inclined to invest in innovative products. Currently, some states can shape the product market in others. When only a handful of states ban a product, such as dishwashing detergents containing phosphates, manufacturers just may take it off the market entirely. The bill might appear to be a defeat for federalism. But the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce, and with good reason: so the United States can function as a single market rather than fifty. Congress absolutely has the power to fix the fragmented, state-driven regulatory regime for chemicals currently in place. One area of potential improvement is a course of action for when the EPA is unable to determine whether a particular chemical poses an unreasonable risk. In these cases, the EPA must issue a regulation that could prohibit manufacture of the chemical if it will be produced in substantial quantities or if it poses a risk to a susceptible subpopulation. However, what exactly these terms mean is left to the EPAs discretion, meaning the agency will have wide latitude to ban harmless chemicals on the basis of unsubstantiated risks. This is the precautionary principle of regulation, or the idea that new innovations are guilty until proven innocent instead of the other way around. This not only inhibits innovation; it might actually harm public safety if newer, safer chemicals that might replace older, less safe ones in the market are held up during the approval process. Congress should consider amending the bill to more clearly delineate the EPAs powers in such ambiguous cases. Despite the bills flaws, it is certainly preferable to the patchwork system the country practices now. However, Congress and the public must remain vigilant to ensure the EPA does not overstep the bounds of its new authority. As the burden of federal regulations continues to grow, adding trillions in economic costs, the danger of too much regulation must be considered in concert with the danger of too little. Preston Cooper is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. You can follow him on Twitter here. Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, e21 delivers a short email that includes e21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the e21 Morning Ebrief. Imagine traveling from Boston to Marthas Vineyard in under an hour and for less than $70. Believe it or not, this option was available from Flytenows website or app, by looking for a general aviation pilot who was making that trip, and then splitting the cost with that pilot and whoever else was sharing the flight. Entrepreneurs were bringing private air travel to the masses until Flytenows leadership met with members of the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure that they were complying with all laws and regulations. Instead of embracing this service, the FAA used tortuous logic to ban Flytenow and other online flight-sharing websites because it considered these to be common carriers (such as Delta Airlines). Private pilots cannot possibly comply with the myriad regulations that apply to the large airlines. In what follows, Flytenow founders Alan Guichard and Matt Voska explain why the federal government should make the FAA allow flight sharing to get off the ground. Jared Meyer: Flight sharing is nothing new, as people have always tried to find ways to fill empty seats on private planes. The problem was finding someone who wanted to go where you wanted, at the time you needed. And, from what I understand, it is still completely legal to find people to share flights (and their costs) by using old-fashioned tools such as bulletin boards or telephone calls. Why does the FAA not allow people to use peer-to-peer online interaction to make the process much more efficient and inclusive? Alan Guichard: Youre exactly right. Pilots have always been allowed to share flights as long as the pilot and the passenger share a common purpose, which they clearly have on an online bulletin board such as Flytenow. The FAAs concern is that online interaction will lead to sharing beyond what they refer to as friends and acquaintances. For example, the FAA explained that advertising a shared flight on Facebook would be permissible if a person only had a few friends, but that the same flight would transform the pilot into Delta or American Airlines if he or she had thousands of friends. The FAAs new requirement has the effect of restraining speech because theres no way for a pilot to know what communication is lawful versus what isnt. JM: Usually the introduction of profits is what makes regulators go crazy. But what is especially troubling about the FAAs ban on your business model is that, under existing law, pilots cannot profit from sharing their flights. They are only able to recoup the proportional cost of their trips. Can you continue explaining why the FAA harbors such a deep-seated hatred for flight sharing? Matt Voska: Understandably, they dont want an Uber of the Skies to exist. But this is not what Flytenow is aboutwere akin to carpooling for aviation. I think its more of a knee-jerk reaction to new technology, rather than a deep-seated hatred. Now, more than ever, innovation and regulation intersect due to more efficient communication methods, and regulators are almost always too slow to adapt. This has been true since the advent of the automobile, when regulators passed laws banning the running of horseless carriages. Unfortunately, the FAA has taken such a hardline approach when the exact same flight-sharing activity is now completely legal in the European Union. We joke that Europe has out-freedomed us, which is rare when it comes to Internet technology . JM: Often pointless, anti-competitive regulations are pushed by special interest groups that stand to benefit from maintaining the status quo. Other times regulators myopically focus on regulating just for the sake of regulating, regardless of the negative effects that their new commandments have on consumers. What unites both of these approaches is the ever-present appeal to public safety. First, are there special interests behind the FAAs ruling? And second, why do appeals to public safety fail to hold water in this case? AG: We feel that special interests are at the heart of it. The FAA is being pressured by lobbyists in the private charter and airline arena to ban flight sharing. Why? Because flight sharing gives people optionssharing a flight from Boston to Marthas Vineyard costs less than $70, whereas a charter would cost at least $1,000. These established business models see flight sharing as a threat. The FAAs appeal to public safety fails because banning the Internet as a means of communication is not rationally related to safety. According to the FAA, it is perfectly okay for strangers who meet over a physical bulletin to share a flight, but if those same people meet online, where flight-sharing services such as Flytenow offer verified identities, then the flight magically transforms into an illegal commercial operation. Another one of my favorite examples is that not even Neil Armstrong or Captain Sully could share expenses with Flytenow because the FAAs restrictions have nothing to do with pilot qualifications. JM: What is the best hope for convincing (or forcing) the FAA to modernize its approach to flight sharing? You would think patriotic pride alone would be enough given that Europe is far ahead of the United States with its growing market for flight sharing. MV: Were working on multiple approaches right now. We are in the process of filing a Petition for Certiorari to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in June. Additionally, weve received support in Congress on the issue. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) proposed an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill that explicitly allows pilots to communicate and share their flights using the Internet. It has passed through committee and is now awaiting a floor vote.Weve had more pushback in the Senate where charter lobbyists came out in opposition to putting the same language in the Senate version of the bill. Instead, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) opted for a study on the topic to review making changes later. In Washington, a study means the legislation will likely never see the light of day. Ironically, the Senate recommended having the FAA itself conduct the study. Were urging people to make their views on this issue heard. Its more than just a pilots right to communicatethe FAAs position sets a very dangerous precedent for other executive actions to prohibit what should be completely legal online activity. JM: This is a clear-cut case of an executive agency misusing its powers to stand in the way of innovation. The technology that enables more efficient flight sharing unquestionably helps consumers and pilots, and there is absolutely no reason for the FAA to stubbornly keep flight sharing grounded. This article originally appeared on Forbes Jared Meyer is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and the author of the forthcoming monograph Uber-Positive: Why Americans Love the Sharing Economy. Follow him on Twitter here. Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, e21 delivers a short email that includes e21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the e21 Morning eBrief. EJPS receives COPS School Violence Prevention grant The district was one of eight in the state to receive funding for improving safety technology throughout the buildings. Blocking ISILs ability to raise funds, pay its fighters and finance its operations is one of the keys to degrading, and eventually destroying, this terrorist organization. ISIL, also known as DAESH, finances itself through extortion, public goods taxes, corporate forced profit-sharing, and by selling oil, stolen antiquities, and even slaves. That is why the United States Departments of State designates Foreign Terrorist Organization, or as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Executive Order 13224. By designating such groups, the United States freezes what funds they may have within the reach of U.S. authorities. Once terrorist groups are designated, they are effectively locked out of the international banking system, thus losing their ability to transfer money to vendors and to receive money from donors. As well, U.S. businesses, manufacturers and individuals are prohibited from dealing or trading with them. Eighteen months ago, ISIL leader and State Department Specially Designated Global Terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, welcomed the three oaths of allegiance from fighters in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Libya, thereby creating ISIL branches in those countries. In late May, the United States Department of State designated ISILs branches in Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. It also designated the Libya branch as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Since proclaiming their allegiance to ISIL, all three branches have carried out a number of deadly attacks. Among other acts of terrorism, ISIL-Yemen claimed responsibility for a pair of March 2015 suicide bombings targeting two separate mosques in Yemens capital, Sanaa. As a result, over 120 people died and more than 300 were wounded. ISIL-Saudi Arabia has carried out numerous attacks against Shia mosques in both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, killing over 50 people. ISIL-Libya kidnapped and murdered a group of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians. They have also staged numerous attacks targeting both government and civilians, which resulted in dozens of deaths. Through the use of terrorism designations, the United States exposes and isolates groups and individuals engaged in terrorism. A designation not only imposes serious sanctions on violent organizations: it allows all segments of the U.S. Government, in concert with our international partners, to take action to disrupt the terrorists nefarious activities. Law enforcement and the rule of law in Pakistan got a boost recently with some assistance from the United States. Last month, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale and Pakistan Economic Affairs Division Secretary Tariq Bajwa recently signed a one-year $48.6 million bilateral assistance agreement. Under the agreement, the U.S. Department of States International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau will provide support to the government of Pakistan in building Pakistans law enforcement capability, fighting illicit narcotics, and strengthening its criminal justice system. The United States signed the first such bilateral assistance agreement in 1982. Subsequent yearly agreements have supported the training of tens of thousands of police officers and prosecutors, construction of police stations, and provision of vehicles, equipment, and life-saving personal protective gear for law enforcement agents. The new agreement will fund several programs throughout Pakistan, including initiatives to improve the capability and reach of provincial police and other law enforcement institutions through training, equipment, and infrastructure support. Programs will also support womens access to the justice system, as well as support the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women as police officers, prosecutors, and judges. In addition, programs will help Pakistan interdict illegal narcotics, arrest and prosecute drug traffickers, fund crop substitution and agricultural training programs for poppy farmers, and provide small-scale irrigation, hydro-electric systems and farm-to-market roads in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Lastly, it will promote rule of law by providing training to provincial and federal prosecutors and judges in effective trial advocacy, and to corrections officials in modern prison administration. The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs works in more than 90 countries to help them combat crime and corruption, counter drug-related crime, improve police institutions, and promote laws and court systems that are fair and accountable. The United States is proud to work with its partner Pakistan to support a criminal justice system that serves and protects the people of Pakistan. Man dies after falling onto I-95 An unidentified man died Tuesday morning after falling onto I-95 from a pedestrian overpass into Penn's Landing. The man, in his 40s, fell onto the highway from the South Street pedestrian overpass shortly after 9:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene 10 minutes later. Southbound traffic near the overpass was briefly shut down. - Emily Babay Man found slain in SW Phila. Police were investigating the slaying of a 77-year-old man found dead inside his home Tuesday afternoon in the Elmwood section of Southwest Philadelphia. About 1:10 p.m. in the 6300 block of Theodore Street, police were called by a neighbor to check on the victim's well-being, said Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives. The man, who lived alone, was found unresponsive with head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. On Friday, the man was involved in a physical altercation with what he called "neighborhood kids," according to his son, Walker said. That incident was not reported to police. Around 1 a.m. Monday, neighbors said there was an incident at the house and three juvenile males were seen running from the location. - Robert Moran Two killed on the Boulevard ID'd Officials on Tuesday released the names of a motorcyclist and runner killed on Roosevelt Boulevard in separate incidents. Ezekeil Cruz, 23, of Albanus Street in Olney, died Saturday after his 2005 Suzuki motorcycle crashed on C Street while crossing the Boulevard about 12:40 a.m. Cruz lost control of his bike, and skidded into a 2004 Nissan Murano traveling in the opposite direction, police said. He suffered major head trauma and was pronounced dead at 2:22 p.m. at Einstein Medical Center. Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, Christelle Charles, 20, of Clarkson Avenue in Olney, was struck by a 2012 Chevy Equinox in the outer southbound lanes of the Boulevard near Bingham Street in Olney. The initial investigation showed she was crossing the outer southbound lanes of the Boulevard, where there was a crosswalk, but was running against a red light, police said. - Julie Shaw Tires on 11 vehicles slashed Police on Tuesday were investigating a series of tire slashings reported in the city's Mayfair section. Eleven vehicles were vandalized along Tyson Avenue in the 2900, 3000, and 3400 blocks. Police first responded to the reported tire slashings about 5:20 a.m. Tuesday in the 2900 block of Tyson. Police recovered surveillance video that shows an unidentified male puncture a tire on a Ford F-150 around 11 p.m. Monday. Police estimated the total damage was $2,500. - Robert Moran Arrests made in home invasion Delaware County authorities announced Tuesday that they have arrested two men and were seeking a third in connection with an armed home invasion Monday night in Prospect Park. Three armed men targeted a residence in the 200 block of Lafayette Avenue around 10 p.m. and searched the home for valuables while holding one homeowner at gunpoint on the kitchen floor, authorities said. One of the residents was able to call 911 and the men fled the house. Two shotguns were later found near the house. Police arrested Nickoly Lewis, 18, of Pocono Summit, Pa., and Dakir Grant, 23, of Tobyhanna, Pa. The third suspect was described as a black male about 18 to 25 years old, who goes by "Pappo." Anyone with information about Pappo can call 911 or the Prospect Park Police Department at 610-534-2222. - Robert Moran Man killed by train in Bucks An unidentified man was struck and killed by a CSX freight train at the Langhorne Train Station in Bucks County early Tuesday morning. Police said the man was trying to cross the tracks when he was hit at 2:37 a.m. The victim was described as a white man wearing a Killian's Irish Red Lager T-shirt and black cargo pants. Officials asked anyone with information on the victim to contact Middletown police at 215-750-3845. - Mari A. Schaefer Policeman walks in on burglars Two males were in custody after an off-duty police officer walked in on a burglary at his home Tuesday afternoon in the city's Mayfair section, police said. After he discovered the burglary just after 1:10 p.m. in the 3300 block of Wellington Street, the officer fired his personal weapon but no one was hit, police said. A third male fled and remained at large Tuesday night, police said. No other details, including the names and ages of the two arrested, were immediately available. - Robert Moran Phila. police ID weekend victims Police on Tuesday identified two men found fatally shot in vehicles in over the weekend in Southwest Philadelphia. Both victims shared the same last name, Turner, but police said they did not believe the two were related. George Turner, 39, of the 500 block of Fern Boulevard in Upper Darby, was found dead inside a Chevrolet Uplander on the 5100 block of Woodland Avenue about 5:10 a.m. Sunday. He had been shot multiple times in the head, police said. Police said they did not have a motive or suspects. Vance Turner, 26, of the 1900 block of South Salford Street in Southwest Philadelphia, was found inside a Hyundai Sonata about 2:20 a.m. Saturday on the 2000 block of South 66th Street in the Mount Moriah section, police said. He was bleeding from gunshot wounds to the legs and torso and died about 45 minutes later at Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center. Police said the preliminary investigation found Vance Turner was selling drugs there when two men came around the corner and opened fire on him. - Joseph A. Gambardello Man who died in creek ID'd Authorities Tuesday identified the man who died in Pennypack Creek on Memorial Day while trying to rescue his dog. Philadelphia police said Alexander Rus, 67, of the city's Rhawnhurst section, was pulled from the rain-swollen creek near the 8500 block of Verree Road. People who had been fishing found his body in the water about 9:30 a.m. Monday. A preliminary investigation indicated Rus went into the water to save his dog, but it remained unclear exactly what happened. Further details about the circumstances of Rus' death weren't released Tuesday. The dog was later found safe near his vehicle. - Emily Babay Man dies after falling onto I-95 An unidentified man died Tuesday morning after falling onto I-95 from a pedestrian overpass into Penn's Landing. The man, in his 40s, fell onto the highway from the South Street pedestrian overpass shortly after 9:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene 10 minutes later. Southbound traffic near the overpass was briefly shut down. - Emily Babay Man found slain in SW Philly Police were investigating the slaying of a 77-year-old man found dead inside his home Tuesday afternoon in the Elmwood section of Southwest Philly. About 1:10 p.m. in the 6300 block of Theodore Street, police were called by a neighbor to check on the victim's well-being, said Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives. The man, who lived alone, was found unresponsive with head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. On Friday, the man was involved in a physical altercation with what he called "neighborhood kids," according to his son, Walker said. That incident was not reported to police. Around 1 a.m. Monday, neighbors said there was an incident at the house and three juvenile males were seen running from the location. - Robert Moran Two killed on the Boulevard ID'd Officials on Tuesday released the names of a motorcyclist and runner killed on Roosevelt Boulevard in separate incidents. Ezekeil Cruz, 23, of Albanus Street in Olney, died Saturday after his 2005 Suzuki motorcycle crashed on C Street while crossing the Boulevard about 12:40 a.m. Cruz lost control of his bike, and skidded into a 2004 Nissan Murano traveling in the opposite direction, police said. He suffered major head trauma and was pronounced dead at 2:22 p.m. at Einstein Medical Center. Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, Christelle Charles, 20, of Clarkson Avenue in Olney, was struck by a 2012 Chevy Equinox in the outer southbound lanes of the Boulevard near Bingham Street in Olney. The initial investigation showed she was crossing the outer southbound lanes of the Boulevard, where there was a crosswalk, but was running against a red light, police said. - Julie Shaw Tires slashed on 11 vehicles Police on Tuesday were investigating a series of tire slashings reported in the city's Mayfair section. Eleven vehicles were vandalized along Tyson Avenue in the 2900, 3000, and 3400 blocks. Police first responded to the reported tire slashings about 5:20 a.m. Tuesday in the 2900 block of Tyson. Police recovered surveillance video that shows an unidentified male puncture a tire on a Ford F-150 around 11 p.m. Monday. Police estimated the total damage was $2,500. - Robert Moran Arrests made in home invasion Delaware County authorities announced Tuesday that they have arrested two men and were seeking a third in connection with an armed home invasion Monday night in Prospect Park. Three armed men targeted a residence in the 200 block of Lafayette Avenue around 10 p.m. and searched the home for valuables while holding one homeowner at gunpoint on the kitchen floor, authorities said. One of the residents was able to call 911 and the men fled the house. Two shotguns were later found near the house. Police arrested Nickoly Lewis, 18, of Pocono Summit, Pa., and Dakir Grant, 23, of Tobyhanna, Pa. The third suspect was described as a black male about 18 to 25 years old, who goes by "Pappo." Anyone with information about Pappo can call 911 or the Prospect Park Police Department at 610-534-2222.- Robert Moran Phila. police ID weekend victims Police on Tuesday identified two men found fatally shot in vehicles over the weekend in Southwest Philadelphia. Both victims shared the same last name, Turner, but police said they did not believe the two were related. George Turner, 39, of the 500 block of Fern Boulevard in Upper Darby, was found dead inside a Chevrolet Uplander on the 5100 block of Woodland Avenue about 5:10 a.m. Sunday. He had been shot multiple times in the head, police said. Police said they did not have a motive or suspects. Vance Turner, 26, of the 1900 block of South Salford Street in Southwest Philadelphia, was found inside a Hyundai Sonata about 2:20 a.m. Saturday on the 2000 block of South 66th Street in the Mount Moriah section, police said. He was bleeding from gunshot wounds to the legs and torso and died about 45 minutes later at Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center. Police said the preliminary investigation found Vance Turner was selling drugs there when two men came around the corner and opened fire on him. - Joseph A. Gambardello Man who died in creek identified Authorities Tuesday identified the man who died in Pennypack Creek on Memorial Day while trying to rescue his dog. Philadelphia police said Alexander Rus, 67, of the city's Rhawnhurst section, was pulled from the rain-swollen creek near the 8500 block of Verree Road. People who had been fishing found his body in the water about 9:30 a.m. Monday. A preliminary investigation indicated Rus went into the water to save his dog, but it remained unclear exactly what happened. Further details about the circumstances of Rus' death weren't released Tuesday. The dog was later found safe near his vehicle. - Emily Babay AFTER BEING sexually assaulted, police say, the 13-year-old girl escaped from her Frankford house and banged on neighbors' doors. Her next-door neighbor was asleep, so she went one more house down. "She was crying and she was very scared," Teresa Dobney, who lives two doors down from the girl, recalled Tuesday as she stood on her front porch. Dobney's 19-year-old son opened the door for the girl and let her in, and Dobney said she and her 18-year-old daughter then called 911. It was just after midnight Tuesday, and officers who arrived about 12:25 a.m. on the 1900 block of Pratt Street, a residential street of two-story rowhouses, found the girl distraught. She told them she had been sexually assaulted by her stepfather and that he might still be in the house. She said that while she was being sexually assaulted in her home, she screamed for her mother, but got no response, Capt. Mark Burgmann, commander of the police Special Victims Unit, told reporters at an afternoon briefing at SVU headquarters in North Philadelphia. Officers climbed onto a front-porch roof from an adjoining home and peered into the second-floor bedroom window of the girl's house, police said; they saw her 38-year-old mother inside, bleeding and appearing unconscious. A SWAT team was called to the house. Police did not find the suspect, identified by Burgmann as the girl's 39-year-old stepfather and the woman's husband. Burgmann said the man, his wife, and stepdaughter were the only three people who lived in the house. Late Tuesday, police were searching for the suspect while his wife was in "extremely critical condition" at Einstein Medical Center with "severe head injuries," Burgmann said. Burgmann said police believe the suspect beat his wife in the head, possibly during an argument, knocking out some teeth and leaving her unconscious and bleeding on their bed. He then allegedly went into his stepdaughter's room, where the girl was sleeping, and sexually assaulted her, Burgmann said. He also took the girl to the basement and sexually assaulted her again, the captain said. After he left the basement, the girl took her chance and ran out of the house. Burgmann said the girl is now in the custody of a family member. He said there hasn't been any indication before that she was sexually abused by her stepfather. "You don't expect this from your own family, you just don't," the captain said of the entire episode. An aunt of the 38-year-old woman said by phone Tuesday: "That's my first-born niece. You hear about this stuff, but you never think it would happen in your family." She said the woman is in a coma at Einstein and that Monday was the couple's three-year wedding anniversary. An Einstein spokesman did not respond to a call from a reporter Tuesday. Police were not aware of any domestic problems at the Pratt Street house, but some neighbors said the man and his wife had issues. "I know he was abusive," Dobney said. "It was ongoing." She said there have been times when she had been sitting outside on her porch when she heard the couple fighting in their home while their window was left open. "Most people who are abused," Dobney said, "they don't report it." Police are trying to determine if the suspect fled in a vehicle, Burgmann said. Court records show the suspect previously has pleaded guilty in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court to drug, theft, and forgery charges. He was last arrested by police in December 1998, and pleaded guilty in April 1999 to manufacturing, delivery, or possession of drugs and to a theft charge, and was sentenced to three to 23 months in jail with two years of probation. shawj@phillynews.com @julieshawphilly Two years ago the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs resigned in disgrace after it was revealed that veterans were being subjected to exceedingly long waiting periods to obtain health care and benefits and department officials were manipulating records to hide this fact. Two years later the problem remains but the current secretary is callously dismissive of the problem. When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or whats important? Whats important is, whats your satisfaction with the experience? Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald said during a newspaper interview this past week. And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure. Waiting to board an amusement park ride is a bit different from waiting for pain-relieving or even life-saving medical care. You cant ask the deceased what their level of satisfaction was that skews the survey a bit. Nevadas junior Sen. Dean Heller was among the first to lambaste McDonald for his obtuse remark. Heller wrote in a letter to the secretary, Not only am I concerned about the flippant nature of your comparison but also the fact that you said that your agency should not use wait times as a measure of success because Disney does not either. As a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, I believe it is my responsibility to follow up with you on the gravity of this issue as it is critical to ensure that Veterans across my state are receiving the care they were promised in an expedient manner. Heller noted that statistics for Nevada alone show nearly 10,000 VA appointments are still being scheduled more than 30 days beyond the requested appointment date. Time and time again, I have called for accountability at your agency, and I strongly believe that it should start with the top, Heller fumed. A year ago The Associated Press reported the number of veterans waiting more than 90 days for non-emergency care has nearly doubled. This was nearly a year after Congress doled out $16 billion to solve the problem of lengthy waiting lists. In March of this year the Government Accountability Office reported that it studied 180 veterans newly enrolled in the VA health system. Sixty of that 180 had not yet seen a health provider and nearly half were unable to access primary care because VA medical center staff did not schedule appointments As for McDonalds Disney comparison, Disney spent more than $1 billion on something called the Disney MagicBand to reduce long lines. The only magic McDonald produces with $16 billion is sleight of hand. Nevadas gaffe-prone senior Sen. Harry Reid defended McDonald. I support Secretary McDonald all the way. Reid said. Im an expert on poor choice of words. Im sure he would be the first to tell you, following my example, saying the wrong things is not the best way to go. Republican Congressman Joe Heck, who is running for Reids Senate seat, used the McDonald crass remark to call for passage of the VA Accountability Act, which is stalled in the Senate. Secretary McDonalds double down on his callous remarks invoking Disneyland is alarming because it suggests the defensive culture among management at the VA, which lead to the falsification of wait-time reports in the first place, persists under his leadership, said Heck, a brigadier general in the Army Reserve medical corps and a veteran of the Iraq conflict. The remedy to the VAs culture of excuses is a needed dose of accountability. Former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, who is running for Reids seat from the Democratic side, for once parted company with shrugging Reid. Even for Washington, the tone deafness of these comments is stunning, she said. The VA needs to address the wait times at its facilities so our veterans get the care they need in a timely manner, not offer up false analogies and excuses. Its long past time for the VA to get its act together. Congressman Cresent Hardy also called McDonald to task. Veterans are not waiting in line for a temporary thrill ride; in many cases, they are waiting for critically important and life-saving procedures, he said. To suggest that wait time matters so little reveals a disturbing lack of understanding at the highest levels of those responsible for caring for our veterans or, worse, a disturbing attempt to cover up their own failures. Congressman Mark Amodei tersely stated, This administrations record of utter failure with respect to senior management at the VA remains undisputed. With lineups from Wine and Paint nights to various live entertainment, you are sure to find something new to do on a random Wednesday night. Few professionals earn so much respect that their peers collaborate to produce a book in honor of their seventy-fifth birthday. Fewer still continue working in their chosen field for another quarter-century, and publish a book after the age of one hundred. Elko native Joseph L. Henderson was a humble man who became one of the top Jungian analysts on the planet. His name draws little recognition compared with Thornton Wilder, who tutored Henderson in French when they attended prep school in New Jersey; or Charles Darwin, whose great-granddaughter Henderson married while earning his medical degree in London. Still, his contributions to analytical psychology would be so valued that he was selected to write the first chapter of Man and His Symbols, Carl Jungs final book which sought to explain this complex subject to the masses. Walk into any major bookstore today and there it is, still in print. And after Jungs death, when it came time to edit his most extensive film interviews, producers turned to Henderson to do the job. A Mormon colleague christened him The Shaman from Elko, and that was the name chosen for the festschrift written in his honor in 1978. It opens with psychotherapist Gareth Hills biographical sketch of Henderson, but the bulk of the publication is a series of essays that most readers will find confusing if not downright abstruse. The North Face Mountain Festival 2016 at Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland 01.06.2016 by by Planetmountain From 16 - 18 September 2016 at Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland The North Face hosts its Mountain Festival, weekend of adventurous mountain activities at the foot of the Eiger. The invitation is open to all: a long weekend in mid-September in Switzerlands Jungfrau region to experience the mountain at its best. The invitation stems from The North Face that from 16 - 18 September has organized the Mountain Festival 2016 at Lauterbrunnen, the small village nestled at the foot of the Eiger which will act as the starting point for the various activities. These include hiking, trail running, rock climbing and mountaineering, canyoning, rafting and paragliding during the day, and seminars, films and live music at night. The actual Base Camp will be set up at the Staubbachfall, the second highest waterfall in the country, and its from here that the activities begin, guided by The North Face Athletes. Here's the trailer about the event, to find out more and purchase tickets check out www.thenorthface.co.uk/tnf-uk-en/mountain-festival LAS VEGAS(BUSINESS WIRE) University of Phoenix is opening a first-of-its kind innovation center in Las Vegas. The RedFlint Innovation Experience Center will provide visitors with an experiential, hands-on learning environment to help them innovate in their companies and in their own careers. The center will provide individuals, startups and established businesses access to the latest technology and business ideas to help them perform at a high caliber today, and learn how to be nimble and relevant for tomorrow. The University is collaborating with Iron Yard Ventures to provide startup businesses access to a premier business accelerator through RedFlint. RedFlint is expected to open in September 2016. The open-concept center will be located in the Bank of America Plaza building in downtown Las Vegas. RedFlint will be open to the public with a specific focus on the Las Vegas business, education and government communities. Las Vegas is a growing technology and innovation hub, and we are so pleased to welcome University of Phoenix downtown where everything is happening, said Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman. Downtown is the nerve center for an explosion of ideas and conversation, and the momentum continues to build with exciting new projects like the RedFlint Innovation Experience Center. RedFlint addresses, among others, the common issues of stagnation inside established businesses; limited resources for entrepreneurs and startup ventures; and individuals who feel behind on the technology curve. The dynamic collaboration between University of Phoenixs College of Information Systems & Technology and School of Business, along with Iron Yard Ventures, positions RedFlint to ignite change within many industries. Iron Yard Ventures has spurred investment in 59 startups in the last four years and those companies have gone on to create hundreds of jobs and raise more than $70 million in follow-on funding. Rapid technology advancements have led to a new kind of skills gap, said Dennis Bonilla, executive dean of the College of Information Systems & Technology at University of Phoenix. Professionals who are otherwise fully-qualified within their fields find themselves falling behind due to a lack of technical savvy or drive to innovate within their organizations. Those starting businesses often have strong industry knowledge, but struggle to stay current on new technology and dont necessarily know how to leverage it to connect more effectively with customers. RedFlint can help bridge these gaps. University of Phoenix explored a number of possible locations for RedFlint, and the climate of innovation and the opportunity to make a difference in Las Vegas were determining factors. Both the hospitality and gaming industries are poised for change, spurred by new technologies and services. Also, as a home to many tech companies, an exploding IT workforce and host to the worlds largest technology and electronics trade show, Las Vegas is establishing itself as a well-respected and sought-after hub for tech and innovation. Having this innovation center in our urban core is not only going to benefit downtown, but our community as a whole, said Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Coffin. Adding resources to the community leads to innovation and keeps our city on the cutting edge. RedFlint will be continuously evolving to adopt new technologies and advance new ideas, but is underpinned with three main components: educate, incubate and accelerate. There will also be implications for innovation in higher education. RedFlint will be a place where the University studies innovation, identifies education gaps and tests and incubates ideas that can ultimately innovate curriculum. Imagine the power of starting a business surrounded by the latest technologies, data analytics and digital marketing tools, and having advisors from successful companies who can help you avoid traditional early business mistakes, said Ruth Veloria, executive dean of University of Phoenix School of Business. University of Phoenix has always been on the cutting edge of how adults learn, and this new ecosystem has the potential to help innovate education. The RedFlint Innovation Center will: Educate: Experiential learning and ideas will come to life in a technically advanced, yet approachable laboratory. The center will offer no cost workshops and professional development opportunities that can be adapted as technologies and industries evolve, as well as technology that anyone can test. Incubate: Established or startup companies can build their business plans surrounded by the technology and resources needed to get them off the ground. Companies can incubate new products, revenue streams or processes. Accelerate: By providing access through RedFlint to Iron Yard Ventures, entrepreneurs gain a way to take business to the next level with one of the premier accelerators at their side. Analytics leader SAS is also interested in participating in the project. The RedFlint Innovation Experience Center can provide more opportunities for people to learn SAS skills that are highly sought after by employers in every industry, said Emily Baranello, vice president, SAS Education Practice. It will also give entrepreneurs experience with a variety of technologies, including data visualization and data management, so they can learn how analytics can support their innovative work. RedFlint Innovation Experience Center, paired with Iron Yard Ventures Accelerator, will be the catalyst Las Vegas needs, said Ryan J. Negri, managing director of Iron Yard Ventures Accelerator. Well be solving real world problems, with applicable, technological solutions for the community and our corporate sponsors. The support from local corporations, small business, and the general population has been extraordinary thus far. For more information about the RedFlint Innovation Experience Center, visit: www.redflintvegas.com. Sunday Briefing: $178,000 Score for "Viking8844" for Sunday Million Win May 31, 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor The final Sunday before the 2016 World Series of Poker saw some massive prize pools created across the major online poker sites, which resulted in some bankroll-boosting scores for those fortunate, and skilful, enough to take one of the titles. "Viking8844" won the largest sum of money thanks to being crowned the PokerStars Sunday Million champion. This week, such a result was worth $178,173.58, as there were no deals agreed to, which meant runner-up "tudobem88" collected a six-figure score, one weighing in at $132,716.80. Another player finding themselves in the winner's circle was Jordan "JWPRODIGY" Westmorland who collected the $69,851.60 first-place prize in the $1,050 Sunday Grand. Joining Westmorland at the final table were Sami "Lrslzk" Kelopuro (9th - $6,042.40) and Peter "Belabacsi" Traply (3rd - $38,220). Talking of Kelopuro, the popular pro won the $700 Super-Sized Sunday Progressive KO for $38,029.98 plus $13,492.75 in bounties. Other large Sunday scores from the action at PokerStars include: "kalaloom" winner of the $109 Sunday Kickoff for $21,758.52 winner of the for $21,758.52 "manuverd0n" winner of the $215 Sunday Warm-Up for $61,824 winner of the for $61,824 Kurt "kurt23x" Fitzgerald winner of the Big $109 for $26,495.05 winner of the for $26,495.05 "Syous" winner of the $1,050 Sunday Grand PLO for $47,080 winner of the for $47,080 "Fukuruku" winner of the Big $215 for $27,772.27 winner of the for $27,772.27 "MacintoshFan" winner of the $109 Sunday Cooldown for $22,063.59 winner of the for $22,063.59 "Dark_Temple2" winner of the $215 Sunday Supersonic for $40,094.31 Rick Trigg Wins the partypoker $150,000 Main Event Over at partypoker, British star Rick "tHeClaImEr1" Trigg took his lifetime online tournament winnings past the $6.4 million mark by winning the $150,000 guaranteed Main Event. Trigg topped a field of 1,554 entrants to get his hands on the $24,864.13 first-place prize. The $150,000 High Roller is a partypoker tournament that continues to prove popular with players prepared to stump up $530 to play. This week, 386 players took to the felt and wee outlasted by "k2Schogori", who banked $37,635 for his win. Partypoker's other high roller event is a $2,600 Super High Roller with a $100,000 guarantee, a guarantee smashed by some $85,000 this weekend. "D0nKanaille_" was the main beneficiary of this swollen prize pool, as their win was worth a cool $50,469.11. "Speil13" Captures the 888poker Whale The Whale tournament at 888poker had a $120,000 guarantee this week, and it was surpassed by some $56,280. "Speil13" defeated Daniel "xXGlamBabeXx" Wilson heads-up to claim the $34,110.18 winner's prize, leaving Wilson to bank a $25,560.60 score. In the $100,000 Mega Deep, Jakub "Olli4.4.4" Oliva finished as the last man standing, a finish worth $26,887.50 with "I_own_coys85" winning the $80,000 Sunday Challenge for $18,406.88. Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+! A 25-year-old Los Angeles County, CA, sheriff's deputy was killed in a crash while riding his motorcycle in Corona, police said Saturday. According to the Corona (CA) Police Department, officers and firefighters were sent shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday to the area of Hidden Valley, for report of a severe injury-related traffic collision. Upon their arrival, authorities learned two motorcycles and two vehicles were involved in the collision. According to police, one of the motorcyclists who was later identified as Upland resident Philip Borja succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Borja was an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy assigned to the Norwalk station, reports KCBS. Borja's motorcycle and a Volkswagen both caught on fire as a result of the collision. The drivers of the vehicles did not sustain injuries, police said. The other motorcyclist has since been treated and released from the hospital. The investigation is ongoing. Many Cleveland police officers will not be wearing body cameras if protests turn violent during the Republican National Convention in July, officials said. Police officials have told officers that a host of logistical issues, including an inability to attach the cameras to police riot gear, means officers will not be able to wear the devices, reports the Plain Dealer. The department says officers will use other methods to record police interactions with protesters and the public during the convention. But Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis and the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio expressed concern that the officers who will be thrust in the most volatile situations will not be wearing a device that is a deterrent for both violence against police and officer misconduct. The city plans to bring in thousands of officers from police departments to help provide security. Whether those officers wear body cameras will be up to their department, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. Cleveland's police force will wear "softer" uniforms at the beginning of the RNC, rather than adopting a military-style approach that might inflame tensions. Tampa police took a similar approach during the 2012 RNC. The officers in softer uniforms will wear their body cameras, which cost the city $2.4 million in 2015, and will be required to follow the department's recording policy, Ciaccia said in an emailed statement to cleveland.com. Should protesters clash with police, officers will dress in riot gear and administer crowd control tactics. They will not wear body cameras, but Ciaccia stressed that police officers will use other methods of recording. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Much of the media attention lately has been on Donald Trumps alleged donations to veterans groups and whether they were only made so Trump could score political points. In any case, the press coverage does nothing to advance the discussion about how either of the two likely nominees plans to help veterans if they become president. In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton hoped to shift attention from Trumps bluster to how she has helped veterans throughout her career and how she plans to work for them as president: Clintons post was perfectly timed as Trump focuses his campaign on hollow lip service to veterans without offering concrete ways he plans to help them other than saying a Trump presidency would the best thing in history for the U.S. military, of course. As a U.S. Senator, Clinton worked in a bipartisan way to help veterans, whether it was expanding health care services, building rehabilitation centers for wounded warriors or helping the family members of wounded warriors. Trump continues to ask what the former Secretary of State has ever done for veterans, and the answers are pretty clear. But beyond her past achievements she also has something that the spray-tanned billionaire certainly doesnt: substantive policy proposals that will make a real difference for those who bravely fought (and continue to fight for) the country. Things like overhauling the VA, modernizing veterans benefits and helping those who served to find jobs when they come home can make a much bigger long-term impact on veterans than Trumps forced donations. It is definitely important to scrutinize Trump and the way he is using American veterans as pawns, but its also critical to know how the next president will help those who put their lives on the line for us. Hillary Clinton is right to shift our focus in that direction. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print *The following is an opinion column by R Muse * A person concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior, the goodness or badness of human character, or one holding or manifesting high principles for proper conduct is considered moral. For many Americans the idea of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a person with any kind of morals is abominable as well as laughable. Donald Trump has earned every invective and harsh name thrown at him, but one thing he is not is a person with morals. There was sparse reporting last week about what was said between Donald Trump during a meeting with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, another Republicans without morals. There is a good reason why the private meeting was kept relatively private, but Bloomberg reported a very interesting exchange that neither Trump nor Ryan would comment on in public; with good reason. In fact, if mainstream media revealed what was said it would likely cause many of Trumps racist supporters to pause and reconsider what kind of immoral con man they want as president. During Republican demigod Ronald Reagans first term, the former B-movie actor thought it was a good idea to reform Social Security. Anyone following conservative politics is well-aware that when a Republican uses that word reform, it means drastic cuts if not abolition. At the time, even many Republicans understood something former House Speaker Tip ONeill had said about Social Security: it is the third rail of American politics that if you touch it and you die. Mr. ONeill should be credited as much as anyone in America as the man who made touching, gutting, or abolishing Social Security a deadly political issue. That being the case, as noted by Andrew Bradford, Donald Trump might want to start picking out a nice casket. According to an unnamed source standing in the room during Trumps storied meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Trump told Ryan that he is in favor of gutting Social Security like most Republicans. But, like most Republicans he is terrified of saying so on the campaign trail because it would be the death knell for his electoral chances in November. Now, Trump did not say he wants to gut Social Security for budgetary reasons, or because he will ever get any of the Trusts trillions of dollars in reserve; trillions, by the way, that belong lock, stock and barrel to the American people. No, Trumps reason is actually worse; if that is even possible. According to the person in the room, Trump said he would gut Social Security because like lying about his intent to steal Americans retirement savings; it was the morally upright thing to do. Trump told Ryan that, From a moral standpoint, I believe in it. But you also have to get elected. And theres no way a Republican is going to beat a Democrat when the Republican is saying, Were going to cut your Social Security and the Democrat is saying, Were going to keep it and give you more. At least Trumps comment clearly delineates Republicans from Democrats on the issue of Social Security. The executive director of Social Security Works, Alex Lawson, deeply believes that regardless what Trump says on the stump, he is no different than any other Republicans who desperately want to gut Social Security while pretending to support it; usually with clever buzzwords like protecting young Americans future well-being. Mr. Lawson said that despite how many times Trump pledges to never lay a hand on Social Security, It is really clear: Donald Trump would 100 percent go along with the Republican donor class position of cutting Social Security. He openly says he will lie to the people about it because he knows that the people are against it. In his eyes the moral thing to do is to steal peoples hard-earned benefits and not talk about it. (author bold) Of important note is that according to definition of what is considered moral, proper conduct and the principle of what is right, Donald Trump believes wiping out senior citizens entire working lifes savings is, from a moral standpoint, something he believes in. However, he will, and has continued, lying about his deep-seated belief, and perpetually promise his rabid racist acolytes that he would not address reforming Social Security and indeed he would leave it alone. It is unclear exactly what happened to Donald Trump in his privileged dysfunctional childhood and upbringing that leads him to believe that the moral thing for a president to do is steal every working Americans retirement savings. Or, that he is willingly admitting that he is, has been, and will continue lying about it to get elected so he then can do the morally upright thing and eviscerate Social Security. It cannot possibly be because it is driving debt and deficit; the Social Security Trust is forbidden from adding to or taking away even one penny from the federal government. For any American, or Republican establishment character for that matter, who believed that Trump was not a real conservative or a candidate dedicated to the Republican and Koch brother agenda, this latest revelation should quell any doubts about Trumps devotion to the libertarian movement. Donald Trump thinks it is the height of morality to steal Americans retirement like every conservative and Koch brother puppet and it informs that he is every bit as evil and immoral as any establishment Republican; it is precisely why they are falling all over themselves to support his candidacy, and evangelicals and racist will vote for him en masse. h/t liberalamerica Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Sen. Elizabeth Warrens advisers are in communication with the Hillary Clinton campaign, and it is likely that Warren will endorse Clinton at some point after the Democratic primaries end. The Washington Post reported: Perhaps the biggest sign that a new effort is underway among liberals to begin healing fissures within the party comes from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the heroine of the left. Although Warren still has not endorsed Clinton and remains the lone Democratic woman in the Senate not to do so she has stepped up her attacks on Trump, and her advisers have begun communicating regularly with the Clinton campaign. We are in regular contact with her team and are very excited about the prominent role she has taken in defining whats at stake in the election, said Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon. Both sides continued to insist that there is no formal coordination and most likely, no endorsement by Warren until after the last round of primaries. By staying out of the Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Warren has strengthened her own personal brand without tying herself to either of the candidates. Sen. Warrens devastating attacks on Donald Trump are a sign that she is going to play a big role in the fall Democratic campaign. Sen. Warrens decision not to endorse Bernie Sanders in the primary was de facto assist to Hillary Clinton, so it is not a surprise that the Senator from Massachusetts would eventually endorse Clinton after she becomes the Democratic nominee. One can expect Warren to deliver a speech at the convention that will take Donald Trump apart while making the case for Democrats keeping the White House. Warren will endorse Clinton. The endorsement will probably come before the Democratic convention, but the fact that her advisers are communicating with the Clinton campaign suggests that it is only a matter of when not if Elizabeth Warren will endorse Hillary Clinton ELKO County commissioners may decided Wednesday to apply for a grant to help rehabilitate the Montello water system, which has exhibited a reduction in daily flow. County staff will ask the board to authorize an application for a USDA Rural Development Utilities Program/Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant for $650,000, including $20,000 for an environmental assessment to finance the Montello project. Elko County Manager Rob Stokes said the system in Montello is different from other ones in the county because it is a surface water system rather than underground. It is fed by a number of springs, he said. It was originally developed by the railroad to service steam engines. It was given to the community after steam engines were no longer the norm, Stokes said. The springs are several miles from town and this will help clean these up. There has been a significant reduction in flow over the years. The rehabilitation would work on existing spring sources and one of the water storage tanks to meet ongoing and future water demands in Montello. If the project is approved, it will open the springs and make sure they are more hygienic, Stokes said. The $20,000 for the environmental assessment will be paid by the county, probably out of the Montello enterprise fund, and will be reimbursed by the grant, he said. The study is required by the USDA under federal guidelines prior to the application being approved and funds obligated to the County for the rest of the project. It will take about eight weeks, according to the agenda item. County commissioners also will discuss the salary for the second Elko Justice of the Peace during the meeting. The County previously set the salary of the new judge and asked for a Nevada Attorney Generals opinion regarding clarification about setting the salary. The matter has been assigned to AG staff. The commission will also have a first reading on an ordinance to consolidate the Jackpot Justice Court into the Wells Justice Court. The commissioners meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Nannini Administration Building, Suite 102, 540 Court St. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print President Obama took on Fox News/Republican Party lie machine with a powerful debunking of conservative fiction during a speech on the economy in red state Indiana. Video: First, the President delivered the facts: By almost every economic measure, America is better off than when I came here at the beginning of my presidency. That the truth. Its true. Over the past six years, our businesses have created more than 14 million new jobs. Thats the longest stretch of sustained private sector job growth in our history. Weve seen the first sustained manufacturing growth since the 1990s. We cut unemployment in half, years before a lot of economists thought we could. We cut the oil that we buy from foreign countries by more than half. Doubled the clean energy that we produce. For the first time ever, ninety-percent of the country has health insurance. In fact, a poll that was out just last week says that two out of every three Americans think their own familys financial situation is in pretty good shape. Obama went on to debunk the story about the economy that Republicans are selling, Their basic story is Americas working class, Americas middle-class, families like yours have victimized by a big bloated federal government run by a bunch of left-wing elitists like me. And the governments taking your hard earned tax dollars, and its giving them to freeloaders and welfare cheats, and were strangling business with endless regulations, and this federal government is letting immigrants and foreigners steal whatever jobs Obamacare hasnt killed yet. Later, President Obama added, Now, I havent turned on Fox News or listened to conservative talk radio yet today, but Ive turned them on enough over the past seven and a half years to know Im not exaggerating in terms of their story. Thats the story they tell. You can hear it from just about every member of Congress on the other side of the aisle. Instead of telling you what theyre for, theyve defined their economic agenda by what theyre against, and thats mainly being against me. And theyre basic message is anti-government, anti-immigrant, anti-trade, and lets face it, anti-change. Obama then busted the Republican myths that the federal government is growing, the budget deficit is growing, there are more families on welfare, and Obamacare has harmed the economy and the middle-class. President Obama has never taken on the Republican myth machine as directly as he did in Indiana. What Obamas speech highlighted was the remarkable fact that the Republican Party is running on a platform that is a fantasy. President Obama directly debunked the Republican lie that he is harming business with regulations by pointing out that he has issued the fewest regulations since Ulysses S. Grant. Republicans, fueled by Fox News and conservative talk radio, have created a fictional America that needs to be saved from the Obama years. President Obama responded to the Republican myths and lies with a sledgehammer of reality to destroy the imaginary universe that Republicans are living in. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Donald Trump appeared on Sean Hannitys show Tuesday night, taking the time to brag up Hannitys ratings on Twitter first, of course. Hannity asked Trump about conservative columnist Bill Kristols plans for a third party candidate. Kristol announced on Twitter that his candidate is impressive but the problem is, nobody has heard of him. David French, who recently urged Mitt Romney to run, is a constitutional lawyer and a veteran, but apparently everybody in the Republican Party is a constitutional lawyer these days, and we know how impressed Trump is with veterans. At a news conference earlier in the day, Trump said, Bill Kristol is a loser. His magazine is failing, as you know. Its going to be down I dont think it even survives. Hes getting some free publicity, but Bill Kristol, Ive been watching this for two years. It was nothing unusual for Hannity to set Kristol up, having earlier in the month accused the columnist of wanting Hillary to win, and Trump happily continued in the same vein for the Fox News host, mixing insults with practicalities: I dont think he has anybody because now hes saying it will come someday, it will come, you know, in the future. Well, if you read his tweet, his tweet was almost like it was imminent, like its going to be announced this morning. And then all of the sudden he announced well, maybe not so fast. Who would do it? Look, its a guaranteed loss. You cant even get on in Texas because they missed their deadline, and now theyre missing other deadlines. And all hes doing, I guess, is trying to get publicity for his failing magazine, I imagine. Of course, Trump was more interested in mocking Bill Kristol than anything else. And like all others who have stood up to Donald Trump, Bill Kristol is a failure, according to the reality star. Watch courtesy of Media Matters for America (watch the full interview here): Sean Hannity: One of the things thats emerging, Bill Kristol for example, is saying hes going to put up another candidate, you have a Libertarian ticket that has just been announced, all of which seems to be people willingly sabotaging an outsider who got more votes in the history of the Republican Party in terms of a primary. What is your answer to that? Because to me, my answer is it seems like they only want to help Hillary Clinton get elected. That means Hillary will make the Supreme Court choices. Donald Trump: Yeah. Well, Bill Kristol, hes a sad case. His magazine is failing. Its going to be out of business soon. And to be honest with you, I watched the guy on television for years now and hes been saying Donald Trump wont run and if he runs, hes just going to have fun and hes going to get out, and you know all of this stuff. And Im saying to myself, who is this guy? This seems to have been enough for Hannity to realize he needed Donald Trump in the White House, because the conversation then took an awkward turn, with Trump refusing to get specific about cabinet positions and Hannity fighting his growing man-crush: Hannity: I am not the corrupt press. Im actually the conservative here. Trump: You happen to be right about that. Hannity: Yeah, well Im an opinion show. I dont hold back that Ill be voting for Donald Trump in November. Trump: Thank you. Hannitys visible yearning to be embraced by Donald Trump, whether physically or metaphorically, was painfully apparent here, as was the pretense which followed, that Trump had ever given any specifics about his plans as president. Im sorry, but Im going to build a wall isnt a specific. It is this long-standing appeal to and reliance upon vague but emotionally powerful talking points rather than actual facts that made Trumps rise possible. Hannity and Trump no doubt had a good time at Bill Kristols expense during this softball interview. And Hillary Clintons. And people who demonstrate against him at his self-described love fest rallies. This let them eat loser cake vibe seems to be catching on among Republicans. Trump just put into words, after all, what theyve been thinking all along. In the end, however, this was just one more very public and abject surrender by another Fox News host to Donald Trumps cult of personality, and an official Fox News kiss of approval to Trumps backside for the overwrought hyperbolic drama that is the reality stars run for the presidency. Portfolio English Edition's premium content is available only for subscribers Learn about the hottest news of the day, along with immediate follow-up analyses and 1000's of exclusive articles with full access to the premium content. Register and apply for a 14 days free trial period. In my last column, I promised to share a few more digital tools to help the small business CEO manage all the new technologies and make achieving your marketing goals easier. I started by sharing some of my favorite tools for keeping up with content and using that in marketing strategies. I have found "Pablo" to be a great tool. It is a Buffer app for designing and sharing images on social media quickly. Using Buffer's free collection of images, or uploading your own, you can create an image with your own text or logo Pablo then will resize it to dimensions that fit Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, depending on where you'd like to post. A similar tool that some of my friends use is Canva. The importance of visual marketing can't be overstated. Just because you don't have a degree in graphic design doesn't mean you can't create a great-looking image. When using a program such as Pablo or Canva, the templates are primed for you to share on social media all you have to do is add your text or custom photo and instantly you have created a content asset that you can call your own. When talking about "social media marketing," I always caution folks to not forget about the results of your efforts. Social Analytics, a free Chrome extension, is a great tool. For example, have you wanted to know how viral a piece of content has gone on social media? Say you read a great article and want to share it from your profile using Social Analytics, you can get a real-time assessment of how popular a page or post is on various social networks. Likewise, you can easily check how one of your own blog posts is performing from a social sharing perspective with one quick look at Social Analytics. If you are interested in taking a deeper dive into your business' website analytics, use the "Google Analytics guide" to help get you started. So, how can this fit into your marketing strategy? Know ahead of time that you are sharing relevant content that already is growing in popularity versus guessing whether it will resonate with your audience. Thanks to social media, the amount of content being shared is massive and fast-paced. If you are going to share something, you want it to make an impact. ADVERTISEMENT I will end with some operations tools. Intuit QuickBooks Online is an excellent tool for managing finance, accounting and taxes. Earlier this year, Constant Contact announced a joint project with Intuit's QuickBooks online. Constant Contact for QuickBooks Online automatically imports all of your customers from Intuit into your selected Constant Contact email list, so you're ready to send your next email campaign. One last suggested tool is Basecamp for project management. Basecamp allows your small business or nonprofit team to collaborate easily by organizing tasks in one centralized location. Basecamp automatically syncs critical customer data (such as email address, name, opt-outs) between your Constant Contact account and Basecamp. In favor of a better work-life balance, Basecamp can help you and your team delegate tasks and ensure projects get completed on time though stronger collaboration. Balancing business goals with the day-to-day marketing, finance and operational duties of owning a business can get overwhelming. There are several digital tools to assist you. Barceloneta rebels against rowdy tourists Catalan capital says it is working fast to deal with illegal vacation homes and antisocial behavior Three Italian tourists running around naked in Barceloneta on Friday. VICENC FORNER The photographs showing a group of Italian tourists running around naked on Joan de Borbo avenue, in Barcelonas popular Barceloneta neighborhood, were taken a few days ago at 9am by a local resident. This is not a one-off. Tourists do whatever they want around here, says the photographer, Vicenc Forner. For three hours, the nudists strolled around the neighborhood and even walked into a local store without anybody saying anything about it. The municipal police did not make an appearance. The police dont know what to do about these things anymore, notes Forner. This is driving away locals and traditional tourists, who no longer want to come Vicenc Forner, local resident This was just the latest in a series of events that have long fueled complaints by the residents of Barceloneta about the excesses of tourists in the area. On Sunday and Monday, locals took their protests to the streets to demand that authorities do something about it. Imagine being inside a small apartment with three kids, no job, no money to go away on vacation, and having to put up with the screaming and the partying of the tourists in the apartment next door. It is unbearable, says Andres Antebi, a resident of Barceloneta. On Thursday, Barcelona council official Maite Fandos said that the city is working quickly to regulate the status of tourism accommodation before the year is out. She added that the council was very concerned about this matter, which it has been working on for some time. But neighborhood associations say that little has been done in the years that they have been protesting. LOstia association has long complained about the drug-peddling and the illegal apartment rentals that are associated with tourism in the area. Residents have even been keeping their own record of illegal rentals, which number as many as 170 in Barceloneta alone. We are tired of low-cost tourism focused on binge drinking, says Oriol Casavella. This is driving away the locals and traditional tourists, who no longer want to come here, adds Forner. According to Airbnb, a website that allows people to list and book vacation rentals in cities across the globe, there are as many as 477 listings available in Barceloneta, seven times more than those with legal permits to do so. Prices range from 45 to 100, and higher. Opposition politicians have criticized the way Barcelona is handling tourism in the city. The Socialist mayoral candidate, Jaume Collboni, said that what [Mayor] Xavier Trias needs to do is to resolve Barcelonas problems, including its tourism model. The answer to this problem cannot be to bring in even more tourists. The city has announced that it will send more municipal police to Barceloneta to watch our for antisocial behavior and said in a release that the neighbors are not alone. Imagine a duck gliding across a lake. While above the surface, the duck appears to calmly move along the water, in reality, it is frantically paddling under the surface to keep propelling itself. Sadly, this image presents the perfect metaphor for many high-achieving students today. Although many high school and college students try their best to emit a calm and collected facade to those around them, many of them are high-strung and stressed underneath it all. This phenomenon, known as the "Duck Syndrome," is becoming increasingly prevalent in selective colleges and has even percolated to high school students. Even as a high school student, it's easy to see how challenging classes can breed an environment where students are expected and even required to perform extremely well without necessarily showing how had they are really working to keep up. When surrounded by students who are learning the same material as you and who are apparently understanding it instantaneously, most students will quickly try to fit into this atmosphere where putting in the least amount of effort while getting the best grades is completely normal. Kids often brag about how little they studied for a test or how they didn't complete any of their assignments, but they still manage to get the grade that they want. ADVERTISEMENT While this may be true in some cases, the reality is that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and all of us are bound to fail at something in our lives. Even if someone has managed to coast through high school on the bare minimum level of effort, this isn't something that should be a source of pride. Instead of fostering an environment where students are expected to hide their shortcomings, it would be much more productive if we could all accept that everyone has their own weaknesses, and shouldn't feel it necessary to internalize them. Students should look to each other for guidance and support, as opposed to constantly trying to project a fake persona to impress those around them. If we haven't already, and especially as many seniors head off to college, all high school students eventually are bound to face something that is a struggle. It simply isn't possible for someone to be so talented they can accomplish anything without any effort. When we do eventually come face to face with our personal roadblocks, it's important to have a "can do" mentality and be willing to struggle, reach out for help, and possibly even fail cheerfully instead of reverting back to our old "Duck Syndrome" ways. A Rochester man faces multiple charges after authorities say he was uncooperative during a DWI stop, then punched an officer in the face. Duane Erle Calhoun, 29, was arrested Monday afternoon in an incident that began with a traffic stop during a seat belt enforcement campaign. An officer on patrol spotted Calhoun driving without wearing his seat belt, the report says, in a vehicle with a broken taillight. The officer followed Calhoun into the alley in the 1000 block of East Center Street and approached the vehicle. Calhoun got out of the car, said he was home, and was uncooperative and smelled of alcohol, the report says. A 6-year-old child was also in the car, said Capt. John Sherwin. Calhoun allegedly told the child to go inside, then began walking toward the house, also. ADVERTISEMENT The officer grabbed Calhoun's arm to stop him; that's when Calhoun reportedly punched the officer in the face, then went into the house. Other officers responded to assist at the scene, Sherwin said, eventually arresting an "uncooperative" Calhoun inside the home. A charge of fourth-degree assault of a peace officer, a felony, has been referred to the county attorney, as have charges of second-degree DWI, driving after revocation and obstructing the legal process. A Rochester woman is accused of driving while more than three times over the legal alcohol limit before crashing into a police car, authorities said this morning. Kristin Lueders, 35, was driving south about 9:35 p.m. Tuesday in the 3300 block of 18th Avenue Northwest when she drifted over the center line, said Capt. John Sherwin. An officer driving north on 18th Avenue watched Lueders' vehicle continue in the northbound lane, activated his overhead lights and "scooted as far over to the right as he could" in an attempt to avoid a collision, Sherwin said. Instead, Lueders' car struck the rear driver's side of the squad car, the report says, and Lueders tried to continue driving. She was arrested at the scene on suspicion of second-degree DUI and taken to the Adult Detention Center, where a preliminary breath test allegedly indicated a reading of .27. Lueders denied drinking, Sherwin said, and didn't realize she'd been in a crash. ADVERTISEMENT No injuries were reported, but the squad car had to be towed "due to disabling damage," the report says. These are the responsibility of the editor and convey the newspaper's view on current affairs-both domestic and international Carme Forcadell, speaker of the Catalan assembly, with Catalan Socialist Party chief Miquel Iceta. ALBERT GARCIA Any idea is welcome if it helps the election campaign unblock our festering problems or at the very least address them more reasonably. Such is the case with the new proposal by the Socialist Party (PSOE) regarding the Catalan question. The future of the region apparently ranks first among Spains political problems, yet it has only been present implicitly in the public debate since the general elections of December 20. The proposal involves reaching a political pact with Catalonia that will acknowledge its singularity and improve its self-government. The idea connects with, and develops, the partys earlier concept of structuring Spain along federal lines, but that would require constitutional reform to become a reality. It would also require all Spaniards, and not just Catalans, to support such an agreement. At the same time, Catalonia would be granted the role of a leading player while respecting the implications of the principle of equality. It is evident that Catalonia is a national community with a singular and very pronounced personality at the linguistic, cultura, economic, historic and political levels All of this fits in with the PSOEs 2013 Granada Declaration, although its actual embodiment in a political pact would require nuances depending on whether it is being interpreted by this or that regional leader. And that seems to be the point of the proposal. The lack of details regarding the content of this pact allows several things to happen at the same time. Not the least of these is the opening of an in-depth debate over Catalonias place in Spain a debate that was absent from the previous campaign. This, in turn, opens the door to potential post-election agreements. In such an event, the usefulness of the pact would extend beyond Socialist circles. At the same time, the initiative allows the Socialist family to underscore the multilateral nature of Spains system of Autonomous Communities and to highlight the bilateral relations that already exist with several regions in the fields of finance (the Basque concierto granting tax collection powers), the judiciary (insularity), and law enforcement (the Basque and Catalan Ertzaintza and Mossos dEsquadra police forces respectively). Catalonia is granted the role of a leading player while respecting the implications of the principle of equality The Socialist proposal strays from todays prevailing views that the best way to deal with the Catalan issue is either to be passive, which only worsens the problem; or else, at the opposite extreme, to organize an independence referendum that would aggravate the tensions and divisions within Catalan society rather than resolving the matter through a negotiated improvement of Catalonias place in Spain. Furthermore, the proposal promises to respect the implications of the principle of equality. Equality implies treating equally those who are equal: that is to say, granting the same basic social rights to all citizens regardless of their origin or place of residence. But it also means treating those who are different differently, and it is evident that Catalonia is a national community with a singular and very pronounced personality at the linguistic, cultural, economic, historic and political levels. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition has launched a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. If we consider the fact that the Catalan assembly on Tuesday began seeing one of the disconnect laws aimed at severing ties with the Spanish state, in this case one dealing with welfare, the Socialist Party's ideas are even more interesting. On paper, this bill does not appear to be unconstitutional because it only deals with non-contributory pensions that already fall under the Catalan governments powers. But its origins lie in the pro-sovereignty declaration of November 9 that was later annulled by Spains Constitutional Court. In short, these proposals are a pertinent reminder that the Catalan question requires a political solution, which is the only way to cut the Gordian knot of its mounting legal complexity. English version by Susana Urra. President Maduro on Venezuelan television. HANDOUT (REUTERS) Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro says he is considering legal action against the Spanish media, accusing them of waging a psychological war against his government. Speaking on Venezuelan state television on Tuesday, Maduro said he had contacted the countrys ambassador in Madrid, Mario Isea, to discuss judicial options. Venezuelans have the right for their truth to be known, and Spaniards also have a right to know the truth, said the president on his television program Contacto con Maduro (Contact Maduro). The opposition is garnering signatures in order to hold a recall referendum on Maduros mandate The war being waged in Spain is terrible I am preparing a group of Spanish, European and Venezuelan jurists to take a series of judicial measures to guarantee respect for Venezuelas honor, he said. Venezuelas worsening economic situation has been widely covered in the international media. President Maduro has declared a state of emergency following riots over shortages of essential goods and power cuts. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition is launching a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. Spain has sent former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as part of an international delegation to help mediate between the government and the opposition, which is garnering signatures in order to hold a recall referendum on Maduros mandate. Last week, Maduro accused the Spanish government of being part of a campaign to back an international invasion of Venezuela. What is happening in Madrid against Venezuela is a war campaign, a campaign to prepare, which will never happen, but that is in the macabre minds of those planning an invasion, a military intervention, he said on Friday. English version by Nick Lyne. Dear Answer Man, I have gift cards for Whiskey Creek, which closed last winter, but I also have gift cards for Old Country Buffet, which abruptly closed a few months ago. Can you supply me with any information for a refund from Old Country Buffet? Thank you so much. As even marginally loyal readers know, on Tuesday I helped out people who are holding gift cards to the defunct Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill. If you missed that column, it's really a shame you missed vital information, as usual but send me a note if you want the scoop. The reader above hit the daily double, though, with gift cards to TWO failed restaurants. Old Country Buffetin Rochester closed in March , and the parent company, Ovation Brands , is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Nonetheless, you can get your money back. Call the company headquarters in Hollywood Park, Texas , at 210-403-3725 and you'll get a long recorded message. Hit "5," as I recall, for the Operations Department, then hit "1" and if you're lucky, you'll chat with the helpful employee I talked with Wednesday, who said there's an easy process for a refund. They'll send you a form by mail or email, you'll fill it out and in about 6-8 weeks, you'll have your refund. The employee noted that with Ovation going through bankruptcy, these outstanding debts need to be processed in a certain way, but she made it sound fairly assured that you'll get your money back. ADVERTISEMENT If you don't, let me know. Dear Answer Man, when is the Mayo Civic Center work going to be finished? It's been interesting to watch, but I'm done now and just want the project to be done, too. According to the latest update from the Civic Center, the Rochester Civic Theatre work will be done this summer, as will the banquet production kitchen. The Convention Center will be done early next year, and Presentation Hall will be renovated and ready to go in August of next year. There's no date yet for the formal grand opening of the whole enchilada, but Donna Drews, the center's executive director, says you can plan to eat cake by late summer 2017. Answer Man: 'No comment' on future of Hager City plant Answer Man: Keep trying for Whiskey Creek refunds Answer Man: 'Destination retail' doesn't mean hoity-toity Answer Man: Think about it: New bank office under construction ADVERTISEMENT Answer Man: DMC assumes thousands of parking spaces Dear Answer Man, have you heard anything about what used to be Meyer Steel Structures in Hager City, Wis., just across the river from Red Wing? It's now called Trinity and it's a major employer in the Red Wing area. I've heard rumors. -- V.B. I've heard those rumors, too. On Tuesday morning, I called Trinity Industries Inc. , the Dallas-based corporation whose wholly-owned subsidiary Trinity Structural Towers Inc. acquired Meyer in September 2014 , and talked with public affairs representative Elise Johnson. The particular well-sourced rumor I've heard is that the plant may be closing. Elise said, "I don't have any information on that" and said she would find out more by the end of the day. Late Tuesday, she emailed this statement from Jack Todd, Trinity's vice president of public affairs: "It is company policy not to discuss current or future operations." So -- the company won't confirm or deny. That's not unusual, but it's also not reassuring. ADVERTISEMENT Just last week, it was announced that Trinity Structural Towers had received an order to manufacture $940 million of wind towers, to be delivered over a three-year period beginning next year. A company executive said the deal "extends the backlog for our wind towers business through 2019." The company's stock, which trades on the New York Stock exchange, has ticked upward recently but is down sharply for the year. In February, Trinity closed a container manufacturing plant in Quincy, Ill., eliminating about 70 jobs. According to their 2015 annual report , company employment at the end of 2015 "decreased slightly" from the end of 2014. Meyer was based in Memphis and was a division of Thomas & Betts Corp. Its products, at the time it was acquired, included engineered poles, light duty poles and substation structures. The company employed about 1,100 workers and had plants in Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, in addition to Hager City. The Hager City plant, which is just a few miles east of the Eisenhower Bridge, still has a big Meyer sign attached to it. Hello, famous Answer Man. I have a friend who I visit in your hamlet and every time I drive past Mayo Clinic, my Sirius radio signal is lost. This lasts for a block or two and then comes right back. Please don't say it is because of the tall buildings, because I don't have this issue in downtown Minneapolis or Chicago. Is there something Mayo does to scramble or block signals? -- Frequent Visitor This is one of Rochester's enduring mysteries: Do the electronics at the clinic downtown as well as at the Saint Marys campus mess with your satellite radio and cause cellphone calls to drop? I can tell you for a fact that there's a dead zone for my cell service near the Mayo Building and near Saint Marys. Another loyal reader tells me that Facetime service is interrupted in those areas. Does Mayo have a force field, a "Cone of Silence" to protect its sensitive electronic instruments? If they do, I highly doubt they'll tell me, but I have calls out. If you have information or personal experience to share, pass it along. ADVERTISEMENT +++ brown bear +++ mayfly +++ Dear Answer Man, when did Andy's Liquor open a shop in the DoubleTree Hotel? I didn't know they were in there until yesterday. That was in April, and it's the former City Liquors shop that was tucked away in a corner on the main floor of University Square. That dead-end space by the interior door to the dead-as-a-doornail Michaels restaurant hasn't been reoccupied as yet. The Andy's people tried to brand City Liquors a little differently, but in the end they decided Andy's was better. The phone number is 258-5578 and they're open noon to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT Productive column item Faithful readers know that I responded beautifully to a question last week about the former J & J Producestand, on the site of what will soon be a new Think Mutual Bankoffice on 38th Street Northwest and East River Road. The owners of the produce stand left no forwarding address, and I speculated that a J & J Produce company based near Hawkeye, Iowa, may be associated with it. No dice, as it turns out -- that J & J is a commercial greenhouse that sells directly to stores (and lists Rochester Hy-Vee stores among its accounts). An online reader says there's a family farm in Millville that did business at that erstwhile stand on East River Road between 37th and River Court Northeast. I'm checking out that angle. Prosecutor in police shooting to enter alcohol program MINNEAPOLIS The prosecutor whose office won a recent conviction in the high-profile case of a Minneapolis police officer who killed an unarmed woman says he will be entering a treatment program for alcohol issues. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman issued a statement Friday saying he was evaluated for alcohol issues and agrees he needs treatment. Hell be entering a program Monday. Freeman announced last week that he was taking a medical leave, but didnt say why. His Friday statement says he has also worked to stabilize his "unacceptably high blood pressure." He says hes determined to reclaim his health and hopes to be back to work in mid-June. ADVERTISEMENT Last month, a jury convicted Mohamed Noor of murder in the 2017 fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia who called 911 to report a possible crime. Minnesota seeks to add Purdue Pharma owners to opioid suit ST. PAUL Minnesotas attorney general is asking a state court for permission to add the owners of drugmaker Purdue Pharma to a lawsuit that seeks to hold the company responsible for the opioid addiction crisis. Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma makes OxyContin and has been the subject of legal action in nearly every state. Attorney General Keith Ellison wants to add eight members of the Sackler family to Minnesotas lawsuit. He says the Sacklers, who own and operate Purdue, were involved in deceptive marketing tactics and strategies to sell more opioids, despite knowing the risks. If a judge approves, Minnesota would become at least the 11th state to take legal action against one or more members of the Sackler family. A family spokeswoman issued a statement denying the allegations, calling the lawsuit a misguided attempt to place blame where it doesnt belong. Man holed up in hotel surrenders to police ADVERTISEMENT BROOKLYN PARK Authorities say a standoff at a Brooklyn Park hotel ended after more than six hours when a man suspected of assaulting his girlfriend surrendered to police. SWAT officers and crisis negotiators were called to the La Quinta Inn early Friday after a woman reported she was being assaulted by her boyfriend and threatened with a gun. Police say the standoff began at 3:30 a.m. and ended when the man was arrested at about 9:50 a.m. Authorities say the woman was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Police say the 31-year-old suspect was not carry9ing a gun but it was unclear if there were any weapons in the room. The suspect, who has not been formally charged, has previous convictions for drug possession, motor vehicle theft, aggravated robbery, making terroristic threats, drunken driving and burglary. Jail inmate accused of running prostitution ring MORA An inmate at the Kanabec County Jail is charged with running a prostitution ring from his cell. Thirty-eight-year-old Daniel Ellington is charged in Washington County District Court with two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of promotion of prostitution. Prosecutors say Ellington communicated with a prostitute by text and "promoted and profited" from her activities in Woodbury last month. ADVERTISEMENT East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force director Imran Ali says Ellington was 100 miles away and incarcerated, yet was promoting prostitution and profiting from it. The task force began investigating after a Woodbury detective found an online ad entitled "Blonde Bombshell." The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Kanabec County Sheriff Brian Smith says Ellington used a jail-issued iPod to text and paid a certain price for each message. Associated Press Construction and renovation work at the historic Conley-Maass building and a separate project to construct a new skyway connection will cause the closure of alleyways in downtown Rochester. The north-south alley between Third Street Southwest and Fourth Street Southwest, west of South Broadway Avenue, was closed Tuesday and Wednesday to allow for "skyway foundation work," according to a city news release. The city in February granted a revocable permit to allow the skyway construction to property developers Hal Henderson and Grant Michaletz, of GKH2 Holdings. The skyway will connect 318 Commons to 309 South Broadway over the alley. One block to the south, the north-south alley south of Fourth Street Southwest and west of South Broadway Avenue closed Wednesday for building maintenance work. The Conley-Maass Building is on the east side of the alley. Work in the alley is scheduled to be completed by June 30, according to a city news release. Properties with alley access will remain accessible from the south end of the alley, a release said. ADVERTISEMENT The Conley-Maass Building owners, Traci and Hunter Downs, plan to invest $3 million in a renovation of the building while also seeking its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The renovated space will provide office space in the Destination Medical Center sub-district Discovery Square, as well as a new restaurant . Century High School chemistry teacher Chuck Handlon and Kellogg Middle School earth science teacher Roger Larsen know their lives are about to change. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell them that. For 40 years, the two have taught not only the concepts of science but its values, that failure can be as integral to learning as success. For the past 20 years, the two have been key links in the Kellogg-to-Century science education pipeline. When they retire from Rochester Public Schools this summer, they will have taught for a combined 83 years. They have, shall we say, a certain perspective. Their careers have spanned a technological revolution that reshaped and transformed their classrooms. Slide rules would be replaced by hand-held devices a million times more powerful than the computers NASA used in its moon launches in the 1960s. ADVERTISEMENT Waves of educational reform would sweep through classrooms, one after the other. Test-taking would become rampant. State and federal laws would diminish teachers' autonomy, as lesson plans for some teachers became forced marches through the curriculum. Teaching remained fun Yet, to hear Handlon and Larsen tell it, the political intrusions and increasing top-down approaches to education never stopped them from being the teachers they wanted to be. It never hindered their ability to teach. Teaching never stopped being fun. "It's the kids," Larsen said during a sit-down with the two teachers. "Middle school kids can love you one day and hate you the next. And the next day, they love you. It's just fresh. It's fun to see the light bulb go off." From the perspective of 40 years, both noted trends that have made teaching a more challenging profession, from schools' over-reliance on tests and assessments to the saturation bombing of computers and technology in the schools to meddlesome politicians. "Technology has changed," Handlon said. "When we first started out, we had time and ability to assimilate it. It's growing exponentially now. And I feel sorry for the new teachers that are trying to keep up with the latest whatever it is. All these websites and software. Pick one thing, and try to really use it." Handlon was Century's first chemistry teacher when the school opened in 1997, joining a core group of teachers whose mandate was to create a school and a culture that emphasized academics. His tie-dyed lab coat, joined to an energetically extroverted Mr. Wizard personality, screamed: "Chemistry is colorful." A willingness to say what was on his mind often found him in front of Rochester School Board meetings, fighting for more stringent science requirements. "I'm walking out, figuring I haven't left anything unsaid," Handlon said. ADVERTISEMENT Larsen ran the Rochester Regional Science Fair for nearly 20 years, building it into a glitzy affair in which Rochester students competed against the best and brightest high school students in the world. He lassoed powerhouse A-list scientists and speakers to the science extravaganza. To a folksy Montana-style charm, Larsen joined a sky-high wonder at what student scientists could accomplish. They responded with cutting-edge experiments (one student invented a mechanism to click a mouse with the blink of his eye). Nor did he seek to exempt himself from science's real-life applications. In the 1980s, Larsen applied to be a participant in the NASA Teacher in Space Project. Christa McAuliffe eventually would be selected. Larsen and his students were watching the flight from his classroom when the space capsule exploded, killing all seven crew members. Later, Larsen talked to astronaut John Glenn, the first man to orbit the Earth, and asked whether the program would ever be started up again. "He said, 'Don't worry about it, Roger. Before you die, we'll be sending up senior citizens. You get your name on the list,'" Larsen recalled. Both grew up in the era of Sputnik, the beach ball-sized satellite launched by the Soviet Union that became to U.S. educators and politicians the equivalent of a thrown gauntlet. Science became the rage. In Handlon's elementary school, TVs were wheeled into classrooms to watch every space launch and landing, he said. The Mercury astronauts became "our heroes," he said. Everybody owned a telescope. Failure is part of learning "Our elementary teachers, at least in the school I was at, conspicuously pushed science," Handlon said. "We were allowed to experiment, no matter what it was. Play around with things." ADVERTISEMENT Those experiences taught Handlon how failure was an inescapable part of learning, a core concept in science, in the scientific method. But over the years, he saw that attitude erode, replaced by a mindset that has less tolerance for failure. Today's classroom culture sees less use for failure, does not create as much allowance for it in the name of making sure no student is left behind. "There's pressures on teachers to not rock the boat, to have everybody learn. No child's going to fail," Handlon said. "I mean, in science, you have to have failure. We don't make progress without failure." Larsen said kids today are no different than when he started teaching 43 years ago. They are still loving. Still kind. But the biggest difference today is in the home and the expectations. When Larsen was a student and he did something wrong at school, the first question from his father would be, "What did I do wrong?" Today, it is "What did the teacher do wrong?" "In teaching now, it's more about making everybody happy," Larsen said. "Parents happy. Kids happy. Administrators happy. Everybody's got to be happy. And sometimes, learning isn't about always being happy. The best things you learn about sometimes are when you're not happy." Larsen called his approaching retirement a "very emotional time." He's been getting up and going to school for 43 years. "I've eaten lunch in 30 minutes for 43 years." And if you tack on his 16 years as a student, "I've been going to school for 60 years," he said. "What am I going to be doing in two months? I'm not going to have any place to go. I got to figure out my whole life again," Larsen said. "But the thing is the connection with kids. You know, I remember teachers retiring. They'd go and they leave, and you never really see them much any more unless you go to Hardee's for lunch. But you don't see them a lot. Where do they go?" Larsen doesn't plan to remain idle. The impulse to teach remains strong. He says he's considering pursuing teaching opportunities at the college level. Larsen taught at Rochester Community and Technical College two years ago but stopped when it conflicted with his day job. But it's one of a number of options he's weighing. "I kind of have a a desire to go to the hospital and rock babies," Larsen said. The teaching impulse hasn't waned in Handlon either. He said he plans to have a hand in teaching the next generation of teachers as an adjunct professor at Winona State University. He will be teaching STEM (science, technology engineering, math) methods to elementary education majors. "I just enjoy it so much," Handlon said. "I know that I'm always going to be a teacher." MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota's U.S. attorney on Wednesday declined to file civil rights charges against two Minneapolis police officers in the November death of a black man that sparked weeks of protests. Andrew Luger said in a news release that there's insufficient evidence to support charges against Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze. Jamar Clark, 24, was shot once in the head Nov. 15 and died a day later. A key issue was whether or not Clark was handcuffed when he was shot. Several witnesses said he was; police said he was not. The circumstances of the case set off weeks of protests in the city, including an 18-day tent encampment outside the police department's 4th Precinct on the north side. The confrontation that led to Clark's death began when paramedics called police saying the man was interfering with their efforts to treat an assault victim. ADVERTISEMENT According to an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Clark refused orders to take his hands out of his pockets. The officers tried to handcuff him but failed. Ringgenberg wrestled Clark to the ground but wound up on his back atop Clark and felt Clark's hand on his weapon, according to the investigation. Schwarze then shot Clark in an encounter that lasted barely more than a minute from the time the officers first arrived. In March, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman declined to file criminal charges against the officers. He cited forensic evidence in the BCA investigation that found no bruising of Clark's wrists that handcuffs would likely have caused and found Clark's DNA on Ringgenberg's gun. Freeman also cited conflicting accounts by witnesses about whether Clark was cuffed. Mayor Betsy Hodges requested the civil rights investigation, which was conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The investigation was to determine whether the officers intentionally violated Clark's civil rights through excessive force. That's a high legal standard because an accident, bad judgment or simple negligence is not enough to bring federal charges. An internal police investigation is expected now that the results of the federal investigation have been released. The DOJ is also reviewing how the city responded to the protests that followed Clark's death. Though those protests were largely peaceful, one demonstration outside the 4th Precinct soon after the shooting included some skirmishes between officers and protesters. At least one federal lawsuit has been filed accusing officers of excessive force during a Nov. 18 demonstration. Five demonstrators were also shot and lightly wounded near the 4th Precinct Nov. 23 in what a county prosecutor said was a racially motivated attack. Four men three white, one Asian were charged. The Clark shooting spurred state lawmakers to examine longstanding complaints of racial inequities, particularly on the impoverished north side. Advocates requested more investment in minority-owned businesses and a summer job program for black teens, and lawmakers this spring set aside $35 million. ADVERTISEMENT Community groups said authorities barred them from attending a news conference to announce the federal authorities' decision to not charge the officers Wednesday. Nekima Levy-Pounds said it's unacceptable that government leaders would exclude those who have been working for justice for Clark. U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Ben Petok said community groups have been invited to a meeting at federal offices Wednesday afternoon and that the news conference is for accredited members of the media only. RED WING A group in Red Wing is hoping to bring a four-year college to the city. "We look like a college town, but we don't have a college," said Tom Longlet, a board member of the Jones Family Foundation and retired Red Wing banker. The foundation has worked toward bringing a four-year college to Red Wing for several years, and now that mission is being taken up by the Red Wing Higher Education Partnership. While Minnesota State College Southeast Technical, the community college located near Red Wing High School, provides a great technical skills education opportunity, he said, a liberal arts and technology-focused college would serve the needs of businesses regionally. Graduates of the type of college Red Wing hopes to attract would need skills in both technology and communication to meet the needs the in areas such as digital media, gamification, cyber security and digital forensics. Those specific areas have come up repeatedly in talking with area businesses as a niche that needs to be filled. "In talking to area businesses, not only Red Wing but around Minnesota, one of the common themes was there's such a chronic shortage of qualified technical people," Longlet said. "Some of the searches employers were taking to find qualified candidates were nine months or 12 months." ADVERTISEMENT Red Wing Mayor Daniel Bender said the city, while not directly part of the new partnership of community leaders, philanthropic organizations and business leaders working to bring a college to the city, fully supports the endeavor. "The benefits are huge for the community," the mayor said. "Studies have show communities with a four-year college experience better growth, have younger demographics and bring in other businesses besides the college." Red Wing is not starting from scratch to build a college. The Red Wing Higher Education Partnership recently sent packets to 78 college across the country looking for a partner that would like to expand its footprint into Red Wing. The packets focused on the public-private partnerships that exist in Red Wing, the city's proximity to Rochester and the Twin Cities, the number of Fortune 500 companies nearby, the number of potential college-age students within 60 miles of the city, and the amenities in Red Wing such as trails, parks and cultural offerings. "We're trying to highlight it as a fairly entrepreneurial community," Longlet said. While bringing a four-year college to Red Wing is a grand dream, he said, one college recently sent a delegation to Red Wing. "We came very close with one school," Longlet said. "They sent a contingent to Red Wing, but in the end, it didn't work out because they had other priorities." The higher education partnership hopes to attract a four-year institution by 2020. That might be an aggressive timeline, but it is feasible, Longlet said. Bender said the city will do whatever it can to make that goal become a reality. ADVERTISEMENT "We would need to find a place to put the college and give whatever financial assistance is necessary to make this happen," he said. The hope would be to put a campus near downtown and build toward a student body of about 1,500 students. "We know that even a starter campus would be a pretty significant investment," Longlet said, adding that several philanthropic institutions have expressed interest. Plus, any college hoping to expand into Red Wing would give some funding as well. "We know this is a pretty big dream, but it's something worthwhile," Longlet said. "We think it'll be a unique opportunity for the right school to expand its presence and brand." The Rochester School Board delved into the district's proposed $211 million general fund budget for the 2016-17 school year during Tuesday's meeting. Projecting a shortfall last year, the district asked voters for more local money in November; voters approved that request, providing the district with about $9.6 million per year for 10 years . The extra money was intended to sustain the district's current level of programming. But even with the extra money from voters, district leaders and school board members still face budget challenges. Three areas will see a significant boost in funding this year, the district's gifted and talented program, elementary "special areas," and the Career and Technical Education Center at Heintz, or CTECH . That money translates into instructors for each of the areas and breaks down like this: Five additional elementary "special areas" teachers to reduce travel time for instructors and "provide more continuity" ADVERTISEMENT Increase 2.2 FTE teachers and one paraprofessional for CTECH programming Additional 2.5 FTE teachers for increase in enrollment in gifted and talented program The addition of five elementary special area teachers was an issue Superintendent Michael Munoz said was brought up at every elementary school listening session. Like art and music teachers It was difficult for the teachers to build relationships and feel a part of that building, he said. All seven of the CTECH career pathways will be open. In order to get them up and running, they added teachers, Munoz said. The district will receive about $242,000 in state aid for its Gifted and Talented programs, but will budget $1.2 million next year because the district has had an increase in gifted and talented students. "It's really been many years since staff have been added as the program grows," Munoz said. But the district still faces a number of challenges. Unfunded mandates from the Legislature rose from $15 million last year to about $16 million this year. ADVERTISEMENT The Legislature funds the majority of the district's general fund budget, about 76 percent, the rest comes from property taxes, local revenue and federal aid. This funding model forces the district to rely heavily upon the state for funding. This can pose challenges said school board members Tuesday, because lawmakers will mandate certain things without providing funding for them. For example, the district doesn't receive full funding for special education from the state, so it has to make up that difference with the general fund balance, said John Carlson, director of finance for the district. The district expects this will be challenging next year because its special education enrollment increased by about 160 this year. "What we're going to be looking at the next several years is reallocating and shifting, I mean, that's just the way it's going to have to be," Munoz said. "If that continues, if we keep getting 161 more (special education) students, we're going to have to balance that out somehow." The Rochester Public Utility Board approved an additional $1.8 million in sustainable energy options and general modifications for the planned Westside Energy Station on Tuesday. The peaking power plant is slated to be built at 5846 19th St. NW to help supply Rochester's growing demand for power. It will include five reciprocating engine generators, which run on natural gas. Work has not begun on the project. The estimated construction schedule calls for it to be operational by May 1, 2018. Wisconsin-based Boldt Co. working with Sargent & Lundy of Chicago are contracted to engineer and build the plant. The peaking power plant is slated to be built at 5846 19th St. NW. Wally Schlink, RPU's director of power resources, presented a series of energy efficiency options, like auto window shades, a 60-kilowatt solar array and other features totaling $44,887 to the board. Many of the options are expected to pay for themselves through savings over the life of the plant. In addition to the energy saving features, Schlink also showed the board a series of general modifications to the original plan totaling $1.42 million. ADVERTISEMENT The board unanimously approved both proposals. RPU has previously appropriated $74.8 million for the Westside Energy project. The new additions brings RPU's current commitment to building the plant to $64.3 million. Boards members commented on their pleasure at seeing the money committed to the project being well below the budgeted cost. However, Schlink cautioned them about getting too excited about building the plant at a savings. "Remember, we haven't turned over shovel full of dirt yet," he said. Activists outside the Expropriated Bank. A. Garcia Barcelona squatters angry at their eviction from a former bank have decided to target the owner of the property. The one-time residents of the Expropriated Bank have announced that they are planning an escrache an act of public shaming that originated in Argentina and became popular in Spain during the economic crisis, when activists began harassing politicians over their housing policies. Were going after him. He is responsible for the eviction of the Expropriated Bank Protest organizers The event will take place at 6pm on Thursday, according to messages posted through the social media, although the location will remain undisclosed until one hour earlier. The target of the escrache is Manuel Bravo Solano, a businessman who purchased the premises from Catalunya Caixa for an amount that he puts at 500,000. Were going after him. He is responsible for the eviction of the Expropriated Bank, reads one of the messages. Activists have gone as far as to make posters with Bravo Solanos face on it, and have distributed photographs of his family members. The eviction has resulted in over a week of clashes between squatters and their sympathizers on one side, and the regional police on the other. City officials say the squatters refuse their offer to mediate in the conflict, and that parties should resort to neighborhood associations for help in finding a solution. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition has launched a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. The former bank branch was taken over by squatters on October 22, 2011. In May 2013 the latter were presented with civil action by Catalunya Caixa aimed at getting them to vacate the premises. In April 2013 the bank sold the property to Manuel Bravo Solanos real estate company, Antartic Vintage. The new owner took the squatter issue to court and secured a favorable ruling, but the eviction never took place because in January 2015, the mayor at the time, Xavier Trias of the nationalist coalition CiU, agreed to pay Bravo a monthly rent of 5,500 so the squatters could remain. There were regional elections later that year and CiU did not want a repeat of the street violence that had followed the eviction of another squatter center, Can Vies. But the new mayor, Ada Colau herself an anti-eviction activist whose Mortgage Victims Platform (PAH) organized escraches in the past ended the practice of using taxpayer money to pay the squatters rent. Antartic Vintage then asked for the eviction to be enforced. On Tuesday, it transpired that the city had contemplated buying the property to return it to the squatter community, but ruled it out because of the exorbitant price that the owner was asking for it. EL PAIS was unable to reach Bravo Solano for comment. Employees at Antartic Vintage who picked up the phone said they were feeling overwhelmed by all the controversy. English version by Susana Urra. SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Google Ad Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully Google Ad The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression Nominations now open for $1 million global humanitarian award Nominations open today for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, an annual international humanitarian award. The Aurora Prize is seeking personal stories of individuals who have put themselves at personal risk for the sake of others. Nominations are open to the public from now until September 9, 2016 at www.auroraprize.com. Anyone can nominate a candidate they believe has overcome great personal challenges to make an exceptional impact on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes. A description of the Prize criteria and selection process can be found here. Every year, an Aurora Prize Laureate is honored with a US$100,000 grant, as well as a US$1,000,000 award to be donated to charitable organizations that inspired their work. Like the winner of the inaugural Aurora Prize, Marguerite Barankitse, I, too, have witnessed firsthand the terrible atrocities that humans are capable of inflicting upon one another, said Elie Wiesel, Aurora Prize Co-Chair. It has given me a profound appreciation for those individuals who put themselves at risk to help their fellow man. These are the very people we are honoring with the Aurora Prize. The first-ever Aurora Prize Laureate, Marguerite Barankitse of Maison Shalom, was honored in April for saving and caring for 30,000 children, orphans and refugees during Burundis civil war. This Aurora Prize was consolation to me for the whole of Burundi's people, said Barankitse. Success is not what you have, but who you are. My mission is to give everyone hopehope for success, for compassion, and for love. Im so grateful for the opportunity the Aurora Prize has afforded me, the three organizations I nominated for the award, and the people of Burundi. Barankitse is one of many remarkable stories. She and her fellow 2016 Aurora Prize finalistsDr. Tom Catena from Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan; Syeda Ghulam Fatima, the General Secretary of the Bonded Labor Liberation Front in Pakistan; and Father Bernard Kinvi, a Catholic priest in Bossemptele in the Central African Republicare just a handful of the extraordinary individuals making a difference around the world. The Aurora Prize is the philanthropic vision of co-founders Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan, who sought to express gratitude and memorialize those whose heroic actions saved lives during the Armenian Genocide more than one hundred years ago. Continuing the cycle of giving, the Aurora Prize carries forward that legacy of gratitude. Last years call for nominations helped to shine a light on a number of remarkable humanitarian heroes, said Co-Founder and Selection Committee Member Vartan Gregorian. Were thrilled to again open the call for nominations, during which we hope to unearth even more inspiring stories of selflessness and hope. The second annual Aurora Prize will be presented on April 24, 2017, in Yerevan, Armenia. ABOUT THE AURORA PRIZE FOR AWAKENING HUMANITY On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, an Aurora Prize Laureate is honored each year with a US$100,000 grant as well as the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations that inspired their work for a US$1,000,000 award. Recipients are recognized for the exceptional impact their actions have made on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes. Marguerite Barankitse of Maison Shalom was named as the inaugural Aurora Prize Laureate at a ceremony held in Yerevan, Armenia on April 24, 2016. The Aurora Prize Selection Committee includes Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel, Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former Australian Foreign Minister and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian; and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney. The Aurora Prize is awarded annually on April 24 in Yerevan, Armenia. Wounded soldier's family waits for Seyran Ohanyan to keep his promise Ruben Arakelyan, one of the Armenian servicemen wounded during the four-day April war in Karabakh, will soon be transferred to Germany for further treatment. The 19-year-old soldier was wounded during the clashes in Talish. He got spinal cord injury and was transferred to the Erebuni medical centre in Yerevan where he has undergone several operations ever since. The family needs 90.000 for Rubens treatment in Germany. We have collected part of the money and need 43 000. Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan has promised to transfer the sum to Rubens account. We are grateful to Mr Ohanyan, his wife Ruzanna Khachatryan and Ministry of Health. I also want to thank the head of Jrvezh community, Robert Petrosyan, who has been supporting the family both financially and morally from the very beginning, said Narine Tumanyan, a relative of Ruben. She says Ruben is 'in a good mood.' He is able to move one of his hands but he cannot move the other hand and his legs. We take him out for a walk twice a day, she added. The Ministry of Health is currently preparing the necessary papers. The family is now waiting for Minister Ohanyan to keep his promise and transfer the promised sum. Once the money is transferred, the Ministry will be able to solve the issue of visas and send them to Germany, said Anahit Bakhshyan, a member of the Public Council. Disappointment, anger, frustration. That was my reaction on hearing that Rochester police officer Ben Schlag was given a mere slap on the wrist for his racist Facebook posts. I had expected better of Police Chief Roger Peterson. The decision to suspend Schlag without pay for 10 days and have him attend some cultural dynamics classes is not an appropriate level of response. When Schlag posted images of Black Lives Matter protesters being run down by cars, he demonstrated not just bad judgment, but a level of disdain and hate toward the African-American community that cannot be tolerated by our community. Schlag's deep-seated emotions are unlikely to be moderated by any amount of diversity training. Peterson says terminating Schlag from the police department would have been the easy thing to do. Sometimes the easy thing to do is easy because it's also the right thing to do. African-Americans in Rochester should not have to wonder, the next time a police cruiser pulls behind them, if they're being stopped by Schlag. It's obvious on which side of the blue line Peterson stands. ADVERTISEMENT Rochester deserves a police department that serves all of the community, not just those with whom they can identify. I call on Peterson to admit his mistake and terminate Schlag. Maynard Johnson Oronocco The Rochester Area Foundation was founded in 1944 by Harry Harwick, a Mayo Clinic administrator with a starting grant of $3,500. Since then, the foundation has given an average of more than $1 million each year to area nonprofits and causes through various endowments and funds while serving the mission of "Better Communities for All." The ribbon-cutting event at our new building was a significant milestone in our history. For the first time in 70 years, our foundation has a permanent home on the corner of Elton Hills Drive and Broadway. The building isn't just for the foundation; it provides affordable community meeting space, nonprofit incubator space and resources for new and emerging nonprofits. It functions as a tool to better assist our communities. None of this would be possible without the generous support of so many individuals, businesses and nonprofits in the community. It truly takes a village to complete an effort like this, and community outpouring of support demonstrates residents are part of a fantastic village. We, along with our fellow board members and the foundation staff, appreciate the residents of the greater Rochester area. Generations of Rochester area residents will be appreciative for giving their community foundation a permanent home. Wendy Shannon ADVERTISEMENT Rochester Area Foundation board chairwoman Rochester Mark Utz Rochester Area Foundation board vice chairman Rochester We have reached many milestones and witnessed plenty of success stories at the Guam Department of Labor during my current tenure, but I will b Read moreGDOL wants to be a part of your employment solutions Dan Metcalfe teaches secrecy law at American Universitys Washington College of Law. He served as Director of the Justice Departments Office of Information and Privacy for more than 25 years, during which time he handled information-disclosure policy issues on dozens of Clinton Administration scandals. Hes a registered Democrat who says he will vote for Hillary Clinton in November if she escapes indictment and manages to become the Democratic presidential nominee. Metcalfe believes, however, that Clinton will be indicted, and should be, over the email scandal. He explains why in this column. Metcalfe writes: For those of us who recognized from the outset that Ms. Clintons exclusive use of a personal email system for all her official business (not to mention her unprecedented use of a private server atop that) was a clear violation of the Federal Records Act (FRA), the findings of the State Departments Inspector General (IG) to that effect in his May 25 report were no surprise. In fact, on the admitted facts of the case, no other conclusion was possible, and it was simply another shoe waiting to be dropped. For Metcalfe, the primary significance of the IGs Report is that it so flatly and persuasively belies nearly every public defense that she has uttered on the matter: No, her self-serving email set-up was not allowed under the State Departments rules. No, she was not permitted to use a personal email system exclusively as she did. No, what she did was hardly just a matter of her personal convenience. No, there is no evidence that any State Department attorney (other than perhaps Secretary Clinton herself) ever gave legal approval to any part of her special email system. No, everything she did was not fully above board or in compliance with the letter and spirit of the rules, far from it. Yes, she was indeed required by the FRA to maintain all official emails in an official system for proper review, delineation, and retention upon her departure. Yes, her private server equipment was in fact the subject of multiple attempted intrusion attempts (i.e., hacks), including by foreign nations. The list goes on and on. (Note that this does not even include Ms. Clintons many serious misstatements about her handling of classified or potentially classified information.) And, yes, an indictment is warranted: [T]he most likely Democrat nominee, having just been seriously wounded by this weeks IG report, is manifestly vulnerable to a much greater wound in the form of a criminal indictment for misconduct that far transcends what the IG report dealt with. . . . Former Secretary Clintons intent. . .is not what matters in this case. Rather, the applicable legal standard is a mere gross negligence one, as specified in the standard national security non-disclosure agreement that she signed and its underlying criminal statutes. And when you marry that to the fact that (among other things) her admitted failure to use the State Departments special classified email system for classified (or potentially classified) information constituted a clear violation of a criminal prohibition, you start worrying big-time. And this is especially so given that Ms. Clinton did not just violate such laws inadvertently or even only occasionally she did so systemically. In other words, her very email scheme itself appears to have been a walking violation of criminal law, one with the mens rea prosecution standard readily met. Like everyone I know who has worked with FBI Director James Comey, Metcalfe considers him a man of the utmost integrity. Accordingly, Metcalfe says: Given that the facts and law are so clear in Ms. Clintons case, it is difficult to imagine her not being indicted, unless Jim Comeys expected recommendation for that is abruptly overruled at Main Justice (i.e., by Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, or by Attorney General Loretta Lynch) or at the White House by President Obama (who customarily does not intervene in such things and would do so here either secretly or at no small political peril). My view is that, more likely than not, a Comey recommendation to prosecute would be overruled at Main Justice. One way or another, however, the IGs report signals stormy weather for Hillary Clinton. In the apocalyptic satire Dr. Strangelove, President Merkin Muffley meets with his military advisors as they seek to recall a bomber on its way to dropping the big one on the Soviet Union. President Muffley invites the Soviet ambassador into the War Room to join the discussion. When fight breaks out between the Russian ambassador and General Buck Turgidson at the Pentagon, President Muffley exclaims: Gentlemen, you cant fight in here! This is the War Room! At Dartmouth College, however, you cant satirize reality. Dartmouth now gives us: Ladies and gentlemen, you cant study in here! This is the library! Jos Asch notes that Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Meg Ramsden has been writing to alumni to inform them that the Black Lives Matter protesters rioters who invaded the library and screamed racist epithets at studying students will not be sanctioned by the College. They didnt violate any rules. Now I cant help but take Ramsdens message to alumni personally. She thinks were really, really stupid. She would have us believe that the college is vindicating the principle of free speech. The Dartmouth Review gave us a memorable account of what went down at the library this past fall in Eyes wide open at the protest. This, according to the college, is free speech at play: Black-clad protesters gathered in front of Dartmouth Hall, forming a crowd roughly one hundred fifty strong. Ostensibly there to denounce the removal of shirts from a display in Collis, the Black Lives Matter collective began to sing songs and chant their eponymous catchphrase. Not content to merely demonstrate there for the night, the band descended from their high-water mark to march into Baker-Berry Library. F*** you, you filthy white f***s! F*** you and your comfort! F*** you, you racist s***! These shouted epithets were the first indication that many students had of the coming storm. The sign-wielding, obscenity-shouting protesters proceeded through the usually quiet backwaters of the library. They surged first through first-floor Berry, then up the stairs to the normally undisturbed floors of the building, before coming back down to the ground floor of Novack. Throngs of protesters converged around fellow students who had not joined in their long march. They confronted students who bore symbols of oppression: gangster hats and Beats-brand headphones. The flood of demonstrators self-consciously overstepped every boundary, opening the doors of study spaces with students reviewing for exams. Those who tried to close their doors were harassed further. One student abandoned the study room and ran out of the library. The protesters followed her out of the library, shouting obscenities the whole way. Students who refused to listen to or join their outbursts were shouted down. Stand the f*** up! You filthy racist white piece of s***! Men and women alike were pushed and shoved by the group. If we cant have it, shut it down! they cried. Another woman was pinned to a wall by protesters who unleashed their insults, shouting filthy white b****! in her face. Confident of their special status at the college, the BLM crowd gave us political thuggery in action. Their behavior certainly constituted disorderly conduct. Ramsden emphasizes that no physical contact occurred no punches were thrown but the thuggery put students in reasonable fear of their personal safety. The conduct of the BLM crowd was, moreover, an outrage against common decency and civilized norms. The college would have us believe that if roles were reversed, high principle would have dictated a similarly indulgent outcome. As Charles Kesler observes in a New York post column adapted from his current Claremont Review of Books essay on Donald Trump: The left has gotten used to the way it runs the universities by a powerful, ideological majority so dominant that there is little, if any, opposition. They enjoy this imbalance; they regard it as natural, advantageous for students and, increasingly, as a model for how the rest of the world should be run. On campus, the shock troops and deanlets wield the extraordinary power to order atonement and punishment, police the boundaries of speech and distribute benefits and rights by race, sex, gender, politics and ethnicity. This is political correctness, and its now the first of the lefts political institutions. It marks a new, ugly stage in liberalism. Dartmouth has just given us another vivid case study illustrating Charless observation. The headline in the paper edition of todays Washington Post reads: Charity scrutiny riles up Trump (the story is here) This is not the most biased headline ever to appear in the Post, but it clearly is designed to cast Trump in a bad light. As such, it corroborates Trumps claim that the media is out to make me look very bad. The Post follows up with a lead editorial denouncing Trump for attacking reporters he considers dishonest. Mr. Trump is unapologetic about his intention to bully the press, the Posts editors complain. The Post, naturally, is operating under the assumption that it, and other mainstream media outlets, are eminently fair. But at Power Line, we have spent 14 years trying to show that this isnt true that, in fact, the Post and other such organs are biased against and unfair towards Republicans and, above all, conservatives. What if we are right? How should a Republican president behave towards reporters who are biased against him and the party he represents? Aesthetically, I liked George W. Bushs approach. He was presidential. I dont recall him ever lashing out, or even criticizing, his media critics publicly (though, when he was running for president a live microphone picked up an unflattering exchange with Dick Cheney about a New York Times reporter). But the aesthetically pleasing approach isnt necessarily the best approach. And the abuse the media intends to hurl at Trump will exceed even that experienced by President Bush. I see no reason why Trump shouldnt call out reporters he thinks are treating him unfairly; nor do I see any reason why he shouldnt criticize the media in general. The First Amendment offers broad protection of the ability of reporters to write what they wish. However, it does not protect them from sharp criticism about what they write. The Posts editors equate criticism with bullying. They would. The two are not equivalent, however. Its quite possible that, as president, Trump will bully the press. President Obama has. Jennifer Rubin cited several instances of bullying by the Team Obama. The victims included Bob Woodward and Ron Fournier. I doubt that, if elected president, Trump will be more restrained than Obama or less restrained than Hillary Clinton. If and when Trump bullies the press, he should be criticized for it. But if all he does is push back publicly against stories he considers unfair which is what he did yesterday regarding coverage of the charities he should not be accused of bullying. He should only be criticized if his charge of unfairness is itself unfair. The Post complains that Trump sometimes calls press stories libelous. It notes that hes said he would loosen (Trumps word) libel laws so that journalists could be attacked (the Posts word; the right word is sued) more easily. Trump cannot loosen the libel laws. Thats up to legislatures and to courts reviewing any loosening legislation in light of the First Amendment. I happen to like the libel laws the way they are, but they arent set in stone. Great Britain has a different concept and is no less of a democracy for it. Peter Wehner has written, shrewdly: What Trump is doing is exactly what Rush Limbaugh and others have been begging Republican presidential candidates to do to run a brutal, scorched-earth, anything-goes campaign. They now have their man. I dont advocate a brutal, scorched-earth, anything-goes campaign, and at times I have criticized the campaign Trump is running. But I confess to being happy that the Republican nominee will push back against attacks by the liberal, anti-Republican mainstream media, and Im looking forward to the negotiations over debate moderators. PR-Inside.com: 2016-06-01 10:33:01 Creamfinance to Launch in Denmark Creamfinance Viktorija Gorcakovaite, +371 206 557 02 viktorija.gorcakovaite@creamfinance.com or Investor Relations: Georgijs Ustinovs, +371 294 241 75 georgijs.ustinovs@creamfinance.com Consumer finance services provider Creamfinance today has officially announced the launch of office in Denmark that is expected to take place in 2 weeks. In addition to the expected launch, the company is currently preparing for further expansion in Latin America. "We are very excited to expand our reach and get an opportunity to have a bigger impact. The Nordic region with the start in Denmark was a natural next step for us after watching the growth of the consumer loans need within Scandinavia over the past year", explained Matiss Ansviesulis, Co-founder and the CEO of Creamfinance. "Demand for speedy, convenient and accessible short-term loans is growing, and we are aiming to grasp the natural demand", he commented. According to Morten King-Grubert, Managing Director of Creamfinance Denmark entity, the innovative Creamfinance product is a great fit for the Danish market. I believe the consumer loan products of Creamfinance and the internationally recognized software platform is a great fit for our market. We are excited to launch in a region with a strong focus on Fintech companies and are ready to provide the value for our forthcoming consumers. The new Creamfinance office will be located in Danish capital Copenhagen. About Creamfinance Consumer finance services provider Creamfinance was founded in 2012 in Latvia and has achieved consistent growth since. The company is currently operating in six countries. Utilizing advanced algorithms and machine-learning capabilities to quickly evaluate and score, Creamfinance offers a highly customized approach to the personal loan process in a speedy and reliable manner and aims to become a one-click loans provider to consumers globally. National platforms are operated by an international team, consisting of over 200 employees from 13 countries, working to improve services across operating markets in Europe. In 2014 the data-driven consumer lending company raised 5 million euros from the leading international venture capital fund, Flint Capital, which invests across US, Israel and Europe. The company has recently been ranked as the second fastest-growing company in Europe by the prestigious Inc.5000 Europe ranking. For additional information about Creamfinance: www.creamfinance.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201606010057 European Smart-Data powered lender Creamfinance is expanding in Scandinavia German Ambassador: There is great mistrust in government, opposition and public (video) German Ambassador to Armenia is glad to see that Armenia is one of the countries where people speak about corruption. There are many countries that do not even hold discussions on this topic, says Mr Matthias Kiesler. Forty years ago, no one was talking about corruption in Germany though everyone was aware of its existence. On Tuesday, May 31, the Minister of Justice of Armenia had a meeting with foreign diplomats accredited in Armenia. The minister assured them that Armenia will continue the fight against corruption. And we shall follow to see whether you have tangible results [in the fight], says Ambassador Kiesler. He says not only the government and political figures but also the society should fight against corruption which has far deeper roots. Matthias Kiesler knows that June 1 was the deadline for the adoption of the new Electoral Code in Armenia. The law was passed more than a week ago, and now everyone is waiting for the opinion of the Venice Commission. "I think we should wait for the publication of the final report which is expected in June. It is important to take the recommendations of the Venice Commission seriously. We see that there is great mistrust in the Government, the opposition and society, and it is necessary to fill this gap and show mutual understanding on this issue," he said. The German Ambassador is also aware that the Electoral Code was adopted without considering the proposals of the opposition. You had better ask the question to your government and opposition. There are proposals that they were to consider and implement, Matthias Kiesler said. PR-Inside.com: 2016-06-01 17:25:01 Press Information SKIDATA AG Untersbergstrae 40 Mag. Belkis Etz +43 6246 888-0 email http://www.skidata.com/karriere/ # 356 Words Untersbergstrae 40+43 6246 888-0 On April 22, 2016, the research event "Long Night of Research" (Lange Nacht der Forschung) inspired people all over Austria in the topics of research and technology for the seventh time. SKIDATA also presented itself as an innovator and gave visitors an exciting glimpse at the area of access solutions and access management. At the Lakeside Science & Technology Park in Klagenfurt, for example, visitors could learn about the role smartphones will play as access cards and tickets in the future. Here SKIDATA plays a leading role internationally and regularly convinces with new patent ideas.From an idea to a patentIt takes two to three years for a patent to be granted. In order not to lose any time on the path from patent idea to granting, a very efficient patent application procedure is in place at SKIDATA. At over 80%, the grant rate for SKIDATA patents is extremely high. In addition to classic ideas for new technical solutions, there are becoming more and more process patents such as reservation methods and checkout processes. SKIDATA currently holds more than 100 of its own patent families.The developers of new patent ideas are acknowledged by SKIDATA each year as part of a recognition event. As soon as a filed patent is granted, its developers can look forward to an invitation to this event. Reinhard Surkau, head of Hardware R&D at SKIDATA, praises strong commitment: "The success rate of patent applications reflects the company's high innovative power. The increasing participation in the company shows that we strike the right chord with staff and also in the direction of the company."Research and development at SKIDATAA few reasons for the many developments and ideas are our innovation-friendly work environment, freedom for employees and specials such as the SKIDATA Hackathon. Developers who want to help advance complex solutions and modern, innovative technologies regularly have the opportunity to start or continue their specialist career at SKIDATA. Current job openings and jobs in hardware development, software development and quality assurance are published at http://www.skidata.com/en/career/open-positions.html and unsolicited applications are also welcome. Egyptian prosecutors should drop all charges against leaders of the countrys Journalists Syndicate and cease harassing them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police detained syndicate chair Yehia Qallash and board members Khaled al-Balshy and Gamal Abdel Rahim for more than 12 hours for interrogation on Sunday, freeing them on Monday, pending trial, according to the syndicate and news reports . Police on Sunday morning summoned Qallash, al-Balshy, and Abdel Rahim for questioning at central Cairos Qasr al-Nil police station. When the three arrived on Sunday afternoon, police held them until early Monday morning, interrogating them on charges of spreading false news and of harboring fugitives wanted by police, their lawyer, Khaled Ali, told reporters. Police early Monday morning ordered Qallash, al-Balshy, and Abdel Rahims release on bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (US$1,000) each, pending trial, their lawyer said, but the journalists refused to post bail, arguing that the requirement was unconstitutional. Police then held the three for several more hours before releasing them without bail, according to a statement Qallash published Monday, and Al-Balshys account to The Associated Press. Their trial is scheduled to begin on June 4, according to press reports. The journalists detention was the latest escalation in a confrontation between the syndicate and the government. Police detained dozens of journalists attempting to cover April 25 protests at the Journalists Syndicate headquarters in central Cairo, one of the few places protests were tolerated under former President Hosni Mubarak. On April 30, two journalists sought in connection with those protests, Amr Badr and Mahmoud al-Sakka, took refuge in the syndicates headquarters, staging a sit-in protest to call attention to their plight. The following evening police entered the building and arrested them. Qallash protested the arrest raid in comments to the media, and said police had used force in the arrest, which the Interior Ministry subsequently denied. The charges against the three journalists are in relation to this raid and subsequent news coverage of the event, according to Ali, their lawyer. Authorities are pursuing Yehia Qallash, Khaled al-Balshy, and Gamal Abdel Rahim for trying to defend the Egyptian media against a thin-skinned and brutal security apparatus, CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said. We call on Egyptian prosecutors to drop these charges immediately and stop harassing journalists. Thousands of journalists demanded the resignation of Egyptian Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, an apology from Presdient Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, and a list of reforms at a May 4 general meeting of syndicate members. Qallash later sought to ease the standoff with the government, dropping his demand for a presidential apology and not repeating his demand for the interior ministers resignation, according to The Associated Press. Egypt was the second worst jailer of journalists worldwide on December 1, 2015, according to CPJs most recent annual prison census. SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists A Federal High Court has heard how a former deputy director at the Federal Inland Revenue Service conspired to obtain N5 million bribe which he allegedly referred to as appreciation fee. Two witnesses Umar Dalhatu and Abdulkadir Saidu called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, told Justice O. O. Goodluck of the FCT High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, how Abumere Joseph Osagie, a former deputy director, FIRS, and a woman, Jamila Ojora, received the money. While being led in evidence by counsel to EFCC, Joseph Uzor, the witnesses respectively gave detailed account of how the accused persons conspired to obtain N5million as gratification from the pro-chancellor, Baze University, Datti Ahmed. The accused persons claimed the money was meant to appreciate their services for arranging tax assessment for the university. The act contravenes Section 17(1) (a) and punishable under Section 17(1) (c) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. In his evidence, Mr. Dalhatu, a bursar at Baze University, Abuja, told the court that some of his core duties were to keep records of financial transactions of the university, pay salaries, liase with regulating bodies like FIRS, NUC among others. Narrating how Mr. Osagie and his accomplice, Ms. Ojora, collected the money, Mr. Dalhatu said,I joined the University on November 9, 2015. That time, I was made to understand that the tax assessment and audit exercise had been concluded. The registrar told me to go to FIRS and see Jamila and Mr. Osagie. I contacted them, went to their office and arrange for the Pro-chancellor (Senator Datti Waba Ahmed) to meet with them. On December 20, 2015, I received a text mesage from the Pro-Chancellor informing me that Mr.Osagie was in the University on a familiarization tour. I conducted him round the University. During the familiarisation tour, Osagie told me that, you people have to appreciate us with the sum of N5 million. I called the Pro-Chancellor and gave the phone to Osagie to speak with him. Two days after, the University recieved a letter of intent from the FIRS to pay the sum of N20, 029, 496.00 (twenty million, twenty nine thousand, four hundred and ninety-six naira). The money was paid in installments to a UBA account, Mr. Dalhatu stated, according to a statement issued by the EFCC on Wednesday. The witness added, The University requested for the tax clearance, but we were not given. Asked why they were not given, Mr. Dalhatu said, the accused persons insisted that, we had to pay appreciation fee before it can be issued. I reported to the Pro-chancellor (Senator Ahmed) who called Mr. Osagie on January 27, 2016. At about 4:30 pm that day, the Pro-Chancellor instructed me to go to our accountant, Mrs. Juliet Oture, to collect the sum of N5million naira. I collected the money and joined him (Senator Ahmed) in his car. While driving with him, he informed me that, he was taking the matter to the EFCC and we drove straight to the EFCC Head Office at Wuse II, Mr. Dalhatu narrated. Also testifying, the second witness, Mr. Saidu, who introduced himself as the personal assistant to the Pro-chancellor, told the court how he was involved in handing over the sum of N5 million to Ms. Ojora at Sheraton Hotel car park, Wuse Zone 4. According to Mr. Saidu, I was called by the Pro-chancellor around 6.00pm on January 27, 2015 to come and meet him at the EFCC Head Office in order to run errand for him. When I got there, he gave me a multi-coloured medium size Ghana-must-go bag containing the sum of N5million. He called Ojora on phone to inform her that I was coming. I met Ojora at the left wing of the Sheraton car park standing by her white Peugeot 408 car. She instructed me to drop the money at the back seat of her car, which I did. She promised to call my boss to confirm that she had recieved the money. Then, I left. The case has been adjourned to June 13 and July 12, 2016 for further hearing. Mr. Osagie was arrested by the EFCC in January 2016. Nigerias Defence Headquarters on Wednesday issued a warning to militants and oil pipeline vandals across the Niger Delta, saying the nations military would not abandon the confidence reposed in it by Nigerians. The warning came ahead of President Muhammadu Buharis trip to the region on Thursday. It also came hours after the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, claimed responsibility for the destruction of two oil wells belonging to Chevron Corporation. The Defence Headquarters wishes to emphasize that the Nigerian Armed Forces will not relent in their efforts to flush out economic saboteurs masquerading under whatever guise to perpetuate evils in the Niger Delta, Rabe Abubakar, the Acting Director of Defence Information said in a statement. The Avengers, a new militant group that has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on oil and gas installations across the Niger Delta since February, wrote on its Twitter page that it blew up the Chevron wells in the early hours of Wednesday. With the heavy presence of 100 gunboats, 4 warships and jet bombers, NDA blew up Chevron oil wells RMP 23 and RMP 24 3:44 a.m. this morning, the group tweeted. The group also ridiculed the Nigerian military, saying its successful activities had shown the whole world that Nigeria military is good in harassing innocent civilians. In his statement, Mr. Abubakar said the military would not be intimidated by the tactics of the suspected militants. The military is not unmindful of the campaign of calumny against our soldiers by paid agents claiming that soldiers are harassing members of the public while performing their constitutional responsibility, Mr. Abubakar, a brigadier-general, said. It is pertinent to state that it is the same group of people that are wreaking havoc on the critical national assets that are blackmailing the Armed Forces and other security agencies to divert attention. The military denied that it was harassing innocent people in Niger Delta communities. The security measure put in place is not meant to intimidate any innocent individuals but to bring normalcy to our land. We urge the communities and well meaning Nigerians to cooperate with the security agencies in their bid to apprehend the perpetrators. Mr. Abubakar, therefore, reinstated militarys commitment to discharge its duties within the ambiance of the law. The military and other security agencies will continue to discharge their lawful duties in the Niger Delta and any other part of the country in a most professional manner devoid of the claim by the criminal elements of harassment, intimidation and arrest. Our job is to secure infrastructural facilities and property of innocent citizens as well as containing the activities of criminal. Mr. Buharis journey would take him to Ogoniland where he is expected to flag-off the cleanup of the area which has been polluted for decades as a result of oil exploration there. Emmanuel Ogebe, a U.S.-based civil rights lawyer and social welfare campaigner who had been caring for 10 escaped Chibok girls in that country since 2014, has expressed shock over reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the Nigerian embassy in Washington to take possession of the girls from him. Mr. Ogebe said the move was emblematic of Mr. Buharis government of photography and press statements, given that no official communication had been channeled to him to that effect. The federal government had on Tuesday night announced a takeover of the girls, who were amongst the lucky ones that escaped after suspected Boko Haram operatives invaded Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014. In a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, the government said the move was approved by the parents of the girls in Nigeria. Following a meeting held on May 25, between parents of the escaped Chibok girls studying in America and officials of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in charge of the Chibok Girls Desk specially set up by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government, including its representatives and agents, is now in charge of the girls, the ministry said via a statement by Temitope Bamgboye, its director of social welfare. The parents signed declaration forms authorizing the ministry to take over guardianship of their daughters. Any previous guardianship arrangement has thus been revoked. But in a message to PREMIUM TIMES shortly after this newspaper reported the takeover of the girls, Mr. Ogebe said the announcement was tantamount to a military takeover of the girls by decree, adding that he had not been formally informed of the move. Mr. Ogebe, however, said he would commence findings to establish the validity of the announcement by the federal government. I wont know till I confirm the details whether this is govt finally waking up to its responsibility or a publicity stunt following the media mileage from the escape of Amina Ali. Mr. Ogebe took the escaped girls to the United States to rehabilitate and help them continue with their education. Nigerian troops deployed in Borno State have rescued several abducted persons, arrested suspected Boko Haram terrorists, and recovered weapons and equipment, the army said in a statement. The troops of 81 Battalion and 251 Task Force Battalion, 25 Task Force Brigade on Monday received 79 persons who claimed to have been kept captives by Boko Haram terrorists at Ngwalimiri village but escaped at their location. They comprised 12 men, 24 women, 31 children and 12 infants. All of them are undergoing preliminary investigation and screening to determine their status before onward movement to Internally Displaced Persons camp for rehabilitation, the statement said. In furtherance of the efforts to keep Bitta-Damboa road open and secure to commuters, troops of 28 Task Force Brigade have cleared Bulajani, Mulgwo and Muotu villages of remnants of Boko Haram elements. During an encounter at Moutu specifically, a soldier sustained an injury on the forehead, while 5 Boko Haram terrorists were killed by the troops, while a few others were suspected to escape with gun shot wounds. The troops recovered 3 locally made guns. The advancing troops linked up with their counterparts of 25 Task Force Brigade at Gombori village and rescued 157 persons escaping from Boko Haram terrorists captivity. The rescued persons comprised 47 women, 91 children, 19 men. They are currently undergoing preliminary investigation and thorough screening to also determine their status. In a related development 77 Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered themselves to troops of 122 Task Force Battalion. They comprised 17 men, 16 women, 16 male children and 28 female children. The surrendered terrorists have been moved to Yamteke by combined team of 26 Task Force Brigade for preliminary investigation and screening. Troops have also arrested a deserter soldier, 03NA/53/3098 Corporal Musa Titima of 117 Task Force Battalion, attached to 114 Task Force Battalion, who absconded from duty while on Operation CRACKDOWN at Bitta. The soldier was also allegedly involved in a fracas with Mr Salisu Ngatha at Kabang Ward on 30th May 2016 that led to the death of the civilian. The soldier has been moved to the Brigade headquarters for proper investigation and other disciplinary process, the statement said. The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has condemned Mondays killing of pro-Biafra protesters in Delta State, saying it appeared that President Muhammadu Buhari was turning the people of the South East and South South to politically endangered species. The Nigerian Army said its troops shot dead five people in self defence, but witnesses said at least 30 people, suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), were killed. Mr. Fayose called on the international community to take note of the wanton killings being perpetrated by the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government. In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Gov. Fayose said there was no justification for killing people who were marking Biafra Day in memory of the former leader of the defunct Biafra Republic, the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. He said it was worrisome that Nigeria and its people had been more divided since the advent of Buharis government, adding that approach to civil unrests of any kind under the government was causing more security problems for the country. The governor, who reiterated his avowed belief in the unity of Nigeria, said it was unspeakable for security men to have used life ammunition against the Igbo protesters and went on to justify the murder of innocent Nigerians just because their views were different from those of the President. To even justify the killing by claiming that the Igbo youths protest was orchestrated in order to mar the first anniversary of Buharis government is to say the least, wicked and animalistic, the governor said. He said it was worrisome that more than 150 Igbo youths had been killed by Nigerian security operatives under the directive Buharis government form August 30, 2015 till date, adding that It appears that President Buhari has made up his mind to eliminate as many South East and South South people as possible and lovers of the corporate existence of Nigeria and its people should call the president to order. I am alarmed that Nigerians who were only on peaceful protest could be shot at and killed by security agents and after the senseless killing of innocent Nigerians, security agents could demonstrate their heartlessness by coming up with justifications for the criminal act. One is however not surprised because every evil perpetrated by the Buhari-led government against Nigerians, especially those the presidents appears to hate, have been justified by those who perpetrated them. We were in this country when over 1,000 Shiite Muslims were killed and buried overnight in Zaria, Kaduna State, and the murder was justified. We were also here when over 400 Agatus were killed in Benue State and the President said nothing. The Monday killing of over 30 Igbo youths is therefore condemnable. Its justification is barbaric, heartless, crude and must be condemned by all lovers of unity of Nigeria and its people. I therefore wish to express my sympathy to the people of the South Eastern part of Nigeria and I urge them to remain resolute in their agitation for a Nigeria in which all Nigerians are treated equally irrespective of their tribe and religion. A Lagos-based lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has urged the militants in Nigerias Niger Delta to cease warfare and embrace dialogue. In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Adegboruwa threw his weight behind calls for resource control, peace, and dialogue. There is no society ever built on violence. No matter the length of war, dialogue will always ensue, said Mr. Adegboruwa, lawyer to wanted Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo (popularly known as Tompolo). The point has already been made now and the whole world knows about the hypocrisy of the Nigerian elite, including their collaborators from our own very region, in pretending to be attending to our myriad of problems. Mr. Adegboruwas call came following renewed militants attacks on oil and gas installations in the region, with the latest being the destruction of a Chevron oil well by a group known as the Niger Delta Avengers. The group has launched a string of attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta since February, demanding a sovereign nation for the Niger Delta people. If people take the pains to visit our various communities, they will appreciate the cause and struggle for resource control, Mr. Adegboruwa continued. Ayetoro community is almost washed off completely and in places like Awoye, Jinringho, the Obe confederations, Ugbo and even Araromi, we have lost houses, flora and fauna, to rampaging and rapacious oil companies, due mainly to their very crude methods of exploration. Mr. Adegboruwa called on the Nigerian government to embrace dialogue that would lead to proper federalism, adding that the current lopsided arrangement where government holds on to every item of value in the land would not work. We cannot continue to pretend that our nation state is okay, that we will continue to use oil to develop Lagos, Abuja and the other cities of the majority ethnic tribes and expect us to keep quiet in our creeks and swamps. It will never work. Niger Delta Avengers, the new militant group that has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta, has, again, says it has destroyed more oil wells. The group announced the latest attack via its Twitter handle Wednesday morning, saying it blew up Chevron oil wells RMP 23 and RMP 24. With the heavy presence of 100 gunboats, 4 warships and jet bombers, NDA blew up Chevron oil wells RMP 23 and RMP 24 3:44 a.m. this morning, the group tweeted. The Avengers also ridiculed the Nigerian military, saying its successful activities had shown the whole world that Nigeria military is good in harassing innocent civilians. The group has launched several attacks on oil and gas infrastructure since February 2016, demanding a sovereign nation of the Niger Delta people. Sola Adebawo, Director of Communications at Chevron, declined to confirm or deny the latest development to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday morning. We are not able to comment on security matters for now, Mr. Adebawo said. Our priority is to ensure safety of our staff and assets. Army spokesman, Sani Usman, said he had not been informed of the attacks. The Avengers had rejected a meeting recently convened in Abuja by the federal government, warning of its readiness to carry out an attack that will shock the whole world. The Niger Delta stakeholders meeting is an insult to the people of Niger Delta. What we need is a Sovereign State not pipeline Contracts. To the IOCs, Indigenous Oil Companies and Nigeria Military. Watch out something big is about to happen and it will shock the whole world, the group tweeted on Friday. Last Thursday, it claimed responsibility for an attack on a gas pipeline belonging to Chevron in Delta state. We warned Chevron, but they didnt listen. NDA just blew up the Escravos tank farm main electricity feed pipeline, it said. The militants said the oil facilities were sabotaged following attempts by Chevron to carry out repairs of main Escravos crude oil pipeline it blew up earlier. A spokesperson for the group, Mudoch Agbinibo, had earlier this month warned the Nigerian government of further attacks if their demands were not met. Two weeks ago, Chevrons Makaraba crude oil line was attacked on the offshore Okan manifold in the region. The attack followed previous ones on NNPC, Agip, Shell and other major oil corporations facilities across the delta states and it has resulted in the loss of over 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The Code of Conduct Tribunal has adjourned the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, indefinitely, after a star witness for the prosecution failed to show up at the court. The tribunal announced the decision on Wednesday. Mr. Sarakis trial was on May 25 adjourned till Wednesday, for the cross-examination of the witness, Michael Wetkas, to continue. The tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, said the adjournment was to give the court time to hear other cases. The prosecution and defence teams also said the break would allow them prepare their cases better. A court official, who asked not to be named, told PREMIUM TIMES Mr. Wetkas was attending another trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The development is coming a day after an expected ruling on Mr. Sarakis case at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, stalled after the court failed to form a quorum. The tribunals spokesman, Ibrahim Alhassan, later told PREMIUM TIMES that the decision was taken at the instance of the prosecution counsel. He said his prime witness one is to appear before another court to testify against another high-profile personality today in Abuja, Mr. Alhassan said. Tribunal chairman was initially resistant to the request but we later asked them to make a formal request in writing and suggest a date which the tribunal would look into and take decision at its convenience. As I am writing you, I dont have the knowledge of whether the letter has come to CCT or not. The Nigerian Army on Friday said its troops on Thursday night ambushed and killed some fleeing Boko Haram terrorists from the Sambisa forest. A statement issued by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Sani Usman, said the terrorists were ambushed at their crossing point along Maiduguri-Bulabulin-Damboa road. It quoted Mr. Usman as saying the troops recovered several items, including arms and ammunition from the terrorists who were fleeing to Alagarno general area. Troops of 81 Battalion and 251 Task Force Battalion, both of 25 Task Force Brigade, staged a deliberate ambush against Boko Haram logistics elements on motorcycles and bicycles. The elements were crossing from Sambisa forest to Alagarno general area around Nyaleri yesterday night. During the operation, the troops killed two Boko Haram terrorists, wounded several others and recovered some arms, ammunitions and other items. Specifically, they recovered one AK-47 Assault rifle, one hand grenade, four AK-47 magazines loaded with ammunition, the statement said. He said the troops also recovered assorted food items, sex enhancing drugs such as Viagra, foot wears and bathroom slippers. Mr. Usman said three motorcycles, 10 bicycles, tool kits and assorted clothing, five rechargeable lamps and five litres of kerosene, as well as military uniforms, were also recovered. According to Mr. Usman, the terrorists attempted to resupply and sell the items to other terrorists hibernating elsewhere after being displaced from parts of Sambisa forest. He said troops had continued with the clearance and rescue operations, while others were maintaining blocking positions around the Sambisa axis. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that several weeks into the Sambisa operations, troops have rescued scores of hostages, killed many of the insurgents and cleared many of the Boko Haram camps. (NAN) The Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday condemned the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers, urging the federal government not to succumb to its blackmail. The governor told State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari that the country deserved respect from all its constituents. The governor asked political elite in the country to help in promoting and strengthening the bridge of unity in the country, particularly at this difficult time. I dont think the state should submit to blackmail from any quarters. For me, I think the state should be respected. I believe in Nigeria, no part can do without the other. I believe our unity is not negotiable. I believe the responsibility of the political elite is to strengthen the bridge of unity; to discourage preaching hatred; discourage amplifying weak points, and work to strengthen those points. I salute our armed forces for what they are doing, and the confidence they have brought back to our security, the governor said. President Buhari, Mr. Oshiomhole pointed out, deserved the support of every Nigerian, saying no part of the country can be better off without the other. According to him, the sooner we accept this reality, the better it would be for all Nigerians, adding that the days of ethnic champions and imaginary divides would not help anyone. The governor said the president had shown leadership and determination to keep the country going, adding for once, we are enjoying respect in world capitals, in different continents. Mr. Oshiomhole enjoined all Nigerians, particularly the people of the South-South region, to support and cooperate with the Buhari-led administration in his efforts to transform the country. We dont need to be security experts to accept the universal truth that wherever there is insecurity, there will be no investment because no investor will go to where is unsafe. And where there is no investment, poverty will be endemic, because there will be no job for our people. I appeal to all of us in the South South, we need to wake up; it is for our own self-interest that we make the region the most investor-friendly. The assets being destroyed is not just national assets, it is our own assets. It is what makes the South-South the hub of the Nigerian economy, he stated. He said those destroying oil pipelines are compounding the problem of pollution in the Niger Delta, as the cost of cleaning up the environment and making it attractive either for fishing, farming or other business, is huge. The governor, who commended the president for his commitment to the cleanup of Ogoniland and other polluted areas in the Niger Delta, urged the people of the region to work together and encourage the government to continue to do more. (NAN) Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger State on Wednesday in Abuja said a panel had been instituted by the state government to investigate a religious crisis that broke out in Pandogari town in the state. Speaking to State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, Mr. Bello described the incident as unfortunate. I think someone posted some blasphemous stories about the Prophet and of course you know the sensitive nature when it comes to religion and one person was killed. Later on, we heard that either police or the army shot a civilian and three or four people lost their lives. We have instituted an investigative panel to investigate what happened so that we can address the situation. The deputy governor and my team are there at the moment, the situation is calm now. We will await the outcome of the investigative panel so that we guard against this happening next time. This is unacceptable and whoever is involved will be severely punished, said the governor. Mr. Bello dismissed reports that his administration was planning to reduce workers salaries by half. He, however, stated that the state government was negotiating with the states labour union on how best to address the states financial challenges. I read somewhere we are going to reduce salaries but it is not true. But we engaged labour and we are still talking to them. We have laid the cards on the table, we are not hiding anything; we are very transparent as much as we can but the truth of the matter is that I cannot give what we dont have. I wish I had, personally if I had I would have paid from my pocket but I cant. The governor called on all indigenes of the state, particularly civil servants and political appointees, to make sacrifice so as to move the state forward. He said already the state government had cut government house expenditure by 70 per cent and expressed his readiness to make more sacrifice for the general good of the state. But we should all make sacrifices, Im willing to make sacrifices, all my appointees are willing to make sacrifices. We have shown example by cutting down our expenditure, we have cut down the operation of the expenses of the Government House from N150 million a week to between N20 and 25 million a week. So, we have cut down government house expenditure by over 70 per cent and I mean these are all sacrifices. We have saved some money, we are doing a bit of projects including federal roads, the Suleja-Minna Road is motorable now and very soon we will start working on Bida, he said. (NAN) The Hausa/Fulani community in Cross River has appealed to Gov. Ben Ayade to allocate a portion of land to herdsmen in the state in order to enable them graze their cattle. Sani Baba-Gombe, leader of the association in the state, made the appeal on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar. According to Mr. Baba-Gombe, the land will put an end to the crisis between herdsmen and farmers in the state. He said the land would help the herdsmen to stop encroaching into peoples farmlands in search of food for their animals. He said one of the main challenges facing herdsmen in the state was grazing land, hence the need for the state government to come to their aid. We used to instruct our people to always ask for permission before entering into any land to graze. If I were to be a farmer, I wont be pleased if any cattle come along to destroy my crops. If a grazing land is provided, the animals would not stray into farms and this would further prevent any future crisis between herdsmen and farmers in the state. All we are appealing for is a grazing land that is different from the farmlands; this would help us to stop encroaching into peoples farmlands in search of food for our cattle. We have also sensitised our people to always have a good understanding with their host communities, he said. He said herdsmen in the state were tired of moving their cattle from one place to the other in search of food for them, hence the appeal for a reserved land for them. (NAN) As workers in Ondo State begin an indefinite strike on Wednesday over unpaid five-month salary, the government has said that the continued dropped in federal allocations has made it Impossible to pay workers salaries. The government is therefore demanding that the Federal Government refund of the N9.5 billion it spent on rehabilitation of federal roads to enable it meet its obligations to workers. It is also asking for a refund of $100 million, being an over-payment by the state during the settlement of the Paris Club debt. The workers, who had previously showed no signs of complaint and resistance against the governments delay in attending to the salary issue, suddenly engaged the government in a dialogue on Monday, but the meeting was unfruitful. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the labours meeting with the government was unfruitful as the state governor, Olusegun Mimiko, was said to be highhanded during the session. The union leaders, it was gathered, had no choice but to call workers to strike. The commissioner for information, Kayode Akinmade, told PREMIUM TIMES that the amount had been verified by the federal authorities and effort had been made to get the money paid to the state government. He said the state was also expecting the $100 million Paris Club refund. We appreciate that this are not the best of times for workers in the state, Mr. Akinmade said. We are doing all within our power to ensure we get funds to pay workers their entitlements, but if we can get the federal government to refund the N9.5 billion we spent on road rehabilitation, that will enable us pay salaries. This is not peculiar to Ondo State, it is affecting 32 states in the federation, but we are doing our best to handle it. Mr. Akinmade noted that the revenue allocation from the federation had continued to go from bad to worse such that what goes to the state could not meet very pressing government needs. Last month, we got only N931 million, we had to borrow N1.6 billion to augment the funds, before we could run some activities of government, he lamented. He admitted that the state government had no money to meet the demands of the workers, adding that the government empathized with pains and travails of the workers. Mr. Akinmade called on the workers to show understanding, but could not state whether the government would be able to pay even month salary soon. Workers in Ondo State on Wednesday observed their first day of the indefinite strike called by the labour unions, shutting down all government businesses, to demand the payment of their five-month salary arrears. Courts, schools and all ministries, departments and agencies of the state government were shut down for the day, as workers stayed away from work. Some government offices that opened early for their activities were forced to close as officials of labour went around to enforce compliance. However, commercial activities were not affected. Private businesses continued normally. Meanwhile, the state government has urged the labour unions to dialogue with the government to resolve the salary impasse. The chairman of the Ondo State branch of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Bosede Daramola, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that a meeting between labour and government officials would hold on Thursday. She said the strike would continue despite governments approach for dialogue. Our doors are always open for dialogue with the government, she said. They have called us to a meeting tomorrow (Thursday), but the strike will continue until a decision is reached to call it off. Asked why labour had waited for long to agitate for the payment of salaries, she argued that the necessary procedures had to be followed before a strike could be called. You have to follow the procedures before you can call a strike, she explained. You dont just jump into a strike that will not succeed, you have to go through all the processes so that everyone will be involved. Two persons suspected to be involved in the attack by herdsmen on Oke Ako village in Ekiti State on May 20, have been remanded in prison by an Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrate Court. Police Public Relations Officer, Alberto Adeyemi, who made this known on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti, said the suspects, Usman Salihu, 50, and Abubakar Auta, 52, were earlier arraigned in court for murder and causing grievous bodily harm. Two persons died in the attack while three others who were injured, are still receiving treatment in separate private hospitals in Ikole Ekiti and Ado Ekiti. Mr. Adeyemi said the suspects were consequently remanded in prison till September, pending legal advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that peace had returned to the village, even though security operatives were still stationed there. Meanwhile, the councilor representing Ipao-Oke Ako-Irele ward, Segun Kehinde, has appealed to those who fled the town during the attack to return in the light of the stable security situation. For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 132 businesses from 32 European countries are hoping to be named a winner in Europe's biggest and toughest business competition, the European Business Awards, sponsored by RSM, at its Gala Event Final on 17th June in Milan, Italy. Businesses will be celebrating success following a 16-month journey, which began when the competition engaged with over 32,000 businesses at its entry stage in spring last year, from which it named 678 National Champions in September 2015. After a series of video presentations, face to face interviews and a public vote, the finalists in Milan are the ten shortlisted companies for each of the competition's 11 categories and the 'National Public Champions'; the companies whose video achieved the highest number of votes in their country. The public vote this year generated over 227,000 votes from across the globe. The Event at the Milan Marriott Hotel will have two parts; a 100% Growth Conference during the day where businesses leaders will get together to debate and identify ways to double the size of their businesses, and a Gala Dinner in the evening when the final winners will be announced. Alongside the successful finalists in attendance there will also be VIPs including leading academics, politicians, ambassadors, and business leaders from the most successful organisations in Europe, many of whom acted as judges for the Awards. Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards said: "The Gala Event Final is the result of enormous effort and achievement. It also presents a powerful opportunity for businesses to meet peers, discover new solutions, do business and celebrate phenomenal success. I wish all our finalists the best of luck." Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM, the sixth largest global network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms said: "The European Business Awards are an ideal platform to celebrate the innovation, strength of leadership and depth of business acumen of the finalists. But more than that, they provide a forum for leaders to discuss the evolving landscape, learnings and insights and how these can be utilised to drive business initiatives and growth across the continent." In the 2015/16 competition, all EU member markets were represented plus Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Their combined revenue exceeded 1.2 trillion employing over 2.5 million people. The European Business Awards' primary purpose is to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. Additional sponsors and partners of the Awards include UK Trade and Investment, ELITE and PR Newswire. For further information about the European Business Awards and RSM please go to http://www.businessawardseurope.com or http://www.rsm.global and follow us on twitter at @rsmEBA NOTES TO EDITORS: About the European Business Awards: The European Business Awards' primary purpose is to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. For all citizens of Europe, prosperity, social and healthcare systems are reliant on businesses creating an even stronger, more innovative, successful, international and ethical business community - one that forms the beating heart of an increasingly globalised economy. The European Business Awards programme serves the European business community in three ways: It celebrates and endorses individuals' and organisations' success It provides and promotes examples of excellence for the business community to aspire to It engages with the European business community to create debate on key issues The European Business Awards is now in its 10th year. It attracted over 32,000 businesses to the competition last year and in the public vote generated over 170,000 votes from across Europe. Sponsors and partners include RSM, ELITE, UKTI and PR Newswire. http://www.businessawardseurope.com. About RSM RSM is the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms, encompassing over 120 countries, 760 offices and more than 38,000 people internationally. The network's total fee income is US$4.64 billion. RSM is the lead sponsor and corporate champion of the European Business Awards promoting commercial excellence and recognition of entrepreneurial brilliance. RSM is a member of the Forum of Firms, with the shared objective to promote consistent and high quality standards of financial and auditing practices worldwide. RSM is the brand used by a network of independent accounting and advisory firms each of which practices in its own right. RSM International Limited does not itself provide any accounting and advisory services. Member firms are driven by a common vision of providing high quality professional services, both in their domestic markets and in serving the international professional service needs of their client base. http://www.rsm.global About UK Trade & Investment: UKTI works with UK based businesses to export to international markets and supports overseas companies to look at the UK as the best place to set up or expand their business. If you are a company interested in expanding in to the UK, please contact Lisa.Greig@mobile.ukti.gov.uk or visit http://www.gov.uk/ukti About ELITE: ELITE is an integrated service designed to help SMEs prepare and structure for the next stage of growth through access to long term financing opportunities. ELITE targets SMEs with a sound business model, clear growth strategy and a desire to obtain funding in the near future. ELITE offers an innovative approach, including a training programme, a working zone supported by a tutorship model and direct access to the financial community through dedicated digital community facilities. It is "capital neutral" to any financing opportunity, providing access to Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds, debt products, etc. ELITE was successfully launched in Italy in 2012 and in the UK in 2014. It now accounts for more than 200 companies of different sizes and sectors, more than 150 partners and more than 70 long term investors. It is a European platform deeply rooted in each domestic market, through partnership with local institutions combined with the opportunity to access international support and advice. It will be a community of excellence: companies, advisors, investors and stakeholders with an interest in supporting SMEs. The larger the community, the wider the range of business and growth opportunities offered to ELITE members. About PR Newswire PR Newswire is the leading global provider of PR and corporate communications tools that enable clients to distribute news and rich content. We distribute our client's content across traditional, digital and social media channels in real time with fully actionable reporting and monitoring. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimisation network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information on PR Newswire please visit http://www.prnewswire.co.uk SOURCE The European Business Awards GREENWICH, Connecticut, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jonathan Goldman, CEO of Aptuit LLC, announced today the appointment of Henning Steinhagen, PhD, as Executive Vice President Drug Discovery and Development, and Site-Head Verona, completing Aptuit's executive leadership team. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150709/234432LOGO ) Dr. Steinhagen will focus on the growth of Aptuit as a leading partner research organization and provider of outsourced services in the early discovery and development space. He joins Aptuit from Grunenthal, a global pharmaceutical company. He stated, "I am delighted to be joining Aptuit Verona and becoming part of this incredibly talented team. Verona's strong track record and legacy of being the world's premier integrated Research and Development partner research organization is well deserved. Verona is poised for continued growth and success; I look forward to helping our valued customers achieve successful outcomes through the quality and speed of our integrated research and development capabilities." At Grunenthal, Dr. Steinhagen was Senior Vice President, and Head of Global Drug Discovery. His accomplishments included discovery successes in multiple therapeutic areas and establishing multiple research partnerships. Before joining Grunenthal, Dr. Steinhagen served for 7 years at Sanofi-Aventis in positions of increasing responsibility in medicinal chemistry. Before that he was in the medicinal chemistry group at Bayer. Dr. Steinhagen holds a PhD from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in Organic Chemistry as well as a minor degree in Molecular Genetics. His experience also includes several years as a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University, USA, and senior academic appointments at RWTH University Aachen, Germany, and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Goldman commented, "I am delighted that Henning is joining us. He brings exceptional experience in science, leadership and partnerships that are needed to advance our growth. His collaborative approach to understanding and delivering unmet needs of our customers makes him ideally suited to lead the Verona senior management team." Dr. Goldman, added, "Aptuit is the only organization able to deliver fully integrated discovery as well as GMP (API and drug product) and GLP development literally under one roof. We have shown unparalleled success in candidate nomination and IND program completion in multiple therapeutic areas. Henning is a unique individual with the perfect skill set to take us to the next level." Aptuit, LLC provides the most complete set of integrated early discovery to mid-phase drug development services in the pharmaceutical industry including Drug Design & Discovery, API Development and Manufacture, Solid State Chemistry, CMC, Preclinical and IND enabling GLP/GMP programs. Fully integrated drug discovery & development services are available from our facilities in the UK, Italy, and Switzerland. Aptuit, LLC is partnered with Welsh, Carson, and Anderson & Stowe, one of the world's leading private equity investors. For more information, please visit http://www.aptuit.com SOURCE Aptuit, LLC - 'EXPO Solar 2016' participants will also be able to participate in '2016 Seoul Solar Living Festival,' which is open to 10 million citizens of Seoul. SEOUL, South Korea, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In the second half of 2016, EXPO Solar 2016 (www.exposolar.org), which has become the largest PV expo and business platform in Asia, will be held in KINTEX of Korea for 3 days from September 7 to September 9, 2016. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373998LOGO 'EXPO Solar 2016,' which celebrates its 8th anniversary this year, is the largest PV expo in Asia held in the second half of this year. Over 20,000 buyers and visitors from China, Japan, the US, Europe and the Middle East, attend the expo every year. It is flexing its muscles as the top PV business exhibition in Asia. EXPO Solar 2016, which has more than 300,000 potential buyers at home and abroad, is attracting public attention as it prepared the overseas buyer invitation and lodging program this year to maximize their convenience, and created an opportunity for building solid networks for global PV business. In addition, the expo organizers prepared a 'Big Event' for participants in EXPO Solar 2016. The EXPO participants will also be able to participate in '2016 Seoul Solar Living Festival,' which will be held in the outdoor exhibition area in Seoul Plaza from September 1 to September 3 so that 10 million citizens of Seoul can visit the festival. People's expectations are rising. Meanwhile, all photovoltaic companies from around the world come every year to EXPO Solar/PV Korea, which is regarded as the first gateway to the Asian market. As a variety of corporate participants will introduce their world-class technologies and solutions, visitors will be able to experience the differentiated contents of the exhibition specializing in photovoltaics. Besides, the 'PV World Forum,' a photovoltaic conference being held concurrently during the expo, will offer great lectures on management of solar power plants, including efficient design and implementation of solar power plants, as well as technical sessions that will present signposts for strategic business in the photovoltaic industry, will allow expo participants to check the global PV market trends in 2017 ahead of others. For more information on EXPO Solar 2016, please visit www.exposolar.org Related Links http://www.exposolar.org SOURCE EXPO Solar 2016 Exhibition Bureau NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Favorable Government Initiatives Coupled With Implementation of Biometric Technology in Election Administration and Criminal Identification to Boost Global Biometrics System Market Through 2021 According to a recently released TechSci Research report, "Global Biometrics Market By Type, By End Use Sector, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", the global biometrics market is projected to surpass $ 24.8 billion by 2021, on account of growing security concerns across various end use sectors such as banking & finance, consumer electronics, government, defense, healthcare. etc., owing to increasing terrorist attacks and growing identity thefts. Biometric systems are capable of providing an accurate validation as compared to traditional methods such as ID cards, PINs, passwords, etc. As a result, the adoption of these systems is high in various public as well as private offices for the authentication, access control and time & attendance purposes. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 ) Browse 51 market data Tables and 59 Figures spread through 250 Pages and an in-depth TOC on "Global Biometrics Market" http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/global-biometrics-market-by-type-fingerprint-recognition-facial-recognition-hand-palm-recognition-iris-scanner-voice-recognition-vein-scanner-others-by-end-use-sector-by-region-competition-forecast-and-opportunities-2011-2021/680.html Increasing number of government projects such as National ID cards, e-passports, e-visas, etc. are significantly boosting adoption of biometric devices for identification purposes. In addition, expanding global consumer electronics market, which is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 7% in volume terms during 2016-21, coupled with increasing smartphone user base, which is forecast to cross 3.5 billion by 2021, are expected to boost demand for biometric technology for the purpose of access control and user identification over the next five years. Moreover, rising global military spending, which is anticipated to touch $1.7 trillion by 2021, is also expected to drive biometric device adoption for authentication purpose in the defence sector in the coming years. Download Sample Report @ http://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=680 Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report. Fingerprint Recognition, Facial Recognition, Hand/Palm Recognition, Iris Scanner, Voice Recognition, Vein Scanner are some of the major types of biometric technologies being used across the world. In 2015, fingerprint recognition market dominated the global biometrics market on account of their ease of use, low cost, high speed and accurate results. However, vein scanner market is anticipated to witness highest growth during the forecast period. "Global biometrics market is anticipated to register heathy growth rate over the next five years. With initiatives being taken by the governments of various countries across the world to adopt biometrics systems for identification and verification purposes, coupled with introduction of e-passports and e-visas, as well as implementation of biometric technology in election administration, a growing number of companies operating in global biometrics market are increasingly partnering with governments of various countries for supplying biometric systems.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm. "Global Biometrics Market By Type, By End Use Sector, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021" has evaluated the future growth potential of the global biometrics market and provides statistics and information on market size, market share and growth forecasts. The report is intended to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities available in the global biometrics market. Browse Related Reports Global Deception Technology Market By Deception Stack (Endpoint, Application, Data, Network), By End User (BFSI, IT & Telecom, Energy & Power, Retail, Others), By Region (Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific & Middle East) Opportunities and Forecast, 2011-2021 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/global-deception-technology-market-by-deception-stack-endpoint-application-data-network-by-end-user-bfsi-it-telecom-energy-power-retail-others-by-region-americas-europe-asia-pacific-middle-east-opportunities-and-forecast-2011-2021/656.html Global Intelligent Transportation Systems Market By System (ATMS, ATPS, ATIS, etc.), By Application (Traffic Management, Electronic Toll Management, Parking Management, etc.) and Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2010-2020 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/global-intelligent-transportation-systems-market-by-system-atms-atps-atis-etc-by-application-traffic-management-electronic-toll-management-parking-management-etc-and-competition-forecast-and-opportunities-2010-2020/594.html UAE Managed Security Services Market By Deployment Mode, By Application (Managed Endpoint Security, Managed Firewall Security, Managed IPS & IDS, Managed SIAM, & Other), By End User, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/uae-managed-security-services-market-by-deployment-mode-by-application-managed-endpoint-security-managed-firewall-security-managed-ips-ids-managed-siam-other-by-end-user-competition-forecast-and-opportunities-2011-2021/627.html About TechSci Research TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends. Connect with us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TechSciResearch Connect with us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/techsci-research Contact Mr. Ken Mathews 708 Third Avenue, Manhattan, NY, New York - 10017 Tel: +1-646-360-1656 Email: sales@techsciresearch.com SOURCE TechSci Research LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Launch of new user interface takes researching companies to a new level Bureau van Dijk, the leading provider of company information, is today releasing its next generation user interface. This new interface, which has been two years in development, was created as a result of detailed customer research and testing. Users will be able to access the new version from today on two leading products: Fame, covering companies in the UK and Ireland, and Orbis, the company's flagship product, which now covers more than 200 million companies across the globe. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131213/659058 ) The key theme of the new interface is "Show simplicity, offer complexity". Bureau van Dijk's databases have long been renowned for how well they allow users to manipulate quality company information via search and analysis options. The new interface retains these options, which are now delivered via contemporary screens that give the immediate impression of simplicity to deliver an intuitive experience. New data visualisation tools aid the interpretation of company performance and also complex datasets such as global corporate families. Bureau van Dijk has reworked the presentation of its reports and charts, and the new interface is also tablet-friendly. Exporting research is simplified and a contemporary Add-in aids dynamic analysis in Excel and other Office products. "Customers were crucial in this project," said Louise Green, global marketing director at Bureau van Dijk. "The interface has been designed to solve the challenges they talked to us about. We've created a solution that's easy to use and helps them work collaboratively. A highlight is our new Ownership Explorer which really brings our esteemed corporate structures to life. We've improved the functionality users value, and at the same time streamlined the user experience." The head of information resources at a leading firm of accountants across the UK added, "We were part of the working party for this project and have been testing the new interface for a while. We are fans of the new concept and particularly like how it delivers to help specific challenges our researchers highlighted during the development. And tailoring the formats and output to suit our corporate needs has been simple." A leading information industry analyst also sent his compliments to Bureau van Dijk. Chris Porter of Porter Walford Consulting said, "Bureau van Dijk has always been known for the quality and depth of its data. The new version of its interface adds a crisp new look and some great data visualizations, really speeding up the research process." Bureau van Dijk will run both the old and new versions of its interface in parallel so users can choose when to switch. The company will continue to develop the new interface and work on applying it across its range of information products. Videos showing highlights of the new interface are available on http://www.vimeo.com/album/3962508 and free trials of Bureau van Dijk's products can be requested via http://www.bvdinfo.com. About Bureau van Dijk Bureau van Dijk is the leading provider of private company, corporate ownership and deal information. Bureau van Dijk's product range combines data from regulatory and other sources, including 140 information partners, with flexible software to allow users to manipulate data for a range of research needs and applications. Its Orbis database provides information on over 200 million companies across the globe. Fame covers over 10 million companies in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition, Bureau van Dijk addresses specific business challenges through its range of Catalysts including transfer pricing, credit, procurement, KYC, client on-boarding, M&A research and valuations, while BvD custom delivers bespoke solutions. Bureau van Dijk also publishes the global M&A database, Zephyr. The company has a global presence with over 30 offices worldwide. For more information on Bureau van Dijk, visit http://www.bvdinfo.com. Twitter: @bureauvandijk and regional Twitter feeds. Download a screenshot of the new interface or photo of Louise Green. Alternative screenshots are available on request. For more information, please contact: Louise Green Global Marketing Director +44-(0)20-7549-5000 bvd@bvdinfo.com For local queries, please see http://www.bvdinfo.com/contactus SOURCE Bureau van Dijk LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tradeweb Markets, the leading global marketplace for electronic fixed income, derivatives and ETF trading, announced that European volume executed by clients using its axe functionality has increased by 131% since the beginning of the year. Axes on Tradeweb link pre-trade information with trade execution of European government bonds, corporate bonds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Tradeweb is the leading electronic trading platform providing institutional investors with real-time live axe indications for European government bonds. The platform sees 20% of its daily activity from buy-side transactions with axed dealers, with around 2 billion traded daily on dealer axes. "Axes are becoming increasingly popular with our clients globally, because they are live, executable indications of a dealer's interest to buy or sell a specific instrument," says Simon Maisey, managing director and global head of business development at Tradeweb. "For this reason, dealers are able to easily measure the inherent benefits of sending targeted axes to the buy-side." Tradeweb delivers unparalleled access to high-quality axed liquidity across European government bond, credit and ETF markets: Number of axe providers Number of live axes European credit markets: 35 12,500 European government bonds: 29 2,000 European-listed ETFs: 11 3,000 Daily axes liquidity on the Tradeweb European credit marketplaces currently exceeds EUR 55 billion, up from EUR 26 billion in January 2016, while the average overall axe size has increased from EUR 3.25 million to EUR 4.3 million over the same time period. The number of axe indications has also risen by 4,500 line items to 12,500. In the U.S., investors can see more than $12 billion in axed corporate bond liquidity on Tradeweb, and clients will benefit from another $10 billion in axed liquidity via the acquisition of CodeStreet. Tradeweb also launched axe functionality for U.S. Treasuries earlier this year. Today, 85% of trades executed on Tradeweb in Europe are also processed via fully integrated order management systems. Extending this integrated workflow to axes is enabling buy- and sell-side institutions to consume pre-trade information seamlessly and efficiently. "Buy- and sell-side traders are achieving better access to liquidity through axes on our screens, and with even greater efficiency through our integration with 250-plus client order management systems. Tradeweb has led integration of electronic execution in fixed income for more than 15 years, and there is a clear trend toward clients leveraging a more efficient and effective pre-trade environment that solves for their liquidity and best execution needs," Maisey said. About Tradeweb Markets Tradeweb Markets builds and operates many of the world's most efficient financial marketplaces, providing market participants with greater transparency and efficiency in fixed income, derivatives and ETFs. Focused on applying technology to enhance efficiency throughout the trade lifecycle, Tradeweb pioneered straight-through-processing in fixed income and now supports marketplaces for more than 20 asset classes with electronic execution, processing, post-trade analysis and market data in an integrated workflow. Tradeweb Markets serves the dealer-to-customer markets through the Tradeweb institutional platform, inter-dealer trading through Dealerweb, and the U.S.-based retail fixed income community on Tradeweb Direct. Customers rely on Tradeweb to drive the evolution of fixed income and derivatives through flexible trading architecture and more efficient, transparent markets. For more information, visit www.Tradeweb.com. Susan Bennett, Tradeweb Markets +44 (0)20 3749 3316 Susan.Bennett@Tradeweb.com Angeliki Kallipoliti, Tradeweb Markets +44 (0)20 7776 0958 Angeliki.Kallipoliti@Tradeweb.com SOURCE Tradeweb Markets DUBLIN, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Phosphorus Industry China Monthly Report" newsletter to their offering. In April 2016, Chinese phosphorus ore market continued to be depressed. Many phosphorus chemicals recorded slight drops in their market prices and some manufacturers that planned to resume production put off their plans. Market dynamics of phosphorus chemicals in April: - Phosphorus ore Market conditions remain depressed. Transaction and market price remain stable. Many manufacturers are maintaining operating levels only to maintain relationships with old clients. Most of the manufacturers that suspended production claim that they have no plans to resume production in the short term. - Yellow phosphorus Thanks to the continuously low operating rate, manufacturers successfully reduce their inventory level. Currently, market supply of yellow phosphorus is quite tight. - Phosphoric acid Market conditions are quite stable. Some manufacturers in Southwest China try to raise their product prices after their pressure from inventory is relieved. - MAP Market is depressed. Trading is slack as demand from downstream compound fertilizer market shrink. Under heavy pressure from inventory, some manufacturers begin to suspend production or reduce operating rates. The export market continues to be stagnant and export price remains low. Manufacturers are reaping few profits. - DAP Thanks to the coming of the spring ploughing period, manufacturers are able to clean their inventory. However, market price failed to increase. Manufacturers are straddling the export market. Though the Indian market has demand for DAP, importers are putting pressure on Chinese exporters to lower their prices. In is worth noting that in April, Yidu Xingfa receives capital increase from its parent company Hubei Xingfa and from China Agricultural Development Fund. It also disclosed that these investments will be used to build its low-grade collophanite benefication and deep-processing project. Companies Mentioned - Hubei Xinyangfeng Fertilizer Co., Ltd. - Guangxi Mingli Innovation Industrial Co., Ltd. - Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co., Ltd. - Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Group Co., Ltd. - Kunming Chuanjinnuo Chemical Co., Ltd. For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bd4z4w/phosphorus Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com SOURCE Research and Markets Engineered ceramics leader extends European presence and capabilities GOLDEN, Colorado, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CoorsTek, the world's largest engineered ceramics manufacturer, today announced it has acquired the Philips ceramics operation in Uden, Netherlands. Through this acquisition CoorsTek expands its ongoing strategic partnership with Philips, and will serve both Philips and other regional customers from Uden. "The integration of Uden's people, equipment, and technology into CoorsTek extends our regional presence and capabilities even further a natural fit and complement to our advanced ceramics expertise," explained Timothy Coors, Co-CEO of CoorsTek. Video - http://youtu.be/MAt7cmie1j4 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151214/295782LOGO Support Growing European Business Adding Uden extends the CoorsTek footprint to a dozen European manufacturing locations in the Czech Republic, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden. "The Uden team will help support our expanding customer base across Europe and around the world," said Andreas Schneider, Executive VP of CoorsTek in Lauf, Germany. CoorsTek serves over 10,000 technology and manufacturing customers in 70 countries, delivering local service from its network of 50 locations on four continents. Build on Engineered Ceramics Technology "CoorsTek has known and respected Philips and Uden for decades," added Andreas. "Combining Uden's 60 years of engineering know-how and manufacturing capabilities with the ceramics expertise CoorsTek has developed over the past century it is a great opportunity to push the frontiers of technology and help make the world measurably better." Using advanced ceramic injection molding and automated volume manufacturing, Uden can produce millions of high-purity ceramic parts each year. Extend Market Reach As a part of Philips, Uden was focused primarily on supporting the company's market-leading global lighting business. In addition to securing an exclusive, long-term agreement to supply Philips Lighting, CoorsTek will use these capabilities to serve a broader set of customers and applications beyond lighting including automotive, electronics, and medical. "Together with our Uden colleagues, the CoorsTek team will help even more companies create and deliver amazing solutions to some of their toughest challenges," summarized Timothy. See the video announcement. About CoorsTek CoorsTek makes the world measurably better as the partner of choice for technology and manufacturing companies worldwide whose success requires the unique, high-performance properties of products manufactured from engineered ceramics and advanced materials. CoorsTek products and components touch people's lives through amazing solutions to global challenges in energy, transportation, information technology, healthcare, and defense, among others. For more information about CoorsTek, including product information, its history since 1910, and locations throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, visit coorstek.com. Media Contacts Dane Bartlett | CoorsTek dbartlett@coorstek.com +1 303 271 7000 Bill Fallon | keating/co bfallon@keatingco.com +1 973 768 6764 Related Links http://www.coorstek.com SOURCE CoorsTek PHILADELPHIA, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) announced the election of Margareth vrum to the company's Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2016. Her election increases the board's size to 11 members. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111101/NE97440LOGO vrum is executive vice president of Technology, Projects & Drilling for Statoil Group, an international energy company based in Stavanger, Norway. She is responsible for technology research, procurement, projects and drilling. During her 34 years at Statoil, vrum has held numerous senior leadership positions, including executive vice president of Technology and New Energy, executive vice president of Health and Safety, senior vice president of Operations Veslefrikk, vice president of Operations Support Norwegian Continental Shelf, and platform manager Gullfaks field. "We are pleased to welcome Margareth to the FMC Board of Directors," said Pierre Brondeau, FMC president, CEO, and chairman. "She brings to our board a strong operations background with deep experience in process technology, safety, sustainability and environmental management. Margareth has a wide international view with exceptional knowledge of European markets. Our board looks forward to Margareth's contributions." vrum is a member of the Board of Directors of Atlas Copco AB and Alfa Laval AB. She has a master of science degree specializing in Technical Physics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "I look forward to joining FMC's board at such an exciting time," said vrum. "Pierre and the management team have transformed the company into one that is highly focused on agriculture, health and nutrition, and lithium technologies. I look forward to helping FMC execute its growth strategy and build long-term shareholder value." About FMC For more than a century, FMC Corporation has served the global agricultural, industrial and consumer markets with innovative solutions, applications and quality products. FMC acquired Cheminova in April 2015. Revenue totaled approximately $3.3 billion in 2015. FMC employs approximately 6,000 people throughout the world and operates its businesses in three segments: FMC Agricultural Solutions, FMC Health and Nutrition and FMC Lithium. For more information, visit www.FMC.com. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Act of 1995: Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning specific factors described in FMC Corporation's 2015 Form 10-K and other SEC filings. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. FMC Corporation does not intend to update this information and disclaims any legal obligation to the contrary. Historical information is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Related Links http://www.fmc.com SOURCE FMC Corporation Daon's IdentityX Platform Used to Enable Multi-modal Biometric Authentication RESTON, Virginia, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Daon and Gulf Bank Kuwait announced today their partnership in providing biometric authentication within Gulf Bank Kuwait's new mobile banking application. Daon's IdentityX Platform enables Gulf Bank Kuwait's customers to seamlessly authenticate using their face and fingerprint to quickly and easily assert their identity online across multiple channels. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151030/282469LOGO Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno, Gulf Bank's Chief Executive Officer said, "Digital banking is important to our customers and we wanted to make it convenient and simple for them to conduct their banking transactions with our new mobile banking app. By working with Daon, we were able to leverage cutting-edge technology with global best practices to provide our customers with an enhanced mobile banking experience. Our customers can now login with biometrics using their fingerprint touch id and 'Blinking to Bank' facial recognition, from anywhere in the world, and perform a wide array of banking transactions efficiently and securely." Daon's IdentityX Platform provides fingerprint, face and voice recognition, along with other authentication factors, which will provide convenient, fast, secure authentication for Gulf Bank Kuwait's customers. IdentityX was designed with an eye toward the future, allowing Daon customers to easily add new biometrics as they become commercially available. This innovative solution will be the first deployment in the Middle East and illustrates Gulf Bank Kuwait's commitment to their customers. Tom Grissen, Daon's Chief Executive Officer said, "We are seeing tremendous opportunity for banks to leverage the power of biometrics to improve their customer experience. Convenient and secure authentication has become critical in today's digital economy and we are very happy supporting Gulf Bank Kuwait on their journey to a mobile first, customer first strategy. Their customers can now login on to the Gulf Bank mobile app in a few seconds, putting speed and ease of use first. Our experience with banking customers like Gulf Bank Kuwait allows us to help our valued customers understand the actual benefits from using biometrics and how to achieve successful large scale implementations quickly and efficiently." About Gulf Bank Kuwait Gulf Bank, established in 1960, is one of the largest and leading retail banks in Kuwait. It has a network of 56 branches, with total assets of KD 5,438 million for year ended 31 December 2015. Gulf Bank is currently ranked "A" by the three leading international credit rating agencies and offers a wide range of banking and financial products and services. Gulf Bank has been recognized with numerous awards, spread over different sectors of its work, including consumer banking, wholesale banking, products, performance, marketing, human resources, and corporate social responsibility. These include awards from respected international publications such as The Asian Banker, International Finance Magazine (IFM); International Banker; Banker Middle East; and Arabian Business Magazine. Gulf Bank is strongly committed to giving back to Kuwait through its corporate social responsibility program. The Bank supports numerous events focusing on youth, education, health and fitness, helping the underprivileged, women's empowerment, as well as promoting Kuwait's heritage and culture. For more information about Gulf Bank log onto: www.e-gulfbank.com or see our social media channels on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. About Daon Daon is a leading provider of biometric authentication and identity assurance solutions focused on meeting the needs of enterprise and public sector customers worldwide. Daon has pioneered methods for securely and conveniently combining biometric and identity capabilities in multiple channels. Daon empowers its customers and their users to choose the factor or combination of factors that best meet their situational needs and preferences. Daon's offerings include rich mobile biometric authentication and biometric identity management solutions with deployments that include payments verification, digital banking, border management, immigration, employee credentialing, national ID, passports, driver's licenses, voter registration, beneficiary verification, and cloud authentication. For more information, please visit www.daon.com or get to know us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Media and Analyst Contacts Laila Al-Qatami, Assistant General Manager, Corporate Communications +965 9497 2156 laila@gulfbank.com.kw Travis Wachter, Director of Marketing Communications +1 (703) 984-4016 travis.wachter@daon.com Related Links http://www.daon.com SOURCE Daon DUBAI, UAE and MUMBAI, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Strengthens its Omni-channel Portfolio With Aspect's Cloud, Hybrid, and On-premise Contact Center Solutions for Enterprises in Middle East and Asia Aspect Software, a leading provider of fully-integrated consumer engagement, workforce optimization and self-service solutions, today announced an alliance with HCL Infosystems MEA, a subsidiary of HCL Infosystems, one of India's premier IT services, distribution and digital solutions company. Under the alliance, HCL Infosystems MEA will continue to drive growth in their contact center business by offering Aspect's complete solutions and services portfolio in Middle East and Asia. The expanded relationship is part of Aspect's continuing strategy to bolster its global channel presence. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140922/706625-a ) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/10145315 ) HCL Infosystems MEA will offer Aspect's contact center solutions, including Unified IP (UIP), Self Service and Aspect Workforce Optimization (WFO). Aspect's cutting-edge solutions will further broaden HCL Infosystems' end-to-end services portfolio to meet the entire breadth of enterprise infrastructure management requirements of the region. Manoj Shrivastava, Vice President and Business Head - HCL Infosystems MEA said, "In the current market situation, the region's economic landscape is changing very rapidly. On one hand, enterprises are forced to optimize resources while on the other, there is an opportunity to gain market share. Higher business productivity along with u niform and superior customer experience is therefore critical for survival in these times. HCL Infosystems MEA is aligned to the region's needs by providing ICT solutions that enable business transformation and enhance customer experience. I am confident that this strategic alliance with Aspect will enable us to serve our customers better by extending best-in-class omni-channel solutions along with the avant-garde technology solutions and capabilities." According to a recent industry report, the Global Contact Center market is witnessing high demand and is expected to reach USD 9.7 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of over 9 percent. Investments in contact center applications are expected to grow faster across verticals like retail, banking, insurance, hospitality, government, healthcare and others. With this, there is also a surge in demand to engage with technology experts who can deliver solutions beyond software. "For years, Aspect has been a trusted custodian of IT investments for enterprises across globe. Our relationship with HCL is now vigoured with a larger solution portfolio to resell, where we aim to work with enterprises and help them deliver exceptional customer experiences through innovative omni-channel and self-service solutions. Our complementing synergies will fulfill the complex requirements of any contact center, with Aspect delivering full-feature customer engagement solutions and HCL serving the integration needs," commented Sanjay Gupta, Head Cloud Business - APAC & Middle East and MD- India & Middle East, Aspect. Shilpi Puri, Senior Director - Strategic Alliance & Partners, APAC & ME, Aspect said, "Our partners have helped sustain, enrich and grow our customer footprint across the region, through years of quality solutions and services. We look back at our partnership with HCL with a strong sense of pride and gratitude for the partnership we share and the business we grow together. We are not only pleased to strengthen our existing partnership in India but we are excited to take this partnership to other regions. HCL, with its strong global presence and technology solutions, will enable us to offer end-to-end solutions in the customer experience space, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership." About Aspect: Aspect's fully-integrated solution unifies the three most important facets of modern consumer engagement strategy: customer interaction management, workforce optimization, and self-service. Through a full suite of on-prem, cloud, hosted and hybrid deployment options, we help the world's most demanding contact centers and back offices seamlessly align their people, processes and touch points to deliver remarkable customer experiences. For more information, visit http://www.aspect.com/in. Follow Aspect on Twitter at @AspectIndia. Read our blogs at http://blogs.aspect.com. About HCL Infosystems MEA: HCL Infosystems MEA is the next-generation Global ICT Partner in the Middle East and Asia region enabling growth, enhancing customer delight and delivering best practices in IT services and system integration. Our portfolio of IT services and solutions is backed by end-to-end capabilities and partnerships across the globe. We offer the whole gamut of technology enabled enterprise infrastructure management services, ranging from managed IT services and advanced security systems to more recent and collaborative digital and mobile technologies. With almost four decades of industry experience, extensive domain knowledge across all industries and business functions, we take pride in partnering with some of the top organizations across Middle East and Asia. Please visit us at http://www.hclmea.com/ or follow us on Twitter at @HCLScribes Media Contact : Shailendra Tanwar +91-9930134118 shailendra.tanwar@aspect.com Aspect Tanay Gogoi +91-9971179400 tanay.gogoi@hcl.com HCL Infosystems Reema Bardhan +91-9891267470 reema.bardhanhcl.com HCL Infosystems SOURCE Aspect Software NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Novantas, Inc. announced today that it has acquired Chicago-based Treasury Strategies, Inc., a leading consultancy in bank and corporate treasury functions. The transaction expands the Novantas portfolio and strengthens its position as the leading revenue management company serving the financial community. It also extends Novantas analytic advisory services and technology solutions into the corporate arena. Treasury Strategies is the acknowledged leader in treasury management consulting on treasury, liquidity and payments solutions for many of the largest North American commercial banks and corporations. The Firm has a thirty-year track record of advising senior banking executives, corporate treasurers, regulators, legislators and the press, on issues affecting banking industry stability and performance. Tony Carfang, a senior partner, has testified numerous times to Senate and Congressional committees on the impact of regulatory actions and legislation on the banking industry and their customers. The Firm is widely recognized as an expert in the post Dodd-Frank economy. "We're delighted that Treasury Strategies will become part of Novantas," said Dave Kaytes, Co-CEO of Novantas. "Their expertise, analytical focus and client service culture are ideally matched to our own, and their capabilities in Corporate Treasury Management are an excellent complement to Novantas' market and customer focused services for banks. We are excited to offer the enhanced services of the combined Company to our clients." "With more than 200 professionals, Treasury Strategies and Novantas make a formidable team in both bank and corporate treasury markets," added Cathy Gregg, senior partner of Treasury Strategies. "We look forward to integrating Treasury Strategies offerings into the combined Company product line, and investing the kind of capital and expertise Novantas brings, into the technologies and models we offer to Bank Executives and Corporate Treasurers." The Company announced that it will operate under the Novantas name and retain the Treasury Strategies brand in the corporate advisory business line. Treasury Strategies partners, Tony Carfang, Cathy Gregg and Dave Robertson, will become Managing Directors of Novantas, Inc, and the Treasury Strategies Chicago office will be combined with the Novantas Chicago facilities. The corporate integration is expected to be completed during June 2016. Financial details were not disclosed. About Treasury Strategies Treasury Strategies, Inc. is the leading Treasury consultancy working with corporations and financial services providers. The Firm's experience and thought leadership in treasury management, working capital management, liquidity, and payments, combined with its comprehensive view of the market, provides its clients a unique perspective, unparalleled insights, and actionable solutions. For more information, visit TreasuryStrategies.com. About Novantas Novantas is the industry leader in analytic advisory services and technology solutions for banks. We create superior value for our clients through deep and insightful analysis of the information that drives the financial services industry across pricing, product development, treasury and risk management, distribution, marketing, and sales management. For more information, visit Novantas.com. Related Links http://www.novantas.com SOURCE Novantas, Inc. MONTREAL, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A new product called JointRep is able to restore lost cartilage in a completely noninvasive operation. The treatment yielded impeccable results in clinical trials on patients aged 18-75 in Europe. It is currently unavailable in North America. Oligo Medic Inc., a medical device company developing innovative biomaterials, published today the anticipated 6-month clinical results from its post-market controlled clinical trial, which compared microfracture alone (i.e. marrow stimulation) to microfracture combined with JointRep. "It is a product that every orthopaedist dreams of: ready to be used anytime, very simple to prepare and highly efficacious even for late stage osteoarthritis. It is applied with minimal surgical invasiveness and offers a very short rehabilitation time." - Dr. Gennaro Pipino, Professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Lugano, (Switzerland) and Head of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology at the Villa Regina Hospital, Bologna (Italy). Dr. Pipino led the 60-patient study to evaluate the treatment efficacy of microfracture combined with JointRep in repairing cartilage lesions and reduce patient clinical symptoms. The control group was treated with microfracture alone, which is the current standard of care in cartilage repair in both Europe and United States. The study was conducted on patients with grade III-IV cartilage lesions in knee joints, who were considered for total knee replacement (prosthesis). The patients were aged between 18 and 75. Importantly, the rehabilitation time is 8 weeks for microfracture but only 2 weeks for the combined treatment. Under local anaesthesia, the test group was treated through standard arthroscopic procedure, adding JointRep to the condyle site after marrow stimulation. Patients were discharged on the same day and allowed isometrics, lateral extensions, and total load ambulation with the aid of a contralateral crutch during the first five days. The patients subsequently began physiotherapy (leg extensions, swimming and stationary bike). The 6-month clinical results showed that the JointRep treated-cohort provided spectacular clinical symptom reduction, achieving more than clear statistical significance over the microfracture-alone control group. At 6 months, the arthroscopic JointRep treatment was successful in reducing the WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index) pain and stiffness scores and increasing the WOMAC physical and mobility scores. The total WOMAC score improved on average by a staggering 88% (compared to 40% for the control group). The results were comparable in every age category. From a scientific standpoint, these clinical results suggest that the JointRep scaffold provides a very fertile environment for chondrogenesis. It is believed that lipocytes, platelets and growth-factors migrate within the JointRep gel scaffold to enhance the differentiation of stem cells released by the microfractures. This hypothesis is strongly supported by MRI scans with T2 suppression performed on the test group patients after 6 months, which showed identical signature for the treated area and the pre-existing healthy cartilage, indicating the presence of type II collagen in the regenerated cartilage. It's worth emphasizing the dramatic reduction of economic costs associated with osteoarthritis provided by JointRep. The operation lasts no more than a few minutes, the patient is released on the same day, and the rehabilitation time is decreased from 8 to 2 weeks compared to the microfracture treatment without JointRep. About JointRep : A novel injectable scaffold for arthroscopic repair of cartilage JointRep is a proprietary injectable polyglucosamine-based thermogelling device currently used for the treatment of chondropathies (cartilage defects). JointRep is percutaneously applied to cartilage lesions through standard arthroscopic procedure. Once administered into a defect, JointRep forms a solid bioadhesive hydrogel. JointRep is CE-marked to treat chondropathies in all body joints, and is presently distributed in 15 countries worldwide. JointRep is an extremely practical and convenient product. Its long-term storage temperature is between 2 and 8C, but it may be shipped at ambient temperature. Its OR preparation time is minimal, which enables the physician to use it ad-hoc if defects are noticed in the course of a routine arthroscopic inspection or treatment. The whole process only adds few minutes to the basic arthroscopy. In addition to repairing cartilage, JointRep can be used to deliver platelet rich plasma (PRPs) or adipose derived mesenchymal cells for various orthopedic applications such as tendon and meniscus treatment. Other promising markets for JointRep include plastic surgery and veterinary applications. About Oligo Medic Inc. Oligo Medic is a privately held Canadian company created in 2010 and focused on developing and commercializing medical devices. Its founders are biomaterials experts who have developed several devices for the orthopedic market. In particular, they were the first to discover thermosensitive hydrogels based on chitosan. The potential of their findings for biomedical applications sparked a flurry of intensive research. Twenty years later, JointRep emerged as the only product to truly take the proof of concept into a viable and marketable product that completely changes the paradigm in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Contact: Dr. Amine Selmani, selmani@oligomedic.com, +1-514-581-4292 (Montreal), http://www.oligomedic.com SOURCE Oligo Medic Inc CALGARY, Alberta, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Packers Plus Energy Services Inc. is pleased to announce it recently installed and stimulated an open hole completion system in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq. This is the first well in Northern Iraqi fields for Packers Plus, using the innovative, field-proven StackFRAC HD system. The open hole method has proven successful against a number of other completion techniques that have been trialed as a practical and cost effective way to stimulate long horizontal well sections. "The operator wanted a solution to overcome challenges around wellbore damage and complex geology," said Packers Plus President, Ian Bryant. "We worked closely with the client to overcome these risks and to maximize operational efficiency." All stages were successfully stimulated with acid, with clear pressure indications of packers setting, balls landing and sleeves shifting. Use of the open hole method provided numerous benefits, including isolation between all the zones, optimal fluid placement, maximized reservoir coverage, substantial time and cost savings. It also eliminated the need for coiled tubing, which significantly lowered potential problems, as each trip in and out of the wellbore carries operational risks. This system allowed for a continuous pumping operation and immediate flow back, putting the well on production without the need to mill plugs. Additional risk, time and cost savings were achieved by avoiding use of explosives, required for the alternative plug-and-perf method. To learn more about Packers Plus' international experience, visit packersplus.com/proven-performance. About Packers Plus Packers Plus is an industry leader in designing and manufacturing lower completions solutions for a variety of technically challenging applications. Known for its innovative, high-quality and responsive style, the privately held company has run over 16,000 completion systems, accounting for over 240,000 fracture stages since it started operations in 2000. Today, Packers Plus has employees around the world, maintaining an influential role in key markets and remaining true to its roots - an innovative company with a focused niche, enabling it to be one of the best in the industry. Learn more at packersplus.com. Ian Bryant, President, Packers Plus Energy Services Inc., ian.bryant@packersplus.com , +1-(281)-730-8373 SOURCE Packers Plus Energy Services Inc. LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Team will expand investment and agency business-line coverage in South East market Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services company, announced today that highly regarded office property specialists Piers Leigh, Chris Barrs and Tom Bridgman have joined the firm in London. Effective immediately, Barrs, Leigh and Bridgman become Principals of Avison Young and will focus on agency and investment, particularly the South East market. They will be based in the firm's West End office but will serve clients throughout the Greater London marketplace. All three join Avison Young from Capita Real Estate in London, where Leigh and Barrs were both directors and ran the office agency team while Bridgman served as a divisional director of investment. "We couldn't be more pleased that Tom, Chris and Piers have decided to join Avison Young as we continue to expand our full-service platform in London and across the U.K.," comments Rose. "They are a proven and effective team, particularly with respect to serving the dynamic South East office investment and agency market." Rose continues: "To achieve long-term growth in the U.K. and globally, it is essential that we have proven industry leaders working for us in the London office market. Given their extensive backgrounds and deep market knowledge, Piers, Tom and Chris have developed the kind of office investment and leasing expertise that all clients expect. The team's presence in London will be critical when it comes to assisting clients with their local, national and international office portfolios - especially those clients with properties in the South East." Leigh brings 16 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young while Barrs and Bridgman have worked in the industry for 10 and nine years, respectively. Before moving to Capita, both Barrs and Leigh were directors at Jones Lang LaSalle (formerly King Sturge) in London, while Bridgman was an associate with Gerald Eve. "Having known Chris, Tom and Piers for a number of years, I have developed a great deal of respect for the way that they do business," notes Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the firm's London offices. "They will be tremendous assets in helping us expand our office investment and agency business-line coverage in the U.K. Their focus on the South East will be a clear differentiator for us when serving investors, landlords and tenants alike." Avison Young entered the U.K. market in April 2014 when it acquired London-based commercial real estate services firm Haywards LLP and opened new offices in the London West End and Thames Valley. The London-area locations represented Avison Young's first offices outside of North America and a milestone step in the firm's ongoing aggressive global growth and expansion strategy. In December 2015, the firm opened an office in the City of London. In January 2016, Avison Young further widened its U.K. footprint by expanding to the Midlands with the opening of an office in Coventry through the acquisition of North Rae Sanders. Bridgman says Avison Young's emphasis on partnership and collaboration helped him, Barrs and Leigh open the next chapter in their careers. "I'm delighted to be part of Avison Young's Principal-led culture and collaborative business model with Piers and Chris," says Bridgman. "I am particularly excited to join a company that has no traditional silos or a one-size-fits-all approach to client service. I also welcome the opportunity to collaborate with our new colleagues in Europe, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico." "By joining Avison Young, we will have the opportunity to provide creative solutions to clients on a daily basis while offering the benefits of a global brand and an international network of office property experts," notes Leigh. "I saw this as an exciting opportunity to join a rapidly growing organization as a Principal, and leverage my experience to play an integral role in further expanding the firm's London operations." Adds Barrs: "It is exciting to be joining such a talented group of people who have assembled at Avison Young over the past couple of years. The firm, with its highly collaborative approach to doing business and entrepreneurial mentality, will allow us to provide clients with a full range of services. We enthusiastically look forward to serving our existing clients and future Avison Young clients in the marketplace." *** Biographies Piers Leigh Piers Leigh brings 16 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young, most recently as head of office agency with Capita Real Estate in London, where he led a transactional team of five. Before moving to Capita in 2014, he spent 14 years with Jones Lang LaSalle, formerly King Sturge, where he successfully grew the team in terms of revenue and staff. Leigh's notable recent deals include: advising on the recent pre-let acquisition of the 90,000-square-foot (sf) Copyright Building in Central London and the 25,000-sf acquisition of the second floor at V3 in Basingstoke in 2016 for Capita Plc. Leigh also advised on the purchase of Avaya House (B1000 and B2000), Cathedral Hill in Guildford for Europa Capital and Ediston; and 3 Longwalk Stockley Park on behalf of CCLA in 2015. He has provided office agency advice on high-profile South East schemes such as the 350,000-sf Heights in Weybridge, the nine-acre mixed-use development at Ruskin Square in Croydon, and the 570,000-sf office element currently being delivered at CB1 in Cambridge. Leigh is a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, the British Council for Offices, the Office Agents Society, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Tom Bridgman Tom Bridgman brings nine years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young. He was most recently a divisional director of investment at Capita in London. During his tenure at Capita, he was involved in the purchases of 54 Clarendon Road, Watford; Victoria Circus, Southend; Avaya House, Guildford; and M&S Stockley Park. Prior to joining Capita in 2015, Bridgman served as an associate with Gerald Eve (2007 to 2015), where he negotiated the acquisitions of the Pianoworks and Goldvale House, both for LaSalle Investment Management, within three months of each other. Bridgman is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is a registered valuer. Chris Barrs Chris Barrs brings 10 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young, most recently as a director with Capita in London. Prior to joining Capita in 2014, he spent four years as a director with Jones Lang LaSalle in London. Among his recent career highlights, Barrs advised Patron Capital & APAM on the purchase and subsequent leasing of Arlington Business Park in Theale; the purchase of 5 Arlington Square in Bracknell for CCLA; and the acquisition of Reading Bridge House for Capita Plc. In addition, he has been involved with some of the largest and most high-profile office schemes in the South East, having worked in an advisory, leasing or investment capacity on Green Park, Winnersh Triangle, Stockley Park, IQ Slough, Royal Pavilion, Maxis and Arlington Square. Barrs is a member of the Office Agents Society, where he has been serving as regional Chair since 2014, and the British Council for Offices. Over the past seven years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 77 offices and from 300 to more than 2,200 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe. Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,200 real estate professionals in 77 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties. Editors/Reporters Please click on links to view and download photos of Piers Leigh, Chris Barrs and Tom Bridgman: http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Piers_Leigh.jpg http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Chris_Barrs.jpg http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Tom_Bridgman.png For further information/comment/photos: Sherry Quan , Principal and Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: +1-604-647-5098; cell: +1-604-726-0959 , Principal and Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: +1-604-647-5098; cell: +1-604-726-0959 Mark Rose , Chair and CEO, Avison Young: +1-416-673-4028 , Chair and CEO, Avison Young: +1-416-673-4028 Nick Cook , Principal and Managing Director, London , Avison Young: +44(0)20-7041-9999 , Principal and Managing Director, , Avison Young: +44(0)20-7041-9999 Piers Leigh , Principal, London , Avison Young: +44(0)7967-726301 , Principal, , Avison Young: +44(0)7967-726301 Chris Barrs , Principal, London , Avison Young: +44(0)7779-010839 http://www.avisonyoung.com Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and requalified in 2015 to maintain its status as a Best Managed Gold company Follow Avison Young on Twitter: For industry news, press releases and market reports: http://www.twitter.com/avisonyoung For Avison Young listings and deals: http://www.twitter.com/AYListingsDeals Follow Avison Young Bloggers: http://blog.avisonyoung.com Follow Avison Young on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/avison-young-commercial-real-estate Follow Avison Young on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AvisonYoungRE Media Relations: Sherry Quan, +1-604-726-0959, sherry.quan@avisonyoung.com SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC) PUNE, India, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Smoke Detector Market by Power Source (Battery Powered, Hardwired With Battery Backup, Hardwired Without Battery Backup), Product (Photoelectric, Ionization, Dual Sensor, & Other Detector), End-User Industry, Service, and Region - Global Forecasts to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the total market is expected to grow from USD 1.31 Billion in 2015 to USD 2.52 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 75 market data Tables with 67 Figures spread through 150 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Smoke Detector Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smoke-detector-market-162940771.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The smoke detector market is driven by factors such as Increasing support and initiatives from government bodies, and technological advancements and innovations in smoke detectors and their networking. Dual Sensor detectors to register the highest growth rate; whereas photoelectric detector held the largest share The smoke detector market on the basis of product has been segmented into photoelectric smoke detector, ionization smoke detector, dual sensor smoke detector, and others. The cause of fire deaths in commercial and residential sector is mostly from smoldering fires, which can only be detected by these photoelectric or the dual sensors and as a result the market of both smoke detectors is booming. The market for ionization smoke detectors has a low growth rate because of their false alarm rate, which have led consumers to disable their smoke alarms and also the disposal of ionization smoke detectors causes an additional problem as they contain radioactive materials. Commercial sector held the largest market size; and residential sector would experience the highest growth rate The end-user segment in Smoke Detector Market comprises commercial sector, residential sector, oil, gas, & mining industry, manufacturing sector, telecommunication sector, transportation & logistics, and others. The commercial sector held the largest size of smoke alarm market in 2015 and is highly regulated sector for smoke detectors. The smoke detectors installed in commercial space are regulated by EN54, UL268, CCCF, and others. The increase in the number of government mandate policies in developed economies to install smoke alarms at homes and rapid development in the residential construction across the world is attributing to the high growth of smoke alarms market for the residential sector. Market in Europe to grow at the highest rate The market in Europe is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Under the influence of government mandate policies, the countries in European region such Austria, France, and Germany are installing smoke alarms in their homes and is the main reason for the growth of smoke detector market in this region. Also, North America held for the largest market size of the smoke detector market in 2015. The high demand for smoke alarms from this region is mainly attributed to the rising number of deaths by fire, especially in residential sector, along with the rise in residential construction in key U.S. states such as Texas, Florida, and California. Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=162940771 Major players in this market are Hochiki Corporation (Japan), Honeywell International (U.S.), United Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Tyco (Ireland), Siemens AG (Germany), Johnson Control (U.S.), Robert Bosch (Germany), NEC Corporation (U.S.), Nest labs (U.S.), and Schneider Electric (France) among others. Browse Related Reports Fire Protection Systems Market by Technology (Active, Passive), Product (Fire Detection (Sensors & Detectors, RFID), Management (Fire Sprinklers, Extinguishers), Fire Analysis & Response), Service, Vertical, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/fire-protection-systems-market-1018.html Home Security Solutions Market by Product (Electronic locks, Sensors, Cameras), Solutions (Intruder Alarm, Intercom, Access Control, Fire Protection, Integrated Security, Video Surveillance & Others), Home Type, & Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/home-security-solutions-market-701.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the world's No. 2 firms in terms of annual published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical info graphics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta City, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India Tel: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog@ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/electronics-and-semiconductors Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets An official press event will be held on June 3 from 20:00-22:30 at the Carlton Hotel, Grand Salon. Following the success of "K-POP NIGHT OUT" at Cannes for "MIDEM 2015", KOCCA is again supporting the K-pop showcase titled, "K-POP NIGHT OUT". For more information on the KOCCA "K-POP NIGHT OUT" showcase, click here: http://www.midem.com KOCCA, established in 2009 and affiliated with the government of the ROK, is Korea's leading organization dedicated to bringing local Korean cultural and artistic talent to a global audience, and MIDEM is a perfect opportunity for KOCCA to connect with the global market place and build momentum for K-POP internationally. The official press event will give media and the MIDEM music community an exclusive opportunity to connect with key delegates from KOCCA and learn more about the export mission. There will be a five-minute speed meeting with Korean music buyers, "MEET THE KOREANS" from 10:30-11:30 (@Palais des Festivals, Networking Village). All attending artists and official KOCCA delegates will be available for interviews by "ALL ABOUT K-POP NIGHT OUT" (Media Conference) from 13:45-14:15 (@RIVIERA 7, Label Summer Camp). The "K-POP MEET UP", a networking party right before K-POP NIGHT OUT will be from 18:00-19:30 (@Carlton Hotel, La Cote Rest). To RSVP for the event or for further inquiries, contact Dong Hyun Kim (dhkim@prodigm.co.kr). Following the networking party, KOCCA will present an official MIDEM showcase "K-POP NIGHT OUT" at the Grand Salon, Intercontinental Carlton Cannes. With many making their major debut in France, the artists are an eclectic mix of K-POP, Rock, Punk, Psychedelic, Hip-hop, and EDM. Performing artists include Ego Function Error, the promising rookies on the Korean Indie scene, Korean rockers Guckkasten, Eluphant, the top emotional hip-hop group and IDIOTAPE, Korea's leading EDM artists who have already received international attention. For more details on attending artists, see below. SHOWCASE 2016. 6. 3. MEET THE KOREANS (Speed Meeting) from 10:30-11:30 @ P. 1 Networking Village 10:30-11:30 @ P. 1 Networking Village ALL ABOUT K-POP NIGHT OUT (Media Conference) from 13:45-14:15 @ R. 7 Label Summer Camp 13:45-14:15 @ R. 7 Label Summer Camp K-POP MEET UP ( Networking Party ) from 18:00-19:30 @ Carlton Hotel, La C o te Rest ) 18:00-19:30 @ Carlton Hotel, La C te Rest K-POP NIGHT OUT (Showcase) from 20:00-22:30 @ Carlton Hotel, Grand Salon EgoFunctionError Rock, Punk, Psychedelic Ego Function Error plays psychedelic punk rock. The band has four members; Kim Kook-kook, Kim Mee hee, Kim Min jung and Kwak No-ja. Their performances on stage are always full of the kind of passion and energy that gets the audience to move their bodies. LINKS * www.youtube.com/egofunctionerror Guckkasten Psychedelic The original meaning of Guckkasten in German is a Chinese-style kaleidoscope invented in ancient China. Similar to psychedelic images hidden under analogous art when looking into a kaleidoscope, Korea's representative band Guckkasten tries to create a sound with a motif. LINKS * http://www.guckkasten.kr Eluphant Hiphop Kebee, who is considered to be the pride of Korea, and skilled rapper Minos are together known as Eluphant. Their debut album 'Eluphant Bakery' was released in 2006, with later songs such as 'Lullaby', 'Star Candy' and Thanks for All the Fish'. LINKS * www.brandnewmusic.co.kr/artist/eluphant IDIOTAPE Electronic, Rock In 2010, six synthesizers and one drum kit formed the electronic band IDIOTAPE that plays synth rock music. Based on 15 years of DJing experience, the leader Dguru has displayed the perfect live mix stage. Analog synthesizer/song writer Zeze and well-known power drummer DR complete IDIOTAPE's performance. LINKS * www.youtube.com/idiotapeofficial SOURCE Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tendril Hires Former RWE Executive With Deep Smart Home Experience as Vice President of Sales to Accelerate Growth Tendril, the leading provider of Energy Services Management (ESM) solutions, has strengthened its European leadership team by appointing Ivor Kusters, as Vice President of European Sales. Ivor brings a wealth of knowledge and experience within European energy providers to Tendril, and will be responsible for driving adoption of the company's data analytics software solutions. With a rapidly growing business in Europe, and its first products being rolled out, Kusters' appointment comes at a time of accelerated growth for the company. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150608/748348 ) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373721 ) Before joining Tendril, Kusters spent five years at RWE, one of Europe's largest utilities. He led various teams that developed new services with partners in the smart home domain. Notably, he launched the first smart thermostat in the Netherlands in 2011 and later he also played a pivotal role in establishing the partnership with Nest, the first of its kind for Google (or Nest) outside of the US. "This hire reinforces our commitment to European energy service providers, as well as our focus on delivering solutions tailored to the specific needs of European consumers," said David Tuohy, SVP Europe, Tendril. "Ivor's experience and understanding of both the European energy and telecommunications markets is second to none. He understands the European data and privacy challenges versus those in the US. His knowledge will play a critical role in our expansion across Europe, to both the traditional utilities and competitive energy retailers." Prior to RWE, Ivor worked for the Dutch telecommunications company - KPN - where he held several management positions in sales and marketing. Before that, he was responsible for KPN's growth programme across the utilities sector, where his team developed and deployed a turnkey solution for smart meters and built the first CDMA network in Europe for Dutch DSO's. "Tendril has made remarkable strides. It has a differentiated platform; a promising product roadmap; a strong leadership team; the execution capabilities to match; and it has won numerous awards," says Ivor Kusters, Vice President of European Sales, Tendril. He continued, "Tendril has ambitious growth plans and the further expansion into Europe is an important part of it. The company's approach to using data analytics to acquire, engage and orchestrate energy for consumers will enable energy service providers to increase customer value and grow market share. I am really excited to join the team during such a key phase in the evolution of their business." Additional Resources About Tendril Tendril is defining data-driven Energy Services Management (ESM) for the evolving energy market. Our open, cloud-based software platform provides the infrastructure, analytics and understanding required to deliver personalised energy services. This targeted approach drives new business opportunities, delights consumers and has led to some of the industry's highest engagement and satisfaction rates. For more information, please visit http://www.tendrilinc.com or follow us on Twitter at @Tendril . SOURCE Tendril Company expands its single-source audience measurement solution globally, providing transparent cross-platform measurement to digital media, mobile app and gaming, and Internet companies NEW YORK and, HELSINKI, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Verto Analytics (http://vertoanalytics.com), the world's first single-source audience measurement company, today announced a $16.1 million USD Series B funding round led by EQT Ventures, who recently announced a new $630 million fund. Series A leads, Conor Venture Partners and Open Ocean Capital, along with new investors, Vision+ (Tero Ojanpera), Finnish Industry Investment, and additional angel investors also participated in the Series B round, bringing the total capital raised to date to $23.9 million USD. Verto will leverage the new funds to scale its services globally within the digital media, mobile app and gaming, adtech and Internet sectors and expand its global operations. Verto Analytics also announced the appointment of Ben Feder as Chairman of the Board, and Henrik Landgren of EQT Ventures as a new board member. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374074LOGO Launched in 2013, Verto Analytics provides single-source audience measurement solutions for monitoring the complex behavior of today's consumer on every device, app and platform they use throughout the day. Verto's services include Verto Content Watch, Verto Device Watch and Verto App Watch, which are all focused on cross-device digital media properties and publishers, digital devices and platforms, and mobile apps. Current customers include industry giants Microsoft, EA, Cisco and Yahoo, multi-screen video advertising company, YuMe, and one of the largest social media companies in the world, amongst others. "Investing in Verto Analytics was an obvious choice. The media landscape has become increasingly complex with consumers accessing content across multiple screens and devices. Verto has deep expertise in cross-device audience measurement, and provides the most compelling solution for publishers, brands, and advertisers to more effectively measure today's consumer. Verto also serves some of the fastest-growing industry verticals mobile apps, streaming services and digital media and is uniquely poised to capitalize on this tremendous growth," said Henrik Landgren, Partner at EQT Ventures. The market opportunity for Verto Analytics is truly global and cannot be overstated. An average digital consumer uses three to four devices to access digital content across multiple platforms and services within a 24-hour period. Advertising revenues from mobile will surpass that of desktop in late 2016 in the U.S. alone, and as of May 2016 more than 10 billion hours per day were spent by U.S. consumers aged 18 and over on mobile apps. Comparatively, 94 percent of Chinese online users are also using smartphones vs. 70 percent in the U.S, and there are twice as many online users in China than there are people living in the U.S. This international, cross-device world requires a media measurement solution that provides transparent consumer insights from a single source. Accuracy and transparency is what marketers need to better engage with consumers, what publishers can use for improving their monetization, and what media companies need to track their net reach, and benchmark against their competition. "I'm proud to work with such a passionate team, all of whom have been working hard to achieve success with the biggest names in the digital sector a sector where very few growth companies to date have dared to challenge the status quo or incumbent methodologies," said Dr. Hannu Verkasalo, CEO of Verto Analytics. "Legacy measurement companies are in a challenging spot. The market needs more timely, integrated and single-source media measurement services that track unduplicated audience reach and frequency. Existing audience measurement companies have yet to deliver adequate mobile app engagement metrics, mcommerce and ecommerce conversion models, path-to-purchase analyses, or in-app data all of which mobile-centric publishers need in order to run their businesses better. Verto is here to address this global challenge, and provide the next-generation standard for media measurement across all platforms." About Verto Analytics Verto Analytics provides a single-source audience measurement solution for monitoring the complex behavior of today's consumer on every device, app and platform they use throughout the day. We provide data and insights that inform marketing, competitive intelligence, media buying, and product strategy and development. Backed by EQT Ventures, Conor Venture Partners and Open Ocean Capital, Verto is a privately held global company with offices in New York City, San Francisco, London and Espoo, Finland. Read our blog, follow us on Twitter, or learn more at http://www.vertoanalytics.com. All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Related Links http://www.vertoanalytics.com SOURCE Verto Analytics SCHLIEREN, Switzerland, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe access training for portal placement, fluoroscopic imaging, diagnostic tours, and therapeutic cases, all wrapped in a combination of an extremely realistic anatomic model and a high-fidelity virtual reality environment. VirtaMed introduces the ArthroS Hip Module at the EFORT Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, on 1-3 June. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151002/273548LOGO ) The hip is a very tight joint, surrounded by critical neurovascular structures, so finding the optimal access points for arthroscopic hip procedures is technically demanding. This takes a lot of practice, and most of the training is still done either on cadavers or live patients. "There's really no reason for patients to suffer our learning curves when there's technology that can replace that", states Dr. Robert Pedowitz, orthopedic surgeon and VirtaMed adviser. VirtaMed's new hip arthroscopy simulator features various diagnostic and therapeutic cases, but the tool has been developed with a special focus on access training: the anatomic model looks, feels and behaves like a real hip, so trainees can palpate the bony landmarks or manipulate the joint to find their way. Thanks to the virtual reality interface, surgeons in training will also learn to use fluoroscopic imaging in a safe, radiation free environment. The new hip module will be a part of the VirtaMed ArthroS simulator; previous modules include knee and shoulder, as well as the FAST module for basic skills training. Switching between these modules is easy and the simulator platform is also compatible with VirtaMed products for urological and gynecological training. Like all VirtaMed simulators, the ArthroS Hip Module also features original tools, numerous different patient cases, and a fully customizable course structure for independent proficiency-based learning. Watch the video about VirtaMed ArthroS Hip Module: http://www.virtamed.com/hipmodule About VirtaMed VirtaMed is a Swiss company with an interdisciplinary background in medicine and engineering. Our mission is to develop state-of-the-art training tools for endoscopic surgery with the highest possible realism, all with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of patient care. VirtaMed's virtual reality simulators provide instructional teaching and training of different diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic interventions in orthopedics, gynecology, and urology. We have also created customized simulators for medical associations and industry. SOURCE VirtaMed AG PORTLAND, Oregon, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report by Allied Market Research, titled, "World Biofuel Additives Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015-2022", the biofuel additives market is projected to reach $12,560 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 15.3% from 2016 to 2022. The detergents & dispersants segment held about one-third of the total market in 2015. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140911/647229 ) To know more about the report, visit the website at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/biofuel-additives-market Additives are added to address the problems encountered by biofuels that include corroded fuel systems, enhanced fuel foaming, and increased wax formation at lower temperature. They are added during different stages of the product's lifecycle, such as at refineries, during transit, at terminals, and at the end user stage. The biofuel additives market has grown tremendously in the recent past due to increase in acceptance and performance of first and second generation biofuels globally. Second generation fuels are at early commercial stage, with major existence in the U.S. and Europe. The factors that drive the biofuel additives market are growing biofuel adoption due to decreasing dependency on the oil producing nations, availability of renewable feedstocks, and favorable government policies. Several other measures, in the form of vehicle emission directives, taken by the European policy makers in consultation with the car manufacturers and oil companies to enhance the air quality also drive the growth of this market. However, the expensive nature of biofuel additives may hamper the market growth during the analysis period. In the year 2015, the detergents & dispersants segment occupied major share of the overall biofuel additives market and is expected to maintain its lead throughout the analysis period. This is because detergents & dispersants prevent the formation of vehicle deposits by casing the surface of the combustion chamber and the fuel supply system. Better combustion, increased drivability, decreased emission, and smoother fuel injection are several advantages presented by the addition of detergents & dispersants. Owing to which, governing bodies have mandated the addition of detergents & dispersants in biofuels. Key findings of the study Corrosion inhibitor additives is the fastest growing segment during the analysis period. North America is expected to lead the market throughout 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.3%, in terms of volume, during 2016 and 2022. is expected to lead the market throughout 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.3%, in terms of volume, during 2016 and 2022. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to surpass Europe , in terms of volume, by the end 2022. region is expected to surpass , in terms of volume, by the end 2022. Germany occupied one-fourth of the total European biofuel additives market in 2015. occupied one-fourth of the total European biofuel additives market in 2015. Bioethanol application occupied more than half of the overall biofuel additives market and is expected to maintain its lead throughout the analysis period. North America and LAMEA collectively accounted for two-thirds of the total biofuel additives market in 2015, and are expected to maintain their lead position throughout the forecast period. This was due to higher production and consumption of biofuels in these region. However, Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing segment, after North America, during the forecast period. The major companies profiled in the report include, The Lubrizol Corporation, Fuel Quality Services, Inc., Chemiphase Ltd., Clariant AG, Afton Chemical, E-ZOIL, Eastman Chemical Company, Evonik Industries AG, Chevron Oronite Company LLC, and Biofuel Systems Group Ltd. View all reports related to materials and chemicals at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/materials-&-chemicals-market-report About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: Sona Padmanabhan 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Int'l: +1 (503) 505-6949 Toll Free: + 1-800-792-5285 (U.S. & Canada) E-mail: sales@alliedmarketresearch.com Blog: https://blog.alliedmarketresearch.com/materials-&-chemicals SOURCE Allied Market Research PORTLAND, Oregon, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report published by Allied Market Research titled, "World Hydrogel Market-Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015 - 2022," projects that the world hydrogel market would reach $27.2 billion by 2022, registering a CAGR of 6.3% from 2016 to 2022. The hydrogel contact lenses and hygiene products segments constitute about three-fourths share in the world hydrogel market and are expected to be maintain this trend during the forecast period. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140911/647229 ) To know more about the report, visit the website at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/hydrogel-market Success of super absorbent polymers in hygiene and wound care products, growing use of contact lenses and availability of numerous chemistries and formulations are the major factors driving the market growth. The use of hydrogels in wound care is anticipated to increase rapidly, owing to benefits such as convenience of use, water retention efficiency, and improved time efficiency during medical procedures and wound closure. Increasing awareness about the available hydrogel formulations have stimulated product-focused R&D investment to develop new hydrogel products, which is anticipated to drive the world hydrogel market during the forecast period. However, high costs associated with complex production process and potential environment hazards from disposable synthetic hydrogel products are the major restraining factors for the growth of world hydrogel market. The polyacrylamide hydrogel segment is anticipated to grow rapidly during the forecast period on account of the increased adoption of disposable sanitary products in the market. Silicone-modified hydrogels (SiH) segment would continue to dominate the market as they are mainly used in the production of daily disposable soft contact lenses. However, there are ongoing research activities conducted by contact lens producers to develop alternative products, owing to the toxicity concerns associated with silicone-modified hydrogels, thus would experience slower growth rates. Impregnated gauze is projected to be the fastest growing product segment, owing to increased awareness about products and competitive pricing offered by key market players, such as 3M Company, as compared to that of traditional wound care products. Key findings of the study: In 2015, contact lenses and hygiene products segments jointly accounted for about three-fourths share of the world hydrogel market. Contact lenses segment is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2016 to 2022. Wound care segment is projected to be the fastest growing end user segment, registering a CAGR of 7.9% from 2016 to 2022. Synthetic raw material-based hydrogels segment is poised to continue to lead the hydrogel market throughout the forecast period. In 2015, polyacrylate and silicone-modified hydrogel segment together accounted for around half of the world hydrogel market share. Semi-crystalline hydrogels segment constitutes a major share of the market. Polyacrylamide is anticipated to emerge as the fastest growing segment during the forecast period. Other significant chemistries currently in use include polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), gelatin, and other polysaccharides. Geographically, North America, led by the U.S., dominated the hydrogel market in 2015 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of about 7% from 2016 to 2022, due to increasing adoption of hydrogel products for hygiene products, disposable soft contact lenses, and wound care products. The agriculture sector is forecast to be the most promising end user for hydrogel based on controlled release and water retention technologies. View U.S Hydrogel Market Report at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/US-hydrogel-dressing-market Ongoing research and development activities have been focused on the use of smart hydrogels (stimuli responsive) in drug delivery system, as injectable materials, in bone reconstruction, and on fast stimuli responsive hydrogels. In addition, numerous industry-focused tests have been conducted in order to develop hydrogels for novel applications such as water retention agents in the agriculture sector, as delivery vehicles for crop protection chemicals, in water purification, and as fire-fighting gels. The major market players profiled in this report include 3M Company, Smith & Nephew plc, ConvaTec Inc., Alliqua Biomedical, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Procyon Corp, BSN Medical GmbH, HB Fuller Company, Altergon Italia, AMBU, and The Cooper Companies. View all reports related to healthcare at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/life-sciences/Healthcare-market-report About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: Sona Padmanabhan 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Int'l: +1 (503) 505-6949 Toll Free: + 1-800-792-5285 (U.S. & Canada) E-mail: sales@alliedmarketresearch.com Blog: https://blog.alliedmarketresearch.com/life-sciences SOURCE Allied Market Research PRAGUE, Czech Republic, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The 55th Annual Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG) conference came to a successful conclusion on May 28, 2016 in Prague. Medical investment and hospital management company XKmed served as a silver sponsor of the conference, the only supporting company from China that was present. The conference assembled various medical experts from across the world to share technical and clinical results about proton therapy for pediatric oncology, head and neck neoplasm, breast cancer and central nervous system neoplasms. At the same time, the study of biology, adaptive proton therapy, image-guided proton therapy and dosimetry were also introduced to the audience. The conference served as an ideal platform for Chinese medical institutions and experts to showcase the advances in Chinese medical science, including "Made in China" particle therapy equipment, "Invested in China", which refers to international medical companies with Chinese capital investment, Chinese proton heavy ion clinic treatment, and other cutting-edge medical technologies. Delegates from Shanghai Proton Heavy Ion Hospital, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, XKmed and other Chinese medical institutions attended to the conference, in addition to various Chinese radiation experts. A representative from Shanghai Proton Heavy Ion Hospital shared the results from an academic study of nasopharyngeal carcinoma treatment, and also demonstrated the achievement of the clinic's treatment. Among the exhibitors, the proportion of Chinese capital investment holding foreign companies was greater than in previous years, with XKmed CEO, Mr. Gu Xin commenting, "This is just the beginning of 'China Power.''' About PTCOG The Particle Therapy Co-operative Group is a non-profit organisation for those interested in proton, light ion and heavy charged particle radiotherapy. PTCOG is an annual medical conference, which in the past four years has been held in Japan, the United States, Korea and Germany. About XKmed: Founded in 2009, XKmed is a specialized organisation engaging in the fields of medical investment and hospital operational management. In addition, XKmed concentrates its resources on sectors such as Proton/ Heavy Ion Therapy, early cancer detection/screening, and cancer recurrence treatment. Meanwhile, XKmed has developed two significant medical journey brands named "Journey to regain life & Journey to embrace health." SOURCE XKmed "The yellow #32 Marmon Wasp is arguably one of the best known race cars in America," said Mark Gessler, President of the Historic Vehicle Association. "The 1911 race was the inauguration of a single, large-scale event designed to attract widespread attention from both American and European racing teams and manufacturers. It proved to be a successful event, immediately establishing itself both as the premier motorsports competition in the nation, and one of the most prestigious in the world." Organization and Funding: The documentation of the Marmon Wasp on the National Historic Vehicle Register is being organized by the Historic Vehicle Association and underwritten by Hagerty & Shell (including their Pennzoil and Quaker State brands). "Pennzoil has a long and storied history in Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 dating back to the 1930s with Russell Snowberger. Fast forward to the 1980s, Pennzoil was the oil used by the team of Johnny Rutherford and Rick Mears, the same oil you could buy right off the shelf even then," said Shell Lubricants Don Moser. "As the Indianapolis 500 celebrates its 100 year anniversary, we are proud to continue to honor the history of this storied series and celebrate the first win with the Marmon Wasp." 5 Facts You Will Want to Know About the First Winner, the Marmon Wasp https://centigrade.egnyte.com/dl/xr9HwiBmU6 (Photo courtesy of HVA - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen, gettyimages May 29, 2016) 5. Luxury Performance Initially avoiding the trend set by Ford for low-priced, high-volume cars, Marmon focused squarely on the high-end market with an eye on speed. Early marketing included hiring Helen Keller as a spokeswoman, fielding cars in races around the country - where Ray Harroun won over forty-one races in 1910, and sending a 1916 Model 34 across country in six days breaking the previous record held by Cannon Ball Baker. Their production cars gained a reputation as reliable and fast upscale automobiles. Marmon, like its luxury competitors, couldn't survive the Great Depression, however. Despite introducing a lower cost car in the late 1920s, the company built its last automobile the sixteen cylinder Series 16 - in 1933. https://centigrade.egnyte.com/dl/v2WcKpVIR0 (Photo courtesy of HVA - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen, gettyimages May 29, 2016) 4. Factory Hot Rod Ray Harroun, an engineer for the Marmon Motor Car Company, designed the six-cylinder Marmon Wasp from stock Marmon engine components, adding two cylinders to the production Model 32 engine on which it was based. The Marmon, originally dubbed "Yellow Jacket" by the media and later shortened to "Wasp," was built with a cowled cockpit and a long pointed tail to reduce air drag, and adorned with a yellow and black paint scheme. The car also featured another important innovation the rear view mirror. Ray Harroun was the first driver to race without a riding mechanic to watch for cars from behind and it is believed that the Marmon was the first car equipped with this vital piece of equipment. https://centigrade.egnyte.com/dl/Q3dtahCiRn (Photo courtesy of HVA - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen, gettyimages May 29, 2016) 3. Must Drive 75 - The 1911 International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race Grid Out of the 46 entries, only 40 were able to achieve the 75 mph along the quarter-mile straight required in order to qualify. Cars started based on their entry date (also their car number) rather than qualifying time. Joining Harroun for the historic rolling start were racing legends such as Ralph de Palma in a Simplex, Bob Burman in a Benz and runner up Ralph Mulford in a Lozier. https://centigrade.egnyte.com/dl/3GBDwcvdGn (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum) 2. One and Done - Ray Harroun and the Marmon Wasp started in row 6 in the 28th position. He completed the 500-mile race in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds with an average speed of 74.49 mph. Harroun, preferring his engineering career over that of a motorsports celebrity risking life and limb never raced again. Marmon likewise retired from official competition, content with the boost in sales provided by the 1911 victory. https://centigrade.egnyte.com/dl/v3Us4oBHhV (Photo courtesy of HVA - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen, gettyimages May 29, 2016) 1. Birth of a Legend The inaugural Indy 500 made an indelible mark on international motor racing, quickly becoming one of the premier motorsports competitions in the world. Despite a few off years due to WWI and WWII, the race has been run continuously since 1911. This year marked the 100th running of what has become the largest single day motorsports spectator event in the world. Click here for Marmon Wasp video: HVA Marmon Wasp Video Click here for Marmon Wasp Photos: HVA Marmon Wasp Photos About the Historic Vehicle Association The HVA is dedicated to preserving and sharing America's automotive heritage. In 2014, the HVA established the National Historic Vehicle Register. Working with the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Heritage Documentation Programs and Library of Congress, their aim is to document historically significant automobiles in America's past. The HVA is supported by over 400,000 individual historic vehicle owners, key stakeholders and corporations such as Shell (including their Pennzoil and Quaker State brands), Hagerty, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, as well as individual benefactors. Please visit: historicvehicle.org About Shell Lubricants The term 'Shell Lubricants' collectively refers to the companies of Royal Dutch Shell plc that are engaged in the lubricants business. Shell Lubricants companies lead the lubricants industry, supplying more than 12 percent of global lubricants volume. * The companies manufacture and blend products for use in consumer, heavy industrial and commercial transport applications. The Shell Lubricants portfolio of top-quality brands includes Pennzoil, Quaker State, FormulaShell, Shell TELLUS, Shell RIMULA, Shell ROTELLA T, Shell SPIRAX and Jiffy Lube. *Kline & Company, "Global Lubricants Industry July 2015: Market Analysis and Assessment." Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373705 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160518/369280LOGO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160518/369297LOGO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160518/369303LOGO SOURCE Historic Vehicle Association Related Links http://historicvehicle.org LAKE FOREST, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 1031 Crowdfunding, LLC announced today that the Company has engaged Monarch Bay Securities, LLC to act as it's new broker dealer and provide broker dealer services for its initiative to sponsor Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) for 1031 exchange investors. As co-sponsors, 1031 Crowdfunding and Monarch Bay will work together to offer high value DST investments to 1031 exchange investors. Both companies bring extensive experience to their individual areas of expertise. For 1031 Crowdfunding that is the management of the real estate and investor service aspects of the funds, and for Monarch Bay Securities that is the management and compliance of the securities aspects of the funds. "We want to expand our business in order to co-sponsor DST offerings for 1031 exchange investors and believe that Monarch Bay Securities can help us do that," said 1031 Crowdfunding Founder and CEO, Edward Fernandez. "Their integrity and character is a reflection of their track record as a broker dealer. In addition to that they are always forward thinking and have an entrepreneur-type spirit when it comes to a company. They are always looking for the latest and greatest as far as opportunities are concerned." Monarch Bay CEO and CCO, Keith Moore, is excited for the opportunity to open a retail channel for 1031 exchange investors. "The market 1031 Crowdfunding serves is continuing to grow, and they have a platform, a process and an investor base that will meet the needs of the market," said Moore. "We see a lot of transactions and a lot of platforms. It is the rare platform that we see that has the vision and the team that can implement that vision. The problem with most platforms is that they are not financiers. 1031 Crowdfunding is not only that, but they are marketing experts. They are the rare combination of platforms that has all of the requisites to be successful." Monarch Bay Securities (member FINRA/SIPC) is an investment banking firm that provides a full array of corporate finance, third party research, and sales and trading, to a diversified client base that includes fast-growing companies, companies facing financial or other challenges, financial institutions, and high net worth clients. For more information on Monarch Bay Securities visit www.mbsecurities.com. For more information on 1031 Crowdfunding visit www.1031Crowdfunding.com or call (844) 533-1031. About 1031 Crowdfunding, LLC 1031 Crowdfunding provides a range of quality properties for investors seeking a 1031 exchange through a Delaware Statutory Trust. With a compliant online investment platform, investors research opportunities, make investments with ease, and receive monthly updates. 1031 Crowdfunding was founded by Edward Fernandez along with Alfred Pizzurro, Marcus Kurschat, William Erickson and Tim Barrett, aggregating 120 years of their combined experience in the securities and real estate markets. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com. SOURCE 1031 Crowdfunding, LLC Related Links http://www.1031Crowdfunding.com CALEDONIA, Mich., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Foremost Insurance, a member of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, and provider of the AARP Motorcycle and Mobile Home Insurance Programs, is pleased to announce the renewal of these programs for another five-year term, providing consumers across the country the opportunity to continue enjoying the unique benefits afforded through these exceptional programs. "The renewal of these programs for another five years is a big win for Foremost and our customers across the nation who will continue receiving industry-leading coverage options for their motorcycles and mobile homes," said Steve Boshoven, president of Foremost. "This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to serving these important consumer segments." The AARP Mobile Home Insurance Program from Foremost has been in effect for more than 25 years while the AARP Motorcycle Insurance Program has been available to consumers for more than 10 years. Customers of the AARP Mobile Home Insurance Program appreciate these benefits: Superior, specialized coverage Lifetime Continuation of their policy Knowledgeable claim service from mobile home professionals The AARP Motorcycle Insurance Program from Foremost offers members: Diminishing Deductible & First Accident Waiver Coverage for optional equipment and safety apparel Towing and Roadside Assistance just for motorcycles "Foremost provides AARP members a wide range of coverages and features through the AARP Motorcycle and Mobile Home Insurance Programs from Foremost," said Mitch Stevens, senior vice president, financial products and services, AARP Services Inc. "We're pleased to renew this relationship, which is well suited for many of our members and the 50+ population." To learn more about the AARP Motorcycle and Mobile Home Insurance Programs from Foremost, visit AARPForemost.com. About Foremost A member of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, Foremost Insurance Group ("Foremost") has been a leader in personal lines insurance since 1952. Foremost is headquartered in Caledonia, Michigan. "Farmers Insurance" and "Farmers" are trade names for a group of affiliated insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes and small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services and products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with over 19 million individual policies, across all 50 states, through the efforts of more than 48,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 21,000 employees. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest of the three primary insurance insurers that make up Farmers Insurance, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2015 Fortune 500 list. For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter and Instagram, @WeAreFarmers, or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance. About AARP Services, Inc. AARP Services, Inc., founded in 1999, is a wholly-owned taxable subsidiary of AARP. AARP Services manages the provider relationships for and performs quality control oversight of the wide range of products and services that carry the AARP name and are made available by independent providers as benefits to AARP's millions of members. The provider offers currently span health products, financial products, travel and leisure products, and life event services. Specific products include Medicare supplemental insurance; credit cards, auto and home, mobile home and motorcycle insurance, life insurance and annuities; member discounts on rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and lodging; special offers on technology and gifts; pharmacy services and legal services. AARP Services also engages in new product development activities for AARP and provides certain consulting services to outside companies. About AARP AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Espanol, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org. Contact: Foremost/Farmers Insurance Media Relations 818-965-0007 [email protected] SOURCE Foremost Insurance Group "Innovation tends to be strongest in markets with multiple companies vying for consumer preference," says Claes Fornell, founder and Chairman of ACSI. "There are numerous wireless carriers and plenty of different cell phones to choose from. The same is not true for pay TV and ISPs, where consumers are usually beholden to a duopoly." Subscription TV: Nowhere To Go But Up A year after suffering the two largest year-over-year drops in satisfaction, Comcast and Time Warner Cable (TWC) bounce back. Despite the gains, both companies remain among the weakest companies tracked by the ACSI in customer satisfaction. At a score of 62, Comcast is tied with Suddenlink. TWC ties with Cox Communications at 59, while Mediacom, at 54, occupies last place in customer satisfaction among all companies in the ACSI, regardless of industry. At the industry level, subscription TV providers climb 3.2 percent to 65. The landscape will change when Charter Communications (-5% to 60) completes its acquisition of TWC and Bright House Networks (+2% to 66) to become the second largest cable company in the United States. The TWC brand will go away, and Bright House Networks customers will likely experience a deterioration in customer satisfaction, at least in the short term. "It's not too hard for cable companies to improve when their starting point is the cellar," says ACSI Managing Director David VanAmburg. "But for Charter Communications, its challenge will be to keep satisfaction levels from falling in the wake of a merger because ACSI data show that there tends to be a drop in customer satisfaction as companies combine operations and customer accounts." Fiber optic providers Verizon Fios (70) and AT&T U-verse (69) maintain their spots at the top of the industry. Satellite providers DIRECTV (68) and DISH Network (67) score above the industry average. Internet Service Providers: Same providers, same results ISPs manage to improve slightly, up 1.6 percent to an ACSI score of 64, but nevertheless remain the lowest-performing industry in the ACSI. Though many consumers are cutting the chord to subscription TV, most of them must still rely on the same companies for the high-speed Internet access required for streaming media platforms like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Video. "High-speed Internet access is a must-have in the digital age, making ISPs and wireless companies critical providers for the workplace as well as the home," says Fornell. "With relatively few options, consumers have limited means for punishing companies for poor service." Verizon Fios climbs 7 percent to 73 for the highest customer satisfaction ever for the industry. Cablevision Systems takes second place after a 13-percent gain to 69. Bright House Networks (+6% to 67) and Time Warner Cable (+14% to 66) outperform their future parent company Charter Communications, which scores 63 after an 11-percent bump. AT&T U-verse drops 7 percent to the industry average of 64, while Comcast adds 5 percent to 59. Three other providers are in the 50s. Cell Phones & Wireless Service: Apple Regains Top Spot; Big Gains for T-Mobile and Sprint Both wireless carriers and cell phone manufacturers notch higher in 2016. Wireless phone service improves by 1.4 percent to 71, while cell phone manufacturers are up 1.3 percent to 79. The uptick for wireless service is attributable to improvements for T-Mobile and Sprint, and a small rise for AT&T. T-Mobile posts a 6-percent increase to 74 for the highest score among the four national carriers. Sprint is most improved after surging 8 percent to 70. AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless tie at 71. "Now that contracts are becoming a historical relic, wireless companies are doing more to attract and retain customers in an environment where switching from one provider to another has never been easier," says VanAmburg. "The challenge for wireless carriers is finding a balance between cutting prices to attract new customers and investing in faster, more reliable network infrastructure to keep them." The group of smaller wireless companies are the ones with the highest customer satisfaction at a score of 77. Prepaid phone provider TracFone Wireless slips 3 percent to 75, but nevertheless remains at the top. Among cell phone makers, Apple rides its large-screen iPhones to the top of the industry after a 1 percent increase to 81. Samsung is alone in second place, holding at 80. Nearly 4 in 5 cell phones sold today are smartphones, and together Apple and Samsung own 70 percent of the smartphone market. Motorola slides 3 percent to 77, ahead of HTC (-3% to 75), and LG and Microsoft Mobile, which includes Nokia-branded phones, at 74. ACSI data on smartphone models shows that bigger is better when it comes to customer satisfaction. Samsung's "phablet" Galaxy Note5 gets the top mark at 86, besting Apple's iPhone 6s Plus at 85. The largest-screen iPhones do better than the smaller models of the same generation. Nearly all of the top-rated smartphones in the study are made by Apple or Samsung, with Motorola's Moto G as the lone exception. "The cell phone market has been reduced to a two-horse race between Apple and Samsung, with everyone else fighting for scraps," says VanAmburg. "Although some other smartphones get solid reviews from media, none have received the high marks that customers give Apple and Samsung." Fixed-Line Phone: VoIP Provider Vonage Pulls Ahead Customer satisfaction with fixed-line telephone service inches up 1.4 percent to 70 as dissatisfied customers defect, leaving a stalwart customer base whose satisfaction does not change much. VoIP-based calls have become the dominant mode of landline-based communication, and fixed-line operators face a loss of long-distance telephone business to cell phones or other IP-based modes of communication like Skype or Apple's FaceTime. Vonage, a VoIP provider, surges 7 percent for a solid lead at 78. Unlike its competitors, Vonage is an Over-the-Top landline-based service provider that does not need to maintain network infrastructure and may therefore direct more resources to customer service. Companies that provide both cable and Internet services in addition to landline telephone have less flexibility to do the same and trail far behind. The full report is available for free download at http://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/customer-satisfaction-reports/reports-2016/acsi-telecommunications-report-2016. Follow the ACSI on Twitter at @theACSI and Like us on Facebook. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC. About ACSI The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a national economic indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of products and services available to household consumers in the United States. The ACSI uses data from interviews with roughly 70,000 customers annually as inputs to an econometric model for analyzing customer satisfaction with more than 300 companies in 43 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of federal and local government agencies. ACSI results are released throughout the year, with all measures reported on a scale of 0 to 100. ACSI data have proven to be strongly related to a number of essential indicators of micro and macroeconomic performance. For example, firms with higher levels of customer satisfaction tend to have higher earnings and stock returns relative to competitors. Stock portfolios based on companies that show strong performance in ACSI deliver excess returns in up markets as well as down markets. At the macro level, customer satisfaction has been shown to be predictive of both consumer spending and GDP growth. ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of the University of Michigan, licensed worldwide exclusively to American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC with the right to sublicense. FOR MORE INFORMATION Chaat Butsunturn, 415-391-7900 x1214 [email protected] OR Amanda Piasecki, 202-535-7800 x1114 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373812-INFO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140822/138938 SOURCE American Customer Satisfaction Index Related Links http://www.theacsi.org BOSTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Actifio, the copy data virtualization company, today announced seven internal promotions, alongside four senior hires joining the Actifio team. The new additions to the team bring a wealth of collective management experience to Actifio, building on the company's continued worldwide growth. Seven current Actifians also stepped into new management roles, in recognition of their proven leadership and extraordinary results. The newly promoted team members are: Kevin Hilson , Regional Vice President, Northeast , Regional Vice President, Northeast Ed Mullarkey , Senior Director, Global Services , Senior Director, Global Services Chad Cavanaugh , Director of Revenue Accounting , Director of Revenue Accounting Sean Burkardt , Director of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) , Director of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Ratan Tipirneni , SVP, Cloud Business Development , SVP, Cloud Business Development Pervez Sikora , VP, Global Services and Customer Success , VP, Global Services and Customer Success Dylan Locsin , Senior Director of Product Marketing The new team members include: Charles Godshall , as Vice President of Solution Architecture and Business Development , as Vice President of Solution Architecture and Business Development Michael Peabody , Director of Customer Success Engineering , Director of Customer Success Engineering Peter Ross , Vice President of Marketing , Vice President of Marketing Andrew Tai , Director of DevOps and Labs "Our people are the foundation of our business," said Ash Ashutosh, Actifio Founder & CEO. "Our mission has been and remains delivering extraordinary business results to our customers. While our technology is what makes that possible, it's our people who make it happen - day-in and day-out, for every customer, every time. I am incredibly proud to be a part of this extraordinary team, and thrilled to see the wave of new people and opportunities enabled by our continued global expansion." Kevin Hilson has risen quickly within Actifio's sales organization, having started Actifio's inside sales organization in 2011. Within two years, Kevin was promoted to Channel Sales Manager, Northeast, and has continued up the Sales ranks ever since. In his new role, Kevin is responsible for Northeast regional sales, as the Regional Vice President. Since his start at Actifio in 2013, Ed Mullarkey was the professional services team's go-to leader for many of Actifio's key customer deployments. Ed founded the Project Management Organization at Actifio and helped drive a services transformation initiative, enabling greater organizational scale. Now, as Senior Director, Ed will lead the Services organization at Actifio. Chad Cavanaugh and Sean Burkardt have played critical roles at Actifio, helping to scale the finance organization and its processes to support Actifio's growth. Now Director of Revenue Accounting, Chad joined Actifio from Deloitte & Touche, where he was a Manager of M&A Transaction Services, and previously a Manager of Assurance Services. Sean Burkardt was promoted to Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, and in that role, directs company-wide budgeting and forecasting processes. Sean joined Actifio from J.P. Morgan, where he was an Investment Banking Associate, and he previously served as a Financial Analyst at EMC. With Actifio since June 2014, Ratan Tipirneni takes on the role of SVP Cloud Business Development, having served as SVP of Customer Success & Services for two years. In his new role, Ratan is charged with accelerating Actifio's engagement with the emerging landscape of Cloud vendors and leaders. Pervez Sikora was promoted to VP, Global Services and Customer Success, having also joined the company in 2014. As VP of Global Services and Customer Success, Pervez will be responsible for bringing efficiency and analysis-driven execution across the CSE, CSM and Services teams to continue revenue growth. Dylan Locsin has been promoted to Senior Director of Product Marketing. Dylan joined Actifio in 2014 to lead customer programs, including building engagement with installed base and managed service provider customers. Dylan came to Actifio from Dell, where he had supported Dell's rapid growth of the EqualLogic storage business in key Product Management, Technical Marketing and Product Marketing roles following the acquisition and integration of EqualLogic by Dell. Previously, Dylan worked with EqualLogic, NetScout and numerous other startups. Charles Godshall previously worked at IBM as the Global Vice President of Technical Sales for Storage and Software Defined Storage. Charles joined IBM in 2008 to help launch the acquisition of XIV, led the cross-brand storage technical team in Eastern North America, and then helped lead, build, and integrate IBM's flash acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. Charles is now responsible for Actifio's North American Solution Architecture team, their presales activities, and helping to drive global business development and alliances. Michael Peabody brings strong customer support leadership for the Actifio team. A tech industry veteran, he brings more than 20 years of senior management experience in building sustainable and scalable support organizations at companies such as Exagrid, EMC and Sun Microsystems. In his role as Director of Customer Success Engineering (CSE), Michael's focus will be to continue the strong momentum that Actifio has built within the CSE organization and to scale out the support delivery model for Actifio's growing customer base. Peter Ross brings over 15 years of first-hand experience as a technology marketer to his role as Vice President of Marketing. Previously, Peter was Vice President of Corporate Marketing at TechTarget where his responsibilities included managing the company's brand, market research, demand generation efforts, public relations and global customer event series. Prior to that, Peter held marketing leadership roles at Xiotech and EMC. At Actifio, Peter leads the company's digital and live event demand generation programs, customer and community development, along with brand development including public relations and analyst relations. Andrew Tai brings more than 15 years of experience in the software development industry, where he has developed extensive technical knowledge across a broad array of various technologies. At Actifio, Andrew will lead as the Director of DevOps and Labs. For more information on Actifio, and potential career opportunities, please visit Actifio.com. About Actifio Actifio virtualizes the data that's the lifeblood of businesses in more than 30 countries around the world. Its Virtual Data Pipeline technology enables businesses to protect, access, and move their data faster, more efficiently, and more simply by decoupling data from physical storage, much the same way a hypervisor decouples compute from physical servers. For enterprise-class backup modernization, self-serve instant data access, or service provider business transformation, Actifio is the first and only choice for radically simple copy data virtualization. For more, visit Actifio.com or follow us on Twitter @Actifio. CONTACT: Meredith Kelly, (484) 888-5798, [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160107/320093LOGO SOURCE Actifio Related Links http://www.actifio.com SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AffordableSchools.net (http://www.affordableschools.net) -- a college rankings site centering on unique and affordable academic programs -- announced today that it had released its newest college rankings list, featuring the 25 Most Affordable Bachelor's-Granting Historically Black Colleges/ Universities. (http://affordableschools.net/25-affordable-bachelors-granting-historically-black-colleges-universities/) The top three schools on this AffordableSchools.net's rankings list are: (1) Elizabeth City State University (Elizabeth City, North Carolina); (2) Clinton College (Rock Hill, South Carolina); (3) Langston University (Langston, Oklahoma). The complete list of all 25 ranked U.S. colleges and universities, in alphabetical order, comprises: Bluefield State College ( Bluefield, West Virginia ) ( ) Central State University ( Wilberforce, Ohio ) ( ) Clinton College ( Rock Hill, South Carolina ) ( ) Coppin State University ( Baltimore, Maryland ) ) Elizabeth City State University ( Elizabeth City, North Carolina ) ( ) Fayetteville State University ( Fayetteville, North Carolina ) ( ) Harris-Stowe State University ( Saint Louis, Missouri ) ) Jackson State University ( Jackson, Mississippi ) ( ) Kentucky State University ( Frankfort, Kentucky ) ( ) Langston University ( Langston, Oklahoma ) ( ) Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Missouri) Mississippi Valley State University ( Itta Bena, Mississippi ) ( ) North Carolina A & T State University ( Greensboro, North Carolina ) ( ) North Carolina Central University ( Durham, North Carolina ) ( ) Prairie View A & M University ( Prairie View, Texas ) ( ) Rust College ( Holly Springs, Mississippi ) ( ) Savannah State University ( Savannah, Georgia ) ( ) Selma University ( Selma, Alabama ) ( ) Southern University at New Orleans ( New Orleans, Louisiana ) ( ) Talladega College ( Talladega, Alabama ) ( ) Tennessee State University ( Nashville, Tennessee ) ( ) Tougaloo College ( Tougaloo, Mississippi ) ( ) University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff ( Pine Bluff, Arkansas ) ( ) West Virginia State University ( Institute, West Virginia ) ( ) Winston-Salem State University ( Winston-Salem, North Carolina ) "Recently, we looked at the largest (by student population) of the HBCU colleges in the United States, as well as the importance of this niche of bachelor's colleges and their contributions to higher education," said Raj Dash, the article's lead researcher. "In this second in this niche series, we compare the 25 most affordable of 84 bachelor's granting HBCUs considered, based on average yearly net price. "For comparison, we've also summarized the net price and tuition ranges of all 84 candidate colleges, should a prospective student want to consider an HBCU other than the 25 ranked. For those students seeking financial aid, each ranked college in this list provides not only the school totals for grants/ scholarships and federal student loans, but also the number of undergrads receiving aid, and the average dollar value of packages. "In addition to our standard discovery features (scrolling lists, data tables, per-school statistics dashboard, etc.), our innovative circular comparison chart has a few new 'tracks', increasing the ability to compare the entire set of ranked colleges on a variety of NCES data. This includes a track showing state code per school and membership in the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), and a second new track showing a financial aid heatmap for easy comparison. We hope that this and the rest of the HBCU niche rankings helps prospective students in finding colleges of interest to which they can apply." Rankings for this list were compiled with data from NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), a bureau of the Dept. of Education (http://nces.ed.gov/). We queried for HBCU institutions that grant bachelor's degrees, applied our standard data filters, and sorted the remaining 84 colleges by increasing average yearly net price. The most affordable 25 schools made this list, which is part of our ongoing series of "top 25" bachelor's colleges, exploring various niches. Similar niche rankings will be published at AffordableSchools (http://www.affordableschools.net) -- an independent college search and rankings site with a focus on affordable colleges and programs -- on a regular basis. Raj Kumar Dash (Email) Managing Editor Skype phone #: 310-929-7240 (voicemail only) Contact form: http://affordableschools.net/contact/ SOURCE AffordableSchools.net Related Links http://affordableschools.net "You know that file exists, but you can't find it; we all experience these problems in this age of infobesity," said Gary A. Fowler, Co-Founder and CEO of Findo. "The average user has more than 500,000 emails, files, attachments, contacts and messages stored across a wide range of online and local devices." According to Findo research, 19% of respondents have had these problems because they have forgotten where they stored the file. Over 67% percent had these problems because they couldn't recall the right keyword (the name of that person, that company, etc.). "The ability to find information both online and locally is becoming extremely difficult for users," said Dr. David Yang, Co-Founder and Chairman of Findo. "Our estimates show that over 300 million of the total email and file searches have failed over the last 24 hours." Findo.io delivers three innovations that fundamentally change how users can access their data: multi-source searching, natural language processing, and messenger search bots. "You download Findo.io from the Apple Appstore, connect with one click all of your personal cloud locations (Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Gmail, Outlook, Laptop, Slack, etc.), and Findo's intelligent search assistant will find files, emails, attachments or contacts from one place," said Bill Reichert, Garage Technology Ventures and an advisor to Findo. Findo.io's proprietary AI technology can find a file even when the user can't recall the exact keyword. For example, when a user types "get last meeting recap from John," Findo will present all relevant meeting records. It extracts and builds relationships between elements such as phones, links, presentations, meeting recaps, agendas, locations, invoices, people, companies, etc. Findo will deliver the requested data very quickly using the relationships it has built between elements. Users can also search by description. Findo.io extracts entities and ontological elements and builds relationships between them. So if a user forgot the name of a person but remembers their profession and city, they can type, "find the phone number of the doctor from Boston." Findo will deliver the requested data very quickly using the relationships it has built between elements. "Findo's beta release is like a child, learning and growing, albeit a gifted child. Please don't expect it to know everything from day one, although by using it you will see the results," said Dr. David Yang. Findo is not only an assistant for a single person, but is also a powerful collaboration tool. Findo intelligent search bots are integrated into Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram and Skype, allowing users to work in the group more effectively, find information without leaving the chat, and share immediately right within the messenger. "We are at the right time at the right place. The world is changing; all consumer and professional communication is relocating to messengers," Fowler said. "Findo.io brings a unique way to deliver search results right into the messenger, so users can concentrate on their work without having to switch between applications." Findo, Inc. pays special attention to security: "Security is their highest priority," said Rick Orloff, an Advisory Board member of Findo, CSO of Code 42 Software, Inc., a provider of endpoint data protection and security for the enterprise, and former top security officer of Apple and eBay. The product is ready and available today at Findo.io. The mobile app can be found at Appstore. Contact Findo.io at +1 (650) 440-8969, [email protected] About Findo Findo.io is the intelligent search assistant for personal cloud, messenger and offline files which enables users to locate important information faster and more easily using natural language processing. A Delaware-registered corporation headquartered in Menlo Park, CA, Findo was co-founded by award-winning serial entrepreneurs Gary A. Fowler and David Yang. The Findo team has 16 engineers, AI scientists and managers, two PhDs, and nine filed patents. The list of supported search locations expands monthly. As of May 2016 Findo supports Slack, Skype, Facebook, Telegram, Dropbox, Gmail, Google Drive, Evernote, Exchange, Outlook, MacOS, Windows 10 and iOS. www.findo.io Contact: Gary Fowler +1 (650) 440-8969, [email protected] or [email protected]. About ABBYY ABBYY was founded by Dr. David Yang in 1989 while he was a university student. ABBYY is a leading global provider of AI, language-based and imaging technologies and solutions that help businesses to action information with over 1200 employees. The company sets the standard in content capture, automated recognition and innovative AI and language-based technologies that integrate across the information lifecycle. ABBYY technologies are licensed by some of the largest international enterprises and government organizations, as well as SMBs and individuals. The company maintains offices in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, Ukraine, and the United States. www.abbyy.com Media Contact: Margaret Pereira, +1 925-989-8109, [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160529/373233 SOURCE Findo.io Related Links http://www.findo.io CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced today that Brian Tessin will be joining the company as vice president, tax & chief tax counsel, reporting to Scott Tozier, chief financial officer. In this role, Tessin will be responsible for overall leadership of the company's global tax organization, including the design and implementation of a global tax policy and strategy. Tessin is a seasoned tax executive with over 23 years of industry and public accounting experience. He has been employed by Dow Corning Corporation for the last 19 years and serves as the company's corporate vice president, tax. Additionally, he has been heavily involved in the ownership restructuring transaction between The Dow Chemical Company and Corning Inc., which was announced earlier today, June 1, 2016. "We are pleased that Brian will be joining Albemarle's corporate finance team," said Tozier. "We are excited about the contribution his background and expertise will afford the company as we move forward." Tessin will join the company by September 2016 and succeed Richard Fishman, Albemarle's vice president, tax & chief tax counsel, who will retire at the end of this year. Expressing gratitude for Fishman's service, Tozier said, "During his 10 years of dedicated service, Rich made invaluable contributions to Albemarle's success, growth and shareholder value. His committed leadership of the tax and treasury organizations endeared him to both his team and the entire Albemarle family." About Albemarle Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is a premier specialty chemicals company with leading positions in attractive end markets around the world. With a broad customer reach and diverse end markets, Albemarle develops, manufactures and markets technologically advanced and high value added products, including lithium and lithium compounds, bromine and bromine derivatives, catalysts and surface treatment chemistries used in a wide range of applications including consumer electronics, flame retardants, metal processing, plastics, contemporary and alternative transportation vehicles, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, construction and custom chemistry services. Albemarle is focused on delivering differentiated, performance-based technologies that deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers. The Company employs approximately 6,900 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets it serves. "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111129/MM14279LOGO SOURCE Albemarle Corporation Related Links http://www.albemarle.com PASADENA, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) announced today that it has priced a public offering of $350,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 3.95% senior notes due 2027. RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BBVA Securities Inc., Mizuho Securities USA Inc., Capital One Securities, Inc, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc., Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC are acting as joint book-running managers in connection with the public offering, BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Evercore Group L.L.C., PNC Capital Markets LLC, Regions Securities LLC, Santander Investment Securities Inc. and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. are acting as senior co-managers in connection with the public offering, and Fifth Third Securities, Inc., JMP Securities LLC and The Huntington Investment Company are acting as co-managers in connection with the public offering. The notes were priced at 99.601% of the principal amount with a yield to maturity of 3.996%. The notes will be unsecured obligations of the Company and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P., an indirectly, 100% owned subsidiary of the Company. The closing of the sale of the notes is expected to occur on or about June 10, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for the reduction of the outstanding balance on its unsecured senior line of credit. The Company may then also borrow from time to time under its unsecured senior line of credit to provide funds for general working capital and other corporate purposes, which may include the reduction of the outstanding balances under its unsecured senior bank term loans, repayment of other debt and selective development, redevelopment or acquisition of properties. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. is an urban office REIT uniquely focused on world-class collaborative science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations. Alexandria pioneered this niche in 1994 and has since established a dominant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle Park. The notes will be offered pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3 that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's notes, nor shall there be any sale of the notes in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state. Copies of the prospectus supplement relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained by contacting: RBC Capital Markets, LLC, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281, telephone: 1-866-375-6829 or by emailing [email protected]; Barclays Capital Inc., 745 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, telephone: 1-888-603-5847; BBVA Securities Inc., 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor, New York, NY 10105, telephone: 1-800-422-8692; or Mizuho Securities USA Inc., 320 Park Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10022, Attn: Debt Capital Markets, telephone: 1-866-271-7403. This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's offering of notes and its intended use of the proceeds. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's present intent, beliefs or expectations, but forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by the Company's forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update this information. For more discussion relating to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the Company's forward-looking statements, and risks and uncertainties to the Company's business in general, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. SOURCE Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Related Links http://www.are.com PASADENA, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE) announced today that it is commencing an underwritten public offering, subject to market conditions, of senior notes. RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BBVA Securities Inc. and Mizuho Securities USA Inc. will act as joint book-running managers in connection with the public offering. The notes will be unsecured obligations of the Company and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P., an indirectly, 100% owned subsidiary of the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for the reduction of the outstanding balance on its unsecured senior line of credit. The Company may then also borrow from time to time under its unsecured senior line of credit to provide funds for general working capital and other corporate purposes, which may include the reduction of the outstanding balances under its unsecured senior bank term loans, repayment of other debt and selective development or redevelopment of properties. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. is an urban office REIT uniquely focused on world-class collaborative science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations. Alexandria pioneered this niche in 1994 and has since established a dominant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle Park. The notes will be offered pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3 that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's notes, nor shall there be any sale of the notes in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state. Copies of the prospectus supplement relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained by contacting: RBC Capital Markets, LLC, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281, telephone: 1-866-375-6829 or by emailing [email protected]; Barclays Capital Inc., 745 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, telephone: 1-888-603-5847; BBVA Securities Inc., 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor, New York, NY 10105, telephone: 1-800-422-8692; or Mizuho Securities USA Inc., 320 Park Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10022, Attn: Debt Capital Markets, telephone: 1-866-271-7403. This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's offering of notes and its intended use of the proceeds. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's present intent, beliefs or expectations, but forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by the Company's forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update this information. For more discussion relating to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the Company's forward-looking statements, and risks and uncertainties to the Company's business in general, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. SOURCE Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Related Links http://www.are.com ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WHAT: The American Diabetes Association's 76th Scientific Sessions, to be held June 10-14 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, is the world's largest scientific meeting focused on diabetes research, prevention and care. During the five-day meeting, attendees receive exclusive access to more than 2,500 original research presentations, participate in provocative and engaging exchanges with leading diabetes experts, and can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) or Continuing Education (CE) credits for educational sessions. The program is grouped into eight theme areas: Acute and Chronic Complications; Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Education and Exercise; Clinical Diabetes/Therapeutics; Epidemiology/Genetics; Immunology/Transplantation; Insulin Action/Molecular Metabolism; Integrated Physiology/Obesity; and Islet Biology/Insulin Secretion. WHO: The 2016 Scientific Sessions is expected to attract more than 16,000 attendees and offers researchers and health care professionals from around the world the opportunity to share ideas and learn about the significant advances in diabetes research, treatment and care. KEY SESSIONS: Margaret A. Powers, PhD, RD, CDE, President, Health Care & Education, will deliver her address on Saturday, June 11, and Desmond Schatz, MD, President, Medicine & Science, will present his address on Sunday, June 12. The Association's 2016 Scientific Achievement Awards and Lectures are: Barbara B. Kahn , MD, Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, the Association's highest honor. Kahn will deliver the Banting Medal Lecture, "Adipose Tissue, Inter-organ Communication, and the Path to T2D," on Sunday, June 12 . , MD, Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, the Association's highest honor. Kahn will deliver the Banting Medal Lecture, "Adipose Tissue, Inter-organ Communication, and the Path to T2D," on . Tamas L. Horvath , DVM, PhD, Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award (OSAA), His OSAA Lecture is titled "Hunger-promoting Hypothalmic Neurons Control System Metabolism and Drive Complex Behaviors and Longevity," and will be presented on Monday, June 13 . , DVM, PhD, Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award (OSAA), His OSAA Lecture is titled "Hunger-promoting Hypothalmic Neurons Control System Metabolism and Drive Complex Behaviors and Longevity," and will be presented on . Sheri R. Colberg-Ochs , PhD, FACSM, Outstanding Diabetes Educator, will present her Lecture, "From Froot Loops to FitnessMy Journey as an Educator and PWD," on Saturday, June 11 . , PhD, FACSM, Outstanding Diabetes Educator, will present her Lecture, "From Froot Loops to FitnessMy Journey as an Educator and PWD," on . Edward W. Gregg , PhD, Kelly West Award for Outstanding Achievement in Epidemiology, will deliver his Lecture, "The Changing Tides of the Diabetes EpidemicSmooth Sailing or Troubled Waters Ahead?" on Sunday, June 12 . ADDITIONAL INFO: The top eight abstracts of this year's Scientific Sessions will be presented on Tuesday, June 14, in the Presidents Oral Session. In total, the 2016 Scientific Sessions includes 378 abstracts in 50 oral sessions, 2,021 poster presentations including 59 moderated poster discussions, and 335 published-only abstracts. Additional scientific research will be presented during 110 Symposia and 9 Professional Interest Group sessions. The 76th Scientific Sessions also includes presence from more than 130 corporate and organizational exhibitors in nearly 100,000 square feet of exhibit space. MEDIA REGISTRATION: For more information about media registration policies and to apply for media registration, visit the Scientific Sessions Media Information: http://professional.diabetes.org/meetings/media ON-SITE MEDIA RESOURCES: The News Room in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will be open to registered media Friday, June 10 Monday, June 13, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT, and Tuesday, June 14, from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. CT. The Association will present a schedule of press conference to highlight the top research findings of the meeting. Advance press materials including the press conference schedule will be available to registered press by Monday, June 6. Remote access to the audio for the press conferences will not be available this year. Daily press information, and links to slides and photos from the press conferences will be sent to all registered press each day of the meeting. RESTRICTIONS: Embargo Policy All science being presented at the Association's 76th Scientific Sessions (this applies to all information included in the abstract supplement of Diabetes) is embargoed and remains confidential/not for public information or release until the conclusion of the scientific presentation at the 76th Scientific Sessions. All abstracts scheduled for oral presentation are embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation at the 76th Scientific Sessions. All abstracts presented as Posters in the Poster Hall or Publish-Only are embargoed until10 a.m. Central time, Saturday, June 11. The Embargo Policy applies to all abstracts regardless of whether information is obtained from another source. Failure to abide by the Embargo Policy may result in suspension of media credentials at the 76th Scientific Sessions as well as future meetings and may also impact the ability to receive advance press materials for future meetings. Please note: Abstracts will be available for review online under embargo one week before the meeting, on Friday, June 3 at 5 p.m. Eastern time. The early availability of the abstracts is for the sole purpose of assisting attendees in creating their itineraries for the meeting; all science remains confidential/not for public information until the conclusion of the presentation, and the Embargo Policy will be enforced. Photography and Video Capture Photography and videography is strictly prohibited of any sessions, speakers, hallways or signage. Photos or video may not be captured of the Exhibit Hall including the Posters. All photography and video capture is limited to the private interview rooms and press conferences. Please contact the Association Press Office ([email protected]) to reserve a private interview room (limit of three hours total per day, per news outlet; first come, first serve). For more information, consult the Guidelines for Press/Media Representatives . About the American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to Stop Diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, the Association's mission is to prevent and cure diabetes, and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit diabetes.org . Information from both of these sources is available in English and Spanish . Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141105/156803LOGO SOURCE American Diabetes Association Related Links http://www.diabetes.org Honda With balanced demand for Honda cars and light trucks, the Honda brand maintained its lead over last year's all-time record results. Year-to-date Honda brand sales are up 7.1 percent over 2015 results to 585,998 Honda cars and light trucks. May sales were down 2.9 percent to 133,547 units following a five-month stretch of year-over-year gains dating back to December 2015. The 10 th -generation Civic continues to lead the compact segment with its seventh straight month of year-over-year sales gains, up 2.7 percent to 35,396 in May. -generation Civic continues to lead the compact segment with its seventh straight month of year-over-year sales gains, up 2.7 percent to 35,396 in May. HR-V posted particularly strong May sales of 7,392 units, a 15.8 percent gain over last year as consumer awareness and supplies of the popular subcompact crossover continue to strengthen. On a daily selling rate basis, Honda saw positive results, with total sales up 5.2 percent and positive gains for Civic, up 11.2 percent; Accord up 6.9 percent; HR-V, up 25.5 percent; Odyssey, up 3.1 percent; and Pilot, up 3.6 percent. "We continue to see solid demand for Honda cars and light trucks, and all indicators point to a strong summer selling season for Honda," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. "With our balanced lineup and an all-new Ridgeline pickup and restyled and reengineered 2017 Accord Hybrid launching this summer, we remain bullish on our prospects for a third consecutive yearly sales record for the Honda brand." Acura Coming off a successful sell-down of the outgoing 2016 RDX SUV and facing regional shortfalls in inventories of the MDX seven-passenger SUV, Acura posted a 20.4 percent decline in May results on sales of 13,561 Acura cars and SUVs. "Inventory issues and a challenging market for luxury sedan sales took the wind out of our sails in May, but with the excitement of the NSX now coming to market and the restyled and significantly refreshed 2017 MDX arriving later this month we look to continue our growth this summer," said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of the Acura division. American Honda Vehicle Sales for May 2016 Month-to-Date Year-to-Date May 2016 May 2015 DSR** % Change MoM % Change May 2016 May 2015 DSR** % Change YoY % Change American Honda Total 147,108 154,593 3.1% -4.8% 653,640 618,604 6.5% 5.7% Total Car Sales 78,081 79,850 5.9% -2.2% 346,000 316,935 10.0% 9.2% Total Truck Sales 69,027 74,743 0.0% -7.6% 307,640 301,669 2.8% 2.0% Honda Total Car Sales 73,294 73,572 7.9% -0.4% 321,938 290,861 11.6% 10.7% Honda Total Truck Sales 60,253 63,979 2.0% -5.8% 264,060 256,183 3.9% 3.1% Acura Total Car Sales 4,787 6,278 -17.4% -23.7% 24,062 26,074 -7.0% -7.7% Acura Total Truck Sales 8,774 10,764 -11.7% -18.5% 43,580 45,486 -3.4% -4.2% Total Domestic Car Sales 72,355 79,217 -1.1% -8.7% 323,840 313,772 4.0% 3.2% Honda Division 67,696 73,182 0.2% -7.5% 300,395 288,701 4.9% 4.1% Acura Division 4,659 6,035 -16.4% -22.8% 23,445 25,071 -5.7% -6.5% Total Domestic Truck Sales 69,027 74,743 0.0% -7.6% 307,640 301,664 2.8% 2.0% Honda Division 60,253 63,979 2.0% -5.8% 264,060 256,178 3.9% 3.1% Acura Division 8,774 10,764 -11.7% -18.5% 43,580 45,486 -3.4% -4.2% Total Import Car Sales 5,726 633 880.0% 804.6% 22,160 3,163 606.2% 600.6% Honda Division 5,598 390 1,455.0% 1,335.4% 21,543 2,160 905.3% 897.4% Acura Division 128 243 -42.9% -47.3% 617 1,003 -38.0% -38.5% Total Import Truck Sales 0 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 5 -100.0% -100.0% Honda Division 0 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 5 -100.0% -100.0% Acura Division 0 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 0 0.0% 0.0% MODEL BREAKOUT BY DIVISION Honda Division Total 133,547 137,551 5.2% -2.9% 585,998 547,044 8.0% 7.1% * ACCORD 31,949 32,373 6.9% -1.3% 140,548 128,269 10.4% 9.6% * CIVIC 35,396 34,472 11.2% 2.7% 158,030 129,574 22.9% 22.0% CR-Z 234 246 3.0% -4.9% 970 1,088 -10.1% -10.8% * FIT 5,706 6,342 -2.5% -10.0% 22,351 30,965 -27.2% -27.8% INSIGHT 9 139 -93.0% -93.5% 39 965 -95.9% -96.0% CROSSTOUR 42 887 -94.9% -95.3% 680 3,759 -81.8% -81.9% * CR-V 29,359 32,090 -0.9% -8.5% 129,460 134,669 -3.1% -3.9% HR-V 7,392 6,381 25.5% 15.8% 29,876 6,381 371.9% 368.2% ODYSSEY 12,212 12,835 3.1% -4.9% 52,698 51,015 4.1% 3.3% PILOT 11,248 11,760 3.6% -4.4% 51,344 59,863 -13.6% -14.2% RIDGELINE 0 26 -100.0% -100.0% 2 496 -99.6% -99.6% *** Memo: Accord FHEV 15 1,463 -98.9% -99.0% 234 5,166 -95.4% -95.5% Memo: Accord PHEV 0 5 -100.0% -100.0% 0 55 -100.0% -100.0% Memo: Civic Hybrid 83 458 -80.4% -81.9% 645 1,873 -65.3% -65.6% Memo: Fit EV 0 -1 -100.0% -100.0% 0 0 0.0% 0.0% Acura Division Total 13,561 17,042 -13.8% -20.4% 67,642 71,560 -4.7% -5.5% ILX 1,424 1,673 -7.8% -14.9% 7,344 6,809 8.7% 7.9% RLX / RL 127 239 -42.4% -46.9% 614 976 -36.6% -37.1% TL 0 10 -100.0% -100.0% 0 76 -100.0% -100.0% TLX 3,235 4,352 -19.5% -25.7% 16,101 18,186 -10.8% -11.5% TSX 1 4 -72.9% -75.0% 3 27 -88.8% -88.9% MDX 4,208 5,421 -15.9% -22.4% 20,897 24,828 -15.2% -15.8% RDX 4,566 5,343 -7.4% -14.5% 22,683 20,657 10.7% 9.8% ZDX 0 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 1 -100.0% -100.0% *** Memo: ILX Hybrid 0 4 -100.0% -100.0% 1 18 -94.4% -94.4% Memo: RLX Hybrid 18 24 -18.8% -25.0% 86 92 -5.8% -6.5% Memo: TSX Wagon 0 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 2 -100.0% -100.0% Selling Days 24 26 126 127 **** Hybrid 359 2,339 -83.4% -84.7% 1,975 9,257 -78.5% -78.7% * Honda and Acura vehicles are made of domestic & global sourced parts ** Daily Selling Rate *** Memo line items are included in the respective model total **** Hybrid includes FHEV, PHEV, CR-Z, Civic Hybrid, Insight, ILX Hybrid, RLX Hybrid and RLX Sport Hybrid Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374271 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100923/HONDALOGO SOURCE American Honda On track to commence Phase 2 Exploration Drill Program in 2H 2016, with permits for 13 drill holes Follow-up to NI 43-101 Technical Report, Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine Property, November 30, 2015 VANCOUVER, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - American Lithium Corp. (TSXV: Li) ("American Lithium" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary 1032701 B.C. ("1032701"), has received a notice-of-intent exploration work permit from the Bureau of Land Management to conduct a Phase 2 exploratory drilling program at its 7,840 acre (3,172.7 hectare) North Bowl Playa lithium brine project in Fish Lake Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada (see Company's news release dated April 7, 2016). "The geological setting at Fish Lake Valley is highly analogous to the salars of Clayton Valley, where Albemarle has its Silver Peak lithium-brine operation," commented Michael Kobler, CEO of American Lithium. "Over the past 6 years, previous operators have been investigating the Company's North Bowl Playa, Fish Lake Valley lithium brine property. A National Instrument 43-101 report titled Technical Report, Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine Property, Esmeralda County, Nevada, was completed on the property in November 2015. The purpose of our Phase 2 exploration drill program is to test several potential brine lithium targets identified in the Phase 1 Exploration Program which included surface brine sampling, gravity geophysics and 3,545 feet (1080 meters) of shallow auger and direct push drilling within 41 holes at 25 sites ranging from 42 feet to 150 feet in depth. We also plan to do more high density gravity surveys to better define the subsurface structure and shallow auger brine test holes across the entire holding." The Company intends to contract an exploration drilling company to complete up to 13 drill holes to approximately 500ft in depth to firm up its North Bowl Playa shallow prospect as part of its Phase 2 exploratory drill program. Phase 1 Exploration Program Results A number of geochemical and geophysical studies were completed on the property, along with a short drill program conducted on the periphery of the playa in the fall of 2010. Near-surface brine sampling during the spring of 2011 outlined a boron/lithium/potassium anomaly on the northern portions of the northern playa, roughly 1.3 x 2 miles long, which has a smaller higher grade core where lithium mineralization ranges from 100 to 150 mg/L (average 122.5 mg/L), with boron ranging from 1,500 to 2,670 mg/L (average 2,219 mg/L), and potassium from 5,400 to 8,400 mg/L (average 7,030 mg/L). Wet conditions on the playa precluded drilling in 2011, and for a good portion of 2012, however a window of opportunity opened in late fall 2012. In November/December 2012, a short direct push drill program was conducted on the northern end of the playa, wherein a total of 1,240.58 feet (378.09 meters) was drilled in 20 holes at 17 discrete sites, and an area of 3,356 feet (1,023 meters) by 2,776 feet (846 meters) was systematically explored by grid probing. The deepest hole was 81 feet (24.69 meters), and the shallowest hole that produced brine was 34 feet (10.36 meters). The average depth of the holes drilled during the program was 62 feet (18.90 meters). The program successfully demonstrated that lithium-boron-potassium-enriched brines exist to at least 62 feet (18.9 meters) depth in sandy or silty aquifers that vary from approximately three to ten feet (one to three meters) in thickness. Average lithium, boron and potassium contents of all samples are 47.05 mg/L, 992.7 mg/L, and 0.535% respectively, with lithium values ranging from 7.6 mg/L to 151.3 mg/L, boron ranging from 146 to 2,160.7 mg/L, and potassium ranging from 0.1 to 1.3%. The anomaly outlined by the program is 1,476 by 2,461 feet (450 meters by 750 meters), and is not fully delimited, as the area available for probing was restricted due to soft ground conditions to the east and to the south. A 50 mg/L lithium cutoff is used to define this anomaly and within this zone average lithium, boron and potassium contents are 90.97 mg/L, 1,532.92 mg/L, and 0.88% respectively. Michael Collins, P.Geo. is the Company's designated Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. ABOUT American Lithium Corp. American Lithium Corp. is actively engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium deposits within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the Americas. American Lithium holds options to acquire Nevada lithium brine claims totaling 20,790 acres (8,413 hectares), including 18,552 acres (7,508 hectares) in Fish Lake Valley, Esmeralda County, and the 2,240 acre (907 hectare) San Emidio Project in Washoe County. The Company's Fish Lake Valley lithium brine properties are located approximately 38 kilometers from Albemarle's Silver Peak, the largest lithium operation in the U.S., approximately 3.5 hours from the Tesla Gigafactory. American Lithium is listed on the TSXV under the trading symbol "Li". For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.americanlithiumcorp.com. On behalf of the Board, American Lithium Corp. Michael Kobler, Chief Executive Officer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE American Lithium Corp Related Links www.americanlithiumcorp.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Public University System (APUS) today announced that after an extensive search process, Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Karan Powell will succeed long-time President Dr. Wallace E. Boston, effective July 1, 2016. As previously announced, Dr. Boston will remain CEO of APUS parent company American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) as part of an anticipated organizational realignment, providing strategic and leadership support to APUS, Hondros College of Nursing, and other APEI ventures. "Dr. Powell's contributions have been instrumental in helping achieve APUS's leadership position in online higher education," said APUS Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Kate Zatz. "We are very pleased to be able to maintain the momentum Dr. Boston has established in support of our academic reputation and providing superior learning outcomes for our students." "I am truly honored to have the opportunity to continue Dr. Boston's successful legacy in serving APUS in this new role," said Dr. Powell. "I look forward to working with the leadership team to help advance our core mission of educating those who serve, with an ongoing commitment to academic excellence and affordability." In her current role, Dr. Powell has led university initiatives to ensure academic quality and online teaching effectiveness, student success, faculty advocacy, and innovative online instructional strategies and technology. She has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, leadership development, organization performance enhancement, and transformation in education, non-profit, business, and government organizations. In addition, she has specific expertise in distance learning, evaluating equivalent work learning for college credit, online faculty workload, program review and evaluation, leadership development, system change, and organization transformation. Prior to assuming her position as provost in 2011, Dr. Powell served as APUS's interim chancellor in 2004, dean of the school of business, management and graduate studies in 2005, and academic dean from 2006-11. She serves on multiple governing bodies, including as secretary of the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) board, Garrison Forest School board in Baltimore, Md., board and secretary of the Association of Chief Academic Officers, and as an advisor to John Gardner Gateways to Completion and APUS partner Fidelis Education. Dr. Powell originally joined the APUS Board of Trustees while serving as chief learning officer for IT contractor American Management Systems. There, the team transformed a traditional training department into a corporate university with distance and computer based learning components and developed strategic partnerships with other universities. Dr. Powell served as an executive faculty instructor at the Georgetown University School of Business and also as director of professional development programs in its School of Continuing Education, where she developed and taught leadership classes for the U.S. Senate, Verizon and other organizations. In addition, she has been an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, University of Maryland University College and the University of Phoenix. Dr. Powell holds a doctor of philosophy in education from George Mason University, with a specialization in organization development and learning. She also holds a bachelor of science in business education from Western Illinois University, a master of divinity from Loyola University and a certificate in advanced organization design from the University of Southern California. In addition, she is a graduate of the HERS Institute: Advancing Women in Higher Education Administration, the Harvard Institute for Educational Management, and the University of California Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy. About American Public University System American Public University System, recipient of the Online Learning Consortium's (OLC) Gomory Award for Quality Online Education and four-time recipient of OLC's Effective Practice Award, offers more than 90 online degree programs through American Public University and American Military University. More than 60,000 alumni worldwide have benefited from APUS's relevant curriculum, affordability and flexibility in pursuing and earning degrees in such areas as business, information technology, and security and global studies. For further information, visit www.apus.edu. SOURCE American Public University System Related Links http://www.apus.edu MINNEAPOLIS, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AmericInn wants to hear about your great summer vacation. In return, the "upscale local" hotel brand is giving away prizes for the most unique, creative and often hilarious entries! Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373737LOGO AmericInnthe largest midscale hotel brand in the upper Midwestis inviting travelers to participate in its "Fill Inn to Win" contest. The contest web page guides participants to fill in the blanks for things like favorite summer activity, strange animal and weird food. The program then provides a personalized story about your vacation experience based on the key words you submit. "Fill Inn to Win is really an extension of our customer service philosophy, to fill in the blanks so you have a great guest experience," explained Paul Kirwin, president and CEO. "Whether it's your room being ready; your free, hot, home-style breakfast being served; or any other personal request, we want guests to know that we have you covered. Fill Inn to Win is just a fun way to help you turn your vacation into a storyand maybe even win a free hotel stay!" Entries can be submitted online at www.fillinntowin.com. Over 8,000 stories have already been submitted and guests can share their funny stories with family and friends through social media. Daily winners will be selected from June 1 through Aug. 31. Each winning entrant will receive a free night's stay ($200 value) at any of more than 200 AmericInn locations in 24 states. Winners will be selected based on the uniqueness and creativity of the words they submit and the resulting story. Complimentary stays must be taken by Dec. 31, 2016. State laws prohibit participation by residents of California, Florida and New York. About AmericInn AmericInn is the largest midscale hotel brand in the upper Midwest with over 200 locations currently open or under development in 24 states. The brand is dedicated to providing an exceptional lodging value for its guests by offering spacious, comfortable guest rooms; great rates and amenities such as a free, hot, home-style AmericInn Perk breakfast; free hotel-wide wireless high-speed Internet; inviting swimming pools; and the Easy Rewards guest loyalty program. AmericInn is part of Northcott Hospitality, owner and developer of successful franchised hospitality brands for more than 50 years. For more information or reservations visit www.AmericInn.com or call 1-800-634-3444. Media Contacts for AmericInn: Peridot Group Inc. Kristi Arndt: 763-782-0265/cell, 612-803-0861 Email Dennis Stauffer: 612-619-0694 Email SOURCE AmericInn Related Links http://www.AmericInn.com Dr. Pecora will receive the award at the PM360 ELITE celebration and networking cocktail party at the Top of The Standard Hotel in Manhattan's Meatpacking District on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 7:00 pm. Dr. Pecora is also featured in the May issue of PM360 . "We established the ELITE Awards to recognize individuals whose work is making a significant impact on the life sciences industry," says Anna Stashower, CEO/Publisher, PM360. "We recognize multiple professionals in several categories, but the Uber ELITE award honors an individual of incredible achievement, one person who embodies exceptionalism and is accomplishing innovative and inspirational deeds. Dr. Pecora is a champion for breakthrough patient care, research, and pharmaceutical industry collaboration, who advances the goal of making a meaningful difference in the lives of people living with cancer." Dr. Pecora has been on the leading edge of many cancer care advances, and is recognized as one of the world's foremost experts in blood and marrow stem cell transplantation, cellular medicine and immunology research. In 1989, he spearheaded the development of John Theurer Cancer Center's Adult Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation Program and is responsible for many advancements used in stem cell transplantation today. In 1990, Dr. Pecora performed the first of what are now nearly 6,000 bone marrow transplants at the Center. Dr. Pecora's current research involves developing vaccines and other cellular medicine techniques that boost the capabilities of a patient's own immune system to fight cancer and targeted therapies that destroy cancer cells. He has also been a driving force in the establishment of Cancer Outcomes Tracking Analysis (COTA), a technology platform that improves clinical outcomes and reduces wasteful spend in oncology through precise classification of illness and a smarter use of data. Dr. Pecora is also a strong advocate for collaboration between clinical experts and pharmaceutical industry scientists, viewing partnership as essential in accelerating treatment advances. Today, drugs from important partners in cancer clinical research, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene and Merck, have come to market faster, owing in part to the John Theurer Cancer Center's participation in clinical trials and shared peer-review data. "I'm honored to accept this award from PM360," says Dr. Pecora. "We are at a critical point in the treatment and management of cancer. New genome-based therapeutic solutions, the ability to power a patient's own immune system to fight cancer and the advent of the unprecedented potential to leverage a patient's unique genetic profile to improve clinical outcomes opens up a new world of hope and possibilities in the treatment of people with cancer. Collaboration among all of us who, in some way, touch the patientclinicians, researchers, hospital systems, industry, policy makers and patient advocatesis critical to advancing to advancing this new vision in the service of patients and their families." Dr. Pecora will also serve as the keynote speaker at the PM360 ELITE event on July 12. Tickets are available for purchase at www.pm360online.com/elitetickets. About PM360 PM360 is the premier, must-read magazine for marketing decision makers in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries. Published monthly, PM360 is the only journal that focuses on delivering the full spectrum of practical information necessary for product managers and pharmaceutical marketing professionals to succeed in the complex and highly regulated healthcare environment. The journal's targeted and insightful editorial focuses on issues that directly impact critical decision making, including: Planning and implementation of cutting edge strategies, trends, the latest technological advances, branding/marketing, advertising/promotion, patient/professional education, sales, market research, PR, and leadership. Additionally, the "360" in the title signifies the span of this critical, how-to info with personal and career insights for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. By providing the full circle of enriching content, PM360 is truly an indispensable tool for busy and productive marketing professionals to stay at the top of their game. CONTACT: Andrew Matthius Senior Editor 646-300-8113 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374371 SOURCE PM360 Related Links http://www.pm360online.com Steve Harvey, syndicated radio and television personality, along with ESSENCE and Walt Disney World Resort will host selected Dreamers during a four-day power-packed career and educational exploration in March 2017. "Giving back is important to me, and especially to our youth - our future leaders, entrepreneurs, and aspiring artists," said Harvey. "We've seen more than 900 committed students come through the program, and I'm excited to find the next 100. The tenth anniversary will be special, and I encourage all high school students to take a minute of their time to apply for this incredible opportunity." For nearly a decade, Disney Dreamers Academy has helped to inspire young minds from across the country by fueling their dreams and showing them a world of possibilities as they prepare for the future. Each year, students participate in hands-on, full-immersion workshops related to a variety of career paths, ranging from animation to zoology. Each participant learns important skills, such as communication techniques, leadership values, and networking strategies. The event takes place in the very magical and creative setting of Walt Disney World Resort. Dreamers are taken both on stage and behind the scenes, where Disney theme parks become vibrant 'classrooms,' leading to career discoveries, the pursuit of dreams and fun memories to cherish for a lifetime. "We're excited to welcome back Disney Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey and ESSENCE for the tenth year," said Tracey D. Powell, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts vice president of deluxe resorts and Disney Dreamers Academy executive champion. "This program is unique for the opportunity it affords teens to be inspired and motivated to accomplish their goals. By applying for Disney Dreamers Academy, high school students from across the country are taking an important step forward that can influence and change their lives forever." Disney Dreamers are exposed to celebrity motivational speakers and special guests who share their stories and provide insight on how to achieve success and DREAM BIG. Dreamers have the opportunity to cultivate relationships with other students from across the nation while they gain first-hand knowledge from Disney experts and world-renowned entrepreneurs and executives. ESSENCE Communications President Michelle Ebanks added, "ESSENCE has been honored to help identify the next generation of big dreamers and welcome them to Walt Disney World Resort for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This tenth year will be no exception, and we're delighted to further play a role in setting our future leaders on the path to success." Applicants to the Disney Dreamers Academy program must answer essay questions about their personal stories and their dreams for the future. Students are selected based on a combination of attributes, including strong character, positive attitude and determination to achieve their dreams. Select Disney Dreamers, along with a parent or guardian, will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, where they will participate in life-changing sessions and be surrounded by the creativity and innovation represented in Disney theme parks around the world. Disney Dreamers Academy will take place March 2017. Applications are open to U.S. high school students, ages 13 to 19, through Oct. 31, 2016. A distinguished panel of leaders will judge the applications, and winners will be announced towards the end of 2016. For more information regarding applications, interested applicants can visit DisneyDreamersAcademy.com, or follow the Dreamers on Facebook.com/DisneyDreamersAcademy or Twitter.com/DreamersAcademy. Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/WALT-DISNEY-WORLD-DISNEY-DREAMERS.mp4 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373889 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373890 SOURCE Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Related Links http://DisneyDreamersAcademy.com PHILADELPHIA, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aramark (NYSE: ARMK), a global leader in food, facilities management, and uniforms, was once again named to LATINO Magazine's "LATINO 100," an annual listing that spotlights companies providing the most viable business opportunities for U.S. Latinos. "We are proud to be once again be recognized by LATINO Magazine as one of the top companies providing opportunities for Latinos," said Lynn B. McKee, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Aramark. "We very much appreciate the contributions of our Latino associates who deliver excellent service to our clients and consumers around the world." The Latino population is the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., influencing business growth and consumer trends. Aramark supports this flourishing community through partnerships with organizations like Congreso de Latinos Unidos as well as through its employee resource group (ERG), Impacto. Aramark has been named to the Latino 100 list every year since its inception in 2013. The company continues to receive prominent recognition for its diversity and inclusion efforts, including earning a perfect score of 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) 2016 Corporate Equality Index; being named to DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies for Diversity and one of the Top 40 Best Companies for Diversity by BLACK ENTERPRISE, as well as a Top 50 employer for providing a positive working environment for people with disabilities by CAREERS & the disABLED magazine. About the methodology of LATINO Magazine's "LATINO 100" In its fourth year, the listing's objective is to present a perspective on corporate support for the Latino community in various areas, including philanthropy, workforce diversity, minority business development, and governance. Nominations for the "LATINO 100" issue were submitted both formally and informally by Latino non-profits and community organizations as well as magazine readers, partners and stakeholders. The listing, in which companies appear alphabetically, was compiled by the editors of LATINO from these nominations based upon the editors' own research and information gathering. About LATINO Magazine A bi-monthly national publication (circulation: 50,000) that focuses on issues, politics and culture related to Latinos in the United States. www.latinomagazine.com About Aramark Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people's lives through innovative services in food, facilities management, and uniforms. United by a passion to serve, our 270,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people in 21 countries around the world. Aramark is recognized as one of the World's Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE, rated number one among Diversified Outsourcing Companies, as well as among the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. Media Contact: Karen Cutler 215.238.4063 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131212/PH32713LOGO SOURCE Aramark Related Links http://www.aramark.com LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With approximately one of every five residential dwellings in Britain being owned by private investors, fueled in no small part by the housing boom of 2005 2007, much of the country's savings and retirement capital is tied up in buy-to-let investments. According to research conducted by online insurance comparison service Quotiva.co.uk, many landlords are failing to safeguard the properties which may be the difference between a comfortable retirement and financial uncertainty. "If you don't have landlord's insurance you're in a potentially disastrous situation," says a spokesperson for Quotiva.co.uk. "We've found that as many as one in seven residential investment dwellings does not have adequate insurance. Oftentimes this is based on not understanding the reasons for landlord's insurance, or simply not being aware of the risks." Landlord's insurance is not compulsory in the UK, but provides important increased coverage for investors and tenants alike. Policies will often include accommodation for tenants in the event of fire or natural disaster, while offering coverage to the owner for unpaid rent. Likewise, while not covering tenant's belongings, it will offer resolution in the event of accidental damage to the property by the tenant. With the advent of Airbnb and other services, tenants are subletting the property for extra cash when they go on holiday. While there are many examples of landlords catching tenants out, there are equally as many stories of tenants breaching their rental contract by subletting and exposing the property to potential damage. Landlord's insurance will cover not only theft, but also assist with legal costs in the event matters go to court. The insurance comparison website recommends landlords ask their insurer what they're covered for, and what additional coverage they should consider. Standard insurance may have restrictive clauses relating to tenants within the policy. "You've got to be open and honest with your insurer," says Quotiva.co.uk. "In the end it all comes down to your personal circumstances, but you've got to know the details of your policy, what you're covered for and were you're potentially exposed." To learn more, please visit: http://www.Quotiva.co.uk About Quotiva.co.uk: Quotiva.co.uk are a leading insurance comparison website, comparing various niche insurance products to find the best deal. SOURCE Quotiva.co.uk Related Links http://www.Quotiva.co.uk New Capabilities Enable Small Teams to Solve Big Industrial Problems and Deliver Operational Intelligence Faster BURNABY, BC, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Bit Stew Systems, developer of the premier platform that solves the data integration challenge in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), today announced the launch of version 10 of their MIx Core platform, a self-serve solution for intelligent data management for the IIoT ecosystem. Enabling Intelligent Data Automation Bit Stew's MIx Core is purpose-built to handle complex data integration and data analysis to provide intelligence from connected devices at the edge, OT and IT systems, and external sources. Unlike conventional ETL and BI tools, MIx Core automates data integration by applying machine intelligence to the process, which reduces project costs by an average of 90% compared to traditional approaches. The underlying technology of MIx Core provides an unmatched capability to integrate data in even the most dynamic and complex industrial environments. The platform applies its library of machine learning algorithms using the MIx Core Analytic Framework. The framework applies groups of algorithms in an ensemble, processing and analyzing data at the document level, and giving richer context to extracting semantics. Once the platform either creates or extends a semantic model, it can continue to enrich the model's entity relationships by marking and analyzing the data's byte sequences and patterns through assertion-based logic. "Gone are the days of large integration teams and never ending data problems. Small teams can now solve big industrial problems with MIx Core," says Franco Castaldini, Bit Stew's Vice President, Marketing. "The introduction of version 10 and the new Data Management Workbench provides a self-service experience that enables IT and OT professionals to quickly model, map and ingest data from disparate sources." Franco says, "The platform removes the time and cost associated with continuous data wrangling which empowers industrial enterprises to transform and optimize their business, realize cost reductions, optimize asset performance, and improve productivity." Frost & Sullivan: Data Integration Capabilities Critical to IoT Success Analysts predict that through 2018, half the cost of implementing IoT solutions will be spent integrating various IoT components with each other and back-end systems. As a result, one of the biggest challenges industries will face is how to effectively integrate the magnitude of data being generated. "IoT project implementers often underestimate the complexity of data integration. With billions of devices being connected, there is real market need for a solution that can seamlessly collect and analyze data to provide real business value to organizations," says Dilip Sarangan, Industry Principal - IoT, at Frost & Sullivan. "Bit Stew has demonstrated the unique ability to solve the data integration challenge by reimagining traditional data architectures to support the rapid proliferation of data from an exponentially expanding set of data types." Partnering with GE to Improve Business Outcomes Bit Stew partnered with GE to solve the data integration challenge at scale for complex industrial data environments. GE and Bit Stew worked with a large customer to rapidly integrate a complex and vast ecosystem of unstructured and structured data, stored across multiple data lakes, with IT and OT systems to create a single pane of glass view of operations. By overcoming the data integration challenge, the outcome gained was a real-time contextual understanding of operations, something previously unattainable. Edge Processing for Real Time Analytics with Intel MIx Core enables edge processing through automated data ingestion, modeling, and mapping capabilities. The platform ingests data directly from equipment sensors without the need for extensive API libraries. A federated architecture supports analytics from control systems to cloud environments, allowing the application of analytics to data while in motion. This enables real-time access to actionable insights, in a local context, to vastly improve operational agility. Bit Stew's MIx Core has been standardized, from the beginning, on Intel's processors both in the data center and at the edge. The MIx Core platform interacts with embedded technology layers such as an Intel IoT Gateway using Intel's MQTT broker to receive sensor data, perform analytics on that data, and transmit the results to a cloud-based instance of the platform. This is an example of how Bit Stew and Intel solve the data integration, processing and analytics challenge at the edge, helping industrial enterprises derive faster time to value from IIoT. Bit Stew is a General Member of the Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance. Continuing to Spark the Interest of the Global Investment Community "Bit Stew's MIx Core has firmly positioned the company as a global leader in the IIoT space," says Salil Munjal, General Partner at Yaletown Partners. "Accolades from Forbes and Gartner recognize Bit Stew's technology innovation, visionary leadership and rapid growth. The company has understandably attracted some top global investors to join us as shareholders, including GE and Cisco. " Bit Stew recently announced the initial closing of Series C funding to help advance the company's global market growth and development plans. The undisclosed investment round includes an international syndicate of new and current investors including Yaletown Partners, GE Ventures, BDC Capital and Kensington Capital Partners. About Bit Stew Systems Bit Stew provides the premier platform for handling complex data integration, data analysis, and predictive automation for connected devices on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Purpose-built for the IIoT, Bit Stew's MIx Core platform solves the data integration challenge at scale for complex industrial data environments. Bit Stew has earned global recognition by being named to Gartner's Cool Vendors List and as Frost & Sullivan's Entrepreneurial Company of the Year North American Service Solutions. In 2015, Bit Stew was ranked as one of the Top 100 Analytics Companies and Top 100 IoT Startups by Forbes. Incorporated in 2009, Bit Stew is a venture-backed private company that is headquartered in Canada with offices in the USA, Australia and Europe. Visit www.bitstew.com to learn more. SOURCE Bit Stew Systems Inc. Related Links www.bitstew.com In addition to the consumer-facing website, Fin & Field has also released a business platform for operators. "Many operators today are still using outdated paper calendars, answering machines and static websites," said Fin & Field co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Rob Duva. "Smart ones are providing a better experience for their clients by adopting integrated software like ours that helps them more efficiently run, market, and grow their businesses." Through the partnership, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Saltwater Sportsman and Sport Fishing magazines will feature Fin & Field operators across their digital and print channels, as well as through Bonnier's popular series of outdoor events and tournaments. "Our exceptionally engaged and passionate audience has looked to our brands for guidance experiencing the outdoors for more than a century. Fin & Field offers just what our readers are looking for today: access to great hunting and fishing adventures across the country," said Bonnier Corp.'s Chief Marketing Officer, Elizabeth Murphy. "Fin & Field's unique booking platform brings time-honored practices into the modern age, providing instant access from any device to this rich community of outdoor service providers." "Sportsmen have trusted Bonnier's storied publications for generations. We are excited to introduce Fin & Field to their community," said Rob Murphy, Fin & Field co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Our 'sportsmen first' mentality guides us as we seek to make outdoor adventures more accessible to sportsman of all skill levels; and the process of running outdoor businesses easier for the operators whose passion for being in the field or on the water is what motivated them to start their business." About Bonnier Corporation Bonnier Corp. is one of the largest special-interest publishing groups in America, with more than 30 multichannel brands extending into all platforms including magazines, digital media, books, events and product licensing. Bonnier Corp.'s brands include Popular Science, Saveur, Field & Stream, Popular Photography, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons, Cycle World, Working Mother and Outdoor Life. Bonnier Corp. is owned by Swedish-based Bonnier AB, a multichannel media conglomerate operating in 15 countries. About Fin & Field Fin & Field is changing the way sportsmen find, compare, book and share their outdoor fishing and hunting adventures. We've consolidated the hunting and fishing industry into a powerful marketplace that connects sportsmen and operators (charter boats, fishing guides, hunting guides, lodges, marinas, outfitters, outdoor brands, and more). We're using technology to drive more meaningful, fun, and efficient communication that's making it easier for sportsmen to get the information they need to do what they love. To book your next adventure on Fin & Field, or to become a Fin & Field operator, visit www.finandfield.com. Photo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374138 SOURCE Bonnier Corp. "Camp Day makes a positive impact on the lives and futures of thousands of kids from communities across North America every year, and we couldn't be more proud to continue supporting such an important initiative," says Felipe Athayde, President, Tim Hortons US. "We're grateful to our Guests and Restaurant Owners who help give kids the experience of a lifetime and the opportunity to develop skills that will support them to become more responsible, caring and motivated individuals." Last year alone, $12.4 million was raised in Canada and the United States, allowing close to 18,000 kids from low-income families to spend a life-changing session at one of the seven THCF camps. With the funds raised on Camp Day, Tim Hortons Restaurant Owners sponsor kids directly from their local communities to attend camp. They work closely with local youth organizations and schools to identify kids who would benefit most from the experience. "We help kids unlock their hidden strengths, and develop critical life skills that will support them in finding their own success and thrive as contributing members of their communities," says Dave Newnham, President and Executive Director, Tim Horton Children's Foundation. "Our camps aren't just a fun visit away from home, these intentional experiences can be the catalyst to change their outlook on life and gain greater confidence about their future." According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, more than 16 million children in the United States live in homes below the federal poverty rate*. The THCF strives to address the cultural roots of poverty; the idea that individuals who are economically disadvantaged often develop a set of institutions, values, norms and behaviors which perpetuate rather than counter poverty. Camp programs are designed to provide children and youth with opportunities to develop skills and values that help set them on a different path in life. "My experience with the Tim Horton Children's Foundation taught me the importance of working together as a team and asking for help when I need it," says Debra Turnboe, Youth Leadership Program alumni from the Detroit, Michigan area. "I will always remember the wise words of one of my counselors during my second year in the program, who said that no matter how hard your situation might be, it won't last forever and you can get through it." How Camp Day is helping kids beyond summer camp experiences In addition to summer programs, THCF camps operate programming throughout the year, welcoming schools and organizations that serve low-income communities to participate in free-of-cost camp experiences. At camp, kids participate in a wide range of purposeful programs and activities designed to build self-confidence, self-esteem and leadership skills. The THCF also offers a unique Youth Leadership Program, which takes place over five summers and focuses on building lifelong leadership skills, teamwork and independence. Graduates of the Youth Leadership Program are eligible for financial support through the Carolee House Bursary Program to attend post-secondary education. Since 2002, more than $6 million in bursaries have been distributed to students pursuing university, college or a trade certificate program. How Tim Hortons is raising awareness for Camp Day in Restaurant To showcase the benefits of Camp Day, Tim Hortons launched an exciting new red cup design. These cups feature speech bubbles that showcase the impact of what buying a cup of coffee can have on kids' experience at camp including: helping kids believe in themselves, helping to create a brighter future, helping to build courage and confidence, and helping kids to be their best. This year, Guests who want to help to raise awareness about Camp Day can also purchase a red Camp Day bracelet at participating Restaurants. Camp Day bracelets are $2 plus tax while supplies last. Guests are invited to wear the bracelets in support of the Tim Horton Children's Foundation. Guests can also make a donation any time at timscampday.com. Every Camp Day donation counts. How to join the Camp Day conversation Tag #CampDay Like THCF on Facebook facebook.com/timhortonchildrensfoundation Follow THCF on Twitter @THCF1974 Follow THCF on Instagram @THCF1974 Subscribe to THCF on YouTube @youtube.com/THCF1974 Like Tim Hortons on Facebook facebook.com/TimHortons Follow Tim Hortons on Twitter @TimHortonsUS Follow Tim Hortons on Instagram @TimHortonsUS Subscribe to Tim Hortons on YouTube youtube.com/TimHortons *National Center for Children in Poverty Basic Facts About Low-income Children, Addy, Engelhardt & Skinner, 2013. About the Tim Horton Children's Foundation The Tim Horton Children's Foundation (THCF) is a non-profit charitable organization founded in 1974 that is committed to providing an enriched and memorable camp experience for children and youth from low-income families. The Foundation's funding comes from Tim Hortons Camp Day, fundraising activities, special events, and year-round public donations collected through counter and drive-thru coin boxes, as well as other donations. By the end of 2016, more than 237,000 children will have attended a Foundation camp at no cost to them or their families. For more information about the Tim Horton Children's Foundation, please visit www.thcf.com. About the Tim Horton Children's Foundation Camps The first Tim Horton Children's Foundation camp opened in Parry Sound, ON in 1975 with just 200 kids. Today, the Foundation operates seven camps across North America and will serve more than 19,000 children from low-income families in 2016. Camp programs include a traditional summer camp for kids ages nine to 12, an experience lasting three to seven days in length for schools and youth-serving agencies throughout the fall, winter and spring, and a five-level Youth Leadership Program for participants ages 13 to 17, focused on building lifelong leadership skills. Guests can make donations year-round at thcf.com. Tim Hortons Overview TIM HORTONS, part of Restaurant Brands International, is one of North America's largest restaurant chains operating in the quick service segment. Founded as a single location in Canada in 1964, TIM HORTONS appeals to a broad range of consumer tastes, with a menu that includes premium coffee, hot and cold specialty drinks (including lattes, cappuccinos and espresso shots), specialty teas and fruit smoothies, fresh baked goods, grilled Panini and classic sandwiches, wraps, soups, prepared foods and other food products. As of December 31, 2015, TIM HORTONS had more than 4,400 system wide restaurants located in Canada, the United States and the Middle East. More information about the Company is available at www.timhortons.com. About Restaurant Brands International Restaurant Brands International Inc. is one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies with approximately $23 billion in system sales and over 19,000 restaurants in approximately 100 countries and U.S. territories. Restaurant Brands International owns two of the world's most prominent and iconic quick service restaurant brands TIM HORTONS and BURGER KING. These independently operated brands have been serving their respective guests, franchisees, and communities for over 50 years. To learn more about Restaurant Brands International, please visit the Company's website at www.rbi.com. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact: [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/374019 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/374020 SOURCE Tim Hortons Under the banner of "Creating Magic Together," the 17th Annual NCBF will take place in the state cited with the fastest growth rate for women-owned business in the nation, according to the 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report . The conference is the largest and most prestigious gathering of corporate and government buyers and Women's Business Enterprises (WBEs) in the nation. Attendees enjoy three days of nationally acclaimed speakers, executive workshops, and vital 1:1 MatchMaking and networking opportunities, including the WBENC Business Fair, the largest of its kind with more than 300 exhibitors. "Women-owned business now comprise 38% of the business population, and WBENC is proud to bring together our powerful women's business enterprises with major corporations and government entities to continue to grow their companies and fuel the economy," said Pamela Prince-Eason, WBENC President and CEO. "As the nation's leader in women's business development, our annual NCBF is the best place for attendees to forge new connections, learn about industry trends, and meet key decision makers." Attendees will also hear from C-suite decision makers who represent the 2016 Conference Co-Chairs: Shell; The Walt Disney Company; Wells Fargo; The Pinnacle Group; Accel, inc., and Imagen, LLC. This year, three Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) make up the 2016 Host Councils, including the Women's Business Development Council (WBDC) of Florida; Greater Women's Business Council (GWBC); and Women's Business Enterprise Council - South (WBEC South). "Our local organizations are proud to host WBENC's NCBF, one of the largest women's business conferences in the world, in our region," said the 2016 Host Council leaders in a joint statement. "As one of the top travel destinations in the world, the city of Orlando represents a nexus of possibilities for expanding growth for women business owners not only here in the U.S., but also around the globe." Each year, the WBENC NCBF Host Committee, made up of representatives from the Host Councils act as the ambassadors for the event, ensuring attendees are engaged and inspired by all the programming. The 2016 Host Committee is chaired by Brenda Loube, President and Co-Founder, Corporate Fitness Works; and includes Michele Adam , President and CEO, Levy Marketing + Awards Powered by Proforma , President and CEO, Levy Marketing + Awards Powered by Proforma Charlotte Baker , CEO, Digital Hands , CEO, Digital Hands Sheila Benson , CEO, Employment Screening Services , CEO, Employment Screening Services Susan Davis , President, Priority Project Resources , President, Priority Project Resources Courtney Davis-Herbert , CEO, Barts Office , CEO, Barts Office Susie Galyardt , Founder & CEO, XIOSS , Founder & CEO, XIOSS Jane Kennedy Greene , Chairwoman & CEO, Kenco , Chairwoman & CEO, Kenco Lynn Griffith , President & CEO, Welcome Events , President & CEO, Welcome Events Terri Hall , President, Doubletake Studios , President, Doubletake Studios Kathleen Hunt , President, Personalize Payroll Services , President, Personalize Payroll Services Marlene Kelly , President & CEO, Exhibits South Corporation , President & CEO, Exhibits South Corporation Kimberly Lawton Koon , President & CEO, Lawton Connect , President & CEO, Teresa Lawrence , Owner & President, Delta Personnel , Inc. , Owner & President, , Inc. Jennifer Maier , CEO, WDS, Inc. , CEO, WDS, Inc. Janice Migliore , Chairman & CEO, Palco Telecom , Chairman & CEO, Palco Telecom Kittie Watson , President & Founder, Innolect, Inc. , President & Founder, Innolect, Inc. Livia Whisenhunt , Founder & CEO, PS Energy Group To register today or see full list of sponsors, exhibitors, and resources, visit http://conf.wbenc.org! About WBENC Founded in 1997, WBENC is the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with over 12,000 WBENC-Certified WBEs. WBENC-Certification is accepted by more than 1,000 corporations representing America's most prestigious brands, in addition to many states, cities, and other entities. Throughout the year, WBENC and its 14 Regional Partner Organizations provide opportunities for interactions between more than 650 member corporations, government agencies and thousands of certified WBEs at business building events and other forums. WBENC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that seeks and accepts donations from corporations, foundations and individuals that support its mission and programs. For more information, please go to www.wbenc.org. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374119 SOURCE Women's Business Enterprise National Council "We are pleased and honored to welcome Bruce to our Bank Board," said Randal R. Greene, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Since Bruce first joined our family of companies as a member of our Bank's Southern Region Community Board, he has brought valuable counsel to our company and has exhibited excellent leadership qualities. We are pleased to now have him as a member of the Bank's Board of Directors and we appreciate his willingness to serve and look forward to his continued guidance." Edwards is president and owner of Lamberth Building Materials, a retail business that services both the professional contractor and the home owner with new and innovated lines of building materials throughout the lower Northern Neck, Middlesex and Gloucester since 1978. Edwards received his B.S. in Business Administration from Virginia Tech. He is currently serving on the Southern Regional Community Board for Bank of Lancaster, Treasurer of the White Stone Business Association, and a member of the Rappahannock Home Builders Association and the Building Material Suppliers Association. "I am both honored and thrilled to be a part of Bank of Lancaster's family," said Edwards. "My relationship with the Bank over the past 20 plus years has been a wonderful and positive experience. It is an exciting time for Bank of Lancaster with its recent expansion into the Richmond market, and I look forward to being a part of the Bank's future growth in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula and in Richmond." About Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. is the bank holding company for Bank of Lancaster and Bay Trust Company. Founded in 1930, Bank of Lancaster is a state-chartered community bank headquartered in Kilmarnock, Virginia. With eight banking offices located throughout the Northern Neck region and in Middlesex County, and three banking offices in Richmond, Virginia, the bank serves businesses, professionals and consumers with a wide variety of financial services, including retail and commercial banking, investment services, and mortgage banking. Bay Trust Company provides management services for personal and corporate trusts, including estate planning, estate settlement and trust administration. For further information, contact Randal R. Greene, President and Chief Executive Officer, at 800-435-1140 or [email protected]. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373594 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150128/171934LOGO SOURCE Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. Related Links http://www.baybanks.com COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. and BERKELEY, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for Responsible Business at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business (Berkeley-Haas) has announced a call for papers for the annual Moskowitz Prize the only global award recognizing outstanding academic research in the field of sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing. Now in its 21st year, the Moskowitz Prize is awarded annually by the Center for Responsible Business. A global award recognizing outstanding quantitative research in the field of sustainable and responsible investing, this academic prize was named for Milton Moskowitz, one of the first investigators to publish comparisons of the financial performance of screened and unscreened portfolios. The Moskowitz Prize is awarded annually at The SRI Conference , the largest and longest running conference serving investors and investment professionals in the sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investment industry in North America. The author of this year's prize-winning study will be notified by early October and publicly announced at the 27th annual SRI Conference, November 9-11, 2016, in Denver, CO, where the winner will be honored and present the winning study's findings. Both Berkeley-Haas and The SRI Conference acknowledge and appreciate the 2016 Moskowitz Prize sponsors: Calvert Group , First Affirmative Financial Network , Wells Fargo Private Bank , Rockefeller and Co. , Neuberger Berman , and Trillium Asset Management . For more information online visit: http://responsiblebusiness.haas.berkeley.edu/programs/moskowitzresearchprogram.html . First Affirmative produces The SRI Conference. DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION: Studies to be reviewed for consideration must be submitted by June 30, 2016. The $5,000 prize competition is open to authors of studies relevant to responsible investing. Studies may be published or unpublished, but unpublished studies should be of a quality appropriate for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal. For details about the submission process online visit: h ttps://responsiblebusiness.submittable.com/submit . Entries are reviewed by an independent jury of scholars and investment professionals. The prize winner is determined based on practical significance to responsible investment practitioners, appropriateness and rigor of quantitative methods, and novelty of results. 2015 MOSKOWITZ PRIZE: The 2015 Moskowitz Prize recognized the paper " Climate Change and Firm Valuation: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment " for Outstanding Research in Socially Responsible Investing. The report was authored by Philipp Kruger, Assistant Professor of Responsible Finance at the University of Geneva and Junior Chair at the Swiss Finance Institute. About the Berkeley-Haas Center for Responsible Business The mission of the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley ( http://responsiblebusiness.haas.berkeley.edu ) is to develop leaders who redefine business for a sustainable future. We connect students, businesses, and faculty to mobilize the positive potential of business to build a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable society. Building on more than a decade of research, teaching, and engaging with business, we educate and provoke thoughtful debate. We encourage sustainability-minded research and its application in the marketplace of commerce and ideas. Berkeley-Haas is recognized as the Best Green MBA program by The Princeton Review and r anked #1 globally for CSR and ethics by The Financial Times. ABOUT THE SRI CONFERENCE The SRI Conference ( http://www.SRIconference.com ) is produced by First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC ( http://www.firstaffirmative.com ), a Registered Investment Advisor offering investment consulting and asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious, impact-oriented investors (SEC File #801-56587). The 27th SRI Conference will be November 911, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Denver, CO. The SRI Conference is the premier annual forum for investors and investment professionals engaged in sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing. Conference participation includes investment professionals, institutional investors, and related organizations and features educational sessions and focused opportunities to network with hundreds of like-minded individuals, organizations, and leaders in the field of Sustainable, Responsible, Impact investing. CONTACT Kate Alper of the Haas School of Business at 510-643-7185 or [email protected] . EDITOR'S NOTE For assistance with The SRI Conference registration and sponsorships, please contact Krystala Kalil at 888-774-2663 or [email protected] . SOURCE The SRI Conference, Denver, CO Related Links http://www.SRIconference.com OAKLAND, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cal/OSHA is urging all employers to protect their outdoor workers from heat illness as temperatures hit extreme highs this week. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings for multiple areas throughout the state that will last through Sunday. Temperatures well over 100 degrees are predicted in many locations, including the greater San Diego area and the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles. Even some cities in the normally cooler San Francisco Bay Area are expected to experience 100+ degree weather, including Concord and Walnut Creek. "Employers need to be aware of the rules that protect workers from heat illness," said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. "Water, rest, shade and increased vigilance are absolutely essential in high heat conditions." California's heat regulation requires all employers with outdoor workers to protect outdoor workers by taking these basic steps: Train all employees and supervisors about heat illness prevention. Provide enough fresh water so that each employee can drink at least 1 quart, or four 8-ounce glasses, of water per hour, and encourage them to do so. Provide access to shade and encourage employees to take a cool-down rest in the shade for at least 5 minutes. They should not wait until they feel sick to cool down. Develop and implement written procedures for complying with the Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Standard. Cal/OSHA will inspect outdoor worksites in industries such as agriculture, construction, landscaping, and others throughout the heat season. Through partnerships with various employer and worker organizations in different industries, Cal/OSHA will also provide consultation, outreach and training on heat illness prevention. Cal/OSHA's award-winning heat illness prevention campaign, the first of its kind in the nation, includes enforcement of heat regulations as well as outreach and training for California's employers and workers. Online information on the heat illness prevention requirements and training materials can be obtained at Cal/OSHA's Heat Illness web page or the Water. Rest. Shade. campaign site. A Heat Illness Prevention e-tool is also available on Cal/OSHA's website. Cal/OSHA helps protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job in almost every workplace in California. Cal/OSHA's Consultation Services Branch provides free and voluntary assistance to employers to improve their health and safety programs. Employers should call (800) 963-9424 for assistance from Cal/OSHA Consultation Services. Employees with work-related questions or complaints may contact DIR's Call Center in English or Spanish at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734). The California Workers' Information line at 866-924-9757 provides recorded information in English and Spanish on a variety of work-related topics. Complaints can also be filed confidentially with Cal/OSHA district offices. Members of the press may contact Erika Monterroza or Peter Melton at (510) 286-1161, and are encouraged to subscribe to get email alerts on DIR's press releases or other departmental updates. https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaDIR https://twitter.com/CA_DIR https://www.youtube.com/user/CaliforniaDIR http://www.dir.ca.gov/email/listsub.asp?choice=1 The California Department of Industrial Relations, established in 1927, protects and improves the health, safety, and economic well-being of over 18 million wage earners, and helps their employers comply with state labor laws. DIR is housed within the Labor & Workforce Development Agency. For general inquiries, contact DIR's Communications Call Center at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734) for help in locating the appropriate division or program in our department. SOURCE Cal/OSHA Related Links http://www.dir.ca.gov FORT WORTH, Texas and WICHITA, Kan., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill has signed an agreement to acquire Fort Worth, Texas-based Five Star Custom Foods, Ltd., a business specializing in cooked protein products and custom prepared soups and sauces for the foodservice and food processing sectors. The acquisition includes both of the Five Star Custom Foods facilities in Fort Worth and Nashville, Tenn. Adding Five Star Custom Foods to the Cargill family will enhance the company's existing cooked protein capabilities, optimize supply chain efficiencies and provide innovation opportunities. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed and the transaction will be subject to customary regulatory review, with approval and finalization of the purchase expected this summer. "We're thrilled with the opportunity to add Five Star Custom Foods to the Cargill family because it has a record of proven success producing high-quality, value-added, customized products that delight its customers," said Brian Sikes, corporate vice president of Cargill's protein businesses headquartered in Wichita, Kan. "We are acquiring an excellent company with talented people who do an outstanding job delivering a five star experience to their customers, helping them to succeed and grow. "Adding Five Star Custom Foods to Cargill's protein business will provide us with new capabilities we currently do not have, while allowing us to be more nimble in our ability to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers and consumers in today's fast-paced marketplace," explained Sikes. "We will also learn from the proven success of the Five Star Custom Foods team, which will allow us to enhance our own portfolio as we continue to grow our protein business." "Cargill is a company with a rich history and reputation for producing exceptional products," stated Jeff Bledsoe, president and founding partner of Five Star Custom Foods. "Together, we share a commitment for taking care of employees and nurturing customer relationships. As we look toward the future, we are excited by Cargill's commitment to excellence and long-term profitable growth. We truly believe this to be a 'winning' scenario for everyone involved." "We take great pride in our ability to deliver high-quality, safe and nutritious food to people around the world," stated John Keating, president of Wichita-based Cargill Meats Solutions Corporation. "These two locations in Fort Worth and Nashville fit well with Cargill's existing U.S. geographic footprint, and we look forward to sharing our vision and passion for protein with the Five Star Custom Foods team." Five Star Custom Foods was established in 1999 and employs 385 people. This is the second Fort Worth operation Cargill has purchased in the past four years. In 2012, Cargill purchased a beef grind facility in the area. More recently, Cargill announced its acquisition of a ground beef processing plant in Columbia, S.C. Its protein portfolio includes beef, value-added protein, turkey, cooked meats and food distribution businesses, and serves customers around the world. Lazard Middle Market served as financial advisor to Five Star Custom Foods on the transaction. About Cargill Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 149,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150701/227604LOGO SOURCE Cargill Related Links http://www.cargill.com MIAMI, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 14, 2016, Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 (U.S.) per share. The dividend is payable on June 17, 2016, to shareholders of record on May 27, 2016. Holders of Carnival Corporation common stock or Carnival plc ADSs will receive a dividend payable in U.S. dollars. The dividend for Carnival plc ordinary shares will be payable in sterling unless shareholders elected to receive the dividend in U.S. dollars by May 27, 2016. Dividends payable in sterling will be converted from U.S. dollars at the exchange rate quoted by the Bank of England in London at 12 noon on June 1, 2016 (US$1 = 69.22331 pence). Accordingly, the dividend payable in sterling on June 17, 2016, will be 24.22816 pence per share. Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest leisure travel company in the world, and among the most profitable and financially strong in the industry. With a portfolio of 10 cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK). Together, these brands operate 101 ships visiting over 700 ports around the world and totaling 225,000 lower berths with 15 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2020. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P500 and the FTSE 100 indices. Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.pocruises.com, and www.fathom.org. SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc Related Links http://www.carnival.com AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Catapult today proudly announced it has won the 2016 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award for the United States. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. "We are incredibly excited to be named Microsoft's 2016 Partner of the Year for the United States," said David Fuess, CEO of Catapult. "As a partner for more than 20 years, Catapult is paving the way for Microsoft's strategy. Catapult's strong team of leaders, passionate employees and foresight for the future is making Microsoft's vision for the future a reality." Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,500 entrants from 119 countries worldwide. Catapult was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services, as well as representing excellent subsidiary engagement in the United States. The Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Awards honor partners at the country level that have demonstrated business excellence in delivering Microsoft solutions to multiple customers over the past year. This award recognizes Catapult as succeeding in effective engagement with its local Microsoft office while showcasing innovation and business impact, driving customer satisfaction, and winning new customers. "We are honored to recognize Catapult of the United States as a Microsoft Country Partner of the Year," said Gavriella Schuster, general manager, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. "Catapult is a prime example of the excellent talent we see in our Microsoft partner community to deliver innovative and transformative solutions." The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions over the past year. ABOUT CATAPULT Catapult is a full-service consulting firm that uses technology to solve complex business challenges, delivering exceptional value to our clients based on their priorities and timeframes. Specializing in digital transformation and cloud-based technologieswe imagine, build, and sustain IT-enabled business solutions that people love to use. Catapult has offices in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, Tampa and Washington, D.C. For additional information: Press Contact: Jessica Cowan Marketing Communications Manager Catapult Systems 512-605-3903 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151202/292819LOGO SOURCE Catapult Systems LONDON, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A regional study of the smart grid market across Central & Eastern Europe and Turkey over the period 2015-2025 (265 pages + dataset + PowerPoint). The region will invest $25.2bn over the next 10 years in smart grid infrastructure. Poland, Turkey and Romania will be the three largest markets with other countries also committing to significant investment over the forecast period. The study covers 18 countries. Countries in the Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) region (including Turkey) are leaders for their smart grid and smart metering potential among emerging market nations. By 2025, eight of the 12 main countries in this study (all except for Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Turkey) will have completed smart meter deployments and many will have deployed other advanced smart grid infrastructure such as distribution automation, wide area measurement, distributed renewable sources of generation, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Overall, the smart grid market represents $25.2 billion of investment over the next ten years. Volume II of this study covers twelve CEE countries in depth, as well as summaries for six additional countries. It includes the eleven countries in Central & Eastern Europe that are now part of the European Union but until the early 1990s were Communist states, as well as Turkey, Albania, and the remaining former Yugoslav countries. These countries have all undergone radical industry restructurings over the past two decades, and in some cases are still in the process of full liberalization. In most countries, the state still plays a role in one or more segments of the electricity industry. Overall power infrastructure is in many cases outdated and not compatible with a fully integrated European power market. The CEE electricity market is therefore undergoing changes, which present utilities with opportunities to invest in smart grid infrastructure in the process of upgrading their grids. Most of these countries also must meet EU regulations (while many non-EU countries are looking to follow similar guidelines). More specifically, EU Directive 2009/72/EC requires that all EU states conduct a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for smart metering and that, when the result is positive, countries deploy smart meters to 80% of households and businesses by 2020. Almost all Western European countries have foundor are expected to findnet positive benefits from smart metering, and must meet the EU target. The case is less clear in the CEE region, and many countries have yet to say if they will aim for this target. So far, the results of CBAs have been mixed in the CEE region, with three countries finding positive results, four finding negative results, and three yet to announce. The EU is encouraging countries with negative CBAs to re-assess their smart meter potential in the next 2-3 years as costs come down and underlying conditions improve. Therefore, it is still likely that most CEE countries will begin large-scale deployments in the next few years. Beyond regulations, the CEE region's core market conditions support smart meter deployments. Per-capita consumption is higher than in most other emerging markets. Consumption may be lower than in Western Europe, but is growing faster. Meanwhile, the CEE region is closer and more exposed to Russia, and recent aggressiveness from Russia has increased the importance of energy independence in the region. Finally, transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and power outages are a much larger concern in the CEE region than in Western Europe. In some CEE countries, utilities can justify smart meter deployments through immediate loss-reduction benefits, with other benefits an added bonus. The CEE region also benefits from knowledge spillovers from Western Europe. Many utilities in CEE are owned by French, German, and Italian utilities that already have experience in deploying smart grid infrastructure. Almost all of the major smart grid vendors already have a presence in CEE countries, giving them a better grasp of regulatory conditions. EU-based vendors in particular face few barriers due to the common market. Additionally, many local vendors are already active across the region, which will help to drive new market segments. Most CEE countries have not yet transposed EU smart metering regulations into national law or accepted the EU smart meter mandate. Until they do, some uncertainty will remain in the market. The EU's ongoing financial crisis casts some further doubt on new investments. Only five of the countries covered in this report are part of the euro currency, but all are susceptible to further financial market volatility. But overall, CEE countries have conditions that support smart grid, willing stakeholders, and well-developed pilot projectsincluding large-scale rollouts in some cases. The CEE smart grid market is well positioned for significant near-term growth. Key questions answered in this study: - Which CEE countries will follow EU regulations for smart grid deployments? - How large will the smart grid market be in 18 countries across 14 sub-segments? - How will smart grid projects be financed in EU and non-EU countries? - Which local vendors are active and who are they partnering with? Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3866782/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com Stock Market Symbols GIB (NYSE) GIB.A (TSX) www.cgi.com/newsroom PARIS, France, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) announced the signing of a new five-year contract with La Banque Postale, with an option to renew for another three years, to assist the bank with its digital transformation initiatives and the R&D activities of its Information Systems division to accelerate the bank's business development. A La Banque Postale partner for the past 12 years and a key player in helping to shape the digital future of France, CGI has provided IT consulting services to La Banque Postale since the bank's founding. CGI was selected by La Banque Postale based upon its strong reputation for operational excellence and will support the IT modernization of the bank's business applications, including upgrading, maintenance, and project, technical and operations support. La Banque Postale will benefit from the guidance and expertise of CGI consultants in the following areas: Bulking up and industrializing service center operations for increased profitability and greater flexibility Optimizing bank project management costs Assisting with information system modernization Simplifying and standardizing IT processes and streamlining its installed base of applications "This new contract with CGI is proof of the trust between the two partners. We've worked together for 12 years now, and CGI's teams know how to organize and assist us to ensure that our major transformation projects are successful by helping us achieve greater flexibility for financing some of our key investments," explained Patrick Renouvin, Manager, Information Systems, at La Banque Postale and Reseau La Poste, and a member of the executive committees of both La Banque Postale and Reseau La Poste. "We are pleased to build upon our strong partnership to assist La Banque Postale with its digital transformation and with the initiatives that will accelerate its future development. Under the contract, CGI will continue to provide operational expertise to the bank by relying on the CGI MAP (Modernization Application Products) solution, a technical and operational mapping tool that performs real-time impact analysis to bolster IT modernization projects," said Gilles Le Franc, Senior Vice-President, France West, CGI. About La Banque Postale La Banque Postale, a subsidiary of Le Groupe La Poste, is present in the retail banking, insurance and asset management markets. As a civic-minded bank, it supports its customers by offering a sustainable banking relationship with an extensive range of reasonably priced and accessible products and services. As a local bank providing a public service, La Banque Postale meets the needs of everyone: private individuals, businesses, professionals and the local public sector. It strives to serve its customers through the network of post offices, online and over the telephone as part of a fully multi-channel relationship. La Banque Postale is: 5.745 billion euros of NBI 10.8 million active clients 408,000 Businesses, Professionals, Local Authorities and Associations as customers 8 million bankcards 17,000 outlets Figures at the end of 2015 About CGI Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is the fifth largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world. Approximately 65,000 professionals serve thousands of global clients from offices and delivery centers across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, leveraging a comprehensive portfolio of services including high-end business and IT consulting, systems integration, application development and maintenance, infrastructure management as well as 150 IP-based services and solutions. With annual revenue in excess of C$10 billion and an order backlog exceeding C$20 billion, CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Website: www.cgi.com. Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements and this information represent CGI's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, of which many are beyond the control of the Company. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These factors include but are not restricted to: the timing and size of new contracts; acquisitions and other corporate developments; the ability to attract and retain qualified members; market competition in the rapidly evolving IT industry; general economic and business conditions; foreign exchange and other risks identified in the press release, in CGI's annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and in other public disclosure documents filed with the Canadian securities authorities (filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. The words "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "foresee", "plan", and similar expressions and variations thereof, identify certain of such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. In particular, statements relating to future performance are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or on this forward-looking information. SOURCE CGI Group Inc. Related Links http://www.cgi.com/ PHILADELPHIA, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Master Barber, Chad Michael, will release his new line of hair products at the Premiere Orlando International Beauty Event on June 4th through 6th. The Premiere Orlando trade show is the largest beauty show in the United States. The show brings distributors, manufacturers, and licensed industry professionals together to introduce them to new techniques, new trends, and new products. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374205 Chad Michael Styling Products The Chad Michael line of products is a welcome addition to the show. "We are very excited about the show," says Chad, "I have been using these products on my customers for a while now, they all love it and I'm looking forward to personally introducing other professionals in the industry to my new line of products." The majority of the show focuses on women's products, but the growth of men's grooming, in recent years, has brought with it an increased demand for men's products. "Having been a barber for many years, I've found it difficult to find good products for my customers. I've usually looked for very exclusive product lines that are made of high quality. The barber distributors that I've worked with, for all of my other needs, never seemed to have quality hair care and styling products. So I usually ended up buying products overseas," says Chad Michael. All of the Chad Michael products are made in the United States and are made with some of the best ingredients available. For example, the shampoo and conditioner both contain rosemary essential oil, which when applied over the scalp helps stimulate hair growth, is used to treat dandruff and dry scalp. The styling products are all sulfate, paraben, and alcohol free. "This is a theme that I worked hard on with the entire product range," says Chad, "it is very important for me to have products that are both good for styling and good for your hair." Chad and his staff will be in their booth demonstrating the line and providing complimentary haircuts and hair styles in their booth. All items from the product line will be available for purchase at the booth or customers can order through the Chad Michael website. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Chad Michael TENAFLY, N.J., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Security Current, the premier information and collaboration community by CISOs for CISOs, named Triumfant the winner of its Security Shark Tank NYC competition. Held at the City Winery in Manhattan, the event brought security solutions providers face-to-face with potential buyers. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373651LOGO Five vendors were given 15 minutes each to pitch their innovative solutions to the panel of information security executives interested in innovative technologies. The executives scored each vendor based on innovation and vision, ease of use and implementation, value to the industry, and the presenter's ability to clearly and effectively articulate their value and differentiator. Duff & Phelps CISO Brian Lozada served as the event host and moderator of the panel. The CISO panel included: Barnabas Health CISO Hussein Syed BioReference Labs CISO Michael Molinaro CBS CISO Joel Molinoff Corporate CISO David Cowart IBM Cloud & SaaS CISO David Cass Hearst Corporation CISO David Hahn New York University CISO Bernardo Vasquez The Economist Group CISO David Peach Tyco CISO Nick Nedostup UN Development Programme CISO Paul Raines "Security Shark Tank provides unprecedented value for CISOs interested in learning about cutting edge security technologies used by their peers," said Duff & Phelps CISO Brian Lozada, who moderated the event. "With the vendor field so crowded, the ability to pose questions in a rapid-fire format and hear what other leading CISOs from across industry sectors are asking enables us to cut through the noise." Security Shark Tank winner Triumfant's Atomic Eye solution provides continuous protection from advanced threats on the endpoint, stopping cyber criminals in their tracks. "The Triumfant solution addresses a key industry challenge with an innovative approach," said David Cass, IBM Cloud & SaaS CISO. "They stood out by clearly articulating their value add and differentiators. Congratulations to Triumfant on winning Security Shark Tank NYC." Barnabas Health CISO Hussein Syed added: "The event brought together a diverse group of vendors and CISOs for an interactive conversation about the latest technologies that help to combat threats and protect our organizations. We are all facing similar challenges, so the opportunity to hear questions and perspectives from our peers is extremely valuable." Visit the Security Current website to learn more about each of the participating companies. More information can also be found at www.securitysharktank.com. About Security Current Security Current improves the way security, privacy and risk executives collaborate to protect their organizations and their information. Its CISO-driven proprietary content and events provide insight, actionable advice and analysis giving executives the latest information to make knowledgeable decisions. Contact: Jennifer Tanner Managing Editor, Security Current Email 229-834-3004 SOURCE Security Current LEXINGTON, Ky., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexington, KY-based IT Services firm, SIS announces that its Managed Solution Center (MSC) will support Cintas' Corporate and Rental locations iSeries infrastructure. SIS will provide remote monitoring, management and backup services for 145 Cintas locations nationally; enabling Cintas to focus on running its business. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, first aid and safety services and fire protection services. Cintas selected SIS based on their experience in both architecting and delivering robust infrastructure solutions. Cintas needed a partner that had IBM iSeries expertise, could provide 24 x 7 support, and the ability to improve the platform's availability. In addition, Cintas tasked SIS with increasing the level of service and useful life of a platform that is mission critical to daily operations. "We are excited to partner with Cintas in delivering Managed Services across North America," said Maria Veyon, Executive Vice President, Service Delivery. "The mission of our Managed Services practice is to provide our customers with peace of mind and service levels that exceed their expectations." "We are excited about our new partnership with SIS in delivering Managed Services and anticipate that they will exceed our expectations," said Mike Thompson, Cintas' Chief Information Officer. "At Cintas, we have a well-defined corporate culture because we firmly believe a company's culture is the single most important factor between greatness and mediocrity. SIS appears to be compatible with our culture and we look forward to accomplishing great things together." When SIS opened the MSC in 2011, SIS was the only IBM partner delivering IBM Power, Intel and Storage platforms from a single facility. Cintas joins over 100 other customers who have entrusted their systems to SIS' Managed Solution Center. About SIS SIS is a leading technology and managed IT solutions provider recognized across North America helping clients design, optimize and support mission-critical assets. Our regionally focused teams across the country solve challenges and design solutions, leaving more time for clients to devote resources to core business strategies. SIS' proven methodology, experienced professionals and innovative technologies provide the highest quality of IT service to more than 1,300 clients, both large and small. Founded in 1982, SIS is headquartered in Lexington, Ky. and has regional offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. For more information call 800-337-6914, or visit www.ThinkSIS.com. PR Contact: Terrin Williams, SIS, 513-372-6475, [email protected] SOURCE SIS Related Links http://www.ThinkSIS.com ELGIN, Ill., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinical Computer Systems, Inc. (CCSI), has teamed up with MEDITECH to create tight integration between the OBIX Perinatal Data System and the MEDITECH EHR. This integration will be available in OBIX system version 7.3, MEDITECH versions 6.15, 6.16, and future releases. The software interfaces are co-developed to provide an integrated perinatal medical record that supports a hospital's desired clinical workflow and interoperability strategy. Together these systems deliver care providers and stake holders with greater information to support patient care. CCSI has been working with MEDITECH to develop seamless integration to keep the patient's medical record in sync between the two systems. Data charted in OBIX is automatically updated in MEDITECH and conversely, relevant data charted in MEDITECH is automatically updated in the OBIX system. Therefore, eliminating the need for double documentation of the same data in two separate systems. Relevant data is displayed in OBIX on the fetal monitor strip for easy review and accessed quickly from MEDITECH through the single sign-on feature. "Our company's foundation is built upon customer support and we work with software vendors, such as MEDITECH, to provide a truly integrated perinatal system experience," says Kim Sell, President of CCSI. "We are excited about this solution as it provides our customers with a single medical record regardless of which system the data is captured." The OBIX system is a comprehensive, computerized system for central, bedside, and remote electronic fetal monitoring. It includes archiving, point-of-care charting, single-click management reports, interface capabilities, and multi-facility support. The system is developed using the latest technology and able to be deployed in different environments to utilize the hospital's current strategy and infrastructure. The OBIX system's decision support features and tools help clinicians promote patient safety in electronic fetal monitoring and improve practices. About Clinical Computer Systems, Inc. CCSI is an employee-owned, high technology company located in Elgin, Illinois. For 20 years, CCSI has been a leader in perinatal systems with innovative, customer-driven, computer-based perinatal system, and support services. The company is dedicated to the development of the OBIX Perinatal Data System and works to incorporate changes in technology, regulations, and standards in the obstetrical department that support hospitals' strategic initiatives. For more information, go to www.obix.com or www.meditech.com. SOURCE Clinical Computer Systems, Inc. CHICAGO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) today announced the introduction of Bankers Life Securities, Inc., a full-service broker-dealer, and Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc., a registered investment advisor. "Central to our growth strategy, both Bankers Life Securities and Bankers Life Advisory Services align with our middle-market customers' need for diverse retirement planning solutions," said Ed Bonach, CEO of CNO Financial. "Together with our national life and health insurance subsidiary Bankers Life, we can now offer a full suite of retirement planning products and services to meet the needs of middle-income Americans. Having these capabilities in-house, to assist our customers with a broader range of services, allows us to better meet their financial security needs. Advisors are trained to understand customers' objectives, provide guidance and assistance, and offer solutions to help achieve our customer's investment and protection goals." Bankers Life Securities, based in Chicago, offers a variety of products including mutual funds, equities, exchange traded funds, bonds, variable annuities, 529 plans, and college savings programs. Bankers Life Securities is a member of FINRA/SIPC. These investment-related products and services will be available through approximately 300 Bankers Life Securities registered advisers, co-located in approximately 150 of Bankers Life's sales offices across the United States, with plans to expand to additional locations in the future. Bankers Life Advisory Services, an SEC-registered investment adviser, offers portfolio management and financial planning strategies to its middle-market customers through investment advisor representatives. About CNO Financial Group CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) is a holding company. Our insurance subsidiaries principally Bankers Life and Casualty Company, Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company and Washington National Insurance Company primarily serve middle-income pre-retiree and retired Americans by helping them protect against financial adversity and provide for a more secure retirement. For more information, visit CNO online at www.CNOinc.com. About Bankers Life Securities and Bankers Life Advisory Services Bankers Life Securities, Inc. and Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. focus on the securities and investment advisory needs of middle-income Americans who are near or in retirement. Through our dedicated financial advisors, we provide investment solutions that can help meet our clients' financial goals and investment objectives. Bankers Life Securities and Bankers Life Advisory Services are subsidiaries of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO). To learn more, visit Bankers Life Securities. Non affiliated insurance products offered through Bankers Life Securities General Agency, Inc. Securities and variable annuities offered through Bankers Life Securities, Inc. Member, FINRA/SIPC (dba BL Securities Inc, IA, MI, PA). Investment Advisory products and services offered by Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. SEC Registered Adviser, (dba BL Advisory Services, Inc, AK, IA, PA). Investments are: Not Guaranteed, Involve Risk, May Lose Value. SOURCE CNO Financial Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.CNOinc.com OR AKIVA, Israel, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CNOGA medical Ltd, a leading developer and manufacturer of Non-invasive medical monitoring device, is pleased to announce that they have signed a distribution agreement with ARTECH S.R.L. CAVEZZO MO, Italy to distribute CNOGA's Tensor Tip Non-invasive devices in Italy. The MTX non-invasive device, from CNOGA's Tensor Tip Family, is capable of monitoring 14 parameters, such as Blood Pressure (Systolic, Diastolic and MAP-Mean Arterial Pressure), Pulse, Blood Carbon Dioxide (PCO2, CO2), Oxygen (PO2, O2), Oxygen Saturation (sPO2), Blood pH, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Red Blood Cells, Stroke Volume, Cardiac Output and more, as well as live Waveforms of blood pressure and Pulse, all in one compact portable device. Prof. Sergio Pillon, President of "National Observatory on E-health and Telemedicine" ONSET, and a Member of the Advisory Board of eHealth Ventures said: "Such new technologies enable monitoring parameters that, until now, could only be monitored through invasive tests conducted exclusively in specialist laboratories and in hospitals. The opportunities offered by CNOGA's technology can greatly reduce emergency room visits and contribute to the physicians' empowerment. Within seconds, the doctor can have a broad patient-assessment saved on his computer and, if needed, transmitted to the specialist for a second opinion". Prof. Pillon also noted: "The waveform analysis can provide even more relevant data, with continuous blood pressure, O2 saturation, stroke volume, cardiac output and all other parameters stored for offline analysis". Dr. Yosef Segman, founder and CEO of CNOGA Medical said: "CNOGA Medical is committed to improving the quality of life for both chronic patients and healthy people, while providing the medical professional with instant access to clinical information that otherwise currently takes days to obtain by traditional methods, thus making a tremendous impact on the efficiency of the treatment". Mr. Alon Kapel, Regional Sales Director of CNOGA Medical added: "We are excited to work with ARTECH, an experienced Italian distributor, to promote CNOGA products in Italy. We believe that the MTX will revolutionize the way general practitioners, medical professionals in clinics, hospitals, e-health providers or retirement homes, treat their patients, by providing them with flexible, fast, pain-free, easy to use and safe medical analysis. "It is an honor for us to enter into this partnership with CNOGA Medical. We share the same vision and I'm confident that bringing together CNOGA knowledge as a leading vendor and ARTECH's skills and track record as a distributor will let us meet the markets' need: obtaining clinical data in a fast and affordable manner, in order to optimally treat patients while reducing hospital expenditure." Emilio Contini, ARTECH president, commented. "We believe in this development and, therefore, created a new team and a new company, ARTECH Virtual Clinic that relies on CNOGA's exceptional technology that will allow us to play a leading role in the Italian e-health market". About CNOGA Products TensorTip Matrix (MTX) is a non-invasive device for measuring Hemodynamics (Pulse, Blood Pressure, Cardiac Output, Stroke Volume, MAP (Mean Arterial Pressure)), blood gases (pH, PCO2, PO2, CO2, O2) and Blood Chemistry Hemoglobin (Hb), Hematocrit (Hct) and Red Blood Count (RBC). TensorTip Vital Sign Monitor (VSM) measures vital signs non-invasively such as Blood Pressure, Pulse and SPO2 (saturation) and is an entry-level version of the MTX device. CNOGA's products have received the CE mark clearance for use in the European Union, as well as been approved for sale in more than 35 countries About CNOGA Medical Ltd. CNOGA Medical Ltd., a privately held international company, with offices in Israel, China, & Brazil, was founded in 2004 by Dr. Yosef Segman, a technology innovator and entrepreneur, who has led the product development from the early stages through a strategic partnership with Texas Instruments Inc., to commercialization. CNOGA's Medical Advisor is Prof. Dr. Uriel Trahtemberg, MD/PhD Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. About Artech ARTECH srl is an Italian distributor of biomedical devices mainly in the field of interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery. Physicians perceive ARTECH as a great value-added partner, helping them to select and utilize new technologies in order to improve their patients' health and quality of life. ARTECH recently created ARTECH VIRTUAL CLINIC, a new company dedicated to e-health. Press Contact Information: CNOGA Medical Alon Kapel: [email protected] +972-544304031 LinkedIn http://www.cnoga.com ARTECH SRL Roberto Blandino: [email protected] http://www.artech-srl.com Linkedin Google+ Prof. Sergio Pillon Twitter LinkedIn SOURCE CNOGA Medical Ltd. IRVINE, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its 2016 Storm Surge Report which concludes that more than 6.8 million homes on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are at potential risk of damage from hurricane storm surge inundation with a total reconstruction cost value of more than $1.5 trillion (Table 1). In addition to the number of homes at risk, the analysis also provides the reconstruction cost value (RCV), which is the cost to completely rebuild a property in case of damage, including labor and materials by geographic location, assuming a worst-case scenario at 100-percent destruction. Using more advanced and granular data than in previous years, the 2016 analysis shows an increase from 2015 in the overall number of homes at risk of storm surge as well as an increase in the reconstruction value of these homes. Despite the overall increases, the 2016 analysis shows a decrease in the most extreme category for both the number and value of homes at risk. The CoreLogic analysis examines risk from hurricane-driven storm surge for homes along the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines across 19 states and the District of Columbia, as well as for 88 metro areas. Homes are categorized among five risk levels, including Low, Moderate, High, Very High and Extreme. "Using more granular-level data has given us an even clearer picture of which homes are at risk of storm surge damage," said Dr. Tom Jeffery, senior hazard risk scientist for CoreLogic. "Despite the overall increases in risk, we were glad to see that the number and value of homes in the most extreme, and dangerous, category actually declined. It just goes to show the power of how advanced data can improve risk assessment at the property level." At the regional level, the Atlantic Coast has just under 3.9 million homes at risk of storm surge with an RCV of $953 billion, and the Gulf Coast has just over 2.9 million homes at risk with $592 billion in potential exposure to total destruction damage (Table 2). At the state level, Texas and Florida, which have the longest coastal areas, consistently have more homes at risk than other states. Florida ranks first with 2.7 million at-risk homes across the five risk categories and Texas ranks third with 531,169 at-risk homes (Table 3). Since the number of homes at risk strongly correlates with the accompanying RCV, these two states rank first and fifth, respectively for having the largest RCV (Table 4). States with less coastal exposure but lower-lying elevations that extend farther inland, such as Louisiana (ranked second at 800,521 at-risk homes) and New Jersey (ranked fourth at 468,823 at-risk homes), tend to have more total homes at risk because of the potential for surge water to travel farther inland. Louisiana and New Jersey are also near the top of the list for RCV, with Louisiana totaling $184 billion (ranked second) and New Jersey totaling $139 billion (ranked fourth). At the local level, 15 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) account for 67.3 percent of the 6.8 million total at-risk homes and 68.3 percent of the total $1.54 trillion RCV (Table 5). This disproportionate distribution of homes suggests that the location of hurricanes that hit land is often a more important factor than the number of storms that may occur during the year. The Miami CBSA, which includes Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, has the most homes at risk totaling 780,482 with an RCV of just under $144 billion. By comparison, the New York City CBSA has slightly fewer homes at risk at 719,373, but a significantly higher total RCV totaling $260 billion. The CoreLogic storm surge analysis also complements Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood zone information to provide a snapshot of potential damage exposure at the property level since many properties located outside designated FEMA flood zones are still at risk for storm surge damage. Standard FEMA flood zones are designed to identify areas at risk for both freshwater flooding, as well as storm surge, based on the likelihood of either a 100-year or 500-year flood event. They do not differentiate risk based on storm severity, and as a result, do not accurately reflect the total extent of potential risk along coastal areas. Homeowners who live outside designated FEMA flood zones often do not carry flood insurance, given that there is no mandate to do so, and therefore may not be aware of the potential risk that storm surge poses to their properties. To illustrate varying degrees of flood risk exposure, the analysis compares homes that are not located within FEMA 100-year floodplains against the number of homes located in surge inundation zones, as well as those located in both surge and FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA). This data can be found in the full report at: http://www.corelogic.com/landing-pages/2016-corelogic-storm-surge-risk-report.aspx Table 1 Total Number of Homes at Risk Nationally and Estimated Reconstruction Cost Value Storm Surge Risk Level (Storm Category) Total Homes Potentially Affected Total Estimated RCV (U.S. Dollars) Extreme (Category 1-5 storm) 813,587 $191,973,679,305 Very High (Category 2-5 storm) 1,658,151 $398,669,536,279 High (Category 3-5 storm) 2,006,258 $455,622,094,460 Moderate (Category 4-5 storm) 1,471,389 $332,852,780,000 Low (Category 5 storm) 880,799 $166,974,115,052 Total 6,830,184 $1,546,092,205,096 Source: CoreLogic 2016 Table 2 Residential Exposure by Coastal Region Regional Risk Atlantic Coast Homes Atlantic Coast RCV (U.S. Dollars) Gulf Coast Homes Gulf Coast RCV (U.S. Dollars) Extreme 449,466 $118,228,887,418 364,121 $73,744,791,887 Very High 965,063 $260,930,498,221 693,088 $137,739,038,058 High 1,058,829 $257,010,009,560 947,429 $198,612,084,900 Moderate 945,587 $229,021,402,222 525,802 $103,831,377,778 Low 459,099 $88,344,523,473 421,700 $78,629,591,579 Total 3,878,044 $953,535,320,894 2,952,140 $592,556,884,202 Source: CoreLogic 2016 Table 3 State at-Risk Totals (Ranked by the Number of Homes at Risk) Rank State Extreme Very High High Moderate Low* Total 1 Florida 343,089 701,739 674,817 532,217 479,764 2,731,626 2 Louisiana 91,385 121,573 399,898 118,019 69,646 800,521 3 Texas 40,277 75,021 132,507 127,393 155,971 531,169 4 New Jersey 94,643 180,269 104,010 89,901 N/A 468,823 5 New York 74,654 147,129 122,044 114,903 N/A 458,730 6 Virginia 26,081 65,946 150,883 118,253 42,450 403,613 7 South Carolina 35,514 88,485 81,039 82,177 51,425 338,640 8 North Carolina 30,785 58,829 62,456 46,086 46,556 244,712 9 Massachusetts 10,762 36,412 57,243 56,977 N/A 161,394 10 Georgia 9,290 41,003 53,398 34,272 10,755 148,718 11 Maryland 18,809 43,495 39,563 29,005 N/A 130,872 12 Mississippi 9,254 20,795 29,715 28,962 11,440 100,166 13 Pennsylvania 852 19,843 36,071 26,485 N/A 83,251 14 Connecticut 6,997 21,634 17,955 21,016 N/A 67,602 15 Delaware 8,686 14,859 14,560 16,049 N/A 54,154 16 Alabama 4,880 8,171 13,993 11,129 12,792 50,965 17 Rhode Island 1,869 6,182 9,138 9,404 N/A 26,593 18 Maine 5,484 2,683 4,036 6,148 N/A 18,351 19 New Hampshire 276 4,083 2,924 2,233 N/A 9,516 20 District of Columbia N/A** N/A** 8 760 N/A 768 Total 813,587 1,658,151 2,006,258 1,471,389 880,799 6,830,184 Source: CoreLogic 2016. *The "Low" risk category is based on Category 5 hurricanes which are not likely along the northeastern Atlantic Coast. States in that area have N/A designated for the Low category due to the extremely low probability of a Category 5 storm affecting that area. ** Washington, D.C. has no Atlantic coastal homes, but can be affected by larger hurricanes that push storm surge into the Potomac River. Category 1 and 2 storms will likely not generate sufficient storm surge to affect homes in Washington, D.C. Table 4 Reconstruction Cost Value of Homes at Risk by State Rank State Extreme Very High High Moderate Low* Total 1 Florida $70,047,668,435 $144,324,089,970 $133,941,137,129 $99,021,281,198 $88,332,267,100 $535,666,443,832 2 Louisiana $19,261,303,207 $26,484,796,128 $94,037,897,235 $27,372,451,734 $17,186,539,031 $184,342,987,335 3 New York $27,192,190,159 $59,542,751,090 $46,345,353,434 $43,938,734,695 N/A $177,019,029,378 4 New Jersey $26,447,682,381 $53,059,619,267 $31,790,469,470 $28,301,355,113 N/A $139,599,126,231 5 Texas $5,835,289,703 $11,550,329,115 $23,317,525,550 $24,438,975,019 $26,505,485,218 $91,647,604,605 6 Virginia $6,558,725,763 $15,489,587,692 $31,072,040,615 $24,525,113,051 $9,708,289,679 $87,353,756,800 7 South Carolina $10,119,452,942 $22,371,712,736 $17,892,600,081 $17,224,909,503 $10,050,257,900 $77,658,933,162 8 Massachusetts $3,192,412,745 $10,867,434,276 $17,351,600,509 $18,135,938,844 N/A $49,547,386,374 9 North Carolina $5,866,070,772 $11,772,926,993 $12,629,945,559 $9,452,537,798 $9,272,277,927 $48,993,759,049 10 Georgia $2,823,103,183 $10,173,092,963 $10,750,858,962 $6,419,508,663 $1,885,691,326 $32,052,255,097 11 Maryland $4,533,798,320 $10,363,999,665 $9,197,276,146 $7,045,549,151 N/A $31,140,623,282 12 Connecticut $2,470,802,868 $7,222,627,340 $5,956,081,705 $6,841,880,454 N/A $22,491,392,367 13 Mississippi $1,962,934,062 $3,971,758,807 $5,408,276,830 $5,182,968,425 $1,998,298,521 $18,524,236,645 14 Delaware $2,592,865,851 $4,136,821,593 $4,238,888,654 $4,465,099,655 N/A $15,433,675,753 15 Pennsylvania $205,882,424 $2,509,057,342 $4,742,484,301 $3,554,045,351 N/A $11,011,469,418 16 Alabama $951,444,860 $1,419,732,376 $2,366,412,240 $1,964,047,014 $2,035,008,350 $8,736,644,840 17 Rhode Island $534,329,842 $1,830,867,728 $2,674,150,401 $2,673,066,234 N/A $7,712,414,205 18 Maine $1,316,675,180 $687,634,190 $1,058,854,921 $1,589,131,085 N/A $4,652,295,376 19 New Hampshire $61,046,608 $890,697,008 $846,888,075 $593,570,376 N/A $2,392,202,067 20 District of Columbia N/A** N/A** $3,352,643 $112,616,637 N/A $115,969,280 Total $191,973,679,305 $398,669,536,279 $455,622,094,460 $332,852,780,000 $166,974,115,052 $1,546,092,205,096 Source: CoreLogic 2016. Table 5 Storm Surge Risk for Top 15 Metropolitan Areas Rank Metropolitan Area Total Homes Potentially Affected By All Categories of Hurricane Total Estimated RCV (U.S. Dollars) 1 Miami, FL 780,482 $143,949,383,422 2 New York, NY 719,373 $260,195,234,842 3 Tampa, FL 454,746 $80,627,283,072 4 New Orleans, LA 390,806 $94,043,948,226 5 Virginia Beach, VA-NC 385,084 $83,472,805,334 6 Cape Coral, FL 306,953 $61,989,183,591 7 Houston, TX 280,112 $51,868,761,737 8 Bradenton, FL 250,615 $47,331,097,845 9 Naples, FL 180,919 $43,178,509,775 10 Jacksonville, FL 166,709 $35,807,031,655 11 Philadelphia, PA 165,940 $31,884,862,628 12 Charleston, SC 145,356 $36,193,547,227 13 Boston, MA 129,167 $38,480,093,842 14 Myrtle Beach, SC 123,645 $21,588,181,602 15 Lafayette, LA 119,942 $25,831,094,601 Total 4,599,849 $1,056,441,019,399 Source: CoreLogic 2016. Additional CBSA data, market rankings, regional, state and local-level maps are available upon request. Methodology The CoreLogic storm surge analysis encompasses single-family residential structures and also includes mobile homes, duplexes, manufactured homes and cabins, among other non-traditional home types. The 2016 CoreLogic Storm Surge Report provides a more granular and accurate analysis than in previous reports, now incorporating 10-meter grid cell elevation data rather than the 30-meter elevation data used previously. This enhanced granular view of data effectively increases resolution and accuracy of land elevation analysis by almost tenfold, giving insurers an even better way to analyze risk. Year-over-year changes in the number of homes at risk and RCV can be the result of several variables, including new home construction, improved public records, enhanced modeling techniques, fluctuation in labor, equipment and material costs, and even potential rise in sea level. As a result, direct year-over-year comparisons should be avoided. To estimate the value of property exposure of the single-family residences, CoreLogic utilized its proprietary reconstruction cost valuation methodology which estimates the cost to rebuild the home in the event of a total loss and is not to be confused with property market values or new construction cost estimation. Reconstruction cost estimates more accurately reflect the actual cost of damage or destruction of residential buildings since they include the cost of materials, equipment and labor needed to rebuild, and also factor in geographical pricing differences. Actual land values are not included in the estimates. The values are based on 100-percent or total destruction of the residential structure. Depending on the amount of surge water from a given storm, there may be less than 100-percent damage to the residence, which would result in a lower realized RCV. About CoreLogic CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider. The company's combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com. CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100609/CLLOGO SOURCE CoreLogic Related Links http://www.corelogic.com NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Credit Suisse AG announced today that it will repurchase at its option its Credit Suisse X-Links Merger Arbitrage ETNs ("CSMA"), as the outstanding principal amount of ETNs is $10,000,000 or less. The repurchase date is expected to be June 13, 2016. Credit Suisse AG expects to deliver an irrevocable call notice with respect to the repurchase of CSMA to The Depository Trust Company no later than June 7, 2016. The trading day immediately following the date of such irrevocable call notice, which is expected to be June 8, 2016, will be the valuation date applicable to the repurchase of CSMA, subject to postponement due to certain events. Investors will receive a cash payment per ETN in an amount equal to the closing value of CSMA on the valuation date. The repurchase date for the ETNs is expected to be June 13, 2016, which is three business days after the valuation date. Accordingly, the last day of trading for the ETNs is expected to be June 10, 2016. None of the other ETNs offered by Credit Suisse AG are affected by this announcement. Repurchase Ticker Symbol CUSIP Credit Suisse X-Links Merger Arbitrage ETNs due October 6, 2020 CSMA 22542D845 Credit Suisse AG Credit Suisse AG is one of the world's leading financial services providers and is part of the Credit Suisse group of companies (referred to here as 'Credit Suisse'). As an integrated bank, Credit Suisse offers clients its combined expertise in the areas of private banking, investment banking and asset management. Credit Suisse provides advisory services, comprehensive solutions and innovative products to companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth private clients globally, as well as to retail clients in Switzerland. Credit Suisse is headquartered in Zurich and operates in over 50 countries worldwide. The group employs approximately 47,760 people. The registered shares (CSGN) of Credit Suisse's parent company, Credit Suisse Group AG, are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares (CS), in New York. Further information about Credit Suisse can be found at www.credit-suisse.com. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091204/CSLOGO SOURCE Credit Suisse AG Related Links http://www.credit-suisse.com CHICAGO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the largest public accounting, consulting and technology firms in the U.S., has welcomed the personnel of AbleBridge, Inc. Based in Westborough, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, AbleBridge is a software company that develops and sells industry software solutions built upon the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. As part of the transaction, Crowe has acquired all of AbleBridge's intellectual property. Financial terms were not disclosed. Established in 2007 by Ryan Plourde, AbleBridge has built an established Microsoft Dynamics CRM software and consulting practice. AbleBridge's flagship industry solution, BenefitsBridge, provides insurance benefits brokers with a highly specialized agency management solution. In addition to insurance, AbleBridge also services organizations in the manufacturing, broker-dealer, wealth management, construction and professional services areas. Plourde will join Crowe as a principal in Performance Consulting. "AbleBridge brings an innovative software mindset, with a focus on specialized industry solutions," said Josh Cole, managing principal of Crowe Performance Consulting. "The talented people of AbleBridge bring tremendous synergies with our existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM practice, while adding to our deep specialization and focus on the insurance industry." This will be the firm's first location in the Boston area. "Joining with Crowe gives us greater capacity to better serve our clients and the ability to bring new software solutions to the market rapidly," said Plourde, CEO of AbleBridge. "The combination of our product development and marketing expertise, combined with the service capability of Crowe will create a truly differentiated and leading CRM practice." About Crowe Horwath Crowe Horwath LLP (www.crowehorwath.com) is one of the largest public accounting, consulting, and technology firms in the United States. Crowe uses its deep industry expertise to provide audit services to public and private entities while also helping clients reach their goals with tax, advisory, risk and performance services. Crowe is recognized by many organizations as one of the country's best places to work. Crowe serves clients worldwide as an independent member of Crowe Horwath International, one of the largest global accounting networks in the world. The network consists of more than 200 independent accounting and advisory services firms in more than 120 countries around the world. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090902/CL69632LOGO SOURCE Crowe Horwath LLP Related Links http://www.crowehorwath.com CHANDLER, Ariz., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- DBSI, a banking transformation expert in branch optimization, retail design, technology, construction and digital signage, was recognized for creating the best credit union digital signage content, helping two clients take home a 2016 CUNA Diamond Award. Considered the most prestigious annual credit union industry competition with more than 1000 entries, both Technology Credit Union and California Coast Credit Union were selected for creative excellence and outstanding results for DBSI created campaigns. Tech CU's Interactive Digital Signage Timeline Calcoast CU's Financial Scoops for Interactive Kiosks and Video Walls Technology Credit Union, a 70,000+ member, $2 billion California credit union, took home top honors, winning "Category's Best" for the Point of Sale Display & Retail Merchandising category. Included in the award winning entry were the Interactive Touch Screens and Wall Murals DBSI developed and deployed across Tech CU's newly redesigned branches. "Working with DBSI's digital team was a great experience. They helped us choose the right hardware and design the award-winning digital signage content in our new branches. We would highly recommend working with DBSI's digital team," enthused Kate Duggan, SVP of Marketing at Tech CU. California Coast Credit Union, a 140,000+ member, $2 billion California credit union, won honors in the Financial Education category for the "Financial Scoops" DBSI developed and deployed in the San Diego State University campus branch, helping to educate students on being financially smarter. "Financial education and delivering a better branch experience are two important values we want to offer our members," remarked Kathy Cady, California Coast CU's COO. "DBSI's Digital Signage Agency helped us create and deliver both through digital signage deployed at our SDSU branch. The content and the way it's delivered are spot-on. It's appealing, eye-catching, and right on brand. We are thankful to have found such a great partner to help with our branch marketing strategies." John W. Smith, DBSI's CEO echoed in the excitement. "Digital Signage isn't just about putting up screens and expecting results. It's about helping consumers discover how financial institutions can improve their lives. We only create and recommend things that work. Seeing our clients' successes and positive outcomes validate our strategic approach to creating digital signage content." Of course, it is a showing that vibrant, strategically placed content is a differentiator. Content creating content focused on content works." About DBSI DBSI helps banks and credit unions create highly efficient, profitable branches with a uniquely smarter experience. With almost a 20 year track record and 3,000 completed projects annually, DBSI has won national acclaim from Inc. 5000, Inc. Hire Power, and the Top 5 of Arizona's Best Companies awards, and is a thought leader and innovator for financial institutions across the nation. DBSI is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, and provides comprehensive branch transformation services such as design, technology, equipment, construction, digital signage and facilities maintenance services to hundreds of clients. For more information please visit www.dbsi-inc.com Contact: Emily Sweillam 6022647263 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374105 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374106 SOURCE DBSI Related Links http://www.dbsi-inc.com HARRISBURG, Pa., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Department of Health Secretary Karen Murphy today announced the department has started working on temporary regulations in order to implement the medical marijuana program in Pennsylvania and will be seeking input from the public, stakeholders, and partners throughout the process. The first temporary regulation will be for growers/processors so that those entities can come online and begin to produce products. A survey is available on the department's website to allow for input on the development of this particular regulation. "Our vision is to have a high quality, efficient, and compliant medical marijuana program for Pennsylvania residents with serious medical conditions as defined by Act 16," said Secretary Murphy. "We are also committed to being transparent and communicating effectively throughout the process with the public, stakeholders, and our partners, and are very interested in their feedback as we develop temporary regulations." The department intends to issue the remainder of the temporary regulations sequentially for dispensaries, physicians, patients and caregivers, and laboratories and anticipates this being completed by the end of this calendar year. The temporary regulations will explain the medical marijuana program's operation, including how applications will be submitted, and will be in place for two years from the date they are published. The department will seek input via surveys on its website throughout the temporary regulations process. In addition to writing temporary regulations, the Department of Health is also reviewing the 123 applications it received for the newly created Medical Marijuana Program Director position. The department anticipates having the new director on board by mid-July. The medical marijuana program was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf on April 17, 2016 and became effective one month later on May 17. The implementation of the program is expected to take between 18 and 24 months and, when completed, will offer medical marijuana to patients who are residents of Pennsylvania and under a physician's care for the treatment of a serious medical condition as defined by Act 16. Questions about the medical marijuana program can be emailed to [email protected]. Information is also available on the Department of Health website at www.health.pa.gov. MEDIA CONTACT: Penny Ickes, 717-787-1783 SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Health Related Links http://www.state.pa.us ROSEMONT, Ill., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Since September 11, 2001, an estimated 60,000 U.S. military service members have been injured in combat during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Nearly 45,000 (75 percent) of all combat injuries are caused by improvised explosive devices, also known as IEDs. Approximately two out of five service members with combat injuries (40 percent) have suffered fractures, traumatic amputations, and injuries to the spine. Many of these injuries have some of the longest, highest rates of long-term disability and inpatient care resources by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals and their civilian orthopaedic surgeon staff. Approximately 64 percent of those with combat-related bone and joint injuries also become permanently disabled. However, according to retired Army Colonel Philip J. Belmont, MD, lead study author of a new literature review appearing in the June 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), deployed military service members who were engaged in sustained combat operations over a 15-month period were three times more likely to suffer non-combat musculoskeletal injuries than combat musculoskeletal injuries. In fact, even though 75 percent of musculoskeletal injuries are non-combat related, Dr. Belmont, an orthopaedic surgeon, says "80.5 percent of military air medical transports were for disease and non-combat injuries." "Some common non-combat bone and joint injuries that military service members report when they return from their deployment include anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries of the knee and shoulder dislocations. Those injuries occur nearly five times more often among military service members than they do in the civilian population. Also common are ankle sprains and plantar fasciitis," says Dr. Belmont, the latter a condition causing prolonged pain and discomfort along the bottom of the foot and heel. Previous researchers found that among service members who completed their deployments: 19 percent required an orthopaedic consultation; Four percent underwent orthopaedic surgery; and, 50 percent of those surgical procedures were on the knee or shoulder upon return to station. Daily, physical hardships endured during deployment can be taxing on military service members, but remaining in peak physical condition and staying alert to their environment can help minimize their likelihood of non-combat injuries. While military tactical gear technology, like body armor and Kevlar helmets, continues to improve and reduce the overall number of life-threatening wounds, "soldiers who in previous conflicts would have succumbed to injuries on the battlefield are now surviving, yet they still have devastating orthopaedic injuries that require extensive treatment," says Dr. Belmont. More information about the AAOS Follow the AAOS on Facebook and Twitter Disclosures : From the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Brown Alpert Medical School, Providence, RI (Dr. Brett D. Owens), and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (Dr. Andrew J. Schoenfeld). SOURCE American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Related Links http://www.aaos.org This annual honor recognizes a K-12 theatre educator in the U.S. who has demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession. A panel of judges comprised of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon University and other leaders from the theatre industry selected the winner and two finalists from more than 1,100 entries. McCormick's students, present and past, along with colleagues at Cass Technical High School submitted heartfelt letters, tributes and videos through the application process. To celebrate her hard work and valuable contribution to theatre education, McCormick will receive a $10,000 grant for her theatre program and a trip to New York City to be recognized during the live CBS broadcast of the 70th Annual Tony Awards on June 12, 2016. McCormick and the Cass Tech students were informed of her selection by a surprise visit to McCormick's classroom by Renee Elise Goldsberry, a 2016 Tony Award nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her starring role in Broadway's "Hamilton." Goldsberry is a CMU alum and served on this year's judge's panel. "To think that my students recommended me for this award that's an honor," said McCormick, who is retiring in June. "I am overwhelmed to be receiving this recognition, and I can't wait to go to the Tony Awards. I have always told my students, 'Good, better, best; never let it rest, until your good gets better and your better is best.' Well, this is certainly the best!" More information is available at http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2016/may/theatre-education-award.html. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374174 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20020422/CMULOGO SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University Related Links http://www.cmu.edu SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The global diabetes devices market is expected to reach USD 35.5 billion by the year 2024, according to a new report published by Grand View Research, Inc. Major drivers of the market include the growing number of diabetic patients owing to the sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy food habits. The growing demand for the advanced and minimally invasive, diagnostic as well as monitoring devices is expected to propel the market growth during the forecast period. Grand View Research Logo (PRNewsFoto/Grand View Research_ Inc_) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 ) The rising awareness with regard to the technologically advanced monitoring tools, such as the continuous glucose monitor, is a crucial factor expected to spur the growth of the market. The demand for affordable monitoring devices in the developed as well as the less-developed countries is expected to propel the market growth of products, such as glucose test strips. The existence of relatively smooth product approval procedures in most of the developed countries including the U.S and European countries are expected to boost the insulin devices market. The rising popularity of the compact, easy to carry monitoring devices, and the introduction of minimally invasive, highly efficient devices is expected to drive the market growth at a lucrative rate. However, the disparity in the reimbursement policies is primarily challenging the overall growth of this market. Browse full research report with TOC on "Diabetes Devices Market Analysis By Device Type (Self-monitoring & Diagnostic Devices (Lancets, Analog Glucose Meter, Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) And Test Strips)), Delivery Type (Syringes, Pumps, Pens, Injectors) And Segment Forecasts To 2024" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/diabetes-devices-market Further key findings from the study suggest: The demand for the diabetes devices is expected to surge owing to the factors such as the constantly increasing geriatric population prone to diabetes, the government initiatives taken to support better management of diabetes, and the growing awareness regarding diabetes devices In 2015, the test-strips sub-segment captured the largest market share in the blood glucose monitoring and diagnostic devices segment. The insulin pens accounted for the largest share of the insulin delivery devices segment. The global diabetes devices market is expected to reach USD 35.4 billion in 2024. in 2024. The monitoring and diagnostic devices segment captured the largest market share of the overall market in 2015. The segment accounted for around 71% of the total market owing to repeat purchases. The monitoring and diagnostic devices segment is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period owing to the introduction of technologically advanced products coupled with the high adoption of these products in the near future North America captured the largest market share of around 32% in the year 2015. The domination of the market is expected to continue with a CAGR of 5.9%. The growing diabetic population, the availability of technologically advanced devices, and the presence of skilled professionals are the factors contributing to the growth of the market in North America . captured the largest market share of around 32% in the year 2015. The domination of the market is expected to continue with a CAGR of 5.9%. The growing diabetic population, the availability of technologically advanced devices, and the presence of skilled professionals are the factors contributing to the growth of the market in . Asia Pacific is the fastest growing segment of the market. Countries, such as China and India are expected to show a swift growth owing to the high prevalence of diabetes, the rising awareness regarding commercially available devices, and the growing disposable income in these countries is the fastest growing segment of the market. Countries, such as and are expected to show a swift growth owing to the high prevalence of diabetes, the rising awareness regarding commercially available devices, and the growing disposable income in these countries The key players in diabetes devices market include Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Bayer Healthcare AG, Johnson& Johnson, F. Hoffmann La-Roche Ltd., Becton Dickinson and Company, Medtronic, Inc., Novo Nordisk A/S, and Sanofi. Grand View Research has segmented the diabetes devices market on the basis of device, type, and geography. Diabetes devices market by product, revenue (USD Million), 2013 - 2024 Self-Monitoring and Diagnostic Devices Lancets Analogue glucose monitor Continuous glucose monitor Test Strips Insulin Delivery Devices Syringes Pens Pumps Injectors Diabetes devices market by region, revenue (USD Million), 2013 - 2024 North America U.S. Diabetes Devices Market, by Device Type Canada Diabetes Devices Market, by Device Type Europe U.K. Diabetes Devices Market, by Device Type Germany Diabetes Devices Market, by Device Type Asia Pacific China Diabetes Devices Market, by Device Type India Diabetes Devices Market, by Device Type Latin America Brazil Diabetes Devices Market, by Device Type Mexico Diabetes Devices Market by Device Type MEA South Africa Diabetes Devices Market, by Devices Type Browse related reports by Grand View Research: Fluid Management Systems Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/fluid-management-systems-market http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/fluid-management-systems-market Kidney Fibrosis Treatment Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/kidney-fibrosis-treatment-market http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/kidney-fibrosis-treatment-market Magnetic Resonance Imaging Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/magnetic-resonance-imaging-market http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/magnetic-resonance-imaging-market Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Devices Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/gastrointestinal-endoscopic-devices-market About Grand View Research: Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. Read Our Blogs - legalworkshop.org, grandviewresearch.com/blogs/healthcare Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Docupace Technologies LLC, a leading financial tech, digital compliance and cyber security company, announced that it has raised $16.5 million in capital from Palisades Growth Capital and TVC Capital. The funds will be used to fuel the company's long-term growth plans. Paul D'Addario from Palisades Growth Capital and Jeb Spencer from TVC Capital will join the Board of Directors of Docupace. The financing will assist Docupace in implementing the company's core cyber-secure, paperless and compliant Straight-Through Processing for financial services firms. Docupace will also continue to implement its newer suite of products and services, some of which include cyber security services, alternative investment processing, and compliant and paperless advisor transition processing. "Docupace is on a long-term growth trajectory," said Michael Pinsker, founder and CEO of Docupace. "In the past 18 months we have innovated with new products, strengthened our market-share and supplied quality products and services to our clients. We are now independent and have the funds needed to propel us forward. We are excited about our mission to help transform the financial services industry into one that's efficient, compliant and cyber-secure. We are also very pleased to have added seasoned software and technology professionals to our Board of Directors. " TVC Capital is a San Diego-based growth equity firm focused on software investments and acquisitions, and Palisades Growth Capital is a growth stage technology investment firm based in Los Angeles. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Docupace given their formidable position in their industry, their high level of customer satisfaction and the mission critical nature of their product offering. We are very enthusiastic about the company's long term product roadmap and plans to continue to provide innovative solutions," said Jeb S. Spencer, Managing Partner of TVC Capital. "Docupace has a history of resilience and innovation. They have supported their customers in the highly-regulated financial services industry in unprecedented ways and we saw a unique opportunity to help fuel their continued success." "As a Southern California-based firm, we are particularly interested in how Los Angeles financial tech company Docupace has managed to help bring financial services firms into the 21st Century," said Paul D'Addario, Managing Partner of Palisades Growth Capital. "Our deep understanding of technology companies has convinced us that Docupace's independence presented a tremendous opportunity for us to assist them with further growth." A bout Docupace Technologies Based in Los Angeles, Docupace is a premier provider of secure and federal and state law compliant electronic processing platforms for financial institutions and the wealth management industry. The company pioneered and implemented SEC/FINRA compliant Straight-Through-Processing (STP) technology for the financial services industry. The company's document management and workflow solutions simplify the process of capturing, organizing, routing and accessing information. Docupace was first-to-market with patent-pending technologies that serve the largest financial service providers and their advisors who, driven by increased levels competition, privacy issues, document protection and government regulation, are adopting the company's document management and workflow solutions in order to sustain profitability and audit-risk assurance. As a leading provider of cyber security services, Docupace also helps broker-dealers and financial services firms become cyber secure by assessing vulnerabilities, correcting potential gaps, and providing ongoing monitoring. For more information, visit docupace.com. About TVC Capital, LLC: TVC Capital is a San Diego-based growth equity firm with over $235 million under management. TVC is focused on investments in and acquisitions of business critical software firms. TVC targets a wide spectrum of software sectors and industry verticals that are poised for growth and consolidation. The TVC team is led by operating executives with more than 80 years of experience growing technology companies into market leaders. Current and past investments include Accordent Technologies, Levels Beyond (Reach Engine), Del Mar Datatrac, Limeade, LiquidPlanner, MediaPlatform, Mercent, Centage, Celigo and ReverseVision. For more information, visit www.tvccapital.com. About Palisades Growth Capital: Palisades, based in Los Angeles, with over $180 million under management makes growth stage investments in technology, media & telecommunications and business services sectors, encompassing a wide variety of industries including healthcare, consumer/retail, environmental services, financial services and manufacturing services. Palisades makes significant minority structured preferred equity investments in growth stage companies with proven products, solid management teams, with established revenues that are primarily based in Southern California and the Western US. The investment in Docupace was made from the firm's second fund. Current and past investments include: Apacheta, Akana, Language Weaver, Lucix, MegaPath, Omneon, Peregrine Semiconductor, Polaris Wireless, Visage and XAD. For more information, visit www.palisadesgrowth.com Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373948LOGO SOURCE Docupace Technologies LLC Related Links http://docupace.com LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- DoubleLine Capital LP (including affiliates, "DoubleLine") has appointed Jeffrey Sherman as deputy chief investment officer. Separately, the firm today announces the opening of DoubleLine Investment Management North Asia Ltd. Founded December 14, 2009, DoubleLine also notes the firm on Tuesday May 31 reached $100 billion in assets under management. As deputy chief investment officer, Mr. Sherman reports to Jeffrey Gundlach, founder, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of DoubleLine. Mr. Sherman and his Macro Asset Allocation team vet and design quantitative investment strategies. He serves as co-portfolio manager with Mr. Gundlach of the DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE strategy and as portfolio manager of the DoubleLine Strategic Commodity strategy. Mr. Sherman advises the firm's Fixed Income Allocation Committee. DoubleLine also announces the opening of DoubleLine Investment Management North Asia Ltd. ("DIMNA") with a branch office in Tokyo, Japan. DIMNA provides consultation and support services to existing clients in Japan. Kazuhiro Okamura serves as head of business relations at DIMNA. He reports to Ron Redell in Mr. Redell's capacity as a director of DIMNA. Previously, Mr. Okamura served as director and general manager of business development at Baring Asset Management (Japan) Ltd. About DoubleLine Capital LP DoubleLine Capital LP, registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, manages $100 billion in closed- and open-ended 1940 Act funds, exchange-traded funds, separate accounts, hedge funds, variable annuities, UCITS and other vehicles. DoubleLine's Los Angeles offices can be reached by telephone at (213) 633-8200 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Media can reach DoubleLine by e-mail at [email protected]. DoubleLine is a registered trademark of DoubleLine Capital LP. SOURCE DoubleLine Related Links http://www.doubleline.com AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- E2open congratulates Cisco Systems, HP, Intel, Kimberly-Clark, Lenovo, L'Oreal, McDonald's, The Coca-Cola Company, and Unilever for making the 2016 Gartner Supply Chain Top 25, as well as Procter & Gamble for qualifying again for the Supply Chain Masters category, a special recognition of the company's sustained supply chain leadership over the last 10 years. Gartner specifically called out Procter & Gamble's end-to-end synchronization program, leading-edge use of demand sensing to connect its supply chain to the store shelf, and product portfolio management to drive value creation on all SKUs. "It's exciting to see so many of our customers being recognized by Gartner as having best-in-class supply chains and being at the forefront of key industry trends," said Michael Farlekas, CEO, E2open. "We are honored that these industry leaders use E2open's solutions such as our innovative demand sensing solutions to power their multi-enterprise supply chains." With more than 41,000 companies already connected, the E2open network is the foundation that allows companies to seamlessly conduct business with all their supply chain partners. By leveraging the E2open network and supply chain solutions, E2open's customers operate their multi-enterprise supply chains in real-time, helping transform them into demand-sensing, integrated demand-supply networks. Gartner's annual Supply Chain Top 25 identifies supply chain leaders and highlights their best practices. This year, Gartner highlighted three key trends for supply chain leaders: Customer-driven partner integration, adoption of advanced analytics, and an increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility. More information is available from Gartner in the special report "The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2016." About E2open Founded in 2000, E2open provides the largest and most comprehensive Supply Chain Operating Network, including a broad suite of collaborative supply chain solutions. Leading global enterprises rely on E2open to provide greater end-to-end visibility, more accurate data and insights, and real-time business process orchestration across complex, multi-tier trading partner networks. E2open powers the multi-enterprise supply chain. For more information, visit e2open.com. PR Contact Kim Cook AVP, Marketing E2open [email protected] +1.512.425.3541 SOURCE E2open Related Links http://www.e2open.com RAMAT GAN, Israel, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EarlySense, the market leader in contact-free continuous monitoring solutions, announced today that it has completed a $25 million round of funding, led by Israel's largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, with participation from Pitango Venture Capital, JK&B Capital and other previous investors. "We are experiencing exponential growth in the medical space and this funding enables us to continue to grow as well as launch consumer digital health offerings based on our medically proven technology," said Avner Halperin, CEO of EarlySense. "More than one hundred thousand patients will be monitored with our sensors this year, allowing for better care. There is a real need to bring these capabilities to individuals and their family members at home. In expanding the reach of EarlySense, we can potentially impact millions of lives in both the medical and wellness markets." EarlySense's contact-free monitoring system is FDA-cleared and CE-approved. The system enables healthcare professionals to track patient heart rate, respiratory rate and movement constantly through a sensor placed under the mattress. Continuous data is displayed on the bedside monitor and in nurse monitoring stations and is also delivered to healthcare professionals' smart-devices. EarlySense technology leverages Big Data and advanced algorithms to generate highly accurate health information empowering clinicians to achieve early detection of adverse events and improved patient outcomes. EarlySense technology also powers several consumer health products including Samsung's SleepSense, iFit's Sleep Sensor and Beurer's SE 80 Sleep Expert. "We view EarlySense as a company with an outstanding opportunity to become the leading player in a fast-growing market. This investment is well aligned with our portfolio and we are confident the company's management will leverage business opportunities, both independently and in cooperation with the world's leading companies, to continue to grow rapidly," said Danny Koller, Head of Financial Markets and International Banking at Bank Hapoalim. To date, EarlySense has raised $100 million from investors, including tech-giant Samsung, Welch Allyn and Mitsui. About EarlySense EarlySense provides contact-free, continuous monitoring solutions for the medical and consumer digital health markets. EarlySense's patented sensor and advanced algorithms monitor and analyze cardiac, respiratory, sleep and motion parameters. Used in hospitals and healthcare facilities worldwide, EarlySense assists clinicians in early detection of patient deterioration, helping to prevent adverse events, including code blues, preventable ICU transfers, patient falls and pressure ulcers. The myEarlySense smart home-compatible consumer solution brings hospital-proven technology to the home, providing valuable data regarding wellness and sleep. myEarlySense OEM technology is at the core of wellness and sleep products marketed by international partners including Samsung, Beurer and iFit. EarlySense was founded in 2004 and has offices in Waltham, MA and Ramat Gan, Israel. For more information, please visit http://www.EarlySense.com and http://www.myEarlySense.com. Media Relations Contact: Ellie Hanson Finn Partners +1-929-222-8006 [email protected] Company Contact: Hila Peleg +972-54-527-3117 [email protected] SOURCE EarlySense "Emily's extensive experience in political journalism and at the highest levels of government give us a great advantage in OAN's news coverage. She is well known for being a fearless reporter who is determined to get to the truth. We're proud to have her at the forefront of our political news team," stated Robert Herring, Sr., CEO of One America News Network . "I'm thrilled to be a part of the One America News team, which focuses on straight facts and more substantive news than the competition. I can't wait to hit the campaign trail and cover one of the most dynamic presidential races in history," said Miller. Miller was most recently the chief investigative reporter for Fox 5 DC. Miller is also the author of the book "Emily Gets Her Gun" about the national political debate over gun control. Previously, she was the senior editor of the opinion pages at The Washington Times. She was also the senior editor of Human Events. Miller served in top national political positions. She was deputy press secretary at the U.S. Department of State, working directly with Secretaries of State Colin L. Powell and Condoleezza Rice to develop communication strategies to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives. Prior to her appointment, Miller worked on Capitol Hill as communications director to then House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX). Miller was awarded the prestigious Clark Mollenhoff Award for Investigative Reporting from the Institute on Political Journalism in 2012. She also won the Society of Professional Journalists D.C. Excellence in Journalism Award for editorial writing in 2014. She is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyMiller and Facebook /EmilyMillerDC. One America News Network offers 21 hours of live news coverage plus two nightly, political talk shows - The Daily Ledger and Tipping Point. OAN has higher ratings than many other news channels, such as Fox Business News, Bloomberg TV, BBC World News and Fusion, as measured on a leading MVPD across 65 markets and reported by third party comScore. Since its July 4, 2013 debut, One America News Network has grown its distribution to 15 million households with carriage by AT&T U-Verse TV, Verizon FiOS TV, GCI Cable, Frontier Communications, CenturyLink PRISM TV, Consolidated Communications, Duncan Cable, Buckeye CableSystems, GVTC and numerous additional video providers. For more information, please visit www.oann.com. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373960 SOURCE One America News Network Related Links http://www.oann.com ALPHARETTA, Ga., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EndoChoice Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GI) announced today that Mark Gilreath, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, and David Gill, President & Chief Financial Officer are scheduled to present at William Blair & Company's 36th annual Growth Stock Conference. Event: William Blair & Company 36th Annual Growth Stock Conference Format: Presentation and One-on-One Meetings Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Time: 3:30 p.m. CT Location: Chicago, IL Audio webcasts of the Company's presentation will be available by visiting the investor relations section of EndoChoice's website at www.endochoice.com. Replays of the presentation will be available for 90 days. About EndoChoice: Based near Atlanta, Georgia, EndoChoice (NYSE: GI) is a medtech company focused on the manufacturing and commercialization of platform technologies including endoscopic imaging systems, devices and infection control products and pathology services for specialists treating a wide range of gastrointestinal conditions, including colon cancer. EndoChoice leverages its direct sales organization to serve more than 2,500 customers in the United States and works with distribution partners in 30 countries. The Company was founded in 2008 and has rapidly developed a broad and innovative product portfolio, which includes the Full Spectrum Endoscopy (Fuse) system. EndoChoice, Fuse, and Full Spectrum Endoscopy are registered trademarks of EndoChoice, Inc. Company Contact: David Gill, President & Chief Financial Officer 678-585-1040 [email protected] Investor Contacts: Nick Laudico or Zack Kubow The Ruth Group 646-536-7030 / 7020 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE EndoChoice Related Links http://www.endochoice.com ATLANTA, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced that Richard F. Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Gamble, Chief Financial Officer, and Jeff Dodge, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations, will meet with investors in New York and Canada this month. Below is the schedule. Smith and Dodge will present at the Baird 2016 Global Consumer, Technology and Services Conference in New York City on Tuesday, June 7 at 8:30 am . on at . present at the Stephens Spring Investment Conference in New York City on Wednesday, June 8 at 11:00 am . on at . meet one-on-one with investors throughout the day at each event. Gamble and Dodge will meet with investors in Toronto on Thursday, June 9 . Smith, Gamble, and Dodge will discuss the company's first quarter performance, as well as the strategic outlook for 2016. An archive of the presentation will be available at investor.equifax.com. About Equifax Equifax powers the financial future of individuals and organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 800 million consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than 5,000 employers. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,200 employees worldwide. Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit www.equifax.com. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060224/CLF037LOGO SOURCE Equifax Inc. Related Links http://www.equifax.com "We followed a thorough and deliberate process to ensure we found the leader from within ERIE who was best suited to build on the success Terry and his predecessors created," said Thomas B. Hagen, chairman of ERIE's Board of Directors. "Tim has excelled as a leader at The ERIE and understands deeply the core values that have made us distinctive in the marketplace." NeCastro joined Erie Insurance in 1996 as manager of internal auditing and was promoted to senior vice president and controller in 1997. In 2008, he broadened his experience, taking on the role of senior vice president of product and policy services, overseeing customer service, personal & commercial product development and processing areas. Since 2010, he has held the position of senior vice president and regional officer of ERIE's west region. This encompasses the sales and agency responsibilities in the western half of ERIE's 12- state footprint. "This experience has given Tim a broad perspective on communities in other parts of the country, as well as the political and regulatory forces that affect our business," said current President & CEO Cavanaugh. Prior to joining Erie Insurance, NeCastro held positions as the director of finance at Plastek Group and as a senior manager at Ernst & Young. "For 20 years, I have proudly served alongside the employees and agents at Erie Insurance," said NeCastro, president and CEO-designate of Erie Insurance. "Together, we've worked to uphold ERIE's leadership position in the industry. I'm humbled to guide us into our next phase of growth and innovation." NeCastro earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Gannon University in Erie, Pa., followed by the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation in 1995. He is also a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and holds licenses in property & casualty and life insurance. NeCastro is a native of Erie, and is married to Lisa NeCastro, director of ERIE's Commercial Lines Services. Together, the couple have five children and are active supporters of many nonprofit organizations, including St. Paul Parish and the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network (SSJNN), where NeCastro is also on the Board of Directors. About Erie Insurance According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the 10th largest homeowners insurer and 12th largest automobile insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written and the 15th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. The Group, rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company, has more than 5 million policies in force and operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Erie Insurance Group is a FORTUNE 500 company, a Barron's 500 company and has been recognized by Forbes as one of America's 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies. News releases and more information about Erie Insurance Group are available at www.erieinsurance.com. (ERIE-G) Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/374018 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20041112/ERIELOGO SOURCE Erie Insurance Related Links http://www.erieinsurance.com LONDON, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The purpose of this report is to cover the definition, description, and forecast of the Europe Mannequin-Based Simulation Market. It involves an in-depth analysis of the market segmentation, which comprises submarkets, types, and end-users. This report also provides a deep insight of the strategic analysis of key players in this market. In this report, the Europe mannequin-based simulation market is segmented on the basis of its types and end-users. This market by type is segmented into patient simulators, task trainers, ultrasound simulators, surgical simulators, endovascular simulators, dental simulators, and eye simulators. The end-users are military organizations, academic institutes, and hospitals. Germany is the largest mannequin-based simulation market growing at a CAGR of 19.9% for the forecast period from 2014 to 2019, in Europe. Its largest share is attributed to the rising adoption of simulation technologies, increasing demand for minimally invasive treatment, and increasing focus on patient safety. This will improve the demand for mannequin-based simulation in these markets. However, the limited availability of funds is a major constraint. The report also provides a detailed competitive landscaping of the companies operating in this market. Segment and country specific company shares, news & deals, Mergers and acquisitions, segment specific pipeline products, product approvals, and product recalls of the major companies have been detailed. The main companies operating in this market are CAE, Inc. (U.S.), Laerdal Medical AS (Norway), Gaumard Scientific Company Inc. (U.S.), Limbs & Things Ltd. (U.K.), etc. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3859269/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com Where: The Waldorf Hilton, Aldwych, London, WC2B 4DD Press Contact: Daniel Anthony, [email protected] or (202) 449-8441; to attend or arrange for interviews, contact local London media contact, Stephanie Lis, [email protected] or 0207 799 8909. For more information, visit http://europelibertyforum.com/. Europe Liberty Forum Highlights: -- Presentations from: Martin Agerup, CEPOS Lawson Bader , DonorsTrust , DonorsTrust Dr. Eamonn Butler , Adam Smith Institute , Adam Smith Institute Douglas Carswell MP Ebba Karlsson , Poplar , Poplar Dr. Kwasi Kwarteng MP Joseph G. Lehman , Mackinac Center for Public Policy , Mackinac Center for Public Policy Brad Lips , Atlas Network , Atlas Network Mark Littlewood , Institute of Economic Affairs , Institute of Economic Affairs Christian May , Editor of City A.M. , Editor of City A.M. Johan Norberg , historian, filmmaker, author , historian, filmmaker, author Dr. Tom G. Palmer , Atlas Network , Atlas Network Diego Sanchez de la Cruz, Civismo Karin Svanborg-Sjovall, Timbro John Tillman , Illinois Policy Institute -- Discussions on: Economic policy in the Nordics: dispelling Sandersian myths of socialist utopia Lessons learned from leading European and American think tank CEOs Removing barriers to regional entrepreneurship Champagne ideas on a beer budget FULL SCHEDULE AVAILABLE HERE About the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Based in London, the mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties. To learn more, visit iea.org.uk. About Atlas Network Washington-based Atlas Network is a nonprofit organization that strengthens the worldwide freedom movement by connecting over 450 independent partners in 97 countries that share the vision of a free, prosperous, and peaceful world where limited governments defend the rule of law, private property, and free markets. To learn more, visit AtlasNetwork.org Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373603 SOURCE Atlas Network SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FollowAnalytics, the global leader in Mobile Marketing Engagement, trusted by some of the world's top brands, was recognized for its growth and innovation by The French-American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco. The company received the Gold award in the High Technology Startup Under $30 Million category at the 3rd edition of the French-American Business Awards (FABA). "This award is a significant achievement for our company at a time when we are expanding activities across North America and opening up an office in New York City," declared Samir Addamine, Founder of FollowAnalytics. "Mobile Marketing Automation takes customer engagement to the next level in this mobile-first world; and our growth is a result of our ability to provide the intelligence and automation to create quality mobile and omnichannel experiences that best serve leading brands." "We are really proud to recognize and praise all the hard work, dedication and success of the French entrepreneurs in the Bay Area, like FollowAnalytics, and the support of American companies in France!" comments Frederic Stemmelin, President of the FACCSF. Organized by the French-American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, in partnership with Leaders League Group, the FABA is the leading event dedicated to the French-American business community, rewarding entrepreneurs and executives in business and the community. 120 industry experts participated in the process to select and gauge the premier French-American ventures in the Bay Area. The winners were chosen out of 64 nominees and 10 categories. The event gathered 300 attendees at an awards dinner held on May 25th in San Francisco. About FollowAnalytics FollowAnalytics is leading the charge for the next generation of 1:1 mobile engagement so brands can truly engage customers in their mobile moments. With a first of its kind Contextual Analytics Engine and Push-Button Connectors to customer data sources, FollowAnalytics does the "heavy lifting" for business users; providing intelligence and automation to create mobile and omnichannel experiences that delight customers. FollowAnalytics customers are industry leading brands including: AXA, Allianz, BNP Paribas, Cartier, L'Oreal, Renault and Wells Fargo. Founded in 2013 by Samir Addamine, FollowAnalytics is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York City, Paris and Montreal. www.followanalytics.com About the FACCSF - The French-American Chamber of Commerce The French-American Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, non-governmental and member-driven organization, created in 1978. Its mission is to foster the French-American business community and to support companies settle and develop in the Bay Area, from Napa Valley to Silicon Valley. The FACCSF focuses on providing the highest level of services to its 15,000 members, through its 3 pillars: Members, Events and Trade Services. The FACCSF is proud to be supported by 350 benefactor members. The FACCSF organizes over 100 events / year. The FACCSF provides a full range of services: recruitment, training, marketing tools, and the most efficient networking platform for French-American businesses in the Bay Area. Learn more at www.faccsf.com Media contact Florence Giuly-Davis PR paradigm for FollowAnalytics [email protected] +33 6 16 61 77 57 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150909/265090LOGO SOURCE FollowAnalytics Related Links http://www.followanalytics.com CARNEGIE, Pa., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, June 3, 2016, and on the first Friday in June each year, National Donut Day is celebrated across the United States. People go out in droves to their favorite supermarket, donut shops and bakeries to celebrate the day with a great deal on these tasty treats. But National Donut Day is not just a marketing scheme dreamed up by donut sellers to push their products. In fact, the first National Donut Day was created by The Salvation Army. During World War I, in an effort to provide some of the comforts of home, female volunteers and Salvation Army officers set up huts near the front lines and provided warm meals, clothes mending services, postage stamps and writing supplies, and homemade treats for the US soldiers. Since 1917, The Salvation Army donut has symbolized the loving concern by the organization for those in the Armed Forces. The Salvation Army celebrated the first National Donut Day in Chicago in 1938, to raise funds to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to pay tribute to the "Donut Lassies" who served our soldiers. To honor the history of Donut Day, Giant Eagle will donate a portion of donut proceeds from National Donut Day to The Salvation Army organizations in North East Ohio and Western PA. Giant Eagle is giving Advantage Card customers a variety of ways to enjoy free donuts in celebration of National Donut Day. Six donuts free with the purchase of six donuts; one donut free with the purchase of a hot or cold dispensed and fountain beverage ; and continuing the celebration throughout summer, donuts will be $5 per dozen every Friday. "Giant Eagle has been a great partner of The Salvation Army of Western PA", stated its Divisional Commander, Major Deborah Sedlar. "In many different ways throughout the year, and on National Donut Day, we are blessed with their generous support." Her comments were echoed by Major Evan Hickman, Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army of Northeast Ohio, who added: "We are grateful for our partnership with Giant Eagle. Their participation in National Donut Day, and throughout the year, is a testimony to their belief in our mission of helping others and supporting the needs of our communities." Dan Donovan, Giant Eagle spokesperson added, "For 85 years Giant Eagle has been dedicated to supporting the communities we serve. As longstanding partners of the Salvation Army, we are thrilled to commemorate this National Donut Day with our continued support of their impactful community programs." Celebrating over 150 years of global service as both a church and a social service organization, The Salvation Army began in London, England in 1865. Today, it provides critical services in 127 countries worldwide. The 28-county Western Pennsylvania Division serves thousands of needy families through a wide variety of support services. To learn more about The Salvation Army in Western Pennsylvania, log on to www.wpa.salvationarmy.org The Salvation Army doing the most good for the most people in the most need. SOURCE Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division Related Links http://www.wpa.salvationarmy.org BOSTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A book launch party and signing of Ellen B. Alden's novel, Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke, will take place Thursday June 16, 2016 (6-8pm) at the Andover Bookstore/Village Courtyard in Andover MA. Festivities will include Irish music and exhibits. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374388 From Finding Civil War Letters in the Attic to the Andover Bookstore Launch Party Author and Teacher, Ellen B. Alden, will be present to discuss how she developed her story ideas based on the hard-scrabble lives of her ancestors during the Civil War. In her compelling new novel, Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke, Alden reveals the secrets contained in nineteen original letters, written by her great-great grandfather that she happened upon in her attic. Ellen Alden was sifting through her attic and discovered a leather box filled with Civil War era letters from her great, great grandfather. These letters written to his wife and children from the lines of the Virginia battlefields, tells the story of an Irish immigrant farmer forced to seek a better life in America. Similar to the challenges that immigrants still face today, this story speaks of the sacrifices families make to improve their lives. Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke is a novel of enduring faith, bravery and the indestructible bond of family. It is an ideal book for high school history classes, Irish study programs/organizations and historical fiction readers. It is available in paperback on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and as an eBook with Kindle, iTunes, Nook and other digital resellers. BIO: Ellen B. Alden is a graduate of St. Michael's College in Vermont. She received a teaching degree from Pepperdine University in California and attended Merrimack College Graduate School of Education. She began her journey of writing after discovering an old leather box with handwritten letters from her Irish immigrant great, great grandfather to his family. After several trips to Ireland and months of research, her book was released and available for sale on May 10, 2016. She resides in Andover, Massachusetts where she lives with her husband Michael, their three children; Nathan, Liam and Jillian, and two dogs, Moxie and Jack Frost. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Ellen B. Alden CORAL GABLES, Fla., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With 12 named storms predicted this Atlantic hurricane season and South Florida as ground zero for sea level rise, the University of Miami has launched a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary online resource to raise awareness about the threat of climate change. UM, one of the country's top research universities, has enlisted experts from its 11 schools and colleges for a climate change and sustainability crusade that President Julio Frenk believes will lead to "better understanding of the changing climate and ways we can adapt now to mitigate the pressures on future generations." Rolled out in time for Earth Day, UM's Climate Change Report (http://climate.miami.edu) is fast becoming a reference point for turning academic research into viable solutions to environmental threats. It features more than 40 articles, videos and photo galleries and links to climate-related projects in progress by more than 70 scientists, researchers, and faculty. Here are some highlights: Hurricane and Storm Surge Simulator The $50 million indoor SUSTAIN (SUrge-STructure-Atmosphere INteraction) lab, the biggest wind-wave simulation facility in the world, can generate surges and wind up to Category 5 intensity. Housed at UM's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, SUSTAIN helps researchers learn how to build more resilient structures in coastal communities. http://climate.miami.edu/the-complex-climate/hurricanes-on-demand/ Teaching Children to Build Solar Panels A student researcher at the College of Arts and Sciences is bringing solar awareness into classrooms through USolar, which teaches children how to build inexpensive photovoltaics that convert sunlight into clean energy. http://climate.miami.edu/renewable-energy/um-student-launches-usolar-project/ Turning Junkyard Waste into Fuel A professor at the College of Engineering is retrofitting automobile engines to run more efficiently on methane gas from organic materials in landfills. http://climate.miami.edu/renewable-energy/methane-as-a-fuel-source/ To see the full report, visit http://climate.miami.edu/ The University of Miami's mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. www.miami.edu Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373864LOGO SOURCE University of Miami Related Links http://www.miami.edu NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Apax Partners, a leading global private equity firm, today announced that funds advised by Apax have agreed to acquire Agencyport, the leading provider of digital distribution technology for the property and casualty insurance industry. The acquisition is being made in connection with the formation of Duck Creek Technologies, a joint venture between Accenture and Apax Partners that will operate as an independent company focused on driving innovation in insurance software. The Agencyport transaction is expected to close concurrently with the formation of Duck Creek by the end of August 2016. Agencyport is best known for its flagship products AgencyPortal, Turnstile, and BookSmart, which provide a secure digital channel to enhance collaboration between insurers, agents, brokers, and customers. AgencyPortal offers a mobile friendly and multi-device responsive design currently used by over 150,000 independent agents and 70 carriers to efficiently grow their businesses and better serve their customers. The combination of Agencyport's world-class user experience and Duck Creek's digital platform will enable carriers to conduct business with their agents, brokers and customers through any channel, using any device. As part of the product strategy, the Duck Creek joint venture is expected to support and invest in Agencyport products and provide independent portal offerings that can front-end any policy, claims, or billing system. Carriers implementing both Duck Creek and Agencyport products will benefit from a highly integrated, end-to-end digital experience, and the option for SaaS-based deployment. Organizationally, Curt Stevenson, Agencyport's CEO, will join the existing Duck Creek management team. "Agencyport's vision has been to improve the industry by offering a digital engagement platform that connects to diverse systems in the carrier IT environment," said Stevenson. "With Duck Creek, we will create a digital distribution nirvana that will enable insurers to provide user-friendly omni-channel engagement for agents, brokers and customers." "The teaming of two of the industry's premiere solution sets -- Agencyport's front-end portals for carriers, agents, brokers and customers and Duck Creek's advanced software, and digital and cloud technologies -- creates a unique market opportunity to meaningfully accelerate digital insurance," said Jason Wright, a partner at Apax. "Leading insurance companies of all sizes are looking to highly experienced vendors to guide them through the multi-faceted aspects of digital transformation and innovation. Agencyport and Duck Creek are a clear choice for that leadership." About Apax Partners LLP Apax Partners LLP is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 30-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of $38 billion*. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech and Telco, Services, Health Care and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. Apax funds have been one of the most active private equity investors in the software sector, having invested over $2.5 billion in equity since 2008. Apax's deep sector expertise and global resources have helped accelerate organic and inorganic growth within its software portfolio and have enabled geographic expansion. Current and past software investments include Epicor, Activant, TriZetto (sold to Cognizant), Aptos, Exact, Paradigm, Sophos (SOPH) and Realpage (RP). For further information about Apax Partners, please visit www.apax.com. * Funds raised since 1981, commitments converted from fund currency to USD at FX rates as at December 31, 2015. About Agencyport Agencyport Software lets P&C insurers engage simply and quickly with their product distribution channels and technology partners. We offer the world's leading web-based distribution technologies and robust business intelligence toolsmaking the complex business of insurance simpler and smarter, increasing efficiency, improving underwriting, and sharpening carriers' competitive edge. About Duck Creek Technologies Duck Creek Technologies LLC, an Accenture company, is a leading provider of comprehensive P&C insurance software and services delivered on-premise or via Duck Creek On-Demand, a Software as a Service model. We deliver configurable, best of breed software that is designed to work independently or as a combined approach to quickly and seamlessly handle the unique needs of insurers of all sizes worldwide. Our technology solutions enable clients to optimize outcomes through digital and data capabilities, streamlined operations, and consistent functionality. For more information, visit www.duckcreek.com. On April 18, 2016, Accenture and Apax Partners, a leading global private equity firm, announced an agreement to form a joint venture that will operate as a new and independent company, Duck Creek Technologies. The joint venture is intended to further accelerate the development of Duck Creek products and technologies, leveraging advanced digital and cloud technology, and to extend the reach of Duck Creek in key markets. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in August 2016. Contacts: Todd Fogarty For Apax Partners The Americas Media Enquiries +1.212.521.4854 [email protected] Alex Wessendorff Apax Partners Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa Media Enquiries +44 20 7872 6461 [email protected] Ashley Capuzzi Duck Creek Technologies +1.484.221.0425 [email protected] Julie Howe Agencyport +1.857.239.5611 [email protected] SOURCE Apax Partners Related Links http://www.apax.com DALLAS, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gas Monkey Energy announced that they will be sponsoring BMX athlete and 7-time X Games medalist, Morgan Wade, for the next 12 months. Wade will be competing at the Circuit of the Americas X Games in Austin Texas on June 4th and June 5th, which will be his first official event with the Gas Monkey Energy logo on his helmet and shirt. He will be competing in the BMX Big Air Finals on Saturday, June 4 at 7:15 p.m. CT, and the Big Air Doubles Finals on Sunday, June 5 at 11:00 a.m. CT. Wade is thrilled to join the Gas Monkey Energy family: "I'm really excited for the opportunity to be a part of a Texas-based company with big things in the works! There's always something rad going on with Gas Monkey all the way across the spectrum, and I'm stoked to be in the family. Let's make some awesome!" Wade has been competing in the X games since 2003 and in his 16 previous appearances he has taken home two gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze. About Gas Monkey Energy Gas Monkey Energy is a high-octane energy drink for true adrenaline junkies. It's fuel for those of you whose passions get you scraped, bruised, burnt or worse, yet it's what you love to do. Soon to be on shelves nationwide, Gas Monkey Energy is available in regular or light and can be purchased by the case online www.gasmonkeyenergy.com Gas Monkey Energy has an active and growing motorsports program and have sponsored racecars in the Indianapolis 500, the NHRA and IMSA. About Morgan Wade The Texan is a 7-time X Games medalist and legend among his peers, who respect his creative eye and willingness to go huge, consequences be damned. Big Air fits his "go big or why bother" philosophy, and he owns the XG record for highest air on the quarterpipe (23'3, set at Barcelona 2013). The 32-year-old new dad of baby boy Kotter Steele Wade is a Krav Maga (self-defense) instructor and active in the firearm industry. He also frequently entertains the troops as part of Bikes Over Baghdad. SOURCE Gas Monkey Energy Related Links http://www.gasmonkeyenergy.com ANTWERP, Belgium and SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- genae, a global Contract Research Organization (CRO) and service provider for the medical industries, announced today the expansion of its North American activities with the opening of offices in San Francisco. genae Americas was incorporated in 2011 and has since then opened offices in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio. "San Francisco is strategically centered in one of the highest concentrations of medical innovation and leading research facilities on the West Coast", said Philippe Kassab, President at genae Americas. "The expansion of genae from the East Coast to the West Coast supports our commitment to be closer to our industry partners and patient population, and to deliver high quality clinical research." As of May 2016, almost 40% of the world's medical devices clinical trials were conducted in North-America, with a third of U.S. medical devices clinical trials on the West Coast. About the genae group genae is involved in the development and commercialization of medical devices, biologics and therapies that change medical practice. genae is a full service CRO and services provider for the medical industries and aims at improving health and quality of life by innovating and accelerating high quality research. The group's Quality Management System has been tested rigorously and continues to pass regulatory and sponsor's audits and inspections. genae associates nv is a privately held company with principal offices in Antwerp, Belgium and is part of the genae group, the medical device CRO. To learn more about genae, please visit http://www.genae.com . Contact genae associates nv Bart Segers, CEO +32-3-290-03-06 Justitiestraat 6B, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium [email protected] genae Americas, Inc. Philippe Kassab, President +1-216-445-4535 10000 Cedar Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA [email protected] SOURCE genae NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ECG monitoring devices are experiencing a paradigm technological shift from resting ECG systems to portable Holter monitoring systems. According to a new report by Persistence Market Research (PMR), titled, Global Market Study on Holter Monitoring Systems: Development of Integrated Software Providing Ad-On Services Along With Cardiac Monitoring to Boost the Demand During the Forecast Years", this is attributed to advantages such as patient mobility, low prices, and longer period of patient monitoring. Holter monitoring systems are proving to be more efficient in ECG monitoring due to advancements in technology, thereby allowing healthcare providers to monitor recorded data remotely, and enhancements in Holter monitoring software, which enable better analysis of data. These factors are expected to promote drive growth of the global Holter monitoring systems market at a CAGR of 4.5 % between 2016 and 2026. To View Full Report TOC: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/holter-monitoring-systems-market.asp PMR's report offers market forecast and analysis on the global Holter monitoring systems market. The global market has been segmented on the basis of product, end-user, and region. On the basis of region, the market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC). As per regional analysis, North America (the U.S. and Canada) is the most lucrative market for Holter monitoring systems globally. This region is expected to hold highest market share over the forecast period (2016-2026) and is expected to exhibit more than average growth rate. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to witness fastest growth owing to high population and increasing incidence rate of cardiovascular diseases. APAC market is estimated to account for around 27 % revenue share by end of 2016 in the global Holter monitoring systems market. The market in MEA is also expected to expand significantly in revenue terms over the forecast period, owing to high public healthcare expenditure in countries in the region. Revenue from the market in the region is expected to expand at CAGR of 5.2% over the forecast period. On the basis of product, the global Holter monitoring systems market has been segmented into Holter monitoring devices, event monitoring devices, and Holter monitoring software segments. Holter monitoring devices segment is expected to remain the dominant segment in the global market throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to high adoption rate of these devices globally. On the basis of end user, the Holter monitoring systems market has been segmented into hospitals, diagnostic centers, clinics, and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). PMR estimated the hospitals segment to account for highest revenue share among other end user segments, and it is expected to witness fastest growth over the forecast period. Factors such as increasing number of private hospitals in developing countries is expected to boost revenue share of the hospitals segment. Diagnostic centers segment is also expected to gain significant market share during the forecast period. To Request a Report Brochure: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3886 The report discusses various factors positively impacting growth of the global Holter monitoring systems market such as increasing healthcare expenditure, key strategies of market players, regional reimbursement policies, and others. Some key market participants included in the report are GE Healthcare, Koninklijke Philips N.V, Welch Allyn (Hill-rom Company, Inc.), Schiller AG, Fukuda Denshi Co. Ltd., Nihon Kohden Corporation, Mortara Instrument Inc., and Spacelabs Healthcare Inc. To View All Life Sciences & Transformational Health Report: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/category/life-sciences-transformational-healthcare.asp About Us: Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes. Contact Persistence Market Research U.S. Sales Office: 305 Broadway, 7th Floor New York City, NY 10007 United States USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/persistence-market-research-&-consulting Twitter: https://twitter.com/persistence_mkt SOURCE Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd. LONDON, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A study covering the global market for LED and smart street lighting over the period 2015-2025 (157 pages + PowerPoint + optional 125-country Excel dataset). Currently, there are 304m streetlights in the world, growing to 352m by 2025. LED and smart street lighting will cumulatively represent a $63.5bn market opportunity. There are currently 304 million total streetlights in the world. This number will grow to 352 million total streetlights by 2025. The public outdoor lighting market is currently undergoing a period of change where legacy streetlights are being replaced with new and more efficient LED, or solid-state lighting technology. Taking this new technology a step further, these LED streetlights are also being networked together with communications to become "smart" streetlights. This study analyzes and forecasts the global market for both LED and smart street lighting through 2025. LED streetlights will transform cities and municipalities across the globe over the next decade. LEDs offer longer lifetimes, lower energy consumption, and reduced maintenance costs when compared with legacy streetlight technologies. In most developed countries, LEDs are already an economically beneficial alternative to existing streetlights over the lifetime of the light when energy savings are considered, despite their higher upfront cost. But within a few years, LED streetlights are expected to reach cost parity with legacy technologies, making their benefits to costs immediately positive. At this point, they will make economic sense as replacements in almost all countries. Furthermore, with many emerging market countries rapidly urbanizing and in need of improved urban infrastructure, this creates an enormous market opportunity. From 2015 to 2025, countries are expected to invest $53.7 billion in LED street lighting. But LED luminaires are not the sole element in modernized public outdoor lighting. Networked "smart" streetlights help cities further reduce costs through off-peak dimming and reduced maintenance expenditures. As the costs for networked streetlights also rapidly decline, these smart streetlights will find a growing role in cities and municipalities across the globe. In many developed countries, they will serve as part of larger "smart city" concepts, where communications networks can be used to link items such as power and water meters, traffic lights, and parking meters. Smart streetlights also greatly improve safety conditions in a city by reducing the "down time" of streetlights. As soon as lamps expire, officials are notified, so streets rarely go without lighting. In many emerging market metropolises that are managing rising street crime, this will be a particularly strong benefit. Overall, the LED and smart street lighting market remains young, and some challenges must be overcome. Most importantly, costs must continue to fall for financing to be feasible in many countries so far costs have fallen even faster than expected. Even so, vendor-led financing (i.e. performance contracting) must continue to develop to enable projects in many emerging market countries. In some of these countries, multilateral financing can help overcome these challenges, and in 2014 the World Bank announced a $1 billion fund exclusively for LED street lighting. Another challenge is a lack of standardization. Particularly for networked streetlights, undeveloped standards could limit vendors' ability to meet rising demand across the globe. Finally, a general preference towards conservatism could lead some cities to stick with legacy technologies even in the face of clear savings from LED and smart streetlights. Back in 2012, Northeast Group conducted a survey of over 100 US cities, towns, and municipalities that were on the vanguard of LED streetlight deployments. The response was overwhelmingly positiveresidents complimented the better light, law enforcement officials praised safety improvement, and cities overall showed significant cost savings. Today in 2015, the business case for LED and smart street lighting has only grown stronger. Improvements in technology have driven costs down while improving the quality of the lights. Northeast Group's most recent 2015 assessment of over 800 LED projects in 90 countries shows that these benefits are shared by cities and municipalities across the globe. Given these clear advantages, LED and smart streetlights are projected to reach 84% and 37% of the total streetlight market, respectively, by 2025. This will total a $63.5 billion market. Key questions answered in this study: - How large will the market for LED and smart streetlights be across 125 countries? - How will falling costs impact LED and smart streetlight deployments? - What is the streetlight ownership structure in the leading markets? - Who are the key vendors throughout the smart streetlight value chain? - What hurdles to smart street lighting have been overcome and which ones remain? Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3866781/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com First, in addition to teaching sound doctrinal principles and Biblical truths, the Seminary will be mission-oriented a pillar for which GCU is known. "This brings ministry to the graduate level and incorporates what we're already doing," said Brian Mueller, president of GCU. "Jesus' ministry should be the model for ministry today to love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. At GCU, we strongly believe it is our purpose to expand servant leadership into our community and to extend prosperity beyond our walls in lasting and meaningful ways. Grand Canyon Theological Seminary will be another extension of that. What we hope to do here is raise a generation of pastors who will go out and reflect what we are as a university." Second, the Seminary will be housed within the framework of a rapidly expanding university. "This is now a major, comprehensive university with 75,000 students studying in nine colleges across 200 academic programs," said Jason Hiles, dean of GCU's College of Theology. "We have an incredibly vibrant ground campus, and now we have a seminary right in the middle of that. You're learning to be a pastor in an environment where you have opportunities for transformative ministry on our campus and in the nearby neighborhood. It's going to be pretty special in terms of the experience for students." The Seminary, which will be located on the second floor of the College of Theology, is uniquely positioned to serve a wide array of churches and denominations that embrace the central tenets of the Christian faith. Specifically, it will meet the needs of underserved groups such as denominations that do not have a seminary, ethnic churches, bi-vocational ministers, and ministers who can't easily relocate to complete their seminary education. "The Seminary will be interdenominational in nature but will be adaptable to meet the needs of specific churches," Hiles said. "Our goal is to make Grand Canyon Theological Seminary the premier interdenominational, evangelical seminary in the Southwest by forming Christian leaders theologically, spiritually and professionally while equipping them to minister faithfully and effectively within a challenging cultural context." Another attractive aspect of the new program is affordability. The accelerated program will help students complete their graduate work in less time and at a reasonable cost. "Our price point is very appealing," Hiles said. "This makes us very affordable for students who will serve others after graduation, and serving others doesn't normally pay much." GCU has offered master's-level theological curriculum for the past six years, including a Master of Divinity program. The Seminary offers 12 graduate degree programs, available in three modalities: full-time daytime, full-time evening and online. On-campus housing will be available for a limited number of full-time daytime students. About Grand Canyon University: Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona's premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and offers more than 200 academic programs across nine colleges for both traditional undergraduate students and working professionals. The University's curriculum emphasizes interaction with classmates, both in-person and online, and individual attention from instructors while fusing academic rigor with Christian values to help students find their purpose and become skilled, caring professionals. For more information, visit gcu.edu. Video - https://youtu.be/BTJhcab5Is0 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150814/258640LOGO SOURCE Grand Canyon University Related Links http://www.gcu.edu LUGANO, Switzerland, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pooled, Post-hoc Efficacy Data Analysis From the ROMANA 1 and ROMANA 2 Phase III Studies Demonstrates That in NSCLC Patients With Cachexia and a low BMI, Anamorelin Significantly Improves Fatigue in Addition to Symptom Burden (Including Appetite) and Increases Lean Body Mass and Fat Helsinn, the Swiss pharmaceutical Group focused on building quality cancer care, today announces that it will present the results of a pooled efficacy analysis of the pivotal ROMANA Phase III trials in a poster presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting on June 6th, in Chicago, U.S.A. The studies assessed the efficacy and safety of the ghrelin receptor agonist anamorelin in patients with Cancer Anorexia-Cachexia and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It was previously shown that in cachectic NSCLC patients, anamorelin significantly increased the lean and fat mass, and improved concerns related to anorexia-cachexia. The analysis showed in the ASCO paper, "Anamorelin in cachectic patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and low BMI (< 20 kg/m[2]), a pooled efficacy data analysis of two phase III studies", assesses the response to anamorelin specifically in malnourished patients with a BMI below 20 kg/m[2]. This post-hoc pooled analysis of efficacy data from two trials was conducted in patients with BMI < 20 kg/m[2] (N=182) and with BMI 20 kg/m[2] (N=647). Endpoints included changes in lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM), HGS, and changes in self-reported anorexia/cachexia concerns and fatigue. Authors of the study were David Currow, Jennifer Temel, Amy Abernethy, Ruben Giorgino, John Friend and Ken Fearon. The poster #107 will be presented in Hall A from 1.00 pm to 4.30 pm. David Currow, first-author of the paper, commented: "This study suggests that malnourished patients with a low BMI respond well to anamorelin, in particular in terms of fatigue. This follow up data bolsters the previous strong data from the landmark Phase III ROMANA 1 and ROMANA 2 studies, showing that anamorelin increases lean body mass, fat and improves patient symptoms related to anorexia and cachexia." Riccardo Braglia, Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO, commented: "At present there is no standard of treatment care for the management of Cancer Anorexia-Cachexia. Although some currently available drugs can improve patient's appetite or increase body weight, none can substantially affect lean body mass nor fatigue. The data from the ROMANA studies has already shown anamorelin to increase lean body mass, fat and alleviate patient concerns related to anorexia-cachexia, including appetite. This new analysis suggest that in those patients with a low BMI anamorelin has a particularly significant impact on the lean and fat mass, fatigue and patient's concerns related to anorexia-cachexia.. "Helsinn is committed to helping provide options for people with cancer and these latest new data are supporting the potential for anamorelin." Study design and methods Stage III/IV NSCLC patients with cachexia ( 5% weight loss during prior 6 months or BMI < 20 kg/m[2]) were randomly assigned (2:1) to daily oral 100 mg anamorelin or placebo for 12 weeks. A post-hoc pooled analysis of efficacy data from two phase 3 trials was conducted in patients with BMI < 20 kg/m[2] (N=182) and with BMI 20 kg/m[2] (N=647). Endpoints included changes in lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM), HGS, and changes in self-reported anorexia/cachexia concerns and fatigue. Results Compared with placebo, anamorelin significantly increased LBM both in patients with low BMI (treatment difference: 1.71 kg [95% CI 0.88 - 2.54]) and in those with normal/high BMI (1.47 kg [1.00 - 1.94]) (p<0.001). Greater increases in FM were observed in the BMI < 20 kg/m[2] (1.66 kg [0.86 - 2.46], p<0.001) than in the BMI 20 kg/m[2] subgroup (0.79 kg [0.30 - 1.28], p=0.002). There were no treatment differences in HGS. In patients with low BMI, anamorelin significantly improved vs placebo anorexia/cachexia symptoms (5.27 [2.11 - 8.43], p=0.001) and fatigue (3.94 [0.56 - 7-32], p=0.023), while these were not significant in patients with BMI 20 kg/m[2] (anorexia/cachexia symptoms: 0.91 [(-0.56) - 2.37], p=0.224; fatigue: (-0.42) [(-2.07) - 1.23], p=0.616). ROMANA 1 and ROMANA 2 Phase III studies The ROMANA 1 and ROMANA 2 phase III studies, which have previously been reported, clinically demonstrated that anamorelin significantly improved, in respect to placebo, lean body mass, fat and body weight, in addition to symptom burden, including appetite, in NSCLC patients with Cachexia. No differences between patients treated with anamorelin or placebo were observed for handgrip strength, one of the co-primary endpoint of the study. Cancer Anorexia-Cachexia Cancer Anorexia-Cachexia is a frequent condition in patients with advanced cancer, in particular in those with lung cancer. A combination of reduced food intake and altered metabolism leads to loss of muscle/lean body mass and body weight in patients affected by this condition. NSCLC Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for roughly 85% of all lung cancer cases. Lung cancer has some of the poorest survival rates comparing to other types of cancer, based on epidemiological data, and is the most common form of cancer globally. About anamorelin and ghrelin Anamorelin is an investigational agent that has not yet been approved by any regulatory authority. The marketing authorization application is under review by the European Medicines Agency Anamorelin HCl is an investigational selective, novel, orally active ghrelin receptor agonist that is under development for the treatment of Anorexia, Cachexia, and Unintended Weight Loss in NSCLC patients. Ghrelin is an endogenous peptide primarily secreted by the stomach. Upon binding to its receptor, ghrelin stimulates multiple pathways in the positive regulation of body weight, lean body mass, appetite and metabolism. The information discussed in this release is not intended to convey conclusions about its efficacy and safety. About the Helsinn Group Helsinn is a privately owned cancer supportive care pharmaceutical group with an extensive portfolio of marketed products and a broad development pipeline. Since 1976, Helsinn has been improving the everyday lives of patients, guided by core family values of respect, integrity and quality, through a unique integrated licensing business model working with long standing partners in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and nutritional supplement products. Helsinn is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with operating subsidiaries in Ireland and the US, a representative office in China, as well as a product presence in about 90 countries globally. In 2016, our 40th anniversary year, you can meet representatives from Helsinn at: ASCO Annual Meeting ( Chicago , USA , 3-7 June) , , 3-7 June) MASCC Annual Meeting ( Adelaide, Australia , 23-25 June) , 23-25 June) ChemOutsourcing Conference ( Parsippany, New Jersey , 19-21 September) , 19-21 September) CPhI Worldwide ( Barcelona, Spain , 4-6 October) , 4-6 October) ESMO Congress ( Copenhagen, Denmark , 7-11 October) , 7-11 October) BioEurope (Koln, Germany , 4-6 November) For more information, please visit http://www.helsinn.com As part of its patient-centered mission and support of the oncology community, Helsinn works closely with Patient Advocacy Groups. These key stakeholders protect the interests of cancer patients by helping them to receive appropriate and timely care, education, support and financial assistance, when needed. For more information, please contact: Helsinn Group Paola Bonvicini Head of Communication & Press Office Tel: +41 91-985-21-21 [email protected] SOURCE Helsinn DENVER, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- History Colorado today announced its board of directors, after a thorough national search, unanimously selected interim leader Steve Turner as the sole finalist to become the organization's next executive director. The board will take formal action on this at its June 15 meeting. Turner has led the organization since August following the retirement of Ed Nichols. "Steve has lived and breathed our mission for the past eight years, gaining respect from his colleagues and partners along the way," said Ann Alexander Pritzlaff, chair of the board of directors. "He continues to demonstrate his skill at managing large government agencies and executing a strategic vision in a way that brings people and partners together." Turner has worked with History Colorado since 2008, including six years as director of the State Historical Fund and the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. "Steve is a champion of preserving Colorado's history and a highly effective executive uniquely suited to lead History Colorado," said Gov. John Hickenlooper. "Under his direction, the organization has strengthened finances and relationships with key partners while staying true to its mission. We look forward to supporting him as he takes History Colorado to the next level." Ongoing strategic efforts include the development of a new five-year exhibit plan for the History Colorado Center with a strong focus on Colorado history, utilizing the organization's vast collection of 15 million items to broaden the audience appeal. Another area of focus is strengthening connections to communities working with History Colorado's statewide Community Museums. "Steve is recognized nationally as an effective and passionate advocate for preserving Colorado's history," said Barb Pahl, senior vice president for preservation field services at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "Colorado is fortunate to have its historic preservation efforts spearheaded by such a capable leader." About History Colorado History Colorado's mission is to inspire generations to find wonder and meaning in our past and to engage in creating a better Colorado. We serve as the state's memory, preserving the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through our museums, educational programs, historic preservation grants, research library, collections, and outreach to Colorado communities. Find History Colorado on all major social media platforms. Visit HistoryColorado.org or call (303) HISTORY for more information. Media Contacts: Brooke Gladstone 303.866.3670 SOURCE History Colorado Related Links http://HistoryColorado.org As the ultra-broadband and video industry rapidly develops, video has become a basic service for carriers. Over 50% of carriers worldwide have started developing their own video service. In the 4K era, UHD video services place higher requirements on the end-to-end capabilities of an industry chain, which calls for a platform for dialogues among the video industry chain. The attendees all agreed that a new business model of "content+operation+pipe+terminal" can help carriers with the business success of their video strategies and fuel the video industry development in the Asian Pacific region. "The video industry is embracing both opportunities and challenges in terms of content manufacturing, 4K terminal popularization, service operation, and user experience guarantee," said Zeng Xingyun, Vice President of Huawei Fixed Network Product Line. "With positive business cycle of 4K videos as the starting point, this forum can promote cross-domain dialogues in the video industry and facilitate cooperation in content, terminal, operation, network, and technical services. This can optimize network guarantee on end-user video experience and facilitate business development of the video industry." Jung Myung Jin, vice president of BOE, expressed: "Customizing the 4K TV service for the carrier market can promote UHD video service development by popularizing 4K TV. Furthermore, TV terminal is an extension of network pipes, which can visualize end-user video experience through real-time monitoring." Mihai, CEO of Grey Juice Lab, said: "VOD services are progressively transferred to 4K. It brings pressure to network for more bandwidth and traffic requirement. The content provider can use flexible business model to cooperate with operators and achieve a win-win situation." Broadband infrastructure is the basis of video service development. "U-vMOS has provided quantified standards to measure user experience," stated Suwanto Gunawan, chairperson of Indonesia FTTH Association. "In the future, carriers need to base their broadband network construction on U-vMOS of 4.0. This guarantees network performance while at the same time improves user experience through industry cooperation." Huawei, the leading ultra-broadband solution provider, has proactively pursued efforts in 4K networks through continuous research on network transmission technologies and video experience guarantee. Huawei would like to help carriers construct networks with the best video experience and build an open ecosystem through collaboration with industry partners. About Huawei Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to enrich life and improve efficiency through a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei's 170,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on: http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei http://www.twitter.com/Huawei http://www.facebook.com/Huawei http://www.google.com/+Huawei http://www.youtube.com/Huawei SOURCE Huawei Related Links http://www.huawei.com "At the end of an extensive world-wide executive search, Mr. Lykke is clearly the best fit for this fast paced and growing organization," said Michael Besson, founder of Business Growth Group, who was tasked with helping to fill this position. Gitte Bach, President and CEO, states, "We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Thorkild Lykke to our team. His knowledge and experience in the International Insurance, Assistance and Cost-Containment sector will bring a powerful asset to our expanding executive team. In addition, Mr. Lykke will be opening our new Denmark client liaison office, thereby increasing our ability to connect more closely with our global customers." Mr. Lykke will be attending the ITIC Global conference in Berlin, Germany October 31st 3rd November, please stop by and meet Mr. Lykke and the rest of the Executive team at that time. About New Frontier Group: New Frontier Group is the global leader as the first point of contact for worldwide International Insurance and Assistance Teams. New Frontier Group leads the travel industry's global healthcare management services by providing a business suite of customized assistance, full service solutions and cost savings for its worldwide clients. New Frontier Group is an independently owned U.S. based International Company established in 2002. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373968 SOURCE New Frontier Group Related Links http://www.newfrontiergroup.com RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina and CAMBRIDGE, England, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Inivata, a global clinical cancer genomics company employing the precision of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis to improve personalized healthcare in oncology, will introduce its proprietary InVisionTM ctDNA assay for broad molecular profiling during the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology ('ASCO') at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, June 3-7, 2016. The InVisionTM assay utilizes the innovative application of Inivata's proprietary enhanced tagged-amplicon sequencing (eTAm-SeqTM) platform for genomic analysis, which was developed by Inivata on the basis of the TAm-SeqTM technology from the Rosenfeld Lab at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute (CRUK-CI), University of Cambridge. InVisionTM was developed to serve as a reliable, multi-gene, support tool for oncologists to accurately translate genomic alterations into actionable information to inform clinical decision making and improve cancer treatment planning for the patient. Commercial availability of the InVisionTM assay will be the subject of a future announcement. At ASCO, clinical data from the InVisionTM assay in non-small cell lung cancer is being co-presented with Institut Gustave Roussy. The following abstract will be presented during the poster session: Abstract Title: Evaluation of liquid biopsies for molecular profiling and monitoring in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. (Abstract #: 11533) Location: Poster Session: Tumor Biology, Hall A, Board Number 230 Date/Time: June 6th, 1:00 - 4:30pm Presenter: Jordi Remon, MD Author affiliations: Institut Gustave Roussy and Inivata Inivata's representatives will also be exhibiting and providing further details on the impending commercial launch of the InVisionTM assay at the ASCO annual meeting booth number 6161. To arrange an interview or meeting please contact us via [email protected] About Inivata Inivata, a clinical cancer genomics company, is employing the precision of ctDNA analysis to improve personalised healthcare in oncology. Using a simple blood test, circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) analysis is a new tool for oncologists to detect cancer, stratify patients, and assess individual response to treatment. Inivata's proprietary technology is based on pioneering research from the Rosenfeld Lab at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute (CRUK-CI), University of Cambridge. Inivata's InVision[TM] ctDNA assay provides a highly sensitive analysis of a strategically selected gene panel to identify actionable mutations for oncologists to treat their patients optimally. For more information and a full listing of investors, please go to http://www.inivata.com. Follow us on twitter @Inivata About ASCO Annual Meeting 2016 The American Society of Clinical Oncology ('ASCO') Annual Meeting brings together 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world. Educational sessions feature world-renowned faculty discussing state-of-the-art treatment modalities, new therapies, and ongoing controversies in the field. Science sessions present the latest ground-breaking research in oral and poster format. The theme for ASCO 2016 is Collective Wisdom: The Future of Patient-Centered Care and Research. Company Contact: Liz Macfadyen Email: [email protected] Phone: +44(0)7739462323 Media Contacts Consilium Strategic Communications Chris Gardner/Laura Thornton Phone: +44(0)20-3709-5700 [email protected] SOURCE Inivata HAMBURG, Germany, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The ATG Ad Tech Group releases a new solution to prevent revenue losses caused by Ad Blocking. Offering content in exchange for ad viewing, the users get to choose: access OR Ad Block. The Hamburg-based video technology specialists from ATG Ad Tech Group employ the tried and proven lock-and-key principle to minimize revenue loss for website owners due to widespread Ad Blocking. The so-called ATG Ad Block Prevention enables publishers and website owners to lock specific content so it cannot be accessed without prior ad viewing. The patent-pending technology encrypts locked content and offers users ad viewing as a way of decryption. The internet has already surpassed TV and print media. Nowhere else content is created and distributed at an equal rate. But creation and licensing of content is costly. How can content creators and website owners make sure their journalistic enterprise has long-term economic viability. While subscription models and paywalls often run the risk of alienating the user base, newer alternatives like crowd-funding have a long way to go to become sustainable. Online advertising has been the reliable source of revenue par excellence, but is significantly affected by Ad Blocking software becoming a common phenomenon. More and more counter measures against Ad Blocking have surfaced. These include blocking the whole website while Ad Block is activated (like on bild.de) or using third party services in order to circumvent Ad Blocking, which in turn diminishes the financial gain for content creators and negatively affects ad metrics. ATG's solution goes about the problem in a different way: Since only specific content is gated and is accessible without any financial commitment, users will not be alienated, but made aware of the issue. Also, to cause the least amount of inconvenience, the content encryption will be lifted momentarily, as soon as Ad Block is disabled (even without page refresh). The inventor of the solution and managing director of ATG, Marlon Werkhausen, points out: "We give publishers back the power over their content and revenue. Since our solution interacts with the Content- as well as with the Ad-Server, Ad Block software has no chance to interfere. Giving users the freedom of choice makes this model even fair for them." Find more information at: http://ad-tech-group.com/atg-adblock-prevention/ About ATG: The ATG Ad Tech Group is an independent provider of innovative, highly scalable video advertising solutions. The data-driven monetization and personalization technologies help advertisers, publishers and marketers to develop new sources of value creation and revenue streams. The ATG Ad Tech Group specializes in the marketing segments online, mobile, social media and digital out of home (DooH). Contact: Rene Rasmussen [email protected] Telefon: +49-(0)40-675-8675-22 ATG Ad Tech Group GmbH Stresemannstrae 342 22761 Hamburg Germany SOURCE ATG Ad Tech Group GmbH COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Insight School of Ohio (ISOH), a tuition-free online public school for Ohio students statewide in grades 6 through 12, will honor its largest graduating class at a ceremony on Friday, June 3, at The Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center in Lewis Center, OH. About 100 students will receive their high school diploma as part of the Insight School of Ohio Class of 2016, which is approximately double the number of ISOH graduates in 2015. This year's graduates will be going on to attend colleges and universities such as Kent State, University of Cincinnati, Tri-C and Vantage. ISOH is an education option available to students of every ability level, but possesses a competency in helping students who are struggling academically. With a unique and highly supportive approach, ISOH works with students and their families to help them overcome obstacles, including learning or behavioral issues, bullying, or a lack of effective alternatives. "I chose ISOH because the traditional school setting was overwhelming, and I was struggling to keep up in an environment that was not conducive to my learning," said Sterling Serrano-Pollock, a graduating ISOH senior. "In the virtual classroom I am free from distraction, and able to work at my own pace to meet my goals. The individualized education plan and support from my teachers allowed me to get back on track and graduate this spring." After graduation, Sterling plans to pursue a degree in clinical psychology from Lorain Community College. "Our teachers, administration and staff at Insight School of Ohio are extremely proud of all that the Class of 2016 has accomplished," said Amanda Conley, Head of School at Insight School of Ohio. "Our seniors have pushed themselves to meet their goals, despite personal and academic challenges of all kinds. These graduates are a shining example of the success that can be achieved with a strong work ethic, the right tools and support." Julie Wilkes, a motivational speaker and award winning fitness instructor who has spoken at the US Chamber of Commerce, US Department of Defense and The White House, will speak to the ISOH Class of 2016 at the graduation ceremony. Julie, who was given a life expectancy of 12 years after being diagnosed with a heart condition, will share her thoughts on overcoming life's obstacles and the importance of working toward one's fullest potential. ISOH offers students an individualized education tailored to each student's specific needs. A large variety of high school courses are offered to help assure that each student is taught at the right level. Credit recovery courses are available for students who need to catch up in a subject, as well as highly targeted remediation sessions to build specific skills. To inspire students to work hard and succeed, ISOH combines engaging web-based lessons, live online learning sessions and support from experienced teachers and counselors. The online curriculum is bolstered by a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program, as well as a Family Support Team to help students achieve success both academically and personally. ISOH teachers provide instruction, guidance and support, and regularly interact with students and parents via email, web-based classrooms, online discussions and phone. Teachers also organize field trips and school activities to give students the opportunity to participate in events that help bring the school community together. Regional drop in centers are available for students who require additional assistance and will benefit from face-to-face instruction. More information on the school can be found online here: InsightOH.net. About Insight School of Ohio Insight School of Ohio (ISOH) is a tuition-free online public school program authorized by Buckeye Community Hope Foundation that serves students in grades 6 through 12. As part of the Ohio public school system, ISOH is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the award-winning curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about ISOH, visit InsightOH.net. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160318/345946LOGO SOURCE Insight School of Ohio Related Links http://oh.insightschools.net NEW YORK, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP: To: All Persons or Entities who purchased FEI Company (NASDAQ: FEIC) stock prior to May 27, 2016 . You are hereby notified that Levi & Korsinsky, LLP has commenced an investigation into the fairness of the sale of FEI Company to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for $107.50 per share. The transaction has a total approximate value of $4.2 billion. To learn more about the action and your rights, go to: http://zlk.9nl.com/fei-company-feic or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at [email protected] 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 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120409/MM84375LOGO SOURCE Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Related Links http://www.zlk.com MT. PLEASANT, Mich., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/-- Isabella Bank Corporation (OTCQX:ISBA), announced today that the Board of Directors of the Corporation declared a second quarter cash dividend of $0.24 per common share at its regular meeting held on May 25, 2016. The dividend will be payable on June 30, 2016 to shareholders of record as of June 27, 2016. The closing stock price for ISBA on May 31, 2016 was $28.00. Based on the Corporation's average stock price of $27.83 for the month of May 2016, the annualized cash dividend yield was 3.45%. "I am pleased to announce our second quarter cash dividend which represents a 4.35% increase over the cash dividend paid for the second quarter of 2015. We are committed to providing shareholder value which has been evidenced by our 34 consecutive years of dividend growth," commented Jae A. Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Isabella Bank Corporation. Headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Isabella Bank Corporation is the bank holding company for Isabella Bank. Founded in 1903 with a focus on community banking, Isabella Bank operates 29 banking offices in seven counties including Clare, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, and Saginaw. For more information about Isabella Bank Corporation, visit the Investors link at www.isabellabank.com. Isabella Bank Corporation common stock is quoted on the OTCQX tier of the OTC Markets Group, Inc.'s electronic quotation system (www.otcmarkets.com) under the symbol "ISBA." The Corporation's market maker is Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. (www.boenninginc.com). Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements. To the extent that the foregoing information refers to matters that may occur in the future, please be aware that such forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results. Additional information concerning some of the factors that could cause materially different results is included in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" set forth in Isabella Bank Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available from the Securities and Exchange Commission's Public Reference facilities and from its website at www.sec.gov. SOURCE Isabella Bank Corporation Related Links http://www.isabellabank.com JENA, Germany and ROCHESTER HILLS, Michigan, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 31, the Jenoptik Executive Board held the groundbreaking ceremony in Hamlin Road, with Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett attending. The new location is currently the largest single investment of Germany-based Jenoptik Group. The total amount includes the property purchase and construction in direct vicinity of the current Jenoptik site. Relocation is planned for the spring of 2017. Jenoptik invests around 15 million US dollars at its US location in Rochester Hills, Michigan and is building a modern technology campus for engineering, production, sales and service for metrology and laser systems for the automotive industry. On May 31, 2016 Jenoptik management held the groundbreaking ceremony with the whole Jenoptik Executive Management Board and Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett also attending. In the picture from left: David Matynowski, CFO Hans-Dieter Schumacher, Mayor Bryan Barnett, CEO Michael Mertin, Andreas Blind, and Head of HR Melanie Jaklin. (PRNewsFoto/JENOPTIK AG) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374133 ) The new technology campus will cover a total area of nearly 16 acres while, in the first expansion phase, the new building will have 100,000 square feet of space, almost half of which is production space. "The state-of-the-art campus allows us to get even closer to our customers in the US automotive industry", explains Jenoptik President & CEO Michael Mertin. "The building will be equipped with modern systems and materials for energy efficiency. We will markedly exceed US and local standards and, for that purpose, we planned additional budget." The investment allows Jenoptik to pave the way for planned future growth or technical upgrades. The technology group has had an in-house production facility in Rochester Hills since 2007 and currently employs more than 100 local staff. Jenoptik manufactures metrology and laser machines for manufacturing processes. North America is one of Jenoptik's strategic target markets with an expected above-average growth in the coming years. In 2015, Jenoptik generated around 20 percent of group revenue, or 130 million euros (143 million US dollars), in the Americas. JENOPTIK l Automotive Andreas Blind V.P. Sales, Marketing & Services Phone: +1-248-853-5888 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE JENOPTIK AG DEERFIELD, Ill., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Beam, the world's No. 1 Bourbon, announces an all-new global packaging redesign, marking the first time significant changes have been made to the Jim Beam Bourbon bottle in decades. Starting in mid-2016, the entire Jim Beam portfolio will have a new, premium look in the more than 100 markets around the world where the products are sold, including the brand's largest markets, the U.S., Australia, Germany and Japan. The updated bottle and exterior styling will better represent the premium liquid inside, which is not changing. Jim Beam(R), the world's No. 1 Bourbon, announces an all-new global packaging redesign. Fred Noe, 7th Generation Master Distiller and Jim Beam's Great-Grandson. This global packaging upgrade comes two years after the company announced Make History, the first global marketing campaign for the iconic American brand, which traces its history to 1795. The global unification and premium look of the new packaging contemporizes the Jim Beam brand while celebrating the company's renowned heritage. Packaging upgrades include new premium bottle structures; refreshed labels with higher quality paper, real gold foil and matte finishes; unique bottle closures for the premium line; and label harmonization across the flavored product range. The Jim Beam Bourbon bottle now has a bolder structure with more cleanly designed labels featuring premium finishes, refreshed distiller portraits and a refined "rosette" logo. Products in the premium portfolio, which includes Jim Beam Black, now feature a bolder, more rectangular bottle structure with premium label enhancements including extra fine detailing, crafted borders, foil finishes, refined embossing and a paper matte stock. The premium bottles also include matte finished shrink sleeves along the closure. "For seven generations and more than 220 years, Jim Beam has prided itself on going above and beyond to create the world's finest bourbon, and we're thrilled that our new premium packaging now even better reflects the quality and heritage that goes into every bottle around the world," said Tim Hassett, President, Americas at Beam Suntory. "We're continuing to make history in 2016 with one of the most ambitious and far-reaching efforts ever made for Jim Beam. We look forward to continuing to drive the unified brand presence around the world with the upgraded packaging." "This represents another historic milestone in my family's history," said Fred Noe, 7th Generation Master Distiller and Jim Beam's Great-Grandson. "I've always been proud to see the faces of every Beam Master Distiller displayed on Jim Beam bottles across the world. These bottles feel even better in my hands when I pour the world's finest bourbon." The upgraded packaging will be available on shelves in the United States by August across the entire Jim Beam portfolio, including Jim Beam Bourbon, Jim Beam Black, Jim Beam Apple, Jim Beam Honey, Jim Beam Kentucky Fire, Red Stag by Jim Beam, Jim Beam Devil's Cut and all expressions from the world's No. 1 Bourbon. To build additional excitement for its premium packaging, Jim Beam will also implement the new bottles into all new advertising and in-store materials as an ongoing evolution of its successful Make History campaign featuring global brand partner, Mila Kunis. This includes the brands newest television advertisement, called "Look Inside," that premiered in the U.S. earlier this year. Additional packaging imagery and information is featured on the Jim Beam website, Facebook and Twitter pages. About Beam Suntory Inc. As the world's third largest premium spirits company, Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits Brands that Stir the World. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company's brands, including the iconic Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbon brands and Suntory whisky Kakubin, as well as world renowned premium brands including Knob Creek bourbon, Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki Japanese whiskies, Teacher's, Laphroaig, and Bowmore Scotch whiskies, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Sauza tequila, Pinnacle vodka, and Midori liqueur. Beam Suntory was created in 2014 by combining the world leader in bourbon and the pioneer in Japanese whisky to form a new company with a deep heritage, passion for quality, innovative spirit and commitment to Growing for Good. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Beam Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. For more information on Beam Suntory, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamsuntory.com and www.drinksmart.com. Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 40% Alc./Vol. 2016 James B. Beam Distilling Co., Clermont, KY. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373951 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373950 SOURCE Beam Suntory Inc. NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Joseph Abboud announces the launch of Black Linen, a new men's fragrance inspired by the brand's uncompromising artisanal American craftsmanship and design. The 3.4oz bottle is available at Men's Wearhouse and Joseph Abboud stores nationwide as well as online at www.menswearhouse.com and www.josephabboud.com for $65. Joseph Abboud Launches Black Linen "I'm so pleased to launch Black Linen, just in time for summer," said Joseph Abboud, Chief Creative Director of Tailored Brands Inc. "I absolutely love dressing up for events in the summer in a black linen tuxedo and this fragrance is the perfect finishing touch. It's a clean, airy scent with many textures. I wanted it to be reminiscent of my designs and bring confidence to men wearing it." Abboud worked closely with Tru Fragrance and Harry Fremont, Master Perfumer of Firmenich, to create the fragrance. Black Linen is a complex fragrance tailored to compliment the refined style and modern edge of the daring American man. Directly inspired by a black linen tuxedo from his Spring 2016 Collection, the fragrance packaging, name and notes all encompass Abboud's romantic, summer aesthetic. "Black Linen is a clean and distinct fragrance with textural facets that evolve over time," said Fremont. "Grapefruit adds polished, masculine freshness while clary sage captivates the senses with earthy, aromatic undertones. As the fragrance dries down, Haitian vetiver reveals smoky, woody warmth for an intriguing fragrance experience." For more information about Joseph Abboud, visit www.josephabboud.com. About Joseph Abboud Since the age of sixteen, Joseph Abboud has been passionate about fashion. He started his career in menswear at Louis of Boston and later Polo Ralph Lauren. In 1987, Joseph Abboud launched his own eponymous label. Shortly after its debut, Abboud was accorded numerous honors including the distinction of being the only designer to have received the coveted Menswear Designer of the Year twice in a row (1989 & 1990) from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Other awards and honors include The Cutty Sark Award for Most Promising Menswear Designer in 1988, the first Woolmark Award for Distinguished Fashion in 1989 and again in March of 1993, and Person of the Year award from the American Apparel & Footwear Association in 2016. Abboud joined Tailored Brands Inc. (NYSE: TLRD) as its Chief Creative Director in December 2012. Abboud was reunited with his namesake brand in August 2013 when Tailored Brands Inc. acquired JA Holding Inc., the parent company of the celebrated American clothing brand, Joseph Abboud. Abboud re-launched his label, reestablishing the brand as a sophisticated modern-American lifestyle collection. The Joseph Abboud designer collection launched in October 2014 on JosephAbboud.com and is now available at the Joseph Abboud Flagship Store in New York City. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @JosephAbboud and Facebook. About Tru Fragrance & Beauty Tru Fragrance & Beauty crafts and globally distributes iconic fragrance and beauty brands that intimately connect with consumers. For over 46 years, Tru has partnered with retailers and brands to capitalize on the enormous category potential. By offering creative and nimble design, sourcing and financing, Tru has helped transform retailers into lifestyle destinations with must-have beauty offerings. Tru's offices in New York and Chicago house design, marketing, finance, quality and distribution resources. Satellite offices in Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver and Boston offer convenience for our clients and a deeper connection to national market trends. For additional information on Tru Fragrance & Beauty, please visit the company's website www.trufragrance.com. Tailored Brands Inc. Press Contacts: Director of Public Relations All Brands Diego Louro, [email protected] Public Relations Marketing Manager Joseph Abboud Caroline Smith, [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373647 SOURCE Joseph Abboud Related Links http://www.josephabboud.com TEANECK, N.J., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kumon, the world's largest after-school education franchise, is expanding in the Bay Area with the opening of its first learning center in East Palo Alto, California. There are currently 11 Kumon Centers in San Mateo County. The first Kumon Center in East Palo Alto will give thousands of additional parents access to a nearby learning center for their pre-school to high school aged children. East Palo Alto has seen an explosion of development and growth since the revitalization project in the early 2000s. The boom of the technology industry has moved young high-tech professionals and high-income couples from neighboring areas of Menlo Park and Palo Alto. "East Palo Alto's recent significant growth and proximity to Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest and most expensive regions in the United States, makes it an ideal location for Kumon's expansion," said Larry Lambert, vice president of franchise recruitment at Kumon North America. "The demand for Kumon learning centers continues to be seen and we are excited to bring the Kumon Method to even more families in East Palo Alto." Kumon's Presence in San Mateo County: 3,406 subjects enrolled at 11 centers First center opened in 1982 The Kumon Method empowers children to become self-learners and is designed to advance children's math and reading skills while fostering a love for learning. Kumon sparks critical thinking, establishes a pattern of success and builds confidence that can lead to accelerated learning throughout life. To learn more about the Kumon franchise opportunity, visit kumonfranchise.com. About Kumon Math & Reading Centers: Kumon is an after-school math and reading enrichment program that unlocks the potential of children in preschool through high school, so they can achieve more on their own. The learning method uses an individualized approach that helps children develop a solid command of math and reading skills. Visit www.kumon.com to learn more. About the Kumon Franchise Business Kumon is an ideal small business for professionals. Kumon Franchisees must have a four-year college degree, be proficient in math and reading and have investment capital of $70,000 and a net worth of at least $150,000. Founded in 1958, Kumon has four million students enrolled in 26,000 learning centers in 49 countries and regions. Kumon North America is headquartered in Teaneck, NJ. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160113/321904LOGO SOURCE Kumon North America Related Links http://www.kumon.com NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For materials and renderings, please access http://laguardiagatewaypartners.com/media/ Key features of the new LaGuardia Central include pedestrian bridges over the active taxi lanes with sweeping views of the airfield and the Manhattan skyline beyond LaGuardia Central Terminal B LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP), a consortium of Vantage Airport Group, Skanska and Meridiam, together with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have signed a lease agreement and achieved financing for the public-private partnership redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport's Central Terminal B. The lease began today and continues through 2050. "Today's contractual closing of the public-private partnership and the imminent commencement of construction represent a huge step forward in Governor Cuomo and the Port Authority's vision to modernize LaGuardia Airport," said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. "The new Terminal B will be a 21st Century facility offering a high level of customer service and amenities. The LaGuardia Public-Private Partnership represents the second major PPP entered into by the PA in less than three years." "Today is a milestone step forward for the project, the broader New York community and the nation," said Stewart Steeves, Chief Executive Officer of LaGuardia Gateway Partners. "With the beginning of this lease, our team brings its award-winning experience to the project and will deliver a sustainably-designed, state-of-the art facility at LaGuardia Airport." The project includes a new 35-gate Terminal B, Central Hall, West Garage, related roadways and supporting infrastructure. During construction, the existing terminal will remain fully operational and flights will not be affected. New facilities will begin opening in 2018, with scheduled substantial completion in 2022. The $4 billion public-private partnership is one of the largest for new transportation infrastructure in the U.S. and is financed using equity, debt and revenues. "LaGuardia Gateway Partners is working with the Port Authority to realize Governor Cuomo's vision for a new LaGuardia," Steeves said. "We are committed to delivering this project on time and within budget, while keeping communities engaged and informed. Our focus on delivering a great customer experience is rooted in knowing that an airport terminal is the first and last experience a passenger may have when visiting a city and region. We will build and operate a facility that New Yorkers can be proud of." The new LaGuardia Central Terminal B will feature dual pedestrian bridges spanning active aircraft taxi lanesa first in the worldthat connect the terminal to two island concourses. This islands and bridges design allows for improved airline circulation and gate flexibility, which will help reduce airport delays. From the western concourse bridge, a view of the Manhattan skyline epitomizes how the new terminal design uniquely reflects New York. Inside the new facility, there will be food, retail and beverage options that reflect regional and national offerings. The terminal will be flooded with natural light at all levels, have short curb-to-gate walking distances, and have spacious and comfortable waiting areas with more seating capacity. The more than 1.3 million square feet of the new Central Terminal B is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification for sustainable design, a designation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council. Partner Quotes "I'm proud to see Vantage Airport Group oversee the construction and operations on such a ground-breaking project. We take the responsibility seriously, and look forward to working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and our many airport stakeholders on delivering a terminal that meets the high expectations of the state and city of New York," said George Casey, President and CEO, Vantage Airport Group and LGP Chairman of the Board. "Our team has brought together several of the world's aviation leaders to benefit the Port Authority, the more than 14.3 million passengers who travel through LaGuardia's Central Terminal B annually and the airlines who serve them. We understand the vital role that LaGuardia plays as a transportation hub, a regional economic engine, and a critical link in the nation's aviation network. We look forward to delivering the best possible terminal to fulfill each of those essential roles," said Jane Garvey, Chairman, Meridiam North America and LGP Board Director. "Skanska is proud to invest in and lead construction of the redevelopment of the LaGuardia Central Terminal B with our team. The new terminal is vital to the transportation needs of our country, the vibrancy of our economy and will serve a flying public that is growing dramatically. This unique endeavor is the biggest public-private partnership in New York," said Rich Cavallaro, President and CEO, Skanska USA. About LaGuardia Gateway Partners LaGuardia Gateway Partners was selected by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to deliver an extensive capital redevelopment project at LaGuardia Airport that will provide world-class terminal facilities and operations for passengers and airlines. LaGuardia Gateway Partners is composed of Vantage Airport Group, Skanska and Meridiam for development and equity investment; SkanskaWalsh as the design build joint venture; HOK and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff for design; and Vantage Airport Group for management of the terminal operations. LaGuardia Gateway Partners' members have worked on more than 350 aviation and transportation projects globally and domestically, including international airports in New York (John F. Kennedy), Chicago, Doha, Delhi, Los Angeles, Santiago, and Nassau. For more information, visit www.laguardiagatewaypartners.com or follow on Twitter at @LGACentral. QUOTES Vantage Airport Group George Casey, President and CEO "I'm proud to see Vantage Airport Group lead this dynamic team on such a ground-breaking project. We take the responsibility seriously, and look forward to working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and our many airport stakeholders on delivering a terminal that meets the high expectations of the state and city of New York." Vantage Airport Group is a leading developer, investor, manager and operator of airports around the globe. For 21 years, Vantage has applied to airports worldwide the expertise honed throughout its network and at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), named Best Airport in North America for seven consecutive years. Skanska USA Rich Cavallaro, President and CEO "Skanska is proud to invest in and lead construction of the redevelopment of the LaGuardia Central Terminal B with our team. The new terminal is vital to the transportation needs of our country, the vibrancy of our economy and will serve a flying public that is growing dramatically. This unique endeavor is the biggest public-private partnership in New York." Skanska USA, headquartered in New York, is one of the largest, most financially sound construction and development companies in the country. Meridiam Jane Garvey, Chairman, Meridiam North America and former U.S. Federal Aviation Administrator "Our team has brought together several of the world's aviation leaders to benefit the Port Authority, the more than 14.3 million passengers who travel through LaGuardia's Central Terminal B annually and the airlines who serve them. We understand the vital role that LaGuardia plays as a transportation hub, a regional economic engine, and a critical link in the nation's aviation network. We look forward to delivering the best possible terminal to fulfill each of those essential roles." Meridiam is a leading investor, developer, manager and long-term partner in North American and European public-private partnerships with dedicated 25-year funds and global assets under management of $5.7 billion enabling it to be a long-term partner to the public sector from project inception through operations. WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Gregory Kelly, President and CEO "WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is proud to be part of the LaGuardia Gateway Partners team for the development of a new terminal at La Guardia Airport. As part of the design joint venture, we are pleased to contribute expertise from across our integrated business sectors, including advisory services, buildings, environment, industrial & energy, and transportation & infrastructure, to one of the most exciting infrastructure projects under way in New York City." WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms, serving the aviation industry for over 70 years, with regional headquarters in New York City. HOK - Robert Chicas, AIA, Design Manager and Director of Aviation + Transportation "The HOK and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff design team is proud to be a part of this milestone for LaGuardia Airport and New York. The project's innovative design and unique delivery and operational model demonstrate the benefits of public-private partnerships. The development of a state-of-the-art, 21st-century terminal complex will completely redefine the LaGuardia Airport passenger experience, giving it world-class amenities and customer service that position it among the world's best airports." HOK is a global leader in aviation architecture, having planned and designed over $18 billion of airport construction in the past 10 years, including Indianapolis International Airport, Terminal A at Boston Logan Airport, and the Salt Lake City Airport redevelopment project (currently in progress). Walsh Construction Dan Walsh, Co-Chairman "Walsh Construction is dedicated to delivering the new Central Terminal Building with the highest standards for construction and safety, and an unwavering focus on quality. This state-of-the-art facility will not only be a new gateway to New York City, but will also improve airport operations and raise the bar for global aviation infrastructure." Walsh Construction is a 118 year old family-owned business and one of the nation's largest aviation contractors. Walsh has consistently delivered successful projects including major terminal expansions at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Sacramento International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport. LAGUARDIA CENTRAL - FACT SHEET About the Project LaGuardia Gateway Partners is the private partner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to deliver LaGuardia Central Terminal B, an extensive capital redevelopment project that will provide world-class facilities for passengers and airlines. LaGuardia Central is a public-private partnership that includes finance, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal B, with a lease term through 2050. LaGuardia Central includes a new 35-gate Terminal B, Great Hall, West Garage, related roadways and supporting infrastructure. About the Partners LaGuardia Gateway Partners is composed of Vantage Airport Group, Skanska and Meridiam for development and equity investment; Skanska-Walsh as the design build joint venture; HOK and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff for design; and Vantage Airport Group for management of the operations. LaGuardia Gateway Partners' members have worked on more than 350 aviation and transportation projects globally and domestically, including international airports in New York (John F. Kennedy), Chicago, Doha, Delhi, Los Angeles, Santiago, and Nassau. For more information, visit www.laguardiagatewaypartners.com or follow on Twitter at @LGACentral. By the Numbers 1 $4 billion project value, of which two-thirds will be financed by private funds project value, of which two-thirds will be financed by private funds 1.3 million square feet of new terminal of new terminal 14+ million passengers in 2015 (half of LaGuardia Airport's current total passenger traffic) in 2015 (half of LaGuardia Airport's current total passenger traffic) 35 gates (same as existing terminal) (same as existing terminal) 8 airlines operate out of the terminal: Air Canada, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Spirit and Virgin America operate out of the terminal: Air Canada, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Spirit and Virgin America $1.3 billion in wages and $5.2 billion in regional economic activity 2 in wages and in regional economic activity 39 months to opening of significant portions of the terminal, when 100 per cent of passengers will check in at the new head house to opening of significant portions of the terminal, when 100 per cent of passengers will check in at the new head house Dual pedestrian bridges that span active taxi lanes - a first in the world that span active taxi lanes - a first in the world June 1, 2016 : first day of LGP-led terminal operations For more information , visit www.laguardiagatewaypartners.com or follow on Twitter at @LGACentral. Timeline January 2013 : Qualifications submitted Qualifications submitted July 2013 : Shortlisting announced Shortlisting announced April & May 2014 : Proposals submitted Proposals submitted May 2015 : LaGuardia Gateway Partners selected as Preferred Bidder LaGuardia Gateway Partners selected as Preferred Bidder July 2015 : New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveils vision for LaGuardia Airport Governor unveils vision for LaGuardia Airport March 2016 : Lease authorization approved by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Lease authorization approved by Port Authority of and June 1, 2016 : Lease commencement and LaGuardia Gateway Partners takes over operations of existing Central Terminal B from Port Authority Lease commencement and LaGuardia Gateway Partners takes over operations of existing Central Terminal B from Port Authority June 1, 2016 to 2022: Central Terminal Redevelopment Project construction Central Terminal Redevelopment Project construction June 1, 2016 to December 30, 2050 : LaGuardia Gateway Partners operates and maintains existing Terminal B and, upon completion, the new Central Terminal 1 All statistics courtesy of the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and LaGuardia Gateway Partners 2 Port Authority Advances Major Modernization Projects, March 24, 2016 Press Release Renderings and Captions To access high-resolution copies of the following renderings, please visit http://laguardiagatewaypartners.com/media/ Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374236 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374238LOGO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374237LOGO MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Bastardi 212-729-2495 [email protected] Ana Zenatti 212-704-8245 [email protected] SOURCE LaGuardia Gateway Partners Related Links http://www.laguardiagatewaypartners.com TORONTO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LDA Technologies, an FPGA product design and manufacturing firm, today announced the release of LDA e4, the world's first 25GbE capable networking enclosure for PCI Express compliant FPGA boards, piloting a new generation of data center devices specifically engineered for high-speed communication and financial FPGA applications. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373780 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373781LOGO In addition to being board-agnostic and effortless to the point of "plug-and-play", LDA e4 comes with 48 high-speed ports (25 and 10GbE), Layer 1 replication (25 and 10GbE) and support for various CPUs and operating systems. "One of the highlights of LDA e4 is the capability to expand the number of serial links available to network applications through repurposing PCI Express, FMC and SATA connectors," said Vahan Sardaryan, CEO of LDA Technologies. "This feature allows an FPGA board with PCI Express x16, FMC and 4 QSFPs connectors to serve up to 48 individual network links, which for many applications means double or triple capacity without any additional cost." Other features offered by LDA e4 include designated precision power control, accurate reference clock source, per port signal monitoring tools, out-of-band management, internal USB ports for debug equipment, zero-configuration option: all these in a sleek 12-inch-deep 1U device that takes only half of the rack, leaving enough space for another LDA e4. "Frankly, hosting an FPGA board is not why a rackable server is made, but it often becomes the reason why a server is bought," Sardaryan said. "We hope to provide an alternative that is designed "by engineers for engineers" and can be so much more than just another server." The ability to use any PCI Express FPGA board within a purely FPGA-oriented device makes this product a good fit for IP core developers who already have existing systems and/or value the flexibility of selecting FPGA boards for their applications; and especially those who develop their IP cores for more than one FPGA platform. "LDA e4," says Sardaryan, "enables its users to preserve their current boards and code for as long as needed, provides them with great options to enhance their applications, and gives full flexibility to upgrade or switch FPGA platforms at any time. "The sheer multitude of features introduced in LDA e4, the ease, cost efficiency and the fact that it is among the first 25GbE capable devices: all make it a strong contender for your next data center FPGA device." LDA Technologies is a privately held company headquartered in Toronto, Canada and specializing in high performance FPGA based platforms. LDA Technologies has been manufacturing products and providing consultancy services for customers since 2010. If you would like more information about this product, please visit our website at http://www.ldatech.com or E-Mail us at [email protected] Contact: Vahan Sardaryan Phone: +1(800) 738-8163 Email Website: www.ldatech.com SOURCE LDA Technologies Related Links http://www.ldatech.com CHICAGO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Luxury Garage Sale (also known as "LGS"), a leading designer brand consignment retailer announced today it has raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Boston-based Data Point Capital. Also participating were new and current investors including Chicago Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Pallasite Ventures and Brian Spaly. The company will use the new capital to expand their product offering, open new locations and enhance their online presence. Co-founded in 2011 by Brielle Buchberg and Lindsay Segal, LGS provides a curated, white glove service for buyers and sellers in the $16 billion women's fashion resale market. The luxury consigning and shopping experience is available across four diverse retail channels, including boutiques in Chicago and Dallas, an e-commerce website (luxurygaragesale.com), several online marketplaces, and pop-up shops around the country. "With revenues growing 3X over the prior year, millions of online visitors with almost no marketing spend, and the average LGS store achieving over $1,300 per square foot, we couldn't be more thankful to our buyers and sellers that have continued to fuel our growth," said Lindsay Segal, Co-Founder and CEO of LGS. "We are totally committed to providing a best-in-class white glove service and a truly seamless omni-channel experience both in-store and on-line." In 2015, LGS opened two new storefronts, moved into a 25,000 square foot flagship location in downtown Chicago, and increased its staff to now 85 employees. "It has been an exciting last twelve months, but with this new capital, a great team, and our experienced board, I truly believe we have only just begun," said Segal. "We search for remarkable companies that are achieving great scale," said Scott Savitz, Managing Partner of Data Point Capital. "Whether it is new customer acquisition, repeat buying, lifetime value, customer satisfaction, unit economics or consigner engagement, you name it, LGS has clearly proven they make the grade." Brian Spaly, co-founder of Trunk Club and Bonobos added, "the LGS team has built a very big business on very limited capital. Few start-ups are able to build such a big business profitably, with so little investment. We're eager to see what the LGS team will achieve with this most recent infusion of capital. I look forward to a terrific 2016 and beyond." Learn more about Luxury Garage Sale at www.luxurygaragesale.com. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest arrivals, events and more. About Luxury Garage Sale Luxury Garage Sale is Chicagoland's preeminent designer consignment business, selling new and gently-used designer brand and vintage wardrobe items both online and in-store. The white-glove full-service offers consignors no upfront fees, anonymity, and up to 65% of the selling price of any item. Buyers can expect fully authenticated, curated offerings across multiple platforms. About Data Point Capital Data Point Capital focuses on companies that can be leveraged and scaled on the Internet. Categories of interest include mobile, social networks, payments, e-commerce, internet of things, machine learning, cyber-security, and emerging technologies. Our analytical approach allows us to invest in companies that are at key inflection points in their lifecycles. The firm is made up of business executives and Internet leaders who have created tremendous value through building a number of very successful companies (in many cases, again and again). At Data Point Capital, we like to think of ourselves as entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs and that by investing with independent thinking based on real, differentiating innovation and complementary key metrics, superior results can be achieved. For more information please visit the Data Point Capital website at www.datapointcapital.com. SOURCE Luxury Garage Sale Related Links http://luxurygaragesale.com Webcast and Presentation Slides Access A live webcast can be accessed at the time of the presentation at https://lyb.com/investorevents, where copies of the slides related to the webcast will also be available for download. A replay of the presentation will be available on the company's website within 24 hours following the webcast. A good, hot cup of joe goes with any season and Midnight Kona will put a little pep in your step. Maui Wowi blends Costa Rican beans with Kona beans to make Midnight Kona. The first thing you'll notice about this coffee is its mild, peppery aroma and heavy body in this rich, dark roasted coffee. With a hint of Kona's smooth buttery finish, this makes a perfectly comfortable mouth-feel. Midnight Kona is available June 1 through Aug. 31. When you're ready to escape the heat or just provide your taste buds with a seasonal cool treat, the mouthwatering Orchard Peach Smoothie will refresh and delight. Made with creamy peach fruit puree, live active yogurt and a fresh banana, the Orchard Peach Smoothie has quickly become a seasonal favorite every summer since 2012. The Orchard Peach Smoothie is available May 27 through Sept. 5. "We wanted to provide consumers with an offering from both the coffee and the smoothie side of our operations this summer," said Mike Weinberger, brand president of Maui Wowi. "Midnight Kona provides a mild zing, much like the prefect summer day. And with peach being a traditional favorite summertime fruit, we, of course, wanted to bring back the Orchard Peach Smoothie." Maui Wowi, a global coffee and smoothie franchise that has more than 450 stores, kiosks and mobile units, will offer the special roast and summer smoothie flavor at participating locations for a limited time only. Midnight Kona coffee will also be available online, giving loyal customers the opportunity to experience the flavors of the Pacific Rim with ease. For more information on Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees and Smoothies, visit http://www.mauiwowi.com. About Maui Wowi Hawaiian Since 1982, Maui Wowi Hawaiian has embraced the Hawaiian culture and has been serving paradise in a cup since the day it began, over 30 years ago. From event carts, mall kiosks and stand-alone retail locations, Maui Wowi Hawaiian offers premium, all-natural, gluten-free, fresh-fruit smoothies, as well as gourmet Hawaiian coffees and espresso beverages. The company maintains strong community involvement through fundraising efforts by its franchisees, in addition to Team Karma; an initiative that promotes corporate responsibility and giving back to the community. In November 2015 Maui Wowi Hawaiian was acquired by Kahala Brands. The brand has more than 450 operating units and an online store, shop.mauiwowi.com. To learn more information about Maui Wowi Hawaiian's products, locations or flexible, low-cost franchising opportunities, visit http://www.MauiWowiFranchise.com. About Kahala Brands Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Kahala Brands is one of the fastest growing franchising companies in the world with a portfolio of 18 quick-service restaurant brands with approximately 3000 locations in 34 countries including Cold Stone Creamery, Blimpie, TacoTime, Pinkberry, Samurai Sam's Teriyaki Grill, The Great Steak & Potato Company, NrGize Lifestyle Cafe, Surf City Squeeze, Planet Smoothie, tasti D-lite, Maui Wowi, Johnnie's New York Pizzeria, Cereality, Kahala Coffee Traders, Frullati Cafe & Bakery, Rollerz, Ranch One and America's Taco Shop. For more information about Kahala Brands, visit www.KahalaBrands.com. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373873 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160209/331278LOGO SOURCE Maui Wowi Hawaiian Related Links http://www.mauiwowi.com IRVINE, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported May U.S. sales of 28,328 vehicles, representing a decrease of 4.3 percent versus last year. Given that there were 24 selling days this May, versus 26 last year, sales were up 3.7 percent on a daily selling-rate (DSR) basis. Year-to-date sales through May are 119,166 vehicles. Key May sales notes: The all-new 2016 CX-9 arrived in dealerships late in May. In just one week of sales, the all-new CX-9 accounted for nearly 600 vehicle sales. Mazda expects a strong performance from its all-new three-row crossover SUV as inventory continues to arrive. Mazda MX-5 had an outstanding month of May with 1,000 vehicles sold. This number represents an increase of 122.7 percent YOY and its best May since 2008. Mazda CX-5 had its second-best May ever, and its best month of sales in 2016, with 9,951 vehicles sold. Mazda6 had its best month of sales in 2016 with 5,027 vehicles sold in the month of May. Mazda's i-ACTIV All-Wheel Drive continues to be the drivetrain of choice for consumers when buying a Mazda SUV, with 56 percent of buyers choosing the innovative and unique system. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported May sales of 3,650 vehicles, down 15.0 percent versus May of last year. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com. Month-To-Date Year-To-Date May May % % MTD May May % % YTD 2016 2015 Change DSR 2016 2015 Change DSR Mazda2 - 10 (100.0)% (100.0)% 3 259 (98.8)% (98.8)% Mazda3 10,127 10,316 (1.8)% 6.3% 42,982 45,626 (5.8)% (5.0)% Mazda5 37 609 (93.9)% (93.4)% 296 5,048 (94.1)% (94.1)% Mazda6 5,027 5,578 (9.9)% (2.4)% 19,239 26,973 (28.7)% (28.1)% MX-5 Miata 1,000 449 122.7% 141.3% 4,495 2,214 103.0% 104.6% CX-3 1,570 - N/A N/A 7,990 - N/A N/A CX-5 9,951 10,717 (7.1)% 0.6% 42,384 43,970 (3.6)% (2.8)% CX-9 616 1,924 (68.0)% (65.3)% 1,777 7,680 (76.9)% (76.7)% Total Vehicles CARS 16,191 16,962 (4.5)% 3.4% 67,015 80,120 (16.4)% (15.7)% TRUCKS 12,137 12,641 (4.0)% 4.0% 52,151 51,650 1.0% 1.8% TOTAL 28,328 29,603 (4.3)% 3.7% 119,166 131,770 (9.6)% (8.8)% Selling Days 24 26 126 127 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131205/MM28870LOGO SOURCE Mazda North American Operations Related Links http://www.mazdausa.com The Project will be financed using equity, debt, PANYNJ milestone payments, as well as retail and airline revenues with equal shareholding amongst the three consortium partners. "Our team has brought together several of the world's aviation leaders to benefit the Port Authority, the more than 14.3 million passengers who travel through LaGuardia's Central Terminal B Building annually and the airlines who serve them. We understand the vital role that LaGuardia plays as a transportation hub, a regional economic engine, and a critical link in the nation's aviation network. We look forward to delivering the best possible terminal to fulfill each of those essential roles," said Jane Garvey, Chairman, Meridiam North America and LGP Board Director. Construction of permanent works will begin immediately, with most of the new terminal opening in 2020 and substantial completion anticipated during 2022. "The LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal B Project is an emblematic example of how we, through Public Private Partnership, can expedite delivery of vital infrastructure to meet the US's critical needs. This project joins Meridiam's North American growing footprint alongside the Port of Miami Tunnel, the Long Beach Court House, and the North Tarrant Express, all game-changing projects for the communities they serve," Thierry Deau, Meridiam's CEO and Founder. The new LaGuardia Central Terminal B will be built adjacent to the existing terminal, while flight operations continue without interruption. The new design, expected to achieve LEED Silver Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), exemplifies New York through two sweeping concourses that provide views of Manhattan and are designed to enable increased airline circulation. About Meridiam Founded in 2005, Meridiam is an independent investment firm specialized in the development, financing, and management of long-term public infrastructure projects. With offices in Paris, New York, Toronto, Istanbul, and Dakar, Meridiam is a leading investor in public infrastructure across Europe, North America and Africa. Currently managing 5 billion ($5.7B) of assets, the firm has to date invested in 48 projects. Designated Global Infrastructure Fund of the Year for the fourth time in 2015 by IJ Global, Meridiam is one of the first investors and asset managers to receive ISO 9001 certification for its responsible investment process and is a founding member of the Long Term Infrastructure Investors Association. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140804/132966 SOURCE Meridiam LONDON, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Metabolomics is an omics sciences in systems biology and involves global valuation and validation of endogenous metabolites inside a biological system. With the technological advances in molecular biology, there has been significant development in the field of metabolomics. The developments analytical equipment and software have backed the development of metabolomics field. Similarly, increasing metabolomics research funding and government initiatives is a major driver for the growth of this market. Metabolomics science is used widely in biomarker discovery and drug assessment. Thus, the rapid development experienced by pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors is supporting the growth of the metabolomics market. However, the dearth of skilled professionals in metabolomics science is expected to hamper the growth of the metabolomics market. Moreover, low adoption of advanced metabolomics products is the other factor deterring the growth of the metabolomics market. Metabolomics is gaining importance as a tool in the life sciences since it is a relatively fast and precise technique that can be applied with either a particular focus or in an overall manner to gain new knowledge about biological systems. This research study analyzes the market for metabolomics in terms of revenue (US$ Mn). For the research, 2015 has been considered as the base year, while all forecasts have been provided from 2016 to 2024. The global metabolomics market is segmented into three segments as technique, applications, and geography. The market by technique is further divided as separation techniques and detection techniques. Separation techniques includes study of gas chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The HPLC accounted for the highest share of metabolomics market by technique. Detection technique includes nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) and others. The market by application includes drug assessment, biomarker discovery, nutrigenomics, clinical toxicology and others. The market by geography is divided into five regions as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. The market overview section of the report demonstrates major market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities that influence the current and future status of the industry. Porter's five forces analysis provides information about the competitiveness of the industry. Moreover, the market attractiveness and competitive landscape provided in the market overview gives information about the lucrative markets for investment and major players in this market, respectively. The report concludes with the company profiles section, which includes key information about major players in the market such as financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments. Major players in this market are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), Agilent Technologies, Inc.(U.S.), Biocrates Life Sciences AG (Austria), Shimadzu Corporation (Japan), Waters Corporation (U.S.), Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc.(Japan), LECO Corporation (U.S.), Metabolon, Inc. (U.S.), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.(U.S.), and Bruker Corporation (U.S.) Global Metabolomics market has been segmented as follows: Global Metabolomics Market, By Technique Introduction Separation Techniques Gas Chromatography (GC) Capillary Electrophoresis (CE)? High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)? Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC)? Detection Techniques Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR)? Mass Spectrometry (MS) Global Metabolomics Market, By Application Introduction Drug Assessment Biomarker Discovery Nutrigenomics Clinical toxicology Others Global Metabolomics Market, by Geography Introduction North America United States Canada Europe Germany France Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan Rest of Asia Pacific Latin America Brazil Rest of Latin America Middle East and Africa South Africa Rest of Middle East and Africa Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3867041/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Middlemarch Partners announces its role as a financial and strategic advisor in the completion of an up to $60 million debt facility raise for CapFusion, an online provider of small business loans. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373949 The financing will enable CapFusion to accelerate its growth in originating small business loans to companies across the United States in sectors ranging from retailing to agriculture to logistics, and to manufacturing. Ryan Sullivan, CEO, stated, "Securing this partnership with Main Street Financial positions CapFusion to fully execute on its potential as a leading small business lender. We now have the capital to expand our reach as provider of growth capital to companies in America's breadbasket. We will continue to focus on being fast to approvals and to truly understanding our clients' financing needs." CapFusion provides small business loans as small as $5,000 and as large as $500,000 to fast growing small and medium-sized businesses. Sullivan added, "As small business owners ourselves, we know how hard it is to secure the capital needed to grow in today's competitive marketplace. We look forward to expanding our offerings to this market and developing long-term relationships with many great businesses." "As a firm that focuses on the specialty finance industry, Middlemarch has supported the growth of many alternative financing companies over the last few years," said Sasha Grutman of Middlemarch Partners. "We believe CapFusion has distinguished itself among small business lenders by finding innovative ways to deliver capital quickly and creatively to businesses that often are overlooked by traditional lenders. We expect CapFusion to grow rapidly over the next few years." Demetris Papademetriou of Middlemarch Partners added, "We are particularly pleased to have attracted financing for CapFusion from Main Street Capital, a middle market lender who recognizes the unique talents of the CapFusion team and believes they have the potential to become a scaled small business lender." ABOUT CAPFUSION CapFusion is a Kansas City, Missouri-based small business lender. The company lends to a broad range of small business verticals but has developed unique expertise in lending to transportation, construction, and agricultural companies, whose high-quality assets enable the Company to lend to lesser credit-quality borrowers. CapFusion has demonstrated an ability to close loans very rapidly and has built a strong franchise with its clientele. ABOUT MIDDLEMARCH PARTNERS Middlemarch Partners is a merchant bank that works with companies looking for well-structured and thoughtful solutions to their capital raising, M&A, and strategic partnering needs. Middlemarch is particularly active within the specialty finance, payments, and financial technology sectors where companies require sophisticated equity and debt investment solutions. The firm is capable of supporting venture and growth capital transactions ranging from $15 to $250 million in either debt or equity. For more information on Middlemarch Partners, LLC please visit www.middlemarchllc.com. Media Contact: Sasha Grutman Phone: 212-913-9660 Email URL: www.middlemarchllc.com Securities offered through Peraza Capital, LLC, Member FINRA, SIPC. SOURCE Middlemarch Partners, LLC Related Links http://middlemarchllc.com NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Report Details Consistent growth is forecast for the global military radar market over the 2015-2025 period. Geopolitical, technological, operational and economic factors all contribute to an uncertain level of future military expenditure in many national markets. Visiongain expects the global military radar systems market to reach $9.42bn in 2015. However as is explained throughout the report's detailed analysis the demand for military radar systems will endure throughout the forecast decade. In current threat environments, where precision and intelligence are more important than ever, the use of radar is a crucial element of both surveillance and the accurate deployment of weapons - in both offensive and defensive applications. Air and ballistic missile defence, air-to-air combat, strategic long-range surveillance, counter-fire systems and multiple other military applications are dependent on radar systems. The increasingly necessary requirement for situational awareness and battlefield management places demands on radar manufacturers to develop more capable and adaptable systems to plug into the network-centric operations of modern militaries worldwide. However, there is considerable demand from emerging military powers requiring modernisation of their legacy systems. Porous borders, threats to territorial integrity and strategic threats such as ballistic missiles are all driving factors propelling the military market forward with consistent growth rates Why you should invest in Military Radar Systems Market 2015-2025: Leading Companies in Airborne, Naval & Land-Based Systems What is the future of the military radar market? Visiongain's comprehensive analysis contains highly quantitative content delivering solid conclusions benefiting your analysis and illustrates new opportunities and potential revenue streams helping you to remain competitive. This definitive report will benefit your decision making and help to direct your future business strategy. How this 279 page report delivers: - View global military radar market forecasts from 2015-2025 keeping your knowledge up to speed and ensuring you exploit key business opportunities - The report provides detailed regional, national, and submarket sales projections of the market, analysis of the various competitors, and the market's commercial drivers and restraints, allowing you to more effectively compete in its environment. In addition to market forecasts covering the period 2015-2025, this new study brings together current market data, and submarket breakdown information, original critical analysis, and revealing insight into commercial developments. - Our report provides 221 tables, charts and graphs - See a thorough assessment of the current state of the military radar market, where opportunities exist, and where barriers to entry are high. See an exclusive interview transcript from RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. - By reading the transcript of the exclusive expert opinion interview contained in the report you will keep up to speed with what is happening in the industry. You will find strategic advantages for your work and will learn how your organisation can benefit, allowing you to assess prospects for investments and sales. Discover sales predictions for the key military radar submarkets from 2015-2025 - What are the dynamic within the military radar industry? Which submarkets will generate the most revenue? Use our forecasts and expert insight to grow your business and gain more insight into 3 key submarkets - Airborne radar systems - Naval radar systems - Land-based radar systems Understand the prospects for the leading national military radar markets where will the highest revenues and opportunities occur? - Learn about the market potential for military radar companies in the developed and developing countries, from 2015 onwar Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p02830389-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennium Space Systems announces the promotions of Vince Deno to Chief Operating Officer and Bob Newberry to President, as the Company positions itself for further growth in the space & defense sector. The Company is expanding its R&D investments, manufacturing & production facilities, and workforce to support its growing role as a provider of affordable high performance space systems. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373929LOGO Stan Dubyn, Chairman & CEO, commented on the leadership promotions, "This is the realization of the plan we crafted in anticipation of our soon-to-be-completed factory expansion and explosive business growth, further disrupting the status quo. Vince and Bob are a one-two punch as we move the company forward and deliver on commitments." Vince will continue to develop, establish, and execute the company's asymmetric strategies, which have fueled annual revenue growth of over 100X in the last 7 years. Bob transitions from Executive Vice President to President, retaining the role as Chief Marketing Officer. His added responsibility for program execution spans multiple product lines with delivery of hundreds of satellites per year, ranging from 10 kg to over 3,000 kg. Mr. Deno holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and is an alumnus of the International Space University. He has held the position of President since 2007, and has been a driving force in transforming the company to where it is today. Mr. Newberry holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy. He also earned a MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Air Force's Air War College. ABOUT MILLENNIUM SPACE SYSTEMS Millennium Space Systems is a privately held, employee-owned company founded in November 2001, providing alternative, relevant and affordable solutions to today's aerospace challenges. The company designs flight systems and develops mission and system solutions for the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics & Space Administrations, and commercial customers. More Information about Millennium Space Systems: www.millennium-space.com. MEDIA CONTACT Jason Kim, Director of Strategic Planning E-mail Phone: 310.683.5884 SOURCE Millennium Space Systems Related Links http://www.millennium-space.com ORLANDO, Fla., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than $550 million has been recovered from property tax fraud in Orange County, Florida. The money comes from property owners who wrongfully applied for property tax exemptions when they did not qualify, primarily Florida's Homestead Tax exemption. The recovered money has been returned to the taxpayers. Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh hired three former law enforcement professionals to investigate property owners trying to beat the system. He introduced a tax fraud hotline for citizens to report suspicious properties, resulting in the recovery of the hundreds of millions of dollars. "Counties everywhere should invest in diligent investigative work and make it a top priority to catch those that cheat the system," said Rick Singh, the Orange County Property Appraiser. "That way our communities receive the funding they need to provide vital services to their citizens, like law enforcement, fire, EMS, and schools, and honest tax payers don't pick up the burden left by individuals or businesses that break the rules." The Orange County Property Appraiser is responsible for identifying locating and fairly valuing all property both real and personal within the county for tax purposes. Orange County, Florida is home to seven theme parks, more than 60 million visitors per year and 120,000 hotel rooms. Currently, $6.3 million worth of construction is happening every day in Orange County and 14,000 time shares are sold weekly. Visit ocpafl.org for more information. Contact: Laverne McGee 407.836.5096 Office 407.432.4249 Mobile [email protected] SOURCE Orange County Property Appraiser's Office, FL Related Links http://ocpafl.org ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- NanoBio Corporation today announced that the company will present key data at the GTCbio 14th Vaccines Research & Development Conference in San Diego on June 3, 2016, demonstrating the advantages of its nanoemulsion (NE) adjuvant for use in the development of intramuscular vaccines for pandemic influenza and other diseases. The primary research being presented at the conference was conducted under a five-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Pursuant to the contract, NanoBio is developing both an intranasal and an intramuscular NE adjuvant for use with pandemic influenza vaccines. The studies were conducted using a plant-based recombinant H5 pandemic influenza antigen. "The combined effort of researchers at NanoBio and the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences at the University of Michigan have led to the very significant discovery of a new NE adjuvant formulation that appears optimal for intramuscular administration," said David Peralta, Chief Executive Officer, NanoBio. "Given most vaccines today are injected, this NE formulation has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of many intramuscular vaccines currently available and in development stages." "Our recent studies in mice demonstrate that intramuscular NE vaccination elicits robust antibody responses as well as the type of balanced cellular immunity we strive to achieve to protect against certain diseases," said Dr. Ali Fattom, Senior Vice President of Vaccine Research and Development, NanoBio. "We've observed this profile of immune response in the pandemic influenza studies being presented at the conference, as well as other studies testing the NE with several additional antigens." Fattom continued, "We have also confirmed that the NE is compatible with other intramuscular vaccine adjuvants. In studies testing such combination-adjuvant vaccines, we observe significant synergy particularly with respect to cell-mediated immunity. This may play an important role in the development of intramuscular vaccines that elicit the desired immune response required for durable efficacy against selected infectious diseases, cancers and allergies." Peralta noted, "Our future development efforts at NanoBio will continue to incorporate intranasal administration of NE vaccines, given our NE adjuvant's unique ability to elicit both a systemic and mucosal immune response following this route of application. However, with this new discovery, we will increasingly also explore use of intramuscular NE vaccination as we seek to advance several vaccine candidates to human clinical studies in the years ahead." Following are details of NanoBio's upcoming oral presentation at the GTCbio 14th Vaccines Research & Development Conference Title: Novel Nanoemulsion-based Intramuscular Vaccine Adjuvant for H5N1 Pandemic Influenza Date/Time: June 3, 2016 / 9:40 a.m. PT Location: Catamaran Resort, San Diego, California About NanoBio Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, NanoBio Corporation is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing vaccines and anti-infective treatments derived from its patented NanoStat technology platform. The company's NanoStat vaccine technology employs a novel oil-in-water nanoemulsion (NE) that can incorporate, deliver and adjuvant multiple antigen types. The NE adjuvant is effective when administered via intranasal or intramuscular vaccination. When applied intranasally, NE vaccines elicit both mucosal and systemic immunity. NanoBio is currently developing NE vaccines for several respiratory and sexually transmitted diseases, including pertussis, pandemic influenza, anthrax, prophylactic and therapeutic HSV2, chlamydia and HIV. In addition, the company has licensed its NE adjuvant to Merck for use with intranasal vaccines for RSV and seasonal influenza. For more information on NanoBio or its products, please visit www.nanobio.com. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151201/292461LOGO SOURCE NanoBio Corporation Croscut is a nationally recognized expert in ESOP as a succession and employee compensation strategy. She is the current Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC) Board President, a member of the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and a member and past chapter officer of The ESOP Association and also serves as a Trustee for the Employee Ownership Foundation. She advises companies small and large, and has worked on transactions from under $1 million dollars to over $500 million. On June 2nd, Croscut will be speaking at the 2016 Vermont Employee Ownership Conference at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. With co-speakers David Stiller from Heritage Aviation and John Brady of Atlantic Management Company, she will be speaking about how Heritage Aviation successfully navigated their ESOP transition to become 100% ESOP owned in 2015. The session will also include a discussion of current best practices for companies who want to make the ESOP transition. On June 7th, Croscut will be speaking at the ESOP Association's 2016 Super Regional Board of Directors & Trustee Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Providence, Rhode Island. In a session for board members and trustees, she will talk about basic board functions in ESOP companies, duties and the interaction between the board and the ESOP trustee. If you would like to speak to Croscut about either of these events, or about ESOP best practices, please email [email protected]. ABOUT US Steiker, Greenapple & Croscut, P.C. is an experienced, nationally recognized law firm focusing on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and other employee-centered ownership transition and compensation strategies. Since 1987, our attorneys have represented companies, selling shareholders, plan fiduciaries and lenders in hundreds of transactions nationwide. Our approach for structuring and maintaining ESOPs focuses on balancing the needs of the owners, company and employees to create successful, sustainable employee ownership outcomes. In addition to creating new ESOPs, we provide ongoing guidance to our clients on IRS and DOL compliance, the impact of repurchase liability, legislative and regulatory changes, follow-on stock purchase and sale transactions, ESOP company mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. Our experienced attorneys install and advise on the executive compensation plans and qualified retirement plans. SG&C, together with our sister consulting firm of SES Advisors, Inc., has one of the largest core groups of ESOP attorneys, consultants and administrators in the country, with SG&C offices in Vermont, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374326 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374325LOGO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374327LOGO SOURCE SES Advisors, Inc.; Steiker, Greenapple & Croscut P.C. Related Links http://sesadvisors.com WASHINGTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Press Club condemned recent statements by the president-elect of the Philippines that journalists could be targeted for assassination. "Just because you're a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination, if you're a son of a bitch," Rodrigo Duterte was reported as saying at a May 31 news conference in Davao, where he is mayor. Duterte has advocated vigilante justice and capital punishment for certain crimes. His comments appeared to suggest that journalists who are deemed to have committed capital crimes should not be exempt from such retribution. "We don't presume to tell the Philippines how to punish lawbreakers, but Duterte's remarks suggest a cavalier attitude toward the killing of journalists, which is a growing problem in the Phillipines," said Thomas Burr, president of the National Press Club. "His remarks also came close to inciting violence. He should be sending the opposite message: violence against the press should not be tolerated." Duterte has also said journalists' right to expression does not include a right to "disrespect." "Such comments sound eerily like what we have heard from autocrats in other countries who have used terms like 'disrespect' to cover a lot of legitimate reporting and punish those who do it," Burr said. The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. Through its Press Freedom Committee, the club works to promote freedom of expression and transparency at home and abroad. The club's Journalism Institute, a non-profit affiliate, equips news professionals with the skills to innovate, leverages emerging trends, recognizes innovators and mentors the next generation. Contact: John M. Donnelly, NPC Press Freedom Committee chairman, 202 650 6738; [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO SOURCE National Press Club LAS VEGAS, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nevada Virtual Academy (NVVA), a statewide, online public charter school serving students in Kindergarten through 12th grade, will honor 112 high school graduates this year, including 5 juniors and 1 sophomore who will be graduating early from high school. Graduates have earned approximately $775,000 in scholarship funds NVVA provides a customized learning program for students in grades 9-12. While working with the award-winning K12 curriculum, Nevada state-certified teachers provide assistance helping students fill in skill gaps and move toward high school graduation. Valedictorian for the NVVA class of 2016, Melina Hashemi, will provide brief remarks at the June 9th graduation ceremony in Reno. She plans to attend the University of Nevada-Reno to study pre-medicine and then hopes to enroll at Stanford Medical School. Salutatorian Karlie Omer will address graduates at the June 7th Las Vegas ceremony. Post NVVA, Omer will attend University of Nevada-Reno in the accelerated bachelor's/master's degree program with plans to earn a joint master's in mechanical engineering and business administration in five years. "I am so proud of each and every one of our NVVA graduates. The Class of 2016 has many incredible students who I know will be very successful in whatever they do next be it entering college or a career path," said Orlando Dos Santos, Head of School for Nevada Virtual Academy Commencement speakers at the graduation ceremony in Las Vegas will be Beth Fisher of KTNV Channel 13 Action News and Stuart Udell of K12 Inc. Fisher is an anchor on Channel 13's "Good Morning Las Vegas" during weekdays. Udell serves as the Chief Executive Officer for K12 Inc., the curriculum provider for Nevada Virtual Academy. At the Reno graduation ceremony, Mariluz Garcia will speak to graduates. Garcia is the Director of Dean's Future Scholars at the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. Media is invited to attend both graduation ceremonies. Details are provided below. Las Vegas Graduation Ceremony Aliante Resort 7300 Aliante Parkway; North Las Vegas, NV 89084 Tuesday, June 7, 2016 2:00 PM Reno Graduation Ceremony Reno-Sparks Convention Center 4590 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89502 Thursday, June 9, 2016 12:00 PM More about Nevada Virtual Academy Nevada Virtual Academy is a tuition-free, statewide, online public school serving students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Nevada-credentialed teachers deliver lessons in K's virtual classroom platform with a combination of engaging online and offline courseworkincluding a wide array of textbooks, CDs, videos, and hands-on materials that make learning come alive. Learn more at nvva.k12.com Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150421/200207LOGO SOURCE Nevada Virtual Academy NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- New Avon LLC today announced that Jack Stahl has been appointed Chairman of the company's Board of Managers, effective June 1, 2016. He succeeds Chan Galbato, Chief Executive Officer, Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company LLC, who had been serving as acting Chairman following the acquisition of Avon Products Inc.'s North American business by Cerberus Capital Management earlier this year. Mr. Galbato will continue to serve on the Board of Managers. New Avon also announced that its Chief Executive Officer Scott White was appointed to the Board of Managers, effective immediately. "Jack is a proven leader whose extensive Board and management experience and expertise leading iconic brands will be instrumental in positioning New Avon's business for long-term success," said Mr. Galbato. "Additionally, in the short time that he has been with New Avon, Scott has demonstrated a deep passion for the company and a relentless desire to make New Avon the best direct selling company and beauty brand in North America. We are thrilled to have them both on the Board of Managers and look forward to a continuation of the great progress delivered thus far." Mr. Stahl is a veteran of the beauty and consumer products industries, having spent over 30 years occupying leadership positions and serving on the boards of leading corporations. He is the former President & Chief Operating Officer of The Coca-Cola Company and former Chief Executive Officer & President of Revlon. Mr. Stahl serves on the Boards of Delhaize Group, Advantage Solutions LLC, and Catalent, Inc. He previously served on the Boards of Coty Inc., Saks, Inc., Schering-Plough, and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. In addition, Mr. Stahl has a strong record of philanthropic involvement including currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of The Boys and Girls Clubs of America. "As a strong believer in the direct selling model and a long admirer of the Avon brand, I am honored to chair the New Avon Board at this pivotal moment for the company," said Mr. Stahl. "Together with Scott, his talented management team, a truly remarkable group of Associates, and an unmatched network of Representatives, we will work to reassert Avon's leadership in the direct selling and beauty industries." Mr. White joined New Avon as Chief Executive Officer on April 25, 2016, and is responsible for leading the transformation of the North American business, with the goal of significantly improving the Representative and consumer experience, reinvigorating the iconic Avon brand, and reestablishing operational excellence. He joined New Avon from Abbott Laboratories, where he most recently served as President of Abbott Nutrition International. "My first six weeks at New Avon have been incredibly inspiring and productive, and I'm thrilled to expand my role with this Board seat," said Mr. White. "With the addition of Jack's counsel and experience, I am even more confident in our ability to revitalize our business for the benefit of our Representatives, Associates and consumers across North America." In addition to Messrs. Galbato, Stahl, and White, members of the New Avon Board of Managers include: Ethan Klemperer , President, Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company, LLC. , President, Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company, LLC. Susan Kropf , Former President and Chief Operating Officer Avon Products, Inc. , Former President and Chief Operating Officer Avon Products, Inc. Steven Mayer , Senior Managing Director, Co-Head Global Private Equity and Chairman of Investment Committee, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. , Senior Managing Director, Co-Head Global Private Equity and Chairman of Investment Committee, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. Sheri McCoy , Chief Executive Officer, Avon Products, Inc. , Chief Executive Officer, Avon Products, Inc. Michael Sanford , Managing Director and Co-Head North American Private Equity, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. About New Avon LLC New Avon LLC is the leading social selling beauty company in North America. The company generated over $1 billion in revenues during 2015, and has nearly 400,000 independent sales Representatives in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. New Avon's product portfolio includes award-winning skincare, color cosmetics, fragrance and personal care products, featuring iconic brands such as Anew, Avon Color, Mark, and Skin So Soft, as well as fashion and accessories. Avon has a 130-year history of empowering women through economic opportunity, and the company also proudly supports the Avon Foundation for Women in its efforts to end breast cancer and domestic violence. Learn more about New Avon and its products at www.avon.com. Media Contacts Liz Micci [email protected] 646-495-2702 Molly Corbett [email protected] 646-495-1918 SOURCE New Avon LLC Related Links http://avon.com NEW YORK and OSLO, Norway and LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Confirmit, the leading global solutions provider for Customer Experience, Voice of the Employee and Market Research, reported key momentum in Q1 2016. As the company celebrates its 20th anniversary, Confirmit achieved record revenue from new clients and posted several customer successes and award wins. Henning Hansen, Confirmit President and CEO explains "Our current levels of achievement and growth, including what we've seen in Q1 of 2016 alone, proves that companies are recognizing the value of our technology and leveraging it to drive change within their organizations. We are extremely excited to see what the rest of 2016 will bring in terms of success, especially for our newly signed customers." Customer Success Given the strong results and overall business success Confirmit's top-notch technology solutions brings to its customers, it is continually selected and preferred over other vendors. In Q1, Confirmit continued to expand its customer base with the addition of new customers from a range of industries around the world, and posted an all-time high revenue for new clients in a single quarter, including Aldermore Bank, Magna International, Inc., Scandinavian Hospitality Management, Transport Focus, and Wyndham Vacation Resorts. These companies join the ranks of Confirmit's established clients who include Grant Thornton, GfK, Canon Solutions America, Nielsen, Philadelphia Insurance and Sony Mobile Communications. "At Aldermore, we're committed to challenging the established views of what a bank should be" explains Pamela Brown, Marketing Director at Aldermore Bank. "Part of that approach is placing customers at the heart of everything we do and that means listening to them. Launching a new Voice of the Customer program with Confirmit is a key step in ensuring that not only do we listen to our customers, but we're able to take action to serve our customers in the best possible way every day. Company Growth In addition to bringing success and growth to its customers, Confirmit is also seeing significant growth within the company. The expansion in Australia that followed the 2015 acquisition of long-term reseller partner, IRM, continues apace with new clients and team members coming on board. In addition, Confirmit Australia closed its largest Voice of the Customer deal since inception during the quarter. Since 2010, more than 1.1 billion surveys have been completed on Confirmit Horizons platform across the full range of data collection channels, including web, telephone, IVR, paper and mobile. Text Analytics and Mobile Expansion The company's text and social analytics solution, Confirmit Genius continued to gain significant traction, with more leading businesses using the platform to analyze both survey responses and social media activity. In Q1, 2016, 200 million social media posts were analyzed through Confirmit Genius, and the company reported a 300% increase in the number of survey verbatims categorized over Q4, 2015. The critical role of mobile in research programs is clear, with around 50,000 mobile devices running Confirmit's mobile solutions around the world, across the full range of Android, iOS and Windows systems. In Q1, 2016 over 10 million survey responses and media files were collected through mobile devices, demonstrating the importance of the mobile channel in VoC and MR programs. Once again, the company achieved 100% uptime on all its SaaS environments in the US, UK and Australia. Awards and Recognition Reaffirming Confirmit's progress and growth, the company was recognized with two awards. Most notably, Confirmit was awarded AAA rating by Dun & Bradstreet for the seventh consecutive year. AAA is the highest possible rating assigned to the bonds of an issuer by credit rating agencies, meaning the issuer has an exceptional degree of creditworthiness. Additionally, CUSTOMER Magazine named Confirmit Horizons Version 19 Product of the Year. Confirmit also hosted its annual ACE Awards, and received a record number of submissions from the EMEA region this year. Entries came from companies across a number of industries including insurance, financial services and retail. Entries reported exceptional results for Confirmit customers, including a 36% increase in Net Promoter Score and a 50% increase in Overall Customer Satisfaction. To learn more about Confirmit's plans for the year ahead, please visit its company blog here. About Confirmit Confirmit is the world's leading SaaS vendor for multi-channel Voice of the Customer, Voice of the Employee, and Market Research solutions. The company has offices in Oslo (headquarters), Chengdu, Grimstad, London, Moscow, New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Vancouver, and Yaroslavl. Confirmit's software is also distributed through partner resellers in Madrid, Milan, Salvador, and Tokyo. Confirmit powers Global 5000 companies and Market Research agencies worldwide with a wide range of software products for feedback / data collection, panel management, data processing, analysis, and reporting. Customers include Aurora, British Airways, British Standards Institution, Cross-Tab, Dow Chemical, GfK, GlaxoSmithKline, GMO Research, JTN Research, Keep Factor, Morehead Associates, Nielsen, Research Now, RONIN, RS Components, Sony Mobile Communications, Swisscom and The Wellcome Trust. Visit www.confirmit.com for more information. Media Contact Emma Walter Matter Communications 978-518-4820 [email protected] *All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld." Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160127/326621LOGO SOURCE Confirmit Related Links http://www.confirmit.com AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Premium spirits company, Milestone Brands LLC, today announced the acquisition of American Born Moonshine from Windy Hill Spirits. Milestone Brands LLC, which recently acquired Dulce Vida Tequila, was formed in February 2016 by Eric Dopkins, former CEO of Deep Eddy Vodka, and Chad Auler, co-founder of Deep Eddy Vodka. "American Born Moonshine is an amazing brand that represents the incredible history of American moonshine," said Dopkins, CEO and chairman of Milestone Brands. "Pat Dillingham and Sean Koffel did a wonderful job bringing American Born to life in an authentic way, with quality and detail, and we are thrilled to be adding a brand to our portfolio that I truly feel will be a leader in its category." Patrick Dillingham and Sean Koffel founded Windy Hill Spirits in 2013 with the vision to create a moonshine that honors both the tradition and rebel spirit of American moonshiners and bootleggers. American Born Moonshine has since expanded its distribution to over 25 states and doubled its sales volume over the past year. The Windy Hill Spirits leadership team will continue to be an integral part of the brand and Milestone Brands LLC will retain all current field sales employees. "Pat and I are proud that the brand we are so passionate about and the team that has worked so hard alongside us will be a key part of Milestone Brands' exciting future," said Koffel. "Milestone Brands is poised to be a disruptive leader in the spirits industry and we look forward to working with Eric and Chad to continue building American Born Moonshine into the long-run category leader." ABOUT MILESTONE BRANDS LLC Milestone Brands LLC, premium spirits company based in Austin, Texas, was founded in February 2016 by two local entrepreneurs and veterans of the beverage and spirits industry, Eric Dopkins, former CEO of Deep Eddy Vodka and Chad Auler, creator of Savvy Vodka and co-founder of Deep Eddy Vodka. As a national spirits supplier and acquirer, innovator and marketer of alcohol beverage brands, Milestone Brands' portfolio includes Dulce Vida Spirits, parent company of the world's only 100 proof, USDA certified organic tequila, and American Born Moonshine, a family of moonshine whiskey products that honors the tradition and spirit of American moonshiners. SOURCE Milestone Brands LLC DALLAS, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- NexPoint Capital, Inc. (the "Company"), a non-traded publicly registered business development company and affiliate of Highland Capital Management, L.P., today announced that it will commence a voluntary tender offer on or about June 1, 2016 (the "Tender Offer") for up to 2.5% of its outstanding common stock ("Shares") at a price equal to 90% of the offering price per Share in effect on the Expiration Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) (the date of repurchase) and any unpaid dividends accrued through the expiration date of the Tender Offer. This announcement is not a recommendation, an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell Shares of the Company. The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a tender offer statement on Schedule TO and related exhibits, including an offer to purchase, a related letter of transmittal and other related documents (the "Tender Offer Documents"). The Tender Offer Documents will be sent by mail to holders of the Shares. Shareholders of the Company may obtain additional copies of the Tender Offer Documents for the Company, without charge, by contacting the Tender Agent for the Tender Offer, DST Systems, Inc., at 1-844-485-9167. Shareholders can also obtain the Tender Offer Documents free of charge on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov. Shareholders should read these documents and related exhibits, as the documents contain important information about the Company's Tender Offer. Any questions regarding the Tender Offer can be directed to the Company's Tender Agent, DST Systems, Inc., at 1-844-485-9167. The Company's current offering price for its Shares, $ 10.04 per share as of May 25, 2016, as well as other information, including information about management and the healthcare-focused investment strategy, are available at http://nexpointcapital.com. The information on or accessible through http://nexpointcapital.com is not incorporated by reference herein. About NexPoint Advisors and NexPoint Capital, Inc. NexPoint Capital, Inc. is a healthcare-focused business development company sponsored and managed by NexPoint Advisors, L.P., an affiliate of Highland Capital Management, L.P. NexPoint Advisors, L.P., is an SEC-registered investment advisor to the closed end fund, NexPoint Credit Strategies Fund. About Highland Capital Management, L.P. Highland Capital Management, L.P. is an SEC-registered investment adviser which, together with our affiliates, has approximately $17.1 billion of assets under management. Founded in 1993 by Jim Dondero and Mark Okada, Highland is one of the largest and most experienced global alternative credit managers. Highland specializes in credit strategies, such as credit hedge funds, long only funds and separate accounts, distressed and special situation private equity, and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). Highland also offers alternative investments, including emerging markets, long/short equities, and natural resources. Highland's diversified client base includes public pension plans, foundations, endowments, corporations, financial institutions, fund of funds, governments, and high net-worth individuals. Highland is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and maintains offices in New York, Sao Paolo, Singapore, and Seoul. Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of NexPoint Advisors, L.P.'s or Highland Capital Management L.P.'s sponsored investment products, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. NexPoint Advisors, L.P. and Highland Capital Management L.P. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statement. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Neither the Company, nor the Company's Board of Directors, nor NexPoint Advisors, L.P., makes any recommendation as to whether to tender or not to tender any Shares in the Tender Offer. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. For information on the Tender Offer: Financial Advisors: 855-498-1580 Shareholders: 844-485-9167 Highland Media Relations: 972-419-6272 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373714LOGO SOURCE NexPoint Capital, Inc. Currently, Thomas serves as Senior Executive for Law Enforcement Operations for the Kings County, Brooklyn District Attorney, and the nation's third-largest public prosecutor's office. Thomas advises the district attorney and his executive staff on criminal justice and law enforcement policy and procedures. Thomas is also the principal liaison to the New York City Police Department as well as local, state and federal law enforcement agencies conducting major investigations and operational matters. In addition to serving as president to NOBLE's 3,000 international members, Thomas is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and of the American Society of Industrial Security. Thomas is among the nation's top emergency management and school-safety experts and author and co-author of several books including "Freedom from Fear: A Guide to Safety, Preparedness and the Threat of Terrorism." The daylong invitation only event hosted by The Checkered Flag Run Foundation and the Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce is an exclusive gathering of police chiefs nationwide to review solutions and best practices for community engagement. This year's topic is Community Engagement & Best Practices. The forum is moderated by education and criminal justice leader, Arizona State Rep. Reginald Bolding, who has led many law enforcement-related issues in Arizona including calling for body-worn cameras on police officers and community oriented policing strategies. The 2016 panel includes: Chief Joseph G. Yahner , Phoenix , Gregory A. Thomas , NOBLE President Chief David O. Brown , Dallas TX (NOBLE Member) , (NOBLE Member) Chief Antonio Brooklen , Miami Gardens, FL (NOBLE Member) , (NOBLE Member) Deputy Chief Vicki Foster , Charlotte-Mecklenburg , NC (NOBLE Member) , , NC (NOBLE Member) Assistant Chief Mattie Provost , Houston, TX Also attending are special guests Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton; Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery; Carlyle Holder, President, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice; Lamont Robinson, Vice President of Supplier Diversity, Nielsen; Byron T. Jones, Chief Financial Officer, University of Phoenix; Cloves C. Campbell Jr., Chairman Emeritus of the NNPA and Director of the Arizona Commission on African-American Affairs; and panelist Gregory A. Thomas, President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). The forum was initiated to serve as a fresh foundation for increased understanding and improved relations among police departments and communities. In the wake of reactions and perceptions of officer-involved shootings, the forum is an enlightened, firsthand exploration of the issues facing law enforcement leaders and the communities they serve. Law enforcement leaders and community representatives will discuss conscious and unconscious biases and the dynamics of community engagement, perception and behavioral shifts to come up with solutions towards resolution and healing for all. In 2015, James A. "Spider" Marks, Executive Dean CSCJ, University of Phoenix and Major General (US Army Ret.) served as moderator. Panelists featured Chief Robert White, Denver; Assistant Chief Perry Tarrant, Seattle; Chief Joseph Yahner, Phoenix; Chief Calvin D. Williams, Cleveland; Director Lonnie Lawrence, Miami; Deputy Chief Cerelyn "CJ" Davis, Atlanta; Chief Danielle Outlaw, Oakland, Calif. About the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Since 1976, The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) has served as the conscience of law enforcement by being committed to justice by action. NOBLE represents over 3,000 members internationally, who are primarily African-American chief executive officers of law enforcement agencies at federal, state, county and municipal levels, other law enforcement administrators, and criminal justice practitioners. For more information, visit www.noblenational.org. About Checkered Flag Run Foundation ("CFRF") Founded by U.S. Army Desert Storm veteran Alan "AP" Powell, CRFR's mission is to provide diverse educational programs that impact under served students. Access to quality educational opportunities ensures the investment of every student getting to cross the "finish line". About the Black Chamber of Arizona ("BCA") The mission of the Black Chamber of Arizona (BCA) is to improve the economic development of our business entrepreneurs and the communities we serve. Contact: Dwayne A. Crawford 703-658-1529 (Office) 404-849-8966 (Mobile) Email SOURCE National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Related Links http://www.noblenational.org MADISON, N.J. and PARIS and BURLINGTON, N.C., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BRCA Share, a public-private BRCA gene datashare initiative, today announced the public release of a large collection of new data on genetic variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Mutations of these genes raise the risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers. The findings are to be presented today at the 6th International Biennial Meeting of Human Variome Project Consortium (HVP6) held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. BRCA Share was co-founded by Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) in April 2015, with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) (NYSE: LH) as the first commercial participant. The goal of the initiative is to share clinical, genetic, epidemiological and biological data on BRCA variants, particularly variants of uncertain significance, in order to improve the quality of laboratory diagnostics to better predict which individuals are at risk of developing hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, and to accelerate research on BRCA gene mutations. BRCA Share builds on a BRCA gene-data curation process developed by Inserm, Institut Curie, and Unicancer Genetic Group (UGG) with associated University Hospital Centers, using data developed over a decade of BRCA patient testing by the 16 UGG laboratories in France together with the same associated University Hospital Centers. This new release adds variants from Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp, two clinical testing laboratory companies operating primarily in the United States, to the collection previously developed by Inserm through the Universal Mutation Database (UMD) project in France. The BRCA Share database now contains over 6,200 total BRCA variants, an increase of nearly 30% compared to the previous Inserm UMD database. Of these variants, 334 are newly identified pathogenic or likely pathogenic, increasing by about 20% the total number of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants to 1,826. The data include 375 BRCA gene variants whose role in cancer risk was previously uncertain. Of these, 93% are now classified as neutral or likely neutral, while the remaining 7% are now classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic. Neutral gene variants are generally considered benign, or non-disease-causing, while pathogenic variants are gene mutations that increase an individual's cancer risk. The findings are significant because they will contribute to well-informed patient management strategies. A patient with a pathogenic BRCA gene test result may consider options to reduce the risk of developing cancer in the future, including increased screening or prophylactic mastectomy or oophorectomy (removal of breasts or ovaries). Participating commercial laboratories notify physicians of changes in classifications for affected patients. The BRCA Share Initiative is intended to help scientists, physicians and laboratory experts improve the interpretation of BRCA gene mutations for patient testing and cancer research. With the release of the new set of variants and clinical data, BRCA Share is the largest database providing access to high-quality BRCA genetic data that has been researched and curated to determine clinical significance. Other public BRCA data initiatives collect a mix of curated and uncurated BRCA variant information from participating laboratories. Data curation is an essential step in maximizing the likelihood that data is clinically appropriate and actionable. Variants that are curated have been individually researched and categorized to determine the likelihood that they confer increased cancer risk. Advances in scientific knowledge may lead to new variant discoveries and reclassifications. "We created BRCA Share to accelerate BRCA science and bring clarity to BRCA patient testing, and in short order, that's exactly what this initiative has done," said Charles (Buck) Strom, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP, FACMG, HCLD, vice president, genetics and genomics, Quest Diagnostics. "This doesn't just benefit patients of Quest, or LabCorp, or Inserm's participating labs. This initiative benefits anyone in the global medical community seeking robust analysis of BRCA genetics based on shared pooling of clinical-grade data and expertise." "The promise of BRCA Share was to significantly improve BRCA diagnostics and enhance patient care and treatment," said Marcia Eisenberg, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of LabCorp Diagnostics. "BRCA Share has already delivered on that promise, and it will help physicians and patients make more informed monitoring and treatment decisions that can improve health and improve lives." "BRCA Share demonstrates that public-private data sharing collaborations, funded by commercial parties, can hasten advances in medical research that will benefit patients. This first experience encourages Inserm Transfert to continue its development strategy on health databases whenever it is relevant with industrial partners," said Pascale Auge, Ph.D., CEO, Inserm Transfert. "In little more than a year, this initiative has provided more than 1,300 new variants and has lifted the veil of uncertainty from 375 variants and identified 334 likely cancer risk variants," added Prof. Christophe Beroud, Pharm.D., Ph.D., leader of the "Genetics and Bioinformatics" research team, Inserm/Aix Marseille University (AMU) UMR_S910. Research entities and individuals with a research-only focus on BRCA -- including physicians and patients -- can participate in BRCA Share at no charge. The new data is available, beginning today, at http://www.umd.be/BRCA1/ and http://www.umd.be/BRCA2/ . Commercial laboratories may participate in BRCA Share by paying an annual fee to Inserm determined on a sliding scale to fund research and administrative expenses. Since the launch of BRCA Share, nearly 1,000 scientists from 49 countries have registered to access BRCA Share for research purposes. To participate, BRCA Share commercial laboratory members must submit their BRCA variant data, which Inserm's variant team then researches and curates. When a variant is curated and/or reclassified, Inserm notifies BRCA Share members and uploads the new data into BRCA Share. BRCA Share's participating laboratories may then begin to use the new data to inform decisions about patient test results. Members of BRCA Share are free to also share their BRCA data with other datashare initiatives. About Inserm The Inserm is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Ranked as the number one academic research institution for biomedical research in the European Union, Inserm operates under the dual auspices of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Research. It was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Prof. Christophe Beroud leads the "Genetics and Bioinformatics" team in the UMR_S910 research unit, "Medical Genetics & Functional Genomics," directed by Prof. Nicolas Levy. This is a research unit of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and the Aix-Marseille University. The laboratory is located at the Medical School of Marseille. www.inserm.fr About Inserm Transfert Founded in 2000, Inserm Transfert SA is the private subsidiary of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), dedicated to technology transfer (from scouting of invention disclosure to industrial partnership). Inserm Transfert also manages European and International research projects, and assists large-scale projects in epidemiology, cohorts, and public health. Inserm Transfert runs a 2M/year proof of concept fund. The company also supports entrepreneurs in the biotech sector. www.Inserm-transfert.fr About the Unicancer Genetic Group and associated University Hospital Centers (Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy, Nantes, Paris) The UGG is a National Cancer Genetics Network which gathers expert clinicians, biologists, and researchers who contribute to various national and international studies on predispositions to cancers, and develop and implement best practices in genetic diagnosis and care for people at high risk for cancer in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (INCa). BRCA1/2 genetic testing is performed exclusively in France by sixteen laboratories whose diagnosis developments and research studies are performed in the UGG thanks to and through their close proximity with clinical cancer genetics teams belonging also to the UGG. About Institut Curie Institut Curie is a private foundation granted charitable status, which combines the largest French oncology research centre and two state-of-the-art hospitals (located in Paris and Saint-Cloud). It is a centre of excellence for the treatment of breast cancer, and paediatric and ocular tumors. The Institut Curie has a longstanding expertise in cancer genetics by combining skills in cancer biology, molecular genetics and genetic epidemiology. It has been founded in 1909 on a model devised by Marie Curie and still at the cutting edge: "from fundamental research to innovative treatments." For more information: www.curie.fr/en. About Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 44,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com About LabCorp Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, an S&P 500 company, is the world's leading healthcare diagnostics company, providing comprehensive clinical laboratory services through LabCorp Diagnostics, and end-to-end drug development support through Covance Drug Development. LabCorp is a pioneer in commercializing new diagnostic technologies and is improving people's health by delivering the combination of world-class diagnostics, drug development and technology-enabled solutions. With net revenue in excess of $8.5 billion in 2015 and more than 50,000 employees in over 60 countries, LabCorp offers innovative solutions to healthcare stakeholders. LabCorp clients include physicians, patients and consumers, biopharmaceutical companies, government agencies, managed care organizations, hospitals, and clinical labs. To learn more about Covance Drug Development, visit www.covance.com. To learn more about LabCorp and LabCorp Diagnostics, visit www.labcorp.com. Quest Diagnostics Contacts: Wendy Bost (Media): 973-520-2800 Shawn Bevec (Investors): 973-520-2900 Inserm Transfert Contact: Celine Cortot (Media): +33 1 55 03 01 68 LabCorp Contacts: Pattie Kushner (Media): +1 336-436-8263 Paul Surdez (Investors): +1 336-436-5076 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150422/200883LOGO SOURCE Quest Diagnostics Related Links http://www.questdiagnostics.com SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Park West Gallery, known for fine art auctions on cruise ships, live art auctions in major metropolitan areas and art galleries in Detroit and Miami Lakes, Florida, is proud to present international artist Duaiv. View 58 new paintings by this renowned French artist during the "Melodies on Canvas" exhibition held June 4 July 9 at Park West Gallery's Southfield, Michigan location. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, June 4 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., where guests will have the opportunity to meet Duaiv and gain a first look at this special collection. Light refreshments will be served. This historic occasion marks the first time Duaiv will hold a solo exhibition at Park West Gallery, and is the largest collection of Duaiv paintings ever offered to the public by the gallery. "Duaiv's background is just as colorful as his paintings, including playing the cello for Pablo Casals at age 9 and receiving artistic advice from Salvador Dali at age 25," says David Gorman, Park West Gallery director. Duaiv paints bright and cheerful works inspired by his travels and from growing up in the maritime region of France near Bordeaux. He uses various palette knives and tiny brushes to create impressionistic works inspired by artists such as Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh. Duaiv has traveled the world not only as an accomplished artist, but as a renowned cellist. Duaiv received the Commander of the Order of the Star of Europe, European Foundation Prize, from Prince Henrik of Denmark for his contributions to promoting art. His artwork has been featured in the Cannes Film Festival and on custom vehicles for Lamborghini and Ferrari. Admission to the exhibition and gallery is free of charge. Park West Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information and to RSVP for the opening, call 248-354-2343 or email [email protected]. About Park West Gallery: Founded in 1969, Park West Gallery has connected artists to more than 1.8 million fine art collectors through cruise ship art auctions, art auctions in major metropolitan regions and via public art galleries in Michigan and Florida. Park West Gallery creates an entertaining, education and welcoming environment that ignites a passion for the arts and offers an incomparable collecting experience. Contact: Chris Gray 248-354-2343 x1934 [email protected] SOURCE Park West Gallery Related Links http://www.parkwestgallery.com STRONGSVILLE, Ohio, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pat Catan's Crafts and Floral will celebrate the grand opening of the chain's newest location June 3 through June 5 in Portsmouth, Ohio. The 50,000 square foot store will offer a wide array of affordable crafting supplies, including paper crafting, jewelry making, floral supplies, basic crafts, cake and candy making, seasonal items, custom framing, custom floral, kids' crafts and toys, art supplies and more. The store is located at 4050 Rhodes Ave., a space that has been empty for more than five years. The opening of the store will provide customers with inspiring new products and services, and will enrich the Portsmouth retail community. The arts and crafts store employs more than 30 crafting enthusiasts from the Portsmouth community including a craft coordinator, who will be available to consult with customers about their projects, offer crafting advice and inspiration, and organize free weekly Make-n-Takes, craft classes and birthday parties. The new location will also offer custom floral design for weddings, events and holidays as well as custom framing for photography, art and mementos. "We are excited about our newest location in Portsmouth," said Pat Catan's Crafts and Floral CEO Mike Catanzarite. "We hope to encourage creativity by offering an exceptional selection of products and crafting services and to become an integral part of the community." The official ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. on June 3. Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. About Pat Catan's Pat Catan's Crafts and Floral is a family operated company headquartered in Strongsville, Ohio that has grown from a single location to 34 stores, serving crafters in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia and Indiana. Pat Catan's stores offer a wide array of affordable crafting supplies, including paper crafting, jewelry making, floral supplies, basic crafts, cake and candy making, seasonal items, custom framing, custom floral, kids' crafts and toys, art supplies and more. Since 1954 Pat Catan's has been dedicated to providing crafters with the best selection, service and value, as well as becoming an integral part of the communities each store serves through a variety of community service involvement and initiatives. Customers can stay up to date with everything Pat Catan's by visiting the Pat Catan's website, signing up to receive email notifications about sales and events, or by following Pat Catan's on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Media Contact: Barb Nagy 440-378-3322 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374253LOGO SOURCE Pat Catan's Related Links http://www.patcatans.com CHICAGO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pembrook Capital Management LLC ("Pembrook"), through its third commercial real estate debt fund, provided a $16.6 million loan to finance a transaction that preserves 152 units of affordable housing in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. Pembrook, a commercial real estate investment manager and balance-sheet lender, funded the acquisition by The NHP Foundation of the Mark Twain Hotel, a Single-Room Occupancy ("SRO") property at the intersection of North Clark and West Division Streets, directly above the Red Line CTA station. The NHP Foundation will maintain the property as affordable apartments pursuant to Chicago's new Single-Room Occupancy Preservation Ordinance. "The issue of affordability is very real for residents of American cities as rents and property values rise," said Stuart J. Boesky, CEO of Pembrook. "After losing 2,200 SRO units between 2011 and 2014, Chicago has taken action to preserve this essential housing resource for the working poor in valuable locations throughout the City. Pembrook is proud to participate in this historic transaction, which is among the first to close under the City's new SRO rules. The deal brought together public, private, and not-for -profit parties including Mayor Emanuel, Alderman Burnett and the city government, The NHP Foundation, and our local investment partner BMO Harris to achieve a positive outcome." The Chicago Community Loan Fund, Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, US Bank, and the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development also contributed financial resources to the acquisition of the property. "Since 1932, the Mark Twain Hotel has been a landmark of the Gold Coast neighborhood. The acquisition and renovation of the property by The NHP Foundation is an incredibly exciting project for all parties involved," NHPF's President and CEO Richard Burns, said. "We are proud to be a part of Chicago's efforts to preserve its affordable housing and we are delighted with the opportunity to significantly improve the property while providing a better quality of life for the residents." "Our relationship with Pembrook provided an opportunity for us to help preserve affordable rental housing options, while working with an experienced commercial real estate investment management company that has a strong track record of success," added Carl Jenkins, Managing Director, Community Investments, BMO Harris Bank. "We are pleased that the well-located property will continue to provide local residents with access to affordable apartment units." Mark Twain Hotel is located at 111 West Division Street. Originally built in 1932, the approximately 58,000 square foot building has 152 SRO units and over 9,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The Red Line station beneath the building underwent a complete $50MM renovation in September 2015, including installation of elevators and escalators, a new entrance at LaSalle & Division, and a new 8,000 square foot mezzanine. The property is well-located in a mixed use neighborhood and is across from The Sinclair, a residential tower and Jewel/Osco supermarket project that will be completed in 2017. The NHP Foundation is working on the redevelopment phase for the project, with plans to add kitchens to each unit and community space to the property. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2017 with the goal of limiting displacement for existing residents. The property will be included in the National Register's Proposed Residential Hotels in Chicago, 19001930 group designation, which recognizes this class of accommodation from this era as historically significant. About Pembrook Capital Management, LLC Founded in 2006 by Stuart J. Boesky, Pembrook Capital Management invests in and originates commercial real estate debt to finance all parts of a capital structure including first mortgages, mezzanine, bridge loans, note financings, and preferred equity across the United States. The firm invests in most commercial real estate property categories, including multifamily, office, retail and industrial. For more information visit http://www.pembrookgroup.com/. About The NHP Foundation Headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL, The NHP Foundation (NHPF) was launched on January 30, 1989, as a publicly supported 501(c)(3) not-for- profit real estate corporation. NHPF is dedicated to preserving and creating sustainable, service-enriched multifamily housing that is both affordable to low and moderate income families and seniors, and beneficial to their communities. NHPF also provides a robust resident services program to nearly 18,000 community residents. Through partnerships with major financial institutions, the public sector, faith-based initiatives, and other not-for-profit organizations, NHPF has 36 properties located in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. About BMO Harris Bank BMO Harris Bank provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through more than 600 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S. For more information about BMO Harris Bank, go to the company fact sheet. Banking products and services are provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. and are subject to bank or credit approval. BMO Harris Bank is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial organization with approximately 1,600 branches, and CDN $699 billion in assets (as of January 31, 2016). Media Contact Great Ink Communications, (212) 741-2977 Eric Waters (Email) Tom Nolan (Email) SOURCE Pembrook Capital Management Related Links http://www.pembrookgroup.com PITTSBURGH, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Citing the future anticipated benefits to travel safety, the environment and mobility, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards today joined elected, industry and other transportation officials to mark the state's continued and progressive steps as a national leader in the safe, innovative development of autonomous and connected vehicle technologies. "We are always looking at ways to make travel safer, and these new vehicle technologies offer a huge opportunity to not only advance our network, but also reduce human behavior as a factor in crashes," Richards said. "We're looking forward to expanding on the innovation that's already alive and well here in Pittsburgh so companies can test their technologies in our state's varied seasons and roadway types." Richards spoke at an event today in Pittsburgh before the first meeting of a newly established Autonomous Vehicles Testing Policy Task Force that will collaboratively develop guidance that PennDOT will use when drafting autonomous vehicle policy. PennDOT is chairing the task force, which is comprised of state, federal and private-industry officials such as the Federal Highway Administration, AAA, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Uber Technologies. According to Carnegie Mellon University, which hosted the Task Force meeting and demonstrated its autonomous technologies after the event, the university's faculty and students have been working for more than 30 years to ensure that self-driving cars will be safe, affordable, and ultimately, accepted by the public. The university has made significant contributions to AV technology inventions and has created 14 generations of self-driving vehicles. The university's latest self-driving car is a 2011 Cadillac SRX that takes ramps, merges onto highways, and cruises at 70 mph by itself. Also participating in the event were lawmakers who are sponsoring legislation in the state Senate and House that would establish Pennsylvania as a national leader in autonomous vehicle testing. "I am delighted to see Pittsburgh and CMU taking a leadership role in autonomous vehicles and hope today's event shows our commitment to supporting this ground breaking research. The work being done at CMU is a source of pride for not only Pittsburgh, but the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," said Sen. Randy Vulakovich. "By working with all of the stake holder groups, I believe SB 1268 will foster innovation while at the same time ensure the safety of motorists on our public roads." The legislation would: Provide for controlled automated vehicle testing, not operation; Allow flexibility to adapt to changing technology; Require companies interested in testing to submit an application and provide proof of $5 million in general liability insurance; and in general liability insurance; and Allow support for in-vehicle and remote-operator testing, considered the "Full Self-Driving Automation" level, the fourth and highest level of automation as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Noting that the announcement occurred in Pittsburgh and CMU hosted the Task Force meeting, Sen. Wayne Fontana said, "Pittsburgh being chosen as one of the seven finalists out of nearly 80 cities that applied for the [U.S. Department of Transportation's] Smart City Challenge is a testament to the innovation happening in the region. Pennsylvania as a whole has a lot to offer and my hopes are that the introduction of SB 1268 will help universities and companies that are testing these vehicles of the future feel welcomed in the commonwealth and inspire future generations." Various studies and research have pointed to autonomous and connected vehicles as having environmental and travel benefits in addition to reducing human error in driving. Vehicle functions such as maintaining more consistent speeds, communicating with infrastructure or other vehicles, and allowing highway officials to eventually to invest less in engineering solutions related to human behavior (such as rumble strips) are examples of potential benefits of expanding these technologies. "The concept of autonomous cars is something many of us never thought we'd be discussing in our lifetime," Sen. Jay Costa said. "What's exciting to me is that right here in Pittsburgh, we're in the center of where this innovation is happening at places like Google, Uber and most importantly, here at Carnegie Mellow University. Innovation brings growth and will have a lasting impact on our communities. As we move forward, we're not only testing the concept of autonomous vehicles, we're growing jobs and driving economic development in our communities." At the state level, these steps could quickly bring additional economic opportunities as automotive and technology companies, encouraged by the legislation, could establish themselves in the state. "Autonomous and connected vehicles will be integrated in the next generation of our transportation system," stated Sen. John Rafferty, Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. "One of the primary reasons for Senate Bill 1268 is to test the incorporation of this advanced technology on our roadways that provides for safety, mobility, innovation and economic development." Additionally, in the future, autonomous vehicles could offer more opportunity for independence for the nation's millions of older or disabled citizens. According to the U.S. Census, by 2050 there will be an estimated 48 million people over the age of 75 in the U.S. "Autonomous and connected vehicles offer a promising glimpse into the future of our transportation system," Sen. John Wozniak said. "I'm proud that Pennsylvania is one of the states leading the development of this cutting edge technology. However, it's important that the public knows these cars are safe and SB 1268 addresses those concerns while at the same time allowing Pennsylvania to stay competitive in this field for years to come." Rep. Jim Marshall, House Subcommittee Chairman for Transportation Safety and sponsor of forthcoming autonomous vehicle legislation in the House, added, "With matters of public safety, we must be proactive, not reactive. This important legislation will get Pennsylvania out in front of this new and evolving technology." The task force and legislation build on current and past studies, work groups and coalitions in which PennDOT has participated. The department currently has representatives on the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators' Automated Vehicles Best Practices work group; the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials Connected and Automated Vehicle Technical Working Group; the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Deployment Coalition; the Connected Vehicle Pooled Fund Study; and the Transportation Research Board's Technical Activities Council on Vehicle Automation. MEDIA CONTACT: Rich Kirkpatrick or Erin Waters-Trasatt, 717-783-8800 Following is a list of Autonomous Vehicles Testing Policy Task Force members: Commonwealth Representatives PennDOT Co-chairs Kurt J. Myers , Deputy Secretary, Driver & Vehicle Services , Deputy Secretary, Driver & Vehicle Services Roger Cohen , Policy Director Department of Insurance: Glenda Ebersole, Policy Director Department of Community & Economic Development: Steve D'Ettorre, Policy Director PA State Police Major Ed Hoke , Bureau of Patrol , Bureau of Patrol Captain Bruce Williams Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission: Stacia Ritter, Director of Policy & External Affairs Stakeholder Representatives Federal Highway Administration: Phil Bobitz, Assistant Safety Engineer/Transportation Engineer Local Government: Pittsburgh Councilman Dan Gilman AAA: Ted Leonard, Executive Director American Trucking Associations (ATA) Robert C. Pitcher , Vice President, State Laws , Vice President, State Laws James W. Runk , President, PA Motor Truck Association Carnegie Mellon University: Dr. Raj Rajkumar University of Pennsylvania: Erick Guerra, Professor of City & Regional Planning Uber Technologies: Ashwini Chhabra, Head of Policy Development Society of Automotive Engineers: Bill Gouse, Director of Federal Program Development, SAE International SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Transportation One of the corner stones of cancer care, medical imaging enables disease localization and quantification, therapy planning, and treatment guidance and assessment. Prof. Geschwind is a pioneer in interventional oncology, and following his recent appointment at the Yale School of Medicine, one of the top medical universities in the US, he has built an ambitious, comprehensive research program in cancer diagnostics and image-guided therapy. He has now teamed up with Philips as the program's technology partner. Philips is a leading innovator in diagnostic imaging technologies, such as MRI, CT and Ultrasound, and associated health informatics tools that enable efficient data acquisition, integration and analysis. Moreover, the company has a broad portfolio of image-guided therapy solutions that enable clinicians to decide, guide and confirm the appropriate treatment. "Over the past few years there have been significant developments in image-guided therapy to locally treat tumors, with the result that interventional oncology procedure volumes have grown rapidly," said Prof. Geschwind. "However, the biggest remaining challenge is that it is difficult to predict the effectiveness of the procedure. Together with Philips, we are embarking on a new multi-year research program with the aim to redefine and standardize this type of minimally-invasive treatment to achieve more predictable and better controlled procedure outcomes, and ultimately enhanced patient care." "We are on a mission to enhance existing interventional oncology procedures and enable new ones that offer predictable and effective minimally invasive options for treating cancerous lesions," said Bert van Meurs, General Manager Image Guided Therapy at Philips. "Our new collaboration with Prof. Geschwind and his team will bring together different scientific, engineering and medical specialties with the aim of developing, validating and translating breakthrough technologies for these targeted cancer therapies." As part of the research agreement, a dedicated team of Philips clinical scientists will be working closely with Prof. Geschwind's team at the Yale School of Medicine in a recently established state-of-the-art research facility optimized to translate laboratory results into enhanced patient care. Liver cancer, the second most lethal form of cancer [1], will be one of the focus areas in the collaboration. Only a minority of patients diagnosed with liver cancer are candidates for surgery, and intravenously administered chemotherapy has limited effect on the progression of the disease. An alternative technique known as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) has shown better results than systemic chemotherapy and is now widely recognized as the best option for patients with inoperable advanced stage liver cancer [2]. TACE involves the local administration of chemotherapy agents and embolic beads that simultaneously block the arteries feeding the tumor and cause the tumor cells to die. The procedure involves the insertion of a catheter, which must be navigated to the tumor site with the aid of interventional X-ray guidance. However, the efficacy of TACE is often limited by the lack of predictive information prior to and during therapy for example, information on the tumor biology and metabolism that is needed to determine the treatment strategy. Advanced diagnostic imaging and real-time image-guidance during the procedure, have the potential to advance TACE by consistently defining the best approach to the active tumor cells and confirming the distribution of therapeutic agents across the tumor. It is expected that ultimately this will not only improve the efficacy of the procedure, but will also encourage the more widespread adoption of new minimally invasive cancer treatment options. [1] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/; Stewart BW, Wild CP. (2015) World cancer report 2014. International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization. [2] Villanueva, A., Hernandez-Gea, V. and Llovet, J.M. (2013) Medical therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma: a critical view of the evidence. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 10(1), pp.34-42. For further information, please contact: Steve Klink Philips Group Communications Tel.: +31 6 10888824 E-mail: [email protected] Kathy O'Reilly Philips Group Communications Tel.: +1 978-221-8919 E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @kathyoreilly About Royal Philips Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. The company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2015 sales of EUR 16.8 billion and employs approximately 69,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373820 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140122/NE50581LOGO SOURCE Royal Philips Related Links http://www.philips.com/newscenter DALLAS, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinnacle Spine Group, LLC, a developer of innovative spinal fusion solutions engineered to deliver optimal bone graft volume and graft-to-endplate contact, today announced the launch of its InFill Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF) Interbody Device. This device is designed to maximize wall thickness and graft chamber volume, ensuring optimal contact with the vertebral endplates by both the interbody device and bone graft material. The InFill ALIF device is compatible with Pinnacle's InFill Graft Delivery System, which allows surgeons to deliver the optimal volume of graft material to the implant in situ without disrupting the interbody device's placement, providing an opportunity to achieve maximum bone graft-to-endplate contact. "Anterior lumbar spinal fusion is a common spine fusion technique, but often must be combined with an additional posterior approach to provide immediate stabilization. Science shows that in many unilateral posterior lumbar interbody fusion procedures, less than 50 percent of the disc area is actually grafted," said Zach Sowell, President of Pinnacle Spine Group. "Pinnacle is committed to innovation that offers surgeons and patients options which address significant challenges in spinal fusion and enable more effective spinal fusion surgeries. We are excited to add the InFill ALIF device to our growing line of patented fusion systems." Features of the ALIF device include: Optimization for use in the L5/S1 disc space A gently bulleted nose for ease of insertion The option for in situ delivery of bone graft material to ensure a more complete fill A large graft chamber which facilitates formation of a robust fusion column An aggressive tooth design to prevent displacement of the device A large surface area which provides maximum contact with the apophyseal ring, helping to restore and maintain disc space and height Tantalum rod markers which provide excellent radiographic visualization of interbody device orientation and placement Pinnacle Spine Group has pioneered the novel concept of placing bone graft material in situ into an implanted device in order to allow optimal bone graft material volume and maximized contact with vertebral endplates a critical element for a successful spine fusion outcome. Pinnacle Spine's InFill Fusion Systems include a full line of innovative interbody fusion devices engineered for easier insertion, reduced subsidence through maximum contact with the apophyseal ring, a generous bone grafting chamber and compatibility with the InFill Graft Delivery System. The backbone of the technology is based on controlled and precise in situ placement of bone graft material. Pinnacle recently announced its first international patent, a Chinese patent, which followed receipt of three U.S. patents on the InFill Fusion System. For more information on Pinnacle Spine Group's unparalleled innovation, please visit PinnacleSpineGroup.com. About Pinnacle Spine Group, LLC Pinnacle Spine Group was founded with the focused goal of developing innovative medical devices, conceived in the operating room, for surgical procedures of the spine. The objective for every device and instrument we develop is a better outcome for the patient, and a better experience for the surgeon and operating room staff. Backed by the pioneering private equity firm Sowell & Co., Pinnacle is dedicated to developing advanced technologies that offer greater opportunities for positive patient outcomes. The team applies innovative thinking to deliver implants and instrumentation that simplify and enhance the surgical procedure. SOURCE Pinnacle Spine Group, LLC Related Links http://www.PinnacleSpineGroup.com NEW YORK, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Porter Novelli (PN), a global public relations leader, recently announced two senior promotions. Rich Cline, senior partner and president of Voce Communications, has been promoted to global technology practice leader and Mindy Gikas, executive vice president and North American talent lead, has been promoted to global talent lead. Additionally, Global Health & Wellness Practice Leader Paul George, and Global Marketing and Business Development Leader Kate Cusick have been added to the agency's executive committee, effective immediately. Cline, Gikas, George and Cusick will report to Brad MacAfee, global CEO. Cline co-founded Voce Communications, an integrated marketing shop, in 1999 and has been in the industry for more than two decades. He has acted as strategic counsel for some of the world's leading technology brands and pioneered the integration of web development, social media and public relations for his clients. In this new role, Cline will lead and direct all technology activities across the Voce and Porter Novelli brands, expand and strengthen services across the globe, ensure client engagement and facilitate excellent collaboration across the entire network. Cline will continue to sit on Porter Novelli's executive committee. Gikas joined Porter Novelli in 2013 and has focused on bringing the agency's talent initiatives to life, including driving a new performance management and talent life cycle approach for the agency. She has also led succession planning and introduced new benefits, compensation and rewards programs. In her new role, Gikas is responsible for making Porter Novelli a best place to work globally, focused on talent recruitment, growth, career planning and novel engagement programs designed to retain and grow top performing talent. She will also sit on Porter Novelli's executive committee. "Both Mindy and Rich are true Porter Novelli leaders. Rich has a successful history driving growth for our technology practice and Mindy has been an exceptional talent lead for North America," said MacAfee. "We are excited to see them thrive in these positions." George joined Porter Novelli in 2013 as the head of Porter Novelli's Health & Wellness Practice in New York; he now leads the practice globally. During the last two years in this role, George has driven record growth by winning new global clients in the areas of pharma, bio-pharma and biotech, government and nonprofit public health and social impact programs, hospitals and health systems and health IT. Cusick joined Porter Novelli in 2014 to lead business development and marketing. During the last three years, Porter Novelli's overall new client opportunities have increased and the organization has won larger client engagements while bringing a more integrated approach. Cusick has helped drive Porter Novelli's overall reputation through a number of thought leadership campaigns, events such as Food 3000 and SXSW Interactive and winning awards for the company's work, people and culture. "Paul and Kate's Executive Committee appointments are fantastic for the organization. We are now bringing practices, new business and marketing into the EC," said MacAfee. About Porter Novelli Porter Novelli is a global public relations agency built on a rich heritage of marketing for social good. We've been motivating people to change deeply ingrained behaviors rooted in cultural and social norms for more than 40 years. Porter Novelli is a different kind of agencyand we recognize, respect and champion companies with the spirit, drive and tenacity to do things differently. We like taking on big challenges, and even bigger challengers, and we seek out clients who feel the same wayclients who have the conviction to tell their own story, and the courage to innovate from who they have been into who they know they can be. For additional information, please visit www.porternovelli.com. Porter Novelli is a part of the DAS Group of Companies. About the DAS Group of Companies The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves international, regional, national and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries. Contact: Amy Marriott Porter Novelli [email protected] 404-995-4537 SOURCE Porter Novelli Related Links http://www.porternovelli.com NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Q BioMed Inc. (OTCQB: QBIO), a biotechnology acceleration company is pleased to report on new potential asset license/acquisition and an update on Man 01 development. We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a definitive agreement to exclusively license a FDA approved drug from a private U.S. Company focused on the development of generic pharmaceuticals. The drug is indicated for the treatment of pain associated with metastatic bone cancer. As a result, this asset is expected to generate revenue within the first year post-closing. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions being met to our satisfaction by the closing date, which we hope will be by the end of June. We look forward to making additional details available as soon as practical. Denis Corin, CEO of Q BioMed Inc. said, "We are very excited about the potential of this deal and look forward to bringing this transaction to fruition and thereby delivering significant value to all stakeholders, including the patients in need of this drug." In addition, Mannin Research Inc. our technology partner company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of first-in-class therapeutics for vascular diseases, provides an update on its drug development program, MAN-01 for treatment of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG). Mannin's primary indication, MAN-01 for treatment of POAG has initiated pre-clinical lead candidate optimization of a small molecule for topical application. Lead candidate selection is progressing on-time and on-budget. The topical application in the form of an easy to administer eye drop is a key differentiator for Mannin and aims to solve the compliance problems and invasive procedures currently available to patients suffering from glaucoma. In addition, Mannin is continuing its focus on research and discovery on the biology of Tie2/TEK signalling and its relationship with Schlemm's Canal function and regulation of intra-ocular pressure. Additional data sets and IP have been developed around this novel mechanism of action. Mannin is evaluating strategic partnerships opportunities to grow its intellectual property portfolio within the Tie2/TEK signalling market, and is seeking complementary technologies to strengthen its product pipeline. Mannin and Q BioMed executives will be attending the BIO International Convention (BIO 2016) from June 6-9 in San Francisco. BIO attracts over 15,000 biotechnology and pharma leaders where Mannin will explore new opportunities and promising partnerships. Mannin is currently in the third month of the Canada-Chicago Mentorship Program (C2MP) which is a part of the Chicago Innovation Mentors ([email protected]) incubator. The mentorship team has provided valuable feedback on the MAN-01 program, as well as providing advice on Mannin's partnering approach and general business strategy. "We are pleased with the progress our research teams have achieved over the past three months. We look forward to advancing our corporate and strategic goals as it relates to our lead candidate for treating Primary Open Angle Glaucoma," said George Nikopoulos, Mannin's CEO. Dr. Susan Quaggin, Mannin's CSO added, "Recent work in the lab underscores the essential role of Angpt-Tie2/TEK signalling for development of the anterior chamber of the eye - which contain the structures needed to maintain safe levels of intraocular pressure. We are excited to begin to test compounds in preclinical studies." Lastly, Q BioMed has been conducting due diligence on several potential assets for other indications with the goal of expanding our pipeline and enhancing shareholder value. Please visit our website http://www.qbiomed.com to sign up for regular updates and stay up-to-date with our progress. About Q BioMed Inc. Q BioMed Inc."Q" is a biomedical acceleration and development company. We are focused on licensing and acquiring biomedical assets across the healthcare spectrum. Q is dedicated to providing these target assets the strategic resources, developmental support, and expansion capital the need to ensure they meet their developmental potential, enabling them to provide products to patients in need. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our growth strategy and product development programs and any other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated are: risks related to our growth strategy; risks relating to the results of research and development activities; our ability to obtain, perform under and maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; uncertainties relating to preclinical and clinical testing; our dependence on third-party suppliers; our ability to attract, integrate, and retain key personnel; the early stage of products under development; our need for substantial additional funds; government regulation; patent and intellectual property matters; competition; as well as other risks described in our SEC filings. Further, in the event that the company with which we have recently signed a license/acquisition agreement subject to conditions fails to satisfy such conditions by closing, we will not proceed with the transaction. Other than update the status of the the aforementioned license/acquisition, we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. Contact: Denis Corin CEO Q BioMed Inc. +1-888-357-2435 George N. Nikopoulos CEO Mannin Research Inc. +1-416-306-2853 SOURCE Q BioMed Inc NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- QBE North America, an operating division of QBE Insurance Group, today announced that Richard Dziadzio, will leave his position as Chief Financial Officer effective July 15, 2016, in order to become the CFO of a publicly-traded organization. "Since joining QBE North America in 2013, Richard has played a key leadership role as the company has refocused the business and built a platform for sustainable growth," said Russell Johnston, Chief Executive Officer, QBE North America. "We would like to thank Richard for his contributions, and we wish him every success in his next endeavor." QBE North America has partnered with an executive search firm to assist in finding a successor as soon as possible. About QBE QBE North America is part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, one of the largest insurers and reinsurers worldwide. QBE NA reported Gross Written Premiums in 2015 of $4.6 billion. QBE Insurance Group's 2015 results can be found at www.qbena.com. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 37 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business through its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. QBE insurance companies are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best and "A+" by Standard & Poor's. Additional information can be found at www.qbena.com, or follow QBE North America on Twitter. SOURCE QBE North America Related Links http://www.qbena.com COVINGTON, La., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Revelers flying to The Big Easy to celebrate New Orleans Pride 2016 will be jumping for joy when they take advantage of a special deal from Residence Inn New Orleans Covington/North Shore that honors the big June weekend. Residence Inn New Orleans Covington/North Shore, right across Lake Pontchartrain, offers guests in town for New Orleans Pride 2016 a special deal which includes deluxe accommodations, free breakfast for two adults and a bottle of champagne or wine upon arrival. For information, visit ResidenceInnNewOrleansCovington.com or call 1-985-246-7222. The Covington, LA hotel is proud to offer its Pride and Joy Couples Package just in time for all of the festivities planned around the French Quarter. Just across Lake Pontchartrain, the Residence Inn will provide travelers with deluxe accommodations from $124 a night as well as a bottle of champagne or wine upon arrival to get the party started early. A full American breakfast with freshly scrambled eggs, potatoes, Belgian waffles, oatmeal, cereal and artisanal muffins is always complimentary with every stay. A variety of morning beverages, including freshly brewed coffee, also is included so guests can fuel up for all of the fun activities. Centered on the largest LGBT parade in Louisiana, Pride is planned for June 17-19, 2016 with a host of live music events, dance parties and soirees all on tap. Festival goers will never be bored with the many exciting things to do and see in the French Quarter, where most of the weekend's events occur. In addition to spending an evening with Bianca Del Rio, the winner of season six of RuPaul's Drag Race, visitors can choose to stop at Oz, The Four Seasons or The Phoenix to hear popular DJs including Grind, Tracy Young and Kidd Madonny. A Who's Your Daddy Contest and pre-parade party is sure to draw big crowds. Floats are expected to debut in the parade at 7 p.m. June 18 with a route that includes Bourbon, Decatur, Canal and Governor Nicholls streets. Sweet Southern hospitality awaits visitors who book a stay at the Covington hotel right off of Interstate 12. Guest quarters not only include modern amenities and comfortable spaces to slumber but also boast fully equipped kitchens with refrigerators to store extra adult drinks and stovetops to warm up snacks. Pots, pans and serving dishes also are available if guests are inclined to cook with ingredients garnered from the hotel's complimentary grocery shopping service. Complimentary Wi-Fi means Pride attendees can stay well-connected to social media channels at all hours. When it's time to get a sound night's rest, thick mattresses topped with custom comforters, crisp linens and fluffy pillows will hit the spot. To take advantage of the Pride and Joy Couples Package, book reservations online or call 1-800-228-9290 and mention promo code 4LG. The offer is valid seven days week through Dec. 31, 2016 and based on availability. Some blackout dates apply. About Residence Inn New Orleans Covington/North Shore Residence Inn New Orleans Covington/North Shore at 101 Park Place Blvd. in Covington, LA is right off of Interstate 12 and convenient to Northpark Office Park and Chevron. The hotel offers 4 floors with 125 suites, 2 meeting rooms with 1,339 square feet of total event space, fitness center, outdoor pool and whirlpool. Daily breakfast and high-speed Wi-Fi are complimentary amenities. For information, visit ResidenceInnNewOrleansCovington.com or call 1-985-246-7222. Sign up now for Marriott Rewards and get on the fast track to earn points for free hotel stays, room upgrades, flights, credit card purchases and deals with Marriott partners. Learn more about Residence Inn and Marriott International Inc. PRESS CONTACT Maria Della Camera 1-240-274-8966 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373719 SOURCE Residence Inn New Orleans Covington/North Shore Related Links http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/msyns-residence-inn-new-orleans-covington-north-shore MONTREAL, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Resolute Forest Products Inc. (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) today held its annual meeting of stockholders in Baie-Comeau, Quebec. A total of 73,378,836 common shares, or 81.98% of the outstanding shares, were voted at the meeting. Shareholders voted in favor of each proposal, including the re-election of each director nominee, by a substantial majority: NOMINEES FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN NON-VOTES # of shares % # of shares % # of shares Michel P. Desbiens 63,968,253 99.26 471,167 0.73 3,852 8,935,564 Jennifer C. Dolan 62,790,604 97.43 1,649,016 2.56 3,652 8,935,564 Richard D. Falconer 63,969,950 99.26 469,282 0.73 4,040 8,935,564 Richard Garneau 63,325,889 98.26 1,112,802 1.73 4,581 8,935,564 Jeffrey A. Hearn 61,876,668 96.01 2,562,066 3.98 4,538 8,935,564 Bradley P. Martin 63,230,933 98.11 1,208,387 1.88 3,952 8,935,564 Alain Rheaume 63,516,730 98.56 922,491 1.43 4,051 8,935,564 Michael S. Rousseau 62,791,482 97.43 1,647,750 2.56 4,040 8,935,564 David H. Wilkins 62,757,771 97.38 1,681,549 2.61 3,952 8,935,564 The other proposals on which stockholders voted favorably included: The ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the 2016 fiscal year. An advisory vote to approve compensation of the company's named executive officers, as disclosed in the proxy statement. About Resolute Forest Products Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp, wood products, tissue, newsprint and specialty papers. The company owns or operates over 40 pulp, paper, tissue and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea, as well as power generation assets in Canada and the United States. Marketing its products in close to 80 countries, Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to internationally recognized sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products trade under the stock symbol RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Resolute has received regional, North American and global recognition for its leadership in corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, as well as for its business practices. Visit resolutefp.com for more information. SOURCE Resolute Forest Products Inc. Related Links www.resolutefp.com DETROIT, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- It is with great sorrow that Bridgewater Interiors, LLC announces the death today of Ronald E. Hall Sr. after an extended illness. Mr. Hall, 72, was the founder, chairman of the board of directors and former president and CEO of the company. "This is a day of great loss for our family and company, as well as this region, industry and the broader business community," said Ron Hall Jr., who became the company's president and CEO last year. "My father leaves a legacy of commitment to helping others and, especially, the pursuit of equal economic opportunity for all communities. These convictions inspire our work as we continue his legacy. Our sadness is tempered by the knowledge that he remains with us in spirit," he said. Mr. Hall had been president and chief executive officer of Bridgewater Interiors, a joint venture of automotive supplier Johnson Controls, since its inception in November 1998. He held those positions until October 2015, when he became chairman. "Ron Hall Sr., was a great partner to Johnson Controls and the automotive industry. He was a trusted friend and leader who had remarkable compassion for the communities his businesses served. Our sympathies are with his family at this difficult time," said Bruce McDonald, vice chairman of Johnson Controls. Mr. Hall was also president and CEO of Renaissance Capital Alliance, an equipment leasing company, and former chairman and CEO of New Center Stamping, an automotive service parts stamping facility. Mr. Hall also owned Departure Travel Management. Mr. Hall was an entrepreneur and an active leader in business and civic organizations and various public and private entities across Michigan. From 1992 to October 1998, he served as president of the Michigan Minority Supplier Business Development Council (MMSDC) and was known for turning the organization into one of America's premier minority business development organizations. Mr. Hall is survived by his wife, Ann Durel Hall, four sons, Ronald Jr., Kahn, Roman and Erik, and nine grandchildren. About Bridgewater Interiors: Bridgewater Interiors LLC is a Detroit-based joint venture between privately-held Epsilon Technologies LLC and Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI). Established in April 1998, Bridgewater is an automotive interiors manufacturing company specializing in just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, sequencing and delivery of seating, overhead and center console systems. The company assembles seating systems for automotive industry OEMs at its three facilities in Michigan and one in Alabama. Bridgewater is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) employing over 2000 employees and is one of the largest African-American owned companies in the U.S. SOURCE Bridgewater Interiors LLC LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SADA Systems, global leaders in cloud transformation and strategic IT solutions, today announced it has been named a finalist in the 2016 Microsoft Partner of the Year - Cloud Productivity Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. "We're honored to once again be granted global accolades as Microsoft's Partner of the Year for Competency awards," stated Tony Safoian, CEO & President, SADA Systems. "Being named 2015 Winner Microsoft Partner of the Year for Cloud Packaged Solutions and now 2016 Finalist for Cloud Productivity, speaks to SADA's expertise and commitment in providing innovative solutions and exceptional services to impact business growth for our customers as well as Microsoft as their premier National Solutions Provider." Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,500 entrants from 119 countries worldwide. SADA Systems was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in demonstrating innovation, competitive differentiation, and customer benefits that resulted in improved efficiency, growth or profitability while showcasing the value of Office 365. The Cloud Productivity Partner of the Year Award honors a partner that has seen substantial and sustainable growth in deploying Office 365 cloud and hybrid solutions as well as driving customer adoption with high impact and satisfaction. "Our ecosystem of great partners is the cornerstone to delivering innovative and transformative solutions to our mutual customers," said Gavriella Schuster, general manager, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. "We are honored to recognize SADA Systems for being selected as FINALIST of the 2016 Microsoft Partner of the Year Cloud Productivity award." The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. Visit www.SADASystems.com to learn more. About SADA Systems Founded in 2000, SADA Systems, Inc. is a privately-held global leader in providing strategic cloud and IT solutions to organizations worldwide. Named 2016 Microsoft Partner of the Year Finalist for Cloud Productivity, 2015 Winner Microsoft Partner of the Year for Cloud Packaged Solutions and U.S. Education Cloud Partner of the Year, SADA Systems is a Microsoft National Solutions Provider (NSP) and a Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP), holding multiple Gold competencies. SADA Systems has proven track record in enterprise consulting, cloud platform migration, custom application development, managed services, user adoption and change management. With a certified team of Microsoft Partner Technology Solutions Professionals (P-TSP), SADA successfully delivers on all Microsoft cloud solutions, including Office 365, SharePoint Online, Skype for Business, Power BI, Dynamics CRM Online, Enterprise Mobility Suite and Azure. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374053LOGO SOURCE SADA Systems Related Links http://www.SADASystems.com SAN FRANCISCO and BURLINGTON, Mass., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and the world's #1 CRM company, and Demandware (NYSE: DWRE), the industry-leading provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Salesforce will acquire Demandware in a transaction worth approximately $2.8 billion (net of cash acquired). Under the terms of the agreement, Salesforce will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Demandware for $75.00 per share, in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2017, ending July 31, 2016. Comments on the News: "Demandware is an amazing companythe global cloud leader in the multi-billion dollar digital commerce market," said Marc Benioff , chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce as part of our Customer Success Platform and create yet another billion dollar cloud." , chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce as part of our Customer Success Platform and create yet another billion dollar cloud." "Demandware and Salesforce share the same passionate focus on customer success," said Tom Ebling , CEO, Demandware. "Becoming part of Salesforce will accelerate our vision to empower the world's leading brands with the most innovative digital commerce solutions that enable them to connect 1:1 with customers across any channel." According to Gartner, worldwide spending on digital commerce platforms is expected to grow at over 14 percent annually, reaching $8.544 billion by 2020 (Gartner, Inc. Forecast: Enterprise Software Markets, Worldwide, 2013-2020, 1Q16 Update, March 17, 2016). Salesforce's acquisition of Demandware, a recognized leader in the space, will extend the company's CRM leadership and position it to capture this multi-billion dollar digital commerce market with what will be the new Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The Salesforce Commerce Cloud will be an integral part of Salesforce's Customer Success Platform, creating opportunities for companies to connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Salesforce customers will have access to the industry's leading enterprise cloud commerce platform, and Demandware's customers will be able to leverage Salesforce's leading sales, service, marketing, communities, analytics, IoT and platform solutions to deliver a more comprehensive, personalized consumer experience. Demandwarethe Industry Leading Enterprise Cloud Commerce Platform Demandware enables leading global brands including Design Within Reach, Lands' End, L'Oreal and Marks & Spencer to deliver personalized, 1:1 experiences for consumers and power their commerce across the web, mobile, social and in the store. Details Regarding the Proposed Demandware Acquisition Under the terms of the transaction, Salesforce will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Demandware for $75.00 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2017, ending July 31, 2016, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the acceptance of a majority of Demandware shares in the tender offer and expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Following the successful completion of the tender offer, Demandware shares not tendered in the tender offer will be converted in a second step merger into the right to receive the same $75.00 per share in cash paid in the tender offer. Financial Impact to Salesforce of the Proposed Demandware Acquisition FY17 Revenue: The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce's FY17 total revenue by approximately $100 million to $120 million. This estimate reflects an approximately $50 million reduction relating to fair value adjustments to deferred revenue and unbilled deferred revenue, adjustments related to the combined customer base, and inter-company revenue elimination. FY17 non-GAAP EPS: As discussed further below, guidance updates for GAAP EPS for all periods discussed are not currently available and Salesforce expects to provide the applicable updates when it releases second quarter results in August 2016, assuming the transaction has closed and the purchase accounting is completed. The acquisition is expected to decrease FY17 non-GAAP diluted EPS by approximately $0.07. This estimate reflects standard integration costs and transaction fees expected to be in the range of $30 million. Q2 FY17 Revenue: The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce's Q2 FY17 total revenue by approximately $0 million to $10 million. Q2 FY17 non-GAAP EPS: Transaction fees related to the acquisition are expected to reduce Q2 FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS by approximately $0.03. Based on the above, Salesforce is updating its guidance previously reported on May 18, 2016, as follows: Q2 FY17 Guidance: Revenue for Salesforce's fiscal second quarter 2017 is projected to be in the range of $2.005 billion to $2.025 billion, an increase of 23% to 24% year-over-year. Q2 FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.21 to $0.22. Full Year FY17 Guidance: Revenue for Salesforce's full fiscal year 2017 is projected to be in the range of $8.26 billion to $8.32 billion, an increase of 24% to 25% year-over-year. FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.93 to $0.95. Non-GAAP EPS estimates assume a non-GAAP tax rate of approximately 35%. The non-GAAP EPS calculation assumes an average fully diluted share count of approximately 700 million shares. Full-year operating cash flow growth is now expected to be in the range of 22% to 23% year-over-year. These estimates assume a fiscal second quarter close date, and actual results could differ materially based on the final transaction close date. Salesforce is not currently able to prepare an accurate forecast for the second quarter or full year impact of the acquisition on GAAP EPS and will not be able to do so until the purchase accounting is concluded after the transaction closes. Salesforce expects to be able to provide this update when it releases second quarter results in August 2016. The impact on GAAP EPS is expected to be more significant than for non-GAAP EPS due to the additional stock-based compensation charges and the impact of other various non-cash items, including amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and income tax adjustments. Non-GAAP Financial Measures: This press release includes information about non-GAAP EPS and non-GAAP tax rates (collectively the "non-GAAP financial measures"). The primary purpose of using non-GAAP financial measures is to provide supplemental information that may prove useful to investors who wish to consider the impact of certain non-cash or non-recurring items on the company's operating performance and to enable investors to evaluate the company's results in the same way management does. Non-GAAP EPS estimates exclude the impact of the following non-cash items: stock-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, and the net amortization of debt discount on the company's convertible senior notes, as well as income tax adjustments. The non-GAAP tax rate estimate excludes the tax adjustments and tax consequences associated with the above excluded non-cash expense items. The method used to produce non-GAAP financial measures is not computed according to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and may differ from the methods used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with the company's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. BofA Merrill Lynch is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Salesforce. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Demandware. Additional Information The tender offer has not yet commenced. This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. At the time the tender offer is commenced, Salesforce will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, and Demandware will file a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer. Demandware stockholders and other investors are strongly advised to read the tender offer materials (including the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other tender offer documents that have yet to be filed) and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement because they will contain important information that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the tender offer. The Tender Offer Statement and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement will be available for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Free copies of these materials and other tender offer documents will be made available by the information agent for the tender offer. In addition to the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other tender offer documents, Salesforce and Demandware file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any reports, statements or other information filed by the parties at the SEC public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 1-800-SEC-0330 FREE for further information on the public reference room. The parties' filings with the SEC are also available to the public from commercial document-retrieval services and at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to the acquisition of Demandware by Salesforce. All statements other than historical facts included in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the timing and the closing of the transaction, the financing for the transaction, the expected benefits of the transaction, prospective performance and future business plans, and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown, or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the parties' expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things: uncertainties regarding the timing of the closing of the transaction; uncertainties as to how many of Demandware's stockholders may tender their stock in the tender offer; the possibility that various closing conditions to the tender offer and merger transactions may not be satisfied or waived, including that a governmental entity may prohibit, delay, or refuse to grant approval for the consummation of the transaction; that there is a material adverse change to Demandware; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted with respect to the transaction; that the integration of Demandware's business into Salesforce is not as successful as expected; the failure to realize anticipated synergies and cost savings; the failure of Salesforce to achieve the expected financial and commercial results from the transaction; other business effects, including effects of industry, economic or political conditions outside either company's control; transaction costs; actual or contingent liabilities; as well as other cautionary statements contained elsewhere herein and in Salesforce's and Demandware's periodic and other reports filed with the SEC including the factors set forth in their most recent annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO and other offer documents to be filed by Salesforce, and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 to be filed by Demandware. These forward-looking statements reflect Salesforce's expectations as of the date of this report. Salesforce undertakes no obligation to update the information provided herein. Management Conference Call Salesforce and Demandware will host a conference call to discuss this transaction at 8:00 a.m. (ET) / 5:00 a.m. (PT) on June 1, 2016. A live dial-in is available domestically at 866-901-SFDC 866-901-SFDC or 866-901-7332 866-901-7332 FREE and internationally at 706-902-1764 706-902-1764, passcode 23989005. A live audiocast of the event will be available on the salesforce.com Investor Relations website at http://www.salesforce.com/investor and Demandware's website at http://investors.demandware.com/. A replay will be available at 800-585-8367 800-585-8367 FREE or 855-859-2056 855-859-2056 FREE, until midnight (ET) July 1, 2016. Additional Information A blog from Tom Ebling , CEO at Demandware, is available here. , CEO at Demandware, is available here. A Salesforce blog post and FAQ is available here. In light of the pending acquisition, Demandware will not be presenting at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2016 Global Technology Conference today, June 1 , or at the Stifel Technology, Internet & Media Conference on June 6 . About Demandware Demandware, the category-defining leader of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, empowers the world's leading retailers to continuously innovate in our complex, consumer-driven world. Demandware's open cloud platform provides unique benefits including seamless innovation, the LINK ecosystem of integrated best-of-breed partners, and community insight to optimize customer experiences. These advantages enable Demandware customers to lead their markets and grow faster. For more information, visit www.Demandware.com, call +1-888-553-9216 +1-888-553-9216 FREE or email [email protected]. About Salesforce Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: http://www.salesforce.com. SOURCE Salesforce Related Links http://www.salesforce.com TROY, Mich., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ford honored Schaeffler as a top-performing global supplier at its 18th annual World Excellence Awards. Schaeffler was presented with a Smart brand pillar award by Hau Thai-Tang, Ford Motor Company group vice president, global purchasing. "We are delighted to win this award for the second year in a row," said Pratik Shah, senior vice president, Global Key Account Ford, Schaeffler. "This award signifies the creative efforts of the Schaeffler global team in developing innovative solutions for efficient mobility. To win an award from a customer partner like Ford means a lot to everyone at Schaeffler and motivates us to work harder to break technological boundaries." "Ford's World Excellence Awards allow us to recognize suppliers who demonstrate a strong commitment to quality, performance and teamwork," said Thai-Tang. "Schaeffler has helped Ford deliver a breakthrough year, and we are thankful they are a part of our One Ford team." Fifty-seven awards were presented to suppliers who exceed company expectations and distinguish themselves from their peers by achieving the highest levels of global excellence in 11 categories. About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 201,000 employees and 67 plants worldwide, the company's core business includes designing, manufacturing, marketing, financing and servicing a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs and electrified vehicles, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. At the same time, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility, the company's plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics. For more information regarding Ford, its products worldwide or Ford Motor Credit Company, visit www.corporate.ford.com. About Schaeffler The Schaeffler Group is a leading global integrated automotive and industrial supplier. The company stands for the highest quality, outstanding technology, and strong innovative ability. The Schaeffler Group makes a key contribution to "Mobility for tomorrow" with high-precision components and systems in engine, transmission, and chassis applications as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications. The technology company generated sales of approximately EUR 13.2 billion in 2015. With around 84,000 employees, Schaeffler is one of the world's largest family companies and, with approximately 170 locations in over 50 countries, has a worldwide network of manufacturing locations, research and development facilities, and sales companies. To serve the North American automotive market, Schaeffler operates development centers in: Troy, Mich.; Fort Mill, S.C.; Wooster, Ohio; and Puebla, Mexico. The company's 400 North American engineers and technicians, who are supported by a team of more than 6,000 global engineers, drive development in the region utilizing state-of-the-art test and measurement equipment, computational tools and CAD systems. Schaeffler Automotive has headquarters in Fort Mill and manufacturing facilities in: South Carolina; Missouri; Ohio; Ontario, Canada; Puebla and Irapuato, Mexico. For more information, please visit www.schaeffler.us. SOURCE Schaeffler Related Links http://www.schaeffler.us SEATTLE, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 25, 2016, Security Properties and Pacific Life Insurance Company purchased Overlook at Lakemont, a 400-unit, Class B multifamily property located in Bellevue, WA, for $118,000,000. This was Security Properties' first joint venture with Pacific Life. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373723 Overlook is located in the prestigious Lakemont community where the average home price is nearly $900K and the average income within three miles of the subject is $130K. Lakemont is part of the Issaquah school district which is repeatedly ranked as one of the top districts in the state. Living at Overlake allows residents access to both the schools and the reputation associated with Lakemont at an affordable price point. The location is fantastic as it has a low density, suburban feel, but offers walkable retail including Starbucks and a high end local grocery store, Town and Country, that will be undergoing renovations. To the northeast of the subject is Lakemont Park and to the southwest is Lewis Creek Park. Additionally, less than one mile east is Cougar Mountain Park a 5,000 acre protected wildland area designated for hiking and horseback riding. Transportation is great as well with an I-90 entrance just over a mile away. Major employers that operate their corporate headquarters within 6 miles of Overlook include Microsoft, Costco, Expedia, T-Mobile, Paccar and Puget Sound Energy. The subject was built in 1992 and, with a few exceptions, is in original condition. The business plan is to renovate all of the units as well as update the clubhouse, replace the roof, re-side the property, and paint the exterior. The end result will be a core asset in an A+ location. This is the only property in Bellevue of over 250 units built in the 90's so it does not have some of the functional obsolescence of 80's construction product, but it has an in-fill location that is irreplaceable. Davis Vaughn, Investment Manager at Security Properties says they acquired this property because, "this was a rare opportunity for us to buy in one of the best residential neighborhoods in the Seattle metro. The quick I-90 access provides convenient commuting to some of the top employers in our region and the area demographics are outstanding. We think our renovation program will absolutely transform the asset and provide the high quality product that Lakemont expects." The property will be managed by Security Properties-affiliate Madrona Ridge Residential. Overlook at Lakemont was purchased from Heitman. The sale was led by Jeff Williams, Chris Ross and Tim Brown of Moran & Company. About Security Properties Security Properties is a national real estate investment, development, and operating company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. For more than 45 years, Security Properties has provided quality housing to its residents as well as excellent financial performance for its investors. Since its founding, Security Properties has acquired or developed over 66,500 residential units at a cost of over $3.35 billion. Security Properties maintains a focused multi-family strategy supported by integrated teams of professional acquisition, development, construction, investment, and property management specialists. For more information, visit www.securityproperties.com About Pacific Life Offering insurance since 1868, Pacific Life provides a wide range of life insurance products, annuities, and mutual funds, and offers a variety of investment products and services to individuals, businesses, and pension plans. Pacific Life counts more than half of the 100 largest U.S. companies as its clients. For additional company information, including current financial strength ratings, visit www.PacificLife.com. Pacific Life refers to Pacific Life Insurance Company and its affiliates, including Pacific Life & Annuity Company. Client count as of June 2015 is compiled by Pacific Life using the 2015 FORTUNE 500 list. News media contact: Ed McGovern, 202.622.9900 Email SOURCE Security Properties Related Links http://www.securityproperties.com WASHINGTON, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- S&R Foundation is thrilled to welcome one of the most brilliant artistic minds in the nation's capital, announcing today that Septime Webre is joining the organization as Artistic Director. Starting this Fall, Septime will curate S&R's new performance series, Halcyon Stage, a platform for creativity that will showcase music, dance, and interdisciplinary work. "It's thrilling to join the S&R team, who is deeply committed to supporting emerging creatives," said Webre. "Our new programs will establish deep connections with our local and global community, as we seek to engage and inspire by illuminating and celebrating creativity in our modern world." Headquartered in Washington, DC, S&R Foundation is a non-profit that supports talented individuals with high aspirations in the arts, sciences and social entrepreneurship. Among its major programs are Halcyon Incubator, Studios Program at the Fillmore School, the Overtures Concert Series and Illuminate speaking series. "Septime is an exhilarating addition to the S&R team," said Dr. Sachiko Kuno, President and CEO of S&R Foundation. "We look forward to collaborating with him on imaginative programming to intensify our public offerings and support for talented creatives. As S&R celebrates a major growth cycle, Septime will strengthen our mission to support and advance talented artists of multiple genres." Webre is set to leave his role as Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet after 17 years, during which time TWB increased its profile and impact regionally, nationally and internationally. He led growth and expansion in both excellence and bold creativity, with projects including a "trippy" ALICE (In Wonderland); the "American Experience," featuring original full-length ballets based on iconic works of American literature, and the pursuit of full-length original classic works including Swan Lake, a significant milestone that secured TWB's position as a major international player in the dance world. Under his direction, The Washington School of Ballet's enrollment has tripled and the organization's commitment to community through its visionary DanceDC and [email protected] programs has positively affected the lives of tens of thousands of children in the District of Columbia. Much in demand as a choreographer, Webre has created works that appear in the repertoires of many companies in North America, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Ballet Austin, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Kansas City Ballet and Colorado Ballet, among many others. Webre has sat on the boards of Dance/USA and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington. Among his many awards, Webre received the DC Mayor's Arts Award for Visionary Leadership, Excellence in Artistic Discipline and numerous metro DC dance awards. He has been a recipient of a number of fellowships for his choreography. About S&R Foundation S&R Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created in 2000 to support talented individuals with great potential and high aspirations in the arts, sciences and social entrepreneurship, especially those who are furthering international cultural collaboration. Contributions to S&R Foundation go directly to funding our mission. Overhead and general operational costs are covered by founders' contributions and use of existing assets. For more information, visit www.SandRFoundation.org. SOURCE S&R Foundation NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Banco Bradesco S.A. ("Banco Bradesco" or the "Company") (NYSE: BBD). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980. [Click here to join a class action] The investigation concerns whether Banco Bradesco and certain of its officers and/or directors have violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. On May 31, 2016, various news outlets reported that Brazil's federal police indicted Banco Bradesco executives, including Chief Executive Officer Luiz Carlos Trabuco Cappi, on corruption-related charges. Brazil's federal police accused Banco Bradesco executives of plotting to avoid an $828 million tax fine that was imposed by Brazil's Tax Revenue Service. On this news, Banco Bradesco's stock price fell $0.37 per share, or nearly 5.6%, to close at $6.26 on May 31, 2016. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Related Links http://www.pomerantzlaw.com The 360-degree panorama allows viewers to immerse themselves in the world of the photographer, and can also be combined with VR (virtual reality) technology that produces an unparalleled experience of aerial imaging. 360-degree panoramas are a relatively new feature on SkyPixel, and a separate section of the website dedicated to 360-degree imaging had been soft launched prior to the contest. To help potential users create 360-degree panoramas, SkyPixel expert Rendy Cipta Muliawan created a tip that covers the basics of forming a 360-degree aerial panorama, including advising to use the 'grid function' and to take 4 rows of photos in total to create the 360-degree view. Contestants are invited to use any aerial platform to submit their entries. Enter the contest: www.skypixel.com/events/360-panorama SkyPixel 360-degree Panorama Tutorial: www.skypixel.com/tips/360-degree-aerial-photography SkyPixel 360-degree image gallery: www.skypixel.com/360 The Grand Prize includes a DJI Phantom 4 and a Huawei P9 Plus. There are additional prizes on offer including DJI Credits valued at USD 500, USD 300 and USD 100 for second, third and a 'brilliant' prize, along with smartphones and wearable devices. The list of winners will be announced on June 30. Highlighted entries include: The Band by Agon Nimani: https://www.skypixel.com/photos/1e9a8314-df59-4bce-b8a5-5756031b7f98 Cancun, Mexico Sunrise by Toldedo Aerial Media: www.skypixel.com/photos/3467d2a2-2dd3-46f9-8314-ef70bddb8c5d Huashan sunset by Fang Liu: www.skypixel.com/photos/5506a5b6-0181-4437-b816-72cb18ba6157 Business District - Xinjiekou Nanjing panoramic view by Jinling Laoxia: www.skypixel.com/photos/58028ffc-b6c4-48f8-8a87-e693a8471751 About SkyPixel SkyPixel was founded in 2014 and has become a leading global community of aerial photos and videos. The platform, which recently surpassed one million registered users, hosts thousands of aerial images and videos uploaded daily by users from around the world. Leading works have received over 1 million views. The world's largest aerial photography contest was hosted by SkyPixel in 2015, with over 10,000 entries received from 146 countries and regions. In addition, SkyPixel also promotes the growth of the aerial community, with an educational section where identified key experts of aerial imaging provide tips on how to produce the best aerial photography. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374111 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374109 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374112 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374114 SOURCE DJI PUNE, India, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Smoke Detector Market by Power Source (Battery Powered, Hardwired With Battery Backup, Hardwired Without Battery Backup), Product (Photoelectric, Ionization, Dual Sensor, & Other Detector), End-User Industry, Service, and Region - Global Forecasts to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the total market is expected to grow from USD 1.31 Billion in 2015 to USD 2.52 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 75 market data Tables with 67 Figures spread through 150 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Smoke Detector Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smoke-detector-market-162940771.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The smoke detector market is driven by factors such as Increasing support and initiatives from government bodies, and technological advancements and innovations in smoke detectors and their networking. Dual Sensor detectors to register the highest growth rate; whereas photoelectric detector held the largest share The smoke detector market on the basis of product has been segmented into photoelectric smoke detector, ionization smoke detector, dual sensor smoke detector, and others. The cause of fire deaths in commercial and residential sector is mostly from smoldering fires, which can only be detected by these photoelectric or the dual sensors and as a result the market of both smoke detectors is booming. The market for ionization smoke detectors has a low growth rate because of their false alarm rate, which have led consumers to disable their smoke alarms and also the disposal of ionization smoke detectors causes an additional problem as they contain radioactive materials. Commercial sector held the largest market size; and residential sector would experience the highest growth rate The end-user segment in Smoke Detector Market comprises commercial sector, residential sector, oil, gas, & mining industry, manufacturing sector, telecommunication sector, transportation & logistics, and others. The commercial sector held the largest size of smoke alarm market in 2015 and is highly regulated sector for smoke detectors. The smoke detectors installed in commercial space are regulated by EN54, UL268, CCCF, and others. The increase in the number of government mandate policies in developed economies to install smoke alarms at homes and rapid development in the residential construction across the world is attributing to the high growth of smoke alarms market for the residential sector. Market in Europe to grow at the highest rate The market in Europe is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Under the influence of government mandate policies, the countries in European region such Austria, France, and Germany are installing smoke alarms in their homes and is the main reason for the growth of smoke detector market in this region. Also, North America held for the largest market size of the smoke detector market in 2015. The high demand for smoke alarms from this region is mainly attributed to the rising number of deaths by fire, especially in residential sector, along with the rise in residential construction in key U.S. states such as Texas, Florida, and California. Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=162940771 Major players in this market are Hochiki Corporation (Japan), Honeywell International (U.S.), United Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Tyco (Ireland), Siemens AG (Germany), Johnson Control (U.S.), Robert Bosch (Germany), NEC Corporation (U.S.), Nest labs (U.S.), and Schneider Electric (France) among others. Browse Related Reports Fire Protection Systems Market by Technology (Active, Passive), Product (Fire Detection (Sensors & Detectors, RFID), Management (Fire Sprinklers, Extinguishers), Fire Analysis & Response), Service, Vertical, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/fire-protection-systems-market-1018.html Home Security Solutions Market by Product (Electronic locks, Sensors, Cameras), Solutions (Intruder Alarm, Intercom, Access Control, Fire Protection, Integrated Security, Video Surveillance & Others), Home Type, & Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/home-security-solutions-market-701.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the world's No. 2 firms in terms of annual published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical info graphics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta City, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India Tel: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit MarketsandMarkets [email protected] http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/electronics-and-semiconductors Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets QUINCY, Mass., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a war being waged in the offices of full-time American employees, and the battle cries are those of hunger. In a new survey of full-time office workers, Peapod.com, the country's leading online grocer offering delivery to both businesses and homes, found that nearly three quarters (71%) of respondents have had their personal snack, drink or meal stolen out of the communal office kitchen. Interestingly, only about a third (35%) admit to taking something that wasn't theirs. Office Fridge Wars Millennials in the workforce are most at risk of losing their snacks a whopping 73% report having had their food taken at work. They're also most likely to retaliate, as 48% admit they have perpetrated snack thievery. It seems the older we are, the less we steal. Boomers and older workers were the least likely to admit having taken someone else's snacks (only 18% of those 55 and older). In terms of geography, things tend to be tougher in the city: nearly 40% more urban workers admit to taking someone else's snack than those in rural areas. Overall, men were nearly twice as likely as women to admit to having taken snacks that didn't belong to them. Work Hard, Snack Hard Working more hours may also be a driving force in the case of missing snacks. Significantly more employees working 41+ hours per week (42%) have taken someone's snack versus those that work fewer than 40 hours (30%). Similarly, nearly 81% of those working more than 41 hours per week report having had their snacks taken, while only 64% of those working 35-40 hours report the same. With all that time in the office, no wonder workers appreciate snack breaks with 80%* saying that "having snacks in the office is nice for socializing with team members." Perhaps ironically, those working in the hospitality industry were the most likely to report having taken snacks (51%), while not surprisingly, those in the religious/nonprofit industries were least likely. Peapod: A White Flag on the Battlefield Of course, it doesn't have to be this way and savvy companies are offering benefits like free snacks to help their employees co-exist in peaceful snacking harmony. Free snacks are so important to a positive work experience that Peapod also found that 66% of millennials agree, "If I found or was offered a job at another company with better perks, including availability of free snacks, I would take it."* "Peapod is servicing more businesses than ever from small start-ups to large organizations like hospitals and universities," said Peg Merzbacher, Vice President of Regional Marketing for Peapod. "Employees seem to seek out this perk since it helps promote balance when hard at work; with services like Peapod it's so easy for businesses to have their kitchens stocked regularly." To learn more about Peapod's delivery to business offering, visit www.Peapod.com. About Peapod Peapod an Ahold USA company is the country's leading Internet grocer, serving 24 U.S. markets throughout Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin. Founded in 1989 as a smart shopping option for busy households, today Peapod has delivered more than 30 million grocery orders. Customers can order online or on Peapod's free mobile app for delivery to homes and workplaces or pick-up at many convenient locations. For more information on Peapod, call 1.800.5.PEAPOD (1.800.573.2763), e-mail [email protected] or visit www.peapod.com. Survey Methodology: Lab42 conducted this research on behalf of Peapod via an online survey of among 1,000 full-time office workers, comprising 493 men and 507 women. The research was conducted April 18-19, 2016. *Survey Methodology: ORC International conducted this research on behalf of Peapod via an online survey of among 1,009 full-time office workers, comprising 504 men and 505 women. The research was conducted August 11-17, 2015. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374153-INFO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150916/267226LOGO SOURCE Peapod Related Links http://www.Peapod.com ARLINGTON, Va., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Snagajob, America's largest marketplace for hourly work, named Jocelyn Mangan chief product and marketing officer. Bringing extensive experience in mobile and marketplace innovation to the company, Mangan will accelerate Snagajob's current product and industry strategy, while continuing to emphasize the company's core mission: supporting hourly job seekers and hourly employers with their most pressing needs. Mangan has almost two decades of experience building iconic global mobile apps and market-leading software products. As the former senior vice president and head of product for OpenTable, she oversaw the vision, strategy, and development of the company's consumer and restaurant products. Prior to that, Jocelyn held senior roles at TicketMaster, where she successfully led the first multi-lingual, Olympic ticketing website from concept to implementation. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mangan will also formally launch the company's West Coast expansion. Mangan was recently honored as a member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Prior to that, Mangan was named to Fast Company's 2015 list of "100 Most Creative People in Business" and to Business Insider's 2014 list of the "32 Most Powerful Women in Mobile Advertising." "I couldn't be more thrilled for Jocelyn to join the Snagajob team," said Peter Harrison, CEO of Snagajob. "Mobile technology offers the hourly industry a unique opportunity to completely reinvent the hiring experience from end-to-end: from finding a job, to hiring, to workforce collaboration and management. Jocelyn's experience and outlook aligns with our vision to collapse a process that often takes days or weeks into hours or even minutes, all from a mobile device. She brings an expertise in developing best-in-class mobile apps, an extensive consumer and business product background, and an unwavering passion for creating solutions that make a difference in the lives of the millions of people that use them. She will position us well to expand on our strategy and deliver our vision. I'm proud to welcome her to the team." "I am truly honored and excited to join the passionate and talented team at Snagajob," said Mangan. "As the largest company focused exclusively on the hourly market and with the widest reach, Snagajob is best positioned to make a meaningful difference in the life of an hourly worker and those who employ them. They've outlined a compelling vision on a solid foundation and I am eager to build upon this to create experiences that both workers and employers love." Today's announcement is the latest step in Snagajob's growing momentum. Earlier this year, the company secured $100 million in funding and announced a new strategic partnership with LinkedIn. Since 2013, Snagajob has nearly doubled its revenue derived from employers and more than doubled its mobile traffic, with over half a million applications being submitted via a mobile device every week. The company has also grown its own workforce by 30 percent since 2015. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329607LOGO SOURCE Snagajob Related Links http://www.snagajob.com Socius is not new to the Atlanta area; in 2015 the company acquired the Microsoft Dynamics GP practice of Atlanta-based partner, IBIS, Inc., adding its team of Microsoft Dynamics GP consulting and development teams and client base to the organization. Socius will employ 25 people at the Dunwoody location initially, with aggressive plans for growth over the next year. Socius offers the entire portfolio of Microsoft Dynamics solutions, including GP, NAV, AX, SL, and CRM, as well as the company's Business Intelligence solutions and Cloud-based services. "Our new Atlanta office will solidify Socius' presence in the Southeastern United States and expand our reach as an award-winning Microsoft Dynamics partner," said Jeff Geisler, CEO and Senior Managing Director of Socius. "But more importantly, it will allow us to better serve our existing client base in the region, and it will be a catalyst for growth for our entire portfolio." Socius leverages its technology solutions in industries ranging from manufacturing and distribution to professional services, healthcare and financial services. To learn more about how Socius can help your business leverage technology, visit www.socius1.com. About Socius: Socius (www.socius1.com) is a strategic business consulting partner that provides comprehensive business management solutions to help companies leverage technology to fuel their growth and profitability and compete more successfully in today's economy. As a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner, a Sage Authorized Partner, and a NetSuite Partner, Socius represents the most trusted accounting, enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and business intelligence and analytics technologies on the market. Backed by over 30 years of award-winning experience, Socius proudly serves clients throughout the country from its headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, and its 28 additional locations. For more information, contact: Erin Paulson 614-798-0770 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373842 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160412/354341LOGO SOURCE Socius Related Links http://www.socius1.com CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW) today announced Dwight Gibson as President of the Food and Beverage segment, effective June 6, 2016. Upon joining the company, it is also planned that Gibson will be named an officer. Gibson succeeds Marc Michael as President of the Food and Beverage segment and will report directly to Michael who was appointed President and CEO of SPX FLOW on January 1, 2016. "We are extremely pleased and excited to have Dwight join our team," said Marc Michael, SPX FLOW President and CEO. "Dwight comes to us with a proven track record of developing and leading growth in emerging markets and strategic product categories. Through his strong leadership skills, international background and nearly 20 years of business development and management experience, we expect Dwight to have a positive influence on growth and future development of our global Food and Beverage business." Michael continued, "We believe Dwight's vast expertise in delivering customer value and his experience in Ingersoll Rand's business operating system are key areas of strength that fit very well with our strategic initiatives and transition to an operating company." Since June 2015, Gibson served as President of Strategic Initiatives for Ingersoll Rand's Climate segment. Gibson joined Ingersoll Rand in 2004 and served in a variety of general management, business development and product management roles. From October 2011 to June 2015, Gibson served as Vice President and General Manager for the Thermo King Europe, Middle East and Africa truck and trailer business, with more than 800 employees in 80 EMEA countries. During that time, he was based in Brussels, Belgium. Prior to joining Ingersoll Rand, Gibson was a consultant with McKinsey and Company. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Howard University as well as an MBA from Stanford University. Gibson also received a Master of Science degree in International Strategy and Diplomacy from the London School of Economics. SPX FLOW's Food and Beverage segment is a leading global supplier of highly engineered, turn-key process systems and related component technologies and aftermarket services. About SPX FLOW, Inc.: Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPX FLOW is a leading global supplier of highly engineered flow components, process equipment and turn-key systems, along with the related aftermarket parts and services, into the food and beverage, power and energy and industrial end markets. SPX FLOW has more than $2 billion in annual revenues and operations in over 35 countries and sales in over 150 countries around the world. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit our website at www.spxflow.com. Investor and Media Contact: Ryan Taylor, VP, Communications and Finance Phone: 704-752-4486 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE SPX FLOW, Inc. Related Links http://www.spxflow.com BOSTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Stealth BioTherapeutics (Stealth), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing investigational drugs for treating mitochondrial dysfunction, today announced the initiation of ReSIGHT, a phase 2 clinical study evaluating the topical eye drop delivery of elamipretide (formerly known as Ocuvia) for the treatment of patients with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). Affecting approximately 35,000 people worldwide, LHON is an inherited mitochondrial disease that causes central vision loss stemming from the damage to retinal ganglion cells due to dysfunction of energy-producing complexes in the mitochondria. The disease, which can lead to legal blindness, affects more men than women and often strikes patients in their late teens and early 20s. "Elamipretide offers hope for patients suffering from this rare ophthalmic disease, for which there is no FDA-approved treatment. The loss of vision can be sudden and devastating, often occurring in both eyes within a few weeks' time. Unfortunately, the resulting vision loss is usually permanent, underscoring the desperate need for effective treatment options," said Alfredo Sadun, M.D., Ph.D., UCLA Doheny Eye Institute, the primary investigator for the study. The phase 2 prospective, double-blinded, vehicle-controlled ReSIGHT study will evaluate the topical eye drop delivery of elamipretide in 12 LHON subjects who have a specific genetic mitochondrial DNA mutation (m.11778G>A), were 18-50 years of age at the time of vision loss in the second eye, and experienced this vision loss within the last 10 years. Participants will be randomized to receive one drop of elamipretide twice daily for 12 weeks in either one or both eyes. The study's primary endpoints are safety and tolerability. Secondary endpoints include change in visual function and electrical response of retinal ganglion cells. "As a community, we are eager for treatment options for LHON, as the disease has a significant impact on patients' lives. The initiation of this trial presents an important step forward for the LHON community," said Lissa Poincenot, a leading LHON advocate. "ReSIGHT is an important trial to further both our orphan development program and our understanding of elamipretide's potential to treat diseases affecting the back of the eye," Stealth BioTherapeutics Chief Executive Officer Reenie McCarthy said. "We look forward to findings from this trial, which are anticipated in the second half of 2017." For additional information on this study or elamipretide, please refer to Stealth's website and ClinicalTrials.gov. About Elamipretide Stealth's lead candidate, elamipretide (formerly known as Bendavia and Ocuvia), is an investigational drug with the potential to modify disease by preserving energetics and restoring normal energy production in mitochondria, while decreasing oxidative stress. The energetics from mitochondria maintain healthy physiology and prevent disease. This mitochondria-targeted candidate is being developed for both rare and common diseases. Stealth BioTherapeutics: Leading Mitochondrial Medicine Stealth BioTherapeutics is a privately held biopharmaceutical company committed to bringing mitochondrial therapies to patients to treat both rare and common diseases. Stealth's clinical development program is focused along several core therapeutic areas, including orphan mitochondrial diseases, cardio-renal diseases and ophthalmic disorders. More information regarding Stealth and its pipeline is available at StealthBT.com. Contact: Media Relations dna Communications Taylor Ramsey Phone: 617-520-7018 [email protected] Investor Relations Stern IR Beth DelGiacco Phone: 212-362-1200 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150716/237665LOGO SOURCE Stealth BioTherapeutics Related Links http://www.stealthbt.com WASHINGTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Steward Partners Global Advisory LLC (Steward), an employee-owned, full service independent partnership, associated with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (member FINRA/SIPC) announced today that Chris Detmer and Aaron Brachman along with their associate, Vaclav "Vas" Vlcek, have joined Steward Partners as founding partners. Detmer and Brachman, formerly of RBC Wealth Management, join Steward's home in Washington, DC, expanding the firm's presence in the District of Columbia and Maryland market. At RBC Wealth Management they managed over $350 million in client assets, and produced $2.3 million in annual revenue. "We are thrilled to welcome Chris, Aaron and Vas into our DC office." says Steward's Divisional President, Jeff Gonyo, "They are quality advisors and respectable people. They have built a very impressive business model and take great pride in delivering an exceptional client experience. Early on in the process of getting to know each other, it was obvious that this was a good fit" Headquartered in Washington, DC and Growing Rapidly Since it launched its first office in October, 2013 with the Schwab Group in Washington, DC, Steward Partners has grown to comprise 20 advisory teams in 5 offices located in DC, Maryland, New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Washington Wealth Group joins three other teams in the DC office with more teams of advisors expected to join before year-end. Chris Detmer commented, "We believe that the nimble and entrepreneurial culture of Steward Partners combined with the highest quality service, industry-leading technology and robust platform of Raymond James Financial Services, will deliver to our clients an unparalleled investment and wealth management experience." "Our client's interests were at the focal point of our decision to become more independent in our team's development and expansion, without being overwhelmed with the day to day activities of running a company," adds Aaron Brachman. "I was impressed with the transition strategy Steward Partners developed for us," adds Vas Vleck. "We are very process oriented with a "high attention to detail" mentality and the team at Steward delivered on all of our expectations." Mike Maurer, CEO of parent company, Steward Partners Holdings said, "Chris, Aaron, and "Vas" are among the most respected teams in the DC area. I was confident after my first meeting with them that they were going to join us at Steward Partners and we would be celebrating this moment. This is another great day for Steward and all of our partners." "We're delighted to welcome Chris Detmer and Aaron Brachman to Raymond James and the Steward Partners' Washington, DC office." said Scott Curtis, president of Raymond James Financial Services. "They represent another team of high quality, client first focused advisors who elected to affiliate under Steward Partners' unique business model. We're proud of our relationship." About Steward Partners Global Advisory Headquartered in Washington, DC, with additional offices in Andover, MA, Portsmouth, NH, Bethesda, MD and New York City, Steward Partners Global Advisory, LLC is an employee-owned, full service independent partnership catering to family, institutional and multi-generational wealth. For more information, visit us at www.stewardpartners.com. About Raymond James Financial Services Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. is a financial services firm supporting more than 3,600 independent financial advisors nationwide. Since 1974, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, has provided a wide range of investment and wealth planning related services through its affiliate, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Both broker/ dealers are wholly owned subsidiaries of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) a leading diversified financial services company with approximately 6,700 financial advisors serving in excess of 2.8 million client accounts in more than 2,700 locations throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Total client assets are approximately $522 billion. Steward Partners Holdings and Steward Partners Global Advisory, LLC maintains a separate professional business relationship with, and our professionals offer securities through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. 1776 I Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington D.C. 20006 - Toll Free: (844) 801-8268. Press Contact: Gregory Banasz 202-930-6008 [email protected] SOURCE Steward Partners Global Advisory LLC SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoel Rives LLP is pleased to announce that Justin Chang and Philip Wang, have joined the firm's Litigation Practice. They are joined by Traci Keith, who will be an associate in the firm's Litigation Practice. Prior to joining Stoel Rives, Justin and Philip practiced at their own litigation boutique, Wang & Chang, representing clients from emerging companies to Fortune 500 Public Companies in matters ranging from General Commercial Litigation to IP Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement & White Collar Defense. Justin Chang advises domestic and international clients on business and litigation matters. He has experience litigating disputes through jury trial, advising legal departments on litigation and other legal matters, preparing antitrust and anti-corruption compliance programs for multinational corporations, and representing individuals and companies in connection with SEC, DOJ, Department of Labor, and internal investigations. Prior to founding Wang & Chang, Mr. Chang was with the global law firm of Shearman & Sterling in its San Francisco office. He was also a member of the legal department of a multinational Korean conglomerate advising on foreign litigation in the United States and Canada. Philip Wang represents technology clients in a variety of complex litigation matters, including derivative actions, shareholder disputes, government investigations, patent matters, and trade secret misappropriation cases. Before founding Wang & Chang, Mr. Wang practiced with Latham & Watkins and Quinn Emanuel. He also served as in-house litigation counsel for Cypress Semiconductor. Traci Keith represents clients in a variety of complex litigation matters, including commercial disputes, securities and derivative lawsuits, and intellectual property disputes. Before joining Wang & Chang, Ms. Keith was an associate with Latham & Watkins, where she represented clients in business, securities and patent litigation matters. Ms. Keith also has experience in internal and regulatory investigations, employment litigation, and intellectual property counseling. "We are pleased to have these accomplished litigators join our growing practice in San Francisco", said Stoel Rives Managing Partner Jim Torgerson. "California is an important area of growth for the firm and Phil and Justin's experience representing public and private companies will add significant depth to our California litigation services." "They will be excellent additions to Stoel Rives," noted Tim Snider, chair of the firm's Litigation Practice. "Our clients will benefit from their extensive knowledge and our growing strategic depth in California. We are excited to welcome them." Stoel Rives' San Francisco office is located at Three Embarcadero with attorneys focused primarily on real estate and litigation services with particular emphasis on complex commercial litigation, energy regulatory issues, environmental compliance and domestic and international patent procurement. Representative clients include companies engaged in the thermal energy, renewable energy, oil and gas, food and agribusiness, and technology sectors. For more information, follow @stoelrives or visit www.stoel.com. SOURCE Stoel Rives LLP Related Links http://www.stoel.com ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Strata Oncology, a precision medicine company, today announced the completion of a Series A financing of $12M. The financing will fuel Strata's state-of-the-art tumor sequencing operation and implementation of the Strata Trial, a nation-wide effort aimed at substantially increasing the number of enrollments in precision medicine clinical trials. Arboretum Ventures and Baird Capital co-led the financing, with additional funding provided by Strata's existing investor, Michigan eLab. "For most cancer patients in the U.S., tumor sequencing is not standard of care, so patients remain unaware of their eligibility for promising precision medicine clinical trials," said Dan Rhodes, Ph.D., Strata Oncology co-founder and CEO. "By providing no-cost tumor sequencing for 100,000 cancer patients, Strata intends to be the catalyst, helping patients find the right trials and helping pharma find the right patients." Additionally, the company has entered into a strategic partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific, which will serve as the technology provider and contribute Ion S5 XL next-generation sequencing systems, AmpliSeq technology, and Oncomine assays. "Thermo Fisher is committed to enabling its growing list of strategic partners to drive the era of precision medicine through its targeted, next-generation sequencing technology, which will help laboratories and clinicians provide the best oncology treatment possible in the future," said Joe Bernardo, president of Clinical Sequencing at Thermo Fisher. Rhodes, who is the former co-founder and CEO of Compendia Bioscience, a cancer genomics firm that was acquired in 2012 by Life Technologies, co-founded Strata Oncology in 2015 with oncologist Keith Flaherty, M.D., from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General, and pathologist Scott Tomlins, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Michigan Medical School. Flaherty is a world leader in precision oncology clinical trials and Tomlins is an expert in tumor sequencing and molecular pathology. Rhodes and Flaherty are joined on Strata's Board of Directors by Jan Garfinkle (Arboretum Ventures), Nicole Walker (Baird Capital) and Jeff Williams, founder and CEO of NeuMoDx Molecular. About Strata Oncology Strata Oncology is a precision medicine company that provides no-cost tumor sequencing to advanced cancer patients and a portfolio of matching clinical trials. With the goal to sequence 100,000 advanced cancer patients starting in 2017, the company's mission is to match patients to the right clinical trials and to accelerate the approval and availability of precision medicines for cancer. Contact: Justin Brown [email protected] (734) 527-1000 SOURCE Strata Oncology SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Symic, a clinical stage biotherapeutics company developing novel compounds that target and affect the extracellular matrix, today announced that Alyssa Panitch, Ph.D., one of the founders of the company and an inventor of Symic's technology, has been appointed to chair the company's Scientific Advisory Board. "Professor Panitch has played an integral role in the company's growth from the beginning as co-founder and as a member of the scientific advisory board," said Ken Horne, Chief Executive Officer of Symic. "Particularly as we broaden our pipeline with additional research programs there is no one more qualified to fill this newly created leadership position." Dr. Panitch has over 20 years of experience in biopolymer and biomaterials research, focusing on the design of biomimetic materials for applications in drug delivery and regenerative medicine. Dr. Panitch has co-founded three biotechnology companies based on this research. Currently Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at Purdue University, Dr. Panitch will join the department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis, as Chair in June 2016. Dr. Panitch is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the Biomedical Engineering Society and the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Panitch received degrees in both Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering from Smith College and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and conducted postdoctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and the University of Zurich. About Symic Symic is a clinical stage biotherapeutics company developing novel compounds that target and affect the extracellular matrix (ECM), the non-cellular component of tissue. The ECM plays a critical role in a wide variety of processes involved in acute and chronic indications. Symic's proprietary compounds function like proteoglycans, which are naturally occurring macromolecules that play important structural and regulatory functions in the ECM. Symic currently has two clinical candidates, one in vascular injury and the other in osteoarthritis. In addition, Symic has several preclinical programs in oncology, fibrosis and CNS disorders. For additional information please visit the company's website at http://www.symic.bio, LinkedIn page www.linkedin.com/company/symic-bio/ or follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/symicbio. Media Contacts David Schull or Lena Evans Russo Partners, LLC (212) 845-4271 (212) 845-4262 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Symic Related Links http://www.symic.bio DALLAS, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- TAC Energy, a division of The Arnold Companies (TAC) has acquired the wholesale unbranded business assets of Mutual Oil Co. Inc. (Mutual) effective June 1, 2016. Terms of the sale between the privately held companies are not being disclosed. TAC Energy will maintain all key sales and customer service associates from Mutual, who will temporarily operate from their current offices outside Boston. Plans are currently underway to relocate to new office space in the area within the next several months. TAC Chairman and CEO, Greg Arnold, stated "The Mutual Oil acquisition is another facet of our overall growth strategy and establishes a strong base of business in New England." Last February, TAC Energy opened a regional sales office in the Northeast, headed by industry veteran Christine McHale who will focus on growing the mid-Atlantic region for TAC Energy. According to Steve Shaer, Executive Vice President of Mutual Oil Co. Inc., "Our primary concern entering into this agreement was to make sure our customers were going to be taken care of by a like-minded supplier, who would by and large maintain the day to day interaction with the people they are used to working with. We wanted an organization who had the resources and a strong supply network." He continued, "We are confident TAC Energy is the right company to serve our customers in this ever-increasing competitive environment." Fred Sloan, VP & COO of TAC Energy added, "TAC Energy is excited to bring our customer focused marketing to this new, diverse demand center. We are keeping key personnel in place and layering in our national coverage, financial strength and information technology. We will be offering customers in New England and the Northeast the most complete fuel supply and service packages of any independent supplier. It's the best of all worlds national coverage, regional focus, local support." ABOUT TAC ENERGY A division of The Arnold Companies, TAC Energy is a Dallas, Texas based company and one of the nation's largest independent distributors of refined fuels. TAC Energy delivers added value to its customers through customized fuel management programs, a 24/7 staffed supply & logistics domestic call center, comprehensive carrier agreements and national terminal supply network. To learn more, visit tacenergy.com Contact: David Edwards (903) 277-7341 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374334LOGO SOURCE TAC Energy Related Links http://www.tacenergy.com WASHINGTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that Teavana, formerly of Atlanta, Ga., has agreed to pay a $3.75 million civil penalty to the federal government. The penalty settles charges that Teavana knowingly failed to report to CPSC, as required by federal law, that the tumblers contained a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or that the tumblers created an unreasonable risk of serious injury. After receiving numerous complaints about the tea tumblers unexpectedly exploding, shattering or breaking during normal use, including six reports of injuries to consumers who suffered cuts to their fingers or legs by broken glass or burns from hot liquid, Teavana failed to immediately report the matter to CPSC. In addition to paying the $3.75 million civil penalty, Teavana has agreed to comply with and maintain the compliance program of its parent company that is designed to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) and regulations enforced by the Commission. Teavana has also agreed to comply with and maintain a system of internal controls and procedures to ensure Teavana discloses information to the Commission in accordance with applicable law. The tumblers were recalled in May 2013, after Teavana had imported about 445,000 tumblers. The tumblers were sold at Teavana stores and online at Teavana.com from August 2007 through May 2013, for about $15 to $33 for the individual tumblers; about $40 for the Flourish Iced Tea Glasses Sets; and about $80 to $100 for the Imperial Blooming Collection Tea Sets. Teavana does not admit to CPSC staff's charges. The penalty agreement has been accepted provisionally by the Commission by a 3 to 2 vote. CPSC Commissioner's Statements Statement of Commissioner Joseph P. Mohorovic About U.S. CPSC: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years. Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters. CPSC Consumer Information Hotline Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall: 800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054) Times: 8 a.m. 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products. Media Contact Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests. Phone: 301-504-7908 Spanish: 301-504-7800 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030904/USCSCLOGO SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Related Links http://www.cpsc.gov CHICAGO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ArisGlobal, a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for life sciences and Tech Mahindra Limited, a leading provider of IT, Networks & Engineering solutions and BPO services have partnered to provide the life sciences industry with a complete end-to-end solution that addresses IDMP regulatory compliance requirements and provides a solution which will improve efficiencies and assure the safety of their products. The solution provides both the technology as well as experience needed to provide companies with a clear path towards compliance and beyond. The IDMP solution helps companies to assess, collect and verify the information needed to achieve compliance through an integrated application. Atul Kunwar, Chief Technology Officer - Tech Mahindra, commented that "This engagement marks the coming together of two pioneering organisations." Venugopal Kandimalla, Global Head - Healthcare Life-Sciences Vertical at Tech Mahindra added that "Our alliance with ArisGlobal fosters mutual growth in regulatory space." Dr Palakodeti Ratnakar, Vice President, Life Sciences Practice - Tech Mahindra, has concluded that "This joint solution comprising of Master Data Management and regulatory interfacing application caters to EMA-IDMP compliance requirements of pharmaceutical companies." Wim Cypers, Senior Vice President - ArisGlobal, stated "It's clear that IDMP will impact other regulatory areas, not in the least the area of patient safety and benefit/risk management. This partnership not only unites the regulatory and MDM expertise of both companies but also leverages our vast experience in other domains that will be impacted by IDMP." About ArisGlobal ArisGlobal's (http://www.arisglobal.com) innovative cloud-based solutions facilitate global drug development and regulatory compliance within the Life Sciences and Healthcare industries. Its cloud platform supports the entire product life cycle including Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Medical Communications. Over 200 drug and device manufacturers, CROs and regulatory agencies leverage ArisGlobal's advanced technology solutions to make better and more informed decisions, facilitate compliance, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency. Headquartered in the United States, ArisGlobal has regional offices in Europe, India and Japan. About Tech Mahindra Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise. It is a USD 3.9 billion company with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 788 global customers including Fortune 500 companies. Their innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number of technologies to deliver tangible business value to our stakeholders. Nicole Drapeau Gillen Director, Product Marketing Arisglobal LLC Mobile: +1-609-360-4082 SOURCE ArisGlobal NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tequila Avion is proud to announce the launch of their new brand platform, Yo/Elevado, which encourages seasoned and novice tequila connoisseurs alike to elevate their spirit choices and lives. Inspired by Avion's elevated birthplace (which sits 7,000 feet above sea level) and by the drive of its founder, Ken Austin, Yo/Elevado highlights the parallel between the literal and the figurative. Yo/Elevado is brought to life in a new campaign "Tequila Elevado a un Arte," which explores what happens when one stops worrying about time and efficiency and strives to elevate tequila to an art. The brand was born from a love of tequila and through collaboration between Austin and the Lopez family, who for generations have grown agave in the small town of Jesus Maria at the highest elevations of Jalisco. Together they create tequila with a time-consuming process that enhances and preserves the single-source estate agave used in Tequila Avion. The inefficiency of Avion comes from a combination of the many steps of a meticulous process. From slow roasting Avion agave at low temperatures only in brick ovens, to using up to 30 percent more agave in distillation, to the proprietary ultra-slow filtration process, this approach makes it impossible to create Avion efficiently. Avion uses a process that, similar to the creation of art, takes time. The "Tequila Elevado a Un Arte" campaign heralds that very approach while giving a nod to the brand's roots in Mexico. "Inefficiency has its place, which typically it's best to avoid, but it can be revered when creating art or in our case, tequila. We set out to create tequila that celebrates the rich flavor of the Jesus Maria agave. We refused to cut any corners or implement processes that sacrificed the rich flavor. The meticulously inefficient process resulted in Avion Silver being voted 'World's Best Tasting Tequila' at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition," said Austin, "Our new campaign, 'Tequila Elevado a un Arte' highlights the dedication and artistry that goes into each bottle we create." Since inception, Avion's communication has revolved around elevating the drinking experience. Avion's first campaign line was "Taste Elevated" and this new platform is a natural extension. To create Yo/Elevado, Avion engaged both Spanish and English language Creative Directors from the Opperman Weiss agency to create the campaign. The campaign will rise up through a mix of traditional media, digital and social media and a short film, throughout 2016. The ad spots can be viewed here and the short film can be seen at bit.ly/Elevado. ABOUT TEQUILA AVION Avion is the ultra-premium tequila that has defined a new standard of quality and taste. Tequila Avion was created by Founder, Ken Austin in collaboration with the Lopez family, a third generation agave grower. Avion begins with single source agave coming only from Jesus Maria, the highest town in Jalisco. Avion was voted 'Best Tasting Unaged White Spirit' and 'Best Tasting Tequila' at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Tequila Avion's distinct flavors are achieved through a combination of slow roasting Avion Agave at low temperatures for 3 days to protect the natural flavors, an inefficient distillation process and a proprietary ultra-slow filtration process that creates an unusually rich taste profile. Tequila Avion is available in Silver, Reposado, Anejo, Espresso Liqueur and Avion Reserva 44. In July 2014, Pernod Ricard, the world's co-leader in wines and spirits, took a majority equity interest in Tequila Avion and handles the brand's distribution globally. For further information please visit TequilaAvion.com. Fans can also follow Tequila Avion on Facebook at Facebook.com/TequilaAvion or on Twitter and Instagram @TequilaAvion. ABOUT OPPERMAN WEISS Opperman Weiss is a strategic and creative agency based in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 2012, the agency focuses on helping brands show their true soul through integrated creative expression, no matter what discipline or channel is needed. They have done this for such clients as: Tullamore Dew, Chobani, Tequila Avion, Bacardi, La Colombe Coffee and E.J. Gallo Brands. For Media Inquiries Please Contact: Emily Kjesbo & Gianna Totaro ALISON BROD PUBLIC RELATIONS [email protected] [email protected] 212-230-1800 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373997LOGO SOURCE Tequila Avion GAINESVILLE, Fla., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A leading provider of residential property insurance in Florida, Tower Hill Insurance now offers stand-alone flood policies with coverage up to $5 million. Standard coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is only available up to $250,000 for most homes. Tower Hill's new private flood program offers Florida homeowners significant advantages over the standard NFIP policies. Building replacement cost up to $5 million Contents coverage up to $2.5 million Additional living expense coverage Single claims adjusting for wind and water damage Payment plans The program is currently available for single-family residences located in coastal counties, including secondary or seasonal homes. Coverage for inland county risks and condominiums will be available in the near future. For even greater flexibility, the Flood Plus package provides a range of expanded coverage limits for items such as artwork, collectibles, and business property. Customers may also choose from policy deductibles between $1,000 and $50,000. Why Flood Coverage? The number one disaster in the U.S., floods can happen anywhere at any time. Everyone is at risk, no matter how near or far you live from the coast. Floods are caused by storms, hurricanes, water backup due to inadequate or overloaded drainage systems, as well as broken water mains. Most homeowners policies do NOT cover flood damage. Only one-third of Florida residents have flood insurance, leaving $55 billion of property uninsured and many at risk for losing their most valuable possession, their home. residents have flood insurance, leaving of property uninsured and many at risk for losing their most valuable possession, their home. A few inches of water in your home can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Get Covered Now To request a flood quote, visit THIG.com to find a Tower Hill agent near you. Flood policy discounts are available for current customers. Tower Hill Flood is available exclusively through Lloyd's, an Excess & Surplus Lines carrier, which holds a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of "A" by A.M. Best Company. Customer Service and Claims support are provided by Tower Hill. About Tower Hill: Founded in 1972, Tower Hill is the largest writer of single-family homeowners policies in Florida, based on in-force policies (FLIBI 12/31/15). Through its network of insurance agencies throughout the state, Tower Hill offers homeowners, mobile homeowners, dwelling fire, condominium, renters, commercial and flood coverage. The company is headquartered in Gainesville, Florida. Visit THIG.com for more information. SOURCE Tower Hill Insurance Group Related Links http://www.thig.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today launches the only nonstop flights between the United States and Singapore, using the world's most advanced passenger airplane, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, to operate the service from the airline's San Francisco Pacific-gateway hub. The nonstop flights connecting the two financial and tech centers will save travelers up to four hours' journey time each way compared with one-stop service. Measured by distance, the new route between San Francisco and Singapore is the longest scheduled 787 flight operated by any airline, and the longest scheduled flight operated by any U.S. carrier, at 8,446 miles. "Our nonstop service between San Francisco and Singapore further enhances our already unprecedented trans-Pacific route network and builds an even stronger gateway to the Pacific from our San Francisco hub," said Jim Compton, United's vice chairman and chief revenue officer. "These flights will offer our customers unique nonstop convenience when traveling to Singapore from the West Coast, with dozens of one-stop options from other cities across the Americas, including more than 26 that did not have one-stop service to Singapore before." "Singapore offers a unique Asian experience where distinct cultures Chinese, Malay, Indian & Eurasian come together to form a rich tapestry of diverse experiences," said Kershing Goh, regional director, Americas, Singapore Tourism Board. "Singapore is now more accessible than ever with United's nonstop flight, and its rapid progress as an innovative and forward-looking destination will leave visitors inspired by the possibilities of what's to come. "From the moment they step off the plane, visitors will be awestruck by the futuristic cityscapes, enticed by the exotic smells of our ethnic cuisines, enchanted with the lush greenery and wowed by the unique spirit and soul of the Singaporean people. Singapore should be on every globetrotter's list of top destinations." Flight Schedule United Flight 1 will depart San Francisco at 10:55 p.m. daily, arriving at Singapore's Changi Airport at 6:15 a.m. two days later (all times local). On the return, Flight 2 will depart Singapore at 8:45 a.m. daily, arriving at San Francisco International Airport at 9:15 a.m. the same day. Flying times will be approximately 16 hours, 20 minutes westbound and 15 hours, 30 minutes eastbound. United's San Francisco Hub United and United Express jointly operate more than 250 daily flights between San Francisco and 90 destinations throughout North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Since March, the airline has added new nonstop service from the hub to Tel Aviv and Xi'an China and will also begin new service to Auckland, New Zealand, and Hangzhou, China, in July. Singapore Schedule Changes With the launch of nonstop San Francisco - Singapore service, United will end its service between Singapore and Tokyo/Narita effective June 2, 2016 (eastbound). However, United customers in Singapore may continue to choose to fly to Tokyo/Narita by using daily flights on ANA, United's trans-Pacific joint venture partner, and to make connections at Narita to many cities in the United States on multiple flights operated both by United and ANA. United will maintain its daily service between Singapore and Hong Kong. Boeing 787 Dreamliner The 787 Dreamliner is revolutionizing the flying experience for United customers and crews while delivering unprecedented operating efficiency, comfort and lower emissions. Customers have expressed a preference for the 787 versus other aircraft, given its greater comfort with improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and enhanced ventilation systems, among other passenger-friendly features. The aircraft's use of lightweight composites, together with its modern engines and improved aerodynamic design, allow it to fly farther, faster and more efficiently than similar-sized conventional aircraft. About United United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,000 flights a day to 336 airports across six continents. In 2015, United and United Express operated more than 1.5 million flights carrying more than 140 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates more than 715 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 21 new Boeing aircraft, including 737 NGs, 787s and 777s. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. Approximately 86,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130404/MM89155LOGO SOURCE United Airlines Related Links http://www.united.com FREEHOLD, N.J., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE: UMH) will present at REITWeek 2016: NAREIT's Investor Forum, to be held in New York City, at the Waldorf Astoria New York, on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, at 11:45AM ET. The presentation will be available live via webcast and accessible at the Company's website, www.umh.reit, with a link on the homepage. The webcast replay will be available for 90 days after the presentation. Opening Remarks of the Chairman of the Board of Directors is presented hereunder. Additional presentation materials will be available at the Company's website homepage. Opening Remarks of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of UMH Properties, Inc. to be given June 7, 2016 at NAREIT REITWeek. Each new year brings different opportunities, challenges, and important changes from the prior year. UMH becomes larger, stronger and more valuable. The concepts we have pursued in previous years have now become proven concepts. The advent of Freddie Mac mortgages providing on our communities has enhanced our business plan. UMH can purchase communities below replacement cost, make capital improvements and install new residential units to increase income and property values. Then, we can refinance, recouping all of our costs and creating a positive cash flow from our properties. We believe affordable housing will be in short supply and that when demand exceeds supply, property values rise to approximate replacement cost. In a quality manufactured home community, that would be over $60,000 a site. Our goal is to grow UMH to over $1 billion in assets. REITs investing in REITs is our unique concept. NAREIT has demonstrated that REITs perform over time equally as well as direct property ownership. The top REIT experts recognize that at times REITs sell at discounts to direct property ownership and then present an excellent investment opportunity. UMH believes that now is one of the times when in some cases, real estate on Wall Street is trading at a substantial discount to real estate on Main Street. Cap rates of manufactured housing communities have trended downward with the rest of the commercial real estate market causing several REITs to trade at substantial discounts to NAV. UMH, in our view, sells at such a discount based on both current values and future prospects. UMH benefits from REITs investing in REITs through increased liquidity and earnings power. Unusually attractive security investment results can allow UMH to bridge the time and value gap now present. We have positioned UMH to record excellent results given modestly favorable stock market conditions. A rising price for UMH shares reduces UMH's cost of capital. Equity leverage is when we can sell our shares at higher and higher prices and earn growing returns per share on the invested capital. UMH experienced a period decades ago when its shares went from $2.00 per share to $17.00 per share, and its dividend grew from $0.10 to $1.00 per share annually. Management believes we are approaching another favorable period. Housing is going from surplus to shortage. Home prices and apartment rents are rising. As this continues, the demand for our product continues to increase. The manufactured home industry has been the last industry to recover from the recession, but recovery may now be starting. The Government, at the Government Sponsored Entities level, has recognized that it can and should institute new programs to make housing affordable. The ability of UMH to borrow on favorable terms on communities with rental units enables UMH to grow rapidly. The "relative value" of manufactured housing as compared to other forms of housing (apartment and conventional homes) is improving each year. In three years, home prices and apartment units are up over 15%. As a result, our industry may see a resurgence in manufactured home sales and rental demand as they become more advantageous price wise. UMH now owns 98 communities containing 17,800 homesites with Gross Assets of approximately $720 million. There are advantages of scale, and UMH would like to reach over 20,000 homesites and $1 billion in Gross Assets. UMH has 27,000,000 shares outstanding with an equity market capitalization of $270 million. UMH plans to bring this to 30,000,000 shares and a market cap projected of $360 million. Qualifying for the MSCI REIT Index is an important goal for UMH and we are getting close to achieving this milestone as well. My congratulations to our President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel Landy, Chief Financial Officer Anna Chew, General Counsel, Staff and Board of Directors for executing so well on our business plan. We look forward to further advances for our REIT and our shareholders. In particular I look forward to my 50th anniversary as Chairman of the Board in 2018. Certain statements included in this press release which are not historical facts may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, the Company can provide no assurance those expectations will be achieved. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from expectations are contained in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and described from time to time in the Company's other filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. UMH Properties, Inc., which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates ninety-eight manufactured home communities containing approximately 17,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana and Michigan. In addition, the Company owns a portfolio of REIT securities. SOURCE UMH Properties, Inc. Related Links http://www.umh.reit LAVAL, Quebec, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) (TSX: VRX) ("Valeant" or the "Company") today announced the acceptance of five PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) scientific abstracts and one abstract regarding results from the Phase II study of DN24-02 at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which will take place June 3-7 in Chicago. The accepted abstracts include three poster presentations and one poster discussion. PROVENGE is an autologous cellular immunotherapy indicated for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate-resistant (hormone-refractory) prostate cancer (more details below). "We are proud to have the opportunity to present at the world's largest and most prestigious oncology meeting," stated Joseph C. Papa, chairman and chief executive officer. "Driving innovation is a key pillar of Valeant's strategy, and our team at our Dendreon business looks forward to sharing its promising research, which underscores our commitment to improving outcomes for patients." "Extending survival for prostate cancer patients is at the heart of our development efforts, and we are excited with the potential that PROVENGE is showing across these studies," said James Caggiano, senior vice president and general manager of Dendreon. Of note, the Company will present "Characteristics and Anticancer Interventions in African-American and Caucasian Patients Treated with sipuleucel-T: Real-World Experience from the PROCEED Registry." The research shows that African-American patients presented with higher baseline prostate-specific antigen and shorter prostate-specific antigen doubling time than Caucasian patients, but were less likely to have primary Gleason score 5. Despite the higher baseline prostate-specific antigens in African-American patients, which has been a predictor of worse clinical outcomes historically, Caucasian and African-American patients had similar time to anticancer interventions after sipuleucel-T. Additional follow-up will assess potential overall survival differences in these two patient groups. For more information on ASCO's 2016 meeting, please visit http://iplanner.asco.org/am2016/#/. On February 23, 2015, Valeant acquired the worldwide rights to PROVENGE, as well as certain other assets, from Dendreon Corporation. PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) is an autologous cellular immunotherapy indicated for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate-resistant (hormone-refractory) prostate cancer. The most common adverse reactions reported in clinical trials ( 15% of patients receiving PROVENGE) were chills, fatigue, fever, back pain, nausea, joint ache and headache. Acute infusion reactions may occur and include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, rigor or chills, respiratory events, syncope, hypotension, hypertension and tachycardia. Thromboembolic events, including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, can occur following infusion. Cerebrovascular events and cardiovascular disorders have been reported following infusion of PROVENGE. Please see the full Prescribing Information at www.valeant.com for more information. About Valeant Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE/TSX:VRX) is a multinational specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of pharmaceutical products primarily in the areas of dermatology, gastrointestinal disorders, eye health, neurology and branded generics. More information about Valeant can be found at www.valeant.com. About ASCO ASCO promotes and provides for lifelong learning for oncology professionals; cancer research; an improved environment for oncology practice; access to quality cancer care; a global network of oncology expertise; and educated and informed patients with cancer. ASCO is supported by its affiliate organization, the Conquer Cancer Foundation, which funds groundbreaking research and programs that make a tangible difference in the lives of people with cancer. For further information, visit http://www.asco.org/. Forward-looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, expectations with respect to Valeant's' development efforts and the potential that PROVENGE is showing in clinical studies. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "target," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's most recent annual or quarterly report and detailed from time to time in Valeant's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities Administrators, which factors are incorporated herein by reference. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Valeant undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect actual outcomes, unless required by law. Contact Information: Laurie W. Little [email protected] or Elif McDonald [email protected] 514-856-3855 877-281-6642 (toll free) Media: Renee Soto or Chris Kittredge/Jared Levy Sard Verbinnen & Co. 212-687-8080 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101025/LA87217LOGO SOURCE Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Related Links http://www.valeant.com HUDSON, Ohio, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hedges & Company, an automotive market research firm, has updated their Vehicle Repair & Maintenance Reports to cover vehicles in operation (VIO) and repair activity through mid-2016. The updated reports include 16 automotive product categories and nearly 100 parts and services that car and light truck owners in the United States will buy this year. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373941LOGO Hedges & Company Repair & Maintenance Reports provide detailed information on the number of vehicles getting specified parts or services. The reports show maintenance for total vehicles and are segmented by age of vehicle, geographic region and vehicle make. The Repair & Maintenance Reports also cover popular vehicles for aftermarket parts, such as trucks & SUVs, Jeep and American and European performance models. "These automotive research reports offer valuable market insight to evaluate sales potential or identify new markets for growth," said Julie Hedges, principal at Hedges & Company. "They help businesses selling to the aftermarket measure the market potential for products using real numbers of vehicles." Companies can use the data, which is presented at the vehicle level, to meet their particular needs and goals. Whether those needs are identifying a specific number of parts or services that will be sold or determining which market to expand into, the research provided in the Repair & Maintenance Reports are a valuable resource. Reports are available for the following automotive product categories: Air Conditioning; Batteries and Alternators; Brakes; Chassis Parts; Engine, Gaskets & Belts; Exhaust & Emissions; Fuel System Parts; Heating & Radiator; Ignition and Electrical; Oil & Filters; Shocks & Suspension, Spark Plugs & Timing, Steering Parts & Services; Transmission Parts; Wheels & Tires; and Windshield & Wipers. The reports can be purchased online and downloaded at https://HedgesCompany.com/research-store/repair-maintenance-reports. Report prices start at $295.00 each. These reports improve on previously available reporting by combining 2016 vehicles in operation (VIO) through mid-2016, consumer data, industry-reported data, manufacturer unit volume data, U.S. Census Personal Consumption Expenditures of auto parts and tires, and primary and secondary market research conducted by Hedges & Company. ABOUT HEDGES & COMPANY Hedges & Company is an automotive market research and digital marketing agency serving the automotive aftermarket. The company has extensive experience helping clients with business-to-business and consumer research. Hedges & Company offers a full-range of digital marketing services to aftermarket businesses including paid search, search engine optimization (SEO), social media management, email marketing, and vehicle registration analysis. The company was started in 2004. Media Contact: Julie Hedges, Principal, Hedges & Company, (234) 380-1650 SOURCE Hedges & Company Related Links https://HedgesCompany.com "This promotion provides practical advice for selecting the right paper, design elements, color scheme, printing process and target data when producing election direct mail and offers useful checklists and resources for creating winning political campaigns at the local, state or national level," said Verso Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Product Development Mike Weinhold. "Direct mail is a smart and effective way to reach voters." Verso offers a breadth of direct mail paper for any print technology and run length from premium to economy sheets; digital and inkjet papers; and web offset papers. Products are readily available across the country in Verso and merchant distribution centers. "Unlike most forms of political mass communication, direct mail lets you reach the right voters with the right message," said Verso Brand Manager Tanya Pipo. "Verso has the knowledge, services and products to help create a successful election direct mail campaign including a broad offering of 7 pt. and 9 pt. USPS-guaranteed papers to ensure a smooth process from the printing press to finishing equipment, through the post office and into voters' hands." "We strongly encourage U.S. candidates using direct mail for their campaigns to use paper made by a company owned and operated in the U.S., like Verso," said Weinhold. "It sends a message to voters that they are mindful of the importance of supporting U.S. manufacturing jobs. And because paper is both renewable and recyclable, using direct mail demonstrates a candidate's commitment to environmental sustainability, too." Contact a Verso sales or merchant representative to get a copy of A Guide to Paper Selection: Election Direct Mail. Verso Tips for Winning Political Campaigns. To learn more about Verso's line of direct mail papers, please visit our website versoco.com. About Verso Verso Corporation is the turn-to company for those looking to successfully navigate the complexities of paper sourcing and performance. The leading North American producer of printing and specialty papers and pulp, Verso provides insightful solutions that help drive improved customer efficiency, productivity, brand awareness and business results. Verso's long-standing reputation for quality and reliability is directly tied to our vision to be a company with passion that is respected and trusted by all. Verso's passion is rooted in ethical business practices that demand safe workplaces for our employees and sustainable wood sourcing for our products. This passion, combined with our flexible manufacturing capabilities and an unmatched commitment to product performance, delivery and service, make Verso a preferred choice among commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers, converters, publishers and other end users. For more information, visit us online at versoco.com. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374136 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151104/283769LOGO SOURCE Verso Corporation Related Links http://versoco.com JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For years, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has recognized that working together and partnering with like-minded organizations produces a larger impact on the health and well-being of wounded veterans. Thanks to a partnership with America's Warrior Partnership (AWP), nearly 25,000 injured services members lives have changed for the better. "Wounded Warrior Project believes a successful community requires many organizations working together to improve the quality of life for injured service members and their families," said Ned Breslin, executive vice president at WWP. "Our collaborative efforts with America's Warrior Partnership will ensure this generation of wounded veterans receives the critical resources they need to thrive." Since February 2014, WWP, AWP, and their community partners in Georgia, Florida, California, New York, and South Carolina, have provided local assistance to wounded veterans in need of housing, employment, education, and assistance with benefits and healthcare. The goal of working together with local organizations is to enhance warrior wellness by uniting the services that provide warriors and their families with better access to earned benefits. "We have worked hard over the last three years to empower community-level agencies to form collaborations that benefit veterans," said Jim Lorraine, President and CEO of America's Warrior Partnership. "Our partner in this has been Wounded Warrior Project, whose support has been vital to our success. Together we have assisted tens of thousands of veterans, finding them homes, getting them healthcare, helping them enroll in school, and assisting them with employment. The programs of America's Warrior Partnership have a real and measurable impact on the lives of not only veterans and their families, but also the communities in which they live." WWP's direct investment in other VSOs allows exceptional organizations to operate in underserved areas, and fulfill a need outside the scope of WWP's direct programs and services. Between 2012 and 2015, WWP has partnered with more than 90 organizations that share the WWP vision of fostering the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's history. These partnerships have given more than 95,000 wounded veterans, 6,500 family support members, and 3,900 children across the country access to life-changing programs and services. To learn more, visit: https://goo.gl/RlA8Kc. For more information about AWP and WWP's partnership, and the impact it has had on the lives of wounded veterans, visit: http://goo.gl/4Clqci. About Wounded Warrior Project The mission of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. The purpose of WWP is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs, free of charge. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org. About America's Warrior Partnership America's Warrior Partnership is a national nonprofit that empowers communities to empower veterans by providing necessary programs, mentorship, and resources. Working in collaboration not competition with other veteran-centric organizations, it has a national focus on all veterans of all eras, but believes that when it comes to serving Warriors, "One size fits one." America's Warrior Partnership works together with existing community-level agencies across the nation to build partnerships that provide holistic care for Warriors. Its program, Community Integration, directly addresses the needs of servicemen and women as they return to civilian life, one veteran at a time, in the communities in which they live. To get involved and learn more, visit http://www.americaswarriorpartnership.org. SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project Related Links http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org MALIBU, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vista Capital Company announced that it recently structured $28 million of financing for three hotels, including a Crowne Plaza in Indianapolis, a Holiday Inn Express in Louisville, and a Homewood Suites in Chicago. The three deals were funded by three different capital sources, including a life insurance company, a regional bank, and a CMBS lender. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373688LOGO "Given the constantly shifting hospitality capital markets, Vista utilized its diversified base of financing sources, allocating capital to the most advantageous sources in real-time," said Zak Selbert, the founding principal at Vista Capital. Data analytics and intuition were central to each financing, since lender selection was required under extremely volatile market conditions. Vista negotiated highly favorable, fixed-rate financing for all three loans, with pricing ranging from 3.5% to 5%. The conduit and the life insurance company loans both feature 10-year terms, and will be used, in part, to fund large renovation projects. The seven-year bank loan was utilized to take advantage of incredibly low rates currently available for hotels. Each financing was awarded to their respective lender after intense competitive bidding, affirming Vista's specialization in financing hotels under all market dynamics. About Vista Capital Company Vista Capital Company is a Los Angeles-based, real estate investment banking firm that specializes in arranging financing for commercial property nationwide. As a real estate capital intermediary, Vista procures tailored capital solutions for their clients through a comprehensive platform of services. Vista ensures that its clients are capable of seizing opportune advantage based upon accurate and smartly synthesized real-time intelligence of available capital. Contact: Zak Selbert Email Phone: 310.285.3803 Web: www.vistacapitalcompany.com SOURCE Vista Capital Company Andreoli, a 27 year seasoned veteran in the network marketing industry, brings a combination of entrepreneurial spirit and strong leadership values with him to this new role. He began in the direct sales industry at a young age while running and operating his family's landmark restaurant, MaryAnn's Diner, in Derry, New Hampshire. Drawing from the traditional values and leadership skills honed by the demands of his family business, Andreoli entered the network marketing arena and played a key role in contributing to the success of several companies. His team-focused mentality contributed to accelerated revenue growth, elevated brand awareness and increased market share. His uncanny ability to reinforce a simple marketing message, streamline operations with a bottom line focus, all while putting the needs of the customer first, has further punctuated his accomplished reputation. By 2015, Andreoli's home grown and intuitive leadership style had catapulted his career well into the top 100 in global sales. "We are thrilled to announce the addition of Mr. Andreoli to our executive team. He brings to us valuable experience and proven success in the network marketing industry. We continue to attract the highest caliber of corporate staff that encourage and support our exceptional independent distributors. Mr. Andreoli comes to Wakaya Perfection early in our prelaunch period. His involvement and leadership will contribute significantly to the rapid growth of the Wakaya Perfection brand," stated Todd Smith, Co-Founder of Wakaya Perfection. In his new role, effective June 1st, 2016, Andreoli will oversee all operations of the business and will drive the cultivation of a strong network of independent distributors. He will work collaboratively across the company to execute strategies that will continue to strengthen the Wakaya Perfection brand and maintain is powerful ability of enhancing people's lives. Commenting on his new role, Andreoli stated, "I believe that timing is everything and I made the swift decision to join Wakaya Perfection based on immediate and confident instinct. Working with an established brand such as Wakaya Perfection, recognized and respected around the world for its pristine products, brings great opportunity as well as great responsibility. I look forward to joining this impressive team led by Todd Smith, and building on many successes as we expand the business by strengthening connections with our existing independent distributors and engaging new ones. The exciting part will be doing so in a meaningful way that celebrates the incredible people, our culture and high impact products that bring the Wakaya Perfection brand to life." About Wakaya Perfection, LLC. Wakaya Perfection was founded by David H. Gilmour, founder of FIJI Water, and health and wellness advocate. The naturally harvested organic ginger, turmeric, sea salt and more, indigenous to the island of Wakaya, is hand-cultivated in virgin volcanic soil solely for its purity and multi-faceted rejuvenating properties that naturally enhance the quality of lives. Wakaya Perfection products have been distributed through luxury hotels, resorts, fine-dining establishments and luxury department stores and are now introduced to the network marketing industry. Begin your path to paradise by visiting www.mywakaya.com MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Halliday Wakaya Perfection, LLC. 310.628.5232 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373760 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373758 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373761 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373762 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373759LOGO SOURCE Wakaya Perfection, LLC. Related Links http://www.mywakaya.com "I'm thrilled to be the new ambassador for WallFlower Jeans," says Katherine McNamara. "They are an incredible brand with a focus on versatility, style and comfort. Their messaging of body positivity and expressing your unique style through denim is so beneficial to their customers. It's the perfect opportunity for girls who want to go their own way through fashion!" Katherine has charmed on both big and small screens with consistent roles on the Disney channel and now with a lead role on Freeform's hit series "Shadowhunters" as 'Clary Fray,' which premiered to stellar ratings. "Shadowhunters" has been renewed for a second season (early 2017), and Katherine goes back to film the third installment of "The Maze Runner" movie trilogy, "Maze Runner: The Death Cure" this spring. Outside of work, Katherine has an equally strong passion for fashion, having made a name for herself as she claimed her front row seat at this past season's New York Fashion Week. She is regularly featured in top teen magazines and sites, such as Seventeen, Teen Vogue, Just Jared Jr. and now a coveted spread in Nylon. Over the years, she has amassed a strong fan base and has become a role model to her young and older fans alike. Katherine's dedication to her craft and strong core values are in line with WallFlower Jeans' brand and message to its young consumers. "We are excited to have Katherine as our Wallflower Brand Ambassador," says Nathan C. Mamiye, President of WallFlower Jeans. "She is a well-rounded and accomplished young woman with a great sense of style. In addition to her academic and professional success, she has a down-to-earth sensibility and wants to help create positive change in the world, which resonates with the WallFlower messaging and lifestyle." Follow Katherine's journey on social media as she encourages fans to #GoYourOwnWay. Be sure to check back on WallFlower Jeans' social pages for updates as she will be sharing some of her upcoming fall favorites, will be announcing an in-store appearance to meet her fans and for exciting contests and giveaways. Facebook and Twitter: @WallFlowerJeans Instagram: @wallflower About WallFlower Jeans: WallFlower Jeans, a wholly-owned brand of Mamiye Brothers, is a lifestyle brand that provides stylish looks from head-to-toe at an exceptional value. The brand offers jeans from Classic and Curvy to Plus Size options in a variety of washes. In addition to denim, they offer tops, dresses, outerwear, loungewear, sleepwear and intimate apparel, hosiery, watches and jewelry. The brand is rooted in quality and comfort while delivering fresh, fun styles through a culture of innovation. WallFlower Jeans is available at most major department and specialty stores as well as online at www.wallflowerjeans.com. Previous WallFlower girls include: Bella Thorne, Sarah Hyland (ABC's "Modern Family"), Jenna Ushkowitz (FOX's "Glee") and Savannah Outen (musical artist). About Mamiye Brothers: Mamiye Brothers is America's premier designer, manufacturer and marketer of Children's, Junior, and Missy fashion apparel brands. Established in 1947, Mamiye is known for its outstanding reputation for product quality and consistency, corporate integrity, fashion sense and keen management. Supported by a team of skilled professionals, Mamiye Brothers manages a comprehensive portfolio of the most renowned and sought after evergreen global brands. A complete list of brands and company overview can be found at www.mamiye.com. About Katherine McNamara: Missouri native Katherine McNamara is an up-and-coming young starlet who can currently be seen starring as the lead 'Clary Fray' in the brand new Freeform series "Shadowhunters," (January 2016); a book-to-screen adaptation of the bestselling "The Mortal Instruments" book series. The series premiered to stellar ratings, being the #1 series debut in more than two years, and helped launch the rebrand of the channel alongside fan favorite "Pretty Little Liars." In 2015, McNamara closed out a lightning year, portraying another fierce female role as 'Sonya' in the second installment of "The Maze Runner" trilogy, "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" alongside Dylan O'Brien and Kaya Scodelario. McNamara began her career on Broadway at the age of 13 as 'Fredrika' in "A Little Night Music," starring opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. McNamara now divides her acting talents between television and film. Most recently she was seen in the highly acclaimed Freeform series "The Fosters." McNamara made her big screen debut in Warner Bros.' "New Years Eve," where she portrayed 'Lily.' She also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Girl Vs. Monster" opposite Olivia Holt, which attracted more than 5 million viewers, as well as the independent film "Contest" as 'Sarah O'Malley' opposite Kenton Duty. At the age of 14, McNamara graduated with honors from high school and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Business with an emphasis in Finance at the age of 17. She is now pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Economics at the John Hopkins University as part of their Advanced Academics graduate degree program. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374066 SOURCE WallFlower Jeans Related Links http://www.wallflowerjeans.com ATLANTA, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ware Malcomb, an award-winning international design firm, today announced it has opened a new office in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area. The new office, located at 2970 Clairmont Road NE, Suite 850 in Brookhaven, Georgia, will provide architectural, interior design and branding services for commercial real estate and corporate clients. The move expands Ware Malcomb's presence to 18 offices throughout North America. Ware Malcomb has already completed over 40 projects throughout the Atlanta metro area and Georgia for clients including FedEx, Gulfstream, Whirlpool and Xfinity. In its work in the region, the firm has provided architectural, interior design, and branding services to clients in various industries including aerospace, retail, distribution, logistics and healthcare. "With our new office opening in Atlanta, we look forward to growing our presence in the region and forging even deeper ties to the local commercial real estate and corporate community," said Lawrence R. Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of Ware Malcomb. "This expansion will also further strengthen our national footprint of integrated offices providing a range of design services and expertise to our clients." Ware Malcomb also announced it has hired Jason Dooley, AIA as Regional Manager to head up the firm's Atlanta office. Ware Malcomb Regional Vice President Matt Brady will assist in oversight of operations. Dooley, a registered architect, brings more than 17 years of design and construction experience in the Atlanta metro area to his new role at Ware Malcomb. His architecture and interior design expertise includes build-to-suit, building expansion, building renovation, complex tenant improvements, and ongoing capital improvements for industrial, healthcare and office projects. Dooley holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Photo Download: http://www.kcomm.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/WhirlpoolWarehouse-31_webview.jpg Photo Caption: Whirlpool's regional distribution center in Atlanta, designed by Ware Malcomb. Photo Download: http://www.kcomm.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/JasonDooley_sm.jpg Photo Caption: Jason Dooley, Regional Manager of Ware Malcomb's Atlanta office. About Ware Malcomb (waremalcomb.com) Established in 1972, Ware Malcomb is an international design firm providing planning, architecture, interior design, branding and civil engineering services to commercial real estate and corporate clients. With 18 office locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Panama, the firm specializes in the design of commercial office, corporate, industrial, science & technology, healthcare, retail, auto, public/educational facilities and renovation projects. Ware Malcomb was among the top 10 midsize firms in Real Estate Forum's 2015 Fastest Growing Companies list, the top 20 architectural firms in Building Design+Construction magazine's 2015 Giants 300 ranking, and the top 50 interior design firms in Interior Design magazine's 2016 Top 100 Giants. Ware Malcomb Atlanta 2970 Clairmont Road NE, Suite 850 Brookhaven, GA 30329 p. 470.426.8777 Find us on: wm | canvas Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Pinterest Google+ Instagram SOURCE Ware Malcomb Related Links http://waremalcomb.com REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Wealthfront, the category-defining automated investment service, today announced a partnership with the State of Nevada and Ascensus College Savings, a division of Ascensus, Inc. to offer the Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan. This marks the first 529 plan offered through an automated investment service, and is a continuation of Wealthfront's mission to deliver sophisticated investment management at prices affordable to everyone. The Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan will expand the low-cost product offering currently available today for Wealthfront clients. The Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan represents the lowest cost 529 plan offered by any advisor and even costs less than the majority of plans for investors who manage their 529 portfolios on their own. For the first $10,000 of assets under management, Wealthfront does not charge an advisory fee, and for amounts above that, Wealthfront charges a monthly advisory fee at an annualized rate of 0.25 percent, just a fraction of what traditional advisors charge. The only other fees an account will incur are the costs of the underlying ETFs as well as state and program administration costs, which together range from 0.18 percent to 0.21 percent. "We are excited to be the first automated investment service to offer a 529 college savings plan together with Nevada and Ascensus College Savings, who value innovation as much as we do at Wealthfront," explained Adam Nash, President and CEO of Wealthfront. "Wealthfront exists to push the limits of what is technically possible in the financial services industry and broadly deliver investment strategies that previously were only available to the wealthy. The Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan is a natural extension of our mission." Wealthfront is the investment advisor behind the Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan, and will fully manage all 529 portfolios on behalf of its clients. The Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan will be administered by the Board of Trustees of the College Savings Plans of Nevada, chaired by the Nevada State Treasurer. Ascensus College Savings, a leading administrator of 529 plans, will serve as the program manager. "We are excited to join with Wealthfront and Ascensus College Savings to offer this unique and innovative 529 college savings plan," said Nevada State Treasurer, Dan Schwartz. "Nevada has long been a leader in the 529 community. We are thrilled to find a new partner whose focus is on serving an important up and coming millennial generation. Saving for college is so important for families of all ages and the Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan is another option to help families make the dream of college a reality for their children." "We are pleased to work with the State of Nevada and Wealthfront in support of our mission to make saving easy through accessible and affordable college savings plans," said Jeff Howkins, President and CEO of Ascensus College Savings. "Wealthfront provides an innovative combination of convenience and efficiency through their investment platform and we're excited to be a part of this first with the company." To support the launch of its 529 college savings plan, Wealthfront will be kicking off an ongoing effort to educate Americans on saving for college and committing the entire month of June to education on college savings. To learn more about the Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan and to sign up for the release this summer, please go to www.wealthfront.com/529 . About Wealthfront Wealthfront is the future of investing. The company is focused on taking services typically reserved for the ultra-wealthy, automating them and delivering them directly to the investors at low cost. Wealthfront does not charge advisory fees on accounts under $10,000 and just one quarter of one percent after that. In just four short years, Wealthfront has rolled out the features and services that now define a new category called 'automated investment services.' Launched in December 2011, the company has raised over $129 million in funding to date from Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Dragoneer Investment Group, Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Social + Capital and Spark Capital, and is based in Redwood City, CA. For more information please visit www.wealthfront.com. About Nevada State Treasurer's Office The Nevada State Treasurer's office administers the State's Section 529 college savings plans which now includes five savings plans and one prepaid tuition plan. Nevada's college savings program is one of the largest in the country with over $17 billion in assets under management. In addition, the Office manages the Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship Program and the Nevada College Kick Start Program. Information on all the State Treasurer's programs designed to help make higher education more affordable for families can be found at NV529.org. About Ascensus Ascensus, Inc., is the largest independent retirement and college savings services provider in the United States, helping over 6 million Americans save for the future. With more than 35 years of experience, the firm partners with financial institutions to offer tailored solutions that meet the needs of financial professionals, employers, and individuals. Ascensus specializes in recordkeeping, administrative, and program management services, supporting over 40,000 retirement plans and over 3.5 million 529 college savings accounts. It also administers more than 1.5 million IRAs and health savings accounts and is home to one of the largest ERISA consulting teams in the country. For more information about Ascensus, visit www.ascensus.com . For more information about the Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan (the "Plan"), download the Plan Description and Participation Agreement (to be made available on Plan launch) or request one by calling or emailing [email protected] or (650) 249-4250. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Plan Description and Participation Agreement; read and consider it carefully before investing. Wealthfront Brokerage Corporation serves as the distributor and the underwriter of the Plan. Please Note: Before investing in any 529 plan, you should consider whether you or the beneficiary's home state offers a 529 plan that provides its taxpayers with favorable state tax and other benefits that are only available through investment in the home state's 529 plan. You also should consult your financial, tax, or other advisor to learn more about how state-based benefits (or any limitations) would apply to your specific circumstances. You also may wish to contact directly your home state's 529 plan(s), or any other 529 plan, to learn more about those plans' features, benefits and limitations. Keep in mind that state-based benefits should be one of many appropriately weighted factors to be considered when making an investment decision. The Plan is administered by the Board of Trustees of the College Savings Plans of Nevada (the "Board"), chaired by the Nevada State Treasurer. Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, Inc. ("ABD") serves as the Program Manager. SOURCE Wealthfront Related Links https://www.wealthfront.com WASHINGTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Around the world people are celebrating June as Men's Health Month. Monday, June 13 is also the start of Men's Health Week, a special awareness period recognized by Congress, which ends on Father's Day, June 19. Men's Health Month is built on the pillars of AwarenessPreventionEducationFamily. Men's Health Month is credited with the increase in wellness activities for boys and men in all areas of the public and private sectors, resulting in better health outcomes and longer life expectancy. During this time, health care professionals, private corporations, faith-based organizations, government agencies, and other interested groups plan activities that focus on the health and well-being of boys, men, and their families. "Compared to similarly-aged women, men are less likely to have a regular doctor and health insurance and are more likely to put off routine checkups or delay seeing a health provider after experiencing symptoms," said Darryl Davidson, Director of Men's Health for the Northwest Health Center in Milwaukee. "This month is a reminder to talk to health professionals and to learn about important screenings that assist with finding conditions before they get worse." Mayors and governors across the country recognize June as Men's Health Month with official proclamations. The proclamations are displayed in Congress and reports on the status of the health and wellbeing on boys and men in each state are available at the State of Men's Health web site. Free resources are available in both English and Spanish at www.menshealthmonth.com. Congress joins the celebration with a Congressional Workout, planned for June 22. "It's been exciting to watch the momentum for Men's Health Month grow every single year," said Brandon Leonard, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Men's Health Network. "The key to making this a successful awareness period has been working with so many partners around the country - and the world - who are dedicated to improving the health of men, boys and families. We have also seen tremendous buy-in from policymakers and leaders at the local, state and federal level for raising awareness of male health." A key part of the continued momentum is the annual, worldwide social media campaign, including: #MHMonth16 Twitter chat with the federal Office of Minority Health and other partners 2:00 p.m. EDT on June 8 on The worldwide #MensHealthWeek chat on June 9 at 4:00 p.m. EDT bringing together our international partners to explore men's health in places like Australia , Canada and the United Kingdom at bringing together our international partners to explore men's health in places like , and the #ShowUsYourBlue campaign: People all over the world take pictures of themselves and others wearing blue to increase awareness. The social media storm is on Wear Blue Friday, June 17, the Friday of Men's Health Week Men's Health Month supporters include Pfizer, the Allergan Foundation, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, and others. Men's Health Month and Men's Health Week are sponsored by Men's Health Network, which maintains a list of experts and spokespersons on all areas of male health and wellness. About Men's Health Network: Men's Health Network (MHN) is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to reach men, boys, and their families where they live, work, play, and pray with health awareness messages and tools, screening programs, educational materials, advocacy opportunities, and patient navigation. Learn more about MHN at www.MensHealthNetwork.org and follow them on Twitter @MensHlthNetwork and Facebook at www.facebook.com/menshealthnetwork For more information on MHN's ongoing Dialogue on Men's Health series, visit www.DialogueOnMensHealth.com SOURCE Men's Health Network Related Links http://www.menshealthnetwork.org PORTLAND, Oregon, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report by Allied Market Research, titled, "World In Vitro Fertilization Devices and Consumables Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2014-2020", global sales of IVF devices and consumables is projected to reach $3 billion by 2020. The IVF disposables and reagent segments collectively accounts for more than three fourth of the market revenue, owing to an increasing number of overall IVF cycles. globally. Europe is the highest revenue generating segment and accounts for around two fifth of the world IVF market share. Allied Market Research Logo (PRNewsFoto/ALLIED MARKET RESEARCH) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140911/647229 ) To know more about the report, visit the website at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/in-vitro-fertilization-devices-and-consumables-market In Vitro fertilization (IVF) is a type of assisted reproductive technology, adopted by couples, single mothers, and the LGBT community to deal with infertility conditions. Rising global infertility rates, increasing IVF success rates, and growing per capita healthcare expenditures are boosting the growth of the IVF devices & consumables market. Furthermore, delayed pregnancies and recent innovations in the IVF technology, such as embryoscope and capsule IVF would supplement the market growth. Active government initiatives for LGBT marriages, development of cost-effective IVF procedures and the popularity of fertility tourism is expected to further boost the market growth. However, legal and ethical issues related to IVF treatments, lack of awareness among patients in developing economies, and high costs of IVF devices would limit the market growth. Capital equipment, such as micromanipulator, IVF cabinets, incubators, and imaging system used in the IVF procedures accounts for the highest share i.e. around 75% in the IVF devices segment. This is attributed to the long shelf-life and high cost related to capital equipment during the IVF procedures. Geographically, Europe would continue to maintain its lead position, owing to the heavy investments made by companies, high affordability, and increasing demand for IVF procedures. This region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.2% due to the sophisticated and cost-effective hospitality services and availability of skilled work forces. However, Asia-Pacific is the most lucrative market owing to the rising infertility cases, economic pricing, favorable government regulations, and reimbursements. Key findings of the study: The IVF devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.4% during the forecast period. In the reagents & media segment, cryopreservation media held about 35% of the revenue share in 2015. Disposables and consumables used during IVF would remain the highest revenue generating segment throughout the analysis period. Fresh IVF cycle was the largest revenue generating IVF technique in 2015 and would continue to maintain this trend untill 2020. The IVF clinics segment is expected to be the leading end-users segment through 2020. Key players operating in this market are largely focusing on product launch as key developmental strategies. Companies are striving to occupy the highest market share through novel product launches such as fully automated vitrification instruments and time-lapse technology. Leading players profiled in this report are Vitrolife AB, EMD Serono, Inc., Irvine Scientific, CooperSurgical, Inc., Cook Medical, Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Genea Biomedx, Auxogyn Inc., Oxford Gene Technology, and OvaScience Inc. View all reports related to medical devices at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/life-sciences/medical-devices-market-report About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: Sona Padmanabhan 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Int'l: +1 (503) 505-6949 Toll Free: + 1-800-792-5285 (U.S. & Canada) E-mail: [email protected] Blog: https://blog.alliedmarketresearch.com/life-sciences SOURCE Allied Market Research LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Zenlayer, a global network and service provider of SDN technology, has announced that it is expanding its colocation and hosting capabilities with Equinix, the leading global colocation provider, into Dubai, UAE and Melbourne, Australia. Dubai and Melbourne are the latest additions to Zenlayer's data center portfolio, which includes more than 50 data centers across six continents. Zenlayer is also leveraging Equinix's global interconnection and data center platform Platform Equinix for global scale to reach markets including Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Paris, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore. The Equinix Dubai DX1 IBX is the first world class, network-neutral aggregation point in the MENA region, offering the densest and most diverse regional and international interconnectivity in an offshore zone. Equinix's Melbourne ME1 IBX is the first full-service multinational data center for data exchange in the Victorian market, meeting the strong demand for data consumption and cloud services. This newly built data center also enables Melbourne businesses to connect to leading companies within its robust ecosystem, to accelerate their own business, particularly in networks, financial services, cloud and digital content markets. All of Equinix's global data centers have proven operational reliability, with global uptime of 99.9999% in 2015. Both Dubai and Melbourne data centers are carrier neutral. Managing Director of Equinix Australia, Jeremy Deutsch, said, "We're excited to help Zenlayer expand into Melbourne furthering the success of its business globally. Together with our Dubai IBX, ME1 in Victoria is a truly state of the art data center with a growing and robust ecosystem of clouds, networks and other providers, and we're pleased to welcome Zenlayer into that thriving environment." Zenlayer will be attending Cloud Expo New York June 7-9. To learn more about Zenlayer's latest network expansions and new product offerings, please contact [email protected] to schedule a meeting. About Zenlayer (http://www.zenlayer.com) Zenlayer, a global network and service provider of SDN based technology, is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Enterprises utilize Zenlayer's platform to quickly deploy and manage global IT resources and are able to globalize their business within minutes. Zenlayer's flagship Network as a Service platform, built upon its global SDN network, is automated, on-demand and carrier neutral. Media contact Dalerie Wu [email protected] 1.909.718.3558 (x1111) Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160314/343934LOGO SOURCE Zenlayer Related Links http://www.zenlayer.com If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here New Delhi, May 26 : The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the second Italian marine, Salvatore Girone, under probe for the shooting of two Indian fishermen, return home till international arbitration goes on in the case that has soured bilateral ties between the two countries. The bench of Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud relaxed earlier bail conditions for Girone after the Indian government's "no objection" to the move. Girone, who is at present housed at the Italian embassy premises in Delhi, and fellow Italian marine Massimiliano Latorre allegedly shot dead two fishermen off the Kerala coast while they were security detail on board oil tanker Enrica Lexie in February 2012, mistaking them for pirates. Latorre was granted permission to go home in 2014 when he suffered a stroke in India. The apex court recently allowed an extension of his home stay till September 30. But in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed displeasure and accused the BJP-led central government of mishandling the case and allowing the marine to leave India. "We have made our position clear right from the time this incident occurred. The Centre never pursued the case the way it should have been taken up, and hence this happened," said Vijayan. The Italian foreign ministry in Rome said it was satisfied with the Indian court's decision. "Girone might be going home any day now," the ministry said, adding the Italian government "renews its commitment to comply with the terms and conditions established by the Supreme Court". The court granted the marine permission to leave after adding fresh bail conditions proposed by Additional Solicitor General P. S. Narasimha. These include Girone, who will remain under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, will have to report to police station in Italy on first Wednesday of every month and the Indian embassy in Rome will have to be informed about it. The court also asked the marine not to tamper with any evidence or influence any witness. Besides, the court said the Italian ambassador in New Delhi will give a fresh undertaking that Girone shall be made to return to India in one month after the decision of the International Arbitral Tribunal and if the Indian Supreme Court required by it. The marine was also asked to surrender his passport when he arrives in Italy. Narasimha told the court that the central government has "no objection" against the plea moved by the Italian government last week if Girone complies with the fresh bail conditions. "We support the application on humanitarian grounds subject to his compliance with the conditions imposed by the court," the assistant solicitor general said. The court decision comes in the wake of April 29 order of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) asking India and Italy to cooperate in relaxing the bail conditions of Girone so that he could return to his country during the pendency of the arbitration proceedings before it. The tribunal is holding an international arbitration to decide the question of jurisdiction between India and Italy as to who will try the two Italian marines for the murder of the fishermen during an anti-piracy mission. The case had triggered a diplomatic row between India and Italy even as the two countries last year agreed to move to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and abide by its decisions. Italy argues that the marines should have immunity as they were servicemen working on a mission and that India does not have jurisdiction as the incident took place outside its territorial waters. The Indian government has continuously rejected the Italian foreign ministry's claims. New Delhi, May 27 : India and Australia on Friday signed an agreement to invest over $4.3 million for the next three years to promote research in horticulture to improve crop productivity. The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) signed an agreement with Horticulture Innovation Australia, at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi in the presence of Harinder Sidhu, Australian High Commissioner to India and K. Vijay Raghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. "Considering the gap between demand and supply for crops, it is of paramount importance to stimulate an enabling environment for research and development in both the regions," a statement said. The focus of the joint call is to undertake horticultural research in order to develop and deploy modern tools of plant biotechnology to improve crop productivity. "This strategic partnership will undoubtedly promote the development of cost effective practices for crop harvesting. Creativity and innovative practices in an agrarian economy like India will have far reaching impact on its socio-economic progress," said Renu Swarup, managing director director, BIRAC. New Delhi, May 28 : If Pakistan does not have the capability to curb terrorist activity in its territory, it may seek India's help, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said. "I want to give a message to Pakistan. Pakistan should curb terrorist activities on its soil. If Pakistan feels it does not have the capability to curb terrorist activities, it should seek assistance from India," he said in an interview to India TV. He asserted that there has been a 52 percent decline in infiltration from Pakistan in the last two years. "Terrorist, extremist, Maoist activities have been at their lowest now compared to the last 10 years. The number of security personnel martyred at the hands of Maoists has come down," he said. On Ishrat Jahan case, he said that attempts were made to politicise it. "Some papers that should have been there in the home ministry file are missing. I do not want to make personal allegations, but I feel that attempts were made to politicize Ishrat jehan case," Singh said. On why Pragya Thakur was given clean chit by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Malegaon blast case, the minister said said that it was an agency with "maximum autonomy". "Till now, the NIA used to send files to home ministry before seeking legal opinion. I directed that NIA, being an autonomous agency, should not send files to our ministry. NIA can send its file directly to the law ministry for legal opinion. How much autonomy/neutrality do you want?" he asked. On the issue of black money, Singh said that no promise was ever made during the poll campaign that Rs.15 lakh would be deposited in everybody's bank account. Describing the lynching of Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri as "unfortunate" on rumours of storing beef, he said: "I feel such incidents should never place in a country like India. Anybody having knowledge about India's culture and traditions will never commit such a heinous crime. "Our saints gave the slogan 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' (the world is one family) to the world." On Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's remark that Muslims eating beef have no place in India, Singh said he "completely disagreed" with it. Jerusalem, May 29 : Israeli security forces have arrested five Palestinians who orchestrated an explosive attack on a Jerusalem bus in April, the Israeli army said on Sunday. At least 21 Israelis were injured in the explosion on the bus in Jerusalem on April 18, Xinhua news agency reported. The group members, said to be associated with the Hamas organisation, were involved in planning and recruiting the militant for the attack, and manufacturing the explosives, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson said in a statement. The Shin Bet security agency said in a separate statement that two Palestinians from the group carried out a shooting attack recently in the Jewish settlement in the West Bank of Tekoa, and no injuries were reported. The agency said the group also planned to carry out more attacks against Israeli citizens and soldiers. The five arrested Palestinians will be filed against them by the military prosecution in the upcoming week. The attack took place amid an ongoing wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, which had claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and 204 Palestinians since October. Israeli leaders blame the Palestinian Authority for incitement to violence amid the wave of unrest, whereas the Palestinians charge it the result of the 49 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories, where they wish to establish an independent Palestinian state. New Delhi, May 30 : The time has come for the new generation to emerge in the party, Congress Punjab unit president Amarinder Singh said, adding that party chief Sonia Gandhi is "obviously tired". "I have worked with Sonia Gandhi and found her (to be) a very good leader. But she is (aged) 70. Time has come for the new generation to emerge (in the party). Obviously, she is tired," Singh said in an interview to CNN News18. He was asked if the party has been harmed by the simultaneous presence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the top of the Congress hierarchy. "It will be only fair if she wishes to hand over (party reins)," the former Punjab chief minister said. In response to a question, Singh said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi "will also emerge" (as a good leader) once given power and responsibility. "I have worked with his (Rahul's) father (late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi). He was also like this. Rahul will also emerge (as a good leader) in due course," the Congress MP from Amritsar in Punjab said. He also said that the "Congress has to strengthen itself after whatever has happened in the country," in an obvious reference to the party's debacle in the assembly elections in four states. Singh also said that the Congress high command should delegate more powers to its state leaders, especially to fight "regional leaders" in their respective states. "If you have to deal with regional leadership, you must give some powers to the state leaders of the Congress," the Punjab Congress chief said. Panaji, May 30 : Goa's Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza on Monday advised against a media trial in the "sensitive" rape case in which a Nigerian national has already been arrested, and hinted that the complaint could also be a case of a spat between a "girlfriend and a boyfriend". "If you want to hear a little bit of extra news, then one of the MLAs was saying that she was his girlfriend. So how much to believe, you tell me. If the girlfriend complains against the boyfriend, how much to believe? That is a debatable issue," D'Souza said. "Both ways it is sensitive. For the girl it is sensitive, for the boy also it is sensitive and I cannot prejudge," D'Souza said on the sidelines of a government event in the state capital. Police on Monday arrested one Nigerian for allegedly raping a 31-year-old woman at knife-point along with an accomplice on Saturday night. The Nigerian national identified as Kenneth Upwegdha was arrested from a train at Panvel near Mumbai. D'Souza said that he did not want to prejudge the case, but also said that unfortunate instances like rape occur all over the country, not just in Goa. "These happen throughout India, it happens in the state of Goa also. These issues are to be understood (with) in a particular parameter. Why? Because some people give a false complaint. Then what do I say," D'Souza said. Earlier, Goa's Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said that Nigerians create problems not just in Goa, but in the rest of the country too. "Nigerians create problem not just in Goa, but in the entire country. Nigerian students come to Goa and India to study, they get an FIR filed (against them), make it a judicial matter and they try to stay in India or Goa and indulge in drugs and other unwanted things," Parulekar said. New Delhi, May 30 : The draft new bill aimed at curbing human trafficking has provided for, among other things,registration of placement agencies and punishment for the use of narcotic drugs or alcohol for the purpose of trafficking. "The bill is victim-oriented and makes clear the distinction between the 'trafficker' and the 'trafficked'. It also plugs loopholes in the existing laws and brings within its ambit more crimes pertaining to trafficking, which don't find a place in the existing laws," Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said here on Monday after releasing the draft legislation. The draft of Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2016, takes into account various aspects of trafficking and punishments as defined in Sections 370-373 of the Indian Penal Code, she said. The bill also includes penal provisions for disclosure of identity of the victim of trafficking and witness(es) as well as the use of chemical substances or hormones for the purpose of exploitation. "Since the problem is trans-border concerning our neighbouring countries, protocols will also be worked out for those trafficked from other countries," the minister added. The bill seeks to set up an institutional mechanism to deal with the highly specialised subject that will also include members of the civil society organisations, she said. It aims to place dedicated institutional mechanisms at the district, state and central levels. Apart from a designated agency for investigation of offences, the draft bill envisages protection homes and special homes for rehabilitation support. According to the bill, special courts and prosecutors will be employed for speedy trials. An anti-trafficking fund will be created for the welfare and rehabilitation of the victims, according to an official. Child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi welcomed the draft bill. "The bill for the first time criminalises unregulated placement agencies in India. Strong deterrents that hit the economic benefits of trafficking such as attachment and seizure of property and back wages are the highlights of the bill," said a statement from Satyarthi. The draft bill is available at http://wcd.nic.in/acts/trafficking-persons-bill-2016-draft and public has been asked to submit their suggestions at https://www.mygov.in/home/discuss/ by June 30, 2016. New Delhi, May 30 : Pre-monsoon showers continue to provide respite from heat in the north and east India and are likely to continue for two more days at least, the weather department and private forecasters said. In the national capital, the maximum temperature after a rainy morning dipped to 32.4 degree Celsius while pre-monsoon rains are expected till Wednesday, which would follow dry winds leading to a rise in the mercury. The city witnessed 4.4 mm rainfall between 8.30 p.m. on Sunday and 8.30 a.m. on Monday. As per weather analysts, cyclonic circulation over Punjab, Haryana and Pakistan has an effect extending till eastern India. "Light rain shower are expected till Tuesday. If the western winds continue bringing moisture, then it may extend till Wednesday. However, from June 1- 2 the weather in Delhi, Punjab, Harayana, Bihar, Odisha and parts of West Bengal would start becoming dry till the normal monsoon arrives by June 30," private weather forecaster Skymet's director Mahesh Palawat told IANS. Besides Delhi, this pattern of unseasonal rains will prevail over Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and parts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand for another two days, while the northeastern states would continue receiving pre-monsoon rain showers till the normal monsoon arrives between June 12 and 14. "Temporary pre-monsoon rain showers will merge in the normal monsoon in northeastern states. The coastal region of West Bengal would, however, turn dry from Wednesday onwards," Palawat said. However, as per weather analysts the temperature may rise up to 40-41 degrees Celsius after Wednesday. Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra would also receive isolated rains for next two days, met department officials said. Rains battered most parts of the hill state of Uttarakhand on Monday, while Met Office warned of more rains in the next 36 hours. The annual 'Char Dham Yatra' has also been hit and many devotees have been stranded enroute to the four shrines -- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. The rains, which started on Sunday, continued at many places in the state including Dehradun, Badrinath, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and Gopeshwar. Heavy damage was also reported at some parts of the state Uttarakhand where heavy hailstorm, rains and a cloudburst wreaked havoc. Meanwhile, at least 12 people were killed across Uttar Pradesh due to accidents attributed to storms, lightning and heavy rains. Nagpur, May 31 : At least 17 army men, including two officers, were killed and 19 injured in a massive fire that engulfed one of India's largest ammunition depots in Maharashtra's Pulgaon early Tuesday, officials said. The cause of the blaze at the depot, which houses Brahmos missiles, arms, ammunition, bombs and other explosive items of the Indian Army, was not immediately known. There were fears that the death toll may rise because many personnel of the Defense Security Corps (DSC) that provides security at defence ministry sites were missing at the depot, some 120 km from here. The officials said the fire started between 1.30 and 2 a.m. when flames were seen billowing out of a shed. It spread quickly to a number of other sheds storing explosive items in the depot that was recently awarded for using solar energy to dispose off expired ammunition. "Two officers and 15 DSC soldiers died," an army spokesperson said, adding the injured included two officers and 17 soldiers. The spokesperson said the main fire has been brought under control. "But secondary fire and explosions cannot be ruled out now." Eyewitnesses said flames were still rising from parts of the depot. The army as a precaution got five villages evactuated as the fire was spreading. However, some 1,000 men and women from these villages returned to their homes by the afternoon. The army has ordered a court of inquiry into the incident and the extent of damage to defense assets was being ascertained, officials requesting anonymity said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the loss of lives in the tragedy. "Pained by loss of lives caused by a fire at Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the bereaved families," Modi tweeted. Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar and Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh were set to visit the depot that that supplies ammunition to the entire western sector of the Indian Army. New Delhi, May 31 : The BJP on Tuesday said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi's defence of her son-in-law Robert Vadra over allegations that he owns 'benami' property in London vindicates the party's old charge that whatever Vadra does has the backing of the Gandhi family. "Vadra has the blessings of 10 Janpath...That is why he has earned so much money. He can't be dubbed as a private citizen. Whatever he has done has the backing of Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi," BJP National Secretary Srikant Sharma told IANS. "You can't separate Vadra from the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi coming out in support of Vadra has established our charges," he added. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya on Monday sought a detailed inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the alleged involvement of Vadra in the 2009 purchase of a 'benami' or proxy-owned mansion in London. Reacting to the allegations, Sonia Gandhi said in Rae Bareli on Tuesday: "This is also a political conspiracy. What do you mean by Congress-mukt Bharat? Everyday they give excuses and level wrong allegations." "If this is true, then they should conduct an unbiased probe. Everything will become clear," said an angry Sonia Gandhi, who was on a two-day visit to Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, her Lok Sabha constieuency. Continuing his attack on Sonia Gandhi, the BJP's national media convenor said that the Congress president has been trying to "threaten" the BJP whenever there is a corruption charge against them. "Congress has looted the nation and now they are coming out. Whenever there are corruption charges against the Congress and its family, they try to threaten us. We are not scared," he said. Over Sonia Gandhi's jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi that "he is the PM, and not a Shehenshah (emperor)", Sharma said, "Modi ji is a 'jan sewak'. Those who were Shehenshah are nowhere today. They are in panic and in frustration." Moscow, May 31 : Unit one of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu crossed its installed capacity and generated 1,006 MW of power on Monday, the Russian partners in the project said here. Director for Projects in India for Russian atomic power corporation Rosatom, Vladimir A. Angelov said that the Russian side hopes that India will decide on increasing the power generation of the Kudankulam plant beyond its installed capacity in near future. Angelov said that the next six nuclear power units that Russia is set to build in India will be of an installed capacity of 1,200 MW each. Kudankulam's Unit one, which started commercial power generation on December 31, 2014, has an installed capacity of 995 MW, said Angelov, adding that on Monday it produced 11 Megawatts more power than its capacity. "Yesterday the power plant generated 1,006 MW. The designed capacity is 995 MW. Actually it generated more than its installed capacity with all the same safety parameters," Angelov said told IANS here on the sidelines of Atomexpo 2016. The unit can go upto generating 1,020 MW of power, he added. "The existing parameters of the reactor plant make it possible to generate 1,020 MW. The director of the NPP (nuclear power plant) and the management of NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited) know that and we hope in near future they will take decision to increase power of the NPP unit," he said. "It is very important that we can generate 25 MW more for the Indian people." Talking about the agreement between Russia and India for building 12 more nuclear reactors, Angelov said the next six will have installed capacity of 1,200 MW each. "The next six power units are going to be with 1,200 MW capacity each. We are waiting for India to identify the location for construction of the next six units," he added. As per the bilateral Strategic Vision for Strengthening Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, India and Russia have plans to build and commission 12 nuclear power units in the next two decades. (Anjali Ojha can be reached at anjali.o@ians.in) Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Australias Ambassador to Vietnam Hugh Borrowman (Photo: baochinhphu.vn) PM Phuc hailed the outgoing Ambassadors accomplishments in his working term in Vietnam, citing strong developments across economics, trade, tourism, education and training, employment, transport, security and defence between the two countries. He said he is impressed with Australia having hosted the largest number of Vietnamese students abroad, with around 30,000 as counted. He expressed his hope that the two will accelerate people-to-people exchanges, farm produce export and labour cooperation. Ambassador Hugh Borrowman informed that Cao Lanh bridge, which is being built with Australias development assistance, will be inaugurated in 2017, ahead of schedule. The diplomat said some kinds of Vietnams fresh fruits are being sold in Australia and hopes to see the entry of others. He noted with belief that the bilateral relations will thrive in economics, trade and people-to-people exchange./. Thiruvananthapuram, May 31 : Kerala Police chief T.P. Sen Kumar, who was shunted out by the new Left Front government led by Chief mInister Pinarayi Vijayan in a high-level shake-up in the police force, on Tuesday publicly expressed his resentment over the move. Speaking to reporters at the state police headquarters soon after the ceremonial send-off guard of honour, Sen Kumar said: "If they did not want me, I could have been informed." Chief Minister Vijayan signed the order replacing Sen Kumar with Loknath Behra, at present in charge of the state Fire Force, late Monday night soon after he touched down from Delhi. "My transfer is in violation of the Kerala Police Act. I know that the government can post any officer, but in any case, I am Sen Kumar and Sen Kumar cannot become Loknath Behra; and the new government wants Behra and not me," said a bitter Kumar. In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, Sen Kumar said, "During the last 35 years I have always kept honesty, integrity and justice and a special care for the downtrodden. I still have all my vertebras intact. I have never appeased anybody for any posting. I have always tried to be impartial and fair." Sen Kumar was appointed by former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and had almost a year left of his tenure when he was removed from the post of the Director General of Police, Law and Order. He has been given the new post of Chairman and Managing Director of the Kerala Police Construction Corporation. Meanwhile, Behra told reporters that he is happy with the new post and has got a few ideas to strengthen the police force. Joining issue was Leader of Opposition and former state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala who said that Sen Kumar was an exemplary official and that the Congress-led United Democratic Front when in power did not remove the top police officials who had been appointed by the V.S. Achuthanandan government. Panaji, May 31 : A court here on Tuesday sent, to three days police custody, Nigerian national Kenneth Upwegdha, who was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 31-year-old woman here last week. Upwegdha was picked up by police from a train at Panvel station near Mumbai, on Monday, two days after he alleged kidnapped and raped the victim in Assagao village, in North Goa district, along with an accomplice, according to the police. The other accused is still at large. The alleged rape has caused outrage against Nigerian nationals in the state with the Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar accusing them of "creating problems" in the state as well as the Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar claiming that Goans were "annoyed" with their behaviour and lifestyle. Rae Bareli/New Delhi, May 31 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday strongly backed her son-in-law Robert Vadra against allegations that he owns a house in London, funded by an arms dealer, and dared the government to probe the matter "unbiasedly". Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of behaving like a "Shehenshah", the Congress chief also hit out at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for its bash held to celebrate its two years in power. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back at Sonia Gandhi, saying that Vadra "has the blessings of 10 Janpath" which was the reason behind his wealth. Sonia Gandhi, who was visiting her Lok Sabha constituency Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, lashed out at the allegations against her son-in-law: "This is also a political conspiracy. What do you mean by 'Congress-mukt Bharat'? Everyday they give excuses and level wrong allegations." "If this (allegation) is true, then they should conduct an unbiased probe. Everything will become clear," said an angry Sonia Gandhi. Senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Monday sought a detailed inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the alleged involvement of Vadra in the 2009 purchase of a 'benami' or proxy-owned mansion in London. The Congress chief, training her guns on Prime Minister Modi, said he was prime minister and not an emperor. "Woh pradhanmantri hain, koi shehenshaah nahin ki janta unki saari baatein maane," she said. "I have never seen anything like this, Modi ji is the PM, and not a Shehenshah (King). Our nation is facing drought, poverty, farmers are in pain. At these times, such a 'show' is not appropriate," she said of the gala event held in New Delhi on Saturday night by the government. The BJP said the Congress president's defence of her son-in-law vindicates the party's old charge that whatever Vadra does has the backing of the Gandhi family. "Vadra has the blessings of 10 Janpath...That is why he has earned so much money. He can't be dubbed as a private citizen. Whatever he has done has the backing of Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi," BJP National Secretary Srikant Sharma told IANS. "You can't separate Vadra from the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi coming out in support of Vadra has established our charges," he added. The BJP's national media convenor said that the Congress president has been trying to "threaten" the BJP whenever there is a corruption charge against them. "Congress has looted the nation and now they are coming out. Whenever there are corruption charges against the Congress and its family, they try to threaten us. We are not scared," he said. On Sonia Gandhi's jibe at Prime Minister Modi that "he is the PM, and not a Shehenshah (emperor)", Sharma said, "Modi ji is a 'jan sewak'. Those who were Shehenshah are nowhere today. They were sent packing by voters in 2014." "Those emperors are now on bail in the National Herald case involving corruption of over Rs 5,000 crore. They are in panic and in frustration," Sharma said obliquely referring to the Gandhi family. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh too launched a counter-attack on the Congress chief for her "Shehenshah" remark, saying there was "no place for any maharani too in a democracy". Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma accused the NDA government of failure to take action against those allegedly involved in corruption. "What action have they taken against the son of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister? What about the cases against the Rajasthan Chief Minister? What has happened to the inquiry on Lalit Modi? Why haven't they dismissed Eknath Khadse, their minister in Maharashtra who is facing allegations of land grabbing," said Sharma at a press conference here. "They have levelled enough allegations. We pose an open challenge to this government to release the list of names of Congress leaders who, they say, are accused of corruption. Are they facing any case in the country," asked Sharma who is also Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. "They must tell the source of the thousands of crore that they have used to contest in elections," said Sharma. Sharma also accused the government of nurturing an environment in the country that has benefited "lumpen elements". Baghdad, May 31 : Islamic State is using several hundred families as "human shields" in Fallujah, Iraq, witnesses told the UN agency for refugees UNHCR. It comes just one day after Iraqi troops forced their way into the city, a stronghold of the militant group. "UNHCR has received reports of causalities among civilians in the city centre of Fallujah due to heavy shelling, including 7 members of one family on the 28th of May," UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman William Spindler said during a Tuesday news briefing. "There are also reports of several hundred families being used as human shields by IS in the centre of Fallujah," he added. Iraqi troops forced their way into the city from three directions on Monday, capturing a police station. IS militants fought back overnight, managing to ward off an onslaught by the army in a southern district of Fallujah, according to officers. Fallujah, which survived some of the heaviest fighting of the 2003-2011 US-led military intervention, was the first city in Iraq to fall to IS control in January 2014. In late June, 2014, the extremists declared a caliphate in territories seized in Iraq and Syria. But despite the apparent gains in Fallujah, Iraqi troops still have a long road ahead of them. IS still controls territory in the country's north and west, including the country's second largest city, Mosul. Kolkata, May 31 : Animal lovers, activists and concerned citizens on Tuesday marched in protest and started an online petition against the alleged culling of at least 16 street dogs by illegal dog handlers paid by a section of residents of a housing complex in the city. According to Gopa Ganguly, a resident of Diamond City West complex in south Kolkata, street dogs are being trapped inside gunny bags and beaten to death by certain dog handlers at the behest of a section of residents. "We have been protesting against this but the perpetrators have threatened us and attacked us. The strays are not mad dogs," she said. Animal lovers gathered at the Sarsuna police station to register a complaint and demanded immediate action. Trinamool Congress leader Deboshri Roy, also a well-known animal rights advocate, expressed solidarity with the animal lovers and activists and demanded the perpetrators be punished. A petition launched online has brought the issue to focus. "The strays there are being relocated and most of them getting killed by illegal dog handlers (read killers) who are paid to do so by most of the residents of the aforementioned housing complex. "Police complaints have been lodged by the animal lovers of the society, NGOs and individual activists. But the residents are getting more desperate and were trying to prove that street dogs should be killed for the betterment of human beings. So far, they have got around 2000 signatures (all by the residents) in support of this barbaric act." Rabat, May 31 : Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari has said that incidents of violence against African students in India must be condemned in the strongest possible terms and that the government was fully committed to their safety and security. Ansari, who arrived in Moroccan capital Rabat on a three-day official visit on Monday, made the remarks at a press conference on board the special aircraft on his way to Morocco and Tunisia. "African students are our guests in India and the government remains fully committed to their safety and security," he said. The vice president said India maintains traditionally strong ties with Morocco and Tunisia, both important partners in Africa. India has a substantial economic relationship with Morocco on account of a large quantity of phosphate imported by India which is critical for agriculture. He said there are a few other sectors where cooperation is deepening, like automobiles, pharmaceuticals and IT. Ansari also indicated that Bollywood films might find ideal shooting locations in Morocco. India's trade with Morocco stands at more than $1 billion. The Vice President praised the success of the democratic process in Tunisia, speaking about the way different political parties managed to work together in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. On a question on India's cooperation with Morocco and Tunisia in tackling terrorism, Ansari said India continues to work closely to share intelligence and security-related information with these countries. "Sharing real-time cyber security-related information is crucial in the efforts to tackle terrorism," he added. Responding to a question on increasing presence of China, Ansari said both countries had different approaches to engaging African nations and India did not see itself in competition with China. The Vice President highlighted the historical connections and the common struggle against colonial rulers that India shared with the African continent and added that India had always sought to partner it in the development journey. On arrival at the Rabat-SalA airport, Ansari was welcomed by the head of government Abdelilah Benkirane, the Moroccan news agency MAP reported. After reviewing an honour guard, Ansari was greeted, among others, by Minister of Communication and government spokesman Mustapha El Khalfi, Minister of Culture Mohammed Amine Sbihi and minister-delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Nasser Bourita. The Vice President is leading a large delegation of government officials and parliamentarians on the three day visit. Washington, June 1 : Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he donated $5.6 million to veterans associations and criticised the members of the press, whom he said "should be ashamed of themselves" for having doubted that he would keep the promise he made in January to make the donations. "I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job," Trump said at a press conference at his offices in New York's Trump Tower, EFE news agency reported. "As of this moment, it's $5.6 million," the real estate magnate said, adding that "all of the money has been spent". Trump lambasted the press all during the press conference, calling political reporters "among the most dishonest people I've ever met". He also released the names of a number of organisations to which donations were made, along with the size of those contributions. In late January, Trump made a surprise announcement in Iowa that he would not participate in a debate with other Republican candidates to hold a fundraising event to help veterans. At the event, he said that he had managed to raise $6 million, but several media outlets said weeks later that there was no proof of any donations being made, while many associations confirmed that they had not received any such funds. Trump also promised to put up $1 million out of his own pocket. For months, Trump's campaign refused to list which organisations had received the donations arguing that they were reviewing the validity and suitability of the veterans groups. On Sunday, Trump participated in the traditional gathering of bikers in Washington to pay tribute to veterans and US war dead over Memorial Day weekend. Trump, who avoided the draft during the Vietnam War after receiving a medical exemption, said at the gathering that illegal immigrants are treated better than America's former soldiers. Panaji, June 1 : A Nigerian national, arrested for allegedly raping a 31-year-old woman in Goa last week, had been booked earlier for rioting, assault and illegally over-staying in India, police sources said. Kenneth Upwegdha, 41, was arrested on Monday at the Panvel railway station near Mumbai and on Tuesday was remanded to police custody for three days by a trial court. "Kenneth was arrested for rioting and blocking the National Highway in Goa in 2013. Our records also showed that he was booked at the Calangute police station in 2012 for illegally overstaying beyond his stipulated visa duration," police sources said. Kenneth, along with another accomplice, who is still on the run, has been accused of allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman at knife-point on May 28. The rape had caused outrage in the state, with Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar accusing Nigerians of trying to deceive the Indian legal system and committing crimes on purpose to prolong their stay in the country, using the judicial process as cover. Chennai, June 1 : Restructuring the party at lower levels, changing communication strategy to bottom-up approach while continuing with the decision to keep away from aligning with AIADMK or DMK till parliamentary polls is what the PMK is planning now, said a senior leader. "We have decided to restructure the party at the ground level weeding out non-performers and bringing in more youth power. As per our calculations bulk of the people who voted for us in the assembly polls are below 40," MP and youth wing president Anbumani Ramadoss told IANS. According to Ramadoss a former union minister, the youth voter segment is expected to grow in the coming years which is a positive feature for the party propagating - growth and progress. Ramadoss said under the proposed structure programme women will be given important positions at the grass root level. "With the help of technology, the party's policies will be communicated to the grass root level leaders. I will also be in touch with them directly," Ramadoss said. According to him, there will not be any change in the party hierarchy at the top level. On the party's proposed communication strategy Ramadoss said: "Core philosophy of our policies and programmes have reached and found acceptance from the top, middle and even lower middle class people." "Now our communication strategy will be bottom-up approach. We will propagate the benefits of our policies to the poor class in simple terms," he added. According to him, the party carried out a positive electoral campaign and the people have responded to it well. Agreeing that his participation in the Lok Sabha proceedings were affected due to his preoccupation with the PMK's preparations for the May 16 assembly polls Ramadoss representing the Dharmapuri constituency in Tamil Nadu said his focus now would shift to parliament. "I would raise issues of national importance like formulating a National Alcohol Policy, scrapping medical entrance exams in addition to the issues that Tamil Nadu faces," he said. "I will also focus more on agriculture technology and other issues that would affect the farm sector like shale gas exploration, laying of gas pipeline on farm lands. The Karnataka's decision to build a dam across river Cauvery will also be raised in the Lok Sabha," Ramadoss said. Ramadoss said he would also stress on the necessity of banning opinion polls after notification of elections by the Election Commission. London, June 1 : Bringing speculations to an end, Israeli start-up Sirin Labs has officially unveiled its high-end $14,000 (over Rs 9 lakh) Android smartphone that promises chip-to-chip 256-bit encryption similar to what the military uses to protect communications. Dubbed as the 'Rolls Royce of smartphones', the device called Solarin is activated via a physical security switch on the back and was launched on Tuesday at an event in London, venturebeat.com reported. Solarin packs in Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, promises "far superior" Wi-Fi connectivity, has a 23.8MP rear camera and a 5.5 inch IPS LED 2K resolution screen. For the Solarin promises "the most advanced privacy technology, currently unavailable outside the agency world", Sirin Labs has joined hands with communication security firm KoolSpan. According to Sirin Labs, it wanted to "create the most advanced mobile device that combined the highest privacy settings, operated faster than any other phone, built with the best materials from around the world." "Cyberattacks are endemic across the globe. This trend is on the increase. Solarin is pioneering new, uncompromising privacy measures to provide customers with greater confidence and the reassurance necessary to handle business-critical information," Tal Cohen, CEO and cofounder of Sirin Labs, was quoted as saying. "Every single design decision and material choice was based on performance and functionality," added Fredrik Aijer, vice president (products) at Sirin Labs. The device for the rich and famous is available at Sirin Labs' first retail store in Mayfair (34 Bruton Place), London from June 1 and at Harrods, Knightsbridge from June 30. The luxury smartphone is not a new phenomenon. In 2006, Nokia launched a $310,000 "Signature Cobra" device in 2006 and the $5,000 "Constellation" smartphone in 2011. In 2012, Nokia dropped luxury-phone brand maker Vertu. After leaving Nokia, Vertu brought its first Android device "Vertu Ti" to market. According to media reports, the smartphone was priced at a whopping Rs 6,49,990 in India. It has dual-core 1.7GHz processor along with 1GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. According to Vertu, its smartphones have 184 individual parts. The body is made by Grade 5 titanium, and has a set of Bang and Olufsen stereo speakers. The sapphire crystal renders the screen virtually scratch-proof and it is tested to be four times stronger than other smartphones in terms of impact resistance, it had claimed. Vertu was later acquired from Swedish private equity group EQT by a consortium of Chinese investors. Photo for illustration (Source: VNA) The spokesman made the statement in response to reporters queries about Vietnams comment on the US Senates voting for Joint Draft Resolution 28, on May 25th, to scrap the program. Vietnam has repeatedly expressed its concern over the USDAs catfish inspection programme which is costly and unnecessary, and would become a non-tariff trade barrier, violating regulations set by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the spirit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, he said. Binh described the US Senates approval as a sound step contributing to showing the USs commitments to bilateral and multilateral trade mechanisms with Vietnam, he said. It also conforms with new developments of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership which has been reflected through the recent visit to Vietnam by President Barack Obama, he added. Vietnam appealed to the US Senate and authorities to soon make the next steps in completely lifting the programme, the spokesman said. We always exert great efforts to cooperate with countries, including the US, to ensure safety and the quality of Vietnamese catfish which has met international quality and safety standards, he affirmed. The US Senates vote took place on May 25th, with bill supporters, including Republican Sen. John McCain, arguing that the USDA program is wasteful, duplicative and unnecessary. Supporters said the program violated commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and would result in a lawsuit that will cost US agricultural exporters. They criticised its intention to protect US catfish producers by raising barriers for catfish imports from Vietnam and other nations. The resolution still needs the House of Representatives approval and President Barack Obamas signature to take effect. Catfish is a popular fish in the US, with the market dominated by local producers mostly from southern states such as Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama. In recent years, they have been rivaled by cheaper Asian imports. In 2008, to protect domestic production, the US Congress created the inspection programme, which includes anti-dumping duties targeting Vietnams tra and basa fish. On December 2nd, 2015, the USDA tightened catfish-related regulations. Observers said these regulations would affect both foreign and domestic producers and would cost the local industry millions of dollars. On December 9th, 2015, two senators, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte, introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to nullify the USDA's catfish inspection program./. Washington, June 1 : US' National Press Club President Thomas Burr slammed Donald Trump, ripping into the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for comments he made during a combative news conference. "Donald Trump misunderstands - or, more likely, simply opposes - the role a free press plays in a democratic society," Burr said in response to Trump's remark on Tuesday that journalists should be "ashamed of themselves" for digging into his fundraising efforts on behalf of veterans groups. "Reporters are supposed to hold public figures accountable. Any American political candidate who attacks the press for doing its job is campaigning in the wrong country. In the US, under our Constitution, a free press is a check on politicians of all parties," Burr said. Trump has repeatedly called reporters "dishonest people" and referred to one journalist as a "sleaze" while speaking to reporters at Trump Tower on Tuesday, Politico reported. In February, the Manhattan billionaire raised alarms for warning that if he were elected president, he would work to "open up" libel laws to make it easier for public officials to sue media outlets. Later on Tuesday, Trump bashed his likely general-election opponent, Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton, for not taking more questions from the media. "I am getting great credit for my press conference today. Crooked Hillary should be admonished for not having a press conference in 179 days," he tweeted. Kuala Lumpur, June 1 : The 25th Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) World Economic Forum (WEF) began in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. "We must concentrate on where we are now and provide tangible benefits to our people so we build the ASEAN community both in the minds and hearts of our people and also practical ways," said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in his speech at the opening plenary for the session 'Shaping the ASEAN Agenda for Inclusion and Growth'. The two-day forum, which is co-chaired by academics, advocates including Amnesty International's Secretary General Salil Shetty, and includes university youth leaders, aims to focus on job creation to address unemployment in the ASEAN subregion. With the rise of technology and automated machines pushing out low-skilled labour, a phenomenon the WEF has termed the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution', combining national markets to influence world trade is key for growth. "If ASEAN were a single country it would be the seventh-largest economy in the world," said the WEF, touting the combined GDP of $2.5 trillion in 2015 and predicting the rise of the 'economic powerhouse' to the fourth largest export region globally by 2050. Islamabad, June 1 : Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday asserted that the country's democracy has been strengthened to the extent that it can now withstand various crises. Addressing a joint session of parliament, the president said sustainable development was not possible without a stable democracy and added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had guided the country on the path towards progress. The president said a government which ensures rule of law, economic development and provision of basic needs to its people can easily overcome challenges, stabilise democracy and reinforce the relationship between the individual and state, Radio Pakistan reported. The president's address to a joint session of both houses of parliament marks the beginning of a new parliamentary year and is mandatory under the Constitution. Baghdad, June 1 : At least 20,000 children are trapped in the Iraqi city of Fallujah where the army has launched an offensive against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, which has been controlling the area since early 2014, Unicef reported on Wednesday. In a statement, Unicef warned that "food and medicine are running out and clean water is in short supply", EFE news reported Since the start of the military operation in Fallujah, which lies some 60 km west of Baghdad, "very few families have been able to leave. Most have moved to two camps while others have sought refuge with relatives and extended families," the statement said. On May 23, the Iraqi army, backed by warplanes from the US-led international coalition, began a military offensive against the city. Since then, both the Army Command and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi have made several appeals for people to leave the city through humanitarian corridors opened by the security forces. However, according to Unicef, the plan to evacuate civilians has not been successful so far. "Children face the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting, strict procedures for security screening and separation from their families," the statement explained. "Children who are recruited see their lives and futures jeopardized as they are forced to carry and use arms, fighting in an adult war." Unicef called on all parties at the end of the statement to protect children inside the besieged city, and "provide safe passage to those wishing to leave ... and grant safe and secure environments to displaced civilians." The offensive against Fallujah, the second largest IS stronghold in Iraq after Mosul, entered its third phase on Sunday. Pro-government forces have encountered stiff resistance there by the armed extremists. Kathmandu, June 1 : The Indian Embassy in Nepal on Wednesday issued an advisory to Indian nationals planning to undertake the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage to avoid the route via Nepal owing to forecast of inclement weather. Since the weather conditions are expected to deteriorate in the weeks to come, the Indian citizens are advised to avoid the Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa route to visit Mount Kailash and the sacred Mansarovar Lake, an embassy statement here said. The Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa route is considered difficult due to a treacherous terrain but a lot of Indians prefer the route that is close to the China border. A large number of Indians have also been making their own arrangements for the Kailash-Mansarover Yatra via Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa route, the embassy said, adding that many were facing logistical problems in Hilsa and Simikot primarily on account of bad weather. The inclement weather prevents regular evacuation from Hilsa to Simikot by helicopter and from Simikot to Nepalgunj by fixed-wing aircraft, it pointed out. Only this week, over 500 Indians, mostly pilgrims en route to Kailash-Mansarovar via Nepal, were stranded at Hilsa and Simikot due to rough weather and officials faced difficulties in evacuating them. All these pilgrims were brought by private Indian tour operators which had arranged for their travel and other logistics. Most of these stranded Indians were evacuated by air from the Hilsa-Simikot section with the help of Nepali security officials. The Indian Embassy said that, in cooperation with the Nepal government and tour operators, it was making all possible arrangements for the timely evacuation of pilgrims/visitors from Hilsa to Simikot and from Simikot to Nepalgunj. However, inclement weather was impeding regular air services, thereby causing difficulties for those stranded at Hilsa and Simikot, the embassy said. The Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra takes place from June to September every year. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs offers pilgrimage through two routes -- the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand in which the trip is of 25 days and the Nathu La in Sikkim (23 days). Tokyo, June 1 : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday said he will delay an already controversial planned tax hike further from April 2017 to October 2019 in a surefire sign that his once-revered "Abenomics" blend of economic policies has failed to breathe life into Japan's ailing economy. Abe said the delay was "essential to support not just Japanese growth, but global growth" and that some of his decision making was made following the outcome of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' summit he hosted here last week, Xinhua reported. He said the delay was also necessary to avoid a "substantial drop in domestic demand", adding the consumption tax hike as he planned "could severely hurt domestic demand". As well as delaying the planned tax hike by some two-and-half years, Abe said his government will prepare more fiscal stimulus this fall that could total as much as 6 trillion yen ($54 billion). Abe initially announced his decision to delay the tax hike to his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members at a meeting earlier in the day, saying he had made the decision to again delay the controversial tax hike to 10 percent by two and a half years. The delay is a blow to Abe as his ascension to office in December 2012 was based predominantly on his "Abenomics" policy mix "miracle cure" that, through aggressive monetary easing and fiscal spending, as well as structural reforms, would rescue Japan from the doldrums of economic stagnation as well as work towards talking the nation's decades of deflationary pressure alongside the central bank. Economists have been quick, however, to point out that this has not been the case, and Abe's announcement this evening is a testament to the failure of his policy mix, with the announcement acting as a double-edge sword. On the one hand, Abe bought himself more time to get his fiscal house in order, but on the other, in not following through with his planned hike as per his original schedule, has lost public and market faith, which could further impact falling domestic consumption as well as create volatility in both the stock and the currency markets. In light of this a no-confidence motion was filed against Abe's cabinet, by four opposition parties a day earlier, although the Japanese lower house on Tuesday shot down the petition. The parties blasted Abe's economic and other policies, and took aim at him and his party ahead of the July upper house election. The opposition parties believe Abe postponing the sales tax hike is a tacit admission that "Abenomics" has utterly failed and, in fact, worsened Japan's economic situation. In December 2014, Abe first delayed the tax hike and called a snap election, with observers not ruling out the possibility that a double election could be called in July, although the Japanese leader denied that such an occurrence could happen this summer. Kolkata, June 1 : Monsoon in Kerala is "slightly delayed" and likely to set in by June 6 and "normal to excess rainfall" is expected over most parts of the country from July till September, said private weather forecaster Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS). "The onset of monsoon in Kerala is expected to be slightly delayed and is likely to take place around June 6 to June 7 as a weak current," said Kanti Prasad, senior consultant, climate sciences, WRMS Pvt Ltd. "Though slightly delayed, its advancement will be good," Prasad said. The company processes the NOAA climate CFSV2 (coupled forecast system version 2) model and adds statistical and synoptic interpretations to provide long range weather forecasts to its clients. NOAA is the US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The analysis says rainfall during the month of June may "remain subdued" over many parts of India except in the northeastern states. "Monsoon rains are expected to commence over north eastern states around June 10 and advance further westward across West Bengal, Bihar, East UP and Himalayan belt between June 16 and June 20. Our analysis of the model shows that monsoon 2016 may end up on the positive side of the normal with well distributed rainfall over the country," said Prasad. "The monthly precipitation forecasts based on the model products dated May 26 indicate positive anomalies (normal to excess rainfall) over most parts of the country during July, August and September." But a few pockets of south peninsula such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu may receive "deficient rainfall" during the months of July and September, he said. New Delhi, June 1 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday will visit 'The Retrea'" at Mashobra near Shimla from June 2 to 6, an Rashtrapti Bhavan statement said. "On June 3, the President will address the Golden Jubilee Convocation of Indira Gandhi Medical College. On the same day, Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, will host a cultural programme and banquet in honour of the President," said the statement. The President will host a reception for senior dignitaries of the state, ministers, officials and journalists on June 5. 'The Retreat', which is part of the President's Estate, is located in a picturesque surroundings, and is a 1,000 feet higher than the Shimla Ridge Top. Originally constructed in 1850, it was taken over by the then Viceroy in 1895. Ramallah, June 1 : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was willing for a dialogue with Israel's newly-appointed defence minister, if the latter accepts the principle of the two-state solution, the media reported on Wednesday. Abbas made the remarks in a meeting on Tuesday with several mayors of Israeli cities. It was Abbas' first reaction to the appointment of Lieberman as defence minister in Israel on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. Lieberman, chairman of the far right-wing Israeli Party Israel Batino (Israel is our home), is well-known for adopting radical thoughts against the Arabs and the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, mainly against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Islamic Hamas movement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement to join Lieberman's party into his coalition. "Our judgements are not made in accordance to their factional or racial ideologies and beliefs, but according to their positions in their governments in relation to the peace process," Abbas said. "During Israel's experience in peace over the past 40 years, we learned that the right-wing in Israel can only make peace." However, Lieberman and Netanyahu said in a joint news briefing that they accept the two-state solution and ready to negotiate with the Arab states on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative made during the Arab Summit held in Beirut in 2002. "It is necessary to make a good use of the Arab peace initiative in order to make a comprehensive peace," Abbas said. "Fifty-seven Arab and Islamic states will be willing to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel," he said. Abbas stressed that all can happen when Israel withdraws from the Palestinian territories it occupied in 1967 and accepts the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on these territories with East Jerusalem as its capital, adding: "We work together to make the peace that the Israeli people want." Israel and the Palestinians signed a series of peace accords and treaties in Oslo, Cairo and Washington in 1993, 1995 and 1998, where the PNA was transitionally established after mutual recognition between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The Last direct peace talks between the two sides, which were sponsored by the US and lasted for nine months, stopped in April 2014 due to differences with the Israeli government on lands confiscation and expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. International and Arab efforts had so far failed to bridge the gaps between the two sides in order to resume the peace talks and agree on the outstanding issues, mainly after Israel and the US rejected a French peace initiative that aimed at holding an international peace conference to end the conflict. Nabil Abu Rdineh, an advisor to Abbas, said the joint remarks of Netanyahu and Lieberman over the two-state solution and the Arab peace initiative "should be attached with practical steps of action on the ground, including the recognition of a Palestinian state on 1967 borders." "Israel should know that the Arab peace initiative is part of the resolutions on the UN Security Council and the US-backed Roadmap peace plan," he said, adding "over-jumping the Arab initiative is not reasonable, especially there is an international consensus that backs it". Meanwhile, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the PLO executive committee and the former chief negotiator, said that before making remarks, Israel should immediately pull out from the occupied Palestinian territories and implement all the signed peace agreements. "Lieberman's remarks should be attached with an Israeli commitment to the international resolutions related to the conflict in the Middle East and also a commitment to world-backed two-state solution and the Arab peace initiative," said Erekat, adding "his (Lieberman) remarks are made for public relations". Jerusalem, June 1 : Only two days before a Middle East peace summit in Paris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday to keep East Jerusalem under Israeli control "for eternity". "Jerusalem is the nation's heart, our undivided capital," Xinhua news agency quoted Netanyahu as saying in Knesset (parliament) during a special session ahead of "Jerusalem Day" on June 2. He said Jewish ties to the city extend back to King David's time, the Jewish king who ruled the city between 1010 and 970 BC. Each year, Israel marks the "merging" of the eastern and western parts of the city during "Jerusalem Day", an event which includes a flag parade who march from the western to the eastern part of the city in Palestinian neighbourhoods. Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Later, it annexed East Jerusalem, claiming it as part of its "undivided capital", in a move which the international community never acknowledged. The remarks came ahead of the Parisian June 3 convention of foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, in preparation for a peace conference in autumn. Israel fears that the conference which aims to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would impose strong international pressure on it in order to reach a territorial agreement with Palestinians. Moscow, June 1 : The Kremlin expects an apology and compensation from Turkey for a fighter aircraft which was downed in November last year, as a first step to restore bilateral ties, a spokesman said on Wednesday. "I don't think I'm in a position to recommend anything to a president of another country, which would be incorrect, but I feel it necessary to remind of the repeated declarations of Putin on this issue," Tass news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. He recalled that shortly after the downing of the Russian Su-24 jet by the Turkish air force, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow expected an apology, an explanation of the incident, compensation and payment to the family of the killed pilot. The Kremlin regretted the fact that Ankara still had not taken any necessary steps to resolve the current crisis in bilateral relations, Peskov said. Putin said last week during a visit to Greece that Moscow was ready to restore relations with Turkey but expected some "concrete steps" from Ankara. In response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said he wanted Ankara to improve ties with Moscow, but was not sure what first step it was expected to take. Erdogan also called the incident a "pilot error" not worth sacrificing relations between the two countries. Relations between Russia and Turkey have soured after Turkish forces shot down a Russian Su-24 jet near the Turkish-Syrian border on November 24, 2015 for alleged airspace violation, which the Russian side denied and saw as a hostile act. Putin then described the attack as a "stab in the back from accomplices of terrorism" and ordered imposing a broad range of economic sanctions against Turkey. New Delhi, June 1 : National passenger carrier Air India on Wednesday announced a special fares offer for students, who travel at this time of the year to join schools, colleges or appear for entrance exams. According to the airline, the new offer provides special fares to students in the range of Rs 3,500-Rs 5,500 for domestic travel. "Students travelling for various academic reasons like proceeding to join their school, college or to give entrance exam would be able to benefit from this special offer," the airline said in a statement. Under the new offer, students after providing required documents would be able to avail tickets at Rs 3,500 (all inclusive) for distance of up to 1,000 km and at Rs 5,500 (all inclusive) for distance over 1,000 km. "The booking period for this offer starts from June 1, 2016 and tickets can be booked till August 31, 2016 for travel between July 1, 2016 and August 31, 2016," the statement said. "To avail these special fares, students are required to provide photo copy of the following documents while booking: admit card, examination hall ticket, admission slip, photo Id of the institution." Islamabad, June 1 : Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday said there was no military solution to the problem in Afghanistan and emphasised the need for political dialogue to resolve the issue. His comments at the opening of parliament session came amid increased violence in Afghanistan after the Taliban refused to join the peace talks and launched their annual fighting season last month, Xinhua news agency reported. Pakistan encouraged the Taliban to send a delegation of its Qatar-based Afghan representatives to Islamabad in late April to discuss prospects for peace talks. However, the Afghan government also did not sent its delegation following the April 19 deadly attack in Kabul. "Peace and stability in Afghanistan is imperative for peace in the region. This objective can be achieved through reconciliation among the stakeholders and there is no military solution to this problem," Hussain told parliament. He also referred to the efforts by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group of Afghanistan -- China, Pakistan, the US and Afghanistan -- to facilitate talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. "Although some recent incidents in Afghanistan have hindered this process, we are still confident that these efforts will succeed," the Pakistani president said. Senior diplomats from the QCG group met in Islamabad last month and agreed that "violence serves no purpose and peace negotiations remain the sole option for a political settlement in Afghanistan". Tehran, June 1 : Head of Iran's Haj and Pilgrimage Organisation Saeed Ohadi on Wednesday asked Iranians to avoid travelling to Saudi Arabia from a third country to join the Haj ritual in September. "This year, due to the psychological atmosphere against Iran created by the Saudis and (their) failure to provide consular services to Iranian pilgrims, it is not advisable for any (Iranian) national to go on Haj pilgrimage from another country," Xinhua quoted Ohadi as saying. Ohadi pointed to his recent talks with Saudi Haj officials, saying that in the negotiations, Saudis followed "improper" approach they had adopted toward the issue of Iranians' Haj pilgrimage earlier. Regarding this year's Haj, Saudi authorities' discrimination and hatred as well as their attempts to take political revenge has "reached a peak", he said. On Sunday, Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati said performing Haj for Iranian pilgrims was "impossible" in 2016. "We were supposed to wait until Sunday for the Saudi officials' response about our points in the negotiations. But, the rhetoric of the Saudi side with the Iranian representatives, and their obstructions showed that performing Haj rituals is impossible (for Iranians) this year," Jannati said. After several rounds of meetings with the Saudi authorities recently, Tehran failed to reach an agreement with Riyadh on arrangements for its pilgrims to join the annual ritual in September. Saudi Arabia and Iran have accused each other of "politicising" the Haj and held one another responsible for barring Iranian citizens from performing the ritual this season. Iran and Saudi Arabia are currently locked in a diplomatic row over Syria and Yemen issues, as well as the Sunni-majority Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia cleric Nimr-al Nimr, along with 46 others over terror charges, in January. The executions sent a large number of Iranians to the streets, and some of them stormed the Saudi diplomatic missions in capital Tehran and the city of Mashhad. Later, Riyadh cut its diplomatic ties with Tehran over the attacks, and many of Gulf countries either followed suit or downgraded their relations with Iran. Seoul, June 1 : North Korean propaganda website DPRK Today hailed Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for his intention to withdraw American troops from the Korean peninsula, terming him as a "wise politician" with "vision". "In my personal opinion, there are many positive aspects to Trump's 'inflammatory policies'," wrote Han Yong Mook, a Chinese-North Korean scholar. "If the US does not interfere in the affairs of the peninsula, the two Koreas will reconcile and cooperate," Xinhua news agency cited the article as saying. "The candidate whom Americans should select is not (Democratic candidate) Hillary Clinton, who seeks to apply the Iran-model to the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, but Trump, who hopes for direct talks with us," it said. Throughout his campaign to secure the Republican Party's nomination, Trump said he will hold talks with Pyongyang to put an end to its nuclear development programme and exert pressure on Beijing to make more efforts in the matter. The US business tycoon has also suggested Washington withdraw its troops from South Korea unless Seoul assumes a greater share in the financial cost of the deployment. Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), June 1 : Veteran social activist Anna Hazare will try to create moral pressure on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as its most senior minister, Eknath Khadse, is facing charges of corruption, an aide said here on Wednesday. Social activist Anjali Damania, who met Hazare, said she will stage a sit-in outside the chief minister's official residence 'Varsha' on the Malabar Hill in Mumbai from Thursday to demand Khadse's resignation from the state cabinet. She said Hazare will shortly speak to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, as part of his anti-corruption agenda. Hazare conveyed his intention to Damania when she called on him at his Ralegan-Siddhi village in Ahmednagar. Damania showed Hazare the documents purportedly linking Khadse to certain scams and said the 78-year-old well known social activist was "shocked". Meawhile, Mumbai police slapped Damania with a notice prohibiting her from agitating in the sensitive VVIP zone. Some BJP activists and Khadse supporters too threatened to burn her effigy in Jalgaon, the northern Maharashtra district from where the minister hails. Damania hit back at the BJP with a tweet: "Achche Din... Great, BJP! Instead of burning effigy of those indulging in corruption, you are targeting those fighting against graft." Both Hazare and Damania have in the past targeted ministers, bureaucrats and officials for various acts of alleged corruption spanning several key government departments. The beleaguered Khadse -- number two in the state cabinet and holding around 10 key portfolios, including revenue -- has been accused of corruption by different opposition parties too, which have demanded his sacking or resignation. Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam on Monday led a delegation to Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao to demand Khadse's removal. On Monday, Pune-based businessman-cum-activist Hemant L. Gawande accused Khadse, his wife and son-in-law of various irregularities in the purchase of a piece of land. Gawande charged Khadse with misusing power and authority, subverting laws, bypassing norms, evading tax, pressurising officials and other wrongdoings in closing the land deal in April to benefit his family members. The ruling BJP, however, dismissed as "baseless and mala fide" the allegations against Khadse. Lucknow, June 1 : BJP parliamentarian Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that action should be taken against Mohammed Akhlaq's family for eating beef and the compensation given to the family should be taken back. Akhlaq, a resident of Bisara village near Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, was lynched by a Hindu mob on September 28 last year for allegedly possessing and eating beef. The incident, which drew attention of international media, was widely condemned in India. Yogi's remarks came after a report from a forensic lab in Mathura emerged, saying that the meat seized in the case was actually beef. "It is a crime in Uttar Pradesh to slaughter cow and possess or eat its meat. Akhlaq's family has indulged in this crime. Action should be taken against them for this," the Bharatiya Janata Party MP said. "Secondly, the compensation given to Akhlaq's family by the government should be taken back," he added. He also asked for releasing the persons arrested by the state police for Akhlaq's murder. An earlier report by Dadri Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Y.S. Tomar had declared the meat found in Akhlaq home was mutton and not beef. After the Mathura lab's report came out, Tomar said he had only "visually examined" the meat and the forensic lab's report should be seen as the final report. However, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav raised questions about the relevance of the report, saying nothing objectionable was found in Akhlaq's home. "From where was this meat sample collected? As you may recall, nothing objectionable was found in Akhlaq's household or his fridge. Everyone wants justice in this case, the family (Akhlaq's) deserves justice as one of their members has been murdered," the chief minister said. "What one eats, what one wears, what language one speaks...I think we should keep away from such unnecessary controversies," he added. Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammed questioned the veracity of the report, saying that the meat sample in question was not collected from their family fridge. "The meat sample was not collected from our fridge. The police collected it from outside, and it is possible that somebody planted that meat there to politicise the issue," Mohammed said. He said the latest report was not "above doubt" as it may be a tactic to divert attention from the issue of Akhlaq's murder. Chandigarh, June 1 : While being in a denial mode over the prevalence of drug addition in the state, the Punjab government on Wednesday said that it will conduct drugs test on candidates applying for jobs in the Punjab Police. "To strengthen the Punjab Police, the state government will recruit 7,416 male and female constables in a fair and transparent manner, besides conducting a drug test on the selected candidates to be deployed in the force," said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who also holds the Home portfolio. The recruitment process for district police and armed police cadre has already been initiated. "The physical test and written tests would be conducted and all candidates would have to undergo drug test before the tests so as to ascertain the facts of use of contrabands by the youth," said Badal. Justifying the drugs test for police recruitment, he said: "Though it had already been established during army recruitments conducted in the past in the state that no drug addict was found during the selections, but to re-assert the reality it had been decided to take samples for testing the use of drugs." Badal said that no candidate from Punjab was found positive during the recent selection trials of Chandigarh Police where more than dozen Punjabi youth were inducted in the force. Surveys in recent years have indicated that incidence of drugs abuse was high in Punjab, especially among youth and in rural areas. New Delhi, June 1 : Karnataka on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the state high court judgment acquitting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others in disproportionate assets case was unsustainable both on facts and law and defeated the very purpose of cleansing the public life. The top court is hearing appeal by the Karnataka government challenging the acquittal of Jayalalithaa, her aide N. Sasikala Natrajan and her two relatives V.N. Sudhakaran and Elavarasi by the Karnataka High Court. They were accused of allegedly amassing disproportionate asserts to the tune of Rs. 66.65.crores during her first term as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996. Describing the defence offered by Jayalalithaa and three others as "cock and bull story", the vacation bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy was told that accepting the arguments by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister would amount to throwing the anti-corruption law - Prevention of Corruption Act - into the dustbin. As arguments by Karnataka government were concluded, the court said that one of the three options it may exercise would be either to uphold the high court verdict acquitting Jayalalithaa and three others, reverse the high court verdict and restore the conviction or still after re-appreciating the entire evidence, direct fresh trial or remit for the matter to the high court for fresh consideration. The bench outlined the three options available to it after senior counsel Dushyant Dave appearing for Karnataka described the judgment acquitting Jayalalithaa and others as "perverse beyond imagination", devoid of reasoning and based on "conjectures and surmises". He told the court it had the three options available to it but could not re-appreciate the evidence to find faults with the trial court judgment of conviction. Telling the court that the burden of proof of the legitimacy of the sources of the income was on the accused, Dave said merely that the income tax department had accepted their returns does not attach legitimacy to their incomes and assets. He said that the income tax department was only concerned with realising the tax and production of returns was not the end of the matter. He said that the burden is on the accused to show the lawful source of the money and on the basis of which property have been purchased. Senior counsel and Special Public Prosecutor in the case B.V. Acharya told the court that the disproportionate assets would be surface if the income, expenditure, and assets acquired by Jayalalithaa and the others were taken together and not individually separating one from the other. The high court, while acquitting Jayalalithaa and the others, had revered September 27, 2014, Bangaluru trial court order convicting her. After a trial that lasted for 18 years, the trial court in Bangaluru had convicted Jayalalithaa and sentenced her to four-year jail term and a fine of Rs.100 crore. New Delhi, June 1 : Demands for Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's elevation as the party chief are growing and the issue may figure in a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting expected later this month, party sources said. They said a reshuffle of the All India Congress Committee is also being contemplated and younger party leaders are likely to be promoted to positions of responsibilty. "A meeting of the party's Working Committee is likely to take place later this month after the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha are over," a party leader said here. The CWC is also expected to discuss the party's showing in the assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Party leaders have called for a "major surgery" and "cardiac surgery" since after the round of four assembly polls saw the Congress reduced to being in power in only six states, most of them small ones. There is a feeling among leaders that Rahul Gandhi should take up the responsibility of the party as its chief and bring a new team with fresh ideas to prepare ground for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "It is good that change comes about because we have to be ready for 2019. He (Rahul) is the best choice," a party leader said. There is also a feeling in the party that the elevation should not be delayed for long as the party has to plunge into preparations for assembly polls in five states early next year, including crucial states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Punjab Congress chief Capt. Amarinder Singh in an interview this week said that time has come for the new generation to emerge in the party. Amarinder said that Sonia Gandhi might be feeling tired. "It will be only fair if she wishes to hand over (the reins of the party)," he said. There has been recurrent speculation of Rahul Gandhi taking over reins of the party from his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has led it for nearly 18 years. But the change has not come about so far due to perceived reluctance of Rahul Gandhi to assume high party office. There also have been suggestions that Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should play a more active role in politics. Rahul Gandhi was appointed party vice president in 2013. Several party leaders, including Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, have said in the past that he should be elevated and given full charge of the party. Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev told reporters here on Wednesday that the party would like Rahul Gandhi to take up the leadership mantle. "There is lot of speculation going on and I think Sonia Gandhi ji and Rahul Gandhi ji have led the party through its many phases. There is, of course, a demand from various quarters of workers and all of us would like Rahul Gandhi ji to take the lead. As and when there is any news, we will be happy to address the issue," she said. She said that the party wholeheartedly accepts leadership of both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. "So, as and when that decision happens, we will make a proper statement," she said. New Delhi, June 1 : The Delhi University on Wednesday launched the webpage for online registrations for admission to its undergraduate (UG) programmes for the academic year 2016-17 and saw over 30,000 register on the first day. "We have received an overwhelming response from students on the first day of registration for the UG admissions registration. The portal was launched at 12 p.m today and by 6.30 p.m., more than 30,000 students had already registered on the site. This is a very positive sign," Dean of Students Welfare J.M Khurana told IANS. The varsity also conducted its first 'Open Session' at the Conference Centre in North Campus on the same day for the counselling of students seeking admission in the UG programmes. According to officials, around 1,000 people attended the session with various queries regarding the new admission process, courses and teaching patterns. "We are not counselling students on what courses will be best suited for them. We are providing information to them on the new admission policies, guiding them on how to register online for the registration," Khurana said. Last year, the varsity had introduced online registration process along with offline forms for the UG admissions. As many as 2,40,000 candidates had registered online for various undergraduate courses in 2015. Due to the fully-online registration process this year, colleges in the North Campus remained deserted. However, certain students and parents remain unclear about the discontinuation of offline forms. "I'm are still unsure if there is any offline forms available. There isn't much clarity as of now on the admission process since it is difficult to seek all the information online," an aspirant, who did not want to be identified, told IANS. Rabat, June 1 : Indian Muslims have lived in a religiously pluralistic society over the years and the intermingling has helped develop "an Indo-Islamic culture in India", Vice President M Hamid Ansari said here on Wednesday. He also said in the modern world with diversed cultures across the globe, tolerance alone is not adequate and efforts ought to be made to seek "acceptance of diversity as a civic virtue". "The challenge for the modern world is to accept diversity as an existential reality and to configure attitudes and methodologies for dealing with it. In developing such an approach, the traditional virtue of tolerance is desirable but insufficient," he said delivering a lecture at the Mohammed V University here during his ongoing visit to Morocco. "...our effort, thinking and practices have to look beyond it and seek acceptance of diversity and adopt it as a civic virtue," said Ansari. "Indian Muslims have lived in India's religiously plural society for over a thousand years, at times as rulers, at others as subjects and now as citizens. They are not homogenous in racial or linguistic terms.....Over centuries of intermingling and interaction, an Indo-Islamic culture developed in India," the vice president said speaking on the topic 'Accommodating Diversity in a Globalising World: The Indian Experience'. Ansari said "the one incontrovertible" fact about the Muslim experience in modern India is that Muslims consider themselves as "beneficiaries" of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, participate fully in the civic processes of the polity and "seek correctives for their grievances" within the system. "There is no inclination in their ranks to resort to ideologies and practices of violence," he said. However, he said given the "segmented nature of society and unequal economy", there would be issues at times and concerns have been expressed from time to time about shortfalls and pace of implementation of what is enshrined in the consitution. But Ansari pointed out: "The corrective lies in our functioning democracy, its accountability mechanisms including regularity of elections at all levels from village and district councils to regional and national levels. "The framers of our constitution had the objective of securing civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights as essential ingredients of citizenship. Particular emphasis was placed on rights of religious minorities." Stating that efforts are on in India to propagate acceptance of diversity and "as a civic virtue", Ansari said: "We in India are attempting it, cannot yet say that we have succeeded, but are committed to continue the effort". In this context, he invited "all right-minded people to join us (India) in this endeavour". Ansari is on a visit to Morocco and Tunisia. The Moroccan varsity later conferred an honoris causa degree on the Vice President. Bengaluru, June 1 : Warning of stringent action against indiscipline, the Karnataka government on Wednesday banned the state police force from striking work on June 4 and invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (Esma) to maintain public order and safety across the state. The Karnataka state police association has, however, decided to go on with its strike by taking leave en masse on this Saturday to protest exploitation of about 60,000 constabulary by senior officers, over work, under pay and poor working conditions. Declaring police service as essential, the state government prohibited the police personnel from taking mass leave or abstaining from work and threatened to act against them under the Esma provisions. "Maintenance of public order and protection of property, besides crime detection was an essential duty of police," the government order said after Home Minister G. Parameshawara appealed to the association to withdraw its strike call. Asserting that indiscipline by the police force would not be tolerated, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters that the as strike was called by a non-recognised organisation, the government would act against violators under Esma provisions. "The strike call is given by a suspended policeman (V. Shashidhar), who claims to be founder-president of their association (Akhila Karnataka Police Maha Sangha). The government is willing to address all grievances of the police personnel," he said. The chief minister reviewed the situation at a meeting with home ministry officials and top police officers, including Director General of Police Om Prakash here. "I have faith in the police force, and I am sure they will not be provoked. If they have any grievances and lawful demands, it should be discussed and resolved amicably. A protest by the police will be considered seriously and legal action initiated against them," Siddaramaiah reiterated. Highlighting the problems faced by policemen, especially constables, Shashidar alleged that they were made to work for long and irregular hours, with no proper leave and were harassed by their seniors. New Delhi, June 1 : The Ministry of Urban Development on Wednesday conducted a "Mera Swachh India Gate" event and organized various competitions to engage with school students from across the capital, under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). The event, conducted through Central Public Works Department, invited students, aged between 6 to 16 years, to participate in essay writing, drawing and painting contests under the 'Swachh Bharat' theme, and saw the participation of nearly 200 children from across the capital. The event was organized at the lawns of India Gate. "It is important for us to foster and nurture a child's development. It is our responsibility to teach them good value of cleanliness," said Pravin Prakash, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development. "The event organised is to celebrate children as agents of change and we hope the exercise conducted enables each and every participating students to improve the sanitation and hygiene conditions in their family," he added. Shifting focus on bringing about mass mindset and behavior change towards cleanliness issues in the country, the SBM has recognized children and school students to be one of the major agents of change in the system, with plans to engage with schools from across the country on a regular basis. Nairobi, June 2 : A senior Al-Shabaab commander, who was behind the Garissa University attack in April last year, was killed during airstrikes in southern Somalia on Tuesday night, Kenyan police said on Wednesday. Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said that Mohamed Kuno, alias Dulyadayn or Sheikh Mahamad, was killed by special security forces during operations conducted in Farwamo and Bulo-Gadud villages, about 30 km north of Kismayo, Xinhua reported. "We have reports that he was killed in an airstrike by special security forces. He was behind the Garissa university attack," Boinnet said. Security officials said the operation, which also killed two other militants, was conducted by the Somalian and foreign forces though information is scanty. Kuno is believed to have been behind the dreadful Garissa university attack which left over 148 people, mainly students, dead. Kuno, who hailed from Garissa in northern Kenya, was Al-Shabaab's Jabha leader for Juba region in Somalia. He was, prior to his death, incharge of external operations against Kenya. The police said Kuno was believed to be very religious and had been a Madarasa teacher for several years. He worked for Al-Haramain Foundation between 1993 and 1995 before the institution was closed. At the time he was known as Sheikh Mahamad. He later became a teacher and principal at Madarasa Najah in Garissa from 1997-2000 where his extremist tendencies became more manifested. Jerusalem, June 2 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the French efforts to organise a peace summit to restart peace talks with the Palestinians, saying peace is not achieved with international conferences. Netanyahu made the comments during a ceremony at the Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Medicine in northern Israel's Galilee, Xinhua reported. "The way to peace does not go through international conferences that seek to impose agreements, make the Palestinians' demands more extreme and thereby make peace more remote," the prime minister said, according to a statement from his office. He reiterated his position that the only way to achieve peace is through direct talks "without preconditions". The comments are made prior to a planned meeting of various international foreign ministers on Friday, in order to discuss the French initiative. No Israeli or Palestinian representative will be present in this forum. Another conference is in the works for the upcoming fall. A week ago, Netanyahu told French Prime Minister Manuel Valls during the latter's visit to Jerusalem to advance the summit, that he will be willing to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in person in Paris or anywhere else, stressing again the preference of direct talks over the planned summit. French officials announced the initiative, which would seek to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, in January, to the ire of Israeli officials, and the support of Palestinian leaders. On Monday, following the swearing-in of hawkish lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman as defence minister, he and Netanyahu both said they support the two-state solution, with Lieberman lauding a speech recently given by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the need to restart talks with the involvement of Arab states, including Egypt, based on the 2002 Saudi Arabia peace proposal. The proposal says that in exchange for peace between the two sides, other Arab countries would normalise their ties with Israel. Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories in the 1967 Mideast War. The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians took place between July 2013 and April 2014 with the mediation of the US, and ended abruptly without results. International calls to restart peace talks come amid an ongoing wave of violence which started in October and claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and 204 Palestinians. "Sandbanks and Salcombe still highest priced seaside towns" According to the report, Scottish seaside towns dominate the list of areas with the greatest price growth, with seven of the top 10 located in Aberdeenshire, which for much of the period has been well served by growth in the oil and gas sector. Fraserburgh has seen the greatest house price growth with a rise of 139%, from 63,540 in 2006 to 151,719 in 2016, equivalent to a monthly increase of 735. In Macduff, average property value doubled from 66,226 to 133,567 (102%), followed by Peterhead (95%), Cove Bay (94%) and Newtonhill (91%). Brighton recorded the greatest increase in value outside of Scotland (59%), jumping from 214,863 to 341,235 over the decade. Other seaside towns in England with the best price performance include Whitstable in Kent (53%), Shoreham on Sea in West Sussex (53%), Leigh on Sea in Essex (52%) and Truro in Cornwall (50%). Despite the growth of property values in Scottish seaside towns over the past 10 years, nine of the 10 most expensive seaside towns in Britain are on the South coast with eight in the South West. The most expensive seaside town is Sandbanks in Poole, where the average house price is 664,655. Sandbanks knock Salcombe off the top spot, a position which Salcombe in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has enjoyed since 2010. Other most expensive seaside towns located in the South West include Padstow (443,396), Dartmouth (401,361) and Fowey (379,003). Aldeburgh in Suffolk (439,379) and Lymington in Hampshire (426,112) are the most expensive seaside towns outside the South West. Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said:" Seaside towns are highly popular places to live, offering sought-after scenery, weather and lifestyle which no doubt come at a price. They also attract those looking for holiday properties, which add upward pressure on house prices, which our research shows have increased by an average of 440 per month since 2006. Despite the price performance the least expensive seaside towns still in Scotland Nine of the 10 least expensive seaside towns are in Scotland. There is a marked difference in price at top and bottom end of the scale, with the most expensive town Sandbanks in Poole, at 664,655 almost 10 times more expensive than Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, at 77,132. Seven of the least expensive are in western Scotland, including Girvan (91,912), Campbeltown (91,938) and Saltcoats (93,479). Newbiggin by the Sea in Northumberland (81,259) is the least expensive seaside town in England. The research found 11 seaside towns in total with an average price below 100,000. Martin added: Over the 10-year period, coastal towns north of the border have been the strongest performing in terms of house price rises, but locations in the South West remain the most expensive. So if youre looking for a bargain, its still easier to find the further North you go, where average price in several areas is still below 100,000." US Fleet Tracking Improving quality service is something that is simple with real-time monitoring. GPS trackers has helped police officers to catch criminals; therefore, they helped to protect citizens. Improving quality service is something that is simple with real-time monitoring. Of course, enhancing the police force doesnt stop at monitoring vehicle usage. Today, US Fleet Tracking discusses 4 GPS tracking tips to help police departments keep criminals at bay. # 1- How To See Which Squad Car Is Closest To A Crime Scene: Utilizing GPS trackers, dispatching can use the real-time map to see all registered vehicles displayed in the field. With numerous units in the field at once, knowing their exact location cuts out a lot of guesswork and down time, allowing officers to serve the public quicker. What might have been a 20 minute wait for a police officer can easily be cut down to a 5 minute wait! #2- How To Know If Officers Are Sticking To Their Assigned Areas: Geofence alerts are a great feature within the GPS trackers which will allow chiefs to keep track of the officers in lower ranks. The alert can be sent via text or email if an officer leaves his or her assigned area. This is important for maintaining efficiency and safety. For example, in the event that a criminal were to hijack a police car, someone back in the office would know immediately and be able to track the whereabouts of the driver. # 3- How Officers Can Easily Log Evidence For Prosecution: Everyone that has access to GPS trackers can view the data stored in the system. This becomes incredibly useful for showing the captain back at the office when illegal cargo has been confiscated or evidence has been collected for prosecution. Officers can log this information in the device for easy retrieval later. This allows officers to simply their efforts which can aid in the activities that lead up to convictions in court. # 4- How To Ensure Evidence Made It Into The Appropriate Storage Lockers: Evidence can be logged while officers are still out in the field. From there, using the technology provided by GPS trackers, information can be updated to show cargo as stored away, properly, inside the evidence lockers. These are just a few tips to help law enforcement make use of GPS trackers to be able to keep criminals at bay. When the public thinks of their local police department, the first words that should come to mind are safety and protection. Being able to keep officers organized can help them maintain a high level of safety and commit to protecting their community. To view US Fleet Trackings GPS tracking selection, please click here. Over the years weve learned that Enterprise level IT and software solutions just arent pleasant for anyone to use the way Instagram, Uber or any consumer-level app is. Says Alex Otanez, COO. "So we decided to change that. Shockoe Enterprise Mobile Solutions, LLC., a leading mobile app development, mobile strategy, and mobile design announced today that three new UI/UX designers joined the company. Shockoe Enterprise Mobile Solutions is expanding its design team in response to the rapid demand of Enterprise App Development in 2016. What are you feeling right now? is a question one might expect from a marriage counselor or therapist. Not necessarily from a technology company. But that is exactly the type of question Sam Carbonell, Nikki Ziegler, and Jamie Young - the new Experience Design team at Shockoe.com, a Richmond-based mobile app development company - are asking. Young says, Our marriage to our mobile devices - tablets, smartphones, Internet of Things devices - is a lot like any marriage. When things are good, life couldnt be better. When they're not, tears and curses aren't uncommon. Minimizing that toll is where Shockoes new design team goes to work. Over the years weve learned that Enterprise level IT and software solutions just arent pleasant for anyone to use the way Instagram, Uber or any consumer-level app is, says Alex Otanez, COO. And when someone is spending half of their workday using that software, it translates into a lot of unhappy employees. So we decided to change that. The addition of an Experience Design team is a natural next step for Shockoe, who has been quietly building a world class client list - Capital One, Philips, GE, Winn Dixie, T-Mobile, for example - out of their office in Richmond, VA's historic Shockoe Bottom. The team is supported by Andrew LeVasseur, also head of VCU Brandcenters Experience Design track. Shockoe has a team of talented designers asking how can we make this experience better and a talented team of developers with the ability to bring new platforms and applications to life in both form and function. The combination of dreamers and doers on one team is a powerful competitive advantage. About Shockoe Enterprise Mobile Solutions, LLC. As one of the fastest growing companies in Virginia, we are committed to designing and delivering transformational mobile solutions that enable international companies to thrive in todays complex mobile environments. Shockoe is staffed by an eclectic band of entrepreneurs, former corporate types, unruly designers, and manic developers who share a single passion: to make beautiful and useful apps with great technology. We pretty much get excited about anything mobile, even when it isnt mobile, like the kiosk apps to help brick & mortar stores get more customers. Learn more about Shockoe and our Experience Design Team at http://www.shockoe.com. For more information on Shockoe Enterprise Mobile Solutions: http://www.shockoe.com/about/ For more information about Shockoe Enterprise Mobile Solutions Career Opportunities: http://www.shockoe.com/careers Construct-A-Lead is an online construction lead service that helps contractors, service providers, manufacturers and suppliers gain information on all large scale construction projects. The service features apartment construction, hotel construction, retail construction, medical construction, school renovations & more, including those hard-to-find private project leads, to help bid on construction, from planning stage- completion. Construct-A-Lead, the Construction Industrys most comprehensive construction lead service, reported today that the following Texas construction projects will have the necessary approvals and will go forward. Businesses will have ample opportunities to provide construction bids and other services relative to these projects Interested parties are invited to visit construct-a-lead.com and sign up for a test drive. This a no obligation, no credit card necessary sampling allowing customers 5 live construction reports over a 3 day period. Users are encouraged to view and track projects, online, an example of which is listed below. Reference the Project ID to utilize the new site features and to obtain direct contact information for each construction lead: Dallas, TX Elan City Lights Phase II - Plans call for the new construction of a 13 story tower with 350 apartments. Construction start: Q4, 2016, Q1, 2017, $70,000,000. Project ID: 1370437 McAllen, TX - Home2 Suites by Hilton Plans call for a new Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel. 100+ rooms. Construction start: Q2, 2016. $10,000,000 Project ID: 1370286 Austin, TX Lantana Place - Plans call for the new construction of a 325,000 SF mixed use development anchored by a 42,700-square-foot, 10-screen Moviehouse & Eatery. Plans also include 140,000 square feet of office space and a potential 150-room, four-story hotel as well as restaurants and about 62,405 square feet of retail space. Construction start: November - December, 2016. $80,000,000 Project ID: 1370575 Humble, TX Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital Plans call for the new construction of a five-story, 123,000-square-foot patient tower to replace one of the outdated towers and will have 90 patient rooms and the flexibility to add another 30 inpatient beds as needed. Construction start: Q1, 2017. $120,000,000. Project ID: 1370665 Cypress, TX Park Creek Independent Living - Plans call for a new Independent Living/Senior living, 4-story, 147,000 square feet complex with 126 units, detached garages and covered parking. Public areas will include a commercial kitchen for full-service meals, bistro, and an outdoor pool and courtyard area. Construction start: Q3, 2016, $30,000,000. Project ID: 1369777 Georgetown, TX Tippit Middle School - Plans call for renovations and additions to the existing middle school. Construction start: June July, 2016. $21,100,000. Project ID: 1370621 Construct-A-Lead.com is an online construction projects database, helping contractors, service providers, manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and businesses in related industries gain information on all large scale commercial construction projects. The service features hotel construction, office buildings, retail construction, medical facilities, school renovations and much more, to help bid on construction including those hard-to-find private project leads, from planning stage through completion. Construct-A-Leads daily updates of commercial construction project leads are an ideal solution for those who want to put their product or service into commercial, government and religious structures. For more information, visit Construct-A-Lead.com online or call 855-874-1491. Charles Bish Washingtonian is a monthly magazine distributed in the Washington DC area. The magazine describes itself as The Magazine Washington Lives By. The Washingtonian is known for its detailed coverage of area professionals, businesses and places. This year, Charles Bish made the list for Washington, DC's Best Financial Advisors: Tax Accountants. Charles Bish has over forty years of experience working as a certified public accountant and registered investment advisor. After working as an auditor at Price Waterhouse Coopers, he started Bish & Haffey in 1979. In 2012, Bish & Haffey merged with The Burdette Smith Group to become Burdette Smith & Bish LLC. Today, Burdette Smith & Bish LLC employs over forty professional accountants. These experienced professionals handle a wide variety of financial needs including accounting, financial reporting, auditing and tax prep for all states as well as for individuals living abroad. The comprehensive financial services offered by BSB are available to individuals, businesses, estates, trusts and not-for-profit organizations. Every year, legislators adjust and change tax laws, making financial decisions extremely difficult for individuals and businesses. CPA firms understand new tax laws and are able to offer financial advice and help individuals and businesses develop budgets and set financial goals. A Certified Public Accountant, or CPA, is an accountant that has undergone rigorous testing offered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounting. CPAs are more than just individuals that assist you with your yearly taxes; they are professionals that are able to advise you on a wide range of financial services. As an important part of a business owners team, CPAs can offer valuable advice on accounting systems as well as financial, retirement, estate and tax planning. About Burdette Smith & Bish LLC Burdette Smith & Bish LLC is a premier certified public accounting firm. For over 35 years, they have been providing exceptional accounting, financial reporting, auditing and tax services in the Washington DC Metro Area. Their unsurpassed commitment to customer care and proactive approach set them apart from their competition. BSB has experience working with a variety of different industries including automotive, construction and development, government contracting, healthcare, not-for-profit, performing arts, political and business consultants, professional services, restaurants and technology. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.bsbllc.com. On Edge by Albert Ashforth No question: On Edge is the real deal from a writer who knows the territory, has faced the fear and seen the action. The Story: When a former Army buddy is murdered by an Afghan military colleague, U.S. Army Special Investigator Alex Klear is called back into action in Afghanistan to investigate what is thought to be a classic green-on-blue killing. Alex finds Kabul in a state of chaos, partly under government control, partly controlled by the Taliban. From the beginning, he suspects that the Army has identified the wrong man as the killer, and that an innocent Afghan soldier has become the victim of a complex frame-up. His suspicions are solidified when he discovers that his friend had been investigating a massive fraud at Kabul Bank. As Alex is drawn into the epicenter of the biggest bank fraud in history, he finds his efforts systematically thwarted by both the American and the Afghanistan governments. In the lawless streets of Kabul and into the far outreaches of Afghanistan, Alex relentlessly hunts his friends killerand uncovers the truth. In real-life, an incident kept mostly out of the mediaa monumental embarrassment to both countries. The Reviews: I love On Edge by Albert Ashforth! Exciting and authentic, its a riveting thriller in which billions of U.S. dollars are at stake. Intelligence officer Alex Klear returns in the second of this fascinating series to investigate what appears to be the simple murder of an old friend in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rich with insider details known only to those whove lived the life, On Edge is beautifully written and will make you hunger for the next book. Ashforth is a true master of suspense. Gayle Lynds, New York Times best-selling author of The Assassins No question: On Edge is the real deal from a writer who knows the territory, has faced the fear and seen the action. This isnt just a gripping story. Its the inside story, thrilling and compelling. Having just finished the book, I feel Ive been there and I want more. Peter Lovesey, award-winning author of Another One Goes Tonight About the Author: After serving with the U.S. Army overseas, Albert Ashforth earned a B.A. from Brooklyn College and a M.A. and a Ph.D. from New York University. He worked for two New York newspapers before returning to Europe as an instructor for the University of Marylands Overseas Program. He also served at the German Military Academy training NATO officers and as an instructor at the 10th Group Special Forces headquarters in Bad Tolz. As a military contractor, he has done tours in Bosnia, Macedonia, Germany, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. He is the author of three novels and numerous articles and short stories. His novel The Rendition won the Military Writers of America Bronze Medal. Ashforth is on the faculty at the State University of New York and lives in New York City. Learn more at http://www.albertashforth.com Revelation by Carter Wilson Follow Harden Campbell on this harrowing journey and watch your knuckles whiten as you try and hold on. The Story: When Harden Campbell wakes cold and beaten in a dirt-floor cell, he finds only three other things in the room with him: the mutilated body of his good friend, an ancient typewriter, and a stack of blank paper, the top sheet of which has a single, typed sentence. Tell me a story. He knows the message is from Coyote, his brilliant, megalomaniacal roommate whose lust for power and reverence has recently revealed him for the true sociopath he is. Now, as the founder of a new religion with disturbing rootsRevelationCoyote's most evil side has emerged. From the moment Harden sees that stack of paper, he knows his one chance of escape is through his own words, and only his ability to successfully recount the dark story of what happened over the past year at Wyland University will determine whether he lives to see the woman he loves once againor is silenced forever. This will be the most difficult story Harden has ever written, and each word must be chosen with the utmost care. Because Coyote will be reading each and every one of them. The Reviews: "Revelation will test your talent at turning pages quickly. As you go, you will be reading a story about a story that holds the key to one man's salvation and accounts for another man's warped and violent attempts to establish new truths based on the power of storytelling. Revelation is a cautionary tale about the intensity and demands of religion, except 'cautionary' and 'tale' both sound much too tame. Follow Harden Campbell on this harrowing journey and watch your knuckles whiten as you try and hold on." Mark Stevens, author of The Allison Coil Mystery Series including Lake of Fire Reviews for The Comfort of Black: "Outstanding paranoid thriller" Publishers Weekly, starred review "Gritty, unflinching, and sometimes violent, this thriller is reminiscent of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and the television series The Equalizer." Library Journal, starred review "Here's a thriller that thrills, a mystery that mystifies." Booklist About the Author: USA Today bestselling author Carter Wilson was born in New Mexico and grew up in Los Angeles before attending Cornell University. His thriller and suspense novels have received critical acclaim, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and have been finalists for the INDIEFAB Book of the Year and the Colorado Book Awards. Revelation is Carter's fourth novel. Learn more at http://www.CarterWilson.com New Lice Treatment Center Opening Soon in Long Island "Being part of the LTC Team is a great opportunity to build a successful business for me and my family." THE Lice Treatment Center Announces Its New Franchise Location in Long Island, NY. Lice Treatment Center (LTC), considered to be the gold standard in the lice treatment and prevention industry, announced that a new franchise will open soon in Port Jefferson, New York. The new Port Jefferson LTC franchisee is another in an increasing list of motivated business people who recognize the high-potential for success in teaming with LTC to serve the growing, lucrative lice treatment industry. And there is no doubt the lice treatment industry will continue to grow! Head lice are found worldwide and infestations have no seasonality or geographic preference. In the United States, infestations are most common among school-age children attending childcare, pre- schools, elementary school, middle schools, boarding schools and camps. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that the head lice treatment industry is estimated at $1billion annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is estimated that 6-12 million head lice infestations occur each year in the United States among children 3 to 11 years of age. Also, the National Association of School Nurses study indicated that 12-14 million school days are lost each year in the United States due to head lice. That means a lot of potential business for LTC franchisees! Although there are many lice treatment companies opening (and closing) with some frequency annually, these include a lot of one-person or informal home operations that do not adhere to the high-quality treatment methods or use of safe prevention products such those as LTC has developed and tested. LTC has earned is excellent reputation in the industry. Unlike other lice companies, LTC is pediatrician-owned and supervised. Dr. Elin Cohen, LTC medical director, designed the treatment techniques,protocols and natural, non-toxic products used by the LTC certified lice technicians all of which have been tested to be safe and effective for more than 10 years. Becoming a part of the Lice Treatment Center nationwide franchise system gives an LTC franchisee a distinct competitive advantage over others in the lice treatment industry. The LTC comprehensive business platform and rigorous medically-directed technician certification quickly establishes franchise owners as one of the most respected professionals in the lice removal and prevention industry. After training and certification, the LTC network then becomes fully-vested in establishing and maintaining a franchisees premium position for individuals, families, schools, camps as well as human service agencies in a franchisee's market. Successful LTC franchise owners will be those who have the drive to succeed and to reach their financial goals. Additional details of the initial investment, location criteria and support are detailed in the franchise brochure and Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Of course, every scenario will be different and expenses will vary. The low initial investment generally ranges from $12,000 to $25,000 while third party and office expenses can range from a low of $7,500 to $37,500. Working and advertising funds may also range from $8,500 to $22,000. The total investment in an LTC can range from $28,000 to $84,000. Franchise territories currently being considered include in locations in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North & South Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming. Visit the LTC website for information about how to become a member of the LTC franchise family: http://licetreatmentcenter.com/ltc-franchise. Darin Karp, Founder of ReloQuest said, I am grateful for the acknowledgement amongst peers confirming that ReloQuest is a valuable solution capable of improving productivity for the Mobility Industry, allowing RMCs to source best options." ReloQuest disruptive innovation creates global impact with solution that won the Service Apartment Award, London 2016 in Best Use of Technology. Over 350 industry leaders attended the black tie ceremony to celebrate colleagues success in the serviced apartment, extended stay and short-term rental industries. Launched in August 2015 in the United States, ReloQuest began global expansion in December 2015. As the first unbiased sourcing platform for Temporary Housing, ReloQuest has initiated an open marketplace. The only independent technology of its kind brings a streamlined process to both Clients and Suppliers. SMART Logic-Win/Loss Logic provides insightful feedback to Suppliers so they can understand why an option may have not been selected. The technology affords Suppliers the ability to become educated and more competitive in the market place, while at the same time ReloQuest significantly reduces cost to the client. ReloQuest is extremely intuitive. In fact, training anyone to use the software and enter requests into the system will only take a few minutes. A host of other benefits are attained with the efficient process; such as real-time data. Relocation professionals no longer are overwhelmed by sourcing and compiling options from various suppliers. With ReloQuest you can source 10 options, or as many as are desired, as easily as sourcing one. The cloud based technology integrates the sharing of resources to achieve coherence while providing rapid implementation, ease of use, direct communication, transparency, and significant global supplier representation. The process greatly reduces sourcing workload and increases productivity. A popular feature ReloQuest delivers is the ability to simply manage your supply chain globally, nationally, regionally and locally. Among the numerous benefits ReloQuest clients have been reporting is a substantial savings of up to 30%. ReloQuest advantages are not only monetary, clients enjoy the perk of continuing to use their own supply chain and the option to add reputable suppliers of choice that provide 24/7 customer service. The softwares ease of implementation, are just a few of the reasons partnerships with numerous relocation companies such as Lexicon have joined the ReloQuest family-- attributing to ReloQuests phenomenal success in less than a one-year time span. "Decisions need to be made quickly; with ReloQuest we have the ability to consolidate information from multiple global suppliers in a standardized, easy to sort and read format. The supplier feedback feature will allow our LexNet suppliers to better target options for cost, distance, quality, etc. We are helping to make them better in their service to our customers!" Craig Donovan, Vice-President, Global Network Integration at Lexicon Relocation. Request a complimentary demonstration at http://www.ReloQuest.com Phone: 855-ReloQst (735-6778). Debbie Millin, Sr. Director, Systems and Scalability Globalization Partners is pleased to announce that Debbie Millin has joined the company as a full-time member of the team. Based in Boston, Debbie brings to the firm her expertise in helping rapidly growing companies with operational assessments, executive project leadership, and operational management. She has an outstanding track record of creating strategies at an executive level and translating them into tactical plans to support agile, scalable growth. We are thrilled to have Debbie with us. She is so passionate and brings tremendous energy to her work. Her experience with building scalable processes and cross-company collaboration to deliver results make her a perfect fit." Nicole Sahin, CEO, Globalization Partners. Debbie comes to Globalization Partners having built her own fast-growing consultancy, UpperLevel Solutions, which focused on helping startups manage the challenges that come with success. Prior to starting her own business, Debbie was Vice President of Operations for High Street Partners where she played a key role in driving operations for the fastest growing company in Boston at the time. Debbie is a graduate of Bentley University. She serves on the board of Special Olympics Boston and is an active member of The Boston Club and The Harvard Club of Boston. In 2013, her consultancy was recognized by the Boston Business Journal in their Start Up Watch: 5 to Follow. ABOUT GLOBALIZATION PARTNERS Founded with the goal of making it easy to hire employees around the globe, Globalization Partners assists US companies by providing a global Employee of Record Platform in 130 countries including China, Brazil, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. The company was founded by Boston-based Nicole Sahin, who has spent her career helping clients establish branch offices and subsidiaries in dozens of countries. She started Globalization Partners in 2012 with the mission of changing the face of international business by offering simplified international business solutions in an ever-expanding global marketplace. For a full list of countries in which Globalization Partners' PEO services are offered, please visit: http://www.globalization-partners.com/countries/ Idaho Governor C.L. Butch Otter and Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya tour the Twin Falls, ID, expansion site. Because of Chobanis growth, other companies are relocating and choosing Southern Idaho as their new home," said Jeff Hough, executive director, Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization. Chobanis $100 million expansion at the worlds largest yogurt manufacturing facility in Twin Falls is the latest investment fueling Southern Idahos growing manufacturing industry, according to the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization. Chobanis success has served as a draw for other manufacturing companies like Fabri-Kal, which recently invested $50 million in a new 100,000-square-foot facility in Burley to provide yogurt cups to Chobani. Additionally, Clif Bar & Company will open its first 275,000-square-foot Clif Bar Baking Company in Twin Falls this summer, a $90 million investment. These three businesses have created nearly 6,000 direct and indirect jobs and have an annual $1.8 billion economic impact on the Southern Idaho region. Chobani is such a success story because it shows companies that Southern Idaho is a great place to invest and grow their business, said Jeff Hough, executive director at Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization. Because of Chobanis growth, other companies are relocating and choosing Southern Idaho as their new home. Chobanis expansion in production lines and product development brings its total investment in Twin Falls to nearly $750 million and its total employment will be over 1,000. The yogurt companys Twin Falls facility - completed in an unprecedented 326 days - opened in 2013 with an initial investment of $450 million. Idaho Governor C.L. Butch Otter commended Chobanis founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya on his confidence in the state which has resulted in other companies making the same choice to come to Southern Idaho. Youve been a tremendous source of pride for me, Otter said. Every day is a great day when you invest $100 million in Idaho. Southern Idahos strength in food manufacturing has been recognized at the federal level. In 2015, Southern Idaho was one of four regions in the country to be given the national stamp of approval by the U.S. Department of Commerce with a Manufacturing Community Designation in the food category. This elite recognition puts Southern Idahos economic dominance in food production, processing and science into the global and national spotlight. Other food-related manufacturers that have invested in Southern Idaho include Glanbia Foods, McCain Foods, Davisco and Calva/Brewster. About Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization The Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization (SIEDO) is a joint venture of public and private sectors formed to help diversify and strengthen the regional economy by retaining and attracting business in the communities of Twin Falls, Jerome, Kimberly, Filer, Buhl, Gooding, Glenns Ferry, Burley, Rupert, Heyburn and Paul. http://www.SouthernIdaho.org About Southern Idaho Along the Snake River, Southern Idahos communities are located about 120 miles southeast the states capital, Boise, and 340 miles northwest of Salt Lake City. The regions natural environment ranges from the scenic high alpine country in the north, including the world-renowned Sun Valley ski resort, to high desert plains in the south. Nearby Shoshone Falls is among the worlds most spectacular natural waterfalls. This vibrant region offers a uniquely competitive pro-business environment where industry prospers and residents enjoy an excellent quality of life. visitsouthidaho.com # # # Lice Troopers Home Cleaning Products Our new line of products helps parents take care of delousing their homes quickly and easily. While Lice Troopers, the Miami-based head lice treatment service, is known for its professional removal services, the company is now releasing a line of products that help put the focus on the other places head lice lurk: the surfaces of the home. While the company does offer professional home inspection and cleaning services, theyve recently released a line of home cleaning products that are meeting customer demand for products they can keep on hand and use at home as needed. While the louse is a parasitic creature that cannot survive long away from its human host, the bugs and nits can live up to a few days on the surfaces of the home. That means that even if the infested individual is declared lice free, coming back to a lice infested home can soon launch a relapse. Its for this reason that many parents find themselves frantically vacuuming curtains and washing and rewashing bedding in an attempt to get the bugs out of their home and prevent re-infestation. Lice Troopers home cleaning products urge a more moderate, yet effective, approach. The home line includes a Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner and a Leather Cleaner. With each, the user simply needs to spray the surface and then vacuum or, in the case of leather, wipe thoroughly with a cloth. One cleaning is all that is required to get the home lice free. In addition to cleaning surfaces, Lice Troopers reminds parents that any bedding used during the lice infestation should be washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer. Hairbrushes and combs should be soaked in boiling water, and anything that cannot be cleaned, should be isolated in a sealed plastic bag or discarded. Said Lice Troopers owner and operator Arie Harel, Parents have a lot of anxiety around lice and cleaning the home after an infestationtheyre afraid the bugs and eggs are lurking everywhere just waiting to get back in their hair. Our home inspection and cleaning services will always be available, but our new line of products helps parents take care of delousing their homes quickly and easily. The Lice Troopers line of home lice removal and cleaning products will be available in their four Miami salons and on their website mid-June. Lice Troopers is the all-natural, guaranteed Head Lice Removal Service that manually removes the head louse parasite safely and discreetly in child-friendly salon settings, or other chosen location. Providing safe solutions for frantic families, the Lice Troopers team has successfully treated thousands of families nationwide, with services widely recommended by pediatricians and reimbursed by many major health insurance carriers, flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. Residence Inn Denver Cherry Creek Hotel Exterior Residence Inn by Marriott Denver Cherry Creek today announced that it has received another TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, making this the third consecutive year it has earned this great accolade. With the Certificate of Excellence, TripAdvisor honors hospitality businesses that consistently receive strong praise and ratings from travelers. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, as well as meet other requirements. This recognition helps travelers identify and book properties that regularly deliver great service. Residence Inn by Marriott Denver Cherry Creek is an all-suite hotel with 135 suites for guests to enjoy. The hotel features King, Double Queen, two bedroom and studio suites, perfect for every type of traveler, including families. With complimentary parking, free daily breakfast, free high-speed Internet access, fitness center and more, Residence Inn embraces the fact that Its not a room. Its a Residence. Pets are welcome in this Cherry Creek Denver area hotel, making guests stay a little brighter. Located right outside the hotel are various dining and shopping options at CitySet, including The Kitchen Next Door, Native Foods Cafe, Cuba Cuba and many more. For more information or to make reservations, please visit http://www.residenceinncherrycreek.com or call (303) 758-6200. Residence Inn Cherry Creek is proudly managed by Stonebridge Companies in Denver, Colo. Founded in 1991 by Navin C. Dimond, Stonebridge Companies is a privately owned, innovative hotel owner, operator and developer headquartered near Denver, Colorado. Its diverse listing of properties includes select-service, extended-stay, mid-scale and full-service hotels in markets throughout the U.S. For detailed information, visit our website at http://www.sbcos.com. Hampton Glenwood Springs Guest Room Hampton Inn by Hilton Glenwood Springs announced that it has earned TripAdvisors Certificate of Excellence for 2016. With the Certificate of Excellence, TripAdvisor honors hospitality businesses that consistently receive strong praise and ratings from travelers. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, as well as meet other requirements. This recognition helps travelers identify and book properties that regularly deliver great service. Glenwood Springs offers the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, the relaxation of Iron Mountain Hot Springs, and the family fun only offered by Americas Most Fun Town. Hampton Inn by Hilton hotel welcomes guests with fresh-baked cookies after 5:30 pm, a 24-hour coffee bar in the lobby, a patio to relax and enjoy the fresh Rocky Mountain air and the ability to walk to numerous attractions, shopping, and dining locations. Guests may enjoy a free hot breakfast buffet, free high-speed Wi-Fi and a convenient location to I-70 and the rest of the Rocky Mountains. The on-site fitness center and sparkling indoor pool offer guests a place to wind down after a fun-filled day sightseeing, fishing, rafting or hiking in the Glenwood Springs area. Catch up with work in the business center or relax in a comfy guest room with a flat-screen HDTV before retiring to a clean and fresh Hampton bed. For more information or to make reservations, please call (970) 947-9400 or visit http://www.hamptonglenwood.com. Hampton Inn by Hilton Glenwood Springs is proudly managed by Stonebridge Companies in Denver, Colo. Founded in 1991 by Navin C. Dimond, Stonebridge Companies is a privately owned, innovative hotel owner, operator and developer headquartered near Denver, Colorado. This diverse listing of properties includes select-service, extended-stay, mid-scale and full-service hotels in markets throughout the U.S. For detailed information, visit http://www.sbcos.com. THE BOMI INTERNATIONAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS PROGRAM "Successful professionals within our industry understand the importance of high-performance buildings, specifically as HP pertains to individual wellness, environmental sustainability, overall productivity, and impacts on property asset value." BOMI International has announced plans for an exclusive unveiling of their new High-Performance Sustainable Buildings program and the BOMI-HP credential. BOMI International, an official sponsor of the Building Owners and Managers Associations (BOMA) International Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C., will be unveiling the third and final course in the program, High-Performance Sustainable Building Investments, and the fully completed High-Performance (HP) Program on June 27, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. (EDT). The event will take place during the conference in conjunction with several other BOMI International events. BOMI Internationals Chairman, David Fagone, RPA said, We are excited to use the BOMA International Conference as a platform to showcase our new HP Credential. This conference is attended by some of the worlds most impressive property and facility management professionals. Successful professionals within our industry understand the importance of high-performance buildings, specifically as HP pertains to individual wellness, environmental sustainability, overall productivity, and impacts on property asset value. This program is a valuable resource in demonstrating the implementation of high-performance practices and, ultimately, measuring the impact of your HP investments. Students will be eligible to receive the BOMI-HP credential upon successful completion of the three-course, High-Performance Sustainable Buildings programcreated by BOMI International in partnership with BOMA Georgia and more than 50 subject matter experts. The HP unveiling will be an exciting time for everyone in the BOMI International family, said Holly Bentley, Senior Director of Learning and Development at BOMI International. Its a chance to celebrate the impact the credential will have on our industry, as well as everyone who put so much effort into developing the programcertainly, one of the most passionate and experienced groups weve ever worked with. For additional information about the High-Performance Sustainable Buildings program and credential, please visit http://hp-program-offer.org About BOMI International BOMI International, a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1970, provides critical education and expertise to industry personnel with property, facility, and building systems management responsibilities. As the Independent Institute for Property and Facility Management Education, BOMI International delivers courses, certificate programs, and industry-standard designationsReal Property Administrator (RPA), Facilities Management Administrator (FMA), Systems Maintenance Administrator (SMA), and Systems Maintenance Technician (SMT)with a proven record of increasing job performance and company efficiency. More than 27,000 industry professionals hold one or more BOMI International credentials, and over 90,000 property and facility management professionals have turned to BOMI International for their continuing education, professional development, and staff training needs. To learn more, please visit http://www.bomi.org, call 1.800.235.BOMI (2664), or e-mail service(at)bomi.org. Media Contact Heith B. Hart BOMI International Marketing and Communications Coordinator 410.974.1410 x1257 | hhart(at)bomi.org Midsummer Smorgasbord Midsummer is a much-anticipated celebration after a winter of short days and long nights. We invite everyone to celebrate and learn about Swedish traditions over a great meal." Summer is almost here and IKEA welcomes everyone to celebrate together with its annual Midsummer Smorgasbord on Friday, June 24, 2016 at stores nationwide**. Midsommar (midsummer) is celebrated in many parts of the world as the longest day of the year and in Sweden, festivities include food, music, dance and more. The IKEA Midsummer event, an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring traditional Swedish fare, will take place in the newly renovated in-store restaurants. Tickets are available for $16.99 per person / $4.99 for kids 12 and under, or at a discounted rate for IKEA FAMILY* members ($12.99 per person / $2.99 for kids 12 and under). Midsummer is a much-anticipated celebration after a winter of short days and long nights, said Patricia Meumann, IKEA Food Manager. We invite everyone to celebrate Midsummer and learn about Swedish traditions over a great meal with family and friends. The IKEA Midsummer menu*** includes: Assorted varieties of herring Hard boiled eggs with shrimp Gravad lax with mustard sauce Smoked salmon with horseradish sauce Poached salmon Tossed green salad Cucumber salad Midsummer fruit salad Assorted Swedish cheeses Boiled dill potatoes or mashed potatoes Meatballs with lingonberries Prinskorv sausage Crispbread, thin bread, dinner rolls Assorted desserts Coffee, tea, fountain beverages Seating is limited, so those interested are encouraged to purchase tickets early at their local IKEA store. To locate and contact the nearest IKEA store for more details and seating times, please visit: IKEA-USA.com (go to the Store Locator page on http://www.IKEA-USA.com and enter your city/state or zip code). *IKEA FAMILY is a benefits program that offers membership perks including special product discounts, sneak previews, free coffee and tea in the IKEA Restaurant, and more. Consumers can sign up for the free program online or in-store. **IKEA Carson will not be participating/will not be hosting a Midsummer Smorgasbord event. ***Menu is subject to change due to product availability. ABOUT IKEA Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. here are currently more than 385 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest. # # # Adding a national leader in serving public housing authorities, as well as another location from which to serve its nationwide roster of clients, Novogradac & Company LLP will open an office June 1 in Toms River, N.J., and welcome Rich Larsen into partnership. Toms River will be the 22nd office for the San Francisco-based national certified public accounting and consulting firm. Larsen will be joined by eight staff members at the Toms River office. Its the second New Jersey office for Novogradac & Company LLP, which also serves clients in Iselin, N.J. Rich Larsen has extensive experience and knowledge within the affordable housing industryparticularly with public housing agencies which will ensure that our clients continue to receive the expert service for which Novogradac & Company is known, said Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, managing partner of the firm. Novogradac & Company also looks forward to expanding services to our housing authority clients as well as building new relationships. Mr. Larsen has a successful practice with public housing authorities and their nonprofit affiliates, including conducting specialized audits and consulting on asset management. His office will, along with other tax and audit matters, focus on clients who participate in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs. This is an exciting opportunity to join a firm with such a great reputation for tax credit expertise and professional service, said Mr. Larsen. Novogradac & Companys standards for outstanding service and technical skill are unmatched. I look forward to continuing and building on that tradition as we serve our clients. The Toms River office will be at 252 Washington St., Suite B, Toms River, N.J., 08753. Before joining Novogradac & Company LLP, Mr. Larsen was a partner with Fallon & Larsen LLP, directing the companys affordable housing practice. He is a member of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NJNAHRO) and the New Jersey Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities (NJAHRA). Mr. Larsen has more than 25 years accounting experience. Novogradac began operations in 1989 and has since grown to more than 500 employees and partners with offices Novogradac & Company LLP is a national certified public accounting and consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. with offices in Walnut Creek and Long Beach, Calif.; Dover, Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Iselin and Toms River, N.J.; St. Louis; Boston; New York; Chicago; Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; Naples, Fla., Raleigh, N.C.; and the greater metropolitan areas of Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Detroit; Kansas City, Mo.; and Seattle. Novogradac was recently named the INSIDE Public Accountings (IPAs) list of the Best of the Best firms for the 13th time. It also grew to the 32nd largest accounting firm in the nation, according to IPA. Specialty practice areas include tax, audit and consulting services for tax-credit-assisted multifamily and affordable housing, community revitalization and rehabilitation of historic properties. Other areas of expertise include business valuation, preparation and analysis of market studies and appraisals of multifamily housing investments and renewable energy tax credits. Authors Robert Pellegrino and Michael A. Jefferson share experiences of race during a conversation in New Haven, CT Our aim is to make the conversation one of the most honest discussions about race that a person has ever heard. On April 20 Robert Pellegrino, author of I See Color and Michael A. Jefferson, author of Deo Vindice: The Resurrection, launched the first in what they hope will become a series of lecture presentations entitled Rooting for Tarzan: The Socialization of Blacks and Whites In American Society. The opening event was held at Lyric Hall in New Haven, Connecticut. The two lawyers reside in New Haven, Connecticut have been best friends for nearly thirty years. According to both men, the project has been in the works for a long time. "We've been eager to have an honest, candid and thorough dialogue about race for years," said Pellegrino The discussion was also presented April 26, at the University of Connecticut's - Waterbury Branch. "We love speaking to college audiences because many in that crowd represent the future generation. Their minds are still open and they are willing to hear what we are attempting to convey," said Jefferson. "But we feel it's also imperative to have dialogue with teachers and other professionals who are seeking to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of race in American society." The hope is to help professionals, particularly those who work in professions that impact individuals of color, improve the delivery of services in their own professional spheres by having honest and candid discussions from a black and white perspective. The authors believe their efforts can lead to a considerable improvement in race relations. "The presentation was phenomenal. I never heard the issue of race discussed in such a way," said Larry Conaway, president of the Conaway Endowment Fund and the principal of New Light High School in New Haven, Connecticut. Conaway, who attended the opening night lecture presentation said, "every school system in America should find a way to put this presentation on their professional development agenda." Both men attribute the title of their presentation - Rooting for Tarzan, to their experience as young children watching reruns of the classic film Tarzan the Ape Man starring Johnny Weissmuller - a white actor and Maureen O'Sullivan - a white actress. The original film was released to moviegoers nationwide in 1932. It was the first of twelve movies starring Weissmuller as Tarzan -"king" of the jungle. The plot involved a group from England on a safari somewhere in Africa searching for a mysterious elephant graveyard. The group is subsequently captured by a hostile native tribe of pygmies. Tarzan subsequently rescues the group. The film made millions and Tarzan became a hero to millions of white and presumably black moviegoers. The idea of blacks rooting for Tarzan might seem strange to some, particularly since the movie depicts the African natives in such a humiliating light. However, not unlike today, most everyone cheers for the "hero" - even black moviegoers. Pellegrino believes Tarzan and other movies of that era served as the foundation for the socialization of blacks and whites through the powerful medium of film. "Casting whites as the bravest, smartest, prettiest, sexiest, and strongest helped to perpetuate the false sense of superiority that has long enveloped the white psyche," said Pellegrino. Conversely, "by casting blacks as ignorant, lazy, unattractive, unintelligent, and weak has served to perpetuate the false sense of inferiority within the black psyche," said Jefferson. According to both men, the presentation seeks to confront these two outcomes of the racial socialization process that millions have undergone in American society for time immemorial. Relying on extensive knowledge obtained from reading scores of books, articles, and essays the two attorneys share personal and professional experiences of the highly controversial subject matter. With surgical precision they provide their audience with a thorough analysis of the problem and offer sound solutions for addressing what they call America's ancient sin. "Rooting for Tarzan" is a must see presentation for all who are concerned about the future of race relations in American society. To schedule a presentation or book signing call (203) 623-6276 or (203) 605-3844 We are thrilled to have a diverse group of Innovators this year projects ranging from crowdsourcing and gamification to multimedia and mobile apps. Campus Technology has officially announced the recipients of its 2016 Innovators Awards. After a nomination process that brought in submissions from all over the world, 11 honorees were selected in six categories. The Campus Technology Innovators Awards annually recognize the exemplary colleges and universities, along with their visionary project leadership and technology vendor partners that have used technology in innovative ways to solve campus challenges. "We are thrilled to have a diverse group of Innovators this year projects ranging from crowdsourcing and gamification to multimedia and mobile apps. It's exciting to see these institutions using technology to impact teaching, learning and administration in a big way," said Rhea Kelly, executive editor, Campus Technology. The 2016 Campus Technology Innovators: Teaching and Learning Virginia Commonwealth University Project: The Great VCU Bike Race Book Project Lead: Gardner Campbell, Special Assistant to the Provost and Associate Professor of English Vendors/technologies: Adobe Apple BePress Canon Feedly FeedWordPress Nikon Reclaim Hosting Sennheiser Slack Sony WordPress WP Engine London School of Economics and Political Science Project: Constitution UK Project lead: Peter Bryant, Head of Learning Technology and Innovation Vendors/technologies: Crowdicity Facebook Storify Twitter University of South Florida Project: My Reviewers Project lead: Joe Moxley, Professor of English Vendors/technologies: Developed in-house University of Michigan Project: GradeCraft Project lead: Barry Fishman, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Learning Technologies, School of Information and School of Education Vendors/technologies: Alfa Jango Amazon Web Services Developed in-house Student Systems and Services University of San Diego Project: Insight Mobile App Project lead: Avi Badwal, Senior Director, Enterprise Technologies, Information Technology Services Vendors/technologies: Apple Ellucian Administration University of Central Florida Project: Universal Design Online Content Inspection Tool Project lead: Jacob Bates, Techrangers Lead, Center for Distributed Learning Vendor/technology: Instructure University of Maryland University College Project: Office of Analytics / HelioCampus Project lead: Darren Catalano, CEO of HelioCampus and former Vice President of Analytics at University of Maryland University College Vendors/technologies: Amazon Web Services HelioCampus Tableau IT Infrastructure and Systems University at Buffalo, State University of New York Project: FLEXspace Project lead: Lisa Stephens, Senior Strategist, SUNY Academic Innovation Vendors/technologies: Artstor Clemson University Project: Watt Family Innovation Center Project lead: Charles Watt, Founding Partner Vendors/technologies: Biamp Systems Brocade Christie Digital Cisco Crestron Da-Lite Dell Digital Projection Echo360 Extreme Networks Harman Jupiter Systems Mersive Planar Visix XPAND Education Futurists Marshall University Project: Clio, A Mobile GPS-Enabled History Application Project lead: David Trowbridge, Associate Professor of History Vendors/technologies: Strictly Business University of Oklahoma Project: OU Libraries NavApp Project lead: Matt Cook, Emerging Technologies Librarian Vendors/technologies: Aruba Meridian RFIP This year's honorees will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the 2016 Campus Technology Conference held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Aug 1-4. The winners will also receive in-depth coverage on the Campus Technology website and will be featured in the July/August print edition of Campus Technology. We are excited to feature the Innovators Awards alongside a keynote address on the connections between innovation and potentially transformative change from internationally recognized expert, Stephen Downes. The awards represent excellence in experimentation, design, collaboration, and implementation, and the projects they recognize expand the possibilities for individual campuses and the field of higher education technology, said Dr. John Hess, program chair, Campus Technology Conference- We are certain that the Campus Technology 2016 audience will learn from and be inspired by the originality of the winning projects. Congratulations to all of the recipients on their achievements. For more information on the awards, please visit the Campus Technology Innovators website: http://www.campustechnology.com/innovators. About Campus Technology Campus Technology is one of higher education's top information sources delivering valuable information via a digital magazine, website, newsletters, webcasts and online tools. It's the go-to resource for campus professionals, providing in-depth coverage on the technologies and implementations influencing colleges and universities across the nation. We provide valuable how-to content, best practices, industry trends, expert advice and insightful articles to help administrators, campus executives, technologists and educators plan, develop and successfully launch effective IT initiatives. http://www.campustechnology.com About 1105 Public Sector Media Group 1105 Public Sector Media Group, a division of 1105 Media, Inc., provides information, insight and analysis to the Government IT and Education IT (FED/SLED) sectors. Our content platforms include print, digital, online, events and a broad spectrum of marketing services. http://www.1105publicsector.com About the Campus Technology Conference The Campus Technology Conference, produced by LRP Conferences, brings together thought leaders from the fields of higher education and technology to explore innovative solutions and to develop effective strategies for campus administration, infrastructure, teaching and learning, and more. This years conference will take place at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Aug. 14. For additional information, please visit http://www.campustechnologyconferences.com. ### Integration and launch was simple and we were immediately supported with a wide variety of pricing models, billing options and payment methods so we can offer our customers the best possible online experience and drive more revenue. ~ Thomas Schonmetz cleverbridge, a global subscription billing provider, announces EAM GmbH has selected cleverbridges subscription billing solutions to globally launch and drive recurring revenue for its secure data storage service, bytejail. The security application offers free choice of storage location, uncensored memory technology and modern end-to-end encryption. EAM GmbH will leverage cleverbridges cloud-based billing and monetization platform to manage monthly and annual bytejail subscriptions, including its four tiered pricing packages (Be-Sure, Pro-Tect, De-Fence and Fort-Knox). Originally looking to utilize a payment service provider (PSP) to launch bytejail, EAM discovered during the implementation phase that plan modifications were problematic for the PSP. The company immediately explored other possible solution providers who would be able to support complex plans and modifications. After extensive evaluation, EAM selected cleverbridge due to the organizations market performance and leadership, global presence and solution, ability to manage complex billing models for consumers and business buyers, and high data protection standards (which is vital when offering a secure data storage solution). When we looked to globally launch bytejail, various PSPs and billing providers looked appealing. However, once we looked deeper, many of them couldnt support complex subscription scenarios, and they didnt have the ability to help us manage global compliance and mitigate potential risk, said Thomas Schonmetz, CEO, EAM GmbH. cleverbridge offered us all of that and more right out of the box rapidly accelerating our time-to-market. Integration and launch was simple and we were immediately supported with a wide variety of pricing models, billing options and payment methods so we can offer our customers the best possible online experience and drive more revenue. We are excited to work with EAM to help them deliver the best possible customer experience and maximize their recurring revenue streams, said Christian Blume, CEO, cleverbridge. Companies that are monetizing their offerings and making the shift from one-time transactions to nurturing ongoing relationships with customers are winning. EAMs selection of our subscription billing solution validates this point and underlines their commitment to continuously delivering valuable experiences to its customers. cleverbridges flexible, cloud-based billing and monetization platform gives companies the power to manage all aspects of their subscription business model. By integrating seamlessly with clients systems and data sources, cleverbridge makes it easy to manage the details of their subscription program, plans and promotions as well as their activities for building customer relationships. cleverbridge enables clients to deliver the best possible online experience, all while maintaining compliance with global regulations for taxation, data privacy and security, and trade. To learn more about cleverbridge, please contact inquiry(at)cleverbridge(dot)com or visit http://www.cleverbridge.com. About cleverbridge cleverbridge provides global subscription billing solutions that help companies build long-term customer relationships and grow recurring revenue streams. With its flexible, cloud-based billing and monetization platform, cleverbridge integrates seamlessly with client systems, simplifies subscription business models and delivers an optimized online customer experience. Leveraging cleverbridge expertise, technology and services, clients monetize products and services more effectively, rapidly expand their global subscriber base and maximize customer lifetime value. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, cleverbridge has offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Tokyo. For more information, visit http://www.cleverbridge.com. Were thrilled to rank in the top 20 on this years MSP 501 and TSP lists among a variety of reputable worldwide service providers. Eze Castle Integration, Inc., a leading provider of strategic IT solutions and private cloud services to the investment industry, today announced that it has been ranked among the worlds most progressive 501 Managed Service Providers (MSPs), according to Penton Technologys 9th-annual MSP 501 list and study. This year, Eze Castle came in at number 18 on the list of 501 managed service providers, rising from its 25th ranking in 2015. The complete 2016 MSP 501 list is available at MSPmentor. In addition to honoring Eze Castle Integration, this years MSP 501 list and study showcases the following: The top ranked MSPs in North America The top MSPs in Europe, Middle East and Africa The top MSPs in Asia, Australia and New Zealand The top Small Business MSPs list, comprised of organizations with 10 or fewer employees The top vertical markets pursued by MSP 501 companies The leading tools they leverage to run their businesses And the top technologies they provide to customers Along with ranking on the MSP 501 list, every company that participated in the study has been assigned a score reflecting its intrinsic value. The measure, known as the Total Service Provider (TSP) score, assesses a companys potential for growth and efficiency based on services revenue and productivity. Scores are divided into four tiers with tier one superior to all others. Eze Castle Integration ranked within the tier one category on the TSP list. "Were thrilled to rank in the top 20 on this years MSP 501 and TSP lists among a variety of reputable worldwide service providers, said Bob Guilbert, managing director, Eze Castle Integration. Eze Castle Integrations Eze Private Cloud and extensive managed services portfolio ensure the security, accessibility and scalability needed for the always-on firm, whether that be an emerging startup or an established, billion-dollar hedge fund. We thank MSPmentor for recognizing our teams dedicated efforts and solidifying Eze Castle as a top cloud provider to the global investment community. On behalf of Penton and MSPmentor, I would like to congratulate Eze Castle Integration for its recognition as an MSP 501 honoree," said Aldrin Brown, Editor in Chief, MSPmentor. The managed service provider market is evolving at a rapid pace and the companies showcased on the 2016 MSP 501 list represent the most agile, flexible and innovative organizations in the industry. About Eze Castle Integration Eze Castle Integration is the leading provider of IT solutions and private cloud services to more than 650 alternative investment firms worldwide, including more than 100 firms with $1 billion or more in assets under management. The companys products and services include Private Cloud Services, Cyber Security Services, Technology Consulting, Outsourced IT Support, Project & Technology Management, Professional Services, Dedicated Private Network, Telecommunications, Voice over IP, Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery, Archiving, Storage and Colocation. Eze Castle Integration is headquartered in Boston and has offices in Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Singapore and Stamford. To learn more about Eze Castle Integration, contact us at 800-752-1382 or visit http://www.eci.com. About Pentons channel brands Pentons channel brands (http://www.penton.com), define emerging IT markets and disrupt established IT markets. The brands channel-centric online communities include MSPmentor, The VAR Guy (http://www.TheVARguy.com), Talkin Cloud (http://www.TalkinCloud.com) and the WHIR (thewhir.com). About Penton Penton is an innovative information services company that empowers nearly 20 million business decision makers in markets that drive more than 12 trillion dollars in purchases each year. Our products inform with rich industry insights and workflow tools; engage through dynamic events, education and networking; and advance business with powerful marketing services programs. Penton is the way smart businesses buy, sell and grow. Headquartered in New York, Penton is privately owned by MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co., LP. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit http://www.penton.com or follow us on Twitter @PentonNow. There is ongoing demand in Asia-Pacific for on-the-ground specialists who understand the specific political, economic, regulatory and cultural climates of the countries where they are conducting investigations. Leading global investigations firm, Nardello & Co, today announced the opening of a new office in Tokyo, and the appointment of Toshinari Asano as Managing Director and Japan practice head. Ben Rowse, head of Nardello & Co.s Asia-Pacific practice, will relocate from Hong Kong to Tokyo in August, where he will continue to lead the firms operations throughout the region. Nardello & Co.s Japan practice will assist Japanese clients in navigating the complex and ever-shifting challenges they face operating overseas, while also providing investigative services to local and international clients in Japan. We are very pleased to welcome Toshinari, a seasoned professional who has a decade-long track record as an investigator of the highest caliber and integrity, said Dan Nardello, Chief Executive Officer of Nardello & Co. I am confident that healong with the rest of our teamwill be able to deliver on the growing demand we are experiencing from clients in the Asia-Pacific region. Asano brings significant experience to his new position, having conducted a wide variety of reputational due diligence and complex investigative assignments involving fraud and corruption, asset searches, litigation and arbitration support, strategic intelligence and political risk analysis for clients in Japan and overseas. Prior to joining Nardello & Co. Asano was a senior investigator in Japan with two international investigations firms. He began his career in the financial services industry, working for a Japanese long-term credit bank and a major U.S. investment bank. He has also held a senior management position at a Japanese-Israeli technology venture company. There is ongoing demand in Asia-Pacific for on-the-ground specialists who understand the specific political, economic, regulatory and cultural climates of the countries where they are conducting investigations, said Ben Rowse. Toshinari is a talented investigator with extensive experience helping clients understand, mitigate and frame the local challenges that they face within a broader global context. Commenting on his appointment, Asano said: I am delighted to be leading Nardello & Co.s practice in Japan. The firm is renowned for its commitment to client service and the quality of its work product. I look forward to contributing to the firms outstanding work. Toshinari holds a BA in Legal Studies from the Sophia University in Tokyo and is fluent in Japanese and English. Nardello & Co.s Tokyo office is located at East Tower 4th Floor, Otemachi First Square, 1-5-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. About Nardello & Co. Nardello & Co. is a global investigations firm with experienced professionals handling a broad range of issues including FCPA/UK Bribery Act and other corruption-related investigations, civil and white collar criminal litigation support, asset tracing, strategic intelligence and political risk assessment, computer forensics and reputational due diligence. Our clients include the worlds leading law firms and financial institutions, Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies, governments and NGOs. With offices in New York, London, Washington DC, Miami, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Dubai, Nardello & Co.s professional staff includes former US federal prosecutors, US lawyers, former law enforcement personnel and intelligence operatives, licensed investigators, research analysts, former journalists, financial crime specialists, forensic accountants and computer forensic experts. Additional information about Nardello & Co. can be found at http://www.nardelloandco.com A recent weekend stay and reception at Antlers at Vail for Colorado nonprofits is one of many initiatives that led to the hotel receiving the Community Impact Award. Antlers at Vail GM Rob LeVine has been a cheerleader for the Vail Valley. The Antlers at Vail hotel in Vail, Colorado, has received the Community Impact Award from Vail Valley Partnership. The Antlers was one of 13 Vail area organizations honored May 13, 2016, in Vail Valley Partnerships 13th Annual Success Awards. Even as the Friday awards ceremony was taking place, representatives from more than 20 Colorado Front Range nonprofit organizations were checking into the Antlers to participate in the hotels annual Pay It Backward weekend one of Antlers at Vails many community-oriented initiatives (captured on video again this year by Fireside Productions). The just-completed spring Pay It Backward weekend was the second annual invitation by Antlers at Vail to a long list of Front Range nonprofits, offering two nights free lodging and a Saturday thank-you reception in gratitude for all they do for the communities they serve. Its so much fun seeing these hard-working nonprofit staff members and volunteers have a chance to relax and recharge in our beautiful Vail Valley, says Antlers at Vail General Manager Rob LeVine. Saturday was actually a beautiful day so most of the families enjoyed the pool before the reception, adds LeVine, who notes that most of the guests brought family members and/or their dogs to share in this rare chance for some downtime. The Vail Valley Partnership Success Award for Community Impact is given annually to a person or organization who has contributed to the public good through programs, funding, volunteerism and generally giving back to the community. The Antlers won the award from among a 2016 field of finalists that also included Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley and Vail Valley Charitable Fund. In addition to its annual Pay It Backward event, the Antlers at Vail is deeply involved in the local Vail community, participating as a supporting member or sponsor of numerous area organizations and initiatives, hosting community events, providing financial contributions and staff volunteering. It is a particular honor to receive the Community Impact Award in such a tight-knit area as the Vail Valley where community involvement is, honestly, the norm, says LeVine. Im proud that the Antlers is viewed as making a difference in this very special community. Antlers at Vail GM Rob LeVine was also honored individually at the awards ceremony as Vail Valley Partnership Member of the Year. According to the Partnerships website, LeVine was chosen by VVP staff members for his continuous engagement and support of VVP efforts. LeVine has been a cheerleader for the Vail Valley, and has been a longtime advocate for a strong chamber organization. About Antlers at Vail: The Antlers at Vail hotel offers a relaxed Vail lodging experience in a fabulous mountain setting and was recently awarded Vails highest-level Platinum lodging rating, as well as earning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence and GreenLeader status. With condominiums ranging from studio suites up to four-bedroom penthouses, every unit at the Antlers enjoys a fully equipped kitchen, fireplace, private balcony, daily maid service, and complimentary Wi-Fi and parking. The Antlers has an A+ location on the banks of Gore Creek, just steps from restaurants, galleries, shops, free Vail town shuttle and the Lionshead Gondola. For more information and reservations visit http://www.antlersvail.com. Contact: Anne Parsons, WordenGroup Public Relations, anne(at)wordenpr(dot)com, 303.777.7667 The three-day event will feature a theme of Personal Mobility Creating a Smart and Autonomous Journey. Three expert panel discussions, two of which are new, will highlight the technical program during the SAE 2016 Convergence event, with will be held Sept. 19-21 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Mich. Ford Motor Company will provide Executive Leadership for the event. The three-day event will feature a theme of Personal Mobility Creating a Smart and Autonomous Journey. The expert panel discussions will include: New! Automotive Innovators Panel Monday, September 19 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (This panel includes four CTOs from the automotive industry) New! State of Supply Chain - the Analysts Viewpoint Monday, September 19 1:45 - 3:15 p.m. State of the Business - OEM EE Leaders Monday, September 19 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. This year's program has been updated to address the future of automotive electronics technology, and will showcase a new format - with each day highlighting a specific subject: Day 1 - Leadership Day: Features three executive keynote speakers, and three panel discussions highlighting: Automotive Innovators; State of Supply Chain - an Analyst's View; and State of the Business - OEM EE Leaders Day 2 - Engineers Day: Includes in-depth technical presentations from industry experts in six tracks: Architecting to Enable and Scale; Open Source as an Enabler; People/Technical Workforce Transformation; Designing for an Experience; Technology Disruptors; and Leveraging Consumer Electronics Day 3 - Partner Day: Technical programs from partner associations and organizations with a stake in the automotive electronics industry SAE 2016 Convergence will feature a full slate of technical programs covering relevant topics facing all mobility engineering professionals, including technology disruptors, leveraging consumer electronics and aerospace and open source as an enabler, to name just a few. For more information on the event, visit https://www.sae.org/events/convergence/. To request press credentials, email pr(at)sae(dot)org or call 1-724-772-8522. SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our charitable arm, the SAE Foundation, which helps fund programs like A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series. -http://www.sae.org- The Center for Network Therapy (CNT), New Jerseys first state licensed ambulatory detox facility for all substance abuse, will welcome Brian Cuban, best-selling author and person in long term recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Cuban will visit CNT on Friday, June 3rd for a tour of the outpatient detox treatment facility. Cuban will share his personal experiences, struggles and recovery with CNT staff and patients. An authority on body dysmorphic disorder, male eating disorders and addiction, Cuban is the author of book, Shattered Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder. It chronicles his first-hand experiences living with, and recovering from, 27 years of eating disorders, alcoholism, drug addiction and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Cubans second book, The Addicted Lawyer: Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow and Redemption, will be released in 2017 and chronicles Cubans time working as an attorney who was addicted to cocaine, alcohol, Ambien, and opioid medication. I know the challenges of dealing with destructive behaviors and wanting to change what I saw in the mirror, said Cuban. Recovery is rarely a straight road and can have setbacks, but I am glad I stuck with the process and recently celebrated my ninth year in sobriety. I am grateful to be able to share my story with those fighting this disease with the help of the Center for Network Therapy. Their outpatient detox model has been proven effective for those seeking to end the cycle of addiction We are honored to have Brian Cuban visit the Center for Network Therapy. His struggle speaks to the importance of getting help and his story will inspire both our patients and staff as we fight this disease, one patient at a time. said Dr. Cidambi. We thank Brian Cuban for agreeing to share his story with us as we work to connect the success of our program with inspiration for the future. For more information on substance abuse dependency, addiction and treatment, please go to http://www.RecoveryCNT.com. About Dr. Indra Cidambi Indra Cidambi, M.D., Medical Director, Center for Network Therapy, is recognized as a leading expert and pioneer in the field of Addiction Medicine. Under her leadership the Center for Network Therapy started New Jerseys first state licensed Ambulatory (Outpatient) Detoxification program for all substances nearly three years ago. Dr. Cidambi is Board Certified in General Psychiatry and double Board Certified in Addiction Medicine (ABAM, ABPN). She is fluent in five languages, including Russian. About Center for Network Therapy Center for Network Therapy (CNT) was the first facility in New Jersey to be licensed to provide Ambulatory (Outpatient) Detoxification Services for all substances of abuse alcohol, anesthetics, benzodiazepines, opiates and other substances of abuse. Led by a Board Certified Addiction Psychiatrist, Indra Cidambi, M.D., experienced physicians and nurses closely monitor each patients progress. With CNTs superior client care and high quality treatment, Dr. Cidambi and her clinical team have successfully detoxed over 600 patients in nearly three years. Visit RecoveryCNT.com for more details on CNT. About Brian Cuban Brian Cuban is an author whose best-selling book, Shattered Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder, chronicles his first-hand experiences living with, and recovering from, twenty-seven years of eating disorders, alcoholism, drug addiction and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). He has spoken at colleges and universities across the United States and in Canada. Brian has appeared on prestigious talks shows such as the Katie Couric Show as well as numerous media outlets around the country. He also writes extensively on these subjects. His columns have appeared on CNN.com, Foxnews.com, The Huffington Post and in online and print newspapers around the world. Brian second book, entitled, The Addicted Lawyer: Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow and Redemption, will be released in 2017. # # # Double A has reached the final round of the Friends of the Planet project launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Central Environmental Authority. The project aims to create awareness among secondary school children on the growing impact of climate change and encourage them to come up with fresh and creative solutions to help solve todays problem. We were pleased with the overwhelming response we received. We believe in the power of our children. They have the capacity to understand solutions to big problems and even more crucially increase awareness of how imperative it is for everyone to join the effort to save the planet. Students with their fresh ideas and thirst for innovation are crucial stakeholders in a new way of life that will help save the planet. Judging from the success of this particular campaign, our belief in young minds was well founded, commented Thirawit Leetavorn, Senior Executive Vice President of Double A. Initially, in line with the campaign guidelines, the competing schools each selected a team of five students above the age of 15 to come up with a cost-effective and ground-breaking solution to an environmental problem. Under the guidance of a teacher, each team developed and implemented a project within a period of three months. On completing the project each team compiled a detailed report which they presented to the expert panel of judges from Double A for evaluation. The panel selected twenty-five successful team projects which proceed to the next level with the provision of Double A papers. These twenty-five projects were evaluated by an expert panel consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Central Environmental Authority and Double A, who then shortlisted the seven most relevant and successful projects. These seven projects qualified for the final round of the Friends of the Planet programme. The top seven projects are from Ibbagamuwa Central College, Viharamahadevi Girls College, DS Senanayake Central College, Mayurapada Central College, Pallivasathurai Maha Vidyalaya, Royal College, and Vincent Girls High School. The ultimate winning team will be given tablets and an all-expense-paid trip to Thailand where they will see an award-winning sustainability project carried out by Double A. The Paper from KHAN-NA project is a landmark effort to make optimum use of agricultural land. It provides an additional source of income to Thai farmers and helps resolve environmental issues in Thailand. The 1st and 2nd runners up will receive valuable tablets and certificates. About Double A Double A is a global leader in premium copy paper and is one of the most advanced fully integrated pulp and paper manufacturers in the world. Double A produces high performance, super smooth Double A paper which is available in more than 130 countries worldwide. Double A copy paper is produced from Farmed Trees grown by over 1.5 million contract farmers in Thailand. Double As pulp and paper production practices set an industry benchmark in environmental responsibility. Double As unique Farmed Trees initiative save precious old growth forests from logging. Trees are planted in open areas between and around rice fields and other crops, thereby maintaining the natural biodiversity. For more information about Double A, please visit http://www.DoubleApaper.com Dr. Ger Bergkamp, Chief Executive, International Water Association International cooperation on groundwater management will be fundamental if we are to address the serious threat posed by water scarcity to communities, agriculture, industry and the environment Per capita water availability continues to decline in South Asia, and the regions water-intensive economies have increasingly turned to groundwater to supply drinking water and water for agriculture to serve a rapidly growing population. The Forum is particularly significant, as it brings together high-level delegations from government and civil society, scientists and international organizations, and community leaders, from 20 countries on a common platform. Highlighting water as a renewable resource for growth and economic development, the World Banks Senior Director for Water Global Practice, Ms. Jenifer Sara, said, Quantity and quality both need to be considered together in policy and planning, and for protection, regulation and management of groundwater, including in community-based groundwater management. More attention is needed to address water-energy-food nexus issues, protecting recharge areas and promoting demand management and conjunctive use and management of both surface and groundwater. Groundwater is a vast and vital resource for millions of people in South Asia, who depend on it for irrigation and domestic consumption. It can provide a reliable, drought-resilient, decentralised and usually high quality water supply to meet the rural, urban, industrial, irrigation and livestock demands. However, the failure to manage groundwater resources in a wise and sustainable manner has created a serious crisis in South Asia, leading to the overexploitation of groundwater reserves, inadequate replenishment of aquifers and growing contamination of groundwater. This meeting provides a very special opportunity to find solutions for South Asia's dwindling groundwater reserves. Todays reality of water scarcity and drought are the future for much of the world. International cooperation on groundwater management will be fundamental if we are to address the serious threat posed by water scarcity to communities, agriculture, industry and the environment said Dr. Ger Bergkamp, Chief Executive, International Water Association. Dr. Rafik Hirji, the World Bank Team Leader for the Forum, said, South Asia is a large user of groundwater and its groundwater management challenge across the region is complex. It is not just a water resources problem, but a multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral urban and rural economic development challenge. The common-pool nature of the resource, multiple externalities and data inadequacy, compound the challenge. The goals of the forum are to elevate, at the policy level, the vital role groundwater plays in the water sector across the region (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). Realizing the potential of groundwater to build resilient societies, livelihoods and food security requires concentrated efforts, increased capacity and efficient partnerships at local to global levels, said Mr. Jeremy Bird, Director General, International Water Management Institute IIWMI. Progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and adaptation to climate change hinges on managing groundwater sustainably, he added. Marin County Real Estate Website Our new Marin County real estate website leverages the combined knowledge of our highly experienced local staff and provides consumers with an insiders perspective on the residential real estate market in Marin County. Marin Modern Real Estate, a top-tier and technology-forward residential real estate firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area, announced the launch of MarinCounty.com, a new website resource for consumers which showcases local real estate news and information in Marin County, California. The new Marin County real estate website has a clean, modern design and features comprehensive information on the real estate scene in Marin, including current listings, city and neighborhood information, detailed Marin County real estate agent profiles and quality video bios, market trends, area news and more. Area real estate listings are updated frequently and consumers and real estate professionals will have access to large property photos, expanded property details, open house schedules, virtual tours, Walk Score ranking information and Marin School information. The responsive website, which will automatically adjust to provide the best user experience for consumers across a variety of devices including smartphones, tablets, desktop and laptop computers, also features lifestyle related searches such as Waterfront Living, Condos, 55+ Active Adult Communities and more. Real estate is a local business and weve always recognized that todays savvy home buyers and sellers are best served by local real estate agents and brokerages that are deeply immersed and knowledgeable about the market in which they serve, commented Barry Adelmann, Broker & Co-Owner of Marin Modern Real Estate. While there are many generic websites and portals that permit consumers to search for real estate listings across the United States, they often lack the personalized feel and insider knowledge and experience which can only be obtained by working with a local real estate agent and brokerage with a proven track record of experience and success. Our new Marin County real estate website leverages the combined knowledge of our highly experienced local staff and provides consumers with an insiders perspective on the residential real estate market in Marin County California. To learn more, visit http://www.MarinCounty.com. About Marin Modern Real Estate Marin Modern Real Estate is an innovative and technology-forward residential real estate brokerage firm serving the needs of home buyers and sellers throughout Marin County, California. The company also provides real estate services throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California region thru its sister companies which include East Bay Modern Real Estate (serving Alameda & Contra Costa County), San Francisco Modern Real Estate (serving the city of San Francisco), Wine Country Modern Real Estate (serving Napa & Sonoma County) and Gold Country Modern Real Estate (serving Amador County and the Sierra Foothills region). Pauls comprehensive background leading defined-benefit plans of varying sizes, conducting investment manager searches, due diligence and risk control oversight make him an excellent fit to the evolving business needs of American Beacon. American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (American Beacon), an experienced provider of investment advisory services to institutional and retail markets, announced today that Paul Cavazos will join the firm as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Cavazos will be responsible for overseeing corporate pension plan investments and the investment sub-advisors to the American Beacon Funds. Mr. Cavazos will assume the role effective June 20. We are extremely pleased to welcome Paul to the company, Gene L. Needles, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO of American Beacon said. Pauls comprehensive background leading defined-benefit plans of varying sizes, conducting investment manager searches, due diligence and risk control oversight make him an excellent fit to the evolving business needs of American Beacon. Mr. Cavazos joins American Beacon from Detroit-based DTE Energy Company, where he served as chief investment officer and assistant treasurer. In these roles, he was responsible for the development of asset allocation strategies as well as fiduciary oversight for DTEs $10 billion in retirement trust assets. In 2014, Cavazos received the prestigious CIO Industry Innovation Award of the Year from Chief Investment Officer magazine. Prior to his time at DTE, he was chief investment officer at Navistar, where he was responsible for all investment aspects of the companys $5 billion in retirement trust assets. Mr. Cavazoss experience also includes investment and finance roles at The Boeing Company and Chrysler Corporation. Mr. Cavazos is a former Executive Board member and working group member of the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (CIEBA), which is a plan sponsor organization representing $1.5 trillion in retirement assets. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and his Master of Business Administration in finance from The University of Texas at Austin. I am excited about joining the outstanding team at American Beacon, Cavazos said. To be able to join one of the leading sub-advised mutual fund firms and be an integral part of achieving the firms growth objectives were very appealing to me. About American Beacon Advisors Established in 1986, American Beacon is an experienced provider of investment advisory services to institutional and retail markets. American Beacon Advisors serves defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, foundations, endowments, corporations and other institutional investors, as well as retail clients. The firm also provides corporate cash management and fixed-income separate account management. American Beacon manages the American Beacon Funds, a series of competitively priced mutual funds. The Funds employ a manager of managers investment style and currently include international and domestic equity, fixed-income and money market funds. As of March 31, 2016, American Beacon Advisors had $51.4 billion in assets under management. For more information, go to http://www.americanbeaconfunds.com or follow on Twitter via @AmBeacon. Pearson, in partnership with the University of Minnesota Press, today launched the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF), the most up-to-date, empirically based personality assessment for use with adolescents. Now available on Q-global, Pearsons web-based system for assessment administration, scoring and reporting, the MMPI-A-RF aids clinical, school and counseling psychologists in problem identification, diagnosis and treatment planning for adolescents ages 14 to 18. The MMPI-A-RF mirrors the structure of the well-known Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-RF (MMPI-2-RF), the most recent version for use with adults. Clinicians can use the MMPI-A-RF for diagnosis and treatment planning in a variety of settings; early identification of potential problems and possible root causes; information sharing with parents, teachers, and others in the adolescents support network; and decision making for appropriate referrals. With todays launch of the MMPI-A-RF, we are setting a new standard in adolescent personality assessment by building on the foundation of the MMPI-2-RF, said Beverly Kaemmer, manager of the University of Minnesota Press Test Division, publisher of the MMPI suite of tests. Hope Goldberg, Ph.D., who uses the MMPI-A-RF with clients in her private practice in adult and adolescent clinical neuropsychology in Pasadena, California, said, With outstanding psychometric properties, theoretically driven hierarchical organization, and clinically relevant scales, the MMPI-A-RF is now the most comprehensive measure available for assessing and understanding adolescent emotional, interpersonal, and behavioral functioning and personality characteristics. The MMPI-A-RF joins more than 65 other assessments on Q-global, the only scoring and reporting system that features today's leading assessments on a simple-to-use, web-based interface that is accessible anytime, anywhere. Q-global offers clinicians 24/7 secure, web-based access and portability. In addition, clinicians can order tests online when they need them to support their practice. Q-global allows for on-demand, reliable scoring and expansive and comprehensive reporting solutions not available through hand scoring. The test will also be available on Q Local, Pearsons software-based scoring and reporting system. As the exclusive distributor of the MMPI tests, Pearson is proud to provide this new assessment to clinicians via Q-global. Now clinicians who work with adolescents can leverage the power of the MMPI-A-RF combined with the latest digital technology to gain the insights that they need, anytime, anywhere, said Aurelio Prifitera, Ph.D., managing director of Pearsons clinical assessment group. About Pearson Pearson is the worlds learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our mission is to help people make progress through access to better learning. We believe that learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. Pearsons Clinical Assessment group provides a comprehensive portfolio of research-based instruments to help clinicians develop insights that support evaluations and shape treatment plans. For more information about Pearson Clinical Assessment visit http://www.pearsonclinical.com. About The University of Minnesota Press The publication program of the University of Minnesota Press Test Division focuses on well-researched tests of personality, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The division's long-established research and development program actively supports the tests published by the Press. The division is also committed to facilitating translations of its tests. For more information visit http://www.upress.umn.edu/test-division. Media Contact: Scott Overland, scott(dot)overland(at)pearson(dot)com, 202-909-4520 Our culture, exuberant personalities, and beliefs in practicing our C.O.R.E. Values result in a unique workplace atmosphere. Being an ABG Capital company, and working right along next to them, we celebrate their successes as ours, too. - Ron Eggert, Pres. Inspira, an IRA recordkeeper that provides automatic IRA rollover services, payroll IRA programs and IRA outsourcing solutions to the retirement industry, announced that its parent company, ABG Capital, was honored as one of Inc. Magazines inaugural 50 Best Workplaces. ABG Capital, a business management firm and technological and software innovator, expressed honor in being named on this new list as its the first such measurement of American companies with up to 500 employees that deploy state-of-the-art techniques to keep their staff happy and productive. Working with employee engagement and culture experts Quantum Workplace of Omaha, Nebraska, Inc.s list is a magnifying glass on how innovative companies can truly raise the bar in hiring and keeping the best talent. We hear it over and over again from the fast-growing businesses we cover: The biggest challenge that any business owner faces is finding and keeping the best people. Thats why building a workplace culture that allows your staff to grow with your company is absolutely crucial, explains Inc.s President and Editor-In-Chief Eric Schurenberg. Recipients of the Inc. Best Workplaces Awards have done so in spades. They should be celebrated and emulated. Our culture, exuberant personalities, and beliefs in practicing our C.O.R.E. Values result in a unique workplace atmosphere. Being an ABG Capital company, and working right along next to them, we celebrate their successes as ours, too, said Inspira President Ron Eggert. The 2016 Inc. Best Workplaces Awards assessed applicants on a collection of multiple choice, scaled, and open-ended items. Responses were evaluated by the research team at Quantum Workplace. Core components of the scoring include company practices around management, employee recognition, performance communication, benefits, and other elements of the employee experience. To qualify, companies had to be U.S.-based, privately held, and independent--not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. The minimum revenue required for 2015 is $2 million, in business at least three years, with a full time employee count ranging between 5 and 500. For the full list of honorees, please visit inc.com. About Inspira Based in Pittsburgh, PA, and founded in 2002, Inspira is an IRA record keeper dedicated to providing retirement providers and professionals with easy-to-implement, low-cost IRA solutions. Inspira offers Payroll IRA Plans, Contributory IRA programs and Automatic Rollover solutions designed to give retirement providers and other businesses a variety of ways to take advantage of the rapidly-expanding Individual Retirement Account marketplace. About ABG Capital ABG Capital is a privately held business management company located in Pittsburgh, PA. ABG Capital supports its portfolio companies growths and successes by offering aggregated back office services such as accounting, administrative, legal, IT, software development, HR, and marketing communications. Offering these services allows for the portfolio companies to have a competitive advantage as well as an equation for quick paced success. For more information, please visit the ABG Capital Blog. About Inc. Media Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today's innovative company builders. Winner of Advertising Ages The A-List in January 2015, and the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 2014 and 2012. Total monthly audience reach for the brand has grown significantly from 2,000,000 in 2010 to over 13,000,000 today. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com/. About Quantum Workplace Quantum Workplace is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit http://www.quantumworkplace.com. Securing this validation offers assurance of our ongoing commitment to meeting the most widely accepted security management parameters in the industry. OneNeck IT Solutions successfully completed the 2016 ISO 27001 Surveillance Review. Todays announcement confirms OneNecks continued compliance with ISO 27001 certification requirements. The scope of the validation includes OneNecks Tier 3 data centers in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, as well as the companys headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. ISO 27001 is the best-known standard when it comes to establishing and recognizing global requirements for the industrys Information Security Management System (ISMS). In order to earn ISO 27001 certification, a companys ISMS is reviewed in a systematic manner. The process includes examination of a companys information security controls, which are scrutinized to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of all sensitive information assets. On behalf of our customers, we pursued this third-party validation, said Clint Harder, CTO and senior vice president at OneNeck. Securing this validation offers assurance of our ongoing commitment to meeting the most widely accepted security management parameters in the industry. For our customers, it also affirms we are managing their sensitive customer information in a manner consistent with internationally accepted best practices. The ISO 27001 ISMS at OneNeck was certified by Schellman & Company, Inc., a leading provider of attestation and compliance services. Schellman is a CPA firm, an ISO Certification Body, a PCI Qualified Security Assessor and a FedRAMP 3PAO. As a result of the ISO 27001 certification validation, it allows businesses, including many OneNeck customers, to streamline portions of their annual due diligence process. In addition to ISO 27001 certification, OneNeck also regularly submits itself to third-party audits for Type 2 SSAE 16 (SOC 1) examination, PCI DSS, HIPAA and HITECH. To learn more, visit oneneck.com. OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, employs nearly 550 people throughout the U.S. The company offers hybrid IT solutions including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, ERP application management, professional services, IT hardware and top-tier data centers in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin. OneNeck's team of technology professionals manage secure, world-class, hybrid IT infrastructures and applications for thousands of businesses around the globe. Visit oneneck.com for more information. TDS Telecommunications Corp., headquartered in Madison, Wis., operates OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, TDS Baja Broadband LLC, and BendBroadband. Combined, the company employs 3,400 people. Visit tdstelecom.com. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS] a Fortune 1000TM company, provides wireless; broadband, video and voice; and hosted and managed services to approximately 6.1 million customers nationwide through its businesses U.S. Cellular, TDS Telecommunications, OneNeck IT Solutions and BendBroadband. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employs 10,400 people. Visit tdsinc.com. SharePoint Fest Seattle to have Bill Baer and Chris McNulty deliver the second day keynote on August 18th, 2016 in which they will share innovation insights and guidance for IT to best manage SharePoint everywhere online, on-premises with specific depth into hybrid. Whether you have your head in the clouds, feet firmly inside the firewall, or span both, Bill and Chris will cover the latest IT updates, scenarios and tons of demo for both seasoned SharePoint IT Pros and new SharePoint cloud admins. About Bill Baer Bill Baer is a Senior Technical Product Manager and Microsoft Certified Master for SharePoint in the SharePoint product group in Redmond, Washington; having previously worked at Hewlett-Packard, Bill Baer has a proven background in infrastructure engineering and enterprise deployments of SharePoint Products and Technologies. While at Hewlett-Packard Bill Baer was awarded the MVP award for his contributions in the Technology Solutions Group, now known as HP Enterprise Business, which encompasses server and storage hardware, technology consulting, and software sales. Bill has deep industry experience having worked for Apple Computer Corporation, First Data Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, Compaq Computer Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft Corporation. Connect with Bill at wbaer.net. About Chris McNulty Chris McNulty is a Sr. Product Manager for SharePoint and Office 365 at Microsoft. Chriss experience as CTO includes companies as diverse as Dell Software/Quest, and Cryptzone/HiSoftware. He was first recognized as a SharePoint MVP in 2013, and led the SharePoint consulting practice at KMA, a Boston based Microsoft Gold Partner. A frequent speaker at events around the globe, Chris is the author of the SharePoint 2013 Consultants Handbook among other works. He also blogs at http://www.chrismcnulty.net/blog Recently, he was recognized at the Ignite Conference as one of the Top 25 Office 365 Influencers in the community today. Chris holds an MBA from Boston College in Investment Management and has over twenty years experience in financial services technology with John Hancock, State Street, GMO and Santander. About SharePoint Fest SharePoint Fest is in its sixth year. It offers a two-day conference (with an optional two days of workshops) that brings together SharePoint enthusiasts and practitioners, with many of the leading SharePoint experts and solution providers in the country. Attend SharePoint Fest Seattle where attendees will be able to attend workshops and seminars taught by Microsoft Certified Trainers, Microsoft engineers, and Microsoft MCM's and MVPs covering Enterprise Content Management, Implementation/Administration, Business Value, Search, Business Intelligence, Office 365 and SharePoint Development. Attendees will be able to choose one complete learning track or mix and match based on what content best meets their current needs. At SharePoint Fest Seattle, there will be sessions created for SharePoint administrators, software developers, business analysts, information architects, and knowledge workers, which will ensure that attendees walk away with as much knowledge as they desire to truly leverage SharePoint in their current environment. Web Site: http://www.sharepointfest.com/Seattle Acer raises $10,000 in partnership with Soles4Souls. Acer has always focused on making technology accessible to everyone and were pleased that our alliance with Soles4Souls enabled us incorporate social responsibility into our marketing campaigns. Acer today announced the results of its partnership with Soles4Souls, raising $10,000 to bring new pairs of shoes to families in need. At events held recently in Seattle and San Francisco, Acer and Soles4Souls distributed 500 pairs of new shoes to these communities. The Soles4Souls partnership tied into Acers holiday 2015 marketing campaign, Dancing Elves. Through a series of posts on Facebook, Acer engaged with its community by matching each like per post with a $1 donation to Soles4Souls. The campaign raised $10,000 for shoe donations, which will be distributed throughout 2016. Acer and Soles4Souls held two at the YWCA Family Village Issaquah in Seattle and the Hamilton Family Center in San Francisco. At the Seattle event, they distributed 200 new pairs of shoes to members of the community along with 82 pairs of shoes to the Eastside Baby Corner. In San Francisco, Acer and Soles4Souls served 38 families with 120 pairs of shoes, with 130 more pairs to be provided at the Hamilton Family Centers back-to-school event later this summer. Soles4Souls will also host additional events throughout the year to distribute more shoes in more communities with the $10,000 donation from Acer. Acer has always focused on making technology accessible to everyone and were pleased that our alliance with Soles4Souls enabled us incorporate social responsibility into our marketing campaigns, said Richard Black, vice president of marketing, Acer America. We are so pleased that our campaign helped fund this worthy organization that helps so many families in need. About Acer Established in 1976, Acer is a hardware + software + services company dedicated to the research, design, marketing, sale, and support of innovative products that enhance people's lives. Acer's product offerings include PCs, displays, projectors, servers, tablets, smartphones and wearables. It is also developing cloud solutions to bring together the Internet of Things. Acer is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2016 and is one of the worlds top 5 PC companies. It employs 7,000 people worldwide and has a presence in over 160 countries. Please visit http://www.acer.com for more information. About Soles4Souls Soles4Souls is a not for profit global social enterprise committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing. The organization advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothes from individuals, schools, faith- based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners, then distributing those shoes and clothes both via direct donations to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Soles4Souls is committed to the highest standards of operating and governance. Visit soles4souls.org for more information. About YWCA Family Village Issaquah The YWCA opens doors to opportunity and self-sufciency for women and families facing poverty, violence and discrimination. With more than 100 years experience, the YWCA is the leading organization for moving women and families out of crisis and empowering them to achieve lasting independence. Visit http://www.ywcaworks.org/ for more information About Hamilton Family Center Hamilton Family Centers mission is to end family homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit https://hamiltonfamilycenter.org/ for more information. 2016 Acer Inc. All rights reserved. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners. Dr. Anthony Davidson, Dean of the School of Business, addresses attendees at Reid Castle, Manhattanville College, during Holocaust Remembrance Day Sharing my mother's story is important to this and future generations An overflow of students, faculty, administration, and business professionals recently gathered at Reid Hall at Manhattanville College in commemoration of Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance Day. Dr. Anthony Davidson, Dean of the Manhattanville School of Business recounted his mothers story, From Munkatch to Manchester through the Gates of Auschwitz: A Personal Story of Courage, Heroism, and Survival During the Holocaust. Special guests included President and Mrs. Jon C. Strauss, members of the College Leadership, Dr. Marsha Gordon, President/ CEO of Business Council of Westchester, and Dee Delbello, CEO/Publisher, Westfair Communications. Dr. Davidsons mothers memoirs and story are held in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The presentation was recorded and is available in the Manhattanville Library and downloadable here. "Sharing my mother's story is important to this and future generations, said Dr. Davidson. Her strength and courage in risking her own life to save the lives of strangers is something from which we can all learn both as individuals and as a nation." The event was arranged by Father Wil Tyrrell, Chaplain at Manhattanville College and supported by Duchesne Center for Religious and Social Justice, College Chaplains, Catholic and Hillel Student Associations, International Studies, Genocide & Holocaust Studies, and the School of Business. About Manhattanville College Manhattanville College (http://www.manhattanville.edu) is an independent, co-educational liberal arts institution dedicated to academic excellence and social and civic action. Manhattanville prepares students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community. Located just 30 minutes from New York City, Manhattanville serves 1,800 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students from more than 45 countries and 40 states. Founded in 1841, the College offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate areas of study in the arts and sciences, education, and business as well as continuing and executive education programs. Vena Higher Education Platform Vena Solutions, the fastest growing provider of cloud-based corporate performance management (CPM) software, today announced its Exhibitor Sponsorship at CEEA/ACEG 2016, being held June 1922 at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The annual Canadian Engineering Education Association Conference is one of Canadas largest forums for engineering faculty, administrators and researchers to discuss ongoing trends impacting the field of engineering education. Vena will be showcasing its Outcomes Assessment and Accreditation solution for engineering programs to meet all the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) data collection and reporting requirements. Universities and colleges also use Vena for program planning, faculty credentialing, student retention and continuous curriculum improvement. Venas higher education solutions combine a true Excel interface with enterprise-grade features including workflow, version control, a detailed audit trail and integration with various data source systems. The Vena Outcomes Assessment and Accreditation solution offers features and benefits including: Rapid and widespread user adoption, as a result of Venas native Excel interface; Automation of manual, error-prone spreadsheet processes such as data consolidation; Streamlined processes (outcomes assessment, student-level insight, etc.) across multiple departments; Sophisticated but powerful data modeling, analytics and reporting; Real time management, regulatory and self-serve reporting. To learn more, please visit us at the CEEA Conference or online at http://venasolutions.com/product/business-solutions/higher-education-solutions/ About CEEA/ACEG 2016 https://ceea.ca/en/conferences/ The Canadian Engineering Education Association's Annual Conference - CEEA2016 will be hosted by Dalhousie University in Halifax - June 19 - 22, 2016. All areas of engineering education research and practice are invited, more specific information on the conference will be posted as it becomes available. This conference offers a unique venue for academics and practitioners to discuss recent trends in engineering education and education research. The conference includes workshops, plenary sessions and technical sessions. About Vena Solutions http://www.venasolutions.com Vena turns Excel into an enterprise-class business solution with a centralized database, workflow, detailed audit trail and more. With Vena, hundreds of leading global brands now get trusted numbers and insights fast without sacrificing the investments theyve made in Excel templates, models and reports. Our customers use Vena for corporate performance management (CPM) applications including budgeting, financial close management, reporting, and automating other spreadsheet driven processes across and beyond finance. Vena is the fastest growing cloud CPM vendor, and the only one to embrace not replace Excel spreadsheets. Margo Cook Margo is dedicated and passionate about helping people and families plan for the future, enjoy the present, and live the lives they have always dreamed of. Margo has a proven track record of success in strategic planning and excels in wealth management. Margo Cook, a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) with more than a decade of professional nonprofit management and finance experience has joined 1 North Wealth Services, as an Investment Advisor Representative. For the past ten years, Cook has served in development director roles for Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation, United States Naval Academy Foundation, and the University of Miami. 1 North Wealth is a fee-only financial management and advisory firm providing customized investment management and financial plans for clients. The firm works closely with each individual and family to ensure that their investments match their goals through active management and constant communication. The main office is located in Annapolis, MD with satellite services in Centreville, MD and Dagsboro, DE. Margo Cook will join the team as a local representative servicing Marylands Eastern Shore, where she resides with her husband and two children. In addition to providing investment management services and financial planning to clients, Margo also serves as a philanthropic advisor. Jim Brennan, Managing Partner of 1 North Wealth Services praised Cooks qualifications and went on to say, Margo is dedicated and passionate about helping people and families plan for the future, enjoy the present, and live the lives they have always dreamed of. Margo has a proven track record of success in strategic planning and excels in wealth management. Her central focus has always been what is best for her clients. She is passionate about the arts, financial education, healthcare, the Chesapeake Bay, and the welfare of children; we are pleased to welcome her to our team. Margo is a graduate of the University of Miami and St. Marys High School in Annapolis, MD. She has deep roots in the community and intends to continue to invest in the success and betterment of the local community. The Cook family has been on the eastern shore for more than 40 years and been a part of the local waterman industry for more than 35 years. Margo serves on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals-MD, the Chesapeake Planned Giving Council, and The Betty Effect. She is also a member of the Annapolis Library Development Committee, Special Olympics MD Development Committee, the Christ Church Episcopal Day School Development Committee, and serves as an Anne Arundel Medical Center Patient & Family Advisor. She is a member of Anne Arundel Women Giving Together (AAWGT). She also supports and volunteers with other various nonprofits throughout the region as a consultant and an advocate. Office Practicum CRO, Kraig Brown Its an exciting time to be in Healthcare IT, and Office Practicum is at the forefront. Office Practicum, a top ranked provider of integrated electronic health record and practice management solutions, announced that it has named Healthcare IT veteran Kraig Brown as the companys Chief Revenue Officer. Kraig joins Office Practicum with over 20 years of senior leadership experience, spending the past 15 years at some of the most innovative companies in the Healthcare IT space. As Office Practicums new CRO, Browns top priority will be maintaining the companys dominance in pediatrics, while accelerating growth in adjacent markets. Kraig most recently served as the CRO for Consolo Services Group, a leading web-based EHR for the hospice market. Before joining Consolo, Brown served as Chief Executive Officer for RazorInsights, a leader in cloud-based EHR technology and financial solutions for community-based hospitals. He played a pivotal role in the company's growth, leading to a successful acquisition by athenahealth in January, 2015. OPs march toward dominance in the pediatric EHR market has come with years of dedicated talent focused on physician success, said Brown. Today, the company is poised to expand within pediatrics but also across the continuum of care with innovative web-based solutions that include critical billing services. Its an exciting time to be in Healthcare IT, and Office Practicum is at the forefront. As we seek to aggressively move Office Practicum forward and establish the company as a top-tier EHR/PM vendor, we focused on identifying an extraordinary leader who could bring vision, focus and a wealth of experience to OPs future, said Greg Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Office Practicum. I have seen Kraig in action, and the Board and executive team are confident that Kraigs diverse and broad experience in the Healthcare IT industry, as well as his passion for leading high performing teams, will propel OP forward. About Office Practicum Office Practicum is a top ranked provider of electronic health record and practice management software for use in clinical settings. Since 1992, the innovative Office Practicum solution has been delivered to over one-thousand medical practices across 48 states and the Caribbean, ranging from solo providers to hospital-based clinics. The privately held company maintains primary offices in suburban Philadelphia, Cleveland and central California. For more information visit http://www.officepracticum.com. Jonathan Petit Security should be present at all layers of automotive security, which is why a well-researched and thorough roadmap is imperative. Modern cars have become complex digital devices, which can contain up to 100 electronic control units, a host of both wired and wireless interfaces, and dozens of sensors that produce gigabytes of data every hour. The 4th escar USA conference is a place for dissemination and exchange of state-of-the-art approaches to improving cyber security in the automotive industry. Security Innovations Principal Scientist, Dr. Jonathan Petit will be delivering a seminar entitled Automated Vehicle Vulnerabilities?. In this session Dr. Petit will propose a roadmap for automated vehicle cybersecurity. He will present potential vulnerabilities at both the sensor and sensor-fusion levels of design. In addition, he will present a classification of security threats according to their risk in order to propose a realistic plan for action. Dr. Petit will also describe recommended countermeasures to harden the automated vehicle ecosystem. Security should be present at all layers of automotive security, which is why a well-researched and thorough roadmap is imperative, said Dr. Petit. However, because automated vehicles and V2X cybersecurity is such a new area, few have the expertise to build such an action plan. My hope is that this session will help those in the industry to make automated vehicles safer for everyone. Prior to joining Security Innovation, Dr. Petit was a Research Fellow in the Computer Security Group at University College Cork, Ireland. He coordinated the European funded FP7 PRESERVE project and holds a PhD and M.Sc. degree from Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France. In addition to Dr. Petits seminar, Security Innovation is also a proud sponsor of this years escar USA event in Detroit, MI. About Security Innovation Since 2002, Security Innovation has been the trusted partner for cybersecurity risk analysis and mitigation for the worlds leading companies, including Microsoft, Sony, GM, Disney and Dell. Recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Security Awareness Computer-Based Training for the second year in a row, Security Innovation is dedicated to securing and protecting sensitive data in the most challenging environments - automobiles, desktops, web applications, mobile devices and in the cloud. Security Innovation is privately held and headquartered in Wilmington, MA USA. For more information, visit http://www.securityinnovation.com. About escar USA The overall goal and objective of the escar USA workshop is to provide a forum to encourage collaboration among private industry (e.g. , OEMs, suppliers, vendors), academia, and government (e.g., DOT, NHTSA, DoD, DHS, European Commission) regarding modern in-vehicle Cyber Security threats, vulnerabilities, and risk mitigation/countermeasures. In addition to Cyber Security, escar also addresses other automotive security issues such as electronic theft protection and new digital business models. This workshop will create the opportunity for information exchange, networking, and collaboration among your peers and a setting to define research needs. The workshop will also offer networking opportunities for (future) attendees in relevant government initiatives. For more information, visit http://www.escar.info. David Crumpton, DDS Our top priority is to help patients achieve and maintain a healthy and beautiful smile. This June, David Crumpton, DDS is celebrating 20 years of providing exceptional dental care to the residents of Trophy Club, Roanoke and the entire the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The mission of David Crumpton, DDS, located in Trophy Club, TX, is to provide patients with the highest quality and personalized care in a warm and stress-free environment. When I began practicing dentistry in 1996, I wanted things to be different. I wanted to create a practice where every patient is treated like family. Our top priority is to help patients achieve and maintain a healthy and beautiful smile," said David Crumpton, DDS. For 20 years, Dr. Crumpton has been helping the community achieve optimal dental health. The practice offers a full range of dental services, including dental implants, general and family dentistry including routine teeth cleanings, cosmetic dentistry, Invisalign clear aligners, and treatment for gum disease. In addition, David Crumpton, DDS utilizes leading-edge technologies such as The DIAGNOdent Laser Caries Detector to help detect cavities. The practice also develops affordable treatment plans that enable patients to look and feel their best. And for patients that are apprehensive about going to the dentist, David Crumpton, DDS offers sedation dentistry to help ease any fears to make a visit to the dentist as relaxing as possible. For patients that are looking for a smile makeover, contact David Crumpton, DDS at 817.491.3344 or visit DavidCrumptonDDS.com. About David Crumpton, DDS David Crumpton, DDS provides state-of-the-art dentistry in a supportive, caring, and friendly manner. The practice offers a full range of dental services for the entire family including general and cosmetic dentistry, Invisalign clear aligners, root canal therapy, dental implants, porcelain crowns and periodontics, porcelain veneers, bridges, fillings, extractions, and teeth whitening. David Crumpton, DDS is located at 301 Trophy Branch Drive, Suite 100, Trophy Club TX 76262. Patients can schedule appointments by calling 817.491.3344 or visiting DavidCrumptonDDS.com. Weve been doing business here for over 50 years, and our milk has been served to children in local schools for 44 of those years. The contribution dairy products make to growing healthy bodies hits close to home. Rockview Family Farms, a family-owned and -operated Southern California dairy for more than 50 years, announced the launch of its new consumer-focused website todayWorld Milk Dayin a strategic move to promote local awareness of the ways milk, an important factor in world health and global economics, also benefits the Southern California community. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) held the first World Milk Day on June 1, 2001. Rockview Farms Sales Manager Curt DeGroot said, Rockview is in the middle of a big growth phase this year, which is generating a lot of attention. We wanted to leverage the buzz to promote the importance of milk and dairy in our local community. Weve been doing business here for over 50 years, and our milk has been served to children in local schools for 44 of those years. The contribution dairy products make to growing healthy bodies hits close to home. To us, what we do is a lot more than making products and selling them for profit. We consider Southern California our home and our customers and partners, family. World Milk Day was created to provide a platform for calling attention to the importance of milk from global health and economic perspectives, yielding the perfect opportunity for our new website launch. NEW SITE TO "BUILD BRAND AWARENESS, CONNECT CUSTOMERS, DISTRIBUTORS'' Rockview also intends for the consumer-focused website to support economics on a local scale by boosting the connection between customers and distributors. Milk is one of the most important agricultural products in the world, America is one of the largest producers globally and California is the largest producer in America, DeGroot said. This industry is a significant strength for all of us and holds great potential to boost local businesses and support local economicsthats what we want to do. To help strengthen the connection between distributors and consumers, the new site includes a ZIP-code driven product locator, which is linked on every page of the site. A customer looking for Rockview products nearby can visit the site, click on a locator link from any page, and enter their ZIP code to generate a list of local businesses carrying that product. Each location listed includes complete contact information and appears on the locator map. Johnson said the new site was also designed to create a consumer community. Latest MOOS is the sites social hub where each days Facebook and Instagram posts populate automatically, and users can easily engage with the company and community through an on-page Twitter interface. Latest MOOS also includes a blog with content ranging from company news and announcements to the latest nutritional research. Rockview included a detailed FAQs section on the new site, which they hope will address the questions of modern consumers. Consumers are thinking about what theyre serving their families these days, and with this comes a lot of important questions about the foods they put on the breakfast table and the companies they support, Johnson said. We made sure our new FAQs page addresses the most important of those questions and concernseverything from kids health to farming ethics and sustainability. The Nutrition and Products pages are also populated with detailed information about the companys offerings, including full nutritional information and answers to hot-button nutrition-related questions. According to Johnson, the community building aspect of Rockviews outreach plan will culminate in the Rockview Farms College Scholarshipa nomination-based scholarship program set to launch this summer via the companys Facebook page. Visit the new Rockview Farms website at http://www.RockviewFarms.com. About Rockview Farms: Rockview Family Farms has been family-owned and -operated by the DeGroot family in Southern California for more than 50 years. The company owns its farms and cows and remains committed to the old world approach to customer service first instituted by family patriarch and Dutch immigrant entrepreneur Pete DeGroot. Today, Rockview produces and distributes a large variety of top-quality, healthy products in the food service, institutional, manufacturing, and retail sales industries. For more information contact: Emily Johnson, Director of Marketing (562) 927-5511 Emily(at)rockviewfarms(dot)com Wes Moore is National University's Southern California Commencement Keynote Speaker. Photo: Courtesy of Wes Moore The graduates at National University and the hard work they put into their degrees and life in general shows they are ready to lead us for decades to come. I salute their success. National Universitys Southern California Commencement Ceremony June 11 will feature keynote speaker Wes Moore, a best-selling author, Rhodes Scholar, U.S. Army veteran, and education leader. The Universitys commencement exercises will bring together thousands of students and their families and friends to hear Mr. Moores speech and celebrate graduation at Petco Park, marking the first time the University has hosted the venue at the iconic San Diego location. Mr. Moores background overcoming challenges to succeed in life and becoming a leader resonates with National University students, many of whom are working adults who have gone back to school to further their education improve their future. The Universitys unique one-class-per-month format was developed to address the needs of working professionals, including members of the military that face frequent deployments. I am truly honored to be the keynote speaker at the National University Commencement, said Mr. Moore. The graduates at National University and the hard work they put into their degrees and life in general shows they are ready to lead us for decades to come. I salute their success. Wes Moore was raised along with his sisters by their widowed mother, and he overcame early academic and behavioral challenges to graduate with honors as a commissioned officer from Valley Forge Military College and Johns Hopkins University. He would go on to become a Rhodes Scholar, and a paratrooper and captain in the U.S. Army serving a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan. He later served as a White House fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, he hosted the show Beyond Belief on the Oprah Winfrey Network, works tirelessly as a youth advocate, and he is the founder and CEO of BridgeEdU, an effort aimed at smoothing the transition for students entering their first year of college. Moore also is a successful author whose first book, The Other Wes Moore, details the story of two young Baltimore boys that share the same name and similar backgrounds. One, however, is serving a life term for murder while the other becomes a Rhodes Scholar and a decorated combat veteran. The book, along with his second book, The Work, both became New York Times Bestsellers. National Universitys Southern California Commencement will be presided over by National Universitys President Dr. David W. Andrews, who joined the university in April of this year after serving as Dean of the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. We are so very pleased to have Wes Moore speak to our graduates on this very special day, said Dr. Andrews. Mr. Moore has set an example of how we can all aspire to giving back to our communities and society in ways large and small, and his personal story is a reminder of how important education is to give us the strength and perspective to forge a better future for ourselves and our families. National Universitys Southern California Commencement Ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m., June 11, at Petco Park, 100 Park Boulevard, in downtown San Diego with an expected total attendance of about 10,000. About 2,000 graduates are expected to participate in the ceremony, which represents a portion of the Universitys 4,500 graduates for 2015-2016. National University, which has campuses throughout the state, celebrated its Northern California graduates at a May Commencement in Sacramento, which featured champion runner Meb Keflezighi as keynote speaker. About National University Founded in 1971, National University is the second-largest private, nonprofit institution of higher education in California. With 30,000 students and more than 150,000 alumni, National University is the flagship institution of the National University System. National University is dedicated to making lifelong learning opportunities accessible, challenging, and relevant to a diverse population of students. Four schools and two colleges the College of Letters and Sciences; the Sanford College of Education; the School of Business and Management; the School of Engineering and Computing; the School of Health and Human Services; and the School of Professional Studies offer more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degrees and 23 teacher credentials. Programs are offered at locations throughout California and across the nation, and are also available online. National University is headquartered in La Jolla, California. http://www.nu.edu/ Our commitment to aspiring painters and artists of all types and skill levels, and enriching lives through painting is strong, as we start planning to bring our premier event to the East Coast. Oceans of Color, the Society of Decorative Painters (SDP) 45th Annual International Conference & Expo, will be held at the Ocean Center, Daytona Beach in Daytona, FL, May 17-20, 2017. The SDP International Conference & Expo is open to painters and artists of all mediums and skill levels, students, designers, antiquers, creative hobbyists and art professionals who are interested in the growing painting segment and will feature hands-on learning and exhibits. We are excited to head to Daytona for our 2017 International Conference & Expo, said Wendy Watson, Board President. Our commitment to aspiring painters and artists of all types and skill levels, and enriching lives through painting is strong, as we start planning to bring our premier event to the East Coast. The SDP Conference offers painting classes from well-known and respected decorative painting teachers, representing acrylic, colored pencil, fabric paint, mixed media, oil, technique, theory, watercolor and more. Headlining the 2017 Conference is Certified Decorative Artist, Judy Westegaard-Jenkins. Judy has worked professionally as an artist, art director, and licensed designer for the craft and gift industries, and as a company spokesperson and an educator in the arts. Judy's artwork can be found in many private collections as well as in the National Museum of Decorative Painting, the Library of Congress, the White House, and the Smithsonian Institute. The SDP Expo will feature top art manufacturers, distributors and stores selling a variety of supplies, including paint, brushes, painting surfaces, patterns packets, mats and frames, stamps and stencils and finished products, to name a few. The Societys 44th Annual International Conference & Expo is coming up June 6-11, 2016 at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, CA. Visit decorativepainters.org/2016.php for more information about the event and how to register. Information about the 2017 Conference classes, events, registration and hotels will be available in July. To learn more about the Society of Decorative Painters and its annual event, visit http://www.decorativepainters.org. ABOUT THE SOCIETY OF DECORATIVE PAINTERS The Society of Decorative Painters (SDP) is a membership organization with thousands of members throughout the United States, Canada, Japan and 42 other countries. It has over 200 affiliated chapters that actively promote the art form through community service projects and painting-related activities. SDP publishes the industrys leading decorative painting magazine, The Decorative Painter, and hosts one of the largest annual decorative painting conferences and expos that draws worldwide artists. For more information, visit http://www.decorativepainters.org. Our new websites flexible features and our social media channels that appeal to different audiences allow us to answer questions about our licensed food-grade warehouse, security measures and more. Milan Supply Chain Solutions updated name, website and social media platforms continue to build on the diverse services the company offered under its previous name, Milan Express. Retaining its focus on bringing together manufacturers, drivers and warehousing to meet business needs, Milan SCS has launched a new website, along with LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Our new websites flexible features and our social media channels that appeal to different audiences allow us to answer questions about our licensed food-grade warehouse, security measures and more, Brad Morris said. He is vice president of sales for Milan SCS. They also provide an ideal platform for showcasing the dedicated work of our drivers and employees, while connecting with those who are looking for meaningful employment on the Milan team. Providing easy methods for our clients and our staff to connect is essential as our growth serves others. Milan SCS brings together vital components to keep business moving, linking manufacturers with transportation and warehousing services to solve the logistics problems they face. With 530,000 square feet of warehouse and distribution space in Milan and Jackson, Tennessee, Milan SCS also offers complete asset based transportation services. Their experience, flexibility, expertise and financial resources have served a diverse portfolio of companies the past five decades, including those in the Fortune 500. Founded in 1969 as a family business, Milan Supply Chain Solutions is a transportation services company specializing in truckload, logistics, warehousing/storage consolidation and distribution services. Additional information is available at http://www.milanexpress.com and through several social media channels: LinkedIn, Facebook and as @drivemilan on Instagram and Twitter. United Benefit Advisors (UBA), the nations leading independent employee benefits advisory organization, is pleased to welcome new Partner Firm Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. (CBI) emphasizes high-touch personal service as the key foundation of their business philosophy. With more than 100 years of combined insurance experience and a 98 percent client retention rate, the agency staff provides personalized service with best-in-class products to create a unique client partnership. The focus of their business is the individual needs of each employee benefits client in the small to mid-size market. The Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. story started in 1989, when Michael Embry Sr. and a business partner established their independent insurance practice in Sterling Heights, Michigan. After building a successful agency, Michael was approached to join a large regional bank to create their employee benefits division. After 18 years under corporate ownership, Michael purchased the employee benefits practice and returned it to private ownership. He re-opened CBI as an independent employee benefits agency in May 2014. In addition to being president of CBI, Michael currently serves as the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) treasurer on the board of trustees. Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. has always focused on service as the foundation of our business philosophy, explains Michael A. Embry Sr., RHU, President, Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. Embry continues, We are very honored and excited to partner with UBA. Our client commitment, Service is the Key, remains unchanged as we continue to provide personalized service for our clients through UBAs expanded resources. As the newest Partner Firm of UBA, Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. joins a network of employee benefits advisory firms that serve employers of all sizes across the United States, Canada, and Europe. As a combined group, UBAs annual employee benefit revenues rank it among the top five employee benefit advisory organizations in the U.S. With near perfect client retention, I'm looking forward to sharing strategies with Comprehensive Benefits, Inc., says UBA CEO Les McPhearson. UBA prides itself on service to others and it's apparent that Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. believes in this same philosophy. ABOUT Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. (CBI) is a leader in the Marketplace regarding the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and other client regulatory matters. Through our many trusted alliance partners, we also make available to our clients many other insurance benefits including large group employee benefit planning, life insurance planning, retirement plans, and property and casualty insurance. For more information, visit http://www.cbi4benefits.com. ABOUT United Benefit Advisors United Benefit Advisors (UBA) is the nations leading independent employee benefits advisory organization with more than 200 offices throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. UBA empowers more than 2,000 Partners to both maintain their individuality and pool their expertise, insight, and market presence to provide best-in-class services and solutions. Employers, advisors and industry-related organizations interested in obtaining powerful results from the shared wisdom of our Partners should visit http://www.UBAbenefits.com. # # # DisBeat is a new national communications initiative designed to coordinate and promote proactive messaging on disability rights issues. DisBeat has compiled a list of articles, social media, action alerts, and other resources for media outlets and individuals who wish to better understand the disability community's concerns with "Me Before You." As the disability community organizes to protest the release of "Me Before You" for its portrayal of disability and pro euthanasia message, DisBeat has worked with activists around the country to create an informational hub. DisBeat has compiled a list of articles, social media, action alerts, and other resources for media outlets and individuals who wish to better understand the disability community's concerns with "Me Before You." More information on Not Dead Yet's and other groups concerns and activities related to "Me Before You" follow this link: http://www.adalegacy.com/disbeat/disbeat-compiles-resource-hub-related-protest-me-you About DisBeat: DisBeat is a national communications initiative designed to coordinate and promote proactive messaging on disability rights issues throughout the country. DisBeat uses a variety of communication tools, including social media, to bring attention to disability issues from an authentic disability perspective. DisBeat also maintains a database of subject-matter experts, fact sheets and talking points on a variety of critical issues facing 56.7 million Americans with Disabilities. DisBeat is a project of The ADA Legacy Projects. Initial Partners include ADAPT of Montana, Center for Disability Rights, Disability Rights Center, Disability Visibility Project, EIN SOF Communications, Nothing Without Us Media, and Shepherd Center (http://www.adalegacy.com/disbeat). About The ADA Legacy Project: The mission of The ADA Legacy Project is to honor the contributions of people with disabilities and their allies by preserving the history of the disability rights movement, by celebrating its milestones, and by educating the public, media and future generations of advocates. (http://www.adalegacy.com/) Pearson today announced partnerships with more than 30 colleges and universities to deliver digital course materials to students through a variety of delivery models, most working through campus bookstores. Through these digital delivery models, Pearson is collaborating with institutions that are committed to providing students with access to high-quality, affordable content on the first day of class that improves educators insights into students instructional needs through better access to learning data. The University of California (UC), Davis partnered with Pearson in 2015 to provide students with direct access to digital course materials through the campus bookstore. Since launching the program, the university has digitally delivered required course materials for more than 150 courses. UC Davis typically delivers required course content for 40 or more courses per quarter using this model, a number that continues to grow. On the value that students and faculty are seeing in this model, Jason Lorgan, Executive Director of UC Davis Stores said, Delivering content digitally to our students before the first day of class, without a visit to the bookstore, has been game-changing for our campus. Faculty and students greatly appreciate the day-one access for everyone enrolled in the course. Students are reporting significant levels of satisfaction with this delivery method and find the adaptive digital content to be superior to static print content in our student surveys. Seventeen thousand of our students have engaged with this program since it began and we expect its rapid growth to continue. We consider this program an important part of our course material affordability initiatives. Students at the Utah Valley University, Brigham Young University-Provo, and Brigham Young University-Idaho can purchase digital course materials from their schools bookstores, beginning in spring 2016. The State University of New York at Oswego is launching five to 10 courses in the fall of 2016. We're collaborating with an increasing number of institutions to establish an effective and sustainable affordability model that helps control the overall cost of education and delivers equitable, immediate access to learning materials for all students," said Tom Malek, Senior Vice President of Partnerships, Pearson. "What's also of great interest to our institutional partners is the meaningful real-time learning data available to faculty and institutions when all students in a course are able to use a common digital product. This data can be used to help faculty identify and intervene with at-risk students, focus instruction on the areas where students are struggling most, and document that course learning outcomes are being measured effectively. According to the Campus Computing Project research findings from a fall 2015/winter 2016 survey, 45 percent of faculty respondents believe that digital materials provide significant added-value content not available in print. Pearsons long-standing partners that have successfully implemented the digital direct access models, including Indiana University, Cincinnati State Community College, and Eastern Gateway Community College, are now seeing the positive impact that day-one access to digital course materials can have on student engagement and achievement. Indiana University will share the latest findings on a research study investigating the impact of their eText Initiative at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities 2016 Academic Affairs Summer Meeting. The presentation, eText that Empowers: Leading the way to greater affordability and achievement with digital course materials will be delivered Saturday, July 23 at 8:45 AM at the Denver Marriott City Center, Denver. Presenters include Anastasia Morrone, Ph.D., Associate Vice President of Learning Technologies at Indiana University, Dean of Information Technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Tom Malek, Senior Vice President of Partnerships, Pearson. To learn more about how the transition to digital delivery of course materials and solutions can improve access, affordability and achievement in higher education, visit this website. About Pearson Pearson is the worlds learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our mission is to help people make progress through access to better learning. We believe that learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. For more, visit http://www.Pearsoned.com. Media Contact: Scott Overland, scott.overland(at)pearson(dot)com, 202-909-4528 Watch the Talk of Alabama Segment here: https://youtu.be/Fw8GrZ43ivY The amount of time that people have to grab an audiences attention is dwindling, says Covert. With that challenge, people have to be able to grab the audience with an appropriate story that gets them to be engaged right away. Dale Carnegie of Central Alabama president, Nancy Covert, was recently featured on Talk of Alabama to discuss using story telling as an effective sales tool. The Birmingham Business community will have the opportunity to join Covert and her team at an upcoming workshop to learn how to put this important tool to work for them. The amount of time that people have to grab an audiences attention is dwindling, says Covert. With that challenge, people have to be able to grab the audience with an appropriate story that gets them to be engaged right away. Salespeople are tasked with the responsibility of differentiating themselves from the competition. This is becoming increasingly challenging in todays crowded market. One often overlooked way to stand out from the crowd is by harnessing the power of storytelling. In this new, half-day workshop coming up in June from Dale Carnegie Training, salespeople will learn to think outside the box in communications with buyers. Humans are biologically programmed to pay close attention to information in the form of stories, which makes them an especially powerful sales tool. This means they are a great way to capture buyers' attention, boost retention, activate emotions, and increase customer engagement. Participants will learn techniques for creating two types of sales stories and when to use them for maximum impact. Attendees will refine the content of their stories, practicing the delivery with confidence and bringing mundane facts and figures to life. Theyll learn where to find content ideas for their sales story, and will begin to see inspiration every day. Participants will learn how to: Identify situations where sales stories are appropriate Use a proven technique for telling effective sales stories Identify the elements of an engaging story Recognize the different types of sales stories Avoid the most common mistakes in storytelling Design your own 3-minute sales stories using the five components of a story Use the Magic Formula to create a 1-minute story when time is short Practice delivering with confidence for maximum impact Apply the Dale Carnegie Human Relations principles to storytelling Find inspiration for stories in everyday situations Prepare to conduct a client interview to find inspiration for stories You will leave with practices you can put in place immediately. Who should attend? This program is designed for sales people who practice consultative selling and want to become more persuasive, capture buyers' attention, boost retention and increase customer engagement. Storytelling is an essential tool in the selling process and is particularly useful to experienced sales professionals who need to create more credibility with their clients. To register for this workshop, click here. To view the full Talk of Alabama segment, click here. About Dale Carnegie Training Dale Carnegie Training has been helping individuals and organizations achieve their goals for 103 years. We are an action company. We focus on learning through doing, and apply time-tested techniques for real-world and real-life results. If youd like to learn more about our programs, please visit http://www.birmingham.dalecarnegie.com or call 205-444-5011. Author Solutions, LLC, the world leader in supported self-publishing services, announced Wednesday that books from three different imprints have been honored in the most recent Eric Hoffer Book Awards. iUniverse, AuthorHouse and Xlibris all had titles that were singled out in various categories. The titles included: The Darkest Side of Saturn by Tony Taylor, which was published by iUniverse and was a winner in the category of General Fiction. Six other titles received honorable mentions in the competition: Walking Home via the Appalachian Trail by Michael Herrick in the category of Commercial Fiction was published by Xlibris. When Nobodys Home by Michael S. Oden, M.A. in the category of Self-Help was published by AuthorHouse. Counters by Tony Taylor in the category of Fiction Legacy was published by iUniverse. Princess of the Blood by Brigitte Goldstein in the category of Fiction Legacy was published by Xlibris. Rob the Vatican by Robert Gallant in the category of Fiction Legacy was published by iUniverse. The Dash of Dr. Todd by Howard E. Adkins in the category Fiction Legacy was published by Xlibris. The Eric Hoffer Award honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by recognizing salient writing and the independent spirit of small publishers. Since its inception, Hoffer has become one of the largest international book awards for small, academic and independent presses. For more information about Author Solutions supported self-publishing services, please visit authorsolutions.com. Follow @authorsolutions on Twitter and Like us at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSolutions for the latest supported self-publishing news. ####### About Author Solutions, LLC Author Solutions, LLC, is headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, and as the worlds leading supported self-publishing provider has served authors on six continents. Through Author Solutions leading self-publishing imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Palibrio, Trafford Publishing and Xlibris and strategic alliances with leading trade publishers and media organizations, we have helped more than 200,000 authors self-publish, promote and bring to market more than a quarter million new titles. Through continuous innovation, Author Solutions makes it possible to develop new literary talent efficiently and provide authors with the widest range of services for bringing their books to market. Please visit authorsolutions.com for more information. Follow @authorsolutions on Twitter and Like us at facebook.com/AuthorSolutions for the latest news. Stop Hunger Now is calling on the Dallas community to join them in the fight against world hunger. On June 11, the Dallas Warehouse will host a meal packaging event with volunteers of all ages who will package over 10,000 meals for the worlds most vulnerable. The event will be held at 807 S. Great Southwest Pkwy from 10 am to 12 pm, is open to the public. Volunteers can register here. Stop Hunger Now meal packaging events are a volunteer-based program that coordinates the streamlined packaging of highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables and 23 essential vitamins and minerals. Last year, Stop Hunger Now's Dallas Fort Worth location packaged 2.2 million meals at 86 events, engaging more than 8,500 local volunteers. Companies including Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, and Dave & Busters all joined Stop Hunger Now in the movement to end hunger along with university students from SMU, TCU, and UNT. Meal packaging provides a highly visible point of entry for people to get involved in eradicating hunger. By offering this experience, were having an impact on education and development in many places. Were one piece of a growing movement, and we invite others to join with us in any place they can help end world hunger, says Jeff Jones, Program Manager for Stop Hunger Nows Dallas location. Around the world, nearly 795 million people lack adequate food. Stop Hunger Now operates meal packaging locations in 20 cities throughout the U.S. and six international locations in South Africa, Malaysia, the Philippines, Italy, India and Peru. Last year, more than 350,000 volunteers from corporations, churches, schools and civic organizations packaged Stop Hunger Now meals. About Stop Hunger Now Stop Hunger Now works to end hunger by providing food and life-changing aid to the worlds most vulnerable people, and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. Based in Raleigh, N.C., Stop Hunger Now operates meal packaging programs in 20 U.S. cities and in South Africa, Malaysia, India, Italy, Peru and the Philippines. For information, visit http://www.stophungernow.org. Cybereason today announced that researchers from Cybereason Lab have discovered that hackers are upgrading the ubiquitous Kovter malware to provide them with access to the computer networks of Fortune 500 companies. Named Operation Escalation, Cybereason discovered that highly prevalent click-fraud and adware tools, once installed in corporate environments, are upgraded by hackers into more malicious software. This provides the hackers with complete control over high-valued corporate assets, which are later sold over the dark Web to nation-states, groups engaged in financial cyber crime or hacktivist gangs. Today, security teams consider commodity-based click-fraud and adware programs low-risk threats, especially when compared to zero-day vulnerabilities and ransomware threats. However, Cybereason Labs Operation Escalation discovery reminds companies they shouldnt dismiss these threats. As hackers look to monetize their assets, low-risk threats are successfully utilized as conduits into larger companies. Access to these high-value targets demands more money on the black market. Commodity threats have the potential to evolve into sinister tools, forcing enterprises to reconsider how they handle these programs. Simply put, enterprises can no longer disregard seemingly benign programs that have infected their network since they can be used as a backdoor into corporate networks, said Israel Barak, CISO and Cybereason incident response director. Overworked security teams have to prioritize their workloads and often choose to disregard threats they believe will have a limited impact on the organization. Security teams cannot be expected to eradicate all low-level threats due to their high prevalence on user machines. But they should develop an approach to track if low-level threats evolve into a higher risk programs and be able to eradicate these cases. Operation Escalation findings also suggest: Cyber-crime groups are getting better at analyzing where their broadly distributed malware, like adware and clickbait software, have been installed. These groups can spot when their tools are installed in corporate environments, turning them into high-value assets since they can serve as a conduit into a companys environment. Many commodity malware tools have broad remote tasking capabilities, providing their operators with a wide range of options to upgrade their capabilities, based on the initial infection location. Cyber criminals are looking to monetize assets already installed in a corporate environment, typically by upgrading them to function as access points into the organization and selling them to organizations that execute APTs, such as nation-states, groups engaged in financial cybercrime or cyber espionage and hacktivist gangs. To read more about Operation Escalation and learn how to protect against evolving low-level threats, download the report. Cybereason is one of the fastest growing global cybersecurity companies and has received many awards and accolades since it launched its detection and response platform in 2014. Most recently, SC Magazine named Cybereason Rookie Security Company of the Year at the 2016 SC Awards Dinner. In addition, Infosecurity Products Guide named CEO Lior Div 2016 CEO of the Year. Computer Reseller News named Cybereasons Detection and Response Platform one of 30 cool products launched at the 2016 RSA Conference. And Dark Reading named the company one of the 20 Cyber Security Startups to Watch in 2016. About Cybereason: Founded by members of the Israeli intelligence agencys elite cyber security Unit 8200, the Cybereason platform mirrors the founders expertise in handling some of worlds most complex hacking operations. The Cybereason Detection and Response Platform leverages big data, behavioral analytics and machine learning to uncover, in real-time, complex cyber-attacks designed to evade traditional defenses. It automates the investigation process, connects isolated malicious events and visually presents a full malicious operation. The platform is available as an on premise solution or a cloud-based service. Cybereason is privately held and headquartered in Boston, MA with offices in Tel Aviv, Israel and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit: Website: http://www.cybereason.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Cybereason Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Cybereason LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/cybereason ### Media Contact: Bill Keeler Director, Public Relations, Cybereason bill.keeler(at)cybereason(dot)com (508) 414-7755 (cell) Pet Wants This is a truly special company with a unique product and we are thrilled for the opportunity to invest our career experience into a business that can make such a positive impact on pets and families in our region. Two local families are excited to announce that theyve partnered to open a small business dedicated to improving the lives of pets throughout the Indianapolis region. Elizabeth and Grant Childers and Pat and Beth McIlvenna have just opened Pet Wants Indianapolis a local company that brings fresh, quality, limited ingredient pet food to doorsteps through mobile delivery. Pet Wants carefully developed proprietary pet food is slow cooked with fresh, all natural ingredients. The company has their distributor make the dog and cat food in small batches once a month so that every kibble is guaranteed to be the freshest and most nutritional pet food available. Pet Wants Indianapolis a franchise of the Pet Wants Franchising System will deliver pet food to the Indianapolis area and all of the surrounding communities including Carmel, Zionsville, Fishers, Greenwood and the Geist area. We are excited to share our passion for animal nutrition with you and your family. This is a truly special company with a unique product and we are thrilled for the opportunity to invest our career experience into a business that can make such a positive impact on pets and families in our region, Elizabeth said. Grant and Elizabeth have been committed to their careers in the corporate industry for more than 15 years. Elizabeth, the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana Marketing Leader with one of the nations largest audit and consulting firms, graduated from the Lugar Series for Excellence in Public Service, was named by the Indianapolis Business Journal as one of 2013s Forty under 40 and, in 2010, was named Young Professional of the Year by Young Professionals of Central Indiana (YPCI). She currently serves on the Chaucies Place Board of Directors and is on the Indiana State Chapter Board for JDRF. Patrick and Beth McIlvenna met at Indiana University and have been living on the north side of Indianapolis since college. Beth started her career as a teacher, but has devoted her last 12 years to raising their 5 five children. Patrick has been a long-time entrepreneur owning several businesses such as Prime 47 Carmel at Clay Terrace, a real estate investment company, and several companies involved in the development and build out of communication systems for the wireless industry. From working in the wireless industry together for many years, Grant Childers and Pat McIlvenna led the formation of the Indiana Wireless Association in 2009. Influencing the passion for animal health and a family business are the Childers & McIlvennas pets & children. The Childers lost their rescue Great Dane/Lab mix Indi Rose to cancer seven years ago and the McIlvennas have two dogs Molly and Dakota. With three and five children respectively, the Grants and the McIlvennas were looking for a way to get more involved in the community, work with animals and support their families. The answer was Pet Wants. When we heard about Pet Wants, we loved the idea that our entire family would be involved in impacting the lives of other families and their pets. In bringing Pet Wants to the Indianapolis area, we can teach the community about pet nutrition and help pets in our region live healthier lives, Pat said. Adding to the team is Martin McIlvenna, Pats brother, who is the companys managing partner and Nutritional Leader. Martin has many years of experience running a very successful interior design business in California. Martin moved back to his home town of Indianapolis a year ago to be closer to his family. He brings with him a passion for the study of human and animal nutrition as well as a passion for spiritual healing (he is a licensed Spiritual Practitioner). Pet Wants originally launched in Cincinnati in 2010. Owned by Michele Hobbs, the business was built to provide proprietary crafted, fresh, slow-cooked, all-natural pet food delivered to customers through a retail store and a convenient, home-delivery service. Hobbs who now serves as the companys founder turned the business into a franchise in 2015 with the help of Franchise Funding Group. To order Pet Wants food for your favorite companion or to learn about the company, call 317-690-2118, email MMcIlvenna(at)petwants.com or visit http://www.petwantsindy.com. About Pet Wants: Pet Wants was started by Michele Hobbs out of love for her pets and frustration. Veterinarians were unable to help relieve her dogs painful skin allergies. After doing much research, Michele discovered the national dog food brand she trusted was not fresh, not all natural, and lacked sufficient nutrition and, when pet food sits in warehouses and store shelves for months or longer, it loses even more nutritional value. She was committed to developing a better solution for all dogs and cats. Pet Wants food is exclusively crafted fresh, healthy, slow-cooked and all natural with no added sugar, no fillers and no animal by-products. They source only the best salmon, chicken, lamb, brown rice, and other ingredients. Fresh ingredients make for better food and healthier pets. And since they never use corn, wheat, soy or dyes, the common pet health problems associated with these ingredients are no longer worries. Their fresh food is conveniently delivered to the customer within weeks of production, not months. Roughly half of Pet Wants products are sold through their store and half through their convenient, home-delivery program. You can learn more at http://www.PetWants.com. Hobsons, the leading provider of college and career readiness, admissions and enrollment management, and student success and advising solutions, announced today the expansion of its popular digital platform, Naviance, into the Australian and Asia-Pacific markets. The new solution will enable students in the region to explore postsecondary education and career options in Australia and around the world. A recent Gallup Student Poll found that student engagement in Australia declines significantly over time, dropping from 75 percent of students who report that they are engaged in their studies in Year 5 to just 51 percent in Year 12. As a result, educators across Australia are looking for new ways to help students make the connection between academics and their lifelong goals. We needed a solution that helps our students, who are often from families with no history of higher education participation, understand themselves and then apply that knowledge to set goals for opportunities they would not have otherwise considered, said Margie Lee from Northern Adelaide Senior College. Naviance helps our school to engage students by demonstrating how their educational success and choices today affect their long-term goals, opening a world of possibilities. Naviance helps increase student engagement in school by aligning student strengths and interests to long-term academic and career goals, while enabling school counselors and administrators to track progress towards those goals. School counselors and educators also use Naviance to deliver individualized guidance and instruction to each student, helping to tailor their university search, identify the best-fit academic path for them, and track their progress along the way. We are thrilled to provide students in Asia Pacific with the tools to contextualize their education and plan for their future, said Stephen M. Smith, president of advising and admissions solutions at Hobsons. Students will be able to explore how their interests match to university majors and careers and to identify education options that will be a good fit. Our expansion into the APAC market reflects our mission to ensure that all students have the support and resources they need to succeed academically and in life. Worldwide, more than 10,000 schools in more than 100 countries already use Naviance to help students explore and apply to U.S. colleges and universities. As part of the APAC expansion, Naviance will now incorporate Australian higher education institutions in response to strong demand among international students. The platform will be available to secondary schools in Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, giving students in the region access to better information about higher education options in the United States and Australia. For more information about Naviance, visit the website here. ### About Hobsons Hobsons helps students identify their strengths, explore careers, create academic plans, match to best-fit educational opportunities, and reach their education and life goals. Through our solutions, we enable thousands of educational institutions to improve college and career planning, admissions and enrollment management, and student success and advising for millions of students around the globe. Hobsons works with more than 12,000 schools, colleges, and universities and serves more than 13 million students. NYC-based PIRA Energy Group believes that higher oil prices are inevitable. In the U.S., commercial stocks continue to edge lower. In Japan, crude runs decline while crude and product stocks draw. Specifically, PIRAs analysis of the oil market fundamentals has revealed the following: Higher Oil Prices Are Inevitable Higher oil prices are inevitable because surplus stocks are substantially declining, the world has no spare capacity, and sooner or later prices will have to increase to stop destroying supply and create supply. The longer prices stay where they currently are the less supply and shorter the market will be later. Demand growth for light distillates (gasoline/naphtha) is outpacing middle distillates (diesel/gasoil/jet) with much of the change versus prior years in the Atlantic Basin. Gasoline cracks and refinery margins will stay generally healthy through the summer but lower than in 2015. Diesel cracks will only gradually recover, weighed down by high stocks. Less Is More Recovery Tied to Supply-side Rebalancing May saw little fundamental support for price recovery. Mixed weather forecasts and a relatively stout build in storage prompted the 12-month and calendar year strips to retrace the month-to-date gains. Nevertheless, PIRAs view of an emerging deeper inflection point in U.S. production underscores upside price risk ahead. Market Hits the Gas Pedal Can It Last? Western Europe is definitely putting Dutch production ramp-downs in the rear view mirror thanks to help from Russia, Algeria, and Norway, which are adding a combined 87 mmcm/d year-over-year. Strong pipeline flows are being ignored as a bearish signal because of the continued disappointment on LNG arrivals. LNG supplies are relatively flat year-over-year and month-over-month, creating concerns that the promised LNG glut will be delayed for a spell. Meanwhile, power demand in Europe has definitely taken a significant step up in the last year. However, over 60% of this increase has been in the United Kingdom, due to its carbon floor. We have yet to see the same response on the Continent, and given current strength, it is becoming less and less likely. Oil Price Rally Extends Coal Gains Coal prices pushed notably higher last week, with rising oil prices providing a large amount of the upside impetus. Prices into Northwest Europe (API#2) picked up the most amount of ground, while South African (API#4) and Australian (FOB Newcastle) gains were somewhat limited by comparison. While PIRA retains a bullish outlook for 2017 pricing, we view supply potentially returning to the market as prices recover as a key downside risk for global pricing. RIN Balances to Tighten; Prices to Rise Based on the EPA proposal for the U.S. renewable fuel mandate to increase to 18.8 billion gallons in 2017, the volume of banked renewable D6 Renewable Identifications Numbers (RINs) will decline and prices are expected to increase. RGGI Emissions Down; Market Looks to Auction RGGI prices in May slipped below $5/ton, but despite the declines, open interest remains firm. Emissions were down almost 30% year-over-year in 1Q. PIRA expects the June auction to be fully subscribed, but to reflect compliance buying. Price recovery from current levels will be supported by more normal weather and also by the 2016 Program Review with a draft Model Rule expected by fall. RGGI modeling of a flat cap post-2020 shows a need for reserve tons, and forthcoming modeling will consider a declining cap structure, which is more in line with partner states long term targets. PIRA continues to believe that current pricing will prompt policy interest in a higher auction reserve price. Upside Risks for Power French Minister Segolene Royal confirmed the implementation of the carbon floor at "around 30 euros/MT" through the Budget Law in 2017. While there are uncertainties about the details of the policy, French winter power and spark spreads may have a 4 euro/MWh upside. With a carbon floor set at 30/MT, the most interesting dynamics will emerge with Spain and Italy, which have fairly large interconnection capacities and also price gas at the margin. In Germany, nuclear availability is improving in the very short-term, but large unavailability is planned for the end of Dec. 2016 and early Jan. 2017. The unusual pattern might be related to the end of the fuel rod tax in 2016. Upsides for exports (including higher flows to France) and lower nuclear will keep German coal in a price setting position for the time being. LNG Supply and Pricing Enter New Phases of Flexibility New LNG pricing schemes will be the key to unlocking the next generation of LNG projects in the decade ahead. PIRA sees these pricing mechanisms involving NBP and Henry Hub in both an active and passive way. PIRA also sees LNG contracting heading back to some of its historical roots through a more integrated approach to project development in an era when price risk vastly outweighs volume risk. Argentina Looks to Increase Domestic Gas Supply Argentina is seeking to rebuild natural gas production after years of decline, offering higher prices on output from new developments, an Energy Ministry source said Friday. "The program is designed to encourage exploration and increase production," the source said on the condition of not being named. The program took effect Thursday and will run until December 31, 2018, according to a resolution in the Official Bulletin, the newspaper of record. The output from new projects can be sold at a price 44% higher than the current average, according to the resolution. Signs of Broad Pick-up in Global Economic Activity Topics discussed in PIRA's recent report include: a broad-based U.S. GDP expansion in the current period; a solid pace of recent Chinese job growth; an encouraging trend in Japanese wages; a preview of June economic calendar; and a recent swing regarding the Brexit opinion polls. U.S. Propane Prices Set To Outperform this Summer U.S. propane prices continue to perform below PIRA expectations. Despite dwindling surplus stockpiles, which look to fall into deficit to the year ago as soon as this week, Mont Belvieu propane gained a modest 1.4% last week, well below WTIs gain and about in line with Brent. Higher U.S. prices will become increasingly necessary as the summer progresses to further hinder arbitrage economics in order to slow the export drain of U.S. stockpiles. Much Drier Forecast The Climate Prediction Center did a quick 180 Monday while many traders were enjoying the remnants of a three-day weekend. Prior forecasts for the period through mid-June had mostly called for normal precipitation during the period, but a change to a much drier forecast was published on May 30th. The drier forecast was also accompanied by a much cooler temperature forecast, however, so the impact to currently planted crops should be minimal. It does however almost guarantee that the remaining soybean acres will be planted, with 84 to possibly 85 million U.S. acres a real possibility. Asia Adjusting to the Changing Dynamics of the Downstream Sector Oil prices are recovering as rebalancing continues with strong global oil demand growth and declining non-OPEC supply. Asian product balances show stronger demand growth for gasoline compared with diesel and a supply mismatch as potential supply for diesel exceeds demand. Product prices will continue to favor gasoline, providing incentives for refiners to shift yields. Asian refinery runs will ease over the near term due to seasonal turnarounds. Asian margins will improve from recent weakness with stronger seasonal gasoline cracks, before easing later in the year as crude costs rise with the market. Stage Set for Price Sentiment Shift At the start of last week optimism pushed the then NYMEX nearby price back above ~$2.10/MMBtu. Early on, the gaze of the market appeared to have shifted to June, when cooling degree day (CDD) tallies ascend higher, pulling incremental gas into the power sector via stronger loads that lack the same price elasticity of the shoulder season. However, upside momentum proved fleeting, with prices dipping below $2/MMBtu days later, reflecting South Central storage congestion. As a result, incremental gas has been forced into the power sector, coloring Henry Hub (HH) cash trading and acting as an anchor to a sustainable price recovery. Henry Hub, Meet Your British Cousin, NBP. You Will Be Spending Plenty of Time Together in the Future Europe is not currently the destination of choice for early U.S. Gulf Coast LNG exports. Europe, however, plays an influential role in arbitrating where the cargoes ultimately land. U.S. LNG is not flowing to Europe for reasons tied to how European gas fundamentals are increasingly interacting with North American gas fundamentals. The building of injection season in Europe is likely to change this initial lack of interest in U.S. LNG, as Sabine Pass volumes ramp up. The Rally in U.S. Ethanol Prices Continued The week ending May 20, prices and margins reached the highest values since last summer. Rising corn and oil prices were supportive. European Product Markets Carefully Balanced Refining margins will stay generally healthy and runs reasonably high through the summer before weakening. The French workers strike is assumed to end mid-June with limited lasting impact as strategic stock releases help cover but the situation is volatile. Product markets are carefully balanced with strong gasoline demand growth and high refinery production/stock levels. Refiners are shifting yields from middle distillates toward gasoline. Gasoline cracks should stay generally healthy though the summer, while diesel cracks will only gradually recover. Freight Rates Hold Steady on China's Solid Start to 2016 In a rollercoaster month, 180,000 dwt Cape rates have generally covered typical operating costs, although the Baltic 5TC average weakened to the lower end of the spectrum at the end of the month. Voyage calculations show that exporting Colombian coal to Asia via an expanded Panama Canal will prove hard to justify in comparison to sending fully loaded Capes to Asia via the Cape of Good Hope. U.S. Commercial Stocks Continue to Edge Lower Stocks fell as a large crude inventory decline more than offset a product stock increase. The latters increase occurred despite relatively strong reported demand in good part because product imports made a new high for the year. Versus last year, the overall stock surplus narrowed. La Nina Shift Stokes Optimism for Demand-side Rebalancing While peak June-August cooling season weather is far from decided, a hotter than normal summer, which some are calling for, could boost gas-fired electrical generation above our 33 BCF/D Reference Case forecast. Global Supply Surge Undercut by Production Outages Around the World Two schools of thought are under debate regarding the 25-mmcm/d (close to 1-bcf/d) year-over-year decline in LNG production in the first quarter. First, the collective effect of production shortfalls in Trinidad and Malaysia, sabotage in Nigeria, and civil war in Yemen all combined to strip the market of sizable LNG volumes so far this year. Second, a period of extremely poor global demand, coupled with an upcoming surge in supply from Australia (now) and the U.S. (later), is depressing the price outlook. In response, subtle production cuts or slower ramp-ups are being made around the world, particularly in places where the marginal cost of producing LNG (including production and/ or shipping costs) outweighs the benefits of selling the extra cargo. Saudi Arabia Has Very Limited Spare Capacity The center of the worlds attention when it comes to global surplus capacity is Saudi Arabia. PIRA believes it could produce 12 MMB/D, but it would take 90 days to drill up existing fields to reach this capacity level and doing so would run counter to optimal reservoir engineering practices. We believe Saudi Arabias instantly available capacity is 10.5 MMB/D, excluding the Neutral Zone, which is currently shut and unlikely to start up until sometime in 2017. PIRA concludes that with very little spare capacity and large financial requirements, there is limited risk to Saudi Arabia undermining the continued rebalancing of oil markets. Legal Uncertainty Behind Weak Auction Demand for California Carbon With CA/QC allowance prices staying below the secondary market, and against the backdrop of concerns over legal challenges to the auction, May auction results indicate an unprecedented level of undersubscription. However, just two days earlier (and after the auction took place), filed legal briefs suggested that consigned allowance sales would likely not be impacted by the lawsuit. PIRA believes that even if the lawsuit is successful, consigned/ Quebec auctioned allowances could be needed for CP2 (2015-2017) compliance. Even in this bearish scenario, this should be supportive of prices staying close to the reserve price. In the event auctions are upheld, the removal (and slow potential return) of unsold ARB allowances would provide additional price support. The markets response to todays results was subdued, suggesting the results lined up with expectations. Industrial Action in France Cuts Refinery Runs Industrial action by workers in France is disrupting refining operations. Crude runs are currently down by about 80%. Assuming the strike is resolved by June 10, PIRA estimates that 260 MB/D of crude runs will on average be lost in May and June. Gasoline output losses are estimated at about 1.7 million barrels in May and June and diesel losses at 3.4 million barrels for both months as well. Financial Stresses Remain Low The S&P 500 was higher on the week. The Russell 2000 was also higher, while high yield debt (HYG) improved and volatility (VIX) lessened. Of note, emerging market debt (EMB) declined for the second straight week. The U.S. dollar was higher for the third straight week. It was higher against the euro, pound and yen. It has also continued to strengthen against a host of Asian currencies, along with the South African rand, Australian dollar, and the Eastern European currencies. Commodities were mixed on the week. Energy moved higher, but the overall index and ex-energy eased. Precious metals and industrial metals were also lower. WCSB Wildfires Exacerbate Conditions for Embattled Producers The raging inferno known colloquially as "The Beast" has layered further stress onto long-suffering western Canadian producers. Wildfire-related demand reductions have been significant with oil sands and associated cogen facility shut-downs announced in rapid succession. Moreover, brimming storage levels highlight the need for continued supply-side balancing and producer discipline during the injection season. U.S. Diesel Demand Performance to Improve; Gasoline Growth Rates Ease PIRA tracks several key monthly data releases that provide insight into transportation fuel trends. Such indicators can help confirm expected shifts in demand growth, particularly for distillate (diesel) and gasoline. The most recent releases suggest that gasoline demand growth is probably in the process of peaking, while diesel demand, which has displayed increasingly negative performance, should see substantial improvement in coming months. Global Equities Post A Positive Week Global equities were, on balance, mostly higher by an average 2%. In the U.S., the gains were broad based. The strongest performers were banking, housing, technology, and retail. Energy was higher, but lagged a bit after a period of outperformance. Internationally, many of the tracking indices moved higher. The strongest were emerging Asia, China, and Europe, though Latin America posted a decline. Japanese Crude Runs Decline; Crude and Product Stocks Draw Crude runs fell amid turnarounds and unplanned outages. Crude imports dropped sharply and crude stocks drew 6.3 MMBbls. Finished product stocks also fell by 1 MMBbls. Gasoil demand was stronger and stocks drew. The kerosene stock build rate moved up from 45 MB/D to 75 MB/D on seasonally weaker demand. Refining margins remain soft, though on the week light product cracks improved. Stocks Hold Steady in May As mild weather undermined power loads in May, continued gains in both hydro and non-hydro-renewable generation have been reinforced by strong coal-to-gas switching. PIRA estimates that power sector coal stocks were little changed the past month at some 198 MMst as of month-end. Inventories Dropped to the Lowest Level of the Year Stocks were drown in four of the five PADDs the week ending May 20. Ethanol output dropped slightly as the impact of spring maintenance persists. The information above is part of PIRA Energy Group's weekly Energy Market Recap- which alerts readers to PIRAs current analysis of energy markets around the world as well as the key economic and political factors driving those markets. To read PIRAs Market Recap first, subscribe to PIRA Perspectives here. Click here for additional information on PIRAs global energy commodity market research services. CONTACT: PIRA Energy Group 3 Park Avenue, 26th Floor New York, NY 10016 212-686-6808 sales(at)pira(dot)com Lake Trust Credit Union President and CEO, David Snodgrass, pictured with (Left to Right) Lauren Janes, Rachel Welch, Mackenzie Benning and Grace Koepele. Lake Trust Credit Union is proud to recognize and support the hardworking, young members of our community, said Lake Trust Credit Union president and CEO David Snodgrass. The Lake Trust Credit Union Foundation awarded $20,000 in scholarships to high school graduating seniors during its First Annual Scholarship Award Celebration. Lake Trust president and CEO David Snodgrass presented four students with scholarships of $5,000 each. Mackenzie Benning of Chelsea Lauren Janes of Mt. Pleasant Grace Koepele of Ann Arbor Rachel Welch of Frankenmuth Lake Trust Credit Union is proud to recognize and support the hardworking, young members of our community, said Lake Trust Credit Union president and CEO David Snodgrass. These students exemplify excellence in the classroom while making an impact in our communities. The 2016 Scholarship recipients are community-minded students who best represent Lake Trusts core values of trust, teamwork, adaptability, learning and making a difference. The Lake Trust Foundation is a 501(c)3 dedicated to making a difference by investing volunteer support and financial resources in Michigan Counties served by Lake Trust Credit Union. The Foundations mission is to bring people and organizations together to create strong, diverse vibrant communities through financial contributions and Team Lake Trust volunteerism. Lake Trust Credit Union is Michigans sixth largest credit union, with branches stretching from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron and Lake Erie. With more than $1.6 billion in assets, Lake Trust provides over 166,000 members with best-in-class products offering individualized, trust-based member service. Membership is open to anyone within its 35-county service area. Learn more about Lake Trust online at laketrust.org or follow Lake Trust on Twitter @laketrust. Lake Trust is also on Facebook. Rich Lyons Rich Lyons' guidance enables us to deliver the best work for our clients and to become the worlds leading eCommerce digital agency. Lyons Consulting Group (LYONSCG), the premier eCommerce digital agency serving online retailers, branded manufacturers and B2B merchants, today announced that CEO and president Rich Lyons has been named to Consulting magazines 2016 list of Top 25 Consultants. The annual list honors the most influential consultants in the profession. Lyons is recognized this year for excellence in leadership, and was selected from more than 400 total nominations. This years list was published in the May 2016 issue of Consulting. I am very humbled and honored to be named a Top 25 Consultant, and this award validates the time and effort LYONSCG puts into making a positive contribution to the success of our clients, said Lyons. I strive to surround myself with peopleboth clients and employeeswho empower me to perform to the highest standards and be the best leader that I can be. Lyons founded LYONSCG in 2003 after more than 20 years of experience in IT consulting and business development. Under Lyons leadership, the firm has emerged as an industry leader in the fast-growing eCommerce digital agency space. He is responsible for crafting the companys strategy and vision and spends the majority of his days working directly with LYONSCGs clients. Thanks to Rich Lyons leadership, we continually reinvent ourselves to respond to changing business environments and address our customers needs, says David Barr, executive vice president and co-founder of LYONSCG. His guidance enables us to deliver the best work for our clients and to become the worlds leading eCommerce digital agency. Norman Alesi, COO and CFO of LYONSCG, adds, Rich is focused on providing a great culture and a challenging work environment for our employees. His vision to create a learning organization means everyone at LYONSCG strives for excellence and builds on our collective experiences to deliver constant improvement. Award winners will be recognized during a dinner at the Mandarin Oriental in New York on Thursday, June 16. Lyons will also be a panelist on Consultings upcoming webinar, Digital Disruption and Consulting Preparing Your Firm for Its Impact, held this Thursday, June 2, at 1 p.m. EDT. About Lyons Consulting Group Lyons Consulting Group is the industrys premier eCommerce digital agency, serving brand, retail and B2B organizations with tailored eCommerce solutions that maximize online potential. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm offers a full range of services beginning with digital strategy and digital marketing and extending through experience design, platform implementation, and application development, hosting and support. The approach is holisticto provide every client with a creative, robust and increasingly profitable eCommerce website. LYONSCG is eCommerce Realized! myPotential Rehabilitation, a service available at The Village at RockvilleA National Lutheran Community (TVAR) in Rockville, Md., is now offering outpatient therapy services effective June 1, 2016. Adding to an already robust short-stay rehabilitation program, the outpatient therapy services will be made available to residents and guests alike. Our vision for myPotential Rehabilitation has always been to provide a holistic approach, tailored to an individuals goals, that helps them get back to doing what they love most, TVARs Executive Director Jason Gottschalk said. We do this through physical, speech and occupational therapies, and now with outpatient services we are able to further enhance the holistic process. Outpatient therapy services are designed to occur onsite or within an individuals home setting. For those who might need some continued therapy after a short-stay rehabilitation stint, or who want to take preventive measures to increase strength and dexterity, myPotential Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy services can do just that. We are pleased to unveil these new offerings, as it helps us provide a seamless coordination of care for our existing residents and clients, while allowing us to offer these services to the greater community and our staff, Gottschalk said. About The Village at Rockville (TVAR) The Village at RockvilleA National Lutheran Community in Rockville, Md., is a CCRC (continuing care retirement community) that offers independent living, myPotential short-term and outpatient rehabilitation, respite, long-term nursing care, hospice, assisted living and memory support. For more information, visit http://www.thevillageatrockville.org About National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS) Based in Rockville, Md., NLCS is a faith-based, not-for-profit ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americas (ELCA) Delaware-Maryland, Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Virginia Synods, serving people of all beliefs. With more than 125-years experience, NLCS provides seniors with a variety of lifestyle, residential and health care options through retirement communities and services in Maryland and Virginia. Other communities and services sponsored by National Lutheran include The Village at Rockville in Rockville, Md., The Legacy at North Augusta in Staunton, Va., The Village at Orchard Ridge and myPotential at Home in Winchester, Va., and The Village at Crystal Spring in Annapolis, Md., subject to Maryland Department of Aging approval. For more information, visit http://www.nationallutheran.org ### CLSA Americas, the North American affiliate of Asia's leading independent brokerage and investment group CLSA, is pleased to announce that six of its senior analysts have received a total of nine awards, including #1 Top Stock Picker across the US, in the 2016 Thomson Reuters StarMine Analyst Awards. The recognized analysts and their categories in the US awards are: Top Stock Pickers Overall #1 Tom McCrohan #4 David Havens Top Stock Pickers By Sector David Havens, Energy Equipment and Services Tom McCrohan, IT Services David Lipschitz, Metals and Mining Ed Maguire, Software Avi Silver, Tech Hardware Top Earnings Estimators By Sector Emmanuel Rosner, Auto Components David Lipschitz, Metals and Mining CLSA Americas is proud to be selected for our stock picking capabilities and differentiated analysis that we provide to our institutional clients, said Michael Lean, Head of Equity Research, CLSA Americas. The StarMine Analyst Awards affirm our efforts as we consistently strive to add insight and value to our clients investment process. A division of Thomson Reuters, the StarMine Awards measure the performance of brokers in two ways: by the returns of their stock recommendations and the accuracy of their earnings estimates. A detailed listing of methodology can be found on the Awards website. About CLSA Americas, LLC CLSA Americas is the North American affiliate of CLSA, Asias leading and longest running brokerage and investment group. The company provides equity broking, corporate finance & capital markets and asset management services to global corporate and institutional clients. CLSA established a US representative office in New York in 1986 to serve US fund managers investing into Asia and has the largest dedicated Asia-markets sales desk in North America. In 2009, CLSA initiated coverage on US equities and today has staff located in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco and Canada. About CLSA Limited CLSA is Asias leading and longest running brokerage and investment group. The company provides equity broking, corporate finance & capital markets and asset management services to global corporate and institutional clients. Renowned for service excellence, product innovation and award-winning market intelligence CLSA has provided independent equity research, sales and trading since 1986. CLSA is the largest agency - only brokerage in Asia and with exchange membership in every developed market in the region, plus Australia and the Americas, CLSA provides best execution across a range of products and services. Through CITIC CLSA Securities, the groups corporate finance and capital markets team leads equity public offerings (primary and secondary), debt issuances and M&A advisory. Direct investment is offered through diversified, alternative investment vehicles by CLSA Capital Partners. Headquartered in Hong Kong, CLSAs 1,500 dedicated professionals operate from 25 cities across Asia, Australia, the Americas and Europe. CLSAs parent company CITIC Securities is Chinas leading brokerage and investment bank. Media Contact for CLSA Americas: Melissa Sheer Kent Place Communications 917-690-2199 melissa(at)kentplacellc(dot)com ACM President-elect Hanson This is an opportunity to highlight the contributions that women have made to computing and to inspire young women to view computing as a career. ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, has announced the election of new officers who will lead the organization for a two-year term beginning July 1. Heading the new team will be incoming President Vicki L. Hanson. Hanson is a Distinguished Professor of Computing at Rochester Institute of Technology, and Professor and Chair of Inclusive Technologies at University of Dundee. Joining Hanson as Vice President will be Cherri M. Pancake, Professor Emeritus and Intel Faculty Fellow in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University; and, as Secretary/Treasurer, Elizabeth Churchill, Director of User Experience at Google. In addition, Members-at-Large elected to four-year terms are Gabriele Anderst-Kotsis, Professor and Head of the Department of Telecooperation at Johannes Kepler University Linz; Susan Dumais, Distinguished Scientist and Deputy Managing Director at Microsoft Research; Elizabeth Mynatt, Professor of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology; Pam Samuelson, Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law and Information at University of California, Berkeley's School of Law; and Eugene H. Spafford, Professor and Executive Director at Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Security and Assurance (CERIAS). President-elect Hanson said her key priorities include reaching out to practitioners and young professionals. I am honored to have been elected. In this position, I look forward to working with ACMs global community to serve researchers and practitioners in computing. ACMs new leadership team recognizes that, although the number of computing professionals throughout the world continues to increase, it does not necessarily follow that they participate in professional membership organizations. Young people coming of age today are surrounded by readily available content and have increasingly fluid careers, explains Hanson. She hopes to establish a young professionals advisory board, among other initiatives. Hanson was named a Fellow of ACM for contributions to computing technologies for people with disabilities; she is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Computer Society. Hanson has worked on issues of inclusion for older adults and disabled individuals throughout her career. An active ACM member for more than 20 years, Hanson currently serves as ACM Vice President. She is Past Chair of the ACM SIG Governing Board, Past Chair of ACM's Special Interest Group on Accessible Computing (SIGACCESS), and was co-Editor-in-Chief of ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing. With this election, ACM will have its first all-female Executive Committee. A member of the ACM-W Executive Committee, Hanson notes, This is an opportunity to highlight the contributions that women have made to computing and to inspire young women to view computing as a career. Cherri M. Pancake, incoming ACM Vice President, believes that ACM is in a unique position to foster more collaboration among ACMs global membership. In her candidates statement she noted, Many of ACMs nearly 100,000 members live outside the United States. This presents many new opportunities for collaborating with colleagues worldwide, but to take full advantage of them we must first overcome the challenges of distance and culture. I believe the most effective way to overcome the challenges of distance and culture is to actively engage our worldwide membership in shaping the ACM of the future. A member of ACM since 1982, Pancake has been ACM Awards Co-Chair since 2012 and a member of ACM Council since 2013. Over the past 25 years, she has served in a wide variety of roles. She has held leadership roles with the SC Conference (formerly called Supercomputing) since 1990. Pancake led efforts to create a Special Interest Group focusing on High Performance Computing, formalized in 2012 as SIGHPC, and has served as Chair since its inception. Newly-elected ACM Secretary/Treasurer Elizabeth Churchill believes that ACM can continue to be a guiding presence for computing professionals throughout their careers. It is my belief that ACM can continue to provide the strongest foundational social network for a life-long career in all aspects of computer science, said Churchill in her candidates statement. But to do this we will have to provide a better platform for those in the early stages of their careers. As Director of User Experience at Google, Churchills focus is on the design and development of connected devices and of developer tools for device ecosystems. She has built research groups and led research in a number of well-known companies, including eBay Research Labs and Yahoo!. Churchill served on the Executive Committee of the ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) for eight years, six of them as Executive Vice President. About ACM ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery http://www.acm.org, is the worlds largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the fields challenges. ACM strengthens the computing professions collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking. U.S. Representative of Kentuckys 4th District, Congressman Thomas Massie "We are honored to host a visit from Congressman Massie, his support in DC, for our industry, has been paramount." Tom Flottman, President Flottman Company Flottman Company of Crestview Hills, Kentucky will host Kentuckys 4th Congressional District U.S. Representative Thomas Massie for a facility tour and employee discussion session on June 2nd. WHAT: U.S. Congressional House of Representative for Kentucky, Thomas Massie to visit Flottman Company WHEN: Thursday, June 2, 2016 - TIME: (2:00 3:00) WHERE: Flottman Company, 720 Centre View Blvd, Crestview Hills, Kentucky 41017 WHO: U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie, House Representative of Kentuckys 4th District Honored Guests: Paul Meier, Mayor of Crestview Hills, Tim Williams, City Administrator for Crestview Hills, David Armstrong, President of Thomas More College (or faculty representative). In attendance from Congressman Massies Staff: Chris McCane, District Director, Bob Porter, Field Director, Jennifer Krantz, Assistant Press Secretary. Media is Encouraged to Attend Contact: Ed McMasters, Director of MAR-COMM, Flottman Company C) 513.470.9461 Mary Troutman, District Scheduler/U.S. Service Academy Coordinator, Office of U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie | KY-04 C) 859.446.9978 The Flottman Company is a 96-year young, family owned business that specializes in the production of miniature pharmaceutical printed literature. Flottman Company is also home to FUSIONWRX a marketing engagement and activation firm as well as a founding partner of Rxperts Printed Packaging Group, total pharmaceutical packaging; establishing Flottman Company as One Company, Many Solutions. The visit on June 2, 2016 is a demonstration of Congressman Massies commitment to jobs in the Northern Kentucky region. Congressman Thomas Massie has been publicly supportive of Flottman Companys efforts to maintain printed literature in pharmaceutical packaging. Flottman Company is a staunch supporter of the Pharmaceutical Printed Literature Association (PPLA) and Congressman Massie has penned letters in support of the organizations efforts. The Congressmans support has enabled Flottman Company to increase infrastructure and build to 46 employees. Tom Flottman, President of Flottman Company has met with Congressman Massie multiple times in Washington D.C.; however this will be Congressman Massies first visit to the Flottman facility. Congressman Massie will receive a guided tour of the production floor, an introduction to the management team and has offered to hold a roundtable Q&A with the employees. In addition to Flottman Company employees the Q&A will include honored guests: Paul Meier, Mayor of the City of Crestview Hills, Tim Williams, City Administrator for Crestview Hills and a faculty representative of Thomas More College in lieu of President David A. Armstrong. Additional information about Flottman Company can be found at: http://www.FlottmanCo.com Additional information about Congressman Massie can be found at: http://www.Massie.House.gov # # # # U.S. Representative Thomas Massie: http://www.Massie.House.gov - Entered Congress in November 2012 after serving as Lewis County Judge Executive. Massie represents Kentuckys 4th Congressional District which stretches across Northern Kentucky and 280 miles of the Ohio River. In Congress, Massie serves on three committees: the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Flottman Company: http://www.FlottmanCo.com Flottman Company is a privately held, family owned, 96-year young, print manufacturing facility headquartered in Northern Kentucky. Flottman specializes in the production of miniature folded and printed pharmaceutical literature. The Printing Industries of Ohio and Northern Kentucky named the Flottman Company Printer of the Year. The University of Cincinnati honored Flottman with the Tri-State Family Business of the Decade Award. Flottman Company: One Company, Many Solutions is also home to FUSIONWRX (Marketing Specialists) and Rxperts Group (Total Pharmaceutical Packaging Solutions.) The Flottman Company is currently overseen by the third generation of Flottmans: Tom Flottman, Sue Flottman Steller and Peter Flottman. Uniquely Designed Chick-fil-A Welcomes Customers with a Boon Edam Revolving Door With the positioning of the building, we hoped to become a gathering place for Cameron Village. Nothing says were ready for you more than a revolving doorit conveys volume and urban sophistication. It says, You are welcome. John Featherston, Chick-fil-A Past News Releases RSS To see this solution in action, please visit here Boon Edam Inc., a global leader in security entrances and architectural revolving doors, today announced that the Chick-fil-A restaurant, located in historic Cameron Village in Raleigh, NC, has broken the mold of its typical store design and installed a Boon Edam manual revolving door as the main entrance to the restaurant. Cameron Village was the first planned community to be developed in Raleigh, North Carolina. The development was started in 1947 when J.W. York and R.A. Bryan bought 158 acres of undeveloped land two miles west of downtown Raleigh, near the North Carolina State University campus. The "village" was to consist of a shopping center, apartments, and single family homes. The distinctive Chick-fil-A restaurant features outdoor dining at street level and on a second story patio with a view of the Raleigh skyline. The store also has a large atrium and a two-lane drive-thru. Generously proportioned walkways converge on the southwest corner of the building, leading up to a Boon Edam TQM revolving door. "We've got restaurants now in 42 states across America, and I can tell you, there's only one Cameron Village. It is distinctive and special," said John Featherston, Senior Director, New Ventures, Chick-fil-A, Inc. The Cameron Village Chick-fil-A has been a passion for Featherston for over 10 years. This was not going to be a prototypical design for us in any way. Cameron Village is unique, so our restaurant needed to be unique as well. Americans are increasingly choosing to live in mixed-use, urban settings. We needed a building to fit the style, heritage, and history of this special place. Why did Featherston and his team choose a Boon Edam revolving door for the entrance to their new design? The restaurant had to be designed to be inviting to pedestrians, those using the drive-through and people parking and coming in. With the positioning of the building and the entrance it was our hope to become a gathering place for Cameron Village. In our view, nothing says were ready for you more than a revolving doorit conveys volume and urban sophisticationit says, You are welcome to walk into our restaurant. The desired outcome for the new structure was for it to appear to be an original building that had been repurposed. Featherston continued, We aspire for our brand to be characterized by the quality of both food and service. This Cameron Village building is how we already thought about Chick-fil-A. In many ways, the building is unique in its loveliness, but it goes even beyond the characteristics of the brand prior to occupying a space like this one. The best design is intuitive. You can have a sign that says Welcome and thats OK, but an entrance should be intuitive like this design and our revolving door. The Boon Edam entrance has fit perfectly with our design concept, and it has exceeded our expectations, Featherston concluded. For Further Information, Please Contact: Tracie Thomas Marketing Manager T 910 814 8239 E tracie(dot)thomas(at)boonedam(dot)com For Media Queries, Please Contact: Bruce Doneff Public Relations T 843 476 3022 E doneff(at)verizon(dot)net About Royal Boon Edam With work environments becoming increasingly global and dynamic, the smart, safe entry has become the center of activity in and around many buildings. Royal Boon Edam is a global market leader in reliable entry solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, with 140 years of experience in engineering quality, we have gained extensive expertise in managing the transit of people through office buildings, airports, healthcare facilities, hotels and many other types of buildings. We are focused on providing an optimal, sustainable experience for our clients and their clients. By working together with you, our client, we help determine the exact requirements for the entry point in and around your building. You can find more news about Boon Edam on http://www.boonedam.us/newsroom. Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Attorneys William H. Honaker and Hal Milton, Jr. have been selected for National Law Journals 2016 Intellectual Property Trailblazers. The Intellectual Property Trailblazers celebrates the achievements of 50 IP attorneys and others who are innovating in the field, helping to change the way copyright, patent, trademark or licensing law is practiced, or how IP is protected and managed. They will be featured in the May issue of the National Law Journal. Mr. Honaker is a Member in the firms Troy office. With over 25 years of experience, he has extensive knowledge and expertise in all aspects of patent, trademarks, trade secrets and copyright matters including litigation in a broad range of technologies/industries. For his clients, he evaluates patents, trademarks and copyrightable subject matter. His representation includes Fortune 500 clients, small to mid-size privately held companies and startups. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the International Trademark Association, and the Licensing Executive Society. He is recognized as a leader in his field by Best Lawyers in America, Dbusiness Top Lawyers, and Managing Intellectual Property Magazine. He was also listed as a Finalist for Outstanding IP Litigator in Michigan by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine. Mr. Honaker received his B.S.M.E. from the University of Toledo and his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law. Mr. Milton is Of Counsel in the firms Troy office. He manages the Dickinson Wright Intellectual Property Academy to produce high quality patent applications by blending experience and training tools with the enthusiasm of law students and recent law graduates who are also degreed engineers or scientists. He has mentored over 200 new attorneys into the practice of patent law through his training program during the last 45 years. In addition, he serves as lead trial counsel in successfully litigating various patented technologies, assisting new enterprises in protecting their technology to entice investment or the sale of the enterprise, and overseeing the creation of patent, trade secret and trademark portfolios during periods of significant growth for several large corporations. Mr. Milton has taught patent prosecution at a number of law schools and currently teaches the preparation of a patent application at the University of Notre Dame. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association. He received his B.S. from Purdue University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law School. The Dickinson Wright intellectual property team includes more than 40 attorneys who offer in-depth experience in all aspects of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, employment relationships and intellectual property litigation. Our lawyers regularly counsel clients on IP portfolio management, technology acquisitions, transfers and licensing arrangements, regulatory compliance and legislative developments. Each of our patent lawyers has significant industry experience and technical degrees, and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Dickinson Wright is one of the very few law firms in the country with its own Intellectual Property Academy where practicing lawyers train law students with technical and engineering degrees to become intellectual property attorneys. To learn more about our intellectual property practice, please visit us at http://www.dickinsonwright.com. About Dickinson Wright PLLC Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 400 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has fifteen offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and eight other domestic offices in Columbus, Ohio; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn. (2); Las Vegas, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Reno, Nev.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canada office is located in Toronto. The firm offers clients a distinctive combination of superb client service and exceptional quality. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations. We are selecting Ambassadors who already know their life purpose, and believe in the power of living a healthy life, to join us in the cause of helping others to have the health and wealth freedom to truly live their purpose, or their WOW! life. Past News Releases RSS New Book Takes You on a Healthy... Today, the new Healthy Wealthy Wow! Life training program, created to share the life-saving and life-changing strategy to create a Wow! Life, announced its plans to select Wow! Life Ambassadors. The story behind Healthy Wealthy Wow! starts with Kim Power Stilson, 51, SiriusXM Talk Radio host, and mother of 3, who while working four jobs was diagnosed with a serious illness that would have devastated her and her family if she hadnt been mentored by friends to change her life. These friends, Kim calls Champions in her new book "Healthy Wealthy Wow!" taught her healthy living strategies Mindset, Skillset, and Toolset and sharing practices to create an income that paid her while she was battling the illness and unable to work. The strategies her Champions taught were crucial in supporting optimal strength, energy, immunity, sleep, and emotional well-being. Once Kim overcame her illness and was able to live what she calls a WOW! life she wanted to share what she learned with others. A Healthy Wealthy Wow! life is where you are healthy and wealthy enough to have the freedom to focus on pursuing your unique purpose to make the world better or what I call a Wow! life, " said Kim. "My second chance at living means I will be giving back what I learned to help others in a Healthy Wealthy WOW! way. The goal of the Healthy Wealthy Wow! program is to combine the talents of Champions and Ambassadors to help families have improved health habits and increased wealth enough to live their Wow! lives and give back by helping others do the same. In the program, Kims Champions and Ambassadors, who are already living their Wow! lives, will mentor the Healthy Wealthy WOW! living strategies Mindset, Skillset, Toolset in a structure of weekly training, 5 minute daily Mindset calls, and simple action steps. The Healthy Wealthy WOW! program is selecting Ambassadors who want to take a spotlight role to increase awareness for healthy living, create wealth and give back so others can do the same. Ambassador candidates may apply online at http://www.healthywealthywow.com. We are selecting Ambassadors who already know their life purpose, and believe in the power of living a healthy life, to join us in the cause of helping others to have the health and wealth freedom to truly live their purpose, or their Wow! life, said Karie Powell, Healthy Wealthy Wow! Champion and President. There is no cost for the online Healthy Wealthy Wow! program which includes weekly training from Champions, 5 minute daily mindset calls, and weekly action steps. There is an option to purchase the Wow! products and/or distribution rights to the products that are shared in the program. Learning all components of the program is essential in the mission of the Ambassador stewardship which is to help others learn to live healthy and wealthy so each has the freedom to live their Wow! life and give back so others may as well. For more information visit http://www.healthywealthywow.com Brookhaven Retreat, LLC, a unique residential treatment facility exclusively for women with mental health and/or substance abuse issues, celebrated Memorial Day with an alfresco barbeque luncheon held on Monday, May 30, 2016. Memorial Day, a federal holiday held on the last Monday in May, is a time to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice by the countrys armed forces. The holiday is also known as the unofficial start to the summer season. Many celebrate and recognize this holiday by hosting get-togethers to coincide with the holidays long weekend. Brookhaven Retreat used this occasion as an opportunity to apply social and interpersonal skills learned as part of The Lily Program, a 90-day treatment for women offered exclusively at Brookhaven Retreat. Brookhaven Retreats alfresco barbeque luncheon featured exquisite appetizers, entrees, and sides created by their very own culinary artists. Clients and staff enjoyed their share of shrimp with Thai chili cocktail; smoked beef brisket with homemade barbeque sauce; blackened salmon with citrus aioli; kale, broccolini, and cranberry salad; herb roasted fingerling potatoes; plus many other delicious treats. Alfresco Luncheons promote dining, communicating, and relaxing in the great outdoors. There are numerous benefits to eating outdoors; one of the greatest is gaining valuable Vitamin D from the sun. Vitamin D levels have been shown to correlate to mental and physical health. The alfresco atmosphere also promoted open communication through interpersonal skills that are taught at Brookhaven Retreat. About Brookhaven Retreat Brookhaven Retreat is a women's treatment center nestled on a naturally beautiful 48-acre site secluded in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. It has helped hundreds of women across the United States overcome depression, trauma, anxiety, substance use and a range of other behavioral health challenges. Brookhavens Founder, Jacqueline Dawes, has predicated its gender-specific treatment on healing emotional breakage for women. In this way, she has established a sanctuary and a place where women can feel safe, secure and cared for by a staff of highly trained professionals. The Embassy Suites by Hilton Akron Canton Airport, operated by Commonwealth Hotel Collection, will install the FlyteBoard hotel information display by Flyte Systems. The FlyteBoard digital display will show arrivals and departures for Akron-Canton Airport, property events and Doppler Radar Weather for guest travel convenience. Flyte Systems is the leading provider of cost effective airport travel and flexible digital signage property information. The company delivers displays and digital signage content for hotels, corporate training centers, convention centers and related businesses. Click here to request information on Flyte Systems' travel and guest information services. We opened our Embassy Suites in February this year and it is already a favorite of people coming to Akron for business, sporting events, reunions, weddings and other activities. Our FlyteBoard hotel information display will provide guests with airline schedules and gate information for nearby Akron-Canton Airport and be an attractive reader board for property events. We offer a personalized guest experience and FlyteBoard is part of that, said Julie Karam, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Embassy Suites by Hilton Akron Canton Airport. Karam noted the property is the newest Embassy Suites format with a smaller footprint and pampers guests with free 24-hour airport shuttle service, a hot breakfast and evening cocktail reception. Since we have 6,000 feet of conference space, FlyteBoards hotel information display will be valuable to guests for on-property activities. The system will be mounted in a high-traffic area between the front desk and our elevators for convenient visibility. The Doppler Radar will be a valuable addition because changing weather in the mid-west often affects air travel. The Embassy Suites by Hilton Akron Canton Airport is unique. It has a balanced guest mix of business, corporate and social guests that keep the hotel busy seven days a week, said Scott Triphahn, Flyte Systems Vice President. FlyteBoard is the perfect addition to its list of travel amenities because it lets guests relax and have confidence in their travel plans. Flyte Systems is a division of Industrial Television Services (ITS), based in Chicago. ITS is a respected digital signage solutions company with more than 50 years of experience specializing in real-time information delivery. Flyte Systems provides low-cost property promotions, local events and flight information Flyte Systems suite of products that serve the traveling public includes: FlyteBoard is a wall, floor, or ceiling-mounted screen for passenger terminals, lobbies, restaurants, bars, and public areas. FlyteBoard displays real-time flight information for one or more airports. FlytePass combines FlyteTouch with secure boarding pass printing. It is available as a standalone unit, or neatly packaged in either an all-wood kiosk or an integrated metal kiosk to match your decor. FlyteTouch lets guests search flight information using an interactive touchscreen that displays real-time arrivals and departures for one or more airports. FlyteChannel lets guests view airport flight information comfortably from their in-room television. FlytePad is a mobile-ready service that delivers real-time airline information via the iPad. EventDisplay displays user-configurable meetings and events on screens shared with flight information or on its own dedicated screen. EventChannel shows property events and specials on the guests TV. AmenityBoard lets hotels display profitable amenities anywhere. InfoBoard is a cost-effective touch screen that saves labor, provides greater guest service, and generates revenue with flight information and much more. Many hotels and resorts also use Flyte Systems applications to increase revenue with innovative marketing approaches for distressed travelers. For tips on how to generate revenue by providing guests with Flyte Systems airline information, please log on to the Flyte Systems website at http://www.flytesystems.com. About Commonwealth Hotels and Commonwealth Hotel Collection Commonwealth Hotels, LLC was founded in 1986 and is a proven partner in providing management services and superior financial results. The company has extensive experience managing premium branded full service and select service hotels. Commonwealth Hotels currently manages over 4,500 rooms with 5 additional hotels under development or construction. Additional corporate information on Commonwealth Hotels may be found at http://www.commonwealthhotels.com. About Flyte Systems Flyte Systems is a division of Industrial Television Services (ITS), based in Chicago. ITS is a leading digital signage solutions company with 50 years experience specializing in real-time information delivery. Flyte Systems was formed in 2007 to offer real-time, web-based travel technology solutions. Flyte Systems provides subscription-based, environmentally responsible airport flight information and digital signage displays for the hospitality, convention center, digital signage industries and related businesses. The companys solutions deliver accurate, instant, airport-centric updates of flight information not just FAA-provided departure times that may be inaccurate when there is a ground delay. Flyte Systems solutions enable properties to differentiate themselves and boost repeat business with 'glance-and-go' content and property promotions. Its products use Energy Star-compliant digital displays to help significantly reduce energy consumption and eliminate unnecessary trips to the airport. Clients include Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Starwood, Westin, IHG, Days Inn, Hotel Sofitel, independent properties, convention centers, and transportation centers. "The new XKine products allow customers to source more cytokines and growth factors from HumanZyme without the need for a 3rd party supplier." HumanZyme Inc., a leading supplier of novel human proteins and growth factors to academic and biopharmaceutical customers enabling stem cell research and regenerative therapy applications, today announced the launch of the new XKine product line broadening the company's product offering. The new XKine human recombinant proteins are manufactured utilizing E.coli, Insect, or Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) host cell lines, expanding the number of research applications supported by HumanZyme. The new XKine products are priced competitively and selected carefully to support current pathway analysis, allowing our customers to purchase these products from HumanZyme, without the need to go to a 3rd party supplier as previously required, said Scott Coleridge, CEO at HumanZyme. The new XKine recombinant human protein line includes Activin-B, Adiponectin, IL-1 alpha, INF-gamma, INF-beta, IL-5, IL8(CxXL8), IL-11, IL-15, IL-13, IL-16, IL-17b/d/e, IL-34, IL35, DKK, CT-1, IGF-1, Neurturin, PDGF-BB, Rantes(CCL5), sCD40 ligand, sTrail/apo2L, BDNF, GDNF, CTGF, EGF, FGF-basic, LIF, BMP-3, BMP-5, BMP-13, Prolactin, Relaxin 2, TNF-beta, Sonic Hedgehog, and FGF-acidic. For more information, see our list of new XKine products. About HumanZyme, Inc. HumanZyme, Inc. is the global leader in providing highly authentic recombinant human proteins from human cells. Our process is cost-effective and scalable making our proteins suitable for the research, diagnostic, drug discovery and biopharmaceutical markets. HumanZyme leverages its proprietary engineered human cells, expression vector, and cell culture media to ensure high-yield production of recombinant proteins with native human post-translational modifications, such as disulfide bonds and glycosylation. We are a leading provider of cytokines and growth factors and a preferred outsourcing supplier of human protein production. Our products and services support a broad range of customers worldwidefrom academic and government research institutions to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. For more information, visit http://www.humanzyme.com. Moving Analytics smartphone app Our mission is to help hospitals increase access to rehab to all eligible patients and by doing so, provide high quality care, earn additional revenue and bring down readmission costs. Past News Releases RSS Moving Analytics, a company focused on digital solutions for patient rehab programs, announced Tuesday the close of a $1.1 million funding round, led by Launchpad Digital Health and including HealthX Ventures. The San Francisco-based company will use the capital to further expand its first product, a home-based cardiac rehab solution, into the U.S. market. They also plan to further develop home-based COPD product to complement their existing offerings. Moving Analytics first program helps hospitals increase participation in cardiac rehab by implementing convenient and affordable home-based programs with low staff overhead. The technology is a digital case management system for providers to track progress and a mobile app that engages patients to complete daily rehab tasks. A total of 2.5 million patients in the U.S. dont receive adequate follow-up care after discharge from heart attacks or surgeries because of high cost and long distances to the hospital, said Moving Analytics CEO and Founder Harshvardhan Vathsangam. Our mission is to help hospitals provide rehab to all eligible patients and by doing so, help them earn additional revenue and bring down readmission costs. Moving Analytics product is based on MULTIFIT, an evidence-based cardiac rehab program and chronic care management system developed by world-renowned researchers at Stanford University. The paper-based program has been used on over 70,000 patients and is widely considered the best-in-class program for post-acute heart care. We are delighted to lead this round of financing for Moving Analytics alongside HealthX Ventures, said Fred Toney of Launchpad Digital Health, a seed fund and accelerator based in San Francisco. This proven program for cardiac and other rehab programs allows for use in the home utilizing the companys technology platform, leading to the same improvements for patients without requiring inpatient followup. After a patient has a cardiac event and is discharged, a provider uses the Moving Analytics software to generate a care plan for the patient and send this plan to his or her mobile phone. Typical aspects of the care plan include exercise management, medication reminders, tracking vital signs, education and counseling. At home, the app guides the patient through a series of supervised exercises, delivers educational content and provides an easy to use interface to track vital signs and chat with his or her provider. The provider can use the web-portal to track patient progress, manage patient timelines, provide counseling and modify care plans. "Rehabilitation programs are time consuming and often inconvenient for patients, and as a result they aren't going to their appointments or completing their therapy. We're excited to support Moving Analytics in their mission to help health systems make their programs more convenient and accessible for patients, enabling the patient to better stay on top of their rehab," said Mark Bakken, managing partner of HealthX Ventures, a venture capital fund based in Madison, Wis. Moving Analytics has several prestigious clients from some of the leading medical institutions throughout the U.S., including California, New York, New Jersey, Florida and Georgia. The company is currently in San Francisco participating in the extensive one-year Launchpad Digital Health accelerator program. About Moving Analytics Moving Analytics is a digital health company based in Los Angeles, CA. Moving Analytics first product helps hospitals implement technology-enabled cardiac rehab programs that patients can do in the comfort of their homes. Moving Analytics provides a turnkey program that includes evidence-based clinical protocols, online case management system, mobile application for patients and implementation support. They are working with 10 leading hospitals across the United States including Langone Medical Center and Keck School of Medicine. About Launchpad Digital Health Launchpad Digital Health is a next generation seed capital + accelerator: more capital, more time and more intensity for its portfolio companies and their founders. The firm has been recently named in the top 4 digital health investors in the world, and it has 16 portfolio company investments to date. Each company accepted into the program receives capital in the form of up to a $500,000 investment, more time commitment in the form of a full one year-long program co-located with other startups in digital health sector and the Launchpad Digital Health founders, and more intensity in the form of daily and weekly engagement with Launchpad Digital Healths founders, partners and mentors. The founders of Launchpad Digital Health have funded and operated companies throughout the healthcare and technology sectors, including digital health companies, for the past two decades. About HealthX Ventures HealthX Ventures is a digital healthcare focused venture capital fund based in Madison, Wisconsin. HealthX Ventures supports early/seed stage, high-growth companies in all areas of digital health, including companies who are making healthcare safer, more efficient and more affordable. The firm is investing out of its flagship fund, and is led by experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts who have grown companies and led change across the healthcare system. RE/MAX Realtor Mike Papantonakis recently announced he received the Five Star Real Estate Agent award from Five Star Professional for the fourth consecutive year. I am proud to have received this prestigious award for the fourth time, said Papantonakis. Throughout the years, I have approached each and every client with the attitude that their interests and needs are my No. 1 priority. Im very honored that my clients are giving me such high praise. The Five Star Professional award is presented to no more than 7% of professionals in the Denver metro area and is based on criteria objectively measured by an independent research process. To receive the Five Star Real Estate Agent award, an agent must satisfy five objective eligibility and evaluation criteria that are associated with real estate agents who provide quality services to their clients. Five Star Professional partnered with 5280 Magazine to conduct research to identify a select group of real estate agents who are exceptional in both their professional ability and in their commitment to overall satisfaction. As for Papantonakis, his Five Star achievement will be highlighted in an upcoming issue of 5280 magazine. Papantonakis is renowned for his dedication and working with his clients to achieve their real estate goals, whether the plan is primary home ownership or an investment in a rental house or apartment building. Our local market is very challenging right now for both buyers and sellers, said Papantonakis. I constantly look for ways and education to help my buyers win contracts without putting them in a bad situation or allowing them to overpay for properties. Alternatively, my sellers appreciate the way that I help them navigate multiple offers and help them select the best offer and situation that protects their interests. About Mike Papantonakis, RE/MAX Alliance Mike Papantonakis approaches each and every client with the attitude that their interests and needs are his No. 1 priority. Mike is a small-investor specialist with over seven years experience in selling houses and apartments. For more information, please call (303) 913-9129, or visit http://www.homesincolorado.com/mike-papantonakis. About the NALA The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. "Future business owners, even those with a low budget, will find important information on launching their business idea into reality." As colleges and universities across the globe are looking for new ways to empower their students with an entrepreneurial mindset, students with limited resources can learn ways to catapult their ideas into real ventures and create their own future. Peterson's, a leader in education exploration, financial aid, test-prep, and career success resources, today announced the forthcoming publication of their newest book, Start Your Business on a Ramen Noodle Budget, by award-winning entrepreneur Felecia Hatcher. The latest addition to the Peterson's expanding range of publications, this quick-reading demonstrates how anyone with a great idea and lots of determination can get creative, tap into their network, and start a new business on a shoestring budget. Start Your Business on a Ramen Noodle Budget shows how to get your business off the ground even with just a little money in your bank account. Readers will learn how to use social media to gain free advertising and new customers, how to live your life on your terms while starting a business, and the importance of creating unrealistic goals. The book provides an excitingly different, extremely practical, no-nonsense way to launch a business efficiently and quickly. Scheduled for release on June 14, 2016, Start Your Business on a Ramen Noodle Budget will be available at all major online and brick-and-mortar bookstores. "Future business owners, even those with a low budget, will find important information on launching their business idea into reality with this publication, making it invaluable for those without the time or money to pursue an MBA," says Dominic Rotondi, Executive Director of Peterson's, a Nelnet company. "This book converts business financial concepts into tools for the owner, with expert advice from its authors, alongside over 50 years of Peterson's excellence. We are proud to offer future business owners assistance in managing their money while starting a new venture." About the Author: Felecia Hatcher is a White House Award-winning entrepreneur, bestselling author, globally sought-after speaker, mother, and co-founder of Code Fever and BlackTechWeek. She is also the former Chief Popsicle at Feverish Pops, a gourmet ice pop boutique and manufacturing brand with an outstanding Fortune 500 client roster. For the past decade, Felecia has dedicated her life to inspiring a new generation of leaders through her conversational talks on Entrepreneurship, Tech Innovation, Funding, and Personal Branding. As the founder of Code Fever and Black Tech Week, Felecia has spearheaded the movement of the Miami Startup ecosystem focused on getting marginalized individuals to become major players in the innovation economy. Felecia has been featured on MSNBC, NBCs Today Show, The Cooking Channel, Essence Magazine, Entrepreneur, BET, Black Enterprise, and the Miami Herald. About Peterson's Peterson's, a Nelnet company, has been your trusted educational publisher for over 50 years. It's a milestone we're quite proud of, as we continue to provide the most accurate, dependable, high-quality education content in the field, providing students with everything they need to succeed. No matter where they are on their academic or professional path, they can rely on Peterson's publications and its online information at http://www.petersons.com for the most up-to-date education exploration data, admissions resources, expert test prep and scholarship tools, and the highest-quality career success resources--everything they need to achieve their goals. Naba Dental Our goal is to be the #1 choice for family and general dentistry in the Tanglewood / Memorial / Galleria area of Houston. -Dr. Mirza Naba Dental is celebrating its grand opening with an open house on Saturday, June 4th, 2016, at its new location at 1811 Bering Drive, Suite #110, Houston, Texas 77057. There will be refreshments and activities, including a raffle for a $100 Visa gift card. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet general dentist Rubab Mirza, DDS, and tour the new dental office. Dr. Mirza said, Our goal is to be the #1 choice for family and general dentistry in the Tanglewood / Memorial / Galleria area of Houston. Dr. Mirza places a particularly strong emphasis on conservative, pre-emptive dentistry in order to protect teeth from damage rather than reactive dentistry to fix them after the fact. By introducing children to the Naba family early on, Dr. Mirza and her staff can build a rapport with them and help them feel at ease about visiting the dentist. In cases where reactive dentistry is necessary, Dr. Mirza can handle emergency treatments. Naba Dental also specializes in pediatric dentistry in the Houston Tanglewood/Memorial/Galleria area. Everything from damaged crowns and bridges can be treated by Dr. Mirza at Naba Dental. Dr. Mirza also recommends and provides services for custom-fitted mouth guards for children and adults who participate in sports. Dr. Mirza and her team teach the proper way to brush and floss teeth, and can educate all patients on how different foods affect their teeth and how to counteract such effects. With regular checkups and proper care, every mouth can be happy and healthy. Now is the best time to get back to the expert care of a local Houston dentist in the Tanglewood area. Get started at Naba Dental with their new dental patient special. Naba Dental is located at 1811 Bering Drive, Suite 110 in Houston. Call (346) 571-7254 for more details or stop by on June 4th between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. For office hours, or to schedule an appointment, call (346) 571-7254 or visit NabaDental.com. About Naba Dental Naba Dental offers family dentistry services in the Tanglewood/Memorial/Galleria area of Houston. Dr. Mirza is a certified member of American Dental Association (ADA), the Texas Dental Association, and the Greater Houston Dental Society. To learn more about Naba Dental call (346) 571-7254 or visit NabaDental.com ### A Canadian couple sets up shop in Edmonton; an IT expert opens a low-tech kids store in California; a Washington state classic changes hands; and more. First Bicycle Bookstore Launches in Edmonton, Nomad Books: Yvonne and Jared Epp have begun pedaling used paperbacks, throughout the Canadian city of Edmonton. In an interview on CBC Radios Edmonton AM, Jared said that he had been collecting and trading books for a while, but wanted to start selling them on his own. We thought, Why dont we just sell books on the trailer and kind of cruise around downtown and sell books that way?, he said. Childrens Store Opens in Lafayette, Calif.: Former IT expert and finance director Clare McNeill gave up her career to open Bel & Bunnas Books late last month. The name is a combination of McNeills nickname, Bel, and her younger sons stuffed rabbit, Bunna. The bookstore, McNeill said, will not be an imitation of Storyteller Bookstore, which closed last year, although she does plan to stock quality books and classic toys. Dead Tree Books Opens on San Antonios South Side: Late last month Kenny and Lisa Johnson opened a used bookstore where hardcovers cost $3, paperbacks $2, and childrens books $1. The community, which has lost several bookstores over the past dozen years, including a Waldenbooks and a used bookstore, is hoping the Johnsons can make a go of it despite the low prices. Aunties Bookstore Changes Hands: John Waite, owner of Merlyns Comics and Games in Spokane, is the new owner of the 38-year-old bookstore also in Spokane. In a sense the ownership has come full circle since bookstore co-founder Chris OHarra also co-founded Merlyns Comics. Waite plans to keep the entire Aunties staff and make very few changes. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Eight incoming students have been awarded the Beering Scholarship, which covers full educational expenses for a bachelor's degree and the opportunity to pursue two other graduate degrees at Purdue University. The students were selected based on high school credentials and leadership skills, said Catharine Patrone, student services director in Purdue's Honors College. The recipients can pursue one bachelor's degree, one master's degree or an MBA, and one doctoral degree at Purdue or medical school through Indiana University. The program also covers related educational expenses and a one-semester study abroad opportunity. The 2016 Beering Scholars are: * Maya Black, Imperial, Pennsylvania, studying animal sciences. * Paul Dawley, Crown Point, Indiana, studying first-year engineering. * Noah Franks, Brentwood, Tennessee, studying computer science. * Brian Helfrecht, Batavia, Illinois, studying first-year engineering. * Nisreen Islaih, Fishers, Indiana, studying biochemistry. * Garrett Jacoby, Rossville, Indiana, studying first-year engineering. * Andrew Santos, Valparaiso, Indiana, studying physics. * Noah Smith, Westfield, Indiana, studying first-year engineering. The Beering Scholarship program was created by Purdue's ninth president, Dr. Steven C. Beering, who raised private funds for the endowment. An invitation to apply for the program is sent to the highest achieving high school seniors who are admitted by mid-December by the Office of Admissions. A committee reviews applications and determines the scholarship recipients. News Service contact: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu Source: Catharine Patrone, 765-494-2906, cpatrone@purdue.edu CORDOVA -- Lawmakers failed to pass a bill by Tuesday's deadline to increase support for the nuclear plants in Cordova and Clinton that Exelon officials said was needed to keep them open. Exelon had said lawmakers had to pass the Next Generation Energy Plan during this legislative session to save the two plants. It was unclear late Tuesday, however, what the failure to get the bill through the legislature would mean for the Quad Cities Generating Station near Cordova and its 800 employees. Quad-Cities Exelon spokesman Bill Stoermer said the company plans to make an announcement this week of the plants' future. "At this time, the future of the Next Generation Energy Plan (legislation) remains unclear," he said. "Exelon appreciates the hard work of policymakers, community officials, Exelon employees, labor and business leaders who supported our efforts to advance energy policies that will benefit customers, the economy and environment," Mr. Stoermer said. "Well have additional comments about the path forward within the next few days." State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island -- a cosponsor of the bill -- said lawmakers ran out of time to pass it before the spring legislative session ended Tuesday. He said he spoke to Exelon officials Tuesday and "urged them to give us just a little more time" to get the bill through the legislature. Lawmakers are likely to be called back into session in June, he said, and the bill could be voted on then. "We are doing everything we can," Sen. Anderson said. He added he and other backers of the bill continue to build support for the proposed legislation, which also includes provisions to boost energy efficiency in Illinois. The Quad Cities and Clinton nuclear plants have been losing money for several years, according to Exelon officials, and the legislation would raise power rates by an average of 25 cents a month to help keep them competitive. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is among opponents of the bill, criticizing it as a "bailout" for a company that overall is profitable. Sen. Anderson said that, if the two nuclear plants are allowed to close, energy rates would increase because a large portion of Illinois' electricity supply would disappear. Nuclear power has struggled to compete with cheaper natural gas in recent years, which is a big factor behind the struggle of the two Exelon plants. ROCK ISLAND An estimated $11.5 million relief sewer project has experienced another delay. Brandt Construction, of Milan, has been under scrutiny by city officials over delays on a project approved by the city council in August 2014. Brandt submitted the low bid for the project. In April, Brandt president Terry Brandt told the city council that most of the work likely would be completed by the first of May, with some delayed until the middle of May. On Tuesday, city public works director Randy Tweet said that goal will not be met. The project, which extends along 6th Avenue from 6th Street to 24th Street, originally was to be completed in the summer of 2015. The city granted Brandt an extension until Dec. 18, 2015. On Dec. 18, rather than granting Brandt another extension, the city gave itself the option of assessing "liquidated damages" at the rate of $2,220 per day against Brandt. At the April 11 council meeting, Ald. Josh Schipp, 6th Ward, said the council had the right to enforce the liquidated damages then about $248,000 and that many council members would hold firm on the option. Mr. Brandt said the company would contest any penalties by the city. Mr. Brandt could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Ald. Schipp, however, said the project has been frustrating not only for city officials, but also business owners and residents. "They (Brandt) have yet to make any reasonable deadline," Ald. Schipp said. "We have never missed a payment to Brandt." Rock Island Mayor Dennis Pauley just wants the work to be done. "This has been going on for a long time," he said. "It's time to get it done and get it over with." He said the city will review cost overruns once the work is completed. "Then, we'll determine what type of penalties we will impose," he said. Mr. Tweet said he expects the project to be completed in a couple of weeks. He said the latest project delay of five weeks was while a pipe was lined on 24th Street. Brandt is done with the underground work, he said, and hopes to place asphalt this week on 24th Street. Meng Brings NASA Astronaut To Queens On October 17, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) brought NASA astronaut Dr. Jonny Kim to Queens where he met and spoke with students at Francis... Celebrating Columbus The Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Queens (FIAO) held their annual Columbus Day parade in Astoria, on Saturday, October 8, during Italian Heritage Month. The... Russo-Elling Mourned More than 300 first responders lined up on Thursday night to honor FDNY EMT Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, as her body was placed into a waiting... Kilronan Merino Wool Aran Poncho w/ Pockets & Single Button is rated 4.5 out of 5 by 44 . Rated 5 out of 5 by MissSheila from Beautifully done ! I received this from my husband for Christmas. I love this. Its beautifully done with the different stitches and the large buttons. Its the softest wool I've ever felt. Its very warm, yet its not bulky nor does it weigh a ton. Rated 5 out of 5 by JenGlen from Better than expected I hesitated buying this poncho. Ordered the XS in the cape A263769 and the only remaining size on this was the larger Women's size. The online images of this poncho appear dumpy but on the video the poncho looks nice on the host so I was unsure. So glad I decided to order this beautiful poncho. The workmanship is perfection. I love the X's and O's pattern on the back. The front, center button doesn't pull as badly as it appears online. This lays nicely and the side slits are generous enough to allow you to reach into your pants pockets and still look fashionable. The coconut buttons weren't my favorite but I appreciate the attempt at keeping the entire poncho an item made 100% from natural resources. Overall I appreciate this beautiful work of art. Rated 5 out of 5 by onechance from So Different I almost purchased this when I saw it presented months ago but I chickened out because I wasn't sure what size I should get. Went so far as to call customer service but she was not able to answer my questions. They need a better measuement chart for sure. Then months later I see it on the site on sale and Easy Pay with limited colors and figured I'd pick one up - so happy that I did! I purchased the regular missy size in natural and it is SO CUTE and SO DIFFERENT. I grew a bust in middle age and I don't want to emphasize it but this does not. They did not lie when they talked about how soft the wool was either. It just looks so cute over everything in my closet I tried it on with and I know even though it's summer, I will be sitting in my house in the air conditioning wearing it just to put it on! The sale price was the cherry on top. My Irish eyes are smiling! Rated 2 out of 5 by evathediva from Nice but................ Nice item, soft. I wanted something to throw over my shoulders to keep drafts off my neck and upper arms while watching TV in the early mornings and evenings. I don't particularly like shawls because you have to constantly adjust them, thought this would fit the bill. Not enough coverage for the upper arms, returned Rated 4 out of 5 by jazzi from Lovely! The natural is a warm neutral color and this will be my grab & go essential when there's a chill in the air. Rated 5 out of 5 by starrr from Irish sweater poncho I have been wanting an Irish sweater for awhile now when this went on as is item I jumped at it nothing wrong with item. I first wanted to be different I had gray in my cart I ordered it but than before it was shipped I was able to replace it with navy . I have gotten so many compliments on my new sweater I actually ordered two more as is Irish sweaters I never had any now I have three yes they actually run big in size I ordered an large but I'm happy I can actually wear under my winter coat for warmth I do school crossing do I need warmth not bulky I will buy more when I see something else that catches my eye happy shopping everyone. Rated 5 out of 5 by Soleil7 from I LOVE THIS IRISH PONCHO!!! One word to describe this poncho, .. ADORABLE!...I bought it in the Missy size, in the natural color....I LOVE that it's made shorter than most of the Irish sweaters, which tend to look very "matronly" on me even though I am of average size....This poncho looks great with my long white boyfriend-style Ralph Lauren blouse under it and also with my many Ralph Lauren turtleneck cotton pullovers....I'm so glad that I did not pay attention to some of the "negative" reviews listed here....I am extremely happy with this purchase, and even more so that I got this for 1/2 the original price...Can't beat that!....:) G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now! The twin events were attended by six heads of state, including German chancellor Mrs Angela Merkel and French president Mr Francois Hollande, EU transport commissioner Mrs Violeta Bulc, and 1000 Swiss citizens who were chosen at random from more than 160,000 applicants for an inaugural journey through the tunnel. A second handover ceremony was held in the afternoon to mark the official transfer of control of the 57.1km tunnel from AlpTransit to Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), which will carry out intensive testing and training over the next 193 days in preparation for the start of full commercial operations. During the commissioning phase SBB will operate up to 5000 trains, most of them freight trains, through the tunnel before the start of full commercial operations on December 11. A number of special trains will also carry passengers through the tunnel during this phase and from September some scheduled passenger services will be diverted onto the new line from the mountain route. By the time this phase concludes, 3900 staff including 1000 drivers will have received training in the tunnel. Construction The route for the New Rail Link through the Alps (NLRA) was finalised in 1995 and financing for the 11.1bn project was finally secured in 1998. Initial preparatory works began at Sedrun in April 1996 and major construction started with the blasting of access shafts in 1999. The project involved the excavation of 151.8km of tunnels, shafts, and cross passages. Two emergency stations were built at Faido and Sedrun to aid evacuation of the tunnel. Four tunnel boring machines were used to dig and line 97.1km of tunnel, including most of the two running tunnels. AlpTransit awarded a contract to the Transtec Gotthard consortium for the installation of railway infrastructure in April 2008. This included 146km of track (115km ballastless) and 154km of overhead catenary, including 115km in the tunnel. The ETCS Level 2 deployment involved the installation of 928 balises and 712 axle counters with a single radio block centre covering the entire length of the new line. A new control centre at Pollegio at the southern end of the tunnel opened in 2014 and in addition to the tunnel this facility controls all rail movements in the canton of Ticino. Into service From December, 52 passenger trains and up to 210 freight trains will pass through the tunnel each day with up to four freight paths during the day (five at night) and two passenger paths per hour in each direction. In order to fully exploit this capacity the speed of freight trains in the tunnel will be at least 100km/h while passenger trains will operate at up to 200km/h. The impact of the tunnel on transalpine freight operations will be significant. The transit time between the German frontier at Basle and Bellinzona will be reduced to just 3h 45min, which means it will be possible for one driver to make a return trip between these two hubs in a single shift. With the tunnel bypassing the severe gradients of the original mountain route, only one locomotive will be required to haul a 1600-tonne train to Bellinzona or Luino. The completion of the tunnel will also enable the operation of 750m-long trains. However, the full potential of the tunnel on freight traffic will only be realised in 2020 with the opening of the 15.4km Ceneri Base Tunnel - further reducing transit times and enabling the operation of 2000-tonne trains - and the completion of an SFr 940m project to upgrade the Gotthard route to accommodate lorry semitrailers with a corner height of 4m. Leuthard told IRJ at the opening ceremony that the tunnel provides a strong basis for the expansion of rail's share of the transalpine freight market in line with the Swiss federal government's modal shift policy, but stressed that operators and infrastructure managers will need to work together closely at an international level if the sector is to capitalise on Swiss investment in the Gotthard. "It's important in transport policy to achieve greater cooperation and more customer-friendly service," she says. "The Rotterdam - Genoa corridor is symbolic of how the rail freight industry is working together. We are putting the infrastructure in place to help rail freight move ahead, but we also need cooperation." Passenger services on the Gotthard route will be accelerated from December, when the 4h 3min Zurich - Milan journey time will be reduced by up to 25 minutes and a new Zurich - Venice service will be launched. The completion of the Ceneri Base Tunnel in 2020 will reduce travel times on the Zurich - Milan corridor by a further 30 minutes. With reduced journey times and the introduction of SBB's new fleet of Stadler Giruno trains, which will enter service from 2019, SBB forecasts that passenger numbers on the Gotthard corridor will double by 2025. The existing mountain route via Goschenen and Airolo will be retained and will continue to be used by an hourly regional passenger service as well as local freight workings. The line will also act as a diversionary route for passenger trains if the tunnel is closed, although freight trains would need to be diverted via the Lotschberg route. Khlie said that a 30km of the new line has been completed and some test running is already underway on this section. "The works have reached 80% and the technical tests with trains on the high-speed tracks will start at the end of 2017," Khlie said. "We are laying 1km of track each day and 100km of the line will be ready in February-March 2017." Khlie also revealed details of how the high-speed service will be operated between Casablanca, Rabat and Tangiers. "To achieve the target of 6 million passengers a year, there will a departure every hour from Casablanca and Tangier, with the aim to achieve an average occupancy rate of 70%," Khlie said. Trains will operate either singly with 532 seats or in multiple with 1064 seats. "We will start sales six months before the entry into service of the TGV for people to book in advance," Khlie added. The fleet of double-deck trains being supplied by Alstom will operate at a maximum speed of 320km/h on the high-speed line to achieve a Tangiers - Casablanca journey time of 2h 10min compared with 4h 45min today. BSVAG has received 35 million from Lower Saxony, of which 12.5 is for the new LRVs and 22.5m will be spent on a new real-time passenger information system for both the city's tram and bus networks. In addition, a feasibility study has been conducted into expanding the 1100mm-gauge tram network. Up to five new lines or extensions to existing lines are considered economically viable and final recommendations will be presented later this year. A decision on which routes should be built is likely to be taken in early 2017. STOCKHOLM's City Line is perhaps the most obvious manifestation of the capacity challenges facing Sweden's railways, and the benefits of a coordinated response. When it opens next July, the City Line will double mainline capacity through central Stockholm, relieving one of the country's busiest lines and opening the door to improvements in suburban and regional services. However, beyond the capital many other bottlenecks continue to limit the capacity and reliability of the network, stifling the prospects for new and improved services which could help to increase rail's market share. According to Bjorn Westerberg, CEO of the Association of Swedish Train Operating Companies (Astoc), major engineering projects like the City Line are only part of the solution to a problem which warrants simultaneous action on several fronts. Westerberg is keen to improve conditions for rail freight and argues that Sweden will only meet its modal shift targets for freight traffic through improving the performance of rail transport. "Transferring 10% of lorry journeys over 300km would double rail freight and take 1.4 million lorries off the road each year," he explains. "Do we have infrastructure and operations of the standard required to deliver this? A national approach will be needed to make it happen." The association's recent Vision for Freight 2050 market analysis identified 10 steps to make rail freight more responsive to the needs of customers. "The first priorities are increasing the reliability of infrastructure and operations, and improving utilisation," he explains. "These two factors have the potential to make rail freight profitable. To reach that point we need a national infrastructure maintenance strategy and a national rail freight strategy with a clear and coherent approach to maintenance and investment." A priority identified in this report is streamlining the capacity allocation system. "The allotment of paths needs to be much more efficient," Westerberg says. "This is still a pen-and-paper process and the involvement of human factors is too great. The needs of international traffic in particular seem to be ignored in the infrastructure manager's calculations, which I find amazing. There is a need for a whole-network view on infrastructure utilisation." Higher capacity freight trains would also generate efficiency gains for the sector. In April Hector Rail began operating 730m-long freight trains on the Hallsberg/ Katrineholm - Malmo corridor, one of Sweden's key freight arteries, following completion of a project to lengthen loops and double-track sections. Westerberg is critical of Trafikverket's national ERTMS programme, arguing that it will burden operators with additional costs in return for marginal benefits. "We need to postpone the rollout until we have a stable specification and technology that costs less and functions better than what is available now," he says. "I welcome the specification freeze at Baseline 3.5.0 but we will still end up with less capacity than we have now in Sweden if we go with this version. ETCS doesn't simplify border crossings, there are no standard products, and operators are left to cover the costs of onboard equipment. As long as ERTMS increases costs for our members I will continue to oppose it because from our point of view, there is no business case." Westerberg sees opportunities for significant capacity gains through the development of a high-speed network linking the Stockholm region with Gothenburg and Malmo, which would relieve the congested Western Main Line. With much of the current public debate focussing on the cost of the project, Westerberg argues that high-speed is well within the country's fiscal means. "Sweden has a good credit rating and it would be easy for the government to finance this project," he says. "High-speed is vital for the future of Sweden and the future of our railways. Traffic needs to be segregated for operations to be profitable and a recent government analysis shows that taking long-distance passenger traffic away from key freight routes will improve the prospects for rail freight and help us to meet our carbon reduction goals." However, Westerberg warns that high-speed cannot be built at the expense of existing lines, which also need investment. "We need to frame high-speed outside the current budget for rail infrastructure to protect investment in the conventional network," he says. Sweden was the pioneer of rail market liberalisation in Europe, but fragmentation of the industry has created challenges, particularly when it comes to achieving common objectives. Astoc hopes to encourage closer working between industry stakeholders through the Railway Sector Coordination Forum, which recently held its first board meeting and is now seeking an independent chairman. Partners in the forum include operators such as SJ and Green Cargo, infrastructure manager Trafikverket, stations, railway property company Jernhusen, and Astoc, which represents its 43 members. "Despite the fragmentation of the industry there is a spirit of cooperation. We are sitting around the table to work together and make improvements collectively," Westerberg says. Welcome to Railway Gazette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. OK Moscow seeks a coercive sphere of influence over neighbors and great power status beyond, but these goals are incompatible. Only by pulling out of eastern Ukraine and reforming its economy can Russia gain broader acceptance and reach its potential as a great power. In a similar vein, last week at a rare meeting of President Vladimir Putin with his economic council, former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Russian media reports say, urged an easing of geopolitical tensions to help the economy. The Kremlin has faced a similar choice before. In the 1980s, the USSR was bogged down in Afghanistan and isolated. China, Iran and America, among others, boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow. The Soviet economy, burdened by waste and low oil prices, was weakened. Technology lagged. In the late 1980s, the Kremlin finally sought relief. So that he could focus on fixing the Soviet system, President Mikhail Gorbachev eased foreign pressures by letting go of Warsaw Pact allies and concluding arms control accords with the West. Moscow now faces less but still significant pressure. The Russian-backed armed rebellion in Donbas has led to Western sanctions never before imagined. Many sources of international financing to Russia's capital-starved economy are closed. The buying power of families, sapped by inflation and ruble depreciation, is falling. In addition to sanctions, low oil prices and structural inefficiencies are bleeding the economy. Drops in construction and investment darken the future. Creation of a 400,000-strong national guard, reporting directly to Putin, hints at concern about popular unrest. The quickest way for Russia to relieve some of the accumulating strain is to withdraw its forces from Donbas and end support for its proxies, the so-called separatists. Ukraine would regain control of its border with Russia, with monitoring from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. An international effort to rebuild eastern Ukraine could follow, including contributions from Russia and the West. Although at present a Russian withdrawal seems improbable, it would end the most onerous Western sanctions and brighten economic prospects. The February 2015 Minsk accords established a partial ceasefire in Donbas and provided terms to facilitate a political settlement. Fighting has declined from its peak, but Moscow still wages a low-level proxy war. Contrary to the accords, Russia refuses to allow OSCE monitors to control the border. Donbas lacks security for free and fair elections, and Ukraine's government may be too weak to conduct them. Economic reform can also ease pressure. As in the 1980s, declining living standards are dispiriting. Disgruntlement over delayed and eroding pay is rising. Yet reforms to boost productivity and create new sources of economic growth are opposed by entrenched and state-connected interests, and by many Russians. If Moscow delays reform, it will lose international heft. Russia is barely an economic great power; last year its GDP was 10th in size among G-20 countries. Despite its challenges, Russia plays some great power roles. True, as President Barack Obama has pointed out, Russia does not "set the agenda around any of the issues that are important" in G-20 meetings. Nonetheless, Moscow's cooperation in the P5+1 format the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany helped achieve the historic nuclear deal with Iran. Russia and America teamed up to destroy Syrian chemical weapons. Russia may have another great power opportunity if it helps to resolve the Syria crisis. As long as it occupies Donbas, however, Russia can hope only for limited gains. Again the 1980s are illustrative. Even as the USSR and the West agreed in Geneva to slash nuclear weaponry, Washington was arming mujahedeen fighters in Afghanistan. Moscow lacked wide international support until it withdrew from there, began moving troops out of Eastern Europe and ended communist rule at home. A great power has a portfolio of interests and sometimes has to abandon an unproductive venture. It was painful for the USSR to cede Afghanistan in 1989, as it was for America to leave Vietnam in 1975 and Iraq in 2011. These decade-long investments yielded poor returns and lost popular support. Another risk for Russia is that if it delays in exiting Donbas, Western attitudes may harden. This might already be happening. In February, Washington warned U.S. investment banks not to help underwrite Moscow's first international sovereign bond offering since the seizure of Crimea. Days later Brussels cautioned European investment banks. Moscow abandoned its plan. The West was worried that Moscow would divert some bond sale proceeds to sanctioned entities. Most Western banks in Russia are reducing operations or leaving. Large Chinese and other international banks are also wary. They fear compromising their larger interests in the West, or infringing sanctions or anti-money-laundering laws. Mounting frustration is also reflected in a new bill before the U.S. Congress. It would deny the president the authority to lift Donbas-related sanctions unless the president "certified" that Ukraine had regained control over Crimea, an unlikely prospect. If Russia does decide to cut its losses and pull out of Donbas, arrangements may not be hard to find on such issues as refugees, amnesty for most fighters and aid. Some in Donbas might want to settle scores, but ethnic Ukrainians and Russians there have long lived together. International peacekeepers, police and monitors could contain risks. If Russian aggression in Donbas persists, however, working together constructively will be more difficult. And the West will neither accept Moscow's annexation of Crimea nor overlook persecution of its Tatar minority. William Courtney is an adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation and was U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia. Donald Jensen is a senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations in the School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. This commentary originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report on June 1, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. The coming election could turn out to be pivotal for the U.S. role in the worldand not only because of the candidates' wildly different worldviews. Whoever is elected will confront one of the most profound tasks of any post-war U.S. president: reimagining a threatened international order. Mishandled, the challenge could throw world politics into a tailspin. Done right, it could help keep the peace for another half-century. The United States and its Western allies erected the modern, rules-based international order after World War II to avoid a repeat of the economic and military mistakes of the 1930s. Initially built around the U.N. and leading economic institutions, the order represented a set of mechanisms to help regulate countries' behavior. Since then it has become a kaleidoscope of mutually reinforcing parts. It includes institutions, like the United Nations, and the Nonproliferation Treaty; rules, in areas such as trade and investment; and norms of conduct, like the idea that countries don't use force to resolve disputes. It is built on self-consciously liberal principles, including free trade, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The resulting order has come to represent structures and norms that have accomplished a great deal. It has helped to stabilize and enhance trading relations, financial stability, nonproliferation policies, development aid and peacekeeping, human rights standards and much more. The results since 1945 have been impressive: rising living standards, burgeoning democracy, improving health, a world more linked by trade and capital flows, declining poverty rates, falling levels of conflict. The rules-based order is only one of several factors that conspired to produce these benefits. But it has played a significant role and offered a powerful support system for U.S. power and values. It is quite simply the framework on which Washington built its post-war security policy. Which makes it all the more dangerous that the rules-based order seems to be under assault. The biggest challenge comes from frustrated and ambitious countries who see the order as a U.S.-dominated club. China, Russia, India, Brazil, Turkey and others have long chafed at the idea of living under a system whose rules they did not set and whose liberal pretensions cause some of them heartburn. These states appreciate the value of a rules-based order and aim to preserve most of it. But they understandably want more influence in its institutions and decisions. A few of them, notably Russia and China, are determined to press territorial claims and demands for spheres of influence in belligerent ways that test the core norms of the order. Partly as a result, all the momentum these days is to view Russia and China as revisionistsa code word for disruptive actors intent on tearing down an existing order. Meantime the United States is growing frustrated with some other major powerssuch as India, Brazil and Turkeywho are insisting on their right to shape the order on issues like climate, trade, or nonproliferation. Some in Washington are unwilling to share leadership of the international rules-based order, taking the view that the United States built the order, and it should decide how it works. But that mindset is no longer tenable. The order will either become more shared, or it will gradually fall apart. The next president will somehow have to identify a path to a more diverse, multilateral orderwhile reaffirming the U.S.'s intention to stand by its global commitments. The task is far from hopeless, because major powers have many shared interests, in areas such as trade, global development, climate change and counterterrorism. And most countries still value U.S. leadership. But there is no denying that the path will be bumpy. It's tough for the dominant leader of any community to embrace new habits of compromise. Flexing muscles and offering accommodations at the same time will be a grueling paradox to manage. This is especially true for the United States, which often has trouble with ambivalent relationshipscountries that can't be branded as friend or adversary, and that are happy to collaborate on some issues even as they undercut the United States on others. Even in such a more complex, shared order, Washington will have to lead, and can do so boldly and unapologetically. But it will have to learn how to lead in more clever, shared and flexible ways, at the very time it is sorely tempted to start gearing up for fresh global confrontations. As the campaign season heats up, then, a great policy question for either candidate is where do they stand. Do they believe that some version of a rules-based order works to the U.S. advantage? And if so, how do they plan to reimagine that order as a more shared, diverse, but still stable global reality? Michael J. Mazarr is senior political scientist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. This commentary originally appeared on Newsweek on June 1, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. The US Association of Cable Communicators (ACC) has announced the finalists for the 2016 Beacon Awards honouring excellence in cable communications and public affairs. The winners of the 2016 Beacon Awards will be announced during the Beacon Awards Dinner and Ceremony on 21 June, during ACC's annual conference in New York City.This years Beacon entries reflect the continued commitment of our industry to quality and service, and were exemplary, said Chris Albert, 2016 Beacon Awards chair and executive vice president, global communications and talent relations, National Geographic Channels. "I continue to be impressed and inspired by the standard of excellence in our business at a time when the unprecedented competition for viewer's attention has made our jobs even more challenging congrats to all of our finalists on this distinguished achievement. I look forward to celebrating their success at this year's awards ceremony in New York.The 2016 Beacon Award finalists were chosen by 57 ACC members (cable communications and public affairs professionals) during an extensive two-round judging process. The entries represent initiatives implemented over the past year in areas such as community relations, events and observances, and social media communications.The 2016 Beacon Awards finalists include: ARRIS Group for Best Use of Twitter; Mr. Robot press launch campaign, business public relations enterprise; Cause Marketing, C2C Closes Digital Divide, Earns POTUS Praise from Cox Communications. Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO at Comcast, will deliver the Dan Aaron Lecture on Innovative Management during the 2016 Cable Executive Management programme at Harvard Business School. Supported by the CTAM Educational Foundation, the Dan Aaron Lecture was established by Comcast in honour of its late co-founder.Julian Brodsky, Comcast co-founder and member of the CTAM Educational Foundation board of directors, will interview Roberts, providing an insider's look into Comcast's evolution.The hallmark CTAM executive education programme will be held 12-17 June in Boston. The intense week focuses on business, marketing and management strategies, and key principles to prepare industry media and cable leaders for the challenges ahead.This year the curriculum includes 15 case studies by top Harvard Business School professors, and a financial lecture from Michael Nathanson, the senior research analyst with MoffettNathanson. Supreme Court upholds 22-year sentence for member of Russian gang MOSCOW, June 1 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov) Russias Supreme Court on Wednesday, upheld a 22-year prison sentence handed down to Robert Bagayev, a member of a gang that allegedly killed over 40 people, RAPSI reports from the courtroom. Bagayev was convicted by the Moscow Region Court on March 28. The court also fined him 500,000 rubles ($7,600). Bagayev became the eighteenth convicted member of Gagiyevs gang. He has appealed the ruling seeking mitigation of the sentence. He was found guilty of participation in a criminal group, gangsterism, attempted murder, killings, illegal deprivation of freedom and ammunition trafficking. Russian investigators claim that Georgian-born Gagiyevs gang has been operating since 2004 and includes over 50 members. Members of the gang committed more than 40 counts of murder in Moscow and North Ossetia. According to investigators, Bagayev joined the gang in 2006 and later took part in killings and kidnapping. He got a monthly salary of $1,000. Earlier, 17 other members of the gang have received long prison terms; two of them have been sentenced to life. Currently, 14 members are in detention, 8 members are on the international wanted list. Leader of the gang, Aslan Gagiyev was arrested in Austria and is facing extradition to Bulgaria or Russia. On March 3, he was released on bail by an Austrian court. Moscow police arrest suspects in $12 mln embezzlement at state corporation MOSCOW, June 1 (RAPSI) Moscow economic security police in cooperation with the Federal Security Service (FSB) have arrested four suspects in embezzlement of more than 800 million rubles ($12 million) from a state corporation, the Interior Ministrys official representative Irina Volk told journalists on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday, Kommersant newspaper reported that former Director General of Moscow Design Bureau Compass Murad Safin and ex-head of the defense company Prompostavka Ruslan Suleimanov are suspected of embezzlement. Abovementioned companies are subsidiaries of state-owned Rostec Corporation. An organized group participating in implementation of state defense procurement and acquisition and foreign trade contracts for the supply of civil and military purpose products made deals by using dummy companies from 2011 to 2016, the Interior Ministry representative said. Documents and other supporting materials important for investigation have been seized during the searches conducted in their apartments and offices, according to the statement. A motion for detention of the suspects has been filed with the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow. As we see a surge in inflation globally, it is now critical that everyone is aware of the implications this will have along every step of the insurance and reinsurance value chain. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada. Search Real Estate By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/31/2016 ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. creator Simon Cowell is showing his vulnerable side.After serving as a judge on American Idol for years and then creating an American version of The X Factor that got pulled from the air after only three seasons, Cowell signed on to judge Season 11 of alongside veterans Heidi Klum Melanie "Mel B" Brown and Howie Mandel So how did Cowell feel going into his latest stint on television?"I was really confident until I sat in the chair and you kind of go, 'Oh God, this is a big show here.' I'm used to being on big shows, but I'm thinking, 'I really hope this is going to work.' And for about 10 seconds, I felt nervous. And then this 83-year-old woman in a leotard came on and stood on her head and sang the national anthem and I said, 'Know what? I'm home,'" Cowell told The New York Times."And I never looked back," he added.premieres its new season Tuesday, May 31 at 8PM ET/PT on NBC, and the sharp-tongued Cowell -- who is replacing Howard Stern as a judge -- said he still has something left to prove to American viewers."Yeah, of course. Particularly this year with the end of Idol, I've been reminded about it a lot. It takes me back to when I first launched the show. Being on a show that big, it's the best feeling in the world. I'm not going to lie. When we were doing big, big numbers it was incredible," Cowell explained. Nick Cannon will be reprising his role as host of .After judging nine seasons of Fox's American Idol, Cowell left the show to pursue his own project The X Factor in the US, which debuted in 2011. Because The X Factor didn't pull in the ratings Fox had hoped for, the show was canceled in 2013 after three editions. Cowell has also been involved with The X Factor U.K. and Britain's Got Talent for years. Earlier this year, UAE-based Caracal announced a partnership with Wilcox Industries. Today they further committed to a North American presence by officially opening offices in Boise. Here's what they have to say about it: BOISE, ID Caracal today announced that it has established offices in Boise, Idaho for its North American sales, marketing and business operations in a move designed to better serve customers and position Caracal for long-term growth in the United States firearms industry. Caracal USA offices are located at 6051 West Corporal Lane in Boise, Idaho 83704. The facility will provide Caracal USA with 2,679 square feet of combined office and warehouse space. President of Caracal USA Christopher Sirois said This is history in the making. In January Caracal announced a partnership with Wilcox Industries in Newington, New Hampshire to manufacture Caracal products for the first time in the United States. The opening of Caracal USA offices in Idaho further signifies Caracals commitment to provide products and services to customers in the United States and demonstrates our considerable progress to date, said Director of Marketing Jae Gillentine. With offices up and running at the New Hampshire manufacturing facility and now with the Boise, Idaho operations office, Caracal is centralized to both our materials and suppliers for manufacturing, and our customers for after sale care and support. We are pleased to be able to offer a true product support mechanism to the U.S. market, said Caracal USA Vice President of Operations Jeffrey Spalding. Gun related industries are thriving in Idaho, which reportedly hosts at least 180 firearms and ammunition makers. In 2015, USA Today ranked the City of Meridian, located just outside of Boise, as the best city in the United States to live in. SHARE Etsy business classes in Redding The Women's Business Center at Jefferson Economic Development Institute (JEDI) will offer classes in Redding to teach participants the basics of starting and running an online business. "It's Your Etsy Business" classes are June 18, June 25, July 9, July 16 and July 23. They will run 10 a.m. to noon each day at Pacific Sky in the West Coast Innovation building on Larkspur Lane in Redding. The July 16 class will meet 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to photograph students' products and upload photos to their Etsy website. In December, JEDI received certification from Etsy to be a training host. JEDI is the second organization to be approved in California, Executive Director Nancy Swift said. JEDI is working with Robin Fator, of Dark Pony Designs, an Etsy seller and new certified Etsy instructor to bring the curriculum to the North State. Swift said Etsy is a low-cost way to start a business if you are an artisan, and for women who are struggling economically, an Etsy store can provide income or replace a day job. JEDI has held two sessions in Mount Shasta that have resulted in seven business starts and 12 business expansions, Swift said. The classes in Redding are free and co-sponsored by the Women's Fund of the Shasta Regional Community Foundation. For information, call Jenny Payton at 530-926-6670 (ext. 10) or email info@e-jedi.org. KIXE hires corporate support person Julie Driver has joined KIXE TV in Redding as its corporate support representative, the public broadcasting station announced recently. Driver will report to Michelle Slade, the station's director of development. Driver comes to Redding from Pittsburgh where she was banquet and events sales manager at a private country club. She has also worked in the sales and fashion industry in New York and Los Angeles. She also writes a blog for Record Searchlight and volunteers for Shasta Living Streets, a nonprofit dedicated to creating walkable, bike-able and safe streets. For more information, call the station at 243-5493. Fans make their way through security as they arrive before the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) SHARE By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) There was gridlock. There were lines. But the sold-out running of the 100th Indianapolis 500 somehow got off to a splendid start with most fans in their seats in plenty of time before the green flag waved. Speedway spokeswoman Suzi Elliott said he was unaware of any significant complaints. Fans left for the track early very early. "I think people who come every year were very much aware that you're going to have another 150,000 people here, so they really did a good job," said Jim Robisch, a 61-year-old fan from nearby Pittsboro, Indiana. "All my friends were saying 'Well, when are you going? We're leaving two hours early.' That's what we did. We left two hours earlier than we normally would to go to a typical 500." Some locals left their homes track as early at 3 a.m., just so they could get a good parking spot, and it may have contributed to a quieter night than usual. The Indianapolis Star reported only two arrests were made overnight, both for public intoxication. By 8 a.m., the Pagoda Plaza was already a prime people-watching spot, packed with fans from side to side. Gasoline Alley was filled with colorful cars going through technical inspection, celebrities there to take it all in and fans mingling with drivers and teams. Celebs walking the red carpet included "Star Trek" star Chris Pine, rapper Ice-T and Nick Gehlfuss of "Chicago Med." Lady Gaga was also at the speedway, dressed down in jean shorts with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She replaced Keith Urban for what IndyCar called a "high-speed thrill ride" during the parade laps alongside 1969 race winner Mario Andretti in a customized two-seat Honda. Outside the sprawling speedway, other than some unexpected road closures things went relatively smoothly for what is expected to be the world's largest single-day sporting event this year. "It only took us 2 1/2 hours," said Jackie Kuhens, a 56-year-old Louisville, Kentucky, resident who made the 110-mile drive Sunday morning. "We park only a block and a half away from here and it worked out perfectly." Race organizers announced 2 1/2 weeks ago that all reserved seats had been sold for the first time in at least two decades. Last week, the infield also was sold out and the local television blackout was lifted for the first time since the 1950s. When the gates opened at 6 a.m. with the traditional firing of the cannon, the massive crowd moved through the lines faster than anticipated with enhanced security a stark contrast to a few years ago when fans complained about long delays at the gate. Speedway officials have taken steps such as opening more gates and using private security workers to get people inside. "I'm really impressed with how fast we came through here," said Mark Yarber, a 63-year-old fan from Nashville, Tennessee. SHARE By Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) A Los Angeles-based entrepreneur is turning part of a jumbo jet into an art installation and plans to haul it to Burning Man, a feat he failed to accomplish last year. A 75-foot portion of a 747 airplane will be towed 450 miles from California's Mojave Desert to northern Nevada in time for the annual 70,000-person gathering in August, Ken Feldman told the Reno Gazette-Journal (http://on.rgj.com/1X8SpyT). Feldman's arts nonprofit, the Big Imagination Foundation, has secured the giant plane, and crews are working to gut it and transform the front top half into a work of art. "The whole point of the foundation is to do insane projects," Feldman said. "If we quit, we sort of defeat the purpose." The group initially intended the jet to be a "mobile art car" but decided to make it an installation after funding and time limitations kept it from using the whole aircraft. Feldman said he was inspired by his first Burning Man in 2009, when he saw two bicycles decked with plane fuselages trekking across the playa. Friends and festival attendees have helped with the project's design and construction. "If I had any idea that it would take this long, I wouldn't do it. I feel like I'm climbing Mount Everest," Feldman said. "The community it's built up around us, though, it's incredible." Feldman and Big Imagination intended to haul the jet to Burning Man in 2015 but ran into logistical and financial setbacks. Still, the group hosted a plane-themed installation at the outdoor festival in the Black Rock Desert, about 100 miles north of Reno. Campers dressed as flight attendants and asked people to go through an "insecurity checkpoint," where they received hugs. Participants also were asked to drop off emotional baggage written on a tag. The experience helped people come to terms with issues in their lives, said Toni Alejandria, who joined the project last year to direct fundraising. "To be a part of something like this, it's tremendous," Alejandria said. Feldman added the goal is to create a transformative experience for people. "It's not just a big party," he said. ___ Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight SHASCOM Public Safety Dispatchers Donna Hunter and Mike Fitzsimmons talk about a 911 call Tuesday at the center. The agency is understaffed and have about 2,200 hours of monthly overtime to be picked up by 21 staffers and 5 supervisors. SHARE Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight SHASCOM Public Safety Dispatcher Stacy Miller works with the Redding Police Department Tuesday at the center. The agency is understaffed and has about 2,200 hours of monthly overtime to be picked up by 21 staffers and five supervisors. By Sean Longoria of the Redding Record Searchlight Stacy Miller spends at least 12 hours per day at work splitting her attention among six different computer screens and a phone. As one of a handful of dispatchers working a given shift at the Shasta Area Safety Communications Agency, Miller spends her time taking 911 calls, routing them to Redding police officers, conducting follow-up calls and even more. It's a fast moving environment that could see Miller shifting from a conversation with her coworker quickly to a call about a wreck, robbery, or in the case of a shooting in Redding on Monday, calls from several people reporting the same incident. "You constantly just have to be alert and multitask," said Miller, who's approaching two decades on the job. Miller is taking a vacation in early June but will face 44 hours of mandatory overtime for the month on top of her fulltime schedule. And she's not alone. SHASCOM is paying an average of 52 hours of overtime to each worker in June to meet the demand, Director James Divis said. The agency has 10 vacant positions out of 34 total for the agency. In the fiscal year ending June, SHASCOM will pay an estimated $425,000 in overtime, well over the $300,000 budgeted by the agency, Divis said. The agency funded by Redding, Anderson, Shasta County, American Medical Response, Mercy Medical Center and the state can afford the overage because it isn't spending that money on employee salaries and benefits, he said. The problem is nothing new for SHASCOM, which has struggled for years to find candidates who can pass rigorous screening required to work for the agency. It's not even a local problem. Agencies from as near as Oakland to as far away as southern Florida in recent years have all reported staffing shortages, according to news reports from those areas. "It's an industry-wide issue," Divis said. Since becoming SHASCOM director two years ago, Divis has changed the way the agency recruits and lightened at least one of the requirements for applicants. Formerly, potential applicants have had to be drug-free for as long as three years. Divis said he's shortened that to a year for marijuana use but even that poses challenges to finding younger recruits, who must also pass a credit check, lie detector test and psychological examination, he said. The high standards are in place because dispatchers can deal with sensitive information and life-or-death situations, Divis said. "It's one of those jobs being a 911 dispatcher that you don't have the luxury of working at 80 percent. You've got to be perfect all the time because people's lives depend on that," he said. Pay for dispatchers ranges from $15 to $31.74 an hour, depending on experience and role. Redding Fire Chief Gerry Gray said SHASCOM fields nearly all of the annual calls more than 13,000 in 2015 alone for firefighters in Redding. "SHASCOM remains a critical component of the public safety team in Redding and Shasta County," Gray said. Dispatchers also coordinate the movement of law enforcement and as such are tasked with officers' safety, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said. "The job that they do is critical to the job that we do," Bosenko said. Divis said testing for applicants has also changed. Applicants now take a computerized test, undergo an oral board interview, an interview with a manager and begin a background check in a single day instead of repeated visits to the agency. That process has shortened the time to get someone through the hiring process from more than six months to about two, Divis said. Divis is optimistic about a pool of applicants that could quickly fill out the ranks of the agency. But even then, he said, SHASCOM will still face overtime costs for more experienced dispatchers to train the new hires. And, even with time-based retention bonuses that could earn longtime dispatchers thousands in a single year, there's no guarantee a new hire won't burn out. "The shift work, long hours, mandatory overtime and nature of the job itself result in most people leaving shortly after being hired," Divis said. For Miller and others, it can be challenging to leave some of the more upsetting calls at the office. She goes to the gym after her 12-hour shift to unwind. The job affects her most when she's unable to spend as much as time with her family as she'd like. Miller has a 13-year-old son living at home and another in his 20s who lives out of the house, she said. Miller several months in advance had to request a day off to attend her son's middle school graduation, she said. And while the overtime helped Miller pay for her upcoming family vacation, she'd gladly accept the extra help at work, she said. "(The overtime) doesn't by any means mean that I want it to be alleviated so I can spend more time with my family," Miller said. SHARE This image shows the view a presidential candidate would have of a crowd at the Redding Civic Auditorium. Updated at 4 p.m. Both former President Bill Clinton and presidential candidate Donald Trump will visit Redding this week. Clinton will be speaking at the Shasta College Student Union on Thursday, according to Rob Rowen, Shasta County Democratic Central Committee chairman. Trump will be in Redding on Friday at Air Shasta Rotor and Wing, according to sources. The time has yet to be announced. For Clinton's visit, doors will open at 6:15 p.m. and the former president will speak at 7:15 p.m., Rowen said. Rowen said he was excited to have the former president visiting Redding on a campaign trip for his wife, Hillary Clinton. "To me, it's a pretty big deal," Rowen said. "Anytime you have a president or former president come here, it's a big deal." Updated at 2:30 p.m. Officials for the Redding Civic Auditorium went out of their way today to let presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump the facility is open to his campaign this Friday. The civic has graduations tonight and Thursday evening. The 3on3 Basketball Tournament is Friday evening, but employees could easily accommodate a candidate's visit, said Nathan Parmelee, marketing and talent director for the civic. Parmelee this mornig called up Trump's general campaign line but was told by his people the venue is not big enough for the crowd of supporters he would draw. "I told them we have an amazing front lawn for north of 5,000 people," he said. Not one to give up, Parmelee walked the lawn and snapped photos of it on his iPhone. He tried to capture the scale of the lawn and the view Trump would have addressing his supporters. He then sent the photos to the camp. Trump would stand between the flag poles in the ramp area to the second floor. "That is an area that could be secured and where everyone in the crowd would have a view of him," Parmelee said. Meanwhile, Moseley Family Cellars too received an inquiry from Bill Clinton's handlers about the availability of the venue. We were asked to host the former president at our winery but sadly we could not hold the expected crowd, Mimi Moseley posted on Facebook. "For those of you who think Redding is a hick town ... well we have Bill Clinton coming tomorrow and Donal Trump soon. And Bernie Sanders in Chico," she wrote. "Regardless of one's thoughts on any of these men, it would have been nice to have a former president in our winery." Updated at 1:43 p.m. A Redding Democrat is confirming Bill Clinton will visit the area Thursday evening. But where the former president will speak from waits the final OK from his handlers, said Frank Treadway, who is serving as a point of contact for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign. Treadway said the campaign is looking at two different sites that can hold about 500 people. Whichever site is chosen, Treadway said doors will open at 6:15 p.m. Bill Clinton's talk would begin in all likelihood at 7:15 p.m., with the event wrapping up at 8:00 p.m. The Shasta County Central Democratic Committee plans to blast an announcement of the visit to Democrats in the county and in Shasta, Tehama and Trinity counties. Nathan Parmelee, marketing and talent director for the Redding Civic Auditorium, said this afternoon that the facility received inquiries from the presidential campaigns and Bill Clinton's camp specifically. But the civic is booked tonight and Thursday with junior high school and high school graduations. Parsons Junior High School holds its graduation ceremony tonight and Central Valley High School on Thursday night. Original Californias primary next Tuesday does matter after all, and Redding may be getting the attention from the presidential campaigns. Former President Bill Clinton is expected to visit Redding on Thursday while presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is looking to visit the area on Friday. Clintons possible visit, on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, was shared on Facebook by Jim Reed, the Democrat trying to unseat Republican Doug LaMalfa in the 1st Congressional District. Trump also has made no announcements of visiting the North State on his campaign website. But sources tell the Record Searchlight the campaign is searching for a large venue to hold an event. Among places looked at were the Redding Civic Auditorium, but it is booked on Friday, as well as the Shasta Speedway in Anderson. Check back on this story for updates. Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight Shasta County Veterans Service Officer Tommy Key at his Redding office. SHARE Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight Veterans Service Representative Troy Payne talks to Richard Chaviers and his sister Gayle Boren of Inwood Tuesday at the Shasta County Veterans Service Office. Payne was helping Chaviers reapply for an individual unemployment claim that he was denied last year. Chaviers suffers from emphysema and heart disease that he thinks is from Agent Orange exposure. By Nathan Solis of the Redding Record Searchlight High leadership turnover at the Veterans Services Office has impacted veterans in a number of ways, the Shasta County grand jury found in a report released this week. With a lack of consistent leadership in the past two years, veterans' overall trust in the Redding office has waned. With fewer veterans seeking services, the office faces losses in state, which will further erode services for local veterans, according to the report. Shasta County's veteran population was 16,670 in September 2014 about 10 percent of the population according to the grand jury report. The Veterans Service Office helps them file claims for benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a laborious bureaucratic process that can lead to delays lasting years if forms are not filed correctly or on time. Veterans Service Officer Tommy Key said he looks forward to discussing the findings of the report at a future Board of Supervisors meeting. He said the report lacked background information about the issues it presented. "It's better to put everything out there in the open," Key said. "Some of the recommendations mentioned in the report are already being done by our staff." Hired in February, Key is the third service officer in the past two years with Shasta County. A turnover crisis of sorts started with the county firing L. Duke Medeiros in 2015 due to allegations of misconduct. His replacement, John McCraw, abruptly quit a few months after taking over the office. To stem that tide, the report recommends hiring a veteran from the community when it next hires a veterans services officer. "An individual established in the community is less likely to suddenly uproot and leave the VSO without a leader," according to the report. Key is a native of North Carolina and lives in Redding. He served in the U.S. Air Force. The grand jury found that more training is needed for people helping veterans. Only one representative is accredited to file claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Redding office. Key plans to undergo his own accreditation training in July. He said hours of operation at the Redding office will soon expand. Other representatives will also undergo the same accreditation to help with case management. Key also plans to renew service in Burney. The grand jury pointed out that the east county has not had local help for about six months. Key said someone from his office will meet with veterans every third Friday at the Intermountain Community Center. Bob Sales, quartermaster with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in Burney, said people were disappointed when the representative stopped making the trip. About four to six veterans met with the representative on a regular basis. "I know a couple of veterans, who instead of going to Redding for their services, they go to the Reno VSO. They like the facilities better," said Sales, who added there are about 100 veterans in the Intermountain area. Also, slow processing of claims in Shasta County has forced some veterans to find help in nearby Tehama County. Kelly Osborne, Tehama County Veterans Service Officer, said it's not common for veterans to receive help in a different county. "When (veterans) receive help in Tehama County, it's an example of veterans come first, meaning we want to help whoever we can," she said. "The Shasta County office is in a transition. When I first started my position I reached out to Shasta County for guidance. I know that a program doesn't grow overnight." If Shasta County veterans continue to choose to go to other offices, it will impact the Shasta County VSO's funding in the future. The federal government gives money to VSOs based on the number of claims filed. In December, the VSO received $30,000 less than its annual amount due to a drop in claims. The report projects if this keeps up, it could mean the office will receive only about half of the money it received in previous years. Key said his staff are willing to accommodate any issues veterans or their family members may have. "We're in training mode right now. It takes time, that's important to note," he said. The Veterans Services Office at 1855 Shasta St. in Redding is now open starting at 8:30 a.m. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in New York on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) SHARE TOKYO (AP) Donald Trump appears to be finding some friends in North Korea. The presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee has been getting good press this week in the North's carefully controlled media, first in an opinion piece that praised him as "wise" and full of foresight and then Wednesday in the official mouthpiece of the ruling Worker's Party itself. Both articles noted how his suggestions he would be willing to meet leader Kim Jong Un and wants to rethink and possibly withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea have created a "Trump Shock" in Seoul. The state-run DPRK Today in Pyongyang started off the Trump praise on Tuesday by juxtaposing the "wise" Trump with what it called a "dull" Hillary describing the leading Democratic Party candidate only by her first name. In the lengthy column, Trump is described as a "wise politician and presidential candidate with foresight" for his comments about the U.S. potentially withdrawing its troops from South Korea if Seoul doesn't bear the costs. It also noted his public willingness to directly talk with the North Korean leadership if he becomes president. Clinton, the column said, is "dull" for promising to pursue an "Iran-type model" to solve nuclear issues with the North. Trump told The New York Times in March that South Korea and Japan should pay much more for the U.S. troops based in their countries about 28,000 in South Korea and around 50,000 in Japan. In a more recent interview with the Reuters news agency, Trump said he was willing to meet with Kim. "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," he said. The removal of U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula and direct talks with a U.S. president dovetail nicely with objectives Pyongyang has held for years though undoubtedly for different reasons than the American real estate magnate. The North wants the U.S. troops to leave because it sees them as a direct threat to the regime's security and has long wanted talks with Washington, ostensibly toward a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War, that would boost its international status and acknowledge that North Korea is a nuclear state. "There are many 'positive aspects' to take away from Trump's 'inflammatory campaign promises,'" the writer says in the DPRK Today column, pointing out Trump's indications that Seoul should pay "100 percent" of the cost for the American troops stationed in the South and, if not, Washington should pull them out. "Yes, go away, now!" it says. "Who knew that the 'Yankee Go Home' slogan we shouted so enthusiastically could come true so easily like this? The day that the 'Yankee Go Home' slogan becomes reality would be the day of unification." The Korean War that solidified the division of North and South Korea ended in an armistice, not a full peace treaty. The DPRK Today website is considered to be a propaganda outlet aimed at readers outside the North, though its position within the government is not clear. While not as colorful or overtly supportive as the DPRK Today column, the ruling party's official Rodong Sinmun editorial said the emergence of Trump is causing anxiety in South Korea because of his comments about the potential U.S. troop withdrawal. It said the South Korean government should stop living as a servant of foreign forces and come back to the side of the Korean nation, but didn't comment directly on Trump as a candidate. SHARE By Sean Longoria of the Redding Record Searchlight A pair of measures facing Siskiyou County voters next week would create strict rules on growing marijuana, including banning outdoor growing and creating fines of up to $1,000 per day for violations. The measures both referenda on rules enacted by the Board of Supervisors last year would also limit the number of plants that anyone could possess to 12, ban delivery of marijuana in the county and require anyone who grows to obtain a license. Supervisors contend they've modeled the rules after other counties' in California. Their rules closely mirror those of Shasta County, which enacted an outdoor ban and 12-plant limit among other measures last year after voters approved a measure brought by a referendum. "Other parts of the state have been dealing with the consequence of increasing marijuana grows for years and their new laws are pushing growers into Siskiyou County," supervisors said in an argument supporting the measure. The measures also have the backing of Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey, who said illegal marijuana growing is "out of control" in the county, with as many as 2,000 illegal grows on private land in the county. "I believe the public safety, health, environmental, justice system, and fiscal impacts of illegal marijuana currently is the No. 1 public enemy to Siskiyou County citizens," Lopey said. "Our way of life, quality of life, and the health and safety of our children and grandchildren are being threatened by the proliferation of illegal marijuana." Supervisors passed the rules in December but they faced quick rebuke from medical marijuana advocates, who gathered roughly double the 1,362 required signatures to put the measures to a vote. "The two measures hurt the true, legitimate patient," said Elizabeth Woolery, vice president of Siskiyou Alternative Medicine, a group behind the referenda. Woolery said her group, too, doesn't want illegal grows in the county but the proposed ruling goes too far to restrict those growing medical marijuana for their own use who've thus far complied with county rules. She said many have moved to Siskiyou County for the sole purpose of growing and it's that group not longtime county residents trying to follow already established rules that is abusing the system. "We've tried to say, 'look, what you're doing here, you're going to get abated,'" Woolery said. "They're really messing up what we're doing here harmlessly." The ballot measures come as a statewide initiative to legalize marijuana and hemp is under signature review at the California Secretary of State's Office. If approved for the ballot, voters will get the question in November. That initiative, which collected more than 200,000 signatures above the about 366,000 required, would still allow some local control over growing and marijuana-related businesses, including banning outdoor grows. If passed, however, the initiative would still allow anyone 21 or older to legally use or grow marijuana. Woolery said regardless of the outcome of June's vote, her group is circulating a petition for a separate ballot initiative to establish reasonable rules. She'd rather see the county benefit from revenue from a permitting system rather than reaping money from code violations, she said. Measure T Allows the Board of Supervisors to conduct hearings for violations of growing rules. Allows for civil penalties for violating growing rules of up to $500 per day for a first offense and $1,000 per day for subsequent offenses. Requires licenses for growers. Bans mobile delivery of marijuana. Redefines the definition of marijuana plant to include plants less than 12 inches tall. Bans a person who grows marijuana from living in a recreational vehicle. Measure U Limits marijuana grows to 12 plants, regardless of parcel size. Bans outdoor grows Bans the use of generators Limits lighting to 2,000 watts, require shielding and window coverings. Bans grow lights in greenhouses. Requires odor control filtration and ventilation. Requires alarms for grow structures. Bans growing within 1,000 feet of a school, public park, library, church or youth-oriented facility. Bans illegal drawing of surface water or illegal discharge of water from a grow. Bans anyone but the owner of a property to grow without written notarized consent of the property owner. Source: Siskiyou County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Measure T Allows the Board of Supervisors to conduct hearings for violations of growing rules. Allows for civil penalties for violating growing rules of up to $500 per day for a first offense and $1,000 per day for subsequent offenses. Requires licenses for growers. Bans mobile delivery of marijuana. Redefines the definition of marijuana plant to include plants less than 12 inches tall.Bans a person who grows marijuana from living in a recreational vehicle. Measure U Limits marijuana grows to 12 plants, regardless of parcel size. Bans outdoor grows Bans the use of generatorss Limits lighting to 2,000 watts, require shielding and window coverings. Bans grow lights in greenhouses. Requires odor control filtration and ventilation. Requires alarms for grow structures. Bans growing within 1,000 feet of a school, public park, library, church or youth-oriented facility. Bans illegal drawing of surface water or illegal discharge of water from a grow. Bans anyone but the owner of a property to grow without written notarized consent of the property owner. Source: Siskiyou County Clerk and Registrar of Voters SHARE Cal Thomas "Rules are made to be broken" is a saying that has many variations, but perhaps no one has summed up Hillary Clinton's attitude (and Bill's, too) about rules more than the late science-fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein, who said: "I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." In its report on how Hillary Clinton handled her "private" emails while serving as secretary of state, the State Department's inspector general (IG) has found that Hillary Clinton disregarded cyber security guidelines when she used a private computer server. She continues to deny she did anything wrong and falsely claims she turned over "all" of her emails to the State Department after she left office. In fact, she, or members of her team, deleted about 30,000 of them before an investigation of her practices began. The IG's report chides her, saying she should have "preserved any federal records she created and received on her personal account by printing and filing those records with the related files in the Office of the Secretary. At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with Department business before leaving government service and, because she did not do so, she did not comply with the Department's policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act." There are federal penalties for tampering with a smoke detector on an airplane and disobeying flight attendants that can include fines and even jail time. Isn't what Hillary Clinton did far worse than that, if she potentially compromised U.S. secrets? The IG also says she stonewalled requests by the government for access to her server, which was in her Chappaqua, N.Y., home, with another discovered at an unsecured location in a Denver bathroom closet. Marcel Lazar, the Romanian computer hacker calling himself "Guccifer," claims to have hacked into Clinton's servers. He pleaded guilty to the charge before a Virginia judge this week. Might there also be Chinese and Russian hackers out there who've also had a look at Clinton's emails? Hillary Clinton has claimed she only used private email for her daughter's wedding and yoga classes. Who believes that, other than her partisan supporters and uninformed voters? High-ranking government officials are aware of the regulations governing their tenure while in office and their responsibilities for the handling of records once they leave it. Will Hillary Clinton's failure to comply with the State Department's policies on records necessarily lead to an indictment? That is what an FBI investigation is attempting to determine. Hillary Clinton has invoked the "everybody has done it" defense, but again that's not true. She often cites former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who also used a private email server, but as a Wall Street Journal editorial notes, Mr. Powell's use of private email was limited, and he never set up an unsecure server in his home, not to mention a Denver bathroom. Something else from the IG's report that firmly rebuts Hillary Clinton's defense: "Notification is required when a user suspects compromise of, among other things, a personally owned device containing personally identifiable information." But the IG found "no evidence" that she or her aides complied. For years the Clintons have skirted laws and practiced disinformation, rhetorical gymnastics ("It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.") obfuscation, changing the subject, non sequiturs and anything else that might block their enrichment or achievement of political goals. This time, Hillary Clinton should not be allowed to get away with it, nor should she have her incidents of malfeasance rewarded by being elected president of the United States. Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. SHARE For a while, when the outcome of the GOP presidential campaign was still in doubt, it appeared the Republican convention in Cleveland might be a messy brawl. Now, as Bernie Sanders insists on staying in the race and his followers seethe over what they claim is a rigged contest, it looks as though the Democrats may churn up a hot mess in Philadelphia. The parties used to exert a great deal of control over the process. This year, they have been upended by powerful forces that are not going to subside any time soon. Changes have been eroding their influence for years. As primaries and caucuses were given a bigger role in choosing delegates, voters gained a bigger voice. The Internet and social media opened up new avenues for candidates to connect with citizens. Super PACs attracted and spent funds that once would have gone to the national committees. Despite all that, the parties and their most prominent elected officials always mattered a great deal in presidential contests providing valuable endorsements, discouraging long-shot interlopers and steering candidates toward the center of the political spectrum to attract swing voters. Back in 2008, one party's idea of a maverick was John McCain, and the other's insurgency was mounted by Barack Obama. Though each was slightly unconventional, they were respected officeholders with solid party credentials. Compare them with this year's upstarts Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, each of whom represents a radical break with the past. Trump is not exactly a lifelong Republican. His guests at his last wedding included Bill and Hillary Clinton, and he couldn't vote in the 2012 New York GOP primary because he missed the deadline to change his party affiliation. Sanders has been elected to the House and the Senate multiple times, but not as a Democrat he was an independent. Neither is overly attached to his party's established policies. Trump denounces the free trade deals championed by one Republican president after another, shows little interest in budget-cutting and is skeptical about the military alliances that conservatives think are vital for world peace. It would be a stretch to say Trump's thinking is coherent, much less coherently conservative. Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist, while most Democrats have generally been reluctant even to embrace the term "liberal," and his spending plans are off the charts. Most Democrats have a high opinion of both Bill Clinton and Obama; Sanders regards them as disappointments at best and corporate sellouts at worst. What Trump and Sanders really represent are not two parties but two recent anti-establishment political movements the tea party, which arose in 2009, and Occupy Wall Street, which emerged two years later. Each was the product of citizens' disgust with bank rescues of major corporations, government failures (the 2008 financial crisis, the Iraq War) and political gridlock in Washington. Both movements fed on widespread disappointment with an economy that no longer delivers robust growth or broad-based gains. This year, the simmering discontent re-emerged to fuel the Trump and Sanders campaigns. This could be a moment when the parties are redefining themselves. Republicans may be putting aside their doctrines of small government and free markets to converge behind curbing illegal immigration, taking a more aggressive tack on terrorism and spurning "political correctness." Democrats could give up the pragmatic approach of their past two presidents in favor of unabashed government activism, no pretense of spending limits and income redistribution. It could also be a moment when one party or the other comes apart. Many conservatives see Trump as a repudiation of the GOP's core principles, and some are looking for a third-party candidate, perhaps a Libertarian. Assuming Sanders loses the nomination, his followers could walk out of the convention, spurn Hillary Clinton and even gravitate to the Green Party. The party whose nominee loses in November will be particularly up for grabs. This campaign has been traumatic for party stalwarts who didn't notice the volcano that was about to erupt. Don't be surprised to see rivers of lava. Chicago Tribune SHARE A recent Speak Your Piece by Assemblyman Brian Dahle brings to the forefront an important issue. California education funding, funded by taxpayer dollars, is currently being used by religious universities that are allowed to discriminate among those who apply and who they accept. I find this situation abhorrent. Dahle's justification to allow this to continue is based on discrimination, ironically enough. Simpson University is one of the few higher education institutions that has fought and been granted a waiver to Title IX. That means it has been given the right to pick and choose or discriminate against those who it allows to attend based on their religious beliefs. That means students are allowed to use federal education funds, via grants and loans, and they can also utilize state taxpayer funds through Cal Grants. That is wrong. Dahle and his staff member I spoke with recently seem to justify this by pointing out that Simpson is our area's only institution of higher learning. So, it's OK to have a place that a person can earn a four-year degree, and overlook that not all of our Shasta County residents would be welcomed to attend or possibly be expelled from Simpson? With that reasoning, would Simpson's discrimination not be acceptable if our area had another nonreligious higher education option? "Sexual practices that are divorced from loving, covenantal relationships between men and women pervert God's intentions and result in sinful behavior that ruptures relationships between men and women, and erodes the relationship between human beings and their creator." That is the language Simpson used in requesting its Title IX waiver that was, unfortunately, issued to the school in 2014 by the Department of Education. Now, while I disagree with many aspects of Simpson's religious justification for discrimination, I do feel that it should be allowed to do it. I simply do not believe that its attendees should be able to use taxpayer money via "grants" to fund Simpson's existence. There are many considerations when picking a college to attend and those who choose to attend Simpson should use other means to fund their education. Anita Brady lives in Redding. The railways continue to lose market share with an actual fall in the number of passengers and stagnant freight tonnage, says Subir Roy. The railways have little to show for themselves at the end of two years of National Democratic Alliance rule. The indication by the current railway minister, Suresh Prabhu, that some key reforms may take six or seven more months to come means that half the life of the present government will be over by the time an appropriate enabling environment for a turnaround is put in place. If any new setup needs a bit of time to produce results, then it will be time to again go to the people for a fresh mandate before there is much to show for five years' effort. On the other hand, there is absolutely no time to lose. The railways continue to lose market share with an actual fall in the number of passengers and stagnant freight tonnage. It is not as if growth is being sacrificed to protect margins. The bottomline also has little to show for itself, with the operating ratio (percentage of earnings accounted for by expenses) projected at a high 92 per cent for the current year. This means there is barely any surplus left to fund future investment from internal resources. The main effort in the foreseeable future, as far as the bottomline is concerned, will be to service the substantial extra budgetary resources (costly money) which will be secured to fund investment. But invest the railways must, not just to replace worn out assets (safety demands it) but also to keep growing so that it is not marginalised in a high growth economy. Mr Prabhu understands this and hence has drawn up a highly ambitious investment agenda of Rs 8.5 lakh crore over a five-year period and a capital expenditure target of Rs 1.2 lakh crore in the current year. These funds will come from a variety of sources (other than budgetary support), foremost being market borrowing through the Railway Finance Corporation. Concessional funding will come from bilateral (notably Japanese) and multilateral (World Bank and Asian Development Bank) sources. Public private partnerships, as also projects partnered with state governments, will be vigorously pursued. In fact, Mr Prabhu can be credited for daring to think big even when current financials are unpromising. This is because there is no option but to adopt modern technology to enhance both safety and productivity. But substantial new investment and absorption of technology cannot happen in a vacuum. The way of doing things has also to change to get the best out of the new investments. Recognising a general consensus, Mr Prabhu has put high on his reform agenda a restructuring of the Railway Board and the creation of an independent regulator to rule on revision of fare and freights and also adjudicate on issues resulting from a sharply higher level of PPPs. It is high time the board had positions corresponding to customer segments instead of just internal functions. But that is not enough. There has to be a change in the way the board functions. The chairman of the board has to act like a CEO instead of the current practice of simply presiding over meetings. He has to overrule individual members and push things through, instead of the current culture whereby any proposal opposed by a board member is put in cold storage. As for a regulator, it is not enough simply to set it up so that price hikes can be depoliticised. The real issue today is not the inability to rise prices but the dilemma posed by a market which will not take any more price rises. Both passenger and freight volumes are under pressure and the regulator, in order to be useful, will have to intensively examine whether cost increases are not simply passed through to the customer. A complex system of cost audit has to be evolved to determine which cost increases are allowable. A case in point is the major savings that are being made in buying power and the move to do the same with diesel. This stands at the core of what any management, operating in a competitive environment, must do. Cost saving comes before price administration. Thus, more than action on specifics, the railways need to fundamentally change the way they do things. Mr Prabhu has tried to address this by striking at the roots of a fundamental malady of the railways - departmentalism. He has sought to achieve this by taking the first steps towards merging cardes. Rivalry and lack of cooperation between cadres is the bane of the railways. But merging cadres is a herculean task. Doing it haphazardly, without addressing the complexities, can be ruinous, as was the botched up merger of Indian Airlines and Air India which also involved the merger of two pilots' cadres. Mr Prabhu has also initiated the process (it should have been done long ago) of the railways being brought under an integrated information technology solution, an ERP structure which sits at the heart of companies. The railways must simultaneously adopt a master plan to go digital, capture every bit of business relevant data digitally so that it becomes available instantly both for decision making and analysis for management insights. (Dynamic pricing, which is essential, is enabled by data analysis.) Putting the railways on a different track is a massive task. Hopefully, after much wastage of time, it will now move fast forward on the right track. Going forward, "reform process is going to continue. Hopefully, Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill will be passed, which has the potential to add to GDP growth. Also, our infrastructure and rural spending will add to that," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. With India retaining the fastest growing large economy tag post latest GDP numbers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the country is on an "upward curve" and a good monsoon, GST passage and increased infra and rural spending will further accelerate the growth. With pro-growth policies helping gross domestic product grow a faster-than-expected 7.9 per cent in January-March quarter and 7.6 per cent in the entire 2015-16 fiscal, he asserted that these are not "stray figures" and an analysis of the pattern shows inherent strength in the economy. Also aiding was the growth in output of eight core sectors growing 8.5 per cent in April on the back of pick up in output of refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. "Last two years, a number of factors were loaded against us - there was a global slowdown and we had two consecutive below normal monsoon rainfalls," he said, adding that people are surprised how India has managed to grow at the fastest pace in the world. Going forward, "reform process is going to continue. Hopefully, Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill is passed (in ensuing monsoon session of Parliament), which has the potential to add to GDP growth. Also, our infrastructure and rural spending will add to that," he said commenting on the latest GDP numbers. On the forecast of a good monsoon this year, Jaitley said it "would mean an increase in agriculture production, more purchasing power and rural demand." On the growth clocked in 2015-16, Jaitley -- who is on a six-day investor wooing tour of Japan -- said, there was improvement in the agriculture as well as the services sector. "More importantly, there is a consumer demand and there is increased consumer spending," he added. The GDP expansion in January-March period bettered 7.2 per cent of December quarter and helped extend the lead over China, which grew 6.7 per cent in the March quarter the slowest in the world's second largest economy in seven years. Earlier speaking at a meeting organised by Japan India Business Cooperation Committee, he said investors looking for higher returns should park funds in India's infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. "As growth would return to the world, consumer spending would pick up, hopefully the monsoons would be better, this trend which has been set in India itself could be improved upon. That we are on an upward curve seems evident," he said. Jaitley said the Indian economy clocked 7 per cent growth rate in every quarter last fiscal despite an unsupportive global economy and two consecutive years of weak monsoon. This has been possible because of increased public spending, the performance of India's private sector and the confidence which foreign investors reposed in India by investing the highest ever even in the slowdown years, he added. "I'm sure Japanese investors and funds and other agencies who are looking forward for gainfully employing their resources would certainly look at the India story which offers attractive destination for investment," the Finance Minister added. He said that besides infrastructure, the manufacturing sector is the top most priority and provides very large opportunity to international investors to participate in India growth story. India offers flexibility to investors, Jaitley said, adding that impetus on 'Make in India', increased infrastructure and rural spending would help push growth. "The returns that India offer are extremely attractive compared to other destinations, the magnitude and volume of investment required is much larger and it's for a reasonable period of time that this investment is going to continue because infrastructure deficit has to be met," Jaitley added. The Finance Minister said the Indian government is now continuing on the reform trajectory which was left undone in 1991 and people have become aspirational and are supporting reforms. "India today is passing through a very critical phase in its history. In 1991 we had a very important reform programme which was initiated, it proved to be very successful. We continued on that roadmap and I think what was left out is now being implemented. There is never a last day in the calendar of reforms, situations are dynamic, they keep changing, they keep progressing. Newer challenges come up and we expect newer responses from the government," he said. He said Japanese companies have become household names in India starting from automobiles to household appliances to also the Delhi Metro. "Our industrial corridors are being built with Japanese assistance and I am sure the ambitious Bullet Train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad once implemented will be absolutely a showpiece in India's economic development," he said, adding currently there are over 50 projects of different magnitudes being implemented in India today. "I don't see a period which is very far off where almost every major city in India which aspires to have a local transport system based on Delhi Metro to become reality," Jaitley added. Switzerland has opened the largest and deepest railway tunnel across the Alps. Image: A general view shows the northern gates (L) of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel near the town of Erstfeld, Switzerland. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters One of the worlds biggest engineering marvels, the 57.1 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel will reduce travel time between Zurich and Milan by one hour making it a 2 hour and 50 minute journey. Image: A train drives past the northern gates of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel near the town of Erstfeld, Switzerland. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters The $10.3 billion project consists of two 57-kilometres-long single-track tubes, on which trains can travel at a maximum speed of 250 kilometres per hour. Image: Swiss police officers stand beside of mock gates of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel inside the event hall for the upcoming opening ceremony near the town of Erstfeld, Switzerland. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters It is also the first flat route through the Alps or any other major mountain range, with a maximum height of 549 metres above sea level. Image: Miners stand in front as the drill machine 'Gaby' breaks through the rock at the section Erstfeld-Amsteg at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters Built by AlpTransit Gotthard AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swiss Federal Railways, the tunnel surpasses the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. Image: Visitors walk through the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel at the Erstfeld-Amsteg section. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters Around 2,000 workers toiled over 20 years to build this tunnel. Nine workers lost their lives during the construction. Image: Workers cycle next to the railway tracks at the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Amsteg . Photograph: Ruben Sprich/Reuters A straight route with no curves or level crossings on the overground sections, the Gotthard and Ceneri Base Tunnels together make the project one of the world's most outstanding engineering projects. Image: A worker stands at the construction site of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel. Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters Around 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains will travel across the two-tube tunnel daily once final testing ends later this year. Popular antacid Mucaine Gel, manufactured by Pfizer's subsidiary Wyeth Laboratories, was also found laced with the heavy metals as well as cadmium. A recent health ministry study has found dangerous amounts of toxins - lead, antimony, Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (known as DEHP) and chromium - in cough syrup brands such as Benadryl and Alex. It found these four heavy metals leached into the cough syrups packaged in plastic or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles. The study found this leaching happening at room temperature. Apart from these two cough syrups, German manufacturer Merck Biopharma's Polybion Multivitamin Syrup, and Alkem Labs' Hemfer syrup were also found with the toxins due to leaching from their respective plastic bottles. Popular antacid Mucaine Gel, manufactured by Pfizer's subsidiary Wyeth Laboratories, was also found laced with the heavy metals as well as cadmium. The study, undertaken on the instructions of the health ministry, was conducted by the government's All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIH&PH). In the five brands it tested, the institute found that the leaching of antimony, DEHP and chromium increased with a rise in room temperature. The leaching of lead increased in the cough syrups as the room temperature rose. On lead, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had concluded that there was no known level of safe exposure. A spokesperson for Benadryl-maker Johnson & Johnson said: "All Johnson & Johnson products, including Benadryl Cough Formula, undergo elaborate stability testing programmes to ensure no abnormal chemicals are generated or migrated into the product. This is done with validated test methodologies at development stage as well as through our post-marketing surveillance programme. The PET (plastic) bottles themselves are selected after rigorous evaluation to confirm to international pharmacopeia standards, wherein it is verified that no hazardous chemical is extracted (migrated) into the bottle through prescribed methods." Alkem Labs, which manufactures Hemfer cough syrup, said it conducted real-time stability study with the syrup and the results were found satisfactory and within desired specifications. "We use a third-party vendor for getting the PET bottles to package our products. The vendor selected is verified to use FDA-approved raw materials for manufacturing PET bottles. We also get a declaration from the vendor on the potential of leachability from these bottles," it added. Alex cough syrup is manufactured and marketed in India by Glenmark Pharma. A Glenmark statement said: "Our products conform to the highest quality standards and all our manufacturing facilities are fully compliant with the CGMP regulations. We also conduct rigorous stability studies to ensure compliance with quality, safety and efficacy as per prescribed storage conditions and through the shelf life of the products. Further, we comply with laws and regulations relating to use of pet bottles." Merck Biopharma did not respond to this newspaper's queries." According to IMS Health, a global information and technology services company, Alex and Benadryl syrups had sales of Rs 50 crore and Rs 35 crore, respectively, in the last one year. Pfizer's Mucaine Gel, the leading player in the antacid category with 50 per cent market share, had annual sales of approximately Rs 100 crore. A Pfizer spokesperson said: "We are not aware of this study nor have we received any communication from the regulatory agencies on this matter. All Pfizer products released in the market are in compliance with the prescribed pharmacopoeia testing specifications and regulations. Our product Mucaine Gel has a proven record of safety, quality and efficacy and remains the product of choice in its therapeutic area." The government's top pharmaceutical committee, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), had accepted the institute's test results in May and recommended to the health ministry to prohibit the use of plastic-bottle packaging for any liquid oral formulations having "pediatric use, geriatric use, use by pregnant women and use by any women of the reproductive age group." The research institute refused to demarcate safe levels of toxin intake in its report to the health ministry. "To consider a level as safe level amounts to playing with fire," the institute said. It added that instead of debating the safe intake levels, the government should focus on minimising the exposure to these "presuming no level is safe level". Like Nehru, Modi is loathe to touch the public sector. His policy towards Israel leans towards 'non-alignment.' You can find other similarities: Frequent public speeches, personalised leadership, total control over foreign and strategic policies, even stylised dressing, says Shekhar Gupta. If Narendra Modi's worldview is truly at variance with Jawaharlal Nehru's, we are still looking for evidence, at least on economic and foreign policies. Let's begin with what new media would call click-bait: That Narendra Modi is our most Nehruvian prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru. Even now, when the Modi establishment seems to have a single-point agenda of destroying Nehru's legacy, wiping his name from textbooks, and encouraging the old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh thought that he is responsible for all of India's ills, from Mahatma Gandhi's assassination to Kashmir to Tibet to poverty. A Bharatiya Janata Party state government has transferred an IAS officer for the serious misdemeanour of a Facebook post praising Nehru. On Nehru's 52nd death anniversary, this establishment sounds like it has declared war on demon Nehru and Nehruvianism. Let's check out the substance behind this sound. Nehruvianism can broadly be defined in terms of its four key pillars: Hard secularism, social liberalism, socialism (more fairly, mixed economy), non-alignment and internationalism. Which ones of these does Modi look at odds with? Two of these were greatly weakened by the Congress' own prime ministers. P V Narasimha Rao redefined Nehru's hard, agnostic secularism in a much softer version. Nehru/Indira socialism was dismantled by Rao -- and with him as finance minister, and later as prime minister, by Manmohan Singh, even under the watch of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Even on foreign policy, the essential turn was made in Rao's time with the establishment of full diplomatic relations with Israel. It left the Congress party's in-house Nehruites, including Mani Shankar Aiyar, furious. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had sparred with Nehru often as a young parliamentarian, would never say a rude thing about him. But you wonder if the most reformist thing he did in his six years, the privatisation of so many prominent public sector companies and hotels, would have been possible if the Rao-Singh duo had not already distanced India from Nehruvian economics. Nehru made socialism our national economic ideology and Indira Gandhi used it to demolish much of the private sector -- particularly foreign-owned -- that remained. The Janata Party (which included the BJP's parent, the Jana Sangh) government that replaced her after the Emergency finally took away the right to property, agreed to retain the two illegitimate amendments adding 'secularism' and 'socialism' to our Constitution's preamble (illegitimate because these were made by a sixth-year Lok Sabha with most of the Opposition in jail) and threw out Coke and IBM. It even launched a sarkari, public sector cola, called '77' (Double Seven) to honour its ascent to power in 1977. Morarji Desai might have had the reputation of being more pro-market, but he wanted desperately to convince the world he was more Gandhian than Nehru. In fact, in his talks with US President Jimmy Carter, he is recorded as having said that the difference between him and Nehru was that 'My idol is Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru's was Machiavelli.' Now run your eye over Narendra Modi's interview to The Wall Street Journal. It has been almost four decades since we heard an Indian prime minister make such a strong case for a mixed economy and the public sector. And Modi has a track record. Even when Vajpayee was feverishly selling off public sector companies, Gujarat did not privatise any of its own PSUs. We know that Modi spent a great deal of energy and used the state's clout to support these companies -- particularly in the oil and gas sector, notably Gujarat Gas Ltd and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. Vajpayee even tried to get rid of Air India, besides the big oil companies. But Modi is letting even Hindustan Photo Films be. A real repudiation of Nehruvianism would have been a quick dismantling of giant, wasteful PSUs that Nehru saw as the 'temples of new India.' Instead, this is the first government in three decades to be investing in them significantly again. Please note that ICICI quietly became a private company from a State-owned financial institution and the Unit Trust of India gave birth to two mostly private offspring, a bank and an asset management company, under Modi's predecessors. No such initiative is yet on the cards from this government, not even a reduction of government equity in banks. In the same interview, Modi reinforces India's commitment to non-alignment. You could argue that he is saying it only for political correctness. But where is the need for that? Why not say that the essential postulate on which Nehru founded our foreign and strategic policies was flawed? While as a commentator I welcome larger continuity in foreign policy, the Modi government's voting record on the Palestine-Israel issue harks back to 'non-aligned' times even more than did Dr Singh's. And while he has visited every major Islamic capital (which is again a positive), Israel is not on the radar just yet. The Israelis are getting frustrated with their inability to get dates from South Block for their own titular president's visit to India. Even Mani Shankar Aiyar might applaud this. Much has been made by the so-called right- and left-wing intelligentsia of the Modi establishment's name-change campaign. But nothing named after the Nehru dynasty, or even its ideas, is being changed. Lutyens' Delhi avenues had been named after the Mughals by the British, on the principle that they ruled Delhi. That's why Jahangir (who reigned from Lahore) isn't there, and Prithviraj Chauhan, who ruled Delhi before the Muslim dynasties stepped in for 700 years, is there. Replacing Aurangzeb with Kalam is no insult to Nehru. Especially as roads named after his 'non-aligned' allies -- most of them despots -- remain. So no bothering with Nasser, Tito, Nkrumah. In fact, Nehruvianism is reflected not in the landmarks of Lutyens' Delhi, but in the diplomatic enclave built by him subsequently. There is no argument with that. You can find other similarities: Frequent public speeches, personalised leadership, total control over foreign and strategic policies, even stylised dressing. The Modi jacket now sets fashion trends as Nehru's did all these years. Narendra Modi's loyalists say he has no personal issue with Nehru. It is just that his worldview is exactly to the contrary of Nehru's. If so, we are still looking for evidence of it in his economic and foreign policies. The Bihar Examination Board orders probe after Intermediate arts topper terms political science as 'prodical science', science topper goes blank when asked basic chemistry questions, reports M I Khan from Patna. After a controversy erupted over the merit of Class 12 (Science and Arts) toppers this year in Bihar, the Bihar School Examination Control Board on Wednesday put their results on hold and ordered them to appear before a team of experts for an interview and a written examination. On Tuesday, Rubi Kumari, who topped Bihar Boards Class 12 (Arts) examination, said that political science is a subject concerned with cooking. She also failed to pronounce it correctly and called it prodical science. Also, Saurabh Sresth, who topped the Intermediate exams in science, did not have basic knowledge about the subject. He said that aluminium is the most reactive element of the Periodic Table. When asked about sodium (which is the most reactive element) and its electron configuration, he failed to reply. BSEB chairman Lal Keshwar Singh said that results of the two toppers have been stayed till further order, in view of questions raised over their merit and quality. A team of experts will interview all the toppers of Class 12 -- including science, arts and commerce -- and will test them through a written exam also on June 3, he said. Interestingly, Rubi, like most of the students in Bihar, wants to become an Indian Administrative Service officer, while Saurabh wants to become a scientist. Both Rubi and Saurabh are from a college in Vaishali district of Bihar. Rubi didn't know much about her other subjects also. She said she obtained 444 marks out of 600, while the exam was of 500 marks only. Till last year, rampant mass cheating in Bihar board exams was reported. This year, however, it was said to be in control. The board claimed that this year's exams were free of cheating and cited the steep fall in pass percentage as a proof. Strict measures against cheating like installation of CCTV cameras and prohibitory orders during the board exams conducted in February this year resulted in a fall in pass percentage, a board official said. Also read However, cases like Rubi and Saurabh indicate that there were some loopholes which such candidates exploited. Bihar Education Minister Ashok Choudhary expressed his displeasure publicly over how the officials allowed this to happen. We worked hard this year for conducting a cheating-free exam to change the image of school education in Bihar. But latest development is an embarrassment, due to the negligence or a nexus of some vested interests in the system. Action will be taken against such officials, he said. Taking a serious note of this development, Bihar School Examination Control Board has ordered a probe into it. Image used for representational purpose only. Licence of NGO run by noted lawyer Indira Jaising--'Lawyers' Collective'--was on Wednesday suspended by the Modi government for six months for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by using the funds for rallies, dharna with political "hue and colour", a charge denied by the association which termed it as an act of "vindictiveness". The home ministry, while suspending the licence under the FCRA, asked the NGO to submit its reply within 30 days for violation of various provisions of the act after which its registration may even be cancelled. Meanwhile, Indira Jaising has condemned government's action against her NGO. "Condemn the beaten attack by government disguised as alleged violations of FCRA , days after I spoke at Rana Ayub book release," she tweeted. Denying all the charges in a statement, the NGO in a statement said it was only to "victimise the organization" and its office bearers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover. "This is nothing but a gross misuse of the FCRA which is being used to suppress any form of dissent. It is far too well known that both Grover and Jaising have represented several persons in their professional capacity as lawyers in several cases against the government and the functionaries including the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party Amit Shah protesting his discharge in the Sorabudin murder case. "The Lawyers Collective intends to challenge the order as unconstitutional and required to be set aside," it said and termed it as "a malafide act and an act of vindictiveness on the part of the government." "No money was spent on rallies or dharnas having any political hue or colour. FCRA, 2010 was not applicable for expenses incurred in 2009, while in 2011 and 2014, it was spent from domestic/United Nations funding, which is exempt from FCRA," it said. In the notice sent by Union home ministry, it said the 'Lawyers' Collective' has allegedly received foreign funds between 2006-07 and 2013-14 and it alleged discrepancies were found in the filing of annual returns of the NGO where Jaising, who had served as the additional solicitor general in the United Progressive Alliance government, was functioning as Secretary. The 5-page notice alleged that Jaising while functioning as additional solicitor general from July 2009 to May 5, 2014 received remuneration of Rs 96.60 lakh, which is admitted by the association in its reply dated March 30, 2016 by stating that the remuneration of Rs 81.41 lakh was paid by the NGO, pursuant to the permission of the Central government for 59 months (July 2009-May 2014). The home ministry said, "it is really surprising how a senior law officer, such as an ASG can simultaneously and for such a long period be on the rolls of a private entity, being paid (out of foreign contribution) for undisclosed purposes in gross violation of rules applicable to law officers of Union of India". Besides, how did the association agree to such an arrangement (without even any resolution to that effect) and why she herself should have agreed for such an arrangement (without obtaining appropriate clearances required under the provisions of FCRA, 2010 and other relevant authorities). This is not only violation of provisions of FCRA, but also raises several other pertinent questions, the notice said. The ministry while rejecting the reply of the NGO said that the records made available by it were examined in detail and "it was found that the same were not satisfactory" and it did not provide adequate explanation vis-a-vis the violations found and pointed out". The notice sent to the NGO said that during the course of adjudication whereby defence, explanations, documents were submitted by the NGO, "we have arrived at a prima facie conclusion" that the Association was in violation of various provisions of FCRA. The NGO said the action was being done because of the cases that Lawyers Collective and its Trustees, Ms. Indira Jaising and Mr. Anand Grover, are involved in, including but are not limited to Sanjiv Bhatt, Yakub Memon and Priya Pillai. "The aim is to destroy the credibility of LC by leaking it to the media, before even serving it on LC. LC till today has not received the order purportedly issued on 31st May, 2016, though it is available to the press," it said. The MHA notice claimed that on inspection of the NGO's accounts, it was noticed that Rs 13.03 lakh out of foreign contribution "have been spent on travel, boarding lodging etc., used for advocacy including advocacy with MPs or media, to organise rallies or dharnas, draft legislation meetings" even though as per the foreign contribution return filed, there was no such mention. However, in its reply, the NGO has argued that the dharna etc., took place in 2009 when the FCRA, 2010 was not in force. "It may be mentioned here that the Association organised such rallies or dharnas not only in 2009 but also in 2011 and 2014. Moreover, organising such rallies or dharnas with political hue and colour by utilising foreign contribution was also not allowed under FCRA 1976, which was in force in 2009,"" the ministry said. Top American think-tank says the close personal relationship developed between Modi and Obama is one of the surprises of the last two years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone from somebody who was basically a pariah to someone who is now going to be celebrated, in the course of just two years, a top American think-tank has said ahead of his meeting with United States President Barack Obama at the White House next week. "This would probably be the prime ministers seventh meeting with the President since he took office which probably is a record both for Modi and for the President with respect to meeting a head of government from a country which is not a formal ally of the United States, Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said on Tuesday. This speaks to the personal relationship that the two have developed over the last two years and also the surprising quality of it, given the history that Modi had with the United States, Tellis told a group of White House reporters ahead of the Obama-Modi meeting next week on June 7 at the White House. During his US visit, the prime minister would also address a joint meeting of the US Congress on June 8. The close personal relationship that has now developed between Modi and Obama is one of the surprises of the last two years, Tellis said. Echoing Tellis, Milan Vaishnav of Carnegie said the personal transformation that Modi has undergone is nothing short of remarkable. In the course of just two years, Modi has gone from just who could not step foot on American soil as a legal matter to addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress. He has gone from somebody who was basically a pariah to someone who is now going to be celebrated by Washington. Despite that President Obama and the US government having zero relationship as a matter of stated US government policy, it is fair to say that the two have forged a close working relationship. It is an achievement that should not be minimised. The two have forged a pretty close rapport and Modi has invested in broadening and deepening ties with the US, Vaishnav said. Giving full marks to the foreign policy success of the prime minister in the two years that he has been in power, Tellis said it is really hard to identify any conspicuous failures and oddly the two areas where he has fallen short is within the region -- Pakistan and Nepal. The broader foreign policy of India (under Modi) has been remarkable successful, he said. Modi has demonstrated, if not in words, but certainly by his actions that he is willing to take the relationship as far as he can take, Tellis said. The India-US relationship, he noted, has a full agenda. Defence and defence cooperation is going to be the flagship deliverables coming out of this visit, Tellis added. He also said that the Obama Administration has not expressed any objection to the recent signing of a pact by India and Iran to develop the Chabahar port, despite some concerns expressed by a few Senators. Because it is so important for both India and Iran, the project would continue irrespective of what the US says, Tellis said. I do not believe that the Administration has complained in any way about the Indian investment in Chabahar. My sense is that there are certainly Senators and constituencies on the Hill that are concerned about what that means, particularly not only for the bilateral relationship between India and Iran, but what that means for strengthening the Iranian regime and, particularly, some of its agenda that may not be helpful, he said in response to a question. But this is one area where India has demonstrated enormous amount of independence right from the beginning. I think our ability to constrain India from moving ahead of that deal is extremely low. The Indians and the Iranians have a joint interest in proving an alternative line of communication to Afghanistan and Central Asia, beyond the current line that goes through Pakistan, he noted. Responding to a question, Tellis said the killing of Taliban leader Mullah Mansour sent a signal to Pakistan that the US is willing to do certain things unilaterally, if Islamabad does not play a more forward leaning role. Whether this represents the beginning of a shift in US policy towards Pakistan, I think, it is too early to tell, he said, adding that the Americans have now reached the conclusion that there are limits to which they can reassure the Pakistanis about Indian activities in Afghanistan. They tried to lean on the Indians to restrain them from being too forward leaning. But at this juncture, with the Pakistanis not delivering in a way the US wants to, the Obama Administration is unlikely to ask India to restrain its developmental activities in Afghanistan, he said. According to Tellis, Modi wants the relationship with the US for the benefit of India and not necessarily because he thinks it requires over-the-top endorsement of US policies. He is not going to be a cheerleader for the United States. Thats for sure, he said. In South China Sea, Modi is open to doing things unilaterally, because that speaks to Indias interest in freedom of navigation, he said. He is willing to do that and I think you will see Indian activity not only in South China Sea but all the way to Sea of Japan in the years to come, he added. Modi sees it very important from India's interest to build a second layer of ties outside the US, which may involve ties with US partners, Tellis said. 'India may be new to world politics and her military strength insignificant in comparison with that of the giants of our epoch.' 'But India is old in thought and experience and has travelled through trackless centuries in the adventure of life.' 'Throughout her long history she has stood for peace and every prayer that an Indian raises, ends with an invocation to peace.' Jawaharlal Nehru's memorable speech to the United States Congress: IMAGE: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru addresses the US House of Representatives, October 13, 1949. Photograph: Kind courtesy the US Embassy, Delhi On June 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a joint session of the United States Congress. Modi will be the 6th -- and not as commonly believed, the 5th -- Indian prime minister to be accorded this honour. Thirty-six years before his grandson Rajiv Gandhi spoke to Congress -- a speech that began the process of transformation of India-US relations -- India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. Nehru -- inarguably the most brilliant man to occupy the prime minister's office -- delivered an expectedly elegant speech on October 13, 1949 at the Ways and Means Hearing Room, Longworth House, just south of the US Capitol, which was under renovation at the time. Jawaharlal Nehru's Voyage of Discovery speech -- the first speech by an Indian prime minister to the US Congress, October 13, 1949: I have come to this country to learn something of your great achievements. I have come also to convey the greetings of my people, and in the hope that my visit may help to create a greater understanding between our respective peoples, and those strong, and sometimes invisible links, stronger even than physical links, that bind countries together. The President referred the day before yesterday, in language of significance, to my visit as a voyage of discovery of America. The United States of America is not an unknown country, even in far-off India and many of us have grown up in admiration of the ideals and objectives which have made this country great. Yet, though we may know the history and something of the culture of our respective countries, what is required is a true understanding and appreciation of each other even where we differ. Out of that understanding grows fruitful co-operation in the pursuit of common ideals. What the world today lacks most is, perhaps, understanding and appreciation of one another among nations and people. I have come here, therefore, on a voyage of discovery of the mind and heart of America and to place before you our own mind and heart. Thus, we may promote that understanding and co-operation which, I feel sure, both our countries earnestly desire. Already I have received a welcome here, the generous warmth of which has created a deep impression on my mind and, indeed, somewhat overwhelmed me. During the last two days that I have been in Washington I have paid visits to the memorials of the great builders of this nation. I have done so not for the sake of mere formality, but because they have long been enshrined in my heart and their example has inspired me, as it has inspired innumerable countrymen of mine. These memorials are the real temples to which each generation must pay tribute and, in doing so, must catch something of the fire that burned in the hearts of those who were the torchbearers of freedom, not only for this country but for the world; for those who are truly great have a message that cannot be confined within a particular country but is for all the world. In India, there came a man in our own generation, who inspired us to great endeavour, ever reminding us that thought and action should never be divorced from moral principle, that the true path of man is the path of truth and peace. Under his guidance, we laboured for the freedom of our country, with ill will to none and achieved that freedom. We called him reverently and affectionately the Father of our Nation. Yet he was too great for the circumscribed borders of any one country and the message he gave may well help us in considering the wider problems of the world. The United States of America has struggled to freedom and unparalleled prosperity during the past century and a half and today it is a great and powerful nation. It has an amazing record of growth in material well-being and scientific and technological advance. It could not have accomplished this unless America had been anchored in the great principles laid down in the early days of her history, for material progress cannot go far or last long unless it has its foundations in moral principles and high ideals. Those principles and ideals are enshrined in your Declaration of Independence, which lays down as a self-evident truth that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It may interest you to know that, in drafting the Constitution of the Republic of India, we have been greatly influenced by your own Constitution. The preamble of our Constitution states: We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens: Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation; In our Constituent Assembly do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution. You will recognize in these words, that I have quoted, an echo of the great voices of the founders of your Republic. You will see that though India may speak to you in a voice that you may not immediately recognize, or that may perhaps appear somewhat alien to you, yet that voice somewhat strongly resembles what you have often heard before. Yet, it is true that India's voice is somewhat different; it is not the voice of the old world of Europe but of the older world of Asia. It is the voice of an ancient civilization, distinctive, vital, which, at the same time, has renewed itself and learned much from you and the other countries of the West. It is, therefore, both old and new. It has its roots deep in the past but it also has the dynamic urge of today. But however the voices of India and the United States may appear to differ, there is much in common between them. Like you, we have achieved our freedom through a revolution, though our methods were different from yours. Like you we shall be a republic based on the federal principle, which is an outstanding contribution of the founders of this great Republic. In a vast country like India, as in this great Republic of the United States, it becomes necessary to have a delicate balance between central control and State autonomy. We have placed in the forefront of our Constitution those fundamental human rights to which all men who love liberty, equality and progress aspire -- the freedom of the individual, the equality of men and the rule of law. We enter, therefore, the community of free nations with the roots of democracy deeply embedded in our institutions as well as in the thoughts of our people. We have achieved political freedom, but our revolution is not yet complete and is still in progress, for political freedom without the assurance of the right to live and to pursue happiness, which economic progress alone can bring, can never satisfy a people. Therefore, our immediate task is to raise the living standards of our people, to remove all that comes in the way of the economic growth of the nation. We have tackled the major problem of India, as it is today the major problem of Asia, the agrarian problem. Much that was feudal in our system of land tenure is being changed so that the fruits of cultivation should go to the tiller of the soil and that he may be secure in the possession of the land he cultivates. In a country of which agriculture is still the principal industry, this reform is essential not only for the well-being and contentment of the individual but also for the stability of society. One of the main causes of social instability in many parts of the world, more especially in Asia, is agrarian discontent, due to the continuance of systems of land tenure which are completely out of place in the modern world. Another -- and one which is also true of the greater part of Asia and Africa -- is the low standard of living of the masses. India is industrially more developed than many less fortunate countries and is reckoned as the seventh or eighth among the world's industrial nations. But this arithmetical distinction cannot conceal the poverty of the great majority of our people. To remove this poverty by greater production, more equitable distribution, better education and better health, is the paramount need and the most pressing task before us and we are determined to accomplish this task. We realise that self-help is the first condition of success for a nation, no less than for an individual. We are conscious that ours must be the primary effort and we shall seek succour from none to escape from any part of our own responsibility. But though our economic potential is great, its conversion into finished wealth will need much mechanical and technological aid. We shall, therefore, gladly welcome such aid and cooperation on terms that are of mutual benefit. We believe that this may well help in the solution of the larger problems that confront the world. But we do not seek any material advantage in exchange for any part of our hard-won freedom. The objectives of our foreign policy are the preservation of world peace and enlargement of human freedom. Two tragic wars have demonstrated the futility of warfare. Victory, without the will to peace, achieves no lasting result and victor and vanquished alike suffer from deep and grievous wounds and a common fear of the future. May I venture to say that this is not an incorrect description of the world of today? It is not flattering either to man's reason or to our common humanity. Must this unhappy state persist and the power of science and wealth continue to be harnessed to the service of destruction? Every nation, great or small, has to answer this question and the greater a nation, the greater is its responsibility to find and to work for the right answer. India may be new to world politics and her military strength insignificant in comparison with that of the giants of our epoch. But India is old in thought and experience and has travelled through trackless centuries in the adventure of life. Throughout her long history she has stood for peace and every prayer that an Indian raises, ends with an invocation to peace. It was out of this ancient and yet young India that Mahatma Gandhi arose and he taught us a technique of action that was peaceful; yet it was effective and yielded results that led us not only to freedom but to friendship with those with whom we were, till yesterday, in conflict. How far can that principle be applied to wider spheres of action? I do not know, for circumstances differ and the means to prevent evil have to be shaped and set to the nature of the evil. Yet I have no doubt that the basic approach which lay behind that technique of action was the right approach in human affairs and the only approach that ulti;mately solves a problem satisfactorily. We have to achieve freedom and to defend it. We have to meet aggression and to resist it and the force employed must be adequate to the purpose. But even when preparing to resist aggression, the ultimate objective, the objective of peace and reconciliation, must never be lost sight of, and heart and mind must be attuned to this supreme aim and not swayed or clouded by hatred or fear. This is the basis and the goal of our foreign policy. We are neither blind to reality nor do we propose to acquiesce in any challenge to man's freedom from whatever quarter it may come. Where freedom is menaced or justice threatened or where aggression takes place, we cannot be, and shall not be neutral. What we plead for and endeavour to practice in our own imperfect way is a binding faith in peace and an unfailing endeavour of thought and action to ensure it. The great democracy of the United States of America will, I feel sure, understand and appreciate our approach to life's problems because it could not have any other aim or a different ideal. Friendship and co-operation between our two countries are, therefore, natural. I stand here to offer both in the pursuit of justice, liberty and peace. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru travelled across America over three weeks that visit, speaking engagingly about India's foreign policy at several key public meetings. This prime ministerial visit was deemed a huge success and if you glance at the photographic archives there are colourful pictures of Nehru in a fedora visiting George Washington's home Mount Vernon with his sister Vijayalaxmi Pandit and daughter Indira Gandhi or Albert Einstein and Nehru laughing over a joke at the scientist's Princeton home. After Prime Minister Nehru's speech to the US Congress on October 13, 1949, the other Indian prime ministers to do so are: Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985), P V Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000) and Dr Manmohan Singh (July 19, 2005). Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was never accorded the honour, clearly because she stood up to the Nixon administration. The intensity of fire and explosions at central ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district was such that seven of the victims were blown to pieces, a top police official said. Three more bodies were recovered on Wednesday from the site of the fire mishap, taking the death toll to 19. Three bodies charred beyond recognition have been recovered from the accident site today, Defence sources said. All the three belonged to Defence Security Corps, the sources added. "Seven of them were blown to pieces and their body parts were later recovered from the site. The impact of the fire and explosions was so severe that these victims were thrown in the air and landed in pieces," a top police official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. Seventeen persons including a senior CAD official were on Tuesday rushed to the AcharyaVinobaBhaveRuralHospital in Sawangi Meghe as they sustained injuries in the blaze that broke out at one of Asias biggest ammunition depot, which houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country. Three of the injured were airlifted to ArmyHospital in Pune on Wednesday, a hospital spokesperson said. They include Deputy Commandant of the CAD, Col Ganendra Singh and two other officers-- Sharad Yadav and Jagdish Chandra. Yadav has suffered some injuries on his face and arm caused by flying splinters and Chandra suffered burn injuries, the spokesperson said. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar along with Army Chief General Dalbir Singh had visited the hospital on Tuesday after inspecting the fire site. The Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident. Parrikar had said that there was no sabotage involved in the fire at the ammunition depot but the exact cause would be known only after inquiry. Loud explosions were heard one after the other and raging fire lit up the night sky at Pulgaon in Wardha district. The police official said it was for the first time in the history of this depot that such fatalities has occurred. On two occasions in the past, major fires were recorded -- in 1980 and 2004. However, there was no loss of life. Most of the patients complained of injuries in ear drums. Some of them sustained burn wounds, while some others were injured due to flying splinters after explosions, he said. IMAGE: Vehicles burn at the scene of a suicide car bombing outside Hotel Ambassador on Maka Al Mukaram Road in Somalia's capital Mogadishu. Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab on Wednesday launched a deadly attack on a top Mogadishu hotel popular with MPs, killing at least 10 people, police said. At least 40 others were injured in the attack on Mogadishu's Ambassador Hotel, a senior Somali police officer said. Two Somali lawmakers are among the dead, the Somali National News Agency reported. The siege began when attackers detonated a car packed with explosives at the gates of the building, Hajji said. The explosion shook nearby offices and injured bystanders in front of the hotel, witnesses said. Victims flooded a nearby hospital. "The attack was started with a heavy explosion and members from the Mujahedeen fighters stormed the building," the Shabaab said in a statement. Shabaab fighters were chased out of Mogadishu in 2011 but the group remains a dangerous threat in both Somalia and neighbouring Kenya, where it carries out frequent attacks. They jihadists are fighting to overthrow the country's internationally-backed government. On Wednesday, the United States said a top Shabaab military leader Abdullahi Haji Da'ud was "presumed killed" during a May 27 air strike. United States drone strikes in Pakistan "must stop", Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif said on Wednesday, days after American special forces killed Taliban chief Mullah Mansour in a drone attack in the country's restive Balochistan province. Speaking with the media after attending President Mamnoon Hussain's address to a joint session of Parliament, Sharif said: "US drone strikes in Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop." Sharif's comments on the drone strikes comes in the backdrop of US drone strike in Balochistan on May 21 that killed Mansour. Hailing Mansour's death as an "important milestone" in efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama has said that American forces would continue to go after threats on Pakistani soil. "We have removed the leader of an organisation that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces. We will work on shared objectives with Pakistan, where terrorists that threaten all our nations must be denied safe haven," Obama has said, confirming Mansour's death. Sharif also said the operation against the militants was going on successfully. "We have to maintain the victories of Operation Zarb-i-Azb. Terrorists will not be allowed to re-enter into areas cleared in South Waziristan and North Waziristan," he said. General Sharif said that the border management with Afghanistan was improving and urged Afghanistan to take matching measures on its side of the border. He declared that $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a national project and it would be completed at any cost. He said that the security situation in the country, especially in Karachi city and Balochistan province was improving. Earlier, the army chief attended the joint session of the parliament to listen the address of the president. The session was also attended by the chiefs of navy, and air force. Chad: Two million people face hunger in Sahelian belt, UN agency warns Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Chad: Two million people face hunger in Sahelian belt, UN agency warns, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e8bbe40b.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 May 2016 - About two million people, or half the population, in the Sahelian belt of Chad face hunger and more than a quarter of them are in severe need of external assistance to meet their minimum daily food needs, the United Nations food relief agency said today. According to an emergency food security assessment conducted by the Government of Chad, the World Food Programme (WFP) and other partners, which covered the eight regions of the Sahelian belt, the food insecurity and malnutrition situation has worsened over the past year. For vulnerable families throughout the Sahelian belt, the lean season this year will be extremely difficult, said WFP Country Director Mary-Ellen McGroarty. Over the past year, food insecurity rates have been steadily rising from 46 per cent to 58 per cent in the Kanem region, and from 40 per cent to 49 per cent in the Bahr el Ghazel region. Malnutrition rates have also worsened since November 2015 in six regions, namely Bahr El Ghazel, Batha, Kanem, Lac, Sila and Wadi Fira. Among the factors contributing to the worsening food security and nutrition situation are erratic rainfall during the 2015/2016 growing season, which has led to 11 per cent less food being produced compared to the previous year. Insecurity and violence spilling across the border from neighbouring Nigeria due to the Boko Haram insurgents has led to borders being closed and disrupted trade. A drop in livestock price due to disruptions to the cross border trading has negatively impacted the pastoralist communities. Food assistance will be provided throughout the lean season, which runs from June to September. This will be accompanied by specialized nutritional support for children, pregnant women and nursing mothers suffering from malnutrition. Such assistance will be followed by projects aimed at mitigating the impact over the longer-term, such as water harvesting and management systems being put in place. The assessment was conducted with 4,821 households with 10,226 children under five in March and April. Ban says guilty verdict against former Chadian President marks 'historic' day for country's people Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Ban says guilty verdict against former Chadian President marks 'historic' day for country's people, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e8be740d.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The verdict announced by a special court in Senegal on the conviction of the former President of Chad, Hissene Habre, of crimes against humanity sent "a strong signal" to those who perpetrate serious crimes of international concern, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said. According to a statement issued by Mr. Ban's spokesman, the UN chief took note of the delivery of the trial judgment yesterday by the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese Courts, as it "marks a historic day for the people of Chad, the region and beyond, as well as for international criminal justice." "The Secretary-General's thoughts are with the victims of the crimes for which Hissene Habre has been found guilty," the statement said. Mr. Habre has been found guilty of forced sexual slavery, voluntary homicide, kidnappings of individuals followed by their disappearances, summary executions and torture. The Secretary-General congratulated the African Union and Senegal on the establishment of the tribunal and expressed his gratitude to all those States who have contributed to this achievement, the statement said. "The judgment sends a strong signal to those who would perpetrate serious crimes of international concern, including those at the highest echelons of political power, that they will be held accountable for their actions," it added. Senior UN relief officials express concern over Syrians trapped by fighting in northern Aleppo Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Senior UN relief officials express concern over Syrians trapped by fighting in northern Aleppo, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e8d5b1.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 May 2016 - Two United Nations humanitarian officials expressed deep concerned over the fate of an estimated 8,000 Syrians trapped by fighting around the towns of Mare'a and Sheikh Issa in northern Aleppo Governorate following advances in the past three days by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) into areas controlled by non-State armed groups. An unknown number of people are also unable to flee due to fighting and the closure of the main road leading north towards the town of Azaz in northwestern Syria, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement today. Fighting is also reported to be continuing near the towns of Kaljibrin and Kafr Kalbin, where some 6,000 people are living. Of the estimated 1,650 individuals recently displaced to informal settlements in the Yazibag area, northeast of Azaz, most have come from areas where fighting has been reported. "We call on all parties to the conflict to ensure the unhindered movement and protection of civilians trying to reach safety, as well as their access to life-saving assistance at their current locations or en route to other destinations," said Yacoub El Hillo, the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria. "We further remind all parties to the conflict, and those with influence over them, of their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to protect civilians and persons no longer participating in the hostilities from attack," said Kevin Kennedy, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis. The officials said there have been allegations of extra-judicial executions and unlawful arrests by ISIL. With shifting frontlines and ongoing conflict, some 163,000 internally displaced persons already reside within the Azaz corridor. The majority were displaced due to fighting that started in early 2016, the officials noted. UN envoy welcomes Israeli officials' comments on Arab Peace Initiative Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN envoy welcomes Israeli officials' comments on Arab Peace Initiative, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e8db3411.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 May 2016 - The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process today welcomed statements by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on the Arab Peace Initiative. "This can help advance negotiations on achieving a two-state solution," said Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. "It follows the call by the President of Egypt to Israelis and Palestinians to continue the historic step toward peace taken by Israel and Egypt 37 years ago," he added. On Monday, media outlets reported that Mr. Netanyahu, in response to a speech this past week by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, had said that the Arab Peace Initiative includes "positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians." Mr. Mladenov noted that the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process has repeatedly emphasized the significance and importance of the Arab Peace Initiative "with its vision for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and as an opportunity for building a regional security framework." "This opportunity should not be missed and must be followed up with concrete and timely action," he stressed. The Arab Peace Initiative was adopted at the Arab League's 2002 Summit. Thousands of desperate civilians on the run as battle for Fallujah continues UN Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Thousands of desperate civilians on the run as battle for Fallujah continues UN, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e8dd440b.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 May 2016 - Nearly 3,700 people, or 624 families, have fled Fallujah over the past week amid a new offensive by Iraqi forces to retake the besieged city from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh), the United Nations said today, with humanitarian officials also reporting that those civilians left behind risk being used as 'human shields' by the terrorists. According to figures provided by authorities, about 1,300 of them are staying in the al-Iraq camp in the Ameriyat al-Falluja district, where the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working to provide assistance. Others are scattered in one of several other Government-run camps in the district or staying with relatives. "Iraqi forces are helping to transport families escaping the city, and have set up a hotline to provide information to people wanting to leave," said UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler. UNHCR has received reports of casualties among civilians in the Falluja city centre due to heavy shelling, including seven members of one family on 28 May. He also noted that 500 men and boys over 12-years-old are held for security screening, which can take five to seven days, and some 27 men were released yesterday. Meanwhile, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the country reported today that around 50,000 civilians trapped inside the Iraqi city of Fallujah, risk being turned into "human shields" by the terrorist group Da'esh, according to Lise Grande told UN Radio that the UN and other agencies were doing all they can to protect them. UN rights office concerned over denial of participation for journalist's group, LGBT organizations Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN rights office concerned over denial of participation for journalist's group, LGBT organizations, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e8e8e40b.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 May 2016 - The United Nations human rights office today added its voice to the concerns raised over a decision this past week by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) consultative status. We believe the decision not to allow this well-established NGO to take part in UN meetings, including those of the Human Rights Council here in Geneva, is unwise, unfair and arbitrary, and flies in the face of other initiatives by UN Member States to offer better protection to journalists worldwide, said Rupert Colville, spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in a press briefing in Geneva earlier today. Mr. Colville noted that CPJ is a key and respected voice on the issues of protecting journalists and press freedom, and said the statistics it provides on killings, attacks and imprisonment of journalists around the world are widely viewed as among the most reliable in existence. He said that, in effect, the votes of just 10 States have meant that CPJ's voice and important research continues to be excluded from all relevant UN debates and processes. Of the 19 States that make up the NGO Committee, six voted in favour of giving CPJ consultative status, and three abstained. The vote came after CPJ's application, first made in 2012, had already been deferred seven times by the NGO Committee, Mr. Colville said. CPJ, an independent NGO that promotes press freedom worldwide, is headquartered in New York City and is made up of about 40 experts from around the world. The spokesperson said that as High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein notes in a report that has just come out and will be formally presented to the Human Rights Council on 20 June, the deferral of a large number of NGO applications for consultative status, sometimes for years on end, and apparently for arbitrary reasons, has deprived international debate of important civil society contributions. Mr. Colville said OHCHR also has strong concerns about the recent refusal of permission by Member States for 11 civil society organizations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and other marginalized communities to attend the High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS taking place from 8 to 10 June at UN Headquarters in New York. He noted that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had made an important speech on the subject yesterday in the Republic of Korea, lamenting that freedom is under threat, including at the last place this should happen: at the United Nations. The High Commissioner fully shares that concern, as we see more and more evidence of more and more States clamping down on the freedoms of expression association and assembly, with the media and human rights defenders in the frontline, Mr. Colville stressed. While this may be in the interests of authorities wishing to crush criticism and retain power, it is clearly not in the interests of their populations. This unfortunate episode involving CPJ is emblematic of this unfortunate and very negative trend, he added. UN rights chief welcomes 'hard-won' verdict in trial of former Chadian President Habre Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 30 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN rights chief welcomes 'hard-won' verdict in trial of former Chadian President Habre, 30 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e9030411.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 30 May 2016 - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today welcomed the "historic" verdict of the special court in Senegal convicting the former President of Chad Hissene Habre of crimes against humanity, summary executions, torture and rape. After years of struggle and many setbacks on the way to justice, this verdict is as historic as it was hard-won. I sincerely hope that today, at last, Habre's victims will experience some sense of relief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. He went on to say that in a world scarred by a constant stream of atrocities, the ramifications of this verdict are global. Indeed, while the verdict may be appealed, Mr. Zeid said it sends a clear message to those responsible for serious human rights violations around the world that no one is above the law and that, one day, they may also face justice for their crimes. Following earlier convictions by other courts of former president Charles Taylor and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, the conviction and sentencing of Hissene Habre shows that even heads of State and other leaders who commit terrible crimes will ultimately be held to account, he stressed. Commending the ground-breaking agreement between Senegal and the African Union which enabled this case to proceed, Mr. Zeid said this was an excellent example of regional leadership and ownership in the fight against impunity for international crimes. My Office, which has actively supported accountability efforts in Senegal and Chad over the past few years, and has followed the Habre trial, will continue to offer its support to the quest for justice by victims of human rights violations all over the world, He underscored. UN children's agency 'alarmed' at refugee and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 30 May 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN children's agency 'alarmed' at refugee and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, 30 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e906440c.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 30 May 2016 - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has expressed alarm at the number of migrant and refugee deaths in the past week in the Central Mediterranean, many of whom were believed to be unaccompanied minors. In anticipation of a major summer upswing of child migrants using the dangerous crossing between Libya and Italy UNICEF will shortly begin an operation with the Italian Government and partners to provide protection support, the agency said yesterday in a press release. The agency noted the vast majority of children using the crossing are unaccompanied adolescents and they have faced appalling abuses, exploitation and the possibility of death at every step of their journey. "The stories which I have personally heard from children making this journey are horrifying. No child should face them. Their lives are in the hands of smugglers who care for nothing other than the money they exhort from them," said Marie-Pierre Poirier UNICEF special coordinator for the European Refugee and Migrant Crisis. An average of 1,000 unaccompanied children a month has arrived in Italy this year, but UNICEF expects this figure to spike in the coming months. Under the Joint Declaration of Intent signed with the Italian Government, UNICEF will: Monitor reception standards for refugee and migrant children, especially those who are unaccompanied, to ensure they are in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child; Monitor the situation of refugee and migrant children in reception centers, particularly in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Sicily, in southern Italy; and Monitor all actions aimed at the integration of migrant and refugee children into Italian society. . Lebanon: Lawyer Held for Facebook Posts Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 1 June 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Lebanon: Lawyer Held for Facebook Posts, 1 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e91074.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Lebanese authorities arrested a lawyer and human rights activist, Nabil al-Halabi, on May 30, 2016 over his Facebook posts criticizing government officials. The authorities should immediately release him. In his Facebook posts, al-Halabi accused Interior Ministry officials of corruption and possible complicity with people arrested by Internal Security forces on March 27 in connection with sex trafficking of Syrian women. On April 12, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk filed a libel and defamation complaint against al-Halabi with the Public Prosecution in Beirut, citing the Facebook posts. A senior advisor to Machnouk also filed a separate libel and defamation complaint over the Facebook posts. Imprisonment for defamation normally violates freedom of expression as guaranteed under international law, and al-Halabi's detention may also violate Lebanese law. "Al-Halabi's arrest for criticizing Lebanese officials and the intimidating way it was carried out sets a dangerous precedent," said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director. "The Interior Ministry may not like what al-Halabi wrote, but that didn't give them the right to storm into his house and lock him up." Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) stormed al-Halabi's home in the early morning hours of May 30, breaking down his front door and arresting him. Khaled Kreydiyeh, one of al-Halabi's lawyers, said the authorities told him that they arrested al-Halabi because he failed to appear for legal proceedings in a libel and defamation case filed against him by Maher Abou al-Khoudoud, a senior advisor to the interior minister. Kreydiyeh said that al-Khoudoud, had filed a separate libel and defamation claim against al-Halabi for his Facebook posts and that he was never properly notified of the hearing so he did not violate any judicial request to appear. Al-Halabi remained in detention overnight. The Lebanese penal code criminalizes libel and defamation against public officials and authorizes imprisonment of up to one year in such cases. The Lebanese Code of Criminal Procedure allows an investigating judge to issue an enforceable summons to ensure the presence of a defendant who fails to appear to a hearing without a legitimate excuse but then the law requires the defendant to be questioned within 24 hours of the execution of the summons. Following this initial 24 hour questioning period, Lebanese law does not permit pre-trial arrests for crimes punishable by imprisonment for one year or less, which is what defamation of regular government officials entails. Kreydiyeh said that both Machnouk's and Abou al-Khoudoud's complaints cite al-Halabi's Facebook posts as evidence, including his April 4 Facebook post denouncing corruption within the office of the Interior Ministry and alluding to some employees' complicity in the alleged sex trafficking ring. On March 27, ISF had discovered 75 women in two buildings, most of them Syrian, who had been held against their will and forced into sexual slavery. In subsequent Facebook posts, Nabil urged the Interior Ministry to "clean" itself of corrupt personnel. Laws that allow imprisonment in response to criticism of individuals or state officials are incompatible with Lebanon's international obligations to protect freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said. Such laws are a disproportionate and unnecessary response to the need to protect reputations, and they chill freedom of expression. Additionally, "libel," "defamation," and "insult" are not well-defined in Lebanese law, and such vague and broadly worded provisions can be used to quell criticism of the actions or policies of government officials. Human Rights Watch has documented several recent cases of arrests and prosecution for Facebook posts critical of Lebanese officials or governmental bodies. In January 2015, Lebanese authorities summoned an Al Jazeera journalist, Faisal Qassem, over charges of insulting the army in Facebook posts and, given his failure to show up to two hearings, issued a warrant against him. In October, security forces detained a political activist, Michel Douaihy, after General Security filed a complaint against him for Facebook posts that officials deemed libelous. He was released after nine days, and a court fined him $200. Also in October, a Lebanese court sentenced Mohammed Nazzal, a journalist, to six months in absentia and fined him $666 for a Facebook post criticizing the Lebanese judiciary. While few bloggers, activists and journalists end up in jail, the proliferation of such prosecutions and the threat of arrest reflect an urgent need for Lebanon to amend its laws to remove criminal sanctions for libel and defamation. "You don't protect a reputation by intimidating those criticizing you," Houry said. "Lebanon's judiciary should protect freedom of expression from officials who may be tempted to flex their muscles against their critics." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Palestine: Hamas Should Halt Executions Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Palestine: Hamas Should Halt Executions, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e914f4.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip should halt planned executions. Three men were put to death on the morning of May 31, 2016, as the first step in a declared plan to kill 13 convicted criminals. The executions came after a number of highly publicized murders. "The death penalty is always wrong, especially in a legal system like Gaza's in which torture and coercion are common," said Sari Bashi, Israel and Palestine director. "Gaza's leaders should be addressing due process abuses, rather than making them worse by killing people." On May 26, the authorities in Gaza announced a plan to execute 13 people convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Attorney General Ismail Jaber said that authorities would execute three people before the holy month of Ramadan, which begins next week, and the other 10 after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan. Those executed on May 31 were identified by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), an independent human rights group, as Sh., 43, from Khan Younis, a police officer who was shot to death by a firing squad; and E., 28, from Rafah; and Sh., 38, from an unspecified town, both of whom were hanged. In recent weeks, Gaza's social and mainstream media have buzzed with discussion of a spate of violent crimes. Hamas authorities have sentenced 88 people to death since taking control of Gaza in 2007, according to PCHR. In that time, they have executed at least 46 people, including the three on May 31. Most of them were executed without any judicial process. During the 2014 war, Hamas authorities summarily executed 23 people accused of collaboration with Israel. In February 2016, the Hamas military wing tortured and executed a commander accused of "morality" crimes. A majority of the remaining 22 people executed were convicted in military courts, where due process protections are particularly compromised. The Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, a statutory watchdog group, said it had documented violations of Palestinian law and due process in the manner in which the three people executed on May 31 were detained, interrogated, and tried, including torture. Palestinian law requires presidential ratification of death sentences. But Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader, has refused to authorize executions since taking office in 2005. Hamas had refrained from carrying out judicially imposed death sentences since the two factions signed a reconciliation agreement in the spring of 2014. PCHR said that without presidential ratification, the executions amounted to extrajudicial killings. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, because it is inherently cruel and irreversible. Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses in criminal justice in Gaza that make the May 31 executions particularly egregious. Palestine, which acceded to International Convention on Civil and Political Rights in 2014, should ratify the treaty's second optional protocol, with the aim of abolishing the death penalty in Gaza and the West Bank, Human Rights Watch said. "Hamas should cancel its plan to resume executions after the holiday," Bashi said. "Murder is a heinous crime, but imposing the death penalty is not the answer." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Ukraine: 17 Russian Journalists Banned Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 1 June 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Ukraine: 17 Russian Journalists Banned, 1 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e91984.html [accessed 26 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Ukrainian authorities should immediately drop a ban on 17 Russian journalists and protect media freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 27, 2016, President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to implement a May 20 National Security and Defense Council resolution barring 17 Russian reporters, editors, and media executives from entering Ukraine through December 31, 2017. "Ukraine is legitimately concerned about the effects of Russian propaganda, but cracking down on media freedom is a misguided, inappropriate response to whatever disagreement the Ukrainian government may have with Russia's media coverage about Ukraine," said Tanya Cooper, Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Targeting journalists in this way inevitably encourages censorship." Among the 17 are Konstantin Ernst, general director of Channel One, Russia's main state-owned television channel, and Margarita Simonyan, chief editor of Russia's international television network RT (formerly Russia Today) and the Rossiya Segodnya news agency. Journalists on the list also include Vladislav Fronin, chief editor of the official government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and Vitali Leibin, correspondent at Russkiy Reporter magazine. Russia either owns, at least partially, or exerts significant control over the media outlets listed in the presidential decree. The decree says that the targeted journalists "create real and potential threat to national interests, national security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine; facilitate terrorist activity and violate citizens' rights and freedoms; contribute to the occupation of territories, and obstruct full realization of rights and freedoms by Ukrainian citizens." Russian citizens do not need a visa to travel to Ukraine. An earlier presidential decree, signed on September 16, 2015, had already banned a wide range of Russian individuals and organizations from entering Ukraine for a year. That list, compiled by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, named 388 individuals and 105 legal entities deemed a threat to Ukraine's security. In addition to Russian senior government officials, parliament members, and rebel leaders operating in eastern Ukraine, the list included 41 journalists and bloggers from several countries, including Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Israel. The original version of the list included three BBC journalists, whose names were quickly removed after an international outcry. On May 27, Poroshenko removed 29 people from the earlier sanctions list, among them journalists from Israel, Estonia, Hungary, Moldova, and other countries, and several Russian journalists from RIA Novosti, RT, and ITAR-TASS, who are based outside Ukraine. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, issued a statement deploring the sanctions on journalists, saying that "introducing over-broad restrictions that curb free movement of journalists is not the way to ensure security." The May 27 decree instructs the government and security services to enforce the travel ban. It says the Foreign Ministry should inform officials of the European Union, the United States, and other governments about the new sanctions and encourage them to consider similar measures against the people on the list. Ukraine is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which protect freedom of expression. While the journalists do not have an absolute right to enter Ukraine, the ban on entry as a result of their exercise of free speech and expression of opinion does constitute an interference with freedom of expression and is likely to have a chilling effect on other journalists. To be legitimate, an interference with or restriction on freedom of expression must be provided for in law, nondiscriminatory, and demonstrably necessary to protect a legitimate aim, in a manner that is proportionate to protect that aim. Further restrictions are also permitted during a state of emergency if a country has announced a derogation - a temporary suspension - from certain of its treaty obligations. Even then, to be legitimate a derogation must be specific, for a temporary particular period of time, necessary to meet the exigencies of the situation, and subject to judicial review. Ukraine has not made any derogation with respect to freedom of expression under either treaty. "Ukraine's international partners should protest the decree and urge Kiev to revoke it," Cooper said. "The EU, US, and others need to make clear that they do not support such arbitrary measures against the media and encourage President Poroshenko and his government to respect media freedom even if they disagree with the coverage by certain outlets." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Famed Cambodian refugee camp reopens as educational centre Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Author Vivian Tan Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Famed Cambodian refugee camp reopens as educational centre, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e9d794.html [accessed 26 October 2022] A famed former camp that housed tens of thousands of Cambodian refugees for more than a decade has now reopened as an educational centre, highlighting the response to the Indochinese refugee crisis. Khao I Dang camp opened in 1979 after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, and became one of the most enduring refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodia border. At its peak, the huge compound of bamboo and thatched houses sheltered nearly140,000 refugees. It closed in 1993. Inaugurated on Monday (May 30), the Learning Centre for the History of Khao I Dang uses photographs, videos and text to pay tribute to an important waypoint in the Cambodian exodus and an enduring symbol of the international humanitarian response to the crisis. "Khao I Dang offers a poignant reminder ... of the Indochinese refugee crisis." "Khao I Dang offers a poignant reminder of Thai hospitality and responsibility-sharing by the international community at the height of the Indochinese refugee crisis," said James Lynch, UNHCR's Regional Representative for South-East Asia. "Working with government institutions, UN sister agencies and NGOs, we were able to help refugees rebuild their lives after the ordeals they had been through," he added. The UN Refugee Agency managed Khao I Dang together with the Thai authorities for 14 years, looking after construction, camp logistics, food, water and protection. More than 30 voluntary agencies including the International Committee of the Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, American Refugee Committee, SOS and Care provided medical care, education, skills training and other services. An estimated 200,000 refugees passed though the camp - some of them returning to Cambodia when the situation improved, others resettling to third countries including Australia, France and the United States. Today a calm pond surrounded by forest cover an area where thatched huts used to sprawl across more than 2.3 square kilometres in the shadow of I Dang Mountain. The new centre is supported by Thailand's Forestry Department that manages the current site, as well as ICRC and UNHCR. In addition to an indoor exhibit, there are also signs around the compound marking the former site of ICRC's surgical hospital, and a partially-completed replica of the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia that was left behind when artist Yary Livan returned to Cambodia in 1992. He later moved to the United States, and was awarded the 2015 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship by President Barack Obama. "I hope we can develop this place into an ecological tourist spot that can attract young people to learn about the refugee crisis." Speaking at the opening ceremony, Sakaeo Governor Phakharathon Thianchai mused that he was just a 17-year-old student when the camp opened. "I knew about the refugees, and sometimes even heard gunfire across the border," he recalled. "Although more than 30 years have passed, I'm still impressed by the support and commitment of the humanitarian response. I hope we can develop this place into an ecological tourist spot that can attract young people to learn about the refugee crisis and how different actors worked together to resolve it." Thailand has hosted more than one million refugees from the region since the mid-1970s. Some 106,000 Myanmar refugees are currently living in nine camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border. Mediterranean death toll soars in first 5 months of 2016 Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Author Adrian Edwards Publication Date 31 May 2016 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mediterranean death toll soars in first 5 months of 2016, 31 May 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/574e9dfb4.html [accessed 26 October 2022] At least 880 people are believed to have drowned last week in a spate of shipwrecks and boat capsizings on the Mediterranean, the UN Refugee Agency said today. "For so many deaths to have occurred just in a matter of days and months is shocking and shows just how truly perilous these journeys are," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. UNHCR told a press briefing in Geneva that the latest figures were arrived at following new information received through interviews with survivors brought ashore in Italy. "As well as three shipwrecks that were known to us as of Sunday, we have received information from people who landed in Augusta over the weekend that 47 people were missing after a raft carrying 125 people from Libya deflated," UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler detailed. He added that eight others were reported separately to have been lost overboard from another boat, and four deaths were reported after fire on board another. "Thus far 2016 is proving to be particularly deadly. Some 2,510 lives have been lost so far compared to 1,855 in the same period in 2015." "Thus far 2016 is proving to be particularly deadly. Some 2,510 lives have been lost so far compared to 1,855 in the same period in 2015 and 57 in the first five months of 2014," Spindler added. He said that on a Mediterranean-wide basis, the odds of dying on the crossing are as high as one in 81 and getting worse. This highlights the importance of rescue operations as part of the response to the movement of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean, and the need for real, safer alternatives for people needing international protection. UNHCR figures also show that so far this year, 203,981 people have made the journey to seek safety in Europe. Almost three-quarters of these had travelled from Turkey to Greece prior to the end of March. Some 46,714 of these travelled to Italy, almost the same as the total recorded there in the first five months of 2015, 47,463. "The North Africa-Italy route is dramatically more dangerous: 2,119 of the deaths reported so far this year are among people making this journey, making for odds of dying as high as one in 23," explained Spindler. UNHCR repeated its call for more action to be taken to tackle people smugglers. "On the one hand there needs to be better focus on how the people smugglers behind this can be more effectively tackled, but on the other it's still absolutely vital that serious attention is paid to the need for safe, regular alternatives so we don't see loss of life continuing like this year after year," Grandi added. UNHCR said it was working to better understand the possible reasons and dynamics behind the latest movements. The majority of boats departing Libya are at present reported to be leaving from the Sabratah area to the west of Tripoli. "As in the past they remain more crowded than those that have normally been seen on the Turkey-Greece route, often carrying 600 or more passengers, and sometimes being towed by larger fishing boats which in turn puts them at risk," Spindler added. According to some, as yet unconfirmed, accounts the recent increase in numbers is linked to efforts by smugglers to maximize income before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, in the coming week. SMUGGLING ROUTES THROUGH LIBYA According to survivors, smuggler hubs operating in locations including Niger remain active in feeding people from West Africa through to Libya, where many remain for months before being put onto boats for the crossing to Europe. Reports of trauma from sexual and other forms of gender-based violence among women making the journey - or being trafficked - appear common. "We have also been seeing an increase in arrivals of unaccompanied children." "Some women have told us they were subject to sexual slavery in Libya. We have also been seeing an increase in arrivals of unaccompanied children," Spindler added. Some of the first survivors mentioned departing from Subratha, Libya, aboard a big ship which was carrying more than 700 people on three levels. Among them were many women and children, a lot of whom stayed inside the hull of the ship. When the passengers saw the rescuers approaching, they all moved to the same side of the boat and the sudden shift of weight caused the vessel to capsize abruptly. In the chaos that followed some swam for their lives but many remained trapped inside the ship. Hamin*, a man in his 30s, told UNHCR staff how he managed to rescue two persons: "I am a good swimmer, I've always lived by the sea, so I am not afraid of water. I was swimming and all around me so many bodies. With my right arm I hugged a baby girl from Sudan, very young, probably only a six- or seven-month-old girl. And with my left arm I helped a Syrian lady. She was so scared, she didn't know how to swim." They were then rescued by staff of the Italian navy ship Bettica and pulled aboard the vessel. "I wanted to go back in the water, help other people but the Italian navy didn't let me, they said it was too dangerous," he continued. Once safe on land at the Sicilian port of Porto Empedocle, those rescued smiled with relief. But many also knew they had lost dear friends or family members. A young man from Sudan told UNHCR staff that he had lost as many as 10 cousins and close friends. He was desperate to make a call. He showed a small piece of paper with a phone number on it and asked for a phone: "I only need to call one person, then he will pass on the terrible news to the relatives, I need to make this phone call, I owe them that," he said sadly. A young Libyan man added: "I don't need a phone, I have no-one to call, I have lost everyone." As of now, UNHCR has not seen evidence of a significant diversion of Syrians, Afghans or Iraqis from the Turkey-Greece route to the Central Mediterranean one. The principal nationalities on the Libya to Italy route so far this year have been Nigerians and Gambians, although among countries more commonly associated with refugee movements nine per cent have been Somalis and eight per cent Eritreans. *name changed for protection purposes Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. See what to expect in coming months along I-69 Finish Line corridor As the leaves begin to fall and air temperatures begin to cool, the 2022 road construction season will soon slow down. Daniel Parker's appreciation of coffee has run the gamut of possibilities. From not liking his first cup at his aunt's house in San Antonio despite being doctored with lots of cream and sugar he now is a custom coffee roaster who enjoys the unadulterated aroma and flavor of an espresso. 'I love that coffee culture,' Parker said. That means he appreciates all the processes and people involved in the life of a coffee bean, from cultivation to 'how the coffee ends up in your cup,' he said. Parker and his wife, Emily, are sharing their passion for freshly roasted coffee beans via their new business Key City Coffee launched in November. Their four varieties of coffees can be purchased at keycitycoffee.com or from Monk's Coffee Shop, Beltway Coffee Co. and Tom's Coffee & Yogurt Haus in Clyde. It also is served at Abi-Haus, and a custom blend is in the works for Vagabond Pizza when it opens in downtown Abilene. Parker also aspires for the coffees to soon be at local grocery stores. 'I want my coffee to be available wherever people already buy coffee,' he said. WAKING UP AND SMELLING THE COFFEE Parker first woke up to coffee's charms while in high school working as a barista at a Dallas-area Starbucks. Pouring out the coffee from the airpots and being engulfed in the aromatic steam first peaked his interest. What hooked him was 'when I was learning about different coffee regions at Starbucks, that a coffee from Africa will taste different from a coffee from Guatemala,' Parker said. The hook was set while Parker attended Texas A&M University. His mentor Nathan Boe custom roasted green coffee beans using an old popcorn popper. It is the judicious use of high heat during roasting that transforms the taste and aroma of green coffee beans into dark beans perfect for a flavorful Cup Of Joe. Other factors also influence the taste of coffee, including growing climate and altitude, how the beans are harvested and processed, the grind of the roasted beans and the final brewing process. Coffee aficionados can sound like wine connoisseurs when describing different coffees. The interplay of all those factors intrigued Parker, who roasted his first batch during his senior year before graduating in 2013 with a degree in industrial engineering. 'It was a dark roast Ethiopian coffee. It made an espresso that was unreal. It was so fresh,' Parker said. SERVING UP A NEW BRAND The Parkers ended up in Abilene about two years ago when the U.S. Air Force assigned him to Dyess Air Force Base, where he is an operations analyst. Emily works at the local International Rescue Committee office. After living in a major metropolitan area and attending college, the move to Abilene was an adjustment. But the Parkers soon discovered Pappy Slokum, Abi-Haus and other players in the city's burgeoning foodie scene, he said. 'I started to see how Abilene appreciates Abilene. I thought I have a great product, so let's build a brand around Abilene,' Parker said. With a nod to Abilene's nickname as the Key City, the Parkers started their self-funded venture. Parker's duties include the roasting and packaging, and Emily tackles marketing, branding and tasting. Parker initially set up in his garage a coffee roasting machine that handles 4.5 pounds at a time. The process takes about 15 minutes. He then earned a cottage license, which allowed him to sell directly to customers, he said. 'In the garage it produced a lot of smoke. I talked to my neighbors and took them samples so they didn't think I was cooking meth,' Parker said with a laugh. In January he moved the operation to a commercial building and applied for a food manufacturing license, which allows him to sell to other businesses. Key City Coffee offers whole-bean coffees from Costa Rica, Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala in 1-pound bags. They recently introduced a sampler pack of the four varieties, each measuring 2 ounces. That's enough to make about a 10-cup pot of coffee, Parker said. The coffee label includes the coffee's origin, variety, altitude, process, roasting date and tasting notes. For example, the tasting notes on the coffee from Colombia read 'burned sugar and cinnamon, juicy lemon and tangy tamarind.' Parker buys 750 pounds of green coffee beans at a time from a wholesaler that has a close, fair working relationship with coffee coops and other growers. The coffee arrives on a pallet at a local freight company. 'Our business is built on three pillars: fresh, local and honest,' Parker said. 'I had one lady tear up when we told her our mission and that we wanted to start an Abilene business.' GET FRESH WITH YOUR COFFEE In addition to recruiting businesses to sell or serve his coffee, Parker also hosts coffee education events. When at community events, part of his time is spent explaining the merits of coffee made from freshly roasted whole beans. 'The No. 1 factor is freshness. Preground coffee could be roasted months ago. That produces a stale and bitter coffee,' Parker said. Even before the first cup of Key City Coffee is poured, the difference is noticeable during the brewing process. 'It is aromatic and swells with fresh gases,' Parker said. He has a discerning coffee nose and palate, and his favorite way to enjoy a cup is the pour-over method, which makes one cup of coffee. The process starts by placing freshly ground coffee in a paper filter that is inside a cone-shaped dripper sitting on top of a coffee cup. Water is then heated just up to the boiling point and slowly poured over the ground coffee. The coffee then flows into the cup. But, Parker is also practical. He uses a drip machine on busy mornings when he must be less hands-on in brewing the coffee. His coffees also work in refillable K-cups. 'However you like to drink coffee and it tastes good to you, great. We are not coffee snobs,' Parker said. A 90-year-old Houston woman was killed in a two-vehicle accident Monday afternoon at the intersection of farm roads 18 and 603, 3 1/2 miles west of Clyde. The woman, Maria Segrest was a passenger in a car driven by Neri Vasquez Schoonover, 62 of San Antonio. Schoonover was driving a 2005 Toyota Yaris south on FM 603 about 1:30 p.m., the Texas Department of Public Safety reported. She apparently stopped at the intersection and then pulled out in front of a 2007 Suzuki XL7 Colt traveling on FM 18 being driven by Christine Dawn Moore, 32, of Clyde, according to the DPS. Segrest was taken to Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, where she was pronounced dead. Neither driver, nor three passengers in Moore's vehicle, was seriously injured, the DPS reported. Trooper Eric Pechacek of Baird investigated the crash. UPDATED 10:55 A.M. The area along the Pecan Bayou in Brown County remains under a flood warning until Sunday, although water levels in the city of Brownwood dropped slightly overnight. Brownwood City Manager Emily Crawford reported Wednesday morning that Lake Brownwood, upstream from the city, did not crest as high as expected. However, due to continued rainfall, the National Weather Service is predicting the Pecan Bayou will remain at current levels until Saturday, she said. Water in the Pecan Bayou and low-lying areas went down slightly, she said. Many streets and low-lying areas are still flooded. Residents are warned to avoid high-water areas and don't drive past barricades. Its good to see the water start to recede, Crawford said in an email. The following roads reopened Wednesday: Fisk, Rogan, Davis Lane, Brady, First Street and Avenue E. Lake Brownwood was 4.5 feet above its spillway Wednesday morning, down a half-foot from Tuesday. Scattered showers were occurring Wednesday morning in southern Callahan County and northern Brown County in the lake's watershed, according to National Weather Service radar. There was no rain in Brownwood at 10:30 a.m. Brownwood has a 70 percent chance of heavy rain Wednesday and Thursday. Roadways throughout the nine-county Brownwood District continue to be impacted by floodwaters, the Brownwood office of the Texas Department of Transportation reported Wednesday. In Brown County, TxDOT is closely monitoring the level of the Pecan Bayou as it crosses under US 67/84/377 at the Brownwood/Early city limits. As of Wednesday morning, the water level remains just below the bridge road deck, after having fallen slightly overnight. However, additional heavy rains could result in the need to close the busy thoroughfare should water begin flowing over the roadway. Also in Brown County, Farm to Market 2525 (Williams Ranch Road) remains closed from US 67/84/377 (Early Boulevard) to FM 2126 due to high water. In Comanche County, FM 1476 at Proctor Lake and FM 679 south of Gorman remain closed due to high water. In Eastland County, State Highway 16 remains closed in the Desdemona area, however, pavement repairs are underway to get the highway open as soon as possible. FM 2214 remains closed at Lake Leon due to high water. In Stephens County, portions of FM 1852 and FM 578 remain closed due to high water. There were many proud moments during Tuesday night's Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Reception, but perhaps the proudest came during the introduction of the speaker. Serving in that role was Terry Munson, a graduate of Abilene High School and Hardin-Simmons University. A retired Army lieutenant colonel, Munson is an instructor at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Education Center at the University of Texas at Arlington's Division for Enterprise Development. Munson's mother listed the numerous medals her son earned during his service in Iraq and his other achievements. As she read from her prepared notes, she stopped and looked up. 'I am very proud of my son,' she said. The program was sponsored by the Abilene Black Chamber of Commerce, which awarded each of the five honorees a $500 scholarship. Each also will receive an additional $250 scholarship for participation in the June 11 Youth Leadership Day, sponsored by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce. Honorees and their high schools were Green Alexander, Cooper; Jeremy Ayers, Wylie; Joe Cole Jr., Abilene High; Raissa Teta, AHS; and Eric Hong-Hahn Bynum, AHS. Teta was unable to attend. Lisette Spraggins, a member of the MLK Jr. Scholarship selection committee, introduced the honorees and read comments written either by the student or a school representative. Alexander came to the United States from Kenya with her family in 1997. Her teachers described her as 'pleasant and polite,' with strong leadership skills. She plans to attend Austin College. Ayers plans a career in public administration after graduating from Angelo State University. He tutors younger students and also is a referee for youth sports. 'He is the real deal,' his guidance counselor wrote. Cole quoted comments by King about always moving forward. He plans to attend Angelo State University and major in music education. Bynum plans to attend the University of Texas at Dallas, with plans to become a neurosurgeon. His teachers described him as a model student and a team player. Teta plans to attend Texas Southern University and pursue a career in performing arts. A teacher described her as a fierce competitor on the dramatic interpretation team. During his speech, Munson, urged the honorees to stay focused on their goal of higher education and a career. He warned them of the distractions that come with college life new relationships, pledging social clubs and attending parties. Those are OK, he said, but shouldn't be a goal. 'Keep your eyes on the future,' he said. Another distraction, he warned, is trying to hold down too many jobs, like he did as a student at Hardin-Simmons. He had as many as three jobs at a time, which nearly robbed him of his goal. 'I almost worked myself out of college,' he said. Whatever it takes, Munson said, gaining as much knowledge as possible will pay off because it is something that can't be lost. 'It's there forever,' he said. 8 P.M. UPDATE The National Weather Service has extended the flash flood warning for southeastern Taylor County until 10 p.m. Tuesday. 7:40 P.M. UPDATE The Texas Department of Transportation has closed Farm Road 613 between Buffalo Gap and Tuscola. The road had about 2 feet of water rushing across it, TxDOT reported. Drivers can check DriveTexas.org for the latest road conditions. Additional updates will be posted to Twitter.com/TxDOTAbilene. ORIGINAL STORY The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning until 8 p.m. Tuesday for southeastern Taylor County. Flooding was reported in the Abilene State Park and along Farm Road 89 between Buffalo Gap and Coronado's Camp. Law enforcement agencies were evacuating campers from the state park, according to scanner traffic. Up to two inches of rain has fallen in the area. Water was reported in low-water crossings on county roads and farm-to-market roads. The forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of rain Tuesday evening and Wednesday. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below This just in... Inside Cambodias notorious Prey Sar Prison, inmates are subject to poor food, brutal punishment, crowded spaces and squalid conditions. They also face an institutionalized pay-to-play system where prisoners have to bribe the guards if they want to make even the most routine legal filings. The prison, previously known as S24, is one of Cambodias 27 prisons, which house nearly 18,800 inmates in facilities designed for 13,000. The overcapacity issue is compounded by the low priority the country places on prisoner welfare and the propensity of authorities to toss people into jail. The London-based Institute for Criminal Policy Researchs World Prison Brief reports that in 2014 Cambodias prison population stood at slightly more than 15,000, up from just over 5,500 in 2000. Those who break prison rules can be shackled, beaten, or kept in their cells for weeks on end. New prisoners are often subject to initiation beatings carried out by groups of inmates under the orders of the guards, the rights group said. Everything has a price And inmates can add extortion by guards to the long list of indignities they suffer, a former prisoner told RFAs Khmer Service. Srey Chandara, 56, served 13 years and six months in Prey Sar on a robbery charge. He was recently released, and told RFA that inmates have to pay the guards if they want to make an appeal or seek an early release. They ask for money for doing everything, he told RFA. From filing a request for reducing a sentence, to filing a complaint from the appeals court to the supreme court, to obtaining a judgment and verdict. For example, in my case, they did not release me when my time was up because I did not have money to give to them, he said. First, they told me I did not have money to get the verdict. Second, they came and got me late. I was in jail for more than 10 extra days because I did not mention anything about giving them money. Prison officials usually ask for $50 from inmates when they try to obtain a verdict or final judgment from the court so they can get out, and $20 when an inmate wants to file a complaint to an appeals court or the supreme court. Filing more exotic legal documents, such as a letter seeking a reduced sentence, runs from $350 to $400, he said. Prison officials hide behind the courts when they seek payments from prisoners, telling them they need to pay the guards who will pay the courts, he said. They said the court asks them for money, but they dont give money to the court, Srey Chandara said. So, if we want to have those documents filed with the court, we must pay money to the prison officials. Its not only the prisoners who are on the inside who get dunned by the guards and other officials. Inmates family members also get charged cash, often for the same service for which the prisoners has already paid a bribe. Paying to get legal filings done isnt the only way prison officials get money from their charges. According to a report by the rights group LICHADO, life inside Cambodias prison walls is dominated by corruption. There is a price tag attached to every amenity, from sleeping space to recreation time and, according to Srey Chandara, prisoners also have to pay for utilities. Those who can't afford to pay are forced to endure the most squalid conditions, LICHADO said in a 2012 report on prison conditions in Cambodia. Srey Chandara told RFA he was speaking out because he wants the government to make changes and stop the prison officials from asking for money from the inmates, saying the burden falls most heavily on the poor. File a complaint A spokesman for the Interior Ministrys Department of Prisons told RFA that if he wants to make changes, Srey Chandara needs to file a complaint with the ministry or the governments Anti-Corruption Unit. If those stories are true, then the citizen who files the complaints will receive protection from the authorities, prison department spokesman Nut Savna said. If there are such cases, we can go down there and secretly conduct an informal investigation to find out if there are such issues or not. While someone may have a complaint, Nut Savna said the claim has to be specific and concrete, because prisoners are always trying to get their jailers in trouble. Regarding utilities, Nut Savna said that inmates daily utilities usage is covered, but that if any inmate goes over the limited allowance, they have to pay for it. LICADHO senior official Am Sam Ath said his NGO has received complaints from citizens and the inmates about the irregularities in the prisons. We should eliminate those actions, he said. If there is any doubt, an investigation should be launched to re-examine those issues. Reported for RFA's Khmer Service by Yeang Sothearin. Translated by Yanny Hin. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. Police in the Chinese capital have detained at least four people after they met in private to mark the 27th anniversary of the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square democracy movement, rights groups said. 1989 democracy movement veteran Zhao Changqing, and civil rights activists Zhang Baocheng, Ma Xinli and Xu Caihong were detained in the early hours of Tuesday morning after they held a prayer session at Zhao's home last weekend for those who died, according to the Weiquanwang and Humanitarian China rights groups. Some of their relatives confirmed the reports to RFA on Wednesday. "[Xu Caihong] is in the police station right now under criminal detention ... on suspicion of picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," Xu Caihong's husband He Bin told RFA on Wednesday. "They told me she will be transferred to the Fengtai Detention Center today." "They told me she would be locked up for at least 30 days, and that this could be extended," he said. Zhang Baocheng's wife, Liu Juefan confirmed that he too had been taken away by police. "He is being held under criminal detention in the Fengtai Detention Center," Liu said. "I told them that they should have given me a formal notification of his detention, and they said it was a matter for the district police department, not the local police station." And Ma Xinli's sister Ma Hongjun said he was being held alongside the other activists. "The police officer called me to tell me he is in the Fengtai Detention Center, and to have me go over there and take back his keys and his personal effects," Ma said. "I think they are all being held in the same place." Calls to activists Li Meiqing and Liang Taiping, who also attended Saturday's prayer meeting, rang unanswered on Wednesday. Tight security The detentions come amid tight security ahead of the June 4 anniversary, public commemoration of which is banned by the government, which styles the 1989 democracy protests a "counterrevolutionary rebellion." More than 150 relatives of those who died or were maimed in the crackdown issued a joint statement on Wednesday hitting out at the government for nearly three decades of surveillance, harassment and suppression as they have pressed for a reappraisal of the 1989 protests, the pursuit of those responsible, and compensation for the victims' families. "Twenty-seven years have passed since the June 4 massacre of 1989," the Tiananmen Mothers campaign group wrote in a statement translated by the U.S.-based group Human Rights in China (HRIC). "For us, family members of the victims families, it has been 27 years of white terror and suffocation," said the open letter, signed by 131 people and posted on HRIC's website. "We the victims families are eavesdropped and surveilled upon by the police; we are followed or even detained, and our computers searched and confiscated," the statement said. "The police use contemptible means such as making up stories, fabricating facts, [and] issuing threats against us." "All these actions undoubtedly desecrate the souls of those who perished ... and insult the honor of the living," it said. According to rights activists on Twitter, the phone line of Tiananmen Mothers founder Ding Zilin has been cut off, and she is unable to contact the outside world. In the run-up to the 27th anniversary of June 4, all of the main families are under surveillance," group spokeswoman You Weijie told RFA. "We can't visit Ding Zilin, because we have been banned from visiting each other." "We won't be free to move around again until after June 4," she said. Same old routine Fellow Tiananmen Mothers campaigner Zhang Xianling said she is in a similar situation. "They've been on duty since May 29. It's the same old routine," Zhang said. "There are two or three of them near the elevators, and two or three more at the foot of the stairs." "They are using unmarked vehicles this year, so it's not as obvious to the foreigners who live in the same building; they've gotten a little smarter this year," she said. "They don't stop me from going out, but when I do, they follow," Zhang said. "They even follow me to the supermarket to buy groceries." She said the police were "bastards" for their treatment of Ding, who lost her husband Jiang Peikun last September. "What sort of government is it that attacks somebody like her in this way ... What crime has she committed?" she said. "I am very angry about this." Elsewhere in Beijing, veteran democracy activist Zha Jianguo said he is already under close surveillance. "The state security police asked me if I had any activities planned, and whether I planned to go out to eat," Zha said. "They said if I wanted to go anywhere, I should go in their car," he said. "This is until June 6." Meanwhile, veteran journalist Gao Yu and Bao Tong, former top aide to ousted late premier Zhao Ziyang, have been escorted out of Beijing on an enforced "vacation," activists told RFA. Reported by Hai Nan for RFA's Cantonese Service and by Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Cao Jianming, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, speaks in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 13, 2016. Authorities in the Chinese capital have launched an investigation into the conduct of five police officers amid a public outcry over the death of an environmental activist in police custody earlier this month, officials said on Wednesday. Lei Yang died soon after being detained on May 7 by police during a raid on a foot massage parlor in Changping county, just north of Beijing, sparking public anger and raising questions about his death His family questioned police claims that Lei was resisting arrest as a client of the foot-massage parlor, saying he was heading to the airport to meet a friend, while his former classmates at the prestigious Renmin University, where Yang graduated with a masters degree in environmental science in 2009, launched an online petition calling for a full inquiry into his death. Now, state prosecutors are preparing to investigate five of the officers involved in Lei's case, the Beijing People's Procuratorate said in a statement on its Sina Weibo social media account. The announcement follows an application lodged with the procuratorate by Lei's wife. Suspicions sparked Lei's death sparked suspicions after the news website Caixin.com cited eyewitnesses as saying that he was seen "screaming for help" as he was pursued in a residential compound by several plainclothes officers. The Changping police department said Lei had "resisted and attempted to run away" when they tried to arrest him on suspicion of using the services of prostitutes. Police took coercive measures against him, but then Lei "suddenly felt ill," police said in a statement. He died in a Beijing hospital little more than an hour after his arrest. Video footage of the arrest was "unavailable," police said, blaming Lei for "knocking over the camera." Police then refused to allow Lei's family and friends to take photos of his body, which family members said showed bruises on his head and arms. Independent current affairs commentator Chen Jieren said the prosecutors will have their work cut out to conduct a fair investigation. "It's very sensitive, and no easy matter to supervise the work of the Beijing municipal police department, because it's one of the most powerful police forces in the whole of China," Chen said. "For the procuratorate to even take on this investigation shows that they are at least willing to proceed on the basis of finding out the facts." Scant details But he said there were scant details given in the official announcement, which didn't name any of the five police officers under investigation. Neither does the probe automatically amount to a criminal prosecution, he said. "The announcement doesn't specify whether this is a criminal investigation," Chen said. "If it is a criminal investigation, then the rules of the Supreme People's Procuratorate state that the suspects should be named." "It should also be made clear whether they have been detained," he added. "So I think the prosecutors should make further announcements in more detail." Anhui-based rights activist Shen Liangqing said it is hard to know exactly what power struggles are taking place behind the scenes, however. "I don't think it's all about those five low-ranking police officers," Shen said. "The police have very clearly tried to cover up the truth ... including deleting online postings about it." "So I think there's more at stake here in terms of who's responsible, he added. Various officials at every level bear some responsibility." Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. A Myanmar fishmonger uses battery-powered portable lamps as she waits for customers at a night market in Yangon, Sept. 26, 2013. A high-ranking Myanmar region official pledged Tuesday to stabilize Yangon regions power supply within six months to a year in light of a growing number of electricity shortages through a 100-day plan to make equipment repairs and replacements. Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein attributed recent severe power shortages in the citywhich consumes more than half of the countrys electricityto soaring temperatures and pounding rain that have damaged underground power cables and cable towers. He told reporters press conference at the Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation in the commercial capital that his 100-day plan to improve the power infrastructure includes fixing or replacing damaged polls and wires, replacing machinery, adding generators and transformers, and removing trees that obstruct electrical wires. The regional government plans to build 150 new 200-kVA (kilovolt amps) electrical transformers within 100 days, he said. Speaking about repairs, we have to consider how much we can repair within six to 10 months, Phyo Min Thein said. We have to be careful. We are trying hard to fulfill the need at all times. We are responding immediately to foreign companies that want to help us with [providing] electricity, he said. They can come and inspect the facilities today to determine if repairs are needed. Though much work needs to be done, the repairs can be finished in about six months, Phyo Min Thein said. I would like to say that we are trying hard to best serve the public in the coming summer days, he said. Phyo Min Thein suggested that financing the work could pose a problem because much of the ministrys annual 334 billion kyats (U.S. $281.3 million) goes towards employee salaries, he said. Minister on the hot seat In a related development, Myanmars parliamentary speaker Win Myint on Tuesday warned the countrys Ministry of Electricity and Energy about a nationwide power shortage, given the increasing frequency of blackouts in other parts of the country, and told him to solve the problem. The ministry should keep in mind public complaints about the nationwide shortage of electricity, speaker Win Myint told Minister Pe Zin Tun, who answered questions from lawmakers at the National Assembly in Naypyidaw. I hope the ministry noticed the cartoons mocking the shortage, saying, Electricity has been cut off so often in the past that now it doesnt come that often, he said. I want the ministry to be careful and pay attention to that. The comment was a reference to recent newspaper cartoons poking fun at the situation by pointing out that blackouts have grown worse under the new National League for Democracy (NLD) government that came to power in April. The NLD government combined the old Ministry of Electric Power and Ministry of Energy into a single ministry. Khi Sithu, a lawmaker from Loikaw in eastern Myanmars Kayah State asked Pe Zi Tun for a plan to supply enough electricity to villages near the countrys main Balu Chaung hydropower plant. Nay Myo Htet, a lawmaker from Kyaukteta township in Yangon told the minister that his constituents face health problems because of a water shortage and the lack of electricity. Reported by Win Naung Toe and Aung Theinkha for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. The members of a new government committee created to put western Myanmars impoverished and strife-torn Rakhine state on a path to peace and development arrived in the state capital Sittwe on Wednesday to begin an inspection tour. President Htin Kyaw signed an order on Monday creating the Central Committee for Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State, whose 27 members include all government ministers and Rakhine state officials. Lieutenant General Ye Aung, minister of border affairs and a member of the committee, told residents that the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government plans to spend more than 70 billion kyats (U.S. $51.2 million) to develop the impoverished state by financing goods and services that promote human resources. If necessary, we will add more financial resources in the future, he said. Thein Swe, minister of labor, immigration and population, told residents that migrant resource centers would soon be opening in Rakhine to help workers. Ye Aung also called on residents to have faith in and cooperate with the governments efforts, and asked them to respect members of different ethnic and religious communities and not foment tension. He also said that the citizenship verification process will be carried out transparently in accordance with the countrys 1982 Citizenship Law. Last Friday, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who chairs the new committee, met with Rakhine Chief Minister Nyi Pu and various national government ministers to discuss the controversial process for internally displaced persons that reportedly resumed this month, The Irrawaddy reported. The policy will affect the 120,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims that currently live in camps for in internally displaced people in Rakhine since 2012 when communal violence erupted between them and local Buddhists. The government refers to the Rohingya as Bengalis and considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, although many have lived in Rakhine for generations. Hostility towards the Rohingya is also palpable in other parts of majority-Buddhist Myanmar. In May, the government advised the U.S. and other embassies to avoid using the term Rohingya. The U.S. embassys use of the word in a public letter of condolence to the families of 21 Rohingya who died in a boating accident provoked Buddhist monks and nationalists to stage protests in Yangon and Mandalay. Four working groups Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars de facto leader, chairs the new committee which is supported by four working groupsthe Security, Peace and Stability and the Rule of Law Working Committee, Immigration and Citizenship Scrutinizing Working Committee, Settlement and Socioeconomic Development Working Committee, and Working Committee on Cooperation with U.N. Agencies and International Organizations, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar. During a meeting last week with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Aung San Suu Kyi said the government was working on a solution that would allow the Rohingya to live peacefully and securely outside the camps. Besides the Rohingya issue, Rakhine state has also been plagued by recent clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic group, which has forced thousands of residents to flee their homes. Some members of the Arakan National Partythe states most powerful political party which represents the interests of the predominantly Buddhist, ethnic Rakhine majoritywere invited to attend a meeting on Wednesday with two government officials, both of whom are also on the new Rakhine committee, the Myanmar Times reported. The previous government in late March revoked a state of emergency imposed on Rakhine after the 2012 violence just before the NLD administration took control, although measures restricting the movements of the Rohingya were left in place. Reported by is Min Thein Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Hundreds of police officers led by a county official and accompanied by heavy machinery descended on a lakeside Tibetan community in northwestern Chinas Qinghai province on Wednesday to tear down shops, restaurants, and private homes, sources in the region said. The June 1 assault on Tanakma (in Chinese, Heimahe) township in Chabcha (Gonghe) county in the Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was joined by a medical team brought along in case of injuries resulting from resistance to the demolition, a local resident told RFAs Tibetan Service. [The police] began demolishing all the structures built by the Tibetan residents of Tanakma on their own land, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The owners were not allowed to retrieve their belongings from their houses before the demolition work began, he said. The shops and houses built by nomads near the path circling scenic Qinghai Lake were financed by the sale of livestock and by loans from banks and wealthy individuals, the source said, adding that authorities had deemed the structures illegal. No information was immediately available regarding the number of structures torn down during Wednesdays raid, but an October 2015 assault against another Tibetan town in Chabcha county left over 900 homeless and living in tents, sources said in earlier reports. Forced to sell Tibetan landowners in Chabcha are often forced to sell their properties to wealthy businessmen who pay bribes to local authorities to force the sale, RFAs source said. And when Tibetans try to resist the taking of their land, county officials crack down on them, he said. It is extremely rare to find even one county leader who is fair and reasonable in his dealings with Tibetans, he said. Both officials and business owners exploit the land owned by the nomadic community, he said. Tibetans living in China frequently complain of political, economic, and religious discrimination as well as human rights abuses, and sporadic demonstrations challenging rule by Beijing have continued in Tibetan-populated areas since widespread protests swept the region in 2008. Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. Updated at 11:30 a.m. EST on 2016-06-03 A Tibetan man freed from prison three years ago after serving a 21-year sentence has disappeared again into Chinese police custody, a Tibetan source in exile says. Lodroe Gyatso, 55, was detained in Tibets regional capital Lhasa around midnight on May 14, 2016 and has not been heard from since, Ngawang Tharpa, a Tibetan living in India, told RFAs Tibetan Service, citing contacts in the region. We have no information on his present condition, and it is very difficult to contact anyone to get more information, Tharpa said. News of Gyatsos detention was delayed in reaching outside contacts due to restrictions on communications imposed by Chinese authorities in Tibetan areas. Gyatso, a native of Sog (in Chinese, Suo) county in the Nagchu (Naqu) prefecture of Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, was first handed a 15-year prison term in 1991 for killing a man in a fight, but later had his sentence extended for engaging in political activism while incarcerated, sources told RFA in earlier reports. On March 4, 1995, he called on other prisoners to protest and shouted, Tibet is independent, China should leave Tibet!, one source said, adding that Gyatso had also distributed protest literature in prison. Though authorities wanted to execute him for his activism, his case was raised by Amnesty International and the U.N., and he was sentenced instead to a further six-year term, sources said. Gyatso had been severely tortured during the initial phase of his earlier detention, Tharpa said. His cell was so small that he couldnt even raise his head, and at one point he was hung from a ceiling all night with nails driven through his thumbs, he said. The reasons for Gyatsos most recent detention and the place where he is being held are still unknown, Tharpa said, adding, His relatives and family members have had no word on his condition. Reported by Lobe Socktsang for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect date for Lodroe Gyatso's most recent detention. This photo shows a portion of the hand-written appeal sent by a group of Uyghurs held in a Thai immigration detention center, May 31, 2016. More than 70 Uyghurs held in a Thai detention facility have gone on a hunger strike, telling RFAs Uyghur Service in a handwritten letter that they would rather die in Thailand than go back to China. If we were returned back to China, we will face physical and emotional torture, and be killed or sentenced to stay in prison for life, wrote the group calling itself For Freedom. Therefore, we announced a hunger strike and thought it would be better to die from a hunger strike while in here. We will continue our hunger strike until we are freed or relocated to a third country or till we die here. The grim note also contained criticism of the Thai government and their keepers at the Thai immigration detention center, writing that they are treated as something less than human. Thailand did not give us to Turkey, and they did not treat us Uyghurs in detention as humans either. They inflicted profound suffering upon us, For Freedom writes. They separated us from our wives and children, parents, and siblings. Other countries did not help us at all. 'We are not criminals' One of the detainees who requested anonymity told RFA that they were only trying to escape to find a better life. "We are not criminals," the person said. "We escaped from Chinas layer upon layers of oppression to free our wives and children detained in the democratic country of Thailand. If Thailand is a democratic country, they should let us go to countries like Turkey." "However, the Thai government still did not release us. It has been one year since more than 140 Uyghurs were forcefully deported back to China. We hope that we will not face the same fate as the last group, as they are facing torture and death in China." Hundreds and possibly thousands of Uyghurs have fled unrest in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where hundreds of people have been killed in spates of violence in recent years. Many have made for Southeast Asia in hopes of reaching Turkey. Many Uyghurs regard the Chinese as a colonizing power and refer privately to Xinjiang as East Turkestan, while a tiny minority are fighting for an independent state. Uyghur ties with Turkey are both religious and ethnic. About 20 million Muslims live in China and many Uyghurs have already immigrated to Turkey. Last year Thailand deported more than 100 Uyghurs back to China where their fate is uncertain. The detained Uyghurs are hoping that their hunger strike will get the attention of other countries that might be willing to take them in, and have criticized the international community for turning a blind eye to their plight. 'Are we not humans at all?' We ask you, the world community, are we not humans at all? Why cant you help us? Is it because you fear the tyrannical country of China? Is the power of democracy weaker than Chinas communist law? Rukiye Turdush, managing director of the Diplomatic and Human Rights Office of Eastern Turkestan Government in Exile based in Canada, told RFA he was concerned for the Uyghurs safety. The Uyghurs in Thai deletion centers face an imminent danger of being deported back to China, like the other 109 Uyghurs last year at this time of year. I am really concerned about their situation right now as we have valid information that they have been beaten and systematically abused by the Thai police, she said. While he expressed his concern, he also expressed doubt that the Uyghurs in the detention center will go free anytime soon. We call on Thai police first to treat the Uyghur detainees with human dignity and release them to freedom or let them go to other free countries, he said, adding that refugee organizations in Canada told him there was no room for new refugees. All of them said they have no space and they have long waiting lists, he said. There is a very high chance that the Thai government is not going to give exit visas to these people. Reported and translated by Mamatjan Juma for RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. Once reputed to be a leading figure in a powerful crime syndicate in Russia, Sergei Mikhailov has rebranded himself. He has cultivated a new image as a reputable businessman who runs a charity fund, promotes peace, and enjoys close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. And, recently, he has benefited from a new tool as he tries to break from his past reputation -- Russias right to forget law. Mikhailov has reportedly used the law, which came into force in Russia on January 1, to remove information about his past from major Internet search engines in Russia. Search results for Mikhailov and his alias Mikhas on yandex.ru are now followed by a notice saying that some content has been omitted in accordance with Russian law on information and data protection. Similarly, searches for Mikhailov on the Russian version of Google are accompanied with the message that some results may have been delisted in consistence with the local information law. Attempts to search for Mikhailov on the Mail.ru search engine failed to reveal any content. Mikhailov, 58, was reputedly a key figure in the Solntsevo, a criminal group named after a Moscow neighborhood that earned a reputation for extorting money from street kiosks in the late 1980s. Eventually, the Solntsevo hit the big time -- allegedly expanding its operations into arms and drug trafficking in Russia and abroad. 'Professional Wrestler' Mikhailov was arrested in 1989 on extortion charges, but the case against him was reportedly dropped after witnesses refused to testify. He later settled in Switzerland, where he was reportedly arrested in 1996 and charged with involvement in an organized crime group. The following year, Mikhailov was acquitted due to lack of evidence after a key witness was shot dead. Mikhailovs home was searched by Russian organized crime police in 2002 in connection with a kidnapping and extortion probe, but he has not been charged. Mikhailov has long maintained that he has never been convicted in Russia or abroad, and denies having ever been a member of any criminal group. On his official website, Mikhailovs biography describes him as a former professional wrestler and university graduate who first embarked on commercial activities in 1988 after having worked as a mechanic and hotel manager. The website states that Mikhailovs charity fund, Uchastiye, supports World War II veterans, hosts gatherings of children from conflict-torn countries, and makes generous donations to church renovations. Photos on the website depict him as a family man and a businessman meeting prominent figures in the world of art, religion, and sports. With little or no alternative views of his past available on Russian search engines, Mikhailovs own narrative of his life gains prominence.But Mikhailovs alleged criminal past will be hard to erase. Journalists continue to mention his rumored ties with the Solntsevo criminal group, and he only benefits from the right to forget law in Russia itself. Outside Russia, several articles and news stories about Mikhailovs past are still available both on yandex.ru and mail.ru. A Turkish-Iranian gold trader arrested on charges he helped Iran evade sanctions has charged that the U.S. government is using "an unprecedented reach" of law to prosecute him. Benjamin Brafman, attorney for Reza Zarrab, 32, on May 31 presented a federal court in New York with papers in advance of a June 2 bail hearing. The government wants Zarrab held without bail, arguing he can flee using his worldwide contacts and considerable wealth. "Zarrab is not a terrorist," Brafman wrote. "This case is very defensible and even now, hanging by a jurisdictional thread. There is no incentive to flee a case that is defensible." The case is "an outlier," he said. "The government has never charged anything like it." The indictment alleges that Zarrab -- a non-U.S. citizen living in another country -- violated U.S. sanctions by using non-U.S. companies to instruct non-U.S. banks to send U.S. dollars to other non-U.S. banks for the benefit of other foreigners. He said the United States would only have jurisdiction if U.S. banks were used. "This is an extraordinary assertion of jurisdiction over a non-U.S. businessperson," he said. Based on reporting by AP A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and women's rights activist has created a controversy by posting a picture on social media that shows her sitting on a chair with Islamic motifs while holding a glass of wine. The chair in the photo of Shadi Sadr is covered with a material used in Iran for events marking the Ashura, the martyrdom of Imam Hossein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. It is a work by Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar, whose parents were among intellectuals and political activists killed in the late 1990s by Intelligence Ministry agents. Hard-line conservative Iranian media, including state-controlled television and the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), accused Sadr of insulting Islamic sanctities and disrespecting Islamic values. Sadr, one of many activists and intellectuals who had to flee Iran to escape imprisonment in a crackdown after the 2009 presidential elections, told RFE/RL that the photo was not insulting and that she posted the photo to highlight the plight of nonbelievers in Iran. "Shadi Sadr, the fugitive feminist and a so-called journalist who supports women's rights, has entered her pro-Western orientation into a new phase: insulting values and the holiest of the holy symbols of the Iranian nation; the symbol of the mourning for [Imam Hossein]," a state television report said. Fars called Sadr's picture "an excuse to insult religious sanctity," while accusing her of questioning Islamic principles for years. The news agency posted a statement by "a group of professors and law experts" calling for Sadr's extradition, trial, and punishment over what it said was her "antireligious" move. The statement said that according to Islamic penal law, those convicted of insulting sanctity and holy figures can be either sentenced to death or to one to five years in prison. Sadr told RFE/RL that she posted the photo on social media to highlight what she saw an as "interesting contrast." "I was sitting [with friends] and discussing Ashura practices and our memories and experiences from childhood when I realized the contrast between the [chair] I was sitting on, the material on it, and myself with that glass in hand. I asked someone who was there to take my picture," she said in a telephone interview from London, where she is based. "I thought there's an interesting contrast in the picture where a woman without the hijab and full of joy is sitting on that chair. It represents the many freedoms those who are not believers have been deprived of in Iran in the name of [religion]. That's all," she added. Sadr dismissed allegations that her picture was an insult to Islamic sanctity. "As someone born in a Shi'a family, I think I'm familiar enough with that culture to know that there is nothing insulting in that picture," she said. She added, "The material [that covers the chair] is not considered sanctity, nor there is any insult in that picture." She said she believed the outrage among critics stemmed from the contrast she highlighted in the picture, which is rarely seen in Iranian society. Sadr's picture on Instagram generated over 34,000 comments, including many threats and warnings. "You insulted the beliefs of a large number of people. It is really deplorable," read a comment posted under Sadr's post. Another said that he hoped Sadr's would be "punished" soon. "You keep talking about human rights and the need other people's beliefs. How come you disrespect other people's beliefs while making such claims," another user commented. Some praised Sadr for the post. "What a wonderful picture, full of positive energy," one woman wrote, adding that those who were angered by it should learn "to relax." Sadr said she'd been threatened with death and rape over her picture. "Most of the threats I received [over the post] were threats of rape, [many] left obscene comments while defending holy figures," she said. Some described in detail how they would rape Sadr if they would lay their hands on her. Sadr's post was removed from Instagram on May 31. She said she hadn't received any notification from Instagram about the reason for the move. Instagram has not yet responded to an RFE/RL inquiry about the removal of Sadr's post. The picture is still available on Sadr's Facebook page. UPDATE: Sadr's photo is now available on Instagram after being temporarily removed. We removed this image by mistake and we apologize for the inconvenience caused. We worked to rectify this as soon as we were notified and have already taken steps to prevent this from happening in the future, an Instagram spokesperson told RFE/RL in an e-mail. U.S. envoy for LGBT rights to visit Kyiv on June 7-8 U.S. Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex.) Randy Berry will visit Kyiv on June 7-8, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has reported. "June 7- 8, Special Envoy Berry will visit Kyiv, Ukraine, to participate in the country's Pride Festival and meet with various civil society organizations and government officials," the embassy said. When the newly reelected Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic promised to form a new government by mid June, few surprises were expected. Speculation was muted as the usual suspects were widely expected to land the most important ministerial positions. That is until Vucics trip to Moscow on May 26, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. All of a sudden, the composition of the new cabinet emerged as the hot topic of conversation in Belgrade. Vucics trip was initially described as being private in nature. The Belgrade-based daily Blic quoted official sources saying that the prime minister was in Moscow for some medical tests. Yet the word from Moscow suggested otherwise. On the Russian presidents official website, Putin congratulated Vucic on his partys recent election victory, and made pointed comments about the makeup of Serbias next government. All of a sudden the risks inherent in Vucics balanced foreign policy were exposed. Vucic continues to insist that there is no contradiction between his commitment to the European Union and friendly relations with Russia. But with the formation of the new government imminent, there are more questions than answers. Is Serbia obliged to follow the dictates of Moscow? What are Putins primary interests in Belgrade, and how will these be reflected in the new government? How long will Vucic be able to walk the tightrope between Moscow and Brussels? It has not escaped anyones attention that in 2012, Vucic also followed up his election victory with an unannounced trip to Moscow. Just like this time, it was later explained that he was there for a medical checkup. That prompted the chief editor of the Belgrade political magazine Danas, Draza Petrovic, to wonder if perhaps the EU is raising Vucics blood pressure -- and he needs Putin to bring it down. This year, speaking at the Kremlin after meeting with Vucic, the Russian president said he hoped that whatever the makeup of the new government, there will be a prominent place in it for those committed to nurturing relations between the Russian Federation and Serbia. This statement may be read as a thinly veiled request to give pro-Russian politicians three key posts: the Foreign, Defense, and Energy ministries. Dragan Petrovic, an expert on Russia, told RFE/RL in Belgrade that Moscow is doing its best to protect its interests in Serbia and in the region. In my opinion, Russia would prefer to see some other parties in power in Serbia, like [the far-right] Dveri [party], but as this is currently not possible, they want to see [Ivica] Dacics Socialists and possibly the Serb Populist Party of Nenad Popovic included in the government as a minimum guarantee of Russian interests. Vladimir Gligorov, a Vienna-based economist, told RFE/RL that as a result of Vucics meeting with Putin, the Socialists may indeed be included in the new government. Commenting on why Vucic would allow the Russians to have a major say in the final shape of the Serbian government, Gligorov said: Russian influence is strong in Serbia and it is strong within Vucics own party as well. Vucic is aware that he needs the support of Russian officials -- and that support has a price. Jelica Minic, from the pro-EU European Movement In Serbia, was struck by Vucics habit of visiting Moscow in the wake of his electoral victories (in both 2012 and 2016): If an event repeats itself, then we have a pattern. This time, whatever is said about it, the message is clear: Russia has a role in the formation of the Serbian government, Minic said. Minic highlighted Russias economic interests in Serbia and linked these to its growing political interests. Meanwhile, the EU has promised to help Serbia in diversifying its energy sources -- and reducing its dependence on Russia -- but it has been very slow in putting this into practice, in Serbia or within the EU itself. Vucic may thus feel that he has little choice but to follow the Russian prescriptions, but the cost of his medical consultations in Moscow is rising. If Putins sway extends to the makeup of the Serbian government, the countrys sovereignty is surely at stake -- and staying on track for EU membership may prove even harder. Spending on defense by European members of NATO will grow for the first time in a decade, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the Financial Times in an interview published on May 31. The forecast for 2016, based on figures from allied nations, indicates that 2016 will be the first year with increased defense spending among European allies for the first time in many, many years, Stoltenberg said. We are faced with uncertainty. We are faced with more threats, more security challenges, than in a generation," he said. Last year, NATO's European allies spent $253 billion on defense compared with U.S. military spending of $618 billion. That amounts to about 1.43 percent of the allies' gross domestic product, thus putting them about $100 billion under their 2 percent annual spending commitments, The Financial Times reported. NATO did not provide exact figures for 2016, but Baltic states which border Russia have announced large military spending increases this year, with Latvia's spending surging by 60 percent, Lithuania's jumping by 35 percent, and Estonia's and Poland's both increasing by 9 percent. The United Kingdom's military spending is also expected to increase this year. We still have a long way to go, but the pictures better than it was before," Stoltenberg told The Financial Times. Also on May 31, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said after meeeting with Stoltenberg in Warsaw that four battalions are to be stationed in Poland and in the three Baltic states to give the region a greater sense of security. A battalion typically has between 300 and 800 troops. A July 8-9 NATO summit in Warsaw will decide how many additional NATO troops will be deployed on the eastern flank, and where exactly, to counter what Stoltenberg said was a "more assertive Russia, intimidating its neighbors, and changing borders by force." Responding to Stoltenberg's statements and the news of increased European spending on defense, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said Russia will respond to the growing NATO military presence near its borders. "We have to ensure the security of our state," he said on May 31, but provided no details of Russia's plans. With reporting by The Financial Times, Reuters, and TASS Was it a crackdown on cybercrime? Or was it a recruiting exercise? In Russia's biggest-ever roundup of hackers, police have arrested 50 members of an alleged cybergang that used malware to heist more than $45 million from banks. Ruslan Stoyanov, head of computer-incidents investigation at Kaspersky Lab, which assisted the authorities in the case, told Bloomberg that "Russia is tightening its grip on financial hacking." Well, maybe. I guess that depends on what your definition of "grip" is. According to a recent report by the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies, Russia is home to the most skilled community of cybercriminals on the planet, and the Kremlin already has a pretty tight grip on many of them. Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the security firm CrowdStrike, has noted that the Russian security services have been increasingly aggressive in recruiting an army of hackers -- often using criminal cases to do so. "When someone is identified as being technically proficient in the Russian underground," a pending criminal case against them "suddenly disappears and those people are never heard from again," Alperovitch said in an interview late last year with The Hill, adding that the hacker in question is then working for the Russian security services. "We know thats going on," Alperovitch added. Likewise, Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB colonel who defected to Great Britain in 1985, noted back in 2008 that hackers were often "offered" the option of working for the state as an alternative to prison. In other words, it would probably be a good idea to see what happens with those 50 hackers Russian law enforcement just nabbed. Because, as Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer at security-research firm Trend Micro, told The Hill, Russian cybercriminals "that used to hunt banks eight hours a day" are often turned by the authorities. And before you know it, they are "turning their guns on NATO and government targets" and "willingly operating as cybermilitias" for the Kremlin. Due to the concentration of highly skilled hackers in Russia, Moscow clearly sees cyberwarfare as an asymmetrical tool it can deploy in its ongoing conflict with the West. Recent targets of hacking attacks that some Western intelligence services believe originated in Russia include a French television network, a German steelmaker, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. State Department, and The New York Times. And in a report citing unidentified Western intelligence officials, Bloomberg reported that Russian hackers have stepped up surveillance of essential infrastructure, including power grids and energy supply networks in the United States, Europe, and Canada. So if this case, which the Interior Ministry announced with great fanfare on its website, fades into the bureaucratic ether, then it probably isn't too far-fetched to assume that these high-profile busts were just another talent search by the Kremlin's headhunters. A Russian ballet dancer jailed over a 2013 acid attack on the Bolshoi Theater's artistic director has been released on parole. Pavel Dmitrichenko was sentenced to six years in prison in December 2013 after being convicted of orchestrating the attack that partially blinded Sergei Filin. But a court in the central Ryazan region announced on June 1 that it approved the dancer's early release, saying he had demonstrated "exemplary behavior" in prison and had "fully compensated the victim for the damages incurred." Dmitrichenko's lawyer, Sergei Kadyrov, said his client returned to Moscow on May 31. "The truth has prevailed over falsehood," Dmitrichenko wrote on his Facebook page. Filin's lawyer, Tatyana Stukalova, said she would appeal the ruling because she says Dmitrichenko poses a danger to her client. Based on reporting by AFP, AP, Interfax, and TASS Three alleged members of the banned Islamic organization Hizb ut-Tahrir have been detained in the Chelyabinsk region in Russia's Ural Mountains. Russia's Federal Security Service said on June 1 that the men, whose names were not disclosed, were suspected in propagating extremist ideas in the region. The suspects are facing charges of participation in activities of a terrorist group. Several members of Hizb ut-Tahrir have been arrested or sentenced in recent months in the Chelyabinsk region that borders Kazakhstan and Russia's mainly Muslim region of Bashkortostan. Hizb ut-Tahrir is a global organization based in London that seeks to unite all Muslim countries into an Islamic caliphate. Russia's Supreme Court banned Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2003, branding its supporters "extremists." Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir insist the group is peaceful. Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax The Kremlin says it is still waiting for Turkey to apologize for shooting down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border last year and to pay compensation for the incident. Speaking to reporters in Moscow on June 1, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia regrets that Turkey has not taken the necessary steps to mend ties damaged by the incident. Peskov comments come a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he did not understand what kind of a "first step" Moscow expected from Ankara. Erdogan said that he was concerned at how relations had been sacrificed over what he described as a "pilot error." Ankara refuses to apologize for the November 2015 incident, saying the aircraft had strayed into Turkish airspace, something Moscow denies. Russia has imposed sanctions on Turkey and trade between the two countries plummeted. Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax Four Crimean Tatars suspected of terrorism have pleaded not guilty at their trial in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. The suspects rejected the charges of being members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir organization at the North Caucasus regional military court on June1. The four men were detained in Crimea in January-April. Four other Crimean Tatars were detained on May 12 on suspicion of being members of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Russia has been heavily criticized by international rights groups and Western governments for its treatment of Crimea's indigenous Turkic-speaking people since Moscow annexed the peninsula in March 2014. Arrests, disappearances, and killings of Crimean Tatars have been reported. Crimea's Moscow-backed de facto authorities are currently looking for Crimean Tatar activist Ervin Ibragimov, who disappeared on May 24. Russia won't attend a meeting of the OPEC oil cartel this week and no longer is seeking a freeze in global output because prices have risen close to $50 a barrel without one. That's what Russian Energy Minister Alexandr Novak and his deputies told reporters in Moscow in the run-up to the June 2 OPEC summit in Vienna. Russia only a few weeks ago had been pushing hard for agreement with OPEC on an output freeze to prevent a further collapse in oil prices. But since January, when premium crude prices plunged to a low of under $30, prices have shot up without any action by major producers, apparently mostly in response to unexpected supply shortfalls caused by unrest in Nigeria and wildfires in Canada. "Today, since we are seeing that oil prices have bounced back, and bounced back quite high in comparison with the start of the year, this freeze issue has so far lost its relevance," Novak said, adding that he will wait and see what happens with prices. Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said Russia isn't even sending technicians to the OPEC summit. "No one invited us," he said. Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Police in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, have detained opposition activists who planned to hold a rally to challenge next month's early presidential election. Bibigul Imanghalieva, a member of the unregistered Algha, Qazaqstan (Kazakhstan, Forward) party, told RFE/RL by phone that she and several of her colleagues were detained for several hours early in the morning in different parts of the city before they could hold the demonstration, which was to fall on October 25, Republic Day, which commemorates Kazakhstan's declaration of state sovereignty in 1990. According to Imanghalieva, leading activists, Aset Abishev, Aidar Syzdyqov, and Qanatkhan Amrenov, were among those detained. She added that she and other activists were released three hours later. Imanghalieva says she and other members of the unregistered party had officially filed a request with the Almaty city administration last week asking for permission to hold a rally on October 25. Other activists told RFE/RL that the chairwoman of an independent group of election observers, Arailym Nazarova, was also detained by police. Her mobile phone has been switched off since the morning of October 25. In the capital, Astana, police cordoned off a square near Zhengis (Victory) Avenue where activists had planned to gather, not allowing anyone to enter the site. At least two activists were detained there. Opposition activist Amangeldy Zhakhin said on Facebook on October 25 that police did not allow him to leave the village of Shortandy on October 25 as they tried to prevent his trip to Astana, the capital, where he planned to organize a rally to question the election, scheduled for November 20, at which incumbent President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev will face off against five relatively unknown candidates. Activists in the cities of Aqsai, Pavlodar, and Oskemen also said they were blocked from travelling to Astana to take part in a rally. Toqaev, who has tried to position himself as a reformer, called the early presidential election on September 1 while also proposing to change the presidential term to seven years from five years. Under the new system, future presidents will be barred from seeking more than one term. Critics say Toqaev's initiatives have been mainly cosmetic and do not change the nature of the autocratic system in a country that has been plagued for years by rampant corruption and nepotism. Toqaev's predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbaev, who had run the tightly controlled former Soviet republic with an iron fist for almost three decades, chose Toqaev as his successor when he stepped down in 2019. Though he was no longer president, Nazarbaev retained sweeping powers as the head of the Security Council. He also enjoyed substantial powers by holding the title of elbasy or leader of the nation. Many citizens, however, remained upset by the oppression felt during Nazarbaev's reign. Those feelings came to a head in January when unprecedented anti-government nationwide protests started over a fuel price hike, and then exploded into countrywide deadly unrest over perceived corruption under the Nazarbaev regime and the cronyism that allowed his family and close friends to enrich themselves while ordinary citizens failed to share in the oil-rich Central Asian nation's wealth. Toqaev subsequently stripped Nazarbaev of his Security Council role, taking it over himself. Since then, several of Nazarbaevs relatives and allies have been pushed out of their positions or resigned. Some have been arrested on corruption charges. In June, a Toqaev-initiated referendum removed Nazarbaev's name from the constitution and annulled his status as elbasy. Taliban militants have stormed a court in an eastern Afghan province, sparking a clash with police that left 10 dead, including five civilians and a policeman. The Interior Ministry said four terrorists launched the attack on June 1 in the city of Ghazni, the capital of the eastern province of Ghazni. A spokesman for the provincial governor said a suicide bomber first blew himself at the courts entrance, after which three other attackers stormed the building. The Interior Ministry said a firefight ensued and the three other attackers were shot and killed by the security forces. According to the AP, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The militants had vowed revenge for the hanging on May 8 of six Taliban prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses, as part of a tougher security policy in retaliation for an April suicide attack in Kabul in which 64 people were killed. Elsewhere, a district police chief was killed on June 1 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in northern Balkh Province. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, as well. On May 31, Taliban militants attacked several buses on a road in northern Kunduz Province, killing 13 passengers and taking 20 others hostage. More than 140 passengers were released soon after the ambush. On June 1, officials said security forces had freed 12 hostages and were working to secure the release of the remaining eight. Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, AP, and Reuters The European Investment Bank (EIB) is ready to finance the Hrybovychi landfill reclamation project in Lviv. Fires raged at the site several days ago, and a landslide occurred on Monday burying four firemen, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy has said. "The only partner we cooperate with in the issue in the past two years is the European Investment Bank. The bank agreed to provide funds for the complete landfill reclamation and a plant with deep-earth sorting line," he said at a briefing on Tuesday. The mayor said that now the project is being agreed in the Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry. Deputy Prime Minister Hennadiy Zubko assured that the process would be finished in the shortest terms. "I think that within one month the issue would be settled. The advance team of the bank visited the city twice," Sadovy said. He said that the approximate amount of the loan could be near EUR 40 million. He said that the city is not able to solve the reclamation problem using only own forces. It requires around UAH 600 million. "We received no proposal for landfill reclamation. This is a loss, we're not dong business," he said. "We have not received any proposals to dispose bituminous lakes. I had many proposals for the new solid waste landfill, but no section was approved due to political pressure," he said. ON MY MIND Russian trolls can be destructive in many ways. They undermine reasonable discourse. They pollute social media with lies, propaganda, and hate speech. They harass talented and honest journalists like Finland's Jessikka Aro -- who endured a campaign of character assassination for her reporting. And, if my suspicions are correct, an orchestrated campaign by them can get feeds like the popular and hilarious parody DarthPutinKGB suspended by Twitter. And in dealing with them, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Engage them and you play their game. Ignore them, and you risk allowing them to dominate the conversation and set the agenda. The fact that Vladimir Putin's regime has unleashed this poisonous phenomenon on journalists, academics, and others dealing with Russia speaks volumes about the nature of his regime. IN THE NEWS Russian media, citing unidentified law-enforcement sources, say the mayor of Vladivostok has been detained and his office searched. The reports have not been confirmed. Ukraine has proposed that Kyiv and the United States jointly develop and produce a rocket engine to replace Russian rocket engines currently used to launch U.S. military satellites. Russia says it won't attend a meeting of the OPEC oil cartel this week and no longer is seeking a freeze in global output. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance's defense spending will rise for the first time in a decade. LATEST FROM THE POWER VERTICAL BLOG On the latest Power Vertical blog post, I offer a eulogy and a tribute to the popular Twitter feed DarthPutinKGB, which was suspended yesterday. WHAT I'M READING Economists and Terrorists LifeNews, a media outfit with well-known ties to the Russian security services, has published a story accusing former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin and other Moscow liberals of consorting with Islamic extremists. The article appeared just a day after Kudrin called on Vladimir Putin to dial down geopolitical tensions with the West in order to revive the economy. The Kremlin's Anti-Terrorist Fail Writing in Foreign Policy, journalist Oliver Carroll looks at how Moscow's efforts to crack down on Islamists in Daghestan might be making the situation worse. Attacks On Regime Critics Opposition State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov has claimed that people voicing dissenting views are being harassed and attacked in St. Petersburg. Gudkov made his allegation on Facebook. The Death of Humor Twitter's suspension of the popular parody site DarthPutinKGB is getting more media attention. Politico and BuzzFeed weigh in. Sanctions Countdown In his column for Bloomberg View, Leonid Bershidsky argues that Western resolve to maintain sanctions appears to be weakening. "Both the Kremlin and influential European figures are looking for ways to start defusing the stand-off without losing face," Bershidsky writes. "While the sanctions will almost certainly be extended -- no country wants to rebel on this matter while other more serious matters, such as the refugee crisis and Britain's EU referendum, are on the agenda for the bloc -- a weakening of the restrictions appears set to begin in the coming months." Putin's Friends What are the six countries that have recognized Russia's forceful annexation of Crimea? "Since Russia's illegal seizure and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine on March 18, 2014, six countries have come out in support of Moscow. And in any other circumstance, the support Russia has received would be enough to make politicians blush." Be Careful What You Like AP has a rundown on the Russians imprisoned for social media likes and reposts. Hard Times Russian economist Sergei Guriev, who served as an adviser to former President Dmitry Medvedev and is currently living in exile in Paris, has written an op-ed claiming that Russia's hard economic times are far from over. Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has urged German lawmakers to ignore Turkish warnings and pass a parliamentary resolution to recognize the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said passage of the symbolic resolution would harm bilateral ties. "It's not fair that you cannot call the genocide of the Armenians genocide just because the head of state of another country is angry about it," Sarkisian told the German daily Bild in comments published on June 1. German lawmakers are expected on June 2 to back the symbolic resolution on the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a century ago. Turkey strongly rejects the notion that the killings constituted genocide. Yildirims comments on June 1 echoed those made earlier in the week by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan told reporters on May 31 that adoption of the text would harm diplomatic, political, commercial, and military ties between Ankara and Berlin. The slaughter and deportation of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks is considered by many historians and several nations a genocide. Turkey objects, saying that Armenians died in much smaller numbers and because of civil strife rather than a planned Ottoman government effort to annihilate the Christian minority. Based on reporting by Reuters Kyiv says one Ukrainian soldier has been killed and three wounded in attacks over the past 24 hours by Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country. Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on June 1 that the casualties were suffered in separatist shelling of the government-held towns of Zaitseve and Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian forces have suffered significant losses in eastern Ukraine in recent days as fighting intensifies. On May 30, Lysenko accused the separatists of actively using heavy weapons, including Grad rocket launchers. Amid the flare-up in violence, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called for greater foreign assistance and has appointed former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as his adviser. In April, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said it could take years to end the conflict, which has claimed more than 9,300 lives since it erupted in April 2014. Based on reporting by Interfax Ukraine has announced it has detained two suspected Islamic State militants who Kyiv says were planning to travel to Western Europe to stage terror attacks. In a statement on June 1, the SBU, Ukraines national security service, said the two, allegedly from Syria, were detained in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, although it was unclear when. "The Kharkiv national security service of Ukraine has uncovered an attempt to send supporters of the Islamic State international terrorist organization from Syria by transit through Ukraine to western European states," the SBU said in the statement. The SBU said the two were assisted by an individual from an unnamed "neighboring country" who was in the country illegally and wanted by Kyiv on suspicions of possible terrorist activity. A senior source told the AFP that the individual was a Russian national. The SBU said it could not provide further details because an investigation was still ongoing. Based on reporting by AFP Ukraine has proposed that Kyiv and the United States jointly develop and produce a rocket engine to replace Russian rocket engines currently used to launch U.S. military satellites. The head of Ukraine's Space Agency, Lyubomyr Sabadosh, said on May 31 that he proposed the plan to replace Russian RD-180 rocket engines, which the U.S. Congress has ordered to be phased out by 2019, on a visit to the United States last month. "We have proposed using our capabilities for implementing a joint design solution. ... It's quite a complicated task, but we can cope with it," he said. Sabadosh said the United States expressed an interest in the idea. He said further talks will be held in Kyiv in November and will address the time frame for development, conducting tests, and funding. Congress directed the U.S. military to find alternatives to the Russian rocket engines in 2014 after relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated sharply with Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. The Pentagon has said U.S. private contractors need time and incentives to develop alternatives, however, and trying to replace the Russian engine immediately would be costly. Based on reporting by TASS and Unian The Kremlins project to create Novorossia in southern and eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea was conducted in secrecy and haste in the first months of 2014. Details of how that project rose and ultimately fell have been hard to come by. But Aleksandr, a Moscow businessman who asked that his identity not be revealed, had a front-row seat as an insider in Crimea and agreed to tell RFE/RL what became of the dream he still cherishes, despite the disenchantment of his months in Crimea. Russia lost its chance to create any Novorossia on July 17 [2014], when the passenger airliner was shot down over territory held by the militants, Aleksandr said during a recent interview in Moscow, in reference to the downing of Flight MH17 by a Russian-made, surface-to-air missile that killed 298 people and shocked the world. After that, the idea of Novorossia was closed. So it was shut down and the war was soon frozen. Aleksandr traveled to the Crimean capital, Simferopol, in February 2014 to work for the Russian Unity party of Sergei Aksyonov, who went on to become Crimea's de facto governor following Russias annexation of the Ukrainian region. After the annexation, Aleksandr worked within Aksyonovs administration. 'Little Green Men' His main duties involved organizing Crimeas local defense volunteers. These hastily assembled and poorly equipped groups were tasked with standing between the Ukrainian military and the infamous little green men -- Russian military forces operating in masks without insignias. Initially, Aleksandr said, there was no money for arms or equipment. But on March 3, the Russia-backed insurgents managed to take over local branches of several Ukrainian banks. Money started coming in by the bagful every day, Aleksandr said. Soon, he was able to offer volunteers up to 800 rubles (roughly $22.40 at the time) a day, and the number of recruits skyrocketed. After Russian intelligence forces took over the regional Supreme Soviet on February 28, Ukrainian police forces across Crimea seemingly melted away, and Aleksandrs self-defense forces scrambled to replace them. He remembers the first week of March as particularly tense, as pro-Russia Crimeans waited nervously for any sign from Moscow. Until March 6, it was forbidden to speak about unification with Russia or to hang the Russian flag, he says. Everyone was waiting for a final decision to be made in Moscow. Aleksandr believes Moscow was waiting to see how Ukraines military would respond to the unfolding situation. Only after it became apparent that Kyiv was not ready for a confrontation did the Kremlin give the final go-ahead. Russian flags -- that had been shipped in by the ton -- were unfurled, and a referendum on independence was scheduled. Aleksandrs self-defense forces began arming themselves with weapons taken from Ukrainian armories. Aleksandr says the outpouring of public support was incredible, with citizens bringing food, money, and supplies to the self-defense forces office in Simferopol. By March 29, six self-defense units of 80-100 men each had been fully equipped. After the Ukrainian base at Mazanka was occupied, all the units hunting rifles were replaced with automatic weapons and side arms. At the same time, more and more representatives of Moscow were appearing in the offices of the de facto Crimean government. One day a man showed up at Aleksandrs office and said, Im Sasha, a PR specialist from Moscow. Later I found out that his last name was Borodai, after he became prime minister of the Donetsk Peoples Republic, Aleksandr said in a reference to a separatist group that came to control swaths of Ukraine's Donetsk region. What he was doing in Crimea, I dont know. But before the referendum I saw him here and there, but later he completely disappeared. So many strange people arrived from Moscow and the rest of Russia that there is no way to remember them all. Disputed Referendums The disputed Crimean-status referendum was held under occupation on March 16, despite being declared illegal by Ukraines Constitutional Court. Aleksandr conceded it was illegal but said he remains convinced that the results were an accurate snapshot of the mood at the time. It was one of those referendums where you dont have to falsify anything, he said. At the time, the overwhelming majority of the population voluntarily voted for unification [with Russia]. Now the mood isnt the same as it was in the beginning. The enthusiasm was short-lived. Already on March 20 the process of dividing up positions was under way, as a result of which the majority of corrupt officials from [ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovychs] Party of Regions either kept their posts or got new ones. The entire Party of Regions organically merged into United Russia, while the people expected something completely different, Aleksandr recalled. They wanted new authorities. One of the most mysterious strangers from this period was a man who introduced himself as the Kremlins emissary, Igor. It turned out to be Igor Girkin, aka Strelkov, who took over the command of separatists united under the banner of "Crimean self-defense forces" and was later self-proclaimed defense minister of the Donetsk fighters opposing Kyiv's control. Girkin was clearly in command in Crimea at this time, Aleksandr said, and even Aksyonov deferred to him. His main task in March was accelerated military training for newly formed Crimean forces and selection of the best among them for transfer to Donbas, as a belt of eastern Ukraine is known. Aleksandr said Girkin personally negotiated and oversaw the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Crimea. Specialists from Moscow brought in communications equipment for the commanders fighting in Donbas. By the beginning of May, there were about 20 [special four-digit] numbers for them, Aleksandr said. Initially, arms and equipment came from Russia via Crimea. But as Moscow grew more confident, he said, it began sending the equipment directly across the open border between Ukraine and Russias Rostov Oblast. Very soon, however, the militant groups in Donbas turned into bands occupied with violence and looting, Aleksandr said. People were taken hostage and released for ransom. Often they fought among themselves for spheres of influence. I knew the situation was hopeless when I found out that our fighters themselves had fired on a truck with our wounded that were being evacuated from the Donetsk airport on May 26, he said. My good friend was killed in that bloodbath. Thats when I understood it was all over, that people had been deceived and sent to die for nothing. In the pro-Russian zone [in Donbas], weapons were handed out to criminals and drug addicts who robbed people, commandeered businesses, homes, and cars, he said. The situation for the Russian World project became more and more catastrophic. That romantic of the Russian World, Girkin, could not cope with the anarchy that was developing around him. In addition, the Russia-backed forces in Donbas held a referendum on self-rule that was so unconvincing that even the Russian media barely mentioned it. The project literally ended in disaster, Aleksandr said, when a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down over Donbas, killing all 298 people aboard. The Kremlin at that point gave up on the Novorossia idea, he added. Aleksandr himself continued working in Crimea, although corruption flourished from the beginning when it became clear that the regions tourism-driven economy had been hit hard. He said criminals and corrupt officials were making good money smuggling sanctioned goods from the European Union across the Kerch Strait into Russia as aid for refugees. He left Crimea after a run-in with one such smuggling operation that he said was protected by someone in Russias Federal Security Service (FSB). The Russian World that I dreamed of, that the people of Crimea expected, that the volunteers who died in Donbas believed in, crumbled into dust before my very eyes, he recalled. RFE/RL correspondent Robert Coalson contributed to this report International franchise pizza restaurant chain of the U.S. brand Papa John's seeks to start operations on the Ukrainian market, Kyiv's Franchise Group has reported on its website. Papa John's made the decision after a visit of its Vice President for International Business Development Mike Measells to Ukraine and a meeting with potential Ukrainian investors. Franchise Group will accompany the development of Papa John's in Ukraine with support of the commercial service of U.S. department of Commerce under auspices of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. "All details of the project are being agreed. I think that Ukrainian will be able to taste famous U.S. pizza in a year," Specialist for Trade Development of the commercial service of U.S. department of Commerce in Ukraine Anatoliy Sakhno said. Managing Partner of Franchise Group Myroslava Kovalchuk said that the company received confirmations from several other famous U.S. franchise brands that they are ready to enter the Ukrainian market. "Negotiations with other brands are going on," she said. First Papa John's pizza restaurant was opened in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the United States in 1985. A first franchise restaurant was opened in a year. As of late 2015, its chain had over 4,700 restaurants in 37 countries. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has contested the decision of the Kyiv Pechersky District Court dated May 26 to block the seizure of businessman Oleh Bakhmatiuk's property in accordance with the wishes of the central bank, the press service of the regulator has told Interfax-Ukraine. "The National Bank appealed against the decision of the Pechersky District Court on blocking property seizure imposed on May 12 in the framework of the claim to recover the debt on a stabilization loan of UAH 4 billion issued to Bank Finance Initiative, whose beneficiary is Bakhmatiuk," reads the report. According to the regulator, stabilization loans worth UAH 4 billion were issued in 2014, while the pledge was the property and property rights of legal entities, and Bakhmatiuk acted as financial guarantor for these loans. The National Bank of Ukraine on June 23, 2015 declared Bank Financial Initiative insolvent. Scammers have been calling people in the Richmond area pretending to be IRS agents collecting overdue taxes, according to Richmond police. Richmond police, who released a warning about the scam on Wednesday afternoon, say detectives have been alerted to a few occurrences of this scam. In the cases weve seen, the caller has typically had some piece of personal information, such as a social security number, to attempt to make the call appear more legitimate, said Richmond police Sgt. Brian Prendergast. The IRS never calls citizens demanding immediate payment without having first mailed a bill, police said. They also will never ask for a credit card or bank account number over the phone or threaten to involve law enforcement. The scammers have been requesting people's credit card or bank account numbers, and they've threatened arrest or jail time for failing to pay, police said. Richmond police said that none of the people they've talked with have given the scammers money. City of Richmond residents who have been victims of this scam can call the police non-emergency line at (804) 646-5100 to file a police report. IRS scams should also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission using the FTC Complaint Assistant, and to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration using the IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting website. A Henrico County police officer is facing a jury trial in October for charges stemming from an on-duty shooting of a woman in December. Joel D. Greenway of Sandston was charged with malicious wounding, shooting into an occupied vehicle and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He appeared in Henrico Circuit Court on Tuesday, when a five-day jury trial was set for the week of Oct. 24. The charges originate from a shooting Dec. 15. About 10:30 p.m., Greenway approached a vehicle parked at an Exxon station on Nine Mile Road, according to court records. Greenway was alone and in uniform when he shined a flashlight into the car, and the driver attempted to drive off. Greenway fired his weapon several times, hitting a female occupant, court records allege. Kimberly McNeil, the woman in the car, was in court Tuesday. She is recuperating after she was shot multiple times, including in her right arm and back of her head. Greenway, through defense attorney Peter Baruch, requested the jury trial. He described it as a strategy decision that could change as the trial nears. Once defendants give up the right to a jury trial, Baruch said, they cannot go back and request it. In response, Henrico Commonwealths Attorney Shannon Taylor requested a pool of 70 potential jurors for prosecutors and the defense to choose from typically a jury of 12 is narrowed from 25 to 30 people, according to Taylor. We want to make sure that we have 12 people that can sit fairly and impartially for both sides, Taylor said after the hearing. Baruch said Taylors request wasnt unusual given the media coverage of the case. Its not often that police officers are indicted, Baruch said. Joel is looking forward to his day in court. Greenway is still a Henrico employee, said Paula Reid, the countys human resources director. But he is not actively doing police work, Reid said. He has worked for the department since Jan. 28, 2013. Poroshenko instructs to consider viability of completing construction of second Mriya An-225 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stands for the development of Ukrainian aviation industry as the strategic sector of the Ukrainian economy. "Finally we have signed new contracts to supply Ukrainian aircraft to Saudi Arabia. Finally we agreed at a meeting with the president of Azerbaijan that the country buys our Antonov aircraft. Finally Defense Ministry orders Ukrainian Antonov aircraft for the first time in many years. Believe me, this is only the beginning," he said during his visit to Antonov State Enterprise on the occasion of its 70th anniversary in Kyiv on Tuesday. Poroshenko said that Ukraine has entered new markets after Russia's aggression. "This is your job. This is what we have achieved and we are looking ahead with confidence," he said addressing the plant's employees. He thanked Antonov employees for their jobs and contribution into the development of Ukrainian aviation industry. "Today we saw the opportunities of building one more Mriya An-225. We have the fuselage of unique aircraft An-70," he said. Poroshenko instructed to consider all opportunities, explore the market carefully and inform him on the possibility of completing the construction of An-70 and Mriya. The president said that there is a task to make aviation industry a strategic sector of the Ukrainian economy and make Ukraine the key player on the global aviation market. The president had a conversation with veterans of the plant and crew of Mriya An-225 that has returned from Australia recently. The crew presented him the Ukrainian flag, which was on board of Mriya during the flight to Australia. A federal appeals court will not revisit a three-judge panels ruling in favor of a transgender student battling the Gloucester County School Board for the right to use the boys bathroom. The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a petition by the School Board seeking to have the case reheard by the full court. In April, a smaller panel of judges ruled that federal laws against sex discrimination also protect transgender students seeking to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity rather than their birth sex. The decision moves the case, which could have national implications for transgender rights, closer to review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Paul V. Niemeyer, who dissented in the earlier, 2-1 ruling, did so again in the rehearing denial. In his second dissent, Niemeyer said he chose not to request a poll of judges on the question of rehearing the case because the momentous nature of the issue deserves an open road to the Supreme Court. Time is of the essence, and I can only urge the parties to seek Supreme Court review, wrote Niemeyer, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush who dissented in a 2014 decision in favor of gay marriage. The next legal steps are unclear. Representatives for the School Board could not immediately be reached for comment. Now that the 4th Circuits decision is final, I hope my School Board will finally do the right thing and let me go back to using the boys restroom again, Gavin Grimm, the teenage plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. Transgender kids should not have to sue their own school boards just for the ability to use the same restrooms as everyone else. Grimms statement was circulated by the ACLU of Virginia, which is representing him in the case. Grimm, who was born female but identifies as male, sued last year after the School Board passed a policy requiring students to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex. Grimm had been allowed to use the boys bathroom without incident, but a public outcry prompted school officials to craft a new policy. The case is at the legal forefront of the national debate over transgender bathroom access. Last Wednesday, 11 states announced a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its directive in mid-May instructing public schools to let transgender students use facilities that match their gender identity. The Grimm case hinges on the question of whether the term sex as used in civil rights law includes gender identity. In Aprils ruling, the appeals court panel determined that a district court erred by not giving due deference to earlier federal guidelines directing schools to honor gender identity in decisions about bathroom access. We agree that it has indeed been commonplace and widely accepted to separate public restrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities on the basis of sex, the judges wrote in April. It is not apparent to us, however, that the truth of these propositions undermines the conclusion we reach regarding the level of deference due to the (education) departments interpretation of its own regulations. In Tuesdays dissent, Niemeyer argued that the majoritys finding overrides the long-standing practice of separating bathrooms on the basis of sex and denies the dignity and freedom of bodily privacy. Used to be that Virginia, during presidential elections, recalled the fictional Scots village, Brigadoon, from the Lerner-Loewe musical of the same name. Brigadoon emerged from the mist every 100 years for a day. With only two exceptions, every four years on Election Day from 1948 to 2004 Virginia tipped Republican for the presidency. Barack Obama changed that in 2008. He became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry Virginia since 1964. Obama held Virginia in 2012, confirming its new status as a swing state prized by both major political parties. Theres little doubt Virginia will be strenuously contested in 2016, despite signs that the heavy favorite for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, may have a potent demographic and regional advantage over the all-but-official winner of the Republican nomination, Donald Trump. The presidential contest in Virginia is more than a battle for its electoral votes, though they are a telling measure of the states national significance. The campaign is important because it is a barometer of an evolving Virginia, one less likely ever again to be a Brigadoon a place that didnt change even as the outside world did. First, the state of Virginia increasingly resembles the United States as a whole. Census figures show Virginia is not quite as white as the nation and is more African-American. Nation and state, however, have comparable percentages of Asians. Virginias percentage of Hispanics is about half that of the country. Virginia and the rest of the nation are almost equal in their percentages of young, seniors and women. Since 2000, more than three-quarters of the states population growth has been people of color. Just under 1 in 10 Virginians are foreign-born, with 40 percent Asian and 36 percent Hispanic. And they overwhelmingly vote Democratic. Is it any surprise then that Republicans have enacted new restrictions on voting, most notably a photo-ID requirement recently affirmed by a Richmond federal judge? Also, redistricting has become an exercise in political surgery, with Republicans carving out legislative and congressional seats that bypass clusters of presumably hostile foreign-born newcomers. These obstacles have stirred resentments among minorities Asians and Hispanics, as well as African-Americans but its Trumps perceived nativism that may do more to solidify their support of Clinton. Virginia also reflects the nations dominant urban-suburban character. Six in 10 Virginians live in the cities and suburbs, compared with 8 in 10 nationally. Most of these Virginians are concentrated in the urban-suburban crescent that spans from the southern bank of the Potomac River to the Atlantic seacoast at Virginia Beach. Most of the states wealth is in this region. So are most of its voters, many of whom are moderate, meaning they are actual or default Democrats. Second, Virginia still remains two-party competitive. However, its competitiveness can be shaped by artificial factors, such as partisan gerrymandering and an election-every-year tradition that means every election has a unique electorate. Turnout peaks in presidential years, and it approached 75 percent in the Obama years of 2008 and 2012. When more voters participate, the temperament of the electorate is more moderate, favoring Democrats. In off-years, when the stakes might be the governorship or a U.S. Senate seat, turnout tumbles to about 40 percent. The lighter turnout magnifies the influence of the most reliable voters: older, white, conservative, usually male Republicans. This is why Bob McDonnell, in winning the governorship in 2009 a year after Obamas victory in Virginia led a GOP landslide and why, five years later, Republican Ed Gillespie nearly defeated Democratic Sen. Mark Warner for a second term. Then theres the so-called Virginia Curse: Since 1976 in Virginia, the party that won the presidency lost for governor the following year. Gov. Terry McAuliffe snapped the curse in 2013 by defeating two candidates one year after Obama repeated here. McAuliffe spent millions on voter mobilization only to become the first Virginia governor elected by plurality since 1965. But this years surge in voter registration suggests the curse may run its course, further narrowing the gap between state and national politics and likely complicating Trumps designs on Virginia, despite a record, 1 million-vote Republican primary in March that dwarfed the Democratic contest, hinting at broader support for the GOP in November. Last month, the Department of Elections reported a net gain of 108,582 voters from Jan. 1 to May 1. More than half of those voters are in the multihued cities and suburban counties that were the bulwark of Obamas back-to-back Virginia victories. More than 1 in 3 new voters are in the four counties of Northern Virginia, which Obama won and Trump lost. Third, Virginias historically stable economy is in flux, contributing to voter anxiety. Though unemployment in the state at 3.9 percent is the lowest it has been since June 2008 and beats the current national rate of 5 percent, economic growth largely has been flat because of reductions in federal spending. Federal largess makes up 20 percent or more of the Virginia economy. Its shrinkage, attributed to sequestration or automatic federal spending cuts, has hit hard the regions most dependent on Uncle Sam: Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Contraction in the two areas both of which are troves of Democratic votes ripples through the states economy as a whole. In 2014, Virginias economy didnt grow at all. Among the 50 states, Virginia ranked 48th, following by Alaska and Mississippi. Their economies retreated 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. In the preceding four years, the federal payroll in Virginia fell 7.5 percent, taking $1.16 billion out of its economy. Countering Virginias over-reliance on the federal government has been the principal theme of the McAuliffe administration, though Gillespie, now running for governor, says that its not doing enough despite a $2 billion bond issue largely targeting science-based initiatives with anticipated economic benefits and a new $39 million partnership between business and higher education. The election will be an indication of how well (or not) voters particularly in affluent, purple-to-blue suburbs believe Virginia is adjusting to this new economic reality. In the red countryside, where globalization and the energy revolution have decimated furniture, textiles and coal, Trumps protectionist rhetoric has powerful appeal. But rural Virginia is generating fewer voters for Republicans. Fourth and finally Virginia, as the home of national political players, including prospective Democratic vice presidential nominees Warner and Tim Kaine, has, because of rapid population growth, a significant number of electoral votes: 13. That doesnt sound like much, compared with the super-states of heavily Democratic California and New York and reflexively Republican Texas. But among the half-dozen or so swing states, Virginia is insurance for Democrats and a must-win for Republicans. Were not in Brigadoon anymore. Head of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio has called on people's deputies of Ukraine of all political forces to vote for the amendments to the Constitution in the part of the judiciary to launch the key reform in the country. "I sincerely hope that the Verkhovna Rada will demonstrate political maturity and responsibility, and that short-term political interests won't prevent the adoption of the reform, which is very important," Buquicchio said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. "I think everybody is conscious that reform of the judiciary and the prosecution service is crucial for Ukraine's future. Without this reform, Ukraine cannot become a state governed by the rule of law according to the model of the European democracies. This reform is long overdue and has been discussed for many years. This is no longer the time to discuss details. If the amendments were not adopted now, nobody knows when another attempt at reform could be made," Buquicchio said. The Venice Commission head added that adoption of the amendments would be a clear sign that Ukraine was moving forward. "I therefore call on all political forces to adopt the reform now," Buquicchio said. According to Buquicchio the draft contains many important steps forward. "It strengthens the independence of the judges by strengthening the High Council of Justice and by removing possibilities for the political organs, both the President and the Verkhovna Rada, to interfere with the career of judges. It provides a constitutional basis for the reform of the prosecution service and removes the supervisory powers of prosecutors outside the field of criminal law. It provides a constitutional basis for removing corrupt or incompetent judges," the Venice Commission head stressed. Buquicchio took a favorable view of the fact that the draft abolished judicial immunity. "The Venice Commission worked in close co-operation with the Constitutional Commission and its working group on the judiciary. The results of this co-operation are impressive and we noted an exceptional willingness of the Ukrainian side to take on board the views of the Venice Commission. The final draft differs a lot from earlier drafts, precisely because our recommendations were followed," Buquicchio said. "The draft amendments fully meet European standards. For this reason I appeal without the slightest hesitation to the Verkhovna Rada to adopt the amendments now," Buquicchio said. It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search? Search for: Search A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. The Ukrainian Security Service has prevented the attempted transit of followers from the ISIL terrorist organization (banned in Russia) from Syria to Western Europe via Ukraine's Kharkiv. The illegal transit was organized by a citizen from a neighboring country, who had been illegally staying in Ukraine, and was suspected of possible engagement in terrorist activity, the Ukrainian Security Service press center said on Wednesday. The man was hosting ISIL followers in an apartment in a residential area of Kharkiv, under religious disguise, and planned to transport them to Europe. The security service detained the illegal transit organizer and another two people, who were about to take the illegal trip. The police are conducting urgent operative and investigative procedures. The Supreme Court of Virginia has set a special session July 19 to hear arguments in Virginia Republicans lawsuit against Gov. Terry McAuliffes blanket restoration of rights order. The states high court rejected Republicans bid to set the arguments for next week. The GOP had filed a motion last week to seek expedited hearing of the suit against the governor with the aim of preventing Virginians whose rights have been restored from voting in the presidential election in November. McAuliffe has estimated that at least 206,000 Virginians had their rights restored under his blanket order, issued April 22. McAuliffe signed a new order Tuesday restoring the civil rights of all felons who had completed their sentences and finished supervised release between April 22, the date of his original order, and the end of April. That action added roughly 1,200 felons to the list of those who have had their rights restored. Almost 5,000 ex-offenders who had served their sentences and completed supervised probation had registered to vote as of May 24, according to the commissioner of elections. Republicans in the General Assembly filed a lawsuit May 23 in the Supreme Court of Virginia challenging McAuliffes authority to order the mass restoration of rights covering more than 200,000 felons who served their time. The lawsuit, led by Speaker of the House Bill Howell, R-Stafford, and Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, R-James City, argues that McAuliffe exceeded his executive authority under the state constitution. The Constitution of Virginia forbids this unprecedented assertion of executive authority, the filing states. Governor McAuliffes executive order defies the plain text of the Constitution, flouts the separation of powers, and has no precedent in the annals of Virginia history. The governor simply may not, with a stroke of the pen, unilaterally suspend and amend the Constitution. The suit filed against the governor, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson and members of the State Board of Elections and Department of Elections petitions the states highest court to stop implementation of the order and any subsequent mass rights restoration actions taken by the governor. McAuliffe says he has authority under the constitution to take action. He blasted Republicans the day they filed the suit, saying they are attempting to preserve a policy of disenfranchisement that has been used intentionally to suppress the voices of qualified voters, particularly African-Americans, for more than a century. CHARLOTTESVILLE A ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at Baker-Butler Elementary School only marked the beginning of a unique project created by art students and faculty at the University of Virginia that will continue over the next 30 years. UVa alumnus Evan Howell came up with the idea about three years ago. Howell wanted to create a sculpture that would be partially buried and slowly excavated by students every year. At Tuesdays ceremony, only the top of the 10-foot-tall monument, designed by recent UVa graduate Nick Watson, was visible. The rest is buried with thousands of student-created pieces of ceramic art. Each year, students at the school will dig out part of the site and excavate these artifacts, left for them by students from earlier years. The process will take about 30 years, said Bill Bennett, an associate sculpture professor at UVa who led the project. Art is a gift, Bennett told a crowd of about 600 students at the ceremony. Its a gift to make it, [and] its a gift to give it away. Watson stood next to a scaled-down model of the sculpture, which features stones from the site of the school framed on either side by steel. The students voted to name it Waterfall of Stones. Watson said he likes the name. Theres the inspiration of nature in a lot of my pieces, he said. Next to the sculpture is a miniature amphitheater, which was not part of the original plan, but Bennett said it gives the new space a practical function. Bennetts team also contributed the bollards lining the stone steps that lead to the top of the structure. After the ceremony, some students went onto the steps to have pictures taken. UVa has contributed several sculptures to Baker-Butler over the years. For the latest project, Bennett and his team created something that would engage students for many years. In this case, its a site containing artifacts from previous classes an archeological dig on the grounds of Baker-Butler Elementary School. The school will hold an International Archeology Day each year, in which the students dig out part of the sculpture and a few of the 1,500 artifacts preserved under the soil. The universitys archeology department will be helping out. Its a living sculpture, said Steve Saunders, the schools principal. Its not just something to look at, but something to learn from. Ukrainian army had one fatality in Donbas in past 24 hours One Ukrainian serviceman was killed, and another three suffered injuries in hostile attacks in the anti-terrorist operation zone in Donbas over the past day, Ukrainian Presidential Administration spokesman Andriy Lysenko said. "One Ukrainian serviceman was killed, and another three suffered injuries in the hostilities over the past 24 hours," Lysenko told a press briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday. The Ukrainian army suffered casualties in shelling incidents in Zaitseve, and Avdiyivka, in Donetsk region, he said. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine hasn't revoked its resolution dated May 19 to rename the city of Dnipropetrovsk into Dnipro. Only 18 MPs voted for resolution No. 3864-p to revoke the parliamentary resolution dated May 19 on renaming the city of Dnipropetrovsk and Dnipropetrovsk region. One of the authors of the resolution Oleksandr Vilkul of the Opposition Bloc faction said that Dnipropetrovsk residents did not support the renaming of their city referring to 300,000 signatures of residents in favor of preserving the name of Dnipropetrovsk. Vilkul also said that Dnipropetrovsk Mayor Borys Filatov asked Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy not to sign the resolution on renaming the city. The lawmaker also said that residents of Dnipropetrovsk no longer associate the city's name with Soviet communist leader Grigory Petrovsky. AFTER years of success in beauty pageants, former Miss Intercontinental England and Miss Scuba UK finalist Laura Gregory has her eye on a new title. Laura (28), from Laughton en le Morthern, who recently just failed to get into the last three of the Miss Tourism Sri Lanka contest, now wants the Miss Diamond UK title. She is working towards the final on June 11 and hopes her experience in beauty pageants will serve her well. Laura said: I keep saying this will be my last one but then I have never been one to turn down an exciting opportunity. Each time I take part I feel I grow and develop as an individual, my confidence grows, and I make friends from all over the country and even the world. The Miss Diamond UK contest is new for this year but is being managed by mother and daughter duo Tina and Danni De-Bear. They have lots of experience watching and competing in pageants and Im sure they will put on a fantastic final. What stood out to me about this pageant is the tagline Celebrating the Beauty and Diversity of Every Woman. I know all women, including myself, have or have had a hard time fully embracing and loving the way they look so to be involved in something that promotes positive body image in all ages, shapes and sizes is such a lovely thing to be a part of. The final will be at the Riviera Hotel in Weymouth on June 11. Laura said: It is a long way from South Yorkshire but I'm hoping my sponsors Nails by Males and my family will come to support me. It really is great to have the people you love there to cheer you on. If I am selected as the winner I get to choose between representing the UK in Vegas at an international pageant or winning a holiday for two. The charities supported by Miss Diamond UK are Mind and Julias House but the finalist who raises the largest amount can donate ten per cent of the total raised by all finalists to a charity of their choice. Laura said that she would choose South Yorkshire charity SAFE@LAST, for which she regularly raises money and donates clothing. (reuters.com) - Mining group Anglo American (AAL.L) has retained De Beers as a prize asset after a radical overhaul in the belief that surging Chinese and Indian demand for diamonds will outstrip dwindling supply even after a 2015 crunch. The group, in which Anglo American has an 85 percent stake, has seen its market share fall from over 80 percent in the 1980s to about a third now, losing it control of supply and unleashing price volatility. Its challenges are compounded by competition from synthetic diamonds and uncertain demand from customers in the "millennial" generation, aged roughly 18 to 34. Anglo has cut the value of De Beers assets in its books each year since 2012, after it had paid $5.1 billion for a 40 percent stake. But it remains the largest diamond producer by value ahead of Russia's Alrosa (ALRS.MM), securing access to top mines through close ties to countries such as Namibia, with which signed a 10-year sales deal, and Botswana. Stellar Diamonds said it has been verbally informed that the Minerals Advisory Board has approved the application for a mining licence over its wholly-owned Tongo project in Sierra Leone. It said in a statement emailed to Rough & Polished that progression of the licencing process remains subject to the National Minerals Agency, the licencing body of the mines ministry. The agency was also expected to formally write to Stellar to inform it of the decision and draw up a licence agreement to be forwarded to the mines minister for approval. Thereafter the fiscal terms of the mining licence will be negotiated between Stellar and the Government of Sierra Leone and the resulting mining concession agreement will then require ratification through Parliament, it said. Meanwhile, Stellar said that it was engaging with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the required environmental licence, which must also be issued before mining can commence. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished The dates of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Kyiv have yet to be agreed upon, Ukrainian deputy presidential chief of staff Kostiantyn Yeliseyev has said. "No, there is no date yet. But, as we see, our relations are developing very dynamically on all levels. Therefore, the date, which is being actively coordinated through diplomatic channels now, is only a matter of time," Yeliseyev said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine. Kerry promised to visit Ukraine during meetings with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington in early April, he said. "The matter concerns the importance of launching a bilateral dialogue mechanism, active work of the Ukrainian-U.S. strategic commission under Kerry's and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin's leadership, and more active security and defense cooperation," Yeliseyev said. Ukraine also expects to sign a document with the U.S. on extending $1 billion in loan guarantees, Yeliseyev said. "We are also starting a dialogue with the U.S. in the context of forming a new U.S. budget for next year, so that it should increase the U.S. financial assistance for strengthening Ukraine's defense," he said. Mosman Oil and Gas has injected C$400,000 ($308,000) into GEM International, a Canadian based junior exploration company. GEM had an option to acquire a 42 percent stake in the Dala diamond prospect in Angola, which lies 25 km south of the Catoca diamond mine. Catoca, which is partly owned by Russias Alrosa, Angolan diamond company, Endiama and others, was fifth largest diamond mine in the world. Dala, it said in a statement, was an early stage mine project with potential for the discovery of both alluvial and kimberlite diamonds deposits. Whilst the board continues to evaluate interesting opportunities in the Oil and Gas sector, the investment into GEM is at a pivotal point in its development and the Board is confident of the potential GEM's stake in the Dala diamond project will deliver," said Mosman chairperson John Barr. The project was some 3,000 sq km being the largest allowable size for a diamond concession under the Angolan Mining Code, it said. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished ALROSA delegation on a visit to the United States 01 june 2016 News ALROSA, the worlds largest diamond miner by volume said it had a number of meetings in the framework of the visit its delegation led by President Andrey Zharkov is paying to the JCK Las Vegas International Jewelry Show. This was reported in the companys press release issued on Wednesday. The delegation of ALROSA in team with Sberbanks representatives launched an informal road show, meeting a number of private and institutional investors in the United States. During the conversations they held it was revealed that international investors were taking interest in the planned second round of floating ALROSA shares in the framework of the privatization program. ALROSAs top managers visited the headquarters and logistics center of Tiffany & Co. in New York, where they discussed possible steps for cooperation in the field of processing and sale of rough diamonds. Tiffanys representatives expressed their willingness to pay a return visit to ALROSA this fall. In the course of bilateral meetings at the show in Las Vegas, the delegation of ALROSA also discussed cooperation in the framework of the Diamond Producers Association with a view to develop new effective programs of generic marketing. Russia has given its consent to the deployment of an armed police mission in Donbas, a high-ranking Ukrainian presidential official said. "Following negotiations in the Normandy format, we reached unanimity in our positions and an agreement that we will start working in Vienna on the level of the Normandy format permanent envoys to the OSCE, involving in the future all OSCE countries. After all, we will need consensus of all of the organization's member-states regarding the mission's deployment in Donbas. Russia has also agreed to this," Ukrainian deputy presidential chief of staff Kostiantyn Yeliseyev said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine. Kyiv has "distinct records of all telephone conversations," in which all of the Normandy format participants agreed to the deployment of an armed OSCE police mission, Yeliseyev said. "The only thing I'd like to note is that the leaders did not discuss details, as this is up to experts and specialists to do to develop relevant proposals and submit them to the Normandy format leaders for endorsement," he said. Certain agreements were reached during the last telephone conversation in the Normandy format, in the early hours of May 23, which have unfortunately not been implemented, as Russia has blocked and ignored all procedures planned in this context, Yeliseyev said. "In particular, they refused to travel to Berlin, to attend consultations of experts in the Normandy format to discuss the political and security components for settling the situation in Donbas. They were unwilling to substantively discuss the deployment of a new armed OSCE police mission in Donbas, during the consultations in Vienna, between the Normandy format permanent representatives to the OSCE," Yeliseyev said. The Coca-Cola Company (KO), together with Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (KOF) announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Unilever's AdeS soy-based beverage for an aggregate amount of $575 million. AdeS is the leading soy-based beverages brand in Latin America. Post completion, the AdeS business will become part of the non-carbonated beverage platforms that Coca-Cola FEMSA shares with The Coca-Cola Company in its franchise territories. The AdeS brand currently has a presence in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia. During 2015, AdeS sold 56.2 million unit cases of beverages and generated net revenues of $284 million. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News General Mills Inc. (GIS) is voluntarily recalling about 10 million pounds of its flour due to possible E.coli contamination. An E.coli outbreak has sickened 38 people in 20 states. The company is working with officials to investigate the ongoing, multistate outbreak of a specific type of E. coli - E. coli O121 - that may be potentially linked to its Gold Medal, Gold Medal Wondra, and Signature Kitchens flour brands. The various flour brands were sold in Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Shaws, Vons, United, Randalls, and Acme. General Mills said it is making the recall "out of an abundance of caution". State and federal authorities are probing the occurrences of illnesses across 20 states related to E. coli O121, between December 21, 2015, and May 3, 2016. E. coli O121 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Seniors, the very young, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness. However, General Mills noted, to date, the bacterial strain linked to the outbreak has not been found in any of its flour products or in the flour manufacturing facility. The company has also not been contacted directly by any consumer reporting confirmed illnesses related to these products. But while attempting to track the cause of the illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC found that about half of the individuals were reported making something homemade with flour at some point, prior to becoming ill. Some reported using a General Mills brand of flour. Based on the information shared with General Mills, some of the ill consumers may have also consumed raw dough or batter. The company reminded consumers not to consume any raw products made with flour. Further, General Mills said that consumers concerned about an illness should contact a physician. The company also urged anyone diagnosed by a physician as having an illness related to E. coli O121 to contact state and local public health authorities. The recall affects the retail flour products that could be currently in stores or in consumers' pantries. It includes 6 SKUs (stock keeping units or UPC codes) of Gold Medal Flour, 2 SKU's of Signature Kitchens Flour and 1 SKU of Gold Medal Wondra flour. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Despite the contentious primary season, the results of a new Gallup poll show that Americans' views of the two major political parties have not changed much. The poll found that 44 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, while 36 percent have a favorable view of the Republican Party. Gallup said the parties' favorability ratings are little changed from March of last year, before any of the presidential candidates announced their intentions to run. The figures have shown little change despite concerns about the GOP uniting behind presumptive nominee Donald Trump as well as the ongoing battle between Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for the Democratic nomination. "The lack of change could reflect that Americans' images of the parties were very poor to begin with, as both are near the low points in Gallup's historic trend dating back to 1992," said Gallup analyst Justin McCarthy. The poll also found that 76 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of the GOP, while 89 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of their party. The Democratic Party also has higher favorability among independents, as 38 percent view the party favorably compared to the 28 percent that say the same about the Republican Party. The Gallup poll of 1,530 adults was conducted May 18th through 22nd and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News Some discontinued BS4 cars are expected to make a comeback with updated BS6 engines at a later date BS6 emissions standards will kick in from 1 April 2020 and the entire Indian automotive industry is busy updating products to the stringent pollution norms. Almost all major OEMs across different categories have performed a smooth transition to BS6 albeit at a cost. As per the rulebook, no BS4 vehicle can be legally registered in the country post 31 March 2020. For the same reason, various dealerships are offering substantial discounts on their leftover BS4 stock. While popular names on the market have been updated or upgraded to a new avatar on the occasion, certain models and engines had to be discontinued (especially diesel products). In fact, the axe fell on 13 petrol and 16 diesel engines. Here is the complete list of discontinued BS4 cars and engines: BS4 Petrol Cars, Engines Discontinued Brand BS4 Petrol Engine Models BS6 Replacement Maruti Suzuki 1.0 Boosterjet Baleno RS NIL Tata Motors 1.2T Revotron Bolt Available in other models Zest Hyundai 1.6 VTVT Verna 1.5P Creta Mahindra 2.2 mHawk XUV500 G 2.0 mStallion Ford 1.0 EcoBoost EcoSport S 1.0 Mahindra 1.2 T-GDi Toyota 1.2 Etios NIL Etios Liva Etios Cross 1.8 Corolla Altis NIL Volkswagen 1.2 TSi Polo TSi 1.0 TSi Vento TSi 1.4 TSi Skoda Octavia 1.5 TSi Audi A3 Audi A4 1.6 MPi Skoda Rapid 1.0 TSi 1.8 TSi Octavia 2.0 TSI Superb Fiat 1.2 FIRE Punto 1.2 NIL 1.4 T-Jet Linea T-Jet NIL Abarth Punto Urban Cross 1.4T Avventura 1.4T Starting with the market leader, it is not news that Maruti Suzuki is going the petrol way post BS6 implementation. The demand for diesel engines are still going strong and the same has reflected on the brands recent sales reports. The 1.0-litre Boosterjet turbo petrol motor had potential but failed to create an interest in the wider market. BS4 Diesel Cars, Engines Discontinued Brand BS4 Diesel Engine Models BS6 Replacement Maruti Suzuki 1.3 DDiS Swift NIL Dzire Baleno Vitara Brezza S-Cross 1.5 DDiS Ertiga NIL Ciaz Tata Motors 1.05 Revotorq Tiago NIL Tigor 1.3 Revotorq Bolt NIL Zest 2.2 Varicor Safari Storme Coming in late-2020 Hexa 3.0 Varicor Sumo Gold NIL Hyundai 1.4D Venue 1.5D Verna Creta 1.6D Verna Creta Elantra Mahindra 1.2 mFalcon KUV100 NIL Ford 2.2 TDCi Endeavour 2.0 Panther 3.2 TDCi Toyota 1.4D Etios NIL Etios Liva Etios Cross Corolla Altis D4-D 4.5-4D Land Cruiser 200 NIL Lexus LX450d Volkswagen 1.5 TDi Polo NIL Ameo Vento Skoda Rapid 2.0 TDi Tiguan NIL Audi A3 Audi Q3 Audi A5 Audi Q5 Skoda Rapid Skoda Superb Skoda Kodiaq 3.0 TDi Audi Q7 NIL Renault K9K 1.5D Duster Coming only in Duster and Kicks Captur Lodgy Nissan Micra Nissan Sunny Nissan Terrano Nissan Kicks Mahindra Verito Fiat 1.3 Multijet Punto NIL Linea Urban Cross Avventura Mitsubishi 2.5D Pajero Sport NIL Tata Motors has discontinued certain diesel engines but they still have a strong line-up of BS6 diesel models. The brands 1.5 Revotorq diesel products, especially the Tata Nexon, find a lot of takers. On the other hand, Hyundai has ditched its BS4 diesel mills for the 1.5-litre unit that powers the Kia Seltos. The South Korean brands higher 1.6 petrol unit will be replaced by the 1.5 petrol mill of the Seltos as well. Ford and Mahindra arguably make some of the best engines on the market; be it petrol or diesel. With the new joint venture between either brand taking shape, India automotive enthusiasts are eagerly looking forward to a range of exciting products in the near future. On the premium side of the Indian market, Volkswagen Group India (now Skoda Auto Volkswagen India) has also opted a petrol-only BS6 portfolio in the country. The brand has discontinued a range of engines with only the petrol units getting a worthy replacement. The automotive group may introduce BS6-compliant diesel motors in the future if theres a strong demand. As it happens, a good number of these engines will receive a successor at some point in time, except for Fiat brand which has already left the Indian market while Mitsubishi is nowhere on the map. Saudi warplanes, hirelings continue to violate ceasefire SANA'A, June 01 (Saba) The Saudi aggression's war jets and it mercenaries continued to breach the UN-announced ceasefire during the past 24 hours in several provinces, a military official said Wednesday. The official explained that the hostile warplanes continued to fly in the sky of Sana'a province and waged a raid on Harib area in Nehm district, while the mercenaries bombed Mabda'a area in the district with Katyusha rockets. In Taiz province, the aggression mercenaries pounded with artillery shells al-Madrab and al-Qarf areas in al-Wazeiyah district and several populated areas in the province, the official said. According to the military official, the Saudi war jets flew intensively in the sky of Mareb province and launched two raids on Wadi al-Dhaiq and a raid on al-Wakifa area in Serwah district. The hirelings attacked the areas of Nushor, al-Rabia'a and al-Matar in the same district with artillery and missiles. The Saudi warplanes waged several airstrikes on Harf Sufian district in Amran province and hovered in the sky of the province. In Jawf province, two women and a child were wounded in an artillery bombing of the mercenaries on citizens' homes in western of al-Ghail district and in al-Maton district, the official said. Meanwhile, the army and popular committees forces repulsed an attempt to advance toward Usailan district in Shabwa province, killing and injuring a number of the mercenaries. The aggression's war jets continued their intensive overflights in the provinces of Sa'ada, Hajjah, Mahweet and Hodeidah. BA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [01/June/2016] French diplomat Mingarelli to be new EU ambassador in Kyiv The head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Jan Tombinski, will be replaced by French diplomat Hugues Mingarelli this fall, an EU diplomatic source has told Interfax-Ukraine. Mingarelli will arrive in Ukraine somewhere around September, the source said. According to the Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth) online news outlet, Tombinski, who is Polish, and has worked in Kyiv since the summer of 2012, will be replaced by Mingarelli, a Frenchman of Italian origin, who "beat other candidates in an internal competition." Tombinski will head "to another European country of importance to us," the news outlet said. Russia has not given its consent to the deployment of a militarized mission in Donbas, and the matter should be discussed in relevant formats, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. "There are formats established for discussing these issues. First of all, this is the Contact Group, which will gather in Minsk, and also the OSCE, within the framework of which the relevant decision needs to be made," Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said when asked by Interfax whether Russia agrees to the deployment of a militarized mission in Donbas. Russia "has not given such consent," he said. "The verbosity of Kyiv strategists only hampers the cause," he said. Quick Links SACI Facebook : SACI Instagram: Statement on Diversity and Inclusion South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute is committed to diversity and inclusivity in chemical sciences. The Institute opposes discriminatory acts or threats based on race, ethnicity, citizenship, culture, language, disability, age, religious or spiritual beliefs, political opinion, gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation and economic class. The Institute is dedicated (i) to endorsing excellence and scientific credibility across chemical sciences conducted in academic, industrial, and governmental institutions, and (ii) to nurturing the values of diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the chemical sciences in South Africa. Hence, SACI will continue to play a leading role in assuring the professional competence and integrity of chemists and fostering international collaboration whilst upholding inclusivity and diversity. Statement on Sexual Harassment South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute will not permit any kind of sexual harassment (physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct) in the Institute or at events organised by or related to the Institute. The Institute is committed to and fully supports environments that are free of any form of unfair discrimination and harassment, including gender-based violence. Allegations of any form of sexual harassment will be dealt with seriously, expeditiously, sensitively and confidentially. Statement from SACI Council on tertiary training in chemistry as a result of disruptions to the 2020 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the professional body representing the interests of all chemists in South Africa, we recognise the challenges that the current COVID-19 crisis presents to all our members in academia, research and industry. We also acknowledge the challenges the current situation presents to our tertiary institutions and specifically the challenges presented by moving to online teaching. We applaud the efforts of all our members who work at tertiary institutions who have adapted and innovated to ensure that we can continue as far as possible with our teaching and learning of chemistry even when on campus face-to-face contact is not possible. Our tertiary institutions play a critical role in not only training the next generation of chemists, but they are also tasked with the important responsibility of ensuring that many people from other professions and disciplines are trained in the fundamental principles of chemistry. We reaffirm our belief that this training is essential, as chemistry is one of the central sciences. Key to this training is the practical component and laboratory based skills development. While we accept that this critical component of our training is not possible under the current situation, we strongly urge that plans be put in place to preserve this component of training as part of the curriculum as far as possible. In some cases, virtual laboratory tools can facilitate learning, but we believe that in laboratory practical training particularly for senior level courses should be preserved. SACI strongly recommends that at least a critical minimum practical experience should form part of the plans to complete the 2020 academic year at our tertiary institutions. We believe that this is essential to preserve the validity and integrity of the academic training programmes in chemistry. Latest Updates: Pay your SACI membership fees with SnapScan SACI Ties, Scarfs and T-shirts Periodic table ties and ladies scarfs R130 each. Periodic table T Shirt Short sleeve R180, Long sleeve R200 Please contact head office to place orders. There is also a courier charge of R150 per order for delivery. Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ... I give my consent to Sakshi Post to be in touch with me via email for the purpose of event marketing and corporate communications. Privacy Policy Ukraine is ready to evacuate seriously ill, bedridden children from boarding schools located in separate areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and insists that representatives of UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted access to those institutions, Ukrainian Parliament's First Vice Speaker, Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko has said. "Among other topics of the humanitarian group was the status of children affected by the conflict, homes for severely ill, bedridden children in the occupied territories whom Ukraine is ready to evacuate, but now it insists at least on access of UNICEF and ICRC to these institutions," she wrote on Facebook page on Wednesday after a meeting of the subgroup. The economic subgroup discussed the functioning of the Zolote checkpoint, which has been locked by Donbas militants. Former Ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences Serhiy Pyrozhkov joined the work of the political subgroup, Gerashchenko said. But the issue of security was a major one, she said. "[Ukrainian representative Yevhen] Marchuk has provided compelling information about the critical increase in attacks and the violation of the ceasefire. No other issue could be resolved without addressing the issue of security. Therefore, the Ukrainian side has raised the issue of security with all the groups," she added. Ukraine ready to evacuate ill children from boarding schools in occupied territories - Gerashchenko KYIV. June 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukraine is ready to evacuate seriously ill, bedridden children from boarding schools located in separate areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and insists that representatives of UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted access to those institutions, Ukrainian Parliament's First Vice Speaker, Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko has said. "Among other topics of the humanitarian group was the status of children affected by the conflict, homes for severely ill, bedridden children in the occupied territories whom Ukraine is ready to evacuate, but now it insists at least on access of UNICEF and ICRC to these institutions," she wrote on Facebook page on Wednesday after a meeting of the subgroup. The economic subgroup discussed the functioning of the Zolote checkpoint, which has been locked by Donbas militants. Former Ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences Serhiy Pyrozhkov joined the work of the political subgroup, Gerashchenko said. But the issue of security was a major one, she said. "[Ukrainian representative Yevhen] Marchuk has provided compelling information about the critical increase in attacks and the violation of the ceasefire. No other issue could be resolved without addressing the issue of security. Therefore, the Ukrainian side has raised the issue of security with all the groups," she added. Ukraine ready to evacuate ill children from boarding schools in occupied territories - Gerashchenko KYIV. June 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukraine is ready to evacuate seriously ill, bedridden children from boarding schools located in separate areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and insists that representatives of UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted access to those institutions, Ukrainian Parliament's First Vice Speaker, Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko has said. "Among other topics of the humanitarian group was the status of children affected by the conflict, homes for severely ill, bedridden children in the occupied territories whom Ukraine is ready to evacuate, but now it insists at least on access of UNICEF and ICRC to these institutions," she wrote on Facebook page on Wednesday after a meeting of the subgroup. The economic subgroup discussed the functioning of the Zolote checkpoint, which has been locked by Donbas militants. Former Ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences Serhiy Pyrozhkov joined the work of the political subgroup, Gerashchenko said. But the issue of security was a major one, she said. "[Ukrainian representative Yevhen] Marchuk has provided compelling information about the critical increase in attacks and the violation of the ceasefire. No other issue could be resolved without addressing the issue of security. Therefore, the Ukrainian side has raised the issue of security with all the groups," she added. Ukraine ready to evacuate ill children from boarding schools in occupied territories - Gerashchenko KYIV. June 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukraine is ready to evacuate seriously ill, bedridden children from boarding schools located in separate areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and insists that representatives of UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted access to those institutions, Ukrainian Parliament's First Vice Speaker, Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko has said. "Among other topics of the humanitarian group was the status of children affected by the conflict, homes for severely ill, bedridden children in the occupied territories whom Ukraine is ready to evacuate, but now it insists at least on access of UNICEF and ICRC to these institutions," she wrote on Facebook page on Wednesday after a meeting of the subgroup. The economic subgroup discussed the functioning of the Zolote checkpoint, which has been locked by Donbas militants. Former Ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences Serhiy Pyrozhkov joined the work of the political subgroup, Gerashchenko said. But the issue of security was a major one, she said. "[Ukrainian representative Yevhen] Marchuk has provided compelling information about the critical increase in attacks and the violation of the ceasefire. No other issue could be resolved without addressing the issue of security. Therefore, the Ukrainian side has raised the issue of security with all the groups," she added. - Gerashchenko KYIV. June 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukraine is ready to evacuate seriously ill, bedridden children from boarding schools located in separate areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and insists that representatives of UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted access to those institutions, Ukrainian Parliament's First Vice Speaker, Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko has said. "Among other topics of the humanitarian group was the status of children affected by the conflict, homes for severely ill, bedridden children in the occupied territories whom Ukraine is ready to evacuate, but now it insists at least on access of UNICEF and ICRC to these institutions," she wrote on Facebook page on Wednesday after a meeting of the subgroup. The economic subgroup discussed the functioning of the Zolote checkpoint, which has been locked by Donbas militants. Former Ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences Serhiy Pyrozhkov joined the work of the political subgroup, Gerashchenko said. But the issue of security was a major one, she said. "[Ukrainian representative Yevhen] Marchuk has provided compelling information about the critical increase in attacks and the violation of the ceasefire. No other issue could be resolved without addressing the issue of security. Therefore, the Ukrainian side has raised the issue of security with all the groups," she added. Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'Inaction of State Authorities in Ensuring Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants and Critical State of Energoatom' On Friday, June 3, at 12.30, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press centre will host a press conference entitled "Inaction of State Authorities in Ensuring Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants and Critical State of Energoatom." The participants will include MPs Andriy Artemenko, Andriy Derkach, Oleksiy Riabchyn and Oleksandr Livik (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. Kansas coach Bill Self is still looking for a big man to emerge Hawk Zone A delegation from Samoa has returned having taken part in the first World Conference on Tourism for Development in Beijing, China. Jointly organized by China and the World Tourism Organization (U.N.W.T.O.), the Conference was held under the overall theme Tourism for Peace and Development. It featured discussions on major issues that are closely linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.G.s), including the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and peace. The Minister of Tourism, Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell, led the delegation with the C.E.O. of the Samoa Tourism Authority, Papalii Sonja Hunter. China, as chair of the G20, also hosted the 7th T20 Ministers Meeting under the theme Sustainable Tourism An Effective Tool for Inclusive Development, in which Lautafi spoke about sustainable tourism in Samoa. Samoa as you are aware is a South Pacific Island Nation of 190,000 people where the recent Small Islands Development States (S.I.D.S.) Meeting was held in 2014, said Lautafi. The Theme of Sustainable Tourism is timely in all global conferences and forums and we are proud to have been involved in the promotion of the U.N. International Year of Sustainable Tourism 2017 and wish all well as we progress to ensure that the world becomes fully aware of the contributions, that this ancient and cultural phenomenon called Tourism can play in enhancing the lifestyles of our peoples in developed and developing countries. As one of the fastest-growing socioeconomic sectors of our times, tourism is being increasingly recognized as a key tool for development. Tourisms unparalleled cross-cutting nature and strong links to the other economic sectors, further positions it as an efficient multiplier in national and global development strategies. In 2015, international tourist arrivals totaled almost 1.2 billion and are expected to reach 1.8 billion by 2030, more than half of which will be in emerging economies and developing countries. Accounting for 10% of global GDP, 30% of the worlds trade in services and one in eleven jobs worldwide, tourism is an economic powerhouse that creates opportunities to improve the livelihoods of millions. These big numbers represent more than just economic strengththey reflect tourisms vast potential and increasing capacity to address some of the worlds most pressing challenges, including economic growth, inclusive development, resource management, environmental preservation and the promotion of a more tolerant and peaceful society through the millions of cross-cultural encounters that tourism fosters every day around the world. Tourisms potential to contribute to sustainable development has been clearly recognized with its inclusion in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.G.s) as targets and in the designation by the United Nations of the year 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The Conference, which coincided with the China Tourism Day, was addressed by the Head of Government of China and brought together leaders in the areas of tourism and development to spur dialogue and create a better understanding of tourisms contribution to development, including poverty alleviation and peace. Representatives from the private sector, N.G.O.s, Government Ministries and United Nations agencies gathered in The Orator Hotel, Tanumapua, last week to discuss the creation of a Small Business Incubator for Youth in Samoa. A Small Business Incubator is a facility established to help create and grow businesses from an early stage. It is a place where entrepreneurs are supported to develop their idea, make it viable and able to survive in a competitive marketplace. A Small Business Incubator offers entrepreneurs a variety of technical and financial services. It usually provides working space, facilitates networks and access to information. It can also help to reduce the cost of launching an enterprise. Creating a Small Business Incubator for Youth is an initiative of the Samoa One-U.N. Youth Employment Programme (Y.E.P.), a programme led by the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (M.W.C.S.D.) with support from six U.N. agencies (U.N.D.P., I.F.A.D., I.L.O., F.A.O., U.N.E.S.C.O. and U.N.V.). Supporting youth entrepreneurship and the development of micro and small-businesses is a priority of the Government of Samoa. It is reflected in the new National Youth Policy 2016 2020 and it is articulated very clearly through the Economic Empowerment objectives within the Community Sector Plan 2016 2020 of the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development. In April 2016, Cabinet gave its approval to renovate the former Ministry of Internal Affairs/Fale Pulenuu site and to convert the disused buildings into a new Small Business Incubator for Youth. The M.W.C.S.D., through the Y.E.P. programme, is developing a new partnership with the Small Business Enterprise Centre (S.B.E.C.) for the management of the incubator facility and the coordination of service delivery to youth entrepreneurs in the rural communities. The two-day workshop was facilitated by Dr. Asif Chida U.N.D.P. Private Sector Development Specialist - and Keith Phillips, a businessman and leading thinker on innovation and business incubation processes with experience at global level. Participants at the workshop gained knowledge on different models of Small Business Incubators that have proved successful in New Zealand and in other Pacific Islands, specifically New Caledonia, Palau, Guam and Tahiti. Discussions focused on how those models could be adapted to Samoa. Furthermore, participants debated on the most effective approach to supporting youth entrepreneurship in different sectors including tourism, agri-business, the arts and creative industries and innovation through computer-based technology. Tuilagi Allan Alo Vaai - President of Samoa Arts Council - who attended the workshop said: It is a groundbreaking opportunity to create a platform and fundamental support systems for nurturing financially viable and technical opportunities for youth in Samoa. This will essentially build the capacity for realistic job opportunities for artistic and creative expressions that can naturally be fostered, marketed and rewarded, not just in the local context but internationally as well. When asked, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce declared: The Chamber of Commerce is very optimistic about the Small Business Incubator. We believe that as a stakeholder of this initiative we are able to contribute to its development through the services that we provide in enabling a community of young successful entrepreneurs in Samoa. Following the workshop, the process of creating the Small Business Incubator for Youth will continue, both in terms of the physical infrastructure and the design of services to be delivered to budding entrepreneurs in the villages. Consultations with youth entrepreneurs will be coordinated through the Samoa National Youth Council. Moreover, the M.W.C.S.D., the U.N. agencies and the Y.E.P. management team are reaching out to champions within the private sector, to come forward to support the initiative through mentoring, technical advice, skills development and access to markets by youth entrepreneurs. At the closing event, Ms. Lizbeth Cullity, U.N. Resident Coordinator said: I look forward to seeing a place in Samoa where the potential of aspiring young entrepreneurs can be unleashed. Everyone has a different way of participating in the 54th Independence celebrations. For students of the Middle School Pesega, they took a break from inside the classroom yesterday to clean up the complex at Tuanaimato before the celebration kicks off today. The year 7 to year 9 students at the only middle school did their share in taking part in the celebration by picking up rubbish and weeding overgrown grass. Lisalow Uili said this is their contribution to the independence celebration. We did this last year at Malae o Tiafau, said the teacher. Its a service project for the Independence day and we have been here since morning cleaning up the compound and picking up rubbish. Its a good way for the students to take part in the Independence and they value that marching is not the only way to be part of the event. More than a hundred students from different schools, organisations and government ministries will be marching at Tuanaimato to commemorate the 54th Independence celebration today. The day is done and the memories remain. Whatever that is will differ between individuals depending on where you were yesterday when our proud nation paused to celebrate the occasion of the 54th Anniversary of our Independence. And what a marvelous occasion it was albeit a bit unusual - given it was held at a different location, bringing with it a different feel. There was one thing that cannot be denied. We are a nationalistic lot. We may have different views, beliefs and we might disagree on a few issues now and then but when it comes to matters that are close to the heart, such as the celebration of our ancestors fight to gain independence, we all share the same passion, vigour and pride. Indeed, such showing of pride in thyself; culture and country was strongly evident especially in the confines of Tuanaimato where the national celebration centered yesterday. At the crack of dawn, thousands had gathered to take their place in the highlight of all independence celebrations, the march past. The marchers ranged from babies, children to seniors many of them having made the trip there at 5am. Decked out in their different colours, they represented Samoa of the past, today and what this country would look like in the future. For many people, it was a wonderful opportunity to reacquaint with old friends and believe it or not some family members. For some, it was an opportunity to fly the flag once more for their old school or a group they once belonged with pride. But the celebration was not confined to Tuanaimato. There were mini celebrations right across the country with reunions of sorts organised here and there. Families gathered, church groups united and so forth. Whats most wonderful about these celebrations is that they are held in such remarkably peaceful conditions. While countries near and far are torn asunder by strife and wars, there is absolutely no doubt that here in Samoa there is peace and much to celebrate. We say this because with all our problems, as a nation we have come a long way. Indeed despite our faults, we still enjoy a very peaceful existence, something many people around the world can only dream of. Which is why we should be deeply grateful every day we wake up to smell the fresh flowers and the aroma of life and every time we get to celebrate independence. We shouldnt take it for granted. Indeed, there is plenty of life in Samoa for us to enjoy. Not only have we such beautiful and tranquil environment to enjoy, our survival does not need to depend on anyone else. I guess you can say our destiny is in our own hands. We are not only blessed to live on such fertile soil, we enjoy a peaceful country relatively sheltered from bloody wars, strife and troubles of our neighbours near and far. Whats more, our culture of respect, love, va fealoai, and our Christian values provide the pillars upon which we stand as a nation. They are unique and they set us apart from the rest of the world. When it comes to education, we can hold our own against the rest of the world. More and more Samoans have graduated from tertiary institutions all over the world with some of the most prestigious qualifications in the world. And we dont need to tell you about our sporting achievements. They are written everywhere for the world to see. These are things to be proud of. And we deserve to celebrate them at this moment. But ladies and gentlemen, lets not be complacent. While we bask in the glory of our achievements as a people and a nation, we should acknowledge that there are real issues in paradise, which we believe should be at the forefront of our national conversation. Today rather than later. Yes, its wonderful to know that we are blessed but there is no doubt in this writers mind the leaders of this country have got a lot of work to do. It involves the sorting out of such serious problems as beggars on the streets, poverty, child labour, rape, incest, drugs, abuse of women and children, thefts, robberies, the deadly wave of non-communicable diseases and so forth. Think about those young boys and girls who are on the streets every night, every day? Would they be there if they did not need to be? Would their parents have been so ruthless as to push them out there if they had a choice? We are a wonderful country with many wonderful people who have achieved magnificent things. But when we peel away the top layers of life in Samoa, you will find that these problems are getting worse and they demand that we pay serious attention to them with the idea of addressing them once and for all. What do you think? Have a blessed Independence Day holiday Samoa, God bless! Dear Editor, Samoa has come a long way since the Mau and it is therefore appropriate to raise an issue, which should be corrected. In fact, it should have been corrected a long time ago by those in government vested with the responsibility of correcting history. The sub headline in your paper reads "Happy 54th Independence, Samoa". Let me point out my humble opinion on this. The use of the term "independence" in our celebrations every year is an inappropriate term to use in our celebrations. We are doing our forefathers' struggle a gross dishonour by calling this an independence celebration. Let me point out facts of our history of those matais (leaders of the Mau and Samoa) that were exiled from Samoa. They never surrendered to the forces of the Queen. They died in exile. In other words, Samoa was never conquered because those Chief though died in exile never signed to surrender. So when we say today it's our 54th independence celebration, we are doing our forefather's stand of never surrendering, a great disservice. Samoa should be celebrating our 54th Year of "Affirmation of our Sovereignty", NOT independence because we never surrendered. Independence from what/who? The chiefs and leaders of the Mau movement never surrendered to the Queen, so independence from whom? NZ was only administering directions from the Monarch so if we never surrendered to the Monarch then independence from what? It is time we pay homage to our forefathers' leadership by celebrating the Affirmation of our Sovereignty. It starts with us all correcting the terminology we use. Happy Affirmation Day. F. Dr. L Independence means different things to different people. And when the country paused to celebrate 54 years of political independence yesterday, there were mixed feelings about this years party. The first issue was the location, with the parade being held for the first time away from the usual grounds at Mulinuu. There were pros and cons and many people perhaps felt that the celebration was rushed. Despite that, patriotic spirits were at an all time high when the nation paused to appreciate the vision of our forebears to fight for independence. For most of them, 54 years is a long time. And the day was not just about marching, dancing and singing. For Reverend Paulo Koria, from the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa at Faatoia, yesterdays celebration was about appreciating freedom. Independence Day is a celebration of freedom from colonial rules, he said. Rev. Paulo remembered the first time Samoa celebrated her Independence Day like it was just yesterday. I marched during the first Independence Day celebration and it was an amazing feeling. And that feeling and spirit still exists today. This is the only day where the country gathers together in one place and celebrates. It is the only day where you get to see all the different people from all the different walks of life unite as Samoans. It doesnt really matter what uniform you wear and which organisation youre from, what matters is that we are all Samoans. Rev. Paulo says there have been a lot of changes since 1962. Changes are good, he said. But there are also some bad changes. There are a lot of changes in our Constitution and I have to say that there are some changes that I do not like or agree with. He didnt elaborate. Back then when we first gained our Independence from colonial rules, there were no political parties, our country was a one party state, but that has changed over the years. Samoa has improved in terms of development, said Rev. Paulo. Those are good changes; there are a lot of changes in terms of infrastructure and development. However, lifestyle wise; there have been a lot of changes as well. Everyone has become more and more dependent on the import products, instead of planting things for themselves. For Jun Ho Kim, an official from the Ministry of Health, Independence Day means a lot of things to him. Different people have their own definition of what this day means to them, he said. To me, it means my whole country for me. Its a celebration of freedom and solidarity. It also means nationalism in a sense and its history. Its important and significant because it signifies who we are and our struggles. Especially as we are the first Pacific Island country to gain independence from colonial rules and administrations. There is always that sense of pride in you when it comes to this celebration. Jun Ho Kim is celebrating Independence Day here in Samoa for the first time after three years of being away for studies. To be honest, I wouldnt have been this proud of who I am as a Samoan and of our culture if I didnt spend three years in a different country. I realised that when I went to study overseas. We have a long history of struggle and strife and we have come a long way and that is a reason to celebrate. I was a history student and I loved and enjoyed learning about the history of our country and how we got to where we are now, and as we celebrate today we also bow our heads down to all our ancestors and their sacrifices for us. However, Jun Ho did not agree with Reverend Paulo that the spirit of Independence remains the same. To be honest, its not the same spirit and feeling anymore, and the atmosphere is not the same. I guess its something to do with the time settings and the changed venue. Nowadays, most people are just doing it just for the purpose of doing it. But they dont know the meaning of this and they do not feel it. Its not the same feeling anymore. Reflecting back on Samoas journey, Jun Ho said that there have been a lot of changes in our country. First of all, a change in the venue of where we have the celebration and programme for the Independence Day Celebration. And I dont really think it was a good idea, I prefer having it at Mulinuu where we used to have it. Moreover, he believes that although Samoa is an Independent Country, there are some areas in the country where freedom does not exist. Technically there is freedom in Samoa, he said. However, sociologically, there is not much freedom within our communities in terms of equality. Economically we are also not free. We are depending too much on foreign aid and remittances. Politically, there is freedom there as well but weve witnessed all the different changes in our country in terms of politics. And some are good and some are bad as well. But thats just me, I think its all about how people view the changes and how they take, understand, apply and adapt to all the changes around us. The Head Girl of Maluafou College, Eline Tuilagi Alaovae uttered that its always a great feeling participating in the Independence parade. However, this years parade is special as it is her last year in College. This is the last time I will be wearing the Maluafou uniform at the parade. And that made me emotional today. However, she agreed with Reverend Paulo that the uniform does not matter as long as you know the true meaning of the day. This celebration is more than just marching, singing and dancing. Its a celebration which unites our whole nation and to me, it is the most important event every year in Samoa. Its a day to reflect back to all the sacrifices and the hardships our ancestors went through to get here. One of the interesting things about today is the Parade. Its not every day that we wake up at 4am to get ready and go to where the celebration is. Come 6 oclock, you will see everyone all at one place despite the coldn in the morning and the hot sun when its 8 oclock. The most amazing thing about this is that we are not being forced to join the parade. Its the feeling of nationalism in us that drives us out of our beds at 4am and come down to join the thousands of other Samoans in celebrating independence. To me, it means unity, and that is our strength. Russia's foreign minister says President Vladimir Putin's planned trip to China will give "powerful impulse" to ties between the two nations. Speaking Tuesday at a Moscow conference, Sergey Lavrov described expanding ties with China as a priority in Russia's foreign policy. "We are certain that President Putin's visit to China planned for June will give a powerful impulse to the multifaceted strategic Russian-Chinese partnership and will favor further the realization of its inexhaustible, truly inexhaustible potential". The Chinese representative at the Russian-Chinese Friendship Committee Dai Bingguo also spoke at the conference, stating that relations between the two countries have never been better. Putin is set to visit China in June on a trip intended to further boost cooperation on energy and other areas. Plumes of smoke rise high into the air after a fire broke out at a chemical plant in Yichang city, Central China's Hubei province, on May 31, 2016. The local public security bureau said the blaze, which started at around 3 pm on Tuesday afternoon, was ignited by a chemical leak at the factory. No casualties have been reported so far. [Photo/Chinanews.com] Officials from a prison in Hebei Province denied Tuesday that former China Central Television (CCTV) anchor Rui Chenggang had died in jail, saying he was not sent to their jail. "Rui has not served his sentence in Yancheng Prison and the news is completely fabricated," an official with the prison was quoted as saying by news site legal daily.com.cn. The official also urged media to report objectively. On April 12, the Beijing-based weekly newspaper China Business Journal reported that the graft case against Rui would soon be heard. Rui's case is among 34 corruption-related cases at CCTV, and 29 of them have been assigned to judicial organs in Northeast China's Jilin Province, the newspaper said, citing an anonymous source close to the provincial judicial agencies. Rui, once a popular host of financial and news programs on CCTV, was taken away by prosecutors in July 2014 together with Li Yong, deputy director of the business channel and another unnamed producer, following the detention of Guo Zhenxi, then-director of CCTV's business channel, for allegedly receiving bribes in June 2014, news site caixin.com reported. At least 10 CCTV employees were reportedly suspected of corruption that year. Having been bashed for days by media all over the world, Qiaobi, a barely known Chinese detergent producer, apologized for its inappropriate commercial. Showing a Chinese woman using the detergent to "whitewash" a black man, the ad has been described by Western media as "the most racist advert ever." Since racism is not a common social problem in China, it is a surprise to witness such an enthusiastic uproar over this individual case. Heated discussions about whether China tolerates racism went viral, with foreigners sharing their upsetting experiences of being discriminated against in China. There is no doubt that from a Western perspective, Qiaobi's ad is a blatant display of racism. However, unlike many developed countries that were brutal colonizers and engaged in the slave trade, racism is not an innate problem in Chinese society. From ancient times to nowadays, the country has barely been troubled by race problems. It has only emerged in recent years as China opens up to more people from overseas, and more Western worldviews start to make an impact on Chinese social consciousness, which have caused some misunderstandings. The racist ad is not based on intentional prejudice, but out of a collective unconsciousness of racism. Nevertheless, the controversial commercial indicates a sad fact: Racism is still a flashpoint problem across the globe, and the Western media's fierce response to this careless ad shows their concern over their own problems with racism, which simmer under the guise of political correctness. A recent poll by CNN shows that racism is still deeply embedded in US society. Two out of 10 blacks and Hispanics felt unfairly treated by the police over the past 30 days and eight in 10 blacks and two in three Hispanics agree the US criminal justice system favors whites. Although posing as the most developed country, the US, after decades of promoting political correctness, is still bogged down in racism. The noticeable change compared to the old days is the abolishment of derogatory words such as the N-word, but deep-rooted bias, prejudice and discrimination are far from being eliminated. More examples of the malfunction of Western society can be seen with the return of ultra-Right forces. Pressured by economic slowdowns and migrant crises, ultra-Right parties are gaining momentum in Western politics. Donald Trump, notorious for his discrimination and protectionism, is getting more popular. Robert Kagan, a US historian, raised his concern in a recent essay titled "This is how fascism comes to America" in the Washington Post. The world should realize racism is a global issue. The Western hemisphere should be more realistic in addressing their own problems over race rather than seeking relief by exaggerating other people's careless mistake. Norman Rockwell did Post covers from 1916 to 1963 a remarkable 47 years. Who were the folks on his first generation of covers? Weekly Newsletter The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox! Join Norman Rockwell did Post covers from 1916 to 1963 a remarkable 47 years. Who were the folks on his first generation of covers? Below are some fun details about two men who transformed into new characters over and over again on the covers of the 1920s: Dave Campion and Pop Fredericks. At right, they appear together as Victorian musicians in the 1923 holiday cover, Christmas Trio. Campion is the taller man on the right, and Fredericks, left. Subscribe and get unlimited access to our online magazine archive. Subscribe Today Dave Campion There was one kind of idea which I didnt have to struggle over, Rockwell wrote in My Life as an Illustrator, the timely idea. In 1920 the whole country was talking about Model T Fords and Henry Ford. So, he created the July 1920 cover of the Campion family (below, left) in their rusty Model T, easily passing an expensive Peerless. Dave Campion, the driver living life in the fast lane (as much as one can at 30 mph), ran a newsstand in New Rochelle, New York where Rockwell worked and lived when this illustration was created. One cant help but wonder what it was like for Campion to sell the latest issue of The Saturday Evening Post with himself on the cover! In the top right illustration, Campion, given a slouchy hat and a mean squint, transforms from the amiable dad in 1920s Excuse My Dust, to the long arm of the law. Welcome to Elmville, indeed. (The arm caught Norman Rockwell speeding through Amenia, New York, giving him the idea for this cover. That was back in the days when towns paid their taxes with speeders fines, and the Amenia cop really nailed me right along the welcome sign!) Pop Fredericks Unlike Campion, who had found his calling selling periodicals and papers, Pop Fredericks was an actor who never quite made it. Pop had been, as he told it, cheated of fame, Rockwell wrote. Fredericks was in a play that was just gaining momentum when he was replaced by a better-known actor. Fredericks acting ability allowed him to portray a wide range of personalities, making him a rugged character in one cover (below, left) and a kindly doctor in another (below, right). Like Campion in the covers above, the contrast between the two characters is significant. Though Fredericks never became a renowned actor, he achieved immortality on Post covers: as a seasick ocean voyager, a cellist, a politician, and an obliging physician (above, right) who cant resist allaying the worries of the little mother. The Doctor and the Doll was an all-time favorite and is one of the most collectible Post covers of all time. Holly Ridge, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/01/2016 -- In the wake of Memorial Day a day which honors all of the brave men and women who have fought and died for our country one company has turned their focus to helping veterans of our military branches. Based in Wilmington and Jacksonville, North Carolina, a state known for its substantial military personnel presence, Dalton Elite is a real estate company that prides itself on its ties to the military. At the center of that connection is Joseph Dalton, the owner and founder of the company. His background as a former Marine Corp officer and AH-1W Cobra Attack Helicopter Pilot underscore his loyalty to the U.S. military, a dedication that he infuses into his business. Dalton recently partnered with AHerousa.com to give more back to our servicemen and women. A portion of the proceeds from the real estate firm will go to AHERO a true non-profit that is changing lives of America's wounded Veterans. Dalton Elite Corporation is a professional real estate team that has a proven track record of 5-star service throughout Coastal North Carolina from Wilmington to Jacksonville. Joseph maintains the laser-like focus and attention to detail characteristic of a Marine. "We differentiate ourselves from other real estate companies by seeking out active buyers and sellers, rather than waiting for them to come to us," he commented. Joseph continued, "At the end of the day, everyone on our team understands the military buying and selling lifestyle. That makes us uniquely qualified to consistently secure the best deal for our clients in the region." AHERO (America's Heroes Enjoying Recreation Outdoors) connects Veterans with patriotic members of local communities by organizing outdoor events and social activities. Their goal is to heal the physical and psychological wounds of war and military service by: - Introducing Veterans to resources and programs available to them to increase their overall quality of life - Developing an informal support network of Veterans across the country - Encouraging constructive communication and engagement - Boosting morale About Dalton Elite Corporation Dalton Elite Corporation is a professional real estate team founded by Joseph Dalton, former Marine Corps officer and Naval Aviator. Their mission is to provide all clients with elite real estate services and experiences. Emphasis is placed on professional communication, accurate valuations, constant market analysis, and proactive marketing/searching, and expert negotiations. Their elite system works as well for waterfront luxury properties as it does for military families in starter homes. Dalton Elite serves buyers and sellers in coastal North Carolina in and around Wilmington, Jacksonville, Surf City, Hampstead, Richlands, Hubert and Sneads Ferry. And now they are using their successes to serve AHERO near you! www.daltonelite.com 910-705-5575 Kilimani, Nairobi -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/01/2016 -- Personal Development Analysis is often considered as an effective tool to help assess the qualities and motivation level of candidates, appearing for an interview. This behavioral assessment tool helps companies to look into the key personality traits of a candidate and helps in the right employee hiring. Lafayette-Resources.Com brings Personal Development Analysis training in Kenya with their first PDA accreditation workshop in Kenya from 25th to 27th May in Nairobi. The PDA workshop reveals that behavioral patterns are unique and how interviewers can assess the personality traits of a candidate using the PDA. The insights help identifying the key talents and avoid common mistakes of hiring. Many times, hiring mistakes can result into an inclusion of a wrong person in the company's team. This can not only devastate the business prospects of an organization, but could also prove detrimental to their reputation. By bringing PDA in Kenya, Lafayette-Resources.Com aims at empowering companies with a proven interview technique that focuses on hiring of right and talented people. Many companies worldwide are using PDA as a tool to select, manage and develop talents. Now, companies operating in Kenya will have the same competence of choosing the talented candidates with the help of an insightful Personal Development Analysis of the job aspiring candidates. In the recent times, the PDA has been scientifically verified to offer credible results with a 90% reliability rate. This simple methodology allows human resource experts to understand the needs, behaviors and motivation level of candidates, and gain an insight into their natural personality traits. With a better understanding of strengths as well as limitation of a candidate, it is possible to hire right candidates for a company. Lafayette-Resources.Com allows HR professionals to become Certified PDA Analysts in Kenya with their PDA accreditation training programs. The training will help them gain the knowledge and insights, required to assess the personality traits of a candidate. To learn more about the PDA training opportunity in Kenya, one can visit the website http://lafayette-resources.com/pda/. About Lafayette-Resources.Com Lafayette Resources is a Human Capital, and Business Consulting Company, providing an array of top level consulting services. At Lafayette Resources, the team members are Bold and Tenacious and love to take on big challenges and win them. They always partner closely with the clients in providing long lasting business solutions. They are Ambitious, Restless, highly Energized, and Passionate about what they do. For Media Contact: Person Name: Kaly-Esah Moga Address: Beverly Court, Corner of George Padmore & Marcus Garvey Kilimani, Nairobi, Kenya Phone: +254 737-992200, +254 735-709005, +254736-992200 Email Id: service@lafayette-resources.com Website: http://lafayette-resources.com Melbourne, Australia -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/31/2016 -- Smartyhost.com.au, a renowned domain name registration service provider in Australia, recently announced that people who would buy domain names through them can also opt for domain hosting, web development and email hosting services. The owners said that the add-on services have been added so as to gain more traction in the Australian start-up market. They believe that entrepreneurs buying Smartyhost domain names would also opt for the optional services. Smartyhost.com.au, though a relatively new domain name registration service provider in Australia, has been able to register more than 60,000 domain names. The owners said that dot com dot au domains available with them start from as low as 15 Australian dollars per year with auto-renewal options, free DNS hosting, free subdomains, free URL forwarding and free technical support. The one-click domain search feature on the Smartyhost.com.au website, as the owners believe, is the actual USP of their service. "We have now introduced email hosting, web hosting and web development services with an aim to put an end to the worries of the entrepreneurs. We know how difficult it is to find a really efficient web designer and web developer in the current Australian market. Since everything comes within a package, our buyers or domain registrars can gain maximum cost benefits by opting for the add-on services", said a top official of Smartyhost.com.au. He said that the primary aim of the company at his moment is to make Smartyhost a trusted name among web entrepreneurs in Australia. "At present, we are offering two website building or development services. The personal website builder costs less than 100 dollars a year and the professional website builder costs less than 200 dollars per year. We think that the benefits that come along with these tailor-made plans would attract many entrepreneurs who are trying to focus on more productive areas of their businesses, while leaving web domain registration, domain hosting and web development to the real experts", said one of the key officials of Uber Global, the second largest webhost company in Australia. Smartyhost is backed by Uber Global and have the same infrastructure. About Smartyhost Smartyhost is a domain name registration company in Australia. To know more, visit http://www.smartyhost.com.au/domain-names.php Contact: Company Name: SmartyHost Address: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Phone: 1300 721 465 Email: support@smartyhost.com.au Website: http://www.smartyhost.com.au/ Bangalore, Karnataka -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/31/2016 -- Medical tourism can be broadly defined as travel across international borders with the purpose of availing medical treatment, which may or may not be available in one's own country. This treatment may include a wide array of medical services; however, the most frequently availed services include, cancer treatment, orthopedic treatment, elective surgery, and fertility treatment. Affordability, availability, and accessibility of good quality healthcare services along with assistance from tourism departments and local governments are anticipated to drive the medical tourism market globally. North America and Asia-Pacific are the leading regions with a significant number of inbound medical tourists. Asia-Pacific is projected to grow rapidly because of the availability of appropriate quality of healthcare services at economical cost along with good hospitality. This report segments the world medical tourism market on the basis of treatment type into cardiovascular, orthopedic, neurological, cancer, fertility, and other general treatments in terms of revenue (USD) as well as number of medical tourists. Cancer treatment emerged as the leading segment, accounting for about one-third of the overall medical tourism market in 2015 and is estimated to remain dominant during the forecast period. The demand for cancer treatment is rising with increasing incidence of cancer along with increased per capita healthcare spending globally. In addition, the high cost of treatment or unavailability of quality treatment compels patients to choose medical tourism as a solution. The world medical tourism market is segmented on the basis of region into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Mexico is the top medical tourism destination and hosts the largest number of medical tourists in the world, especially North and Latin Americans, due to quality treatment with economical cost. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR of 16.1% between 2015 and 2022. Thailand, Singapore, India, and Malaysia are the top destinations that attract most medical tourists due to superior quality care available at affordable prices and within minimum waiting time. Capacity addition and promotion of available services through overseas offices and respective tourism department is the key strategy adopted by the healthcare service providers. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the competitive scenario of the market by profiling key participants. The service providers profiled in this study include Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, Fortis Healthcare Ltd., Asian Heart Institute and Research Centre Private Limited, KPJ Healthcare Berhad, Barbados Fertility Centre, NTT Medical Center Tokyo, Seoul National University Hospital, UZ Leuven (University Hospitals Leuven), Infectious Diseases Partners Pte. Ltd., Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, Barbados Fertility Centre, Prince Court Medical Centre, and Samitivej Public Company Limited. These profiles include key financials, recent developments, and strategic initiatives along with the SWOT analyses. KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS: - This report provides an extensive analysis of the current and emerging trends and dynamics in the global medical tourism market. - The medical tourism market scenario is comprehensively analyzed in accordance to the key regions. - The market estimations are based on high-end analysis of the key market segments from 2014 to 2022. - Extensive research is done for the market by treatment type, which provides a clear understanding about the current trends and flow of medical tourists. - A detailed SWOT analysis enables to study the internal environment of the leading service providers for strategy formulation. MEDICAL TOURISM MARKET KEY SEGMENTS: The global medical tourism market segmentation is illustrated below: - By Treatment Type - Cardiovascular Treatment - Orthopedic Treatment - Neurological Treatment - Cancer Treatment - Fertility Treatment - Other General Treatment - By Geography - North America - U.S. - Canada - Mexico - Europe - U.K. - Germany - France - Rest of Europe - Asia-Pacific - India - China - Indonesia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - South Korea - Taiwan - Rest of Asia-Pacific - LAMEA - Brazil - Venezuela - Costa Rica - U.A.E. - South Africa - Rest of LAMEA Spanning over 122 pages "World Medical Tourism Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015 - 2022" report covers Introduction, Executive Summary, Market Overview, Global Market By Treatment Type, Global Market, By Geography, Company/Hospital Profiles. For more information Visit at: http://www.drugpipeline.net/allied-market-research/world-medical-tourism-market-opportunities-and-forecasts-2015-2022 Related Report: World Neem Extract Market - Opportunities and Forecast, 2015 - 2022; visit - http://www.drugpipeline.net/allied-market-research/world-neem-extract-market-opportunities-and-forecast-2015-2022 About DrugPipeline.net DrugPipeline.net is a market research reports distribution platform which hosts research reports from all leading global market research firms related to pharma industry. It also assist decision makers locate the right market research solution from a single place. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the first archaeological evidence for an early Southeast Asian presence in the remote island of Madagascar and reveals that this settlement extended to the neighboring Comoros Islands. The study authors, led by Dr. Alison Crowther from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, excavated 18 sites in Madagascar, Comoros, and along the East African coast and recovered over 2,500 seed remains. They identified that the ancient seeds from Madagascar consist of typically South East Asian crops, such as rice (Oryza sativa), mung bean (Vigna radiate) and cotton (Gossypium arboreum). The origins of Southeast Asian settlers in Africa has long puzzled historians and archaeologists, said co-author Dr. Mark Horton from the University of Bristol, UK. This is the first really clear archaeological evidence that they did indeed make extraordinary journeys across 4,000 miles of the Indian Ocean during the first millennium CE. The analysis also suggests that Southeast Asians colonized not only Madagascar but also the nearby islands of the Comoros, because again the crops that grew there were dominated by the same Asian species. This took us by surprise, said Dr. Crowther. After all, people in the Comoros speak African languages and they dont look like they have Southeast Asian ancestry in the way that populations on Madagascar do. What was amazing to us was the stark contrast that emerged between the crops on the Eastern African coast and the offshore islands versus those on Madagascar, but also the Comoros, she said. Genetic research has confirmed that the inhabitants of Madagascar do indeed share close ancestry with Malaysians, Polynesians, and other speakers of what is classed the Austronesian language family. To date, archaeological research has identified human settlements in Madagascar that belong to the first millennium, but had no definitive evidence that they were of Austronesian origin. Southeast Asians clearly brought crops from their homeland and grew and subsisted on them when they reached Africa, said co-author Dr. Nicole Boivin, from the University of Oxford, UK, and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany. This means that archaeologists can use crop remains as evidence to provide real material insights into the history of the island. The scientists examined residues obtained from sediments in the archaeological layers, using a system of sieves and water. In this process they recovered carbonized seed remains that could be individually identified and directly dated using radiocarbon. In material from the 8th and 10th centuries CE, they noted a distinct pattern, with African crops concentrated on the mainland and the islands closest to the mainland. In Madagascar and the neighboring Comoros Islands, in contrast, early subsistence focused on Asian crops. There are a lot of things we still dont understand about Madagascars past; it remains one of our big enigmas, Dr. Boivin said. But what is exciting is that we finally have a way of providing a window into the islands highly mysterious Southeast Asian settlement and distinguishing it from settlements by mainland Africans that we know also happened. Much work remains to be done. We are keen to understand who these people were and what impact they had, Dr. Crowther said. Amongst events that possibly coincide with the arrival of Austronesian speakers is the disappearance of Madagascars famous megafauna, which include giant species of birds, lemur, and tortoises. Dr. Crowther and co-authors plan to return to Madagascar to continue their research. _____ Alison Crowther et al. Ancient crops provide first archaeological signature of the westward Austronesian expansion. PNAS, published online May 31, 2016; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1522714113 [KUALA LUMPUR] The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that fish consumption per person globally has more than doubled over the past five decades. But scientists say governments should now focus more on the nutritional quality of fisheries. The development of fisheries that are nutrition-sensitive would improve nutritional outcomes instead of only production and trade values, says a study in the May issue of the journal Food Policy. Fisheries refer to harvesting of aquatic animals from wild populations and aquaculture. If we only focus on tilapia, we limit what people can cook and eat, and the nutritional benefits they can get from diverse fish species. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, WorldFish By adopting a nutrition-sensitive approach, the study argues that fisheries present many untapped opportunities to meet the UNs Sustainable Development Goals to provide accessible and nutritious foods for all. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, lead author of the study, says that while past policies targeted hunger and have successfully increased food production, in areas where people have more than enough staple food, they remain malnourished. We want to develop food production systems, in this case fisheries, that improve nutrition and health of the populations, stresses Thilsted, a senior nutrition advisor with the international research organisation WorldFish. The study suggests three target areas for fisheries to realise nutrition-sensitive outcomes: (1) improve quality and quantity of fish supply, (2) empower women, and (3) promote equitable markets. Fisheries need to better diversify their products to provide greater diversity of foods, and hence nutrition. Capture fisheries must also conserve ecosystems for sustainable and diverse harvests from the wild. On the other hand, aquaculture which is seen to supply 63 per cent of global fish demand by 2030 produces mainly large species, which Thilsted and her colleagues say are less nutritious than the small fish from capture fisheries. If we only focus on tilapia, we limit what people can cook and eat, and the nutritional benefits they can get from diverse fish species, explains Thilsted. Tilapia fish is a major aquaculture commodity; China and South-East Asia are the largest producers. The study suggests that aquaculture produces a mix of nutritious small fish species and large species for the market to optimise resource use and product diversity. If one evaluates other aspects of development, such as nutrition and health of children, in the long term, these [production-focused] policies in fisheries are not optimal for national development, adds Thilsted. However, Weimin Miao, aquaculture officer at the FAO regional office in Bangkok, cautions against overemphasising nutritional outcomes as specific goals for fisheries development when current production lags behind demand. Exaggerating the difference of some micronutrients between different fish might lead us to overlook the overall importance of fish as an important source of healthier animal food, he says. Miao thinks it is more pertinent to increase supply of affordable fish, particularly for local low-income groups, instead of setting nutritional outcomes as goals that are rather difficult to quantify and measure. This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets South-East Asia & Pacific desk. Beijing prosecutors to probe 5 policemen involved in the death of Lei Yang Beijing prosecutors decided on Wednesday to probe 5 cops involved in the case of Lei Yang, who died in police custody after a vice raid on May 7 in Beijing. Thomas Fekete of the rock band "Surfer Blood" died from "a rare form of cancer" that he was diagnosed with on 2015. The guitarist was 27. Thomas' wife, Jessica Fekete, wrote a message on the GoFundMe, a page that was created to seek help for his medical expenses. Jessica confirmed about the death and said that Thomas died peacefully in his sleep while holding her hand. The "Surfer Blood" member was trying to look for an alternative cancer treatment after the cancer has spread to his spine and lungs after undergoing a procedure to get rid of a tumor from his abdomen. According to Jessica, Thomas has let go of the burden of suffering and pain that he has courageously carried for so long. She added that she is filled with comfort, knowing that Thomas is now free, and that she longs for the day when she gets to be reunited him again. Thomas was a founding member of the Florida rock band "Surfer Blood," which was formed in 2009 and became instantly well-known with their beachy jams like "Swim." The band released three albums and one EP, most recently was 2015's 1000 Psalms, which Fekete played on. Aside from this, he also released an 11-song solo cassette named Burner in December 2015, according to Paste Magazine. Besides the GoFundme page, the "Surfer Blood" band was also reported to have auctioned off a series of seven unreleased 7-inch singles including other memorabilia of their own as well as by some artists like Yo La Tengo and Real Estate to help cover the medical costs of Fekete. Meanwhile, Jessica announced through the page about her plan to host a gathering on the beach of South Florida to celebrate Thomas' life. She plans to hold the event on the first weekend of July, a day after Thomas' birthday on July 1, adding that she will give details soon to inform everyone who holds Thomas in their hearths, Rolling Stone reported. NASA shared an image of what others said were the "best close-up of Pluto" in December. The image that has been gathered by New Horizons was a detailed, yet incomplete set. Now, the space agency's daring probe has transmitted more data of better Pluto images back to Earth, from the camera on board the New Horizons. The new NASA image will allow the researchers to put the pieces together with the rest of the data. These new "mosaic strip" covers a bigger part of Pluto's surface, helping the scientists put together what the rest of the dwarf planet looks like. Interesting that #Pluto behaves more like a planet when interacting with solar wind. ;-) https://t.co/vQsIemFwtO pic.twitter.com/cSqcrcnDfI NASA New Horizons (@NASANewHorizons) May 4, 2016 NASA's New Horizons camera took the information while it flew by on July 14, 2015 from a diagonal segment crossing hundreds of miles across the surface of the one side of Pluto. The top of the image starts at the dwarf planet's craterous "limb," prior to descending through some "washboard" terrain, which is a collection of sharp, chaotic mountains and the stretch of nitrogen ice plains. At the bottom, close to the "terminator" line that separates day and night, the fields give way to the rugged highlands that are interrupted by deep, dark pits. The width of the strip differs in size from more than 55 miles, or 90 kilometers at the top to an estimate of 45 miles, or 75 kilometers at the bottom. Pluto's enormous are shown in varying colors that give an indication of the changeable environmental and terrain conditions across its surface. The image was captured with the use of LORRI, Long Range Reconnaissance Imager camera on board New Horizons, Mirror reported. While the camera swings further down, the plain becomes increasingly marked and hummocky prior to finally moving into the darker highland terrain that joins the plain near the terminator line. At such point, the spacecraft is positioned to look straight at the dwarf planet's surface According to principal investigator Alan Stern of New Horizon's Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, the new image product is magnetic that he feels like wanting to return to another Pluto exploration and collect more high-resolution images like the ones transmitted across the whole surface, according to Giz Mag. A new study revealed that chickenpox virus is a seasonal disease, because the number of people with this virus is the highest in the Spring. While the findings are hardly that phenomenal because published clinical cases already revealed this, the methods used to gain these findings is noteworthy. The researchers of the new University of Michigan-led study, instead of asking healthcare professionals when people consult them the most for chickenpox virus or doing a systematic literature review, used Google Trends to determine this finding, as reported by ABC News. The researchers used the search engine to estimate and examine chickenpox rates and they were successful. Google search data from 36 countries in a span of 11 years showed what published studies already said - chickenpox virus is more common in spring. In particular, the search trends indicated that countries with government-mandated vaccinations for chickenpox experienced a significant drop in the number of Google searches for the particular disease. The findings also revealed that immunization is effective for reducing seasonal outbreaks, as reported by Influenza Control Today. This is not the first time that this unconventional method has been used for healthcare research. Google trends has also been used to examine influenza rates. However, what is unique with the chickenpox study is that it did not onlylook at trends, it also showed the effectiveness of a vaccine. Kevin Bakker, a doctoral student in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology said this is remarkable. "It is really exciting to see human information-seeking behavior -- Google searches -- being reduced by vaccination implementation," Bakker said. "It's a very clear signal, and it shows that the vaccine is having a strong effect." WGNTV reported that even though the findings are remarkable, doctors say more research is needed. Google data can only aid how to best allocate resources to countries. Many people assume that slavery happens only in the world's poorest countries - after all, for the most part, it has been dissolved in big economies. Or so you would think. According to Reuters, almost 46 million people in the world are still living as slaves, with the greatest number in India, but the highest prevalence in North Korea. This report was launched by the Global Slavery Index, with actor Russell Crowe. The index is made by Australia-based human rights group, Walk Free Foundation, and has recently reported that its estimate of people born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, or even trapped in debt bondage or forced labor has increased from 35.8 million in 2014, to 43.8 million today. Definition of slavery has changed since before the war. Back then, people were held legally as property - a practice that The New York Times noted has been severely outlawed today. However, modern slavery does exist and is prevalent in India (18.35 million), China (3.39 million), Pakistan (2.13 million), Bangladesh (1.53 million), and Uzbekistan (1.23 million). However, North Korea has the highest number per capita level of modern slavery, which consists of 4.37 percent of its total population, followed by Uzbekistan with 3.87 percent, Cambodia at 1.65 percent, India with 1.4 percent, and Qatar, at 1.36 percent. India has been home to more enslaved people compared to any other country, but it had been making "significant progress" to address the problem. Andrew Forrest, the founder of the Walk Free foundation said that the rise of slavery was due to data collection - and he feared that the situation has been getting worse due to global displacement and migration increasing vulnerability to people. That being said, he shared that businesses should check their supply chains for worker exploitation, because despite a man's stance against slavery, there are ways to override law, as he witnessed for himself. For instance, the businessman himself found thousands of people trapped in slavery making goods for his own company. About 130 rescuers have been searching for the boy was went missing after his parents left him in the woods as punishment for misbehaving. Heavy rain and a lack of clues that could point to whereabouts of the child held up Japanese rescuers as they go into day for of the search. The search site, a mountainous area near Nanae-cho, Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan's four main islands is isolated, dense, and is said to be home to wild bears. The Japan Times reported that the boy's parents told the police that he got lost while the family was out walking in the area to pick wild vegetables. After a while, the boy's father 44-year-old, Takayuki Tanooka eventually admitted that his wife and himself left their son in the mountains after scolding him on their way home from a park to punish him for throwing stones at cars on a nearby road. "The parents left the boy in the mountains as punishment," the police spokesman said. "They said they went back to the site immediately, but the boy was no longer there." However, according to CNN, thunderstorms forced rescuers to stop their 10-hour search on Tuesday for missing Yamato Tanooka. An official gave a brief assessment because of the time the lightly dressed boy has been exposed to the elements. "The crucial 72 hours' limit for the survival has passed," rescue team spokesman Satoshi Saito said. "The outlook could be severe ... but we can do nothing but continue looking with a hope in mind." An article in The Washington Post said that it only took Yamato a few minutes to vanish after his parents abandoned him by the side of the road to punish him. By the time his parents came back for him, he was nowhere to be found. Two hunters have already joined the rescue team after teams thought they found bear droppings. However, Saito concluded that the sign came from animals smaller than bears. The search started at dawn Tuesday and was extended along the road north toward Mount Komagatake, a 1,131-meter (3,710-feet) volcano, from the point where the boy was left, according to the officials. Officials say that they are already starting to get confused. Saito said the expansion of the search toward the mountain was at the parents' request. "We do not think the little boy chose to go into the forest, so we focus on the area along the road connecting from where he was left," Saito said. Just slightly bigger than a regular postage stamp, a mini-scale PM971-NVMe is bound to be produced by Samsung. The tech giant has made an announcement recently highlighting its plan to start producing a non-volatile memory technology, an SSD controller, DRAM, and a NAND flash memory packed into one card. The PM971-NVMe is designed to work on thin-and-light laptops. Another interesting feature of this latest Samsung product is that it is also made compatible with Macbook and another device that are compact or space-constrained. The product has 18 different chips placed in one ball grid array package. The volume is astonishingly 1/100th of a regular 2.55 inch big SSD card, although the surface area is only about 20% of its size. Samsung's Senior Vice President of Memory Product Planning and Application Engineering Team, Mr. Lee Jung Bae, mentioned that the production of such tiny SSD would assist companies in their intent to launch slimmer computing devices. In addition, this would likewise provide consumers a more reliable and satisfactory computing tools and environment. The latest Samsung SSD package will feature an in-house controller with a16 offered 48-layer 256-gigabit V-NAND flash chips. As per the report released by Samsung, the latest SSD produce exceeds the transfer speeds that are currently supported by the SATA 6GB/s protocol. Using Samsung's own technology called the TurboWrite, the read and write pace may reach up to a staggering 1,500 megabytes per one second and also 900MB per second. To illustrate an example, the Samsung executive mentioned that a 5GB-heavy movie file can be transferred quickly in just three seconds and can be downloaded only six seconds. After the unveiling of the said product, Apple is said to also develop a much thinner Macbook Pro at the latter part of 2016. This would potentially mean that they may use the latest SSD product of Samsung. A pilot experiment discovered a new Einstein ring", a strange astronomical object, by PhD student Margherita Bettinelli of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias and the University of La Laguna, along with an international team of astrophysicists. The phenomenon, which was predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity, is quite rare yet scientifically interesting. According to reports, the attention being given is strong enough that the object has been called the Canarias Einstein ring. Einstein ring is a distorted representation a very far galaxy named "the source." The distortion is made by the bending of the light rays coming from the source because of the vast galaxy named "the lens", which lies between it and the observer. A strong gravitational field generated by the lens galaxy is distorting the structure of space-time in the neighborhood, not only attracting objects with mass, but it also bends the directions of light. When both galaxies are exactly lined up, the image of a more distant galaxy converts into nearly perfect circle surrounding the lens galaxy. The circle's irregularities are caused by the asymmetries in the source galaxy. The pilot experiment was being conducted by Margherita Bettinelli while she was studying the data taken through Dark Energy Camera of the 4m Blanco Telescope at Chile's Cerro Tololo Observatory. Bettinelli said she was analyzing the stellar number of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy when she noticed the unusual morphology of the Einstein ring. This immediately raised attention that later led to observation and analysis of its physical properties using the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS, according to Space. The "Canarias Einstein ring" is one of the most aligned discovered until now that is nearly circular, which shows that both galaxies are more or less perfectly aligned, with a division on the sky of only 0.2 arcseconds. Based on research, the source galaxy is 10,000 million light years away from Earth, and because of the enlargement of the Universe, such distance was smaller when the light began on its journey to us, taking 8,500 million years to get here, Laht reported. SUMTER, S.C. -- The Sumter County Sheriffs Office is seeking any information that may help lead to the arrest of Shaylan Charvoris Isaac, a Pinewood native wanted in connection to a Sunday morning shooting in Myrtle Beach. According to the Myrtle Beach Police Department, Isaac, 21, allegedly shot the victim while at Holiday Sands Hotel in Myrtle Beach and left the scene. He is wanted for attempted murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Isaac is described as an African-American male standing at 6-feet, 4-inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Also, Isaacs home and the homes of his family members have been searched, but he has not yet been found, according to Sumter County Sheriffs Office. Isaac is considered armed and dangerous. If located in Sumter County, contact the Sumter County Sheriffs Office dispatch at (803) 436-2774 or call the Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1382. 17-year-old Xiaolin has been a healthy kid since she was little. But recently she kept having lower back pains. At first she thought it was premenstrual syndrome. But after her period the symptoms did not ease away so she began to worry. Everyone was shocked by the result of the ultrasound it turns out Xiaolin has four kidneys. A related doctor explained that the disease is called renal duplex monstrosity. The mortality rate for this is one in 1,500 people, which means most of the people would not even realize they have renal duplex monstrosity through their entire life. Though it may show more than two kidneys when one has the disease, the extra kidneys usually attach themselves to the regular functioning ones and thus they cannot be easily removed. Consequently, functionally speaking, extra kidneys cannot be removed and used to help others in need. Doctors eventually performed a ureteral replantation surgery and kept all of Xiaolins kidneys. Now Xiaolin is recovering well from the operation . FLORENCE, S.C. The signs of a stroke can look different for everyone. As the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, many people have slurred speech or a noticeable drooping of one side of the face. For Susan Hauer, a clinical nurse manager at McLeod Regional Medical Center, the symptoms were best described as awkward. Its really hard to explain. When I was trying to explain it to other people, they couldnt understand it, she said. But I just said I was awkward. Last October, as Hauer walked in the Pee Dee Heart Walk sponsored by the American Heart Association, she felt off. She needed a hand from her 14-year-old daughter to walk the downtown route. And when she brushed her hair the day before the walk, Hauers brush clunked into her head as she attempted to smooth her short, blonde locks. Had a patient, friend or family members described similar symptoms, Hauer would have suggested seeking immediate medical attention. I would have told anybody else go to your doctor, but I ignored those things, she said. Being a nurse, were some of the worst patients. And doctors are the same way. You self-diagnose. I thought it was anxiety. That was my diagnosis. After four days of continued weird feelings, Hauer finally made the decision to go to the hospital. She suspected that her blood pressure was high, and she was right. It was 265 over 135. The American Heart Association suggests that a healthy blood pressure is less than 120 over less than 80. But despite the elevated blood pressure, when McLeod tested Hauer on its stroke scale, she scored a 0 out 10. Everything was fine on their scale, she said. It was not until an MRI scan was done that it was confirmed that Hauer had suffered a small stroke in her brain stem. Fortunately for Hauer, the stroke was not too severe. She was able to go back to work within a month and has mostly healed. Now she shares her story frequently in hopes of preventing others from waiting to receive help as long as she did. The symptoms can vary and may look different for everyone so any noticeable change should be cause for concern. Hauer also suggests calling 911 as soon as a stroke is suspected, because this will prevent a long waiting time. Just mainly listen to your bodies and go call 911 is the best thing I can tell anybody to do, she said. And if its not a stroke, thats great. But if it is, youre going to prevent more damage. HARTSVILLE, S.C. Louis Yount of Hartsville, a lifelong member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, received the federation's Five Star Award for his dedication and volunteer efforts to further the mission of the conservation organization during the group's 40th annual NWTF Convention and Sport Show, sponsored by RAM. The Five Star Award is the highest award a federation volunteer can receive, Yount said. This is a very, very special award, he said. I am only the fifth person they have given the award to, he said. It is only given when they feel it is warranted. Each of the five stars represents a trait found in the recipient: service, integrity, longevity with the federation, leadership and respect. Yount said he is by far the oldest member on the board of the federation and has the most years of service. He recently was re-elected to another three-year term on the board of directors. Louis has been, and continues to be, a driving force in the betterment of the NWTF mission and more recently our Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt initiative, said George Thornton, CEO of the federation, in an announcement. His commitment to the NWTF and the future of our hunting heritage is unwavering, and we are honored to present him with the Five-Star Award. Yount said he was humbled to be recognized. It was emotionally overwhelming," he said. "The wild turkey brought me to the NWTF. Their mission is outstanding. The lifestyle of a hunter and conservationist is such a great thing that we cannot let it die." Younts service to the federation began in 1978. He joined the South Carolina State Board of Directors in 1979, he said, at the urging of Kurt Dunlap. He became a member of the National board in 1987. According to the announcement, Yount assisted in the groundbreaking of the Wild Turkey Center in Edgefield, South Carolina, in 1980 and was later involved with the headquarters expansion in 2003. Most recently, he played a major role in the development of the NWTF Hunting Heritage Center and Palmetto Shooting Complex, also in Edgefield. He helped start the NWTFs banquet program that funded Target 2000, the pivotal wild turkey restocking program that helped restore turkey populations across North America, and continues to fund much of the NWTFs efforts today. He also has contributed to the development of the Making Tracks programs, the Hunting Heritage Super Fund and the Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt initiative. Younts previous accolades with NWTF include winning the NWTF Roger Latham and C.B. McLeod awards for outstanding service as a volunteer. Yount said restocking the turkey population is paramount in keeping the sport active. He said there is now a huntable turkey population in 49 states, all except Alaska, and in every county in South Carolina. It has been a part of my life for a long time, Yount said. I love to hunt turkey. He said he has been hunting for 70 years but turkey hunting for about 35 years. Most of all, Yount said, he likes to hunt with his sons, Price and Christopher, and his grandson. He likes calling the turkey to them even more than shooting. It is special emulating the hen and calling the gobbler to you, pretending you are a reluctant hen, he said. Yount is a native of Hickory, North Carolina. He moved to Hartsville in 1963 and retired from Sonoco Products Company as manager of general engineering in 2006 after 43 years of service. He is married to Linda Yount, a retired educator. They have three children, including a daughter, Mary Beth McDonald. He is a member of Wesley United Methodist Church, where he is a member of the board of trustees and pastor-parish relations committee, and is coordinator of the churchs Disaster Relief program. In his spare time, he enjoys yardwork, piddling in his workshop and relaxing at the family cabin in the mountains. I pride myself on doing a good job with my yard, he said. South Carolina residents are approaching a critical primary election on June 14, and we have some tough decisions to make. While there are critical decisions about who represents us in Washington, D.C., the election of local government officials is just as critical. These primaries deserve our careful attention and full participation. During these primaries, many of the contested positions are unopposed. Whoever wins the primary is essentially elected. The individuals chosen will be responsible for fixing the myriad of local problems that exist. Fixing these problems needs more than money, they need full understanding, involvement and commitment. The most talked about problems I hear are the education system, the crumbling roads and bridges and probably the most serious of all is the lack of ethics reform in the state legislature. The true solution to these three issues rests in the state legislature, and they have festered there with no true action for years. The time for change is long overdue, and we, the electorate, need to demand action. First is ethics reform. The perception of legislators who profit by their votes is more than just perception. Full disclosure is the only way to get the facts out to the public and eliminate the rumors and innuendos. Reportedly Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. is one of the senators most responsible for stymieing attempts at real ethics reform. It makes you wonder why he is so opposed to ethics reform that could clear up some rumors. At the end of April, the Senate unanimously passed a package of ethics reforms, but that action wasnt enough, and it will be meaningless because it looks likely to stall in the S.C. House. Repairing the failing roads and bridges is far more than a money problem. The system is broken from the top down. The top is in the legislature that appoints to the S.C. Department of Transportation Commission, which prioritizes the funding of work to be accomplished. The funding reportedly is all in place for Florence County road projects that are funded in part by the penny tax. The money began being collected 2007, and the money was completely in the bank by May 2014. Once approved, and they all are approved, contracts are issued and the work is done. But the work is proceeding at a snails pace, which brings up the question of what does the contract require and what are the contractual completion dates of each of the remaining road projects? Where are the legislative leaders when it comes to taking responsibility for this dismal performance? I know they will all be there to take credit when it is ribbon-cutting time. On another note, who championed building a five-lane road to a two-lane bridge? What official in the SCDOT approved that construction, and how long will it be before we have to pay for a new bridge? Maybe the senator who led the charge on that project can step forward and explain the plan. Yes, once again, take responsibility as well as credit. Last on the list, but certainly not least, is the current education system. Local school board positions will be on the November ballot. State legislature positions directly impact state funding to schools. Once again we need to become fully informed and chose carefully. Remember, some of those running for school board positions voted to use school money to construct a city road to the waste water treatment plant while at the same time indicating the school system did not have the funds needed to start some needed programs. Those who agreed to spend school funds to help the city finance that road need to be held accountable for their decision. Is that truly a high priority project for the school system? While the presidents of Clemson and the University of South Carolina have offered their support to Sen. Leatherman, is that a measure of support or just words, because you dont oppose the man with the key to the cash resister that funds your university? Is K through 20 really where we need to concentrate? How many of the high school graduates that theses universities accept must enroll and pay for noncredit courses because K thru 12 did not fully prepare them to continue on to college. Once again, we need to ensure those we elect fix the problem not the symptom. Remember, it was the legislature that eliminated the requirement to pass the HASP test before you get a diploma because approximately 20 percent of the students failed the test. Did they fix the problem or just the symptom? It is time for a change in leadership. Ethics reform is essential, restructuring SCDOT is long overdue, and improving our school system must be the highest of priorities by all elected officials. New leadership in the Senate is needed now. Start the change now on June 14 at the primary voting booth. Remember, all registered voters need to vote during the primaries. That is your critical responsibility. Citizen Columnist Thomas J. Sheehy is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army and a retired businessman. Hes been married 42 years, has two sons and four grandchildren, whom he and his wife followed to Florence several years ago. Contact Sheehy at citizencolumnist@florencenews.com. Today is Sine Die ; the end of the legislative session. These closing days in Columbia are critical. Senate and House conferees (including our senator, Hugh K. Leatherman Sr.) worked over the weekend to finalize a state budget that sets allocations for roads, education, state employee pay, local government and other essential functions. Shortly, the full House and Senate will ratify that agreement and send it to the governors desk for consideration, along with numerous other bills. Gov. Nikki Haleys attention is also required to plan and execute, with the commissioner of agriculture, the prompt and efficient distribution of flood relief to farmers, provision for which recently became law over the governors veto. It should be a busy week in Columbia for the governor. However, the governor has chosen to occupy herself, instead, with the work of admonishing the citizens of Florence on how to vote. This is not the first time. In recent months, she has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, largely from out-of-state donors, to run negative ads in Florence. She has chastised as wasteful, Florence County taxpayers decision to pass a referendum taxing ourselves to fund road improvements while she obstructed a roads bill in the legislature. She has criticized so-called state supported pet projects in Florence, presumably including our library, museum, Performing Arts Center, and Health Sciences Center. Once again, on Wednesday, the day before the session ends, the Governor was in Florence, lecturing residents here on how to vote. We can manage without her supervision. The Florentines who are the authors of this guest column find the governors intrusion presumptive, condescending and unwelcome. We hope governor will return soon to Columbia, attend to the work of State government, and leave us here in Florence to our own business. Stephen J. Wukela is the mayor of Florence. Frank J. Buddy Brand II is the mayor pro tempore of Florence. COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the U.S. last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims. A government report released Wednesday lays out grim trends across the country for expectant mothers and their newborn babies. It finds that pregnancy-related deaths have spiked nearly 80 percent since 2018, with COVID-19 being a factor in a quarter of the 1,178 deaths reported last year. The percentage of preterm and low birthweight babies also went up last year, after holding steady for years. And more pregnant or postpartum women are reporting symptoms of depression. The set of photos depict a day of 8-year-old Zhu Zhemin, who is a famous child star in central Chinas Hunan province. On May 22, Zhu got up at 4:30 a.m. at his home in Zhuzhou, as he had to travel 136 kilometers to attend a poem-reading activity at 8:30 a.m. in Loudi, another city in Hunan. Sleepy as young Zhou was, he still had to recite his poems on the highway. After the activity, Zhou also took his daily training at a child star training center back home in Zhuzhou and did his homework at night. (Photo/Xinhua) Photo taken on March 3, 2016 shows a piece of an airplane during a news conference in Maputo, capital of Mozambique. (Xinhua file photo) CANBERRA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Bad weather in the Indian Ocean has delayed Australian-led search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the government's Joint Action Coordination Centre (JACC) said on Wednesday. The search for the missing Boeing 777 jet was supposed to begin wrapping up in June, however unforeseen inclement weather has delayed progress in searching 120,000 square kilometers of sea floor. So far, more than 105,000 square kilometers of the search zone has been combed, but the JACC said the remaining 15,000 square kilometers could take until August to complete due to the poor winter weather. "Poor conditions have prevented the safe deployment of deep tow search equipment from any of the vessels for the past three weeks," Wednesday's statement from the JACC said. "These conditions make it unsafe for crew to perform some activities and to access some areas, such as the back working deck." The JACC said storms had caused monster swells of more than 18 meters, and although no damage to any search vessels has been reported, medics were constantly monitoring the wellbeing of the crews on board. "In the last week, a peak wave height of 18.2 meters was measured on board the vessel (the vessel itself is 20 meters from the waterline to the top of the mast). While none of the search vessels has sustained damage that would affect its ability to continue the search, the poor weather directly impacts on the crew, their ability to work effectively, and to get adequate rest," the statement said. "The doctors on board each vessel have been actively monitoring the health and wellbeing of all personnel." MH370 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, but disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board. BEIJING, June 1 -- China's meteorological authority on Wednesday renewed a blue alert for rainstorms likely to linger in southern and eastern provinces. From Wednesday to Friday, heavy rain is expected in Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said. Parts of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Fujian provinces will also see torrential rain, with precipitation forecast to reach up to 180 millimeters. The NMC suggested people in these areas take precautions against possible mountain torrents, mud and rock flows and landslides. China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. BEIJING, June 1 -- The China Fisheries Association issued on Wednesday a statement on the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the Philippines. Following is the full text of the statement's English version: China Fisheries Association A statement on the South China Sea Arbitration Case Unilaterally Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines To preserve the fishery resources on which Chinese fishermen depend for their livelihood, and to uphold their traditional fishery interests, the China Fisheries Association (CFA) hereby makes the following solemn statement on the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the Republic of the Philippines: 1. Since the relevant waters involved in this arbitration case are traditional fishing ground on which Chinese fishermen based for generations, an arbitration award, once given, may cause damage to their rights to product and have serious negative impact on their livelihood. As the representative body of the rights and interests of Chinese fishermen, CFA pays close attention to the arbitration case and would by no means accept or recognize any infringement act aiming at Chinese fishery resources and Chinese fishermen's rights and interests. 2. The South China Sea Islands have been China's territory since ancient times. China is the real master of the South China Sea Islands. No country, organization or individual is in a position to deny China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, including the right to fishery resources. 3. CFA firmly supports China's stance of opposing the Philippines' unilateral initiation of the arbitration case. The acts of the Philippines and that of the Arbitral Tribunal violate the agreement between China and the Philippines to settle relevant disputes through negotiations, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and the declaration on optional exceptions China made in 2006 pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Arbitral Tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case. Any award the Arbitral Tribunal may render will be illegal and invalid, has no binding force, and will be ignored by CFA and Chinese fishermen. China Fisheries Association 1 June, 2016 MANILA, June 1 -- Incoming Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he was "honored" to receive a congratulatory message from Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling him a great leader, Philippine media reported on Wednesday. "I was honored receiving a congratulatory message from a great president," Duterte reportedly made the remarks on Tuesday when speaking with reporters in Davao City after unveiling the members of his cabinet to the media. In a message to congratulate Rodrigo Duterte on being elected Philippine president, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China and the Philippines sees a long history of friendly exchanges and deep traditional friendship between the two peoples. "A friendly, stable and sound China-Philippines relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples," Xi said, adding that he hoped the two sides would work together to get bilateral relations back on the track of sound development. A joint session of the Philippine Congress on Monday proclaimed Duterte as the new Philippine president, over 20 days after the May 9 elections. Duterte, 71, will take over from Benigno Aquino on June 30 as the country's 16th president. At the news conference in Davao City on Tuesday, Duterte bared his administration's plan to chart an independent relationship with the United States. Philippines incoming foreign minister Perfecto Yasay has said that bilateral talks between the Philippines and China could help untangle the disputes in the South China Sea. "The Duterte administration is bent on dealing with China through peaceful dialogue," he said. "There is no other way but to go bilateral." Back around 2002 2003 the fear of the rise of Chinese crewing was a very real one for many manning companies in the Philippines the sheer size of the Chinese population suggested the number one supplier seafarers could easily be squeezed out by lower cost competition from across the South China Sea. For a number of reasons though it has played out rather differently than the doomsayers expected. The shipping boom from 2003 to 2008 suddenly made seafarers, in particular well-trained officers, a precious commodity. Companies in the Philippines responded to this by working with international shipowners and managers to train more officers, something that both helped shipping as a whole and was good for the long-term development of the industry in the Southeast Asian crewing capital. There was also the fact that the driving force of the boom was China itself, whose shipowning sector expanded rapidly as a result. As it turns out much of the growth in Chinese seafaring has been to serve its own fleet, rather than the wider international on, which is the bread and butter of the Philippines crewing industry. Certainly some major ship managers have a strong presence in China in terms of crewing, but again this is in major part to serve the Chinese market itself. Meanwhile the English language skills of the Philippines seafarer remains a strong attraction to owners and managers. At the top end of the Philippines market the business has also diversified with a major presence in providing hotel personnel to the fast growing cruise ship market, and also into the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector, which now employs over a one million people in the country. Looking ahead the fact that many owners and managers now have made major investments with local partners in the Philippines means they are not about run away quickly. Yes they invest in other relatively new locations as well such as Myanmar and Croatia, but they have a strong footprint in the Philippines. One such company is Thome Group which has invested significantly in Manila in recent years. As long as the Philippines can produce competent officers who can compete with other nationalities then it will continue to remain an important recruitment hub, comments Claes Eek Thorstensen, president of the Thome Group. The landscape has changed, and the Philippines crewing sector has adapted and grown significantly since 2002 2003, so the news that China has overtaken it absolute terms in the supply of global seafarers is not the apocalypse for the countrys manning industry that it was once imagined to be. Strategic Marine will deliver an exclusive luxury crew boat to the company in November this year. The 24-metre catamaran will adhere to the highest industry standards, with 60 reclining seats on the main deck and a lounge area on its upper deck. The vessel is currently under construction at Strategic Marines facility in Vietnam, said Rob Boersma, senior business development manager of Strategic Marine. The crew boat will have a capacity for 72 passengers and will transfer crews from shore to Indonesia's LNG and natural gas processing plants. Strategic Marine is working closely with naval architecture firm Incat Crowther to ensure the boat's design meets all requirements. This is Strategics first collaboration with Pelayaran Tanjung Kumawa and we are honored to be awarded the project, Boersma added. Strategic Marine currently operates in Singapore, Western Australia and Vietnam, and is the shipbuilding specialist for fabrication and engineering companies. Pelayaran Tanjung Kumawa was founded in 1998 by the Bumagroup, a family-owned business which has interests in manpower services and seismic equipment, drilling exploration for oil and gas companies and general trade for communities in Papua. DAKAR, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese member of a United Nations mission in Mali was killed and four other Chinese peacekeepers were injured in a mortar or rocket attack, China's Embassy in Mali said Wednesday. The Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said Tuesday in a statement that "this evening at approximately 20:45 pm, the MINUSMA camp in the Water Tower neighborhood of Gao was the target of an attack by mortars or rockets." Previous reports said one blue helmet was killed and three blue helmets were grievously wounded, while more than 10 members of MINUSMA including civilians were lightly wounded and have received the necessary medical care, it said. The statement said part of container houses were destroyed during the attack and property damage is under evaluation. The MINUSMA has dispatched helicopters to carry out air guarding and a rapid reaction force to patrol in the city. China strongly condemns terrorist attack at UN camp, urges Mali gonernment and UN for investigation ,aftermath settlement , Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news conference Wednesday. WASHINGTON, May 31 -- The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Tuesday rejected the New York Times' account about a recent air encounter between Chinese and U.S. military planes over the South China Sea. The Chinese military aircraft acted professionally while it watched the U.S. Navy spy plane carrying out close reconnaissance in Chinese coastal waters, said Zhu Haiquan, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy, in a letter to the Times published on the paper's website Tuesday. "Our operation was completely compliant with safety and professional standards. The attempt at intimidation by American military aircraft in the South China Sea, however, was not," Zhu pointed out. The encounter occurred about two weeks ago over China's Hainan Island. The Chinese Defense Ministry in Beijing has accused the American plane of espionage, saying the Chinese aircraft responded properly in line with professional standards and a bilateral agreement. "Regarding the incident raised in the editorial, our information indicates that Chinese military aircraft followed from a safe distance and monitored the American plane carrying out close reconnaissance in Chinese coastal waters," Zhu wrote in the letter, responding to the May 21 Times editorial entitled "Playing Chicken in the South China Sea." The editorial alleged that "China has been behaving in a bellicose fashion" in its effort to uphold sovereignty. Zhu stressed that "China is exercising its legitimate rights by upholding the sovereignty of our islands in the South China Sea," which was restored after World War II, in accordance with the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. "The South China Sea should not be turned into a geopolitical chessboard. We hope the United States, instead of flexing muscles, could play a responsible and constructive role in promoting dialogue and negotiation," Zhu wrote. A baby rhino born in Nepal's Bardia National Park has given conservationists hope that efforts to rebuild the rhino population in the country are on the right track. The baby, a male born on May 22, was born to one of the five rhinos that were relocated to Bardia at the beginning of March from Chitwan National Park in central Nepal. The move was part of an ongoing attempt to establish a second rhino population in the area encompassing northern Nepal's Bardia and the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve. RELATED: What Does It Take to Move 5 Rhinos? "The newborn rhino is a signal of hope and an inspiration for Nepal's rhino conservation efforts," said Anil Manandhar, of WWF Nepal, in a statement released by the organization. "It is encouraging to see all the five translocated rhinos and the newborn adapt well in their new home in Babai Valley, which once lost its entire rhino population to poaching." Some male spiders prefer mating with young, fat females, according to new research on a species where males often have sex just once in their lives. Female colonial orb-weaving spiders, Cyrtophora citricola, eat more than 80 percent of their partners after mating, according to the study published in the journal PLOS ONE. "Males need to make their one shot at paternity count," said lead author Eric Yip, from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in a press release. RELATED: Spiders Invented Knees "In a colony males are likely to encounter multiple receptive females," he said, "and we found that males prefer to court and mate with younger, fatter, and therefore potentially more fecund females." Yip and his team collected the spiders from six locations throughout Israel. Females were housed in cushy terrariums while males and juveniles were kept in separate enclosures. They all ate fly or grasshopper nymphs twice a week. The researchers next paired the captured virgin male and female spiders randomly in the laboratory and observed which sex was more selective and which mates were chosen. RELATED: World's Largest Spider: Gotta See Videos Throughout the animal kingdom, females usually are the choosier sex. That scenario holds true for many animals, including humans, but the tables are turned for the colonial orb-weaving spider. So what makes Mount Everest such a dangerous place? In addition to the capriciousness of Mother Nature and the treacherous terrain on the lofty peak, the altitude can take a real toll on the human body, scientists say. In 2014, Everest expeditions almost completely halted following the deaths of 16 Nepali mountain workers in an avalanche and subsequent protests for improved work conditions. Then, in April 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and avalanche caused nearly 8,500 deaths in Nepal and resulted in 19 fatalities at Mount Everest Base Camp, leading to the cancellation of the climbing season, a choice made on the Tibet side by the Chinese government and by individual teams on the Nepal side. In April, climbing season for Mount Everest opened after two years of disasters shuttered the mountain earlier than usual. In that time, there have already been four confirmed deaths. Two more climbers are missing and are unlikely to be found, experts say. One worker died while fixing a route near the summit. The other three deaths were climbers, all suspected of having altitude sickness. At 29,029 feet (8,848 meters), Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world in terms of altitude. However, the tallest mountain is actually Mauna Kea in Hawaii, which measures 33,480 feet (10,205 m) from its underwater base to its peak, according to Guinness World Records. (Most of Mauna Kea is underwater.) [ Photos: The World's 10 Tallest Mountains ] Oxygen insufficiency is the root of altitude sickness. The barometric pressure decreases at high altitudes, which allows oxygen molecules to spread out, according to Dr. Eric Weiss, a professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and founder and former director of the Stanford Wilderness Medicine Fellowship. At Everest Base Camp on the Khumbu Glacier, which lies at an altitude of 17,600 feet (5,400 m), oxygen levels are at about 50 percent of what they are at sea level. That drops to one-third at Everest's summit, which reaches about 29,000 feet (8,850 m) above sea level. [ Infographic: Take a Tour Through Earth's Atmospheric Layers ] If climbers remain below 12,000 feet (3,600 m), they are unlikely to experience the more severe forms of altitude sickness , which may cause difficulty walking, increased breathlessness, a bubbling sound in the chest, coughed-up liquid that is pink and frothy, and confusion or loss of consciousness, according to the U.K.National Health Service (NHS). If someone is experiencing mild altitude sickness, they should not go any higher for 24 to 48 hours, according to the NHS. If symptoms don't improve, or if they worsen in that time, the NHS advises descending 1,640 feet (500 m). Severe altitude sickness is a medical emergency that requires immediate descent to a low altitude and attention from a medical professional. Altitude sickness can lead to pulmonary or cerebral edemas, which are buildups of fluid in the lungs and brain, respectively. These symptoms often occur together and are the body's attempt to get more oxygen to these vital organs in response to the decreased oxygen environment at these high elevations, said Weiss. Because blood vessels and capillaries are porous, this increased flow can cause leakage and fluid retention. Fluid buildup in the brain may result in loss of coordination and problems with thought processing, said Weiss. It can lead to coma and death. Weiss said that fluid buildup in the lungs can make it hard for someone to breathe and physically exert themselves. It can eventually cause death through a process similar to drowning. RELATED: Should YOU Climb Mt. Everest? Researchers reporting in 2008 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) looked at deaths on Everest from 1921 to 2006 and found that "profound fatigue and late times in reaching the summit are early features associated with subsequent death," they wrote in the BMJ. Weiss has a similar view on the safest way to climb Everest: "When people climb Everest [...], the mantra is that you have to get up to the summit by a certain time so that you can get down while you still have oxygen left and while you still have daylight," he said. Too often, people refuse to turn around when they should because they can see the summit and think it's close enough to justify continuing, he added. Why Sherpas survive Overall, the BMJ study found that the total mortality rate for Everest mountaineers was 1.3 percent. The mortality rate for climbers is 1.6 percent, compared with 1.1 percent for Sherpas. The most common cause of death for climbers was falls, whereas the most common cause of death for Sherpas was "objective hazards," which included avalanches, falling ice, crevasses and falling rock, and were likely related to the extended time they had to spend in more treacherous areas of the mountain as part of their employment. The researchers noted that neurological dysfunction, which could be related to altitude sickness, also could have contributed to fatal falls. There are no distinct reasons why altitude affects one person more than another. The National Institutes of Health notes that speed of ascent and physical exertion often play roles in whether someone develops altitude sickness. Acclimatization is often touted as a vital step in attempting Everest with reduced risk. RELATED: Photos: The World's 'Eight-Thousander' Mountains Living at high elevations, such as the elevations at which Sherpas grow up, may give certain people an advantage in climbing Everest, according to a study detailed in 2015 in the journal F1000Research. That study, which involved Sherpas and lowlanders at various elevations, including Base Camp, suggested that Sherpas may be protected from altitude sickness due to various physiological processes, including mitochondrial function and microcirculation. The mitochondria, often called the powerhouses of the cells, take in oxygen and convert it to fuel. It's possible that Sherpas' mitochondria process oxygen more efficiently, making them better suited to high-altitude environments that other people. Microcirculation is the movement of blood to the smallest blood vessels, which also includes the delivery of oxygen to bodily tissues. Research has shown that Sherpas maintain better microcirculatory blood flow in low-oxygen environments than people who are from low elevations. The BMJ researchers noted that Sherpas may be less likely to die at the highest elevations because they spend more time up there preparing routes, further increasing the time they have to acclimate. The competitive process involved in becoming a mountain worker likely also means that only the people best suited for the job are working on Everest, the researchers added. Tips for surviving altitude sickness Bringing someone to a lower elevation is the best way to treat altitude sickness, but doing so can be very challenging. "Prevention is paramount, because once those changes occur at those kinds of extreme altitudes, it is very hard to assist someone to a lower altitude," Weiss said. Climbing downhill is more challenging than trekking uphill because it often requires increased coordination and technical skills, he said. Other factors - such as exhaustion, dehydration and a low supply of supplemental oxygen -can add to the difficulty. People experiencing altitude sickness also may be struggling to walk or may be unconscious, Weiss said. There is medication that may help to prevent, and partially treat, the buildup of fluid in the brain, but it is not effective in treating the buildup of fluid in the lungs, Weiss said. Supplemental oxygen can help, but it isn't always available. In Nepal in 1989, Weiss and his colleague Dr. Ken Zafren, also of Stanford, were the first people to field-test another potential treatment for severe altitude sickness, called the Gamow bag. The inflatable bag, which looks a little like a closed sleeping bag, can essentially create a lower-atmosphere environment for the person inside. A foot pump is used to inflate the bag, creating higher pressure inside than outside. The extent of descent this bag can simulate depends on where it's being used. At the top of Everest, it could simulate a descent of about 9,195 feet (2,800 m), according to a manual provided by the American Mountain Guides Association. Weiss said the bag is helpful but is not practical to use at Everest's summit because it weighs nearly 13 lbs. (6 kilograms) and requires a lot of physical exertion in order to inflate it and keep it inflated at extreme altitudes. A Gamow bag is almost always available at Base Camp, but the sick person must be brought to it, Weiss said. So far this year, approximately 400 climbers have made it to the top of Mount Everest. According to National Geographic, they include Melissa Arnot, who summited for her sixth time and is the first American woman to do so without supplemental oxygen; Staff Sgt. Charlie Linville, the first combat-wounded amputee to reach the summit; and Lakhpa Sherpa, a Nepalese woman who summited for the seventh time, breaking her own record as the most accomplished female Everest climber. Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct the description of cerebral edema. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Press Release June 1, 2016 Senate adjourns sine die next Monday The Senate will go on sine die adjournment on Monday, June 6, 2016, for the last time in the 16th Congress. Senate Secretary Oscar G. Yabes said that Senate President Franklin M. Drilon is expected to deliver a speech on Monday about the many legislative achievements and reforms made by the Senate during the 16th Congress, which began last July 22, 2013. As of today, June 1, 2016, the Senate of the 16th Congress passed 238 new laws. Among the most important laws passed by the Senate are landmark economic reforms like the Philippine Competition Act (RA 10667), the Amendments to the Cabotage Law (RA 10668), the amendments to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (RA 10846), the Right of Way Act (RA 10752), and the Tax Incentives Transparency and Management Act (RA 10708), along with political reforms like the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act (RA 10742), anti-corruption laws like the Sandiganbayan Reform Act (RA 10660), and health reforms like the Graphic Health Warning Act (RA 10643). Other crucial laws passed by the Senate include pro-education legislation such as the Iskolar ng Bayan Act (RA 10648) and the United Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (RA 10687), along with laws improving the country's social services like the Mandatory Philhealth Coverage for All Senior Citizens (RA 10645), and the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability (RA 10754), along with pro-labor laws like the P82,000 tax exemption cap for 13th Month Pay and other benefits (RA 10653), the MARINA Act (RA 10635), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Act (RA 10801). The Senate also worked to pass new laws for better public services for Filipinos, like the act that established the new Department of Information and Communications Technology or DICT Act of 2015 (RA 10844), the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (RA 10863), the amendments to the Fisheries Code (RA 10654), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration Modernization Act (RA 10692), and the Philippine Lemon Law, which strengthens consumer protection in the purchase of brand new vehicles (RA 10642). During the 16th Congress, the Senate also introduced major institutional reforms such as the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or "pork-barrel" funds for lawmakers. Yabes also said that on the day of adjournment, several outgoing senators are expected to deliver their valedictory addresses at the Senate floor. Outgoing senators include Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, along with Senators Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Manuel "Lito" Lapid, Sergio "Serge" R. Osmena III, Teofisto "TG" Guingona III, Pia Cayetano and Miriam Defensor Santiago. Joining the Senate of the 17th Congress are newly-elected and first-time Senators Joel Villanueva, Risa Hontiveros, Sherwin Gatchalian, Leila de Lima, and Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao, along wiith re-electionists Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Tito Sotto III, and former Senators Richard Gordon, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, and Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri. According to Yabes, the newly-elected and re-elected senators will take their oaths during the opening of the first regular session of the 17th Congress on July 25, 2016. Photo taken on April 5, 2016 shows the lighthouse on Zhubi Reef of Nansha Islands in the South China Sea, south China. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) NEW YORK, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A recent New York Times editorial that criticized China's rightful territorial claims in South China Sea is misleading by misconstruing and ignoring facts and international norms, said Ben Reynolds, a U.S. foreign policy analyst. The Times editorial, "Playing Chicken in the South China Sea," accused China of escalating tensions between itself, its neighbors, and the United States. The editorial has vastly overstated the importance of the South China Sea to an audience that is increasingly skeptical of overseas interventions, argued Reynolds in a column piece with China-US Focus, an open-platform website focusing on China-U.S. relations based in Hong Kong. OVERINFLATING THE SEA'S IMPORTANCE The editorial misstated and overly exaggerated the fact of the South China Sea being rich in resources, wrote Reynolds, pointing out that the only resource currently being extracted from the region in significant quantities is fish. Regarding other energy resources like oil and natural gas, the vast majority of their reserves lie outside disputed areas according to the U.S. Energy Information administration, wrote the columnist. Reynolds acknowledged the argument that the South China Sea is of vital strategic importance because it contains major trade flows is partially correct, but he argued that no party to the territorial disputes believes or suggests that China's claims pose a threat to peacetime trade. IGNORING FACTS The Times editorial blamed China's land reclamation and construction activities in the South China Sea as an "aggressive and outrageous tactic," but it ignored the fact that U.S. allies and partners involved in the dispute have also expanded or constructed islands in the South China Sea in recent years, argued Reynolds. Reynolds continued his rebuttal on the Times' innuendo from bringing up China's rising military budget, noting that the editorial deliberately omitted the fact that the 2015 U.S. military budget was 601 billion U.S. dollars, more than three times than that of China. Reynolds pointed out that the Times editors offered little criticism on the United States' own astronomical military budget and its deployments in the Asia-Pacific. "I should not have to remind the reader, much less the editors of a major global newspaper, that the United States is not located in Asia," wrote Reynolds. MOUTHPIECE FOR U.S. INTERVENTIONIST FOREIGN POLICY Reynolds proceeded to point out the hypocrisy of the editorial's argument that China is attempting to dangerously revise the post-World War II international norms. The argument ignored the fact that the post-war order in Asia was designed by the United States to hedge against the influence of the Soviet Union, wrote Reynolds. "It was not designed to promote freedom and democracy". "Again, we see that the object of the Times' critique is not militarism, threatening behavior, or the revision of international norms as such...Rather, the Times is critiquing Chinese behavior because China is a geopolitical rival of the United States," wrote Reynolds. Misleading the American people about U.S.-China rivalry in the South China Sea with omissions and half-truths is the job of the Defense Department, not the press, said Reynolds. The New York Times has been on the wrong side of history in almost every proposed foreign intervention since World War II, which in its history endorsed the Vietnam War, the 2003 Iraq War, and the bombing of Libya, according to the columnist. "Let us hope that the New York Times is more thorough and careful with the facts in future pieces, lest it sell the American public on yet another disastrous foreign intervention." Press Release June 1, 2016 Recto: CMTA, DICT to arm Duterte vs. smugglers, airport extortionists and cyberthieves Two legislative measures signed into law recently by President Aquino will boost the campaign of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte against criminals engaged in smuggling, extortion at the airport, and cyber-crimes, according to Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto. "I commend President Aquino for his parting gift to the President-elect: two significant laws that will help the incoming administration get rid of smugglers, balikbayan box extortionists and cyber-criminals," Recto said, referring to Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and Republic Act No. 10844 which creates the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). "The CMTA and the DICT will not only boost the country's economy, they also seek to curb criminality through the imposition of stiffer penalties on certain criminal acts," the senator pointed out. Recto is the principal sponsor of Senate Bill 2686 or the DICT Act of 2015, which President Aquino signed into law last May 23 as Republic Act No. 10844. He is also the author of Senate Bill 2913, or the Balikbayan Box Law, which was later incorporated into the CMTA as Section 800 by Senator Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate Ways and Means committee. According to Recto, Section 1431 of the CMTA provides the penalty of six years to 12 years imprisonment and fine of P500,000 to P1 million to government employees found guilty of extorting money from OFWs and Balikbayans with pasalubong cargo. Additional penalties include forfeiture of all benefits due from service in government as well as perpetual disqualification to hold public office, from exercising the right to vote and to participate in any public election. Aside from extortion, other activities penalized heavily by the proposed law include: tampering of balikbayan boxes; demanding other or greater sums of levies on pasalubong cargo; receipt of any fee, compensation, or reward except as by law prescribed, for the performance of any duty; and neglecting to give receipts, as required by law, for any sum collected in the performance of duty. Although the provision on the balikbayan boxes is but one of the many in the 311-page CMTA, "it is one that is most awaited by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)," Recto said. "Imposing stiffer penalties on these extortionists sends a strong signal that government is ready to use the full force of the law to put behind bars criminal elements preying on our OFWs and Balikbayans," Recto said. Recto filed Senate Bill 2913, or what he dubbed the "BBL", in August last year after a public outcry over a Bureau of Customs' (BoC) plan to open and inspect balikbayan boxes revealed outdated regulations, one of which taxes any box whose contents is worth more than P10,000. Under the CMTA, which was signed into law by President Aquino only last Tuesday, OFWs can send up to three P150,000-worth of tax and duty free balikbayan boxes in a year, given that goods are not in commercial quantities nor intended for barter, sale or for hire. On top of the tax and duty free balikbayan boxes, Filipinos, who have stayed in a foreign country for at least 10 years and are returning to the Philippines, will also be granted tax exemption for the personal and household effects, not exceeding P350,000, they will be bringing with them when they return to the country. Filipinos who have lived overseas for at least five years will be entitled to tax and duty free personal and household effects amounting to P250,000, while those who have stayed abroad for less than five years can enjoy P150,000 tax-free ceiling. The law likewise imposes stiffer penalties on the smuggling of goods. It slaps a minimum jail time of 31 days to six months or a fine of not less than P25,000 but not more than P75,000, or both, if the appraised value of the goods were unlawfully imported. If the value of smuggled items exceeds P200 million, guilty parties shall be slapped with a fine of not less than P50 million, and shall suffer reclusion perpetua as the offense shall be deemed as a "heinous crime." Recto said the DICT law, on the other hand, mandates the creation of a "Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center." The DICT will also be tasked to formulate the "National Cybersecurity Plan" and form the "National Computer Emergency Response Team," which, Recto said, will serve as "our IT Special Action Forces or cyber-commandos." "This should be our priority, the formulation of a National Cybersecurity Plan. Hacking is now a serious security threat, not only in the Philippines but also in the global arena," Recto said. "What we have is a Balkanized system. Personnel investigating cybercrimes are so few and, worse, dispersed among government offices despite the increasing volume of transactions in all kinds of commerce being done online," Recto said. He cited the case of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), which has a personnel complement of 110, "and this in a country where 70 million have social media presence." The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), he said, is another "frontline office" which needs more "ICT investigators and equipment to flag cybercrimes and tag those behind them." Saying that the DICT should be part of the national security plan, Recto said "we now live in an era when terrorists don't have to blast bank doors to do mayhem; but simply unleash a virus that could shred or suck out financial data. "An enemy with a missile is as dangerous as one with malware," he said. "Countries we are not so friendly with may target us and criminals will always want to hack their way to our financial system," Recto said. He said the hack-attack on Bangladesh Bank shows that the threat is real and counter-measures against cybercrimes urgent. "The poor man's ATM is vulnerable to hacking too. There are identity thefts victimizing ordinary people," Recto said, citing the 2014-2015 Cybercrime Report prepared by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which ranked the Philippines 39th among countries with Internet threat activities. The PNP-ACG recorded an increase of 113% in cybercrime statistics from 288 incidents in 2013 to 614 incidents in 2014. According to the senator, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported 2,872 cases of ATM fraud during that period. Press Release June 1, 2016 Villar SIPAG farmers harvest crops from training Some 135 farmer-trainees of Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance) celebrated the culmination of their training program with a harvest festival at the foundation's farm school in the boundary of Las Pinas and Bacoor City. Villar SIPAG partnered with Allied Botanical Corporation (ABC) to teach modern farming processes and machineries to local farmers. ABC is the only 100% Filipino-owned seed company with a research and development program. The trainees came from Valenzuela, Makati, Navotas, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Cavite, and Laguna. They started their hands-on training on February 10, 2016 with modules on sowing, plotting, and harvesting. They were also trained on backyard farming the organic way. "I am positive that our farmer-trainees will be able to benefit from the learnings and help improve their income from farming," Sen. Cynthia Villar, Villar SIPAG director, said. Villar said she is also interested in putting up a farmer's market that will not only feature the produce of the trainees but also the produce of farmers nearby. She said this will be a good venue for farmers to market their crops to consumers. As the final phase of the 3-month training program, the trainees will be taught how to handle the crops during harvest. They will harvest ampalaya, upo, sitaw, cucumber, mais, sili, kamatis, talong, watermelon, melon, cherry tomato. The produce will also be available for sale at half of the market price. The trainees will have a formal graduation on June 08, 2016. "We will continue to work hand-in-hand with various groups and organizations to give our farmers training programs and workshops throughout the year. I expect to see more people becoming interested in farming as we spread the word that we have an urban farm school offering free and quality training programs," Villar said. BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping met with a visiting delegation of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday. Ri Su Yong, head of the delegation, delivered an oral message from top DPRK leader Kim Jong Unto Xi. In his message, Kim expressed that the DPRK hopes to work with China to strengthen and develop the bilateral traditional friendship, and maintain peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. Ri also gave a briefing on the seventh WPK congress, which was held in early May, during which Kim was elected chairman of the WPK. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, welcomed the delegation, saying the visit was evidence of the tradition of strategic communication between the two parties on major issues. The visit also demonstrated that Chairman Kim and the WPK Central Committee attach importance to relations between the two parties and two countries, according to Xi. Xi wished the people of the DPRK greater success in endeavors related to the economy, standard of living and socialism. China highly values the friendly cooperative relations with the DPRK, Xi stressed, adding that the nation is willing to work with the DPRK to properly maintain, consolidate and develop bilateral ties. China's stance on the issue of the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear, Xi said, calling on relevant sides to stay calm, exercise restraint, and enhance communication and dialogue to safeguard regional peace and stability. Ri is a member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee,vice chairman of the WPK Central Committee and director of the party's International Department. Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi also attended the meeting. A venture-backed tech CEO faced an all-too-familiar struggle. He couldnt afford his tuition bills for his two college-aged kids or his mortgage. He was strapped for cash. On paper, the startup founder was worth $10 million to $15 million. He owned a 35 percent stake in a company that looked promising to investors. But that promise couldnt pay the bills. Investor Eric Benhamou of Benhamou Global Ventures agreed to purchase up to 2 percent $300,000 to $400,000 worth of the founders stake in the company. That freed up cash for the founder to ensure he stayed focused on the company, Benhamou said. Benhamou said he did this for executives at two of the 14 companies in which he invested his latest fund. He declined to name them for fear of damaging their business reputations, but he says they are not alone. With the IPO market drying up, it takes longer for startups to exit the private market, where companies values are theoretical. Many Silicon Valley employees are largely compensated through equity, or ownership in a company, meaning their net worth can vary drastically depending on these values. Michael Macor/The Chronicle To be sure, Silicon Valley companies often pay tech workers large salaries in addition to offering shares. But as the Bay Area becomes less affordable, startup employees are feeling more pressure to turn their theoretical value into actual cash. The shrinking number of IPOs means fewer liquidity events chances for employees to cash out on equity. As a result, interest in selling stock earlier has increased. Liquidity for key employees is top of mind for boards of directors of private companies, said David Makarechian, corporate attorney and partner at OMelveny & Meyers. Financial interests Companies offer equity as part of employees compensation to tie their financial interests to those of the company. But this type of compensation is not liquid, meaning employees cant spend it. In a hyper-competitive job market where companies like Facebook, Apple and Google can cherry-pick talent from private companies, providing salary increases and shares that can be sold on the public market for cash, offering liquidity is especially important, Makarechian said. How do you counteract that and prevent a brain drain if your company has been private for 10, 12 or 15 years? he said. You look for ways to provide some liquidity. Companies need to give their employees enough liquidity to compete with the options they could receive elsewhere, but also keep their interests aligned with the companys, Makarechian said. Its drawing the balance between allowing people to have some liquidity and not providing too much liquidity, he said. Founders and investors seeking liquidity are increasingly looking to sell on the secondary market, a private market where shareholders can sell common stock to interested buyers. Theres definitely a lot of activity right now, said Industry Ventures CEO and founder Hans Swildens. The venture capital firm acquires investments on the secondary market, a strategy that the fund says provides liquidity for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and limited partners while helping build new markets. I have a lot of people wanting to sell stock, Swildens said. The Chronicle contacted four sellers, all of whom declined to talk on the record. Selling their shares creates a certain amount of negative signaling about the state of the company or their own financial situation, said Ben Black, manager and co-founder of Akkadian Ventures, a firm that focuses on secondary market acquisitions. Demand down While activity has increased on the seller side, the demand for startup stocks has fallen with the valuations of private companies. Deal volume is down, and buyers are looking for discounts in an already discounted market. The venture funds are kind of pessimistic, and everyone is worried about valuation, Swildens said. The secondary market poses several problems for private companies. When a firm or individual buys stock on the secondary market, they get partial ownership of a company without injecting capital into that company. The entity selling the stock keeps the money. This detracts from the potential capital that companies can receive, and capital is increasingly important now that its harder for startups to get private financing. This became a bit of a problem for companies because they didnt want their shares going at a price that wasnt provided by them, Makarechian said. Many companies limit their employees ability to sell shares through a contractual agreement called the right of first refusal. These terms require any shareholder who gets an offer for their equity to first sell their shares back to the company at the offered price. This enables the company to control its ownership. Other companies flat-out forbid the transfer of employee shares without board approval. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes The companies are managing and controlling how much of the stock you can sell and when, Swildens said. If all the private companies allowed all their employees and their past shareholders to sell, youd see a big spike in the market, and there would be a flood of sellers. A few venture firms are working with companies to set up programs that claim to offer employees opportunities to sell while helping companies maintain control of their shares. One such firm is Akkadian Ventures. We see employee liquidity as a great branding opportunity for the management to show they care about their employees future, Black said. Founders who cannot or do not want to sell on the secondary market have several other ways to get cash. They can ask their investors for liquidity, like the two entrepreneurs who reached out to Benhamou. Investors are typically willing to offer some liquidity to the founders and top management to ensure that their focus is on the company, Benhamou said. They can also get loans from certain private banks, so long as the bank can get a clear picture of the CEO and companys worth. Silicon Valley Bank, for instance, relies on insights from its lending team, which also lends to companies and venture capitalists. Ownership share Most startup employees, however, dont have those opportunities. Investors dont see them as critical to the company like the founder, and they probably dont have a big enough ownership percentage to move an investors position, Benhamou said. Silicon Valley Bank advises employees and investors of all levels but relies on executives and directors to assess whether or not to lend to an individual or company. As much as we get requests from employees, its very rare that we would think to work without the guidance of the board and the executives, said Jeff Schnitz, managing director and president of the banks wealth advisory service. Founders have multiple options for cashing out, Benhamou said at a panel in early May. On the other hand, rank-and-file employees have very few options. Companies need to keep employees feeling rewarded and valued. Jessica Floum is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jfloum@sfchronicle.com Twitter: jfloum This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate With middle school graduation and summer vacation just days away, eighth-graders at San Franciscos Childrens Day School should have been thinking about swimming pools and sleeping in. Instead, on Tuesday, their minds were on gun control, mental illness and mass incarceration as they grilled one of the most powerful women in American politics about congressional inaction and the future of the country. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, was happy to answer the students questions, saying they were so deep, so thoughtful, so concerned that she had to remind herself they are graduating from eighth grade, not high school. The visit to the Mission neighborhood private school capped the students yearlong civics project about gun control, which included producing a newspaper, a website and a 1,000-signature petition delivered to Pelosis local office supporting a range of legislation, including requiring background checks for gun purchases across the nation. Your activism is really very, very important, and I thank you, the House minority leader told the students. The future is yours, you are the future. You have to take an interest in it. The class teacher, Terry Ashkinos, said the visit offered students an important lesson: Speaking to power is a real thing. The students were also very interested in what Pelosi thought of presumed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, and the former speaker of the House was happy to oblige. Views on Trump Its hard to know what he stands for because hell say, Well, this is what Im saying now, but when I become the nominee, when I become president, Ill maybe change my mind about things, she said, adding she has no doubt Hillary Clinton will defeat him. Outside the classroom, which the school had named after her, Pelosi was more direct about her thoughts on Trump. My view on him is he knows he shouldnt be president, she said. Its like every day he is saying, Save me from myself. Like saying theres no drought in California. She paused to shake her head. Hes smart, she continued. He knows better than anyone he shouldnt be president. Gun control COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. Pelosi said she hopes the next president faces far less obstructionism, with a Congress willing to vote on key issues, including gun control. That would be a nice change, said eighth-grader Sasha Hunt. The students researched the pros and cons of stronger gun control and decided to support not only universal background checks and a ban on assault rifles but also a prohibition on handguns, Hunt said. The kids studied the intense politics surrounding the issue, specifically why Congress is being so childish and not doing anything about this and turning a blind eye, the 13-year-old added. That is frustrating to me. The students chose the topic after reading about the mass shootings at an Oregon community college in October and at a public health training conference and holiday party in San Bernardino in December. Anybody could shoot up a school, Hunt said. It really says no one is safe, and Congress isnt making anyone safer. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: jilltucker BEIJING, June 1 -- China hopes the Philippines' new government can return to dialogue with China to resolve the South China Seadisputes, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The comment came after the Philippines' incoming foreign minister Perfecto Yasay said that bilateral talks between the Philippines and China could help untangle the disputes in the South China Sea, adding "there is no other way but to go bilateral." "China welcomes Mr. Yasay's remarks," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing. Successive leaders of the two countries have agreed in their meetings and bilateral political documents that the South China Sea disputes should be resolved peacefully through direct negotiations, Hua said, adding that it was also outlined in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). Thanks to the above-mentioned consensus, China and the Philippines have managed the South China Sea disputes through dialogue and consultation for a long time, Hua said. "We hope the Philippine's new government can honor their commitments and return to dialogue with China to properly handle the disputes so as to contribute to the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations," the spokesperson added. The Philippines' incoming president Rodrigo Duterte has said that he wanted to cultivate friendly relations with China, and confirmed that he was open to direct talks over the row in the South China Sea, which had damaged bilateral relations. On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Saurav Shroff, Alex Lee, Edie Arteaga and other teenagers gathered in a windowless study room at the Burlingame Main Library talking about oncolytic virus therapies or how coated nanoparticles can make cancer vaccines more effective. This is their idea of fun. Youll find them there virtually every Saturday and at least two other weekdays after school. They call themselves Burlingame Cancer Research. The whip-smart high school students, mostly from Burlingame High School, spend their free time combing through medical journal articles and other resources to understand the latest advancements in cancer research. They write up summaries of their findings, get together to discuss what theyve learned, maintain a website and YouTube channel, and work on videos and other ways to help better educate their friends, family and the general public about the latest discoveries in cancer treatment. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Im just really into the science of it, and I think all this stuff is fascinating, 15-year-old Saurav, a sophomore at Burlingame High, said after deftly explaining to his fellow student researchers how viruses can be engineered to infect and kill cancer cells without harming the surrounding healthy tissue. The group, which counts about 25 members but has a core of about a dozen, doesnt get school credit for the time the students spend researching. They have no faculty leader, nor do they seem to have any obvious motivation beyond their pure desire to learn. Ben Wang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Chimera Bioengineering, heard about the group through a parent of a club member who works at the Johnson & Johnson incubator program in San Francisco, which supports Wangs company. I thought to myself, Wow, there are kids who are doing this? said Wang, who has served as the groups adviser since November. Im pretty sure I was just watching six hours of TV when I was their age. Groups leader At the groups meeting last week, Alex, 16, launched the discussion with a question about CAR-modified T cells, which are immune cells that are genetically reprogrammed to fight cancer cells. Alex who is prone to asking questions like, Ribozyme control wheres that going? started the group about a year and a half ago because he was interested in the field and thought some other students would be too. Hes its leader. Everyone has someone close affected by cancer, he said, mentioning a grandmother who was diagnosed with breast cancer. But I just wanted to learn more about cancer. The group, which started by simply learning about the different types of cancer, has aspirations beyond selecting information to disseminate. Most want to do research. This summer, Alex plans to work at a cancer lab at Stanford University, while fellow member Joseph Howard, 17, will spend at least two months at UCSF. Another member, Brandon Chen, is working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Josephs internship opportunity grew out of the groups relationship with a mentor, Dr. Pamela Munster. A breast cancer specialist who runs UCSFs early-phase clinical trials unit, Munster also directs the universitys new center focusing on mutations in the BRCA genes, which are closely associated with breast, ovarian and other cancers. Impressing the experts Munster meets regularly with the group and is relying on members help to develop a survey so researchers can better understand what the general population knows about genetic testing. She was immediately impressed by not only their advanced knowledge of biology and genetics, but also their commitment to helping people. Their drive, their passion, their knowledge its really incredible, she said. Burlingame Cancer Research is also teaming with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to hold a conference from 1 to 3 p.m. June 30 at San Franciscos Main Library to discuss the latest treatments for blood cancers, specifically immunotherapies, which use the bodys immune system to fight cancer. The members have been assigned different areas of focus CAR T cells, viruses, monoclonal antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, vaccines and will present their findings on each topic at Burlingame Cancer Researchs first official conference. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Vaccine focus Vivian Yuen, 15, and 16-year-old Edie, both sophomores, are in charge of the vaccine portion of the program. As Vivian gave a detailed description of how gold-coated nanoparticles could be used to enhance the effectiveness of cancer vaccines, she giggled at the diagrams she drew and seemed slightly embarrassed about stumbling over the phrase reticuloendothelial system. Edie declared as super cool the way the nanoparticles can be manipulated. This goes to show how much nanoparticles have advanced, she said. None of the members is a senior, which means the group wont lose anyone to graduation this year. But Alex and his fellow members are already looking to the future, planning to expand to nearby high schools or even to other schools in different parts of the country. An interesting thing is how were going to pass on the torch when were seniors, Alex said. Weve put a lot of emphasis on training the underclassmen so when we leave, theyll be able to carry on. The group is also starting to place more emphasis on fundraising. Hannah de la Calle, 16, who heads the marketing team, said it started an online campaign to help pay for costs associated with activities such as attending conferences or revamping the website. What future holds While not everyone knows what they want to do, most see their work with Burlingame Cancer Research as helping to shape their futures. Vivian said she likes being in her own world and can imagine being a lab researcher. Hannah loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian. Edie spent time at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital watching her older brother, now 19, be treated for Hodgkins lymphoma and sees herself in a job that involves directly caring for patients. Before Kevin Taggart lost his mother at the beginning of the school year to appendix cancer, the 17-year-old spent time researching her rare disease. Now he wants to help families who have gone through what he has. Everyone in the world is touched in some way by cancer, said another member, 17-year-old Cheryl Lee. All of this information is out there, but people cant reach it. Its our responsibility to help. Oftentimes, people think high school students cant do much to change the world, but I think its great that we can. Victoria Colliver is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vcolliver@sfchronicle.com Twitter: vcolliver This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A cell phone recovered from the dead kidnapper of missing teen Pearl Pinson provided fresh clues in the ongoing search for the Vallejo student, officials said Tuesday. But so far, theres been no sign of the 15-year-old, who disappeared last Wednesday after a witness described seeing the bleeding girl being dragged, screaming, from a Vallejo footbridge. Deputies with the Solano County Sheriffs Office on Tuesday released a picture of a backpack resembling the one Pearl was wearing when she was abducted, hoping anyone who sees a similar pack will alert authorities. More than 65 searchers combed the Willow Creek area of Jenner over the weekend after authorities found a clue in the phone of her suspected abductor, 19-year-old Fernando Castro, who was killed Thursday in a shootout with deputies in Santa Barbara County. Crews have also been searching the Glen Cove coastline in Vallejo and Highway 37 from Vallejo to Sonoma County, including the Skaggs Island area, said Christine Castillo, a spokeswoman with the Solano County Sheriffs Office. At the same time, searchers were poring through the open field and stream around the footbridge that crosses Interstate 780 in Vallejo from Homes Acres Avenue to Taylor Avenue, where a witness reported an armed man took Pearl against her will. That witness reported hearing a gunshot after running to call 911, Castillo said. A pool of blood was visible on the walkway when investigators got to the scene. Officials said Castro and Pearl were acquaintances, but that she was taken against her will. There were no formal searches for the girl on Tuesday, but investigators were continuing to track down leads and were asking Bay Area businesses to check their surveillance cameras for signs of Castros gold Saturn, which could have passed by from 9 a.m. last Wednesday to 9:15 a.m. the following day. The Saturn was picked up on traffic cameras going westbound on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge at 9:13 a.m. Thursday before continuing along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and then south on Highway 101 over the Golden Gate bridge. Castro led authorities on a high-speed chase in Santa Barbara County after his vehicle description was put out in an Amber Alert. The chase ended in a trailer park in Solvang where Castro died in a shootout with deputies, officials said. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: EvanSernoffsky This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Marin County authorities were hunting Wednesday for a 19-year-old man named as a third suspect in the brutal slaying of a Novato High School student off a hiking trail in a rural canyon. Javier Guevara, a purported gang member, is wanted on an arrest warrant alleging murder, assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated mayhem, said Dori Ahana, a county prosecutor. She said Guevara used a machete to slash the victim, 17-year-old Edwin Josue Ramirez Guerra, and a second boy who survived the May 25 attack. Officials would not release many details of the case, citing the ongoing investigation. But Novato police officials have said they are investigating the possibility that a sexual assault involving two Novato High students, which happened one week earlier, may have been related to the killing. I think its a brutal murder, Ahana said Wednesday. Thats all I can say. Marin County sheriffs detectives, who have taken the lead in the murder case, raided a San Mateo home Wednesday morning in pursuit of Guevara, but did not find him. The search happened on the same morning that two Novato High students, 16-year-old Edwin Guevara and 17-year-old Juan Carlos Martinez Henriquez, made their first court appearance, a day after being charged as adults with murdering Guerra and attempting to murder the second victim. All three suspects will face the special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait, prosecutors said. Because of their age, the two boys now in custody will not be eligible for the death penalty under the allegation, but could face the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted. Edwin and Javier Guevara are related, authorities said. Henriquez also faces a count of aggravated mayhem, a charge that often refers to disfiguring a victim. Court documents indicate that detectives believe he shot both Guerra and the other victim. A fourth man, 20-year-old Elmer Fernando Machado-Rivera, also appeared in court Wednesday after being charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly aiding one or more of the suspects. The suspects are due back in court June 8, when they may enter pleas. The attack that killed Guerra happened at a waterfall site in a canyon about three-fourths of a mile down a hiking trail leading from a country club along Fairway Drive in Novato. The surviving victim scrambled away from the scene with a gunshot wound in the chest and a stab wound, calling 911 around 4:50 p.m. after gaining cell phone service, said Lt. Doug Pittman, a sheriffs spokesman. Guerra died at the scene from his wounds as paramedics were preparing to airlift him to a hospital. Henriquez and Guevara were arrested Thursday when SWAT officers raided two homes in Novato, police said. Kevin Schultz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kschultz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: KevinEdSchultz BEIJING, June 1 -- China on Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack in Mali in which a Chinese peacekeeper was killed and four others were injured. According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying,the United NationsMultidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was attacked Wednesday morning. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and express our heartfelt sympathy to the wounded and the families of the victims," Hua said. The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council are taking the attack very seriously, Hua said, noting that emergency response and follow-up measures had been launched immediately. As the attack targeted UN peacekeepers, Hua said, it was a terrible, intolerable crime. China strongly condemns the terrorist attack and has asked the Mali government and the UN to investigate the incident immediately, Hua said. Hua reiterated that the Chinese government firmly supports international peace and stability in Africa. At present, more than 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are operating in seven African task areas including Mali, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hua said. China will continue to participate in international peacekeeping operations and contribute to peace and security in Africa. When the worlds countries signed the Paris climate change accord, the scoffing quickly began. How would these nations find ways to knock down heat-trapping emissions pouring from tailpipes and smokestacks and retool their economies? This week, two dozen of the worlds major countries take on part of the challenge by weighing clean-energy innovations and policies. The conference part trade show and part political speech fest will be held in San Francisco, putting the region and California at the center of the clean-tech world. The global gathering, known as the Clean Energy Ministerial, has existed for several years but now comes at a turning-point moment. Six months after the Paris summit put some 200 nations on track to cut carbon emissions causing rising temperatures, this subgroup needs to find the useful and practical ways to get the job done. The Paris agreement, reached in December, pledged the countries to forestall a possible rise of 2 degrees Celsius that would produce irreversible weather problems, loss of croplands and rising sea levels. Its not a faraway problem: The Chronicles special project Rising reality described the sweeping effect of even a small rise in local tides on Bay Area life. These threats wont be easy to fix. Dropping oil prices make alternative fuels less attractive. Sorting through wind, solar and other alternative energy sources is risky and confusing. Dug-in non-scientists, such as presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, want to rip up the Paris compact and a swath of emission rules. Job losses, especially in oil and coal country, hamper the appeal of new energy sources. These pressures can shred the allure of clean energy. But the meeting, which begins Wednesday and runs through Friday, can build broad support for alternative sources in everyday and industrial life. There is no shortage of ideas. LED lightbulbs, if screwed into billions of sockets worldwide, can limit the need for power plants that spew carbon dioxide, the main culprit in climate change. Better insulation can make water heaters and refrigerators use less energy. Solar power, while still a small slice of the energy market, is growing rapidly as costs drop. The meeting will include a visit to the Tesla assembly line, the showpiece for the budding electric car industry. The conference, which the business-oriented Bay Area Council helped organize, will put all these ideas directly before energy ministers from nations such as China, India, Japan and Germany. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is playing host with the double duty of selling other countries on U.S. advances while tamping down the uncertainty of Trumps nonsensical wish to turn back the clock on energy policy. Its an important moment in the battle against climate change. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In TV ads for her U.S. Senate campaign, California Attorney General Kamala Harris describes herself as fearlessly taking on powerful interests on behalf of voiceless and vulnerable Californians. But some civil rights advocates, legal scholars and community leaders say Californias top law enforcement official hasnt done enough when it comes to investigating officer-involved shootings in San Francisco, where she was elected twice as district attorney. The calls for her to get involved grew louder after the fatal shooting last month of an unarmed African American woman by a San Francisco police sergeant. Hours after the 21st officer-involved fatal shooting of his five-year tenure, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr resigned. For months, ever since the Dec. 2 fatal police shooting of Mario Woods in the Bayview a shooting that drew national attention after a video of it went viral community members and victims advocates have been urging Harris to take a more direct role in investigating the San Francisco Police Department. Wait-and-see stance Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press But Harris the front-runner in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer has declined, waiting to see the results of a federal examination of the department first. I think the California attorney general should be playing a much more aggressive role in investigating civil rights violations by police, including this one in San Francisco, said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law whom National Jurist magazine named one of the most influential people in legal education in 2014. But what I cant answer is why this is not occurring, he said. I do not know. Neither does San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who said, Its mind-boggling to me why the attorney general has refused to step in. Particularly when San Francisco is suffering. Could this last shooting have been prevented had the AG not refused to step in? Adachi asked. Her offices involvement would have signaled to police that there will be increased oversight. Harris said she has assigned the head of the states civil rights division to monitor the progress of the collaborative review of the SFPD by the community policing division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Im waiting to see the outcome of their process and recommendations, Harris said during a recent interview in San Francisco. Ive been very clear that if there is any refusal or failure to cooperate and comply, Im ready to open a practice-and-pattern investigation into the department. She bristled at criticism that it was a by-the-book response to the communitys concerns and that the situation called for something more dramatic. Its not by the book. Its not by the book, Harris said. Im saying that Ive assigned the head of the civil rights division of the California Department of Justice to monitor whats going on at a local level between the United States Department of Justice and a police department. Thats about actually being engaged actively. Phelicia Jones, an organizer with the Justice for Mario Woods Coalition, said Harris is not actively engaged. And if she is, whom is she engaged with? How many more people need to die before she steps in? said Jones, who voted twice for Harris for attorney general and helped organize events for her first campaign for San Francisco district attorney. We dont even know that you (Harris) care. You have turned your back on the people who got you to where you are. Adachi said that the federal review of the SFPD that Harris refers to is voluntary and lacks teeth. While he called the review by the Justice Departments Office of Community Oriented Policing Services known as COPS a step in the right direction, it would not have the power to enforce changes. Browns example Adachi would like to see Harris investigate the department in the same way that then-California Attorney General Jerry Brown looked into the use of force by the Maywood (Los Angeles County) Police Department in 2007. After a 16-month investigation found eight alleged incidents of excessive force and other wrongdoing, Brown secured a court order to institute new training and other reforms for the department. Im dead serious about this, Brown said in announcing the results of the investigation in 2009. When you have rogue cops, its just intolerable in a free society. In 2010, the tiny city folded its 60-member Police Department because it was unable to buy insurance. But that investigation was somewhat unusual for Californias top law enforcement agency to undertake, said Peter Bibring, the police practices director for the American Civil Liberties Union of California. The California Department of Justice has never been particularly active in investigating police misconduct in California, Bibring said. And that hasnt changed under Kamala Harris. Bibring said that because so many people have lost faith in the ability of local police departments to investigate themselves, there is a need for some sort of independent legal body to perform those examinations. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle In that context, there is certainly space for the attorney generals office to do more, Bibring said. The attorney general is free from the day-to-day interaction with local officers theyre not interacting with police like (local) prosecutors are. And theyre in California and closer to the ground than the U.S. Department of Justice, thats based in D.C. When Adachi wrote to Harris in April to request a civil rights investigation, he was disappointed that her office didnt reply in writing. Instead, they replied on social media, Adachi said. That signals to us that her office will do nothing. Longtime Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris is among those who say Harris hasnt done enough when it comes to taking on what he calls evidence of deep-rooted practice of racial bias in the San Francisco Police Department, including the police shooting death of Woods, whose family he represents. Burris said he wrote to her last month to implore her to take immediate action before another person is killed or targeted. I know she cares about these issues Ive known her for a long time, Burris said. But what the community is raising is that they want her to be more actively involved. Our issue of being involved means conducting the investigation herself, with her office. Like Chemerinsky, neither Burris, Adachi nor Bibring would speculate about whether Harris reticence is rooted in her Senate campaign. Democrat Harris faces Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Anaheim, former state Republican Party Chairmen Tom Del Beccaro and Duf Sundheim and Silicon Valley businessman Ron Unz, also a Republican, in a field of 34 candidates in Tuesdays primary. The top two finishers in the primary, regardless of their party affiliation, will advance to the general election in November. This is not the first time Harris has stuck to her position even as there were loud calls for her to change it. Just a few months after she upset incumbent Terence Hallinan to become San Franciscos district attorney, San Francisco police Officer Isaac Espinoza was shot to death while on patrol in the Bayview. Three days after the shooting in 2004, Harris said she wouldnt seek the death penalty against the man arrested in the case, David Hill. Police groups were outraged, not just at her decision but also at the speed with which she reached it. Typically, prosecutors wait months and study many factors before deciding whether to seek the death penalty. But Harris ran for office on her opposition to the death penalty, which was in tune with what polls said San Francisco voters wanted. There was political blowback, too. At Espinozas funeral, fellow Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein a former San Francisco mayor rose before the congregation at St. Marys Cathedral and said: This is not only the definition of tragedy, its the special circumstance called for by the death penalty law. Grieving family members and blue-uniformed police who packed the church stood and cheered. Those repercussions continued during Harris first run for statewide office in 2010, when many law enforcement organizations supported former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley. But Harris won and sought to repair those relationships. Four years later helped by the power of incumbency many of those same organizations supported her re-election. Such consensus-building is what Harris said she would use to take on issues she might face in the Senate, like immigration reform, where partisans seem miles apart on overhauling what nearly everyone agrees is a broken system. One of the ways that I have found to have people really open up their hearts and mind is to understand the number of undocumented immigrants who are victims of crime, Harris said. If there is a victim of a rape, I want her to be able to run in the middle of the street and wave down the passing patrol car, the local cop, and not be afraid to do so thinking thats a (federal immigration) agent. Yet in recent Senate candidate debates, Harris Republican opponents have criticized her approach in general as too cautious, not bold enough. To them, she said that she is fearless, yes; reckless, no. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: joegarofoli Even though Sen. Bernie Sanders supported the Affordable Care Act, he said Tuesday during a campaign stop in Emeryville that it didnt go far enough in transforming the nations health care, leaving in place a system that is the most wasteful, dysfunctional system in the world. We need radical transformation of the American health care system, Sanders said Tuesday at a hotel conference room packed with dozens of members of National Nurses United, one of his biggest and most vocal union endorsers, wearing red shirts. Sanders is calling for more wholesale systematic change than his Democratic primary opponent Hillary Clinton, who wants to improve the current system, or presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, who wants to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, but hasnt proposed a replacement. Sanders wants a single-payer health care system that would cover everyone, including what he estimated to be 28 million people who still dont have health coverage and many others who are underinsured or cant afford to buy the medicines theyre prescribed. He believes that a single-payer plan not only would cut billions in administrative costs, but also would help bring down the high cost of prescription drugs, which he blamed on greedy pharmaceutical companies that care more about giving their departing executives lucrative golden parachute compensation packages. I think (the current health care law) made significant improvements, but clearly it has not gone far enough, Sanders said. How can we be satisfied when 28 million people in this country dont have health insurance? Major obstacles But even if he were to win the presidency, Sanders plan faces major obstacles. One is political, where Republicans hold both houses of Congress and are very unlikely to lose control of the House. Congressional Republicans have tried, and failed, several dozen times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, so it would seem they have no appetite for what many would consider a deeper offense to allowing the free market to shape health care coverage. Asked during an interview Monday with The Chronicle how he would overcome Republican opposition and give them some reason to support his single-payer plan, Sanders pointed to the thousands waiting to hear him. Take a look outside the window theres 10,000 people out there, Sanders said as he stood inside Oakland City Hall on Monday, before a rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza. What we need are the American people, from coast to coast, to stand up in large numbers and fight back and demand that their government listen to them rather than wealthy campaign contributors. Theyre not stupid Republicans arent stupid, he continued. Theyre very conservative, but theyre not stupid. They understand that when people become engaged in the political process, when the 10,000 people out there say, We know whats going on. You have got to do the right thing and provide health care to all people, as is the case in every other major country on Earth, that they will respond. Then there are financial challenges of Sanders proposals. A May analysis of Sanders health care plan by the Urban Institute found that while his proposal would cover the uninsured, it doesnt increase taxes (mostly on wealthy Americans) enough to cover the costs. The study found that while federal expenditures would increase by $32 trillion between 2017 and 2026, the increased revenue he proposes to cover these expenses would raise only $15.3 trillion. Thus, the proposed taxes are much too low to fully finance his health plan, the studys authors said. Sanders campaign officials and supporters have pushed back on that study and others critical of his plan. On Tuesday, Sanders ripped pharmaceutical companies for giving golden parachutes to departing executives and for pulling in billions in profits last year. When he singled out several executives, including former Pfizer CEO Hank McKinnell, who got a $188 million severance package when he stepped down in 2006, someone in the audience said, Thats criminal. Downplays endorsements Sanders agreed, saying, It really is criminal. Sanders campaign officials downplayed California Gov. Jerry Browns endorsement of Clinton on Tuesday as well as news that the NRDC Action Fund, the political arm of the Natural Resources Defense Council, is backing the former secretary of state. The grassroots campaign already has won contests in 20 states where Bernie won despite establishment politicians, campaign spokesman Michael Briggs said Tuesday. Bernie has growing support in California, and a win here will give him a big boost and the momentum that will carry him into the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: joegarofoli Gov. Jerry Browns fourth-quarter endorsement of Hillary Clinton came after a sit-down between the two that went well into the night and covered a number of issues, were told chief among them, climate change. The meeting, which happened on the eve of Clintons visit to Oakland on Friday, followed a 90-minute get-together between Brown and his former rival President Bill Clinton in Sacramento earlier in the week, said sources familiar with both sessions. Both Clintons took runs at him, said one source, who was not cleared to speak for the record. The Sacramento get-together was described as a meeting between two old lions who swapped war stories before landing on an issue near and dear to both Brown and the former president the need to reverse climate change. The second meeting, between Hillary Clinton and Brown, took place Thursday in San Francisco. It was a long conversation in which climate change again was a key issue. When it ended, Brown didnt make a commitment, but said he would think about it over the weekend, the source said. Brown made good Tuesday, issuing a statement praising the campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders but urging registered Democrats and independents to vote for Clinton next week. Clinton, he said, is best positioned to thwart the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump, who the governor said has labeled climate change a hoax. As usual, Browns endorsement showed a mix of policy and practical politics. It goes something like this: Regardless of the outcome of Tuesdays primary, Clinton is likely to win the Democratic nomination. That means it will either be Trump or Clinton in the White House come January. If its Trump, then deep-blue California will be on the losing end for the next four years. And if its Hillary, our source said, then its best (Brown) have a good relationship with her. Brown didnt have a great relationship with President Obama out of the gate, and I think hes learned from that, the source said. It probably didnt hurt Clintons cause that the consulting outfit that helped elect Brown as governor in 2010 and 2014, SCN of San Francisco, is run by Ace Smith. He ran Clintons winning California primary campaign in 2008 and is volunteering as a consultant this time around. Bouncing ball: The Golden State Warriors continue to score big on the court, but theyve been dealt a couple of setbacks on their new arena in Mission Bay. First up, a fresh ruling by the state Court of Appeal allowing the Mission Bay Alliance and other arena opponents to proceed with a lawsuit against UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood. The opponents are challenging Hawgoods authority to sign off on building the arena next to UCSFs medical center in Mission Bay. And now word comes that SaveMuni, a politically potent transit advocacy group, has agreed to join with the Mission Bay Alliance in a separate lawsuit in San Francisco challenging the adequacy of the arenas environmental impact report. SaveMuni rep Jerry Cauthen said their complaint has nothing to do with the Warriors. The group decided to support the suit, he said, after learning that city officials were studying plans to tear down the north end of Interstate 280 and relocate the Caltrain station a block east, to Third and King streets. The move threatens to create traffic chaos in the area, Cauthen said, and would indefinitely thwart the original plan that has been in the works for over 20 years to extend Caltrain to the new Transbay Transit Center at First and Mission streets. Warriors spokesman Nathan Ballard called the new challenges insignificant. We are moving forward undeterred, and will be breaking ground on the arena soon, Ballard said. For the record: San Francisco Supervisor and state Senate candidate Jane Kims campaign team tells us that, contrary to our report over the weekend, Kim had never endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Kims name was on Korean Americans for Hillarys website as a member of the volunteer groups national leadership committee. Her name disappeared after she endorsed Clintons opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders last week. But Jane never endorsed Clinton, said Kim campaign spokeswoman Julie Edwards. Im not sure how she got listed on the website, Edwards said. But Im sure it was an honest mistake, and as soon as (Kim) talked to them, they took it down. Alice Kim, a representative for Korean Americans for Hillary, told us that there was a misunderstanding about Jane Kims endorsement, and that the group has since clarified the issue with her. San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: matierandross Put a checkmark in the expected column for the men in sober suits matched with brown (not black) dress shoes at the Financial Times Business of Luxury summit at San Franciscos Ritz-Carlton May 23-24, except for Rodrigo Bazan, CEO of Thom Browne, in one of the houses shrunken suits and Oxford shoes with no socks. In other novelties, European women (sans visible makeup) twisted and pinned their hair into buns fashions hairdo of the moment while sporting thigh-length jackets with slim ankle-length pants and mannish lace-ups, pointy Miu Miu-like platform tennies or Brunello Cucinellis white leather and silver metallic sneakers. Americans stuck to blazers, LBDs, black pumps and flowing hair. Cucinelli, who spoke onstage, wore a cashmere blazer and denim, one of only a few to wear jeans (Levis President James Curleigh, Nests Tony Fadell) at the august meeting of industry minds. Cucinelli emerged as a disruptor, quoting philosophers, saints and emperors in urging the crowd to shun email after business hours, spend more time with family and show up for work in the morning feeling more refreshed and creative. Is it ironic that Silicon Valley, where sleekly designed tech objects are made, is one the most lucrative markets for his luxe Italian knitwear? I am glad they are fans, he said. But I believe in considerate use of technology that does not go beyond what is normal and affects our life too much. If you are too much online, you have no time left for your soul. P.S. Loyal customer Carrie Gretsch went to see the famed designer, from Perugia, at a post-conference, in-store appearance at Neiman Marcus, bringing her young son, who confused about which celebrity they were meeting asked, When do we get to see Bruno Mars? Courtesy Artful Steps Take the title of Safe to Touch to heart. The multimedia installation presented by the Artful Steps program at the Stepping Stones Growth Center puts art in the hands of visitors to the San Francisco Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. Pople are encourages to touch these soft and nubby assemblages, pebbly mosaics, textured watercolors with sea salts, cushiony textiles and acrylic paint mixed with found objects. Repurposed materials such as bottle caps, woolly felt and domino pieces find their way into the mix. The methods are exploratory, but the result is clear: making art accessible to the student artists with developmental disabilities at the nonprofit Stepping Stones Growth Center in San Leandro as well as to blind and sighted library patrons. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Local supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders were hella feeling the Bern. On Monday, they were also feeling the pain of standing on their feet: an epic line preceded the presidential candidate's speech at Frank Ogawa Plaza and traversed six city blocks. While that may not sound impressive, given that the line was given the amusement park treatment and snaked throughout the six blocks, the feat has a bit more gravitas. Sanders supporters seemed pretty pleased with the turnout, with one person recording a (thankfully) sped up video of the line, estimating that the walk was about 17 minutes long: Local Dianne Yee drew up the map below based on another video of the same line: Dianne Yee Despite the wistful early estimates that placed the crowds at 20,000 on Monday, Oakland Police confirmed on Tuesday that the numbers were closer to about 11,000 to 13,000 for the rally. It wasn't just locals who were impressed with the turnout. CNN reporter Van Jones was surprised by the Oakland support for Sanders and dedicated some time to shoot a Facebook Live video of him talking to those in line. "I came to Oakland for Game 7, I did not come for a Bernie Sanders rally," Jones said to the camera in the first video. "But look at the town, the town has gone crazy for Bernie. I don't know what's going on." Oakland Police said that the crowd was peaceful with no arrests or citations, although a group of animal rights activists interrupted the rally by rushing the stage, the Associated Press reported. Sanders' security ran interference for the senator and the protestors were taken out of the plaza by bodyguards. The downtown stop was just one of many Sanders had lined up for Monday, as he moved from a Memorial Day ceremony at San Francisco National Cemetery to later giving a speech at Allen Temple Baptist Church in East Oakland. After speaking to the crowds of supporters at Ogawa Plaza, Sanders and his entourage made their way to watch the hottest ticket in town besides Sanders' rally, apparently and attended the Warriors game at Oracle Arena with actor Danny Glover in tow. If you think San Francisco has changed beyond recognition recently, try this: Take a walk downtown and look closely at the sides of as many buildings as you can. You'll find an ever-changing history of the city, dating back more than 100 years, hiding in plain sight. SF teems with decades-old, sometimes-elaborate, hand-painted signs and ads, some for businesses that no longer exist. The painters who made them were part of the "gig economy" long before Uber. These corporate murals have a name, "ghost signs," and one local artist took it upon herself to track all 400-plus of them. Kasey Smith, an artist and part-time tour guide who lives in Oakland, started the San Francisco Ghost Sign Mapping Project in 2011 in part because she was inspired by a similar project in Philadelphia. What started as a quirky photography project turned into a form of urban archaeology that's probably the most extensive of its kind in America. To this day you can find early-1900s ads for Wrigley's gum, Coca-Cola, beer before Prohibition, and a 7-Up ad on the side of a garage that's held up incredibly well because it's protected from the sun. The most common signs, Smith has found, are for MJB Coffee and Owl Cigars. Kasey Smith "If you told me five years ago I would still be working on this, I would have laughed," Smith said during a ghost sign tour of the Tenderloin (see video below), where she used to work. "When I first sought out to do it, I was just going to document the signs as they were. I didn't have any notion that I was going to upkeep it." Some signs are now faded, obscured by newer buildings, or destroyed from construction. But Smith has found and pinned every ghost sign she could find in SF using Google Maps. She counts over 400, though she concedes there are probably more she hasn't found in the outlying parts of the city. She started by walking around every block in the Tenderloin and SoMa four times, making note of the type of sign, what brand it represented, and whether it's been restored, faded to the point of indecipherable, or destroyed. When she can't find a sign on street level, she'll look for it from above on Google Satellite View. It's a project that requires constant upkeep, thanks to the changes to San Francisco's architecture. One sign might be torn down with a building, another might be uncovered after 60 years because the high-rise next to it went down. For example, the "Eat Carnation Mush" ad on Market Street that was revealed in 2011. Perhaps the newest discovered ghost sign was found in July 2020. A construction crew adding units to a residential building next to Duboce Park uncovered large signage for several brands: Par-T-Pak cola, Rainier beer and Arden ice cream. David Gallagher of OpenSFHistory told Hoodline the building was probably a corner grocery store dating around 1917 that closed around the 1950s. The ad's tagline for Par-T-Pak, which existed from the 1930 to 1950s: "So rich, so smooth, so satisfying." Ghost sign enthusiasts didn't have much time to enjoy the new discovery, alas. The construction crew covered it back up, for a future generation to unearth. Greg Keraghosian While showing me around in 2016, Smith pointed out one of her most recent discoveries, on the side of Star Market on Geary and Leavenworth. A billboard came down in February, revealing a well-preserved ghost sign with an ad for Rainier beer (brewed in SF from 1916-1920), an old school phone number reading "TUXEDO9," and porcelain text offering coffee and tea. With no social media or even neon signs over 100 years ago, businesses advertised themselves with hand-painted signs. And the brick construction that went into so many Tenderloin buildings after the 1906 earthquake and fire gave painters the perfect durable canvas. It wasn't easy work, though. "Starting the turn of the last century there was a profession that was snarkily called the 'Wall Dogs,' because they worked like dogs and they were chained by a safety leash to the wall," Smith said. "They were basically traveling painters. The wall dogs would have their own designs and mix their own paint." Greg Keraghosian While many signs were simple lettering jobs for hotels or warehouses, many others show true craftsmanship. Smith's favorite, and perhaps the best-preserved of all, is a large Tenderloin ad for Turkish cigarette Zubelda offering "The Double Package" dated to around 100 years ago. It's not even the only Turkish cigarette ad you'll find in the area they were fashionable with the kids back then. In the middle of the 20th century, as neon became the popular signage, sign painters were no longer able to find work, and the signs began their decades of decay. But many weren't destroyed completely. "A place that made sense for advertising in 1915 makes sense for advertising now," Smith said. "So a lot of signs weren't painted over. They were covered by modern billboards." Kasey Smith A few murals have returned to their former glory. Backed by a $41,000 city grant, Precita Eyes Muralists in 2011 restored a cluster of ghost signs near the corner of Eddy and Taylor. The ads are for Coke, Original Joe's, United Railways, and Par-T-Pak beverages. And they were done the old-fashioned way, with painters on scaffolds. Before the pandemic, Smith provided occasional ghost sign tours of San Francisco. Since the pandemic, she has focused on chronicling ghost signs she finds in the more widely dispersed East Bay. This includes a community participation day she led in October 2020, when she invited neighbors to join in and share their finds. You can follow Smith's latest adventures on her website and on her Instagram account. Kasey Smith (Note: These signs and their surroundings are changing constantly, so what you see in the photos may not be exactly how they look now.) San Franciscos budget will grow to $9.6 billion in fiscal year 2016-17, a $700 million increase from this year that will pay for more transportation funding, street cleaning and police officers. The increase reflects the citys sustained economic rebound; the budget has grown by 41 percent since 2011-12. It also assumes that voters will pass a three-quarter-cent sales tax increase in November to fund transportation and homeless services. Under the budget proposal submitted by Mayor Ed Lee on Tuesday, there are no cuts to city services, and departments large and small, from the Police Department to the Ethics Commission, would see a fiscal boost. The citys workforce would grow by 4.1 percent, from just under 30,000 to 30,750. And the budget allocates money for one-time investments in deferred projects like road paving and new equipment for the Fire Department. It is vital that we make investments now that will pay off in the long run, Lee said in a speech Tuesday in the Board of Supervisors chambers. Mayors priorities He said his budget reflected his three main priorities: addressing homelessness, violence prevention and police reform, and quality-of-life issues. Our city is facing challenges we cant deny that, Lee said. Neighborhood crime is up. Homelessness is a visible and pressing concern. The need for police reform is evident. Of the $700 million increase, 25 percent will go to the Municipal Transportation Agency, 31 percent to housing, public health and social services, 14 percent to the airport, port and Public Utilities Commission, and 13 percent to public safety departments like police and fire. The balance will pay for smaller changes across other departments. Lee also proposed a $221 million budget for his newly formed Department on Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Of that money, $32 million is new funding, $12 million of it contingent on voters passing the proposed three-quarter-cent sales tax in November. Should the tax muster the 50 percent support it needs to pass, one-third of the money would be allocated to homeless services and two-thirds would be allocated for transportation and transit services, including street repaving. The increase would partially be offset by a reduction in the state sales tax later this year. Budget deficit remains Despite the city benefiting from a particularly strong economy in recent years, it still has a budget deficit. The city has projected an $86 million budget deficit for 2016-17 and $161 million in 2017-18. The citys pension obligations account for a big portion of that. Lees proposed budget pays off that deficit and makes new investments. Lee also projects the citys reserves will contain $380 million by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, which would be roughly 8 percent of the General Fund budget. The city has a stated goal of having a reserve fund that equals 10 percent of the General Fund budget. In new spending, the Fire Department would see a $14 million one-time boost over the span of the two-year budget, $7 million each year, to purchase new equipment. These are exactly the types of things we should be doing when we have money, said Melissa Whitehouse, the mayors acting budget director. Lee also proposed an additional $20 million in funding over the next two years for violence prevention programs and police reform efforts. While Lee has previously announced that funding, one aspect is new: He proposed increasing this year the number of police academy classes to train new officers from five to seven. Lee said that with those additional classes, the police department would meet its official goal of having 1,971 officers by the end of 2017. He said putting additional officers on the streets is key to addressing a jump in property crimes in the city, and making residents feel safe in their neighborhoods. Contention among supes But Supervisor John Avalos criticized increasing the number of police academy classes. Alluding to the fatal police shootings of suspects who werent carrying guns, he said the city should not pay for more classes until the Police Department shows that it has implemented reforms that emphasize de-escalation tactics and less reliance on lethal force. Having more academy classes when we havent figured out how to (implement reforms) doesnt make good sense, he said. Avalos also suggested that the Board of Supervisors put $200 million in funding for the Police Department in reserves and allocate it only when the department shows progress in carrying out the reforms. Supervisor Scott Wiener called that a terrible idea. We need police reform and we also need improved public safety in our neighborhoods. The idea that we would encourage police understaffing is irresponsible, he said. The budget will go to the Board of Supervisors to amend over the next month and ultimately approve. A long-standing practice is for longtime Budget & Legislative Analyst Harvey Rose to scour the mayors proposal to recommend cuts that add up to roughly $10 million to $15 million, which the board then reallocates to specific projects. Supervisor Mark Farrell, chairman of the Budget & Finance Committee, said Lee addressed his major concerns in the budget. I agree with the mayors priorities in terms of public safety, neighborhood quality of life and homelessness, Farrell said. But, he added, The devils are always in the details. Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: emilytgreen Proposed San Francisco budget Total department uses by major service area FY 2016-17 ($ millions) FY 2017-18 ($ millions) Public protection 1,467.4 1,492.6 Public works, transportation and commerce 3,706.5 3,810.6 Human welfare and neighborhood development 1,351.4 1,379.9 Community health 2,043.3 2,081.4 Culture and recreation 412.5 409.6 General administration and finance 1,084.6 1,012.5 General city responsibilities 1,881.4 2,051.4 Less transfer adjustments* (2,364.1) (2,532.3) Total budget 9,583.0 9,705.8 *Adjustments required to avoid double counting of expenditures and revenue moving between city agencies Lei Yang (file photo) The Beijing prosecutors said on Wednesday that they have launched investigation against the five cops who handled the case of Lei Yang, a 29-year-old who mysteriously died after plainclothes police took him away on suspicion of visiting prostitutes on May 7. The People's Procuratorate of Beijing Municipality said in an statement on Wednesday that based on earlier investigation, including an independent autopsy report, it is legitimate to investigate against the five police officers, one of which surnamed Xing. Lei Yang's family has been informed of the procurators' decision. Leis death sparked public outrage in China. Lei's family had filed a report with Beijing prosecutors over his death. On May 7, Lei Yang, the father of a newborn baby, left his Beijing home to pick up a relative at the airport. On his way, he was detained by police in front of a foot massage parlor, and then died shortly afterwards. Screen shot shows police officer Xing Yongrui, who handled the case of Lei Yang, being interviewed after Lei was found dead (file photo) BioMarin Pharmaceutical plans to stop developing its lead treatment candidate for a deadly muscle disease as European regulators signaled theyll give it a negative review, four months after the drug was rejected in the U.S. With the looming European denial, the decision to discontinue the development of the treatment, called Kyndrisa, and three related medications, was difficult but necessary, CEO Jean-Jacques Bienaime said in a statement Tuesday. There are no approved treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a deadly genetic disease that usually affects young boys and has proven a tough disease for drugmakers working to treat it. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration delayed its decision on another experimental drug, made by Sarepta Therapeutics. Kyndrisa was rejected by the FDA in January, after BioMarin failed to show the drug was effective. In February, the agency rejected a therapy from PTC Therapeutics. BioMarin said it will continue to explore other treatments, called oligonucleotides, for the disease. Executives Staples CEO to step down Staples says Ron Sargent will step down as CEO after 14 years on the job. Staples and rival Office Depot dropped their $6.3 billion merger earlier this month after antitrust regulators opposed it. Staples director Robert Sulentic said in a statement that the board and Sargent agreed that it was time for new management to help Staples grow after the deals collapse. Sargent will step down as CEO after the annual shareholders meeting June 14 but will remain a director and non-executive chairman through the end of January. The office supplies retailer said Tuesday that Shira Goodman, the president of operations in North America, will become interim CEO. Economy Consumer spending up Consumer spending rose in April by the largest amount in more than six years, led by a big jump in purchases of autos and other durable goods. Consumer spending rose 1 percent in April after a flat reading in March, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Incomes were up a solid 0.4 percent, matching the March gain. Wages and salaries, the most important component of incomes, gained 0.5 percent. The strong April showing for consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, is a good sign that the economy is performing notably better this quarter after nearly stalling out at the start of the year. It was the biggest climb since a 1.3 percent increase in August 2009. All major components showed solid gains, led by a 2.3 percent surge in spending on durable goods such as autos. Spending on nondurable goods, such as clothing and food, expanded a solid 1.4 percent, while spending on services such as rent payments and utility bills increased 0.6 percent. However, consumer confidence in May fell for a second month to the lowest level since November. The Conference Board says its index of consumer confidence dipped to 92.6 last month, down from 94.7 in April. Conference Board economists say that consumers remain cautious about the outlook for business and job market conditions, and anticipate little change in the months ahead. Real estate Home prices keep climbing Home prices rose again in March as the spring home buying season began, but so far the higher costs havent thwarted sales. The Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 5.4 percent in March compared with a year earlier, according to a report released Tuesday, the same annual gain as in February. Solid job growth, modest increases in wages and salaries, and low mortgage rates are fueling Americans willingness to buy homes. Yet there is also a limited supply of homes on the market, which pushes up prices. David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said the number of homes on the market is equal to less than 2 percent households, the lowest percentage since the mid-1980s. The number of available homes fell 3.6 percent in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. Portland, Seattle and Denver saw the highest yearly gains. The cities with the smallest increases were Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York and Cleveland. Chronicle News Services RICHMOND, Va. Police dont have to get a search warrant to obtain records about cell phone locations in criminal investigations, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a case closely watched by privacy rights advocates. The 12-3 decision by the full Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a three-judge panels ruling last year that the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure requires police to get a warrant for information obtained from cell towers. The appeals court now agrees with the only other three federal appeals courts that have taken up the issue, making it less likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the matter. Meghan Skelton, attorney for the two men who challenged the use of cell tower data, said she will ask for Supreme Court review anyway because there is disagreement among the circuits on some of the underlying issues. The Fourth Circuits decision is not the last word on this issue, said Nathan Freed Wessler, an attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. Other appellate courts will surely address these questions soon, and the Supreme Court may well need to weigh in. U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said the appeals court reached the right conclusion based on Supreme Court precedent and the decisions of other circuits. The ACLU was one of several organizations that filed friend-of-the court briefs in the case involving two men convicted of a series of armed robberies in the Baltimore area. Police used cell phone tower records tracking the suspects movements to tie them to the crimes. Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote in Tuesdays majority opinion that the Supreme Court has long held that the Fourth Amendment does not protect information that a person voluntarily turns over to a third party in this case, the defendants cell phone service providers. Rosenstein said in a telephone interview that its important to note that police still have to get a court order, as they did in this case, to obtain cell tower data. Authorities only have to show that the information is relevant to a criminal investigation to get a court order while a search warrant requires the higher standard of probable cause. Appeals Court Judge James Wynn wrote that the third-party doctrine exempts from Fourth Amendment protection information that is voluntarily conveyed by its owner. He said it is unlikely that a cell phone user believes he or she is voluntarily giving up the location information that is captured by the service provider, so the doctrine shouldnt apply. Skelton said Wynnes analysis is correct. Simply carrying a cell phone is not an invitation to the government to track our every move, she said. Thats why we think the Fourth Amendment protects us. A few years ago, the biggest enemy of the music industry was Pandora Media. Then Spotify became the target. Now it is YouTubes turn. The music world has been united to a rare degree in a recent public fight against YouTube, accusing the service of paying too little in royalties and asking for changes to the law that allows the company to operate the way it does. The battle highlights the way listeners are turning to streaming, as well as the industrys complicated relationship with YouTube. The dispute has played out in industry reports, blog posts and opinion columns. Stars like Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Billy Joel have signed letters asking for changes to copyright laws. Irving Azoff, the manager of artists like the Eagles and Christina Aguilera, criticized YouTube in an interview and in a fiery speech around the Grammy Awards. Annual sales statistics showed that YouTube, despite its gigantic audience, produces less direct income for musicians than the niche market of vinyl record sales. With more than 1 billion users, including the youngest and most engaged music fans, YouTube has long been seen by the music business as a vital way to promote songs and hunt for the next star. At the same time, music executives grumble that it has never been a substantial source of revenue and is a vexing outlet for leaks and unauthorized material. The major record labels are also in the midst of renegotiating their licensing contracts with YouTube this year. The music industry has asked the federal government to change the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying that the law, which was passed in 1998 and protects sites like YouTube that host copyrighted material posted by users, is outdated and makes removing unauthorized content too difficult. Robert Kyncl, YouTubes chief business officer, said that since its inception in 2005, YouTube has paid $3 billion to the music industry around the world. He also pointed to the sites new subscription plan, YouTube Red, and said YouTubes copyright protections were functioning as they should. Content ID, the sites proprietary system, lets copyright owners keep track of their material. According to YouTube, 98 percent of copyright claims on its system are made through Content ID, and 99.5 percent of the claims related to music are handled automatically. YouTube says about half the money it pays in music royalties is related to user-generated videos. But the music world argues that YouTubes financial contributions have not kept pace with the popularity of its streams. In March, the recording industry associations annual report criticized YouTube harshly. It said that free ad-supported sites like it, which let users pick specific songs on demand, paid $385 million to record labels in the United States, less than the $416 million collected from the sale of just 17 million vinyl records. Spotify reported that it paid about $1.8 billion last year for music licensing and related costs. The police chief of Sonoma State University stabbed his stepson repeatedly in the chest with a power drill and fired a pistol inside his Hayward home after an argument turned into a life-and-death struggle, Alameda County sheriffs officials said Tuesday. The fight, which was reported Monday night on the 3300 block of Costa Drive, ended with Elijah Latimer, 20, being treated at a local hospital for multiple stab wounds and an apparent punctured lung. His stepfather, Nathan Johnson, the police chief at Sonoma State University, was treated for a cut on his head. No arrests have been made in the case, which was first called in by Johnson, according to sheriffs Sgt. J.D. Nelson. He said investigators were still trying to figure out what led to the fight, which deputies described as a mutual combat situation. Weve got a ton of conflicting stories, so its kind of hard to sort everything out, Nelson said. They had some sort of an argument, we know that, but how it escalated into a stabbing with a drill and gunplay is the million-dollar question. Johnson, who has been the police chief at Sonoma State since 1999, told investigators that he had fired his personal gun into the wall as a warning shot during the altercation. A single bullet was recovered from the scene, Nelson said. The bloodied Latimer was found at a neighbors house after Johnson called sheriffs deputies at 10:30 p.m., Nelson said. His injuries are not life-threatening. One other adult in the house at the time of the stabbing refused to talk to investigators, Nelson said, making it difficult to determine who started the fight. Thats also part of the investigation who the aggressor was, and was it self-defense? Nelson said. He said deputies would forward the case to county prosecutors to determine if charges should be filed. Johnson has 35 years of law enforcement experience, including more than three years as chief law enforcement officer for the entire California State University System, according to his LinkedIn page. He has served as president of the Sonoma County Chiefs Association and chairman of the Statewide Emergency Preparedness Task Force. He was recognized for his work as a volunteer in New York City after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and he has received awards for valor from the California attorney generals office and the CSU Police Chiefs Association. Johnson could not be reached for comment. Officials at Sonoma State did not return phone calls. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: pfimrite John Decker/Associated Press The former chief executive of Californias pension system for public employees was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison Tuesday for accepting $250,000 in bribes in exchange for millions of dollars worth of favors to an investment firm run by a former board member. Fred Buenrostro, 66, of Sacramento, CEO of the California Public Employees Retirement System from 2002 until he was forced out in May 2008, pleaded guilty in July 2014 to conspiracy to commit bribery and fraud. He agreed to tell federal and state investigators everything he knew about the scandal and related instances of corruption, as well as the bribes paid by Alfred Villalobos, who committed suicide in January 2015 as he was about to go to trial. CHESTER, Ill. Jurors on Tuesday found former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson guilty of trying to hire someone to kill the prosecutor who helped to convict him in the killing of his third wife. Peterson was convicted of trying to hire a fellow inmates uncle while in prison to kill Will County States Attorney James Glasgow, who helped convict Peterson in 2012 of killing ex-wife Kathleen Savio eight years earlier. Prosecutors say Peterson believed that with Glasgow dead, he could win an appeal of his conviction Presenting Princess Shaw looks and feels like a DIY project, which is fine because the documentary is really a hymn to self-reliance although bolstered with a modest amount of plain old luck. The subject is Samantha Montgomery, a New Orleans woman who works in a nursing home but cherishes dreams of stardom as a vocalist. Montgomery is 39, and her work with the elderly is demanding, physically and emotionally. But she is savvy enough about new media to upload videos, shot on a cell phone, of herself performing the often plaintive songs she writes. Her songs are rough-edged but undeniably emotional, and her YouTube videos make no attempt to hide that she wears braces on her teeth. She is kind to the elderly people she works with, but clearly has had more than her share of woes, the details of which are revealed gradually by filmmaker Ido Haar. But with the eye-popping red hair and passionate voice, when she performs, shes transformed into Princess Shaw. What Montgomery doesnt know is that among her many anonymous online admirers is an Israeli musician named Ophir Kutiel, better known as Kutiman. One of his specialties is to find intriguing amateur performances on YouTube, weave them together in unexpected ways, and release the results back to YouTube. No money changes hands. We see Montgomery working her job, visiting her family, filming her songs and moving to Atlanta (the new Motown) to try to get her showbiz break. Meanwhile, painful details gradually emerge about childhood sexual abuse and the recent breakup of a long-term relationship. Montgomery is unaware of Kutiman, but viewers are in on the secret early he is so impressed by one of her songs that he incorporates it into one of his productions, titled Thru You. Its maybe a bit of a stretch to believe she had no inkling of Kutimans activities, but she acts surprised and most definitely pleased when they are revealed to her. The deception, if thats what it is, seems trivial in the end. Montgomery is appealing enough that we are willing to look past the overfamiliar Cinderella story arc and root for her. As for Kutiman, his activities, baldly explained, may sound borderline exploitative, but in the film he comes across as a real innovator whose work is not just enjoyable but also changes lives for the better. By the time Montgomery flies to Tel Aviv to appear in a Kutiman show, it feels like a miracle, and we are totally in her pocket. The Princess monicker seems right on the money. Walter Addiego is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: waddiego@sfchronicle.com Presenting Princess Shaw Documentary. Directed by Ido Haar. (Not rated. 83 minutes.) To see a trailer, go to http://imdb.to/1qPJjZ7 After her victory in Californias primary, Hillary Clinton became the stronger favorite than last week to defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and win the presidency, according to the British gambling firm William Hill. On Tuesday, William Hill had Clinton at 1-to-3 odds, meaning that to win $1, bettors must wager $3. Last week, Clintons odds were 1-2. Last year, when Trump was being dismissed as unelectable, lots of people across the Atlantic were putting their money on the longshot outsider, said William Hill spokesman Graeme Sharpe. Now that Trump is the likely nominee, those bettors are ready to collect. With Trump now boasting enough support to confirm him as the Republican nominee, William Hill, who had quoted him at 33-to-1 to do so, and at 150-to-1 to win the race to the White House, now make him 5-2 to become the next U.S. president, Sharpe said, calling Trumps progress toward the nomination astonishing. Once he is confirmed as the Republican candidate, we can begin paying out to those who were shrewd enough to bet on him, he said, and there are plenty of them. On PredictIt.com, an online futures market, the question of who will win the presidency this year has the Democrats at 69 cents and the Republicans at 33 cents. So it would take a 69-cent investment to get a dollar back if the Democrats win. PredictIt allows U.S. residents to legally wager on political events, said PredictIt spokeswoman Brandi Travis. Futures markets, she said, are typically a better indicator than polls because they rely on people putting up money. PredictIt also has markets for presidential elections in battleground states. For instance, one could bet on Which party will win Florida? in November. Last week, a 53-cent wager was required to take back $1 on the Democrats in Florida. As of Wednesday, June 8, it was up to 61 cents, suggesting the Democrats hold a significant and growing edge there. The numbers are similar for Ohio. Last week, it was 54 cents for the Democrats to win; this week its up to 60 cents to get $1. California is not expected to be closely contested during the November election, but one can still wager on it. For a $1 return, one must wager 89 cents. (You get your 89 cents back, plus 11 cents in winnings.) Conversely, an 11-cent bet on the Republicans in California would return $1. Michael Shapiro (www.michaelshapiro.net) is author of A Sense of Place. Twitter: shapirowrites Ma Ma, a wannabe weepie about a woman diagnosed with breast cancer, is Spains equivalent of a Lifetime movie, but its often lifeless, even with a decent performance by Penelope Cruz. Bearing little resemblance to the rollicking Spanish films of recent times, Ma Ma is filled with reserved characters in a conflict-free world where voices are rarely raised, even when families are torn asunder. The film cannot be rescued by Cruz, who knows how to command the screen, even when shes playing a one-dimensional character whos angelic and heroic 24/7. The story presents several opportunities for her to be un-angelic and un-heroic, but director Julio Medem (Sex and Lucia) attempts to use style, rather than deeper characters, to spice up the proceedings. These stylistic touches include hospital walls that are heavenly white, almost blinding at times; occasional shots of a heart beating, then not beating; and frequent images of an orphaned Siberian girl (dont ask). The only thing these effects do is make the film longer and over the top. Ma Ma clearly wants to be tearjerker, but theres no need to have tissues handy for this one. If theres a lesson to be learned here, its this: Leave the overwrought sentiment to the Americans. We know how to do it much better. David Lewis is a Bay Area freelance writer. Ma Ma: Drama. Starring Penelope Cruz, Luis Tosar, Asier Etxeandia. Directed by Julio Medem. In Spanish with English subtitles. (R. 111 minutes.) To view a trailer, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8_3JEDeA4o Hes handsome and rich and newly quadriplegic. Shes cute and spunky and totally broke, and she takes a job as his companion not as his nurse, but as someone for him to talk to. Predictably, its rough going at the start, but then things get better, and, over the course of a few months, they develop a bond, etc. You know this story. You know the emotions to expect, and probably the order in which theyre presented, and yet even so ... Me Before You is just a little better than it had to be. Its not so much better that it escapes being what it is, a sort-of romance, liberally sprinkled with moments of corniness and emotional dishonesty. But ultimately, when it matters, its truthful about the people depicted, and who they are, and what they face. It should be noted, however, that the movies depiction of disability and of the choices available to people with disabilities have become subjects of controversy within the disabled community, and there have even been some protests and campaigns against the film. Solid, decent qualities Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) is Lou, a working-class girl in small-town England, and the movie makes no bones about the fact that, were young Will (Sam Claflin) not the victim of a terrible accident, he would never have given Lou a second glance. Its actually rather interesting just how uninteresting Lou is. She is genuinely simple and not too bright, with no ambition or passion, but she has qualities of character not remarkable qualities, but solid, decent qualities, that engage our attention. Clarke is entirely charming and winning in the role, except for one small but nagging thing. She has too much facial tension as she speaks, and it produces a commensurate tension in the audience. This is nothing you might particularly notice on a small screen, but its something you cant miss when a face is blown up to 20 or 30 feet. George Clooney had a similar problem when he first started making movies. Hed wag his head, as hed done for years on TV, but suddenly entire audiences were getting motion sickness. He made the adjustment and went on to glory. If Clarke can just stop scrunching up her face, she can do the same. The class aspect is a presence in Me Before You, but not in the heavy-handed (and ultimately sentimental) way that was present in the French film Intouchables, which had a similar story. In this film, Lou just hasnt done anything. Shes never been anywhere. She has never even seen a movie with subtitles. And so, introducing her to new things not for the sake of educating her, but simply to show her new pleasures becomes a source of mild enjoyment for young Will. Within what seems to be (and mostly is) a sappy, romantic frame, Sam Claflin is able to do some nice things with Will, and the movie ultimately doesnt let him down. He remains, from beginning to end, an intelligent person, utterly realistic about his situation, and we always feel that he is thinking that even when he is almost amused and almost happy, he maintains a certain British refusal to be anything other than realistic. Cringe moments Claflins rigor and Clarkes charm are counterbalanced by cringe moments, as when, after years of unemployment, Lous father (Brendan Coyle) gets a job as a maintenance man, and the family goes into a paroxysm of joy. In such moments, one gets the sense of the working class as imagined by the upper class, the idea that poor people arent just willing and resigned to working hard, but theyre absolutely ecstatic about it. Still, unlike at least 90 percent of movies, Me Before You gets better as it goes along, and thats something. Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com. Twitter:@MickLaSalle Me Before You Romantic drama. Starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. Directed by Thea Sharrock. (PG-13. 110 minutes.) To see a trailer for Me Before You, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh993__rOxA J-20 fighter. (Photo from Weibo) The PLA Air Force refuted the rumor that the J-20 fighter has been deployed to troops on May 31. Since May 30, some media has been reporting that "J-20s are in service in the Southern Theatre Command" and that "J-20s and J-10s are being used in military drills together". According to the official Weibo account of the PLA Air Force, those reports are not true. So far, J-20s have not been used to equipped the air force. A TV station mistakenly used the image of a J-20 when reporting an air unit of the Southern Theater Command on May 29. And speculative reports are all based on this TV screenshot. Some media said that insiders have disclosed the future operation plans for the J-20, which is also unreliable. Currently, J-20s and Y-20s are all conducting relevant experiments and test flights. In the near future, these planes will be deployed to the air force gradually to effectively enhance the combat ability of the air force. In recently years, China has independently developed some new weapons and equipment which will be used to safeguard China's sovereignty, safety and territorial integrity. These new weapons and equipment are necessary guarantees in the process of China's peaceful development. Courtesy Cal Performances For nearly as long as theres been an early-music movement, the Bay Area has been a center for historically informed musical performance of all sorts. In addition to the performing groups that dot the landscape year-round, there is the biennial Berkeley Festival and Exhibition, which provides a showcase for both local luminaries and invited guests. This years festival opens with a recital by harpsichordist Davitt Moroney and a concert of instrumental music by the Canadian sackbut ensemble Sacabuche. Then it continues throughout the coming week with performances by the viol consort Parthenia, fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout, the ensemble Vox Luminis and more. Theres something here for every taste. WASHINGTON Hillary Clinton on Wednesday assailed presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump as a fraud intent on scamming the American people following new revelations about the businessmans now-defunct education company. Clinton, Trumps likely general election opponent, cast Trump University as a get-rich scheme for the real estate mogul that preyed on vulnerable Americans, urging them to sign up for pricey seminars even when they were financially strapped. He is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump U, Clinton said during a campaign stop in Newark, N.J. Its important that we recognize what he has done because thats usually a pretty good indicator of what he will do. Trump University is the target of two lawsuits in San Diego and one in New York that accuse the business of fleecing students with unfulfilled promises to teach secrets of success in real estate. Plaintiffs contend that Trump University gave seminars and classes across the country that were like infomercials, constantly pressuring customers to buy more and, in the end, failing to deliver. Trump has maintained that customers were overwhelmingly satisfied with the offerings a point that his attorneys repeated after the new documents were unsealed Tuesday. Clintons campaign leapt on the new details contained in the unsealed documents, including the organizations strategies for encouraging prospective students to dip into their savings or find other means of making payments they couldnt afford. Money is never a reason for not enrolling in Trump University; if they really believe in you and your product, they will find the money, a playbook reads. During one-on-one conversations, you may begin with some small talk to establish rapport but do not let them take control of the conversation, a playbook reads. You must be very aggressive during these conversations in order to push them out of their comfort zones. If they complain about the price, remind them that Trump is the BEST!! The 6-year-old case in San Diego is scheduled to go to trial shortly after the November presidential election. Trump has railed against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who ordered the documents unsealed. At a rally in San Diego on Friday, he accused the judge of being hostile and a hater of Donald Trump, and raised questions about his ethnicity. The judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great, I think thats fine, Trump said of Curiel, who was born in the U.S. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LOS ANGELES UCLA students went to school Wednesday expecting to take on routine end-of-school-year tasks: final exams and presentations. But those concerns were forgotten around 10 a.m., when cell phones buzzed to life across campus, announcing that a shooting had taken place. Within minutes, thousands of students found themselves racing for cover, building makeshift barricades against classroom doors that wouldnt lock and arming themselves with anything they could find as information about the gunfire some of it rumor about a wave of assailants spread across campus via text messages and social media. In the end, it was a murder-suicide involving two men inside an engineering building near the campus south side, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said. Several sources identified the victim as William Klug, 39, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering who studied the interaction between mechanics and biology and was the father of two young children. Klug was described as both brilliant and kind, a rare blend in the competitive world of academic research, colleagues said. I am absolutely devastated, said Alan Garfinkel, a professor of integrative biology and physiology who worked with Klug to develop a computer-generated virtual heart. You cannot ask for a nicer, gentler, sweeter and more supportive guy than William Klug. The wave of panic and adrenaline, slew of campus alerts and swarms of police were all too familiar for Jeremy Peschard. The 22-year-old geography major transferred to UCLA from UC Santa Barbara, near where a students rampage left six people dead and 14 injured in Isla Vista in 2014. Its crazy to go through this again, said Peschard, who said he experienced flashbacks of the attack as he hid inside a UCLA office. Its sad that its normalized at this point. Its like I almost know the drill. Wednesdays shooting took place inside the universitys engineering complex in a small office, according to Beck, who confirmed at a noon news conference that the shooter was one of the two dead men. The campus is now safe, he said. Based on the appearances of the deceased, police believed that the shooter was young enough to be a student, who then turned the gun on himself, a law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times. When police first discovered the two men who had been fatally shot, they feared they were the first victims of an active shooter, Koretz said. The campus was locked down for about two hours, ending around 12:05 p.m. Classes were canceled after the shooting but will resume Thursday, the university said. The shooting prompted a massive response from local and federal law enforcement. Police officers in riot gear ran across campus, guns and battering rams drawn, while students exited buildings with their hands above their heads. MINNEAPOLIS Minnesotas U.S. attorney on Wednesday declined to file civil rights charges against two Minneapolis police officers in the November death of a black man that sparked weeks of protests. Andrew Luger said in a news release that theres insufficient evidence to support charges against Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze. Jamar Clark, 24, was shot once in the head Nov. 15 and died a day later. A key issue was whether Clark was handcuffed when he was shot. Several witnesses said he was; police said he was not. The circumstances of the case set off weeks of protests in the city, including an 18-day tent encampment outside the police departments Fourth Precinct on the north side. The confrontation that led to Clarks death began when paramedics called police saying the man was interfering with their efforts to treat an assault victim. According to an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Clark refused orders to take his hands out of his pockets. The officers tried to handcuff him but failed. Ringgenberg wrestled Clark to the ground but wound up on his back atop Clark and felt Clarks hand on his weapon, according to the investigation. Schwarze then shot Clark in an encounter that lasted barely more than a minute from the time the officers first arrived. In March, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman declined to file criminal charges against the officers. He cited forensic evidence in the BCA investigation that found no bruising of Clarks wrists that handcuffs would likely have caused and found Clarks DNA on Ringgenbergs gun. Freeman also cited conflicting accounts by witnesses about whether Clark was cuffed. An internal police investigation is expected now that the results of the federal investigation have been released. PHILADELPHIA A few police agencies in the U.S. have begun rewarding officers for showing restraint in the line of duty, putting the tactic on par with bravery. More than 40 Philadelphia officers have received awards since December for defusing conflicts without shooting, clubbing or otherwise using maximum force against anyone. The Los Angeles Police Department recently created a Preservation of Life award. And later this year, the U.S. Justice Departments new Community Policing Awards will recognize officers who prevent tense situations from spinning out of control. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A wave of prominent Republicans have announced their intention to skip the partys national convention in Cleveland this summer, the latest sign that Donald Trump, who last week secured the delegates needed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, continues to struggle in his effort to unite the party behind his candidacy. The list of those who have sent regrets includes governors and U.S. senators almost all facing tough re-election fights this year and lifelong party devotees who have attended every convention for decades. Some are renouncing their seats like conscientious objectors. I could not in good conscience attend a coronation and celebration of Donald Trump, wrote one Indiana delegate, Josh Claybourn, in a blog post resigning his position. The coolness toward Trump amounts to a remarkable rebuke. A broad range of party leaders are openly rejecting the man who might be their nominee. And the July 18-21 convention, usually a moment of public catharsis for political parties after contentious primaries, is shaping up to be another reminder of the disarray and disunity that is still rocking the Republican Party after a bitter 17-way fight for the nomination. Even the two highest-ranking Republicans in the conventions host state of Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Rob Portman, who is fighting to hold onto his seat do not know if they will set foot in the convention hall. Several other of Trumps former rivals for the nomination have either said they will not attend or have not yet committed. Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, will not be there. Neither will Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who is a delegate as well as a former presidential candidate, has yet to decide. TBD, a spokesman said. At least two former competitors of Trumps are expected to attend: Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who last week offered his services as a speaker should they be wanted. Among those staying away include some major corporations like Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. Trump still has not fully reconciled with Speaker Paul Ryan, the conventions chairman who said in early May that he was not ready to support the nominee and would relinquish the role if asked. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is one of at least nine Republican governors who are either noncommittal or skipping the convention: Kasich, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Bruce Rauner of Illinois, Larry Hogan of Maryland, Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Matt Mead of Wyoming and Nathan Deal of Georgia. One barrel of unhusked rice stored by Meng A'xiang.(Photo/Legal Evening News) A woman by the name of Meng A'xiang has stored nearly 500 kilograms of unhusked rice in three barrels in case that her three mentally retarded boys should not have enough food to eat after she dies one day. For these days, Meng afflicted by a serious illness has left her confined to her bed. Therefore, she showed great concern over the life of her three children after she dies some day. As a mother, she could not help asking Le Jianjiu, her only healthy boy, to take care of his three retarded brothers. Meng, a beautiful girl in her youth, got married with her cousin at the age of 14 in 1938 and gave birth to seven children in the village of Menglong in central China's Hebei province. Meng's husband died by injuries from a fatal fall accident in 1997 and since then Meng has trudged along in a long lonesome journey of supporting her three retarded sons on her own. In spite of poor living conditions, Meng insists on living an independent life without resorting to assistance from other people. For instance, she has never allowed her three sons to go to other people's home and beg for food there. Besides this, she does all the farm work and housework on her own even in her eighties. Moreover, she simply says no when the local government inquiries about whether or not she and her family would like to move into a senior citizen's home. Meng is a strong believer that "God helps those who help themselves". She has made great effort to teach one of her retarded boys daily living skills. Nowadays, this boy can cook food for his retarded brothers, cut firewood and do farm work. Meng is not the only one who cares for her three boys. Le Jianjiu has rented more paddy fields to make sure that his brothers have enough food to eat. Furthermore, he has decided to quit his job in the big city and has returned to his hometown, he intends to take care of his brothers when his mother dies someday. The local government has also done its duty for making a better life for Meng's boys. These three boys each are expected to get a government subsidy of 5,800 yuan per year. In addition, they are prime targets for anti-poverty programs. Meng's third son sits at the door of his home.(Photo/Legal Evening News) Meng's second son(right) knows how to cook for his brothers.(Photo/Legal Evening News) Number of luxury knockoffs six times higher than that of authentic ones, report says The number of luxury knockoffs is six times higher than that of the authentic ones in the sales channels targeted at Chinese consumers, according to a report by a research academy named Fortune Character. To avoid the knockoffs negative influence on their brand image, luxury companies try their best to make it easier for consumers to recognize differences between the knockoffs and the authentic ones. For instance, they will show images of their products in the pre-sale commercial advertisements or promotional videos and make several slight changes to these products later. Manufacturers of knock-offs always make the products in accordance with the images shown in the pre-sale promotion activities. Naturally, the consumers can easily tell the difference between the authentic ones and the knock-offs when the products are sold in the market. Luxury companies are not the only party involved in the campaign against the knock-off producers. China's electronic business platforms also do their bit. A security expert at Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce company, told reporters that more than 2,000 employees are tasked to crack down on knock-offs in the company. Zheng Junfang, one of the partners of Alibaba, offered her proposals to solve the problem: on one hand, the e-commerce platforms can get rid of the knock-offs on their platforms, track down the sources of knock-offs by applying big data technology and crack down on the parties involved in the production and sales of knock-offs. On the other hand, the society should help these small and medium-sized manufacturers of knock-offs to produce quality goods and build brand names of their own. Oakland Ballet Company Artistic Director Graham Lustig, who has run the company part time since his appointment in July 2010, will join full time in September. The expansion of Lustigs role signals an improvement in the financial position of the respected but beleaguered company, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. However, the change is also consistent with the prudent budgeting the company has practiced since his arrival, said board chair Roz Perazzo. We will be better off financially to bring him here full time, Perazzo said. Lustig has run the Ballet long-distance from New Jersey, where he directed American Repertory Ballet in Princeton, and then his own eponymous company, at the same time. When it became apparent that the expense of a bicoastal director outpaced the cost of a full-time hire, Perazzo said, We rolled that up into a salary. Founded by Ronn Guidi in 1965, Oakland Ballet reached its heyday in the 1990s, when it boasted a $2 million annual budget and international renown for its expertise in restoring historic and lost ballets. After Guidis 2000 retirement, successor Karen Brown struggled to steer the company through the dot-com bust; after liquidating assets, including its vaunted costume collection, the company shuttered in 2006. Guidis two-year attempt to revive it ended in 2009. Determined to keep Oakland Ballet alive, the board launched a yearlong search for a new director, choosing Lustig, Perazzo says, for his ability to reach out to the community and find out what their needs and wants are, to honor the legacy of the ballet, but also look at the roots of the community. They also needed someone with Lustigs ability to stretch the companys meager budget, which has grown from $600,000 in 2011 to a reported $740,000 in 2016. Lustig has made some protean choices to stay within those narrow limits, including postponing the spring 2012 season for a year. Theres no great genius behind it, Lustig said by phone from New Jersey. Its doing what you say youre going to do, and delivering it in time and on budget. That breeds confidence back into the organization and in funders. Small-scale fundraising events and strategic planning sessions with local business leaders have paid off as well. The most important thing is the board recruitment, Perazzo said, adding that better-connected members have drawn notable new support. We are getting more interest from corporate donors, such as Safeway and U.S. Bank. Were also getting lots of support from Mayor (Libby) Schaaf. Perazzo stressed that Lustigs consistent presence in Oakland means that he will be able to build on those relationships more consistently than was previously possible. To make the company relevant to the current audience, Lustig has focused on hiring local artists and mixing media, from choreographers like Amy Seiwert and Oakland Turf dancers to poetry by the late Tupac Shakur. Combined with youth outreach, including inviting 2,000 Oakland schoolkids to open Nutcracker rehearsals, his creative choices have sparked interest in a new generation. The ballets near-term goals include restoring a fall performance season (finances have limited it to an annual Nutcracker and a spring season). The company further hopes to expand its outreach programs in the Oakland public schools, its youth ballet academy and a summer intensive. Longer term, Lustig and the board would like to see the company return to its former status as an influential and far-reaching arts institution. Meanwhile, were going to continue our philosophy of slow-and-grow, Perazzo said, and only do things that we can support financially. Claudia Bauer is a Bay Area freelance writer. RJ Muna For 38 years, a rich variety of world culture has met at the crossroads that is the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, and this weekend, the three-week event kicks off with dance, music and ritual that can be dazzling, exhilarating, poignant and sometimes all of those things all at once. After a free opening show with the Peruvian marinera company El Tunante performing under the rotunda at San Franciscos City Hall at noon Friday, June 3, the action moves to the Palace of Fine Arts Theater for the weekend, featuring a globe-trotting lineup that includes West Javanese, Chinese classical and Indian Kathak dance. East meets West in a program that includes a performance in the Mexican folkloric style from Ballet Folklorico Netzahualcoyotl, evocative work from the Bolivian Espiritu Andino, Senegalese dances from the Toucouleur people, and a farruca from the San Francisco Flamenco Dance Company. A lawsuit by supporters of Bernie Sanders seeking more time and information from election officials for independent voters the bloc crucial to the Vermont senators presidential hopes in next weeks California primary failed Wednesday to impress a federal judge, who called the suit tardy, misdirected and meritless. Filed May 20, the suit accused state and local officials of providing misleading or incomplete instructions in their mailings and websites about the rights of nonaligned voters to cast a presidential ballot for a Democrat, American Independent or Libertarian candidate next Tuesday. To do so, a voter must request such a ballot by mail the deadline was Tuesday or at the polls. No-party-preference voters voting power is being diluted, attorney William Simpich argued during a court hearing in San Francisco, noting that nonaligned voters make up 23 percent of the California electorate. Information provided to voters varies between counties, he said, and this is a case that cries out for uniformity. But U.S. District Judge William Alsup said the suit was filed much too late, just 2 weeks before the election, and mostly alleged violations of state laws over which he has no jurisdiction. And he said the federal claims that election officials are discriminating against independent voters, in violation of the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act were unfounded. The citizens of California are smart enough to know what their rights are, Alsup said in denying Simpichs request for a court order requiring new statewide voter information. He said the ballot pamphlet and other election materials tell independent voters they have a right to request a presidential ballot from one of three parties, and if their ballot doesnt say Sanders, they can ask. Sardonically, the judge told Simpich he could seek an emergency order from a federal appeals court, the U.S. Supreme Court or the International Court of Justice. Simpich said afterward that the plaintiffs hadnt decided whether to file an appeal in federal court or refile their claims in state court. The suit was filed against the state and San Francisco and Alameda counties by a group of Sanders supporters called the Voting Rights Defense Project, along with the American Independent Party and two individual voters. They argued that the absence of clear statewide instructions in ballot materials left many independent voters in the dark about how to obtain partisan presidential ballots, leading some to write in a candidates name, which wont be counted. They asked for a variety of remedies, including extending the states registration deadline from May 23 to election day, a step that election officials called unworkable and a formula for chaos. Simpich scaled down his requests at Wednesdays hearing, seeking only a brief statewide announcement, by email, radio and social media, on how to obtain a presidential ballot. But the state already mails that information to voters, said Deputy Attorney General Sharon OGrady, representing Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Padillas office also provides the information on signs posted at polling places, said Alameda Countys attorney, Senior Deputy County Counsel Raymond Lara. All poll workers are trained to actively inform (nonaligned) voters they can get crossover ballots to vote for president, said San Franciscos lawyer, Deputy City Attorney Joshua White. Theres no evidence of any kind of burden on voting rights. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: egelko Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will make his first Bay Area appearance in over a month Thursday in San Jose. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the San Jose Convention Center. The billionaire and presumptive GOP nominee last visited the Bay Area for the California Republican Convention on April 29 in Burlingame. San Francisco patrol officers, moved after discovering a baby sea lion shivering on a stairwell at Ocean Beach in the middle of the night, kept the frightened pinniped warm until rescue workers arrived in the morning to save it, authorities said Tuesday. The officers found the cold, tired and frightened pup shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday lying on stairwell five, just south of the Cliff House. The distressed sea lion attempted to warm itself by cuddling next to the officers, who, touched, stayed with the trembling animal overnight, preventing it from waddling into the street or otherwise getting hurt, said police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan. On a late May afternoon, some locals and tourists surveyed Cityscape With House & Gray Energy, (2003), a two-panel acrylic on wood painting by Chris Johanson. Nearby, others viewed a finely-dressed 19th century French couple, a working man and a dog in Gustave Caillebottes Le Pont de lEurope, an 1876 oil on canvas piece. Both were part of Architecture of Life, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives sweeping inaugural exhibition in its new building. But now with that show wrapped up, BAMPFA prepares to present its next set of exhibitions, including Cecilia Edefalk/Matrix 261. Opening June 29, the show allows viewers to explore history, light and time through the Stockholm artists paintings, photographs, sculptures and watercolors. Pieces include To View the Painting From Within, (2002), an ethereal acrylic on linen work. Related events include a walk-through of the gallery with Edefalk and curator Apsara DiQunzio set for 6:30 p.m. on opening night. In the meantime, there are several programs and events that offer plenty to see and do at BAMPFA. Its film series includes Mexican Film Noir with screenings of titles chosen from Filmoteca UNAMs archives, including The Devils Money, a 1953 film directed by Alejandro Galindo, at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 9. Theres also The Films of Seijun Suzuki, which celebrates the popular Japanese filmmaker with a retrospective of his career. Screenings include the 1966 film Tokyo Drifter, at 9 p.m. June 10. For something more interactive, delve into individual creativity at the Art Lab, where both children and adults can gather at tables and utilize provided materials to contribute their interpretations of a themed project. Each season, the Art Lab features a new subject and currently, that means mail art. Using rubber stamps and drawing materials, visitors make artistic mail to send out from BAMPFAs new site. To refresh after all that (fun!) work, stop in at the Babette Cafe, a petite spot tucked away in an upper corner of the museum. In addition to house-made pastries and French press, pour-over and espresso-style coffees, the cafe serves breakfast and lunch from a menu that changes monthly. Recent choices included a spicy yellow split pea soup with spinach and coconut milk, and an organic roasted chicken sandwich made with caramelized onions, arugula and Meyer lemon aioli on focaccia bread. BAMPFAs 83,000-square-foot building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro from a repurposed 1939 Art Deco printing plant, has been open since January and marries the visual arts and film in a stunning space. Serving as UC Berkeleys main visual arts center, the collections include more than 19,000 artworks, a film library with 17,500 films/videos and cinematic-related archives. BAMPFA: 2155 Center St., Berkeley. Free-$12. (510) 642-0808, www.bampfa.org . (While most of the art galleries will be closed from June 1 to July 5 for exhibition reinstallations, the film theaters and archives, Crane Forum, Art Lab, Babette Cafe and the museum store will remain open during this period.) They also serve who only stand and wait, John Miltons poetic observation, was originally written about mans service to God. But for Norman, the aged title character of Ronald Harwoods 1980 play The Dresser, the figure of Sir may as well be a deity, albeit a tattered, rude, self-centered and mortally terrified one. Harwoods play, initially adapted for film in 1983 with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay as Sir and Norman, has been called into service once again as a vehicle for a couple of real-life sirs, Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen. The newish (2015) TV film, originally broadcast in Britain, makes its American telly debut on Starz on Monday, May 30. Of course, its a showcase of great acting, as you would expect, but The Dresser is also a well-tailored play enriched by layers of metaphor and irony. The story is set toward the end of World War II as a small, ragtag company of actors traipses around England staging Shakespeare plays and trying to be heard above the sound of Nazi air raids. Tonights play is King Lear, and Norman (McKellen) is helping Sir (Hopkins) prepare for the performance. But Sir has had a difficult day. He rather lost it (and many of his garments) in a wild rant in town earlier in the day, and everyone is concerned about whether hes capable of going on that night. Norman has been Sirs dresser for years. Hes fussy and proprietary, and of course basks in the reflected aura (fading though it may be) of the man he serves. The company manager, Madge (Sarah Lancashire), is already fretting because she has had to switch some cast members to different roles. It seems a company member has been caught by the police with his pants down, as it were, and of course the play is set at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain. The meek, elderly Thornton (Edward Fox, who was also in the 1983 film, playing Oxenby) will have to play Lears Fool, and once made up for the role, looms like the figure of death at a costume ball whenever he totters into Sirs shabby dressing room. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Joss Barratt / Joss Barratt / Starz Entertainment Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Joss Barratt / Joss Barratt / Starz Entertainment Show More Show Less 3 of 3 The play covers the preparation for the performance of Lear, a few scenes from that play, and the aftermath all of which combine to make an extended, if somewhat obvious, metaphor: We consider Lears paranoia-laced mad scene as a refraction of what Sir is experiencing in his real life. If the relatively simple parallel of the man and his role were all there was to The Dresser, it would be mildly interesting. But what makes it far more than that are the shades of longing, resentment, spite and indifference displayed by members of Sirs circle. Madge has harbored unrequited love for Sir for years. Normans feelings about Sir are more elusive. His devotion and attention to detail suggest the kind of fondness built up over years of service. But as the play wears on, we see a more complicated relationship between Norman and Sir, one that perhaps mirrors relationships in the Shakespeare play itself. Sirs long-suffering wife, Her Ladyship (Emily Mortimer), has grown somewhat immune to his philandering, indifference to her and inflated ego. You do nothing without self-interest, she hisses. They do have pet names for each other he is Bonzo, she is Pussy but they are never spoken with even an ounce of affection. He complains often about her fondness for sweets and his difficulty having to carry her onstage. She would find sugar in a sand dune, he snarls. As for those whose job it is to judge his performance, Sir is even more derisive. Hate the critics? he says at one point. I have nothing but compassion for them. How can one hate the crippled, the mentally deficient and the dead? How indeed? Any play about theater makes the point that all the worlds a stage and that were merely players, to paraphrase As You Like It. And so it is with The Dresser. In real life, Sirs grip is slipping, time is taking its inevitable toll, and he is blanking on his lines and purpose. Onstage, he becomes Lear one more time, and in acting mad, finds moments of relative sanity and purpose. And backstage, Norman waits, expecting another night, another performance, another chance to ready the wig and makeup and to utter the reminder, Sir, its time to age. David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: WaitWhat_TV Follow me on Facebook The Dresser: Dramatic film. 9 p.m. Monday, May 30, on Starz. BEIRUT Kurdish-led Syrian fighters have launched a new advance on the northern town of Manbij, a key Islamic State stronghold, with the aid of U.S.-led air strikes, a spokesman for the fighters and a monitoring group said Wednesday. The United Nations, meanwhile, said it was looking into every possible means to deliver life-saving aid to besieged Syrians now that a Wednesday deadline set by world powers has passed. U.N. spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero said the main priority is to access 592,700 people in besieged areas and millions more in hard-to-reach areas facing severe food shortages. The U.S.- and Russia-led International Syria Support Group last month called on the U.N. to immediately carry out a program for air bridges and air drops for all areas in need starting June 1 if it was denied access to designated areas. The U.N. envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has called air drops, which cost more than land delivery, a last resort. A local Syrian council says the first humanitarian aid convoy to enter a government-besieged Damascus suburb since 2012 contained no food. The Local Council of Daraya says the convoy that entered Wednesday afternoon to much anticipation carried only medicines and medical equipment. The United Nations estimates that 4,000 to 8,000 people currently live in Daraya. The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia that includes Arab fighters, have approached to within nine miles of Manbij, which lies along a key supply route from the Turkish border to the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State groups self-styled caliphate. There are tens of casualties among fighters and evacuating civilians, said Nasser Haj Mansour, an adviser to the Kurdish militia. He could not provide an exact figure. Daesh is using its entire means to stop the forces, he said by telephone from near the front line, referring to the Islamic State by its Arabic acronym. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighters had recaptured at least 16 villages from Islamic State. The monitoring group, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria, said coalition air strikes supporting the advance have killed 15 civilians in the past 24 hours. The Kurdish militia has also launched an offensive to capture the Islamic State-held Tabqa air base, about 25 miles southwest of Raqqa. Mansour said the air base is a major weapons depot for the extremist group. Islamic State seized Tabqa in 2014 and massacred at least 160 captured Syrian soldiers. Turkeys state-run news agency, meanwhile, said coalition air strikes and Turkish artillery fire killed 14 Islamic State militants near the Turkish border. The observatory said no casualties had been inflicted. The Anadolu Agency, citing military officials, said Wednesday that the strikes by U.S.-led coalition jets targeted Islamic State positions north of the city of Aleppo, destroying a tank, two mortar positions, a headquarters building and three vehicles. PARIS Floods devastated regions across France on Wednesday in some areas, the worst seen in a century or more. The Seine River overflowed its banks, one French town was evacuated, travelers trapped on a submerged highway were rescued by soldiers and boat cruises in Paris were canceled. Meteorologists said more bad news is coming the waters are expected to keep rising for days. Drenched tourists were rearranging plans, schools in one region were shut down, and the French government pressed to rescue thousands of people trapped in homes or cars in provincial towns. No casualties have been reported, but emergency workers have carried out more than 8,000 rescue operations from the Belgian border south to Burgundy over the past two days, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday. Paris City Hall closed roads along the shores of the Seine from the Left Bank in the east to the Eiffel Tower neighborhood in the west, as water levels rose at least 14 feet, 1 inch higher than usual. Signs for the Seines popular Bateaux-Mouches tourist boats in French, English and Japanese read, Due to flood waters, all cruises are canceled. Unusually heavy rain has pummeled France and other European countries in recent days, causing exceptional delays at the French Open and forcing the evacuation of two prisons. The town of Nemours, southeast of Paris, was the worst hit. Authorities were evacuating the center of town Wednesday even as Environment Minister Segolene Royal rushed to the site. Parts of neighboring Germany also have seen storms and heavy rain since the weekend. On Wednesday, floods hit an area of Bavaria in southern Germany near the Austrian border, inundating the towns of Simbach am Inn and Triftern. Police said three bodies were found Wednesday evening in a house in Simbach but didnt give further details. In Paris, the rain eased Wednesday but more showers were expected in the evening and through Thursday. ALGIERS, Algeria Mohamed Abdelaziz, the head and co-founder of the Polisario Front independence movement in Western Sahara, died Tuesday after a long illness, the group said. He was in his late 60s. The Polisario Front ordered a 40-day mourning period, after which it said a new secretary-general will be chosen to replace the man who led it for four decades. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika also declared a week of mourning for the Polisario leader, whose group is based in Tindouf, in southern Algeria. The death of Mr. Abdelaziz comes at a time of growing tensions over the fate of Western Sahara. The Polisario Front has fought for four decades for independence for the vast, mineral-rich territory on Africas Atlantic coast, which was annexed by Morocco after Spain withdrew in 1975. Morocco now considers the territory its Southern Provinces and has pumped funds into the areas development over the years. Morocco is also becoming increasingly assertive on the topic within the United Nations, which has worked for years to help settle the issue of Western Saharas status. Mr. Abdelaziz was born in 1948 in Smara, which is now in the Moroccan-controlled portion of Western Sahara, and led the Polisario Front, which he helped found, since 1976, according to Algerias state-run APS news agency. The issue of Western Sahara has prompted new friction between two North African neighbors, Morocco and Algeria. Algeria supports the Polisario Front, and like numerous other African countries recognizes the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic which controls about a third of Western Sahara and claims the entire territory which the Polisario defends. The Moroccan government has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for the region, but the Polisario Front insists on self-determination through a referendum for the local population as called for in U.N. resolutions. Morocco expelled most U.N. civilian staff in April after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used the word occupation to refer to the situation following a visit to a camp for Western Sahara refugees in southern Algeria. In April, a top member of the Polisario Front, Bachir Mustafa Sayed, warned that war is possible over the disputed territory if the U.N. Security Council fails to set a timetable for a vote on self-determination. Mr. Abdelaziz warned in a letter to the U.N. secretary-general that Morocco will have a green light to a military aggression unless the Security Council imposes real and direct pressure on Morocco to restore the U.N. missions work. He warned that the Saharawi people in Western Sahara will defend their rights in the face of aggression by all legitimate means, including armed struggle. The Polisario had mounted a desert war against Morocco after the territory was annexed. Issandr El Amrani, North Africa Project Director with the International Crisis Group, said the impact of Mr. Abdelazizs death on the U.N. contingent was unclear in the immediate future, but it adds uncertainty at a time when the mission is under pressure. El Amrani noted the saber-rattling tone among some Polisario activists in the absence of a diplomatic breakthrough. The next Polisario leader will have to contend with that sentiment, El Amrani said. The Polisario Front has appointed the head of the movements National Council, Khatri Adduh, as interim Polisario leader. Saharawi blogger Mohamedsalem Werad described the overall atmosphere in the Tindouf refugee camps on Tuesday as quiet, sad and uncertain. Many people are expecting all kinds of scenarios, he said. The old downtown courthouse on Catron Street is coming down to make space for a new county administrative building. The question is when. Santa Fe County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously declared their intention to issue up to $33 million in bonds to plan, design, and construct a new administrative building at the vacant site, as well as to renovate the existing county offices on Grant Street. County officials are also planning to hold hearings for public input on the project, though no dates have been scheduled yet. Also up in the air: a demolition date. The 2.3-acre site of the old courthouse has remained mostly vacant since 2013, when the First Judicial District courts for Santa Fe County relocated to a new courthouse on Montezuma Avenue. The parcel is currently being used as parking space for government workers. The proposed building will house offices for human resources and community services, according to Deputy County Manager Tony Flores. They are also considering options for on-site parking, but were still in the design phase, Flores added. The County Commission chamber and offices will likely remain at the Grant Street building. Commissioner Miguel Chavez says the new space will allow the county to move out of rented offices space, saving about $400,000 a year. Local firm Spears Horn Architect in March secured a contract for up to $1.5 million to design the new complex. Spears Horn also designed the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, Solace Crisis Treatment Center, and the New Mexican's printing facility. The old judicial complex was originally built in 1937 as Leah Harvey Junior High School. Santa Fe Reporter For all the time and money spent on testing in Santa Fes schools, teachers say the results come so late and include so little information that half of their promised purposeto guide instructionis rendered useless. Increasingly, the exams seem out of place when held up against the real world. "What does this have to do with improving community or climate change or poverty or all of those things that this generation of kids are inheriting?" one high school English teacher asks. (Names have been withheld out of lingering concerns among district employees, despite the New Mexico Public Education Department recently backing down from a gag order prohibiting teachers and staff from speaking out against tests.) "Imagine a standardized test where the one question is, and it's a couple pages, 'How can you improve your neighborhood?' Or 'Give me some causes, effects and solutions for climate change?' Or 'How can you stop heroin in Northern New Mexico?' And imagine if we taught to that test," she says. "What if our tests really changed what I think is the keystone of societyeducation. And the tests can dictate that, because they're dictating everything else right now." Instead, she spent 32 days this year, 30 percent of her time, on tests she's not convinced help her students and certainly don't inform her instruction. Each year, Santa Fe schools administer tests mandated by the state and federal government, the school district, individual schools and college admissions. The schedule for testing starts with Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), and its Spanish-language counterpart, for K-3 on the very first day of school. Discovery Education Assessment (DEA) tests on math, reading, algebra, geometry and biology follow just weeks after, and again multiple times throughout the year. Those pursuing college will also likely take PSAT, SAT and/or ACT exams in the fall. Semester's end brings End of Course (EoC) exams in varied subjects from reading and writing to math, science and social studies, as well as electives such as physical education and music. Spring brings the Standards Based Assessment (SBA) science exam, and the Pearson Education-crafted Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). There's a test on the calendar every month of the school year, though not every test applies to every student. "We have to follow the laws, [and] the bulk of where we're at is required," says Richard Bowman, chief information and strategy officer for Santa Fe Public Schools. "Our board and leadership team do believe the use of standardized tests has gone too far and is not appropriate in certain areas, but we're not going to break the law." For PARCC tests, administered in 2015 for the first time, results came six months later, after students had transitioned to the next grade level. While that schedule is expected to speed up, results will still come out in the summer, after kids have moved on. "I personally, and many of my colleagues, don't feel like any of these standardized tests do anything to inform our teaching," says one third grade teacher. "They say it's to guide instruction and for schools and teachers to improve their teaching. No one I know really buys that. It's about politics. It's about Pearson making money off these tests. There are a lot of people who stand to gain a lot from these standardized tests, but it's not the teachers and students. In fact, we're losing." Losing instructional time, for one thing, but she also sees the anxiety of so much testing taking a toll even on her highest performing kids9-year-olds so small their feet dangle and swing from their chairs while they hunch over their Chromebooks, furiously working away. It left her wondering, "Why are we doing this to them?" Kids are going to learn and do things at different speeds, she adds: "They're not robots. They're not all the same, but they're assessed as if they should be the same. That's not respecting their strengths." "When you're teaching the most underserved group of kids who are really dealing with that incredible disparity that Santa Fe is, these tests are just the most disabling in terms of the spirit and intellect and empowerment," the high school teacher adds. Last year, tests meant she didn't see her juniors for three weeks, and project-based learning programs that had them in the midst of building an aquaponics lab, a solar sound studio and a tiny home all died while students were away testing. Derailed and disheartened, students didn't complete any of those projects. Even bringing poet Jimmy Santiago Baca to speak to the students could barely be fit in around the testing schedule. For all that, the results their teachers received amounted to a spreadsheet that included students' names, subjects and a score. But educator feedback isn't what PARCC is even designed to give, Bowman says. "It's accountability for the federal government, passed through the state, about our education dollars," he says. "The teachers are not the primary consumers of some of that data." Juniors who opted out of PARCC last year, as hundreds did in the high schools, were informed this year that to graduate, they would have to at least attempt the test. "It turned out their opting-out was not really an opt-out, so it was being held against them," the high school teacher says. While this year's seniors had only to take the test, in years to come, students will have to demonstrate proficiency to graduate. On the student end, more than a little discontent has come out, an issue Santa Fe High School salutatorian Carley Cook called out in her graduation speech. "We are more than our scores," Cook said. "Every one of the many different standardized tests that we have taken has failed to measure our creativity, collaboration, passion or abilities to problem solve. They have labeled us 'below proficiency,' 'nearing proficiency,' 'proficient' or 'advanced,' but these labels fail to understand the whole student. "Perhaps if we had not labeled our students so much so soon, our graduating class would be larger." In April, Cook organized a panel about testing, which featured Jesse Hagopian, author of More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing. In her own education, she's seen PARCC take six classes away from her AP English class, and her AP government class was forced to practice close reading, a time-consuming way to analyze a text that she says distracted from the material for a college-level class. Some of her classmates had been told to not expect to see the scores for tests they took as sophomores until they're seniors. "In this way, they're kind of strong-arming the students into continuing to take these tests," she says. "Students don't receive enough information about their scores in a timely fashion, or sometimes at all, in order to inform themselves about what they need to be working on. It doesn't really come back to the students after they take the exam." Nationwide conversations touch on the need to allow our educational model to evolve with the changing times, to adjust from a memorization and regurgitation model, now that so much information is readily available in the computer we carry in our pockets. Whether standardized tests can even be revised to fit and allow for that kind of approach to education remains to be debated. Santa Fe Superintendent Joel Boyd at least participated in these talks at a March screening of Most Likely to Succeed, a film that criticizes modern schools as behind the times. "We are still working with a 125-year-old school model that was specifically designed to crush creativity and innovation out of kids," producer Ted Dintersmith told SFR ahead of that screening. "Instead of having the courage and vision to reimagine school as we moved from manufacturing and innovation, we somewhat bafflingly decided the answer is to test more frequently. The very skills our students need are getting crushed out of them, and the things they're being rewarded for are the things machines can do better." The Network for Public Education released a video earlier this year in which the nonprofit education advocacy group's founder, Diana Ravitch, a historian and author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System, explains why the former Education Department employee has since abandoned support of test-based school reform. These tests provide "no useful information," Ravitch says, calling on parents to opt-out as a way of communicating to policymakers that they don't support this program. The US Department of Education responded to growing opt-outs by issuing more than a dozen letters to states where opt-outs were reported, warning those states of possible sanctions if fewer than 95 percent of students take the tests. Hagopian, who spoke in Santa Fe in April as part of the panel that Cook organized, has pointed out that we're living through the period in US history of the greatest income inequality ever, and facing perpetual wars, mass incarceration, climate changeall problems that can't be solved by filling in the right bubbles. "We have to teach critical thinking and creativity, imagination and courage and leadership and empathy and curiosity, not simply because it'll help stop the students in my history class from falling asleep and drooling on the desk," he said in a TEDx talk earlier this year, "but because I believe the fate of our society depends on it." Santa Fe Reporter There are no shortages of warm and fuzzy profiles, photo opportunities and national press stories about New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, but access to the governor and her top cabinet-level officials is nearly impossible for local journalists who have been deemed unfriendly. With a team of communication directors and public information officers who collectively earn more than $1 million annually, getting information from the Martinez' administration shouldn't be a problem, but for many reporters, such access is limited or nonexistent. In fact, Martinez holds few open-ended news conferences, keeping tightlipped about any topic not on the agenda for the moment. Emails, phone calls and text messages to the public information officers are often ignored. Even program managers more often than not refuse to go on the record or discuss policy plans and objectives. Many claim they've been instructed not to talk to the press. Not all inquiries are ignored. SFR asked Christopher Sanchez, Martinez' $80,799-a-year communications director, if there is a policy to block certain reporters or news organizations' access to state agencies or the governor herself. His one-word reply: "No." Yet recent practices leave a big void in the information available to the public. It wasn't supposed to be this way. On a frigid New Year's morning in 2011, shortly after being sworn into office, Martinez pledged, "Transparency and accountability will be core values of my administration," adding, "we aren't going to hide anything from you in the hope of escaping your fair judgment of our performance." Six years later, the day-to-day reality of covering the Martinez administration, however, suggests something altogether different. Gary Johnson is one of the long line of governors that Lorene Mills has interviewed. Martinez is not among them. (Courtesy Lorene Mills) Lorene Mills, who as producer and host of Report from Santa Fe, which airs on PBS stations around New Mexico, and who has interviewed every governor since Bruce King, has yet to interview Martinez, thanks to stonewalling from her staff. "It's not a position of intelligence or sophistication," Mills says. "They don't trust the democratic process. They want to control everything. It's very immature." Mills recalls running into Keith Gardner, the governor's chief of staff, at Home Depot and asking him to schedule an interview with the governor. She says she was disappointed when Gardner told her, "National won't let us." Martinez, whose approval ratings recently dropped below 50 percent but who now serves as head of the Republican Governors Association, may be afraid to jeopardize her national ambitions. Still, Mills says her handlers need "to let her go out and take questions instead of bolting out of the room whenever someone asks her something uncomfortable." While Martinez' aides have not built press pits to contain journalists, the way Donald Trump's campaign staffers have, there is a noticeable lack of dialogue compared to other governors, according to Mills, who says her husband, legendary government reporter Ernie Mills, never had difficulty getting interviews with other governors before he died in 2003. "Ernie used to have a beer with Gov. [David] Cargo every week to talk about state government. There was a cooperative spirit then. This group is not at all interested in talking to the press. They use advertising to convince voters, not information," says Mills. "But you can't just whistle past the graveyard." Independent medical journalist Bryant Furlow also says he's been frustrated by the machine lately. "Public officials owe accurate information to the public. That goes double for men and women who are paid by taxpayers to answer questions, obviously," Furlow says. "It's just a waste of money to pay public information officers who won't do their jobs or who seem to see their jobs as stonewalling reporters and voters. "It took me months to get simple explanations from the Human Services Department when I was looking into their suspension of Medicaid funding for behavioral health providers. I wound up filing public records requests because their spokesperson refused to answer even simple questions," he continues. "More than once, I found that what state agency spokespeople told me was misleading or conflicted with what agency officials were saying to one another in emails." SFR went so far as to file a lawsuit against Martinez in 2013 alleging, among other claims, that her office had engaged in "viewpoint discrimination" by repeatedly ignoring the newspaper's requests for interviews or comments and at the same time providing that information to other news outlets. That case is pending in district court. In recent months, paid spokespeople from agencies such as the Environment Department, the state Game Commission and the Interstate Stream Commission either outright denied interview requests or refused to talk to reporters; instead, they relied on email exchanges that are sorely lacking in detail. A student intern researching New Mexico's policies on vanity license plates also couldn't secure an interview. In another instance, a spokesman for the Department of Health refused to answer a repeated yes-or-no question for more than a month, and when confronted about the lack of response, Kenny Vigil, who's paid a salary of $75,000 per year, says he "forgot" to forward a statement that emails show was approved by then-Health Secretary Retta Ward days before SFR's story was published. Sarah Gustavus, a producer for New Mexico PBS, says her repeated requests to have cabinet secretaries and administration officials appear on New Mexico in Focus have also been denied or ignored entirely. "Part of informing the public is working with journalists," says Gustavus. "Without hearing from the administration, we have to go on really limited public comments or press releases, and we can't ask any questions. That's a real loss for our audience, and it's a loss for discussion and debate about policy in New Mexico." Santa Fe Reporter If you read this column, its safe to assume you enjoy making and sipping cocktails, in which case, you probably want to know about New Mexico Cocktails & Culture (June 3-6), an event I launched last year to support our local cocktail and culinary communities, with mixology seminars taught by global spirits experts and fun parties celebrating all things food and drink. This year, you can also catch Santa Fe Cocktail Week as a lead-in to the four-day festival. Nearly 30 bars and restaurants registered as official participants and are eligible for the Liquid Muse Bar Awards. You choose the winners by visiting their venues and tasting their featured cocktails, then voting for your favorites online before June 5 at NMCocktailCulture.com. The winners of each category will be announced at the awards party on Monday, June 6, from 5:30-8 pm at La Fonda Hotel (100 E San Francisco St., 982-5511). You can also enter the Instagram cocktail photo contest by following @SimplySantaFe and @NMcocktails; use the same hashtags to win two tickets to the awards party and a $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awards tickets are $20 and include food and drink samples as well as a performance from the Sean Healen Band. The festival supports New Mexico businesses by opening with the free Cowboy Boots & Cocktails welcome party on Friday, June 3, 5:30-7:30 pm at the Inn at Loretto (211 Old Santa Fe Trail, 988-5531). Taste spirits, hard cider and other treats all made right here in New Mexico, and don't forget to dig out your best boots for the cameras. The Celebrity Chef & Shaker Challenge is set to feature eight of Santa Fe's most revered chefs pairing food with cocktails on Saturday, June 4, 6-9 pm at the Scottish Rite Temple (463 Paseo de Peralta, 982-4414). Attendees can vote for their favorite pairing, and the winning chef receives a $500 donation to a local charity. Additionally, a stunning painting by famed saloon artist Jill DeGroff (wife of James Beard Award-winning drinks master Dale DeGroff) will be auctioned by renowned modern mixologist, Tony Abou-Ganim; 100 percent of those proceeds go to his charity supporting bartenders battling breast cancer, plus a portion of your $55 event ticket goes to Cooking with Kids, a local nonprofit that teaches kids how to prepare healthy food. Keeping balance between work and self-care is challenging for everyone. So the national Mind Body Spirit hospitality wellness program returns on Monday, June 6, 10:30-11:45 am at Hotel St. Francis (210 Don Gaspar Ave., 983-5700). The interactive workshop includes a free yoga mat, fruit smoothies, 30 minutes of gentle movement and presentations on inner health. It's free for anyone with a New Mexico servers license, $15 to the public. Space is limited, so it's a good plan to RSVP. Free printed festival programs are available at participating hotels, restaurants and bars and include the Santa Fe Cocktail Week Official Participants map, info about the celebrity chefs in the Shaker Challenge and the schedule of seminars and parties. Editor's note: This is the final installment of "Kiss My Glass." Fare thee well, Muse. Santa Fe Reporter Brilliance Steel, one of three companies involved in a Commerce Commission investigation into testing of ductile steel products, has reached an interim agreement with the regulator to resume sales provided the products pass independent tests. The commission today lifted its restriction on Auckland-based Brilliance selling ductile steel mesh products after the company signed a court enforceable undertaking for current and future batches of the product to be tested at an IANZ accredited lab, the regulator said in a statement. The deal follows a similar undertaking given by Euro Corp in April and is in line with an expected clarification on the standard being developed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Steel mesh is typically used as reinforcement in concrete floor slabs during the construction of houses, garages, and other buildings and can also be used in driveways and pathways. After the Canterbury earthquake in 2011, the ductility level was increased to a minimum elongation of 10 percent from about 2 percent formerly. Brilliance Steel and Euro Corp were advised to stop selling the products in March, and NZX-listed Steel & Tube was caught up in the dispute after commission tests found its seismic mesh also didn't meet the required standards. The regulator is investigating historical non-compliance with the standard on whether the mesh's performance characteristics were misrepresented, which would breach the Fair Trading Act. The quality of building materials was in the spotlight again today with Radio New Zealand reporting imported steel from China found to be too weak for four bridges on the $450 million Huntly bypass. Contractors Fulton Hogan and HEB Construction told RNZ the steel tubes didn't meet the standards for structural steel, something that was only discovered after the third round of testing. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update VCT - Operational performance for the 3 months ended 30 Sept 2022 NZL - Forestry Estate Acquisition October 21st Morning Report Air New Zealand Limited Retail Bond Offer Books Close Spark welcomes C-band spectrum allocation AIA - 2022 Annual Meeting Chair & Chief Executive Addresses Green Party co-leader James Shaw says he has "never discussed the possibility with anyone" of standing for Parliament in the Wellington electorate of Ohariu under a deal to try to displace the National Party's support partner, the United Future party, at the 2017 election. The daily Politik newsletter, written by veteran political observer Richard Harman, this morning suggested such a takedown strategy was in prospect in Ohariu after Green and Labour party leaders acknowledged the potential for electoral accommodations as a result of yesterday's establishment of a memorandum of understanding to "change the government". Dunne held off the Greens' Gareth Hughes and Labour candidate Ginny Andersen in 2014. The MoU does not explicitly mention such deals, but joint campaigning and policy announcements are possibilities, along with greater coordination of parliamentary tactics, and 'agree to disagree' and 'no surprises' agreements. Former Labour MP Dunne has held onto his seat while United Future has polled too little bring other MPs into Parliament with him under the rules of MMP proportional representation voting. "It came as something of a surprise," said Shaw, who pointed out he had stood in Wellington Central in 2011 and 2014 and taken the Greens' vote beyond Labour's in the seat, which is held by Labour's finance spokesman, Grant Robertson. "I'm pretty established, I live there (in Wellington Central), I was born and raised there," he told BusinessDesk. "I think it would be odd of me to move at this point. "In politics, anything can happen, but we have had those conversations and ... I have never discussed the possibility with anyone." An Auckland Central accommodation could allow Labour's Jacinda Ardern a clear run against National's Nikki Kaye, Politik noted. National already has an arrangement of that sort in the Auckland seat of Epsom, where it stands a candidate but encourages supporters to elect an Act party MP in the electorate to give National a support partner necessary for stitching together a parliamentary majority post-election. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update VCT - Operational performance for the 3 months ended 30 Sept 2022 NZL - Forestry Estate Acquisition October 21st Morning Report Air New Zealand Limited Retail Bond Offer Books Close Spark welcomes C-band spectrum allocation AIA - 2022 Annual Meeting Chair & Chief Executive Addresses Two Degrees Mobile, New Zealand's third-largest telecommunications company, reported a net loss of $33.1 million for the year to Dec. 31 on 43 percent revenue growth, cracking half a billion dollars of annual turnover for the first time after purchasing internet service provider Snap last year to expand to a full-service offering. Revenue of $569 million compared to $397.6 million the previous year, but cost of sales rose 68 percent to $323.7 million, while increased equipment and finance costs and foreign exchange losses contributed to total expenses rising 18 percent to $279.6 million to produce a pretax loss of $35.6 million, compared with $33.8 million. A tax credit of $2.5 million helped narrow the net loss from the previous yar's loss of $33.6 million. At a briefing for journalists, chief executive Stewart Sherriff declined any comment on speculation about the potential for an ASX capital-raising of up to $150 million, widely reported and not denied by the company early last month. As CEO, his job was to formulate plans and seek board approval for them, while funding them was a board decision. So far, 2Degrees had raised capital from high net worth personal investors, a Maori incorporation, vendor finance and more recently from a $200 million bank facility for which Bank of New Zealand was the lead manager. "They raise the money," said Sherriff of the board, while his job was to "spend it." "In this industry, you can always use more capital," he said, but at present, operating cash flow was capable of funding network capability and current plans were "fully funded", despite the $200 million debt facility being close to fully drawn down. "These are very sophisticated investors," he said of the original US backers, who were willing to continue funding strong revenue growth in pursuit of eventual profitability. Sherriff focused on the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation measure, which showed an improvement from $58 million reported last year to $78.5 million this year, a 35 percent improvement. The company didn't provide a breakdown of its ebitda calculation. Net cash flow from operations remained positive at $36.3 million last year, compared to $40.2 million in 2014, while net negative cash flow from investing activities rose to $95.2 million from $55.1 million. The statutory accounts say that was mainly caused by a $23.6 million increase in fixed asset purchases and $9.9 million committed to the cash component of the shares and cash deal that saw 2Degrees pay $28.3 million for Snap in April 2015. In slides accompanying today's briefing, 2Degrees highlighted the growth in its monthly paid mobile subscriptions, now standing at 56 percent of revenue, the second year that monthly paid has outstripped revenues from pre-paid, and the fact that in its fixed line, ISP business, its revenue is split evenly between enterprise and residential customers. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update VCT - Operational performance for the 3 months ended 30 Sept 2022 NZL - Forestry Estate Acquisition October 21st Morning Report Air New Zealand Limited Retail Bond Offer Books Close Spark welcomes C-band spectrum allocation AIA - 2022 Annual Meeting Chair & Chief Executive Addresses Steel & Tube Holdings is in talks with "multiple agencies" in New Zealand and China over pile casings used in the Huntly bypass bridges that weren't up to scratch. The Petone-based company supplied imported steel used by Fulton Hogan and HEB Construction which was found to be too weak for four bridges on the bypass after being cleared by earlier inspections. The company today said after the discovery of issues with the casings it has worked with Fulton Hogan and HEB to find a "safe engineering solution" and had incorporated the impact in downgraded earnings guidance last month. "We acknowledge that the pile casings do not meet the joint venture's specifications and we are in discussion with multiple agencies in New Zealand and China," chief executive Dave Taylor said. "Given those discussions, we are not in a position to comment any further at this stage." Steel & Tube is among several companies being investigated by the Commerce Commission over the sale of seismic steel mesh. The company today said it doesn't typically stock the pile casings used for the Huntly bypass and sourced them specifically for the project. Taylor said several options were put to the Fulton Hogan/HEB joint venture which they ultimately selected. Radio New Zealand broke the story today, reporting that the contractors chose a very low bid for the steel tubes and that the fault wasn't discovered until a third round of tests. Steel & Tube shares fell 1 percent to $1.94 and have dropped 13 percent this year. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update VCT - Operational performance for the 3 months ended 30 Sept 2022 NZL - Forestry Estate Acquisition October 21st Morning Report Air New Zealand Limited Retail Bond Offer Books Close Spark welcomes C-band spectrum allocation AIA - 2022 Annual Meeting Chair & Chief Executive Addresses TOKYO: Wooing Japanese investors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today promised more structural and market-oriented reforms as well as stepping up infrastructure spending to accelerate economic growth beyond the current 7.6%. He also promised to reform the tax structure to make it simpler, predictable and stable. Speaking at 'The Future of Asia' conference organised byNikkei Inc here, he said that India has been the fastest growing major economy in the last two years despite global slowdown. "We had a back to back 7.2% and 7.6% growth rate in the last two years. This was notwithstanding the global slowdown which has also adversely impacted the trade in India," said Jaitley, who is on a six-day tour of Japan to attract investments. The country has been able to perform despite adversities in two consecutive bad monsoons and some stress in the Indian private sector, the finance minister added. "But then notwithstanding these adversities, a series of structural reforms, coupled with a large amount of enhanced public spending and FDI (foreign direct investment), we maintained a reasonably respectable growth rate," he said. Jaitley said that a very large number of reforms have taken place over the last few years. "The objective has been to bring about structural reforms in India, and I think the consistency of that direction has helped in restoring the credibility of the Indian economy," he said. In the last two years, 101 legislations have been passed in Parliament but there remain some which require a lot more time to build a larger consensus, he said alluding to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill that has been stuck in the Rajya Sabha for months now. He expressed hope that the GST Bill will be passed by the Upper House in the ensuing monsoon session of Parliament. On things to come, he said, "The direction that I have indicated is of more structural reforms, more market-oriented reforms and the future direction of stepping up infrastructure spending, concentrating on rural areas and social security, I think this direction will consistently be maintained." While India started reforms in 1991, the second generation of reforms were unveiled when the BJP-led government came to power in 2014, he said. "We have opened out more sectors in the economy. While opening out to both international and domestic investments, we removed the unnecessary conditionalities, we eased the process of doing business in India. It is far easier than what it was years ago," he added. Jaitley said that reforming the taxation system has been a "huge challenge" as at one stage it was perceived to be "a little aggressive". "A series of direct tax reforms currently are work-in-progress and we are currently moving towards a regime which would be absolutely simpler, predictable and far more stable; a regime which will bring down India's corporate taxation level to about 25%," he said. The government, he said, was currently in the process of reforming the indirect taxation system through introduction of the GST, which will replace an array of state levies. "One House of Parliament has already passed it, it is pending before the other House," he said. Also, the allocation of resources has been made far simpler and transparent through a market mechanism, he added. "Entry into business has become easier, conduct of business has become easier and with the passage of Bankruptcy Insolvency code, exit from businesses also has become easier," he said. Underscoring investment opportunities for foreign investors and pension funds, the finance minister said that India has an infrastructure deficit. "To cover up for that deficit we are working overtime. This year... We will be constructing 10,000 km of National Highways, almost at a pace of 30-km a day," he said. Also, the railways modernisation programme is on and the government is focussing on attracting private investments, including FDI in railway infrastructure, Jaitley said, adding that as many as 400 railway stations are to be modernised to make them hubs for commercial activities. "We have about 70 functional airports, 25 more are being added this year... More sea ports, more power supply and renewable energy.. That seems to be the emphasis as far as the future is concerned. This infrastructure additions that we are making is certainly going to be one of the main drivers of the Indian economy," he said. Stating that India clocked a growth rate of 7.6% last year despite a drought and global slowdown, Jaitley said that this year the monsoon is expected to be a good one. "With continued structural reforms, improvement in urban demand and monsoon also adding to the rural demand, hopefully we would maintain this growth rate, may improve upon it somewhat," he said. He said that Asia would grow much faster than the rest of the developed world and "the decades to come would probably be the Asia's decade with India playing a very important role in it". Read Also: Compliance Window For Domestic Black Money Opens Tomorrow Jaitley To 'Take India Story Forward' With Japanese Investors Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: UK companies have an important role in continuing development of Azerbaijan hydrocarbon sector, says UK Prime Minister David Cameron's message addressed to the participants of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and the 6th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition. The events kicked off in Baku on June 1. Cameron congratulated Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan on holding the spectactular exhibition. He expressed hope that the UK and Azerbaijan will continue to have strong bilateral relationship. Cameron further said he was delighted to see the UK companies playing important role in the continuing development of Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon sector. He said Azerbaijani energy resources play vital role in the European and world economy and the energy security of Europe. The UK PM said the Southern Gas Corridor plays an important role in diversifying European energy markets. Cameron's message also said that the UK welcomed the role of Azerbaijan in developing the Southern Gas Corridor and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey. At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. Skidmore College's John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative is exploring the relationship between reality and representation in its second Storytellers' Institute, May 31July 1. "Walking the Line: Fact and Fiction in Documentary Storytelling" focuses on genre-bending documentary work by artists who are pushing the ethical and aesthetic boundaries of fact and fiction. In residence for this MDOCS institute are four documentary fellows: Iranian American filmmaker Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz, exhibition director Courtney Reid-Eaton, and interdisciplinary artists Amanda Dawn Christie from Canada and Brooklyn-based Jake Nussbaum. The fellows are working with Skidmore professors Rik Scarce (sociology) and Erika Schielke (biology) as well as eight students majoring in American studies, anthropology, art, dance, English, and social work. Projects use a range of techniques to tell stories on topics and issues ranging from racial relations on campus and family loss and memory to poetry, machismo and flamenco, mind-altering drugs, and more. As Institute Fellows and Scholars dig into this summers projects, MDOCS invites the community to join in the exploration and debate. Twenty-first century storytellers grapple daily with how much editing and invention belong in documentary, notes director Jordana Dym. We are excited to share our Institute Fellows new perspectives in an exhibition at the Spring Street Gallery. In addition, we welcome the community to a Point of Departure (June 2) and this weeks inaugural Festosium, a Storytellers innovation. All events are free and open to the public and feature award-winning visiting artists with roots ranging from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to Russia, Sweden, and Iran. Highlights include: Fact or Fiction? Adapting Reality for Stage or Screen On June 2, acclaimed filmmaker and photographer Chip Duncan (The Duncan Group) led producing and directing colleagues Dan Markley (New York Musical Festival) and Jonathan Burkhart (Nantucket Film Festival) in an engaging discussion about the challenges of representing real stories after a screening of his new film Tolkien & Lewis: Myth, Imagination & the Quest for Meaning. Duncans film highlighted how myth and emotional truths play an important part in meaning and storytelling, and all three drew on experience to bring the audience into a dialogue filled with humor and sharp asides. Festosium, June 912. This weekend, MDOCSs inaugural festival/symposium hybrid, hosted at the Tang Museum, features cutting-edge documentarians presenting work and discussion on podcasting that explores "the truth that fiction can (and cannot) reveal," expectations of truths and fictions in the Borrowed Light photography show at Skidmore's Tang Museum,and an exhibition opening by a 2015 student participant in the Storytellers Institute. Guest curators Jeff Silva (film) and Ann Hepperman kick off a remarkable lineup of screenings, including Maxim Pozdorovkin (Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer), Stephanie Spray (Manakamana), Nicolas Pereda (Summer of Goliath), Martin Johnson (Serendipity), and Kaitlin Pres (Moviews in Your Head). In between events and panels, visitors are invited to sample The Unknown Photographer, a virtual-reality experience based on World War I photographs, with Marc Beeaudet and Loic Suty of Turbulent. Exhibition, June 1629. Saratoga's Spring Street Gallery presents work from this summers Institute Fellows and from students in the 2015 Storytellers Institute. The June 16 exhibition opening includes artists' talks, and there will be screenings on June.21 and 23. Full information is available here. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: Azerbaijan has passed a very successful and honourable way in the oil and gas sphere since 1994, just like in all the spheres, said President Ilham Aliyev. He made the remarks speaking at the opening of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference and the 6th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition. The events kicked off in Baku on June 1. "All of our tasks have been fulfilled. No single planned project has been left unfinished," said President Aliyev. "We have implemented all the projects. Great efforts have been made and considerable amount of financial resources have been allocated for the implementation of these projects." Ilham Aliyev pointed out that these major projects had been implemented in agreement with many countries. Producing oil from the Caspian Sea, delivering it to the coast and exporting to world markets were the main issues, and of course, it would be impossible to deal with those issues without international cooperation. "Meanwhile, there had to be stability in the region. The trust of investors had to increase so that those projects would be implemented. Otherwise, neither the international financial structures, nor companies would make investments," Ilham Aliyev added. He pointed out that serious work was done in this sphere and stability was fully ensured in Azerbaijan in mid-1990s. "Investors trusted us and started to make billions of dollars of investments in Azerbaijan. We effectively benefited from these opportunities," said the president. "We directed the oil revenues to the non-oil sector." Great efforts were made for the country's economic diversification, and currently, the oil factor accounts for around slightly more than 30 percent of Azerbaijan's GDP, he added. The president noted that the major part of Azerbaijan's total revenues comes from the non-oil sector. Therefore, the State Oil Fund was created in order to preserve and manage the transparent funds, said Ilham Aliyev, adding that currently, it is one of the most transparent and sovereign oil funds on a global scale. President Aliyev said all the infrastructure and reconstruction work had one goal: to ensure economic diversification in Azerbaijan, to expand the business opportunities and to even more reduce the dependence on the oil and gas sector. "Today, we are working on this issue as well, and the most important task for us is to fulfil our concept of sustainable and long-lasting economy so that not to depend in the future on the oil prices at all," said Ilham Aliyev. Noting that Azerbaijan had quite different tasks in mid-1990s, the president said the country was supposed to deliver its oil and gas resources to the world markets at the maximum extent possible. "It is not a coincidence that in less than two years after the signing of the Contract of the Century in 1994, a production sharing contract on the Shah Deniz gas field was inked in June 1996," he added. Details added (first version posted on 10:58) Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: Implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project will allow Azerbaijan to bring both gas from the Shah Deniz field and the Azerbaijani gas to be produced on other fields, to the world market, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. The president added that it will allow for the country to fully implement both oil and gas plans. He made the remarks speaking at the opening of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference and the 6th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition. The events kicked off in Baku on June 1. The president stressed that currently the Shah Deniz is one of the largest gas fields in the world. Gas produced at the Shah Deniz field is intended for regional markets, he added. Of course, speaking about the Southern Gas Corridor project, it's necessary to note the work done in the 1990s, said the president. That's because if the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline hadn't been built at that time, of course, this corridor wouldn't have been created, either, he said. The president added that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline connected the Caspian and Mediterranean seas and formed an energy corridor. Now Azerbaijani gas will be brought to world markets through this corridor, he said. The president went on to add that one can say that the routes of these corridors are the same to a large extent, and this corridor is currently being transformed into a transport corridor. By allocating oil revenues to transport infrastructure, Azerbaijan got very important transportation hubs, and the East-West Transport Corridor project is currently being implemented, Ilham Aliyev said. He expressed confidence that this corridor will be fully commissioned before late 2016, and thus, oil, gas and transport corridors will pass through Azerbaijan. The president noted that Azerbaijan has taken necessary steps regarding the export of electricity, and currently the country exports it as well. Azerbaijan's geographical location, investments made and thought-out policy, joint activity with partners created this reality, which serves both the Azerbaijani state, its people and ensures interests of neighboring countries, and, on a broader scale, strengthens international cooperation, said the president. Of course Azerbaijan cannot implement any project without international cooperation, because it doesn't have access to open seas and world markets, said the president. That's why large funds are allocated namely for construction of oil and gas pipelines, said the president of Azerbaijan. "We were also initiators of international cooperation, which is natural, because that's what we need," Ilham Aliyev said. "We needed oil and gas pipelines to be built in order for these resources to enter the world market." Transit countries, producing countries also show great interest, said the president, adding that they surely benefit from these projects. Decades later, the transit countries will get big profits, Ilham Aliyev added. He noted that the consumer countries will have access to additional, alternative sources of gas, which means that all parties only win in this case. The president said that first of all, Azerbaijan had to put up its efforts and did so to form this international cooperation. If in the mid 1990s it was a trilateral format of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, currently this format is expanding and different structures represent member countries of the Southern Gas Corridor project, Ilham Aliyev said. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and the European Union member states - Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Albania - altogether seven countries are members of the Southern Gas Corridor project, he added. The president reminded that the Balkan states also show interest in the project. "Memoranda have already been signed with some Balkan countries so that we would open branches of the Southern Gas Corridor project in the future," said Ilham Aliyev, stressing that currently the main line is the one stretching from Baku to the shores of Italy. "But there must be branches that extend from this line as well, and we are working on these issues," said the president. Saying that Azerbaijan has enough gas resources, the president added that proven gas reserves in the country amount to 2.6 trillion cubic meters. The president underscored that currently, preparatory work is underway in connection with the development of the Absheron and Umid fields. "I am confident that these projects will be successful as well, and thus, gas production of Azerbaijan will increase even more," he said, adding that deep layers of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field contain large reserves of gas. "We are taking major steps to extract these reserves of gas," he said. "I'd like to say that we don't want to limit our activities with the existing format of the Southern Gas Corridor project." "We want to widen our activities," the country's president noted, adding that in order to achieve this, there are gas resources and a format of international cooperation has been established. President Aliyev further said that already for the second time Baku hosted the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Meeting, in February of 2016, and all the member states were represented at a high level. Two vice presidents of the European Commission, high-ranking representatives of the U.S. and UK took part and signed the final declaration, said President Aliyev, adding that Azerbaijan's leading role in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project was mentioned in the declaration. "Of course, it is a great honor and at the same time, a great responsibility for us," said the president. "The creation of the Advisory Council was namely our initiative and I am glad that the European Commission supported this initiative." "Thus, we are working in a very serious coordination format and I am glad that we are achieving all the goals," added Ilham Aliyev. "I remember that when taking part in this exhibition last year, I noted that the foundation of the TANAP project was laid in 2015 and today, I would like to say with a sense of satisfaction that the foundation of TAP project was laid last month, two weeks ago," said the president. "That is, we are moving forward to consistently reach our goals and are achieving all the goals," he added. The president noted that the overview of the chronology of the work done shows that in order to achieve its goals, Azerbaijan is moving with a high consistency, in a purposeful and planned manner. "The signing of the Contract of the Century in 1994, contract on the Shah Deniz project in 1996, production of the first oil at Chirag field in 1997, construction of the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline in 1999 connected us with the Black Sea ports," said President Aliyev. Further, the president recalled the groundbreaking ceremony for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline in 2003, commissioning of the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku- Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines in 2006-2007, signing of an agreement on TANAP project between Turkey and Azerbaijan in 2012, the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Southern Gas Corridor and TANAP in 2014 and 2015, respectively and finally the groundbreaking ceremony for TAP in 2016. "Here is the chronology. That is, the current situation did not emerge by itself," he added. "The success achieved to date, doesn't drop from the sky. It became possible as a result of hard and purposeful work and I reiterate that we managed to achieve this success only within international cooperation," said President Aliyev. The president said the situation is that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project is on schedule and currently, it is the main task in the energy sphere. "I am confident that this process will go on schedule. Work is underway on all four segments of the Southern Gas Corridor: Shah Deniz, South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP and TAP," said President Aliyev. "I am confident that they will be implemented on time." The Southern Gas Corridor is an economic project, said the president, adding that meanwhile, it is a project of security. By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Seba Aghayeva - Trend: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov discussed with co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, told Trend. The pre-planned meeting with the mediators took place in Brussels within the framework of the working visit of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister. The outcome of the Vienna meeting was discussed for the preparation of the next summit in June, with the aim to promote as soon as possible the solution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hajiyev said. Commenting on the cancellation of the allegedly planned June meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers, he said that there was no initiative received to hold such a meeting and of course, it was not planned. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. One teen from Honduras said he was given a squishy ball to squeeze if he felt stressed during his interview in San Francisco. The officer told him to breathe deeply and take his time answering questions about how gangs came after him and his brother when their mother, a candy store owner, could no longer afford rising extortion payments, he said. While the teen was granted asylum, he asked that his name not be used for fear his relatives in Honduras could face gang retaliation. The Liberals' Giulia Jones is never afraid to take on local law and order issues, as her long-running campaign over the "Narrabundah tyre slasher" showed. Now, Canberra's "graffiti nightmare" is in her sights, after she launched a YouTube video, which asks dramatically, "Is it the Bronx, it is somewhere in inner city Sydney, is it Detroit?" Vandalism at public toilets at Yerrabi Pond, where a fire was lit. No, it's Lyons, Mrs Jones declares in the video, and something must be done. "I had a woman at the Lyons shops recently .. tell me just how deeply embarrassed she feels when her relatives come from Sydney because this is the sight they see as they drive into Lyons." Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: Armenian armed forces have 25 times violated the ceasefire with Azerbaijan on the line of contact over the past 24 hours, said the message of Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry June 1. Armenian armed forces stationed in Chinari village of Armenia's Berd district opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions located in Agbulaq village of the Tovuz district. Armenian army violated ceasefire from the positions near Chilaburt village of Azerbaijan's Terter district, Garagashli village of the Aghdam district, Gorgan, Horadiz villages of the Fizuli district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights in Goranboy, Khojavand districts. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. An AFP officer looked up details of a pimp on the police database for an ex-girlfriend, an alleged sex worker who said she wanted to work for someone else. When police later searched the officer's Queanbeyan property, they found MDMA and methamphetamine, which he said he had bought over the internet. Protective services officers are charged with guarding Commonwealth properties, such as Parliament House, among other duties. Credit:Andrew Meares The officer had also taken AFP property home from Parliament House, including a Glock pistol, because he "thought they'd be handy for something, you know". John Lewis Wallis, 44, was a protective services officer with the AFP in September last year when police got wind that someone on the outside was receiving information from an AFP member, court documents show. A 19-year-old Belconnen woman, accused of using stolen cars in a string of petrol drive-offs in Canberra's north, sent Facebook messages asking friends to teach her how to steal cars, a court has heard. Police allege Chloe Maree Pearce used three different stolen cars to steal petrol from service stations in Hawker and Holt over several weeks in May. The teenager used three different stolen cars to steal petrol from service stations over several weeks. Pearce faced court on Wednesday morning charged with 12 offences including driving a motor vehicle without consent, theft, unlawful possession of stolen property and obtaining property by deception. She did not enter pleas. The head of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union in the ACT has asked the Commonwealth Ombudsman to investigate a possible police leak in the scandal that engulfed the office of former government minister Joy Burch last year. At the centre of the Burch affair was a conversation between her former chief of staff, Maria Hawthorne, and CFMEU boss Dean Hall in April 2015. At the time Ms Burch was minister for police, and Ms Hawthorne was briefing Mr Hall on the outcome of a meeting with chief police officer Rudi Lammers in which Ms Burch raised the union's concerns about how police were treating union officials on work sites. Dean Hall has asked the Commonwealth Ombudsman to investigate a possible leaked phone call. Credit:Jay Cronan The contents of that telephone conversation have never been released, but it is assumed the conversation was being recorded by investigators from the trade unions royal commission, who were investigating the ACT branch of the CFMEU at the time. Whatever was said in the conversation also sparked police concerns about Ms Hawthorne's handling of confidential police information. Somehow, the police's concerns made their way to the media, resulting in Ms Hawthorne losing her job and Ms Burch losing the police ministry and her place in cabinet. Police launched an investigation, and after three months Assistant Commissioner Lammers announced in March this year that no criminal conduct had been uncovered and no charges would be laid. Lawyers say five former St Edmund's College students have emerged with child abuse complaints in the past two weeks, after revelations that Catholic officials knowingly allowed two suspected paedophiles to continue teaching. Porters Lawyers principal Jason Parkinson is now urging other Canberra survivors to come forward, and warns against dealing directly with the Catholic order or with the church's Towards Healing process. Francis Cable, also known as Brother Romuald, abused 19 children before he came to St Edmund's. Credit:Jonathan Carroll "When it's only one person coming forward, the weight of the church is upon that individual," Mr Parkinson said. "But when his former teachers or former schoolmates can help, it eases the load." Two weeks ago, Fairfax Media revealed that officials from separate Catholic orders had turned a blind eye to complaints of abuse about two brothers, allowing them to continue teaching, including eventually in Canberra. A Canberra man allegedly threatened to hurt his children with a gun, kill his ex-partner and show up at ACT Magistrates Court to "blow his brains out" after he grew furious at being served with a protection order. The man, 34, is also said to have bombarded his former partner's phone with more than 60 phone calls and text messages in the hours before police served him an interim domestic violence order last Wednesday night, a court was told. The man allegedly made threats to "blow his brains out" in front of the ACT Magistrates Court. Credit:Graham Tidy He has pleaded not guilty to reckless threat to kill a person, stalking and using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. Court documents said the woman began to fear for her and the children's safety and sought advice from support agencies after the accused's abuse and harassment towards her escalated recently. Doctors have welcomed new funding for Canberra Hospital's trauma service, but have warned the government not to forget "less glamorous" areas that remain under pressure. The ACT government has announced that next week's budget will include $5.3 million over four years for six new trauma specialists and a nurse at Canberra Hospital. ACT Health Minister Simon Corbell has announced $5.3 million for an expansion of the Canberra Hospital's trauma service. Credit:Rohan Thomson Health Minister Simon Corbell says the expansion of the hospital's trauma service, which takes responsibility for surrounding NSW, will help it cope with increasing demand. It will also see a new model of care designed to streamline the hospital journey for trauma patients. Virgin Australia has applied for regulatory permission to launch daily flights from Australia to Hong Kong and Beijing next June just a day after it revealed China's HNA Aviation would take a 13 per cent stake in the Australian carrier and receive a board seat. The application to the International Air Services Commission, which allocates capacity on the China and Hong Kong routes, was lodged on Tuesday. Virgin said it would use a 275-seat A330-200 aircraft departing from a "major Australian airport" on the routes. Virgin has also lodged a separate application with the ACCC seeking permission to renew its alliance with Singapore Airlines. Credit:Edwina Pickles The airline has six A330-200s in its fleet at present, each with 275 seats, which it uses to fly between the east coast and Perth and limited flights between the east coast and Fiji. It remains unclear whether Virgin will divert those aircraft to Asia or add more to its fleet. Virgin chief executive John Borghetti on Monday said the airline might look to lease aircraft from HNA, which owns Bohai Leasing, one of the world's largest aircraft leasing companies, for its flights to Hong Kong and China. The investment management industry lacks the fundamental trust of its customers, and cannot legitimately call itself a true profession, Future Fund managing director David Neal says. In a strongly-worded critique of the cultural problems in finance, Mr Neal on Wednesday told an industry audience that customers did not trust investment managers to look after client interests, rather than their own. "When you visit the dentist, he or she has every financial incentive to drill a hole and fill it. But we trust that they won't," Future Fund managing director David Neal said. Credit:Christopher Pearce To illustrate the point, he drew comparisons between the trust customers have in financial services businesses and health professionals, such as doctors and dentists. "When you visit the dentist, he or she has every financial incentive to drill a hole and fill it. But we trust that they won't," Mr Neal said in a speech on Wednesday. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, RIA Novosti news agency reported with reference to the Russian foreign ministry. "The sides discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh region," the Russian foreign ministry said. The Russian foreign ministry added that the ministers discussed the tasks of Normandy format's support for the work on the implementation of the Minsk agreements to overcome the Ukrainian crisis. "The sides also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and some aspects of the bilateral Russia-France contacts," the Russian foreign ministry said. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. ANZ Bank and its senior executives, including former chief executive Mike Smith, have been accused of "racial bigotry" in their dealings with flamboyant billionaires Pankaj and Radhika Oswal. In explosive emails between ANZ senior executive Chris Page and former CEO Mike Smith, Mr Page used a slew of derogatory terms to describe the couple, the Supreme Court of Victoria heard. Pankaj Oswal (left) and his wife Radhika (right) and daughter Vasundhara leave court in Melbourne: There is little doubt it was the bank that blinked first. Credit:AAP "In essence we are dealing with two very unsavoury characters," Mr Page told Mr Smith in the email. "We are dealing with Indians with no moral compass and an Indian woman who is every bit as devious as PO (Pankaj Oswal)" Mr Page said in his email to Mr Smith. Grocery insiders report Aldi wants to increase its fresh-food floor space and range. Tasman Meats' Matt Swindells (left) changed his stores so Aldi trolleys could fit. Credit:Simon Schluter It's forging ahead with long-term expansion plans that could see its 410-store network more than double, including up to 50 outlets in South Australia and up to 70 stores in Western Australia. Morgan Stanley analyst Tom Kierath says Aldi's impact on the supermarket sector is "accelerating" and he's forecasting the new WA and South Australian stores to "overtrade" relative to the east coast outlets , given the "pent-up demand for the offer". Fred Harrison, CEO of Ritchies Supermarkets. Credit:Wayne Taylor "We estimate that Aldi has about 8 per cent market share within supermarkets," Mr Kierath said. "Share gains have generally been around 50-70 basis points annually (0.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent) however, given the accelerating new store rollout we expect share gains to rise to 120-140 basis points annually." We get Aldi customers coming in with their trolleys and it works well, it's almost like a perfect partnership for us. Matt Swindells Morgan Stanley claims Metcash will be the biggest loser from Aldi's expansion, given the strength of the independent sector in WA and South Australia. Broker UBS reported Aldi was Australia's most profitable supermarket this week and forecast the discount grocery chain's share of the national grocery market would rise from 7 per cent to 10 per cent by 2019-20. Analysts suggest Aldi's rapid growth, including forecast sales growth of 15 per cent a year for the next three years, according to UBS is likely to embolden discount rival Lidl, which has already sought the ear of the Victorian government as well as suppliers over breaking into the Australian market. Aldi's plans to increase its share of the fresh food market don't trouble Mr Swindells, who believes the success of Aldi's format will always be its smaller range of high-demand grocery lines. Car park tactics This leaves plenty of the grocery pie for retailers like Tasman and Australia's biggest independent grocery and liquor chain, Ritchies to carve up. Ritchies chief Fred Harrison said the grocery newcomers Costco and Aldi were "massive" competition but they also represented an opportunity for its IGA-branded stores. "In many respects we see customers go into their stores first and then top up with us, not the other way around," Mr Harrison said. "So we become that secondary shop, so then there's the age-old argument, are you better off having Aldi in the car park with you or two to three kilometres away? "While there's no absolute, steadfast rule ... if you asked me to make a decision I would prefer to have Aldi in the car park with me than down the road because at least you get the top-up shop rather than the alternative, which might be no shop." Mr Harrison said whenever the business considered new sites it was always looking through the lens of the likely chain-store activity in and around that location. "The trouble with our game, once you sign a lease you're signing for 15 years with options. "It's not like you can say it was good for two years, [but] Woolworths has turned up it's a Meccano set, so let's pack it down and move somewhere else. "Once you've put the bricks and mortar in place, you're there for 15 years," he said. "We've got to be mindful and make sure our leases and rents don't strangle us in the advent of competition and with Aldi, it's a case of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer." Ritchies' acquisition of the 15-store Fishers IGA chain in Victoria late last year is expected to push its annual sales past the $1 billion mark this year but the competition never sleeps and Mr Harrison is keeping a close eye on the Woolworths turn-around, which he is confident will gain traction. Loading The Baird government is moving to finalise new laws designed to make all NSW motorists buy more ethanol by forcing more service stations to sell ethanol blended petrol, marketed as E10. The laws, expected to come into effect from September 1, remove the previous business safeguards that exempted small fuel-retail businesses from selling ethanol-blended petrol and are being pursued despite the government's own reports advising against their introduction. The NSW retail fuel industry is relying on the Greens to fight Premier Mike Baird's new ethanol laws. Credit:Jessica Hromas The service stations to be affected are small to medium businesses which, according to the government's figures, will be forced to spend an average $140,000 a site to upgrade their storage tanks. While that might not sound like much, the average annual profit earned by service station businesses over the past decade as distinct from the large fuel marketing companies was just $60,000 a site. This means the Baird government is preparing to force smaller fuel retail businesses, many of which are family owned and operating in regional areas, to invest more than 100 per cent of their profit over the next two years just to stay in business. NSW Minister for Better Regulation Victor Dominello sought to justify the new laws in a recent parliamentary debate, saying the changes were necessary to support more than 3000 direct jobs in the biofuels industry. He was subsequently forced to correct the NSW parliamentary record, when it came to light that the figures he cited were 10 times higher than the real ones. Since 1965, Carla Lane had been not only a vegetarian but a vociferous campaigner for animal rights. "I can't understand why people kill and eat animals," she insisted. In 1990 she formed an animal trust, Animal Line, with her friend Linda McCartney and the Liverpool-born actress Rita Tushingham. "Basically, I'm a loony," she declared, "but it's the best way to be with all the horrible things going on in the world". Carla Lane was born Romana Barrack in 1928, the daughter of DeVinci Barrack, a 19-year-old Italian engineer in the Merchant Navy. She started writing as a child, winning her first award for a school poem published in the Liverpool Echo when she was seven. After an unhappy spell at a Liverpool convent, she left school aged 14 and was working as a nurse when she married three years later. While bringing up her two young sons, she wrote short stories for local newspapers and radio scripts, and joined a writer's workshop in Liverpool where she met Myra Taylor. With her new friend, Carla Lane wrote a series of bizarre comic sketches Up, Down, All Around, and sent it to the BBC's head of comedy, Michael Mills. "Give me something I can understand," he replied. "Or not totally beyond my imagination." Mills had discerned a hidden comic talent. The two Liverpool housewives came up with The Liver Birds, about two single Liverpudlian girls, Beryl and Sandra, sharing a flat. After a pilot was floated in the Comedy Playhouse strand in April 1969, a series of four (in black and white) debuted the following July, a week after the first moon landing. Reaction was muted. A disappointed Mills declined a second series, and Carla Lane's agents wrote to say that they did not feel she had any potential as a writer. Her response was to lock herself in her room and write, unaided and unedited, a single episode of The Liver Birds. In it Beryl (Polly James) wanted to spend the night with a man, and Sandra (Pauline Collins, later to be replaced by Nerys Hughes) was appalled. Carla Lane sent it to Mills, who replied with a handwritten note: "Six more. By yesterday. Love, Michael." Last week, in an effort to get young voters to enrol before electoral rolls closed, Bill Shorten did what several of his Labor colleagues have done recently and released a very retro-looking '80s photo of himself as a young man, dimpled and smiling. "A lot has changed over the years, but one thing hasn't you still need to enrol in order to have your say," the Facebook caption implored. The release of the "cool Shorten" pic was at the benign end of the awkward plays for young people's attention we've come to expect from politicians. Australian politicians make a habit of engaging with young people by feigning their own youth, however ironically. Sometimes this comes in the form of literally releasing young pics, at other times it's carefully studied Game of Thrones references, not-at-all cultivated use of emojis by Julie Bishop-types, Rudd-style selfie offensives or even in Tony Abbott's Trump-esque spruiking of his "not bad-looking daughters". And this never looks authentic. No doubt we'll see some poor sod forced to dab and nae nae before the campaign is through. This is largely harmless guff soft PR for politicians and cheap fodder for content-hungry news organisations (including this one), which lap up "fun" ways to report politics for young people. And gimmicky tactics which generate any youth interest are, to an extent, understandable. The AEC estimates about 20 per cent of adults 24 years old or younger may not even be registered to vote. Ever get the sense our public conversation about ethnic minorities is being gutted by left and right; with platitudes about community "harmony" on the one hand, and naked bigotry on the other? That feelings are fetishised while facts get short-shrift? That politicians serve up either anodyne and jittery incantations about multiculturalism or toxic slurs about minorities, including refugees - the "good" refugees, no less, the ones queuing patiently in UN camps - whose very statelessness is apparently an affront? That the weekend spectacle of incoherent brawling between radicals in Coburg is a perverse metaphor of a culture that's losing its capacity for rational debate? On the progressive side of the ledger, identity politics is stifling evidenced-based thinking. A recent, though certainly not earth-shattering, example is the Victorian education minister's response to criticisms by Jewish groups about the inclusion on the VCE drama list of Samah Sabawi's Tales of a City by the Sea, a play set in war-torn Gaza. Those criticisms of the play are legitimate. The play undoubtedly has literary merit; I found Sabawi's depiction of Palestinians confronting internal and external repression poignant. But as Dvir Abramovich, from the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission, argued on this page on Tuesday, by omitting any reference to the context of Israel's military onslaught, being the Hamas rockets fired into Israeli civilian centres, Sabawi portrays the Jewish state as a killing machine motivated solely by bloodlust. Even an oblique and contested reference to the Israeli justification for bombing Gaza would, in my view, have covered the playwright; as it stands, the work promotes a kind of falsehood. Yippee, we've stopped the (super) boats! Meredith Williams Dee Why Development gone haywire There may have been a hospital pencilled in for Frenchs Forest on Rob Stokes' 1948 map ("The city is waiting for change", May 31), but that doesn't make it appropriate for the 21st century. In fact, when the actual planning process took place in 2005-06, Frenchs Forest ranked a distant third among the six sites considered. Its ultimate selection was based on a figure of $21.3 million for the required road improvements, which now cost $500 million. When the then planning minister, Brad Hazzard, gave the go-ahead for the hospital in 2013, the information was already out of date but was not reviewed. So not only do we get the massive hospital and a 12-lane highway but the prospect of further development around the hospital precinct. The suburb is being devastated. It's little wonder that for the first time in my life, a month short of my 70th birthday, I took part in a political demonstration last Sunday. Paul Cunningham Frenchs Forest Planning without vision WestConnex and Sydney Metro Stage 2 pass, like ships in the night, in Alexandria but only one line stops there. The Metro Chatswood to Sydenham Environmental Impact Statement inexplicably makes no reference to how Australia's two largest transport infrastructure projects might interact. WestConnex's St Peter's interchange projects 60,000 cars on to the already swollen inner-city roads. The three-kilometre Waterloo to Sydenham Metro section sails by underneath (sans stations). Additional Metro stations at Alexandria and St Peters would provide a mass-transit spine for the soaring population, enabling a "low-car" future. The Metro planning process fails the districts suffering the fastest urban growth in Australia, providing no vision and no plan for adequate or integrated transport. Danny Carroll Alexandria People of NSW must be able to trust their police force Congratulations to Simone White for her perseverance and court room success in defending against the false charges brought against her by members of the NSW Police Force ("Crossing the Thin Blue Line", June 1). However, one is left to wonder what action is to be taken against the police officers involved. Clearly the fabricated statements, destruction of evidence, perjury and assault of Ms White, is a serious breach of public trust and raises questions regarding the fitness of the police officer involved to continue in his position. Yet your story contains no response from senior police, or any indication that any sort of action or official inquiry is to follow. Instead, there is the usual response: "The outcome of the case is noted; the circumstances surrounding the incident will be reviewed." Whilst I am sure the vast majority of NSW police officers are of good character and integrity, nonetheless the force has a long history of inappropriate practices by officers. The people of NSW deserve a trustworthy police force; the bar must be raised. Officers of low moral and ethical character have no place in our justice system. Paul Guthrie Murwillumbah Is it appropriate that police officers found to have lied under oath, amongst other things, get to keep their jobs? Richard Tainsh Woollahra In the photograph on the front page of yesterday's Herald, there is an image of a police officer wearing a "peaked" hat as part of his uniform. Are police hats issued with that "peaked" look or are they re-shaped by the wearers. Either way they look terrible and casts one's memory back to Germany in the 1930s. Stewart Smith North Kellyville A1 protein in milk could be culprit The CSIRO study that revealed a drop in our consumption of milk and dairy foods ("Drop in milk consumption and dip in dairy 'very concerning',"June 1), said nearly three-quarters of those interviewed went off dairy to relieve self-diagnosed symptoms such as bloating. But there might not be a link. These people may not be aware of studies performed by scientists at Curtin University, and more recently in Shanghai, that suggest their problems could be due to the A1 beta-casein protein, which is a constituent of most Australian milks. Those people who have been avoiding dairy foods could try consuming milk that does not contain this protein. Michael Messer Balmain I am sure the declining consumption of milk is very concerning for the dairy industry but what concerns me most is the inherent cruelty of intensive farming practices. The unfortunate bobby calves, who the industry can't even be troubled to feed properly during their short lives, are shipped to abattoirs within days of birth by the hundreds of thousands annually. These practices are cruel and unnecessary. If CSIRO really wants to understand the trend away from dairy, then perhaps it should start by asking people why they choose not to drink milk. James Buckman Enmore Motive for cancer funding I have no doubt Malcolm Turnbull is a genuinely sensitive and caring person. I have no doubt that his emotion shown at the announcement of funding to combat cancer in children was genuinely felt, so it will appear churlish of me to say it but I wish the announcement had come before or after the election campaign. It is impossible to deny the possibility that events were calculated for political advantage, which sours something otherwise admirable in its entirety. I am sure some will say the only souring emanates from my imputation. But given the standard of political "discourse" in Australia in recent times, the idea that some party apparatchik is at work behind the scenes is not beyond belief. Arthur Cooper Alstonville Taxing pollies' nest eggs Could someone please inform me how parliamentarians' superannuation and pensions are to be treated under the government's proposed new rules? Should their payments be taxed, like the rest of us, as if they were derived from an imputed accumulation sum, if that exceeds $1.6 million, even though they have not personally acquired this amount in a fund? David Brown Hunters Hill Cometh a chameleon Having read the views of the Christian Right, I am filled with dread about the ill-informed campaigns that will be associated with the unnecessary plebiscite to be held on the subject of the Marriage Act. I would have thought that our national leader, as a lawyer of some repute, would have had more sense than to unleash these destructive forces on the people of Australia. Maybe he is a chameleon on this issue as well as on climate change. Annette Kent Hunters Hill Apathy spans all ages It is not just the "group of research participants in their 20s" ("How can you reach voters who don't care who you are?", June 1) who think one party changes "this and that and then the other party comes in and changes it back again". Ask any of the 60-plus oldies who have watched this campaign rerun so many times before. They would be in unison with the young people. As it becomes more difficult to sift fact from fiction, few are heeding the call to "Come a waltzing matilda with me" from the campaign trail. Do most politicians ever really see the faces in the street or listen to their voices? They would do well to heed the warning. There is a distant sound of many feet tramping towards alternatives. Joy Cooksey Harrington Politicians coining it in So the Fair Work Commission has increased the minimum wage by $15.80 a week. That should warm the hearts of politicians who are entitled to $86 a day just for turning up at Parliament House. It should also warm the hearts of the ex-politicians who are currently in a legal battle to increase their entitlements retrospectively. Jobs and growth seem to be doing a roaring trade for politicians. Lee-Ann Groblicka Turramurra False premise on property The almost daily reporting of actual declines and impending declines in house and apartment prices is great news. We would be very happy for the house we live in and own (an unproductive resource) to decrease in value by 20 or 30 per cent. Then our children would stand a chance of buying a property. To withdraw hundreds of thousands from our SMSF, and give it to our children as a deposit, would fail the "single purpose test" required to be adhered to by trustees. Investing in property in this declining market is a sure way to lose money. So the sooner Australia realises it cannot sustain the highest household debt-to-income level in the world, based on the false premise that house prices will always go up, the better. A gentle cut in negative gearing will also help. Bill Johnstone Marrickville Tell it like it is, please How is it that when the Liberals disagree, it's because their party is a "broad church"? But when the Labor Party disagrees, it's called "disharmony". Please call it as it is and don't beat around the bush or curry favours from one side. Neville McDonald Nambucca Heads Mandate at odds with marriage equality All this talk about Malcolm Turnbull needing a "mandate" is very confusing. I thought "mandate" was a phone app for gay guys, and with the PM's betrayal of the gay community over marriage equality, a "mandate" would be the furthest thing from his mind. John Byrne Randwick When I watched last weekend's political debate, much like Hayley Joel Osment's infamous line in The Sixth Sense, my reaction was "I see dead people". I can't help but muse on the difference had the two people who probably should have been at the lecterns had been there. Abbott and Albo: it seems like the perfect combo for a marquee signage. Rosemary O'Brien Georges Hall Whole latte joy I hope the cleaner who lost his job ("Sacked over coffee cleaner wins case", June 1) will play Bob Dylan's classic One More Cup of Coffee to celebrate his win. John de Bres Rose Bay Give Greece its due Australia can't cut its copyright term. It is bound by the treaties it has signed with the United States, Singapore and Korea, and will also be bound by the Trans-Pacific Partnership should it be ratified. It is true that the Productivity Commission would have very much liked to recommend a shorter copyright term, and said so. But it also said plainly that wasn't an option open to any government, Labor or Liberal. What the commission does recommend, and what might be really behind the confused cries of our leading authors and the publishers who feed them lines, is an opening up of the market for books. Most of us hate geoblocks, the annoying restrictions that prevent us from using in one country a DVD made for another, or force Australians to choose from a smaller or more expensive range of products when buying online. The commission wants the government to state clearly that it is perfectly legal to attempt to circumvent geoblocking, and it wants it to avoid signing agreements that would make it illegal. And it goes further. It says the laws that prevent Australian booksellers from buying books from overseas suppliers are no more than "an analogue equivalent of geoblocking". You and I can already buy books from overseas. Asked at a Sydney Writers Festival event last month how many present had bought from Amazon, almost everyone in the room put up their hands. Bookshops are able to buy from overseas too, as long as it's one book at a time. Attempts to buy in bulk attempts to buy American books at American prices are outlawed unless they are done through or with the permission of the Australian licence holders. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference and the 6th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition June 1. The president welcomed the guests and congratulated Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the opening of the exhibitions. President Aliyev said that the Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition plays a very important role in the country's life. The president thanked the people and organizations that helped to organize the exhibition. Ilham Aliyev said that holding of the exhibition in Azerbaijan is very important for the general development of the country. The president reminded that the first exhibition was held in 1994, when very little was known about Azerbaijan in the world. A third Labor candidate has broken ranks to back calls for the party to ditch fossil fuel subsidies and ban political donations from mining companies. Lisa Singh, Tasmanian senator and shadow parliamentary secretary for the environment, has signed the "pollution free politics pledge", forcing Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to restate that Labor was not considering ending the diesel fuel rebate available to miners and farmers. Tasmanian senator Lisa Singh, pictured during an estimates hearing at Parliament House, has signed the "pollution free politics pledge" being pushed by green group 350.org. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Fairfax Media revealed last week that Justine Elliot, the Labor member for Richmond, and Janelle Saffin, the former Page MP who is trying to win back the North Coast NSW seat, also defied party policy to sign the pledge being pushed by green group 350.org. Senator Singh, a leading figure of the Left who was relegated to the unsafe sixth spot on Labor's Senate ticket in Tasmania by factional bosses, said Labor's 50 per cent target on electricity generation coming from renewables by 2030 required a transition away from $2.2 billion in fossil fuels subsidies. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has delivered a rebuke to his factional allies in the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), telling them to fix the exploitative agreement they made with retail giant Coles, found this week to be ripping off workers. On Tuesday, the Fair Work Commission struck down the cosy deal that saw low-paid employees denied up to $70 million a year. It comes at an awkward time for the Opposition Leader, who is campaigning on a promise to protect unions, workers' rights and penalty rates. Pressed on the issue on Wednesday, Mr Shorten said the SDA (known as the Shoppies) and Coles "have to rectify the mistakes, full stop. They need to fix it up." The deals struck by the conservative Shoppies have infuriated some in the wider union movement, including the left-leaning meatworkers union which has accused its rival of undercutting wages and conditions for many supermarket meatworkers. A daily allowance of $86 paid to Canberra politicians for showing up to work at Parliament House is a perk that is out of step with modern workplace expectations, says an expert on politicians' entitlements Anne Cahill-Lambert, who chairs the ACT Remuneration Tribunal, says the entitlement belongs in "days gone by" and she would be looking at the perk if she was involved in the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal, the body that sets the level of pay and entitlements for MPs and senators. Remuneration Tribunal chairwoman Anne Cahill-Lambert says some politicians' perks belong in another age. Credit:Vikky Wilkes Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that Canberra politicians have been slugging taxpayers thousands of dollars simply for driving across town to their Parliament House offices. MPs and senators who live within 30 kilometres of Parliament House can claim $86 a day, before tax, for turning up to work at Capital Hill when the Parliament is sitting or to attend committee meetings. The entrepreneur helping to bankroll Nick Xenophon's fledgling political party is launching a television ad campaign lambasting the Coalition for handing a $35 million contract to supply spectacles to Defence Force personnel to a multinational company based in a northern hemisphere tax haven. The ads, which urge voters to "Please, please don't vote Liberal", have been funded and authorised by Ian Melrose, who has given $175,000 to the Nick Xenophon Team since its December 2014 launch. The ads focus on the $33 million Defence contract currently held by Specsavers. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has become the latest politician to stumble over superannuation policy, a day after Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was stumped on live radio. At a time when the government faces increasing pressure over its superannuation changes, the South Australian senator mistakenly told the ABC in Adelaide on Wednesday morning that the Greens wanted to tax superannuation at the same rate as income, then stumbled again when asked to explain if the plan was for taxes on super contributions or earnings. "We think it needs to be fair," Senator Hanson-Young told hosts Matthew Abraham and David Bevan in an interview that also included Labor frontbencher Mark Butler. RKR's affable managing director Russell Ricketts was on hand to escort the two MPs around his plant, rolling out the firm's latest offering, the prototype Track Haul, a five-tonne beast designed to help cart and repair railway equipment. So Foreign Minister Julie Bishop discovered in Emu Plains on Wednesday, as she and local member Fiona Scott dropped in on local manufacturer RKR Engineering for a spot of talking up jobs, innovation and business tax cuts. You can charm most of the people most of the time, but you can't charm a machine into co-operating with your campaign picture opportunity. Mr Ricketts invited Ms Bishop to take it for a short spin. "What could possibly go wrong?" she laughed airily. Well, a bit as it turned out. With the petite Foreign Minister and Ms Scott at the wheel, it simply refused to move. Mr Ricketts soon solved the puzzle: "if there isn't enough weight in the seat it won't go" he declared, explaining the vehicle is designed to stop operating if a driver (presumably usually a heavier human than Ms Bishop) topples out. Fortunately for Ms Bishop, the Liberal Party is not designed along similar lines. Coffee Club employee Patsy Polchleb, of Jamisontown, helps Foreign Minister Julie Bishop make a cappuccino at Nepean Village shopping centre, Penrith, while Lindsay MP Fiona Scott looks on. Credit:Krystyna Pollard. Ms Bishop has become a regular visitor to Western Sydney during the campaign, with half a dozen seats hanging on slim margins. Ms Scott's seat of Lindsay is one of the most marginal (at 3 per cent) with both Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard making pilgrimages there in recent days. However, Ms Bishop declined to say if this was a sign of mounting concern in the Liberal camp. "We don't take anything for granted", she said. Nor would she be drawn on former Abbott aide Peta Credlin's rebuke that Ms Bishop should have been better briefed on Tuesday before stumbling over the effect of the government's super changes on transition to retirement accounts. These days, she said, "Peta" is a commentator and "entitled to her view". (The Liberal camp must be getting a little weary of trotting that line out.) Ms Bishop would not concede she had given her interviewer, Melbourne radio's Neil Mitchell, a "gotcha" moment on TTR arrangements the day before, despite telling him "well, Neil, this is obviously a 'gotcha' moment". Instead, Ms Bishop was keen to demonstrate her ability to give chapter and verse on Wednesday, presumably after a thorough brush-up overnight. Campaigning later in Blacktown, in the narrowly Labor-held electorate of Greenway, the Foreign Minister was back in her element, chatting with migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Kenya and Sri Lanka during a short walk down Main Street. If you're trying to sell a stolen designer bag here's some advice from the online stores: you are being watched. Since the theft of thousands of dollars worth of designer bags last week from the Gucci and Prada stores in Melbourne, online retailers have been on the lookout for any of the bags showing up on their sites. Thieves used sedgehammers to smash their way into the Gucci handbags store on Collins Street. Credit:Eddie Jim However, security sources think the bags are most likely heading to China, where demand is huge, creating a potential headache for Border Force officials charged with monitoring the import and export of stolen goods. Only 15 per cent of Australians are using financial apps or web-based tools, according to research by industry super fund-owned bank ME. But those who do swear by them. With all this money being directed from our handsets, it's no surprise apps touting financial convenience are mushrooming. There are apps for micro-budgeting, stockmarket and portfolio investment as well as personal accounting. On the web there are credit scoring firms offering to rate your creditworthiness as well as a host of new "robo-advice" online outlets. Already consumer spending through mobile devices closely matches web spending. Australians this year are forecast to spend $17 billion through their mobiles and tablets and $18 billion through PCs. By 2020, it will be more than double PC spending, according to banking research firm Forrester Research. Our mobile devices are becoming the go-to instruments of convenient commerce, offering something that consumers are only just beginning to come to terms with a world of instantaneous self-wealth management. ME found nine out of 10 users of personal apps say they would continue to use the apps or tools, or use them more frequently than 12 months ago. The most popular ways to use apps were to pay bills on time (41 per cent), stick to a budget (30 per cent), reach a savings goal (28 per cent), reduce debt (24 per cent) and buy property (24 per cent). App makers talk a lot about convenience, but they are also about killing competition. Just about all of them want to be one-stop shops. For the big banks, that means directing as many customers back to their own services as possible. For independent app-makers, it's about making themselves the financial end game. Forrester's principal analyst Tim Sheedy agrees that the big four's bank apps are always self-serving: "They're mostly about driving outcomes that will always be driven back to the bank," he says. All the same, they are also offering some exciting innovations. In February ANZ released its tap-and-go payments app for Android phones that syncs with ATMs, allowing customers to withdraw up to $100 in cash. Likewise, CBA Cardless Cash now lets customers withdraw up to $500 cash a day without a card, using a simple code generated by the bank to the phone. "If your daughter is stranded without money somewhere, you simply send the code to her mobile and she can access the ATM whether she's a customer or not," explains Sheedy. The largest space for independent apps is self-budgeting. The most popular is Pocketbook, which categorises spending on anything from groceries to clothing. Budget apps are all linked into bank accounts and credit cards so as to offer a real-time view of your spending. Other apps include Splitwise, Good Budget, Expensify and ASIC's TrackMySPEND and companion app TrackMyGOALS. One of the most popular features of TrackMySPEND is its unique "psychological" buttons, which separate "wants" from "needs". "If I buy a tub of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream, it asks whether this is a need or a want," says accounting software expert Sholto MacPherson of Digital First. "You decide what kind of spending it is. It really has taught me to think properly about money." The ABS' "blind" recruitment round filled hundreds of jobs late last year, after the lifting of the public service's hiring freeze, with names and other identifying details of the applicants withheld from the selection panels. Samantha Palmer is full of praise for the flexible working arrangements at the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Credit:Elesa Kurtz But Australian Bureau of Statistics says that a much simpler method: just asking women what they wanted from their jobs, worked wonders in recruiting female bosses. A public service agency has doubled its proportion of female bosses in just a few months after radically altering some of its hiring practices. The bureau's move could become a template for success across the Australian Public Service as it grapples with its women problem: the lack of female elite Senior Executive Service level employees. The bureaucracy has made progress in moving women into positions of influence but the latest official figures show just 42 per cent of senior executives are female, despite women making up nearly 60 per cent of the service. The Bureau of Statistics was among the laggards midway through 2015 with women making up just 21 per cent of senior executives, so the bureau got some outside help, hiring consultants to look at ways of tackling "unconscious bias" in the recruitment process. Jonathan Palmer, the bureau's chief operating officer, said unconscious bias is an invisible enemy of workplace diversity. "Despite people's best intentions, they still operate in a way that draws on their inherent biases," Mr Palmer told The Canberra Times. "The lack of independence of KPMG has always been a central part of our case," he said. The latest developments are politically damaging and could see the council mergers cases string out for months. Far from KPMG providing an "independent" review of the government's financial claims, it's now clear that it was KPMG that came up with those alleged savings in the first place, Greens MP David Shoebridge said. "There was no independent review from KPMG, they were marking their own homework." On Monday, the government offered to settle the case with Strathfield after conceding there was a legal flaw in the delegate's report recommending merger with Burwood and Canada Bay. Mr Toole described it as "a legal technicality". But when Mr Toole then indicated he would simply reissue the report with the problem fixed, Mr Robertson said the council had decided to "bat on" because there were far more serious allegations about the government's merger process. On Wednesday he began his case saying the relatively brief public hearings were inadequate because they cut across the implied right of political free speech in the constitution. Details added (first version posted on 13:42) Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: Changing the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict requires the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The Azerbaijani FM informed the NATO secretary general on the negotiation process to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that the Vienna meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents created an effective opportunity to start substantive negotiations, said the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's press service June 1. Mammadyarov also noted that the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairs and the international community consider the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict unreliable, inconsistent and unacceptable, and it is necessary to put an end to the occupation in order to change the status quo. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. During the meeting, Mammadyarov and Stoltenberg also expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO, pointing to Azerbaijan's providing transit for the NATO forces in Afghanistan, as well as Azerbaijan's contributing to peacekeeping missions. The sides also noted that the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway will expand Afghanistan's possibility of entering the regional transport infrastructure. Labor candidate for Eden-Monaro Mike Kelly has foreshadowed an announcement on the Barton Highway before the federal election on July 2. Dr Kelly was in Hall on Wednesday for the launch of a campaign by the Barton Highway Community Action Group. The campaign urges voters to head to the polls with the neglected highway on their mind. The group says with increasing traffic in and out of Canberra, the two-lane, 33-kilometre stretch of highway desperately needs to be duplicated. But the road was left out of a Labor cash splash on the marginal bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro, held by Liberal Peter Hendy, this week. A Goulburn man could be the first Australian to have a tooth inserted into his eye to fix his increasing blindness. It sounds like science fiction, but if all goes to plan, John Ings, 71, will undergo a radical new surgery called osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis. John Ings will undergo a radical new surgery to restore his sight. Credit:Brittany Murphy The procedure is a unique and complex form of artificial cornea surgery used on patients with the most severe forms of corneal blindness. It involves removing a tooth and cutting a piece of tissue from it, before drilling a hole, inserting a camera and implanting the tooth back into his right eye. A man has been charged after he allegedly secretly filmed a number of people, including a young child, using the bathroom at an apartment in Sydney's west, police say. Officers who arrested the 29-year-old man at his workplace in Parramatta on Wednesday night allegedly found recordings on his mobile phone that were secretly captured inside the apartment on Allen Street in Harris Park. That footage allegedly showed a seven-year-old child and a 31-year-old woman using the apartment's bathroom. Police will allege in court that another man, aged 31, was also filmed without his consent while using the same bathroom. The man who was arrested over the incident had been living in the apartment with those he is accused of filming, a NSW Police spokesman said, however his relationship to them was not clear. The residents alerted police on Wednesday after becoming suspicious, however police will allege in court that the man had been secretly filming since December last year. A man has been airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after being stabbed "a number of times" in a scuffle at Lithgow Correctional Centre west of Sydney. The 22-year-old was stabbed to the head, chest and hands on Wednesday afternoon while inside a cell. Razor wire tops fences at Lithgow Correctional Centre. Credit:Wolter Peeters Paramedics were called at around 2.50pm to the Great Western Highway at Marrangaroo, the location of the gaol, to treat the man. He was taken by helicopter to Liverpool Hospital, where he was in a critical condition on Wednesday evening. NSW MP Robert Borsak has boasted of shooting and eating an elephant in a speech at state parliament. The Shooters and Fishers politician made the admission during a late night tirade on Tuesday against the "insidious growth of skewed animal rights ideology." "Animals do not have an intrinsic human right," he told the upper house. "Humans have a right to eat meat if they choose to do so. It is as simple as that," he said One of the city's busiest train stations will undergo a billion-dollar redevelopment over the next four years, the government announced on Wednesday. A grand "transit hall" will be built at Wynyard Station, and a public concourse will open out onto a pedestrian-only George Street, following the completion of the station upgrade in 2020 and the adjacent light rail development. An artist's impression of a redeveloped Wynyard Station opening onto George Street. Premier Mike Baird said on Thursday the government had accepted an unsolicited offer from global real estate firm Brookfield Property Partners for the revamp of the station. The deal gives Brookfield the opportunity to develop the station precinct, in return for the upgrade of station concourses and transit passages. Queensland's deputy premier says she could not have known about a major rail project's dangerous signalling fault when she was in charge of it. Jackie Trad, who was also the state's transport minister until December last year, said only recent testing picked up the signalling flaw in the $988 million Moreton Bay Rail Link project. "When I handed over the transport portfolio, the line had yet to be electrified," Ms Trad said on Wednesday. "You can't test the signalling system until the line is electrified." A 50-year-old man who was injured during a fight outside Morayfield KFC on Wednesday night has died. Police allege 32-year-old Conrad Joseph Carter struck the man causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. Police say he was allegedly further assaulted while on the ground. The man was transported to Royal Brisbane and Women's hospital with life-threatening injuries but he died on Thursday afternoon at about 3pm. An impulsive, fun-loving NSW photographer who was taken by a crocodile in far north Queensland would have understood the risks of her late-night beach adventure, her father says. Cindy Waldron's family arrived in Cairns from New Zealand on Wednesday as search crews spent a third day scouring the shore line at Thornton Beach, in the Daintree National Park. Ms Waldron, 46, was dragged under the surface after she ventured into the water with a friend, Leeann Mitchell, late on Sunday night. Pat Waldron said his daughter would often do "crazy" things. Brisbane's Catholic education authorities have given permission for cold case detectives to search bushland adjoining an Ipswich school where family members believe the remains of Sharron Phillips were discarded 30 years ago. On Wednesday, officials from Brisbane Catholic Education wrote to homicide squad Detective Inspector Damien Hansen formally allowing police to search Riverview bushland next to St Peter Claver College. Last month, Ms Phillips' eldest sister Donna Anderson called for police to search the land. Police are now searching a separate location - inside a concrete drain under Cobalt Street at Carole Park - for Ms Phillips' body after receiving "credible information" from a witness who has come forward in the past fortnight. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: The example of Azerbaijan can be interesting for many countries, said President Ilham Aliyev. He made the remarks speaking at the opening of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference and the 6th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition. The events kicked off in Baku on June 1. "This year, we will mark the 25th anniversary of restoring our independence," he said. Over 25 years, Azerbaijan has proved that it can exist as an independent country, can be a master of its destiny and build normal relations with all countries, said Ilham Aliyev. "Most importantly, we have very clear and precise views of the future," he added. "Currently, we are seriously involved in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project," said President Aliyev. "Meanwhile, probably, we are more seriously involved in economic diversification in order to completely overcome the dependence on the oil factor and to ensure sustainable economy in Azerbaijan," he added. "There is much to do in this sphere and 2016 is a test year for us and for all oil-rich countries," said President Aliyev. The oil prices have repeatedly dropped this year and naturally, it is a test for all countries, he said. Ilham Aliyev said he believes that Azerbaijan is undergoing this test with dignity, adding that 2016 should be a year of stabilization. "We are already witnessing it," he said. "The economic growth will be restored next year." "We have lived under the conditions of highest economic growth over the last ten years. Azerbaijan's economy has grown more than threefold," said Ilham Aliyev. "Naturally, our economy, our people have accustomed to this. Now a new period begins." "We can and are getting out of any situation with our head held high. Our main task is to ensure that the Azerbaijani people wouldn't suffer from the ongoing crisis in the world," said President Aliyev. For this purpose, all the social programs are being implemented, the wages and pensions have been increased by 10 percent, the work is underway to create social infrastructure and of course, a good ground is created for the future, added the president. Further, the president pointed out that the lower oil prices have created a stressful situation. "I believe that it was beneficial for us. Many structures, including the state structures were accustomed to receive large amount of funds for the implementation of various projects," said President Aliyev. "We are now going frugal on these issues and funds are allocated only for priority issues." "The primary funds should come from the private sector. Domestic and foreign investors are making investments and trust us. I believe that over these years, we have gained good reputation as a reliable partner," said the president. "As you know, all the contracts in the oil sphere have been signed on the basis of share distribution. We can't and have no intention to change any single dot or comma there," said Ilham Aliyev. "This increases trust. Like in the oil sector, the transparency and forecasting tendencies should even more strengthen in all other spheres as well." A worker has fought off a gun-wielding robber with a milk crate as he attempted to steal from a Logan fast food joint. The man entered the Tanah Merah Chinese takeaway shop, on Tansey Drive, about 7.40pm armed with what police said appeared to be a handgun. A woman hit an armed robber on the arm with a milk crate. Credit:Jim Rice But when he demanded money from the attendant and leaned forward to the cash register the woman hit him on the arm with a milk crate. The would-be robber fled when she called out for help and a man working in the restaurant rushed to her aid. No money was taken and no one was hurt. A man with links to the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang has been charged after police allegedly found guns, ammunition, steroids and cash at a house in Melbourne's west. Detectives from the anti-bikie Echo Taskforce raided a house on Rice Flower Road in Sunshine North about 6am on Wednesday. One of the charged men has links to the Hells Angels. Four firearms, ammunition and cash were seized from the house, police said. Two men from Sunshine North, aged 36 and 30, were arrested and charged with possessing a trafficable quantity of firearms, possessing ammunition and prohibited person possessing firearm. Doctors who pieced a Victorian man's face back together after he almost sliced it in half with a chainsaw say he looked "like something out of a science fiction movie". Bill Singleton is lucky to be alive; the chainsaw narrowly missed a main blood vessel in his neck. The 68-year-old grandfather was alone on his rural Mount Lonarch property chopping wood when the grisly accident happened. He was chopping a small branch in the shrubs and did not see a large tree trunk behind the branch. But it's alleged the saxophonist - also known as Allan Yang - was no typical teacher. On the website Rate My Teacher, former Scotch College music teacher Yi Yang was rated 3.2 stars. In 2013, Allan Yang became the first ever saxophonist to perform a saxophone concerto with the Chinese National Symphony at the Beijing Concert Hall. Yang has been accused of being a repeated sexual predator, who for seven years preyed on underage girls. The 51-year-old Kew man indicated on Wednesday he would plead guilty to 16 offences, which relate to a series of indecent assaults on four girls between 2006 and 2013. At the time of his arrest, Yang had been working as a teacher and a professional saxophone player. Scotch College has previously confirmed that Yang was a sessional teacher at the school from 2002 to 2009, a period that includes some of his sexual offending. A man has been arrested following a two-hour siege south of Melbourne. Police were called to a property on Maples Street in Mornington at 2.50pm on Wednesday. Officers closed the right-hand outbound lane of the Monash Freeway in the operation, causing heavy delays ahead of the evening commuter peak. A Victoria Police spokesman said a man at the property was armed with a knife and threatening self-harm. Premier Daniel Andrews faces a revolt from tens of thousands of CFA volunteers and members of his cabinet after the industrial umpire ruled in favour of the firefighters union in a bitter dispute over pay and conditions. In a move that critics warn will "seriously impact community safety in Victoria" Fair Work Commissioner Julius Roe has handed down non-binding recommendations that favour the United Firefighters Union's demands for greater control of the CFA. The recommendations could be politically damaging for the Andrews government by isolating tens of thousands of volunteers and threatens to damage any chance of winning the marginal seat of Ripon and defending critical regional seats in Bendigo, Ballarat and around Geelong. The commissioner's decision has been slammed by the CFA and the volunteers' representative group, Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria. Call it the "principal effect": University of Melbourne economist Mick Coelli has created an equation that takes into account the quality of students, the demographics of a school and the amount of time a principal spends at the helm to calculate the impact he or she has in the top job. It's so complex that few principals, and even fewer parents, can understand it. There is a formula for finding the perfect principal. Mill Park Secondary College principal Trish Horner with year 8 student Keaton. Credit:Eddie Jim For all its complexity, the equation's meaning is relatively straightforward. Principals significantly boost their students' grades if they set goals, promote professional development and encourage interaction between staff. New research by Dr Coelli and Mike Helal has found that students with high-quality principals were up to two months ahead of their peers in other schools. "It's important that new principals are told that if you want to have these effects, particularly on literacy and numeracy, these are the kind of things you need to do," Dr Coelli said. "Leadership is extremely important." A Thornlie man will appear in court on Wednesday facing more than 50 charges of child sexual offences, relating to three young children known to him. The 35-year-old was charged on Tuesday by Child Abuse Squad detectives as a result of their investigation into a number of allegations that occurred between May 2015 and March this year. The man has been charged with 20 counts of indecently dealing with a child who is a lineal/defacto relative, 12 counts of indecent dealings with a child under 13 and six counts of rape on a child who was a lineal/defacto relative. He also faces four counts of rape of a child under 13 and nine further charges including attempting to encourage a lineal relative child to engage in sexual behaviour and attempted rape. He is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday. Ms Phillips revealed earlier this year that she had been sexually assaulted as a 19-year-old. Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, declared that Twitter was "dead", after she was subjected to around 5000 Twitter notifications of people discussing whether or not they would sexually assault her. A British politician has revealed she received more than 600 rape threats in one night after launching a campaign against sexist online bullying. The MP, who has played a leading role in launching the 'Reclaim the internet' campaign, said that the "ringleaders" of the abuse should face either civil or criminal action. Jess Phillips says the ringleaders should face either civil or criminal action. Credit:Facebook: Jess Phillips Speaking about the recent abuse, the Labour MP told the BBC: "I could never block them - you would need someone employed full time to block the amount of people who have been in touch with me over the weekend. "It's not a solution just to block and ignore them in my case. The only solution in stopping me seeing it is if I stop going on Twitter which is a very real possibility." Ms Phillips added: "Until Twitter makes this sort of thing stop happening and stops accepting that this sort of dogpiling and mass bullying can happen, their business model is totally flawed. People who don't like this feral side of the internet are just going to walk away." Police had said Lei died in hospital after resisting arrest during an anti-prostitution raid on a brothel. It was Lei's three-year wedding anniversary, and came two weeks after his wife had given birth to their first child. Prosecutors said on Wednesday a preliminary probe uncovered evidence which merits further investigation relating to the death of 29-year-old Lei Yang, almost a month after his death on May 7. Beijing: Chinese prosecutors have launched an official investigation into five Beijing policemen over the suspicious death of a young father in police custody which sparked national debate amid accusations of police brutality . But the official police account was met with widespread disbelief. Accusations of police brutality resonated widely and calls for greater transparency erupted online, laying bare the public's distrust in law enforcement, in a country where the police, judiciary and media are all controlled by the government. The wife of Lei Yang speaks to the media after the case went viral. "As long as one has violated the law, no one should be exempt from legal liability, whether it is law enforcement or ordinary people," said Chen Youxi, lawyer for Lei's widow and family. "There is no such thing as a protection racket." On the night he died, Lei left home between 8.30pm and 9pm to pick relatives up from the airport, who had travelled from his hometown in Hunan to meet his newborn daughter. Instead he was detained by police at 9.14pm. Less than two hours later, he was dead, his body covered in bruises. Lei's family realised something was amiss when he was a no-show at the airport after the plane landed at 11.30pm. After his wife's repeated calls to his mobile phone rung out, a police officer answered at 1am, telling her to go immediately to the police station. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received British Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy Baroness Nicholson. Praising Baroness Nicholson's participation in the opening ceremony of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas 2016 Exhibition, the president expressed his gratitude for UK Prime Minister David Cameron's message addressed to the exhibition participants and for his remarks about friendly relations. Noting that Azerbaijan and the UK enjoy very good bilateral relations, President Aliyev hailed the mutual understanding and mutual support between the two countries. Pointing to the successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UK in energy sector, the president stressed that bilateral relations between the two countries cover a number of other areas too. President Aliyev underlined Azerbaijan's interest in more active cooperation with British companies specializing in agriculture, technology, infrastructure projects and other fields, and emphasized the significance of the activities of the joint working group in this regard. Baroness Nicholson extended PM Cameron's greetings and best wishes to President Aliyev. Saying she was delighted to participate in the opening ceremony of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas 2016 Exhibition, Baroness Nicholson noted she is honored that her country is an important partner of Azerbaijan. Baroness Nicholson said as the British prime ministerial trade envoy she would spare no effort to further strengthen relations between the two countries. President Aliyev expressed his gratitude for Cameron's greetings and asked Baroness Nicholson to extend his greetings to the British prime minister. Tver, Russia: He left home to work on a rural construction site, when he returned to visit his wife and young child at their country cottage, a SWAT team swooped. The 40-year-old electrician was arrested and this month sentenced to more than two years in prison. Andrei Bubeyev looks on at the Volga river in Tver, Russia, in a 2010 family photo. Credit:AP Andrei Bubeyev's crime? He shared a picture of a toothpaste tube with the words: "Squeeze Russia out of yourself!" with 12 friends on social media. Such is the Russian government's crackdown on ordinary social media users who post things that run against the official narrative. The uncle and girlfriend of missing Tasmanian Rye Hunt have arrived in Rio and been told by media that the backpacker was using drugs before his disappearance. Mr Hunt, 25, has been missing since May 21, when he left Galeao International Airport alone in a taxi after an argument with his travelling companion, Mitchell Sheppard, and booked into a Copacabana apartment. In a statement Mr Hunt's family said Brazilian police had held a press conference about his disappearance, and had been told by reporters he was using a "local recreational substance" which caused him to be extremely paranoid and anxious prior to his disappearance. IMF submitted their conclusions for St. Maarten. PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. confirmed to members of the media that the IMF visited St. Maarten last week and they confirmed that St. Maarten had a growth of 0.5% in 2016, they projected that the countrys growth will increase in 2016 to 0.7% while they projected that the growth for 2017 will be 1.7%. The Minister said that there has been a global slow down over the past 10 years. He said the chart clearly shows that the countries enjoyed a GDP growth up to six to seven percent. However, that growth have been declining worldwide including the USA. He said currently the average global growth is 2.7% to 3%.He insisted that St. Maarten had a GDP growth of 4% to 5% but that too is declining. The Minister of Finance said a number of steps would have to be taken locally to withstand the global recession that is approaching in order for the people of St. Maarten to outlive it without too much shocks. He said the meeting with the IMF was good, they were surprised that St. Maarten is doing good generally but also made some suggestions. Minister Gibson also announced that last week he attended the ECLAC meeting in Mexico on behalf of the Prime Minister. He said the ECLAC meetings is held to discuss the economic and sustainable development of countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean. Gibson said the meeting was interesting and fruitful, therefore he asked his staff to prepare for a Town Hall meeting so that he could share the information he obtained at the ECLAC meeting with the general public. He said when such meetings are held the information is given to the Council of Ministers and Parliament but it is never filtered down to the general public to make them aware of the worldwide developments and that of the Caribbean. He said that the people of St. Maarten needs to get the information because changes have to be made and as such if changes are to be made then the people must be involved and instead of having politicians making decisions and then the public is informed, he chose to first inform the general public what is ahead of them then the politicians will make the necessary changes with the peoples involvement. Gibson said at the ECLAC meeting it was disclosed that less than 1% of the world (62 persons) owned and controls 50% of the assets of the entire world, while the other 50% is spread around the world. He said this alone creates a problem worldwide. He said as a result of this there is a global slowdown because goods that being produced are not sold worldwide because the monies to buy those goods rests in the pockets of 62 people, thus trade has been reducing slowly, therefore he believes that this type of information has to reach the grassroot (the people) in order for them to decide how they intend to move the country forward with the assistance of the people. PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin called on the entire community to take the necessary precautions and prepare for hurricanes and or storms as the 2016 hurricane season began on Wednesday June 1st. Marlin urged members of the community to listen to the local news in order to get as much information on the hurricane season. He reminded that in 1995 there were several warning but when hurricane Luis was approaching several persons did not take heed because they had several storm warnings earlier all of which missed St. Maarten. He said Luis devastated St. Maarten and therefore be fully prepared the same way they prepare for the Christmas season and other holidays. The Prime Minister also announced that he will be leaving St. Maarten on Thursday for Cuba where he will be joining his staff where they will be attending the 7th summit for the Caribbean States. He said the association has some 28 member countries and territories. He said if all goes well he will be signing the Havana declaration on behalf of St. Maarten. He said that he expects to meet the Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Ruitte and the Prime Ministers of Curacao and Aruba. On another note the Prime Minister also announced that the EU funding for the Dutch Quarter sewage project has been approved. He said only on Tuesday he received a letter from the EU committee informing him that the tender documents for that project has been approved and the funding. Marlin said even though the funding has been approved the project will not kick off before December 15th since contractors from all EU countries will be bidding on the project. Pond Island:--- TelEm Group Chief Financial officer (CFO) Mrs. Helma Etnel has given instructions for the companys marketing team to go all out with their promotion of a new music video being released this week by winners of the 2015 TelCell Breakthrough Youth Talent Search. Mrs. Etnel made the pledge after viewing the first showing of the music video Believe in Love along with the Breakthrough artists, Lian Borsje, Rumari Rogers, Kyanni Atmopawiro, and Paul Brown, their parents and guardians, coordinators and volunteers of the TelCell breakthrough event, and TelEm Group management and staff. Believe in Love was co-written by Rumari Rogers and Berteaux Fleming, with Aldi Farrell on bass guitar and Paul Brown on beatbox. It was recorded, mixed and mastered at Rock N Vibes Studio. I am totally impressed and proud of you all for doing such a fine job and showcasing the wealth of talent that we have on St. Maarten, said Mrs. Etnel. She said the company has many resources that can be used to assist the youngsters in the promotion of their new video locally and also internationally and she urged her staff to assist where they can since promotion of the TelCell Breakthrough winners is also promotion for all talent on St. Maarten. We are very lucky to have discovered your talent and to give you a taste of what you can achieve with that talent, I just hope when you are performing on the world stage, maybe in New York or Las Vegas you will remember to ask your audience to buy a roaming chip from St. Maarten, Mrs. Etnel joked. The music video viewing was well received by everyone with many expressions of delight in being involved with the project, from the music video producer, the artists themselves, their parents, TelEm Group coordinators Cheryl Rismay and David Evans, and TelCell Breakthrough co-coordinator, Mr. Berteaux Mr. Rude Fleming. According to Mr. Rude the young performers were once again a joy to work with, being very young, but also very professional in their work and toward their goals of first making a CD and then the music video. The talent we have on this island is just amazing and this group is once again showcasing that talent and drive in our youth, continued Mr. Rude. Other co-coordinator, Angel Richardson, thanked the parents for their full support and dedication when it came to transporting the youngsters to various events and meets and especially in trusting TelEm Group and its various stakeholders with the charge of their children. You have all done a great job and we are very proud of what you have achieve, Angel told the young talents. She said she would be taking up Mrs. Etnels advice to really push the promotion of the music video which is purposely being released after Carnival to achieve the strongest impact on the music community. Promotion will also include viewing on the regional cable channel Tempo, airplay on all radio stations and postings on Youtube. Once the video is out on Youtube we expect everyone to share it, like and send it to all their family and friends, said Angel. She reminded the 2015 TelCell Breakthrough group that the launching of their music video is actually the end of their term in the limelight, as arrangements are now fully in place to find to the winners of TelCell Breathhrough 2016 in October this year. She said it will be the final time the 2015 group will perform together as TelCell Breakthrough winners when they open up this years contest in front of another sell-out audience. There has been no claim of responsibility for the crash. People light candles during a candlelight vigil for the victims of EgyptAir flight 804, at the Cairo Opera house in Cairo, Egypt May 26, 2016 A French search vessel has picked up signals from one of the black boxes of EgyptAir flight MS804, Egyptian and French investigators said, a potential breakthrough in efforts to uncover why it plummeted into the Mediterranean last month. Search teams are working against the clock to recover the two flight recorders that will offer vital clues to the fate of the plane that crashed en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 killing all 66 people on board. Without the black boxes, say investigators and aviation disaster experts, there is not enough information to determine what went wrong or whether the plane was brought down deliberately. The recorders are designed to emit acoustic signals for 30 days after a crash, giving search teams fewer than three weeks to spot them in waters up to 9,840-feet (3,000 meters) deep, which is on the edge of their range. The Egyptian investigation committee said on Wednesday that the search was intensifying ahead of the arrival of another vessel, the John Lethbridge, from Mauritius-based company Deep Ocean Search to help retrieve the devices. That ship is expected to arrive within a week, it said. "Search equipment aboard French naval vessel Laplace ... has detected signals from the seabed of the search area, which likely belong to one of the data boxes," the Egyptian committee said in its statement. France's aviation accident bureau BEA confirmed that the signal had come from one of the recorders. The Laplace has equipment from ALSEAMAR, a subsidiary of French industrial group Alcen, which can pick up black box pinger signals over long distances up to 5 km (3 miles) and was contracted by the Egyptian investigators last week. Egyptian investigators have said that the EgyptAir plane did not show any technical problems before taking off and the pilot made no distress call to air traffic control. There has been no claim of responsibility for the crash. The jet transmitted a series of messages in the minutes before it crashed showing a rise in temperature at the co-pilot's window and smoke on board, but investigators say these shed little light on the cause. There are also conflicting reports of the plane's last moments as it crossed from Greek to Egyptian airspace. The head of Egypt's air navigation has told Reuters the plane disappeared suddenly from the radar while at a cruising altitude of about 37,000 feet. That conflicts with the account given on the day of the crash by the Greek defense minister, who said the plane swerved and dropped to 15,000 feet before disappearing from radar. The air disaster is the latest in a series for Egypt, complicating its efforts to restore tourism, which has suffered since the 2011 uprising ushered in a period of instability. In March, a man wearing a fake suicide belt hijacked an EgyptAir flight. In late October, a Russian plane carrying holidaymakers from a Red Sea resort crashed in Sinai. Islamic State said it downed the plane with a bomb. Britain and Russia suspended flights to Sharm al-Sheikh pending improvements to security. Player-to-System Interactions Are Now Streamlined With Common PUI Templates in Two Breakthrough New Standards From the Gaming Standards Association (GSA) LAS VEGAS, NV (Marketwired) 06/01/16 Among the 11 new mature standards recently released by the Gaming Standards Association (GSA) were PUI (Player User Interface) v1.0 and EMDI (EGM Media Display Interface) v3.0. The two breakthrough standards directly address operators business needs, getting new content to players. The new standards streamline both development and implementation of equipment and systems that drive operator-player communication. The Player User Interface Committee has been very clear in expressing operators challenges and needs. Among those is a strong desire for more significant player-to-system interactions at the gaming device, said Committee Chair John Taylor. Our committee worked very hard to establish these two standards to abridge both development and implementation surrounding player user interface equipment, and to allow operators to take full advantage of this exciting technology to benefit their players. Byron Bridger, Director of Marketing Destination at Atlantic Lottery and a GSA BOD member, said, As operators, the player user interface is a tool that allows us to provide services to our players, like communications, property information and loyalty programs. These two new standards directly answer operators business needs. The PUI (Player User Interface) v1.0 standard clearly defines development parameters, and therefore greatly simplifies the development process. The standard includes a series of common PUI templates with requirements for deploying those templates on different EGM display sizes. Additionally, the PUI v1.0 describes the requirements for PUI windows, identifies the minimum Flash and HTML requirements and discusses the isolation of the PUI environment from the EGM. In concert with PUI v1.0, the new EMDI (EGM Media Display Interface) v3.0 standard allows PUI content to use this protocol to communicate directly with the EGM. In this update, the protocol has been extended to provide additional functionality demanded by operators, such as game-change events and more information about the state of player loyalty cards updates that empower operators to further enhance player customer service. The new PUI v1.0 and EMDI v3.0 are two of 11 standards GSA recently released, all of which were designed specifically to further enhance the global gaming industry and unleash the creativity of its developers. Each of the standards is available for free to all GSA members on GSAs website, . There is a level of membership for every budget. Visit to learn more. Join GSA as a member today and join GSA on , , and . GSA Platinum members include: Aristocrat Technologies Inc.; International Game Technology (IGT); Konami Gaming Inc.; NOVOMATIC Gaming Industries Gmbh; Playtech, (PTEC.L), Scientific Games International (SGMS), & Sega Sammy Creation, Inc. Other members include: Ainsworth Game Technology Inc.; Alberta Gaming & Liquor Commission; Amatic Industries GmbH; APEX pro gaming; Appolonia; Atlantic Lottery Corporation; BMM Testlabs; Casinos Austria; CasinoFlex Systems; Casino Technology; ComTrade Gaming; Combination AB; Crane Payment Innovations; eBet Gaming Systems Pty., Ltd.; European Casino Association; Every; FortuNet, Inc. (FTNT); Gamblit Gaming, LLC; Gaming Laboratories International, LLC. (GLI); Gaming Technologies Association; Gauselman GmbH; Ganlot; Grand Vision Gaming; Intralot S.A. (INLr.AT); Inspired Gaming Group Ltd.; Interblock USA; Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. (ISLE); Loto-Que?bec; Kobetron; Macao Polytechnic Institute; Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association; Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation; Maxgaming; Multi-State Lottery Association; Nidec Sankyo Corporation; Oregon Lottery; Radical Blue Gaming; Random Consulting; RAY; Seminole Tribe of Florida; Seoul National University of Science & Technology; Smartgames Software Hardware Systems Holdings Ltd.; techno-consult GmbH; Transact Technologies Incorporated (TACT); U1 Gaming; UNLV International Gaming Institute; Western Canada Lottery Corporation. For more information, visit . Peter DeRaedt Gaming Standards Association President Tel: +1 (775) 846-4422 E-mail: Paul Speirs-Hernandez Steinbeck Communications President +1 (702) 413-4278 Residents of the Lejet community of the Khachmaz district celebrated the completion of a complete renovation of the local kindergarten. The opening ceremony was attended by Mrs. Anne Cekuta, the spouse of U.S. Ambassador Cekuta, along with representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ministry of Economy, the local Executive Committee, and the municipal government. The project was co-financed by USAID and the Government of Azerbaijan and implemented by the East-West Management Institute (EWMI) under the Socio-Economic Development Activity (SEDA). The kindergarten serving the Lejet community was built in 1955 and had not been repaired since its construction. The kindergarten lacked a heating system and over the years, the building fell into disrepair with a leaking roof and damaged floors. The overall poor condition of the building created an unsafe environment for the children and teachers. With support from EWMI, the community completely renovated the kindergarten and installed a 3-ton water tank to ensure continuous access to water. The renovated kindergarten will now provide a warm, safe, and a healthy learning environment for more than 30 children of the community. The opening ceremony coincides with the International Day for Protection of Children, widely observed around the world on June 1. Today serves as a reminder to everyone that we must uphold our commitment to stand up for children's rights and to take action to provide them with healthy homes and communities, quality schools, and safe places to play and grow. Every child should grow up feeling secure. This is the third kindergarten renovation in Azerbaijan completed with USAID sponsorship through EWMI. In total, EWMI has implemented 75 projects in 65 communities benefiting nearly 100,000 people around Azerbaijan with USAID support. Through SEDA, EWMI promotes cooperation between citizens, civil society organizations, and government to advance socio-economic development. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 1 By Demir Azizov- Trend: The revenues of the Uzbek state budget amounted to 8.643 trillion soums (UZS), expenses - 8.614 trillion soums, the surplus of the state budget - 29.2 billion soums in January-March 2016, says the message posted on the Uzbek finance ministry's website. As of June 1, the official exchange rate is 2,924.63 UZS/$ 1. According to the Uzbek State Statistics Committee, Uzbekistan's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 7.5 percent and amounted to 35.75 trillion soums as of January - March 2016. The state budget revenues amounted to 24.18 percent of GDP, expenditures - 24.1 percent, the budget surplus - 0.08 percent of GDP in January-March 2016. According to the finance ministry, the revenues obtained through the direct taxes in total budget revenues amounted to 2.216 trillion soums, revenues through profit tax of the enterprises - 248.2 billion soums, revenues through income tax - 924.5 billion soums. Some 4.332 trillion soums were obtained through indirect taxes. Some 2.413 trillion soums were obtained through VAT, while 1.233 trillion soums - through the excise tax. The income in the amount of 1.143 trillion soums was obtained through resource payments and property tax. Some 5.67 trillion soums were spent for the social sphere and social support of the population, 3.15 trillion soums - for education, 1.169 trillion soums - for health care in January - March 2016. The expenditure for the economy amounted to 696.8 billion soums, the expenditure for financing of centralized investments - 507 billion soums in January - March 2016. The state budget of Uzbekistan for 2016 was approved with a deficit of one percent of GDP, or 2.2 trillion soums. It is planned to ensure revenue part of the budget in the amount of 18.4 percent of GDP, or 40.5 trillion soums, expenditure part - 19.4 percent of GDP, or 42.7 trillion soums. Parameters of the state budget of Uzbekistan were approved given the planned GDP growth of 7.8 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, as well as 8.2 percent growth of industrial production, 6.1 percent growth of agricultural production, a 9.6 percent increase of the capital investments' volume. Photo caption: Komagatu Maru monument near Vancouvers convention centre, overlooking Coal Harbour. Deborah Jones 2014 At long last, a formal apology was delivered in the House of Commons for Canadas racist behaviour in its shameful treatment of Sikh passengers aboard the Komagata Maru who had the effrontery to seek immigration to the West Coast more than a hundred years ago. Not only were they denied entry, they were subjected to two months of exceptionally inhumane treatment by unflinching immigration officers. While many now know the basics of the ill-fated voyage, the story has many elements that are less well known. I am indebted to Hugh Johnston and his definitive book, The Voyage of the Komagata Maru. By Rod Mickleburgh Special to the Post Just days before the outbreak of World War I, the most direct challenge to Canadas racist, anti-Asian immigration policies was about to come to a potentially bloody end in the waters of Burrard Inlet. Thousands of Vancouverites lined the waterfront to watch, while dozens of small boats bobbed about offshore for a ringside view. All eyes focused on the Komagata Maru, an ungainly Japanese merchant ship carrying more than 350 hungry and increasingly desperate immigrant hopefuls from India, and the HMCS Rainbow, the only seaworthy vessel in the Canadian Navy. The cruiser had been dispatched, after the predominantly Sikh passengers resisted a deportation order by bombarding police trying to board their ship with rocks, bricks and other debris. As the Rainbow trained its guns on the Komagata Maru, those on board bolstered their spirits with patriotic war songs from their Punjabi homeland and prepared for further battle. They vowed to fight to the end. The presence of 200 armed militia gathered on the pier and 35 riflemen aboard a nearby police tug added to the tension. By then a familiar sight to Vancouverites, the Komagata Maru had been marooned in the harbour for two months by a nasty, hard-boiled immigration agent, Malcolm Reid. An implicit believer in a white Canada, Reid took the law into his own hands to ensure not a single immigrant made it to shore. In this, he was actively assisted by local Conservative MP and white supremacist, Henry Herbert Stevens. Now, Reid had a deportation order to force the ship back to Asia. Except those on board were not prepared to leave. The looming showdown and potential of armed conflict so close to shore was a magnet for the people of Vancouver. As chronicler Hugh Johnston put it: The city had taken the day off to see the show. The saga of the Komagata Maru was yet another dark chapter in Canadas racist past. A complex tale, with many twists and turns, multiple agendas and bitter factionalism, the basic issue was nevertheless straightforward. Among a series of race-based policies to curtail Asian immigration, Canada imposed its harshest restrictions on people from India. Orders-in-council in 1908 brought a complete halt to an immigration flow that had seen 2,500 Indians come to B.C. in less than five years. Though newspapers universally labelled them Hindus, almost all were Sikhs from rural Punjab. They proved tough, able workers, finding jobs mostly in logging and sawmills. At the same time, they suffered the same prejudice, harassment and white hysteria as immigrants from China and Japan. Unlike the Chinese and Japanese, however, who mostly suffered in silence, those from India loudly protested the governments immigration restrictions. Arguing they had the same rights as all British subjects, they fought numerous and sometimes successful battles in the courts. In 1914, they took the government head on with the arrival of the Komagata Maru. Organized by Gurdit Singh, an ultra-confident Sikh businessman, the ship and its passengers defied the governments ordinance that barred Indian immigrants from landing in Canada unless they came on a direct journey from India. No such passage existed. Singh boldly picked up passengers in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Yokohama, before heading to to Vancouver. His aim was to test the ban in court, confident their rights as British subjects would be upheld. When the ship arrived on May 23, however, Reid refused to allow it to dock. He, too, had a goal: force the Komagata Maru back to Asia, if he could, without a court hearing. To that end, he kept the passengers imprisoned, their ship circled day and night by armed patrol launches. Ignoring instructions from faraway superiors in Ottawa, he stretched normally swift procedures into weeks. And periodically, he cut off food and water deliveries to the ship. At one point, passengers were so thirsty, some licked water off the deck when a small amount spilled from a barrel. Their fight was taken up by Sikhs on shore, who provided . extraordinary support for those on board. The Sikhs determined Shore Committee raised thousands of dollars from their relatively small community to pay for lawyers, ship supplies and expenses of the charter, itself. They kept up a barrage of pressure, until at last Ottawa over-ruled the obstreperous Reid and agreed to submit the matter to the B.C. Court of Appeal. With nothing approaching a Charter of Rights and Freedom, however, the five judges ruled unanimously that the ships passengers should be deported. Worn out by their many frustrating weeks at sea, those on board accepted the verdict. Yet Reid, sensing Indian plots everywhere, continued to harass them, ordering the ship to leave without provisions and demanding its huge charter costs be paid first. The vessel remained at anchor, prompting Reid to cut off food and water for three more days. When he foolhardily came on board, the passengers threatened to keep him there. A tall, dignified Sikh told Reid: If you were starving for three or four hours, you would soon take action to get something for yourself, but we have had nothing for three days. Now you are here, we would like to hold you until we get provisions and water. The action worked, and supplies soon appeared. The passengers fought back again, when police subsequently tried to board the ship to send it on its way, still without adequate food. That battle brought in the navy, and that brought thousands of excited onlookers to the docks. The hours ticked by. On the HMCS Rainbow, Commander Walter Hose warned authorities there could be heavy loss of life, if he were ordered to storm the Komagata Maru. Finally, much to the disappointment of the watching crowd and Malcolm Reid, the federal government blinked. They agreed to fully stock the ship for its return journey. At 5 a.m. the next morning, two months to the day of its arrival, the Komagata Maru weighed anchor and headed back to Asia. Racism had triumphed. Tragically, this was not the end of the story. When the ship reached India, British authorities tried to force passengers directly back to the Punjab. When some resisted, imperial forces opened fire, killing 20 of them at an obscure railway depot named Budge Budge. And back in Vancouver, bitterness erupted over the role of community informers used by Reid to keep tabs on the situation. Two informers were fatally shot. Shortly afterwards, Reids chief Sikh informant opened fire himself at the funeral of one of the victims, killing two worshipers. When Immigration Inspector William Hopkinson, who headed surveillance activities for Reid, showed up at the courthouse, local Sikh Mewa Singh took out a .32 calibre revolver and shot him dead. Before being hung for Hopkinsons murder, Singh said he acted to uphold the principles and honour of his religion. To this day, Singh is recognized as a martyr by many in the Sikh community. Rod Mickleburgh has been a journalist for more than 40 years, including with The Globe and Mail. He was the co-winner of Canadas Michener Award. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 1 By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend: The OSCE organized a training course in Ashgabat where Turkmen law-enforcement and military officials discussed practices of responding to terrorism threats to large public events. Representatives from the Turkmen Ministries of Defence and National Security, Interior Ministry, as well as the State Border Service, State Migration Service and the General Prosecutor's Office discussed ensuring the security of public events, including facility security, resistance, emergency power, medical emergency and fire precaution, the OSCE said June 1. International experts from Turkey introduced participants to the philosophy and models of crisis/hostage negotiations, practices of responding to hostage incidents and applying optimal negotiation tools. "As Turkmenistan recently passed a number of laws addressing the organization of public events, rallies and demonstrations, the Centre designed this training course to facilitate the exchange of best practices in ensuring the security during mass gatherings and events in line with international standards and national legislation," said Richard Wheeler, Political Officer of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. "The training course has an added value as it familiarized the relevant officials with effective techniques and instruments they will need to successfully accomplish their important task of ensuring the security and maintaining public order during the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and other large-scale events which will be held in Turkmenistan," he added. Who did it best: Cast your vote for the high school football player of the week Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Anakhanum Idayatova - Trend: The fourth meeting of the Azerbaijani-Italian intergovernmental commission that will be open for the participation of the two countries' business, will be held June 13 in Rome, Italy's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Giampaolo Cutillo told Trend June 1. "The meeting, which will be open for participation of the two countries' companies, will be a good opportunity to discuss the cooperation and an indicator of the importance of relations between the two countries, particularly in the economic sphere," said the ambassador. Meanwhile, Director General of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan Luigi D'Aprea told Trend June 1 that Italy expects an increase in the number of joint projects with Azerbaijan in the oil and gas sphere. "We have great expectations and we are always ready for cooperation with Azerbaijan," noted D'Aprea. The Azerbaijani side is represented in the intergovernmental commission by the country's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev. Italy ranked the 1st in the list of Azerbaijan's foreign trade partners in the first quarter of 2016. The trade turnover between Italy and Azerbaijan exceeded $462 million in the reporting period. Edited by SI --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Anakhanum Idayatova - Trend: The development project on Azerbaijan's Absheron gas condensate field will be ready by the end of 2016, Eric Mayer, planning development manager at TOTAL Exploration & Production Azerbaijan B.V., told Trend in Baku June 1. A source on the oil and gas market in April told Trend that the technicality has already been prepared and approved. According to the source, the commercial aspects are being discussed. "The companies are close to the final solution," the source said. "Once it is reached, the project will be submitted for approval to the Azerbaijani government." Mayer said that the negotiations for drilling rig for the Absheron gas field are underway. In particular, the company is discussing the issue of delivering a new floating drilling rig to Total. A new floating drilling rig is being constructed in the Caspian Sea by SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan). According to the forecasts, the first gas is expected to be obtained from the Absheron field in late 2021-early 2022. The final investment decision on the project will be made in the fourth quarter of 2017. The first well is expected to be drilled in the third quarter of 2019. The discovery of the Absheron field was announced in September 2011. According to SOCAR's geologists, the reserves of the Absheron field could amount to 350 billion cubic meters of gas and 45 million metric tons of condensate. Absheron project participants include SOCAR - 40 percent, the French companies Total - 40 percent and Engie - 20 percent. Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city. Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: Azerbaijan is a reliable partner for energy diversification and achieving common goals to improve energy security, said Robin Dunnigan, the US Department of State deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy. She made the remarks June 1 at a meeting with Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev in Baku. Dunnigan noted that the US will continue to support Azerbaijan. She also praised the level of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the US in the sphere of energy and Azerbaijan's role in implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project. Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev, in turn, said the work on the Southern Gas Corridor project is being conducted according to the schedule and 70 percent of the work on the Shah Deniz 2 and the South Caucasus Pipeline has already been completed. He also noted that the Southern Gas Corridor will allow supplying gas to the EU countries not only from Azerbaijan, but also from Central Asia, Egypt, Iraq and Iran. Currently, the construction of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB Pipeline) stands on the agenda, he added. Natig Aliyev also said it is expected to construct pipelines from Italy to its northern neighbors, as well as from Albania to the Balkan countries. The Azerbaijani minister also met with Michael Borrell, Total S.A. senior vice president of exploration & production for Continental Europe and Central Asia. It was noted during the meeting that Total, together with its partners, is making efforts to start production at Azerbaijan's Absheron field in the coming years. Currently, a plan is being prepared to develop the Absheron block, which is located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey. At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. Three space station astronauts chatted live today (June 1) with Facebook's founder about experiments and fun in space, the things that training can't prepare you for, and the true astronaut ice cream. The live-streamed video marked the first use of Facebook Live in space, and the discussion among Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Tim Kopra, and British astronaut Tim Peake garnered hundreds of thousands of views as it was happening and 2.6 million views as of press time. Zuckerberg read off questions asked by Facebook users, throwing in a few of his own as well, delving into how the astronauts spend their time in space. [Amazing Space Photos by British Astronaut Tim Peake] Besides running experiments that take advantage of the lack of gravity "physical science experiments that range from combustion to fluid flow to microbiology," Kopra said the astronauts discussed how their existence itself is an experiment to measure microgravity's effect on the human body. So they're constantly exercising and measuring the changes in their physical attributes, like eyesight. All three astronauts trained to prepare for those effects and the tasks they'd have to complete on orbit. But some aspects of life in space were impossible to convey through training, said astronaut Tim Peake, who's nearly six months into his first space mission. (Peake is the first British astronaut to stay on the International Space Station.) "As a rookie astronaut on my first flight, there were so many new experiences," Peake said. "The training is phenomenal, and we have a wonderful training team all around the world, in all our international sites. [But] it's the real experience of launching in a Soyuz rocket, seeing that first orbit of planet Earth going through a sunset, seeing a moonrise, seeing a sunrise you can't put into words how beautiful a planet is from up here. "And also having the privilege of seeing it change over the nearly six months that we've been up here now already, and seeing the Northern Hemisphere going from winter to summer, seeing thunderstorms at nighttime, the aurora it's just absolutely incredible," he continued. "It's all of those kinds of elements that the training just can't prepare you for." The trio also discussed communicating with the other astronauts, using English, Russian or a mix of the two; the internet service in space, which is relatively new and incredibly useful for keeping in touch, albeit much slower than on Earth; and the cool new virtual reality tech they've been testing out in the space station's halls. Astronauts Jeff Williams, Tim Kopra and Tim Peake show off "fun in space" during a Facebook Live chat with Mark Zuckerberg on June 1. (Image credit: NASA via Facebook) The astronauts also delved into what they do for fun. Williams, who is on his third long-duration stay on the station, mentioned he also particularly enjoys viewing the Earth: "All the different seasons and stuff that goes by, the different lighting conditions and weather patterns, and all the geography and geology and the ocean currents, and thunderstorms, seeing lightning ripple across a weather system that's a lot of fun," he said. "So we spend a lot of time in the window," he said. Another pastime, often done during meals, is playing around in microgravity. "We all, from time to time, especially around the dinner table, play with our food in unique ways," Williams added. "We all get to be kids again." The astronauts discussed how food tastes very slightly differentin microgravity, probably because an increase of fluid in the head makes the astronauts feel slightly "stuffed up." They particularly enjoy spicy foods for that reason, Williams said. And Zuckerberg asked another food-based question, getting the information that really matters: Is astronaut ice cream a real thing? "We know that the astronaut ice cream that you buy in the gift store, that powdery stuff yeah, that's not real," Kopra said. "But we've had ice cream on board. When SpaceX came up, they delivered a bunch of ice cream and a freezer, so that's been quite the treat. I think we're down to our last few bars. We're trying to ration it." The three astronauts won't have much longer to save it, though; Kopra and Peake return to Earth June 18, along with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and Jeff Williams will head down in September with cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka. June 24, three new team members will join the orbiting lab: American astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi. But they probably shouldn't count on any leftover ice cream. Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. 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Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR exported 319,500 tons of oil via Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline in January-May 2016, as compared to 678,460 tons in the same period of 2015, said SOCAR's message posted on its website. SOCAR exported nearly 79,960 tons of oil from Novorossiysk port in May 2016. The company exported 1.27 million tons of oil via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline in 2015, as compared to 932,160 tons in 2014. SOCAR exports the oil produced at its own fields, as well as the oil of joint ventures and operation companies working at Azerbaijan's onshore fields, through Russia's Novorossiysk port. Oil is delivered to the port via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline operated by SOCAR. SPEs Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Dubai was a huge success, having seen 7,500 industry professionals from 91 countries passing through the doors of the Dubai World Trade Centre. Thank you for attending ATCE 2016 in Dubai and we hope to see you next year in San Antonio. CONFERENCE Attend the foremost technical conference in oil and gas exploration and production to expand your knowledge and reach. Learn More EXHIBITION Find out how to be part of the ATCE exhibition including rates, floorplan and how your support impacts the industry. Learn More ATCE 2016 VIDEO World-class conference at a world-class destination. Join us at ATCE in Dubai. We hope to see you there! PLAY VIDEO SPONSORSHIPS Explore sponsorship and advertising opportunities to reach delegates with your brand and message. Learn More 2016 ATCE BY THE NUMBERS Network with 8,000+ E&P Professionals Learn from 390+ Technical Presentations Attend 80+ Conference Sessions Access 250+ Exhibits Thank you to our sponsors! SPIEGEL: Have the traditional mainstream parties in Austria run out of steam, along with the decades-long model of a Grand Coalition, placing the OVP and the SPO in a government together? Kurz: You would probably like me to draw conclusions about the future of the Grand Coalition (between the center-left Social Democrats and the conservative Christian Democrats) in Germany. I cannot say anything about that. In practice in Austria, the model has become ever more unpopular in the last few years, because both parties have obstructed each other on important issues. But the change in chancellor to Christian Kern provides an opportunity. It will probably be the last one. SPIEGEL: There is discomfort not only with established parties, but also with the European project across the entire Continent. Was Austria a precursor, so to speak, with this election? Kurz: Yes, of course. When we look at the situation in the EU, we need to honestly admit that it desperately needs to develop further, that we need to strengthen it when it comes to the bigger questions -- and allow member nations to make more decisions about the smaller questions themselves. SPIEGEL: More direct responsibility at the national level is one of the FPO's main demands. Kurz: Then you can also accuse me of sharing the opinion of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who is also in favor of this. I would like to have a Europe that has a strong foreign and defense policy, ensures economic growth and is active in addressing the issues of the refugee crisis. But perhaps not one that imposes new regulations on allergens that requires food menus to be changed everywhere. When that happens, it creates the feeling that the wrong priorities are being set. SPIEGEL: Is Austria a divided country? Kurz: Right now, we should be filling in the divides -- and doing so by taking people's existing concerns seriously. We in Austria have always had lots of immigration. But when one starts, as happened in Europe last year, to open the borders and to transport people northwards as fast as possible, then of course it's not just Syrians who come. People from all around the world then see their chance to quickly come to Europe. SPIEGEL: Austria reacted by closing the western Balkan route. Kurz: That was overdue. There was massive resistance to our plans. But I think it has now been recognized that it was the right step. SPIEGEL: In Berlin too? Kurz: I have regular contact with German ministers and parliamentarians, and have received very positive feedback. SPIEGEL: The German chancellor and the interior minister complained at the time about Austria "going it alone." Kurz: It wasn't a case of "going it alone." It was a regional measure, coordinated with our neighboring states. SPIEGEL: In Germany, some insinuated that Austria was reverting to the imperial era and throwing its weight around as a regional power in its former sphere of influence. Kurz: We are neither a regional power nor are the Balkans our sphere of influence. These are self-confident countries. We should be particularly thankful to Macedonia, a country that has taken on a very difficult task without profiting from it. Quite to the contrary: Instead of praise, there was criticism from the international media. The reason for our decision was that we were being massively overstretched -- we had to stop the influx. Whether that also had a positive impact in Germany, that judgment must be made there. SPIEGEL: Did you have the feeling you were doing the Germans' work on their behalf, and then being scolded for it? Kurz: If you put it that way yourself, then I, of course, don't have to (laughs). We have, thank God, a very good relationship with the German government. There were resentments, but they've been resolved. Germany is the strongest player and Angela Merkel is the strongest government leader in the EU. SPIEGEL: What was the primary reason for the decrease in refugee numbers: the agreement with Turkey or the closing of the Balkan route? Kurz: We should not set off individual achievements against each other. The closing of the western Balkan route, however, was a considerable contribution. Even the Greek foreign minister recently admitted as much. It has become less attractive for people to make their way to Europe. Working together with Turkey can be a further building block. It may be able to create short-term relief. But I also warn against us relying on the Turkey deal. Otherwise we may ultimately be left in the lurch. SPIEGEL: Are you afraid that Europe is making itself dependent on Turkey? Kurz: The Turkey deal can only be Plan B. Plan A needs to be a strong Europe that is prepared to defend its external borders on its own. If we do not do that, then we are living in a Europe that is dependent -- on other countries, and possibly even on personalities like President Erdogan. And dependency is dangerous. SPIEGEL: Control of the external EU border is a nice catchphrase, but how is that supposed to work, for example, off the Libyan coast? Kurz: The people need to be rescued, but that cannot be packaged with a ticket to Central Europe. That only promotes the influx. We need to become active as fast as possible in Libyan waters, so that the people cannot even embark for Italy. SPIEGEL: What would be the alternative to the deal with Turkey? Kurz: The issue is, first of all, joint protection of the EU's external borders. Secondly, more humanitarian aid is needed (in the areas where the flight originates), so that living conditions there improve. And thirdly, we should say clearly: It is we in Europe, and not the human traffickers, who decide whom we take in. Whoever wants to enter illegally has forfeited their chance. At the same time, countries like Austria and Germany are declaring themselves willing to bring some of the poorest of the poor to Europe through resettlement programs. The decision cannot merely benefit the young men who are fit enough to withstand the journey. We do not have to immediately grant someone who arrives in Lesbos the right to move into an apartment in Berlin. Once we communicate that message, Europe will become significantly less attractive. SPIEGEL: How do you know that? Kurz: I am also integration minister and speak with many refugees. When I ask if they came with the goal of living in Greece or Poland, most of them answer "no." SPIEGEL: Is the Turkey deal actually working in practical terms? So far only a few hundred people have been sent one way or the other. Kurz: Chancellor Merkel got Turkey to cooperate through perseverance. There has at least been a serious effort on the Turkish side to prevent people from setting off for Europe. Recently, only about 100 people have been arriving in Greece per day. Last year, it was several thousand daily at times. This effort can, however, also very quickly dwindle. SPIEGEL: Political developments in Turkey are worrisome. The immunity of lawmakers was recently lifted. Is this a result of the deal -- because Erdogan now has free rein? Kurz: Not a result of the deal, but a matter of fact. How we deal with it is crucial. Europe's fundamental values cannot be negotiable. Keyword visa-liberalization: There cannot be any exceptions for Turkey either. SPIEGEL: Erdogan is threatening to terminate the agreement, which creates the impression that he is pushing the Europeans around. Kurz: If we Europeans are not in a state to be able to solve the refugee crisis ourselves, if we only depend on Plan B with Turkey -- then that is not simply an impression, it is the truth. But Europe cannot be susceptible to blackmail or be weak. I am, in any case, not in favor of having a deal with Turkey at any price. SPIEGEL: Turkey is refusing to reform its anti-terror law. Do you think that the liberalization of visa regulations will still take place this year? Kurz: That depends. I have gotten the sense in the last year that developments when it comes to human rights are very alarming. In the long term, it needs to be in our interest to have a Turkey in which human rights are respected. Anything else would mean destabilization right on our border. If we look away, the developments in Turkey will constantly get worse. SPIEGEL: Is your warning also aimed at Angela Merkel? Kurz: No, I do not mean the German chancellor. I mean all of us, we Europeans. We need to show the necessary strength together. SPIEGEL: Could the Turkish model be repeated in an African country -- that governments demand money in exchange for stopping migrants? Kurz: Of course. SPIEGEL: It looks likely that the upper ceiling Austria has established for the number of asylum applicants it wants to accept each year will be reached this autumn. Then what? Kurz: Then it will be necessary to turn people back at the Austrian border. SPIEGEL: Will Austria close the Brenner Pass if a growing number of refugees arrive from Italy? Kurz: We would like to avoid having to do inspections at the Brenner Pass. That would also be difficult for us for emotional reasons, because of the connection to South Tyrol. SPIEGEL: Now, at the age of 29, you have already been in government for five years and are seen as the only person who can still save your party, the faltering OVP. Why aren't you grabbing the reins and reaching for power, as the new party head or as a candidate for chancellor? Kurz: That is a non-issue, because we have a party chairman and deputy chancellor in the form of Reinhold Mitterlehner. He has my full support. SPIEGEL: In 2000, your party formed a coalition government with the right-wing populist FPO under the leadership of Wolfgang Schussel. Would you rule out a repeat? Kurz: The candidate from the FPO just received almost 50 percent of the votes. If they do half as well during the next parliamentary election, it may no longer be possible to have a coalition without the FPO. At the moment, I cannot rule out any coalition, whether it is one between the SPO and the FPO, or the OVP and FPO or one that is a purely FPO government -- but I will work to ensure that things to do not go that far. SPIEGEL: Foreign Minister Kurz, we thank you for this interview. Helnski , 06 jui 2016(SPS)-The Communist Party of Finland has offered condolences to the family of the late President Mohamed Abdelaziz, the Frente Polisario and the Saharawi people as a whole, according to the Saharawi representation in Finland. In a statement issued by its chairman Juha-Pekka Vaisanen, the Finnish political party said the deceased Saharawi president has fervently fought to express to all the international community the right of the Saharawi people to become an independent nation, said the source. It also underlined that the death of President Mohamed Abdelaziz is an enormous loss, not only for the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi people but also for all the staunch defenders of human rights and the principle of self-determination of peoples throughout the world. It is to be noted that the President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front Mohamed Abdelaziz died Tuesday at the age of 68 after long struggle with illness.(SPS). Washington, June 01, 2016 - United States Tuesday expressed his "deepest condolences" on the death of SG of Polisario Front, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic(SADR), Mohamed Abdelaziz. "We have seen reports that the secretary general of the Polisario Front, Mohamed Abdelaziz, has died. We express our deepest condolences to his family," sources of State Department told Efe.SPS 125/090/TRA Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 1 By Demir Azizov- Trend: Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry hosted meetings with the delegation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which included the directors of the OIC departments Tariq Bakhit and Mohammed Amine Jerrari, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry's message said June 1. The sides discussed issues of preparation and holding the next meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers within Uzbekistan's chairmanship at the organization. The decision about holding the session of the OIC Foreign Ministers Council in Tashkent within Uzbekistan's chairmanship at the organization in 2016 was made in June 2014 in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) during the 41st session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was established in September of 1969 to ensure Islamic solidarity in social, economic and political spheres. The organization has 57 member states. Uzbekistan became an OIC member in 1996. Edited by SI New York, June 01, 2016 - The Secretary-General of United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-moon said I learned with sadness the death today of Mohamed Abdelaziz, who served as Secretary-General of the Frente Polisario beginning in 1976. Over the years, Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz was a central figure in the search for a resolution of the Western Sahara conflict. In this capacity, he met with numerous United Nations officials, including successive Secretaries-General, most recently in March, during the Secretary-General's visit to the Western Saharan refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. The Secretary-General offers his condolences to Mr. Mohamed Abdelazizs family and to the Frente Polisario as they mourn his untimely loss. He looks forward to continuing to work to help the parties to achieve a mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.SPS 125/090 South Africa, June 01, 2016 - President Jacob Zuma, on behalf of the Government and People of the Republic of South Africa, expresses his deepest condolences to the Saharawi people on the passing away of President Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and Secretary-General of the Polisario Front. President Abdelaziz committed his life to the struggle for the independence of the Saharawi people from colonisation. He was a founding member of the Polisario Front and until his passing had remained committed to the process of peaceful negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, for the holding of a referendum on the self-determination of Western Sahara. President Zuma also conveys his sincerest condolences to the wife of President Abdelaziz and his family during this difficult time. South Africa remains committed to continue supporting the inalienable right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara through the UN-led negotiations and with the support of the African Union.SPS 125/090 Brussels, June 01, 2016 (SPS) -The European Parliament's Intergroup "Peace for the Sahrawi people" expressed Tuesday its solidarity with the Sahrawi people following the death of its president Mohamed Abdelaziz, and committed to pursuing struggle for the self-determination referendum in Western Sahara. "We express our solidarity, in this difficult time, with the Sahrawi people and its legitimate representative, the Polisario Front. We will continue to struggle for the self-determination of Western Sahara," the European Parliament's Intergroup affirmed in a condolence message, signed by its chairperson Norbert Neuser. While sharing the "pain" felt by the deceased's family and the Sahrawi people, for whom it expressed "sincere condolences," the intergroup for Western Sahara at the European Union affirmed, in its message, that the continuation of struggle to enable the Sahrawi people exercise its right to self-determination is "the best way to honour the memory of President Abdelaziz." "Through his activism to defend his land, he paved the way and led the fight of the Sahrawi people for national liberation during the war for independence," the European body said, stressing that Abdelaziz lived in exile with his people in the Sahrawi refugee camps (Tindouf) until his death. The European Parliament's Intergroup "Peace for the Sahrawi people" also recalled that the deceased was one of the founders of the Polisario Front before becoming its Secretary General then President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).SPS 125/090/700 TFA Chief Executive George Dunn said; The TFA has been the only farming organisation calling on the Government to stop the public subsidy for crop fed AD systems because of the impact on land rents and soil management. We are delighted that the Government has listened to our concerns and is at last proposing to make some changes to the support structure for AD systems. The TFA understands the need to develop renewable energy technologies to assist in the process of ensuring the long-term energy security of the nation, but it is important that such development takes into account wider impacts. It has been a major concern of the TFA that a significant number of existing and proposed AD plants have identified crops such as maize, sugar beet and grass silage as dedicated feedstocks. We understand the rationale for using waste material such as food waste and green waste combined with farm slurries to produce energy and for this to be supported from the public purse, but we do not see the justification for subsidising the use of crops as feedstocks for AD plants. Not only does this appear to undermine the perceived carbon reduction benefits of AD, but it also adds significantly to the burden on agriculture particularly given the strong competition that already exists for access to agricultural land, said Mr Dunn. The House of Representatives will gather in special session on Thursday to put finally put the finishing touches on the $19.7-billion state budget that will take effect July 1. But a week after a leading Republican suggested that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy drop an attempt to raise the age that juveniles are treated as adults in the criminal-justice system, GOP lawmakers are not yet on board, despite the governors new plan to limit the bill to bail reforms. The Republican criticism set off a war of words with Malloys Capitol spokesman, Devon Puglia, who charged that Republicans are now trying to walk away from what had previously been overt support for judicial bond reform, with backwards policy, and ugly, hypocritical politics. House Minority Leader Themis Klarides and Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano on Wednesday charged that 60 percent of those who would qualify for free bail are convicted felons and that nearly 80 percent of those who qualify have three prior convictions. Klarides, R-Derby and Fasano, R-North Haven, want the bill that hits the House floor on Thursday to have tighter restrictions. On Thursday the House is scheduled to vote on legislation no one has seen, Klarides said in a statement. The governor has released multiple press releases stating the daily number of pre-trial inmates who could be impacted if Second Chance 2.0 were implemented. Using those numbers and looking at the actual offenses, the governors estimates include many more people than just the individuals who have committed only low-level, victimless offenses. Convicted felons and violent individuals should not be exempted from having a bond set. The language ultimately put in front of the legislature this week should be refined so that it is abundantly clear that any bail reform applies only to non-violent, non-predatory, non-selling drug offenses - and that those who have a history of repeated offenses and felonies are not given the same, more-lax treatment. Fasano last week suggested that Malloy shelf the raise-the-age portion of what the governor called Second Chance Society 2.0, a follow-up to last years bill to help former inmates seek job training and housing opportunities and reducing penalties for simple drug possession. Malloy is trying to reduce the racial disparity in the state prison system, while saving money and helping former lawbreakers to transition back into society. Its astonishing watching Republican leaders backpedal on common-sense criminal justice reforms, Puglia said in defense of Malloy. All they are trying to do is get to no. And its clear that they would rather make impoverished citizens - many from urban areas - sit in jail rather than save millions in taxpayer dollars. After all, these are the same leaders who claim they want our justice system to operate fairly for all people. Theyd rather develop a political wedge issue than do whats right for Connecticut citizens and their state budget. Its not just unfortunate - it relies on twisted logic, backwards policy, and ugly, hypocritical politics. Democrats, who have an 87-64 majority, will discuss the legislation during a closed-door caucus scheduled for noon. The bill would then move to the Senbate, which has not yet scheduled a date to meet in special session. The House is also expected to approve a school-construction bill that previously passed the Senate. As a businesswoman in the commercial real estate industry and a philanthropist in the New York City community, I'm well aware that philanthropy can amplify one's success and crystalize the vital relationship between giving back and enhancing business performance. Related: A New Dell Initiative Asks Women Entrepreneurs to Give Back When intelligently coupled, business and philanthropy build upon each another to produce both social and financial impact. This occurred to me again when I read a report by the Urban Land Institute, about women in the real estate industry and smart work policies. I was struck that the majority of the women ULI surveyed, who held CEO or other executive positions, served on community nonprofit boards; so did nearly half of all women surveyed. As a woman who's had years of involvement in both real estate and philanthropy, I found that those statistics resonated. Why? Because women young and old in our industry are not only proving that they care about more than just the bottom line, but are developing important skills from their philanthropic endeavors. Now, I dont know if ULIs figure is true for other industries -- but I am quite certain that the skills and mindset philanthropic involvement instills are useful across a range of professions. Wrote ULI: Many women leverage these external leadership experiences, which often make them better prepared for leadership roles within their own organization. Support for employee involvement in external organizations demonstrates the active role firms are taking in their communities. Indeed, community boards and nonprofit organizations provide excellent experience for the corporate world. Leadership roles on nonprofit boards are especially beneficial, as they allow women the ability to demonstrate and build confidence in executive roles. Such experience feeds into career advancement. Involvement in philanthropy, though, is much more than a resume builder -- just as charity is more than simply writing a check. While all levels of charitable involvement are beneficial, the more complex the role, the better the payoff. For example, community involvement in a womans early-stage career can help her earn positions of leadership, or even grant her the know-how to build her own business. Once she has executive power, a wealth of new opportunities in philanthropy may well open up for the causes she cares about, and for business success too. At the helm of her own business, she'll have the freedom to develop partnerships or even launch unique organizations alongside her company. She can use these initiatives to build relationships with clients, align her business brand with important social values and deliver competitive returns all the while. Related: Study: Most of the World's Richest Philanthropists Are Self-Made According to CECP chairman Doug Conant, philanthropy can act as a type of research and development for businesses. Much like R&D, Conant wrote in an article for McKinsey, philanthropy allows companies to make thoughtful investments in sectors where the return profile is typically more speculative. In other words, philanthropic initiatives can act as an incubator for new business strategies, where leaders can test innovative methodology in an attempt to optimize impact, solve problems and learn what works best. Such experimentation, Conant says, can "help companies reduce business risk, open up new markets, engage employees, build the brand, reduce costs, advance technology and deliver competitive returns. Finally, philanthropy that ultimately does good -- whether for the planet or the community -- reflects positively back on a business and its leadership. Some may think that this credential is solely about reputation, but its much more than that. When a community is lifted by charitable endeavors, this boosts the company, and perhaps its profits, as a result. The reciprocal nature of the relationship between philanthropy and business means that doing good and doing well become one and the same. Its no wonder, then, that the most successful businesswomen and female entrepreneurs have long histories with philanthropy, from big names like Oprah and Beyonce to fashion gurus like Sara Blakely and Tory Burch. Related: 5 Easy Ways to Make Philanthropy Part of Your Company Culture The best part is that female business women tend to support more women through their organizations, lifting a new generation of female breadwinners and their future endeavors, both charitable and corporate. Related: Here's Why Successful Businesswomen Prioritize Philanthropy 5 Life Lessons From Bill Gates, One of the Most Influential Philanthropists on Earth How to Start a Charitable-Giving Program at Your Company Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This past May 8 was the first Mothers Day I didnt need to buy a card. And, with Dad gone for more than four decades and no kids of my own, its been a long time since Ive paid much attention to Fathers Day. However, as I near 65, Ive been thinking that guys my age deserve a holiday of their own, when the younger generation could show us their appreciation. We could call it Baby Boomers Day. Once a year, theyd send us Hallmark cards with pictures from Woodstock or Charlies Angels on them, take us out for the early bird dinner, scrape the wax out of our hearing aids, or buy us vinyl records of The Dave Clark 5 and The Moody Blues, and maybe a bottle of industrial-strength Cialis. We Boomers have earned a heartfelt thank you. For decades, weve had to hear how we just dont measure up to the Greatest Generation (aka our parents). Sure, they survived The Great Depression (like they had a choice), and they did whip the Nazis, Fascists and Japanese (OK, I guess you gotta give em some credit for World War II). Meanwhile, weve whined about minor recessions and screwed up wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. So maybe we arent quite the Greatest. However, most of those people are gone now, so who can Gen X, Y, Z or Millennials (or whatever theyre calling themselves today) look up to? To our credit, we Boomers pretty much invented casual sex, discovered most of the good drugs and produced the best pop music ever. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll ... Youre welcome, Millennials. Thanks to us, gays and minorities have civil rights, women are nearly mens equals, even animals have rights, and fewer and fewer people go to jail for ingesting harmless recreational medications. We Boomers created consumer electronics that keep millions of young people inside playing computer games, rather than outdoors risking injuries or skin cancer. Thanks to us, pasty Gen Z couch potatoes have a 20-year head start on the morbid obesity its taken us decades to achieve. Youre welcome again, Millennials. Granted, we may have disappointed a little in some areas. The last disease that medical science actually cured was polio, which the Greatest eradicated for us back in the 50s. Despite all the telethons, Jerrys Kids still cant walk; we can treat cancer, but we cant seem to cure it; and the same goes for AIDS and herpes. Managing diseases, rather than eliminating them, seems to be the most-profitable strategy supporting the pharmaceutical and medical stocks in our retirement portfolios. Since 1969, Ive heard repeatedly that, We can put a man on the moon, but we cant cure the common cold. (The Greatest Generation put a man on the moon that year, but we Boomers have pretty much dropped the ball ever since.) And we still cant cure the common cold, although CVS has enough cough syrup on its shelves to fuel meth labs from here to Topeka. Weve changed the climate, then elected politicians to deny the science involved and pretend its a hoax. So, maybe the weathers a little erratic, coastal cities could end up underwater and our forests are becoming firewood. On the other hand, homeowners in Vermont never thought that one day theyd own oceanfront property or pay so little for gas. And for people in Oklahoma enjoying the thrill of hundreds of minor earthquakes from all that fracking ... well ... youre welcome too, Midwest Millennials. And the Boomers only reward for all this will be whatevers left in the Social Security Trust Fund. Weve paid into it our whole lives, so it ought to be ours. After all, were the sandwich generation caught between the Great Depression our parents suffered through and the Great Crash thats bound to occur when the national debt ($20 trillion and counting) weve bequeathed to our descendants finally becomes unsustainable. Yes, thats right were responsible for those enormous budget deficits. We twice elected Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of Borrow and Spend, and his gospel of Deficits Dont Matter. And every politician since St. Ronald has learned a valuable lesson: We Boomers refuse to sacrifice, and will always vote for the candidate who promises us more spending and lower taxes. As The Great Depression did for our parents, that massive debt will help build character. Youre welcome, indebted Millennials. Finally, every generation needs more than just a fiscal menace to toughen it up. We Boomers had the specter of Soviet nuclear weapons exploding over the desks wed ducked and covered under, but, nowadays, Communists pose less of a threat than the Scientologists. (The Iron Curtain was actually toppled by a series of Greatest Generation cold warriors; however, if no one objects, well be happy to take credit for it.) These days, militant Muslims have replaced the Russians as the scariest global scourge. The Greatest Bush president knew how to maintain stability and the balance of power in the Middle East, but Boomer Bush wrecked the place, creating enough chaos to put terrorism on steroids and eventually give birth to ISIS. Youll thank us later, Millennials, for this challenging state of affairs ... or maybe not. So maybe I wont be getting that Boomers Day card from grateful Gen Zers. Perhaps, instead, President Trump (our generations final gift to America) will spend the last of the Social Security money rounding up and deporting us all to Florida (where so many Boomers are headed anyway). Then you can keep us there by blockading the Florida panhandle, and making Mexico pay for the wall. In a few years, the rising sea levels (once again, youre welcome, Millennials) will drown us all, and you can get on with your lives. No need to thank us for a job well done; just say nice things about us after were gone. Greenwich native Mark Drought (markdrought4@gmail.com) is an editor at a Stamford IT firm and was formerly an adjunct English professor at the University of Connecticut-Stamford. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Emil Ilgar - Trend: Iran's doubling of its oil export hasn't had impact on the global markets, said Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Shana reported on June 1. The minister went on to add that Iran's supplies to the market were "well absorbed". Zanganeh said that OPEC must take a regulator role in markets and manage the markets in unbalanced situations. Iran previously said that it has no plan to join the oil production freeze until his production level reaches the pre-sanctions level. The meeting of the oil ministers of OPEC's 13 members will be held June 2 in Vienna. Before, the idea of oil freezing -at the production level of January 2016- was discussed in Qatar on April 17 among OPEC members and some non-OPEC producers including Russia. No result was reached by the end of the meeting. Iran was producing about 3.8 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil as well as 400,000 b/d of the natural gas liquids and gas condensate before sanctions, but the crude oil output stood at 3.451 mb/d in April, about 199,000 b/d more than March, according to the latest report of OPEC. Speaking about the selection of new OPEC's Secretary General, Zanganeh said that there are sever candidates for this post and Iran would vote for the most competent candidate. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Khalid Kazimov - Trend: An Iranian business delegation has signed documents on cooperation with Polish and Finnish companies worth up to $1.2 billion during its recent tour to Europe. Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture Mohsen Jalalpour has said that the members of the Iranian business delegation have signed 30 documents with Polish companies and 20 with Finnish companies, IRNA news agency reported. He added that $700 million worth of documents on cooperation in the fields of power plants, fishery and other sectors were sealed in Poland. Documents for cooperation in the power plants amount to $240 million. Meanwhile, Iranian and Polish businessmen agreed on $200 million documents in fishery. The business delegation also agreed on $500 million deals with Finnish companies in such sectors as industry, machinery and ICT. According to the official, some documents have been signed in the form of memorandum of understanding (MoU) and others have been inked in the form of contract. Members of the Iranian business delegation attended dozens of business to business (b2b) meetings with Finnish companies in Helsinki and Warsaw to discuss ways for the expansion of trade ties. The meetings took place during Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's ongoing European tour aimed at promoting trade and economic opportunities. The sides discussed cooperation in the various fields of industry, mining, energy, tourism, banking and investment, agriculture and food, ICT, as well as health. Zarif who currently is in Sweden has already visited Poland and Finland as part of his tour to the Europe which kicked off May 29. Latvia will be the final destinations of Iranian foreign minister during his tour. T oxic. Thats the word bicycle courier Maggie Dewhurst uses to describe the state of affairs which gives her all the obligations of an employee but none of the rights. Dewhurst works for courier firm CitySprint as an independent contractor but her working day sounds more like the life of any regular wage slave. She works from 9.30am to 6.30pm four days a week. She radios to her controller, who tells her where to go to collect and deliver parcels. She has to wear a uniform and an ID tag. If she cant turn up for any reason, she has to let them know. She does pretty well but isnt entitled to the living wage. And if she has an accident taking one too many chances ducking in and out of the London traffic she can forget about sick pay. Shes on her own. She and three other bicycle couriers Chris Gascoigne, Demille Flanore and Andrew Boxer have had enough. Backed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), they have launched an employment tribunal against four courier companies CitySprint, Excel, Addison Lee and eCourier to demand proper employment rights. At the very least, they are seeking to be recognised as workers, which would confer an automatic entitlement to the national living wage and holiday pay. The latest stage in their fight takes place on June 9 at the London Central Employment Tribunal in Holborn when the IWGBs lawyers will bid to combine the four cases in one hearing, as the arguments surrounding the workers are virtually identical. The legal teams for the couriers none of which agreed to speak to the Standard are fighting to keep the cases separate. The tribunal is symptomatic of the pitfalls of the gig economy when the brave new world of on-demand tech clashes with the legal rights of workers. Taxi-hailing giant Uber recently paid $100 million (68 million) to settle a case in California and Massachusetts to keep its drivers as independent contractors. France has also questioned the employment status of its own Uber drivers. In the UK, solicitors Leigh Day are pursuing a claim against the company, claiming the drivers are workers. It will be heard in July. Couriers for restaurant delivery firm Deliveroo are also uniformed but employed as contractors, although it says riders are free to work with whatever companies they choose outside of Deliveroo. Dewhurst says the rise of tech apps and the widespread use of independent contractor contracts are a toxic combination but an ideal scenario for business. You are able to run a business model that puts all the cost onto the workers. You can hire and fire people at a moments notice, she adds. Theres a lot of couriers who dont earn the national minimum wage. If you dont have the right to something, your employer is under no legal obligation to give it to you. Theyre not going to give it to you out of the goodness of their heart. The courier began working for CitySprint in 2011 and came back to the company in 2014. Shes 28, lives in Walworth and has virtually given up on getting on to the housing ladder. She gets regular work but her earnings can fluctuate by as much as 100 a week, making financial planning difficult. How much you earn is at the discretion of the controller. How youre treated is at the discretion of the controller, she explains. Whether you even keep your job is at the discretion of the controller. There are no laws protecting us. The current case took a while to get off the ground but Dewhurst finally snapped over the Victorian practices she saw creeping into the workplace and the courier companies treating the workers as second class citizens. She adds: You become accustomed to the way of working, that is also part of the problem. People become quite institutionalised and think oh its OK, its the easiest way. Im just managing to survive this week, Ill deal with next week later. People have this hand-to-mouth existence, or they think that this is the way it is and theres no point fighting it. The case comes against the backdrop of a big rise in self-employment since the financial crisis. In the three months to March 2016, there were 4.7 million self-employed, or 15% of the workforce of 31.6 million workers. Thats almost a million more than before the recession in 2008, when there were 3.9 million workers accounting for 13% of overall employees. While some will be genuine contractors, others will have been shoehorned into bogus self-employment contracts that strip them of their rights. Some couriers disagree with the action. Becca-Lou Hare enjoys the flexibility of the current set-up and warns of job losses in the industry if the quartet succeed. The courier companies are already competing for business and having to undercut each other to get or keep accounts, she says. However, IWGB president Jason Moyer-Lee says: The case is more important than just the couriers. The whole economy is going to head in that direction if were not careful. If these people were really independent contractors, the couriers would not be able to guarantee a service to their institutional clients... Youre one bad accident away from financial destitution. Simon Rice-Birchall, a partner at law firm Eversheds, says the most obvious solution would be to broaden employment status, but such a move would prove prohibitively expensive for UK employers. He adds: As a result, this issue continues to sit on the too difficult to solve pile within Government. But Sarah Fraser Butlin, a barrister at the Cloisters chamber representing the couriers, believes the quartet are obviously workers, and probably employees. Even in the event of success, she anticipates a lengthy appeals process on behalf of the companies. This is one of the most important cases this year in terms of ordinary working people, she says. This is a group of individuals who are fundamentally being poorly treated, and were not prepared to sit by and watch that. I f we were not in the EU, would we want to join it? I doubt it. The EUs recent track record is far from impressive, highlighted by the eurozones poor growth and criticism that it suffers from a democratic deficit. But if we wouldnt want to join, why, then, should we vote to remain in it? Moreover, a vote for Remain is not a vote for the status quo. It is worse than that and would bring considerable future uncertainty. Heres why: The EU will change, but not in the way we want. We continue to be told we can reform the EU if we remain in. This is nonsense. We were not able to achieve meaningful reform during our renegotiation over the past year. Following the referendum, we will have even less bargaining power. The EU will continue towards its long-run goal of a United States of Europe. That means more political power creeping towards Brussels, and greater empowerment to bureaucrats there. The loss of UK sovereignty, already a worry now, would become an even bigger problem. The euro is unstable and could collapse. The euro is as unsteady now as it was when the UK decided not to join. The Greek crisis has yet to come to a head but could. This could be followed by an Italian crisis. The euro feeds a deflationary mentality within the EU, contributing to its weak growth and high unemployment and to the rise of extremist political parties across the EU. We would have tied ourselves to the slow-growth region of the world economy. Innovation is a vital contributor to growth. EU regulation and its bias towards big firms, who lobby Brussels extensively, acts as a deterrent to innovation and will put the EU and UK at a future disadvantage to the US and Asia. If we remain we will not have a sensible migration policy. The solution to slow growth for many EU countries is to accept more migrants; witness Germany in 2015. Once accepted as EU residents, people will be able to settle, live or work in the UK. It is an open-ended promise. In turn, we then discriminate against those from outside the EU. I am in favour of immigration. It is good for an economy, but there needs to be a credible policy underpinning it. The City will face an uphill battle if we remain in the EU. London will still be the financial capital of Europe, but its ability to compete globally with New York and Singapore will be hindered. Just look at what the Government said in its 2014 Competency Report on how the EU impacts the City. It wasnt good, highlighting the declining ability of the UK to influence the regulatory agenda in financial services, and the intrusion into domestic retail markets. After a Remain vote, it would be unlikely to get any better. Would, for instance, the financial transactions tax hit us? The inability of the UK to secure a veto for the non-eurozone economies leaves the City vulnerable to the aims of the eurozone and when there is disagreement we would have to rely on the European Court of Justice to decide. There is economic uncertainty from remaining in the European Union. The EU is not Europe. With Brexit, we would still be part of Europe but we would no longer be bound by the failing, inward-looking, insular EU. Instead, we would co-operate with all of Europe as part of our global future. Dr Gerard Lyons is chief economic strategist at NetWealth and his ebook is The UK Referendum: An Easy Case to Leaving the EU T he new owner of Tata Steels railtrack-making business has struck an upbeat tone, promising to keep jobs and maintain a profit next year. Greybull Capital has agreed to buy Tata Steels long products business, which makes steel for about 90% of the UKs railtracks and thousands of other large-scale steel products, for a nominal sum. It will rename it British Steel. Greybull said 4800 jobs at the business were safe. The company comprises 4400 workers in the UK at plants including Scunthorpe and Redcar & Cleveland and 400 in France. It produces nearly three million tonnes of steel every year. Greybull partner Marc Meyohas said: Much remains to be done, but the early signs are positive. The company has promised to inject 400 million into the group and has won the backing of US bank PNC Financial. Greybull is thought to be one of several parties vying to buy the rest of Tata Steels UK steel operations, including Port Talbot, although it refused to be drawn on the subject. It has a varied portfolio, including Morrisons former M Local stores and Monarch Airlines. L ess than a third of Austin Reed shops were considered extremely attractive to rivals ahead of its collapse into administration, new data has shown. All 120 of the menswear chain shops will close by the end of the month with 1,000 jobs losses, administrator AlixPartners said yesterday. It is winding down as no viable offers had been received for the business. Research compiled for the Evening Standard, shows the difficulty the administrator would have had in attracting offers for the property portfolio. Cushman & Wakefield said only 27% of the stores being marketed were seen as attractive because they were prime or easy to let, while 10% would struggle to let in the current market. Meanwhile Colliers International pointed out that 56% of the estate is located in parts of the UK which are not the prime focus for fashion operators. Matt Thompson, head of retail strategy at Colliers said: The secondary properties will be much harder to re-let and affected landlords will need to be flexible and creative to get their space reoccupied. Five Austin Reed concessions have been sold to the owners of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, and it has also bought the Austin Reed and Country Casual brands. But AlixPartners said yesterday: Regrettably and despite a sales process supported by creditors over approximately five weeks, no viable offers were received for the sale of the rest of the business including the store estate. Property agent GCW is advising on the real estate portfolio. T hings could be about to get worse for Victrex, if hedge funds are right. Short positions in the plastics specialist have risen sharply over the past month, with 6% of the FTSE 250 firms shares on loan to investors betting its stock market rot will continue. The firm has slumped more than 20% this year, with revenues and profits on the wane because of a slowdown in the smartphone industry and a weaker oil and gas market. Furthermore, in April the US competition watchdog told its spinal reconstruction business Invibio to remove exclusivity clauses from certain contracts in a blow to Victrexs most profitable division. David Einhorns Greenlight Capital, which bet against Lehman Brothers ahead of its collapse, has the biggest wager Victrexs shares will keep on tumbling. Greenlight is borrowing 2.1% of the shares a 25 million wager and hopes to buy them back at a lower price. Other short-sellers include Man Groups GLG Partners and Crispin Odeys Odey Asset Management. Shares were 12p off today at 1431p. The FTSE 100 was in reverse after yesterday afternoons sell-off, triggered by Brexit polls leaning towards leaving the EU. Mining stocks dragged the blue-chip index down 36.86 points to 6193.93 with manufacturing data from China, the worlds biggest consumer of industrial metals, still weak. Anglo American dropped 23.5p to 576.6p. But the biggest casualty was plumbing supplies group Wolseley, whose decent third quarter was undone by weaker trading conditions since, causing shares to haemorrhage 255p, or 6%, to 3796p. Motorpoint, off 2.25p at 229.25p, made its first acquisition since going public last month a new car supermarket site near Birmingham. The Newcastle Falcons sponsor now has 11 sites. Ascent Resources, the AIM tiddler trying to produce gas in Slovenia, raised 500,000 through a placing for the third time through PrimaryBid, a new equity crowdfunding site backed by small-cap brokers Shore Capital, finnCap, and Arden Partners. The new shares were issued at 0.6p, causing the price to dive 0.23p to 0.62p. One of Ascents major shareholders is Martin Luke, founding shareholder of Evolution Securities and now behind online investor platform Vox Markets. Other AIM-listed firms to tap investors through the platform include Pathfinder Minerals, a heavy mineral sands explorer in Mozambique. T esco today outshone its supermarket rivals by proving to be the most resilient to the rise of the discounters and falling food prices in the last three months. In the latest sign that recovery at Britains largest supermarket is taking hold, data from Kantar Worldpanel showed Tesco sales fell 1% in the 12 weeks to May 22. That compared with a 1.2% fall at Sainsburys, Morrisons 2.1% drop and Asdas dismal 5.1% decline, and came as food prices fell 1.5%. The news sent Tesco shares up 9p to 166p, Sainsburys 4.3p lower to 264.2p and Morrisons down 1.6p to 196.5p. In April Tesco posted its first quarterly rise in same-store sales for three years and returned to profit following 2015s record loss. But boss Dave Lewis, who was parachuted in to revive the group in 2014, has warned that Tescos turnaround could be rocky due to the deflationary and uncertain backdrop. Kantar said Sainsburys sales were hit by a move away from multi-buys, while Morrisons was affected by store disposals. Asda, which has invested 1.5 billion in cutting prices, remained under pressure from Aldi and Lidl. The German firms remained the fastest growing in the sector, with sales up 14.2% and 11.4% respectively, but Kantar said customers were not completely deserting traditional players. Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said 94% of Aldi and Lidl shoppers still visit one of the four every four weeks. However, consumers spend is increasingly being shared with other growing outlets which also include Waitrose, the Co-operative and Iceland and average household spend for the big four has dropped by 2.9%, Garner added. Waitroses market share hit an all-time high of 5.3% as sales grew by 2.1%. Tehran, Iran, June 1 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: Iran will not promise commitment to any plan on freezing its crude output volume, says Mehdi Asali, Iranian oil ministry's director for OPEC affairs and energy circles relations. "However, Iran will support any action by OPEC to reestablish stability in the oil market with respect to fair and sensible oil prices," he said, IRNA news agency reported June 1. "Iran's stance is clear and the country expects OPEC members in their upcoming meeting to regard the country's situation for it has just been freed of sanctions after years and is seeking to redeem its output and markets to the pre-sanctions times," Asali said. "Right now the OPEC members are concerned with redeeming the market's stability and prices. The issue of rationing outputs would be better relegated to a time after," he added. Iran has been called on by many countries, the rival Saudi Arabia in particular, to cooperate with the proposal to hold outputs at the January levels. Tehran has rejected the idea as an imposition of a new set of sanctions on Iran after the country was freed of the economic sanctions in January. Iran's Oil Ministry has said it suffered a setback from 2.3 million barrels per day (mbpd) of oil export to 1 mbpd under the sanctions, maintaining that it will not consider any freeze until it has made up for the "unjust" setback. H ow quickly they forget. Not long ago, the Conservatives sought to enhance a lacklustre agenda on social mobility. It meant taking more notice of those who do not thrive by dint of parent status or education for those under 18. It also meant observing the obvious point that the success of Britains private schools means that a preponderance of their former pupils end up in top-rank jobs. Matt Hancock, a suicidally brave Cabinet Office minister, then issued proposals to monitor the hiring of pupils from state and private school backgrounds in the civil service and encourage other employers to do the same. Scandal! Lord Waldegrave, Tory grandee and provost of Eton, objects on the grounds that this would discriminate against children from fee-paying schools. Two well-known rhetorical devices feature in his case. One is auxesis (over-extension of an argument to make it stronger) and the other is name-dropping. Churchill, he seethes, might not have been appointed on the basis of any attempt in 1940 to skew public service appointments towards those not born at Blenheim. Somehow, I think Churchill would have made it. So Id like those whose response to Hancocks suggestions is to splutter about class war to think about those who dont make it as far as they should do instead. Appointing on merit, Lord Waldegrave adds, is something good companies should do today. He is vastly less curious about why certain niches, from the upper ranks of his party to those charming bohemian British actors on our screens to the City and law and yay, even unto the larger offices in the media, have ended up so heavily dominated by private school veterans. Institutional excellence alone does not explain the gap in outcomes. Research led by the (non-Spartist) Institute for Fiscal Studies shows graduates from the wealthiest 20 per cent of families were likely to earn 30 per cent more than the rest of the graduate population, a decade after they left university. So leaving it to merit is not quite as straightforward as it appears, because merit in earnings and being on a fast track still seems too neatly correlated with background wealth to be comfortable and even those who acquire an excellent education might miss out. It is just possible that people tend to hire other people who are a lot like themselves and that militates against those who dont feel like a fit. The provosts defence is that simply being at a good private school is not in itself a sign of high income, because bursaries are generous. The last point is true but minor, because the numbers who gain thereby are statistically very small. No, if the public schools and Charities Commission want to get more serious about social mobility (which is a big if), they must be more diligent about partnering with academies to help with the uphill push on the quality of state education. What this enterprise needs is scale and perseverance, not simply to cite the brilliant irony of Thomas Jefferson to ensure that twenty of the best geniuses are raked from the rubbish annually, while the status quo carries on as before. On one point, Lord Waldegrave and I agree. No one deserves to be held back because of their education. But many people are, despite talent and potential. Most of us know this when we see it, though not, apparently, Lord W. N ew pictures were revealed today of Dame Zaha Hadids new mathematics gallery at the Science Museum, as her long-term collaborator said it would be an important part of the late architects legacy. The building, which opens its doors on December 8, will include more than 100 objects from the museums collection, including a 1929 Handley Page aircraft that inspired its overall design. Patrik Schumacher, a long-time collaborator and business partner of Dame Zaha, who died in March aged 65, said: Mathematics was part of Zaha Hadids life from a young age and has always been the foundation of her architecture. He added: This gallery is an important part of Zahas legacy in London and I am sure it will inspire visitors for many years to come. Zaha Hadid Architecture & Design - In pictures 1 /8 Zaha Hadid Architecture & Design - In pictures London Aquatics Centre, London Rex Zaha Hadid's Evelyn Grace Academy In Brixton, London Rex Serpentine Sackler Gallery and The Magazine cafeteria by architect Zaha Hadid Rex Jockey Club Innovation Tower, Hong Kong. View Of East Facade From Hong Kong Polytechnic University Campus Rex A long time exposure shows the ski jumping hill designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in Innsbruck, Austria Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters Galaxy Soho, Beijing, China. Zaha Hadid, 2012. Elevated View Of Complex With Landscaped Green And Cityscape Rex Lingkong SOHO in Shanghai was designed by Zaha Hadid and is famous for its strange look Rex Interior view of the Maxxi, the new Museum of the 21st Century Arts during an architectural preview in Rome. The museum was designed by British Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid Alessandro Di Meo/EPA Among the objects on show in the gallery will be a 17th-century Islamic astrolabe that uses ancient mathematical techniques to map the night sky, and an early example of the Enigma machine, which was used by the Nazis to send coded messages in the Second World War before mathematicians working for the Allies broke the codes. Ahead of the curve: Dame Zaha Hadid, who died in March, was fascinated by mathematics / Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Exhibition curator Dr David Rooney said: At its heart the Mathematics Gallery will tell a rich cultural story of human endeavour that has helped transform the world over the last400 years. Mathematical practice underpins so many aspects of our lives and work, and we hope that bringing together these remarkable stories, people and exhibits will inspire visitors to think about the role of mathematics in a new light. The gallery, sponsored by Samsung, was built with what the South Kensington museum described as an unprecedented donation from the philanthropists David and Claudia Harding, and will be named after them. @RobDexES Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout I t may be renowned for having some of the best nightclubs in the world, but Ibiza is set to lose the jewel in the crown of its party calendar this summer as legendary club Space gets set to close its doors. The club, which has hosted some of the biggest DJs in the world, will bolt its doors indefinitely after the summer season in September when the lease on the building expires. Any seasoned raver will know that no visit to the White Isle is complete without a night (or all-day session) at the clubland mecca, which has been uniting dance, trance and techno music lovers since the early nineties. But its not just Space thats feeling the winds of change. The Balearic island, long a hedonistic paradise for British clubbers drawn by world-class DJs, has spent the last five years aiming its harpoon at a better behaved type of visitor, with smart new hotels offering everything from yoga retreats to health spas. Tired of its party image and under pressure to clean up its act, hotels for rowdy clubbers are being upgraded with more luxurious and environmentally friendly operations - appealing to responsible tourists looking for a peaceful escape. And as rival dance festivals pop up across europe, Ibizas shores are no longer pulling in the young revellers that turned up in their droves for sun, sea and stimulants in the Nineties. As the party gets set to move on, its time to say adios to Ibiza. Click on the gallery above and to discover the six clubs you should have on your swansong itinerary this summer. Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle Research by Alamy A dd these to your Amsterdam bucket list... 1. The Conservatorium Hotel The Conservatorium Hotel is in Amsterdams former Music School in Museum Square surrounded by some of the citys most prized art galleries. The Italian contemporary architect Piero Lissoni added a soaring triple height glass atrium to the original 19th Century brick building along with austere steel staircases and contemporary furnishings. The result is a casual but elegant space in the cultural heart of Amsterdam. Lunch at the Conservatorium Brasserie is the best time to appreciate Lissonis wonderful internal courtyard. The menu features Akasha sea bass, USA black rib eye and an extensive Ice Table buffet. Holland claims to have been the first country in the world to produce gin way back in the seventeenth century so where better to broaden your tasting knowledge than the Dutch capital. After a day of culture in the museums and galleries amassed around outside head upstairs at the Conservatorium to Tunes Bar. Bag a seat beside one of the huge arched windows and let the knowledgeable waiting staff talk you through the 40 plus gins on offer. I highly recommend Bobbys Gin, a spicy Dutch brand made with eight botanicals. There is also a good range of sushi and from Thursday to Friday a resident DJ cranks out music beside Lissonis transparent bar. Find it: Van Baerlestraat 27; conservatoriumhotel.com + 31 (0)20 570 0000 2. Jansz at the Pulitzer Hanger Steak at Jansz Jansz is the elegant all-day restaurant in the canal-front Pulitzer Hotel, one of Amsterdams most feted recent openings. Its skilful design and separate street entrance means that Jansz feels wonderfully self-contained: this is a restaurant that marries laid-back Dutch style in a centuries old building with a thoughtful modern edge. Theres an artful nod to history in the name (Volkert Jansz was a celebrated seventeenth century craftsman) and in the vintage apothecary bottles displayed in the entrance of what was once a pharmacy but overall the vibe is contemporary sophistication. Grey panelling, olive green and pale pink furnishings and bar stools pulled up to an open kitchen set the welcoming tone complimented by efficient and friendly waiting staff. The menu is well edited with a mix of brasserie favourites served with a few Dutch twists. There are around 10 starters and 10 mains with highlights including tuna tartar, lobster risotto, miso-glazed cod and steaks and burgers complimented by a pleasingly straightforward wine list. Guests are locals and visitors, couples, families and larger groups all combining happily to create a firm neighbourhood favourite. Jansz is a total success from its waterfront location beside the Keizersgracht, the most prestigious canal area of Amsterdam, to its assured, laid-back style. Find it: Reestraat 8 +31 (0) 20 5235 282; janszamsterdam.com The open kitchen at Jansz 3. TKuyltje Sandwich Shop Pick up a wonderfully fresh pastrami sandwich in this impossibly tiny shop in the ever-hip De 9 Straatjes - The Nine Streets - area of Jordaans. Find it: Gasthuismolenstraat 9 kuyltje.nl 4. Coffee & Coconuts Open from 7am to 10pm for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just coffee and cake, this cafe in a renovated cinema in the southern De Pijp area of Amsterdam has become a favourite drop in for locals. Find it: Ceintuurbaan 282 ctamsterdam.nl 5. Happy Happy Joy Joy Vietnamese Street Food cooked in an open kitchen and served up by friendly staff. Fresh food and a buzzy atmosphere in west Amsterdam. Find it: Bilderdijkstraat 158 happyhappyjoyjoy.asia/en 6. Winkel 43 Visit this Jordaan cafe for its legendary apple pie and a ringside seat beside the Noordermarkt which plays host to antique fairs and a small but buzzy Farmers Market. Find it: Noordermarkt 43 winkel43.nl Follow Cathy on Twitter @cathyhawker D ramatic footage of a knife attacker shouting "God is great" in Arabic as he was Tasered after going on a rampage through Leytonstone Tube station has been shown to a jury. Police officers fired their stun guns three times before Muhiddin Mire, 30, was brought to the ground at the east London Underground station on December 5 last year. In what he claimed was an attack "for Syria" he cut the throat of musician Lyle Zimmerman, the Old Bailey heard, before lashing out at a number of other passengers. Mire was filmed outside the station by Daniel Bielinski, who could be heard in a five-minute clip played in court screaming "Call for police" and trying to warn other passengers away as Mire returned inside, still clutching a knife. Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told the jury the footage was "fairly dramatic stuff, as you will appreciate". Scene: A police cordon outside Leytonstone Tube station following the attack / Jonathan Brady/PA Wire It showed Mire slowly walking after Polish Mr Bielinski, who continued filming him and asked in heated exchanges: "Why you attack me and my girlfriend?" As Mire returned to the station, Mr Bielinski screamed: "Be careful, be careful. Knife, blade. Call for police. Security." After police officers arrived, Mire shouted "Allahu Akbhar" (God is great) as he was hit for a third time with a stun gun. Mr Rees earlier told the jury images of murdered soldier Lee Rigby and Jihadi John were found on his Samsung phone, along with material linked to Islamic State. He said: The contents of the defendant's phone, when looked at alongside what he said during the course of the incident... provides an insight as to what motivated the defendant to do what he did and what he was seeking to do to Mr Zimmerman." As Mire was led away by police, he said "this is for Syria, for my Muslim brothers," and explained that his actions were in response to the bombings of hospitals in the war-torn state, the jury was told. Mr Zimmerman, who suffered a deep and ragged wound to his neck, today gave evidence about the violent attack. Speaking from behind a screen, he said: "I remember that I started to yell for help. I remember being forced down, but I don't remember whether I was punched or shoved." He told the jury he got "into as near as a foetal position" as he could and tried to protect his head. He said he was kicked around six times, and they were "very, very violent kicks". As well as the neck injuries, the attack caused a fault in his vision, a cracked tooth and bruising to his face. He told the jury: "At the time my subjective impression was that I was being attacked by a crazy person, a mentally unwell person." Mire, from Leytonstone, denies attempted murder but admits four counts of attempted wounding and an alternative count of wounding with intent to cause Mr Zimmerman grievous bodily harm. The trial was adjourned until Thursday. Additional reporting by Press Association. T he brother of EastEnders star Richard Blackwood has been jailed for possessing cocaine with intent to supply the Class A drug. Marcus Blackwood, 36, was starting a four year sentence today after pleading guilty to one count of drug dealing. He was stopped by police in the City of London but ran from officers after being asked to get out of his silver Mercedes car. Blackwood, of Beckenham, knocked an officer to the ground and was then caught on CCTV throwing a package into an underground car park on West Smithfield during a foot chase through the City streets. Jailed: Marcus Blackwood was sentenced to four years in prison / City of London Police Officers recovered a bag which contained 10 wraps of cocaine and Blackwood was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply of class A drugs. Police found five more wraps of cocaine in his underpants and 12 wraps of cocaine and other drugs paraphernalia hidden in a shoe box in his flat. In total the drugs were estimated to be worth more than 30,000. Blackwood is the younger brother of EastEnders actor Richard who plays Vincent Hubbard in the BBC soap. Comedian, rapper and TV presenter Blackwood only joined the Albert Square cast last year and was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2016 National Television Awards. Since then Vincent Hubbard has become a major character and built up a following in the series. His character has been mixed up in crime and firearms and the London-born actor said recently : The thing about Vincent that I love is that hes very human. Hes got a dark side but he only acts that way with people who are in the same realm as him. Richard Blackwood with his brother Marcus (right) and another man in a picture posted on Instagram Immediately before he won the EastEnders role, Blackwood had success on the West End stage in the musical Shrek where he played Donkey alongside stars Nigel Harman, Amanda Holden and Kimberley Walsh. The actor has posted an image on Instagram of him, a friend and his brother with the caption : With my boy @thecharliekenny and Little brother Marcus! Power Moves!! A spokesman for the actor said the case involving his brother was a private matter and he did not want to comment. Marcus Blackwood was jailed for four years after pleading guilty at the Old Bailey yesterday. The court heard that when police searched Marcus Blackwoods home they discovered a Russell & Bromley shoe box in a wardrobe containing a set of scales, 12 wraps of cocaine, cutting agents, Ethylone and other drug paraphernalia. Images on a CCTV camera released by City Police show the drug dealer being pursued through the streets by a plain clothes officer after his car was stopped in Long Lane near the Barbican Tube station at 9.15pm on February 11. Speaking after the court case Detective Inspector Rob Stirling said : Due to the weight of evidence and the tenacity of Detective Constable Thomas Hayball, who gave chase and detained him, Blackwood had no choice but to plead guilty to supplying drugs. The City of London attracts many people to its thriving night time economy, which we welcome. We want people to come here to have a good time but at the same time we want them to remain safe. We have a zero tolerance to drugs being used or sold here and will continue to be proactive in our approach to stop this from happening. The court case came as London was named the cocaine capital of Europe for the second year running. The city saw an increase in traces of the Class A substance one of few cities in the world to see such a rise - according to an official EU study. Analysis by the EUs drug monitoring agency showed the average daily concentration of cocaine in Londons wastewater was 909mg per 1,000 people last year - up from 737mg in 2014. The next closest level was 642mg in Amsterdam. When weekend samples only are taken into account, the concentration for London rises to 1044, according to the figures. The analysis, which took population into account, also found Londoners were among the heaviest users of party drug ecstasy which is said to be making a comeback. A teenager has died after being hit by a lorry in east London. The man, 18, was critically injured in a collision in Leamouth road on Tuesday afternoon and died at the scene. The driver of the lorry stopped and is said to be assisting police with their enquiries. The crash happened in Leamouth Road just before 4.15pm. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: Police are the in the process of informing next of kin. No arrests have been made. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact police by calling 101. M ore people were arrested in London for drug driving than anywhere else in England and Wales in the last year. The Metropolitan Police made 1,636 arrests for the offence from March 2015 to April this year almost three times the second highest total arrests made by officers in Manchester, reflecting the capital's higher population. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed that 7,796 people were held on suspicion of drug driving in the period. Data was supplied by 35 out of 43 police forces. The statistics come after regulations were introduced last year to crack down on motorists who drive under the influence of drugs. Drivers can be prosecuted if they are caught exceeding limits which were laid down for eight illegal drugs and eight prescription drugs. The levels for the illegal drugs, which include heroin, cocaine and cannabis, virtually mean there is zero tolerance for drivers caught with these substances in their system. With the introduction of the new law, police were issued with testing kits. Officers can use "drugalysers" to screen for cannabis and cocaine at the roadside and they can test for these and other drugs including ecstasy, LSD, ketamine and heroin at a police station, even if a driver passes the roadside check. The legislation was introduced to run in conjunction with a previously existing law which made it illegal to drive when impaired by any drug. A man accused of trying to kill an innocent tube passenger in revenge for the bombing of Syria had a picture of murdered soldier Lee Rigby on his phone, the Old Bailey heard. Muhiddin Mire, 30, attacked musician Lyle Zimmerman, 56, with a knife to his neck in the busy ticket hall at Leytonstone station. The former taxi driver, a practising Muslim, was heard shouting "This is for my Syrian brothers" and "I'm going to attack your civilians" during the violence. Mire has also admitted trying to wound four bystanders who tried to intervene to rescue Mr Zimmerman from the attack on December 5 last year. Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told the jury this morning that Mire's Samsung phone contained a series of images linked to the Islamic State and the conflict in Syria. "A large number of images were found to be stored on the memory of the phone, and among the images that had been accessed were ISIS fighters", he said. "There were hostages and prisoners apparently about to be executed by having their throats cut or beheaded. "Some of these images featured prisoners who were in a similar physical position that Mr Zimmerman was in when he had his throat cut. "There were other images of Fusilier Lee Rigby, the young soldier hacked to death and effectively beheaded in Woolwich in May 2013." Mr Rees said investigators also found on the phone a picture of notorious IS executioner Jihadi John, photos of airstrikes against IS fighters, and Mire had searched online for information about IS. Mr Zimmerman was "a lucky man", Mr Rees told the court, as he was discharged from hospital the day after the attack with just a tetanus jab and antibiotics, as the knife attack had missed major blood vessels and arteries. CCTV: Leytonstone tube knife attack video shown in court Mire had been in and out of mental health treatment for years at the time of the attack, and his brother had bought him a plane ticket to Somalia for the next day. The incident was caught on graphic mobile phone footage, showing Mr Zimmerman lying motionless and defenceless on the floor of the ticket hall as Mire crouched over him. After the initial knife attack, Mire went up to street level and tried to stab a Polish man, Daniel Bielinski, who was with his girlfriend. Mr Bielinski dodged out of the way and then began to film Mire, in footage that has been shown to the jury this morning. Mire then returned to the subway and lashed out at other tube passengers emerging or entering the station, although none were seriously hurt. One of them, Andrius Sabaliauskas, tried to calm down Mire before police arrived, and the defendant was then Tasered. After being seized by police, an onlooker called out: "You ain't no Muslim bruv", which in turn became a "tag line" shared widely on social media. Mire, of Sansom Road, Leytonstone, admits wounding with intent on Mr Zimmerman and four counts of attempted wounding on David Pethers, Daniel Bielinski, Serena Valori and Andrius Sabaliauskas. He denies the attempted murder of Mr Zimmerman. The trial continues. A man was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries after he was assaulted outside Chalk Farm tube station in the early hours of this morning. Witnesses described seeing a fight break out between a group of men, which resulted in one of them sustaining a serious head injury. She said: "There was a big fight, police were there and they sealed off half the road." A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "We were called at 1.40am to reports of an assault in Haverstock Hill, near Chalk Farm underground station. "The ambulance arrived in three minutes. "A man with head injuries was taken to hospital as a priority." A Met Police spokesman said: Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 1.40am on Wednesday, June 1, to a man collapsed near to Chalk Farm tube station in Camden. "The man was taken to hospital suffering head injuries. His condition is serious, we await a further update. "Camden officers attended the scene and an investigation was launched. Enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances." Tehran, Iran, June 1 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: An Iranian business delegation is in Sweden to hold talks with counterparts there. Placed at 60 tables at the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel, the Iranian businessmen are receiving their Swedish counterparts, 170 in number, for talks. The companies come from various sectors, including industries, mining, energy, agriculture, ICT, banking, investment, tourism, and health, IRNA news agency reported June 1. Before the business-to-business discussion session, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is heading the delegation, met the Swedish Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde to discuss bilateral ties. The Iranian team is on a tour that takes them to Poland, Finland, Sweden and Lithuania. While in Finland, the Iranian delegation signed cooperation documents, worth $200 million, with their Finnish counterparts. A man who attacked his pregnant girlfriend and then sent her text messages threatening to kick the baby out of her has been jailed. Adrian Dennis, 39, visited his girlfriends home in Hackney in November last year and became angry after she allegedly did not respond to his text messages. Despite being eight weeks pregnant with his child, Dennis attacked her with a walking stick and caused a fracture to her leg. He then stopped her from getting medical help for 12 hours before then telling her to lie about the cause of her injury, a court was told. In the following weeks, Dennis, of St Thomas Road, Islington, sent his girlfriend a series of threatening messages, with one stating he would kick the baby out of her. The victim eventually contacted the police after being encouraged by her family. Dennis was charged in January and admitted grievous bodily harm on the day his trial was due to begin at Wood Green Crown Court. He was jailed for four-and-a-half years on Wednesday and a restraining order was also imposed preventing him from contacting the victim directly or indirectly. Detective Constable Mark Longley, from Hackney Community Safety Unit, said: I am pleased to say that the victim has physically recovered and that her unborn child was unharmed during the incident. Dennis has been rightly sentenced to a custodial sentence which should protect both the victim and other women from his abuse for the next few years. O ne of Britains worst ever paedophiles is facing the rest of his life behind bars for a vile nine-year campaign of rape and abuse against small children. English tutor Richard Huckle, 30, targeted Christian children in poor areas of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, using his high status in the community to get children away from their parents. He posed as a philanthropist and a gap-year student to gain the trust of community leaders, preying on a baby aged just six-months old and raping children as young as three while boasting online about his depraved crimes. Huckle, from Ashford, Kent, amassed a horrifying catalogue of child abuse images which he sold to fellow paedophiles for bitcoins, and even launched a crowd funding campaign for the abuse on a website called PedoFunding. He boasted online about grooming for sex four children from the same family, taking five vulnerable victims from a children home, and bragging that he had "hit the jackpot" with a three-year-old girl who was "as loyal to me as my dog". Guilty: Richard Huckle from Ashford, Kent Huckle kept a tally of so-called PedoPoints' to measure the scale of his abuse, and had even penned a 60-page paedophilia manual to teach others how to avoid getting caught. He shared many of the abuse pictures on a Dark Web site called True Love Zone (TLZ), and had been in contact with a notorious Australian paedophile ring, the Old Bailey heard. Huckle's campaign of abuse, between 2006 and December 2014, began after a gap-year to southeast Asia, and only came to an end when he was arrested by the National Crime Agency at Gatwick Airport on a visit home for Christmas. "He is one of the most committed, manipulative, and conniving paedophiles we have ever come across", said Detective Superintendent Matthew Long, from the NCA. "He groomed children to a point where he was certain no matter what he did to them they would not tell their parents of the abuse." Huckle, who had a cache of 20,000 child porn images when he was arrested, has admitted an unprecedented 71 charges against twenty-three different victims, although it is believed up to 200 children may have fallen into his clutches. Brian ONeill QC, prosecuting, said parts of Huckle's laptop remain encrypted as he refuses to give up the password, and many of the victims in the pictures cannot be traced. Huckle toyed with prosecutors for more than five months before finally entering guilty pleas, and now faces up to 22 life sentences at an Old Bailey hearing that is expected to last three days. Huckle, who first went to Malaysia as a gap-year student in 2005, began abusing children the following year on a trip to Cambodia, taking indecent pictures of a three-year-old girl while staying with her parents. He used his links to a Christian church in north London and Station Road Baptist Church in Ashford, Kent as a "gateway" to abusing children in Malaysia. His offending escalated the following year when he took up a volunteer teaching post in Kuala Lumpur, and he eventually moved out there in 2010 to study IT and work as a freelance photographer. In his blogs, Huckle bragged about abusing the same girl repeatedly between the ages of five to 12-years-old, saying: It's quite amazing to have stuck with the same child lover for so many years, and I hope, from the images you have seen, enjoyed watching her grow. It's not often in child porn you can compare the bodies of a 5yo and a 12yo that are the same girl. I'm sure I'll have plenty more sex with (her) in the future. Of another victim, he wrote: Id hit the jackpot, a 3yo girl as loyal to me as my dog and nobody seemed to care, adding: I think we had sex like this about 15 times in the past four months. Huckle, who was respected within the tight-knit community due to his status as an English tutor, was trusted to take one girl out of a childrens home for her fifth birthday, but he took her to his home to be sexually abused. He boasted that his high status made him untouchable, saying: Impoverished girls are definitely much much easier to seduce than middle class Western kids. Just before he was eventually captured, Huckle wrote online: It will likely take something very serious to get me to stop or slow down, but if Im not suffering consequences what is there for me to learn from? Det Supt Long said Huckle had based his whole life around the abuse of children and would undoubtedly have increased the level of abuse if he had not been caught. The NCA moved to arrest Huckle in December 2014 when it was discovered he was flying to the UK, and they then found his child sex abuse manual called Pedophiles & Poverty: Child Lover Guide. They also seized his digital PedoPoints ledger, where he had awarded himself points for each act of abuse against a child - in the year before his arrest, he had racked up 1305 points. The wealth of evidence seized meant Huckle could be linked to his crimes using his own photo collection, avoiding the need to interview the child victims. Huckle has admitted 13 rapes, 31 sexual assaults of a child under 13, six assaults on a child by penetration, three charges of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of causing a child to engaged in penetrative sexual activity, and one charge of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. He also pleaded guilty to 12 counts of taking indecent pictures of children, one count of making indecent pictures of children, and one charge of advertising indecent photos of a child. Judge Peter Rook QC is due to pass sentence on Huckle on Friday. T hree men and a woman have been convicted of sexual offences against young girls. Blackfriars Crown Court was told that the girls were plied with legal highs and alcohol before they were sexually abused. Paul Michael Silverthorn and his girlfriend Leila Kassam both admitted to having unlawful sex with the 15-year-old at a court hearing in March, but have since gone on the run. The sex gang purposely befriended vulnerable young girls, before taking them to a central London address, and plying them with legal highs and alcohol before forcing them to be sexually abused by several people. At Blackfriars Crown Court today Silverthorn, of no fixed abode, was also found guilty in his absence of administering a substance to a second victim, who was 16-years-old. He had also previously admitted to possessing and distributing prohibited images of children. Guilty: Leila Kassam admitted to having unlawful sex with the 15-year-old / Metropolitan Police Fehum Jaffer, of Wimbledon was also convicted of sexually abusing the 15-year-old victim, and was jailed today for two years. The offences took place between May 2014 and December 2014 at a central London house, after the victims were taken there by Daniel Trinnaman, of Romford. Jailed: Trinnaman was found guilty of inciting a girl aged 15 to engage in sexual activity / Metropolitan Police Trinnaman was today found guilty of taking part in the exploitation by befriending the victims and inviting them back to the property, and was jailed for two and a half years. Silverthorn and Kassam are due to be sentenced at the same court on June 27 and are being hunted by police. DC Rob Dewhurst, from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: "This is a shocking case of child sexual exploitation (CSE) where the defendants targeted young vulnerable girls, plying them with alcohol and what were then legal highs in order to facilitate their sexual abuse by a number of people. "I commend the young victims for their courage in reporting the offences and giving evidence at trial. Jailed: Fehum Jaffer was found guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 years / Metropolitan Police "The damage caused by CSE cannot be underestimated, which is why the Met are committed tackling it head on. "It has for some time been high on our agenda, leading to the introduction of the Sexual Exploitation Team, a dedicated unit which sits within the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, and whose sole remit is to investigate offences of this nature." T wo men have been filmed fighting in the street with knives in front of horrified schoolchildren in south London. Dashcam footage shows a man lunging at another man with a kitchen knife in broad daylight on the busy street in front of a terrified cyclist. One man manages to dodge a knife lunge, before appearing to produce a flick knife from his pocket and chasing the other man down the street in Streatham. The driver who captured the video in April said he hoped releasing the footage would help police catch the men involved. The 23 year-old carer, who did not wish to be named, said he had come to expect scenes like this after living in Streatham for many years. The traffic had slowed down and was stationary and school kids were hanging around," he said of the incident, which happened at around 5.30pm on 20 April. I drove past a car on the left hand side and I saw a youth launching himself at another man. One of them clearly had a four to six inch kitchen knife and tried to stab the other man at least twice. It looked like the other guy had a flick knife and he chased him up the road. The two men then run out of the camera shot, with the man with the flick knife chasing the aggressor down Valley Road. The carer added: They ran off behind my car and out of the footage, I think one of them got into a car to try and track down the other one. I called the police after it happened and apparently they apprehended one of them but it wasnt the aggressor." The carer said he had lived in Streatham all his life so this scene did not come as a shock. He added: Its not people smoking a spliff down the street its a pretty serious crime in front of school kids. Im a Londoner myself and its not the sort of thing you want to see happening on the street. "About two or three weeks ago someone was stabbed about a three minute walk away. "You can't get used to people waving knives around but it's almost become common. "Every single day you see someone's been stabbed or there's been a shooting so in this part of south London it's not uncommon." A Metropolitan Police spokesman said there had been no arrests. Last month, a 21 year-old man was left in a critical condition after being stabbed on Mount Nod Road in Streatham. T his is the moment a man in odd shoes launched a violent attack on a petrol station worker after being accused of shoplifting. The man - who wore a black and a white trainer - was filmed swinging a punch at the shop worker and landing a fierce blow to the face after being confronted in the station's store. The pair then have a heated argument at the entrance before the man leaves the shop in Battersea, south London. The CCTV footage was released by police who are searching for the man over the attack in Queenstown Road on Wednesday, May 11, at about 5.25pm. Police want to speak to this man / Metropolitan Police The victim, 25, did not require medical treatment, police said. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: The suspect is described as a black man with a bald head and a short beard. He was wearing one white trainer and one black trainer, a grey hooded jumper, black jogging bottoms and was carrying a black Umbro holdall. Police are keen to hear from anyone who may recognise the man shown in the CCTV footage or who witnessed the assault. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigating officer PC Dan Ingram on 020 3276 2583 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting ref 214277. A Brixton schoolboy whose mother fled war-torn Somalia says he hopes to emulate David Cameron after winning a scholarship to Eton. Ahmed Roble, 15, will soon swap his south London state school and home close to the Angell Town estate for the 37,000-per-year boarding school. He is the only boy from London, and one of only nine nationwide, to win a full two-year scholarship to Etons sixth-form this year under a scheme offering places for state school pupils. The teenager, who is sitting his GCSEs at Ark Walworth Academy, beat scores of candidates and came through a challenging day of interviews and tests. He said: Im overjoyed I never thought that I would get the scholarship. Im the only person from London, it makes me feel I really achieved something. It shows people from my sort of area can do well. Just because youre from the inner city, it doesnt mean you cant achieve anything big. Ahmed was born in Holland and moved to London as a five-year-old. He said his father Mahdi left Somalia for a better life before war broke out, forcing his mother Layla Burale to flee. Eton College: Ahmed won a place at the elite school / Getty He is head boy at Walworth, where teachers expect him to earn A*s across the board in his GCSEs. He is also a volunteer police cadet, a member of Southwark Youth Council and a keen charity fundraiser. His parents knew little about Etons history when he decided to apply. He said: I explained that 19 prime ministers and members of the royal family have studied at Eton. My parents are proud of me. Ahmed hopes to study A-levels in history, politics, Spanish and English literature and to win a place to read history at Oxford or Cambridge. But his ultimate goal would be to follow in the footsteps of Old Etonian Mr Cameron. On the schools past students, he said: I find it intimidating. Ive got to go there and make something of myself Ive got a lot to live up to. I admire David Cameron because the journey hes taken through his life is a journey I would like to take, going into politics and being able to help people on such a large scale. Walworth principal Yvonne Powell said: We have high aspirations for our students and this sets the tone. To have someone [like Ahmed] in class is very inspirational for other students. C ampaigners for Britain to stay in the EU today launched a six-day appeal to get up to 900,000 Londoners missing from the electoral register to sign up to vote in the historic referendum. Business chiefs joined forces with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Labour MPs to urge people, particularly the young, to ensure they can have their say on June 23. Soaring rents mean young Londoners move around a lot, and along with changes to voter registration, there are an alarming number of young people missing from the electoral register, warned Naomi Smith, Europe director of business group London First. We face a whole generation of Londoners being under-represented in the most important vote for decades. She also stressed university students, returning home to London, may discover they are not registered to vote. Up to 900,000 Londoners who could vote are believed to be in danger of missing out on June 23 because they have failed to register. The deadline to do so is June 7. The introduction of individual electoral registration, which replaced registration by household, has been blamed for significant numbers of people falling off the register. Democracy Club London First today published a map, above, produced by Democracy Club, which showed the worst ward in London for voter registration was Spitalfields and Banglatown in Tower Hamlets. Loading.... Just 42 per cent of the population believed eligible to vote is registered to do so. Other wards with huge numbers of missing voters include Church End in Redbridge, with only 65 per cent of adults registered, Uxbridge South, 66 per cent, Grove in Kingston-upon-Thames, 69 per cent, Evelyn in Lewisham, 70, and Willesden Green in Brent with 72 per cent. Seeking to reach young people to encourage them to vote in the referendum, London First today launched an interactive internet meme generator which allows Londoners to find out how good or bad their area is for voter registration, an app allowing users to canvass their Facebook friends and encourage them to vote on polling day, a Twitter bot that answers voters questions about how and when to vote, and other social media guides. Remain campaigners believe a higher turnout on polling day, particularly among the young, is likely to favour them. Mr Khan also urged Londoners to seek to persuade people in their street to sign up to vote in the referendum, tweeting: London you & your neighbours have less than a week to register to vote in the #EUref. Get involved. Gloria De Piero, Labours shadow minister for young people and voter registration, said: This is the week that could make or break our campaign. TODO: define component type apester Young voters could make a crucial difference in this referendum, but only if theyre on the register. She said many people need to hear or see a message three to five times before they act on it. A cyclist has suffered "life-changing" injuries after being hit by a vehicle in central London. Police said the rider was struck in Baker Street, at the junction with Crawford Street, at 5.40pm on Wednesday. The rider, whose gender and age is currently unknown, is said to have suffered serious head injuries. A Metropolitan Police Service spokesman described the cyclist's injuries as "life-changing". Road closures are in place while emergency services attend. A world-renowned art collector and philanthropist has died in hospital four days after being knocked down by a bus in Oxford Street. Baroness Marion Lambert, 73, suffered critical injuries when she was hit by a double-decker bus as she crossed the busy road outside Bond Street station at 4.45pm last Tuesday. She died in hospital on Saturday. Along with her late husband Baron Philippe Lambert - a member of the Bank Brussells Lambert (BBL) banking dynasty the baroness amassed one of the most extraordinary and valuable collections of 20th Century art. A friend who had worked with her on a recent auction told the Standard: She was a wonderful woman, very passionate about art and photography and her death has come as a tragic shock to us all. Baroness Lambert split her time between homes in Switzerland and Italy and is thought to have been visiting her son Henri, 37, who lives in Earls Court, last week. It is the not the first time the family has been hit by tragedy. Baroness Lamberts daughter Phillipine committed suicide aged 20 in 1997. Baroness Lambert, who split her time between Switzerland and Italy Swiss police investigated allegations of sexual abuse made by Phillipine against a family friend in her suicide note. The friend denied the allegation and after a protracted legal battle the public prosecutor in Geneva decided there was insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution. Baroness Lambert and her collection featured in BBC programme The Extrordinary Collector last month. It covered a Christies auction of more than 300 pieces, including an iconic 1953 portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Gene Kornman, and works by David Shrigley and Andy Warhol, which raised almost 15million at Frieze last October. She had worked closely with good friend, renowned auctioneer and art dealer Simon de Pury, on the sale. He was today said to be deeply saddened by news of her death. Following her husbands death in 2011, the baroness, said to have had a unique artistic vision and eclectic eye, set about dispersing more of their vast collection and raising money for charities including the NSPCC and Human Rights Watch. Describing her lifetime devoted to collecting, she once told an interviewer: Money is the opposite of art. Art is the expression of ideas some of them very foresighted of lofty ideals, of political insights, and of deep-felt emotions. As such, it should not be price-tagged. At the time of her first major sale in 2004 she said her son, a venture capitalist, had no interest in art. Christies chairman, Francis Outred, who worked closely with Baroness Lambert paid tribute to her as a visionary who will be deeply missed. Mr Outred, European head of post-war and contemporary art, said: It was a pleasure and a privilege to work with Marion Lambert last year on the Visual Odyssey auction and an honour to help bring a collection born in Belgium and Switzerland to the heart of London; a city which she relished in exploring from East to West. Her strength of personality and her unique vision electrified the Christies population. Marions vision as a collector across multiple categories was unparalleled and the photography collection that she built helped to create the photography market we know today. Never one to indulge in airs and graces, she was as happy directing the installation of the exhibition as she was hoovering the carpet before the opening at Ely House. Intense, visionary, powerful and articulate she knew what she wanted in all aspects of life. Formidable and kind in equal measure, she will remain in our collective memory as one of the great collectors and a friend who will be deeply missed. The crash which killed her is being investigated by detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit. The driver of the bus, which is operated by Arriva, stopped at the scene and has been assisting officers with their enquiries. F ive children whose mother was shot and paralysed by police in 1985 are in line for a compensation payout from the Metropolitan Police. A High Court judge has declared that the police still have a duty of care to the children 31 years on from the botched armed raid on a home in Brixton. Cherry Groce was shot and paralysed in September 1985 when police raided her home, sparking several nights of riots. Police looking for one of her sons, who did not live at the house and was not there at the time. His brother, Lee Lawrenece, who was just eleven at the time, and three of his sisters were in the house. Lee witnessed police kick down the bedroom door and open fire at his mother. The Metropolitan Police attempted to have the case dismissed on the grounds the claims fell outside the time limits. However, Channel 4 News has revealred that the courts have ordered police to compensate the family. Lawyers for the Metropolitan Police said in court that the claim ran into six figures, more than 100,000, however a final figure has yet to be agreed. In an interview with Channel 4 News to be broadcast tonight, Lee Lawrence told Simon Israel: "The only choice we had was do we let it go, or do we stand up for what is true and what is right. And they deserve to be accountable for what had happened to us. What we went through was real and we were children in the house at the time that witnessed a traumatic experience which then had a profound effect on our lives." Their mother received half a million pounds in compensation in 1993 in an out of court settlement. Following an inquest into Groces death in 2014, the Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised to the family admitting that the police had caused irreparable damage. In a statement tonight the Metropolitan Police said: "The Commissioner apologised unreservedly following the inquest. Having accepted responsibility for the Met's failings, we sought to agree a settlement with family members prior to court proceedings being brought but unfortunately this was not possible. "Following the court hearing on May 24, a consent order was drawn up in which a number of concessions were made on both sides and all parties will now seek to agree a settlement of the revised claim." Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Fatih Karimov - Trend: A delegation from Iran's Sina Bank is in Turkey to seek the grounds to boost cooperation with Turkish banks, ISNA news agency reported June 1. The delegation headed by Mohammad Reza Saroukhani, the bank's deputy managing director for Finance and International Affairs has held separate talks with heads of Turkish Halk, Ziraat and Aktif banks during the visit. The Iranian banking delegation briefed the Turkish counterparts about Sina Bank's purposes and its strategy to boost activities in the international area. Establishing correspondent banking relationships between the Iranian bank and the Turkish banks also discussed in the meetings. Sina Bank is a private banking establishment offering retail, commercial and investment banking services. The company was established in 1985, and privatized in 2007 as a part of the government's privatization of the banking system. In 2010, the bank came under European Union sanctions against Iranian banking institutions. The international banking sanctions against Tehran was removed last January as the nuclear deal between Tehran and the six world powers came into force. A teenager was today in hospital after being shot in the back in west London last night. Armed police swooped on a housing estate in Feltham after the man was shot at about 9.15pm. The male, believed to be in his late teens, was taken to a central London hospital where he remains in a stable condition after the incident in Southern Avenue. A Met Police spokesman said the Trident and Gang Crime Command is investigating. There have been no arrests. The area around the Yellow Brick estate was cordoned off and residents were advised to stay inside while police investigated the incident. Scene of the shooting on the Yellow Brick Estate last night / Spotted in Feltham Residents took to social media to express their concern about the incident. Enquiries into the shooting are continuing. F ishing wire could be suspended from tall poles to mark out a Jewish area in north-west London. A group of synagogues has applied to build an eruv, an area were Sabbath rules are more relaxed for Jewish people, in Camden. The plan would see poles installed in 40 different locations across six miles of Camden, covering parts of Finchley Road, Primrose Hill and Hampstead. An eruv erected in West Hampstead last year drew complaints from residents that it was divisive for a single religion to mark out its own boundary. Other complaints concerned the size of the poles and that the wires could harm birds. The planning application was put together by Daniel Rosenfelder, 71, who told The Times the perimeter would be funded by private donors. Mr Rosenfelder added: There is this perception that eruvs represent the intensification of public religious activity but it just allows people who are wheelchair users or mothers of small children to leave their house on Friday nights or Saturday. He added that the eruv would be checked every week and would benefit 6,000 people in the area. An eruv is a marked area which Jews can carry or push objects on the Sabbath without violating Jewish law that prohibits carrying anything except within the home. Britains first and largest eruv was created in 2003 enclosing an area of 6.5 square miles from Hendon to Mill Hill. P ull on your Hunters and re-crease your red trousers were wading into the quagmire of the referendum. Tatler, edited by quintessential Cheltenham lady Kate Reardon, has dipped its silver spoon into the Eton mess of the debate with characteristic delicacy. But its safe to say that its eight-page Euro-vision in this months issue doesnt match up with the economic-deadweight prospect set out by BoJo and the Brexiteers. Extolling the virtues of Euro chic, because we dont talk about Eurotrash anymore, Tatler separates Turbo Euros from Von Euros, keeping its loyal readers informed with useful Euro phrases for Sloanes, and leaving subscribers with little choice but to vote Remain. Breezing through the Euro in history, Tatler reminds us that Londons own Goldsmiths (that Zac fellow, in case youve forgotten) were once Goldschmidts and practically ran Germany. It calls Prince Albert the frankfurter in Queen Victorias bun and luxuriates in drawing perhaps unwanted attention to Boriss pan-European heritage. The Londoner sought clarification is Tatler backing the Remain camp? There has been an almost criminal lack of reliable information for hard-working voters, a spokesperson teased yesterday, and neither side has addressed the really important issues. Were quietly confident that we have put things right. Alexandra Shulman, editor of Tatlers Conde Nast sister magazine Vogue, is a signatory of a star-studded Vote Remain letter, but with yesterdays polls suggesting the Brexit camp is gaining momentum will the posh persons Bible prove an EU Godsend? ----- A recent Londoners Diary item (Zacs new Khan problem, April 18) may mistakenly have given the impression that we accepted claims by supporters of Pakistans PML-N party that the PTI party, chaired by Imran Khan, had misused charitable donations and that Imran Khan was connected to extremism. We would like to clarify that we do not accept those allegations and we apologise to Mr Khan. Sir Ians farewell is a burning issue Farewell to Sir Ian Kennedy, the departing chair of IPSA, the parliamentary expenses watchdog set up after the expenses scandal. Public service is not a bed of roses, he wrote in a colourful departing statement, and revealed an archaic leaving ceremony. I shall soon step off the balcony of the House of Commons onto the longboat on the Thames which will be set on fire and carry me to Valhalla, he joked. Apparently, 145 MPs have already bid for the right to light the match. Given that he presided over a 10 per cent pay rise for MPs, The Londoner thought he would be more popular. Good luck to Ruth Evans, who replaces him today. All aboard, to the catwalk in the country To Englands green and pleasant land, where Blenheim Palace hosted a fashionistas away day. Models Alexa Chung and Erin OConnor took their seats at Christian Diors showcase, with catwalk colleague Eva Herzigova also in attendance. Guests boarded the Dior Express, replete with bow-tied porters and buffet car service, before being treated to High Tea, with towers of sticky treats and baked goods on offer. Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, played host to Dior in 1954, when Princess Margaret was guest of honour. Front-row royalty aint what it used to be. Full Marx to the Corbyn clan Walking around Soho over the weekend, The Londoner spotted Jeremy Corbyn. Not the man himself, pictured we hear hes on holiday but rather pictures of his face on a series of posters advertising Karl Marx Walks. The tour goes through the places in and around Soho where Marx lived and worked and aims to tell the extraordinary tale of this man who would change the world. One main attraction is the house at 28 Dean Street where Marx lived with his family, which is now home to the distinctly bourgeois Quo Vadis restaurant. The walk costs 9 but will the Corbyn connection attract the man himself? We called organiser Heiko Khoo yesterday to see if the capped crusader had himself come for a wander, and he outed Marx Walks as big Corbyn fans. We supported Jeremys leadership campaign, he told us. Hes a bit busy but most of the family has been on the walk. Thats not surprising: at least two of Jeremys sons are following their dad into revolutionary thinking. Seb, 25, is chief of staff for shadow chancellor John McDonnell and last week The Londoner reported that youngest son Tommy had been in Russian broadcaster RTs offices to discuss the possibility of an internship, which he did not take up. Could the Marx tour be the ideal half-term father-son treat? ----- Is this Ed Milibands biggest U-turn yet? After losing the election in 2015, a Twitter user asked him if hed perform at Glastonbury. He replied concisely: leave it til next year... Naturally, The Londoner asked his office in April and was told: He is not performing this year. Imagine our shock, then, when we saw the former Labour leaders name on the festival line-up yesterday. Make up your mind, Ed. Ed keeps the red flag flying Ed Stoppard, the son of playwright Sir Tom, has swapped acting for blogging, and has launched an attack on David Cameron and George Osbornes approach to leadership while praising, er, Jeremy Clarkson. Ive always felt that the people most worthy of our admiration are those who manage to display empathy and generosity, he wrote on Saturday, despite their privileged position Geldof, Pope Francis, Jeremy Clarkson ... There is truth in the idea that its very hard to imagine a life of hardship if you yourself have never experienced it. If nothing else, Dave and George, he writes, remember this: it behooves us, the lucky few, to turn to those beneath us and reach out a supporting hand rather than condescendingly intone I am considerably richer than yow! ----- Error of the day to Yanis Varoufakis: his new book states Mitterrand and Kohl must have been spinning in their graves at the handling of the euro crisis. Helmut Kohl, ex-German Chancellor, isnt dead. S adiq Khan today issued a joint appeal with the mayor of Paris for EU chiefs not to water down toxic air limits and risk killing 16,000 more people a year. The Mayor of London and Anne Hidalgo wrote to Sharon Dijksma, president of the European Unions Environment Council, calling for tough and legally binding targets under the new National Emissions Ceiling Directive, which is being finalised. They stressed that there is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to proactively address Europes air quality crisis with a new set of national ceilings for pollutants. Across the Continent the equivalent of 400,000 people die each year as a result of long-term exposure to air pollution, their letter said. Estimations by the European Commission suggest that weaker national emissions ceilings would lead to about 16,000 extra deaths in the EU every year. This is not acceptable and we require our governments to follow the bold lead taken by our cities in tackling this issue. The pair called for binding targets for both 2025 and 2030 for the directive, which covers pollutants including nitrogen oxides and PM2.5 particulates. Current testing proposals would let vehicle nitrogen oxides emissions significantly exceed agreed emissions limits until 2020, they said, and also emphasised that measures taken in London and Paris, including banning the most polluting vehicles from some areas, risked being undermined by inaction at the European level. Alan Andrews, of environmental lawyers ClientEarth, added: Even if the mayors of London and Paris have the best air pollution policies in the world, without action to match that from the UK and other EU governments, people in these two great cities will still be choking on dangerous levels of air pollution for years to come. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the automotive industry was continually improving the emissions performance of vehicles, with billions invested in new technologies. There is no proposed relaxation of standards, added a spokeswoman. On the contrary, the rules get much tougher from next year with the requirement for the first time of on-road, real world testing. A government spokesman said: Tackling air pollution is a priority for this government and we are working with EU partners to agree ambitious and fair emission limits for key air pollutants from 2030. A High Court judge is set to decide how much a former Pirelli calendar model should get from her billionaire ex-husband following a legal battle over diplomatic immunity, a lawyer has said. Saudi businessman Sheikh Walid Juffali has lost the third round of a legal fight with ex-wife Christina Estrada. Dr Juffali, who is in his early sixties, mounted a diplomatic immunity defence after London-based Ms Estrada, who is in her fifties, made a claim on his estimated 4 billion fortune. He said she could not sue him in an English court because he had immunity through his post as permanent representative to the International Maritime Organisation for the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. The businessman had wanted the Supreme Court to analyse his claim after losing fights in the High Court and Court of Appeal. But Supreme Court justices have refused to consider the case, saying it raises no arguable point of law. A lawyer representing Ms Estrada said the Supreme Court decision means a judge can now analyse her clients application for a financial order against Dr Juffali. Frances Hughes, a senior partner at Hughes Fowler Carruthers, said she expects a hearing to take place in the Family Division of the High Court in London soon. D avid Cameron attempted to throw the European referendum spotlight back onto the economy today by saying a major report showed Brexit would mean lost jobs and higher prices. He stepped in after signs the Leave campaigns relentless focus on immigration has given them a boost in the opinion polls. A report from the respected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said Brexit would slash three per cent from Britains economic growth by the time of the next general election in 2020. It warned of a large negative shock equivalent to a cumulative loss of 2,200 per household. But it added that even with a Remain vote on June 23 the UKs misfiring economy was set to slow down this year, and it cut its growth forecast to 1.7 per cent, down from 2.2 per cent. The Prime Minister said: The OECD is right to warn leaving Europe would have negative consequences for our economy. That means lost jobs and higher prices. But Michael Gove fought to keep the focus on immigration the Leave campaigns strongest issue and issued an appeal to Londons migrant community to back the plan for an Australian-style points system to control borders. EU Referendum: latest polls - June 1 He told the Standard: Our plans to control immigration would bring fairness to Londons diaspora communities. At the moment we have to turn away people from outside the EU who may have family here or who may have skills our economy needs while EU citizens can move here freely without even having secured a job offer. That is unfair and should change. The points system would give preference to people with skills in short supply, such as health specialists and software engineers, and those with family connections. But the Migration Watch think tank says it works for countries such as Australia and Canada but would not for the UK. Mr Gove was this afternoon joining Boris Johnson and Employment Minister Priti Patel at an event in Preston, as the TUC said wages would be hit by 38 a week by Brexit and leading firms such as Siemens, Airbus and GKN warned manufacturing jobs will be lost along with the Made in Britain logo on many goods. TODO: define component type apester Chancellor George Osborne said the latest warnings showed that in the real world we have had today another wake-up call of the grim economic consequences of leaving the EU and the single market. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn plans to come out fighting for the Remain campaign tomorrow in a major speech in London, following criticism from Labour figures such as former Chancellor Lord Darling that he is not doing enough. A gay London publisher today spoke of his horror at receiving anti-Semitic abuse on Twitter after he read an LGBT childrens story to his nieces. Benjamin Cohen, who is Jewish, was told he should be gassed by trolls after tweeting about his family enjoying the lovely gay inclusive fairy tale. King & King tells the story of a prince who finds a same-sex partner. Mr Cohen, the publisher of PinkNews, read it to his nieces, aged three and one, and posted a photo of them with the book. Within minutes he received a stream of abuse, some from anonymous users. One read: If all Jews would go gay and lesbian wed all be happy. Would save on our gas bill later. Another said: I only wish all Jews were homosexuals, they might go extinct sooner. Mr Cohen said: While Ive occasionally received abuse before, its never been on this scale, or attacking me for both parts of my personal identity. Twitter needs to urgently address the levels of hate speech on its platform. Scotland Yard said it was investigating. Twitter said users could report and block abuse and pointed to recent comments by Kira OConnor, head of trust and outreach, who said: Hateful conduct has no place on Twitter and is a violation of our terms of service. S tephen Hawking has revealed that even he cant explain the popularity of Donald Trump. The world renowned scientist who developed the framework of general relativity and helped the world understand black holes cannot understand Mr Trumps popularity. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Hawking, 74, was asked for his views on the EU referendum and immigration, as well as the US Presidential race. When asked: Youre a man who knows the universe well, how do you explain the phenomenon of Donald Trump? Hawking replied: "I cant". He added: He is a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Other British public figures and politicians have also made critical comments about the presumptive US presidential nominee for the Republican Party. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hit out at Mr Trump for proposing a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the US. Donald Trump has reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination for president / AP Photo/Brennan Linsley Labelling Trump ignorant, Mr Khan said: It is possible to be a Muslim and to live in the West. It is possible to be a Muslim and to love America. By giving the expression that Islam and the West are incompatible, you are playing into the hands of extremists. Imagine that America has a sign saying no Muslims, what message does that send to Muslims around the world? Mr Trump has yet to respond to Hawkings comments. S ignals from the presumed black box flight recorders of the EgyptAir jet that crashed on route from Paris to Cairo were today picked up in the Mediterranean. French investigators working in deep water close to Greece said the noises were almost certainly from the Airbus A320, which crashed on 19 May, killing 66 people. The jets flight recorders, or black boxes, are designed to emit acoustic signals for 30 days after a crash. This gives search teams less than five weeks to pinpoint the sound in waters up to 3,000 metres deep. Search teams are accordingly involved in a race against time to find MS804s black boxes before they run out of power. AP, the international news agency, said sources on a French ship involved in the operation had reported picking up the signals. The recordings could help investigators determine the reason for the crash. The plane was carrying one British passenger, along with 40 Egyptians including the crew and 15 French nationals. Egypts aviation minister had initially said a terrorist attack possibly brought down the plane, but a technical failure is also likely. Frances aviation safety agency has said the aircraft transmitted automated messages indicating smoke in the cabin and a fault in the flight control unit minutes before losing contact. Egypt and France have signed agreements with two French companies specialising in deep water searches, Alseamar and Deep Ocean Search (DOS). The investigators are searching for the black boxes at a depth of about 10,000ft, some 180 miles north of the Egyptian coast. Three of Alseamars DETECTOR-6000 acoustic detection systems, which submerged can detect pings for up to 4,000 to 5,000 metres below sea level, left the French island of Corsica to the crash site onboard Laplace, a French Navy ship. A surfer is fighting for life after his leg was bitten off in an horrific shark attack at an Australian beach. Ben Gerring, 29, was attacked as he paddled beyond other surfers at Falcon Beach, a popular spot for watersports south of Perth, his friend Brian Williams said. "Next thing all hell broke loose and they were trying to bring him in," Mr Williams told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "His board was broken in half." Two surfers with longboards paddled out to bring him in after the ordeal on Tuesday afternoon. Nathan Hondros, who arrived at the beach shortly after the attack, found ambulance crews trying to resuscitate Mr Gerring. "He had lost a leg from what looked like above the knee, so it was quite a savage attack by the looks of it," he told ABC. Medical staff stabilised Mr Gerring's condition at Mandurah before he was flown 45 miles to the Royal Perth Hospital's trauma centre, where his condition remained critical. Lifeguards tweeted earlier on Tuesday that an 11ft white shark had been seen off a nearby beach in the morning. It was the first serious shark attack in Australia since March, when 22-year-old professional surfer Brett Connellan was badly injured off an east coast beach south of Sydney. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Khalid Kazimov - Trend: Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Northern Iraq, is expected to visit Iran within the next two weeks. Adham Barzani, an official with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has told Mehr news agency that preliminary measures have been taken for Masoud Barzani's visit to Tehran. The reports regarding Barzani's Tehran visit broke for the first time during the visit of Iran's Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi to the Northern Iraq in mid-May. An official with the Kurdistan Regional Government earlier suggested that the KRG and Iran had agreed to export KRG's crude oil through the Islamic Republic. F orty dead tiger cubs have been found in a freezer at a controversial Buddhist temple in Thailand. The gruesome discovery was made after the countrys infamous Tiger Temple was raided by wildlife authorities. The monastery in Kanchanaburi province is being investigated over claims of animal abuse and illegal wildlife trafficking. It is famed for having 137 tigers and has become a popular tourist attraction, with many westerners paying to take selfies with bottle-fed cubs. Sedated: A tiger is removed from the Tiger Temple as part of the operation / REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom The 40 carcasses were found in a freezer in a kitchen area, said Adisorn Nuchdamrong, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks. "They must be of some value for the temple to keep them," he said. "But for what is beyond me." Officials have so far moved 52 live tigers from the temple since Monday, leaving 85 still there. They are being tranquilised and transported as part of a massive operation involving hundreds of government officials and dozens of vets. Raid: A Thai official holds up one of the dead cubs / Daily News/Reuters Animal rights activists have long accused the temple of mistreating the tigers. The government suspects the monks have been involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the animals. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals group says the temple is "hell for animals" and has called on tourists to stop visiting animal attractions at home and abroad. T he United Nations today warned troops fighting to recapture Fallujah to protect the thousands of children trapped there. Backed by aerial support from the US-led coalition, Iraqi government soldiers last week launched a military operation to retake the city, which has been under Islamic State control for more than two years. But the UNs childrens fund says at least 20,000 children are trapped inside the IS stronghold, which lies 40 miles west of Baghdad. Unicef said the children face a dire humanitarian situation, as well as the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting by IS militants. It called on all parties to protect children inside Fallujah and provide safe passage to those wishing to leave the city. Peter Hawkins, Unicefs representative in Iraq, said: We are concerned over the protection of children in the face of extreme violence. Children who are forcibly recru-ited into the fighting see their lives and futures jeopardised as they are forced to carry and use arms, fighting an adults war. Fallujah was the first large city in the country to fall to IS and it is the last major urban area controlled by the Sunni-led group in western Iraq. The final assault to recapture it, which began last month, is expected to be protracted as IS has had more than two years to dig in. Hidden bombs are believed to be strewn throughout the city, and the presence of about 50,000 trapped civilians will limit the use of supporting air strikes. Bruno Geddo, the UN refugee agencys representative in Iraq, told Al Jazeera: Those who make the decision of trying to flee know that at every step they might find death. If they manage to reach a safe corridor, the Iraqi army can evacuate them. However, if they are caught, they will be executed. To reach the safe area is extremely risky and dangerous. Food is completely unaffordable and the price of [50kg of] flour has sky-rocketed to more than $700. People are now eating rotten dates and yoghurt to survive, he said. Yesterday, after government forces advanced through the southern suburb of Nuaimiya, IS mounted a fierce counterattack. Lt Gen Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the commander of the Falluja operation, said about 100 IS fighters had taken part in the offensive and 75 of them had been killed. They came at us heavily armed but did not use car bombs or suicide bombers, he said. However, officers with special forces in the area told Associated Press that the jihadists had sent out six explosives-laden cars, none of which reached their targets. IS still control Iraqs second-largest city, Mosul, in the north, and smaller towns and patches of territory in the countrys west and north. T he University of California was put on lockdown after a shooter opened fire on the Los Angeles campus. At least two people have been confirmed dead, although one of the dead could have been the shooter, UCLA Police Chief James Herren told reporters. The shooting reportedly took place one of the university's engineering labs. Those on campus have been asked to take shelter while police deal with the situation. NBC News reported two people were killed, but campus officials said they could not immediately confirm the condition of the victims. "Right now the police are at the scene and the campus is on lockdown," an office manager in the university's media relations division said. Bioengineering student Bahjat Alirani said police were shouting at people to run from the scene. He said: "I was in Boelter Hall to take a final and I exit the staircase to see SWAT-looking police yelling at everyone to evacuate immediately. "I check my email and BruinAlert had immediately sent an email to all students notifying them of a shooter in the engineering building." Police Chief James Herren said: "It is certainly possible that one of the victims is a shooter." Police found a suicide note and handgun, NBC Los Angeles reported, citing an unidentified source. Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Aareon Jefferson reported two fatalities from the shooting but could not confirm any details about the victims or provide further information about the suspect. "The LAPD is continuing a methodical search of the campus and surrounding areas," police said in a statement. The campus remained on lockdown, UCLA's office of media relations said. The city of Los Angeles was placed on a tactical alert citywide, which means officials can allocate resources based on need, Los Angeles Police Captain Andrew Neiman told reporters near the scene. There were no reports of bombs or other devices, Neiman added.. Police received multiple calls of shots fired around 10am local time (6pm UK time) triggering an immediate search for suspects and victims by LAPD and campus police, officials said. Erica Roberts, a sophomore economics major from Rockville, Maryland, said she took shelter inside the student health center about 10 minutes after she had arrived for work there. "Everyone is really on edge and contacting loved ones to let them know we are safe," she said in a telephone interview. "I'm trying to stay in contact with all my friends on campus to make sure they are OK. Everyone is just terrified." The university has more than 43,000 enrolled students, according to its website. T he teenage victim of a brutal gang rape in Brazil has spoken out about her ordeal on a local television station. The 16-year-old girl, says she was drugged before being gang raped by 33 men, some of whom were armed. She was attacked in a Rio de Janeiro slum on May 21, and so far two men have been arrested in connection with the incident. Speaking to a local television channel she said: "I fell asleep and woke up in a different place with a man underneath me, another one on top and two other holding my hands and several people laughing at me. Also, I was drugged and confused. "There were many people armed and many boys laughing and talking. "There were adults and not only boys. Now they judge me and blame me. "They robbed me. They robbed me but not of any material property but of physical property." Suspect: Rai de Souza has been arrested / Ricardo Moraes/Reuters Police do not dispute that the attack happened but a spokesman said tests on the victim were carried out too late to provide conclusive evidence. Prosecutors say that one of the two men arrested may have been the victim's boyfriend. In the hours after the attack several of the men joked about the assualt online, sharing pictures of the unconscious and naked victim on Twitter and WhatsApp. The two men who have been detained by police are Rai de Souza, 22 and Lucas Perdomo Duarte Santos, 20. In the wake of the attack, Brazil's interim president Michel Temer has announced that an institution for women's rights will be created. D isney have confirmed that Emily Blunt will play Mary Poppins in a brand new film. Slated for release on Christmas Day 2018, Mary Poppins Returns will also star Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda. While the film was rumoured to have been in the works for months, the studio has now officially announced plans for what is set to be a winter blockbuster. The new film, following on from the 1964 classic starring Julie Andrews, will tell the story of an older Jane and Michael Banks and their children. Mary Poppins - in pictures 1 /5 Mary Poppins - in pictures Iconic scene: Mary Poppins was first released in 1964 Starring roles: Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke Disney Film adaptation: The story is based on PL Travers' children's books Live-action: A new live-action sequel is in the pipeline According to Disney, the family will be visited by Poppins in the aftermath of a personal loss in Depression-era London. She will be joined by friend Jack, played by Miranda, who will help the family rediscover the joy that has been missing from their lives. TODO: define component type brightcove Rob Marshall, who will direct the film, said: I am truly humbled and honored to be asked by Disney to bring P.L. Travers further adventures to the screen. The iconic original film means so much to me personally, and I look forward to creating an original movie musical that can bring Mary Poppins, and her message that childlike wonder can be found in even the most challenging of times, to a whole new generation. Disney is reportedly working closely with Travers estate on the project after the famously frosty relationship between Walt Disney and Travers over the original film. Songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are on board to pen new, original songs, while David Magee will write the screenplay. R yan Gosling became known for playing beautiful losers in small independent films. Now the actor has revealed he was encouraged to turn his back on such brooding roles in favour of light-hearted characters by a therapist who urged him to do comedy. Gosling made his screen debut at 20 as a Nazi sympathiser in The Believer. He hit the big time playing Noah in 2004 tearjerker The Notebook. From there, he played a lothario in Crazy, Stupid, Love, acted with George Clooney in The Ides Of March and starred in the Oscar-nominated Drive. The actors next roles are in the more light-hearted The Nice Guys a Seventies private detective movie with Russell Crowe and La-La Land with Emma Stone. In an interview with ES Magazine, Gosling, 35, said he enjoyed doing comedy saying a shrink had suggested it might be good for his well-being to limit the number of dark, emotional roles he did. Whats nice with comedy is that you know its working if its funny, he said. With drama you can watch people in the wings [of a theatre] and you dont know if they are suffering [with you] through your movie or they are just deeply bored. TODO: define component type brightcove "A long time ago I went to see a shrink and he wrote me a prescription that said: Do comedy. Canadian Gosling, who was suspended at school and was suspected to have ADHD, also spoke about his difficult childhood and the game-changing moment his uncle became an Elvis impersonator which inspired him to pursue performance. Aged 12, he joined the American talent show The Mickey Mouse Club, alongside Justin Timberlake. The Nice Guys London premiere 1 /13 The Nice Guys London premiere Supportive Angourie Rice and Ryan Gosling attend The Nice Guys film premiere in London Jonathan Hordle/REX Top trio Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice and Russell Crowe are all smiles Ian West/PA Looking dapper Ryan Gosling poses for the cameras on the retro orange carpet Dave Benett Sign here! Ryan Gosling is mobbed by swooning fans Ian West/PA Peek-a-boo Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe show off their playful side Ian West/PA Clowning around The actors goofed about at the premiere Ian West/PA Suited up Russell Crowe arrives at the London premiere to join his co-stars Jonathan Hordle/REX Rising star Angourie Rice takes centre stage in front of the cameras Ian West/PA In the driving seat Director Shane Black poses at the premiere Ian West/PA Singing sensation Talia Storm looks striking in a black jumpsuit Ian West/PA The actor also spoke about the unwanted fuss he causes in women and gay men but added: Its our time as men to be on the receiving end of the stick. "I grew up with women so Ive always been aware of it. When my mother and I walked to the grocery store, men would circle the block in cars. It was very, very scary, especially as a young boy. Very predatory a hunt. Gosling has recently had his second child Amada with Eva Mendes following the birth of daughter Esmeralda 18 months ago. He said: I think women are better than men. They are stronger, more evolved. You can tell especially when you have daughters and you see their early stages, they are just leaps and bounds beyond boys immediately. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Khalid Kazimov - Trend: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the Swedish investors to cooperate with Iran in its development projects. "I encourage everyone to cooperate with Iran," Mehr news agency quoted Zarif as saying at a joint economic meeting between Iran and Sweden in Stockholm. Zarif added that Iran is a safe country and investors cannot find a country safer than Iran for investment. Minister Zarif is heading an economic and political delegation during his ongoing European tour aimed at promoting trade and economic opportunities. The foreign minister has already visited Poland and Finland as part of his tour kicked off May 29. Latvia will be the final destinations of the delegation. So far, the business delegation accompanying Zarif during his tour has signed documents on cooperation with Polish and Finnish companies worth up to $1.2 billion. Members of the Iranian business delegation attended dozens of business to business (b2b) meetings in Helsinki and Warsaw to discuss ways for the expansion of trade ties. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday her campaign has been in contact with the campaign of rival Bernie Sanders about unifying the Democratic Party, Reuters reported. Unifying the party will be a central challenge once Democrats choose their nominee, with Clinton heavily favored to win the nomination but facing a protracted battle with Sanders, a US senator from Vermont In an interview on CNN, Clinton said the contacts are likely to intensify after next week's California primary. "I will certainly do everything I can to unify the Democratic Party. Our campaigns have been reaching out to one another. We will continue to do that," she said. She said both she and Sanders "are going to do everything we can" to prevent Republican candidate Donald Trump from winning the Nov. 8 presidential election. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 Trend: Turkey is a key partner in the fight against the terrorist organization "Islamic state" (IS) in Syria, John Kirby, spokesman of the US State Department, said during a daily briefing. Kirby stressed that Turkey is a strong NATO ally. "And as we do with all our partners in this fight, we're going to continue to discuss with Turkey all the different means where we can cooperate better against Daesh", he said. He also said that the US is still going to support Syrian Democratic Forces inside Syria. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey banned 49,000 people to enter the country as part of the fight against the IS terrorist organization (ISIL or ISIS), Haber7 newspaper wrote June 1 citing Efkan Ala, Turkish interior minister, as saying. Ala said that moreover, some 3,513 citizens of foreign countries, who were suspected of illegal entering the territory of Syria and Iraq, were expelled from Turkey. The minister said that some 590 foreigners, including the citizens of the European countries, were arrested in Turkey for having relations with the IS. The minister added that as earlier, Turkey will combat the IS firmly. This page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable. 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Celik said that Turkey has carried out many political and economic reforms for full membership in the EU. "As earlier, the Turkish government will continue carrying out the reforms for full membership in the EU," Celik said. "Turkey's membership in the EU is one of Ankara's priorities," the minister said. An association agreement between the EU and Turkey was signed in 1963. Ankara filed an application for the EU membership in 1987, but the negotiations on Ankara's accession to the EU started only in 2005. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Relations between Berlin and Ankara can worsen, if the German Bundestag adopts a resolution recognizing the 1915 events as the "genocide of Armenians", said Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Turkey hopes that Germany will show common sense with regard to the 1915 events, said Yildirim, the TRT Haber news channel reported June 1. He added that there has never been genocide in the history of Turkey. Earlier, it was reported that the German parliament plans to adopt a resolution recognizing the 1915 events as the "genocide of Armenians". Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, committed the so-called genocide against Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. While strengthening the propaganda of "genocide" in the world, Armenians achieved its recognition by parliaments of some countries. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Antonio Gozzi confirmed as Federacciai chairman for two years Wednesday, 01 June 2016 16:21:31 (GMT+3) | Brescia During the annual meeting of the Italian steel producers association Federacciai held in Milan on May 31, Antonio Gozzi was confirmed by vote as the association chairman for a further two years. Mr Gozzi is also president of iron and steel company Duferco Italia Holding Spa. Similar articles Mexican steelmaker Deacero is reevaluating its operations in Chile , following a 13.1 percent AD imposed over the imports of Mexican rebar If the measure isnt reverted, the Mexican steelmaker would need to reorganize all its operations in Chile , a Deacero executive said. According to the steelmaker, the ad-valorem provisional tariff shouldnt be applied, since there is no adequate reasoning to do so. Deacero said it will work with the Chilean authorities to revert the measure. Wednesday, 01 June 2016 11:59:28 (GMT+3) | Shanghai As of May 30, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 96.30 million mt, up 690,000 mt or 0.72 percent compared to the inventory level recorded on May 23, as announced by China 's Xinhua News Agency on May 31. In the given week, imported iron ore prices in China indicated a downward trend due to the continuous declining trend of finished steel prices and so overall transaction activity for iron ore has slackened a little. Precision Steel Warehouse Inc. sells industrial branch Tuesday, 31 May 2016 23:52:38 (GMT+3) | San Diego Illinois-based steel distributor Precision Steel Warehouse has sold its Charlotte, NC industrial branch for $3.6 million, according to Mecklenburg County real estate records. The transaction closed May 20. Three entities purchased the 8-acre property with the following interests: ITW Charlotte 87.7 percent undivided interest, Burlingame Investments 6.9 percent interest, and Once, at 5.4 percent interest, according to the deed. Precision Steels products include low-carbon steel, coated metals, spring steel, stainless steel and copper base alloys. Similar articles Tuesday, 31 May 2016 00:42:43 (GMT+3) | Mexican steelmaker Ternium has opposed a move by Korean companies to review an existing CRC quota import deal signed with POSCO and Hyundai Hysco.In late May, Mexico indicated the country was reviewing a CRC quota import deal that had been signed with POSCO and Hyundai Hysco Co, as KIA Motors has just started up auto production at its Pesqueria plant in the state of Nuevo Leon. Plant officials indicated they would need to exceed the limit set by the Mexican government in order to meet auto production rates.Expanding Korean steel imports to Mexico would represent a regression and would, invariably, be against the local [steel] industry, Ternium said this week, adding the US has applied a 47.8 percent CVD over steel imports from Hyundai Steel.In December 2013, both POSCO and Hyundai Hysco Co reached a CRC import deal, in which Hyundai Hysco limited its CRC exports to Mexico to the following annual quotas: 10,000 mt in 2014; 15,000 mt in 2015; 20,000 mt in 2016; 25,000 mt in 2017, and 30,000 mt in 2018.POSCO committed itself to the following quotas: 400,000 mt in 2014; 450,000 mt in 2015; 480,000 mt in 2016; 500,000 mt in 2017, and 500,000 mt in 2018. Both companies agreed to export the product at noninjurious prices.As a result of the deal, Mexico 's economy secretariat (SE) suspended the provisional AD duties that had been previously established.However, Hyundai Steel requested on December 21, 2015 that the Mexican government to review the quotas agreed by Hyundai Hysco, since a Hyundaiaffiliated company, KIA Motors, decided to invest in Mexico and would then need to use a specific amount of CRC for automotive use.KIA Motors should need 10,000 mt of CRC of automotive quality in 2016, 30,000 mt in 2017 and 40,000 mt in 2018.According to the document, Ternium is expected to become a provider of steel products, including CRC , for KIA Motors in Mexico , however, the Mexican steelmaker cant provide the product within the specifications provided by Hyundai Steel Mexico, one of the Hyundai Motor Group companies.Ternium has denied the claims and said it has conditions to locally meet KIAs specifications in Mexico .Ternium said it supplies steel to KIA in a regular basis since Q4 2015, when KIA started consuming steel in Mexico . Ternium is said to supply about 30 percent of KIAs steel needs in the country. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1 By Orkhan Quluzade - Trend: Germany is not entitled to assess the 1915 events as "Armenian genocide", Mehmet Perincek, well-known Turkish political analyst, told Trend over phone June 1. Perincek said that according to the international law, only regional court in the area where the "genocide" took place, as well as the International Criminal Court can make a decision on "genocide". "If Germany's Bundestag (parliament) adopts a resolution recognizing the 1915 events as the so-called Armenian genocide, then the Turks, living in Germany, will be mainly affected, as this decision can intensify Islamophobia in Germany," Perincek said. Berlin-Ankara relations can worsen, if Germany's Bundestag adopts a resolution recognizing the 1915 events as "Armenian genocide", Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said June 1. "Turkey hopes that Germany will show common sense with regard to the events of 1915," Yildirim said. The prime minister added that there has never been genocide in the history of Turkey. Earlier, it was reported that the German parliament plans to adopt a resolution recognizing the 1915 events as "genocide of Armenians" June 2. Previously, Turkish authorities have repeatedly made gestures to Armenia. The then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's message to the Armenian people on April 24, 2014 is one of such recent gestures. Erdogan said in that message that the events of 1915 were a difficult time not only for Armenians, but also for Arabs, Kurds and representatives of other nations living in the country. Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, committed the so-called genocide against Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. While strengthening the propaganda of "genocide" in the world, Armenians achieved its recognition by parliaments of some countries. Tuesday, 31 May 2016 23:50:42 (GMT+3) | San Diego Data from the most recent Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey indicates that for the month of May, the state's manufacturing index fell from 5.8 to -13.1. The monthly survey is run by the Dallas Federal Reserve (DFR); a total of 111 Texas-based manufacturing firms responded to the May survey.This, according to the DFR, is the fifth straight month that state manufacturing firms have trimmed both staff and employee work hours.Although some feel a possible late-2016 stabilization of oil prices could be a positive, the recent, substantial upticks in US hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have been hard to pass onto customers. In the absence of being able to pass higher costs onto customers, manufacturers' profit margins have been squeezed.Others say that lagging activity out of the oil patch continues to be a concern, adding that still-declining rig counts have caused them to make cuts to both payroll and employee benefit contributions. Wednesday, 01 June 2016 16:16:35 (GMT+3) | Istanbul In the January-April period of this year, Turkey 's steel exports decreased by 4.4 percent year on year to 5.62 million mt, while the value of these exports decreased by 21.9 percent year on year to $3.36 billion, according to the data released by the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association (TCUD). In the given period, Turkey 's semi-finished exports fell by 49 percent to 58,000 mt, with a value of $36.8 million, down 50 percent, both on year-on-year basis. In the first four months of this year, the finished steel exports of the country declined by three percent to 4.37 million mt, with the value of these exports falling by 29 percent to $1.68 billion, both year on year. In the mentioned period, the flat steel exports of Turkey increased by 23.7 percent, while its long steel exports decreased by 8.2 percent, both on year-on-year basis. Tuesday, 31 May 2016 23:03:02 (GMT+3) | San Diego According to May 31 data from the American Iron and Steel Industry (AISI), for the week ending May 28, 2016, US domestic raw steel production was 1,775,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 75.9 percent. Production was 1,704,000 net tons in the week ending May 28, 2015 while the capability utilization was 72.1 percent. The current week production represents a 4.2 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending May 28, 2016 is up 1.1 percent from the previous week ending May 21, 2016 when production was 1,756,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 75.1 percent.Adjusted year-to-date production through May 28, 2016 was 37,015,000 net tons, at a capability utilization rate of 71.9 percent. That is down 0.8 percent from the 37,307,000 net tons during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate was 71.6 percent.Broken down by districts, the production for the week ending May 28, 2016 in thousands of net tons is as follows: North East: 206; Great Lakes: 663; Midwest: 165; Southern: 649 and Western: 92 for a total of 1775. By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com During last Thursdays county commission meeting, the topic of tourism came up. First District Commissioner Karen Stuppy reported on the Tourism Advisory Council and Tourism Tax Commissions joint meeting earlier that week, at which a task force was formed. She said that the tourism department has an $89,548 budget, with $45,000-50,000 Premier Dacian Ciolos and his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov agreed to send a joint letter to the Canadian authorities, calling for a visa waiver for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, the Government informs in a release to Agerpres. Dacian Ciolos participated on Wednesday in Sofia in the Summit meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP); Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu was also part of the Romanian delegation. On the sidelines of the Sofia Summit, the Romanian Premier had bilateral meetings with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov, with President of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev, and Republic of Moldova President Nicolae Timofti. According to the cited release, Romania and Bulgaria agreed on this occasion to send a joint letter to Canada calling for the visa-free travel of Romanian and Bulgarian nationals, who are European citizens as well. "Certain commitments were made as part of the negotiations between the EU and Canada and we want them to be respected, and we agreed on several joint diplomatic steps," said Dacian Ciolos. As concerns the Romania - Bulgaria relations, the Romanian Prime Minister and his counterpart discussed the organization of a joint sitting of the governments of the two countries at the end of this summer or early this autumn. "As already discussed at the level of foreign ministers, we now agreed at the level of Prime Ministers to work together to strengthen regional cooperation with neighboring countries. We have multiple common interests in the relationship with the Republic of Moldova and with Serbia, and we want to take coordinated stances within the European Union," said Dacian Ciolos. According to the Government, during talks with Bulgarian officials, the head of the Romanian Executive also reviewed other subjects related to bilateral cooperation, including the construction of the gas interconnector undercrossing the Danube, which is essential for creating a common transport and distribution network in the region. Dacian Ciolos also said that Romania will support Bulgaria's steps to combat illegal immigration and stressed that both countries have secured their borders at Schengen standards. "We assume these responsibilities and Bulgaria's doing a great job in defending the external border of the European Union represents an advantage for the European Union, but for Romania as well," said Dacian Ciolos. The Government said that the main subjects on the agenda of the SEECP Summit referred to developments of the Western Balkan states in the regional and European perspective. The Joint Declaration on the occasion of the 20th SEECP anniversary was also adopted at the meeting. In his intervention, Dacian Ciolos welcomed the main lines of action of the Bulgarian SEECP chairmanship-in-office and underscored their relevance for the European roadmap of the candidates and potential candidates. In the context of the celebratory context of the meeting, the Prime Minister also referred to developments in recent years in the field of regional cooperation and to SEECP's contribution to advancing the European and Euroatlantic path of candidate and potential candidate countries, the release says. At the same time, Premier Ciolos reiterated Romania's firm and consistent support for the further enlargement of the EU based on own merits and with the fulfillment of membership criteria. Ciolos mentioned the need to continue the European commitment and support efforts of the states in the region towards the implementation of reforms, and also presented Romania's position on topical issues at regional and European level, focusing on the importance of energy security and the management of migration flows, the release says. Croatia takes over as SEECP chairmanship-in-office for the 2016 - 2017 term. Starbucks Trying to Maintain Consumers in China, Plans to Set Up More Stores Customers leave a Starbucks retail store in Shanghai. (Photo : Reuters) Starbucks plans to set up more retail stores in China as part of expansion efforts while trying to keep the brands allure to Chinese consumers, Forbes reported. Advertisement Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, said in a press conference in April that the new store that will open at the Shanghai Disneyland could become Starbucks's highest grossing retail store. "On June 16, we will open in China what will in all probability become the Starbucks highest grossing retail store in the world virtually overnight," Schultz said. "It is a stunning new Starbucks store at the main entrance of the new Shanghai Disneyland, a destination that may well become the no. 1 tourist attraction in Asia." Since its introduction in China in 1999, Starbucks has been widely accepted by Chinese consumers. But now the company must keep the allure of the brand as it plans to expand in the country, the report said. China is now Starbucks's largest market outside of the U.S., with more than 2,100 stores in more than 100 cities. Schultz said in January that the company plans to open 500 stores a year in the country for the next five years. He also announced on Thursday, May 26, that the firm will open its first international Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room in Shanghai next year. Starbucks's roastery in Shanghai will be become the largest Starbucks store in the world, occupying 30,000 square feet, which is double the size of its Seattle store. Among Chinese cities, Shanghai has the greatest number of Starbucks store, with more than 300 locations for consumers. With its resources, neither the economic slowdown nor other competitors can apparently derail Starbucks's growth and expansion in China. "That's because in tough economic times, people deny themselves big-ticket items," Daniel Kline wrote on the Motley Fool site. "They give up vacations and stop buying jewelry, expensive clothes, and other non-necessities. Starbucks, however, sells affordable luxuries. Its coffee may be expensive compared to making it yourself, but it's a reasonable treat for someone struggling to make ends meet, putting off larger indulgences." BERLIN German discounter Aldi is in the middle of a major family feud that could threaten the entire empire, the reclusive heir to part of the business has warned in his first ever interview. German brothers Karl and Theodor Albrecht pioneered the discount store concept, setting up two sister businesses serving north and south Germany in 1962 and then expanding to much of Europe as well as the United States and Australia. Theodor Albrecht Jr. is the heir to the Aldi North business, which runs discount stores in countries including Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain as well as the more upmarket Trader Joe's in the United States. Aldi South oversees Aldis U.S. locations and those in the U.K. and Australia, according to Bloomberg. In an interview with the Handelsblatt daily, Albrecht, Germany's second-richest man since the death of his father in 2010, said a legal battle with Babette, the widow of his late brother Berthold, was becoming a burden for the company. "My brother would turn in his grave if he knew what was going on," he told the newspaper. The paper said Babette succeeded via court action in installing two of her daughters to lead a foundation that controls Berthold's 19.5 percent stake in Aldi Nord, which has a say in strategic decisions along with two other foundations. Albrecht told Handelsblatt that the daughters could now block key company decisions, such as foreign expansion plans, leading to uncertainty at a time when competitors like Lidl are expanding and modernising their stores. Albrecht said the Aldi store network in France urgently needed upgrading as well as those in Denmark, while plans to modernize the chain in Germany have already been agreed. Handelsblatt said Babette and her five daughters reject the accusation and court documents show they have yet to block a major decision. Aldi has not opened stores in any new countries in recent years, although it is growing fast in the United States, both under the Aldi banner and Trader Joe's, while German rival Lidl is preparing to enter the U.S. market in 2018. Schrodinger's cat just got weirder; Can be both dead and alive in two separate boxes Schrodinger's cat is a quantum physics paradox that explains how a hypothetical cat inside a box can be both dead or alive until the box is finally opened for observation. (Photo : YouTube/IDTIMWYTIM) Schrodinger's cat is a quantum physics paradox that explains how a hypothetical cat inside a box can be both dead or alive until the box is finally opened for observation. Now, a team of physicists from Yale University has come up with a research that explains how to make the hypothetical cat both live and die in two separate boxes. Advertisement Technically, Schrodinger's cat has nothing to do with a cat. It is just a hypothetical "cat state" in which two or more quantum particles are believed to be in two different states at the same time. Until 2005, Schrodinger's cat was just a thought experiment. However, a team of physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology were able to actually create a cat state in laboratory condition. The team then used six atoms in simultaneous spin up and spin down states to create the perfect cat state in laboratory condition, according to Gizmodo. The other team of researchers followed the same experiment to create large cat states with the help of photons. Now, in the recent study published in the journal Science, the Yale researchers have explained how the photons in cat state are not only in a superposition of states, but are also entangled. That is, if the state of one photon is changed, the other one will also get changed no matter whether they remain entangled or if they are separated. The twist added by the researchers to the Schrodinger's cat paradox goes in line with what the great scientist Albert Einstein once described as "spooky action at a distance." To prove the theory and to create a state where the cat can exist in separate boxes as both living and dead at the same time, the researchers created a chamber with two aluminium cavities. The team then connected the two cavities with the help of a sapphire superconducting artificial atom. As a result, they were able to create two cats made of microwave lights, one alive and one dead, in two different cavities at the same time. The following TED video explains Schrodinger's cat, a thought experiment in quantum mechanics: The Missouri Foundation for Health announced Wednesday it will pledge up to $6 million toward health initiatives identified by the Ferguson Commissions 2015 final report. In May, the foundation awarded the first of those grants to two groups. The St. Louis Regional Health Commissions Alive and Well STL program received $1 million to continue and expand programs and training to alleviate toxic stress in the region. An additional $450,000 was awarded to the Shut it Down! program out of St. Louis University, which aims to reduce disproportionate African-American juvenile contact with the family court often referred to as the school to prison pipeline. The Foundation said Wednesday it will award more of the $6 million in the near future to programs addressing four other health issues associated with poverty and inequity: gun violence, food insecurity, lack of neighborhood-based advocacy and the need for school-based programs promoting health and self-care. The issues identified in the Forward Through Ferguson report deserve our attention, said Robert Hughes, CEO of Missouri Foundation for Health in a statement. Its important that we take a look at the underlying problems and conditions that may have gotten us to this point as a region and realize that now is the time to dig in. Alive and Well STL has been in operation for about a year. It has been conducting a regional awareness campaign on the health effects of trauma and stress. It offers programs and training seminars on how to manage stress and better deliver health, education and other services to groups that more typically encounter chronic stress and trauma in their daily lives. The new funding will enable the program to continue through 2017, said Jennifer Brinkmann, the Regional Health Commissions chief of staff. It also allows us to more deeply connect with organizations that want to implement trauma informed practices in such places as schools, health care and nonprofit services, she said. Alive and Well STL was developed by the Regional Health Commission as a new way to address health inequities in the St. Louis area. It has been found that life expectancy can vary as much as 20 years between poor, segregated African-American residents and wealthier residents who are predominantly white. In February, the Post-Dispatch published The Crisis Within, a special report on toxic stress affecting children and families living near the Canfield Green neighborhood of Ferguson in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 9-year-old Jamyla Bolden. The report found the families struggle daily with stress from neighborhood violence, debt, housing and utility insecurity, incarceration of relatives, former foster care placements and past trauma. Chronic stress has been identified as a lifelong health risk linked to conditions like heart and kidney disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, asthma and mental illness. The Post-Dispatch further reported that toxic stress in children can lead to early physical development and behavioral problems, including poor brain development and altered DNA structure and gene expression. The report found that many of these health issues are preventable. The Shut it Down! program began last summer in seven elementary schools in St. Louis, providing professional development and training to staff and teachers on inequity, implicit racial bias and the behavioral outcomes of childhood trauma. The program aims for each school to examine policies and practices to better empower teachers to deal with students before behaviors escalate into a discipline or court issue. Its founders included St. Louis Circuit Court Judges Jimmie Edwards and David Mason and SLU criminologist Norman White. UPDATED to include response from St. Louis Public Schools. ST. LOUIS For nearly two months, parents have stood on the sidelines as St. Louis Public Schools, the NAACP and others have pushed litigation that threatens the survival of 35 charter schools in the city. On Monday, charter school parents moved to become active participants in the legal process. Theyre asking a federal judge to stop the legal action from moving forward. Ken Ross Jr. and LeDiva Pierce filed a motion in U.S. District Court asking a judge to allow them and other parents to join the plaintiffs in the their motion to enforce the terms of the 17-year-old desegregation settlement agreement. And they also ask the judge to dismiss the districts motion to enforce the agreement. That agreement states that a sales tax that city voters approved in 1999 was to be used exclusively on programs that offset the negative impact segregation had on African-American students. Those programs included magnet schools, preschool and busing children to predominately white schools in the suburbs. But for 10 years, the state also has used revenue from this tax to calculate how much money to withhold from the district and send to charter schools. The district is asking for the practice to stop, and requesting reimbursement for more than $42 million that has been diverted from the district since 2006. Charter school parents argue that the impact would hurt their children. About 10,500 city children attend charter schools. Most of those schools could go bankrupt if the schools had to repay the full amount. If the charter schools have to close, that would be devastating to a lot of families, said Ross, whose 11-year-old son left a district elementary school as a second-grader for Confluence Academy Old North. The boy has autism and is thriving as a sixth-grader there, Ross said. Pierce has three children in charter schools one at KIPP Inspire Academy and two at North Side Community School. In an affidavit, Pierce said she did not believe her children would get an adequate education if they went to district schools. I was hoping SLPS would do the right thing and drop the lawsuit, Pierce said in an issued statement. In case they dont, I want to make sure charter school parents and kids have a voice in the matter. St. Louis Public Schools isnt the only plaintiff involved. The players also include the NAACP, the U.S. Justice Department and the Liddell plaintiffs. Minnie Liddell is the parent whose lawsuit against the school district on behalf of her son in 1972 led to a desegregation program between city and county school districts. By 1999, the parties involved wanted court-ordered desegregation to end and struck the revised settlement agreement. City voters approved the sales tax to finance programs that the state had been paying for. The agreement was reached between the plaintiffs and the state of Missouri. Plaintiffs and school district officials have said their fight is against the state, not the charter schools. The Special Administrative Board filed litigation against the State of Missouri joining with the Liddell and the NAACP/Caldwell plaintiffs to file a motion to enforce the terms of the 1999 Desegregation Settlement Agreement," says a district-issued statement released Wednesday. "The motion seeks to honor both the letter and the spirit of the Agreement, including the will of the voters of St. Louis who approved the Desegregation Tax be unconditionally assigned to St. Louis Public Schools to remediate the effects of segregation." School district officials first brought the issue to the state's attention in 2008. "We have a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers in our district who fund our school, and the States inaction has deprived students in St. Louis Public Schools of significant funding to improve our programs, staff and facilities and address the impact of segregation in our city," the district's statement says. In their motion, charter school parents argue that the desegregation agreement includes all children in the city, not just those attending district schools. Charter schools hadnt opened in St. Louis when the 1999 agreement was reached, though the Legislature had passed a bill allowing them. The sales tax was intended to provide funds for all students at public schools in St. Louis, not to create a windfall for the district, the charter parents motion states. The 2016 G20 Summit will be held in September in Hangzhou, China. (Photo : Getty Images) A top official of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) lauded Chinas G20 leadership ahead of the September Group 20 Summit in Hangzhou. In a recent interview with the state-run Xinhua News Agency, OECD Chief of Staff Gabriela Ramos, who also serves as the Sherpa to the G20, applauded the Chinese presidency for seeking efforts to boost global growth. Advertisement She described China's efforts as "encouraging" and "ambitious," something that can be considered a breath of fresh air to the international community. OECD Praise Talking on her capacity as the OECD Chief of Staff, Ramos said that the first message of the G20 presidency that China holds is that the international community seeks innovation, noting that the current standing of world economy is still "challenging." Citing the 2008 financial crisis, Ramos said that the current G20 leadership in re-boosting growth is a big help since they had been "trying everything to re-boost the growth." "And that's where I think that the narrative of the Chinese G20 Presidency, which is to boost for an innovation-based growth, has a good meaning. Because this is where countries are going to build their growth potential going forward," Xinhua quoted her as saying. According to the report, she was particularly impressed with China's initiative in making the first Presidency Statement on Climate Change which indicated the group's commitment to the Paris Agreement. She said the statement assures the signature of all G20 members in the Agreement in order to ratify it and give it legal force. Aside from that, she also applauded China's way of integrating practical changes into the group, especially ones related to trade and investment, which she thinks is a favorable way of finding solutions to dilemmas. "We always seem to compartmentalize these two things, but it is really well integrated. China is actually trying to advance that agenda," she said, adding that the summit to be held in Hangzhou is a way for China to "look at the issues and trying to find solutions." G20 Summit in Hangzhou Talking to CCTV on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the upcoming G20 Summit aims to spur development globally by building a consensus to find solutions to economic problems. "We are expecting the Hangzhou summit would build consensus, stand up to the world's economic woes, and offer a clear direction for growth and cooperation," Hua said. "This is a common estimate worldwide, and is in line with the global economy. As the chair country, China looks forward to coordinating efforts with all partners." CARBONDALE, Ill. The family of an SIU student has received documents about his death in February 2014. Lovely Varughese said that during a meeting with city officials last week, she was given the police records from the investigation of her son's death. Pravin Varughese was 19 when he went missing the night of Feb. 12-13, 2014. Officials learned he took a ride from a person and they got into an altercation. Varughese got out of vehicle and ran into a wooded area near Buffalo Wild Wings where his body was found five days later. Since then, Varughese's family had tried to get information about the investigation, even using the Freedom of Information Act. Their requests had been denied, citing the pending investigation. Varughese said she was surprised to receive the records last week after a meeting that included Mayor Mike Henry, Police Chief Jeff Grubbs and Lt. Mark Goddard. The mayor said the city had to wait until it got permission from the Illinois State Appellate Court to release the records. Varughese said she isnt going to release the documents to the public until after the States Attorney Appellate Prosecutor's office releases a report. She said the papers gave her a better idea of how police handled the investigation. A private high school for children with learning disabilities will open this fall inside Parkway United Church of Christ in Town and Country until a more permanent site is found for expansion. The Miriam School, which serves learning-disabled students in elementary and middle school with average intelligence or above, announced last week that it is leasing and renovating part of the churchs education space for its first class of ninth-graders this fall. Miriam Academy will be the first private nondenominational high school for children with learning disabilities in the area. It will start with 10 freshmen in August and will grow slowly, adding one grade level a year. Eventually, officials hope for 100 students. School leaders say the high school will fulfill an unmet need in the St. Louis area. It gives the St. Louis community another option, said Andrew Thorp, Miriams executive director. Some kids do like a bigger environment, and theyre ready for large classrooms. This is for kids who continue to need that individualized support. The high school will be a continuation of the Miriam School, an elementary and middle school in Webster Groves where teachers work with children in small groups, infusing therapy into academics. At the high school, staff will tailor each students experience based on what they want to do after graduation, whether to attend college or begin a career. The school will be aimed for students with average to above-average intelligence with challenges in language, reading, math, sensory and social skill development. Its this kind of atmosphere Amy Cordes wanted for her son, Sam, as he entered high school. Sam has autism and attended Miriam School in Webster Groves for four and a half years, recently completing eighth grade. Miriam met his sensory and physical needs, and the teachers were patient and understanding, Cordes said. Before Miriam announced its plans for a high school, Cordes and her husband were anxious that there was no area school with the services Sam had received at Miriam. They began looking elsewhere, as far as London. They found one they especially liked in Boulder, Colo. We looked at a lot of different options, Cordes said. But now the family is staying and Sam is enrolled at Miriam Academy. They integrate therapy into the academics and provide for the whole student, not just academically, but they have a holistic approach to these kids and provide all the tools they need to succeed, Cordes said. Miriam started 60 years ago serving elementary students, later growing to include a middle school in Webster Groves, which has speech/language and occupational therapy programs. In 2007, Miriam Learning Center started to provide specialized services for children with learning disabilities in other school districts, including charter schools in St. Louis. Both entities serve about 1,000 students each year. For years, parents have been asking Miriam officials to open a high school. In February, the organization announced publicly that it would. Three teachers and a counselor have been hired, as well as part-time instructors for art and physical education. Susan Jackson, the former principal at Affton High School, will be the head of school. Miriam officials have raised more than half the $9 million needed to help pay operating costs of the new high school, as well as to fund a scholarship endowment and cover the cost of middle school expansion at the Webster Groves location. Full tuition at Miriam Academy will be $28,000 a year. Tuition assistance is available. The agreement with Parkway United Church of Christ, 2841 North Ballas Road, will allow Miriam to lease the ground floor for up to three years. Work is underway to replace carpet and ceiling tiles and improve classroom space. Already, Miriam officials are looking for a permanent location in St. Louis County preferably a school building that can be renovated. Theyre not easy to find, Thorp said. An open house with information about the new school will be held 5 to 7 p.m. June 8 at the Miriam School, 501 Bacon Avenue in Webster Groves. Editor's note: A prior version of this story listed the wrong city location for the Parkway United Church of Christ. WASHINGTON Sen. Claire McCaskill said Tuesday that she was introducing the Arla Harrell Act to help veterans of World War II who say they were exposed to mustard gas prove their cases. The bill is named after Missouri veteran Arlie Harrell, who says he was twice exposed to mustard gas experiments in 1945 at Camp Crowder in Missouri. He has suffered lifelong health problems, including cancer and lung disease. McCaskills bill would shift the burden of proof. Instead of veterans having to prove their case, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense would have a higher burden to reject them. She rolled out her legislation Tuesday with a video describing Harrells case and her legislation. The VA has four times rejected Harrells claims for benefits. The latest rejection came last month. McCaskill said that only about 40 of 4,000 veterans ostensibly exposed to the mustard gas experiments in World War II had been able to prove claims. VA officials told the Post-Dispatch they didnt disbelieve Harrell. But they said they hadnt gotten the necessary proof that he was exposed at Camp Crowder in southwestern Missouri near the end of World War II. Harrell said he had been told the servicemen were part of experiments to teach medics and other Army personnel to recognize and know the effects of mustard gas. Test subjects were threatened with military prison if they talked about it, he said. His children and wife, Betty, have continued to appeal for recognition, in part because they believe Arlie Harrell has viewed the claims rejections as tantamount to the military he served not believing him. You just made my day, Bev Howe, one of Harrells daughters, said Tuesday when informed of McCaskills legislation. Ive got tears in my eyes. Harrell is 89 and living in a nursing home in Macon, Mo., in north-central Missouri. He may be the only surviving Missouri veteran who was among an estimated 4,000 soldiers subject to the tests involving mustard gas, McCaskill said. Harrell cannot talk, but he submitted written testimony in his latest appeal, describing how he was twice exposed. The Post-Dispatch reported Saturday on new evidence of testimony from another Missouri veteran, now dead, who described experiments at Camp Crowder essentially the same way that Harrell has for decades. VA Secretary Robert McDonald promised last week a review of Harrells claim, after the new eyewitness testimony of another veteran at Camp Crowder describing chemical weapons experiments in a gas chamber there. McCaskill and her staff have been digging into this issue since last year. On Tuesday she told reporters that her legislation mandates an expedited review of all denied claims shifting the burden of proof in a way that we believe the vast majority of them will be approved. The bill also directs the Pentagon and VA to better coordinate efforts to contact World War II veterans who may have been exposed. McCaskill said efforts so far had been woefully inadequate and a systemic failure. She acknowledged that a lack of congressional oversight since 1993 might also have contributed to the problems she described. That year, the VA was told to contact veterans who were potentially exposed. I am not going to sit here and tell you that Congress should not have done more sooner, McCaskill said. I can just tell you what I am doing, and what I am doing is I am trying to fix this problem because it needs to be fixed. McCaskill said that records needed to prove participation in experiments might not exist because the information was secret and classified, or they were destroyed in a fire at a military records center in St. Louis on July 12, 1973. So it has been difficult for these veterans to reach the standard, the very high standard, the VA has set for them in terms of proving this, McCaskill said. VA spokesman James Hutton issued a statement saying the VA was reviewing McCaskills bill and greatly appreciates the service and sacrifices of every World War II veteran, and any veteran who may have been injured in mustard gas testing. Hutton said McDonald and Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson had directed senior caseworkers to review Mr. Harrells case again. Meanwhile, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that new Corps of Engineers documents uncovered by the Post-Dispatch make it reasonable to accept that chemical agents were present at Camp Crowder. But Maj. Benjamin Sakrisson said the Pentagon could find no records of actions described by Harrell and the other eyewitness at Camp Crowder. The description in the report would lead to the conclusion that training with chemical agents occurred at Camp Crowder, Sakrisson told the Post-Dispatch in an email. However, theres nothing that indicated that chemical warfare research or scientific investigation transpired. Sakrisson said that without records of chemical agent use (training or testing), we have no evidence of exposures. When Camp Crowder was closed, any retained records should have transferred to other Army bases, but retained only as long as their disposition records required. He added: In the (Pentagons) efforts to find evidence of chemical warfare agent testing, we investigated every military base where there was the possibility of remaining records and recorded the results when exposure information was found. Nothing was ever found documenting exposure to service members at Camp Crowder. ST. CHARLES COUNTY An anti-heroin program in county schools could be expanded with some of the extra tax money gained if the county skips the state back-to-school sales tax holiday in August. The County Council on Tuesday night discussed giving $20,000 to the program, which was begun last year by County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar. Councilman Joe Brazil last month had proposed using $172,000 in money gained from skipping the sales tax holiday on hiring two additional county narcotics detectives. On Tuesday, Brazil tweaked his plan. Under another alternative, he said, the county could instead just hire one new officer and use the remaining extra funds for the school program and allotting more overtime pay for existing narcotics officers. Brazil and County Police Chief Dave Todd also suggested that drug treatment programs be considered for funding from the extra sales tax revenue. "We cannot arrest our way out of this problem," a Todd aide, Cpl. Chris Hunt, told the council. Brazil, a Republican from the Augusta area, said a final plan for spending the money is likely to be devised by the council's next meeting June 13. Officials from several agencies appeared before the council to speak about the growing problem of heroin and abuse of prescription painkiller drugs in the county. Dave Lewis, assistant chief of the St. Charles County Ambulance District, said his agency handled 381 cases of overdoses of heroin and opiate drugs last year. That's up from 191 in 2008. Heroin deaths also have increased in the same period, he said. Hunt, with county police, said the countywide drug task force seized 989 grams of heroin last year, compared with 99 grams in 2014 and 30 grams in 2013. Arrests in the county for distribution, sales and possession of heroin increased to 92 last year from 28 each in 2014 and 2013. Steve Kobal, an assistant county prosecutor, said his office has seen an increasing number of cases of burglary and stolen property cases involving heroin users. "They're trying to feed the habit," he said. He added that there are many unreported cases of theft due to addicts stealing from their own families. County Health Director Hope Woodson and representatives of social services agencies also spoke. Under the bill, the county would reimpose its portion of the sales tax - 1.5 percent - during the tax holiday, which this year will be Aug. 5-7. County officials say the county's share of the tax on those days is expected to generate about $384,000 in revenue. About $128,000 of the total must go to road improvements because it will be from a part of the sales tax that can only be used for that purpose. State law doesn't allow local governments to opt out of the holiday for just a portion of their local sales tax, said County Finance Director Bob Schnur. The Legislature created the sales tax holiday in 2004 to stimulate back-to-school shopping, applying the exemption for the state's portion of the tax - 4.225 percent - to purchases such as clothing, school supplies and computers. St. Charles County and many other local jurisdictions also have waived their local sales taxes in the past, but others do not. This would be the first time St. Charles County government opts out. The county also may join a regional system to track the distribution of prescription drugs that St. Louis County and St. Louis are starting. Duterte May Seek China's Help in Building Railways But Is Not Giving Up the Scarborough Shoal President Rodrigo Duterte is set to visit China this October, signaling deeper trade ties with the country. (Photo : Getty Images) Filipino president-elect Rodrigo Duterte may seek help from China in building a railway system for the archipelago as the incoming leader opens new opportunities for better Sino-Philippine ties. Before he was proclaimed on Monday, May 30, Duterte had been the subject of several Chinese media reports that particularly cover his position on the maritime disputes in the South China Sea. Advertisement Now, the Global Times, one of China's most influential media outlets, was told that the incoming Filipino president, who was known for his tough-talks during his campaign, is considering asking China for help in terms of creating a nationwide railway system for his country. China's Help in Railway Projects Filipino journalist Herman Tiu Laurel told the Global Times via an email that Duterte is considering rekindling "the Philippines' thousand-year-old friendship with China" in order to gain help from the Asian giant for projects that would actually help the Filipino people. According to the Global Times, establishing a reliable railway system for the archipelago is one of Duterte's biggest projects. However, the country lacks funding for such a huge public transportation plan that would connect Manila to Nueva Ecija in the north and to Sorsogon and Batangas in South Luzon, and the entire Mindanao region. Duterte knows this for a fact, which is why he said, "maybe China" would be able to help him accomplish the task, in an interview with the press on Saturday. According to Update Philippines, the Philippines' president-elect does not want the railway project to be part of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) because it would be contentious. Also, he believes that it would be quicker if the railway was owned by the Philippine government to maintain service-orientation of the railway system and avoid any conflict of interest. Stance on South China Sea Territory Despite this, Duterte remains firm in his position regarding the South China Sea maritime dispute, where both the Philippines and China are claiming the rights to the Scarborough Shoal and Spratly Islands. In Saturday's press interview, Duterte clarified that the Philippines will not abandon its territory in the South China Sea. "Just because you are building me a railway doesn't mean I'm abandoning Scarborough Shoal," Duterte said in his usual quirky manner of speaking. "I told you, that is ours, you have no right to be there. Whether you believe it or not, fine by me, but that will be the predicate of any further discussions about those territory of ours." Just like Hannibal in ancient times, Swiss engineers have conquered the Alps. More than 2,200 years after the commander from the ancient North African civilization of Carthage led his army of elephants and troops over Europe's highest mountain chain, Swiss leaders have completed another gargantuan task and on time: Burrowing the world's longest railway tunnel under the Swiss Alps to ease trade and congestion in European trade and travel. Switzerland on Wednesday was inaugurating the Gotthard Railway Tunnel, a major engineering achievement deep under snow-capped peaks carried out over 17 years at a cost of about $12 billion. Many tunnels today crisscross the Swiss Alps, and Gotthard Pass already has two the first, also a railway tunnel, was built in 1882. But the Gotthard Base Tunnel is a record-setter: At 35.5 miles long, it eclipses Japan's Seikan Tunnel by 2 miles as the world's longest and bores deeper than any other tunnel, running about 1.4 miles underground at its maximum depth. The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease roadway traffic and draw cargo from pollution-spewing lorries trucking between Europe's north and south. Once it opens for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel will take up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day. Switzerland has pulled out the stops for Wednesday's inauguration. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi are all on hand for a glitzy celebration featuring musical bands, dancers and even a tunnel theme song. Can we be assured that the plant will not pollute our land or water supply so that we are not discovering something decades later like so many areas in Missouri? A Chinese tourist poses for a photo of the Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. (Photo : Reuters) Rich and young Chinese travelers are finding places such as the Polar Regions, Africa and the Middle East more attractive for their adventure trips than Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, a wealth research firm revealed, as reported by the South China Morning Post. Advertisement According to "The Chinese Luxury Traveller 2016" report released by Hurun Report, China's young luxury travelers, those aged between 18 and 36, spend an average of 420,000 yuan (HK$496,000) on travel per household each year, and 220,000 yuan on shopping, mainly on bags, clothing, watches and jewellery. The report said that young luxury tourists also travel abroad mainly for leisure, about three or four times a year. About 23 percent of those interviewed said they were interested to visit Africa in the next three years, while 18 percent prefer to travel to the Middle East. Only 8 percent of them had gone to Africa and another 8 percent said they went to the Middle East last year. About 10 percent said they visited the Arctic or Antarctic in 2015, while 17 percent of them wished to go there in the future. More than 25 percent of those surveyed visited Oceania, while 41 percent plan to travel there in the next three years. From 32 percent last year, those who were planning to go to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau dropped to 19 percent. Similarly, those who favor Southeast and South Asian countries in their future travel plans have dropped from 34 percent last year to 24 percent this year. "China's young luxury travelers are seeking a wider choice of unique and novel travel experiences," said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report's chairman and chief researcher. "They are interested in adventure travel, polar exploration and road trips that take them further afield to a wider range of destinations around the globe," Hoogewerf added. Over the past few years, high-end tours aimed at niche travelers sold well and became more popular, according to Shi Kaifeng, public affairs manager for online travel service Ctrip.com. "We launched three group tours to the Antarctic in 2013-2014. But for the 2015-2016 travel season, all of our six groups are fully booked," Shi said. But before, due to travel restrictions and lack of flights, only a few mainland tourists traveled to these places. "Now it's far easier for mainland tourists to get visas [for most countries] and more direct international flights have started," Shi said. Amrita Banta, managing director of Agility Research & Strategy, which also researches in wealthy consumers, said that young mainlanders were part of the so-called AAA generation--aspiring, affluent and ambitious--and are more mature and open to other activities when it comes to their travel choices. If the cigar industry needed any more bad news, it could be found recently in a couple of unrelated developments that involve sugar rather than tobacco. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen turned down a request by the powerful American Beverage Association for a temporary injunction against San Franciscos requirement that some soft drink advertising include warnings about the dangers of consuming drinks with added sugar. An abridgment of freedom of speech? No. A potentially fatal and unfair blow to the industry? No. Regulation in the public interest? Yes. Then the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its new nutrition facts food label with an additional category: added sugars. Now, to be clear, there is a world of difference between these actions involving sugar and the FDAs tobacco restrictions. And there is sure to be more court action on the soft drink front, as there will be against the FDAs tobacco rules. But I believe the moves on sugar are indicative of the legal trajectory. Heres why I think the cigar fight against the FDA is, sadly, doomed. (Remember, this is just my view. No one elses from this site.) First, despite the outcry that government regulations are taking away our rights, theres little doubt that there is no right to smoke tobacco, and certainly not one that cant be curtailed. Legal challenges to smoking prohibitions based on a recognized constitutional right (be it privacy, property, or equal protection) have generally failed. Additionally, the legality of a product doesnt shield it from restrictions or a ban. Just ask those who live in one of the United States remaining dry counties. Up until 1914, cocaine was legal. Caffeinated alcohol drinks were legally sold a few years ago until the government decided they shouldnt be. Examples are endless. Then there is the frequent complaint of a war on tobacco. There isnt a war. There was a war. Tobacco lost. Were now in the aftermath. Petitions underway in the cigar community seem, to me, unlikely to accomplish anything. One, urging the White House to act, may garner enough signatures, though I doubt it. But even if successful, it will induce only reconsideration, not action. A reversal or exemption would require a monumental change. The chances of that are slim and none, and, as they say, Slim already left town. (By the way, are you looking to the future? Its hard to distinguish which presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, dislikes tobacco more.) Demanding congressional action also appears dubious. Congress didnt approve an exemption in the past when it would have been much easier. Why expect it to do so now? Cutting off funding for enforcement, as has been proposed, seems to me little more than a replay of the earlier Congressional move to include an exemption in its funding bill: a bargaining chip to be traded for something else. And even if a funding halt were to be approved, the FDA could likely go right back to work with new funding in the future. I think the most likely outcome to the FDA regulations is legal action that slows, but doesnt stop, the process. Perhaps my years in Washington made me too cynical. Maybe I am just too negative in general. I hope so. I cant think of anything that would bring me more joy than writing another piece with the headline: I Was Wrong. George E photo credit: N/A Adblock Browser Logo (Photo : Twitter) Ad blockers have been installed on a little more than one-fifth of the world's smartphones based on a new report. It shows online ad blocking is spreading fast, which is having a major effect on publishers and other sites that rely on advertisements to earn revenue and stay in business. The annual study was sponsored by anti-ad blocking startup PageFair and software company Adobe. Advertisement This year's report tracked the move of ad-blocking tools from desktop computers to smartphones. It notes that ad blocking on smartphones has doubled since last year, according to Mashable. Mobile ad blockers have not become widely used in the United States and Europe. In fact, there are only 14 million mobile browser users in Europe, and just 2.3 million in the United States. However, the opposite is true in Asia. Around 93 of ad-blocking browsers are used on mobile devices in countries such as China and India. This is greatly due to the Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba. The report notes that the company's ad-free web surfing app named UC Browser has more users than the total from all other ad blocking tools, such as Adblock Plus. UC Browser now has offices in key mobile ad-blocking nations including China, India, Indonesia, and Russia. It also has plans to expand its business. Mobile phone users have spiked in such emerging nations during the past few years. In such counties mobile phones are frequently the only method of Internet access. Due to low bandwidth connections smartphone owners often want to get rid of bandwidth hogs such as mobile ads. Europe and the US not only have fewer mobile ad-blocker users than Asia but also desktop browser users. More Europeans than Americans use the ad-blocking tools. However, Americans are not inexorably happy about mobile ads. Last month a study by Optimal.com and Wells Fargo showed that almost half of US smartphone owners without ad blockers did not know they could download the software. In addition, most said that they hate mobile ads more than desktop advertisements. In related news, a privacy activist has filed complaints with European Union (EU) regulators against companies that stop ad-blocking software, according to Financial Times. Alexander Hanff argues the EU's "cookie directive" makes such actions illegal. Here's a video on ad blockers and online advertising: 01 June 2016 US suspends cluster munitions sales to Saudi Arabia Civilian harm in Yemen prompts decision Fatima Ibrahim al-Marzuqi is being carried by her brother because she is not able to walk due to her injuries sustained during a cluster munition attack on Malus village (Yemen). 2015 Ole Solvang/Human Rights Watch The United States is suspending transfers of cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia in the wake of civilian harm caused by the weapon in Yemen. "We applaud this decision," said Megan Burke, Director of the Cluster Munition Coalition. "The United States is rightfully applying its own national law that forbids transfers of cluster munitions to states that might use them against civilian targets or in civilian areas." The news was revealed on 27 May 2016 by Foreign Policy magazine, and further confirmed by the White House on 31 May 2016. The decision follows numerous reports released by CMC members, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, demonstrating the grave humanitarian impact of these weapons being used by the Saudi-led armed coalition in Yemen. On 6 May 2016, the Cluster Munition Coalition called on the US to investigate the consequences of cluster munition use in Yemen and whether the weapons were used in violation of US law. The CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon produced by Textron is the only cluster munition exported from the US in recent years. "Whenever and wherever they are used, cluster munitions end up causing disproportionate harm to civilians," said Burke. "The only way to prevent such harm is to renounce cluster munition production, transfers and use altogether, once and for all." According to Cluster Munition Monitor, 92% of cluster munition casualties recorded worldwide in 2010-2014 were civilians. The Cluster Munition Coalition urges the United States to make the ban on transfers permanent, to forbid any future production of cluster munitions, and to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The Cluster Munition Coalition has called on the Saudi-led armed coalition numerous times to stop using cluster munitions and to join the Convention. Sample media coverage Exclusive: White House Blocks Transfers of Cluster Bombs to Saudi Arabia, Foreign Policy, 27 May 2016. "Riyadh's air war in Yemen has killed and injured hundreds of civilians. Washington is finally trying to stem the carnage." The Obama Administration Is Stopping Cluster Bomb Sales to Saudi Arabia, Mother Jones, 31 May 2016. "The controversial weapon is known for indiscriminately killing civilians." Report says US to stop selling cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia, RI Future, 28 May 2016. "In Rhode Island, where Textron is headquartered, peace activists led by the FANG Collective and the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group, have targeted Textron with weekly actions." Gaza, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, has been under land air and sea blockade by Israel since 2006 Egypt will temporarily reopen the Rafah border crossing along the Gaza Strip Wednesday to allow Palestinians in and out, marking the second time the crossing has been open in less than a month. The Palestinian embassy in Cairo said late Tuesday that the crossing will be open for four days. Cairo has occasionally reopened the crossing to allow civilians with foreign passports, students and those with medical needs to travel back and forth through the crossing. The embassy added in a statement that the decision followed talks between President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo earlier last week. Gaza, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, has been under land, air and sea blockade by Israel since 2006. The Rafah border crossing is the only way in and out of the Strip for civilians. Egypts relationship with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has been strained since 2013. Cairo has accused Hamas, which is an offshoot of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, of helping militants in Egypt's Sinai attack Egyptian security forces. Hamas denies the accusations. Recently, however, there have been signs of easing tensions between Cairo and the Islamist movement. Wednesday's opening is the third time the crossing has been temporarily opened this year. Search Keywords: Short link: Rachel Martin died in an accident in Western Road, Stratford in 2016. The father of a heroic Stratford mum who sacrificed herself to save her daughters life has described her as always smiling and happy. Rachael Martin, 29, died on 20 May when she was struck by a car transporter on Western Road whilst walking her daughters Keira and Leah to the Willows Primary School. It is believed Rachael died whilst trying to save five-year-old Keira, who suffered serious injuries in the collision. In the days since Rachaels death, family and friends have been quick to pay their tributes describing her as a popular woman, whose children were the centre of her world. The middle of three daughters, Emma, 28, and Laura, 31, Rachael had a number of nieces and nephews and was part of a close family. Speaking to the Herald this week, Rachaels father William Simpson, 60, of Curley Close in Stratford, said: It was an incredible thing that Rachael did for her daughter. Rachael was a great mother, a great daughter and a great sister. The thing about Rachael was that she was always smiling, always happy. After the incident my work received a phone call telling me something had happened, I called home and my daughter said there had been a bad accident and I should go to Birmingham Childrens Hospital. It was only when I got there that I found out that my daughter had died. I just couldnt believe it at first, I know it was an accident, but not my daughter. The first thing Keira said to me when I got there was mummy saved my life, mummy saved my life, she just kept repeating it. The main thing Rachael lived for was her children. My daughter Emma has been reading all the posts people have been putting up on facebook, everyone has been saying what a great mother she was. Keira was badly injured in the incident, she was taken to Birmingham Childrens Hospital to be stabilised and she has now been taken to St Georges Hospital in London who specialise in treating pelvic injuries. She had operations last Friday to stabilise her and a further one on Tuesday to relieve some of the pressure in her legs. Her pelvis and the bottom of her spine are badly fractured and some of her internal organs have been torn. She is having a major operation this Friday. Myself or my wife are there every day. We make sure she is never on her own. The hospital have been fantastic. I am taking Leah to see her sister tomorrow (Thursday). Were all going to be going down there and well stay as long as it takes to be close to Keira. The girls have received lots of cards from friends and we've had lots of flowers. People have been so supportive. Rachael had two sisters, Emma and Laura, weve always been a close family and were going to stick together and help each other through this. William said Rachael had ambitions to go back to college and gain the qualifications needed to become a teaching assistant and was in the process of deciding what she wanted to do with her future. Speaking about the collision, William praised the actions of bystanders and the staff at a local garage for how they helped Leah at the scene. He added: The staff at the Audi garage were so supportive immediately after the incident and looked after Leah because she was so shocked. A lady called Hannah took her off and kept her occupied and gave her a teddy and chocolates until the ambulance arrived. Now Leah says she wants to name the teddy after Hannah and wants to go back to see her. The children just dont know whats going on at the moment. They havent come to terms with it. Rachaels children were her life, everything she did was for her children and now she has died for her children. For me and my wife Susan, our main concern now is our grandchildren. William said the support provided to Leah by the Willows Primary School had been fantastic, and his familys focus was on keeping things as normal as they possibly can be for her during this difficult time. Alison Staley, school manager at the Willows Primary School said: I was deeply saddened and shocked to hear about the incident on Western Road on Friday morning. We are working closely with the County Councils Educational Psychology Service to support the whole school community and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of all those involved. By James Saft (Reuters) - It looks as if hedge fund activists engineer not just a short-term pop in target firms' stock prices but also long-term improvements in innovation. While studies have shown that news of an activist position in a stock leads to a 5 to 7 percent pop, some have argued that hedge funds are simply creating a short-term share price gain at the expense of long-term competitiveness and productivity. Thats partly gainsaid by data showing no decline in share or operating performance in the five years after an initial intervention by an activist investor. Its also true that activist campaigns often, if not always, lead to cutbacks in the size of firms and of their research and development efforts. A new working paper finds benefits to innovation at firms which get picked on by hedge fund activists, benefits which may extend to other firms not directly involved. The output from innovation, patent quality and quantity, tend to improve. These improvements are concentrated in areas that are central to the firms business and technological expertise, Alon Brav and Song Ma of Duke University, Wei Jiang of Columbia University and Xuan Tian of Indiana University write in the working paper. Thus, our evidence suggests that firms become leaner but not weaker subsequent to hedge fund interventions. Moreover, the efficiency gains also emanate from the extensive margin through the redeployment of innovative assets (patents or innovators). (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2783187) The study looked at innovation at firms taken on by activists, both before and after the interventions. Not only the inputs, the money spent on research and development, but also the output, the number of patents registered and how often they were cited by others, all tended to improve. Spending on R&D drops significantly in the five years after an activist event but most of the measures of quality and quantity of output improve significantly, implying that firms which activists are targeting get better and more focused at allocating assets to their core competencies. This undermines the argument that activists are swashbuckling raiders who leave smoking and disabled ruins in their wake, but does it imply that this is actually the doing of the hedge funds involved? HOW DO THEY DO IT? It looks as if better husbanding of resources is central to the improvements. The patents taken out by the firms increase in number and are cited more often, and much of the improvement is found in areas of technology which are central to the firms' core capabilities. In other words, it looks as if firms were prospecting in new areas, and not always successfully, before the arrival of an activist investor. This is also shown in the fact that following an activist campaign, firms sell an unusual number of existing patents. Not only that but these patents they sell then go on to get cited more when they belong to their new owners. This implies not just that the capital gained by selling the patents may be better deployed by the firms doing the selling, but that the firms doing the buying are able to make better use of the intellectual property, perhaps because it is in an area in which they are themselves more vital and competitive. So not only do activists improve innovation at the firms they target, they may be setting off a virtuous circle of better allocation and better innovation at other firms with which they do business. This improvement extends beyond a company's patent bank to its human resources. The study was able to track the productivity of inventors who stay at firms, those who leave and those who are hired after a hedge fund campaign. The inventors retained by target firms are more productive than 'stayers' at non-target peers; the inventors who leave following hedge fund intervention are more productive with their new employers; and finally, the inventors newly hired post-intervention are of similar productivity at the new firm," according to the paper. Again, improvements in outcome all round, not just at the target firm. Finally, the paper looked at whether any of this might be the result of sample bias: the idea that hedge funds do a good job of stock picking firms which are ripe to register these kind of improvements on their own. Two factors suggest that activists should get some of the credit. First, when they file a 13D form with the SEC, denoting an activist position, target firm performance improves, as does the value the stock market places on new patents. None of this is to say that activists dont have their own agendas and can sometimes harm the long-term productivity of firms. On the evidence, though, it looks like they should be welcomed. (At the time of publication James Saft did not own any direct investments in securities mentioned in this article. He may be an owner indirectly as an investor in a fund. You can email him at [email protected] and find more columns at http://blogs.reuters.com/james-saft) (Editing by James Dalgleish) Mizuho Securities reiterated a Buy rating and $110.00 price target on Alexandria Real Estate (NYSE: ARE) following a series of investor meetings. Analyst Richard Anderson commented, "We participated in three days of investor meetings last week which reinforced our positive view on ARE -- a unique combination of strong (and current) cash flow growth and a longer-term NAV growth kicker vis-a-vis its development pipeline. The show of deep investor reception during a pre-holiday week, which included a video call with several Japanese investors, demonstrated to us that the ARE story continues to resonate. This is despite its (we think loose) association with drug price controversies and the technology industry. Reiterate Buy; ARE is one of our Top Picks." For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Alexandria Real Estate click here. For more ratings news on Alexandria Real Estate click here. Shares of Alexandria Real Estate closed at $96.58 yesterday. An oil pump jack can be seen in Cisco, Texas, August 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Stone By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil settled down on Wednesday on technical resistance at around the $50 a barrel mark, with the market retracing most earlier declines after OPEC sources said the group will likely consider a production curb at its forthcoming meeting. Prices briefly slipped further after settlement when an industry group said its weekly data showed a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories and Iran's oil minister called for OPEC to adopt the radical idea of production quotas for individual member countries instead of for the group as a whole. Later, prices recovered to about where they settled. Reuters cited four OPEC sources as saying the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was likely to discuss an output ceiling at its meeting in Vienna on Thursday. Three sources said the ceiling needs to be set substantially above 30 million barrels per day and lengthy discussions may be required. But later, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh disagreed. "An output ceiling has no benefit to us," Zanganeh told reporters. Iran has steadfastly maintained that it will not curb its oil exports until they reach pre-sanction levels. OPEC failed to agree on a group production quota for the first time in years at its December meeting. It also could not agree to an output freeze at an April meeting in Doha, Qatar, after Saudi Arabia insisted Iran join the plan. Market participants doubted any quotas will be agreed upon at Thursday's meeting. But during the trading session, the possibility of production quotas returning to OPEC helped crude oil prices bounce off session lows. U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settled down 9 cents at $49.01 a barrel, off a session low of $47.75. Brent futures fell 17 cents to settle at $49.72, after plumbing $48.65 earlier. The session high was $50. After settlement, industry group American Petroleum Institute reported a surprise build of nearly 2.4 million barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles last week, versus analysts expectations for a 2.5 million-barrel draw. The U.S. government releases official inventory data on Thursday. [API/S] [EIA/S] (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio and Steve Orlofsky) (Updated - June 1, 2016 2:35 PM EDT) OPEC is working on a deal to stabilize the oil market and raise prices, Bloomberg reported. OPEC is discussing reintroducing output ceilings, delegates said. Saudi Arabia and others believe the deal could accommodate Iran. OPEC is meeting tomorrow. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), together with Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V (NYSE: KOF), announces that it has entered into an agreement with Unilever (NYSE: UL) to acquire Unilever's AdeS soy-based beverage business for an aggregate amount of US$ 575 million. Founded in 1988 in Argentina, AdeS is the leading soy-based beverages brand in Latin America. As the first major brand launched in the category, AdeS pioneered the development of the second largest global market for soy-based beverages. The AdeS brand currently has a presence in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia. During 2015, AdeS sold 56.2 million unit cases of beverages and generated net revenues of US$ 284 million. "The acquisition of AdeS marks another milestone for the Coca-Cola system in providing increased choice of nutritious and delicious products to our consumers. AdeS is a leading brand in its category and we are very excited to add it to our stills portfolio. This continues the successful joint venture partnerships with our Latin American bottling partners and brings more innovative offerings to our markets," said Brian Smith, President, Latin America Group, The Coca-Cola Company. "AdeS complements and reinforces our non-carbonated beverage portfolio offer, providing our consumers with a wider range of choices. Together with our partner, The Coca-Cola Company, we will leverage the leading position of the AdeS brand, integrating it into our robust route-to-market model to drive value and further innovation on this new beverage platform," said John Santa Maria, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola FEMSA. "This sale is a step in reshaping our portfolio in Latin America to deliver sustainable growth for Unilever and enables us to sharpen our focus. AdeS is an iconic brand and we believe that its potential can be fully realized within the Coca-Cola system", said Miguel Kozuszok, EVP, Latin America, Unilever This transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola FEMSA, and Unilever, and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Post completion, it is intended that the AdeS business will become part of the non-carbonated beverage platforms that Coca-Cola FEMSA shares with The Coca-Cola Company in its franchise territories. In all other territories, The Coca-Cola Company will work with its local bottling partners to develop AdeS in those markets through similar non-carbonated beverage partnership arrangements. The Farmers National Bank of Canfield (Farmers) has completed the acquisition of the Bowers Insurance Agency, Inc. (the Bowers Group). The transaction closed on June 1, 2016 and is expected to be accretive to earnings immediately. The Bowers Group will continue to operate under its name from its current location in Cortland, Ohio, but is expected to merge with Farmers National Insurance, LLC, Farmers wholly-owned insurance agency subsidiary. The strategic acquisition is expected to enhance Farmers current company and product line up, and offer broader options of commercial, farm, home, and auto property/casualty insurance carriers to meet all the needs of all Farmers customers. This partnership enables Farmers to solidify our comprehensive wealth management division, stated Kevin Helmick, President & CEO, Farmers National Bank. With a strong Trust Company, Retirement Company (NAI) and Investment division, the Bowers Insurance Company will broaden our offerings with their robust and well-established agency. The Bowers Group will be a business extension of Farmers Wealth Management division, and Farmers financial experts will be able to offer full service programs to all current Bowers Group customers including Private Client, Retirement, Investments, Trust and Insurance. Raymond James & Associates, Inc. served as financial advisor and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP served as legal counsel to Farmers on the transaction. (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co CFO John Shrewsberry on Wednesday deflected an analyst's questions over the quality of the bank's earnings, saying the results "speak for themselves." During a question and answer session at a conference in New York, Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor asked Shrewsberry about concerns Wells Fargo's earnings have been "lower quality," or driven by market-related factors that might be difficult to repeat, as opposed to more traditional banking activities such as taking deposits and making loans. Shrewsberry said the issue "might be a fun academic topic for analysts--you know, getting together and arguing about what's core and what's non-core," but is not a major source of concern at the bank. "It's true that there's frequently from quarter to quarter something different about the composition at the margin of things that contribute to (profits), whether it's mortgage results or mortgage hedge results or non interest income items like gains from investing activity or tax items," Shrewsberry said. Still, he said the bank's earnings "have been the strongest in the business for at least the last five years or so." Wells Fargo shares opened lower on Wednesday, but made back some of those losses by mid-morning, similar to other big U.S. banks like Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp. (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Construction, Environmental and Labor & Employment Practices Receive Top Rankings; Nine Individual Attorneys Recognized for High Achievement LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Chambers and Partners has released its annual rankings of the premier business law firms in the U.S. and, for the 15th consecutive year, Allen Matkins is in the number one tier of real estate law firms in California. Chambers and Partners also recognized the firm's construction, environmental, and labor and employment practices among the best in the state. Real estate attorneys Michael Matkins and Tony Natsis; environmental attorneys Pamela Andes, David Cooke, James Meeder and Sandi Nichols; labor and employment attorney Dwight Armstrong; real estate: zoning/land use attorney Jeffrey Chine; and banking and finance attorney Pauline Stevens were also individually recognized by the publication. Through interviews with peers, significant purchasers of legal services, and competing law firms, London-based Chambers and Partners rates business lawyers at U.S. law firms by state within a selected set of key practice areas, assessing the attorneys' and firms' legal abilities, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by clients. The following is what Chambers USA 2016 said about Allen Matkins on its website: Real Estate Practice: Allen Matkins maintains a strong profile across the state of California for its deep real estate expertise. Particularly noted for talent in highly sophisticated leasing, acquisitions and dispositions. Work highlights include advising Kilroy Realty in connection with the sale of a portfolio of 12 San Diego offices for $275 million. The firm was also engaged by Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT to handle the acquisition of a 460,000 sq ft campus, which is leased out to DreamWorks Animation to serve as its headquarters and studio. According to sources interviewed during the research process, Jeffrey Chine is "a very talented land use lawyer" who "works on matters of industry importance." He recently obtained approvals on behalf of the Kilroy Realty Corporation for the One Paseo mixed-use development project, including negotiating CEQA challenges. Clients admire "star leasing attorney" Anton Natsis for being "very skilled at negotiation" as well as "extremely knowledgeable on leasing issues." He similarly demonstrates strength in acquisition, disposition and development transactions. Michael Matkins has a strong track record of representing lenders and borrowers in the negotiation of joint venture and financing arrangements. Clients comment that he "knows all of the developers and is well connected." Construction Practice: Allen Matkins is known for its expert handling of construction issues arising from each stage of a project, including contract negotiations, bid protests and delay claims. The firm is also noted for its experience in both private and public projects. Work highlights include acting for Raintree Partners on the development of several residential construction projects across California totalling over $82 million. Environmental Practice: Allen Matkins maintains a strong reputation for the full range of environmental regulatory, transactional and dispute resolution work. It frequently advises clientele on high-value projects requiring environmental due diligence. In addition, the firm possesses a wealth of experience in water rights and quality matters. Work highlights include representing the San Diego Unified Port District in litigation regarding responsibility for remediation of sediment contamination under CERCLA and the Oil Pollution Control Act. Pamela Andes regularly assists clients through all stages of project development, with a wealth of expertise in a range of environmental and real estate transactions. Sources note that she is "good at understanding environmental issues and coming up with creative solutions. The "very skilled environmental litigator" James Meeder handles a wide array of criminal and civil environmental disputes. His practice includes soil and groundwater contamination, toxic torts and Proposition 65 matters. Sandi Nichols is praised by her clients as "an excellent, passionate advocate." She heads the firm's environmental and natural resources group and is known for representing clients in water quality and contamination disputes. She is described by market sources as "very practical in her advice." Labor and Employment Practice: Allen Matkins is known for having a wide-ranging practice that includes standout work on employment litigation. According to sources interviewed during the research process, "They are always getting out legislative updates. They make sure they're familiar with new requirements and communicate that to their clients." Dwight Armstrong "is very practical. He listens to what the client needs, and is very thorough in helping the client achieve the goal." He is well known for his work on employment litigation. ABOUT ALLEN MATKINS Allen Matkins, founded in 1977, is a California-based law firm with approximately 200 attorneys in four major metropolitan areas of California: Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco. The firm's areas of focus include real estate, construction, land use, environmental and natural resources; corporate and securities, real estate and commercial finance, bankruptcy, restructurings and creditors' rights, joint ventures and tax; labor, employment and OSHA; and trials, litigation, risk management and alternative dispute resolution in all of these areas. For more information about Allen Matkins please visit www.allenmatkins.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601005441/en/ Allen Matkins Michael Guzzo, 619.235.1565 [email protected] Source: Allen Matkins Suite offers all the capabilities needed by auto makers and their Tier 1 vendors to deploy, manage, and monetize apps, software, features and upgrades SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AppCarousel, the leading provider of software platforms for connected vehicles and the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced the launch of the AppCarousel Monetization Suite for the automotive market. The Monetization Suite builds on AppCarousels already successful Connected Car Platform to deliver the worlds only automotive platform that has a full package of subscriber management and monetization services. The Monetization Suite already securely delivers cloud services to millions of businesses worldwide, and is now being made available to the auto sector. In todays automotive market, once a vehicle leaves the dealership there is very little in the way of an ongoing digital relationship with the owner. However as automakers roll out cloud connectivity to their cars and deploy apps, IVI solutions, and HMI innovations to their dashboards, their focus is shifting towards successfully delivering and monetizing value-added services and features that enhance the connected lifestyle and driving experience of car owners. Car OEMs want to provide them with compelling ongoing services to aid in customer retention and to generate new revenue streams. The car drivers of today expect to be able to log in to one portal to subscribe to and manage all the features they desire, irrespective of the vehicle model and underlying technology. The AppCarousel Monetization Suite provides single sign-on access, user profile and entitlements management, and a commerce experience in a single OEM-branded interface. The Suite works seamlessly with the AppCarousel Connected Car Platform or can be integrated into any third party automotive platform, and can therefore power commerce across the OEMs entire range of vehicles and technologies. OEMs can deploy the Connected Car Platform on its own, or with the Monetization Suite to allow drivers to choose and purchase the apps, updates and services that are valuable to them. The AppCarousel Monetization Suite enables automotive manufacturers and their Tier 1 vendors to: deliver and enable all manner of digital assets including apps, content, and software enhancements handle all types of business models including free to use, subscriptions, pay-per-use, paid upgrades and transaction-based models securely bill customers in a flexible manner over-the-air offer a range of global currencies and payment methods create a vibrant ecosystem of developers and content providers manage and pay partners that contribute the apps, content and value-added services manage driver profiles and vehicle entitlements to services, sales of premium software, service provisioning, app and software upgrades, and the cross-selling and up-selling of value-added services AppCarousel's Managing Director Terry Hughes and Board Member of the Connected Vehicle Trade Association (CVTA) said: "We have identified that the next wave of the connected car is monetization via enhanced value-added services that are critical to driving brand loyalty for automakers. Drivers are saying that they are willing to pay for high quality in-vehicle infotainment, premium features, and services from their chosen car brand. As the ecosystem of connected car services grows, car manufacturers are in a great position to offer unique features and unlock new revenue streams." AppCarousel will be demonstrating its Monetization Suite for connected cars at the upcoming TU Automotive Detroit Show in a joint demonstration with Wind River on June 8-9 in Novi, Michigan. The booth will be located at A11, in the Autonomous Zone. AppCarousel, a first tier member of GENIVI, will also be demonstrating the solution at the GENIVI evening showcase on June 8. At the prestigious industry-leading TU Awards on June 7, AppCarousel is a nominee for Newcomer of the Year which is testament to AppCarousel's pioneering and groundbreaking work to make the connected car a reality, and for its innovative work as a Tier 1 provider to leading car manufacturers. To learn more about TU Automotive event visit: http://www.tu-auto.com/detroit/ About AppCarousel AppCarousel is the leader in end-to-end app management and revenue generation platforms for connected cars and the Internet of Things. The AppCarousel platform delivers a seamless, integrated solution to securely distribute, update, control and monetize any kind of software or digital asset over the air, including the ability to capture, analyze and capitalize on data generated by the diverse types of connected devices that comprise the Internet of Things. The AppCarousel Monetization Suite enables secure end-to-end commerce for any technology, including identity management, business model flexibility, ecosystem management and a wide range of payment solutions. AppCarousel is a subsidiary of AppDirect, the leading commerce platform for cloud services. AppCarousel is headquartered in San Francisco and Calgary, and has a global team to serve its worldwide customers. Learn more at www.appcarousel.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601005392/en/ AppCarousel Lissa Franklin, +1 510-517-8463 [email protected] Source: AppCarousel Carbios, Limagrain Cereales Ingredients and the SPI Industrial Projects Company Investment Fund Run by Bpifrance Are Cooperating to Create a Joint Venture Carbiolice for the Production and Commercialisation of Granules for Bio-Sourced and Biodegradable Plastic Film CLERMONT FERRAND, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: Carbios (Paris: ALCRB): From 1 January 2017 onwards, via its Energy Transition and Green Growth Law, France will enforce the use of bio-sourced and biodegradable plastics for fruit & vegetable bags (35,000 tons per year) and other films. The joint venture Carbiolice shall address this challenge in the long term by continuing to develop biolice and industrialising technological innovation licenced by Carbios. Carbiolice is the product of a partnership between Carbios innovative technology and Limagrain Cereales Ingredients technical, industrial and commercial expertise acquired over more than 15 years in the bioplastics sector. Carbios is providing major innovation with its enzymatic technology which makes plastics biodegradable. Limagrain Cereales Ingredients is providing its expertise and existing production capacity for bioplastic granules, known under the brand name biolice. The SPI Industrial Projects Company investment fund, financed by the PIA Future Investments Programme and run by Bpifrance, will round off the financial partnership to support the expansion of industrial production. The future company shall take over Limagrain Cereales Ingredients bioplastics activity and progressively integrate the technological innovations licenced by Carbios over time. The granules will be used to produce bio-sourced and biodegradable plastic films for a variety of applications including green waste collection bags, mulch films, fruit & vegetable bags, industrial films and even mailing films. Theses biodegradable plastics will meet the increasingly stringent requirements defined by Frances energy transition law. The future company will, in the long term, create 50 direct jobs and support one of the first green chemistry technologies currently under development and deployed on an industrial scale in France. The contributions from industrial assets and licences result in a project total of 29.5 million, with the cash element to be released in three phases over four years. The SPI fund will invest 11 million over this period to ultimately reach a 37% shareholding in Carbiolice. These investments will help to ensure activity growth by progressively acquiring additional industrial capacity. They will also help to support the industrial and commercial development of the new plastic materials derived from Carbios technology. Chief Executive Officer of Carbios, Jean-Claude Lumaret: Carbiolice is a continuation of the Thanaplast project supported by Bpifrance, led by Carbios and with Limagrain Cereales Ingredients as one of the industrial partners. We are very pleased to see the creation of this industrial partnership with Limagrain Cereales Ingredients and Bpifrance; it confirms their confidence in Carbios innovation and expertise. For Carbios, this is the first tangible industrial project stemming from the R&D work underway since 2011 with all partners involved in Thanaplast. The creation of this new Company shows that a young innovative company like Carbios can - with the right industrial, academic and financial partners - make an innovation in Green Chemistry an actual industrial reality in less than five years, helping to create value, generate employment and meet the environmental goals stated at COP21. Magali Joessel, Director of the SPI fund at Bpifrance: As the fourth investment made by the SPI fund, Carbiolice fully meets the funds goals by supporting the industrialisation of new job-creating activities. The Green Chemistry sector, with its high-quality innovations, is proving to be a very promising sector for building new and strong industrial positioning. We are pleased to have contributed to this value-creating partnership in the green industry between Carbios, a young, innovative company and Limagrain Cereales Ingredients, one of the leading processors of cereals. Director of Limagrain Cereales Ingredients, Emmanuel Goujon: After 15 years of developing biolice bioplastics, the creation of the joint company Carbiolice with new partners is an opportunity to promote our acquired expertise and meet the challenges of growth in these markets in France and internationally. I am delighted that this joint venture shall open up new horizons founded on the synergy between our teams. About CarbiosCarbios is a young, innovative green chemistry company whose mission is to find biological solutions to the new environmental and sustainable development issues faced by industrial businesses today. Carbios acquired the rights to research that was conducted over a number of years by various public and private sector laboratories. By leveraging the biological properties of catalysts (enzymes), it has used this research as the foundation for developing innovative industrial bioprocesses that optimise the technical, economic and environmental performance of polymers (thermoplastic materials and synthetic or food-based fibres). Initially, Carbios chose to focus its efforts on the strategic application sector of plastics. Carbios growth strategy is based on an economic business model of industrial value creation that targets attractive markets, develops innovative and competitive bioprocesses and licenses them to major industrial stakeholders of these markets for development and commercialisation. Carbios benefits from the financial support of the leading European venture capital firm Truffle Capital. CARBIOS was founded in 2011 and has been managed, since its inception, by the Holding Incubatrice Chimie Verte fund. CARBIOS was granted the label Young Innovative Company by Bpifrance (former OSEO) and is eligible for investments by Private Equity Mutual Funds (FCPIs). For more information, please visit: www.carbios.fr Carbios is eligible for PEA-PME, a government programme allowing French residents investing in SMEs to benefit from income tax rebates About Limagrain Cereales IngredientsLimagrain Cereales Ingredients (LCI) is a subsidiary of LIMAGRAIN, an international agricultural cooperative, specialising in field seeds, vegetable seeds and cereal products. As a subsidiary of LIMAGRAIN, LCI has a unique positioning and perfect understanding of cereals and their interactions with industrial processes. LCI develops and manufactures authentic and functional cereal ingredients for manufacturers in the food industry and bioplastics.Limagrain Cereales Ingredients generates a turnover of 120 million and processes more than 200,000 tonnes of cereals every year. Its six industrial sites are close to supply basins and enable the complete traceability of ranges of corn flake base, semolina, corn flour, pellets, functional flours, improvers and bioplastic granules. Always connected to our clients markets, researchers and R&D teams manage and coordinate numerous programmes to select and improve the wheat and corn varieties that constitute our raw materials.Limagrain Cereales Ingredients develops its expertise in five main markets: snacks, breakfast cereals, industrial and artisanal bread-making, ready meals and non-food applications (mainly bioplastics). About the SPI Industrial Projects Company fundManaged by Bpifrance on behalf of the French State as part of the PIA Future Investments Programme, the purpose of this fund is to enable industrial projects with the best prospects for business and employment in industrial sectors to find support for their development.The fund acts as a prudent equity investor in project companies with industrialisation projects selected for their growth potential, the industrys current position and their contribution to environmental and energy transition. It therefore constitutes one of the financial levers of the New Industrial France. About BpifranceBpifrance, a subsidiary of Caisse des Depots and the French State, is a trusted partner of entrepreneurs which provides companies with credit, collateral and equity financing support from start up through to stock exchange listing. Bpifrance also provides guidance services and enhanced support for innovation, external growth and export, in partnership with Business France and Coface.Bpifrance offers companies a continuum of financing for each key stage of their development and an offer adapted to specific regional features.With 42 regional offices (90% of decisions are made regionally), Bpifrance offers entrepreneurs a tool for economic competitiveness. Bpifrance works in support of the public policies pursued nationally and regionally by the French government, to meet three objectives: support the growth of businesses; prepare for future competitiveness; contribute to the development of a favourable ecosystem for entrepreneurship. With Bpifrance, companies have a strong and effective local contact to meet all their financial, innovation and investment needs.For more information, please visit: www.bpifrance.fr http://investissementsdavenir.bpifrance.fr/ Twitter: @bpifrance About the PIA Future Investments ProgrammeThe PIA Future Investments Programme has been endowed with a total of 47 billion euros. Since 2010, more than 36 billion euros of this total have been invested in six major strategic areas for France and its future: Higher education and training Research and implementation Industrial modernisation Sustainable development The digital economy View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601006312/en/ Press contacts: Bpifrance Anne-Sophie de Faucigny, Tel.: +33 (0)6 46 01 52 86 [email protected] or Carbios Benjamin Audebert, Tel.: +33 (0)6 42 01 14 92 [email protected] or Alize RP Caroline Carmagnol, Tel.: +33 (0) 6 64 18 99 59 [email protected] or Limagrain Cereales Ingredients Walter Lopez, Tel.: +33 (0)6 08 87 54 22 [email protected] Source: Carbios Offering will finance in part the acquisition of EMC Corporation ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Denali Holding Inc. (the Company) announced today the successful completion of the previously announced offering by two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries as co-issuers (the co-issuers) of $3,750,000,000 3.480 percent First Lien Notes due 2019 (the 2019 Notes), $4,500,000,000 4.420 percent First Lien Notes due 2021 (the 2021 Notes), $3,750,000,000 5.450 percent First Lien Notes due 2023 (the 2023 Notes), $4,500,000,000 6.020 percent First Lien Notes due 2026 (the 2026 Notes), $1,500,000,000 8.100 percent First Lien Notes due 2036 (the 2036 Notes) and $2,000,000,000 8.350 percent First Lien Notes due 2046 (the 2046 Notes and, together with the 2019 Notes, the 2021 Notes, the 2023 Notes, the 2026 Notes and the 2036 Notes, the Notes). The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes as part of its financing for its previously-announced acquisition of EMC Corporation (the Dell-EMC Merger). The proceeds of the offering were deposited in escrow, with such proceeds to be released to finance the consummation of the Dell-EMC Merger subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions. Upon consummation of the Dell-EMC Merger, Dell International L.L.C., a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, and EMC Corporation will assume all of the co-issuers obligations under the Notes. The Notes will be guaranteed on a joint and several basis by the Company, Denali Intermediate Inc., Dell Inc. and each of Denali Intermediate Inc.s wholly-owned domestic subsidiaries (including EMC Corporations wholly-owned domestic subsidiaries following consummation of the Dell-EMC Merger) that guarantees obligations under the new senior secured credit facilities that will be entered into in connection with the Dell-EMC Merger. The Notes were offered in a private transaction in reliance upon an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), in the United States only to investors who are qualified institutional buyers, as that term is defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act, or outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. 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Participants in the Solicitation Denali Holding Inc. and certain of its directors, officers and employees may participate in the solicitation of proxies from EMC Corporation shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction without additional compensation. Additional information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, participate in the solicitation of EMC Corporation shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction and a description of their direct and indirect interest, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601006727/en/ Source: Dell Inc. SALFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Board of Luxfer Holdings PLC (Luxfer Group) (NYSE: LXFR) announced on May 24, 2016, that it has appointed Joseph Bonn as non-executive chairman on an interim basis following the retirement of Peter Haslehurst, who held the position of chairman for the past 10 years. Mr. Bonn has been a non-executive director on the board since March 2007. Later this year the board will appoint a chairman for the longer term. Concerning Mr. Haslehursts retirement, Luxfer Group Chief Executive Brian Purves said: "I would like to thank Peter for his valuable contribution to the development of the Group since he joined our board in 2003 and in his role as chairman since 2006. I and the rest of the board wish him all the best for the future." Currently a consultant with Joseph Bonn RE&C Corp., Mr. Bonn has extensive experience in the aluminum and specialty chemical industries, having worked for Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation for more than 35 years in various senior capacities. He served on the board and executive committee of the Aluminum Association and the boards of the National Association of Purchasing Management and the International Primary Aluminum Institute. He also served on the boards of Turkkablo A.O., Turkey; Anglesey Aluminum Ltd.; Volta Aluminum Company (chairman); Alupac Inc., Ohio; and National Refractories and Minerals Corporation, California. Mr. Bonn holds a bachelors degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a masters degree in finance from Cornell University. About Luxfer Group Luxfer Group (www.luxfer.com) is a global materials technology group focused on sustained value creation using its broad array of technical know-how and proprietary materials technologies. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of high-performance materials, components and high-pressure gas-containment devices for environmental, healthcare, protection and specialty end-markets. Luxfer customers include both end-users of its products and manufacturers that incorporate Luxfer products into finished goods. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601006897/en/ Luxfer Group Dan Stracner +951-341-2375 [email protected] Source: Luxfer Group OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/31/16 -- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat As the country's largest employer, the Government of Canada is committed to being a leader in tackling the challenges of mental illness in the workplace. The President of Treasury Board, the Honourable Scott Brison, and the National President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Robyn Benson, today welcomed the release of a second report by the Joint Task Force on Mental Health in the Workplace. Building on the recommendations of the first report, the Joint Task Force's second report provides specific direction to federal public service organizations in key areas, such as guidance on the selection of a mental health champion and the development of organizational engagement. These recommendations will help guide efforts to improve mental health in federal workplaces. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, along with federal departments and agencies, will act on the report's recommendations in the coming months. Quotes "The Government is committed to restoring a culture of respect for and within the public service. We will continue to work with public sector unions to improve how we address mental health issues in the workplace. The recommendations by the Joint Task Force will contribute to healthier workplaces for federal public servants across Canada." The Honourable Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board "The release of the Joint Task Force's second report demonstrates our shared commitment to the important issue of mental health in the workplace. The Public Service Alliance of Canada believes the next steps will be crucial as we seek to implement concrete strategies to promote better workplace practices when dealing with mental health issues." Robyn Benson, National President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada Related products -- Technical Committee Report to the Steering Committee on Mental Health in the Workplace - April 2016 -- Technical Committee Report to the Steering Committee on Mental Health in the Workplace - September 2015 Quick facts -- In March 2015, the Government of Canada and PSAC established a Joint Task Force to address mental health in the workplace. -- Data on disability insurance claims show that about half (49%) of all claims approved in 2015 were due to mental health conditions (e.g., depression, neurosis, affective and behavioural disorders). -- In December 2015, the Mental Health Joint Task Force released its first report during a meeting of the National Joint Council. -- The Clerk of the Privy Council's recent annual report identified mental health as a priority for the Public Service. Associated Links First report from the Joint Task Force addressing mental health in the workplace. March 2015 News Release - Government and PSAC Working Together on Mental Health Twenty-Third Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada Follow us on Twitter: @TBS_Canada. Contacts: Jean-Luc Ferland Press Secretary Office of the President of the Treasury Board 613-369-3163 Media Relations Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat 613-369-9400 Public Service Alliance of Canada Media Contact Shelina Merani 613-293-9324 TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) 613-369-9371 Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat - For the first time, Grab users can use the Grab app outside of Southeast Asia and book Lyft rides in the U.S. from today - The Grab app can now be used in over 200 U.S. cities where Lyft operates - First two-way integration in global rideshare partnership goes live in the coming weeks SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Grab, the leading ride-hailing platform in Southeast Asia, is now available for the first time outside of the region. Grab users who are travelling to the U.S. from Southeast Asia can book rides in over 200 U.S. cities from today, with the Lyft integration in the Grab app now complete. This is part of Grabs commitment to provide solutions that make the Grab app a seamless experience, whether in cross-border travel, payments or new services. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601007050/en/ Grab-Lyft Integration Welcome and Booking Screens: GrabCar and GrabTaxi, Lyft and Lyft Plus rides will be available to U.S. and SEA travelers. (Photo: Business Wire) The Grab and Lyft two-way integration will go live in the coming weeks, enabling users in Southeast Asia (SEA) and the U.S. to book rides through their native apps when they travel. This is the first two-way integration to go live in the global rideshare agreement between Didi Chuxing, Grab, Lyft and Ola announced in December 2015 a partnership that reaches nearly 50 per cent of the worlds population, including the millions of international travelers across China, Southeast Asia, the U.S. and India yearly. Today, one in nine smartphone users in SEA are Grab users, with access to the largest land transport fleet in the region including taxis, private cars and motorbike services. The Grab-Lyft integration enables Grabs users to additionally access leading ridesharing services in over 200 U.S. cities where Lyft operates. The Grab-Lyft integration will also provide Lyft users with convenient access to rideshare services in 30 cities across six countries in SEA, a region which continues to attract an increasing number of international travelers from the U.S. and around the world. In 2015, SEAs international arrivals totaled 106 million, and this number is expected to increase to nearly 200 million travelers over the next 10 years.1 American tourists are among the top travel spenders in the Asia Pacific region and will continue to be in the foreseeable future, spending US$231.6 billion in 2015. 2 Grab has always put the freedom of choice, flexibility and convenience in the hands of our customers, including providing a seamless travel experience across borders, as we seek to outserve our users, said Tan Hooi Ling, Co-Founder of Grab. Southeast Asia is a huge growth market for international visitors and we welcome our American friends and travelers from the U.S. to experience ride-hailing via taxis and cars in our region. This partnership with Lyft is another step to enable seamless international travel, and it combines the strength and reach of our companies to cross-share learnings and leverage the best services in each local market for the benefit of our users. As more and more people travel to and from the U.S. and Southeast Asia, our work with Grab gives travelers peace of mind when abroad. Its as easy as opening up the app you already know and love, requesting a ride and jetting off to where you need to be, said Kristina Gibson, head of international product for Lyft. Our goal is to provide passengers with a seamless experience. The roaming integration, which is part of a broader global partnership, enables international travelers to access local on-demand rides, without worry of local currency, language, downloading a new app or setting up new payment accounts. Grab users traveling in the U.S. will be able to book Lyft and Lyft Plus rides through the Grab app, and a Lyft user traveling in SEA will be able to book GrabCar and GrabTaxi rides through the Lyft app (in cities where available). All rides are cashless and transacted via credit card or alternative payment options such as PayPal wallet, enabling for a seamless ride experience. The Lyft integration in the Grab app is now available and Grab users can book Lyft rides in the U.S. using the Grab app from today. The Grab integration in the Lyft app will be available in the coming weeks. About Grab Grab is Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing platform. Grab solves critical transportation challenges and make transport freedom a reality for 620 million people in Southeast Asia. Grab began as a taxi-hailing app in 2012, but has expanded its core product platform to include private cars and motorbikes. Grab is focused on pioneering new commuting alternatives for drivers and passengers with an emphasis on convenience, safety and reliability. As part of its innovative culture, Grab is testing new services such as social carpooling, as well as last mile and food deliveries. Grab currently offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: http://www.grab.com. About Lyft Lyft was founded in June 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer to reconnect people and communities through better transportation. Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the U.S. and is available in more than 200 cities. Lyft is preferred by drivers and passengers for its safe and friendly experience, and its commitment to affecting positive change for the future of our cities. 1 World Travel and Tourism Council 2016 Report on Economic Impact in Southeast Asia 2 Pacific Asia Travel Association, U.S. Travelers Will Dominate Tourism Spending in Asia-Pacific Through 2020, Skift.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601007050/en/ Grab: Singapore Claire Chai, +65 9011 7398 [email protected] or United States Sard Verbinnen & Co +1 415-618-8750 [email protected] or Lyft: Tim Rathschmidt, +1 646-808-6439 [email protected] Source: Grab SAN DIEGO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tocagen Inc., a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, today announced results from a multi-center study of an investigational immunotherapy, Toca 511 & Toca FC, have been published in the June 1, 2016, issue of Science Translational Medicine. The study, conducted in patients with recurrent brain cancer, showed extended survival compared to an external control, complete and partial tumor shrinkage determined by independent radiology review and favorable safety and tolerability profiles. This article marks the first peer-reviewed publication describing the study of a retroviral replicating vector administered to humans. Timothy Cloughesy, M.D., director of the UCLA, Neuro-Oncology Program, is the lead author of the paper. High grade gliomas (HGGs) are among the most common and aggressive primary brain cancers. In 2016 approximately 160,000 patients worldwide are expected to be diagnosed with HGG. The two most common forms of HGGs are glioblastoma (GBM) and anaplastic astrocytoma. With current standard of care, newly diagnosed GBM patients have a median survival of approximately 16 months. Median survival after recurrence is typically seven to nine months. In the published study conducted by Tocagen, 43 patients with recurrent HGG treated with Toca 511 & Toca FC had a median overall survival of 13.6 months and a probability of survival at 24 months of 29.1%. In the subset of 27 patients with recurrent HGG in the higher dose cohorts, median overall survival was 14.4 months with a probability of survival at 24 months of 40%. In the subset of 27 patients with recurrent GBM at first or second recurrence, median overall survival and probability of survival at 24 months were 13.6 months and 29.1%, respectively, compared to 7.1 months and 9.1% for an external control of matched GBM patients who received the standard of care chemotherapy drug lomustine. Importantly, Toca 511 & Toca FC had a favorable safety profile and was well tolerated by patients. "The safety and survival data described in this manuscript are very promising. Seeing a probability of 40 percent survival at 2 years is extraordinary for patients with recurrent brain cancer and consistent with the proposed immune mechanism for this approach," said Tom Mikkelsen, M.D., co-director of the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center at Henry Ford Hospital and president and scientific director of the Ontario Brain Institute. "Given the high unmet need and extremely limited treatment options for these patients, we are encouraged by these data and look forward to advancing this potential new treatment option for patients suffering from this devastating disease." Survival results from the studies are summarized in the table below. Median OverallSurvival(Months) Overall SurvivalProbability at 24Months Efficacy evaluable population receiving Toca 511 & Toca FC Recurrent HGG patients in all dose cohorts (n=43) 13.6 29.1% Recurrent HGG patients in higher dose cohorts (n=32) 14.4 40.0% First or second recurrence GBM patients in all dose cohorts(n=27) 13.6 29.1% External control population receiving lomustine Matched first or second recurrence GBM patients(n= 84) 7.1 9.1% Tumor samples from patients surviving greater than 12 months after treatment displayed a unique survival-related mRNA expression signature which may help support the observed clinical activity of the treatment. Statistically significant increases in CD4+ T cells in the blood were observed, suggesting immune activation may be involved. Also, durable complete and partial shrinkage of tumors reported by independent radiology review were observed in the higher dose groups. Seven of eight patients with stable disease were also in the higher dose cohorts. "Brain cancers, including glioblastomas, are sensitive to the anticancer drug 5-FU, but side effects from systemic treatment limit its clinical utility. Tocagen's approach minimizes side effects by producing 5-FU within the tumor, allowing it to selectively destroy cancer cells and also activate the immune system. In addition, 5-FU kills immunosuppressive cells, further powering the immune system's ability to kill the tumor," said Harry Gruber, M.D., chief executive officer of Tocagen. "The first publication of clinical data describing Toca 511 & Toca FC is an important accomplishment for a large number of individuals and groups who have supported this new approach to fighting cancer, including patients and their caregivers, the brain tumor care teams at our clinical sites, the dedicated brain cancer non-profit organizations, the clinical diagnostics team at Siemens Healthcare and our passionate team at Tocagen." Dr. Gruber also highlighted these results during a concurrent panel discussion at the Boston CEO Conference. This study was performed in collaboration with investigators at Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California San Diego School of Medicine; Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI; Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; Swedish Neurological Institute, WA; and JFK Medical Center, Edison, NJ. MGMT DNA methylation analyses were performed by Ribomed Biotechnologies Inc. Sites in the United States and Canada are now recruiting patients with recurrent glioblastoma or anaplastic astrocytoma for a Phase 2/3 study of Toca 511 & Toca FC, called Toca 5. Additional sites in Germany, Israel and South Korea are planned. More information about the Toca 5 trial can be found at www.tocagen.com/toca5 or by searching www.clinicaltrials.gov using the clinical trial identifier NCT02414165. "While the pursuit of a potential new treatment option for patients with brain cancer remains our first priority, new preclinical results showing our approach activates the immune system against other tumors has driven our plans to initiate a study later this year for patients with metastatic cancers including colorectal, pancreatic, lung, breast, renal and melanoma," added Dr. Gruber. About Toca 511 & Toca FCTocagen's cancer-selective gene therapy platform is built on retroviral replicating vectors (RRVs) designed to selectively integrate into the DNA of cancer cells which then serve as factories for these RRVs to replicate and infect neighboring cancer cells, providing long-term presence of the therapeutic gene(s). Tocagen's lead product candidate is a combination of an investigational RRV, Toca 511, and an investigational drug tablet, Toca FC, designed to be used together. Toca 511 is a conditionally oncolytic virus that delivers selectively to cancer cells a gene which converts Toca FC into 5-FU, a potent anticancer drug, in the tumor microenvironment. 5-FU kills the cancer cells leading to activation of the immune system against those dying cells. 5-FU also kills immunosuppressive myeloid cells, which are a major brake on the immune system in the tumor. Removing this brake dramatically increases the immune activation against the cancer. In summary, Toca 511 has a duel mechanism of action. 5-FU is a trigger to conditional oncolytic activation of the immune system and to remove an important brake on the immune system, in the tumor microenvironment. About TocagenTocagen is a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company focused on developing first-in-class, broadly applicable product candidates designed to activate a patient's immune system against their own cancer from within. The company is developing its lead investigational product candidate, Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec) & Toca FC (extended-release 5-fluorocytosine), initially for the treatment of recurrent high grade glioma (HGG), a disease with significant unmet medical need. Tocagen has initiated the Phase 2 portion of a randomized, controlled Phase 2/3 clinical trial of Toca 511 & Toca FC in patients with recurrent HGG, which is designed to serve as a potential registrational trial. More information about the clinical trial can be found at www.tocagen.com/toca5. In 2016, Tocagen plans to initiate clinical trials of Toca 511 & Toca FC in newly diagnosed HGG and metastatic cancer, including colorectal, pancreatic, lung, breast, renal and melanoma. Tocagen obtained Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Toca 511 & Toca FC as a treatment of recurrent HGG and Orphan drug designation for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), a subset of HGG. Tocagen has received grant support from leading brain cancer foundations, including Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA), Musella Foundation and Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC). For more information, visit www.tocagen.com or follow @Tocagen. Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxQu0_JASag Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-DVfEWvrK0 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374329LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-published-in-science-translational-medicine-reports-favorable-safety-and-extended-survival-for-brain-cancer-patients-treated-with-tocagens-cancer-selective-viral-gene-therapy-300278027.html SOURCE Tocagen Inc. The offices of Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO) (L) are shown in Newport Beach, California August 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) failed to persuade a California judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Pacific Investment Management Co that accuses AIG of lying about its subprime mortgage exposure prior to the 2008 financial crisis. Judge Thierry Patrick Colaw of Orange County Superior Court, in a decision dated Tuesday, rejected AIG's argument that Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE , waited too long to sue over the alleged deception. But the judge said AIG can appeal immediately, noting that federal courts in comparable cases have reached differing conclusions over the proper time limit. Pimco is seeking to recoup losses allegedly suffered by more than 60 funds, including its flagship Pimco Total Return , over securities purchased between 2006 and 2008. Newport Beach, California-based Pimco sued AIG last year after opting out of a $970.5-million class-action settlement between the insurer and other investors. AIG had been accused of misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages and credit default swaps, culminating in $182.3 billion of federal bailouts. Some plaintiffs opt out of class-action settlements when they hope to recover more by suing on their own. Pimco has about $1.5 trillion of assets under management. AIG spokesman Jon Diat in a statement said the New York-based company disagreed with Colaw's decision and will argue on appeal that "the more recent and better-reasoned decisions of the federal courts of appeal should be followed." Pimco declined to comment on Colaw's decision. AIG had brought related litigation in U.S. District Court in Manhattan seeking to thwart Pimco's federal securities law claim. A judge there ruled on April 18 that letting the California court handle the case was better than "piecemeal" litigation. The case is Pacific Investment Management Co et al v. American International Group Inc, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 30-2015-00779738-CU-SL-CXC. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler) Governor of the Bank of Algeria Mohammed Laksaci listens to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (not pictured) during a news conference in Algiers November 3, 2010. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra ALGIERS (Reuters) - President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Tuesday fired Algeria's central bank chief, who had been under pressure from ruling party critics over his management of fall-out from the 2014-2015 global oil price drop, two government sources said. Mohammed Laksaci had been the central bank governor for more than a decade. Bouteflika held a cabinet meeting early on Tuesday, according to state news media. The central bank chief would be replaced by Mohamed Loukal, chairman of state-run Banque Exterieure d'Algerie, one of the country's largest government controlled banks. The dismissal of the central bank chief came as Algeria looks to confront the fall in global crude prices that has cut its energy revenues, devalued the dinar to record lows and turned a trade surplus into a deficit. The North African OPEC state has started to take measures to counter the fall in oil prices, including raising subsidized fuel and electricity prices, cutting back on infrastructure projects and trimming budget spending. Algeria, a major gas supplier to Europe, still has around $140 billion in foreign reserves that officials say will cushion it from the oil price drop. But its energy earnings fell by nearly 50 percent in 2015. That prompted debate over how to manage the oil price fall, between reformers who see a chance to open up an economy still reliant on oil and gas, and, analysts say, an older guard cautious on liberalizing a mostly state-controlled system. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Government supporters scuffle with the police as they try to block an opposition march from the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to deliver a petition to the parliament and King Norodom Sihamoni to intervene in ther country's current political crisis By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's parliament voted on Monday to allow a court investigation into an opposition leader accused of procuring a prostitute, a vote that could push the country closer to political turmoil. The case of the opposition leader, Kem Sokha, and his alleged assignation has dominated politics for weeks and has raised tension in the run-up to a 2018 election that could prove to be veteran Prime Minister Hun Sen's most serious test at the ballot box. Opponents of Hun Sen say the self-styled strongman is using the judiciary to neutralize his opponents. The government denies that. Kem Sokha is acting chief of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Party leader Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister, lives in self-exile to avoid arrest for an old defamation case he was pardoned for. His party has denounced the new warrant as politically motivated. All 68 members of parliament from Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party voted to allow a court to proceed with an investigation into Kem Sokha stemming from a secretly recorded, and leaked, telephone conversation between him and a woman who the government says he was having an illicit affair with. Prostitution was made illegal in Cambodia in 2008 even though it is widespread. Kem Sokha has neither confirmed nor denied having an affair with the woman and has dismissed the action against him as politically motivated. He has ignored court summonses, most recently last Thursday. Trade unions allied with the CNRP have called for protests if Kem Sokha is arrested. "The CNRP wants Cambodia to be ruled by rule of law and a multi-party democracy," Son Chhay, a senior CNRP lawmaker, told a news conference. "We will continue our fight." The party said Monday's vote was unconstitutional. The last election in 2013 marked Hun Sen's toughest electoral challenge in three decades of rule and the opposition is expected to mount a sterner test next time as younger voters seek change. Hun Sen has warned that an election victory for the opposition would see a return to civil war. The United Nations on Sunday voiced alarm at the escalating tension between Hun Sen's party and the opposition, in particular the arrest or attempted arrest of politicians. (Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Robert Birsel) A vehicle burns at the scene of a suicide car bombing outside Hotel Ambassador on Maka Al Mukaram Road in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Feisal Omar By Abdirahman Hussein, Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber crashed into a gate outside a hotel frequented by lawmakers in the center of the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Wednesday and the attack was followed by gunfire, killing 15 people, police said. Police said among the dead were two lawmakers. They had previously said at least 10 people were killed. Residents and a Reuters witness said gunfire could be heard in the area around the hotel late into the night. "Lawmakers Mohamud Mohamed and Abdullahi Jamac died in the hotel. They lived in it," Major Ibrahim Hassan, a police officer, told Reuters. "Many other people including lawmakers were rescued. The operation is about to end now. So far the death toll we have is 15 dead and 20 others wounded." Militants from al Shabaab, a group affiliated with al Qaeda, quickly claimed responsibility for the attack on the Hotel Ambassador and said it had killed 20 people in addition to the two lawmakers. "We targeted the members of the apostate government ... We killed many of them inside and we shall give details later. Our mujahideen are on the top floor of the hotel building," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaabs military operation spokesman, told Reuters. Authorities could not immediately verify al Shabaab's statement. Hassan had said earlier police suspected al Shabaab fighters were still present in the hotel. State-run Radio Mogadishu had said government forces were still at the scene rescuing people from the hotel. Al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011. But it has remained a potent threat in Somalia, launching frequent attacks aimed at overthrowing the Western-backed government. "I send condolences to the relatives of lawmakers Abdullahi Jamac and Mohamud Mohamed and likewise to the relatives of all those martyred in the barbaric attack," President Hassan sheikh Mohamud, said in a statement. "These barbaric attacks are aimed to frighten citizens so that they do not support governance and peace and that will never happen." In February, at least nine people were killed when al Shabaab fighters set off a car bomb at the gate of a park near a hotel in the capital. In January, an attack on a beach-front restaurant killed at least 17 people. Al Shabaab has also been behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda. Both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. FIGHTERS KILLED Maka Al Mukaram, where Wednesday's attack took place, is a major street lined with hotels, restaurants and banks in the heart of the capital. It links another major artery, K4, to the presidential palace. Before the hotel attack, government officials on Wednesday announced two strikes against the militants - one in which the head of the al Shabaab intelligence unit was killed, and another which killed the suspected mastermind of an attack on a university in Kenya, in which 148 people died last year. Mogadishu municipality spokesman Abdifatah Omar said security forces killed a man known only as Daud who headed al Shabaab's intelligence wing, known as Amniyat. Omar did not say when he was killed or give other details. In the separate incident, Abdirashid Hassan Abdi, the semi-autonomous Jubbaland region's security minister, said its forces had killed 16 al Shabaab fighters in Bulagadud, some 30 km to the north of the Indian Ocean port of Kismayu. Among the dead, he said, was Mohamud Ali Dulyadeyn, suspected to have been the mastermind the April 2015 attack on Garissa University, the worst such assault in Kenya in almost 20 years. The Pentagon also said on Wednesday a U.S. air strike targeted a senior leader of al Shabaab in Somalia, but it was still assessing the results of the May 27 drone operation. Spokesman Peter Cook said the target, Abdullahi Haji Da'ud, was one of al Shabaab's senior military planners and served as a principal coordinator of attacks in Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda. Al Shabaab, which aims to impose its own strict version of Islamic law across Somalia, had no immediate comment on the killings announced by Somali authorities. (Additional reporting by Feisal Omar in Mogadishu; Idrees Ali, David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Larry King and Chris Reese) Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Egypt is not dealing with the dam issue 'on the basis of suspicion, doubt and exaggerated risks' Egypt's foreign affairs minister said Tuesday that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has become a reality and that it is "pointless to bury our heads in the sand by not acknowledging a tangible physical reality." Minister Sameh Shoukry, speaking on the Egyptian El-Hayat TV channel Tuesday night, stated that Egypt is not dealing with the dam "on the basis of suspicion, doubt and exaggerated risks." Egypt has longed maintained that the dam currently under construction on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia's highlands would affect its supply of Nile water. However, he did emphasise that "there are definitely clear risks [to Egypt], and we are discussing them with our Ethiopian and Sudanese partners" to reach an agreement on how to deal with any harm to Egypt. The minister did not elaborate on the nature of these risks. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are currently conducting impact studies on the dam. There is a "transformation," according to Shoukry, in Ethiopia's approach to the matter ever since the signing of the Malabo agreement in June 2014; signed by Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The agreement maintained Ethiopia's rights to development. The foreign affairs minister described that the agreement was a "turning moment," that made Ethiopia willing to join in talks. Prior to the Malabo agreement, Ethiopia was reluctant to join talks over doubts about Egypt's intentions and goals, Shoukry added. In June 2013, Egypt's president at the time, Mohamed Morsi, gave a speech on the threats of the dam, saying that a dialogue is the "best means of resolving the crisis." However, the now-ousted Morsi had also said that a committee had been drawn up to prepare Egypt for the "defence of its security from any possible threat." Last week, Ethiopian communication Minister Getachew Reda, speaking to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, said Dam has become a "reality," and "no matter what happens, things will not change." He added that 50 percent of construction work on the dam had been completed and most of the dam's civil engineering projects were complete. When turbines are installed, 70 percent of the project will be complete, he stated. Search Keywords: Short link: UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): June 1, 2016 ARC LOGISTICS PARTNERS LP (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) 001-36168 36-4767846 (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) 725 Fifth Avenue, 19th Floor New York, New York 10022 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) (212) 993-1290 (Registrants telephone number, including area code) N/A (Former name or former address, if changed since last report) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions: Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure. On June 1, 2016, management of Arc Logistics Partners LP (the Partnership) will participate in the Master Limited Partnership Associations annual MLP Investor Conference in Orlando, Florida and will conduct investor meetings throughout the conference. On June 1, 2016, the Partnership posted the investor presentation associated with this event on the Investors page of its website, www.arcxlp.com . A copy of this presentation is furnished and attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated by reference into this Item 7.01. The information provided in this Item 7.01 (including the presentation furnished as Exhibit 99.1) shall not be deemed to be filed for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, nor shall it be incorporated by reference in any filing made by the Partnership pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except to the extent that such filing incorporates by reference any or all of such information by express reference thereto. Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (d) Exhibits. 99.1 Investor Presentation dated June 2016 2 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. ARC LOGISTICS PARTNERS LP By: ARC LOGISTICS GP LLC, its General Partner Date: June 1, 2016 By: /s/ Vincent T. Cubbage Name: Vincent T. Cubbage Title: Chief Executive Officer 3 Exhibit 99.1 Investor Presentation June 2016 Cautionary Note Forward Looking Statements Certain statements and information in this presentation constitute "forward-looking statements." Certain expressions including "believe," "expect," "intends," or other similar expressions are intended to identify Arc Logistics Partners LPs (the Partnership or Arc Logistics) current expectations, opinions, views or beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect on the Partnership. While management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Partnership will be those that it anticipates. The forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Partnership's control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Partnership's historical experience and its present expectations or projections. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: (i) adverse economic, capital markets and political conditions; (ii) changes in the market place for the Partnership's services; (iii) changes in supply and demand of crude oil and petroleum products; (iv) actions and performance of the Partnership's customers, vendors or competitors; (v) changes in the cost of or availability of capital; (vi) unanticipated capital expenditures in connection with the construction, repair or replacement of the Partnership's assets; (vii) operating hazards, unforeseen weather events or matters beyond the Partnership's control; (viii) inability to consummate acquisitions, pending or otherwise, on acceptable terms and successfully integrate acquired businesses into the Partnership's operations; (ix) effects of existing and future laws or governmental regulations; and (x) litigation. Additional information concerning these and other factors that could cause the Partnership's actual results to differ from projected results can be found in the Partnership's public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the Partnership's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, as filed with the SEC on March 11, 2016 and any updates thereto in the Partnership's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any of the forward-looking statements contained herein. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could also have material adverse effects on the Partnerships future results. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. The Partnership undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The Partnership does not, as a matter of course, disclose projections as to future operations, earnings or other results. However, the Partnership may include herein certain prospective financial information, including estimated EBITDA. To the extent prospective financial information is included herein, such information was not prepared with a view toward disclosure, but, in the view of the Partnerships management, was prepared on a reasonable basis, reflects the best currently available estimates and judgments and presents, to the best of the Partnerships knowledge and belief, the expected course of action and expected future financial performance of the Partnerships assets. However, this information is not fact and should not be relied upon as being indicative of future results, and readers of this presentation are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the prospective financial information. Arc Logistics Overview Arc Logistics is a fee-based, independent logistics service provider formed by Lightfoot Capital Partners, LP (Lightfoot Capital or Sponsor) to acquire, operate and grow energy logistics assets Exchange NYSE: ARCX Common Units Outstanding 13,181,409 Subordinated Units Outstanding 6,081,081 Current Annual Distribution $1.76 Common Unit Price (as of 05.27.16) $11.97 Implied Distribution Yield 14.7% Market Capitalization(1) $231 million 52-Week High / Low $18.97/ $8.66 Partnership Structure Lightfoot Capital (our Sponsor) Common / Subordinated Units Public Common / Subordinated Units GP Interest 27.1% LP Interest 72.9% LP Interest Corporate Offices: 725 Fifth Avenue, 19th Floor New York, NY 10022 3000 Research Forest Drive, Suite 250 The Woodlands, TX 77381 More information can be found at Arc Logistics website. http://www.arcxlp.com/ Includes all outstanding common and subordinated limited partner units. The Partnership is principally engaged in the terminalling, storage, throughput and transloading of crude oil and petroleum products The Partnership utilizes its strategically located assets across the United States to provide its customers with multiple supply and delivery modes and a diverse slate of petroleum products 21 terminals in 12 states providing critical services to 79 customers The Partnership is focused on developing existing assets and/or acquiring new assets to service current and future customers Successful track record of completing third party acquisitions Recent Developments and Quarterly Results Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow are non-GAAP measures. Please see the reconciliation pages in the appendix to this presentation. Recent Developments In January 2016 the Partnership acquired four refined products terminals located in Pennsylvania with added aggregate storage capacity of approximately 816,000 barrels Arc Terminals Holdings LLC has been awarded the International Liquid Terminals Association Safety Excellence Award for its 2015 Safety Performance, for the second year in a row During the first quarter of 2016, the Partnership experienced record throughput volume of approximately 145,000 barrels per day, a year-over-year increase of 112% Quarter Results The Partnership declared and paid a quarterly cash distribution of $0.44 per limited partner unit for the period ended March 31, 2016, which represents a year over year increase of 7% from the quarter ending March 31, 2015 The Partnerships distributable cash flow (1) increased 65% to approximately $ 9.0 million for the first quarter of 2016 compared to $5.5 million for the same period in 2015 The Partnership has a diversified portfolio of financially reputable counterparties. Revenue generated for the first quarter of 2016 from investment grade counterparties or counterparties with investment grade parents was in-line with the full year 2015 metric of 64% The Partnerships Adjusted EBITDA (1) increased 82% to $13.5 million for the first quarter of 2016 as compared to $7.4 million for the same period in 2015 Investment Highlights A fee-based, growth-oriented, independent logistics service provider Diversified and well positioned asset portfolio Stable and predictable cash flow profile Customer driven, attractive and visible growth opportunities Experienced management team with a proven track record Financial flexibility to achieve growth opportunities Supportive sponsor group with energy industry expertise Commitment to managing to the highest EH&S standards Growth-Oriented Partnership Growth from incremental utilization of existing terminal capacity, organic growth projects and third-party acquisitions Potential Contracted Growth Many commercial agreements include the following provisions to drive growth: Organic Growth Opportunities Acquisition Opportunities from our Sponsor Acquisitions from Third Parties Evaluating third party acquisitions to complement the Partnerships existing platform Customer focused projects to enhance existing asset platform CPI escalators In excess of 250 acres to develop new infrastructure Upgrading receipt / delivery modes (where applicable) for maximum flexibility Successful track record of completing third party acquisitions Evaluating opportunities for new business lines and geographic expansion Partners of our Sponsor include some of the largest energy investors in North America Right of First Offer on the 40% interest in Arc Terminals Joliet Holdings Call option to buy out the Portland terminal lease 9.7% interest in Gulf LNG Holdings Group LLC (Gulf LNG) Incentive rate structures Increasing take-or-pay volume commitments Diversified Portfolio of Logistics Assets The Partnership has acquired logistics assets that serve as critical links between supply and demand locations LNG Facility 6 4 Note: For more information on the Partnerships asset portfolio, see appendix to this presentation. Pipeline connections are illustrated on a general level and for presentation purposes only. 6 6 15 13 Barge/Ship access Truck access Pipeline access Rail access 5 2 Supply and Delivery Modes: Transloading Facility Light Products Terminal Heavy Oil / Crude Oil Terminal Service-Oriented Business Model Service-oriented business model attracts a mixture of major oil companies, marketers and retail outlets and independent refiners by supporting the customers strategic objectives and by fostering commercial opportunities among the customer base for supply and throughput Arc Independent Refiners Major Oil Companies Traders and Marketers The Partnership has the capability to support a wide range of customers and enter into varying contract lengths and volume commitments Major oil companies generally require proprietary infrastructure to support operations and provide long-term ratable volumes Retail outlets buy directly from refineries or marketers and require ratable and long term volumes Producers enter into long-term agreements in support of their downstream supply agreements Marketers and independent refiners activity is driven by underlying third-party agreements and market dynamics Contracted, Stable Cash Flow Profile The Partnerships contract portfolio generates cash flows through minimum service fees, while providing for upside exposure to throughput and ancillary services fees Historical Revenue Composition (in millions) Quarterly Cash Distributions to Arc Logistics from Gulf LNG(1) (in millions) Contribution of cash distributions represents the Partnerships 10.3% limited liability company interest in Gulf LNG. As of December 31, 2015, the remaining term was approximately 16 years. One of the terminal use agreement parties has filed an arbitration proceeding seeking to terminate its terminal use agreement. See the Partnerships disclosures regarding this arbitration matter and its investment in Gulf LNG in its annual report for the period ended December 31, 2015 and its quarterly report for the period ended March 31, 2016. Storage & Throughput Services Fees The Partnership seeks to enter into contracts for the receipt, storage, throughput and transloading of crude oil and petroleum products Ancillary Services Fees Heating, blending and mixing services associated with customers activity at the terminal Gulf LNG Distributions The Partnership receives quarterly cash distributions from Gulf LNG Distributions are supported by two 20-year (2) terminal use agreements (3) Seek to create stable cash flow and to mitigate exposure to supply and demand volatility and other market factors Typical contract terms include the following provisions: Term between 1 to 10 years Per barrel throughput fee, storage fee or a combination of both, with additional fees as negotiated by the customers Take-or-pay revenue commitments Proven Track Record of Expansion 2008 Today The Partnership has grown and diversified significantly over the past eight years The Partnerships assets included eight light products terminals The Partnerships assets include 21 terminals with capabilities to receive, store and deliver light products, heavy products and crude oil Majority of the Partnerships customer base consisted of marketers The Partnerships customer base has significantly diversified over the past eight years to include a more balanced portfolio of major oil companies, marketers and industrial manufacturers Customers: 13 Customers: 79 (as of December 31, 2015) Revenue Composition by Customer Type Revenue Composition by Customer Type Growth Opportunities The Partnership is currently undertaking and / or pursuing several organic growth opportunities Marine facility upgrades Installing bio-blending systems in multiple terminals Tank expansion projects in multiple terminals Rail expansion projects in multiple terminals Available land for expansion Financial Flexibility The Partnership continues to position itself to achieve its long-term growth objectives Capitalizing on Financial Flexibility Creatively Structured Acquisitions Maintaining Stable Cash Flows $300 million amended and restated credit facility Ability to access capital markets in future offerings Maintaining a balanced capital structure Joint venture transactions to acquire large assets Lease transactions to acquire operational rights in new geographic locations Issuance of common units to sellers Seek to enter into long-term fee-based growth opportunities Stable customer profile with contracted revenues Focus on counterparty concentration and on reducing identifiable credit risks Independent Strategy Maximizing flexibility to fund growth Competitively positioned to acquire certain assets Aligning interests with potential sellers to grow volumes and capabilities The Partnership does not compete with the potential sellers on the supply side Achieving long-term growth objectives Diversified and well positioned asset portfolio Stable and predictable cash flows Proven and Resilient Business Model The Partnership has achieved a track record of successful organic and acquisition growth in a volatile commodity market Shell Capacity (mmbbls) Throughput (mbbls/d) Revenue ($mm) Adjusted EBITDA(1) ($mm) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. Please see the reconciliation pages in the appendix to this presentation. Appendix Non-GAAP Financial Measures Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Partnership defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization expense, as further adjusted for other non-cash charges and other charges that are not reflective of our ongoing operations. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that management and external users of the Partnership's consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, lenders and rating agencies, may use to assess (i) the performance of the Partnership's assets without regard to the impact of financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis of the Partnership's assets; (ii) the viability of capital expenditure projects and the overall rates of return on alternative investment opportunities; (iii) the Partnership's ability to make distributions; (iv) the Partnership's ability to incur and service debt and fund capital expenditures; and (v) the Partnership's ability to incur additional expenses. The Partnership believes that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors in assessing its financial condition and results of operations. The Partnership defines distributable cash flow as Adjusted EBITDA less (i) cash interest expense paid; (ii) cash income taxes paid; (iii) maintenance capital expenditures paid; (iv) equity earnings from the Partnerships interests in Gulf LNG Holdings Group, LLC (the LNG Interest); plus (v) deferred revenue adjustments; and (vi) cash distributions from the LNG Interest. Distributable cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that management and external users of the Partnerships consolidated financial statements may use to evaluate whether the Partnership is generating sufficient cash flow to support distributions to its unitholders as well as measure the ability of the Partnerships assets to generate cash sufficient to support its indebtedness and maintain its operations. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow is net income. Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow should not be considered as an alternative to net income. Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow have important limitations as analytical tools because they exclude some but not all items that affect net income. Readers should not consider Adjusted EBITDA or distributable cash flow in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Partnership's results as reported under GAAP. Additionally, because Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow may be defined differently by other companies in the Partnership's industry, its definitions of Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, thereby diminishing their utility. Please see the reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow in the accompanying tables. Reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow (In thousands, except per unit data) Year Ended December 31, Three Months Ended, LTM 2013 2014 2015 3/31/2015 3/31/2016 3/31/2016 Net Income $12,831 $1,275 $6,429 $304 $3,116 $9,241 Income taxes 20 58 119 52 28 95 Interest expense 8,639 3,706 6,873 951 2,367 8,289 Gain on bargain purchase of business (11,777) - - - - - Depreciation(1) 5,836 7,261 10,486 1,844 3,202 11,844 Amortization(1) 4,756 5,427 9,175 1,246 3,081 11,010 Long-lived asset impairment(2) - 6,114 - - - - One-time non-recurring expenses(3) 3,673 451 5,044 1,285 559 4,318 Non-cash charges(4) - 5,885 5,950 1,733 1,153 5,370 Adjusted EBITDA (5) $23,978 $30,177 $44,076 $7,415 $13,506 $50,167 Cash interest expense (3,398) (6,112) (906) (2,138) (7,344) Cash income taxes (58) (119) (52) (27) (94) Maintenance capital expenditures (2,522) (6,168) (288) (2,080) (7,960) Equity earnings from the LNG Interest (9,895) (10,030) (2,489) (2,461) (10,002) Reconciliation of deferred revenue(6) - 682 - - 682 Cash distributions received from the LNG Interest 9,827 9,486 1,775 2,179 9,890 Distributable cash flow (5) $24,131 $31,815 $5,455 $8,979 $35,339 Total LP Units Outstanding 12,949 19,255 12,949 19,262 Declared LP Distribution $1.61 $1.73 $0.40 $0.44 $1.75 The depreciation and amortization have been adjusted to remove the non-controlling interest portion related to the Partnerships co-investors ownership interest in Arc Joliet. The long-lived asset impairment relates to the Chillicothe, IL Terminal. The Partnership re-evaluated the Chillicothe Terminal and based upon the inability to enter into a service agreement with a new or existing customer, the Partnership recognized a non-cash impairment loss of approximately $6.1 million at December 31, 2014. The one-time non-recurring expenses relate to amounts incurred as due diligence expenses from acquisitions and other infrequent or unusual expenses incurred. The non-cash charges relate to deferred rent expense associated with the Portland, OR terminal lease transaction and non-cash compensation associated with the Partnerships long-term incentive plan. Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow are defined as non-GAAP measures. Deferred revenue relates to the accounting treatment for certain arrangements with customers to construct terminal assets on our property for which we have already received upfront cash payments. A-1 *** Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) and Demandware (NYSE: DWRE) anounced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Salesforce will acquire Demandware in a transaction worth approximately $2.8 billion (net of cash acquired). Under the terms of the agreement, Salesforce will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Demandware for $75.00 per share, in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2017, ending July 31, 2016. Comments on the News: "Demandware is an amazing companythe global cloud leader in the multi-billion dollar digital commerce market," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce as part of our Customer Success Platform and create yet another billion dollar cloud." "Demandware and Salesforce share the same passionate focus on customer success," said Tom Ebling, CEO, Demandware. "Becoming part of Salesforce will accelerate our vision to empower the world's leading brands with the most innovative digital commerce solutions that enable them to connect 1:1 with customers across any channel." According to Gartner, worldwide spending on digital commerce platforms is expected to grow at over 14 percent annually, reaching $8.544 billion by 2020 (Gartner, Inc. Forecast: Enterprise Software Markets, Worldwide, 2013-2020, 1Q16 Update, March 17, 2016). Salesforce's acquisition of Demandware, a recognized leader in the space, will extend the company's CRM leadership and position it to capture this multi-billion dollar digital commerce market with what will be the new Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The Salesforce Commerce Cloud will be an integral part of Salesforce's Customer Success Platform, creating opportunities for companies to connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Salesforce customers will have access to the industry's leading enterprise cloud commerce platform, and Demandware's customers will be able to leverage Salesforce's leading sales, service, marketing, communities, analytics, IoT and platform solutions to deliver a more comprehensive, personalized consumer experience. Demandwarethe Industry Leading Enterprise Cloud Commerce Platform Demandware enables leading global brands including Design Within Reach, Lands' End, L'Oreal and Marks & Spencer to deliver personalized, 1:1 experiences for consumers and power their commerce across the web, mobile, social and in the store. Details Regarding the Proposed Demandware Acquisition Under the terms of the transaction, Salesforce will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Demandware for $75.00 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2017, ending July 31, 2016, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the acceptance of a majority of Demandware shares in the tender offer and expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Following the successful completion of the tender offer, Demandware shares not tendered in the tender offer will be converted in a second step merger into the right to receive the same $75.00 per share in cash paid in the tender offer. Financial Impact to Salesforce of the Proposed Demandware Acquisition FY17 Revenue: The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce's FY17 total revenue by approximately $100 million to $120 million. This estimate reflects an approximately $50 million reduction relating to fair value adjustments to deferred revenue and unbilled deferred revenue, adjustments related to the combined customer base, and inter-company revenue elimination. FY17 non-GAAP EPS: As discussed further below, guidance updates for GAAP EPS for all periods discussed are not currently available and Salesforce expects to provide the applicable updates when it releases second quarter results in August 2016, assuming the transaction has closed and the purchase accounting is completed. The acquisition is expected to decrease FY17 non-GAAP diluted EPS by approximately $0.07. This estimate reflects standard integration costs and transaction fees expected to be in the range of $30 million. Q2 FY17 Revenue: The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce's Q2 FY17 total revenue by approximately $0 million to $10 million. Q2 FY17 non-GAAP EPS: Transaction fees related to the acquisition are expected to reduce Q2 FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS by approximately $0.03. Based on the above, Salesforce is updating its guidance previously reported on May 18, 2016, as follows: Q2 FY17 Guidance: Revenue for Salesforce's fiscal second quarter 2017 is projected to be in the range of $2.005 billion to $2.025 billion, an increase of 23% to 24% year-over-year. Q2 FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.21 to $0.22. Full Year FY17 Guidance: Revenue for Salesforce's full fiscal year 2017 is projected to be in the range of $8.26 billion to $8.32 billion, an increase of 24% to 25% year-over-year. FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.93 to $0.95. Non-GAAP EPS estimates assume a non-GAAP tax rate of approximately 35%. The non-GAAP EPS calculation assumes an average fully diluted share count of approximately 700 million shares. Full-year operating cash flow growth is now expected to be in the range of 22% to 23% year-over-year. These estimates assume a fiscal second quarter close date, and actual results could differ materially based on the final transaction close date. Salesforce is not currently able to prepare an accurate forecast for the second quarter or full year impact of the acquisition on GAAP EPS and will not be able to do so until the purchase accounting is concluded after the transaction closes. Salesforce expects to be able to provide this update when it releases second quarter results in August 2016. The impact on GAAP EPS is expected to be more significant than for non-GAAP EPS due to the additional stock-based compensation charges and the impact of other various non-cash items, including amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and income tax adjustments. Management Conference Call Salesforce and Demandware will host a conference call to discuss this transaction at 8:00 a.m. (ET) / 5:00 a.m. (PT) on June 1, 2016. A live dial-in is available domestically at 866-901-SFDC or 866-901-7332 and internationally at 706-902-1764, passcode 23989005. A live audiocast of the event will be available on the salesforce.com Investor Relations website at http://www.salesforce.com/investor and Demandware's website at http://investors.demandware.com/. A replay will be available at 800-585-8367 or 855-859-2056, until midnight (ET) July 1, 2016. *** The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), together with Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V (NYSE: KOF), announces that it has entered into an agreement with Unilever (NYSE: UL) to acquire Unilever's AdeS soy-based beverage business for an aggregate amount of US$ 575 million. Founded in 1988 in Argentina, AdeS is the leading soy-based beverages brand in Latin America. As the first major brand launched in the category, AdeS pioneered the development of the second largest global market for soy-based beverages. The AdeS brand currently has a presence in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia. During 2015, AdeS sold 56.2 million unit cases of beverages and generated net revenues of US$ 284 million. "The acquisition of AdeS marks another milestone for the Coca-Cola system in providing increased choice of nutritious and delicious products to our consumers. AdeS is a leading brand in its category and we are very excited to add it to our stills portfolio. This continues the successful joint venture partnerships with our Latin American bottling partners and brings more innovative offerings to our markets," said Brian Smith, President, Latin America Group, The Coca-Cola Company. "AdeS complements and reinforces our non-carbonated beverage portfolio offer, providing our consumers with a wider range of choices. Together with our partner, The Coca-Cola Company, we will leverage the leading position of the AdeS brand, integrating it into our robust route-to-market model to drive value and further innovation on this new beverage platform," said John Santa Maria, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola FEMSA. "This sale is a step in reshaping our portfolio in Latin America to deliver sustainable growth for Unilever and enables us to sharpen our focus. AdeS is an iconic brand and we believe that its potential can be fully realized within the Coca-Cola system", said Miguel Kozuszok, EVP, Latin America, Unilever This transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola FEMSA, and Unilever, and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Post completion, it is intended that the AdeS business will become part of the non-carbonated beverage platforms that Coca-Cola FEMSA shares with The Coca-Cola Company in its franchise territories. In all other territories, The Coca-Cola Company will work with its local bottling partners to develop AdeS in those markets through similar non-carbonated beverage partnership arrangements. *** MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) and MGM Growth Properties LLC (NYSE: MGP) announced that MGM Resorts has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Boyd Gaming Corporation's ("Boyd Gaming") (NYSE: BYD) 50 percent interest in Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa ("Borgata") in Atlantic City, New Jersey for consideration of $900 million. Further, MGM Resorts and MGP have entered into a definitive agreement whereby, following the completion of the acquisition of Boyd Gaming's interest, MGP will acquire Borgata's real property from MGM Resorts and lease back the real property to a subsidiary of MGM Resorts, after which a subsidiary of MGM Resorts will operate Borgata (together, the "Transactions"). MGM Resorts will pay approximately $600 million for Boyd Gaming's 50 percent interest, subject to customary working capital adjustments, after consideration of Borgata's outstanding debt of approximately $600 million, which MGM Resorts will assume and refinance. For the last twelve months ended March 31, 2016, Borgata reported $812 million in net revenues and $212 million in Adjusted EBITDA. "Borgata is the premier resort in Atlantic City and a great addition to our growing presence in the Northeast," said Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. "While the market continues to experience challenges, Borgata has outperformed and differentiated itself as the undisputed leader in the city. Our decade-long partnership with Boyd Gaming has been a great one, and Borgata's talented employee base will complement and strengthen our more than 60,000-member worldwide MGM Resorts team. We are excited about the opportunity to bring our market-leading loyalty program, M life Rewards, to the resort and integrate our operations, to position Borgata for further growth." Subsequent to the purchase of Boyd Gaming's 50 percent stake in Borgata, MGM Resorts and MGP have agreed that MGM Resorts will sell all of Borgata's real property to MGP for total consideration of approximately $1.175 billion. "We are excited to add Borgata to the MGP portfolio, further diversifying our geographic presence. With this transaction, we are executing on our core growth strategy in prudently building a portfolio of high-quality assets with market leading competitive positions," said James Stewart, CEO of MGM Growth Properties. "We expect the transaction to result in high single digit percentage accretion to AFFO per share, and pro forma net leverage will remain similar to our current levels." MGP expects to fund the acquisition of the Borgata real property and the assumption of related debt with a combination of existing cash on hand, borrowings under its senior secured revolving credit facility, and the issuance of operating partnership units to a subsidiary of MGM Resorts, based upon MGP's closing price of $23.03 as of May 27, 2016. Borgata will be added to the existing Master Lease between MGM Resorts and MGP, and the initial rent payment to MGP will increase by $100 million. Consistent with the Master Lease terms, 90 percent of this rent will be fixed and contractually grow at 2 percent per year until 2022. "The Transactions provide numerous benefits to MGM Resorts and creates significant value for our shareholders," said Dan D'Arrigo, Executive Vice President and CFO of MGM Resorts International. "We expect MGM Resorts to remain net leverage-neutral, as we fully consolidate Borgata's cash flows into the MGM Resorts portfolio. Looking ahead, we believe the impact of the Transactions remain consistent with our focus on further deleveraging the balance sheet." Concluded Mr. Murren, "We are pleased to demonstrate the ability for MGM Resorts and MGM Growth Properties to transact on an accretive basis to both parties and look forward to continue working collaboratively in the future." The conflicts committee of the MGP Board of Directors engaged PJT Partners as its financial advisor to give an opinion on the fairness from a financial point of view to MGP of the total consideration paid in the transaction by MGP. The Transactions are expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. To keep up on all the Mergers & Acquisitions data in real-time, go to our M&A Insider page. The road is expected to be closed for some time as the Serious Crash Unit investigate. Neighbours have described hearing a loud bang and screams after a car crashed in to a parked truck, killing the passenger. A Fire Service spokesman said the person had been trapped in the car at the crash scene on Wattle Farm Rd in Wattle Downs. Fire officers had been working to extract the person, who was a passenger, but the person died at the scene. SUPPLIED The sleepy suburb was woken with the big bang of the vehicle crashing in to a truck and trailer unit. Police said the driver of the car was taken to Middlemore Hospital "as a precaution". The car crashed in to a truck and trailer unit which was parked on the side of the road. A neighbour who did want to be named said they heard a loud bang "and a young lad just ran out screaming". CHRISTOPHER HARROWELL Police have blocked off a section of Wattle Farm Rd in Wattle Downs this morning after one person died in a fatal car crash. "I thought it was the neighbours greenhouse falling down to be honest, it was that loud... We think it was the driver, he just came out screaming." Various trucks often park along that stretch of road and "wander off somewhere" which residents have been complaining about for a while he said. "A few trucks park up there and we've been saying for a while that it's just an accident waiting to happen and it has," he said. "Going down there you would get sunstroke at that time of the morning and the poor driver probably didn't even see the truck." At that time of the morning, there was a lot of school kids in the area at the time of the accident which was concerning. They didn't go out to see the crash as his young son had got a fright, but they rang the ambulance and other neighbours had run outside to the scene. Although Wattle Farm Rd has a 50km limit, many cars speed and the residents have had petitions for a slower speed for a while now, he said. Police said the Counties Manukau Serious Crash Unit was investigating the crash. Road closures were in place on Wattle Farm Rd and Turnberry Drive and would be for some time. Another resident said the Wattle Downs suburb was a nice, sleepy area and is not described as "typical south Auckland", she said. Populated by all ages of people, the neighbourhood has retirement homes and villages, a new school and was a "lovely place". Police said no details of the victim would be released until next of kin had been notified. Meanwhile another crash in south Auckland was blocking traffic on Alfriston-Ardmore Rd, which was expected to create traffic delays, Auckland Transport said. Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace supports calls for central government to boost funding for community policing, saying his council spends up to $750,000 a year keeping the streets safe. Wellington councils are split over whether "shrinking" community policing is having an impact on their cities. Hastings mayor and Local Government NZ president Lawrence Yule is pushing for councils to give the advocacy group a mandate to lobby government for more funding for community policing. Hastings District Council is currently considering expanding its community patrol initiative, a move Yule says would see ratepayers fork out almost $1 million a year on safety projects that should be funded by police. At least 18 councils have signalled support for a remit to be put at Local Government NZ's annual meeting next month which, if passed, would make it a policy of the organisation to lobby central government to increase police funding so "commanders are not forced [to] compromise community policing services due to budget constraints". READ MORE: * Councils say 'shrinking' police service leaves them to pick up the bill Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace said his council would second the Hastings remit when it came up for discussion at next month's annual meeting. Wallace said Hutt City Council was spending between $500,000 and $750,000 a year on community safety initiatives including, city ambassadors and CCTV surveillance and monitoring. "I'm not saying it should be cut back. I think it's a safe level, and ratepayers are satisfied with the services they get from that spend, but I don't think they'd want to see further spend." The closure of smaller Hutt police station in favour of the centralisation of resources was a concern, he said, and while "police do a fantastic job, there's just not enough of them". Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said he supported the LGNZ remit but did not know how much the city spent on community safety initiatives. While police argued new mobile technology enable them to spend more time on the front-line, centralisation of services meant they were often diverted to central Wellington to transport people they arrested, Guppy said. But Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett said he believed the city was well served by police. The council had recently upgraded its CCTV facilities and Leggett said he did not believe it was police's job to monitor the camera. "If you want to keep a community safe it's about a partnership between different institutions and members of the community, and I think we've got that going pretty well here." He agreed, however, that there were "wider issues" about the reduction of police resources, including the move to centralisation and reduced staffing at the Porirua station. "But in terms of councils having to step up no, I think it's always been a partnership and it always should be. You can't just hand over [crime] prevention to the police. Every community institution has that responsibility." Wellington City Council community services manager Jenny Rains said the council worked collaboratively and had a "very strong day-to-day relationships" with police. Initiatives such as the council's "local hosts" service were about community safety rather than policing, she said. The Government has been accused of trying to shirk its responsibilities as it investigates selling 250 Housing New Zealand properties in Horowhenua. The Government's suggestion follows a proposal by the Horowhenua District Council to sell 115 of its pensioner housing units to a community housing provider. The Government plans to transfer between 1000 to 2000 properties to registered community housing providers this year under its Social Housing Reform Programme. This would include 250 Housing New Zealand properties and tenancies in Foxton, Levin and Shannon. READ MORE: * Horowhenua District Council considers cutting pensioner housing * Horowhenua District Council agrees to put pensioner housing on the market * Sole buyer of Invercargill state houses pulls out, stalling Government plans Palmerston North MP Iain Lees-Galloway said it was a failed policy. "At every turn that policy has proved to be a failure." Social organisations such as the Salvation Army had rejected the idea. In Invercargill, the sole buyer had pulled out. "The only organisation that has the resources and mandate is the Government. "It should be a core function of government that everybody has access to an affordable, warm and dry home." Lees-Galloway said the Government was trying to "release itself" of that responsibility. There were successful cases where government partnered with community organisations - but only when the Government retained ownership of the houses, he said. Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett said the needs of the tenants would be put first. "These transfers are only one part of the overall social housing reform programme. As we look at options such as the opportunity in Horowhenua, we will always put the tenants and their needs first." Housing New Zealand Minister Bill English said before any decision to move the proposal forward was made, the Government would consult local iwi on their Treaty of Waitangi rights and interests. That process will run until July 1. "If those discussions are positive, we would then look to outline a joint commercial process with the council," he said. Horowhenua district mayor Brendan Duffy said he was pleased that the Government had decided to explore the proposal of a joint transfer. No decision had been made to proceed at this stage. "These processes may take some time, but tenants and staff will be kept informed throughout." The council would still proceed with its plans if the Government decided not to pull out of the transfer. Firefighters expected the worst when they arrived to find a man trapped in a burning car on Hussey Rd in Harewood. Motorists smashed windows in a desperate effort to save a man trapped in a flaming car. Anak Lumb was on his way to pick up friends from Christchurch Airport when he came across a crash in Harewood shortly after 11pm on Tuesday. "There was already a small fire under the bonnet of the car that steadily grew. He was very trapped, the side of the car was so impacted it was sort of wrapped around him," he said. JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/FAIRFAX NZ The car was "well ablaze" when fire crews arrived. The fire grew and melted the sun visor of the car and rubber around the front windows, which fell on the trapped man. Lumb said he desperately kicked in the passenger's window, releasing smoke from the vehicle. A huge bang could be heard as the tyres exploded. "We were trying to get the back door open hoping we could slide him backwards over the seat, but the doors were all bent and buckled so you couldn't actually open them either. "You feel very helpless." Lumb said the man was "somewhere between conscious and unconscious", groaning and not aware what was going on. The fire continued to spread but there was nothing the men could do. "From one minute before the Fire Service got there I thought I was going to watch this guy burn to his death." He said it was a delicate situation when firefighters arrived on the scene. "If they tried to put it out really quickly they would have put the water in from the front of the car but then that would have pushed the flames towards him." St John spokesman Ian Henderson said the man, aged in his 30s, was taken to Christchurch Hospital with serious injuries after firefighters managed to free him from the wreckage. Christchurch area commander Dave Stackhouse said it was "a good save by the lads" from the Harewood fire station. "I'm very pleased with the guys, it was really about 30 seconds that made a difference. "The car had impacted on a tree and a fire had started in the engine compartment." Fire Service southern communications shift manager Brent Dunn said fire crews worked quickly to remove the man from the flaming car. "It's unbelievable. With the car being well ablaze you would expect the worst, but firefighters managed to pull him out of the car alive. "He would not have got out without emergency services." Kahungunu chairman Nelson Rangi makes a point to Masterton District Council about a motion for it to postpone the appointment of iwi representatives to two of its standing committees. A sometimes tense council meeting in Masterton has rejected a motion to delay the appointment of unelected iwi representatives. The decision avoided an acrimonious, race-based council election in October, one councillor said. And an iwi leader said the motion's author, councillor Gary Caffell, had not been open about his political motives. CALEB HARRIS/STUFF Masterton mayor Lyn Patterson said there was no reason to delay addressing the lack of a Maori voice in local government. Masterton District Council voted last month to appoint representatives from Wairarapa's two iwi, Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Rangitane o Wairarapa, each with speaking and voting rights, to its policy and finance, and audit and risk, standing committees. READ MORE: * Iwi get vote on Masterton council committees * Regional council likely to give iwi voting rights * 'Special privileges' for Maori criticised They also have speaking rights at full council meetings, which ratify the committees' recommendations. CALEB HARRIS/ FAIRFAX NZ Masterton councillor Gary Caffell defends his motion to delay the iwi appointments until after the October local government elections. But at a special council meeting on Wednesday, Caffell moved to delay the appointments until after October's national local body elections, "subject to the wishes of the new council". During a public forum to start the meeting, Rangitane chairwoman Tina Te Tau-Brightwell and Kahungunu chairman Nelson Rangi said that meant the appointments might never happen. They were disappointed with Caffell's motion, which followed a spate of letters to media, and other feedback criticising the appointments as undemocratic. "I'm here to remind this council of your statutory responsibilities and obligations [to] ... support Maori participation in council decision-making processes," Te Tau-Brightwell said. The motion was seconded by Brent Goodwin and a vigorous debate followed, with Goodwin and Caffell interjecting at times as several councillors attacked the postponement proposal. Caffell, who has said he may challenge current mayor Lyn Patterson for the mayoralty, claimed she had "rushed" the appointments. Councillors had only 24 hours to consider the appointments' "repercussions" and "nuts and bolts" before voting, he said. "My beef with this decision is process." The council should consider the "firestorm" of critical public reaction. Goodwin said the decision wasn't urgent, so should have been made more carefully. But Patterson said dealing with the chronic under-representation of Maori in local government was urgent. It had been thoroughly and publicly discussed in last year's Annual Plan consultation, attracting little reaction, and there was now no reason not to proceed. "We will all benefit from meeting our Treaty [of Waitangi] obligations. What are we afraid of?" Many councils, including Greater Wellington Regional Council, had long appointed unelected iwi representatives with voting rights to committees with no problems. Councillor Chris Peterson said delegating the decision to a new council amounted to "ducking the issue", and was unnecessarily divisive. "That could potentially make it a single-issue election," he said. Councillor Pip Hannon said standing for election was hard for Maori in a conservative town like Masterton, and the appointments could encourage more Maori candidates. The motion was defeated 8-2, with only Caffell and Goodwin for. David Holmes abstained. Outside the meeting Te-Tau-Brightwell and Rangi shared a tearful hug, which Rangi said indicated the issue's significance. Caffell had not been fully open about his true motives, he said. "With this brewing up and the reaction he's getting and so forth, he will use it as a plank to gain support for his mayoral bid." The appointments were a practical, crucial counter-balance to the racism of many voters, which disadvantaged Maori candidates in elections, he said. The success of Egypt's President Sisi is in the interests of Hungary, says Prime Minister Viktor Orban Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban agreed during Cairo talks Wednesday to bolster trade cooperation and join forces in the fight against terrorism. El-Sisi told a nationally televised press conference that the two leaders discussed "recent developments in the Middle East and Europe as well as pressing issues affecting stability and security in the region," mainly in Syria and Libya. The duo discussed means to bolster mutual ties in all fields and promote economic cooperation and investment. They also discussed fighting terrorism and extremism, and curbing illegal immigration, El-Sisi added. Orban expressed his country's condolences to Cairo over the recent crash of an EgyptAir passenger jet in the Mediterranean that killed all 66 on board. He described talks with Sisi as "constructive," saying that the success of the Egyptian president is in the interests of Hungary. Orban highlighted plans to reinforce counter-terrorism efforts. He said stability in Libya is a pivotal matter for Egypt and the European Union that can only be achieved through a strong army and by cutting off aid to armed factions in the country. The Hungarian prime minister said that Cairo and Budapest agreed to boost cooperation in water, agriculture and education as well as bolster investment in the energy sector. Orban is currently in Cairo on a three-day visit that began Tuesday. Search Keywords: Short link: The investigation into a microlight crash that killed two Timaru men has been delayed after the lead investigator resigned. Timaru police officer Senior Sergeant Randel Tikitiki, 51, and South Canterbury Microlight club instructor Jack Mehlhopt, 86, were killed when their microlight crashed in a paddock off Seadown Rd, halfway between Timaru and Temuka, on January 23 2015. An email obtained by Fairfax shows the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is investigating the crash, expected to have already completed its report. MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/STUFF Senior Sergeant Randel Tikitiki. However, there had been a significant delay in the investigation because the lead investigator resigned. READ MORE: Microlight crash victims named In the email, CAA safety investigation manager Jim Burtenshaw says the report "would have normally been completed by now", but due to the resignation it had to be taken up by another investigator. "This has caused a significant delay as the new investigator in charge goes back through all the evidence." The new investigator was aiming to have the draft report completed by December, he says. A CAA spokeswoman said there was no standard length for an investigation. "We cannot accurately predict completion time as no investigation is alikethe very nature of investigation means that we may discover new aspects and complexities which require further research. "Our focus is on completing a high-quality investigation to ensure that any safety learnings that may exist can be identified." The CAA had seven full-time investigators, she said. "A lead investigator is assigned to each investigation, with other investigators supporting as required. "This is best practice as an investigation requires the investigators to deal with fine details and robust in-depth research." A request for the number of active CAA investigations had to be submitted as an Official Information Act request, she said. Jack Mehlhopt's son, Mark Mehlhopt, said family members had been kept informed by the CAA throughout the investigation. The family never had an expectation of when the report would be completed, he said. "We can't change the fact of what's happened. I don't think the family dwells on it." Tikitiki and Mehlhopt died while undertaking a lesson. Mehlhopt, 86, had spent a lifetime flying and had been an active member of the South Canterbury Aero Club since 1946 He had also received numerous awards, including being the third New Zealander to be awarded the prestigious Federation Aeronautique Internationale Air Sport Medal in 1996. He has left behind wife Audrey, two sons and three daughters. Tikitiki was recognised at a pay parade a month before his death for his 28 years of service to the police. Tikitiki, who was raised in the Poverty Bay area, became a fully fledged police officer by default. He first joined as a Ministry of Transport "traffic cop" and switched over when it became a single entity in 1992. He had twin teenage daughters. * This story has been corrected. An original version incorrectly said Mehlhopt had five sons and two daughters. Egyptian defence minister Sedki Sobhi flew to France on Wednesday to raise the Egyptian flag above Egypt's first Mistral-class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) on Thursday, Egypt's army spokesperson said in an official statement. According to the army spokesman, the French-made Mistral, which is set to be named after the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, will be the first helicopter carrier to join the Egyptian fleet. The spokesman described the step as "a new addition to the weapon system's armament of the Egyptian armed forces [that will] bolster its abilities to face challenges and hostilities." Sobhi, who is accompanied by a military delegation, is set to attend on Thursday a celebration with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian to mark the delivery of the Mistral to Cairo. During the event, the Egyptian flag will be raised on the carrier before it sails Toulouse to Egypt. Earlier this month, 170 Egyptian crewmen participated in a week-long training on board the carrier to prepare for taking over its helm. According to AFP, another Mistral helicopter carrier, named after the late Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat, will be delivered in September. The contract for the two Mistral carriers, which was finalised in September last year, was valued at 950 million Euros. France now tops the list of countries which signed military supply agreements with Egypt during the two-year tenure of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Earlier in May, Cairo finalised the purchase of a military reconnaissance and monitoring satellite from France. Last year, Egypt successfully concluded a purchase of 24 Rafale fighter planes, seven of which were recentlt delivered to Cairo. Search Keywords: Short link: Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism on Wednesday after they were convicted of attacks on police in the Shia Muslim minority area of Qatif in the Eastern Province, scene of past anti-government protests, their lawyer said. Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquitted, their defence lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. The sentences could further deepen resentment among the kingdom's Shia, some of whom already complaining of discrimination in the predominantly Western-allied Sunni Muslim country. Saudi Arabia denies any discrimination. Arabiya TV said the charges had included opening fire on security forces and civilians, causing several deaths and destruction of property. They were also accused of peddling drugs and armed robbery against shops and cars. The defence lawyer said he intended to appeal the rulings. The 24 defendants -- most in their 20s -- had been held for about four years and accused of carrying weapons and shooting at police, he said. During 2011-14 protests, around 20 Shia and several police officers were killed. A spokesman for the Saudi justice ministry could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report, first broadcast by the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV. On January 2 Saudi Arabia executed four Shia convicted of similar crimes alongside 43 Sunnis accused of carrying out attacks for Al-Qaeda a decade ago. The execution of the Shia, including a prominent cleric, by Sunni-led Saudi Arabia pushed up tensions with its main regional rival Iran and contributed to rising sectarian anger in some neighbouring countries. International human rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia's justice system, which they say holds unfair trials, and have said that convictions for terrorism sometimes extend to peaceful protesters and are secured by torture. Saudi Arabia denies this, saying its judiciary is independent and that it does not practice torture. It says it does not differentiate between Sunnis and Shia accused of politically motivated attacks on other citizens or the security forces. Search Keywords: Short link: Bahrain has charged 18 people with contacting Iran's Revolutionary Guard and the Shia Muslim Lebanese Hezbollah group with the aim of stirring up unrest in the kingdom, state news agency BNA reported on Wednesday. Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Iran in January, a day after Riyadh severed ties with Tehran following attacks by Iranian demonstrators on Saudi diplomatic missions in response to the execution of a prominent Shia Muslim Saudi cleric convicted on terrorism charges. BNA said the prosecution had established after the investigation that the group had formed a "secret cell" to incite Bahrainis against the ruling system and to propagate information calling for changing the government by force. It said the group had contacted leaders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Hezbollah group to "obtain financial and logistical support" in exchange for regular reports on the political, economic and social situation in the kingdom. Bahrain has designated Hezbollah as a terrorist group. "It had been established that the money that had been received had been used to support those held in jail in relation to terrorism cases and terrorist groups to encourage them to carry out more terrorist acts," the report said. The agency said 10 of the suspects were in custody while eight would go on trial this month in absentia. Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, has blamed Iran for fomenting mass protests by the island's Shia Muslim majority in 2011 demanding bigger participation in running the country's affairs. Iran denies the charges. On Monday, Bahrain more than doubled to nine years from four the prison sentence it had imposed last year against the leader of the country's main opposition group, al-Wefaq, after an appeals court found him guilty on the charge of seeking to overthrow the government by force. Search Keywords: Short link: The average value in the city is now $591,942. Western Bay of Plenty home values are also accelerating, up 8.4 per cent over the past three months alone and 23.6 per cent year on year. The average value in the district is now $525,133. QV homevalue Tauranga Registered Valuer David Hume says the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty housing markets are continuing to show strong value growth. Auckland investors remain very active in the market as they search for more feasible rental returns in Tauranga and surrounding small towns such as Te Puke. Tauranga first home buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with out of town buyers and even entry level houses in less sought after areas are now becoming increasingly unaffordable for them. He says a number of recent auction results show just how rapidly home values are rising and sales prices continue to exceed vendors expectations. A three bedroom Mount Maunganui property sold for $840,000 setting a new benchmark for the area with similar properties that were previously selling in the early $700,000. In terms of bare sections, 850 square metres sections in the Conway Drive Development in Paengaroa that were selling for $120,000 twelve months ago are now being on-sold at $210,000. Meanwhile, QV National Spokesperson Andrea Rush says residential property values are rising rapidly across Auckland again and they also continue to accelerate in many other parts of the country, with much of the activity driven by strong demand from investors. Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown values continue to see particularly strong very growth, as do many other regional centres and smaller towns located within commuting distance of these main centres. Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown values continue to see particularly strong very growth, as do many other regional centres and smaller towns located within commuting distance of these main centres. The Christchurch market by comparison is slow and steady with normal levels of activity and sales volumes but little value growth as supply is now meeting demand for housing in the city, says Andrea. Migration is continuing at the highest levels seen in 100 years and this population growth coupled with growing demand from investors, means housing supply, particularly in Auckland and Queenstown, is not able to keep up with demand and this is driving values ever higher. The latest QV stats show the average value in the Auckland region is $955,793 and that the housing market rose 15.4 per cent over the past year. If values continue to rise at the same rate during 2016, then by this time next year the average value will top $1 million dollars. Many upper North Island centres within commuting distance to Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton and Whangarei continue to see a strong upward trend in home values. This includes places such as Rotorua where values rose 6.1 per cent over the past three months; as well as the Kaipara District up 9.3 per cent; the Whakatane District up 7.6 per cent and the Kawerau District up 11.4 per cent over the same period. The only North Island areas that saw a decrease in values over the past three months were Masterton (down 0.1 per cent) and Carterton (down 1.3 per cent) in the Wairarapa. The voting phase of Zs Good in the Hood programme is over and 852 community groups are about to share in $1 million relative to how New Zealanders voted. The groups doing good in neighbourhoods across the country were selected from thousands of applications, and Z customers were asked to vote for their favourite group during the month of May. In its fifth consecutive year the 2016 Good in the Hood finalists were selected from more than 4,000 applications, and narrowing the number down was a tough job when each and every one of the groups, both big and small, are working to make a positive difference in their community, says Zs community manager Christine Langdon. Each Z station supported four local groups who will each receive a share of $4000 based on how customers voted with the Good in the Hood orange token they received every time they made a purchase or filled-up during May. The votes are now being tallied and the cheques will be presented to each of the groups this month. A further $1000 per station has also been set aside for Zs local retailers to support other neighbourhood groups and projects as they arise throughout the remainder of the year. Christine says Good in the Hood is all about keeping it local. Our Z stations are part of the communities they serve. We reckon the best way to give back to those communities is to put our local teams and customers at the heart of deciding how the funding is shared. They know better than anyone what matters in their neighbourhoods. During the month many groups promoted their activities on our forecourts and both their teams and the Z team got right behind them. Christine says the programme is a real celebration of the countless hours spent by groups across New Zealand making a significant contribution to the health and well-being of our communities. Z customers will be able to see the final tally for how much each group in their neighbourhood received by visiting your local Z station at the start of July, or visiting www.z.co.nz/goodinthehood later this month. The sister of a former Hamilton woman feared dead after a crocodile attack describes the situation as the familys worst nightmare. Cindy Waldron is feared dead after a crocodile dragged her away while swimming at Thornton Beach in Northern Queensland. Billed as the place to be for luxury car enthusiasts this season, the Summer Studio will offer guests the chance to can learn all about Rolls Royces cars through static displays as they enjoy the sunset from the comfort of the bespoke Fendi Casa lounge Visitors can also experience a dynamic drive on the islands beautiful winding roads, as well as design and configure their own custom Rolls Royce while being guided by the companys Product Experts. Furthermore, the Summer Studio will also be used to showcase their latest model, the Rolls Royce Dawn, including a bespoke model inspired by the coastal destination of Costa Smeralda in Sardinia. Torsten Muller-Otvos, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: Connoisseurs of true luxury are seeking an unforgettable experience in their pursuit of perfection. Rolls-Royce understands this as one of the tenets of true luxury and offers to enrich the lives of our customers and acquaintances by hosting a summer-long Rolls-Royce Studio in one of the most social enclaves in the Mediterranean. The worlds of fashion, art and design collide to create an ambient atmosphere which embodies the spirit of Rolls-Royce. The Rolls-Royce Summer Studio will be open until September. Israel has arrested a correspondent for Iran's Arabic-language television in the annexed Golan Heights, police said on Wednesday. Al-Alam news channel identified the journalist as Bassam al-Safadi. Police said he was "suspected of diffusion (of information) supporting a terrorist organisation and incitement to violence and terrorism", without elaborating. A court in Nazareth in northern Israel extended his detention until Sunday, police said. Al-Alam said in a statement that he was arrested "for no reason" in Masada, a village dominated by the Druze minority. His computer, camera and mobile phone were confiscated, the statement added. He is being held in Tzalmon prison in northern Israel, the police said, calling him a 43-year-old Arab Israeli. Many Golan Druze, however, consider themselves Syrians. Fares Sarafandi who works for Al-Alam in the occupied Palestinian territories told AFP that Safadi was their correspondent in the Golan Heights. Iran is an ally of Syria, which is technically at war with Israel, and a sworn enemy of the Jewish state. Hussein Mortada, head of Al-Alam's office in Syria, said the arrest was part of a "systematic campaign" by Israel against the media. Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Search Keywords: Short link: Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Tehran had no intention of leaving Iraq and criticised "arrogant" Saudi Arabia for accusing it of stoking sectarian violence. "We will leave Iraq whenever Iraq asks us to. And we will help Iraq to confront terrorism, as long as Iraq wants us to," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a press conference in Stockholm during a European tour to attract investors. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of sowing "sedition and division" in Iraq and sending in Shia militias, and urged Tehran to "stop intervening" in the affairs of its neighbours. But Zarif, whose Shia-dominated country is an arch rival of Saudi Arabia, bristled at the remarks by the Sunni-led kingdom's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. "It's an absurd statement, it's an arrogant statement. Nobody should arrogate themselves to talk on behalf of other countries," he said in English. Tehran and Riyadh, a traditional ally of Washington, are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides. Iran has advisors on the ground in Iraq and also in Syria to help the military in both countries battle armed groups fighting the national governments. Saudi Arabia is also taking part in a US-led coalition targeting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Without naming names, Zarif warned countries which consider groups such as IS and the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front as "leverages that can be used for political gains". "That's the worst miscalculation anybody has made in our region," he said. "I believe the sooner Saudi Arabia comes to understand that ISIS is first and foremost a threat against them, then, anybody else, the sooner we are able to confront this total menace for all of us, not only in the region but in the world," Zarif added, using another acronym for the IS group. Search Keywords: Short link: Syracuse, N.Y. The L. & J.G. Stickley Co. has donated the former Syracuse home of famed furniture maker Gustav Stickley to the University Neighborhood Preservation Association, the first significant step in the restoration of the 116-year-old house. The transfer was completed last week. The Preservation Association said it hopes to begin work in September on structural and exterior repairs to the home at 438 Columbus Ave. After the repairs, the house will be transferred to the Onondaga Historical Association, which plans to restore its first and second floors to the way they looked when Stickley lived in the home in the early 1900s. Stickley bought the then brand-new Queen Anne style home from Moses Lewis in 1900 and rebuilt its interior in the Arts and Crafts style following a Christmas Eve fire in 1901. It is believed to be the first home in America featuring an Arts and Crafts interior, the "craftsman" style that Stickley helped to popularize with his solid-wood Mission furniture. Stickley founded the Gustave Stickley Co. (he later dropped the "e" from his first name) in Eastwood in 1900, later changing the name to United Crafts and then The Craftsman Workshops. He moved his corporate headquarters, though not his factory, to New York City in 1905 and moved his family shortly afterward to what became known as Craftsman Farms in Morris Plains, N.J. Though a skilled furniture designer and maker, he was not the best businessman. He filed bankruptcy in 1915 and left the furniture business. He returned to the Columbus Avenue home in 1919, when it was then owned by his daughter Barbara Stickley Wiles, and continued to live there until his death in 1942 at the age of 84. The Wiles family sold the house in the 1950s, and portions of its two top floors were turned into apartments. The home was purchased in 1996 by L. & J.G. Stickley Co., the furniture company founded in Fayetteville by Stickley's younger brothers Leopold and John George and owned by the Audi family since 1974. The Audis said they bought the home to keep its interior from being cut up by antique dealers and sold off. It's been vacant since 1995. More than $700,000 has been raised for the structural and exterior repairs, which will include leveling the foundation and rebuilding the home's front porch. Funding for the project includes a $500,000 state grant, a $200,000 state grant and $60,000 in foundation grants ($30,000 from the Community Foundation, $20,000 from the Thorpe Foundation and $10,000 from the Arts & Craft Society). Antique dealer David Rudd, who briefly owned the home in the early 1990s, said an additional $70,000 is being sought by the Preservation Association to cover carrying costs such as a new alarm system, utilities, insurance and other expenses. The entire restoration project, including the creation of an Arts and Crafts interpretation center in the home, has been estimated to cost $2.3 million to $2.5 million. A new nonprofit organization, Gustav Stickley House Foundation Inc., has been formed to help raise money for the restoration. It will be headed by Rudd, owner of Dalton's American Decorative Arts store in Eastwood. Rudd said the foundation is making plans to hold its first fundraising event this summer in Skaneateles, where Stickley spent his summers during his later years. The Crawford & Stearns architectural and preservation planning firm is drawing up architectural plans for the restoration. Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 IMG_1336.JPG Sheriff's deputies investigate a fatal two-car crash on I-81 south near LaFayette on May 8, 2015. Amy Dell was found guilty Tuesday of aggravated vehicular manslaughter in the case. (Provided Photo) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Rome woman accused of drunken driving in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 81 last year that killed a man has been convicted in the case. Amy Dell, 34, was found guilty Tuesday of two counts of aggravated vehicular manslaughter and one count of aggravated unlicensed operation, the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office said. Dell could face up to 25 years in prison. She previously rejected a plea deal from prosecutors that would have sent her to prison for 8 to 24 years. Her trial began May 23. The jury began deliberations Tuesday afternoon and returned guilty verdicts before the end of the day. On May 8, 2015 Dell got into a crash on I-81 at the LaFayette interchange. She was accused of drunkenly driving the wrong way, going north in the southbound lanes before crashing head-on into a car carrying Bruce Ham, 58, of New Jersey. Dell's black Ford Escape ended up on its passenger side with extensive front-end damage. Ham's silver Lexus was found 200 feet away, resting against a guardrail. Ham, the father of three adult children, was driving home to New Jersey to tell his family about a new job he'd gotten in Toronto. He was starting a counseling practice in Canada and had landed a job teaching mental health counseling. He planned on moving there with his wife of three decades. Amy Dell After being pulled from the wreckage of her Ford SUV, Dell was treated in the back of an ambulance. Police reported that Dell was belligerent and aggressive to a deputy who responded to the crash. From the ambulance and repeatedly at the hospital, Dell was told the deputy her mother was a judge, according to testimony in court. Dell's mother is Skaneateles Town Justice Kathleen Dell. When deputies repeatedly asked her for permission to do a blood-alcohol test, Dell refused. She was eventually forced to after a warrant was signed by a county judge. During questioning at the hospital she flipped off a deputy, called him pathetic and shouted an expletive at the deputy. Dell's blood-alcohol was found to be above the legal limit of 0.08. But the extent of her apparent drunkenness was disputed. One test came back with a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 and the other 0.16. (The tests both showed Dell was above the legal limit of 0.08, but only the higher one qualified as an aggravated DWI charge.). Her lawyer also suggested that a medical condition -- not alcohol -- made Dell get on I-81 going the wrong way. Prosecutors argued that after Dell left her job as a bartender at Revolutions at Destiny USA mall she bounced between four downtown bars that night before collapsing in front of the Corner Bar on Walton Street. Onlookers picked her up, carried her to a table, tried to revive her and tried to find her a ride, prosecutors said, but she refused and ultimately got behind the wheel herself. Dell is being held at Jamesville correctional facility. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A boy riding a bicycle was hit by a school bus Tuesday when he crossed into the path of the bus, Syracuse police said. About 4:20 p.m. Jacqueline Hinds, 37, of Syracuse, was driving a First Student school bus east on Lodi Street. She was making a left turn onto East Laurel Street when a bicyclist going west on Lodi Street went onto East Laurel Street and into the path of the bus. Hinds tried to stop in time, but could not and hit an 8-year-old boy who was riding the bicycle, police said, knocking him to the ground. The boy suffered bruises to his head, but was breathing and conscious at the scene. He was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. Three children were on the bus at the time of the accident, but they were not injured. Hinds was not ticketed. Police said the boy on the bicycle is believed to have failed to yield the right of way to the bus. DSC_0817.JPG Syracuse police investigate a shooting that occurred Tuesday evening in the 300 block of Primrose Avenue, near McKinley Park. Two people were injured. (Ken Sturtz | ksturtz@syracuse.com) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Two people - a man and a teen - were shot Tuesday evening on the city's South Side, Syracuse police said. At 8:13 p.m. officers responded to the 300 block of Primrose Avenue after getting reports that someone had been shot. Several people had also called 911 to report hearing gunshots in the area. When officers got to Primrose Avenue, which dead-ends the edge of McKinley Park, they found a man in his 20s with a gunshot wound. Onondaga County 911 reported that the victim was wounded in the leg. The man was rushed to Upstate University Hospital by Rural Metro ambulance. Police said the man is in critical condition. While officers were at the scene of the shooting on Primrose Avenue, they were notified that a second victim, a 17-year-old boy, had arrived at the hospital in a vehicle with a gunshot wound. Police said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Police said the suspect was a black man wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, and last seen running from the scene through McKinley Park. Officers flooded the area after the shooting and strung crime scene tape up around a pickup with its doors open on Primrose Avenue. Bloody bandages, shoes and other debris sat on the street next to the pickup. Police initially detained at least one suspect near McKinley Park, but it was not clear if that person had been arrested and officers appeared to continue searching the area. Police asked anyone with information to contact 315-442-5222. Tips can also be submitted using the "SPD Tips" App. MONTAGUE, N.Y. -- A teenager from Onondaga County was injured while riding an all-terrain vehicle in northern New York. A 13-year-old from Liverpool was riding a 2014 Polaris Sportsmen 400cc Sunday morning on the Horace Forward Truck Trail in the town of Montague, about 50 miles north of Syracuse, The Watertown Times reported. On a curve the teen lost control. The ATV hit a tree. State forest rangers and firefighters from Lowville responded along with Lewis County Search and Rescue. Search and rescue members treated the teen, WWNY TV 7 reported. He was later airlifted to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. Authorities did not identify the teen or say what his injuries were. DSC_0817.JPG Syracuse police investigate a shooting that occurred Tuesday evening in the 300 block of Primrose Avenue, near McKinley Park. One man was fatally shot and a 15-year-old boy was charged with murder. (Ken Sturtz | ksturtz@syracuse.com) Syracuse, NY - A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder in connection with a fatal shooting Tuesday night on Primrose Avenue in Syracuse, according to the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office. Vikal Williams, 15, was arraigned Wednesday morning on a charge of murder before City Court Judge Karen Uplinger, said First Chief Assistant District Attorney Rick Trunfio. Williams is being held at Hillbrook Detention Center. He will return to court at 10 a.m. on June 6 in front of City Court Judge James Cecile. Several callers to 911 at about 8:13 p.m. Tuesday alerted police to a shooting in the 300 block of Primrose Avenue. When officers arrived they found Tabarrie Tillie, 32, of Syracuse suffering from a gunshot wound. Tillie was taken by ambulance to Upstate University Hospital, where he later died. Police were also told that a 15-year-old with neck and face cuts was taken from the scene by a vehicle to Upstate University Hospital. He was treated and released from the hospital, police said. After numerous interviews and assistance from the public, detectives in the Criminal Investigations Division determined that the 15-year-old boy was involved in some type of dispute with Tillie, the 32-year-old man who was shot. During the dispute, the boy shot the victim with a handgun, police said. The 15-year-old was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Due to his age, police refused to release his name or photograph. Under New York law, a 15-year-old charged with murder will be tried as an adult, Trunfio said. If he is convicted, however, Williams would be sentenced under juvenile offender sentencing guidelines, he said. Juvenile offender sentencing means that, as opposed to facing a sentence of 25 years to life as an adult, Williams would face a maximum of 15 years to life and minimum of 7 1/2 years to life, Trunfio said. We will update this story as more information becomes available. court of appeals.JPG The 1842 New York Court of Appeals building in Albany. (Douglass Dowty | ddowty@syracuse.com) Albany, NY -- "Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye!" To this day, that's how business is called to order at New York's Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. The court's 1842 marble building is located next to Albany's City Hall. Inside the three-story, ornate wood courtroom, judges have been shaping the justice system for generations. It's there that judges struck down the state's death penalty in 2004 based on a technicality over jury instructions. And in another landmark decision from 1901, the court barred (with exceptions) a suspect's prior bad behavior from being brought up at trial. Here are five things you probably didn't know about the state's most powerful judges: It's not the state's Supreme Court In New York, the top court isn't supreme. The state's "court of last resort," akin to the U.S. Supreme Court, is called the Court of Appeals. New York's Supreme Courts are actually the first level of civil courts in most counties. Then comes the appellate courts and finally, the Court of Appeals. The high court picks and chooses which cases to hear -- and it picks very few. To make things more confusing in New York, the Supreme Court is staffed by "justices," while their superiors on the Court of Appeals are called, more simply, "judges." One other distinction: Court of Appeals judges are appointed by the governor. State Supreme Court Justices are elected. Decisions by the Court of Appeals are binding across all other state courts, much in the way the U.S. Supreme Court decisions must be followed by every other court. Interior of the New York Court of Appeals in Albany. It's not about guilt or innocence The Court of Appeals tackles complex issues of law. It doesn't hold trials with juries and witnesses. What does that mean? It can take a mundane crime and turn it into a big deal. Take for example a man tried for a 2009 trespassing at a Syracuse housing complex. The man, Nature Finch, was only convicted of a misdemeanor. But the case kept going all the way to Albany. The high court's ruling in 2014 revolutionized how any criminal conviction can be appealed -- not just Finch's case. It ruled that his protest at the beginning of the case -- not during trial -- was enough to bring an appeal. In the past, issues not objected to specifically at trial generally could not be appealed. The Finch decision apparently opened the door to many more appeals. On the other hand, notorious criminals like husband-killer Stacey Castor never get their cases heard by the state's highest court. Why? Because from a legal point of view, her conviction wasn't all that interesting. No prisoners and no guards They're a big part of most courts: handcuffed inmates in jail garb shuffling into court with armed security holding down the fort. Not so in the state's top court. Sure, there's a metal detector at the entrance. But there are typically no prisoners and no prison guards. In fact, the courtroom is full of lawyers in suits and few others. Many arguments made before the court rarely refer to the person named in the case. Like in Finch's case, the court is using a particular case (or lawsuit) to make a bigger point -- it's rarely in the business of second-guessing the truth of what happened. If a conviction is overturned, it's not because of new evidence: it's based on some legal argument that will influence other cases like it in the future. There are few spectators and a small gallery compared to the expansive tables for lawyers preparing their cases. It's 7-on-1 When all seats are filled, the Court of Appeals has seven judges. Each lawyer is granted only minutes to plead their case -- typically 10 minutes a side. The judges routinely interrupt lawyers with pointed questions. By this point, both sides have filed reams of paper in advance. The arguments cut straight to the chase, forcing whoever is before the court to defend their case against seven of the state's top legal minds. But there's also a lighter side. During arguments Thursday over a technicality involving tape-recorded court proceedings, one lawyer brought up his grandmother. "Let me go back to my old Polish grandmother..." began defense lawyer Robert Gregor, of Lake George. But he was interrupted by Judge Eugene Pigott: "Before we bring in your old Polish grandmother..." He went on with his question as others in the courtroom laughed. Be ready for a fight The seven judges don't spare any punches. During the tightly-timed arguments, they routinely interrupt both lawyers to play devil's advocate. By stripping each argument down to its weaknesses, the judges weigh the merits of both sides. It's rarely easy to tell which way the judges are leaning based on hearing arguments. The judges heard arguments recently into the controversial and secretive system that allows sex offenders to be locked up for the rest of their lives. A state-appointed lawyer representing a confined sex offender suggested that certain criteria being used to keep the offender after prison could be unconstitutional. Judge Michael Garcia noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled sex offender confinement is legal as long as offenders are getting treatment. "You're not arguing that (confinement) is unconstitutional?" the judge asked. "Not today," replied lawyer Shannon Stockwell. Garcia laughed. After about a half-hour of pointed exchanges, the judges move on to the next case. Their decisions are released weeks later in written form. But it's a huge honor to be grilled by the state's highest court. One lawyer, Richard Lentino, noted that he'd been practicing almost four decades before having the honor. And Gregor -- of the old Polish grandmother -- was so excited he forgot to introduce himself until a judge interrupted him. He took a moment to revel in the opportunity. "It really is an experience," he told the judges. Sudan's military said Wednesday it will "firmly deal" with breaches of its airspace after citing two violations last month by a plane belonging to global aid groups. The military issued the warning following what it called a violation of Sudan's airspace by a cargo plane flying for "international and regional NGOs" on May 17 and 20. "It entered Sudan's airspace without any authorised permission. It did not adhere to proper procedures," army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami said in a statement. He did not specify who operated the aircraft or to which NGO it belonged. "Sudan's army warns that any aircraft that violates Sudan's airspace and enters it without permission or proper procedures will be dealt with firmly," said Shami. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur, UNAMID, and the UN World Food Programme operate daily flights across Sudan to facilitate their work in conflict zones. About 20,000 troops and policemen from more than 30 countries are currently in Sudan's western region of Darfur as part of the African Union-United Nations mission, UNAMID. Deployed in 2007, UNAMID has a mandate to curb violence in Darfur, where conflict has killed tens of thousands of civilians since 2003. In October 2012, Sudan had accused Israel of striking a military factory in central Khartoum by sending four radar-evading aircraft. Two people were killed in the blast. In April 2011, Sudan said it had irrefutable evidence that Israeli attack helicopters had carried out an air strike on a car driving along its Red Sea coast which killed two people. Search Keywords: Short link: 2016-02-29-BA-Congress Mashup.jpg Steve Wells, of Cazenovia, left, faces Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, and George Phillips, of Endwell, in the Republican primary in the 22nd Congressional District. The election is June 28. WASHINGTON, D.C -- State Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney on Tuesday blasted one of the nation's oldest and largest conservative groups after she lost its endorsement for Congress to a political rival. The American Conservative Union endorsed George Phillips, of Endwell, in the Republican primary in the 22nd Congressional District. The ACU is among the most influential conservative groups, and hosts the nation's largest annual gathering of conservatives at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. But after losing the endorsement, Tenney on Tuesday called the ACU "part of the failed Republican establishment" and suggested the organization played politics by backing Phillips. "The fact that the American Conservative Union would endorse a candidate simply because he has friends and connections in D.C. is a disgrace," Tenney said in a statement. "So-called conservatives in D.C. put their friends ahead of a proven conservative record." Tenney noted that she has the endorsement of the Conservative Party of New York and the party's line on the November ballot. She also has one of the most conservative voting records in the state legislature. Tenney suggested the Phillips is "the choice of D.C. insiders" and benefited from a friendship with ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp. "It's everything that's wrong with politics and it's exactly how George Phillips received this endorsement," Tenney said. Phillips, a high school history teacher, has twice run unsuccessfully for Congress. He is in a three-way Republican primary with Tenney and Steve Wells, of Cazenovia, for the 22nd Congressional District's GOP ballot line. The primary is June 28. The winner will face Democrat Kim Myers, a Broome County legislator from Vestal, in the November election. The 22nd District is considered one of the nation's top battlegrounds in the House this year. The seat will open with the retirement of three-term Rep. Richard Hanna, a Republican from Oneida County. The American Conservative Union, asked about Tenney's comments on Tuesday, said she would be an improvement (with a 75 percent ACU rating) over Hanna, who the group gave a 25 percent rating. ACU spokesman Ian Walters said "we'll take anyone who gets a C over an F any day of the week, but we believe George Phillips is the A-rated conservative in the race." Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Carl Paladino.JPG Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino speaks during a Donald Trump rally in Syracuse before New York's April 19 presidential primary. Paladino, Trump's New York campaign co-chair, blasted House Speaker Paul Ryan for saying he's not ready to endorse the GOP's presumptive nominee for president. (Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com) WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Donald Trump's top political ally in New York says House Speaker Paul Ryan is a "misguided yellow-bellied coward" for holding back an endorsement of the presumptive Republican nominee for president. Carl Paladino, the Buffalo businessman who co-chairs Trump's campaign in New York, unleashed his attack on Ryan in an email sent to supporters Wednesday afternoon. The email may indicate that the Trump campaign is running out of patience with Ryan, who said a month ago that he's not ready to endorse the billionaire businessman. Paladino, the 2010 GOP nominee for governor in New York, blasted Ryan in an email with the subject line, "How long will it take Paul Ryan to endorse Donald Trump?" Paladino wrote: "Paul Ryan has said, as a conservative, he can't support Trump at this time. This is the same hypocritical, tone-deaf Washington establishment acolyte who joined the Democrats with a bunch of RINOs to pass a bloated and wasteful $1 trillion Obama budget, including funding Planned Parenthood abortions. Where were his conservative principles then?" Paladino added that Ryan "has no self-respect. He told his fellow congressmen he would support the party's nominee. Now he says it would be inappropriate for him to take the lead. He's a misguided yellow-bellied coward." Trump and Ryan met in Washington more than two weeks ago to discuss their differences and try to find common ground to unite Republicans in the 2016 presidential race. On Saturday, Ryan said he and Trump were still talking about how to "get on the same page." It's not the first time Paladino has pressured members of Congress to support Trump, but Ryan is the highest-ranking Republican in Washington that Paladino has singled out in the presidential campaign. Earlier this year, Paladino threatened members of New York Republican congressional delegation for failing to line up behind Trump before the state's April 19 primary. "This is our last request that you join 'Trump for President' and try to preserve what's left of your pathetic careers in government," Paladino wrote in an open letter. "Whatever you do, staying neutral is not an option. Pick a horse in the race, and you may salvage some of your constituents' respect for you. Not choosing paints you as a coward." Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Upstate Uber Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, center, speaks to reporters against allowing Uber and other app-based drivers to expand service to upstate New York, at the state Capitol on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink) (Hans Pennink) ALBANY, N.Y. -- A New York State Senate committee on Wednesday for the first time approved a bill that would allow ridesharing companies like Uber or Lyft to operate throughout the state, instead of just in New York City. The Senate Insurance Committee passed the bill sponsored by Sen. James Seward, which would require drivers for so-called transportation network companies to have automobile liability coverage of a minimum of $1 million whenever they have a paid passenger in their personal vehicle. Sen. James Seward Seward, R-Oneonta, said that he's cautiously optimistic that the full Senate and state Assembly will approve the legislation before the legislative session ends June 16, despite strong opposition from the traditional taxi cab and limousine industry. Some Assembly Democrats have said that App-based ridesharing companies should be required to ensure that their drivers use vehicles equipped to provide access for passengers with disabilities - which Seward's bill does not address. The United Spinal Association sent Gov. Andrew Cuomo a letter this week urging him to veto any ride-hailing bill that does not require the companies to ensure that passengers with disabilities can access the vehicles. The group said Uber has independent contractors operating 30,000 cars in New York City, and not one of the vehicles is wheelchair accessible. Nationwide, at least 23 states have passed laws or made changes to allow companies like Lyft and Uber to operate statewide. New York, so far, isn't among them. That's why you can't catch an Uber or Lyft ride in Syracuse, but you can in more than 60 smaller U.S. cities, like Scranton, Pa., Flint, Mich., Erie, Pa., Waco, Texas, and Burlington, Vt. "Upstate communities are clamoring for this option," said Seward, whose 51st Senate District includes Cortland County. "We're still in discussion with the Assembly. They have a different version," Seward said. "Our approach is to deal with the insurance coverage for these transportation network companies and their drivers. The bill preserves local control over all the other issues. Handicapped accessibility, screening of drivers, would be determined based on local concerns on a community-by-community basis." "These type of concerns that traditional taxi and livery services have about 'unfair competition' from the TNCs could be dealt with on the local basis, through local regulations of taxi and livery commissions that most communities have," Seward said. David Beier, president of the Committee for Taxi Safety, said he doubts Uber's promise to create jobs upstate. "They're not creating jobs, they're destroying an industry," Beier said. But Seward said it will be a shame if state lawmakers don't pass a bill that gives Upstate consumers the ability to take advantage of app-based ride-hailing services. "I would hope that the local government officials, mayors and others, who want this in their communities...it's incumbent on them to reach out to their Democratic members of the Assembly and say let's resolve these issues," Seward said. Under Seward's bill, whenever a ride-hailing company's driver has a passenger in their car they must have auto insurance that provides a minimum of $1 million in coverage for death, bodily injury or property damage. When they are doing business, but do not have riders in their car, drivers for ride-hailing companies would be required to have automobile liability insurance in the minimum amounts: $50,000 for death and bodily injury per person; $100,000 for death and bodily injury per incident; and $25,000 for property damage. "Uber's low-paying, part-time only business model keeps drivers dependent on cruising long hours and barely earning minimum wage. Professional taxi and livery jobs across the state would be destroyed and replaced with low-paying, part-time only work," said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, who led a rally opposing Seward's bill on Wednesday in Albany. "This legislation would be a disaster for drivers and puts the public at risk." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Mike McAndrew anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-3016 CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (AP) -- Police say a man has been charged with beating another man to death in western New York in a dispute over a girlfriend. Police say 21-year-old Cody Jeffords assaulted 19-year-old Justin Vanderwalker outside an apartment complex in the Erie County town of Cheektowaga (cheek-tuh-WAH'-guh) last week. Vanderwalker, a Cheektowaga resident, was taken to a hospital where he died from blunt force trauma. Polices say no weapons were used. Jeffords is jailed without bail in Buffalo. It wasn't immediately known if Jeffords has a lawyer. Police say they are working with the district attorney's office to upgrade the charges against Jeffords, who also lives in the Buffalo suburb. Authorities say they're awaiting the results of a mental capacity evaluation. LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Latest on a shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles (all times local): 10:55 a.m. A campus official says two people have been shot at UCLA. Media relations officer Rebecca Kendall confirmed the shooting occurred Wednesday and there are two victims, but she says their conditions are unknown. Numerous university and Los Angeles city police officers have responded, moving about the campus with weapons drawn. The 419-acre campus is on lockdown. The school on the west side of Los Angeles is a flagship of the University of California system, with about 43,000 students. It's currently the week before final exams. ___ 10:45 a.m. Police are responding to shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles. Campus media relations officer Rebecca Kendall said Wednesday there are two victims but their conditions are unknown. Kendall says it's not known if the situation remains active. The campus is on lockdown. ___ 10:30 a.m. Authorities have responded to a report of a possible shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles. Los Angeles police Officer Tony Im says the department's officers are responding to a report of an active shooter Wednesday morning. Numerous officers can be seen on the campus on the west side of the city. Campus media relations officer Rebecca Kendall says the report came in at 9:55 a.m. and involves Boelter Hall, a science building. The campus is on lockdown. ___ 10:15 a.m. Police are responding to a report of a possible shooter at the University of California, Los Angeles. Campus media relations officer Rebecca Kendall says police are on scene Wednesday morning at Boelter Hall, a science building. The campus is on lockdown. Kendall says the report came in about 9:55 a.m. Fresh off a 70-day campaign to boost production, North Korea kicked off an even more ambitious 200-day "battle" on Wednesday, apparently aimed at jump-starting a new five-year economic plan. North Koreans are used to mandatory mass mobilisation campaigns, with participation rigorously monitored and used as a measurement of loyalty to the regime, but observers say ordering two such lengthy campaigns back-to-back is relatively uncommon. The start of the new movement was hailed by state media on Wednesday. "All party officials, military officers and people .... have broken loose and stepped forward with 100-times the normal courage and vigour, fully-charged for the 200-day battle," ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a long, front-page editorial. Few details have emerged of what will actually be required of individuals and institutions during the campaign, but state media reports have made a clear link with the five-year economic plan announced by leader Kim Jong-Un during a rare ruling party congress last month. It's the first plan of its kind for decades but, again, short on detail beyond general ambitions to boost production across all economic sectors, with a particular focus on energy output. "The 200-day battle is a safeguard for the party policy that will open up a breakthrough for carrying out the five-year strategy for economic growth," the Rodong editorial said. Hit by its toughest UN sanctions to date following a fourth nuclear test in January, North Korea faces a major challenge in keeping its weak, highly vulnerable economy on track. The past decade or so has seen the emergence of a closely monitored but tolerated grassroots capitalism, born out of a spirit of survivalist self-sufficiency that got many through the catastrophic failure of the state distribution system in the famine years of the mid-to-late 1990s. This unofficial economy is seen as playing an increasingly important role in propping up the regime, but defectors now living in South Korea say mass mobilisation campaigns can disrupt its operations by eliminating the free time people need to tend to small-scale, private commerce. Analysts said the campaign could foster public fatigue and frustration, with little tangible reward. "In the absence of capital and investment, an economic development campaign that depends on little more than human muscle power will eventually reach its limit," said Cho Bong-Hyun of IBK Research Institute in Seoul. Footage on North Korean state television has shown slogans in the streets of Pyongyang exhorting workers to greater effort. "Race ahead like a 10,000-mile horse," read one banner -- echoing an old slogan urging people to work like a horse that can cover 1,000 miles in a day. The new exercise begins just one month after the conclusion of a gruelling 70-day campaign that saw the entire country mobilised ahead of the May party congress. The New York-based monitor, Human Rights Watch, denounced the 70-day project as a mass exercise in coerced labour under the "abusive rule" of Kim Jong-Un, with people forced to produce more goods and crops in order to cover the costs of the party gathering. Search Keywords: Short link: Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab on Wednesday launched a deadly attack on a top Mogadishu hotel popular with MPs, setting off a car bomb and fighting security forces inside the complex, the Islamist militants and security sources said. "The attack was started with a heavy explosion and members from the Mujahedeen fighters stormed the building," the Shabaab said in a statement. The explosion at the Ambassador Hotel on a busy road in the heart of the city was followed by a "complex attack", a security source told AFP. "A VBIED (vehicle-borne improvised explosive device) exploded at the Ambassador Hotel, Makkah Almukarramah street," the source said. "According to latest information received there was a follow-up complex attack and the hotel was penetrated and an ongoing fire fight is in progress," the security source added. Somali security official Abdirasak Ahmed said there was "one civilian casualty" but witnesses said many people had died. "I was a few metres away from the hotel when the blast occurred. It was very heavy one and it destroyed the whole area. I saw the dead bodies of seven people most of them burned," Mohamed Elmi said. Another witness, Ibrahim Sheikh Nur, added: "I saw several dead bodies outside the hotel but we don't know how many people are inside and the casualties there. The security forces are now inside and the whole area is cordoned off." Shabaab fighters were chased out of Mogadishu in 2011 but the group remains a dangerous threat in both Somalia and neighbouring Kenya, where it carries out frequent attacks. They Islamist militants are fighting to overthrow the country's internationally-backed government. On Wednesday, the United States said a top Shabaab military leader Abdullahi Haji Da'ud was "presumed killed" during a May 27 air strike. Search Keywords: Short link: A hurricane kit should include one gallon of water per day for at least three days. (FILE PHOTO) By Kelly Tyko of TCPalm If a hurricane or tropical storm were to hit tomorrow, would you be ready? Do you have enough water and non-perishable food to last three days to a week? Do you have a flashlight, batteries and radio? Because a hurricane hasn't hit Florida in more than 10 years since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, I doubt everyone is prepared. Especially after the run on batteries, flashlights and radios I witnessed last August, when it looked like Tropical Storm Erika could impact the Treasure Coast. The storm was a false alarm but it caused some to buy the essentials just in case. This is a downside of the state not bringing back the hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday. In 2014 after a seven-year hiatus, Florida had a nine-day sales tax holiday on flashlights, batteries, coolers, weather radios and portable generators. The sales tax holiday didn't return last year and for 2016, lawmakers initially proposed a 15-day disaster preparedness holiday but it didn't gain traction. However, not having a sales tax holiday isn't a good enough reason to not be prepared. You can find deals on batteries year round at Harbor Freight Tools, which has two Martin County locations and is expected to open in Indian River County in late June. Occasionally the tool store has coupons for free AA or AAA batteries. I've had friends swear by the low-priced batteries at Harbor Freight as well as the batteries you can buy at Dollar Tree for just a $1. Water is constantly on sale at many retailers, including this weekend at Winn-Dixie where a 24-pack of Aquafina 16.9-ounce bottles is buy one get one free. At Publix through July 10, you can earn $10 gift cards on many storm-friendly food items with the Summer Storm Stock Up rebate. While there's a long list of ConAgra Foods and General Mills participating products that you can find at Stormstockup.com, eligible brands and items perfect for weathering a storm include: Chef Boyardee, Libby's Canned Meats, Manwich, Motts Fruit Snacks, Nature Valley Breakfast Biscuits, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Peter Pan, Progresso Soups, Slim Jim and Wolf Brand Chili. For every $30 you spend on these products, you earn a $10 Publix gift card and your purchases can be spread over multiple receipts. Save more money by using store and manufacturer coupons. After you register at Stormstockup.com, you circle the eligible items and upload a picture of your receipt on the website. There's also the option to mail-in your receipts but you'll still need to register online. Once your purchases are verified, you'll get an email and then once you've submitted $30 worth of eligible items, a $10 Publix card will be mailed. There's a limit of three gift cards per household. This rebate program works similar to Publix's Stocking Spree Rewards, which is expected to continue through the end of the year. With Stocking Spree, you get a $10 gift card when you purchase $50 of participating items, which include essentials like Charmin toilet paper, Bounty paper towel and napkins, Tide liquid detergent, Pantene, Secret, Always products, select Nabisco, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, Planters Nuts and many other products. Many of these items also are good to have if a storm hits so consider taking advantage of Stocking Spree Rewards when building your hurricane supply kit. Register and learn more at Stockingspree.com. Two caveats about Stocking Spree: there's no option to mail in your receipts, and once you purchase $50 of eligible items, you have to log-in to your account and select "cash out" before your gift card will be mailed. The best part about Stocking Spree is there's no limit on how many $10 gift cards you can earn. Instead of waiting for a storm to threaten before stocking up, save yourself both time and money by preparing now. Basic Disaster Supplies Kit A basic emergency supply kit could include the following items: One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation At least a three-day supply of non-perishable food Battery-powered or hand crank radio Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger Flashlight and extra batteries First aid kit Whistle to signal for help Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities Manual can opener Local maps Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place Source: Ready.gov Recap: Crist, DeSantis spar over COVID, abortion in Fort Pierce As the sun set on the Sunrise City on Oct. 24, the party was just getting started at the Sunrise Theatre, where Charlie Crist and Ron DeSantis dueled. By Elliott Jones of TCPalm HIGHLIGHTS FROM TODAY'S SEARCH 11:53 a.m.: A Sawzall, chainsaw, pliers and nine teeth found in Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area in connection with Tricia Todd's murder. A shoe that was found is not connected to the case. 11:38: Sheriff says Tricia Todd's ex-husband likely killed her by strangulation without shedding blood. 11:35 a.m: Battery operated device with long pointed blade found. Hair evidence found on tools, sheriff said. 11:30 a.m.: Sheriff says nine human teeth found in water. Sheriff said they likely are Tricia Todd's. 11 a.m.: Sheriff tweets that "disturbing" evidence was found by deputies. News conference scheduled for 11:30 a.m. 10:50 a.m.: Divers put a shoe and a sharp pointed object in an evidence bag. Earlier deputies said Steven Williams might have gotten rid of clothes. 10:44 a.m.: Divers bring something to the surface that resembles a blade. 10:24 a.m.: Sheriff William Snyder will update the media on the latest discovery at 11:30 a.m. 10:10 a.m.: Dive teams are entering the water. They emerge with three wooden boards. Visibility is limited. 10 a.m.: Three areas of interest have been detected. Magnets on the end of ropes are being used to search the water. @MartinFLSheriff personnel on the water in search of evidence in the Tricia Todd case. pic.twitter.com/opzb6pPT4U Molly Bartels (@TCPalmBartels) June 1, 2016 EARLIER STORY MARTIN COUNTY Martin County Sheriff's officials have started searching a canal for evidence in death of Tricia Todd, of Hobe Sound. The canal is across a road from where her ex-husband who has confessed to her murder showed investigators a buried barrel with human remains, according to sheriff's officials. The barrel and canal are in the Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area at the southern border of Martin County. Martin County Sheriff William Snyder has suggested the canal may contain a murder weapon, a saw. Snyder said volunteers used a sonar Tuesday in the area where Todd's partial remains were found. Detectives believe the sonar picked up the saw used to dismember Todd. The canal is about 40 feet wide and 40 feet deep and there are alligators in the area. According to sheriff's Sgt. Karl Nelson, divers will be put in the water as a last resort. For now, investigators are using a pole camera, magnet and grappling hook to search the waters. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is on hand to protect searchers from alligators and to help where needed. Todd disappeared April 26, and about a month later, May 22, deputies arrested and charged her former husband, Steve Williams, 30, with second-degree murder and child neglect after he confessed to killing her. Detectives said they believe the couple's 2-year-old daughter, Faith, witnessed the killing. Williams, who lives in North Carolina, was renting a house in the area while visiting. MORE COVERAGE SHARE Owen Nunez Severino, 27, Weston; warrant for court order to revoke bond, possession of cocaine. Marquis Stokes, 32, 800 block of North 32nd Street, Fort Pierce; warrant for failure to appear, grand theft, use of anti-shoplifting device countermeasure; court order to revoke bond, grand theft. Hunter Boesch, 20, 2500 block of Southwest Aberdeen Street, Port St. Lucie; warrant for burglary of a conveyance. Aiconte Mendez Bordon, 62, first block of West Caribbean, Port St. Lucie; DUI alcohol or drugs, third violation within 10 years; driving while license suspended, habitual offender. Patricia Desane, 55, 9200 block of White Ibis Lane, Port St. Lucie; larceny/grand theft. Blake Paradise, 24, 200 block of Southwest De Gouveau Terrace, Port St. Lucie; warrant for petty theft. Derrick Watson, 30, 2200 block of North 53rd Street, Fort Pierce; commit domestic battery by strangulation. Jessica Hand, 34, 1000 block of Orange Avenue, Fort Pierce; warrant for violation of probation, dealing in stolen property. Johnathan Sims, 19, 1800 block of Southwest Angelico Lane, Port St. Lucie; warrants for grand theft, dealing in stolen property, giving false information to a pawnbroker. Jamarr Huff, 20, 400 block of Mades Drive, Fort Pierce; court order to revoke bond, aggravated assault with intent to commit felony. Franklin Crutchfield, 26, 2700 block of Avenue L, Fort Pierce; warrant for court order for pretrial detention and termination of pretrial supervision, battery. Traci Elliston, 35, 3200 block of Southwest Foremost Drive, Port St. Lucie; battery on an officer/medical personnel. Ryan Tejeda, 18, Jupiter; destroying, tampering with or fabricating evidence; carrying a concealed firearm. Benjamin Ama, 30, 1600 block of North 29th Street, Fort Pierce; re-admit, petty theft. Michael Plescia, 19, 2600 block of Southwest Ace Road, Port St. Lucie; re-admit, possession of marijuana over 20 grams. Joan Tapia, 39, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania; re-admit, possession of diazepam. Midera Keaney, 31, 600 block of Gopherhill Road, Fort Pierce; re-admit, DUI, property damage, driving while license suspended, prior conviction. Edward Jones, 66, 4000 block of Avenue J, Fort Pierce; re-admit, possession of an anti-shoplifting device. Robinson Tavarez, 45, 5100 block of Northwest Edgarton Terrace, Port St. Lucie; warrant for court order to revoke bond, grand theft, criminal mischief, possession of MDMA, sale, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver marijuana. Isaias Fuentes, 22, 2400 block of Southeast Rock Springs Drive, Port St. Lucie; possession of a controlled substance (cocaine). Arrested in Martin County. SHARE A brush fire in the Fort Drum Marsh burned out Wednesday morning, Florida Forest Service officials said. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY FLORIDA FOREST SERVICE) By Staff Report INDIAN RIVER COUNTY State forest officials said a 50-acre brush fire was out of as of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday after burning since late Tuesday afternoon. Smoke from the Fort Drum Marsh caused traffic issues Tuesday afternoon, forcing authorities to close lanes on State Road 60 near County Road 512. The Florida Forest Service and Indian River County Fire Rescue contained the blaze, which was surrounded by water, forest service spokeswoman Melissa Yunas said. A lightning strike was the cause of the fire, Yunas said. Part of the eastern edge of Lake Okeechobee is shown north of Canal Point in Palm Beach County. (TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS FILE PHOTO) By Isadora Rangel of TCPalm A coalition of environmental groups is pushing the state to expedite planning of a reservoir that could significantly reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie River, but water managers and Gov. Rick Scott haven't jumped on board. At hand is a reservoir south of the lake that would hold more than 117 billion gallons of lake water. That's just short of the 120 billion gallons that have been released into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers since discharges began on Jan. 30. The reservoir is part of a multi-project Everglades restoration plan the state and Congress approved in 2000. Environmental groups are trying to gain momentum from a highly publicized new law that creates a dedicated fund for the Everglades with priority given to projects that reduce discharges. On Tuesday, Scott, along with Treasure Coast elected officials, attended a ceremonial signing in West Palm Beach of the law that was signed in April. Scott was noncommittal about supporting the reservoir. He said instead the so-called "Legacy Florida" law allows the South Florida Water Management District, which is in charge of restoration, to "plan ahead" on all restoration projects on the books. He also touted state efforts to finish existing projects that help the Indian River Lagoon, which has experienced environmental havoc because of lake releases. Among the projects is raising the Tamiami Trail in Miami-Dade County to allow more water to flow into the Everglades. When asked whether he would visit the Treasure Coast in light of the recent algae blooms in the St. Lucie River, Scott said, "I travel the state every day," and noted the Department of Environmental Protection this week is testing the algae for toxicity. "Are we where we want to be? No, but we are making progress every day," Scott said. "Whether it's stormwater treatment areas, whether it's dredging projects, there are projects happening all over this area." THE RESERVOIR The reservoir would be built along existing canals in the Everglades Agricultural Area, just south of the lake. It would hold water that leaves the lake and send it to treatment areas before it reaches Everglades National Park, said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida, one of the groups pushing to expedite the project. A plan for the reservoir was developed in the early 2000s, but the original land for the project no longer is available because it is now being used for two unrelated water treatment projects. Draper said planning is slated to begin again in 2020, but Audubon and other groups asked the South Florida water district and Army Corps of Engineers to start planning this summer. That's when the two agencies begin discussions on how to store more water that enters Lake Okeechobee from the north. The hope is that if the reservoir is planned this year, the Legislature would allocate at least some of the money for it in 2018. Florida Senate President-designate Joe Negron, of Stuart, said last week he's coming up with a proposal to reduce discharges. WATER STORAGE Planning south and north storage at the same time would represent a "costly distraction and loss of time," wrote South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Peter Antonacci in a May 11 letter to the environmental groups. He also noted north storage has several environmental benefits, such as reducing the amount of water that enters the lake and eventually gets discharged into the St. Lucie River. Draper said planning for south storage, which directs much-needed water into the Everglades and Florida Bay, should happen before north storage. A southern reservoir would be built in farmland that's mostly owned by sugar growers. Staff writer Tyler Treadway contributed to this report. Algae Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at Shepard Park in Stuart. (MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) By Tyler Treadway of TCPalm What could be worse than "The Lost Summer" of 2013? For the St. Lucie River as well as anyone who recreates on it or depends on it for a livelihood it could be the summer of 2016. That's because: Blue-green algae showed up a month earlier than it did in 2013. Lake Okeechobee discharges started four months earlier. Discharges already are at 88 percent of the 2013's total. The lake elevation is a foot higher than it was on June 1 of 2013. During "The Lost Summer," discharges started May 28 and totaled 136.1 billion gallons for the year. This year, they started Jan. 20 and totaled more than 120 billion gallons by Tuesday. The corps wants the lake elevation to be 12 feet 6 inches each June 1 so it can take on rain from the summer wet season, plus whatever tropical storms and hurricanes cross the Florida peninsula. Tuesday, the lake was at 14 feet, 4 3/4 inches: nearly 2 feet too high. At the start of the 2013 rainy season, it was 13 feet, 3 3/4 inches: less than a foot too high. And in 2013, blue-green algae blooms didn't start showing up in the river until late June. Now blooms appear to be spreading from the river's South Fork, close to the point where lake water enters the estuary, slightly up the North Fork and down the main channel of the St. Lucie River, past downtown Stuart and toward the Evans Crary Bridge separating Stuart and Sewall's Point. Taking samples A team from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Fort Pierce office was scheduled to collect algae samples from the river Tuesday, said Kalina Warren, who heads the agency's water monitoring program. "If they confirm that it's a blue-green algae bloom, they're prepared to take samples and send them to our state lab." Warren did not know any details about how many samples the team would take and from where. The Florida Department of Health in Martin County staff Tuesday decided to post signs at five sites around the river warning people to avoid contact with any algae bloom. Signs already exited at Port Mayaca, where water leaves the lake bound for the river, and Leighton Park on the South Fork in Palm City. Water at the latter site also is contaminated with high levels of enteric bacteria, a signal of human or animal fecal matter. A "For Sale" sign also was posted in front of Tackle For Less, a bait shop steps away from the Old Roosevelt Bridge across the river. "This past weekend, Thursday through Memorial Day on Monday, I had less than $1,500 in sales," said owner Tim Kenney. "It's been like that since the discharges started in January." Kenney applied for an interest-free "bridge" loan the state offered as part of Gov. Rick Scott declaring Martin and St. Lucie counties a disaster area because of the discharges. "They offered me up to $25,000 with no interest to be paid back in full in six months," Kenney said. "To do that, I'd have to save more than $4,000 a month. How can I do that when I've lost about $10,000 since January?" Another "Lost Summer" could have a domino effect on local businesses, said Joe Catrambone, president and CEO of the Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce. "First it's gong to hurt the bait shops, the marinas and the kayak and paddleboard renters," Catrambone said. "But it can affect our restaurants, stores and gas stations and hotels. We know a lot of people come here from down in Miami-Dade, Broward and even Palm Beach counties during the summer, our off-season. But who wants to paddleboard in that stuff? Blooming algae Over the weekend, algae blooms were confined mostly to the South Fork of the St. Lucie, closer to the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, where lake water is being dumped into the estuary at a rate of about a billion gallons a day. Monday, a bloom was reported along the Riverwalk in downtown Stuart, and Tuesday a bloom was seen farther downstream at Hogg's Cove, where the river makes a sharp turn south toward the Evans Crary Bridge. "There's a big sheen of green here," Stuart resident Charlie Parks said about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday from a dock behind a home in northern Sewall's Point. "It's moving down the river; you can see the strands of it moving with the outgoing tide. It's horrible." Parks said the algae extended from the shore "a couple of hundred feet out into the river." A bloom also was reported at Lighthouse Point in Palm City, where the North Fork and South Fork of the St. Lucie River converge to form the river's main channel. "There's a big batch of blue-green algae here and a couple of pods of fish on the surface of the water struggling to breathe," Neil Goetz of Palm City said Tuesday while on his morning walk on Beach Way Avenue in Palm City. Toxins in blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, can cause nausea and vomiting if ingested, and rash or hay fever symptoms if touched or inhaled. Drinking water with the toxins can cause long-term liver disease. Blue-green algae samples taken from Lake Okeechobee tested positive for dangerous levels of toxins. So far, samples taken from the South Fork have had low toxicity or none at all. REPORT SIGHTINGS Florida Department of Environmental Protection: 772-467-5572 Reporter Tyler Treadway: 772-221-4219 MORE INFORMATION What causes blue-green algae bloom? Lake Okeechobe discharges Photos by L.L. Angell Art Chix member Kathy Khy holds her Take Cover, Art at Risk journal with pages created by the late Jacquie Forte. SHARE Lulu Badgley's 'Tags' are inside this travel case. They open up accordion-style. Willi Miller's 'Tags' are arranged on a curved wire for display. Julie Lounibox's 'Tags' hangs on the gallery's venetian blinds. Members of Art Chix are seated Marcy Purdy, Deena Wynne and Allie Comer. Standing are Kathy Khy, Julie Lounibox & Mary Segal. By L.L. Angell, The Newsweekly It's not often that a group of busy artists decide to meet once a month and produce art works together. But such simpatico collaborators do exist. They are the Art Chix and their show, Tags, Tags, Tags, was recently on display at the Art on 18th Gallery in Vero Beach's arts' district. Member Kathy Khy says that the late artist Jacquie Forte is the one behind the Art Chix formation. Khy still remembers the first class she took with Forte at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. It was fall of 2002 and Forte was teaching a mixed media class called Altered Books. Khy, a pastel artist, had never experienced anything like it. Two things made the class unique. "There were about 25 of us and none knew the other," she says. "But by the end of that first class, a bond began to form. We felt this great click and we knew this was something unusual. "Then there was Jacquie herself. She was a phenomenal person and artist, and a great teacher. She inspired all of us." Layers Forte had longed worked with fiber, processed reeds and found objects, as well as more traditional art mediums. She primarily taught mixed media, basketry and collage classes. In an interview with Willi Miller in the May 2007 issue of "Indian River Magazine," the self-taught artist described her work as "basketry/woven vessels with intricate layers, often incorporating items of a corrosive or distressed nature that make the work's expression richer." Forte's classes opened doors and broke down walls for her students. Tragically, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) ended her life in January 2009. She was a participating member of the Art Chix until her death. The class was a gathering of trained, experienced artists along with beginners. Forte offered them all a nonjudgmental environment and a place to experiment that was free of criticism and stifling rules. "Jacquie would tell us 'You can go outside the lines' and 'There are no boundaries.' Her class was an opening-up experience for all of us," Khy says. Continuation As a result, when the museum course ended, no one wanted to say goodbye. Instead, the students decided to continue the experience, meeting in one another's houses for an art project and lunch once a month. The Art Chix was born in January 2003. Some of the original members have left and new ones have joined over the past 13 years. Art Chix now numbers 25 and they've continued to meet the third Thursday of the month only skipping the hottest summer months. "Before Jacquie, I was doing pastels. I was too intimidated to try something else. She got us to work with different mediums every week. We always learned something new. It was all experimental and that attitude of 'no boundaries' has carried over to all the projects we've done together as Art Chix ever since," Khy says. LuLu Badgley was a beginning artist when she took Forte's Altered Books class. Badgley is lifelong educator she started in public schools in Wellesley, Mass., then became part of the staff and faculty at Vero Beach Museum of Art. So she originally saw herself as a teacher, not an artist. But Forte's class, Altered Books, changed that. "The women in the class shared Jacquie's philosophy of 'What if?' and 'Try that.' During that 10-week course in discovery, we formed a bond of art sisterhood that led to the formation of Art Chix," Badgley says. "The ongoing monthly meetings mean you always have an activity to motivate and reinforce you. I plan my schedule around these third Thursday classes. My daughter lives in Studio City, Calif., and wants me to move there but I don't want to leave the Art Chix." Attached Khy understands. When she and her husband Ken Macht moved to Fleming County, Ky., after Hurricanes Jeanne and Frances in 2004, they never intended to live there year round. "The Chix were a huge part of my life and I didn't want to leave them," Khy says. When the couple fell in love with an 1840 distillery and decided to make it their full-time home, Khy struggled with the decision. "I marked the third Thursday of every month on my calendar. It was painful," she said. "I still did the projects and mailed them in. I took charge of a project when it was my turn and came back to Vero for it." But Khy returned to Vero Beach, permanently, in October 2015. She's pleased that the group is still as active as ever. Seven of the original 14 members are still involved: Lulu Badgley, Allie Comer, Kathy Khy, Janel Lund, Lowery Smathers, Lee Whitridge and Liza Wright. Project Most participated in the Tags, Tags, Tags show with other, more recent members. The artists work in a wide range of media include acrylic, watercolor, collage, stamping and other forms. "We started this particular project under Lulu's guidance, over a year ago," Khy said. "None of the projects are mandatory so we had to find out exactly how many were participating and it came to 18. We wanted to make a tag for everybody.". She is referring to those heavy manila mailing tags with a hole punched in them, originally used for shipping trunks. The project: decorate 18 manila tags in whatever form you like. One artist painted each tag with a different bird; another used mixed media to create a Chinese-theme. Once they had decorated their tags in whatever fashion they chose, they put them in a big grocery bag and brought the tags to the next Thursday meeting. The big exchange Badgley gave them each a new, empty grocery bag. They then put down the bags filled with their own tags. Then, moving in a circle around the room, they went to the other artists' bags and picked out a tag, one by one, until each artist had a complete set of their fellow members' works. "Lulu kept telling us not to peek just reach in and take one. The idea was that when we got back to our own original bag of tags we'd made it would be empty and we'd have gotten one tag from each of the Chix. And it worked!" said Khy. Other favorite projects include a two-year collaborative effort called Take Cover, Art at Risk. Artists began with blank journals to which they added original artwork in a particular palette. Then they mailed the journal to the next artist. The books circulated until every artist had contributed to every volume. For their newest project, the artists are decorating "teeny tiny matchboxes." "We will have a new show of our work next fall," Khy promised. The Art Chix are currently mounting a show of their own individual work at Art on 18th Gallery. "Each of us does her own thing from pastels to collages, jewelry and watercolors. We're mounting an assortment of small works now," said Khy. The new show will be on display for the First Friday Gallery Stroll, June 3. Art on 18th Gallery is at 1365 18th St., just off 14th Avenue, in Vero Beach. To learn more, contact gallery owner, Marcy Purdy at 772-538-5532 or marcyartreach@gmail.com. 90 YEARS AGO: 1926 Quality ice VERO BEACHThe Vero Ice Company has installed new equipment that will purify water to a greater degree, producing a better-quality, dense ice. The company had decided to update to this new equipment a while ago and was delayed securing the machine. Today's system test proved excellent results and customers should notice the difference in tomorrow's ice production. 80 YEARS AGO: 1936 Merry-go-round VERO BEACHWaters Haberdashery has a window display in the form of a merry-go-round, which is attracting many passers-by. All political candidates' faces were pasted on cards and then mounted on a circular disk that stays in continuous motion. George Loy, the store's manager, made the display. 70 YEARS AGO: 1946 Housing project started GIFFORDThe Hillcrest Company has started a housing project in Gifford. It will be known as the Hillcrest subdivision and 10 houses are under construction. Each four-room concrete block home has a cement floor and sits on a 50-by-90-foot lot, with a well for water. Homes will sell for approximately $2,700 and a marl road is being constructed throughout the subdivision's 40 acres. 60 YEARS AGO: 1956 Top honors VERO BEACHW. M. Launius, manager of Tropical Furniture Company of Vero Beach, received an award of merit presented by 'Furniture South' the South's only furniture magazine, which is published at High Point, N.C. Over 200 members of the Florida Furniture Travelers Association voted in the award categories. This award signifies: outstanding job of merchandising; upholding high standards for the trade; promoting the welfare of the trade area; and courteous service. The award is a gold plague mounted on American walnut. This is Launius' second recognition award. 50 YEARS AGO: 1966 Poverty war INDIAN RIVER COUNTYThe Wabasso Day Care Center, the West Wabasso Civic League and a proposed day care center for Gifford are the first items on the War on Poverty Agenda that Vero Beach public health nurse Mrs. Ethel Klepp intends to address as the new executive director of the Economic Opportunities Council of Indian River County. The Council was given $12,500 in Federal funds to administer to county needs regarding the Economic Opportunities Act. 30 YEARS AGO: 1986 Homeless pass through INDIAN RIVER COUNTYThey come mostly in the winter and are single mothers, college students, drifters, transients, as well as entire families, acknowledged Dr. Stan Sanford of the area's transient population. Sanford is pastor of First Baptist Church in Wabasso and a member of the Indian River County Ministerial Association, and its Emergency Relief and Transient Aid program. Warm weather brings them here. 'People say that if we put a shelter here we'll have homeless. I say we already have homeless. Some of these people certainly have the potential to be good solid members of the community,' said Kathy French, director of information referral for United Way. County residents on the average tend to be wealthy and 'like the county the way it is,' said French. 10 YEARS AGO: 2006 Bilingual format INDIAN RIVER COUNTYThe new Latin News celebrates its official launch. The free, weekly newspaper publishes articles of national and general interest, with English and Spanish versions side by side. The publication hopes to tap the growing Latino population. The current Indian River County Hispanic population is 10,927; the 2010 projected population is 14,190; and the 2015 estimate is 17,087 according to the U. S. Census Bureau. June 1, 2016 SHARE Tropical outlook: June 1, 2016 By Staff Report ADVISORIES 4:11 a.m.: Scattered afternoon and early evening showers and lightning storms are forecast for east central Florida today. Most of today's activity is expected to occur inland. Storms will be capable of producing wind gusts around 35 knots over inland lakes and nearshore Atlantic and Intracoastal waters south of Sebastian Inlet TODAY'S FORECAST Keep an eye on conditions with our live weather radar. Today, there's a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. It'll be mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 75. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Sunrise was at 6:25 a.m. Sunset will be at 8:13 p.m. EXTENDED FORECAST Source: National Weather Service Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Light northeast wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. East wind around 10 mph. Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. East southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 10 mph. Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. South wind around 10 mph. Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Southwest wind around 10 mph. TROPICS Source: National Hurricane Center Today marks the first day of hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The 2016 season has already had two named storms: Alex in January and Bonnie in May. 2 p.m.: A broad area of low pressure may form over the southern Gulf of Mexico by early next week. Additional development of the low should be slow to occur as the low moves slowly to the north-northeast. Formation chance through 48 hours: near 0 percent. Formation chance through 5 days: 20 percent. 11 a.m.: Post-tropical cyclone Bonnie continues to bring heavy rain to eastern North Carolina. Maximum sustained winds strengthened to 25 mph. It's moving east at 7 mph. Next advisory will be issued at 5 p.m. TODAY'S TIDE FORECAST Source: National Weather Service Sebastian Inlet Bridge High tides:4:54 a.m. and 5:40 p.m. Low lows: 11:16 a.m. and 11:47 p.m. Fort Pierce Inlet, South Jetty High tides: 5:11 a.m. and 5:57 p.m. Low tides: 11:22 a.m. and 11:53 p.m MARINE FORECAST Source: National Weather Service Storms will be capable of producing wind gusts around 35 knots over inland lakes and nearshore Atlantic and Intracoastal waters south of Sebastian Inlet. Today: South winds 5 knots becoming east 5 to 10 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period 8 seconds. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning. Tonight: Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period 8 seconds. Mostly smooth on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Thursday: East winds 5 knots increasing to 10 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period 8 seconds. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Thursday Night: Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Mostly smooth on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers. Friday: East winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Friday Night: Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Slight chance of showers. Saturday: Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 feet. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Saturday Night: South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunday: South winds 5 to 10 knots increasing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet. Chance of showers and thunderstorms. Arsonists were most likely behind a huge blaze which engulfed a newly-built but still empty refugee centre in northern Austria, police said on Wednesday. The inferno started in the early hours of Wednesday in the village of Altenfelden and left only charred remains of the building. No one was harmed in the blaze, which was battled by up to 200 firemen. The police said they had found two places "where unknown suspects are thought to have started the fire," police said in a statement, adding that investigations were ongoing. The alleged attack happened two weeks before 48 asylum-seekers were due to move in. Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka condemned "all forms of violence against refugee centres" while Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said in a tweet that he was "deeply affected" by the blaze. Sobotka added that an investigation was underway. The Red Cross, which operates the centre, said it was "shocked". "We will nevertheless carry out our duty to aid people looking for help and will seek out discussion with the regional authorities in the coming days to rebuild the centre as soon as possible," Austrian Red Cross president Walter Aichinger said. The organisation estimates the damages to be around 300,000 euros ($335,000). "We have no indications at all that people in the village were at all unhappy," Red Cross spokesman Stefan Neubauer told AFP. Altenfelden mayor Klaus Gattringer said: "A few hours ago I would never have thought that anything like this could happen in Altenfelden." Austria has so far been spared the string of arson attacks on refugee centres seen in neighbouring Germany, but many people are unhappy about the arrival last year of 90,000 asylum-seekers in Europe's biggest migrant influx in decades. Last week, police commandos arrested a suspected neo-Nazi who told friends he wanted to "kill all asylum seekers", recovering several weapons and ammunition at his home. In May, a candidate from the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) came within a whisker of being elected to the largely ceremonial but coveted presidency, losing by just 31,026 votes to an ecologist independent. Search Keywords: Short link: The WMR89A is a solid choice for someone whos looking for a basic weather station to stay on top of mother nature. The lack of Internet connectivity is disappointing, however, considering this was included in earlier models; and Oregon Scientifics desktop application is confusing. Oregon Scientific is one of the most prolific makers of weather instruments. With options ranging from your basic digital thermometer up to professional-grade weather stations, the company has something for everyone. With such a prolific catalog, we asked them to send us a mid-range model with a solid set of features. They sent the WMR89A. At $170 MSRP (available at Amazon), this model comes in at the low end of their professional line, but it offers all the weather instruments a station should have: temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind, and rainfall. Yes, the WMR89A lacks an app to access your data remotely, or any method to upload your data to the Internet, and it does suffer from accuracy issues from time to time, as most basic personal weather stations do. But for those with a casual interest in weather observation, Oregon Scientifics basic personal weather station is more than adequate. Ed Oswald The WMR89As wind vane and wind gauge are quite accurate for a personal weather station in this price range. Setting up Most of the WMR89A comes in pieces, so it does require a bit of assembly. You should have a Phillips screwdriver handy, since in some cases youll need to take sensors apart to install the batteries. Its not that difficult, and the instructions walk you through step by stepincluding removing packing materials to prevent breakage (make sure you do, we forgot to remove fiber tape from the rain gauge and couldnt figure out why it wasnt measuring rainfall). Give it a few minutes to start reporting and you should be all set. If you want, head to Oregon Scientifics support site and download their software, but be aware there it is Windows only (the Mac is not supported). Thats disappointing considering the increasing number of consumers who use Macs. For the most-accurate weather readings, follow our placement suggestions in the buyers guide and you shouldnt have any problems. Our experience We ran the WMR89A through a full gamut of tests, including a variety of weather conditions. In most cases, the station performed well, although from time to time we did encounter issues with accuracy, especially in humidity measurement. We didnt have problems with any of the sensors, and despite being made entirely of plastic, the sensor housings held up well during the duration of the test. Like the Netatmo, the sensors are completely battery-powered, and the batteries had a good deal of charge left after two months of continuous use. Even the display consoleone feature the Netatmo doesnt haveruns on continuous battery power if you dont plug in its power adapter. But it was still going strong after our two months of testing. Ed Oswald The rain gauge was generally accurate and often matched up well with other local weather station reports. Temperature measurements during our test were generally accurate and within plus-or-minus two degrees of the National Weather Service station we used as our control. Humidity was another matter. Our tests showed humidity readings to regularly be about five to 15 percent of; the differences were even more pronounced in humid conditions. Other sensors fared much better. The WMR89As rain gauge uses a tipping mechanism to measure precipitation by weight. We did notice the gauge often undermeausured precipitation, especially in heavier rain (a common problem with tipping-style rain gauges), but the variance was never more than five percent or so from the control station, a level we consider acceptable. We also prefer Oregon Scientifics wind gauge, which uses the traditional cup and vane method, over Netatmos sonic wind gauge. We found the WMR89As wind readings to be more accurate with the , and it was less prone to problems resulting from severe weather conditions. Although we didnt get to test it, Oregon Scientific also sells a UV sensor that is compatible with this systema rare option for stations in this price range. If you have a use for it, its $50, although from time to time the company gives it away for free if you purchase the station directly from them. Oregon Scientific We really liked the WMR89As desktop console, which also has the capability to store up to a weeks worth of historical weather data. The software The station console itself has the capability to store up to a weeks worth of data in hourly increments, which you can view on the console itself. If you want to archive this information, youll need Oregon Scientifics Windows software. This software is free, and the USB cable youll need to connect to your computer is included in the box. The software is a bit clunky. While it gives you ways to display historical data through graphs, its severely lacking user friendliness. Some options are overly complicated, yet the interface sometimes too simple. I found myself struggling to figure out how to use it since theres little instruction. Theres also no way for you to take this data and use it elsewhere, say through a third-party app or a service such as Weather Underground. The WMR89A is incompatible with third-party software, and theres no way to upload data to the Internetan odd omission considering earlier models were at least compatible with third-party software as a workaround. Ed Oswald The wireless temperature sensor can be placed just about anywhere, although we recommend you make sure it stays out of direct sunlight. No data upload also means no apponce again, odd considering its line of Weather@Home stations can do this (although through Bluetooth only), and are less than half the price. The WMR89As software woes are its biggest shortcomings, and theyre one of the chief reasons why we prefer the Netatmo system despite its much higher price tag (when you add up the base station and the add-ons needed to match the Oregon Scientific system). Final thoughts Looking past the software issues, the WMR89A is by and large enough to satisfy a casual observers desire to keep an eye on the weather. The lack of good software, however, prevents us from recommending the station to anyone looking for more than that. We do like the added potential for a UV sensoran option typically found only on stations two and three times its priceand the fact that the sensors are all in their own housings. Most stations at this price point (and even some above it) have gone to an all-in-one package, and if one sensor goes youre replacing the entire instrument package. Thats much of the cost of these weather stations. Fix the software issues, and theres little to find fault with. In fact, the WMR89A offers more than most its price; with good software, it would be hard to pass up. Microsoft this week announced that SQL Server 2016 will be generally available June 1. It will deliver an end-to-end data management and business analytics solution with mission-critical intelligence, according to the company. Built into the software are end-to-end mobile business intelligence on any device, in-database advanced analytics, in-memory capabilities optimized for all workloads, and a consistent experience from on-premises to the cloud, Microsoft said. The announcement suggests Microsoft is taking into consideration the needs of enterprise customers, said Fernando Cruz, an analyst at Nucleus Research. This is reflected in the investments it has made to reinvigorate Microsoft SharePoint, he told TechNewsWorld. Microsoft will offer three versions of SQL Server 2016: Enterprise, Standard and Express. The company in March offered a Developer edition as a free download. Unified Experience The package will let users scale performance with cost efficiency, suggested Anne Moxie, a senior analyst at Nucleus Research. They wont have to invest as heavily in infrastructure to achieve computing capabilities that will be able to accommodate peaks in use. Microsoft has been working on unifying its organization across the board, she told TechNewsWorld. Customers will experience higher ROI from the combination of relational and nonrelational data, [which] makes up the large majority of data available, Moxie said. Using the two together for complete analysis is critical. Strong Hybrid Solution SQL Server 2016 will let users host Microsofts Azure cloud locally so it will also run on premises on a local Azure instance, pointed out Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. This may be one of the strongest hybrid solutions weve seen so far, given the near-identical platforms of public and private Azure, he told TechNewsWorld. Azure represents a more agile platform than weve seen before, Enderle continued. In a way, it obsolesces the traditional cloud because it potentially extends from on-premises to hosted with virtually no change, so the concept of on-premises versus cloud is obsolete. Duking It Out With Oracle, Newbies With SQL Server 2016, Microsoft isnt just targeting its own customer base its also challenging Oracle. In March, it offered free licenses to Oracle customers to make the switch. However, switchers would have to subscribe to Microsofts Software Assurance program. The offer is good until June 30 and includes support services to kick-start migration, access to SQL Server Essentials, and free DBA training. Given the importance of the sales generated by Microsofts server group to the company as a whole, getting existing clients to upgrade is a critical issue, pointed out Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. Microsoft also wants to aggressively grow that business, and Oracle customers constitute the largest pool of potential new clients, he told TechNewsWorld Controversies about Oracles pricing model and policies could result in a great deal of interest in Microsofts offer. Further, theres growing interest in alternative open source database solutions running on industry-standard x86 hardware, and Microsoft likely will position SQL Server 2016 to strengthen its hand against those upstart offerings, King surmised. Pricing and Other Issues Microsoft announced that it will charge for SQL Server 2016 on a per-core basis rather than per processor, and that has raised some hackles. However, this is similar to Oracles pricing and represents an industry trend. The old pricing forced decisions that favored high core counts in single processors, which often hurt performance and increased thermal management issues, Enderle said. The Linux support and hybrid advantages should let [SQL Server 2016] stand out, and the pricing changes should focus buyers back on performance, where it should be, and off gaming prices with processor architectures, he suggested. Linux support for SQL Server 2016 will be available mid-2017. It has been 40 years since Bill Gates wrote his open letter to the software industry complaining that computer hobbyists were stealing his BASIC program. That was so long ago that Wikipedia has a picture of the source code for Micro-Soft BASIC on paper tape. A lot of things have changed since then. In the 1970s when Microsoft was getting started, it was common for people to copy, swap or donate software simply because they could. Especially in the hobbyist community such as the Homebrew Computer Club, people bought hardware and they got software in any way possible. It was easy because there was no security on the distribution media, and there were so few devices that could read the media it really didnt matter. Gates complaint was that hardware engineers make a living at what they did, and software developers had mortgages to pay too. Over a short time, his vision became the industry standard, and its hard to imagine the software industry today any other way. However and this is a bit ironic it might be time to re-examine the sharing model in light of todays demand. Pump Up the Volume We know, of course, that today business software largely has migrated to the cloud and that for pennies we can get thousands of apps for our devices. The combination has made software virtually free. All that software is aimed at the mass market and for tens or hundreds of thousands of users. Sheer market size makes it easy to price so aggressively because many titles really do make it up on volume. One of the upsides or happy problems inherent in todays ubiquity of hardware and software is that many more people are engaged in making very targeted software that might benefit only a relatively small number of users, especially in business. Taking Care of Business Businesses always have built at least some of their own software, and they have maintained much of what they acquired directly from vendors. Nonetheless, business is still quite a way from covering 100 percent of its software needs. The reason today is the same as it was 10 or 20 years ago some apps are just not cost justified. The app that tracks a quirky business process in a department is likely built in a spreadsheet and the department limps along with it, but this is far from ideal. Case in point: When sales incentive compensation was a spreadsheet app, all it did was track deals, commissions, splits and similar things. Its whole rationale was getting timely and accurate checks cut each quarter. Since applications for this vital activity became available, the business process changed. Rather than simply being an app for end-of-quarter calculations, compensation management has become a tool for managers to track selling activity. Organizations that use compensation management now have another window on the sales process and a way to intervene when needed. Barter System All of that relates to the current software license paradigm and to a future when that paradigm loosens its grip. Imagine a situation in which one organization develops a useful app and then makes the specification available in an online library for others to use. Why would it do that? you might ask. Because it might wish to borrow someone elses specification of a different app in the future. That community sharing model is taking hold, and while it is still a small part of the industry, it should have quite a future. The model doesnt exactly replicate the free software model of 40 years ago because it introduces a paradigm of an entity paying for software through a barter system. Not only that, the model isnt even unique. Its a software analogy to 3D printing, if you think about it. With 3D printers, people are able to print a wide variety of goods that were once purchased from manufacturers. Today a growing community of people is making 3D designs and offering them at modest prices to others. In this scheme, the marginal cost of producing something is roughly equal to the cost of raw materials, which is to say not much. Todays software sharing model is as far from stealing a BASIC program as a CD is from paper tape. Thats why its a new paradigm and more a question of when it catches on rather than if. Government of Punjab today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India to use cloud computing infrastructure for better facilities in education, agriculture and healthcare for citizens. The State Government has been using an advanced IT infrastructure to provide citizen services since 2013. The Government now plans to extend the network across the State using cloud computing infrastructure. Todays MoU with Microsoft will help the Government access the best of Microsofts technology and expertise for improvement of digital services to citizens and drive digital inclusion in the state. Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Punjab, said, We are committed to harnessing the power of technology to deliver better citizen services and drive digital inclusion in the state. We believe technology empower our citizens and help them thrive in todays digital world. We welcome Microsofts partnership and value their expertise in creating a citizen centric IT infrastructure in the State. Microsoft India will work with the Government of Punjab to support the development of mobile-based solutions and also support the use of machine learning and advanced visualization to help solve challenges in the fields of education, agriculture and healthcare. Microsoft will also train manpower in advanced IT technology in the State. Speaking on the occasion, Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd., said, We are happy to bring the power of Microsoft cloud technologies, machine learning and data analytics to the State of Punjab. We are happy to support the Government of Punjab in its effort to enhance citizen services and drive digital inclusion. Microsoft has been a strong partner to the State of Punjab since 2010. Several State Government departments use Microsoft technologies to run their operations and connect better with citizens. @Technuter.com News Service Focusing on expanding, upgrading and modernising the network across Haryana, Vodafone has announced the launch of U, a lifestyle proposition for youth in Haryana. This is aimed at serving always connected, socially active, rapidly growing and highly demanding Indian youth. Packs with different pricing serve as a Connector, Enabler and Entertainer for this consumer segment. These are delivered digitally and are accessible via the mobile to stay always connected with friends. With this, they can surf day & night and get a separate night allowance so that they dont miss out on single moment of fun. Apart from free unlimited music downloads for two months, they get spare loan data of 60 MB of 3G, and Rs. 20 will be deducted from next recharge. A customer can call 3 of their closet buddies at a special rate of 20p/min with 3 buddy lifelines. Speaking on this initiative, Mohit Narru, Business HeadHaryana, Vodafone India, said, We have combined the best of Vodafones global experience with deep understanding of India to resonate FunwithU. Our offer is a bundle of benefits and fun via the world of internet, voice, music plus exciting digital offers and experiences. Fun is always on for the young as their world of interest, residing in their pocket, will be active, 24X7. Vodafone U, is thus designed to facilitate better, this unique relationship between the youth and their mobile in a seamless and enriching way. We welcome all customers to be part of a new experience. Vodafone U: Exclusive and unique digital assets have also been integrated with the MyVodafone App to make the user experience richer. Launch products under Vodafone U start with prepaid plans an all-in-one offer with everthing that the youth need. Five benefits Internet (Data quotas), Calls (Special Buddy Call rates), Music (Access to the Vodafone Music Library to download songs), Experiences and Lots more (Exclusive app experience with deals and more). @Technuter.com News Service There's already quite a few Android devices that come with Microsoft's apps preinstalled, and that number is going to get bigger. The company has revealed that several smartphones and tablets from Xiaomi will soon ship with MS Office and Skype preloaded. Microsoft announced that as it expands its global partnership with Xiaomi, the firm's productivity suite of apps - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and Skype - will come preinstalled on a number of devices from the Chinese manufacturer, including the Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3, and Redmi 3, starting this September. The move comes as part of a patent deal between the two companies, the details of which haven't been fully disclosed. Some reports say Xaiomi purchased the 1500 patents from Microsoft, while others claim it was a traditional licensing agreement. The Wall Street Journal reports that the patents include those for wireless communications, video technologies, and cloud computing. Xiang Wang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, said they represent "an important step forwards to support [Xiaomi's] expansion internationally." Expanding the Xiaomi-Microsoft partnership: new deal for Office & Skype pre-install, IP cross-license and patent transfer agreement --- Hugo Barra (@hbarra) June 1, 2016 "We are excited to be working closely with Microsoft on a broad technology collaboration partnership," Wang said in a statement. "As demonstrated by this agreement with Microsoft, Xiaomi is looking to build sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders, with the ultimate goal of bringing the best user experience to our Mi fans." Despite a recent IDC report that showed Xiaomi has been pushed off the top five biggest smartphone makers list, the company still holds a huge share of the worldwide market, mostly because of its popularity in China. Microsoft will no doubt be happy with its part of the deal, as it means the company's apps will now get more exposure in China. For Xiaomi, the patents look set to aid the company in its overseas expansion plans. Businesses rarely underestimate the power of social media. A few bad reviews can cost a company dearly, especially the smaller ones, and Facebook pages with loads of 'likes' can make a place look pretty appealing. But one apartment complex has gone to extreme lengths to look popular, by demanding tenants give it positive feedback or face breaking their lease agreement. It was last Thursday when some tenants of the City Park Apartments in Salt Lake City found "Facebook Addendums" taped to their front doors. One of the demands stated that they must 'friend' the complex with five days, or they'll be in breach of their rental agreement, which some tenants had signed just months earleir. Local TV station KSL News reported that other parts of the addendum included the banning of any negative reviews - naturally - and a release that allows the complex to post pictures of residents and their visitors on its Facebook page. The demands have prompted at least one tenant, Jason Ring, to move out of the apartments after the final month of his lease. "I don't want to be forced to be someone's friend and be threatened to break my lease because of that. It's outrageous as far as I'm concerned," Ring said. "It's a violation of my privacy." Legal experts say the addendum may not be fair to those people who are unwilling or unable to create Facebook accounts, such as elderly individuals. It's also pointed out that if a lease is already signed, tenants may not be required by law to sign late add-ons. City Park Apartments' actions are similar to those of the Windermere Cay Florida complex from a few months ago. Its Social Media Addendum warned that any negative commentary or reviews on Yelp would be classified as a breach and result in a $10,000 fine for tenants. In 2014, a UK couple who called the Blackpool hotel they stayed in a "filthy, dirty, rotten, stinking hovel run by muppets" on Trip Advisor found that the establishment had docked a further 100 ($144) from their credit card. It seems the small print of the booking document read: "For every bad review left on any website, the group organizer will be charged a maximum 100 per review." Image credit: KSL The National Committee for the Repatriation of Stolen and Smuggled Antiquities resumed its activities after six years of pause Following a decree issued by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, the National Committee for the Repatriation of Stolen and Smuggled Antiquities (NCRSSA) sat for its first meeting since 2010. Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany told Ahram Online that during the meeting several issues were discussed in order to draw a clear policy and complete a strategy to repatriate, in the near future, all artefacts that have been stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country and to guarantee the protection of Egypts cultural and antiquities heritage. In the next meeting, El-Enany explained, decisions would be taken for two repatriation cases but was required not to mention specific details until concrete action has been taken. The NCRSSA is headed by El-Enany with members from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, International Cooperation, General Prosecutor as well as representatives from concerned security and supervision authorities. Former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass attended the meeting because he was the first to establish the NCRSA in 2008 so that it could undergo the legal and diplomatic procedures, as well as provide all the means to return back to Egypt its stolen and illegally smuggled antiquities. The last meeting of the NCRSSA was in late 2010 just before the 2011 January Revolution. Search Keywords: Short link: It's likely that comic book fans know Amanda Conner from her work as an artist on the Harley Quinn series for DC Comics. Conner also has a history, though, of working with both DC and Marvel, as well as with Mad Magazine. She's known for her work on such iconic characters as Power Girl, Supergirl, Birds of Prey and Painkiller Jane. Now, Conner - along with her Harley Quinn partner in crime and husband Jimmy Palmiotti - have a new comic book series, Superzero, with AfterShock Comics. Superzero is about a young girl, Dru, who so desperately wants to become a superhero that she'll go to great lengths to gain superpowers, including recreating the famous origin stories of current comic book heroes. In an interview, Conner recently spoke about Superzero, as well as her experience working with AfterShock Comics. With Superzero, you decided to publish with AfterShock Comics. How and why did you make that decision? Actually, two of our old friends approached us about it. And we did work with them before: Mike Marts and Joe Pruett. They work on the books, they edit, and they said "Okay, we're working with this new company now and do you have any ideas?" And Jimmy and I had this idea rolling around in our heads for quite a while - I'm going to say 10, maybe 12, years - so they were like, "You want us to do that idea with AfterShock?" And I said "'Yeah," so that's pretty much how it came about: nothing dramatic, just we thought, "Oh, this is a good place for this." So what originally inspired this character of Dru? We just thought it would be funny, like if a real person tried to do what they do in comic books, and what the real results would be. It was a little bit crazier when we first had the idea for Dru. She was going to be much worse off, like she was going to try every single superhero origin story and the effects on her were going to be what it would be on regular human beings. You know, like don't get too near an exploding nuclear bomb because you probably won't turn into the Hulk, you'll probably get incinerated. And we just had her doing that. So we were going to go in that direction: we were going to turn her into a real mess. Part of me - you know, this is like the Mad Magazine part of me - wants to still go extremely in that direction and Jimmy is like, "Well, we don't want her to die of radiation poisoning, so let's reel it in a little bit." I liked the ants, I thought the ants were hilarious. Yeah, that totally makes sense because there are a lot of bugs down in Florida. There are fire ants, there are spiders, all sorts of things, so we could actually do that experiment and see if it works. I really like new takes on female protagonists in comic books like this. Is that something you think about when writing a title like Superzero? Jimmy and I love working on female characters and Jimmy was a writer, actually, way before I was. I don't really count myself as a writer, I count myself as an artist who does some writing stuff. Jimmy has always found female characters to be really, really fascinating. And he's never been one of those, "I'm just going to put them in tights and let them beat each other up" kind of guys. He really likes to delve into what's going on in their heads and how they would act and react. So it's really great to work with him on it because he wants to take - like "I'll say let's take it in this direction," but he'll say, "Yeah, we can do that, and can take it a step farther." And when it comes back to me, I'll go, "Okay, let's take that even a step farther." So we bounce stuff off of each other. You can do a lot with female characters because a lot of times in year past, they've just been sort of not very multi-dimensional - that's not the case in all characters and there are so many female comic book characters from decades past that I just love so much. But a lot of times, people just have it in their heads where they pigeon-hole a female character into a certain category. And it's much more fun to just take a character and run with it. How different of a process is it working on a creator-owned series? I don't really know. I've had so much luck with the editors that I've had at the big two. And the luck that I've had is that they trust me and they trust Jimmy. They trust our instincts and they're sort of like "Okay, these guys know what they're doing." With AfterShock, they're equally as hands-off, which is really nice. Since Jimmy has been writing a lot longer than I have, he's had cases where editors are a little bit heavy-handed. And it's nice to have a creator-owned thing at an independent company because you get to exercise your vision for that, and they're relatively hands-off with it. Not to say that the stuff we do, with Harley Quinn, they trust us a lot and they sort of let us run with that, too. But it's more common when you own your own thing to be able to just exercise your vision for it. One of the things I love about this series are some of the little details, for example, the LED waterproof strips in Dru's bathtub. What inspires those details - where do ideas like that come from? That, in particular: Jimmy's been wanting to put LED strips everywhere in our house. So I think it's part of that. We think about what we want and what we fantasize about having, and then we're like, "Well, if I can't have it, Dru is going to have it." Or "We're going to put it in this comic book." At first, this series feels like a comedy, but there are some serious issues, too, such as Tana's home life. How do you balance out those moments out in the story? I think when you put the heavy stuff - that's how real life is. In real life, we always strive towards the gleeful part of life, but it's always punctuated by heavy stuff. I don't want to tell too much because some of it gets addressed in some of the issues that you haven't read yet. But yeah, that's how real life works: you always want to have the fun. Pretty much everybody is, for lack of a better term, working for the weekend. And you want your comics to be fun, but it adds an element of reality to it when you do have this realistic situation. And then, some people can identify with it, too. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Considered as the world's only fully intact and preserved animal of its kind, a 40,000-year-old juvenile mammoth on May 27 arrived in Canada from Russia for a very special exhibit. Lyuba the baby mammoth, whose name means "love," was discovered frozen in Siberia in 2007 by a reindeer herder whose partner is also named Lyuba. North Siberia's Shemanovsky Yamal-Nenets District Museum has become the mammoth's home since its discovery. In 2014, Lyuba travelled to the National History Museum in London to be part of an exhibit that lasted from May through September. Now, it will be featured in a museum in Victoria, marking the fourth time it has been outside Russia and its first time in Canada. Lyuba will be a highlight of the Royal B.C. Museum's new exhibition entitled Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age that will open this June 3. Lyuba's Story When Lyuba was discovered in 2007, scientists examined the find and decided that the female baby mammoth was only at least 30 days old when she died. She got trapped in mud and then suffocated, they said. Lyuba weighs about 49 kilograms and is 114 centimeters long. Her tail as well as one of her ears are missing. It's believed that the calf was conserved in lactic acid that was produced by the body after death. This "pickled" her soft tissues. Lyuba has long been preserved in formalin by Russian scientists. A Triumph of Efforts The mammoth's appearance in the museum is a remarkable triumph of scientific, diplomatic and personal efforts of the museum. Jack Lohman, CEO of the Royal B.C. Museum, says the mammoth's presence is a coup. The museum spent years and years convincing and reassuring authorities in Russia that it had the expertise and proper facilities to take care of Lyuba. Lohman says everyone had to look past strained political moments and develop relationships museum to museum, scientist to scientist. He says when dealing with borders, there are a lot of practical issues and hurdles to overcome. "You are just not allowed to walk across a border carrying artwork or specimens," says Lohman. When the museum brings in specimens such as Lyuba, it allows Canadian scientists to take part in current and international scientific efforts. For instance, the museum's own specimens of fossilized mammoth teeth are already part of an international research on the formation of mammoth molars. This research will link the mammoth's molars to the areas they were discovered and the areas they lived before they died. Lyuba's curator, Evgeniya Khozyainova, has now arrived in Canada. The minister of culture in Siberia also plans to take part in the exhibit. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Will Volkswagen give Tesla a run for its money with a planned 10 billion ($15.5 billion) battery factory that will strengthen its position in the electric car market? The carmaker is currently facing a diesel emissions cheating scandal as well as billions of dollars in penalties, fines and civil liability claims. Amid these troubles, it appears to shift its attention from turbodiesels to battery electric cars with a significant investment in a dedicated battery factory like Tesla Motors Gigafactory, a German news daily claimed. Volkswagen is considering building a multi-billion-euro battery factory as part of a major expansion of its electric-car portfolio, reported Handelsblatt, citing company sources. It added that the facility would enable VW to operate independently of leading Asian battery players such as Panasonic, Samsung and LG. VW chief executive Matthias Muller is working with his team on a new road map for increasing electric car and hybrid vehicle sales to 1 million per year by 2025 and for increasing the company's investment in batteries. The non-executive supervisory board is believed to study the plans prior to a June 22 annual meeting. Anonymous sources also saw VWs executives on board with the plan, which is also deemed in line with the aims of its major shareholder, the state of Lower Saxony. The target is no less than the top of the industry, quoting an insider said to be privy to the major initiative. Electric car manufacturers are building their own facilities for making batteries, which are among the most expensive components of their products. Together with its partner Panasonic, Tesla is spending up to $6.96 billion to build its Gigafactory. The factory is predicted to slash its battery costs by 30 percent and help Tesla accomplish its ambitious goal of manufacturing 500,000 cars annually by 2018. Volkswagen is yet to decide on whether its battery factory will be situated in Germany, Eastern Asia, or Europe, but to meet its target sales a decade from now, the company is sure to invest heavily on the project. Following its previously announced plans of being a leader in the field by 2018, the group sold only 67,000 electric cars in 2015, most of them hybrids. Photo: Bruno Kussler Marques | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The world is mourning the tragic death of a 17-year-old silverback gorilla named Harambe who was shot dead on May 28 to protect a toddler who fell into the enclosure. The Dangerous Animal Response Team at Cincinnati Zoo opted to kill Harambe after he reportedly picked up and dragged the trapped 4-year-old boy. Officials said the toddler had spent 10 to 15 minutes alone with the male gorilla, whose species is critically endangered, before the latter was gunned down. The incident has since sparked global outrage, prompting online protests to grow on Facebook and Change.org. About 50 people gathered outside Cincinnati Zoo on Monday, May 30, to mourn for Harambe. As of Tuesday, more than 146,000 people from different parts of the world have signed a Change.org petition to create a law that will impose legal consequences should there be negligence from zoo visitors. The regulation will be called "Harambe's Law." What Is Harambe's Law? Launched by Annie Gutierrez of Chicago, Illinois, the petition wants lawmakers to create and pass Harambe's law to make zoo visitors accountable for the well-being of endangered zoo animals. The petition argues that the tragedy at Cincinnati Zoo could have been greatly avoided had the little boy been properly supervised. Gutierrez says it is completely negligent for anyone to enter a restricted area or exhibit at a zoo, park or sanctuary. And so the new law would make the negligent party financially and criminally responsible for any harm or loss to an animal, particularly those that are critically endangered. Another petition launched by Sheila Hurt places all the blame on the toddler's parents and even asks if the negligence was "reflective" of their situation at home. The petition, which is called "Justice for Harambe," currently has 412,000 supporters and counting. Could The Incident Have Been Handled Better? Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says the enclosure where the gorilla stayed should have been surrounded by a secondary barrier between animals and humans to avoid this kind of incident. Should the gorilla have been tranquilized instead of killed? Thane Maynard, director of the zoo, says the tranquilizer would not have taken effect as quickly as possible. It was a "life-threatening" situation for the little boy, says Maynard. Although the boy was not under attack, all sorts of things could have happened and the boy was at risk, he says. "The right choice was made," says Maynard. "It was a difficult choice." In the meantime, Cincinnati Zoo will conduct its own investigations to find out how the toddler got into the enclosure. The gorilla exhibit at Cincinnati Zoo will remain closed until further notice. A Brief Glimpse Into Harambe's Life Harambe was one of the 10 western lowland silverback gorillas at Cincinnati Zoo. He was born and raised in captivity at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Texas by veteran Jerry Stones. Stones, who is 74 years old and has been in the business for 50 years, says Harambe was a special guy in his life. "An old man can cry, too," says Stones. "It's like losing a member of the family." Harambe arrived in Cincinnati in 2015 and joined the group along with two 19-year-old female silverback gorillas named Mara and Chewie. Maynard says there were hopes to breed Harambe, although he was not of breeding maturity yet. He says Harambe's death is "a loss to the gene pool of lowland gorillas." The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) has said that lowland gorillas are considered critically endangered. Disease and poaching have resulted in the drop of the species' population across central Africa. The group estimates thatf even if all threats were removed, it would take 75 years for the population to fully recover. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Bumblebees are literally "buzzing with excitement" around flowers. While the wings of these tiny creatures flap to produce their prominent humming sound, this kind of buzzing is an entirely different one. New research conducted by a team of scientists from Bristol University suggests that fuzzy little bumblebees can actually sense electric fields from flowers, albeit the fields are very weak. What are these electric fields for? Scientists say bumblebees detect electric fields in order to better recognize particular flowers during pollination. It's an incredible method of communication. Bee My Love Gregory Sutton, a fellow at Bristol University and the study's lead author, says that during the beginning of the research, his question was "very naive." "Why do flowers look so different to one another?" Sutton tells The Christian Science Monitor. He says flowers would surely unite toward that one scent, shape and color that is attractive to pollinators. However, Sutton also debunked this idea. He says flowers don't aim just to attract a certain pollinator; they want a "monogamous" relationship. To foster this relationship, it's vital that flowers communicate their identity to the bee. Some of the methods include using attractive colors, shape and scent, as well as patterns visible in ultraviolet light. Another method is by using electric fields. How Bumblebees Perceive Electric Fields Bumblebees appear fuzzy as their bodies are covered in tiny hairs, which provide insulation and help the insects carry pollen. Now, the new study investigated how exactly bees and flowers communicate through electric fields. Scientists first placed 30 volts in artificial flowers. They also used a precise laser vibrometer that allowed them to measure the movements of antennae and hair in bumblebees. Sutton and his team then filled the artificial flowers with sugar water, while another set of flowers was filled with bitter liquid. Sutton said the bumblebees would eventually learn to go to the flowers charged with 30 volts. Researchers found that the unique electrical signatures emitted by the artificial flowers can be detected by the fuzzy blanket of hair that covers the insect's body. As the voltage was turned off, the bumblebees lost their ability to differentiate between flowers and started to forage randomly. While both the hair and the antennae of the bumblebee deflected in response to the electric fields from the artificial flower, it was the hair that moved with greater speed and intensity. The movements of the hair also prompted a neural activity, while there was no neural response when the antennae moved. The electro receptive mechanism measures the weak forces at a distance of about 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) away, researchers say. Implications Because light, bristly hair often covers many creatures, scientists believe the electro receptive ability may be ubiquitous. "I think this might be something we see in more insects than just bumblebees," says Sutton. Sutton says this sense may possibly be used by other insects to detect predators or prey. He says one example is spiders: they are covered in extremely sensitive sensory hairs. The details of the new study are published in the journal PNAS. Photo: Timo Tervo | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Our planet's core is 2.5 years younger than the crust, a new study found. Researchers calculated the crust's relative ages and compared it with the core's age estimates. Apart from shedding new light on gravity's influence over time, the study also highlighted the dangers of taking a famous scientist's words at face value with nothing but prestige backing it up. In the 1960s, theoretical physicist Richard Feynman predicted that because of time dilation, the Earth's core is younger than the crust. This theory was presented during one of his famous Caltech lectures. Back then, Feynman suggested that the age difference was roughly a "day or two." Moving forward, physicists accepted the theory without actually checking the real figures behind the age difference. According to general relativity, big stellar objects such as stars and planets are capable of warping the space-time's fabric. This capability leads to a gravitational pull that can slow down time. This means that the objects found closest to the Earth's core has a stronger gravitational pull, which means it runs on a much slower clock compared to the ones found in the crust. This suggested that the materials found in the planet's core are relatively younger. The question now is just how young is the Earth's core compared to its crust? This is where the new research comes in. The research team included R E Mikkelsen and U I Uggerhj from the Aarhus University and J Faye from the University of Copenhagen. In the new study, the trio looked into the math behind the theory to get to the actual figures. They found that in the span of 4.5 billion years, the core's gravitational pull makes it about 2.5 years younger than the planet's surface. This figure didn't include the geological process. Feynman could have made the error in estimates originally. But there is also a possibility that the transcription of his famous lecture somehow distorted "days" into "years." "One should always be cautious and test even famous people's suggestions. I fell into the trap of not doing it, I must admit," said Uggerhj. The research was published in the European Journal of Physics on April 8. Photo: Kevin Gill | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Finding a new planet in the vastness of space can be quite difficult even for veteran scientists but imagine having to find four new worlds all in one go. This is exactly what a 22-year-old astronomy student in Canada just did as part of her coursework. University of British Columbia (UBC) student Michelle Kunimoto was given the task of analyzing data on various light curves collected using NASA's Kepler space telescope. She was told to search for new information that could have been overlooked by other researchers. "A star is just a pinpoint of light, so I'm looking for subtle dips in a star's brightness every time a planet passes in front of it," Kunimoto said. Jaymie Matthews, a Kepler executive council member and Kunimoto's professor in astronomy, said that scientists weren't able to dig deeper into the information that was given to Kunimoto because it initially only showed only low signal levels. He said that such readings often resulted only in "false alarms." However, Matthews believes that the four planet candidates that Kunimoto was able to identify will be confirmed. He explained that looking for new planets is much like searching for an object in a grass-filled backyard. If it happens to be a large object, it would be easier to spot from afar since it would appear taller than some of the grass. If it's as small as a ring, however, you would have to search the grass really closely in order to find it. Matthews compared his student's achievement to looking for ring-sized objects in the grass, requiring her to go below levels than what NASA researchers had done during their own analysis. Two of the planet candidates that Kunimoto discovered were comparable to the size of Earth, while another one was more the size of Mercury. The fourth planet, which was given the designation of Kepler Object of Interest (KOI) 408.05, was more akin to the size of Neptune. KOI-408.05 appears to be the most interesting one of the group because it is located in its host star's habitable zone, which makes it a prime candidate for the possibility of liquid water as well as signs of alien life. The planet is about 3,200 light-years away from Earth. Kunimoto said this particular planet may have a number of large moons, much like the large planets in the solar system. One of its moons could even have oceans of liquid water. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A recent raid on a manufacturing facility in Guangzhou, China discovered thousands of counterfeit Toyota car parts destined for trade in Australia. The 33,000 counterfeit Toyota car parts included brake components and airbags. While there are many "non-genuine" car parts, the counterfeit items claim to be the real deal. Apart from being sold in Toyota packaging, they even have counterfeit part numbers. Last year, the car company went after two independent traders in Australia who were selling several counterfeit Toyota car parts. An anonymous sale allowed the automaker to test the fake products and they found that the counterfeit items do not function properly. Some even contained prohibited manufacturing materials. "What is very scary is that so many of the parts are safety related. Had the raid not taken place, those parts could have found their way to Australia, putting many innocent and unknowing Australians' safety at risk," said Toyota in a statement. Insider information gathered from the 2015 Federal Court case led to the raid in China. Toyota Australia gave the Chinese police a tip-off that helped them get to the thousands of counterfeit car parts. They also discovered 55,000 fake boxes with the car company's logo all prepared for shipping to Australia. The counterfeit products found included parts for popular Toyota car models including HiLux, Corolla, Yaris, RAV4 and Hiace. The total cost of the counterfeit car parts is believed to be $1 million. The company's 220 dealers in Australia were quickly notified about the raid in China through a confidential bulletin. The recent ordeal offers consumers a "clear reminder" that not all products that come with a branded box or label are genuine. "The way to avoid safety concerns posed by fake parts is to ensure you or your repairer sources genuine replacement parts from the vehicle maker's authorised supply chain," said Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief Tony Weber. Weber added that while the recent raid is "shocking," the event is not unusual. He stressed that going for counterfeit car parts, whether the customer is aware of it or not, means taking "a huge risk." Photo: Yohann Legrand | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Samsung smart TV owners may soon get an unpleasant surprise, as the company is reportedly gearing up to push more interactive ads. As a reminder, Samsung kicked off this initiative in the United States last year, when it started spamming the menu bars of its smart TVs with interactive tile ads. It now looks like Samsung is planning to expand this initiative to Europe as well, likely in a bid to bank more cash out of its television business. As The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, this will not only apply to new high-end smart TVs, but to existing ones as well. The company reportedly plans to retroactively push such ads to older smart TVs through software updates, so it could reach the models that already found their homes. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the WSJ notes that Samsung's TV business has been struggling and this new scheme aims to pull more revenue sources. According to one of the sources, Samsung is using agencies, as well as its advertising sales team in New York, for this push. EVP Lee Won-jin, who previously worked at Google before joining Samsung back in early 2014, is reportedly spearheading this initiative. "Mr. Lee oversees Samsung's partnerships with companies like Netflix Inc., from which Samsung collects a share of the revenue generated by streaming video through its TVs," adds the WSJ, citing one of its sources. Expanding this advertising scheme beyond the United States and into Europe is Samsung's latest attempt to move past just hardware sales. Pushing ads to TVs that have already been purchased is a slippery slope that may anger many device owners, but it's not an entirely new practice. PC makers have been pulling such schemes for ages, although it's a bit hostile. It remains to be seen whether this ad push will make the Samsung's TV business more profitable in time, or whether it will alienate customers in the long run. In the meantime, if you own a Samsung Smart TV and you'd rather not have any tile ads pushing through, you might want to pay more attention to what the next software update brings to the table. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google's YouTube, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter vow to counter online hate speech, pledging to abide by European regulations. The European Commission (EC) requires such companies to review hateful speech posted online within 24 hours of receiving a notification and, if necessary, remove the content. This is part of a new "code of conduct" that aims to combat hate speech, as well as terrorist propaganda, distributed online across the European Union (EU). At the same time, the EU regulations also require technology companies to discover and promote any "independent counter-narratives" trying to combat hate speech and online terrorist propaganda, as it would further help the cause. Together, the IT companies, the EC and the EU Member States are fighting for a safer online environment, aiming to make sure that online platforms no longer offer venues where hate speech goes viral. EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova, points out that the terror attacks that occurred recently made it clear that urgent measures are necessary to handle illegal hate speech promoted online. Social media has often served as a means for terrorist groups to spread hatred and draw more followers to their cause, and countering such threats is paramount. The commissioner further applauds the commitment technology companies have made as part of this new code of conduct for cleaner online platforms. Microsoft, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pledged to assume more responsibility in fighting illegal content on their platforms. The companies promised not to hinder the flow of information across their platforms while cracking down on hate speech. Karen White, Twitter's head of public policy for Europe, explains that there is a clear distinction between hateful conduct and freedom of expression. The former will not be tolerated, while the latter will not be hindered. "In tandem with actioning hateful conduct that breaches Twitter's Rules, we also leverage the platform's incredible capabilities to empower positive voices, to challenge prejudice and to tackle the deeper root causes of intolerance," says White. Lie Junius, Google's head of public policy and government relations, also says that the company has always prohibited any illegal hate speech on its platforms, and will continue to do so. Monika Bickert, head of global policy management at Facebook, echoes the others' statements, welcoming the new collaborative effort and encouraging Facebook users to report any questionable content that might violate the social network's standards. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A stolen set of engraved wooden plaques from Egypt's Abbasid era was handed over to the Egyptian embassy in London A set of eight engraved wooden plaques that was stolen from the Dome of the Abbasid Caliphs in Cairo's Sayyeda Nafisa district were handed over to the Egyptian embassy in London after being missing for four years. Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, the supervisor of the Antiquities Repatriation Department at the antiquities ministry, told Ahram Online that the plaques were stolen in 2012 during the lack of security that followed the January 2011 revolution. The plaques were put up for sale in Bonhams auction hall and the antiquities ministry monitored the transaction and managed to stop the sale after proving Egypt's claim over the artefacts. The plaques are set to arrive in Egypt within three weeks. The Dome of the Abbasid Caliphs is built on a square platform with three entrances neighbouring the mausoleum of Sayyeda Nafisa. The facade is adorned with recesses and keel arches. The interior on the southeast side holds a mihrab, or niche pointing towards Mecca, crowned with a keel arch. The dome houses the corpses of the Abbassid caliphs, who ruled Egypt during the seventh and eighth centuries on the Islamic calendar. It also holds the corpses of the sons of Al-Zaher Baybars Albunduqdari. The dome is ornately decorated with verses from the Quran as well as foliage and geometrical decoration motifs. Search Keywords: Short link: The mantis shrimp has inspired scientists to design a new generation of super strong materials, a new study describes. Soon, aircraft, armor and protective helmets, among many others will boast high levels of strength and power, all because of the concept based on the small colorful crustaceans. These creatures have the compelling ability to smash the shells of their prey through their fist-like limb called the dactyl club. In a new research by University of California, Riverside, and Purdue University, scientists were able to describe a one-of-a-kind herringbone that safeguards the club during collision, and more importantly, allows the marine animal to wreak havoc on its prey. Focus On Mantis Shrimp Mantis shrimps may either be considered spearers or smashers. Spearers beat their prey with a spear, while smashers pound the shells of their prey such as snails and crabs via their intense force and speed. In 2012, scientists released a study that focused on the dactyl clubs of smashers. Their work is now being used as inspiration by a variety of industries, with some firms already starting to translate the discoveries into real products. In the said study, experts found that the dactyl club has numerous regions. One is called the periodic region, which is found at the internal portion of the club. This region absorbs energy and sorts hazardous shear waves, which pass through materials when under the state of stress. The periodic region has two stages. The first one is an organic phase composed of chitin, which is a substance found in animal shells, assembled in what appears to be a spiral staircase. The second one is an inorganic phase made up of amorphous calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate. Discovering A New Region Now, scientists have discovered a new region, and this time, it is found in the outer portion of the dactyl club. It is an extraordinary herringbone structure called the impact region. The impact region is a crack-resistant part that protects the mantis as it attacks its prey. Unlike the periodic region, however, the impact region is composed of crystalline calcium phosphate, which is also found in human bone. These minerals envelop organic chitin fibers, which were pressed together to create a herringbone that is notably harder than that of the periodic region. The unique structure allows the mantis to inflict significant devastation to its prey by transporting higher momentum upon forceful contact. Scientists also found that the extreme outer layer of the impact region is composed of another thin covering of the dactyl club. This layer detaches stress that may possibly result in significant club failure. Study lead author Nicholas Yaraghi says this is the first time that the novel herringbone was studied in nature. While it has been known that the impact region enables mantis shrimp to release strong force to its prey during impact, it is still interesting to see that the characteristics of this material are produced by the unique herringbone. The Process Of Discovery The team conducted finite element investigations to comprehend what the different structures do. They also 3D printed the herringbone structure for better analysis. The researchers also created computational models that reflect the local features of the herringbone structure. Through these models, it was explained that stress can be distributed more equally, lessening disastrous structural collapse. The 3D models were also able to demonstrate that the impact region is more efficient than the periodic region in terms of reallocating stress and averting breaks. "While the computational modeling results gave us compelling confirmation of the redistribution of stresses in these structures, the 'wow' moment came when we tested our 3D printing samples," said co-author Nicolas Guarin-Zapata. Applications Of The Study The new discovery adds valuable information to what is already known and contributes to the team's ongoing efforts to develop new-generation super strong materials for different applications. Co-author David Kisailus explains that the smasher mantis shrimp has developed this exceptional dactyl club because of only one purpose, and that is to be able to forage. As scientists delve deeper, however, much more information, which may be used to design cars, armor and other materials, is being discovered. The study was published in the journal Advanced Materials on May 30. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. An Amazonian fish related to piranhas was found in Petaluma Pond in San Francisco, leaving researchers baffled how the animal got there. Members of this fearsome-looking species exhibit teeth resembling those found in human beings. A pacu fish was caught by fisherman Juan Gallo as he was fishing on Lucchesi Park. As the angler raised his catch out of the water, the fish bit into the line holding it to the reel. Gallo was able to prevent the animal from escaping, and he plans to donate the catch to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. "It landed on the dirt and you could tell it wasn't anything we had seen before," Gallo said, describing his unusual catch. The waterway where the fish with the sardonic grin was found normally has a much more mild-mannered reputation, as the location is typically known as a duck pond. Pacu are freshwater fish, native to the Amazon River. Their heritage ties the animals to the often-terrifying piranhas. The animals are occasionally sold as exotic pets in the United States, although they are illegal in The Golden State. In 2015, another fisherman caught a pacu fish in Roberts Lake while angling in Rohnert Park. In June of that year, another of the creatures was found in the Swedes Lake in New Jersey. The pacu has a reputation of eating testicles of male swimmers in the Amazon, adding to its character as a flesh-eater. This notion of an animal born to emasculate men was driven by an episode of the television show River Monsters, first broadcast on Animal Planet in 2011. A story of two men perishing after having their testes eaten was soon picked up by tabloids in the United Kingdom, and the tale became popular on the internet. "The bleeding was so severe that they died. The locals told me that this thing was like a human in the water, biting at the testicles of fishermen. They didn't know what it was. It is a hot and dirty area so the people would often go to the water with their children to wash but obviously they were very worried about this thing in the water,"Jeremy Wade, who hunts the fish, said. Despite their reputation, pacu usually only eat plants and small fish. If state officials don't want the invasive animal, Gallo told the press he may have the creature stuffed. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft is selling around 1,500 patents to Chinese mobile device maker Xiaomi, which the companies suggest is the beginning of a long-term partnership. On May 31, the two companies announced the patent cross-licensing agreement. Xiaomi will also start shipping Skype and Microsoft Office in the company's Android tablets and smartphones. Xiaomi has a strong presence in countries such as China and India. Xiaomi customers in these countries will soon enjoy select Microsoft software on their mobile devices. "We are excited to be working closely with Microsoft on a broad technology collaboration partnership," said Xiang Wang, senior VP at Xiaomi. "As demonstrated by this agreement with Microsoft, Xiaomi is looking to build sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders, with the ultimate goal of bringing the best user experience to our Mi fans." Skype is among the most popular video chat and voice call service, and Microsoft Office is one of the most preferred productivity applications in the world. Peggy Johnson, the executive VP of Business Development at Microsoft, says that the partnership will bring the very best of productivity to millions of Xiaomi fans across the globe. Market analysts suggest that Xiaomi's foray in markets outside China faced obstacles due to weak patent protection. Sameer Singh, an analyst based in the UK, says that the deal with Microsoft will give Xiaomi enough patents for the company's future plans in the Western world. Singh also noted that Xiaomi's position in China is threatened by other Chinese device makers who are selling tablets and smartphones at a cheaper price. Xiaomi's move outside China has now become a necessity. According to an International Data Corporation (IDC) report, Xiaomi ranked fifth in the top five smartphone vendors list in the final quarter of 2015. However, 90 percent of the company's mobile phone shipments during the quarter were in China. Another IDC report highlighted that lesser known handset brands such as Oppo and Vivo had gained traction in the first quarter of 2016. Vivo pushed Xiaomi from the fifth position, and Oppo took the fourth position from Lenovo in the top five smartphone vendors list in Q1 2016. Xiaomi's deal with Microsoft means that Americans may soon see Xiaomi officially launching smartphones and tablets in the U.S. in the near term. The latest partnership is a significant step in Xiaomi's international expansion ambitions. However, the company will still face stiff competition from bigwigs such as Samsung, Apple and more. Photo: Jon Russell | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Facebook Messenger could soon be taking the route followed by other popular messaging platforms such as iMessage and WhatsApp end-to-end encryption. A report from publication The Guardian reveals that the social networking site is considering bringing the technology to Messenger in the near future. The publication cites three sources as informants and reveals that unlike most encryption technology that is mandatory, Facebook's end-to-end encryption is anticipated to be optional. "In the coming months, according to three people close to the project, the social media company plans to release an optional encrypted communications mode for its Messenger app, which is used by more than 900 million people," reports the publication. For those wondering why Facebook is looking at an opt-in model for end-to-end encryption, it is likely so that the tech does not interfere with the chatbots it announced earlier in April. Basically, the arrival of end-to-end encryption to Facebook Messenger means that only the person who is sending or receiving a particular message will be able to see the content. This system will ensure that even Facebook itself won't be able to intercept the data, which means that its Messenger chatbots won't have any way to communicate. With the opt-in option for encryption, users of Facebook Messenger will have the alternative of using the AI chatbots if they wish so. So if a user wants to enable the encryption they would need to opt in. This method is different from the default full end-to-end encryption Facebook implemented for WhatsApp in April. Even Apple's iMessage deploys default encryption and there is no opt-in option for users. Interestingly, the impending messaging app from Google dubbed Allo is also poised to offer encryption as an opt-in rather than a default feature. Like Facebook's chatbots, the Allo chat app also uses AI or machine learning to suggest a reply. End-to-end encryption is essentially a pitfall for machine learning-focused applications. Therefore, like Google, Facebook is likely to take the opt-in path for encryption security. Facebook has not yet commented on whether Messenger will get opt-in end-to-end encryption in the coming months. Photo: Karlis Dambrans | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google launched its voice-activated virtual assistant dubbed Google Home at the Google I/O in May. Touted as the Amazon Echo rival, Google Home has come under scrutiny and received flak for merely being a "dressed-up version" of Chromecast. For the unfamiliar, Chromecast is a media streaming device that can be plugged into the HDMI port of a TV and lets the user cast video content from their mobile device to the television. Google's Chromecast Audio is also a similar device, but connects to a speaker and lets the user cast music from their mobile device to the stereo system. Now, according to a report from The Information, Google Home is basically a Chromecast equipped with a microphone and speakers! It "will essentially be a microphone, speaker, plastic top with LED lights and a fabric or metal bottom wrapped around a Chromecast," the publication says. Moreover, the publication's sources have disclosed that Google Home deploys the same Wi-Fi chip as well as ARM-based microprocessor as the Chromecast. This makes sense and, frankly, there is no need for an outrage considering Google Home and Chromecast have both been developed by the same person Mario Queiroz who is the company's VP of Product Management. The Chromecast technology, which has now been rebranded as Google Cast and is at the heart of Google Home, is a positive for the company. It will essentially enable the device to allocate a particular music track to a certain room in the home. Can the Amazon Echo do that? Not yet, and this gives the Google Home a clear edge. The fact that Google has more plans for Google Home is evidenced by the AI aspect, as well as the Google Assistant, similar to Amazon's Alexa, that answers queries and becomes familiar with the user patterns with time. A possible drawback for Google Home, because of sharing the platform with Chromecast, is that creating apps will be challenging for developers in the near future. Developing apps for Android is relatively simpler when compared with the Linux-based operating system used by Google Home. This is because the latter offers less accessibility to third-party developers who are looking to add more functionalities to Google Home. However, in the context of the company's intention to make Google Home the hub that controls smart home devices such as thermostats, locks, and lights effectively, the importance of creating apps pales. Since Google Home is set to be the controlling hub for smart devices a home assistant, if you please the fact that it deploys the same technology as the Chromecast should not be concerning. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. What happens when social media meets the dark side of human nature? In Vertigo's Unfollow, a dying social media magnate decides to leave his fortune to 140 random people, who will split the money among themselves. However, there's a catch: if someone dies, the money gets re-divided and split between however many people remain. This leads to what essentially what becomes the social media version of The Hunger Games or Battle Royale. In an interview, Unfollow writer Rob Williams and artist Mike Dowling spoke about the concept of this story, as well as how they decided to approach it. What originally inspired the story behind Unfollow? WILLIAMS: Mike and I worked together on 2000 A.D. in the UK and we were talking about wanting to do something else together. We talked about the sort of themes we wanted to explore. And I wanted to do something about social media. I had a rough idea of a story about someone using it to attract people, but Mike talked about how he wanted to do something with themes of privacy and things like this. DOWLING: I think I'd not long read Robinson Crusoe, and I was kind of into doing a survival story, kind of like a back to nature story. But then, you kind of add this idea of mixing that with social media and it's as far away from nature as you can get, really. But of course, perversely, we've come all the way back around the food chain and this sort of food chain on Twitter. WiLLIAMS: You see some food chain behavior on Twitter every day. Groups coming together, you see witch hunts, you see rock stars with lots of followers and all these types. One of the themes that we're dealing with in the book thematically: we have great technology, but we're still the same animals in the jungle we always were. When you're telling a story that is this dark, how do you reflect the tone in the artwork? DOWLING: What I'm trying to get across in the art is the complexities of the characters. I tend to see my job as to sell the emotion and push the drama. It's just about being honest to what Rob has written and bring that out as best as possible. I think Rob's work is great: he thinks very carefully about these characters and their situations. It's pretty easy for me to figure out, "Okay, this is how I'm going to sell this thing." I don't think it's really that dark, but I suppose it does have its brutal moments. Also, the art in this books is relatable: this looks like our real world. How did that play into how you drew these settings and characters? DOWLING: Again, I think it's about selling it as best as I can and giving it some weight, making it seem like our world and not a generic kind of comic book world. But again, that's more of a personal preference. Because we're only on the first volume of this story, do you have it worked out who will live and who will survive? How do you make those decisions from volume to volume? WILLIAMS: From a writer's point of view, your job is just hope that you made these people care about the characters. You either put them through hell or kill them. It's a cruel job, in that respect. I think with any kind of story, we have certain things planned out and we know where we're going with certain things and certain things are a surprise to us as much as it is to the readers along the way. And that's just the nature of writing. I know in the second half of the series, there's one character that I'm kind of reaching towards to be killed off. I feel sad about it myself because I love writing the character. One thing I found really interesting is the use of tweets throughout the story, which incorporates more of that social media element into everything. How did you decide on how to incorporate that, both with the writing and the artwork? WILLIAMS: That was something we talked about early on in the planning stages. We wanted it to be part of Mike sort of raised some good examples of how this type of thing is used in movies. We wanted to incorporate tweets in the pages and the front covers of every issue. It looks like a tablet: we framed it so it looks like you're reading it on an iPad, even though you might be buying the paper copy. DOWLING: We have in cinema, with incorporating technology, when you cut to a phone screen or a computer screen. It's kind of instinct to ask, "Oh, dear, am I supposed to read this text?" When you're reading a comic, you're already in that world of visuals and text, so when the characters look at their phone, it just reacts quite naturally. It fits quite well with the medium. It turns out that it was a pretty easy thing to do. I just read that Unfollow is getting a TV adaptation, is that true? WILLIAMS: It's in progress. That's all we can say about it at this point. What story elements does an adaptation need to retain its impact? WILLIAMS: I think with any creator whether it's a book or comic when they see their work on TV or movies, you have to realize that whatever ends up on the screen is not necessarily going to be your story. It's going into the hands of others. But you also like to think that if people like our story enough to buy it for TV or movies or whatever, then they like the story: they like the themes and they like the characters and the tone. I think for me, anyway, with the nature of the book, the theme is the heart of Unfollow. As long as it retained that, then I think it would be an interesting thing to watch. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Panasonic Launches StepFit | TechTree.com Panasonic India has announced the launch of its new personal fitness trainer StepFit. The latest easy-to-use exercise device allows users of all ages and strength levels to perform low impact exercises that can lead to impactful results and leaner body. Employing the innovative balance exercise technology, the new device not only works on building the core body strength but also helps in losing weight by sending strong vibrations. These vibrations result in rapid muscle contractions resulting in effective full body workout. A 30-minute workout on StepFit results in burning 360 calories which is equivalent to running 6 milometers. StepFit comes with a resistance rope and a wireless remote control for the device. The resistance ropes can be adjusted for different strength and stretch workout postures allowing you to strengthen muscles of different body parts. Moreover, it helps to intensify a holistic body workout, firming the muscles and relieving joints pains. Adjusting to gentle vibrations, this unique exercise equipment promotes blood circulation throughout the limbs, and increases users metabolism. The 3 automatic and 8 manual modes can be tailored to get desired force, and the pedal area has explicit bands representing the different speeds/intensities for walking, jogging and running. The intensity of workout can be shifted by simply shifting the position of the feet. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Tadashi Chiba- Divisional Managing Director - Consumer Marketing Division (CMD) said, With the launch of StepFit, we aim to provide an innovative and effective solution to our consumers who make fitness plans but are not able to pursue them in a long run due to busy schedule. Panasonic gives them their personal trainer which helps them to get in shape easily with integrated and low impact movements. StepFit not only tones the body but works on strengthening the core body muscles. Much like running, jogging and walking, StepFit supports in burning calories and can be used as a supplement as well as an incremental tool for ones physical regime. TAGS: Panasonic, Wireless Technology, StepFit OPPO To Launch F1 Plus FC Barcelona Edition | TechTree.com Oppo continues its association with FC Barcelona and as a part of the three-year sponsorship deal, the smartphone makers are all set to release the F1 Plus FC Barcelona Edition which comes in blue-and-red color scheme, an 18K gold-plated club insignia and an FCB-themed user interface. The F1 Plus FC Barcelona Edition will also feature a blue protective case, laser-printed with the signatures of iconic players such as Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta. This feature is bound to attract extreme loyalists of the club. The limited edition phones are expected to be launched by the end of June. The F1 Plus is all about snappiness, style and speed, so theres no better partner for it than the phenomenal FC Barcelona, said Sky Li, OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business. The Oppo F1 Plus FC Barcelona edition has an all-black front and on the rear it features a deep Barca blue crossed by two red stripes. The smartphone features a 16MP and 13MP camera setup and is backed by a 2,850mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. Oppo F1 Plus FC Barcelona Edition is expected to arrive in China, Singapore and Indonesia, as well as other select markets, in mid-June. The company has not yet disclosed the price of the smartphone. TAGS: OPPO, F1 Plus FC Barcelona Edition Hackers selling Microsoft Windows zero-day vulnerability affecting all versions on dark web underground forums for $90,000 A recent exploit sales thread from the cybercrime underworld shows that the current asking price for a valid zero-day exploit that allegedly defeats all of Microsofts current security defences on the black market is USD $90,000. It is supposedly effective on every version of Microsoft Windows now in use. So-called zero-day vulnerabilities are flaws in software and hardware that even the makers of the product in question are not aware about. Zero-days can be used by attackers to remotely and completely compromise a target such as with a zero-day vulnerability in a browser plugin component like Adobe Flash or Oracles Java. These flaws are coveted, prized, and in some cases stored by cybercriminals and nation states alike because they enable very stealthy and targeted attacks. Trustwave researchers said that the hackers have unearthed a zero-day vulnerability giving attackers admin rights that the criminal group claim to work on any Windows machine from Windows 2000 to a fully patched version of Windows 10. The item was first noticed on May 11 by a seller using the handle BuggiCorp on the semi-exclusive Russian language cybercrime forum exploit[dot]in earlier this month with an initial price of $95,000, but this was lowered to $90,000 on May 23. For this type of capability $95,000 USD does sound reasonable. These are relatively rare, and take a degree of expertise to develop, thus they are valuable to attackers and defenders alike, said Logan Brown, president Exodus Intelligence that runs its own vulnerability purchasing program, among other offerings. A cyber gang would be eager to use this to leverage malware and ransomware to get a much better ROI by combining exploits. Also, any nation state type APT attack would easily see this as key tool in sophisticated network penetration, said Based on this and the prices we know about, the price here seems on the high end but still within a realistic price range, especially considering the return on investment criminals are likely to make using this exploit in any campaign, Trustwave wrote. The listing for the exploit describes itself as an exploit for local privilege escalation (LPE) for a 0day vulnerability in win32k.sys. The vulnerability exists in the incorrect handling of window objects, which have certain properties, and [the vulnerability] exists in all OS [versions], starting from Windows 2000, according to the seller. While the most coveted zero day would be a Remote Code Execution (RCE) exploit, Local Privilege Escalation vulnerabilities are likely next in line in popularity. Although such an exploit cant provide the initial infection vector like a Remote Code Execution would, it is still a very much needed puzzle piece in the overall infection process, Trustwave wrote. Since this is a case of criminals selling to criminals, the seller tries to build some level of trust into the deal. To support his claims, the seller includes two videos of the exploit in action on what appears to be a system that was patched all the way up through this months (May 2016) batch of patches from Microsoft. A second video appears to show the exploit working even though the test machine in the video is running Microsofts Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET), a free software framework designed to help block or blunt exploits against known and unknown Windows vulnerabilities and flaws in third-party applications that run on top of Windows. BuggiCorp, the seller of the Windows LPE zero-day flaw, was asked by several forum members whether his zero-day was related to a vulnerability that Microsoft patched on April 12, 2016. BuggiCorp responds that his is different. However, this zero-day thread is an unusual sight on such an open cybercrime forum, Trustwaves Mador said. Finding a zero day listed in between these fairly common offerings is definitely an anomaly, he said. It goes to show that zero days are coming out of the shadows and are fast becoming a commodity for the masses, a worrying trend indeed. According to those behind the exploit say, that the zero-day vulnerability will be sold only to a single buyer for $90,000, who will also receive the source code for the exploit and the demo, free updates that will address any security enhancements added to Windows, a comprehensive write up of the vulnerability information and complementary consultation on assimilating the exploit. Editor-in-Chief of Caixin Media Co. Ltd., Hu Shuli, was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Princeton University in New Jersey on May 31. In their citation, the university praised Hu for her achievements in investigative journalism and her active role in pushing for reform and social progress. "She has pressed for accountability with a balance of daring and deftness that has kept her in the forefront of her field while earning the respect of the leaders of the institutions she exposes," the university said in its citation. "She is now head of her own media company, a Forbes 'Power Woman' who is a powerful advocate for transparency and truth." Hu was given an honorary Doctor of Laws degree along with former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Bryan Stevenson, a public-interest lawyer and a professor of clinical law at New York University School of Law. Two other scholars Eric Foner, the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University who specializes in American history studies and Froma Zeitlin, the Ewing Professor of Greek Language and Literature received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Robert Rivers, a retired surgeon and first African American board director at Princeton University, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. Hu received her certificate from Princeton's President Christopher L. Eisgrubeand at the 269th commencement event on the front lawn of the historic Nassau Hall attended by more than 2,000 graduates and teaching staff. Princeton University, founded in 1746, is an Ivy League university in the United States. Recipients of honorary degrees in the past fifty years include Nobel Laureates Lee Tsung-dao and Yang Chen-ning (Franklin), renowned physicists Stephen Hawking and Wu Chien-Shiung as well as American economist Lawrence H. Summers, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami and Cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Hu is the second Chinese national born on the mainland to receive the honor after physicist Zhou Peiyuan, who was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1980. Hu Shuli is editor-in-chief of Caixin Media Co. Ltd. and a professor at the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong, China. Bio of Hu Shuli Hu Shuli is editor-in-chief of Caixin Media Co. Ltd. and a professor at the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong, China. She has gained international recognition for her achievements in journalism. 2001: Hu Shuli was named one of the "50 Stars of Asia" by Business Week 2003: Hu Shuli won the "International Editor of The Year" award from World Press Review 2006: Hu Shuli was named "The Most Powerful Commentators in China" by Financial Times 2006: Hu Shuli was named one of "The Ten Women to Watch in Asia" by The Wall Street Journal 2007: Hu Shuli received the Louis Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University 2010/2009: Hu Shuli was named one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy 2011: Hu Shuli was named one of the TIME 100 Influential People by Time magazine 2011: Caixin editorial team won the Shorenstein Journalism Award from Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center; 2012: Hu Shuli won Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism 2014: Hu Shuli won the 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Award For inquiries, please contact: Ma Ling, senior director of brand and communication, Caixin Media Co. Ltd. +86-10-8590-5204 lingma@caixin.com You can also log on Caixin Media at www.Caixin.com for more information Study suggests 22.9% of women spend six hours a day on their smartphones A South Korean survey on smartphone usage between men and women has revealed that women are more susceptible to smartphone addiction, compared to men. The report by academic Chang Jiang Jae-yeon of Ajou University based on a 2013 survey of 1,236 students from six schools in Suwon, Gyeonggi province, according to Korea Times. It was the first study to find that women are more inclined to smartphone addiction than men. The survey showed that women routinely checked on their smartphones for four hours or higher per day compared to men who are way below the 52% average with 29.4%, according to Korea Times. Women also registered a 22.9% usage for users who engaged with their smartphones six hours a day compared to men who were only listed at 10.8%. Jae-yeon explained that We expect adolescents are likely to show similar results. Female users are advised to consciously put their phones out of their reach from time to time. The Ajou University professor also added, Womens desires for networking and communication are far stronger than mens, which drive them to become more dependent on social network service (SNS) via their smartphones. Social media services like Facebook and Instagram tops the list for most women on why they use a smartphone as these devices become more than just a tool for reaching someone via phone calls, playing games and using the search engines. Some previous statistics showed that more women than men are registered with an account on Facebook. On the other hand, men use their smartphones during break times while 37.2% of women constantly check their handsets even when talking to other people. The survey revealed that 20.1% of women who participated in the study feel extremely insecure when they cannot use their smartphones, while only 8.9% of men were down with feelings of insecurity. According to Chang Jiang, the findings indicate that womens dependency on smartphones is 10% higher compared to men. Based on the survey results, the researchers determined that for many women, their addiction to their smartphones has gone beyond simple hobbies to a stage that has badly started affecting their mental health. Womens needs for networking and communication are far stronger than mens, which make them a lot dependent on social networking sites via their smartphones, it reported. The study was published in the May-June issue of Public Health Reports of the U.S. Public Health Service. A 40 anos de Malvinas "Revisar el pasado es pensar el futuro". La frase de la presidenta de Telam, Bernarda Llorente, resume el espiritu del documental coproducido entre la agencia de noticias y el canal publico de TV sobre la cobertura que los medios de comunicacion hicieron del conflicto, plagada de censura y mentiras. Una autocritica necesaria para mirar hacia adelante en un (ya viejo) contexto de fake news y negocio informativo. "Any unfriendly action by Western countries will receive a timely and adequate response in the future," the Russian diplomacy stressed. | Read More Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the Ministry of Industry to be responsible for a plan to promote investment in automotive industry with a focus on the manufacturing of future cars. The premier met with high-ranking executives of four automotive companies including Toyota, Isuzu, Nissan and Honda at Government House. The meeting was part of the Prime Minister Meets CEOs project aimed at exchanging opinions about their problems and obstacles about doing business in Thailand. The premier clarified the governments economic, trade and investment policies. Ministry of Commerce permanent secretary Chutima Bunyapraphasara said all of the executives, whose companies have had a combined 58% of Thailands total car export, confirmed to use Thailand as a manufacturing base with a plan to expand their investment in vehicles, especially future cars such as electric, hybrid and environmentally friendly cars. The promotion of future cars was the governments policy to support and promote the manufacturing of vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said the permanent-secretary. The premier told the companies executives that the government was urgently revising regulations while promoting free and fair trade in support of foreign investment in Thailand. He said the Ministry of Industry had been tasked with developing a long-term plan to make Thailand a regional hub for future car production. Source: National News Bureau Of Thailand | Four major Japanese automotive companies to use Thailand as car manufacturing base Thai exports for the month of April contracted by 8 % which was far beyond expectation and constituted the lowest in six years. Minus gold and arms exports, exports for the months of February and March which registered 10.27 and 1.37 percent growth respectively should have contracted 3.75 and 1.05 percent respectively and these should have brought the Thai exports for the first four months of the year to minus 5.36 percent instead of minus 1.24 percent. This is a clear indication that the global economy has not recovered yet and there are still a lot of uncertainties and the risk of a major economic crisis, said Mr Nopporn Thepsittha, chairman of the TNSC (Thai National Shippers Council). As a result of falling oil prices, the country ended 2015 with an $11.72bn trade surplus, its first in five years. Manufacturing exports stood at $190.42bn, or 88.8% of total exports, while the BOT reports that export receipts for agriculture, of which rice and rubber comprise 60.2%, totalled $16.06bn in 2015. Thailands top five exports by value in 2015 were electronics ($32.08bn), agro-manufacturing products ($25.61bn), machinery and equipment ($19.25bn), food ($14.88bn) and electrical appliances ($12.05bn). In 2015 export revenues in these five categories reached $119.96bn, or 56% of total revenues. Main Trading Partners The US, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia were Thailands top five export markets in 2015, as the US edged ahead of China for the first time to become its largest trading partner by exports. Exports to the US hit $24.06bn in 2015, with $23.74bn going to China, $20.08bn to Japan, $11.83bn to Hong Kong and $10.19bn to Malaysia, according to BOT data. Source: Thai exports shrank 5.36 percent for the first four months Thai PBS English News The US Senates approval of a resolution that will scrap the US Department of Agricultures new catfish inspection program is a right step, Vietnams foreign ministry has said. Le Hai Binh, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told local media Tuesday that Vietnam repeatedly expressed its concern over the program, which is costly and unnecessary. We highly appreciate the US Senates vote, Binh said, adding that this move is line with new developments of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership. Vietnam calls for the House of Representatives and the US government to approve the inspection program removal, the spokesperson said. We always endeavor to cooperate with other countries, including the US, to ensure safety and quality of Vietnamese catfish, which has already met international quality and safety standards, said Binh. The US Senate voted to scrap the catfish inspection program on May 25. The program, created by the US Congress in 2008, started in March this year and is scheduled to be phased in over 18 months. Republican Senator John McCain and other critics have said the program is wasteful and duplicative. They believe inspection by the Food Safety and Inspection Service is not necessary and the task should be handled by the Food and Drug Administration as in previous years. Catfish is among the most popular seafood in the US, with the market long dominated by local producers in Mississippi and Alabama. In recent years, they have been rivaled by fast-growing and cheaper imports from Vietnam and other Asian nations. Vietnam shipped US$151 million worth of catfish to the US in the first four months of this year, up 7 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). A five-month-old child died in Ho Chi Minh City late last month, the first victim of bacterial meningitis in the city this year. The HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases said in a statement Wednesday that the baby girl was admitted with high fever and pale skin with blood spots. She died within a few hours and was diagnosed with meningitis caused by the Neisseria meningitis bacterium. The citys preventive health department has taken measures to control the spread of the disease in her neighborhood in District 11. Bacterial meningitis is transmitted through saliva and respiratory droplets and can be fatal within the first day of infection. The disease is most common between six months and three years of age and between 14 and 20. Typical symptoms include fever, headache and vomiting. In Vietnam, children are vaccinated against bacterial meningitis from two years. The Ministry of Health has reported 44,000 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease nationwide this year, including five fatalities, all in the south. The number of cases is down 30 percent from last year, Tran Dac Phu, director of the ministrys Centre for Preventive Health, said. However, the fatality threat remains if patients are not hospitalized early. HMFD cases have been reported in almost every locality, with the highest number being in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Phu instructed health agencies in southern localities to remain wary of EV71, the deadliest strain of the HFMD virus. Last year Vietnam recorded more than 76,300 cases. Doctors have urged people to maintain hygiene at home and in public areas as the disease spreads through contact with human waste and body fluids. The disease is considered highly dangerous as it can quickly give rise to fatal complications like respiratory decline, meningitis and heart muscle inflammation. Treatment requires the use of respirators and blood dialysis. An Aedes Aegypti mosquito is seen in a lab of the International Training and Medical Research Training Center (CIDEIM) in Cali, Colombia February 2, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Jaime Saldarriaga U.S. health officials are investigating 14 reports of the Zika virus that may been transmitted through sex, including to several pregnant women, raising new questions about the role sexual transmission is playing in the growing outbreak. In two of the suspected cases, the infection has been confirmed in women whose only known risk factor was sexual contact with an infected male partner who had recently traveled to an area with active Zika transmission through mosquito bites, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. Most experts had believed that sexual transmission of Zika was rare, but the new alert suggests sexual transmission of Zika may be more of a factor than previously thought. "We think mosquito-borne spread is the most common route of transmission, but we want to make people aware that sexual transmission is also a risk," Jennifer McQuiston, deputy incident manager for CDC's Zika response, said in a telephone interview. McQuiston said the CDC is investigating the new reports of sexual transmission with the help of state public health departments. In addition to the confirmed cases, the CDC has preliminary test results on four women and the remaining eight cases are in varying degrees of investigation. All of the newly reported cases of sexual transmission have occurred within the United States. So far, there have been no reports of women transmitting Zika to male sex partners. In a recent study, British researchers reported evidence of the Zika virus in semen of a 68-year-old as long as 62 days after he was first infected. Zika virus infection generally causes mild symptoms, but it may be linked to thousands of cases of birth defects in Brazil known as microcephaly, which is marked by undersized heads and underdeveloped brains. There is no cure or treatment for Zika infection. For pregnant women, the CDC recommends that if a male partner has traveled to an area of active Zika transmission that couples use a condom correctly and consistently for the duration of the pregnancy, or to abstain from sex entirely. "These recommendations might seem extreme to people, but the truth of the matter is we don't yet have good scientific data to say how long the virus may persist in semen," McQuiston said. She said several studies are planned that will look into this, but until that information is available, it is safer for women to protect themselves during pregnancy. McQuiston said while these recommendations would also protect women who are not pregnant, the reason for CDC's concern is the "increasing evidence" linking Zika infections to birth defects. Mariam Araujo, 25, plays with Lucas, her 4-months old second child and born with microcephaly as they wait for a physiotherapy session in Pedro I hospital in Campina Grande, Brazil, February 17, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes Brazil on Tuesday raised the number of microcephaly cases linked to Zika. It has confirmed 583 cases of microcephaly, up from 508 a week earlier. Suspected cases rose to 4,107 from 3,935. The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas in early February by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite. Zika has caused outbreaks in at least 29 countries in the Americas. The CDC added Trinidad and Tobago and Marshall Islands to its travel advisory on Tuesday. The agency in early February revised its guidelines for pregnant women to include a recommendation that even those without symptoms of the Zika virus should be tested after returning from affected areas. Three men arrested in Ben Tre Province on January 6, 2016 with 12 dead dogs. Photo credit: Quang Duy/Tuoi Tre Police in Ben Tre Province in southern Vietnam on Wednesday arrested three men after they shot a stun gun at police officers in an attempt to flee with 12 dead dogs. A police statement said they chased after Tran Thanh Bang, 23, Truong Van Nghia, 36 and Vo Minh Bang, 25, early in the morning after noticing them carrying the large number of dogs on two motorbikes. The dogs weighed around 150 kilograms in total and the trio said they were hired to carry them to customers in the neighboring Tien Giang Province for a transport fee of VND200,000, or less than $10. But police suspected that they had stolen the dogs themselves because dogs thieves in Vietnam often use stun guns to catch dogs. No one was injured. Vietnam is believed to be the second biggest dog meat consumer in the world, with an estimated five million dogs killed and eaten every year. The figure in China is around 20 million. Two stun guns Ben Tre police seized from three men who were carrying 12 dead dogs on January 6, 2016. Photo credit: Quang Duy/Tuoi Tre The dog meat trade has been the target of strong international criticism as most of the dogs are pets stolen from families and usually tortured and killed in painful ways. Usually only dog thieves are punished, with a fine. They will only face criminal charges if the stolen dogs value is more than VND2 million, around US$100. 18 people, including bankers and customs officers, stand trial in Hanoi on January 7, 2016 for helping foreigners swindle over $111 million from state-run lender Agribank between 2008 and 2012. Photo: Nam Anh A court in Hanoi has sentenced 18 people, including former managers at state-run Agribank and customs officers, to between two and 30 years in prison for allowing foreigners to swindle around VND2.53 trillion (US$111.18 million). All of them were convicted of "power abuse," "dereliction of duty" and "violations of regulations on lending activities," for helping foreign-invested garment company Lifepro Vietnam take out loans from an Agribank office in southern Hanoi and its headquarters without proper collateral. The company's founders -- one Chinese, three Canadians, and one Italian -- fled the country when the case was busted in 2012 and are now wanted globally. The foreigners established garment company Enzo Vietnam in 2007, and were licensed to develop a VND530-billion ($23.2 million) factory in the northern province of Ninh Binh, according to the indictment. They started borrowing from Agribank in 2008. In 2011, they changed the company's name into Lifepro Vietnam, which continued to borrow from the bank, using faked and invalid contracts to secure loans, prosecutors said. Pham Thi Bich Luong, 46, who was the director of the bank's office, approved the loans without assessing the applications properly. As of September 2012, the bank's office disbursed a total of VND2.53 trillion to the company. More than 67 percent of the amount came from the bank's headquarters, which required the approval of its then CEO Pham Thanh Tan, according to the indictment. Luong, who received VND3 billion ($131,000) in kickbacks from the company and divided the money among those involved in approving and disbursing the loans, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Her deputy Chu Thi Kim Hien, 58, received a similar sentence, while six staff members were jailed for 2-16 years. Tan received 22 years, while another four managers of the bank's headquarters, including deputy CEO Kieu Trong Tuyen and board member Hoang Anh Tuan, were punished with jail terms between 4-6 years. Four customs officers in Hanoi were found guilty of clearing illegal imports by the company and providing trade documents to support its loan applications. They received a 30-month jail term each. Le Minh Hieu, 41, chairman of a subsidiary of Lifepro Vietnam, was the sole member of the company to stand trial and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Vo Van Tinh, 47, was beaten for stealing a dog in Bac Giang Province on April 5, 2016. Photo credit: Nguoi Lao Dong The Bac Giang police have confirmed that a dog thief succumbed Wednesday to multiple injuries he suffered at the hands of an angry mob in the northern province. Vo Van Tinh, 47, went to Minh Duc Commune at around Tuesday noon to allegedly steal dogs. Several people chased after him after he managed to steal a dog. He suddenly took out a pistol and fired several shots at the pursuers, but no one was harmed. The locals later managed to capture him when he crashed his motorbike and jumped into a canal. The angry mob then beat him up before someone called the police. The gun that Vo Van Tinh has allegedly used to shoot at pursuers Tinh was taken to hospital where he succumbed the following day. A stolen dog and a pistol were found at the site. The police are investigating. Dog thefts are common in Vietnam, and the stolen animals are usually sold to restaurants as many people view the animals meat as good food. Often dog thieves are killed by locals or vice versa. Lieutenant Nguyen Quoc Dat is injured after being hit and dragged for 20 meters at an intersection in Hanoi on December 12. Photo credit: otofun Hanoi police are looking for a driver who reportedly hit and dragged a traffic police officer for 20 meters with his truck on Saturday morning. The incident occurred at around 9:50 a.m. on Saturday at the intersection between Sai Dong and National Highway No. 5 in Long Bien District. Lieutenant Nguyen Quoc Dat, 31, attempted to stop the driver after the truck collided with a car. The driver did not stop and drove straight into the officer. Photos showed the officer was bleeding and his uniform was torn after being dragged on the street. Dat is being treated at Viet Duc Hospital where doctors said he suffered from multiple injuries and had breathing difficulties. Based on the number plate of the truck in a photo taken by locals, police said it belongs to a furniture company based in the northern province of Hung Yen. The investigation continues. The girls were born in June 2012 and made national headlines as one of the very rare natural quadruplet cases in the country, and possibly the first in their hometown, the Mekong Deltas Dong Thap Province. The surgeon performing the C-section had the honor of naming them Viet, Nam, Hanh and Phuc, which together mean Happy Vietnam. Photos: Truong Thanh Tung/Zing Tran Thi Tinh, the mother, has been staying home since the daughters were born. The family depends on meager earnings from the father who does trivial jobs. The eldest daughter, 16, has dropped out of school to work in a factory. The couple also has a 13 year-old-son who is in eighth grade. Tinh said taking care of her four little girls hardly gives her any break during the day. I just calm one down and another will cry and another start throwing tantrum. Yet the couple consider the girls a blessing. We are lucky to have our Happy Vietnam,' said the father Tran Huu Dong, laughing. The poor family received support from local authorities and donors to take care of the four in the beginning and build a better house. The four girls will reach the preschool age this fall, posing yet another financial problem for the family. It is now already hard enough to make ends meet. The girls look at photos taken on the day when they were born. It's hard to tell the girls apart. Even the parents say so. They go everywhere together. And do everything together, like drying the firewood and playing with it. They have few toys. They prefer to have similar clothing. But the parents cannot always afford to buy an identical set at once. The parents have to negotiate with the daughters whenever they visit a relative. The girls just want to travel all together, but their parents can only take one or two. The daily parenting only ends at 10 p.m. Dong has not figured out how to find enough money to send the girls to school, but he said he will make sure they can go and stay in school. You can find the original Vietnamese story here on Zing A photo supplied by police of Quang Nam Province shows the stolen dogs transported in a car on April 29, 2016. Photo credit: Nguoi Lao Dong Police in Da Nang has arrested the second suspect in the stealing of 16 dogs in April. Trinh Ngoc Thai Binh, 44, has been handed over to the police of Quang Nam Province, who are investigating the case. The first suspect, Nguyen Van Vinh, was arrested early on April 29 when forest rangers of Quang Nam pulled over a suspicious car and found it was carrying 16 dead dogs. Vinh, 23, told the police that he and Binh had used a stun gun to kill the dogs in Dong Giang Dist., Quang Nam, the previous night. When Vinhs car was stopped, Binh, who was riding a motorbike, managed to escape. According to the police, Binh, who had been convicted once for dog theft, admitted to stealing the dogs. Dog theft, which is driven by the unregulated dog meat trade, remains a problem in Vietnam. Three former officials at Agribank's Binh Chanh Branch stand trial in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday. Photo credit: Xuan Duy/Dan Tri Several executives of Agribank, Vietnams top lender by assets, were jailed or arrested this week in separate incidents of fraud. On Tuesday a Ho Chi Minh City court handed down jail terms to three of them for swindling VND231 billion (US$10.3 million) by colluding with two customers convicted of forgery. Nguyen Van Loi, suspended deputy director of the citys Binh Chanh branch, got seven years, while his subordinates Tran Thi Hoang Yen and Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga got six and five years for violating credit regulations. Nguyen Duc Tri, former director of KTT Consult, Design and Construction Company got a life sentence for swindling while his chief accountant Truong Xuan Quang got 20 years. The two colluded with the banks officials to obtain loans of VND99 billion between 2007 and 2009 by forging documents related to the development of a residential area in District 7 which was refused a license. Tri was unable to repay VND231 billion as of June 2014 when the police stepped in to investigate. The court also ordered him to repay the full amount. Loi and Nga were already serving eight years each for another loan scam earlier, while Yen was doing seven years. On Monday the Ministry of Public Security arrested Tran Van Phong, former director of the banks Nam Hoa Branch in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 6, for violating credit regulations. He had granted loans under dubious circumstances to Ba Ria Vung Tau-based stone company Da Tam Xay Dung Cao Cap, leading to losses of more than VND100 billion for the bank. Two other officials connected with the case are out on bail. Also Monday the ministry wrapped up investigations and recommended embezzlement charges against three suspended employees of Agribanks Trang Dinh Branch in Lang Son Province. Chief accountant Nong Thi Hieu, accountant Nguyen Thi Hue and cashier Nguyen Thi Hang allegedly misappropriated nearly VND7 billion from the accounts of 82 customers between 2012 and 2015. They spent the money on so de, an illegal numbers game based on lottery results. Ho Chi Minh City police have recommended criminal charges against two employees of Hoa Hung branch in District 3 for appropriating nearly VND40 billion. Phu Minh Hoa, 26, a suspended credit officer, faces charges of embezzlement and violating state economic regulations causing serious consequences. Dang Thi Thu Huong, 42, suspended deputy director, faces charges of being irresponsible causing serious consequences. Former director Nguyen Le Kieu Quang, 38, is wanted for embezzlement but is absconding. The three are accused of faking documents to approve loans worth more than VND22 billion and stealing another VND17 billion from the bank. A man arrested in Son La Province May 31 after allegedly shooting at a cop to get away with a $1,000 theft Police in Son La Province Tuesday arrested a suspected thief after he allegedly shot a police officer while trying to flee. Around 100 officers spent more than a day looking for Ha Thanh Binh, 26, before they found him hiding on a hill, armed with a gun, and arrested him. His accomplice Tran Thanh Tung, 25, had been arrested earlier. Preliminary investigation found that the two had broken into a local house and stole money and assets worth around VND25 million, or more than US$1,000. Several officers spotted them on the street soon afterwards and wanted to check them, but Binh withdrew a pistol and fired two shots at an officer before running up the hill. One bullet hit the officers thigh, but he is not in danger. A container truck driver is pulled over on a highway in Hanoi. Photo: Ngoc Thang Truck drivers found using drugs should be put in mandatory rehabilitation instead of just being dismissed, a transport official said. Whenever being fired for using drugs, the drivers just applied for a new job at another company and used drugs again, Nguyen Thanh Chung, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said at a teleconference held by the Ministry of Transport Tuesday. These drivers should have been rehabilitated before being allowed on the streets again, he said. Currently, police only warn transport companies against letting drug users drive their trucks. The current policy does not end the drug driving problem, which may lead to tragic accidents, Chung said. In Vietnam, only drug users who relapse after community-based rehabilitation programs are admitted to compulsory treatment centers. According to the transport ministry, drug use has become more common among truck drivers and is now a major cause of traffic accidents. The ministry reported a total of 22 traffic accidents involving container trucks in the first five months this year, mostly in HCMC, Hai Phong, Binh Duong and Dong Nai. Ten of these cases happened in HCMC, killing eight people and injuring five others. This has prompted HCMC authorities to set up a joint task force, including police officers and medical workers, to inspect drivers under the influence of drugs on July 1. According to the National Traffic Safety Committee, an inspection last year of 136,000 drivers nationwide found 526 of them using drugs and 1,500 others not meeting health requirements. Doan Van Chuyen, 25, was convicted of attempted murder by the Peoples Court of Hanoi. Photo courtesy of NLD A court in Hanoi on Wednesday sentenced a truck driver to 18 years imprisonment for crashing his truck into a traffic police officer last year. Doan Van Chuyen, 25, was convicted of attempted murder by the Peoples Court of Hanoi. According to the indictment, at 9.50 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2015, Chuyen was driving his truck on Nguyen Van Linh St., Hanoi, when he was flagged down by Senior Lieutenant Truong Quoc Dat. Chuyen didnt stop but drove directly at the officer, who managed to jump on the hood and hang on to the windscreen wipers. Lieutenant Truong Quoc Dat is injured after being hit and dragged for 20 meters on Dec. 12, 2015. Chuyen sped on, weaving from side to side. He accelerated and then slammed on the brakes and eventually flung officer Dat into the street. The truck continued to drag the officer for another 20 meters. Photos taken at the scene showed Dat was bleeding and his uniform was torn. He survived but suffered from multiple injuries. Chuyen fled the scene but turned himself in a few hours later. Tourists can access free Wi-Fi at the Nguyen Hue pedestrian zone in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1. Photo: Vu Phuong/Thanh Nien Ho Chi Minh City officials said Tuesday tourists would be able to get free Wi-Fi everywhere in a few months time. Vice chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen said at a press conference Tuesday that a Singaporean company has offered to provide free Wi-Fi for the whole city for both tourists and locals. The project will be a great communication promotion that helps improve the citys tourism, Tuyen said at the meeting held on Tuesday to make tourism plans. There will be two Wi-Fi speeds, a normal one and a faster one in the citys hotspots. There is already free Wi-Fi on Nguyen Hue walking street and almost every major hospital. Several provinces also provide free Wi-Fi at tourism hotspots, including the ancient town of Hoi An, Ha Long Bay and parts of Da Nang. Public Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere in Vietnam, which ranks seventh in Asia and 18th worldwide in terms of Internet usage, according to the 2014 White Book on Vietnamese Information and Communication Technology. The number of Internet users in Vietnam reached 33 million in 2013. The countrys population is 89.7 million. The country also ranked eighth in terms of lowest telecom and Internet charges, according to the White Book released last October by the Ministry of Information and Communications. Some 37 percent of the countrys population are online, and there are 22.3 million broadband subscribers and 17.2 million 3G subscribers, it said. A Microsoft logo is seen on an office building in New York City in this July 28, 2015 file photo. Software maker Microsoft Corp is selling about 1,500 of its patents to Chinese device maker Xiaomi, a rare departure for the U.S. company and part of what the two companies say is the start of a long-term partnership. The deal, announced on Wednesday, also includes a patent cross-licensing arrangement and a commitment by Xiaomi to install copies of Microsoft software, including Office and Skype, on its phones and tablets. Both companies declined to discuss financial terms of the deal. "This is a very big collaboration agreement between the two companies," Wang Xiang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, said by telephone ahead of the deal. Analysts said Xiaomi's ambitions to be a major player outside China were hampered by weak patent protection and a fear of a prolonged legal battle. "This deal might just give them enough of a patent trove to move to Western markets," said Sameer Singh, a UK-based analyst. "Their position in China has been under constant attack from even lower-end Android vendors, so moving overseas is now a necessity." Shipments of Xiaomi phones fell 9 percent year-on-year in China in the first quarter, according to Strategy Analytics, and its market share dipped to 12 percent from 13 percent, squeezed not only by Huawei and Samsung Electronics but also smaller contenders including Oppo and Vivo. Wang said the acquisition of Microsoft patents, which included voice communications, multimedia and cloud computing, on top of some 3,700 patents the Chinese company filed last year, were "an important step forwards to support our expansion internationally." Attendants are silhouetted in front of Xiaomi's logo at a venue for the launch ceremony of Xiaomi's new smart phone Mi Max in Beijing, May 10, 2016. Xiaomi launched its first U.S. device earlier this month, a TV set-top box it developed in cooperation with Alphabet Inc's Google, which owns the Android operating system it and most Xiaomi devices run on. Xiaomi has also launched a tablet which runs a version of Microsoft's Windows operating system. Jonathan Tinter, corporate vice president at Microsoft, said the company was keen to tap into Xiaomi's young, affluent and educated users by having its products pre-installed on their devices. He declined to go into detail about the patent deals, but said the overall deal was something "we do only with a few strategic partners." Microsoft has cut licensing deals with many Android device makers over the years, but has had less luck with Chinese manufacturers. Florian Mueller, a patents expert who consulted for Microsoft in the past, said it was rare for Microsoft to actually sell its patents, adding "it's possible Microsoft found it easier to impose its Android patent tax on Xiaomi as part of a broader deal that also involved a transfer of patents." About 100 Chinese-registered boats and vessels were detected encroaching into Malaysia's waters near the Luconia Shoals in the South China Sea on Thursday, the country's national security minister Shahidan Kassim said. According to state news agency Bernama, Shahidan said assets from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the navy have been deployed to the area to monitor the situation. China claims most of the South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims. Malaysia would take legal action if the ships were found to have trespassed into the country's exclusive economic zone, Shahidan was quoted as saying. A Malaysian navy vessel patrols waters near Langkawi island, May 17, 2015. Malaysian vessels on Saturday intercepted a boat crammed with migrants after the Thai navy towed it away from Thailand, the latest of a number of vessels pushed back to sea by governments who have ignored a U.N. call for an immediate rescue. An estimated 25,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya boarded smugglers' boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many in the same period of 2014, the UNHCR has said. Photo: Reu Spotting a large vessel off the coast of Sarawak state in March, officers on a Malaysian patrol boat were shocked when it steamed toward them at high speed, blaring its horn before veering off to reveal "Chinese Coast Guard" emblazoned on its side. According to an officer from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been sighted several times before around the South Luconia Shoals, off the oil-rich town of Miri. But such an aggressive encounter was a first. "To us, it looked like an attempt to charge at our boat, possibly to intimidate," said the officer, who was not authorized to speak publicly but showed Reuters a video of the previously unreported incident. Spurred by the incident and the appearance of some 100 Chinese fishing vessels in the area around the time, some in Malaysia are hardening the nation's previously muted responses toward their powerful neighbor China. One senior minister said Malaysia must now stand up against such maritime incursions as China flexes its muscles along dozens of disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea. China's growing assertiveness has already alarmed the Philippines, Vietnam and other claimants. It has also increased U.S.-China tensions, with the two heavyweights trading accusations of militarizing the vital waterways through which some $5 trillion in trade passes each year. But heralding its "special relationship" with China, and heavily reliant on trade and investment, Malaysia's previous responses to China's activity in the region have been described by Western diplomats as "low-key". It downplayed two naval exercises conducted by China in 2013 and 2014 at James Shoal, less than 50 nautical miles off Sarawak. And in 2015, concerns raised by Malaysian fishermen in Miri about alleged bullying by armed men aboard Chinese Coast Guard vessels were largely ignored. Fishing fracas But when scores of Chinese fishing boats were spotted in March encroaching near South Luconia Shoals, a rich fishing ground south of the disputed Spratly Islands, Malaysia sent its navy and uncharacteristically summoned China's ambassador to explain the incident. China's foreign ministry downplayed the matter, saying its trawlers were carrying out normal fishing activities in "relevant waters". Just a couple of weeks later, Malaysia announced plans to set up a naval forward operating base near Bintulu, south of Miri. The defense minister insists the base, which will house helicopters, drones and a special task force, is to protect the country's rich oil and gas assets from potential attacks by Islamic State (IS) sympathizers based in the southern Philippines, hundreds of kilometers to the northeast. Some officials and experts however say China's activities off the coast are a more important factor. "If you beef up security for oil and gas assets, you are protecting yourself from non-state and state actors so there is some plausibility to what he's saying," said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. "But is it really being driven by Daesh? I don't think so," Storey added, using an alternative name for IS. Underscoring the hardening attitude, one senior federal minister told Reuters that Malaysia must take more decisive action on maritime incursions or risk being taken for granted. The minister, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, highlighted the contrast between Malaysia's response in March to a similar incident just days earlier in neighboring Indonesia. "When the Chinese entered Indonesia's waters, they were immediately chased out. When the Chinese vessels entered our waters, nothing was done," the minister said. Last month in parliament, Malaysia's deputy foreign minister also reiterated that like other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysia did not recognize China's controversial Nine Dash Line, which it uses to claim over 90 percent of the South China Sea. Limited options Asked about the incident described by the MMEA officer, China's foreign ministry said both countries had a "high degree of consensus" on dealing with maritime disputes through dialogue and consultation. "We are willing to remain in close touch with Malaysia about this," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. Malaysia's reliance on China goes some way to explaining Kuala Lumpur's reluctance to react more strongly. China is Malaysia's top export destination and Malaysia is the biggest importer of Chinese goods and services in the 10-member ASEAN group. Corporations owned by the Chinese government also paid billions of dollars last year to buy assets from debt-riddled state investment firm 1MDB, which has been a major embarrassment for Prime Minister Najib Razak. Chinas influence in Malaysias domestic affairs has always been a concern for the Malay-majority nation. Ethnic Chinese in Malaysia account for about a quarter of the population. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were tested in September when the Chinese ambassador visited China town in the capital Kuala Lumpur ahead of a pro-Malay rally, and warned that Beijing has no fear in talking against actions that affect the rights of its people. The ambassador was summoned to explain his comments but the Chinese foreign ministry defended the envoy. Seeking to balance its economic and national security interests, Malaysia is pursuing various strategies including bolstering its surveillance and defense capabilities while promoting a code of conduct between China and ASEAN countries signed in 2002. A more sensitive option is to seek closer military ties with the United States. One senior official told Reuters that Malaysia has reached out to the United States for help on intelligence gathering and to develop its coast guard capabilities, albeit quietly to avoid angering Beijing. Storey said moves to secure closer U.S. military ties could be twinned with soft diplomacy to try to convince China to be less assertive on its claims, but resolving the issue would be difficult regardless. "None of these strategies work very well, but what can you do?," Storey said. "This dispute is going to be around for a very long time." A Malaysian navy vessel patrols waters near Langkawi island, May 17, 2015. Malaysian vessels on Saturday intercepted a boat crammed with migrants after the Thai navy towed it away from Thailand, the latest of a number of vessels pushed back to sea by governments who have ignored a U.N. call for an immediate rescue. An estimated 25,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya boarded smugglers' boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many in the same period of 2014, the UNHCR has said. Photo: Reuters/Olivia Harris China's President Xi Jinping arrives for a welcoming ceremony for Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe (not in picture) outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 30, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Jason Lee Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met a visiting delegation from North Korea's ruling party, China's Xinhua state news agency said, without providing other details. Senior North Korean diplomat Ri Su Yong is visiting China. Ri was the country's foreign minister until he was named a member of the politburo during a recent congress of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. On Tuesday, Ri met the head of the international department of China's Communist Party. China is reclusive North Korea's only major ally but has been angered by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests and signed up to harsh new U.N. sanctions against it in March. But China has been reluctant to take tougher action, such as completely shutting the border the two countries share, for fear that North Korea could collapse in chaos. Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. Photo: Reuters/U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters A Chinese military aircraft has landed at a new airport on an island China has built in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Monday, in the first public report on a move that raises the prospect of China basing warplanes there. The United States has criticized China's construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea and worries that it plans to use them for military purposes, even though China says it has no hostile intent. The runway on the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls in the Spratly archipelago. Civilian flights began test runs there in January. In a front-page story, the official People's Liberation Army Daily said a military aircraft on patrol over the South China Sea on Sunday received an emergency call to land at Fiery Cross Reef to evacuate three seriously ill workers. They were then taken in the transport aircraft back to Hainan island for treatment, it said, showing a picture of the aircraft on the ground in Hainan. It was the first time China's military had publicly admitted landing an aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef, the influential Global Times tabloid said. It cited an military expert as saying the flight showed the airfield was up to military standards and could see fighter jets based there in the event of war. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said such rescue missions were part of the military's "fine tradition" and that it was "not at all surprising" they had done this on China's own territory. The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport aircraft as well as China's best jet fighters, giving it a presence deep in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that it has lacked until now. More than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped through the South China Sea every year. Besides China's territorial claims in the area, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims. Philippine presidential candidate and Davao city mayor Rodrigo 'Digong' Duterte raised his arm by a supporter during a ''Miting de Avance'' (last political campaign rally) before the national elections at Rizal park in metro Manila, Philippines May 7, 2016. Philippines President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday his country would not rely on long-term security ally the United States, signaling greater independence from Washington in dealing with China and the disputed South China Sea. The Philippines has traditionally been one of Washington's staunchest supporters in its standoff with Beijing over the South China Sea, a vital trade route where China has built artificial islands, airstrips and other military facilities. Duterte, the tough-talking mayor of Davao City who swept to victory in a May 9 election, has backed multilateral talks to settle rows over the South China Sea that would include the United States, Japan and Australia as well as claimant nations. He has also called on China, which claims most of the sea, to respect the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone granted to coastal states under international law. Asked by reporters if he would push for bilateral talks with China, Duterte replied: "We have this pact with the West, but I want everybody to know that we will be charting a course of our own. "It will not be dependent on America. And it will be a line that is not intended to please anybody but the Filipino interest." Asked about Duterte's comments at a State Department briefing, Daniel Russel, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, said the United States had "no problem whatsoever" with bilateral talks among the South China Sea claimants. Russel noted that some disputes in the South China Sea were by their nature multilateral and could not be resolved on a bilateral basis, but added "those that can, we're all for it." Duterte made his comments as he was unveiling his cabinet line-up a day after a joint session of Congress declared him the election winner. He formally takes over as president on June 30. Key ministerial appointments went mainly to conventional choices, a decision likely to allay nerves among foreign and domestic investors about a lurch away from reforms that have generated robust economic growth. They also may point to a bid to resolve differences over the South China Sea. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to waters rich in oil and gas and through which trillions of dollars' worth of trade pass each year. Duterte's pick for foreign secretary, Perfecto Yasay, has sounded a conciliatory note. "I don't think that there is another way of resolving this dispute except talking to each other," Yasay told reporters this week. "We certainly would like to make sure that we are able to resume bilateral talks because these are necessary." Not so clear cut Muddying the picture somewhat was the choice of Nicanor Faeldon, a former marine who led a coup bid about a decade ago, as head of the customs bureau, the country's second-largest agency in terms of revenue. In December, Faeldon took a group of Filipino protesters to a disputed island in the South China Sea that is held by the Philippines, triggering an angry response from Beijing. Before Duterte's election, the Philippines also took the dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, although China does not recognize the case. A ruling is expected in the coming weeks. "I am waiting for the arbitration," Duterte said of the process, when asked about investment prospects with China. "It will impact on us in so many fronts ... I would like to wait for this, then, with the advice of the cabinet, I might be able to proceed. But you know, I am not ready to go to war. It will just result in a massacre." Duterte, 71, named a former school classmate, Carlos Dominguez, as finance minister, and an economics professor, Ernesto Pernia, as economic planning minister. "I can assure you they are all men of integrity and honesty," Duterte said in Davao, where he was mayor for more than two decades before being elected president. Dominguez, who was mining and farm minister in two previous governments, hails from a wealthy family that has interests in real estate and hotels, while the U.S.-educated Pernia is a former lead economist for the Asian Development Bank. "We are very excited about this cabinet," said Perry Pe, president of the Management Association of the Philippines. "They will hit the ground running from the first day." Duterte's defiance of political tradition has drawn comparisons with U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. His "man-of-the-people" demeanor tapped into voters' disappointment at the ruling elite's failure to tackle poverty and inequality despite average economic growth of more than 6 percent under President Benigno Aquino. Duterte condones execution-style killings of criminals, shudders at the thought of wearing a tie or socks, and has vowed not to work until after noon when he becomes president. Some cabinet positions have yet to be announced, and two of the 21 jobs confirmed so far are women. When a female journalist asked a question at the briefing, Duterte wolf-whistled. A Russian-built cargo plane with passengers on board crashed on Wednesday after taking off from the airport in South Sudan's capital, killing dozens of people, witnesses said. An official said three people on board survived. The precise death toll was not immediately clear after the Antonov-12 B plane turbo prop plane crashed soon after take off, leaving chunks of wreckage, bodies and cargo strewn along a bank of the White Nile River. The Civil Aviation Authority said the number of dead was still being counted. A Reuters witness saw 41 bodies, some of which were covered by cloth. A police officer, who did not give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media, also put the death toll at 41. Another witness counted at least 32 killed. Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Reuters the plane was carrying 18 people, including the six foreign crew, according to official documents. He said 15 of them died and three South Sudanese nationals survived, including a child. "This is the number given to us by the (control) tower," he told Reuters in reference to those on board. Asked about figures suggesting a higher toll, he said it could be people killed on the ground but said he had no indication about any such deaths. Officials investigate the wreckage of a cargo airplane that crashed after take-off near Juba Airport in South Sudan November 4, 2015. Officials said the plane belonged to freight and logistics firm Allied Services Ltd. Officials at the company could not immediately be reached for comment. We have rushed to the site of crash which is located near the airport, southeast of Juba International Airport (across) the river," said the chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority at Juba airport, Stephen Warikozi. "We have secured the site of crash and also we are in the stage of recovering bodies and black box," he said. "We are still now recovering the dead bodies and we cannot give you the exact number." The plane, registration number EY406, had been on its way to Paloch, in the north of South Sudan, Warikozi said. The presidential spokesman said the six crew were comprised of five Armenians and one Russian. He said all the others on the flight were South Sudanese. Armenias Foreign Ministry confirmed that five of its citizens who were members of the crew died in the crash. It cited its embassy in Egypt. Syrian Democratic forces and an armed man in uniform identified as US special operations forces (C) are seen in the village of Fatisah in the northern Syrian province of Raqa on May 25, 2016 Two US troops were wounded over the weekend in separate Islamic State attacks in Iraq and Syria, Pentagon officials said. The casualty in Syria marks the first time an American soldier has been injured in that country since military advisors deployed there at the end of last year. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the soldier was wounded by "indirect fire" -- a term that typically refers to rocket or artillery fire -- north of Raqa, the jihadists' de facto capital. The Iraqi incident occurred near in northern Iraq near the city of Erbil, also by indirect fire, Davis said. He stressed the troops was "not on the front line" and "were not engaged in active combat." But Defense Secretary Ashton Carter later told reporters that "of course" the troops were in fact in combat. President Barack Obama has repeatedly assured the American public there would be no US combat boots on the ground in Iraq or Syria, but troops are edging ever closer to the front lines, leading many to question what constitutes "combat" versus simply advising local partner forces. The United States has sent more than 200 special forces personnel to northeastern Syria to advise and assist rebels fighting the Islamic State group. American soldiers are focusing on aiding the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition dominated by the Kurdish militia YPG. Fighting is currently raging in northern Raqa eight days after the start of an SDF offensive, with support from air strikes by a US-led international coalition. Children gather grain spilled from bags following a food-drop on February 24, 2015 at a village in Nyal in South Sudan's Panyijar county Warring forces in South Sudan have carried out horrific crimes against children, including castration, rape and tying them together before slitting their throats, the UN has said. "Survivors report that boys have been castrated and left to bleed to death... girls as young as eight have been gang raped and murdered," UN children's agency chief Anthony Lake said in a statement released earlier this week. "Children have been tied together before their attackers slit their throats... others have been thrown into burning buildings." Tens of thousands are believed to have been killed in the 18-month war, although there is no clear toll. At least 129 children were killed in May in the northern state of Unity, scene of some of heaviest fighting in the civil war, Unicef added. Children rush to a field demarcated for food-drops on February 24, 2015 at the village in Nyal in South Sudan's, Panyijar county. Civil war began in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings across the country that has split the poverty-stricken, landlocked country along ethnic lines. It has been characterised by ethnic massacres, rape and the use of child soldiers. "The violence against children in South Sudan has reached a new level of brutality," Lake added. Thousands of children have also been abducted to fight. "Children are also being aggressively recruited into armed groups of both sides on an alarming scale an estimated 13,000 children forced to participate in a conflict not of their making," Lake added. "Imagine the psychological and physical effects on these children not only of the violence inflicted on them but also the violence they are forced to inflict on others." A quarter of a million children face starvation , while two-thirds of the country's 12 million people need aid, with 4.5 million people facing severe food insecurity, according to the UN. "In the name of humanity and common decency this violence against the innocent must stop," he said. The Void Embrace Most of us have had the vertiginous experience of being alone in an unfamiliar country, but we can't all express it through art. Canberra artist Shellaine Godbold can, though. The drawings and sculptures in her new exhibition at ANCA Gallery are a response to her travels in Japan and Taiwan: "Moving back and forth between transparency and opacity these pieces slowly reveal their secrets to viewers. Painstakingly drawing shimmering crystal mountains and figures tangled up in clouds, Shellaine's work deals with the sublime nature of landscape and the body's insignificance within it. By using her own connection with the Australian landscape she investigates foreign territories, love, loss, and all that falls between." The Void Embrace, by Shellaine Godbold, opens June 8 at ANCA Gallery, 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson, and closes June 26. Shellaine Godbold's We have been measured, 2016, is part of a response to travels in Japan and Taiwan. Making memories last In another travel-related show, this time at Suki & Hugh in Bungendore, Julian Laffan has something to say about our yen for bringing home reminders of our travels. "The exhibition presents a series of woodcuts, each hand rendered and hand painted," says the gallery. "Their production defies today's fixation with the instant and the prolific. The process from experience to end creation is intensive and each phase is considered and gradual." The works are small-scale and intricate, bringing you in for a closer look. In the end, you'll feel you've been on a journey, too. Momento, by Julian Laffan, is showing at Suki & Hugh Gallery, 38A Gibraltar Street, Bungendore, until July 31. It's been dubbed the dead heart of Canberra, but a new grants program is hoping to reinvigorate Civic as a cultural and artistic hotspot. In the City Canberra an advocacy group financially supported by more than 600 CBD businesses will launch a grants program worth up to $340,000 to entice artistic, musical, cultural and awareness events and pop-ups into the centre of Canberra. North Melbourne AFL forward Trent Dumont will stand trial in Adelaide next January for an alleged taxi robbery. On Wednesday, the District Court of South Australia ruled that the trial involving Dumont and a co-accused would start on January 23. Dumont faces one count of aggravated robbery. It relates to an alleged incident in Adelaide in October, 2014. The 20-year-old, drafted by the Kangaroos in 2013, has played 10 AFL games, including North's last two matches. AAP It started with a 30-second phone call, and ended after a three hour hard-sell for a $NZ4500 ($4227) vacuum for a New Zealand family. Mother-of-three Leonie Padgett, from Dunedin, said the sales pitch was "the worst experience", but South Island Clean Air (SICA), which relocated from Auckland to Dunedin earlier this year, stood by its product and sales' technique. Padgett said three days after she was cold-called by a person wanting to do a "quick" survey, she was contacted by a SICA employee saying she was the daily winner of a prize. Bookseller and property investor Dymocks Group is searching for acquisitions in the retail sector after pulling the plug on plans to build a franchised retail food business. Dymocks Group has sold Healthy Habits, a chain of 25 franchised sandwich, salad and juice bars, to the Franchised Food Co, the owner of Mr Whippy, Cold Rock Ice Creamery and Nutshack. More than books and stationery: Dymocks also has investments in farming, property and confectionery. Credit:Dymocks Dymocks, which is owned by Rich 200 veteran John Forsyth, bought Healthy Habits in 2009 and planned to build a national healthy food business by doubling the number of Healthy Habits stores and acquiring another complementary brand with 20 to 50 stores. However, Dymocks director Mark Buckland said the group failed to find suitable acquisitions to gain scale and struggled to grow Healthy Habits amid increasing competition from new healthy food concepts. With two down and one to go he is looking good. But so worried was treasurer Scott Morrison ahead of today's economic growth figures that he started talking them down saying they would show the economy was too fragile to cope with a Labor government. The prime minister scheduled an election campaign over eight weeks in which he knew there would be two unemployment updates and one economic growth update. All are unpredictable. Each could have blown up in his face. On the face of it, the fastest economic growth in the life of the Coalition government shows no such thing. The economy grew 3.1 per cent in the year to April and an extraordinary 1.1 per cent over the April quarter. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a press conference in Townsville. Credit:Andrew Meares But nearly all of that 1.1 per cent growth (1.0 percentage points) came from a liquified natural gas-led surge in exports. Because the gross domestic product is a measure of volumes sold, not dollars earned, the surge made the GDP look good. But the exports were sold for much lower prices, making the measure that matters grow much more slowly. That measure is "nominal GDP", GDP expressed in current prices. It grew by 0.5 per cent in the quarter and 2.1 per cent over the year; well below the budget forecasts of 2.5 per cent for this financial year, 4.25 per cent for the next financial year and 5 per cent for the financial year after that. Nominal GDP is what matters for the budget. It's a measure of how much money is coming in, and coming into the budget through tax. A so-called "feral" Senate strikes fear into the hearts of the major parties just as much as a hung parliament, and is much more likely. Feral is actually a strange word to choose to use in a derogatory way, as it means a domesticated animal gone wild. A feral Senate is an untamed Senate and that is what many Australians wish for, seeing it as a positive not a negative. It could well happen again despite the Senate voting reforms which aim to bring it back under control by eliminating fringe elements. The outgoing crossbench will not go without a fight, and reduced quotas in the double dissolution election gives them half a chance of survival. One important difference between this election and the last one is that the new Senate will take its place immediately. Credit:Andrew Meares One important difference between this election and the last one is that the new Senate will take its place immediately, whereas in September 2013 the incoming senators were not due until the following July. It was during that time that the incoming Abbott government dropped the ball by failing to build relationships with the newly elected senators. That time was a valuable missed opportunity, even if it could be argued that it was reasonable to see a problem looming in nine months' time as a low priority. In Battle Ground, their study of Tony Abbott's failings, Wayne Errington and Peter van Onselen note that the Coalition leadership took the incoming Senate for granted because they thought the Palmer United Party, Nick Xenophon, David Leyonhjelm and Bob Day would be generally be on side. They had worked with Xenophon before and the remainder had more or less come from their side of politics. As a consequence they made little effort to establish contact with them, demonstrating an arrogance that beggared belief. How misguided they were. Masterpieces from Picasso, Van Gogh and Matisse will for the first time leave New York's prestigious Museum of Modern Art bound for Victoria. The exhibition to be hosted at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2018 will also include never before seen in Australia works from Marcel Duchamp and Jackson Pollock. Masterworks from MoMA will feature Van Gogh's Portrait of Joseph Roulin, Dali's The Persistence of Memory, Lichtenstein's Drowning Girl and Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel. Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory. The agreement to show the works in Victoria was announced by MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry and NGV Director Tony Ellwood during premier Daniels Andrews' tour of the US this week. One hundred years after Russian artist Kazimir Malevich shook up the art world with the first exhibition of his suprematist paintings, museums across Europe, from Austria to France to Spain, are celebrating his legacy with a series of exhibitions. In his works, Malevich depicted planes of colour speeding across an expanding cosmos, seeking to render moments of what he called "supreme" worlds floating through time and space. His use of purely abstract forms broke with centuries of artistic tradition. Malevich introduced his vision to the world in the winter of 1915-16 with a show in Petrograd (now St Petersburg) called The Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0.10. Suprematist Composition, by Kazimir Malevich. Credit:Bloomberg "The Zero-Ten show is one of the most important exhibitions in the history of modernism," said Matthew Drutt, who last winter recreated it for the Fondation Beyeler museum in Switzerland. As the great powers sought to destroy each other in World War I with fearsome new weapons like tanks, poison gas and armed airplanes, Malevich was envisioning a postwar utopia visible only in the new world of abstract art, Drutt said. The Swiss show also traced the arc of Malevich's influence on generations of artists, including Piet Mondrian, Mark Rothko and installation designer Olafur Eliasson. NEW BLOOD IN LITERARY PUBLISHING There are times when waves of change run through the publishing industry and most recently there are small, but significant, moves in Sydney's high-end literary fiction scene. Geordie Williamson, critic, author and former bookseller, began in May as publisher at Picador, the respected literary imprint at multinational Pan Macmillan. He has made his first purchase, a novel by Kim Scott, whose previous novel, That Deadman Dance, was published by Picador in 2010 and won the Miles Franklin Award. Williamson has also received the manuscript of The Good People, a new novel by Hannah Kent, whose Icelandic drama, Burial Rites, was an international hit (published by his predecessor at Picador, Alex Craig). "I can say hand on heart that she has cleared the difficult second novel hurdle with several feet to spare," he says. After four years with the independent literary press Giramondo, Alice Grundy is moving to Xoum Publishing, as associate publisher in charge of its new literary imprint, Brio. As managing editor at Giramondo, based at the University of Western Sydney, Grundy signed Zoe Norton Lodge and edited western Sydney authors Luke Carman, Fiona Wright, Michael Mohammed Ahmad and Felicity Castagna, who wrote under the mentorship of publisher Ivor Indyk. Her first novel for Brio in September is The Cosmopolitans by Anjum Hasan, whom she met in India "a big ambitious epic story about class, art, ageing, old friendships gone bad". Rubik, a debut by West Australian Elizabeth Tan, will follow "Cloud Atlas meets A Visit from the Goon Squad". Xoum's publishing director, Rod Morrison (also a former Picador publisher) says the small company is the fastest-growing independent Australian publisher of new books and began as a digital publisher but now brings out every title in print as well. "We were all excited about ebooks three or four years ago," he says. "Now it's print for profit and digital for growth." Giramondo has advertised for "an experienced literary editor", so there will soon be new blood there too. Hannah Kent has delivered her new manuscript to Geordie Williamson, her new publisher at Picador Australia. Credit:David Mariuz WRITERS V TRUMP The new film is written by David Magee but based upon Travers' stories. It will be directed by Rob Marshall, who helmed the Stephen Sondheim musical adaptation Into the Woods for Disney in 2014. Blunt was one of the stars of that film. Emily Blunt, with James Corden, in Into the Woods. It will be set in Depression-era London and will see Mary Poppins return to the now grown-up Jane Banks, Michael Banks and his three children after they suffer a personal loss. "Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives," Disney said. Dreams. Courage. Imagination. Inspiration. Journeys. Jobs and Growth. Milly the cavoodle. Malcolm Turnbull's Church of Innovation has it all. Like an evangelical preacher sweeping in to visit the most faithful of his flock, the Prime Minister was a benevolent guide, sweeping into the room with his "good friend" Wyatt Roy jumping to the stage to announce him, the local candidate Trevor Evans beaming from the sidelines. Stars burn bright inside the Church of Innovation, but on Wednesday, Mr Turnbull was the sun. A surge in mining exports has delivered the fastest economic growth in the life of the Coalition government, but has left much of Australia going backwards. The first electorate-by-electorate breakdown of economic growth prepared for Fairfax Media by SGS Economics & Planning shows economic activity is shrinking in 30 of Australia's 150 parliamentary seats. In parts of Queensland and Western Australia, the economy is shrinking by as much as 2 per cent per year. At the other end of the scale, in parts of Sydney and remote Western Australia, the economy is growing by 5 per cent or more per year. A cashed-up campaign to oppose funding cuts to the ABC and defend the public broadcaster's independence will target more than 20 marginal Coalition seats in a new headache for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. More than 10 videos will be released on social media urging younger voters to support candidates who commit to restore funding cut since the last election. The national campaign has also enlisted thousands of volunteers to ask voters in the marginal seats to sign "pledge cards" supporting the ABC. The campaign poses a threat to government marginal seat-holders already facing a national campaign by GPs against the extended freeze on Medicare rebates and anger over changes to superannuation in the pre-election budget. All political leaders are being challenged to commit to reform political donations laws after an independent report proposed sweeping changes to Australia's "cowboy culture" of vote-buying. The John Cain Foundation is also calling on all candidates to set an early example by making full disclosure of all sources of their campaign financing before the July 2 election. "We've reached the point where we have seen one egregious example after another of the abuse of our campaign finance laws," said Maxine McKew, former Labor MP and director of the foundation. A majority of councillors elected to the new Norfolk Island regional council supports political self-determination for the Pacific territory, an outcome that will see ongoing friction with Canberra, which abolished the island's Legislative Assembly last year. Three of the five councillors elected to the council made statements ahead of last Saturday's election in which they expressed support for the work of Norfolk Island People for Democracy, which campaigns to have Norfolk Island added to the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Norfolk Island regional councillor Lisle Snell during a lobbying visit to Canberra in 2014. Credit:Jay Cronan One of those councillors, former chief minister Lisle Snell, said the vote on Saturday "showed that a clear majority support self-determination for Norfolk Island". 1. Brexit's Aussie solution A big day in the EU Referendum debate with Australia dominating the day. Boris Johnson and co from the Vote Leave campaign have joined the rightwing UKIP party in advocating for an Australian-style points-based immigration system. The idea would be a big bonus for Australians wanting to work and live in the UK, with an emphasis on skilled migrants and those who who speak English. It could potentially offer free movement, meaning virtually visa-free travel for Australians. In impeccable timing, Donald Trump, who backs Britain leaving, will be visiting the United Kingdom the day after the June 23 vote, when the result is expected. Half a million Brits recently signed a petition calling for him to banned from entering the UK. Sydney may be home to the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras but when it comes to gay marriage, Melbourne is flexing some serious financial muscle. Matty Bulger is launching the country's if not the world's first magazine dedicated to gay weddings. Although there are some titles overseas that cater to LBGTQI brides and grooms, Mr Bulger said Australia needed a dedicated gay-wedding title. The first edition of Groom and Guy will be available in more than 1200 newsagents and stores on Thursday and features eight real wedding stories, and sections on fashion, honeymoons, tailoring and entertaining. The black-and-white photographs of Max Dupain are very documented although there has been a limited range available on the secondary market, based largely on his early beach series (Sunbaker 1937, Bondi 1939, etc) plus a few stylised nudes. His alternate work as a commercial photographer tends to be neglected. Dupain worked from a studio in Crows Nest, shooting for trade magazines like Architecture in Australia. He covered major projects like the Opera House but also factories and industrial plants. In this area he tracked the development of Sydney, the innovation of his era. Sydney Opera House with Tilers, 1972, by Max Dupain. Credit:Max Dupain Later this month some 500 Dupain photographs, including some commercial prints never seen before, will be available at a Dupain estate auction held by Mossgreen in Sydney. For those who can't afford a signed print of Sunbaker (estimates $20,000 to $30,000) his commercial work is more affordable ($1500 to $2500 in most cases). It's obvious from the catalogue that Dupain found beauty and drama in building and technology. A prime example is Lot 189, his depiction of the Pyrmont silos taken in the 1940s. This subject is fairly well known, with appropriate estimates up to $5000. Whenever I hear the term "innovation" in connection with financial services, I think about the rocket scientists who came up with one of the most innovative investments of all time. These were the collateralised debt obligations (CDOs). As Warren Buffett correctly predicted they turned out to be "financial weapons of mass destruction", leading to the global financial crisis in 2007. Some of the most innovative investments have been the most dangerous. Credit:James Davies I remember sitting in front of the chief executive in the local arm of a global investment bank in the early 2000s as he explained why every small investor should be loading up on CDOs. As he explained it, technology had allowed US home loans to be risk rated then carved up into little parcels of debt that were bundled together and sold to retail investors. Australia's most senior female political figure has attacked a campaign against workplace sexual discrimination being backed by the former head of the Army. Australian of the Year and former Australian Army chief David Morrison today fronts a campaign calling on Australians to stop using discriminatory terms like 'guys' when referring to mixed groups, or 'girls' when referring to women. 'Guys' is a masculine word that's been used as a catch-all for mixed groups of men and women. But at its root it is discriminatory, he says. Speaking at a doorstop interview in Sydney, deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop said campaigners shouldn't try to interfere in free speech at workplaces. Unions fear up to 60 jobs will be axed from Canberra based Airservices Australia as the government owned corporation prepares to launch a wholesale restructure amid declining profitability and increasing costs. Internal briefings from chief executive Jason Harfield to his senior leadership team, obtained by Fairfax Media, reveal profitability fell by 90 percent from $45.5 million in 2013 to $4.5 million in 2015. Jobs will be shed at Airservices Australia. Credit:Jamila Toderas The group is expected to post its first financial loss of $13.6 million this year, and hopes to slash $100 million from its cost base in coming years. The internal briefing outlined a plan to align pay with performance, eliminate the duplication of certain functions, break "a silo mentality" and use automation to improve office productivity. In my almost 15 years as the clerk of the Queensland Parliament, I have never felt the need to write to a newspaper. But John Harrison's article "Why politicians can say whatever they want, with no consequences", requires a response. The article seeks to impugn, with inaccurate and irrelevant discourse, the fundamental right of freedom of speech in parliament. I respond not to defend any member of Parliament, but to defend the institution of Parliament itself from the misinformation in the article. Parliamentary privilege is a hard-earned right that helped deliver us from the dark ages, says clerk of the Queensland Parliament Neil Laurie. Credit:Dan Peled/Pool Image Harrison starts his article, ostensibly on the abuse of freedom of speech, by the use of demagoguery in referencing the "generous retirement benefits of members". So, from the start, Harrison seeks to tap into the public's anger over an unrelated issue to demonise members as a class as a prelude to the attack on rights. What Harrison fails to appreciate is that the said retirement benefits are relics of the past. The retirement scheme in question was closed in 2004. Only a small number of members of the current Parliament have access to said scheme, less than 4 per cent. An older couple has escaped serious injury as a fire ripped through a home on the bayside south of Brisbane, believed to be started by an electric blanket. The whole Victoria Point house was ablaze about 3am on the first day of winter when firefighters arrived, with the roof partially collapsing due to the damage. Firefighters put out a blaze at a Victoria Point home. Credit:Nine News Paramedics treated a man with minor burns to his hands and legs and a woman suffering shock. Both were taken stable to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Brisbane duty operations manager Inspector Brett Finnis told police the couple noticed a fault in the blanket about 11.30pm. He can explain general relativity and the mystery of black holes, but theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking can't explain the rise of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. During an interview Tuesday on Britain's ITV news, Hawking was asked to explain the billionaire's appeal. "I can't," Hawking replied. "He is a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator." Writer Jamila Rizvi said she ordered a coffee from The Kitchen at Weylandts in Abbotsford , without looking at the menu, only to be served a wooden paddle with three beakers. A "deconstructed coffee" served in three separate glass beakers at a cafe in Melbourne's north has drawn the ire of social media users nationwide, with the trend being dubbed "peak hipster". Is this "hipsterism" gone too far? One beaker contained espresso, the second water and the third warm milk. She was also served a large dessert spoon. Jamila Rizvi's deconstructed coffee from The Kitchen, Weylandts in Abbotsford. Credit:Facebook "I just waited almost 20 minutes for an actual cup, before realising it would not be forthcoming," Rizvi wrote on Tuesday, alongside the photo of the coffee. "Sorry Melbourne but no. No no no no no. I wanted a coffee. Not a science experiment. "Hipsterism has gone too far when your coffee comes deconstructed." On top of the logistics of simply ensuring that hundreds of kids turn up to school everyday, stay in class, and graduate successfully, the series reminds you that principals and teachers are, on a daily basis, dealing with fractured families, family violence, long-term unemployment, mental illness and bullying. Staff from Kambrya College during the filming of Revolution School Credit:Martin Philbey The first episode also depicts, rather compellingly, the tough challenge of disciplining disruptive students. Jamin, 13 years old, has been running away from home, and missed nearly an entire year of school last year. He confesses to the principal that he is struggling with his parents' recent divorce and says his new stepmother is "mean". Principal Michael Muscat takes a liking to Jamin and offers to strike up a mentorship, which he explains is a "special offer". A few conversations later, Jamin opens up to the principal, telling him he wants to do a 12-month army program. The principal promises to help make that happen. So far, so good. But the situation derails when Jamin is accused by another student of bringing a marijuana grinder to school. Teachers interrogate Jamin, who won't tell them where the grinder is or who might have taken it. They march him around the school, to the quadrangle, and the oval on a hunt for the missing grinder. They press other students for information, and the scene descends into a cringeworthy 'whodunit'. One student eventually tells the principal that Jamin is in possession of a bag of weed. Jamin is hauled back to the principal's office and told this may be his last day at the school. He becomes upset and cries. "I want to stay in school and get a good education, but I don't want to stay in school if I'm always going to be in trouble what's the point?" he tells the camera. Mr Muscat's predicament is worth exploring. On one hand, he needs to send a message to his school that he has "zero tolerance" to drugs, but he also doesn't want to isolate the struggling kid. Yet schools must have boundaries, and if a student oversteps those boundaries, a principal is forced to act. School dropout rates are worryingly high in Australia, with a landmark report finding that one in four students don't finish school.Those who drop out face an increased risk of crime, homelessness and unemployment. Key factors in the high dropout rate are harsh disciplinary actions such as suspensions and expulsions. Last year, 201 students were expelled from state schools in Victoria. Academics and welfare agencies have long warned that it is a mistake to expel students, particularly when they are vulnerable. Students who are excluded will be less motivated to find another school (assuming another school will have them) and seek therapeutic help, they claim. The Behaviour at School Study, which investigates best practice around discipline in schools, suggests that teachers should move away from trying to"fix" student behaviour by using consequences and punishment, and rather than focus on teaching problem solving skills and conflict resolution. It found 85 per cent of teachers use threats and actions which remove students from learning in response to bad behaviour, yet 33 per cent reported it was effective. A Metro Trains worker who derailed a train that had been parked at the Hurstbridge railway station - in an incident that caused more than $2.5 million damage - has pleaded guilty to a string of arson and criminal damage charges. Nicholas Archer has since been sacked by Metro, but about 1.50am on November 11 last year, when he was an assistant equipment examiner with the organisation, he used a key to board and start a train and drove it forward. Nicholas Archer pleaded guilty to a series of arson and criminal damage charges. Credit:Facebook A safety device designed to ensure trains don't collide forced the train's carriages to derail, according to documents released by Melbourne Magistrates Court, and the derailment caused damage to fencing, a gate and another stabled train. A security guard was forced to jump for safety, the documents say, while a cleaner was working on a train that was parallel to the one that Archer began operating. The derailment cost Metro Trains more than $2.5 million, the documents say. La Trobe University has suspended Roz Ward, the co-founder of anti-bullying program Safe Schools Coalition, after she called the Australian flag "racist" in a Facebook post. The move to stand down the controversial academic from her job at the university's Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society has been condemned by the National Tertiary Education Union, which accused the university of taking part in an "anti-intellectual, anti-democratic attack". Ms Ward was called into a meeting with university management on Wednesday morning, and then received a letter confirming that she had been suspended from work for "engaging in misconduct". Mal'z Deli manager Simon Mackenzie slept on the roof of his store after being there all day Tuesday, in an attempt to stop developers pulling down part of his Scarborough business to build apartments. He has vowed to stay up there as long as he has to, with members of the public offering him food and drinks through the night, which dropped to 4.9 degrees. While the deli itself will not be pulled down until his lease ends next year, Mr Mackenzie said his lease included a storeroom, coolroom, and rear wash area for his food business and those were all to be demolished. He has accused contractors of removing all his stock and equipment from those areas and dumping them inside his shop area, causing a major mess. Speculation about WA Premier Colin Barnett's leadership is being perpetuated by those who deliberately seek to undermine the government, Treasurer Mike Nahan says. Property developer Nigel Satterley recently flagged a leadership spill that didn't eventuate and now it has emerged Dr Nahan, Transport Minister Dean Nalder and Liberal backbencher Nathan Morton held a private meeting about the state's top job in 2014. Mike Nahan says he has never worked to undermine Colin Barnett. Credit:Louise Kennerley Dr Nahan told The West Australian on Wednesday the meeting was held at his house on a Saturday and he was surprised when Mr Nalder arrived but "it was a private conversation that ended very quickly". He denied telling them the Liberals couldn't be returned to power next year under Mr Barnett. Perth child psychiatrist Aaron Voon, arrested after allegedly using a mobile phone to film a young boy in a shopping centre toilet overseas, has appeared in a Canadian court. A video captured by a spectator and posted online shows the boy's father and others confronting Dr Voon at the centre and pushing the doctor to surrender his phone. The director of the Successful Development and Therapy Centre in Cockburn Central was arrested by Canadian police immediately after the incident in Edmonton, Alberta on May 22. He has remained in custody since the incident and on Tuesday appeared in a Canadian court via video link to apply for bail. Kidd grew up in Louisville, Kentucky., and was raised by a single mother, LaCreis Kidd, who her daughter says conducted cancer research at the University of Louisville. Her mother holds graduate degrees from John Hopkins University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her daughter wrote. Throughout elementary, middle and high school, Kidd's talent for the subject showed. She was accepted into the highly-competitive Thacher School, a private boarding high school in California where she promptly earned the nickname "The Science Girl." The teachers loved her and lavished her with praise, Kidd wrote, using her homework as an example for other students. When she was a sophomore, her chemistry teachers announced before 240 classmates that Kidd had garnered the highest score in a national chemistry competition. These accolades only fuelled Kidd's drive to succeed, and it culminated in her Ivy League university acceptance. "The ultimate climax was when I got into Columbia," Kidd wrote. "Because it's such a prestigious school, it made me feel like I had proven to myself, and everyone around me, that I made it." When she got on campus, she decided, naturally, that she would study science. But things didn't go smoothly. The day she moved in was her birthday. "I felt really alienated and alone and didn't find the Columbia students very welcoming," Kidd wrote. "During my freshman year, I quickly went from star student to slacker." In contrast to the tight-knit community at Thacher, Kidd said, "at Columbia I was lucky if a teacher talked to me." The lack of close connections with her teachers discouraged her from taking an interest in school. "Even though I was wired to be a good student," Kidd said, "I didn't feel inspired. I got through the year, getting B's and C's, but I didn't care. I was just happy the summer arrived." Upon her return to classes in September, Kidd signed up for computer science classes and "hated every minute of it." One morning in April, she woke up and realised she needed to make a change and "started plotting [her] escape." Weeks before her exams, Kidd stopped going to class altogether. She saved money from her on-campus job, which paid $US14 ($19) an hour, and sold many of her possessions on Facebook. She found an affordable room in Williamsburg in Brooklyn and quietly moved out without her roommates being any the wiser. She gave her new phone number to a few friends before she left, but she didn't tell them where she was going, and she didn't answer when they called. She wanted to make sense of her situation without external influences, Kidd said. She described a spiral of isolation: "I was constantly worrying, and the more they tried to contact me, the more I didn't feel ready to tell them. The longer I ignored them, the worse it got. "When Mother's Day arrived, I felt guilty for not calling my mom, but I still couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't face her yet. "I never turned on the TV and stayed immersed in my own world. I had only seen the missing-person fliers online." If Kidd had been on Facebook, she would have seen the flurry of posts from friends, relatives and classmates under the hashtag #FindingNayla. Many noted that she wasn't the type to neglect her academics. Kidd's disappearance ended after "three big cops" showed up at her new apartment. When she was reunited with her mother at the police station, LaCreis Kidd was reassuring. "You don't have to explain anything," she told her only child. "An investigator told me you might be stripping. Even if you're a stripper, you're gonna be the best stripper out there." Kidd wrote that she has no plans to return to school. Instead, she wants to make music and work on her writing and modelling careers. "I always told myself I needed to find gratification through academia, but now I want to find it on my own through the arts," she wrote. "I finally broke down because I was living a life I thought I should be living instead of living the life I want." The New York Post simultaneously published a statement from Kidd's mother. The pair usually spoke at least a couple of times a month, LaCreis Kidd said, so when her daughter went missing, she feared the worst. "When I was finally re-united with Nayla, it was a bit awkward," Kidd wrote. "How could she just cut me off like that?. . .I'm not angry, but I'm still recovering from such a traumatic experience." When Kidd was found, a police official told the New York Daily News, "Basically, she just wanted to get away from it all." Multiple news outlets reported that Kidd was attending Columbia on a full scholarship. In a recent story, The Washington Post's Nick Anderson chronicled the burdens facing lower-income students in the Ivy League. Despite having their tuition paid for, many are nonetheless stymied by high costs of living, and feel socially alienated from their wealthy peers. Jakarta: A former president of Indonesia has publicly revealed he opposes the death penalty as the country prepares for a third round of executions of drug offenders. In a sign of growing dissent over capital punishment within Indonesia, former president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie said he had arrived at the conclusion that no man had the right to take someone's life. Former Indonesian president Bacharuddin Habibie. Credit:Getty Images "It is God's prerogative right," the 79-year-old, who ruled Indonesia following the fall of Suharto, said at the launch of the book Politik Hukuman Mati di Indonesia (The politics of the death penalty in Indonesia) in Jakarta. A former Miss Turkey has been convicted of insulting the country's president, earning her a 14-month suspended prison sentence. Model Merve Buyuksarac, 27, was found guilty of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on social media, a charge she denied. Buyuksarac, who was Miss Turkey in 2006, was detained last year for posting a satirical poem on Instagram in 2014. The poem was set to the music of the Turkish national anthem and widely shared, the BBC reported. Prosecutors maintained the poem was insulting to Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time. One condition of her sentence was that she must not insult the president for the next five years. Roughly 2,000 people have been charged with insulting the president since he took office in 2014. Paris: The City of Love will now spread it a little further, promising to build an official and internationally recognised refugee camp so those seeking a better life in Europe can be treated with dignity. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a Socialist, said that the camp, somewhere in the north of the capital, will serve as a day centre for migrants and refugees, but also offer more permanent accommodation. It will be up and running within a month to six weeks. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wants to show refugees France has a heart. Credit:iStock "Today, Europe is not facing up to the humanitarian crisis of these refugees. Nor is our own country," Ms Hidalgo told reporters in a surprise press conference. A local hunter was also added to the search for Yamato Tanooka after fresh bear tracks were found in the area where he vanished on Saturday, Jiji news agency said. Seventy five members of the Self-Defence Forces on Wednesday joined 200 police and civilians beating their way through thick brush in the mountainous forest on Hokkaido island. Tokyo: Japan's military joined the search for a seven-year-old boy abandoned in a dense northern forest by his parents as punishment for being naughty. The boy's parents first said he disappeared while they foraged for edible plants, but later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars. Japanese Self-Defence Forces prepare to search for the missing boy. Credit:YouTube They said when they drove back a few minutes later the boy had disappeared. The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it. Despite the larger search party no leads turned up on Wednesday, with many worrying the boy might not have survived heavy rains which fell on Tuesday night. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt and jeans in an area where the overnight temperatures can fall as low as 7 Celsius. The search has gripped Japan, with news programmes offering hourly updates, and thousands have taken to the internet to both pray for the boy's survival and excoriate his parents for what is seen as neglect. Seoul: North Korea has backed presumptive US Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as a candidate who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack. A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state's mouthpieces, described Mr Trump as a "wise politician" and the right choice for US voters in the November 8 US presidential election. Mr Trump has said he would be willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Credit:AP It described his most likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as "thick-headed Hillary" over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula. Mr Trump instead has told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program, and that China should also help solve the problem. Gdansk, Poland: The Polish government said it would revive an effort to extradite filmmaker Roman Polanski, whom US authorities have wanted for decades. He pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl but fled to Europe the next year, on the eve of his sentencing. The announcement is the latest twist in a long-running legal battle that, at least in Poland, seemed to have ended. French-Polish film director Roman Polanski in Krakow last year. Credit:Getty Images On October 30, a judge in Krakow, Poland, ruled that turning over Polanski would be an "obviously unlawful" deprivation of liberty and that the state of California was unlikely to provide humane conditions of confinement for the filmmaker, who is 82. The next month, the Krakow prosecutor's office said it would abide by the judge's ruling. Beijing: China's has welcomed a proposal by the incoming Philippine government for bilateral talks on the disputed South China Sea. China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea while the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims. The sea is rich in oil, gas and fish, and trade worth trillions of dollars passes through it each year. Tension between the Philippines and China have risen as an international tribunal in the Hague prepares to deliver a ruling in the next few months in a case about the South China Sea lodged by Manila in 2013. Thinking the poem (above) was funny, Buyuksarac shared it. As her lawyer Emre Telci explained: "My client has been convicted for words that do not belong to her." Supporters of the Koza-Ipek media group demonstrate for press freedom in Istanbul, Turkey, in October. Credit:Bloomberg Buyuksarac was luckier than a good many of hundreds of other Turks facing similar charges in the two years since Erdogan became president on being found guilty she was sentenced to 14 months in prison, but the sentence was suspended on a proviso that she not reoffend in the next five years. In a country in which journalists are thrown in the slammer and publishers are made to forfeit their newspapers, some of which are then sold to Erdogan's cronies, Buyuksarac's plight was no great shakes, especially given Erdogan's stunning recent success in enlisting German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an offshore agent for his absurd cult of self. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a joint press conference on April 15. Credit:AP Merkel walked into a wall of criticism in April, when she went along with a request from Erdogan that an obscure German law be activated to prosecute comedian Jan Bohmermann, who read out an offensive poem about Erdogan on German TV. Merkel voiced her "grave concern" about the prosecution of journalists in Turkey, before throwing the German comedian under the bus, saying in a statement: "In a constitutional democracy, weighing up personal rights against freedom of the press and freedom of expression is not a matter for governments, but for public prosecutors and courts." Turkey's prime minister says a group within Turkey's military has engaged in what appeared to be an attempted coup. Credit:Getty Images The law that the Turkish leader demanded be invoked outlaws insults against foreign states, but it cannot be triggered without an express authorisation from the government. Ordinarily, Merkel might have told Erdogan to bugger off, but he had her and all of Europe over a barrel they desperately need his cooperation to check the flow of migrants to the continent from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, a state of affairs that Merkel codified as a need to protect Berlin's close diplomatic ties with Ankara. Merve Buyuksarac: convicted of insulting a public official. Credit:AP And apart from Merkel's action against the comedian, Erdogan also extracted a trophy concession visa-free travel to Europe for Turks. Such is the authoritarian streak in Erdogan these days that critics are reluctant to speak out and those who do are often locked up. But before he moved into his new $US615 million, 1150-room presidential palace in 2014, a chorus of MPs and doctors questioned his psychological stability. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Dr Aytun Ciray, a senior opposition MP, told Aydinlik newspaper: "As a doctor, I do not think Erdogan is in his right mind a psychiatrist had better study him." Another opposition MP, Dr Haluk Koc, said: "I told you 10 years ago that Erdogan was sick. He thinks that he owns the state he wants to be president, prime minister, sheikh al-Islam (chief religious official) and (ruling party) AKP president, all at the same time. He's in a dreadful psychological state." As a wave of corruption allegations against Erdogan threatened his grip on power and the well-being of his cronies in 2014, he was ruthless in response hundreds of police investigators were banished; investigations were stacked with loyalists and Erdogan thought he could fix things by the simple expedient of banning YouTube and Twitter. These days it doesn't matter how frivolous the charge might be when it comes to insulting public figures in April, a man was arrested and charged with insulting Erdogan by asking a policeman for directions to the zoo. Reading some of the quotes from Erdogan's speeches, and you begin to sympathise with the Turkish people: "you cannot bring women and men into an equal position, this is against nature" "Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus" "we'll eradicate Twitter" "whoever drinks alcohol is an alcoholic" Stephen Hawking has arguably been guilty of this before, and has faced criticism for his recent pontifications on the dangers of artificial intelligence in particular. But on Tuesday, Hawking admitted to being utterly stumped by something - or, rather, someone: Donald Trump. Sometimes, really brilliant folks with a reputation for being brilliant start to comment on subjects outside their area of expertise, as if their level of genius so transcends the intelligence of the unwashed masses that they can be called on as an authority in literally any subject. Donald Trump, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, greets attendees after a campaign event in California. Credit:Bloomberg Hawking, who has lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for more than half a century, uses a computer controlled by tiny movements of his cheek muscles to type out communications. This system keeps him limited to a speed of just about one word per minute, so his responses to interview questions are always composed well in advance. In other words, Hawking had plenty of time to puzzle out the mysteries of Trump's nomination (and come up with this mic drop of a response instead). Hawking also voiced opposition to Brexit, the movement to have Great Britain leave the European Union. He's said before that it would be "a disaster" for science. There would be financial repercussions, he said, but tighter immigration policies would also hurt research prospects. "Students can come here from EU countries to study, and our students can go to other EU universities," he told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday. "More importantly, at the level of research, the exchange of people enables skills to transfer more quickly, and brings new people with different ideas, derived from their different backgrounds." So it's clear that Hawking and Trump don't quite see eye to eye on the whole immigration issue. But there are other reasons why Hawking might dislike the presumptive Republican nominee, from a purely scientific standpoint: Trump has referred to climate change as "just a very, very expensive form of tax," despite the plethora of evidence that the phenomenon poses a major threat. TAIPEI, TaiwanAddressing the rapidly growing area of Smart Car in the IoT space, Etron Technology (TPEx: 5351.TW) will showcase its offerings of Known-Good-Dies (KGD) memory, USB Type-C Controller, Spherical 360x3D Controller, and Automotive LED Drivers. Etron will demonstrate the system products enabled by these innovative solutions, e.g. Audio Visual Navigation (AVN), Spherical 360x3D Video Capture, Driver's State Detection and Gesture Control for Adaptive Driving Support, Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), and Automotive LED Lighting for Smart Car applications. Etron welcomes companies to experience these innovative solutions and meet the Etron Team at Computex 2016. Seeing the increasing demand for Smart Car applications, including car audio/AV systems and electric vehicles, Etron has self-developed Known-Good-Die (KGD) and Discrete memory solutions aimed at the automotive field, with integrated system-in-a-package (SIP) and multi-chip package (MCP) technologies, satisfying the markets long desired needs. Etrons memory products have a full range of density from 8Mb to 4Gb. Etron provides customized services and optimizes cost-effectiveness and reliability to help system customers successfully develop Smart Car applications. Etron actively partners with customers with flexibility, agility, speed, and product diversification, and thus has had deep and long-term partner relationships with industrial and automotive companies in Taiwan and worldwide. Etrons KGD memory solutions have been successfully used by system manufacturers for Audio Visual Navigation. Etrons specialty buffer memory has been widely adopted in many different system products due to its high quality, high efficiency, low power consumption, and high cost-effectiveness. With these advantages ideally fitting the needs of automotive products, Etrons specialty buffer memory is the best choice for system customers to develop killer Smart Car applications. To facilitate system manufacturers to quickly design-in, Etron will be showcasing its product offering for Smart Car at its booth at Computex 2016 during May 31 Jun 4. Please visit Etron at No.D0725a, Hall 1, Taipei World Trade Center. In addition, Etrons automotive system application will be jointly exhibited with worldwide semiconductor manufacturers in a US roadshow at Detroit and San Francisco. Etron welcomes automotive manufacturers to jointly develop system products for a win-win proposition. IRVINE, Calif., June 1, 2016 -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported May U.S. sales of 28,328 vehicles, representing a decrease of 4.3 percent versus last year. Given that there were 24 selling days this May, versus 26 last year, sales were up 3.7 percent on a daily selling-rate (DSR) basis. Year-to-date sales through May are 119,166 vehicles. Key May sales notes: The all-new 2016 CX-9 arrived in dealerships late in May. In just one week of sales, the all-new CX-9 accounted for nearly 600 vehicle sales. Mazda expects a strong performance from its all-new three-row crossover SUV as inventory continues to arrive. Mazda MX-5 had an outstanding month of May with 1,000 vehicles sold. This number represents an increase of 122.7 percent YOY and its best May since 2008. Mazda CX-5 had its second-best May ever, and its best month of sales in 2016, with 9,951 vehicles sold. Mazda6 had its best month of sales in 2016 with 5,027 vehicles sold in the month of May. Mazda's i-ACTIV All-Wheel Drive continues to be the drivetrain of choice for consumers when buying a Mazda SUV, with 56 percent of buyers choosing the innovative and unique system. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported May sales of 3,650 vehicles, down 15.0 percent versus May of last year. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will join Swiss authorities for a ceremonial first run through the tunnel on Wednesday. Full service will begin in December. The tunnel runs between Erstfeld in central Switzerland's Uri canton and Bodio in the southern Ticino region. Railway trains traveling at speeds up to 200 kilometers per hour will cut the journey between Zurich and Milan by roughly an hour, to two hours and 40 minutes. The Swiss federal railway service estimates passenger traffic along the route will increase from 9,000 people a day to 15,000 by 2020. The tunnel was built in 17 years by 2,400 workers, at a cost of over $12 billion. The massive rig used to bore through the mountains, measured at 410 meters long, removed 28 million tons of rock. The GBT is part of a network of upgraded alpine links that Swiss voters approved in a referendum in 1992. The environment-friendly project includes three big railway tunnels: the first one opened in 2007, the highly anticipated Gotthard Tunnel and a third tunnel due to open by 2020. Basel-born Swiss engineer Carl Eduard Gruner proposed a new rail tunnel below the Gotthard Pass in 1947, in a technical paper called "Journey through the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the year 2000." PITTSBURGH, June 1, 2016- Citing the future anticipated benefits to travel safety, the environment and mobility, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards today joined elected, industry and other transportation officials to mark the state's continued and progressive steps as a national leader in the safe, innovative development of autonomous and connected vehicle technologies. "We are always looking at ways to make travel safer, and these new vehicle technologies offer a huge opportunity to not only advance our network, but also reduce human behavior as a factor in crashes," Richards said. "We're looking forward to expanding on the innovation that's already alive and well here in Pittsburgh so companies can test their technologies in our state's varied seasons and roadway types." Richards spoke at an event today in Pittsburgh before the first meeting of a newly established Autonomous Vehicles Testing Policy Task Force that will collaboratively develop guidance that PennDOT will use when drafting autonomous vehicle policy. PennDOT is chairing the task force, which is comprised of state, federal and private-industry officials such as the Federal Highway Administration, AAA, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Uber Technologies. According to Carnegie Mellon University, which hosted the Task Force meeting and demonstrated its autonomous technologies after the event, the university's faculty and students have been working for more than 30 years to ensure that self-driving cars will be safe, affordable, and ultimately, accepted by the public. The university has made significant contributions to AV technology inventions and has created 14 generations of self-driving vehicles. The university's latest self-driving car is a 2011 Cadillac SRX that takes ramps, merges onto highways, and cruises at 70 mph by itself. Also participating in the event were lawmakers who are sponsoring legislation in the state Senate and House that would establish Pennsylvania as a national leader in autonomous vehicle testing. "I am delighted to see Pittsburgh and CMU taking a leadership role in autonomous vehicles and hope today's event shows our commitment to supporting this ground breaking research. The work being done at CMU is a source of pride for not only Pittsburgh, but the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," said Sen. Randy Vulakovich. "By working with all of the stake holder groups, I believe SB 1268 will foster innovation while at the same time ensure the safety of motorists on our public roads." The legislation would: Provide for controlled automated vehicle testing, not operation; Allow flexibility to adapt to changing technology; Require companies interested in testing to submit an application and provide proof of $5 million in general liability insurance; and in general liability insurance; and Allow support for in-vehicle and remote-operator testing, considered the "Full Self-Driving Automation" level, the fourth and highest level of automation as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Noting that the announcement occurred in Pittsburgh and CMU hosted the Task Force meeting, Sen. Wayne Fontana said, "Pittsburgh being chosen as one of the seven finalists out of nearly 80 cities that applied for the [U.S. Department of Transportation's] Smart City Challenge is a testament to the innovation happening in the region. Pennsylvania as a whole has a lot to offer and my hopes are that the introduction of SB 1268 will help universities and companies that are testing these vehicles of the future feel welcomed in the commonwealth and inspire future generations." Various studies and research have pointed to autonomous and connected vehicles as having environmental and travel benefits in addition to reducing human error in driving. Vehicle functions such as maintaining more consistent speeds, communicating with infrastructure or other vehicles, and allowing highway officials to eventually to invest less in engineering solutions related to human behavior (such as rumble strips) are examples of potential benefits of expanding these technologies. "The concept of autonomous cars is something many of us never thought we'd be discussing in our lifetime," Sen. Jay Costa said. "What's exciting to me is that right here in Pittsburgh, we're in the center of where this innovation is happening at places like Google, Uber and most importantly, here at Carnegie Mellow University. Innovation brings growth and will have a lasting impact on our communities. As we move forward, we're not only testing the concept of autonomous vehicles, we're growing jobs and driving economic development in our communities." At the state level, these steps could quickly bring additional economic opportunities as automotive and technology companies, encouraged by the legislation, could establish themselves in the state. "Autonomous and connected vehicles will be integrated in the next generation of our transportation system," stated Sen. John Rafferty, Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. "One of the primary reasons for Senate Bill 1268 is to test the incorporation of this advanced technology on our roadways that provides for safety, mobility, innovation and economic development." Additionally, in the future, autonomous vehicles could offer more opportunity for independence for the nation's millions of older or disabled citizens. According to the U.S. Census, by 2050 there will be an estimated 48 million people over the age of 75 in the U.S. "Autonomous and connected vehicles offer a promising glimpse into the future of our transportation system," Sen. John Wozniak said. "I'm proud that Pennsylvania is one of the states leading the development of this cutting edge technology. However, it's important that the public knows these cars are safe and SB 1268 addresses those concerns while at the same time allowing Pennsylvania to stay competitive in this field for years to come." Rep. Jim Marshall, House Subcommittee Chairman for Transportation Safety and sponsor of forthcoming autonomous vehicle legislation in the House, added, "With matters of public safety, we must be proactive, not reactive. This important legislation will get Pennsylvania out in front of this new and evolving technology." The task force and legislation build on current and past studies, work groups and coalitions in which PennDOT has participated. The department currently has representatives on the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators' Automated Vehicles Best Practices work group; the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials Connected and Automated Vehicle Technical Working Group; the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Deployment Coalition; the Connected Vehicle Pooled Fund Study; and the Transportation Research Board's Technical Activities Council on Vehicle Automation. MEDIA CONTACT: Rich Kirkpatrick or Erin Waters-Trasatt, 717-783-8800 Following is a list of Autonomous Vehicles Testing Policy Task Force members: Commonwealth Representatives PennDOT Co-chairs Kurt J. Myers , Deputy Secretary, Driver & Vehicle Services , Deputy Secretary, Driver & Vehicle Services Roger Cohen , Policy Director Department of Insurance: Glenda Ebersole, Policy Director Department of Community & Economic Development: Steve D'Ettorre, Policy Director PA State Police Major Ed Hoke , Bureau of Patrol , Bureau of Patrol Captain Bruce Williams Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission: Stacia Ritter, Director of Policy & External Affairs Stakeholder Representatives Federal Highway Administration: Phil Bobitz, Assistant Safety Engineer/Transportation Engineer Local Government: Pittsburgh Councilman Dan Gilman AAA: Ted Leonard, Executive Director American Trucking Associations (ATA) Robert C. Pitcher , Vice President, State Laws , Vice President, State Laws James W. Runk , President, PA Motor Truck Association Carnegie Mellon University: Dr. Raj Rajkumar University of Pennsylvania: Erick Guerra, Professor of City & Regional Planning Uber Technologies: Ashwini Chhabra, Head of Policy Development Society of Automotive Engineers: Bill Gouse, Director of Federal Program Development, SAE International CHERRY HILL, N.J., June 1, 2016 -- Record May - monthly sales increase one percent over May 2015 54 consecutive months of month-over-month growth Best May ever for Crosstrek 27 consecutive months of more than 10,000 Outbacks sold 34 consecutive months of more than 10,000 Foresters sold Subaru of America, Inc. today reported record sales for May 2016 totaling 50,083 vehicles, a 1.1 percent gain over May 2015. The company also reported year-to-date sales of 232,860 vehicles, a 2.1 percent gain over the same period in 2015. May marked the 27th consecutive month of 40,000+ vehicle sales for the company, while May 31st marked the best-ever reporting day with 10,530 vehicles sold. Crosstrek sales were notably strong as the crossover achieved its best May ever. "Our retailers are laser focused on delivering the 'Love Promise Ownership Experience' to our customers, which combined with strong demand and the best product offerings in our franchise's history, are resulting in continued record breaking sales," said Thomas J. Doll, President and COO, Subaru of America, Inc. "It's looking like it will be another record setting year for Subaru in the U.S." "Our retailers turned in one of their best performances of the year and led us to our 54th consecutive month of sales increases versus prior year," said Jeff Walters, senior vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc. "With strong demand for Subaru vehicles and production capacity increasing in Indiana later this year, we have an excellent foundation for continued success." Carline May-16 May-15 % Chg May-16 May-15 % Chg MTD MTD MTD YTD YTD YTD Forester 15,309 15,157 1.0% 68,226 66,770 2.2% Impreza 5,928 5,643 5.1% 24,771 26,240 -5.6% WRX/STI 2,327 2,895 -19.6% 12,876 12,869 0.1% Legacy 5,265 5,000 5.3% 25,334 24,647 2.8% Outback 12,404 12,384 0.2% 63,969 60,405 5.9% BRZ 383 606 -36.8% 2,060 2,259 -8.8% Crosstrek 8,467 7,876 7.5% 35,624 34,893 2.1% TOTAL 50,083 49,561 1.1% 232,860 228,083 2.1% About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. May May 2016 May 2015 % Change Total Volume 31,724 31,617 0.3% All-time record sales month Model Highlights May 2016 May 2015 % Change Dodge Grand Caravan 6,169 3,285 88% Record May Sales Jeep Grand Cherokee 2,003 1,426 40% Record May Sales Dodge Challenger 665 566 17% All-time record sales month Jeep Brand 9,881 9,527 4% All-time record sales month CYTD CYTD Sales May 2016 May 2015 % Change Total Volume 124,663 120,915 3% Best CYTD start Model Highlights May 2016 May 2015 % Change Ram Pickup 39,861 37,572 6% #2 selling vehicle in Canada Jeep Cherokee 13,940 11,082 26% Jeep Grand Cherokee 7,437 4,754 56% Dodge Grand Caravan 21,373 17,160 25% Total Ram Brand 42,486 41,181 3% Total Jeep Brand 37,804 31,033 22% - FCA Canada today reported the best monthly sales in the Companys history. A total of 31,724 vehicles were sold in May 2016, representing a 0.3 per cent increase compared with May 2015 sales of 31,617. Through the first five months of this year, FCA Canada has sold 124,663 vehicles, representing the best start to any year on record and maintaining FCA Canadas position as the top-selling automaker in the country.May was a phenomenal month for FCA Canada as we set an all-time sales record, said Dave Buckingham, Chief Operating Officer, FCA Canada. Our Canadian-built Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Challenger each set sales records, while our Jeep products continue to resonate strongly with customers, helping us to achieve an all-time record sales month for the brand.The Jeep brand posted an all-time monthly sales record with 9,881 units sold, which is an increase of 4 per cent compared with 9,527 sold in May 2015. Jeep Grand Cherokee led the way, establishing a new May sales record with 2,003 units sold, marking an increase of 40 per cent over 1,426 sold in May 2015. This is the second month in a row that Jeep Grand Cherokee has established a new sales record, helping it to retain its position as the countrys best-selling full-size SUV.The Jeep brand recorded sales of more than 1.2 million units worldwide in 2015 the highest total in its 75-year history setting a global sales record for the fourth consecutive year. Sales of 1,237,583 Jeep vehicles improved upon the brands 2014 global record of 1,017,019 by 22 per cent. In Canada, sales of 79,680 units bettered the 2014 total of 70,503 units by 13 per cent.The Dodge Challenger, built in Canada at the Brampton Assembly Plant , set an all-time monthly sales record in May with 665 cars sold, compared with 566 sold in the same month, one year ago. Designed and engineered for world-class precision and outstanding performance, Dodge Challenger is offered in eight trim levels, from the 305-horsepower 3.6-litre Pentastar V6-powered SXT model returning fuel economy as good as 7.8 L/100 km (36 mpg) highway to the supercharged Challenger SRT Hellcat with 707 horsepower, the highest V-8 power rating in the Companys history.Dodge Grand Caravan Canadas best-selling minivan also set a May sales record. A total of 6,169 units were sold, up from 3,285 in May 2015. Dodge Grand Caravan is built alongside the all-new Chrysler Pacifica at the Windsor Assembly Plant (WAP). WAP has been producing vehicles in the Ontario city for the past 88 years and is the only vehicle assembly plant still operating in the heart of the city. Since 1983, more than 10 million minivans have been built at the Windsor plant.Founded as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925, FCA Canada Inc. is based in Windsor, Ontario, and celebrates its 91st anniversary in 2016. FCA Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of FCA US LLC, a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. FCA Canada has approximately 440 dealers and markets Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands, as well as the SRT performance vehicle designation. The company also distributes Alfa Romeo models and Mopar products. In addition to its assembly facilities, which produce the Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Grand Caravan (Windsor), Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger (Brampton), FCA Canada operates an aluminum casting plant in Etobicoke, a research and development center in Windsor, and has sales offices and parts distribution centers throughout the country.FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FCAU and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol FCA. Former North Korean foreign minister Ri Su-yong unexpectedly went to China on Tuesday at the head of a 40-strong delegation. It is the first visit to Beijing by a senior North Korean official since the North's latest nuclear test in January. Ri is acting as a special envoy for leader Kim Jong-un and could meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a visit by Kim himself. Diplomatic circles in Beijing speculate that North Korea is desperate to break its diplomatic isolation and crippling UN sanctions. Ri, an 81-year-old former ambassador to Switzerland, looked after Kim when he studied there. He is now director of the Workers Party's International Relations Department and vice chairman in charge of international affairs at the Central Committee. The delegation arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport in the morning and headed for the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in a dozen vehicles. Officially, Ri is in Beijing to brief officials on the first Workers Party congress in 36 years last month. On its website, the Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department said Ri met with Song Tao, the head of the department, and briefed him on the congress. In an informal question-and-answer session after the daily press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said it is possible that Ri will meet Xi given his senior rank. She said the two sides will discuss all matters including a "high-level exchange." South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Joon-hyuk told reporters that Seoul hopes the visit will help persuade the North to become "a responsible member of the international community" and contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the denuclearization of the North. Transgender people are not mentally ill. Being transgender is not a mental disorder. And anyone who argues otherwise is directly contradicting current medical consensus. These lines of anti-transgender argumentation were already common before the March passage of North Carolinas HB 2, which requires transgender people to use public bathrooms matching their birth certificates. For instance, when Caitlyn Jenner came out last year, conservative blogger Matt Walsh called her a mentally ill cross-dresser on Glenn Becks The Blaze. A long list of right-wing media outlets and pundits have echoed the mental illness language: The Federalist, Breitbart, TownHall, Rush Limbaugh, the list goes on. Check out the comments on any story about transgender issues and youll find it there, too. But now that public attention is squarely trained on the bathroom debate, the mental illness credo is gaining traction once again, even among some state lawmakers. And with the Obama administration responding to HB 2 in full force, the psychological pathologization of transgender people is threatening to reach fever pitch. This February, South Dakota state senator David Omdahl claimed transgender people were twisted in order to argue for bathroom restrictions. And in mid-May, Tennessee Representative Susan Lynn opined on Facebook: Transgenderism is a mental disorder called gender identity disorderno one should be forced to entertain anothers mental disorder and it is not healthy for the individual with the disorder. Just last week, former U.S. congressman John Linder argued on The Daily Caller that the Obama administration is normalizing a mental disorder as a matter of public policy. Wherever Lynn and Linder got their information, its embarrassingly out of date. In fact, most opponents of transgender rights could stand to review some recent psychiatric history. Gender identity disorder (GID) was indeed a diagnosis in the fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). But the APA replaced GID with gender dysphoria (GD) in the DSM-V, which was officially approved in 2013years before the current bathroom fracas. The APA made this change with the stated intention of de-stigmatizing transgender people. As they explained in a GD fact sheet, the new language removes the connotation that the patient is disordered [PDF]. One of the main reasons GD is still included in the DSM-V is because the APA wanted to ensure continuing access to transition-related health care. The fear was that, without some sort of diagnostic category, insurers could justify cutting off treatments that they previously offered to transgender patients. As noted on the GD fact sheet: Persons experiencing gender dysphoria need a diagnostic term that protects their access to care and wont be used against them in social, occupational, or legal areas. It couldnt be clearer: Anyone who tries to leverage clinical language against transgender people is directly contradicting the largest psychiatric organization on the planet. And to say that transgender people are inherently mentally disordered is to intentionally wield as fact an implication that the APA went out of its way to combat. That disjuncture wasnt always so stark. In the DSM-IV, GID was grouped in with diagnoses like pedophilia and exhibitionism in the chapter Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders. Under that rubric, it was easierbut still disingenuousto argue that transgender people should not be legally protected because they have a mental disorder. In the DSM-V, however, GD is described not as a disorder but as a potentially distressing condition that may result from an incongruence between ones experienced or expressed gender and ones assigned gender. Instead of being grouped with an unsavory category like pedophilia, GD has its own individual chapter [PDF]. And while it is true that transgender people often seek out clinical treatment, the problem is not their identity but rather the distress of dysphoria. As the DSM-V notes, the new guidance focuses on dysphoria as the clinical problem, not identity per se. According to the APA, this clinical problem is commonly addressed through counseling, cross-sex hormones, gender reassignment surgery, and social and legal transition to the desired gender [PDF]. Almost every leading professional organization supports these same treatments. Given the ready availability of this information, its likely that many conservative bloggers and anti-LGBT lawmakers are aware of this medical consensus. A web search for Is being transgender a mental disorder? will turn up this answer from the American Psychological Association: Many transgender people do not experience their gender as distressing or disabling, which implies that identifying as transgender does not constitute a mental disorder. This may be why the anti-LGBT crowd so quickly latches onto a small handful of superficially reputable medical experts who buck against transgender rights. When the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) called health care for transgender youth a form of child abuse, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Blaze, and other right-wing outlets ate it up. In reality, ACPeds is an anti-LGBT group with an estimated membership of just 200 people. The leading organization for U.S. pediatricians is the 64,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which supports transgender youth. And when former John Hopkins psychiatry chair Dr. Paul McHugh called transgender identity a mental disorder in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, he, too, found a captive audience among the far right. Ignoring the fact that McHugh is wildly out of step with the APA, he has a history of opposing LGBT equality. In 2010, for example, he filed an amicus brief in favor of Californias same-sex marriage ban [PDF]. The many outlets that uncritically repeated the claims in McHughs WSJ op-ed failed to do basic fact checking. McHugh cited a 2011 Swedish study to argue that sex reassignment surgery increases the risk of suicide. In fact, the study explicitly stated that the results should not be interpreted such as sex reassignment per se increases morbidity and mortality. The lead author, Dr. Cecilia Dhejne, later confirmed to TransAdvocate that her work was misrepresented. In a response letter to McHugh, psychiatrist and World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) board member Dr. Dan Karasic explained: A closer reading of [Dr. Dhejnes] paper shows that the increased mortality is in those who had surgery before 1989, and that mortality in trans people after 1989 is not statistically different from the general population. This is the sort of cherry picking that opponents of LGBT rights must use to try to convince themselvesand othersthat transgender people are deviant or disordered. Labeling transgender people as such might sway the uninformed but it wont reverse history and it cant stop medical science from advancing. In 2016, this argument is over for anyone who cares about the facts. Troops fighting ISIS appeared to on the verge of another victory over the self-proclaimed Islamic State Wednesday, as they moved into a city that has served as the main thoroughfare for ISIS foreign fighters and weapons. But the potential seizure of the Syrian city of Manbij by U.S.-backed forces is only likely to set off a new battle for controlthis time pitting Arabs against Kurds. The battle Wednesday reflected a growing problem for the U.S. and its push to train local fighters, even as those forces take territory from ISIS. Who exactly will govern those towns now? Will it be the Kurds who have led the fight against ISIS? Or will it be what some in the Pentagon have privately called the token Arabs trained by the U.S. to accompany them? Two defense officials told The Daily Beast Wednesday they dont know. They believe the Arabs would be in charge. But even these officials admit that asking the 5,000-or-so newly-trained Arab fighters to control three or more formerly ISIS-controlled areasand at the same time move into the ISIS capital of Raqqawould be difficult. On the other hand, some worry that a Kurdish controlled Manbij could be ethnically cleansed, creating the kind of Sunni disenfranchisement that led to the rise of ISIS. The fall of Manbij into Kurdish hands, however, would give the Kurds a contiguous region in northern Syria. Moreover, a Kurdish controlled Manbij could draw the ire of U.S.-allied Turkey, which rejects a Kurdish controlled region on its border. The question what happens after ISIS? looms increasingly over the U.S.-led effort. Indeed, defense officials said how the governance question is answered in Manbij could foreshadow the strategy for Raqqa, ISISs capital. Local U.S.-backed forces, accompanied by U.S. forces, have moved within 18 miles of the city in the last week. Over the Memorial Day weekend, one U.S. service member was injured while supporting the local fighters. ISIS is losing. The U.S needs to make sure what emerges next is not an utter wreck that will allow this brutal organization or something like it to move back in, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explained to The Daily Beast. U.S. officials could once defer answering about what happens after ISIS, saying their focus was to end the terror groups brutality. But the militants steady stream of defeats is making such questions unavoidable. The U.S.-led airstrike campaign has increasingly assaulted ISIS logistical operations, forcing the terror group to retreat from territory it once controlled. Such losses have made it harder for ISIS to move weapons, food, and fighters around the self-proclaimed caliphate and appear to have weakened the groups ability to expand its state across the Middle East and Africa. In recent months, ISIS has lost control of Ash Shaddadi, a key logistical city east of Raqqa, several town north of the ISIS capital. And now it appears that the Iraqi city of Fallujah, the last bastion of ISIS control near Baghdad, is in danger of falling out of ISIS hands. At the organizations peak nearly two years ago, thousands of ISIS fighters entered through Manbij each month and moved throughout Syria and Iraq. U.S. military estimates now put that number at closer to 500 a month, as it appears ISIS has instead spread its foreign fighters across the region to places like Libya and Egypt. The terror group has even asked recruits to stay in Europe and attack from there. The Kurds have set the tone for the war against ISIS, saying for months they wanted to take places like Manbij before approaching Raqqa, the ISIS capital. On Wednesday, more than 2,000 fighters entered Manbij, which has served as a key thoroughfare between Turkey and Syria. According to one report, the fighters have taken 20 villages and are fewer than 10 miles from the city center. The forces have received American help, which signaled that the coalition was willing to risk aggravating Kurdish/Arab tensions and the Turks in exchange for a liberated Manbij. Since May 27, the U.S.-led coalition has conducted 36 airstrikes around Manbij, including 18 in the last day, according to Defense Department (DoD) statistics. And according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the latest strikes have killed at least 15 civilians. The fighters charging toward Manbij are members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-dominated, U.S.-backed force recently bolstered by 5,000 U.S.-trained Arab fighters. In all, there are roughly 25,000 SDF, according to DoD figures. When asked who would control Manbij if ISIS fell, one defense official demurred, saying instead, Right now, the SDF are closing the flanks. The military plan for Manbij is for Arab fighters to lead the charge, backed by Kurds, and then hold the city. But just how that would play out remains unclear, defense officials conceded. What happens if the Arab fighters need help from the Kurds? Will they receive it? And if so, will the Kurds demand more in concessions for the city? The potential fall of Manbij with the help of the Kurds, along with the fall of areas around Raqqa, suggest that the U.S. is willing to risk creating potential new tensions to rid the northern city of ISIS. All signs point to the de facto establishment of a contiguous Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Syria, which the United States will have had a hand in creating, Aaron Stein, the senior resident fellow for Turkey with the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, concluded in a February assessment. The retaking of the Manbij pocketand particularly the town of al-Bab, where ISISs foreign intelligence apparatus is headquartered would represent a hammer blow to ISISs operations in northern Syria. For that reason, the terror group has continued to demonstrate a willingness to hang onto its holdings there. In recent days, its own progress on the battlefield has come as a result of exactly the sort of sectarian conflict between Arab and Kurd that CENTCOM is seeking to avoid. The Aleppo town of Marea, for instance, is now completely surrounded by both ISIS and the U.S.-backed Kurdish militiaseven though the 400 Syrian rebels of Mutasim Brigade are also assets of the U.S. military, as the Pentagon has confirmed to The Daily Beast. According to Mustafa Sejry, the head of the political office of the Mutasim Brigade, ISIS has dispatched 1,000 jihadists to try and invade Marea, roughly the same force contingent ISIS currently has deployed against 20,000 pro-Iraqi ground troops in the city of Fallujah. ISIS cut off the road between Azaz and Marea six days ago, Sejry said, referring to a crucial Syrian-Turkish border town that ISIS has also made a major play to recapture. After that, Marea became completely besieged by ISIS. Were engaged in operations to break the siege. We were making progress on the second day, but we were surprised that the coalition struck one of our groups, killing 10 of our fighters and injuring 12. Sejry shared with The Daily Beast photographs purporting to show the damaged caused by these alleged U.S. airstrikes. These images could not be independently confirmed, however. Since then, weve been asking the Americans to airdrop support for us, Sejry said. Fifty fighters from the Mutasim Brigade are graduates of the Pentagons train and equip program for recruiting Sunni Arab and Turkmen counterterrorists from the ranks of the Free Syrian Army to take on ISIS. These men were trained at a U.S.-administered military base in Turkey. From its inception, the train-and-equip program has been plagued by setbacks and failures, with the first class of graduates having been kidnapped by Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian al-Qaeda franchise, and members of the second class having sold American supplies to that same franchise, as The Daily Beast was the first to report. But Sejry insists that the Mutasim Brigade has been an exception to that ignoble trend. There is no incident of our weaponry being given or sold to any other group, not even other FSA groups, he said. The U.S. government has always been very happy and enthusiastic to work with us. For months, the Mutasim Brigade had received regular shipments" from the United States of mortar shells, M16 and M2 rifle ammunition, vehicles, clothes and belts, he added. But since the last shipment we have not received any supplies. Weve given the U.S. coordinates where they can safely drop support for us. So why did the shipments stop? The reason given to the Mutasim sounded implausible. The Americans told us that they feared that if they dropped supplies to us, these might fall into the hands of the PYD, Sejry said, using the acronym of the Kurdish political party that controls the Syrian Democratic Forces. And they said they don't want that to happen. Thats unconvincing to us because were fully aware of U.S. support to the PYD. The SDF, Sejry added, have allowed 200 families (mainly women, children and the elderly) to pass through its territory out of Marea, but this was done in exchange for control of the small town of Sheikh Aisa in Aleppo. "They are fighting us psychologically," Sejry said. Navy Commander Kyle Raines, a CENTCOM spokesman, told The Daily Beast on Tuesday, that, so far as he is aware, U.S. supply runs to anti-ISIS forces have not stopped. Weve been resupplying the vetted Syrian coalition and other folks all along, Raines said. Im not in a position to contradict what [Sejry] is saying but we have continued to resupply people. Possibly delays, Raines offered, could owe to battlefield conditions that make cargo runs or airdrops impossible. But how does the U.S. reconcile two of its own ground proxies leery of and at odds with each other while ISIS simultaneously targets one of them? Raines declined to comment. On Wednesday evening, after inquiries made by The Daily Beast to CENTCOM, the Mutasim Brigade received confirmation from the Pentagon that it would be resupplied imminently.UPDATE: Shortly after this article was published, Mustafa Sejry sent The Daily Beast photographic confirmation that the Mu'tasim Brigade had received a new air drop of military equipment. After two weeks of confusion in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804, French officials confirmed that signals have been detected from a beacon on one of the airplanes flight data recorders. The batteries powering the beacon had only two weeks of life left in them. French naval vessel Laplace that picked up the signals had been on the scene only one day. This much hoped-for success reveals that searchers had a very accurate fix on where the Airbus A320 went down in the eastern Mediterranean. And the break that enabled such accuracy was apparently due to the successful operation of a device that many experts thought was unlikely to survive a crash into wateran emergency locator transmitter, ELT, attached to the rear of the airplane. These transmitters failed to work in two other cases where an airliner crashed into water: Air France Flight 447 in 2009 and Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in 2014. In this instance the ELT seems to have worked as intendedautomatically registering an impact with water and then sending half-second bursts every 50 seconds to a satellite. It must have kept sending the bursts because, according to experts, it can take up to 100 mins for the satellite to provide an accurate fix. Only a few small pieces of floating wreckage have been found. This suggests that the bulk of the Airbus sank and it can be lying at depths of as much as 10,000 feet. With confirmation from the French investigation agency, the BEA, that a locator signal has been picked up from the wreck more equipment will be needed to reach the site and is aboard a second ship, the John Lethbridge, that will arrive this week. This welcome break in the search highlights the challenges to an investigation that, from the beginning, has been bedeviled by poor communication. Air crashes provoke irrational fears of flying way beyond what is justified by the actual risks. But this crash and two others have shown how air crash angst can be made much worse by the way investigations into their causes are impaired by the actions of the countries most involved in them. Accident investigations are always challenging, because they involve an exacting level of forensic skill. The explanation of why an airplane crashes can sometimes involve something as small as a single piece of wiring. The more difficult cases can take years to solve. Occasionally there is no clear answer. Two of the crashes involve the same country, Egypt. To be sure, it would be devastating for any country to experience two disasters of such a scale within seven months. In October an Airbus 321 flown by Russian budget airline Metrojet crashed in the Sinai, killing 224 people. Two weeks ago EgyptAir Flight 804 fell into the Mediterranean 180 miles north of Alexandria, killing 66 people. After the Metrojet crash Egyptian officials faced a difficult clash of international interests. Since the jet crashed in Egyptian air space the investigation was their responsibility. But the Russians felt an equal urgency to find out what had downed their jet and Russian investigators were allowed to comb the crash site with impunity. Moreover, they were allowed to take pieces of the wreckage to Moscow for analysis and rapidly announced that they had found evidence of an explosion from a bomb planted in the cabin. At the same time the Egyptian officials were bristling at suggestions that security was lax at Sharm al-Sheik airport, where the flight originated. They realized that the disaster would be a serious blow to Egyptian tourism. And almost immediately European and Russian airlines organized a mass evacuation of their passengers from the Red Sea resorts served by the airport and halted all further flights. Ayman al-Muqaddam, the head of Egypts air accident authority, was said be in charge of the investigation, although later the Egyptian air force said it was responsible for gathering and analyzing the debris. There was never any sign that this investigation would be conducted, as it would have been in the U.S. or Europe, with strict immunity to political pressures. Nor was there any attempt to clarify the hierarchy of authority that governed it, or to control the release of information about the accident to ensure that what was said was supported by actual physical evidence. The Russian assertion that a bomb was responsible was reinforced by British official statements that it was more than likely an act of terrorism. American intelligence sources also briefed reporters that they strongly suspected a bomb, although they could provide no evidence to support their suspicions. Indeed, there was no convincing reason why, at this stage, investigators should not have kept an open mind and continued to examine the wreckage for the possibility that a catastrophic mechanical failure had brought down the airplane. By mid-December an Egyptian committee that was now seemingly running the investigation announced that so far there was no evidence that there is an act of terror or illegal intervention. This was immediately countered by the Russians who remained adamant that it was a terrorist action. Two months later the Egyptian president, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, agreed with the Russians and said that the attack was intended to both damage Egyptian tourism (which it had certainly achieved) [Office1] and harm Egypts relations with Russia. The only physical evidence appearing to point to a bomb had actually come from ISIS who published a picture of what it claimed to be a device improvised from a soda can that it said had been taken on to the airplane by a passenger and detonated. However, given that 18 days had elapsed between the crash and the publication of the picture, this claim could well have been opportunistic rather than authentic. General el-Sisis acceptance of the Russian verdict has still not, apparently, been endorsed by investigators who remain interested in the airplanes past history of structural damage and poor maintenance. Egypts handling of the loss of Flight 804 in the Mediterranean has shown the same pattern of confusion. The earliest stages of an investigation are inevitably conducted against a background of high public attention and anxiety. People demand quick reassurance and answers. Yet speed is antithetical to the science of air crash inquiry. In this case the Egyptians first bias was toward believing that a bomb had destroyed the airplane. Since the flight originated in Paris it was now the French, not the Egyptians, who were on the spot about airport security. And the Egyptians were soon at odds with Greek officials, whose air traffic controllers had tried, without success, to contact the flight before it left their air space and who said that their radar tracking showed the Airbus making a sudden turn and then entering a spiral dive. Within days the Egyptians said they had no evidence of such an event. A succession of erratic and contradictory statements from Cairofor example a leak claiming that body parts recovered among wreckage provided evidence of an explosion that was immediately followed by an official denialrevealed no grasp of the discipline required to distinguish between verifiable facts and impulsive rumors. Astonishingly it now emerges that the Egyptians knew that a distress signal had been picked up from the ELT via satellite but this was lost in early confusion that a signal had been picked up from a black boxa physical impossibility at that point. International collaboration ought to be assured for an investigation like this that involves a variety of national interests. And any air crash investigation would normally consider itself lucky to have the kind of flight tracking resources that exist in the eastern Mediterranean. This is one of the most closely monitored air spaces in the world. As well as the radar in Greece and Egypt tracking the commercial airline routes the area is also closely watched by military satellites deployed by the United States, Britain, NATO, Turkey, and Russia. Israel also has an interest in the surveillance of the same skies. However, none of these players is keen to disclose how effective their assets are, and given how prone Egyptian officials are to spin critical information to fit their own theories and agenda its highly unlikely that their intelligence services have been given access to any of the military satellite data. Nobody disputes that Egypt is under the thumb of a hardline authoritarian regime. Paradoxically, this does not seem to produce disciplined, consistent and carefully constrained public responses to a disaster. Ministers with little grasp of the complexities of an air crash investigation make absurd statements. Rival bureaucracies dont hesitate to contradict each other. Leaks abound. The two crashes have severely harmed an already weak economy by devastating one of the countrys greatest sources of foreign currency, tourism. (New figures show that European budget tourists have deserted the Red Sea for Spanish resorts.) Whatever the causes of the crashes the effects have been made far worse by the responses of Egyptian officials because they completely undercut confidence in anything the government says. There are inescapable parallels to be drawn between the lamentable performance of the Egyptian authorities and of Malaysian officials handling the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Malaysia is not a military-dominated autocracy but it has a ruling elite that has long enjoyed the kind of party patronage and cronyism that puts incompetent placeholders in charge of key ministries. Inevitably the rot in such a system gets exposed when such people suddenly find themselves required to show some understanding of public accountability. To be fair, the calamity of Flight 370 presented the Malaysians with a challenge that would have tested any government. There was no precedent in the history of modern aviation for what had happened: an airplane with 239 people aboard had vanished without trace. Facing the swarm of reporters who descended on Kuala Lumpur were ministers without any experience ofor tolerance forthe pressures of press conferences that were being watched by the whole world. Immediately they struggled to explain why the initial handling of the crisis had been botched. They were insensitive to the distress of the families of passengers. It took days to discover crucial radar tracking data on the course taken by the Boeing 777 after the pilots last contact with air traffic controllers and, as a result, a sea search was launched in the wrong area. There were few dependable facts to feed the voracious 24-hour news cycle. Instead of acknowledging this, the Malaysians set out to construct their own narrativethe most egregious example being the suggestion that the pilots were responsible for the disaster. At the center of the maelstrom was Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister and acting transport minister. He became the face and voice of Malaysian obfuscation, floating facts and theories and then, within hours, reversing, contradicting or revising them, and in the process enraging reporters. The Egyptian and Malaysian cases make it clear that, like or not, the way an air crash investigation is handled is always vulnerable to the political habits of the jurisdiction into which it falls. This is not, let it be said, an indictment that can be generalized. For instance, Indonesia, an immediate neighbor of Malaysia, carried out an exemplary investigation into the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 in December 2014, which killed 155 people. The final report on the crash by Indonesias National Transportation Safety Committee, NTSC, met the standard of clear and detailed analysis set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, a United Nations body based in Montreal. All countries who are members of the ICAO (that includes Egypt and Malaysia) are obliged to follow the standards and procedures for air accident investigations set out in a benchmark document, Appendix 13 of the International Convention on Civil Aviation. Appendix 13 mandates a format for the way published reports on investigations should be presented. The guiding principle is that although no two accidents are ever the same a uniform scientific method should be used to investigate them. The conclusions drawn from the investigation should be carefully and clearly laid out no matter what country is responsible. And the ICAO text makes clear: The sole objective shall be the prevention of accidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability. There is, however, another side to Appendix 13 that can be problematic. It comes under the heading of Non-disclosure of Records and says: The state conducting the investigation of an accident or incident shall not make the following records available for purposes other than accident or incident investigation, unless the appropriate authority for the administration of justice in that State determines that their disclosure outweighs the adverse domestic and international impact such action may have on that or any future investigation. This provision is easily appropriated as a gag order. Parties with an interest in the outcome can and do use non-disclosure as cover for not responding publicly when the cause of a crash is not quickly determined. And in the case of Flight 370, an unprecedented situation where little physical evidence is available to investigators, the lack of transparency borders on scandalous. It is obvious that the prospect of costly and lengthy litigation hangs over the investigation. Boeing, the airline and the Malaysian government have lawyered up. Many people, including other airline chiefs with fleets of the airplane involved, the Boeing 777, have expressed frustration at the lack of communication from the investigation. Twenty-six months after the event, with teams from the U.S., Europe, Malaysia and Australia involved in the investigation testing every possible scenario, there is apparently no sense of a public obligation to counter wild conspiracy theories with credible interrogation and analysis. In the face of this behavior, the edict of Appendix 13 bears repeating: The sole objective shall be the prevention of accidents. But judging from the way the investigation is being handled in Kuala Lumpur, its the second part that seems to prevail: It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability. It has been said that truth is the first casualty of wars. The same could be said of these air crash investigations, Let us hope that events in the Mediterranean will now allow facts to supplant chaos. Last Sunday, a 17-year-old Egyptian girl, Manar Moussa, died in a Suez hospital as a result of complications from a female genital mutilation (FGM) operationand her death has reignited the countrys contentious debate about the practice. Although FGM has been illegal in Egypt since 2008, it is still a common procedureparticularly in more rural, conservative areas of the country. And even with a national campaign to reduce the practice by 10-15 percent over the next five years, many parents still believe that the operation purifies girls and keeps them from being adulterous later in life. It gives a girl more dignity to remove [her clitoris] Dr. Ahmed al-Mashady told the Guardian, after another doctor was charged with killing a 13-year-old girl in a botched FGM procedure. If your nails are dirty, dont you cut them? Despite prevalent cultural assumptions about female sexuality, the recent spate of tragic deaths has pushed Egypt towards reconsidering its stance on FGM. In 2008, the procedure became criminalized after the death of 12-year-old Badour Shakour. At the time, the Egyptian parliament passed a law that criminalized FGM, stipulating a fine of up to $900 and a prison sentence of up to two years if a doctor was caught administering the procedure. However, the country has been lax in implementing this plan. Just last year, more than five years after FGM was outlawed, Dr. Raslan Fadl was the first doctor to be prosecuted on manslaughter charges in an FGM case after 13-year-old Shuair al-Bataa died in his care. To the surprise of many Egyptiansand the disappointment of anti-FGM campaigners, who hoped the landmark case would change the practiceFadl was acquitted, and released with a fine. With little oversight, the practice remains widespreadan estimated 91 percent of married Egyptian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been subjected to some form of the practice, according to The Guardian. The deaths that occur as a result of the procedure are frequently either not reported or covered up. During his trial, Dr. Fadl repeatedly insisted that he was treating Shuair al-Bataa for genital wartsnot mutilating herwhen she died. Other doctors blamed an overdose of anesthesia or an underlying health complication, such as an allergy or stroke, for killing the girls, as opposed to the blood loss from the mutilation itself. Still, if progress could be made in eradicating female genital mutilation in Egypt, it would represent an enormous leap forward in ending the practice globally. Despite FGM being a common procedure throughout Africa and Southeast Asia, its popularity in Egypt makes that country a focal point for anti-FGM campaigners. If we were able to eradicate FGM in Egypt, we could get rid of one-fourth of the cases worldwide, Jaime Nadal, the UN Population Funds representative in Cairo told the Guardian. One hope for this is greater investigation into the deaths as they happen. The hospital where Manal Moussa had her operationand diedhas been closed, and, as of this writing, the two doctors who performed the operation, as well as the head of the hospital, are under investigation. Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-affiliated polling group based out of North Carolina, has released yet another poll riddled with intentionally troll-ish questions designed to highlight hyper-partisan biases and extreme, potentially toxic, opinions. This time, PPP turned to Georgia, where the the real-estate mogul maintains a sizable lead over likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and polled 724 registered voters. The pollsters then presented the self-identifying Donald Trump supporters with leading questions, such as whether Hillary Clinton was complicit in a conspiracy to commit, and cover up, murder. A large percentage of Trump fans polled decided to shrug and say, eh, sure. The data, released Wednesday, found that half of pro-Trump voters polled believe Clinton had some involvement in the death of Vince Foster, who once served as a Deputy White House Counsel during Bill Clintons presidency. 13 percent of respondents said Hillary Clinton did not, in fact, help kill a lawyer, and 37 percent were not sure one way or another. Furthermore, 31 percent of the Georgia Trump supporters said that they wished that the Confederacy had won the Civil War (a noncommittal 32 percent were not sure one way or another about whether or not it was a good thing that the Union emerged victorious). And 50 percent of Trump fans support the Republican candidates habit of calling Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas, with just 31 percent dissenting. PPP pulls this sort of stuff all the time. Americans are united in their dislike for teen pop sensation Justin Bieber, the polling group found in May 2013, for instance. Last year, PPP found that 30 percent of Republican voters nationally supported the bombing of Agrabah. (Agrabah does not existit is the name of the fictional kingdom in the Disney classic Aladdin.) The questions asked are sometimes tailored to elicit ridiculous answers, or at least ones vague enough to be thrown into the general category of ideological ridiculousness. The Vince Foster question was worded as, Do you think Hillary Clinton was involved in the death of Vince Foster, or not? for example. The real conspiracy theorists here arent the Georgians and Trump-loving residents polled by PPPits their preferred candidate and some of his closest allies. Last week, Trump suggested the 1993 death of Vince Foster seemed very fishy and that (the patently absurd) theories about possible foul play are very serious ones indeed. He surrounds himself with people who allege that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian murderer , and that Bill is a cokehead. He was a leader of the racist birther movement. He entertains the idea that Ted Cruzs dad might have helped Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate JFK. Oh, and Alex Jones (who publicly and proudly alleges that Beyonce is part of a CIA race-war, zombie-monster plot) is basically Trumps unofficial, part-time adviser. Just a reminder: Donald Trump is about to emerge as the next standard bearer of the GOP. Is it that much of a surprise that some of his supporters also dabble in this conspiratorial nonsense? Does a woman have the right to know what is surgically placed into her body? According to a recent decision in Idaho involving non-FDA-approved silicone breast implants, the answer is a resounding yes. It seems the twin American obsessions of cosmetic procedures (almost 16 million served last year) and bargain hunting have merged lately in a variety of odd ways. First was the advent of medical tourism, ranging from abdominal sculpturing (to get the killer six-pack) in Poland to facial restructuring in Chinaaltogether a thoroughly modern 21st-century innovation. Advertisements and inducements stress the combination of seeing the bright lights of a new big city with becoming a better younever mind that you might spend the tour taking pain medications and trying to avoid popping your stitches. Of course there are a few mishaps given the thinly regulated doctors, centers, equipment, and medications, but hey, if you look marvelous, you feel marvelous. Also somewhat new to the scene is the apparent situation in Idahoreal live U.S. doctors in real live U.S. facilities who cut some corners to pass the savings on to you, the consumer. Usually this takes the form of buying unregulated supplies, such as botox, that are cheaper even if they might be, oh, 10 or 100 times stronger than the label suggests. The doctors fees might be about the sameafter all, some actually are trained to do the procedure, some licensed for somewhat similar work, while still others generously might be said to be reclaiming the turf of the old country do-it-all-doctor of yore, the one who would deliver your baby, lance your boil, and take out your appendix, all before lunch. It is not certain which category the recent kerfuffle in Idaho fits. There, 16 women filed suit against a surgeon demanding that he notify patients in advance just what he was using for his breast implants. Not surprisingly, the women were appalled that the product now in their body was not patient-grade, at least by American standards. According to the story, at least one is planning to have the implants removed. And it gets worse, a little. The surgeon in question, the one doing the breast implants, is a specialist in ear, nose, and throat surgery. From a Google vantage, he appears to have been the lead player in a clinic situation called Magic Valley Laser Cosmetics, a local concern that did all sorts of cosmetic work. He surely was not a breast surgeon or a person trained to deal with any anatomy below the collarbone. And for whatever reason, the website for Magic Valley notes that because of his busy ear, nose, and throat practice, he no longer was able perform cosmetic surgery but could refer an interested patient to someone who does. The last sign of life on the website was a blog entry from July 2015, suggesting a recent exit. A quick word about the surgeon, Dr. Temp Patterson, courtesy of the internet. He graduated from medical school in Utah in 1991 and trained at the University of Oklahoma (my alma mater) for the requisite five years to become an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He is currently licensed to practice in Idaho, has no disciplinary actions noted against him from the state, and is certified in his specialty. As an aside, it should be noted that some ear, nose, and throat doctors migrate toward plastic and cosmetic surgery, first with botox and nose jobs, then a little eyelid work, and some of this and some of that until breast augmentation seems the logical next procedure. So Dr Pattersons path, though perhaps eccentric at first glance, is familiar. As a medical student in a rural town, I once assisted on a breast augmentation procedure. The surgery was performed under local anesthesia on a cot stretched across the cement-floored garage of the general practitioners home. A small airplane was in the garage as well. Then and now, a licensed doctor is allowed to perform the surgeryOK, no more cement-floored-garages, but from the is-the-doctor-capable perspective, caveat emptor still is the rule of the land. But caveat non-emptor must be the rule regarding what a patient is told. You are free to pick an unqualified doctor and free to have the practitioner perform a heart transplant on you, but you must be told the risks and be told truthfully what is what. Of course, doctors are not exactly forthcoming all of the time, which is why the clumsy and exasperating system of checks and balances, aka regulation, exists. The always-vilified FDA clomps along but does indeed keep easy-to-break silicone implants off the market. And hospitals extract endless amounts of paper and records to make certain a doctor can do what he says he can dothough the hospital has no sway if the doctor opens a private clinic across the street in a regulation-free zone. Because as the 16 women in Idaho have demonstrated yet again, the only thing worse than regulation is the lack of regulation. North Korea on Tuesday failed yet again to launch a Musudan missile, the fourth failure in two months, meaning the new rocket deployed to much fanfare in 2007 has never been successfully tested. The Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday said the North attempted to launch the missile in Wonsan, Kangwon Province in the early morning. The JCS added that the type of missile remains unclear but Kyodo News quoted Japanese government sources as saying it appears to have been a Musudan missile, which is transported by a mobile launch vehicle. Korean and Japanese government sources said the missile blew up during the launch. On the same day we learned Donald Trump misled the public about what he claimed was a $6 million donation to veterans charities, we learned that Trump University tried to scam single mothers out of their savings while urging other prospective students to finance their faux education with credit cards. On Tuesday, almost 400 pages of internal Trump University documents were made public, revealing the playbooks Trump employees used to guide their sales pitches for seminars and mentorships that could run upward of $35,000. The language employed by Trump Universitys sales team is similar to that of multilevel marketing scams like AdvoCare and Amway, and even certain cults. As in those types of institutions, Trump proteges could rise through the ranksfor a steep costand saying no to an offer was viewed as a starting point to briskly move past, not a conclusion. The ethos was summed up in the playbooks introduction: An attendees problem represents a golden opportunity. The draw, for Trump fans, was the free Profit From Real Estate orientation, which ran 90 minutes and was advertised in newspapers, online, and via direct mail. But the purpose of the orientation was just to get warm bodies in the door and set the hook, as the Trump playbooks explicitly say. Salespeople were instructed to use the most persuasive words in the English language according to a study by the Psychology Department of Yale University: You, New, Money, Easy, Discovery, Free, Results, Health, Save, Proven, Guarantee, and Love. And the most persuasive phrases, to plant seeds in a students mind: Youre on the right track; this is a great first step; this is just the beginning of your real-estate journey; you have been so close to living an amazing life so many times in your life, but always come up just a little short, let us make sure that never happens again; and so on. Salespeople were told to speak to attendees in a manner designed to have a powerful subconscious effect on their thinking: Take every opportunity to emphasize that they need to learn the Trump way for continued and growing success! Remember, the playbooks said, that we need to stay on offense. The goal was to make the attendees bite, and pony up for the pricey packages that promised to turn humble Average Joes into gaudy real-estate tycoons: the Trump Bronze Elite ($9,995), Trump Silver Elite ($19,495), or, best of all, Trump Gold Elite ($34,995). Would-be students were asked to list their liquid assets, which helped the Trump sales team determine if they could be buyers. Salespeople were instructed to collect personalized information about the potential students. As an example, the playbooks said, are they a single parent of three children that may need money for food? According to the playbooks, money is never a reason for not enrolling in Trump University; if they really believe in you and your product, they will find the money. You are not doing any favor by letting someone use lack of money as an excuse. Trump University was founded on May 23, 2005, the year after the debut of NBCs The Apprenticea runaway hit in the heyday of reality TV that averaged 28 million viewers per episode. A for-profit institution, Trump University initially sold virtual lectures and courses on entrepreneurship, real estate, and marketing on CD-ROM for $300 each. In theory, though, it was selling something more fantastic: the tools needed to become wealthy and powerful, to attain your very own cavernous boardroom high above Fifth Avenue, from which you could fire your very own lackeys from your very own big, leather chair. At the time of its inception, Trump Universitys roster of professors from elite institutions like Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia lent it a sheen of authenticity. The school even had a crest of red and gold, with a medieval lion in the center. But things quickly deteriorated. By 2011, having been stripped of the privilege of calling itself a university, the newly named Trump Entrepreneur Initiative was out of business. Today, it remains the subject of two class-action lawsuits in California as well as a $40 million suit brought by the attorney general from New York, Eric Schneiderman. According to what former Trump University professors previously told The Daily Beast , the focus of the pseudo-school shifted swiftly from producing and marketing legitimate educational materials that could help people to hosting seminars with questionably credentialed motivational speakers that could do little more than turn a profit for The Donald. Judging by the playbooks, the desire to turn that profit knew few boundssomething Trump, understandably, wanted to keep secret. The de facto Republican nominee, a fervent critic of President Obamas total lack of transparency, fought, via his lawyers, to keep the playbooks from becoming public knowledge. But on May 27, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled in favor of The Washington Post, which had requested their disclosure. In response, at a San Diego rally held Friday, Trump lashed out at Curiel, who is from Indiana, by labeling him a Mexican and a hater. Among the tips and tricks offered to get people to hand over their cash to The Donald was a script to use in response to likely objections, like not having the time or funds to take part in the program. If a prospective student expressed concern about using their credit cards to finance their Trump University education, for instance, salespeople were instructed to respond by saying, I see, do you like living paycheck to paycheck? Do you like just getting by in life? Do you enjoy seeing everyone else but yourself in their dream houses and driving their dream cars with huge checking accounts? Those people saw an opportunity, and didnt make excuses, like what youre doing now. When dealing with people without credit cards, salespeople told them, We teach the technique of using OPM Other Peoples Money. What most people do is handle the tuition by putting it on their credit cards because it gives them the ability to make very small monthly payments and maintain a low overhead to run their real-estate project. Then we [tell] them to use their success in real estate to pay off the banks in a couple of months or so. However, you dont seem to have the advantage of having that kind of leveraging power. Do you have any other seed capital or savings set aside to further invest into your real-estate projects? Further, the playbooks advised recruiters to ask about using their savings to borrow from your own retirement account to finance real estate investments. Trump didnt invent the get-rich seminar, and he isnt the first person to use his considerable sense of self to convince other people that, with his help and his help only, they, too can achieve wealth and happiness. But on the campaign trail today, he is the first American to take a get-rich sales pitch and apply it to the presidency. When Donald Trump told a huge, bald-faced lie to NBCs Today Show, he did it for a strategic purpose: to keep journalists from digging too deeply into his past and thus keep Americans from acquiring a clearer understanding of his lifelong conduct and character. The move, on May 15or about a million news cycles agois worth revisiting as the perfect illustration of how masterfully the presumptive Republican nominee has manipulated the conventions of news to confuse public perceptions, especially when it comes to his decades-long history of deceiving business partners, customers, employees, journalists, vendors and wives. Indeed, the whole incident may well have been orchestrated by Trump in a smart political move to convert a crystal clear case of deception into a muddled question of whether he was a perpetrator or a victim of deceit. The story begins with a 1991 audio tape that the Washington Post obtained last month from a source it will not identify, which turns out to be a crucial detail. Trumps distinctive, if younger, voice, cadence and speech patterns were clear on the 14-minute tape, which captured an interview People Magazine reporter Sue Carswell conducted 25 years ago with John Miller, supposedly a newly hired vice president of the Trump Organization. In tacky detail, the freshly hired publicist told Carswell exactly what was on the mind of Donald Trump as he was divorcing his first wife after she learned of his years-long affair with Marla Maples, soon to be the second Mrs. Trump. Hes living with Marla and hes got three other girlfriends, Miller bragged on behalf of Trump. Miller said he was fielding People Magazines questions because Trump was too busy with other matters, including dealing with brand-name beautiful women like Carla Bruni and Madonna, who was supposedly pestering Trump for a date. Predictably, the audio obtained by the Post generated all sorts of news stories, not about Trumps promiscuity or his simultaneously disrespecting his wife and mistress. The stories were about whose voice was on the tape. Some mysterious audio tapes surfaced today, Scott Pelley, the CBS Evening News anchor, declared hours after the story broke on May 13. The question isis the voice on them Donald Trump. John Roberts, a Fox news senior correspondent, raised the same question, as if the facts were in dispute. Had these reporters and others engaged in a basic reportorial function, checking the clips, the story would have had a different tone. Instead, the news themeTrump or no Trump on the tape?continued the next morning when NBCs Today Show played a snippet of the audio. Savannah Guthrie asked, Is it you? on the tape. No, Trump said, I dont know anything about it. Youre telling me about it for the first time. And it doesnt sound like my voice at all. I have many many people that are trying to imitate my voice and you can imagine that. And this sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams. Guthrie then said the Washington Post reported that using a fake name is something you did rather routinely, that you would call reporters and plant stories and say either you were John Miller or John Barron, but in fact it was actually you on the phone. Is that something you did with any regularity? That would have been a smart first question, as many people assume the facts in a question and then deliver self-damning answers. But Trump, a student of how reporters operate whod just denied to Guthrie that the voice was his, did not bite. No, and it was not me on the phoneit was not me on the phone. And it doesnt sound like me on the phone, I will tell you that, and it was not me on the phone. Back in 1991, People Magazines report on the interview took a mocking tone as it outed Trump as John Miller. Days later Trump called People and fessed up to his deception, which the magazine dutifully reported back then. In federal court testimony before that, Trump admitted using the name John Baron when calling people supposedly on Trumps behalf, as New York City newspapers reported at the time. We can label what Trump told Guthrie a lie, a knowing deception, for two reasons. First, in his emphatic Today Show denials, Trump left himself no escape hatch, such as saying he did not remember. Keep in mind that last fall Trump told voters he has the worlds greatest memory. Second, Trumps admission back in 1991 that he was Miller and Barron (or Baron) was unequivocal. So what reasons would Trump have to go on national television show and tell such a blatant, easily proven lie? For that we need to go back to the source of the tape obtained by The Washington Post. The paper wont say who its source was but Carswell, the only other voice on the tape, told Foxs Megyn Kelly that Trump was the source of the tape acquired by the Post. Carswell said she did not release the recording. Indeed, if Carswell wanted to make news she could have sold a piece with her byline on it about the 1991 interview and Trumps subsequent confession. That Trump would put out a tape and then deny his voice is on it may seem bizarre to many people, but makes perfect sense to journalists. They are accustomed to publicists and defense lawyers dishing on their clients for strategic reasons. Especially in gossip and criminal matters, the most damaging or salacious news items are often planted by the person who appears to be the one damaged, but who is in fact trying to control the damage by muddying up otherwise clear waters. For example, defense lawyers often leak damaging facts about their clients. They want to raise public doubts, influencing jury pools by shaping the news that potential jurors may hear, read or see. Trumps purpose became clear in his last few words to the Today Shows Guthrie when he sought to discredit her questions. And when was this, 25 years ago? Trump said. You mean you are going so low as to talk about something that took place 25 years ago about whether I made a phone call lets get on to more current subjects. There you have the strategy behind the lie. Trump does not want reporters telling people about his past. If they must hear about it, he wants to confuse and dispute those stories. Trump doesnt want people to know he once went to bat for a major cocaine trafficker whose Ohio case landed, briefly and mysteriously, before a federal judge in New Jersey who is Trumps sister. That the trafficker later ended up living in Trump Tower. He doesnt want people to know that he spoke up on behalf of a labor fixer and convicted felon and the investment banker for the brutal Scarfo crime family. About the mob-owned concrete company he did business with. The convicted felon he partnered with, and who stood next to him at the opening of the Trump SoHo Hotel. And on and on and on. By attacking journalists as going so low as to talk about something that took place 25 years ago Trump is trying to hide his conduct even as he attacks his expected Democratic opponent for the misconduct of her husband two decades ago. Its a smart strategy only if journalists continue to fail to do their duty, which is to ferret out the facts that candidates would rather keep out of sight, and to make sense of things candidates would make too confusing to be judged. Road rage is still a very real and very scary problem, but portable video cameras may slowly be turning the tables on enraged motorists. A cyclist in Australia captured terrifying footage of a man threatening him with a knife in the street of a quiet suburban neighborhood near Perth. The dashcam-esque video, posted to Youtube on Tuesday, shows the cyclists bike and a white car nearly collide as the automobile suddenly switches lanes to try to overtake the bike in a roundabout. After the bike appears to clip the car, prompting a What the fuck are you doing? from the cyclist, the eventually car zooms ahead of the bike, stopping in the middle of the road. As the cyclist nears the stopped car, a middle-aged man (wearing shorts, flip flops and sunglasses) emerges from the vehicle brandishing a knife. The enraged driver then steps toward the cyclist in the street with his knife lowered. You fucking dickhead, why the fuck did you you fucking touched my car, fuck off. You pull out, youre a fucking idiot. The stunned cyclist, breathing heavily, apologized as he backs away from the enraged maniac. After one last angry protest of, I could have charged you for that you piece of shit, the knife-wielding driver gets back into his car and drives away. The cyclist, who had cameras attached to both his helmet and the frame of his bike, reportedly turned in the video to the police. According to the cyclist, the police gave the driver a $1,500 fine for carrying a weapon in public. According to 9 News Perth, the 45-year-old cyclist and father (who opted only to be identified as Mark) was so shaken by the ordeal, he didnt bike again for a month. He originally chose to use the particular stretch of road where the incident occurred to a avoid a busier street for his morning commute. When Pat Buchanan first proposed building a fence on the Mexican border, the Republican establishment was shocked, shocked! The candidates sister and campaign manager, Bay Buchanan, pushed for language in the 1992 GOP platform calling for structures on the border. Surely you dont mean a fence, she was told. Were not talking about lighthouses, she replied. Buchanan was talking about the evils of immigration long before Donald Trump rode the issue to the Republican nomination. In 1992 and 1996, the former Nixon speechwriter and conservative firebrand ran for president as a Republican, his signature anti-trade and immigration diatribes inflaming party divisions and contributing to the GOPs loss of the White House. Unlike Trump, Buchanan was cast out of the party and treated as a fringe candidate with ideas unfit for polite company. I was relatively astonished when he came out against trade and immigrationand to Make America Firstthats on my (campaign) hats! Buchanan exclaimed in an interview with The Daily Beast. Buchanan and I have been sparring partners on The McLaughlin Group for many years, and I wanted to give him a chance to take a victory lap. For good or for ill, Trump has mainstreamed and normalized what shocked the political class a quarter century ago, taking Buchanans ideas and transforming them into a potentially winning hand in November. Its not like he said Pats campaign worked, lets do itits the evidence of the eyes, and the response of workers, Buchanan says. He credits Trump with coming to the same understanding he did to abandon the free trade, pro-immigration policies of the party elites. All you have to do is come to Ohio and say I think NAFTA is a lousy deal and everybody cheers. In 2000, when the two men competed for the Reform Party nomination, Trump called Buchanan Attila the Hun. Buchanan hasnt changed his views and explains that Trump has more acclimation to Manhattan, which Buchanan describes as a majority minority city. Trump is familiar with that, but he senses what is going on and whats out there in the country. Hes not an ideologue; he doesnt read it in a book. After the San Bernardino (terrorist attack), when he says no more Muslims, more than half the country is with him. In Buchanans 2001 book, Death of the West, he had a chapter title, White Party. It shocked the living hell out of people, now everybodys writing about it, he says. The Republican Party is in danger of demographic suicide if it doesnt get more African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. White Americans were over 90 percent of the electorate under Reagan. Put together two thirds of 90 percent and thats how you win 49 states, he says, which was Reagans 84 landslide. Now the white population is 73 percent of the electorate and falling to 70 percent. White Americans are 63 percent of the country and will be a minority by 2041 or 2042, he says. If you think America was a good country you grew up in and you prefer it to now, a lot of people think youre racist, homophobic, and bigoted. By now weve been called lots of names. These are the cuss words of a dying establishment, he says, a statement of defiance made possible by Trump celebrating the politically incorrect policies and positions that party elites can no longer ignore or contain. The people who like the Donald remember America as it was and dont really like what its become, he says. White supremacist groups that backed Buchanan when he was a fringe or third-party candidate now have a major party nominee they can openly back. Buchanan calls them white separatists who prefer to live with their own, a human impulse that he believes policies, however well meaning, cannot override. Europes struggles to cope with an influx of refugees are part of the ethno-nationalism that he says is fueling Trump and Trump-like figures around the world. People want to be with their own and want to be separated from others, he says. Its not only the numbers, he says, recalling with a chuckle what a crowd pleaser it was when he said in his 92 campaign that if he had to assimilate immigrants that were British and Zulus, the British would be assimilated more quickly. Nothing personal, he said. (Zulu) Chief Buthelezi is a friend of mine, but (to succeed) you bring in people who share your culture and faith and ethnic background. The numbers tell the story: $12 trillion in trade deals in 25 years; $4 trillion with China in trade deficits since Bush One, and Shanghai is this gleaming citycompare Shanghai to Detroitor Hiroshima in 1945 to Detroit in 1945. An atom bomb leveled Hiroshima; U.S. trade policies destroyed the once thriving Detroit. Trumps emphasis on how China is ripping off America is straight from Buchanans playbook, and his books, The Great Betrayal and Death of the West. He doesnt claim Trump has followed his lead or read his books, only that hes seen the damage, and its hard to miss: 55,000 jobs lost in the first 10 years of this century; one in three jobs, and the bill has come due for the elites. Traveling around the country and seeing the devastation first hand transformed Buchanan from a pro-immigration free trader in the Reagan White House to calling for a fence in the 92 campaign, defying the GOP establishment. What astonished me is not that I was called names by the Bush folks, but that they didnt pick up on it, he says, recalling how President George H.W. Bush would fly into Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire and get driven to the family estate at Kennebunkport without even stopping to notice the shuttered factories and the economic ruin. Buchanan got 38 percent of the vote against George H.W. Bush in the 92 New Hampshire primary; in 96, he won New Hampshire, dealing a blow to frontrunner Bob Dole. The undercurrent of racist appeals that Buchanan attributes to ethno-nationalism is out in the open with Trump, who flaunts his disdain for political correctness as a pillar of his campaign. The demographic change that Buchanan warned about has come to fruition in the age of Obama, adding urgency to Trumps appeal to working class white America. In 1965, when Buchanan was in his twenties, he supported legislation diversifying immigration through a lessened focus on Europe. Democrat Ted Kennedy said the new policies wouldnt change the character of the country. President Johnson in his memoirs doesnt even mention immigration, Buchanan marvels. It wasnt seen as that big a deal. When President Reagan signed the Simpson Mazzoli Immigration and Control Act of 1986 granting amnesty to some three million illegal immigrants, I didnt think that much of it, says Buchanan. It was not a great issue in the 80s for me. He recalls with a laugh hearing satirist Mark Russell perform at the Shoreham Hotel and joke that Simpson could stay but Mazzoli has got to go back. When textile heir Roger Milliken came to see him in the Reagan White House wanting his backing for a bill supporting tariffs on textiles, Buchanan told him, Im the biggest free trader in this White House besides the guy down the halland that was the president, he says. By the early 90s, the politics had shifted and so had Buchanan. He was running against King George, the patrician Bush vying for a term of his own after eight years as Reagans vice president. From the San Diego border where he claims 5,000 people were walking in every weekend, Buchanan called for a fence. Folks called me a lot of names, but two years later (Republican) Pete Wilson beat Kathleen Brown (Democrat) for (California) governor by proposing to put the National Guard on the border. (Wilson thought he had found the magic formula, but his hard line on immigration led to the early collapse of his 96 presidential campaign, and helped turn California with its growing Hispanic population into a Democratic stronghold.) Milliken put a million dollars into ads that featured Buchanan with the American flag, and NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Act) posed an early challenge to President Clinton, a New Democrat free trader. The night Al Gore debated Ross Perot, the Texas billionaire who ran against NAFTA, Buchanan was on CNN debating Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Gore trounced Perot; Reich has since deemed his support of NAFTA a mistake. Buchanan was doing radio three hours a day then, and he used the time to do battle against NAFTA. I would tell folks when we couldnt get a new hot guest, call up Bernie Sanders, he was good on the issue. The free traders carried the day, a victory for the establishment. The only way Clinton won, he had Jim Baker in the East Room, and the Bushes were for it, it was the Republican and Democratic establishment together, says Buchanan. NAFTA over-promised and under-performed, setting a time bomb thats imploding both political parties. The elites are most out of touch with the people on immigration and trade. In 96 and 2000 these were cutting issues for Buchanan; in 2016 the beneficiaries are Trump big time and Sanders too. A security camera is said to show a figure lurking in the hallway as Mamadou Diallo of the Bronx left his sixth-floor apartment on Monday night. After the 61-year-old Lyft driver departed, the figure could be seen approaching the apartment door. He knocked. The drivers 51-year-old wife, Nenegale Diallo, opened the door, expecting that the knocking signaled the return of one of her children. She instead beheld a wild-eyed stranger who pushed his way in. The nightmare took even scarier form as he quickly double-locked the door from the inside. The man was 43-year-old Earl Nash. He and his own wife and brother-in-law had been arrested back in 2003 for raping, slashing, and battering a 17-year-old Bronx high school student while holding her prisoner for two days inside his Westchester apartment. His young daughter was present at the time. The brother-in-law, Jonah Spencer, had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assault and was sentenced to three years. Nash and his wife, Charlene Spencer-Nash, pleaded guilty to an even more reduced charge of unlawful imprisonment and got off with time served. Spencer-Nash is presently serving a zero-to-three-year term on an unrelated assault conviction. Nash was subsequently convicted on drug and bribery charges and sentenced to a five-year term. He was back among us last July and remained at liberty even though an aggravated harassment charge on May 14 brought his total number of arrests to 19. He is believed to have been fueled by more than one illegal substance when he burst into the Diallo apartment. He signaled his intention by undoing his belt. If you want something like money, please let me give you. Please, leave me alone, Nenegale Diallo told him, as recounted by DNA Info. I dont want anything. I dont want money. Im going to rape you, Nash allegedly replied. Nenegale pleaded with Nash to leave her alone, but that only seemed to infuriate him. He shoved her down. He began to batter her and rip away her clothing, she told DNA Info. The man may have had his way had her sister not been there. The sister sought to help, and a wild struggle ensued. Nenegale managed to get to the door and open it. She began to scream for help, but Nash yanked her back inside, hitting her with his hands. He hoisted a chair and struck her in the forehead. The battle between the madman and the sister continued. Nenegale was able to grab her phone and call her husband in his cab. As she would tell DNA Info, she was screaming for her husband to call the police when Nash hit her again. The phone fell, but her husband must have still been able to hear her as she continued to cry out to him. Nenegale was naked and bruised and dizzy from a blow to the head, but neither she nor her sister was about to stop fighting. Nash finally moved to flee. Nenegale could have just left it at that. But she was not about to let him just get away. She stepped after him into the hallway and began making all the noise she could, hoping her neighbors would respond as Nash waited for the elevator. At that moment, the elevator doors opened and her husband, Mamadou Diallo, appeared. She called out. Thats him! Dont let him out. The husband moved to stop the man. Nash kicked the husband and swung the belt that had signaled his initial intent. The husband proved to have armed himself with a tire iron. Security camera footage is said to have captured the ensuing battle and to show that the husband struck Nash a number of times with a tire iron. One of the blows was to the head, and it apparently drew blood. The husband is said to have then paused, as if shocked by the sight of the gore. He was clearly not some urban vigilante turned savage with a blinding need for vengeful street justice. Either the husband or somebody else had called 911. Police and paramedics arrived to see Nash bleeding on the floor. He is said to have still been conscious and to have been belligerent with the first responders who sought to aid him. He was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he died. The exact cause of death remained undetermined. The beating was almost certainly a significant factor, but doctors wondered if the substances Nash seemed to have ingested might have also played a role. Toxicology reports are pending. In the meantime, Mamadou Diallo was arrested and taken to the 42nd Precinct stationhouse on an initial charge of manslaughter. He emerged in handcuffs. Self-defense, he said to the media waiting outside. He threatened my wife. He threatened my wife. Mamadou Diallo was driven to Bronx Criminal Court for arraignment. The Bronx district attorneys office studied the facts and sought to determine the appropriate charges. Subdivision 1 of Section 35.15 of the New York State Penal Law holds that a person may use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself, herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by such other person. But Subdivision 2 says, A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person under circumstances specified in subdivision one unless the actor reasonably believes that such other person is using or about to use deadly physical force. Here, the difference between a belt and a tire iron could come into play. Subdivision 2 also carries a further hitch: Even in such cases, however, the actor may not use deadly physical force if he or she knows that with complete personal safety, to oneself and others he or she may avoid the necessity of so doing by retreating; except that the actor is under no duty to retreat if he or she is in his or her dwelling and not the initial aggressor. There, the difference between being in the hallway and being in the apartment could come into play. Subdivision 2 does say the use of deadly physical force is permissible if he or she reasonably believes that such other person is committing or attempting to commit a kidnapping, forcible rape, forcible criminal sexual act or robbery. The legal complication is that in this instance the rape attempt had ended by the time Mamadou Diallo encountered Nash. All of which meant little to the public. Callers to the DAs office said that Mamadou Diallo should be honored, not collared. A number of people offered to pay for his lawyer. The DAs office sought to balance fairness and the law. Mamadou Diallo was charged at his arraignment with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment. The case remained under investigation. There was a report that Nash had tried to lure a 10-year-old girl into a stairway before he knocked on the Diallo door on Monday night. Just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the judge released Mamadou Diallo on his own recognizance. He emerged from the courthouse in a red shirt and a white Tyvek suit, the detectives having vouchered some of his clothing for blood evidence. People in the street cheered as if he were clad in the snowy white of a guardian angel. The grand jury will likely do much the same, only quietly. A 24-year-old Texas teacher who was having sex with her 13-year-old student turned herself in to police on Wednesday after she told them she had an abortion once social workers discovered their relationship. Alexandria Vera, a former English teacher at Stovall Middle School outside of Houston, has been charged with child sex abuse. According to police, Vera met the eighth-grade boy during summer school and began having sex with him last September. By January she was pregnant and had an abortion the following month. Vera told police that she terminated the pregnancy after members of the Texas Department of Child Protective Services unexpectedly confronted her at school in February about the relationship, according to an affidavit filed by police. Vera initially denied the pregnancy and relationship, but later confirmed it to police, the affidavit states. (The school principal alerted police after receiving a tip about the relationship.) Vera told authorities that she connected outside of the classroom with the boy over Instagram, eventually meeting him to make out and then have sex when his parents werent home. In October, she met his parents at a parent-teacher conference. Then he brought her over for dinner and introduced her as his girlfriend. The family was supportive and excited about the baby, the affidavit states. The boy regularly slept over at Veras house, according to the affidavit, and the two had sex almost every day for months. In the morning, shed drive him back home so that he could catch the bus to school. That kid was always over [at Veras house in Spring] and she always told [neighbors] it was her brother, a neighbor told KHOU. She was having a lot of kids in her home. There was drinking in the front. We always found beer bottles and beer cans on her side of the lawn and half of the (teens) did not look older than high school, maybe. An officer with the school district had Veras phone forensically analyzed and found many messages consistent with Veras story and with the victims interviews. The boy told investigators that a sexual relationship with his teacher had, in fact, occurred. According to school district spokesman Mike Keeney, Vera was removed from her position in April 2015. When the allegation was made the teacher was immediately removed from the school and placed on administrative leave, Keeney said. The safety and security of Aldine ISDs students and staff remains a priority of the school district. Vera turned herself in to the Montgomery County Jail in Conroe, Texas around 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning and was released shortly thereafter on a $100,000 bond. As the nation grapples with an opioid epidemic that is now killing 78 people per day, new research suggests that an alternate form of treatment may be just around the corner. In a study released Wednesday morning, researchers from Duke University announced the discovery of a new class of pain relievers that targets two differentand relatively newpain receptors. Published in Scientific Reports and funded by the National Institute of Health, the study is groundbreaking: a potential solution for a seemingly insurmountable problem. According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, chronic pain can be debilitatingincurring huge costs, disrupting sleep, and rendering daily activities unbearable. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 100 million people live with chronic painmore than heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined. Despite rising concerns about their safety, opioids remain the first line of treatment for pain. In 2012 alone, doctors in the U.S. wrote 259 million prescriptions for painkillers, enough for every adult in the country to have their own bottle. While the drugs have shown to be effective in treating pain, they are extremely dangerous and addictive. From 1999 to 2012, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of opioid deaths among women jumped a staggering 400 percent and 265 percent among men. Today NIH estimates that between 26.4 million and 36 million people nationwide abuse opiates. Recent studies have even called into question whether the drugs could elicit the opposite response, by extending chronic pain. A study from the University of Colorado Boulder released this week found evidence that painkillers actually prolonged chronic pain in rats. Its with this backdrop that researchers from Duke set out to study a new class of drugs. The new class of painkillers targets two receptors known as TRPV4 and TRPA1, which according to the Duke researchers, function in sensory nerve cells to directly sense painful stimuli. The first is linked to joint pain, the second is described as a promising target in pain and itch research. Initially seeking a more potent version of an earlier TRPV4 blocker, the researchers discovered that the new version also blocked TRPA1, making it a powerful dual-action pain reliever. One of the drugs, referred to as 16-8 proved successful at treating pain in mice including abdominal aches and pancreas inflammation. Dr. Wolfgang Liedtke, a neurology professor and leader of the study, said the drug could be useful in treating many conditions. As a physician, I soon realized the enormous potential that these compounds might have, given how beneficial dual-target molecules can be in clinical medicine, he said. A pain specialist, Liedtke suggested that the drug could be used to treat headaches, jaw pain, osteoarthritis, and nerve cell injuries. We are very pleased with what is a first chapter in a highly promising story, Liedtke said. We hope to be able to develop these compounds for clinical use in humans or animals. If the medicine does prove successful in humans, it could be life-changing for the 100 million people currently suffering with chronic pain. As is, their current line of treatment may be making things better instead of worsea sentiment that researchers from the CU-Boulder study on opioids prolonging pain captured perfectly in a statement. We are showing for the first time that even a brief exposure to opioids can have long-term negative effects on pain, said Peter Grace, research assistant professor in behavioral neuroscience and psychology. We found the treatment was contributing to the problem. LONDON Something great is afoot in Tunisia. Having sparked the consecutive Arab uprisings that began over five years ago across the entire Middle East, the country is now proving itself a pioneer once again in the region. Last weekend, Tunisias once-Islamist Ennahda party officially declared that it will separate its religious activities from its political ones. It now insists on the absolute political neutrality of mosques. In other words Ennahda, Tunisias version of the Muslim Brotherhood, just approved an internal reform that acknowledged the primacy of secular democracy over Islamist theocracy. Amid all the dictatorships and destruction, the turmoil and turbulence, the extremism and extermination, finally some good news from the bitter politics of the Arab world. Such is the dearth of political progress from the wider Middle East today that only a fool would not seek to exploit the opportunity such an pronouncement presents. Ahead of last weekends party congress that formalized this change, Ennahdas founder and leader, Rached Ghannouchi, who once supported enforcing an interpretation of Islam as law, told the French daily Le Monde that political Islam no longer had a place in the Middle East. "We want religious activity to be completely independent from political activity, Ghannouchi said. This is good for politicians because they would no longer be accused of manipulating religion for political means and good for religion because it would not be held hostage to politics We are leaving political Islam and entering democratic Islam. We are Muslim democrats who are no longer claim to represent political Islam. Ghannouchis reforms were overwhelmingly adopted by a jubilant conference that saw over 13,000 party activists packing a stadium. An overspill of 2,000 more waited in anticipation outside. Non-religious songs filled the conference hall, young girls without headscarves were given the stage, and Ghannouchis secular political rival Nidaa Tunis leader President Beji Caid Essebsiyes, the man who ousted Ennahda in the last electionwas the guest of honor for the evening. Surprisingly, the party remained highly unified despite the unprecedented reforms: 80.8 percent of delegates voted in favor of separating the political from social work, and 87.7 percent voted in favor of Ghannouchis new intellectual vision for the party. Ghannouchi himself easily regained his presidency with a whopping 75 percent of the delegates votes. None of the above should imply that Tunisias journey towards secularism will be without its challenges. Many Tunisians and others who follow events in the regionwill remain wary of a resurgent Ennahda. They may believe this to be nothing but a ruse in order to gain power in local elections next year, ahead of the 2019 general election. But between the Egypt that didnt even try, and the Turkey that tried and failed, there are reasons peculiar to Tunisia that may just allow this brave experiment to succeed. In Egypt, when that great mothership of global Islamist groups, The Muslim Brotherhood, was confronted with a similar opportunity for reform in 2013, it chose to cling arrogantly to power in disbelief that a Muslim people could ever reject the rule of God once given a chance to enjoy it. It took a military coup to oust them, and Egypt is suffering the consequences of that coup until today. In Turkey, the world gave Recep Tayyip Erdogans AKP party a chance to pioneer a post-Islamist era, known enthusiastically as the Turkish model, only to be terribly disappointed by Erdogans recent delusions of grandeur, and neo-Ottoman pretense to the resurrection of a Sultanate. Many may wonder what guarantee we have that Ennahda wont revert back to the stubbornness of its Egyptian mothership, or even develop a chronic case of Erdoganitis many years down the line. Of course, these are valid concerns. Only vigilance can guard against them. But unlike in Egypt and Turkey, the advantage Tunisians have is that Ghannouchi has already been in a position to try and cling on to power, but instead he voluntarily ceded it. The identity of the person making this announcement for reform is as important as what has been said. Ghannouchi founded and led what remains the largest political bloc in Tunisias Parliament today. He was sentenced to jail under the pre-revolution regime and lived in exile for 20 years, only returning after the 2011 uprising that ousted former strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. After Ghannouchi returned home, he went on to win the post-revolution election in October 2011 with 37 percent of the vote, forming the first Islamist government of the Arab uprisings. Two years later, and about a month after Gen. Abdel Fattah al Sisi ousted Egypts Muslim Brotherhood, Ennahda faced large-scale popular protests demanding an end to its rule. This second wave of popular Arab street protests, this time against Islamism, rendered Ennahda's government untenable. But instead of resisting the will of his own people, Ghannouchi had the foresight to help approve a new secular constitution++, before retreating from power and agreeing to a government of technocrats to avoid political confrontation. By 2014, the secularist Nidaa Tounis party of President Essebsi had beaten the by-now scandal-ridden Ennahda in a popular vote. To collective sighs of relief everywhere, Ghannouchis Islamists had the political wherewithal to step aside and allow a peaceful democratic transition. That moment set Tunisia apart from the political disasters that have beset the rest of the region since. Ejected from power, and coming to terms with the ideological shock of having been rejected by the ummah, or Muslim community (ideologically this should not have happened, for God promises victory to the true believers) Ennahda began a process of deep introspection. It was this process that Ghannouchi commented on during last weekends annual party congress: We are a party that never stopped evolving from an ideological movement engaged in the struggle for identitywhen identity was under threatto a comprehensive protest movement against an authoritarian regime, to a national democratic party devoted to reform. Shocked into action by the scourge of ISIS that arose to subjugate entire cities in Syria and Iraq, and is on the rise in Libya, Tunisias neighbor, Ennahda initiated a serious process of soul searching. Ghannouchi told the congress: We reaffirm Ennahdha's absolute support for the state in its war against ISIS and the extremists who excommunicate others We are keen to keep religion far from political struggles and conflicts, and we call for the complete neutrality of mosques away from political disputes and partisan exploitation. Enter post-Islamism. These are Muslim democrats. They are akin to religiously conservative Republicans in America. Not quite liberal, but certainly not theocrats. They may be religious in their personal lives (so what), driven to public service due to their religious conviction (again, so what), but they do not seek to impose their religious views on others. They represent religious people in politics, instead of politicized religion. Crucially, they surrender any claim that only their manifesto represents Islam. Instead, they acknowledge that politics is a matter of man-made policy, as Ghannouchi elaborated: A modern state is not run through ideologies, big slogans and political wrangling. It is guided by social and economic programs and solutions that provide security and prosperity for all. Yes, there will remain challenges. Of all countries globally, Tunisia has sent the highest number of foreign fighters to join ISIS. But this is why it is so important to seek a way out of the civilizational disaster that is Islamism. As I suggested in my dialogue with the atheist thinker Sam Harris, the process of Islamic reform begins by a cessation of monopoly claims to truth, giving rise to democracy, which in turn leads to pluralism, necessitating secularism, which can eventually give rise to liberalism. No matter previous failures, success for post-Islamism in just one case offers irrefutable proof that Islam can be reconciled with secular liberal democracy by Muslims themselves. Thus proving both Islamist theocrats and anti-Islam doomsayers wrong. For all our sakes, if it can be reconciled, it must be. The best part of this is that Ennahdas sincerity, or lack of, is not relevant. Declaring the separation of Islam from politics requires an articulation of the case for it, if merely for survival reasons. Among Islamist circles, arguing this case will spark a fierce debate. Once started, such debate takes a life of its own. And debate is all one can ever really hope for in achieving a Muslim Renaissance. The alternative is more violence. Already, Ennahdas move has had an impact on its Egyptian counterpart. A week later Gamal Heshmat, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood Leadership Council in Egypt, expressed a desire to separate politics from religion. History is made by a series of long marches. Only ten years ago I too was an Islamist. In fact, so strident was I in my misguided desire to resurrect a caliphate that I even argued with Ghannouchis own son Baraa, while overlapping time with him at my undergraduate college in London. I recall insisting that his Ennahda version of Islam was simply not revolutionary enough. But time changes us all. And as the Arab uprisings have shown us, it is evolution not revolution that is best placed to settle the political disputes of the wider Middle East. It was, after all, my own slow political evolution that brought me to these very views today. Last week I wrote in disappointment that the Turkish model is dead. This week, I write with optimism: long live the Tunisian model. LOS ANGELES The little league team coached by Bill Klug gathered for a game at the baseball diamond in El Segundo, California on Wednesday. Their beloved coachwhose 10-year-old son played for the teamdidnt make it. A few hours earlier he had been shot dead by a coward. He was only 39-years-old but his body was laid out at an L.A. coroners facility. Klug was shot in the University of California, Los Angeles engineering building where he worked by an unidentified attacker, believed to have been a current or former student, who turned the gun on himself before he could face justice. At work, Bill was known as Professor William S. Klug, he was a former graduate student at UCLA with a Ph.D from Caltech. His work in the field of mechanical and biological engineering had given him intimate knowledge of the devastating affects of gunshot wounds. He co-authored a paper on what a bullet does when it enters the skull. The progressive opening of fracture surfaces is governed by a thermodynamically irreversible cohesive law, he wrote. In other wordsfragile human life is obliterated. His latest project was reportedly attempting to create a computer-generated heart. You cannot ask for a nicer, gentler, sweeter and more supportive guy than William Klug, fellow UCLA professor Alan Garfinkel told the Los Angeles Times. On the Little League field at the heart of his beach community in El Segundo, former friends and fellow coaches paid tribute in the same way. He deserves to have something said about him, Lance Giroux, a close friend, told The Daily Beast. I dont want the focus on that guy that ended it. He recalled what Klug had told the kids when they lost their last Little League game. Its not the end of the world, guys. Let it go, he told the crestfallen Padres team after last weeks loss. He always had a good way of putting things in perspective, Giroux mused, fighting tears. He always managed to let it go. One thing is certain: Klug was the calm, never the storm. He never raised his voice above speaking voice. Thats why I cant fathom this, Giroux said. In a sea of youth sports crazy people he was the nicest and most calm guy that there was. If there was a guy that you would send in to talk down the idiot suicide guyBill would be the guy. Klugs pride and joy was his family. Loyal to the last to his young daughter and wife Mary, he was inseparable from his son, Timmy. Both southpaws, they bonded in uncanny ways. They were tighter than your average father and son, Giroux stressed. Its strange to say, but they were buddies. They hung out. They talked alike. They looked alike. Walked alike. Sounded alike. You just knew what Timmys going to be like when hes 37 years old. And when Giroux received the call notifying him of the loss of his close pal, Klugs son was first on his mind. My first thought was Timmy, he said. And now with his dad slain, Giroux is already gearing up to help Timmy. Its going to take a village, he said. Its pretty tight group. Were going to have to pick it up for him. Already, a crowdfunding page for the family has been set up. According to the pages description: The money will be used for supporting the family and college for his son and daughter. Hours after the shooting, the Klugs driveway was clogged with cars from visiting familyand friends who had brought food. Giroux was still working out how he was going to break the news about their coach to the young ballplayersone of whom is the same age and attends the same elementary school as Timmy Klug. My sons heading over here, and I havent gotten myself together on what to say to him, the 48-year-old father said through choked-up pauses. I will have to break it to him some way. I probably have to talk to every kid on that field. And I need to figure that out right now. The story was already being told by news outlets across America. A throng of media camped around the corner of Penn Road along Stevenson Park, where the ballgame between the As and the Royals was under way. Cash-strapped Hyundai Merchant Marine succeeded in rolling over W630 billion worth of debt on Tuesday after talks over vessel charter fees came close to an agreement (US$1=W1,191). The shipping company is in talks with creditors to swap W800 billion in loans maturing next year into equity. Hyundai Merchant Marine must reach an agreement on both lowering charter fees and extending debt repayment deadlines to avoid court receivership. June Kang, perhaps best known as the wife of actor Choi Min-soo, will be the mistress of ceremonies at a party on Saturday celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea. The British community in Korea celebrates the queen's birthday every year, but the event this year is the biggest so far with 400 invited guests, double the number of previous years. Kang told the Chosun Ilbo that she was asked to host the event through contacts built up during her 12 years as the PR representative for an international school in Seoul which is a member of the British Chamber of Commerce here. Kang declared herself honored to be given the chance because she is a citizen of Canada, whose head of state is the queen. Kang will compere the event with Gordon Dudley of Research Direct International, introducing U.K. Ambassador Charles Hays and other guests. Kang competed in the 1993 Miss Korea pageant and married actor Choi Min-soo in 1994. She is a director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Tornado, flooding brought out the best and the worst in people After the recent tornado and flooding, I read about and saw first-hand how neighbors and strangers came together to assist people in need and to clean up the devastation. Streets were littered with boxes and plastic bags filled with debris ready to be taken away. Thank you, volunteers. I understand the old saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure." We were not surprised to see scavengers rooting through the debris we had placed at the curb, taking what they felt still had value. We were disappointed to see that these people opened plastic bags and emptied this same trash on the curb and street. This trash included carpet tacking strips with sharp spikes. The victims of the flood had to, once again, pick up the debris. I now understand the old saying "adding insult to injury." ERNIE MONTOYA Bryan Physicians Centre doctor protected patients in the storm On May 26, I was at the Physicians Centre for a procedure. After the procedure was completed, my wife and I were discussing it with the doctor, Dr. Charles Peirce, when the receptionist came into the room to inform us that a tornado was in the area. Dr. Peirce assisted my wife and I down four flights of stairs to a safe hallway to wait out the storm until it was safe for us to leave. While I understand that medical personnel have protocols for situations such as this, I would like to thank Dr. Peirce and his staff for their professionalism and caring for our well-being. Although our subdivision, Copperfield, survived, our hearts and prayers go out to our neighbors in nearby Wheeler Ridge. ED WHITE Bryan Let those who seek socialism look to other countries It's too bad that the 30 percent of our fellow Americans who believe socialism Is a viable economic option to free enterprise can't be forced to spend a month or two in Cuba or Venezuela -- countries that have run out of other people's money. LYLE D. STOCKMOE College Station The Seoul Metropolitan Government is considering a ban on sales of highly alcohol drinks in parks along the Han River, it said Tuesday. The move is part of the city government's drive to curb alcohol consumption. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monthly alcohol consumption rose from 62.1 percent in 2014 to 63.6 percent last year. And high-risk alcohol consumption rose from 16.5 to 17.6 percent over the same period. Coincidentally, Solarcentury's annual installed capacity has also roughly doubled every two years: from a tiny half megawatt in 2000 to 196 megawatts in 2015. We install roofs both residential and commercial, and ground-mounted solar farms, operating in nine countries. In the UK, by far our biggest market to date, we are the largest installer, and were the first company to deploy 500 megawatts. The wrong sort of success? The scope for innovation and design is much greater in building-integrated solar than in ground mounted solar. Figuring that building-integrated solar had to be a mainstay of a sustainable energy future, we began innovating early. Our first product, a solar rooftile called C21, went on trial in 2003, and was in production by 2005. In 2006 it was the main reason a Silicon Valley venture capital fund, Vantage Point, invested in us. By 2007, we had offices in France, Spain, and Italy. We were building a decent business in building-integrated solar, including installing solar barn roofs for farmers all over France, and supplying roofing products to Italian utlity Enel. We had our first professional CEO, Derry Newman, formerly boss of Sony UK. In 2010, the UK introduced feed-in tariffs for solar: a mechanism for improving economics to speed market development and drive costs of products down. Notwithstanding the ongoing recession after the financial crisis of 2007-8, things were looking rosy. Cue, in 2011, the first of two ambush cuts of the feed-in tariff by the UK government. Governments seeking to enable new markets using feed-in tariffs are supposed to have two vital objectives: First, the tariffs are meant to decrease steadily on a glide path to zero, allowing the embryonic industry to execute business plans en-route to 'grid parity' (a price equal to the cheapest fossil-fuel electricity) without facing precipitious drops in support, and hence demand and income. Second, investors must be able to have certainty that policy will not be reversed. Without that confidence, they will take fright and be difficult to persuade back to the market. In its 2011 ambush attack, the UK government consciously elected to drop both these goals: their aim, so informants in Whitehall and Westminster told me, was to suppress the embryonic solar industry so that investors in gas and nuclear power would not be put off. Hence Solarcentury found itself in a bizarre situation that year: taking the government to the High Court over the legality of their actions (we won), meanwhile winning a Queen's Award for Enterprise for our product innovation. Surviving and thriving under attempts to close down the UK solar industry The UK government was not alone in sabotaging its own solar policies around this time, sadly. Similar dramas played out in Spain, France and Italy, forcing Solarcentury to close all its offices in those countries. My point here is not to whinge so much as highlight the difficulties innovation teams face in a highly politicised sector like energy. To say the very least, they cannot afford to rely on budget continuity. The first budgets to be cut by boards under duress tend to be innovation and marketing. Accordingly, it is a matter of great pride to me that Solarcentury kept the faith with innovation through these troubled times. What saved the company from bankruptcy, amid the ruin inflicted by politicians on our rooftop markets, was in part our increasingly international business, but mainly the fact that solar module prices had fallen so unexpectedly fast that we could install solar farms economically in the UK, drawing on a market enablement mechanism originally meant mainly for wind power - the Renewables Obligation. We began to install solar farms in 2011, and grew fast in 2013 and 2014 as a consequence. All the while the innovation team was making progress with Sunstation. 2015 saw another government ambush attack on solar subsidies, this time revealing the full extent of Whitehall's collective obsession with nuclear and fracked gas, and its willingness to sacrifice clean energy on the altar of those increasingly incomprehensible doomed causes. Thousands lost their jobs in the UK solar industry, especially in the companies that chose to work only domestically. For the second time after an ambush, it seems that the UK markets will survive the unanticipated cliff in support. Notably, IKEA announced a partnership with Solarcentury for solar roof sales via their UK stores, having earlier stated their intention is to be the number one global retailer of residential solar roofs. Both companies affirmed their commitment to the UK market. Other companies have done the same. Solar in the UK is not going away any time soon, accordingly, whatever the state of market support mechanisms. The fact that in-roof solar is now available for the same price as on-roof solar will surely help to cement that. The future will not be like the past. Thank goodness ... A direction of travel is beginning to take shape as context for ongoing innovation in the global energy transition. Solar costs will continue to come down, until they are cheaper than everything else. So too will battery costs. The two technology families will increasingly be married. Other smart clean technologies will overlay their union, enhancing its potency. Meanwhile supporters of nuclear and gas will increasingly struggle to deliver their flawed visions. Nuclear costs will march ever further into the realm of the unaffordable. Gas prices will continue to render fracking uneconomic, even if the oil industry can persuade a reluctant British public to accept it. The solar revolution will continue to unfold, and the better that innovation teams in the clean energy industries deploy their design magic - in the broadest possible sense of that word - the quicker it will all accelerate. In this upbeat context, Solarcentury's innovation team should be filled with pride over their pioneering leadership with Sunstation. As for myself, I am intensely proud of them, and their product. But I am also ashamed over my doubts about their original goal, and mindful that many men of a certain age like me, raised amid the fuming paraphernalia of the hydrocarbon age and not the smart electrons of the 21st century, have an awful lot yet to learn. Dr Jeremy Leggett is a British green-energy entrepreneur, author and advocate who is founding director of Solarcentury, one of the most respected international solar companies; founder and Chairman of SolarAid, a charity set up with 5% of Solarcentury's annual profits; and Chairman of CarbonTracker, a financial-sector think-tank warning of carbon-fuel asset-stranding risk to the capital markets. This article was originally published on Jeremy's own website. A number of developing countries, led by Ecuador, Guatemala and Bolivia are now calling for concrete measures to define how the public policy making process interacts with the private sector in climate change negotiations. What they want is special attention to be given to concerns over potential conflicts of interest between the industry and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Many business communities and the media too are actively engaged with climate change issues all over the world. Having their views heard and considered by negotiating Parties is not necessarily a bad thing. However, concerns are being voiced about the undue influence of the fossil fuel lobby, which yet has to prove whether it is willing to align its polluting business models with the agreed goal of keeping global warming below 1.5C. According to Jesse Bragg of Corporate Accountability International, (CAI) one of the key concerns is that there is already a welcoming place for groups and corporations representing the fossil fuel industry, but that the Paris Agreement takes it a step further. It extends an invitation for the private sector to get deeply engaged and involved in climate action. "This can be a good thing, but it can also have challenges", Bragg says. "If we are going to do that, we need to have policies in place, before that level of engagement begins". The Break Free campaign, that engaged thousands of citizens all over the world last month (May), added pressure on governments to do their best in order to strengthen the commitments they made in the Paris Agreement, ensuring that its implementation is not directed to false solutions. For Bragg, "climate action should be based on the interests of citizens and the planet, not those of the industry. The private sector will definitely have a role in climate action. The question is whether it is also going to be allowed to write the rules for it". Developing countries and civil society believe that sound climate policy affects the profits of the fossil fuel industry and so there must be a process in place, by which the legitimacy of the UNFCCC will be protected. This should make sure that conflicts of interest with the private sector are avoided. "These are the same companies that, for decades, have undermined attempts to find solutions to climate change, although they knew of its existence for so long. Now that they are singing a different tune, we cannot just allow our memory to fall short," reminds Bragg. The process leading to Paris has been a 20-year negotiations, largely due to their opaque ways of doing things. "We should be able to make the distinction between the PR that certain corporations are putting out, and what their true intentions are. If their business models are predicated on extraction and burning fossil fuels, negotiators should ask themselves whether they really have a role that is consistent with the interest of this convention," Bragg adds. British Columbia has opened a trade office in the Philippines, citing that the fast economic growth of the Southeast Asian nation made it a good choice for their ASEAN transactions. We are positioning [British Columbia] to capitalize on the many opportunities in the Philippines, which has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the provinces Premier Christy Clark was quoted as saying in a release sent to journalists. The Trade and Investment Office, situated in Makati City, is part of British Columbias efforts to reinforce the Plan of Action to implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-Canada Enhanced Partnership that lasts from 2016 until 2020. The strategy calls for businesses in British Columbia to diversify their markets through trans-Pacific trade, with the government of British Columbia committing to deliver new, streamlined services to help businesses build relations in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, the statement read, emphasizing that five of the worlds 20 fastest-growing economies could be found in the region the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. At a media briefing held after the offices ribbon cutting ceremony, Clark told local media that the Philippines was picked over other ASEAN nations because it was a natural fit. The thing for me is that Manila and the Philippines feel very familiar because theres so many people of Filipino descent where I live. And I think the strength of the human relationship that we have between us would mean the trade grows very quickly, she told reporters. Trade between British Columbia and the Philippines would mainly satisfy the industrial need for technological innovation, energy, and education. Our office here is really a matchmaking service. The office is intended to put together Filipino opportunities with British Columbia opportunities and make them work, said Ms. Clark, who in several instances professed her love for Jollibee spaghetti, and even joked that the fast food chain should consider setting up a franchise in British Columbia. One of the Philippine businesses that is interested in doing business with British Columbia is Ayala Corp., which will invest in a 250-unit residential apartment building in the province. In 2015, British Columbia had the largest share of exports among the provinces in Canada, accounting for 26% of total exports, according to statistics from the provinces website, with lumber being its biggest export to the Philippines. Asked if there are any worries that the incoming administration might not sustain the momentum of the economic activity under Aquinos term, she said that she didnt have any comment on Philippine politics. Philippines construction firm EEI Corp. said its is looking for partnership, investment, and technology transfer opportunities in British Columbia in a bid to improve the companys technical know-how and capacity to adopt an environmentally friendly approach in the construction sector. Roberto Jose L. Castillo, EEI President and Chief Executive Officer, told reporters at the sidelines of a joint meeting for the BC delegation to the Philippines that they are scouting for business opportunities in British Columbia. Were always looking for opportunities anywhere. And I actually have been to BC for a project several years ago. Unfortunately, the project was cancelled. Hopefully it will revive, Castillo said. He said possible opportunities are local fabrication of parts, or foundation of establishments and/or homes and exporting them to BC, or even transfer of BCs environment-friendly technology and approach in construction to Philippine contractors. We deal with a lot of foreign engagements. Were looking opportunities both ways [Philippines to abroad and vice versa], Castillo said. British Columbia, or Canada in general, is very concerned with the environment. We would like to walk with them so we can learn more about techniques that protect the environment, he added. The EEI president hopes that the company can help BC in rebuilding homes since its wildfire season started as early as April. If there is a chance, we will help them from the wildfires. Many were displaced, and rebuilding is needed. Their population is only 26 million. Carpenters [for rebuilding] are not enough, Castillo said, but noted that there may be difficulties due to the strict business environment in the Canadian province. A member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, EEI was established in 1931 mainly engaged in building power plants, food and beverage manufacturing facilities, semiconductor plants, real estate projects, and other infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, rails, ports, airports and other infrastructures. Aside from its local business, EEI is also working on some construction projects overseas. Quick Facts : There are more than 135,000 British Columbians who identify as Filipino. The Philippines is among the fastest-growing economies in the world, with GDP growth of 6.3% expected in 2016. B.C. is the top Canadian provincial exporter to the Philippines, with $190 million in exports in 2015. The Province has 12 Trade and Investment offices based in Japan (1), South Korea (1), India (3), China (4), Europe (1), the United States (1) and the Philippines (1). B.C. trade and investment representatives played a key role in facilitating and supporting more than 160 inbound and outbound trips involving B.C. companies and organizations in 2014-15. Four-year-old Claire Cordell asked for a ride on a pink unicorn in March while she was receiving treatment for a rare form of cancer. Claire is battling Ewings sarcoma that was growing off her nasal clavicle bone and wrapping around her brain stem. Claires battle began in September 2015. She has spent the last 9 months undergoing treatments of chemotherapy and proton radiation at both Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and at Childrens National Hospital in D.C. In the middle of her treatment, Claire made her wish known to her mother, Kimberly Cordell, who contacted Michelle Holling-Brooks, the founder of Unbridled Change. Unbridled Change is a non-profit equine assisted therapy center that provides interactive mental health therapy and equine assisted learning for individuals, families and veterans. I was so honored to be asked to help make such a wish come true, said Holling-Brooks. I didnt quite know how to bring the wish to life and what horse would like to transform into a pink unicorn/Pegasus, but we were going to make it happen! When Holling-Brooks met Claire, the little girl asked if she knew how to talk to the fairies that know unicorns. If you do, can you ask them to use the magic in their horns to take the cancer ball out of my head? Holling-Brooks told Claire said she would talk to the fairies and they would get the message to the unicorns to start using their magic. Claire described the unicorn/Pegasus she had seen in her imagination. Her name was Sparkle Toes because she had pink sparkly toes, a pink horn and pink wings. She lived in the forest with the fairies. We spent the next few months pulling together ideas and figuring out which pony would be the best Sparkle Toes, Holling-Brooks said. We dyed Puzzle with non-toxic, chemical free semi-permanent dye that our local organic salon, Creekside Salon, helped us find. It took 16 bottles of hot pink dye, eight bottles of spray-in hair dye for his mane and tail, a bottle of pink glitter for his hooves, a magical unicorn horn, wings, flowers, and felt saddle pad made to look like a flower to transform Puzzle into Sparkle Toes! The day of Claires introduction to Sparkle Toes, the family had just learned that the treatments were successful and Claires cancer was gone. When the little girl came into the arena, she and her family made a wish for Sparkle Toes to come out of the forest to meet Claire. Wow, you do know Sparkle Toes! But be careful. Dont touch her horn. If you do, she will lose her magic and not be able to help other people get better and be happy too! Claire told everyone. She spent the next 30 minutes riding and talking to Sparkle Toes about her journey and how her magic was going to help other people, too. I love my job. The smiles and hugs we received today from Claire and her family will be with me and our staff for the rest of our lives! said Holling-Brooks. Unbridled Changes mission is to support those who overcome trauma, and who better fits in that mission then Claire? said Hollling-Brooks. Being able to serve people within this mission is made possible by the generous support of the community and local foundations. Learn more about Unbridled Change and its programs at www.UnbridledChange.org. SHARE By Erin Schmitt of The Gleaner High school diplomas represent second chances for many Central Academy graduates. "This school isn't just a school," said Alexus Moseley, who was chosen from the 36 graduates to address the Class of 2016 at Tuesday night's graduation ceremony. Teachers don't just make sure students are college- or career-ready, they help prepare them for life, she said. "For that I can't thank them enough." Moseley loved her freshman year at Henderson County High, but her opinions of school soured when she started getting bullied as a sophomore. "This went on for two years, so I just gave up hope and started not wanting to come to school," she said. A teacher told her the alternative school might be a better fit, so Moseley enrolled at Central. It started promisingly, with her attending school daily and finishing her assignments. However, things started going downhill again. She began skipping classes and dropped out. After not being in school for a year, Moseley vowed to get her life together and asked if she could re-enroll. "They believed in me enough to let me have a second chance," she said, just like they had many of her classmates. "I want to thank Central Academy for believing in us when no one else did." Head teacher Zack Windell recalled that when Moseley passed all three benchmarks on the Compass test, he pushed her to enroll in college. Moseley has been accepted to Morehead State University. She was one of four students singled out for awards at the graduation ceremony. Both Moseley and classmate Bergemane Fleuriot were given an award for overcoming obstacles. "This young man came from Henderson from his native land of Haiti," Windell said of Fleuriot. "He's one of the hardest working young men and most inspirational students that I've ever had the pleasure of working with." Amanda Fredrick was presented an award for outstanding effort. "This young lady never fell behind and what struck me the most about her was her concern for other students," said Windell. "She's another young lady with a tremendous future ahead of her." Brandon Dyer was given the award for highest grade-point average 3.76. He was unable to make the ceremony Tuesday night because he was working in Richmond, Virginia. Windell shared that after Dyer had initially dropped out of school, administrators worked with him so he could re-enroll in a way that would accommodate his work schedule. Superintendent Marganna Stanley told the student body that each of them had a different story, but all shared a commonality with the three Cs: conviction, character and courage. It's these three life skills which will guide them as they enter the next chapter in their lives, she said. "You don't need an award or a medal just to prove that you have something special inside of you," Principal Anthony Black told students. "All of you are blessed with talents that are worth congratulating." The following graduates are part of the Central Academy Class of 2016: Kristin Alvey, Shailyn Bean, Thomas Brooks, Justin Carlisle, Victoria Carter, Barry Dabbs III, Kassie Denham, Chace Deno, Brandon Dyer, Allyson Elliott, Bergemane Fleuriot, Katora Franks, Amanda Fredrick, Daijah Green, Jacob Green, Trey Hattenbach, Keenan Hollowell, Jerrius Hughes, Carley Humphrey, Haley Knight, Jonathan Knight, Alexus Moseley, Whitney Page, Ethan Rauch, Corbin Richards, Dakota Ross, Savanna Shelton, Lauren Spoon, Keeley Stout, Mathew Sugg, Bryanna Sutton, James Travelstead, Trey Utley, Justin Walker, Sean Weir and Abigail Wise. Juvenile arrested in connection with weekend shootings A juvenile has been arrested in connection with a shooting that injured a 17-year-old and 21-year-old last weekend. Thinking back upon the heyday of The Hills and all of its stars, did you ever look at Spencer Pratt When you first heard that Kirsten Dunst and Garrett Hedlund had called off their engagement, you were probably filled with A look at the cast of the classic film Top Gun then and now reveals just how little some of Faster loading time (lower bounce rates from) A faster loading ensures that your site visitors don't leave your site when it starts to load for too long. Guaranteed dedicated resources Bandwidth, memory, CPU power, storage of up to 200 GB SSD Storage, NVMe. Privacy and control (server admin) You will get total control over digital assets, databases, customer information, and files with no ovhcloud control panel. Easier scalability You will able to increase your resources as often as you want easily. 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If he had headed west, he would have found himself in the Rocky Mountains. He also might have found a mate, sired litters, and lived in happy anonymity. Instead, he headed east and became famous. He was the first mountain lion to conclusively show his face and tail in New York and Connecticut in more than a century. His remarkable journey ended when a late-night commuter ran him down on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford on June 11, 2011. The big cats arrival became one more piece of evidence to people who are sure they have seen a mountain lion aka panther, or cougar, or puma in the state. There was one. Why not others? For writer William Stolzenburg, that conjecture is far less interesting than the fact of the matter a 1,500-mile walk by a solitary animal through lands full of speeding cars and people with service pistols and hunting rifles. That doesnt account for perambulations along the way. He may have walked the width of the nation twice over in getting here, Stolzenburg said, talking about his account of the big cats journey The Heart of a Lion at Byrds Books in Bethel last week. His book is equal parts a narrative of the walk, a primer on mountain lion biology, and a history of the usually unfortunate meetings between the European settlers and their descendants, and mountain lions. More often than not, it involves men with guns taking down the animal in the name of public safety or livestock protection. But mountain lions tend to stay away from humans and domestic herds, Stolzenburg said. Panther wariness may add to their mystique. It doesnt justify the panic they almost always set off. It passed by hundreds of barns and corrals and never bothered a single head of livestock, Stolzenburg said of the cats trip. Here is Stolzenburgs account of the mountain lions trip. It was born in 2008. Sometime in the late summer of 2009, it started east. It crossed the Great Plains and the Missouri River before surfacing in Champlain, Minnesota, in the winter of 2009. Throughout that winter, people saw it again in Wisconsin, heading south toward the urban centers of Milwaukee and Chicago. Luckily, it turned north. In May, it tripped off a wildlife camera in Michigan. Then it crossed the border into Ontario and went off the wildlife biology radar, only to resurface in Thousand Islands National Park in the St. Lawrence Seaway in December 2010. It moved down to Lake George in New York, then southeast to meet its fate in Connecticut. It left a photographic record some taken by surprised humans, others by wildlife cameras recording passing fauna. But biologists also tracked the lion through DNA they took from hair, urine and scat samples it left behind. Thats how they were able to say the mountain lion who died in Connecticut showing no marks of captivity and with a belly containing porcupine quills walked here from South Dakota, Stolzenburg said. There are, however, doubters. Ray Weber of Cougars of the Valley, which tracks and posts reports on mountain lion sightings in Connecticut on its website ctmountaionlion.org, called Stoleznburgs book a nice piece of fiction. What Weber and others believe are mountain lions from South Dakota have now migrated to Ontario and Quebec and are breeding there. It makes much more sense, he said, that a Canadian-born panther, with South Dakota DNA, would wander a few hundred miles into Connecticut. It would also account for the other cougar sightings people now regularly make in the state. But Chris Spatz of the Cougar Rewilding Foundation, who was in Bethel to hear Stolzenburgs talk, said the scanty DNA samples from Canadian panthers show they are related to South American stock probably released in the northern woods. Spatz started out as a firm believer in anecdotal cougar sightings. He now wants to see proof clear photographic evidence, tracks in the mud or snow that are undoubtedly panther footprints, DNA from scat and hair samples. The Milford cat left those. Spatz and Stolzenburg said 95 percent of mountain lion sightings dont pass muster. But what are you going to believe facts or your own lying eyes? People want to see mountain lions, Stolzenburg said. Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.com (Live stream above has ended and is playing a replay of today's events) LOS ANGELES (AP) The Latest on a fatal shooting at UCLA (all times local): 1:10 p.m. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the day at UCLA after what police say was a murder-suicide in an engineering building. Officials say the campus will reopen Thursday. The shooting occurred Wednesday morning in an office where the bodies of two men were found. Police say one was the shooter and a gun was discovered. The shooting occurred the week before final exams at the university. ___ 12:20 p.m. The Los Angeles police chief says the shooting of two men at UCLA was a murder-suicide. Chief Charlie Beck said Wednesday there was no continuing threat and the campus is safe. The shooting occurred in a small office in an engineering building. The chief says a gun was found along with what might be a suicide note. No identifications have been released. ___ 11:50 p.m. The White House says President Barack Obama has been briefed on a shooting on UCLA's sprawling campus that left two people dead. Spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama was updated as he flew aboard Air Force One to Elkhart, Indiana, for public appearances. Earnest says the president asked to be kept informed of the latest developments in the case. ___ 11:40 a.m. The UCLA police chief says it's possible that one of the two people killed in an on-campus shooting might have been the shooter. However, Chief James Herren says that has not been confirmed. The chief says an active search remained underway Wednesday to ensure there are no more victims and no outstanding suspects. A Los Angeles police statement says the dead are male but provides no other identification. ___ 11:20 a.m. A Los Angeles police spokesman says two people were killed in a shooting on the UCLA campus. Officer Aareon Jefferson at police headquarters confirmed the two fatalities in the Wednesday morning shooting. A department statement adds only that the victims are male. Police officers are conducting a methodical search of the campus, examining students and their bags. ___ 10:55 a.m. A campus official says two people have been shot at UCLA. Media relations officer Rebecca Kendall confirmed the shooting occurred Wednesday and there are two victims, but she says their conditions are unknown. Numerous university and Los Angeles city police officers have responded, moving about the campus with weapons drawn. The 419-acre campus is on lockdown. The school on the west side of Los Angeles is a flagship of the University of California system, with about 43,000 students. It's currently the week before final exams. ___ 10:45 a.m. Police are responding to shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles. Campus media relations officer Rebecca Kendall said Wednesday there are two victims but their conditions are unknown. Kendall says it's not known if the situation remains active. The campus is on lockdown. ___ 10:30 a.m. Authorities have responded to a report of a possible shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles. Los Angeles police Officer Tony Im says the department's officers are responding to a report of an active shooter Wednesday morning. Numerous officers can be seen on the campus on the west side of the city. Campus media relations officer Rebecca Kendall says the report came in at 9:55 a.m. and involves Boelter Hall, a science building. The campus is on lockdown. ___ 10:15 a.m. Police are responding to a report of a possible shooter at the University of California, Los Angeles. Campus media relations officer Rebecca Kendall says police are on scene Wednesday morning at Boelter Hall, a science building. The campus is on lockdown. Kendall says the report came in about 9:55 a.m. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK Nine weeks of learning to make positive life decisions culminated in a Wednesday morning graduation ceremony at Norwalk City Hall, where 849 fifth-graders celebrated their completion of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program. D.A.R.E. is a nationwide program that allows police officers to teach students how to resist peer pressure and live drug-free and violence-free lives. Through visits to Norwalks 12 elementary schools, Officer Chris Holms, coordinator of Norwalks D.A.R.E. program, and his fellow officers spoke with children about alcohol and drug abuse, tobacco use, and confidence-building. This is always an exciting day for me and for the police department, said Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik. D.A.R.E. officers include Holms, Officers Gabriel DeMott, Cornell Abruzzini, Freddie Kellogg, Lt. Terry Blake, Lt. Bill Lowe, Deputy Chief Ashley Gonzalez and Deputy Chief Susan Zecca. Mayor Harry Rilling addressed the graduates seated in the Concert Hall. Over the past weeks, youve learned to make the right choices, Rilling said. Sometimes those choices may not seem clear, but you have a lot of people you can reach out to police officers, teachers, guidance counselors, parents, older brothers and sisters, grandparents to guide you in the right direction. Its very important to grow up healthy, happy, and strong and to make the right decisions. State Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, whose son was among the graduates, spoke to the fifth-graders about making choices. You are at a point in life when you get to a fork in the road, you have to figure out which way to go, Duff said. Because of the work youve done through D.A.R.E., youll have the tools to make the right decisions. Each year, D.A.R.E. students are tasked with writing essays about their dreams or goals. This year's essay winner was Lindsay Caruso, a fifth-grade student at Wolfpit Elementary School. The D.A.R.E. officers get together and choose an essay to be read at graduation, Holms said. Caruso took the stage and read her essay in which she outlined the negative effects of drugs, alcohol and bullying. Bullying is a way to potentially hurt someone, she read. Kulhawik said that the D.A.R.E. program is funded in part by Connecticuts drug asset forfeiture law. A percentage of seized assets goes into our educational account, he said. Were able to put it back for the kids, the law is designed to do that. The law allows prosecutors to file a civil action in court seeking an order to forfeit money or property seized from someone related to a drug crime. The law also requires using account funds for substance abuse treatment and education programs. In distributing forefeited funds, 70 percent is distributed to local police departments, of which 15 percent must be used for drug education, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch. The Norwalk Exchange Club has also been a major supporter of the DARE program, Kulhawik said. Earlier this year, Holms was presented with a check for $3,750 by the Norwalk Exchange Club. Those funds were used to purchase T-shirts for students graduating from the program. Holms, an 18-year veteran of the Norwalk Police Department, has worked with the program for the last five years and teaches classes at a majority of the D.A.R.E. schools in the city. Officer (Carlton) Giles had been doing this for me than 20 years and he asked me to take over about six years ago, Holms said. I did the two-week training and I was blown away. I love it. Frank Costanzo, Norwalks chief of school operations, offered his congratulations to the graduates and reminisced about his personal D.A.R.E. experience. I remember signing that D.A.R.E. contract that said that I refused to use drugs that would be harmful to my body, Costanzo said. As you get older, youll see the difficult choices you have to make ... On behalf of the superintendent, I congratulate each of you. The decibel level in the concert hall jumped when magician Mr. Abracadabra aka Nick Moriello took the stage. Moriello delighted the children with card tricks, disappearing napkins, and the grand finale: colorful beach balls passed by the graduates from the balcony to the stage with numbers and suits that perfectly matched Moriellos magical card. Holms thanked local individuals and businesses who have helped to ensure the programs success: police commissioners Fran Collier-Clemons and Charles Yost, Crown Prints, First Student, Parkway Auto Body, Stew Leonards, Fleet Auto, and program coordinator Debra Beierle of Norwalk Public Schools. While this school years D.A.R.E. program is ending, Holms is gearing up for the D.A.R.E. summer camp, which he said is open to the graduates. The first week starting June 20 is already booked, but we have some openings for the second week, Holms said. That runs from June 27 to July 1 we still have about 20 spots left. People can go to the front desk at police headquarters to sign up. We do all sorts of fun excursions with the kids. Cost of camp is $200 for the week, Holms said. STAMFORD The opioid overdoses that have shaken many communities will continue to increase unless more federal funds are allotted for addiction treatment, officials said on Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, met in Stamford Tuesday with community leaders from across the region to drum up support for emergency funding that would help Connecticut towns battling an alarming rise in overdoses caused by heroin and prescription painkillers. My office is spending a lot of time on this issue right now, Murphy told the gathering at the Stamford Government Center forum. Some of the laws are backward and byzantine, but you also need more beds and resources to take on the scope of this problem. The spike in heroin and opioid deaths has been a growing national problem. There were 729 people who died from drug overdoses including 415 that involved heroin in Connecticut last year. There were 308 fatal heroin overdoses in 2014, according to data from the state Office of the Medical Examiner. Stamford the states third-largest city has fared better than most communities, with only one heroin death reported last year. Dont think this is a demographically distinct or a socioeconomically distinct issue, Himes said. I represent probably the most affluent area in Connecticut, and of the 17 towns and cities I represent, I dont think one of them hasnt had a fatality. The U.S. Senate rejected a $600 million appropriation in March for emergency funds to combat the rise of heroin and opioid abuse, Murphy said. Meanwhile, he said, $4 billion was authorized for Ebola, which has killed fewer than a dozen people in the United States. The senator recommends changing a law that caps the number of patients doctors are able to treat for addiction with prescribed medications. Murphy also wants to increase the number of inpatient beds available to addicts in recovery by amending a law that prohibits Medicaid dollars from being spent on that kind of long-term care. These laws, he said, contribute to why overdose deaths statewide are on track to double in 2016. Stamford and Fairfield Countys numbers arent as bad as they are in Waterbury, he said. But if we do nothing at the federal level, just give it time. The numbers will get as bad here as they are in Waterbury and New London. Experts trace the heroin epidemic to a rise in painkiller abuse, which often starts with a doctors prescription and ends with heroin a drug far cheaper and easier to get than painkillers. Hospitals and doctors know how to treat around addiction, but they dont know how to treat addiction, said Al Mathis, CEO of Liberation Programs, a treatment center based in Norwalk. People are under the misunderstanding that Narcan and detox are treatments for addiction, and they simply are not, said Mathis, referring to the overdose reversal drug used by many police departments. The few dollars that come to the state from the federal government hits folks who have organizations with no training in treating people for addiction, he said. And with this disaster were in, agencies like mine have gotten no new resources. Forum guests spoke in favor of education, and noted how hard it can be to bring drug education to schools that are mostly concerned with academics. The stigma is still entrenched, said Nick Despoelberch, a drug counselor in Darien and at Pivot Ministries in Bridgeport. Theres a fear that we dont want our community associated with that dirty heroin word. NORWALK While efforts to clean up Long Island Sound have proven successful, theres still plenty more work to be done according to area fishermen, shellfish commissions and scientists. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn, met with Fairfield County stakeholders in the Connecticut shellfish industry Tuesday following weeks of tours and site visits throughout the state to learn about issues facing the industry. In April, Murphy proposed legislation asking for $860 million in funding for Long Island Sound restoration. Im particularly focused on this industry because as a member of the appropriations committee and further, as a member of the subcommittee that oversees most of the accounts that matter to fishing and aquaculture, the shellfish industry, Im in a position to try to help, Murphy said. Were talking about an industry in Connecticut that officially employs about 1,400 people, but in the runoff of that industry, it doubles and triples that amount (of people) so this is particularly important to the state. Among those in attendance was Copps Island Oysters owner Norm Bloom, whose facility Murphy toured last month. Bloom reiterated that one of the biggest issues facing the fishermen is consistent testing of the waters where shellfish beds are located. Every time a storm pushes more water into the Long Island Sound, the waters must be tested to ensure they are safe. Oysters, which filter roughly 100 gallons of water per day, need about two weeks to filter out water that may be impacted by storm runoff, and consistent testing to ensure Blooms oyster beds are in safe waters is imperative, he said. The biggest thing is testing, Bloom said. We need to make sure the state keeps funded where theyre able to get out and do all the testing. Right now were spread out all over the state so theyve got a huge area to cover now. Thats one of the biggest things to keep us open is to keep the state and the testing and funding and the lab. Thats really key to keeping us open and running. David Carey, aquaculture bureau director for the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, said it is unclear how the state budget will impact testing this year, but that it will have an effect and the department is already looking at ways to reduce expenditures that wont impact testing. Were not in the worst position, as long as the weather cooperates, Carey said. If we get a lot of wet weather and we have to keep retesting that could put us in a tight spot. In addition to stormwater runoff, area fishermen said theyre tasked daily with cleaning garbage out of the Sound. Even so, that garbage has created an uninhabitable environment in many areas. Ed Stillwagon, of Atlantic Clam Farms in Easton, farms off the coast of Greenwich, an area that hasnt always been open for farming. Over the millennia people have dumped a lot of garbage in the Sound and they continue to do so every day, Stillwagon said. Since I started there, Ive collected probably 5,000 to 6,000 tons of garbage through my dumpster. Stillwagon said he collects roughly 300 to 400 pounds of garbage per day on each of this two boats, just in Greenwich. Stillwagon said the layer of garbage is then covered by a layer of anaerobic silt that washes out from the rivers and creates what the fishermen refer to as black mayonnaise, a sticky, disgusting mush that makes the seafloor uninhabitable for any lifeform. And thats just on my particular lots, Stillwagon said. My clam production is increasing as I go because Im cleaning it up and its producing a more viable habitat not just for shellfish but for everything. Though Murphys original proposal was aggressive asking for roughly 15 percent more funding for Long Island Sound restoration over current funding levels Murphy said people in the Congress are taking note, and some additional funding has been added to the appropriations bill that recently moved out of committee and will be presented to the Senate. That, he said, is important progress toward what he calls the second generation of cleanup following improvements to the wastewater treatment plants. As aggressive as that sounded, some of the numbers that are embedded in the budget that is coming through the appropriations process suggest that folks are starting to listen and the fact is that we have a lot of overdue investments, we have some expensive projects coming up when it comes to the next generation of cleanup, Murphy said. Frankly, as expensive as the wastewater treatment cleanup was, the next generation of cleanup, which comes from nonpoint sources, is more expensive in many ways. Theres some people that are starting to listen. NORWALK John Frank, a retired Norwalk Police Department captain, union founder and former Shellfish Commission chairman, died Monday after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. He was 81. Frank joined Norwalks police force in 1961 and quickly moved up the ranks. He retired in January 1985. John was a cops cop, said Mayor Harry Rilling, who began as a patrol officer when Frank was sergeant. He was a dedicated professional who had the respect of the officers he worked with. He was also a very dedicated family man. A true gentleman, I never once heard him say a negative word about anybody. Frank had a memorable career, and shared stories with his family. One highlight of his career that really comes to mind is that he saved the life of a man who was attempting to commit suicide and jumped into the East River in 1968, said a daughter, Eileen. He was the kind of guy that was always helping people. After high school, Frank worked with the State Police Auxiliary as a mechanic, said his wife, Louise. Then he worked as a mechanic at a gas station at the corner of Main Street and North Avenue and he got to know a lot of cops while he worked there, Louise Frank said. Frank joined the Norwalk Police Department in January 1961 as a patrolman. In 1963, he became a detective, said a son, Andy Frank. In May of 1967, he became a sergeant, in 1975 he was promoted to lieutenant, and was promoted to captain in August of 1980. Frank was on the NPD Tactical Squad in the 1960s, which was a predecessor to the SWAT Team. He was also a training officer, and was very proud of that, Andy Frank said. Louise Frank said her husband was training officers as women began joining the department. She recounted one of her husbands favorite training stories. When they took females into the department and taught them to be good cops, there was one female officer a small woman who got frustrated during training, she said. John didnt give up, and before you knew it she flipped one of the large male officers. He loved telling that story everybody got the same treatment from John. John Frank also founded the Norwalk Police Union. He was one of its first presidents, he was very passionate about the union, Andy Frank said. Frank retired from the department on Jan. 9, 1985. It was some detective work in his personal life that Frank may have found the most fulfilling the location of his birth mother when he was in his 50s. His mother was an Irish immigrant who worked as a live-in domestic in New York, Andy Frank said. She gave him up for adoption and he didnt find that out until he was 56 years old. He contacted the agency and was told that the records were sealed all he was able to get was the nationality of his parents and the name of the church where he was baptized and the date. Frank contacted the church and found that just one baby boy had been baptized at that church on that date. He went to the New York Library, and went through the books of birth records and found his parents based on his birth certificate number, Louise Frank said. He found out where his mother lived. He went to the lobby of her apartment building, but none of the mailboxes were labeled. He spoke to the precinct in New York. He was able to get his mothers phone number. Eileen Frank remembers the day he called his birth mother. He called her and starting by saying, Im looking for Mary, she said. It got silent and we thought she hung up, but then she said to him, I worried about you for 50 years. Louise said that Johns 81-year-old mother became part of the Frank family gatherings. After his retirement from the NPD, Frank became chairman of the Norwalk Shellfish Commission. He served from 1987 to 2010. His appointment to the Shellfish Commission came when Harry (Rilling) became deputy chief and he no longer was able to serve on the commission so he recommended my father, Andy Frank said. Peter Johnson, Norwalk Shellfish Commission chairman, said Frank was a big part of the commission for the many years he chaired it and remained involved even after leaving it. He credited Frank with protecting shellfish beds by working to limit dock lengths and minimize their footprint on the harbor bed. Its a thankless thing but John really cared about the natural beds because the natural beds are what feeds the other oystering, Johnson said. He knew it really well. Johnson said he and other Shellfish Commission members plan to attend Franks wake. At the 2007 State of the Harbor Meeting, Frank was presented the David S. Dunavan Norwalk Harbor Stewardship Award for his commitment to environmental stewardship. Anthony T. Mobilia, Norwalk Harbor Management Commission chairman, described Frank as a friend and a a great steward of Norwalk Harbor and Long Island Sound. He worked tirelessly on the Shellfish Commission when he was chairman of that, Mobilia said. He was a commander of the Norwalk Sail and Power Squadron. He was chairman a while back and he was an instructor, mostly on marine engines. If he didnt know something, he would go into deep research about it. The local squadron is part of a national nonprofit boating organization with more than 40,000 members in 450 squadrons nationwide. John and Louise Frank moved to Palmetto, Fla., in 2012, and spent many of their retirement years traveling in their RV. He loved to travel, Louise said. We took RV trips cross-country, we drove up to Alaska, Newfoundland, Labrador. He was driving the motor home up until last year. We never missed a grandchilds graduation. Frank is survived by his wife of 63 years and his children, Patty, Peggy, Eileen, Andy, Liz, Gini, Sharon and John Jr. He was predeceased by his son, Leo, who died in 2011. He is also survived by 22 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Collins Funeral Home is handling arrangements, which were pending. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK Whether or not the Connecticut Department of Transportation resumes regular opening and closing of the troubled Walk Bridge in South Norwalk was to depend on trial runs early Wednesday. The bridge will be tested overnight I think about 1 a.m., ConnDOT spokesman Judd Everhart said in an email Tuesday. After the test, and assuming everything goes well, openings and closings will resume as soon as possible. Rail traffic came to halt Saturday afteroon after the nearly 119-year-old Walk Bridge, which carries Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak trains, failed to open and close. Passengers were shuttled by bus between the South and East Norwalk train stations. The bridge had been scheduled to open for a sailboat to pass about 2 p.m. ConnDOT officials said it appears that the bridge failed to open due to the thermal expansion of the centerpiece moveable span. Temperatures pushed past 90 on Saturday afternoon. The problem took about six hours to resolve. By approximately 5 p.m., one track was back in service over the (swing) bridge, ConnDOT said in an email. Once the bridge was back in closed position, each track needed to be independently closed and locked, so that process was done one at a time. The latest malfunction comes as ConnDOT moves forward with an estimated $700 million plan to replace the bridge, build a rail dockyard and make track improvements in Norwalk. The Walk Bridge, which was built in 1898, failed twice in 2014, disrupting traffic along Metro-North Railroads New Haven Line and the Northeast Corridor. In the wake of the failures, ConnDOT restricted the opening and closing of the bridge. Everhart said the bridge is now opened about three times a week during peak boating season, which he noted is now rapidly ramping up. He said several boats often pass through when an opening occurs. After Saturdays malfunction, limited service resumed late afternoon between New Haven and Grand Central Terminal with delays up to 60 minutes. Inbound service to New York from the South Norwalk, Rowayton, Darien and Noroton Heights stations was not immediately available, and customers were told to go to Stamford Station for train service to Grand Central. At the same time, there was no Danbury Branch service due to overhead wire damage, and train riders were encouraged to seek alternate transportation. By about 10 p.m. Saturday, New Haven line service over the Walk Bridge resumed on two more tracks with delays of about 20 minutes for the remainder of the night. By Sunday morning, train service had returned to normal, Everhart said. Question: My brother was arrested for driving while under the influence a while back. He plead guilty, but he and his lawyer could not reach a deal with the prosecutor, so my brother had to have a sentencing hearing. The sentencing hearing was recently held, and I testified at the sentencing hearing for my brother. In the end, my brother got the sentence he and his attorney were shooting for, but., during the hearing, the judge asked the prosecutor about what count he wanted the sentence imposed on. After the prosecutor answered, the judge said the other counts would merge. I have not heard of this before. Can you explain why counts would merge, and why it is up to the prosecutor what count my brother got sentenced on? Also, why would there be multiple counts when my brother was just charged with driving under the influence? The answer to your question is more complex than you might think. To begin, states have prohibitions, either by statute or court rule, that limit the number of offenses a person can be convicted of for a single incident. Many refer to this as the one act, one crime rule, but in reality it is more complex than that nickname suggests. Essentially, these laws and rules say that a person could not be found guilty or plead guilty to more than one offense when all the offenses for which he is charged arose out of the same criminal transaction - or criminal act or acts. Please note here that there are several instances in which an exception to the above might exist, and a person can be found guilty of more than one crime involving the same criminal transaction. A good way to determine whether or not a person can be found guilty of the more than one crime for the same criminal transaction is to determine the elements of each crime. Any time a person is charged with a crime, that crime consists of elements that must be proven by the state. If one count of a charge alleges the same elements as another count, then the defendant - or the person charged with the crime - can be found guilty of only one of those counts. However, if a person is charged with a count that has elements not in another count he is charged with, then he might very well be able to be found guilty - or plead guilty - to both counts. Similarly, the prosecution is allowed to plead charges - or make allegations - that are in the alternative. Your friend's case seems a good example of this. In driving under the influence cases, it is not uncommon for the defendant to be charged with alternative counts, such as one alleging that he or she drove simply under the influence of something, such as alcohol, and one alleging that the defendant drove under the influence at a time when the alcohol in his or her system was above the legal limit. The prosecution's charge essentially says that the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol or, alternatively, that he drove under the influence because the alcohol content in his body was above the legal limit. In this instance, the person is charged with two counts of driving under the influence, but could only be found guilty or plead guilty to only one of those counts because they are the same crime, just alleged - or worded - differently. In instances where a defendant is charged with multiple counts (two or more) of the same crime, just alleged differently, the doctrine of merger can come in. Whether the person is found guilty of all counts or pleads guilty to all counts, something has to happen to the duplicate counts, so that the person is not convicted multiple times for the same offense. In American law, merger is rarely needed, because of the infrequency with which alternative counts are necessary and the likelihood that a person could be found guilty of multiple crimes for the same criminal transaction. When a person is charged with multiple counts and is either found guilty or pleads guilty to those counts, the counts can be merged into a single count. This guarantees that the person is actually convicted of only a single count. In your friend's case, the conversation concerning merger occurred because your friend was charged with driving under the influence in two different ways. (Without knowing more, I cannot say what the difference between the charges was.) In response to your question concerning why it was the choice of the prosecutor concerning which count should merge into the other, the answer is simple. It is the prosecutor, acting on behalf of the public he represents, who brings the charges. It is the prosecutor, on behalf of the people he represents, who chooses which counts for which the defendant is convicted. Have questions for Brendan Bukalski? E-mail him at askthelawyer@gmail.com, or write him, c/o The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 117 N. 2nd St., Edwardsville, IL 62025. Editor's note - the answers provided in this column are general in nature, and should not be relied upon as legal advice or interpreted as creating an attorney-client relationship. As a general rule, all specific legal problems should be handled by an individual's personal attorney. Any submissions to the author are subject to being published and to being modified prior to publication. After almost 22 years of service at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Vice Chancellor for Administration Kenneth Neher can say hes leaving his job better off than when he first arrived. I have enjoyed seeing the University grow and prosper, said Neher, who likens himself to a mayor overseeing the small city of SIUE. Neher will retire from the University, effective July 1. Neher recalls when he first arrived at SIUE. He said the parking lots, landscaping and buildings were in need of repair and refurbishing. From the first day that Neher started working at SIUE in August 1994, the vice chancellor for administration decided he would make enhancements to the budding campus. Neher has done that and more. Im especially pleased that during my tenure, I have seen improvements to old buildings and the addition of new ones, Neher said. Some highlights at SIUE under Nehers administration include the Universitys growth from one residence hall to four. SIUE has also seen additions to its Engineering Building, Science Building, expansion of its infrastructure and received national acclaim for its landscaping. I was looking for a career where I could employ the skills I learned as a base commander in the Air Force, added Neher, and one that would be for a worthwhile purpose. Neher served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 27 years and retired as a colonel. I found that at SIUE, we are in the business of changing peoples lives for the better, he continued. I dont think I would have been happy or have enjoyed my work as much, if I had been in the private sector or at a for-profit company. Neher is quick to add that all the advancements and accomplishments made during his tenure at SIUE would not have been possible without the hundreds of people who worked on his staff and all the other University employees who are committed to providing quality, affordable education on a beautiful, spacious and well-maintained campus. As for whats up the road for the former vice chancellor for administration? Literally - the road. An avid motorcyclist, Neher plans to don his black motorcycle jacket and hit the highway. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi Rivers rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of more than 14,000. CRS Photography Eighth Graders at St. John Neumann Catholic School celebrated an important milestone with a graduation Mass and ceremony last Friday night. Mass was concelebrated by Fr. Alan Hunter of St. Jerome Parish, Fr. Albert Allen of St. Cecilia Parish, and Fr. Joseph Havrilka of Mother of Perpetrual Help Parish. The school's principal, Mrs. Laura Kretzer, spoke to the graduates and their families saying, "Saint Catherine of Siena said, Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire! Class of 2016, I fully believe that that you have the ability to set this world on fire, to change it for the better, to do amazing things. You are not too young or too insignificant. You have been formed by God, in His own image. You are amazing kids who will be amazing adults. You are a BIG DEAL! Go out, go set the world on fire with your achievements, your kindness, your love, and your actions." A cake and punch reception followed which was hosted by the Class of 2017. In addition, the following graduates received awards: Lewis and Clark Community College will break ground on a new workforce building on the Godfrey Campus later this year, thanks to a nearly $3.25 million gift from the estate of local resident Ed Weber. The Weber Workforce Center will not only allow the college the opportunity to expand its workforce programming, but also immediately provide much needed space for one of its largest workforce programs - Welding Technology. This transformational gift from Mr. Ed Weber will provide Lewis and Clark with the ability to establish a state-of-the-art workforce training facility for the residents of our district, said Lewis and Clark Community College President Dale Chapman. This is the largest gift to date received by the colleges Foundation, and we are so thankful for Mr. Webers vision to provide the regions future generations with the latest technology and safest practices. The college envisions expanding the Weber Workforce Center in the future as manufacturing and industrial workforce program demands increase and funding becomes available. The first phase of the project will provide sufficient space for the colleges growing Welding Technology program. We envision expanding it to keep pace with the demands of an increasingly sophisticated industrial manufacturing workforce, Chapman said. Currently operating out of a maintenance building on the north end of the colleges Godfrey Campus, the Welding program will benefit not only from a new and improved facility, but also the ability to double the number of welding stations, and add more openings and courses each semester to train more students. Since 2011, the program has produced 171 graduates with a Certificate of Completion in Welding Principles, 17 with a Certificate of Proficiency in Welding Technology and nine with an Associate in Applied Arts in Welding Technology. With the Weber center, we will be able to expand the number of courses that we are able to offer in welding, as well as add additional types of welding instruction and degrees to our curriculum, said Welding Program Coordinator Travis Jumper. It is also going to allow us the opportunity to become an Accredited Testing Facility for the American Welding Society, which will permit us to graduate our students with nationally recognized welding certifications and allow us to work with businesses throughout the St. Louis metro area to certify their employees. I was not able to meet Mr. Weber, but I truly believe that he would be pleased with the direction that we are heading in training the future workforce in safe, smart and efficient ways to work. Currently, the college offers 34 workforce programs, including flagships such as Welding Technology, Automotive Technology and Process Operations Technology. Additionally, the college provides ongoing workforce education and contractor safety training to district employers through its Corporate and Community Learning division, which currently operates out of the Bethalto Training Center located at 1136 E. Airline Dr., near the Bethalto Airport. College architects are completing the final design development phase of the project, with an expected construction start time in the fall of 2016. The center is slated to open by Fall 2017. The building will occupy space on the northern portion of campus in an area near the current Maintenance Annex. The project is truly unique from the building design to the donation that was made for its purpose, Chapman said. Chapman added that Weber was an area laborer who, before his passing in July 2015, expressed his wishes to help the next generation of workers in the region. Mr. Webers gift to the college is one of the most creative and thoughtful gifts, not just to the college, but to this region, Chapman said. He was a man who worked hard his entire life, enduring working conditions that wouldnt be acceptable today. His goal was to create a place where Lewis and Clark students could learn the most advanced and safe practices today providing them with a good salary and providing the region with an advanced workforce. Mr. Weber was a champion for this region, and our students. The college and this region owe him a great deal for the incredible investment he has made. Webers gift allows the college to match a federal Title III endowment challenge gift that creates a $500,000 building endowment, which will annually provide interest funds aimed at supporting the ongoing operations and maintenance of the building, keeping the impact of adding this new building off the colleges operating budget and off district taxpayers, Chapman said. To learn more about L&Cs academic and career programming, visit www.lc.edu/credit-programs/. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Wahyu Susilo and Indriaswati Dyah Saptaningrum (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Last Wednesday President Joko Jokowi Widodo announced a controversial regulation in lieu of law, citing the many recent reports involving the rape and murder of children. The controversy stems from the addition of heavier penalties for the aforementioned crimes which include, among others, a life sentence, chemical castration and even the death penalty in particular cases. The death penalty has been outlined for cases where the crime has led to severe damage or death, or if the perpetrators were family members and or guardians of the victims. The regulation is criticized for lacking a comprehensive perspective regarding sexual violence targeting children and also for strengthening the death penalty regime. This is a setback from the governments commitment to human rights protection compared to the moratorium on the death penalty in 2009-2013. The high number of executions carried out under the President Jokowi administration is inconsistent with a commitment made among ASEAN leaders to protect the right to life as stated in the ASEAN Charter on Human Rights, adopted in 2012. This is a setback from the governments commitment to human rights protection compared to the moratorium on the death penalty in 2009-2013.(OHCHR/*) Executions and leaders statements elsewhere also indicate questionable commitment from ASEAN countries in regard to moving forward with a death penalty moratorium in the region. Singapore executed Kho Jabing, a Malaysian citizen, on May 20, hours after the highest court rejected his appeal for clemency. In April, Malaysia also executed its citizens, Gunasegar Pitchaymuthu, Ramesh and Sasivarnam Jayakumar for murder. Indonesia may proceed to the next round of executions with a list of 14 death row convicts, reportedly after Idul Fitri in early July. In April this year, Indonesia was criticized again by rights groups for claiming pro-capital punishment countries as like-minded groups in the UN General Assembly meeting, responding to outcry from a number of European countries over the assembly document, which omitted the commitment to promote the abolition of the death penalty. The silence of ASEAN governments on this issue, before and following the Kho Jabing execution presumably rooted in ASEANs principle of non-interference will continue to be the biggest challenge for the future of death penalty abolition in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately Jabing belonged to a country that does not seem to care about losing a life of its citizen. Let us not forget what happened to Filipino convict Mary Jane Veloso, whose countrys leaders had actively lobbied the Indonesian government, although the possibility of preventing her from execution is very unlikely. At least their attempts have succeeded to delay the execution, providing more time for possible steps toward clemency. Similarly, regarding Indonesian migrant workers facing the death penalty in Malaysia, our government has actively provided legal assistance as well as bilateral diplomacy to prevent its citizens from executions. Therefore, it is ironic that our government is planning a third round of executions. Moreover, the plan of the newly elected president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, to revive the use of the death penalty, has a severe impact on the movement to abolish the death penalty in the region, as the country previously was among the few nations supporting its abolition. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights records that in Southeast Asia only three out of 11 UN members have abolished capital punishment Timor Leste, Cambodia and the Philippines. Cambodias and Timor Lestes commitment to eliminate capital punishment is part of their post-conflict reconstruction under the aegis of the UN. Meanwhile, the abolition found its momentum in the Philippines as part of the commitment to cut off the Ferdinand Marcos legacy, also sending a letter, reflecing active diplomatic roles in defending their migrant workers facing the death penalty abroad. We still recall the migrant workers Sarah Balabagan and Flor Contemplacion sentenced to death for murder, cases that demonstrate the totality of the Philippines to defend its citizens from executions. This attempt has set the new benchmark and best practice for other ASEAN countries on how a country should protect its citizens facing the death penalty abroad. Thus, Dutertes plan to revive the death penalty in the Philippines is counterproductive, and would affect the governments commitment to save the lives of its migrant workers abroad. Meanwhile, Indonesias representative for the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights ( AICHR ), Dinna Wisnu, called for the abolition of the death penalty in ASEAN. A similar call has come from the Malaysian AICHR representative Muhammad S. Abdullah for his active role in defending Wilfrida Soik, an Indonesian migrant worker, from execution. However, their efforts promoting the abolition of capital punishment must be supported by comprehensive measures so as to push ASEAN countries to move away from their conservatism and look at the opportunity to end the death penalty. In 2012 the road map toward abolishing capital punishment recorded a brighter picture when a few ASEAN countries no longer rejected the moratorium of the death penalty as shown in the table above. The stance for abstention has given new hope for ASEAN to be a region in which the right to life would finally be respected as a non-derogable right. Thus Indonesias rights defenders continue to mobilize support and international solidarity to promote the abolition of the death penalty, including in the current penal code amendment discussed by lawmakers. Activists in the Philippines will surely continue to fight Dutertes plan to revive the death penalty. It is precisely in this alarming situation that the momentum is here to urge leaders of ASEAN countries to walk their talk in protecting human rights as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, by developing a road map for the abolition of death penalty in the region. *** Wahyu Susilo is a policy analyst for Migrant CARE, an NGO. Indriaswati Dyah Saptaningrum is a researcher for the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy ( ELSAM ) and a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales Law School in Sydney. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Papua is apparently special for President Joko Jokowi Widodo. During his presidential campaign, Jokowi pledged to bring about justice for past human rights violations in the restive region. While previous government administrations have been accused of ignoring Papuas problems and of being solely interested in the regions wealth of natural resources, Jokowi has visited the easternmost region four times since he took office to ensure that development projects, such as airports and rice estates, are being properly implemented. Jokowi has also pledged to step up efforts to develop the region and has asked the military and the police to put an end to the cycle of violence there by adopting a softer approach. However, doubts still linger over whether the President can ensure that central and local bureaucrats implement his commitments to the region, which, despite its abundant natural resources, remains one of the poorest in the nation. Violence is a common occurrence in Papua, and most cases go unresolved. A recent study by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) predicts that violence will continue to dog Papua unless the government takes immediate steps to better coordinate its security forces in the region and to involve native communities in policy-making. The latest flare-up of violence in early May, involving the arrests of more than 1,000 Papuan protesters by the police, underlines the serious doubts as to whether President Jokowis administration has all it takes to get to the root of Papuas arch problems. May 31, 2016 More than 300 Papuans are arrested in cities including Wamena, Sentani and Manado, according to the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), after the West Papua National Committee organizes a rally calling for the release of political prisoners and support for West Papua self-determination. May 20, 2016 A rights activist named Robert Jitmau is hit by a car. Robert had fought for Mama-Mama Market for 13 years. Representatives from the National Commission on Human Rights in Papua (Komnas HAM Papua) demand a thorough investigation into his death. May 2, 2016 More than 1,600 activists are detained following a proreferendum group rally in various cities in Indonesia. According to LBH Jakarta, 1,449 activists were detained in Jayapura, 118 in Merauke, 45 in Semarang, 42 in Makassar, 29 in Fakfak, 27 in Sorong and 14 others in Wamenaon Monday. Taking previous arrests in Merauke (April 25), Jayapura (April 30), Wamena and Merauke (May 1) into account, 1,839 Papua activists have been detained since April. March 15, 2016 An armed group shoots dead four employees of PT Modern constructing a highway connecting Sinak district, Puncak regency and Mulia district in Puncak Jaya regency, Papua. Feb 3, 2016 Police confiscate hundreds of rounds of ammunition, firearms and explosives on a raid in two houses in Jayapura regency. The Free Papua Movement (OPM) denies ownership of these weapons and accuses the authorities of planting the arms. Dec 27, 2015 A group of armed men attack Sinak Police station in Puncak regency, Papua, killing three police officers. It is reported that five Sinak Police officers were watching TV in a guardroom when around 25 armed civilians attacked the station. Dec 1, 2015 Clashes break out between the Jakarta Police and the Papua Students Alliance (AMP) at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta during a rally demanding independence for West Papua. Hundreds of AMP members and 400 police officers are involved in the clashes after the police try to disperse the crowd using tear gas. The incident prompts a strong protest from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), which accuses the police of assaulting and intimidating two foreign journalists from Australia's ABC and Al-Jazeera. November 30, 2015 A soldier is murdered by a group of people suspected of being part of an armed group in Namunaweja village in Mamberamo Tengah subdistrict. Maj. John De Fretes is shot dead by an armed group after visiting Namunaweja upon hearing that a military wing of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) led by Cosmos Makabori had approached local villagers. November 6, 2015 West Papua National Committee (KNPB) deputy chairman Agus Kossay and two other Papuans, Bano Kalaka and Nodi Hilka, are interrogated in connection with the arrival of French journalist Marie Dhumieres in Papua on Oct. 1. August 27, 2015 A shooting in Koperapoka, Mimika regency, Papua, leaves two civilians dead and two others wounded. Two members of the Military District Command (Kodim) 1710/Timika are arrested. In November, a military court in Papua sentences First Pvt. Makher Rehatta and Chief Pvt. Gregorius R. Geta to 12 years and three years in prison, respectively August 23, 2015 Authorities at Soekarno-Hatta airport find thousands of rounds of illegal ammunition of various shapes and sizes that were to be delivered to Jayapura, Papua , on a commercial flight. The Indonesian Military (TNI) denies ownership of the ammunition. May 28, 2015 Police in Jayapura arrest 47 people for gathering for a rally in support of Papua joining the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), ending in a clash with security personnel. A police spokesperson states the protesters had no permit for the rally and were calling for independence from Indonesia, accusing them of contravening Article 160 of the Criminal Code on provocation. Dec 8, 2014 A shooting in Enarotali in Paniai regency is the first conflict in Papua under Jokowis presidency. Four civilians are reportedly shot and killed by a joint police and military force while 22 others are injured after a peaceful demonstration. Paniai Customary Council chief John Gobay accuses security officers of treating civilians as if they were members of the OPM. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kartono Mohamad (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Tobacco farming in Indonesia is mostly a family endeavor. Most farmers cultivate small plots of land; either they own their own land, rent it or are tenants of a large land owner. There are only a few large-scale tobacco plantations and most are owned by the state. Those small farmers cannot afford to hire help, so they involve family members in everything from land tilling, planting, leave picking and drying, to packaging. This explains why child labor is quite common in tobacco farming in Indonesia. The children work before going to school, often very early in the morning when tobacco leaves are still wet with dew, and in late afternoon after school. Tobacco farming usually involves chemical fertilizer or de-fertilizer like MH30, as well as a lot of pesticides as tobacco plants are very vulnerable to many kinds of plant pests. MH30 is used to stop tobacco plants from producing flowers, encouraging it to produce more leaves instead. But in Indonesia farmers do not often use this fertilizer, choosing to manually check and pluck any budding flowers very early in the morning. By doing it manually, the laborers have direct contact with the nicotine on the wet tobacco leaves, as well as fertilizer and pesticide residue. Absorption of these toxins into the skin can occur through this activity, especially if the workers do not wear gloves. This can further cause ailments, which have been dubbed green tobacco sickness. The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, breathing difficulty and other signs of intoxication. The workers fingers will look greenish in color, hence the name. Children are more susceptible to those toxins since the outer layer of their skin is still thin and will easily absorb the toxins, including nicotine. Nicotine intoxication in children will not only affect physical health, but mental or psychological health as well. A study reported in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in December 2010 showed that a higher level of salivary cotinine, a biomarker used to measure secondhand smoke ( SHS ) exposure, is associated with poorer mental health particularly hyperactivity and conduct disorder in children. In another study reported in Journal of Molecular Psychiatry, chronic nicotine intoxication will cause thinning of the cerebral cortex. The cortex is where important thought processes such as memory, language and perception occur. The damage on this cortex will impair the childrens ability to learn, or have learning disability. A study by the University of Jember in East Java last year revealed that cotinine ( metabolite of nicotine in the body ) level in tobacco farming workers in Jember is much too high at 16.7 ng/ml compared to the normal level of below 2ng/ml. With so many child workers in tobacco farming, added with growing numbers of child smokers an annual increase of 19 percent as reported in the 2012 Global Youth Tobacco Survey means that we will have many low quality future human resources, intellectually and physically. There are many indicators that the government just does not care about this. The first indicator is the Industry Ministrys 2015 Road Map on cigarette production. It shows the ministrys plans to increase cigarette production from 365 billion sticks in 2015 to 525 billion sticks in 2020 to increase excise revenue. We know very well that those billions of stick of cigarette will not automatically increase the excise revenue if they are not consumed. As the prevalence of adult smokers in Indonesia is already saturated as 63 percent of Indonesian adults the possible increase of smokers can only be recruited from youth and young children. The second indicator is the reluctance of the government, particularly the Finance Ministry, to increase cigarette excise in its protection of the tobacco industry. This shows the government prefers to have more smokers to get more excise revenue than curb consumption by increasing prices and tax. And to support those intentions, the government is not willing to stop cigarette advertisements and sponsorship, so our younger generation can be lured into the smoking trap by the tobacco industry. That is the third indicator. The fourth indicator is the lack of green tobacco sickness knowledge among health professionals, with no awareness of the problem, there is no initiative to carry out epidemiological studies and no proactive action to stop it. So far the Health Ministry is yet to provide information about green tobacco sickness to their health workers on the ground. The fifth indicator is the eagerness of parliamentarians to pass a bill that will protect the interests of the tobacco industry in the pretext of protecting tobacco farmers, even if there is already a law that protects all farmers. So even if the recent study of Human Rights Watch shows a large number of unprotected child workers in tobacco farming and the ever growing number of child smokers, the government shows no interest. So who will help them? *** The writer is a former chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association ( IDI ). --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Intan Tanjung (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Rendang has stolen the worlds attention after CNN announced it as the "Worlds Most Delicious Food". In Indonesia, the dish is very popular all across the country and can be found at any Padang restaurant. The dish, which originated in Padang, a city in West Sumatra, is known for its deep and succulent flavor of beef simmered in thick coconut milk and rich spices. In Jakarta, the nomination for the restaurant with the best rendang may go to Warung Simay, which has won several cooking competitions, as reported by kompas.com. Warung Simay, headquartered in Tanah Abang and operating two branches in West Palmerah and North Palmerah, received its first award in December 25, 2011, when the restaurant joined the Minang Food Festival held by UPTD Anjungan Sumbar TMII. There were 100 people in the competition, including Sederhana and Simpang Jaya (two famous Padang restaurants in Jakarta). Thankfully, we came out as the first winner, Meyyulis, owner of Simay restaurant, told kompas.com. At that time, May presented three dishes, namely rendang, beef jerky and sampadeh (spicy-sour) fish. One year later, she won the title The Best in Migrant Category representing Jakarta in Rendang Padang Festival, that was held at Sumbar Cultural Park in Padang, West Sumatra. Meyyulis' rendang has a bolder, spicier flavor and deeper reddish color. For the beef, she prefers the cows upper thigh, known as coconut beef, which has become her signature. It is the hardest part to be processed. If using that part for rendang, the beef can be torn apart, but mine can't. That is the difference, said May. Another standout food of hers is her beef jerky. May said her jerky is not tough, but crispy like crackers. I fry it twice, using special coconut oil, she said. She explained that the secret to her cooking lay in the spices. All her food is cooked using only spices produced from one kitchen. Nowadays there are a lot of Padang restaurants that use instant seasoning. I use an original recipe passed down to me, May said. May started her business in the early 1980s selling ketupat Padang (Padang rice cakes) in Tanah Abang. In 1982 she decided to open a Padang restaurant, cooking rendang using her mothers secret recipe. My father is originally from Batusangkar, and my mother is from Pariaman. The dishes served in the restaurant are the result of the acculturation from the two places, May said. Aside from rendang, there is also gajebo curry, goat curry and fish sampade. During Ramadan, Simay will open daily for iftar before dusk until there's no more food to be sold. We'll close when the food is finished, May said. (asw) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Los Angeles, United States Wed, June 1, 2016 Mark Salling, who played bad-boy Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the Fox TV musical dramedy "Glee," has been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. The 33-year-old actor was charged Friday with two counts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Federal officials said he has agreed to surrender to authorities next Friday, at which time he's also expected to be arraigned in federal court. His publicist did not immediately respond to phone and email messages. Salling was arrested at his home in Shadow Hills last December after Los Angeles police officers and federal agents seized a laptop, hard drive and flash drive they say contained images and videos depicting child pornography. (Read also: Ex-'Glee' star Mark Salling accused of child porn possession) He was charged with one count of using the Internet to obtain a pornographic still image and video of young girls and a second count of possessing two other child porn videos that also featured young girls. If convicted, he could face as much as 20 years in prison on each of the charges. "Those who download and possess child pornography create a market that causes more children to be harmed," U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement announcing the indictments. "Young victims are harmed every time an image is generated, every time it is distributed and every time it is viewed." Although best known for his long-running role on "Glee," which aired from 2009 to 2015, Salling is also a musician. He released his debut album, "Pipe Dreams," in 2010. He shared a Screen Actors Guild award with the "Glee" cast in 2010 when the show was honored for outstanding TV comedy ensemble. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, March 21, 2016 The House of Representatives will discuss the tax amnesty draft bill at the plenary session on Tuesday, targeting to pass it into law before the House enters a recess period on March 12. House speaker Ade Komarudin said the government should take the new tax revenue target and tax amnesty policy into account in its submission of the 2016 revised state budget. "We are determined to have it [the Tax Amnesty bill] completed during the current sitting session," he said at the State Palace on Monday. Sofjan Wanandi, the Vice President's chief economic adviser, estimated that the government might pull in around Rp 50 trillion to Rp 100 trillion in repatriated capital by offering a discount rate to tax evaders with income and assets kept abroad. "I think we will get Rp 50 trillion to Rp 100 trillion from the tax amnesty," he said. The bill allows taxpayers applying for the amnesty between January and March to pay only 2 percent of their assets as a penalty. This increases to 3 percent if the application is lodged between April and June, and to 5 percent if applicants submit their applications between July and December. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim, Ina Parlina, Tama Salim and Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Batam Tue, May 31 2016 Jakarta is treating Fridays seizure of a Chinese trawler in the Natuna Sea as another incident of poaching. Beijing has responded with anger, insisting that the vessel did nothing illegal. China lodged on Monday a stern protest against Indonesia over the arrest of the Gui Bei Yu 27088, saying that both countries have different views about the waters where the incident happened. A Chinese fishing boat was carrying out normal production activities there, said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying as quoted by Reuters. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, May 31 2016 Out of respect for Muslims in the country who are expected to start observing the holy month of Ramadhan next week, a number of foreign embassies in Jakarta have moved forward the dates for the celebration of their national days. The British and Russian embassies are expected to hold their national holiday celebrations this week, while the US embassy staged a very early Fourth of July celebration last week. For British embassies across the world, changing the date for celebrating their national day, the Queens Birthday, is never a problem as they are given a certain level of flexibility in choosing the most appropriate date, a spokesperson from the embassy said. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 A number of African and Asian countries have signalled their desire to improve trade and investment cooperation with Indonesia, as President Joko Jokowi Widodo accepted on Tuesday the credentials of eight new envoys. The eight ambassadors, mostly from African and Asian countries, took the opportunity after the ceremony to convey to Jokowi their focus on improving economic cooperation and people-to-people links with Indonesia, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has said he abides by the Jakarta Administrative Courts verdict that orders him to revoke a reclamation permit to PT Muara Wisesa Samudera (MWS), a subsidiary of PT Agung Podomoro Land (APL). Of course, we respect the courts decision. We will wait until there is a final verdict, said Ahok on Wednesday, responding to the verdict made on Tuesday that ordered him to revoke the Jakarta Gubernatorial Decree No. 2,238 of 2014 on the construction of Islet G by PT MWS. Both the city administration and PT MWS said that they would appeal the court decision. He said he also respected the decree issued by the Forestry and Environment Minister, Siti Nurbaya, who ordered the city administration to postpone the reclamation in the Jakarta Bay, pending the auditing of reclamation implementation documents. With his latest statement, Ahok wanted to correct comments he made on Tuesday evening that the construction of Islet G could be continued by another company. He said he would authorize a city-owned company to continue the reclamation project. Last night, I did not hear the whole verdict. After knowing, we have to wait [for the results of the appeal], said the governor as reported by kompas.com. The verdict was in response to a cased filed by the Indonesian Traditional Fishermens Union (KNTI) over the reclamation that they claimed had affected the earning of fishermen operating in the Jakarta Bay. PT MWS lawyer Ibnu Akhyat said on Tuesday that the court ruling came as a shock and added to the legal uncertainty that was already harming the investment climate in the country. Deputy governor Djarot saifuil Hidayat made a similar statement, saying that the city administration would also appeal the ruling. The reclamation project came under the spotlight when Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested Mohamad Sanusi, a city councilor, for allegedly accepting a bribe from PT APL in relation to a reclamation draft bylaw being deliberated by the City Council. The bribery case was allegedly related to efforts by the developer to influence certain details in the draft pertaining to private sector contributions. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Syamsul Huda M.Suhari (The Jakarta Post) Gorontalo Wed, June 1, 2016 Police personnel have managed to calm a riot at Gorontalo penitentiary, 14 hours after tension escalated. Edi Nurkamiden, the inmate alleged to have initiated the riot, surrendered on Wednesday morning. Edi surrendered at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and security personnel took him to Gorontalo Police headquarter for questioning. Police also plan to question him in regard to other inmates that may have helped to provoke the riot, Gorontalo Police chief Brig. Gen. Hengkie Kaluara said on Wednesday. "Police have placed 50 armed personnel inside the prison to help with security," he said. The riot, according to Hengkie, broke out on Tuesday evening when Second. Brig. Mohammad Kurniawan Noho, of Limboto Police precinct came to the prison, escorting 20 new inmates after trials at the Limboto District Court on Tuesday afternoon with Second. Brig. R. S Nikmati. As Kurniawan was entering the second gate of the prison he bumped into Edi. The two men are alleged to have argued and Kurniawan is said to have then been attacked by Edi and 10 other inmates. Kurniawan sustained stab wounds to his thighs and was taken to hospital for treatment. The incident incited a riot and, with prisoners running amok, prison authorities chose to leave the prison to save themselves. To regain control of the prison, Gorontalo Police, supported by three additional police precincts, deployed 400 armed police officers and tactical teams. As police arrived, inmates are alleged to have thrown stones, and wayer (traditional arrows) from behind the prison walls. Police retaliated, firing tear gas at the prisoners. There are currently 700 inmates detained at Gorontalo penitentiary, double its 300 inmate capacity. Following Edis surrender, Police searched the prison and confiscated 111 blunt objects and 348 sharp weapons. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Al Khanif (The Jakarta Post) Jember, East Java Wed, June 1 2016 The Constitutional Court asserted in 2009 that Pancasila was a foundation of the state that could not be amended. As a supreme source of law in Indonesias legal system, Pancasila, which was founded 70 years ago, consists of five supreme principles that must inspire all legal, economic, political and social developments, including the spirit of pluralism of this diverse nation. Broadly speaking, Pancasila should form the basis for legal and human rights development in Indonesia and hence an accurate understanding of Pancasilas five principles is a prerequisite to understanding the scope of protections under Indonesian pluralism. The five principles are considered supreme because Pancasila is the philosophical basis for the founding of Indonesia. Apart from being the ideology of the nation, Pancasila serves as the highest source of law in the Indonesian legal system. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 JAKARTA: Health and beauty products retailer Duta Intidaya, which operates Watsons stores, aims to raise fresh funds of Rp 81.2 billion (US$5.9 million) to Rp 90.8 billion from its initial public offering (IPO) this year. The company plans to release 478 million shares in the IPO, which is equal to 23 percent of the companys paid-up capital. Each share will carry a price tag of Rp 170 to Rp 190. Trimegah Securities was appointed to become the underwriter for the IPO. Duta Intidayas finance director Sukarnaen Suwanto said the company would use 35 percent of its IPO funds for paying off its debts to London-based lender HSBC, which amounted to Rp 26 billion. The remaining funds would be used as capital to further expand the business. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 JAKARTA: International law firm Hogan Lovells announced its association with local law firm Dewi Negara Fachri & Partners (DNFP) on Tuesday in a bid to expand its legal services to Indonesia. Patrick Sherrington, Hogan Lovells regional managing partner for Asia Pacific and the Middle East said that through the association with the local firm, Hogan Lovells expected to be able provide legal advice on the growing international business happening in Indonesia. They will offer legal assistance in areas including financial services, private equity, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and infrastructure, Stephanie Keen, the Office Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee Singapore, said. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Suherdjoko, Nethy Dharma Somba and Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Semarang/Jayapura/Bandung Wed, June 1 2016 Senior high school graduates on Tuesday took written tests to get into their preferred state universities in cities across the country, while the education minister threatened to legally prosecute anyone found to engage in misconduct. The misconduct that occurred during the entry tests usually involved certain individuals taking the written tests for somebody else (jockeying), as well as the leakage of test materials. Research and Technology and Higher Education Minister Mohamad Nasir said those who committed misconduct would be charged with criminal offenses. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Markus Makur (The Jakarta Post) Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Wed, June 1, 2016 A newly launched EU project is set to explore the creative economy potential of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, with the eventual aim of developing tourism on the island. The head of cooperation at the Delegation of the EU to Indonesia, Franck Viault, praised the enthusiasm of tourism players in Flores to fully engage with the Creative Entrepreneurship for Accelerating Tourism and Local Economic Development (Created) program. We hope we can see results of the initiative and continue to strengthen our partnership through the Created project, especially to increase both the capacity and knowledge of local communities to increase added value from the tourism sector, Viault said of the launch of the project last Thursday. We also hope that success stories and experience obtained by local communities from the Created project can be benefited by other areas in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, he added. Flores is blessed with abundant nature tourism potential; the waters on the western side of the island are one of the richest sea creature habitats in the world, while the island itself is the natural habitat of the endangered Komodo dragon and various endemic bird species. The EU-funded Created program aims to harmonize Flores tourism sector growth and various local economic activities based on food and handicrafts. It is hoped that through the program, local communities can participate more actively in the development of the local economy in Flores. The Created program will be implemented over three and a half years by tourism foundation Yayasan Ekowisata Indonesia (Indecon), together with environment foundations Yayasan Benih Matahari (Bima) and Yayasan Lingkungan Hidup Seloliman (YLHS). Local communities in East Nusa Tenggara will also be involved in the progam. Under the Created program, tourism development in Flores will be accelerated through improvement of competitiveness of products from local communities, allowing them to contribute to sustainable economic growth and job creation to reduce poverty. Under the program, dialogue among parties in economic planning and monitoring activities will be improved. The Created project is supported by a financing scheme via the Civil Society and Local Authorities in Development (CSO-LA) from the EU. It will continue achievements from the Innovative Indigenous Flores Ecotourism for Sustainable Trade (Infest) project. The Created project will be implemented in three areas of western Flores: Mbeliling in West Manggarai regency, Ruteng in Manggarai regency and Inerie in Ngada regency The Tourism Ministrys assistant for cultural tourism destination development, Lokot Ahmad Enda, praised the initiative and said the program was in line with the ministrys focus to accelerate tourism development in Flores. We will continue to support tourism development in Flores. We are waiting for active collaborations with all parties in Flores. We are also committed to working together with the Created project and local administrations in Flores, said Lokot. The head of the Ngada Transportation, Tourism, Communication and Information Agency, Sidhu Paulus, said it was hoped that local communities would benefit from the tourism sector in Flores. Sidhu said he believed that Infest and Created projects shared a similar vision. Therefore, it was expected that the partnership could be expanded not only in Jerebuu but also in other areas such as Bajawa and Wolobobo. We hope the tourism project can bring benefits to the local people, increasing their economic revenue and prosperity, he said. Tourism in Flores has continuously recorded significant growth, data show. As tourist visits grow by around 11 percent per year, tourism is touted as one of the most booming sectors in Flores. In 2012, Flores was named a national priority tourism destinations by the President. The West Manggarai administrations economic development assistant, Martinus Ban, said the Created project was very coherent with the administrations vision, especially on the development of agrotourism. We know Labuan Bajo, in particular, can play an important role in distributing benefits from the tourism sector [...], said Martinus. We will develop agriculture intensification clusters to respond to tourism demand, he added. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Justin juozapavicius (Associated Press) Oklahoma Wed, June 1, 2016 A former Oklahoma volunteer sheriff's deputy who said he mistook his handgun for his stun gun when he fatally shot an unarmed suspect last year was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison. A judge gave Robert Bates, 74, the maximum penalty recommended by jurors who last month convicted the wealthy insurance executive of second-degree manslaughter. Bates fatally shot Eric Harris while working with Tulsa County sheriff's deputies last year during an illegal gun sales sting. Harris, who had run from deputies, was restrained and unarmed when he was shot. Harris was black and Bates is white, but Harris' family has said they don't believe race played a role. The shooting, which was captured on video, sparked several investigations. Among other things, the investigations revealed an internal memo questioning Bates' qualifications as a volunteer deputy and showed that Bates, a close friend of the sheriff's, had donated thousands of dollars in cash, vehicles and equipment to the sheriff's office. After being sentenced, Bates was led away by deputies. His family members shouted, "We love you! We love you!" as he left court. Judge Bill Musseman said handing down the prison sentence was a "legitimate and moral consequence" of Bates' actions. He said he took into account Bates' failing health and dozens of letters written by members of the community asking for leniency from the court. Bates was given credit for the time he has served since being convicted. He must serve nine months of probation after his release. Defense attorney Clark Brewster said they are planning an appeal. "I'm confident we'll get a new audience through the appellate courts, and you'll be interviewing me about the reversal," Brewster told reporters after the sentencing. Bates' defense attorneys argued at trial that methamphetamine found in Harris' system, along with his cardiac health, caused his death. Defense attorneys called the killing an "excusable homicide." But prosecutors told jurors that Bates was guilty of culpable negligence when he shot Harris. One deputy testified that Bates apparently dozed off minutes before Harris fled from deputies. Following the shooting, an outside consultant hired to review the sheriff's office determined that the agency suffered from a "system-wide failure of leadership and supervision" and had been in a "perceptible decline" for more than a decade. The reserve deputy program was later suspended. Weeks after Harris was killed, an internal sheriff's office memo from 2009 was released by an attorney for Harris' family that alleged superiors knew Bates didn't have enough training but pressured others to look the other way because of his relationship with the sheriff and the agency. A grand jury also investigated the agency and indicted the longtime sheriff, Stanley Glanz, in September, accusing him of failing to release the 2009 memo. He resigned on Nov. 1. The new sheriff, who was sworn into office last month, has detailed plans to reform and revive the reserve deputy program. Glanz was among dozens of people who wrote letters of support for Bates ahead of Tuesday's sentencing. Glanz wrote that he didn't believe his longtime friend was "a threat or a danger to anyone and should not be placed in an overcrowded state prison system." "This is a terrible injustice for a man that made a terrible mistake in a split second," Glanz wrote in the letter submitted to the court. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 Anira, a fishmonger from Muara Angke in North Jakarta, could not hold back her emotions when the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) moved on Tuesday to halt the construction of Islet G in Jakarta Bay. A panel of judges at the court fulfilled the requests of fisher people who had called for a stop to the artificial islet, which is part of reclamation projects off the northern Jakarta coast. Anira and dozens of other fishing families left their boats and homes to witness the historical moment. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands Wed, June 1, 2016 Maritime expert Rohmin Dahuri has called on Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to send a diplomatic note to Singaporean authorities to protest an ownership claim of Air Manis Island in Batam. He said the exclusive ownership claim over Air Manis Island by a Singaporean company and its move to unilaterally change its name to Funtasy Island had violated Law No.1/2014 on the management of coastal areas and small islands. The basic spirit of the 2014 law is to empower local communities. If our small islands have been managed exclusively, closing access to our people, then it violates our sovereignty, said the former fisheries and maritime affairs minister. I ask the foreign minister to send a protest note to Singapore over the exclusive management and physical claim of the island, he told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday. The Riau Islands administration has warned a Singapore-based company, which manages Air Manis Island in Batam, Riau Islands, not to take any action that attempts to change the islands ownership. The warning was issued on Tuesday following a recent measure taken by the company, which reportedly had issued a map that includes Air Manis Island as part of Singaporean territory and changed its name to Funtasy Island. Dozens of Indonesian Army and Navy personnel have been dispatched to the exclusive island, in response to the development. Riau Islands Tourism Agency head Guntur Sakti told thejakartapost.com on Tuesday that the issue related to Air Manis Island emerged after the companys management published the Air Manis map and marked it as part of Singapore. This could be seen from the color used to mark Singaporean territory, which was similar with the color used to mark Air Manis Island. The map applied a different color to mark Batam and other Indonesian territories. We asked the management company of the island from Singapore to explain. We warned them not to carry out any action that could trigger public outrage, said Guntur. He said the administration sent the warning letter to the company on Monday, asking for an explanation. Regarding the map, they told us that it was just a marketing strategy. There was no intention by Singapore to take over our territory, they claimed. However, we have warned them about this issue, said Guntur. Guntur said Air Manis Island, which covered a 328-hectare area, was jointly managed by two companies from Singapore and Indonesia. It was developed as an integrated tourism area and claimed as the biggest eco-park area in ASEAN. The development of Air Manis Island was first designed in 1996 and is expected to be completed this year. The island is managed by Funtasy Island Development Pte Ltd. There are growing concerns that the island has been claimed by Singapore. We dont want to see such a thing. This is because administratively, Air Manis Island is located in Belakang Padang district, Batam, said Guntur. Dozens of military personnel, who arrived on Air Manis Island on Sunday, displayed red-and-white flags across the area to reaffirm the island was part of Indonesia. The commander of Indonesian Navy headquarters in Batam, Col. Ribut Eko Suyatno, said the displaying of the flags by military personnel was decided in a Batam Regional Leaders Communication Forum (FKPD) meeting directly led by the Batam Military District Command (Kodim) commander. As they are displayed in Indonesian territory, I think there is no problem, said Ribut. Ribut further said the Indonesian Military would also build Navy posts around Air Manis Island to anticipate any further disputes over the island. Riau Islands Legislative Council member Surya Makmur Nasution said the exclusive management of Air Manis Island by a single party violated Law No.27/2007 in reference to Law No.1/2014 on the management of coastal areas and small islands. There is no more inhabitants on the island. Such exclusive ownership violates the existing law. There needs to be clarification and the government cannot let this go easily, said Surya. Surya also highlighted the change of the islands name from Air Manis to Funtasy by its administrator. It showed that the company did not adhere to existing rules. They must respect the names we have given to islands in our country. Those names have been officially registered at the UN. We want the government to take bold measures in response to this issue, said Surya. Funtasy Island is a 328-hectare area with housing, commercial and tourism facilities. It is located between Batam and Singapore, separated only by 16 kilometers, and can be reached from Singapore in 20 minutes. Earlier, Funtasy Island site manager Oke Yusma Nurjaman told thejakartapost.com that the development of the island, which was designed with a concept of being an independent city, had utilized Rp 2 trillion (US$145.91 million) worth of investment. She said although the development of Funtasy Island was still ongoing, all facilities offered had been sold out, with the majority of buyers being Singaporeans. Actually, it is open for local people, but we are targeting consumers from Singapore, said Oke. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The number of foreign tourists visiting the West Java capital, Bandung, increased by nearly 100 percent in April after the expansion of its airport, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) says. Bandung welcomed 30,806 foreign tourists in April, a 90.63 percent month-on-month increase from 15,828 in March, BPS head Suryamin said on Wednesday. The vigorous promotion of Indonesia in Malaysia managed to increase tourist arrivals in Bandung, he said, adding that Malaysians accounted for the most foreign tourists visiting the city. Bandung is known as a creative and fashion industry city that offers various products, particularly garments. Suryamin said many Malaysians came to Bandung to look for wedding needs. Total foreign arrivals in Indonesia in April reached 901,100, or a 12.37 percent month-on-month increase from 801,900 in March. Singapore top the list with 139,850 tourists, followed by Malaysia with 120,476, China with 107,050, Australia 96,687 and Japan 45,866. (Sha/bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S.Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The leader of the hardline Islam Defenders Front (FPI), Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, has threatened to attempt to impeach President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo if the latter agrees to make a state apology for the mass violence that occurred in 1965, as demanded by human rights activists and families of the victims. The apology is sought as part of a reconciliation process to settle gross human rights violations that occurred during the 1965 communist purge. "If President Jokowi apologizes, we and all Muslims in the country will impeach him," Rizieq told an audience including retired high-ranking military generals during an event entitled the National Symposium on Securing Pancasila From the Threat of the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) and Other Ideologies on Wednesday. Speaking in a high and fiery tone that he usually reserves for delivering sermons, Rizieq further warned, "We will oppose anyone, including state officials, who instigates the rebirth of the PKI." In his speech, he also slammed Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan for what Rizieq said was a slow and indecisive response to "the rampant use of communist symbols". Several retired Army generals attended the two-day event that began on Wednesday, including former vice president Try Sutrisno and retired Army general Kivlan Zein. The event, held to commemorate the birth of Pancasila on June 1, was arranged to challenge a previous state-sponsored national symposium held to bring together and gain input from various stakeholders, including victims, human rights activists, academics and state officials, as part of efforts to come up with comprehensive solutions to settle the human rights abuses that happened during and after the mass killings in 1965. It is estimated that around 500,000 people were killed and millions sent to prison without trial in the 1965 tragedy. The growing calls for justice for victims and their families have met with protests from several civil groups warning both the government and the public about the rise of communism in the country. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The government has failed to meet the May 31 deadline set to complete all supporting regulations in the 12 economic policy packages, pledging to work harder to complete its tasks. In a limited meeting held at the Presidential Office last week, President Joko Jokowi Widodo instructed for all 203 regulations and 26 implementation guidelines in the 12 economic policy packages to be finished by May 31 in a bid to speed up the stimuli effect on the economy. However, as of May 31, only two of the unfinished nine regulations have been completed. They are a government regulation (PP) on tax incentives for labor intensive industry employees and a regulation on tax incentives for real estate investment trusts (REITs). Both regulations are currently being synchronized by the Law and Human Right Ministry. Meanwhile, three of six regulation drafts sent to the State Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for the Presidents approval have been returned to the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry to be revised. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the government would hold an evaluation meeting on the 12 policy packages to ensure the implementation of the deregulation policies. "We will meet every week to catch up so all packages can be implemented [] There must be a new deadline for the uncompleted regulations," Luhut told reporters after a coordination meeting with relevant ministries in Jakarta on Tuesday. The assistant to the Coordinating Economic Minister for trade and industry, Edy Putra Irawady, added that the 12 policy packages issued by the government since last September also required the implementation guidelines. There are 26 guidelines that must be completed by relevant ministries, consisting of 14 regulations in the first package, a regulation in the third package, eight regulations in the sixth package, a regulation in the eight package and two regulations in the ninth package. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 A man was beaten black and blue by a mob after allegedly trying but failing to rob a woman in Bekasi, West Java, on Monday night. The alleged robbery attempt occurred at 11 p.m. when the 18-year-old suspect, identified as Mustafa haji, was riding a motorcycle, approached a woman and grabbed her bag while she was traveling on Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin in Tambun. But the woman, also on a motorcycle, pulled her bag to save it, causing both of them to lose balance and fall from their motorcycles. The suspect and the victim both fell down. The victim screamed for help, prompting nearby residents to catch [the suspect], Tambun Police chief Comr. Puji Hardi was quoted by wartakotalive.com as saying on Tuesday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 A final year student at the University of Indonesia (UI), identified as Visensius Billy, has been found dead hanging in his room in Depok, West Java, on Tuesday. Depok City Police criminal unit head Comr. Teguh said the body was found at 8:15 a.m. on the third floor of the UNICA boarding house by Mariaty, a domestic helper at the property. Mariaty found him when she was just going to clean the hallway in front of Visensius room. She saw from the window that his body was hanging inside, Teguh said as quoted by tribunnews.com, adding that the helper then rushed to security officers. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Erika Anindita Dewi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The House of Representatives is set to approve a revision of the 2015 Regional Elections (Pilkada) Law during a plenary meeting on Thursday, the House and the government having completed the deliberation of the draft revision. In a hearing between the House's Commission II overseeing regional affairs and Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo on Tuesday, 10 political party factions explained their stances on each point discussed during the deliberation. In the meeting, the House agreed to pass the draft revision into a new law, although three political party factions - the Gerindra Party, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and National Awakening Party (PKB) - highlighted their concerns over several points in the draft revision. Seven political party factions, which agreed to pass the draft revision without objections, are the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the NasDem Party, the Hanura Party, the Democratic Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB). "This is a final draft," Commission II chairman Rambe Kamarulzaman of the Golkar Party faction said on Tuesday, noting, however, that several objections would be followed up. As reported earlier, two main issues have hindered the deliberation, namely regarding the level of minimum support for independent candidates and the mandatory resignation of House members, Regional Representatives Council (DPD) legislators and Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) lawmakers wishing to stand for election in the 2017 regional elections. The concerns contributed to the House's failure to endorse the revision in a plenary meeting at the end of April. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rendi A. Witular and Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 Insp. Gen. Ari Dono Sukmanto may not be the best, but he may also be among just a handful of officers acceptable to President Joko Jokowi Widodo and the many competing factions in the police force to lead the detectives division. In his 31 years of service, Ari has chosen to play it safe with no notable achievements nor severe failures recorded throughout his career. After taking over the prestigious job on Tuesday from his predecessor Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar, who is set to retire this month, Ari said he had many plans, but he was willing to compromise in order to avoid making disturbances. Ari said he would not pursue cases that might rock the boat or harm the economy. The essence of our law enforcement is not to ignite disturbances. If we rock the boat, we worry that it will disrupt the economy, said Ari. The detectives division will support the programs laid out by the government, particularly in ensuring that the economy runs as planned. Mid last year, Jokowi instructed the police to refrain from pursuing graft cases involving state company executives and bureaucrats over concerns that the cases might disturb his economic agenda. The Presidents instruction, however, was ignored by then National Police Detectives Division chief Comr. Gen. Budi Buwas Waseso, who immediately embarked on aggressive anticorruption operations. Buwas grabbed the publics attention when he raided the office of state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta. The companys then president director, RJ Lino, who is now a graft suspect, is a close associate of Vice President Jusuf Kalla. On the heels of that particular brouhaha, Budi was immediately removed and assigned to lead the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). A faction in the police led by National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, supported by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), strongly opposed Budis removal. But two other factions, one led by National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti and another by former National Police chief Gen. (ret.) Sutarman, supported the move. The dissent among factions, however, has slowly diminished under Badrodins leadership, and Aris appointment is seen as a compromise. Ari is a figure that can be accepted by the many competing factions, said Strategic Indonesia Police Study Institute (Lemkapi) executive director Edi Hasibuan. He may not be the best. But his leadership will be a comfort to everyone, he said. Unlike the highly decorated National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian, Ari has left many high-profile cases unresolved. From the murder of a noted archeologist in 2008 to a major graft case revolving around condensate sales by PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama, which implicates many of the political and business elite, Ari has a lot of baggage to handle. But despite these pending cases, Ari is eyeing new cases in the short run. His attention will be on the rampant hoarding of staple foods by businessmen ahead of the holy month of Ramadhan. My immediate focus is to launch a crackdown on hoarders and food-price speculators, he said. Internally, I will get rid of recalcitrant officers who play around with cases, he pledged. According to the National Police Commission (Kompolnas), a police watchdog, around 90 percent of public complaints centered on miscreant officers within the graft-ridden detectives division. Badrodin instructed Ari in his inauguration remarks to focus on internal reform as detective work was closely related to public service. The police chief also encouraged Ary to carry out his duties without compromising his loyalty. Your utmost loyalty and responsibility are needed in carrying out your duty, said Badrodin, who is now facing intense demand from dissenting factions in the police not to accept Jokowis proposal to have his term extended beyond his retirement age in July. ______________________________________ to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rendi A. Witular and Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Insp. Gen. Ari Dono Sukmanto may not be the best, but he may also be among just a handful of officers acceptable to President Joko Jokowi Widodo and the many competing factions in the police force to lead the detectives division. In his 31 years of service, Ari has chosen to play it safe with no notable achievements nor severe failures recorded throughout his career. After taking over the prestigious job on Tuesday from his predecessor Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar, who is set to retire this month, Ari said he had many plans, but he was willing to compromise in order to avoid making disturbances. Ari said he would not pursue cases that might rock the boat or harm the economy. The essence of our law enforcement is not to ignite disturbances. If we rock the boat, we worry that it will disrupt the economy, said Ari. The detectives division will support the programs laid out by the government, particularly in ensuring that the economy runs as planned. Mid last year, Jokowi instructed the police to refrain from pursuing graft cases involving state company executives and bureaucrats over concerns that the cases might disturb his economic agenda. The Presidents instruction, however, was ignored by then National Police Detectives Division chief Comr. Gen. Budi Buwas Waseso, who immediately embarked on aggressive anticorruption operations. Buwas grabbed the publics attention when he raided the office of state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta. The companys then president director, RJ Lino, who is now a graft suspect, is a close associate of Vice President Jusuf Kalla. On the heels of that particular brouhaha, Budi was immediately removed and assigned to lead the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). A faction in the police led by National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, supported by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), strongly opposed Budis removal. But two other factions, one led by National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti and another by former National Police chief Gen. (ret.) Sutarman, supported the move. The dissent among factions, however, has slowly diminished under Badrodins leadership, and Aris appointment is seen as a compromise. Ari is a figure that can be accepted by the many competing factions, said Strategic Indonesia Police Study Institute (Lemkapi) executive director Edi Hasibuan. He may not be the best. But his leadership will be a comfort to everyone, he said. Unlike the highly decorated National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian, Ari has left many high-profile cases unresolved. From the murder of a noted archeologist in 2008 to a major graft case revolving around condensate sales by PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama, which implicates many of the political and business elite, Ari has a lot of baggage to handle. But despite these pending cases, Ari is eyeing new cases in the short run. His attention will be on the rampant hoarding of staple foods by businessmen ahead of the holy month of Ramadhan. My immediate focus is to launch a crackdown on hoarders and foodprice speculators, he said. Internally, I will get rid of recalcitrant officers who play around with cases, he pledged. According to the National Police Commission (Kompolnas), a police watchdog, around 90 percent of public complaints centered on miscreant officers within the graft-ridden detectives division. Badrodin instructed Ari in his inauguration remarks to focus on internal reform as detective work was closely related to public service. The police chief also encouraged Ary to carry out his duties without compromising his loyalty. Your utmost loyalty and responsibility are needed in carrying out your duty, said Badrodin, who is now facing intense demand from dissenting factions in the police not to accept Jokowis proposal to have his term extended beyond his retirement age in July. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The decision to allow the importation of food commodities is aimed at maintaining both the available supply and stable prices during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri festivities, President Joko Jokowi Widodo has said. Jokowi said the government was monitoring the available supply of four staple food commodities, namely shallots, sugar, beef and rice, which often experience price hikes due to a shortage of supply. The importation of staple foods is intended to meet the increased market demand ahead of Ramadhan, added Jokowi. Several ministries have been calculating supply and demand. If the demand is excessively large and the production capacity is insufficient to meet demand, it must be fulfilled through imports," Jokowi explained on Wednesday. The government decided to import 2,500 tons of shallots to meet the availability of seeds required by farmers one to two months ahead. Currently, the seed price sits at Rp 42,000 (US$3.07) to Rp 43,000 per kilogram. Imported beef deliveries are expected to arrive in the first week of Ramadhan, in the middle of June, President Jokowi said. By importing 27,400 tons of beef, Jokowi said, the government expects the beef price to drop to around Rp 80,000 per kg, the target set by the government. The imports were initiated to keep staple foods affordable, he emphasized. "We expect the price of shallots to decrease, as well as sugar, beef and rice," the President said. Trade Minister Thomas Lembong said the government expected the shallot price to drop to Rp 25,000 per kg while the price of rice and sugar could decline to Rp 9,500 and Rp 12,500 per kg, respectively. Apart from the importation, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said the government would also shorten the distribution channel to reduce the price of food commodities. "The mechanism [to reduce food prices] is not to turn off small trader activities in traditional markets, but to supply distributors with commodities sold at a lower price than the market price," he said as quoted by kompas.com. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Former vice president Try Sutrisno called on Wednesday for an addendum in the 1945 Constitution to ensure that communism, Leninism and Marxism were prohibited ideologies in the country. There should be an addendum in the 1945 Constitution, stating that Pancasila is our national ideology, and Marxism, Leninism and communism are restricted, the retired general said at a national symposium titled Protecting Pancasila from the threats of the Indonesian Communist Party [PKI] and Other Ideologies in Jakarta on Wednesday. Its the only way to strengthen the status of Pancasila and fundamentally prohibit Marxism, Leninism and communism, he stressed According to Try, lots of young people have forgotten Pancasila and its basic values. He even claimed that the substance of the fourth amendment of the 1945 Constitution had deviated from Pancasila, resulting in a number of misguided laws. Hence, we should continue the education, refreshment and the deepening of Pancasila, whether through formal, non-formal and informal education, Try claimed. The symposium was organized by at least 300 retired generals and members of mass organizations as they were dissatisfied with the previous symposium in April titled Dissecting the 1965 Tragedy. Coordinating Political Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Monday that the government would wait for input from the latest symposium before it decided on how to resolve the 1965 tragedy, in which 500,000 people died, mostly members and sympathizers of the now-defunct PKI. "We expect to get input from participants of the [June] symposium too. We see which suggestions are suitable," Luhut said. (vps/bbn) Activists against forced labor said Wednesday that while India tops a recent global slavery index, the situation is improving in the South Asian nation thanks to public awareness, legal reforms and police-backed raids on factories employing workers illegally. The Walk Free Foundation counted some 18.35 million modern slaves in India in its index of modern slavery released Tuesday, or 40 percent of a global total of 45.8 million, an estimate 10 million higher than the group last reported in 2014. The figures include children and adults forced into labor, often unpaid or to pay off a debt, as well as child brides, child soldiers and migrant workers. Officials with the Indian Labor Ministry did not immediately respond to calls for comment. Experts and activists said, however, that while the problem has persisted for years in India, there are signs that the situation is improving. "We get 20 complaints per day from family members and public in general" reporting labor abuse a sign that awareness of the problem was growing, said Ramesh Senger from Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi's charity Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save the Childhood Movement. He noted that India's carpet industry used to employ 300,000 trafficked children just a decade ago, but that the number has come down to an estimated 5,000-10,000. Meanwhile, the number of children forced to work making plastic bangles in parts of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is now negligible, whereas thousands worked in the industry 10 years ago. India's garment industry hub in the Indian capital has also eliminated child labor, Senger noted as an example of how police-backed raids can make a difference. "We rescued nearly 400 children in the area between 2012-2014," he said. "The garments industry in the area no longer employs child labor." The global index showed China with the second highest number of modern slaves, 3.39 million, out of 167 countries surveyed for the report. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. North Korea was found to have the highest per capita rate of modern slavery, with 4.37 percent of its population affected. In India, the problem of slavery including child marriage and bonded labor has long been a challenge and cause for shame. Many saw the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for children's rights activist Satyarthi, who was awarded along with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, as a sign that India would be forced to improve. But child labor is widespread despite India's rapid economic growth over the past decade. Millions of children are forced to work, some as young as 5 or 6. Many end up in difficult and sometimes toxic jobs including rolling cigarettes, mining in stone quarries, dying leather in tanneries. Laws meant to keep kids in school and out of the workplace are routinely flouted. On Monday, the Indian government published draft legislation to curb human trafficking without punishing its victims. "At present the law says the trafficked and the trafficker are both criminals and they both go to jail. Now, we are saying the victim will not go to jail," said Maneka Gandhi, the government's minister for women and child development, according to Press Trust of India. But some blamed the government for maintaining an economy where bonded labor can still flourish thanks to high unemployment of around 10 percent and abject poverty in the countryside. "The laws are there, but there is no political will on the part of the government to implement them," peace activist Swami Agnivesh said. "The government can't afford to annoy rural rich as well as the urban rich who are exploiting the situation." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The Trade Ministry has announced a beef import quota of 27,400 tons, far above the Agriculture Ministrys recommendation of 10,000 tons, to curb rising prices in local markets. The policy is a follow up to President Joko Widodos instruction to reduce beef prices from Rp 110,000 (US$8) to 80,000 per kilogram ahead of Ramadhan, which will start next week. Trade Minister Thomas Lembong said the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) held an import quota for 10,000 tons of beef, state-owned firm Berdikari 5,000 tons, Jakarta administration-owned firm Darmajaya 500 tons, with the remainder for private importers. We will import the beef from various countries, he said in Jakarta on Tuesday. He refused to mention the countries but said that Indonesia wanted to diversify beef-import sources from places other than Australia. Ramadhan and Idul Fitri are two major Islamic religious events in Indonesia during which demand for staple foods and other products usually soar. To maintain reasonable prices at the consumer level and improve farmers' welfare, the government has set minimum farmers selling prices. Onions have been set at Rp 15,000 per kg, medium-quality rice at Rp 7,300, and sugar at Rp 9,100. The government has asked two state-owned companies, PT Perkebunan Nusantara and PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, to import 381,000 tons of raw sugar to be processed into refined sugar. In a joint press briefing with Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman and the trade minister, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno said the government expected to see food prices decrease by the end of the first week of Ramadhan. We are committed to maintaining the stability of staple food supplies and prices, especially onion, rice, sugar and beef during Ramadhan, she said. (sha/ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 With the launch of a new defense strategy on Tuesday, expectations are high that the Defense Ministry will build a maritime defense system that supports the governments vision of transforming the country into a global maritime power. Unlike a 2008 version that focused on territorial defense, the 2015 Defense White Paper released on Tuesday incorporates the global maritime axis and state defense concepts to deal with potential threats over the next five years. We need to revise our defense programs and make them in line with the governments policies, said the Defense Ministrys director general for strategic defense, Maj. Gen. Yoedhi Swastanto. He said the document highlighted maritime strategy development by military and nonmilitary agents. The state defense program, meanwhile, was part of a strategy to support a military approach to maintaining maritime safety, he added. The new white paper defines future challenges in two categories, factual and non-factual threats, both of which are increasing as the government focuses on economic growth, which consequently requires military power enhancement. Factual threats consist of terrorism and radicalism, separatism and armed rebellion, natural disasters, border area violations, piracy and natural resources theft, epidemics, cyber attacks and espionage, trafficking and drug abuse. Meanwhile, it defines non-factual threats as open conflicts resulting from rivalries between the armed forces of different countries. The document does not specify the non-factual threats, but warns that as a nation with tremendous potential, Indonesia is prone to dynamic threats, which could become factual and eventually put the national interest and honor at risk. According to the white paper, the new strategic plan emphasizes the governments commitment to meet the minimum essential force (MEF) in its weaponry systems, although it excludes any mention of preparations for war. It says a stronger weaponry system aims only to protect the countrys integrity and sovereignty. In addition to the development of military institutions, it also includes the development of nonmilitary institutions to improve the national defense posture and make the country a sovereign and independent nation with a strong character based on mutual cooperation. The strategy to develop nonmilitary institutions also includes the establishment of defense offices in the regions, a plan that has triggered opposition over concerns of military intervention in public affairs. The defense white paper states that the establishment of such regional defense offices is meant to bridge the interests of the defense aspects of military and nonmilitary defense in the area. Responding to the defense paper, Muradi of Padjajaran University in Bandung said it would provide thorough guidance for decision-making on defense affairs. High-ranking officials, including the defense minister and the Indonesian Military commander, can no longer make any decisions, regarding weaponry procurement for example, based on their subjective judgments, Muradi said. All decisions must comply with actual needs, he said, adding that as the country was attempting to develop the maritime sector, defense policies should focus on the Navy and the Air Force, which would be frontline actors. Defense analyst Connie Rahakundini Bakrie of University of Indonesia said a strategic defense document would be meaningless unless the government set up a national security council as mandated by the 2002 National Defense Law. Defense strategies aimed at protecting national interests must come from a comprehensive assessment by the national security council that comprises the Defense Ministry, the Home Ministry and the Foreign Ministry, Connie said. This is because defense policy cannot stand by itself. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) j Wed, June 1, 2016 Indonesia will participate in an upcoming meeting initiated by France to promote peace in Palestine and Israel through a two-state solution. Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi will attend a ministerial meeting in Paris on June 3 to discuss preparations ahead of the peace conference to be held in France. The conference itself is planned to be held in the second half of the year and will discuss what package would suit best for both Israel and Palestine in obtaining a peaceful resolution, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters during a press briefing on Wednesday. The French government has taken the initiative to start a new series of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, which stagnated when communications broke down in 2014, Arrmanatha said. The details, including whether heads of state will be included in the conference, have not been decided, said the spokesman. Arrmanatha said the conference would involve the Middle East Quartet which comprises the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations the Arab League, the UN Security Council and about 20 other countries. Members of the UN Security Council have confirmed their attendance, including China and the UK. European countries set to participate include Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland and Spain. From the Middle Eastern region, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will attend. Canada has also confirmed its participation. "The countries that have been invited are those that have been active in their efforts to push for peace between Palestine and Israel," Arrmanatha said. Indonesia has also played a unique role in actively pushing for peace in many international forums, such as the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Most recently, the country hosted an OIC Extraordinary Summit in Jakarta in March this year. Citing examples from the past, Arrmanatha said Norway had discussed Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in the Oslo Accord I in 1993. Meanwhile, Spain held the Madrid Conference in 1991. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault previously proposed holding the preliminary meeting on May 30, but it was postponed as US Secretary of State John Kerry was not available. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Kupang Wed, June 1 2016 Ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan, the Border Security Task Force (Pamtas) has increased security on the border between Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste by doubling routine patrols from once to twice daily. So far, there is no significant disruption along the border with Timor Leste, but ahead of Ramadan we will heighten patrols to twice a day to prevent undesirable things from happening, Pamtas commander Lt. Col. Nurman told the media at the Motaain border entrance on Tuesday. Nurman acknowledged that cross-border violations in the form of smuggling were common and were often thwarted thanks to cooperation between Pamtas, the Belu Police and immigration and customs officers. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo officially declared June 1 a national holiday on Wednesday to commemorate the birth of Pancasila state ideology. The official declaration was marked by the signing of a presidential decree during the commemoration of a speech by first Indonesian president Sukarno on June 1, 1945 at the Merdeka Building in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday. "With this presidential decree, June 1 is declared and celebrated as the birth of Pancasila," Jokowi said in a speech as quoted in a presidential press release. As the state ideology, Pancasila must be recognized and preserved by all citizens from generation to generation, he said. In his speech, Jokowi expressed gratitude for the existence of Pancasila, introduced by founding father Sukarno not only as a state ideology but also as a philosophy of life in the country. He believed that under Pancasila, Indonesia could overcome adversary and come out the winner even in tight global competition. "There is no reason to be pessimistic. We must be optimistic facing the future. We should be confident about winning the global competition," he said. Megawati Soekarnoputri, former president and daughter of Sukarno, also attended the commemoration and urged everyone to preserve Pancasila as a way of life. "With the spirit of Pancasila Day, make Pancasila the way of life of the nation," Megawati said during her speech on behalf of the family. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 President Joko Jokowi Widodo is seeking to improve cooperation in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) project with Norway. On Tuesday, the President held a courtesy call with the visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende. Currently, the country is at a transition point between the first and the second phase of the three-phase REDD+, lagging behind the initial target. The Indonesia-Norway REDD+ cooperation program is divided into three phases. The first is the preparation stage. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 Buckle up. The much anticipated new terminal at the countrys busiest airport will commence operations on schedule, by mid-June, to host all international flights. Terminal 3 Ultimate, as its been dubbed, located nearby the existing Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta airport just outside of Jakarta, will begin a commissioning test on Wednesday under national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, which come June will be the only homegrown airline to occupy the sleek new terminal. We will also test the passenger check-in process and baggage handling, said Budi Karya Sumadi, president director of state-owned airport operator AP II, which is in charge of the terminal that is likely to process its first passengers between June 15 and 20. President Joko Jokowi Widodo, during a recent impromptu visit to the terminal, expressed hope that passengers would finally get a taste of the terminal on the Idul Fitri holiday in July. Garuda will operate both its domestic and international routes from the terminal when it moves into building, which sits on 42 hectares. Other international airlines in the SkyTeam alliance will also occupy the terminal, including Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines and KLM. They are five-star airlines, and we have an ambition of making the terminal a five-star terminal, said Budi, referring to the UK-based SkyTrax airline ratings. SkyTrax will also consult with the ministrys director general for air transportation to help ensure that all terminal equipment requirements, including numbers of x-ray machines, have been fulfilled. AP II corporate secretary Agus Haryadi said that the construction of the terminal had almost reached 100 percent, with only minor tasks left such as arrangement of passenger seating. Terminal 3 Ultimate is AP IIs ambitious project, worth at least Rp 7.5 trillion (US$550.1 million) including the cost of facilities, aimed at adding capacity into the already congested Soekarno Hatta International Airport. It was slated to have capacity of 15 million passenger after phase one, and 25 million passengers upon completion. The second phase is slated to be finished by 2017. Soekarno Hatta airport has long been congested, despite its capacity of 26 million passenger annually, as it welcomed twice that many passengers, 54.2 million in total, last year. AP II aimed to make the new terminal a transit terminal, which it hopes to achieve with its new passenger pampering facilities such as the luxurious almost 7 ha commercial area, and seven art installations. The terminals people mover, an integrated electric train system, as well as a railway connecting the airport to Jakarta, is slated to be finished by the first quarter of 2017 to aid passengers journeys to, from and around the terminal. AP II also maintains that its capital resources are sufficient to fund the project, despite a postponed state capital injection (PMN). This funding achievement owes partly to AP IIs issue of Rp 2 trillion in bonds this week. Budi cited a recent AAA rating from Fitch Ratings and credit rating agency PT Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo) as factors that would help pave the way for the company to acquire more forward funds. We can also always go public at any time. Maybe in four or five years from now, he added. ---------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 Oil and gas giant Pertamina saw its top line plunge by more than 40 percent as oil prices remained under pressure throughout last year. The state firm announced on Tuesday that its revenues dropped significantly by 40.3 percent to US$41.76 billion in 2015 from $70 billion in 2014. It attributed the plunge to falling oil prices. Last year saw both prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent Crude sink to their worst levels. WTI, for instance, dropped by more than 30 percent to end at $38.10 per barrel, while Brent decreased more than 36 percent to $37.90 per barrel. Despite the price fall, Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto said that it managed to keep its head above the water, supported by various efficiency measures and the ongoing liquidation of the Pertamina Energi Trading Ltd. (Petral) unit. He claimed that the measures had helped the company salvage its profitability, leaving its bottom line at Rp $1.42 billion, around the same level recorded in 2014. Pertamina looks like an anomaly among other companies that seem to have experience double-digit slowdowns. Pertaminas decrease was only slight, he said, adding that it was able to maintain the number of its workers as well. Data provided by Pertamina shows that several other oil and gas giants had experienced dramatic decreases in their net profits. Royal Dutch Shells net profits decrease by 80 percent to $3.8 billion last year, while Chevrons bottom line dropped 76 percent to $4.6 billion in the same period. Meanwhile, despite posting a drop in its revenues, Pertamina was able to increase its oil and gas production last year. Its crude production climbed by 11 percent to 606,700 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and its gas production increased 18 percent to 1.9 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd). It also managed to increase its production of geothermal energy by 8 percent, adding up to an equivalent of 3,056.82 gigawatt hours of electricity. Thanks to the higher production, Pertamina ended 2015 with 3,898 thousand barrels of oil equivalents in reserve replacement of oil and gas. The hike in upstream production is a fruit of its decision to allocate a majority of its capital expenditure to the upstream sector. We managed to increase production even with the low oil prices, Pertaminas upstream director Syamsu Alam said. The increase in Pertaminas production is actually good news for the country as it is anticipating an increase of oil demand to 1.6 million bopd this year. Its lucky streak has continued by entering 2016 with higher production. During the first quarter of this year, its oil production amounted to 306,250 bopd, an annual increase of 14.5 percent compared to the same period in 2015. Part of the figure came from overseas production in Iraq, Algeria and Malaysia. At the same time, its gas production increased as well, up 22.2 percent annually to 1.98 bscfd. Meanwhile, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said met with Iranian Oil Minister Bijan N. Zangeneh on Tuesday as a follow-up to an agreement between Pertamina and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NIOC has agreed to supply 88,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas from Iran to Indonesia beginning this year and the figure will gradually increase to 500,000 tons by 2017. Sudirman added that Iran had also expressed an interest in investing more in Indonesias refinery sector. --------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Hundreds of armed police were deployed to Gorontalo Penitentiary on Wednesday morning after inmates took over the prison and pushed out security personnel in the course of a riot on Tuesday evening. The personnel were assigned to guard the prison to anticipate possible further riots, Gorontalo Police chief Adj. Sr. Cmr. Ronny Yulianto said on Wednesday as reported by Antara news agency. The clash happened after an inmate of the prison stabbed police officer Second Brig. Mohammad Kurniawan Noho on Tuesday evening. Mohammad suffered wounds to his thigh and calf in the attack. The incident caused heightened tension at Gorontalo prison, with clashes inducing all security personnel to flee. Antara reported that inmates threw stones, bottles and traditional arrows called wayer at police personnel guarding the exterior of the prison in the early hours of Wednesday. One officer was hit by shards from a glass bottle, sustaining injuries to his leg. There are as yet no details regarding the cause of the incident. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Michael Graczyk (Associated Press) Houston Wed, June 1, 2016 An Army veteran of two Afghanistan tours who killed one person and wounded several others during a weekend rampage fired 212 rounds from his military-style rifle before a SWAT officer fatally shot him, police said Tuesday. "Suffice to say, after he fired 212 rounds, he was prepared," police Lt. John McGalin said of ammunition carried by 25-year-old Dionisio Garza III, of Rancho Cucamonga, California. McGalin said Garza was armed with an AR-15 rifle and a pistol and likely was experiencing a "mental health crisis" when he opened fire Sunday morning at a Houston auto detail shop, using the pistol to kill a customer, then retrieving the rifle and spraying the west Houston neighborhood, motorists and then police with gunshots. "He was suffering from some depression, I guess you could say," McGalin said. "His family indicated he wasn't feeling right. And he left to come here to hang out with some friends and to try to find some work." Garza's relatives have said he was haunted by his Afghanistan deployment. Six people were wounded, including two officers and three motorists. McGalin said the sixth person wounded, John Wilson, 30, who initially on Sunday was considered a possible suspect in the outburst, was a nearby resident who armed himself after hearing all the gunfire and intended to try to assist in stopping Garza. "He got outgunned, realized he was in a bad situation, tried to leave and was shot in the leg by the suspect when he tried to get to safety," McGalin said. "He was coming out to help. He didn't think very wisely, made a bad choice and got himself into a bad situation." Wilson and the three other wounded civilians were hospitalized in stable condition. The two officers were released earlier. Patrol vehicles were left bullet riddled and a police helicopter was hit with at least five shots. McGalin said investigators believed Garza selected both the location and his victims at random. Detectives said he broke into an adjacent tire store late Saturday afternoon, then emerged Sunday morning with a pistol and shot 56-year-old Eugene Linscomb, a customer who had arrived moments earlier at the auto detail shop. "Why he selected that location, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it," he said. But McGalin said it appears Garza felt safe at that spot "due to his military training." "He had access to three corners. He was backed up against a fence so he didn't have to worry about anybody coming from behind him. It was just a location he felt safe doing this. And that's the only thing we can surmise at this point in time until something different comes along," McGalin said. He said detectives found some "random writings" at the tire store where Garza spent Saturday night but declined to elaborate. "It doesn't appear to be a terrorism link to this or anything like that," he said. "It just appears to be someone who was in a mental health crisis." Acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo said the investigation "is still evolving," with numerous witnesses yet to interview and evidence to examine. She credited residents who called Sunday and then "opened up their homes to allow us to do what we had to do." Police declined to be specific, but it appeared the SWAT officer who killed Garza nearly an hour after the shooting began was stationed more than 100 yards away at one of those homes. "In my mind, they're heroes and averted what I believe could have been more casualties," Montalvo said. Garza spent four years in the Army, receiving his discharge in 2014, according to Pentagon records released Tuesday. During that time, he served two tours in Afghanistan, the first from December 2009 to November 2010 and the second from December 2012 to August 2013. Assigned to infantry, he reached the rank of sergeant in December 2011. "I think he was haunted by everything that he saw there and he experienced there," his stepmother, Cathy Garza, told ABC News. "I think it changes you. I don't know how you can go through what he went through and see what he saw and not have it change you or have it affect you." Garza's family told Houston television station KPRC that something snapped in him following the two tours in Afghanistan and that his condition worsened in recent weeks. "Just in the last two weeks it progressively got worse," said his father, Dionisio Garza. "It was not the same boy that we raised. Not the loving uncle, the loving brother. "Something snapped. It wasn't him anymore. I'm not making excuses. No excuses. I know he did this, but it wasn't him anymore. My son was broken." (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will declare June 1 as Pancasila Day on Wednesday, a spokesman for the President has said. The President has prepared a presidential decree and will make a formal announcement on Wednesday in Bandung, West Java, presidential spokesman Johan Budi said on Tuesday. "The decision of June 1, as the birth of Pancasila, will be announced tomorrow [Wednesday] through a presidential decree," he said as quoted by kompas.com. Johan could not confirm whether Pancasila Day would be a national holiday, but he did say that if it was declared a national holiday, it would officially start next year. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri has aggressively pushed for June 1 to be declared Pancasila Day, to commemorate the birth the state ideology. Pancasila Day will help unite everyone under the ideology, she has said. Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), had also called on Jokowi to declare June 1 Pancasila Day, NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj previously said. First president Sukarno introduced Pancasila prior to Indonesia gaining independence, on June 1, 1945. Sukarno said in a speech during a meeting to prepare for Indonesia's independence that it took a solid foundation to be a strong independent nation, which he named Pancasila. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agus Maryono (The Jakarta Post) Cilacap, Central Java Wed, June 1, 2016 Prosecutor Anton Suhartono objected to a case review appeal filed by Freddy Budiman, a death-row drug convict, and his lawyer at a second hearing at the Cilacap District Court in Cilacap, Central Java, on Wednesday. The prosecutor objected to Freddys appeal because no new evidence or witnesses had been found. It is the Supreme Court that will make the final ruling in the case based on the case review request, said Anton. During the hearing, Freddys lawyer, Untung Sunaryo, reiterated arguments used in his first appeal hearing. Untung urged the panel of judges to free Freddy from the death penalty, saying his clients guilt was the same as that of his accomplices. None of his accomplices were sentenced to death, the lawyer said. The Jakarta Police arrested Freddy on April 28, 2011 for attempting to smuggle 1.4 million ecstasy pills into the country from China. The West Jakarta District Court sentenced him to death in a trial held five months after his arrest. Freddy began his sentence at the Cipinang narcotics prison on November 2012. In July 2013, he was found to be selling drugs from his cell and moved to Batu prison on Nusakambangan prison island. In his first appeal hearing at the the Cilacap District Court on May 25, Freddy pleaded for a lesser sentence. He promised not to sell drugs and to repent and to ask God for forgiveness. Tight security Dozens of security personnel secure the second case review appeal trial of Freddy Budiman, a drug trafficker sentenced to death, at the Cilacap District Court in Cilacap, Central Java, on Wednesday.(thejakartapost.com/Agus Maryono) Before the second hearing on Wednesday, the Anti-Narcotics National Movement (Granat) central executive board called on the Attorney Generals Office (AGO) not to delay the execution of drug convicts on death row. Granat also asked the Supreme Court to reject Freddy's appeal. We dont believe the promises he [Freddy] made during his first hearing, Granat deputy chairman Ashar Suryobroto said at a media conference in Purwokerto, Central Java, on Tuesday. Ashar said the death sentence was needed to save the younger generation because drug dealers threatened the lives of millions of youth. Granat outright rejects the case review appeal filed by Freddy and hope law enforcers maintain a high moral commitment, said Ashar, adding that the executions of drug traffickers must be immediately conducted. Granat stays consistent in its belief that the carrying out of death sentences, which are inkracht [final and legally binding], is an inseparable part of our justice system, he went on. Ashar further said that by delaying the executions, the state allowed death-row drug inmates to continue to sell drugs from their cells. Ashar voiced hoped that Indonesians, especially law enforcers, would not be fooled by changes that drug traffickers made to their physical appearance because it was likely just a ploy to avoid the death sentence. He was referring to Freddys latest change to his physical appearance, when he turned up at court for his first appeal hearing wearing Muslim attire and sporting a long beard. Last year, Freddy was reported to have joined the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group following his association with several terror convicts on Nusakambangan. Ashar said drug trafficking was a dangerous crime. Indonesians are all waiting to see Freddy included in the third round of executions. More convicts will be executed because President Jokowi has rejected the appeals of 64 death-row drug inmates. The state must not lose to drug criminals, said Ashar. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 After more than a month of tough debate, legislators and the government completed on Tuesday the amendment to the Regional Elections (Pilkada) Law, which changes the requirements for the nomination process. Under the regional elections bill, which will be passed into law during Thursdays plenary session, all legislators from the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representatives Councils (DPD) and Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD) intending to run as regional leader candidates must resign from their posts. The obligation for legislators to resign, which was proposed by the government, follows from a Constitutional Court ruling. It is also for the sake of fairness, as the law also requires civil servants, military and police officers, as well as state-owned and regional-owned enterprise employers, to leave their positions if they want to run in a regional election. The Constitutional Courts ruling is the final and binding decision, theres no reason not to follow. We have to, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said after a meeting with the Houses working committee in charge of the amendment process. Legislators had strongly opposed the governments stance, arguing that they were elected officials, different from other positions in government institutions. But at the end, after intense lobbying, the House gave up and followed the government, aware that upcoming regional elections were getting closer, and if the deliberation of the law was not immediately completed, it would ruin preparations of the elections. We fully back the governments stance. We are not talking about who wins and who loses in this debate. Many regions have started preparing the elections, and we shouldnt continue the debate about resignations, committee member Arteria Dahlan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said. While all factions have shown support for the changes, the Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), even though they agreed to pass the law, still expressed opposition to the decision on the issue of resignations. PKS lawmaker Al Muzzammil Yusuf argued that fairness was when assigned officials and elected officials received different treatment, not equal treatment. They should only resign from their positions as House or faction leaders, not from membership of the House. They should take leave during the election process, Al Muzzammil said. Both opposition parties also rejected the governments and the rest of the factions position that candidates from political parties or a coalition of political parties are required to garner 20 percent of the seats in the respective local legislative councils or 25 percent of the council threshold. Both Gerinda and the PKS want a lower bar, at 15 or 20 percent. The desire to revise the law came up after an evaluation of the 2015 local elections, held in December in 269 regions across Indonesia. The evaluation uncovered many weaknesses, from unresolved election law violations, including transactional politics, to election result disputes, in the democratic process. Also, under the new law, the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) will have the full authority to deal with transactional politics in the election process, from receiving reports to investigating cases and issuing verdicts. ____________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli and Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Batam and Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The authorities in Riau Islands have acted swiftly to prevent a possible territorial loss after a private developer claimed an exclusive island resort near Batam as Singaporean. The Singapore-based developer, Funtasy Island Development (FID) Pte Ltd., was told not to meddle with Indonesias sovereignty after its recent unveiling of a resort map unambiguously presented Indonesian islands as Singaporean. Known as Air Manis, the developer rechristened the cluster of six islets north of Batam as Funtasy Island. The developer presented the islands on a map in colors denoting them as Singaporean territory, said Guntur Sakti, head of the provincial tourism agency. We already asked for an explanation from the Singaporean management. We gave them a warning not to make any sudden moves that would attract any negative perceptions, Guntur told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. The agency lodged an official warning and requested clarification on Monday, coming away with nothing more than an explanation that the map was merely a marketing ploy, he said. We are concerned that the islands might be claimed by Singapore and we dont want that to happen, he said, adding that Air Manis is registered under Belakang Padang district in Batam. It appears that the Riau Islands provincial administration has learned lessons from a dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the Sipadan and Ligitan islands. The International Court of Justice handed the islands over to Malaysia using the effective occupation principle. The local military also took action when scores of Army and Navy personnel travelled to the resort on Sunday to exert Indonesian sovereignty by planting a number of Indonesian red-and-white flags. The idea to have soldiers plant the flags came from a forum of Batam authorities, Batam naval base chief Col. Ribut Eko Suyatno said. There are also plans to build a naval post in the resorts vicinity to anticipate further actions, he added. Meanwhile, Surya Makmur Nasution, a member of the Riau Islands Legislative Council (DPRD), said the exclusive management of Air Manis was in violation of the 2007 Coastal and Small Islands Management Law. The local residents no longer live there, so the exclusive right to that island goes against the law. The government needs to set this straight, he said. The Funtasy Island case has emerged against a backdrop of overlapping territorial claims in Southeast Asia. A number of unresolved maritime border issues with Indonesias neighbors as well as territorial disputes in the South China Sea have generated tensions across the region. On March 19, Jakarta lodged a protest against Beijing after a Chinese coastguard vessel obstructed Indonesian law enforcement efforts near the Natuna Islands by preventing a Chinese fishing vessel from being impounded by local authorities. In early 2015, Malaysia began the construction of a lighthouse in waters off Tanjung Datuk Island in West Kalimantan, a disputed region between the district of Paloh in Sambas regency and the Malaysian state of Sarawak. A Singaporean Embassy spokesperson said the country had never disputed Indonesias sovereignty over Air Manis and does not lay claim to the island. Separately, the Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore, Ngurah Swajaya, confirmed that the island was under Indonesian jurisdiction and foreigners would need to go through immigration and customs in Batam. I can assure you that it is Indonesian territory, he told the Post. [Foreigners] can theoretically get there directly, provided they go through immigration, customs and quarantine facilities built by the Indonesian government. The site is also being developed by Indonesian property firms who have obtained the necessary permits through the provincial administration, Ngurah said. Funtasy Island site manager Oke Yusma Nurjaman previously revealed that the resort, worth an estimated Rp 2 trillion in investments, had already sold out, with most of the buyers coming from Singapore. Billed as the regions largest ecopark resort, Funtasy Island is managed jointly by an Indonesian and Singaporean company, and has been developed over 20 years. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 Medical coverage for victims of terrorist attacks must be included in revised articles of the 2003 Terrorism Law currently being deliberated by the House of Representatives, a lawmaker says. "The well-being of victims has been one of our biggest concerns since the beginning of the deliberation," House terrorism bill committee chairman Muhammad Syafi'i said on Tuesday. According to prevailing rules, the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) is obliged by law to provide legal and physical security to victims, including medical assistance. Syafi'i said, however, that the current victim protection law had not been effectively implemented because the process to obtain compensation was complicated. Peaceful Indonesia Alliance (AIDA) director Hasibullah Satrawi said the current draft bill did not accommodate victims. He urged lawmakers to include the right to medical care that terror victims might need during critical times in the draft revision. "All the medical costs and needs must be ensured by the government," he said. Victims have rights as citizens, but their rights are often forgotten in the composing of public policies, Hasibullah further said. In the case of terror attacks, he continued, perpetrators tended to target a system, such as the government, and most of the time, victims, especially civilians, suffered collateral damage, or unintended damage, injuries or death in the attacks. Hasibullah said terrorists did not recognize the lives of individuals who fell victim to their actions. "When the government cannot protect itself from an attack, it is the victims who bear the cost of that failure," he added. Hasibullah further said compensation payments for terrorist victims should not be difficult to obtain. Despite the fact that under the 2003 Terrorism Law, which stipulates victims rights to financial compensation, Hasibullah said, the process to obtain compensation, which must be through court order, posed a tough challenge for victims. While financial assistance was crucial during emergencies, Hasibullah said, hospitals were often somewhat hesitant to treat a patient if there was no guaranteed payment. Hasibullah said there had been slow progress in Indonesian laws related to the accommodation of the rights of terrorist attack victims. It was not until 2014 that policy changes were made with the welfare of victims in mind. Hasibullah further explained that the LPSK services must, by law, be made more accessible to victims. Assessment for compensation could be made by relevant government institutions, in which they could determine the eligibility of a claimant for swift processing rather than through a court decision. Vivi Normasari, an activist from the Indonesian Survivors Foundation (YPI), an organization that works with victims of terror attacks, said not one surviving victim had credited the government for their recuperation. "Out of the 822 bombings survivors we helped, none of them has thanked the government. Instead, they all said they felt neglected during their hard times," Vivi said. She further said the YPI had been involved in assisting victims of six terrorist attacks, during which time it had helped a total of 1,096 victims , 822 of whom were injured and 274 who died. Vivi, who survived the 2003 JW Marriott bomb attack, said foreign-funded NGOs and private organizations were the main sources of humanitarian and medical assistance for victims. "The government is so focused on the perpetrators. They forget to look at the victims who, if lucky, cope with physical and psychological scars," she added. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Wed, June 1 2016 The governments talk of declaring Pancasila Day on June 1 a national holiday seems to reveal a yawning gap between the past and todays regime in terms of methods of instilling moral guidance in citizens and upholding a supreme source of law. In the early period of the New Order the government banned commemoration of Pancasila Day and instead promoted Pancasila Sanctity Day every Oct. 1 to mark the defeat of communism. The same regime then forced school students to memorize 36 points of moral conduct prescribed by the Peoples Consultative Assembly and all civil servants and new university students had to attend a course on Pancasila. Gone is the era of brainwashing by an authoritarian state that exchanged freedom for stability. Back then Pancasila was misused by certain organizations only to secure legitimacy with which to practice thuggery. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Civita Patriana and Shaffira D. Gayatri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1 2016 A recent demonstration carried out by nine women from Mount Kendeng, Rembang, in protest against a cement plant development in their Central Java hometown managed to catch the publics eye. They cemented their feet for two days in front of the State Palace to attain President Joko Jokowi Widodos attention and his support for their protest against the development by the cement firm in their area, seen as a threat to their livelihoods and the local ecosystem. Sukinah, one of the female protestors, dubbed Kartini of Kendeng, after national heroine RA Kartini, stated that their protest was based on nature needing to be preserved. They insisted any potential harm from cementing their feet inside large wooden boxes was insignificant compared to the longer-term damage the cement firm would do to their community and future generations. The cement plant could cause the loss of 51 million liters of water from the protesters local environment, experts say, while also disrupting the groundwater basin. This symbolic act was the womens last resort after years of fruitless protests. Netizens asked, where were the men in the protest? Environmental degradation surely impacts both men and women, but the burden often falls disproportionately on the latter. Studies show that women are more vulnerable to climate change due to an unequal distribution of roles, resources and power. In developing countries including Indonesia, women, particularly working-class women, are simultaneously domestic caretakers and paid laborers. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Aries Joseph Hegina (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) Manila Wed, June 1, 2016 A journalist group slammed the appalling statement made by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on journalist killings. It is appalling that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte should justify the murder of journalists in the country by playing the corruption card, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said in a statement. Duterte, in a press conference on Tuesday, made a sweeping declaration that journalists are being murdered because they are corrupt. He even said that the Constitutional right of freedom of expression cannot save journalists. Freedom of expression wont save you. The Constitution cannot help you if you have lambasted a person, the President-elect said. NUJP said that while it recognizes that corruption in the media as one of the possible causes of journalist deaths, it is a totally different thing to present this as a justification for taking life. The group said that the statements, even if made in jest, can be interpreted as a marching order by people who are against a critical press. Just two days before Tuesdays press conference, a member of Dutertes transition team said that the President-elect is set to create a task force that will investigate media killings. Peter Lavina said that this move was prompted by the death of crime beat reporter Alex Balcoba. Balcoba was shot dead last Saturday outside a family-owned watch repair shop in Quiapo. Despite these pronouncements, NUJP said that Filipino journalists will not be cowed from fulfilling [their] duty to act as the peoples watchdog. Murder is no joke. Neither is press freedom, it said. In its report which was published last January, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that the Philippines is the second most dangerous country for journalistsplacing it just after Iraq. For the past 25 years, the IFJ noted that 146 journalists have been killed in the Philippines. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will not lead to an influx of foreign blue-collar workers into Indonesia as only eight fields are open to highly skilled, white-collar foreign workers, says a Singaporean researcher. Unlike Malaysia and Singapore where 20 percent of the professionals are expats, Indonesia is not desperate for skilled workers, said Singapore Institute of International Affairs researcher Chia Siow Yue. "Skilled workers migration only comprise 2 percent of intra-ASEAN labor flows," she told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta. Highly skilled workers, she continued, were not likely to seek cross-border employment except if prompted by job dissatisfaction and low remuneration. Even if they do, they would face restrictions on employment for foreigners in accordance with the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). Chia said the movement of skilled workers would be beneficial for ASEAN countries to improve professionals' quality and employment opportunities. "There is a greater prospect for returning diaspora than to have ASEAN talents scattered in faraway countries," she added. However, Indonesia needs to catch up with certification requirements, especially in engineering and architecture, Australian National University researcher Chris Manning said. Among ASEAN countries, the Philippines is the most advanced in mitigating this by putting professional certification under a single authority. "Indonesia needs a body like the Professional Regulation Commission in the Philippines," he said. Indonesia's National Profession Certification Body (BNSP) issues profession certification. However, it has a lower scope than its counterpart in the Philippines as it does not provide certification for engineers and architects. BNSP chairman Sumarna F. Adurahman recently asked the President for capacity building enhancement with more manpower and a bigger budget. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rabiatul Kamit (The Brunei Times/ANN) Brunei-Muara, Brunei Wed, June 1, 2016 A hotline for defense ministers in ASEAN will be launched this year, said Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The announcement was made by the Defense Minister and Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) Tuesday in a speech during the 55th RBAF anniversary celebration at the Defense Academy, Tanah Jambu. Also known as Direct Communications Link (DCL), the hotline will enable defense ministers of the 10-nation bloc to communicate directly and arrive at mutual decisions in handling crises. The sultan initially broached the hotline proposal during Bruneis chairmanship of ASEAN in 2013, seeking to defuse misunderstandings, prevent unintended incidents and promote rapid response to emergency situations, particularly in maritime security. The monarch previously said the DCL, which was subsequently taken up under the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM) framework, will further help to build trust and confidence. Commenting on the sultanates active participation in ADMM and ADMM Plus, the sultan said it is a sign of their commitment and capability in strengthening the countrys position in the midst of a dynamic security landscape. The sultan further noted Brunei is able to contribute to regional security as well as provide a platform for a wide range of defense and military cooperation despite being a small country. Undoubtedly, this is one of the biggest contributions that could help ASEAN member countries and dialogue partners in Asia Pacific to enjoy peace, stability and prosperity together, said the sultan, adding that Brunei has intensified efforts in defense diplomacy. The monarch cited the sultanates co-chairing of the ADMM Plus Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism Exercise last month as a successful example. Meanwhile, RBAF Commander Major General Mohd Tawih Abdullah expressed confidence the DCL will pave the way for open and transparent communication among the defense ministers. We hope when this is implemented, we will see better communication between the ASEAN defense ministers, he said in an interview with local media Tuesday. He described the impending launch as a very significant step towards fostering mutual understanding as the hotline will provide defense ministers with the means to communicate with one another directly. Well see how it develops and how practical it is... Within ASEAN, I dont think there would be any major problems in implementing this initiative, said the commander. A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced an Australian man to life in prison for drug trafficking. Nathan Andrew James was convicted in a one-day trial by the People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City this week, a court official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media. James, 34, was arrested in October 2013 while checking into a flight to Australia after customs officials at the airport discovered 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of heroin hidden in his luggage. The indictment said James owed some money to a man named Tim, who offered to write off the debt if James agreed to take the heroin hidden in two suitcases from Vietnam to Australia. James told the court that he had received the suitcases from the man, but denied that he knew heroin was hidden in them, an explanation that was rejected by the court, the official said. James could have been sentenced to death, but the court took into consideration his history of mental disorders, she said. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement Wednesday that it has provided consular assistance to a man convicted in Vietnam. It did not name him. That assistance included attending court proceedings and visiting him in prison. The statement gave no other details, citing privacy obligations. Vietnam has one of the world's toughest drug laws, where trafficking 100 grams of heroin is punishable by death. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Bangkok Wed, June 1, 2016 A Thai national parks official says authorities have found 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer at a Buddhist temple that operated as an admission-charging zoo. The discovery Wednesday happened while authorities were removing tigers from the temple in western Kanchanaburi province following accusations that monks were involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the animals. Anusorn Noochdumrong, an official from the Department of National Parks who has been overseeing the transfer of the temple's 137 tigers to shelters, said the cubs were found in a freezer where the temple staff kept food. The temple's Facebook page said in March that the temple's former vet had decided to stop cremating cubs that died soon after birth. Calls to the temple office were not answered. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Kuala Lumpur Wed, June 1, 2016 Malaysia's government has fired 15 immigration officers it says helped international syndicates sabotage online passport checks for years in a way that allowed some travelers to move freely in and out of the country. Suspicions were raised by frequent collapses of the online system at the country's main international airport that is linked to Interpol's lost and stolen passport database. Immigration Director-General Sakib Kusmi said in a statement Tuesday that the sabotage likely started in 2010 and was headed by foreign agents. He told local media that the accused officers helped syndicates hack the system and that the breach could have facilitated human trafficking or allowed militants to travel undetected. He said in addition to the firings, administrative action was taken against 22 other officers. The investigation was ongoing. "The sabotage activity became worse in the last three years as it involved national security and caused the government to incur losses in the millions," Sakib said in the statement. He didn't elaborate. An immigration official when contacted declined to give details. Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi has said that some 100 officers were under investigation. National deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim told local media Wednesday that a local syndicate was colluding with international syndicates in the immigration sabotage. Noor Rashid said police have identified a Malaysian as the local mastermind and several others involved in the sabotage and would make arrests soon. Wildlife officials have removed more of the 137 tigers kept in a Buddhist temple that operated as an admission-charging zoo and is suspected of illegally trafficking in the animals, Thai authorities said Tuesday. The director of Thailand's Wildlife Conservation Office, Teunjai Noochdumrong, said 40 tigers were tranquilized and removed in two days. They are being taken to government animal shelters elsewhere in the country. She said they hope to move 20 tigers a day, or more if the weather is cool. Teunjai said the temple in western Kanchanaburi province is still admitting tourists, but her personnel are warning visitors of the possible dangers of being present during the moving process. There are 300 government employees at the site, including 80 veterinarians. Animal rights activists have long accused the temple of mistreating the tigers. The government suspects the monks have been involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the animals. The monks had turned back previous attempts to take the tigers away, and continued to resist Monday morning. But they relented that afternoon after police obtained a court order to carry out the action. "There was some resistance from the community, they didn't understand why we were taking them [the tigers] from the temple when they look so peaceful and fine at the temple," said Teunjai. "We tried talking to them, explaining to them that the tigers belong to the country." The monks still don't understand, but at least did not put up physical resistance, she said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Intan Tanjung & Wienda Parwitasari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, June 1, 2016 A province full of vistas, Aceh never ceases to amaze people with its wonderful attractions. It's known for its Gayo coffee, sharia, stunning landscape and colorful life that is very different from that in any other Indonesian province. Besides the culture, Aceh is also home to delicious, must-try culinary delights. Sie Reuboh, daging rebus asam cuka (sour beef stew) Hot, sour and spicy, this stew is rich in spices and other ingredients. The beef is cooked with chili, turmeric, galangal, palm vinegar, lime and garlic. Some say the flavor is better when the dish is cooked in a clay pot over a wood fire. Sie Reuboh is a popular Acehnese meal to celebrate the meugang tradition, in which a cow is sacrificed and after a ritual is held people share the meat with neighbors. This ritual is usually held to welcome major holy days, such as a day prior to the start of Ramadhan, Eid-al-Fitr and Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice). Ayam Tangkap Unlike other chicken dishes, Ayam Tangkap is served with a mixture of pandan and basil leaves that are fried with the chicken. The leaves give an extra kick to the dish. Other ingredients include ginger, tamarind water, green chili, shallots and garlic. Eungkot Paya Eungkot Paya(JP/Wienda Parwitasari) According to Tribun News, eungkot paya means fresh- salt-water fish, cooked curry-style in coconut milk, with bamboo shoots, banana blossoms or saba banana (pisang kepok). The distinctive taste of this dish comes from roasted desiccated coconut and coriander. Like most other Acehnese dishes, this fish curry is bold in flavor. Sate Matang Sate Matang(JP/Wienda Parwitasari) Matang in Bahasa Indonesia means well done, but according to Kompas, the word matang in Sate Matang shows its origin, Matang Glumpang Dua district in Bieruen regency, Aceh. Cooked using mutton or beef, the most distinct feature of this satay dish is the rich flavor of mutton broth with a hint of galangal. The sultry taste balances the sweet flavor that comes from the nutty satay sauce. The serving of the dish can be quite noisy, as the servers bang the table with soy sauce bottles as they prepare it. Mie Aceh Perhaps the most renowned dish is Mie Aceh, thick yellow noodles with curry sauce. The most important ingredient is the curry leaves, and the noodles are usually served with seafood such as crab, shrimp or squid. According to Kompas, its a bit hard to find it by the name Mie Aceh in Aceh, mostly because the dish was named outside the province to distinguish it from other types of noodles. (asw) Anne Saxelby admits she was a little bit nuts in 2006 to open a stall in the Essex Street Market focused on American farmstead cheeses. It was definitely a crazy idea, she said during a recent interview. I started when I was 25. I didnt want to do anything else. I just wanted to do this. But Saxelby and partner Benoit Breal have proved that crazy ideas sometimes work out just fine. In the past month, they celebrated Saxelby Cheesmongers 10-year anniversary. Today, theyre going strong on the Lower East Side, but also supplying about 100 restaurants across the city. A few years ago, Edible Manhattan noted that Saxelby has helped redefine what the very words American cheese even mean. Saxelby has built her company into a force on the New York City food scene. Operating from a warehouse in Red Hook, she could have chosen to give up on the Essex Street Market long ago. Instead, she not only stayed put on the Lower East Side, but has become a high profile advocate for her fellow vendors. When I opened in 2006, Saxelby explained, it was a little bit like the wild, wild west, I guess. As a resident of lower Orchard Street, shed fallen in love with the quirky, historic public market. But in those early days, business was sparse. The passion to do it is what really sustained me for the first little while, she said. Eventually, both local customers and destination shoppers found the tiny stall, which now features cheeses from 50 different local farms. Retail and wholesale customers turned to Saxelby because it offered something they could not find anywhere else. Because were small, explained Saxelby, we handle every wheel through the cave (as the red Hook space is known). We can kind of make that connection between the farm and the end-user that makes us an attractive purveyor to work with, because we know the cheese inside and out. Anne Saxelby fought an unsuccessful (and fairly lonely) battle a few years ago to save the 76-year-old market building. The city, which operates the facility, pushed hard to build a new, modern market as part of the Essex Crossing development project. But even after the initial battle ended, Saxelby stayed engaged. She was instrumental in creating a vendor association, which is helping to assure that merchants make a successful transition to the new building when it opens in two years. Asked why shes stuck with it on the Lower East Side all these years, Saxelby acknowledged that doing business in the Essex Street Market can be exhausting. But she continues to believe that its survival as a distinctive part of New York City is critical. What was appealing to me from the beginning, said Saxelby, was being part of this community. From the beginning, the relationships Ive had with all the other vendors here its something so positive and wonderful I have come to see everyone in the market as like family. In the new market, Saxelby Cheesemongers will have a larger foot print. The new space, featuring a u-shaped counter, will boast 300 square feet (up from 115 now). There will be glass display cases on three sides, and a lot more room to show off a wider variety of cheeses. Theres also talk of setting up a mozzarella-making station and, possibly, offering a selection of charcuterie. In the meantime, though, theres still some celebrating to do. Saxelby is hosting a Cheese Trivia Night tomorrow evening. You can see details here. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, this years Graduate Fashion Week will be held at the Old Truman Brewery in East London from 5th8th June 2016. The charity was co-founded in 1991 by Jeff Banks CBE, Vanessa Denza MBE and John Walford. The founding of Graduate Fashion Week followed Banks receiving a letter in 1990 from Roy Peach, then head of Brighton School of Arts Department for Fashion. In the letter Peach expressed concerns about the challenges faced by fashion design students at institutions outside of London. The charity was co-founded in 1991 by Jeff Banks CBE, Vanessa Denza MBE and John Walford. The founding of Graduate Fashion Week followed Banks receiving a letter in 1990 from Roy Peach, then head of Brighton School of Arts Department for Fashion. In the letter Peach expressed concerns about the challenges faced by fashion design students at institutions outside of London. By celebrating fashion design talent from national and international institutions, Graduate Fashion Week attempts to unify the creative industries around the world. Over 1,000 promising fashion students and graduates are currently preparing to have their work showcased at Graduate Fashion Week 2016. Some of the top design talents to look out for at the event include Courtney Simon from Northumbria University, Louis Trainor-Selwyn from Manchester School of Art and Abby Johnson from Bath Spa University. Many prestigious designers began their careers at Graduate Fashion Week including Stella McCartney OBE, Julien Macdonald OBE and Christopher Bailey MBE. With talent scouts and bloggers amongst the 30,000 guests expected at the event, Graduate Fashion Week is an incredible opportunity for emerging fashion designers to be recognised. The Emoji Bible: Scripture 4 Millennials was published on Sunday and is available on iTunes for US $2.99. The translation interprets all 66 books of the King James Version with Unicode-approved emoji and common internet colloquialisms in just under 3,300 pages. The anonymous translator, identified only as the smiling-face-with-sunglasses emoji, told Guardian Australia: I thought if we fast forwarded 100 years in the future, an emoji bible would exist... I wanted to make it similar to how you might text or tweet a bible verse, by shrinking the total character count. The texts publication comes after a May 2015 study by the Pew Research Center found that rates of religious affiliation amongst young Americans have sharply declined in comparison to previous generations. The purpose of the Emoji Bible, like any other translation, is to increase exposure in a medium appropriate to the intended audience. The typical Millennial has neither the time nor the patience to trawl through swathes of often enigmatic biblical verse, occupied instead with the minor issues of avoiding impoverishment and navigating the complexities of a system that seeks to suppress them. Thanks Tories. This new, condensed piece of scripture, therefore, will be welcomed with open arms by the young Christian whose hectic day discourages moments of meditative contemplation. There is, however, one issue that plagues any piece of translated material: the correct transferral of meaning. Twitter users have been quick to point out that some emojis have been a hindrance rather than a help when studying the pages of the Emoji Bible; the use of the smiling-face-with-halo emoji as a representation of God, for example, has caused some confusion. But this setback is easily rectifiable with the inclusion of a prefatory glossary of emojis and their meanings, so no need to pooh-pooh the whole thing. What concerns me greatly about this latest translation, however, is that it will make theological pursuits a mere triviality. Now, I am no Christian, but I do recognise the deep importance of the Bible to the canon of Western thought. British law, for example, is almost entirely based on biblical doctrines (make of that what you will). The study of literary texts published in the last two millennia is greatly informed by Christian scripture, amongst many other factors of course. The moral and ethical philosophies of Europe could not exist without arguing against or agreeing with Christianity. The Bible, as a textual representative of the Christian faith, is not only an important article of that faith but an indispensable informant in the structure of Western society. And I worry that its translation into the language of the Internet will trivialise it. Our browsing habits prize brevity and ease of consumption, so if a twenty-something year-old can read Genesis in fifteen minutes and forget it just as quickly, then it occupies the same level of importance as a humorous meme or a video of a kitten. It falls largely on the consumers shoulders to prevent this happening, but in closing I pose this question: Can we trust ourselves not to gloss over this most important of texts if all we see are smiley faces and love hearts? The natural world is a photographers treasure trove full of spectacular sunsets, storms and turbulent skies. From the dazzling Northern Lights to a shelf made out of clouds, these beautiful, fascinating and at times eerie phenomena showcase the true range of Mother Nature. 1. This storm cloud pretending to be a wave Looming over a beach in Sydney, Australia, this looks like a huge wave poised to crash into the sea. 2. This hole in the sky (Leesa Willmott/AP) This strange gap in the sky over Wonthaggi, Australia, is called a fallstreak hole. It occurs when a section of the cloud freezes, and the heavy ice crystals fall out, creating a gap. The rainbow is an added bonus. 3. This eerie view of Londons tallest skyscrapers poking through a blanket of fog (The View from The Shard/PA) 4. These shots of the stunning Aurora Borealis (Owen Humphreys/PA) (Owen Humphreys/PA) Taken over Derwentwater, near Keswick in the Lake District, these photos show the Northern Lights in all their dazzling splendour. 5. This cool sky shelf (Richard Moccia/PA) The tube-like storm front was captured advancing over Lions Head marina, in Ontario, Canada. 6. This street map made out of light The sky seems to mirror the pattern of street lights below. Navigating by the stars never got so real. 7. These lenticular clouds stacked perfectly over Mount Fuji: Often mistaken for UFOs, these saucer-shaped clouds are formed when air passes over obstructions at high altitudes (like mountains) and cools enough to condense. 8. These hypnotic swirls captured in a time-lapse photograph of a meteor shower (Blaline McCartney/AP) Meteors streak above the Wyoming countryside at the peak of the 2013 Perseid Meteor Shower. 9. This eerie hailstorm in Colorado which looks like its been painted The white streaks were created by falling hail in the distance. 10. This blazing sky Sky on Fire during incredible sunset over Mt Fitz Roy near El Chalten, Argentina - (1024x677) [OC] pic.twitter.com/YrEoZ1C2ld WhyWeClimb (@WhyWeClimb) January 6, 2016 11. This well-placed rainbow (Owen Humphreys/PA) A beam of light rains down on Tynemouth lighthouse, Tyne and Wear. 12. These iridescent patches over Durham (Jake Belder/PA) These colourful sections of sky are known as cloud iridescence or irisation. Its similar to the colours we sometimes see when oil lies on the surface of a puddle of water. The phenomenon is caused by tiny ice crystals or water droplets in the air which cause the light to become diffracted, creating a rainbow like effect in the clouds. 13. This picture-perfect sunrise (Owen Humphreys/PA) A perfect orb of light illuminates a fishing boat in the North Sea near Whitley Bay, Northumberland. Weather, we are humbled. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: Home Page Home >Police Enforcement > Checkpoints and Stops > Arizona: Functional License Plate Light Does Not Justify Stop Dozens of dead cubs found at Thai tiger temple KANCHANABURI: Wildlife officials have discovered dozens of dead cubs at the controversial tiger temple which has been locked in a long-running dispute with authorities and animal rights groups, police said today (June 1). animals By AFP Wednesday 1 June 2016, 03:41PM Head monk of tiger temple Phusit Khantidharo plays with one of the tigers in 2004. Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP Wildlife officials found the tiger cubs during a continuing operation to remove dozens of adult cats from the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple in the western province of Kanchanaburi. We found 40 tiger cubs today, they were aged about one or two days when they died but we dont quite know yet how long they have been dead, Col Bandith Meungsukhum, a local officer, said. He added that wildlife officials would file a new criminal complaint following the discovery. The temple has long proved a hit among mainly foreign visitors who flock there to be photographed for a fee next to the scores of exotic feline pets. Wildlife officials say the whole complex is illegal and have battled the monks for years to try and close it down. The dispute has been complicated by the fact that secular Thai authorities are often reluctant to intervene in the affairs of the clergy. This week officials were granted a court order to seize the cats and have so far removed more than 30 adults. Animals rights groups have accused the temple of complicity in the hugely lucrative black-market wildlife trade, making tens of thousands of dollars by selling off older cats and animal parts for use in Chinese medicine. Last year one of the temple vets turned whistleblower, handing authorities three microchips he said were inside a trio of tigers who had disappeared. It has never been fully established what happened to those tigers. In February 2015 wildlife officials also conducted a raid and discovered dozens of hornbills, jackals and Asian bears that were being kept at the sanctuary without permits. The temple has always denied trafficking allegations. In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the temple said it was common for cubs to be stillborn or die shortly after birth. The temple said it used to cremate dead cubs but the policy was changed in 2010. Instead of cremation, the deceased cubs were preserved in jars or kept frozen, the statement added, without elaborating on why the policy was changed. The temple also denied selling cubs, saying such rumours were from people who have jumped to conclusions. Moves to confront the monks and confiscate the tigers have been staggered over recent months. There are now believed to be around 100 tigers remaining at the temple. For years the government has been seemingly powerless to resolve the issue, partly for fear of being seen to confront the clergy and also because officials readily admit they have nowhere else to put such a large number of tigers. Eight Chinese wedding photographers arrested at Phuket temple PHUKET: Eight Chinese men were arrested for working illegally at Wat Chalong yesterday after they were caught shooting pre-wedding photos for a Chinese couple. Chineseimmigrationcrimetourism By The Phuket News Wednesday 1 June 2016, 04:58PM The eight Chonese wedding photographers were charged with working illegally in Thailand. Photo: PR Dept The arrests were made by officers from a special unit set up by Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, Phuket Labour Office chief Suthipong Saisakaret said in a press statement issued yesterday (May 31). The unit has been ordered to carry out anti-illegal-worker operations on the island, he said. The team set up at Wat Chalong and monitored tourists in the area. They noticed a group of tourists gathered in the yard setting up and bringing out photography equipment to take pre-wedding photos of a couple, Mr Suthipong explained. After watching them a while, the officials approached them and asked to see their work permit, which they did not have, he added. The eight men were named as: Su Zhaoyu, 23; Wang Yin, 26; Bao Bin, 24; Gan Daolun, 29; Chen Dihui, 28; Wang Jiahai, 19; Jiang Zhenyuan, 24; Feng Wenka, 24. They were escorted to Chalong Police Station, where they were charged with working illegally in Thailand, said the statement. Mr Suthipong did not elaborate on whether the men were working for a company or whether they faced immediate deportation if found guilty by the court. The report also made no explanation of what happened to the bride and groom. Four sentenced to jail for B15bn theft of Phuket park land PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Court has sentenced four Thai nationals to eight to 14 years in jail for their part in obtaining illegal titles to possess protected state land in Phuket with an estimated value of B15 billion, leading officials announced today (June 1). landpropertycrimeenvironmentnatural-resourcespolicetourism By Suthicha Sirirat Wednesday 1 June 2016, 09:45PM The DSI is continuing its investigation into 10 other plots deemed to be illegally obtained park land, said DNP) Director Thanya Netithamkul. Photo: Suthicha Sirirat The DSI is continuing its investigation into 10 other plots deemed to be illegally obtained park land, said DNP) Director Thanya Netithamkul. Photo: Suthicha Sirirat The high-powered panel of crime fighters announced the sentences handed down today (June 1). Photo: Suthicha Sirirat Each of the four handed down jail terms have also been fined B9 million, while the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) pursues 10 more cases, members of the Phuket press were told this morning. Presiding over the press conference, held at Sirinath National Park on Phukets northwest coast, was National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation Director Thanya Netithamkul. Joining him were DSI Deputy Director-General Pol Lt Col Pong-In Intarakhao, DSI Bureau of Consumer Protection and Environment Crime Director Pol Lt Col Prawut Wongseenin and Sirinath National Park Park Chief Kitiphat Taraphiban. Together the panel of high-powered officials announced recent courts verdict for five encroachment cases covering prime beachfront land in Sirinath National Park and national forest of Khao Ruak Khao Muang Park. The land in question spans parts of Moo 2 and Moo 3 in Thalangs Sakoo subdistrict, south of Phuket International Airport. Mr Thanya announced, The NCPO has ordered officials to tackle all encroachment including deforestation in national forest and it is the governments policy to reclaim state land. Previously, officials investigated land developers who claimed national park land in the Sakoo area. During their investigation, they found four plots that had been issued Chanote land titles and requests had been filed to upgrade five plots to Chanote status. The DSI investigated further into the four plots already issued Chanote titles and so far have filed charges in one case covering two plots. As for the other two plots, officers are still gathering information for the investigation. As for the claimants who requested the Thalang Land Office to upgrade five plots to Chanote titles, the land office officials confirmed that Flying SorKor 1 land documents (for other plots elsewhere) were used in an attempt to have the Chanote titles issued, so they rejected the requests. He continued, The DSI then took seven SorKor 1 documents to the Central Institute of Forensic Science Thailand (under the Justice Ministry) for further examination and it turned out that all were [deemed] forged documents. The chief of Sirinath Park was notified of the findings so he could file charges against these four individuals. Mr Thanya credited the verdict to critical testimony from the DSI, the Land Departments Thalang office and the Central Institute of Forensic Science, as well as other unnamed officials. The four found guilty by the court, and their respective sentences, were listed as: Ms Anoma Phangsen sentenced to 14 years in jail on May 3 (for SorKor 1 no 23) Mr Prapas Sae-ong sentenced to 12 years in jail on May 3 (for SorKor 1 no 44) Mr Prapas Sae-ong sentenced to 12 years in jail on May 24 (for SorKor 1 no 45) Mr Nakorn Wongsrithong sentenced to 13 years in jail on May 31 (for SorKor 1 no 32) Mr Chan Pongpha sentenced to eight years and eight months in jail on May 31 (for SorKor 1 no 110) Mr Thanya added, We believe these people are only representatives of bigger businessmen or influential people, which the DSI are investigating and gathering more information to bring them in. The [encroached] beachfront property today is valued as much as B15 billion, or B30m per rai, and with these verdicts, Sirinath has regained 429 rai. Lucky 13: the newest rooftop adventure The duo behind Lucky 13 Sandwiches have stepped up their game and opened a highend restaurant in Rawai. Opening every evening from 5pm for cocktails on the roof of the BTR Suites Hotel, Lucky 13 Bar & Grill is worth visiting for the incredible view of Friendship Beach alone. The kitchen opens at 6pm and has a varied selection of starters, grills and skewers. By Shayan Amin Wednesday 1 June 2016, 03:57PM In the wake of their successful sandwich franchise, Danish nationals Daniel Baven and Mark Perthu-Hansen are applying the successful model of their sandwich shops to the upscale dining market: you can tailor your meal to your preferences down to the last detail, from protein to sides to sauces, all within relatively affordable price-points. Their selection of starters is classified into two categories: B180 (includes lobster bruschetta and gratinated scallops); and B250 (carpaccio of beef, lobster and prawn bisque), making it easier for diners to make their choices without having to spend too much time considering the trade-off between gluttony and poverty. The menu, with a few exceptions in the starters, is a selection of high-quality ingredients prepared simply and expertly, allowing customers maximum value and satisfaction from the options available. A playful touch comes from the complimentary amuse-bouche set out before the rest of your meal: when we went we were served a small dish of tuna pepper with pineapple salsa, the heat from the peppercorns made for a nice bite to start off with. The sizzling gambas, jumbo prawns on a sizzling platter, came with garlic butter, and together with toasted bread made the best of the fresh seafood. The selection of meats available are a definite highlight, from simple chicken breast to the more expected Australian beef (tenderloin and striploin) and New Zealand lamb chop. Crocodile makes a unique addition, one that many diners select for the novelty of tasting the chewy, slightly fatty meat. The seafood selection makes an excellent choice for the less adventurous the salmon we were served was cooked expertly: moist, flaky and flavourful, not a common accomplishment, and enjoyable even to those who prefer their salmon raw. The sauces available, however, set Lucky 13 apart. Made from scratch every day, the red wine sauce was superb, but the hummus yoghurt dressing brought over from the lineup at the sandwicheries is the sort of concoction you could be satisfied with on its own, and it definitely makes for a great addition to the seafood, or even the vegetable sides. Meat lovers can rest assured Chef Cherdsak Leasum at Lucky 13 also knows how to cook red meat to perfect temperatures. The cut of striploin we were served came a perfect medium-rare, and was served with asparagus, tomato and a piece of corn on the cob ('local vegetables' on the menu). For dessert, the creme brulee was well-executed, but the peach ice cream (served inside a whole dragon fruit) made for a surprise burst of tartness that made for a nice ending to the meal. With plans to change the menu every six months, as well as the plans to open for lunch from June, Lucky 13 is a good addition to anyones dining rotation, with a solid selection of dishes that are bound to satisfy anyone. Lucky 13 Bar & Grill is located at 84/39 Soi Saiyuan 8, Rawai, on the 7th floor of BTR Suites Hotel. Tel: 091 826 2710. facebook.com/lucky13barandgrill Comment on this story * Please login to comment. If you do not have an account please register below by simply entering a username, password and email address. You can still leave your comment below at the same time. Comments Here: Username: Password: E-mail: * (Not Hotmail/Outlook) Security: She followed her heart From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-06-01 08:14 Yang Jiang (left), her husband, Qian Zhongshu, and their daughter, Qian Yuan, in 1981. Photos provided to China Daily Yang Jiang will long be remembered for her witty writing and popular translations, but her independent outlook may be her greatest legacy, Yang Yang reports. Among all the apartments in the 19 three-story buildings near Yuyuantan Park in Beijing, only one has maintained its original look, with neither interior decoration nor the balcony being enclosed with glass. The apartment in Nanshagou Community, where the famed Chinese writer and translator Yang Jiang lived until her death on May 25 at the age of 104, is typical of her modesty. The space is almost unadorned-whitewalls, cement flooring, an old-fashioned sofa and desks worn by years of use. Yang and her equally famous husband, Qian Zhongshu, moved into the unit in 1977, just after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). But Yang lived there alone for nearly two decades after the deaths of Qian and their only daughter, Qian Yuan. While the couple had become household names in the 1980s, they were always indifferent to fame or wealth, and few reporters or readers managed to visit them. Well-known for her subtle and witty writing style, Yang wrote her first play in 1941. A prolific writer, she became famous for her novels, essays, plays and translated works. Her most popular novel, Baptism, was translated into English, French and Italian. It depicts a group of intellectuals from the old society adjusting to a new one in the early 1950s. Yang never stopped writing. At 94, she started writing a book Walking onto the Brink of Life to reflect on her life, which won China's top book award in 2007. At 100, she was still writing articles for newspapers. Writing was a lifelong career for Yang Jiang, who died last week at age 104. Qian Zhongshu, meanwhile, was a renowned scholar and author of the best-selling novel Fortress Besieged. Obviously, Yang did not live a simple life because she was poor. In 2001, on behalf of her family she set up a scholarship fund at Tsinghua University, where the couple had studied and worked, to encourage students, especially those from poor families, to read. They donated all their royalties, which totaled more than 24 million yuan ($3.7 million) over the years. Chen Pingyuan, a professor at Peking University, remembers a woman whose achievements had come despite the turmoils of the collapse of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), China's civil war and the "cultural revolution". In an article mourning Yang's death, he writes that "the older generations had experienced much fiercer waves, but many of them stood up. They read books out of interest, were led by their hearts, and never followed the stream. Although they had to compromise to some extent, they kept their honesty,which is not really easy". Born Yang Jikang in 1911, the year China's feudal empire collapsed, she faced tough years before and after the founding of New China.Whether living in poverty or affluence, however, Yang always followed her heart, living a simple and honest life. Yang was raised in a family of open-minded intellectuals. Her father, Yang Yinhang, a renowned wit and intellect from Wuxi, Jiangsu province, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's degree in law. The fourth daughter in the family, she and her sisters were all sent by her father to good schools to receive a Western-style education. Later she would adopt the pen name Yang Jiang. One of Yang's best-known works: Baptism Like her father, Yang Jiang turned out to be a person of spirit, good at both Chinese and English. She had long known what she wanted - to study arts at Tsinghua University. "Initially I chose arts because I was determined to read good novels from home and abroad to understand the art of fiction writing, so that I could write good fiction," she wrote in the preface to The Complete Collection of Yang Jiang. Her happy marriage with Qian Zhongshu was another example of her free thinking and independence- the two bookworms met in 1932 at Tsinghua by coincidence and quickly fell in love. Their love never weakened. After getting married, in 1935 the couple went to Britain and studied at Oxford University, returning to China three years later. By 1952, the couple was working in the Institute of Foreign Literature under China Academy of Social Sciences. At that time, women in China started to wear Lenin-style clothesgray double-breasted shirts and long trousers,with a leather belt fastened around the waist, a symbol of the equality of the working class. Yang, however, still wore a slim qipao, took a rickshaw and held a parasol over her head. During the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), many intellectuals were forced to "disclose" each other's "guilt".Yang, already denounced as a "devil", was put on stage to face her husband's accusers. "It's not the truth! It's not the truth!" she repeated, stamping her foot, recalled Ye Tingfang, researcher at the Institute of Foreign Literature at China Academy of Social Sciences, where the couple worked. One of Yang's best-known works: Six Chapters of My Life "Downunder". In the late 1960s, intellectuals at the institute were sent to the countryside to work, and Qian and Yang, almost 60,were among them. Yang later compiled her stories of that time into a book, Six Chapters of My Life "Downunder". Lu Jiande, deputy director of the institute, says that unlike other memoirs of the time, Yang's contains no complaint or anger. It was a difficult time for intellectuals, but he admires Yang for her positive attitude. Yang spent her leisure time writing, and when Qian passed by, she would give him the work to read. Then, the couple would often sit, chatting and laughing, though there were plenty of serious moments, too. During this time, their son-in-law committed suicide. In Six Chapters, Yang captures the event in a single sentence, but the sadness fills the page. After Yang's translation of Le Sage's Gil Blas into Chinese was well-received in 1956, she was picked to translate Don Quixote from Spanish. She began to learn the language in 1959, at the age of 48. "They neither lowered their heads when things went against them, nor appeared arrogant when they rose to fame," remembers Peking University's Chen. "Such people deserve our younger generations' respect." Contact the writer at yangyangs@chinadaily.com. Noem campaign accuses Smith campaign of campaign finance violation elections When a literary encounter with the French produces a little magic in Beijing From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-06-01 10:16 Chinese author Di An attends the Chinese-French writers event in Beijing. Photos Provided To China Daily When Di An and French writer Vincent Hein sit together to talk about their travels and writing, it's a magical time. They met at the fourth China-French Writers Conference in Beijing last week. The writers come from different backgrounds, are of different genders and from different age groups, but their interaction is extremely harmonious. A representative voice of China's younger generation, Di An, 33, spent years in France to obtain a master's degree in sociology from the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences in Paris; Hein, 46, is based in Beijing and studies Chinese "to escape family traditions". "I was young when I left for France.But without the experience I may not have become a writer," says Di An, the daughter of an established writer couple, Jiang Yun and Li Rui from Shanxi province. Her birth name is LiDi'an. She believes that learning a foreign language is like learning a new logic, through which she finds a "strangeness in my mind" (the title of Turkish author Orhan Pamuk's renowned novel). She notices that her way of thinking has changed, which spurs her to write. "To me, learning French is a journey,writing is another, and translating still another," she says, adding that even small things like taking buses in a foreign country are different, and often offer inspiration for her writing. "I (also) became extremely sensitive to my mother tongue," she says. Chinese author Liu Zhenyun attends the Chinese-French writers event in Beijing. Di An is a successful and influential writer with novels like Ashes to Ashes, the Memory in the City of Dragon series and a literary magazine she runs. She also translates French art books into Chinese. Commenting on Di An's popularity, established writer Li Er says that whenever Di An launches a new novel, it creates a sensation on the country's literary scene. Speaking of how shenavigates the French and Chinese literary worlds, Di An says: "Traveling between languages is difficult, but interesting." She adds that one of her hobbies is to browse through online forums looking for people who learn very minor foreign languages. Li believes that young Chinese like to travel because they find it romantic, just like the French do. Hein, too, finds the idea of traveling romantic. When asked what he wanted to become when he grew up- a doctor, a lawyer or join the army -three professions popular in his family, Hein was thinking of traveling and literature. "I read, especially books on travel, as an escape ... I see a new world through different windows, and I wish I could be at the far end of the world," says Hein. When at 15, he told his father that he would like to be a writer, his father was upset. "Are you thinking of the US and UK?" his father asked, least expecting China to be one of young Hein's targets. "The first time I was here (in China) after high school, I knew it was right, though the country had just opened up. I just love it here," he says. Hein then learned Chinese and worked for a publisher in France before taking up a job as a business representative at the French embassy in Beijing. Chinese author Tie Ning attends the Chinese-French writers event in Beijing. "Being a diplomat is my way of earning money for more travel," he says. He says he feels "comfortable from the top of his head to the soles of his feet" in China, thanks to its charm and hospitality. "When I read books introducing China to the world ahead of the 2008 Olympics, I saw pessimism in books by foreign writers, which was different from what I felt. So I began to write travelogues," says Hein. His works include In the East of the Cloud (A l'est des nuages) and The Monkey Tree (Arbre a singes). Meanwhile, renowned French-Chinese translator Sylvie Gentil shares her views on travel at the conference. She says that translation is like taking a journey between cultures and even history. Speaking on how she tries to bridge the culture gap with her work, she says: "The French love reading Chinese books and other translated works, and the genre and themes they are reading are wide and still expanding. But I don't think that there is enough understanding among them about China, So, I am working on bringing out more books for them, containing contemporary information." The first Chinese-French writers "encounter" was held in 2009. The theme of the encounter this year was "Literature and Life". Other writers participating in the event were Laurence Cosse and Liu Zhenyun, and the topics they discussed included urban and rural writing, and even their childhoods. Tie Ning, chairwoman of China Writers Association, one of the organizers of the conference, says: "Literary classics from both countries hold charm for both the peoples, because they dwell on shared emotions and are about life, about overcoming hardships and sharing the power of humanity." meijia@chinadaily.com.cn Olivier Roller: A personal pilgrim for power From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-06-01 12:17 French portrait photographer Olivier Roller [Photo by Ruan Fan/chinadaily.com.cn] French President Francois Hollande, never thought he would have to climb up all the way to the top of an old building in Paris just to get one photo out of a one-hour shoot. And he probably didn't expect that in the presence of his two bodyguards, he would be cuddled and at times, was ordered to pose as told. But that's how it went when he accepted the invitation to have his photo taken by French photographer Olivier Roller, under whose project Figure of Power, the president is only Francois representant" (Representative Francois). The project, which features dozens of important figures, including politicians, financiers, media moguls and diplomats, confronts the audience with the question of what is power and how does one think about it. Roller said that no matter how people adore and praise power, he himself always tries to play it down. In mid-May, he had a short meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who paid a visit to one of his power exhibitions at the Temple Restaurant in Beijing during a lunch break. Roller gave Cook a short tour of the exhibition, and told him that he could also be part of the exhibition, only he is not identified as Tim Cook, but "Cook tech-power, perhaps", Roller said. He also showed Cook his phone not Apple of course, but an LG. Cook laughed. "The problem of these people is they are too powerful, that people around them are so simpatique' with them, saying all beautiful things to them. But what they say is not always real, even if you're an important person," he said. "I have to see them nude intellectually, if I want to make a good picture, so I always work my way to do it." A photo of a statue of the first Roman emperor, Gaius Octavius Augustus, courtesy of Olivier Roller. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Roller often requires his subjects to put down all their electronics; he gives incessant orders, and becomes abruptly silent or makes a silly joke out of the blue giving them no time to think, but to "focus on what's happening right here and right now", he said. In return, Roller he himself also focuses on the person sitting across him so attentively that he feels exhausted after every photo session. "It's like a guy who runs 100 meters in 10 seconds. As a photographer I do the same thing, you try to get what they have inside of them in 10 seconds." Roller once described his job as "besieging a fortress and finally conquering it". Yet, Roller said, while the powerful are sometimes hard to conquer, they are not the most difficult. In 2013, the Louvre in Paris commissioned Roller to take a set of portraits of the museum's statues of Roman emperors and Greek gods. It was not an easy task, given the many existing good photos. In fact, the goal of producing pictures in a way that results in something more than good looking photos seems more daunting. To make it happen, Roller said he spent months with the statues to make them really "come alive". "My assistant tells me that sometimes I'm crying at the statue, Open your eyes, please open your eyes!" In those pictures, Roller captured what is covered under the name of power, be it the hollow, dreadful eyes of Mors, the Roman personification of death, the feminine face of the First Roman Emperor Gaius Octavius Augustus or the red alluring lips of Eros, the Greek god of love. Roller said that by spending time and communicating with the statues, he felt he had a real person in front of him, and that's how it was possible for him to make the pictures. A Terracotta Warrior is revealed in sharp contrast in this photo, courtesy of Olivier Roller. [Photo by Ruan Fan/chinadaily.com.cn] Now, his power project is stretching to China, where he made stunning profiles of the Terracotta Warriors. In The Tears of the Earth, his new exhibition now in Beijing and later in Changsha, Roller compares the two world powers from over 2,000 ago, the Roman Empire(27 BC-AD395) and the Qin Dynasty(221-207BC). Imagine during that time, there are only two muscles in the world, and they don't communicate, and now I make them communicate in this exhibition. It's cool," Roller said. Once again, he spent hours alone in the museum with the statues, adjusting lights and trying all possible angles until he could not make any other changes. "You know if you move one centimeter, the shadow is not the same and the face is not the same," Roller said. Adding that he finally managed to get a few satisfying pictures of the two warriors - from over 200 photos out of the day's 10-hour shoot. Roller said that the experience reinforced the idea of how we should deal with our faces and our skin, as time leaves marks on them. "You know people usually find these pictures of the statues amazing, with the stains or the scars. So if you like this kind of picture, you should also love the marks on your skin; you should know that curves are also beautiful." Asked why he is so obsessed with power, Roller said, "I don't know, maybe it's because my father left me when I was six months old, so I'm looking for a father in my work. I confront my past through those people of authority." Now it's almost 28 years since Roller made his first portrait of "fatherly authority", his grandfather. He is not sure when and where his journey to illustrate power will come to an end, but he surely has gone far beyond the cliches of portraiture: Stand up straight, smile, be beautiful! To see the video of the photo exhibition, The Tears of the Earth, please click here. If you go Beijing May 15 August 31 at Temple Restaurant Changsha June 25 July 25 at Meixi New City Children's Day: 10 meaningful books for your children From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-06-01 15:17 International Childrens Day is coming. Here are 10 books we recommend from around the world that are worthy for children to read. [Photo/dangdang.com] The Little Prince (1943) Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery Country: France Introduction: The narrator, in his youth, was laughed at by adults about his drawing of an elephant. Later he becomes a pilot and one day his plane crashes in the Sahara, far from civilization. He is greeted by a young boy with golden hair, a scarf and a lovable laugh, whom he refers to as "the little prince". The little prince turns out to come from a tiny asteroid. He is different from others on earth and exactly understands the authors drawings. They have amazing and interesting experiences together, but finally the little prince has to leave. [Photo/dangdang.com] Charlottes Web (1952) Author: E.B.White Country: America Introduction: The novel tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. Hearing that Wilbur is faced with being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte tries to convey messages praising Wilbur in her web in order to persuade the farmer to let him live. Written in a humorous tone, Charlotte's Web is considered as a classic of children's literature. [Photo/dangdang.com] The Grass House (1997) Author: Cao Wenxuan Country: China Introduction: The hero of the novel, Sang Sang, is a pupil at You Ma Di primary school. From a childs perspective, the book tells the stories of You Ma Di villagers, including Sang Sangs classmates Zhi Yue, Tu He and Xi Ma; his teacher, Jiang Yilun and his father, Sang Qiao. [Photo/dangdang.com] Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (1997) Author: J.K. Rowling Country: Great Britain Introduction: Harry Potters parents, Lily and James, were killed by the evil dark wizard Voldemort. Little Harry narrowly escaped death because of the power of motherly love, but was left with a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, a school that teaches magic, made the decision to leave the infant Harry with the Dursley family until he reaches school age. The little boy Harry is mistreated by the Dursley family until one day he suddenly receives an invitation letter from Hogwarts, which totally changes his life. He comes to Hogwarts and meets two people who become his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. At Hogwarts, they begin an adventurous journey of looking for the philosophers stone. [Photo/dangdang.com] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) Author: Lewis Carroll Country: Great Britain Introduction: Bored and drowsy, a little girl named Alice is reading a book on the riverbank with her older sister. Suddenly she notices a talking, clothed Rabbit with a pocket watch running past her. She runs after the rabbit and accidentally falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world featuring peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures. She encounters a blue caterpillar smoking a hookah, a mushroom that can change height and a mad tea party, among other strange sights. She attends a trial in which the Knave of Hearts is accused of stealing the Queen's tarts. She is called as a witness, but the King and Queen of Hearts order her to leave because she is too tall. Alice argues with them and refuses to leave. Just as the Queen shouts her familiar catch phrase, Off with her head! she wakes up, realizing it was all just a dream. [Photo/dangdang.com] The Little Girl at the Window (1981) Author: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Country: Japan Introduction: Totto-Chan is a shy little girl. She is afraid of talking to people and hates to go to school. But after she enters Tomoe Gakuen, she gradually becomes open and enthuasitic about life under the guidance of the headmaster and her teachers. The book is based on the authors own childhood and probes the true education of children. [Photo/dangdang.com] The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) Author: Mark Twain Country: America Introduction: Tom Sawyer is adopted by his Aunt Polly. Disobeying his aunts rules and school regulations, he often plays hookey from class. One night, while playing with his best friend, Huckleberry Finn, he witnesses a murder. Worried that the murderer knows their names, they run to an island in the Mississippi River and pretend to be pirates. Aunt Polly and their families think they are dead. But unexpectedly, they appear at their own funeral. Though struggling with inner fear, they finally accuse the murderer of his crime. Later, during a picnic, Tom and his favorite girl, Becky, get lost in a cave. Faced with the threat of hunger, danger and death, they successfully find their way out. [Photo/dangdang.com] Arabian Nights (1706) Author: Unknown Country: Arabic tradition Introduction:This book is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales. They were compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. The main story concerns Shahryar, a Sasanian king. He executes his own wife having found her unfaithful. Then he begins to marry a succession of young women only to execute each one the morning after the wedding. Eventually the vizier is not able to find any more maidens. Scheherazade, the vizier's daughter, offers to be the next bride and her father reluctantly agrees. On the night of their marriage, Scheherazade begins to tell the king a fascinating tale, but does not end it. The king, curious to know how the story ends, is forced to postpone her execution. The next night, she does the same thing, so the king postpones her execution once again. So it goes on for 1,001 nights. [Photo/dangdang.com] The Young Childrens Encyclopedia (2012) Author: British Encyclopeida Country: Great Britain Introduction: This book is intended for all children who want to learn about the world and enrich their knowledge. It covers a wide range of topics, including science, geography, literature and society. Every chapter displays a vivid picture of the world. There are themes about life and culture, cities and transportation, family and society, learning and thinking, history and celebrities, plants and animals. All are readable and entertaining. [Photo/dangdang.com] The Book Written by Zheng Yuanjie for Children (2014) Author: Zheng Yuanjie Country: China Introduction: This book was written by Zheng Yuanjie, a famous fairytale writer in China. It uses fairy tales and pictures to convey profound messages. By appealing to children in these stories, the book intends to cultivate their awareness of being courageous, kind and enthusiastic in life. Practical advice about how to develop good habits for children can also be found in the book. Bright sunshine and warm temperatures are expected today for the start of summer 2016. A much-needed general rainfall is forecast by Sunday and early next week across eastern Ontario and southwest Quebec. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he donated $5.6 million to veterans associations and criticised the members of the press, whom he said "should be ashamed of themselves" for having doubted that he would keep the promise he made in January to make the donations. "I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job," Trump said at a press conference at his offices in New York's Trump Tower, EFE news agency reported. "As of this moment, it's $5.6 million," the real estate magnate said, adding that "all of the money has been spent". Trump lambasted the press all during the press conference, calling political reporters "among the most dishonest people I've ever met". He also released the names of a number of organisations to which donations were made, along with the size of those contributions. In late January, Trump made a surprise announcement in Iowa that he would not participate in a debate with other Republican candidates to hold a fundraising event to help veterans. At the event, he said that he had managed to raise $6 million, but several media outlets said weeks later that there was no proof of any donations being made, while many associations confirmed that they had not received any such funds. Trump also promised to put up $1 million out of his own pocket. For months, Trump's campaign refused to list which organisations had received the donations arguing that they were reviewing the validity and suitability of the veterans groups. On Sunday, Trump participated in the traditional gathering of bikers in Washington to pay tribute to veterans and US war dead over Memorial Day weekend. Trump, who avoided the draft during the Vietnam War after receiving a medical exemption, said at the gathering that illegal immigrants are treated better than America's former soldiers. The Ministry of Education Chareidi Division instructed teachers from dozens of schools in the chareidi sector to fill out personal information online via Google. It was later learned that due to a security failure, anyone with a link to the forms being filled out has access to the personal information contained in the forms. The teachers who completed the forms began receiving telephone calls congratulating them on joining the program and after receiving numerous calls, some began checking and this is when they learned their personal information was accessible to anyone with the link. The information available included the teachers ID numbers, names and other personal information. It is pointed out that despite the objections from Gedolei Yisrael Shlita, over 130 chareidi schools have joined the ministrys new Chareidi Division in the hope of enjoying benefits from the state ministry. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Meir Ettinger, who is a grandson of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane HYD, is scheduled to be released from administrative detention on Wednesday, 24 Iyar after being locked up for ten months. Many believe this is the reason he was arrested, due to being a right-wing activist with roots tracing back to the late rabbi. During his imprisonment his wife gave birth and despite pleas from many officials on his behalf, including Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita, Ettinger was not permitted to attend the bris of his son. His harsh treatment and torture according to some, led him to launch a hunger strike in the hope of bringing attention to his plight as well as other Jewish administrative prisoners. Ettinger was vilified by state officials, who accused him of planning to overthrow the government. He was labeled a high risk to state security. Despite the harsh accusations and treatment of Ettinger during his detention, no evidence was brought to light to support the accusations against him and after a prolonged period of incarceration, he is being released. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) [PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] Border police acting on intelligence information in the PA (Palestinian Authority) village of el-Fuar in the Hebron district discovered machinery used to manufacture weaponry in addition to spare parts for guns. One village resident was taken into custody for questioning. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Police spokesman via Media Resource Group) Many in the chareidi community have the belief that Chabadnikim willingly enter the IDF. In fact, a deal that has just been worked out that prompted prominent Chabad Rabbonim Shlita to speak out against IDF service. The deal was made during the tenure of former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, permitting bochrim to head to 770 after yeshiva gedola for Kvutza, thereby delaying induction into the IDF until their return. Chabad spokesman Rabbi Menachem Brod explains, speaking with Mordecai Lavi of Kol Chai Radio. Prior to the last Knesset, bochrim would learn in yeshiva gedola and then head to 770 for a year of limud known as Kvutza. As a result of the new draft law when the talmidim return from Kvutza they found themselves listed as AWOL from IDF service, wanted by military police, some locked up. Rav of Nazareth Illit Rabbi Yeshayahu Herzl added that he is thankful for the partial agreement that has been reached but it is insufficient. Rav Herzl explains it is quite clear, that one returning from Kvutza seeks to get married and then wishes to enter kollel, or continues limudim as a bochur. In either event they are not entering the IDF as this has been the case for years. Rav Herzl explains he is not against the IDF but the limud Torah is more important and this is what protects the soldiers so for as long as a bochur is still in yeshiva he has no place in the IDF. Rabbi Herzl stresses that any agreement compelling them to enter the IDF upon their return from Kvutza is unacceptable for they must continue limud Torah. One prominent rov speaking out against the agreement is Bnei Brak Chief Rabbi HaGaon HaRav Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau Shlita, who states if the rebbe would know of the deal he would instruct talmidim to refrain from traveling to NYC for Kvutza rather than serving in the IDF. Rav Landau stated entering the IDF is unacceptable and any agreement that compels the bochrim or avreichim to enter instead of continuing their limudim is unacceptable. The Beis Din Chabad released a kol korei addressing the matter, reporting on the asifa that was held on 16 Iyar. The beis din points out he agreement permits one to learn until 24 and the he must enlist to a chareidi IDF Shachar program or continue in kollel until 26. However, during the two years in kollel the avreich must engage in studies to learn a profession in line with the needs of the IDF. The beis din then quotes the instructions of the rebbe, which absolutely forbid military service instead of continuing ones limudim. Hence, the talmidim are instructed to do everything possible to continue limudim; (2) to study a profession only after receiving the approval of ones mashpiah; and (3) these studies must be confined to ones second year in kollel and only in a chareidi environment. The beis din backs those involved in getting the permit for talmidim to head to Kvutza for 13 months without losing their bnei yeshiva status to permit them to continue limudim upon their return. Under the Yaalon agreement, once they return from Kvutza they have lost their bnei yeshiva status and must enter the military. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The litvish community in Haifa is angry with Mayor Yona Yahav, accusing him of failing to adhere to a rotation agreement. Degel Hatorah officials in Haifa explain Miki Alper is supposed to move into a deputy mayor slot now as per a rotation agreement, but the agreement is not being honored and the mayor is unwilling to get involved. Degel officials this week sent an angry-worded letter to the mayor, calling upon him to abide by the agreement without delays and without excuses. Nevertheless, Alper is not receiving the deputy slot. On Tuesday, 23 Iyar, Degel officials accused the mayor of distancing the litvish community while endearing himself to the chassidish community. Degel officials explain that in Tuesdays Yisrael Hayom there is a report of a tender to build eight kindergarten classrooms in Ramat Vishnitz in addition to a girls school for Gerre chassidim, using this add to validate their accusations. A City Hall officials responded to the accusations, accusing Degel of being whiners. He adds that Vishnitz is in need of classrooms and that is why they are being built as is the case with the girls school and it has nothing to do with discrimination. Apparently whoever whines just did not ask and he does not have a legitimate complaint and must blame only himself the official added. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A poll that would not find favor in the eyes of the international community shows most Israelis favor annexing Maale Adumim to the State of Israel. The poll was conducted by the Midgam Institute headed by Prof. Mina Tzemach. The poll shows 78% of the Jewish population favors annexing Maale Adumim, even is such a move is not connected to a final status agreement with the PA (Palestinian Authority). Over 70% of respondents feel this should be done even if Israel must pay a high political price and absorb a strong international response. 88% of the respondents feel residents of Maale Adumim are entitled to the same rights as all other citizens of Israel and therefore, Israeli law should be applied to the city as was done in the Golan Heights. The Land of Israel lobby in Knesset headed by MK (Likud) Yoav Kisch announced it will push the Maale Adumim bill in Knesset in the hope of actualizing the move. Officials in the lobby explain that in light of the publics response to the poll, clearly this is the appropriate action that should follow. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Former Shas party leader Eli Yishai released a statement to the media regarding the deal made to bring Yisrael Beitenu into the coalition and the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as Defense Minister. Yishai was critical of Lieberman, who was quick to announce his support for the two-state solution, the establishment of the State of Palestine. Yishai said As expected, Lieberman supports the division of Yerushalayim and the turning over Arab villages to the Palestinians which are under Hamas control as is clear to everyone. This places the State of Israel in the 15-second range for rocket attacks and he declares support for the two-state solution and picks up the gauntlet to [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah] al-Sisis initiative to promote a political process that will return Israel to the pre-1967 borders, a disaster for Israel. He added all that surprised me is that he said it all in one breath, immediately after being sworn into office. Yishai concluded For now, we must wait to permit Lieberman to make good on his word, to bring back the bodies of IDF soldiers Sgt. Oron Shaul HYD and Lt. Hadar Goldin HYD within 48 hours. We are willing to wait 48 hours. Lieberman recently stated if and when he is appointed Defense Minister he will give Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh 48 hours to return the bodies or find a place to bury himself for he will have him eliminated if he does not return the bodies. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A 43-year-old chareidi man from northern Israel will be compensated NIS 1,500 after being arrested falsely and compelled to spend Shabbos in jail. The man was arrested after a number of young women in Tiveria told police that a chareidi appearing man assaulted them. A day later, the man, who has no criminal record, was arrested by police for the assault. He was held over Shabbos, left alone and not questioned. On motzei Shabbos he was arraigned and police asked to extend his remand for an additional six days. The court ruled there was no evidence linking him to the crime, releasing him with restrictions. The man used a public defender to sue the police for false arrest, seeking compensation for the imprisonment and humiliation. It was explained that he was arrested and left in jail without even questioning him to determine if they arrested the correct suspect. Police explained he was not just randomly arrested but believed to be the suspect. The court ordered compensation in the amount of NIS 1,500, citing after his arrest, he was left in jail and no effort was made to determine if he was indeed the man they were looking for. The Yediot Achronot report adds a number of days after being released with restrictions, the man participated in a lineup and was not identified by the victims of the assault. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Barring last minute surprise, the Jerusalem Planning Committee on Wednesday 24 Iyar will be approving the construction of another three-story building in Shiloach, known more frequently in the media as Silwan. The new building will be constructed near Beit Yonatan, the seven-story structure that was built as part of Ateret Kohanims ongoing reclamation effort, to renew the Jewish settlement of Arab-occupied areas of the capital. Yeshivat Ateret Kohanim has been spearheading buying out local Arabs to resettle Jews in the areas that were Jewish prior to 1930, before they were driven out by the Arabs. Even before the structure is approved the left-wing is releasing condemnatory statements lamenting the threat to the local Arab population. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Chai Lifeline Lakewood, the community organization dedicated to providing emotional and social support to families in the midst of illness, loss, or crisis, recently bolstered the communitys team of crisis intervention para-professionals. Working with Project CHAI, Chai Lifelines crisis intervention arm, Chai Lifeline Lakewood trained close to 100 mechanchim, menhalim, menhalos, askanim, and members of Bikur Cholim, Hatzolah, and Misaskim in how to effectively respond to primary and secondary crisis situations. Led by Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox, a clinical psychologist, Rov of the Hancock Park Hashkama Minyan, and director of clinical interventions and community education for Project CHAI, the effort significantly expanded the pool of mechanchim and volunteers qualified to respond to medical crises and untimely passings within the community. Project CHAI has been part of Lakewoods crisis intervention effort for more than a decade, explained Rabbi Dr. Fox. There was a feeling within the group that a refresher course with additional clinical information and an opportunity to practice implementation would both make existing para-professionals more effective and introduce new volunteers to the work of Project CHAI and Chai Lifeline. Previous trainings received the haskama of the Mashgiach, HaRav Matisyahu Salomon, shlita. The three part training mixed theory and practice and incorporated time for role play and discussion. Dr. Fox led the first two sessions, provided instruction in assessing situations and understanding the fundamentals of crisis intervention. The final week was like a crisis primer, where participants practiced how to respond to and comfort those caught in a number of crisis scenarios. Rabbi Sruli Fried, LMSW, director of Chai Lifeline Lakewood, instructed the men, while Mrs. Bina Sussman, case manager for Chai Lifeline Lakewood, provided guidance to the women. The training is very intense. Theres a tremendous amount of material that gets covered, stressed Dr. Fox. The curriculum includes instruction for interventions in camp, school, and community environments, and also provides a thorough grounding in the emotional and psychological issues surrounding crisis. All our first responders come away with knowledge and practical advice about how to work within multiple environments and in different scenarios. But a big part of the training is understanding the school setting, the dynamics of the community, and how we effectively come together as a team in schools and other environments, stated Rabbi Fried. Rabbi Usher Lederer, principal of the Yeshiva Ketana in Lakewood, is a member of Project CHAI in Lakewood. As someone who unfortunately has been involved in Project CHAI too many times, I see the critical value of its work in making sure that we work as a team within the kehilla, he said. Noted rav and mechanech Rabbi Michel Handelsman, who graciously provided an introduction to the first training session, noted its importance for the community. The right word can make tzaar bearable, he told the group. Hundreds of people in our community have already benefited from the expertise and compassion of Lakewoods Project CHAI-trained response team. As the community grows, the team had to grow as well. We now have people in place who can respond instantly, added Rabbi Mordechai Gobioff, Chai Lifelines director of client services, national. Mrs. Sussman noted that almost every school in Lakewood was represented in the training sessions. The kehilla is growing so fast. New schools open every year. We saw many fresh faces, as this was a chance for principals, administrators, and teachers to learn the basics or refresh their skills. Rabbi Simcha Scholar, Chai Lifelines executive vice president, commended the community for understanding the need for continuing education of its growing group of first responders. The nature of crisis is that we never know when it will happen. Having a knowledgeable group trained by Chai Lifeline and Project CHAI within the kehilla assures that help is available immediately. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is set to announce the charities that will receive money he raised for veterans causes earlier this year, following sustained pressure from media outlets trying to account for the promised funds. Trump will make the announcement at a press conference at Trump Tower Tuesday morning. We just raised almost $6 million for the vets because I didnt do a television show, Trump said Sunday at a veterans event in Washington. All of the groups that have gotten the money will be announced on Tuesday. Were having a big press conference. Trump has claimed that he raised $6 million through a combination of pledges from wealthy friends, the public and $1 million from himself after a splashy telethon-style fundraiser he held in Iowa in January in place of a boycotted Fox News debate. But his campaign has refused to disclose which charities had received the money months, leading some to speculate that the money raised was less than he had claimed. I have raised/given a tremendous amount of money to our great VETERANS, and have got nothing but bad publicity for doing so, Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. Local New York Veteran affiliated with the group the #VetsVsHateare planning a protest outside Trump tower to complain that Trump has used veterans as political props. Trump has been evasive and dishonest about this money, and only after being confronted for attempting to defraud vets was he shamed into accounting for the missing funds, the group said in a release. Trumps campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had originally told the Washington Post that the event had raised about $4.5 million less than the $6 million originally announced by Trump and that the money had already been distributed. (AP) Congregation Ohr Natan, a preeminent shul and community center for the large and increasingly organized Bukharian Jewish population of Queens since 1986, celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a festival that drew over 550 people to the Congregations home in the iconic Trylon Theater on Queens Blvd on Sunday, May 29th. Ohr Natan is in the midst of difficult negotiations to keep their home in the Trylon Theater, which the congregation renovated for $2 million, and has paid another $2 million in rent for. RJ Capital Holdings, the developer who now owns the building, is seeking to evict Ohr Natan to build an office tower, which may also have luxury housing. The religious and social services focus for over 1,000 families, Ohr Natan has been trying to partner with the building owner to buy the portion of the building it uses. Those discussions have unfortunately not progressed, though the Congregation wishes they would. The Congregations lease is set to expire in February of 2017. In addition to being an active synagogue, Ohr Nathan provides meals to over 450 families, classes for English Language Learners, after school programs, and activities for at-risk youth. Of course communities change, and sometimes developers tear down unused houses of worship, said Rabbi Nahum Kaziev of Ohr Natan. But to evict and demolish a functioning and thriving Congregation is an entirely different story which should have a different ending. We remain hopeful for a constructive dialogue. A day of celebration, song, and prayer in glorious weather, Sundays festival had a bittersweet undercurrent due to the uncertain and potentially dire real estate situation. Ohr Natan has a significant footprint in our shared civic life, publishing two magazines in addition to their social services work. DRUZHBA is the largest Jewish publication in Russian language in the United States, and Shalom, their youth publication in English language, are widely read in Jewish modern immigrant communities throughout New York City. With so much uncertainty and hurtful language all around us in current events, and with newspapers every day reporting on possible scandals negatively impacting communities at sea in a city obsessed with wealth, having an active spiritual home to depend on makes a real difference in the lives of these Queens families. I hope those in a position to help shape a positive resolution take notice, Rabbi Kaziev concluded. (YWN Desk NYC) Regional Bikur Cholim Invites You to Join! By Dov Levy Its all about helping the most disadvantaged children in our communities. Regional Bikur Cholim, the Bikur Cholim that services cholei Yisrael all across the Greater New York region, is now running a major campaign. Heal-A- Thon 2016 was launched to raise the funds needed to rescue close to 700 children from dysfunctional families in our communities. There are just four weeks left to this campaign, whose completion will be marked with a special evening Achievement Event. Part of the raison detre at Regional Bikur Cholim is to accommodate not only the medical needs of the cholim, but their emotional and financial needs and those of their families as well. One major focus has been to help children of families that are crumbling due to physical or emotional illness, or homes that are being destroyed by divorce and other forms of dysfunction. Generally it is the children who are at greatest risk in these situations. First and foremost they must have their physical needs guaranteed, but their emotional needs must be met as well. Regional Bikur Cholim assigns case workers to oversee this effort, and may call on the services of babysitters or tutors to assist in their care. Counseling and/or therapy is often necessary to counteract the childs negative experiences and provide a healthy balance. Through a comprehensive program of caretaking, these children can rise out of a seemingly hopeless situation to become productive and healthy adults. Sadly, there are all too many such homes all around us and hundreds of children are in desperate need of these specialized services. And thats where you and I come in. To provide these services to the hundreds of needy children in our own communities requires vast resources. Regional Bikur Cholim is looking to us for help. The cost of rescuing one child is $720. You can join Heal-A- Thon 2016 here and sponsor a child. Better yet, become a Heal-A- Thon 2016 Hero by pledging to raise the funds to sponsor 3 children or more. Its all worked out for you. The Heal-A- Thon site offers an easy, fully-automated system, complete with a tutorial, to get you started. First you set a goal of how much you intend to raise. Then you contact your family and friends and ask them to help you reach your goal. The campaign is well under way and funds have started to roll in, but there is still a long way to go before the campaign draws to its grand finale on June 26. Every Hero, as well as anyone who sponsors one child or more with a donation of $720 or up, will be invited to attend the gala Achievement Event to mark the campaigns completion. With only one month left to go, time is running short. Join now and be a part of the fun! The children are waiting for you. For more information, contact Regional Bikur Cholim at: [email protected] To donate to the general campaign click here. City officials on Tuesday insisted that theyre prepared to provide the security and medical care needed to keep people safe during the Republican National Convention in July. Last week, police in Greensboro, North Carolina, rescinded an offer to send 50 police officers to Cleveland during the convention because of concerns about the citys preparedness to host an event that is expected to draw as many as 50,000 people. Officials in Cleveland spent about 90 minutes Tuesday briefing reporters about the citys security preparations. Police Chief Calvin Williams said the number of police officers working outside the hard security zone surrounding the convention venue, Quicken Loans Arena, would be in the thousands. Mayor Frank Jackson said Cleveland officials have visited every city that has hosted a national political convention since 2004 to learn about best practices for security. We are prepared, Jackson said. We have done our diligence in many different ways. Greensboro police, in deciding not to send officers, also cited concerns that its officers wouldnt be covered by workers compensation insurance. Assistant Cleveland law director Richard Horvath told reporters that Ohio doesnt allow for that kind of coverage for out-of-state workers and that the provision was included in agreements sent to police departments solicited to provide officers. The convention in Cleveland could be the most tumultuous in decades thanks to the polarizing presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Earlier in the primary campaign, Trump predicted there would be riots in Cleveland if the Republican Party tried to take the nomination away from him. There are no indications that will happen, yet groups that support Trump and groups that oppose him are planning to stage rallies and marches during the convention and have expressed concerns about potential trouble. Cleveland officials on Tuesday repeated earlier statements that anyone who wants to protest lawfully will be allowed to do so, but others will be punished. Were not going to stand for lawlessness, Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said. If anybody goes sideways and doesnt follow the law, there will be consequences. Tomba added that officers working in the event zone that includes downtown Cleveland wont wear riot gear unless it becomes necessary. Cleveland has ordered 2,000 sets of personal protection equipment and the same number of collapsible batons paid for with a $50 million federal security grant. Cleveland is working with Cuyahoga County, a neighboring county and, if needed, the state prison system, to provide enough jail beds should there be mass arrests. The city is also working with its three largest hospital systems to provide medical care during the convention, officials said Tuesday. (AP) [COMMUNICATED CONTENT] Jinspire, a division of Project Inspire, just spearheaded an incredibly life-changing trip to Israel for over 20 men of all backgrounds. All of the less-affiliated men had gone previously on a beginner-level trip and through continued growth over the last 2.5 years wanted a more learning intensive Israel experience. The program was arranged so that there would be a significant amount of frum men to learn, tour, and connect with. The men were blown away by the experience. I agree that words cant really capture that experience, explained Stephen from Ridgewood, New Jersey. Words are finite, limiting, an attempt to impart boundaries and form; but that experience transcended physicality. While there was touring, segwaying, and ATVing, much of the trip was focused on learning and spiritual growth. The day typically started with a shiur and chavrusa learning and then the group would tour a significant place in Yerushalyim, including the Kotel, Yeshivas Aish HaTorah, Kever Rochel, and the Mirrer Yeshiva. Many of the men were mekabel additional mitzvos that they had not done previously. Like the students we witnessed at Aish, I too am committing to add additional mitzvot to my day to fuel the inner flame that grew brighter last week [on the trip], said David from Rockville Centre, New York. One new example is to say the blessing over what I eat or drink. To make it easier, I took a picture of each blessing and created a group of favorites on my phone so that I can get to them easily until I know them all by heartDaily practice of something new is the only way I can learnLets keep growing and share our personal wisdom with each other and with our Jewish brothers and sisters. We all are able to light a spark or add fuel to our own or someone elses internal flame. The men are now back home in the States but their learning continues with a plethora of follow-up Shabbatons, shiurim, and reunions. It wasnt just the less-affiliated men who were inspired, the mentors were profoundly affected as well. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for helping me recharge and refill my spiritual energy in such an amazing way, wrote Shui from Passaic. Project Inspire, a program of Aish HaTorah, is a grassroots organization whose mission is to awaken and empower the Torah observant community to reach out to their fellow Jews. It has successfully created a movement of people dedicated to spreading the beauty of Yiddishkeit. The effect of this program greatly exceeded our expectations in terms of the impact on our participants. We are seriously considering doing many of these second level trips in the near future, said Yaakov Giniger, Director of Programming at Project Inspire. If you are interested in being a mentor on the next trip, please contact us at [email protected] or call 646-291-6191. [PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] A serious accident occurred during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday 24 Iyar at the intersection of Routes 443 and 444 near Modiin Junction. Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah responded. UH EMT Natan Merav explains We were on the way back from a family simcha in Modiin Illit and I came across the serious accident involving two vehicles. I got out to assist and found a child in a car seat outside of the vehicle. He was in traumatic arrest. I began CPR while calling for additional units. MDA reports the three-year-old child was transported to Assaf HaRofeh Hospital in grave condition while CPR and advanced resuscitation was ongoing. A 24-year-old woman was transported with a head injury, listed in moderate condition. Three others were taken to Tel Hashomer Hospital, listed in light condition along with a man in his 30s with an abdominal injury, listed in moderate condition. The hospital on Wednesday morning announced the childs condition remains critical and he is on a respirator. All the others are in stable condition. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Media Resource Group) Three immigrant brothers sentenced to life in prison for plotting to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix will not have their life sentences overturned. U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler said in his ruling made public Tuesday that he didnt buy the arguments from Dritan, Eljvir and Shain Duka that they were wrongly convicted in 2008 because their lawyers kept them from testifying. Kugler ruled Friday that he found testimony from their defense attorneys at a January hearing more credible. The Albanian-born brothers were convicted with two others of plotting an attack at military sites at Fort Dix in New Jersey and elsewhere. Supporters believe the FBI entrapped them and exaggerated the case, but the Dukas have exhausted their appeals. Dritan Tony Duka, 37, said at a January hearing that his lawyer thought he would come across as a Muslim extremist and therefore didnt put him on the stand. Their trial lawyers denied the accusations and testified for the government. Dritan Dukas trial lawyer, Michael Huff, said he feared his clients desire to express religious views and his suspicion that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks might be an inside job, in order to persecute Muslims would prove damaging. Huff, along with fellow trial lawyers Troy Archie and Michael Riley, said they worked vigorously on the case and were prepared to put their clients on the stand, if it came to that. The Dukas have been in prison since May 2007. The case has been cited by Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as one of the two biggest terrorism cases in the world during his time as U.S. Attorney. But critics believe an FBI informant entrapped the men and say the sentence reflects overzealous efforts to protect the country after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The men were charged in 2007 with conspiring to kill U.S. military personnel at Fort Dix. (A sixth was charged with weapons offenses.) Authorities had been alerted initially after a store clerk saw a video of the men shooting guns at a firing range and yelling Allahu Akbar, or God is great. Jurors heard hours of secretly recorded audio that included one defendant saying how they could kill at least 100 soldiers by using rocket-propelled grenades. Defense attorneys at trial claimed the men may have made anti-American statements but had no plans to attack anything until paid informant Mahmoud Omar infiltrated the group and spent months goading and manipulating them. (AP) After ten months of administrative detention, deprivation of basic rights and without being charged with any crimes, Meir Ettinger on Wednesday 24 Iyar was released from a Beersheva prison. Ettinger, a right-wing activist and grandson of Rabbi Meir Kahane HYD, was first accused of being a threat to national security, plotting attacks against Arabs to incite widespread violence that would lead to anarchy and the overthrow of the Israeli government. Authorities have not announced finding any evidence to back the allegations and after ten months, he has been released. Persons familiar with the case explain he was deprived of his basic human rights while incarcerated, beaten and kept under unacceptably harsh conditions, and not permitted to attend the bris of his first child. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A man was taken into custody in Bnei Brak on Tuesday 23 Iyar for allegedly brutally beating a 13-year-old chareidi youth. The attacker according to witnesses beat the child without mercy. They intervened and held him until police arrived. The man (name on file), who dressed as a chareidi, was taken to a local police station. He was arraigned and his detention extended for six days. No reason is given for the assault in the report released by Walla News. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) MK Yisrael Eichler used the Knesset forum on Tuesday 23 Iyar to speak out against police brutality in general, specifically against the chareidi community. Eichler spoke of the unprofessional and violent behavior of police when issuing traffic summonses as well as during protests. One case in point was the recent brutal beating of a chareidi man in Beit Shemesh, which is now under investigation by the Justice Ministry Police Investigations Unit. Eichler cited police often use unjustified violence against chareidim, pointing out in the above case, the man in Beit Shemesh, he was simply talking on his mobile phone, questioning the justification of the policemans actions following the stop as seen in the video, the beating of the man and knocking him to the ground while calling for backup. He commented on the actions of police at protests and the fact that in a democracy one may express ones opinion but police often feel this is not the case. He decried the use of brutality in response to civil disobedience, questioning the need of force at protests, which has become the norm for Israel Police. Eichler warned his colleagues that violence by government officials is far more serious than by a civilian for when the latter becomes violent police move in and arrest him but who will protect citizens from the violence of police? (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Of all the cynical Brexit scare stories pumped out by politicians over the past few months, the attempt to terrify pensioners must rank among the most questionable. The European Union has been absolutely disastrous for British pensions. Its meddling has trashed payout rates on so-called annuities, which provide an income for life to millions, and allowed insurers to profit. Its bizarre crackdown on sexist insurance policies - now everyone gets the same poor rates - ended up hammering those approaching retirement in 2012, with consequences that will linger for decades. And its still angling for draconian changes that would kill off the last of Britains gold-plated final salary schemes. Brexit: Bringing up pensions and trying to scare older people was a blunder by Mr Osborne, says Dan Hyde To suggest blithely that exiting the EU would cost savers 32,000 in retirement, as George Osborne did last Thursday, is a first-class lesson in how politicians try to manipulate us with barely intelligible facts. The Chancellors numbers were conjured up using a cunning trick of the imagination: the hypothetical assumption that Britains economy would stutter to a halt if we left the EU. Once you presume thatll happen, you can map out the rough impact on the cost of living and the value of British shares. The conclusion was that exiting the EU would result in your savings growing more slowly, while food, fuel and shopping prices rise a bit quicker. Hey presto - thats your 32,000. But I suspect that most people - like me - simply dont think like that. When were told well lose tens of thousands we look at our bank balances and miserably picture the pot draining away. Mr Osborne knows that all too well, hence a big scary number thats tricky to comprehend. The truth is he totally ignored the hugely damaging impact the EU has already had on pensions (and is likely to have in future). If I played along with his game and plucked a number out of the air to account for the hurt caused to British pensioners by these policies and the eurozone debt crisis, Im confident I could at least double his 32,000. But I wont. Bringing up pensions and trying to scare older people really was a blunder by Mr Osborne. He could have picked areas where the EU has actually done some good for savers and shoppers. It can claim some credit for cheaper mobile prices abroad, flight delay compensation and the right to a refund for shoddy goods and services, among other things. Now Im not suggesting we base our votes on June 23 primarily on the impact on our personal finances. It goes without saying that immigration, trade, democracy, travel, national security and many other factors will play a hugely important role in most peoples choices. But hopefully its clear that the EU has meddled quite a bit with our money in Britain. Whether the overall impact has been good or bad is for you to decide. I only wish referendum campaigners would stick to facts, rather than fiction when they make their case. Eurostar fiasco On the topic of Europe, yesterday I returned from a rain-soaked weekend in Paris by Eurostar. The Eurostar, with its tunnel under the sea, is the sort of marvellous, time-defying wonder of modern life that our grandparents and great-grandparents could only dream of just a few decades ago. You queue for 20 minutes or so, show your passport and ticket, jump on the train and youre in another capital city two and a half hours later. The Continent is your oyster . . . or at least thats the theory. But I wasnt supposed to be on the Eurostar yesterday at all. My journey actually started at around 8pm on Monday when I arrived at Gare du Nord in central Paris to find utter chaos. Eurostar fiasco: Dan Hyde was left stranded in Paris after his train was cancelled There were four queues of people tailing around the station and a melee of suitcase-laden passengers crowded around the entrance to the check-in. Not one member of staff was on hand to explain what was happening. The monitors flashing with delays were hard to decipher and didnt explain why the jostling mob was being held back at the entrance to the Eurostar. Odd announcements over the Tannoy referred to a suspicious package but little else. Was it a terror threat? Why was everyone waiting? No one had a clue. After two and a half hours of inching along, my queue came to a standstill - around 150ft from passport control. About 30 minutes later a few bedraggled passengers walked past going the other way. The train had been cancelled, unannounced. As confusion spread, passengers began furiously booking hotels on their phones. Two staff - neither of whom helped - were left to field questions from hundreds. When I returned from my emergency hotel in the morning another snaking, disorderly queue had formed. The last straw was being told by Eurostar staff that theyd no idea when Id get back to London because my situation was the same as being in a car in a traffic jam on the motorway. Ive rarely come across such incompetence in the face of adversity. Money Mail often berates firms for bungled bills (recently Vodafone, nPower, ScottishPower), disastrous service (stand up BT and HMRC) and dubious sales pushes (think annuities, over-50s insurance, PPI, packaged bank accounts and so on). But we also understand mistakes happen, no matter how hard you try. The true test of a company is how intelligently it responds to the unexpected and the lengths to which itll go to put things right. Then how it compensates and repays the patience and faith of customers. Going: HSBC's prickly chief executive Stuart Gulliver HSBCs prickly chief executive Stuart Gulliver is the European banking chief who investors would most like to be rid of, according to a poll. They wont have to wait long. Grammar school-educated Gulliver, 57, who has overseen a string of scandals at the bank during his five-year watch, is expected to depart at the end of next year. Wholl replace him? Lloyds boss, pompadoured Portuguese charmer Antonio Horta-Osorio, 52, is said to fancy his chances almost as much as he admires himself. Sources tell me HSBCs avuncular chairman Douglas Flint is lobbying for an internal appointment. Ryanairs in-yer-face boss Michael OLeary has made the company behind his private taxi service unlimited, meaning the public cant now peek at its annual accounts. He took out a taxi licence in 2003 so that he could use Dublins bus lanes when making his 100-mile round trip to Ryanairs offices from his Mullingar home. Ideas man OLoudmouth, 55, is often heard ranting about Dublins chronic traffic. His latest novel solution was to have cyclists taken out and shot. Gaudily dressed Phones4U billionaire John Caudwell he has a weakness for spangly blazers and outre waistcoats has taken a hefty bath on his string of Turkish gyms, Pure Jatomi Fitness. The company, in which hes the majority shareholder, folded this week, leaving staff unpaid and pre-paid customers without a refund. Says a spokesman for father-of-five Caudwell, 63: John is very sorry for the loss of jobs, but it was a decision made by the board. Unfortunately it was just running up an everlasting treadmill of losses. Congenial oil tycoon Algy Cluff, 76, has been touting his enjoyable memoirs Get On With It. But he doesnt elaborate as to why hes known as Algy his real name is John. A school friend from Stowe tells me they named him after the character Algernon Moncrieff from The Importance of Being Earnest. Cluffs Anguillan wife Blondel calls him Algy Club, since he retains membership of no fewer than nine establishments. The London Stock Exchange has doled out an extraordinary 1.7million on public relations during its proposed 21billion merger with Deutsche Boerse. Hyperbole: Carsten Kengeter, chief executive elect of a merged LSE and Deutsche Boerse Carsten Kengeter, chief executive-elect of a merged London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse in an attempt to raise the spirits has declared June 1 a momentous day. It may well be, as the meteorological start of summer and for the advisers collecting fat fees, but there is nothing else about the proposed LSE-DB deal worthy of such hyperbole. If anything, the two prospectuses one in English and one in German and both worked in euros rather than pounds raise serious questions as to why the protagonists of this alliance are bothering at all. The cost savings are wafer thin for such a large and high risk transaction. The promised new streams of income so disappointing and tendentious that shareholders in both exchanges might well consider it pointless. The main board of the interwoven exchange is a motley collection of executives and non-executives drawn from both the LSE and DB. It is likely to be a recipe for compromise rather than for clear-headed, strong leadership. Revenue growth at stolid old Deutsche Boerse is pedestrian when set against the sprint at the LSE. Moreover, many of the vital regulatory issues are still largely unaddressed. A look at the underlying numbers shows that this is far from being a match made in heaven. The cost savings, if they can be achieved given Germanys less flexible labour markets, will be 350million after three years. Meanwhile, the cast of advisers which includes all the usual suspects Goldman Sachs and Barclays on the UK side and Bank of America and Deutsche Bank on the German side will share a delicious 235million in fees. One trusts that the lawyers, who alone will carry off 68.4million in fees, and investment bankers will do a better job of due diligence than those on both sides in the sale of BHS to three-times bankrupt Dominic Chappell. As for the revenue gains from the deal they are meagre, at just 192.5million after five years. For those who like percentages that is just 0.92 per cent of the value of the merger. At the LSE income growth is being delivered in double-digit figures, a tribute to departing chief executive Xavier Rolet who is planning to cash in his large wodge of shares and options. At Deutsche Boerse it was a more modest 8 per cent over the last quarter and a slug-like 4 per cent on an underlying basis all distinctly unimpressive. The prospectus and documents also skim over politics and regulation. There is a promise by both sides to press ahead irrespective of the Brexit referendum on June 23. But some of those involved think that there is 50-50 chance at best of the deal going ahead should the British people decide Leave and it is absurd to think otherwise. Frankfurt financiers and Hesse politicians already are kicking off at the fact that the intention is to locate the top company in the City. Imagine the times that opposition will be multiplied by if Leave wins. It wont just be Germany up in arms but France, anxious for its shot of rivalling London as a financial centre, will be shouting from the rooftops. Finally, there is regulation. The European Commission, which is admirably robust on cross-border takeovers (look at its recent block on a merger between mobile operators Three and O2), will not allow this deal through on the nod. Rival Paris-based Euronext, among others, is bound to raise enormous objections. There is also prudential regulation to consider. Kengeter acknowledged in his conference call that Deutsche Boerse is having to raise an extra 38.5million of capital to boost the safety of its Eurex clearing house. The LSE says its clearing house LCH Clearnet is well enough capitalised. The truth is, however, that an enormous amount of derivatives risk is being moved from the balance sheets of the banks to official clearers such as LCH Clearnet as part of the post-crisis order. And the scale of future capital requirement for exchanges is far from settled. There is absolutely nothing in the full documentation, now sent to investors, to convince anyone that this merger is a good deal on financial, political or regulatory grounds. It ought to have been dead on arrival and it is only money-grabbing advisers and self-aggrandising executives keeping it alive. Sipping the pain The closure of 120 Austin Reed stores with the loss of 1,000 jobs was bad enough for such an esteemed clothing chain. It follows other distinguished clothing names into the history books or online. Jaeger continues to struggle which is among the reasons we should all be cheerleading for Burberry which, precious Christopher Bailey notwithstanding, remains a national luxury champion. At the no-frills end of the High Street all indications are that potential buyers for BHS and a saviour for its 11,000 staff and 160 sizeable stores are retreating into the distance. When Amy Gault needed to change the name on a plane ticket, she expected to pay a small admin fee. But she never dreamed Flybe would try to charge her 329 - more than double what she had paid for the flight in the first place. Amy, her husband Marcus, and their two children, Dorothy, 13, and George, 11, had been invited to stay in a villa near Bordeaux in France for a week in July by another family who have two sons. Shocked: The Gault family from Banbury, Oxfordshire, were outraged at the cost of changing a name on a flight Worried her daughter would be lonely without another girl to play with, Amy told Dorothy she could bring a friend from school. Then, in February, she booked five tickets from Birmingham to Bordeaux at 160 per person. However, earlier this month her daughter fell out with her friend. To avoid any awkwardness, Amy decided the best thing to do was to refund the friend who no longer wanted to go, let Dorothy invite someone else and change the name on the flight. In the small print of her booking confirmation it said Flybe would charge a 40 admin fee to change a name on a ticket - 80 for a return flight. Amy, 43, a beautician from Banbury, Oxfordshire, says: 'It wasn't ideal, but no parent wants to take a miserable child on holiday. I thought I'd just have to pay the 80 and be done with it.' But when Amy called to update the details on the ticket, she was told she would have to pay 329 to change the name. As well as the 80 admin fee, Flybe wanted an extra 249 because the airfares had increased since she first booked her tickets three months earlier, and she had to cover the difference. When Amy wrote to Flybe to demand an explanation, the airline replied saying: 'In order to make a name change on the booking, the process we need to follow is to delete the existing passenger from the list and to book new flights for the new person. 'Therefore, fares between the flights differ, as we take the prices from the fare based on the day of the amendment.' It added: 'The procedure for a name change is complicated and, most of the time, an expensive process, as each person who is booked on to the flight needs to pay separately all of the taxes. Additionally, we need to avoid frauds of any kind which this process can cause.' Fees: Flybe wanted an extra 249 because the airfares had increased since Amy first booked her tickets Amy claims the entire process took under ten minutes. She says: 'I am just so disgusted. I don't care if it is somewhere buried in the terms and conditions. 'I fail to understand how they can justify charging 329 when it's the same seat, just with a different bottom on it.' But eye-watering fees for changing the name on a plane ticket are not uncommon. Most airlines allow passengers to correct minor spelling mistakes or typos on tickets free of charge. You are also typically given a grace period of around 24 to 48 hours after you have booked to change the name on a ticket. But after this, if you want to transfer a plane ticket into someone else's name, it becomes very expensive. Some airlines - British Airways, for example - will not allow you to transfer a ticket to a different person at all. You have to cancel the ticket and rebook - and hope the airline takes pity on you and refunds some of the money you have paid. Others, such as budget airlines Jet2, Monarch and Ryanair, allow you to change the name on a ticket but charge 70, 100 and 110 respectively for a return journey. Some airlines, including Jet2 and Flybe, then also charge passengers extra if fares have gone up since they originally booked their ticket. This is where it can start to get incredibly expensive, as Amy found out. For example, say you booked flights costing 200. A month later someone in your party drops out and you want to change the name on their ticket. If the price has risen just 10 per cent, you'd have to pay the difference of 20 plus the fixed admin fee. However, if prices fall you don't get a refund. Airlines argue that high admin fees and extra charges for price changes are vital in discouraging touts. If the cost of changing a name was low, customers could simply buy cheap tickets in bulk and sell them on at a premium without penalty. Airlines also claim they have to make costly security checks on every customer booked to fly - and if the passenger changes they have to do these checks again. Bob Atkinson, travel expert at price comparison website TravelSupermarket, says: 'How airlines can justify completely different and varying charges in the modern day is unacceptable. 'Airlines should all have a clear policy of allowing minor and obvious name changes for errors within a short window of making the booking, free of charge. 'Past that, a small fee to change the passenger name along with any difference in the fare is reasonable to protect the airline from those looking to make money from ticket purchases.' A spokesperson for Flybe says: 'This rule is in place to prevent individuals not licensed to sell air tickets buying the lowest fares in advance and selling them on illegally for a higher fare for profit. 'An individual name or itinerary change requires a substantial amount of manual work both by the call centre and our back office departments.' The proposed 21billion merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse will see 1,250 roles slashed at the combined company. Details of the deal - which must be given the green light by shareholders next month - show that the merged firm will need to make 250million (193million) in annual cost savings after five years, in addition to the 450million it has previously flagged. The cuts represent about 10 per cent of the combined workforce, with the LSE currently employing 5,551 workers, and Deutsche Borse 5,283. LSE, which agreed in March to merge with Deutsche Boerse to create a pan-European trading house, said it expected to achieve these benefits in the fifth year after the deal is completed The prospectus said: 'The boards believe that in order to achieve the ... cost synergies in the third year after completion (of the merger), there could be an overall potential job reduction of approximately 1,250 existing roles across the combined group.' Shareholders in LSE will vote on the all share deal on July 4, while Deutsche Borse investors can tender their shares until July 12. The companies opted to wait until after the referendum on June 23 to allow shareholders to digest any potential implications. Today they reiterated their stance that the deal is Brexit-proof, stating: 'The outcome of the United Kingdom referendum on membership of the European Union is not a condition of the merger.' Last week the deal received the blessing of hedge fund TCI, a significant Deutsche Borse shareholder. The proposed merger was given another boost last month when the owner of the New York Stock Exchange - the Intercontinental Exchange - said it would not pursue a takeover of the LSE. However, Deutsche Borse boss Carsten Kengeter yesterday raised the prospect of Chicago-based CME Group stepping in if the LSE deal falls through. LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet has made no secret of his desire for a tie-up with Deutsche Borse, although the deal still faces regulatory scrutiny. The deal will see Rolet step down and Kengeter become chief executive of the combined company and LSE's Donald Brydon taking up the role of chairman. Under the merger plans, the combined LSE and Deutsche Borse will maintain headquarters in London and Frankfurt, while it will also be listed on the LSE and Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It marks their third attempt to merge after previous moves failed in 2000, and 2004-5 when talks collapsed. BANKER BLOODBATH Dozens of senior HSBC investment bankers could lose their jobs in the latest round of cuts to hit the industry. HSBC began telling its London-based investment banking and global markets team about the cutbacks last week and a further round will take place this week. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver has pledged to cut as many as 25,000 jobs to slash costs by 3.5billion. About 8,000 UK positions will go. COKE SALE Dove soap and Knorr soup maker Unilever has sold its soy-based drinks business to Coca-Cola Co and its largest bottler, Coca-Cola Femsa, in a 400million deal. Unilevers South American-based AdeS is known for its soy milk and fruit juice mixed drinks and will become part of Coca-Colas non-fizzy drink business which includes vitaminwater, Powerade and Minute Maid. Unilevers shares rose 1 per cent, or 31.5p, to 3177.5p. DEAL ROW Top city dealmaker Glenn Cooper has redoubled his efforts to buy a small Isle of Man-based property trust. Cooper, an industry veteran who led the stock market float of Manchester United, is in a stand-off with Industrial Multi Property Trust after it turned down an 81.6million takeover bid. Bosses rejected the approach from his firm James Stocks and Co, which only became public after it was reported in the Mail, but Cooper said the offer is generous. HOUSING BOOM Builder Telford Homes posted a 28 per cent rise in annual profits to 32.2million amid booming demand for new homes. The company said profits are expected to reach 50million by 2019. It raised its dividend by 27.9 per cent to 14.2p a share but the stock fell 1.4 per cent, or 5.3p, to 366p. INVESTMENT BINGE Annual profits at property firm LondonMetric plunged 48 per cent to 82.7million after an investment binge. The company ploughed cash into warehousing and distribution centres that it hopes will be more in demand than stores as the internet lures consumers from the High Street. The annual dividend was hiked 0.25p to 7.25p per share. Shares fell 4 per cent, or 6.5p, to 158p. DIVIDEND BOOST Custom electronics business Acal has raised its dividend and more than doubled its profits. Pre-tax profits rose 119 per cent to 9.4million in the year to March 31. Acal announced a dividend of 8.05p, up 6 per cent on a year ago. Shares fell 2.3 per cent, or 6p, to 259p. Lawyers, bankers and spin doctors are set to rake in up to 235million from a German takeover of the London Stock Exchange. The fees bonanza was revealed as plans were set out for Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse to seize control of the 215-year-old LSE. The pair who say the deal is a merger of equals said the 21billion deal would go ahead regardless of whether or not Britain remained in the European Union. And it was announced they would seek to make 350million of annual savings through cuts, involving slashing 1,250 jobs. Consultants: The fees bonanza was revealed as plans were set out for Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse to seize control of the 215-year-old LSE But a determination to save cash does not appear to have extended to the fees for advisers, detailed in the small print. In fact, the costs these dealmakers expect to suck out of the two firms are equal to more than eight months savings under the tighter regime. Deutsches consultants will rake in 98.5million, with 46.2million for financial advisers alone. Another 30.9million is to be pocketed by its lawyers, 4million by its accountants and 2.8million by public relations people. LSE is expecting to hand over 135.6million. Bankers will take up to 85.6million, lawyers 37.5million and accountants 3.2million. And LSE is paying City spinners 1.7million to promote the deal in the press in the face of opposition over the plans to let one of Britains most revered financial institutions fall into foreign hands. Those set to benefit from the fees bonanza include HSBC, which was named in the Panama Papers tax scandal. The bank and its affiliates had set up more than 2,300 shell companies for clients using law firm Mossack Fonseca. Others listed in the deal documents include Goldman Sachs, the banking giant renowned for its ruthless focus on profit and lavish pay for high-flying staff. Barclays, UBS and Deutsche Bank are also named. All three have been hit with multi-million-pound fines by regulators. Politicians last night blasted the deal, accusing those involved of selling Britains national interest. Influential Tory MP Sir Bill Cash said: I think its very sad and tragic that this wholly unnecessary capitulation took place. When the cuts are made it is believed they will be split between the two companies. The deal will now be decided on by LSE shareholders at a crunch vote on July 4. Deutsche shareholders will have their say later the same month. Despite vocal opposition it looks increasingly likely that investors will vote it through. Activist hedge fund boss Christopher Hohn, who helped block an earlier Deutsche takeover of the LSE through his Childrens Investment Fund, does not oppose it this time round. Some MPs have called on Business Secretary Sajid Javid to block the deal but Chancellor George Osborne is in favour, effectively ruling this out. The last hope of opponents could now be regulators, as EU and British watchdogs need to wave it through. French finance minister Michel Sapin wants the European Commission to intervene. His words are likely to have been embarrassing for Xavier Rolet, the LSEs French boss, who is said to harbour political ambitions. Rolet will step down from the merged company if the deal goes ahead, with Deutsche boss Carsten Kengeter taking charge. Savers have been hit by a secret attack on pensions that could strip 15,000 from their retirement income. Insurers have used EU red tape as an excuse to chop pension payouts to record lows - while reportedly pocketing bumper profits. Over the past three years, some firms have quietly slashed the payout from a 100,000 fund by as much as 800 a year. Insurers have used EU red tape as an excuse to chop pension payouts to record lows They say the EU is to blame for introducing new rules forcing insurers to keep in reserve money they would otherwise have paid to pensioners. Big firms also claim George Osbornes pension freedoms have dented their profits by allowing savers to cash in their funds from age 55, rather than withdrawing the money slowly over retirement. And they say low investment returns mean they have less to give out to customers. However, insurance insiders have told Money Mail that some firms are deliberately hitting people retiring this year with extra-low payouts in a bid to boost their profits. Senior figures revealed that insurance companies are trying to recoup the cost of expensive promises made to savers who retired in the 1990s and early 2000s, when pension payout rates were around three times higher than today. Shockingly, Britains biggest firms have been given the green light to hide these cynical payout cuts. Money Mail can reveal that they have broken a promise to publish the rates they offer to the over-55s who want to turn their savings into an income for life. Bizarre blow to women drivers Car insurance: Under new rules firms were told they had to charge men and women the same prices Insurance policyholders and pensioners have also been hit by EU laws barring firms from discriminating against customers on the grounds of gender. Previously, insurers would routinely charge men and women different prices. Young male drivers, for example, paid more for their motor cover than women the same age because they are statistically more likely to have a car accident. Equal rates meant women had to pay more, and men less. Women were paid worse annuity rates because they have a longer life expectancy than men, so the insurer predicted making payments for longer. However, under new rules introduced in December 2012, called the Gender Directive, firms were told they had to charge men and women the same prices. In theory, this should mean that customers who in the past had been penalised due to their gender get a boost. But critics say the rules have had a negligible effect. After years of criticism, insurers had agreed to list their so-called annuity rates on a dedicated page on the Association of British Insurers trade body website. This was supposed to enable customers to see how the offer they received stacked up against the best deals in the market. But until a few weeks ago, these vital figures had not been updated for nearly 18 months, and now the page has been removed. Figures obtained from independent experts show the gap between the best and worst deals has ballooned to 35 per cent. Yet just four in ten people are shopping around - down from half in 2014-15. It means tens of thousands of people who want the security of a guaranteed income for life face retiring on a pittance - with some getting far less than others in return for their life savings. Frank Field MP, chairman of the powerful Work & Pensions select committee, says: It has never been more important for insurers to be clear about what they are offering savers. If people are thinking about taking advantage of new pension freedoms, they need a clear idea about what rate of annuity they can get. CUTS THAT LAST A LIFETIME Annuities have long been criticised as being poor value. You hand over your life savings and, in return, get a fixed income that lasts as long as you live. This should give you peace of mind that you will not run out of money if you live longer than expected. However, once you have bought an annuity you cannot change deals, and when you die your pot dies with you. The sick and those not as likely to live a long life should be entitled to higher annual payouts because firms do not have to pay out as much. But, in the past, these customers missed out on the better deals because of sneaky sales practices at some firms, The furore led George Osborne in April 2015 to scrap rules that effectively forced 400,000 people a year to buy annuities. His new freedoms meant you could dip into your pot whenever you wanted - with the result that sales of annuities plunged. Mortgage trap costs families a fortune Stricter checks: Landlords may now need to undergo a two-hour interview where the lender pores over bank statements Borrowers could be trapped in expensive deals after EU rules cut off a lending lifeline. Since 2013, banks have run detailed affordability checks on mortgage applicants. The City watchdog made an exception for homeowners who wanted to move to another property or lender without borrowing any more money. But in March, new EU rules forced banks to carry out the strict checks on every customer. This has stopped some borrowers from switching to a cheaper lender if they are self-employed, are older or have complex financial affairs. In extreme cases, customers who are paying interest of around 4.5 per cent on their mortgages have been told they cant afford a better deal. The crackdown, called the Mortgage Credit Directive, has forced banks to carry out similar checks on buy-to-let investors, too. Previously, landlords who wanted a loan only had to prove they had a large enough deposit and that the rent would cover their repayments. Now they may need to undergo a two-hour interview where the lender pores over bank statements. It has also hit so-called accidental landlords, such as those who inherit properties and need to let them temporarily. Yet annuities are still the only way of providing a guaranteed retirement income without having to worry about stock market returns. So for many people they are still an excellent option - provided you get a fair deal. In the final three months of last year, 21,200 customers ploughed 1.1billion into annuities - exceeding sales of plans to customers who wanted to keep their nest-eggs invested. However, few will have realised quite what a poor deal they are getting. Pensioners have been stung by new EU rules that force insurers to stockpile cash for emergencies - and introduce complex software to do this. The laws, called Solvency II, came into force this year following a decade of discussions and delays. The idea is to prevent big insurers collapsing should the economy turn sour. But firms complain that the changes have cost them around 3billion - and they have passed on these costs to older savers. A 65-year-old with a 100,000 pot who bought an annuity with Aviva in May 2013 would have received 5,544 a year. But those payouts would plunge to 4,792 - 752 a year less - had the saver taken the same deal at the start of May 2016. Over a 20-year retirement, the saver leaving work now would receive 15,040 less from Aviva, which made profits of 1.4billion on its UK life business last year, than if they had taken their pension in 2013. The same customer with Legal and General would receive 4,970 a year now. In 2013, the payout would have been 5,500 - so a loss of 10,600 over a 20-year retirement. These figures show the EU in a different light to the claims made last week by George Osborne, who said pensioners would be up to 32,000 worse off each if Britain votes out on June 23. The Chancellor claimed that leaving the EU would dent peoples savings, making them grow more slowly and less valuable in the future. But our research shows savers are already suffering from demands made by Brussels policymakers. BETRAYAL OF OLDER SAVERS Critics are now questioning whether insurers are using these EU rules - which make up 3,200 pages of legislation and are largely incomprehensible to anyone outside of the insurance world - as a convenient excuse to offer customers a poorer deal than they need to. Payouts on annuities have plunged by up to 17% in the past year alone, ahead of Solvency II coming into force They say companies have known about this threat for 14 years, so this most recent cut to rates is not justified. Payouts on annuities have plunged by up to 17 per cent in the past year alone, ahead of Solvency II coming into force. Insurers also blame the paltry returns on the shoddy performance of government bonds, known as gilts, which are used to decide annuity prices. When the returns on gilts - called yields - are high, annuity rates rise. When yields are low, they fall. Even though gilt yields have tumbled to depressing lows, there are huge differences in the amounts that firms have lopped off payouts to reflect this. Analysis by independent pensions expert Billy Burrows shows that at the height of the eurozone crisis in April 2013, returns on gilts were within a whisker of those today. In May 2013, gilt yields were at 2.27 per cent. At the beginning of May this year, they were 2.07 per cent. Undoubtedly the EU rules and falling gilt yields have hit annuity companies, he says. But I wonder whether these cuts have gone even further than they should have done and insurers are using these reasons as something of a smokescreen for cutting rates. Its all so complex that its very hard to tell whether savers are now getting a fair price. Industry insiders say the rate cuts are at least partly down to firms clawing back the cost of payout promises made to savers when rates were higher. In 1990, a 65-year-old would have received around 15,000 a year for life from a 100,000 pot. One insurance industry leader told Money Mail: These big payouts are absolutely killing them [the insurers]. Part of the reason why rates are so low now is that they are trying to get some of that back. In other words, they are taking in bigger profit margins now to pay for their past misjudgments. And there are other reasons why savers taking out annuities this year will be more likely to walk into a shoddy deals. According to the most recent official figures, as many as six in ten annuity customers take the first deal they are offered by their insurer. This is an increase on previous years, when half of savers would shop around. Those who do try to find a better deal have an even harder job on their hands after insurers quietly stopped declaring how much they are offering customers. An Aviva spokesman says: Comparing annuity rates with gilt yields is too simplistic. The profits from annuities emerge gradually over time rather than up front: it would be wrong to link them directly with a change in annuity rates. Stephen Griffiths, commercial and product director at Legal & General Retirement, says annuity rates have been hit by the new solvency rules forcing insurers to hold more capital. He adds: Gilt yields have dropped further since May 2013 and this has impacted annuity rates. The ABI says it stopped collecting and publishing annuity rates as a result of the new freedoms. It says the shake-up meant the figures were no longer relevant. Dr Yvonne Braun, director of policy, long-term savings and protection, says: Annuity rates continue to reflect many factors, including underlying Government gilt returns and ever-increasing life expectancy, along with EU and UK solvency requirements. By Bob Harris In every neighborhood there are one or more houses which are abandoned or partly built and they make the neighborhood look terrible. Some people have just abandoned their houses or they tore down the old house and started building, but either for financial or zoning reasons have stopped working on the building, perhaps for years. The neighbors are stuck with these eyesores and cant really enjoy their own property. Some people start building but the workers dont come for days or even weeks. They do some work, then disappear. This leaves a dilapidated construction fence and often piles of construction materials, machinery and piles of dirt. Sometimes the dirt is blown around by the wind or a storm and covers the property of nearby neighbors and seeps into their houses so neighbors cant enjoy their own well-maintained property. We pay high real estate taxes, water bills, fines, and all kinds of fees yet the city cannot seem to make a few builders build reasonably fast and thus maintain our quality of life. Zombie houses in the photo above are in the West Cunningham Park Civic Association, Inc. area, at 75-46 193rd St. and 75-50 193rd St. in Fresh Meadows. The community has complained to every local legislator and city agency available yet the buildings have looked like this for about three years and had construction fences around them for about five years previously. The years pass and frustration grows. Yes, private property is private property, but there comes a point where if the property is a detriment to the community or presents a physical danger or disrupts the quality of life in a neighborhood, then the city should do something. When it wants to, the city uses eminent domain to take away private property for public use. Sometimes the use is questionable. There comes a time when the city must act to preserve communities. What happened to the concept of failure to maintain property? ECB (hazardous condition) Violations have been served on these two buildings, but nothing has been done to correct the violations. They still look like this. There are other buildings in this and other neighborhoods which look like this. What isnt something being done? Ben Rosof, one of my neighbors, made these suggestions. A builder should have six to nine months or even a year in a difficult situation to build on a lot. He should not start multiple jobs and spread construction over years. A builder must show he has 110 percent of the money to build when he files his plans. A bond must be posed to protect the neighbors and to pay neighbors for their inconveniences such as noise and dust over everything and loss of quality of life. There must be mutual respect for the community by a builder or homeowner who is doing the building. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Madina Toure Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) is calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to take responsibility for the current investigations into his administration. The mayor and his administration are being investigated for his fund-raising efforts on behalf of state Senate Democrats in 2014. Lancman said Democratic leaders such as state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance should be focusing on doing their part to make New York City better rather than the mayor. The governor is dealing with the legislative session, which ends June 16, and Vance is working on a number of criminal justice reforms. He should explain to the public what it is that he did and why he thinks what he did was right and appropriate, Lancman said about the mayors response to the probes. Instead, he seems to be trying to blame others for engaging in (a) politically motivated investigation and so he is impugning the integrity of the governor, of the district attorney, of the attorney general and everyone else (who) are either involved in the investigation or have nothing to do with the investigation as a way of deflecting attention from his own conduct and I object to that. Mayor de Blasios office could not be reached for comment. Lancman said the mayors actions are making it harder for him to be re-elected, contending that other elected officials may take advantage of the situation. I think that the mayor is inviting a challenge in 2017 from other Democratic candidates who can make the case that they will be able to work with these other Democratic elected officials who are so important to us, he said, referring to the elected officials the mayor is blaming for engaging in a politically motivated investigation. But he said he is not one of them. No, you dont run from City Council to mayor, he said. No, Im not running for mayor. And this is not the first time Lancman has criticized the mayor. In November, he accused de Blasio of playing politics by giving Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst), who represents the north half of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, an appointment to the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Alliance board of directors but not him. He also blasted the de Blasio administrations snow-response efforts during the January blizzard and endorsed Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan) in the race for Council speaker against the mayors choice, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan). (The first theme is the) mayor trying to project himself outside of New York City. The second theme is a lot of the decisions that the mayor makes are political, he said, referring to his frequent trips outside of New York City as well as his involvement in fund-raising for state Senate Democrats. So rewarding political allies by giving them representation on a park board or rewarding political donors by giving them contracts or favorable land use decisions is part of whats also gotten the mayor in trouble in these investigations. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Madina Toure Elected officials, homeowners and community leaders in College Point are calling on the city to take extra measures against mosquito-borne viruses. Earlier this spring, homeowners living within several blocks of the College Point Water Treatment Plant reported excessive levels of mosquitoes and contacted Avellas office. In 1999, College Point was the site of the first known case of the West Nile Virus in the United States. For that reason, Avella says the borough should be given priority attention in efforts against the Zika virus. The new pathogen has started spreading to new regions due to mosquito transmissions but has not yet been found in New York. At a news conference May 19 at the College Point Treatment Water Plant also attended by marine and environmental biologist James Cervino, Avella acknowledged that the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has started conducting larvicide sprayings in certain key areas known for high mosquito populations. But he said the prevalence of mosquitoes at the College Point Treatment Water Treatment Plant demonstrates why the city should continue to identify locations where mosquito populations are accumulating and also identify whether they are routes y for pathogens. The senator said a new and refined approach is needed to pinpoint and prevent possible mosquito pathogens before the next outbreak occurs. The epicenter for the New York outbreak of West Nile was right here in College Point, and so it is imperative that the city prioritizes this area, identifying what new locations have seen increases of mosquito populations, Avella said. The abandoned airport has been targeted for larvicide sprayings, but the water treatment plant here in College Point is one example of a new hotspot that should have been identified.Zika is a disease caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and conjuctivitis, or red eyes. Infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly as well as other severe fetal brain defects. As of May 18, there have been 86 reported cases of Zika in New York City, 14 of them involving women who were were pregnant at the time of diagnosis, according to the Health Department. All the victims contracted Zika while visiting other countries and they have all recovered. The West Nile Virus is commonly transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, the Health Department said. The virus can cause encephalitisinflammation of the brainor meningitisinflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. It is not spread by person-to-person contact. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Mark Hallum The Fire Department responded to an incident Tuesday in which the driver of a vehicle jumped the curb and drove through the front entrance of the Chase bank in the Bay Terrace shopping center. The driver, who lost control of the car, had only minor injuries, police said. FDNY said there were three minor injuries in total, with two people being transported to Northwell, formerly North Shore-LIJ, in Manhasset and a third refusing medical care. The incident occurred at around 11:53 a.m., and NYPD used a tow truck to pull the car out of the bank. The mid-size sedan sustained heavy damage to the front end. Mushcup's Brian Steff takes his turn in 'My Favorite Guitar' Mushcup's Brian Steff has an arsenal of guitars though his favorite is one loved and admired by fans JMG photo Corn dog muffins SHARE Q: With school out, my boy (12) will want to do some cooking. He doesn't have lots of experience but has been watching the kid chef shows and is interested. What would work? V. Kaplan A: Mom teaching is a good start, but at this age kids like to take charge. He needs to learn to keep hands clean, how to handle a cook top, oven and safely use kitchen knives or a food processor. Will make some recipe suggestions and you can check his skill set. CORN DOG MUFFINS Makes a dozen muffins Ingredients 2 eggs 2 8.25-ounce packages cornbread mix 11/2 cups milk 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 9 hot dogs, cut in quarters Directions 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cups of muffin pan with nonstick spray. 2 In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add cornbread mix, milk and cheddar cheese; stir to combine. 3 Spoon batter into muffin cups 2/3 full. Add 3 hot dog pieces to each cup. 4 Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with mustard, ketchup or chili. SPAGHETTI SAUCE Makes enough for 6 plates of spaghetti Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey 1 teaspoon salt 1 can crushed tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce 1 tablespoon oregano 2 teaspoons garlic powder Directions 1 In a large pot over medium-high heat cook onion in olive oil until transparent. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. 2 Add salt, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, oregano and garlic powder. Stir and check seasoning. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer 30 minutes. Serve with pasta Tip: Cook pasta al dente, Italian for "firm to bite," not too hard, not too soft. ROASTED CHICKEN Makes 10 servings Ingredients 1 4-pound whole chicken 1 lemon, halved 2 cloves garlic 4 tablespoons butter, softened 5 medium red potatoes, cut in quarters 4 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks 2 cups chicken stock 1 tablespoon soy sauce Directions 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash hands thoroughly. Remove the giblet bag inside and the binder from chicken legs. Refrigerate. 2 Put lemon halves and garlic inside chicken. Place on rack of large roasting pan and rub with soft butter. 3 Scatter vegetables around chicken; season both with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes; reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue cooking for 50 minutes. Use an instant-read thermometer to check doneness; meaty part of thigh should be 165 degrees and juices run clear. Toss vegetables in pan juices. 4 Let chicken rest 20 minutes before cutting and serving with vegetables. If you have questions about food, cooking, kitchen equipment, dining or would like to publicize your organization's upcoming fundraising meal or bake sale, write to me at What's Cookin, P.O. Box 120, Wichita Falls, TX 76307 or judith.mcginnis@timesrecordnews.com. SHARE Hor Bristo Ward Neely By Times Record News Wichita Falls ISD honored each high school's valedictorian and salutatorian during commencement exercises May 28 at Kay Yeager Coliseum. Honorees for Hirschi High School were valedictorian Stefan Lunte and salutatorian Megan Neely. Lunte, the son of Wolfgang and Sherri Lunte, will attend Tufts University, where he plans to major in political science. Neely will attend the University of Texas, where she plans to study radio, film and television. She is the daughter of Joseph and Katherine Neely. At Rider High School, Jenna Ward was the valedictorian and Lea Hor was salutatorian. Ward will attend the Savannah College of Art and Design to study illustration. She is the daughter of Paulette and Victor Baltrunas. Hor, the daughter of Hok Hor and Killyan Prach, plans to study international business at UT. Leading the Wichita Falls High School graduating class were valedictorian Colleen Pert and salutatorian Carson Bristo. Pert, the daughter of Bob and Letitia Pert, plans to study law at Texas Tech University. Bristo, the son of Jeff and Laura Bristo, will study biomedical engineering at Texas A&M University. Rain makes small dent in drought, more on the way It wasn't enough to end a drought, but a couple of days of rain in Wichita Falls kept the numbers from getting worse. File photo Pray for Rain signs were plentiful in Wichita Falls during a five-year drought that gripped the region. By Deanna Watson of the Times Record News The May 2015 rains filled more than just our lakes. Our hearts filled up, too. "There were stirrings of hope in the spring of 2014 that an impending El Nino in the Pacific might bring some relief," said Dr. David Hartman, senior minister at First Christian Church of Wichita Falls. "By March of 2015, it seemed as if both the El Nino and the hope had dissipated." The Wichita Falls landscape, brown and dying, included signs of faith and hope. The City That Faith Built displayed "Pray for Rain" signs in our dusty yards. Sermons included a plea for rain. In fact, anywhere two or more were gathered, under stained-glass windows or inside screened-in porches, we prayed for rain. Several churches in town, including First Baptist Church, provided signs for their parishioners. "For over three years, First Christian Church gave away "Pray for Rain" signs," Hartman recalled, "and in most houses of worship, there were fervent prayers for deliverance." Businesses prayed for rain. "Attitudes about buying and selling homes, and homeownership in general, are as different as night and day when comparing drought-stricken to lake-filled times," said Danny Steed, owner and broker of Hirschi Realtors. "In the Wichita Falls real estate community, we did our best to stay positive and look for silver linings during an otherwise fearful time, which prayerfully ended in May of 2015. In our business, keeping the faith was a necessity." Faith bumped up against reality. "The effects of the drought were manifest everywhere," Hartman said. "in the dying trees, the parched grass, the steady decline in property values; in the ranchers selling cattle because they couldn't grow fodder or fill tanks, in the dead fish at the bottom of lakes that had turned into mud flats, in the horses and donkeys turned loose to fend for themselves; in the businesses that had to shut down or contemplated leaving or that chose not to come here at all. "I had lifelong Wichitans tell me of their intentions to move elsewhere after their children graduated from high school." While Wichitans prayed, city leaders set out to ensure our sustainability, first through a temporary pipeline that would recycle gray water into drinking water, toilet-to-tap, a concept desperate residents accepted with little or no complaints, the mayor said. "The community pulled us through this," said Wichita Falls Mayor Glenn Barham said. "Not as much from the city (government). The community rallied around us and conserved. We just put the plans in place. We cannot thank them enough." Conservation efforts gave city leaders the room they needed to plot plans for the future and, in the end, instituted a culture on display still today. "The community hasn't forgotten what we went through; they are still conserving," Barham said. Even if North Texas didn't receive another drop of rain, the Direct Potable Reuse project ensures we'll have drinking water for generations to come. But the rains did come "And then, in May of 2015 in what many of us will always memorialize as "the May Miracle" the drought ended, suddenly and dramatically," said Hartman, whose pride and vehicle fell victim to flash flooding on Harrison Street. Even in the midst of his crisis, Hartman said he could fully appreciate what the rains meant to Wichita Falls, and found himself, like so many of us, at the Lake Wichita spillway. We had to see for ourselves. " ... for the next two months my car was under repair; but the morning after that doleful event, I went to Lake Wichita, and beheld the brimful lake, and the splashing, exultant children, and the adults who bore the expressions as of those who had been delivered." Prayer played a role during the May 2015 flooding, as representatives from all government entities gathered with spiritual leaders at City Hall to attack high-water challenges and threats. First Baptist Church Senior Pastor Bob McCartney led the gathering in prayer. Unlike other communities in Texas that month, we did not mourn the loss of life, only treasure. The business community felt the optimism almost as soon as the water spilled out of Lake Wichita. "Spirits were raised almost as quickly as the lake levels, and our real estate market was off and running again," Steed said. "In the 12 months since May of last year, our market has experienced a 12-13 percent increase in units and dollar volume sold, along with an increase in values of 2-3 percent. Demand for existing homes continues to grow while listing inventory continues to marginally shrink, and homes are selling at a faster pace. The Wichita Falls area real estate market is now back on track with much of the rest of our great State and continues again to show its stability, affordability and desirability." Talk of fleeing Wichita Falls seemed to dissipate, replaced by a hopefulness that comes from faith and engineering. "It's hard to express what this community has done," Barham said. "The community, Wichita Falls has always been a community that rallies when times get tough, and I think we always will. We stick together and do what we have to do to survive. "Now that we have ample water, it's time to relax and appreciate what we have." President Barack Obama, right, talks to Cuba's President Raul Castro before boarding Air Force One to fly to Argentina, as he leaves Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Capping his remarkable visit to Cuba, Obama declared an end to the "last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas" and openly urged the Cuban people to pursue a more democratic future. At left is Castro's grandson and personal assistant Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) SHARE By The Washington Post Idael Fumero Valdes is not someone you'd expect to see as an honored guest of the U.S. military. As chief of investigations for Cuba's National Revolutionary Police, a part of the military-controlled Ministry of the Interior, he plays a key law enforcement role in a state where beating and arresting human rights activists is considered law enforcement. Yet there he was at a U.S. naval air base in Key West, Florida, on April 21, touring the facilities at the invitation of the U.S. military command for Latin America. Accompanying Mr. Valdes were senior officials of the Cuban anti-drug agency and border guards, plus a diplomat. Separately, U.S. officials have attended a security conference outside the United States with a Cuban delegation headed by Gustavo Machin Gomez, who was expelled from a previous diplomatic post in the United States 14 years ago due to his involvement with a highly damaging Cuban espionage operation against the Defense Intelligence Agency. Apparently the White House has decided to let that bygone be a bygone. Welcome to the brave new world of military-to-military contact with Cuba, the Obama administration's latest idea for engagement with that island nation. Direct communications between the two countries' security forces have been going on for years, of course in limited, operational contexts such as avoiding clashes around the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and repatriating Cuban rafters plucked from the sea by the U.S. Coast Guard. That's necessary and appropriate. As the Key West visit suggests, however, the administration has a wider agenda in mind. For the first time, the United States accepted Cuban participation, alongside military officers from democracies, in this year's Caribbean Nations Security Conference in Kingston, Jamaica. The deputy secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, visited Havana earlier this month to discuss law enforcement cooperation. At a conference on the benefits of expanded contacts Thursday sponsored by the American Security Project think tank, a retired Army colonel suggested that the United States could seek information from Cuban military intelligence about North Korea and other countries. Latin American military and police crave the legitimacy that comes from ties with their U.S. counterparts. A great bipartisan achievement in U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America over the past three decades has been to condition military cooperation and assistance increasingly on respect for the rule of law and human rights rather than turn a blind eye to military abuses in the name of either anti- communism or the war on drugs, as U.S. officials so often did in previous years. Today, in a hemisphere where military dictatorship was once widespread, no generals rule. The exception is Cuba, where Gen. Raul Castro's word is law. Normalizing military-to-military ties between the United States and Cuba, for the sake of fighting drugs or other "common threats," would imply that civilian rule doesn't matter so much to us anymore that Cuba's military is morally equivalent to its hemispheric counterparts when, in fact, it is deeply complicit in political repression and corruption. Legislation pending in Congress would block full military-to-military normalization until Cuba democratizes. At a time when Cuba's beleaguered civilian democracy activists need unequivocal U.S. moral support, the administration and outside supporters of its Cuba policy should not be eager for potentially compromising relationships with the Cuban people's uniformed oppressors. TIMES RECORD NEWS file photo Steve Garner, left, and Tom Lang speak during a presentation by the Lake Wichita Revitalization Committee. Garner is the committee chairman and Lang is the District Fisheries supervisor for Texas Parks and Wildlife. The committee touched on a wide variety of possible improvements to the lake with the goal of making it one of the best recreational opportunities in the area with fishing, boating, hiking, restaurants, water sports park floating playground and camping areas. SHARE Times Record News file photo After going over its spillway in May 2015, Lake Wichita has remained full. LEFT: The Lake Wichita Revitalization Committee has been meeting for nearly three years to plan excavation and revitalization of the lake for recreation. Times Record News file photo The drought ended with a deluge in May 2015. BELOW: Heavy rains created small rivers in the gutters of streets in downtown Wichita Falls in 2015. Times Record News file photos By Claire Kowalick of the Times Record News In June 2015, the city of Wichita Falls ended all water restrictions after more than four years of drought. City officials said they learned a great deal about implementing water-restriction stages and decided to keep some permanent restrictions in place. Minor changes were also approved for certain drought stages if, or when, they are needed in the future. May 2015, was the wettest month on record for the city and lakes Arrowhead and Kickapoo rose from just over 20 percent to 100 percent full. Area lakes remain at, or near, 100 percent after recent rains this May. As the lakes dried up, so did much of the aquatic life in them. Since the drought broke a year ago the Texas Parks and Wildlife: Inland Fisheries reports they have restocked 21 area lakes with a total of 2,551,509 fish including Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Bluegill, Hybrid Striped Bass, Striped Bass, and Rainbow Trout. Wichita Falls had been under some form of water restriction since 2010, reaching the never-before-used Stage 5 drought catastrophe level in May 2015. The end of the drought for our area spelled excellent timing to roll out the kickoff of the Lake Wichita Revitalization project. The LWR committee has been meeting monthly for nearly three years planning to excavate and reestablish Lake Wichita as a recreational destination. During the drought, most people's minds were on sustaining a drinking water supply and the idea of funding a recreational lake that had been all but forgotten seemed frivolous. "The drought had just beaten us down so much that some folks couldn't understand why we would spend time working on an essentially dry lake. The lake refilling, and doing so quickly, helped open their eyes to the grand vision of the Lake Wichita Committee has had for the lake and for our community," Tom Lang, LWRC member said. The group had finally come to a point where they wanted the project to go public right as the drought broke in our area. "So some folks thought we waited to start on it until the lake filled up, but in reality the project had already been in the works for two and a half years," Lang said. Scores of people showed up to Lake Wichita to watch water go over the spillway for the first time in years. "It was surreal to see how many people care about the lake and it further drives us to make it that recreational destination our community so deserves and desires," Lang said. "I think Lake Wichita refilling further reiterated the importance of the project to our community. We're all excited to have our lakes back, but with Lake Wichita, it's a letdown because we all know that it's still not a viable lake again, yet," he continued. The Embassy has issued a second advisory in a week and assured assistance to reach border. SHARE By Christopher Collins of the Times Record News A federal lawsuit filed in Wichita Falls last week challenges the rights transgender people have to use public school bathrooms of their choice, but it also smacks of another lawsuit filed last year in the same court. In that case, Judge Reed C. O'Connor, who presides over the U.S. District Court's Northern Texas District, ruled in favor of states who sued the federal government over labor rights for same-sex couples. Much like the current lawsuit, State of Texas et al. v. United States Department of Labor pitted several states against a federal government agency and its leader in his official capacity. Texas v. Department of Labor revolved around a same-sex couple who married in New York and wanted to use Texas' Family Medical Leave Act. At the time, same-sex marriage was not legal in Texas, and the state joined by Arkansas, Louisiana and Nebraska sued for an injunction and restraining order against the federal government so they wouldn't be forced to comply with the act. With an opinion from O'Connor, the states won, at least until same-sex marriage was made legal by a Supreme Court ruling later that year. "The Final Rule promulgated by the Department of Labor would impact, without legislative or judicial approval, the ability of state agencies to abide by the states' definition of marriage..." the court wrote in its opinion. "This action not only implicates federalism concerns... it also implicates the question of whether a federal agency may require state actors to violate state laws through this act of rulemaking." The lawsuit was only in court for about a week before O'Connor granted preliminary injunctive relief to plaintiffs. Last week, Wichita Falls once again found itself smack dab in the middle of a battle between the states and the feds, but this fight is about whether public school districts ought to comply with Obama administration guidance that transgender students be allowed to use the bathroom that fits their gender identity. In response to the guidance, Harrold Independent School District in Wilbarger County passed a policy that students must use the bathroom matching their biological sex, gender identity notwithstanding. A few days later, the school district joined a lawsuit against the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education. Other plaintiffs include a handful of conservative states, school districts and a state governor. This lawsuit, termed State of Texas et al. v. United States of America, et al., also seeks injunctive and declaratory relief from the federal government. The act of filing suit in the court of a like-minded judge has a name: forum shopping. A Texas Tribune article indicates representatives of the state's Attorney General's Office approached at least two North Texas schools before deciding to base their lawsuit in Wichita Falls. Stephen I. Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, said the practice of finding a favorable venue from which to litigate is fairly common. "I do think it's safe to say that, like many other litigants, states will often engage in forum-shopping when deciding where to bring a new claim," Vladeck said. "And especially when states are seeking to sue the federal government, it wouldn't be the least-bit surprising if they tried to end up before judges who had already allowed such claims to go forward." Lino A. Graglia, also a law professor at the University of Texas, said the issue of rights for transgender students can be "emotional" for the public, including the judges that rule on litigation. "You have an emotional issue. You have the kind of issue that a judge's ideology, whatever is it, can play a role," Graglia said. "(Plaintiffs) are going to try to find a judge who would be sympathetic to their cause." A representative of the Texas Attorney General's Office the agency spearheading the litigation against the U.S. government did not return a Times Record News request for comment Tuesday. New York Staples Inc. says Ron Sargent will step down as chief executive after 14 years on the job. His departure follows Staples and rival Office Depot dropping their $6.3 billion merger earlier this month after antitrust regulators opposed it. Staples director Robert Sulentic said in a statement that the board and Sargent agreed it was time for new management to help Staples grow after the deal's collapse. Sargent will step down as CEO after the company's annual shareholder meeting June 14 but will remain a director and non-executive chairman through the end of January. The Framingham, Mass.-based office supplies retailer said Tuesday Staples executive Shira Goodman, the president of operations in North America, will become interim CEO. The board will seek a permanent replacement. Staples stock has lost about 50 percent of its value in the past year. Albany A fight over plans for Uber and Lyft to expand throughout the state is escalating as lawmakers enter the final weeks of their 2016 legislative session. The app-based ride-hailing services want state regulations that would allow them to operate in cities including Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. The current proposal pending before lawmakers would create insurance rules for the companies, a necessary step, but would leave it to local governments to set specific regulations before the companies could operate within their borders. That's far less than the statewide authorization that Uber and Lyft had initially hoped for, but it still represents a significant threat to the taxi industry, which is fighting to prevent the ride apps' expansion outside the New York City area. San Francisco-based Uber released a new upstate radio advertisement Tuesday urging people to contact their lawmakers to support the bill. While it's expected to get broad support in the Senate, dominated by suburban and rural Republicans, it faces challenges with the Assembly's Democratic majority, which has concerns about the companies' labor policies and the effect of an expansion on taxi cabs. A direct mail campaign is also targeting Assembly members, urging people to call the chamber in support. "We are glad that the legislature is discussing ways to make ridesharing a reality," Uber spokeswoman Alix Anfang said. "We look forward to working with the Assembly to bring economic opportunities and better transportation options to all New Yorkers." A group of taxi cab owners is urging lawmakers to require the firms to fingerprint drivers and make cars accessible to disabled passengers before signing off on any expansion. James Weisman, president and CEO of the United Spinal Association, sent Gov. Andrew Cuomo a letter last week urging him to require the companies to make their vehicles accessible for wheelchair users. David Beier, president of the Committee for Taxi Safety, said he doubts Uber's promise to create jobs upstate. "They're not creating jobs, they're destroying an industry," Beier said. Another group opposed to the ride-hailing companies, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, is planning an 11 a.m. protest at the Capitol Wednesday. Lawmakers plan to adjourn their session June 16. Staff writer Tim O'Brien contributed to this report. After four years at Capital City Gastropub, executive chef Ian Brower has decided to hang his toque elsewhere. Four years is a considerable amount of time in the restaurant industry, where the expected tenure of a chef is maybe a year, and two years in the same position is laudable, says Daniel Silver, co-owner of Capital City Gastropub on New Scotland Avenue in Albany. "Opportunities present themselves," says Silver, who bought Capital City in 2013 with his college friend-turned-business partner Adam Baker. One of those opportunities is the chance to cook in his own restaurant. Instead of going on a frantic search to replace Brower he has another job but is under contract not to provide details Silver and Baker have decided to take a different approach. Silver will be manning the head chef spot in the kitchen during the slower summer months to extend the vetting process for the position, which Silver and Baker hope will result in a chef who will be as dedicated to the role as Brower was. Silver and Baker met at SUNY Potsdam and soon became fraternity brothers. Silver went on to study culinary arts at Johnson and Wales in Providence, R.I., but the pair found themselves working on Nantucket during the summer months. Silver has spent the last 12 years splitting his time between Nantucket, Aspen, Colo. (where he was a sous chef to Massimo Masciaga at the celebrated Manrico restaurant), and Las Vegas restaurant Le Cirque in the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Baker and Silver bought the gastropub in 2013 from original owner Kevin Everleth (who also recently sold his much-loved Wine Bar on Lark, in Albany) and kept Brower on-board in the kitchen. "Ian and I have very similar styles," says Silver, who describes his approach to cooking as, "classical French with modern flavors and technique." It is best seen in the dessert menu at Capital City Gastropub. Even though Brower was responsible for most of the menu creation and running the kitchen, he would bounce ideas around with Silver, who used his multitude of experience in a variety of kitchens to guide the philosophy of the menu and develop timeless desserts with a twist. The owners say Brower leaves on the best terms, and that the natural progression of a chef's career is the reason for his departure. The transition to Silver's charge of the kitchen should be seamless, they say, as he split his time between handling the business of the restaurant and helping in the kitchen. "He is a familiar face," says Baker, and the strong repeat customer basis that is the heart of Capital City Gastropub's business will feel comfortable with Silver at the kitchen helm. Silver is expected to run the kitchen for about six months, after which he will return to business duties and handling desserts. This decision to extend the search process is in defiance of a restaurant's usual practice. Sometimes, Baker says, the first eligible candidate to apply for the job is hired, because owners worry that business will suffer without an executive chef. Other times, a sous chef in the restaurant will be promoted before he or she is ready to take over that responsibility, which includes employee management and procurement of supplies. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. "We're not in a hurry, because we know we're not going to find someone of Ian or Dan's caliber in a month," says Baker. He attributes the ability to take a slower approach to the small size of the restaurant. Another issue? The lack of talent in the area. "We are surrounded by cooking schools, so there is a talent pool of young people, but it is hard to get them to come (to Albany)," says Baker. Silver refers to cooking as a "springboard" that can take an eager chef anywhere in the world. To find someone with great skills who is willing to set roots in their restaurant will be the challenge. Regardless of how long the search for a new executive chef takes, Silver and Baker feel confident that the food and atmosphere the restaurant has been known for will go unchanged. Familiar food that is infused with innovative technique and locally sourced ingredients, paired with craft beverages, will remain their focus. Deanna Fox is a freelance food and agriculture writer. deannafox.org @DeannaNFox. Paul Buckowski I read Charles Coons' letter; I was attracted by the headline, "Election will help decide the future of America," May 21. Mr. Coons enters into a diatribe against politicians who are exploiting their positions for personal gain. Who is he talking about? It begins to become clear when he finally reveals his position: "What do they find wrong with having a balanced budget or closing our borders, other than votes. What is coming across our borders is the future of America and do they think ISIS does not know how easy it is to enter America?" Clearly, this is a letter of support for Trumpism. They cure the sick, resurrect people from the dead and perform miracles as part of their daily routine. Their amazing skill requires years of training and study, arduous examination, and regular continuing education courses. And with just a bit more continuing medical education, doctors could help us to save countless more lives that would be lost to heroin and opioids. New York, and nearly every other state, is struggling to address a growing heroin and opioid addiction epidemic that has wreaked devastation in our communities and families. Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. This crisis has left no segment of our society untouched; we all know someone who is struggling or has lost their struggle with addiction. In New York, the number of overdose deaths from heroin and opioids has been steadily rising. According to a 2015 report from the state Health Department and the AIDS Institute to the governor and Legislature, in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available, 2,175 people died from opioid overdoses, a 41 percent increase from 2009. We have a moral imperative to do all we can to stop the growing crisis. Though doctors did not cause the crisis, they did contribute to it, and they can and must partner with us to fight it. I am the sponsor of legislation (A.355-A) that would require any doctor who prescribes opioids to take three hours of continuing education between license renewal periods, which vary by specialty. The course would train doctors in pain management and palliative care, as well as addiction screening and prevention. Not only is continuing education in pain and palliative care being recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it's not part of the curriculum at most medical schools. A survey of California doctors conducted four months after their participation in that state's mandatory continuing education program found that 90 percent of respondents had or planned to change their practice as a result. Because pain and palliative care is not part of the curriculum in most U.S. medical schools, many doctors are not exposed to it until their first patient in pain walks through the door. Yet despite the clear gap in education and the fact that mandatory continuing education in pain and palliative care will save lives, doctors remain steadfast in their opposition to it. With no standards in place, the prescribing of pain medication is nearly as subjective as the perception of the pain itself. Some patients may receive opioids for a root canal; others just get over-the-counter pain reliever. Some doctors may prescribe 30 days' worth of a controlled substance after a routine office visit; others prescribe three days' worth. Many vulnerable patients in pain, including women, blacks and Latinos, seniors and veterans, do not have access to adequate pain management. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. There can be no one-size-fits-all approach to pain management and the prescribing of opioids, but doctors can and should become experts in responsibility and effectively prescribing drugs to manage pain. A three-hour course every several years can help to prevent countless addictions in New York and is not asking too much when we are measuring failure in lives lost. The crisis is large and the stakes are high, and we do not have the luxury of time. We must move aggressively and decisively to address this crisis. Doctors can and should be our partners as we work to help rebuild families and communities that have been devastated by drug abuse. While there are many doctors who support this legislation, "organized medicine" remains steadfast in its opposition, despite the fact that we are losing this battle. All they need to do is stand with us in favor of this bill. Linda B. Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, represents the 67th Assembly District. THE ISSUE: Presidential hopeful Donald Trump assails a judge's Mexican heritage. THE STAKES: His casual, vicious bigotry should disqualify him from elected office.Even by the low standards of his grotesque parody of a campaign for president, Donald Trump sunk to a once unimaginable depth when he singled out the ethnicity of the judge in a civil case he is embroiled in. More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse This isn't about political correctness. It's about the fundamental decency Americans expect or should in their public discourse and their public servants. Nor is it about a candidate speaking his mind for a refreshing change. It's about the bigotry Mr. Trump has shamelessly displayed and exploited since day one of his campaign. At a rally in San Diego last week, Mr. Trump launched into an 11-minute rant over a lawsuit concerning one of his defunct enterprises, the for-profit Trump University (which is also the target of an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman). Some past clients and some former employees say the school was a sham that failed to deliver on its hype that enrollees would learn how to get rich in real estate. Training documents made available by court order revealed high-pressure sales tactics to recruit students and persuade them to rack up credit card debt to pay for tuition. At the rally, Mr. Trump lashed out at the judge in the case, Gonzalo Curiel, calling him "a hater of Donald Trump," and saying he should recuse himself, on grounds that he keeps rejecting Mr. Trump's lawyers' motions. In the course of this diatribe, he went off on this tangent: "So what happens is, the judge, who happens to be, we believe Mexican, which is great, I think that's fine, you know what, I think the Mexicans are going to end up loving Donald Trump when I give all these jobs, OK?" Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. It was a stunning example of the anti-Hispanic bigotry Mr. Trump has routinely employed in his campaign, ever since he announced his plan for a wall on the Mexican border and characterized Mexican immigrants as drug dealers, rapists, and murderers. He would later claim he only meant illegal immigrants. But there's no walking this one back. There's no pretending that saying "I think that's fine" in the same breath absolves him of this naked attempt to fire up the crowd over the judge's ethnicity (Judge Curiel is, by the way, American born to Mexican parents). If the vileness of this isn't apparent, try replacing "Mexican" with "Irish," "Italian," "Black," "Asian," "Jew," or "Catholic." Or maybe "Kenyan," in keeping with Mr. Trump's long-running "birther" theory that Barack Obama, America's first black president, was born in Africa. Like Mr. Trump's depiction of Muslims as suspect terrorists, it's all about dividing our world and our nation into "us" and "them." It may be too much to hope that this case is resolved before the election, so that voters can know just how far the presumptive Republican nominee's hucksterism goes. But voters don't need a jury to confirm Mr. Trump's bigotry. He has convicted himself, with his own words, and proven himself unfit to lead this nation this great, diverse, and decent nation. The Teaching Nurses Network (TNN) held their quarterly meeting in Colaiste Phobal, Roscrea on Friday 27th May. The TNN is a professional organisation that provides a support forum for Nurses educating learners in Healthcare at QQI level 4-6. The aim of this national network is to promote, maintain and foster the delivery of quality standards for holistic care. The guest speaker for the meeting was Patrick Glackin, Area Director of Midwifery Planning and Development, HSE West who was speaking to the members of the group about his doctorate, examining the requirement for professional regulation of Healthcare Assistants in Ireland. The PLC in Colaiste Phobal provides the Healthcare Support Major Award level 5, this award is the nationally recognised qualification to work as a Healthcare Assistant in Ireland. Currently, the employment rate for those completing the course is in excess of 90%. The Chairperson of the TNN, Ingrid Condell, is a Tutor in the PLC in Colaiste Phobal and says that the increase in life expectancy experienced in Ireland since 2001 and the increases in the incidence of chronic diseases such as Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, Dementia and Obesity are contributing to the growing demand for qualified carers in the health and social care sectors. After having a lovely talk on living well with Dementia given by Heather Gately in Hayes Hotel Thurles to a big audience Heather launched D.R.E.A.M (dementia, research, education, advocacy in motion) Tipperary which will be ran by Margaret Pollard and supported by Shona Hayes. It consists of a memory lane cafe for dementia patients and their carers once a month and a support group the week after. The aim is to give early intervention to Dementia patients and their families covering all of TIpperary. The next memory lane cafe is on Wednesday the 8th of June at the order of Malta training centre Thurles at 12.30 and the next support group is the 15th of June from the same location and times. For more information call Margaret on 087 6722020 or Shona on 083 3693755. Or just call in on the days above. All are welcome teas and coffees will be served and there is no charge. The Late Mrs. Hannah Delaney - The death occurred on Thursday, 7th March at Brookhaven Nursing Home, Ballyragget of Mrs. Hannah Delaney of Coole, Kilbricken aged 102 years but came to Rathdowney several years ago where she was a resident of Cuan Bhride. The Late Mrs. Hannah Delaney - The death occurred on Thursday, 7th March at Brookhaven Nursing Home, Ballyragget of Mrs. Hannah Delaney of Coole, Kilbricken aged 102 years but came to Rathdowney several years ago where she was a resident of Cuan Bhride. A very quiet and gentle lady she attributed her long life to hard work and the old lifestyle of bygone days. Hannah was predeceased by her husband by several years. She is very sadly mourned by her heartbroken family, extended family, relatives, neighbours, her brother and everyone who knew her. Reposing was at Brookhaven Nursing Home. Removal took place to Castletown Parish Church. On Saturday concelebrated Requiem Mass was celebrated and followed by burial in Churchtown Cemetery. May her noble and gentle soul rest in peace. Huge crowds turned out to pay tribute to the lady of 102 years. The Late Jim Dillon - The death occurred on February 28th peacefully at the Sacred Heart Nursing Home, Crosspatrick of Liam Dillon of Graiguegarron, Rathdowney. He had been in failing health for some time. He is very sadly mourned by his sisters, Mary-Anne, Kitty and Lil, brothers Jack, James, Bob and Paddy, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, neighbours, relatives and friends. Reposing was at OSullivans Funeral Home, Rathdowney. Removal took place to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Galmoy followed by burial in the adjoining Cemetery. May he rest in peace. Property / Home Tax - A meeting will be held in the Community Centre, Rathdowney on Thursday, 14th March at 8 p.m. This is an Information and Campaign meeting on the Implications for Home Owners / on Household Property / Home Tax. Also will be discussed at this meeting the alternative to this unjust tax on family homes. The meeting is being hosted by Deputy Brian Stanley, Sinn Fein. Do come along and bring your friends. New Shop - The newly opened St. Vincent de Paul shop is situated in the Square, Rathdowney. They carry a wide selection of new and nearly new ladies and gents clothes, shoes, bags and also a wide variety of childrens clothes. Do come and give your support to a great cause. Coffee Morning - The Parents of the Toddler Group are hosting a Coffee Morning on Friday, 15th March in the Marian Centre, Rathdowney from 10 oclock to 12 noon. All donations received will be sent to Crumlin Childrens Hospital, Dublin. All support will be greatly appreciated. Everyone welcome to a cup of coffee. Bingo - Every Tuesday night we have Bingo in the Community Centre, Rathdowney at 8.30 p.m. Great prizes and raffle. Do come along and bring your friends, a great night is assured. On Sunday, 3rd March the Bingo session was very disappointing with a very small attendance. It will not be held on Sunday in future but will continue every Tuesday nights. Laois Educational Committee - In partnership with the Parents Council of St. Ferguls College and the HSE, they have organised a talk on Suicide Prevention and Mental Health in general learn the signs to be aware of and respond if you are concerned about teenagers. All information will be given on Tuesday night, 19th March from 7 to 9 p.m. at St. Ferguls College, Rathdowney. The facilitator is Josephine Rigney, Suicide Resource Officer and the HSE. For more information contact (086) 8157850. Gary Thomas stands in front of the citys newest police cruiser, which he petitioned the city to purchase in 2015, while holding a citation of congratulations from the Pennsylvania Senate for his career and recent retirement. The Scheduling Benefits of Virtual Contact Centers Increasingly, contact centers arent centers at all. Rather than being a physical facility, they may actually be a workforce of people located in remote locations tied together by technology such as telephony, collaboration and the various desktop solutions they use to do their jobs. There is evidence that this arrangement benefits both employees and employers: companies can save the money on physical premises and pull from a larger talent pool. Employees can save the costs and time on commuting, work from their own homes and have better work/life balance. This isnt to say it isnt challenging. It can become harder to manage and schedule workers when theyre not all in one place, particularly without the right technologies. Building an ideal schedule is both an art and a science, and unless some tasks are automated, managers will spend all their time ensuring the calls (or other media contacts) are adequately covered. Today, modern workforce management and scheduling solutions can go a long way toward ensuring success for virtual contact centers, according to a recent blog post by Chuck Ciarlo, CEO of workforce optimization solutions provider Monet Software (News - Alert). Whether all your agents are in the same room or working from homes and offices throughout the U.S., the ability to create accurate forecasts and schedules to achieve adequate staffing levels remains vital, wrote Ciarlo. Its also important to point out that there are upsides to remote agents when it comes to scheduling. While its unreasonable to call an agent back to work after he or she has arrived home particularly if the contact center isnt reimbursing for gas and travel time its not difficult to ask an employee to log on from home for an extra hour after his or her shift has ended. The employee may even appreciate the extra hour for financial reasons. In a virtual situation, managers sometimes have the luxury of more flexibility, which creates additional part-time and split-shift opportunities, wrote Ciarlo. But sometimes more options can also mean more headaches. Workforce management software automates these tasks so they get done faster and with greater precision. To keep workers more engaged with their jobs and this may be harder when employees are not physically together -- many companies are turning to solutions that are simply more appealing to use. This has given rise to the concept of gamification, which is increasingly making its way into the contact center. Studies have shown that gamification redesigning everyday routines and tasks to be more game-like and interactive, results in a work experience that is more engaging, more fun, and (hopefully) more productive, wrote Ciarlo. As a motivating technique, this is even more important when agents are outside an office where other direct means of support and encouragement are not present. Many companies have made the virtual contact center model work for them. Jet Blue Airlines, for example, uses nothing but home-based agents, and the company has some of the best customer support in the airline industry. Its vital, however, to ensure that your underpinning technologies support good workforce management, scheduling and employee engagement. Edited by Stefania Viscusi [June 01, 2016] CoorsTek Acquires Philips Ceramics Operation in Uden, Netherlands Engineered ceramics leader extends European presence and capabilities GOLDEN, Colorado, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CoorsTek, the world's largest engineered ceramics manufacturer, today announced it has acquired the Philips ceramics operation in Uden, Netherlands. Through this acquisition CoorsTek expands its ongoing strategic partnership with Philips, and will serve both Philips and other regional customers from Uden. "The integration of Uden's people, equipment, and technology into CoorsTek extends our regional presence and capabilities even further a natural fit and complement to our advanced ceramics expertise," explained Timothy Coors, Co-CEO of CoorsTek. Video - http://youtu.be/MAt7cmie1j4 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151214/295782LOGO Support Growing European Business Adding Uden extends the CoorsTek footprint to a dozen European manufacturing locations in the Czech Republic, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden. "The Uden team will help support our expanding customer base across Europe and around the world," said Andreas Schneider, Executive VP of CoorsTek in Lauf, Germany. CoorsTek serves over 10,000 technology and manufacturing customers in 70 countries, delivering local service from its network of 50 locations on four continents. Build on Engineered Ceramics Technology "CoorsTek has known and respected Philips and Uden for decades," added Andreas. "Combining Uden's 60 years of engineering know-how and manufacturing capabilities with the ceramics expertise CoorsTek has developed over the past century it is a great opportunity to push the frontiers of technology and help make the world measurably better." Using advanced ceramic injection molding and automated volume manufacturing, Uden can produce millions of high-purity ceramic parts each year. Extend Market Reach As a part of Philips, Uden was focused primarily on supporting the company's market-leading global lighting business. In addition to securing an exclusive, long-term agreement to supply Philips Lighting, CoorsTek will use these capabilities to serve a broader set of customers and applications beyond lighting including automotive, electronics, and medical. "Together with our Uden colleagues, the CoorsTek team will help even more companies create and deliver amazing solutions to some of their toughest challenges," summarized Timothy. See the video announcement. About CoorsTek CoorsTek makes the world measurably better as the partner of choice for technology and manufacturing companies worldwide whose success requires the unique, high-performance properties of products manufactured from engineered ceramics and advanced materials. CoorsTek products and components touch people's lives through amazing solutions to global challenges in energy, transportation, information technology, healthcare, and defense, among others. For more information about CoorsTek, including product information, its history since 1910, and locations throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, visit coorstek.com. Media Contacts Dane Bartlett | CoorsTek [email protected] +1 303 271 7000 Bill Fallon | keating/co [email protected] +1 973 768 6764 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] deepSQL Wins "Best Newbie Tech" at 2016 MITX Awards Deep Information Sciences, the company that created the world's only machine learning, cloud-scale database, today announced it earned the "Best Newbie Technology" award at MITX 2016. Deep was recognized for its disruptive database, deepSQL, which leverages machine learning to deliver the high-velocity data stream processing, ACID transactions and real-time analytics essential for database-as-a-service (DBaaS). This award comes on the heels of InfoWorld's Editor's Choice announcement, which named deepSQL as superior to Amazon Aurora for outperforming it by 2x-10x in ingest, query and restart comparison testing. The MITX Awards, held by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, is the largest and most prestigious annual awards competition in the country for technology and digital innovation. More than 120 senior leaders from Boston businesses judged entries for this year's contest, which recognized the best technological and marketing accomplishments produced in New England. "The companies and individuals that have been recognized by MITX are some of the most brilliant, creative and entrepreneurial in the country," said Amy Quigley, President of MITX. "Deep's disruptive technology and its value proposition as a big data engine for databae-as-a-service exemplify the innovation and talent that are hallmarks of the New England economy." "Our on-demand world is driven by cloud-based applications and services-and databases are at the heart of all of them. However, as many businesses are learning, simply moving apps and databases to the cloud that weren't designed for the cloud doesn't work. They're not flexible, scalable or responsive enough for cloud scale," said Thomas Hazel, Deep's Founder, CTO and Chief Architect. "Deep completely reinvented the science underlying databases to enable the next, essential leap for the 'as-a-service economy'. With deepSQL at the core, there's no need to rebuild or redesign databases or apps. deepSQL handles all the intricacies needed for the cloud, while masking the complexities from applications and developers, making it exceedingly easy to deliver cloud-based services. We're thrilled that MITX recognizes the unique value and disruptive promise of our innovation." deepSQL, the only machine learning relational database built for the cloud, concurrently runs low-latency, high-velocity data streaming, ACID transactions and analytics. deepSQL is built on CASSI (Continuous Adaptive Sequential Summarization of Information), Deep's proprietary technology which enables unprecedented scale up and scale out. Unlike legacy database approaches that are based on variations of tree algorithms, CASSI allows databases to observe and analyze the host hardware and workloads and then use machine learning algorithms to predict behavior and automatically adapt to ever-changing scenarios, without going offline. The result is a virtually lockless database that delivers unprecedented performance with full ACID compliance, using the familiar MySQL API: 5x faster ingest with heavy indexing, 4x faster queries and 5x faster page loads, while compressing database size by at least 50%. About Deep Information Sciences Deep created the world's only application-aware relational database for the cloud. deepSQL enables high velocity data streaming alongside real-time analytics in the same database. Using machine learning, deepSQL continually adapts to changing application needs at cloud scale, all using the well-known MySQL API. Businesses are empowered to predictably meet current and future customer demands while lowering costs. Deep is headquartered in Boston. Learn more at www.deepis.com, or follow the company on Twitter (News - Alert) @DeepInfoSci, LinkedIn, Google+ or Facebook. Download today at www.deepis.com/downloads. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601005207/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Explore the Neuron Forest and Discover Arizona Opportunities in the Arizona Pavilion at BIO 2016 Life science innovators from around the globe are travelling to San Francisco for the BIO International Convention that will be held at Moscone Center June 6 - 9, 2016. When they arrive, Arizona's life science community will have a surprise waiting for them in the Arizona Pavilion. (Booth #5322) "Arizona's fast-growing life science ecosystem offers many unique advantages for companies seeking partnerships across the spectrum from discovery to development to delivery of life science innovations," shared Joan Koerber-Walker, president & CEO of the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio). "Rising above the Arizona Pavilion this year are the beautiful vistas that many will recognize as uniquely Arizona. At ground level, visitors will find that there is more to Arizona's life science community than they may have expected." Visitors to the Arizona Pavilion will have the opportunity to interact with representatives from Arizona research institutes and life science companies and to take a virtual reality journey through the human brain using a suite of imaging tools from arivis. "When I was a young girl, I remember watching the science fiction film Fantastic Voyage (20th Century Fox, 1966) and marveling at what I saw on the screen. Imagine if you could take a journey within the human body and see everything! Thanks to these life science innovations from arivis, science fiction becomes science fact as the combination of big data and large scale imagery provides a unique tool for exploration and discovery," shared Koerber-Walker. Designed to accelerate the path from discovery to development to delivery of life-changing and life-saving innovation, here are examples of what the arivis Vision tools can accomplish in just 60-seconds to help researchers and clinicians: find 12,000 Alzheimer Plaques and see 471 million data points as they work to find the best treatment for Alzheimer's disease (arivis Vision4D) quantify the effect of a new drug on 11,500 cells and see the immediate context of immune response based on 300 million data points with 9,000 rendered images in full immersive VR (arivis Vision4D and arivis InViewR) identify and quantify 3 different species amongst 10,000 bacteria and their precise location in a tissue and visualize them in 3D with 150 million data points (arivis Webview) The Arizona Pavilion will also feature displays and opportunities to connect with Arizona life science innovators on the forefront of life science innovation. Beacon Biomedical develops highly accurate, easy to administer and extremely affordable point-of-care tests for the early detection of cancers. Iron Horse Diagnostics is a molecular diagnostic company focused on the development and commercialization of novel tests to support the diagnosis and management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other neurological diseases. NuvOx Pharma is a biotechnology company based in Tucson, Arizona with a novel patent portfolio allowing it to develop an innovative platform of dodecafluoropentane (DDFP)-based oxygen therapeutics to treat a host of human conditions. Founded in 2008, NuvOx Pharma has demonstrated therapeutic feasibility in radiation-resistant cancer, hemorrhagic shock, traumatic brain injury, myocardial infarction, retinopathy and stroke. "These three companies are great examples of Arizona innovators focused on creatng products that have the potential to be truly life-changing," shared Sergio Gazic, Bioscience Portfolio Manager at the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA). "Each has been recognized and rewarded for their efforts as winners of the Arizona Innovation Challenge and has continued along the path towards commercialization." The ACA competitively awards $3 million in grants annually - $1.5 million in the spring and $1.5 million in the fall - to the most qualified, innovative startups and early-stage companies under the Arizona Innovation Challenge. Up to $250,000 is granted to each recipient to commercialize their technologies and grow their businesses. Grant money is provided only as each company reaches specific business milestones during a 12-month period. Companies located anywhere in the world may apply, as long as they plan to establish operations and commercialize their product or service in Arizona if they are awarded an AIC grant. The ACA also serves as the lead agency coordinating the Arizona Pavilion and works in partnership with AZBio and Arizona's research institutions, universities, life science companies and economic development offices to host the Arizona Pavilion. AZBio hosts the pavilion's landing site at www.AZBio.org/BIO2016 which provides links to all Arizona Pavilion partners and to information on a wide range of economic incentives and advantages along with the scientific and clinical resources that are available across Arizona's life science ecosystem. Arizona's bioscience and healthcare industry included 1,421 establishments and 320,028 employees in 2015. Arizona bioscience and health care employment grew by more than 33% from 2006 to 2015, nearly twice the national rate of 17%. The Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Progress Report, commissioned by the Flinn Foundation and presented by TEConomy Partners in early 2016, reported that non-hospital biotech employment across the state represented 24,040 jobs and 1,284 establishments in 2014. During the economic recovery of 2009-2014, bioscience jobs in Arizona increased 14.8%, nearly double the rate of Arizona as a whole. From 2002 to 2014, Arizona bioscience jobs (including hospitals) increased by 49%, adding more than 36,700 jobs for a total of 110,410. The U.S. posted a 13.7% gain in bio jobs during this span. "Arizona's research organizations, life science innovator companies, and leading healthcare systems are working together with a single focused goal of improving the quality of life for people here in Arizona and around the world," shared Koerber-Walker. "The BIO International Convention is the perfect place for us to share our story with the global life science community. The next step is to show them. That's why we are inviting everyone to join us for Arizona Bioscience Week this September and see for themselves." Arizona Bioscience Week will provide an opportunity for researchers, life science entrepreneurs and life science investors to come together to connect and engage so that together they can build new collaborative partnerships that can benefit people today and for generations to come. Beginning on September 18, 2016, Arizona will host a series of events including the Cavendish Global Impact Forum to showcase its leadership advantages in precision medicine and in the quest to help people with neurodegenerative diseases. A boot camp for biotech entrepreneurs will be hosted by Life Science Nation. The AZBio Awards will celebrate life science innovators and will include honoring industry icon Dr. George Poste with the AZBio Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement. The White Hat Life Science Investor Conference will showcase privately held companies in the diagnostic, medical device, health IT and therapeutic sectors from across the Rocky Mountain Southwest region. "We set out to create an experience for both our local community and our guests from around the global life science community. It has blossomed into a statewide collaboration with even more events yet to be announced," added Koerber-Walker. "To make it possible for people to maximize their opportunities to connect, engage, and collaborate, we needed something to tie it all together just as the BIO Partnering System does for BIO 2016. Thanks to a partnership with Jujama, we will have it. One partnering system, spanning multiple events statewide and open to every attendee. Just imagine the possibilities!" For more information on Arizona Bioscience Week, visit www.AZBio.org/AzBW. About AZBio A key component in Arizona's life science ecosystem, the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) is the only statewide organization exclusively focused on Arizona's bioscience industry. AZBio membership includes patient advocacy organizations, life science innovators, educators, healthcare partners and leading business organizations. AZBio is the statewide affiliate of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and works in partnership with AdvaMed, MDMA, and PhRMA to advance innovation and to ensure that the value delivered from life-changing and life-saving innovation benefits people in Arizona and around the world. For more information, visit www.AZBio.org and www.AZBio.TV. VR Resources for the media: B-Roll - The neuron forest: https://youtu.be/chdgJN8QM8c Caption: This movie shows a direct volume visualization of automatically segmented neurons by arivis software. Images are from a ZEISS Lightsheet Z.1 and the sample was cleared using LUMOS. Aspects of the data are highlighted with different colors while semi-transparent surfaces facilitate "a look inside." (Olga Efimova, National Research Center, Kurchatov Institute, Moscow, Russia) B-roll: InViewR (arteries of the brain and brainstem): https://youtu.be/Xlea5WaNUGA Caption: 360 degree exploration of the human brain and brainstem vasculature (Christopher Zugates, arivis) Additional Images available upon request. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601006070/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Friends of Education Not Renewing Charter at Minneapolis Academy Friends of Education, a charter school authorizer in Minnesota, announced today that it is not renewing the charter at Minneapolis Academy for failure to improve student learning and achievement, and for operational and financial deficiencies. The nonrenewal is effective June 30, 2016. Elizabeth Topoluk, Executive Director at Friends of Education, said: "The nonrenewal is unfortunate but necessary. As an authorizer, we have an obligation to ensure that each charter school is fulfilling its statutory mandate to improve student achievement. Minneapolis Academy failed to meet numerous academic targets for individual student growth and proficiency, as well as operational and financial targets." Minneapolis Academy, founded in 2004 and located at 5011 31st Ave. S. in Minneapolis, is a public charter school that s managed by an independent school board. The role of Friends of Education, as an authorizer, is to monitor and evaluate the academic, operational, and financial performance of the school. Friends of Education does not manage or operate Minneapolis Academy. In 2015, the Minnesota Department of Education designated Minneapolis Academy a Continuous Improvement school, placing it in the bottom 25 percent of Title 1 schools. Minneapolis Academy enrolls 133 students. About Friends of Education Friends of Education is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving K-12 education in Minnesota since 1999. The organization authorizes 15 charter schools serving more than 8,500 students. Friends of Education achieved the highest Exemplary rating of charter school authorizer performance from the Minnesota Department of Education and is the only authorizer in the state to achieve the highest rating. To learn more about Friends of Education, visit improveK-12education.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601006579/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 31, 2016] Photonics Innovation Pavillion To Lauch At 2016 China International Optoelectronics Exposition (CIOE) SHENZHEN, China, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Optoelectronics/photonics technology has rapidly advanced in terms of innovation and application over the last several years, covering applications in communications, consumer electronics, displays, defense & security technology, and measurement and remote sensing. According to US market research firm TMR, the market for global photonics technology will reach a value of US$765 billion by 2020. In-line with the market opportunity for photonics, CIOE - the world's largest optoelectronics industry event - announces the launch of the CIOE Photonics Innovation Pavilion at this year's show, to be held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center from 6-9 September, in Shenzhen, China. About the CIOE Photonics Innovation Pavilion The CIOE Photonics Innovation Pavilion will promote the integration of academic exchange and industry achievements, connecting suppliers and buyers, while highlighting technology innovation and emerging industries. It will also facilitate the transformation of high-tech achievements and create a platform for industry-academia-research collaboration. CIOE has worked closely with national leading optoelectronic organizations to launch the first photonics innovation pavilion as well as the first professional biophotonics exhibition platform in China. Our premier partners include Wuhan Industrial Institute for Optoelectronics (a leading service organization for optoelectronic achievemnts industrialization), Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Biomedical Photonics Committee of Chinese Optical Society, and five well-known institutes of optics and fine mechanics, as well as a number of major colleges and universities such as Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Research, Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen. Moreover, a range of activities will be offered onsite, such as face-to-face meetings between industry and investment & financing teams, VIP buyer sourcing meetings, optoelectronics industry recruitment and recommendations. Pavilion activities will greatly enhance the transformation and commercialization of innovative photonics technologies and projects. The Pavilion will showcase a wide range of popular technologies including biophotonics, medical imaging, sensing and detection, optoelectronics in healthcare, emerging display technology, optoelectronic display and module, 3D printing, AR/VR, wearable products, intelligent medical / elderly care, semiconductor IC technology and more. The potential and power of photonics will offer a banquet of opportunities to an international audience attending the four day fair. It aims to introduce excellent products, technologies, project opportunities, and new partners for visitors. Whether you're a physician, an engineer in advanced manufacturing, an investment company that seeks business opportunities, or a professional who endeavors to satisfy their insatiable human curiosity, all can find opportunities at the 2016 CIOE Photonics Innovation Pavilion. We welcome attendees from all research, investment, and application fields to join us at this premier gathering. For booth application and the latest information about the expo, please visit www.cioe.cn. About China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE) Established in 1999, CIOE is the largest show of its kind in the world featuring over 2,800 optoelectronic enterprises and their latest products covering 105,000 sqm at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. Concurrent specialised expositions focus on Optical Communications and Sensors, Lasers and Infrared Applications, Precision Optics, LEDs, Sapphire Technology & Touch Screen and Smart City. To learn more, please visit www.cioe.cn About UBM Herong CIOE is organsied by Shenzhen UBM Herong Exhibition Co Ltd, a joint venture company of UBM Asia, a wholly owned company of UBM plc. CIOE taps into UBM's global reach and show management expertise to better service exhibitors and visitors. With a strong bond built over the years with companies and professionals in the field of optoelectronics, CIOE is committed to supporting the industry's continuous growth and development. About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com) Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is the largest trade show organiser in Asia and the largest commercial organiser in China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 32 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 19 market sectors with 230 events, 28 trade publications, 18 online products for over 2,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world. Media contact: Shirly YI Tel: +86-755-8629-0891 Email: [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160531/0861605221-c Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160531/0861605221-f Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160531/0861605221-a [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Riverbed Helps Flight Centre Accelerate Applications, Lifting Employee Productivity and Customer Service to New Heights Riverbed (News - Alert) Technology, the application performance company, today announced that Flight Centre NZ (Ltd), part of Flight Centre Travel Group, is using Riverbed solutions to accelerate the performance of its business-critical applications and empower employees to more effectively meet the growing demand for its travel services. Flight Centre has deployed Riverbed SteelHead appliances, the industry's #1 WAN optimization solution, to accelerate application performance by 30% to support its participation in Travel Expo events and improve productivity at 42 of its permanent retail storefronts. Tweet This: Riverbed Helps Flight Centre Accelerate Apps, Lifting Employee Productivity and Customer Service to New Heights: http://rvbd.ly/25mbC4F Flight Centre currently operates more than 200 retail stores and businesses nationwide, making it the largest and most well-known travel retailer in the country, with over 1,200 staff across a range of brands serving leisure and business travelers. A cornerstone of New Zealand's economy, the tourism industry employs almost 7% of the country's entire work force. In the next decade, this sector is expected to grow to more than NZ$41 billion, a 37% increase from today. "We're in a 'Golden Era' for travel at the moment in New Zealand, in the last 12 months we've seen a number of new airlines choose to fly to New Zealand and there have been 19 new routes announced, this has made travel more affordable and accessible than ever before," said Angus Armstrong, CIO at Flight Centre. "Riverbed is helping us capitalize on that." Flight Centre originally engaged Riverbed to provide performance solutions for its Travel Expo events held around the country. During these events, travel experts not only need access to all the applications they use in-store, they also need uninterrupted access to high-definition video to show potential customers footage and virtual tours of hotels and destinations. In addition to these high-demand applications, there was a large and unpredictable amount of print traffic - primarily from large PDF-format travel documents - when travel experts made bookings. Accelerating Offsite Travel Exhibitions The successful implementation of Riverbed SteelHead at the Travel Expos improved performance and optimized traffic, increasing the network's ability to support travel experts by 30%. This has had a significant impact on the Flight Centre business, as the Expos are the nation's largest travel shows. "Since we put the solution in place, we've reduced bandwidth by 30% and print traffic by almost 90%, which means we're able to have 50-60 additional travel experts at the events, as well as a more productive workforce because of the performance improvements across the board." Improving In-store Performance Having seen the efficiency gains at the Travel Expos, Armstrong tested SteelHead WAN optimization at five storefronts. These stores saw immediate benefits during the test phase, reducing bandwidth used up to 35% while improving performance, leading Armstrong to deploy SteelHead at 40 of Flight Centre's branches, with plans to implement up to 40 more. Flight Centre computers all run Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) from a centralized server hundreds of kilometers away from the retail branch, making optimal WAN performance criticalto the business. Any delay in data transferred across the network slows the entire session - not just one application. Armstrong said that with SteelHead, he has reduced traffic at least 30% across Flight Centre sites, increasing application speed by 30% as well. This has had the added benefit of stabilizing performance when there are unexpected spikes in print demand. Removing Guesswork with Greater Visibility The optimization of Riverbed SteelHead, together with the visibility of Riverbed SteelCentral Controller - key components of the Riverbed Application Performance Platform - has also greatly simplified application troubleshooting. SteelCentral uniquely provides end-to-end performance monitoring, and the combination of user experience, infrastructure, application, and network performance monitoring allows Armstrong and his team to identify precisely how much bandwidth each application and device uses, giving him greater control over application performance. "Riverbed's solutions give me a clear picture of what applications are being used, more than just from the ports or traffic on a router, but from the performance of the actual applications. I can see which applications are taking up the most traffic and, if it's taking up more than it should, I have the ability to diagnose and solve that problem on-the-go so it helps me keep our travel experts more productive, which in turn keeps customers happy." Increased performance, combined with greater control, gave Armstrong the confidence in the network to test video-conferencing platforms for staff training, as well as explore other potential uses for video-chat for customer engagement - an application that was previously too demanding to even consider. Riverbed SteelHead and the Riverbed Application Performance Platform The Riverbed Application Performance Platform gives CIOs end-to-end visibility, optimization and control across an entire enterprise. A key part of the platform, Riverbed SteelHead is the industry's #1 optimization solution for accelerated delivery of all applications across the hybrid enterprise. SteelHead provides increased visibility into application performance and end-user experience and the ability to ensure business performance SLAs through an application-aware approach to hybrid networking based on centralized business intent-based policies. Connect with Riverbed Facebook LinkedIn Riverbed Blog Riverbed Community Twitter (@Riverbed) YouTube SlideShare Google+ About Flight Centre Flight Centre (NZ) Ltd is New Zealand's largest travel agency, with approximately 1,200 staff in more than 200 retail stores and businesses nationwide. Flight Centre consultants are the travel experts and are selected for their vast product knowledge and their passion for travel. Flight Centre's global network allows consultants access to the widest travel product offering in New Zealand, at the best value. Brands in the New Zealand market operated by Flight Centre (NZ) Ltd include; Flight Centre Cruiseabout Student Flights Travel Associates FCm Travel Solutions Corporate Traveller cievents Stage and Screen Infinity Holidays Travel Money NZ The company has won the IBM (News - Alert) Kenexa Best Workplaces, large workplace category award for eight years. In addition and in recognition of Flight Centre's continued achievements in the IBM Kenexa Best Workplaces Survey over the past ten years, Flight Centre is also a Five-Year League Award recipient and a Ten-Year League Award recipient. Flight Centre Limited globally has almost 13,000 staff in 13 countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, China, Singapore, The Netherlands and Dubai. About Riverbed Riverbed, at more than $1 billion in annual revenue, is the leader in Application Performance Infrastructure, delivering the most complete platform for the hybrid enterprise to ensure applications perform as expected, data is always available when needed, and performance issues can be proactively detected and resolved before impacting business performance. Riverbed enables hybrid enterprises to transform application performance into a competitive advantage by maximizing employee productivity and leveraging IT to create new forms of operational agility. Riverbed's 27,000+ customers include 97% of the Fortune 100 and 98% of the Forbes Global 100. Learn more at www.riverbed.com. Riverbed and any Riverbed product or service name or logo used herein are trademarks of Riverbed Technology, Inc. All other trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601005650/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 31, 2016] Neuroon Revolutionizes Sleep with New App for Lucid Dreaming! SAN FRANCISCO and WARSAW, Poland, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuroon - an intelligent sleep mask that can monitor and analyze users' sleep and enhance its quality - will soon add a new feature for lucid dream induction. This long awaited function combined with a brand new mobile app will change the way we think about our dreams and interact with them. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358225LOGO ) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160525/371933 ) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160525/371934 ) Have you ever wondered how your life would change if you could go to sleep and control your dreams? This is what lucid dreaming can offer - being aware while being asleep and therefore able to consciously influence the content of your dreams. It seems like a computer game, but then so is science sometimes! The scientific eidence on lucid dreaming came out of Hull University in the UK in 1975, when Dr Keith Hearne recorded the predetermined eye movements of his lucid dreaming patient during the REM phase of sleep. Since then ongoing neuroscience discoveries have strengthened researchers' beliefs that lucid dreaming can no longer be thought of as just a fantasy in a movie script. Neuroon, a device that is the result of current trends in neuroscience, is the first product on the consumer market that can automatically analyze human sleep by monitoring brain signals and improve sleep with light therapy. Lucid dreams may occur rarely spontaneously or they can be induced by specific techniques divided into two groups: behavioral techniques and external stimuli. The Neuroon's ability to detect REM sleep precisely, allows it to start implementing external stimuli techniques into the mask and induce lucid dreaming while the person is in the REM phase of sleep. Currently, the Neuroon is the most advanced system on the market due to its built-in professional sleep tracker and artificial algorithmic methods for performance improvement. The Neuroon Lucid Dreaming feature will consist of two parts: behavioral techniques and external stimuli. Both are based on the research conducted by Heidelberg University in Germany and the University of Bern in Switzerland among others. Behavioral techniques aim at preparing the user's mind to start lucid dreaming while external stimuli are a direct influence of the mask on the user's REM sleep with the help of light, vibration and acoustic stimulus. Only with both of these methods can lucid dreaming be fully experienced. Working on the lucid dreaming feature was first announced by Inteliclinic, inventor of the Neuroon during their Kickstarter campaign two years ago. The idea was given a very positive reception so after finishing the final version of the Neuroon, Inteliclinic's developers focused on this new function. The Lucid Dreaming App for Neuroon will be available from August and will only work in its full potential with the Neuroon mask. For all the customers who buy the Neuroon before the end of June it will be free of charge. For more information on Neuroon Lucid Dreaming click here: https://neuroon.com/lucid-dreaming [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 31, 2016] Independent Research Firm Cites Emarsys As A Strong Performer In Q2 2016 Cross-Channel Campaign Management Report BEIJING, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Emarsys, the leading provider of cloud marketing software for B2C companies, today announced that it was among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate in its Q2 2016 Forrester Wave evaluation, and was named a Strong Performer in its report: The Forrester Wave Cross-Channel Campaign Management, Q2 2016. In this evaluation, Emarsys received the top scores possible in the user experience, content management and Web and eCommerce criteria. Per the report, Emarsys "...connects in-store and online shopping experiences with consistent product content across email, mobile, web, and eCommerce. Emarsys owes its rapid growth to an easy-to-use and intuitive UX for brand marketers who want to design both interactive and long-term campaign strategies, with predictability into which customers, products, and channels provide the highest conversion opportunities." "We are honored to be recognized by Forrester Research as a strong performer in the CCCMspace," said Hagai Hartman Emarsys CEO. "We believe our ranking in Forrester's Cross-Channel Campaign Management Wave is a validation of our company's vision, enabling one-to-one interactions between marketers and consumers across all channels." The Forrester WaveTM: Cross-Channel Campaign Management (CCCM), Q2 2016 report evaluated 15 cross-channel campaign management providers and found that Emarsys customers "...appreciate its current dedication as a partner that maintains a 'good relationship and synergy with the team, both on the business side and the technical side.'" The report also cites how Emarsys enables customers "to apply customer data to 'brand equity and enhancement' versus transactions which is 'a critical differentiator in a mobile-driven market.'" "Our team's innovation, drive and dedication to our clients has been critical in driving our growth and success. We're proud to be named as a Strong Performer and remain focused on solutions that provide actionable intelligence and one-to-one personalization that reach consumers across channels," added Hartman. To download The Forrester Wave: Cross-Channel Campaign Management, Q2 2016, visit http://engage.emarsys.com/en/cccm-2016. About Emarsys Emarsys is a leading global provider of cloud marketing software for B2C companies, and the first B2C Marketing Cloud. The company provides actionable intelligence to enterprises targeting their customers, combining machine learning and data science with true personalization and multichannel delivery to reach customers most effectively, maximizing engagement and results. With more than 500 employees in 16 global office locations, Emarsys serves more than 1,500 clients in 140 countries. Every month, Emarsys sends over seven billion messages -- helping customers increase revenues and ROI. To learn more about Emarsys' innovative solutions, click here. Media Contact: Vanessa.Li Emarsys +86 (10) 8599 9431 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160531/0861605272LOGO [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 31, 2016] Staying On Top of Trends: Why Communicators Need to Incorporate Media Monitoring Into Their Storytelling Strategy HONG KONG, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In the ever-changing cloud of digital chatter, monitoring has becoming a significant tool for communicators to analyze the massive pools of data and distil them into a chart of valuable insights. Recognizing the pressing need of using media monitoring tools, PR Newswire held a Media Coffee event on May 19 in Hong Kong with the theme "Best Practices for Effective Storytelling through Media Monitoring". The event gathered close to 70 marketing and communications professionals to join the keynote presentations by Yumiko Ono, Asia Digital Editor at The Wall Street Journal, Adam Majeed, Asia Editor at IFLR 1000, and Jing Li, Business Development and Strategic Cooperation Director, China Media Monitoring Services at PR Newswire. The archived video of the event is now available upon registration. Digital Storytelling at The Wall Street Journal "In the digital era, it's not a one-way conversation anymore," said Yumiko Ono in her presentation. Ono gave an overview on what digital storytelling is like at The Wall Street Journal and shared tips on how public relations and communications professionals can help journalists tell better stories. Some of Ono's key highlights include: Using " Singapore's 'Smart Nation'" and "Two Sides of the Philippines " as examples, Ono talked about how The Wall Street Journal used different multimedia elements to provide an immersive story experience for readers. 'Smart Nation'" and "Two Sides of " as examples, Ono talked about how The Wall Street Journal used different multimedia elements to provide an immersive story experience for readers. The visual presentation of the story is important, especially when it is about a new product launch, as the company is the main source for journalists to get that informatio. A text-only story may lower the chance of sharing and miss out on the opportunity to get media coverage. Gone are the days when journalists only have one deadline per day. It is important for public relations professionals to respond to the media quickly and provide them access to relevant information or key company executives for interviews. Digital Globalization: How to Thrive in a New Operating Environment Besides storytelling, listening to the voice of audiences is another crucial element of audience engagement. As Adam Majeed said in his presentation, "Storytelling may evoke emotions and help build success, but media monitoring is crucial to sustaining that success." Here are some of the key highlights from his presentation: Globalization has entered a new phase on a digital plane marked by data flows. Using BuzzFeed as an example, its initial success is from recognizing that great content is not about the content itself, but the emotion it can evoke from the massive audience. Majeed pointed out that BuzzFeed was able to sustain its success through tracking and monitoring content across different platforms. Media monitoring requires commitment and can be essential to maintaining brand success. Majeed also talked about several benefits that media monitoring brings: speed, customization, the ability to alleviate customers' concerns in real time, and the advantage to adapt content to the latest trends, etc. Storytelling and Media Monitoring Need to Go Hand in Hand In the opening of Jing Li's presentation, he said today's public relations practitioners and communicators are facing several major challenges -- from monitoring brand reputation online and negative mentions to finding rich content and tracking their communications efforts. According to Li, media monitoring is a vital tool for communications professionals to stay abreast of what is happening around their brands and their industries. Here are some of Li's key highlights: With the explosion of digital platforms and growing media fragmentation, Li highlighted the importance of identifying these segmented groups of audiences and choosing the best medium to reach out to them. Media monitoring tools help communicators identify public interest and define industry trends, as well as gather all the public opinions on the subject matter so they can strategically angle their content to feed their audiences' appetite. Public mentions can be the frosting on the cake for companies or the dagger that kills their reputation. Companies need to take advantage by proactively listening and respond accordingly in real time based on the types of sentiment, so they can protect their brands from negative word-of-mouth. Subscribe to our newsletter to keep informed of upcoming events and related content. About PR Newswire's Media Coffee The goal of Media Coffee is to enable communications professionals to hear from leading media organizations on how their respective companies work, providing insight into their specialist areas, giving advice on achieving coverage and informing them on effective targeting of journalists within their sector and how to build a mutually beneficial relationship. About PR Newswire PR Newswire (www.prnasia.com) is the premier global provider of news release distribution and multimedia platforms that enable marketers, corporate communicators, public relations practitioners and investor relations professionals to leverage content to engage with all their key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry in 1954, PR Newswire today provides end-to-end solutions to produce, distribute, target and measure text and multimedia content across traditional, digital, mobile and social channels. Combining the world's largest multi-channel content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to tell their stories to the world. For further information, please contact: PR Newswire's Asia Marketing Team +852 2572 8228 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160531/8521603499 Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160518/8521603201LOGO [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 31, 2016] Asia Pacific Big Data Market 2015 - 2020 LONDON, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia Pacific Big Data market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 43% representing in huge opportunities in this sector, finds a new research report launched by NOVONOUS. This growth is driven by increasing penetration of big data, increase in analytics services and availability of affordable big data solution and services to end users. Asia Pacific Big Data market controls third largest market share at 14.50% in terms of revenue in Global Big Data market. It is expected to maintain it's market position even in 2020. India, South Korea, Japan, China and Australia are key countries in Asia Pacific Big Data market. Organizations worldwide are turning their attention to Big Data as a useful means to derive insights from the huge amount of data generated from various sources. Technologies such as NoSQL databases and MapReduce/Hadoop frameworks are at the core of the solutions heralding a paradigm shift. This research found that high investment costs, lack of awareness and novelty have been the main threats for new entrants in the Big Data space. There are a few major players who control the entire value chain. However, many smaller players have mushroomed who provide consulting in the Analytics space. This research also found that most organizations misunderstand Big Data and it is important to educate the end users through face to face inteactions. Spanning over 116 pages and 75 exhibits, "Asia Pacific Big Data Market 2015-2020" report presents an in-depth assessment of the Asia Pacific Big Data market from 2015 till 2020. The report has detailed company profiles including their position in big data market value chain, financial performance analysis, product and service wise business strategy, SWOT analysis and key customer details for 12 key players in Global market namely TEG Analytics, Heckyl Technologies, KloudData Inc., Gramener, Germin8, VIS Networks Pvt. Ltd., Abzooba, Fintellix, Latentview, Indix, Analytic-Edge and Tookitaki. Scope of Asia Pacific Big Data Market 2015-2020 Report - This report provides detailed information about Asia Pacific Big Data market including future forecasts. - This report identifies the industry wise need for focusing on Big Data market. - This report provides detailed information on growth forecasts for Asia Pacific Big Data market up to 2020. - The report identifies the growth drivers and inhibitors for Global Big Data market. - This study also identifies various parts of Big Data value chain. - This report has detailed profiles 12 key players in Global Big Data market covering their business strategy, financial performance, future forecasts and SWOT analysis. - This report provides Porter's Five Forces analysis for Asia Pacific Big Data market. - This report provides SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis for Asia Pacific Big Data market. - This report also provides strategic recommendations for end users, Big Data service providers and investors. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3812897/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/asia-pacific-big-data-market-2015---2020-300277448.html SOURCE ReportBuyer [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 31, 2016] Big Data in Global Education Market: Key Trends, Market Opportunities and Industry Forecast 2015-2020 LONDON, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Data in Global Education market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% representing in huge opportunities in this sector, finds a new research report launched by NOVONOUS. This growth is driven by increasing penetration of big data, increase in analytics services and availability of affordable big data solution and services to end users. Big Data in Education Industry controls 8% market share in terms of revenue in Global Big Data market. It is expected to become eighth largest industry in terms of it's market share position in 2020. Organizations worldwide are turning their attention to Big Data as a useful means to derive insights from the huge amount of data generated from various sources. Technologies such as NoSQL databases and MapReduce/Hadoop frameworks are at the core of the solutions heralding a paradigm shift. This research found that high investment costs, lack of awareness and novelty have been the main threats for new entrants in the Big Data space. There are a few major players who control the entire value chain. However, many smaller players have mushroomed who provide consulting in the Analytics space. This research also found that most organizations misunderstand Big Data and it is important to educate the end users through face to face interactions. Spanning over 104 pages and 75 exhibits, "Big Data in Global Education Market: Key Trends, Market Opportunities and Industry Forecast 2015-2020" report presents an in-depth assessment of the Big Data in Glbal Education market from 2015 till 2020. The report has detailed company profiles including their position in big data market value chain, financial performance analysis, product and service wise business strategy, SWOT analysis and key customer details for 12 key players in Global market namely TEG Analytics, Heckyl Technologies, KloudData Inc., Gramener, Germin8, VIS Networks Pvt. Ltd., Abzooba, Fintellix, Latentview, Indix, Analytic-Edge and Tookitaki. Scope of Big Data in Global Education Market: Key Trends, Market Opportunities and Industry Forecast 2015-2020 Report - This report provides detailed information about Big Data in Global Education market including future forecasts. - This report identifies the need for focusing on Big Data in Education market. - This report provides detailed information on growth forecasts for Big Data in Global Education market up to 2020. - The report identifies the growth drivers and inhibitors for Global Big Data market. - This study also identifies various parts of Big Data value chain. - This report has detailed profiles 12 key players in Global Big Data market covering their business strategy, financial performance, future forecasts and SWOT analysis. - This report covers the competitive landscape in Big Data in Global Education market. - This report provides Porter's Five Forces analysis for Big Data in Global Education market. - This report provides SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis for Big Data in Global Education market. - This report also provides strategic recommendations for end users, Big Data service providers and investors. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3812895/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/big-data-in-global-education-market-key-trends-market-opportunities-and-industry-forecast-2015-2020-300277462.html SOURCE ReportBuyer [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] SoftBank Releases Web Movie to Convey Excellence of Smartphones TOKYO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SoftBank Corp. released a web movie on May 25 to convey the excellence of smartphones to consumers. Video URL: https://youtu.be/yY12m7tjghI A heart-warming story in the movie features an elderly woman living on Tarama Island, a remote island in Okinawa Prefecture, where the penetration rate of smartphones is low. She missed her grandchildren living in Osaka, located far from Tarama, because she can see them only once a year. SoftBank produced communications devices on an experimental basis that helped her have the virtual experience of using a smartphone to see how her grandchildren were growing. With the help of her son and his wife, the woman can regularly see her grandchildren now, using these devices even though they are far away from each other. (Photo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M103854/201605311144/_prw_OI2fl_dJIYw587.png)(Other photos: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201605311144/) - Movie themed on "Analog Innovation" In response to requests from those who say, "We can't use a smartphone and can't see how our grandchildren are growing," SoftBank updated analog tools that elderly people are used to using. "Analog Innovation" allowed the elderly woman on Tarama Island to have the virtual experience of using a smartphone. - One family experiences "Analog Innovation" on Tarama where smartphones are not prevalent The story in the movie is set on Tarama Island, one of the areas where the penetration rate of smartphones is low. An elderly woman living on the island uses an ordinary mobile phone but has never sent an email. SoftBank updated analog tools she was used to using into new communications devices that even those who are not familiar with digital devices can easily use, teaming with her son living in Osaka, to help the woman familiarize herself with smartphones. - Video showing her "Analog Innovation" experience released online on May 25 The documentary video showing the Tarama family's "Analog Innovation" experience was released online on May 25. Viewers can see how the elderly woman on Tarama Island uses new communications devices to regularly communicate with her grandchildren she had previously been unable to contact frequently. Special website: http://www.softbank.jp/corp/special/personal-innovation-act/ Story of the video: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M103854/201605311144/_prw_OA1fl_Z6QjWnVk.pdf To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/softbank-releases-web-movie-to-convey-excellence-of-smartphones-300277542.html SOURCE SoftBank Corp. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Gas Alarm Market Size and Share for Global Industry (USA, EU, Japan, Chinese) Forecast to 2021 PUNE, India, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ReportsnReports.com adds 'Global and Chinese Gas Alarm Industry, 2016 Market Research Report' to its all-inclusive pool of market research reports offering a specialized and comprehensive study on the existing state of the global gas alarm market highlighting the Chinese region. Complete report on gas alarm market of 150 pages divided into 11 major chapters that offer an overview of current market scenario as well as 2021 forecasts is now available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/525875-global-and-chinese-gas-alarm-industry-2016-market-research-report.html . The scope of this report is extensive and covers the nitty-gritty of the industry and their end-user applications. The market is broken down by the latest developments, cost effectiveness, end-user applications and regional markets. Revenue forecasts from 2011 to 2021 are given for each of these segments including the development, analysis, and trends of the Gas Alarm manufacturing technology. Projected values used are based on manufacturers' total revenues. The report is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry. To start with, the report underlines the elementary overview of the industry right from definitions to applications and manufacturing technology. This is followed by in-detail analysis of the global and Chinese Gas Alarm industry along with the major players' descriptions. The report is variously sub-segmented further into company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2011-2016 market shares for each company. The competitive landscape in the Gas Alarm Industry is further analyzed by country (USA, EU, Japan, Chinese etc.), by company and by application. The report further estimates 2011-2021 market development trends of Gas Alarm industry. Analysis of market entry strategies, countermeasures of economic impact and feasibility studies of new project investment is also carried out. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2011-2021 global and Chinese Gas Alarm industry coverng all important parameters. In the end, the report makes a proposal for a new project of Gas Alarm Industry before assessing its practicality. All-in-all, the report provides an exhaustive understanding of 2011-2021 global and China Gas Alarm industry covering all important parameters. Order a copy of this report at http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=525875. Other research titled Global and Chinese Portable Gas Detector Industry, 2016 Market Research Report is an exhaustive study on the present market scenario of the global Portable Gas Detector industry with a special focus on the China market of this industry. The report summarizes key statistics of the market and the overall status of the Portable Gas Detector manufacturers. The report is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry. The report initially provides a basic overview of the industry that covers definition, applications and manufacturing technology post which the report explores into the international and Chinese players in the market. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value and 2011-2016 market shares for each company. The report depicts the global and Chinese market of Portable Gas Detector industry including capacity, production, production value, cost and profit, supply and demand and Chinese import-export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application or type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report also estimates 2016-2021 market development trends of Portable Gas Detector industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Portable Gas Detector Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2011-2021 global and Chinese Portable Gas Detector industry covering all important parameters. Comprehensive table of contents and more on the Global and Chinese Portable Gas Detector Industry, 2011-2021 Market Research Report is available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/525876-global-and-chinese-portable-gas-detector-industry-2016-market-research-report.html. Explore other reports on semiconductor and electronics market at http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/semiconductor-and-electronics/. About Us: ReportsnReports.com is an online market research reports library of 500,000+ in-depth studies of over 5000 micro markets. Not limited to any one industry, ReportsnReports.com offers research studies on agriculture, energy and power, chemicals, environment, medical devices, healthcare, food and beverages, water, advanced materials and much more. Connect With Us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReportsnReports/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reportsnreports Twitter: https: //twitter.com/marketsreports G+ / Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/111656568937629536321/posts RSS/Feeds: http: //http://www.reportsnreports.com/feed/l-latestreports.xml Contact: Ritesh Tiwari UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune - 411013 Maharashtra, India. +1 888 391 5441 [email protected] SOURCE ReportsnReports [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] PingAn Launches "Mobile Health Records" Through PingAn Health Cloud HONG KONG, SHANGHAI and WASHINGTON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PingAn, a Chinese insurance and banking conglomerate and a global Fortune 500 company, launches "Mobile Medical Records" through its PingAn Health Cloud. Leveraging cutting-edge technology in data security, PingAn Health Cloud is building a core capability in electronic medical record management, and is partnering with a number of healthcare providers to establish a neutral, authoritative, and personalized health platform. The "Mobile Medical Records" product launched this time provides a number of benefits including: medical record retrieval and management, health risk assessment, smart self-diagnosis and triage, data security guarantee and accidental coverage. The general public can obtain their own electronic medical records through this service. At point of care, patients can use the tool to conveniently provide their physicians with detailed medical background, so that the physicians can quickly make the right diagnosis and treatment decisions, minimizing unnecessary lab tests and misdiagnoses. Te product guards patients' health privacy with utmost care, handling personal health information with the same rigor as how financial information is handled. With "Mobile Medical Records", healthcare services can be accessed wherever and whenever, without being limited to a specific hospital. Keeping a complete set of medical records early on also lays important information foundation for personalized medicine in the future. "PingAn Health Cloud is an integral part of PingAn's broader healthcare strategy, which covers the three key stakeholders in healthcare - Patient, Provider and Payor. PingAn Good Doctor, which closed its A round recently, covers the online provider segment, while the 'Ten Thousand Clinics' launched this year fills in the offline provider space. PingAn Health Cloud links the group's various strategic initiatives through its cloud technology, creating a neutral, authoritative, personalized health platform," said Mr. Li Liang, Chief Strategy Officer of PingAn Tech. Mr. Rong Guo Qiang, Vice President of PingAn Tech, said, "'Mobile Medical Records' is a powerful tool that boosts information transparency in healthcare. It fills in the missing link in the mobile health marketplace, and moreover provides a much needed service to the general public. Through this new product, we hope to aid healthcare IT development, build a neutral, authoritative, and personalized health platform, and ultimately create a safe and efficient healthcare ecosystem." Contact: Baron Public Relations Limited Ms. Kiny Choi [email protected] +852 92481079 www.baron-pr.com Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374055 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374056 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pingan-launches-mobile-health-records-through-pingan-health-cloud-300277592.html SOURCE China Ping An Group [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Products Must Be Certified to Updated CCC Implementation Rules for Motor Vehicles and Safety Accessories by Year End HONG KONG, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nanjing Branch of the China Quality Certification Centre (CQC) hosted a two-day training workshop on the updated China Compulsory Certification (CCC) implementation rules for motor vehicles and safety accessories on May 19-20. Qing Gu, Manager for Transport Services at TUV Rheinland Greater China ("TUV Rheinland"), served as the instructor for the international certification component of the training workshop. Nearly 100 participants from 60 companies took part in the workshop, which generated strong interest among participants who engaged in in-depth exchange with the instructors. Ensuring successful transition for CoP control plans To strengthen reforms and systematically implement the compulsory product certification system, CQC implementation rules for motor vehicles and safety accessories were revised by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA) and officially took effect on January 1, 2015. Products covered by the updated implementation rules include motor vehicle and safety accessories such as automotive interior accessories, automotive lighting, seat belts, door locks, fuel tanks, seats, and brake hoses. Companies involved with motor vehicles and safety accessories should submit Conformity of Production (CoP) control plans that conform to the new rules and requirements, and have them approved by December 31, 2016. As the national certification organization, CQC has followed the new implementation rules for new product certification applications since January 1, 2015. For products that were already certified before the new implementation rules took effect, CQC is allowing them to transition to the new certification through certificate renewal, standard update, product modification and annual inspection. The CQC Nanjing Branch can now process CoP conversion applications from automotive parts companies within Jiangsu Province. This training workshop was held by CQC Nanjing Branch to ensure that companies with existing certifications can successfully complete the transition process for their control plans. Training is intended for certification application personnel, quality directors, technical quality or production management staff. Content of training covered the submission process and issues in the motor vehicle and safety accessories CoP control plan, annual inspection and reporting requirements under the new rules, one-stop solutions for CCC and international certification, and other common issues. TUV Rheinland the international leader in automotive parts approval and testing During the workshop, Qing Gu provided a detailed introduction to the international certification rules, process and issues for automotive parts. He also mentioned the services offered by TUV Rheinland in this field. According to Gu, as a leading international certification organization, TUV Rheinland can now provide E-Mark and multi-region certification (e.g. certification for Taiwan, India, Middle East, Brazil and Africa) for automotive parts (e.g. car lights, rear view mirrors, car horns, tires, glass, child safety seats, seats, safety belts, electronic and electrical products). TUV Rheinland currently has more than 30 experts in the field and its testing laboratories include accredited national and corporate laboratories. TUV Rheinland is also an accredited technical services organization with transportation authorities in many countries. Key certification channels include the following transport authorities: KBA (E1 - Germany), RDW (E4 - the Netherlands), NSAI (E24 - Ireland), SNCH (E13 - Luxembourg) and CSDD (E34 - Latvia). TUV Rheinland has always been the international leader in automotive parts approval and testing due to its advanced testing equipment, extensive testing experience and professional R&D team. In October 2010, TUV Rheinland, CQC and the China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC) signed an agreement to further strengthen their cooperation in areas such as product certification for the automotive and photovoltaic industries, system safety assessment and project management. CNCA recently announced that the automotive interior laboratory of TUV Rheinland Shanghai is now an official CCC laboratory, the first time that an international automotive interior testing organization has been recognized by the CNCA. This means that TUV Rheinland can now formally provide automotive interior certification services in China, further expanding the scope of its business activities in China's automotive industry. Contact: Simon Hung Tel: +852-2192-1948 Email: [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150602/8521503584LOGO [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] The Elsevier Foundation Launches the Next Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge AMSTERDAM, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Call for Sustainable Chemistry Solutions to Tackle Challenges in Developing Countries The Elsevier Foundation has announced the launch of the 2017 Elsevier Foundation Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge. In accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Challenge aims to stimulate chemists to design innovative and sustainably sound products, processes and business models which will help to sustain and protect the world's population, especially in developing countries. The Challenge forms an important part of the Foundation's newly established programs and partnerships to ensure healthy lives, reduce inequality, achieve gender equality and bridge the North-South divide in scientific collaboration. Proposals for the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge will be accepted through September 15. After a thorough review process the top 50 proposals will be selected. The jury, consisting of expert scientists in the field and policymakers, will select the top five. These contestants will be invited to pitch their ideas at the second Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference held in Berlin in May 2017. The first prize Challenge winner will receive a 50,000 award, and the second prize winner a 25,000 award. "We can't underscore enough the critical role that chemistry has in developing a more sustainable future. Chemists have a responsibility to develop and support new products, resources and processes which will not only be green but also sustainable," said Prof. Klaus Kummerer, Professor of Sustainable Chemistry and Material Resources and Director of the Institute for Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry at the Leuphana University in Luneburg, Germany. Dr. Kummerer is also Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier's journal Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy and Co-Editor of Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry." Throughout 2015 and 2016, Leuphana University has been a proud contributor to the Challenge and we hope that it will continue to bring innovative ideas, experts and communities together to jointly develop solutions for the many environmental challenges faced in developing countries." "We have been able to build off of the substantial and impressive work of the 2016 Elsevier Green & Sustainable Chemistry Challenge, which celebrated the first set of winners in April 2016 at the first International Green & Sustainable Chemistry Conference in Berlin. We are really proud to be able to continue to support this important competition in a rapidly expanding field - and we hope that many of the proposals will come from low resource settings, helping to further bridge the North-South participation divide in sustainability research," said Ylann Schemm, Program Director of the Elsevier Foundation. "Working with the Elsevier Foundation will foster the further growth of the Challenge and enable us to not only stimulate new research in an emerging field, but also to expand our positive impact on the environment and communities in developing countries," said Rob van Daalen, Senior Chemistry Publisher at Elsevier and Founder of the first Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge. The Elsevier Foundation Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge is open to individuals or organizations from all countries operating in the non-profit sectors. Projects can be in any field of green or sustainable chemistry so long as they are applicable for use in developing countries. The Challenge will open for submissions on June 1, 2016 and the deadline is September 15, 2016. More information, including the official rules and entry forms, can be found on the Elsevier Foundation website . Follow the conversation on social media: @ELSchemistry and #GreenChemChallenge. About the Elsevier Foundation: The Elsevier Foundation is a corporate not-for-profit 501(c)(3), funded by Elsevier, a global provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The Elsevier Foundation provides grants to knowledge centered institutions around the world, with a focus on diversity in STEMM, health information delivery, research in developing countries, nurse leadership and sustainability. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than 100 grants worth over $5 million to non-profit organizations working in these fields. Through gift-matching, the Foundation also supports the efforts of Elsevier employees to play a positive role in their local and global communities. http://www.elsevierfoundation.org About Elsevier: Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 33,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com Media contact: Elisa Nelissen Press Officer Elsevier +31-204-852-492 [email protected] [June 01, 2016] Smart City Expo Istanbul Targets Mobility and Urban Innovation as Key Challenges for South-eastern Europe BARCELONA, Spain, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- From June 1st to 3rd Istanbul hosts the Smart City Expo edition for South-eastern Europe and the Middle East (http://www.smartcityexpoistanbul.com). With the Turkish capital city not only as a backdrop but also as a prime example of the specific challenges that cities in this part of the world are facing, Smart City Expo Istanbul has "Cities in Motion" as its main claim hence focusing on mobility and urban transformation as two of the main drivers of urban development. Held at the Halic Congress Center, the event is organized by the Kultur AS and Fira de Barcelona. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160530/373272LOGO ) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160513/367297LOGO ) Smart City Expo Istanbul comprises a congress and an exhibition where companies and institutions will showcase their projects, technologies and urban solutions to visitors and experts alike. The conference will focus on 6 key themes -Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Energy, Smart Society, Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, and Big Data & Urban Management-and features over 20 speakers and 20 different sessions among which the two keynotes by Mobility experts Anthony Townsend, senior research Scientist and NYU's Rudin Center and Principal at Bits and Atoms, and Phillip Rode, Director of the LSE Cities at the London School of Economics. This special focus on Mobility also hold Istanbul projects in the spotlight. The Turkish metropolis faces important challenges and is undertaking several initiatives to tackle these issues including new metro lines, an underground tunnel connecting Asia and Europe, a new Airport and smart traffic management solutions, all of them showcased at the event. The exhibition features over 40 companies and institutions as Toki, Argedor, Cisco, Current by GE, Ericsson, Fors Medya, SAP, Tahincioglu, Turk Telekom, Turkish Airlines and Vakif Bank, among others. The opening ceremony takes place will be presided over by the mayor of Istambul, Kadir Topbas, along with Spanish ex-Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, and UN Habitat Deputy Executive Director, Aisa Kirabo Kacyra International expansion With Smart City Expo Istambul, Fira de Barcelona and Smart City Expo continue their international strategy through a series of regional events. After several editions in North and South America and Asia this year has also seen the first African edition of Smart City Expo in Casablanca (Morocco). Smart City Expo World Congress 2016 will take place in Fira de Barcelona from November 15th to 17th. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Thailand to Host 10th Eco-products International Fair 2016 BANGKOK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to inaugurate the four-day EPIF "24-Hour Eco-Life" theme to focus on development of a low-carbon society and green growth Different zones to showcase eco-innovations, eco-products, and eco-services To create awareness and address the challenges of achieving sustainable growth in its member countries across the Asia-Pacific region, the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) in collaboration with the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), Ministry of Industry of Thailand, and Thailand Productivity Institute will hold the 10th Eco-products International Fair (EPIF 2016) at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre, 8-11 June 2016. The EPIF is one of the largest international environmental exhibitions in Asia, and this is the second time for Thailand to host the event. Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha will inaugurate the EPIF. The fair and parallel Asia EnviroEconomics Conference: Concerted Efforts for a Sustainable Future through 24-Hour Eco-Life will also be attended by 2007 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Professor Woodrow Clark, Green Productivity Advisory Committee Chairperson Hajime Bada, and APO Secretary-General Mari Amano as well as key policymakers and industry leaders from Thailand and Japan and representatives of leading research institutes and international organizations. According to Secretary-General Amano, "The EPI and related activities were designed to create and expand business opportunities that will show immediate benefit while accelerating the diffusion of eco-knowledge and expanding green markets in the APO region and ultimately worldwide to create a sustainable global society." With the theme "24-Hour Eco-Life," the focus of the EPIF 2016 is on the development of a low-carbon society and green growth to mitigate the environmental effects of climate change. The fair and Asia EnviroEconomics Conference will also highlight simple ways citizens can help protect our environment through daily activities. The exhibition space is divided into eco-innovation, eco-product, and eco-service zones where some 200 leading international and Thai enterprises will display solutions based on both traditional knowledge and modern technology. Enterprises in the automotive and transport, construction material, clothing and textile, food and dairy, container, electrical machinery, furniture, IT and office supply, logistics, energy, and educational sectors will be represented. Twenty-eight Japanese corporations will exhibit cutting-edge eco-products and -services at the EPIF 2016, reflecting their commitment to sharing technologies to protect our environment through innovative product and service options. The FTI will showcase its Sustainability Corporate Index tool to assess organizational performance and sustainability; the assessment outcome is the basis for planning further development. Visitors and exhibitors can take part in business matchmaking sessions during the four-day fair and associated conference. Special features like VIP booth tours, Eco-living, Eco-kids, and main stage activities are designed to appeal to and educate visitors of all ages. Admission to the EPIF 2016 is free to the public. Note: For EPIF 2016 program and information on APO please click http://www.apo-tokyo.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/05/Press-release_EPIF-2016_E_1June.pdf For details contact Shubhendu Parth/Yoko Fujimoto Tel: +81-3-3830-0411; Fax: +81-3-5840-5322 e-Mail: [email protected] / [email protected] Website: http://www.apo-tokyo.org Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160601/0861605331 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Demandware SAN FRANCISCO and BURLINGTON, Mass., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and the world's #1 CRM company, and Demandware (NYSE: DWRE), the industry-leading provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Salesforce will acquire Demandware in a transaction worth approximately $2.8 billion (net of cash acquired). Under the terms of the agreement, Salesforce will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Demandware for $75.00 per share, in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2017, ending July 31, 2016. Comments on the News: "Demandware is an amazing companythe global cloud leader in the multi-billion dollar digital commerce market," said Marc Benioff , chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce as part of our Customer Success Platform and create yet another billion dollar cloud." , chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce as part of our Customer Success Platform and create yet another billion dollar cloud." "Demandware and Salesforce share the same passionate focus on customer success," said Tom Ebling , CEO, Demandware. "Becoming part of Salesforce will accelerate our vision to empower the world's leading brands with the most innovative digital commerce solutions that enable them to connect 1:1 with customers across any channel." According to Gartner, worldwide spending on digital commerce platforms is expected to grow at over 14 percent annually, reaching $8.544 billion by 2020 (Gartner, Inc. Forecast: Enterprise Software Markets, Worldwide, 2013-2020, 1Q16 Update, March 17, 2016). Salesforce's acquisition of Demandware, a recognized leader in the space, will extend the company's CRM leadership and position it to capture this multi-billion dollar digital commerce market with what will be the new Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The Salesforce Commerce Cloud will be an integral part of Salesforce's Customer Success Platform, creating opportunities for companies to connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Salesforce customers will have access to the industry's leading enterprise cloud commerce platform, and Demandware's customers will be able to leverage Salesforce's leading sales, service, marketing, communities, analytics, IoT and platform solutions to deliver a more comprehensive, personalized consumer experience. Demandwarethe Industry Leading Enterprise Cloud Commerce Platform Demandware enables leading global brands including Design Within Reach, Lands' End, L'Oreal and Marks & Spencer to deliver personalized, 1:1 experiences for consumers and power their commerce across the web, mobile, social and in the store. Details Regarding the Proposed Demandware Acquisition Under the terms of the transaction, Salesforce will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Demandware for $75.00 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2017, ending July 31, 2016, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the acceptance of a majority of Demandware shares in the tender offer and expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Following the successful completion of the tender offer, Demandware shares not tendered in the tender offer will be converted in a second step merger into the right to receive the same $75.00 per share in cash paid in the tender offer. Financial Impact to Salesforce of the Proposed Demandware Acquisition FY17 Revenue: The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce's FY17 total revenue by approximately $100 million to $120 million. This estimate reflects an approximately $50 million reduction relating to fair value adjustments to deferred revenue and unbilled deferred revenue, adjustments related to the combined customer base, and inter-company revenue elimination. FY17 non-GAAP EPS: As discussed further below, guidance updates for GAAP EPS for all periods discussed are not currently available and Salesforce expects to provide the applicable updates when it releases second quarter results in August 2016, assuming the transaction has closed and the purchase accounting is completed. The acquisition is expected to decrease FY17 non-GAAP diluted EPS by approximately $0.07. This estimate reflects standard integration costs and transaction fees expected to be in the range of $30 million. Q2 FY17 Revenue: The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce's Q2 FY17 total revenue by approximately $0 million to $10 million. Q2 FY17 non-GAAP EPS: Transaction fees related to the acquisition are expected to reduce Q2 FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS by approximately $0.03. Based on the above, Salesforce is updating its guidance previously reported on May 18, 2016, as follows: Q2 FY17 Guidance: Revenue for Salesforce's fiscal second quarter 2017 is projected to be in the range of$2.005 billion to $2.025 billion, an increase of 23% to 24% year-over-year. Q2 FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.21 to $0.22. Full Year FY17 Guidance: Revenue for Salesforce's full fiscal year 2017 is projected to be in the range of $8.26 billion to $8.32 billion, an increase of 24% to 25% year-over-year. FY17 diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.93 to $0.95. Non-GAAP EPS estimates assume a non-GAAP tax rate of approximately 35%. The non-GAAP EPS calculation assumes an average fully diluted share count of approximately 700 million shares. Full-year operating cash flow growth is now expected to be in the range of 22% to 23% year-over-year. These estimates assume a fiscal second quarter close date, and actual results could differ materially based on the final transaction close date. Salesforce is not currently able to prepare an accurate forecast for the second quarter or full year impact of the acquisition on GAAP EPS and will not be able to do so until the purchase accounting is concluded after the transaction closes. Salesforce expects to be able to provide this update when it releases second quarter results in August 2016. The impact on GAAP EPS is expected to be more significant than for non-GAAP EPS due to the additional stock-based compensation charges and the impact of other various non-cash items, including amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and income tax adjustments. Non-GAAP Financial Measures: This press release includes information about non-GAAP EPS and non-GAAP tax rates (collectively the "non-GAAP financial measures"). The primary purpose of using non-GAAP financial measures is to provide supplemental information that may prove useful to investors who wish to consider the impact of certain non-cash or non-recurring items on the company's operating performance and to enable investors to evaluate the company's results in the same way management does. Non-GAAP EPS estimates exclude the impact of the following non-cash items: stock-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, and the net amortization of debt discount on the company's convertible senior notes, as well as income tax adjustments. The non-GAAP tax rate estimate excludes the tax adjustments and tax consequences associated with the above excluded non-cash expense items. The method used to produce non-GAAP financial measures is not computed according to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and may differ from the methods used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with the company's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. BofA Merrill Lynch is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Salesforce. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Demandware. Additional Information The tender offer has not yet commenced. This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. At the time the tender offer is commenced, Salesforce will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, and Demandware will file a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer. Demandware stockholders and other investors are strongly advised to read the tender offer materials (including the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other tender offer documents that have yet to be filed) and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement because they will contain important information that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the tender offer. The Tender Offer Statement and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement will be available for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Free copies of these materials and other tender offer documents will be made available by the information agent for the tender offer. In addition to the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other tender offer documents, Salesforce and Demandware file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any reports, statements or other information filed by the parties at the SEC public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room. The parties' filings with the SEC are also available to the public from commercial document-retrieval services and at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to the acquisition of Demandware by Salesforce. All statements other than historical facts included in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the timing and the closing of the transaction, the financing for the transaction, the expected benefits of the transaction, prospective performance and future business plans, and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown, or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the parties' expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things: uncertainties regarding the timing of the closing of the transaction; uncertainties as to how many of Demandware's stockholders may tender their stock in the tender offer; the possibility that various closing conditions to the tender offer and merger transactions may not be satisfied or waived, including that a governmental entity may prohibit, delay, or refuse to grant approval for the consummation of the transaction; that there is a material adverse change to Demandware; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted with respect to the transaction; that the integration of Demandware's business into Salesforce is not as successful as expected; the failure to realize anticipated synergies and cost savings; the failure of Salesforce to achieve the expected financial and commercial results from the transaction; other business effects, including effects of industry, economic or political conditions outside either company's control; transaction costs; actual or contingent liabilities; as well as other cautionary statements contained elsewhere herein and in Salesforce's and Demandware's periodic and other reports filed with the SEC including the factors set forth in their most recent annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO and other offer documents to be filed by Salesforce, and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 to be filed by Demandware. These forward-looking statements reflect Salesforce's expectations as of the date of this report. Salesforce undertakes no obligation to update the information provided herein. Management Conference Call Salesforce and Demandware will host a conference call to discuss this transaction at 8:00 a.m. (ET) / 5:00 a.m. (PT) on June 1, 2016. A live dial-in is available domestically at 866-901-SFDC or 866-901-7332 and internationally at 706-902-1764, passcode 23989005. A live audiocast of the event will be available on the salesforce.com Investor Relations website at http://www.salesforce.com/investor and Demandware's website at http://investors.demandware.com/. A replay will be available at 800-585-8367 or 855-859-2056, until midnight (ET) July 1, 2016. Additional Information A blog from Tom Ebling , CEO at Demandware, is available here. , CEO at Demandware, is available here. A Salesforce blog post and FAQ is available here. In light of the pending acquisition, Demandware will not be presenting at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2016 Global Technology Conference today, June 1 , or at the Stifel Technology, Internet & Media Conference on June 6 . About Demandware Demandware, the category-defining leader of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, empowers the world's leading retailers to continuously innovate in our complex, consumer-driven world. Demandware's open cloud platform provides unique benefits including seamless innovation, the LINK ecosystem of integrated best-of-breed partners, and community insight to optimize customer experiences. These advantages enable Demandware customers to lead their markets and grow faster. For more information, visit www.Demandware.com, call +1-888-553-9216 or email [email protected]. About Salesforce Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: http://www.salesforce.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/salesforce-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-demandware-300277684.html SOURCE Salesforce [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Bell Techlogix Profiled in 451 Research's Latest Impact Report INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bell Techlogix, the leading IT managed services and solutions company, was recently profiled in 451 Research's latest Impact Report titled Bell Techlogix continues to differentiate with BEAM. The report focused on Bell Techlogix's BEAM Cloud Manager adding to their Bell Techlogix Enterprise Architecture Management (BEAM) Platform as well as the introduction of the BEAM.NET initiative. 451 Research is a leading global analyst and data company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation. The company's Impact report informs its clients of 451 Research's take on the market and positioning of various companies. This most recent report provides an overview of Bell Techlogix's BEAM as Service offering and the expansion of their portfolio. In the report, 451 Research describes Bell Techlogix as a midsized US managed service provider (MSP) that is ahead of the curve in providing offerings with an innovative business model for the cloud era. The report stated that Bell Techlogix's BEAM-as-a-Service capability, whereby they offer their own ITSM IP along with an integrated set of tools, has been going through continuous development since its launch. Bell Techlogix has developed BEAM Cloud Manager as a hybrid cloud managemnt service with ITSM standards, including the management of internal, private and public clouds and general virtualized infrastructure. The report also stated that Bell Techlogix has created the BEAM.NET initiative to create one unified automation architecture. BEAM.NET will provide a superior user experience to customers and position Bell Techlogix as a Digital Enterprise. "Bell Techlogix continues to come to market with a clearly differentiated approach to delivering services as an MSP in the cloud era. It is offering its target market capabilities that they do not currently have easy access to in a way that makes sense to the way they operate," said Dr. Katy Ring, Research Director, 451 Research. "We continue to approach innovation and the expansion of our managed services offerings by carefully listening to our clients about opportunities to drive valuable business outcomes," said Anthony D'Ambrosi, President, Bell Techlogix. About 451 Research 451 Research is a leading global analyst and data company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation, with offices in New York, London, San Francisco and Boston. Clients of the companyat end-user, service-provider, vendor and investor organizationsrely on 451 Research's insight through a range of syndicated research and advisory services to support both strategic and tactical decision-making. Learn more at 451research.com. About Bell Techlogix: Bell Techlogix is a leading information technology managed services and solutions company focused on global and mid-market enterprises as well as educational institutions. Bell Techlogix provides our services and solutions to a variety of customers; leveraging BEAM, our integrated enterprise service delivery platform, across our offerings portfolio, including End User Computing, Infrastructure Management, BEAM Cloud Services, IT Lifecycle Services and Enterprise Mobility Management. Bell Techlogix has leveraged over 30 years of experience to build market leading solutions such as our Service Desk 3.0 and BEAM-as-a-Service offerings for comprehensive IT managed services. Bell Techlogix is a privately held company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. For more information on Bell Techlogix, please visit us on the web at www.belltechlogix.com, follow us on Twitter @BellTechlogixHQ, like us on LinkedIn or become a fan on our Facebook page. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121101/CG01974LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bell-techlogix-profiled-in-451-researchs-latest-impact-report-300276958.html SOURCE Bell Techlogix [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Crowe Horwath LLP welcomes AbleBridge CHICAGO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the largest public accounting, consulting and technology firms in the U.S., has welcomed the personnel of AbleBridge, Inc. Based in Westborough, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, AbleBridge is a software company that develops and sells industry software solutions built upon the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. As part of the transaction, Crowe has acquired all of AbleBridge's intellectual property. Financial terms were not disclosed. Established in 2007 by Ryan Plourde, AbleBridge has built an established Microsoft Dynamics CRM software and consulting practice. AbleBridge's flagship industry solution, BenefitsBridge, provides insurance benefits brokers with a highly specialized agency management solution In addition to insurance, AbleBridge also services organizations in the manufacturing, broker-dealer, wealth management, construction and professional services areas. Plourde will join Crowe as a principal in Performance Consulting. "AbleBridge brings an innovative software mindset, with a focus on specialized industry solutions," said Josh Cole, managing principal of Crowe Performance Consulting. "The talented people of AbleBridge bring tremendous synergies with our existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM practice, while adding to our deep specialization and focus on the insurance industry." This will be the firm's first location in the Boston area. "Joining with Crowe gives us greater capacity to better serve our clients and the ability to bring new software solutions to the market rapidly," said Plourde, CEO of AbleBridge. "The combination of our product development and marketing expertise, combined with the service capability of Crowe will create a truly differentiated and leading CRM practice." About Crowe Horwath Crowe Horwath LLP (www.crowehorwath.com) is one of the largest public accounting, consulting, and technology firms in the United States. Crowe uses its deep industry expertise to provide audit services to public and private entities while also helping clients reach their goals with tax, advisory, risk and performance services. Crowe is recognized by many organizations as one of the country's best places to work. Crowe serves clients worldwide as an independent member of Crowe Horwath International, one of the largest global accounting networks in the world. The network consists of more than 200 independent accounting and advisory services firms in more than 120 countries around the world. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090902/CL69632LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crowe-horwath-llp-welcomes-ablebridge-300277740.html SOURCE Crowe Horwath LLP [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] New Customer Growth Drives Momentum in Q1 for Confirmit NEW YORK and OSLO, Norway and LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Confirmit, the leading global solutions provider for Customer Experience, Voice of the Employee and Market Research, reported key momentum in Q1 2016. As the company celebrates its 20th anniversary, Confirmit achieved record revenue from new clients and posted several customer successes and award wins. Henning Hansen, Confirmit President and CEO explains "Our current levels of achievement and growth, including what we've seen in Q1 of 2016 alone, proves that companies are recognizing the value of our technology and leveraging it to drive change within their organizations. We are extremely excited to see what the rest of 2016 will bring in terms of success, especially for our newly signed customers." Customer Success Given the strong results and overall business success Confirmit's top-notch technology solutions brings to its customers, it is continually selected and preferred over other vendors. In Q1, Confirmit continued to expand its customer base with the addition of new customers from a range of industries around the world, and posted an all-time high revenue for new clients in a single quarter, including Aldermore Bank, Magna International, Inc., Scandinavian Hospitality Management, Transport Focus, and Wyndham Vacation Resorts. These companies join the ranks of Confirmit's established clients who include Grant Thornton, GfK, Canon Solutions America, Nielsen, Philadelphia Insurance and Sony Mobile Communications. "At Aldermore, we're committed to challenging the established views of what a bank should be" explains Pamela Brown, Marketing Director at Aldermore Bank. "Part of that approach is placing customers at the heart of everything we do and that means lstening to them. Launching a new Voice of the Customer program with Confirmit is a key step in ensuring that not only do we listen to our customers, but we're able to take action to serve our customers in the best possible way every day. Company Growth In addition to bringing success and growth to its customers, Confirmit is also seeing significant growth within the company. The expansion in Australia that followed the 2015 acquisition of long-term reseller partner, IRM, continues apace with new clients and team members coming on board. In addition, Confirmit Australia closed its largest Voice of the Customer deal since inception during the quarter. Since 2010, more than 1.1 billion surveys have been completed on Confirmit Horizons platform across the full range of data collection channels, including web, telephone, IVR, paper and mobile. Text Analytics and Mobile Expansion The company's text and social analytics solution, Confirmit Genius continued to gain significant traction, with more leading businesses using the platform to analyze both survey responses and social media activity. In Q1, 2016, 200 million social media posts were analyzed through Confirmit Genius, and the company reported a 300% increase in the number of survey verbatims categorized over Q4, 2015. The critical role of mobile in research programs is clear, with around 50,000 mobile devices running Confirmit's mobile solutions around the world, across the full range of Android, iOS and Windows systems. In Q1, 2016 over 10 million survey responses and media files were collected through mobile devices, demonstrating the importance of the mobile channel in VoC and MR programs. Once again, the company achieved 100% uptime on all its SaaS environments in the US, UK and Australia. Awards and Recognition Reaffirming Confirmit's progress and growth, the company was recognized with two awards. Most notably, Confirmit was awarded AAA rating by Dun & Bradstreet for the seventh consecutive year. AAA is the highest possible rating assigned to the bonds of an issuer by credit rating agencies, meaning the issuer has an exceptional degree of creditworthiness. Additionally, CUSTOMER Magazine named Confirmit Horizons Version 19 Product of the Year. Confirmit also hosted its annual ACE Awards, and received a record number of submissions from the EMEA region this year. Entries came from companies across a number of industries including insurance, financial services and retail. Entries reported exceptional results for Confirmit customers, including a 36% increase in Net Promoter Score and a 50% increase in Overall Customer Satisfaction. To learn more about Confirmit's plans for the year ahead, please visit its company blog here. About Confirmit Confirmit is the world's leading SaaS vendor for multi-channel Voice of the Customer, Voice of the Employee, and Market Research solutions. The company has offices in Oslo (headquarters), Chengdu, Grimstad, London, Moscow, New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Vancouver, and Yaroslavl. Confirmit's software is also distributed through partner resellers in Madrid, Milan, Salvador, and Tokyo. Confirmit powers Global 5000 companies and Market Research agencies worldwide with a wide range of software products for feedback / data collection, panel management, data processing, analysis, and reporting. Customers include Aurora, British Airways, British Standards Institution, Cross-Tab, Dow Chemical, GfK, GlaxoSmithKline, GMO Research, JTN Research, Keep Factor, Morehead Associates, Nielsen, Research Now, RONIN, RS Components, Sony Mobile Communications, Swisscom and The Wellcome Trust. Visit www.confirmit.com for more information. Media Contact Emma Walter Matter Communications 978-518-4820 [email protected] *All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld." Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160127/326621LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-customer-growth-drives-momentum-in-q1-for-confirmit-300276107.html SOURCE Confirmit [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Funds Advised by Apax Partners to Acquire Agencyport Software; Acquisition to Expand Duck Creek Technologies' Engagement with Property and Casualty Insurers, Agents, Brokers, and Customers NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Apax Partners, a leading global private equity firm, today announced that funds advised by Apax have agreed to acquire Agencyport, the leading provider of digital distribution technology for the property and casualty insurance industry. The acquisition is being made in connection with the formation of Duck Creek Technologies, a joint venture between Accenture and Apax Partners that will operate as an independent company focused on driving innovation in insurance software. The Agencyport transaction is expected to close concurrently with the formation of Duck Creek by the end of August 2016. Agencyport is best known for its flagship products AgencyPortal, Turnstile, and BookSmart, which provide a secure digital channel to enhance collaboration between insurers, agents, brokers, and customers. AgencyPortal offers a mobile friendly and multi-device responsive design currently used by over 150,000 independent agents and 70 carriers to efficiently grow their businesses and better serve their customers. The combination of Agencyport's world-class user experience and Duck Creek's digital platform will enable carriers to conduct business with their agents, brokers and customers through any channel, using any device. As part of the product strategy, the Duck Creek joint venture is expected to support and invest in Agencyport products and provide independent portal offerings that can front-end any policy, claims, or billing system. Carriers implementing both Duck Creek and Agencyport products will benefit from a highly integrated, end-to-end digital experience, and the option for SaaS-based deployment. Organizationally, Curt Stevenson, Agencyport's CEO, will join the existing Duck Creek management team. "Agencyport's vision has been to improve the industry by offering a digital engagement platform that connects to diverse systems in the carrier IT environment," said Stevenson. "With Duck Creek, we will create a digital distribution nirvana that will enable insurers to provide user-friendly omni-channel engagement for agents, brokers and customers." "The teaming of two of the industry's premiere solution sets -- Agencyport's front-end portals for carriers, agents, brokers and customers and Duck Creek's advanced software, and digital and cloud technologies -- creates a unique market opportunit to meaningfully accelerate digital insurance," said Jason Wright, a partner at Apax. "Leading insurance companies of all sizes are looking to highly experienced vendors to guide them through the multi-faceted aspects of digital transformation and innovation. Agencyport and Duck Creek are a clear choice for that leadership." About Apax Partners LLP Apax Partners LLP is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 30-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of $38 billion*. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech and Telco, Services, Health Care and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. Apax funds have been one of the most active private equity investors in the software sector, having invested over $2.5 billion in equity since 2008. Apax's deep sector expertise and global resources have helped accelerate organic and inorganic growth within its software portfolio and have enabled geographic expansion. Current and past software investments include Epicor, Activant, TriZetto (sold to Cognizant), Aptos, Exact, Paradigm, Sophos (SOPH) and Realpage (RP). For further information about Apax Partners, please visit www.apax.com. * Funds raised since 1981, commitments converted from fund currency to USD at FX rates as at December 31, 2015. About Agencyport Agencyport Software lets P&C insurers engage simply and quickly with their product distribution channels and technology partners. We offer the world's leading web-based distribution technologies and robust business intelligence toolsmaking the complex business of insurance simpler and smarter, increasing efficiency, improving underwriting, and sharpening carriers' competitive edge. About Duck Creek Technologies Duck Creek Technologies LLC, an Accenture company, is a leading provider of comprehensive P&C insurance software and services delivered on-premise or via Duck Creek On-Demand, a Software as a Service model. We deliver configurable, best of breed software that is designed to work independently or as a combined approach to quickly and seamlessly handle the unique needs of insurers of all sizes worldwide. Our technology solutions enable clients to optimize outcomes through digital and data capabilities, streamlined operations, and consistent functionality. For more information, visit www.duckcreek.com. On April 18, 2016, Accenture and Apax Partners, a leading global private equity firm, announced an agreement to form a joint venture that will operate as a new and independent company, Duck Creek Technologies. The joint venture is intended to further accelerate the development of Duck Creek products and technologies, leveraging advanced digital and cloud technology, and to extend the reach of Duck Creek in key markets. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in August 2016. Contacts: Todd Fogarty For Apax Partners The Americas Media Enquiries +1.212.521.4854 [email protected] Alex Wessendorff Apax Partners Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa Media Enquiries +44 20 7872 6461 [email protected] Ashley Capuzzi Duck Creek Technologies +1.484.221.0425 [email protected] Julie Howe Agencyport +1.857.239.5611 [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/funds-advised-by-apax-partners-to-acquire-agencyport-software-acquisition-to-expand-duck-creek-technologies-engagement-with-property-and-casualty-insurers-agents-brokers-and-customers-300277775.html SOURCE Apax Partners [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] D+H's U.K. SWIFT Service Bureau Receives Highest Level of SWIFT Certification LONDON, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- D+H becomes the only company in the world to have two service bureaus awarded the Premier Operational Practice label from SWIFT DH Corporation ("D+H") (TSX: DH), a leading provider of technology solutions to financial institutions globally, today announced that its SWIFT service bureau in the United Kingdom has been awarded with the highest level of certification offered by SWIFT for service bureaus, the Premier Operational Practice label. SWIFT awards service bureaus with the Premier Operational Practice label following rigorous on-site testing and inspections to validate compliance with its strict requirements. Among the requirements are secure infrastructure with built-in redundancies, best practice security controls, and robust bandwidth to handle peak volume processing. With this recognition, D+H becomes the first SWIFT service bureau in the U.K. market to hold the Premier rating. It joins D+H's Switzerland service bureu, which received the honor in 2014. This makes D+H the only company in the world to have two of its service bureaus awarded the Premier Operational Practice label from SWIFT. "D+H is proud to have been awarded with its second Premier Operational Practice label from SWIFT," said Per Trifunovic, global head of Financial Messaging at D+H. "The honor is a testament to D+H's commitment to providing the highest levels of service and security to our customers that trust us to exchange sensitive information in a safe and reliable way." D+H's SWIFT connectivity solutions provide banks and corporations around the world with a series of interbank connections and transaction-related applications designed to reduce risk and increase efficiency related to sending and receiving financial messages. About D+H D+H (TSX: DH) is a leading financial technology provider the world's financial institutions rely on every day to help them grow and succeed. Our global transaction banking, lending, payments and integrated core solutions are trusted by nearly 8,000 banks, specialty lenders, community banks, credit unions, governments and corporations. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, D+H has more than 5,500 employees worldwide who are passionate about partnering with clients to create forward-thinking solutions that fit their needs. With annual revenues in excess of CAD$1.5 billion, D+H is recognized as one of the world's top FinTech companies on IDC Financial Insights FinTech Rankings and American Banker's FinTech Forward rankings. For more information, visit dh.com. For Further Information, please contact: Patrick Kilhaney Public Relations & Analyst Relations Manager D+H +1-917-286-1053 [email protected] Cognito +1-646-395-6304 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Socius Expands Southern U.S. Presence with New Atlanta Office DUNWOODY, Ga., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Socius, an award-winning business consulting company specializing in providing ERP, CRM, and Business Intelligence solutions from Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Sage and SYSPRO, announces the opening of its 29th location, a new office in Dunwoody, Georgia. Socius currently serves business clients from its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, and its 28 additional locations across the United States. The Dunwoody office will strengthen Socius' presence in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and Texas. Socius is not new to the Atlanta area; in 2015 the company acquired the Microsoft Dynamics GP practice of Atlanta-based partner, IBIS, Inc., adding its team of Microsoft Dynamics GP consulting and development teams and client base to the organization. Socius will employ 25 people at the Dunwoody location initially, with aggressive plans for growth over the next year. Scius offers the entire portfolio of Microsoft Dynamics solutions, including GP, NAV, AX, SL, and CRM, as well as the company's Business Intelligence solutions and Cloud-based services. "Our new Atlanta office will solidify Socius' presence in the Southeastern United States and expand our reach as an award-winning Microsoft Dynamics partner," said Jeff Geisler, CEO and Senior Managing Director of Socius. "But more importantly, it will allow us to better serve our existing client base in the region, and it will be a catalyst for growth for our entire portfolio." Socius leverages its technology solutions in industries ranging from manufacturing and distribution to professional services, healthcare and financial services. To learn more about how Socius can help your business leverage technology, visit www.socius1.com. About Socius: Socius (www.socius1.com) is a strategic business consulting partner that provides comprehensive business management solutions to help companies leverage technology to fuel their growth and profitability and compete more successfully in today's economy. As a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner, a Sage Authorized Partner, and a NetSuite Partner, Socius represents the most trusted accounting, enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and business intelligence and analytics technologies on the market. Backed by over 30 years of award-winning experience, Socius proudly serves clients throughout the country from its headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, and its 28 additional locations. For more information, contact: Erin Paulson 614-798-0770 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160531/373842 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160412/354341LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/socius-expands-southern-us-presence-with-new-atlanta-office-300277778.html SOURCE Socius [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] President of HEAT Presents EDAR Emissions Camera to UK Parliament Hager Environmental & Atmospheric Technologies (HEAT) was recently invited to present about their Emissions Detection and Reporting (EDAR) system to United Kingdom Parliament at the House of Commons. Yolla Hager, president of HEAT, said, "It was such a huge honor to be given the opportunity to present our technology to Parliament and the Prime Minister's office at 10 Downing Street." Yolla Hager, presented on how EDAR can provide a solution for monitoring real world driving emissions which can in turn help improve air quality in London. The issue of air quality in London can no longer be ignored. It is a visible threat that is killing tens of thousands each year prematurely. Vehicles are becoming smarter and cleaner everyday, therefore a technology such as EDAR is a necessity to capture extremely accurate real world on road emissions data and driving habits of motorists in their natural environment. It is also extremely important to collect real world data to combat devices much like Volkswagen's defeat deice. Yolla Hager's presentation focused on how EDAR's sophisticated and advanced technology works, the benefits of EDAR, and how it could be implemented in tandem with the Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ). New London Mayor, Sadiq Kahn, is dedicated to solving the London air pollution crisis. His first major policy announcement in office was to tackle the air pollution problem by doubling the ULEZs. HEAT believes that the implementation of EDAR can assist with his goals. HEAT would like to thank the UK Parliament and the policy advisors to the Prime Minister for inviting them to present on how EDAR may help benefit clean air zones. It was an incredible honor to be given the opportunity. Hager Environmental and Atmospheric Technologies, LLC (HEAT) was founded in 2009 by PhD Molecular Physicist, J. Stewart Hager. Dr. Hager has over 25 years experience working with remote sensing technology, including consulting with NASA Langley on the ASCENDS satellite. The device developed by Dr. Hager, EDAR, is an independent emissions-testing system that measures pollution where it occurs, on the open road. Dr. Hager works with a team of experienced engineers and technicians, cumulatively, which represents over 80 years of professional experience. Please visit www.heatremotesensing.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601006409/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] EFCA: Arizona Public Service Seeks Unprecedented Rate Change for Customers, Elimination of Net Metering PHOENIX, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Arizona's largest utility provider, Arizona Public Service, has filed a radical and untested proposal seeking to become the first utility in the United States to impose mandatory demand charges on its customers. The utility is also seeking to eliminate net metering, rooftop solar's cornerstone policy. Arizona, once considered a national leader for rooftop solar, has seen its solar progress grind to a halt over the last few years due to persistent utility attacks. This year, the utility attacks are aimed at all ratepayers of Arizona, designed to keep people from going solar. Kris Mayes, of the Energy Freedom Coalition of America (EFCA), voiced concern about the APS proposal: "Demand charges are a dangerous plan that will force customers to constantly monitor their energy use out of fear of exorbitant charges. They specially penalize customers who have made substantial investments to reduce energy and contribute to more resilient Arizona energy future." "The loss of net metering in Arizona would mean the loss of thousands of jobs and consumer choice. Arizona will take a giant step backwards in transforming its energy future if this proposal is approved." The Conservative Alliance for Solar Energy, CASE, also criticized the APS plan, calling it an overt attempt to stifle competition in Arizona. "This effort by APS to impose demand charges poses a serious setback to the ability of all Arizonans to produce their own power," said Dru Bacon, co-Chairman of CASE. "We call on the Commission to reject this anti-competitive plan." Across the country, critics of demand charges ranging from the solar industry to AARP have pushed back on utility proposals that include demand charges and have prevailed. Salt River Project instituted demand rates for solar customers that ended the industry overnight. Net metering was eliminated in Nevada and killed the solar industry. Here, Arizona Public Service is asking to do both. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/efca-arizona-public-service-seeks-unprecedented-rate-change-for-customers-elimination-of-net-metering-300278205.html SOURCE Energy Freedom Coalition of America [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Obama States His Apple Case President Obama was at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, this spring offering details on his position that Apple should help the government access the data on the San Bernardino shooters iPhone. If, technologically, it is possible to make an impenetrable device or system, where the encryption is so strong that there is no key, there is no door at all, then how do we apprehend the child pornographer? Obama said. How do we disrupt a terrorist plot? (The government has since been able to access the data on that iPhone, and without the help of Apple.) OTT Providers Continue Adding Security Despite Wiretap Concerns Popular online entities continue to advance the security they deliver around their services and capabilities despite the challenges that can create for law enforcement officials. For example, Google is investigating whether the encryption it uses for emails today can be applied to other products. And a report by The Guardian says Snapchat is also working to introduce a more secure messaging system. The discussion about the challenges this kind of thing presents to law enforcement officials resurfaced recently when the FBI recently began pushing Apple to unlock its iPhones to help it access information on the San Bernardino shooters iPhone. Apple refused. As part of a separate effort, the government has obtained a wiretap order authorizing real time acquisition of the WhatsApp messages (probably text chats rather than voice calls, but thats unclear at this stage) in an ongoing criminal investigation. However, WhatsApp is unable to provide decrypted text in response to the wiretap order due to the end-to-end security it has put in place for users. FCC Leader Espouses Personal Privacy Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler (News - Alert) recently shared his view that consumers should be able to dictate how their internet service providers use their information. Under my proposal, ISPs would be able to use information about where you want to go on the internet in order to deliver the broadband service you signed up for, just as phone companies can use the phone numbers you dial to connect you to your calls, he said. They would also be able to use customer information for other purposes that are consistent with customer expectations; for example, to market higher speed connections and to bill for their services. ISPs would be able to use and share customer information with their affiliates to market other communications-related services unless you opt out and ask them not to. All other uses and sharing of your personal data would require your affirmative opt-in consent. Microsoft (News - Alert) Adds Security Features Last year Microsoft introduced Office 365 Enterprise E5, which included new menu options. Its latest version of the Office productivity suite, which has been developed specifically to tackle challenges facing enterprise customers in the mobile and cloud era, is Office 2016. Features include real-time protection against malware, viruses and malicious URLs with advanced threat protection; built-in data loss prevention that significantly reduces the risk of leaking sensitive data, which is fully supported in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook; and when away from the corporate network, content can be securely accessed anywhere through the use of multi-factor authentication. Study Considers Online Shopping Security Eighty percent of respondents of a recent study said they would be more likely to use a motion code-enabled card vs. one with a printed, static CVV for online shopping. These research results come courtesy of embedded security software provider Oberthur Technologies. ManageEngine Offers Single Sign-On ManageEngines self-service password management solution ADSelfService Plus now enables end users to access SaaS and on-premises applications without having to log in to each application separately. Managing identities across multiple applications is a hassle for both the IT staff and the end users alike, said Parthiban Paramasivam, product manager at ManageEngine. Single sign-on provides end users with a convenient method of accessing all of their accounts with a single set of credentials. And since ADSelfService Plus uses existing Active Directory credentials for authentication, you can secure the various accounts of end users behind the strong and complex domain password policies of your Windows environment. MegaPath Simplifies SMB Security MegaPath has released its Managed IPsec VPN and Unified Threat Management solution. The new managed network and security service, which is suited for small and medium businesses, is fast and simple to implement, the company says. Do-it-yourself networking and data security can be complex, time-consuming, and difficult to implement and manage, said Kurt Hoffman, president and CEO, MegaPath. MegaPath simplifies networking and security for our customers by taking the burden off of IT managers and business owners to secure their networks. SMB customers and their IT partners can now rely on a single service organization for the licensing, procurement, installation, management, and maintenance of their secure network infrastructure, all for a single flat fee per site. Verizon (News - Alert) Looks at the Human Side of Security The Verizon 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report, considered the gold standard of security reports, is now available. The report this year emphasizes that cybercriminals exploit human nature. It shines a bright light on the fact that when it comes to cyber safety we tend to be trusting and open things we should not, and that most organizations and individuals need to be much more cautious, writes Peter Bernstein, senior editor for INTERNET TELEPHONY parent company TMC. It also highlights the realities that monetization is now a hacking priority and we are doing way too good job of contributing to the cause. NTT Looks at the International Threat Landscape A new report from NTT Group company Solutionary provides a detailed assessment of the international threat landscape. The Global Threat Intelligence Report is a 74-page missive that presents input from the Center for Internet Security, Lockheed Martin, Recorded Future (News - Alert), and Wapack Labs. Mobile Malware Sees Alarming Rise Check Point Software Technologies says there is an alarming rise of mobile malware. Android (News - Alert) is the most common target, the company pointed out. One of the newest and most prevalent threats in this realm is a mobile malware known as HummingBad, which appeared on the Check Point report for the first time this February. Malicious Domain Discovery Service Becomes Available High-Tech Bridge has added to its portfolio of free web services domain security radar. The new service reveals various unethical, malicious, or illegal activities with domain names, such as identity theft, brand and trademark forgery, domain squatting, typosquatting, and phishing. All you have to do to use it is input a URL. Edited by Maurice Nagle FCC (News - Alert) Chairman Tom Wheeler in late March delivered an address touching on wireless spectrum to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Heres an excerpt of his comments. Next week, the FCC will make history when it launches the worlds first Incentive Auction. Our key goal is to repurpose as much spectrum for mobile broadband as the market demands to meet growing consumer needs, and that means deploying networks using these frequencies in a timely manner. To ensure preservation of service for broadcast viewers and timely network deployment, we have been focused on post-auction planning for over a year, including the release of the draft relocation reimbursement form and a reimbursement cost catalog, and weve already begun to pivot and to accelerate our planning for the post-auction transition. I recognize that getting the transition right is as important as getting the auction itself right. Like the auction, the transition will be a complex, multi-disciplinary effort that will span several years. The task force approach has served us well in designing and implementing the auction, and I believe it is the appropriate structure for ensuring that the transition has the focus and attention it requires. I therefore intend to maintain the task force when the auction is complete; as we move forward, its mission will evolve from auction to transition. Just as bipartisan support helped enable the incentive auction, there is growing bipartisan interest in the next big thing in spectrum policy: 5G. With very fast speeds, scale to support billions of sensors, and reduced latency, 5G will allow us to realize the full potential of so many promising, yet nascent broadband-enabled breakthroughs. It wont just improve existing commercial and government uses, but also applications still on the horizon, like Internet of Things and connected cars. Fundamentally, were approaching 5G as we have with previous generations of wireless by adopting a flexible use policy and assuring that spectrum is available to be deployed when the private sector has arrived at the requisite technical standards and network architectures. This approach made us successful as global leaders in 4G LTE (News - Alert). At this point, none of us knows exactly what 5G will be, but we can be certain that the spectrum requirements will be dynamic and ever-changing. Accordingly, our spectrum policy must be equally dynamic to address a wireless reality that is still evolving. We must continue to employ flexible use policies that encourage private-sector innovation and investment, while increasing our commitment to spectrum sharing, opening new bands for broadband, and establishing smart approaches to wireless infrastructure. We can also facilitate investment in 5G technology by removing barriers to infrastructure deployment. Commissioner Pai has been a strong advocate for eliminating barriers to wireless infrastructure deployment, and I look forward to working with him and the other commissioners on this important issue moving forward. Rest assured that spurring 5G innovation and deployment is one of the commissions highest priorities. In fact, the commission launched what we call our Spectrum (News - Alert) Frontiers rulemaking to explore the use of millimeter wave spectrum the airwaves at 24GHz and above for 5G. I was disappointed that one of the bands the FCC identified for possible 5G use 28GHz was rejected for study by the International Telecommunication Union at last years World Radio Conference in Geneva. While international coordination is preferable, I believe we should move forward with exploration of the 28GHz band, and we plan to act on the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding this summer. Edited by Maurice Nagle What you need to know about Powerball and the $700 million jackpot You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). TAIPEI, Taiwan Microsoft's Hololens apps and operating system willl soon have an entire ecosystem of third-party siblings it can talk to. Today at its Computex 2016 keynote address, Microsoft announced that it is officially opening the Windows Holographic OS that powers its headset to non-Microsoft devices. The company also announced that HTC's Vive will be one of the first of those headsets to run Windows Holographic apps. During his presentation, Microsoft Hololens head Alex Kipman invited hardware partners to join the Windows Holographic ecosystem and showed a couple of demos of cross-headset collaboration. In a video clip he showed, three business people in three different locations hold a virtual meeting together to help one of them design a new retail store, moving objects around in an augmented workspace. While two of the people were wearing Hololenses, a third joined the meeting and helped plan the virtual store while wearing an HTC Vive. MORE: Best HTC Vive Games Virtual Meeting. The orange guy is wearing a Vive in real life. In an on-stage demo, two Microsoft employees built a 3D model of a motorcycle together in augmented reality, with one of them wearing a Hololens and the other using a Vive. Microsoft's decision to allow other vendors to join the Holographic ecosystem makes a lot of sense, and is really long overdue. The company's greatest success, Microsoft Windows, could never have happened without a huge ecosystem of PC vendors making their own hardware. A Vive wearer and a Hololens wearer collaborate Considering that the Hololens developer kit costs $3,000 right now, opening the platform to third-party products should significantly reduce the cost for end users. The HTC Vive costs just $799, though it requires an expensive PC to run. Hopefully, other companies make their own Holo-compatible headsets at mainstream prices. What remains unclear is how third-party devices will interact with Windows Holographic. Will products like the Vive run a full-fledged copy of the operating system and UI or will they just be able to run Holo apps? Kipman said that "Windows holographic is coming to PCs," but he didn't explain whether the OS would actually run on desktop computers and how it would look on a 2D screen. Holo partners Microsoft Executive VP of Windows and Devices Terry Myerson took the stage to announce that the company is already working with a number of hardware partners on the Holo initiative, including Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Asus. He promised that the company would provide more details at its WinHEC conference in the fall. Thermaltake announced six new eco-friendly power supplies at Computex today. Three platinum-rated, and three gold-rated DPS G RGB series units will launch in the coming weeks, featuring RGB lighting, smart power management and a companion mobile app that warns you if theres a problem with the power delivery system. Thermaltake launched the Toughpower DPS G RGB modular power supply series in January with a single 1250w model. The company must have enjoyed strong demand for the RGB-lit, energy-efficient power supply, because it decided to expand the lineup with a half dozen more models. The platinum lineup expanded to four models, including newly announced 850w, 1000w and 1500w products. Thermaltake has added a gold series Toughpower DPS G RGB lineup, and it includes 650w, 750w and 850w units. Thermaltakes Toughpower DPS G RGB power supplies feature an 140mm RGB fan with digital fan control. Thermaltakes software allows you to monitor and adjust fan speeds and noise. There are three adjustment modes: Silent, which puts emphasis on keeping volume levels low; Performance, which doesn't; and Smart Zero Fan mode, which leaves the fan idle as much as it can. The fan color can also be adjusted between 256 different options, and the fan color selection will remain even if the power supply is unplugged. Thermaltake said that all Toughpower DPS G RGB power supplies are built with 100% Japanese capacitors and the company backs its product with a 10-year warranty. Platinum-rated units deliver up to 94 percent efficiency, gold rated units boast 90 percent efficiency. The main difference between the gold series and the platinum series DPS G RGB power suppliesaside from their efficiency ratingsare the microcontroller units that each series employs. The platinum series features a 32-bit MCU from STMicroelectronics. The gold series features Microchip Technology MCUs. Were not sure what the differences between the two devices are, but we surmise it comes down to cost. Both MCU devices offer the same functionality. The entire lineup of Toughpower DPS G RGB power supplies offer Smart Power Management (SPM), which is controlled by the MCU. Thermaltake offers a companion application that you can install on your smart phone to access power usage data from anywhere. The MCU monitors the power delivery system and will warn you if theres an irregularity. The app will let you reboot or shutdown the system remotely if necessary. SPM is also able to generate power efficiency and usage reports. The Efficiency/Wattage report is presented in a number of graphs that let you determine how much power you are using, and it will help you assess the power supply capacity you need to achieve maximum energy conservation. Thermaltake has not yet revealed the pricing for each model, but we dont expect them to be cheap. The 1250w DPS G RGB launched in January for $379. The company said that the new entrants to the DPS G RGB series will be available in Q2, so they should be on store shelves in a matter of weeks. Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube. UNIFY Gathering is already one of the biggest names on the Australian festival calendar and organisers are set to cement that reputation in 2017 with a two-night, three-day camping experience packed with heavy music. Taking over Tarwin Meadows in Gippsland, Victoria, about a two-hour drive from Melbourne, this January, early bird tickets for UNIFY 2017 will go on sale to previous ticket holders on Friday, 3rd June and are expected to sell out. Speaking to Hysteria, UNFD General Manager and UNIFY Gathering organiser Luke Logemann said organisers couldnt be more excited about UNIFY 2017 and gushed about the absolutely amazing lineup, which will drop 22nd June. We have one band playing a classic album from 2008, he said. We have two bands reforming to play. We have three bands returning from UNIFY 15 and three bands returning from UNIFY 16. And we have seven internationals from three different countries. One big thing is that we did a survey of everyone who came along in our first two years. We had more than half of the ticket buyers respond with feedback, and weve made changes that will directly address as much of the feedback as possible. [include_post id=469234] Logemann promised more toilets and shade, less dust, lots of new food options and well try not to sell out of merch in the first few hours this time. There will also be a new VIP experience available to ticket-holders. Ive always been sceptical of this kinda stuff, Logemann admitted, but so many fans have requested those options that we decided to give it a shot. Those will be available as ticket upgrades from 29 June onwards. UNIFY 2017 is where we establish this festival as an event people look forward to and trust for decades to come. With previous lineups hosting names like Amity Affliction and Parkway Drive, UNIFY 2017 will no doubt be huge. UNIFY Gathering 2017 Friday, 13th January Sunday, 15th January 2017 Tarwin Meadows, Gippsland VIC (18+) Tickets: UNIFY Gathering If youre not familiar with the devastating impacts and overall unpopularity of NSWs lockout laws, you probably need to read more. Suffice it to say theyre devastating and unpopular and will soon be introduced in Brisbane. Other states either already have some form of lockout in place or are considering taking on their own form of the controversial laws. Victoria is the only state without them, having briefly toyed with the idea some years back. But despite all the criticism, theres now calls for the laws to be adopted nationwide and implemented by the federal government alongside an adoption of higher alcohol taxes and a ban on alcohol sponsorship in sport. As ABC News reports, St Vincents Health Australia is urging the government and the major political parties to take heed of their new proposal as part of a bid to reduce alcohol-related harm by 20 percent by 2025. Youve got 157,000 people every year going into hospital, youve got around 60 per cent of crime in Australia related to alcohol, [and] nearly a billion dollars spent on putting people into hospital because of alcohol, CEO Toby Hall told ABC. The policies were talking about will have a significant benefit for the wider community, particularly in reducing some of the crimes that we see around us which are really disturbing society at the moment. St Vincents recommendations centre around a floor price on alcohol and a new tax system based on the volume of alcohol in a drink. For example, under such laws, normally cheap, high-alcohol wine would become more expensive. You can go to any bottle store in Australia and you can buy a bottle of wine at 11 per cent proof for around $2.50 now, and that is meaning there is very easy access to quite high-volume alcohol, Mr Hall said. Whilst there is sound reasoning in such a tax, particularly when much of the world bases its alcohol tax on volumes and its been shown to reduce alcohol consumption, the suggestion of introducing Sydney-style lockouts nationwide is perturbing. St Vincents would like the federal government to pressure states and territories into introducing lockout laws that would see bottle shops closing at 10pm and bars and clubs not serving alcohol after 3am. [include_post id=472081] The evidence has shown where bottle stores close earlier and clubs close earlier theres less domestic violence, theres less violent assault, Mr Hall said, though such evidence, particularly in Sydney, has been disputed. This is not about being wowsers, this is not about a nanny state, its saying lets learn to have fun, enjoy ourselves, go out to nightclubs, go out to sport, but lets not associate alcohol with that, Mr Hall said. According to St Vincents, their suggestions would result in 30,000 fewer hospital admissions per year and prevent three alcohol-related deaths per day. But even those who agree Australias alcohol problem must be addressed dont agree with the lockout laws. The organisers of a pro-cannabis mini-music festival set to take place this Sunday in Sydneys Victoria Park claim Facebook have censored their event, even alleging that NSW Police may be behind the deletion of their popular Facebook event page. Free Cannabis NSW announced their Free Cannabis Picnic shortly after their inaugural picnic event concluded back in April. A few thousand people subsequently RSVPd to the event, which features a lineup of bands, comedians, a food menu, and competitions. But according to a spokesperson for Free Cannabis NSW, the popular event page for the picnic was suddenly taken down last night over claims it violated Facebooks terms of service. Organisers werent given any further information. I contacted Facebooks PR people, N2N Communcations, here in Sydney via email this morning, the spokesperson told Tone Deaf. Then Chris, the organiser of the festival, contacted Facebook and had a telephone conversation and wrote a follow-up email. Were waiting now to see if they reinstate the event with all the 1,500 people coming and 3,000 people interested. The timing of it all is very suspicious, because the event has been up for two months, literally since our last picnic in April. That event wasnt deleted off of Facebook and we had about 1,000 people say they were coming, about 250 actually ended up attending. Theres now suspicions a member of the NSW Police force may have filed a complaint with Facebook about the event. Four days before this event, without any information or communication, they decided to delete it and I sincerely think it has to do with someone complaining, perhaps from NSW Police or the community, who doesnt like cannabis, the spokesperson said. [include_post id=474712] Weve got other picnic events for other states, like one in Brisbane on 18th June, and that Facebook event is still up. Theyve simply deleted the biggest one and thats going to be the kind of historic one. I think police are getting a bit angry about the kind of success were getting and the wide community support, because people of all ages and genders, people with cancer, with medical needs, and just recreational smokers are gathering together. According to the spokesperson, Facebook have subsequently claimed that it was a mistake to pull down the page and that they are trying to reinstate it with all the people who were attending re-connected to it, though the page remains offline. Tone Deaf have reached out to Facebooks Australian PR representatives for comment. Free Cannabis NSW Picnic Sunday, 5th June 2016 Victoria Park, Sydney Law enforcement leaders, community partners oppose disclosure of victims' personal info Here's an important bit of advocacy that might encourage locals to stand up against crime but also has consequences for defendants and theirHere's the word just released moments ago, you decide . . .Kansas Citys leading public safety chiefs, the elected prosecutor and community partners have joined together to oppose a St. Louis Courts order to turn over highly personal information, including social security numbers and personal phone numbers, to criminal defendants, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.We want to protect victims and witness, rather than expose them to potential harm just because they have participated in our justice system, Baker said in a statement issued by her office today. Our goal is always to protect them, as well as the privacy of first responders and law enforcement officers.Baker, Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte, Fire Chief Paul Berardi and community partner Ad Hoc Group Against Crime and Rose Brooks Center stated in a friend-of-the-court brief or amicus curiae that the recent St. Louis courts requirement that personal information of crime victims and witnesses be turned over to criminal defendants violates their constitutional rights and threatens public safety by jeopardizing prosecutions of dangerous criminals.The St. Louis courts requirement would greatly hamper the efforts of the Prosecutors Office to fulfill their duty to keep victims and witnesses in Jackson County cases safe from threats and criminal harm, the prosecutors office argued in the brief, filed today in the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals. Future cooperation of victims and witnesses in future criminal actions against dangerous criminals may be jeopardized, the brief further stated. Under the St. Louis ruling, any individual who cooperates with police by simply answering a question of a police officer is not warned in advance that their highly personal information will be turned over to a defendant. They also get no opportunity to challenge such disclosure.Whats more, the St. Louis courts ruling jeopardize public servants, including police officers and firefighters, who have never agreed that their highly restrictive personnel information should be disclosed in criminal cases, the brief argued.If the State is required to disclose personal information of all witnesses in criminal cases, such a rule would infringe on the privacy interests of the employees of these amici and may make it more difficult for amici to attract and retain potential employees, the legal filing stated.In the St. Louis case that precipitated the judges order requiring disclosure of all witnesses personal information, the court chose not to place the information under a protective order. The Jackson County amicus brief makes clear that such a protective order would have been the appropriate way to assure the defendants discovery of relevant victim and witness information but still protect the more highly restrictive personal data.With the brief filed today, Jackson County prosecutors filed a motion seeking leave to file the brief.############### EARLY POLLING OF FREQUENT VOTERS REVEALS AN ONGOING KANSAS CITY TAX REBELLION FROM RESIDENTS WEARY OF RISING LEVIES & FEES!!! This afternoon there's news spreading like wildfire among Kansas City Insiders who are desperate for cash amid talk of upcoming economic harsh times confronting all Americans.To wit . . .To be fair, this is the only weak spot in the poll that overall noted high approval for the tax that would be used to fund water infrastructure, roads and several other worthwhile projects.Still . . . While the e-tax campaign effectively used fear to influence voters . . . Promises that more tax cash won't just be handed over to developers will be a tougher sell given the record of the current administration.You decide . . . Has The Star Finally Killed The Pitch??? Is Mr. Vockrodt Now Doomed To Rewrite Presser Copy Like Most Of The Worthless KC Star Biz Section?!? Amid Declining Print Numbers Overall, Does This Move Matter To Anybody But Politicos??? The misadventures of Kansas City Dead Tree Media reporters haven't really been that exciting since Nixon was in office. TV newsies have all the fun, harass all the women-folk, "date" quasi-celebs and crash a car every now and then.However . . .A recent career move for Pitch reporteris interesting if only because it feels like the daily newspaper is buying silence and not rather impressive investigative skills.that was touted in the comments of this blog weeks ago by n-word guy who also, sadly, seems to work for The Star and spam this blog every so often . . . The thought was that this would make TKC jealous (???) when it actually seems like more of a career death sentence:The clueless on social media have been offering their congratulations so it's up to our blog community to offer a bit of perspective . . .Here are the questions that this move brings to mind . . .Whilst INK remains an almost completely unread insult to the written word, this bit of job poaching is a more serious strike at the weekly alternative to The Star. Also, Star insiders have taken to our blog in order to trash the Pitch and their printing choices . . . The reality here is that real animosity might exist betwixt the last few rats left on both Dead Tree Media ships.The money move for the last, great Star biz writer was an EPIC sellout to work PR @ Burns & Mac. This might be a career path for Vockrodt but it seems like a waste. The writing style of this KC newsie was always a bit boring for our bloggy community but there's no doubt that he was a gifted reporter... The risk here is one of the rising stars of Kansas City journalism will fade into the white noise that is most MSM content.Real talk . . . More people care aboutthan anything written in The Pitch or The Star - And that big-ass white lady was just a commercial for Hasbro & Kohl's. But I digress . . . Reality: Biz and political news for Kansas City is such a small niche that most publications have abandoned coverage altogether and the most successful outlets have refitted to a sponsored content model a la KC Magazine.Still, because debates about "journalism" are for chronically bored middle-class white senior citizens . . . We'll stipulate that the future of "journalism" (ugh) is looking dire for KCMO inasmuch as the d-bags on Twitter will pretend to care about this event and then move on to the next update of "news" that in no way impacts their lives.Developing . . . Tourexpi, turizm haberleri, Reiseburos, tourism news, noticias de turismo, Tourismus Nachrichten, , travel tourism news, international tourism news, Urlaub, urlaub in der turkei, , holidays in Turkey, , global tourism news, dunya turizm, dunya turizm haberleri, Seyahat Acentas, This site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+, at a minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768. Governments of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) countries must explore innovative ways of working together as trading blocs to ensure the long term success of the initiative, DP World Group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem has said. After participating in a panel discussion exploring Europe-Asia infrastructure connectivity at the Astana Economic Forum in Kazakhstan last week, Bin Sulayem said trading blocs such as the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and other European cooperative organisations need to focus on the provision of basic infrastructure and the networking of transport and logistics for nations to realise the economic benefits, said a statement. Only by doing this, they would attract investors to bridge the estimated $5 trillion infrastructure gap of OBOR countries, he said. One Belt, One Road project aims the creation of an economic land belt that includes countries on the original Silk Road through Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East and Europe, as well as a maritime road that links Chinas port facilities with the African coast, pushing up through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean. He suggested that less bureaucracy and cross border cooperation with more hard and soft infrastructure is needed to promote seamless trade movement to achieve the goals of the OBOR plan. Bin Sulayem met the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov at the forum and shared the panel session with Askar Mamin, President of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national railway company of Kazakhstan, and other government and railway experts from around the world. He said the European, Central Asian and Middle Eastern states transportation grid, communications networks, energy resources and electricity systems are key to developing wealth and the OBOR corridor can only prosper when human resources, logistics and trade flows have been enabled by provision of integrated infrastructure. These trading blocs have the capacity to bring about change and to ensure engagement and equal partnerships with China, complementing national efforts to increase collaboration through public private partnerships (PPPs) and other models. Bin Sulayem said: Commentators estimate that OBOR countries need another $5 trillion for infrastructure development from 2016 to 2020. One way to fund it is by trading blocs finding innovative ways of working together with a focus on infrastructure provision, developing the financial markets, mitigating risks and eliminating red tape to attract investors. At DP World, we have global experience of enabling trade. We have 77 marine and inland terminal across six continents all with governments and other stakeholders because we are stronger together in realising new trade routes and ensuring global connectivity. This means using multi-modal transport options by road, rail, air and sea linked to free zones, marine and inland container terminals in locations where customers want them to be and where there is demand, he said. All of this is then backed by soft infrastructure and digital technologies that enable trade to happen and increase efficiencies. Our flagship Jebel Ali port and Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) are leading trade enabling examples featuring connected transport modes and reducing costs for business. The facilities are linked through smart technologies that deliver faster, safer and more efficient services, including the Dubai Trade electronic portal, which serves as a one-stop shop for customs, clearance and all related services, he added. TradeArabia News Service Hilton Worldwide today signed a management agreement with United Tower Real Estate to open a DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel at the Dilmunia Island project, currently under development off the coast of Bahrain. Carlos Khneisser, vice president of development, Middle East & North Africa, said: With more than 70 per cent of our Middle East pipeline currently under construction, Hiltons presence is growing rapidly across the region. The project at Dilmunia Island will be an outstanding addition to the Hilton portfolio in the Middle East, and further enhance Bahrain as a hugely popular destination for travellers to the region. Featuring 237 serviced apartments, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bahrain Dilmunia Island will offer a mix of studio, one and two bedroom apartments. Guests will be able to choose from three dining outlets including an all-day dining restaurant, a lobby cafe and a pool cafe. Leisure facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, a spa, health club and salon. For business guests, the hotel will offer four meeting rooms, a boardroom and a business center. Wellbeing and vitality are a focus at Dilmunia Island, which includes residential and shopping areas, and a health district. The mixed-use development is one of several large scale projects being built in line with Bahrains Economic Vision 2030, a plan which aims to diversify the countrys economy. Ahmed Mahmood Mohamed al Qaed, owner of United Tower Real Estate, said: We are pleased to have signed an agreement with Hilton Worldwide to open DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bahrain Dilmunia Island. We look forward to welcoming guests and showcasing the property as part of Dilmunia Island, which we expect to become a major destination for locals and visitors to Bahrain. Dilmunia Island CEO Mohammed Alsayed said: We are very pleased with the progress of the Dilmunia Island project which will integrate modernity, balanced life-style and well-being across the well-planned island development. With the arrival of DoubleTree, we will certainly enhance the visitor experience marking it out as one of the most prestigious projects in the region. With historic attractions such as the over 1000-year old burial mounds, Qalat Al Bahrain Fort, the Al Khamis Mosque and the Arad Fort, as well as modern attractions such as shopping malls and the Formula One Grand Prix, Bahrain is a popular tourist destination for travellers within the GCC. DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bahrain Dilmunia Island will enable easy connections to Saudi Arabia, and Bahrains new international Airport, which is located approximately 10 kilometers from the hotel. We are delighted to have signed a second DoubleTree property in Bahrain, said Dianna Vaughan, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton and Curio A Collection by Hilton. At more than 460 DoubleTree properties globally, our unique style of hospitality begins with a warm chocolate chip cookie welcome upon arrival and continues with excellent service throughout the stay. Hilton now features three properties across its Bahraini development pipeline, in its Hilton Hotels & Resorts and DoubleTree by Hilton portfolio. There are more than 67 properties currently under development in the Middle East, which will more than double the existing portfolio size over the next few years. - TradeArabia News Service Oman Air today celebrated its maiden flight to Mashhad, Iran, a new route launched by the national airline which will strengthen the well-established bilateral trade links between Oman and Iran. A celebratory cake cutting ceremony was held at the Muscat International airport and was attended by Mohammed Jawad bin Hassan bin Sulaiman, advisor to the Omani Ministry of Finance, and other top officials from Oman Air. The new daily service is Oman Airs second to Iran, following the launch of flights to Tehran in 2012. It utilises a Boeing 737-800 aircraft and flights depart Muscat International Airport at 14.00, arriving at Mashhad International Airport (also known as Shahid Hashemi Nejad Airport) at 17.15. Return flights depart Mashhad International Airport at 21.45 and arrive in Muscat at 23.50 (all times quoted are local). Mashhad is Irans second most populous city, with around 2.8 million inhabitants. It is also a major centre for cultural, religious and business affairs. Return Economy Class seats from Muscat to Mashhad are currently available at a promotional rate of OMR110 ($284.7) per person, and return Business Class seats are available from OMR300 ($776.5) per person. Return flights from Mashhad to Muscat cost from $409 in Economy Class or $872 in Business Class. All prices are inclusive of tax and charges. - TradeArabia News Service JetBlue crew denied passenger only known by her screen name, Maggie Mcmuffin, boarding because the airline finds her clothing inappropriate. She was asked to cover up or else, she would not be allowed to board. This was despite the fact that this was a connecting flight in Boston on May 18, and she was allowed boarding on the earlier flight in New York. McMuffin, a burlesque dancer, was wearing a pair of very short stripy shorts, sweater, and thigh-high socks. "The flight crew had discussed it and the pilot had decided that I needed to put something else on," McMuffin told CBS station KIRO-TV. "Or I would not be allowed to board the flight." The grievance was also aired by Maggie's friend, Molly McIsaac, on Facebook. She showed the picture and asked her followers to make the post viral, as Maggie does not deserve the treatment. Her post now has 1,600 shares. "Sexism is alive and well in this world. How does what Maggie was wearing effect her ability to fly?" McIsaac asked. "It doesn't." McMuffin had to buy a new pair of shorts worth USD$22 and wear it, before she was allowed to board. JetBlue on their part supports the crew and pilot in their decision. The involved parties, JetBlue said, discussed about the clothing, and decided that it was too short and that it might offend other passengers on the plane. JetBlue claims that McMuffin was not denied boarding. The crew however asked her to change to more appropriate clothes. The plane has reimbursed the cost of the new shorts and offered her a USD$162 credit. McMuffin told MailOnline Travel she wants cash instead as she has no plans to fly with the airline again. It is a reminder for passengers to wear appropriate clothing when flying. Avoid tight clothes and opt instead for breathable fabrics. Avoid high heels and choose a comfortable pair. Avoid strong-scented perfume and opt to wear freshly washed clothing. Avoid offensive clothing and wear something that would not offend the sensitivities of fellow passengers. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 A temple mascot is catching the eye and the hearts of both young and old temple goers in Longquan Temple, Beijing, China. The 60-centimeter (or two feet) tall Xian'er is developed by Master Xianfan, with the help of a team of volunteers. Master Xianfan said he wants to use the robot to reach the younger generation and introduce Buddhism. He wants to show that Buddhism and science can coexist. Xian'er is dressed in a yellow robe, resembling a Buddhist monk. He has been programmed to answer at least 100 questions. He has been an Internet sensation ever since its debut at the Ghuangzhou Animation Festival on Oct 4, 2015. Master Xianxun, another Buddhist monk at the temple admits that Xian'er attracts attention because of its novelty. He pointed out that it encouraging people to get connected to Buddhism using a white sheet of paper takes time. In order to introduce people, "they need to get interested in the first place." Visitors from all around the country wanted to buy one Xian'er, but Xianfan says that there is only one robot monk in the temple and they don't have any plans on commercializing it. The creation of Xian'er is just one of the efforts of the temple to promote Buddhism to the technology-loving youth. Longquan Temple also released cartoon series starring Xian'er titled "Trouble, you seek for yourself" in Oct. 2015. So far, the incorporation of technology and Buddhism is doing a good job. The cartoon series have attracted over hundred million views on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. Another initiative is the release of comic books with the same brand of wisdom as Xian'er. It is quite surprising that the monks in the temple are educated, having backgrounds in aerospace, technology, mathematics, engineering, finance and medical science. Perhaps it is a strong move to convert some of China, a largely atheist country, into Buddhism. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 A Thai Buddhist temple that also doubles as a tourist destination, accused of wildlife trafficking violation, has lost three tigers in a bust headed by Thai wildlife authorities. Guns loaded with tranquilizers were used to calm down the three tigers before they were carried on stretchers and transferred to a government-owned shelter. Authorities promised to return and get remaining over 100 tigers. The bust was a response to international pressure against wildlife trafficking. The temple is allegedly involved in illegal tiger trade and animal abuse. The 1000-strong personnel are from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. They successfully extracted the tigers after they have acquired a court order. The temple, known as "Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua" or Tiger Temple, is located in the Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok. The place is frequented by international and local tourists who take pictures with them interacting with the tigers. Guests are even encouraged to bottle-feed the baby tigers or cubs. Past guests claim that some of the animals appear to be drugged. Wildlife activists have accused the temple monks of illegally breeding the big cats. The Tiger Temple denies all accusations, even claiming to be a wildlife sanctuary. The temple has been in battle with the authorities since 2001. The temple leaders have even blocked earlier government inspections. The government wants the tigers to be under state control. During the first two months of 2016, Thai government has been able to extract 10 tigers. Thailand has long been plagued by cases of wildlife and forest products trafficking. Native birds, reptiles and mammals, some endangered, are openly sold in public markets. This caught the attention of the international eye. In response to the pressure, Thailand introduced laws on animal welfare. Activists charge the law as one that is not well implemented. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 31 Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV), an organisation running an anti-tobacco campaign, has requested Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to enforce the law regarding 85 per cent pictorial warning on cigarette packs. In a letter written to the Chief Minister, VoTV patron Dr Prahlad Duggal said the Union Government had made 85 per cent pictorial health warning mandatory from April 1. Unfortunately in Punjab, the implementation of this order is not there. Old packings of tobacco products with smaller pictorial health warnings are available across the state and the enforcement authorities are silent about it. This effectively nullifies the Union Government order and favours tobacco companies, said Dr Duggal. He said he had seen old packings of cigarette in districts like Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Faridkot and Ferozepur. When one looks at the Punjab Cancer Atlas 2012-13, lung, food pipe and oral cavity cancers are among the top five cancers in males and most of these are tobacco related, said Dr Duggal. He said as per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), about 24 lakh Punjabis use tobacco in one form or the other. Meanwhile, the District Health Department organised a seminar and a play to create awareness about the harmful effects of smoking and chewing tobacco at the Civil Hospital. Civil Surgeon Dr Pardeep Chawla said the state government was soon going to classify e-cigarettes as an unapproved drug. He also stated that a person who offered cigarettes or other tobacco products to a minor could be sentenced to seven years of imprisonment under the Juvenile Justice Act. A play on harms of smoking was also organised by the Creative Arts theatre group on this occasion. Independent Students Federation burnt an effigy of drugs at the Hall Gate to observe the World No Tobacco Day today. The students body leaders said even as the district was accorded the status of a Smoke Free district, the local administration had failed in strictly curbing the problem. Tokyo/San Francisco/Hong Kong/Bengaluru, June 1 SoftBank Group Corp said it will sell at least $7.9 billion of shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd a move that will cut the Japanese firms debt amid worries about losses at its US telecoms unit Sprint Corp. The transaction marks the first sale of shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant by its largest shareholder since SoftBank began investing in the company in 2000, and will reduce its stake to around 28 per cent from 32.2 percent. The two companies said they would maintain a strategic partnership. Investors have been worried about finances at the Japanese internet and telecoms company since its 2013 acquisition of a majority stake in No. 4 US wireless carrier Sprint Corp, which has been burning cash amid fierce competition for subscribers. Hideaki Tanaka, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, said the move would be positive for SoftBanks shares. Although Softbank is stepping up investment in Internet firms, it is also making serious efforts to improve its financial standing, he wrote in a note to clients. Shares in SoftBank finished flat on Wednesday and are down 15 percent from a year ago due to concerns about its heavy debt burden. Shares in Alibaba fell 2.8 percent in extended trading a day earlier. The planned share sale will include $5 billion to $6 billion of stock that will be sold by private placement to institutional investors by a SoftBank-controlled trust. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank will manage that portion of the sale. Another $2 billion worth of stock will be bought by Alibaba using cash on hand and $400 million will be bought by the Alibaba Partnership, a 34-person group made up of Ma and other Alibaba founders and executives. An additional $500 million worth of stock is set to be sold to an unidentified sovereign wealth fund. SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son will remain a director at Alibaba, while Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma will remain on the board of SoftBank. SoftBank had also entered into a lockup agreement with Alibaba under which it will not transfer any Alibaba shares held by the company for six months. Keen to cut debt SoftBank had interest-bearing debt of 11.9 trillion yen ($107 billion) as of end-March, including 4 trillion yen at Sprint. Its debt-equity ratio stands at 4.56, much higher than the industry median of 0.32, according to Thomson Reuters data. In addition to the Alibaba stock sales, media reports have also said SoftBank is weighing a sale of its stake in Finnish smartphone game maker Supercell to lower its debt. SoftBank is known as a canny investor in raft of internet firms, ranging from Yahoo Japan to Indian ride-sharing firm Ola. Its initial investment in Alibaba was just $20 million. Some analysts said the timing of SoftBank stock sale was not auspicious given that Alibaba unnerved investors last week when it reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating its accounting practices. But Stifel analyst Scott Devitt maintained a buy rating on Alibaba after the Softbank sale. We do not view this as a shift in confidence from a major investor. In fact, it could remove an overhang of expectation of such an event, he said in a note. The news also comes amid speculation that US Web company Yahoo Inc may be looking at a disposal of its 15 per cent stake in Alibaba, along with a possible sale of its core business. An Alibaba spokeswoman declined to comment on the Yahoo-owned stake, and Yahoo did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 1 In a major security lapse, a youth entered the prohibited area of Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport with the help of fake travelling tickets. He was held by the station manager of Morelando Airlines when he was just going to board the flight for Jakarta, Indonesia, yesterday. The youth, identified as Prabhjot Singh Sekhon, son of Niranjan Singh, a resident of Kale Ghanupur in Chheharta, is now behind the bars. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) handed him over to the Airport police station which registered a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 447 (criminal trespass), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using a forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code. Various security and intelligence agencies have now been interrogating him as to how he managed to reach the very sensitive area and from where he got the fake travel tickets of Morelando Airlines. The officials were also looking into the genuineness of his visa and passport. A CISF official told the police that during checking, the air tickets in possession of the accused during the boarding of the flight for Jakarta, were found to be fake. He had forged the tickets to defraud the airways company but his cleverness landed him in jail. Talking to The Tribune, a senior official of the CISF said, The youth was held when he was loitering in the terminal area under suspicious circumstances. The airways company officials confirmed that the ticket he was having was a fake one. About the legality of visa and passport, he added that until the authorities concerned did not confirm, he could not say whether these were genuine or fake. He said the matter was now with the Airport police which was holding investigations in the case. Surjit Singh, investigating officer of the Airport police, said the accused was produced in the court which has sent him to a five-day police remand. Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 1 The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has initiated a probe into the app-based premium bus service scheme notified by the Arvind Kejriwal government this month, allegedly without obtaining the approval of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. The development, which could become yet another reason for confrontation between the two, came after a complaint by Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta over the notification. Confirming the probe, ACB chief MK Meena said, "The probe began following allegations that no prior approval of the Lt Governor was sought before the launch of the scheme and that it was aimed at benefiting a private company." Briefing reporters here, Gupta alleged that the AAP government intends to provide "financial benefit" to the Gurgaon-based private bus aggregator platform Shuttl at the cost of public exchequer. He said that he had written a comprehensive letter highlighting the "mala fide lapses" on the part of the Kejriwal government calling for an in-depth probe. "The Lt Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to notify that all premium buses which ply in Delhi in conformity with guidelines specified in the app-based premium bus services scheme shall be deemed to be used for the purpose of reducing pollution and shall be exempted from provision of sub section (1) of Section 66 of the said Act (Motor Vehicle Act 1998) to such an extent as may be necessary for operation of such buses," read the notification signed by Delhi Transport Commissioner Sanjay Kumar. The premium bus service scheme was notified on May 20. Further, Gupta quoted the media reports saying that the LG office had clarified on May 28 that "no approval" was granted by him for the bus service. "It calls for criminal probe into how the AAP government under the signature of Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport) could misuse Lt. Governor's name in this manner. It has blatantly misused a specific provision of the Motor Vehicle Act - 1988 incorporated therein to deal with extraordinary circumstances," the Leader of Opposition said. Alleging that the AAP government seems to be in "extraordinary hurry" to approve the scheme of Gurgaon-based bus aggregator platform Shuttl, Gupta claimed, "The procedure adopted leaves many questions unanswered. Though the scheme is not urgent in nature and the government could have followed the laid-down procedure of compulsory consultation with the Law and Finance Department, the rules and regulations were deliberately bypassed smacking of mala fide intentions of the decision-making authorities in the government." "The manner in which the decision was approved in the Cabinet without bothering to ensure that the due procedure was followed leaves no one in doubt that there was criminal intention to provide unprecedented benefit to the aforesaid private operator," he added. No registration of buses The registration of buses under app-based Premium Bus Scheme, which has come under the scanner of Anti-Corruption Branch, could not start today as Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has asked the Delhi Government to review the scheme. Calling the delay a "conspiracy" against the government, a senior official said that as the Lt Governor has raised objection to some aspects of the scheme, the government will communicate to the LG office on the issue. When asked about the ACB probe, he denied that any wrong has been committed, saying the ACB enquiry is being taken up only to delay the implementation of the scheme. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 31 Calling the Army for internal security is not a wise decision for any state government, observes the Prakash Singh Committee report. The deployment of the Army helped the Haryana Government bring the situation under control, but calling armed forces for matters of internal security should always be used as a last resort, it said. The report pointed out the Army was utilised in a big way in Haryana. There were a maximum of 74 columns on a particular day. The presence of the Army did make an impact. The situation was thereafter gradually brought under control. However, there have been disturbing whispers that the rioters were not particularly scared of the Army. The Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of the state had no hesitation in saying that the agitators were not daunted by the presence of the Army. This is not a happy situation and should cause us concern, the report said. The committee said that one reason could be that the Army is getting over-exposed. If this continues to happen, it will be good neither for the Army nor for the internal security of the country. Every force has a defined role and they should be able to perform that under normal circumstances. If there are any difficulties or constraints in the performance of the police, those difficulties need to be addressed and the constraints removed. The Army should be called as a last resort only when all other efforts have failed, the report added. The state government, as told by the then DGP, placed a demand for 100 companies of the Central Armed Polie Force and 200 columns of the Army. It was a fantastic, if not absurd, demand, the report observed. Vishal Joshi Tribune News Service Kurukshetra, June 1 Reacting to his name figuring in the Prakash Singh Committee report for allegedly instigating violence during the Jat quota stir, BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini on Wednesday alleged that the panel was influenced by Jat politicians. Questioning the panels integrity, Saini said he was neither questioned by the committee nor any clarification was sought on the allegations levelled against him. Saini told The Tribune that he would quit public life if even a single instance of instigating anyone against a particular community was proved against him. Since I belong to the OBC and raised the constitutionally valid subject for the weaker section, I am portrayed as a criminal. I feel pained over the unverified serious allegations. I have also spoken against leaders of my own party for being partisan on the Jat reservation issue and am trying to grab the constitutional right of the weaker communities in job reservation, he said. Saini said a video clip where he was seen using a foul word went viral a few weeks ago. It was a slip of tongue during a public address and I had clarified that very moment. But a section of the media portrayed it wrongly and it was made part of the committee report. On the other hand, the panel is silent on the role of several Jat BJP ministers from Haryana and Centre government who had openly supported Jat agitators to hold protests and block railway lines, he claimed. Saini said he would continue to support the cause of the weaker section. I have legal documents to prove that in Hisar district alone, the epicentre of two violent Jat agitations since 2010, the state police have not initiated any action against the Jat leaders booked for serious offences during the agitations. The biased police attitude encouraged the protesters to organise violence and arson but the panel is silent on these developments, he alleged. The committee talked of caste-biased public servants and it is a fact that the previous Jat chief ministers had wrongly accommodated their own community people in government jobs. As a section of Jats are threatening to launch another agitation, the state government should be extra-cautious on the dubious elements in the establishment, he said. Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, June 1 The Himachal Government has decided to lodge a strong protest with the Centre over the manner in which 27,000 out of a total of 40,000 samples of drugs from all over India have been collected from reputed pharmaceutical units in Baddi where 35 per cent of Asias pharma units are located. The representatives of the Rs 30,000 crore turnover pharma industry last week met Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur and Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri to express their displeasure and apprehension over such a move by the Drug Controller of India. They impressed upon the ministers that such steps had caused panic reaction as Baddi was being singled out to collect 27,000 drug samples in the whole country which was unusual and could prove to be counterproductive for the growth and expansion of Baddi as a pharma hub. We too share the concern of the pharma industry representatives as this is rather strange so I will personally take up the issue with Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, said Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri. He added that the announcement by Union Chemical Minister Ananth Kumar regarding setting up of the Rs 200 crore Bulk Drug Park and the Rs 8 crore pharma laboratory will give a major fillip to pharma industry. Agnihotri said reputed international and national names in the pharma industry like Abbot, Panacea, Dr Reddys, Cipla and Ranbaxy had their units in Baddi. Another very notable factor is that 130 of these pharma units comply with the WHO guidelines and 15 are registered with the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), a clear indication that very high standards are being maintained in drug production, he asserted. The owners of pharma industrial units have also conveyed to the state government that it has been conveyed to them that there will be further visits of the Central Drug Controlling authorities to these units in Baddi. Incidentally, 35 per cent of the total pharma units of Asia are located in the Baddi industrial area in Solan district. In fact, Baddi ranks third in terms of value of drugs produced and fourth in terms of volume of drugs in the world with USA being the global leader. There are a total of 540 pharma units and 160 world class cosmetics industries. Medicines, cosmetics and vaccines worth Rs 9,500 crore are being exported from Baddi to 200 countries. The prominent cosmetic companies having units at Baddi include Colgate, Procter and Gamble, Godrej, Unilever, Wipro and LOreal. Mohit Khanna Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 1 What if we are black. We are also human. Please come out of this stereotype and treat us as equal, said Khotso, from a landlocked country of Lesotho in Africa. The reaction came a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj refused to characterise the death of Congolese national Masonda Kitanda Olivier as a racist attack. A majority of the students studying at the PCTE institute have expressed their anguish against the law enforcement agencies. Ever since the Congolese national was killed, African students studying in the institute have been receiving frequent calls from their parents asking about their well-being. A majority of them have been told by their parents to leave the studies and return home if they feel unsafe. Khotso, a BCA II student, have had three run-ins with local residents in two years. He complained that in all three cases, the police and the local residents were biased. First incident took place over an year ago when we boarded a taxi at a shopping mall near Bhai Wala Chowk. Being foreigners, the taxi driver charged a whopping amount of Rs 1,000 from us. When we objected, the taxi driver called his accomplices and we entered into a fight outside our hostel. The local residents and the police sided with the taxi drivers. My studies were at stake. Finally, the matter was resolved with the intervention of the Embassy, said Khotso. He got emotional and his hands started to tremble. I dont know I should be sharing it with you or not. A few months ago, I, along with my girlfriend, was sitting at some distance from the hostel in Baddowal. Suddenly, four burly men surrounded us and tired to molest my girlfriend. That was harrowing. I had a fight and people of the area gathered there. The four men told the local residents that we were indulging in public display of affection. The local residents could not understand my language. Fortunately, the fellow students reached there and brought the situation under control. The matter reached the police but nothing was done. Recently, one of my friends was thrashed by 16 men outside a discotheque on Ferozepur Road. He was taking a selfie. The woman in the background thought she was being clicked. She told her husband who, along with 16 men, thrashed my friend. The police reached the spot and we also arrived there, but here, too, we found that the police sided with the locals. Mpuka Sylvain of Democratic Republic of Congo, who is studying in BCA I, was visibly upset over the death of Masonda Kitanda Olivier. Certainly, it is disturbing. My family is worried. A number of Indians are working in Congo or running businesses there. We treat them as equal. We also want to be treated in the same way. I do not understand why we are being treated with contempt. The mindset needs to be changed, opined Mapuka Sylvain. Nadine, a native of Burundi, said the recent killing has freshened the Yannick Nihangaza killing. Nihangaza, who was attacked near a private university near Jalandhar in 2012, died in a hospital after a year. Who else can explain the Punjabi hospitality better than a native of Burundi. I have been receiving constant calls from my parents. Naturally, they are worried as Yannick was killed in Punjab. I would say precaution is better than cure. We travel in a group and restrict our contacts with fellow Africans to avoid landing into any trouble, said Nadine. Eric, another African student, whose father is a diplomat, was all praise for Delhi. I had stayed in Delhi for five years. It is a fabulous place. Delhi is a home to many students from African countries. I do not know why this happened but it was unfortunate. I had a pleasant experience and have a lot of fond memories of my stay in Delhi, said Eric. Ansumana, a native of Gambia, said never did a police officer or any persons from the administration come and interacted with them and asked for their safety and well-being. Their only emergency contacts are the college authorities and Embassy officials. Communication gap to blame Ebrima K Yarboe of Gambia, a BBA student, broadly explains the problem between the Africans and the native. First, the law enforcement agencies need to work responsibly, otherwise the African students will look for safer options for studies which will not only result in economic loss to the country but also bring a bad name to the nation. Second, the major reason behind the trouble is the communication gap. A majority of residents, including the police, do not understand what we are saying and we could not understand their native language. Further, there is a culture shock. We have to understand the traditions here and the natives have to value our way of life. Punjabis are very hospitable and we should not form an opinion of a stray incident Washington, June 1 Voicing concern that a conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate to include nuclear weapons, the US has asked the two countries to engage in a sustained bilateral dialogue process and exercise maximum restraint to boost peace. We are concerned by nuclear and missile developments in South Asia, a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about the recent statement of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, 80, the father of Pakistans nuclear programme, that Islamabad has the ability to target New Delhi in five minutes. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter@thetribunechd) We are concerned by the increased security challenges that accompany growing stockpiles and the increased risk that a conventional conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate to include nuclear use. It is important that there be a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours, and that all parties in the region continuously act with maximum restraint and work collaboratively toward reducing tensions, the spokesperson said. Improvements in Indo-Pak bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, the official said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the State Department said it is looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US. We look forward to the prime ministers visit and we want it to be successful, State Department John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from June 4 which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on June 7 at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy, and will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. PTI Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 31 After an unsuccessful attempt by Akal Takht to mediate between Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrainwale and Damdami Taksal head Harnam Singh Dhumma, the SGPC today initiated efforts to resolve the issue. The executive committee of the SGPC, which met here today, decided to constitute a committee of neutral Panthic leaders to iron out the differences between the two warring factions. The move reportedly came on the directions by Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal. The matter assumed significance after both Sikh leaders blamed the government for playing a partisan role on the matter. It has been decided to rope in five to seven prominent Panthic personalities to strike a chord between the two warring factions, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said. Earlier on May 24, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh had tried to intervene and invited both groups at the Takht secretariat to find an amicable solution, but both sides rejected the proposal. Makkar meets Dhumma SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with Damdami Taksal (Mehta) head Harnam Singh Dhumma at the Taksals headquarters, Gurdwara Gurdarshan Parkash, near Amritsar. It is learnt that Makkar went to convince him to refrain from releasing any adverse comments against Dhadrianwale or the government and Akal Takht. Dhumma, who is considered close to the Badal family, recently slammed the Akali Dal, accusing it of initiating a biased probe into the attack on Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale. He also openly supported all those who were arrested in the case. He had held Dhadrianwale responsible for assault on him due to his "irresponsible utterances". Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 1 Panic and tension prevailed in Landhaura and the adjoining areas of Haridwar district today after villagers created a ruckus and vandalised government and private property. The district administration deployed an additional police force to maintain law and order in the town and 15 persons were arrested. Sources said the landlord of a shop, along with his three associates, threw away religious books and stationery items to get his shop vacated from the tenant. Residents of a community got infuriated after they saw religious books lying in the middle of the road. The agitated residents protested and blocked the vehicular traffic to register their protest. They demanded immediate arrest of the landlord and his supporters who insulted their religious books. The agitated residents pelted the Landhaura police post with stones during the protest. They alleged that the landlord was a close aide of the Khanpur MLA Kunwar Pratap Singh Champion. They created a ruckus at his residence and set ablaze a car and two two-wheelers during the protest. Haridwar SSP Rajeev Swaroop along with a heavy force reached the spot and tried to convince the protesters but to no avail. The police resorted to tear gas and baton charge to control the situation. Sources said four to six police personnel, including the SSP, had suffered minor injuries as protesters hurled stones on the police team during the clash. Garhwal IG Sanjay Gunjyal, who is camping at Landhaura, said the situation was under control. Additional police force and personnel from the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were deployed to maintain law and order in the city. Strict action would be taken against those found guilty of vandalism in the region, he added. Dhaka, June 1 A special tribunal in Bangladesh handed down death penalty to one person and life imprisonment to his two brothers on Wednesday for war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. The three war criminals all in the 60s were arrested last year. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) said: "He (Mohibur Rahman Boro Mia) will be hanged by neck until he is dead". Mohibur's younger brother Mozibur Rahman Angur Miah and cousin Abdur Razzak have been found guilty of having raised a gang of paramilitary "razakar force" that supported Pakistani troops in the war. The judgment came 21 days after the tribunal wrapped up its hearing. The convicts can challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court. On May 10, Motiur Rahman Nizami, chief of Bangladesh's biggest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, was hanged for crimes against humanity during the liberation war. Bangladesh has executed four war criminals since trial began in line with the electoral commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2008. Two others Ghulam Azam, who was the chief of Jamaat in 1971, and Abdul Alim, a BNP minister, both over 80 now received life terms instead of capital punishment due to their age. They subsequently died natural deaths in a specialised state-run hospital. The Supreme Court has disposed of eight cases of war crimes in appeals so far while several of the convicts facing death penalties have fled the country. In one case, the Supreme Court enhanced life imprisonment of a convict Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah to death saying the tribunals sentence was too lenient for the crime. In yet another case, the changed the death sentence of another Jamaat leader to life term. PTI Bamako, June 1 A Chinese peacekeeper serving with the UNs Mali mission and three civilians working with an explosives unit have been killed in separate attacks, the UN and Chinas foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The attacks yesterday come days after five UN peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali, as concern grows over the future of the world bodys deadliest active mission. The MINUSMA camp in Gao was targeted with a rocket or mortar attack, a UN mission statement said. According to a preliminary report, a peacekeeper was killed and three peacekeepers seriously wounded, and more than a dozen MINUSMA personnel slightly injured. A second armed attack on a UN de-mining unit killed two security guards and an international expert, the statement said. At least 65 peacekeepers with the mission, known by the acronym MINUSMA, have been killed while on active service, while another four have died in friendly fire incidents, UN figures show. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed a Chinese peacekeeper had died in the northern city of Gao in what she called a terrorist attack. This is a grave and outrageous crime, China strongly condemns it, we call for the UN and Mali to carry out a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice, she told a press conference today in Beijing. The UN deployed helicopters to monitor the area and a rapid reaction force was patrolling Gao, MINUSMA said in the same statement. The UN mission chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said he was disgusted by these vicious, cowardly and totally unacceptable attacks. Annadif called on the Malian government to track down the attackers and bring them to justice. These crimes can no longer be tolerated, he added. Malis north has seen repeated violence since it fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda in 2012. The Islamists were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, but they have since carried out sporadic attacks on security forces from desert hideouts. Rival armed factions and smuggling networks mean the region has struggled for stability since Mali gained independence from former colonial power France in 1960. AFP Seoul, June 1 A North Korean missile launch likely has failed, the US and South Korean militaries said, the fourth in a series of high-profile failures that somewhat tempers recent worries that the North is pushing quickly toward its goal of a nuclear-tipped missile that can reach Americas mainland. South Koreas Yonhap news agency said yesterday the missile was a powerful intermediate-range Musudan, which could potentially reach US military bases in Asia and the Pacific. Yonhap cited an unidentified government source as saying the missile exploded at a mobile launch pad as soon as the launch button was pressed. The report, if confirmed, suggests the missile may have even failed to lift off. Yonhap did not say how its source obtained the information. South Koreas military couldnt confirm the report. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea attempted to launch an unidentified missile early in the morning from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, but that it likely failed. It released no other details. The US Department of Defense said in a statement that its assessment also indicated that the launch was a failure. It condemned the launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit North Korea from using ballistic missile technology. Despite the recent failures, there have been growing worries about North Koreas nuclear and missile activities this year, which include a nuclear test in January and a rocket launch in February that outsiders saw as a test of banned long-range missile technology. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the failed missile test did not pose a threat to North America. But he cautioned that North Koreas continued pursuit of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons capabilities pose a significant threat to the United States, our allies, and to the stability of the greater Asia-Pacific. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued an order in March that tests be conducted of a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying such warheads. The order was thought to be part of North Koreas response to annual South Korea-US military drills that it sees as a rehearsal for an invasion. I think they keep firing (Musudans) because theyve continuously failed in previous launches, said Lim Eul Chul, a North Korea expert at South Koreas Kyungnam University. Theyll continue to make efforts to upgrade (Musudans) capability to a level that can satisfy their leader. South Korea has dismissed as propaganda repeated overtures by North Korea for talks, which some analysts see as an attempt by the North to win concessions from its rivals. South Koreas Foreign Ministry warned yesterday that North Korea will face stronger sanctions if it doesnt stop provocations. AP London: Israeli start-up Sirin Labs on Wednesday officially launched in London its high-end $14,000 (over Rs 9 lakh) Android smartphone that promises chip-to-chip 256-bit encryption, similar to what military uses to protect communications. Dubbed Rolls Royce of smartphones, the device, Solarin, is activated via a physical security switch on the back. Solarin packs in Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, promises "far superior" Wi-Fi connectivity, has a 23.8MP rear camera and a 5.5 inch IPS LED 2K resolution screen. PTI Malaysia to raise drinking age to 21 Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has decided to raise from December 1, 2017, the minimum age for alcohol consumption to 21 from current 18 to stem underage drinking and alcohol abuse. A brewers confederation says Malaysia has an estimated drinking population of 3.5 million people, out of a population of around 30 million. Islam, which bans alcohol consumption, is Malaysias official religion, but it also has a bustling bar and restaurant culture and widely available alcoholic beverages. AFP 2 judokas aim to make refugee Olympic team Rio De Janeiro: For the first time, one of the teams competing in the Olympic Games will be made up of refugees who hail from different countries they no longer call home. Popole Misenga and Yolande Mabika, both judo athletes from Congo, are two of those competing for spots on the refugee squad. They say the chance to be part of history feels like a form of vindication, a collective recognition of both the suffering and aspirations of refugees everywhere. AP Prof wants ban on teacher-student romance Beijing: A Chinese university professor has called for a ban on romance between teachers and students in the campus here, much on the lines of some of the US universities, drawing sharp criticism from students and netizens. Yan Yiming, a professor of the Beijing Institute of Technology, has said that ethical relations between teachers and students have become a problem in Chinese higher education. "It's already common sense in the US that teachers and students should not develop romantic relations," Yan wrote in an article. PTI tricountyleader.com expired on 09/23/2022 and is pending renewal or deletion. Backorder Domain The California Senate has unanimously approved new legislation that would require ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders in the state. Currently in the state, ignition interlocks are required for drunk driving offenders only as part of a pilot program in four counties. Mothers Against Drunk Driving praised the legislation, SB 1046, that was proposed by Senator Jerry Hill. MADD is grateful to the Senate for moving this life-saving bill forward, said Colleen Sheehey-Church, MADD national president. In the coming weeks, MADD will be visiting Assembly members and calling on them to quickly pass SB 1046 to protect residents and visitors from this 100% preventable crime. Earlier this year, MADD released a report examining the usefulness of ignition interlock, which shows how many times the devices successfully prevented drunk-driving attempts in every state. In California alone, the interlocks prevented more than 1-million attempts to drink and drive. Around 125,000 of those attempts involved drivers with a .08 blood alcohol level, the legal definition of impaired driving in the U.S. Originally posted on Automotive Fleet Meanwhile... the Movement for Social Justice is questioning if the lights from the deyas lit Earlier this week Julian Morrow mentioned that The Chaser now has its most diverse writers room ever, and today Screen NSW has funded emerging writer Nina Oyama to join The Chasers Election Desk. This is the third comedy writing internship for women funded by Screen NSW during the past three months. Julian Morrow Co-Founder & MD Giant Dwarf said: After five federal elections as a leading provider of patriarchy services in TV comedy, theres never been a better time for The Chaser to be a part of this Screen NSW initiative. Were very happy that Nina will have a seat at the writers table on The Chasers Election Desk. Its always been my dream to work with the team behind Australias best political comedy show. Maybe one day Ill get there, but Im glad The Chaser has accepted me for now, said Oyama. Courtney Gibson, CEO of Screen NSW, said: This is the latest in a series of strategic interventions into the still largely male world of the comedy writing room; three strong female writers will emerge from these internships with topline comedy credits and credentials, and whats more, the shows will benefit from a fresh female perspective. The team behind Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries have a new ABC legal drama on the way, Newtons Law. Described as being the Upstairs, Downstairs of legal dramas, the 8 part series centres around Josephine Newton, a suburban solicitor with an over-developed sense of responsibility who attempts to return to her briefly glorious stint at the Bar. According to a press release, When Josephines low-flying solicitors practice is incinerated by a disgruntled client, she is persuaded by her old uni friend and not-so-secret admirer, Lewis Hughes, to trade the benefits of her brilliant mind for a berth in the lofty glamour of Knox Chambers. With her office destroyed, her marriage collapsing and motherhood fast losing its charm, Josephine decides its time she took her own aspirations off the back burner and resumed her barristers robes. If only it were that easy to leave her old life behind! Creators Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger (pictured) said, Were very happy to bring another strong female protagonist to the screen, this time in modern dress, with a modern womans dilemma of trying to do too much for too many! ABC Director of Television Richard Finlayson says Thanks to the ongoing support of Screen Australia as well as the ABCs partnership with Film Victoria on the Victorian Drama and Comedy Initiative, we are pleased to be able to commission another outstanding drama from Every Cloud Productions. Our audience is in for a treat. Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason says Were excited about getting into Josephines world on Newtons Law it promises to be funny, complex and engaging. It is a delight to work on a new great idea from such strong creative team and Screen Australia is proud to support this great new drama. Filming will begin in Melbourne later in the year. Production Credits: An Every Cloud Production. Created by Deb Cox & Fiona Eagger. Produced by Fiona Eagger , Deb Cox & Anna Molyneaux. Executive Producers Fiona Eagger & Deb Cox. ABC Executive Producers Brett Sleigh & Alastair McKinnon. In association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Screen Australia and Film Victoria. Theres a very murky mist surrounding Lake Burley Griffin and its name is Secret City. On the banks of the lake is the body of a dead young man, last seen running from Chinese officials with Parliament House looming in the distance. Before plunging into the lake he swallowed a SIM card which was subsequently sliced out of his corpse. Yes, Canberra is that kind of city in Foxtels new political thriller. When Daily Nation journalist Harriet Dunkley (Anna Torv) sees the crime scene she begins to follow a story that will envelop three nations, federal politicians and those around her. As she pursues a grim murder case, she discovers a web of conspiracies. The backdrop for this elaborate jigsaw is a ruling Federal Labor government. Defence Minister Mal Paxton (Dan Wyllie) is under pressure for the navy to join US forces in the South China Sea against a dominant China, but hes not about to send fleets to a pissing contest. Power-broker Senator Catriona Bailey (Jacki Weaver) doesnt mince her words. 60% of our trade goes through the South China Sea, she barks. Better get yourself a raincoat Mal, because youve unleashed a shit-storm of biblical proportions. But Mal will face a more immediate threat to his political career when his buried past lands in Harriets lap. At the same time, Prime Minister Martin Toohey (Alan Dale) is dealing with a diplomacy case after an Australian woman sets fire to herself in Beijing as a protest to Free Tibet. Another key player is Harriets ex, Australian Signals Directorate senior analyst Kim Gordon (Damon Herriman) whom she leans upon for information. What makes this role so interesting is that Kim is now transgender, but manoeuvres with influence both within the Defence intelligence agency and the screenplay. As the murder investigation, political tugs-of-war and international diplomacies intersect, the viewer is lured down an intriguing rabbit hole without ever quite knowing how the sum of the parts will paint a complete picture. Along the way there are plenty of treats. Canberra emerges as a character in its own right. Director of Photography Mark Wareham captures the city from above and within, with its circular roads and sparse, hollow corridors. Silent, modern buildings dwarf the players and Lake Burley Griffin becomes a foggy destination for furtive conversations or to hatch the next unruly plot. Director Emma Freeman allows Matt Camerons script to breathe, with space for subtext and for performers to chart a course, all conducted like a chamber symphony. Anna Torv stands tall as the journo following a story, easily winning our sympathies and refusing to wither when detours are put in her way. Jacki Weaver relishes the role of a seasoned pollie afforded too much swagger and all of the best lines. Dan Wyllies Defence Minister tries to remain a true believer but I fear a demise of his own making. But there are other pleasures equally as satisfying if less marquee. Damon Herriman steals the show as transgender Kim (notably in episode 2) and look out for Chris Haywood sporting the best Howard-esque eyebrows this side of the Tampa. Sacha Horler as the PMs Chief of Staff, Ludie Sypek wields Credlin-like influence. Other names in the cast include Alex Dimitriades, Marcus Graham, Miranda Tapsell and Benedict Samuel. Secret City is a cool customer of a drama that will have you alert if not alarmed. Nothing is earned easily for either its players nor its audience, but that makes it all the more worthwhile. Secret City premieres 8:30pm Sunday on Showcase. Studio 10 has breached the Code of Practice 2015 for showing images that exceeded a PG classification. The programme on New Years Day this year looked back at the year 1988 referring to the sex tape scandal involving Rob Lowe. Media watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority noted an image broadcast for 19 seconds, depicted a number of people in a bedroom. In both of the smaller still images, a man is depicted from a rear side-angle with an erect penis in blurry silhouette. Both of these smaller images are low resolution and appear to have been captured from video footage, it found. TEN conceded that the still images exceeded the PG classification of the program and attributed it to human error. It has now taken a number of steps to minimise future breaches, including new operating procedures and Code training with Studio 10 staff. ACMA advised those actions address their compliance issues. Tyndall Airmen came together to celebrate Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, held every May. Members of the Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Committee hosted four events to educate others. These events included a cake cutting ceremony officially marking the celebrations kick-off on Tyndall. There are often misconceptions when it comes to cultural differences in our society of the U.S Air Force, said Launie Whelan, 325th Communications Squadron programs manager. I believe these events can negate those ideas and open some doors between our different cultures. The committee also hosted a reading event at both Tyndall Elementary School and the child development center. For this event, 364 children from preschool to 5th-grade listened to stories related to Asian and Pacific Islander folklore, with each story possessing fundamental values. "It was a great opportunity and honor to introduce cultural stories to young people, said Staff Sgt. Vianca Peters, 325th Aerospace Medicine Squadron readiness plans and operations element NCO in-charge. The children looked up to the readers and were overjoyed at the worldly adventures told to them. The whole experience was fulfilling for everyone involved. To give children and others a more hands-on experience, the committee also put together a Passport to Asia event. For this event, stations were established that offered country-specific facts and other information. The last event of the month was the food tasting luncheon, and members from local agencies and food businesses were in attendance. Food was provided from local Asian and Pacific Islander-style restaurants, as well as members from Tyndall. Attendees were treated to performances from the Sampaguita Association of Panama City, members of the 325th Medical Group and local members of the Panama City community. This event was a culmination of the related events before it. We may opt to host a few more events outside of the month of May considering the huge turn out from this one, said Staff Sgt. Devon de Castrique, 325th Aerospace Medical Squadron bioenvironmental engineering technician. The ceremony itself may not have happened without the support of the Panama City community. Originally designed to be celebrated for the first 10 days of May, the celebration expanded to be recognized for the whole month in 1990 by an act of Congress known as Public Law 102-450. According to www.asianpacificheritage.gov, the month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Czech police say they have uncovered a criminal network that specializes in manufacturing and distributing to migrants forged documents thus making it possible for them to stay in the European Union, Radio Liberty reports. Among the ten detained suspects in the Czech Republic, five of them come from Ukraine, the rest is from other ex-Soviet countries. According to the police spokesman, the suspects were charged with forgery of documents and enabling illegal stay in the Czech Republic. These suspects may be jailed for ten years. tl The pro-Russian illegal armed groups launched 31 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas over the past day. Fifteen attacks were launched in Donetsk direction, fourteen in Mariupol direction, two in Luhansk direction, the ATO Headquarters press centre reports. "The militants shelled our strongholds south of Avdiyivka [18km north of Donetsk] from the temporarily occupied Donetsk and the surrounding area using small arms, automatic grenade launchers and 82mm mortars," the report reads. The enemy also used small arms, grenade launchers and snipers to fire at Ukrainian troops near Novhorodske (34km north of Donetsk) and grenade launchers of various systems and 82mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions outside Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk). The situation in Mariupol direction escalated also as the enemy used 120mm mortars to shell ATO troops near Pavlopol (30 km northeast of Mariupol) and used heavy machine guns, grenade launchers and 82mm mortars to shell ATO troops near Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol). ol The information about the location of captives is the main problem the Ukrainian side faces during the process of their release. MP Iryna Herashchenko, a PACE member and Ukraines presidential envoy for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbas wrote this on her Facebook page. Separate districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions cynically conceal the information and facts regarding the location and the number of Ukrainian captives in their territories, they try to deceive the world that there are allegedly only a couple of dozens of captives. And they blackmail us demanding the amnesty for hundreds of militants in exchange for only a few our captives .... And we with the SBU [Ukraines Security Service] glean the necessary information, as it gives the opportunity to include people on the lists of captives to be released, to demand the truth about their destiny, she said. The privatization and concession of sea ports is the only possible way of development of marine industry. Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelian said at a meeting with Greek Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Marina Chrysoveloni. According to the minister, the reform of marine industry is among the priorities of governments activities. Among the first steps of the reform, Omelian named the creation of the Marine administration and the reform of sea port administration in Ukraine. The minister also stressed that in 2020 Ukraine could double the export of grains, and thats why the number of infrastructure units should be increased and new transport corridors should be created in Ukraine. iy Slovakia is optimistic about the options for continuing the process of association of Ukraine with the European Union, despite the negative outcome of the referendum in the Netherlands. This was stated by Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak while presenting the priorities of the country's presidency of the Council of the European Union, an Ukrinform correspondent reports from Brussels. "Today, our friends from the Netherlands should submit proposals on how the referendum results should be put into practice. There are several options, but I cannot accept the option of suspension of the process of Ukraines association," he stressed. The Slovak Foreign Minister noted that the results of the Dutch referendum on EU-Ukraine association cannot be ignored, but a positive solution for continuing Ukraine's political association and economic integration with the EU should be found. ol The People's Front Party MP, Deputy Chairman of the Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs Ihor Huz has called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Administration to appoint Ukrainian ambassadors to several countries as soon as possible, lawmaker Huz made a statement in Parliament on Wednesday, Ukrinform reports. "I think that if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Administration are not taking adequate actions to appoint ambassadors in a number of countries, MPs should enact a resolution to dismiss Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Klimkin," said Huz. According to him, Ukraine has not yet appointed ambassadors to Belarus, Georgia, Switzerland, Norway and several other countries or an envoy to NATO. tl The Government of Canada does not intend to lift or weaken its sanctions against the Russian Federation, which were imposed in connection with Russian aggression in Ukraine, Ukraine's Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko has said in an interview with Ukrinforms own Canadian correspondent. "At the moment I dont see any threat for lifting the sanctions, because Canada has a clear understanding that the sanctions are helping to steer Russia on the right path," said Shevchenko. The diplomat hopes that "Canada will continue to punish those persons who contribute to the war and violate human rights." "We have a productive year ahead of us, and Canada will surprise us with its pleasant decisions," said the Ambassador. TL The European Union has not officially confirmed the possible appointment of Italian diplomat Hugues Mingarelli to the post of ambassador to Ukraine, according to European Commission Chief Spokesperson Maja Kocijancic. "The process rotation of missions' heads is still in progress. We will announce the names only when it is completed, Kocijancic told Ukrinforms own correspondent. Earlier, there have been reports in the media that Italian diplomat Hugues Mingarelli could be appointed to the post of EU Ambassador to Ukraine. iy The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at today's meeting officially signed the contract with Polish citizen Wojciech Balczun on his appointment as the director general of the Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railway) Public Joint-Stock Company. This is reported by an Ukrinform correspondent. As Balczun told reporters after the meeting, he already has a specific vision and specific plans on the reform of Ukrainian railways. "We will hold a press conference, where the action plan for three months, six months and a year will be presented," he said. ol Leaders of the G7 countries at the summit, which was held in Japan on May 26-27, condemned Russias annexation of Crimea. Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi said this at a press briefing on Wednesday. "Participants in the G7 meeting spoke in favor of the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine. They condemned Russias illegal annexation of Crimea. Representatives of the Group of Seven do not agree with Russias statement that this issue has been supposedly solved. This issue is open. Sanctions against Russia may be lifted or eased only when the Russian Federation fulfills all the requirements of the Minsk agreements and return occupied Crimea to Ukraine", he said. iy Ukraine should pass its part of the way in implementation of the Minsk agreements regarding preparation of holding local elections in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and should not use the existing security problems in these regions as an excuse for delaying the preparation process. Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi said this to journalists when telling about the results of the G7 summit that was held in the Japanese city of Ise-Shima on May 26-27 this year. "The G7 Summit Declaration contains the thesis about local elections in certain areas of Donbas without chronological order of what should go first. All G7 countries are aware of the importance of safety. We understand when Ukraine wonders how it is possible to hold elections without safe conditions. At the same time, according to the G7 countries, Ukraine also needs to start to prepare for holding local elections, to develop a preliminary draft law on these elections," the Japanese diplomat said, responding to the question of an Ukrinform correspondent. ol VETERANS ULM works closely with the DVA to offer various entitlement programs to students who have served in the military on active duty, are members of the selected Reserves/National Guard, or are dependents of a veteran who died while in the military or who has a service-related disability. The ULM Application Fee is waived for all U.S. veterans Undergraduate Transfer Students We're glad you're interested in transferring to ULM. Each year, ULM welcomes almost 1,000 students who began their college career elsewhere. For Louisiana students completing a two-year degree program at a community colllege or other school, please see the Louisiana Transfer Degree Guarantee site for specific information. What to do... 1. Check the Undergraduate Transfer Admission Requirements, shown at right. 2. Create an Admissions Account, select and submit the Undergraduate Application, and pay the $20 application fee with a credit or debit card. 3. Request official transcripts from all previous college work (except ULM) to be mailed to: University of Louisiana Monroe Office of Admissions 700 University Avenue Monroe, LA 71209 If you are sending a transcript by escript, send it to docman@ulm.edu. Students under current suspension and those who cannot furnish official transcripts are not eligible to enroll at ULM. 4.Submit immunization requirements to Medicat - check here for more information. 5. Once admitted, regularly check your new "warhawks.ulm.edu" student email account for financial aid and other information. Log in at my.ULM.edu. After you're admitted, see: Next Steps [pdf] Housing information will be mailed after acceptance to the University. Any Questions? Contact us! transfer@ulm.edu (318) 342-7936 ACT/SAT SCORES ACT/SAT scores are required for admission and scholarship consideration and must be delivered electronically to ULM directly from ACT or SAT. Paper copies will not be processed unless received directly from ACT or SAT if no electronic copy is available. To register for a test or to request your scores be sent to ULM, see the information below. www.actstudent.org - ULM code: 1598 sat.collegeboard.org/scores - ULM code: 6482 A year ago, violent conflict between ethnic groups in Jeannettes community forced her to flee her village. Today, she is an active member in her school peace committee. By performing in plays and organizing other awareness-raising activities, Jeannette is using school to help build bridges between discordant groups in her community. TANGANYIKA PROVINCE, Democratic Republic of Congo, 27 May 2016 Under a spreading mango tree a few metres from her schoolyard, Jeannette, 14, finishes a theatrical performance to a round of applause from members of the Ngombe Nwana Village community. The play depicts peaceful conflict resolution between two village youths who had clashed violently over a theft. Along with several of her classmates, Jeannette joined her school peace committee a few months ago. Together, they organize activities to raise awareness about peacebuilding. Jeannette is a girl from the Batwa (Pygmy) ethnic group. In this rural region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Batwa live side by side with the Baluba (Bantu) a coexistence that sometimes turns into communitarian conflict. In early 2015, Jeannette had to flee her village in the Manono region when confrontations broke out between Pygmies and Bantus. My village was attacked and burned, and I was forced to flee with my whole family, says Jeannette. After several days of walking, we took refuge in a displaced persons camp, until it was also attacked and burned. We ended up hiding in an old warehouse in Nyunzu City. For several weeks, more than 15,000 people, most of whom were women and children, were trapped in the warehouse, not daring to leave for fear of retaliation. Mediation by the local authorities finally brought an end to the hostilities. Deep-seated causes of conflict Following those events, many displaced people were unable to return to their homes. The authorities decided to resettle them in villages, so that they could go back to working in the fields and living a normal life, says Mr. Delphin Mwengue Bin Mpungu, head of the provincial subdivision of the Ministry of Education in Nyunzu 2. Looks like Tulane Law School is on a roll. International Jurist magazine rated Tulane Law School's LLM program as one of the top nine LLM programs for career opportunity and among the top 11 for academic quality. Tulane Law School's master's program is one of the best in the U.S. as far as foreign attorneys studying here are concerned, according to International Jurist magazine's list of top LLM programs for academics and career opportunities. The listed schools were not ranked though. The categories schools were judged in include law-school experience as well as top value. The selection was based on the information from law schools and other sources including the American Bar Association. The LLM program comprises of forty international students and represents countries such as India, Germany, China, Australia, Albania, Senegal, Panama, Nigeria, Greece and Bolivia. Tulane offers a dual curriculum in civil and common law, in addition to programs in comparative law and maritime/admiralty. What's worth noting is that the number of international students has remained steady for about four or five years, Herbert Larson, who serves at Tulane as an executive director of international legal and graduate programs told Louisiana Record. Larson, a senior professor of practice who has been in Tulane since 1992 at some capacity, noted that the school has several ways of attracting international students. Tulane boasts the 12th oldest law school in the U.S., and is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. The law school was established way back in 1847, which implies that quite a few people worldwide in government positions and in universities who were trained at Tulane. Larson cites India as an example as senior partners at some of the leading Indian firms have earned their advance degrees from Tulane. A Greece student, Ifigeneia Xanthopoulou dubs her year at Tulane as an "extraordinary experience" that enabled her to not only study with internationally-acclaimed faculty, experience the one-of-a-kind culture of New Orleans and Tulane, but also build friendships that will last forever. In addition to familiarizing students with the United States' legal system, the LLM program facilitates in building a solid base as far as legal research and writing skills are concerned, Xanthopoulou said. But that's not all, Xanthopoulou added that the LLM program also permit students to concentrate on their preferred field, according to reports on Tulane University Law School's official website. Xanthopoulou served as president of Graduate Lawyers at Tulane, and is slated to join the admiralty section of Chaffe McCall, New Orleans. She said her decision to fly all the way across the world to become part of an emerging, international community has not only made her a better lawyer, but has also helped her become more mature, understanding and open person. After serving at Tulane as president of Graduate Lawyers, she will now join the admiralty section of Chaffe McCall, New Orleans. University of Akron President, Scott L. Scarborough will step down from his position after some financial decisions that become controversies. The Board of Trustees released an official statement that stated his plan to move forward. The announcement stated that new leadership is 'needed to achieve sustained success in the future'. Furthermore, the Board will also research and decide new president that possesses experience and qualities necessary to lead the university, the university's Newsroom reported. It seems that the Board of Trustees' statement encouraged Scarborough to resign, Huffington Post reported. Scarborough announced his resignation and stated that change is necessary in the ever changing 'environment of higher education'. The statement also mentioned about the challenges he faced when he first came into the university. Dr. Scarborough has led the Ohio school since 2014. During the time, the school experienced $60 million financial deficit. Scarborough made a financial decision, which according to the faculty members, are making the school in worse condition. A survey by the Akron-AAUP recorded 89 percent of the faculty members are doubtful of the University's strategic planning and budgeting process. 89 percent of the respondents also feel 'not confident that President Scarborough is leading the university in a positive direction', Akron-AAUP reported. The university's moves being criticized include the lay-off of 200 faculty members after $40 million financial deficit. Some of the employees were cut off immediately and some others have at least 6 months before the lay-off. The deficit also affected the tuition fees. After making some elimination due to the tight budget, the president's house renovation also made a controversy after a purchase of $556 olive jar and paid designer to redecorate the home, NBC4i reported. Other university expenditure include tables and chairs with a total expenditure of $140,000. Provost Rex Ramsier will temporarily take the seat until a chosen name for university president is announced. 6th Annual UN-SPIDER Conference in Beijing United Nations International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction - "Understanding Disaster Risk" Beijing, China, 19-21 September 2016 Organized jointly by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China Venue: Grand Gongda Jianguo Hotel, Beijing, China Grand Gongda Jianguo Hotel, Beijing, China Information note The UN International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction is organised by the UN-SPIDER Beijing Office and is part of a series of events held since 2011. Previous conferences covered the themes of "Best practices for risk reduction and rapid response mapping" in 2011, "Risk assessment in the context of global climate change" in 2012, "Disaster risk identification, assessment and monitoring" in 2013, "Multi-hazard disaster risk assessment" in 2014 and "A consolidating role in the implementation of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030" in 2015. These conferences offered a forum for disaster management communities and experts to strengthen their capabilities in using space-based information to identify, assess, monitor and respond to disaster risks and integrate space technology into long-term disaster risk management efforts. Rationale The Third United Nations World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction took place in March 2015 in Sendai, Japan, in which 187 States were officially represented and the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030" was adopted on March 18, 2015. Priority 1, "Understanding disaster risk" of the Sendai Framework states that "policies and practices for disaster risk management should be based on an understanding of disaster risk in all its dimensions of vulnerability, capacity, exposure of persons and assets, hazard characteristics and the environment. Such knowledge can be leveraged for the purpose of pre-disaster risk assessment, for prevention and mitigation and for the development and implementation of appropriate preparedness and effective response to disasters." Accordingly, UN-SPIDER aims at improving actions to reduce disaster risk through knowledge sharing and strengthening of institutions in the use of space technologies as its mandate is to enable developing countries to use all types of space-based information in the full cycle of disaster risk management. Recognizing the current challenges in the use of Earth observation technologies in understanding disaster risk, the Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China co-organise the International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction - "Understanding Disaster Risk". The conference aims to provide a platform to communicate various means to be adopted by the Member States and supporting international/regional organisations in understanding disaster risk, especially based on the use of space-based technologies. This may include tools, technologies as well as peripheral issues such as data sharing, spatial data infrastructure, institutional coordination, etc. Recommended practices and experiences in this context will be shared by the panellists and discussed by all participants. Thus, the conference will be one more step in that long-term effort of the Office for Outer Space Affairs and UN-SPIDER building on the commitments to the Sendai Framework and the global development agenda. The conference will also support the efforts of the Office for Outer Space Affairs as the office is preparing for its new initiative UNISPACE+50. A series of events leading to UNISPACE+50 will address challenges to humanity and sustainable development, the protection of the space environment, and securing the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. Expected Outcomes The conference will build upon the outcomes of 5 th UN-SPIDER Conference (2015) in Beijing that documented in the form of the paper submitted to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee for Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in 2016. It elaborates the role of Earth observation in the implementation of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. While this paper provides general guidelines and recommendations on the role of Earth observation in supporting the Sendai Framework, the current conference should provide the recommendations on the Priority 1. The conference will result in a sustained contribution of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, through its UN-SPIDER programme, in supporting the Sendai Framework and provide thoughts on the role of Earth observation in monitoring indicators against the global targets of the Sendai Framework, which is a current concern of countries. In a nutshell, the conference is expected to continue providing guidelines, technical knowledge and recommendations to Member States to implement the Sendai Framework. Besides this, the conference will also discuss a strategic work plan and its implementation, building on UN-SPIDER 10 years' achievements. The outcome document of the conference will be presented in subcommittees of COPUOS and feed into UNISPACE+50 initiative. It will also provide valuable inputs to the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) planned from 2-5 November 2016 in New Delhi, India. Conference sessions In this context, the conference will cover the following topics: Session 1: Building on UN-SPIDER 10 years' achievements Session 2: Risk assessment and mapping using Earth Observation data Session 3: Access to data and information for risk assessment Session 4: National Spatial data infrastructure and data framework to support disaster management Session 5: Networking and engagement with the UN-SPIDER network Breakout sessions Breakout session 1: Monitoring indicators against the global targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-30 Breakout session 2: Procedural guidelines for sharing space-based information during emergency response (reference to Priority 4 of the Sendai Framework for DRR) Breakout session 3: Crowdsource mapping for risk assessment and emergency response More details can be found in the information note. Target Audience for the conference: Disaster managers, policy makers, providers of space technology solutions/tools/applications from governments, academia, research, NGO and corporate sector. Number of expected participants: 100 How to apply and application deadline Union Pacific Plans to Invest $34.6 Million in its Oregon Rail Infrastructure Union Pacific plans to invest $34.6 million in 2016 to improve Oregon's transportation infrastructure. The company's multi-million dollar private investment will enhance employee, community and customer safety and increase rail operating efficiency. Freight railroads like Union Pacific operate on track built and maintained without taxpayer funds. Union Pacific's private investments sustain jobs and ensure the company meets growing demand for products used in the American economy. Union Pacific's planned investment covers a range of initiatives: $28.5 million to maintain railroad track and $3.8 million to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects planned this year include: $4.5 million investment in the rail line between Chemult and Oakridge to replace 33,372 railroad ties. $3.6 million investment in the rail line between Bridal Veil and Hood River to replace 28,342 railroad ties. $3.2 million investment in the rail line between Stanfield and La Grande to replace almost 4 miles of curve rail. This year's planned $34.6 million capital expenditure in Oregon is part of an ongoing investment strategy. From 2011 to 2015 Union Pacific invested more than $193 million strengthening Oregon's transportation infrastructure. "We constantly evaluate our customers' needs to make targeted investments that enhance our efficiency and deliver the goods American businesses and families use daily," said Wes Lujan, Union Pacific vice president - Public Affairs, Western Region. "Continuing to aggressively invest in our infrastructure is an important element in Union Pacific's unwavering safety commitment." Union Pacific plans to spend $3.75 billion across its network this year, following investments totaling approximately $33 billion from 2006-2015. These investments contributed to a 25 percent decrease in derailments over the last 10 years. ABOUT UNION PACIFIC Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. From 2006-2015, Union Pacific invested approximately $33 billion in its network and operations to support America's transportation infrastructure. The railroad's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. The statements and information contained in the news releases provided by Union Pacific speak only as of the date issued. Such information by its nature may become outdated, and investors should not assume that the statements and information contained in Union Pacific's news releases remain current after the date issued. Union Pacific makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update any of this information. June 1 2016 South Ayrshire Council is putting its weight behind efforts to position Prestwick Airport as a hub for Britains space industry with a two year support package worth 240k designed to promote the airport as the ideal home for a new spaceport.This cash will be used to fund infrastructure work and building the business case for the venture following a decision by the Department of Transport to press ahead with licensing a network of UK Spaceports, for which Prestwick is a lead contender.Eileen Howat, South Ayrshire Council's chief executive commented: "Recent news of the licensing framework for spaceports means that Prestwick stands the best chance of being the UK's first commercial hubs to service growing demand for industrial and tourism space related services.Should Prestwick secure a prized license it is estimated that the project could be worth as much as 320m to the local economy over the next decade. Stornoway, Newquay, Machrihanish and Llanbedr are also in the running for a spaceport. All the latest Uttoxeter news Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. UW Industrial Affiliates Program Forms Bonds Between Students and Companies Project Manager Ben McKay is among several UW graduates employed at Handel Information Technologies in Laramie. (Even Brande Photo) If you look hard enough, youll see an interesting development in the southeast corner of the Cowboy State. Technology-based companies have begun popping up in the area, with startups located in places like Laramie and Cheyenne. With that comes a need for skilled workers, and thats where the University of Wyomings Department of Computer Science and its Industrial Affiliates (IA) program converge. Developed in 2012 by Department Head Jim Caldwell, IA was formed to link business partners with potential employees and faculty members. According to IA, forming these constructive relationships between industry and the department drastically reduces recruitment costs, while also developing a channel of communication between affiliate partners. Collectively, the mutual needs of business, industry and academia are supported. Caldwell developed the program using a template provided by the University of Washington, which uses a graduated funding model for its affiliates program. Small companies pay a yearly fee of $500, with large corporations giving up to $10,000 annually. Over a period of time, Caldwell had two big fish on the line: Microsoft and American Express. Shortly after, he added smaller companies, from Colorado and Wyoming, to the group. There are 14 current company partnerships in place, with more in the works. It costs a fortune to recruit one person to a job, Caldwell says. If the company gets even one student out of the program per year, it really pays for itself. The IA program uses funds from its membership fees for various projects, such as sending female computer science students to an annual meeting for computing. The department has been able to install crucial lab equipment including a computer graphics projector, and allow notable speakers and industry personnel to come in for seminars. It is a way for the department to be able to do things it couldnt do otherwise, says Caldwell, who does most of the recruiting and stewardship for the program. That is the kind of excellence that IA members support, and the support the department gets in ways we didnt have before. Even Brande, president and CEO of Handel Information Technologies, was the first affiliate member of IA. He earned a degree in business administration and, later, an MBA, both from UW in the 1990s. Despite never taking a computer science course, he was passionate about technology at an early age, and learned his first programming language in his teens. After graduating from UW, he worked for Aspen Tree software, a tech company in Laramie. After that company sold, he started Handel Information Technologies, also in Laramie. Over the years, Handel has employed about 40 UW computer science students. Local Companies Seek UW Students Laramie is a great place to run a tech business, Brande says. I knew enough to program, but started hiring professional engineers. Over the years, the department has been a great resource for us to recruit. The students work for us part-time while they go to school, then we make permanent job offers. That is a big reason why I wanted to give back to the department. He adds that it is easy for him to support the UW Department of Computer Science. The high quality of their students makes a big difference in our business and is a great source, if not the most important, for our recruitment, Brande says. It is a win-win for all parties involved: the students, the department and us. Handel is a major player in the software market for juvenile justice and tribal government. Most of our competitors are in bigger cities. They have much higher expenses when it comes to hiring engineering talent, Brande says. We can hire students who are still in school, yet we get benefits from them because they do entry-level programming for us. The students get paid while learning. Another early fan of the program was Heather Shoemaker. She worked at several startups in Denver in the 2000s, and decided to start her own company, Language I/O, in Cheyenne. Her company provides multilingual customer support automation software, but she soon found out how hard it was to find qualified engineers in Wyoming. As a result, she reached out to Caldwell. He was interested in working with me to create a path by which students could take on internship roles here and work themselves into full-time positions and its worked out really well, Shoemaker says. If there is any place I might be able to find fresh engineering talent, it would be at UW. We were able to get interns from UW who were awesome. It was such a good experience and they were such quick learners. It made the process very affordable. She says what has worked best for her company is to get someone as an intern where he or she still can learn, and slowly move on to bigger projects and groom them into a full-time position. By the time they graduate, they already know our business and feel comfortable, Shoemaker adds. That ability for a student to gain some experience while they are still in school and move straight into a full-time position makes it better for us and them. Brande and Shoemaker often attend the yearly IA meeting. The annual convention typically coincides with senior design presentations, so companies get a look at the kind of work and research that is being done in the college. Meanwhile, students in the program have the opportunity to learn more about life after college by interacting with industry professionals. A lot of computer science students are so focused on the process of getting their degree, Caldwell says. The IA program is a way of getting them to look forward and ask What am I going to do when I graduate? Having that tie with industry is helpful. Another IA success story is the addition of Underwriters Laboratory (UL). The department was a key player, among others, in attracting the global company to Laramie. UL now employs 10 UW graduates and is growing, building a new office space in Laramies Cirrus Sky Technology Park. What does the future hold for the Industrial Affiliates program? Caldwell has hopes to use the yearly meeting as a tech gathering for Wyoming software developers to come together and encourage entrepreneurial efforts across the state and region. We certainly are looking to expand in a lot of ways, he says. Industrial Affiliates (past and present) -- Microsoft -- American Express -- Gannett Peak Technical Services (Cheyenne) -- GHX (Louisville, Colo.) -- Green House Data (Cheyenne, Portland, Ore., and Newark, N.J.) -- Handel Information Technologies (Laramie) -- HCMS Group (Cheyenne) -- Language I/O (Cheyenne) -- Logimesh Technologies (Fort Collins, Colo.) -- Medicine Bow Technologies (Laramie) -- PitchEngine (Lander) -- Synergy BIS (Arlington) -- Total Benchmark Solution, LLC (Fort Collins, Colo.) -- Underwriters Laboratory (Laramie) -- Wyolution (Lander) -- Wyoming Business Council (Cheyenne) UW-Led Gaming, Robotics Program Helps Some Gillette Students Succeed Sage Valley Junior High School eighth-grader Kaylin Maria Chase works on scalable game design as part of a University of Wyoming-led program to help boost mathematics test scores and enhance students interest in college careers. (Jacqueline Leonard Photo) With a large number of at-risk students, Jill Outka-Hill says a gaming and robotics program is helping to spark her students imagination and creative thinking skills that carry over into the classroom. For the past two years, Rawhide Elementary School has been involved in a unique University of Wyoming program to boost mathematics scores and help students to become interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. The program even interests students in college careers, says the projects director. Some schools in the Campbell County School District are among nearly 25 Wyoming school districts using the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. The National Science Foundation (NSF) supported the three-year, $1.2 million grant. The project is led by Jacqueline Leonard, a UW College of Education professor and UW Science and Mathematics Teaching Center director. The Visualization Basics: uGame-iCompute Project was designed in 2013 to help teachers engage fifth- through ninth-graders in gaming and robotics to promote interest in STEM programs. Some school districts have participated in the program since year one of the three-year project, and nearly 900 students have participated during that time. This has been a way for us to engage our students in more computational thinking as well as interest them in taking more computer science courses, says Kim Silbaugh, technology facilitator at Twin Spruce Junior High School, who has worked with approximately 70 seventh- through ninth-grade students the past two years. The eight original schools participating were Arapahoe Middle School, Laramie Junior High School, Powell Middle School, University Park Elementary School (Casper), UW Lab School, Wheatland Middle School, Worland Middle School and Wyoming Indian Middle School. Since then, seven and nine school districts, respectively, have joined the program in years two and three, including Rawhide Elementary School and Twin Spruce. (Go here to see all the schools involved in the program: www.ugameicompute.com/) Robotics and game design were used as a hook to enhance childrens interest in STEM and STEM careers. We also were interested in developing computational thinking skills and the processes that we know students need to be successful in computer science and engineering, Leonard says. Finally, we wanted children to understand how mathematics, technology and communication are critical to 21st century careers. Leonard originally put together a multidisciplinary team from the UW colleges of Education, Engineering and Applied Science, and Arts and Sciences to research a question that has been part of her research agenda for several years: Can gaming and robotics be used to teach computational thinking skills to students in culturally sensitive ways? Outka-Hill, Rawhides technology facilitator, supervised an after-school club each Tuesday and Thursday for students, using the UW-led projects concepts. Last year, she had 10 students in the club, and this school year eight participated. I started the club discussing some of the worlds greatest inventors and their failures, Outka-Hill says. We talked about how failure isn't really failure unless you give up and quit trying. From there, I introduced gaming and programming. Introduced activities varied, using the gaming and robotics programs or a Lego kit. Outka-Hill always gave the students choices to choose from or sometimes they would develop their own ideas. For example, with the Lego kits, they came up with an idea that would alert them if someone came into their bedroom. Some made alarms, some made moving robots that monitored the doorway, and others made more of a deterrent to enter. I let them do their own thinking, she says. My school has a large at-risk population with very few advanced or enrichment opportunities for those who need it. This was a great way for them to explore their own abilities and imaginations. During the multiphase project, UW team members first trained teachers to develop mathematical and scientific lessons that were culturally relevant to their students. Leonard and her supporters worked with the teachers to analyze the impact on students overall learning. The research team also worked with participants interested in becoming peer trainers to help extend the projects reach after the grant period ended. Programs Positive Results The data reveal that using intact classrooms at the middle school level and elementary students during after-school programs reduced student attrition and ensured broader participation of girls and underrepresented minority students, Leonard says. Additionally, UW researchers have observed improved student development of computational thinking skills and problem-solving skills. Leonard says, early in the project, there was a learning curve that teachers and students had to overcome to learn the programming and software. Overall, students learned how to make their own games, which involved formulating problems, abstraction, use of algorithms, logical thinking, analyzing and debugging, and generalizing and transfer of knowledge, Leonard says. They also learned to use 21st century skills as they worked in teams to solve problems and created products for self-enjoyment and competition. Outka-Hill says the after-school club has helped the students become interested in the latest technology, especially robotics. I took a survey at the end, and students seemed to like the robotics best, but I don't think they could have done it without their prior knowledge, she says. The students love it and already are asking about next year. It is great for our district and is now spreading to others interested. Silbaugh adds, I think it helps the students to start using computational thinking when solving problems. Most have really enjoyed it. Robotics teams compete at local competitions, and gaming teams have taken field trips to the National Center for Atmospheric Research-Wyoming Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne. Teachers accepted into the program enrolled in continuing education courses, led after-school programs, and further developed instructional skills on how to incorporate cultural uniqueness into fun science and technology projects. The NSF-sponsored grant has ended this semester, but Leonard says her research team has actually been granted a no-cost extension, meaning that the project will end during September 2017. Planning for the next phase of the program is underway, she adds. We intend to go to more school districts and work with both elementary and middle school students, Leonard says. It has been a pleasure working with teachers and students in Wyoming. The excitement and energy observed in the classrooms and after-school clubs were infectious. The students loved the program and learned a great deal. For more information about the program, visit the website at www.ugameicompute.com/ or contact Leonard at (307) 766-3776 or jleona12@uwyo.edu. UW Nursing Students Taylor, Teichert Named Jonas Scholars Two University of Wyoming doctoral nursing students will represent the next generation of nursing leaders in the state. Nichole Taylor, of Douglas, and Monica Teichert, from Torrington, were recently named the 2016-18 Jonas Scholars. The Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program was established in 2008 by Barbara and Donald Jonas through their Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence. The goal of the program is to support the doctoral education of nursing leaders who will promote nursing excellence in clinical practice and/or as academic faculty leaders. Both students will receive $20,000 in scholarship money toward their doctoral studies. I am honored to be a Jonas Scholar, and I will embrace the leadership skills I learn to assist mental health within rural Wyoming, says Taylor, who has a family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner focus. It means a great deal to have the opportunity to learn and inspire others to lead. Teichert, who has a family nurse practitioner focus, has similar sentiments. I am beyond grateful and exceptionally honored, she says. I am even more motivated than ever to be a service to my community as a future doctor of nursing practice and a leader within the profession. As part of being Jonas Scholars, both also will participate in an online leadership series, where they will connect with other Jonas Scholars across the country. Their experience will culminate with an in-person national meeting in October 2017. At that event, Taylor and Teichert will meet other Jonas Scholars, gain exposure to national nursing leaders and speak with legislators. The conference is a wonderful way to meet national nursing leaders and to hear about their career paths, says Rebecca Carron, a UW assistant professor in the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing, who was a Jonas Scholar from 2012-14. Carron, who will serve as Teicherts adviser, adds that the national conference is a good way to know other nursing leaders in ones own state. Monicas nursing background has provided her with nursing leadership experience, which will serve her well going forward with her family nurse practitioner career, Carron says. Monica is an excellent student, as well as being warm and compassionate. JLaine Proctor, a UW clinical assistant professor of nursing, is Taylors adviser. Nichole has proven to be a natural leader of her cohort, and dedicated to her studies and the mental health care profession, Proctor says. She will make an excellent future practitioner. I feel fortunate that, in a couple years, I will be able to call on her as a colleague. In their written applications, both Teichert and Taylor shared their goals for their practice after they finish their education. I plan to be deeply rooted within my rural community in order to fully understand the culture, health needs, resources and barriers on the community, Teichert says. I plan to use leadership skills developed from former positions within a rural family practice specialty to influence the overall health community with an integration of evidence-based research, innovative practice ideas, and promotion of health behavior change and disease prevention. Taylor says she aspires to create and promote an effective preventive mental health program for screening mental health disparities in primary care. I seek to continue research on depressive screening tools that can be utilized in an educational prevention program directed toward primary care providers, with an emphasis to assist in detecting and providing early treatments to mental health disparities. Following his consecutive main event pay per view losses to Roman Reigns, many wondered what the future held for AJ Styles, but it seems as though The Phenomenal One has already made a huge statement. The former Face of TNA came out to speak to The Face that Runs the Place John Cena during the memorial day edition of Monday Night Raw, at first Styles seemed to be on the same page as the fifteen-time world champion, but things escalated quickly. Styles clashes with Cena AJ Styles attacks John Cena (image: WhatCulture.com) In terms of dream matches pitting AJ Styles against John Cena is up there at the very top and it seems that the WWE creative team is prepared to showcase that match up someway down the line. On Raw, the Leader of the Cenation made his way to the ring to address the crowd that he was back and that this 'New Era' would have to "go through" him. Then AJ Styles made his way to the ring to join him, with the WWE Universe clearly approving of the meeting, as a melody of "Let's GO CENA" was met with an "AJ STYLES" chant as the Green Bay, Wisconsin fans were going wild. A handshake followed but their endearing moment was halted as The Club (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) who laid out The New Day earlier that night made their way to the ring, as Cena and Styles looked ready to go to war with the two former New Japan Pro Wrestling Tag-team champions. However, the 39-year-old returning star was met with a clothesline from Styles who unleashed hell on the top babyface. The Club now realigned with Styles joined the attack before leaving The Face of WWE in a crumpled heap but the former Mr. TNA was enraged and bloodthirsty and subsequently returned to the ring twice to deal Cena more pent up aggression as he proclaimed that his attack was "a favour" for the WWE Universe. The three men stood over the injured star in the ring and held their arms up in "Bullet Club" fashion, as the characters that were so popular in NJPW finally made their true appearance on Raw. Foreshadowing The two Instagram posts of Cena and Styles (image: Instagram) Back in January of this year, Cena while still on the sidelines posted a photo of Styles on his official Instagram, before the phenomenal one had even made his debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble. The speculation about the two possibly squaring off sometime down the line was increased even more when Styles retaliated and uploaded a vintage photo of Cena as revenge. 'The Champ's' Instagram page does say "Welcome to my Instagram. These images will be posted without explanation, for your interpretation. Enjoy." Although it says no explanation will be provided it seems that Cena knew of the impending angle between the former NJPW champ and gave the WWE Universe a heads up beforehand. SHARE Hogrefe By Marjorie Hernandez of the Ventura County Star A Ventura County Superior Court judge on Tuesday rejected a defense motion to dismiss the case against a Camarillo man facing a murder charge connected to the DUI death of a Ventura County Sheriff's Office deputy in 2014. Judge Matthew Guasco also rejected a motion to recuse the Ventura County District Attorney's Office from trying the case against Kevin Hogrefe, 26. Authorities said Hogrefe was under the influence and driving a vehicle that hit and killed Deputy Yevhen "Eugene" Kostiuchenko, 41, on Oct. 28, 2014, as the officer walked back to his patrol car after an unrelated traffic stop on the shoulder of Highway 101 near Lewis Road in Camarillo. A grand jury indicted Hogrefe in December 2014 on charges of second-degree murder and felony fleeing the scene of an accident involving death. According to court records, Hogrefe's blood-alcohol level about two hours after the crash was 0.23 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent. Senior Deputy Public Defender Justin Tuttle has said Hogrefe cannot get a fair trial in the county because of close ties among law enforcement. In his motion to disqualify the District Attorney's Office, Tuttle said the D.A.'s office hired Spencer Vogel, a former employee with the Public Defender's Office who had worked on the Hogrefe case. Tuttle said Vogel attended defense team strategy meetings and had "unfettered access" to all internal memos, work product and computer files. "The primary and most concerning issue ... is having a member of my defense team who had unfettered access, who was present at strategy meetings ... it raises concerns," Tuttle said at Tuesday's hearing. "Quite frankly, to learn he was working at the D.A.'s office was quite shocking." Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Day said Vogel never worked on the Hogrefe case while he worked at the District Attorney's Office. Guasco said the conflict of interest allegation in the defense motion concerning Vogel was a "far cry" from a conflict of interest, "let alone a conflict that would recuse the entire office." In a 48-page motion to dismiss the case, Tuttle outlined various instances of alleged misconduct by prosecutors and law enforcement officials. Tuttle argued sheriff's officials allowed a reporter from The Star to meet with Hogrefe at the county Main Jail before he was able to visit his client on the day of his arraignment. "We believe this does fit the most extreme type of conduct ... that precluded us from meeting with our client while a reporter was allowed ... and very damaging statements were obtained as a result of that," Tuttle said of The Star's jail house interview. Day said she was not aware of the jail house interview until after it occurred. "Counsel stated in his motion the reporter worked as 'a state's actor,' and that is just incorrect," Day said. "There is nothing to support that anybody contacted the reporter, nor are there any facts to support that statement. (Hogrefe) wanted to talk to this reporter, it appears, out of loneliness." Guasco, however, said the sheriff's agency runs the jail and that the scheduled appointment was offered to the press rather than Tuttle. "There is a concern here how that looks," Guasco said. Day said Hogrefe agreed to meet with the reporter "to engender sympathy with the public ... to tell his story. I'm failing to see how the Sheriff's Department biased the defense by allowing that visit that the defendant wanted to take place." Guasco denied the motion to dismiss the case, adding he "agreed there is a concern" about The Star's interview with Hogrefe, but the allegation the Sheriff's Department provided the media time with Hogrefe rather than his attorney was "speculation" and there "was certainly no evidence the D.A. had any role in that." Guasco on Tuesday also ordered certain exhibits to be sealed, which include personal information of Judge Ryan Wright, who had recused himself from the case. Both sides were ordered to return June 14 for other motions concerning cellphone records. Another hearing has been scheduled on Aug. 8 for the defense's change-of-venue motion and a trial date has been set for Sept. 7. Hogrefe, who remains free on $500,000 bail, could see a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the second-degree murder charge, Tuttle said. Tuttle said his client is willing to plead guilty on a determinate 15-year term, but he said the District Attorney's Office has refused to consider lesser charges. STAR FILE PHOTO The Oxnard City Council in January voted 4-1 to approve sewer rate increases. The city is now suing a resident who has spearheaded a ballot initiative to overturn the increase, with a judge ruling Tuesday the trial will take place after the November election. SHARE By Gretchen Wenner of the Ventura County Star The unusual case of Oxnard vs. Aaron Starr won't be decided before November's election as the city sought, a judge ruled Tuesday morning. Instead, the wonky but perhaps trendsetting legal battle over Starr's ballot initiative to repeal sewer rate hikes will go to trial no sooner than Dec. 12, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Rocky Baio decided. "The preferred way to do these things is post election," Baio said, noting if the measure doesn't pass, no trial will be needed. Documents The case involves a specialized corner of elections law where citizens can challenge local utility rate hikes and other fee increases under California's Proposition 218, passed by voters in 1996. The scenario playing out in Oxnard is likely to be watched closely. A similar issue is unfolding in the Orange County city of Yorba Linda, where water rates were bumped up after revenues dropped due to drought-related conservation efforts. Such challenges are relatively unusual, said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Voters in Paso Robles overturned water rate hikes with a referendum in 2009. In Davis, voters did the same in 2014. The city of Fresno in 2014 settled a lawsuit over water-rate increases brought by a former county supervisor, Doug Vagim. A case in the Monterey area is in appellate court and one involving the Amador Water Agency is also playing out. "We've seen a more aggressive attack on citizens by their own governments," Coupal said of suits like the one filed by Oxnard against Starr. Starr turned in 3,947 signatures to the city on May 18 to put his initiative on the ballot, with 1,430 valid voter signatures needed. Officials with the City Clerk's Office said Tuesday they had not yet heard back from the county elections office as to whether signatures have been checked to determine validity. The measure, if it makes it to the November ballot and is passed by voters, would turn back wastewater rates to where they stood before March 1. In January, the City Council 4-1 approved a series of increases that will boost the sewer portion of a typical household's utility bill nearly $326 a year by 2020. Councilman Bryan MacDonald voted against the increase. The city alleges Starr's initiative is illegal and unconstitutional. Oxnard sued him in March rather than provide the paperwork he needed to collect signatures. Starr in turn successfully sued for the paperwork and carried out the signature drive before a May 20 deadline. Oxnard City Attorney Stephen Fischer said in an email the case is about Oxnard protecting its residents and utility customers from "the serious consequences of not being able to maintain our failing infrastructure." "This is a major public health and safety issue that could lead to failures that include raw sewage spills and adverse environmental impacts," Fischer wrote. The increase is also needed to meet bond obligations, he said. The city's attorney in the case, Holly Whatley of Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley PC in Los Angeles, had sought an expedited schedule that would have set the trial in August. Starr's attorney, Matthew Zandi of the Calabasas office of Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP, argued the city initially delayed the case on purpose and now sought a schedule that would cut off Starr's right to prepare his defense. Zandi's filing shows Starr's team intends to undertake "significant discovery," including 100 requests for documents, 250 questions known as special interrogatories, and deposition of at least four people, including the city's most qualified person, who will be asked to testify on at least 82 items. Starr, who was traveling out of state Tuesday, said in an email he is confident voters will approve the initiative in November. "This is the second time the city has attempted to use the courts to deprive Oxnard citizens of their right to vote and the second time they have failed," he wrote, adding he is now proceeding with discovery "so we can challenge the city's false narrative." The judge acknowledged if the measure passed in November, there would be an interim period of confusion. "I can't fix that," Baio said. Oxnard's attorney said in that scenario the city would likely file a temporary restraining order to keep rates at the new level until the matter is resolved. CONTRIBUTED A vehicle went into Ameci Pizza Kitchen in Simi Valley SHARE By Jean Moore of the Ventura County Star Two people were injured Tuesday when a car crashed into a pizza parlor in Simi Valley, officials said. The accident happened at about 4:50 p.m. at Ameci Pizza & Pasta, which is on the southwest corner of Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street, said Cmdr. Joseph May with the Simi Valley Police Department. The Ventura County Fire Department also responded to the accident. Fire department Battalion Chief Barry Parker said an Ameci employee was sitting at a table eating a meal when the crash occurred. He suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. Parker said other employees were at the pizza parlor but were behind the counter and not injured. The driver of the vehicle suffered minor injuries and was taken to Simi Valley Hospital, Parker said. Capt. Mike Lindbery, also with the fire department, said the driver of the vehicle was a male. Lindbery said Southern California Gas and building and safety were requested. Staff reporter Megan Diskin contributed to this report SHARE Dear Trump protesters: There are some things I've wanted to say to you for several months now, and I've decided to finally get them off my chest in this open letter. The timing is right, given the chaos that erupted recently in Albuquerque and San Diego when activists like yourselves displayed opposition to Donald Trump's message, tone, candidacy and tactics by trying to disrupt campaign appearances by the presumptive Republican nominee. Given how you've conducted yourselves, I have to ask: Are you secretly working for Trump? Seriously, are you trying to be an apprentice? Could it be that you're just putting on a good show, pretending to protest Trump when your actual goal is to ensure that he becomes the 45th president of the United States? Because that's what you're doing, helping his campaign immeasurably with these unruly outbursts of civil disobedience that are anything but civil. In Albuquerque, protesters scuffled with police in riot gear, pelting officers and their horses with what authorities say were rocks, bottles filled with urine, and incendiary devices resembling Molotov cocktails. Later, some of them broke glass, destroyed property and even fired gunshots. Six officers were injured, as was one of the police horses. Police have offered a reward and are searching for suspects. Many protesters also waved Mexican flags, a deliberately provocative gesture that when done at political protests on U.S. soil is always in bad taste. You don't demand respect from one country by showing allegiance to another. How about waving the American flag? I'm sure you would probably claim that the troublemakers were a small minority. Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry has estimated that only about 30 people were responsible for the violence, out of 1,000 protesters. But I have to ask: What did the peaceful protesters do to prevent the violent ones from contaminating the whole exercise? A few days later, in San Diego, while several thousand people filed into the San Diego Convention Center to hear Trump speak, another group of about 1,000 protesters clashed in the streets with police and Trump supporters. Some of the anti-Trump activists acted like thugs. They heckled and insulted those attending the event, calling them "racists" and "bigots." They threw water bottles and other objects. One person managed to set on fire a red Trump cap with its signature motto of "Make America Great Again." Of course, there were more Mexican flags. Protesters remained on site for a few hours after the Trump rally ended, disturbing the peace and flouting commands by police for them to disperse to the point where authorities declared the protest an "unlawful assembly." Police arrested at least 35 people. So protesters, I understand your objective was to send a message to Trump and his supporters to not mess with you. But instead, you made a mess of everything. What makes this all the more frustrating to watch is that, whether or not you believe it, I'm on your side. I think Trump is a classless bully whose message is toxic. I think he's given people permission to be racist, intolerant, even violent. I think he'd be a disaster as president, even dangerous. And I think Trump and his entire campaign apparatus having spread their cheap brand of demagoguery for months throughout the Midwest, the Northeast and the South are getting a wake-up call. It's coming now that the candidate is making appearances throughout California, where 39 percent of the population is Hispanic and people have dealt with racial demagogues before. But I also recognize Trump has gotten this far against long odds by advancing a narrative that America is out of control, that too many people don't respect law and order, that political correctness is stifling debate, that there is often no one more intolerant than those who preach tolerance. Through your actions, you prove him right, give him votes and make him stronger. And you can bet Trump is watching. He knows exactly what to do to get a rise out of you, and you always respond on cue. After the San Diego protests, Trump tweeted a special message thanking law enforcement: "Fantastic job on handling the thugs who tried to disrupt our very peaceful and well attended rally. Greatly appreciated!" Don't worry, Trump protesters. I'm sure the candidate appreciates you, too. Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. He writes for The Washington Post Writers Group. PEEPSHOW headliner and Ice Loves Coco reality star Coco hosted Sunday School at Body English Nightclub & Afterhours (Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com). Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. The star was joined by her husband, actor and rapper Ice-T, family and cast mates including Cheaza and Josh Strickland as they commemorated the conclusion of PEEPSHOWs four and a half-year run. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. The group had fun dancing and hanging out at their table. During the night, Coco and Ice-T hit the stage to thank fans for all their support. Then, Ice-T grabbed the microphone and surprised the crowd by rapping a couple songs as Coco danced alongside him. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Among the partiers was founding member of 98 Degrees, Jeff Timmons. He was joined by cast members of his new male revue Men of the Strip. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Photo: Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com. Friday November 14, 2014, LIGHT Nightclub at Mandalay Bay welcomed Dancing with the Stars fan favorite Cheryl Burke, former DWTS alumni and actor James Maslow (Pictured: Cheryl Burke Photo credit: The Light Group). Photo credit: The Light Group. Maslow is set to star in the upcoming indie thriller Wild for the Night according to Variety. Also spotted was HBOs The Leftovers star Chris Zylka for a special recording of the Melting Pot on iHeartRadio, which has over 245 million monthly U.S. listeners. Photo credit: The Light Group. After a fun and witty interview with Melting Pot hosts Ashleigh Speidel and Tim Mihalsky, the group headed out to the sounds of Sultan + Ned where cirque performers greeted them with a spectacle of lights and impressive visual acts. Photo credit: The Light Group. After attending last nights Pacquiao vs. Marquez fight, actor Steve Buscemi arrived with two friends at Surrender Nightclub inside Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. The star of HBOs original series Boardwalk Empire enjoyed Macallan on the rocks and the sounds of DJ R3hab (Photo credit: Bryan Schnitzer). Also spotted at Surrender, NBAs Corey Maggette of the Charlotte Bobcats. Photo credit: Bryan Schnitzer. Vietnams digital economy has seen significant growth over the last decade and is expected to be valued at US$57 billion by 2025. The countrys digital... Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko The pact was given the green light by the House of Representatives of Belarus on May 25. Belarusian First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aleksandr Mikhnevich noted the trade pact would boost bilateral cooperation with Vietnam, helping Belarus products make inroads into Vietnam, a gateway to the Southeast Asian market. The EAEU, which comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, signed the FTA with Vietnam in May 2015. This was the first FTA signed between the EAEU and an external partner. Previously, Russia and Kazakhstan ratified the trade pact, which will lift most tariffs on goods traded among participants. The deal is expected to increase trade revenue between Vietnam and the EAEU to US$10 billion in 2020 from the current yearly average of US$4 billion. Photo source: kinhdoanhnet.vn According to statistics of the Ministry of Planning and Investment published on May 25, in the first five months of 2016 Vietnam attracted $10.159 billion of FDI capital, up 136.4 per cent on-year. Vietnam licensed 907 newly-registered projects with a total capital volume of $7.56 billion and 425 added-capital projects worth $2.59 billion, up 155.9 and 93.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2015, respectively. In addition, the disbursed-capital amount was $5.8 billion, up 17.2 per cent on-year. Foreign investors are involved in 19 sectors of the Vietnamese economy. In the first quarter, the majority was clustered in the processing and manufacturing sector, with 398 newly-registered projects worth $6.61 billion, making up 65.1 per cent of the total FDI flow into the country. Information and telecommunications overcame the real estate sector to rank second in attracting FDI, with a total capital of $1.3 billion, equalling 12.8 per cent of the total FDI volume. Hanoi ranked first in attracting FDI with $1.96 billion in 180 newly-registered and added-capital projects, making up 19.3 per cent of the country total. The runners-up are Haiphong with $1.71 billion and Dong Nai with $921.8 million, respectively. The boom in attracting FDI is due to numerous large-scale projects. The first is LG Displays $1.5 billion hi-tech screen (OLED) production factory in the northern port city of Haiphongs Trang Due industrial park. The second is a Luxembourgian investors VND1.248 trillion ($55.6 million) project to develop Hanois information-telecommunication system. The third is Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV)s $300 million research and development (R&D) centre in Hanoi. SEV will develop a 21-storey building on a three-hectare land plot and employ 2,000 labourers in 2016, which will be bolstered up to 4,000 in the upcoming years. A total capital volume of $300 million will be disbursed within four years, including $50 million in the 2016-2017 period, $150 million in 2018, and the remaining $100 million in 2019. Catfish being processed. - Photo VNA In the directive issued on Monday, the ministry said that while diseases were causing complications, there were violations in the use of chemicals and antibiotics in some localities, forcing several markets to stop imports. The ministry asked for enhancing disease prevention and violations in the use of chemicals and antibiotics to be handled strictly. Reports must be submitted to the ministry before the end of July. Regarding the warning on some export batches or others that were returned due to contamination, there was a need to clarify their origins, the ministry said. US, EU warnings According to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD), the European Commission (EU)'s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, on May 13 sent a document to NAFIQAD saying that measures to control the use of antibiotics in fisheries products of Viet Nam were not effective enough to completely eradicate misuse of banned antibiotics. On May 25, the EU watchdog also warned its member countries about the sudden mass fish deaths in the central coast of Viet Nam and asked for tighter checks towards imported fisheries batches. In addition, EU would eliminate fisheries processors from the list of firms which were allowed to export to the EU, in case their products carried warnings about antibiotic content. NAFIQAD asked fisheries exporting firms to strictly comply with hygiene and safety standards. In another move, NAFIQAD also asked Siluriformes processors and exporters to tighten management of raw materials, especially chemical and antibiotic content. The order came following the warning by the United States' Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on two batches of catfish sent by two Vietnamese exporters, which were found to contain banned chemicals and antibiotics, just days after the United States (US) approved a bill that would repeal the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s catfish inspection programme. The two companies are Tan Thanh Loi Frozen Food Company Ltd. and Golden Quality Seafood Corp. FSIS in its document sent to NAFIQAD said the reasons for the contamination and the handling measures for the two contaminated catfish batches must be clarified within 30 days. The FSIS also asked for information on other catfish batches supplied by the two firms that had received the warning and on other exporters who had the same suppliers of raw materials. Catfish processed from raw materials which were found to be contaminated could not be exported to the US until appropriate handling measures were put in place, FSIS said in the document. On December 2, 2015, FSIS published the "Final Rule" on the inspection programme for Siluriformes. In accordance with the programme, FSIS has checked Vietnamese catfish exported to the US since April 15. The "Final Rule's" full enforcement will come into effect on September 1, 2017. However, on May 25, the US Senate approved a bill that would repeal the US's catfish inspection programme that critics argued was wasteful and unnecessary,Viet Nam News Agency reported. The resolution still needs the approval of the House of Representatives and President Barack Obama's signature for it to take effect. In the first five months of this year, fisheries exports reached a revenue of US$2.43 billion, rising slightly by 1.1 per cent over the same period last year, the ministry's statistics have revealed. photo source: namtruc.namdinh.gov.vn The 30-hectare projects construction is expected to start in September. The factory is expected to begin its test run sometime between August and September 2018 and officially come into operation in October 2018. Upon entering full operation, the factory will have an output of 15 million products per year and create between 10,000 and 12,000 jobs. According to Trieu Duc Hanh, Secretary of the Nam Truc District Party Committee, the project plays an important role in the districts socio-economic development, making it imperative for the authority to support the investor in site clearance as well as deal with problems arising during the implementation process. The district will try to complete the site clearance and hand over the ground for the investor before June 30. Bundas project is not the sole large-scale footwear production projects invested in Vietnam in the first five months of this year. On March 7, the Can Tho City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Management Authority licensed South Korean Taekwang Industrial to implement a $171 million shoe-manufacturing factory in 2B Hung Phu Industrial Park in Cai Rang district of Can Tho. The factory covers an area of 62 hectares, 52 of which is reserved for the production area, while the remaining 10 is set aside as a service and commercial area and warehouses for lease. The factorys construction is divided into three phases. The first phases construction is expected to be kicked off in 2016 and last until 2019, with the second and third phases to be finished by 2022 and 2025, respectively. The factory constructed during the first phase will start operation in the first quarter of 2017, while the second phase will be inaugurated in 2020, and the third phase in 2023. Once the factory comes into operation, it will have a total capacity of 100 million products per year and create 30,000 jobs. As the demand for plastics looks set to rise, local firms are upscaling to secure their market share Photo: Le Toan In addition to leading plastic firms like Tien Phong Plastics JSC and Binh Minh Plastics JSC, a large number of domestic firms are actively seeking a larger slice of the plastic market. The entrance of new brands like Dekko, HoaSen, and Stroman has heated up an already competitive marketplace. Tan A Dai Thanh group, known for its stainless steel products, plans to branch out as the market becomes saturated. The group is looking to the plastic industry due to the forecast of plastic products increasing to 45 kilogrammes per capita by 2020. Its facility, Stroman Hung Yen, commenced operations in May with an initial output of 20,000 tonnes per year. Tan A Dai Thanh will expand its market reach via a distribution network of 20 warehouses in the northern and central regions. In its second phase, the group will inject $70 million to scale up production capacity to 70,000 tonnes per year and open 36 warehouses by 2017. Likewise, Phuc Ha Investment and Development JSC inaugurated a $55 million plant in the northern province of Hung Yen last month. The plant specialises in producing plastic pipes and fittings under the Dekko brand name. Director of the firm, Ngyen Van Phuc, said that the new facility had an annual output of 33,000 tonnes in its first phase, building to 132,000 tonnes in the second phase. The modern production lines imported from Austria and Germany will help us to triple our production capability, he said. While the Stroman and Dekko brands are expanding in the northern and central regions of Vietnam, Binh Minh Plastic is ramping up investment in the south through its four facilities in Hung Yen, Ho Chi Minh City, and the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Long An. Last year, the company opened a new factory in Long An, which has a capacity of 5,000 tonnes of plastic fittings a year. Another producer, Tien Phong Plastic, is also revving up its development drive by expanding its facilities in the northeastern city of Hai Phong, the central province of Nghe An, Binh Duong, and Laos. Last week, a giant HDPE pipe production line was put into service, which marks a step forward in the firms operation. The production line the largest of its kind in both Vietnam and Asia is capable of manufacturing HDPE plastic pipes with diameters of up to two metres. The pipes are in great demand for use in key water supply and drainage projects in both domestic and international markets. Tien Phong Plastic products have occupied over 60 per cent of the northern market share and 29 per cent of the countrys market share. With a consumption output of 71,000 tonnes, the firm earned a revenue of VND3.56 trillion ($160 million) in 2015. In the meantime, Binh Minh Plastics produced 67,875 tonnes and generated VND2.97 trillion ($133.65 million) in revenue last year. It is rumoured that Tien Phong Plastic and Binh Minh Plastics will be merged as they both have State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) and Thailands Nawaplastic Industries as main shareholders. However, Tran Ba Phuc, chairman of the board of directors of Tien Phong Plastic, denied the rumour. He emphasised that the firm aimed to become one of the leading names in Vietnams plastic industry in the near future. Meanwhile, during its recent annual general meeting, Binh Minh Plastics released a plan to lift the foreign ownership limit from 48.99 per cent to 100 per cent. Regulation on 3 basement floors might cause difficulties to property developers. - Photo plo.vn The regulation has made property developers unhappy. In a recent move, the Viet Nam Real Estate Association (VNREA) on Wednesday proposed the regulation be put on hold. The association felt the order needed careful consideration as the requirement for three basement floors could cause a lot of difficulties for property developers and threaten to block property investment and development. According to the president of VNREA, Nguyen Tran Nam, the requirement was raised by the Department of Planning and Architecture in April under Announcement 1823/TB-QHKT as part of efforts by the municipal authorities to tackle the shortage of parking space in the capital city. "There are, however, unreasonable points," Nam said. The document did not specify the scale or position of the projects that had to comply with the directive, which would certainly cause confusion and hinder property development in the city, the association said. In addition, this requirement would push up investment costs. Nam said in the downtown area where there was critical shortage of parking space, the regulation for a building to have at least three basement floors was understandable, but in areas on the outskirts it could be unnecessary. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, chairman of GP Invest, said the minimum number of basement floors for parking in a building should not be fixed. Instead, there should be a regulation on the minimum percentage of space in a building designated for parking. According to Tran Chung, former director of the State Authority for Construction Quality Inspection, the requirement for basement floors for parking could not be executed for all projects. He said detailed instructions were needed, if there was a requirement. The association said the document of the Department of Planning and Architecture must be revised with reference to other relevant legal documents. In addition, the document should be put on hold until there was a final decision from the municipal authorities. Previously, the Department of Housing and Real Estate Management had said since the property market was anticipated to post solid growth until 2017, the property market management policies must be stable to promote the sector's growth. Under the theme of Little Green Citizen, the International Childrens Day celebration this year has been designed to become an interesting journey for kids to learn about important aspects of environment and how to preserve environment for the future. The journey includes four stations: water, energy, nature and waste, each of which consists of various gaming activities to deliver environmental lessons for kids. Piyapong Jriyasetapong, general director of TPC Vina, an subsidairy of SCG said that Environment has become a rising concern for not only Vietnam, but also the world. Everywhere, we could see the profound impacts of environmental pollutions and climate change on peoples lives. This calls our immediate attention and action toward a sustainable future. Hence, SCG would like to take this opportunity of International Childrens Day to inspire these little kids to become little green citizens through an exciting and educational journey. We believe by building environmental mindsets amongst these children, we could achieve a greater goal for a greener community in the future, he added. Established in Vietnam since 1992, SCG has contributed in various community projects towards human development and children care. In 2012, SCG co-operated with te Tan Binh Youth Union and Khan Quang Do newspaper to build a public playground called Sharing The Dream for kids from five to 12 at Hoang Van Thu Park, using high quality materials from SCG Chemicals. Since then, every year, SCG has brought up annual celebration on the occasion of International Childrens Day right at this venue for kids and families of the city. This activity follows the big celebration of SCG for hundreds of children in the southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau last week, also under the environmental theme of Our Green Voice. At a meeting with Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong late last week, Sembcorp Development CEO and VSIP co-chairman Kelvin Teo said the innovation park is going to be different from VSIPs usual model. The park is going to include a commercial centre, research facilities, and residential quarters, and is intended to be a place for scientists, developers, and investors to research and develop technologies and products with higher added values for international companies. According to Teo, Ho Chi Minh City is a suitable location for the park because the city has been attracting a lot of foreign direct investment from big technology companies and its infrastructure and the quality of labour force has been improving at a breathtaking speed. Chairman Phong commented that the project is welcomed by the city as it falls in line with its development orientation. He added that Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) has a 200 hectare zone that is just perfect for the park. SHTP has a modern infrastructure and has attracted many big investors in the field of technology. In the near future SHTP is going to be a stop along Metro line no. 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien), further appreciating its business worth. Phong carried on requesting Sembcorp to work with SHTPs management authority. Sembcorp is going to receive the investment license to develop the park in September or October if the parties can reach an agreement and complete all procedures by then. Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park is a joint venture between Becamex IDC Corporation and a consortium of three companies from Singapore which is majority led by Sembcorp Development. Other partners holding a stake in VSIP are Mitsubishi Corporation Development Asia and KPM Vietnam Investment. So far, VSIP has been successfully developing integrated townships and industrial parks in Binh Duong, Bac Ninh, Haiphong, Nghe An, and Quang Ngai. It has recently started construction of one such project in Hai Duong. Ingenuity for life sums up what Siemens stands for, and has stood for, ever since Werner von Siemens genius was first used for trailblazing initiatives, his engineering expertise and social values. The Ingenuity for life slogan will now appear beneath the Siemens logo, the design and colour of which will remain unchanged. For me, ingenuity means engineering expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, the power of innovation and the willingness to give our best to society on a daily basis. For life means that, for every generation, we at Siemens create long-term value for the individual customer, employee and citizen, as well as society as a whole, said Siemens president and chief executive officer (CEO) Joe Kaeser. With the strengthening of its global brand appearance and the related positioning, Siemens will emphasis its focus on electrification, automation and digitalisation. Our competencies in electrification, automation and digitalisation are aiding Vietnam in building up its basic infrastructure and will help to turn Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City into world class cities. Together with our customers, we are proud to make the lives of the Vietnamese people better. This is Ingenuity for life, said Siemens Vietnam president and chief executive officer, Pham Thai Lai. In a Facebook post on Monday, the man warned that no one should ever eat any kinds of seafood, either fresh, cooked or processed, when in Phu Quoc, because Phu Quoc seafood is poisoned. Phu Quoc is a district administered by the southern province of Kien Giang, and is a famous destination for sea and island travelers. Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper has verified that the Facebook owner is a tourist taken to the island from Ho Chi Minh City by tour organizer ABC Travel. The ABC Travel tour guide, Chanh Tin, told Tuoi Tre on the phone that some of his guests suffered digestive problems on Sunday night, after eating seafood at two restaurants on the island. They ate a mixed herring salad for lunch, and grilled scallop in the afternoon, with four or five of the tourists starting to suffer abdominal pains later in the night, according to the tour guide. Two of them were eventually hospitalized, but they recovered soon thereafter, Tin said. On Monday, all of the guests were able to continue their journey as normal, the tour guide asserted. Perhaps these tourists were not familiar with some kinds of seafood here, Tin said. There is no such thing as food poisoning caused by toxic seafood. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Facebook post with the false rumor had been shared more than 1,000 times, with a number of comments showing concern about the quality of the well renowned Phu Quoc seafood. Pham Van Nghiep, deputy chairman of the Phu Quoc administration, said later on Tuesday that tainted Phu Quoc seafood is a baseless rumor. I have been briefed about the issue and can assert that it is totally false to say Phu Quoc seafood is poisonous, he said. Such a baseless rumor has spread worry among locals and tourists, affecting the tourism environment of both Phu Quoc and Kien Giang. Civil party lawyer Alain Werner,left, interacts with former Chad prisoner Souleymane Guengueng after the trial of Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, May 30, 2016. Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for abuses during his time in power, Judge Gberdao Gustave Kam said Monday at the end of the trial that began in July 2015. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch) Carley Petesch Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre raises his hands after sentencing during court proceedings in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, May 30, 2016. Judge Gberdao Gustave Kam declared Habre guilty and sentenced him to life in prison for crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture, in a packed courtroom, Monday.(AP Photo/Carley Petesch) Carley Petesch Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre raises his hand during court proceedings in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, May 30, 2016. Judge Gberdao Gustave Kam declared Habre guilty and sentenced him to life in prison for crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture, in a packed courtroom, Monday.(AP Photo/Carley Petesch) ap Carley Petesch Dakar, Senegal Former Chad dictator Hissene Habre was found guilty Monday of crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and sex crimes during his rule and he was sentenced to life in prison, ending a trial more than 15 years in the making. Victims, former prisoners and their relatives broke out into whoops of joy, hugs and tears in the courtroom when ruling was announced by the three-judge panel in the special court in Senegal. A defiant Habre raised his fist and shouted to his supporters: Long live independent Africa! Down with France-Africa! His wife wept and his backers called him a defender of Africa as the 73-year-old Habre was escorted from court. He was convicted of being responsible for thousands of deaths and torture in prisons while in power from 1982 to 1990. A 1992 Chadian Truth Commission accused Habres government of systematic torture, saying 40,000 people died during his rule. It placed particular blame on his police force. The Extraordinary African Chambers was established by Senegal and the African Union to put Habre on trial for the crimes committed during his rule. It was the first trial in which the courts of one country prosecuted the former ruler of another for alleged human rights crimes, and the first universal jurisdiction case to proceed to trial on the continent. The trial began in July 2015, but victims and survivors have been pursuing the case against their former leader for more than 15 years. Over 90 witnesses testified. Judge Gberdao Gustave Kam, speaking for the panel, said evidence showed Habre was directly responsible, having given the orders for imprisonment and torture, and having also committed some of the crimes himself. Habre has 15 days to appeal, and his lawyer, Mounir Ballal, said he will do so. We are surprised by the verdict, especially the severity of the verdict, he said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the conviction, calling it a landmark in the global fight against impunity for atrocities. He also said it was an opportunity for the United States to reflect on, and learn from, our own connection with past events in Chad. The U.S. and France were supporters of Habre when he was in power. Reed Brody, a lawyer for Human Rights Watch who has been involved in the case, said it was a huge victory for his Chadian victims, without whose tenacity this trial never would have happened. This verdict sends a powerful message that the days when tyrants could brutalize their people, pillage their treasury and escape abroad to a life of luxury are coming to an end, Brody said. Habres conviction signals that no leader is above the law, and that no woman or girl is below it ... This is the first time in history that a former head of state has been convicted in an international trial of personally committing rape, he said. The accusations of rape came out during witness testimony at the trial. Clement Abaifouta, president of the Association of Victims of the Crimes of the Hissene Habre Regime and a former prisoner who was forced to bury dead prisoners, called it a consecration of justice here in Africa. There must not be any more leaders like Hissene Habre in Africa or elsewhere. Because in fact, the elected leaders are there to represent people, to be for the people, not to kill the people, violate the people or steal from the country. So I must say, here in Africa and elsewhere, never again, he said. Souleymane Guengueng, who began collecting accounts of survivors after being released from prison in 1990, expressed joy and satisfaction for this victory. This is a lesson for other victims and dictators in the world, he said. A second set of hearings to determine damages for the more than 4,000 registered civil parties will take place in the coming days. Habre, who has lived a life of luxury in Senegals capital of Dakar since fleeing Chad in 1990, had called the trial politically motivated. He refused legal representation, but the court appointed him Senegalese lawyers. He and his supporters disrupted proceedings several times with shouting and singing. Chads current government, led by President Idriss Deby, who served as Habres military adviser before pushing him from power, supported the trial. Habres son, Bechir, had harsh words for Deby before the verdict. Someone dies every day in Chad. There is a man responsible, Idriss Deby. He must respond. He is responsible for this, Bechir Habre told The Associated Press, gesturing to the group of victims. Over the years, many of those who had been jailed by Habres government or lost family members campaigned for his prosecution. Habre was first indicted by a Senegalese judge in 2000, but legal twists and turns over a decade saw the case go to Belgium and then finally back to Senegal after unwavering pursuit by the survivors. The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, cannot prosecute crimes committed before it was established in 2002. In 2001, the archives of Habres police force were found in its headquarters in Chad. The records dated to Habres rule and mentioned more than 12,000 victims of Chads detention network. Many of the records bore his signature, prosecutors said. ___ Associated Press writer Babacar Dione contributed to this report. ___ Follow Carley Petesch on Twitter at www.twitter.com/carleypetesch Cambodian society has undergone some radical changes in recent years. Since the United Nations-led mission in the early 1990s, five national electionswith varying degrees of democratic credibilityhave been held. A market-based economy has taken hold, and delivered a longterm average GDP growth rate of some 7 percent. The official figure for the number of Cambodians living in poverty fell dramatically from 47.8 percent in 2002 to just 18.9 percent a decade later. Given all that has happened to the country and its population of 15 million, a group of scholars believes it is time to take a wider look at where Cambodian society has got to. The result is the forthcoming book, The Handbook of Contemporary Cambodia, which it is hoped will be completed this year and eventually be translated into the Khmer language. It will give what the authors call a comprehensive overview of social, cultural, political and economic developments in Cambodia. We try to organize the structure of the book in such a way that people can follow a narrative of the twists and turns of what is going on in the contemporary Cambodian society, said Simon Springer, one of the books co-editors. The book brings together more than 35 scholars on Cambodia, including several Cambodian researchers. No one authors viewpoint dominates, said Springer, allowing a diversity of voices to come through within the text. For that reason, the book shows the readers that there really are some disagreements and some tensions in a way that these authors frame the contemporary situationthe political economy and socio-cultural implications, Springer told VOA Khmer. Springer, currently an associate professor at the geography department of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, has been researching Cambodia for the past 10 years. His recent work has focused on landlessness and the forced evictions that have taken place to make ways for urbanization in the country. There are more than 35 chapters in the book which focus on different themes, including political economic tension, rural development, urban conflicts, social processes, and cultural currents. The book is a rare large-scale research effort on Cambodia, where social research is still a nascent field. One of the Cambodians involved in the project, Deth Sok Udom, a professor at Phnom Penhs privately run Zaman University, is contributing a section on Cambodias role in regional and global geopolitics to the book. He told VOA Khmer that as well as furthering knowledge of the country, research such as this one would provide useful and objective information for the government. The findings from social science are vital for policy development, so the government can find them useful, he said. Doing research is an obligation for professors, Deth Sok Udom added, bemoaning the fact that this is not supported under the countrys existing higher education system, which affords academics limited resources. One of the biggest Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand, Kao I Dang, which gave shelter to tens of thousands of Cambodian refugees in the 1980s, has reopened as an educational center to highlight the response to the regional refugee crisis. Khao I Dang offers a poignant reminder of Thai hospitality and responsibility-sharing by the international community at the height of the Indochinese refugee crisis, said James Lynch, UNHCRs Regional Representative for South-East Asia. Inaugurated on Monday, the Learning Centre for the History of Khao I Dang uses photographs, videos and text to pay tribute to an important waypoint in the Cambodian exodus and an enduring symbol of the international humanitarian response to the crisis. Nop Bun Than from North Carolina, a former Khao I Dang resident before resettling in the U.S. in 1982, said it was a good idea. It is a good move if the camp opens with the support of the UN to teach the world because the management of the UN at that time was so good. There was food, water, people had freedom in the camp although there was no freedom, he said, adding that he would like to return to see what had been done with the camp. I would think that I would have much emotion and shock if I am going and seeing the camp again. Nhek Bun Chhay who was a resistance fighter along the border and is currently the president of Khmer National United Party, said that there would be a lot of things to learn from, both good and bad. The good thing is that they will show about the hardship and ordeal of the refugees to prevent it from happening in other countries, because it was not easy to live in the camp. Thats the negative point. The positive point, just like I said, is that it will be there for tourists and development. Thailands Forestry Department will manage the site, along with the Red Cross and UNHCR. With only three months remaining before the government is due to impose a nationwide smoking ban, it used World No Smoking Day on Monday to raise awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco. A sub-decree prohibiting smoking in public areas came into force in March, but the government said at the time it would wait six months before enforcing the ban to allow time for public education. After the deadline of September, people caught smoking in areas where the ban applies will face fines of between 20,000 riel (about $5) and 50,000 riel (about $12.50). Areas where the ban will take effect include restaurants, offices, government buildings, hospitals, schools and parks. Dr. Chhea Chho Daphea, director of the National Health Promotion Center, said there had already been some signs that smoking was on the decline since the government began its anti-smoking campaign. We have always raised awareness and educated people not to smoke using different approaches; as a result, the prevalence of smoking has been decreasing by 5 percent or 6 percent each year, she said. At an event to mark World No Tobacco Day on last week, attendees touted the idea of reducing branding on tobacco products, which studies have shown can reduce levels of smoking. Dr. Yel Daravuth, a technical officer with the World Health Organization in Cambodia, said other measures such as reducing tobacco advertising, could also help. After that [six months], the inspectors from the Ministry of Health will check if the stakeholders follow the rule, he said, adding that an estimated 2 million Cambodians were regular smokers. If someone used to smoke 20 cigarettes per day when he could smoke wherever he wanted, now when he wants to smoke he will need to leave the area of the ban, so he may only smoke 10 a day. Inhaling secondhand smoke is also a major concern, with Cambodia holding the worst rates of secondhand smoke inhalation at public places such as restaurants among Asean countries, official figures suggest. Early this year, Prime Minister Hun Sen, who had smoked for three decades, announced not for the first time that he had quit smoking and called on the public to follow his lead. The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party has accused the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party of forging thumbprints on a petition it sent to the Royal Palace, which called for intervention from the king to put an end to simmering political tensions. The CNRP claimed it had collected over a hundred thousand thumbprints from supporters for the petition, which was submitted on Monday following a long standoffs with armed police who attempted to block a march to the palace, but eventually relented and allowed the demonstrators to pass. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday ordered the Ministry of Interior to conduct an investigation to determine whether any of the thumbprints were forgeries. However, by Wednesday, the ministry could not confirm if there were any forged thumbprints, while the opposition said it was ready to have the fingerprints tested. The investigation takes time, said Khieu Sopheak, Ministry of Interior spokesman. We need to check if there are any duplicated or fake thumbprints or directly go to local people. He added that if guilt was established, the CNRP would risk legal action over an immoral act that insults the king and the public, as well as fraud. The CNRP issued a statement on Wednesday denying the fraud allegations. Son Chhay, the partys chief whip, said it was the oppositions responsibility to deliver the citizens suggestions to the king to seek intervention to stop the arrest of Kem Sokha. The CNRP has come under fire from the courts and ruling party in recent weeks, which analysts say is an attempt to fragment the countrys main opposition ahead of elections in 2017 and 2018. Kem Sokha is facing two defamation suits and allegations he procured the services of a prostitute, while CNRP president Sam Rainsy remains in self-imposed exile after a warrant was issued for his arrest in November over a separate defamation ruling. China hopes all parties on the Korean peninsula will remain calm and exercise restraint, President Xi Jinping told a senior visiting North Korean envoy on Wednesday, after the isolated state rattled nerves with a failed missile test. The rare meeting in Beijing between Xi and one of North Korea's highest-profile officials, career diplomat Ri Su Yong, follows a flurry of weapons tests in the run-up to the first congress in 36 years of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party in May, when young leader Kim Jong Un consolidated his control. China is reclusive North Korea's only major ally but has been angered by its nuclear and missile programs. China signed up to harsh new U.N. sanctions against North Korea in March in response to its fourth nuclear test in January and a satellite launch in February. Xi told Ri that China attached great store to the friendly relationship between the two countries, and was willing to work with North Korea to consolidate that friendship, China's official Xinhua news agency said in a report. "China's position on the peninsula issue is clear and consistent. We hope all sides remain calm and exercise restraint, increase communication and dialogue and maintain regional peace and stability," Xinhua cited Xi as saying. There was no direct mention of Tuesday's failed missile test, the latest in a string of unsuccessful ballistic missile tests by North Korea. Ri passed on a verbal message to Xi from Kim, Xinhua said, in which Kim expressed a desire to work hard with China to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula and across northeast Asia. Xi welcomed Ri's visit to report on the North Korean party congress, which Xi said showed the importance Kim attached to ties with China, Xinhua added. Xi said he hoped North Korea could achieve even greater achievements in improving its economy and people's livelihoods, Xinhua said. The United States plans to use high-level Sino-U.S. talks in Beijing next week to discuss ways to bring greater pressure to bear on North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. But China has been reluctant to take tougher action, such as completely shutting its border with North Korea, for fear that North Korea could collapse in chaos. Gunshots rang out once again on a campus in the United States on Wednesday. Students and faculty raced out of harm's way, ducked under furniture, barricaded doors and hid in interior rooms, bathrooms and labs. The short-lived nightmare on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles came one day before Wear Orange: National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Wear Orange was inspired by friends of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago high school student killed by gunfire in 2013. The group decided to honor her life by wearing orange the color worn by hunters in the woods to protect themselves and others. While the idea has been embraced by civic organizations, politicians and celebrities, it has been rejected by gun rights advocates. The National Rifle Association has attacked the campaign as "pointless," and said "participating is an easy way of scoring points for being 'socially conscious.'" Here is a look at the unique relationship between Americans and their guns. Watch video report from VOA's Zlatica Hoke: Second Amendment Any law-abiding citizen in the United States is allowed to own or carry a gun. That right comes from the U.S. Bill of Rights and the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It says: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The Second Amendment was based partially on English common law, which describes an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in concert in defense of the state. Ease of ownership To purchase a gun in the majority of states, a person needs to be of age, pass the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check and fill out a firearms transaction record. However, background checks are not currently required for private sales, including those conducted at gun shows. Certain people are banned from owning weapons, including convicted criminals, people with mental health illnesses or non-U.S. citizens. But the system has major holes in it. Gun debate Pro-gun ownership: The wording of the Second Amendment is the primary defense cited by gun rights advocates. They say Americans have a constitutional right to arm themselves. Many supporters are quick to point out that stricter gun laws have not ended gun violence in cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C. Gun owners say firearms give people the power of self-defense, dissuading criminals from victimizing people who might be armed. That argument appears to gather momentum with every report of a mass shooting. Pro-gun control: Those advocating stricter laws cite statistics to bolster their case. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2013, there were more than 33,000 firearms deaths in the U.S. They point to countries like Japan where gun control laws are strict and shooting deaths are almost nonexistent. They argue that better records on gun ownership and more stringent laws dictating the sale, possession and storage of guns would allow law-abiding people to have firearms, while resulting in far fewer accidental deaths, suicides and homicides. U.S. reality The debate on guns has played out many times in American history. But regardless of where one falls, the fact remains that U.S. gun ownership is exceptionally high and growing. According to the Small Arms Survey, the United States has an average of 116 guns per 100 people, although most of those weapons are owned by a minority of citizens. The United States is home to roughly 35 to 50 percent of the world's civilian-owned guns, even though it holds less than 5 percent of the world's population. Taliban gunmen stormed a court building in an eastern Afghan province on Wednesday, killing five civilians and a policeman, the Interior Ministry said. A statement from the ministry said four terrorists were involved in the attack in the city of Ghazni, the capital of the eastern Ghazni province. Jawed Salangi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said that a suicide bomber launched the coordinated attack by blowing himself up at the court's entrance, after which three other attackers stormed the building. The ministry said a firefight ensued and the three other attackers were shot and killed by the security forces. Salangi said police were also attempting to defuse an explosives-packed vehicle parked near the courthouse. The Taliban, who have waged war on Kabul since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion toppled their regime, claimed responsibility for the attack. The insurgents have increasingly targeted Afghan judicial workers since the government executes six convicted Taliban members last month. They routinely also target government employees and security officials across the country. In the northern Balkh province, district police chief Bismullah Khan was killed when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb on Wednesday, said Gen. Abdul Razaq Qaderi, deputy provincial police chief. Three other policemen who were Khan's bodyguards were wounded in the blast, said Qaderi. He added that Khan was police chief in Sholgara district and was on his way to attend a security meeting in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in Balkh. An al-Qaida group has claimed responsibility for attacks on two U.N. bases in Mali that left four people dead. One peacekeeper was killed in rocket fire late Tuesday that seriously wounded three other peacekeepers and injured at least 10 civilian U.N. staff, according to a statement from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA. The attack targeted a MINUSMA camp in the northern city of Gao. The mission did not specify the nationality of the peacekeeper killed, but China said Wednesday one of its peacekeepers had died in a terrorist attack in Gao. A second attack Wednesday morning on the U.N. antimining operation (UNMAS) in a different neighborhood of Gao killed two Malian private security officers and an international expert. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the attacks Wednesday in an online statement. On Sunday, five members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali were killed and another injured in an ambush attack. A similar ambush Friday killed five Malian soldiers and wounded four more when their vehicle hit a mine in the north and they were then shot at by unknown assailants. After Wednesday's attack, the number of U.N. peacekeepers killed while on active service in Mali rose to at least 66, making it the most dangerous active deployment for the U.N. in the world. Suspected arsonists have burned down a new refugee center in Austria near the German and Czech borders. The Red Cross said 48 asylum-seekers had been expected to move into the residential center in two weeks. Authorities said the building at Altenfelden in northern Austria was deliberately set ablaze overnight. No injuries were reported, but it took several dozen firefighters to control the flames that swept through the wood-frame building. The Red Cross said the arson attack was a shocking act of vandalism, unlike any it had seen previously in Austria during the current refugee crisis, which has left nations across Europe struggling to cope with a swelling tide of migrants, most of them from the Middle East and Africa. The Red Cross estimated the fire damage at $335,000 but said it will build a new shelter on the same site. The Altenfelden attack was a rare instance of violence in a country that took in 90,000 asylum-seekers last year, more than 1 percent of its population. In Paris, meanwhile, city officials have announced plans for a refugee camp on the northern edge of the French capital. The migrant crisis in the Mediterranean region has taken a deadly turn in the past week, with 880 would-be refugees drowning in multiple shipwrecks off the coast of Libya. Overall, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday more than 2,500 refugees and migrants have died this year while trying to reach Europe. That compared to a death toll of 1,855 during the same period of 2015, as people tried to cross the Mediterranean and reach the prosperous countries of central and northern Europe. Tensions have escalated in Uganda's capital after a court appearance for opposition leader Kizza Besigye was canceled and two opposition leaders were arrested. Besigye is charged with treason after calling February's presidential poll rigged and declaring himself president. When it became clear that Besigye wouldn't attend Wednesday's hearing, the packed courtroom erupted in anger. The government cited security concerns for Besigye's absence, saying that they couldn't risk bringing him to court. Although the chief magistrate called for calm, Besigye's supporters continued to demonstrate, eventually shutting down the session. They remained in the courtroom demonstrating their dissatisfaction by holding prayers and singing that one day President Yoweri Museveni would die and they would be free. The demonstration remained calm with no police intervention. One activist with Besigye's FDC party, John Mugabe, says they just wanted to be heard. We are not here to cause disruption; because, as Ugandans, we are here also to defend our vote, which was rigged; however, as much as the police and the state are trying to push us to that side, to cause violence, but we know Museveni is good at violence," said Mugabe. "And we are going to demonstrate in a free and fair way according to the constitution; but, violence is not our weapon to use at this side." After leaving the courtroom, a group of activists marched to the main road. Police called on them to disperse, asking them to stop singing and chanting. When they continued, two FDC members, Ingrid Turinawe and Doreen Nyanjura, were arrested. Member of parliament Betty Nambooze, who was in the courtroom to support Besigye, says she has concerns about the future. We're so sad that as a country we are heading for a situation where the law of the jungle, going by might and not right, it's quite, quite very bad that we are heading for such a very bad period," said Nambooze. "And at the moment, have nothing to do apart from keep guessing the next move President Museveni will be taking. The opposition is calling for an independent audit of the February presidential election, which President Museveni officially won with 60 percent of the vote. Besigye's next court appearance is scheduled for mid-June. Live streaming phone apps have surged in popularity in China, attracting investment and, at least for now, a huge fan base of users. Chinese mobile video applications, such as Ingkee, are similar to Twitters Periscope and Facebook Live, and allow streamers to distribute live video and simultaneously interact with viewers. Paul Haswell, a partner with the international law firm Pinsent Masons, said live streaming apps allow ordinary Chinese citizens to stream anything they want. Haswell said, They are successful for the same reasons they are successful in the West. They allow anyone to be a broadcaster of anything. You can use this app if youre on holiday, broadcast what youre up to. If youre doing say a show, or DJing a show. Youre becoming a live reporter anytime you want to. There are now more than 80 Chinese live streaming phone apps. Ingkee started just one year ago, and it has already reached number one on Apples China app store. The streaming apps have been used to market makeup and and skin care products, and Chinese film and television stars are increasingly live streaming to interact directly with their fans. Many streamers are also recording pornography, and attracting the attention of Chinese government censors. Wang Chuan Zin of Beijings Analysis Group said, Because there is so much original content in live applications, some content may be against the law. Chinas Ministry of Culture and other regulators have cracked down on 50 users and websites distributing pornography through live apps, and companies like Douyu have hired hundreds of employees to screen content specifically for pornography. Despite many users running afoul of Chinese government censors, the live streaming apps are drawing users and investment. Ingkee says 50 million people have already downloaded their app, while Douyu says more than 120 million people use their app, and 600,000 people have used it to stream video at least once. The apps are also turning into a money maker for some users. Viewers can tip streamers with virtual presents, which the streamers can later trade in for cash. Phil Lisio, head of The Foote Group, a Shanghai-based consultancy, said, Video streams, direct video platforms, have seemed to come out of nowhere, very popular, overnight or however you want to put it. And it feels to a lot of people, like a fad, the flavor of the day, in the social media space. It also seems to be the hot area in terms of attracting investment. Many of Chinas streaming apps have already raised millions of dollars in funding, and say they expect their volume of users to continue to grow. While most media coverage of the Syria conflict has focused on the clash of arms, in northern Syria, the uprising against President Bashar al-Assads rule has followed two tracks the military struggle to oust the government and the effort to establish civilian governance in rebel-held areas. Those efforts have frequently come into conflict, with civilians, seeking to provide basic services, struggling to persuade armed groups that there should be a separation of powers. But in rebel-controlled areas of the city of Aleppo, two sides of Syrias revolution have cohered more effectively in recent weeks, with less friction between the civilians and the armed groups. Local activists say the "cessation of hostilities" brokered in February by the U.S. and Russia has helped, despite the fact that it has not been an all-embracing cease-fire. Rebel-held districts in Aleppo city are still pounded by government airstrikes and shelling but with less intensity than before the "cessation of hostilities" agreement. Relative calm This has provided some relative calm, allowing shops to open and an increase in civic activity, says Eyad Kalloul, a development worker with the Muwatana, a pro-opposition but independent Syrian NGO that helps facilitate dialogue between militias and civilians. The local city council in Aleppo is one of several hundred councils functioning in rebel-held towns and villages across Syria, some elected in rudimentary-run polls, others not. It has made significant progress in gaining control from the armed groups of much of the governance of insurgent-held districts, including distribution of humanitarian aid and organizing basic public services, Kalloul says. Kalloul, a father of two, cites as a recent example the control of a neighborhood water well. We asked why the well should be controlled by a militia instead of the council, he says. And after negotiations involving local notables as well, the militia agreed. He adds: The aim is to get all civil services under civilian control. Assistance getting organized Many of the councils in rural Aleppo, rural Idlib and some areas in the countryside of Latakia, as well as in rebel-controlled towns ringing Damascus, originated as local relief efforts. They grew mainly from the grass roots and were quickly encouraged by Western governments, who saw their development as a major civil breakthrough. Western officials hope the councils can help to nudge the ideological direction of the rebellion, tempering its sectarianism and curtailing the power of radical Islamists by building up popular support for secular local governance. Progress defining areas of civilian responsibility from the provision of water and electricity to health care and education has been easier in the city of Aleppo thanks to the recent departure of fighters with Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaida affiliate that is the most reluctant of the armed groups in northern Syria to relinquish any power to civilians, a reflection of the jihadists theocratic beliefs. According to Gen. Salim Idris, former chief of the staff of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, al-Nusra has withdrawn many fighters from Aleppo, fearing it could suffer major losses if the government, backed by the Russians, do mount a major assault on rebel districts. Al-Nusra is always thinking several moves ahead, he says. In neighboring Idlib province, civilians have been much more restricted in what they can do. Foreign donors have been reluctant to provide funds for civilian projects there, from reconstruction to relief services, fearing al-Nusra entanglement. Civilians and civil defense members look for survivors at a site damaged after suspected Russian airstrikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria, late May 30, 2016. The strikes killed at least 50 people and left dozens more injured. Nusra leaders wont even sit with civilian negotiators, leaving that to an allied Islamist faction, Ahrar al-Sham, says a European aid worker who oversees dialogue efforts in Idlib from Turkey. He asked not to be identified, citing the political sensitivity of the dialogue attempts. Meanwhile, there are growing signs that al-Nusra might be about to announce an emirate in Idlib. Lessons from prison Al-Nusra doesnt want to talk to us because we are secular, says Kalloul, speaking in English, which he learned as a detainee in Syrias notorious Sednaya prison by listening to VOA on a smuggled radio. A one-time Communist, he says English wasnt the only thing he learned during his five years in jail. Debating in prison with other detainees, reading and being exposed to news from around the world, his political views changed. He now describes himself as a liberal, but says prison debates equipped him with the skills that now help him to facilitate talks between civilians and armed militias that hold opposing political views. Setting up a justice system in the rebel-held areas has proved difficult. Justice is much more complicated than who oversees the provision of basic services and even education, Kalloul explains. In different districts, there are different and often competing courts. Civilians have asked for a unified court system across rebel-held areas and one controlled by civilians and not the armed groups, he says. They have also called for Unified Arab Law to be adopted as the legal code. Unified Arab Law is a compromise between Syrian state law and religious Sharia law that is being developed by jurists and the Arab League. But here, too, interests compete; militias have proven reluctant to give up their courts and Islamist groups are adamant that Sharia law should be followed. Compromise may be in store on the issue of electoral reform in Kenya. Several protests by the opposition have turned violent in the past month, but at a rally in Nairobi Wednesday, opposition leader Raila Odinga said plans are in the works for dialogue. Opposition parties held a demonstration in Nairobi Wednesday to mark Freedom Day. Addressing thousands of supporters, Raila Odinga, the leader of Kenyas main opposition coalition CORD, said the opposition and the government have agreed to each name five parliamentarians by Friday to hold talks on electoral reform. Odinga said the opposition's demands remain the same and that the nine members of the electoral commission board must step down. "We do not want violence or brinksmanship. We want the truth. We want justice and thats why were saying that the electoral commission chairman should start preparing to leave office early," he said. The opposition has said the electoral commission favors Kenya's ruling Jubilee coalition. The government has so far refused to dissolve the commission. But President Uhuru Kenyatta invited CORD leaders for a meeting at State House Tuesday. Kenyatta further extended the olive branch by inviting the opposition to join government-led celebrations for Freedom Day in Nakuru. However, CORD decided to hold its own rally. Wednesdays peaceful demonstration was a sharp contrast to others in the past month where police have tear gassed and beat protesters. Those in attendance say tensions may be thawing. Its actually a beginning," said Fred. "The president has to go a step farther because it was just a meeting yesterday, but we expect him to do better than that. Of course, he showed statesmanship and that was a good beginning. The tension will go down if we continue in this way. Odinga said if talks fail, the opposition will resume its weekly street protests Monday. Kenya is set to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in August of next year. A federal judge has released nearly 400 pages of documents that detail how Trump University employees used aggressive practices to get customers to sign up for more expensive seminars about succeeding in real estate. The "playbooks'' for the now defunct business owned by the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, include information about how its sales people were told to deliberately mislead potential customers, manipulate their emotions and ignore their concerns. The release is part of a lawsuit by customers who claim they were defrauded. At a Tuesday news conference at Trump Tower in New York, Trump continued his recent streak of bashing Gonzalo Curiel, the federal judge who unsealed the documents. "He's been a very bad judge ... very, very unfair," Trump said. He has maintained that customers were overwhelmingly satisfied with the offerings a point his attorneys repeated after the documents were unsealed. The documents do include testimony from a number of satisfied customers. Trump University's core customers are identified in the documents as male heads of households between 40 and 54 years old, with annual household incomes of at least $90,000, a college education and a net worth of more than $200,000. The documents show meticulous attention to details such as seating at seminars. Room temperature should be set no higher than 68 degrees and music should be the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money." New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is leading one of several lawsuits against Trump University, applauded the release of documents. Schneiderman said Trump is absolutely shameless about lying to people to induce them to his seminars, which cost upward of $20,000. He said the playbook was a guideline to dupe people into paying for more courses. Trump University faced a handful of legal challenges, as well as scrutiny from the New York Department of Education, before it shut down in 2011. But Trump has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, releasing reviews from students lauding the courses. He says he won't settle the case because he'll be vindicated in court. Democrats are reaching out for Hispanic voters ahead of Californias primary election June 7th. Hispanics make up one third of the states adult population, and they are being courted by the campaigns of presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Trump statements an issue Volunteers have been signing up new voters, canvassing neighborhoods, and calling registered Democrats on the phone. They are motivated partly by presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has said that Mexico is sending criminals, including rapists, to the United States among the immigrants who cross the border illegally. Candidate Trump says he is criticizing only those who break the law, and he points to Hispanics who support him. Maria Aguila, who lives near San Francisco, is one of his supporters, saying it is because we need change. Aguila says We need real change this time. A Democrat and Clinton supporter at a neighborhood phone bank near Los Angeles, Maria Alvarado Marquez, finds Trumps comments offensive. She says that people coming from Latin America and the Muslim world are looking for a better life. These are all people who want freedom religious freedom, economic freedoms, she said, and she says that both groups have been maligned by Trump. This is probably the most important election of my life, she added. The proposed wall Polls show that most Hispanics are alarmed by Trumps pledge to build a wall along the southern US border. Teacher Stephanie Sandoval says getting to know Hispanic students from families with mixed status gives her pause. Ive been moderate, sometimes conservative on some issues, she said, but seeing how those issues affect some people, for example with Donald Trump and building the wall. That concern brought her to a sidewalk holding a campaign sign, her first time active in a political contest. Hispanic age split Hillary Clinton has an overall lead among Hispanics, but younger Hispanics favor Bernie Sanders by a large margin. Polls show that economic issues and education top the list of Hispanic concerns, and campaign ads from both candidates hit hard on those themes. Still, its the Republican in the race who motivates many Hispanics ahead of next weeks California primary election. Hispanics in neighboring states High voter turnout in the Hispanic community could make a difference in the South and Southwest, said Raphael Sonenshein of the Pat Brown Institute at California State University, Los Angeles. It could matter, not in California, which is just going to go Democratic no matter what, he said, but in Arizona [and] in Florida, which is one of the most competitive states in the country, which not only has Cuban Americans, but a large number of people who have moved from Puerto Rico in this last year. He says heavy Hispanic turnout could sway state and congressional contests in places like Arizona, which is nearly 30 percent Hispanic, where Republican senator John McCain faces Republican challengers in the states August primary and will potentially face a popular Democrat, Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, in November. Campaigning Saturday in Bakersfield, California, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders sent a large and wildly enthusiastic crowd into a tizzy just minutes into his remarks when he said, If Im elected president, I promise you Attendees howled over Sanders choice of one particular word. The candidate paused, relishing the moment. Alright, when Im elected president, Sanders continued to thunderous applause and shouts of approval. When the people of this country have a president who is going to fight for them, workers are not going to be working in the fields for starvation wages, that I assure you. How Sanders ultimately channels the passions and expectations of his supporters is an open question for Democrats in the final weeks of a hard fought, and at times, acrimonious primary contest between the Vermont senator and Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state. The acrimony cant be missed on social media. Fiery tweets A Sanders supporter recently tweeted that #CorporateFascist uber-hawk Clinton is [Republican Senator] John McCain with a uterus and that Everyone knows Hillary is a pathological liar. The problem is, her supporters dont give a crap. Days ago, a Clinton supporter tweeted, Okay @BernieSanders: weve had it with your bull----. Go home old man. #BernedOut. Ive certainly seen it [insults] all over Twitter. Thats where its the nastiest, said Frank Anderson, executive director of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee in the presidential battleground state of Virginia. I dont think its productive at all, Anderson added. While pundits say front-runner Clinton has an all but insurmountable delegate lead, Sanders insists the battle is not over, and that a strong showing in California and five other states next Tuesday would generate momentum for his campaign heading into the Democratic National Convention in July. Even so, in recent campaign stops the Independent senator-turned Democratic presidential contender has omitted his most pointed attacks against Clinton that caused some Democratic leaders to fret openly about the partys ability to unite for the November election. In April, Sanders said he doubted Clinton is qualified to be president, given her initial support for the Iraq War, her backing of trade deals, and her ties to corporate America. Our job is to take on Wall Street, not to take their money, he said at a campaign stop weeks ago. Common goal By contrast, at rallies over this past weekend, Sanders didnt mention Clinton except to say they have a common goal: defeating Republican Donald Trump. On Sunday, when asked about last weeks State Department inspector general report that Clintons email use as secretary of state violated agency procedure, Sanders refrained from attacking Clinton, saying it was a matter for the American people, Democrats, and delegates to examine. For me, right now I continue to focus on how we can rebuild a disappearing middle class, he said on CBS Face the Nation program. Clinton, meanwhile, has focused her firepower on Trump, questioning his qualifications to be commander-in-chief and highlighting revelations stemming from a lawsuit alleging fraud at a university bearing the Republican candidate's name. While stressing that Trump must be defeated, Sanders has said little about achieving party unity at the Democratic National Convention. Many of his most vocal supporters, however, reject the possibility of unity if Clinton is the nominee. HRC is a TRAIN WRECK candidate that we WILL NOT VOTE FOR ... #BernieOrBust, a Sanders backer tweeted. Others have said, if Sanders is not on the ballot in November, they would vote for the Green Party or even Trump before they vote for Clinton. Sanders has spent a year convincing progressives, independents, and Democrats that Clinton is not the person they should want to be president, and as long as his messaging continues some of his supporters will not budge, said political analyst John Hudak of the Brookings Institution. The same phenomenon happened in 2008 as Clinton continued her battle with then-Senator Obama. Divisive politics Anderson said fissures among Democrats seem worse today. In 2008, you had a broader coalition of people supporting both candidates [Obama and Clinton], he said. Right now its more clearly divided between the really liberal [Sanders supporters] and the somewhat liberal [Clinton supporters]. The battle lines are more clearly drawn. In 2008, some Clinton supporters said they would never vote for Obama, calling themselves PUMAs, which stood for Party Unity My A--. Those divisions all but melted away, though, after Clinton endorsed Obama at the end of the primary season, and Obama went on to a decisive victory over Republican John McCain. Hudak expects a similar dynamic this year. The rift between the Sanders and Clinton campaigns may look like a threat to Democratic Party unity and to the Democratic ticket in November, but the type of anger and refusal to vote for Clinton among some Sanders supporters is politics as usual in a competitive primary, he said. At the end of the day, manynot all, but likely enoughSanders supporters will come, even if begrudgingly, into the Clinton camp, Hudak added. Sanders will endorse Clinton and even if he isnt the ardent campaigner that she was in 2008 on Obamas behalf, his message will be clear: Democrats and progressives dont have any choice but Clinton. The Bernie or bust movement does not extend to the advocacy groups backing the Vermont senator. We have two [Democratic] candidates running for president that have a vastly superior environmental record than the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, said Erich Pica, president of the pro-environmental organization Friends of the Earth Action, which endorsed Sanders last year. The people who are supporting Bernie Sanders for president believe in something that is wholeheartedly different than what Donald Trump believes in. If Secretary Clinton wins the nomination, voting for Donald Trump in that situation would be essentially voting against everything Senator Sanders represents and has been campaigning on, Pica added. Fears of disengagement Some observers see another possibility: that millions of young progressives energized by Sanders simply might stay at home on election day rather than vote for Clinton or Trump. I should hope that it doesnt come to that, Anderson said. There are a number of new people coming to the [democratic] process. Its a risk that they become disengaged. But Hudak sees a counterveiling force to motivate Democrats and progressives of all ages: the possibility of a Trump presidency. Time heals all wounds, and for miffed Sanders supporters, Trump will act as a political Neosporin [antibiotic cream], he said. Pundits seem to wildly underestimate the outsized role and impact President Obama will have in the general election. His impassioned support of Clinton and proven-campaign trail prowess will help bring Sanders voters to vote for Clinton. In all cases, the 'anyone-but-Trump' messaging from Democrats will be too convincing for most progressives to reject, Hudak added. For now, however, emotions run high in both the Sanders and Clinton camps. On Wednesday, a Sanders supporter tweeted, Ill stop fighting for my candidate when he stops fighting for me. Hours earlier, a Clinton supporter tweeted, Next week, America will see it's first female nominee within a major party. RT [retweet] if you're proud to say #ImWithHer! A private hospital in Egypts coastal Suez province has been shut down after a 17-year-old died while undergoing female circumcision, known also as female genital mutilation, or FGM. The practice is punishable in the north African country by up to two years in prison. Mayar Mohamed Mousa and her twin sister underwent the surgery at a private hospital in Suez a few days ago. While the other girl survived, Mousa died while under anesthesia. Lotfi Abdel-Sameeia, a senior Health Ministry official, said an autopsy has been performed to determine the cause of death. Female circumcision has been banned in Egypt since 2008, but the practice remains widespread. "We have been vigilant in monitoring for these cases and we have increased our focus; but, we have not seen anything like this in recent months. This is a very dangerous and bad practice that must end, Abdel-Sameeia told CNN. The hospital was closed on Monday. Two doctors and the head of the hospital may be prosecuted. Abdel-Sameeia said these medical staffers face allegations of conducting a banned procedure and causing the teens death. The private hospital previously received a handful of warnings due to its poor health record, including its lack of an intensive care unit. In a statement, the United Nations in Egypt condemned Mousas death, adding the organization is committed to working with Egyptian authorities and society to protect the rights of all girls and women, including against the practice of FGM. There is no moral, religious or health reason to cut or mutilate any girl or woman. The U.N. called for current legislation and enforcement of Egyptian laws to be reviewed. The U.N. reported that 82 percent of female circumcisions are performed by trained medical personnel. Authorities, however, say there is a circumcision tradition among Egyptian society. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, women who live in urban settings are less likely to be circumcised than rural women. These numbers are still high, at 86 percent and 95 percent, respectively. Among the findings from a Ministry of Health report, more than half of the women interviewed believe that circumcision is required by religion. Approximately six in 10 women still think the practice should continue. Female genital mutilation is a practice believed to calm and purify the woman, but critics say it causes health and psychological problems. Vivian Fouad, the head of a Health Ministry program to combat female genital mutilation, described the teenager's death as a crime committed by doctors. Since the 2008 ban, only one doctor has been convicted on charges related to the practice. The doctor was sentenced to two years in prison, and Fouad said the sentencing had served as deterrence. A prominent Ethiopian political opposition member sits in prison on charges of terrorism. He faces a long sentence and possibly the death penalty if convicted. But the tool he is accused of using to commit the crime wasn't a gun or a bomb, and he isn't connected to any kind of religious extremism. Instead, Yonatan Tesfaye, a former spokesman of the Semayawi (Blue) party, was detained in December 2015 on charges under Article 4 of Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Eleven statements from his Facebook page were used as evidence. His posts were critical of the way the Ethiopian government handled the crackdown during the protests throughout the Oromia region. The Ethiopian government charged him with planning or inciting terror acts. In May, Yonatan's lawyer presented a statement to the court challenging the accusations and stating that Yonatan was only expressing his thoughts, which are protected by the constitution. His case is ongoing. Increasing terrorism arrests Yonatan's case is not unique in Ethiopia or across Africa where, according to Amnesty International, laws designed to prosecute terrorism are increasingly being used to silence political dissidents, opposition party members, journalists and others in civil society. Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda have enacted similar laws in recent years. Arrests and long pre-trial detentions are becoming increasingly common, and are worrying to Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes. "[Yonatan] wasn't charged from December until the beginning of this month. And then, basically, he was charged with incitement, planning preparation, conspiracy and attempt to commit a terrorist act," she told VOA. "Obviously, Ethiopia, like us here in Kenya, has concerns about security. But to extend that to really silence legitimate dissent is not good." Lewis Gordon is the executive director of the Environmental Defender Law Center, which helps people in developing countries who face threats due to advocacy for the environment or human rights. He said the Ethiopian law was enacted in 2009 as an anti-terror measure, but he believes its real aim was something different. "There's ample evidence that it was designed more as a tool to stifle legitimate dissent to policies of the government there," he said. The main evidence is that the wording of the law is extremely vague. For instance, Part 2, Section 3 of the law describes a terrorist group as "intending to advance a political, religious or ideological cause by coercing the government, intimidating the public or section of the public, or destabilizing or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional or economic, or social institutions of the country." "It is a law with breathtaking wide provisions especially its definition of terrorism," Gordon said. "It's defined in a way that makes it impossible for individuals to know whether or not they've run afoul of the law and that's one of the standard requirements in criminal law before you criminalize behavior, you have to notify people of how they can reform their behavior to societal norms and not run into trouble and this does a very, very poor job of that." Abuse of anti-terror laws Anuradha Mittal, the executive director of the Oakland Institute, a California-based policy think tank, has closely studied Yonatan's case and said it is similar to that of another dissident, Bekele Gerba, an intellectual and opposition member who led the Oromo Federalist Congress and was imprisoned in 2011 for meeting with Amnesty International researchers. He was released in advance of the visit of President Barack Obama last year. "In the course of our research, we have seen that there is no real definition of what a real terrorist crime looks like," Mittal said. "You know, a Facebook post, bloggers' crime being blogging about social or economic issues in the country, or you take the case of Bekele Gerba being a moderate leader of the Oromo people and his crime being that the people are out in the streets protesting the Master Plan of the Ethiopian government." Gordon said there is a growing consensus that anti-terror laws are being abused around the world and need to be reformed so that they apply only to concrete acts with the intent of causing death or serious injuries, as opposed to vague wording that can be used against peaceful dissidents. He pointed out that the Ethiopian law has been condemned by four U.N. special rapporteurs, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the governments of the U.S. and the U.K. "So this is not just an NGO challenge to a law, it's a law that's universally condemned and it's a law that is, unfortunately, symptomatic and indicative of a trend that's been going on for a while," he said. Climbing Mount Everest, at 8,848 meters the tallest mountain in the world, has long been the ultimate challenge for people with something to prove. Two of the most recent teams making a bid for the summit learned how the lonely task of climbing a mountain can bring you closer to other people. On May 24, retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Chad Jukes, 32, became the second combat wounded veteran to get to the summit of Mount Everest, climbing with an artificial leg to replace the limb he lost to an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2006. The first was U.S. Marine amputee Charlie Linville, wounded in Afghanistan in 2011, who summited just days earlier. Jukes, an accomplished climber, was accompanied by two active duty Army officers - 2nd Lt. Harold Earls and Capt. Elyse Ping Medvigy. The trio made their climb in order to bring awareness to post-traumatic stress disorder and the high suicide rate among returning U.S. veterans. For many veterans, including Jukes, the suicide problem hits close to home. One of the organizers, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Burnett, told Hashtag VOA Tuesday that one of Jukes' Army buddies committed suicide while Jukes was away on the climb. "There's 22 veterans taking their lives a day," Burnett said. "So we wanted to show the resilience of the climb, and the comradery." Resilience Burnett said the team -- known as USX, for the nonprofit U.S. Expeditions and Explorations, completed their descent of the mountain on May 29. "Chad had some frostbite on his hands, Harold had some on his feet, but overall they're in good physical condition," he said. Burnett said the point of the climb was not to echo the experience of combat, because nothing could do that, but to give the climbers "a life changing experience, just the way combat is. It gives you... people you will have a lifelong bond with. So in the middle of the night, if you're having a problem and you can't cope, you reach out to that person and that person will help you." Burnett said war veterans give more of themselves in combat than anyone could understand, and he wants to help keep them alive once they come home. He said, "That's what we're trying to do: just raise awareness, show that you can overcome things, and that there's people you can lean on." The USX team is sharing its expedition the old-fashioned way -- through telling the stories now that the trip is at an end. Adventure guides Cory Richards and Adrian Ballinger carried an extra seven kilograms of equipment up the world's highest peak to share their adventure in progress -- through the mobile app Snapchat. Snapshots from the top of the world On Snapchat, Richards told VOA's Andrew Palczewski of Hashtag VOA Tuesday, "You can't alter anything, and you've got a limited amount of time to say something and you just say it, you show it, and you move forward." He said the mobile app gives a "much more raw, unfiltered look" at the climb than traditional media can do. The app allows the user to post short sound-and-image "snaps" that are accessible for a limited time and then disappear. Because there is no regular cellular service on the world's highest peak, transmissions took 10 to 15 minutes, so they were accomplished mainly during the climbers' down time. Richards tried to snap an image from the summit itself when he reached it on May 24, but his phone died in the "thin air" -- meaning low oxygen -- at the peak. Because the altitude is as dangerous for humans as it is for cellphones, Richards spent only three minutes at the summit. But the view from the peak wasn't the most important part of the climbers' message to their followers, Ballinger said. The view they wanted their followers to see was the weeks of work -- including the boring, frustrating and mundane moments -- that lead to one big moment of glory. Former Chicago police officer and convicted wife killer Drew Peterson has been found guilty of trying to hire someone to kill the prosecutor who helped to convict him. Peterson, who sat expressionless as the verdict was read in court Tuesday, already is serving time for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. It was the lead prosecutor in his murder trial, State's Attorney James Glasgow, whom Peterson targeted for death from inside prison. Peterson faces a mandatory sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison for solicitation of murder for hire, and 15 to 30 years in prison for solicitation of murder. His sentencing is scheduled for July 26. Glasgow issued a statement saying that, rather than accept responsibility for killing Savio and serve his sentence, Peterson broke the law again. Savio's death initially was deemed accidental. Glasgow reopened the case after the 2007 disappearance of Stacy Peterson, Peterson's 23-year-old fourth wife. Peterson was never charged in her disappearance, but told an informant he worried that Glasgow eventually would do so. Five civilians and a policeman were killed when Taliban gunmen stormed a courthouse in Eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday. A suicide bomber detonated outside the courthouse of Ghazni, allowing the three gunmen to enter the building. An hour-long gunfight ended in all three assailants being killed by police forces. In a separate incident Wednesday in the northern province of Balkh, a senior police official was killed and four other officers wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The Taliban has also claimed responsibility for this attack. Judicial officers have been frequent targets of the Taliban in Afghanistan, particularly after they vowed revenge for six of their members who were executed last month for a suicide attack in April that left 64 people dead. Israel released a Jewish extremist Wednesday after he had been detained for 10 months without trial. Meir Ettinger was arrested last year after a fire killed three people, including a toddler, in their home in the West Bank. Ettinger was one among multiple extremists detained without trial following the tragedy, under "administrative detention" - a measure most often used by Israel on Palestinians suspected of militant activity. The Shin Bet internal security agency, which was responsible for his internment, declined to say why he was being released, but confirmed that his ten months in administrative detention marked the longest such sentence served by a Jew. One man and a minor have since been charged for the arson. Meir Ettinger is the grandson of the Meir Kahane - the far-right wing rabbi who demanded all Arabs and Palestinians get out of Israel. Kahane was shot to death in New York in 1990. Israeli security agents arrested multiple right-wing Jews last August as part of the promised crackdown on Jewish extremists after the arson attack. The government of Afghanistan says it has adopted a new strategy to counter Islamic State, but it has not given any specific details. The plan, approved Monday at the National Security Council weekly meeting chaired by President Ashraf Ghani, calls IS an "enemy of Afghanistan's national security." "The counter-IS strategy was approved in principle so that all specific priorities in the fight against IS are identified," Tawab Ghorzang, the spokesperson for the Afghan National Security Council, told VOA's Afghan service. "The Afghan government is committed in its fight against the IS group," Ghorzang said, adding that Afghan security and defense forces have been asked to organize their anti-IS policies and operations in accordance with the new strategy. But in a nation known for unbridled lawlessness and where Afghan troops are struggling in the fight against IS, the Taliban and other militants the strategy seems vague, analysts say. It's not clear what military, political and social tools would be used to combat IS, RAND Corporation military analyst Rebecca Zimmerman told VOA. "Until the strategy is public, it will be difficult to know how specific it is," she said. "In what provinces will the campaign take place? Will it rely predominantly on Afghan military forces?" "How will it interface with the U.S. counter-IS efforts?" she asked. "To what extent is the counter-IS plan synchronized with other efforts to combat anti-government groups, such as al-Qaida and the Taliban?" IS footprint IS has established a footprint in a number of districts in eastern Nangarhar province. Its fighters have launched multiple attacks on government security checkpoints. IS also has engaged in fierce clashes with rival Taliban militants in the province. Recent Afghan and NATO cleanup operations have made it more difficult for IS to expand in the country. Many areas have been cleared of IS fighters and its capabilities have been eroded, according to government officials and analysts. Kabul-based analyst Wahid Muzhda believes that IS has relatively small numbers in Afghanistan who influence only one part of the country compared to the broader impact of the Taliban. "IS is not that big of a challenge. The government should prepare a strategy to combat other militant groups," Muzhda told VOA. Afghan National Security Council spokesman Ghorzang told VOA that the governments IS strategy will include ways political groups and Afghans can help "eradicate the IS phenomenon." RAND's Zimmerman told VOA: "The existence of a strategy developed by the Afghan government to combat IS [is] a good step. That it appears to comprise not only military, but also political elements is a positive sign." Liberias main opposition party, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), is calling on all officials implicated in the ongoing alleged corruption scandal to recuse themselves from their current positions while the prosecutorial process takes place. Mulbah Morlue, vice chairman for operations and mobilization for the CDC says more than 300 Liberians will embark on a hunger strike Wednesday to drive home their point. Ninety-five percent of all the individuals citizens are members of the might Congress for Democratic Change who have said enough is enough, who have said we are tired of the widespread prevalence of endemic corruption at all sectors of the governance process, and have decided to take desperate measures in the interest of the state to promote the interest of democratic government, Morlue said. The corruption report by the Britain-based Global Witness alleges that over $950,000 in bribes and other suspicious payments were made to top Liberian officials by the Britain-based Sable Mining Company and its Liberian lawyer, Varney Sherman. According to the report, Sable Mining wanted to get the concession rights to Liberias Wologizi iron ore deposit. Alleged bribe requirement Sherman, who is also chairman of President Ellen Johnson Sirleafs ruling Unity Party, allegedly told the company that in order to get the contract, Sable Mining must first offer bribes to senior officials to change Liberias concession laws. Sherman, along with House of Representatives Speaker Alex Tyler, has been indicted for bribery, criminal conspiracy, economic sabotage, criminal solicitation and criminal facilitation. CDC wants bigger probe Morlue also calls for the expansion of the investigation to include other past corruption allegations. We are expecting that all those individuals named, be it the speaker of the national legislature, whether it is Mr. Fombah Sirleaf [President Sirleafs son] of the National Security Agency, once you are named in the report that is undergoing investigation, the Congress for Democratic Change believes the proper thing to do is for individuals to recuse themselves so is to allow the free dispensation of the rule of law, Morlue said. Morlue cited a preponderance of evidence of past official corruption allegations that he said is available that warrant an expansion of the current probe. For instance, the dilapidated National Oil Company of Liberia [NOCAL] where the presidents son, Mr. Robert Sirleaf was presiding as Chairman of the Board of Directors. We want NOCAL investigated; we also want recent allegations involving $3 million bribery scandal involving one of the senior members of government, Mr. Sandolo, to also be investigated, Morlue said. Officials named should step aside Morlue said although Sherman, who is senator of Grand Cape Mount County and Speaker Tyler are elected officials, they also hold certain administrative and national leadership positions that they must recuse themselves from to quash the appearance of a conflict of interest. For instance, the Speaker of parliament still has the power to preside over sessions of plenary at the legislature. You remember when the indictment unraveled, the day after there was a section of the national legislature where the Speaker abrogated unto himself the right to investigate themselves, Morlue said. He said the CDC is concerned about the prevalence of a conflict of interest that could jeopardize the possibility of the free dispensation of justice. He said this this could damage the democratic credibility of our country, Morlue said. The report alleges Speaker Alex Tyler received $75,000 for consulting fees and Richard Tolbert, chairman of the National Investment Committee $50,000 for consulting fees. Morris Saytumah, minister of state for finance, economic and legal affairs, now a senator, also allegedly received $50,000 for consulting fees, and Willie Belleh, chairman of public procurement and concessions commission allegedly received $10,000 for consulting fees. Two of the biggest payments went to persons identified in the report as Bigboy 01 and Bigboy 02, who each allegedly received $250,000 with no explanation why the payments were made. The report also alleges that President Sirleafs son, Fombah Sirleaf, who is director of the national security agency also benefited with a $7,598 hunting trip to South Africa paid for by Sable. Others mentioned in the report include Senator Sumo Kupee and Cletus Wotorson, both of whom allegedly received $5,000 each for consulting fees. Speaker Tyler along with Sherman and two others, ECB Jones and Christopher Onanuga have all filed insurance bail bonds and were released from custody. In a strange twist, the prosecutor is now saying the bond filed by Speaker Tyler and Sherman is insufficient and fatally defective. As the Republican party starts to coalesce around presumptive nominee Donald Trump, one endorsement has come from an unlikely place: North Korea. An editorial on the state-run DPRK Today website called the billionaire candidate a wise politician and implied a Trump presidency would be beneficial to North Korea. "It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate," said the column,which was penned by a China-based Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk. The same editorial slammed Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton calling her dull." Trump has said he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un and has stated he would be open to removing U.S. troops from South Korea, something the North would welcome. North Korea has long wanted U.S. troops out of the south, seeing it as a first step toward reunification The editorial implied Trump would not want the U.S. involved in a conflict between the two countries which was "fortunate from North Koreans' perspective." While state run, the DPRK Today site is not as authoritative as other outlets. Still Aidan Foster-Carter of Leeds University, a Korean scholar, told the NK News website that the editorial was very striking." "Admittedly it is not exactly Pyongyang speaking, but it is certainly Pyongyang flying a kite, or testing the waters", he said. Witnesses in Somalia's capital say at least 10 people were killed and more than 15 others wounded when militants attacked a major hotel Wednesday. Somali lawmaker Mohamed Ismail Shuriye told VOA that two parliamentarians, Abdullahi Jama Kaboweyne and Mohamud Gure, were killed during the attack. He said a third lawmaker, Abdullah Hashi, was injured. One of the lawmakers at the hotel described the attack, saying: "As I was sleeping in my hotel room, I was shocked by a huge explosion. A flying door and window fell on me. I ran toward the back door of the hotel and managed to survive," he said. Abdullya Haji Dayib told VOA that he rushed a friend to the hospital, where he saw ambulances bringing dozens of wounded people for treatment. A freelance journalist working for VOA reported seeing five dead bodies lying in front of the hotel. Most of the casualties were reported to be caused by a car bomb that detonated while many people were performing evening prayers. The assault on Mogadishu's Ambassador Hotel came hours after Somali officials said a top commander of militant group al-Shabab was killed in a late-night military operation. Militant behind 2015 Garissa attack killed Mohamed Mohamud, better known as Dulyadeyn, allegedly masterminded the April 2015 attack on Kenya's Garissa University College that left 148 people dead, nearly all of them students. Dulyadeyn was killed in southern town of Bula-Gaduud, about 30 kilometers north of Kismayo. There are conflicting reports about the circumstances of his death. A senior Somali official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. helicopters fired missiles into a car in which Dulyadeyn and two others were traveling. A security minister in the Jubba region, Abdurashid Janan, told VOA Somali that the militant was killed by a U.S.-trained Somali commando unit known as Danab, or lightning. U.S. officials have yet to comment on the attack. Hotel attack The Pentagon Wednesday reported a separate airstrike in south-central Somalia on May 27 that targeted Abdullahi Haji Daud, a senior al-Shabab military commander and attack planner. Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook says the U.S. is currently assessing the results of that attack. In Mogadishu, the assault on the Ambassador Hotel began with an explosion outside the hotel late Wednesday afternoon. Gunmen then stormed inside. Government security forces entered the building and have been moving floor to floor, trying to clear out the attackers. The hotel is used by Somali lawmakers, businessmen and visitors from abroad. No one has claimed responsibility for the hotel attack but suspicion fell on al-Shabab, which has attacked several other Mogadishu hotels in a similar manner. The attack came less than a day after the operation in Bula-Gaduud that killed Dulyadeyn. Frightened residents of the town said they heard the sounds of fighting overnight Wednesday. We could hear heavy gunfire and several blasts," one said. "We could also hear sounds of planes flying overhead, and at dawn this morning, we saw the government troops transporting three bodies. Both the Kenyan and Somali governments had offered rewards for Dulyadeyn. Somalia-based al-Shabab has been fighting to install a strict Islamic state in Somalia since 2006. U.S. troops are not officially involved in combat but play an "advise and assist" role with Somali government troops and the African Union force fighting al-Shabab, known as AMISOM. Scuba divers worked a crank on a metal box that soon sent up a cloud of dust from the pallet of gravel where the device was anchored. Watching them closely on control room monitors, Matthew Morrow, an engineering student from West Virginia University, provided instructions. The only reference is the drivers non-dominant hand should be grasping the handle on the side of the case, he said. Morrow was the project manager for a team of West Virginia University students who designed and built the device that was tested in the worlds largest swimming pool (22.7 million-liter, 12-meter-deep), the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, which is used for training astronauts in an approximation of microgravity. The U.S. space agency invited college students from around the country to design, build and test devices and tools that could be useful on future missions. NASA selected 25 teams and invited them to Houston to test their creations. Asteroid material sampling The main mission for which these tools would be needed is NASAs Asteroid Redirect Mission, said NASAs Microgravity Next Program Manager Trinesha Dixon. The Asteroid Redirect Mission is looking for solutions as to how the crew members might collect samples on an asteroid, she said. NASA plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to an asteroid in September to extract small samples for analysis. A mission with astronauts on board is planned for sometime after 2020, utilizing the Orion spacecraft, a model of which is in the Johnson Space Center training facility. Dixon said part of the difficulty in designing tools for such a mission is that no one knows what kind of material will be found on an asteroid, how hard it will be to penetrate, and what kind of effect might be produced by drilling or chopping into it. After divers returned their device at pools edge, the West Virginia University students took it back to the large hall where each team had a separate table. There, they took it apart and carefully cleaned all the parts, including the two augurs that would be utilized to drill into the surface of an asteroid and extract material. Coming from a state known for mining, the team initially modeled its device on mechanisms used in mines that clamp to a surface and hold the drill steady. Mathew Morrow explained, When astronauts visit an asteroid, they need a tool out on the asteroid that can anchor, to hook their tools to, so we chose that design challenge. NASA supplied criteria for five separate types of tools or devices and let the students use their creativity and knowledge of engineering to come up with designs. Once the designs were accepted, they then had to build a prototype for testing. This is all student driven, said West Virginia University College of Engineering and Mineral Resources professor Thomas Evans, who accompanied the three-student team to Houston. I was just the faculty adviser and mentored them and drove them to deliver a product on time so they could be down here. Their device worked even better than expected, according to Evans. It was exceptional! I think this team did a fantastic job, he said. Evans said the West Virginia University team benefited from frequent visits to NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in the neighboring state of Maryland, where Mathew Morrow had an internship. Ideas NASA can use for space tool development The experience was exciting for the students involved, but they may also one day see some of the elements in their designs used in devices that astronauts employ in space. NASAs Dixon said, We can take components from different tools, concepts that the student teams might come up with, and put them together in our conceptualization of that tool. In addition to that, she said, having such a program encourages students interested in space flight to continue their studies and possibly become part of NASAs future work force. Mathew Morrow is one who has such hopes. I am really hoping that there might be an opportunity there (NASA) or somewhere else in the space industry, whether it be in a private company or with the government. Opportunities in the private sector for space engineers have diversified from being mainly contractors building rockets and other equipment for NASA to service companies with their own spacecraft that can ferry supplies to the International Space Station, and may one day take passengers into space and become involved in efforts to extract minerals and other resources from the moon, asteroids or other planets. NATO members will likely agree during a summit meeting in Warsaw next month to designate cyber as an official operational domain of warfare, along with air, sea, land and space, a senior German defense ministry official said Wednesday. Major General Ludwig Leinhos, who heads the German military's effort to build up a separate cyber command, told a conference at the Berlin air show that he expected all 28 NATO members to agree to the change during the coming Warsaw summit. Leinhos, who previously held a senior job at NATO headquarters, said he also expected NATO members to agree to intensify their efforts in the cyber security arena. The United States announced in 2011 that it viewed cyberspace as an operational domain of war, and said it would respond to hostile attacks in cyberspace as it would to any other threat. Evert Dudok, a senior official with Europe's largest aerospace company Airbus Group SE, called for adoption of Europe-wide or global standards in the cyber arena. The United States is taking further action to cut off North Korean access to the U.S. financial system, calling the North a "primary money-laundering concern." U.S. banks and other financial concerns are already barred from directly doing business with the North. The steps announced Wednesday would require them to be extra vigilant by keeping banks in third-world countries from gaining access to the U.S. system on North Korea's behalf. "The United States, the U.N. Security Council, and our partners worldwide remain clear-eyed about the significant threat that North Korea poses to the global financial system," senior Treasury official Andrew Szubin said Wednesday. "The regime is notoriously deceitful in its financial transactions in order to continue its illicit weapons programs and other destabilizing activities." State Department spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that the North uses state-controlled financial institutions and front companies to hide transactions that support building weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. Also Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council strongly condemned three recent failed ballistic missile launches by North Korea last month and in April. The council said the repeated attempts to fire ballistic missiles are "grave violations" of previous resolutions that increase world tensions and contribute to North Korea's development of missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The council said it regrets that the North is diverting resources to building missiles when the North Korean people have "great unmet needs." In March, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution requiring all U.N. members to cut off banking relations with Pyongyang for its continued missile tests. A high-ranking North Korean official is in China in an apparent effort to restore relations with its chief ally and benefactor, which have soured over Pyongyang's continued buildup of its nuclear and ballistic weapons programs. Ri Su-yong, the head of international relations for North Korea's ruling party, arrived in Beijing Wednesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart Song Tao. The Chinese Communist Party says the two envoys reaffirmed the two nation's long-standing friendship, pledged to carry out bilateral exchanges and promote regional peace and security. Beijing has become increasingly irritated over the North's repeated tests of its nuclear and ballistic missile weapons under young leader Kim Jong-un, in defiance of numerous sanctions imposed by the United Nations. OPEC is not yet in safe harbor. But ahead of a top-level meeting, the 13-nation oil cartel appears close to weathering the storm of slumping crude prices that threatened to bankrupt some members and called into question its relevance. After touching a 13-year low early this year, the price of oil has moved steadily upward to their present level of around $50 a barrel. While that's still only half of what crude fetched as late as two years ago, it's a gain of almost 90 percent since January. That is easing some of the pain for poorer members such as Algeria, Venezuela and Nigeria that depend on crude as their main income. And there are promises of further increases. U.S. shale production is in decline as it needs higher prices to be economical. At the same time, the world economy is showing signs of some improvement, meaning that the appetite for petroleum may increase. Oil ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries convening in Vienna Thursday will thus likely opt for the status quo. Total production is now well over 32 million barrels a day, and in a note ahead of the meeting, analysts at Commerzbank Commodity Research said expectations are for the "meeting to end without reaching any agreement on production targets or production caps.'' Ironically, part of the credit for OPEC's improving fortunes is due to its inability to act in unity in recent years. Instead, many individual members produced what they could, driving down prices to the point where shale producers are increasingly unable to compete. Some have gone out of business, reducing the glut of global supply. At the height of its power decades ago, OPEC essentially was able to set world prices and supplies. Although it is still responsible for more than a third of world production, that clout has eroded since the 1980s, as outside output increased and members looking to maximize income increasingly ignored OPEC production ceilings. The final statement at the last OPEC meeting in December didn't even mention an output target. That effectively left it up to individual members how much crude to pump and was a strong signal of the cartel's eroding ability to act as a group in efforts to influence supply, demand and prices. But it took top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia to turn overproduction into market strategy. Since deciding in 2014 to squeeze out outside competition by flooding the market to drive down prices, it has pumped close to or above 10 million barrels a day close to a third of the organization's total production. That, plus resurgent output from Iraq and post-sanctions Iran, helped push down prices, with the desired effect of making shale production increasingly uneconomical. Turmoil in OPEC members Libya and Nigeria has also helped tighten supplies. Even with the upturn in prices, though, OPEC is unlikely to regain its past glory although some members would like to see that happen. "We need to revindicate the role of OPEC ... in defense of oil producing countries,'' said Venezuelan oil minister Eulogio Del Pino to reporters. "It has been a historical role for more than 60 years.'' But some poorer members will be tempted to continue ignoring any attempt at setting joint policies and sell as much as they can. And Middle East politics will continue to play a role as the Saudis and Iran fight out their rivalry within the cartel. Qatar's Ministry of Energy and Industry said in a statement that the upward price trend "was largely due to a rise in demand and the slowing down or outage of many production stations around the world, let alone the retreat in investments in the sector.'' But the days of oil at $100 a barrel appear to be history. No one can say exactly what price shale producers need to become profitable and pump more, pushing the market back down, but it appears to be well below the $100 level. And production by OPEC members is expected to remain rampant. With prices at long last appearing to be heading upward, some of the past edginess marking the most recent meetings should be missing Thursday. "Market forces have made it easier to get along,'' says Phil Flynn of the Price Futures group. For now, he says, "I think the price war is over.'' Thousands marched in Peru's capital, Lima, to oppose presidential frontrunner Keiko Fujimori, just four days before the election. Protesters chanting slogans such as "Keiko No!" and "No to a state run by drug traffickers!" likened Fujimori to her father, controversial former president Alberto Fujimori, who ruled from 1990 to 2000 and is currently serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption during his term. Keiko Fujimori, 41, has tried to distance herself from her father by promising not to revive his hardline methods or authoritarian rule, and proposing generous spending on infrastructure, including building more prisons in an effort to combat crime. The march, organized by the group "Keiko No Va" (It is not going to be Keiko), was led by Veronika Mendoza, a leftist former presidential candidate who came in third in the general election in April. Mendoza has since endorsed former World Bank economist Pedro Kuczynski, despite vast ideological differences between the two. Fujimori faces 77-year-old Kuczynski in a runoff election Sunday. She beat him by a large margin in the first round of voting. The center-right politician would be Peru's first female president. Despite a recent fall in commodity prices and a slowdown under outgoing president Ollanta Humala, Peru is one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America. At least 300,000 children across India are drugged, beaten and forced to beg every day, in what has become a multi million rupee industry controlled by human trafficking cartels, police and trafficking experts said. Writing in a report which is about to be circulated across the country's police forces, the authors urged law enforcers to carry out greater surveillance of children living on the streets. According to the Indian National Human Rights Commission, up to 40,000 children are abducted in India every year, of which at least 11,000 remain untraced. "The police don't think begging is an issue because they assume that the adult with the child is either family or a known person," said co-author Anita Kanaiya, CEO of The Freedom Project India, which works on trafficking issues. "But for every 50 children rescued there will be at least 10 who are victims of trafficking. And there has to be a constant vigil to identify them," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Children are sometimes maimed or burned to elicit greater sympathy and get more alms, said the report. The money they earn is usually paid to the traffickers, or to buy alcohol and drugs. The report is based on the experiences of police and charities in Bengaluru city, formerly known as Bangalore, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. There is a seasonal pattern to begging, local police said. Cities like Bengaluru see a sharp rise in the numbers of children wandering the streets just before festivals or after a natural disaster. In 2011, Bengaluru police launched "Operation Rakshane" ("To Save"). In coordination with various government departments and charities, they drew up a blueprint to help children forced into begging. Months before carrying out a series of rescues, they spread out across the city, taking pictures of children on the street, documenting their daily activities and shadowing them back to their homes. "When we started, we had nothing to prove the connection between begging and trafficking. But we went about meticulously recording any signs of forced labor on the streets of the city," Kanaiya said. According to inspector general of police, Pronob Mohanty, who spearheaded the operation, teams of police and health workers rescued 300 children on a single day across the city. The traffickers were arrested and later imprisoned. "Operation Rakshane is meant to be a template which can be replicated as a model of inter agency cooperation," Mohanty said in the handbook, which includes suggestions for surveillance, data collection and rehabilitation, as well as listing relevant laws. Kanaiya said: "We are now initiating a planned campaign to take the book to every police headquarter in the country and follow it up with a workshop on child (begging) and rescue operations for policemen." The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday to renew sanctions against South Sudans leaders for another year. They include travel bans and asset freezes on persons believed to have impeded the peace and stability of the country. The Security Councils meeting to renew the resolution on South Sudans sanctions lasted only 20 minutes, but the vote means the sanctions will be extended until the end of May 2017. Addressing the Council shortly after the vote, David Pressman, the alternate representative of the United States to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs, said the renewal should send a clear message to policy makers and political leaders in Juba. Todays resolution should remind South Sudans leaders that there is no other path and no other choice but full and expeditious implementation of the peace agreement, he said. In late April, after South Sudans First Vice President Riek Machar returned to Juba, Donald Booth, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, testified before the U.S. Congress, saying the administration is prepared to employ any measure, to include sanctions and an arms embargo on the leaders of South Sudan. Pressman echoed those remarks, adding that the situation in South Sudan has been fluid, and that much work lies ahead. And we will be no less prepared to augment or modify the sanctions regime as the situation on the ground demands and the conduct of the parties necessitate, he said. Great disappointment Joseph Moum Majak Ngor Malok, the U.N. representative for South Sudan, reiterated his country's frustration with the resolution, insisting that the government has made progress in implementing the peace agreement, and warning that the sanctions regime could reverse that work. We note with great disappointment that the resolution adopted today failed to recognize the sovereign right of the government of South Sudan to exercise its national constitution right to govern and manage its affairs, he said. Russia, one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, voted to adopt the resolution, but Russian representative Peter Iliichev noted his countrys uneasiness about broadening the sanctions regime. We have expressed our concern that excessive pressure and particularly sanctions pressure could undermine what has been achieved and toughen the positon of the South Sudanese parties, he said. Pressman said he is particularly concerned about reports from the U.N. Panel of Experts on South Sudan describing how arms continue to make their way into the country. In light of the Panel of Experts reporting that the parties were continuing to acquire arms, even after they signed the peace agreement, the Security Council today, significantly in this resolution, has asked for a special report from the panel of experts, on arms procurement since the formation of the transitional government of national unity, he said. A recent report by Human Rights Watch named the SPLAs Lt. Gen. Gabriel Jok Riak and Maj. Gen. Santino Deng Wol, as being partially responsible for spreading the violence in recent months to the western region of South Sudan, which had been relatively calm. Both men have been on the U.N.s sanctions list since July 2015 for breach of the cessation of hostilities agreement and violations of international humanitarian law. Pressman said the Security Council has asked for a special report from the Panel of Experts on arms procurement since the formation of the transitional government of national unity. Switzerland has inaugurated the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest rail tunnel, running more than 57 kilometers beneath the Alps. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi joined Swiss leaders in a celebration featuring musical bands, dancers and even a theme song for the GBT tunnel project, which began 17 years ago. When it becomes fully operational in December, the tunnel will bring together peoples and national economies, Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann said. "It is an important step for Switzerland, and also for our neighbors and the rest of the continent," Schneider-Ammann said. "People and goods can now move faster, and there will be better links among cities like Stuttgart, Zurich, Lugano and Milano are linked much better." The Swiss leader said the new Gotthard tunnel is "the construction of the century, building on the pioneering achievement of our ancestors." Other Swiss officials hailed the project as "a masterpiece" of timing and cost control; it was completed on time and within its budget of more than $12 billion. Engineers who worked on the GBT said new and innovative construction methods were developed to cope with huge rock pressures and heat deep underground, as well as new sealing systems and special concrete mixes. The twin-tube GBT, 2,300 meters underground at its deepest point, runs between the German-speaking town of Erstfeld in central Switzerland and Italian-speaking Bodio in the south. It is the second part of a long-range plan to upgrade alpine railway links approved in 1992, and a third tunnel is due to open by 2020. A multinational effort to plan airdrops of food and medicine to thousands of Syrians in besieged communities begins in earnest on Wednesday. Preparations for airdrops start June 1, under a plan initially announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the conclusion of an International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna in May. In a joint statement, the 21-nation support group vowed to call on the U.N.s World Food Program to carry out a program for air deliveries to 13 designated areas, if the Syrian regime or other forces on the ground continue to block land deliveries. Our experts in the region are drawing up a concrete plan of action, said Farhan Haq, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. But operating conditions are challenging, he added Tuesday. Airdrops are always a last resort, said Haq, who noted challenges in carrying out such operations in Syria. He said many of the designated communities are in urban areas with no suitable land for an airdrop. He also said high-altitude drops are not possible in some areas because of the risk of harming civilians on the ground. Additionally, he said the World Food Program would need reliable security coordination to move forward. Assad Regime Blocks Aid State Department spokesman John Kirby said Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government has continued to throw up road blocks when it comes to humanitarian aid delivery. With literally the stroke of a pen, the Assad regime could fix this situation and let these people eat and let them drink water and later them get access to medicine, said Kirby, who added that he did not know specifically when airdrops would begin. Sporadic fighting has continued between Syrian-backed forces and rebels, in spite of a February cessation of hostilities. The continued use of siege and starvation as a weapon of war is reprehensible, said U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen OBrien on Friday. The U.N. estimates more than 13 million Syrians are in need of some form of humanitarian and protection assistance. WATCH: Thousands of Syrian Civilians Search for Safer Location In a Tuesday statement, Syrias main opposition group pointed a finger of blame at world powers for the countrys dire situation on the ground. Our people are dying, our cities are burning to the ground and yet the world stands idly by, said High Negotiations Committee spokesman Salem al-Meslet. He said the Assad regimes cease-fire violations and continued blocking of humanitarian aid show blatant disregard for internationally agreed upon resolutions, a situation that he said contributed to last weeks resignation of Mohammed Alloush as the groups lead negotiator for Syria political talks. However, overall humanitarian conditions for Syrians are unlikely to change unless world powers exercise more military leverage in Syria, said Middle East Institute analyst Michael Eisenstadt. He said the Assad regime's use of food as a weapon has been a central feature of the countrys civil war. Airlift operations may provide temporary relief, said Eisenstadt in a May article. But he added, urgently enhancing the military capabilities of moderate opposition groups is ultimately the only way to effectively counter the Assad regimes use of food as a weapon. Thailand's military-led cabinet could formally agree as soon as next week to pursue Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) membership after clear signals from cabinet members in favor of joining history's most expansive trade agreement. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak told Japanese business leaders in Tokyo that Thailand would ask Japan for its support in joining the U.S.-led trade pact when it considers additional members in 2018. Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn, who leads a TPP preparation committee, also said Tuesday the kingdom needs to improve its competitiveness to prepare to join the trade pact. After a visit to Washington in April, Apiradi said the U.S. government had encouraged Bangkok to modify rules and regulations in numerous sectors if it wants to become a signatory. Thai diplomatic officer Jesda Tivayanond, who is attached to the prime minister's office, told VOA on Wednesday that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is to meet next week with his international economic advisory team to discuss Thailand's TPP membership application. A formal TPP decision by the cabinet could occur during its June 8 meeting, according to government officials. Speaking at an event in late March organized by the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Prayuth noted, eventually we will have to join the TPP, but he gave no timeline. Prayuth, who led the military coup against the civilian government in May, 2014, said his military-led government, however, could find itself facing public protests which the junta has outlawed -- against the controversial trade pact. Farmers have threatened to organize demonstrations if Thailand decides to pursue TPP membership, according to domestic media reports. The chairman of the National Farmers' Council, Prapat Panyachatrak, was more cautious on Wednesday when contacted by VOA, saying we need more time to make a decision on the organization's position on TPP. Prapat, a former environment minister and deputy agriculture minister, has previously expressed concern that Thailand's inclusion in TPP could run small farmers out business and predicted confrontation if the government becomes a member of the free trade group. Farmers raising pigs and chickens would be most affected because of potential imports of cheap pork and poultry from the United States, according to advocacy groups in Thailand. In the pharmaceutical sector, Thailand would need to accept an extension of medicine patent protection from one to ten years, which would impact the national social health guarantee program and could make prices for some medications prohibitive, according to TPP opponents here. To make a decision on this important issue, the Thai people have to have the freedom to speak or express the demands, BioThai Foundation secretary Witoon Lianchamroon told VOA. We're afraid that the concerns of the people are not part of the decision that will be made by the junta, which has restricted public expression since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 2014. The U.S.-led trade agreement was signed last October by 12 countries. Besides the United States, the other TPP signatories are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. If all of the participating countries do not ratify the pact within two years, then six original signatories, which account for 85 percent of the bloc's gross domestic product, must ratify it. The math means approval by the United States is essential along with either Canada or Japan. Six former U.S. defense secretaries have sent a letter to the U.S. congressional leadership a urging them to support the TPP and to help the United States maintain its leadership in the 21st century. During his recent trip to Vietnam, President Barack Obama expressed hope for U.S. congressional ratification by the end of this year, although it faces opposition from some members of the president's own party, meaning the administration could be dependent on the Republican Party leadership to push it through. The leading candidates of the two major parties, businessman Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have both expressed opposition to the TPP in recent months. Indonesia's government has also indicated it is open to the possibility of entering into the TPP. The Philippines has also been exploring joining, but the country would have to overcome constitutional restrictions and modify some protectionist laws. The outgoing Aquino administration had expressed its intention to participate, but President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has not articulated his stance on TPP. Besides Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, other possible second round entrants include Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Panama, South Korea and Taiwan. Ankara is warning of serious consequences if the German parliament passes a motion accusing Turkeys then-Ottoman rulers of genocide against its Armenian minority. Turkey and Germany have close economic and political ties and Berlin has become dependent on Ankara to stem migrants entering the European Union. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim Wednesday condemned a potential Bundestag vote on a motion that accuses Turkeys Ottoman rulers of genocide against its Armenian minority in 1915. He said this vote is very absurd and that there is no truth to it. It is one of the ordinary events that could be lived in any country in 1915 under the conditions of World War I. He said if the vote passes, Turkey's relations with Germany undoubtedly will be harmed. Yildirims warning followed even sterner language from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on Tuesday threatened serious repercussions. Germany's parliament is due to vote on the bill Thursday. Tough rhetoric Ankara insists those killed in the 1915 mass killings died as a result of a civil war. More than 20 countries, including several in Europe, recognize the killings as genocide; but, political scientist Cengiz Aktar of Istanbuls Suleyman Sah University says despite the threats, there will be few far-reaching consequences. "There is a tough rhetoric on the Turkish side, but I frankly don't expect a spectacular reaction by Ankara. If the motion goes through, which is highly probable, there will be all sorts of nationalist propaganda for internal purposes. They may recall the ambassador," Aktar said. One of the main reasons widely cited as to why few expect little long-term damage to bilateral relations if, as expected, the motion passes, is that Germany is simply too important to Turkey. Diplomatic columnist Semih Idiz of Turkey s Cumhuriyet newspaper and Al Monitor website says Ankara has few options to punish Berlin. "It's not as if Turkey can sever diplomatic ties with Germany, given the 3 million Turks living in Germany. It can't take sanctions against German companies, because it will be shooting itself in the foot. A lot of German companies have a Turkish component in them, operating in Turkey," Idiz said. Migrant deal as leverage Ankara believes its most important diplomatic leverage over Europe is a recently agreed-to migrant deal with the European Union, which has seen a marked reduction in the number of people entering Greece from Turkey. Observers say the deal is especially important to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is desperate to stem the number of migrants entering Germany. Columnist Idiz says Ankara will likely refrain from jeopardizing the deal. "Well, Germany depends on the migrants deal. Turkey has been using this as a kind of stick, if you don't honor your side, we will not honor our side; but, the migrant issue, the refugee issue, is not just a one-sided problem. Turkey has this problem also and whether it likes or not, it will have the kind of arrangement with Europe over this," Idiz said. Analysts say Ankara is unlikely to use the leverage it has over the migrant deal to simply punish Berlin. More likely, it will want to use the deal to secure the more important goal of ensuring the EU honor its commitment to visa-free travel for Turkish citizens. Mothers of some of those killed in the bloody crackdown on China's 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy movement say they have lived through 27 years of state-led "terror and suffocation'' and vow to continue pushing for the truth ahead of this weekend's anniversary of the events. An open letter signed by 131 mothers and published by the overseas advocacy group Human Rights in China said the victims' families have endured constant harassment and intimidation by Chinese security services for pursuing justice for their loved ones. "For us, family members of the victims' families, it has been 27 years of [state] terror and suffocation,'' the letter said. "For 27 years, the police have been the ones who have dealt with us,'' it said, listing a string of measures including electronic snooping and surveillance of family members, fabricated accusations and intimidation. "All these actions undoubtedly desecrate the souls of those who perished in [the crackdown] and insult the honor of the living,'' the letter said. The letter condemns the Chinese government for apathy, accusing it of ignoring pleas by family members and wiping out public memory of the pro-democracy movement and the bloody crackdown on the night of June 3-4, 1989, in which hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed. The government insists it was necessary to send in troops and tanks to quell what it has labeled a violent uprising against Communist Party rule, and has rejected all calls for an investigation or even discussion of the events. Most of the student leaders who fled abroad after the crackdown are still forbidden from returning home. Yet, the women, who _ along with their families and supporters _ have become known collectively over the years as the Tiananmen Mothers, said they were convinced their campaign will eventually produce a full and objective reckoning of the events. The letter was partially prompted by tightening security following the death of Jiang Peikun, husband of Ding Zilin, one of the most prominent Tiananmen mothers, said Yin Min, a fellow Tiananmen mother and signee of the letter. Fellow mothers have been forbidden to visit Ding since April 22, Yin said. Ding, whose 17-year-old son Jiang Jielian died in the crackdown, declined to be interviewed when reached by phone on Wednesday. As the face of the group, she has been subject to the most severe restrictions. "It feels that there's no end in sight. We are all at ages where death can happen any day, and we'd like to see the truth revealed and justice upheld while we are still alive,'' said Yin, whose 19-year-old son, Ye Weihang, was killed in the crackdown. "We believe we have the obligation and the right to tell the public how we have lived those 27 years and to urge the government to take action,'' Yin said by phone. Another Tiananmen mother, Zhang Xianling, said she remains optimistic. "Isn't there a report that someone has lived to 105? I think I will live to the day when justice comes,'' said Zhang, who lost her 19-year-old son Wang Nan in the crackdown. Each year's anniversary brings a tightening of restrictive measures, with family members confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing. Ignored by China's entirely state-controlled media, they are forbidden from publicly commemorating the deaths of their loved ones. Even private events linked to the crackdown are banned, and overseas rights groups have reported that police hauled away at least three pro-democracy activists who attended a commemorative dinner in a Beijing home ahead of the anniversary. Two other men have also been detained for making or promoting bottles of Chinese liquor with labels that referenced June 4, a Hong Kong newspaper reported. Despite such threats, the letter expressed faith that justice will eventually come. "We use our immense maternal love to declare publicly to future generations: Do not succumb to brute force, confront all evil forces with courage, and justice will prevail,'' the letter read. AP-WF-06-01-16 1013GMT Some 20,000 children are believed to be trapped in Fallujah, Iraq as fighting rages for control of the city that Islamic State militants seized more than two years ago. Since the Iraqi military operation began for Fallujah, 60 kilometers west of Baghdad, "very few families have been able to leave; most have moved to two camps while others have sought refuge with relatives and extended families," according to the U.N. Children's Fund. The U.N. agency also warns that children face the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting and separation from their families. Nearly 3,700 people, or 624 families, have managed to escape the fighting in Fallujah - a traditionally Sunni stronghold - since last week, said the U.N. There are fears that the thousands of civilians who remain trapped could be used as human shields by IS. Humanitarian agencies say those who have managed to escape describe a deteriorating situation where food and medicines are in short supply and the water unsafe for drinking. Dressed in the black uniform of the Iraqi counterterrorism forces and flanked by Iraqi military commanders, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi urged the country's armed forces to protect civilains as they fight to take the city. Iraqi forces, including the army, counterterrorism units, special forces, local fighters and Hashd al Shaabi militias, have met with stiff IS resistance around the city. "A human catastrophe is unfolding in Fallujah. Families are caught in the crossfire with no safe way out," said Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Egeland said he expects the situation to quickly worsen as summer approaches, with temperatures likely to hit or exceed 50 degrees Celsius. Civilian men screened Iraqi forces, meanwhile, are separating out and screening the men, concerned about the loyalties of those who are leaving the city after living under IS rule. "Approximately 500 men and boys over 12 years old are held for security screening, which can take five to seven days," said UNHCR spokesman William Spindler. VOA spoke to one refugee, who gave his name as Ayad, about the process. "They interviewed me, the Hashd al-Shaabi and the Iraqi army," he said, referring to the umbrella group of Shi'ite militias who work in parallel with the Iraqi military. "They said if we find your name in our database, we will kill you. If you are in the clear, you can live with us in peace," Ayad said, as he spoke through an interpreter in a telephone interview. Shi'ite presence Hashd al-Shaabi has taken an important role in the fight against IS, and some see the pro-Iran militias as better trained than the Iraqi army. Others, however, are worried that a strong Shi'ite presence in the war against IS -- whose strongholds are in predominantly Sunni areas -- will only further aggravate the deep sectarian divisions that already exist in the country. Many Sunnis in Baghdad say they live in fear of the Shi'ite militias, and human rights organizations have flagged abuses by the militias in the past. Lawmaker and former national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie defended the Hashd's role in the fight against IS. "I believe the Hashd al-Shaabi should have, and is having, a pivotal role in the liberation of our occupied territories," Rubaie told VOA. Two people were shot dead Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, prompting authorities to temporarily lock down the campus. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck says the shooting was a murder-suicide. He described both victims as male adults. A law enforcement official told The Los Angeles Times that, based on the appearances of the deceased, police believe that a professor was shot by someone young enough to be a student who then turned the gun on himself. The shooting occurred in a small office in an engineering building. The chief says a gun was found along with what might be a suicide note. Police have not identified the men involved. UCLA is located in the Westwood section of Los Angeles and has a student population of more than 40,000. The shooting occurred the week before final exams were to be held at the school. The strike was unprecedented. For the first time, a U.S. drone struck Pakistan outside its lawless border area with Afghanistan, killing the leader of the Afghan Taliban in the countrys southwestern province of Baluchistan. It would have been better if Pakistan had targeted him inside its own territory, Pakistani government employee Umair Khan told VOA. Its against the law for the U.S. to target him in our country. Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen the United States has not hesitated to target terrorist targets when and where it deems fit. In Pakistan alone, the U.S. has carried out 391 air strikes since 2008, according to The Long War Journal. In Yemen, U.S. strikes targeting al-Qaida commanders total 145 since 2002. The figures are based on press reports. Human rights groups have long called for hard numbers when it comes to counterterrorism strikes that until recently the administration refused to even confirm. Saying just trust us, we have high standards, we are doing the best we can really isnt enough and that they need to be disclosing more, said Rita Siemion of Human Rights First. Full disclosure? The Obama administration has promised as much with a soon-to-be released report outlining the number of combatants and civilians killed in U.S. drone strikes since 2009, outside of areas of active hostilities, like Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. For a decent portion of this administration and the previous one, we wouldnt even acknowledge publicly that these things were taking place, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters in March. The fact that were now in a position on a regular, routinized basis to publish the results and to quantify that totals about the impact of these operations I do think represents substantial progress in the direction of transparency. What the administration will release remains to be seen, rights groups say lump sum totals of civilians and combatants killed in the last seven years will not do a great deal to increase transparency. The many critics of the policy say that instead, White House officials should outline how they collected data, and how they define terms like combatant, imminent threat and feasibility of capture, while taking further steps to formalize U.S. drone policy. All of the work they [the administration] has done over the years, to set standards, to set boundaries, they need to codify that into an order so that Obama does not leave as his legacy a sort of boundless, endless forever war, Human Rights Firsts Siemion noted. Drawing the United States into a protracted military conflict is exactly what Obama has wanted to avoid repeatedly drawing stark contrast between his presidency and the previous administration that saw the U.S. mired in ground wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Contradictory counterterror policy? Still, the deployment of drones, particularly this most recent strike against Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor is perplexing to some. The U.S. provides so much funding to Pakistan though USAID and development funds. But then it does something [like this] that scuttles all that effort, Islamabad resident Hina Ahmed said. Still others question how the administration determines where it can engage. We [U.S. forces] are not allowed to aggressively move against the Taliban [in Afghanistan], yet now they are going and bombing and violating Pakistans sovereignty, and taking a shot at the Taliban leadership inside of Pakistan, its a curious kind of decision-making, according to Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Counselor John Hannah. Hannah served as senior adviser in the Clinton administration and the George W. Bush administration, which attracted its own criticism for the creation of Guantanamo Bay military prison. The Obama administration has almost completely foregone an effort to capture and detain and get intelligence from these terrorists, he said. Instead it has universally decided its going to be the judge, jury and executioner and take the lives of these terrorists, as well as the lives, unfortunately, of a lot of innocent people. Still, Hannah says drone strikes are an effective tactic in countries like Yemen and Pakistan, where the government is either unwilling or unable to go after terrorists while minimizing civilian casualties compared to conventional military conflict. The key, Hannah says, is creating the necessary institutions and safeguards to create accountability, while balancing national security, transparency, and rule of law. Ensure that we are not crossing that line into becoming a lawless nation, he said. Its very difficult and challenging, and I think its a challenge that will continue into the future. After more than a decade without visiting family in the Dominican Republic, Mickel Mesa thought the year-end holidays would be a good opportunity to share Christmas with his loved ones. It was. Until he arrived back in the U.S. Mesa took the trip to the Caribbean nation with his sister in December, 2013. According to him, it was a week of great food and fun shared with people he had not seen since his teen years. They returned after five days. When Mesa arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on Dec. 29, 2013, he did what any green card holder would have done: he walked to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and applied for readmission to the United States showing his green card and passport. Mesa was 28 years old. But federal authorities detained and arrested him. Mesa had pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in 2006, a felony under New Jersey law. He had been sentenced to do community service and to five years of probation. He completed both before the 2013 trip. Nevertheless, he was arrested under the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act. The bill, passed in 1996 and signed by former President Bill Clinton, expanded deportation groups to include a broad range of minor offenses. Deported Paromita Shah, associate director at the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, says many green card holders do not know that even if they serve their time for felony offenses committed, they can still receive a second punishment in immigration court. Our laws deport green card holders in many instances for facts that occurred many years ago, she says. Mesa was held in the Essex County Correctional Facility for about a year and deported to the Dominican Republic in January 2015. I had finished my probation. I had finished everything... I did many things as far as community services I was never told back in 2006 [that] I would be deported out the country, Mesa told VOA via social media. Mesa moved to the U.S. with his family when he was eight years old. Like many immigrants, his parents had wanted to provide a better life for both him and his younger sister, Genesis. I never asked to be taken [to the U.S.]; I never knew. We just picked up and left. But my parents were ignorant. Until this day, my mother hasnt become a citizen, he says. To apply for citizenship, an eligible green card holder must pay $680 upfront to cover the cost of naturalization forms and biometrics, says U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Officials, however, have proposed raising the fee to $725 to cover costs. Mesa says he always thought he could not get deported for whatever stupid reason. All I knew was I had a permanent resident card. I was living my life [in the U.S.]. I was legal. So what would immigration ever had anything to do with me? he says. Anybody that has a green card, automatically thinks that nothing like that can ever happen to you. Brittany Young, immigration attorney at Catholic Charities West Virginia, says it is a mistake many green card holders make. People make bad choices. Unfortunately, immigration law can very harsh for these bad choices especially in the context that someone has been a permanent resident for a long time, sometimes, they dont really quite understand the severity of their actions, Young says. This is why honestly I encourage people to become U.S. citizens as soon as they can, she added. According to the American Immigration Council, 10 percent of all people deported each year are legal permanent residents, and 68 percent of them are deported for committing minor and nonviolent crimes. In 2015, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported close to 300,000 people were deported under the category noncriminal removals - the category Mesa was deported under. An ICE official said, the agency does not differentiates who had a green card and who did not when apprehended. Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Dominican Republican are the countries with the most removed individuals. Fighting back Since Mesas arrest, his younger sister, Genesis, has been writing to the Board of Immigration Appeals and Department of Homeland Security, filing motions to reopen the case due to new evidence including a decision from the Superior Court of New Jersey that vacated Mesas felony conviction. The decision could have helped Mesa, if only it had not come after he was deported from the U.S. According to court documents, immigration officials have declined these motions because they were not filed in a timely manner, and because in addition to the felony, Mesa also had misdemeanors for possession of marijuana. All for personal use, Genesis says. The big story here, according to Shah, is civil and immigrant rights. She says the 1996 laws created a system that pushes people towards incarceration and deportation and creates considerable hardship, often separating families. We dont have a system with checks and balances. We dont have a system with due process. If we really want to fix and help the families who were being hurt, we need to start by appealing or at the very least amending the 1996 laws, Shah says. Genesis says her brother is not a criminal. He was just stupid Ive been trying to fight his case because we lived in the United States for 20 years. We were raised in New Jersey. He spent his whole young child, adolescence and adult life in New Jersey, she says. Genesis added their father suffers from diabetes, had to get an amputation, and now has a prosthetic leg along with other health problems. Her brother was their fathers sole caretaker. Life in the Dominican Republic After a year in the Dominican Republic, Mesa said life is beginning to make sense. At first, it was a culture shocking. Mesa said the only immediate opportunity he found was to work in call centers for American companies providing customer service. Right now, where Im working at Im making less than $3 an hour working for American companies, he said. I would like to go back. I feel like it was unfair what was done to me. Not just me, many people, Mesa says. As far as getting a lawyer to help his case, Mesa said the family simply cannot afford the cost. Basically the only person I have to count on is my younger sister. Weve done the best we can on our own, he says. Experts say the family could challenge the decision in the federal courts of appeal. His sister, Genesis plans to continue to fight his case. I am my brothers keeper, she said. A vegan restaurant in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, called for calm Tuesday, after sausage-wielding attackers described by witnesses as angry ultra-nationalists stormed the facility during a movie screening and threw meat at its patrons. The Kiwi Cafe described the incident, which occurred late Sunday, in multiple languages on its Facebook page. Calling the attackers neo-Nazis, the posts said the assailants had been asking neighbors about the restaurant for weeks, seeking to learn if it was a haven for foreigners or if patrons were members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender community. "They [the attackers] pulled out some grilled meat, sausages [and] fish and started eating them and throwing them at us, and finally they started to smoke," the post said. "They were just trying to provoke our friends," it said, adding that some of the attackers wore sausage around their necks as fighting broke out. Employees were quoted as linking the attackers to the nationalist skinhead group Georgian Power. But Monday, the organization denied involvement. The restaurant account said police arrived at the scene "and they started to blame us, although we were the victims of an absurd and unintelligent provocation by fascists." Some observers have linked the restaurant fracas to a new round of culture wars between young people seeking to draw closer to Western Europe and its lifestyles, and conservative Georgians trying to resist Western cultural influence in the former Soviet bloc country. Zambias incumbent President Edgar Lungu from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party plans to file his nomination papers at the Electoral Commission of Zambia on Thursday, according to Priscilla Isaac, director of elections at the commission. Tilyenji Kaunda of the opposition United National Independence Party (UNIP) and son of Zambias first president Kenneth Kaunda, and Edith Nawakwi, first female presidential candidate from the Forum for Democracy and Development, have filed nomination papers to be presidential candidates for their respective parties in the run-up to the August 11 general election. The official nomination period for Zambias presidential election began on May 30 and is scheduled to be concluded on June 3. The electoral body has also announced that all presidential candidates will have to pay $6,589 in nomination fees in order to participate in the presidential poll. Uproar over pay to run fee Wynter Kabimba, a candidate for the opposition Rainbow Party, condemned the fee as exorbitant. "We in Rainbow Party are left wondering, what is the purpose?" local media quoted Kabimba as saying on a local radio program this week. Using an acronym for the commission, he asked, "Since when did ECZ become a money-making machine, you know, a profit-making organization? It was not established for that purpose." Director of Elections Isaac disagreed, saying the electoral commission received significant public support for the fees. Meanwhile, the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) the second biggest opposition party notified the electoral commission that it will not present a presidential candidate in this years vote. This, after internal disputes caused an apparent split within the group, with one faction led by former MMD leader Nevers Mumba endorsing main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, while the other faction has begun talks to form an alliance with President Lungu and the ruling PF ahead of the elections. Ballot printing controversy Opposition and civil society groups are still pushing back against the decision of the electoral commission to award the tender to print the ballot papers to Al Ghurair Printing Company of Dubai. The groups contend it is too expensive for the electoral commission to print the documents in Dubai instead of in neighboring South Africa. Isaac says the electoral body has implemented the measures to ensure transparency and accountability in the entire electoral process. Yesterday, the political parties were informed of the decision of the [electoral] commission was final. We did not receive any evidence other than speculation and media reports about doubts regarding the printing firm that we had settled for. And so having gone through the process even a re-evaluation of the tender, we still did not find any, said Isaac. All the participating political parties that would be fielding presidential candidates will be entitled to have one agent sponsored in full by the commission to witness the printing of ballot papers from start to finish, up to the dispatch of the ballot papers to Zambia," he added. "And of course when the ballot papers are landed in Zambia, we will have the party agents at the airport to receive them, to verify them before they are dispatched to the various districts and polling stations in readiness for the elections. Zimbabwe is seeking support from its neighbors to be allowed to engage in international trade in ivory and will not burn its 70 tonnes of ivory stocks as Kenya did last month, the environment minister said on Wednesday. Zimbabwe and Namibia are bidding to open up international trade in elephant ivory, against initiatives led by Kenya for a complete global ban on the coveted commodity. Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri told diplomats from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that Zimbabwe was counting on their support at the next U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in September. Muchinguri said banning trade in ivory would not solve the problem of poaching and gave the example of how the rhino population remained under threat 40 years after trading in the rhino horn was outlawed by CITES. "There is no tangible evidence that trade bans have ever saved a species from extinction," Muchinguri said. "It is imperative for our regional economy that SADC countries unite in defending our right to sustainably use our natural resources." Muchinguri said plans by the European Union to ban hunting trophies from Africa as the United States did following the killing of Cecil the lion last year would see hunting revenues fall and communities living next to wildlife resorting to poaching. Cash-strapped Zimbabwe says trade is the only way to pay for the costs of protecting its 83,000 elephants. Zimbabwe's proposal says it has 70 tons of raw ivory in the government storage facility estimated to be worth $35 million. "To us, burning is not an option, we need the resources for sustainable wildlife conservation," Muchinguri said. On May 3 Zimbabwe put its wild animals up for sale, saying it needed buyers to step in and save the beasts from a devastating drought. Democratic Republic of Congo ambassador to Zimbabwe Mwampanga Mwana Nanga said his country supported Harare's proposals and was talking to Zimbabwe on the possibility of importing wildlife, including elephants. #Korean Air Korean Air plane heads to Cebu to bring back stranded passengers An alternative Korean Air plane departed for the Philippines on Tuesday to bring home passengers stranded after another plane run by the air carrier overran the airport runway in C... #(G)I-dle I-dle tops local music charts with 'Nxde' Girl group (G)I-dle topped daily and weekly charts of five major local music streaming services with its release "Nxde" on Tuesday, a week after it dropped. "Nxde," the main tra... Zimbabweans express mixed views over the formation of an opposition coalition ahead of the 2018 general elections. Some say it wont work without the MDC led by former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Patson Dzamara, the brother of abducted political activist, Itai Dzamara, has been questioned by police over a photo he released this week showing a masked person in detention with hands tied to the back, which he claimed was sourced from Zimbabwean security agents. Dzamara claimed that the person in the picture was Itai Dzamara. Christian Voice International, a group of various church denominations, says it is pushing parliament to take some decisive action on the national pledge introduced recently in Zimbabwean schools. The organization says most Christians are opposed to the national pledge, aimed at instilling a sense of patriotism among Zimbabweans. In our youth segment Time to Engage, host Chioneso Jani speaks with rock musician John Jazinj. And we will also be featuring Zimbabwean scientist Sharon Khethiwe Ngwenya, captured in a video that has gone viral, walking alongside a pride of lions in Zimbabwe. Stay tuned for these stories and more coming up on Studio 7 at 7:30 pm on 9-0-9 Medium Wave and on the 4-9-3-0, 5-9-4-0 and 1-5-4-6-0 shortwave frequencies. We also broadcast on www.channelzim.net. Please check us out on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. This evening on Livetalk our hosts Gibbs Dube and Jonga Kandemiiri will be talking with listeners about a coalition formed by five Zimbabwean opposition parties ahead of the 2018 general elections. Participate by sending your messages on our WhatsApp number 001 202 465 0318. You can also post comments on this Facebook wall or send us your number so we can call you back. Please note that we are livestreaming on all Studio 7 Facebook pages. Stay tuned!!!!!! Budding Zimbabwean businessman, Nkosana Mazibisa, has been honored by Forbes Africa magazine as one of the 30 most promising young entrepreneurs on the continent. Mazibisa is the founder of Mazibisa Inc., a consultancy firm and a food outlet called Swad the Taste of India, which deals in biscuits, potato crisps and dried fruits - to mention but a few. He is featured in the Forbes Africa issue coming out Wednesday with 30 other flourishing young African entrepreneurs under the age of 30 from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Benin among other countries. Mazibisas latest recognition comes in the wake of yet another milestone. He is also among 60 young Zimbabweans picked for the Mandela Washington Fellowship to undergo eight weeks of training in civic and business leadership in the U.S starting mid-June. Forbes Africa managing editor Chris Bishop told VOA the 30 are some of the finest upcoming entrepreneurs there is on the African continent. Some of them will be on the cover of Forbes Africa in 10, maybe 20 years time. So what we wanted to do is to catch them young, said Bishop. Forbes Africa believes that the state coffers on this continent can no longer afford to provide the jobs and the wealth that the people need. And we believe that entrepreneurs are the people who are going to create the jobs. Speaking of Mazibisa, Bishop hailed his resilience and innovation given the volatile business environment that has forced thousands of companies to shut down in Zimbabwe, particularly in Bulawayo, where Mazibisa is based. Pharmacists are normally associated with stern injections, bandages and an assortment of bitter tablets or drugs, which are at times sugar-coated to make them a bit friendly to the mouth. This is no longer the case for Zimbabwean assistant pharmacist, Tendai Mashonga, who has moved from the dispensary to handling all kinds of sweet ingredients. She is now curving a niche for herself in the baking industry where, instead of distributing bitter pills and other life-saving items, she is producing mouth-watering cakes and related sweet dishes. This passion for baking has made her a rising star in the confectionary business. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Mashonga, 33, is a professional dispensing/pharmacy assistant, who relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2012. Trained at the University of Zimbabwe as a dispensing assistant, passion for baking resulted in her becoming a proud owner of a cake bakery, Glam Tavoletta, in 2014. That has always been an inspiration in my previous career as a dispensing/pharmacy assistant back in Zimbabwe. The relocation to South Africa gave her more time to explore the artist in her. After moving to South Africa I had more time and the artist in me was revived. Mashonga has been invited to various Expos like the East Rand Wedding Expo 2015 that was held at the prestigious hotel, The Emperors Palace, in Johannesburg. This is an annual event with attendance of over 140 of South Africas leading wedding specialists and bridal fashion gurus. She had the opportunity to meet with soon to be tutor, renowned South African baker, Red Velvetier, and Paul, who has worked as a student with Cake Boss, a famous American television series. Currently I am catering mainly for individuals and celebration events for doctors, end of year parties, baby showers and church events and the likes. I will also be working with Girl with a Cake, a non-governmental organisation, which belongs to a South African lady to assist the under privileged." Her son's allergies have largedly influenced the choice of cake ingredients as she has ventured into the gluten, dairy, nut and egg free cake range. She wants to boost her cake products. I'm pushing the boundaries, keen to learn more and grow my business into a legacy today those smiles come from the cakes I bake. I'm working to grow by brand known as Glam Tavoletta. Italian for glamorous, fun cakes. They include gluten free, dairy free and all sorts of health benefit ones. My son inspired the diversity. On her spare time, Mashonga synchronizes some of her artistic aspirations alongside with painting, This could be the attention that goes into it or just how tasty it is. Cake always seems to make someone's day. I also dabble in other aspects of art. I paint, be it on canvas, wood or clothing. She encourages the youth to always keep up the zeal and focus. Whoever you are, age, race or where you find yourself. Keep dreaming, do something about it and keep moving. Mashonga worked for a long time at St. Anne's Hospital, a leading health institution in Zimbabwe where she was attached to the chemotherapy dispensary and theatre, then moved to Baines Theatre Pharmacy, before leaving for Avenues Clinic in Harare. Please leave a comment and share your story. You can send a email to the writer Chioneso Jani. cjani@bbg.gov Thirty year old Kudzai Nyoka says she still cant believe she is now reunited with her two children she left two years ago when she was sentenced to seven years in prison after being locked up at Chikurubi Maximum Prison for fraud. Nyoka is one of the 2,000 prisoners who were pardoned recently by President Robert Mugabe. Only two women on death row remain in prison following the presidential pardon. Nyoka told VOA Studio 7 she is now a transformed person as she turned into a poet while in prison and managed to win a national award. She never imagined that she will ever leave prison. "I am still in surprised right now. I can't believe it that on the 25th of May on Africa Day we woke up to the good news that we had been pardoned and would be going home. At first we all thought it was a joke especially me because I had five more years to serve and was on that day looking forward to a visit from my family since it was a holiday only to find out that we would be going home. I am so excited and thank the president for having mercy on all women and other prisoners who were pardoned. Before her incarceration, Nyoka said she was in human resources and took time to come to terms with her sentence but through counselling in prison she learnt that she could write about her feelings and express herself as a way of coping with the situation she found herself in. From her writing, she discovered a new talent -poetry - and then took part in a national competition while she was still in jail. She won. "I now want to utilise my newly-discovered talent to make a living and help my family so that I can survive outside prison," said Nyoka. Asked how the conditions were in prison Nyoka said there were bearable and reports that female prisoners sometimes go for days without food were not true in her case. "In the two years I was there we had three meals a day and as a female we also received sanitary wear and other necessities," said Nyoka. Some prisoners have reported that there is serious malnutrition and lack of medical facilities in Zimbabwes jails. According to official reports, there are 580 female inmates in 46 prisons and all those who were eligible for parole were released except the two on death row. Other prisoners that benefited from the amnesty included all male juveniles under the age of 18 and all female inmates. Prisoners convicted of murder, armed robbery, treason, rape or carjacking were not eligible for early release. Speaking to the state-controlled Herald newspaper, Priscilla Mthembo, an official with Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, said the 46 prisons nationwide were over populated. She added that the countrys prisons have a holding capacity of 17,000, but had been holding over 19,900 prisoners so the pardon would go a long way in helping to provide better conditions for the inmates that remain incarcerated. Asked on her re-integration into the society and the stigma associated with being in jail, Nyoka said she was lucky that her newly discovered talent put her in the spotlight and helped her community to embrace her upon her release. Its now left to me to find the best way to move on with my life and utilize my God-given talent of poetry. While in jail I was also taking some cutting and designing classes and I will be writing the exams soon and hope to also utilize that course for my livelihood, said Nyoka. Some Zimbabweans have welcomed a loose coalition that was formed by some opposition parties Tuesday but are warning that the alliance in its current state is not strong enough to wrestle power from Zanu PF in 2018 when Zimbabweans go to the general polls. Some Zimbabweans say the coalition that was signed by five opposition parties - the MDC led by former Industry Minister Professor Welshman Ncube, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe led by former Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, former Finance Minister and Zanu PF member Simba Makonis Mavambo Kusile Dawn party, and two other parties wont be able to beat Zanu PF. Despite this negative perception of the Coalition of Democrats, Harare resident Samuel Chuma, said this move was long overdue. However, MDC-T activist Laiza Mapepa said any coalition that does not include his party leader, former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, is not a meaningful coalition. But another Harare inhabitant, Darlington Madzonga, said time was not yet ripe for opposition parties to form such a coalition. Some people like Keith Charumbira dismissed the Coalition of Democrats or CODE, calling it a coalition of opportunists. Another Harare resident, James Chidhakwa, said any coalition that does not include popular opposition parties was not a credible. Studio 7 failed to get a comment from Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo though some ruling party supporters like Farai Bwana said even if all opposition parties were to unite, they wont win any election against Zanu PF. Political analyst Earnest Mudzengi, who works with the Media Centre, said there is still a chance for MDC-T and the Zimbabwe People First led by former Vice President Joice Mujuru to be part of the coalition. Another analyst, Pedzisai Ruhanya of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, said if opposition parties participate in the 2018 elections as separate groups, there are high chances that the vote would be split in Zanu PFs favor. MDC-T says it is discussing possibilities of forming a coalition with other opposition parties internally while Zimbabwe People First has distanced itself from moves to team up with other parties. Activists drawn from the Zimbabwe Activists Alliance, Zimbabwe Women in Politics Alliance, Occupy Africa Unity Square Movement and members of the public have decided to camp at Africa Unity Square for 16 days and 16 nights as a way of highlighting the plight of struggling ordinary Zimbabweans. Tendayi Lynnette Mudehwe, who is the coordinator of Zimbabwe Activists Alliance, said they chose to stay at the park in order to have that coincide with the day of the African Child, which is commemorated on June 16 every year. "On 16 June we celebrate the Day of the African Child following the history of the South African Revolution, so we decided that on 1 June building up to 16 June activists in Zimbabwe must be highlighting issues they want the government to address," Mudehwe said. In a related development, Doctor Patson Dzamara, young brother of abducted political activist Itai Dzamara, who this week released a photo said to be that of Itai in captivity, Wednesday finally met with a team of detectives from the Law and Order section led by Assistant Commissioner Crispen Makedenge and two operatives of the Central Intelligence Organization. According to his attorney Charles Kwaramba, Doctor Dzamara, who was summoned to a local police station for questioning Tuesday but failed to turn up because of his lawyers tight schedule, told them that he was doing all he can to find Itai. "When we got there the police made it clear that they were not interrogating Dzamara, they simply wanted to inquire from him the authenticity of the information he has," Kwaramba said. Dzamara held a press conference where he showed reporters a photo the family is claiming is of the missing activist. Dzamara also revealed that they had information that Itai was abducted by members of the military intelligence, allegations the Zimbabwe National Army dismissed as false. One of the photos in possession of the Dzamara family shows a masked person with hands tied to the back sitting in a dark place. Kwaramba said they were told by the police that if the information is sufficient to create some leads they will take some action. The scientific revolution that has brought about atomic fission requires a moral revolution: with this historic phrase (coined by the presidential speech-writers) culminated Obamas visit to Asia. On it, he declared at Hiroshima, his willingness to mark out a path leading to the destruction of nuclear arsenals. The Federation of American Scientists distances itself, providing evidence that the Obama Administration has reduced less than its predecessors, the number of nuclear tests. Today, the United States has 4,500 strategic tests, of which 1,750 are ready for launch, plus 180 tactics ready for launch in Europe, plus 2,500 that have been withdrawn but not dismantled. Including the French and British ones, Nato has 5015 nuclear tests, of which 2,330 are ready for launch. More than Russia (which has 4,490, of which 1,790 are ready for launch) and China (which has 300, not one ready for launch). The Obama Administration the New York Times documents (21 September 2014) has launched a 1,000 billion dollar plan for building another 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 12 submarines and 100 strategic bombers for nuclear attack. For the modernization of the nuclear tests, including those deployed in Italy, a national complex composed of eight of the biggest plants and laboratories with another 40,000 operators is in the phase of expansion in the US. The race for nuclear weapons has been re-launched and at Hiroshima, Obama declared his desire to eliminate not only nuclear weapons but also war itself. Recalling that ordinary folk do not want war anymore, he emphasized that: We have to change our very mentality on war and use diplomacy to prevent conflicts. At that time, in Washington, the Pentagon accused China of lining up their defense systems in the South China Sea to monitor this sea and to limit our capacity to move about in the Asia/Pacific region. Regions where the US is increasing its military presence on the basis of a plan that also provides deploying, just before China and Russia, ships and the Aegis bases analogous to those deployed in Europe, endowed with launch systems adapted both to inceptor missiles and missiles for nuclear attack. While, the US missiles launch unit crosses the South China Sea, the US Navy prepares in the Pacific Rimpac 2016, the biggest naval army in the world. The Philippines has already made available to the United States five military bases and Australia, where marines have already been deployed, is preparing to host US strategic bombers planes for nuclear attack. On Washingtons position, the entire G7 (US, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Great Britain and Italy) that assembled in Japan, requested the freedom to navigate and freedom for surveillance of the South and East China Sea, confirming at the same time, sanctions imposed on Russia for aggression against Ukraine (whilst the EU confirms the sanctions against Syria). The US/NATO strategy in Europe against Russia is integrated into the strategy implemented against China and Russia in the Asian/Pacific region, in alliance with Japan that is assuming a growing military role. This same strategic context is the backdrop for Obamas visit in which the US removed the embargo for providing arms, an anti-Chinese measure. In addition, the Peace Corps (whose Cia connection is noted), that will go to Vietnam to teach English (or rather, American) and the Fulbright University that will open a branch in the city of Ho Chi Minh to provide young Vietnamese world class education. The United States, defeated by the heroic Vietnamese resistance, returns with other arms. Photo-Illustration: Vulture and Photo by Universal Pictures This article originally ran in 2016; weve republished it in honor of the tenth anniversary of The Lonely Islands Incredibad. Over their 15-year career, the comedy trio the Lonely Island has won an Emmy and a Peabody, earned three Grammy nominations, and released two top-ten albums and two platinum singles, and their videos have been seen more than 1.7 billion times on YouTube and its all been building toward a flaccid penis. Midway through Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccones film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Sambergs character, a Justin Bieber and Macklemore hybrid named Conner4Real, begins waxing faux humble about the boobs one fan pressed against his limo window and how theyre the reason he does what he does, when, suddenly, a hanging limp member appears. Conner, oblivious, brags that hes going to sign whats behind him, rolls down the window you see where this is going. Outrageous and destined to be iconic, the scene shows the Lonely Island at the height of their powers: This penis joke uses the vocabulary of modern pop stardom and the rhythms of online comedy to undermine male insecurity. As such, its pretty much the epitome of what Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone have been doing since they started making comedy. Or, as they once said about their wildly and improbably successful career, there are two rules: music and dick. As youll see, those rules have served them well. 1. Cut a hole in a box. The Lonely Island disrupted the distribution and aesthetic of filmed comedy. Related Stories Picking The Best Lonely Island Short of All Time Comedy is all about timing. YouTube officially launched on December 15, 2005. The Lonely Island premiered their second SNL digital short, Lazy Sunday, two days later. The site and the group have been irrevocably linked ever since. Milton Berle earned the nickname Mr. Television for figuring out how comedy worked best on television. The Lonely Island occupy a similar position vis-a-vis the internet there were others doing comedy online prior, but this trio made it work for a mass audience. Its important to understand how out of place the Lonely Island were, coming from making videos for the web, when they got hired on SNL. After the shows divisive experiment with a stand-up-heavy cast in the early 90s, Lorne Michaels & Co. shifted back to the sort of improv-trained cast that defined the shows earlier peaks. By 2005, the cast featured an incredible 11 cast members who had improv backgrounds. One of the few exceptions: Andy Samberg, who years earlier had suffered through a disastrous Groundlings audition. He told Pete Holmes about it, on his You Made It Weird podcast, saying that failure had made him realize his true metier was video. Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccones path to SNL seems reasonable now, in an environment that rewards independently minded grinders, but that path from the margins to the mainstream was forged by these three. In 2000, after graduating from different colleges, they all moved to Los Angeles, living together in an apartment they named the Lonely Island after a faux-pretentious one-act play Schaffer wrote to make fun of Taccone. The Lonely Island would also become the name of their website, through which the gang gained their first competitive advantage: Thanks to Schaffers brother (who later got a job at YouTube), the site featured streaming video. After five years of shooting sketches and posting them online, they had shot a sketch pilot for Fox called Awesometown that went nowhere. But that wasnt what put them on Lorne Michaelss radar. No, their big break came working on the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Lonely Island wrote two of the pretaped sketches parodies of Batman Begins and Star Wars: Episode III and Fallon loved their work (and Sambergs impression of him) so much he called Lorne Michaels and recommended they audition for SNL. Samberg was the only one who got the gig. (Schaffer never auditioned; Michaels passed on Taccone.) SNL producers Mike Shoemaker and Steve Higgins told Michaels about the Lonely Islands online sketches. After the boss watched some of those, he hired Taccone and Schaffer as writers on the show. But just because youre hired at SNL doesnt mean you wind up on the air. In the SNL oral history Live From New York, Schaffer described their role as being the team of getting Andy on the show, and initially they had a terrible win-loss record. Halfway into their first season, they hit their breaking point, in the form of a failed pitch in which Samberg was to play a little boy who simply wants to wear shorts at night. But the rejection made them think that live sketches were not the best medium for their ideas. We started to realize, Taccone explained, that some of those weirder concepts were things that we just needed to film and present because that was the way to show people that it was potentially good. During an SNL off-week, they borrowed a camera from Bill Haders wife, director Maggie Carey, and shot a Ying Yang Twins parody, The Bing Bong Brothers, starring Taccone and Schaffer. They played it for Michaels, who then said hed be open to the prerecorded videos on the show as long as they included cast members. So, on December 3, 2005, employing the Digital Short rubric Adam McKay had used a few times previously, SNL premiered Lettuce, a simple surrealist sketch in which Will Forte and Samberg chomp heads of lettuce while having a serious conversation. It played well enough that they got to do another one. Schaffer credited the shows willingness to embrace video to the fact that it was so cheap. (Lettuce cost $20.) If we made a video for free on our own time and then it comes out badly, theres no embarrassment there, Schaffer explained. Whereas if we asked for a big budget and did it in the system, and then it turned out stinky, maybe wed never get another shot. The trios breakthrough, of course, was Lazy Sunday, a gangsta-rap ode to their lame, cupcake-filled day off, which went viral before viral was a thing. At the time, the Lonely Island had never heard of YouTube. As Schaffer recalls in Live From New York, My brother e-mailed me and told me, Look at this place where you can watch [Lazy Sunday] online. By the end of the week after it aired, Lazy Sunday had been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube, an unfathomable number at the time. (YouTubes overall traffic jumped 83 percent in the weeks to come, a fact some credit in part to the success of Lazy Sunday.) Its easy to knock the Lonely Island for just being in the right place at the right time, but to do so would be to overlook an element of the groups sketches that made them ideal for the internet: editing. In this regard, Schaffer, who directed the majority of the early Digital Shorts, was the Lonely Islands secret weapon. Akiva was always the one that made everything look way better than it cost, and edited it, Samberg told Holmes. In addition to creating the groups visual aesthetic, Schaffer created a tempo for online comedy: shorter and quicker. There were, of course, pretaped sketches throughout SNLs history. But some of Albert Brookss shorts from the first season were more than ten minutes long, and the shows commercial parodies tend to be paced like real commercials Digital Shorts are different animals. A closer comparison is probably Robert Smigels Saturday TV Funhouse sketches, but even those are noticeably slower than what Schaffer was doing. Take Smigels Christmastime for the Jews, a stop-motion musical sketch that debuted the same night as Lazy Sunday: Its short, pleasant, and filled with Jewish-Christmas references (bowling, Chinese food, etc.). Lazy Sunday, in comparison, absolutely blitzes through random touchstones (i.e. The Notebook, MapQuest, and the HamiltonBurr duel). Or theres something like Andy Popping Into Frame, a 71-second sketch where Samberg yes pops into frame in a variety of settings around New York. What makes this premise work is exactly when Samberg pops in. The humor is solely in the rhythm of the editing, a rhythm that quickly became the basic pulse of online comedy. 2. Put your junk in the box. Lonely Island found endless ways to make, and satirize, dick jokes. In 2012, on Andy Sambergs penultimate episode of SNL, the show aired 100th Short, a tribute to all the shorts the Lonely Island had done. How did the video suggest that Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone wanted to celebrate? By sucking their own dicks, of course. Two-thirds of the way through the clip, Usher pops up and sings, Hey, Ive never been in a Digital Short, but these white boys are obsessed with their dicks. He is not wrong. The Lonely Islands shorts include Please Dont Cut My Testicles, Dick in a Box, and Jizz in My Pants. The most extreme example might be Were Back, off of their Turtleneck & Chain album. On that song, each member goes all in on the grossness of their respective penises. Sample lyrics: My dick looks like the fat that you cut off a steak / Smashed in like my balls went and stepped on a rake. Samberg has explained that his approach to comedy is based on revisiting the things that made him laugh when he was a kid, i.e. dick jokes. Teenage boys love em. So the Lonely Island keeps delivering em. Over and over. But theres a method to this madness. Or at least its not as puerile as it might seem. The Lonely Islands members were teenage boys who grew up in Berkeley, California, and they self-identify as feminists. I think feminism is a word we didnt know existed until we left Berkeley, Schaffer has explained. At Berkeley it was the norm. We were raised by [makes air quotes] feminists. Taccone added, We certainly were raised in an environment where equal rights for men and women was not even a thought. The feminist movement does not need three white guys to be their heroes, Schaffer tells me, but, yes, making fun of posturing and pretending to be cool and tough and masculine has always been our thing. And it has always given their silliness a deeper resonance. The Lonely Island dont just make dick jokes. They parody masculinity. This was evident even before they got on SNL. In the music video Just 2 Guyz, which they shot in 2004 and included in the Awesometown pilot, Schaffer and Taccone play awkward dweebs pretending to be cool dudes. In monotone, they rap lines like, Spinach dip / Real hot chicks / Spike the punch and take a sip. These characters, which theyve revisited throughout their career, are some of the groups clearest send-ups of men trying to act out a ridiculous, idealized version of manhood. Dick in a Box uses the sounds of sexualized 90s-era R&B to make fun of the specific brand of male stupidity that thinks a penis is a gift to be given. The videos Jizz in My Pants and I Just Had Sex satirize the ineptitude and one-dimensionality of manhood. Theres also the Shy Ronnie sketches, in which the title character is only able to rap and talk tough when Rihanna leaves the room. Its out of this context, however, that the Lonely Island have gotten into trouble not all of it undeserved. Two Worlds Collide was an attempt to parody straight-male discomfort with homosexuality, but at first glance it could appear that gay sex is being played for simple shock value. Same with Andys Dad, which gets its biggest laugh when Jonah Hill appears to go down on a guy. Or theres Everyones a Critic, which aired on an SNL episode that Gawker derided as a Gay Minstrel Show. When addressing the latter directly in his 2009 Out profile, Samberg called it bro-gay. Dudes that are bros and super antigay are the ones who need to get it the worst, Samberg said. Theyre the ones we have the most fun fucking with. The Lonely Island got better at making it clear whom they were targeting. In the video for Spring Break Anthem, off of 2013s The Wack Album, they contrast heternormative spring-break debauchery with beautiful images of same-sex marriage. A lot of our songs are making fun of being macho and for some reason, the thing that macho guys are most afraid of is homosexuality, Schaffer said about the song. Its a great juxtaposition in general of machoness in pop and rap thats why we go there. Our intention is not gay focused; the joke is always on being homophobic. Taccone added, Weve known each other since junior high school, and one of our favorite jokes is to make homophobic people uncomfortable. 3. Make her open the box. The Lonely Island made their weird accessible. In his 2014 WTF interview with Marc Maron, Samberg explained the two types of SNL sketches: the weirder stuff that airs late in the episode and the big flashy, Miley Cyrus twerking, pop-culture thing at the top of the show. The Lonely Islands trick is to use the pop-culture thing to sneak in the weirder thing. Before SNL, the Lonely Island first made a name for themselves with the Channel 101 O.C. spoof, The Bu. The first episode begins with an animated squirrel telling the audience that some of the episode will be in 3-D and that hell let everyone know when its time to put on their glasses. What follows is a melodramatic scene between two young people that gets interrupted every few seconds by the squirrel yelling glasses on and glasses off. Eventually, the whole thing breaks down into full absurdity. Yet, because this was taking place inside a parodic framework, it all somehow seemed more reasonable, more grounded. After arriving at SNL, the Lonely Island kept using both pop culture and parody as a Trojan Horse for their weirdness. Take The Shooting, in which the Lonely Island once again used The O.C., referencing Marissas shooting of Trey. The sketch takes the beat used by the teen soap, where everything goes slo-mo to the sound of Imogen Heap, and repeats it again and again and again and again. It is so, so funny, but its also the sort of extreme use of repetition that can turn people off (see: the sketch Samberg did in Second Chance Theatre earlier this month). But again, within the conceptual structure of a parody, it works. As far as utilizing pop culture, the Lonely Island wouldve never become the Lonely Island without fake rap. Despite performing comedy raps in junior high for fun, Schaffer, Samberg, and Taccone were hesitant about doing the same on SNL. We always were also slightly embarrassed by it, Schaffer explained. We considered musical comedy kind of a crutch, and fake rap specifically as a lame thing to do. Theres also the obvious racial dicey-ness. We all agree raps for comedy, if youre a white person, is a very slippery slope, Samberg told Maron. Its not really your place. But SNLs demand for material and competition for camera time made the guys desperate. The reason weve gone so heavy into [musical comedy] has been about the audience response, says Schaffer. Not like the other stuff was bad or anything, but those were the ones people wanted to watch again. Still, they felt they needed to develop a set of criteria that they felt made it okay. As Samberg put it to Maron, the goal was to (a) make it sound legit and (b) have a genuine knowledge of that world and respect for it. As Taccone told The Guardian: Were using it as a medium to tell a joke, not making fun of music necessarily. Simply, the Lonely Island are not doing piss-take rap rap where the joke is that the music is intentionally bad. Or as Schaffer puts it to me, I would challenge anyone to think that any of our songs wouldnt also be funny if black people were singing them. The Lonely Island are less parody artists like Spinal Tap or Weird Al and more like 50s and 60s comedian Tom Lehrer, who used music to make jokes about disparate subjects. Diaper Money uses rap to mock the fear of growing up. Jack Sparrow contrasts the Lonely Islands raps about clubbing with a non sequitur chorus that features Michael Bolton singing about his love of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. That very catchy, weird-as-hell song has 150 million YouTube views. The groups success with this stuff isnt actually all that surprising. People listen to music without understanding or even caring about the lyrics all the time. The Lonely Island, whove been using professional producers since 2009s Incredibad, have been able to make music thats good enough to be popular as music, and among people who dont typically listen to musical comedy. And thats the way you do it The Lonely Islands double-edged legacy. Samberg, Shaffer, and Taccone have always been determined to make their jokes amount to more than the fact that theyre three white guys making rap. Others havent. Online comedian Jon Lajoie, for instance, got tens of million of views for songs that hit only that note. More recently, rapper-comedian Lil Dicky, who started rapping because it was easier than writing a screenplay, has been successful mining one gag: He is white and rapping. Lajoies and Dickys achievements likely reveal something that has always been clear to those whove followed the Lonely Islands career: Some of the people who like the group probably dont get the joke. These are the people who unironically scream, Im on a boat, when, indeed, they are on a boat, or who reflexively laugh at the sight of men kissing, not knowing that their gay panic is actually the target of the joke. Its a problem. Its a problem that they address well with Popstar. By having Samberg explicitly play a fully fledged character and not some version of himself, its more apparent that the joke is on a stupid pop star whos trying to rap. Creating a world where were able to say that this guys album is tanking because its bad, Schaffer tells me, helps underline the humor. [Its] useful for whatever percentage of the audience doesnt get what were doing. Along those lines, the movie features a song like Equal Rights, in which Conner cant stop interrupting his advocacy for same-sex marriage to say, Im not gay. The joke is clearly on him (and Macklemore). Popstar is arguably the best thing the Lonely Island have ever made, and its also arguably the most Lonely Islandy thing theyve ever made, too. Blazingly quick, it runs under 90 minutes, but it feels like it has the sheer volume of bits that would fit in a movie twice as long. The character of Conner allows for so much. His reality is so fantastical that it means anything is possible whether its Will Forte playing bagpipes at a turtle funeral or Seals singing enraging a pack of wolves to the point that they attack the press. And because Conner is developmentally still a child, the film is able to use his immaturity to make fun of male immaturity in general. All of the Lonely Island hallmarks are there: the editing, the parody of masculinity, the use of pop culture. The Lonely Islands place in comedy history is secure. Their shorts gave SNL, as Seth Meyers explained in Live From New York, a shot of adrenaline. They altered the perception of the show, turning Saturday Night Live into Sunday Morning Online. And they fostered a generation of online-comedy fans eager to share what theyd seen. Jimmy Fallon and his late-night peers who also picked up on the viral value of a celebrity cameo are playing in the Lonely Islands sandbox. You also see the Lonely Island in the cinematic quality of Key and Peeles sketches, and their ability to operate within the visual and tonal vocabulary of their parody subjects. You see the Lonely Islands absurdist take on popular culture in Kroll Show. You can even see a little of the Lonely Island in Inside Amy Schumers attack on gender norms. But mostly you see the Lonely Island in the thousands of people making comedy on YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, and Facebook, hoping to ride an independent viral hit to Hollywood stardom. And, of course, you see everything that makes the Lonely Island matter in Popstars flaccid penis, pressed hard against a limousine window. *A version of this article appears in the May 30, 2016 issue of New York Magazine. Maya Rudolph as Elizabeth during The War in Words sketch in Maya & Marty. Photo: Virginia Sherwood/NBC The 2016 Emmy race has begun, and Vulture will take a close look at the contenders until voting closes on June 27. NBC tried with The Maya Rudolph Show back in 2014. It tried again last year with Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris. And last night, the network took its third shot at reviving the variety show with the first extremely wobbly episode of Maya and Marty. The new sketch comedy/musical hour stars the enormously gifted Rudolph and Martin Short and, therefore, should be a thoroughly entertaining work of slightly old-school television. Instead, in its first at bat, Maya and Marty felt forced and uneven, and made me think that maybe the variety show cant be brought back from the dead no matter how much talent is involved. While Im still willing to give this particular incarnation another chance, theres also a big part of me that feels like NBC is essentially trying to make fetch happen here. And as we all know, fetch is not going to happen. The problems that plague Maya and Marty are the same issues that dogged The Maya Rudolph Show, a one-off special as opposed to a series, two years ago. Its not fully hatched yet, nor is it clear that variety is a format that makes sense on American TV in 2014, Margaret Lyons wrote of the special here on Vulture. Is it retro? Ironic? Watered-down SNL? Those same questions apply to Maya and Marty, especially that last one about watered-down SNL, since thats what the first episode felt like more than anything else. Its send-up of Little Big Shots, one of several shout-outs to other NBC shows, played like a Saturday Night Live sketch that got cut for time and shoved onto the Maya and Marty set list; same goes for the Goodnight Moon reenactment that featured Short and Miley Cyrus in the roles of the bunnies and Rudolph as a drunk woman who wanders into the picture book, refusing to hush but totally game to binge a bowl full of mush. While it was mildly amusing to see Short doing his Jiminy Glick shtick again, that only added to the sense that this show is regurgitating things weve seen before and, at least so far, still unsure of how to distinguish itself as a something wholly original. In the variety heyday of the 60s and 70s, the shows that featured a pair of hosts worked largely because of their chemistry, and the fact that those hosts usually were involved in real-life relationships that existed outside the confines of their weekly efforts to sing, dance, and tell jokes. Audiences enjoyed watching Sonny and Cher, or Donny and Marie, or even Captain and Tennille because their TV programs provided a theoretical window into their marital spats and sibling rivalries. Rudolph and Short obviously dont have that going for them. Theyve been placed side by side on a show because of their performance chops and Saturday Night Live pedigree. So they have the added challenge of trying to create a natural reason for being partnered, an issue that was obvious in last nights episode. Were friends, right? Short said to Rudolph during their opening monologue. Yes, showbiz friends, Rudolph replied. It was deliberately dry humor that unfortunately highlighted one of the shows potential pitfalls: Its hosts dont have a shared history that automatically piques viewer interest. That doesnt necessarily have to be a deal breaker if Rudolph, Short, and their various special guests can manage to do something in future episodes thats even more important: infuse Maya and Marty with the sort of spark that invigorates live television. Maya and Marty isnt live it tapes in front of a studio audience on Thursdays and is edited in time for airing on Tuesdays. But The Carol Burnett Show the lord, god, king, and queen of 70s variety shows wasnt broadcast live either. It just felt like it was because the cast was so in the moment and their unexpected screw-ups and crack-ups usually involving Harvey Korman breaking character often stayed in the version that made it to air. In addition to stronger writing, Maya and Marty needs more crackle and spontaneity, which is something that cant be manufactured. It just has to be. There was one moment in the first episode that hinted that maybe a giddy unpredictability could be generated, though it wasnt a moment between Short and Rudolph. It was one shared by Rudolph, as Melania Trump, and Kate McKinnon, doing an appropriately smirky impression of Heidi Cruz. The sketch focused on Trumps attempt to hawk her new collection of edible diamonds, which Rudolph gamely jammed into her mouth and gnawed on, at one point biting off more carats than she could chew. Are you okay? Cruz/McKinnon asked, and Rudolph choke-laughed on her rock candy for a second before continuing with the sketch. It was obviously an unplanned moment, and one thats suggestive of what Maya and Marty could be if it figures out how to loosen up and let the unexpected be its North Star. But theres also a possibility that maybe the variety show of old is just too tricky and outdated to attempt on a weekly basis. A majority of viewers (read: millennials) have zero attachment to the format as it existed in the 60s and 70s because it predates their existences. Thanks to other successful sketch/musical hybrids over the years, like Saturday Night Live, In Living Color, and Chappelles Show, the genre has been redefined. These days, the programs we place in that variety basket tend to be either semi-edgy and more focused on the comedy side, like The Daily Show, or slightly-old-fashioned family fare, like well, like Little Big Shots or Americas Got Talent. With its 10 p.m. time slot Maya and Marty isnt going after that family demo, but its first episode also felt too old school to qualify as cutting-edge or adult. At the moment, its stuck between the two, in a genre that even the boundless nature of modern TV programming may not know how to accommodate anymore. The National Comedy Museum. When the National Comedy Center opens in Jamestown, N.Y., next year, its star attraction might be a hologram of George Carlin performing stand-up. Or it might not be comedy is subjective, and this fact appears to be, too. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, curator Kliph Nesteroff says that the Carlin hologram is definitely happening, calling it the main gimmick to bring people through the door. Theyre building this fake comedy club in one corner and George will be onstage, performing like old times, Nesteroff says. The Carlin estate is partly sponsoring the museum, and the museum has just acquired Carlins archives hes the credibility here. But Carlins daughter Kelly disputes this, telling The Comics Comic that, while she did donate her fathers archives to the museum, she absolutely did not sign off on any sort of hologram business. Its just too creepy, Kelly Carlin said of the hologram news, adding, The story is wrong. The museum did sign a deal last year with Hologram USA, a company that produces holograms of comedians like Bernie Mac, Redd Foxx, and Andy Kaufman. Will this museum let us wrestle a hologram? Update: In a statement, a representative for the comedy museum says that Nesteroff mistakenly conflated two separate exhibits in the museum: The National Comedy Center has no plans for a George Carlin hologram at the forthcoming museum. Federal, state and local law enforcement officials are investigating the death of an inmate at the Jack Harwell Detention Center in McLennan County on Monday evening. James Duke, warden of the privately operated jail, did not return phone messages Tuesday, and others, including local and federal officials, declined comment or referred questions to other agencies. Brandon Wood, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, confirmed Tuesday that officials at the Jack Harwell Detention Center notified the commission about the inmates death about 7:30 p.m. Monday. The commission will review an initial report about the incident from the private jail officials before determining whether additional action is needed by the commission, Wood said. County jails and private detention centers are required to notify the commission of an inmates death within 24 hours, he said. McLennan County Justice of the Peace James Lee was called to the jail at 3101 E. Marlin Highway after the death. Lee did not return phone calls Tuesday, and a staff member in his office referred questions to the McLennan County Sheriffs Office. Lee also did not respond immediately to a Public Information Act request for information, including whether he ordered an autopsy. McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara did not return phone messages Tuesday. Sheriffs Office Capt. Ricky Armstrong declined comment, saying the inmate was a U.S. Marshals Service prisoner and referring questions to the marshals service. Deputy U.S. Marshal Joe Bays also declined comment, saying the matter is under investigation. Bays declined to provide details of the inmates death, his or her identity or suspected manner and means of death. The jail is operated by LaSalle Corrections, which manages 18 facilities with a total inmate capacity of 13,000 in Louisiana, Texas and Georgia. LaSalle Executive Director Rodney Cooper did not return phone calls to his office Tuesday. A McLennan County grand jury indicted three former LaSalle Corrections employees in February on charges that they altered documents to make it appear they conducted scheduled inmate checks following a suicide in the jail in November. Michael Wayne Crittenden, 24; Milton Edward Walker, 33; and Christopher David Simpson, 24, each were indicted on a charge of tampering with government records, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Surveillance video showed that Crittenden, Walker and Simpson all lied about conducting head counts in N-Wing in the early morning hours of Nov. 1, according to records filed in the case. A review was conducted after Michael Angelo Martinez, 25, of Waco, was found unresponsive in his single-person cell. Martinezs death was ruled suicide by asphyxia. Martinez had been in jail since Aug. 18 on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine. He also was being held on a federal detainer, according to county records. McNamara said in November that Martinez was in the section of the jail where inmates are to be checked every 30 minutes. Alabamas erstwhile chief justice, Roy Moore twice suspended, now under investigation for flouting the commands of the federal courts is suing the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission in federal court. There might be a greater example of chutzpah in the history of judicial proceedings, but I cant think of it. The man who claims that the Alabama state courts have the authority to interpret the Constitution for themselves, ignoring the supremacy of the federal courts, is going over the heads of his state judicial colleagues and challenging Alabamas judicial ethics process in the alien federal system. To make matters more astonishing, Moore is a two-time loser in his one-man war against the judicial authority of the federal courts. In 2003, he was removed from the elected post of state chief justice after refusing to obey a federal district court order to remove a 5,200-pound granite statue of the Ten Commandments that he had ordered erected in front of the state supreme court building. The federal court said the monument violated the Establishment Clause. Moore said he didnt care what the federal court said. And Alabamas special Court of the Judiciary said the judge was violating his basic ethical responsibilities by defying a federal judicial order directed at him. The latest round, and the subject of Moores lawsuit, derives from Moores guerrilla war to block the U.S. Supreme Courts 2015 gay marriage decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, from applying in Alabama. In January 2016, Moore issued an order to Alabama probate judges, who administer marriage licenses, telling them to ignore the U.S. Supreme Courts dictate till the Alabama Supreme Court told them to do otherwise. This violated the order of a federal district court telling the probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in accordance with the Obergefell decision. Earlier in May, Alabamas Judicial Inquiry Commission filed charges against Moore for this second act of defiance. In accordance with state rules, Moore was suspended from the chief justiceship while the case against him is pending. He will have a chance to defend himself before a special tribunal, after which I hope and expect he will be officially removed from office. Now Moore is attempting to short-circuit that Alabama state process with an attack in federal district court. Its outrageous. In essence, Moores campaign against gay marriage had one central legal thrust: that the federal courts shouldnt be telling Alabama who could or could not marry in the state. The theme was states rights. Moores states rights attack operated on a general level by asserting that states, not federal authorities, should define marriage. It operated on a concrete, specific level by insisting that the state courts should have authority comparable to that of the federal courts interpreting the U.S. Constitution. But for someone with these views to ask a federal court to sit in judgment of a state process of judicial supervision that has its roots in the Alabama state constitution is to repudiate his entire judicial philosophy. If Moore doesnt think the federal courts should be able to tell the Alabama Supreme Court what to do under the federal Constitution, how on earth can he ask a federal court to interfere with the Alabama courts application of their own state constitution? To make matters even worse, the lawsuit is embarrassingly weak in its constitutional content. Moore is using the classic civil rights statute, Section 1983, and asserting that his federal constitutional rights are being violated. He claims that the state of Alabama has violated his 14th Amendment rights by depriving him of his office without the due process of law. Given that hes facing trial before a tribunal and will have the opportunity to defend himself, how exactly is Moore being denied due process? His argument is that his temporary suspension before the trial is unconstitutional. According to Moore, he should be able to remain as an active chief justice even while hes being charged with ethical misconduct. This is laughable, of course. When a judge is charged with misconduct, he or she cant be deciding cases involving litigants. For one thing, if the judge is removed from office, all the cases decided during his or her trial would have to be vacated and reargued. His final embarrassment is that, when hes on the ropes, hes looking to the federal courts for salvation. It wont be forthcoming. Noah Feldman is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard. ASHLAND The Ashland History Museum is experiencing its first summer in operation. As such, the fledgling museum is still finding its feet. Since opening their doors last fall, organizers have done quite a bit of planning for the spring and summer, when they anticipate more visitors. The Ashland Historical Society (also known as the Saline Ford Historical Preservation Society) formed 20 years ago, but until now did not have a museum to display the hundreds of items they have collected over the years. When the Ashland Public Library built a new facility and vacated the Carnegie building in 2014, the City of Ashland agreed to lease the building to the historical society for the museum site. After several months of work on the building and arranging of artifacts, the museum opened in October. Over the winter months, the museum was open only on Thursday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. or by appointment. From May to September, they have Sunday afternoon hours from 1 to 4 p.m. The historical society is still making improvements to the buildings as funds allow with the help of volunteers and the City of Ashland. All of the museums current exhibits are permanent, but they will be rotated to allow display of the hundreds of artifacts the historical society has collected over the years in anticipation of opening a museum, said Peg Lutton, Ashland Historical Society vice president. The oldest artifact on display at the museum is an elaborately carved Native American pipe made of pipestone, or catlinite, found north of Ashland by Bob Mason, who donated it to the museum. It is also the most popular item in the museum. Its the one most people are astounded with, Lutton said. However, the most unique piece in the museum brought about some discussion among the members of the historical society. That is in the eye of the beholder, Lutton originally answered. After pondering the question, they decided that the handmade dolls made by the late Lila Hite were perhaps the most unique items they have. There are nearly 30 dolls that Hite made over the year from fabric, paper, wood clay and other materials. She donated them to the Historical Society many years ago, long before the museum was opened. The most frequently asked question is whether the museum is open or not. Its also the one thing most people dont know about the museum, given that it has been in existence for such a short amount of time. While there are no plans for temporary exhibits at this time, the historical society members anticipate receiving items on loan that will be used to create temporary exhibits in the future. They are also making arrangements for field trips by local school groups in the future. WAHOO Roads and bridges continued to be a focus for the Saunders County Board of Supervisors on May 24. The board approved for Public Works Director Steve Mika to purchase a new motor grader for close to $228,000. Trading in an old motor grader for $42,000 and the purchase of the new one will keep the department in good shape in regard to machines needed for road upkeep, said Mika. Mika also addressed the board about future endeavors. The Transportation Innovation Act signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts in April includes $40 million dedicated to the repair and replacement of deficient bridges on county road systems. The impact of that money in Saunders County depends on how that money is allocated across the state, but the county is likely to see some benefit. Saunders County has more bridges than any other county in the state. In meetings with the Nebraska Department of Roads, Mika said the state will be concentrating on bridges less than 40 feet long. In these instances, culvert systems are an optimal solution, he added. This could potentially lead to the benefit of using larger machinery, like bigger excavators that the county does not have at this time. The bigger excavator will help with culverts if were moving that direction, said Mika. On a current project, Mika said one of these larger excavators was rented to move a 72-inch pipe weighing 17,000 pounds. The board agreed to look at a comparative cost analysis of buying versus renting machines for these jobs. Renting a larger excavator for two months would cost close to $9,200, said Mika. Another potential future project discussed was working with Western Sand and Gravel to pave part of County Road G north of Ashland to the new sand pit, said Mika. In a rough estimate, Mika said maintenance this spring due to weather and wear has cost close to $20,000 in rock and manpower for that portion of the road. The time that motor graders spend on that road, potentially take maintenance away from the rest of the area, he said. Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 900 bank branches and 3,300 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. Guidewire Software, Inc. provides software products for property and casualty insurers worldwide. The company offers Guidewire InsuranceSuite comprising Guidewire PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, and ClaimCenter applications. It also provides Guidewire InsuranceNow, a cloud-based platform that offers policy, billing, and claims management functionality to insurers; and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed. In addition, the company offers Guidewire Rating Management to manage the pricing of insurance products; Guidewire Reinsurance Management to use rules-based logic to execute reinsurance strategy through underwriting and claims processes; Guidewire Client Data Management to capitalize on customer information; and Guidewire Product Content Management that offers software tools and standards-based line-of-business templates to introduce and modify products. Further, it provides Guidewire Underwriting Management, a cloud-based integrated business application; Guidewire AppReader, a submission intake management solution; Guidewire ClaimCenter Package for the London market supports the claims workflow used by London Market insurers and brokers; Guidewire Digital Engagement Applications, which enable insurers to provide digital experiences to customers, agents, vendors, and field personnel through their device of choice; and Guidewire for Salesforce to provide customer information regarding policies and claims. Additionally, the company offers Guidewire Predictive Analytics, a set of cloud-native applications; Guidewire Risk Insights that allows insurers to assess new and evolving risks; Guidewire Business Intelligence that allows insurers to measure business performance; Guidewire DataHub, an operational data store; and Guidewire InfoCenter, a business intelligence warehouse, as well as implementation and integration, and professional services. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California. If they did search journalists' metadata in pursuit of their sources, the AFP investigators would first have to have obtained "journalist information warrants" under Division 4(C) of the recently amended Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act. The problem isn't even that the Feds almost certainly used metadata searches either the metadata of suspected leakers inside NBN Co, or the metadata of the journalists at News, the ABC and Fairfax who published stories based on the leaks to identify the suspected middlemen who were the targets of the raids. Even Labor now accepts, I think, that the AFP was doing its own thing, in pursuit of a complaint by NBN Co. The problem with the raids by the Australian Federal Police in pursuit of whoever has been leaking documents about the national broadband network is not that the Turnbull government ordered them in the middle of an election campaign. That's something they wouldn't have had to do before last year. But then, the warrants aren't much of a safeguard, because we don't know whether they were asked for or granted. We're not allowed to know. In the Kafkaesque world the politicians of both major parties have allowed Australia to become, anyone who tells us can go to prison for two years. But the real problem with the raids is worse. Though no one seems to have noticed it, the AFP is trying to use very old laws to pursue not just the suspected leaker, but the recipients of the leaked documents. A redacted version of the search warrant that authorised the police raids in Melbourne was posted over a week ago by the ABC's Media Watch program. Yet, so far as I'm aware, no one has pointed out what a truly alarming document it is. The warrant justifies the searches on the grounds that two separate offences might have been committed. The first is that "in an as yet unidentified place an as yet unidentified Commonwealth officer communicated documents relating to the National Broadband Network to [redacted name] contrary to subsection 70(1) of the Crimes Act". Now section 70 is short, and notorious: it makes it an offence, punishable by two years' imprisonment, for a "Commonwealth officer" to communicate any information that he or she comes by in the course of their duties to anyone who is not authorised to receive it. "We all thought James [May] and Richard [Hammond] would carry on, and that's what I wanted to happen as a fan," Evans adds. "I just wanted our show to carry on. The bizarre thing was when I watched the last show, or what became the last show, which none of us knew, nor did they when they were making it, it was so sad. It was like a patient that didn't know it was dying or hadn't been told." Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have named their new Amazon Prime show The Grand Tour. That episode aired in June 2015. Some time later Evans got a call from the then director of television at the BBC, Mark Linsey, asking him if he was open to a conversation about Top Gear. "I had really genuinely ruled myself out because everybody else was putting their hats in the ring and getting busy," he says. "That was distasteful in my opinion, and disrespectful of how hard [everyone had worked on] the program in the first place." When the BBC confirmed to Evans the series, as everyone knew it, had been cancelled, he "was absolutely completely up for making it". "I was in shock for about two or three weeks afterwards, and I was just trying to come to terms with what I had said yes to and what that meant in my life and my career and what people would think of me." The focus then became exploring the show's philosophy, with a view to rebuilding it. "What it was, how it came about, why I liked it, why it was any good, where it was at the moment, what did that mean, what could we take with us, what couldn't we take with us ... and then putting together a production team," Evans says. "All the press wanted to know about was, who's going to be the next James, who's going to be the next Richard, are you Jeremy? We pretty much got a comprehensive team within I would say six weeks. Signed everybody up, took them out to the pub, got to know each other, which is fun." Evans sees the new series as a chance to wipe the slate clean, not just about Clarkson and the scandals that plagued him, but about the structure of the show's format. " I do see it as a blank canvas and as a very exciting prospect," he says. "I have no issues with any lingering anything, I honestly couldn't be more excited." The recipe of Top Gear has always been something of a case of 11 secret herbs and spices, an uncertain blend of passion, qualification, derring do, madness and joy. Evans says, first and foremost, he is a fan of cars. "I have been since I can remember thinking a thought," he says. "And I love to make television programs. Those are the first two things." Requirements of the gig? "You need to love motorcars and you need to want to make great television programs for the sake of making them," he says. "It's [also] really useful if you don't have to do the job, [that] it's not a stepping stone in your career, and it's not a stepping stone in my career. "I'm doing this show because I really really want to," he adds. "It puts me in a very healthy situation, doesn't it? It doesn't compromise me. It means I can make my own decisions. It means if I succeed, it'll be because of the decisions I've made, and if I fail, it's because of the decisions I've made. Not because of decisions that were forced upon me." The Clarkson-May-Hammond iteration of the series, Evans says, was "in many ways a lot of little films", using the studio-based banter to frame segments that were like classic caper movies, such as the show's memorable London-to-Verbier race. (That episode won the series its International Emmy Award.) "It's a lot to do with screenplay," Evans says. "The new Top Gear, the last 12 years, is very screenplay-based as opposed to script based. Although Jeremy was a brilliant wordsmith, it's about those moving pictures." Evans attempted to deconstruct the series "I sat down and I thought about why I like it, why my kids like it, why my wife likes it, and why the world likes it," he says and he came up with three key words: movement, jeopardy and judgement. "I know movement sounds ironic because it's a car show, but so seldom is it just people talking," he says. "It's nearly always moving and maybe there should always be movement involved. And when you add jeopardy, you have conflict and resolution, and when you have conflict and resolution, from a viewer's point of view, you get judgement. When people are watching they love to judge. "The reason a lot of kids love the show is they watch it with their mates or their brothers and they always want to be right. And if you go to any playground, there's kids going, 'well, you think this but I think that, and I'm right'. Top Gear is that from the beginning." Plus, he adds, if you watch The Great Escape or The Italian Job, "it's basically those films. So if we sort of stick with that and throw a few other twists and go for revolution, I think we should be OK." WHAT Top Gear The world's navigation and communication networks are at risk of being brought down by a "catastrophic avalanche" of space junk, researchers have warned. An artist's impression of space junk orbiting the Earth. Illustration: Johan Swanepoel The rapid build-up of space junk orbiting Earth is a serious threat to satellites, which are crucial for everything from global positioning systems and mobile phone calls to television broadcasts and weather forecasts. And destructive junk doesn't need to be big. Chief executive of the Space Environment Research Centre Ben Greene said a thumbnail-size piece of junk travelling at 10 kilometres a second could take down a satellite. Speaking to German reporters in the de facto capital of Tibet's exiled government, the Dalai Lama apparently said that "too many" refugees are seeking asylum in Europe. "Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country," he said with a laugh, according to AFP, which quoted from an interview the spiritual leader gave to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a German newspaper. "Germany is Germany. There are so many that in practice it becomes difficult." It was an unexpected extension of sympathy for a sentiment that has found fertile ground mostly among nationalist groups. The Dalai Lama, who often speaks of humanity's need to acknowledge its "oneness," is a refugee himself. After Tibetans rose up against Chinese limitations on their autonomy in 1959, the current (and 14th) Dalai Lama led tens of thousands of his followers to India, where they and their descendants have lived since. An estimated 120,000 Tibetans live in India, and those born in the country can vote. "From a moral point of view, too, I think that the refugees should only be admitted temporarily," the Dalai Lama said. Georgia, a proud nation in the Caucasus that went to war with Russia in 2008, is no stranger to conflict. But a weekend assault by sausage-wielding attackers at a vegan cafe in central Tbilisi is fanning concerns that a simmering culture war could be intensifying. The attack began Sunday evening at the bohemian Kiwi Cafe a popular spot for foreigners and Georgians alike - when, witnesses say, more than a dozen men carrying slabs of meat on skewers suddenly showed up and began pelting patrons with grilled meat, sausages and fish. Witnesses writing on social media said that customers at the cafe, who were watching an animated science fiction sitcom called Rick and Morty, felt intimidated by the men, who refused to leave. The cafe referred to the attackers, some of whom wore sausages around their necks, as anti-vegan "extremists." "A group of people who prepared an anti-vegan provocative action, entered and started to be violent," said a post on the cafe's Facebook page. "They pulled out some grilled meat, sausages, fish and started eating them and throwing them at us, and finally they started to smoke." It added, "They were just trying to provoke our friends and disrespect us." Patrick Norman Pat Chapman is a 34-year-old, Caucasian male who was last known to be in Piedmont which is near the area of Greenville, Missouri on May 10, 2020. Pat had stayed the night with a friend and his wife at their home. In the early morning when the friend woke to go to work. Pat was gone in his own Burgundy color 1995 Ford Escort. That is the last anyone was known to have seen him. The vehicle was later recovered on May 29, 2020 in Mill Spring, Missouri. WSU to Sponsor Girls and Boys State June 1, 2016 OGDEN, Utah Weber State University will host hundreds of high school students selected from across Utah for Girls and Boys State sponsored by the American Legion. Girls State will be held June 6-11 and Boys State from June 13-17. This is the third year Girls State has convened at the university and the 30th year WSU has been home to Boys State. During the weeklong sessions, students will participate in educational programs designed to help develop leadership and promote civic responsibility in young men and women. Students who participate are heading into their senior year of high school and will soon be voting. Students learn about the rights, privileges and responsibilities of citizens, said Kari Hofheins, Utah Girls State director. They form a fictitious state; elect city, county and state officials, and carry out the duties of those offices. The weeks activities include simulated legislative sessions, commission meetings, mock trials and speeches from government officials. Participants walk away with a love of veterans and their service to this country. Workshops will cover topics such as launching campaigns and running for office, drafting and debating legislation, public speaking and debate skills and being an active participant of government. Students receive insight regarding the values of citizenship and the Charters of Freedom that represent our American heritage, said Ken Hoyal, Utah Boys State director. The Utah curriculum is coordinated with Weber State University and its political science department to provide an enhanced learning environment and academic university credit for participating high school students. For more information about the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary, visit boysandgirlsstate.org. Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University. Two killed in shooting at St. Louis high school By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 31, 2016 | 09:49 PM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY Four people were injured Tuesday when a van collided with a motorcycle. According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened around 5:40 pm on South Friendship Road. Deputies said a van driven by 89-year-old Elsie Cathey of Paducah was attempting to make a left turn onto South Friendship Road when she collided with a northbound motorcycle, being ridden by 36-year-old Michael Jones of Paducah. Jones was taken to Baptist Health Paducah for treatment of his injuries. Cathey and a passenger, 56-year-old Marshall Coleman of Paducah, were taken to Lourdes Hospital for treatment. Jones passenger, a 36-year-old woman, was taken to Lourdes Hospital, then airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Police did not release the womans name pending full notification of family. By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 31, 2016 | 09:37 PM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY A man already on parole for previous drug charges was arrested Tuesday on new drug charges. According to the McCracken County Sheriffs Office, deputies assisted Probation & Parole officers with a home visit on Yarbro Lane Tuesday afternoon after receiving information about possible drug activity. Deputies made contact with 34-year-old Charles Lyons of Paducah, who is currently on parole for previous drug charges. A search of his home revealed items of drug paraphernalia, as well as prescription medications which did not belong to him. Police said the medications actually belonged to his mother, who reported she had lost the pills earlier this week and was unaware Lyons had them. Lyons was arrested and taken to the McCracken County Regional Jail on charges of theft by unlawful taking or disposition of a controlled substance under $10,000, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 01, 2016 | 06:34 AM | SYMSONIA, KY A man faces multiple charges after leading police on a pursuit Tuesday in Graves County. According to the Graves County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a Symsonia home for a report of an assault. While deputies were on scene, the suspect, James E. Willingham III, drove by the home. Deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Willingham, but he led deputies on a pursuit until coming to a stop at the intersection of KY 131 and KY 1684. During the pursuit, deputies said Willingham tossed an alcoholic beverage from his vehicle. Willingham was arrested and booked into the Graves County Jail. He was charged with reckless driving, fleeing or evading police, driving on a DUI suspended license, DUI 3rd aggravated, possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor vehicle, tampering with physical evidence and resisting arrest. This season of 'Love Is Blind' is shaping up to be absolute madness here's what people are saying about it Warning: spoilers ahead. The actor who plays the young version of loveable giant Hodor in Game of Thrones is musically inclined, too - as he has displayed from a recent upload of one of his original songs. Sam Coleman made his song 'Hold the Door' - a title which you'll know is significant if you saw... sniff... last week's heartbreaking episode (which we're still recovering from, by the way) - available online and it tells the story of how young Wylis the stable boy, as he was then known, became Hodor and ultimately sacrificed himself to save his friends by.... sob... holding the door. Lines from the song, which you can hear below, include:"But there was one condition/ I only had one mission/ A simple one, I knew I had to face/ When I reached the time and place/ Hold the door!". STAAAAAHP. Coleman isn't the only musical member of the Game of Thrones cast, mind - Kristian Nairn, who plays Big Hodor, is a techno DJ (who is playing Dublin this summer) and Jacob Anderson aka Unsullied warrior Grey Worm releases music under the moniker Raleigh Ritchie. In the EUs new Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, the EU28 will label Russia its strategic challenge, in contrast to its previous label of a strategic partner that was used before the annexation of Crimea. The new agenda for the EUs foreign policy will be published at the end of June, and it will be a new EU Global Strategy to guide the blocks global actions in the future after a decade since Javier Solanas 2003 European Security Strategy was prepared. The new strategy will be presented by Frederica Mogherini at the 28-29 June summit. Mrs Mogherini was among the first to say that Russia was no longer Europes strategic partner, referring Russias official label in numerous official documents. The upcoming strategic document on the EUs role in the world is expected to be shorter, although some Member States do not find it very readable and understandable to general public. On top of Russia, it will focus also on other sensitive areas, such as EU enlargement, migration, asylums, and defense and energy policies which are described as red lines. EU members, however, cannot agree on the precise formulation of the blocks policy towards Russia. While it was agreed that the language used in the draft would follow the European Commissions Five Principles of EU-Russia relations, published in March 2016, some Member States call for being less descriptive and insist that the country should be named as an aggressor in Ukraine. It is not yet clear what kind of endorsement EU heads of state will give to the paper but it is expected to be rather welcomed than endorsed. Javier Solanas 2003 strategy had been endorsed when it was presented at a EU summit. The position of the UK is especially vague given that the 23 June referendum on its future in the EU will be held just a few days before the summit. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. Gag-inducing, dirty and tiring work was waiting for the first group of Fort McMurray residents to return to the city Wednesday, a month after a vicious wildfire forced everyone to flee. Many set about right away to scrub down refrigerators fuzzy with mould that grew after the power was cut or mowing overgrown, dandelion-infested lawns. Fenton Lovell cried as he drove back into his city. His eyes teared up again when he opened his smelly refrigerator. Mike Maloney and his wife Tessa Maloney, hug as they unpack to re-enter their home after being evacuated due to wildfires, in Fort McMurray Alta, on Wednesday June 1, 2016. Parts of Fort McMurray have been open for the public to go back home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson Fort McMurray strong! he joked. He was getting the house cleaned and ready so his wife and twin babies can return from Newfoundland. After boosting the dead battery in his pickup truck, he grabbed a welcome kit out of his mailbox and put a natural gas required sign in his front window. Pilar Ramirez spent the night sleeping in the back of a truck in Anzac, about 40 minutes southeast of Fort McMurray. She was washing the refrigerator, stove elements and windowsills in a house she shares with co-workers at a concrete company. Her reaction when she first opened the door: Oh, its so disgusting! It smelled terrible, the food. Flies everywhere and big ones. I said, Oh, my God, what happened here?' Dave Chalupa said his fridge was a bit funky but he could handle it. The weed-covered lawn, on the other hand, had to be attacked right away. This is going to take at least two passes of the lawn mower cause, Im going to choke it right to death. The fire destroyed 2,400 structures, nearly 10 per cent of the city, when it ripped through and forced more than 80,000 residents to flee. The return is being staged. People returning Wednesday lived in areas that were mostly spared by the flames. Residents in harder hit areas are to return in the coming days. Tammy VanMackelberg said the city looks better than she expected. Its actually nice and green. When youre in some areas you cant even really tell there was a fire, she said. Its actually like you just went on a little vacation and came back and your lawn needs to be mowed. While the vast majority of downtown was untouched, some scars from the fire were evident. One home that burned to the ground in Crescent Heights was fenced off. Front doors of some nearby houses were marked with restricted use signs. Im one of the lucky ones, said Allan Fedun, whose house four doors down was fine to go into. Traffic on the only highway into town was light as the citys downtown officially reopened. It rained off and on throughout the day. Billboards and banners that read Safe Resilient Together and We Are Here. We Are Strong line the streets. On a bridge over the highway coming into town, two fire truck cranes formed an arch dangling a Canadian, Alberta and municipal flags. Several firefighters waved at people as they drove in, getting honks in return. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley was in Fort McMurray to welcome back the first returning evacuees. She thanked the crews who have worked to get the city running again including a bylaw officer who rescued a hamster weeks after the fire and called the pets five-year-old owner with the good news. Notley said stories like that will brighten the tough days ahead as more people come home to see whats left. These are the points of light in the midst of some very, very hard days, she said. And many hard days lie ahead. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Helen Brimmell, 96, hasnt just had a front seat to Canadas history as only the third woman to become a member of the parliamentary press gallery and cover the nations war-time 1940s politics. The former Canadian Press reporter, who was acknowledged Wednesday in the House of Commons along with former CP reporter Bernard Dufresne in tribute to the 150th anniversary of the press gallery, also figures shes the last person alive who actively worked on the campaign to make women persons under Canadian law. I think I can say without fear of being wrong that I am the last living person who actually worked in a way on the famous persons case, the Famous Five, Brimmell said in an interview with The Canadian Press. Former Canadian Press reporter Helen Brimmell, 96, is shown during an interview in Ottawa, Wednesday, June 1 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand Her mother, Clara Holland, was an activist campaigning for womens suffrage in the 1920s, working to get signatures on petitions to send to the government. Holland would arrange, through womens groups such as the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, to hold meetings at various Owen Sound churches, where her five-year-old daughter Helen Bannerman would help hand out sign-up sheets and then collect them in 1925. Bannerman (later Brimmell after marrying) would go on to a half-century-long career as a journalist for a variety of publications, but she started as a 23-year-old wire service reporter in 1943, quickly earning a place among the boys covering Parliament Hill. I was the only girl in the (press) office, and I think they thought I was sort of cute and thought I was their mascot. They were awfully nice to me, Bannerman said, adding she looked about 16. Indeed, I had to carry my birth certificate with me all the time to get served alcohol, she said with a laugh. Many a time Im ashamed to say this I have heard things simply because people thought that I was just the go-fer and talked in front of me incautiously. I didnt complain. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the parliamentary press gallery, which actually incorporated a year before Confederation in order to cover the fledgling government. Canada, of course, celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2017, while The Canadian Press will be marking a century as the countrys national news service next year. Brimmell has witnessed a great deal of it. Her work covering the House of Commons war assets disposal committee which was selling off millions of dollars worth of war assets that ranged all the way from canned rations to airfields led to her eventual parliamentary press gallery membership in 1946. Bannermans beats were womens services and Rideau Hall, but she often covered committee hearings to fill in for other reporters. By the third day of the 1944 war asset committee hearings that were to go on for the better part of two years, young Bannerman was the only reporter left in attendance. She recalls being at committee when several competing buyers almost fought as they bid millions on a large Winnipeg airfield. Today its the Winnipeg International Airport. I thought, Well, well, well, I should be a member of the press gallery.' After dropping many hints into suitable ears, Bannerman finally won membership in 1946 while being warned not to try to attend the annual, off-the-record press gallery dinner. During the war years, Princess Alice, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was the vice-regal consort at Rideau Hill. The wife of the Earl of Athlone, who was governor general, was a patron to many causes and I trotted around behind her, said Brimmell. She interviewed colonels, cabinet ministers, and covered Supreme Court hearings frequently drawing shocked reactions to her gender and youth. Yet despite being a trailblazer in a male-dominated reporting world, Brimmell says she never felt out of place. I felt just like one of the crew one of the boys. She left the parliamentary press gallery in 1950, but never stopped reporting. I never did anything else but journalism, I was a journalist for 50 years, said Brimmell, who turned 96 on the weekend. She suffers from arthritis but still laughs long and often straight from the belly. She still seems to consider herself one of the boys. Without prompting, Brimmell cites the biggest change in political journalism as the business of womens place getting so hot and heavy. Which brings her back to 1920s Owen Sound and the fight to make women persons under Canadian law. I think I can safely say Im the last living person who worked on (suffrage), so you can see that I have an interest in these things. And I do not like the way the womens movement has gone because its now just got to: we hate men. My mother and her colleagues must be whirling in their graves. Follow @BCheadle on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/05/2016 (2338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Chinas visiting foreign minister publicly berated a Canadian journalist on Wednesday for asking a question about his countrys human rights record. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was irresponsible of a journalist from the web outlet IPolitics to ask about human rights and the jailing of a Canadian, Kevin Garratt, who is charged with espionage. Wang appeared visibly angry as he delivered the scolding in the lobby of Global Affairs headquarters at a joint news conference with Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion. China's Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi responds to a Canadian journalist's question during a press conference with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion (not shown) on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Your question is full of prejudice and against China and arrogance I dont know where that comes from. This is totally unacceptable, Wang said through a translator. Other people dont know better than the Chinese people about the human rights condition in China and it is the Chinese people who are in the best situation, in the best position to have a say about Chinas human rights situation, he continued. So I would like to suggest to you that please dont ask questions in such an irresponsible manner. We welcome goodwill suggestions but we reject groundless or unwarranted accusations. The IPolitics question was agreed to by a number of journalists representing several news organizations at the event, including The Canadian Press. Wang asked the journalist if shed ever been to China and whether she knew Canada had lifted 600 million people out of poverty to become the worlds second-largest economy. Do you know China has written protection and promotion of human rights into our constitution? Earlier, Dion said he and Trudeau raised Garratts case with Wang and never misses an opportunity to raise human rights and difficult consular cases, saying he and Wang had honest and frank conversations on human rights and consular affairs. These discussions are central to a healthy relationship, Dion said. We expect that we will not always see eye-to-eye with each other, but we need to make progress. China and Canada also agreed to disagree on the contentious issue of Beijings behaviour in the South China Sea, Dion said. High-seas geopolitical tensions in Asia and free trade aspirations hung over Wangs visit to Ottawa, which also included a talk with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet. Dion said he had mature and respectful discussions on our respective positions on regional issues including the South China Sea. He said Wang was passionate, but so too are Chinas neighbours. Several countries in the region oppose Chinese assertive posture, with Japan particularly taking umbrage over Beijings claims in the East China Sea. The disputed waters also include important international shipping lanes. China wants to negotiate a free trade deal with Canada, but neither Wang nor Dion had anything new to announce on that front on Wednesday. Wang noted Canadas free trade deal with South Korea and said he realizes it is pursuing similar deals with India and Japan. But I want to tell you that the trade between Canada and those countries is not as big as that between Canada and China, Wang said. I would like to suggest Canada to negotiate FTA with the Chinese side, but here I must emphasize we will never impose our own will on our friends. Its up to you. Wang also recalled the positive strides Trudeau made with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his first round of international travel last fall. The Chinese leader praised the vision of Trudeaus father, Pierre, for establishing diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic in 1970 during a meeting at the G20 in Turkey. He also credited gains in bilateral relations made by former liberal prime ministers Jean Chretien and Paul Martin. Wang made no mention of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, whose near-decade in power started on a frosty note when he was accused of snubbing Beijing. Visiting foreign ministers usually stick to talking to their counterparts, but Wang also inserted a meeting with Trudeau, which underscores the importance the government is placing on China at a pivotal time. Wang came away impressed. We stand ready to work together closely with the Canadian side and take the opportunity of the new government in Canada to open up a new golden era of our bilateral relations. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MISSISSAUGA, Ont. GE Canada is scaling back its plans to build a new engine factory in Welland, Ont., because of slow demand from the oil and gas industry. The company said due to industry economic conditions it will create 150 jobs in the first phase compared with its initial plan for 350 jobs. However, GE Canada spokeswoman Kim Warburton says the company anticipates the numbers to grow over time at the flexible factory. GE announced last September that it would move production from a factory in Wisconsin to the new Ontario operation due to a loss of U.S. export financing. The company said it would build the new factory in Canada to access support from Export Development Canada. The Ontario factory is expected to begin production in early 2018. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FREDERICTON The president of Moosehead Breweries says until taxes on beer are reduced in New Brunswick, people will continue to cross the border to buy it for a lower price but Finance Minister Roger Melanson says there are no changes planned. Andrew Oland says his company faces numerous tariff and non-tariff barriers and would like to see free trade across the country. Last week, the New Brunswick government announced it will appeal a court ruling in April that effectively removed limits on cross-border alcohol imports. Judge Ronald LeBlanc tossed out all charges against Gerard Comeau, who was charged with illegally importing 14 cases of beer and three bottles of liquor from a Quebec border town in 2012. Beer near the border in Quebec is about half the price charged in New Brunswick, but the Liquor Control Act prohibits anyone in New Brunswick from having more than 12 pints of beer that wasnt purchased through a liquor store in the province. The root cause of the issue regarding the Comeau decision is the taxes on a dozen beer in Quebec are $2.50 and in New Brunswick they are $9.70. Until the taxes are reduced, this situation is not going to go away, Oland said. Consumers are voting with their feet, which is what you would expect them to do in this situation when there is such a price differential between beer in one province and another. But Melanson said the revenues from the tax on beer are needed to pay for services like health care and education. NB Liquor is an important contributor in generating revenues for us to be able to support these programs and still invest in the economy, Melanson said Wednesday. At this time we dont plan to make any changes to the tax levels, he said. Oland said lost sales to Quebec cost his company about $10 million per year. No date has been set for the government to appeal the Comeau decision. In its notice of appeal, the Crown says the judge erred in his legal interpretation of section 121 of the Constitution Act in five places, including: By finding that section 121 was drafted as an absolute free trade provision that constitutionally must be so rigorously so interpreted today, which finding is contrary to the principles of constitutional interpretation as established by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Crown said the judge also erred in his interpretation of section 134 of the Liquor Control Act. On Monday, the federal Conservatives called on the Trudeau government to refer the Comeau decision to the Supreme Court for review. Deputy leader Denis Lebel said the ruling needs to be referred to the Supreme Court so that Section 121 of the Constitution can be clarified. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. REGINA Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall has joked that deficits are like potato chips not good for your long-term health and bet you cant stop at just one. But Wall wasnt joking Wednesday after his government tabled a budget with a projected $434-million deficit. I dont like it at all. My analogy doesnt work. Its not like potato chips at all. Id love to be able to stop at just one, said Wall. Sergeant-at-Arms Maurice Riou walks toward the chamber on provincial budget day at the Legislative Building in Regina, Saskatchewan on Wednesday June 1, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell I do think its manageable, especially when you consider whats going on in some other provinces, but its a deficit and I think were better off always having a balanced budget or better. The document tabled by Finance Minister Kevin Doherty shows the province expects to spend $14.5 billion in the 2016-17 fiscal year, while bringing in $14 billion. The deficit is largely because revenue from non-renewable resources such as oil, natural gas and potash has plunged nearly $1 billion. Non-renewable resource revenue is expected to bring in just under $1.5 billion this year the lowest since 2003-2004. Doherty said there was little choice but to run a deficit. I dont like debt, he said. But at the same time, Im not prepared to dramatically reduce spending and put people out of work when our economys going through these challenging times that we think are going to be temporary. Doherty said the government needs to look at core services it has to deliver in the years ahead. The short answer is that everythings on the table and I know that sounds cliche but I literally mean that on both the revenue side and the expenditure side. The review is to include the appointment of a special commissioner to recommend options for fewer health regions and more efficient delivery of services. Wall said the province has not set a number on how many health regions there could be. Maybe the numbers zero. We already have a very large Ministry of Health and so do you need any or do you have one or three, he said. There are 12 health regions in Saskatchewan, plus the Athabasca Health Authority in the far north, which is not a regional health authority. Saskatchewan Union of Nurses President Tracy Zambory said Saskatchewan could look at how the one super-sized health region model has worked in Alberta. Lets look at the opportunities there, but lets also make sure that were paying attention to what didnt work so that we dont have to do repeats, so that we when we do something we do it right, she said. Patient safety is what is at the forefront in our minds. To save money in this budget, costs under the Children and Seniors Drug Plan are increasing $5 a prescription to $25. The change is expected to affect 66,600 families and 120,000 seniors. The province is also scrapping a tax credit for families with children participating in cultural, recreational and sports activities. The cut will affect 20,000 families. Urban parks in Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Prince Albert, Battlefords and Weyburn are losing their funding, about $540,000. Nancy Styles, president of the Association of Saskatchewan Urban Parks and Conservation Agencies, said those parks are going to be scrambling for money. Parks arent a frill, I mean sometimes people think they are, but theyre not, she said. For the health and welfare of the people who live in these cities, its extremely important, and all I can say is Im appalled that they would choose this thing to cut. Theres more money for health and highways. Theres a $20-million increase to help shorten surgery wait times, and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency is getting an extra $9.8 million to cover 15 new drugs. The budget also includes $1.7 billion for government capital projects, with $1 billion of that financed through borrowing. More than 1,300 kilometres of provincial highways are to be repaired or upgraded. NDP finance critic Cathy Sproule said the government squandered its savings by draining nearly $2 billion in the provinces rainy-day account. Weve come through the best and sunshiniest times this province has seen in decades, if in fact ever, and yet were still looking at these kinds of outrageous kinds of deficits, said Sproule. Its alarming. Wall said the province is going to do everything it can to have a balanced budget next year. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY Calgarys Trican Well Service says it is selling its worldwide oil and gas well completion tools business to a Houston-based rival to pay down debt. The sale, for $53.5 million to National Oilwell Varcoe, includes its tools operations in Canada and the United States as well as in Russia and Norway. The tools are designed to be inserted into oil and gas wells to allow the producer to monitor the well and improve production. National Oilwell Varcoe has agreed to pay $30 million in cash and the rest in shares. Closing of the deal is expected at the end of June. Trican CEO Dale Dusterhoft said Wednesday that the sale will strengthen Tricans balance sheet and allow it to focus on its core business, mainly its Canadian hydraulic fracturing or fracking fleet. Shrinking revenue in the face of continuing low oil and natural gas prices have forced Trican to cut its staff by 75 per cent in the past 18 months. It sold its fracking businesses in the United States and Russia last year and has closed smaller oilfield services operations in Australia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Colombia to save money. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY Husky Energy has pushed back the date to achieve full production at its Sunrise oilsands project to early 2017 from late this year because of the wildfires last month in Fort McMurray, Alta. The Calgary-based company says the project was restarted in the past week after it was forced to shut down on May 7. Husky wouldnt say how much Sunrise is currently producing, though it was more than 30,000 barrels per day before the fires. Sunrise was commissioned last year and is expected to reach a capacity of about 60,000 barrels per day. Experts estimate more than one million barrels per day of crude was taken offline as wildfires raged through the heart of Albertas oilsands region. Some of the 80,000 residents of Fort McMurray, which was evacuated, are being allowed back into the city. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA As Canada continues to settle thousands of Syrian refugees, the UNs refugee agency is hopeful Canada will renew its commitment to another population Colombians. More than 17,000 Colombian refugees have arrived in Canada over the last ten years seeking a safe haven from the five decades of war in that country. The current agreement between Canada and the UN to resettle 900 Colombians currently in Ecuador expires at the end of his year. The UN refugee agencys acting representative for Colombia says a new agreement would make sense, since helping vulnerable Colombians is key to that countrys peace process. Martin Gottwald is in Canada this week to brief those who decide asylum claims on the state of peace talks in Colombia. He says the situation for the millions of displaced people and refugees remains precarious even with those talks, and finding solutions for them remains a priority. The Colombian government is currently negotiating to end over 50 years of conflict with armed guerilla groups, the largest of which is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The ongoing battles have seen 6.7 million displaced inside the country and about 360,000 recognized refugees are living mostly in surrounding countries. Up until 2011, the Canadian government allowed Colombians to request asylum in Canada while still living in Colombia, but that program has ended, shifting the majority of refugee resettlement to either the private sector or through direct negotiations between Canada and the UNs refugee agency. Gottwald said it is not his job to negotiate a new resettlement deal with Canada, a responsibility he says rests with his superiors and the Canadian government. But one would be welcome, he said during a phone interview from Toronto. It would make sense, because finding solutions for Colombian refugees will be a huge contribution to the peace process, Gottwald said. If more slots were to open up, that would certainly help a lot. Canada is seeking to resettle nearly 60,000 refugees this year, a historic figure thanks to the commitment to bring more than 25,000 Syrians to Canada. Pushing the total higher will allow more room for refugees from everywhere, the department said in its 2016 immigration levels plan, though whether that will mean more Colombians remains to be seen. A spokesperson for Immigration Minister John McCallum was unavailable for comment. In addition to Colombians settled directly from abroad, over 700 Colombians made their own way to Canada and sought asylum in Canada last year, according to government statistics, up 21 per cent from the year before. It is the people who make the decisions on those claims that Gottwald is in Canada to brief, as he seeks to remind them that the peace talks are only the start of a long process and violence has been escalating in Colombia in recent weeks. Gottwald said the enormity of the Syrian refugee crisis over 4 million people have fled that country can often dwarf the realities facing refugees in other parts of the world. But if theres a silver lining in Colombia, he said, its that the conflict is at least inching towards resolution. Its now or never that we can do something for Colombia and giving solutions to refugees and (internally displaced people) is one way, he said. We can show the world, yes, its still possible to put an end to conflicts. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/05/2016 (2338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Canadian acquitted of charges he faced in the United Arab Emirates has been released from prison and could leave the country as early as Wednesday, his family told The Canadian Press, calling the news an amazing surprise. Salim Alaradi had been accused of providing supplies to groups in a foreign country without permission of the U.A.E. government and collecting donations without the governments permission. The 48-year-old was found not guilty in the case on Monday, but wasnt immediately released, prompting his family to appeal to Ottawa to help bring him home. Canadian Salim Alaradi and his son, Mohamed Alaradi are shown on a family vacation in the United Arab Emirates in a 2013 family handout photo. The family of a Canadian imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates for nearly two years says the man has been acquitted of all charges in what human rights advocates have called an unjust case.But Salim Alaradi's family says the man has still not been released from custody, despite being declared innocent. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, File Alaradis family said his Emirati lawyer was told around 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday that the man could be picked up from an Abu Dhabi prison. We are shocked because we didnt see this coming. This was an amazing surprise for my family, Alaradis oldest daughter Marwa Alaradi told The Canadian Press. But I ask that we remain cautious until my father is safely home with us. Salim Alaradi is spending the night with his local lawyer and plans to leave the country as early as Wednesday, his family said, with plans to be accompanied to the airport by Canadian officials. He is happy but his exhaustion and stress was very clear, Alaradis daughter said of her fathers state. He is very sick. Alaradis Canadian lawyer has said the father of five plans to leave the U.A.E. and travel to Istanbul where he will meet his family and receive immediate medical treatment. Once he is healthy enough, Alaradi and his family plan to return to their home in Windsor, Ont. Alaradi immigrated to Canada in 1998 from the U.A.E. but returned there in 2007 to run a home appliance business. He was on vacation with his family in Dubai when he was suddenly arrested in August 2014. At the time, he was among 10 men of Libyan origin who were abruptly detained some of them were later released. After being held for months without being charged, Alaradi was put on trial early this year on terrorism charges, which he pleaded not guilty to. Those charges were abruptly dropped in March and replaced with two lesser offences. The case has drawn international attention ever since Alaradi and his co-accused were put on trial. UN human rights experts demanded the U.A.E. immediately release the men. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also examined the mens cases and cited advocates for the detainees alleging that the men had been deprived of sleep for up to 20 days, beaten on the hands and legs and suffered electric shocks with an electric chair. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeg and its mayor, Brian Bowman, will be centre stage for four days of meetings with municipal counterparts from across the country. More than 1,500 mayors and elected municipal officials will be here, Friday to Sunday, for the annual conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is giving the keynote speech Friday and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Green party Leader Elizabeth May will address the municipal leaders on Sunday. One day ahead of the regular conference, the FCMs Big City Mayors Caucus (BCMC) is meeting Thursday. The mayors of Canadas 21 largest cities will spend the day with several federal cabinet ministers talking about Ottawas financial commitments for infrastructure funding, affordable housing, and building relationships with First Nation communities. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, right, with Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on a tour Wednesday. Bowman is set to give the BCMC opening remarks at 8:30. Later in the morning, the big city mayors will meet with Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde. Shortly after that, Bowman, Bellegarde and Edmonton mayor Don Iveson, chair of the BCMC, will hold a noon news conference. Bowman told reporters last week that hell be dealing with co-ordinated response from the Big City Mayors to the implementation of the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Ive assumed the chair of a working group amongst the Big City Mayors Caucus to better co-ordinate, among the Big Cities, a much more coordinated and pro-active implementation on the calls to action, from the TRC, Bowman said. Thats one of the items that Ill be really pressing in my meetings with the other Big City Mayors. The mayors will meet privately with Amarjeet Sohi, the federal minister of Infrastructure and Communities, where they will discuss how communities can access Ottawas budget commitments to municipal infrastructure. Later, Bowman, Iveson and Sohi will hold a news conference with reporters at 5 pm. Earlier in the afternoon, the mayors will meet with two other members of the government: Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and Adam Vaughan, parliamentary secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs. Trudeau will be speaking Friday morning; Mulcair, Sunday at 10:30 a.m.; and May, 2:15 pm on Sunday. The Conservatives Dianne Watts (MP South Surrey-White Rock) will address the municipal leaders Friday afternoon. Much of the municipal leaders time on Friday and Saturday will be spent on 25 different tours of Winnipeg destinations, many of them not on your typical tourist map including including the Red River Floodway, one of the citys sewage treatment plants, and the Central Park neighbourhood. But its not all fun and games, its a convention too so, the politicians will be spending some of those three days in workshops, and wrap everything up on Sunday with elections. Winnipeg Coun. Jenny Gerbasi is climbing the FCM hierarchy. Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) has been acclaimed as the groups first vice-president and she is touted to take over the presidency at next years convention. FCM is the voice of the municipal sector in Canada and we have become an important voice, Gerbasi told the Free Press earlier this month. aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Two young men who participated in the group sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl have struck a plea bargain that will spare them from being deported to India. The accused, who arent being named to avoid identifying the victim, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to sexual assault stemming from the October 2013 incident. Both were given sentences of six months less one week under a joint recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers. If they had received six months or more, deportation proceedings would have likely commenced, court was told. The same would have occurred had the Crown opted to proceed by indictment rather than summary proceeding. Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press It must be clear to immigration officials there are to be no further sanctions, said defence lawyer Saul Simmonds. The men were 18 and 20 at the time of the incident, and the youngest accused knew the victim through his school, court was told. The men had been socializing on the night in question with the victim and her 16-year-old female friend. This included drinking alcohol and using cocaine. At one point, they decided to take the party back to a hotel room the men had rented on Regent Avenue. Once inside, the two men became sexually aggressive with one of the teen girls, including groping and fondling her. Their attempts at having intercourse were repeatedly rejected and included having the victims friend punch them in the face to make them stop. The victim told friends at her school what happened several days later, and word began spreading. A counsellor eventually found out and contacted the girls family, which is how police were ultimately notified. Simmonds said there were issues had the case proceeded to court regarding possible consent or mistaken belief, which is what triggered the plea bargain. As well, his client was within four years of the victims age, meaning sexual relations are permitted by law between consenting partners. Not so for the older man, who was six years her senior. The two accused had come to Canada in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The victim was not present in court, but Crown attorney Sharyl Thomas read aloud an impact statement provided by her mother. It changed my daughter, causing her to shut down. My happy daughter was just gone, she wrote. The woman said the stigma of being abused made it impossible for her daughter to return to school, and she has since moved away. She relives it over and over again in her mind. She doesnt feel safe here. These two men destroyed a young teenagers life, she wrote. Court of Queens Bench Justice Chris Martin said he had to go along with the joint-recommendation based on guidance from higher courts. But he had harsh words for the two accused, who apologized in court for their actions. You were the adults in this situation. You have a responsibility not to get involved in this situation, particularly after the young girl said no, he told them. www.mikeoncrime.com Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has been described as the rock star of municipal politics but all that celebrity doesnt mean hes not prepared to roll up his sleeves and do some heavy work. Nenshi is in Winnipeg this week, attending the Big City Mayors Caucus and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference, where he hopes to steer the countrys municipal leaders towards dealing with poverty and ensuring urban aboriginal policies can be better effective in big cities. He is set to stop by the Winnipeg Free Press News Cafe at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. No one has ever given me the manual on how to be a politician, Nenshi told the Free Press in an interview earlier this week. Sure, sometimes I get myself in trouble because someone asks me a question I actually answer, or someone is really rude and sometimes they get it back. Politicians, journalists and political scientists look at me aghast and say thats not how its done but with me, even if all my foibles get myself into trouble, people see who I am and I think, in some way, people appreciate that. Nenshi is a self-described policy wonk and academic who came out of nowhere in 2010 to pull off what appeared to be a last-minute election night win to become Calgarys mayor. His celebrity was sparked by how he won that election one month before voting day, polls had Nenshi in third place with eight per cent of popular support. His team had perfected a campaign relying on social media, so-called guerrilla tactics (writing platform positions in chalk graffiti in high-traffic areas) and cosy coffee parties where he could meet voters one-on-one. Within days of the election, a poll found Nenshi had climbed into a tie with the front-runners and he won the election with 40 per cent of the vote attracting 28,000 more votes than the runner-up. He became the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city. Nenshi topped his inaugural run, winning his second election in 2013 with 74 per cent of the vote. Nenshis time in office has been marked by the certainty of his positions, his bluntness, a commitment to open city hall to public scrutiny, avoiding political jargon, and his ability to reach out to individuals whove traditionally felt left out of politics. In his early days, Nenshis style was often compared to Torontos Rob Ford, also elected in 2010, albeit missing the displays of public drunkenness and rampant drug use. A big, jovial man, Nenshi is rarely caught in a photo not smiling or appearing genuinely happy. It seems everywhere he goes, everyone wants to be in a selfie with him and wanna-be mayors repeatedly cite him as the countrys ideal mayor. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on a tour Wednesday. It hasnt been all roses and rainbows, however. He was caught in an unauthorized video in April, riding in a Boston cab where he called the CEO of Uber a d*ck. Ive never been popular in my life so Im not even sure I am now, Nenshi said when trying to explain his popularity. Its not really about me and my personality, if it were, my council wouldnt like that at all. Its about the force of the idea, about trying to bring the very best ideas to bear. I go to work every single day and really try to make the community better for people, and in particular for people who dont feel they have a voice in the community. To me, thats a really special thing. As tough as it can be sometimes, I always remind myself that not everyone gets to go to work every day and make the community better and I feel thats a good thing. Nenshi came to Winnipeg early, arriving Tuesday afternoon. In the evening, he spoke at the University of Winnipeg as part of the Axworthy Lecture Series on social justice and the public good. He spent most of Wednesday touring the city in the company of Mayor Brian Bowman visiting the zoo, the Canadian Museum for Human Right, The Forks, lunch at Neechi Commons, and an afternoon visit to Miles Macdonell high school in North Kildonan. Thursday, the mayors of the countrys 21 largest cities, known as the Big City Mayors Caucus, will meet at the RBC Convention Centre, a day ahead of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference, which is expected to attract over 1,500 mayors and councillors from across the country. Nenshi said while the FCM conference is like a traditional convention with workshops on municipal-related issues, he said the BCMC is a strategy session. We talk about things like how were working with the federal government on affordable housing, or how were going to lobby for what we need in the next (federal) budget, that sort of thing. The big city mayors are a remarkably effective group, Nenshi said. When you look at the mayors backgrounds, they come from every political party, some are non-partisan like me.Yet, we roll up our sleeves and get stuff done. We have real consensus on stuff, despite our different backgrounds. Let me give you a simple example: We worked really hard with the previous federal government on their federal public transit fund, which was the first time in Canadian history that the federal government had made a permanent commitment to public transit. Now that we have got a new federal government, were working with them perhaps even more closely a bunch of cabinet ministers are coming to meet with us in Winnipeg on implementing that fund on public transit as well as many other things. Nenshi said he has three objectives from todays BCMC: agreement on how to implement better urban indigenous policies, details from the Liberal government on how to access federal funding for public transit and infrastructure, and steps towards eradicating poverty. Poverty is not a municipal issue, per se, but its something cities deal with every day. What we found with homelessness is, it had to be the municipal governments that were really providing the leadership so the federal and provincial governments could step in behind. Im seeing the same thing in poverty. We have cities like my own, Edmonton, and others, start to create municipal poverty-reduction strategies that are really creating an umbrella for the provincial and federal governments to come in under. And, Id like to see a little more unanimity, a little more common direction amongst the big cities and how we talk about poverty. Nenshi said hes also looking forward to the three days of the FCM conference, taken up mostly with workshops and tours of Winnipeg. At the FCM conference, you learn everything from people who have new products, like concrete that is poured in water, to new ways of building rec centres. I actually strongly encourage my councillors to attend this event. I think they do well when they learn from the best practices at other places and we kind of get out of our own heads. I am one of the few big city mayors that sticks around for the whole thing because I also want to learn whats new about concrete. aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A new provincial law aims to help victims of domestic violence by giving them time off work to get help. But the amendments to the Employment Standards Act so far lack the regulations necessary to tell both employees and employers how the legislation will work. Starting today, victims of domestic violence face fewer barriers, MLA Tom Lindsey (NDP-Flin Flon) told the legislature. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES "Starting today, victims of domestic violence face fewer barriers," MLA Tom Lindsey (NDP-Flin Flon) told the legislature. The legislation, passed by the NDP before the April 19 election and scheduled to take effect June 1, is the first of its kind in Canada, Lindsey said. Employees are entitled to 10 days of leave, five of them paid, he said. Employers have to keep this leave confidential, Lindsey said. But Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Cliff Cullen couldnt say Wednesday when and how regulations will be developed. We have a lot of work to do, said Cullen, who could not outline what steps the government will take to inform both employees and employers. We look forward to working with unions and the business community. And, said Cullen, Its one of those pieces of legislation we hope will not be used. nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitobas new Progressive Conservative finance minister delivered his maiden budget on Tuesday. Now he has to sell it to lenders and credit rating agencies. Cameron Friesen and Premier Brian Pallister will travel to Toronto for meetings Thursday and Friday to convince the financial world that Manitobas fiscal course is prudent. Manitobas summary deficit for the coming year is projected to be $911 million, the third-highest on record. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba's Finance Minister Cameron Friesen discusses the budget with media who are in lockup prior to the release of the new governments first budget in the Manitoba Legislature Tuesday afternoon. Last year, as a result of repeated high deficits and no clear plan to get the provinces books balanced, bond rating agencies lowered the provinces credit rating. Pallister and Friesen dont want that to happen again, so theyre off to meet financial power brokers immediately. At a Manitoba Chambers of Commerce breakfast Wednesday, Friesen said it will take time for the government to improve Manitobas finances. Business leaders were disappointed to learn on Tuesday that the PCs are setting an eight-year timetable to get the books balanced. While the plan is longer than business would like, Friesen said the government intends to hit its targets. Were trying to be very realistic about revenue numbers. Were trying to be very realistic about expenditure numbers, the minister said in a 25-minute speech at the Fort Garry Hotel. I would rather be surprised in a good way in nine, 10, 11 months than to have to deal with the impacts that surprise in a negative way. Meanwhile, in a media scrum over the noon hour, NDP finance critic James Allum accused the Pallister government of deceiving Manitobans in its budget on Tuesday. The Tories promised during the election campaign that they would not increase taxes, but their decision to eliminate the school tax rebate from higher income families was just that, he said. At the heart of this budget is a deception about the kind of government Mr. Pallister suggested it was going to be and then didnt live up to those expectations, Allum said. Were quite concerned about the impact on low- and middle-income seniors. Allum said the NDP is also disappointed in the absence of a commitment by the government to boost the minimum wage, increase the number of child care spaces or provide job opportunities for youth. He accused the PCs of inflating the size of last years NDP deficit by failing to account for $143 million in federal flood payments that had been due but did not arrive before March 31, the conclusion of the fiscal year. Allum said the NDP stands by the $773 million summary budget deficit for 2015-2016, as stated in its March 8 fiscal update. On Tuesday, the government forecast the summary deficit for last year at $1.011 billion. The NDP critic said this years projected $911 million deficit is the new governments responsibility. If Mr. Friesen doesnt have the ability to manage debt and to manage the deficit, then he has a lot of explaining to do, Allum said. And I think he owns this deficit. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde has asked police chiefs from across Canada and all citizens to make more space in your minds, hearts and spirits in terms of how you view Indigenous peoples. Bellegarde gave the opening address at the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs conference on Wednesday morning. He delivered an impassioned, and at times entertaining, 35-minute speech in which he praised police forces already making changes, suggested police forces have plans in place for engagement with First Nations people, pointed to the need for restorative justice that includes First Nations laws and values, and called for ending violence in First Nations communities for both women and men. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS AFN chief Perry Bellegarde in the News Cafe for a livestreamed interview with Free Press columnist Dan Lett Wednesday morning. (Between First Nations people and police forces), its all about relationship-building and trust and how we view police youre only there to come pick us up. Thats starting to change, said Bellegarde, who recognized leadership from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. I lift you all, for the work that you are doing, trying to create and find that space, trying to find ways to move forward in all these issues. He said there are 634 First Nations communities, 58 different languages and 1.4 million people, 50 per cent of whom live on reserves. Closing the gap stats is why we have to work together. Canada is rated high up (in the world) in terms of quality of life, sixth according to the United Nations Human Development Index. When you apply these to Indigenous peoples, were 63rd. So its 6th versus 63rd, Bellegarde said. Its a gap that is continually talked about. It represents the 5-7 times the national average for youth suicides, overcrowded housing, the cap on education, the 2 per cent funding cap weve had in place for 20 years, 132 boil-water advisories (in First Nations communities), disproportionate number of our people in jails were 4 1/2 per cent of Canadas population but the jails are filled by Indigenous peoples, 25-30 per cent in some cases. Theres 40,000 aboriginal children in provincial care and we also have the 1,200 missing and murdered indigenous women. This gap, 6th versus 63rd, needs to be addressed. Bellegarde also spoke about the intergenerational effects of residential schools on indigenous people as genocide, not cultural genocide. We learn from the past, were not going to live there. Were going to move forward, Bellegarde said. Dont take for granted that Indigenous peoples have the same things as everyone else in Canada because we dont. We dont have access, on reserves, to the YMCA or swimming pools, good quality food in the North, milk, good healthy vegetables, mental health services. Dont assume that Indigenous peoples have these things. Just pull up your socks, man, come on. You have to know whats really there. Meeting with journalists after his speech, Bellegarde singled out Winnipegs Bear Clan Patrol the inner-city group with indigenous roots whose members volunteer their time to try to make the streets safer for praise and he expressed a need for more resources. There could be greater support for the Bear Patrol in the North End, the community themselves or the policing, Bellegarde said. There should be support for that, MOU (memorandums of understanding) with that group as well because theyre doing good work on the ground. The two-day conference at Winnipegs Fairmont Hotel is entitled Moving Forward Safer Futures and brought together police, policymakers and Indigenous people. Its goals are to understand the factors putting indigenous people at risk, create co-operation and collaboration, and reduce the risk by developing evidence-informed strategies. ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/05/2016 (2338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In May, retired Gen. Rick Hillier, former chief of defence staff for the Canadian Armed Forces, wrote an op-ed for the National Post, timed for V Day in Europe. He was contrasting the reverence Canadians have for the veterans of the world wars, and the way Canadians treat veterans of Afghanistan. Canadians honour our fallen soldiers with great respect and fervour. Where we fail, however, is in honouring the soldiers who came home alive but forever changed, he wrote. The man has a point. Many of us dutifully wear our poppies in November. Some of us even attend a Remembrance Day service. But how do we support our current servicemen and women and their families in a tangible way? That was, in part, the inspiration for True Patriot Love, a national fundraising organization that supports military members, veterans, and their families. Since it was founded in 2009, the organization has committed $15.1 million to military programs and organizations across Canada which, in turn, deliver support programming in four main areas: mental health and well-being, family health and support, physical health and rehabilitation, and research and innovation. MIKAELA MacKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES retired Gen. Rick Hillier will be in Winnipeg on Wednesday night to emcee the inaugural True Patriot Love Winnipeg Tribute Dinner. Hillier will be in Winnipeg on Wednesday night to emcee the inaugural True Patriot Love Winnipeg Tribute Dinner (the bulk of the organizations fundraising has come from the annual True Patriot Love Toronto Tribute Dinner). Hillier tells me that around 900 Winnipeggers are expected for dinner on Wednesday night, and the response has been incredible. Because thats the thing: its not that Canadians dont want to support families who are dealing with the myriad challenges associated with life in the military. Its that many of them didnt know how. In the United States, theres something like 40,000 charitable or non-profit foundations dedicated to supporting soldiers, sailors, airmen, airwomen and their families. In Britain, theres something like 10,000. In Canada, theres just a handful, Hillier says. Already Canadians were responding to the accounts of valour and sacrifice and service of men and women around the world, and there was a little bit of frustration: people wanted to directly assist and they couldnt do that. True Patriot Love provides a vehicle to do that. Its not fervent nationalism or anything negative, he adds. Its just Canadians believe in certain things, and one of the things the vast majority believe in is that people in uniform, who serve our nation and do so much and ask so little, deserve our support. Mental health is one of True Patriot Loves top fundraising priorities. Wednesday nights dinner comes a week after the alarming findings from a University of Manitoba study were posted to the Canadian Medical Association Journal website: members of the Canadian Armed Forces are more likely to contemplate suicide than civilians. The Globe and Mail reported in January that one in 10 Canadian vets who served in Afghanistan were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The 2014 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey found that one in three Canadian Armed Forces members were afraid that asking for mental health assistance would negatively impact their careers. Mental health is one of those issues people keep trying to put in a dark corner, Hillier says. He acknowledges that the stigma remains stubbornly attached, but the culture is moving in the right direction. The fact we even name and talk about PTSD these days is a step forward. He thinks back on his own career and the stresses put on soldiers. It was very much, Hey, if you couldnt carry them, you werent an appropriate soldier and therefore you should get out.' He recalls a time when divorce was a comment on your efficacy as a soldier. For example, if you couldnt run your family if your family broke up, back in the day, this was your responsibility. If you couldnt lead your family, then you certainly couldnt lead troops and your career as a leader was effectively finished. And yet, we had no support for our families. Family support is another main focus of True Patriot Loves fundraising efforts. Its a broad term, family support, that covers everything from family counselling on separation anxiety and education about PTSD to finding a family doctor. Veteran transition is also a fundraising priority, with money going to programs that help vets with everything from job training to re-integration into civilian life. For Hilliers part, he believes that Canada needs to take a comprehensive look at how it treats its vets. We should do it from a greedy perspective. The generations of tomorrow and the day after will serve in the Armed Forces, which we will need them to do, based on how we treat the veterans of today. jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @JenZoratti All five Winona-area state lawmakers are seeking a new term in November. With the filing period ending Tuesday, heres a look at the races: Miller files for third term; Pieper contesting Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, filed Tuesday to run for his third term. Miller said the decision followed several months of discussion in light of other responsibilities, including family and work, but as in the first time he ran, he wanted to really help make a difference. Miller said he has gained relationships on both sides of the aisle, helping him work more effectively to reach compromises and work with people. I feel we have the momentum now to continue this good work, Miller said. Ive earned the trust that is needed to get things done. Miller said he plans to continue focusing on issues that affect both his area and the state, including fiscal responsibility, higher education funding, and protecting vulnerable populations. Jon Pieper of Lanesboro, who ran unsuccessfully as a first-time candidate against Rep. Greg Davids in 2014, is challenging Miller. Pieper said his focus will be on funding education and efforts for small businesses, farmers and rural communities. Schmit seeks second term Matt Schmit, DFL-Red Wing, is vying for his second term for the District 21 seat, which extends south into Winona County into Goodview. Schmit said he would continue to focus on key areas for the state, including broadband infrastructure, health care reform, roads and bridges, and the full budget preparation that will take place in 2017. I think its important for us to continue to focus on infrastructure, Schmit said. His opponent is Mike Goggin, a first-time candidate from Red Wing, who said he would be an independent-minded senator with a proven track record who knows how to get things done, and is said that lowering taxes and increasing business growth are priorities. Pelowski has challenger Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, said that in his 16th term he would continue to work to represent this district and represent this state, before party representation. He'll be challenged by Adam Pace, who first ran against Pelowski in 2012 and lost with 33 percent of the vote to Pelowski's 66 percent. Pelowski said that as a regional center, Winona has a variety of concerns that he concentrates on, such as transportation infrastructure for rural townships and Winona County, healthcare and higher education. Hes also known for tackling issues related to how effectively state government is run. He said legislating how money and efforts are allocated in times of disasters or a flood is still being discussed, stemming from massive flood damage in 2007 to areas in southeast Minnesota, which led him to create legislation to streamline funding and remove the need for calling special sessions. Thats been an ongoing thing, right up to this session, Pelowski said. Thats something Ill continue to work on. Pelowski also said he will continue to work on pushing for legislative reform, particularly after the last two sessions difficulties coming to agreement on short deadlines, overloaded with bills. It is now apparent that Minnesota is in need of significant legislative reform, Pelowski said. This is not the way to do the business of the people. Davids faces first-time candidate Following a brief period of two contenders for House 28B, Davids will be seeking re-election against only one candidate, Thomas Trehus of Spring Grove. Pieper had initially also sought the seat, but agreed to change races. Davids, who seeks his 13th term, said he will continue to focus on issues including stronger education, care for the elderly and rural economic development. Im excited to continue, Davids said. Im an advocate for southeastern Minnesota. Davids said he would continue to work on improving taxes for rural and small businesses, citing this sessions tax bill as relief that will continue. Trehus said his experience in government and age he will be 26 this year makes him an ideal candidate to challenge Davids. He has previously worked for the office of U.S. Sen. Al Franken and is a member of the Spring Grove Public School Board. He said he supports strengthening rural communities by funding education and tax relief for small businesses and farmers. Drazkowski also faces challenger Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, is also being challenged by a younger, first-time candidate. Drazkowski seeks his fifth term against Elise Diesslin for House 21B. Drazkowski said he would like to concentrate on education, roads and bridges and other essentials to spend money conservatively at the state level. We need to continue to focus budget priorities properly, Drazkowski said. Drazkowski would like to continue tax reform for rural areas, particularly in property taxes as they applies to funding school buildings. He said he believes voters and constituents support him because he stands by his word. I think they appreciate that Im somebody who does what I say when I run, Drazkowski said. Diesslin, 26, has been involved in area DFL causes for several years, including as treasurer of Senate District 30. Diesslin said education funding, healthcare and transportation infrastructure were all important issues going forward, and similarly to Trehus highlighted her age as a positive to bring a different viewpoint to St. Paul. Im young and youthful, Diesslin said. Im a change. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said Pelowski would not have a challenge; the story has been updated to note that Adam Pace filed Tuesday for Pelowski's seat. Though he doesnt know of an official moniker, Mayor Mike Palm refers to himself as a Barabooian. Origins of the name Baraboo, clocking in with a population of 12,048 people in 2015-2016, often eluded both locals and historians, according to Mark Tulley. Tulleys 2007 book, A Man Called Baraboo, follows the historical account of French-Canadian explorer Franoi Barabeau, whose fur trading post resided at the mouth of todays Baraboo River back in 1749. Barabeaus name is the potential origin of the name Baraboo, though the first written account of the name did not appear until 1766. Tracing the first written description of Baraboo to explorer Jonathan Carver was what Sauk County Historical Society Executive Director Paul Wolter calls a smoking gun, in Tulleys research on the etymology of the name. Another explorer, Stanley Goddard, was first to note the name Barboux River in his journal the same year as Carvers description; both men were on expeditions searching for the Northwest Passage trade route. Despite the location of Barabeaus fur trade at the mouth of the Baraboo River, located just south of current-day Portage, the name persisted, and present day Baraboo was platted and named in 1847. Water power and fur trading may have been Baraboos beginnings, but the modern town reflects otherwise, with a major attraction being the Circus World Museum. Once the home of the Ringling Bros. Circus, Baraboo served as their headquarters from 1884 to 1917, and has the largest library of circus information in the United States. For a circus town, its a fitting name, said 20-year resident Douglas Parks. A Baraboo man accused of selling the heroin that caused a string of overdoses in Sauk County will likely remain locked up while his case is pending, following a judges ruling Wednesday. Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Guy Reynolds said he was not persuaded by the arguments raised by 32-year-old Daniel A. Kaiser, who wrote an impassioned letter to the judge in which he asked that his bond be modified. In the letter, Kaiser alleged that prosecutors used false information during a January hearing to persuade the judge to order a $7,500 cash bond. Contrary to what was said at that hearing, Kaiser wrote that At no time, EVER, was I even charged with any type of violent/aggressive offense or escape. Kaiser also wrote that he is a brittle diabetic who has been placed on an insulin pump and prescribed a name-brand insulin. He has been providing his own supplies and medication since he was jailed in January. But his insurance has since lapsed and his prescriptions have expired, Kaiser wrote. When he runs out, jail officials have informed him that he will be given a generic brand insulin injection, which he alleges does not work in my body. In the May 17 letter, Kaiser said he had experienced two diabetic reactions within the last week. In court Wednesday, Kaisers attorney said that the states BadgerCare program does not cover incarcerated individuals after a certain period in jail. He said if Kaiser were to be released, he would be under the supervision of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections as a condition of his conviction in a Columbia County drug case. Sauk County District Attorney Kevin Calkins said the charges against Kaiser carry a significant penalty, and that there is the potential that he may be transferred to Illinois to face charges there if released. Kaiser was arrested for selling heroin after Sauk County authorities reported a string of overdoses due to a highly potent batch of the drug. Authorities have reason to believe that Kaiser recognized that was occurring, and that he continued to sell that substance with disregard for the people around him, Calkins said in court Wednesday. The attorney that represented Kaiser on Wednesday was his third since charges were filed in January. Kaiser requested the dismissal of his first attorney from the Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office, and a second attorney resigned after he discovered a potential conflict of interest with the case. Sauk County prosecutors say an Indiana man who claimed to be a U.S. Marine threatened to murder two officers. The alleged threats came as police arrested the man in relation to a dispute at a Lake Delton hotel Saturday night. According to the criminal complaint, police were called to the Paradise Motel in Lake Delton just before 10 p.m. for a reported disturbance. Thats where an officer spoke with a man later identified as 44-year-old David R. Biggin, of Whiting, Indiana. Biggin allegedly told the officer he was in the area working on his relationship with his fiance, and that the two were arguing. Biggin was wearing a knife, which he turned over to officers, the complaint states. An officer reported that Biggin was highly intoxicated, and admitted that he was an alcoholic and had been drinking tequila. During the dispute, the fiance allegedly contacted people in a neighboring room and the hotels manager for help. At one point, the complaint states, Biggin pushed those who responded to help the woman out of the room, locked the door, and forced the woman into the corner, where he slapped her. Men from the neighboring room kicked in the door and rescued the woman, prosecutors say, but Biggins refused to let her leave. He was arrested after police arrived. The officers who arrested Biggin reported that he made threats to them as they were transporting him to the jail. He allegedly said he was a Marine with 120 kills and that if the police took him to jail, I swear to God, youll be my next one. The officers said Biggin even put a timeline on the death threat: Both yall dead, by the end of the week youre dead, he allegedly told the officers. Sauk County prosecutors have charged Biggin with felony false imprisonment, making threats to officers, and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He has been jailed on a $1,500 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in court July 8. Theft Friday at 7:34 a.m., a woman in the 100 block of Knaup Drive reported that someone stole her medication. Drugs Friday at 8:18 a.m., a man in the 500 block of Oneida Street told police that while he was repairing a roof he found several syringes in the dumpster. Forgery Friday at 12:46 p.m., a man in the 600 block of South Center Street bought and paid for a hog online and the business is no longer operational. He is not being refunded his $860. Animal Friday at 12:49 p.m., some ducklings were rescued in the 1300 block of Wayland Street. Accident Friday at 1:05 p.m., a car rear-ended another car that then hit another car in the 1600 block of North Spring Street. Traffic Friday at 2:58 p.m., a crossing guard at the Spring Street and Fourth Street intersection told police that a vehicle failed to yield. Accident Friday at 3:43 p.m., two vehicles were involved in an accident near the Wayland Street and Burnett Street intersection. Earlier this spring, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism celebrated National Travel and Tourism week by announcing that the states tourism economy topped $19.3 billion in 2015, an increase of over a billion dollars from the previous year. Last year, the tourism industry supported 190,717 jobs and visitors to the badger state generated $1.5 billion in revenue for state and local economies. It comes as no surprise that Wisconsins tourism industry is never more vibrant than in the summer months, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is offering the perfect kickoff for this years summer tourism season with a Free Fun weekend on June 4 and 5. This weekend only, residents and visitors alike can enjoy some of Wisconsins most popular outdoor activities and take in some of the states greatest scenic areas, all absolutely free! This weekend, visit any of Wisconsins more than 60 State Parks and Forests or enjoy the states 41 state trails at no cost. All trail pass fees are waived, so visitors are welcome to hike, bike, horseback ride, or even take out the ATV. The DNR provides helpful information on the most ideal trails for various activities, the best family-friendly hiking options, and even tips on the most scenic locations. For even more outdoor fun, fish for free no license needed on any of Wisconsins 15,000 lakes, 40,000 miles of rivers and two Great Lakes. You can even brush up on your skills first by attending one of the free fishing clinics to be hosted around the state. Dont have fishing equipment? You can borrow rods, reels, hooks, lines, sinkers and more for free at many state parks, DNR offices and partner organizations. Remember to check the state rules for size restrictions and limits before you go! Wisconsin has countless opportunities for enjoying the great outdoors it is no wonder that our state ranks first in the Midwest for outdoor recreation. The upcoming free fun weekend is a fantastic opportunity to kick off the summer months, and a great reminder of all that Wisconsin has to offer all summer long. The presidential election isn't the only contest on the ballot this fall. A closely watched U.S. Senate rematch, all eight U.S. House seats, 11 of 16 state Senate seats and nearly two-thirds of Assembly seats all feature contested races. The slate of Congressional and state legislative candidates began to take shape with the passing of Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline for filing the necessary paperwork and signatures to run for office this fall with the Government Accountability Board. The top statewide race on the November ballot will be the U.S. Senate rematch between incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and Democratic challenger Russ Feingold, D-Middleton, whom Johnson ousted in 2010. Taxi manager and real estate company owner Phillip Anderson of Fitchburg also filed nomination papers Wednesday to run as a Libertarian and Scott Harbach of Kenosha also filed papers on Wednesday to run as a Democrat. A handful of other races around the state drew multiple candidates from the same party, which will be resolved in a primary election on Aug. 9. The most closely watched U.S. House races are taking place in the 8th Congressional District in northeast Wisconsin around Green Bay, where Republican Reid Ribble is retiring, and the 1st Congressional District, where inventor Paul Nehlen is seeking to "Cantor" House Speaker Paul Ryan a reference to Eric Cantor, the former Republican majority leader from Virginia, who lost his 2014 primary to a tea party challenger. In the 8th district, four Republicans have filed to run, including state Sen. Frank Lasee, who is not up for re-election this year, Mike Gallagher, a Marine and former foreign policy adviser to Gov. Scott Walker's presidential campaign, U.S. Army veteran Terry McNulty and entrepreneur Gary Schomburg. The only Democrat running is Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson. In the 3rd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, faces a primary challenge from the left against retired teacher Myron Buccholz. In the Madison-based 2nd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, faces another challenge from Republican Peter Theron, a Madison College math instructor. Among state legislative races, Democrats are hoping to win back the state Senate a difficult task and dent a 63-36 Republican advantage in the Assembly. Republicans hold a 19-14 majority in the Senate, where 16 seats are up for election this year (all are for four-year terms). Five seats aren't contested and three contested seats only drew candidates from one party, so Republicans will need to win three of eight contested seats to hold on to the majority. Noteworthy match-ups include a race for Sen. Rick Gudex's open seat between two Democrats Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris and Oshkosh School Board member John Lemberger and two Republicans Fond du Lac County Republican Party chairman Dan Feyen and real estate developer Mark Elliott. Also Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling faces a potential rematch against Dan Kapanke, whom she unseated in a 2011 recall election. Shilling first faces a primary challenge from former private investigator Jared Landry. Chip DeNure, an independent who ran and lost against Kind in 2006, is also on the ballot. And in Milwaukee, Rep. Mandela Barnes is challenging Sen. Lena Taylor. Both are Democrats. In the Assembly there are 35 uncontested seats, of which Republicans hold 19 and Democrats hold 16. Republican incumbents face Democratic challengers in 36 districts and independent challengers in three others. Democratic incumbents face Republican and Libertarian challengers in nine districts, and Democratic primary challengers in five districts. In Dane County the most hotly contested race will be for Rep. Robb Kahl's seat, which covers parts of Fitchburg, Monona, Madison, Cottage Grove and the town of Dunn. Three Democrats and a "Bernie Sanders Independent" have filed to run. Brandon Weathersby, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said there are two primary challengers, among a number of races that will see a Democratic primary, that are suspected by the party of being conservatives posing as Democrats, including Landry who is challenging Shilling and Luke Joseph, who is challenging Rep. Sondy Pope. On Joseph's campaign website, he is listed as believing life begins at conception, having concerns about the Common Core State Standards being used in all childrens' school curriculum as well as supportive of parents choosing between public, private, homeschooling, virtual schools, etc. Joseph also says he is in favor of reducing regulations on business and supports a free market economy. Landry does not have a campaign website to indicate positions on issues. State records show he has a number of misdemeanor on his criminal record. Independent candidates are allowed to include a five-word statement of their principles, rather than a party affiliation. Others include Spencer Zimmerman running as a "Trump Conservative" in the 1st Congressional District and DeNure running with "The Integrity Party" in Shilling's Senate district. Here is a list of those who had filed to run as of Wednesday. Statewide offices U.S. SENATE Philip Anderson, Fitchburg Libertarian Russ Feingold, Middleton Democrat Scott Harbach, Kenosha Democrat Ron Johnson (I), Oshkosh Republican U.S. House of Representatives District 1 Tom Breu, Janesville Democrat Ryan Solen, Mount Pleasant Democrat Jason Lebeck, Janesville Libertarian Paul Nehlen, Williams Bay Republican Paul Ryan (I), Janesville Republican Spencer Zimmerman, Janesville Trump Conservative District 2 Mark Pocan (I), Black Earth Democrat Peter Theron, Madison Republican District 3 Myron Buccholz, Eau Claire Democrat Ron Kind (I), La Crosse Democrat District 4 Gwen S. Moore (I), Milwaukee Democrat Robert R. Raymond, Milwaukee Independent Andy Craig, Milwaukee Libertarian Gary R. George, Milwaukee Democrat District 5 Khary Penebaker, Hartland Democrat John Arndt, Brookfield Libertarian F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (I), Menomonee Falls Republican District 6 Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Dells Democrat W. Michael Slattery, Maribel Democrat Jeff Dahlke, Mequon Independent Glenn Grothman (I), Glenbeulah Republican District 7 Joel Lewis, Wausau Democrat Mary Hoeft, Rice Lake Democrat Robert Burke, Hudson Libertarian Donald Raihala, Superior Republican Sean Duffy (I), Wausau Republican District 8 Tom Nelson, Appleton Democrat Gary E. Shomburg, Lakewood Republican Terry McNulty, Forestville Republican Frank Lasee, De Pere Republican Mike Gallagher, Green Bay Republican Local State Legislative Offices State Senate District 14 Brian Smith, Waupaca Democrat Luther S. Olsen (I), Ripon Republican District 16 Mark Miller (I), Monona Democrat District 26 Fred Risser (I), Madison Democrat District 32 Jared William Landry, La Farge Democrat Jennifer Shilling (I), La Crosse Democrat Chip DeNure, La Crosse Integrity Party Dan Kapanke, La Crosse Republican John Sarnowski, Onalaska -- Republican State Assembly District 33 Brandon White, Jefferson Democrat Cody Horlacher (I), Mukwonago Republican District 37 Jordan Turner, Watertown Democrat John Jagler (I), Watertown Republican District 38 Chris R. Guschenritter, Oconomowoc Democrat Scott Martin Michalak, Marshall Democrat Joel Kleefisch (I), Oconomowoc Republican District 39 Jim Zahn, Juneau Democrat Mark L. Born (I), Beaver Dam Republican District 41 Bradley Pearson, Adams Independent Joan Ballweg (I), Markesan Republican District 42 George E. Ferriter, Fall River Democrat Keith Ripp (I), Lodi Republican District 43 Don Vruwink, Milton Democrat Anissa Welch, Milton Democrat Allison Hetz, Whitewater Republican District 44 Debra Kolste (I), Janesville Democrat District 45 Mark Spreitzer (I), Beloit Democrat District 46 Gary Hebl (I), Sun Prairie Democrat District 47 Adam Dahl, Madison Bernie Sanders Independent Jimmy Anderson, Fitchburg Democrat Julia Arata-Fratta, Fitchburg Democrat H. Tony Hartmann, Fitchburg Democrat District 48 Melissa Agard Sargent (I), Madison Democrat District 49 Jesse Bennett, Bagley Democrat Travis Tranel (I), Cuba City Republican District 50 Tom Crofton, Richland Center Democrat Art Shrader, Reedsburg Democrat Ed Brooks (I), Reedsburg Republican District 51 Jeff Wright, Plain Democrat Todd Novak (I), Dodgeville Republican District 72 Russ Brown, Coloma Democrat David Gorski, Wisconsin Rapids Democrat Scott S. Krug (I), Nekoosa Republican District 76 Chris Taylor (I), Madison Democrat David Aguayo, Madison Independent - For the People Jon Rygewicz, Madison Republican Abram Smith, Madison -- Libertarian District 77 Terese Berceau (I), Madison Democrat District 78 Lisa Subeck (I), Madison Democrat Jacob Wischmeier, Madison Democrat Chris V. Fisher, Madison Independent District 79 Dianne H. Hesselbein (I), Middleton Democrat Jordan Zadra, Madison Republican District 80 Sondy Pope (I), Mount Horeb Democrat Luke Joseph, Oregon Democrat District 81 Dave Considine (I), Baraboo Democrat David J. Moore, Wisconsin Dells Republican District 96 Alicia Leinberger, Viroqua Democrat Lee Nerison (I), Westby Republican Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb said his forthcoming budget request to Gov. Scott Walker will not propose major tax or fee increases a move Gottlieb acknowledged would delay road expansion work and upkeep of all but the states most-traveled highways. In an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal on Wednesday, Gottlieb gave a preview of the Department of Transportation budget request hes due to submit in September. It will emphasize maintaining the states bridges and most-traveled highways instead of expanding them or preserving less-used roads, Gottlieb said. And in an about-face from the budget he requested two years ago, it wont outline ways to increase funding for Wisconsin roads, Gottlieb said. The decision about whether or not thats enough investment in transportation or whether additional revenues should be raised to make more investments is a decision that the Legislature and the governor will make, he added. Gottlieb said his budget request, if adopted, would delay major highway projects throughout the state. Its too early to say which projects would be delayed and for how long, he said. But they could include a pair of Dane County projects now underway: one that expands Verona Road near the Madison Beltline, the other expanding U.S. Interstate 39/90 from the Madison area to the Illinois state line. In the Milwaukee area, they could include a massive rebuilding of the Zoo Interchange and an expansion of I-94 south of Milwaukee, primarily in Racine County. The chairman of the Assembly transportation committee, Rep. Keith Ripp, R-Lodi, questioned the impact of a transportation budget such as the one Gottlieb described. In an email statement to the State Journal, Ripp said rural districts like his own have already been hit hard by delays in funding in the current budget. We really need to be looking at long-term funding solutions before our infrastructure starts negatively affecting Wisconsins economic growth, Ripp said. More money needed to keep projects on track A transportation-funding fix has proven elusive in recent years for Republicans who control state government. Lawmakers and Walker discussed a state road funding solution during last two budget cycles but failed to agree on one. Instead, they have turned to borrowing and delaying projects to balance the transportation ledger. The state budget now in effect delayed highway expansions around the state, including Verona Road and I-39/90, by a year. Meanwhile, U.S. Department of Transportation data released last year showed the condition of Wisconsins roads among the nations worst. Top Republican legislators, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, have said they hope the 2017-19 state budget yields a fix in the form of a significant funding boost for roads. GOP lawmakers have signaled a willingness to consider increasing taxes to do so. But Walker has held to the stance that he will not increase fuel or other transportation taxes without tax cuts of equal or greater amounts elsewhere in the budget. Gottlieb cited Walkers stance Wednesday in explaining why, at Walkers direction, his request for the next transportation budget will be revenue-neutral meaning it wont propose to change the amount of transportation revenue flowing to state coffers. Two years ago, Gottlieb led the charge for more transportation funding. His request for the 2015-17 budget called for about $750 million in new taxes and fees, including on fuel sales and on new-vehicle purchases. Lawmakers declined to adopt those proposals. Gottlieb said his last budget request was an anomaly because we were specifically asked to put forward a proposal that encompassed the revenues that we thought were necessary. Last biennium was the exception to the rule, Gottlieb said. Erpenbach: Walker incredibly irresponsible Gottlieb said he expects to prioritize upkeep of bridges and backbone roads such as U.S. interstates and highways. But he acknowledged that will come at the expense of maintaining other highways. That non-backbone system, which is about 90 percent of the state highway system, is going to continue to deteriorate in condition, Gottlieb said. Democratic lawmakers responded to Gottliebs remarks by saying they undermine Walkers emphasis on economic growth and show Republicans arent serious about tackling the states road-funding woes. Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton, the ranking Democratic member on the Legislatures joint budget panel, said during the last budget debate, he proposed increasing the per-gallon gas tax by five cents and indexing it to inflation afterward. Erpenbach, speaking Wednesday, called it incredibly irresponsible for Walker to request a transportation budget with no new revenue. You cant be pro-business and turn around and say: Were not going to increase revenue for transportation even though our roads are falling apart, Erpenbach said. Patrick Goss, a spokesman for an association representing Wisconsin road builders, said a no-new-revenue transportation budget would have implications across the state. Reduced maintenance of certain roads could harm the states economy by hampering paper and agricultural producers from transporting their products, Goss said. Speaking of Verona Road and other projects in progress, Goss said: Every one of those projects is going to get affected. Editor's note: This story has been changed to more accurately reflect Gov. Walker's position on tax and fee increases. From tragedy to triumph A confluence of happenstance, luck, skill and science allowed vet to get embryos from a beloved show Guernsey after having to euthanize her. Political freedom and economic rights go together Political freedom means very little without economic freedom. This is according to activists and politicians who united at Wits University on Monday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic visit by R.F. Kennedy to South Africa and the University in 1966. The high level delegation included Kennedys daughter, Kerry Kennedy, as well as former president Kgalema Motlanthe; the US Ambassador, Patrick Gaspard; and the Director of the Wits Theatre, Gita Pather. Ms Kennedy, President of the RF Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights, said that there is an important lesson that students and South Africa are teaching the world. We can never set aside the importance of our civil liberties (basic human rights) both here and across the world, but its never going to work unless everyone has economic rights too. Without directly referring to the #FeesMustFall movement and the ongoing protests in the country, Kennedy said: I think thats a lesson that South Africa and the student leaders are teaching us now. Thats their message here and thats a message that we need to embrace in our own country as well. It is the same prophetic message that her father delivered when he visited South Africa at the height of repression, during which he spoke to students and political leaders not only about civil rights but the importance of economic freedom, she said. In his address, Mothlante said the youth needs to be brave and push barriers. Youth leaders have drawn a mixed reaction with their struggles for radical transformation in institutions of higher learning and of broader society. We must encourage our youth, like Robert (did), to be radical. We must encourage them to bring radical perspectives We will only progress as a society, as a country, if we innovate and strive for more freedoms. Motlanthe warned against transmitting our fears to our young people, let them be tomorrow belongs to them. The price for freedom is eternal vigilance. We cant afford to lower our guard because we are comfortable in our comfort zones. A passionate cultural activist, Pather, interrogated human rights and the state of South Africa. In her speech, she asked hard questions about inequality, corruption and moral bankruptcy. Freedom and democracy are inextricably linked to the material wellbeing of people. A hungry man has no need for the vote. One in four South Africans will go to bed on an empty stomach. How? Why has this happened? Part of the answer lies in endemic state corruption aided and abetted by big business. In the last 20 years we have lost R700 billion to the pockets of corrupt government officials, money that could enable quality education, deliver health care and houses that are more than a shelter over a head, Pather said. Speaking at the event Ambassador Gaspard said, We are honored to commemorate the 50th anniversary of RFKs visit to South Africa, in particular, his historic Ripples of Hope speech. His words continue to ring true and bring inspiration to Americans and South Africans. They created a current that continues today in the strong relationship shared by our two countries. The visit by Kerry Kennedy reminds us of the longstanding friendship we have shared, exemplifies the support of principled Americans for the anti-apartheid movement, and reminds us of the great leadership of individual citizens in both countries during a dark period of history. The discussion was facilitated by Prof. Tawana Kupe, Wits Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Artists and activists from the Wits Drama for Life programmes recited monologues from K. Kennedy's book Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our WorldI, which shares the experiences of people who have faced marginalisation based on their race, gender and social status. View programme details. About the lecture The debate was part of the Development and Rights Dialogue hosted by the Wits School of Governance. Dialogue 5 of the Development and Rights Dialogue series is focused on commemorating Africa Month together with the 50th anniversary of the late Robert F Kennedys historic speech at Wits University on 8 June 1966. Senator Kennedys historic trip to South Africa is often considered the most notable visit made by any USA leader to South Africa during the apartheid era. During his visit, Kennedy delivered memorable speeches including addressing Wits students on 8 June 1966. These are the five formal speeches he delivered during his visit: Should women celebrate Africa Day? Reports state that 78% of global conflicts take place in Africa and women bear the brunt of exploitation under conditions of fragility, war and conflict. Former president Thabo Mbeki says African women cannot fully participate in celebrations to mark Africa Day due to the violence against women and children on the continent. Mbeki was speaking at a debate, themed: The rights of women in peace and security in Africa, and examined whether women in Africa should celebrate Africa Day? African countries annually celebrate Africa Day on 25 May to reflect on the continents progress and development. Armed conflicts are a constant feature in certain parts of the continent and reports state that 78% of global conflicts take place in Africa. In times of conflict, women bear the brunt of exploitation under conditions of fragility, war and conflict, poverty and underdevelopment, and abusive cultural practices. Mbeki said that although both the African Union (AU) and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity have extensive policies, charters and programmes to address gender issues, the implementation of these policies and charters remains poor. Governments and peacekeeping organisations need to pay careful attention to the value system that governs peacekeeping forces deployed to areas in distress. I think the major challenge that all of us as Africans need to answer is: How do we build these forces to implement these policies, which are very good, which specifically address the matter of women in peace and security? How do we build these forces that will ensure the implementation of this so that women of Africa should not just celebrate Africa Day for the policies but should celebrate because of the outcomes of those policies. Mbeki was part of a four-member panel consisting of Judge Barnet Afako, Legal Advisor to the AU High Level Panel on Sudan; Dr Angelina Kithathu-Kiwekete, Wits School of Governance (WSG); and Emmanuelle Mukendi, a lawyer and activist from the Democractic Republic of the Conco (DRC) with an interest in military judiciary law and currently a PhD-candidate at the WSG. The discussion was facilitated by Dr Darlene Miller, Senior Lecturer at the WSG. View speaker profiles. Mukendi said that there is a link between armed conflict and the status of women. The eastern region of the DRC currently has over 70 conflicts raging and not so long ago, Kinshasa was named the rape capital of the world. In a state of such insecurity women live in extreme fear and the conditions make it difficult for them to engage in economic activities or any form of development, Mukendi said. Kithathu-Kiwete, who works to provide strategic linkages between vulnerable women in communities, policy and development processes, condemned the business of peacekeeping that are informed by selfish political and economic interests. Reflecting on the efforts of women to bring peace to the continent, Kithathu-Kiwete said women across the continent are active in peacekeeping but their role is often marginalised. Their power to mobilise and speak in one voice is underscored by the Womens Peace Train that left Uganda on 16 August 2002 for Johannesburg, she said. The train arrived in Johannesburg on 26 August 2002, carrying a peace torch from women of the Great Lakes Region, women of Africa, demanding a peaceful and healthy continent. The objective of the peace train was to pass a strong message against war and conflict, Kithathu-Kiwete said. She urged African leaders to redirect resources earmarked for military spending to be channelled towards infrastructure development and upscaling the successes of the informal sector such as cross-border trading and artisan mining so that the African woman in the different spaces that she occupies shall not be seen as a victim but as a valuable stakeholder in society. The debate was hosted by the Wits School of Governance that houses the newly announced African Centre for Conflict Management, a partnership between the University and the Thabo Mbeki Foundation. In his brief remarks to the audience, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Habib, said the theme of peace and security is of importance to the continent. The discussion reflects the recognition that the future of South Africa and that of Wits University is tied inextricably to the future of the African continent. Habib praised Mbeki for his role in bringing stability on the continent. Under the leadership of Mbeki, conflict on the continent declined by two-thirds between 1992 and 2007 and six of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world were in Africa, said Habib. This was effectively a product of a leadership and strategic engagement that rethought and restructured the institutional architecture of the African continent; (a leadership) that attracted investment onto the continent and brought down conflict and began to create and enable the revitalisation and the renaissance of this continent. Universities have a role to play in promoting peace and stability by leveraging their capacity and knowledge, Habib added. Students debate their way to greatness Wits students debated their way to greatness when they took on students from Cornell University and Midrand Graduate Institute during a week-long debate camp. The camp, which was held at Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI) from 23 - 27 May 2016, took the form of a student leadership development programme aimed at honing students leadership skills, communication skills and imparting knowledge on how to be efficient and persuasive communicators in their respective fields. MGI is part of Pearson South Africa, a leading learning company and has campuses across South Africa. Some of the worlds best leaders such as late Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Barack Obama are great communicators who have managed to influence nations through persuasion and robust arguments. These leaders have rallied change, touched the hearts of people and achieved incredible things in their lifetimes, often leaving this world as legends and role models that others aspire to live up to. It is their skill of communication which has set these great leaders apart. According to Mark Cunnigton, CEO of CTI Education Group, the skills and knowledge the students acquired at the debate camp will benefit them in their careers and personal lives. The camp talks directly to Pearsons aim of ensuring that students leave higher education institutions with the employability skills they need in order to progress in life and contribute to society. Being able to express yourself confidently and articulately are skills most employers find very attractive, says Cunnington. Presented by Cornell Universitys Dr Sam Nelson, Director of Forensics Speech and Debate Programs, and Lindsay Bing, the Assistant Director of Forensics and Director of the World Debates team, the camp taught students the fundamentals of debating and skills to articulate their ideas in a fun, practical way, whilst engaging in thought-provoking debates. The daily debating exercises on highly topical issues, challenged students to think out of the box and trained them to structure their thoughts into powerful, persuasive words that will enable them to be strategic communicators within the various realms of their lives in future. Wits University student, Thuli Lukhele, was excited to be part of the debate programme and said it helped her to develop her leadership and communication skills. Strong leadership styles, good communication skills and the ability to work with people are common themes that I have observed among successful leaders that I admire in business, thought arenas, social spaces and academia. These leaders have developed these attributes over time through formal learning, observation and practice. Programmes like the Pearson & Cornell Debate Camp are important because they allow for these crucial skills to be harnessed and mastered, says Lukhele. HNA to buy Virgin Australia stake at $114 million Updated: 2016-06-01 08:10 By Zhu Wenqian(China Daily) Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group Ltd, poses at the unveiling of the new face of the Virgin Blue Group, Virgin Australia's predecessor, in Sydney in this file photo. HNA Group is buying a 13-percent stake in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. [Photo/Agencies] Plans to lift interest further, as Air New Zealand signals to sell its major holding HNA Group, the Chinese conglomerate behind the country's largest private commercial airline, is buying a 13-percent stake in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd for A$159 million ($114 million), the company's latest in a series of overseas acquisitions. The purchase is costing 30 Australian cents per share. Virgin Australia said in a statement HNA has the intention of raising that stake to 20 percent over time. Air New Zealand Ltd, Virgin Australia's biggest individual shareholder, has already said it could sell its 26-percent holding in the carrier. John Borghetti, Virgin Australia Group's CEO, said the HNA agreement will allow it to operate direct flights to China, currently Australia's fastest-growing and most-valuable inbound travel market. The two sides have also agreed to launch more cooperation on code-sharing, frequent flier programs and ground service resources, including lounge access. "We are pleased to welcome HNA as a new shareholder and strategic alliance partner," said Borghetti. "The alliance will see us leverage the opportunities offered by China, as well as the synergies of HNA's comprehensive aviation supply chain." Inbound passengers to Australia from China have increased by around 18 percent per year since 2010. Last year, more than 1 million Chinese tourists visited, a 21.6 percent rise on 2014. Virgin Australia is expecting 1.5 million Chinese travelers to be heading down under annually by 2020, a market worth A$13 billion by then. HNA said in a statement it would support the growth of Virgin Australia by "injecting funds" and forming alliances with the airline, within its own overall plans to expand its global business and routes network. Founded in 2000, Brisbane-based Virgin Australia is the country's second-largest airline, with a 36 percent share of the local market. But analysts said the link with HNA is unlikely to have any immediate impact on the Sino-Australian air market. "It is not easy to add more routes to first-tier cities given the tight air rights resources," said Li Xiaojin, a professor at the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin. Eight airlines currently fly nonstop between the countries, including Qantas, JetStar Airways, Air China and China Southern Airlines. On Monday, Air France-KLM said it was entering exclusive negotiations with HNA to sell it a 49.99-percent stake of its catering business, Servair. HNA's major M&As in 2016 Feb 17: acquired US-listed California-based computer, networking and software distributor IngramMicro Inc for $6 billion. April 11: agreed to fully buy Swiss airline catering firm Gategroup Holding AG for $1.5 billion in cash. April 15: agreed to buy British currency exchange firm International Currency Exchange. April 19: bought a commercial building in London's Canary Wharf for $189 million. April 28: agreed to buy Minnesota-based Carlson Hotel Group, one of the largest in the world and the owner of the Radisson and Country Inns & Suites chains. May 31: agreed to buy 13 percent stake in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. Ongoing M&As by HNA May 6: in exclusive talks with CWT Ltd, a listed Singaporean logistics firm, to buy a controlling stake worth around $1 billion. May 27: plans to buy an initial stake in Atlantic Gateway, a private consortium that owns 50 percent of TAP Portugal. May 31: in talks with Air France-KLM Group to buy a 49.99-percent stake of Servair, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM that provides catering and cleaning services to airlines. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page AIIB head fields questions from news executives Updated: 2016-06-01 09:58 (China Daily) Jin Liqun (second from left), president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Zhou Li (fourth from left), editorial board member of China Daily, attend the Belt and Road Initiative and Regional Cooperation seminar with other Asian media representatives in Beijing on Tuesday. [ Feng Yongbin /China Daily] Editor's note: Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, was interviewed by media executives from the Asia News Network at the news organization's board meeting in Beijing on Tuesday. Zhou Li, editorial board member of China Daily How fast will the AIIB expand its membership? We have 57 founding members. We have about 30 countries waiting to join, of which we have a firm commitment from about 20 countries. Some of the countries are still working on the internal procedure and can't give us a firm commitment at the moment. The deadline for application is the end of September, and we will try to complete the whole process of membership before the end of this year. So likely, by the end of this year, our membership will be a little less than 100. This is going to be a really international organization with countries from Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, North Africa and some other regions. So we will be able to work with so many countries across the world. AIIB certainly promotes, first of all, the benefits of Asian countries, but we don't forget about those that are, by definition, not Asian countries. We support other countries that have a direct and indirect impact on Asia's development. New operator sought for Japan's Monju reactor 01 June 2016 Share A committee considering the future of Japan Atomic Energy Agency's (JAEA's) Monju prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR) has set out the requirements for an alternative operator for it. Last November, Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said it had determined JAEA was not competent to operate the reactor in Fukui prefecture. The decision followed revelations of a history of insufficient inspections of equipment. At that time, it recommended to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) that it should find an alternative operator for Monju. A special committee under MEXT considering the status and future of the FBR reactor issued a report on 27 May detailing the necessary requirements for the new operator. According to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, the committee said the operator should firstly be able to "issue and carry out a safety plan based on the characteristics of a reactor at the research and development stage". The operator should also be capable of carrying out maintenance and managing the site to the same standard as any other nuclear power plant. The committee also said the organization should be able to gather and utilize useful information, "including that concerning commercial power plants". It must also be able to take over and advance development of FBR technology from JAEA. The new operator must also have strong governance "allowing for the proper reflection of the interests and demands of society on Monju's operation". The committee's report stressed the need to establish a management liaison council with the participation of external specialists. MEXT will now begin considering a new operating body for Monju in cooperation with related ministries and agencies. In November, the ministry warned that if a replacement operator for Monju cannot be found, the future of the reactor should be fundamentally reviewed, including the possibility of decommissioning it. Monju mishaps A key part of Japan's nuclear energy program, Monju initially started in August 1995, but was shut down only four months later after a serious incident. About 700 kilograms of liquid sodium leaked from the secondary cooling loop and, although there were no injuries and no radioactivity escaped plant buildings, this was compounded by operator attempts to cover up the scale of the damage. Monju was allowed to restart in May 2010 after JAEA carried out a thorough review of the design of the plant, as well as safety procedures, which were shown to have been inadequate. However, the reactor's operation was again suspended in August 2010 after a fuel handling machine was accidentally dropped in the reactor during a refuelling outage. The device was eventually retrieved almost one year later. In November 2012, it was revealed that JAEA had failed to conduct regular inspections on almost 10,000 out of a total 39,000 pieces of equipment at Monju. Some of these included safety-critical equipment. In January 2013, the NRA ordered JAEA to change its maintenance rules and inspection plans. However, following a review of JAEA's performance since then, the NRA found that the agency has failed to formulate and adhere to a strict inspection schedule. The regulator said JAEA would not be permitted to make preparations for the restart of the 280 MWe Monju FBR until it could confirm improvements to its inspection procedures. The reactor has been offline since August 2010. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Regulatory approval for McClean Lake mill expansion 01 June 2016 Share The McClean Lake uranium mill in northern Saskatchewan has obtained authorization from the Canadian nuclear regulator almost to double its annual production. McClean Lake (Image: Areva) The McClean Lake mill is owned by the McClean Lake Joint Venture (MLJV) - between Areva Resources Canada (70%), Denison Mines (22.5%) and OURD Canada (7.5%) - and is operated by Areva. Ore from the nearby Cigar Lake mine - which entered commercial operation in May 2015 - is milled and packaged at the McClean Lake mill. Cigar Lake is owned by Cameco (50.25%), Areva Resources Canada (37.1%), Idemitsu Canada Resources (7.875%) and Tepco Resources (5.0%) and is operated by Cameco. The McClean Lake mill began production of uranium concentrates in 1999, processing ore from the JEB deposit at McClean Lake. The first ore was fed to the mill in June 1999 and commercial production was achieved in November 1999. The mill operated until the end of June 2010, producing about 49.9 million pounds U3O8 when it was placed on stand-by owing to a lack of ore. Since 2013, an upgrade and expansion program has been undertaken at the McClean Lake mill to improve, modernize and increase the capacity of various circuits. It has been upgraded to enable it to process Cigar Lake's high-grade ore without dilution. In 2014, the mill re-commenced operations with the delivery of ore shipments from the Cigar Lake mine. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has now authorized the mill to raise its annual production from 13 million pounds U3O8 per year to 24 million pounds per year. "This regulatory approval by the CNSC will lead to a progressive ramp-up of the mill in line with the Cigar Lake mine's ramp-up to 18 million pounds annually," Areva said. "The tandem Cigar Lake mine and McClean Lake mill will therefore become the second-largest uranium production centre in the world." Areva's senior vice president for mining and front-end business, Olivier Wantz, said McClean Lake is the most technologically advanced mill in the world for processing of high-grade uranium ore. "The safety of workers and environmental protection are at the centre of the mill expansion project," he added. Denison president and CEO David Coles said the restart of the mill had been "a tremendous success" for the MLJV and praised Areva's "commitment to delivering operational results while maintaining a focus on the safety of the MLJV's workers and the environment." He added, "With authorization from the CNSC to increase the annual production at the mill, the MLJV is now in a position to deliver on its tolling commitment with the Cigar Lake joint venture and will have excess licensed processing capacity - which speaks to the strategic importance of the mill to the entire region." Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter Top States for Zombie Foreclosures include New Jersey, New York, Florida, Illinois and Ohio Sign Up Free | The WPJ Weekly Newsletter Relevant real estate news. Actionable market intelligence. Right to your inbox every week. Go Thank you for your interest! You will now be receiving our Weekly Real Estate Newsletter. Real Estate Listings Showcase Based on RealtyTrac's, nearly 1.4 million (1,398,046) U.S. residential properties (1 to 4 units) representing 1.6 percent of all residential properties were vacant as of May 2016, up 2.7 percent from the previous quarter when 1,361,628 U.S. residential properties were vacant.The report also shows that 19,187 U.S. residential properties actively in the foreclosure process were vacant (zombie foreclosures), representing 4.7 percent of all residential properties in foreclosure -- down 3.1 percent from the previous month and down 30.1 percent from a year ago.The analysis used RealtyTrac's publicly recorded real estate data -- including foreclosure status, and owner-occupancy status -- matched against monthly updated vacancy data from the U.S. Postal Service."Lenders have been taking advantage of the strong seller's market to dispose of lingering foreclosure inventory over the past year, evidenced by 12 consecutive months of increasing bank repossessions ending in February and now evidenced by these numbers showing a sharp drop in vacant zombie foreclosures compared to a year ago," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. "As these zombie foreclosures hit the market for sale they are providing a modicum of relief for the pressure cooker of escalating prices and deteriorating affordability that have defined the U.S. housing market in recent years."States with the most vacant "zombie" foreclosures were New Jersey (4,003), New York (3,352), Florida (2,467), Illinois (1,074), and Ohio (1,064)."While overall foreclosure activity has declined from last year, we have experienced a slight increase in vacancies of residential properties facing foreclosure," said Michael Mahon, president at HER Realtors, covering the Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus markets in Ohio. "As market supply and availability has remained low in many areas of the state, loan servicing companies have stepped up efforts of addressing homeowners delinquent on their mortgages, and have accelerated the process of filing for foreclosure. Feeling the pressure of loan servicers, many homeowners give up hope early, thus creating the vacancy event."Among states with at least 100 zombie foreclosures, those with the highest zombie foreclosure rate (percentage of properties in foreclosure that are vacant) were Oregon (11.8 percent); Indiana (9.5 percent); Kentucky (8.0 percent); Maryland (7.2 percent); and Washington (6.6 percent)."Thanks to the Seattle area's robust economy and strong housing market, the level of vacant properties has been growing smaller and smaller each month. So too has the level of zombie foreclosures which banks continue to release to the market," said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market, where the zombie foreclosure rate in Q2 2016 was 6.1 percent, down 3.8 percent from the previous quarter. "In its own small way, these zombie properties are actually helping to supplement the depleted inventory levels in Seattle. I expect this trend to continue as Seattle's foreclosure activity closes in on its long-term average."Among metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, those with the most zombie foreclosures were New York (3,526); Philadelphia (1,744); Chicago (857); Miami (651); and Tampa (627).Metro areas with at least 100 zombie foreclosures that posted the highest zombie foreclosure rate (percent of foreclosure properties that are vacant) were St. Louis, Missouri (10.6 percent); Indianapolis, Indiana (10.2 percent); Albany, New York (9.8 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (9.7 percent); and Portland, Oregon (9.7 percent).A total of 43,602 U.S. bank-owned (REO) residential properties were vacant as of May 2016, representing 15.9 percent of all REO residential properties -- down 5.0 percent from the previous quarter when there were 45,897 vacant bank-owned properties.States with the highest percentage of REO properties that were vacant were Oregon (29.8 percent); Indiana (29.7 percent); Delaware (28.3 percent); Michigan (27.0 percent); and Ohio (25.0 percent).Among metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, those with the most vacant REOs were Detroit (3,982); Chicago (1,967); Miami (1,765); Atlanta (1,470); and Baltimore (1,434).Metro areas with the highest REO vacancy rates (percentage of REOs that were vacant) were Flint, Michigan (44.7 percent); Akron, Ohio (37.6 percent); Cleveland, Ohio (33.8 percent); Peoria, Illinois (33.2 percent); and Fort Wayne, Indiana (33.1 percent).States with the highest vacancy rate overall (not just properties in foreclosure) were Michigan (3.4 percent), Indiana (3.1 percent), Mississippi (2.8 percent), Alabama (2.6 percent), and Oklahoma (2.6 percent).Among 146 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, those with the highest vacancy rates were Flint, Michigan (7.2 percent); Youngstown, Ohio (4.7 percent); Detroit, Michigan (4.4 percent); Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (3.9 percent); and Mobile, Alabama (3.7 percent).Metro areas with the lowest vacancy rates were San Jose, California (0.2 percent); Fort Collins, Colorado (0.2 percent); Manchester, New Hampshire (0.3 percent); Provo, Utah (0.3 percent); and Lancaster, Pennsylvania (0.3 percent).A total of 1.1 million (1,055,725) U.S. residential investment properties were vacant as of May 2016, 75 percent of the all vacant properties nationwide and representing 4.4 percent of all investment properties.States with the highest residential investment property vacancy rate were Michigan (11.0 percent); Indiana (10.3 percent); Alabama (7.1 percent); Ohio (6.8 percent); and Mississippi (6.7 percent).Metro areas with the highest residential investment property vacancy rate were Flint, Michigan (27.6 percent); Detroit (13.5 percent); South Bend, Indiana (12.8 percent); Youngstown, Ohio (12.5 percent); and Fort Wayne, Indiana (12.0 percent). China allows more foreign investment into capital market Updated: 2016-06-01 10:08 (Xinhua) BEIJING - Quotas of $81.1 billion had been awarded under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program by the end of May, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced on Tuesday. It was a slight increase from $80.1 billion recorded at the end of April. As of the end of May, the outstanding quota under the renminbi-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program totalled 502 billion yuan ($77.2 billion). The government introduced the QFII and RQFII programs in 2003 and 2011 respectively. They give foreign investors the right to move money into the capital account to encourage controllable flows. Maggie McMuffin By: Feng Qian (Scroll down for video) A professional dancer of Washington, is upset after JetBlue banned her from boarding a plane unless she changes her short pants for a longer pair. Burlesque performer Maggie McMuffin, said that when she wanted to catch a connecting flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, a JetBlue employee told her that the pilot will not fly the plane with her on board. McMuffin admits that she was wearing a sweater and very short pants. McMuffin, who had no other clothes with her, offered to tie the sweater around her waist and even asked for a blanket, but was not allowed to board the plane. McMuffin was forced to buy another pair of pants for $22 in order to get home. JetBlue said in a statement that the flight attendants and the pilot determined that the short pants may offend other families on the flight. The company denied banning the dancer from the flight, saying that the crew politely asked her to change her pants and she agreed. The company reimbursed McMuffin the cost of her new pants and offered a credit for a future flight. McMuffin wants the pilot to apologize to her. Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- An Augusta man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a two-year-old back in March 2016. According to the District Attorney's Office, Alex Murray was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in the beating death of Jada Mills. According to the arrest warrant, Murray force fed the child, spanked her multiple times, hit her with a belt and punched her in the stomach. Mills was taken to the Children's Hospital of Georgia, where she was put on life support but died two days after the incident. Friday, June 10, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) A man whose been sitting in jail for months charged in the death of a toddler heads to court. Alex Murray is expected to make a plea at his hearing Friday morning. Murray is charged in the beating death of two-year-old Jada Mills. According to the arrest warrant, Murray force fed the child, spanked her multiple times, hit her with a belt and punched her in the stomach. Mills was taken to the Children's Hospital of Georgia, where she was put on life support but died two days later. Murray is charged with murder and will be in court at 9 a.m. Friday. We will update this story when we have more information. Wednesday, June 1, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- An Augusta man has been indicted on murder charges in connection with the death of a toddler. Alex Dale Murray is being charged with two felony counts of murdering 2-year-old Jada Mills. Mills succumbed to her injuries at an area hospital. Warrants in the case show that Murray spanked the baby girl five to six times within an hour with a leather belt and punched her twice in the stomach. Friday, March 18, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- The Richmond County Clerk of Court reports Alex Murray was denied bond. Murray is charged with aggravated battery, child cruelty and murder in connection to the death of a 2-year-old Jada Mills. News 12 @ 11 o'clock / Friday, March 11, 2016 BEECH ISLAND, S.C. (WRDW) -- Four days after a two-year-old is taken off life support, family, friends, even complete strangers came out to say goodbye. Two-year-old Jada Mills died Monday. Investigators say she suffered internal injuries after her mother's boyfriend beat her. "She was full of joy, she loved to dance," Jada's aunt, Jackie Dunn said through her tears. "Jada was high energy, She loved to have fun. She was always smiling, always laughing, just a beautiful little girl," her cousin Jeanette Murray said. Those memories are a source of light, in this dark time for those touched by the death of two-year-old Jada Mills. "She never bothered nobody. We wish we could have our Jada back," Dunn said. The two-year-old who brought a smile to everyone's face, brought a community together Friday night. "She loved music, she loved to dance, she loved her brothers and her sisters. She was her mama's girl, she loved her mama," Jada's cousin Cadeidra Bussey said. Love that you can feel between family, friends, even strangers, all stunned by her death. "I'm going to miss Jada very much. And it's hard right now for the whole family," Jada's aunt Bernice Patterson said. The only thing making it easier are the hugs, the prayers, and the support. "We need prayer so continue to keep us in prayers. Continue to pray for my family," Bussey said. Although a baby girl is gone the love from her family remains. Wednesday, March 9, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- An Augusta man is charged with aggravated battery, child cruelty and murder in connection to the death of a 2-year-old girl. Alex Murray's arrest warrants detail what investigators believe lead up to the death of Jada Mills. According to the documents, Murray is charged with cruelty to children in the 3rd degree for an incident that happened 8:30 a.m. Sunday, March 6. The warrant states an 8-year-old boy saw Murray force feed Jada, spanked her and at one point she struggled to breathe. The warrants state two hours later, at 10:30 a.m., Murray spanked the toddler five to six times, each time hitting her three to four times using a leather belt to her bottom. He is also accused of punching the 2-year-old two times in her stomach with an opened fist. According to the warrants, those actions caused a brain hemorrhage and a lacerated liver. This resulted in Murray's aggravated battery and cruelty to children in the 1st degree charges. Jada was taken to the Children's Hospital of Georgia where she was put on life support. She later died on Monday, March 8. Murray is charged with murder for her death. The 2-year-old's family says they are holding a vigil for Jada Friday night at 7 in their front yard. News 12 at 6 o'clock / Tuesday, March 8, 2016 AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- The house on Shady Brook Drive is quiet. The pink scooter is still. Now the family living there works to set up funeral arrangements for a two-year-old girl. Jada Mills was taken off life support Monday night after deputies say she was assaulted by a 32-year-old man. Coroner Mark Bowen is working the case. "Everybody's having a little bit of a tough time," Bowen said. He says they don't know exactly what happened to the little girl, but whatever it was happened inside the home. That's where deputies were called for an unresponsive child. When they showed up, deputies say it looked like the child had been assaulted, noting "head trauma" and "internal injuries" in their report. "The baby died from the injuries it received," Coroner Bowen said. "There is trauma. Trauma was noted on the torso, head, etcetera." The man home with her at the time was Alex Murray, 32, the boyfriend of the toddler's mother. Tuesday afternoon the Richmond County Sheriff's Office upgraded his charges to include murder. "We're gonna do what we gotta do to speak for this child," Bowen said. Comments on Facebook say this is out of character for the man now accused of the toddler's death. Some don't believe it was on purpose. When asked if it is possible the injuries that led to Jada's death could have been an accident, Bowen said, "Absolutely not. Not from the injuries we see." Now the mystery is how the baby got the injuries and why. The child's body is now in Atlanta so the GBI lab there can do the autopsy. Coroner Bowen says that will tell them exactly what injuries the baby had and give them a good idea of how she got them. The full report won't be back for 16-20 weeks, but since it is a criminal case, Bowen expects his office could get some answers sooner. Along with murder, Murray also faces aggravated battery and child cruelty charges. Tuesday, March 8, 2016 UPDATE | 2:00 p.m. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- A suspect is now being charged with murder in the death of a 2-year-old girl. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office said Alex Dale Murray is also being charged with murder, in addition to aggravated battery and child cruelty charges. The victim, Jada Mills, died at the Children's Hospital of Georgia. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- The Richmond County coroner says the 2-year-old girl allegedly assaulted by a 32-year-old Augusta man has died. Coroner Mark Bowen said Jada Mills died last night. Her body is being transported to the GBI Lab in Atlanta for an autopsy. Alex Dale Murray, 32, is facing charges of aggravated battery and third degree cruelty to children. Bowen said Murray is the toddler's mothers' boyfriend. The Richmond County Sheriffs Office and Richmond County Coroners Office are investigating the incident. Monday, March 7, 2016 AUGUSTA Ga. (WRDW) -- The Richmond County Sheriff's Office says an Augusta man is behind bars, accused of assaulting a 2-year-old girl. Alex Dale Murray, 32, was arrested Sunday. He is facing charges of aggravated battery and third degree cruelty to children, according to the incident report. Deputies responded to Shady Brook Drive Sunday to a call about an unresponsive juvenile. Deputies on scene said the victim looked like she was assaulted. The 2-year-old was transported from the Augusta University Medical Center to the Children's Hospital of Georgia. Medical examiners say she was suffering from head trauma and internal injuries. This investigation is still ongoing. A farmer leans on his shovel as he takes a break from turning soil to plant crops in the town of Tianying, Anhui province, in this file photo dated November 19, 2012. [Photo/Agencies] Soil pollution would be under control in no more than 15 years under a bold new plan tipped to inject trillions of yuan into the Chinese economy. The State Council released its Action Plan on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution yesterday, aiming to improve soil quality, ensure safe agricultural products and create a healthy living environment. It is estimated to add 2.7 trillion yuan ($411 billion) to the nation's GDP and create a market worth as much as 1 trillion yuan, the China Business News reports. The plan is also expected to create about two million jobs. It sets out to curb worsening soil pollution by 2020, put soil pollution risks under control by 2030 and form a virtuous cycle in the ecosystem by 2050. "The new document is expected to bring a huge market for remediation of polluted soil, and create a market worth more than one trillion yuan," Zhang Yi, head of the Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Engineering Design Institute, told the newspaper. Chinese soil quality has deteriorated in recent years. According to a survey released in 2014, more than 16 percent of China's soil exceeded state pollution limits. Zhang says some businesses want to invest in the emerging soil remediation industry, but funding and technical barriers are very high. Output in the soil remediation market only accounts for about one percent of the environmental protection industry much less than the average thirty percent in developed countries, the newspaper reports. But in the past six years, the number of domestic businesses engaged in soil pollution remediation has increased from just ten to almost 1,000, the newspaper said, citing Ministry of Environmental Protection officials. Students Raise Over 440 For Safeguarding Veterans Standards Campaign This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Jun 1st, 2016 A coffee morning at a local high school has raised over 440 to help safeguard ceremonial standards in Wrexham. Members of veterans associations from across Wrexham County Borough joined staff and pupils at Rhosnesni High School for a coffee morning in aid of a crowdfunding campaign to preserve veterans standards. Year 10 and Year 11 Pupils on Rhosnesni High Schools Public Services Programme through North Wales Training at Kinmel Camp joined the veterans in the schools library, and had the chance to learn about the role they each played in the Second World War and Korean War. More than 445.26 was raised for the campaign during the morning, which will go towards safeguarding the ceremonial standards of four veterans associations. The four veterans associations represented by the standards are the Burma Star Veterans Association, the Normandy Veterans Association, the Eighth Army Veterans Association, and the Korea Veterans Association. The crowdfunding campaign launched back in February and aims to raise 12,060. Along with online donations there have been a series of bag packing and collection events over the past few months to help raise the funds. Cllr David Griffiths, Armed Forces Champion for Wrexham Council, said: I was incredibly pleased to see young people at Rhosnesni High School take the time to speak to the veterans in attendance, and the interest they showed in what they had to say was admirable. Our debt to those men who fought in the Second World War and the Korean War cannot be repaid, but its excellent to see the respect paid to them by such enthusiastic young people. Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: The efforts put in to help our fundraising campaign by Rhosnesni High School are very welcome. We are determined to reach our target by the end of the crowdfunding campaign, and events such as these help us get ever closer to achieving that goal. The event was followed by an awards ceremony in the afternoon for Year 11 pupils who had successfully completed their Public Services Programme. Nic Harrison, headteacher at Rhosnesni, said: This was a very rewarding event, and I imagine it was especially interesting for the pupils, who had the chance to hear the wartime stories of the visiting veterans first-hand. All those pupils who attended the coffee morning represented the school incredibly well, and they should be praised for having done so. I am very pleased the school has created this opportunity because our young people hold the key to keeping our veterans legacy alive in Wrexham. You can donate to Wrexham Councils crowdfunding campaign here. Trinity Mirror Job Cuts Hit Daily Post Title This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Jun 1st, 2016 Trinity Mirrors restructuring project has come to North Wales, with the Daily Post title losing eight jobs however 6 separate new positions are likely to be created. Jobs in other Trinity Mirror regionals are under threat, with Birmingham and Liverpool centres also due to lose members of staff. Up in North Wales the Daily Post title is due see eight jobs cut, balanced with six new positions being created. However there are no official details as of yet where cuts will come, and what the new separate positions will entail but it is understood it relates to the ongoing shift from a print focus to digital output. Staff in the various regions were told out of the blue last Thursday afternoon of the changes with further detail to come after a period of consultation with affected staff, although one public comment notes none of the new jobs that have been created mentions a salary. A staff member who is applying for one has been told that the information is not available. In a statement to HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk (where the comments are as worthy a read as the articles) an insight can be gained to Trinity Mirrors strategy with references to the south east changes being part of Trinity Mirrors strategy of regional hubs with hyperlocal news and information sections There is specific mention of the changes in North Wales: there have been some small changes in Birmingham, Liverpool and North Wales as part of ongoing work to have the right resource in place to deliver news our audiences want, when they want it, and to ensure we are continuing to operate efficiently. Although employees at the Daily Post voted to go on strike over the recent clickbait traffic targets, it was averted when such targets were apparently withdrawn. Comments on the HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk story indicate such website traffic targets could be in place. At a recent media session in Cardiff attended by Wrexham.com a higher level Trinity Mirror / Wales Online representative related how they scour a 80+ column traffic spreadsheet every morning to assess the previous days online performance with monitoring and informal feedback taking place. Trinity Mirrors Daily Post currently has a dedicated staff member in Cardiff / Senedd who reports to us in North Wales, a role that is looking to be cut, however a north Wales focused political reporter post is due to be introduced. A strong local, regional and national media is self evidently important with multiple voices only adding to that mix. One stand out opinion from local Assembly candidates and party leaders to us during the campaign was that Wrexham and easterly border areas were difficult to talk to due to the overlap of English / UK centric media. Saving money appears to be the aim of the wider game, yet Trinity Mirror spent a reported 5m on the launch of the New Day newspaper, just to close it 67 days later. Similarly due to their involvement in phone hacking Trinity Mirror has had to allocate 41m to deal with claims against them, the figure being large partially due to the reluctance to accept involvement at an early stage. Some commentators have said they believe that figure is too low and will likely rise once all the claims shake out. Trinity Mirror recently spent over 200m to purchase Local World titles down south, and has been carrying out streamlining of the services with job cuts and website amalgamations with their first title closure announced today. Trinity Mirror, who are more locally known via their Daily Post Wales title get a mention in Private Eye this month pic.twitter.com/rRzehm8FLO Wrexham.com (@wrexham) November 12, 2015 Wrexham.com has a long term fear that North Wales region will be assimilated into the WalesOnline style Cardiff based operation, or run from Liverpool. As one former TMer told us, the Llandudno office has progressively become smaller, with Wrexham offices closed and more content being created outside of North Wales than ever before. With dropping circulations of print editions the falling advertising revenues is not limited to Trinity Mirror titles, with local and national titles seeing similar performance. The Guardian is set to cut 250 jobs, with the New York Times looking to do similar. The Telegraph recently sacked several senior roles and is set to close some office space, and Vice News an online publication themselves has restructured after poor traffic performance due in part to clickbait partnering and advertisers demanding real worthwhile audiences rather than generic traffic. Cem Ozdemir, the national chairman of the German Green Party, challenged Professor Jorg Baberowski over his call to use methods associated with wars of extermination in the struggle against terrorism on last Thursdays edition of the Maybrit Illner talk show. The programme, with an audience of approximately 3 million, was broadcast under the title, Break-in, theft, attack: Criminality without borders? and was aimed at justifying the strengthening of the police. Along with Ozdemir and Baberowski, Christian Social Union (CSU) politician Stefan Mayer, sociologist Gina Wollinger, and Sebastian Fiedler of the Association of German Detectives (BDK) were invited as guests. [1] Baberowski spoke out against investing in education or giving greater value to social work in order to limit violence in areas of high social tension. Instead he declared: The only way to deal with this is for the state to bare its teeth. At this point Ozdemir objected and confronted Baberowski with a statement that he made in the course of the Schluterhof Talks at the German Historical Museum on October 1, 2014. Ozdemir asked whether baring teeth meant using the kinds of methods Baberowski had proposed to fight ISIS terrorists. He cited Baberowski word for word: And if one is not willing to take hostages, burn villages, hang people and spread fear and terror, as the terrorists do, if one is not prepared to do such things, then one can never win such a conflict. He was sorry to say, the Green politician added, but anyone who said such things has got a screw loose. Baberowski responded with feigned anger, lies and libels. We have to speak plainly, he said. This smeary text in the taz [Tageszeitung daily] is from a Stalinist, extremist sect. After Ozdemir asked twice, Is the citation false or correct? Baberowski asserted that it was torn completely out of context. You cant speak to me like that, I will not allow it, he snapped at Ozdemir. He had said that if one was not prepared to engage with the logic of the Taliban and terrorists of taking hostages and burning down villages, it is better to keep out altogether. This sentence, according to Baberowski, was maliciously omitted by these Stalinists, who you are citing, in order to defame me. He had stated, Baberowski added, that we cannot adopt these methods. And therefore we cannot intervene. The following day, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung defended Baberowski, claiming that the sentence cited by Ozdemir was never said by Baberowski. The Green chair was pursuing the goal of denunciation with this distorting citation. Ozdemir was merely concerned with morally discrediting an opponent, not with the content. [2] What Baberowski said at the German Historical Museum Baberowski and the FAZ are lying. The German Historical Museum has made available an audio recording of the Schluterhof Discussion from October 1, 2014, online, which can still be accessed today. [3] There, from Minute 20:00, Baberowski says exactly what Ozdemir quoted. The World Socialist Web Site reported on the event a week later, on October 9, 2014, and cited the passage in full. [4] The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), the youth organisation of the Partei fur Soziale Gleichheit (PSG), referred to this quote repeatedly in its conflict with Baberowski at Humboldt University. Baberowskis description of the IYSSE as a Stalinist sect is a deliberate lie and a defamation. He knows that the IYSSE is an irreconcilable opponent of Stalinism. For three years, he has been combatting the IYSSE at Humboldt as Trotskyists. FAZ editor Jurgen Kaube even published an article at the end of 2014 entitled Mobbing, Trotskyist style, which denounced the IYSSE because of its criticisms of Baberowski. But in front of a large audience, Baberowski deems it appropriate to lie and denounce the IYSSE as Stalinists. As an historian who has concentrated on Stalinism for years, and as a member of the Maoist KBW in his youth who praised Stalin and Pol Pot, he knows that Stalinism is discredited and hated and that tens of thousands of Trotskyists paid with their lives for their opposition to it. Just as fraudulent is Baberowskis claim that the IYSSE maliciously omitted the half sentence, it is better to keep out altogether, in order to defame him. In fact, the WSWS cited it in its initial article from October 2014, as well as in subsequent publications. Anyway, this half sentence changes nothing about the reactionary character of Baberowskis statement. The essence of it is that one can only combat terrorists with the resort, in violation of international law, to the methods of a war of extermination. This is the typical line of argument of the extreme right to legitimize war crimes and prepare public opinion for them: If one is not ready to torture, eliminate suspects with drones, oras in Iraq and Libyadestroy entire cities, then it is better to keep out altogether. The assertion that violence can be combatted only with more brutal violence runs like a thread through all of Baberowskis public statements, including those on domestic security, when he callsas on Maybrit Illnerfor a strong, authoritarian state. Baberowskis claim that he spoke out against military interventions against terrorists at the German Historical Museum is a lie as well. This is already clear from the passage cited. Baberowski did not say one should keep out of such interventions because they can only be won with the methods of a war of extermination. Instead, he said one should keep out if one was not ready to use such inhumane methods. This is obviously something else. In the further course of the Schluterhof discussion, Baberowski vehemently advocated such interventions. However, he insisted that they had to be so well prepared that they could be won. Immediately following the passage cited, Baberowski said it was important that Germany accepts responsibility, especially in such conflicts which affect it. But one should consider (a) what type of war is one prepared for, and (b) whether one can win. And if one cannot win then one should refrain from it. Somewhat later, he added, In the case of an institution such as ISIS, the military can quickly deal with it with decapitation strikes. Thats no problem. The Americans can solve this. One can liquidate the leaders of this band with hit squads. Thats no problem. This is doable. But if state structures have been completely destroyed by a long civil war, one has to be aware that this will cost a great deal of money and you have to send soldiers and weapons into a power vacuum, continued Baberowski. However, the most important thing was, you need the political will and political strategy and, above all, you have to say that in order for this to work, we will go in. And it has to be worth it. That costs money. We have to send troops in. Countries like Iraq, Syria and Libya are no longer able to solve this problem themselves. Baberowski made similar statements on subsequent occasions. On November 25, 2015, in the Esslinger Zeitung, he called for combating terrorists with their own methods: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. He said on the terrorist attacks in France, I thought it was a fatal error that Mrs. Merkel said to the French, We are crying with you. Whoever responds in this way will be condemned by the terrorists as a weakling. Baberowskis right-wing agenda Jorg Baberowski has become a leading spokesman for a new right in Germany. He is a sought-after author and guest in the media or at public meetings, when it comes to beating the drums of war, agitating against refugees or promoting a strong, authoritarian state. He originally made a name for himself by downplaying the Nazis war of extermination and the justification of militarism. In 2007, he authored a text in which he made the Soviet Union responsible for the war of extermination on the Eastern Front in World War II, stating, Stalin and his generals imposed a war of a new type on the Wehrmacht from which the civilian population was no longer protected. And in 2014, he told Der Spiegel, Hitler was no psychopath, and he was not vicious. The book Scholarship or War Propaganda, [5] which outlines the conflict at Berlins Humboldt University, documents this in detail. Last year, Baberowski then emerged as an agitator against refugees. In numerous articles and public appearances he spoke out in favour of a drastic restriction of the right to asylum. [6] He publicly accused Chancellor Merkel of violating the constitution because she permitted refugees stranded in Eastern Europe to travel to Germany. He adopted a line of argument associated with right-wing extremist circles. More recently, Baberowski has come forward as an advocate for a strong, authoritarian state. This is why he was invited onto the Maybrit Illner talk show. There, he sought to outdo CSU politician Mayer and the detective Fiedler on matters of law and order. As with previous appearances, [7] Baberowski rejected any kind of social prevention and called instead for the state to take ruthless and authoritarian measures. As he stated, These people, who often come from and reside within authoritarian milieus, respond only when, so to speak, the state makes clear its enforcement powers and its assertiveness, otherwise it appears ridiculous. And a state which makes itself appear ridiculous can have no impact. References: 1. The programme can be accessed on the ZDF Mediathek. The conflict over the citation begins at 47:00. 2. When society is like Mad Max , by Frank Lubberding, faz.net, May 30, 2016. 3. German Historical Museum, Germany as an interventionist power? Schluterhof discussion from October 1, 2014. The audio recording is here. 4. Johannes Stern, War propaganda in the German Historical Museum , WSWS, October 9, 2014. 5. Peter Schwarz (Ed.), Scholarship or war propaganda , Mehring Verlag, 2015. 6. See: German academic Jorg Baberowski stirs up hatred against refugees , WSWS, October 3, 2015. 7. See: Right-wing German academic Jorg Baberowski demands more repression against refugees , WSWS, May 31, 2016. Public sector workers in Belgium organised in a 24-hour national strike Tuesday, as French rail workers began indefinite strike action yesterday evening. Workers are mobilising across national borders in Europe against the reactionary austerity policies that the entire European Union (EU) has imposed on workers since the 2008 financial crisis. While French workers are mobilising in struggle against the Socialist Partys (PS) regressive labour law, the right-wing government of Belgian prime minister Charles Michel intends to impose welfare cuts and budget cuts in public service and education as well as to raise the pension age. The Belgian governments aim is to make it easier for employers to hire part-time workers on short-term, part-time contracts with less security. Its proposed laws introduce a 45-hour workweek and impose overtime without extra pay. The Belgian strike was called by several trade unions, including the General Confederation for Public Services (CGSP); it coincided with a train drivers stoppage that entering its sixth day. Belgian train drivers are opposing cuts in overtime pay. The whole Belgian public sector was heavily disrupted due to strike action taken by workers in the health sector, public transport, postal services, fire service, education and other areas. Operations of the state-run SNCB (National Railway Company of Belgium) were paralysed in the Francophone areas, while in Flanders only 50 percent of trains were servicing their lines. Some services to Paris and German cities were delayed or cancelled. Mainline trains and buses in Brussels and the French-speaking region of Wallonia were paralysed. In the capital, Brussels, metro lines, trams and buses were affected for the second time in a week, while rubbish went uncollected. In other towns and cities, metro and tram networks were also halted. In Charleroi, a city with a long history of working class struggle dating back more than a century and a half, workers voted not to allow trains, buses or trams to run. At 9 a.m., striking workers gathered to demonstrate in Brussels, after a protest of at least 60,000 people in that city on May 24. The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions claimed 12,000 marched in Brussels. A self-made banner floating along the marching crowds in Brussels read, No more of our sacrifices for your privileges. Others read, Fighting for our rights. Other marches took place nationwide with 1,000 protesting in Ghent, 350 in Namur, 400 in Wavre and 1,500 in Mons. Wavre is the location of Prime Minister Michels residence. During the strike, it was protected by a heavy security and police cordon. On Monday, three Flemish unions and one Francophone union reached agreement with Belgiums justice minister, Koen Geens, in an attempt to end a five-week strike of prison officers. Geens pledged Monday to hire more prison officers, after which the unions ended their participation in the strike. Two other unions are yet to settle. Commenting on the duration of the rail strike, the Le Soir newspaper commented, This is unseen since the last general strike of 1986. While the ruling elite is deeply concerned at the escalating militancy in the working class internationally, and in particular in both Belgium and France, it is also well aware that the trade union bureaucracy is an ally against the workers. The Belgian trade unions called on their members sector by sector to participate in the strike. They did not issue a call to mobilise workers across the whole public sector. Teachers were allowed to strike, but the Belgian teachers union did not mobilise its members. Trade unions in the airport industry did not call on their members to join the general strike, though workers joined the movement on an individual basis without affecting business operations. Airports in Brussels and in the country were not affected by the strike. Le Soir cited the comments of journalist Bernard Demonty, who stated, Not a single trade union movement made any government step down from power in Belgian history. The article continues, To make the government fall [Demonty says], one needs a general strike to the end. This cannot be so, for the trade unions are divided and not determined for it. In France, rail workers will be joined by airline workers and pilots on strike in the coming days. At the same time, six of the countrys eight oil refineries remain on strike, with 20 percent of French gas stations running out of gas. Refuse workers have launched strikes and blockades of facilities in Paris and St. Etienne. Pilots from Frances National Union of Airline Pilots (SNPL) voted for long-term strike action on Monday, as they face a substantial pay cut after the SNPL sold out their strike at the end of 2014. French officials tried to minimise the scope of the strike, with Transport Minister Alain Vidalies declaring, Of course the movement will be serious, but it wont have the scope one might expect. Nonetheless, the rail strike clearly will have a significant impact, shutting down most lines on Pariss express regional transit system as well as many long-distance high-speed trains and intercity trains. Large sections of the French trade union bureaucracy are hostile to the strike. The pro-Socialist Party (PS) French Democratic Labour Confederation (CFDT) cancelled its strike call yesterday, on the pretext that the Francois Hollande government had made concessions. In the meantime, ruling circles in France are trying to whip up hysteria and public anger against the strikers. The most virulent comments came from Pierre Gattaz (CEO of Radiall), the leader of the Movement of French Enterprises (Medef), the largest employer federation, who denounced strikers as terrorists. Gattaz said, Making people respect the rule of law means ensuring that minorities that behave like hoodlums, like terrorists, will not blockade the entire country. ... When the [General Confederation of Labour, CGT] prevents newspapers from appearing because they refused to publish [CGT General Secretary Philippe] Martinezs tract, it seems to me we are in a Stalinist dictatorship. Manila has chance to reset bilateral relations Updated: 2016-06-01 07:58 (China Daily) Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte talks to reporters in Davao city in southern Philippines, May 9, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Under the leadership of outgoing President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines saw a freefall in relations with China, and the divergences with Beijing truly outgrew the bilateral framework. The scenario could have been dramatically different had the Aquino administration accepted Beijing's offer to negotiate to keep the territorial disputes between the two countries from derailing overall relations. Now, with Aquino outgoing as president and Rodrigo Duterte incoming, many entertain the hope that a reset button on relations can be pressed. Chinese President Xi Jinping included. In his congratulatory message to Duterte, Xi expressed the wish that "both sides can work hard to push Sino-Philippine relations back onto a healthy development track". This friendly overture is aimed at opening up a fresh chapter for ties in the post-Aquino era, and opens a window of opportunity for Beijing and Manila to rethink, readjust. Given the messy state of affairs Duterte has inherited from his wayward predecessor, particularly the pending arbitration the Aquino administration initiated, China-Philippine relations could well be the first diplomatic hot potato for Duterte. Beijing is not so naive as to expect Duterte to eat his own words on what he insists to be Philippine sovereignty. But Xi's message did show there are ways out, so long as Beijing and Manila share the political will and talk. The territorial disputes between Beijing and Manila are not a long story. And the two countries generally got along well, even with the disputes. Their disagreements did not get in the way of overall relations until a few years ago, after instigators from outside the region stepped in and fanned the flames of discord. Duterte, who will be sworn in on June 30, is yet to announce his policies toward China and on the South China Sea issue. However, he told the press on Sunday he wants friendly relations with China, and confirmed he is open to direct talks. He is also open to the possibility of joint exploration for resources with China. He even said he has an interest in Chinese assistance to meet his country's infrastructure needs. From improving infrastructure to creating jobs and reducing poverty, Duterte has daunting development tasks to tackle. China's Belt and Road Initiative could be of great help with these, if the two governments can find a way to manage their disputes and clear the ground for cooperation. One week before the June 7 California primary, with the presidential campaign of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton floundering, Governor Jerry Brown dropped his pretense of neutrality and publicly endorsed her. Browns endorsement adds to those of Californias two senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both of whom have done what they can to bolster Clintons declining poll numbers. Brown posted online an Open Letter to California Democrats and Independents on Tuesday, in which he declared that Clinton had an insurmountable lead and should be ratified as the Democratic presidential nominee. The statement from Brown praised Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, saying, He has driven home the message that the top one percent has unfairly captured way too much of Americas wealth, leaving the majority of people far behind. In 1992, I attempted a similar campaign. He should now, Brown implies, bring to an end the basic purpose of his campaign, to channel opposition behind a Clinton nomination. Brown was referring to his own unsuccessful presidential bid in 1992, which actually did little to raise the issue of social inequality. In the course of that campaign, however, Brown did point to the corrupt ties between Bill and Hillary Clinton and sections of big business, including the Arkansas-based Wal-mart, the largest private employer in the United States. Brown himself is a thoroughly right-wing and anti-working-class political figure, closely identified with austerity policies that make balancing the budget and creating a good business climatei.e., promoting profits at the expense of workersthe principal goal of state government. He has reneged on all the promises made during the 2010 election campaign to reverse the policies of Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite top-heavy Democratic Party majorities in both houses of the state legislature. The argument made by Brown for supporting Hillary Clinton now was almost entirely procedural: she has won the most delegates and votes. Clintons lead is insurmountable and Democrats have shownby millions of votesthat they want her as their nominee. Citing the threat of Republican nominee Donald Trump, and his extreme right-wing pronouncements denouncing immigrants and denying climate change, Brown concluded, This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other. The general election has already begun. This politically bankrupt and reactionary declaration is only a foretaste of the campaign that will be waged by the Democratic Party and its satellite organizations, above all the unions, over the next five months. Defeating Trump will become the all-purpose rationale for casting a vote for the reactionary war criminal whom the Democratic Party establishment has anointed as its consensus candidate. An opinion poll published last week, showing Clintons lead over Sanders in California dwindling to only two points, within the margin of error, has had the effect of electro-convulsive shock on the Democratic establishment. Brown dropped his official pre-primary neutrality, while the Clinton campaign itself has scrapped plans for several candidate appearances in New Jersey, which also votes June 7, in favor of a hastily scheduled series of Hillary Clinton events in California beginning Thursday. New polls were commissioned, showing Clinton back in the lead by anywhere from eight points to 13 points. Media pundits with the closest ties to the Clinton campaign, like eminently corruptible Paul Krugman of the New York Times, have weighed with another round of commentaries declaring the Democratic contest over and Clinton the unchallengeable winner, regardless of the potential loss of the most populous US state to Sanders. Under the headline Feel the Math, Krugman gave his umpteenth assurance that delegate numbers were all that mattered, and from that standpoint, Clintons victory was assured. He dismissed what he called hyperventilating over the poll showing a tight race in California, asking, [H]as her lead evaporated, as some reports suggest? Probably not: Another poll, taken at the very same time, showed an 18-point lead. Krugman has utilized his column in the Times to serve as a political hack for Clinton. After receiving the cold shoulder during the first years of the Obama presidency, he has since been brought on board and now functions as a chief propagandist for the White House. He no doubt sensesor has received assurancesthat he will have a position for himself in any future Clinton administration. Other political chits are being called in. The National Resources Defense Council, a major environmental group which has never before endorsed a presidential candidate, publicly backed Hillary Clinton Tuesday in a statement issued by its political action fund. While the statement cited an energy speech by Donald Trump in North Dakota as the reason of its endorsement, its significance for the June 7 primary in California is obvious. Sanders continues to hold huge rallies across the state, attended by thousands, many of them young people, while Clinton events have been much smaller, generally attended only by Democratic Party office holders and their staffs, union officials and representatives of other pro-Democratic Party organizations. As the title of Browns open letter indicates, independent votersthose registered as having no partywill play a major role in the outcome of the Democratic presidential contest in California. Clinton has won all but one closed primary, those limited to registered Democrats only. Independents can vote in the Democratic primary when they go to the polls, simply by requesting a presidential ballot. However, if they vote by mail, as half of Californians are expected to do, they had to contact local election offices by Tuesday to request a ballot for the Democratic presidential primary. A pro-Sanders group filed a federal lawsuit last week to extend that deadline, but the court has not yet issued a response. In the two weeks leading up to the June 7 primary in California, Bernie Sanders has been holding rallies up and down the state. He frequently speaks in two or more cities each day, trying to gain an edge over frontrunner Hillary Clinton to better position himself for the Democratic National Convention in July. Despite trailing in pledged delegates, Sanders has vowed to campaign through the convention. Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site spoke to workers and youth attending rallies in Santa Barbara and Oakland. The people drawn to Sanders campaign had widely varying conceptions although all were looking for an alternative to the current political system. Most opposed war, despite Sanderss support for Obamas drone assassination and bombing campaigns. Many opposed Clinton specifically or the Democrats generally despite Sanderss repeated statements in support of both. Almost all were drawn to Sanderss claim to be a socialist. Leading Democratic Party officials, afraid that Sanders cannot line his supporters up behind Clinton, have called on him to withdraw from the race to prevent a contentious convention. In Oakland on May 30, about 20,000 people came to listen to Sanders speak in Frank Ogawa Plaza. WSWS reporters distributed copies of the election statement of Jerry White and Niles Niemuth for the Socialist Equality Party, and interviewed some of those waiting to get in. Devin is a 38-year-old visual effects editor from Oakland. The 2016 election is like a giant circus, he said. It doesnt make any sense that it might come down to Hillary Clinton and Trump who nobody likes. Weve been spoon-fed Hillary, and it makes me sad to see Bernie not be a shoo-in, because his policies represent the interests of so many people. Im absolutely for society not being run by corporations, and I believe education and health care should be free. There needs to be a revolution in thought, not through violence. Bernie has proposed a set of ideas, and now we need to find people who support them and get them elected. I hope this doesnt stop after the election. Javier, a 17-year-old student from San Francisco, described himself as a Marxist. I think the election is leading to a political revolution because Sanders has shown us whats wrong with the Democrats, he began. I feel like his policies on health care and education have a socialist character, but this is just the beginning. Theres a lot more that needs to be done after the election. On the issue of war, Javier was less certain: Im not as aware of his stances on foreign policy as I should be, but I know he didnt support the war in Iraq, and if other politicians had listened to him in 2003 then maybe the US wouldnt have entered that terrible war. He also hasnt supported war against Iran, which is important. If the US worked to help other countries, the world would be a better place. But because of imperialism were not, were just screwing them over entirely. Mateen is a 29-year-old bar manager coming from Oakland who did not see Sanderss policies as necessarily socialist. Theyre just common sense, he said. They can be equated with socialist ideals, but theyre practical solutions to real problems. Regarding the need for revolutionthings need to be turned on their head. We have an auction, not a democracy. We need to raise taxes on the top 1 percent, and anyone making over $500,000 a year. They dont need that much money. When asked whether how they would feel if Sanders formally endorses Clintons candidacy, the response was overwhelmingly negative. I cant support the lesser of two evils any more, Mateen said. Ill make a stand by writing in Bernie. Devin was opposed to an endorsement of Clinton, saying: It would be a bitter pill to swallow. I couldnt support her no matter what. Theres a lot of tough questions to consider thoughwhat happens if Trump becomes president? Javier was much more emphatic, If Sanders did that, it would be an F-you to his supporters because hes exposed her so much over the course of the primaries. When the rally began, Sanders was introduced by actor Danny Glover and economist Robert Reich. The crowd booed Reich when Glover introduced him as former secretary of labor under Bill Clinton. Sanders began his speech by praising Reich, who participated in an administration that began gutting social services through welfare reform. He was one of the greatest secretaries of labor that this country has ever had, Sanders said. He made clear which side he was on, and that was the side of working people. At Santa Barbara City College, roughly 6,000 people came to hear Sanders speak on Saturday, May 28. Echo Zen teaches health education at California State University Channel Islands. Youth are essential to the future of democracy in the United States, she said. Were finally seeing a candidate who is able to activate a traditionally uninvolved demographic, the young people. Thats why Im here. I see how youth are responding, and its very heartening. One can certainly argue that his ideas dont go far enough. But lets not forget that maybe 10 or 20 years ago, to be considered a socialist was a political death sentence. Now we find a substantial chunk of the population considering themselves socialist. Its an earthquake in politics. Rosie Fatta, a University of California Santa Barbara student majoring in environmental studies, said, Big business interests are definitely affecting our country. Actually, climate justice is what Im interested in. I believe the fact that hes even talking about that is important because some people are denying that there is global warming. And Bernie is addressing the root causes of it. Capitalism is the root cause of it. Her brother Matthew Fatta recently graduated from University of New Mexico in business. Theres deep funding by big oil companies, he said. There should be more money provided for alternatives to fossil fuels. And we need to stop the corrupt relations between the fossil fuel industry and government. When a WSWS reporter raised the danger of war that none of the politicians is discussing, he said, I dont agree with war. The politicians are all saying that the enemy is China, but theyre still human beings like us. Raymok Ketema from University of California Santa Barbara rejected the efforts to line minorities up behind Clinton, I support Bernie Sanders because he has spoken out against the classism of this system, he said. Some people criticize him, saying he doesnt address the racism in this country. But classism is racism. A retiree from the Navy said, Whats wrong with socialism? Its a necessity. There are over 300 million people in this country, and capitalism doesnt work for us. He said he had served overseas in the South China Sea and the Philippines during the Second World War. He discussed with the WSWS that those same areas are today flashpoints in Obamas provocations against China. On the war danger, he said, This is the only country that has ever dropped atomic bombs. Not even the Soviet Union had one then. Is that something to boast about? I think the biggest problem for the working class is ignorance. It makes them malleable. The arrogance and indifference of the political and media establishment toward the worsening social conditions confronting the vast majority of ordinary working people were on full display during Monday nights Q&A program on ABC television, broadcast from Brisbane, the Queensland state capital. Despite the audience being carefully selected, and their questions closely vetted by the government-funded broadcaster, a range of questions put to the panel indicated the mounting outrage over the unemployment, falling wages, insecure employment, soaring housing costs and deteriorating social services facing millions of workers and young people. The response of the panelcandidates in the July 2 election representing the Liberal-National Coalition government, the Labor Party and the Greens as well as two independentswas a mixture of condescension, scorn and lies. Speaking for the government, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo was the most openly contemptuous. He declared that the two major partiesthe Liberal-National Coalition and Laborcontinued to dominate the political system because people were doing so well. Were a country that has frankly, in global terms, one of the highest standards of living in the world, he claimed, and called for a reality check. Likewise, Labor MP Terri Butler insisted that the only choice in the election was between the majorsthe government and Labor. I want to be part of a government thats got a positive plan for all of those things, she said. In reality, having formed governments for decades, Labor is directly responsible for the deteriorating social conditions. The chasm between the working class and the political elite, however, quickly became evident from the audience questions. Rick Joseph explained that he came from a public housing background and asked the panel members: What will be done to help the working poor of this country? After listening to obfuscation from all five panelists, he spoke again with some vehemence. Joseph said he was trying to give my son the education that he deserves. You guys forced me to look at alternative education sources because the public system just doesnt give him what he needs. Joseph added: You force me to spend three hours in traffic getting to work every day because the infrastructure that should be there just isnt there. You force to me to pay more for rent every week than I need to because housing affordability is just terrible. You force my wife not to work as much as she should because childcare is too expensive. Im trying to break that cycle but theres just blocks everywhere why cant you guys just do something about that? These remarks won applause and Q&A moderator Tony Jones quickly shut down any further discussion. Im going to take that as a comment because weve got so many questions, he announced. Its a very passionate comment and I think its quite a good place to leave that subject. But the next question was just as revealing. David Carter condemned the proposed reduction of wage penalty rates for workers, like himself, who work on Sundays. He said: Ive worked as a chef for over 17 years. The Productivity Commission recommended a cut in Sunday penalty rates for people like me in the hospitality industry, but hospitality workers are some of the lowest paid workers in Australia. Later, Nathan Scholz challenged Ciobo to explain how the governments planned company tax cuts would trickle down to benefit the population, when people would have to pay upfront fees to see doctors. My wife and I own a small business, a coffee shop here in Brisbane, Scholz said. The proposed corporate tax cut means we will get an extra $8 a week next year. Given it means everyone in this room, including potential customers, will have to pay more for them and their families to go to the GP, couldnt we cut out the middleman? You keep the $8 and protect [Medicare] bulk billing so my customers will have more money to spend in my shop? Another audience member, Kristy Harling, pointed to the loss of 21,000 jobs in central Queenslands mining towns, such as Emerald, Blackwater and Moranbah. It breaks my heart, to see local families struggling to put food on the table and to see hundreds of houses empty because of foreclosure with no one to fill them, she said. With all of this talk of jobs and growth, what are your plans for the next industry in central Queensland, to ensure it is not left littered with ghost towns? Not one member of the panel provided any answers to these questions. This included Greens leader Richard Di Natale, who was intent instead on underscoring his partys desire to stabilise the parliamentary order. He offered to support a Labor government, as the Greens did from 2010 to 2013. It was a productive period of government, he proclaimed, with the Greens playing a constructive role. The title of the program was Balance of Power, reflecting the fear in ruling circles that, due to the rising discontent, the election will result in a hung parliament, with no party holding a majority. Because of that concern, the panel featured two heavily-promoted independentssenators Nick Xenophon and Jacqui Lambie. They and other third parties are scrambling, in various ways, to channel the disaffection back into the hands of the political and corporate establishment. With the economic situation in Australia and globally rapidly deteriorating, whatever promises any of these formations make will be ditched as soon as the election is out of the way. The contempt for working people on show on Q&A speaks volumes about what lies ahead. There is only one party in the electionthe Socialist Equality Partygiving a voice to the working class and telling the truth: the capitalist profit system itself is the cause of exploitation, social inequality and war. All the resources exist to provide first-class healthcare, education, housing and social infrastructure for all, in Australia and worldwide. But this vast social wealth, generated by the collective labour of workers everywhere, must be freed from the grip of the major banks, corporations and the rich. Economic life must be reorganised, from top to bottom, along genuinely socialist lines, to provide for social need, not private profit. The author also recommends: Australian media vendetta against worker who questioned tax breaks for wealthy [28 May 2016] To contact the SEP and get involved, visit our website or Facebook page. Authorised by James Cogan, Shop 6, 212 South Terrace, Bankstown Plaza, Bankstown, NSW 2200. The besieged civilian population of Fallujah is confronting a human catastrophe as a US-backed offensive to retake the Iraqi city from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) intensifies, a human rights group warned Tuesday. While forces backing the Iraqi government, including troops of the elite Counter Terrorism Service, Iraqi Army soldiers, police and Shia militiamen of the Popular Mobilization Units, have moved to the outskirts of the city, stiff ISIS resistance Tuesday prevented them from advancing into its center. At least 50,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in Fallujah. A human catastrophe is unfolding in Fallujah. Families are caught in the crossfire with no safe way out, warned Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which has provided aid to civilians in the area. The stories coming out of Fallujah are horrifying, said Nasr Muflahi, NRCs Country Director in Iraq. A lack of food, medicine, safe drinking water and electricity are pushing families to the brink of desperation. People who managed to flee have told us of extreme hunger and starvation. We havent been able to see this for ourselves or assist people inside the town, and we are extremely concerned about the full extent of the terrors unfolding there. The United Nations humanitarian aid director in Iraq, Lise Grande, further warned that the city could be only days away from a cholera outbreak, because of the lack of clean drinking water. Fallujah has been under siege for close to a year, with roads that bring in vital supplies cut by the Iraqi Army and Shia militias. Now, its residents are facing intensifying bombardment from US and allied warplanes, Apache attack helicopters and Iraqi artillery. Fallujah was the first major Iraqi city to fall to ISIS at the beginning of 2014, six months before the Islamist militia overran Mosul, Iraqs second largest population center, along with roughly a third of Iraqi territory. The early victory in Fallujah was made possible by a revolt on the part of the citys Sunni population against the Shia-dominated central government in Baghdad, which was widely reviled for carrying out sectarian repression against Sunnis. While there have been widespread reports of ISIS exploiting the citys civilians as human shieldsa charge frequently made by the US military to provide an alibi for carnage inflicted by American air strikesit is also reported that the bulk of the ISIS fighters are city residents. This marks the third time in a little over a decade that Fallujah has been subjected to an all-out military siege. Twice in 2004, the US Marines, backed by heavy aerial bombardments, stormed the city, killing thousands and reducing the bulk of Fallujahs homes and infrastructure to rubble. A center of resistance to the 2003 US invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, the city was subjected to merciless collective punishment. Fallujahs fate this time around has been presaged by that of previous Iraqi Sunni towns retaken by forces loyal to the Baghdad government. These include Ramadi, where at least 70 percent of the buildings were destroyed by bombardment and the population of 400,000 has been driven out, and Tikrit, where Shia militias carried out bloody reprisals against the population for the atrocities committed by ISIS, which included the massacre of up to 1,700 predominantly Shia military cadets. Sunnis view this US-backed campaign as an exercise in ethnic cleansing designed to expel them from Iraq. The massive destruction unleashed on these cities, however, has also been seen in the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobane, which was largely razed to the ground, as well as the Yazidi town of Sinjar. It is a function of the type of warfare employed by the Pentagon, in which proxy ground forces, often with the participation of US special operations troops, rely on heavy air support to defeat ISIS. While the US military is supporting the offensive against Fallujah with intense air strikes, the Pentagon had reportedly opposed the move against the city, seeing it as a distraction from the buildup for an attack on Mosul, Iraqs second city, which had a population of some 2 million before falling to ISIS in June 2014. Washington is also uneasy about the prominent role being played by Iranian advisers on the ground as well as the Shia militias, which provide much of the manpower for the siege. The US views Iran as its major regional rival for hegemony over the Middle East in general, and Iraq in particular. For Iraqs Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, the siege of Fallujah is seen as a political imperative for his government, which has faced mounting popular opposition from within Baghdads impoverished Shia majority. Crowds have twice stormed the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the central government, to protest rampant corruption and the failure to ensure essential services. Also fueling the growing popular anger is a series of terrorist attacks centered in poorer Shia neighborhoods. The government has charged that Fallujah, less than 40 miles west of the capital, is the center from which these attacks are planned and executed. Unfolding parallel to the siege of Fallujah is a separate anti-ISIS operation to the north also backed by extensive US-led air strikes. This operation, directed at preparing an offensive against Mosul, is being conducted largely by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and allied militias, with the participation of US special forces, who are increasingly engaged in combat. Similarly, Kurdish paramilitaries of the YPG (Kurdish Peoples Protection Units) are providing the main ground forces for a campaign across the border in Syria aimed at re-taking the city of Raqqa, the capital of ISISs self-styled caliphate. While the Kurdish forces, supported by US special operations advisers and US warplanes, are advancing from the northwest, the Syrian military, backed by Russian airpower, is advancing from the southwest. This race for Raqqa reflects the underlying conflict between Washington and Moscow over Syria, with the US backing a war for regime change against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, and Russia working in alliance with the government. In both Iraq and Syria, Washingtons reliance upon Kurdish forces has antagonized its NATO ally, Turkey, which has demanded that the US brand Syrias Kurdish militia as terrorist because of its ties with the Turkish Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), against which the Turkish military is waging a simmering civil war. Not only has the Obama administration resisted Ankaras pressure on this score, the chief of the US Central Command paid a visit to the Kurdish units in northern Syria last month. Subsequently, photographs of US special forces wearing YPG patches on their uniforms provoked fresh outraged protests from the Turkish government. At the same time, the prospect of Kurdish forces liberating either Raqqa in Syria or Mosul in Iraq, both predominantly Sunni cities, has sparked new fears of ethnic cleansing and partition. The advance of the disparate anti-ISIS offensives has served to underscore the catastrophic destruction inflicted upon the region by US imperialism, which deliberately incited sectarian divisions, first as part of its divide-and-rule strategy in Iraq, and then to promote a sectarian-based war for regime change in Syria. At the same time, the prospect of defeating ISIS only exposes even more clearly the mutually opposed interests of the various outside powers that claim to be united in their opposition to the Islamist militia, raising the specter of the present conflict spawning regional and even world war. Over 300 Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) workers in San Diego, California walked off the job last Wednesday after overwhelmingly voting down the latest contract offer from the British-based multinational corporation, First Transit. Rent and health care costs in San Diego are some of the highest in the nation, and most of the workers on strike earn poverty wages. Many of the striking drivers and support staff work for the paratransit system, which serves elderly and disabled residents throughout the county. We visited the picket line to interview workers about their living and working conditions. Striking San Diego transit workers speak about social conditions Throughout the world, a rising tide of social struggle is upending the proclamations by anti-Marxist intellectuals that the grand narratives of working-class struggle and socialist revolution have been superseded. The unfolding global wave of class conflict is currently centered in France, where workers and young people are entering another week of strikes and demonstrations against the El Khomri labor reform measures pushed through parliament last month with the help of emergency measures implemented by President Francois Hollande. Workers at the national rail line SNCF began a rolling walkout Tuesday evening, while rail and metro workers in the city of Paris will walk out Thursday. The French Civil Aviation Authority is planning a strike beginning Friday, threatening to paralyze transportation in much of the country. This follows strikes by hundreds of thousands of workers at oil refineries and other workplaces, as well as mass demonstrations in which over a million people have taken part so far. Workers and youth have clashed with police forces mobilized under the state of emergency measures imposed in the name of fighting terrorism earlier in the year. In the United States, where the ruling class and its propagandists have long sought to deny the very existence of distinct social classes, tens of thousands of communication workers went on strike last month. Their struggle, which the unions are working feverishly to shut down, follows the eruption of opposition in Michigan, the traditional home of the US auto industry, to the poisoning of the residents of Flint and the destruction of public education in Detroit. The growth of anti-capitalist sentiment is reflected in widespread support for the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, who many believe to be a socialist. These struggles, and many more in countries throughout the world, are taking place against the backdrop of an unrelenting economic crisis, the ever-growing danger of war and the deterioration of living standards for large sections of the working class and youth. These events must inevitably set into motion a profound political and theoretical reorientation among broad sections of the population, undermining the conceptions that have prevailed over the past half-century. The events in France are particularly significant, since the May-June 1968 strike in that country marked a significant turning point in post-war politics. That struggle, the largest general strike in European history, shook the foundations of the Gaullist state and directly posed the question of overthrowing capitalism. The French general strike was followed by a wave of unrest between 1968 and 1975 throughout the world that directly posed the question of state power. The period saw the massive anti-Tory movement of the British working class, strike movements in Italy and Latin America and the struggle against US imperialism by the Vietnamese masses. Capitalism weathered these storms thanks to the betrayals of Stalinism, Social Democracy and the trade unions, which allowed it to survive and restabilize in subsequent decades. Reacting to these events with fear and demoralization, broad sections of the intelligentsia turned violently against Marxism. While blaming the working class for the betrayals of its leadership, this shift was motivated above all by fear of the working class itself. Witnessing the prospect of revolution, they cast aside their left pretensions and fled into the arms of the ruling class. This process found perhaps its clearest expression in France, where it was associated with theoretical conceptions that came to be known as postmodernism. The basic premise of this philosophical and political tendency was that the great wave of revolutionary struggles initiated by the Russian Revolution of October 1917 belonged to a past epoch that had now been superseded. The meaning of the term postmodernism was summed up by Jean-Francois Lyotard in his 1979 book, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. The postmodernists adopted an incredulity toward metanarratives, Lyotard wrote. The narrative function is losing its functors, its great hero, its great dangers, its great voyages, its great goal. The social content of Lyotards declaration was put more crudely a year later by Andre Gorz in his book, Farewell to the Working Class: Any attempt to find the basis of the Marxist theory of the proletariat is a waste of time. What was the grand narrative that Lyotard rejected? It was the narrative announced first and foremost by Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto, which declared that the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles, and that the workers have nothing to lose but your chains. It was the indictment of the capitalist system in Marxs Das Kapital, which prophesied: Along with the constantly diminishing number of the magnates of capital, who usurp and monopolize all advantages of this process of transformation, grows the mass of misery, oppression, slavery, degradation, exploitation; but with this too grows the revolt of the working class, a class always increasing in numbers, and disciplined, united, organized by the very mechanism of the process of capitalist production itself. The monopoly of capital becomes a fetter upon the mode of production, which has sprung up and flourished along with, and under it. Centralization of the means of production and socialization of labour at last reach a point where they become incompatible with their capitalist integument. This integument is burst asunder. The knell of capitalist private property sounds. The expropriators are expropriated. It was the characterization by Friedrich Engels, in his Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, that the state is merely an instrument of the dominant capitalist class for suppressing and subjugating oppressed classes: Because the state arose from the need to hold class antagonisms in check, but because it arose, at the same time, in the midst of the conflict of these classes, it is, as a rule, the state of the most powerful, economically dominant class, which, through the medium of the state, becomes also the politically dominant class, and thus acquires new means of keeping down and exploiting the oppressed class. And, in language that speaks so directly to our period of war, it was the Russian Revolutionary Vladimir Lenins declaration that Imperialism is the epoch of finance capital and of monopolies, which introduce everywhere the striving for domination, not for freedom. But the venom of the postmodernists was directed above all against the revolutionist who gave the most eloquent expressionin word and in deedto the perspective of Marxism: Leon Trotsky, who in his Theory of Permanent Revolution declared, The socialist revolution begins on the national arena, it unfolds on the international arena, and is completed on the world arena, and in his History of the Russian Revolution defined revolution as the forcible entrance of the masses into the realm of rulership over their own destiny. In sum, the postmodern theoreticiansand the broader upper middle class social layer whose interests they articulatedrejected the idea that society is divided into classes; that the state is an instrument of class rule; that it is possible to understand the objective logic of social and economic development; that capitalism is leading mankind to catastrophe; and that it is the task of the working class, led by a revolutionary party, to overthrow this bankrupt social order on a world scale and lay the foundations of a society based on equality. Despite the proclamations of the anti-Marxist theoreticians that Marxism is dead and buried, a new generation of youth, students and workers are living the grand narrative of economic breakdown, social polarization, war and dictatorship. In the coming months and years, millions will study the great works of Marxism and use them as an indispensable guide in resolving the great tasks that the working class still confronts. Following the announcement last Friday of an agreement in principle, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have moved to rapidly shut down the seven-week strike by 39,000 Verizon workers. A back-to-work order has been issued that will go into effect today. There is widespread anger among Verizon workers to what is in fact a sabotage of their struggle. Workers are being sent back to work without a chance to read a contractand indeed a contract has not even been reached. The highlights of an agreement in principle, released by the CWA and IBEW, make clear that the unions have agreed to major concessions, including hundreds of millions in additional health care costs and changes that will facilitate the restructuring of Verizon and the layoff of thousands of workers. Corporate management has hailed the deal. In their effort to force workers to return to work and accept whatever contract is eventually reached, the unions are finding crucial support from a coterie of pseudo-socialist organizations, whose specialty is to pass off concessions as victories. Groups like the International Socialist Organization (ISO) are essentially factions of the Democratic Party often serving as a liaison between Democratic officials and the union apparatus, while giving a left cover to both. The ISO in particular plays an active role in the CWA apparatus, with a number of its members and supporters holding lower-level positions. An interview with an unnamed CWA shop steward in New York City who is clearly a supporter of the ISO appeared on the organizations website Socialist Worker on Tuesday (We took a stand against corporate power). Conducted by Socialist Worker writer Danny Katch, the interview and the responses are aimed at painting the sellout agreement in as rosy colors as possible, while countering what they both sense to be the deep suspicion and anger among workers over the end of the strike. Socialist Worker introduces the article by acknowledging that only partial details are available as union members prepare for a ratification vote. But strikers believe theyve won a victory on balance. In the course of the interview, the ISO supporter declares it is his gut feeling that its a defensive victory, with a couple exciting potential advances. What is the nature of this victory? The shop steward states in passing that we were all expecting some cost-shifting on medical and probably pensions, justifying this with the statement that the union had already offered to give back $200 million worth of concessions. The fact that workers under the new agreement will have to pay substantially higher health care costs, which will have devastating affects on their families, is brushed aside with the assurance that the union had already agreed to these concessions, so it is not really a big deal! The ISO supporter instead hails a supposed plan to hire an additional 1,500 low-wage call center workers, and an agreement to let the CWA organize a small number of Verizon Wireless workers earning second-tier wages and benefits. These provisions are about ensuring the interests of the CWA to continue to collect union dues. CWA officials often describe these low-paid workers as new dues units. Attempting to counter anger that workers are being returned to work without being able to review a contract, he states it is frustrating that we took down the picket lines before anyone had seen anything official about the contract. He reassures workers, however, that its very rare in the labor movement for the membership to read a fleshed-out contract before returning to work. That is, the treachery of the CWA and IBEW is justifiedbecause of the treachery of the pro-capitalist unions as a whole. As a telling supposed counter-example to this record of deceit, the ISO supporter sites the 2012 Chicago teachers strike where, he claims, the union kept the strike going to give their members time to read over the contract. The ISO, which plays a leadership role in the Chicago Teachers Union, did not tell its readers that the CTU only agreed to extend the strike after a near-rebellion of teachers demanding the right to know what was in the contracta campaign that was spearheaded by the WSWS (see Teachers have the right to know: Whats in the contract?). Later, he acknowledges that Verizon workers will only be able to see a Memorandum of Understanding before returning to work, and that this isnt a full accounting of the changes [to the contract] that will be included. People remember our last contract, which had a number of surprises that we didnt see in the MOU before we voted. None of this, however, prevents Katch and the ISO supporter from declaring victory and supporting an end to the strike. The ISO wants to prevent workers from drawing the obvious conclusion from the rapid shutdown of the strike over Memorial Day, when workers were not on the picket lines and had little opportunity to discuss the agreement in principle with their fellow workers: namely, that the unions want to get workers back on the job before they have time to study and discuss the rotten agreement that has been reached. The ISO also does not mention the fact that strikers in New York were due to receive unemployment benefits starting on June 1, as well as an increase in the miserly strike pay that the CWA has allocated from its $400 million strike fund. This would have lessened the economic pressure bearing down on workers, which the unions and the company are counting on to force through the agreement. Most significantly, not a word is said in the interviewor, for that matter, any of the articles appearing in Socialist Worker on the Verizon strikeabout the role of the Democratic Party, which emerged as a key issue during the strike. Democratic Party New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (hailed by the ISO when he was elected as a progressive politician who could transform the Democratic Party) mobilized the police force to carry out strikebreaking operations on behalf of Verizon, including the running down of several picketing workers. This was followed with the intervention of the Obama administration to end the strike under the tutelage of a federal mediator. The administration also sought and received injunctions barring the picketing of hotels where scab workers were staying. The response by the ISO to these developments has been to cover up for de Blasios role in the first place, and in the second to portray Obamas intervention as a favorable development. Socialist Worker asserted in an earlier article that the intent of federal mediation was to get a reluctant Verizon to come back to the bargaining table. The ISOs interview with the CWA shop steward followed a solidarity meeting held by the organization Friday in Queens, New York. With news of a proposed settlement, the speakers uniformly hailed it as a tremendous victory, despite the fact that they had no information on any of the exact terms. They promised a social media offensive to drum up support. Throughout the seven weeks of the Verizon strike, the ISO colluded with the union apparatus to isolate the strike, ultimately attempting to wear down resistance to concessions demanded by the corporation. Nowhere is this more clearly illustrated than in the refusal of the CWA to call out 16,000 AT&T West workers who have labored for months with an expired contract. The limited walkout of 1,700 San Diego CWA members was shut down in a matter of days, precisely when calls for joint action were reaching a peak. In five articles this month by Socialist Worker on the strike, not a word appears on the CWAs efforts to sabotage a strike by telecom workers on both US coasts, which would have tremendously strengthened Verizon workers. In an article published May 24, Socialist Worker turned reality on its head, portraying the CWA and IBEW as striving to unite the workers. They cite a demonstration in Washington, DC, which brought together Verizon strikers and a handful of functionaries from other unions. In place of genuine unified action, the article promotes the unions mobile pickets, social media and picketing Verizon Wireless, a radio ad which calls for a fair economy that works for everyone, and personalizing the strike through a kids and families day. The growth of rank-and-file opposition to the betrayals of the CWA and IBEW are part of a series of conflicts between workers and the pro-capitalist trade unions. In recent months, Detroit teachers launched a series of sickouts in defiance of the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) to protest unsafe conditions and years of DFT-backed pay and benefit cuts. Chicago teachers also forced the ISO-led CTU to back down from accepting sweeping attacks on pensions. Last fall, there was a near rebellion of autoworkers against the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which resulted in the first rejection of a UAW-backed national contract in three decades. In every case, the growing militancy and political radicalization of the working class led to increased interest and support for the World Socialist Web Site and its fight for workers to build rank-and-file committees independent of the pro-capitalist trade unions and the two big business parties. At a time when growing working class anger threatens to break through the straitjacket of the trade unions and develop into a political struggle against the Democratic Party and the entire political establishment, the pseudo-left groups are seeking desperately to maintain the authority of these anti-working-class organizations. The US-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) issued a stark warning last week over the mounting danger of nuclear conflict between the United States and China, declaring that the two countries were just a few poor decisions away from starting a war that could escalate rapidly and end in a nuclear exchange. The report included an examination of the nuclear arms race currently underway between the US and China, the failure of diplomatic efforts to mitigate tensions and the dangerous dynamic that is heightening the danger of war. Its bleak assessment offers no hope that the drive to war can be halted other than through enlightened diplomatic effortsa solution that is negated by its own analysis of their complete lack of success to date. The UCS paper is notable, given the rising barrage of anti-Chinese propaganda in the US and international press, for the absence of criticisms of Chinese expansionism and aggression. If anything, it cautiously highlights Washingtons confrontational approach to Beijing, especially under the Obama administration. As part of his pivot to Asia, Obama has deliberately inflamed dangerous regional flashpoints including disputes in the South China and East China Seas as a means of isolating China from its neighbours. The report explains: In 2009, the Obama administration broke with past policy by emphasising it would use military force to police long-simmering disputes between China and its neighbours over competing sovereignty claims. The change responded to PRC [Peoples Republic of China] statements describing its sovereignty claims as a core interest. The United States backed up its new policy with new military bases, deployments, and exercises in the region. It sailed US Navy task forces into PRC-claimed waters that the United States does not normally patrol. The stated objective has been to compel a compromise on PRC sovereignty claims. The PRC responded by accelerating ongoing island-building activities, excluding foreign fishing vessels from disputed waters and constructing new military facilities in the region. While it refers to potential triggers for conflict, the UCS paper is focussed on the rising risk of a clash spiralling into nuclear war. The US, which has engaged in one war of aggression after another over the past 25 years, outspends China on the military both in absolute terms and relative to GDP. Yet as the UCS explains, the Pentagon is deeply concerned that Chinas military modernisation threatens Americas absolute dominance in Asia by potentially restricting US military operations in the Western Pacific. The report states: The Obama administration decided to counter those perceived threats by investing in new submarines, a new stealth bomber, improved missile defences, and anti-satellite weapons Currently, the United States plans to invest more than a trillion dollars in comprehensive upgrades to its nuclear forces. It also plans to spend several hundred billion dollars modernising the US nuclear weapons complexthe laboratories and facilities that research, design, produce, and maintain nuclear weapons. These plans include developing two nuclear weapons intended for fighting a nuclear war against the PRC: the Long-Range Stand-Off nuclear-armed cruise missile and a redesigned B61 nuclear gravity bomb. China, which has a relatively small nuclear arsenalan estimated 260 war heads as opposed to about 7,000 for the USconfronts the possibility that a US first strike could completely destroy its ability to retaliate and render it completely vulnerable. It has not increased the number of weapons but has taken some measures to protect its nuclear deterrent against a US attack. The issue is at the heart of the failure of limited talks between the US and China to ease nuclear tensions. The UCS report noted that while discussions have produced some limited confidence-building measures on other military matters, strategic dialogues on their nuclear forces, missile defences, and anti-satellite weaponry are perfunctory. The paper highlighted what it regarded as one critical set of bilateral dialogues that focussed on preserving strategic stabilitya euphemism for making sure that if a conflict starts it does not end in a nuclear exchange. Chinese experts proposed that, like Beijing, Washington adopt a no first strike policy. But as the report explained: The Obama administration considered this option but concluded that there is a narrow range of contingencies where the United States may need to resort to the first use of nuclear weapons to counter conventional attacks including by China. Chinese officials then sought an assurance from their American counterparts that the US would not seek to negate Chinas ability to retaliate with nuclear weapons if struck first. Again, the US was not prepared to offer such a guarantee, with some officials concerned this would be a sign of appeasement. In other words, Washington is determined to achieve what is known as nuclear primacy over Chinathe ability to strike first and obliterate Chinas nuclear arsenal, as well as tens if not hundreds of millions of its people. Chinas determination to preserve its ability to respond to a US first strike is compounding the danger of war. It is increasing the sophistication of, and protection for, its nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and also reportedly discussing a policy of launch on warningthat is, to fire off nuclear-armed missiles if a US nuclear attack is perceived to be underway. The UCS report declared: It is not difficult to imagine situations that could trigger an inadvertent or accidental nuclear war. For example, PRC leaders could underestimate US willingness to use nuclear weapons to stop a conventional war. US leaders could underestimate PRC willingness to retaliate after a tailored US nuclear attack. The PRC could launch a retaliatory nuclear attack if the United States were to launch conventional missile strikes that China mistakenly believed were nuclear. The United States could make the same mistake. While graphically warning of the danger of nuclear war, the UCS, a pressure group of scientists established in the late 1960s, has no proposal to prevent itother than a vain hope in a diplomatic solution. Its inadequate explanations for the escalating tensions between the two countries boil down to it being the product of competing Cold War ideologies or conflicting regional ambitions. No attempt is made to explain why this is taking place now. The growing danger of war is rooted in the irresolvable contradictions of capitalism between world economy and the outmoded nation-state system that have been profoundly exacerbated by the worsening global crisis of the profit system since 2008/09. The United States regards China as the prime threat to its global dominance, and, confronting a historic economic decline, is determined to retain its world position through military means. The aim of the pivot to Asia is nothing less than the complete subordination of China to American strategic and economic interests by any means, including war. As in the 1960s, in the aftermath of the Cuban missile crisis, the threat of nuclear conflict will inevitably produce broad anti-war opposition among workers and young people internationally as the danger becomes more immediate and palpable. The crucial issue is what political perspective must guide such a movement. The only realistic means of ending the danger of war is to abolish the social order that gives rise to it on the basis of a socialist and internationalist program. Amid protests and opposition, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are moving to shut down the Verizon strike, with most workers scheduled to return to their jobs today before they have had a chance to review or vote on a contract. In an attempt to placate anger over the lack of information on the settlement, the CWA held information meetings Tuesday, including a conference call. At the meetings CWA officials defended the agreement, which provides for a minimal 10.5 percent pay raise over the life of the four-year contract while imposing sharply higher out-of-pocket medical expenses. As of this writing an online petition being circulated by rank-and-file workers and the WSWS Verizon Strike Newsletter, which demands a rescinding of the unions back-to-work order pending the release of the full contract and a democratic membership vote, has gained significant support, with several hundred workers signing. Many workers left comments expressing their opposition to the attempt by the CWA to shut down the strike without first revealing the full details of the contract. It is highly suspicious that the CWA and IBEW set a return to work for June 1, the day unemployment benefits were scheduled to begin for thousands of Verizon workers in New York state. It is also telling that the announcement of the settlement came just before the Memorial Day holiday, timed so that workers would not have time to meet and discuss the deal. An analysis of the 10-page contract summary and related documents presented by the CWA shows that the agreement is a betrayal of the seven-week struggle by Verizon workers. There is no amnesty clause for workers fired during the strike for trumped up picket line infractions. Instead workers will have their fate determined in arbitration, with no assurance of ever being rehired. It is not even clear that there is a written agreement. The CWA statement announcing the end of the strike referred to an agreement in principle, not an actual contract. The paltry 10.5 percent wage increase over four years, reported by the CWA, is not retroactive back to the previous contract expiration date in August 2015 with the final increase on the end date of the agreement. Meanwhile, the CWA and IBEW have agreed to impose higher health care costs on workers that will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in savings to management, including a 44 percent increase in monthly premiums and a 33 percent increase for emergency room visits. In a meeting Wednesday, CWA Local 1101 President Keith Purse justified the failure to pay workers their pay increases retroactively, saying the company said they couldnt afford it. As for the health care cost increases workers would have to bear, he said, a 6 percent rise is the going rate. Retirees, who will get an insulting 1 percent annual raise, are also saddled with higher out-of-pocket health care costs and greater restrictions, that will significantly impact their care. Further, the deal will facilitate a restructuring of the company that will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs. As one analyst told Fortune, the settlement is a prelude to the company exiting the wireline telecommunications business. The CWA says that balloting will be conducted by locals with results to be submitted by June 17. Local 1101 officials brushed aside questions from rank-and-file workers about the return to work without a contract vote with the response that it was standard procedure. In fact, the principle no contract, no work was for decades standard procedure in the labor movement. It is a testament to the utter degeneracy of the unions that the CWA and IBEW take for granted their right to shut down a strike without a membership vote. Indeed, according to the bylaws of New York Citys CWA Local 1101, one of the largest Verizon locals, "Termination of a strike shall be made at a regular or special meeting or by mail referendum by a majority of the members voting. Later on a CWA conference call Tuesday evening, during which no member questions were permitted, top union executives continued their claims of victory, demagogically praising workers for their determination and solidarity. CWA Vice President Edward Mooney boasted of the unions bankrupt strategy of relying on the big business politicians of the Democratic Party. He noted that the strike had been timed to coincide with the New York Democratic primary and praised the brief appearances of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on picket lines. He failed to mention the actual role of Democratic Party officials such as New York City Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, who used the police as a strikebreaking force against Verizon workers. Nor did he cite the intervention of Obamas National Labor Relations Board, which obtained an injunction against workers picketing hotels housing scabs. CWA officials unashamedly boasted that they went into talks with the intention of saving management hundreds of millions in health care costs and to force workers into less expensive plans. They also touted as a victory the establishment of a joint committee to drive up productivity. In response to the call, one veteran Verizon worker told the WSWS, For months the CWA was telling us we faced losing everything. Now they are calling it a victory because the very worst didnt happen. The main thing the company wanted was to shift medical costs onto the shoulders of workers, which is exactly what they did. The 1,300 workers they boasted that the company will add could be laid off within a year as far as I can see. Meanwhile, the CWA has been very active on social media attacking anyone who raises any questions about their claims. Janice, a call center worker, said, This is about the union keeping dues, not about us keeping our jobs. The company got what they wanted, they can go ahead and create their mega-centers and route our calls to them. Then they will say our center is no longer needed. They are still going to close the smaller call centers down. The mega-centers will be staffed with new people who get paid less benefits but will still pay union dues. We may be offered to move, but we are established in an area, we have a house, our kids are in school--you just cant up and move. Like I said, we lose our jobs, but the union keeps getting our dues. A Verizon worker from Virginia told the WSWS, A lot of people dont understand going back without a contract ratified. A couple of more days out will not kill anybody. Medical went up a lot, but our pay is not going up that much. It is not cool that they took three days to get the details to us. A retired worker said, They have sold out the strike. They have been doing this for as long as I worked there. They get people back to work and then you see the real details of the contract. They dont want people to see the contract. They dont want people to discuss it. They say the union is democratic but that is not true. These companies are making billions, there is no reason we should have to give up anything. I worked 31 years with the promise of health care. Now that is being cut. It may seem like a little, but when you are on a fixed income that can be a lot. They are also forcing everyone into an Medicare Advantage plan rather than being able to have Medicare and a company supplemental. In fact the conduct of the entire contract negotiation process at Verizon has been a violation of basic norms of working class solidarity. After keeping workers on the job eight months after the August 1 contract expiration date, the unions called a strike on short notice under conditions where managements strikebreaking plans were well prepared. They left Verizon workers isolated, keeping 16,000 AT&T West workers in California, Nevada and Hawaii on the job past their contract deadline. Meanwhile, they CWA and IBEW were silent as police and scabs carried out violent assaults on pickets. The CWA then collaborated with the Obama administration and US Labor Secretary Thomas Perez to shut down the strike, going into nearly two weeks of closed door talks that resulted in the present contract betrayal. At least 26 women report sexual assaults at German music festival Updated: 2016-06-01 09:39 (Xinhua) A photo taken on May 26, 2016 in Darmstadt, western Germany shows people enjoying an open air concert during the Schlossgrabenfest music festival. [Photo/VCG] BERLIN - As many as 26 women have reported sexual assaults at a music festival in the western German city of Darmstadt, German media reported on Tuesday. At the end of the four-day music festival that hosted a crowd of 400,000 visitors, three women were the first to inform the police late Saturday night they had been touched inappropriately by several men, local media Spiegel Online reported. Similar to the New Year's Eve assaults in Cologne earlier in the year, the victims, mostly young women, were each surrounded and harassed by small groups of men. According to a press release from the Darmstadt police, the women believed the perpetrators to be "from the South Asian region." The suspects are alleged to have approached the young women and touched their "intimate areas" without consent. Shortly after the complaints were lodged, the officers arrested three suspects, aged 28 to 31, who were later released. A police spokesman was quoted as saying there were no grounds for detention. According to the police, they were from Pakistan, and at least two were asylum seekers. The German police will start an investigation into sexual assault and sexual harassment. On New Year's Eve, a group of around 1,000 men surrounded, harassed, and robbed mostly women in the western German city of Cologne. According to eyewitnesses and victims, the perpetrators were from Arabic or North African regions. Will Fulgenzi, the Socialist Equality Partys candidate for the Melbourne electorate of Wills, participated in a lively election forum on Monday night, organised by the Climate Action Moreland group. In addition to outlining the necessary socialist policies required to resolve the climate change crisis, Fulgenzi exposed the pro-war agenda of the Labor Party and the Greens. About 130 people attended the meeting, where Fulgenzi was one of eight candidates who spoke. A majority appeared to be Greens supporters, though other layers attended from different parts of Wills, a traditionally working class area that has seen significant gentrification in the last two decades. In addition to the Labor and Greens representatives, there were candidates from the pseudo-left Socialist Alliance, the Drug Law Reform, Sex, and Animal Justice parties, as well as a right-wing independent. The latter four candidates did not speak during the main question-and-answer part of the forum, with the discussion dominated by Fulgenzis challenge to the Labor Party, Greens, and pseudo-left. In his five-minute opening address to the forum, the SEP candidate explained that the crisis of climate change expresses the failure of capitalism as an economic and social system. Opposing the Labor- and Greens-backed emissions trading schemes and other free market climate mechanisms, Fulgenzi explained: We propose the only realistic, and essential, solution: ending the grip of the major banks and corporations over public life, by expropriating them and taking them under the democratic control of the working class. The SEP candidate noted that climate change was a global crisis, with no national solution. While we live in a world economy, under capitalism the world is divided into competing and rival nation states that fight for markets, spheres of influence, and profits. This same conflict is leading us toward world war All of the major parties are keeping the population in the dark in this election about the threat of war. The former Greens-backed Labor government aligned Australia with the US pivot, aimed against China. How many Australians are aware that since 2011, US marines have been stationed in Darwin, that US bomber planes will be brought to the Cocos Islands? None of the major parties are speaking about this, because they support it. Greens candidate Samantha Ratnam did not attempt to answer Fulgenzi in her opening address. Underscoring the absence of any significant policy differences between Labor and the Greens, she began by declaring that she would like to pay tribute to the retiring Labor member of parliament for Wills, Kelvin Thomson, saying it had been a privilege to work with him while she had been a Moreland city councillor. Ratnam then promoted the Greens climate reform proposals, and concluded by encouraging people to imagine what 3 or 4 lower house Greens MPs could do, holding the balance of power [in parliament]. Labor candidate Peter Khalil postured as promoting realistic climate policies, declaring that if you go for 100 percent of everything, you sometimes get nothing. At the same time he emphasised that a Labor government would seek to promote new business opportunities for renewable energy. After the opening candidates statements, the initial questions from the floor were all narrowly focused on specific climate change policy issues, including coal seam gas fracking and local urban planning, and directed to the Labor and the Greens candidates. The chairperson refused to allow Fulgenzi and others a chance to answer. The meeting opened up, however, on the issue of war. A refugee from Iraq spoke to denounce Labors Peter Khalil for having the blood of millions of Iraqis on his hands for his work in Baghdad with the US occupation regime in 2003-2004, where he served as US viceroy Paul Bremers director of national security policy. Khalil attempted to portray himself as a public servant for the Commonwealth government, working for humanitarian assistance. In reality, Khalil collaborated closely with American military commanders in attempting to violently suppress all resistance to the illegal US-led occupation. SEP supporters interjected from the floor during Khalils remarks, denouncing him for lying about his record. Fulgenzi exposed the Labor candidate. Weve heard many lies from these speakers tonight, but none so glaring as from Mr Khalil from the Labor Party, who dares claim that he wasnt a representative of the occupying regime in Iraq, he stated. [The invasion of Iraq] was a war crime that killed over a million people. He [Khalil] personifies the transformation of the Labor Party into a party of militarism and war. The SEP candidates further elaboration of the current preparations for an attack on China, and exposure of the entire parliamentary setup in this, provoked fury among the small layer of Labor Party functionaries in the audience. Retiring parliamentarian Kelvin Thomson resorted to personal abuse, shouting that Fulgenzi was a nut. Inadvertently pointing to Labors line up with the US war drive, he added, What about Chinas rearmament? Another ex-parliamentarian, Phil Cleary, a self-styled independent leftist who held the seat of Wills between 1992 and 1996, also intervened. Returning to climate change, Cleary declared that the SEP candidate wants to wait for the end of bloody capitalism [while] were not going to do anything locally, adding that it was necessary to raise how you would tackle global warming with strategies to put in the seat of Wills weve had not a single word from the speakers about CERES [a local urban farm] for example. Fulgenzi answered: I object to the contention that the population should confine itself to what you refer to as local issues The threat of war hangs over this electionthe major powers are preparing for a war which will be fought with nuclear weapons. Does that not affect people in the Wills electorate? Does that not affect their lives? These issues cant be resolved within the framework of a single electorate, a single state, or in a single nationthese are global issues, the working class is an international class, there is nothing dividing the interests of the working class in Australia with the working class in China, the US and throughout Asia. The major powers are seeking to divide us along nationalist and parochial lines, we reject this, we fight for the international unity of the working class. The SEP candidate clearly demarcated his campaign from the misnamed Socialist Alliance organisation, a middle class pseudo-left group that is closely oriented to the Greens. Their candidate for Wills, Zane Alcorn, said he wanted a new people power protest movement to break the fossil fuel business model. Directly rejecting Fulgenzis statement that climate change could only be resolved on the basis of an international perspective, Alcorn declared that at a national level, if we were to elect a peoples government in Australia, to set a good example to other countries [and] show the way that would improve our standing internationally. The remarks only underscored the organisations role as the left flank of the political establishment in Australia. Fulgenzi denounced Alcorns remarks as only another variety of the Labor Party and Greens nationalist orientation. He said: Unlike every other party here, including Socialist Alliance, our party rejects a vote for the Labor Party or the Greens on the basis that they represent a lesser evil to the Liberals. They do notthese parties support Australian capitalism, they represent the billionaires, they support militarism. To contact the SEP and get involved, visit our website or Facebook page. Authorised by James Cogan, Shop 6, 212 South Terrace, Bankstown Plaza, Bankstown, NSW 2200. DELAND, Fla. (AP) - Video released by a Florida sheriff's office shows a robbery suspect swinging his arms in the seconds before he is fatally shot by three deputies. The video released Tuesday of the Volusia County deputies shooting Donald Brown was taken by a person parked behind where deputies had pulled over Brown's car. Deputies made the stop based on a suspicion that Brown had committed a robbery at gunpoint Sunday. The video shows driver Erin Finney exiting the car, being cuffed by a deputy and placed in a squad car. Brown then exits the car but raises his arms several times, shouts at deputies and sways back and forth. After two minutes, Brown swings his arms and is shot multiple times. State authorities are investigating. Brown and the deputies are white. LAFAYETTE COUNTY, FL. (WTXL) - Florida Highway Patrol is urging motorists to drive with caution. Lt. Jonathan Young with FHP says, a lightning strike caused close to 300 acres to catch fire. It happened in a wooded area near U.S. 27 and County Road 53 in Lafayette County. Young says, motorists should use caution when traveling in the area. He says, drivers are reminded to reduce their speed and utilize low beam headlights in order to adapt to changing weather conditions. RICHLAND, Wash. -- Federal and state prosecutors have been working on a possible global plea in the case of a former Granger teacher accused YAKIMA, Wash. -- Prosecutors are recommending a former Wapato police officer be sentenced to six months on electronic home monitoring after he You are the owner of this article. Bennett Murch leads a group of Entiat Hotshots out to the area on Tyee Mountain where they cut a fire line down a hillside on May 24, 2016. (REILLY KNEEDLER/Wenatchee World) A group of Israeli high school girls discovered an Egyptian Scarab amulet estimated to be nearly 3,300-years-old on Wednesday morning while on a field trip to an archeological site in the Galilee. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter One can learn a lot during a history lesson in school, but theres nothing like actually holding history in ones hands, Gilad Zinamon, an education coordinator with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). The girls who made the discovery were part of a large group of students who have been participating in archeological excavations in six different sites around the Galilee. These field trips are a Ministry of Education project that aims to bring Israeli 10th graders out of the classroom and into the field in order to increase the students involvement with various public projects in neighboring communities. Most of the students told me that this was the very first time they encountered the world of archeology. So it is thrilling to see their interest, curiosity, and now their success at it, Zinamon said. Sophomore girls who discovered the scarab (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority) Tzipori itself is a village that doubles as an archeological site located in the Galilee region of Israel. The site has provided rich and diverse historical and archeological findings that span from the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, all the way up to the early Ottoman period. According to the IAA, the young school girls were helping archeologists in Zipori dig and sift through the sand when they came upon the amulet. It was a very exciting find and the girls eyes sparkled with excitement, Nimrod Getzov, the excavations director at the Tzipori site, told TPS. The scarab discovered in Tzipori (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority) Dr. Daphna Ben-Tor, curator of Egyptian archeology at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, identified the item as an ancient Egyptian Scarab amulet, roughly 3,300-years-old. This Scarab comes from the Egyptian Golden Age and belongs to the time of the 19th dynasty, most likely during the reign of Ramses, Ben-Tor told TPS. Many such sacred scarab amulets were found around Israel, demonstrating the cultural, economic, and political Egyptian influence over Canaan during the Bronze Age, she explained. According to the IAA, it is still too early to determine how and when this Scarab amulet ended up in Tzipori since the discovery was only made on Wednesday morning and requires further study. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Tuesday fired Algeria's central bank chief, who had been under pressure from ruling party critics over his management of fall-out from the 2014-2015 global oil price drop, two government sources said. Mohammed Laksaci had been the central bank governor for more than a decade. Bouteflika held a cabinet meeting early on Tuesday, according to state news media. The central bank chief would be replaced by Mohamed Loukal, chairman of state-run Banque Exterieure d'Algerie, one of the country's largest government controlled banks. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company is settling a long-running lawsuit with the former head of its Chinese arm. Sands China said Wednesday that both sides "reached a comprehensive and confidential settlement" with Steven Jacobs, the company's former CEO. Jacobs' wrongful termination case against Adelson and Sands China's parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp., had threatened to disclose boardroom decisions about how the company developed its lucrative interests in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. WASHINGTON- Two US service members were injured over the weekend, one each in Iraq and Syria, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday. "They were not on the front lines, they were not engaged in active combat, but they were hit in both cases by indirect fire and suffered injuries," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said. The United States has authorized 4,087 troops in Iraq and 300 in Syria. TAMPA- Authorities say two people are dead and 57 others were hospitalized after attending a Tampa music festival. The Sunset Music Festival was held at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. Tampa police reported in a news release that a 22-year-old Melbourne man and a 21-year-old Kissimmee woman were hospitalized Saturday. The man died Sunday, and the woman died Monday. The medical examiner's office wasn't immediately reporting a cause of death. CARACAS - Venezuela's embattled president, Nicolas Maduro, said on Tuesday night he supported Bernie Sanders in the US presidential race, adding that the candidate, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, would win if the vote were "free." Maduro, a socialist who sees himself as the political heir to his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, has long railed against the United States, blaming it for Venezuela's economic crisis and accusing Washington of attempting to topple him. "Bernie Sanders, our revolutionary friend, ought to win in the United States," Maduro said during an hours-long televised broadcast. More than 2,000 students, pro-Israel activists, diplomats, and Jewish leaders participated in the world's largest international anti-BDS conference on Tuesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The conference, put together at the initiative of Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Dannon, was titled "Ambassadors Against BDS." It was put on by the Israeli delegation to the UN and pro-Israel organizations from all over the world. Danny Danon at anti-BDS conference X Ambassador Danon called on those in attendance to unite in the fight against the BDS movement. "The truth is that this (unity) is the most effective weapon against BDS," Danon said. "BDS is modern anti-Semitism, and we must unite as one body in order to expose its true face and put an end to it." Anti-BDS conference at the UN (Photo: Shachar Ezran) World Jewish Congress President Ron Lauder also spoke at the event. He said "I wonder if those who support the boycott against Israel understand the real meaning behind this movement. These activists are calling for the destruction of the state of Israel. Don't be mistaken the BDS movement doesn't support the Palestinian people. This campaign is intended to de-legitimize Israel it is an effort to deny the Jewish people the right of self determination." Vice President of the Israeli Supreme Court Elyakim Rubinstein gave an extensive review of the international legal battle against the movement. "As we read every year in the Passover Haggadah during the Passover meal, 'in every generation they rise up against us.' The BDS movement is a part of those who wish to destroy us. Yet their mission will not be fulfilled. Just as we overcame the Arab boycott, so too will we overcome the BDS movement." Matisyahu, a musician who was at the center of public outcry after BDS activists requested that he be barred from performing at a music festival in Spain, gave a special performance to those at the conference, singing his hit song "Jerusalem," which has turned into an anthem of sorts against the BDS movement. Danny Danon (Photo Shachar Ezran) Ambassador Danon further noted that this conference would not be a one time affair. "Form this lectern in the parliament of nations, we must continue to work we must change the reality on campuses, in courthouses, and here at the UN. We will not let the forces of hate to demonize Israel. Together, we will overcome the BDS movement. Separately, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour dismissed the conference as "no big deal." He dismissed the conference as "an admission by the Israeli leadership that they're losing ground at American universities and colleges to BDS." He added that BDS is not on the agenda of the UN "Is (Danon) suggesting to bring it to the agenda of the UN? If he is, bring it on," Mansour said. Meir Ettinger, a right-wing activist held in administrative detention since August, 2015, was released from custody under heavy restrictions on Wednesday morning. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Under administrative orders, Ettinger will not be allowed to enter the regions of Judea and Samaria for a whole year and will also be forbidden from entering Jerusalem for six months. He will be under house arrest every night for the next three months and has been given a list of 92 people with whom he is not allowed to have contact. Ettinger, grandson of the American-born Rabbi Meir Kahane who was murdered by a Palestinian assassin in New York in 1990, was taken into administrative detention for suspected involvement in the 2015 arson attack that killed three members of the Dawabsheh family in the Palestinian village of Duma, including the infant Ali Dawabsheh. Meir Ettinger released from administrative detention (Photo: Ehud Amiton/TPS) While he has yet to be charged with a crime, Ettinger has been held in detention by order of Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon for allegedly posing an active threat to public security. Ettinger at age 24 is at the top of the Shin-Bets (Israel Security Agency) list of most dangerous right-wing Jewish extremists. According to the Shin Bet, Ettinger is the leader of The Revolt a fringe religious group bent on creating war between Arabs and Jews and on leading the way to the ultimate destruction of the secular State of Israel. Ettingers administrative detention had been extended by four months in February, which sparked community protests and an uproar by his family. Ettinger was denied a temporary release to attend his sons circumcision on April 3.. I am very happy that this lengthy period of Ettingers detention has come to an end, said Ettingers lawyer, Yuval Zemer, after the announcement that Ettinger would be released. Yet it is sad to find that the State of Israel in 2016 can detain a person for 10 months solely on the basis of his political views. While I welcome the correct decision to end his sentence, it has been made too late. BAGHDAD- The UN children's fund has issued a stark warning to Iraqi troops and ISIS militants to spare the children amid a battle to retake the city of Fallujah city. UNICEF said on Wednesday that it's concerned for the safety of an estimated of 20,000 children trapped inside this city west of Baghdad as very few families have managed to flee Fallujah since the offensive started more than a week ago. It also warns they face the risk of forced recruitment by the militants and called on warring parties to "protect children inside Fallujah" and "provide safe passage to those wishing to leave the city." RIYADH - A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced to death 14 of its citizens for terrorism in the Shi'ite Muslim minority area of Qatif, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported on Wednesday. In January it executed 47 people, including 43 Sunni Muslim militants and four Shi'ites convicted of attacks on police during protests in Qatif. Several attacks by Islamic State group since 2014 have targeted Shi'ites in Qatif and other areas. Two Palestinians who were suspected of violently raping a young mentally disabled girl were freed from jail after the latter backtracked on her testimony. The police investigated her claims and did not find any evidence of rape, humiliation, or violent behavior. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Just last week, the police caused a stir when they did not pass along information to crime reporters about the incident. After the incident was finally made known, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hastily accused political officials and the media of not condemning the incident: This is a shocking crime that calls out for wall-to-wall condemnation," the Prime Minister wrote on Thursday, "but for some reason such condemnation hasn't been heard not in the media and not across the political system. We can only imagine what would have happened in the reverse case. We will charge the highest price, and use the full extent of the law against all those involved in this cruel incident. Palestinain rape suspect set free (Photo: Yariv Katz) Police Spokeswoman Commander Merav Lapidot said earlier this week that the police were not attributing the alleged crimes to nationalistic motives, but the request for remand filed in court in the case of one of the suspects listed the motive as nationalistic. The police representative said that it was decided to incarcerate the suspects for nationalistic motives, but a short while later the police changed its opinion once more. "Until the third suspect in the matter is captured, we are requesting to keep the motive listed as nationalistic." A public defense attorney representing the suspect said in a hearing at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court that "This man was in Israel legally, a father, who, following a quarrel between neighbors, is now here." The defense attorney continued, saying "there still has not been any evidence found that can bring about an indictment, and the lack of evidence speaks for itself. I believe that also the pictures distressing pictures are not attributed to the suspect." A suspected great white shark has attacked a surfer off a Western Australian beach, biting off one of his legs. Ben Gerring, 29, a heavy machinery operator, was surfing at Falcon Bay Beach in Mandurah, south of Perth, on Tuesday when the shark attacked, media reported. "A couple of the guys with longboards brought him in to the shore. So, it was obvious he wasn't in a good way and they were huddled around and in tears. It was really desperate scenes," said Nathan Hondros, a Mandurah Mail reporter who arrived on the scene shortly after the attack. When American businessman Daniel Lubetzky stopped in Jordan this week during his trip to Israel, what he saw there surpassed all of his expectations: a project that was founded in Jordan by a group of Israeli farmers who had been evacuated from the Gush Katif settlement as part of the 2005 Gaza disengagement. They cultivate organic vegetables, relying on hundreds of Muslim workersmany of them refugees from war-torn regions in Syriaand then export the produce to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Just think of that amazing mixture, said Lubetzky, a glimmer in his eye. Religious-National Jews from Israel working with Jordanian partners, employing Syrian workers and selling to the ultra-Orthodox on one hand and the Saudis on the other. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Lubetzkys enthusiasm is understandable. For over 20 years, the food industry mogul has been working to promote business ventures between Israelis and Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular as part of a variety of initiatives. A man of peace, a philanthropist and an avid supporter of volunteer organizations and activities associated with the left, Lubetzky is now set to invest in the new project he had visited in Jordan. Despite his enthusiasm though, he remains a realist, saying that economic cooperation should not replace actual peace. Rather, he feels that economic agreements can and should be an important component of a broader, mosaic-like agreement, but that they should not come in its stead and certainly should not precede it. He also admits that the agreements between Israelis and both Palestinian as well as other Arabs has been slow and rather frustrating; even when there are successful ventures, those involved in it protect their anonymity and refrain from setting an example to others. Daniel Lubetzky Lubetzky, does not hide. Transparency has become a way of life for him. The CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks, Lubetzky has been seeing his company gain more and more popularity, with hundreds of millions of its products sold every year in the US. KIND is locally produced in the United States from a mixture of nuts, almonds and dried fruit, without any preservatives. Promoted as both healthy and delicious, he and his partners went to war with the FDA over their use of the word Healthy. Lubetzky explains that due to outdated notions, almonds werent considered healthy because of the high percentage of fat found in them, but that today we know that it is actually healthy fat. After employing medical and academic experts, KIND has recently managed to gain the FDAs approval to use the word Healthy when describing their products. Lubetzkys story, of a relatively small fish that took on and changed the position of one of the largest and most intimidating regulators in the US, was greatly covered in US media. An affair with Starbucks Lubetzkys detailed his road to dominating the health food industry in his 2015 autobiography entitled, Do the KIND Think: Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately. The autobiography paints a picture of a self-made man whose life embodies the essence of the American Dream. Lubetzky was born to an Ashkenazi, Jewish family in Mexico City and he began closing deals while he was still in elementary school. Even so, his rise to the top was not straightforward - making mistakes, falling and bouncing back many times. After finally hitting it big with KIND Healthy Snacks, Lubetzky became a guru of sorts for socially-conscious business ventures. These days, his company makes up 80% of its market, as well as 15% of the snack bars market. He shared that he already purchases 1% of all the almonds produced in the world. Though the recent drought in California hurt this market, Lubetzky himself says that a similar climate can be found around the Mediterranean. In the beginning, all the companys snacks were manufactured by hand by its founders, who mixed, prepared, sliced and wrapped each bar themselves. Lubetzy would then carry the products with him as he dashed between convenience stores and supermarkets in an attempt to get them to sell his products. In 2009, in the midst of the economic crash, he finally got his big break when he was invited to present KIND before Starbucks Board of Directors. At the time, he did not even have enough money to pay his own salary. Lubetzky described the deal as a couples union. The deal garnered a lot of press, since up until that point Starbucks had not sold any products in its stores that weren't manufactured by the company itself. Later on the agreement was dissolved, but two years after they separated, they got back together. Today, KINDs various products are sold in over 50,000 stores. Since the company is still privately-owned by the Lubetzky family and its initial employees, its revenues are not public knowledge. Despite this, venture capital funds that have invested in the company have come out of the deal with large profits. So far, Lubetzky has refrained from going public with the company or adding a strategic or financial partner, citing that its owners are perfectly capable of moving forward on their own. KIND has previously been ranked as the number one company in terms of growth within the US food industry, as well as one of the most environmentally friendly companies out there, with Lubetzky himself receiving praise for his work from NOGs. All in all, KIND employs around 600 workers. Lubeztky makes it a point to include his workers in the companys management and to have them enjoy some of its profits. Lately, Lubetzky has been tentatively considering expanding his business to the global market. So far, KINDs products have been sold on a small scale in 20 countries, but he is in no hurry to move forward with the idea. He expresses doubt about entering the Israeli market, saying that financially this does not seem like a viable option. It is also doubtful that doing so would help progress his dream of promoting a more ethical political discourse within Israel. And yet, he does not completely disregard the idea; there is something in the local Israeli market that manages to entice foreign businesses. He is quick to point out, though, that the public cannot be fooled more than once, and that companies have only one chance to make a first impression. For this reason, his motto is never to disappoint the client, and to approach them with sincerity and transparency. Due to his extensive work to promote peace, Lubetzky has been branded a leftist. This was further solidified during Israels last elections, when he was among the financial backers for V15, a campaign that sought to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lubetzky himself, however, identifies as a moderate centrist, describing a democratic, liberal, principled and sane center that respects the opinions of those from all points on the political spectrum. According to Lubetzky, the fracture within Israeli society does not separate the left-wing from the right, but rather the moderates from the extremists; he views an Israeli move toward extremism as a threat to Israels connection to the Jewish Diaspora, and he vows to fight it. Lubetzkys autobiography also touches upon this point, warning against extremism, pride, selfishness, irrationality, haste and unprofessionalism. Instead, he recommends emphasizing discussions and consulting experts before making important business decisions. He states that while not all opinions should be followed, various perspectives should be allowed to be heard. He adds that despite it being a long and arduous process, he eventually learned that decency and fairness provide you with an incredible advantage over your competition. BEIJING- China hopes all parties on the Korean peninsula will remain calm and exercise restraint, President Xi Jinping told a senior visiting North Korean envoy on Wednesday, after the isolated state rattled nerves with a failed missile test. The rare meeting in Beijing between Xi and one of North Korea's highest-profile officials, career diplomat Ri Su Yong, follows a flurry of weapons tests in the run-up to the first congress in 36 years of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party in May, when young leader Kim Jong Un consolidated his control. China is reclusive North Korea's only major ally but has been angered by its nuclear and missile programmes. Alaa Ziad, who carried out a ramming and stabbing attack on route 65 near Kibbutz Gan Shmuel in October, was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday morning. Ziad will also have to compensate his victims between NIS 40,000-150,000. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Ziad ran over Orel Azuri and another soldier at a bus stop near the Gan Shmuel Interchange in his attack. A civilian who was in the area observed the incident and proceeded to subdue the terrorist with his bare hands. During his hearing, Ziad claimed that he did not carry out a terror attack but rather lost control of his car: I did nothing. They want to turn me into a terrorist. I dont know what they want from me. I am not a terrorist. Azuri, from Ramla, was severely wounded and underwent a number of surgeries. She has been recuperating for the past couple of months. She was serving in one of the Air Forces Iron Dome units and at the time of the attack, and was returning to base from a training exercise. Alaa Ziad (Photo: Elad Gershgoren) "I was unconscious for 13 days, sedated and on a ventilator - teetering on the brink between life and death," Azuri told Yedioth Ahronoth, Ynets sister publication, last November. "A miracle happened to me." Speaking about the attack, she said, "I felt the hit and was thrown several yards forward. The terrorist went over me several times with the car, and the next thing I remember is all the people around me in the hospital's in intensive care unit. I was in shock. I woke up to a totally different reality," she says. Ziad was convicted of four accounts of attempted murder and wielding a knife for racist motives. According the indictment, Ziad was motivated by the clashes at the Temple Mount and decided to carry out an attack against soldiers and Jewish civilians. He was equipped with a knife and had walked around Hadera for a half hour before traveling the Gan Shmuel Interchange. The indictment says, The accused noticed the soldiers standing at the bus stop and decided to bring his plan to fruition and (attempt) to cause their deaths. Thus, he increased the speed of his car and aimed it towards the soldiers, knocking them into a ditch. His car came to a halt several dozen yards from the bus stop, and he got out of his car with the intention of continuing his plan. He noticed a young girl and then pulled a knife out of his car door and walked toward the bus stop. He approached the young girl and started stabbing her all over her body with the intention of killing her. At the time of the attack a passerby who noticed what was happening came to the rescue of the young girl. The terrorist tried to stab him too and succeeded. Nonetheless, the civilian fought back and the terrorist surrendered . Other civilians came to the scene and helped the first man hold down the terrorist until the police arrived. Rivka Fuchs, Daniel Fish, and Yosef Elron, Haifa District Court judges, said in their ruling that the act deserves a severe punishment: The defendant, who is a citizen of the state, decided to carry out a terrorist attack to murder Jews, only because they are Jews, by ramming passersbys to death with his car. They added, The crimes that he has been convicted of require a severe punishment to send a definitive message and (establish) a deterrent. Israeli parents already know that the high cost of living becomes particularly oppressive during the summer months. Not only is the vacation long, but the accompanying costs are considerable. Parents are no longer willing to remain quiet. Local protests, angry social network groups and a growing demand that the government intervene form the basis of the growing unrest. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter A Yedioth Ahronoth investigation published last Friday revealed differences of hundreds of shekels in the prices of summer camps in various cities, with prices reaching as high as NIS 2,500 for less than a month. It should be noted that prices vary depending on the local authority, as does the length of the stay at the camp and the possibility to receive reductions. In some cities such as Givatayim or Kiryat Byalik, they have already decided to reduce the prices due to the protests. Summer camp in Israel MK Dudu Amsalem (Likud), who chairs the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, will convene next Monday a special meeting in which government departments will be required to present solutions to the issue. "The state somehow thinks that children disappear in July and August," said Amsalem. "Every mayor does what he wants and charges exorbitant prices. The state must take responsibility." Amsalem has declared his intention to promote legislation to fix summer camp prices. Moreover, MK Yifat Shasha-Biton (Kulanu), chairwoman of the Knesset Special Committee for the Rights of the Child, intends to submit a bill Wednesday that would set up price controls for camps. "There is no reason for parents to pay thousands of shekels," she said. Head of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel and the mayor of Modiin, Haim Bibas, said that the union is currently leading a course of action to significantly reduce camp prices. "During the summer, most of the public pays a lot of money for their children's activities and we, the mayors, have to do our utmost to alleviate the cost of living, Bibas stated. He called on the ministry of education to expand the program of school of summer vacation " beyond first and second graders. Members of the Air Force Reserves 910th Airlift Wing, based at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, shared their experiences utilizing military training programs to aid members of communities across the country during the inaugural Delivering Outcomes to Communities (DOC) event hosted by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS) here, May 9 - 11, 2016. According to PPS President and CEO Max Stiers event invitation letter, over the past seven years agencies across the federal government have launched numerous initiatives to create more sustainable communities. From small rural towns, to metropolitan areas across the country, over 1,800 communities have been served by a transformative approach based on strong local partnerships, improved coordination among federal agencies and a reliance on data and evidence to guide our work. Stiers letter said the purpose of the event was to offer training to federal staff to enhance the skills and build the networks of those working across the federal government, PPS offering the first ever Delivering Outcomes for Communities training for federal agency staff members. The 910th was invited to speak at the event to share their knowledge about the Air Force Community Partnership Program (AFCPP) as well as the Department of Defenses (DoDs) Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) and Realistic Military Training (RMT) programs. During his May 9 presentation, 910th Airlift Wing Commander Col. James Dignan, noting the 910th is home to the DoDs only aerial spray capability, related the wings experiences in using the IRT program to accomplish continuing aerial spray missions designed to eradicate disease-carrying and nuisance insects such as mosquitoes in communities surrounding military installations in areas like Homestead, Florida; Minot, North Dakota and Langley, Virginia. Dignan continued by relating the story of the 910th Civil Engineer Squadrons (CES) April 2016 work in Gallup, New Mexico to construct modular homes to be used by needy families living on Native American reservations. He said this recurring DoD mission was also made possible through the IRT program. The 910th commander also talked about the units recent AFCPP work with the City of Youngstown where the wings civil engineers collaborated with the citys blight remediation experts to demolish nearly 90 dilapidated structures. Dignan said this win-win effort, completed under the RMT program, allowed 910th CES troops to get much-needed real world training while the city was able to utilize the Air Force Reserves highly skilled Citizen Airmen to supplement their thinly-stretched manpower pool. Dignan said the partnership aided the city in putting at least a small dent in the staggering number of more than 4000 structures in need of demolition throughout Youngstowns neighborhoods while letting the 910ths Air Force Reservists hone their skill sets in their own backyards. We wanted to be a partner with the community outside our gates, Dignan said. These programs are a way to get that done. The DOC keynote speaker, Cecilia Munoz, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council, commented on why it is important to continue the efforts highlighted at the event. We work for the largest organization on the planet with capacity to good, said Munoz. The inaugural DOC event continued with sessions scheduled for May 25-27, 2016 and June 1-3, 2016. Reserve C-17 delivers food aid to Haiti A 445th Airlift Wing C-17 Globemaster III delivered more than 102,000 pounds worth of rice and beans to Haiti May 26, as part of the Denton Program. The food was provided by Kids Against Hunger, a ministry of A Child's Hope International from Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifteen pallets of the food items, equating to 615,000 meals, were loaded into the cargo area of the C-17 and transported to the impoverished country. According to its website, the purpose of the Denton Program is to allow U.S. based non-governmental sources to transport humanitarian aid at little or no cost to the donor, while simultaneously putting the extra space on U.S. military transport assets to good use. This program is jointly administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Department of State and Department of Defense. Air Force officials are accepting nominations through Sept. 12 for the 2016 Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) Military Service Awards. The GEICO Military Service Awards annually recognizes enlisted total force members from all branches of service for contributions to military or civilian communities.The three award categories are drug and alcohol abuse prevention, fire safety and fire prevention, and traffic safety and accident prevention. The accident prevention category applies only to vehicle- or motorcycle-related accomplishments.The award period is Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2016. Contributions may also span a period of several years, be ongoing, or have been accomplished during the award period. For contributions after Sept. 12 and before Sept. 30, individuals can contact the Air Force Personnel Center at (210) 565-2520.GEICO will select recipients in each category from all nominees submitted by each service. Those recipients will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., next spring.Search for eligibility and application procedures on myPers with the keyword "GEICO." For more information about Air Force personnel programs, go to the myPers website . Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by following the instructions on the Air Force Retirees Services website According to analysis of the APRA figures by CoreLogic RP Data, at the end of March there was $906.7b worth of mortgages outstanding to owner occupiers and $501.3b outstanding to investors, with total lending up 8.7% compared to March 2015. The average outstanding mortgage balance was recorded at $251,900 at the end of March 2016, having increased by 4.8% year-on-year. While total lending is up by a relatively significant mark over the year, investor lending has risen by just 0.1% in the 12 months to March 2016 while owner occupier lending has jumped 14% over the same period. At the end of March the value of investor outstanding investor loans was 3.2% below the peak levels reached in June 2015 and investors accounted for 35.6% of outstanding loans, down from the peak 39% also recorded in June 2015. Over the March 2016 quarter alone, there was $81.7 worth of new mortgages written, which is the lowest quarterly total since the three months to March 2014. Of that, $25.7b was issued to investors which is 25.5% lower than the value of new investor lending in the March 2015 quarter and is the quarterly value of new investor lending in three years. New lending to owner occupiers was 16.1% higher in the March 2016 quarter compared to the March 2015 quarter. CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said the figures show investor demand for finance has moderated, however that could change now that lenders are meeting APRA requirements. The data indicates that there has been a significant pull-back in new lending to investors over recent quarters, Kusher said. The data also indicates that investor credit growth now sits significantly below the APRA imposed 10% pa speed limit. This could lead to a rebound in lending to investors over the coming quarters, he said. While lending to investors may bounce back, Kusher said the actions taken by lenders in response to APRAs desire to rein in investor lending have had some benefit, with higher risk lending practices seemingly on the decline. Interest-only lending which APRA and the Reserve bank have previously sounded warnings about is also starting to fall and is now at its lowest level since March 2013. Higher LVR lending which is associated with smaller deposits are also trending lower which indicates less risky lending, he said. The added benefit surrounding lower LVRs is that if a borrower has a deposit of more than 20% of the value of the property they can typically avoid lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). These emerging trends can only be positives for the stability and security of the Australian mortgage lending market. According to the APRA figures, the value of new lending for loans with LVRs above 90% fell 22.8% over the year to March 2016 and is at its lowest level since the March 2011 quarter. Lending for LVRs above 80% represented 22.4% of all new lending in March 2016 which was its lowest proportion on record. In the March 2016 quarter 34.9% of new lending was on an interest only basis, however value of new interest-only lending was the lowest since the March 2013 quarter. Mortgages with offset facilities account for a record-high 43% of all outstanding mortgages at the end of March and the value of these mortgages has increased 20.4% year-on-year. Released yesterday, CoreLogic RP Datas May Home Value Index revealed that the median combined capital city dwelling price increased 1.6% to $580,000 over the month of May, with house prices improving 1.8% compared with a 0.1% rise in unit values. The May increase means home values have risen 5% during the 2016 calendar year and are currently 10% higher than they were at the end of May 2015. During May, Sydney was the best performing market with its median dwelling price increasing 3.1% to $782,000 over the month. Canberra was the next best performer with its median dwelling price up 2.5% during May to $550,000, while the median dwelling price in Hobart increased 2.2% to $335,000. Perth was the worst performer over the month, with its median dwelling price falling 2.7% to $506,000, while both Brisbane and Adelaide saw small price increases of 0.1%. In the 12 months to May, Melbourne was the best performer with its median dwelling price ($590,000) up 13.9% over the year. Sydneys median value increased 13.1% over the year, while Brisbane ($475,000) increased 7.1%. Perth was again the weakest performer on a year-on-year basis, with its median price falling 4.2% over the 12 months, while Darwin ($519,000) saw a 3.5% fall. Source: CoreLogic RP Data CoreLogic research head Tim Lawless said an uptick in investor activity may be behind Sydneys recent strong run. The extent to which investors are fuelling the latest surge in Sydney home values is difficult to quantify, however housing finance data to March shows investors, as a proportion of all new mortgage commitments, have been trending higher since reaching a recent trough in November last year at 42.9%. The March data shows investors now comprise 47.6% of all new mortgage commitments which is the highest proportional reading since August last year, Lawless said. Anecdotal evidence suggests investor numbers may have increased further from this time, with some lenders reversing the tighter lending requirements that were previously in place for investment purposes as growth in investor related credit tracks well under the APRA speed limit of 10% per annum, he said. While dwelling values have improved over the first five months of 2016, there has been little good news for the rental market, with weekly rents increasing by just 0.7% over the same time. The combined capital city dwelling gross rental yield currently sits at just 3.4%. In the house market, Melbourne is home to the lowest yields at just 2.9%, while Sydneys apartments are returning just 4%. As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More The Global and United States Hydrobike Market Report has been published by QY Research recently. Hydrobike Market Analysis and Insights This report focuses on... Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced four people have been indicted for their alleged involvement in a nationwide telemarketing scam targeting seniors. The indictment alleges Lukeroy Kendrick Rose, Solana DePaola, Cordell James Bess, and Dino Nick Mitchell conspired to operate Rose Marketing LLC, a telemarketing business, in order to scam seniors across the country out of thousands of dollars. In August 2013, the Federal Trade Commission filed a civil complaint in federal court against Rose Marketing, Lukeroy Kendrick Rose, Solana DePaola, Cordell James Bess, Dino Nick Mitchell, and several other entities and individuals alleging those parties operated an illegal telemarketing scheme offering consumers fictitious business investment opportunities. In connection with the FTC case, the United States Postal Inspection Service learned that Rose Marketing was allegedly operating boiler rooms in Phoenix, AZ. Telemarketers allegedly cold-called elderly persons across the country and solicited them to invest in work from home business opportunities. The victims were told they were investing in credit card processing machines and were promised a commission each time a business used the credit card machine. Victims who invested were allegedly contacted a few days later and given the opportunity to purchase leads for businesses in need of credit card processing services. The victims invested anywhere from $3,000 to $40,000 each to purchase these leads. Reportedly, the business opportunities were fictitious, no legitimate leads were provided, and the victims lost all of their investment. Following the Postal Service Inspection investigation, the matter was referred to the Arizona Attorney Generals Office for criminal prosecution. A total of 16 victims were identified in the indictment. The total loss is allegedly more than $298,000. Rose, DePaola, Bess, and Mitchell are charged with Conspiracy, Illegally Conducting an Enterprise, Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, Theft, and Money Laundering. Rose, DePaola, and Bess are also charged with Participating in a Criminal Syndicate, while Mitchell is charged with Assisting a Criminal Syndicate. Bess was arrested in Texas and will be extradited back to Arizona today. Assistant Attorney General Andy Kvesic is prosecuting this matter. All defendants are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted 55-year-old Danny Lee Wallace on eight felony counts including Computer Tampering, Aggravated Luring, and Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. The Phoenix Police Department arrested Wallace on May 19, 2016 after an investigation by the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Wallace is accused of using a fake identity named Veronica Wallace (a/k/a Veronica Sanchez, Vero Wallace and Ashley Guess) to solicit sexually exploitative images from an underage victim. Investigators say Wallace was in possession of those images when he was arrested by police. Wallace is alleged to have been in communication with the victim since at least December of 2015, and sent the victim pornographic images while soliciting the victim for sex. The indictment also alleges that Wallace engaged in conduct that seriously alarmed, tormented, threatened or terrorized the victim using messages sent over a well-known social media app chat network. Investigators with the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force have reason to believe that Wallace may have been communicating with other underage victims using the Veronica Wallace identity, and the investigation is ongoing. If you know a child that had any inappropriate contact with Wallace, please contact the Phoenix Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at (602) 757-4263. Assistant Attorney General Todd C. Lawson is prosecuting this case. All defendants are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law. Border News Yuma, Arizona - Entering the Memorial Day weekend, Border Patrol agents made significant seizures in three separate events. Thursday, May 26, Blythe Station agents encountered two U.S. citizens, both males, at a gas station in Ehrenberg. During the encounter, agents smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The two were arrested after a search of the vehicle yielded three pounds of marijuana, valued at an estimated $1,520, two hand guns, and 23 counterfeit $100- bills. Friday, May 27, agents arrested Ramiro Bello-Juanito, a Mexican national illegally present in the U.S. Records checks revealed an active warrant for Bello by the Arizona Department of Corrections. Bello will now be incarcerated for the remaining year of his sentence. Also on Friday, a vehicle attempting to pass through the Highway 95 immigration checkpoint was referred to a secondary inspection because a K9 alerted to the vehicle. Further inspection revealed both occupants of the vehicle were hiding nearly 13 pounds of cocaine in their waistbands. The drugs were valued at an estimated $143,487. One of the subjects also had a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue hidden in his sock. Both were lawful permanent residents. All persons, drugs, contraband and vehicles will be processed per Yuma Sector guidelines. Federal law allows agents to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless or until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents effectively combat smuggling organizations attempting to illegally transport people and contraband through southwestern Arizona and California. Citizens can help the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection by calling 1-866-999-8727 toll-free to report suspicious activity. Callers can remain anonymous. Stiri pe aceeasi tema - The Prime Minister of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, on a working visit to our country, arrived on Wednesday afternoon at the Getica National Combined Training Center in Cincu, central Brasov County, being accompanied by President Klaus Iohannis. Fii la curent - Education is the foundation of the development of democratic societies, the essential premise for the modernization and evolution of nations towards an increasingly prosperous standard of living, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday, in his message sent by the State Councilor Catalina Galer - President Klaus Iohannis and visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday will call on the Getica National Joint Training Centre at Cincu, Brasov County. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro Help your friends - The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) postponed for Wednesday, October 26, the debates on President Klaus Iohannis' notification on the Aquaculture Law. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro Help your friends know - President Klaus Iohannis will lead the Romanian delegation that will participate in the high-level segment of the 77th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, on Tuesday and Wednesday, in New York, the Presidential Administration informs. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. - The Bookfest Fair in Chisinau is an expression of the common cultural and linguistic space, a materialization of the European aspirations of the Romanians on both sides of the Prut River, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday in the message sent on the occasion of the opening of the 5th edition - Acting President of the Senate Alina Gorghiu received, on Wednesday, the Ambassador of Japan, Hiroshi Ueda, on a courtesy visit, a meeting during which she expressed her condolences for the assassination of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe, noting that the Japanese leader will remain in the memory - President Klaus Iohannis decorated on Friday several German personalities at a ceremony that took place at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro Help your friends know more about Romania! Guwahati: The Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday apprehended two linkmen of Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) from Dhubri district in Assam. One revolver, two mobile phones and seven SIM cards besides other items were recovered from their possession. New Delhi: In a big relief to Delhi University (DU) aspirants, the process of admissions to undergraduate courses will be centralised and entirely online. This means there will be no admission queues in Delhi University this year. REGISTRATION The process of admissions to undergraduate courses will begin from Wednesday. Registrations will be on till June 19. PAYMENT OF FEE Even the payment of fees will be online. WEBSITE DU aspirants would be able to register themselves at the university's website http://www.du.ac.in/ CUTOFF The first cutoff list will be announced on June 27. This year, the university will release only five cutoff lists. New Delhi: The Delhi University on Tuesday announced its admission policy for the upcoming academic session and decided to go for an entirely online procedure. The process of admission to over 60,000 seats in Delhi University's undergraduate courses will begin today. The admission process has already been delayed by over a week but the aspirants are now very much clear about admission norms. "As instructed by UGC earlier this year, the university has decided to make the entire process online. While till last year there used to be an option for filling offline applications and the students had to complete the admission formalities manually after announcement of the cut-off list, from this year all of it will be done online," DU's Dean of Students' Welfare JM Khurana said here yesterday. The online registration process will start today at 12 noon and will continue till June 19. The first cut-off list will be announced on June 27 and, unlike previous years, the varsity will release only five cut-off lists. "The students will have three days to complete the enrollment process following publication of each list. The merit lists for the remaining seats after admissions conclude for the fifth cut-off, will be announced by respective colleges," Khurana said. The centralised Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) forms will be available on Delhi University's website -- www.du.ac.in -- and students will have to make the payment through Internet banking. The fee for General category students is Rs 100 whereas for SC/ST students the admission form will cost Rs 50.After registering themselves on varsity's admission portal, the students will be required to upload "self-attested and scanned" copies of their documents after following the mentioned instructions and then make the payment online. After announcement of the cut-off list, the students will have to log into their registered account and see the courses and colleges in which their percentage figures in the cut-off list, select the desired combination and then take a print out of the admission form. "The candidate will then be required to report to the college with the application form and original documents which the admission committee of the respective college will verify and deposit the originals. "An acknowledgment will be given to the student following which they will be required to pay the fee online and key in the acknowledgment number," Khurana said. However, a student who has already taken admission in the first cut-off list will not be able to secure a seat in another college in the second list without cancelling the previous admission. "In case of withdrawl, the students will have to approach the college which will then report the cancellation on the university's portal, return the original documents to the student and then only he or she will be able to take admission in another college," he added. The varsity will also hold an 'open house' for students and parents from June 1-11 at different locations during which any queries regarding the admission process may be taken up. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday conducted a raid at the residence of an alleged Sanatan Sanstha member Sarang Akolkar, wanted by NIA in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. 34-year-old Akolkar is alleged to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar, a rationalist who fought against superstitions all his life, on August 20, 2013 in Pune. Akolkar is believed to be linked to Sanatan Sanstha, a Hindu right wing organisation whose headquarters are located in Ponda, Goa. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case. NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down. CBI sources said besides Akolkars house in Pune, searches were on at the premises of Virendra Singh Tawde in Panvel near Mumbai in connection with the Dabholkar assassination case. Two alleged Sanatan Sanstha operatives were killed when the bomb they were carrying accidentally exploded on Diwali eve in Margao in Goa. Six other accused, who had been charged with waging war against the nation in the case, were later acquitted by an NIA court. The blast had occurred at a place not far from where the then Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was attending a fuction. The NIA charge sheet was dismissed on technical grounds by a special court in December 2013 as the agency had not sought sanction of the state government against the accused who were charged under Explosive Substances Act. NIA has filed an appeal which is pending before Goa bench of Bombay High Court. The Bombay High Court had transferred the probe in Dabholkar murder case to CBI on 9 May, 2014 on a PIL filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar on the plea that there was no headway several months after the killing of the eminent rationalist. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: In a grim reminder of deteriorating law and order situation in the national capital, a CCTV footage has surfaced showing a youth abducting an eight-year-old girl, who was sleeping outside her hut, in outer Delhi's Kirari area. The incident took place early Saturday when the accused, who is suspected to be a minor, allegedly gagged the girl, took her to an isolated place near her house, and raped her. The girl was sleeping on a cot outside her house at an unauthorised colony in Kirari area when the accused spotted her. After the sexual assault, the accused fled the spot leaving behind the girl, who returned home on her own and went off to sleep on the same cot. It was her mother who raised an alarm after she saw blood stains on the bed sheet and rushed the girl to a hospital. The hospital authorities, in turn, called up police. After doctors confirmed sexual assault, the girl was sent for counselling. During counselling, the girl broke down and narrated her ordeal. A case under IPC sections 363 (abduction) and 376 (rape) and relevant sections of POCSO Act has been registered at Aman Vihar police station, a senior police officer said. After scanning CCTV footage from the locality, the suspected accused was spotted in one clip. He was arrested on Tuesday. Watch the CCTV footage here: Thailand: Two weeks ago, a wildlife trafficker was caught selling frozen tiger cubs in order to make a healing glue. This week, however, The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation's plan on raiding Kanchanaburis Tiger Temple with the intention of relocating a 100 big cats, turned out to be a morbid affair. The wildlife authorities discovered the remains of 40 tiger cubs hidden in a freezer. Observers on Twitter claimed that the dead cubs appeared to have been killed very recently. Furthermore, they were in a kitchen area at Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua in Sai Yok district, said Adisorn Noochdumrong, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, as per the Bangkok Post. The authorities decided to raid the temple on suspicion of wildlife trafficking and animal abuse, owing to years of allegations against the temple monks. Meanwhile, as reported by the Bangkok Post, the authorities are cluless about the intentions of the temple's actions, except that the tiger cubs held some value for them. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation decided to raid the kitchen facilities after receiving a tip about their gruesome act. As per the Bangkok Post, they also found the body of a Binturong, a protected species commonly known as a bearcat, and a number of dead wildlife organs. The temple that has been charged with the illegal possession of wildlife carcasses, are subject to a maximum penalty of four years in jail and a fine of 40,000 baht. It already faces a charge for having animals under protection, a criminal offence which serves the same punishment. Officials on Wednesday also shifted another 12 tigers to the Khao Son and Khao Prathap Chang Wildlife breeding centres in Ratchaburi's Chom Bung district, bringing the total animal count to 52, since Monday. There are 85 more tigers within the temple premises waiting to be moved. Investigations for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and abuse have been carried out in the temple before. However, the raid that began on Monday, is the latest move in a tug-of-war since 2001 to bring the tigers under state control. Agartala: Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) is likely to declare Tripura Madhyamik (Class 10) Results 2016 on Thursday (on 2nd June). TBSE 10th Result 2016, TBSE Madhyamik Pariksha Results 2016, TBSE Madhyamik Results 2016 will be declared at 9:45 am. How to check Tripura Madhyamik Exam Result 2016 / Tripura Board Results 2016: Students who have appeared for TBSE Class 10 2016, Tripura Class 10 2016, Tripura Madhyamik 2016, Tripura Board Class 10 2016 exams can check their results on the following websites - www.tbse.in and tripuraresults.nic.in. In order to check their results, students have to enter their roll number and click on 'submit'. After submitting the same, the results will appear on the screen. Candidates are advised to take a printout for future reference. About Tripura Board of Secondary Education: Tripura Board of Secondary Education was established in 1973 by an Act (Tripura Act No.12 ) called Tripura Board of Secondary Education Act, 1973 as passed by Tripura Legislative Assembly. The Board started its functioning from the 1st January, 1976. Intervening period was spent in framing Rules and Regulations, Curricula and Syllabi, and such other guidelines which were being necessary for smooth and active conduct of the business of the Board. According to the official website, before 1976, all the High and Higher Secondary Schools of Tripura were affiliated under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the students of Tripura had to appear at the School Final and Higher Secondary Examinations conducted by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. It was in 1976 that the Tripura Board of Secondary Education conducted its first Public Examinations - School Final Examination [old system], Madhyamik Pariksha (Secondary Examination) [new system], and Higher Secondary Examination [old system]. Subsequently, Higher Secondary (+2 stage) Examination [new system] was introduced in 1978. With the abolition of old courses, the Tripura Board of Secondary Education now conducts 2(two) major Public Examinations - Madhyamik Pariksha (Secondary Examination) and Higher Secondary (+2 stage) [ both General and Vocational courses ] Examination since 1981. With the passage of time the core curricula were also changed from time to time and ultimately adopted the syllabi as per NCF, 2000 guidelines from 2006. The Syllabi and Question Pattern as per guidelines of NCF, 2005 are under active consideration of the Board. The Board has introduced the Madhyamik Madrassa Education in 2009. The Tripura Board of Secondary Education is one of the few Boards in the country which has introduced Centralised Evaluation system from its very inception. Zee News wishes all students best of luck for TBSE Class 10 Results 2016, Tripura Class 10 Results 2016, Tripura Madhyamik Results 2016, Tripura Board Class 10 Results 2016. Panaji: As the central government is ratcheting up efforts to contain the damage over attacks on African nationals, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar's comments that Goans are "annoyed" with the behaviour, attitude and way of life of Nigerians have sparked an outrage. Speaking to IANS last month, Parsekar had said that he was getting complaints against Nigerians on many occasions from locals. "The Goans in general are complaining about these foreigners. We get people from all other countries, but in general the people of Goa are very much annoyed with their (Nigerians') behaviour, with their attitude, with their way of life," Parsekar said. Amid a string of attacks on Africans in Delhi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday announced a slew of steps including a country-wide sensitisation campaign even as she asserted that the killing of a Congolese youth was not a "racial crime". Besides, Parsekar, Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar on May 30 demanded a strict law to deport Nigerians, claiming that they come in conflict with Indian law so as to extend their stay and indulge in drugs and other crimes. A series of attacks on Africans, including murder of a Congolese man in the national capital, has evoked a sharp reaction from African envoys, prompting the central government to step in and launch efforts to ensure safety and security of Africans. Recently, a Nigerian student was allegedly assaulted by a local over parking of car in Hyderabad. Panaji: With Goa government failing to promote regional languages as the medium in primary schools, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) state unit chief Subhash Velingkar, has said that as a mark of protest the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) will boycott all government functions attended by BJP leaders. In recent times, trouble seems to be brewing between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Goa. Last month Velingkar had called the Goa BJP leaders bluff-masters. The RSS leader said as the BJP failed to fulfil its election promise, the state unit will boycott all the functions attended by CM Laxmikant Parsekar, Union Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar. Notably, ahead of of 2012 Goa Assembly polls, BJP, RSS and BBSM had launched a movement to promote regional languages as the medium of instruction in government run primary schools. Earlier, Velingkar had launched a vicious attack on Defence Minister and former Manohar Parrikar over the issue. Without naming Parrikar, the RSS state unit chief had called the BJP leader a professional bluffer. While addressing a gathering last month Velingkar said, it was our mistake to trust him, we got bluffed. The BBSM had also advocated for withdraw the grants for English medium private schools. Aligarh: Union Law Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday expressed concern about false terror charges slapped on Muslim youths across the country. The minister added that legal reforms will be made to address such cases. When asked about an increase in instances of false terror charges against Muslim youths and the problems of rehabilitation they face after their acquittal, Gowda said (and quoted by The Times of India): "Cases of arrest of Muslim youths on false terror charges are a matter of concern. We are thinking of bringing in changes. The law commission is working on a report in this matter to bring about reforms in criminal procedure, bail, prosecution lapses, etc. A Supreme Court judge is the chairperson of a panel preparing the report, and there are other legal experts who are helping in preparing this report, and it is being worked upon." Gowda was here for the celebrations to mark two years of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had told the daily that "the government has settled for a calibrated approach to terror investigations, advising police to adopt a more sophisticated approach, including de-radicalisation strategies, rather than necessarily prosecuting all suspects". New Delhi: The Congress party on Wednesday refuted speculations about Rahul Gandhi taking over as party president anytime soon and dismissed any such possibilities. There is no decision as yet over the elevation of #RahulGandhi as party President: #Congress pic.twitter.com/jB9aHiWIB3 All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 1, 2016 "Speculation is the privilege of the media," party spokesperson Sushmita Dev told reporters today. Dev, who was replying to a volley of questions on the speculation over Rahul's imminent elevation, said, "We are a national party. There are certain procedures. When it comes to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, we all wholeheartedly accept their leadership." "We all want Rahul Gandhi to take over, as and when it will happen, we will make a proper statement," Dev added further. Senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit also denied any such development taking place and told News18, "I don't know anything about Rahul Gandhi's elevation as party chief." Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who is on a visit to her constituency Rae Bareli, also remained tightlipped on the issue when she was asked to comment on media reports about Congressmen wanting Rahul to take over as President. According to PTI report, Gandhi got into her car without replying to the media. Reports further stated that a meeting of the Congress Working Committee is likely to be organised this month to discuss threadbare the situation caused by the party's debacle in recently held assembly elections in four states. Rahul was made party vice president in January 2013 at the Jaipur chintan shivir. Sonia Gandhi has been at the helm of the party since March 1998 and has created a record of sorts. Mumbai: The death toll from the massive fire that broke out at one of Asia's biggest ammunition depot in Maharashtra's Pulgaon has increased to 18. The ammunition depot houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country. Two more bodies were on Wednesday recovered from the site of the fire mishap at central ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district. The cause of the blaze that started around 1 am on Tuesday is yet to be ascertained. The sprawling 7,000-acre depot, some 115 km from Nagpur, houses the country's biggest stockpile of weapons, including Brahmos missiles, AK47 rifles, other arms and ammunition, bombs and explosive items. The massive fire was completely doused and the situation brought under control after an overnight operation. Following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was in Pune, rushed to the spot. Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag also visited the site. Modi tweeted, "Pained by loss of lives caused by a fire at central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. Eyewitnesses and military officials said loud explosions followed a massive fireball at one of the sheds at the depot where ammunition with expired shelf life is also disposed. The depot recently won an award for using solar energy to dispose of expired ammunition. The Army and civil administration as a precaution got five nearby villages evacuated amid deafening explosions and rising flames at the depot. However, some 1,000 men and women from these villages returned to their homes by Tuesday afternoon. New Delhi: Showing concern towards the labelling of Muslim youths as 'terrorists' in false cases, Union minister for law and justice DV Sadananda Gowda said that the government is mulling reforms in criminal procedure. Cases of arrest of Muslim youths on false terror charges are a matter of concern. We are thinking of bringing in changes. The law commission is working on a report in this matter to bring about reforms in criminal procedure, bail, prosecution lapses, etc, Gowda was quoted in India.com report. The minister was speaking at an event celebrating two years of NDA government in office. His statement came in the wake of acquittals of many Muslim accused in different terror related cases. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier told TOI that "the government has settled for a calibrated approach to terror investigations, advising police to adopt a more sophisticated approach, including de-radicalisation strategies, rather than necessarily prosecuting all suspects". Islamabad: President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday accused India of "running away" from talks despite Pakistan's offer of joint-probe in the Pathankot terror attack, even as he raked up the Kashmir issue, calling it an "unfinished agenda of partition" and the main cause of regional tension. Addressing the joint session of the parliament at the start of the fourth year of the present parliament, Hussain said, "Despite Pakistan's efforts for resumption of talks (with India) and its offer of joint probe in the Pathankot attack, the foreign secretary level talks are still suspended. Pakistan is concerned about it." "We believe the main cause of tension in the region is the Kashmir issue. It is part of unfinished agenda of partition of the sub-continent. Unless Kashmir issue is settled according to the wishes of people of Kashmir and UN resolutions, the problems of this region cannot be resolved," he said. He said Pakistan is a peaceful country and wants its foreign policy to be based on friendship and brotherhood with all nations. "We do not wish to be aggressive towards any nation and intend to participate with honesty in national and global affairs," he said. The president said that Pakistan wanted peaceful ties with all neighbours by addressing disputes through talks and accused India of "running away from talks with Pakistan". He said that democracy has been strengthened in the country and it can now resist and absorb different kinds of crises. "Our political system has become strong enough to successfully face different kinds of crises. It means that our nation has come to the conclusion that sustainable progress and stability cannot be achieved without democracy," he said, as he congratulated the lawmakers on completion of three years of parliament. He said Pakistan was making progress in the economic field and the country achieved 4.7 per cent growth in the outgoing fiscal years which will end on June 30. He said Pak-China partnership was important for national economic growth and the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will be completed at every cost. New Delhi: Underscoring that relationship between India and US is "not about one person", key American Senator Ben Cardin on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to Washington because of the country he represents and not his name. "The Prime Minister was not invited to address the joint session of the Congress because of his name but because of his country," he said here at a seminar after which he responded to some questions. The relationship between the two countries is "not about one person", Cardin said in his response when it was pointed out that Modi was a pariah in the US until recently but now he has been invited to address the joint session of the Congress. This is "representation of the importance of that relationship" between the two countries, he said. Modi will travel to Washington on June 7 for a visit during which he will address a joint session of the US Congress. Earlier, the US had refused to grant visa to Modi post Gujarat riots. Cardin, who has been vocal about the "religious intolerance" in India, said the relationship between India and the US will continue to go strong beyond the election of the next administration in the United States. "It underscores by the fact that here we are in an election year in a Republican controlled Congress and PM is to speak before the joint session of the Congress," Cardin said. Kolkata: Monsoon in Kerala is "slightly delayed" and likely to set in by June 6 and "normal to excess rainfall" is expected over most parts of the country from July till September, said private weather forecaster Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS). "The onset of monsoon in Kerala is expected to be slightly delayed and is likely to take place around June 6 to June 7 as a weak current," said Kanti Prasad, senior consultant, climate sciences, WRMS Pvt Ltd. "Though slightly delayed, its advancement will be good," Prasad said. The company processes the NOAA climate CFSV2 (coupled forecast system version 2) model and adds statistical and synoptic interpretations to provide long range weather forecasts to its clients. NOAA is the US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The analysis says rainfall during the month of June may "remain subdued" over many parts of India except in the northeastern states. "Monsoon rains are expected to commence over north eastern states around June 10 and advance further westward across West Bengal, Bihar, East UP and Himalayan belt between June 16 and June 20. Our analysis of the model shows that monsoon 2016 may end up on the positive side of the normal with well distributed rainfall over the country," said Prasad. "The monthly precipitation forecasts based on the model products dated May 26 indicate positive anomalies (normal to excess rainfall) over most parts of the country during July, August and September." But a few pockets of south peninsula such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu may receive "deficient rainfall" during the months of July and September, he said. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday released Indias first ever National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), which aims to make the country disaster resilient and reduce loss of lives. The plan is based on the four priority themes of the Sendai Framework, namely: understanding disaster risk, improving disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction (through structural and non-structural measures) and disaster preparedness, early warning and building back better in the aftermath of a disaster. The plan covers all phases of disaster management: prevention, mitigation, response and recovery and provides for horizontal and vertical integration among all the agencies and departments of the Government. The plan also spells out the roles and responsibilities of all levels of Government right up to Panchayat and Urban Local Body level in a matrix format and boasts of a regional approach, which will be beneficial not only for disaster management but also for development planning. It is designed in such a way that it can be implemented in a scalable manner in all phases of disaster management and it also identifies major activities such as early warning, information dissemination, medical care, fuel, transportation, search and rescue, evacuation, etc. to serve as a checklist for agencies responding to a disaster. The plan also provides a generalized framework for recovery and offers flexibility to assess a situation and build back better. To prepare communities to cope with disasters, it emphasizes on a greater need for Information, Education and Communication activities. Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh, Minster of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, and senior officers of the Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Home Affairs and National Disaster Management Authority were present during the function. Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday filed her nomination papers for Anantnag assembly constituency by-elections in south Kashmir, which had fallen vacant after the death of her father and then Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed. Mehbooba Mufti, who has never lost an assembly election in her 26-year-long political career, was accompanied by her senior Peoples Democratic Party leaders. Mehbooba Mufti has to be elected to either house of the state`s bicameral legislature within six months of assuming the office of the chief minister of the state. The opposition National Conference has fielded Iftikhar Hussain Misgar and the Congress has given the mandate to Hilal Ahmad Shah from the PDP`s south Kashmir bastion. Mufti Muhammad Sayeed defeated his nearest rival Misgar in 2014 state assembly elections by 6,000 votes while Shah of the Congress finished third in that contest. Independent MLA from north Kashmir Langate assembly constituency, Engineer Rashid has also said he will stand against the state chief minister for the Anantnag by-polls. Mehbooba Mufti presently represents the south Kashmir Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in the Lok Sabha. She has in the past won assembly elections thrice, in 1996 from Bijbehara, in 2002 from Pahalgam and in 2008 from Wachi assembly constituencies. Vienna: Arsonists were most likely behind a huge blaze which engulfed a newly-built but still empty refugee centre in northern Austria, police said on Wednesday. The inferno started in the early hours of Wednesday in the village of Altenfelden and left only charred remains of the building. No one was harmed in the blaze, which was battled by up to 200 firemen. The police said they had found two places "where unknown suspects are thought to have started the fire," police said in a statement, adding that investigations were ongoing. The alleged attack happened two weeks before 48 asylum-seekers were due to move in. Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka condemned "all forms of violence against refugee centres" while Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said in a tweet that he was "deeply affected" by the blaze. Sobotka added that an investigation was underway. The Red Cross, which operates the centre, said it was "shocked". "We will nevertheless carry out our duty to aid people looking for help and will seek out discussion with the regional authorities in the coming days to rebuild the centre as soon as possible," Austrian Red Cross president Walter Aichinger said. The organisation estimates the damages to be around 300,000 euros ($335,000). "We have no indications at all that people in the village were at all unhappy," Red Cross spokesman Stefan Neubauer told AFP. Altenfelden mayor Klaus Gattringer said: "A few hours ago I would never have thought that anything like this could happen in Altenfelden." Austria has so far been spared the string of arson attacks on refugee centres seen in neighbouring Germany, but many people are unhappy about the arrival last year of 90,000 asylum-seekers in Europe`s biggest migrant influx in decades. Last week, police commandos arrested a suspected neo-Nazi who told friends he wanted to "kill all asylum seekers", recovering several weapons and ammunition at his home. In May, a candidate from the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) came within a whisker of being elected to the largely ceremonial but coveted presidency, losing by just 31,026 votes to an ecologist independent. Beijing: A Chinese textbook used in Beijing secondary schools was criticised for including a story from the Bible, after some outraged citizens claimed the book spreads Western values. "(We) added some extracts from the Bible's Book of Genesis into the textbook to broaden students' horizons and introduce them to Western myths," an employee of the Beijing Academy of Educational Science (BAES), one of the textbook's two compilers and a textbook selection consultant for capital education authorities, said on Tuesday. The text, which also includes several Chinese myths, was published in 2006 and is used in Chinese language classes for first-year middle school students. Wang Kai, director of the BAES textbook centre, told the Global Times that the textbook has been adopted by about 40 percent of secondary schools in Beijing. The textbook triggered heated discussion online, as some netizens questioned why the Christian content appeared in a textbook in a secular country. Columnist Wang Xiaoshi published a commentary on Hainan-based news site cwzg.cn, saying that the textbook violates China's education law, which mandates that the country adopts the principle of separation of education and religion. Wang cited a comment by scholar and national political advisor He Xin that humanities textbooks are a symbol of national unity and also reflect the dignity of education. However, Professor Yao Xinyong of the Chinese Department of Jinan University said that neither scholars nor the public should read an ideological or political perspective into the textbook. "The purpose of basic education is to offer systematic knowledge of human culture, both domestic and foreign," Yao added. China's recent revision of its primary and secondary school Chinese language textbooks has received mixed reactions from the public and scholars. Some have complained the textbooks excessively praise foreigners and belittle the Chinese people. Berlin: Incessant rain in regions of Germany, France and Austria led to flash flooding today, forcing residents to seek refuge on rooftops and stranding hundreds of pupils at their school overnight, authorities said. In southern Bavaria state on the Austrian border, firefighters and other emergency services were dispatched to inundated towns. "The floods came so quickly that people had to escape to the roofs of their houses," a spokesman for the Lower Bavaria regional police said, adding that many streets were submerged. The town of Triftern, around 200 schoolchildren bunked down in their school, preparing to spend the night, when road access became restricted. A town spokesman said the school building itself was out of danger as it was on higher ground. A separate group of 27 children on a class trip together with two teachers and a chaperone ran into trouble on a boat trip down the Regen river. Their group of 12 boats became separated in the raging current sparked by a sudden storm and panic broke out among the pupils. About 20 members of the group had to be rescued by emergency services, while the others were able to reach the riverbank on their own. Just over the border in Austria, heavy rain lashed the Salzburg region, flooding several roads and forcing several schools to announce closures for tomorrow. And in central France, residents called in emergency services 8,000 times in recent days to demand assistance due to flooding. In Paris, many promenades along the Seine were closed due to high water while in Nemours, 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the south, residents had to be evacuated today afternoon after the Loing river burst its banks. The neighbouring Loiret region saw the average rainfall of six weeks in just three days and Chambord, the Loire Valley's best-known Renaissance chateau and a tourist magnet, was surrounded by rising waters. Tokyo: Japan`s military on Wednesday joined the search for a seven-year-old boy missing in the country`s north since his parents said they abandoned him in a bear-inhabited mountain forest, officials said. A total of 75 personnel from the Ground Self-Defence Force -- Japan`s army -- joined some 130 fire rescuers, police officers and volunteers to look for the boy, rescuer Satoshi Saito told AFP by telephone. Yamato Tanooka has been missing since Saturday after his parents said they made him get out their car on a mountain road as punishment for misbehaving. He is reportedly without food or water. Rescuers have admitted it is a frustratingly difficult task to find the vanished boy due to a lack of evidence found so far of his presence in the rugged mountainous area on the wild bear-inhabited island of Hokkaido. The boy`s parents originally told police their son had got lost while they were out hiking to gather wild vegetables -- but later admitted they were angry and tried to punish him because he had thrown stones at cars and people. The local town of Nanae requested military support after rescuers and police officers had already scoured the area for four days, with heavy rains at times hampering the search. "We asked the SDF to go into places which people can`t easily access such as deep crevasses along creeks," town spokesman Mitsuru Wakayama told AFP. "We have already covered the same areas over and over again," he said, but added that it is hard to imagine even a lost adult being able to travel over such an extensive area on foot. "We have not taken such a long time before to find signs of a person in distress," he said. The parents told police they abandoned Yamato on a road, bounded on both sides by thick mountain forests, but quickly returned to find him missing. On the northern side of the road where the boy is believed to have been abandoned is a slope of Mount Komagadake, which rises to an altitude of 1,131 metres (3,710 feet). "The military personnel will scour the mountain slope," said Saito, the rescuer. "Unless he started climbing the mountain, he would have hit a main road after walking for two-three kilometres (1.2-1.9 miles) in any other direction," Saito said earlier. Nairobi: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy urged the opposition on Wednesday to end unrest over alleged bias in the electoral commission, but opposition leaders said protests would continue if their demands for dialogue were not met. To help defuse tensions, Kenyatta on Tuesday had talks with his political rival, the leader of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy Raila Odinga, but the rare meeting between the two appeared to have little impact. The president`s office said Tuesday`s meeting yielded no deal between Kenyatta and Odinga on how to revamp the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Police in Nairobi fired tear gas at people leaving a rally of the Coalition that was fully authorised and had passed without incident, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. The next presidential and parliamentary polls in Kenya, East Africa`s largest economy, are not due until August 2017 but politicians are already trying to galvanise supporters in a country prone to political strife. Violence erupted after the 2007 vote and the opposition disputed the outcome in 2013. The opposition wants the IEBC scrapped, accusing it of bias. The commission`s electronic identification system collapsed during the 2013 election that brought Kenyatta to power. The opposition cried foul but a court declared the result valid. Odinga, who was also running for president, accepted the ruling. In a speech at a separate event on Wednesday, Kenyatta said the opposition should use legal channels to seek changes to institutions, rather than demonstrations. "The law is good when it favours you, but when it takes an unfavourable turn, you don`t like it. We can`t work like that. We must be a nation that follows the rule of law," the president said in a speech at a ceremony in the town of Nakuru to mark Kenya achieving independence from Britain in 1963. TALK OR TEAR GAS His deputy, William Ruto, said the opposition should eschew further protests, citing a court ruling that had banned them marching. "I now wonder if we want to transact the business of Kenya over a tete-a-tete or a cup of tea, or in street engagements, clouded by clouds of tear gas," he said. Speaking at the Nairobi opposition rally, Odinga said there was no such court ruling. In late April, Kenya`s High Court barred the opposition from storming the election commission`s offices, but did not forbid them from protesting. Another lawsuit brought by ruling coalition lawmakers to stop Odinga from interfering with the running of the electoral commission is still with the court. Ruto did not elaborate on the ruling he was referring to. Odinga also told the rally that the coalition would on Thursday appoint five of its lawmakers who, alongside their counterparts from the ruling Jubilee Alliance coalition, would meet with the electoral body on Friday for talks. "If the talks don`t start on Friday, then on Monday we are going back to marching," Odinga told some 10,000 supporters. Parliament`s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee had said on Tuesday it would invite the public to present their views on how to reform IEBC and other election-related issues, according to the statement from Kenyatta`s office. "President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto intend to make their submissions to this team," it said. "The Presidency expects that the sessions by the ... Committee will be held in public, and that they will also be televised live so that all Kenyans can hear what anyone with any views on the subject has to say." Lahore: Using a reactor developed by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), Pakistan is set to begin construction within weeks on the third unit at the Karachi nuclear power plant using a reactor developed by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), according to a spokesman for the company. According to Dawn, a report published on the website of China Daily said the K3 plant would be built by using Hualong One, the CNNC's third-generation nuclear reactor design. CNNC spokesman Pan Jianming said it would be the second nuclear power project in Pakistan to be based on the Hualong One technology, after construction started at the K2 plant in August last year. "Hualong One was developed based on very mature technologies and the project is going on very smoothly. It will help ease power shortages in the Karachi region after completion," Pan told a forum in Fuqing, Fujian province, where the Hualong One pilot project is based. The spokesman further said that an understanding had been reached with the Algerian energy authorities for the development of a nuclear research centre. Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was willing for a dialogue with Israel`s newly-appointed defence minister, if the latter accepts the principle of the two-state solution, the media reported on Wednesday. Abbas made the remarks in a meeting on Tuesday with several mayors of Israeli cities. It was Abbas` first reaction to the appointment of Lieberman as defence minister in Israel on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. Lieberman, chairman of the far right-wing Israeli Party Israel Batino (Israel is our home), is well-known for adopting radical thoughts against the Arabs and the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, mainly against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Islamic Hamas movement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement to join Lieberman`s party into his coalition. "Our judgements are not made in accordance to their factional or racial ideologies and beliefs, but according to their positions in their governments in relation to the peace process," Abbas said. "During Israel`s experience in peace over the past 40 years, we learned that the right-wing in Israel can only make peace." However, Lieberman and Netanyahu said in a joint news briefing that they accept the two-state solution and ready to negotiate with the Arab states on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative made during the Arab Summit held in Beirut in 2002. "It is necessary to make a good use of the Arab peace initiative in order to make a comprehensive peace," Abbas said. "Fifty-seven Arab and Islamic states will be willing to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel," he said. Abbas stressed that all can happen when Israel withdraws from the Palestinian territories it occupied in 1967 and accepts the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on these territories with East Jerusalem as its capital, adding: "We work together to make the peace that the Israeli people want." Israel and the Palestinians signed a series of peace accords and treaties in Oslo, Cairo and Washington in 1993, 1995 and 1998, where the PNA was transitionally established after mutual recognition between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The Last direct peace talks between the two sides, which were sponsored by the US and lasted for nine months, stopped in April 2014 due to differences with the Israeli government on lands confiscation and expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. International and Arab efforts had so far failed to bridge the gaps between the two sides in order to resume the peace talks and agree on the outstanding issues, mainly after Israel and the US rejected a French peace initiative that aimed at holding an international peace conference to end the conflict. Nabil Abu Rdineh, an advisor to Abbas, said the joint remarks of Netanyahu and Lieberman over the two-state solution and the Arab peace initiative "should be attached with practical steps of action on the ground, including the recognition of a Palestinian state on 1967 borders." "Israel should know that the Arab peace initiative is part of the resolutions on the UN Security Council and the US-backed Roadmap peace plan," he said, adding "over-jumping the Arab initiative is not reasonable, especially there is an international consensus that backs it". Meanwhile, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the PLO executive committee and the former chief negotiator, said that before making remarks, Israel should immediately pull out from the occupied Palestinian territories and implement all the signed peace agreements. "Lieberman`s remarks should be attached with an Israeli commitment to the international resolutions related to the conflict in the Middle East and also a commitment to world-backed two-state solution and the Arab peace initiative," said Erekat, adding "his (Lieberman) remarks are made for public relations". Taipei: Taiwan`s new government has repealed controversial changes to the high school curriculum that led to widespread protests last year over what critics said was "China-centric" education. The order to overturn the changes comes less than two weeks since the China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party was sworn in, replacing the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) government. Outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou oversaw an unprecedented rapprochement with Beijing -- while new president Tsai Ing-wen has said she will maintain the "status quo" with China. Ties have rapidly cooled since she won the presidency in January vowing to restore Taiwanese pride. Education ministry officials said the decision on the curriculum, made late Tuesday, had been taken in response to public sentiment. Dozens of angry students broke in to the education ministry in central Taipei last July over amendments to the curriculum brought in by the KMT, which they said favoured China`s view of the island`s history. Taiwan split from China in 1949 after a civil war and is self-ruling, but Beijing still sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification -- by force if necessary. Arrests of the protesting students sparked demonstrations across the island, stoked by the suicide of one young activist. At least 100 protesters were camped out at the ministry for six days. Deputy education minister Lin Teng-chiao told AFP Wednesday the panel that had made the original changes was "not representative" of the island and the procedure was "not proper". The protests over the curriculum came as concerns grew, especially among the young, over increased Chinese influence. Curriculum changes disputed by protesters included a reference to Taiwan being "recovered by China" instead of "given to China" after the end of Japanese occupation in 1945. The 50-year period of Japanese rule is also referred to as an era when "Japan occupied" the island, replacing the previous phrase "Japan governed". "We`re glad to see the outcome, which could not have been possible without the efforts of many people," leading activist Lin Fei-fan said. "One person even died for this cause," he said. London: British special forces are blasting Bollywood music as a new psychological warfare weapon against Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Libya on the advice of a Pakistani-born intelligence officer, it emerged on Wednesday. They came up with the idea after the Pakistani-born intelligence officer with the British Army said that Bollywood tunes would annoy ISIS, which considers music un-Islamic. "We needed to unnerve militants and at the same time use some sort of passive measure to gauge their force strength in the area we are working and it went well," a source told the 'Daily Mirror?. As part of a force known as the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), British forces are training Libyan troops on how to drive out ISIS from the town of Sirte and a 185-km stretch of the Libyan coastline. The psychological operations unit intercepted ISIS communications and blasted them with Bollywood chart music, in direct retaliation of the Sharia law imposed inside Sirte banning all things western or frivolous. Bollywood songs will be seen as a huge insult by the terror outfit, the newspaper reports. British and Libyan soldiers also dumped two cars with Bollywood music blaring out near Sirte. According to media reports, as well as tormenting the terrorists, the new musical weapon is also helping reveal their hiding places as when ISIS members complain about the music over their radios, it gives away their precise location. British special forces are in Libya in a non-combat role, training the nation?s forces in how to wipe-out ISIS. The SBS (Special Boat Service) ? sister agency of the SAS (Special Air Service) ? will only launch an assault on ISIS if they are attacked first. It is believed that ISIS, who have held swathes of coastal Sirte for 20 months, have around 4,000 insurgents in the region. * Ethiopia seeks to industrialise poor, agrarian economy * Chinese brands dominate vehicle assembly business * Local assemblers plan exports in two years or so * Ethiopia's car firms still minnows, even in Africa By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, June 1 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has grand ambitions for its tiny auto industry, seeking to transform a handful of assemblers that bolt together imported kits into a network of factories that can make the country Africa's biggest car manufacturer over the next two decades. It is part of a vision to turn a nation that is among the poorest in Africa into an industrial centre that no longer relies on fickle weather patterns that periodically devastate the agrarian economy and leave its people hungry. Plans are taking shape in industrial zones around Addis Ababa and the northern city of Mekelle, where Ethiopian firms and Chinese partners assemble the vehicle kits. Ethiopia produces about 8,000 commercial and other vehicles a year for the home market, about a quarter of which are cars. But executives say they have capacity to make more if they could obtain extra foreign exchange to import kits in greater numbers. The nation imported more than 38,000 assembled cars in 2015, a more than 50 percent increase on 2014. "There is a lot of potential for growth," said Ma Qun, deputy manager of China's Lifan auto group in Ethiopia, which has the capacity to assemble 5,000 cars a year but whose output is less than a fifth of that. "We want to start exporting from Ethiopia by 2018, or a year later," he said. For now, Ethiopia is a minnow in African terms. South Africa and Morocco are involved in the full manufacture of vehicles annually making more than 600,000 and 200,000, respectively. Egypt, Sudan and Kenya also assemble vehicles. The scale of the challenge is formidable. South Africa boasts a big domestic market to drive the industry with annual per capita income of $6,800 compared to Ethiopia's meagre $550, according to World Bank data for 2014. Morocco, with annnual per capita income of about $3,070, lies only a short distance across the water from the huge European market. Story continues Assemblers in Ethiopia, which put together Chinese brands Geely, FAW and BYD as well as Lifan, face other hurdles, notably in obtaining dollars to import kits given the nation's scant currency reserves. They are also battling to reassure consumers about quality. But Ethiopia has delivered on ambitious targets before, boasting one of Africa's fastest growing economies for more than a decade. New dams have turned the country into an electricity exporter and it has a rapidly expanding transport network. "The aim is to become a leading manufacturing hub in Africa," State Minister for Industry Tadesse Haile told Reuters. "We want to become the top producer of cars on the continent in 15 or 20 years." This year, an electrified railway will link the land-locked nation of 97 million people to Djibouti port where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean, providing a cheap and fast way to import raw materials and export finished goods. NEW FLEET China, which has become a close development partner for a nation whose state-led economic model has closely mirrored the Chinese approach, is building the railway. Chinese car firms are now at the centre of Ethiopia's vehicle manufacturing plans. An executive at one Ethiopian manufacturer said Chinese car kits were cheaper than those from rivals, such as in Japan. "They are helping us in marketing," he added, asking not to be identified. Ethiopia desperately needs a new fleet of cars. The streets of Addis Ababa are filled with dilapidated vehicles. Some of the ubiquitous blue and white taxis are rattling Soviet-era Ladas built in the 1980s. Many of its imports are used vehicles. A new middle class is slowly emerging to push up demand, even though the growth forecast for 2016 has been cut to 7 percent from 10 percent because of a drought that has left 10 million people hungry. To encourage the industry, Ethiopian-assembled cars receive tax breaks when local input exceeds 10 percent, executives said. One of the Geely models put together in Ethiopia sells for 300,000 birr ($14,000), while an already completed imported version would cost about 450,000. A 10-year-old Japanese-built Toyota Corolla, by comparison, also sells for about 450,000 birr. The industry is still based on fixing together "semi-knockdown" kits that come in a 1,000 or so pieces each. But the aim is to shift to "complete knockdown" kits, requiring greater local input, in five years or less, the minister said. "We are working on that," said Endalkachew Mekonnen, automotive marketing manager at Mesfin Industrial Engineering, which assembles Geely sedans. His firm plans to use "complete knockdown" sets in the next two years, he added. Mesfin assembles Geely's CK1 and SL sedans, Belayab Motors puts together FAW Vela saloons, while Betret International in partnership with BYD makes the BYD-F3 sedan. The biggest producer Lifan offers vehicles ranging from its 530 sedan to the X50 and X60 SUVs. The commercial truck business is dominated by state-owned METEC, which assembles SINOTRUK and other models, executives said. Some pickups and tractors are also assembled in Ethiopia. FOREX CONSTRAINTS A major constraint on the car industry is sourcing dollars. "For example, if we apply for $500,000 for a month's worth of shipments, the bank will give us $200,000 for two months," Lifan's Ma said. "This is a challenge." Similarly, Belayab Motors completes about 500 cars a year, but an executive said it could lift output to 1,000 with extra shifts and more dollars. With huge infrastructure projects the priority, the central bank is frugal when doling out foreign exchange on imports. Ethiopia's foreign reserves were $3.3 billion at the end of June last year, the equivalent of just two months of imports, according to the International Monetary Fund. Neighbouring Kenya usually has four months cover and, for now, has five months. "We are working on improving conditions for all manufacturers. We hope to ease shortages in the near future," minister Tadesse said. The IMF has urged Ethiopia to offer more support for private business. "Success going forward will depend critically on a greater role for the private sector," it said in September. The list of foreign investors in Ethiopia is growing, ranging from brewer Heineken to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). But the tight currency controls are cited by potential investors as a major deterrent. Ethiopia's car assemblers face another challenge, namely that their cars do not hold their prices as well as finished imports. "The big obstacle they face is resale value," said Araya Lakew, whose mekina.net website links buyers and sellers. Some used imports, such as Toyotas, even rise in birr terms with the weaker currency, unlike locally assembled models. Lifan's marketing director Tomi Su said his firm would keep making their models more attractive to consumers. "There will be new gadgets in every upgrade," he said. ($1 = 21.5000 birr) (Writing and additional reporting by Edmund Blair in Nairobi; Editing by David Stamp) YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. Former Defense Minister of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan says the Vienna meeting was the political victory of the Armenian side. There is no need to separate military or political victory, no matter we had lost territories or not, which, of course, is not good. We should assess this meeting from the military-political point of view since, regardless of our territorial losses, our army prevailed during the April war: we actually thwarted the Azerbaijani armys plan and proved that despite the large expenses of the Azerbaijani army, it did not become stronger and failed. The military solution of the Karabakh conflict is a closed topic for Azerbaijan, he stated. He said it is important that the lost territory is not populated and has no military significance. Of course, having lost territories is not good, however, everyone should understand and trust the Army. Many people say they should go and return the territories, however, what can be achieved from this? I am confident that our army will develop a respective plan on time and will implement it, Harutyunyan said. Referring to the question why Azerbaijan agreed to participate in the meeting, former Defense Minister said: The aim of the Azerbaijani attacks were these negotiations, since they hoped with such means the Minsk Group would make a proposal of giving Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan, however, they did not reach their goal, and Azerbaijan was forced to take part in this meeting and agreed over the installation of ceasefire mechanisms, Minister said. Overnight May 1-2 Azerbaijan unleashed large-scale military operations along the entire length of the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact. After four-day war the Azerbaijani armed forces were thrown back having 300-400 human and military equipment losses. The ceasefire agreement was reached on April 5 in Moscow by the Chiefs of the General Staff of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Armed forces. And the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan was held on May 16 in Vienna. YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. An agreement of a visa free regime is planned to be signed between the Governments of Armenia and Iran, Armenpress reports the issue of approving the document is included in the agenda of the Armenian Governments June 2 session. According to the justification, the signing of the document stems from the necessity of fostering bilateral relations and strengthening mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between Armenia and Iran. Citizens of Armenia and Iran can spend 90 days in the other country without visa. Foreign Ministry of Armenia supports signing the mentioned agreement. TOKYO, JAPAN and HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - June 01, 2016) - Alert Logic, the leading provider of Security-as-a-Service solutions for the cloud, today announced at the AWS Summit in Tokyo, Japan a strategic partnership with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. to bring Alert Logic's Security-as-a-Service solutions to start-ups, small- and medium-sized businesses and enterprises across Japan. The partnership will help facilitate Alert Logic's continued global expansion and provide cybersecurity to a diverse set of organizations in Japan, regardless of whether their IT infrastructure resides in the cloud, on-premises or in a hybrid environment. "Mitsui is a trusted global leader and this is a pivotal step in bringing Alert Logic's market-leading cybersecurity solutions to companies across Japan," said Gray Hall, CEO of Alert Logic. "This strategic partnership will expose more organizations to our unique Security-as-a-Service approach that helps to secure business critical IT infrastructures." Mitsui will leverage its security subsidiary, Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions (MBSD), to deliver Alert Logic's cybersecurity solutions in Japan. MBSD is the leading cybersecurity company in Japan providing managed security services; vulnerability assessment and testing; security consulting and operation outsourcing; incident response and handling, and digital forensics. "Traditional managed security will be shifting to services provisioned from high-level security operation centers with parsing technology and comprehensive discerning capability," said Toshio Kanki, CEO of MBSD. "Our partnership with Alert Logic will provide these services to the Japanese market to fight against ever-advancing cyber threats." As part of the overall strategic relationship, Mitsui made a capital investment in Alert Logic. Alert Logic reported 40 percent year-over-year growth at the end of 2015 and exceeded an annualized revenue run-rate of $100 million in Q1 of 2016. Additional Resources Available: Blog @alertlogic on Twitter LinkedIn About Alert Logic Alert Logic, the leader in security and compliance solutions for the cloud, provides Security-as-a-Service for on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures, delivering deep security insight and continuous protection for customers at a lower cost than traditional security solutions. Fully managed by a team of experts, the Alert Logic Security-as-a-Service solution provides network, system and web application protection immediately, wherever your IT infrastructure resides. Alert Logic partners with the leading cloud platforms and hosting providers to protect over 3,800 organizations worldwide. Built for cloud scale, the Alert Logic patented platform stores petabytes of data, analyses over 400 million events and identifies over 50,000 security incidents each month, which are managed by its 24x7 Security Operations Centers. Alert Logic, founded in 2002, is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with offices in Austin, Seattle, Dallas, Cardiff, Belfast and London. For more information, please visit www.alertlogic.com. About Mitsui Mitsui is one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises in the world with 139 offices in 66 countries. Utilizing our global operating locations, network and information resources, we are multilaterally pursuing business that ranges from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields: Iron & Steel Products, Mineral & Metal Resources, Infrastructure, Integrated Transportation Systems, Chemicals, Energy, Food, Food & Retail Management, Healthcare & Service, Consumer Services, IT & Communication and Corporate Development Business. Mitsui is actively taking on challenges for global business innovation around the world. For more information, visit http://www.mitsui.com. Work to broaden the Panama Canal -- originally started by the French and then built by the United States -- began in 2007 Panama's newly widened canal is ready to take bigger cargo ships and will start during an inaugurating ceremony on June 26, the consortium behind the project said Wednesday. Testing of new locks following the nine-year construction work is complete and "the project is ready to receive the first ships, proving that it works to perfection," the chief executive of the Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) consortium, Giuseppe Quarta, said in a statement. Work to broaden the century-old canal -- originally started by the French and then built by the United States -- began in 2007. Initially set to have been completed two years ago, the project was plagued by cost overruns, labor disputes and lawsuits. The original budget of $5.25 billion is believed to have been exceeded by $3.4 billion. Fissures were also found in one of the widened locks last year, requiring GUPC's testing. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela is set to lead the ceremony declaring the expanded canal officially open. Seventy heads of state and government have been invited. A Chinese freighter will be the first to navigate the wider locks. With the inauguration, the 80-kilometer (50-mile) canal will accommodate a much bigger class of cargo ship known as Neopanamax, or New Panamax, which carries nearly three times as many containers as the Panamax ships currently sent through the passage. That will mean the canal's annual income from shipping fees will also triple from the current $1 billion. Christian Hartmann | Reuters. One consensus is that the economy will only start to grow in 2017, but even then the growth rate will be relatively low. Here's why. Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, introduction of Western sanctions, and fall in oil prices, Russia 's economy entered a recession in 2015. The consensus among Russia watchers is that the economy will only start to grow in 2017, but even then the growth rate will be relatively low between 1 and 2 percent per year. The reason for this is threefold. First, the decline in oil prices has played a major role. The Russian economy is still very dependent on oil prices. Even though Russia's central bank has moved to a floating-exchange-rate framework, Russia could not avoid the recession, given the 50-percent drop in oil prices. The ruble depreciation buffered the shock but could not have shielded the economy completely. Second, Western sanctions reinforced the impact of the decline in oil prices. If not for the sanctions, the Russian government, banks, and corporations could have borrowed their way out of the crisis (especially given that the overall external debt was not large). Third, the Russian economy was not in good shape even before 2014. The post-Great Recession recovery ran out of steam already in 2013. After reaching pre-crisis GDP level in mid-2012, Russian economic growth started to slow down. By early 2014, the Russian economy started to stagnate with the growth rate oscillating around zero. How did this happen? In his December 2013 address to Parliament, President Vladimir Putin was clear: Russia's economic problems were driven by internal, not external, factors. This analysis was right on target: The Russian economy suffered from high corruption, excessive regulation, poor protection of property rights, lack of competition and openness, and the expansion of state-owned companies. These problems have been recognized before and reforms to address them have been drafted many times including in Putin's own 2012 electoral program. At the same time, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) produced a "Diversifying Russia" report which, based on original research of Russian regions, firms, and households, identified barriers to growth and policies to remove these barriers. Story continues The EBRD's analysis delivered policy recommendations for Putin's campaign promises: In order to grow, Russia would have to deregulate, develop its financial system, and promote competition, openness, labor mobility, human capital, and innovation. Unfortunately, even though these policies have been announced and even enacted by Putin in his famous "May Decrees" (signed on his first day in office), almost none of these reforms have taken place. This has resulted in capital flight and stagnation, and even a decline in investment. Initially, the Russian and international business community cheered the reform program. But as time went by, the disillusionment with non-implementation of the promised reforms demonstrated that Russia's huge growth potential is unlikely to be tapped. Is Russia doomed to stagnate? The current official forecast as well as the one from the IMF's World Economic Outlook expects that even after the current recession, Russia is likely to grow at about 1.5 percent to 2 percent per year. These forecasts are based on the assumption that Russia cannot resolve its internal problems and carry out structural reforms. What would happen if it could? If Russia resolves its "internal problems" (as President Putin refers to political roadblocks to pro-growth reforms), there is no reason to believe that Russia cannot catch up with its neighbors in the East or in the West. Russia has watched as Kazakhstan and China have surpassed its GDP per capita, and a number of East European and East Asian neighbors have caught up with more developed countries and joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Russia can certainly do the same: It has impressive human capital, outstanding mineral wealth, a huge quantity of fertile soil, and access to the rich European market and growing Asian market. In other words, there are no fundamental factors that sentence Russia to stagnation except for political barriers to reform. Once these barriers are overcome, Russia will restart growth and catch up with the West. Commentary by Sergei Guriev, a professor of economics at Sciences Po in Paris. He previously served as rector of Moscow's New Economic School and economic advisor to former President and current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. He left Russia in 2013 under pressure from the Russian government. He is currently a contributor to Foreign Affairs. Follow him on Twitter @sguriev. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. More From CNBC The United States took steps Wednesday to lock North Korea out of the world financial system as it officially branded the country a "global money laundering concern." The move would prevent both direct and indirect North Korean financial activities within the US banking system, making sure that any third-party deals involving significant sums of US dollars cannot transit the US. The action follows a recent United Nations Security Council resolution that calls on all UN members to cut off banking relations with Pyongyang. "The United States, the UN Security Council, and our partners worldwide remain clear-eyed about the significant threat that North Korea poses to the global financial system," said Adam Szubin, the US Treasury's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "Today's action is a further step toward severing banking relationships with North Korea and we expect all governments and financial authorities to do likewise pursuant to the new UN Security Council Resolution." BERWYN, PA--(Marketwired - Jun 1, 2016) - Archer today announced that it has acquired selected money manager outsourcing operations from Lockwood Solutions, Inc. The deal solidifies Archer's leadership position in the retail SMA outsourcing market. It is the latest sign of Archer's commitment to the retail SMA market, where the firm continues to invest. A team of local employees already supporting this outsourcing business will be joining Archer in its newly expanded offices located in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. In addition to outsourcing services, Archer will be providing the technology solution for the newly expanded client base. Over the next 12 to 18 months, any of the managers included in the transaction not already using Archer's technology will be converted to its platform. The Archer platform is a proprietary investment management solution built on today's most advanced technologies and infrastructure. Archer's multi-channel platform provides managers with expanded capabilities to target new revenue streams, making it easier to introduce and distribute new products across all channels. "Archer's unique focus on the investment management outsourcing business and commitment to innovation provides the best of new technology for our clients and additional opportunities for our employees," said Bryan Dori, Archer President and CEO. "Archer is committed to providing solutions that enable managers to introduce new products, enter new distribution channels, and focus on investment management results. This acquisition continues Archer's investment in growth, and provides the managers with a solution to open opportunities for their own growth." The Archer technology platform provides a total solution for investment managers, including performance measurement, workflow management, custom reporting and billing capabilities. Archer supports investment management operations with end-to-end integration of order life cycle management, monitoring and reporting. Archer's operations solution allows for the selective outsourcing of investment management support for institutional, private wealth, and managed accounts. About Archer Archer is a technology and services innovator for the investment management industry including institutional, private wealth and retail managers. Archer provides a fully integrated, secure cloud-based platform that simplifies the investment management process across channels allowing management firms to scale rapidly. Growth is supported with always up-to-date and accessible technology -- nothing to install, maintain on servers, or to slow down a manager's core business. Archer also uniquely offers selective operations outsourcing, providing managers the ability to control costs, gain flexibility and speed time to market. Selective outsourcing allows firms to choose services that fit their needs, so they can focus on delivering results. For more information, visit www.archerims.com. For a decade, Canada's previous petro-tory government prosecuted scientists who publicly reported their results without first passing them through the party's commissars, almost as though reality had a well-known left-wing bias and couldn't be trusted. Stephen Harper's Tories have been out of office for less than a year and now we're starting to learn what Canada's researchers had been unable to tell the country about the state of the land and the world. Most recently, Policy Horizons Canada a Canadian government think-tank that focuses on medium-term predictions has warned the government that global adoption of renewables is coming on faster than predicted, and shows signs of accelerating, which means that Canada's economy is in danger thanks to a decade of orienting the country around exporting some of the dirtiest oil on the planet, at the expense of high-tech manufacturing industries. Independent analysts and business-people who've reviewed the report published after a public records request by CBC say that, aside from minor quibbles, they agree with its findings. The report specifically calls out Canada's plan to build a wildly unpopular pipeline to transport tar-sand oil to foreign markets. The 2015 Canadian election was won by Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party, who tacked to the left of the New Democratic Party, whose own leadership had tacked right, a move that cost it the seats it won in an unprecedented surge during the previous election. A recent party convention ousted the NDP's leader and adopted Naomi Klein's Leap Manifesto, which calls for decarbonizing the Canadian economy. That, in turn, caused a rift in the NDP: the Alberta party leadership (who took office in the oil patch's stronghold in 2015) decrying the national party as out-of-touch and unrealistic. The report suggests that the national NDP was more in touch with future reality than the Alberta party knew. Meanwhile the report predicts that rare earths and conflict minerals are likely to occupy the niche currently enjoyed by oil, and shift economic power to some of the world's poorest countries. The document was obtained by CBC News under an access to information request and shared with two experts one in Alberta, one in British Columbia who study the energy industry. Both experts described its forecasts for global energy markets as more or less in line with what a growing number of analysts believe. "It's absolutely not pie in the sky," said Michal Moore from the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. "These folks are being realistic they may not be popular, but they're being realistic." Marty Reed, CEO of Evok Innovations a Vancouver-based cleantech fund created through a $100-million partnership with Cenovus and Suncor had a similar take after reading the draft report. "You could nit-pick a couple of items," he said. "But at a high level, I would say the vast, vast majority of what they wrote is not even controversial, it's very well accepted." Canada's energy superpower status threatened as world shifts off fossil fuel, federal think-tank warns [Robson Fletcher/CBC] (Image: Canadian national exhibition and windmill, J Rawls, CC-BY) (via Naked Capitalism) An unlikely parliamentarian. A country marred by war, internal strife, and political quagmire, Ukraine recently welcomed home a hero to uplift its spirits and perhaps become its next president. The knight in shining armor is a 35-year-old woman, Nadiya Savchenko, a helicopter pilot who was released from Russian custody on May 25 in a prisoner swap. She is back after two years in prison, and ready to shake things up. When speaking to reporters following her first appearance in the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday (May 31), she compared her countrys lawmakers to lazy schoolchildren who shirk their work. She was there to be sworn in as a lawmaker herself, after being elected in absentia in 2014. Savchenko, known to Ukrainians before her imprisonment as the only female soldier in the Ukrainian forces in Iraq and the first woman to be accepted into the countrys prestigious air force school, took leave from the military in 2014 to join volunteer battalions fighting with Russian-sponsored rebels in eastern Ukraine. She wascaptured in the vicinity of a mortar strike that killed two Russian journalists, and was accused by Russian authorities of their murder. After a show trial, a Moscow court sentenced her to 22 years. In total, Savchenko spent 708 days in a Russian prison, where her defiance turned her into a national hero. She sang the Ukrainian national anthem during her trial, made anti-Putin statements, and obscene gestures toward the court. She underwent an 83-day hunger strike, which gave her the air of a martyr, and the nickname Ukrainian Joan of Arc. In what was portrayed as a humanitarian gesture in Russia, Putin pardoned Savchenko, and she was exchanged for two Russian servicemen. The helicopter pilot arrived on Ukrainian soil last week in president Petro Poroshenkos plane, welcomed with fanfare. She emerged barefoot, giving a poignant statement. I want to apologize to all mothers whose children did not return from [the front], and Im still alive, she said. I want to ask forgiveness for all mothers whose children sit in bondage, and I am free. Story continues She has pledged to make Ukrainians who fight against Russia her cause. During her first appearance in parliament, she gave an impassioned speech about her fellow combatants and prisoners held by Russian authorities. She called for bringing back all of the prisoners of the Kremlin, and underlining that no one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten. She then took down a banner displaying her face off the speakers podium, which had been there for months, and replaced it with a poster featuring other Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia. As she starts her political career, she has an almost saintly image going for her, and a status of an outsider who has the potential to disrupt Ukraines stifled establishment. For now, three years before the next presidential election, shes careful about announcing any grand plans. Lets put it this way: Ukrainians, if you need me to be the president, okay, I will be president, shesaid during her first press conference.Honestly, I cannot say that I want thisI love to fly. But, if necessary, I will do everything and I will take this path and work hard. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: By Orhan Coskun and Tulay Karadeniz ANKARA (Reuters) - When Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visits Uganda and Kenya this week, he will be seeking not only to increase trade but to stamp out the influence of an Islamic cleric whose network was long an instrument of Turkey's soft power in Africa. Ankara officially declared the Hizmet organisation of preacher Fethullah Gulen, which claims millions of followers worldwide, a terrorist group this week, stepping up pressure on a movement Erdogan once looked to for help in spreading Turkish cultural influence and commerce overseas. Erdogan now accuses his former ally of building a "parallel state" through followers in the police, judiciary, media and business, and of using it to try to overthrow him, allegations which Gulen denies. The president has made eradicating the Hizmet movement a top priority at home and abroad. "This network organises itself swiftly in the countries it goes to by using Turkey's name and power, and opportunities are offered to it as a result," a senior Turkish official said ahead of Erdogan's departure for Uganda on Tuesday. "Through these trips, it will be explained that this is a terrorist organization harmful to Turkey and that Turkey does not support it," the official said. Erdogan has long described Hizmet as a terrorist grouping, but the formal designation by cabinet puts it on a par with Kurdish militants confronting the Turkish army and Islamic State fighters operating in the country. The Hizmet movement had for decades underpinned Turkish efforts to deepen foreign ties, especially in the assertive opening to Africa, the Middle East and Asia after the Islamist-rooted AK Party founded by Erdogan took power in 2002. Its schools, including close to a hundred in sub-Saharan Africa alone, have been a source of influence and revenue for the movement and paved the way for Turkish commercial interests to gain a foothold in new markets. Sons and daughters of political elites have been educated in their classrooms. But differences between Erdogan and Gulen began to emerge over issues including a peace process with Kurdish militants in Turkey's southeast, and came to a head in December 2013 when police and prosecutors seen as sympathetic to Gulen opened a corruption investigation into Erdogan's inner circle. Authorities have since taken over Gulenist media companies, seized a bank and purged police and judiciary of presumed followers. They have also taken their battle overseas, pressuring governments to shut down Hizmet schools and seeking Gulen's extradition from the United States, where he lives in self-imposed exile. "We consider the Gulen network a national security threat and the issue of their influence regularly comes up in our discussions with African leaders among others," a source in Erdogan's office said. "The president will presumably convey this message to his counterparts over the coming days." BATTLE FOR INFLUENCE It is a struggle for influence with significant implications in trade as well as political relations. Turkish exports to Africa have grown more than sevenfold since the AKP came to power, rising to $12.5 billion last year from $1.7 billion in 2002, with textiles, food, construction and infrastructure services among the key sectors. Instability in the Middle East and economic weakness in Europe, Turkey's traditional export markets, have made trade with Africa all the more important. But Ankara faces new rivals like China, India and Brazil as it seeks to carve out influence on a continent long dominated by former colonial powers. "The African continent is a big opportunity for Turkey because there are many problems in the Middle East ... affecting Turkey's economic projects," said Fouad Farhaoui of the Ankara-based USAK think-tank. Uganda and Kenya were particularly important to Turkey in part for their energy, agriculture and infrastructure needs, where Turkish firms have expertise, Farhaoui said, but also because of Kenya's role in regional security. Turkey is a key ally of the Somali government as it tries to rebuild after more than two decades of conflict, with Erdogan the first non-African leader to visit in nearly 20 years when he went there in 2011. Good relations with Kenya, also trying to secure Somalia's stability, are vital for that Turkish effort. A second Turkish official acknowledged that the question of Gulen had become a thorn in relations with some African states, but said Turkey would continue to seek the closure of Hizmet schools and their replacement with Turkish state-backed institutions. A government source said there was at least one Hizmet school in Uganda and four in Kenya. The schools are generally very well equipped and funded and teach a secular curriculum in English. The deputy head of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), a Gulen-affiliated group which has spoken on behalf of the Hizmet movement in the past, said previous efforts to close institutions had caused a backlash in Africa and met with limited success. "African government officials send their kids to these schools ... They have their own intelligence and allow the schools accordingly," Deputy Chairman Erkam Tufan Aytav said. "(Erdogan's) efforts in African countries didn't succeed and will not succeed." (Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Seda Sezer in Istanbul, Nevzat Devranoglu in Ankara; Writing by Nick Tattersall; editing by Ralph Boulton) BAMAKO (Reuters) - Five United Nations peacekeepers from Togo were killed and one other was seriously injured in an ambush in central Mali on Sunday, the United Nations said. The soldiers of the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were in a convoy which was attacked 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of Sevare, the U.N. said. No group has taken responsibility for the attack. It came 10 days after five MINUSMA peacekeepers from Chad were killed in an ambush in the northern region of Kidal. Two days ago five Malian soldiers were killed near the town of Gao. "I condemn in the strongest terms this despicable crime," said MINUSMA head Mahamat Saleh Annadif. MINUSMA and French forces have been stationed in northern Mali for three years since separatists joined jihadists to seize the region from the government in Bamako. The militants have staged a series of high profile attacks in the past year, mainly in the north of the country, but also in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. A peace accord signed last year was meant to bring stability to the region, but attacks against the U.N. mission, Malian military and civilians are still frequent. (Reporting By Adama Diarra and Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Andrew Bolton) By Marta Nogueira RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Aldemir Bendine, chief executive officer of Brazil's state-led oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA , offered his resignation on Monday and is set to be replaced by Pedro Parente, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The hiring of Parente, nominated to replace Bendine by Interim President Michel Temer on May 19, awaits approval by the board after he passed a background check, said the source, who requested anonymity as the matter is private. Parente could become the new CEO later on Monday, the source said. "The board is already behind Parente, all that was missing was an actual open job (occupied by Bendine) to give to him," the source said. Final approval for Parente will likely be given electronically, without having to call together the board physically, the source added. Parente will also occupy the board of directors position occupied by Bendine. The swearing in of Parente was expected on Tuesday, but no date has been set by the company. Parente, 63, has an engineering degree and was planning minister and presidential chief of staff in the government of Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. He is a former CEO of the Brazilian unit of commodities trading giant Bunge Ltd and is chairman of Brazil's BM&FBovespa SA , Brazil's largest stock and commodities market. During the Cardoso administration he also served on Petrobras' board. The source said that board member Luciano Coutinho, president of state-owned development bank BNDES, would also resign his seat. Coutinho is likely to be replaced by Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, appointed to succeed him at BNDES, which is one of Petrobras' largest lenders and a major shareholder, the source added. Top ministerial posts and many top government jobs have been changed by Interim President Temer, who took over after Brazil's Senate agreed earlier this month to suspend impeached President Dilma Rousseff from office for allegedly breaking budget laws. Chief Financial Officer Ivan Monteiro, who joined Petrobras with Bendine, a Rousseff appointment in February 2015, is expected to stay in his position, the source said. (Reporting by Marta Nogueira, Writing by Jeb Blount; Editing by Dan Grebler) FILE PHOTO - A surfer carries his board into the water next to a sign declaring a shark sighting on Sydney's Manly Beach, Australia, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo (Reuters) By Barbara Goldberg (Reuters) - Two people were injured in suspected shark attacks in Florida and California over the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend, but beachgoers returned to nearby ocean waters on Monday, officials said. On Sunday, a 13-year-old boy was bitten on the right leg in Neptune, Florida, east of Jacksonville, and a woman in Newport Beach, California, was bitten on her torso and arms, according to police and local media reports. "Even though we can't confirm it was a shark attack, we're treating it as a shark attack," Newport Beach Fire Department Lifeguard Battalion Chief Michael Halphide said of the California attack. "I don't think there's a whole lot of doubt that these will be considered unprovoked shark attacks," said George Burgess, a shark expert at the University of Florida. "These are entirely predictable things just as you can predict drownings or car accidents as a result of this being a huge holiday weekend." Officials closed a 5-mile (8-km) stretch of beach in Newport Beach on Sunday but reopened a 2-mile (3-km) piece on Monday as lifeguard patrol boats and police helicopters searched for sharks, Halphide said. If any are is found, they will be observed but not caught or killed, he said. Still closed on Monday was Corona del Mar State Beach, located in Newport Beach, where the incident occurred, as well as some adjacent coastline. "We expect good crowds, probably more than 75,000 people this holiday," Halphide said. In Florida, Neptune Beach remained open the day after the 13-year-old was attacked just before 3 p.m. by what was described as a 5-foot shark, police said. Cell phone video on NBC's "Today" program showed blood spattered sand as the boy was treated by rescuers. Shark attacks in 2016 were expected to reach an all-time high, according to Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the university. The Memorial Day holiday weekend signals the unofficial start of the U.S. summer vacation and beach season. Story continues There were a record with 98 shark attacks worldwide last year, including 59 in the United States. Six were fatal worldwide, including one U.S. fatality in Hawaii. Of the U.S. attacks, 51 percent took place in Florida, according to the university's website. The increase, Burgess said, is due to shark populations slowly recovering from historic lows in the 1990s, the world's growing human population and rising temperatures that lead more people to go swimming. (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Barrick Gold Corp Chairman of the board John Thornton speaks during their annual general meeting for shareholders in Toronto, April 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Blinch By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) has agreed to pay $140 million to resolve a U.S. lawsuit accusing the gold producer of concealing problems at a South American mine and of fraudulently inflating the company's market value, according to court papers. The settlement, disclosed in papers filed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, would resolve a class action accusing Barrick of deceiving investors about environmental problems afflicting its Pascua-Lama project on the border of Argentina and Chile. "I am pleased we were able to reach this resolution for investors," James Hughes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the law firm Motley Rice, said in a statement. Barrick in a statement confirmed the $140 million accord and said the value of the settlement is insured. "Barrick continues to believe that the claims alleged by the lead plaintiffs in the litigation are unfounded, and under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company has not accepted any charges of wrongdoing or liability," the company said. The settlement, which requires court approval, comes two months after a federal judge cleared the way for shareholders who bought or acquired Barrick stock between May 7, 2009 and Nov. 1, 2013 to pursue the case as a class action. Barrick bought the Pascua-Lama project in 1994, and had been counting on it to generate a large percentage of its overall gold production. But cost overruns, environmental issues, labor unrest, political opposition and falling bullion prices contributed to Barrick's decision on Oct. 31, 2013 to indefinitely halt the project, after it had already spent more than $5 billion. Investors in the lawsuit contended Barrick touted Pascua-Lama during this period as a "world-class project that will contribute low-cost ounces at double-digit returns," even as it became clear the project would fall short of expectations. The lead plaintiffs in the case were Union Asset Management Holding AG and LRI Invest S.A. The case is In re: Barrick Gold Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-03851. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in an air strike last week because he was engaged in plotting that posed "specific, imminent threats" to U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Monday. The drone attack against Mansour just inside Pakistan on Saturday was carried out under U.S. rules of engagement that allow U.S. forces to conduct defensive strikes against people engaged in activity threatening U.S. and coalition personnel, said Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. President Barack Obama approved the strike on Mansour based on a law authorizing military force in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks, Pentagon officials said. Since the strike was conducted in Pakistan, it required presidential authorization. Davis told reporters it was the first time he was aware of that the U.S. military had conducted an attack inside Pakistan under the Pentagon's rules of engagement governing defensive strikes. Other strikes inside Pakistan, including one that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, have been based on rules authorizing counterterrorism operations, a Pentagon official said. "This was considered a defensive strike and given the location (Pakistan) required a higher level of approval," Davis told a briefing. Pakistan has called the strike a violation of its sovereignty. "This (Mansour) was an individual who was specifically targeting U.S. and coalition personnel and had specifically engaged in operations in the past that resulted in U.S. and coalition personnel being killed," Davis said. Pressed on whether Mansour had simply been engaged in general plotting or if there was something more specific in the works, Davis said the Taliban chief had been plotting "specific actions, specific things ... in real time." Asked if the threats were imminent, he said: "Yes, specific imminent threats to U.S. and coalition personnel ... in Afghanistan." The White House has interpreted the law passed after the 2001 attacks as granting the military the legal authority it needs to conduct air strikes against the Taliban and other groups under certain conditions. Davis avoided saying whether Washington had notified Pakistan before the attack, but he said the two sides have an ongoing dialogue and had discussed Mansour in the past. "We have ongoing discussions with them about people we're targeting, to include this individual, and we've had conversations with them both before and after," Davis said. Davis said the military can carry out defensive strikes against anyone directly threatening U.S. or coalition personnel. They also can carry out so-called "in extremis" strikes to prevent attackers from overrunning Afghan forces or capturing key terrain, he said. And U.S. forces have the authority to strike al Qaeda and its remnants in Afghanistan in what are deemed counterterrorism operations. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Frances Kerry) WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Getting a flu shot reduces heart failure patients' risk of hospitalization, a new study shows. "Uptake of the flu vaccination in heart failure patients is relatively low, ranging from less than 20 percent in low and middle-income countries to 50 to 70 percent in high income countries like the U.K.," said study author Kazem Rahimi. He is deputy director of the George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford in England. "This may partly be because there is no strong evidence to support the recommendation in these patients," he said. Also, some research had suggested that vaccination might be less effective in heart failure patients than in the general population because of their blunted immune response, he added. Heart failure means the heart is no longer able to pump blood efficiently enough to meet the body's needs. It's one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions among seniors, according to the American Heart Association. For the new study, Rahimi's team analyzed data from more than 59,000 heart failure patients in the United Kingdom. They found that flu vaccination was associated with a 30 percent lower risk of hospitalization for heart problems, a 16 percent lower risk of hospitalization for respiratory infections, and a 4 percent lower risk of hospitalization for any reason up to 300 days after vaccination. The findings "do not suggest that influenza infection causes [heart attack] or other cardiovascular events," Rahimi said in a European College of Cardiology news release. "A more likely explanation for the reduction in risk of cardiovascular hospitalization is that vaccination reduces the likelihood of an [influenza] infection, which could in turn trigger cardiovascular deterioration," he said. The findings "provide further evidence that there are likely worthwhile benefits, and on that basis more efforts are needed to ensure that heart failure patients receive an annual flu jab," Rahimi said. The findings were presented last week at the European College of Cardiology's meeting on heart failure in Florence, Italy. Findings presented at meetings are usually considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. More information The American Heart Association has more about heart failure. TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in more than three years in May as new orders slumped, a private survey showed on Wednesday, highlighting renewed weakness in the economy and adding pressure on the government and central bank. The Markit/Nikkei Final Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 47.7 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, which was slightly above a preliminary reading of 47.6 but below a final 48.2 in April. The index remained below the 50 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for the third month and showed that activity shrank at the fastest pace since January 2013. The aftermath of earthquakes in southern Japan in April may still be weighing heavily on some producers, a statement from Markit said, but it noted foreign demand also contracted sharply. The index for new orders fell to 44.7, which was revised up from a preliminary 44.1 but still showed the fastest decline since December 2012. In April the index for new orders was 45.0. Export orders also fell at a faster pace than in April. Some of the respondents to the survey mentioned the impact of a stronger yen and tougher international competition. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce a delay to next year's proposed sales tax hike to prevent a further blow to the economy, when he speaks to members of the media on Wednesday. Some economists say such a decision would be an indication that three years of Abe's reflationary policies have failed to fundamentally strengthen the economy and shift growth into a higher gear. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Kim Coghill) English Lithuanian Elektrenai, Lithuania, 2016-05-31 15:30 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LIETUVOS ENERGIJOS GAMYBA PRODUCED MORE DURING THE FIRST QUARTER AND ENSURED STABLE SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY In 2016 1Q, the national energy producer Lietuvos Energijos Gamyba effectively availed of the potentials of the managed power generation facilities to conduct competitive production and provided services necessary for the energy system in a reliable manner. Unaudited financial performance results of the Company reveal that its operation was more effective. Still a considerable negative effect of the regulatory provisions disputed by the Company can be felt. In 2016 1Q, all three power plants managed by the Company produced 25% more power than during the same period last year (305 GWh and 247 GWh, accordingly). Higher amount of water determined the 22.6% increase in production of power by Kaunas Algirdas Brazauskas Hydroelectric Power Plant (Kaunas HPP) up to 118 GWh. Kruonis Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant (Kruonis PSHP) maintained similar level of production (produced 153 GWh), meanwhile, the unit of combined cycle which functioned in a competitive manner produced 34 GWh. During the first quarter of last year, no power was produced in Elektrenai at all. We prepared for 2016 responsibly because we knew that once subsidised electricity generation quotas are removed and new links occur, we will have to operate in a changed market. Consequently, we produced more power during the first quarter of the year, power plants managed to operate reliably even when the weather abruptly became cold or where the link with Sweden NordBalt was disconnected and we had to ensure stable power supply and contribute to energy price stabilisation on the market. All this shows that we successfully adapt to changes, Egle Ciuzaite, chairwoman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Lietuvos Energijos Gamyba, said. Despite the successful operation of the Company, by decision of the National Commission for Energy Control and Prices (NCC), part of the result of the Companys commercial activity had to reduce the earnings the Company receives from funds of public services obligations. This was the main reason the Companys sales income reduced (drop of 10.1% from EUR 37.23 million in 2016 1Q to EUR 33.46 million in 2016 1Q) as well as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) which amounted to EUR 9.56 million in 2016 1Q and was by 48.1 % lower than EBITDA of 2015 1Q (EUR 18.41 million). The impact of the NCC decisions excepted, the Companys EBITDA would be by EUR 5.8 million higher. Most of this amount, namely, EUR 4.8 million, is part of the earnings from commercial activity of Kruonis PSHP and Kaunas HPP, which, by decision of NCC, is currently directed towards covering the Companys fixed costs while providing public services. It should be recalled that the influence of the NCC decisions was not reflected in the statements of 2016 1Q a year ago. These decisions regarding the results of the inspection of the Companys performance during the 2010-2012 period and the recognition of the Company as having considerable impact in the power generation market reduce the amount the Company receives from funds of public service obligations and the income from services of ensuring capacity reserves, i.e. part of income from regulated activities are not recognised. The Company does not include this income in the financial statements referring to the auditors recommendations, however, it continues to actively defend its position regarding their recognition and seeking to annul the above mentioned decisions of the NCC in the court. Unaudited net earnings of the Company in 2016 1Q amounts to EUR 13.96 million, meanwhile, the net profit in 2015 1Q was EUR 14.82 million. The net result was largely determined by the sale of part of the wholesale power business. It should be recalled that Energijos Tiekimas UAB, which bought this part of the business will have to pay the Company EUR 13.1 million in cash in instalments by 31 March 2017. Moreover, EUR 8 million in addition (EUR 2 million per year) may have to be paid subject to the results of the sold activity in the period until 2019. The final price of the transaction, if all terms and conditions specified in the agreement are fulfilled, may amount to EUR 21.1 million. However, the sale of the wholesale electricity business share has negative impact on the Companys EBITDA because having sold this share of business on 1 January 2016 it no longer receives any income from this activity. According to Ms. Ciuzaite, tangible benefit in improving the results of the Company in 2016 1Q was the result of the effort of all employees who aimed at becoming a more flexible and effective energy production company. We will continue focusing on ensuring the reliability of facilities. Operating costs are reducing due to faster repairs and changes in work organisation, besides, the costs of business support services also fall down, the head of the Company said. RHINEBECK, N.Y., May 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Early on, the October 2014 Apple Pay splash prompted the question of whether Apple Pay would be the 'next big thing' to transform the credit card market. Today, the third-party smartphone wallet market has expanded as Android Pay and Samsung Pay address the large Android OS universe. According to a new report from Phoenix Marketing International, 32% of all smartphone-owning credit cardholders have loaded a credit or a debit card to one or more of these third-party "pays" brands. Since most adopters are Millennials (18-32) or Generation X (33-48), incidence rates are impressive: 67% of Millennials and 50% of Generation X smartphone-owning credit cardholders have loaded a credit or debit card to Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay. "If we look at adoption alone (excluding usage), the approximately 23 million Millennial and Generation X third-party wallet adopters taken together point to the next big thing," said Leon Majors, Senior VP at Phoenix. "Right now, it's not much about winning the brand race as it is giving these 'apped up' consumers more places to shop. This is the current state but a burgeoning future market is wide open as bank-branded and retail-branded payment schemes enter the ecosystem." Credit cards are leading the way in terms of payment type linkages to a third-party wallet. The Apple Pay adoption rate enjoyed a mini-surge in recent months due solely to credit card loads. "Apple Pay adopters have said from the beginning that they plan to add cards to the Apple Pay wallet," added Greg Weed, Credit Card Research Director. "A year ago, 58% of Apple Pay adopters reported loading more than one credit card to Apple Pay; now the percentage has jumped to 74% -- escalating the key issue of wallet position in a third-party wallet scheme." The research also examined other issues, such adopter attitudes, perceptions, in-app vs. in-store purchases and usage of Samsung Pay's two payment modes, MST and NFC. The findings found in the Phoenix report are based on data collected in March 2016 among 3,000 credit cardholders as part of a long-term credit card market tracker, Credit Card Monitor. For more information click here or contact: About Phoenix Marketing International Phoenix Marketing International is a premier global marketing services firm providing its clients tailored and unique insights with expertise in product innovation, customer experience and communications and brand via a wealth of existing proprietary data, advanced analytics and statistical modeling techniques. The company has extensive research experience across the Automotive, Financial Services, Healthcare, Converged Technology and Media, Restaurant and Travel/Leisure sectors. With the recent acquisition of Sterling Research Group, the Phoenix team is further expanding its capabilities into the VOC (Voice of the Customer) marketplace. Phoenix's innovative mobile engagement platform, mXP, provides access to an extensive network of on-the-go consumers offering clients deeper insights into the wants and needs of customers across multiple market segments. Founded in 1999 by Chairman and CEO, Allen R. DeCotiis and President, Martha Rea, Phoenix Marketing International has established its global presence with offices in major locations such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, Michigan, Florida and London. For more information visit www.phoenixmi.com. Finnish English Sanoma Corporation, Press Release, 1 June 2016 at 09:00 CET+1 Sanoma has acquired the Dutch cashback marketing companies Scoupy and Kortingisleuk.nl. The companies will be merged and will continue to operate under the Scoupy brand as the largest Dutch cashback platform. On those platforms consumers can try new products from selected brands and thereby recover a portion or even the entire purchase price. The acquisition strengthens Sanoma Media BeNes product offering towards consumer goods companies and fits their strategy as a marketing solutions provider to its advertisers. Customers of Scoupy and Kortingisleuk.nl are often the same people that our advertisers want to reach as well, says Peter de Monnink, CEO of Sanoma Media BeNe. Scoupy will provide us data on what the users interests are. With the available data, and within the legal framework, we can then help our advertisers target their offers and campaigns very efficiently to consumers. Data and personalisation are increasingly important in the media business. Scoupy has over 1.2 million app downloads and Kortingisleuk.nl around 500,000 regular users. Sanoma has been a minority shareholder in Scoupy since 2012. Additional information Sanomas Investor Relations, Pekka Rouhiainen, tel. +358 40 739 5897 About Sanoma Sanoma is an inspiring, relevant and trusted consumer media and learning company. Ever since its formation in 1889, the company has held creativity and independent thinking at its core in order to deliver high-quality content in new and different ways. Sanomas consumer media business provides consumers with engaging and personalised content through cross-media brands that touch their lives. Sanomas close relationships with its consumers enable the company to offer unique value-added marketing solutions to its business partners. Sanoma Learnings learning solutions enable teachers to excel at developing the talents of every child, creating opportunities for children to advance their prospects in life. With operating companies in Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Sweden, Sanoma realised net sales of more than EUR 1.7 billion in 2015. The company employed over 6,000 employees. The board of EOS Russia have assessed the situation regarding management of the company after November 30, 2016, when the current CEO agreement comes to an end. After carefully investigating the needs of the company going forward while adhering to the strict cost cutting regime put in place, the board have decided that the best option for the company is to offer the current CEO a new and much revised agreement. EOS Russia Chairman Seppo Remes commented: we are pleased to retain the services of Ulf-Henrik Svensson in a very cost effective manner. For further information, please contact: ir@eos-russia.com EOS Russia is an investment company headquartered in Stockholm. The overall objective of the company is to offer attractive returns via investments in the Russian electricity industry. EOS Russia's shares have been listed on First North, a marketplace operated by the Stockholm Stock Exchange, since 25 June 2007. Remium Nordic AB is the Certified Adviser. CORONA, Calif., June 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (VAREP) today unveiled Military Financial Readiness, a new financial literacy curriculum developed to help service members and veterans become financially fit so they can achieve their financial goals and dreams, including the American dream of homeownership. Military Financial Readiness was developed with support from Freddie Mac (OTCQB:FMCC), one of the nations largest sources of residential mortgage credit. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4f7151a1-6fa0-44d0-9b9e-08199ac9bad1 Insufficient knowledge of VA home loan benefits and a general lack of financial literacy are key barriers to financial stability and homeownership for service members and veterans, said Son Nguyen, Navy veteran and president of VAREP. We believe many of the issues that challenge these borrowers can be overcome through education. We applaud Freddie Mac for joining with us to develop Military Financial Readiness to meet this challenge and make homeownership possible for more Americans on active duty and veterans. We are proud to join forces with VAREP to help our countrys veterans and active duty personnel break down some of the most common barriers to homeownership. Military Financial Readiness provides sound information about building savings, credit and the financial savvy to own a home. Today's announcement will give our military families a new way to prepare themselves for homeownership and long-term financial stability, said Danny Gardner, vice president of Affordable Lending and Access to Credit at Freddie Mac. Nguyen says Military Financial Readiness was developed by veterans for veterans to fill this need and customize lessons on wise financial management for members of Americas unique military and veteran cultures. Freddie Mac sponsored the development of Military Financial Readiness as part of its mission to help more Americans become successful long-term homeowners. Nguyen cited a 2013 study from the American Journal of Public Health that determined limited financial knowledge among veterans was a contributor to a cycle of generally poor personal financial management and stability after military service. When I left the service, I wanted to own a home, but was unable to qualify for a mortgage due to poor credit. After I rebuilt my credit and was ready for a home, I didnt know about my VA home loan benefit and ended up with a more expensive loan product. If a program like Military Financial Readiness had been available, I think I would have known how to spend my paycheck more appropriately, start a savings account, and know about my VA home loan benefit. Military Financial Readiness is modeled after Freddie Macs CreditSmart curriculum, which has been used by millions of consumers across the country. CreditSmart includes 12 financial education modules featuring information on credit, money management, homeownership, foreclosure avoidance, and more. Military Financial Readiness can be found at varep.net and freddiemac.com. Established in 2011, the USA Homeownership Foundation, Inc. DBA Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (VAREP), is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to increasing sustainable homeownership, financial-literacy education, VA loan awareness, and economic opportunity for the active-military and veteran communities. VAREP and its 5000 members represent and work within all sectors of the real estate, housing, and financial-services industries. Its goal is to preserve the American Dream of homeownership for US service members and veterans of all eras. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ BRASILIA, June 1 (Reuters) - Brazil's economy shrank 0.3 percent in the first quarter, government statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday, less than the 0.8 percent drop expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Brazil's gross domestic product fell 5.4 percent from a year earlier, according to IBGE. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione) VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 1, 2016) - Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CXB) (the "Company" or "Calibre") is pleased announce the Company and Centerra Gold Inc. ("Centerra") have amended the Calibre/Centerra La Luz Option Agreement dated September 8, 2015 on the 12 km2 La Luz Project to include an additional 241 km2 of mineral concessions in the Northern Siuna Area of Northeast Nicaragua. With the addition of the Northern Siuna concessions, Centerra is required to spend an additional $2.0 million to earn a 70% interest in the combined 253 km2 Project area by investing a total of $9.0 million in exploration on the property before December 31, 2020. Highlights The La Luz Project has been expanded to include the 241 km 2 Northern Siuna concessions and now consists of a total of 253 km 2 . To earn 51% of the expanded Project area, Centerra is now required to spend $5 million by December 31, 2018. Centerra has the further option to earn 70% of the Project by spending an additional $4 million for a total spend of $9 million by December 31, 2020. Current fieldwork is concentrating on an extensive trenching and surface sampling program testing geological, geochemical, and geophysical anomalies generated by the Calibre/Centerra exploration with a goal of prioritizing drill targets for additional diamond drilling in 2016 President and CEO, Greg Smith stated: "Calibre's partnership with Centerra has been very successful in advancing the existing Cerro Aeropuerto Project and discovering the Cerro Coyol - Tiburon Gold Trend. We are pleased to be able to expand the Project area and accelerate exploration in the northern Siuna area where previous work by Calibre has identified gold mineralization at the Montes de Oro Project and outlined several additional gold anomalies. Expanding Calibre's partnership with Centerra will allow Calibre to focus on our high priority, 100% owned gold targets which total more than 340 km2 in the Mining Triangle of NE Nicaragua and where exploration in 2016 will include the up-coming drilling program at the Santa Maria Gold Project." On the La Luz Project in addition to the historic trend highlighted by the La Luz Deposit (past production of 2.3 million ounces gold) and the Cerro Aeropuerto resource (707,000 ounces gold and 3.1 million ounces silver) the results from the Project-wide La Luz soil grid now shows two principal gold anomalous trends, the Cerro Coyol - El Tiburon Trend and the San Pablo Trend. Within the Northern Siuna area existing gold anomalies include; Montes de Oro, Mina Victoria, Cerro Aza, Roskilete, and others. Work completed thus far in 2015/2016 has consisted of 1421 metres in five drill holes on the Cerro Aeropuerto Deposit as well as extensive rock and soil sampling, geophysical surveying, and on-going trenching. The Cerro Coyol - El Tiburon Trend is a 3.8 km x 0.5 - 1.0 km northwest-southeast trending anomaly which in addition to the gold and multi-element soil anomaly contains several areas of artisanal workings as well as anomalous rock samples from float and bedrock (see News Release dated February 11, 2016). Exploration is on-going on the La Luz Project and will be expanded to include work on the existing gold anomalies within the Northern Siuna area which includes the Montes de Oro Project as well as several gold in soil anomalies including Mina Victoria, Cerro Aza, Roskilete, and San Miguel. On-Going Work Program The current exploration and fieldwork is concentrated on a trenching program targeting geological, geochemical, and geophysical anomalies generated by the work to date. The results of the trenching program will be used to prioritize drill targets which will be tested by additional drilling to be completed in 2016. Further work, consisting of in-fill soil sampling, rock sampling and trenching, will be completed on high priority targets with the Northern Siuna area. The technical content in this news release was read and approved by Gregory Smith, P.Geo, President and CEO of the Company who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Centerra Gold Option - La Luz Project Calibre's most recent mid-tier gold producer partner, Centerra Gold, can earn 70% in the 253 km2 (25,300 ha) La Luz Project plus the Northern Siuna area by spending $9 million by December 31 2020. The La Luz Project is located in the south-west portion of the Borosi Concessions and contains the past producing open pit and underground La Luz Mine that produced 17.1 million tonnes of ore grading 4.14 g/t gold (2.3 million ozs gold) as well as, one kilometre to the south, the NI43-101 compliant Inferred Resource at the Cerro Aeropuerto gold-silver deposit which hosts 707,750 ozs gold and 3.1 million ozs silver in 6.05M tonnes grading 3.64 g/t Au and 16.16 g/t Ag at a cut off of 0.6 g/t (see Calibre News Release dated February 28, 2011). Notes: - Mineral Resources that are not mineral reserves do not have economic viability. - The quantity and grade of reported inferred resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred resources as an indicated or measured mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an indicated or measured mineral resource category. - Resource Estimate for Cerro Aeropuerto detailed in Technical Report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report and Resource Estimation of the Cerro Aeropuerto and La Luna Deposits, Borosi Concessions, Nicaragua by Todd McCracken, dated April 11, 2011. Calibre is also pleased to announce that it has retained the services of Renmark Financial Communications Inc. to assist with its investor relations activities. In consideration of the services to be provided, Calibre has agreed to pay a monthly retainer of CDN $5,000 starting June 1st, 2016. Renmark Financial Communications Inc. does not have any interest, directly or indirectly, in Calibre Mining Corp. or its securities, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest. About Calibre Mining Corp. Calibre controls a 100% interest in over 340 km2 of mineral concessions in the Mining Triangle of Northeast Nicaragua. Additionally the Company has an option agreement with IAMGOLD covering 176 km2 of concessions, an option agreement with Centerra Gold on 253 km2, joint venture exploration programs underway with B2Gold Corp. on 66.1 km2 of concessions which includes the Primavera gold-copper porphyry discovery and the Monte Carmelo Gold Zone, and a joint venture on the 33.6 km2 Rosita gold-copper-silver project with Rosita Mining Corporation. Major shareholders of Calibre include gold producer B2Gold Corp, Pierre Lassonde and Management. Calibre Mining Corp. Greg Smith, P.Geo., President and CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or does not expect", "is expected", anticipates" or "does not anticipate" "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements including but not limited to those with respect to the price of gold, potential mineralization, reserve and resource determination, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the Company involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Atlas to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jun 1, 2016) - UFCW Canada, the country's leading union for migrant and temporary foreign workers, says the federal government's Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) should be replaced with an inclusive immigration system that provides migrant workers the option to permanently settle in Canada. It is one of a number of recommendations made in UFCW Canada's submission to the parliamentary committee reviewing the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. On Wednesday, UFCW Canada (United Food and Commercial Workers union) delivered its submission to the HUMA (Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities) committee hearing in Ottawa. The submission, "A New Vision for a Sustainable Immigration System", calls on the federal government to allow migrant workers access to permanent immigration status, preferably upon arrival in Canada, to reduce the exploitative nature of the TFWP; provide migrant and TFWP workers equal access to Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance benefits; end employer-specific work permits that can tie a worker to an abusive employer; and provide meaningful legal access for migrant and temporary foreign workers to unionize without fear of reprisal. UFCW Canada Local Unions represent thousands of members who arrived as Temporary Foreign Workers. They are now permanent residents under Provincial Nominee programs; the result of collective agreements between UFCW Canada and major employers, which proactively support the nomination program for UFCW Canada members who arrive as foreign workers. Claudia Colocho is one of those members. She arrived from El Salvador in 2005 to work at the Maple Leaf Foods processing plant in Brandon, Manitoba. Appearing before the committee on Wednesday, she told them that "without this program and the support of my union and the employer working together, I know that my experience would have been quite a different one under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The key benefit is that I had support mechanisms required, a union looking out for me, and a clear and defined road to permanent residency. That is what I wish for all workers coming to this country - not to be visitors, not to be temporary, but to make this great country theirs." Story continues UFCW Canada's membership has the largest percentage of migrant and temporary foreign workers of any union in Canada. "Throughout our history, Canada was built on the strength of newcomers," says Paul Meinema, the national president of UFCW Canada. "Today's migrant workers deserve the same opportunities to seek a new life in Canada. Without permanent immigration status, vulnerability to abuse will remain a tightly woven element of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program." UFCW Canada is Canada's leading and most progressive union, representing more than a quarter of a million workers in Canada's fastest growing industries. UFCW Canada is the country's most innovative organization dedicated to building fairness in workplaces and communities. To find out more about UFCW Canada and its groundbreaking work, please visit www.ufcw.ca. "A New Vision for a Sustainable Immigration System" is available for download at http://ufcw.ca/templates/ufcwcanada/images/directions16/june/1645/UFCWCanada-A-New-Vision-for-a-Sustainable-Immigration-System-TFWP-Submission-HUMA-June-1_2016.pdf * New technology improves access to LNG * Colombia, Abu Dhabi next in line to import * Path to becoming importer not smooth, delays loom By Oleg Vukmanovic and Sarah McFarlane MILAN/LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Cheap gas is tempting out new importers in Africa and South America, helping stave off a deeper price rout hurting producers' bottom lines. A near 80 percent drop in spot liquefied natural gas (LNG)prices since February 2014 comes as Asian demand falls and competing new supply from the United States and Australia attracts poorer countries for long shut out of the gas trade. Around 400 million tonnes, or a third more of the fuel, will be produced annually by 2020, according to industry estimates. That opens doors to overlooked regions considered too risky when Asia markets offered the best growth opportunity. Cheaper than fuel oil and cleaner-burning than coal, LNG suits emerging economies racing to bridge electricity shortfalls and support growth on tight budgets. New technologies such as floating LNG import terminals have also shaved years off the time needed for new customers to access supply. Terminal vendors including Golar, Hoegh, Excelerate Energy and BW Gas are thriving. Market debuts by buyers Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan last year were bright spots in an otherwise depressed trading environment. "There is an increase of up to 17 million tonnes in LNG supply in 2016 and terminals commissioned in 2015 and 2016 could account for 50 percent of that," independent consultant Andy Flower said. Aside from new supply flooding global markets, traditional Asian buyers such as Japan are having to hone a new skill - selling - as local demand disappoints. GATE CRASHERS Colombia is to become the 36th LNG-importing country later this year - a number expected to near 50 by 2025, according to a International Gas Union report. Japanese trader Mitsui & Co. will supply the country's first cargo to start Hoegh's floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), trade sources said. Story continues The terminal is due to arrive in Cartagena in Q3 and start commercial operations in Q4, a Hoegh LNG spokeswoman said. As with most South American importers, Colombian gas needs will be highly sensitive to rainfall given the preponderance of hydroelectric power. Eventually, up to four cargoes/month could be absorbed. Abu Dhabi follows. Its FSRU, provided by Excelerate, should absorb up to four cargoes/month, traders said. The path to becoming an importer is not always smooth, even with the barriers to entry being reduced, as infrastructure costs fall and timelines shorten. In Africa the next big market is Ghana where there are two import projects planned. However, while Golar's LNG terminal Tundra has already arrived sources said there are logistical delays causing uncertainty over the time frame of its start up. Golar and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation did not return requests for comment. The second project, led by Israel's Quantum Power, looks set to slip far into 2017 or 2018, industry sources said. Quantum Power did not return requests for comment. Countries including Jamaica, Malta, Uruguay, Panama, Philippines, Morocco, South Africa, Bangladesh and Hong Kong are next in line to emerge as importers of LNG - gas super cooled for transport on special tankers, escaping the straitjacket of pipeline networks, and warmed back to a gaseous state in an import terminal. "It won't absorb the glut in supply, volumes are too small, but it helps in energising the market, reducing inefficiencies and encouraging a more regionalised focus," a trader said. "It's a natural progression for the market." (Editing by William Hardy) The new signboard designed and made by a local artist announces the cultural mission of Longchang. Click here for high-resolution version TAITUNG, TAIWAN--(Marketwired - May 31, 2016) - Surrounded by the picturesque scenery along Taiwan's eastern coast, an indigenous cultural center is to open with the major task of preserving the aboriginal heritage for the younger generations and promoting traditional values of the native people to the outside world. The cultural center sits on the complex of the former Longchang Elementary School in Longchang Village, Donghe Township of Taitung County. Indigenous children used to study and play here amid dancing waves in the ocean with sunlight shining on every schoolroom window. Despite the rich community history and vibrant cultural activities in its glories past, the Longchang Village has been losing residents as young ones moving out. Now fewer than 600 are living in the village. Failing to recruit enough students, the Longchang Elementary School was forced to close 13 years ago. Its smooth walls and bright windows still face the sea, though its space had not been put to use. Now, thanks to a cultural initiative on the part of the Taitung County Government, the school complex will reopen, repurposed and anew as a site demonstrating the rich cultural resources in the community! Now, even deeper learning will take place in the sunny rooms and on the breezy ground. The new mission: Preserving historical and cultural heritage. Longchang Village, like many small villages along the east coast in Taiwan, has been suffering from isolation as youths being lured away by metropolitan areas like Kaohsiung, Taipei and other global cities. Nonetheless, centuries of cultural traditions and unique craftsmanship skills remain in the hearts of village elders. With the young ones leaving, there are no opportunities for the elders to pass down the traditions. Moreover, many young Longchang people have never learned their own native language. The indigenous village seems to be facing a turning point in its culture and history. In recent years, there is a growing awareness among Taiwan's aboriginal peoples that preserving and strengthening their history, culture, life wisdom and traditional skills must become the priority. Story continues The belief is that children should be able to speak their tribe languages, learn their traditional songs and, through learning, seeing and living the depth of their own cultures, they would come to love and identify with them. As Taitung County has the highest proportion of indigenous residents in Taiwan, its government embraces the opportunity and responsibility to support preserving the indigenous cultures, heritage and traditions. The rededication of Longchang Elementary School means not only a physical renovation, but a cultural and artistic one as well. Many artists are invited to participate to show their talents in installation art, music, wood carvings, mosaic design and green energy planning. There will be an art workshop in the indigenous Amis style led by local elders in Longchang. The workshop also offers an array of indigenous skills including painting, pottery dyeing and weaving to tourist and students. Longchang Elementary School will be reborn to become a leading attraction along Taiwan's sunshine east coast. To the north, there is the Changbin PAKELANG houseboat; south by the bayside, there are Changguang terraces. Visitors can experience the culture of the Pakalac tribe, taste delicious seafood in Wushibi harbor and appreciate sculptures in Pisirian, overlooking Sanxiantai. You must also visit the famous Dulan Sugar Factory, Shiauyeliou and Tiehua Music Village, experience traditional cultures and taste the most genuine indigenous cuisines. Your visit to the Longchang Elementary School art center will become one of your most treasured Taiwan memories as the site, surrounded by green mountains and sparkling blue sea, grows into a beautiful east-coast attraction. Seeing an 81-year-old grandmother work with her grandson in the 2016 Longchang Weave Competition, we know the Longchang Elementary School will be successfully renewed and revitalized to pass down the Longchang heritage. Taiwan Taitung Tourism:http://tour.taitung.gov.tw/en-us/Home/Index Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3015676 WEST KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jun 1, 2016) - COLORADO RESOURCES LTD. (TSX VENTURE:CXO) ("Colorado" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its press release of May 19, 2016, and May 31, 2016 it has completed the final tranche of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") with Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross") for aggregate gross proceeds of $910,000 (the "Final Tranche"). The Final Tranche which closed effective June 1, 2016 consisted of the issuance of 2,600,000 NFT Units to Kinross. Each Final Tranche NFT Unit consisted of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "NFT Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "NFT Warrant"), with each NFT Warrant entitling the holder to acquire an additional NFT Share at an exercise price of $0.50 until June 1, 2018. With the completion of the Final Tranche, the final aggregate Offering consists of 9,274,931 units of the Company (the "NFT Units") at an issue price of $0.35 per Unit and 3,542,334 common shares of the Company that qualify as flow-through shares for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and 1,771,167 warrants (collectively, the "FT Units") at an issue price of $0.42 per FT Unit. Adam Travis, President and CEO of Colorado states: "We are very pleased to have the strong support of our existing shareholders and welcome new ones. Kinross increasing its shareholding is a strong vote of confidence in our technical team and our projects. The closing of this placement along with the funds we already had on hand have provided us a path to earning a controlling interest in the KSP Project. KSP is clearly one of B.C.'s best exploration projects centered in the heart of the Golden Triangle. We look forward to commencing drilling shortly on our Inel high grade gold target as soon as conditions allow." The Final Tranche NFT Warrant contains an acceleration provision such that if, commencing on October 3, 2016 the closing price of the common shares of the Company on the TSX Venture Exchange is higher than $0.75 for 20 consecutive trading days then on the 20th consecutive trading day (the "Acceleration Trigger Date") the expiry date of the Warrants may be accelerated to the date that is 20 trading days after the Acceleration Trigger Date by the issuance of a news release announcing such acceleration within two trading days of the Acceleration Trigger Date. The shares issued under the Final Tranche, and any shares issued on exercise of the NFT Warrants, will be subject to restrictions on transfer until October 2, 2016. The initial tranche ("Tranche 1"), which closed effective May 19, 2016, consisted of the issuance of 2,211,430 NFT Units and 2,282,334 FT Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,732,580. The second tranche ("Tranche 2"), which closed effective May 31, 2016, consisted of the issuance of 4,463,500 NFT Units and 1,260,000 FT Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,091,425. The Company has paid aggregate finders' fees in connection with Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 of $182,279 cash and issued to finders 68,880 warrants at an exercise price of $0.35 and 128,119 warrants at an exercise price of $0.42 (collectively the "Finder Warrants"). Each Finder Warrant is otherwise exercisable on the same terms as the warrants issued to investors in the Offering. The proceeds will be used by the Company for exploration activities on it Canadian properties and for working capital. About Colorado Colorado Resources Ltd. is currently engaged in the business of mineral exploration for the purpose of acquiring and advancing mineral properties located in British Columbia and is also seeking opportunities in Southwest USA and Latin America. Colorado's current exploration focus is to continue to advance: the KSP property optioned from SnipGold, located 15 kms along strike to the southeast of the past producing Snip Mine; its 100% owned North ROK property, located 15 kms northwest of the Red Chris mine development, both located in northern central British Columbia. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF COLORADO RESOURCES LTD. Adam Travis, President and Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release, constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including: that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, that the Company obtains required regulatory approvals, that the Company continues to maintain a good relationship with the local project communities. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in delays, or cessation in planned work, that the Company's financial condition and development plans change, delays in regulatory approval, risks associated with the interpretation of data, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company as set forth in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis reports filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than as required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available. Brent N. Clarke/Getty ImagesWhen you think '80s movies -- and '80s movie soundtracks -- Top Gun definitely comes to mind. The Tom Cruise action romance just celebrated its 30th anniversary a couple weeks ago, but Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" and Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" are still radio staples today. Yet Loggins, who had not one but two songs on the Top Gun soundtrack, recalls that it was a something of a dogfight to even get to be part of the project. "That was a cattle call back then," he tells ABC Radio. "All the top acts of that era came in for a number of screenings of the rough cut of Top Gun." The idea was that all the artists would then submit material for consideration. Kenny says he was a bit intimidated, so he came up with what he thought was a clever plan. "There were so many top-40 acts in the room when I went to see it that the producer and I decided to write for the volleyball scene, because we knew nobody else was gonna write for that," he laughs. "So the main thing was get a song in the movie and then see what happens from there." That song, "Playing with the Boys," ended up on the soundtrack, but then Loggins also was tapped to record a song he didn't write -- "Danger Zone" -- after several other artists passed on the opportunity. The result: a #2 smash on a #1 soundtrack that's sold more than 9 million copies. As for why the movie itself is still such a touchstone, Kenny tells ABC Radio, "Well, it was groundbreaking at the time. It was the best aerial footage that had ever been shot and I think that made a big difference in the way military movies are filmed and presented." He adds, "And then, of course, it was a breakthrough movie for Tom Cruise. And that's probably one of the main reasons its still around." Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. By Emily Flitter and Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday detailed $5.6 million (3.8 million) in contributions he raised for military veterans, and staged a fiery news conference where he attacked reporters for questioning him for months about the money. Appearing at Trump Tower in Manhattan, the billionaire accused the media of failing to give him credit for raising the funds at an event in January in Iowa. His tirade, in which he called one reporter "a sleaze" and sarcastically described another as a "real beauty," overshadowed what otherwise should have been an upbeat event for the presumptive Republican nominee. "The press should be ashamed of themselves," he told reporters gathered before him. "You make me look very bad. Ive never received such bad publicity for doing a good job." While Trump has long had an adversarial relationship with the media, questions about the donations to veterans touched a raw nerve with him as he tries to build a conservative base ahead of the Nov. 8 general election. Reporters have been persistently asking whether Trump in fact raised all the money he said he had in January and why it took so long to hand donations over to veterans groups. A number of veterans groups listed by Trump on Tuesday as recipients confirmed they had received the donation as listed, ranging from $25,000 to, in one case, $1.1 million, which went to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. Some of the donations arrived in February or March, some as recently as last week around the time a critical article appeared in The Washington Post. The money arrived in the form of a check from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. We received a $75,000 gift early last week from the Trump Foundation, it was not restricted or earmarked in any way," said Katherine Fritz, director of development at Americas Vetdogs. Trump's criticism of the media dashed the hopes of some Republican leaders who want him to tone down his rhetoric and become more magnanimous now that he has sealed the Republican presidential nomination. The Washington Post said Trump only handed over a personal donation of $1 million last week - four months after announcing it - once the newspaper started asking about the money. Trump said the news coverage of his veterans group donations had been close to libellous. Asked whether he would maintain an adversarial stance with reporters if elected president, Trump said: "Yeah, it's going to be like this." A reporter told Trump he seemed resistant to the kind of scrutiny that comes with the office of U.S. president. But Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush, said the news media should stop fretting about how Trump treats them. "My advice to the press: Stop interviewing yourselves about Trump's attack on the press. Don't worry about it. Just do your jobs and be fair," he said. The contretemps took place on the same day documents were disclosed from a lawsuit involving Trump University, a now-defunct education programme that ran a real estate training programme. Trump has attacked the presiding judge as hostile to him. The university documents showed Trump University created a special class to teach students how to cash in on U.S. mortgage foreclosures when the United States was struggling with an entrenched housing crisis in 2009. CLINTON POLL LEAD Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton sought to take advantage of Trump's discomfort over the media scrutiny he has faced. She told CNN that Trump's tendency to attack his critics "is a recipe for gridlock in Washington." Clinton defended her own policy toward dealing with the news media, saying she has conducted 300 interviews this year alone. Unlike Trump, she rarely holds news conferences. Her last one was last December. Clinton leads Trump by 11 percentage points in the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. According to the May 27-31 survey of likely voters, 46 percent support the former U.S. secretary of state while 35 percent back Trump. California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday endorsed Clinton for the Democratic nomination, saying it was the only way to "stop the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump." At his news conference, Trump also bristled at the possibility that Republicans opposed to him might run a third-party candidate as an alternative to Trump or the expected Democratic nominee Clinton. He said a leader of that effort, Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard magazine, "looks like such a fool." "Let me tell you these people are losers," said Trump, adding that a third-party candidacy would guarantee Clinton wins the White House and deny Republicans the chance to put conservatives on the Supreme Court. "What youre going to do is lose the election for the Republicans and therefore you lose the Supreme Court," he said. Trump read out a list of veterans' organizations that had received money from the January event, which he attended instead of participating in a Fox News-sponsored candidates' debate. He said the money was benefiting 41 groups and that the total cash raised could climb as more comes in. He turned the microphone over briefly to Al Baldasaro, a Trump supporter and a veteran from New Hampshire who also skewered the news media, saying reporters should "get your head out of your butt, focus on the real issues." (Additional reporting by Amanda Becker and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Alistair Bell and Howard Goller) Hi, everyone, and welcome to our regular chat. Although, of course, there's nothing remotely regular about this election... Today we have the last big primary contests, including California, but apparently it's literally all over but the shouting -- Hillary Clinton already has the delegate votes she needs for the nomination, as of last night, according to AP and NBC. This counts those dastardly superdelegates, of course, the ones Bernie Sanders wants to drop Clinton and support him instead. Lost somehow is the historic nature of this moment: The first woman nominated by one of our major parties for president. Meanwhile, on the GOP side, Republicans have suddenly discovered that Donald Trump is a racist. His attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel are in fact the "textbook definition of racism," House Speaker Paul Ryan just said. But Ryan still supports the nominee. The only GOP officials brave enough to cut Trump loose is Lindsey Graham, who looked physically ill today as he said he will have nothing to do with the man and plans to write in somebody, anybody. Others who have fallen in line for the sake of "party unity" now see what a mess they've gotten themselves into; more are going to have to bail in the coming days and weeks. Let's get started. The 'Deadliest Catch' No More Efforts by the fishing industry, Coast Guard, and National Marine Fisheries Service have all contributed to the fleet's improved safety. Here's a feel-good story: A NIOSH report released in Spring 2016 shows that safety in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Island crab fleet has greatly improved since the 1990s, when it was the most hazardous commercial fishery in the United States and even spawned a hit Discovery Channel show. There were 73 crew members killed on the job from vessel disasters, falls overboard, or on-board injuries. The report prepared by Devin Lucas, Ph.D., Samantha Case, MPH, Theodore Teske, MA, Alexis DeLeon, BS, and Dimitreus Kloczko, BFA ("Assessment of Safety in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Crab Fleet," DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2016-112) shows that between 2005/06 and 2012/13, 65 injuries in the fleet were reported to the Coast Guard, one of which one was fatal. The other 64 injuries ranged from minor to severe, but most were minor or moderate. The authors say several factors contributed to the improvement: The U.S. Coast Guard in 1999 introduced an "At-the-Dock Stability and Safety Compliance Check" program, in which Coast Guard personnel checked crab vessels in Dutch Harbor before departure, and the fleet changed in 2005 from a derby-style race for fish to a quota-based system, which brought about an extended fishing season and smaller pot loads and also allowed for more experienced and potentially less fatigued crews, they found. Consolidation reduced the fishing fleet from an average of 243 vessels during 2001-2004 to 78 vessels during 2005-2010. Thus, efforts by the fishing industry, Coast Guard, and National Marine Fisheries Service have all contributed; further improvements in crew safety may come from analyzing the causes of nonfatal injuries and vessel casualties and developing focused interventions to address hazards, they write. The 64 nonfatal crew injuries during 2005/06 to 2012/13 represent an injury rate of 12 injuries per 1,000 FTEs. Fractures were the most frequently reported injury (12/57, 21 percent); other common injuries included contusions (11, 19 percent), lacerations (10, 18 percent), and sprains, strains, and tears (8, 14 percent). Nine (26 percent) of the vessel casualties during the study period were classified as serious, meaning the vessel had to be rescued at sea and towed to port for repairs, but there were no vessel disasters (e.g., sinking, capsizing) during the study period. This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. Use PPE in the Workplace and Keep Your 'Eyes' on the Prize Next is the concern that PPE is unattractive or doesn't fit properly. If employees are content with their appearance, they will be more likely to use PPE. The American workplace is a minefield of potential dangers, coming in all sizes and shapessparks, noise, chemicals, falling objects, and sharp edges, just to name a few. The smart plan would be to encase the worker in a protective bubble. But odds are such an endeavor would severely hinder productivity. Still, procedures still have to be instituted to safeguard employees and prevent workplace injuries that can result in soaring workers' compensation costs for employers. To that end, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that all employers protect their employees from workplace hazards that can cause injury by not only providing personal protection equipment (PPE), but also making sure their workers know how to use it and when to use it. When using PPE, whether its safety glasses, gloves, ear plugs, or full-body suits, employers must make sure employees have the proper training regarding: When PPE is necessary and how to properly wear it. What are its limitations? How to determine whether the PPE is no longer effective or is damaged. How to care for the PPE. Whom to inform should the PPE need to be replaced. The math is simple. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if all workers made sure they were wearing protective gloves, it is estimated that more than one million hospital emergency visits by U.S. workers per year could be avoided. Hand injuries alone can cost employers more than $500 million dollars per year, once you calculate lost time, settlements, etc. The problem here isn't that employers are failing to practice what they preach. The problem is that they don't preach. A recent survey commissioned by the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) of safety influencers in the heavy construction industry revealed that the main reason workers chose not to wear PPE when needed was because "employers don't require or enforce usage." While many employers realize that the use of PPE can pay huge dividends in workplace safety, plus result in higher morale and lower insurance premiums, many do not update their equipment, assess new situations, or require rigorous enforcement. The adverse result is loss of manpower (which few companies already running bare minimum can afford) and higher workers compensation costs. For some companies, a high number of injuries also hinders their competitiveness when bidding on certain contracts. This is a high price to pay for the low price of a carton of gloves and safety goggles. This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. Workers Exposed to Chemical Hazards at Fragrance Manufacturer OSHA has issued one repeat, six serious, and one other-than-serious violation According to a news release, OSHA has discovered repeat violations at a Ungerer & Company facility when the employer failed to use approved electrical equipment to clean up combustible dust, and did not train employees expected to participate in emergency response operations. An investigation was prompted after a referral from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency alleging employees suffered respiratory distress from an unknown chemical odor. Serious violations include: No developed emergency response plan, employees overexposed to hydrogen sulfide, and administrative and engineering controls not implemented, among others. Ungerer & Company should immediately implement safeguards to protect its workers from the dangerous risks associated with exposure to combustible dust and chemical hazards, said Jean Kulp, director of OSHAs Allentown Area Office. Employers will be held legally accountable for failing to provide a safe and healthful workplace. US President Barack Obama will host Singapore's prime minister for talks on a stalled trans-Pacific trade pact, maritime tensions with China and a prestigious White House state dinner. The White House said Obama would host Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on August 2, hoping to woo an ally that has "served as an anchor for the US rebalance to Asia." Lee is the son of longtime Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew, a trusted confidant to a string of US presidents despite criticisms of his authoritarian rule. Lee Hsien Loong, 64, became Singapore's third prime minister in 2004. "The two leaders will discuss how our relationship can continue to address international challenges and advance a rules-based order for the Asia-Pacific," the White House said. Obama visited Singapore in 2009 for a regional summit and has faced pressure to make a symbolic bilateral visit to the country. But with time running out in his presidency, Obama will instead have to offer the pomp and circumstance of an official visit. Singapore has been a key player in pushing through the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional trade deal that has yet to be ratified. And while cautioning that South East Asian countries must not get stuck in the middle of US-Chinese rivalry, Singapore has also developed deep military and security ties with the United States. It has also backed Obama's calls for territorial disputes in the South China Sea to be settled peacefully and through talks or arbitration. (Bloomberg) -- Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte plans to cut income taxes and widen the fiscal deficit to the highest since 2010 as he ramps up spending on infrastructure, incoming Budget Secretary Ben Diokno said. A "comfortable deficit target" is 3 percent of gross domestic product, Diokno said in an interview in Manila Wednesday, without specifying a time frame. The new government will seek to cut personal and corporate taxes within six months of Duterte taking office, he said. Looser fiscal policy is a departure from the more conservative approach adopted by the outgoing administration of Benigno Aquino. That discipline helped to curb the budget shortfall to 0.9 percent of GDP in 2015 from 3.5 percent in 2010 and delivered the nations first investment-grade credit ratings. Duterte, a firebrand mayor who won the support of voters with promises to fight crime, starts a six-year term on June 30. He has pledged to reform the countrys tax regime to benefit low-income earners. Diokno said investors may support a widening in the deficit target because the government plans to use the additional fiscal space to spend more on public infrastructure. Authorities will also consider revenue-enhancing measures -- such as higher levies on petroleum products, reduced perks for companies, and an increase in sales tax -- once the effect of income-tax cuts on state coffers can be assessed, he said. Outgoing Finance Minister Cesar Purisima said May 20 he will submit tax reform recommendations to the new administration, including a proposal to lower personal and corporate income taxes to 25 percent. The corporate income tax rate is currently 30 percent while income tax rates are as high as 32 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund. Diokno estimated economic growth for the full year of about 6.2 percent, with expansion possibly slowing in the second half as election-related spending tapers off. --With assistance from Karl Lester M. Yap To contact the reporters on this story: Cecilia Yap in Manila at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net, Siegfrid Alegado in Manila at aalegado1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Clarissa Batino 2016 Bloomberg L.P. By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Six men were sentenced to death in Bangladesh on Tuesday for killing eight people during a bank robbery in Dhaka last year that police blamed on Islamist militants, the public prosecutor said. Although no group claimed responsibility for the robbery, police blame two outlawed groups, Ansarullah Bangla Team and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, which have been active in a recent surge of Islamist militant violence in Bangladesh. Since early last year, almost 30 people have been killed in militant attacks, some of which were claimed by Islamic State and al Qaeda. The government denies either network has a presence in Bangladesh, blaming home-grown groups instead. Public Prosecutor Khandaker Abdul Mannan said the defendants had confessed to being members of Ansarullah Bangla Team and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen during the trial. "They committed a heinous crime. They killed innocent people," Mannan told reporters outside the court after the sentencing. The men were sentenced to death by hanging. One suspect was still on the run, Mannan said. Another man was sentenced to life imprisonment and two others were handed three-year jail terms. Two more were acquitted. The gang set off crude bombs as it fled a branch of state-run Bangladesh Commerce Bank on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital, with takings of 700,000 taka ($8,900). They had killed the manager to get the key to the vault. Of the nine people killed, one was a robber who was chased and beaten to death by customers and bystanders. Defence lawyer Faruq Ahmed said his clients would appeal the verdict and that they had been denied justice. "The video footage of the robbery was not produced before the court," he said. The authorities blame Ansarullah Bangla Team for a series of attacks since February last year in which five atheist bloggers, a publisher and two gay rights activists were hacked to death. The hardline Islamist groups want to impose strict Islamic law on Bangladesh, whose population of 160 million are mostly moderate Muslims. The government has launched a security crackdown that has seen dozens arrested. At least five Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen members, including the alleged mastermind of the robbery, have been killed in shootouts since November, according to the police. Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen has laid low since six of its leaders were hanged in 2007 for attacks that included 500 bombs exploding almost simultaneously on a single day in 2005, some in Dhaka. (Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Raissa Kasolowsky) BEIJING China hopes to get relations with the Philippines back on track, President Xi Jinping has told new Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, after ties were affected by an increasingly bitter spat over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Xi sent a message to Duterte late on Monday congratulating him on his formal election victory, and said the two countries had a long history of friendly exchanges and a deep traditional friendship, Chinas Foreign Ministry said. The friendly, stable and healthy development of Sino-Philippine relations accords with the basic interests of both countries and both peoples, Xi was quoted as saying in the ministry statement. Both countries had the responsibility to deepen cooperation, he said. (I) hope both sides can work hard to push Sino-Philippine relations back onto a healthy development track, Xi said. China and the Philippines are locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which $5 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. Tension between the Philippines and China has risen as an international tribunal in The Hague prepares to deliver a ruling in the next few months in a case lodged by Manila in 2013. The Philippines is seeking a clarification of United Nations maritime laws that could undermine Chinas claims to 90 percent of the South China Sea. China has rejected the courts authority. Reuters By Gina Cherelus NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York bar known as the birthplace of the gay pride movement could become the country's first national monument honoring LGBT rights under a plan to be considered by President Barack Obama. The Stonewall Inn in Manhattan's Greenwich Village was the site of a 1969 police raid that touched off riots and ignited a long struggle to bring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the mainstream and guarantee their rights. A year after the Stonewall riots, activists staged the country's first gay rights parade. The event has evolved into LGBT Pride Month, which begins Wednesday, with parades and street parties around the world that draw millions of people of every sexual orientation. To honor that legacy, Obama is being asked to designate the tavern and adjoining Christopher Park as a national monument, the second highest recognition in the U.S. National Park Service. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, several members of Congress and local and state officials have strongly endorsed the effort. Stonewall is already a National Historic Landmark and both inn and park are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Melissa Sklarz, a transgender rights activist, was among those attending hearings in Manhattan this month to push for the national monument status. It was great for me to be able to stand up for my part of the community, that LGBT includes trans women and it's important that that voice be heard," she said. NEW FIGHT FOR LGBT RIGHTS The proposal has its critics. Some of them say national monuments should honor war heroes or the Founding Fathers, not a symbol of gay rights. "A monument to sin?" said Franklin Graham, the Christian evangelist continuing the work of his famous father Billy Graham. "That's unbelievable," he added in a Facebook post this month. The proposal to elevate Stonewall coincides with a contentious national debate over protections for transgender people that is considered the next frontier in the fight for LGBT rights after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage last year. The recent battle between North Carolina lawmakers and the Obama administration over bathroom access for transgender people suggests that equality issues that came to the fore in 1969 are yet to be fully resolved. Back in the 1960s, police raids on gay bars were common. But when officers arrived at the Stonewall Inn, in the early hours of June 28, 1969 to clear the bar and make arrests, patrons decided to resist, according to witnesses. It was a galvanizing event, ultimately destroying the tavern. Now, the reconstructed Stonewall is a low-lit, two-level space decorated inside with wooden floors, high-rise bar stools, mirrored walls and televisions playing music videos from artists like Rihanna and Enrique Iglesias. With its trademark brick exterior, blood-red neon sign and rainbow flags, the tavern continues to attract people from all over the world. For Fred Etree, who at 77 years of age still works as a bartender at Stonewall after nearly 50 years, the memories of the riots are vivid. "I was in there dancing with my friends Frank and Charlie when the cops came in and we heard everybody screaming," Etree recalled. They came in nasty." As patrons were being led outside and loaded into police vans, a crowd of several hundred people gathered in the park across the street. Eventually bottles and other objects were thrown at police and violence erupted. Tactical officers were called in to clear the streets and days of unrest followed. OBAMA'S LGBT LEGACY For Obama, the monument designation in his last year in office could solidify his legacy as a defender of LGBT rights. While he started his first term opposed to gay marriage, he came out in favor of it before his re-election in 2012. In the battle over transgender rights, he asked all U.S. public schools this month to allow all students to use the bathroom of their choice, a non-binding directive that conservatives have vowed to resist. His administration has also sued North Carolina, saying limits on bathroom access are a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But state lawmakers say the law, which limits people to using the bathroom of their gender at birth, protects women and girls from predators. Eleven other states are suing the administration for an overreach of power on the issue. A White House spokeswoman said the president is aware of "the overwhelming support" for the monument proposal from Greenwich Village residents and the LGBT community. But she would not say when he would make a decision or what he is leaning toward doing. Down in the Village, proponents say making the Stonewall a monument would send a powerful message to states opposing transgender rights. "I think it's absolutely fabulous," said Etree. "I think it will be very good for our community, that recognition." (Editing by Frank McGurty and Mary Milliken) By George Obulutsa NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy urged the opposition on Wednesday to end unrest over alleged bias in the electoral commission, but opposition leaders said protests would continue if their demands for dialogue were not met. To help defuse tensions, Kenyatta on Tuesday had talks with his political rival, the leader of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy Raila Odinga, but the rare meeting between the two appeared to have little impact. The president's office said Tuesday's meeting yielded no deal between Kenyatta and Odinga on how to revamp the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Police in Nairobi fired tear gas at people leaving a rally of the Coalition that was fully authorised and had passed without incident, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. The next presidential and parliamentary polls in Kenya, East Africa's largest economy, are not due until August 2017 but politicians are already trying to galvanise supporters in a country prone to political strife. Violence erupted after the 2007 vote and the opposition disputed the outcome in 2013. The opposition wants the IEBC scrapped, accusing it of bias. The commission's electronic identification system collapsed during the 2013 election that brought Kenyatta to power. The opposition cried foul but a court declared the result valid. Odinga, who was also running for president, accepted the ruling. In a speech at a separate event on Wednesday, Kenyatta said the opposition should use legal channels to seek changes to institutions, rather than demonstrations. "The law is good when it favours you, but when it takes an unfavourable turn, you don't like it. We can't work like that. We must be a nation that follows the rule of law," the president said in a speech at a ceremony in the town of Nakuru to mark Kenya achieving independence from Britain in 1963. TALK OR TEAR GAS His deputy, William Ruto, said the opposition should eschew further protests, citing a court ruling that had banned them marching. "I now wonder if we want to transact the business of Kenya over a tete-a-tete or a cup of tea, or in street engagements, clouded by clouds of tear gas," he said. Speaking at the Nairobi opposition rally, Odinga said there was no such court ruling. In late April, Kenya's High Court barred the opposition from storming the election commission's offices, but did not forbid them from protesting. Another lawsuit brought by ruling coalition lawmakers to stop Odinga from interfering with the running of the electoral commission is still with the court. Ruto did not elaborate on the ruling he was referring to. Odinga also told the rally that the coalition would on Thursday appoint five of its lawmakers who, alongside their counterparts from the ruling Jubilee Alliance coalition, would meet with the electoral body on Friday for talks. "If the talks don't start on Friday, then on Monday we are going back to marching," Odinga told some 10,000 supporters. Parliament's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee had said on Tuesday it would invite the public to present their views on how to reform IEBC and other election-related issues, according to the statement from Kenyatta's office. "President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto intend to make their submissions to this team," it said. "The Presidency expects that the sessions by the ... Committee will be held in public, and that they will also be televised live so that all Kenyans can hear what anyone with any views on the subject has to say." (Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Statistics for Cambodia have pointed to a country embracing technology, and this week we saw a corporate bank make a legitimate investment Sometimes at e27, interesting news comes our way, but for one reason or another be it large funding rounds, interesting profiles or government action it gets left on the proverbial cutting room floor. One such story occurred this week. It is worth bringing to the forefront not only because it is an interesting milestone, but also because it received little to no attention from any sort of English-language media (the most I found was an 80 word blurb in the Phnom Penh Post). Last weekend, Maybank Cambodia launched a mobile-banking solution that, in the context of the country, is a one-of-a-kind launch. The app will integrate Augmented Reality (AR) and QR technology into the service. Citing the need for that personal touch in financial services, the AR is a neat little feature. Account holders can scan their surroundings and follow on-screen directions to the nearest branch. Non-Maybank customers are free to use the QR Code Reader as well as the loan calculator. The rest of the app works as any banking app across the globe. Customers can check their account balance and transaction history, and transfer money to other accounts. Furthermore, people can send money to a mobile number. But the real story is not the app itself, but rather the decision by Maybank Cambodia to make a serious investment in their smartphone technology. Also Read: Cambodia and Laos: The challenge of altering attitudes towards startups Research by The Asia Foundation published in November 2015 found that 39.5 per cent of Cambodians own a smartphone, a 51.7 per cent increase from 2014 and a nearly 100 per cent rise from 2013. Those numbers show a rapid adoption of the mobile internet a trend Maybank Cambodia felt was significant enough to prompt the app launch. Maybank cited internal data of its desktop-based online banking channels and reported over 50 per cent growth in both registered users and volume of transactions. Story continues Maybank Cambodia CEO Cynthia Liaw also said the bank is planning to introduce more online services in the country. Digital banking channels not only offer convenience but also security with multiple layers of authentication required, said Liaw in a statement. When we ask investors which is the go-to frontier country for them, they often mention Myanmar because it presents an opportunity to be a first-mover in almost any industry. Also Read: Cambodia Diary: 10 reasons why Cambodia deserves investor interest Cambodia is essentially never brought up as a country with nascent tech potential. And yet, to quote The Asia Foundation report, The Internetin particular Facebookhas become both a key source of information and a rapid communication tool for groups of friends and colleagues, quickly surpassing other sources of information in terms of popularity among Cambodian youth. If a major bank is investing in the country, maybe its time for the startup community to follow suit. Picture courtesy of Pixabay. The post Maybank mobile app launch highlights hints of potential in Cambodia appeared first on e27. KUALA LUMPUR: A national and regional database on irregular movement of persons should be established as one of the measures to address the issue. Dr Sriprapha Petcharamesree from the Institute for Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University Thailand said such a database could help tackle the problems at hand. "Continuous dialogues with the countries affected and countries of origin should also be conducted while frameworks addressing the issue could be established. One such example is the Bali Process held in March," said Sriprapha who was one of the speakers at a plenary session at the 30th Asia-Pacific Roundtable plenary session, titled 'Human Insecurity: Confronting Displacement and Trafficking'. She said there is also a need to review regional response on the arrival of refugees including those by sea. Asean members should also make use of the regional platform in finding the root cause and look for solutions together. In the 1970s and 1980s, arrival of refugees was not considered as crises and governments such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, extended assistance to the refugees on humanitarian grounds. This is despite the fact that they did not ratify the 1951 UN Refugee Convention (United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees)," she said, adding that the displacement could be caused by among others, poverty and persecution at the country of origin. New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga At least 45 gallons of liquid shabu with an estimated value of P1.1 billion were seized during a raid on a shabu laboratory in this city yesterday. Operatives of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Central Luzon police also recovered four freezers, hydrogen tanks, shabu paraphernalia, laboratory equipment as well as two kilos of suspected shabu. Chief Superintendent Aaron Aquino, Central Luzon police officer-in-charge, said the shabu laboratory is considered a mega-industrial laboratory as it can produce more than 50 kilograms per production cycle. Aquino said the raid was based on a search warrant on the residence of a certain Chang at Dolores Subdivision in Barangay Sto. Domingo. The owner of the house, identified as Orlando Pangilinan, said Chang and his Filipino and Taiwanese cohorts entered into a one-year lease contract, but failed to pay since April. No one was arrested in the operation as the occupants left the house before the raiding team arrived. Last year, a raid on the house being rented by Chinese men in a subdivision in this city yielded shabu and shabu paraphernalia. No one was arrested in the operation. Cops nabbed for drugs Meanwhile, 406 persons, including three police officers, were arrested and illegal drugs worth P16.37 million were confiscated in a series of anti-drug operations in the Caraga Region from Jan. 1 to May 29. The police officers were identified as Senior Police Officer 2 Elmer de la Torre, PO1 Edgaro Aquino and SPO1 Eleonor Osico. The Caraga police earlier said it is monitoring 14 police officers allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade. Catanduanes sting In Virac, Catanduanes, 13 sachets of suspected shabu were seized in a sting on Sunday. Syder Basilio, alias Dondon, was arrested, said Senior Inspector Malou Calubaquib, Bicol police spokesperson. Calubaquib said operatives of the Virac police and Provincial Special Operations Group led by Inspector Darwin Sevilla led the raid based on a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 43 Judge Lelu Contreras. With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Celso Amo, Ben Serrano The Philippine National Police (PNP) said the series of aggressive anti-drug operations conducted recently is not meant to impress president-elect Rodrigo Duterte since the intensified campaign against criminals has been ongoing since 2014. PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor said the PNP has been implementing Oplan Lambat-Sibat, a set of police operation plans that seeks to address rampant criminality in the National Capital Region (NCR) and eventually in the whole country through data-driven strategies, for the past two years. Let us always give a chance to people who perform and let us not judge our organization on things that havent started yet. Let us give everybody a chance, Mayor said. More than 12 suspected drug dealers were killed in a series of police operations in various parts of the country in just one week, and some groups interpreted the crackdown as part of the efforts of officials to impress Duterte. Mayor said the series of police operations was a result of intelligence gathering operations. The PNP spokesman also cited the clear direction of Duterte in the anti-crime campaign, which is one of the priorities of his administration. Mayor said one of the factors is that when policemen conduct operations, they are prone to harassment, especially counter-charges, but when they know they have the support of their superiors the morale of law enforcers is boosted. When we enforce the law there is nothing wrong with it. When we invigorate our operation there is nothing wrong with it. Sometimes when we pursue operations there is a question, Mayor lamented. Intensive intelligence operations of police units are part and parcel of the PNP drive. A spate of recent criminal killings by police has spiked fears of an extrajudicial crackdown after Duterte vowed to stamp out crime by all means necessary. Police have killed at least 12 drug suspects across the country in the past week, while vigilantes gunned down two other men linked by police to illegal drugs. Most of the suspects fell in what police described as gun battles. Story continues Records showed that policemen gunned down four alleged drug dealers in Bulacan, four in General Santos City and two each in Manila, Nueva Ecija and Zamboanga City. Two other drug suspects were killed by unidentified gunmen in Davao City. An official of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) warned people involved in illegal drug operations to reform now that Duterte has been proclaimed president. DDB assistant secretary Benjamin Reyes said the agency continues to strengthen its campaign against illegal drugs and their advocacy of encouraging drug addicts to enter rehabilitation centers. With Robertzon Ramirez DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Yemen and a Saudi-led military coalition said late on Monday it may be forced to reconsider a truce that has been place since April. Saudi state news agency SPA quoted the statement as saying that the missile, the second such strike this month, was destroyed in mid-air without causing any casualties. The air force also destroyed the platform from which the missile was fired, it said. Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of Arab states, intervened in Yemen in March last year mainly with air strikes to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Houthis, backed by forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, had advanced on Hadi's temporary headquarters in the southern city of Aden, forcing him to flee the country. The war has killed more than 6,200 people and displaced more than 2.5 million people. The Houthis describe their capture of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and their advance on Aden as part of a revolution against corruption and to end attacks by al Qaeda. They have accused the Saudi-led coalition of violating the truce with air strikes. The Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed exiled government are currently engaged in peace talks in Kuwait aimed at ending the 14-month-old war and easing a humanitarian crisis in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country. The U.N.-sponsored talks have so far yielded few results. Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, played down the prospects of a breakdown of the truce and said the kingdom hopes the talks would advance and produce a peace agreement. "The kingdom had reached an understanding to calm the situation on the border ... From time to time, violations of the truce or the period of calm happen but we must look forward and focus on achieving a political settlement," he told a news conference at the end of a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. SPA gave no details on the target or the type of missile used. However, the agency said the Saudi-led coalition warned it would not sit idle against any further violations of the truce, which began on April 10. "The coalition command, through this statement, assert that violating the truce by the Houthi militia and its supporters and the targeting of the kingdom's lands ... would force the coalition to reconsider the feasibility of this policy (of self restraint)," SPA said. Saudi Arabia said on May 9 it had also intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Yemen before it reached its target. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Omar Fahmy in Cairo,; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Paul Tait and Richard Balmforth) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Tony Tan Keng Yam on Monday congratulated president-elect Rodrigo Duterte for winning the May 9 elections. Lee said the overwhelming support that Duterte got in the elections reflects the trust that his fellow Filipinos have in his leadership and vision for the Philippines. Lee said Singapore looks forward to the Philippines chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year, adding that he is confident that the country will be able to foster closer ASEAN integration amid a complex and fast-changing global landscape. Meanwhile, Tan said Singapore and the Philippines are old friends with strong ties and are cooperating closely in the ASEAN and the United Nations to promote peace, stability and prosperity. I am confident that you will lead the Philippine economy to greater heights, Tan said in a congratulatory letter to Duterte. He invited Duterte to visit their country at the soonest possible time. He recalled his state visit to the Philippines in April 2014 where he and his wife were impressed by the economic progress of the country and the resilience of Tacloban residents who were working to rehabilitate areas destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda. I wish you success as you embark on your new role, and I look forward to meeting you soon, Tan told Duterte. The human gut is a complex and amazing system, and the more we learn about it, the more amazed we are. It turns out Data Privacy States Include Stricter Language in Student Data Privacy Legislation A new report from NASBE highlights trends in data privacy legislation this year. Student information is getting a regulatory makeover on a massive scale. Legislatures in 38 states considered 185 bills on student data privacy this year, many with stricter language protections for students, according to a policy update report from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE). Amelia Vance, director of education data and technology for NASBE, wrote the Trends in Student Data Privacy Bills in 2016 report that touches on improvements made to previous bills and notes specific states to watch. Vance saw that a majority of the new bills that were introduced this year were based on legislation from previous years. One such bill is the Californias Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA), which regulates activity by third-party websites, mobile applications and online services. There were 27 measures based on SOPIPA that became law in six states. Several measures went beyond SOPIPA, including new laws in Colorado (HB1432) and Connecticut (HB5469) that include stringent language protections. For example, the two laws distinguish between contracts schools sign with third parties, such as cloud service providers that store student records, and products where there is no negotiated contract. Both laws also require districts to notify parents each time they enter a third-party contract. Colorado and Connecticut inspired an additional 15 states to consider bills that require consent whenever student information is collected from service providers. In addition to these specific improvements, there was also an increase in the number of states that contemplated legislation addressing student data privacy more broadly. The report notes that 17 states introduced at least one bill crafted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which introduced recommendations after reporting on the lack of security for students in Massachusetts last year. New language from the ACLU model bills, Colorado, and Connecticut could inspire similar bills in other states or cause accidental consequences that will need to be fixed in subsequent sessions, Vance said in a news release. State boards and others will want to keep a close eye on new developments and lessons. For a complete list of legislation trends, access the report available on the NASBE site. (Adds details and background) By Aziz El Yaakoubi RABAT, June 1 (Reuters) - Morocco's Casablanca (HKSE: 2223-OL.HK - news) appeals court upheld a ruling placing the country's sole oil refinery Samir into liquidation, the lawyer of the holding company that controls Samir said on Wednesday. Samir halted production in August due to financial difficulties, then a court ruling in March placed it in liquidation and named an independent trustee to run it. Its closure has made the country reliant on imports at a time when the North African kingdom is getting its finances back on track by tackling huge deficits. Samir, in which Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi's Corral Holdings has a 67.26 percent stake, has been battling creditors ranging from oil traders to banks who are owed millions. The Moroccan government says it owes it 13 billion dirhams ($1.33 billion) in taxes. Its bank accounts were frozen when the refinery was shut down in pursuit of the tax claims. The government has said Samir's total debt is hovering around 44 billion dirhams. The bank accounts have since been unfrozen as the trustees that have controlled Samir since the court ruling plan to restart the 200,000 barrel per day complex in an effort to attract buyers during the liquidation process. Hussin al-Yamani, leader of the oil and gas wing of trade union CDT, said the company is still paying salaries and social contributions for its 1,200 workers. Another 5,000 workers employed by sub-contractors will lose their jobs if the refiner closes down, he added. "We still have hope that someone would buy the company during the liquidation process," al-Yamani said. "Otherwise they can always convert the debt to shares. The government is the biggest creditor anyway." Corral Petroleum Holdings had committed to inject $680 million into Samir if the court reversed the decision placing it in liquidation. The lawyer, Abdelkbir Tabih, said Corral can still take the case to the supreme court but has yet to take that decision. The supreme court cannot, however, suspend the liquidation process pending a new ruling, experts say. The government has said it will do everything possible to recover unpaid taxes and protect the refinery's workers. At just under 300,000 barrels per day, Morocco's petroleum consumption is Africa's fifth largest, according to data from the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . Energy Information Administration. ($1 = 9.7417 Moroccan dirham) (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by David Goodman and Susan Thomas) TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 31, 2016) - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (DML.TO)(NYSE MKT:DNN) is pleased to report that its 22.5% owned McClean Lake mill has obtained authorization from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ("CNSC") to increase its annual production capacity of uranium ("U 3 O 8 ") from 13 million to 24 million pounds per year. Located in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region, in Northern of Saskatchewan, the McClean Lake mill is one of the most technologically advanced uranium mills in operation and is the only facility in the world designed to process high grade uranium ore without dilution. Since 2013, the McClean Lake mill has been in the process of an upgrade and expansion program to improve, modernize and increase the capacity of various circuits while ensuring high standards of employee safety and environmental protection. The McClean Lake mill is owned by the McClean Lake Joint Venture ("MLJV"), a joint venture between AREVA Resources Canada Inc. ("AREVA") (70%), Denison (22.5%) and OURD (Canada) Co. Ltd. (7.5%), and is operated by AREVA. The McClean Lake mill is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement. This regulatory approval from the CNSC will lead to a progressive ramp-up of the mill in line with the Cigar Lake mine's ramp-up to 18 million pounds U 3 O 8 annually. The tandem of the Cigar Lake mine and McClean Lake mill will therefore become the second-largest uranium production centre in the world. Denison's President and CEO, David Cates, commented, "The restart of the McClean Lake mill has been a tremendous success for the MLJV and we are very pleased with the AREVA's commitment to delivering operational results while maintaining a focus on the safety of the MLJV's workers and the environment. With authorization from the CNSC to increase the annual production at the mill, the MLJV is now in a position to deliver on its tolling commitment with the Cigar Lake joint venture and will have excess licensed processing capacity - which speaks to the strategic importance of the mill to the entire region." Story continues About Denison Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Including its 60% owned Wheeler River project, which hosts the high grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, Denison's exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering over 350,000 hectares in the eastern Athabasca Basin. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit and a 61.55% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property. Both the Midwest and J Zone deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Internationally, Denison owns 100% of the Mutanga project in Zambia, 100% of the uranium/copper/silver Falea project in Mali, and a 90% interest in the Dome project in Namibia. Denison has recently entered into an agreement with GoviEx Uranium Inc. (GXU:CSE) to sell its African interests, with an expected closing date in late May or early June, 2016. Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes", or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the activities, plans and objectives of joint venture partners and other contractual parties, including the proposed expansion of production at the McClean Lake mill, and Denison's interest therein. Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the "Risk Factors" in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2016 available under its profile at www.sedar.com and in its Form 40-F available at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in its expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation. By Andrew Mambondiyani CHIPINGE, Zimbabwe, June 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Several rivers pass from Zimbabwe's lush Eastern highlands through the lowlands of drought-hit Chipinge, Mutare and Chimanimani districts. But while river water is plentiful, hard-up farmers have no way to get enough of it to their fields. "We did not harvest anything in the past two seasons," said Amon Vhumbu, the traditional leader of a small, isolated village in Chipinge district, where many fields have been left barren by drought, despite a river flowing nearby. "As you can see, without irrigation our hopes of a good crop yield have now become unrealistic," he said. But a project to build dams and irrigation systems to bring water to parched fields is set to help - and could protect at least some families against the more frequent droughts climate change is bringing in southern Africa. The Enhancing Nutrition, Stepping Up Resilience and Enterprise (ENSURE) programme, a $55 million effort led by charity World Vision and funded by the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . Agency for International Development (USAID), aims to address some of the causes underlying chronic food security and malnutrition in Zimbabwe's Manicaland and Masvingo provinces, where stunting rates among children are 34 and 31 per cent respectively. In Birirano, in Chipinge district, ENSURE has built a new dam and irrigation system that is expected to start functioning in June, in time for planting of winter crops. The system uses pipes to carry water from the dam to the fields. With this and 10 similar projects already running in Chimanimani, Chipinge and Buhera districts, the programme plans to irrigate more than 100 hectares (about 250 acres) of farmland. Forty hectares are already receiving water. Ultimately, the programme aims to bring 154 hectares of farmland under irrigation by 2018, according to Richard Ndou, the deputy chief of party for World Vision Zimbabwe. Turning to irrigation is crucial as rain-fed agriculture becomes increasingly unreliable, said Freeman Mavhiza, the Chipinge assistant district administrator. Story continues "The irrigation projects are community driven and for years to come many people will benefit from these projects," he said. TAPPING THE POTENTIAL Zimbabwe's current El Nino-induced drought is one of the most devastating in recent history, leaving up to 4.5 million in need of food aid, officials say. And the country still hasn't recovered from a previous serious drought that hit the 2014-15 farming season. Some of the worst-affected districts are in Manicaland province where, according to provincial administrator Fungai Mbetsa, up to 85,000 households are receiving government food assistance. And that figure, he said, is far below the actual number of food insecure households in the province. Government efforts to put more people on the food assistance programme are hamstrung by lack of financial resources. "What we are giving people is not enough," Mbetsa said. But many of these districts lie along the Save River valley, an area with lots of potential for irrigation. Building dams and irrigation systems is helping villagers tap into that potential, said Thabisani Moyo, a food security specialist with USAID. The ENSURE programme shows them how to build and fix dams and irrigation schemes, and provides materials and technical support, he said. Villagers who work on constructing the systems get 50 kg (110 lb) of sorghum every month for their labour. So far 2,334 people have received such payments. "Because of these irrigation schemes we are going to see a reduction in the number of people needing aid," Moyo said. ENOUGH WATER? Not everyone is persuaded the irrigation push will work effectively to combat food insecurity. The area covered by irrigation is still small, and critics point out that recurrent droughts could diminish water levels in the dams so much that the irrigation systems become useless. But Manicaland provincial administrator Mbetsa said most of the dams get water from rivers that are unaffected by drought. "We have perennial rivers in the Eastern Highlands passing through drought regions and this water can be harnessed for irrigation," Mbetsa said. "Water harvesting is key to sustaining communities in the dry areas." During a tour of the some of the projects in May, Stephanie Funk, the USAID director in Zimbabwe, said the effort needs to expand to reach many more of the country's increasingly drought-hit farmers. "The drought will continue probably throughout the whole next year," Funk said. "More assistance is needed, not only from us but other donors and the government." (Reporting by Andrew Mambondiyani; editing by Jumana Farouky and Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate) Somewhere between a discussion about whether or not blind people should be allowed to drive cars and a striptease by a hefty bearded man hoping to be elected party chairman, the Libertarian Party selected its presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2016 election cycle. And, strange as it may seem, it could have a real impact on the results of the general election in November. Meeting in Orlando, Florida, the Libertarians selected former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson and former Massachusetts governor William Weld as their presidential and vice presidential nominees, respectively. While neither is what you would call a political firebrand, both have served as the chief executive of a state, and that makes the Libertarian ticket a far more credible alternative to voters disillusioned with the two-party system than it has ever been in the past. Related: It Looks Like the Campaign Isnt Helping Trumps Hotel Business This is not to say that a Johnson-Weld ticket has any chance at all of winning the White House. At the moment, among the combined members of the House and Senate, state governors and members of state senates and the lower houses of state legislatures, the number of Libertarians currently holding elected office is: 1. Thats .0001 percent of available elected positions in the country. However, in the 2012 election, when Johnson topped the ticket with former Orange County, California, Superior Court Judge Jim Gray, the Libertarians took one percent of the national presidential vote. While that sounds trivial, in an election year when the Republican Party faces huge demographic obstacles, a full percentage point is a giant worry. And in a year when the partys nominee is all but certain to be Donald Trump, a marginally credible Libertarian ticket is an absolute nightmare. The area of overlap between the GOP and Libertarians is, generally, the leave-us-alone constituency, which prefers the least intrusive version of the federal government possible. Trump -- with promises of a federal deportation force, maintenance and even expansion of the social safety net, and religious tests for immigration -- is anathema to many in that group. Story continues Related: Trumpification of the Congressional Agenda Begins For months, Republicans personally opposed to Trump have been actively, and sometimes very publicly, seeking a plausible alternative to the New York billionaire. So far, no plausible third-party candidate has emerged, and thats great news for Johnson and Weld, who could well emerge as a safe harbor for small-government conservatives who cant bring themselves to vote for Trump. Thats not to say the conversion will be easy. The Libertarian convention had plenty of the moments of absurdity that, over the years, have relegated the party to the fringe in the past. Johnson, at one point, was booed for suggesting that the government has an interest in licensing people to drive motor vehicles. At one point, there was actually a discussion of whether or not blind people ought to be barred from driving. Late on Sunday, a candidate for party chairman demonstrated his commitment to transparency by performing a strip-tease on stage. In the end, though, the party nominated what is probably its most qualified ticket ever, at least in terms of real experience in government. And for the #NeverTrump element of the Republican Party, that might be just enough to justify voting for them. And for Trump, whose path to the White House, while real, is very narrow, thats bad news. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: A man works on the engine of his car, as motorists gather at a petrol station of state-owned energy company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja, Nigeria May 25, 2015. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde African oil powerhouse Nigeria has been rocked by attacks on its oil industry. In fact, the wave of hostilities over energy infrastructure by militants since February has sunk Nigerias oil output to a 20-year low of around 1.4 million barrels per day. Calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers, the main militant group claims that their fight is for the natives of the oil rich Niger Delta to get a bigger share of oil wealth. It is also angry about the winding down of a 2009 amnesty program that paid monthly stipends to disarming militants for safeguarding the installations they once targeted. The West African nation houses the worlds tenth-largest oil reserve and the commodity contributes substantially to its revenue and foreign exchange earnings. However, the slew of militant attacks have not only knocked out over 50,000 barrels of crude oil output per day from OPECs largest African producer but also magnified the impact of low oil prices on Nigerias economy. Energy Companies at Risk Niger Delta Avengers has warned oil companies working in the region to leave by May 31 and issued a warning last weekend that something big is about to happen. The bombing campaign by the group has forced many energy companies to evacuate their staff and wrap up operations. The most affected is Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., the state enterprise that is losing 200,000 barrels a day. Meanwhile, let's take a closer look at how the Nigeria crisis is playing out for the big U.S./European energy firms: In Feb, Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.A operating in Nigeria since 1937 declared force majeure (or legal indemnity allowing it to stop shipments without breaching contractual obligations) on exports of crude following the bombing of the Forcados subsea pipeline. The damage to the underwater pipeline has forced the Anglo-Dutch major to halt loadings of around 250,000 barrels a day from multiple producers to the export terminal. Following a militant threat, Shell has also started evacuating workers from its deepwater Bonga field in the southern Niger Delta, though production is still continuing. Story continues Last month, Niger Delta Avengers attacked the Ogbaimbiri-Tebidaba pipeline belonging to Italian energy company Eni SpA E. Eni, which operates through the Nigerian Agip Oil Co., said about 4,200 barrels of oil per day of its equity production was cut by the incident. This came days after insurgents attacked the companys gas pipeline in Ogbembiri, impacting 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. U.S. energy behemoth Chevron Corp. CVX saw its 90,000 barrels per day Okan offshore platform feeding the Escravos export facility shut down in early May subsequent to an attack. After a few days, the militants damaged an oil pipeline, leading to serious supply disruptions. Though Exxon Mobil Corp.s XOM activities in Nigeria remained unscathed from terrorist attacks, the worlds biggest publicly traded oil company also declared force majeure on exports of Qua Iboe Nigerias largest crude grade after damage on a pipeline by a drilling rig. Deepwater Relatively Safe Till now, the uprising is limited to the onshore fields, while Nigerias deepwater areas to which Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell have significant exposure remains largely unaffected. But an escalation of violence could pose significant threat to these areas that account for about 35% of the total production. 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 ROYAL DTCH SH-A (RDS.A): Free Stock Analysis Report ENI SPA-ADR (E): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reacts upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 24, 2015. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo Saudi Arabia might take a page right out of Qatar's playbook. The Kingdom is thinking about a sale of as much as $15 billion of bonds this year in light of the investor demand for Qatar's recent issue, report Bloomberg's Ambereen Choudhury, Dinesh Nair, and Ruth David. This would be Saudi Arabia's first bond sale in international capital markets. People with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified told Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia may copy Qatar's $9 billion sale from earlier in May by issuing bonds with five-, 10-, and 30-year maturities. They added that no final decision has yet been reached and that talks are still in early stages. The kingdom has been struggling with the reality of lower-for-longer oil prices and has been looking for ways to generate funds. Even though the commodity's prices have rebounded this year to around $49-50 per barrel, they are still far below June 2014's peak of $100 a barrel. Most notably, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently unveiled a plan, called Vision 2030, which aims to curtail the Saudis' "addiction" to oil. Moreover, while some economists remain firm in their belief that the Saudis will not abandon their currency peg to the US dollar, Zach Schreiber, the CEO of PointState Capital who made $1 billion betting against oil two years ago, recently announced that he was short the riyal against the US dollar. He thinks ongoing low oil prices and growing costs will ultimately lead the kingdom to abandon its three-decade-old peg. (And should that happen, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch global-commodities research team thinks oil will crash to $25 a barrel.) As for Qatar, although the Gulf state has weathered lower oil prices far better than its OPEC peers, some analysts are now starting to see warning signs flashing. Specifically, folks are worried that Qatar's credit boom looks increasingly unsustainable and could lead to instability in the future. Story continues Check out the full report at Bloomberg. NOW WATCH: Adam Savage reveals why he and 'MythBusters' cohost Jamie Hyneman won't be working together anymore More From Business Insider By Alex Lawler, Rania El Gamal and Reem Shamseddine VIENNA (Reuters) - For OPEC watchers, every little detail matters. When the oil producer group holds its half-yearly meetings, what time the ministers arrive in Vienna, how they speak and which hotel they stay in - anything will be analysed in an attempt to predict its policies. So it was seen as a sign that new Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih takes OPEC seriously when he turned up in the Austrian capital on Monday, three days before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' upcoming discussions. But Falih will have little opportunity to see fellow ministers ahead of Thursday's meeting. Many of them, including those from Iran and Venezuela, won't show up in Vienna until midday or even late on Wednesday. For veteran OPEC watcher Gary Ross, founder of New York-based consultancy PIRA, that signals expectations should be low as far as OPEC policy is concerned. "These guys are not exactly getting along these days," Ross said. "OPEC is becoming far less important. We are entering an era when market management will be non-existent". One exception to the later arrivals was UAE Oil Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, who told journalists in Vienna on Tuesday that he was happy with the oil market, suggesting OPEC should refrain from action at this week's meeting. "We need to wait. The market will fix itself to a price that is fair to the consumers and the producers," Mazroui said. "This year is a year of correction. The rules of the market, that is supply and demand, are working and I think that is the essence of this policy." OPEC last decided to change output in December 2008, when it cut supply amid slowing demand due to a global financial crisis. By contrast, between 1998 and 2008, OPEC made 27 changes to output. For decades, Saudi Arabia, Vienna-based OPEC's largest producer and de facto leader, had a preferred range for oil prices and, if unhappy, would try to orchestrate a group-wide production cut or increase. Story continues But a technology-driven spike in non-OPEC output such as that of U.S. shale and growing fuel efficiency led Riyadh to conclude that the era of fast oil growth might be ending. In the past two years, Riyadh has stuck to a strategy of fighting for market share, thinking that pumping more oil now at low prices is better than producing less in the future. "We think continuity will carry the day at the June OPEC meeting in Vienna. The only real uncertainty is how divisive the meeting will be and how much discord will be put on public display," said Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. FIGHT FOR SHARE Unlike his predecessor, Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi, Falih has a much larger portfolio overseeing energy, industry, mining, atomic power and renewables. On Tuesday, Falih visited OPEC headquarters to meet Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri, staying for 90 minutes in a clear display that despite being a busy man, he has time for the producer group. "There are times when you need OPEC and when you don't. You only need OPEC when you have major oversupply and OPEC doesn't want prices to crash any further," Ross said. Oil prices have recovered to around $50 per barrel in recent weeks from their lowest in a decade of $27 per barrel in January - but are still far below the $115 seen in June 2014. Prices crashed after Saudi Arabia increased production to an all-time high to fight for market share with higher-cost producers, including U.S. shale firms. The drop in prices also badly hurt fellow OPEC members, with production declining from Nigeria to Venezuela. Iraq and Iran, however, kept pushing production higher as Baghdad sees recent investments by oil majors pay off and Tehran regains market share after the lifting of some Western sanctions in January. Falih's ultimate boss, Saudi Deputy Crown Price Mohammad bin Salman, has said Saudi Arabia may raise production further if other members don't restrain their output increases. "As long as Mohammed bin Salman is in charge, I don't think anything reasonable (OPEC action) can happen. This policy has hurt not only the exporting countries, but companies and the industry," a non-Gulf delegate said. (Additional reporting and writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson) (Reuters) - Algeria said on Wednesday its troops had killed eight Islamist militants and seized weapons during an operation 350 km (220 miles) east of the capital Algiers. Militant attacks are rare since Algeria emerged from its 1990s war with armed Islamists, but small groups of fighters allied to al Qaeda's North Africa branch are active in remote areas. The eight militants were killed when troops ambushed them late on Tuesday near the town of Guelta Zarka in the eastern province of Setif, the defence ministry said. More than 200,000 people died in Algeria's civil war with armed Islamists in the 1990s, which ended with an amnesty deal with several groups of fighters. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) By Alex Whiting LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Almost 46 million people are living as slaves globally with the greatest number in India but the highest prevalence in North Korea, according to the third Global Slavery Index launched on Tuesday with Australian actor Russell Crowe. The index, by Australia-based human rights group Walk Free Foundation, increased its estimate of people born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, or trapped in debt bondage or forced labor to 45.8 million from 35.8 million in 2014. Andrew Forrest, founder of Walk Free, said the rise of nearly 30 percent was due to better data collection, although he feared the situation was getting worse with global displacement and migration increasing vulnerability to all forms of slavery. Forrest, an Australian mining billionaire and philanthropist, urged businesses to check their supply chains for worker exploitation, saying he found thousands of people trapped in slavery making goods for his company Fortescue Metals Group. "But I've had some of some biggest entrepreneurs in the world look me in the eye and say I will not look for slavery in case I find it," he said at the launch of the index in London. Crowe, who played Roman general-turned-slave Maximus in the 2000 movie "Gladiator", described the plight of people "in our communities who are stuck, utterly helpless and trapped in a cycle of despair and degradation with no choice and no hope." "As an actor, my role is often to portray raw human emotion, but nothing compares with the people's lives reflected in the report published today," he said. "The shock of reading the Global Slavery Index was one that I wouldn't step away from." Incidences of slavery were found in all 167 countries in the index, with India home to the largest total number with an estimated 18.4 million slaves among its 1.3 billion population. But Forrest said India deserved credit for starting to address this problem with the government this week unveiling a draft of its first comprehensive anti-human trafficking law to treat survivors as victims rather than criminals. North Korea ranked as worst in terms of concentration with one in every 20 people - or 4.4 percent of its 25 million population - in slavery and its government doing the least to end this with reports of state-sanctioned forced labor. "We need to make it clear we're not going to tolerate slavery and when there is slavery in a regime we should not trade with them," Forrest told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. NUMBERS CRITICIZED Forrest acknowledged the latest data was likely to attract criticism with some researchers accusing the index of flawed methodology by extrapolating on-the-ground surveys in some countries to estimate numbers for other nations. The 2016 index was based on interviews with about 42,000 people by pollster Gallup in 53 languages in 25 countries. But Forrest said a lack of hard data on slavery in the past had held back efforts to tackle this hidden crime and it was important to draw a "sand in the line" measurement to drive action. He challenged critics to produce an alternative. The United Nation's International Labour Organization estimates 21 million people globally are victims of forced labor but this does not take into account all forms of slavery. "Without measurement you don't have effective management and there's no way to lead the world away from slavery," he said. Forrest said the Global Slavery Index aims to measure the prevalence of slavery in the 167 most populous countries as well as the level of vulnerability of people to enslavement and strength of government efforts to combat this. The 2016 index again found Asia, which provides low-skilled labor in global supply chains producing clothing, food and technology, accounted for two-thirds of the people in slavery. About 58 percent of people living in slavery are in five countries - India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. However the countries with the highest proportion of their population enslaved were North Korea, Uzbekistan, and Cambodia. The governments taking the least action to tackle slavery were listed as North Korea, Iran, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and Hong Kong. By contrast the governments taking most action were the Netherlands, the United States, Britain, Sweden and Australia. Forrest said a reason for launching the index in Britain was to acknowledge the lead set by the UK government which last year brought in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act. While Europe has the lowest regional prevalence of slavery, Walk Free said it was a source and destination for forced labor and sexual exploitation. The impact of a mass influx of migrants and refugees fleeing conflicts and poverty has yet to be seen. Crowe said slavery was a problem that was not going away. "I think all of us should keep focused on it until we get to that point ... where it just gets pushed over the edge and it's finished," he said. (Additional reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea attempted to fire a missile from its east coast on Tuesday but the launch appears to have failed, South Korean officials said, in what would be the latest in a string of unsuccessful ballistic missile tests by the isolated country. The launch attempt took place at around 5:20 a.m. Seoul time (2020 GMT), said the officials, who asked not to be identified. They did not elaborate. Tension in Northeast Asia has been high since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a satellite launch and test launches of various missiles. Japan put its military alert on Monday for a possible North Korean missile launch. "North Korea shows no sign of abandoning the development of nuclear missiles and so we will continue to work closely with the U.S. and South Korea in response and maintain a close watch," Japanese Minister of Defence Gen Nakatani told a media briefing. North Korea appeared to have attempted to launch an intermediate-range Musudan missile, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said. North Korea attempted three test launches of the Musudan in April, all of which failed, U.S. and South Korean officials have said. Yonhap quoted a South Korean government source as saying the missile was likely to have exploded at about the time it lifted off from a mobile launcher. China, North Korea's only major ally, called for the cessation of any action that would exacerbate tension. "The situation on the peninsula remains complex and sensitive," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a briefing when asked about the launch. "We think that all sides should avoid any actions that further worsen tensions." China has been angered by North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and signed up to tough U.N. sanctions against its reclusive neighbour in March. North Korean state media did not mention any missile launch. A Pentagon statement said that a failed North Korean intermediate-range ballistic missile launch had been detected, but did not pose a threat to North America. "We strongly condemn North Korea's missile test in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, which explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology," the Pentagon statement said. IN A RUSH? The North's flurry of weapons technology tests came in the run-up to the first congress in 36 years of its ruling Workers' Party this month, where young leader Kim Jong Un consolidated his control. Tuesday's launch appears to have been its first missile test since then, and experts said it was unusual to test-fire a missile so soon after a failure. The South Korean military said the successive tests could stem from Kim's order in March for further tests of nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles. "They must've been in a rush. Maybe Kim Jong Un was very upset about the failures," said Lee Choon-geun, senior research fellow at South Korea's state-run Science and Technology Policy Institute. North Korea has never carried out a successful launch of the Musudan missile, which theoretically has the range to reach any part of Japan and the U.S. territory of Guam. The North is believed to have up to 30 Musudan missiles, according to South Korean media, which officials said were first deployed in around 2007. "It could have cracks and something wrong with the welding," Lee said of possible causes for the latest failure. "But deployment before test-firing these to complete development seems unusual." The attempted launch took place near the east coast city of Wonsan, one of the South Korean officials said, the same area where previous Musudan tests had taken place. Separately, the international department of China's Communist Party said diplomat Ri Su Yong, one of North Korea's highest-profile officials, visited China on Tuesday, meeting the department's head, Song Tao. The two expressed a desire to increase cooperation between their parties and work hard to promote regional peace and stability, the department said in a brief statement. There was no indication of any link between the missile launch and Ri's visit. Ri was foreign minister until he was named a member of the politburo during the recent Workers' Party congress. (Additional reporting by Se Young Lee in Seoul, Tim Kelly in Tokyo, Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish) By Joseph Sipalan MIRI, Malaysia (Reuters) - Spotting a large vessel off the coast of Sarawak state in March, officers on a Malaysian patrol boat were shocked when it steamed towards them at high speed, blaring its horn before veering off to reveal "Chinese Coast Guard" emblazoned on its side. According to an officer from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been sighted several times before around the South Luconia Shoals, off the oil-rich town of Miri. But such an aggressive encounter was a first. "To us, it looked like an attempt to charge at our boat, possibly to intimidate," said the officer, who was not authorised to speak publicly but showed Reuters a video of the previously unreported incident. Spurred by the incident and the appearance of some 100 Chinese fishing vessels in the area around the time, some in Malaysia are hardening the nation's previously muted responses towards their powerful neighbour China. One senior minister said Malaysia must now stand up against such maritime incursions as China flexes its muscles along dozens of disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea. China's growing assertiveness has already alarmed the Philippines, Vietnam and other claimants. It has also increased U.S.-China tensions, with the two heavyweights trading accusations of militarising the vital waterways through which some $5 trillion (3.45 trillion) in trade passes each year. But heralding its "special relationship" with China, and heavily reliant on trade and investment, Malaysia's previous responses to China's activity in the region have been described by Western diplomats as "low-key". It downplayed two naval exercises conducted by China in 2013 and 2014 at James Shoal, less than 50 nautical miles off Sarawak. And in 2015, concerns raised by Malaysian fishermen in Miri about alleged bullying by armed men aboard Chinese Coast Guard vessels were largely ignored. FISHING FRACAS But when scores of Chinese fishing boats were spotted in March encroaching near South Luconia Shoals, a rich fishing ground south of the disputed Spratly Islands, Malaysia sent its navy and uncharacteristically summoned China's ambassador to explain the incident. China's foreign ministry downplayed the matter, saying its trawlers were carrying out normal fishing activities in "relevant waters". Just a couple of weeks later, Malaysia announced plans to set up a naval forward operating base near Bintulu, south of Miri. The defence minister insists the base, which will house helicopters, drones and a special task force, is to protect the country's rich oil and gas assets from potential attacks by Islamic State (IS) sympathisers based in the southern Philippines, hundreds of kilometres to the northeast. Some officials and experts however say China's activities off the coast are a more important factor. "If you beef up security for oil and gas assets, you are protecting yourself from non-state and state actors so there is some plausibility to what he's saying," said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. "But is it really being driven by Daesh? I don't think so," Storey added, using an alternative name for IS. Underscoring the hardening attitude, one senior federal minister told Reuters that Malaysia must take more decisive action on maritime incursions or risk being taken for granted. The minister, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, highlighted the contrast between Malaysia's response in March to a similar incident just days earlier in neighbouring Indonesia. "When the Chinese entered Indonesia's waters, they were immediately chased out. When the Chinese vessels entered our waters, nothing was done," the minister said. Last month in parliament, Malaysia's deputy foreign minister also reiterated that like other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysia did not recognise China's controversial Nine Dash Line, which it uses to claim over 90 percent of the South China Sea. LIMITED OPTIONS Asked about the incident described by the MMEA officer, China's foreign ministry said both countries had a "high degree of consensus" on dealing with maritime disputes through dialogue and consultation. "We are willing to remain in close touch with Malaysia about this," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. Malaysia's reliance on China goes some way to explaining Kuala Lumpur's reluctance to react more strongly. China is Malaysia's top export destination and Malaysia is the biggest importer of Chinese goods and services in the 10-member ASEAN group. Corporations owned by the Chinese government also paid billions of dollars last year to buy assets from debt-riddled state investment firm 1MDB, which has been a major embarrassment for Prime Minister Najib Razak. Chinas influence in Malaysias domestic affairs has always been a concern for the Malay-majority nation. Ethnic Chinese in Malaysia account for about a quarter of the population. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were tested in September when the Chinese ambassador visited China town in the capital Kuala Lumpur ahead of a pro-Malay rally, and warned that Beijing has no fear in talking against actions that affect the rights of its people. The ambassador was summoned to explain his comments but the Chinese foreign ministry defended the envoy. Seeking to balance its economic and national security interests, Malaysia is pursuing various strategies including bolstering its surveillance and defence capabilities while promoting a code of conduct between China and ASEAN countries signed in 2002. A more sensitive option is to seek closer military ties with the United States. One senior official told Reuters that Malaysia has reached out to the United States for help on intelligence gathering and to develop its coast guard capabilities, albeit quietly to avoid angering Beijing. Storey said moves to secure closer U.S. military ties could be twinned with soft diplomacy to try to convince China to be less assertive on its claims, but resolving the issue would be difficult regardless. "None of these strategies work very well, but what can you do?," Storey said. "This dispute is going to be around for a very long time." (Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff in KUALA LUMPUR and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING.; Editing by Praveen Menon and Lincoln Feast) By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The Brazos River in Texas surged to its highest level in more than a century in an area outside of Houston on Wednesday after floods killed at least six people, damaged hundreds of buildings and turned roads into lakes over the past week. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood watch for large parts of the state, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Storms lasting until the weekend could send even more rivers over their banks, it said. As much as 10 inches of rain could fall in the Houston area in the coming days due to slow-moving thunderstorms, the NWS said, just weeks after eight people were killed in floods. This could touch off another round of flooding in the fourth most-populous U.S. city, it added. Houston has activated its emergency operations center and opened evacuation shelters as forecasters warned of a new round of heavy rains and flooding. "After all the rain we have had recently, the ground is saturated in a lot of places. It is just a muddy bog. If we put 1 to 3 inches of rainfall an hour on top of that, it is only going to aggravate flooding," said Kent Prochazka, a meteorologist with the NWS Houston-Galveston office. The NWS reported the Brazos River, which winds over 840 miles (1,350 kms) through Texas, reached levels not seen since 1913, about 30 miles southwest of Houston. In the most recent floods, hundreds of people across the state have fled their homes. "It's scary, we have never had anything like this before," said Mary Hernandez of Richmond in metropolitan Houston, where evacuations were underway. Evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Rosenberg, another town along the Brazos and not far from Richmond. More than 120 high-water boat rescues from buildings and cars have been reported in Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston. Several rivers in southeastern and eastern Texas were in a major flood stage. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales, Brendan O'Brien and Jon Herskovitz; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Chris Reese) BEIJING (Reuters) - China's said on Wednesday it welcomed a proposal by the incoming Philippine government for bilateral talks on the disputed South China Sea. China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea while the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims. The sea is rich in oil, gas and fish, and trade worth trillions of dollars passes through it each year. Tension between the Philippines and China has risen as an international tribunal in the Hague prepares to deliver a ruling in the next few months in a case about the South China Sea lodged by Manila in 2013. The Philippines is seeking a clarification of U.N. maritime laws that could undermine China's claims to 90 percent of the South China Sea. China has rejected the court's authority. Philippines President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has backed multilateral talks to settle rows over the South China Sea that would include the United States, Japan and Australia as well as claimant nations. He has also called on China to respect the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone granted to coastal states under international law. But he also said on Tuesday his country would not rely on long-term security ally the United States, signaling greater independence from Washington in dealing with China. Duterte pick for foreign secretary, Perfecto Yasay, sounded a conciliatory note this week, saying he would like to resume bilateral talks with China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she welcomed the comments and hoped the new Philippines government could return to a track of bilateral talks, appropriately handle disputes and work hard for the healthy development of ties. China hopes to get relations with the Philippines back on track, President Xi Jinping told Duterte this week. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel) By Jens Hack AUGSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - The chief executive of German industrial robot maker Kuka said on Friday he welcomed an impending 4.5 billion- euro ($5 bln) takeover bid from Chinese home appliance maker Midea <000333.SZ>. "We have set ourselves a goal of reaching a billion euros in sales by 2020. A partner who supports this strategy and provides us with better market access could be a considerable growth driver for Kuka," Till Reuter told shareholders. Asked at Kuka's annual meeting whether another prospective buyer might emerge with an alternative offer, Reuter said: "We have not actively looked for a partner until now, so the question of a white knight does not arise." Kuka is the latest and biggest German industrial technology group to be targeted by Chinese buyers as the world's second-largest economy makes the transition from a low-cost factory location into a high-tech industrial hub. China is the world's biggest market for industrial robots and robot sales in China rose 16 percent last year, driving global sales up 8 percent. Government sources have said Berlin will examine how critical Kuka's technology is for the digitization of industry - one of the main economic drives of the present government. However, Chancellor Angela Merkel is loath to meddle in takeovers, and Berlin has indicated the government will not intervene to stop the transfer of Kuka and its technology to Chinese ownership. German industrial giant Siemens considered a counterbid for Kuka but quickly dismissed the idea as too expensive, according to sources familiar with the matter. Kuka's management and supervisory boards have not yet made official recommendations to shareholders about the Midea bid. Midea made an offer on May 18 but has not yet launched its bid. Engineering firm Voith and billionaire Friedhelm Loh, Kuka's two biggest shareholders, have not indicated whether they will accept the offer. Voith's Chief Executive Hubert Lienhard was at the shareholder meeting but did not speak, while Loh asked to be excused due to a conflicting appointment. Both are members of Kuka's supervisory board. (Reporting by Jens Hack; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Susan Fenton) FORMER STUDENTS SPEAK OUT IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP UNIVERSITY Donald Trump released a three-minute video on Wednesday which features former Trump University students voicing support for the now-defunct series of courses on real estate and investing. "The courses that I took were outstanding," Kent Moyer, founder of World Protection Group (WPG), says in the video. Moyer further explains how Trump U allowed him to start his business: When you look back at having nothing and then starting a business and you look at the first things that I jumped into in terms of learning business skills, the basics of business, you have to really have a loyalty to Trump University because they gave me some of the basic business skills to start my business and I will never forget that. WPG is a security firm that specializes in executive protection, according to its website, which also lists its founding year as 2001. Trump University was founded in 2005. WPG did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the discrepancy between its founding date and the role Trump U played. Two other former students expressed similar praise for Trump U and the impact the courses had on their careers. Donald Trump The video comes a day after hundreds of pages of Trump University internal documents were released on Tuesday in connection an ongoing fraud lawsuit against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The documents include sales and marketing "playbooks" from 2007 through 2010. Before the documents were released on Tuesday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman slammed Donald Trump and his eponymous Trump University as "phony" and "shameless." Trump remains enmeshed in multiple lawsuits filed by former students of Trump University and faces a third fraud suit from Schneiderman, which likely won't go to trial until after the November election. The suits accuse Trump of defrauding students into paying thousands of dollars for worthless classes on real estate and investing. Story continues Trump and his lawyers, however, have continually defended the for-profit university, citing stellar student reviews. Some students, however, may have been pressured into writing them, according to The New York Times. You can watch the entire video below. NOW WATCH: Heres what would happen if you fired a gun in space More From Business Insider Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f101087%2fap_552310249523 The Indian government has rejected Apple's proposal to sell refurbished iPhones in the country, but said it was considering the company's application seeking a waiver of the mandatory local sourcing rule to open its retail stores. SEE ALSO: Apple doubles down on India "We would not be in favour of whatever you may call them used but refashioned, remodelled, updated... used goods," commerce and industry minister, Nirmala Sitharaman said. However, she said that it could look at relaxing the 30% local sourcing norm required for all foreign single brand retails stores in India for Apple. This rule is exempt for cutting-technology products. Last week, the finance ministry's foreign investment promotion board had opposed such a move, asking the iPhone maker to comply by the rule of selling at least 30% of domestically-soured products, if it wanted to open shop in India. The company's request was refused after it did not provide any evidence to support its claim of being a "state of the art" technology product. The two bodies of the finance ministry are expected to consult on the matter before coming to a final decision. Apple has been pushing for cheaper refurbished iPhones and opening branded stores in the country, in order to increase its presence in one of the world's fastest-growing smartphone markets. India was also the only bright spot in Apple's sales in the last quarter, with the country recording 56% growth. By Ned Parker ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - For at least a decade, Iraqi business mogul Khamis Khanjar has bankrolled Sunni politicians and fighters alike. Now, he wants to use his multi-million dollar fortune to create an autonomous region for Iraq's Sunnis. Khanjar's emergence from backroom deal-maker to would-be Sunni champion is just one sign of Iraq's continued political drift. Efforts by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to reconcile Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ites have mostly foundered, despite increased U.S. engagement in Iraq. Shi'ite parties and militias are often more focussed on their own internal power struggles than brokering a political compromise with Sunnis. Sunni tribes tell security officials and politicians they are at the mercy of both Sunni extremist group Islamic State and Shi'ite militias. Dubai-based Khanjar says he offers an alternative: a federation in which Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds could all run their own parts of the country without formally breaking it up. A Sunni federal region would win billions in investments from Gulf Arab states and Turkey, Khanjar and partners in his alliance said. Last week, Khanjar, a native of the embattled Sunni city of Falluja, announced in a televised address that he was forming a delegation to investigate "extrajudicial killing," the "demolishing and looting of property" and other alleged human rights violations by Shi'ite militia there. "The Iraqi government is granting a political cover to militias and consistently denies the systematic violations of human rights" Khanjar said. The government has consistently denied any involvement by state forces in killings or abductions and said it actively works to arrest criminal gangs behind such actions. Over the past year, the six-foot-tall tycoon, flanked by a gaggle of aides and British private security contractors, has made a series of trips to northern Iraq. He limits himself to Kurdistan, because, he says, his life is in danger from Islamic State and Iranian-backed forces in other parts of the country. He is also paying $65,000 a month to a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm run by former Clinton White House officials to promote his cause in the United States. Iraq's ruling Shi'ite leaders deride him as a destabilising opportunist. Jabbar al-Abadi, a member of parliament from the Prime Minister's Dawa party, described Khanjar's push for Sunni autonomy as "an invitation to tear Iraq apart." Sunni rivals of Khanjar describe him as a self-promoter and accuse him of putting his desire for power above Iraq's stability. Khanjar's advantage is his checkbook, which has helped bankroll political coalitions, finance tribal uprisings and fuel nationwide protests. Sunni and Shi'ite politicians alike have tried to woo him at one time or another, including some who despise him. Former U.S. diplomats say that Khanjar's sizeable fortune and close ties with Gulf States and Turkey allow him to be a secret and enduring force in Iraq's politics. "Khanjar will play any side so as to gain advantage for himself," one former U.S. official said. "Question is: does he really want to influence his country for the best, or is he just protecting and expanding his business networks? Or is it all just a game for a guy who is a billionaire?" That matters because over the past decade, assassinations by Islamic State and Shi'ite militias, and political infighting have severely winnowed the pool of budding Sunni politicians. Ex-U.S. diplomat Ali Khedery, who worked in Baghdad from 2003 to 2010, said "Khanjar is one of the very few Sunni figures with vision, intellect, and money, who is left standing, although he is far from perfect in a country wracked by violence, sectarianism and corruption." Khanjar's history is controversial. Former Sunni guerrillas in Iraq say he helped fund the anti-U.S. insurgency that began soon after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Later, they say, he backed the 2006 pro-American Sunni tribal uprising that helped destroy Islamic State's original incarnation, Al Qaeda in Iraq. In 2010, Khanjar says he helped found one of the two main political lists in Iraq's national elections. Three years later, he helped finance nationwide Sunni protests against Baghdad. Ezzat Shabandar, a Shiite politician, who negotiated with Khanjar during the 2010 Iraqi government formation process, described the tycoon as the man the Shi'ite parties had to talk with earlier this decade. "He had power and wealth," Shabandar said, though cautioned that the emergence of Islamic State meant it would be harder for Khanjar to be an unrivalled "strongman" for Sunnis today. Khanjar's net worth is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. His assets include manufacturing, banking, financial services and commercial and residential real estate across the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. Detractors from former insurgents to Iraqi intelligence officers say his family built its fortune by setting up front companies for members of Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1990s. They accuse Khanjar of seizing his partners' assets for himself after the 2003 invasion, accusations he denies. Asked his worth, Khanjar laughed and answered: "God has been very good to me." PANDORA'S BOX? Earlier this year, Khanjar flew into Iraqi Kurdistan to inspect some of the 14 schools and three clinics he funds for the one million Sunnis who have settled there after being displaced from their homes across Iraq. Dressed elegantly in a dark suit, he was greeted by dozens of Sunni children in matching blue and white uniforms. The children dutifully recited poems praising him as their rescuer from Iraq's sectarian conflict. Khanjar smiled, folded his hands and addressed them. Iraq's Sunnis must fight both Islamic State terrorists and Iraqi government-backed Shi'ite militias, he said. "We are heading towards a borderless, bloody Sunnistan if there is no immediate action by the Iraqi government to address Sunni rights," he told Reuters later. "Once we cross the threshold, no wise men myself or any other can close Pandora's box." Khanjar argues that a federal region modelled on Iraq's nearly independent Kurdish territory will grant Sunnis rights and help them to fight Islamic State. The Iraqi constitution allows the country's provinces to create a federal region. Sunni provinces have attempted to do so twice but were rebuffed by former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Abadi, who took over two years ago, has endorsed the principle of greater local governance. But he has been reluctant to address the campaign for a broader Sunni region. To push his case, Khanjar has recruited powerful Sunni political allies, including the former governor of Mosul, Atheel al-Nujaifi, and ex-finance minister Rafaa al-Issawi. U.S. officials viewed Issawi as a leading Sunni moderate before former Prime Minister Maliki issued a controversial arrest warrant against him for terrorism in December 2012. But Khanjar and his allies complain that they have been frozen out by the Obama administration. They say U.S. officials do not believe their complaints that the Iraqi government is failing to reconcile with Sunnis or to address abuses carried out by the Shi'ite militia forces. They say the U.S. government has refused to issue visas for Issawi and Nujaifi to travel to the United States after the two visited Washington last spring and criticized the Iraqi government. U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Stuart Jones, denied that there was a deliberate policy to keep the men out but declined to elaborate on why their visas had been refused. Jones said it was against policy to speak about individual visa cases. "The US embassy has no interest in silencing Iraqi voices in Washington DC or anywhere else," Jones said. "Nor do we have that capacity." U.S. officials declined to speak publicly about Khanjar. Seeking to address the impasse with the United States, Khanjar has deployed his wealth in Washington. In September 2015, he hired the Glover Park Group, a lobbying firm run by former Clinton White House and Democrat campaign officials. This winter, he opened an office in Washington. And his current media point man is the former spokesman of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. "We have great relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey," Khanjar said, while emphasizing he was an Iraqi patriot. "We want to leverage these relationships." Nujaifi, the former Mosul governor, says he is focussed on securing the support of Turkey for the Sunni federal project. The pair are also building their own paramilitary forces to fight Islamic State. Nujaifi says his force now includes 4,000 men from Nineveh province who have been trained by Turkey. Khanjar says he has funded 2,400 men now fighting Islamic State just outside Falluja. He claims to have another 4,000 recruits who are ready for training. Khanjar insists he is trying to save his country for its sake, not his. "Anyone would like to see his country stable and secure," he said. "If it was stable and secure, I would never have thought of going into politics." (Additional reporting by Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Edited by Simon Robinson and David Rohde) By Samia Nakhoul and Richard Mably TEHRAN (Reuters) - Hopes that Iran would quickly reintegrate with world markets after its nuclear deal, bringing investment and opportunities to a young population, are turning to frustration. An opaque business environment in Iran and political uncertainty in the United States are to blame. Tehrans hotels are buzzing with businessmen keen for a slice of a big new emerging market, more industrially developed than most oil and gas-rich nations but isolated since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that turned Iran into a pariah state for most of the West and many of its Middle Eastern neighbors. Yet potential foreign investors have found that the removal of international sanctions in exchange for monitored curbs on Irans nuclear program is only part of the story. Barriers to entry include resistance from hardliners within Iran who worry an opening to the world will undermine their entrenched interests, and fear among foreign investors of falling foul of residual U.S. sanctions. Under the nuclear deal, the U.S. and Europe lifted sanctions in January. But other U.S. restrictions remain. These include a ban on Iran-linked transactions in dollars being processed through the U.S. financial system and sanctions on individuals and entities identified as supporting "state-sponsored terrorism". The chief target of the anti-terrorism sanctions is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the theocratic establishment's enforcer at home and strike-force abroad. The IRGC is also behind a business empire, encompassing construction to banking, and is expert at hiding its involvement. Investors and top-tier foreign banks fear U.S. action could shut them out of the international banking system if they deal, even by mistake, with sanctioned bodies. Adding to the uncertainty, Iranian analysts and foreign executives say, is the rise of Donald Trump, the U.S. tycoon set to clinch the Republican nomination in this years presidential election, who has threatened to tear up the Iran deal. Yet even without this uncertainty, prospective dealmakers are finding themselves blocked. IRGC TIES Foreign executives scouting for business in Iran say when they examine the tangle of ownership behind companies they approach, they often detect IRGC ties. Claude Begle, executive chairman of SymbioSwiss, a logistics and infrastructure company, says he found that one exploratory project turned up such links. "We did a lot of due diligence and we found that the names of institutions appearing on the OFAC (the US Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanction list are sometimes not far away," he said in apparent reference to the Revolutionary Guard. "When you look at the shareholders structure at the second or third level, then you see that such names may appear. They are sitting there." "Very often when you look at Iran's successful companies, you can see that. And unless those companies are willing to modify accordingly their board structures, it will be very hard to raise international financing to work with such entities." The central problem for potential foreign investors is that even unwitting contact with an Iranian counterparty under sanctions could result in heavy U.S. Treasury penalties, effectively cutting them off from Americas financial markets - a powerful disincentive for any globalized business. Alexander Gorjinia, part of the second German business delegation to visit Iran since August 2015, says the biggest problem is the banks. While businesses and banks may have German go-ahead to operate in Iran, OFAC puts the responsibility of establishing whether the (Iranian) company is clean on the foreign company. The foreign company has to investigate the Iranian company, whether it is linked to or is part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Gorjinia told Reuters. It has to investigate their dealings, how they operate behind the scenes. We have to work with companies that have money in their pocket and most of them are part of the Revolutionary Guard. This is what our information tells us. European companies feel all these rules are part of a U.S. administration plan to block business between Europe and Iran, he complains. Part of the problem is that units of the Revolutionary Guard are intervening in several of the wars across the Middle East. In Iraq, Iran is aligned with the U.S. in the fight against the jihadis of Islamic State. But in Syria it is on the opposite side along with Russia, propping up the government of President Bashar al-Assad, while in Yemen Tehran has backed the Shiite Houthi insurgency that last year prompted U.S. ally Saudi Arabia to launch an air war across its southern border. Few expect the U.S. to loosen sanctions on the IRGC and its business empire against this backdrop. FEAR AMONG BANKS While Western businessmen commonly assume that their Chinese or Russian counterparts would be less inhibited by US sanctions, one Chinese executive in Tehran, who asked not to be named, also highlights the issue that international banks, fearful of being locked out of US capital markets, are so far spurning Iran. Representing an oil and gas machinery company, he has visited Iran several times after the nuclear accord, but has yet to sign a single deal. Most Iranian companies, he says, even when there is clear demand for his drilling equipment, dont have money to pay. They ask the sellers to provide financing, he says but that is impossible because throughout the world no foreign bank dares to do business with Iranian banks because they are scareduntil the big (international) banks start doing business, but European banks are still scared of U.S. banks. Iranian leaders are complaining they have been short-changed on the sanctions relief part of the nuclear deal. "On paper the United States allows foreign banks to deal with Iran, but in practice they create Iranophobia so no one does business with Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said last month. Begle, the Swiss executive, says President Hassan Rouhani earlier this year asked the visiting Swiss president to press leading Swiss banks to start financing foreign operations in Iran. "But of course the Swiss government cannot tell a private company to do this," Begle says. "It can indicate that it would see it favorably, it can even consider some guarantees, but after all, it is a decision for the bank itself." HOSTILITY There are other obstacles. The IRGC and other vested interests built up by hardliners grouped around Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, are hostile to foreign entry into Irans economy. Khamenei, whose power far outweighs that of Irans elected officials in parliament or the presidency, gave decisive support to the nuclear deal which greatly strengthened the position of Rouhani, the reform-minded centrist president. Rouhani, in coalition with reformists and independent conservatives, wrested back control of parliament from hardliners in Februarys elections. This, some of his allies believe, should make it easier for the government to introduce business-friendly laws. Yet four years ago, parliament passed a law intended to reduce the states role in the economy, put in place credible regulators and investor guarantees, and eventually get entities like those controlled by the IRGC to pay taxes. It has not been implemented. Rouhani embodies popular expectations that IRGC-linked vested interests seem determined to thwart, some Iranian analysts believe, because sanctions have enabled them to win and keep control of the economy. Hossein Raghfar, professor of economics at Tehrans Alzahra University, says there are many interest groups that have become very rich because of the economic crisis. They dont want sanctions to be lifted. Saeed Laylaz, an economist close to Rouhani, says Irans economy was brought to its knees more by mismanagement than by sanctions. Jailed after hardliners cracked down on protests at the allegedly rigged presidential vote that gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term in 2009, he does not underestimate the hostility of vested interests towards a more open economy. I strongly believe some clear part of the regime has and had the project of creating sanctions against Iran to hide their mismanagement and their organized looting of economic wealth. To change the general atmosphere for business in the country, the Supreme Leader, the Revolutionary Guard and the judicial system must all be on board, Laylaz says. These are very important elements to attract foreign investment, just having the support of parliament doesnt work at all. Because of this I am not too optimistic about it." (Created by Samia Nakhoul, editing by Janet McBride) (Reuters) - A second-string Ireland side slumped to a 2-1 defeat by Belarus in their final pre-Euro 2016 friendly in Cork on Tuesday as manager Martin O'Neill ran his eye over last-minute contenders for a place in his squad. The Irish, who made 11 changes from the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in their last warm-up, went behind to a stunning Mikhail Hardzeichuk strike and Maksim Valadzko fired in a second after the break before Stephen Ward pulled a goal back. The home side started well in the evening sunshine at the tiny Turner's Cross ground, home to Cork City, but failed to capitalise on their dominance and were soon hit on the break. David Meyler lost the ball in midfield, allowing the Belarussians to break forward in numbers, the counter-attack ending in spectacular style when Hardzeichuk curled a rasping shot beyond the despairing grasp of Shay Given after 21 minutes. With midfielder Harry Arter having left the squad to get an assessment on his injured thigh at his club Bournemouth, Ireland manager Martin O'Neill gave Meyler and Darron Gibson a chance in midfield, but neither was able to seize the moment. The Belarussians doubled their lead when Valadzko waltzed in from the left and saw his shot deflected past Given in the 63rd. Fullback Ward reduced the deficit nine minutes later with a first-time shot after being teed up by substitute Shane Long following a long throw-in. O'Neill gave lots of players a chance to stake a claim for a place in his squad, but the only stand-out was striker Long, who was already in line for a seat on the plane to France. The Irish, who suffered only their second loss in 14 games, start their Group E campaign against Sweden in Paris on June 13 before taking on Belgium and Italy. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris) TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Japan put its military on alert on Monday for a possible North Korean ballistic missile firing, while South Korea also said it had detected evidence of launch preparations, officials from Japan and South Korea said. Tension in the region has been high since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a satellite launch and test launches of various missiles. Japan ordered naval destroyers and Patriot anti-ballistic missile batteries to be ready to shoot down any projectile heading for the country, state broadcaster NHK said. A Japanese official, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the order. A spokesmen for Japan's defence ministry declined to comment. The missile tubes on a Patriot missile battery on the grounds of Japan's Ministry of Defence were elevated to a firing position. The South Korean defence official declined to comment on what type of missile might be launched, but South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said officials believe it would be an intermediate-range Musudan missile. "We've detected a sign and are tracking that. We are fully prepared," said the South Korean official, who also declined to be identified. A Pentagon spokesman, U.S. Navy Commander Gary Ross, said: "We are closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula in coordination with our regional allies. We urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that aggravate tensions and instead focus on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments." Ross said he would not discuss U.S. intelligence assessments. The White House declined to comment. North Korea tried unsuccessfully to test launch the Musudan three times in April, according to U.S. and South Korean officials. Japan has put its anti-ballistic missile forces on alert at least twice this year after detecting signs of launches by North Korea. North Korea's nuclear and missile tests this year triggered new U.N. sanctions. But it seems determined to press ahead with its weapons programmes, despite the sanctions and the disapproval of its sole main ally, China. Last Friday, leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised nations, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama, met in Japan and demanded that North Korea comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution to stop all nuclear and missile tests and refrain from provocative action. On the same day, North Korea threatened to retaliate against South Korea after it fired what it said were warning shots when boats from the North crossed the disputed sea border off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. Japan has advanced Aegis vessels in the Sea of Japan that are able to track multiple targets and are armed with SM-3 missiles designed to destroy incoming warheads in space before they re-enter the atmosphere. Patriot PAC-3 missile batteries, designed to hit warheads near the ground, are deployed around Tokyo and other sites as a second and final line of defence. (Reporting by Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO and Ju-min Park in SEOUL; Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert and Jeff Mason in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel and Dan Grebler) North Korea has failed to launch its Musudan missile for the fourth time, South Korea claims. The Yonhap News Agency said the North attempted to test fire the intermediate-range weapon from its east coast in the early hours. Both South Korea and the US reported three such failures in April. A South Korean government source told the agency the missile was likely to have exploded while lifting off from a mobile launcher. North Korea is thought to have up to 30 Musudan missiles, which could reach as far as US military bases in Asia and the Pacific. Tension is high in the region after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a satellite launch. Japan put its military on alert on Monday for a possible North Korean ballistic missile launch. "We have no reports of any damage in Japan. We are gathering and analysing data. The defence ministry is prepared to respond to any situation," Japanese Minister of Defence Gen Nakatani told reporters. "North Korea shows no sign of abandoning the development of nuclear missiles and so we will continue to work closely with the US and South Korea in response and maintain a close watch on North Korea." Earlier this month Kim Jong-Un further consolidated his control at the first congress in 36 years of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. Poland is to appeal against a court's decision not to extradite film-maker Roman Polanski to the United States over a 1977 child sex conviction, the country's justice minister said. The Oscar-winning director served 42 days in jail as part of a plea bargain after admitting having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in Los Angeles. The case has continued for nearly four decades, with some demanding harsh punishment and others saying the extradition efforts should be dropped. After serving time in prison, Polanski fled the following year to Britain and then to France, believing the judge hearing his case could overrule the deal and put him in jail for much longer. Samantha Geimer, the victim in the case, has made clear she believes Polanski's long exile has been punishment enough. The US requested Polanski's extradition from Poland after he made a high-profile appearance in the capital Warsaw in 2014. The Rosemary's Baby director lives in Paris but also has an apartment in the southern Polish city of Krakow. A Polish court rejected the extradition request in October, and the prosecutor's office at first said it would not appeal against the ruling. But since then, Poland's new staunchly conservative government has merged the posts of justice minister and prosecutor general, giving it more direct control over prosecutions. Zbigniew Ziobro, who has assumed the newly merged post, has been critical of the court's decision not to extradite Polanski, claiming the director's celebrity status had helped him escape justice. Mr Ziobro told state news agency PAP: "I've decided to file to the supreme court an appeal over the ruling ... in which the ... court decided not to extradite Mr Polanski to the US in a situation when he's accused of and wanted for ... a rape of a child. "If he was just a regular guy, a teacher, doctor, plumber, decorator, then I'm sure he'd have been deported from any country to the US a long time ago." Speaking to broadcaster TVN24, Polanski's lawyer Jan Olszewski said that given what Mr Ziobro's has said in the past, the decision was "not surprising". He said: "I guarantee that if there were no factual arguments on our side, Polanski's (celebrity) status itself would not protect him from extradition." By Denis Dyomkin ATHENS (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Romania and Poland they could find themselves in the sights of Russian rockets because they are hosting elements of a U.S. missile shield that Moscow considers a threat to its security. Putin issued his starkest warning yet over the missile shield, saying that Moscow had stated repeatedly that it would have to take retaliatory steps but that Washington and its allies had ignored the warnings. Earlier this month the U.S. military -- which says the shield is needed to protect from Iran, not threaten Russia -- switched on the Romanian part of the shield. Work is going ahead on another part of the shield, in Poland. "If yesterday in those areas of Romania people simply did not know what it means to be in the cross-hairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security," Putin told a joint news conference in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. "It will be the same case with Poland," he said. Putin did not specify what actions Russia would take, but he insisted that it was not making the first step, only responding to moves by Washington. "We won't take any action until we see rockets in areas that neighbour us." He said the argument that the project was needed to defend against Iran made no sense because an international deal had been reached to curb Tehran's nuclear programme. The missiles that will form the shield can easily reach Russian cities, he said. "How can that not create a threat for us?" Putin asked. He voiced frustration that Russia's complaints about the missile shield had not been heeded. "We've been repeating like a mantra that we will be forced to respond... Nobody wants to hear us. Nobody wants to conduct negotiations with us." CRIMEA ISSUE CLOSED Putin sounded a defiant note over Crimea, the Ukrainian region which Russia annexed in 2014. Moscow said it was acting on the will of the Crimean people, who voted to join Russia, but Western governments say it was an illegal land grab. "As far as Crimea is concerned, we consider this question is closed forever," Putin said. "Russia will not conduct any discussions with anyone on this subject." The Russian leader also touched on relations with Turkey, which have been toxic since the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian-Turkish border last November. Ankara said the plane strayed into Turkish airspace, an allegation Moscow denies. Putin said he was ready to consider restoring relations with Ankara, but that would require a first step from Turkey, and so far there was no sign of that. Putin was asked about the South Stream project, a planned gas pipeline from Russia that would have gone under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and onwards to southern Europe. Russia shelved the project after Bulgaria backed out. He blamed the U.S. government and the European Commission, saying they had pressured Sofia to withdraw. But he said Russia was going ahead with an extension of its Nordstream pipeline in the Baltic, and he hoped no one would try to hinder that project. (Reporting by Denis Dyomkin; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev gained conditional approval on Tuesday for its $100 billion-plus acquisition of SABMiller from South African anti-trust regulators, bringing the deal closer to fruition. Conditions attached to the deal include a binding one that no South African employee be laid off because of the merger, the Competition Commission said in a statement. The commission said it had recommended to the Competition Tribunal, which has the ultimate say, that the deal be "approved with conditions." Its recommendations usually meet the tribunal's approval. Other conditions to the tie-up include a requirement the merged entity sell off SAB's stake in liquor maker Distell and that it make a 1 billion rand ($63.60 million) investment in South African agriculture. The companies have also agreed to submit within two years of the merger "black economic empowerment plans setting out how the merged entity intends to maintain black participation in the company, including equity," the commission said in a statement. South Africa's government has a number of targets that companies must meet to lift the ownership of previously disadvantaged blacks in the economy. Jobs are a major issue in South Africa, where unemployment is over 25 percent and income disparities are glaring, and AB InBev granted significant concessions on this front as it strives for approval of one of the largest corporate takeovers. "The Commission received concerns regarding the potential impact of the proposed merger on employment ... In this regard, AB InBev has undertaken that it will not retrench any employee in South Africa as a result of the merger. This condition will endure in perpetuity," the commission said. In the area of social development, AB InBev has committed to investing 1 billion rand over five years in to the agriculture sector that supplies the brewing business, with a focus on emerging black farmers. "This investment will be utilised for the development of the South African agricultural outputs for barley, hops and maize, as well as to promote entry and growth of emerging and black farmers in South Africa," the Commission said. Last week AB InBev gained EU antitrust approval for the transaction. The takeover will give the merged entity a third of the global beer market, selling twice as much beer as its nearest rival Heineken . (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; editing by Adrian Croft) By Shihar Aneez COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will gradually stop sending house maids abroad, mainly to the Middle East, due to rights abuses, social costs and a local labour shortage, government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said on Wednesday. Sri Lanka's expatriate workers, mainly house maids and unskilled labourers, send back remittances - the island nation's main foreign exchange earner - that help earn around $7 billion (4.8 billion) a year for the $82.2 billion economy. Senaratne said President Maithripala Sirisena had appointed a committee to study strategies to reduce the numbers gradually and finally stop sending maids abroad. "We want to discourage the house maids category in the foreign employment because the social cost is very high," he told Reuters. Human rights abuses and social costs due to rapes, drug addiction and child abuse in many families of house maids, and labour shortage locally, have prompted the government to take such a decision, he said. The total number of departures for foreign employment declined by 12.4 percent last year to 263,307, partly due to the slowdown of economic activities in the Middle East. Sri Lanka is already encouraging sending skilled male workers abroad instead of low-skilled females and house maids. In 2013, around 1,650 Sri Lankan house maids complained of being physically and sexually abused by their employers mainly in the Middle East, the latest data from the Foreign Employment Bureau showed. In 2013, the Saudis beheaded a young Sri Lankan housemaid for killing an infant left in her care, rejecting repeated appeals by the Indian Ocean island against her death sentence. Colombo recalled its ambassador from Riyadh in protest. After their Sri Lankan maid complained of too much work in 2010, a Saudi couple tortured her by hammering 24 nails into her hands, legs and forehead. The maid returned home. Last year, however, Saudi authorities reduced a Sri Lankan maid's sentence for adultery from death by stoning to a three-year jail term after an appeal. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Tom Heneghan) A surfer has reportedly lost part of his leg after being attacked by a shark in Western Australia. The man, who is thought to be 29 years old, was surfing with others at Falcon Bay beach, south of Mandurah, when he was attacked from behind at around 4pm on Tuesday. Nathan Hondros, a Mandurah Mail reporter, told Radio 6PR there were "desperate scenes" as the victim was pulled out of the water and brought to shore. "He seems to have lost a leg from above the knee and it looks like ambulance crews are trying to revive him," he told the station. He was rushed to the Royal Perth Hospital by ambulance for treatment. The hospital's chief executive Margaret Sturdy told the Australian Associated Press: "He is currently in a serious condition with a serious injury, a significant shark bite and is getting a lot of medical input." She would not say if the victim had lost a leg or if his injuries were life threatening. Ian Barker, who helped pull the injured surfer from the water, told Seven News he heard someone shout "shark" and he and several others paddled back to shore. He then noticed two people still out in the water and went back to help them. "I paddled out to them, they needed a hand and that's when I saw this fellow. He was very pale. They had him propped up on a surfboard paddling in," he told the broadcaster. "There was about 100m to go so we got him all the way ashore and then applied CPR." Shocked surfers comforted each other as the victim was driven away from the scene. A rescue helicopter was also in attendance, but was not needed. It is not known which species of shark attacked the surfer. DUSHANBE (Reuters) - Tajikistan has boosted troop numbers on its frontier with Afghanistan, the border guard service said on Wednesday, due to security threats from armed smugglers, kidnappers and Islamist insurgents. Tajikistan, the poorest country in the former Soviet Union, is worried about Islamist militant groups based in conflict-ridden Afghanistan trying to open a new front in their global holy war. The border area is also a major route for narcotics from Afghanistan, the world's main producer of opium used to make heroin, into Central Asia and on to Russia and Europe. To address the threats, Dushanbe has sent more troops to the border and set up dozens of new outposts, border guard service spokesman Muhammad Ulugkhodzhayev said. The reinforcements include both professionally trained ensigns and newly drafted conscripts, he said. He declined to provide any absolute or relative numbers. Separately, border guard commander Rajabali Rakhmonali told state-run newspaper Sadoi Mardum this week that Tajikistan was concerned about a potential spillover from the Afghan fighting. "Strengthening confrontation between different militant groups, the emergence of terrorists belonging to the 'Islamic State' group aggravate the situation, resulting in increased threats," he said. The threat of violent Islamism spilling over into ex-Soviet central Asia has grown more acute since NATO pulled most of its forces from Afghanistan, leading to a deterioration in security there. The risk was brought home by Taliban attacks on the Afghan city of Kunduz, not far from the Tajik border, first last year when attackers briefly seized the city and then again in April when the Taliban launched another offensive. (Reporting by Nazarali Pirnazarov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Gareth Jones) SEOUL (Reuters) - Three North Korean women who fled a restaurant they worked at in China have arrived in South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday quoting an unnamed government source. The women, one aged 28 and two 29, fled the North Korean restaurant in Shanxi province and made their way to Thailand from where they flew to the South, Yonhap said. South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles political ties with the North, could not confirm the report. Its National Intelligence Service, which conducts initial screening of North Korean defectors, declined to comment. The ministry said last week that some North Korean workers had recently fled their jobs in an overseas restaurant run by the North, without identifying the number or location. The case followed the defection of 13 North Korean workers from a restaurant run by the North in China in April, which the South described as unprecedented. North Korea accused South Korea of a "hideous abduction" in that case. Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South have been in a technical state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. About 340 defectors from the North arrived in the South in the first three months of this year, according to Unification Ministry data. A total of about 29,000 North Korean defectors have arrived in the South as of March, including 1,276 last year, with numbers declining since a 2009 peak. (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's conflict with Kurdish militants, said to have left more than 5,000 people dead since July, has also destroyed at least 6,000 buildings that will cost approaching 1 billion lira (232.22 million pound) to rebuild, according to a government estimate. Large swathes of towns in the mainly Kurdish southeast have been devastated by daily shelling, blasts and gunfire in battles that are still raging, even as President Tayyip Erdogan says the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is in its "death throes". Turkish warplanes struck overnight at PKK gun positions and shelters in Semdinli by the mountainous border with Iraq and Iran, the army said. One soldier was killed and one wounded in a subsequent firefight in the area. A day earlier, roadside bombs killed at least six people in two attacks on security forces in the southeast. Air strikes in northern Iraq's Metina area have killed 14 PKK fighters since last Wednesday, the army said. The fighting, at its most intense in two decades, resumed after a two-year-old ceasefire collapsed last July. As fighting continued, the government of new Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said 6,320 buildings, or 11,000 dwellings, had been destroyed in five areas alone: Sur in Diyabakir, Silopi, Cizre and Idil in Sirnak province and Yuksekova in Hakkari. "We now face a process of planning reconstruction and repairing damaged houses," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said after a cabinet meeting on Monday, estimating the cost of rebuilding in the areas at 855 million lira ($290 million). Speaking after a ruling AKP meeting late on Monday, party spokesman Yasin Aktay told reporters Turkey faced "a period of social restoration to deal with the side effects of operations". Some 338 civilians, including 78 children, have died in the conflict since last summer, and curfews have violated the rights 1.6 million people, Turkey's Human Rights Foundation said. The health minister has estimated some 355,000 people have fled conflict-hit areas to other areas of Turkey. "These are the last throes of the separatist terror group. These are also the last throes of their extensions," Erdogan told a crowd waving Turkish flags and chanting "damn the PKK" in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir overnight. According to military sources, 5,000 PKK militants have been killed since the conflict resumed in July, around half in southeast Turkey and half in northern Iraq, where the PKK has bases. They put the death toll for Turkish security forces at around 500. The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, launched its insurgency in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. (Writing by Daren Butler, editing by Larry King) We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain. There has been a significant increase in the number of GP-led transactions reviewed by LPs over the past 12 months, according to a study by Capstone Partners focused on GP-led Secondaries. Dr. Angela Demaree First-time candidate Dr. Angela Demaree won Indianas 5th Congressional District Democratic Party primary election May 3. She will face Republican incumbent Susan Brooks in a historic matchup this November as two women compete for the congressional seat for the first time. Dr. Demaree told supporters in Indianapolis after defeating primary challenger Allen Davidson, We won the primary because we wont accept the status quo, and neither should Indiana. Its what Im fighting for, its what you are fighting for, and its how we are going to win in November. The sixth-generation Hoosier and Indianapolis resident took an early lead in the Democratic Party primary and received 70 percent of the votes. Three veterinarians currently serve in the House of Representatives: Drs. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Ted Yoho of Florida, and Ralph Abraham of Louisiana. Dr. Demaree would be the first female veterinarian elected to Congress, should she win in November. Dr. Demaree campaigned as a bipartisan problem solver, citing her experience as a veterinarian and an officer in the Army Reserve Veterinary Corps (see JAVMA, April 1, 2016). During the primary, she was endorsed by the Marion County Democratic Party, 5th Congressional District Democratic Committee, College Democrats of Indiana, Tipton County Democratic Committee, and Indiana Democratic Party. A 2002 graduate of Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Demaree practiced companion animal and equine medicine before joining the AVMA staff in 2007 as an associate director of the Governmental Relations Division in Washington, D.C. Three years later, she took a job with the Indiana Horse Racing Commission as equine medical director. In 2009, Dr. Demaree was commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserve Veterinary Corps and later deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She currently is a major in the Army Reserve. Dr. Demaree told supporters following her primary win that the true challenge of unseating the GOP incumbent in November had started in earnest. We have to remember, the hard work has just begun, she said. Im standing here because together, with your help and the help of so many dedicated volunteers, weve exceeded expectations. Published On Jun 01, 2016 02:18 PM By Nabeel for Mahindra XUV500 Mahindra, the Indian SUV maker has announced that it will be rolling out petrol options for the Scorpio and the XUV500 sometime this year. The manufacturer is also looking forward to introduce petrol engines throughout its portfolio. The XUV500 and the Scorpio were banned in the NCR as they both had diesel engines with a capacity of 2000cc and above. As a result, Mahindra had to launch 1.99-litre iterations of the two, exclusively in Delhi. These scaled down diesel variants produce the almost identical power, which means that the buyers won't be compromising on the performance aspect. These petrol engines are expected to have a capacity of 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.2-litre, with the latter one to be developed in sync with SsangYong. Pawan Goenka executive director Mahindra & Mahindra said, "Despite being a diesel player, we had a feeling that a diesel-only approach may not be good enough. Now, we will launch the Scorpio and XUV500 in petrol this year and in future all vehicles will have both options." As of now, Mahindra only has one petrol engine car in its lineup, the KUV100, which has a 1.2-litre G80 mFalcon engine. Mahindra is also planning on investing Rs 1,000 crore in product development over the course of two to three years, which will further strengthen their engine lineup. As the ban on diesel cars is to be extended to 11 Indian cities, this move by Mahindra will prove to be beneficial. Manufacturers such as Mercedes and Toyota are having a tough time battling this ban and have lashed out at the authorities while making promises of taking strict actions against the ban. Recently, this ban was also imposed in Kerala, but luckily, a stay order was passed by the High Court for two months. We are in dire need of a real solution to settle this debate. Also Read: Limited Edition Mahindra Scorpio Adventure launched at Rs 13.07 Lakh Read More on : Mahindra XUV500 People in the Pittsford, N.Y., areajust outside the city of Rochestertell their friends about the great lending programs offered by $378 million Pittsford Federal Credit Union. According to Senior Manager Brian D. Scudder, thats because the credit union is able to have real people on its staff make local decisions based on peoples specific situations. For example, Rochester is home to an excellent regional medical facility in Strong Memorial Hospital. Many outstanding doctors move to the area from overseas to work at the hospital. At first, these doctors dont have a U.S. credit history and that can make it difficult for some lenders to approve them for a mortgage. We can help out, Scudder says, in part because the credit union doesnt plan to sell on the secondary market every mortgage it makes. A lot of consumers will go and apply (for a mortgage) through a broker or a national bank and that institution doesnt intend to hold the loan on its balance sheet. They intend to sell the loan from the get-go. We limit selling to 20- and 30-year fixed rate mortgages. A home purchase (or refinance) thats 10-year fixed, 15-year fixed, or adjustable rate, we keep in portfolio and on the balance sheet. Because of this, we arent subject to Freddie Mac rules. We can be more creative in solving members issues. Representatives of Puerto Ricos cooperativas have blasted a House plan to place the financial institutions in the hands of a fiscal control board. And an island attorney and local politician said that the bill approved by the House Natural Resources Committee last week could jeopardize the islands governments efforts to protect the institutions. H.R. 5278, known as PROMESA, creates a fiscal board to oversee the island governments finances, which are on the verge of collapse. The island government is tens of billions of dollars in debt. COLUMBUS After a national search, Ohio State University President Michael V. Drake has named Bruce A. McPheron executive vice president and provost, effective today, June 1. McPheron was named interim provost in November, and has been vice president for agricultural administration and dean of the universitys College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences since August 2012. As Ohio States chief academic officer, he will oversee and help to advance the educational mission of one of the nations largest and most comprehensive universities. Bruce is the special type of leader who inspires those around him to always bring their very best effort, Drake said. Under his leadership as provost, we are confident that the university will continue to advance its national influence and impact in faculty research, cutting-edge teaching and learning initiatives, and exemplary community and civic engagement. Land grant roots An alumnus and Ohio native, since McPheron returned to Ohio State in 2012, he has placed emphasis on positioning Ohio State to be a leader on issues of significance to communities at home and across the globe. He is a member of the executive team of the universitys Discovery Themes, aimed at solving the worlds most pressing challenges through research and discoveries. Nationally, McPheron is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as chair of the Policy Board of Directors of Agriculture for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. As dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, McPheron launched the Field to Faucet initiative, a statewide effort led by Ohio State faculty and staff to ensure clean drinking water for all Ohioans. He also convened the Vice Presidents Conversation on the Future of Extension, the colleges outreach arm serving all 88 counties in Ohio, to successfully address critical issues facing Ohioans by 2035. Leadership McPheron has earned multiple national awards for excellence in leadership and is the sole person to hold elected leadership roles on three APLU agricultural boards. Ohio State is focused on ensuring that our best thinking crosses disciplines to have an impact on the world around us, McPheron said. An entomologist by training and an active Twitter user under the handle @medflygenes, he is widely recognized for his scientific expertise. His research focusing on the use of genetic tools to examine population structure in pest insects has been adopted by state, federal and international agencies. McPheron has taught a wide range of classes in entomology and has traveled internationally sharing his research. McPheron earned a bachelors degree at Ohio State and masters and doctorate from the University of Illinois. He has almost 20 years of leadership experience in higher education, previously serving as dean of Penn State Universitys College of Agricultural Sciences. Why wont the United Farm Workers support the Driscolls Boycott? [ Comprehensive Immigration Reform rally in Oxnard, California on May 1, 2013, International Workers Day. Children and adults wave red and black UFW flags while holding a Reiter Affiliated Companies banner next to a company representative holding a UFW flag. ] UFW & Driscolls: United To Exploit Why won't the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) support the Driscoll's Boycott? That's one of the questions UFW Vice President Lauro Barajas would not answer after he spoke at Hillary Clinton's rally in Salinas on May 25. There are two other questions that Barajas was unwilling to answer. He was asked why he personally took down UFW flags while people were speaking on stage and asking for support of the Driscoll's Boycott at the Cesar Chavez March last month in Salinas. Barajas also refused to reveal anything about the UFW's intimate relationship with Reiter Affiliated Companies, an Oxnard-based subsidiary of Driscoll's which grows berries in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Northern Africa. Street Interview with UFW VP Lauro Barajas Lauro Barajas is Vice President of the United Farm Workers. While reporting for Indybay, I caught up with Barajas on West Alisal Street on May 25, 2016 following his speech before Hillary Clinton at Hartnell College in Salinas, California. I asked Barajas a few questions about the UFW's intimate relationship with Driscoll's the world's largest berry distributor. Barajas refused to answer any questions. [ * Note, the video is at the end of the article. ] Indybay: Disculpa (Excuse me), Lauro, what is the UFW's position on the Driscoll's Boycott? Barajas: Take [Turn] your thing off. Indybay: What's your position? Hey, how come you guys don't support the boycott of Driscoll's? Barajas: What? Indybay: How come you took the flag down of the UFW when Boycott Driscoll's people were speaking? Barajas: [Reaches for handle of car door.] Indybay: Lauro, can you answer the question please? Barajas: No, no I won't. Indybay: Lauro, what's your relationship with the Reiter Company? Barajas: You can think whatever you want. Indybay: Well tell me, tell me the truth. Barajas: The truth. What do you want? Indybay: I want to know why you won't support the Driscoll's Boycott. Barajas: Have a good day. Indybay: You won't tell us? Barajas: [Closes car door]. Why won't the UFW support the Driscoll's Boycott? The UFW's clear lack of support for the farmworkers in San Quintin, Mexico and Washington state who are leading an international boycott against Driscoll's was dramatically demonstrated on April 3, 2016 at the annual Cesar Chavez March in Salinas, California. Prior to parading through the streets of Salinas, Michael Garcia of the Watsonville Brown Berets enthusiastically approached UFW Vice President Lauro Barajas and asked if it was OK if members of Families United for Justice (FUJ), which is a local independent union of farmworkers in Washington, and the Watsonville Brown Berets carried a Boycott Driscolls banner towards the front of the march. Garcia was denied and told that the UFW did not want the banner carried at all during the march. When FUJ boycott coordinator Andrew Eckels approached a UFW representative to ask permission to speak from the stage about the FUJ, Eckels was given the cold shoulder and completely ignored. A rally in the park continued after the Cesar Chavez March, and despite previous instructions from the UFW, the stage owner granted advocates of the Driscolls Boycott a few minutes to address the crowd. FUJ member Lazaro Matamoros primarily spoke followed by closing words from Eckels. This came after all the other organizational representatives had already spoken, and following a performance by the mariachi band. Still, UFW wanted nothing to do with farmworkers fighting for dignity and justice against Driscolls. Garcia recalls, As soon as we started talking, the main UFW representative [Lauro Barajas] started pulling out UFW flags from around the stage. Although it is now obvious that the UFW is working against the farmworkers in San Quintin, Mexico and Washington state who are leading the international Driscoll's Boycott, the UFW continually refuse to answer any questions regarding their support for, and close relationship with, Driscoll's. UFW Teams Up With Costco, Whole Foods, and Andrew & Williamson "Our hats are off to you Whole Foods and Costco ..." Arturo Rodriguez, President of United Farm Workers The UFW continues to be a thorn in the side of many, but certainly not all, agricultural businesses, and has filed numerous Notices of Intent to Take Access with the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB). When the UFW, or possibly another labor organization, files a valid Notice of Intent to Take Access with the ALRB, they are permitted to enter property where farmworkers engage in agricultural work. During these visits, a limited number of union representatives can speak with farmworkers and distribute flyers. While the UFW maintains adversarial relations with some large agribusinesses, it has partnered up with others, including San Diego-based grower-shipper Andrew & Williamson (A&W). Through the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), UFW is partnering with not only A&W, but also warehouse retailer Costco, the largest seller of organic produce, as well as Whole Foods Market. In an analysis of the EFI, the Domestic Fair Trade Association (DFTA) documents EFI's claim's in EFI's own language: "The Equitable Food Initiative certification program develops standards, training processes and a certification to protect farm workers and produce safer, healthier food ... benefiting workers, growers, retailers, and consumers alike." The DFTA states that, "EFIs significant deficiencies and concerns are mainly ones of omission rather than commission; specifically, the absence of support for small scale farms and long-term, direct and fair trading relationships." The EFI and it's partnership with the UFW is also being contested by the union's traditional foes, such as the grape and tree fruit growers in California's central valley who make up the newly renamed California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA). In an opinion piece published at The Packer, "the fresh fruit and vegetable industry's leading source for news, information and analysis since 1893," Barry Bedwell writes on behalf on the CFFA: To claim that EFI promotes best practices is more troubling. But when coupled with the EFIs partnership with the UFW, it would seem downright disingenuous to suggest that organized labor in this case places worker dignity ahead of its own bureaucratic prerogatives and institutional survival. By partnering with an organization like the UFW ... EFI calls into question its own integrity regarding workers rights. John Mackey, the CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods Market, is known for his strong anti-union views, and as a supporter of free market economics who co-authored Conscious Capitalism, which Christine Bader called an "over-the-top adulation of the private sector" in her review of the 2013 book. One of Mackey's most infamous statements was comparing unions to herpes." "The union is like having herpes. It doesn't kill you, but it's unpleasant and inconvenient, and it stops a lot of people from becoming your lover." Whole Foods was criticized in the late 1990s for its refusal to support a campaign by the UFW on behalf of agricultural workers laboring on strawberry farms. In a May 1998 article titled "Whole Foods Plays Dirty," Paul Ortiz writes, "For the past several months, Whole Foods stores have been distributing a slickly-produced brochure to inquiring customers in response to the Strawberry Workers' Campaign. The brochure is full of misinformation and half-truths that give one the impression that being a farm worker in America is Heaven on earth." Eighteen years later, Whole Foods is still a leader at distributing slickly-produced brochures to inquiring customers and Driscoll's boycotters, however this time around John Mackey and Whole Foods have the full backing and partnership of the United Farm Workers. Swanton Berry Farm Seeks Out the UFW The UFW's antagonist relationship with many growers is contrasted by the union's relationship since 1998 with Swanton Berry Farm, located on California's central coast just north of Santa Cruz. In this case, the owners of the farm reached out to the UFW and asked the union to unionize the workers who harvest their berries. Swanton Berry Farm states, "Many people assume that unions are appropriate only where working conditions are so bad that workers need protection from their employer. While this is obviously true in many cases, our approach from the beginning has been a non-adversarial outlook toward unions." In the 2015 book "Organic Struggle: The Movement for Sustainable Agriculture in the United States," Brian K. Obach explains: Highly exploitative subcontracted seasonal employment arrangements characterize most conventional farm labor. But even many small and midsize organic farms run by ideologically committed individuals rely on low-wage workers or young low- or no-pay 'interns' who carry out farm labor in exchange for room and board along with the learning experience. Unionization is rare across the entire farm labor sector given the lack of protections afforded under federal law and the challenges of organizing an often-transient population. Workers on one organic farm, Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport, California, are organized under the UFW, but this is exceptional. The farm's owner, Jim Cochran, essentially invited the workers to unionize. He saw the shortcomings of organic standards when it came to issues of social justice, and bemoaned the lack of consciousness about the issue among organic consumers. "Everybody cares about how the bugs are treated, but nobody cares about how the workers are treated," Cochran told one reporter. When Did the UFW Become Friends with Driscoll's? Historically, the UFW has had a combative relationship with Driscoll's. In "The Costco Connection: Farmworkers bring Driscolls Boycott to Respected Washington Grocer," Tomas Madrigal notes that the UFW attempted farmworker organization drives at Driscoll's subcontracted growers in Watsonville and Salinas in 1996-98 and in Saticoy and Oxnard in 2012. The UFW will not reveal when their friendship with Driscoll's began, however a photograph from May 1, 2013 shows the union's intimate relationship with Reiter Affiliated Companies, an Oxnard-based subsidiary of Driscoll's which grows berries in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Northern Africa. In the photo taken at the Comprehensive Immigration Reform rally in Oxnard on International Workers Day, children and adults are waving red and black UFW flags and holding a Reiter Affiliated Companies banner next to a company representative holding a UFW flag. It's difficult to distinguish any significant separation between Reiter Affiliated Companies and Driscoll's. The berries grown for Reiter Affiliated Companies, including BerryMex and BerryCentro, are distributed by Driscolls. The California Department of Food and Agriculture explains that, "The California State Board of Food and Agriculture is a fifteen-member state board, appointed by the Governor, and carefully selected to represent a broad range of agricultural commodities, a variety of geographic regions and both the University of California and California State University academic systems." Miles Reiter of Aptos is a member of this significant board whose term expires in January 2017. Reiter's biography for the State Board of Food and Agriculture says that he is the Chairman of Driscolls, his family has specialized in berries for over one hundred years, and that Miles and his brother Garland continue to farm through their family business, Reiter Affiliated Companies. On April 5, 2016, the United Farm Workers published a long comment on bradleyallen.net in response to the article, "UFW Tries to Silence Boycott Driscolls Activists at Cesar Chavez March." In the comment they write, "UFW organizers have been aiding the workers in San Quintin; we know some of their leaders because they were UFW activists when they worked in the United States." The UFW continues, "But thats not the point ..." A commenter named Galser follows up and asks the UFW: Why was UFW so against these protesters and boycotters from sharing a very important message? Why not endorse it? Why not speak to the issue in the way you are working on it? The UFW is once again invited to make their point and speak to the issue in the way they are working on it, as well as answer the question: Why won't the UFW support the Driscoll's Boycott? The National Headquarters of the United Farm Workers in Keene, California was contacted for this story, but declined to comment. For more information, please see: The San Quintin Rebellion Previous coverage of the boycott Driscolls movement: Bradley Allen is a reporter and photographer in the Monterey Bay area, and part of the Indybay collective. Follow him on Twitter: @BradleySA. By Nate Raymond June 1 (Reuters) - A Connecticut fund manager who fled the United States after being hit with criminal insider trading charges was indicted on Wednesday for engaging in a separate scheme to embezzle $54 million from the private equity firm for which he worked. Iftikar Ahmed, a former general partner at Oak Investment Partners, was named in a seven-count indictment filed in federal court in Boston charging him with having engaged in wire fraud and having made false statements on income tax returns. Prosecutors said that Ahmed, 44, embezzled the more than $54 million from the firm from 2004 to 2015 by submitting false invoices, overstating prices of business deals he orchestrated on the fund's behalf and by setting up fraudulent bank accounts. The indictment alleged that Ahmed used the money to buy a $9.6 million residence in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a luxury New York condominium for about $8.6 million. The indictment follows a civil lawsuit last year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the same alleged fraud at Norwalk, Connecticut-based Oak Investment Partners. Prosecutors later in August filed a criminal complaint against Ahmed and his wife, Shalini Ahmed, for conspiring to engage in money transactions in property derived from illegal activity related to the fraud. Wednesday's grand jury indictment expanded the charges against Ahmed, but did not name his wife. Neither could be reached for comment, and a lawyer for Iftikar Ahmed declined comment. Ahmed, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi and Harvard Business School, previously fled to India in May 2015 after prosecutors accused him and longtime friend Amit Kanodia for having engaging in insider trading. In court papers, Ahmed has said that he is now prohibited from leaving India without a court's approval after being arrested last year for unlawful entry into the country. In the insider trading case, prosecutors said Kanodia learned details about India-based Apollo Tyres Ltd's 2013 attempt to buy Cooper Tire & Rubber Co from his wife, then Apollo's general counsel. Story continues Kanodia began tipping Ahmed and another friend, allowing them to make more than $1 million making trades before the proposed $2.5 billion deal was announced in June 2013, authorities said. The merger was abandoned that December amid an acrimonious legal battle between the companies. Kanodia has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to face trial on Sept. 19. The cases in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, are U.S. v. Ahmed, No. 16-cr-10154, and U.S. v. Kanodia et al, No. 15-cr-10131. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Tom Brown) To save Indybay, please pay now; nothing is free by SF Indybay Fan May 31, 2016 started with around $60 out of $1600 and is now at $443 out of $1600. Considering all the postings, and far more viewers probably reading this website, that is shameful. Less than 12 people contributing $100 each for the remaining $1157 would slightly exceed the goal. 24 people contributing $50 each would do the same. We cannot afford to lose this website. Nothing is free and a $1600 goal can easily be realized. The calendar alone is worth it. We are also preserving the historical record of workingclass struggles with this website, something that only we can and must do. The wide variety of subject pages, including a page in Spanish, is extraordinary and is a verification of a broad-based community challenging the status quo. If this website is on your list of favorites, as it should be, then you certainly owe it to yourself, as well as the entire community, to contribute whatever you can to this website. This writer can remember when we had at least 5 daily newspapers in San Francisco and a thriving KPFA, as well as at least 3 weekly radical newspapers before the war against Vietnam, and many monthlies during that genocidal war of anti-communism. With that, and phone trees, we fought and defeated the anti-communist witchhunts, ran the book burners out of California, abolished racial discrimination in housing, promoted integrated schools, built the foundation of the women's liberation and gay liberation movements of today, built a successful movement for women's right to abortion that was finally realized in Roe v Wade in 1973, stopped the construction of a nuclear power plant at Bodega Bay (Sonoma County), defended free speech at UC Berkeley in 1964 and fought for ethnic studies first at San Francisco State University in 1968 with a massive student-labor strike, and then everywhere else, built a strong antiwar movement during the US war against Vietnam that helped defeat the mightiest war machine the world had seen since Nazi Germany on April 30, 1975, promoted healthy lifestyles including opposing the proliferating junk food industry and the profiteering drug rackets, encouraging exercise ranging from Yoga to jogging, and growing your own fruits and vegetables, won Medicare in 1965 which lengthened life expectancy considerably, and won the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. This was all without computers, the Internet and cell phones. Now, everything is online, so we must be too. It reaches the entire world instantly, but only if we pay for it, and it is quite affordable to everyone. Whatever you can contribute is worth it. Everyone needs Indybay. Summer Exhibit to Span Artists Career "Lady's Choice" ink, colored pencil, acrylic, chromolithograph by Glen C. Davies June 1, 2016 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. A retrospective exhibit spanning the 45-year career of Urbana-based artist Glen C. Davies will open June 18 at Illinois Wesleyan Universitys Merwin & Wakeley Galleries. Alpha and Omega will open with a reception from 1 to 4 p.m. on June 18. Davies will present a talk at 2 p.m. in the galleries. A native of Chicago, Davies attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the late 1960s where he was influenced by Chicagos homegrown pop genre imagism combined with traditions of the great museums. After fulfilling a childhood dream of traveling with the circus, Davies worked for a short time as a billboard artist and sign painter, eventually opening a mural painting business. After receiving a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Illinois, he has divided his time professionally between studio pursuits and a variety of other genres including circus and carnival show painter, sideshow banner artist, professional muralist, curator and educator. He has taught as an adjunct painting instructor at the University of Illinois for several years. His works reside in many public and private collections including Chicagos Field Museum of Natural History, The Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, the Georgia Museum of Art, The American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Roger Brown Study Collection of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In an essay written for Davies show, Illinois State Museum Associate Curator of Art Doug Stapleton wrote: Davies paintings, drawings and sculptures are entrances for stories; when we tumble into them, for there is no other way than to tumble, we fall into their existential resonance. Alpha and Omega will remain on display through Sept. 1 in the Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art building, 6 Ames Plaza West, Bloomington. Summer gallery hours are Friday through Monday 12 noon to 3 p. m. The galleries will be closed July 4-5. Admission to the galleries is free. Aron, OBrien Awarded Luis Leal Scholarships Kaitlyn O'Brien '19 Rachel Aron 16 June 1, 2016 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Two Hispanic Studies majors at Illinois Wesleyan University have been awarded Luis Leal Endowed Scholarships. Rachel Aron 16 (Mt. Prospect, Ill.), who is also majoring in biology, and Kaitlyn OBrien 19 (Glenview, Ill.), who is also majoring in secondary education, will receive the scholarship to carry out Hispanic Studies research off-campus while enrolled in an IWU-affiliated program. Named for the Mexican-American writer and literary critic, Leal (1907-2010) was a pioneer in the field of Latin American and Chicano literature. He was the author of more than 40 books and more than 400 articles. OBrien will study abroad in Santiago, Chile in the spring of 2017. I plan to conduct an independent study on Spanish literature and its connection to both Chilean society and education system, said OBrien. I hope to gain a new perspective on how people in Chile value education and how certain cultural factors shape their values. At Illinois Wesleyan OBrien is a teachers assistant for the IWU Language School for Kids. She is also a Language Resource Center monitor and member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and Alpha Lambda Delta honor society for first-year students. This summer she will also serve as a Titan Orientation Leader. After graduation from Illinois Wesleyan OBrien plans to teach high school Spanish. Mobile, AL As Invokana lawsuits continue to be filed in both the United States and Canada, pundits continue to wonder if the inmates are running the insane asylum given the reality that two years after approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came reports of As Invokana lawsuits continue to be filed in both the United States and Canada, pundits continue to wonder if the inmates are running the insane asylum given the reality that two years after approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came reports of Invokana Linked with Cardiovascular Injuries and Kidney Failure , as were other drugs in its class. Specifically, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially fatal health issue associated with Invokana and all SGLT2 inhibitors. While lawsuits allege that Invokana manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Janssen), an arm of Big Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson, knew about this potential for serious Invokana side effects but did nothing to alert consumers or the health care industry, critics remain aghast as to how the sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor and others in its class managed to squeeze through the approval process in the first place.Were there clinical trials? If so, were they long enough? If no clinical trials were conducted, why did the FDA approve the drug in the first place? It remains, for health care advocates, a glaring example of continuing trouble in the nations health care industry that the federal regulator responsible for ensuring pharmaceuticals have a reasonable modicum of safety and efficacy is reduced to mandating product label warnings about a potentially fatal condition just two years after approving Invokana.The class of type 2 diabetes drugs to which Invokana belongs was thought to be a promising breakthrough in controlling glucose and blood sugar levels by preventing the reabsorption of glucose into the bloodstream. The FDA subsequently approved Invokana in 2013 with no reference to DKA beyond other Invokana adverse events. Every pharmaceutical carries side effects. It remains the job of the FDA to decide whether or not a new, or updated drug is safe enough for the intended patients by determining if the benefits outweigh the risks.Two years after approving Invokana, the FDA was back in December of last year with a mandate to manufacturers of all SGLT2 inhibitors to have warnings added with regard to a risk for urinary tract infection and DKA.In rare cases, DKA can cause a patient to lapse into a coma. It can even cause death.Not surprisingly, lawsuits have been on the rise ever since. One lawsuit filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama is representative of many lawsuits filed thus far. Plaintiff Luana Collie alleges that Janssen knew of the significant risk of diabetic ketoacidosis caused by ingestion of Invokana, but failed to warn consumers and doctors about the severity of the risks.Collie filed her lawsuit in December of last year, the same month that the FDA released its warning and its mandate to manufacturers to update product labels. Collie claims in her lawsuit that she began using Invokana the previous December, in 2014 - about a year after it was approved - and quickly developed DKA. While accusing Janssen of harboring knowledge about the serious Invokana side effects, Collie also asserts in her lawsuit that Janssen promoted Invokana off label as a treatment for type 1 diabetes.Her lawsuit asserts the FDA only approved Invokana for type 2 diabetes, not type 1. While doctors and qualified health care professionals have the authority to supersede FDA restrictions and prescribe a drug off label based on their medical knowledge and training, it is illegal for a manufacturer to actively promote a drug to doctors or consumers for uses not approved by the FDA. Collies lawsuit (Case No. 1:2015-cv-00636, US District Court, Southern District of Alabama) makes that assertion.A separate lawsuit filed in Philadelphia asserts Invokana triggered DKA after only three months of using Invokana (canagliflozin). 6:06pm: The Dodgers have now announced that Guerrero has indeed been designated for assignment. 2:44pm: The Dodgers are expected to designate utilityman Alex Guerrero for assignment, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group (via Twitter), though the transaction remains unannounced. Guerreros rehab assignment for a knee injury is set to wrap up today, forcing the team to make a decision on his roster status. Los Angeles has long been in a tight spot with the 29-year-old, whose international free agent contract allows him to reject an optional assignment. Plus, if hes traded, Guerrero would be able to elect free agency in the winter following the deal, which limits his future control rights for potential trade partners. There doesnt appear to be much of a fit for Guerrero on the present L.A. roster. While he has seen MLB action in the corner outfield and third base, and spent most of his career in Cuba in the middle infield, hes generally regarded as a subpar fielder. And the Dodgers already have plenty of versatile options settled in at those positions. Guerrero has shown promise at times with the bat, though he faded after a hot start last year and ended up with a .233/.261/.434 slash and 11 home runs in 230 plate appearances. And he hasnt helped himself with his recent performance. After tearing up the minors in his first trip through the system, Guerrero owns a meager .136/.162/.197 batting line in his 68 plate appearances on his rehab stint this season. With little in the way of future value, not much of a track record, a lack of a clear defensive position, and a relatively hefty $5MM salary, its not difficult to see why other organizations havent jumped at the chance to add Guerrero. Ultimately, it seems that the Dodgers will have little to show for the $28MM they guaranteed him back in October of 2013. The club has also struck out thus far on Erisbel Arruebarrena, a fellow Cuban signed just months later to a $25MM deal. Of course, the Dodgers have been far more successful with several other large international expenditures. - The BBC has reported that 15 businessmen from the northern part of Nigeria were killed in the recent clash between IPOB and security agents - MASSOB however denied that businessmen were killed IPOB members at a rally The British Broadcasting Service (BBC) has reported that about 15 northern Nigerian businessmen lost their lives in the They were said to have been killed on Monday in Onitsha, Anambra a commercial city in the eastern part of the country where security officials clashed with protesting members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Quoting a leading business representative Alhaji AbdulHamid Mohammed as confirming the incident, the report however said members of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) denied that businessmen were killed. Instead, MASSOB reportedly accused the police of shooting and killing 30 of its members and wounding 40 others. President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier received South East Group for Change led by Senator Ken Nnamani in State house on May 31, 2016 where it is believed that issues relating to the clash were discussed. READ ALSO: Police, according to the report, confirmed the deaths of 10 protesters and two police officers in the incident which occurred while the agitators were marking the anniversary of the 1967 declaration of the republic of Biafra. Meanwhile, MASSOB has secured the release of 88 of its members who were arrested by the Ebonyi state police command in Abakaliki during this years Biafra day celebration. Source: Legit.ng Visitors watch different sized industrial robots by KUKA at the Hanover Messe in Hanover, Germany, April 8, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo By Gernot Heller and Georgina Prodhan BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Tuesday he would welcome an alternative offer for industrial robot maker Kuka (KU2G.DE) following Chinese home appliance maker Midea Group Co Ltd's 4.5 billion euro (3.4 billion) takeover bid. Kuka is the latest and biggest German industrial technology group to be targeted by a Chinese buyer as the world's second-largest economy makes the transition from a low-cost manufacturer into a high-tech industrial hub. Government sources have said Berlin will examine how critical Kuka's technology is for the digitisation of industry, an economic priority for Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. "Of course I would view it as appropriate if there were at least an alternative offer from Germany or Europe," Gabriel said at an economic conference, describing China's interest in German technology companies as "not worrying, but noticeable". Citing government and industry sources, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung said on Wednesday that Gabriel wants to forge an alliance of German or Europe firms to prevent a sale to the Chinese company. Gabriel has approached several companies in recent days, including German carmakers, to see if they would be interested, the paper said, adding it remained unclear who would lead such a consortium. German industrial group Siemens (SIEGn.DE) had considered a counterbid for Kuka, but quickly dismissed the idea as too expensive, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The ruling coalition of Merkel's conservatives and Gabriel's Social Democrats (SPD) is loath to meddle in takeovers and Berlin has indicated it will not intervene to stop the transfer of Kuka and its technology to Chinese ownership. Gabriel said ministers in Germany's cabinet had not addressed the bid, but he had discussed it with Merkel's office. "The possibilities we have are basically limited to words," he said, adding: "Of course you can imagine that we have had a number of conversations in the last few days and weeks to support any such possibilities," he said without elaborating. Story continues Asked about the desirability of keeping Kuka European, the company's chief marketing officer and supervisory board member Wilfried Eberhardt said his priority was to safeguard jobs and, in the best case, to create new ones. "There's no simple answer there as to what the right option is," he told a Frankfurt conference on the future of work. "Of course know-how is important for jobs. On the other hand, markets are important for jobs," he said, noting that China is the world's biggest market for industrial robots. "I'm sure that Kuka's management will make a sensible decision," added Eberhardt, who is an employee representative on the supervisory board. Gabriel's emphasis on the benefits of keeping knowledge in Germany chimed with remarks by Germany's European Union Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, who called on majority shareholders to consider alternatives to Midea's bid. Kuka was of strategic importance to Germany, he said. "Since there was no cry for help to China, we should be allowed to think about whether a European approach wouldn't be the better solution for Kuka," Oettinger told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Industrial chiefs have urged that rules of free movement of capital must prevail in Europe and also in China. BDI industry association chief Ulrich Grillo told the economic conference it was a good sign if China wanted to buy something in Germany, but Beijing must give German companies equal opportunities in its country. (Writing by Madeline Chambers; editing by David Holmes and G Crosse) I'm not so sure Apple is moving to 3-year iPhone cycle: Analyst RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani on Tuesday cast some doubt on a report that says Apple (: AAPL) will take longer to roll out substantial iPhone updates. On Tuesday, Nikkei Asian Review reported the tech giant plans to release full-model upgrades once every three years, extending the current two-year cycle. Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. That report points to a number of items that have been validated by numerous sources, Daryanani said. Those include that the coming iPhone 7 will have the same form factor as the previous model, and any updates will be largely incremental. "From that perspective I would say they have a lot of the right data points. I'm just not sure if Apple is truly going to a conscious three-year cycle as you go forward though," he told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." In RBC's view, the iPhone 7 can generate low-single-digit revenue growth, which could help shares of Apple grind higher to $120 to $130 a share. The stock is down 5 percent to around $100 a share this year. Asked whether the Nikkei report suggests Apple is targeting the low end of the market, Daryanani said that has already been confirmed by the company's release of the iPhone SE, a 4-inch model that retails for less than the large-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. But based on available data, RBC believes Apple will launch an iPhone 7 "pro" model to tap into demand for high-end handsets, Daryanani said. Disclosure: RBC Capital Markets makes a market in the securities of Apple. More From CNBC Speaker Mudashiru Obasa of the Lagos state House of assembly has emerged the 'most outstanding speaker' in Nigeria in a one-year period starting from June 2015 when the House was inaugurated. Speaker Mudashiru Obasa The award was handed over to him by the City People Media Group which annually organises awards for segments of the Nigerian society. Obasa came top out of the 36 speakers assessed for the award. READ ALSO: Sheriff remains our chairman, legislator declares Excited lawmakers at plenary took turns to eulogise Obasa for effectively running the affairs of the assembly since last year. Chairman, committee on information of the House, Tunde Braimoh, while briefing on the award, told the speaker: I congratulate you for the well-deserved honour. I wish you better health and peace of mind as you lead us through these legislative duties." Contributing, the majority leader, Sanai Agunbiade, said: It is encouraging when one is being recognised for hard work and diligence. READ ALSO: Obasa says Nigeria on part to recovery "I commend my colleagues for their support and teamwork in ensuring Lagos state is moving forward. "Congratulations for the well-deserved award and for continuously watering us, your seeds, seedling and those of us that are the big Iroko trees." In his response, Obasa commended and appreciated his colleagues for their support while dedicating the award to them, the management of the Assembly and staff. "As stated in my inaugural speech, we will always do those things that will bring economic growth to our people and Lagos state. "I also commend and appreciate my colleagues because you have been loyal, faithful and closed your eyes to my shortcomings; that is why we are able to receive this award," he said. READ ALSO: Nigeria is a demolished house - Legislator Meanwhile, the assembly has called on relevant agencies of the government to address the acute water supply to parts of the state as well as issues that could cause flooding in the state. The House asked the state ministries of Environment and Information to immediately commence sensitisation of the residents on keeping their environment clean. The call followed a motion moved by Segun Olulade, the chairman, committee on health services over the ravaging of Poka and Imokin villages in Eredo, Epe area of the state by flood. The lawmakers also urged the ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to ensure that all building constructions comply with approved designs. Meanwhile, the House is expecting top traditional rulers in the western part of Nigeria to grace a one-day stakeholders meeting aimed at making the teaching of Yoruba language compulsory in all public and private schools in Lagos. The event will hold on Thursday 2, June, 2016. Source: Legit.ng DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's doubling of oil exports has had no negative effect on the market, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday before flying to Vienna to attend an OPEC meeting, the ministry's news agency SHANA reported. "Iran's oil exports have been doubled, in between OPEC's 168th and 169th meetings. This increase has had no negative effect on the market and has been absorbed in the market," Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Editing by William Maclean) - Tuta absoluta, aka the tomato leafminer, is ravaging tomato farms in the north-east, north-west and central regions of Nigeria - The larvae attack the leaves of the tomato plant by feeding on them voraciously - The 'Tomato Ebola' has the ability to wipe out a farm within days - It has caused a colossal shortage in supply, with consequently sky-rocketing prices, increasing by at least five-fold Just when the nations tomato farmers were beginning to reap the rewards of the government's stopping of the importation of substandard tomato produce, which was costing Nigeria N80bn annually, there comes a plague that is threatening to wipe out tomato farms. Its devastating effects have prompted Nigerias and Africas wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, to suspend production at his recently built tomato processing plant in northern Kano state because of a lack of tomatoes. The culprit is a moth with the biological name tuta absoluta, aka the tomato leafminer, but now generally referred to as the Tomato Ebola, reflecting its destructive power in comparison to the dreaded Ebola virus. Tomato Ebola Tuta absoluta is a grey-brown species of moth that is about 7mm long, with the ability to wipe out a farm within days. A female pest can produce up to 260 eggs in 21 days. This reproductive capability, coupled with a lack of expertise concerning its control, were the reasons for its spread and the scale of the devastation. The tomato is the main host plant, but tuta absoluta also attacks other crop plants, including potato and pepper plants. Eight to ten generations can occur in a single year if the conditions are favourable. Devastation The larva attacks the leaves of the tomato plant by feeding on it voraciously, producing large galleries in leaves, and consuming green and ripe fruits, consequently causing up to 100% loss in yield in some farms. READ ALSO: Delta will never become part of Biafra - SSG All the available and usual pesticides have been applied to no avail, as the larvae have developed resistance to them, reviving themselves about three hours after being sprayed with pesticides. Eighty per cent of Nigeria's tomato production has been hit by the plague, which has become widespread and now affects production in six states: Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Plateau, Kaduna and Lagos. Hundreds of hectares of tomato farms have been ravaged, resulting in a scarcity, thereby sky-rocketing the prices in the market. The cost of tomatoes has increased at least five-fold, or 500%, with no sign of slowing down. The current crisis is a huge blow for Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari who has been urging the nation to return to agriculture to minimise the economys dependency on petroleum, which is now causing suffering due to the huge decrease in the crude oil market price. Global spread The moth was first identified as a tomato pest in 1927, when it was prevalent in many South American countries. It was first identified in Spain in 2006, before its detection in France, Italy, Greece, Malta, Morocco, Libya and Algeria. It continued its voracious appetite by infecting the Middle Eastern states of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. It further advanced to Africa, from Egypt to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Senegal, before being reported here in Nigeria. A larvae feeding off a tomato READ ALSO: Boko Haram members surrender in scores, army rescues 157 Control Nigeria needs to reach out to other countries previously affected in order to curb the destructive spread of this resistant moth. Newer compounds were used to control European outbreaks, so we need to seek the assistance and expertise of our European, South American and African partners. Tomatoes are a staple in many of our dishes, hence the public outcry over the scarcity and the soaring cost. All hands must be on deck to curb the pest's spread. However, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, He said: Fortunately, an agency of the ministry has developed a pesticide agent that is very effective against the new tomato pest called tuta absoluta. A tomato infected with the tomato Ebola He expressed further confidence in the pesticide, adding:The pest ravaging tomato farms is of great concern to the nation, and this had led to an agency of the ministry to develop a pesticide which is very effective against the new tomato pest. Government reactions The current crisis prompted the governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to declare a "tomato state of emergency." Kaduna state's commissioner of agriculture, Maigari Daniel Manzo, stated at a recent news conference that 80 per cent of tomato farms have been ravaged by the pest. He further said that over 200 tomato farmers in three out of 12 tomato-producing local government areas of the state were affected by the plague, costing farmers about N1 billion worth of tomatoes in the last month. Maigari said: You spray it; after about three hours it comes back to life. Nigerias federal agriculture minister, Audu Ogbeh, warned that the pest, which can also attack pepper and potato plants, poses a threat to national food security. So we are confronting something quite serious. But the good thing is that we are tackling it right now as experts will commence work immediately. We are bringing the commissioners and governors of states to jointly attack the pest, which, if not dealt with, will create serious problems for food security in our country, he said. Source: Legit.ng Carrie Fishers had a pretty big year, what with the whole returning as Leia in the new Star Wars movie and everything. You can tell that Force to go back to sleep, though: her years about to peak with a very special honor at this years Just For Laughs comedy festival in July. Fisher will be hosting a big Videotron Gala this year, one of the festivals signature events, on Sunday July 31. The show, sponsored by Air Canada, will feature a number of the best stand-up comedians in the world today, with Fisher as host. As always, it will be filmed for television, and like all of Just For Laughs Galas, the show will be held at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Place Des Arts. As Just For Laughs press release points out, Fisher isnt just a sci-fi princess. Shes a legitimate pop culture icon and an award-winning novelist, whose semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge was turned into an Oscar-nominated film. She also has a pretty awesome dog. The line-up of comedians for the Carrie Fisher Comedy Gala hasnt been announced yet, but every comic on the bill will no doubt be ecstatic to meet Fisher (and her dog). Just For Laughs is the largest comedy festival in the world. It runs in Montreal every July, and basically takes over the city the last week of that month with comedy shows at almost every available venue. Paste will update you with more info on this and other Just For Laughs show as we learn more in the coming weeks. Define Frenzy is a series of weekly essays for Pride Month attempting to explore new queer readings or underseen queer films as a way to show the expansiveness of what queerness can be on screen. Donning an infamous black bob cut, Louise Brooks Lulu is chameleonic. She shape-shifts from one archetype to the next, clothed in anything from a white wedding dress to a black veil. She causes frenzied reactions from everyone. She appears on paper and ink drawings, in court rooms and in bedrooms, every one of her actions ambiguous in their motivations. Her relationships, sexual and romantic, balk at usual human logic. Though the men (and sometimes women) in her life are inclined to box her in and define her, Lulu is queer in the most modern sense of the word: She defies categorization, she rejects labels. She is queerin a broad, fluid, somewhat esoteric sense. Released in 1929 in the midst of the success of Weimar Germanys film industry, Georg Wilhelm Pabsts silent melodrama surveys the rise and fall of dancer, prostitute and seductress Lulu as she wreaks havoc around her, particularly spelling doom for the men in her life. The film, along with Pabsts Diary of a Lost Girl (also 1929), would catapult the then unknown American actress Louise Brooks to stardom and solidify her as an icon of silent film. Its place within Weimar Cinema is almost part of the film itself: It is a portrait of decadence and downfall, of the other side of hedonism. While much of Weimar Cinema manifested itself via German Expressionism, like F.W. Murnaus Nosferatu (1927) and Fritz Langs Metropolis (1927), Pabst made realist melodramas, known as street films, an approach that would inform Pandoras Box. We often understand queer rigidly, as pertaining to LGBTQ people, or even more conservatively, to gay people. But as queer studies explored and expanded upon ideas, many set forth by such writers as Michel Foucault, of what sexuality and identity mean, today that word has become more expansive, even ideologically inclined. So, Pandoras Box does technically include an LGBTQ character, but her queerness is not limited to her attraction to/relationship with both men and women. Her queerness is her defiance of a culture and society inclined to see her as the Other. Hers is a body of transcendence. The easiest exercise to perform while watching GW Pabsts Pandoras Box is to attempt to deconstruct Brookss character, to analyze to what degree she is worthy of our sympathy, empathy, disdain and disgust. But such analyses rely on a kind of categorization that forces Lulu, and perhaps by extension Brooks, into double binds. She is the temptress sex worker serving Schigolch (Carl Goetz), implicitly asking for trouble by her very line of work. Later, she invokes empathy from Jack the Ripper, only to be murdered by him, both justifying, paradoxically, the prudish beliefs of the viewer in the most Hollywood-ish manner possible (despite this being a film from the Weimar Cinema) and engendering real sympathy from the audience at large. How can both be true? She wears black silk in the court room, her face shaped perfectly by her coifed hair, and testifies like the Black Widow on the stand, tried for manslaughter in the death of Schon (Francis Lederer), her late one-day-old husband. Lulu plays the audience in multiple ways: In a scene where Lulu could so simply be reduced to easily defined archetypes, she eschews them one by one, sometimes subverting the very conventions that she is ostensibly intended to live within. This includes her relationships, as her feelings towards monogamy seem to be more ambivalent. There is palpable chemistry between Lulu and Countess Augusta Geschwitz (Alice Roberts), an eroticism that is only displayed but never exploited. Geschwitz is chic, not unlike Lulu herself, and their understanding of the illusory appeal of surfaces is undoubtedly a crucial aspect of their dynamic, one Pabst carefully illustrates, further articulating this idea of non-categorization. Geschwitz hands Lulu sketches for a dressconstructed identities on their ownand vies for an intimate connection with her friend, who grants Geschwitz this to some degree. Though one could read Lulus confirmation of Geschwitzs advances as using the relationship to her advantage, the looks and glances the two give one another imply a mutual understanding of how they are to navigate their attraction. Even as Lulu is involved with other relationships (with men), she continues to resist the rigidity of normative frameworks that mean to box her in. What Pandoras Box ultimately does is deconstruct the archetypes that the people around Lulu, or watching Lulu, are inclined to say she is. Shes Femme Fatale, Black Widow, Madonna and Whorebut shes also none of these things. Theres an explicit rejection of these ideas, or at the very least an attempt to reject them: The ways in which Lulu reacts to all of these suggestions and implications is often violent, if not physically, then verbally. Still, Lulus understanding of her own femininity, masculinity, androgyny and gender has been formed within the confines of patriarchal standards. It is not Woman who defines who she is, but rather Man who has come to define Woman. In essence, Pandoras Box is about the Other becoming the Subject, and the discordance in adjustment to that idea. As Simone de Beauvoir writes in The Second Sex, She is determined and differentiated in relation to man, while he is not in relation to her; she is the inessential in front of the essential. He is the Subject; he is the Absolute. She is the Other. Given that so many narratives place female and/or queer characters as the Other, Pandoras Box, then, is a kind of reclamation of that Other status, and of the power of it, within a pulpy, melodramatic context. The Other often lacks autonomy and agency, but because Lulu does have that power and agency, the world around her splits and shatters. Against the odds and structures that try to claim Lulu, Pandoras Box gives the definition of the Self (and female selfhood) to its female protagonistnot examining the consequences of that, but the fear of what could happen from the perspective of someone of a normative identity. That Lulu is often defined, by the other characters in the film and by audiences alike, as a kind of harbinger of doom is less a reality and more the manifestation of a fear that takes hold when so-called femme fatales are truly given an autonomy that they have rarely been granted before. It manifests in a kind of absurdity that sprawls on for more than two hours, a grueling test to see to what extent its audience will come to respect its protagonist, or at least fear her. In every way, Lulu does not really care if you fear or respect her. Her development in relation to the men that try to define her is an imperative part of that evolution, which again suggests a kind of double bind: She can either be without men in her life and be discarded as unimportant, or live with them and be only defined in relation to them. As writer Shon Faye puts it, Queer [as a slur] is about what you are told you are, whether you are abnormal or you simply do not recognize yourself in the narrativized normal that society tells you about. Pandoras Box is the cinematic articulation of what that means and what that looks like. Lulus role to men, then, becomes multifaceted: Her identity is something to be defined and used but also to be othered. The prosecutor sending Lulu to prison declares dourly, The Greek gods created a womanPandora. She was beautiful and charming and versed in the art of flattery. But the gods also gave her a box containing all the evils of the world. The heedless woman opened the box, and all evil was loosed upon us. Here, Lulu is both used and abused. Her retribution? She escapes. Lulu never explicitly defines herself as anything, verbally or otherwise, and though she constructs her identity aesthetically as feminine, she places no labels upon herself. In many ways, Lulu uses these labels as advantageously as possible, as a way to exploit the very patriarchal standards she must be defined by in the first place. At other times, she resists: She escapes from the trial in an effort to recontextulize her identity elsewhere; she works at a brothel, and is blackmailed. That Pabsts film narratively takes a turn for the worse doesnt mean hes upholding the normative values that seem to have engendered Lulus resistance in the first place; it means hes critiquing them. Not only are we supposed to sympathize with Lulus situation, but were supposed to understand: To consider Woman as something only in relation to Man is to spell doom. Faye affirmed, Queer is about the entire process of rejecting labeling itself. Queer is not an identity, it is riposte to identity. Though Lulu looks back at herself in many mirrors, and furthermore, looks at images taken, and thus perceived/conceived by others, she does not identify herself or label herself using the language of the men that do. She opts out of that as much as she can. French theorist Guy Hocquengh wrote on queerness in Screwball Asses saying, Since we are not homosexuals in any elementary way, it is time to stop proudly shouting our shame. You are homosexuals is what we should be shouting to all, even if we must become hysterical in the process. Everyone wants to reduce Lulu to some iteration of hysterical, which is, to the norm, dangerous. It should be noted that hysteria was once a common diagnosis in women to explain the most basic of actual illnesses and maladies, such as depression, insomnia, and loss of food or sexual appetite. Lulu turns the tables on this notion. Faye, again, succinctly defines what queer can be, which feels relevant to Lulus character: Queer is about removing labels and replacing them with a question. It is a side eye and a challenge back to mainstream politics. It says, I dont know the answer, but why are you asking the question? To what degree Lulu, or Louise Brooks, would agree with this designation of being queer, one cannot be surebut does that matter? Elizabeth Warren is seen by many as the heart of the Democratic Party. She bridges the gap between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton supporters. Both sides have sought her endorsement and have large factions within them that want her as the Vice-President. Given the rise of the Bernie Or Bust Movement, Clinton and her allies are looking to Warren as a means of delivering progressive votes in November. However, not even Elizabeth Warren can save the Democratic Party should Clinton win the nomination, and any attempt by her to do so will be seen as betrayal in the eyes of progressives who were already let down when she did not endorse Bernie Sanders. Lately, Warren has been engaging all-but-certain GOP nominee Donald Trump on Twitter rather than weighing in on the issues dividing Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. This has led many to question if she is coordinating with Clintons campaign now that the primary is winding down. Though the campaign denies such coordination, many of Sanders followers have been angered by the Massachusetts Senators actions, feeling theyre premature. It seems clear that Warrens Twitter arguments are an effort to unite the party. There is a general attitude among Democratic Party leaders (and many in the media) that Donald Trump is electoral poison, and no matter how much people dont like or trust Hillary Clinton, the prospect of The Donald in the White House is so frightening it will bring Democrats together. But this analysis completely misses why Trump (and Bernie) are so popular, and underestimates exactly how discontented people are. In 1824 populist and political outsider for his time, Andrew Jackson, was denied the White House when Speaker of the House, and presidential candidate Henry Clay threw his support to John Quincy Adams, and was later appointed as Secretary of State. Jackson denounced the result as a corrupt bargain. His supporters vehemently agreed, and much to the horror of the political establishment Adams represented, which feared populism as a form of mob rule, and believed the best and brightest should lead, Jackson went on to win in 1828. Similarly, 40 years later, following the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, and during Reconstruction, another outsider candidate, former Union General Ulysses S. Grant, won. His presidency was met with derision from the establishment. Henry Adams, the grandson of John Quincy Adams and great-grandson of John Adams, derided Grant as stupid and incompetent. Unlike Adams, he had no pedigree; he was a soldier, not the Harvard-educated heir to a political dynasty. Adams believed the election of the popular Union general was the culmination of years of decay in our system that began with the election of Jackson. He blamed Grant for dashing his aspirations to influence American politics, and restore his familys sensibilities to the political discourse. It is hard to look at 2016 and not hear echoes of this history but not in so far as Trump will bring about another Trail of Tears (he wouldnt be able to even if he tried) or corruption on par with that of Grants administration. No, the comparison is this: Americans are unhappy, the political establishment is complacent, and populism is on the rise. Economic and political inequality are replacing social issues as the lens through which we define left/right politics. On both sides of the aisle, Americans are fed up with the inequity that has come to define our system which favors wealth and power over popular mandate. After roughly four decades of middle class decline and stagnation while more and more of the total income goes to the top one percent, Americans want change. They are rejecting the current political establishment on both sides of the aisle. With Democratic Party about to saddle itself with a Hillary Clinton nomination after a highly controversial primary many feel has been a corrupt bargain from the outset, fracture in November seems inevitable. Further complicating matters, the party leadership has been lukewarm in its welcoming of Sanders and his supporters. DNC officials recently rejected a request from Bernie Sanders to oust two Convention committee members who are surrogates for Hillary Clinton. Whats more, the DNC Chair and Clinton ally, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who seemingly designed the debate schedule to minimize exposure, thereby limiting scrutiny against the former Secretary of State while hurting her lesser-known competition, gets to appoint four members to the Platform Committee on top of Clintons six. Sanders is only allowed five. Sanders supporters see the 2016 election as a revolt against systemic corruption, and view the current establishment and Hillary Clinton as a part of that corruption. Trump, for all his faults, and in spite of the fact that he is all over the place releasing a policy platform in line with the current Republican party, but adopting populist rhetoric, hinting at a swing to left for the general election is not a member of the status quo establishment. Many people, Democrats and Republicans alike, are mad enough to take a chance on change even if that chance simply means shaking the current establishment to its core to remind them what democracy looks like. People are desperate. Clintons fundraising team is already finding that small donors are not stepping up in a way that they expected in light of the possibility of a Trump presidency. For her part, Elizabeth Warren cannot bring Sanders supporters and the current establishment together. She cannot erase the history that has led to this moment. All the Massachusetts Senator can do is alienate her own supporters by attempting to do so, and carrying water for the establishment. But the biggest hurdle to unity which Warren will not be able to overcome is Hillary Clinton herself. Not only is she unable undo the parts of the former Secretarys record that bother progressives, or unravel her connections to special interests and big money, she cannot ease concerns over Clintons honesty. According to Gallup, most Americans associate the former Secretary with the word dishonest. That is unlikely to change as new developments come out about her use of a private email server during her tenure at the State Department. The Inspector Generals recent report that found Clinton violated the Federal Records Act, and acted without permission, to which her team responded by saying she just isnt adept with using a desktop computer to check her email, only reinforced that this issue isnt going anywhere. Andrea Mitchell said on MSNBC that the news completely undercuts the argument she has been trying to make for more than a year. On top of the email scandal and breaking protocol, Clinton also flouts federal election laws by coordinating with various super PACs. While she is by no means the only politician in Washington who engages in this behavior due to a string of damaging court decisions and political pressure, the FEC has effectively lost its ability to regulate these kinds of violations she is the only presidential candidate doing so. It seems fairly clear, given her actions, that Sen. Elizabeth Warren will attempt to be peacemaker at the Philadelphia convention and beyond. These efforts will only undermine the progressive Massachusetts Senator in the eyes of progressives though it is doubtful this damage will be permanent. However, it is probably still not worth the risk and taking that risk sends a message. Since the global economy crashed in 2009, many countries have had ups, downs and plateaus when it comes to regrowth. While many countries have rebounded, Greece has been unable to find its way out of the hole. The crisis continues, and with 20 percent unemployment and 27 percent of the population living below the poverty line, there is a bleak outlook on the future. On top of a volatile economic and political situation, Greece has been inundated with political refugees. Greece is a sharing culture, and for the most part, even those who have very little themselves are doing their best to help the refugees. But all those ingredients put together make a poor recipe with many people in Greece not having enough to eat. Fortunately, there are organizations of people who care and are organized enough to make a difference. One of these having a huge effect is Boroume, which translates to we can. The organization works throughout Greece to redistribute surplus food that would otherwise be wasted. Paste chatted with Nick Politakis, a Greek-American representative at a Baltimore law firm who has retired to the Vouliagmeni area of Athens. To have the most effect, either staff or volunteers are available either by phone or email around the clock to help place food. Boroume is made up of 90 percent volunteers, and Politakis volunteers there three days a week. The group connects surplus food to anyone who has a need, whether they are citizens, immigrants or refugees. Boroume has a computerized program where donors of food companies, individuals, hotels, restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets call or email saying what they have available, and Boroume matches them with a charity that is nearby or has a need for that type of food. They put the donor and charity in contact, and the food is placed. Boroume started in 2011, and became fully operational in 2012. Since then, it has saved close to 6 million portions of food. While the organization is based in Athens, Boroumes net of support stretches far. Through its database of over 1,100 charities and municipal services, it is able to connect donors to charities from Northern Greece, west to the Peloponese, and even all the way to the eastern island of Rhodes. Politakis tells how many people who once didnt have an issue feeding their families are now struggling to put food on the table, Soup kitchens in Greece originally were set up by the church to help the elderly that didnt have family members to prepare them a meal. Since the crisis started, people losing their jobs havent been able to get the food they need to feed their family. At first, they were too proud to go to soup kitchens, but it came to a point where they had to put pride aside and go to the soup kitchen. The way Boroume helps here is in providing food for the soup kitchens to prepare. Boroume is an umbrella that houses many efforts, and raising environmental awareness is also one of the organizations goals. Politakis explains that, Not only are there people in need that could use this food, but theres the environmental issue of all this food that is being wasted, and youre also wasting the land that helped produce it, the water, all the other resources that go into the production of food. Through Boroume at School, it also finds a place in educating the next generation. We teach kids in Greece at an early age about food waste and also about volunteerism. Volunteerism hadnt been a big thing in Greece up until the crisis. Now, people are more in tune that there are a lot of needy people. They want to let kids know that this is something good for society to function better.Beyond receiving donations and working with food businesses for surplus food, Boroume works with farms through Boroume Gleaning. Farms have produce that they cant sell, and call Boroume for volunteers to head out to the farms and pick the fruit and vegetables that wont go to market. I participated in a few pear picking, orange picking and we gave them to charities in the area where we picked the fruit. The most recent one I did was oranges and they went to a home for the elderly in Corinth.Connected to the farms are the farmers markets. Greece has a very strong farmers market tradition, with one taking place every week of every season in every area. Many of the farmers wont sell the fruit after the farmers market, and Boroume volunteers will go and collect it for redistribution. On top of this, Boroume also takes food donations from individuals looking to help. Boroumes efforts have not gone unnoticed. Saving Food, a European Union program which began in January, has chosen seven organizations throughout Europe to collaborate on a pilot program for redistributing surplus food. Boroume is one of those seven. While Greece continues to struggle, Politakis sees hope for Greeces future, after the national debt is paid and the country can move past this moment in their history. Entrepreneurial Greeks are working hard on the export end. The group, New Wines of Greece, banded the boutique wineries together when the economy went south to bring their wine not just to locals but to the world. Greek olives have also seen a growth in sales. For those who dont live in Greece but want to support the valiant efforts of Boroume, they can donate online and those residing in the US can receive a tax deduction. Another way is to buy the upcoming cookbook A Taste of Greece, written by Her Royal Highness, Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark. Many famous names from Ariana Huffington to Nobu Matsuhisa have contributed to the book. The majority of the work on the book was done pro-bono, and all the proceeds from its sale will go to Boroume to support its continued work. To keep up with Boroumes efforts, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube. Madina Papadopoulos is a New York-based freelance writer, author, and regular contributor to Paste. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and Twitter. In the video above, in which Donald Trump calls an ABC News reporters a sleaze and then invites a veteran of the Marine Corps to come to the podium and insult the liberal media, is the latest and most definitive signal that he intends to conduct an all-out assault on any and all media outlets who provide him with even the hint of negative coverage. As The Hill reports, the event quickly devolved into a tense exchange of insults: Some of the reporters accused the businessman of being thin-skinned and said he is seeking to avoid the scrutiny that comes with running for president. Trump responded in kind, calling a male CNN anchor a beauty, referring to an ABC News reporter in the audience as a sleaze and vowing to take his war against the press to the White House if hes elected. Im going to continue to attack the press, Trump said as the event drew to a close. I find the press to be dishonest. I find the political press to be extremely dishonest. In February, Trump announced his intention to open up libel laws, which would be the single most effective way to erode or at least curb the freedom of the press in America by making news outlets vulnerable to lawsuits. Still, for a candidate who has benefited from extensive media coverage more than any in American history, it was hard to know whether this was just grandstanding, and whether deep down he understood the symbiotic nature of his relationship with the press. That no longer seems to be in questionas Trumps pressers become more and more antagonistic, its clear that hes exactly the kind of candidate who would take measures to limit media freedom. And he knows hes on solid footingif you interviewed 3,000 Trump supporters, its hard to imagine even one having a positive outlook on the press. But this is an issue that transcends party lines, and its not like moderates or liberals are out there gushing about how much they love the media. Progressives, especially, have spent a large part of the primary campaign railing against corporate influence in the media, which inevitably ignores leftist movements in favor of the political center. All in all, this is not a great time to be a journalist in America. The job market is worse than ever before, and even if you make it, youre likely to be despised by a majority of the public. The GOP is currently divided into two houses, hypothetically alike in dignity: The Republicans spearheading the Stop Trump movement vs. the former Trump adversaries turned Trump followers. Although the Republicans that lambast Trump might argue that there is no room in their party for a candidate so hateful, racist, and misogynistic, their party has actually been priming its audience for the ascendance of a Trump-like character for some time. In this context, its easy to blame Republicans for allowing and even encouraging the rise of such a candidateone which both citizens of the the United States and the entire world have been shocked and disgusted to witness. Its also easy to blame Donald Trump for using his hateful rhetoric to inspire angry and frustrated people often into violent action. However, blaming Donald Trump for the groundswell of support he has garnered is misguided and detrimentaland frankly naive. Do Trumps hate-filled talking points inspire his audience? Sure. Is he charismatic? Maybe. Did he swoop in out of nowhere and hypnotize millions of people into casting their ballot for him? No. The conditions for creating an audience susceptible to Trumps demagogue tactics have been created and exacerbated by the very politicians who censure Donald Trump. Trumps supporters tend to have old economy jobs, and are often poor or unemployed. Government policies have been the driving factors for the precarious financial situation of many of these individuals. Free-trade deals sent manufacturing abroad, massive Republican-supported subsidized farms have decreased the viability of small-scale farmers, and the financial crisis of 2008 left many, especially those in construction, unemployed. These Americans have been left behind; they are justifiably angry and frustrated. Another one of the biggest indicators of whether or not a voter will support Trump is how likely they are to agree with the statement people like me dont have any say about what the government does. Not only have these individuals lost their jobs; their needs are not being met or even addressed by the politicians that theyve elected. Politicians have become renowned for making promises that they never follow through on, so its no surprise that Trumps outsider status is his main appeal. At long last, the people are asking the right question: Why should we trust an establishment Republican politician? Anger, frustration and resentment are ideal background conditions that allow for the rise of a Trump-like character, but one final factor put the final nail in the Republican primary coffin: Lack of access to higher education. The single best predictor of Trump support is educationspecifically the lack of a college degree. Again, this is a result of government policies. The government-issued Pell Grant is the single most important financial aid program for low-income students who seek a college education. In 1980, it covered 77 percent of the total cost of a public university; currently, it covers less than one third of that cost. Rising college costs and decreasing financial aid from the government has led to a decrease in the availability of higher education, specifically to those of a low-income background. Low-income individuals who cant afford college also cant gain employment through obtaining a degree. Moreover, they are often also isolated in the poor, rural communities that they grew up in, without any opportunity to immerse themselves in a new, diverse environment. College is important in a myriad of ways, not least of which is the increased chances of acquiring a well-paying job. But if the angry, frustrated individuals profiled above had access to higher education, they would have more than a better-paying jobtheyd have the opportunity to meet other people beyond the confines of their small communities. How easy would it be to blame Mexicans as a whole for all of your problems when youve met and formed friendships with Mexican students who are both brilliant and hard-working? How easy would it be to lump them all into one group when you understand the nuances of individuals? How easy would it be to blame Muslims for religious extremism when youve met Muslim students and better understand their culturewhen you see how critical they are of violence, and how much their religion means to many of them? Its easy for Trump to find scapegoats for Americas problems, because the people who believe him have not had the opportunity to truly know and befriend the people who they blame. The opportunity that students receive at college to meet other people, many of whom are different from them, is instrumental in helping them develop resistance to this hateful rhetoric and to oppose Trumps fear-mongering tactics. There are many opportunities to diffuse the situation that has been bubbling in the underbelly of Americathe situation that allowed for the anger, resentment and frustration that paved the way for Trumps successful primary race. Congress could pass legislation decreasing incentives for manufacturing to leave the United States, and therefore increasing employment opportunities. They could also create policies to educate individuals in vocations that help them find jobs in the new economy. But perhaps most importantly, the United States could help low-income individuals gain access to higher education, which would serve the dual purpose of helping them find employment and increase their understanding of the other people with whom they share the country. Blaming Donald Trump doesnt solve any of the problems that led to his rise, because the people who support him didnt materialize from thin air. They have been left behind by the new economy, and are often ignored by their politicians. Theyre angryand justifiably soeven if their anger is misguided and highjacked by Trumps hateful rhetoric. If it wasnt Trump, it wouldve been someone else. The fact that Trump, the angry, racist misogynist, can gain such support through racial hatred and violence is a failure on the part of the entire United States, especially the politicians who created the policies that allowed for the emergence of a large, uneducated, unemployed section of the US population. They exist, and theyre not going away. The solution to the rise of Donald Trump will have to be a slow process of political and policy reforms that create opportunities for everyone, including these peoplethe ones left behind. This year, from Nov. 4-6, Red Bull will be hosting the Capcom Street Fighter V Pro Tour North American Finals at the Red Bull Battle Grounds in Seattle. This year, the finals will feature a 1,024-person open bracket, with the winner named national champion. Red Bull also announced the Red Bull Proving Grounds, a series of regional qualifying events where amateur players can earn a seat at the Finals in Seattle. This will be the first amateur ranking and tournament series in the fighting game scene. Regional qualifiers will be held in the following cities: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta and Toronto. The winners of each regional qualifier will be flown to compete against each other in playoffs. These will be held Oct. 21-23 at the Red Bull Studio in Santa Monica, Calif. and the winner will gain a seat in the Finals bracket. Registrations for Proving Grounds and Battle Grounds are open here. Check out the announcement trailer below. * Tax hike will help Abe win votes in July election * Abe keeps budget target, achievement elusive * Blames global headwinds for causing tax hike delay * No plan for snap general election - Abe By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Wednesday his widely expected decision to delay a scheduled sales tax increase by two-and-a-half years, putting his plans for fiscal reforms on the back burner due to growing signs of weakness in the economy. While the decision may help Abe win votes at an upper house election on July 10, it could fan doubts about his plans to curb Japan's huge public debt and fund ballooning social welfare costs of a fast-ageing population. Mindful of opposition criticism that the delay is a sign his "Abenomics" stimulus policies have failed to spur growth, Abe justified the decision, saying it was needed to forestall risks posed by external factors - notably slowing Chinese growth. "Abenomics has been steadily producing results, but the global economic environment has changed unexpectedly quickly in the past year. The biggest risk is the slowdown in emerging economies," Abe told a news conference. "Faced with global risks, we must fully reignite the engine of Abenomics and speed up efforts to escape deflation," he said. It is the second time Abe has delayed an increase in the sales tax to 10 percent from 8 percent, after a rise from 5 percent in April 2014 tipped the economy back into recession. "From an economic standpoint, the market is likely to view the delay as a positive surprise for domestic demand," said Lee Jin Yang, macro research analyst for Aberdeen Asset Management in Singapore. Abe, whose premiership will end when his term as LDP president finishes in September 2018, had repeatedly said he would raise the tax as planned unless the economy faced a shock from a financial crisis or natural disaster. But he laid the groundwork for a delay at last week's Group of Seven summit, insisting his G7 partners shared a "strong sense of crisis" about the global economy, and he drew parallels to the 2008 world financial crisis that followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Story continues Abe said that while the global economy was not on the verge of another financial crisis, Japan must spearhead efforts to boost global demand by loosening fiscal policy. "We'll deploy a comprehensive, bold economic package this autumn," he said, without indicating the scale of spending envisaged. Many economists found Abe's comparisons to the Lehman Brothers failure far-fetched, but there is consensus that Japan's economic data has been disappointingly weak. Manufacturing activity in May contracted by the most in more than three years. Corporate profits fell at the fastest pace in more than four years in January-March, which could hurt capital expenditure plans. Slow wage growth has also weighed on consumer spending. "I'm not sure whether it's bad enough to delay the tax hike but we can't be too optimistic about consumption," Sadanobu Takemasu, president and chief operating officer of major convenience store chain Lawson, told Reuters. BUDGET TARGET STAYS Abe said he has not abandoned a pledge to bring the primary budget balance into surplus by the fiscal year starting April 2020, and rein in public debt which is already more than double Japan's annual economic output. But that target had already looked elusive, even based on the government's rosy forecast of real economic growth of 2 percent on average in coming years. Abe offered few clues on how Japan will make up the funding gap created by the delay in the tax hike to October 2019, saying only that he will keep reflating growth so tax revenues will continue to increase. "I have very strong concern about fiscal discipline," said Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas Securities. "We are stepping onto a potentially dangerous path because once you start this policy it is difficult to stop, and once you do, the economy will tank." Abe also ruled out calling a snap general election for parliament's powerful lower house as he did in 2014 after announcing the first tax hike delay. Speculation had simmered that Abe would call a snap poll in a bid to lock in his ruling bloc's two-thirds "super majority" in the lower house. (Additional reporting by Stanley White, Kaori Kaneko, Linda Sieg, Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Shimizu in Tokyo, Masayuki Kitano in Singapore; Editing by Jacqueline Wong & Simon Cameron-Moore) One of the biggest announcements from Google I/O is that the company is finally releasing a competitor to the Amazon Echo. Enter Google Home. Following the success of Chromecast, Google hopes Google Home will be a smart next step for adding to its list of living room products. Here is everything you need to know about Googles new product: Google Home works exactly like Amazon Echo in that it is an always-listening virtual assistant. Where Amazon has Alexa, Google created the aptly named Google Assistant. Just like how youd talk to an Amazon Echo to add events to your calendar or set the temperature in your room, you can speak to Google Home and it will be just as useful. Though Amazon continually updates the features on its Echo speaker, its not perfect. However, the product has been around since 2014 and, since then, there hasnt been anything else like it on the market. But, all of that will change when Google Home launches. Plus, it appears the product is not only going to be able to do pretty much everything the Echo can do, but it will be able to do so better. One of the limitations to Amazon Echo devices is that they do not sync with each other. Meaning, using two Echos does not create stereo sound and you cant ask to play the same song on all the Echos throughout your home simultaneously. Will you be able to do so with Google Home? Yes. Using Google Home you will be able to command any speaker that has a Chromecast Audio streamer plugged in. You can even command your TV if you have a Chromecast video streamer. Thus, Google Home will allow you to play a song on any of those devices, as well as create them as a group, so you can play the same music in all places, simultaneously. Yes, Amazon offers voice assistance and you can both ask Alexa questions and play games, like Jeopardy, with her. But one huge, important factor to note is that Google, unlike Amazon, is an internet search giant. This means nearly all freely available information worldwide is accessible through a quick search-so the questions are endless when you talk to the Google Home voice assistant. Additionally, Google Assistant understands your language and picks up on context. Why does that matter? Basically, it will save you time and stress because you shouldnt find yourself constantly repeating the same words over and over until the voice control understands what youre trying to ask. Where Alexa can only understand preprogrammed responses, youll be able to have conversations with Google Assistant because of how quickly the software can search and understand what youre trying to figure out. One of the great things about Amazon Echo is how much you can do with Alexa. For example, Amazon has partnerships with companies like Dominos Pizza and Uber so you can use voice command to order yourself a pizza or ride. Though Google has yet to announce any official partners for its Google Home system, it did reveal a splash screen with logos during I/O, which listed partners for Google Voice. Some of the companies on that list were: Ticketmaster, Instacart, OpenTable, Uber, Spotify, GrubHub and Pandora. Though its not clear if this means those companies will also be partnering with Google for Google Home, if it turns out to be true, thats going to be a huge. Its just a speaker, so who cares what it looks like, right? The Google Home speaker is small with a tiny, angled top cylinder. Its modular case is customizable so you can select different base shells to match your personal home decor. How thoughtful, Google. Despite not being portable, Google sees the benefit of having the speaker always plugged is that it makes for a more powerful speaker. Since the main use of Google Home is, in fact, to be a speaker used at home, Google focused on a design and system that has strong bass and clear highs since youll mostly use it to listen to music. Only time will tell if the Google Home outshines Amazon Echo in sales. Though its not available yet, you can sign up for updates about Google Home on its website. Two festival-goers died after attending the EDM-centric Sunset Music Festival in Tampa, Fla. over Memorial Day weekend, according to the Tampa Bay Times. A 22-year-old man, from Melbourne, Fla., was taken to the hospital Saturday and died Sunday. A 21-year-old woman, from Kissimmee, Fla., was hospitalized Sunday and died Monday. The causes of death are still under investigation. Additionally, 57 other festival attendees were hospitalized over the weekend, according to police. The festival was attended by 30,000 people, per the Times. The number of fest-goers hospitalized for drug overdoses was frightening, a hospital spokesperson told Tampa station WFLA. Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn told the Times that that type of music tends to attract a certain type of fan that engages in certain types of drugs. Festival organizers issued the following statement: The health, safety and welfare of our fans and community is Sunset Music Festivals first priority and we take every measure to create a safe environment at our events. Any loss of life is a tragedy and we extend our deepest heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of those affected. Due to the ongoing investigation by the medical examiners office, Sunset will not issue additional comments at this time. ISS Sweden has signed a new Facility Management contract with Skanska. The contract is a continuation of the partnership in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo, Sweden. The contract commences 1 December 2016, and spans four years with the opportunity of an extension by 12 months at a time. ISS Sweden... [] Patrizias Nordic Managing Director, Rikke Lykke promotes Jacob Smergel-Krog to Nordic Head of Investment Management. This is part of the overall pan-Nordic business strategy and organisational matrix strategy, which Rikke Lykke launched when she became Managing Director of Patrizia Nordic Region in 2012. The matrix was created to streamline Patrizias [] After last years acquisition of the scheme by a US-based private equity fund, Cushman & Wakefield closed the first retail transaction by securing premium retail space for Ara Shoes in the 1st phase of Premier Outlet in Biatorbagy. Cushman & Wakefield is the exclusive leasing agent of Premier Outlets, phase [] The scientific community uses spheres for all sorts of things -- artificial limbs, cars, molecular chemistry -- but there's always a little uncertainty when this geometric shape is introduced into an experiment. While spheres might look smooth and round to the naked eye, their surfaces are far from it. Even a ball bearing, when held up to intense scrutiny, is riddled with peaks and valleys. These inconsistencies change how the spheres interact with the world and can cause problems for everything from surface measurements to the strength of electrical currents. A transatlantic team of researchers explain the creation of a simulation model that can help scientists mathematically correct for any errors related to a sphere's roughness this week in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing. "Devices that measure surfaces typically use spheres -- the stylus," said Lars Pastewka, a material scientist at Karlsruhe institute of Technology in Germany and the leader of the transatlantic team. "Most researchers assume that the [stylus is] smooth and surface roughness is ignored." The team's calculations are designed to tell a scientist when they should worry about surface roughness, which should make measurements more accurate, Pastewka explained. Pastewka and Robbins looked at the surface of spheres on the atomic level. They studied how the roughness -- those irregular peaks and valleys -- interacted mechanically with the surfaces they were pushed against to form areas of intimate atomic contact. By running simulations, Pastewka was able to formulate a mathematical expression that demonstrates how spheres with different types of peaks and valleys will deform when they're met with various amounts of pressure. While it is possible to create a near perfectly spherical object, most scientists can't afford to do so. Knowing how to correct the imperfections mathematically is the cheapest and most plausible way to tackle this problem. Pastewka and Robbins' equation shows that the steeper the surface peaks are, the smaller the contact area. This could be exploited to minimize friction that sphere will create when sliding on a surface. But, if the slopes are too steep, they're likely to get damaged. For spheres meant to conduct electricity, scientists would most likely want lower peaks so more of the sphere is in contact with the medium. But, if a surface becomes too flat, it will stick to the medium it's pushed up against -- and could get stuck permanently. In both cases, there's a sweet spot that Pastewka's equation should help scientists achieve. "Surfaces that are really flat will stick together, and you don't really want them to stick," Pastewka said. "Surface roughness has the important function of separating interfaces while still allowing interaction." So far, the team has only looked at how the peaks and valleys react to elastic and adhesive surfaces. Elastic surfaces are like balloons, you can poke them and they bounce back to their original shape. The next step is to focus on plastic surfaces, which will change shape permanently when under pressure. "The future direction is plasticity, going beyond these elastic calculations [and] allowing the solid to permanently change," Pastewka said. ECDC has updated its rapid risk assessment on the outbreak of yellow fever with the latest developments, more comprehensive information on the current situation in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda and an extended threat assessment for the EU. Some of the data used in the assessment were collected during a mission to Angola in May 2016. Current situation From 21 January to 22 May 2016, the Angolan Ministry of Health notified 2 536 yellow fever cases, of which 747 were confirmed and 301 fatal. The number of new suspected and confirmed cases in Angola has been decreasing and a mass vaccination campaign has already reached about half of the targeted population. However, the outbreak in Angola is not yet under control and is currently expanding to additional provinces, further challenging the ongoing mass vaccination campaign. Currently, all regions in Angola should be considered as areas at high risk of transmission of yellow fever. The yellow fever outbreak in Uganda is unrelated to the outbreak in Angola. Between 26 March and 19 May 2016, health authorities reported 60 yellow fever cases, including seven deaths in six different districts. As of 23 May, DRC has reported 590 cases of yellow fever, 41 of these had a recent travel history to Angola. Viraemic patients travelling to areas where suitable vectors and susceptible human populations are present pose a risk for local transmission. Such areas exist in most of the inter-tropical zones of Africa, and the Americas and Asia. Therefore, the risk of international spread within Africa and beyond is currently high. ECDC threat assessment for the EU In the EU/EEA, the risk of yellow fever virus being introduced is limited to unvaccinated viraemic travellers coming from areas with active local transmission. Given that outbreaks of yellow fever in urban settings have the potential for rapid spread and that significant yellow fever epidemics are ongoing in Angola, DRC and Uganda, a range of options for response by EU/EEA Member States are presented in the updated rapid risk assessment. These options emphasize the importance of vaccination of travellers and those leaving Angola, preventive measures against mosquito bites in affected areas, as well as awareness raising among clinicians to consider this diagnosis in returning travellers. Read the rapid risk assessment: Outbreaks of yellow fever in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, first update: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/RRA-Yellow%20fever-first-update-Angola-China-DRC-Uganda-May-2016.pdf Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have identified a new pathway by which salicylic acid--a key compound in the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs aspirin and diflunisal--stops inflammation and cancer. In a study published in eLife, the researchers found that both salicylic acid and diflunisal suppress two key proteins that help control gene expression throughout the body. These sister proteins, p300 and CREB-binding protein (CBP), are epigenetic regulators that control the levels of proteins that cause inflammation or are involved in cell growth. By inhibiting p300 and CBP, salicylic acid and diflunisal block the activation of these proteins and prevent cellular damage caused by inflammation. This study provides the first concrete demonstration that both p300 and CBP can be targeted by drugs and may have important clinical implications. "Salicylic acid is one of the oldest drugs on the planet, dating back to the Egyptians and the Greeks, but we're still discovering new things about it," said senior author Eric Verdin, MD, associate director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology. "Uncovering this pathway of inflammation that salicylic acid acts upon opens up a host of new clinical possibilities for these drugs." Earlier research conducted in the laboratory of co-author Stephen D. Nimer, MD, director of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and a collaborator of Verdin's, established a link between p300 and the leukemia-promoting protein AML1-ETO. In the current study, scientists at Gladstone and Sylvester worked together to test whether suppressing p300 with diflunisal would suppress leukemia growth in mice. As predicted, diflunisal stopped cancer progression and shrunk the tumors in the mouse model of leukemia. "The ability to repurpose drugs that are already FDA-approved to be part of novel therapies for cancer patients is incredibly exciting," said Nimer. "We have conducted a clinical trial of salicylic acid in patients with hematologic cancers and found it to be safe. Thus, this collaborative effort to develop novel epigenetic therapies is an important next step in our journey to find more effective treatment for leukemia patients." The scientists are now pursuing a clinical trial that will test the ability of salicylic acid to treat patients with leukemia as part of novel combination therapies. Other possible clinical applications for salicylic acid include other forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and even neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Prior Gladstone research showed that another drug containing salicylic acid prevented the accumulation of tau in neurons and protected against cognitive decline in a mouse model of dementia. 3-D printing has become a powerful tool for engineers and designers, allowing them to do "rapid prototyping" by creating a physical copy of a proposed design. But what if you decide to make changes? You may have to go back, change the design and print the whole thing again, perhaps more than once. So Cornell researchers have come up with an interactive prototyping system that prints what you are designing as you design it; the designer can pause anywhere in the process to test, measure and, if necessary, make changes that will be added to the physical model still in the printer. "We are going from human-computer interaction to human-machine interaction," said graduate student Huaishu Peng, who described the On-the-Fly-Print system in a paper presented at the 2016 ACM Conference for Human Computer Interaction. Co-authors are Francois Guimbretiere, associate professor of information science; Steve Marschner, professor of computer science; and doctoral student Rundong Wu. Their system uses an improved version of an innovative "WirePrint" printer developed in a collaboration between Guimbretiere's lab and the Hasso Platner Institute in Potsdam, Germany. In conventional 3-D printing, a nozzle scans across a stage depositing drops of plastic, rising slightly after each pass to build an object in a series of layers. With the WirePrint technique the nozzle extrudes a rope of quick-hardening plastic to create a wire frame that represents the surface of the solid object described in a computer-aided design (CAD) file. WirePrint aimed to speed prototyping by creating a model of the shape of an object instead of printing the entire solid. The On-the-Fly-Print system builds on that idea by allowing the designer to make refinements while printing is in progress. The new version of the printer has "five degrees of freedom." The nozzle can only work vertically, but the printer's stage can be rotated to present any face of the model facing up; so an airplane fuselage, for example, can be turned on its side to add a wing. There is also a cutter to remove parts of the model, say to give the airplane a cockpit. The nozzle has been extended so it can reach through the wire mesh to make changes inside. A removable base aligned by magnets allows the operator to take the model out of the printer to measure or test to see if it fits where it's supposed to go, then replace it in the precise original location to resume printing. The software -- a plug-in to a popular CAD program -- designs the wire frame and sends instructions to the printer, allowing for interruptions. The designer can concentrate on the digital model and let the software control the printer. Printing can continue while the designer works on the CAD file, but will resume when that work is done, incorporating the changes into the print. As a demonstration the researchers created a model for a toy airplane to fit into a Lego airport set. This required adding wings, cutting out a cockpit for a Lego pilot and frequently removing the model to see if the wingspan is right to fit on the runway. The entire project was completed in just 10 minutes. By creating a "low-fidelity sketch" of what the finished product will look like and allowing the designer to redraw it as it develops, the researchers said, "We believe that this approach has the potential to improve the overall quality of the design process." A video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X68cfl3igKE Women diagnosed with migraines have a slightly increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, and are somewhat more likely to die from these conditions than women who do not have migraine, according to findings of a large study published in The BMJ today. These results add to evidence that migraine should be considered an important risk marker for cardiovascular disease, say experts. But more research is needed to determine possible causes, and whether treatments to prevent migraines could help to reduce these associated risks. Migraine has been consistently linked with an increased risk of stroke, but few studies have shown an association of migraine with cardiovascular diseases and mortality. So a team of US and German researchers carried out a large prospective study to evaluate associations between migraine, cardiovascular disease and mortality. They analysed data from 115,541 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II. The participants were aged 25-42 years, free from angina and cardiovascular disease, and followed from 1989-2011 for cardiovascular events, diseases and mortality. Overall, 17,531 (15.2%) women reported a physician's diagnosis of migraine at baseline. Over 20 years of follow-up, 1,329 total cardiovascular disease events occurred and 223 women died due to cardiovascular disease. advertisement When compared to women who did not have migraine, these results show that women who reported a migraine had a greater risk for major cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, strokes and angina/coronary revascularization procedures. These associations remained after adjusting for other factors that may have increased the risk for these diseases. In addition, migraine was associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular mortality. This association was similar across subgroups of women, including by age, smoking status, hypertension, postmenopausal hormone therapy, and oral contraceptive use. In a linked editorial, Rebecca Burch from Harvard Medical School and Melissa Rayhill from The State University of New York at Buffalo caution that "the magnitude of the risk should not be over-emphasized," as "it is small at the level of the individual patient, but still important at a population level because migraine is so prevalent." While the current study controlled for a large number of vascular risk factors, no information was available for vascular biomarkers, and migraine specifics, such as migraine aura. Nevertheless, the authors say "these results further add to the evidence that migraine should be considered an important risk marker for cardiovascular disease, at least in women," and there is no reason why the findings can't be applicable to men. "Given the high prevalence of migraine in the general population, an urgent need exists to understand the biological processes involved and to provide preventive solutions for patients," they conclude. The editorialists Rebecca Burch and Melissa Rayhill agree "it's time to add migraine to the list of early life medical conditions that are markers for later life cardiovascular risk." They say this latest study raises questions about whether treatments that decrease the frequency or severity of migraine may reduce later life vascular risks, and conclude by saying "what little evidence we do have suggests the need for therapeutic restraint [to prevent cardiovascular risk] until we have a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the link between migraine and vascular disease." Deep inside Bruniquel Cave, in the Tarn et Garonne region of southwestern France, a set of human-made structures[1] 336 meters from the entrance was recently dated as being approximately 176,500 years old. This discovery indicates that humans began occupying caves much earlier than previously thought: until now the oldest formally proven cave use dated back only 38,000 years (Chauvet). It also ranks the Bruniquel structures among the very first in human history. In addition, traces of fire show that the early Neanderthals, well before Homo sapiens, knew how to use fire to circulate in enclosed spaces far from daylight. The research, reported in the 25 May 2016 issue of Nature, was conducted by an international team including Jacques Jaubert from the University of Bordeaux, Sophie Verheyden from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) and Dominique Genty of the CNRS, with logistical support from the Societe Speleo-Archeologique de Caussade under president Michel Soulier and the backing of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. Bruniquel Cave, an extraordinary find Bruniquel Cave was discovered in 1990 on a site overlooking the Aveyron Valley. The team of speleologists in charge of its management has kept the site in pristine condition, preserving its numerous natural formations (an underground lake, calcite rafts, translucent flowstone, concretions of all types), intact floors containing numerous bone remains and dozens of bear hibernation hollows[2] with impressive claw marks. But most importantly, the cave contains original structures made up of about 400 stalagmites or sections of stalagmites, gathered and arranged in more or less circular formations. These circles show signs of fire use: calcite reddened or blackened by soot and fractured by heat, as well as burnt matter including bone remnants. In 1995, a first team of speleologists and researchers[3] used carbon 14 to date a burnt bone at 47,600 years (the oldest possible date using that technique), but no further dating was carried out at that time. Intriguing stalagmite structures spawn a new concept: "speleofacts" In 2013 a team of researchers, with the backing of the DRAC Midi Pyrenees regional archaeological department, launched a new program of studies and analyses. In addition to a 3D survey of the stalagmite structures and an inventory of their constituent elements, a magnetic study was used to reveal anomalies caused by heat, making it possible to map the burnt remnants found in this part of the cave. It seems most plausible that these fires were simply used as light sources. Since no other stalagmite structure of this scale has yet been discovered, the team developed a new concept to designate these carefully arranged pieces of stalagmites: "speleofacts." An inventory of the cave's 400 speleofacts reveals a total of 112 meters of stalagmites broken into well-calibrated pieces, weighing an estimated 2.2 metric tons. The components of the structures are aligned, juxtaposed and superimposed (in two, three and even four layers), with props around the outside, apparently to hold them in place, and filler pieces. Marks left by the wrenching of stalagmites from the cave floor to make the structures have been identified nearby. advertisement The world's first spelunkers No remains were found in the cave floors that could help date the installation: a thick crust of calcite has coated the structures, sealing them in place and concealing the original floor. For this reason, the researchers, with the help of colleagues from the University of Xi'an (China) and the University of Minnesota (US), used a method called uranium series dating (U-Th), based on the radioactive properties of uranium, trace amounts of which are omnipresent in the environment. When stalagmites are formed, uranium is present in the calcite. Over time it breaks down into other elements, including thorium (Th). The age of a stalagmite can therefore be determined by measuring the thorium and remaining uranium in the calcite. The Neanderthals made these structures by breaking stalagmites and rearranging the pieces. After the site was abandoned, new layers of calcite, including new stalagmite growth, formed on the human-made structures. By dating the end of the growth of the stalagmites used in the structures and the beginning of the regrowth sealing those same structures, the researchers have estimated the age of the installation at 176,500 years, 2,000 years. Additional samples, in particular of the calcite covering a burnt bone, confirmed this surprising result. Were the first Neanderthals explorers and builders? The very existence of these structures, virtually unique in the annals of archaeology, was already an astonishing discovery. In Prehistory, it wasn't until the beginning of the recent Paleolithic[4] in Europe, plus some isolated cases in Southeast Asia and Australia, that man was known to make regular incursions into the underground world, beyond the reach of sunlight. The proof is nearly always drawings, engravings and paintings, like those found in the caves of Chauvet (-36,000 years), Lascaux (-22,000 to -20,000 years), Altamira in Spain and Niaux (-18,000 to -15,000 years for both sites) and, more rarely, burial sites (Cussac Cave in France's Dordogne region: -28,500 years). But the Bruniquel stalagmite structures were built long before modern humans arrived in Europe (-40,000 years). Their creators must therefore have been the first Neanderthals[5] so far presumed by the scientific community not to have ventured far underground, nor to have mastered such sophisticated use of lighting and fire, let alone to have built such elaborate constructions. advertisement New questions about the Neanderthals We now know that, some 140 millennia before the arrival of modern man, Europe's first Neanderthals were occupying deep caves, building complex structures and maintaining fires in them. The Bruniquel structures are of particular interest due to their distance from the mouth of the cave, which is thought to be the same now as in the days of the Neanderthals. The researchers also wonder what the function of these installations, so far from daylight, could have been. Eliminating the unlikely hypothesis of shelter, given the structures' distance from the entrance, was it to find materials of now-unknown utility? Could it have been for "technical" purposes, such as water storage? Or for the observance of religious or other rites? In any case, the researchers confirm that the Neanderthals had to have an advanced social organization to build such constructions. Further studies will attempt to explain their function, which for the moment remains the biggest mystery surrounding Bruniquel Cave. [1] Comprising approximately 400 stalagmites, or elements from the stalagmitic floor, most of them cut into sections, arranged in two more or less circular shapes and four other accumulations. [2] Places where bears settle in for the winter, in order to hibernate under stable thermal conditions. [3] Led by Francois Rouzaud, at the time chief heritage curator of the DRAC Midi Pyrenees, and Michel Soulier, president of the Societe Speleo-Archeologique de Caussade. [4] From 45,000 to 12,000 years ago. [5] The known Neanderthal fossils are between 40,000 and 250,000 years old. A new University of Leicester study has confirmed the therapeutic potential of bacteriophage combinations to treat highly infectious bacteria C. difficile infections (CDI) while retaining a healthy gut. A team led by Martha Clokie, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Leicester's Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, demonstrated that bacteriophage combinations significantly reduce growth of C. difficile cells and proliferation in complex models, whilst retaining healthy gut by preventing destruction of beneficial bacteria caused by traditional antibiotic treatment. The study, which was funded by AmpliPhi Biosciences, is published in the peer-reviewed publication Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. CDI is responsible for approximately 39% of the cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in the Western world. Ten percent of CDI patients die due to lack of effective therapies. The main obstacles to preventing CDI are the existence of diverse C. difficile strains that vary in their response to antibiotics and the impervious nature of the C. difficile spores. Results from studies carried out by Dr Janet Nale in Professor Clokie's laboratory demonstrated that specific phage combinations caused the complete destruction of C. difficile and prevented the appearance of resistant bacteria, while results of the complex models work showed that oral delivery of optimised phage combinations resulted in reduced C. difficile spread at 36 hours post-infection. Additionally, the phage combination was able to kill 12 of the 13 C. difficile variants that are most prevalent in the UK, and were effective against the emerging variants that are increasingly causing concern in the UK, the US and more widely. The phage combination also reduced or completely prevented regrowth of C. difficile when compared to treatment with individual phages. "Our data supports the therapeutic potential of phage combinations to treat C. difficile infections," said Professor Clokie. "In particular, combinations of phages optimised in the laboratory setting were shown to be effective in the treatment of C. difficile in animals. Further refinements to our bacteriophage cocktails can be explored to maximise phage efficacy and to target the most dominant C. difficile variants." "Lab experiments, like this, allow us to see what effect specific phage combinations have on C. difficile in complex models. To see the effect of specific phage combinations in humans we would run an experimental trial with people." M. Scott Salka, CEO of AmpliPhi Biosciences, added: "The prevalence of C. difficile, the high costs of infection control and the challenge of finding alternative treatments, all contribute to the significant clinical and financial burden that CDI imposes on healthcare systems. The positive outcomes of these studies validate phage-based therapy as a promising approach that has the potential to address the growing challenge of CDI. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Professor Clokie to develop tailored and customised phage therapies for future clinical trials in humans." AmpliPhi Biosciences entered into its ongoing Collaboration and License Agreement with UK-based University of Leicester to develop a novel bacteriophage therapy targeting C. difficile in 2013. The handwriting performance of children with high-functioning autism differs from that of children without autism. Accordingly, the education system should consider the types and formats of tasks given to these children when they are integrated in regular schools. This conclusion emerges from a new study undertaken at the University of Haifa. "The typical process of handwriting performance among children with high-functioning autism is unique, but while the education system addresses reading skills, it pays almost no attention to handwriting skills," explains Prof. Sara Rosenblum, the author of the study. Children with high-functioning autism experience difficulties in the social, sensory, and movement fields, but differ from other children on the autism spectrum in terms of their linguistic and cognitive development. Among other differences, these children are usually integrated in regular schools where they are required to perform routine activities such as reading and writing. Writing tasks play an important part in academic progress: writing-related activities account for 30-60 percent of daily activity time in schools. Despite this, the education system places a strong emphasis on reading, whereas skills development, monitoring, and assistance in handwriting performance are much less frequent. There is also a lack of teacher training in this important area. The present study is unique and the first of its kind in the world. The study was undertaken as part of the thesis prepared by Hemda Amit Ben Simhon of the Neuro-developmental Center at Maccabi HMO, supervised by Prof. Rosenblum, and in consultation with Dr. Eynat Gal, an autism specialist, both from the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Haifa. The study included 60 children aged 9-12 from the 3rd through 6th grades at various schools. Half the subjects were children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder with IQs above 80, while the other half were children with normal development. The children were asked to complete three writing tasks: writing the first name and family name; copying a paragraph; and writing a story describing a picture that was shown to them. The writing tasks were completed using a special system developed by Prof. Rosenblum that provides objective, computerized data relating not only to the rhythm and speed of handwriting, but also to the degree of pressure applied on the page by the writer, the length of time the pen is in the air, the degree of slant of the pen during handwriting, and so forth. The study findings show that in 91.5 percent of the instances, the objective indicators provided by the computerized system enabled the identification of children with high-functioning autism as distinct from children with normal development. In other words, the handwriting performances of the two groups showed statistically significant differences. The children with high-functioning autism produced taller and broader letters; waiting times on paper and in the air were longer; and the degree of slant of the pen was smaller. It also emerged that the differences between the children with high-functioning autism and those with normal development were particularly prominent in the copying task, and less so in the free writing task. The text copying task required significantly more time. The researchers suggest that the need to invest a long period of time in the handwriting task may exacerbate fatigue, impair concentration, and even hamper the ability to produce handwritten content. This investment in the handwriting task may come at the expense of availability for other academic tasks the children receive, as well as their availability for social challenges in the classroom. "When a child has difficulty writing, they effectively have to cope with this difficulty over many hours a day, making it harder for them to cope with the additional challenges they face (social, cognitive, and functional). For example, if a child has to stay behind in recess to copy text from the board, they will have less time to practice social skills," the researchers explained. The researchers added that the study findings are particularly important in light of the trend to integrate children with different disabilities in the regular education system, in accordance with the Special Education Law. "Since children with high-functioning autism are integrated in classes together with children with normal development, it is important to be careful not to pressure them during the performance of handwriting tasks. They should be given sufficient time, because time pressure creates cognitive stress and may impair the content of their handwriting. Given the central role of writing throughout the academic process, including in academic studies, improving handwriting skills with the assistance of an occupational therapist may improve academic abilities and contribute to an improvement in achievements and in self-confidence," concluded the study authors Ben Simhon and Prof. In a positive sign for efforts to boost U.S. competitiveness in science and technology, a new study finds that courses that engage college students in conducting scientific research early on can dramatically increase students' odds of completing a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) degree. The study, published in today's edition of CBE-Life Sciences Education, is the largest and most carefully controlled analysis to date of how participating in course-based undergraduate research experiences affects students' outcomes. It found that across all demographic groups students who participated in a program called the Freshman Research Initiative were more likely to graduate college and to earn degrees in STEM disciplines at The University of Texas at Austin. "We've been able to increase STEM retention by almost 25 percent," says Erin Dolan, executive director of the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science at UT Austin and senior author on the new study. "This is a real solution for addressing the shortfall in the STEM workforce that we anticipate for the next decade." According to a 2012 report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the U.S. needs to produce approximately 1 million more STEM professionals during the next decade than is currently projected, yet "fewer than 40 percent of students who enter college intending to major in a STEM field complete a STEM degree." The report indicated that boosting retention of STEM majors to 50 percent nationwide would provide three-fourths of the needed increase in STEM workers, and it suggested that improving science education with more hands-on research opportunities would be a good strategy. The decade-old Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) in UT Austin's College of Natural Sciences puts first- and second-year undergraduate students in faculty-led labs, a model that is unconventional at research universities. The newly published research finds that FRI: Increases a student's likelihood of graduating with an undergraduate degree from 66 to 83 percent, and Increases a student's likelihood of graduating with a STEM degree from 71 to 94 percent. This means that for every 10 students who enter the College of Natural Sciences and participate in FRI, two will graduate who would have otherwise dropped out or taken longer than six years to get an undergraduate degree, and almost three more students will wind up with a STEM degree, as opposed to changing majors, because they participated in FRI. Early successes at UT Austin have led six universities, including three more in the UT System, to replicate the approach in which students work in teams to conduct research projects with guidance from established scientist mentors. Students at UT Austin choose projects from more than 25 different research areas in the life sciences, physical sciences and computer science. Projects have included developing diagnostic tools for the Zika virus, programming autonomous robots, attempting to develop biofuels, and identifying wine varieties based on their chemical makeup. "Students who participate in FRI are more likely to graduate from college and are more likely to finish a STEM major," Dolan says. "They go on to do exciting things like graduate school, medical school, work in industry and even start their own companies." Dolan and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 4,000 students who participated in the FRI program. They carefully matched these FRI students with peers who did not participate but were otherwise comparable in terms of socioeconomic background, gender, race, ethnicity, scores on standardized tests and other factors. Students who are underrepresented minorities or first in their families to go to college are even more likely than their counterparts to leave STEM and leave college, earlier research has found. Dolan and the other authors found that FRI boosts retention and graduation for students regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds or racial and ethnic backgrounds. "Many science educators have suspected that early exposure of undergraduates to the process of doing real science would have educational benefits," said Nobel laureate Carl Wieman, a Stanford University physics and education professor, who did not participate in the study but has been a champion for improving undergraduate science nationwide. "This study provides the first good evidence, with a large and diverse population of students, that such exposure through undergraduate research has dramatic benefits for all students, substantially improving both graduation rates in STEM and overall graduation rates. Every university ought to be looking closely at these results as they think about how to improve the quality of STEM education provided to their students." When it comes to viruses in South Dakota wheat, the chief culprit is wheat streak mosaic virus. Strategically timed planting and resistant wheat varieties help decrease virus incidence, according to virologist Marie Langham. The South Dakota State University plant science professor has been working on wheat viruses for more than 25 years. "With a virus, you have to go with prevention rather than a cure," she said, pointing to her main target -- wheat streak mosaic virus. "It a fairly mutable virus," Langham said, with Nebraska research showing at least five strains or isolates of wheat streak mosaic virus are typically found in each infected field. Her research is supported by the South Dakota Wheat Commission and U.S. Department of Agriculture Hatch Act funding through the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. "The natural vector of wheat streak mosaic virus is the wheat curl mite," she explained. "Spring wheat typically germinates and goes through the most susceptible stage before the mites start moving in the spring." Consequently, the mite affects winter wheat more severely. Wheat streak mosaic virus requires what Langham calls "a living bridge of hosts" that includes barley, corn, rye, oats and some annual and perennial grasses. Planting nonhost crops and removing volunteer wheat plants can help break this cycle. But timing can help here, too, Langham explained. Delaying planting until late September -- after the mites have migrated from summer host plants -- can dramatically decrease the risk of infection. Working with SDSU's winter wheat breeder, Langham annually evaluates cultivars for resistance to wheat streak. "We want them to be able to withstand aggressive challenges in the fields," she explained, so she inoculates the winter wheat lines with "an isolate that has been very aggressive and at a higher inoculation rate than others might." When Langham came to SDSU in 1991, a cultivar called Dawn was always at the top for resistance, she recalled. Improved resistance in more winter wheat varieties has pushed Dawn to about one-third to halfway down in the rankings. "We've made improvements that are giving growers more choices," she added. Although the United States' current political environment is rancorous, a national survey has found strong support in all regions of the United States for raising the legal age of tobacco sales. Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that in all nine regions of the country, a majority of adults supported increasing the minimum legal age for tobacco product sales. They also found the most support for increasing the minimum age to 21 rather than to 20 or 19. "With these findings, policy makers and public health advocates can move forward knowing that people in their states support raising the minimum legal age for selling tobacco products, and that this is an issue that is not viewed as partisan," said Adam O. Goldstein, MD, MPH, a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center member and a professor in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine. "It seems to cross political lines, and it is one policy measure that the majority of those surveyed can agree on." The study comes as two states have recently moved to increase the legal age of tobacco sales to 21. Hawaii became the first U.S. state to make the change Jan. 1, and California followed suit earlier this year. Already, a number of counties and cities, including New York City, have increased the minimum legal age. "With the strong support indicated in our data, I think we will continue to see strong momentum," Goldstein said. "It appears likely that increasingly, lawmakers are going to be interested in doing this." According to a National Academy of Medicine report in 2015, increasing the legal age for purchasing tobacco products would likely lower health care costs, and would prevent or delay young adults from starting smoking. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration-sponsored report predicted that raising the legal age to 21 nationally would result in a 12 percent reduction in smoking prevalence. advertisement "By restricting tobacco use to people 21 and older, the compelling evidence is that you have less people who end up using it. They don't end up taking up smoking and tobacco," Goldstein said. "And if you cut down on adolescents using tobacco, you'll ultimately cut down on how many adults use tobacco, and then you cut down on tobacco-related diseases like heart disease and cancer." In the study, researchers surveyed 4,880 adults aged 18 or older to learn their views on raising the minimum age of tobacco sales to 19, 20 or 21. The telephone survey was offered in both English and Spanish and conducted on land-line and cell phones. A majority of people surveyed supported raising the minimum age in all regions of the country. Levels of support ranged from 59.6 percent in a seven-state Midwestern region that included Iowa and Kansas to 73.1 percent of residents in a four-state region of the South that included Texas and Louisiana. In the South Atlantic region, which included North Carolina, seven other states, and the District of Columbia, 68.1 percent of people supported an increase. "Even in regions with historically strong ties to tobacco growing and manufacturing, a strong majority of the public, including smokers, is in favor of raising the minimum legal age of tobacco sales," said the study's first author Joseph G. L. Lee, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the East Carolina University College of Health & Human Performance. Lee began the study as a doctoral student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Women, non-white adults, Latinos and non-smokers were more supportive of an increase as were those who were over the age of 21. Although there was no association found between the proportion of voters in a state who voted Republican in the last presidential election and the likelihood that person would be in favor of a higher age of sale for tobacco products, there was an association with a respondent's level of trust in the government. A person who trusted the government was 8 percent more likely to support an increase in the minimum age. "What we found was really an overall trend of broad support for this policy," Goldstein said. A new study in today's issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery found minimal risk for severe infection with osseointegrated implants--a newer prosthetic system, press-fitted directly into the femur bone--that enables bone growth over a metal, robotic prosthetic limb in patients with above knee amputations. For more than 600 years, patients with amputations above the knee received a prosthesis that fit over the skin and soft tissue of the amputation stump. However, approximately one-third of these patients experience problems, including discomfort and skin irritation, resulting in limited mobility and reduced quality of life. Over the past 20 years, osseointegrated implants--or implants that grow directly into the bone--have emerged, and while most patients do well with these implants, concerns persist about the risk for serious infection. Using a new infection classification system, researchers tracked adverse events in 86 patients (91 implants) who received a "press-fit" osseointegrated implant between 2009 and 2013. For each patient, the procedure was performed in two stages: first, a porous-coated implant was placed in the femur bone, and second, a stoma, or opening, was created to attach the prosthesis. The patients, ages 25 to 81, were followed for a median of 31 months. Among the results: Thirty-one patients had no side effects or complications related to the osseointegration system. Twenty-nine patients developed a grade one or two infection, successfully managed with "simple measures." Twenty-six patients had no infection, but reported other complications such as problems with the orthopaedic hardware, problems with skin and soft tissue, or fracture of the femur bone. No patients had a grade three or four infection. "For amputees struggling with socket fit, the osseointegrated press-fit implant provides greater comfort, mobility, and the opportunity to function closer to an able bodied person, said study author Munjed Al Muderis, MB ChB, an orthopaedic surgeon at Macquarie University Hospital in Sydney, Australia. "We can confidently say that this type of prosthesis is a viable choice and the new infection classification system, developed by the Osseointegrated Group of Australia, provides an effective tool for the use in patient selection as well as infection management." Tuesday, 31 May 2016 17:27:26 (GMT+3) | Istanbul According to data released by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), in April this year the value of South Africa 's exports of base metals and articles thereof totaled ZAR 11.35 billion ($721.06 million), down six percent from March. In the January-April period of this year, South Africa 's export value of base metals and articles thereof increased by 9.7 percent year on year to ZAR 44.7 billion ($2.84 billion). In April of the current year, the country's imports of base metals and articles thereof amounted to ZAR 5.1 billion ($324.8 million), increasing 0.5 percent from the previous month, while in the first four months South African imports of base metals and articles thereof rose by 3.9 percent year on year, amounting to ZAR 21.13 billion ($1.34 billion).

Facebook/Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand

The ongoing effort to remove and relocate all 137 tigers from Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, more commonly known as Thailand's "Tiger Temple," just took its most heartbreaking turn yet. Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Couple Meets A Beach Dog In Mexico Who Changes Their Life In the midst of tiger mistreatment and wildlife trafficking allegations, 40 dead tiger cubs (estimated to be 1 or 2 days old when they died) were found in a freezer at the temple on Wednesday, BBC News reports. Photos of the saddening discovery have started to spread on social media. WARNING: The following images contain graphic content. The antlers of a deer, cow horn and the body of a deceased bearcat were also discovered along with the bodies of the tiger cubs. In response to this recent discovery, the Tiger Temple re-posted a statement made on Facebook from March, which claims a former veterinarian at the temple asked that deceased tiger cubs be preserved, rather than cremated, as policy. "As [it] happens in life, cubs do occasionally die for various reasons, most often when a new mother lacks the experience to properly care for them," the Facebook post reads. "We have documented all the deaths from 2010 and have photographic evidence of them still being within the temple." The temple also claims in the post that it has never forced its tigers to breed. Documentation of the tiger cubs' birth and deaths allegedly shows they were never on sale in the black market, representatives of the temple told the New York Times. Tigers are an endangered species and their estimated global total in the wild stands at 3,200, with a jarring 7,000 estimated to be in captivity in China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Tiger farming in these countries is a "major concern" Shruti Suresh, EIA Wildlife Campaigner, told The Dodo in a statement. "Several of these facilities are implicated in tiger trafficking. If we are to save the last remaining wild tigers, we need to end all trade in all tiger parts and products urgently and this includes ending trade in captive tiger specimens," Suresh said.

Meredith Ferrel

Last Wednesday, someone abandoned a cat in Brooklyn, New York. He was unceremoniously left alone on Nostrand Avenue. Next to him was his litter box and other cat supplies. He was crying. Dodo Shows Foster Diaries This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever A photo of Nostrand taken by Meredith Ferrel, who first spotted him on the street. | Meredith Ferrel A photo of the heartbreaking display was shared on the Flatbush Area Team for Cats' (FAT Cats) Facebook page, calling for his immediate capture - which wasn't easy. Shortly after being spotted, Nostrand, as he was later named, disappeared when he was scared away by a street sweeper. "We are a very close-knit community and people often post if they see an animal distressed or in need of assistance," Elizabeth Champ, one of the founders of FAT Cats, a Brooklyn-based group of trap, neuter and return advocates, told The Dodo. Champ said that as soon as she heard about Nostrand, she immediately went on the hunt for him, as did many other members of the neighborhood. Meredith Ferrel "We would like to thank our neighbors, many of whom took time out of their day to look for this poor cat," FAT Cats wrote on Facebook last Wednesday, the same day his photo was posted on Facebook. "Due to today's heat and the amount of construction and noise on Nostrand Ave. today, it's our belief that he is hiding somewhere until things get quieter and cooler." After days of searching, aided by rescue groups and concerned neighbors alike, Nostrand turned up in the backyard of Brooklyn local and retired cat rescuer Karen Oh on Sunday morning. Karen Oh and Nostrand | FAT Cats "We immediately brought him to get vetted, and screened for a microchip," the rescue wrote on Facebook. "No microchip, but we are happy to say he is a healthy 1-year-old male." Champ said that Nostrand was a "dream" during his initial visit to the Prospect Park Animal Clinic, where he was examined. Nostrand at the vet's office | FAT Cats "[He] didn't even mind having blood drawn for testing," she said. "Unfortunately, many male cats get dumped when they mature because there are not enough low-cost spay/neuter resources in NYC," Champ added. "People can't afford to get them fixed, so they often dump them and get another cat." Luckily for Nostrand, he's now in the safe care of FAT Cats and is due for a neuter appointment soon. Then, he'll be on the search for his forever home, thanks to the impressive community dedicated to saving him. FAT Cats All cats are, of course, special and idiosyncratic in their own subtle ways - but this cat's most unique trait is highly visible. It's right there on her chest. Meet Zoe. She lives in the Netherlands with her mom, Joanne Smienk, who adopted her, along with her sister Izzy, back in September. These British shorthair mixes are now just shy of 1 year old. Dodo Shows Odd Couples Kitten Isn't Sure About His Pittie Brother At First "When I first met Zoe, I immediately saw the heart on her chest and was very surprised to find out that no one had noticed it before," Smienk tells The Dodo. "I melted instantly, of course." She had initially planned to adopt just one kitten, but when she saw how close Izzy and Zoe were and how they always roamed around together, she just couldn't resist taking them both home. Smienk documents the cats' adventures on Instagram, where Zoe gets tons of attention for the striking heart on her chest. All the most-liked photos on the account show the heart, Smienk says. But despite all the attention she gets for her glamorous markings, Zoe doesn't always enjoy being the center of attention. "In real life, she is fairly shy. Eventually she does come around when people come over, and they find her and her heart very adorable, but Izzy usually gets more attention," Smienk says. "Or rather, Izzy takes more of the attention." Sometimes, Zoe prefers to just camouflage herself completely. But even though she's shy, Zoe is definitely the more curious of the two. "She is always looking around for new things to explore," Smienk says. "Her curiosity has already caused her to fall in the (full) bathtub four times." Smienk always likes to joke that Zoe aspires to be a Care Bear when she grows up. The one with the heart, obviously. After all, Zoe's worn her heart on her chest ever since she was a tiny kitten. Oh, and if you're wondering what Zoe's heart looks like when she walks, this video will show you: Now, all we have to do is wait for an exclusive line of Zoe-themed Valentine's Day cards ... The person who found Fergie wasn't sure what kind of animal what she was, but nonetheless took her to a local veterinarian, Rachel Parker, founder of Greener Pastures Sanctuary, a farm animal rescue, told The Dodo. A friend of Parker's ended up taking Fergie home and hand-raising the young fox herself, but in the end, didn't have enough space to keep her permanently. "Considered a 'pest' animal in Australia, it was virtually impossible to find somewhere for Fergie to live out her days," Parker said, noting that foxes are invasive in Australia and threaten local wildlife. "After seeking permission [from our local shire ranger] to keep her, we were able to build a big enclosure for her and give her a home." Since Fergie was the only fox at the sanctuary, Parker said, she began to grow worried that she would be lonely without the company of a close friend - and that's when she decided to introduce Faith, a rescue dog, to the 7-month-old fox. Alfeiya the dog was lying injured in a schoolyard in Bulgaria when students began pelting her with rocks. That's when 16-year-old Anita Valkova knew she had to step in. "A group of kids were throwing stones at her and when I saw this little pooch all covered in blood, I knew I had to take action," Valkova wrote in a post on Reddit. Even though she was scared of dogs, Valkova knew she couldn't leave Alfeiya to suffer, and so she swallowed her fear and stepped up to help. Valkova's family was skeptical and didn't think she should get involved, but she knew she had to try. She waited in the cold by Alfeiya's side for two hours before her dad arrived. Because of the dog's condition, her dad didn't want her getting in the car, and so with the help of a friend, Valkova carried Alfeiya to the vet to get the help she so desperately needed. Once at the vet, Alfeiya was cleaned, fed and given antibiotics for her wounds. She was suffering from demodectic mange, but otherwise, she seemed OK. The next day, Valkova's mother came to see the dog, and with the help of the vets, Valkova was able to convince her to welcome Alfeiya into their family. Valkova was still a little unsure of Alfeiya at first, having always been scared of dogs, and wasn't sure how the pup would react to her new home. "I gave her a bath, we were both very scared, she of the water and I of her biting me. After I dried her fur she got her claim on my bed," Valkova wrote. Before long, everyone realized that Alfeiya was just a gigantic sweetheart, and only wanted to be loved. She enjoyed every first she got with her new family, like her first toy ... ... her first car ride ... ... and her first time making a gigantic mess. When she first met Alfeiya, Valkova wasn't sure what to expect, but she soon learned that she had nothing to be afraid of. Now the pair are best friends, and Alfeiya will always love the girl who saved her life. "She's my little baby," Valkova wrote. "I think I'm spoiling her a bit too much." If you'd like to adopt a dog of your own, you can check out Adopt-a-Pet.com to get started. People will never fully understand what Harambe - a Western lowland gorilla who lived at the Cincinnati Zoo - was thinking when a small boy fell into his enclosure on Saturday. But many are mourning Harambe, and questioning whether zoo officials really needed to shoot him to save the boy. Two past incidents where a child fell into the animal's enclosure show gorillas actually coming to the rescue of the children in peril. "We know of two cases, Jersey Zoo in the U.K. and a zoo in Chicago, where a person falling into a gorilla enclosure was actually saved by a gorilla," Gisela Kaplan, an adjunct professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Animal Behavior at the University of New England in Australia, told The Dodo. "These events shed a light on gorilla behavior even in captivity." When a 5-year-old boy fell into the enclosure of a gorilla named Jambo at the Jersey Zoo (now Durrell Wildlife Park) in 1986, the boy lost consciousness. Jambo stood between the boy and the other gorillas; the action was interpreted as a gesture to protect him from harm. Then, Jambo stood over him, stroking him until he regained consciousness, at which point Jambo retreated. No one was harmed. Dodo Shows Adopt Me! Scared Little Dog Is So Full Of Joy Now And Looking For A Family The Chicago incident occurred at the Brookfield Zoo in 1996. A 3-year-old boy fell into Binti Jua's enclosure and she protected him, while carrying her own baby on her back. But Jambo and Binti Jua became famous for their benevolent acts. And now their stories are resurfacing in light of the tragedy at the Cincinnati Zoo, making people wonder whether Harambe's fate could have been otherwise. Many who have pored over the spotty footage have pointed out that Harambe didn't seem to be aggressive. "He pulled the child through the water of the moat, held his hand, apparently gently, stood him up and examined his clothing," Ian Redmond, a founder of the the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP-UNEP) and advisor to the Born Free Foundation, said. "My immediate response to the killing of Harambe, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla, is a deep sense of regret ... It's clear that the child was understandably frightened and the gorilla understandably stressed but ... Harambe did not attack the child." Still, because the video does not show the whole incident, Redmond said he was "not in a position to make a definitive judgement." Kaplan urged a thorough investigation of the incident, to see why Harambe had to die. (The Cincinnati police announced Tuesday that they will be investigating the incident.) "Since the tragedy has happened, the zoo should be pressured into reviewing and publicly explaining its safety standards for people and children, and enclosures," Kaplan said. "[The zoo] should be asked to explain and show what its protocols are in dealing with animals in emergency situations such as this was, and be questioned on its ethical standards." Kaplan pointed out that gorillas can get through crisis situations unharmed. "Many other positive inducements [methods] can be used," she said. "Then there are negative inducements such as restraints (nets), tasers, pepper sprays - another zoo had successfully used fire hoses to contain their animal." But the zoo stands by its decision. "We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child's life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made by our Dangerous Animal Response Team," Zoo Director Thane Maynard said in a statement. "Our first response was to call the gorillas out of the exhibit. The two females complied, but Harambe did not. It is important to note that with the child still in the exhibit, tranquilizing the 450-pound gorilla was not an option. Tranquilizers do not take effect for several minutes and the child was in imminent danger. On top of that, the impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse." Elephants are regarded as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet - but here's a story that suggests they're among the wisest, too. On Saturday, staff at the Bumi Hills Safari Lodge in Zimbabwe were surprised to discover a wild bull elephant had limped in from the surrounding bush to hold vigil outside a house there. Nick Milne, who manages the lodge's wildlife conservation foundation, arrived shortly after to assess the situation. "We have elephants in the area, but mostly cows and calves. To have a bull walk up to a house is something that just does not happen," Milne told The Dodo. "So, I went to take a look, and it seemed like there was something seriously wrong with him. He wasn't able to move very well." Bumi Hills Foundation Bumi Hills' in-house veterinarian was gone for the weekend, so Milne called up another specialist, about 200 miles away, who volunteered to fly in to help. Incredibly, in the six hours it took for medical care to arrive, the elephant continued to linger nearby, quenching his thirst with water offered to him in a bucket. Dodo Shows Little But Fierce Pocket-Sized Kitten Grows Up To Be A Wild Woman Bumi Hills Foundation "Generally, elephants we see are very aggressive or skittish. Obviously, they can get shot by hunters, so that behavior is natural," said Milne. "This elephant was very relaxed and very calm. He was unconcerned about us getting close." Milne began to suspect that this animal's appearance outside the house was more than just coincidence. Bumi Hills Foundation After tranquilizing the elephant, the team who came to his rescue discovered a deep wound on his shoulder - an injury, said Milne, that appeared to be from a poacher's bullet. Unfortunately, they were unable to find any shell fragments inside, so its exact cause remains something of mystery. Despite being about a month old, the wound wasn't badly infected, and the vet was able to complete the treatment in about an hour. Bumi Hills Foundation Although it's unclear whether that wound was caused by humans, Milne spotted another older injury that indicated this animal had survived an earlier attempt on his life - two healed bullet holes piercing through one of his ears. "We have a big poaching problem in the area," Milne said. "We're losing a substantial number of elephants to poaching. It's a serious issue." Bumi Hills Foundation Before reversing the effects of the tranquilizer, rescuers fitted the elephant with a radio collar to track his movements as he continues to heal. Bumi Hills Foundation It's still too early to tell if the elephant, who has since been named Ben, will make a complete recovery, though Milne is optimistic. On Tuesday, Ben was seen still on the grounds of Bumi Hills, eating and drinking normally. Best of all, his limp appeared to be improving, and the wound was healing well. Bumi Hills Foundation In most cases, a wrong turn amounts to little more than an inconvenience - but in this instance it saved a life. On Sunday, Lorraine Culloch and her partner, Mike Roberts, were on their way home after photographing orcas off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, when the car's navigation system sent them turning down the wrong road toward the inlet of a nearby river. That's when Culloch spotted something in the distance - a dolphin stranded in the shallows. Lorraine Culloch Instead of simply turning the car around and continuing on their way, Culloch and Roberts did the opposite: They walked out to see if the animal was still alive. She was - though judging from the blisters on her skin from being out of water, it wasn't clear how much longer she'd last. "We called the police, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and the SSPCA," Culloch told The Dodo. "They came and took charge." Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Scared Pittie Gets So Happy When He Meets This Guy And His Pack Of Dogs Lorraine Culloch Culloch stayed by the dolphin's side as the rescue workers set about keeping her comfortable. Since the water was much too shallow during low tide to try to move her, they used towels to keep her skin moist. "The dolphin seemed aware that we were there to help," said Culloch. "She was very calm the whole time." Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme Though Culloch and the other rescuers were swift to act to keep the dolphin alive, returning her to the sea would take much longer yet. Given that the inlet was virtually impassable, they would have to wait nearly half a day for the tide to rise. "We were there for 10 hours, until a little after 4 in the morning," Culloch said. That's when the time finally came. Lorraine Culloch In the wee hours of the morning, while Culloch looked on, the rescue team lifted the dolphin back out to deeper water. At first, the animal seemed disoriented, but soon corrected course. "When she regained her strength, she swam away out of the bay," said Culloch. "She was swimming strong. That was a good sign." Lorraine Culloch The Stratford Festival is making musical theatre history this summer. For the first time since it premiered off-Broadway in 1975, one of the most successful musicals of all time, A Chorus Line, will be performed with choreography different from the moves established by its legendary director and choreographer, Michael Bennett. It has been tightly controlled by Bennetts estate since his death from AIDS in 1987. Because of the nature of the material it dramatizes the audition of 17 dancers for roles in the chorus of a Broadway production the work of the choreographer and director overlap; rechoreographing inherently means reconceiving the show. So how did it happen that this first new look at A Chorus Line is happening at one of Canadas flagship theatre institutions? The answer comes down to the architecture of Stratfords Festival Theatre, and the talents and persuasive powers of director and choreographer Donna Feore. I first came to Stratford in 1990 as a performer in Guys and Dolls and when I walked on the Festival stage I said to myself, A Chorus Line would be so brilliant here, says Feore. Famously, that stage is built in a thrust configuration meaning that the audience surrounds it on three sides rather than the more traditional proscenium arch, where the audience faces the action head on. The Festival Theatre is Stratfords signature site for large-scale productions of plays and musicals, including Feores recent successes as director and choreographer of The Sound of Music, Crazy for You, Fiddler on the Roof and Oklahoma! But when it comes to the musical in question, theres the whole thing about the line. Bennett conceived A Chorus Line as a proscenium staging, first at the Public Theater off-Broadway and then at Broadways Shubert Theatre. As Helen Epstein recounts in her biography of the shows famous producer, Joseph Papp, Bennett rejected Papps original pitch to stage the show in Lincoln Centers thrust-style Vivian Beaumont Theater. Its a chorus line, not a chorus curve, huffed Bennett. One of the most recognizable images in the show is those 17 hoofers standing in a row, facing the audience as the unseen director Zach barks instructions at them over a sound system. And it is that linear, end-on staging that Bennetts lawyer, collaborator, friend and now executor John Breglio has protected fiercely for nearly 30 years. A Chorus Line is one of the truly organic musicals that was created as one piece . . . we dont like to have it pulled apart and that goes for the design as well, explains Breglio. As artistic director Antoni Cimolino recounts, the Stratford Festival has tried numerous times to get the rights to A Chorus Line but has always fallen foul of the prescribed production not fitting its stage. When Feore finally made a pitch to Breglio, it landed at the right time. I was open to it because (the shows) been done so many times now, all over North America, Europe and beyond, he says. There literally isnt a day when A Chorus Line isnt being done somewhere in the world. Breglio and the shows original co-choeographer, Bob Avian, came to Stratford last summer to see Feores Sound of Music and lengthy discussions ensued. She assured me it would be done differently but that shed respect the material. Feore agreed to Breglios two central stipulations: that the line somehow still be part of the show and that the mirrors in the showstopper number The Music and the Mirror would also feature. A deal was struck. For Cimolino, getting the rights is a victory not only for his institution but for the material itself. Its important to respect the concerns that creators and their friends, family and other executors have I get that but at a certain point your baby has got to walk on its own and survive. . . . The point is to give the work new life and new perspectives for today. Thats not optional; its our responsibility. For Feore, the terrifying and totally thrilling prospect of restaging this contemporary classic has been full of discoveries, including that the Festival Theatre, as she suspected, makes a ready home for the show. Designer Tanya (Moiseiwitsch) built the space for the soliloquy and this show is one soliloquy after another. As Zach (played here by Juan Chioran) peppers the dancers with questions, the show turns into a series of flashbacks of pivotal moments from their upbringings and careers, recounted through monologue, song and dance. Via staging and lighting effects, Feore says she has found a way to isolate these moments onstage in a way thats impossible in the linear format. That said, purists need not fear. For theatre people of Feores (and this writers) generation, A Chorus Line has the status of a near-sacred text and she knows better than to mess with its opening moments, as we hear a voice shout out Five, six, seven, eight, horns blast a fanfare and the action opens in the middle of a maximum-energy group number. That first count of six is iconic! exclaims Feore. If you yell, Five, six, seven, eight to a dancer they will automatically do that first count of six. That choreography will be reassuringly familiar, she says. Another crucial choice is to keep the show set in its original time period rather than update it. We are 100 per cent in the 1970s, says Feore. I love that my older audience get the Jill St. John jokes, but kids who dont know the material seem to love it too because, well, puberty hasnt changed too much in forty-something years. Cimolino says that, during the preview period, audiences were buzzing. The piece still has the power to provoke, he says. Its documentary examination of a dancers life still not only rings true but presses our buttons. Breglio says hes looking forward to seeing what this beloved piece looks like through new eyes and in this environment: There are very rare human beings who are director/choreographers. Donna is one of them. And (Stratford) is extraordinary, from the physical plant to the sophisticated audience. Its a first-class place. The combination was ideal. A Chorus Line: The Making of a Meta-Musical The once-in-a-lifetime talent behind A Chorus Line was born Michael Bennett diFiglia in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1943. He left high school before graduation to join a European tour of the musical West Side Story, and danced in Broadway chorus lines for over 10 years before starting to work as a director and choreographer, building a reputation as an innovator with a keen commercial sense. Through his own instincts, and in conversations with fellow dancers, he developed an idea to document their experiences: what it was like to live the itinerant life of a chorus dancer or what the business calls a gypsy. In early 1974, he brought together several dozen dancers to a number of late-night meetings where he put them through some dance choreography, then invited them to share their personal stories over food and drink. Very early on, all guards were dropped, because the minute people started talking about their childhood or what they went through, of course you would identify with something, recalls Nicholas Dante, one of the shows co-writers, in Kenneth Turans book about Joe Papp. Those conversations became the seed material of A Chorus Line, though, as John Breglio recalls, early on, Michael didnt know if it was a musical or a documentary film. No one knew what it was, not even Joe. Bennett gave all the workshop participants a dollar and asked them to sign away the rights to the material they shared, says Breglio, but when (the show) became a sensation he voluntarily gave a portion of the money back to those original creators. This method of making plays out of the personal experience and testimony of artists was growing in popularity throughout theatre communities in the 1970s, but part of Bennetts unique contribution was applying this technique to musicals, and constructing a story that took audiences behind the glitz and glamour of Broadway. Sources: Helen Epstein, Joe Papp: An American Life; Kenneth Turan and Joseph Papp, Free for All: Joe Papp, the Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told; John Breglio, I Wanna Be a Producer How to Make a Killing on Broadway . . . Or Get Killed Correction Note, June 1, 2016: This article has been changed from a previous version that contained an incorrect photo. SHARE: Health Canada is warning doctors to make sure their patients understand the risks of Essure, tiny metal coils implanted in a womans Fallopian tubes as a form of permanent birth control. An advisory known as a Dear Healthcare Professional Letter, posted on a government website Tuesday, urges doctors, hospitals and clinics, as well as the public, to be aware of the numerous reported complications. Health-care providers are advised that: manufacturer Bayer Healthcare LLC will create a black box warning label and Bayer and Health Canada are developing a patient information checklist to ensure women are aware of Essures risks. It also states some patients may not have been adequately informed of the risks of Essure at the time of their procedure. These include menstrual bleeding, unintended pregnancy, chronic pain, perforation and migration of device, allergy and sensitivity or immune-type reactions. Some complications may be considered serious, some of which have led to surgery, including hysterectomy for removal, the letter says. The Essure permanent birth control system, approved for sale in Canada in 2001, is the subject of a potential class-action lawsuit involving 184 women against Bayer, a global pharmaceutical company. The lawsuit is led by Merchant Law Group, based in Saskatchewan, where the procedure is most popular. The coils are inserted through the cervix and work by forming a tissue blockage in the Fallopian tubes. About 8,000 devices were sold in Canada between 2002 and 2014, according to a summary of the safety review. Bayer has said 750,000 women, mostly in the U.S., have Essure. Bayer Inc., the companys Canadian division, said it worked with Health Canada to update the label and create the checklist. No form of birth control is without risk and appropriate for every woman. It is imperative that women consult with their healthcare professionals before making any contraceptive choice, to fully understand both the risks and determine the best option to meet their needs, Bayer said in a statement. The device is marketed as less invasive than laparoscopic tubal ligation, or a woman having her tubes tied. Essure does not require a general anesthetic, just a visit to a doctors office. In response to thousands of complaints filed at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a huge increase in social media activity, Health Canada ordered a safety review of Essure last fall. A summary of the review appeared last week on the Health Canada website. The safety review was also prompted by a 2015 study conducted by Cornell University-affiliated doctors and published in the British Medical Journal. The study suggested Essure patients had a 10-fold higher risk of reoperation than laparoscopic surgery (2.4 per cent compared to 0.2 per cent) in the first year after having Essure inserted. Bayer claims that its device is more than 99 per cent effective, about the same as tubal ligation. The BMJ study also found the rates of unintended pregnancy were similar. Toni Provost, who lives in Regina, Sask., and who is involved with the class-action suit, said the increased warning and monitoring recommended by Health Canada do not go far enough. The best case would be to get it off the market, said Provost, 34, who became pregnant two years after receiving Essure in 2012. I am hopeful they will, if enough women come forward. Provost said she was not informed of Essures risks, and discovered her pregnancy during an ultrasound in 2014 for heavy and irregular menstrual bleeding. She told the Star she was worried that the coils, which doctors told her had migrated, could harm the baby. Her son turned one this year and she has since had Essure removed, along with her Fallopian tubes. A similar review at the FDA that concluded this year ordered a black box warning label, patient checklist and a new clinical trial to examine long-term risks. Health Canada has asked Bayer to submit the results of that trial. This safety review found that there are risks associated with the use of Essure that need to be better communicated and further monitored, the safety review summary said. The FDA has received 9,900 self-reported complaints of side-effects through its Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database. Health Canada has received 18, though 10 of those mentioned the need for surgery. Monitoring of medical devices on the market is dependent on reporting to the manufacturer and to the health regulator, Health Canadas letter states. Bayer declined to say specifically how many complaints the company had received or how many it disclosed to Health Canada. All adverse event data received by Bayer are analyzed and we work closely with the regulatory authorities across the world to monitor the safety profile of Essure. We take these reports seriously, a statement said. SHARE: After little more than six months in office, Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo has resigned from cabinet and is leaving the Liberal caucus to seek help for addiction problems, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday. Trudeau said in a statement that Tootoo is taking time to seek treatment for addiction issues. CTV News reported Tuesday night that sources said there had been an incident at the Liberal convention last weekend in Winnipeg that was serious enough that Tootoo would be leaving caucus. He is the first minister to resign from Trudeau's cabinet. Tootoo the first northerner to take on the role of fisheries minister and the second to play a role in cabinet also issued a brief statement saying he was stepping down so as not to distract from the important work of his colleagues, asking for privacy at this time. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday. He was absent from the Commons for a vote on the governments assisted-dying bill. Dominic LeBlanc, the governments House leader, will assume Tootoos cabinet responsibilities. We were quite proud that he was put into cabinet, said Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna, who worked alongside Tootoo for five years in the Nunavut legislature. This (his resignation) is news to me, he told the Star Tuesday. If its not going to work for him, I think itd probably be better for him to step down, his uncle, Barney Tootoo, said from Iqaluit. The nature of his addiction was not specified. A senior government official would not answer questions about his resignation but said it was Tootoos choice to quit caucus. In other cases where MPs have confronted issues that could be embarrassing to a government they have remained in caucus or temporarily stepped aside. Liberal MP Seamus ORegan recently stayed with his caucus while he entered a rehab program and confronted what he later said was alcoholism. New Democrat MP Romeo Saganash briefly took leave from his duties in the last Parliament after an incident where he left a flight due to intoxication, but remained part of caucus. Conservative MP Peter Goldring, arrested after he was pulled over and failed to offer a blood sample, sat as an independent while his case made its way through the courts, and returned to the Tory caucus after he was acquitted. Tootoo, 52, was first elected as the MLA for Iqaluit Centre in 1999, where he served for 14 years and was Speaker of the legislative assembly until 2013. He also held a number of cabinet positions in the territorial government. Tootoo was born in Rankin Inlet in 1963 and immediately had to fight for his life. I was medevaced (airlifted) out, Tootoo said last year. I was in an incubator for the first three months of my life, so I am told. After overcoming this struggle, Tootoo went on to live in various parts of Canada, including Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan before making his way back to the North in the early 1990s. In November, a month after Tootoo defeated former Conservative cabinet minister Leona Aglukkaq to claim the federal riding of Nunavut, he said he hoped to transfer his political experience to a national scale. I think that it is going to be very beneficial to me as we move forward, he said. With files from Tonda MacCharles and The Canadian Press SHARE: Washington (United States) (AFP) - Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, on Sunday won the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, a sliver group hoping to make an outsized impact in this election year. Johnson came within a half-point of scoring an outright first-ballot victory at the party's nominating convention in Orlando, Florida; a second ballot put him over the top, with 56 percent. "I tell the truth, I am not a liar," Johnson told the group, insisting that his frank approach would appeal to disaffected voters and help the long-marginal Libertarians achieve "major-party status." As a Libertarian, Johnson advocates eliminating the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. A self-made businessman who worked as New Mexico governor to lower taxes and reduce bureaucracy, he pushed for the legalization of marijuana. In 2012, he was the Libertarian candidate, garnering 1.2 million votes, the party's best showing ever. In at least two recent national polls, Johnson scored 10 percent in hypothetical three-way contests against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The Libertarians -- whose central goal was pithily described by one delegate in Orlando as "minimum government, maximum freedom" -- hope to tap into widespread discontent this year with the major-party choices. Johnson ramped up criticism of one of those choices, the Republican Trump, telling reporters Sunday that the real estate developer was a "racist" because of his description of Mexican immigrants as rapists. - 'Best of both worlds' - In an interview earlier this month with AFP, Johnson described Trump and Clinton as "the two most polarizing figures in American politics today." He added, "I'm more liberal than Hillary on social issues, and I'm more conservative on fiscal issues than Ted Cruz was," said Johnson, referring to the Texas senator who quit the Republican race early this month. Story continues That, Johnson said, made him "the best of both worlds." The Libertarians' convention drew far closer media attention than usual, and Johnson told the group that "millions of people are going to be trying to understand what it is to be a Libertarian." One chart displayed at the convention showed web searches for the party quintupling after Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee. In balloting carried out on plain index cards, Johnson beat out contenders including Austin Petersen, a businessman and political commentator, and John McAfee, the founder of the antivirus software company who once fled Belize after police sought to question him in a murder case. The Libertarian convention was to vote separately for its vice presidential nominee. Johnson said Sunday that the party needed to nominate William Weld, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, to serve as his running mate, although Weld, a recent convert to Libertarianism, received a cool welcome from many delegates. "Bill Weld was my role model," Johnson said. He told delegates and reporters that he did not think he could be elected president without Weld as his running mate. American political conventions have long been colorful affairs and this has been no exception. One delegate serenaded the group with a harmonica tune, offering to make it the party's "semi-official" theme song. Another suggested the party adopt Dobby, a "house elf" from the Harry Potter series, as its official mascot. FORT MCMURRAY, ALTA. Henry Velasquez wants to return to the place where his home once stood someday, but not yet. Residents are being allowed to return in stages this week, a month after a voracious wildfire destroyed 10 per cent of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta and forced the evacuation of the entire city. But Velasquez, a chemical engineer, will be hanging back in Calgary with his wife, Olga and son Tomas, 3. Hes just not ready for the emotional punch of seeing whats left of their townhouse in the Stone Creek neighbourhood at the north end of town. In July or August, hell re-evaluate, he said. I just want to go there before they start the demolition of everything, because I just want to see where my house is, see if there is at least one memory that I could rescue from what we have, he said through tears. The most simple, the most small thing that I could recover from that, it will be such a treasure for me and my wife. Among the first to return on June 1, the first day of the staged re-entry operation, will be residents from Fort McMurrays Lower Townsite, downtown and nearby surrounding communities. People who used to call the citys south-central and hardest-hit neighbourhoods home will have to wait until Saturday. In Ian Seggies apartment in the Timberlea neighbourhood, theres still a bag of trash waiting to be taken out and a pot of soup ready to be heated on the stove. The eerie part for me is that everything is frozen in time, he said from Calgary, where hes been staying since May 3, when more than 80,000 people were ordered out of the city. Officials have warned returning residents that it wont be business as usual in Fort McMurray. Theyve been advised to bring with them two weeks worth of food, water and prescription medication as crews continue to work to get basic services restored. The first of the former residents will arrive by car as commercial air service to the citys airport is on hold until at least June 10. Seggie made arrangements with an Edmonton grocery store to have perishable food prefrozen. He plans to pick it up on his way to Fort McMurray and load it into coolers. He doesnt know whether hell stay once he goes up on Thursday. If the air quality goes to crap, Im not sticking around, he said. I need to get back and get my place dealt with, just to have a look and search things out. And if I stay, I stay. Kevin Lewis is anxious to get back into his apartment in Thickwood, a relatively undamaged neighbourhood thats slated to reopen on Friday. Lewis has been unable to run his transportation brokerage business since the evacuation and he figures hes lost some $40,000 over the last month. I definitely need to get to work, Lewis said from Lac La Biche, Alta., a small town southeast of Fort McMurray thats taken in thousands of evacuees. Lewis knows its a possibility that smoke damage may have rendered his place uninhabitable. If its not really livable there yet, I could at least be able to grab my computers and Ill be able to work. Jim Mandeville, senior project manager with Mississauga-based FirstOnSite Restoration, has been in Fort McMurray since May 8 to help critical businesses such as banks, grocery stores and pharmacies get running again. Dozens of FirstOnSite workers have been working long days disposing of spoiled food, cleaning ventilation systems and removing smoky odours from upholstery and carpets. Mandeville said provincial and municipal officials arent underplaying how challenging it will be for residents to return. When they say to bring 14 days worth of food and water, they mean it. And when they say people with respiratory conditions shouldnt come up here, they mean it and they have a really good reason why, he said. It is not a clean, safe, normal environment that youre walking into. At a press conference Wednesday, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said its critical for her to be in Fort McMurray when the first evacuees return because the city will not be the same one they left. Its not like, OK, youre home. See ya. Bye bye, she said. Were still with them and I think its really important that they hear that from us. Looking forward, Notley believes the wildfire has underlined the need for a national discussion on disaster mitigation. Notley also said shes already asked that the subject be added to the agenda for Julys premiers meeting and although federal disaster relief is already in place, there may be room for more help from Ottawa on relief efforts. Read more about: SHARE: Tracey Leigh wanted out of her neighbourhood to prevent her family from being sucked into a spiral of violence. On Wednesday, however, the violence caught up with them before they could act. Nathan Leigh, who turned 20 on May 16, was riding his bike in a parking lot behind the Toronto Community Housing row house on Orpington Cres., where he lived with his mom, grandmother and teenage sister, when he was shot multiple times in broad daylight. He was still fighting for his life at Sunnybrook Hospital Wednesday evening. They say there are seven entrance wounds, and hes on a ventilator and hes on heavy meds, said his aunt, Diane Ravat, after visiting him in hospital. He was shot in the lungs. Tracey was on the phone with her son moments before the shooting, around 9:30 a.m. Im outside, Im coming just now, he told his mom. Then she heard the gunshots. When she ran to the parking lot, she saw a crowd of people. Who got shot? she asked, before seeing her son on the floor. His face was covered in blood and he was gasping for air. His eyes were open. I dont know if he heard me when I said, Moms here, moms here. The ambulance is coming. According to his family and neighbours, Nathan is a homebody who likes video games, basketball and rap, and doesnt run with a bad crowd, his mom said at the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He was outside at the wrong time. It doesnt make sense to me. Nathan had asked her to move their family out of Orpington Cres. because of violence in the area, she said. The shooting occurred about a 10-minute walk northwest of where Candice Rochelle Bobb 35 years old and pregnant was shot and killed on the night of May 15. Her baby survived. Last summer, 14-year-old girl Lecent Ross was fatally shot in nearby Jamestown. The Leigh family has lived there for almost 12 years but Tracey Leigh applied to move them out of the TCH row house just south of Kendleton Dr. two years ago at her sons urging, she told the Star. After they applied to transfer, they were told there is a long wait list, according to Tracey. Nathans aunt Diane told her nephew repeatedly to keep his head down and avoid trouble. Dont play into the tough guy routine, she urged him. In that area, all they want to do is kill each other over what? Honest, over what? she said. There have been 68 shootings causing death or injury this year, according to Toronto Police. Of those, 19 were fatal. Before the shooting, Nathan was thinking of registering for classes this fall to finish high school, his family said. Gerry Luongo, a neighbour, says he sometimes worked with Nathan, selling scrap metal. He dresses like a thug, but hes a good kid, he said. I almost called him this morning to come and help. Toronto Police said they suspect there were at least two gunmen involved, who fled in a blue Nissan Versa. We are outraged and disgusted that this can happen right across from a school at 9:30 in the morning, said superintendent Ron Taverner. Several nearby schools including Greenholme Junior Middle School, West Humber Collegiate, and Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School were initially ordered to hold-and-secure as police began their investigation. Kim George, a 39-year-old early childhood education worker, lives a few doors up from where Leigh was shot. She was stunned when she learned about the daytime shooting and that her neighbour, who she had seen the day before, was fighting for his life. The shots were fired around the same time as Georges 12-year-old son leaves home to take the school bus. Its scary, George said. Ill have to tell him to be more careful and walk with someone. With files from Brennan Doherty and Nick Westoll SHARE: Who could kill a man for a truck? Only a lunatic, Mark Smichs lawyer argues. Only someone who had something flip inside them in the moment, like a mad man, would be capable of such a heinous and despicable crime, lawyer Thomas Dungey said in his closing arguments Wednesday. Dungey argued that the Crowns theory that Mark Smich and Dellen Millard had spent more than a year planning to murder a man for a truck defies logic. He said there is proof only that the pair was planning to steal a truck and that something went wrong. A lunatic is exactly how Smich, 28, has described Millard, 30, the night of May 6, 2013 when the pair went for a test drive of the pickup truck Ancaster father Tim Bosma was selling online, as part of their mission to scope out a truck to steal. Bosma was killed that night, shot in his truck and then incinerated in Millards animal cremator outside his air hangar at the Waterloo Region airport. Smich and Millard, on trial for Bosmas first-degree murder, point the finger at each other, and insist a murder was not part of the plan. Smich has testified that something had come over Millard that night. Smich maintains he had been following in Millards SUV at the time Bosma was shot in the pickup truck, and insists he was shocked to discover the 32-year-old dad slumped over the dashboard. He insists he had no idea Millard brought a gun. Millards lawyers argued in their own closing arguments that Smich was desperate for the red Cadillac Millard had promised him in exchange for his help stealing a truck, and that he was the one who whipped out a gun on the highway during the test drive a lethal attempt to turn it into a robbery. But Dungey dismissed that scenario and called the Cadillac a red herring. He said Smich had no motive to kill. The then-25-year-old was a drug dealer and a petty thief and had participated in thefts with Millard for a bit of cash and that this, to him, was no different. He was going to get paid a couple hundred dollars (for helping with the theft), Dungey said. On the other hand, Dungey described Millard as a manipulative and cold-hearted millionaire who always got what he wanted. And who made no secret of the fact that he wanted a truck. Hes an arrogant elitist, in my opinion, Dungey said. He highlighted Millards actions after Bosma was killed: moving evidence around at night and lying about the origins of the truck that had appeared in his hangar overnight. Are these the actions of a man whos innocent? Or a man who is delusional ... who thinks he can get away with anything? Dungey asked. Similarly, Dungey said the jailhouse letters Millard secretly sent to his girlfriend Christina Noudga explicitly show his attempts to get friends to change their stories and to frame Mark Smich. These give us a glimpse into Millards demonic mind, Dungey argued. Who tampers with witnesses except someone whos guilty? Since the letters were seized by police, Millard had to come up with a new story, Dungey said, suggesting the scenario he has presented in this trial was just another fabricated story that he hoped would exonerate him. According to the story Millards lawyers presented, Smich got out of the truck after accidentally shooting Bosma during a holdup in the truck on the highway, and followed in Millards GMC Yukon to the air hangar. If Smich had truly been the shooter, Dungey argued, he would have transferred gunshot residue or blood or DNA with him into the GMC Yukon. But none was found. He acknowledged his client an unemployed drug dealer and aspiring rapper with a criminal record was no boy scout. But hes not twisted and demented as I say Mr. Millard is, Dungey argued. Smich was an accessory after the fact to the murder, Dungey argued. He helped Millard destroy evidence, including stripping and washing Bosmas truck. But that, I suggest, is all he is guilty of, he said. When it comes to the murder of Tim Bosma, Mark Smich is not guilty. The Crown will be up Thursday to deliver its closing arguments in the trial. Read more about: SHARE: If the Trudeaus welcome a bouncing new addition to their lovely family next February, then Canadas prime minister will at least have something to show for his G7 mission to Japan last week. As has been over-documented, Justin and Sophie Gregoire took a snog-shack step-out from formalities to celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary. The traditional anniversary gift for Year 11 is steel. A samurai sword would doubtless have been too kitschy for the occasion. Jewelry is more customary. That the Trudeaus still adore and crave each other is obvious. Justins hand-lock on Sophies curvy bum cover photo of Vogue last January spoke volumes about their relationship. Good on them for exhibiting enduring connubial passion in an era when the thrill is typically gone-gone-gone for so many marriages before they even get to cotton (Year 2). Four in 10 Canadian marriages now end in divorce. Justins parents, Pierre and Margaret, technically remained yoked for 13 years but that union was scandalously kaput long before legally uncoupling. In a post-metrosexual world, and apart from a few cranky commentators, Justin Trudeau was generally applauded for his 24-hour romantic interlude at a posh Japanese inn on his own dime. Although the couples anniversary was actually this past Saturday, when the whole travelling circus was back in Canada. Hey, I totally understand exploiting a work road trip when the logistics make it possible, though in my business those accommodating-perk days are long over. Its the in-the-vault details of that sojourn to Japan which vexed. The PMO would not disclose how many staff Trudeau had in tow but lets just say he wasnt travelling light. That information and the cost of the entire junket should certainly be in the public domain, without having to access a freedom-of-information paper chase. While the honeymoon between Trudeaus appears to be endless, the honeymoon between prime minister and Canadians has entered its end-of-days phase, despite gaudy favourability ratings. The country caught a gander of the Sun Kings less salubrious side with that flying elbow in Parliament accidental contact, to be sure and his bossy-boots F-bombing to bring opposition MPs to heel for a vote. Frankly, the NDP freakout was far worse than the offence. Trudeau, with his majority mandate blue skies for four years has little to worry his pretty head over on the domestic front, even if the crush subsides. And hes gained some credibility chops internationally in these few short months, albeit hes still not a man of much substance. But his take-the-lead posture against governments negotiating ransoms for nationals abducted by terrorist groups found traction with the G7 gang in Japan although Im skeptical about the value of that formal agreement, since governments have frequently given the perception of keeping their hands clean while utilizing intermediaries, Canada no exception. A Japanese journalist was executed by ISIS last year; images of another, Jumpei Yasuda, emerged on Monday, in which he holds a sign reading: Please help me and This is the last chance. Trudeau has walked through that valley of death too, with the gruesome beheading a month ago of Canadian hostage John Ridsdel by the Philippine militant gang, Abu Sayyaf, which has pledged its troth to ISIS. Another Canadian is still being held for ransom lucre. On the terrorism file, its difficult to hold Trudeau accountable for a maddened world, except to point out again that this PM recalled Canadas fighter-jet contribution to the coalition military campaign against ISIS, while deploying an expanded training and tactical element. There is reproachable inconsistency, however hypocrisy, lets call it by its rightful name in a story dug out this with week by John Ivison of the National Post. Via an Access to Information inquiry, Ivison discovered that Trudeau, before he became Liberal leader, while he was a very vocal critic of the Conservative governments temporary foreign worker program made two applications to bring foreign nannies into the country to look after his own children. Trudeaus deputy director of communications confirmed to Ivison that the PM and his wife had submitted one successful application to the temporary foreign worker program for a caregiver, with that individual leaving the Trudeaus employ before Justin became party leader (2013); the couples second application was withdrawn. Sophie Trudeau is a stay-at-home mom of three young children, yet she apparently still needs two live-in nannies to get through the day. Ill give her a mulligan on that one because she does have a full schedule and a heap o requests. Further, spouses are expected to accompany their leader husbands on foreign gigs for all those hand-holding photo ops. The original controversy erupted just after the election, when it emerged nanny-times-two were on the public payroll. Although the Trudeaus can damn well afford to pay their own nannies, its not unreasonable for taxpayers to pick up the tab. Its part and parcel of living at 24 Sussex. But the optics were crummy. A fart in a mitten, perhaps. (Or fart in a midden, as a reader insists). But the revelation Trudeau went dipping into the temporary foreign program whilst simultaneously slamming then-PM Stephen Harper for expanding it critics argue quite convincingly that live-in caregivers from places such as the Philippines are not uniquely qualified for the work; rather, theyll toil for less pay than Canadians stinks a whole lot more. Once upon a time couple of years ago, actually Trudeau described the flood of temporary hirelings coming into the country to labour on the cheap as vulnerable workers, whose presence contributed to driving down Canadian wages and displacing the domestic pool of job-seekers. He was right. He was also sanctimoniously deceitful. Does that matter? No longer a moral hitch, since Trudeau has evidently had a change of heart on the nanny front. They shop Canadian now for the kids minders. Three kids, two nannies, one enviously swell marriage. But the idolatry is not goof-proof. Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Read more about: SHARE: Toronto Fire Services made history this month when, for the first time on record, the top three students in its graduating class were women. Its a change thats indicative of a growing trend; not only are more women pursuing a career in firefighting, theyre also finding places at the top of the ladder in roles like divisional and deputy chief. Whytney Hooker finished first in the class. Before she began getting serious about firefighting, she owned a painting company and worked for the city. I knew at about 13 that I wanted to work in emergency services, but it took until I was about 25 for me to actually pursue it, the 30-year-old said. Hooker said she wasnt sure initially if she would be strong enough to do the work, but support from friends and family helped her follow her dream. Often that encouragement came from men, even the guys in her class. I think that theres a total change in the generation thats coming in for firefighting and the mentality that women shouldnt be here has more or less been phased out, she said. It seems like a very inclusive job to be in. According to Scott Eyers, who leads the TFS training department, drastic change has come to firefighting even over the course of his career starting with the most basic a move from using the term fireman to firefighter to taking on more systemic problems. For many years, firefighting was pretty white, Anglo-Saxon and male-dominated, he said. Theres no doubt about it, in the early 90s this was a tough job, a tough environment for women. Past black marks against fire services in Canada include the entire female staff of Richmond, B.C., leaving in the late 1990s after enduring sexual harassment to Brenda Seymour, the lone female member of the Spaniards Bay volunteer fire brigade in Newfoundland who reported being intimidated and undermined because of her sex this year. Eyers estimates that in the past women made up only five per cent of the force, but since 2013 thats jumped to between 15 per cent and 20 per cent. TFS is reaping the rewards. Just being a female, sometimes when they go to a call people are more at ease, especially if its a medical call and its a woman who needs help, he said. The women weve hired in the past few years are going a long way and its definitely improving the overall makeup of our team. Katherine Shirriff finished second in the class just half a mark below Hooker and narrowly beat out graduate No. 3, Annemieke Struyk. She studied kinesiology at Laurier University, but ended up applying to become a firefighter through the newly created Firefighter Career Access Program, which allows candidates without formal fire education to qualify and compete for the hiring process through which theyll eventually get their training. I love being hands on, she said, explaining that so far shes worked three busy shifts, including attending a two-alarm fire. Shirriff said one of the best parts of the job is working alongside others who are helping her get used to her new role. The team is like a second family. Theyre your brothers and sisters, she said. According to Eyers, one of the biggest obstacles blocking women from becoming firefighters is doubting they can do the job. I dont think there are too many 8-year-old girls who want to be a firefighter when they grow up, he said. For example, my wife is a strong woman, but she doesnt think she could do the job. He said every time a woman joins the force they act as a role model to future female firefighters a role that both Hooker and Shirriff say theyre excited to take on. If theres a way that we can grow an interest and plant a seed in girls that this is something they might like to do when theyre older, were happy to be there, Shirriff said. SHARE: Of 32 female members of the Israeli parliament, 28 say they have been sexually harassed or assaulted, and at least two say those experiences occurred in the Knesset itself, according to a new survey by an Israeli television channel. The survey comes two weeks after 17 members of the Assemblee nationale, the French parliament, signed a column denouncing widespread sexual harassment and impunity in their workplace. In December, the Israeli interior minister and vice-premier, Silvan Shalom, resigned after almost a dozen women, including former employees of his, came forward with allegations of sexual harassment or assault. The survey gave the lawmakers a chance to speak publicly about the perils of being a woman in Israeli politics. Even today, the fact that Im a single woman in the Knesset puts me in unpleasant situations, said Merav Ben Ari, a Knesset member from Kulanu, a centrist political party. Sometimes people make comments. . . . I dont want to elaborate, but there was a situation recently in the Knesset, and I took care of it. Other Knesset members spoke of harassment at different times in their careers or in their childhoods. Rachel Azaria, also of Kulanu, recounted experiences of her time as a Jerusalem city council member. There was an incident that repeated itself in the planning and building committee, of which I was a member, Azaria said. Another city councilor would make remarks of a sexual nature regarding things that I said, and the whole room would burst out laughing. I consulted with the legal adviser and other officials, and they all said there was nothing to be done. It interfered with my ability to function, and I was very distressed. In 2007, Moshe Katsav, who was Israeli president at the time, was charged with raping two women when he was a cabinet minister in the late 1990s, as well as sexual assault against two of his female staffers as president. The Israeli military, too, is plagued by allegations of sexual harassment. It has launched about 250 related investigations over the past two years. SHARE: LUCKNOW, INDIAEvery day as Kamla dug through the mud and moulded bricks for north Indian kiln, her two hungry children would cry out to her for food. The 200 rupees ($3) she made for producing 1,000 bricks at a time wasnt nearly enough to feed her family, and her daughter died of malnutrition before she turned 4. Kamlas story, told to one of the many charities fighting forced labour in India, is common enough to explain how slavery persists in the country despite rapid development that has helped make India the worlds fastest-growing economy. On Tuesday, the South Asian democracy topped a global slavery index counting some 18.35 million modern slaves or 40 per cent of a global total of 45.8 million. The report, released by The Walk Free Foundation, included children and adults forced into labour, often unpaid or to pay off a debt, as well as child brides, child soldiers and migrant workers in 167 countries. These poor and deprived people are forced to leave their homes because of poverty. This is clear reflection of the failure of the welfare state, said Lenin Rghuvanshi of the Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, the charity which put together a December report based on testimony from 450 people rescued from slavery and bonded labour in India last year, including Kamla. Bonded labour is a contemporary type of slavery, he said. The government, which is supposed to provide them basic necessities, has failed them. Officials with the Indian Labour Ministry declined to comment on the slavery index report, which showed China a distant second with some 3.39 million modern slaves counted. Chinas foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. North Korea was found to have the highest per capita rate of modern slavery, with 4.37 per cent of its population affected. The problem of slavery in India including child marriage and bonded labour has long been a challenge and cause for shame. Just last week, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee lambasted Indias record on human rights, asking how India could have so many slaves. I mean, seriously, do they have just zero prosecution abilities, zero law enforcement? I mean, how could this happen? Its on that scale, its pretty incredible, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said. Many had seen the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for childrens rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, who was awarded along with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, as a sign that India would be forced to better protect its 1.25 billion citizens from abuse. But child labour, the trafficking of sex workers, and bonded labour remains widespread, despite Indias rapid economic growth over the past decade. Laws meant to keep children in school and out of the workplace are routinely flouted, as millions are forced into difficult and sometimes toxic jobs including rolling cigarettes, blowing glass in factories, mining in stone quarries or dyeing leather in tanneries. Some activists blamed the government for maintaining a top-down economy where illegal labour can still flourish because of high unemployment and abject poverty in the countryside. While the official jobless rate has hovered around 10 per cent since 1983, some economists say that counting only the number of people actively looking for work ignores the masses who have only part-time jobs or who have simply given up. The laws are there, but there is no political will on the part of the government to implement them, peace activist Swami Agnivesh said. The government cant afford to annoy rural rich as well as the urban rich who are exploiting the situation. Amid the rising criticism, the Indian government on Monday published draft legislation to curb human trafficking without punishing its victims. At present the law says the trafficked and the trafficker are both criminals and they both go to jail. Now, we are saying the victim will not go to jail, said Maneka Gandhi, the governments minister for women and child development, according to Press Trust of India. Still, some activists said the situation was improving in India, thanks to public awareness, legal reforms and police-backed raids on factories employing workers illegally. We get 20 complaints per day from family members and public in general reporting labour abuse a sign that awareness of the problem was growing, said Ramesh Senger from Satyarthis Save the Childhood Movement. He noted that Indias carpet industry used to employ 300,000 trafficked children just a decade ago, but that the number has come down to an estimated 5,000-10,000. Meanwhile, the number of children forced to work making plastic bangles in parts of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is now negligible, whereas thousands worked in the industry 10 years ago. Indias garment industry hub in the capital has also eliminated child labour, Sanger noted as an example of how police-backed raids can make a difference. We rescued nearly 400 children in the area between 2012-2014, he said. The garments industry in the area no longer employs child labour. But for those still mired in forced labour, the scourge cant be ended soon enough. And with little recourse against abusive employers, they can only hope to be rescued by a charity intervening. Radha, kidnapped from her family by a woman from her village and forced into bonded labour at a brick kiln near Varanasi, told the Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights she was raped daily by the factorys owner when she was not cooking and cleaning for him, and then was beaten when she tried to object. I was so scared, she said. Im still in pain from the rapes. Read more about: SHARE: WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALANDStuart Cleary set out in late 2014 to paddle solo from Australia to New Zealand. But in the end, it was his homemade kayak that completed the 2,000-kilometre journey on its own. Just hours into the trip, Cleary ran into equipment problems. Later, his kayak started taking on water, and he was forced to abandon the vessel before being rescued at sea. Eighteen months later, the kayak has washed up on a New Zealand beach close to where Cleary had intended to make landfall. Nathan Marshall said he was taking his dogs for a run on Muriwai Beach near Auckland on Wednesday morning when he found the barnacle-encrusted kayak. He approached it cautiously. I thought there was going to be a body, he said by phone. Instead, he found a vessel that was stained and battered but remarkably intact considering its odyssey. Inside the cabin were remnants of the failed voyage: rusted cans of food, a radio, a waterlogged first-aid kit. Marshall posted a message seeking information about the vessel on a community Facebook page and within a few hours was talking to Cleary in Australia. Its just incredible, just unbelievable, Cleary said by phone from his Gold Coast home. It seems like the kayak had a mind of its own. If only Id known that it knew the way. Cleary, 54, a former oil-field diver, had spent four years training and preparing for his voyage. He designed and built the 6-meter kayak, using a wooden mould that he covered in high-grade foam and layered with fiberglass. He included a cabin that was just long enough for him to sleep in. Cleary initially had wanted to circumnavigate the Tasman Sea, but changed his plans due to the weather. And nobody had ever completed a solo, unassisted kayak crossing from Australia to New Zealand. He left in December 2014 from the town of Ballina in New South Wales with food to last 70 days, hoping to reach land within a month. But 12 hours later, Clearys GPS device started failing. Then it was his steering rudder. He turned back to the Australian coast, only to get hit by heavy seas. At one point, he opened the hatch and a wave crashed in. Everything went pear-shaped, he said. When rescuers arrived, the waves were too large for them to tow or retrieve the kayak, so they abandoned it. Cleary said he figured it would wash up in Australia or circle about and sink in the notoriously rough Tasman Sea. There are storms and wind and waves, he said. Theres a collision of weather systems it turns into a massive cacophony of weather directions. Six months after the rescue, Cleary tossed out the trolley hed used for transporting the kayak, giving up hope that hed ever see it again. But on Wednesday, the kayak was found washed ashore just 25 kilometres from the entrance to Aucklands Manukau Harbour, where Cleary was initially headed. I think its pretty crazy that it turns up right next to where there is beach access instead of smashing on the rocks, said Marshall, a builder, who hauled the kayak to his farm with the help of some rangers. Cleary said he plans to visit the farm later this week, although this time hell be travelling to New Zealand by plane. He said the kayak will likely need to be thrown away, but first he wants to see if theres anything he can learn from the damage it sustained. Thats because hes considering making a second crossing attempt. It feels like unfinished business, Cleary said. Particularly now that the bloody kayak beat me there. SHARE: TOKYODonald Trump appears to be finding some friends in North Korea. The presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee has been getting good press this week in the Norths carefully controlled media, first in an opinion piece that praised him as wise and full of foresight and then Wednesday in the official mouthpiece of the ruling Workers Party itself. Both articles noted how his suggestions he would be willing to meet leader Kim Jong Un and wants to rethink and possibly withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea have created a Trump Shock in Seoul. The state-run DPRK Today in Pyongyang started off the Trump praise on Tuesday by juxtaposing the wise Trump with what it called dull Hillary describing leading Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton by only her first name. The presidential candidate who U.S. citizens should vote for is not dull Hillary, who says she would pursue an Iran-type model to solve the Korean Peninsulas nuclear problems, but Trump, who said he would solve problems by directly talking with North Korea, said the column attributed to a China-based scholar. In the lengthy column, Trump is described as a wise politician and presidential candidate with foresight for his comments about the U.S. potentially withdrawing its troops from South Korea if Seoul doesnt bear the costs. It also noted his public willingness to directly talk with the North Korean leadership if he becomes president. Trump told The New York Times in March that South Korea and Japan should pay much more for the U.S. troops based in their countries about 28,000 in South Korea and around 50,000 in Japan. In a more recent interview with the Reuters news agency, Trump said he was willing to meet with Kim. I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him, he said. The removal of U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula and direct talks with a U.S. president dovetail nicely with objectives Pyongyang has held for years though undoubtedly for different reasons than the American real estate magnate. The North wants the U.S. troops to leave because it sees them as a direct threat to the regimes security and has long wanted talks with Washington, ostensibly toward a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War, that would boost its international status and acknowledge that North Korea is a nuclear state. There are many positive aspects to take away from Trumps inflammatory campaign promises, the writer says in the DPRK Today column, pointing out Trumps indications that Seoul should pay 100 per cent of the cost for the American troops stationed in the South and, if not, Washington should pull them out. Yes, go away, now! it says. Who knew that the Yankee Go Home slogan we shouted so enthusiastically could come true so easily like this? The day that the Yankee Go Home slogan becomes reality would be the day of unification. The Korean War that solidified the division of North and South Korea ended in an armistice, not a full peace treaty. The DPRK Today website is considered to be a propaganda outlet aimed at readers outside the North, though its position within the government is not clear. While not as colourful or overtly supportive as the DPRK Today column, the ruling partys official Rodong Sinmun editorial said the emergence of Trump is causing anxiety in South Korea because of his comments about the potential U.S. troop withdrawal. It said the South Korean government should stop living as a servant of foreign forces and come back to the side of the Korean nation, but didnt comment directly on Trump as a candidate. Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTONSeven years ago, newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama came to a blighted stretch of northern Indiana and predicted a tough but certain recovery if the country embraced his approach to re-juicing the economy. He returns Wednesday seeking credit for having lifted the U.S. out of the doldrums with policies Democrats are now rallying behind as they work to elect his replacement. Obamas appearance his eighth in Indiana since being elected could be viewed as an early foray into the 2016 campaign. In excerpts of his remarks released before his speech, Obama cast the election as a choice between the paths that Democrats and Republicans want to take on the economy. If what you really care about in this election is your pocketbook, if what youre concerned about is who will look out for the interests of working people and grow the middle class, then the debate isnt even close, Obama said. In Elkhart, a town of about 50,000 not far from South Bend, Obama will encounter a community whose experience during his presidency has mirrored the countrys broader economic revival: uneven and bumpy, with both winners and losers. Though the job market has picked up and Elkharts housing crisis has ebbed, the area has fallen short in its aspirations to diversify beyond its reliance on the niche recreational vehicle industry. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump has hammered Obama over free trade policies that Trump blames for air conditioning manufacturer Carrier Corp.s decision to ship 1,400 jobs from Indianapolis to Mexico. To Obama, who has often held up Elkhart as a microcosm of the U.S., those lingering challenges arent enough to forestall a planned victory lap on the economy. Arguing that his controversial $840 billion (U.S.) stimulus package was ultimately vindicated, Obama will call on the next president to be willing to spend big to enable further economic growth despite the objections of small-government conservatives. If we get cynical and just vote our fears, or dont vote at all, we wont build on the progress weve started, Obama planned to say. Obama and his aides have long signalled frustration that as the economy has improved, the publics perception of his decision-making hasnt tracked the same trajectory. The White House sees his opponents begrudging refusal to give credit where due as a symptom of their decision early on to reflexively oppose all of his ideas. Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder, a Republican, paused for 15 seconds and laughed when asked whether Obama deserved any credit for the recovery. He said government plays a role, but that politicians must be cautious not to overinflate their contribution. At the bottom of the day, I think most elected officials and Im guessing the president would say this himself that it is the local communities and the local businesses and workers that really are the major reason that a community will turn around, Yoder said. In Elkhart, where unemployment hit 19.6 per cent at its peak during the recession, joblessness has dropped precipitously to about 4 per cent lower than the national average. The foreclosure rate, too, has diminished, and manufacturing has picked up. Still, it is places like Elkhart that illustrate just how stubborn opposition to the president can be especially in conservative stretches of the Midwest. Though Obama won Indiana in 2008 in a shocking victory, he lost the traditionally Republican state decisively in 2012. In late April, ahead of Indianas primaries, just 42 per cent of Indiana adults in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll said they approved of the job Obamas doing. Thats lower than his approval in the country as a whole. A few weeks later, 51 per cent in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said they approve, in line with other recent surveys. Indianas Republican governor, Mike Pence, said Wednesday that Elkhart had rebounded in spite of Obamas policies and that those policies inflicted onerous federal burdens on Indiana. There are many reasons for the remarkable economic recovery that has been created in Indiana but I believe most of the credit belongs to the hard-working people of this community and the state, Pence wrote in an editorial in the Elkhart Truth. Neither Pence nor his re-election opponent, Democrat John Gregg, planned to attend Obamas speech. For Democrats, Obamas renewed popularity nationally is enough that the party is firmly embracing his policies in the presidential election, especially on the economy. Hillary Clinton has proposed steps that build directly on Obamas actions while Bernie Sanders has praised his accomplishments. The notable exception is free trade, where both Clinton and Sanders say they disagree with Obama. SHARE: Fixed-income investors may want to diversify into international corporate bond exchange traded funds that have large Eurozone exposure as the European Central Bank expands its bond purchasing program to include corporate debt. The ECB will be hoarding euro-denominated investment-grade bonds with maturities of over six months and up to 30 years from companies incorporated within the Eurozone, reports Gavin Jackson for the Financial Times. Related: ECB Policy Keeps Pressure on Europe, International Bond ETF Yields The ECB has said it will be market neutral in in purchases, and negative-yielding bonds may be included as long as the yield is above the central banks -0.4% deposit rates. Belgium, Germany, Spain, Finland, France and Italy central banks will acquire corporate debt through both primary and secondary markets. While the ECB has not explicitly stated how much they are going to acquire, analysts project asset purchases to be between five and ten billion euros per month. At the March meeting, ECB President Mario Draghi announced the bond purchasing program will increase to 80 billion from 60 billion. Looking ahead, Eurozone bond yields will likely go even lower due to the increased buying pressure. While there are no Europe-focused speculative-grade debt ETFs on the market, U.S. investors can still gain exposure to European bonds through international bond ETFs with heavy tilts toward European countries. For example, the PowerShares International Corporate Bond Portfolio (PICB) and SPDR Barclays International Corporate Bond ETF (IBND) . Trending on ETF Trends Smart Beta and Fixed Income Meet With These New ETFs Manage Volatility, Generate Income with Muni Bond ETFs Bond ETFs to Hedge Against Inflationary Pressures Rising Foreign Demand Could Support Corporate Bond ETFs Wall Street Eyes Junk Bond ETF for Easy Liquidity The funds also include a heavy tilt toward European bonds. For instance, PICB holds 23.1% U.K., 18.8 France, 8.9% Germany, 6.9% Italy, 6.2% Netherlands, 4.7% Spain, 3.5% Switzerland and 2.7% Sweden. Story continues IBND includes 15.0% France, 12.6% U.K., 10.9% Germany, 7.7% Netherlands, 7.2% Italy, 5.3% Spain, 5.0% Switzerland, 3.0% Sweden, 2.2% Belgium, 0.6% Denmark, 0.6% Norway and 0.2% Portugal. Additionally, with yields falling, Eurozone investors may turn to riskier speculative-grade debt to meet their income needs, bolstering the high-yield market. U.S. investors can also gain exposure to speculative-grade European corporate debt through international ETF options as well. Related: High-Yield International Bond ETFs Attractive in Global Low-Rate Environment For instance, the VanEck Vectors International High Yield Bond ETF (IHY) includes a 15.6% exposure to U.K., 9.0% Italy, 6.0% Germany, 6.7% France, 3.8% Luxembourg, 2.4% Spain, 1.4% Liechtenstein, 1.4% Switzerland and 1.9% Netherlands. The SPDR Barclays International High Yield Bond ETF (IJNK) top European country weights include U.K. 16.5%, Italy 13.6%, France 9.9%, Germany 8.9%, Luxembourg 8.3% and Netherlands 4.1%. Top country holdings in the iShares International High Yield Bond ETF (HYXU) include Italy 22.5%, Germany 13.6%, U.K. 15.9%, France 9.8%, Luxembourg 5.3% and Spain 5.2%. For more information on the fixed-income market, visit our bond ETFs category. A Saudi scholar issued a fatwa against using another persons Wi-Fi without permission, since theft cannot be tolerated in Islam. Taking advantage of the Wi-Fi service illegally or without the knowledge of other beneficiaries or providers is not allowed, said Ali Al Hakami, a member of the high scholars commission, a senior religious body which advises the Saudi king. Any provider or user who pays money for the Wi-Fi service should be consulted before using it. When the Wi-Fi service is open such as in parks, malls, cafeterias, hotels and government departments, then there is no problem since it is meant to be used by the people or clients. The rather banal ruling follows a similar edict in April from Dubais Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, which responded to a question submitted online regarding the use of a neighbours Internet. There is nothing wrong in using the line if your neighbours allow you to do so, but if theyd dont allow you, you may not use it, it ordered. That a conservative Islamic jurist would weigh in on such an amusingly uncontroversial matter shouldnt be such a such a surprise. Fatwas get issued on all and sundry things. Sometimes, they can be quite harmless, such as when a religious watchdog in the United Arab Emirates banned travelling to Mars. In other instances, they reflect patriarchal, conservative norms or even outright misogyny: In Indonesia, clerics issued a fatwa against certain emoticons that could be seen as LGBT-friendly; Daesh, also known as the Islamic State group or ISIS, during the early stages of its insurgency in Syria, declared that women should not be allowed to sit in chairs. The Wi-Fi fatwa is far less provocative, although the need for it confused some commentators. Why not just encourage people to put passwords on their private Internet? We do not need a religious edict to pinpoint such basic things, a Saudi blogger noted, according to the Gulf Times. Private property should remain private, especially (since) the owner paid money for the services. Nobody should just take advantage. Read more about: SHARE: SiriusXM satellite radio has suspended conservative talk show host Glenn Beck for comments he made last week which have been interpreted as potentially advocating the harm of presumptive Republican presidential nominee and real estate mogul Donald Trump. During a May 25 interview on The Glenn Beck Program, Beck agreed with a comment made by New York Times bestselling thriller author Brad Thor: I am about to suggest something very bad, Thor said. . . . With the feckless, spineless Congress we have, who will stand in the way of Donald Trump overstepping his constitutional authority as president? If Congress wont remove him from office, what patriot will step up and do that if, if, he oversteps his mandate as president, his constitutional-granted authority, I should say, as president, Thor said, according to CNN. If he oversteps that, how do we get him out of office? And I dont think there is a legal means available. I think it will be a terrible, terrible position the American people will be in to get Trump out of office because you wont be able to do it through Congress. I would agree with you on that, Beck responded. The comments may be reasonably construed by some to have been advocating harm against an individual currently running for office, SiriusXM said in a statement, Associated Press reported. Some have taken Thors quote as a call for the assassination of Trump. Drudge Report ran a headline about the incident, which included the phrase taking out Trump, CNN reported. As a result, SirusXM has suspended Beck for a week. On Twitter, Thor wrote that he was misinterpreted and that his quotes were taken out of context. Thor tweeted: A) I didnt call for his assassination B) President-elect Trump? Youre not very well informed, are you? He repeated this in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday. (Beck and I) were discussing a speculative future America under a dictator, Thor said. Safeguarding the Republic against a dictatorship is a topic of conversation that dates back to the Founders. If we had to unseat a president without the backing of the Congress, we would need a patriot along the lines of George Washington to lead the country from tyranny back to liberty. Beck hasnt responded to the situation, but his shows general manager Dom Theodore wrote in a statement posted to Becks website: As every listener of the show knows, Glenn has never and will never advocate violence. It wasnt long ago that he was criticized by some for advocating peace during the Bundy Ranch saga. Glenn is a firm believer in Martin Luther Kings approach to affecting change, not Malcolm Xs This isnt the first time the two have discussed an attempt on Trumps life. During a segment of The Glenn Beck Program earlier this month, after calling Black Lives Matter supporters morons, Thor said, there will be unprecedented assassination attempts against Trump. There are going to be attempts on his life, Thor said. I pray to God it doesnt happen, but the way this country is right now, I dont know how it doesnt happen. Beck responded, I hope not. While he has never advocated violence, the conservative host has recently been vocal about his staunch opposition to Trump. I am the only one practically . . . in radio . . . who comes out and tells you what all of us know off-air, Beck said in January. Im telling you right now, this is a gigantic mistake. If this country chooses Donald Trump, you are going to end up, I truly believe, with a monster much, much worse than anything that Barack Obama could have dreamt. Susan Wright, a columnist for Red State, opined that the quote has been misinterpreted and SiriusXM was pressured to suspend Beck following social media outrage. She wrote: How much of that social media outrage by the gilded toads tadpoles had an effect on the decision by SiriusXM and their actions against Beck? No idea, but Im willing to bet they had at least some part in creating the mountain out of that particular molehill. This is the point where I ask if theres anyone else who gets the slightest sense of unease with punishing journalists, writers, pundits, or talk show hosts over what amounts to perceived threats, when the evidence at hand is ambiguous, at best? As of now, it is unclear if Becks show will return. SiriusXM says it is evaluating his programs place in its lineup. Read more about: SHARE: The Conservative Party of Canada doesnt like women, as proved by their latest flailing attempts to prove that they do, or did, or will one day. Interim party leader Rona Ambrose made two more of her peculiar anti-women speeches at the partys equally peculiar convention last week. Im all for eccentricity in public life it at least makes tasty lumps in the pale porridge that is the Conservative Party but to actually have a Sarnia MP appear onstage as the Grim Reaper, complete with scythe, was office-party bad. Then an Alberta MP named Arnold Kenneth the Page Viersen, a rural anti-abortionist who recites wheat rhymes in the Commons, attempted to rap, a performance so badly judged it was hard not to see it as racist, but then weve all been to terrible wedding dinners, the poor creature was making an effort. You cannot rhyme Muskoka with Lee Iacocca, you cannot make former justice minister rhyme with anything. It was everyones embarrassing nephew from that side of the family making a speech, and then came Ambrose. Flashback to 1952. After comparing Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Laureen Harper modest lady-wise, Ambrose suggested Justin Trudeau was the first female prime minister. What fascinated me was the sight of a woman in 2016 insulting a man by calling him a woman. Female has always been a pejorative as indeed has the word woman try saying silly woman and note that it isnt the silly that stings but what a lack of self-knowledge on Ambroses part. People hate what they hate in themselves. I do understand the source of this. Being born female has throughout history been a bad career move for babies but I take Tina Feys advice: move over, under and through the obstacles. And that is why I dress the same way Ambrose dressed for her speech, like a head waiter. She was wearing a fabulous white tuxedo jacket and leather pants, although I disagreed with the on-trend fringed stiletto sandals that looked strangely like hooves. I own tuxedo jackets and dresses, and theyre wonderful for their purpose, which is to look like a man, admittedly one who forgot his pants. In these garments, Ambrose and I can pass. The clothes were emblematic. Somethings going on up top, somethings down below and the Conservatives are at a loss about gender. I doubt they will be allowed to become as toxic as the Republicans on the subject of womens bodies abortion rights are here to stay but they dont like women working, double-incoming, daycaring, living life in the modern age. How they wish they could stop us in our tracks. I hope the Conservatives have realized the train wreck of trying to paint Prime Minister Trudeau as effeminate. He is a traditional man, hard as that may be for Harper Conservatives to understand. I love traditional men, and by that I mean men who love being fathers, who are comfortable with women, who like to see their partners succeed, who like women who dress as they please and behave as they like. The Wildrose Party MPs who refused to stand when Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was introduced in the Alberta Legislature and then mocked her to her face? They did it partly because she was a woman. It was a tactical error, an interesting confluence of things, as Wynne said later. It was a woman premier in Alberta. Im there as a woman, were talking about climate change. And I think the attack, the viciousness of the attack, had a particular quality to it. One of those MLAs, Derek Fildebrandt, later praised a social media comment referring to Wynne as Mr. Wynne or whatever the hell she identifies as. Wynne is openly gay. Fildebrandt apologized and was briefly suspended by Wildrose, which quietly gave him a Mason jar of kettle corn and a pony. Fildebrandt is not of our time. Only eight years ago, his LinkedIn profile says, he was president of the Reagan-Goldwater Society at Carleton. Who are these elderly young men and why are they so testy? Do they still Like Ike? A goat ate their bloomers off the backyard clothesline in 1909, as insult generator Erlich Bachman from Silicon Valley would say, and theyre still mad about it. I dont know where the Conservatives find these people. Ambrose must know this cohort is going nowhere. If Hillary Clinton is elected U.S. president, its going to be as bad for women as it was for black Americans after Obama took office. I do wish Canada would not partake. SHARE: Saying the right thing isnt enough. Its vital that the Liberal government in Ottawa does whats best for democracy and lets Canadians vote on electoral reform. Thats the best way to gauge public support for whatever is put forward to replace the so-called first-past-the-post election system in use since Confederation. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have steadfastly resisted calls for a referendum. They havent entirely rejected the idea but insist there are all sorts of other ways to assess Canadians views. They were at it again at a Liberal policy convention over the weekend, with the prime minister telling reporters that our approach is to listen to Canadians, to consult with Canadians, as we talk about the values that underpin our electoral process. It was meant to be a heartening assurance. But the best way to consult is to put electoral reform to a national vote. And thats not what the government has resolved to do. In an interview with the Stars Alex Boutilier, Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef further elaborated on Ottawas pledge to heed the public. Canadians can rest assured that unless we have their broad buy-in, were not moving forward with any changes, she said. Those are comforting words. But it is unclear how, exactly, the buy-in of Canadians is to be assessed. A digital portal is to be set up soon to canvass online opinion. And the government has suggested that all MPs conduct town hall meetings in their riding on electoral reform. Some indication of how thats likely to go is evident in the Ottawa-area riding of Liberal MP Karen McCrimmon. According to a community media outlet, she held a town hall at the end of April attended by about 125 people. More than two-thirds of the group agreed, by a show of hands, that change is needed. People were asked to place stickers on boards ranking various democratic values and the result of an unscientific local mail survey was also released. The outcome of all this was dutifully shared with Monsefs office. With all due respect to McCrimmon and her constituents in Kanata-Carleton, gatherings like that are hardly the best way to gauge broad buy-in by voters. Minister Monsef says she has not been persuaded that a referendum is the best tool that we can use in the 21st century. But its ludicrous to suggest town halls as a substitute. Replacing the traditional first-past-the-post system with some other way of ranking or allocating ballots would be a profound change at the very core of Canadian democracy. It may prove to be a change for the better. But it mustnt be treated as simply another piece of government legislation. Broad buy-in is, indeed, necessary for such a shift. And if that isnt possible through an agreement among major parties in the House of Commons, it should be determined in a referendum. Its the only way to guarantee that electoral reform has democratic legitimacy. SHARE: Re: Too much trust in old nuclear plants, May 30 Re Too much trust in old nuclear plants, May 30 I read with interest the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) opinion piece about Pickering Nuclear. The only fact in the article that I was able to verify is that Stairway to Heaven was released by Led Zeppelin in 1971. The six nuclear units at Pickering were built to very robust standards and are operating safely, to the highest performance standards. The electricity from the six operating units provides about 13 per cent of Ontarios annual demand, is free of greenhouse gas emissions and comes at a cost lower than almost all other sources of energy. Continued operations will save Ontario customers $600 million and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eight million tonnes over the 2020-to-2024 period. Both Pickering and Darlington nuclear stations enjoy strong community support, and a recent survey indicated 85 per cent of those polled supported the continued operations of the Pickering station. Ontario relies on nuclear power to provide 60 per cent of its electricity generation. The plants at Darlington, Pickering and Bruce have excellent performance and safety records. Nuclear is Ontarios best option for cost-effective, GHG emissions-free, reliable, base-load generation and have been a critical resource in ensuring clean air for Ontarians. We look forward to our nuclear fleet continuing to be part of the solution in the battle against climate change. Jeffrey Lyash, president and CEO Ontario Power Generation, Toronto Jack Gibbons opinion piece is a clarion call to do the right thing, as other jurisdictions are doing: close and dismantle old, worn-out and inefficient nuclear power plants. Gibbons is a highly experienced expert in this matter. Let us not dither; a nuclear disaster could hit the GTA at any time. Fred Brailey, Orangeville Mondays anti-Pickering Nuclear Station Extension editorial diatribe by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) is typical of their dreamweaver-like campaigns heavy with the spectre of environmental disaster and fast and loose with the facts. The Pickering Nuclear Station is licensed and its operations, including emergency preparedness, are overseen by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), an independent regulator. The CNSC has 70 years of experience and is highly regarded internationally. Additionally, the Pickering Nuclear Station, owned by Ontario Power Generation (OPG), a provincial Crown corporation, routinely provides information and consults with local communities about the plants operations. When the province approved OPGs plan to pursue the continued operation of Pickering beyond 2020 to 2024, it noted that final approval would be required from the CNSC. Pickering would continue to employ over 4,500 people in Durham region and 8 million tonnes of greenhouse gases would be avoided. Yes, extending the operation of the Pickering Station is about clean air. The OCAA claims that cheap, low-carbon electricity imports from Quebec offer a superior option, but those claims have been disproven by a number of highly credible analyses, including Ontarios Independent Electricity System Operator. Billions of dollars would need to be invested to build and improve the transmission interties and transmission lines in Ontario and Quebec. Ontario currently exports low-carbon nuclear power to help Quebec meet its winter peak and refill its reservoirs. Even if Quebec could supply, large-scale electricity imports would mean tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars flowing out of Ontario. The only real alternative to base-load 24/7 nuclear in Ontario is fossil fuel generation, and we believe the OCAA knows that. Less nuclear generation in Ontario would mean dramatic increases in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution at a time when the entire world is transitioning to a lower carbon environment. Don MacKinnon, President of the Power Workers Union, Toronto SHARE: Manhattan's biggest rental building, Sky, towers over the city's far west side. At 71 stories, Sky features 1,175 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units and is located on West 42nd Street, just feet from the Hudson River. Ask any New Yorker and you'll hear complaints that his or her rent is too high. That's because the average rental costs roughly $4,100 a month in Manhattan, according to an April 2016 report from Douglas Elliman, a real estate brokerage firm. Manhattan's vacancy rate stands at just 2.4%. In Sky, developed by The Moinian Group, prices run about $3,000 for a studio and upwards of $7,000 for a two-bedroom unit. "If you're a renter, it's not easy. If you're a landlord, you can't complain," said Mitchell Moinian, senior vice president of The Moinian Group. "Rents are definitely high." Moinian said part of the reason rents have risen stems from stricter lending requirements put in place by banks since the financial crisis, which has pushed more people into the rental market. Sky was built like a condo building, Moinian said, boasting top-notch finishes in each unit, including quartz countertops, porcelain tiled bathrooms and floor to ceiling windows with breathtaking views of the Hudson River. "There's been a new trend, which we've definitely taken advantage of here, which is building a certain type of rental product that is premium or superior to your typical rental product," he added. Moinian said this strategy helps cater to people who aren't sure if they should rent or buy. Outside of the apartment, but still within the building, residents enjoy 70,000 square feet of amenity space including three swimming pools, a Life Time Fitness (LTM) gym, a sauna and nail salon. But even amid the glitz and glamour of Sky, the developers recognize New York City's growing affordability crisis. To that end, 20% of the units will be rented to lower-income households in exchange for tax incentives from the city for the developer. "We're honored to say we've done that," Moinian said. "In this building alone, we were able to deliver hundreds of affordable units in one building." Last week Alphabet (GOOGL) was on the winning side of a large legal battle with Oracle (ORCL) that could have cost the search giant almost $10 billion. Now Oracle is back in court Tuesday to fight another tech company, this time the former Hewlett-Packard. This time it's Oracle that's playing defense. HP is seeking $3 billion in damages from its partner-turned-competitor. The issue is Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010. Partly because of the purchase, HPE alleges Oracle helped to drive the drop in sales of the old Hewlett-Packard's Itanium products. Oracle disputed the allegation, saying Itanium sales fell from $3.1 billion in 2011 to $876 million in 2015 for other reasons. Another part of the battle is Mark Hurd, now the co-CEO of Oracle. He previously served as the CEO of the old Hewlett-Packard before he was asked by the board to resign. Oracle didn't waste any time snapping up Hurd, making him the co-president of the company. Hewlett said Hurd possessed insider knowledge giving Oracle an edge. Oracle said it will stop creating certain software for Hewlett's Itanium systems. Hewlett filed a lawsuit in response and, in 2012, the legal system agreed: Oracle needed to keep producing the systems. The new trial will look at whether any company has violated its previous agreements and if either is entitled to damages. Since the original lawsuit, Hewlett-Packard split into Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) and HP Inc. (HPQ) . Oracle closed at $40.20 Tuesday, up 0.3%. If we've learned anything in the auto industry over the past few years, it's that the big players aren't the only ones running the show now. Tech players including Alphabet and Tesla (TSLA) are emerging as legitimate players in the business. Another, lesser-known company is now popping up on the map: Zoox. The autonomous-driving startup is looking to raise up to $252 million and could be valued at more than $1 billion. Not much is known about the company, but it was only one of two startups to have a license for operating autonomous vehicles in California. Now that General Motors (GM) has acquired the other, Cruise Automation, it's the only startup with one. Although tech companies and automakers are racing toward the finish line -- or starting line? -- for introducing autonomous driving to the masses, there is skepticism about the technology, especially from consumers. But over time, the companies are banking on a more accepting environment, both from customers and regulators. Scratch Turkey off the list of countries where PayPal (PYPL) operates. Beginning June 6, customers will no longer be able to access the service unless it is to withdraw money to deposit into their bank. Of course, PayPal didn't make the move simply because it doesn't like Turkey. The company says a new policy from the country's financial regulator, BDDK, is preventing the company from obtaining the proper license. The policy required PayPal to open an IT center in Turkey, something PayPal doesn't "consider doable," according to CNET. Either comply, build the IT infrastructure and operate or get out. For now at least, PayPal is leaving. PayPal closed at $37.79 Tuesday, down 0.8%. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Shares of Restoration Hardware (RH) have been destroyed. With the stock down 69% from its 52-week high, is there any restoration ahead? We'll find out when the company reports first-quarter earnings on June 9. I have little confidence the stock can rebound anytime soon. At the end of March, Restoration Hardware reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that were in line with previously lowered guidance. The company preannounced sharply lower results on Feb. 24 and blamed the slowdown on weakness in the oil patch, higher expenses, shipping delays and a pull back in purchases by high-end consumers. In my opinion, those excuses don't hold water. First, I doubt weakness in the oil patch was much of a factor. CEO Gary Friedman told investors that weakness in the South American oil markets has affected Florida and specifically hurt the Miami furniture market. According to Friedman, energy-related pressures accounted for a 6% reduction in company revenue by March 2016. Out of 86 stores the company only has six stores in Florida. It has one in Louisiana and six in Texas. Even if you add the two stores in oil-rich Canada, that's only 15 stores, or 17% of the store base. Second, the company has been closing smaller stores and opening larger flagship locations. I think that strategy has been a failure. You would think same-store sales would be growing faster than sales, because all those new large stores would drive lots of customer traffic. That's not the case. Total retail sales growth has been either in line with or below comp-store sales for the last couple of quarters. It seems customer don't care how big the stores are. Third, margins are a mess. In fiscal 2015, sales were up 13% and gross margins were 36.5%. But when sales slowed to mid-single digits in fiscal 2016, gross margins fell 177 basis points and operating margins declined 44 basis points. Expenses rose 134 points as the company lost operating leverage. Management blames supply chain issues for the margin mess, since its new "Modern" furniture collection hasn't shipped on time. The delay in getting the Modern assortment into the stores has weighed on sales growth, too. But, management admitted approximately 70% of the collection is in stock. Fourth, the company blamed the sales slowdown on the lack of high-end buyers. It doesn't look like competitor Ethan Allen (ETH) has had any problems selling furniture. Back on April 25, ETH reported same-store sales of 18.6% and a 10% increase in revenue. The stock took off. Ethan Allen is probably taking market share from RH. Fifth, the first half could continue to be under pressure. On the last conference call, management said it was spending $22 million to accommodate customers who have been inconvenienced by the delivery delays of the Modern collection. That adds up to over 22 cents per share in earnings. The company said earnings would be under pressure all the first quarter. That means second-quarter numbers are probably too high as well. For the first quarter, the consensus is looking for earnings per share of 5 cents and revenue of $452.87 million. Analyst models assume the first quarter will be the bottom and business will steadily improve each quarter. But wouldn't that be hard because sales are under pressure from the oil patch? I don't think Restoration Hardware is a broken company; it's just a broken stock. Management has to get growth back on track before the stock can move higher. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Philips Lighting has shone brightly since its IPO on May 27 but analysts at Jefferies have warned it looks set to fade. Unconditional dealings in the Philips' spinoff began yesterday in Amsterdam after the IPO of about 25% of the group and the stock by Tuesday's close had risen to euro 22.30 from an IPO price of euro 20.00. But, initiating coverage, Jefferies slapped an underperform tag on the stock and set a price target of just euro 17.00. "The dominant profit producer (Lamps) is in structural decline, LED lamps are inherently more competitive and Home (which is loss-making) is too small to matter. The key to the investment case is therefore Professional, which is 37% of sales but much less profitable than leading peers. We are sceptical about the turnaround prospects," Jefferies said. The analysts noted that the company's professional unit - its second largest - commands lower margins than its peers, or 5% compared with about 14% for Acuity (AYI) . Their target valuation for Philips Lighting is euro 4 billion ($4.5 billion), including debt, which equates to a price tag euro 2.5 billion for the stock, or euro 17.00 per share. That's almost 24% below Tuesday's close. One of Alibaba's (BABA) biggest shareholders, Softbank, said on Wednesday in Tokyo that it will sell at least $7.9 billion of its shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant to reduce its debt. Alibaba's shares fell 2.7% in after-hours trading on Tuesday and were down 2.7% in pre-market trading on Wednesday. The stock had closed in New York at $81.91 on Tuesday. Softbank, the Japanese telecom investor which owns most of Sprint (S) , held 32.2% of Alibaba's issued and outstanding shares at the end of March. The sale will bring the stake to about 28%. Softbank has agreed with Alibaba not to transfer any further shares for a six-month period. The telecom said the transaction was "driven purely by [Softbank's] capital structure and de-leveraging objectives." The sale will allow Softbank to build up a liquidity cushion and improve the company's debt-to-earnings ratio. In a statement Softbank's chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said that there would be a continued partnership between the two companies. "This investment has been phenomenally successful, and over the past 16 years, we have built a close relationship, working together on many exciting projects. In that time, we have not sold any Alibaba shares," he said. Softbank was up 0.4% in trading in Tokyo on Wednesday. Alibaba on Tuesday said the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its accounting practices. It said it was cooperating with regulators and noted that it was told the review wasn't an indication it had violated securities law. Germany's foreign minister has said that the European Union may consider easing sanctions on Russia later this year before the peace plan for eastern Ukraine is fully implemented. Frank-Walter Steinmeier told foreign journalists on Tuesday that the EU should be "smart" about dealing with the sanctions. "To me, 'smart' means that if there is truly substantial progress - and currently there is no such progress, yet - we should consider easing sanctions, step-by-step," he said. Steinmeier is part of Germany's Social Democratic party, which form a junior partner in Angela Merkel's coalition government. The Social Democratic Party has historically pushed for closer ties with Russia. The EU imposed sanctions on Russia's energy, financial and defense sector after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine two years ago. Until now, officials from the European Council and the European Commission have said that the sanctions would only be lifted if all conditions of the so-called Minsk ceasefire agreement were met. "Whether my proposal becomes reality depends on how talks over the next month with our European partners go. The signals coming from European capitals are very different: the ones from Budapest are different than those from London," Steinmeier said. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker plans to meet President Vladimir Putin in June in Russia. Juncker suggested closer trade ties with Russia in a letter to Putin sent in November. However, Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski told Reuters that sanctions should not be eased until the peace agreement has been fully implemented. Szymanski said, "The European Union's authority ... in the future depends on the successful influencing Russia through sanctions." The EU seems likely to extend sanctions on Russia when they expire at the end of June. But EU officials have signaled that the extension may be short term. RATINGS CHANGES Lands' End (LE) was downgraded to sell at TheStreet Ratings. You can view the full analysis from the report here: LE. Nabors (NBR) was downgraded to neutral at Credit Suisse. Spot drilling rates will likely fall, given excess supply, Credit Suisse said. Nike (NKE) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. $60 price target. The company is losing market share and orders have peaked, analysts said. Nike (NKE) was downgraded to equal weight at Morgan Stanley. $60 price target. Growth headwinds are building, Morgan Stanley said. Qualcomm (QCOM) was upgraded to buy at TheStreet Ratings. You can view the full analysis from the report here: QCOM. Sony undefined was downgraded to hold at TheStreet Ratings. You can view the full analysis from the report here: SNE. Whole Foods (WFM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse. $40 price target. The valuation is more attractive, as the stock is down 50% from its peak, Credit Suisse said. This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet. Investors in UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shouldn't be too concerned about its latest plans to pull out of its Affordable Care Act exchange in California, as it's departing from a money-losing market. Meanwhile, the company is focusing more closely on its Optum healthcare technology segment, which continues to fuel growth. Though the nation's largest health insurer said in April that it would quit offering ACA plans in a majority of its 34 Obamacare exchange marketplaces by 2017, its plans to pull out of California, as noted by multiple financial media outlets on Wednesday, were not detailed. Shares of UnitedHealth added less than 1% in afternoon trading to $134.55, assigning the Minnetonka, Minn.-based company a market capitalization of about $128 billion. UnitedHealth's management team has always been one of the better operators in the health insurance space and so the moves come as little surprise, according to Morningstar analyst Vishnu Lekraj. Insurers aren't forced by any government entity to get involved with the public exchange market, and so it would be a disservice to investors to continue to participate in a market that doesn't have the economics to generate a certain level of return, the analyst said. "A company will only participate in a market that will provide satisfactory return," Lekraj said. "If a public exchange starts to return a good level of profitability they're going to be more than happy to get involved." There are a few key variables that motivate insurers to either get involved or leave a public exchange market, Lekraj said. Companies like UnitedHealth look at the ability to raise premiums, which is contingent on approval by the insurance commissioner within a given market; the membership density of the exchange and the ability to discount pricing in certain regions; and the overall makeup and demography of the exchange market itself. Ahead of Cigna's (CI) $44 billion pending merger with Anthem undefined and Aetna's (AET) pending $37 billion deal for Humana (HUM) , UnitedHealth represents the largest health insurer in the nation. The pair of deals remain under review by the Department of Justice, and if successfully completed, would reduce the number of major health insurance providers in the U.S. to three, from five. In light of continued antitrust hurdles, the health insurers have likely shown less willingness to exit their public exchange markets to avoid adding any additional uncertainty into the equation, noted Lekraj. Humana management in May did hint that it might exit some of its Obamacare individual products, though those comments could be irrelevant if and when it's purchased by Aetna. Meanwhile Anthem indicated in April that it remains cautiously optimistic about its Obamacare health exchanges, with no plans to add to or exit any of its 14 Obamacare exchanges. As its peers continue to work to complete the pending megadeals, UnitedHealth can sit on the sidelines to see how pricing shakes out in respect to the ACA exchange marketplaces, while continue to focus on building up its Optum business, noted Lekraj. UnitedHealth in April beat earnings estimates after momentum within its healthcare technology business, Optum, helped outweigh pressure facing its exchange business. The company built up Optum last year partly via M&A, completing its $12.8 billion deal for Catamaran in March 2015 and subsequently merging it with OptumRX, its pharmacy benefits management business. The OptusRx unit also bought AxelaCare from Haverst Partners for an undisclosed price last year. Additionally, TheStreet reported on Tuesday that even as the federal government threatens additional regulation aimed at pharmacy benefit managers, UnitedHealth as well as PBM peers CVS (CVS) and Express Scripts (ESRX) haven't suffered. UnitedHealth is the third largest PBM behind CVS and Express Scripts, which gives them a significant advantage over other insurers. Credit Suisse has bumped up its rating on Whole Foods Market's (WFM) stock, raising its outlook from neutral to outperform, signaling optimism for the specialty grocer's future. "My background checks with Whole Foods indicates that the [grocery] prices have come down, they're much more competitive," said Jim Cramer, founder of TheStreet and manager of the Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio. The Credit Suisse analysts behind the Wednesday report cited the price cutting as a positive sign. Reducing prices, they said, will help Whole Foods tackle its "biggest problem: high prices and a poor overall value perception." The price-slashing alongside cutting costs -- setting a goal of $300 million in operating expenses over two years -- and investing in technology bode well, the note read, with the analysts adding the factors suggest Whole Foods is "on the offensive." Prices are becoming more important, according to the report, as middle-income shoppers and Millennials are driving consumer growth and a health-focused lifestyle becomes more commonplace. Cramer also said Whole Foods is well-positioned when compared with its competitors. "Don't forget Fresh Market went private; they're not going to be that aggressive," Cramer said. "Fairway, bankrupt. Trader Joe's, I think, is a little more soft underbelly than people realize. Kroger (KR) , I think, has stalled because they made an acquisition of Roundy's." Credit Suisse in its report also noted the new expansion of Whole Foods' 365 by Whole Foods Market stores, which sell 365, Whole Foods' store brand, and target more cost-conscious consumers. The first such location opened on May 25 in Los Angeles. The analysts said the new 365 stores would let Whole Foods "reach markets where demographic constraints make its core stores uneconomical." "I think Whole Foods is back. This is an attractive venture point, exactly as Credit Suisse said," Cramer concluded. Although smartphone sales may be slowing for companies like Apple (AAPL) and Samsung, there are some companies that are benefiting. One of those companies is China-based Xiaomi. Coincidentally, one company that hasn't had any luck in the smartphone biz is Microsoft (MSFT) -- remember it's partial acquisition of Nokia? -- but that doesn't mean the tech giant is going to stop trying. Instead, it sold some 1,500 patents to Xiaomi as the two companies start a long-term partnership. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It will allow Xiaomi to install Microsoft software, like Office and Skype, on its devices. Although Xiaomi has shown strong growth in China, it has struggled internationally. Part of that struggle was related to weak patent protection. The deal is thought to help the company on that front. Given that Microsoft is one of the largest tech companies in the world is also a powerful ally to have in its corner. Conversely, Microsoft is hoping this will be a way to get involved in the smartphone market in a way that it has largely struggled to do. Shares of Microsoft closed at $52.85 Wednesday, down 0.3%. Encryption has taken center stage this year, as government agencies tussle with corporate behemoths on where to draw the line. Apple and the FBI have stolen most of the headlines, but others, like WhatsApp (a Facebook (FB) property), have had their fair share of headlines too. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg respects his users' privacy, publicly supporting Apple in its battle against the FBI and even allowing his company's Internet service to be banned in certain countries for refusing the government access to its users' private information. But he's not stopping there. Zuck is working on encrypting its Messenger app too. The Messenger app is used my almost 1 billion users, who will at some point this summer have the option to allow the service to be encrypted, increasing the services' security and privacy. The move would block both Facebook and authorities from viewing the user's texts. However, the decision to add the extra layer isn't quite as black-and-white as some would think. It will be optional for users, in part because allowing for the encryption will reduce the app's ability to learn certain features about the user. This will reduce the Messenger bots' ability to showcase some of its features. Shares of Facebook closed at $118.78 Wednesday, down 0.03%. Mark your calendars: June 13, 10:00 a.m. PT. Apple's sent out its invites for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference. The top-secret tech company isn't exactly an open book when it comes to discussing what's on tap. That kind of news is saved for the actual events. However, it's expected that the company will show off iOS 10 and a new OS X upgrade. This seems sort of obvious, given that it is a developer conference after all, so it only makes sense to see some new software come our way. There's also speculation Apple could overhaul the displays for its laptops, introduce new features for the computer and maybe even some new processors. There's also talk about an overhauled App Store, and maybe even some tweaks to Apple Music. Investors looking for the famous "one more thing" will probably have to wait until the fall to see any new significant hardware. In less than two weeks, we'll find out for sure though. Shares of Apple closed at $98.46 Wednesday, down 1.4%. Apple and Facebook are both holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL or FB? Learn more now. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Some hiking experience needed, walking over loose ground, climbing and descending on smaller steep passages. Secure step, a good feeling for balance and no fear of altitude. Walking distances of up to around 12 km, climbing of up to 500 m, walking times up to 4-6 hrs during a full day. For details, see section in main text. The tour is normally guided either by German volcanologist Dr. Tom Pfeiffer or photographer and amateur geologist Tobias Schorr. Both have been traveling on the Greek volcanic areas (Methana, Milos, Santorini, Nisyros) for more than 20 years and know the islands better than even most local people do.Tom completed his PhD studies on the topic of the great Minoan eruption of Santorini. He made the important discovery of a 3600-year-old olive tree buried alive in the pumice deposit that now can be seen in the small geological museum in Perissa.This allowed the most precise dating of one of the most significant natural event in the Bronze age (to 1613+-13 years BC) so far.His colleague Tobias, with whom Tom alternates on this tour, is a true specialist for Greece in general, boasting in-depth knowledge about its culture, history, people, flora, fauna and of course geology. He is known for his good eye and discoveries of rare minerals, plants, animals, or hidden archeological artifacts during the various excursions. The tour starts and ends on Santorini. Participants usually arrange their own arrival to the island where we pick you up. On request, we can include your flight to Santorini or help finding the best connection/fare. Note: If trips on small boat trips are for you, we recommend to add one day to the itinerary for tour with our small boat around the caldera. This results in the following 9-days itinerary: Whole-day hike: visit a Medieval village with its Venetian castle, climb Profitis Ilias Mountain (556m),, descend to the black-sand beach of Perissa.In the evening, we meet for a group dinner in a beach tavern.See also: photos from this excursion in May 2019 Visit the excavated ruins of the Minoan town covered by volcanic ash, then visit theand its outstanding. In the afternoon, we follow aaround the impressive northern caldera reaching theSee also: photos from this excursion in April 2019 Whole-day boat trip to the volcano, visit of the active craters of, warm volcanic springs (bathing) and extended lunch break onSee also: photos from this excursion in May 2019 Hike (3-4 hours total) along the spectacular southern caldera, observation of the spectacular pumice deposits from the past explosions of the volcano, visit to an abandoned quarry with prehistoric settlement remains, pick-nick lunch & swim break. Optional hike (2-3 hours) back along the beach and through pumice canyons and fields (or transfer by minibus).See also: photos from this excursion in April 2019 This walking tour for a small group (6-12 participants) explores the fascinating natural and cultural history of the volcanic island of Santorini. The program is a series of excursions with focus on Santorini's outstanding, text-book quality volcanic and geologic features, as well as its natural beauty and cultural history. "Hi Tom, Thanks again for the super week on Santorini! It really was the experience I expected and I would heartily recommend your trip to anyone interested in combining a holiday on the Greek islands with geologically fascinating day walks. Well done!" (B. Davenport, Bremen) Half-day boat trip (private small boat) inside the caldera, likely to become an unforgettable highlight of the tour. After a lunch- and swimming stop on Thirasia island we sail slowly along Santorini's spectacular inner caldera cliffs and return to our hotel for a free afternoon (see photos taken during these trips). In the evening group dinner in a nearby beach tavern. Note: If trips on small boat trips are for you, we recommend to add one day to the itinerary for tour with our small boat around the caldera. This results in the following 9-days itinerary: Whole-day walk to the Profitis Ilias Mountain, the highest peak of the island group (556m). From there we hike along an ancient trail to the impressive ruins of the ancient Greek town of Thera, excavated around 1900. On our way a coffee break in the medieval town of Pirgos with its Venetian castle, lunch snack under the shadow of trees next to the ancient Greek theatre. The excursion ends in Perissa with its famous black-sand beach on the early afternoon. The rest of day can be spent on the beach (with bus or taxi transfer back to the hotel arranged, or facultative hike back along the coast and through impressive pumice canyons).See also: photos from this excursion in May 2019 This day is planned for the case that a tour could not be done due to weather conditions or other problems. This day can be used for exploring the island yourself. There is the bus stop in front of the hotel, so you can get easily to Thira and from there to all villages on the island. Also it is possible that Tom Pfeiffer offers an optional tour. Short walk to and visit of the nearby Minoan excavations (if reopened by the time of the tour), coffee/ swim break on the beach of Akrotiri. Local bus transfer to the capital Fira, visit to the outstanding archeological museum, extended lunch break at free disposal (opportunity to buy souvenirs, send postcards etc.).After lunch, we visit an excellent exposition of replica of the world-famous wall paintings of Akrotiri in the conference centre of Fira. We continue in afternoon to hike along the spectacular cliffs of the northern part of the caldera to the picturesque town of Oia. Visit to the remnants of a Venetian castle, eroded stratovolcanoes, tuff rings, ancient graves and observation of fossil stromatolites. Dinner in Oia, famous for its brilliant sunsets. Taxi or bus transfer back to Akrotiri.See also: photos from this excursion in April 2019 Whole-day boat trip (from the beach below the hotel) to visit the historic volcanic islands of Palea and Nea Kameni (explosion craters, lava flows and bizarre lava domes, fumaroles, sulphur deposits,). Short hike to the summit craters of the volcano. Extensive lunch and swimming break.Evening lunch free.See also: photos from this excursion in May 2019 Hike (3-4 hours total) along the spectacular southern caldera, observation of the spectacular pumice deposits from the past explosions of the volcano, visit to an abandoned quarry with prehistoric settlement remains, pick-nick lunch & swim break. Optional hike (2-3 hours) back along the beach and through pumice canyons and fields (or transfer by minibus).See also: photos from this excursion in April 2019 Today will be a whole-day walk at relaxed pace, following remote trails on the scenic southern peninsula. We observe the, a typical cross-section of a small volcano (cinder cone, crater with dike and lava-lake), marine fossils, dramatic faults and otherillustrating how this island was formed.There will be anin a small tavern on the way, and possibilities for swim breaks on beautiful beaches.See also: photos from this excursion in April 2019. Discounts: Returning customers receive 5% (or 8% - if you have been on at least 3 trips with us) discount on the base tour price. Group booking discount: If at least 4 people together book this trip, 5% (additional) discount is given, combineable to a maximum of 10%. "Thanks for making our visit a great experience" (Larray & Linda from Oregon about the tour on Santorini) Feedback from our guests The small group, guided by Tobias Schorr The cinder cone and red beach at Acrotiri. Often, we receive very nice cards or other small signs of appreciation after a tour has ended. Here's an example from our recent tour tour on Santorini in May 2019. More photos of the tour you can find here Tour Photos. "outstanding tour with a wonderful guide" (Fascination Volcano tour on Santorini (June 2012) "Dear tom, Thanks a lot for great cooperation : travel agent called us to say guests had an outstanding tour with a wonderful guide J All the best." Olivier Jeannier Agent de voyages Sales & Operations Specialtours & Groups Tourisme Pour Tous Myriam from France about our recent tour on Santorini Les ponces de l'eruption Minoenne Chevre sur Palea Kameni Le groupe avec des amis "Bonjour de France, enfin du soleil ici pas le meme que celui de Santorin bien sur, mais c'est toujours agreable. Le retour en France a ete difficile apres avoir vecu une semaine hors du commun dans un decor extraordinaire. Je remercie Tobias et toi pour votre facon de partager votre passion et de nous faire entrer dans cet univers decale avec la vie "normale" de tous les jours. J'ai apprecie la decouverte geologique de l'ile, l'initiation a la comprehension de la formation de l'ile et des volcans, les rencontres avec des gens simples mais de caractere de Santorin. Le temps s'est arrete pendant une semaine et je garde des souvenirs d'odeurs, de couleurs, de plats partages avec le groupe.j'ai revu les photos prises pendant le voyage, les couleurs et les paysages etaient tellement extraordinaires que les resultats sont surprenants meme avec mon simple appareil photo. J'aimerais envoyer les photos de groupe prises dans la taverne de nicolas a "yurgos", peux-tu m'envoyer leur adresse?Egalement j'aimerais commander le livre de Walter Friedrich, mais je n'ai pas note l'editeur.Merci pour ces renseignements. Bonne continuation dans tes voyages ps: quelques photos jointes... Myriam" (Myriam T., Orleans) Margrit from Potsdam about the Faszination Volcano tour on Santorini (Oct 09) "Hallo Tom, wieder einmal war es sehr schon auf Santorin und ich mochte mich fur alles bedanken. Die Organisation, unser Hotel und die vielen neuen Eindrucke, welche du uns vermittelt hast sind kaum in Worte zu fassen. Vor allem aber danke, dass ich noch so kurzfristig teilnehmen konnte. Eure Touren sind schon etwas Besonderes und mit viel Esprit, sehr personlichen Einsatz, so dass man sich sofort wohlfuhlt und immer gern wiederkommt. Herzliche Grue, Margrit" (Margrit from Potsdam, Faszination Volcano tour) Gudrun from Dresden about the "Fascination Volcano" Tour in October 2009 "Hallo Tom, nochmals vielen herzlichen Dank an Dich und die anderen fur die schone gemeinsame Woche mit dem gelungenen Mix aus Natur und Kultur, Sonne, buntem Stein und blauem Meer, Wandern und Neues Lernen, ein bisschen Anstrengung und Genuss! ... Weiterhin viel Gluck bei allen Euren Unternehmungen und herzliche Grue - Gudrun" Sandra from California about the "Fascination Volcano" tour on Santorini: "...Somehow I missed Tobias'link to photos and, fortunately, saw it through your note. Just finished looking at each image. Now, I"m exhausted! Stunning, and brings back keen memories, indeed. A whirling, dizzying journey to a version of Santorini unknown to most travelers. From moment we dropped luggage at Aktori to wine-tasting, to walk between villages, to our magical boat trips, to trek around caldera ledge, to climb up limestone mt., to smoking sulpher, to ancient city of Thira, to dreamy soups, best goat cheese, limpets and baklava...on and on. Tom and Tobias, our intrepid, ever-onward guides are a terrific team. Such compatibility among group of 17--wondrous again. How lucky was that?? Crazily, I just returned from 12 days in China...thus, a combo Greece/China 5-week adventure to savor and treasure. From yogurt, white villages & volcanoes to noodles, mountain temples & cave grottos. All intrigue and mystery and contrasts galore... Best hugs, Sandie" Valerie's feedback from the trip on Santorini, May 2009 "Dear Tom & Tobias. Thank you for our remarkable trek in Santorini and Methana--for the beautiful memories and breathtaking photos. ... Coming home to Tobias'pictures gave me time to slow down and appreciate the remarkable experience we had. I braved edges with Tom's help, jumped on boats with swirling seas (Daphne said I landed, elephant like, on poor Steve flattening him). ... The views took my breath away. ... Remember the oasis where we drank fresh squeezed orange juice and cake? I doubt whether juice will ever taste that good again. ... Little did I know that a bonus to our trip was the leader's desire for good food--and wine-- at the end of the day. I have new appreciation for magma, volcanic bombs, the beauty of the caldera, smoking sulphur, adjectives that describe volcanic formations and olive trees found preserved in volcanic ash. Thank you Tom and Tobias for a remarkable experience, and for your good choice in participants. It was a great group. Valerie" (Fascination Volcano, Santorini tour) "... This was one of those wonderful adventures that we loved at the time, but loved even more as we looked back at all of the places we'd been, the lovely people we met, the great bond we developed. And......a birthday - high atop a volcano - that I will remember forever! ...Many hugs, Daphne" (D. Lewis, Washington, Santorini tour) "Hi Tom, This trip had everything! It was so much better than the standard tourist trip to Santorini (we felt so superior the folks who arrived on the 10 story floating skyscrapers and who apparently devoted their time on the island to shopping!). The hikes were good exercise, but with your encouragement to the less athletic among us, not too tough. We got to see so many parts of the island that most visitors don't get to see. And our reward for energetic hiking was delicious food, and lots of it. I appreciated that we got to eat a whole variety of local foods and wines which do not appear on the conventional menus of Greek restaurants in the U.S. I ate like a champ but didn't gain any weight! I particularly appreciated the interpretation of the geology that you provided. On the way to the airport, you asked what was my favorite thing we did. I liked all the hikes, and especially the accomplishment of doing so much in a short time, but the big thrill, I think, was visiting the small geology museum in Perissa and seeing the critically significant preserved olive tree that you discovered and having you tell us about the find. Thanks for a really wonderful experience!" (Linda K, Olympia (WS), Santorini May 09) Auch uber die Organisation muss ich Dir noch nachtraglich ein grosses Lob aussprechen!!!!! Irgendwann werde ich wieder eine Reise mit Deiner Organisation durchfuhren. Ich habe ja Einiges lesen konnen ( sites internet). Ich wunsche Dir eine schone Adventszeit sowie naturlich auch vielleicht ruhige Weihnachten und einen tollen Rutsch ins Jahr 2009, sowie weiterhin viel Erfolg auf Deinen Reisen. Und vielleicht irgendwann einmal wieder ?! Alles Liebe und Gute Uta" ( "Hallo, Tom Zuerst vielen Dank fur die tollen Photos, ich zeigte sie auch Helene und wir schwelgten wieder in Erinnerungen an unsere gemeinsamen Ferien. Es war eine wirkliche lehrreiche und zur gleichen Zeit auch sportliche Reise gewesen. Vor allem wurden auch unsere grauen Zellen aktiviert........Irgendwann werde ich wieder eine Reise mit Deiner Organisation durchfuhren. Ich habe ja Einiges lesen konnen ( sites internet). Ich wunsche Dir eine schone Adventszeit sowie naturlich auch vielleicht ruhige Weihnachten und einen tollen Rutsch ins Jahr 2009, sowie weiterhin viel Erfolg auf Deinen Reisen.Und vielleicht irgendwann einmal wieder ?! Alles Liebe und Gute Uta" ( Fasination Vulkan, Santorin - Okt. 08) "Tom, I'm thinking you might be on your way to Krakatau now -- I hope you all have a great trip. We had such an excellent time on our Santorini tour and I keep going back to your web site to figure out which volcano tour I want to try next... " (Jill, USA) this great week in Santorini. Thanks for your competency, your kindness, your support in all situation. Thanks for the ouzo, the orange juice, the wine ...Keep in touch, Marie-Paule ( Thanks again, Tom, forThanks for your competency, your kindness, your support in all situation. Thanks for the ouzo, the orange juice, the wine ...Keep in touch, Marie-Paule ( Fascination Volcano , Santorini) One of the participants sent us this nice spostcard she made herself. Sacred Sites in Greece 2007 tour - hand-made postcard. Merci pour les photos de Santorin qui sont magnifiques! Et encore felicitations pour l'organisation de ce voyage. Quand on revoit les photos et le film qu'a fait Yvon, on se rend compte qu'on a non seulement bien vu l'aspect Geologie de cette ile, mais aussi l'aspect humain... Bonne continuation (les Suisses disent "bonne suite") und alles gute. Nathalie et Yvon" ( "Un tres grand merci, Tom. Quel plaisir de revivre ces moments fabuleux grace a tes photos ! J'espere que ton periple italo-sicilien se deroule aussi bien que le notre et je te redis ma reconnaissance pour la qualite de l'organisation et les commentaires dont tu nous a fait beneficier. Cordialement, Genevieve" ( "Bonsoir Tom,Merci pour les photos de Santorin qui sont magnifiques! Et encore. Quand on revoit les photos et le film qu'a fait Yvon, on se rend compte qu'on a non seulement... Bonne continuation (les Suisses disent "bonne suite")und alles gute. Nathalie et Yvon" ( Santorini tour, Sep. 2006)"Un, Tom. Quel plaisir de revivre ces moments fabuleux grace a tes photos ! J'espere que ton periple italo-sicilien se deroule aussi bien que le notre et je te redis ma reconnaissance pour laet les commentaires dont tu nous a fait beneficier. Cordialement, Genevieve" ( Santorini tour, Sep. 2006) Pirgos village on (Greek Easter) Good Friday (21 April 2006) "Hi Tom, Now that we are back home, I wanted to thank you for your patience in showing us so many different aspects of Santorini: the history of volcanic eruptions and geology, local wine and food, Easter pageants, great walks and views, ancient excavations, etc. We enjoyed our stay very much! ... please give our regards to Koula and her family. We really appreciated that they invited us to share their fabulous Easter meal with them. It was very kind of Tobias to meet us for an evening on such short notice. ... Viele herzliche Gruesse Ursula and Bill" (May 2006, Ursula & Bill from Canada) just a note to thank you for a great tour in October, it was great fun and I learned much, the food and company were excellent, the whole experience was fantastic. I see I even made it to the picture gallery! I have been busy with the thin sections, and have attached a few photos for you to look at. As is often the case ones that you expect to be good are disappointing, e.g. Cape Riva Ignimbrite, while Dacite, which looks to be just glass, shows a lot of structure, flow aligned crystals and good zoned feldspar and pyroxene. The sale of slides seems to be going well and I have stared a 'shop'on ebay "Hi Tom,just a note toI see I even made it to the picture gallery! I have been busy with the thin sections, and have attached a few photos for you to look at. As is often the case ones that you expect to be good are disappointing, e.g. Cape Riva Ignimbrite, while Dacite, which looks to be just glass, shows a lot of structure, flow aligned crystals and good zoned feldspar and pyroxene. The sale of slides seems to be going well and I have stared a 'shop'on ebay http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Geosec-Slides which is difficult to keep stocked as they sell so quickly. The fund for future collecting expeditions is growing nicely! ... Once again thanks for October, send my regards to your Mother, and have a happy Christmas. Rob" (UK, Dec. 2005) Some nice words from a mixed group on Santorini ... (French, English, German speaking) "Thank you Tom for a wonderful week of discovery & wonderful surprises! Judith." Lunch break on the volcano of Santorini (1) Lunch break on the volcano of Santorini (2) Many thanks for a wonderful trip to Santorini, it was great! Hope things go well at the conference. Well, I said I would send you the octopus photos so here they are, hope they don't clog your mailbox I have no zip function on this computer! All the best Ann" (Newcastle, UK) "Dear TomHope things go well at the conference. Well, I said I would send you the octopus photos so here they are, hope they don't clog your mailbox I have no zip function on this computer!All the bestAnn" (Newcastle, UK) "Hi Tom, Thanks again for the super week on Santorini! It really was the experience I expected and I would heartily recommend your trip to anyone interested in combining a holiday on the Greek islands with geologically fascinating day walks. Well done!" (Bob Davenport, Germany) "I am so pleased to tell you about Tom's Santorini tours! My preference for travel is to be "as close to the ground" as possible. By that I mean I avoid tourist areas and really look for unusual or cultural/educational experiences. Tom's tours are both intimate and professional. Tom is an expert in not only volcanic activity past and present, but he is also an expert on Greek life and culture. He knows the people, and they love him. Because Tom has lived in Greece for several months of the year for several years, he is well known and appreciated by the locals. This appreciation for Tom and the people he brings on his tours is rewarded by the community with absolute joy in service. For example, the last night of the tour we had a meal at a taverna on a beach. The restaurant gave us each a choice of anything on the menu. We were treated to amazing traditional Greek food, from small fish to hardbread, feta and olives, and amazing desserts. All of this was served in casual fashion on a makeshift outdoor patio almost in the sea! (not quite) My favourite day was the trip to the volcano. We boarded a small boat and were transported to the volcano by the most humerous and typically Greek character, Sostas. Sostas is a friend of Tom's and can be seen on the Discovery show featuring Tom and Sostas and this tour. We landed on the volcano and Tom explained its history and answered any questions we had. We then swam in the volcanic waters at Sostas's house as Sostas prepared a traditional fish soup, hardbread, feta made from the goats that wander around the hills surrounding Sosta's property, olives, ect. An absolutely marvelous day. I must point out local tours to the volcano generally involve large boats with hoards of tourists who are dropped off and picked up with no explanation of the volcanic activity or history. Tom ensures a personal and educational cultural experience." (Shelly Logan, Canada) Based on satellite images, wind data, and ground reports from PVMBG, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 6-8 and 10-12 April ash plumes from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SW, WSW, and W. ... Based on satellite images, wind data, and ground reports from PVMBG, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 13 and 17-18 April ash plumes from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to altitudes of 3-3.3 km (10,000-11,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted W, NE, and E. ... Based on satellite images and wind data, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 20 April ash plumes from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted S and almost 20 km NW. On 26 April another ash plume rose to the same altitude and drifted W. ... Based on satellite images and wind data, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 27-28 April ash plumes from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to altitudes of 3-3.6 km (10,000-12,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NW, W, SW, and SE. ... Based on satellite images and wind data, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 23-24 May ash plumes from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted as far as 75 km NE ... Ash emissions from the volcano were reported earlier today by Darwin VAAC. Based on satellite observations, a plume of light ash is drifting 50 km to the NE at approx. 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude. ... Based on satellite images, wind data, and information from PVMBG, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 28-31 May ash plumes from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to an altitude of 2.4 km (8,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted as far as 55 km NW, SW, S, and NNE. ... The activity of the volcano remains low. Sporadic, relatively weak ash emissions continue to occur from time to time and a weak glow is visible sometimes at night. ... Based on satellite images, wind data, and information from PVMBG, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 1-3 June ash plumes from Tengger Caldera's Bromo cone rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted as far as 65 km N and NW. ... Our expedition leader Andi currently on location reported that the volcano's activity has been increased since 4 days ago, with visible activity consisting of mild phreatic explosions and strong steaming.The volcano observatory has been registering continuous tremor as well. Small ballistic ejecta (bombs) can be seen from the rim of the crater. Background: Gunung Bromo (Mount Bromo) volcano is a small, but active volcanic cinder cone on the Indonesian island of Java. Bromo is located in the center of the Sandsea Caldera, itself only a portion of the larger Tengger Caldera. The Sandsea caldera formed around 8,000 years ago, in what must have been a massive eruption. Subsequent volcanic activity formed the cluster of cinder cones in the caldera's center, including Bromo. The historical record indicates eruptions of Bromo every few years since 1804, and geologic evidence indicates eruptions at least several hundred years earlier. The most recent eruption occured in 2004 , and tragically killed two tourists. The image above shows most of the Sandsea Caldera, along with Gunung Bromo and the older volcanoes on the caldera floor. A small plume of steam is visible rising out of Mt. Bromo. Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite, capable of 4-meter per-pixel color imagery, and 1-meter per-pixel resolution panchromatic imagery, acquired the data on July 8, 2001. Kilauea volcano Updated: Oct 25, 2022 22:21 GMT - refresh Shield volcano 1277 m (4,190 ft) Hawai'i, 19.41N / -155.29W Current status: erupting (4 out of 5) Last update: 19 Oct 2022 (Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report) Haleamaumau crater in the center of the Kilauea caldera - the heart of Kilauea volcano Kilauea is the youngest and most active Hawaiian shield volcano, located on the southern part of the Island of Hawai'i, known as Big Island. Hawai'i is the southernmost and largest of the island chain, which owes its existence to the very active Hawaiian hot spot. Kilauea volcano is near-constantly erupting from vents either on its summit (caldera) or on the rift zones. At present, Kilauea volcano is still having one of the most long-lived eruptions known on earth, which started in 1983 on the eastern rift zone and has mainly been concentrated at the Pu'u 'O'o vent. Latest nearby earthquakes Time Mag. / Depth Distance/Location Thursday, October 20, 2022 GMT (1 quake) Oct 20, 2022 1:57 am (GMT -10) (Oct 20, 2022 11:57 GMT) 1.8 1.6 km 37 km (23 mi) 24 Km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii Monday, October 17, 2022 GMT (1 quake) Oct 16, 2022 7:36 pm (GMT -10) (Oct 17, 2022 05:36 GMT) 3.1 0.5 km 35 km (22 mi) 40 mi southwest of Hilo, Hawaii County, USA Dominantly effusive since 1790, but ~60% explosive over past ~2500 years.Near-continuous eruptions. Since 1960: 1961 (4x), 1962, 1963 (2x), 1965 (2x), 1967-68, 1968 (2x), 1969, 1969-74, 1971 (2x), 1973 (2x), 1974 (3x), 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 (2x), 1983-2018 (incl. 1986, 1992, 1997, 2007, 2011 (3x)), 2018 (lower east rift zone in Leilani subdivision), 2020 (Dec) - ongoing The contrast between unspoiled rain-forest, coconut palm beaches, primitive culture and moon-like landscapes surrounding lava-spitting volcanoes could not be bigger: join us on an expedition to the two most active volcanoes of Vanuatu: Ambrym and Yasur. FOOD INDUSTRY General Mills recalls flour over E. coli scare General Mills on Tuesday issued a voluntary recall of about 10 million pounds of flour, saying it was working with health officials to investigate an outbreak of E. coli that had sickened 38 people in 20 states. The bacteria strain behind the outbreak has not been found in any of General Mills Gold Medal, Wondra and Signature Kitchens flour or its manufacturing plant, the company said in a statement. Consumers have not contacted it directly to report any illnesses, the company added. Out of an abundance of caution, a voluntary recall is being made, the company said. U.S. and state health authorities are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O121 from Dec. 21 to May 3, General Mills said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about half of the 38 sickened people reported cooking with flour before becoming ill, General Mills said. About half of this group reported using a General Mills brand, a company spokesman said. Reuters TECHNOLOGY Internet giants take aim at terrorists U.S. Internet giants Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft pledged to tackle online hate speech in less than 24 hours as part of a joint commitment with the European Union to halt the use of social media by terrorists. In a joint statement Tuesday, the companies and the European Commission said they want to ensure such activity by Internet users is expeditiously reviewed by online intermediaries and social media platforms, upon receipt of a valid notification, in an appropriate time-frame. The code of conduct comes in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels by the Islamic State, which has used the Web and social media to spread its message. The companies said it will be a challenge to strike a balance between freedom of expression and hate speech on the online platforms. We remain committed to letting the tweets flow, said Karen White, Twitters public-policy chief for Europe. However, there is a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate. Bloomberg News Also in Business A former Barclays director has been arrested on charges he illegally fed stock tips to a New York plumber in exchange for cash and home renovations. Steven McClatchey, 58, was freed on bail after an initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan. His attorney declined to comment. Prosecutors said McClatchey used inside information about mergers and acquisitions to tip his friend, Gary Pusey, 47. The government said that Pusey made about $76,000. Pusey pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors said McClatchey and Pusey owned boats docked at a Long Island marina. They said the men spent most Saturdays on their boats, at the marina, or playing pool and watching sports. From news services Coming Today From news services ECONOMY Feds beige book shows modest growth The U.S. economy expanded at a modest pace across most of the country since mid-April, causing the labor market to tighten as employers continued adding jobs and nudging wages higher, a Federal Reserve report showed. Employment grew modestly since the last report, but tight labor markets were widely noted, according to the Feds latest beige book, an economic survey published eight times a year. Wages grew modestly, and price pressures grew slightly in most districts. Among the Feds 12 districts, Chicago and Kansas City reported slowing growth, while Dallas said the economy grew marginally. New York reported activity as generally flat. Other districts reported modest or moderate growth. Several districts reported rising demand for high-skilled workers. Atlanta and Richmond noted that low-skilled positions were also getting harder to fill. Bloomberg News COURT BATTLE Redstone grandchild joins Viacom fight A granddaughter of Sumner Redstone has hired the lawyer who represented the media moguls former girlfriend and said she plans to join Viacoms directors in their legal battle for control of the media company. The legal fight started with a dispute between Redstone, 93, and his former girlfriend Manuela Herzer. It has since turned into a battle between Redstone; his daughter, Shari Redstone, and members of Viacoms board. Last month, Sumner Redstone removed Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams from their roles in his trust and family company National Amusements. My experience is the same as the Viacom directors, Keryn Redstone, Sharis niece, said Wednesday through her lawyer, Pierce ODonnell. Shari will not let us see Sumner. She said she last saw her grandfather for 15 minutes on Valentines Day, when he sat lifeless and flanked by his nurses and caretaker, [and] he seemed unaware of his surroundings. Bloomberg News Also in Business Dell shareholders who thought they were fleeced by the deal that took the computer maker private in 2013 have scored a rare legal victory. Investors in Dell deserved almost $4 a share more than they received from the management-led buyout, a Delaware judge ruled Tuesday. The impact will be limited, however, because he disqualified about 29 million of the 34 million shares in the suit on procedural grounds. Disgruntled shareholders had sought as much as $28 a share, more than double the $13.88 that company founder Michael Dell and buyout firm Silver Lake Partners paid out in the deal. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster settled instead on $17.62 for the stock. From news services Coming Today Three leaders in commercial space flight, Elon Musk of SpaceX, Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin, and Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic, discuss the path to making commercial spaceflight a reality. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post) Three leaders in commercial space flight, Elon Musk of SpaceX, Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin, and Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic, discuss the path to making commercial spaceflight a reality. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post) Its such a nice spacecraft, so shiny and new, it seems a shame to crash it. But thats what Blue Origin may very well do on the next flight for the rocket it calls New Shepard. Jeff Bezos space company plans another test launch of the vehicle soon. And since the rocket is under development the company is taking pains to expand the envelope, putting additional stresses to see how it performs under less than ideal circumstances. This time that means trying to land the unmanned capsule with a parachute that fails on purpose. Thatll allow the company to demonstrate its ability to safely handle that failure scenario, Bezos wrote in an email to subscribers. It promises to be an exciting demonstration. And it comes at an exciting time. Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, has said the U.S. has entered into a golden age of space exploration. There are more vehicles designed for human space travel than any time in the last 40 years, analysts say. And while the industry casts its eyes toward a chimerical futurewhere humans have colonized Mars and the moon and have stretched out by the thousands in the cosmosthere are some historic milestones just around the corner that may very well come true. In a tour of his facility this spring, Bezos said that paying passengers should be able to climb aboard New Shepard to take a jaunt to suborbital space. Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic is also in the testing phase of its new SpaceShipTwo, also designed to give space tourists the feeling of weightlessness of space and give them astounding views of the Earth from space. Boeing, the aerospace giant, and SpaceX, the upstart founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, are slated to start flying NASA astronauts to the International Space Station by late 2017 or early 2018. Theyll fly in new spacecraftBoeings Starliner and SpaceXs Dragonthat in many ways resemble the capsules flown during the Apollo era, but are far more advanced. There is also a sporty little spaceplane called the Dream Chaser under development by the Sierra Neveda Corp., to take cargo to the space station; a monster rocket known as the Space Launch System being built by Boeing, and others, for NASA; a new deep space capsule called Orion that Lockheed Martin is building for NASA; and a replacement for the workhorse Atlas V rocket called Vulcan thats under development by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing For years, people have waited for the moment when the commercialization of space really happened, when there was a self-sustaining economy, and not just one propped up by the government. This may or may not be that moment. Its still too early to tell for sure, analysts say. For all the historic achievements, there have been slow starts and setbacks. SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket blew up last year incinerating hundreds of pounds of cargo headed for the International Space Station. Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo came apart in the middle of a test flight in 2014, killing the co-pilot. And it wasnt until just recently that Blue Origin had a successful flight that reached the edge of space. Its not the first time this has happened, and part of me is jaded. Efforts to create activity in commercial space has been around for a long time, said Roger Launius, the associate director for collections and curatorial affairs at the National Air and Space Museum. Theres been an incremental expansion of technology, which I think has made it more readily available to pursue than it might have been in the past. Many in the industry are also heartened by the fact that it has pulled off some feats once thought impossible, and is thinking big. SpaceX has begun to make the landing of rockets seem routine. Blue Origin has also had a string of launches and landings of the same rocket, a key to ultimately lowering the cost of space flight, and opening it up to the masses. Musk has even vowed to land an unmanned spacecraft on Mars as early as 2018, and is developing a new Falcon Heavy rocket designed for the moon and Mars. Meanwhile, all the grandiose talk of democratizing space has been backed up by significant private investment, which for years stayed away from an industry long seen as exceedingly risky. The surge in new money been led by the billionaires. Musk has invested $100 million of his own money; Branson and Bezos have said theyve put in about $500 million each. But Google and the investment giant Fidelity also pumped a $1 billion into SpaceX. The commercialization of space is being taken more seriously because people have a business track record and are entering the space industry and making things happen and being disruptive, said Phil Smith, a senior space analyst at the Tauri Group. Based on the Jojo Moyes novel of the same name, "Me Before You" is about a directionless young woman who works as caretaker for a disabled man. Despite their vastly different lives, they fall for one another. ( / Warner Bros. Pictures) The film version of Jojo Moyess best-selling novel Me Before You hit theaters June 3. The movie, which stars Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games), tells the heart-rending tale of Louisa and Will. Shes been hired to care for the wealthy playboy, now confined to a wheelchair after an accident. Can she convince him that he has something to live for? In a phone interview, Moyes talked about turning her book into a film and why she describes herself as a quietly feminist writer. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did you come up with the premise of Me Before You? I heard a news story when I was driving my children home about a young rugby player. Hed had an accident and was a quadriplegic, and he was not prepared to live the life that had been presented to him. His parents were taking him to a place in Switzerland where people can go for assisted suicides. As a parent, I was profoundly shocked. I couldnt imagine how a parent could do that. As I read more about it, though, it wasnt quite as black and white. What was fascinating to me was what it might be like to be his mother or his lover or anyone trying to change his mind. At the same time, two relatives of mine were in 24-hour care, so I was dealing with these questions myself: How do I give someone hope and dignity and a quality of life? I had to write this book. Despite its serious topic, the novel is funny, too. This is one of the reasons I think MGM wanted me to stay involved in the film. There are such tricky moral issues in this story, so theres an especially fine balance between tragedy and comedy. Ive written 13 books now, and one of the things Ive learned is people will take an awful lot of sadness if you can be funny as well. Louisa is a terrific character intelligent, funny and likable. What inspired you to create her? I liked the idea of juxtaposing someone with mental ambition who is trapped in his body against someone who was physically well, but just not living the kind of life she could lead. But it was important to me that he just didnt rescue her that she gave him something valuable as well. I have a quietly feminist bent as a writer. I always try to think of how my daughter would respond to what Im writing, how it would affect how she thinks. Louisa just plopped into my lap, fully formed, with the personality she has. This made it easy to write jokes Louisa was a joy to write. When I was drafting the screenplay, I caught myself cutting too many of Louisas funny lines and so Id go back and put them back in I didnt want Will to have all the funny lines. Was it challenging to write the screenplay for your own book? It was difficult, but really, really interesting. I loved the collaborative quality of it, though not all writers feel this way. It was wonderful being on set with the actors and the director, seeing which lines were working. It was the most invigorating experience Ive had in years. The director and I had the same vision for the film, so that made it easier, Im sure. And it is hard when you have to cut a lot of material there are definitely things Ill miss from the book. But they were all joint decisions. HANDOUT IMAGE: The author Jojo Moyes (credit: Stine Heilmann, 2014) ***ONE TIME USE ONLY. NOT FOR RESALE (Stine Heilmann, 2014/Stine Heilmann, 2014) Which scene from the book did you cut that youll miss most? We had to lose the maze scene, when Louisa recalls a sexual assault when she was younger. Its interesting how people react to that part of the book. Often when you read about rape in fiction, its the defining event. I knew lots of girls who had similar events happen to them, and they tucked it away and moved on. We almost know before Louisa knows how much thats affecting her. The scene is very opaque in the book, but putting it on film gave it far more weight than it has in the book and it was changing the mood of the story. We tried for six months to make that scene. It was a useful experience to learn you cannot translate some things into film. The ending without giving anything away is unusual for a commercial book and movie. How have people responded to it? I didnt want a typical sentimental Hollywood ending. After the London previews in early May, I was getting tweets from all these teenage girls who were going into the movie looking wonderful, and then sending me photos on their way out, with mascara down their faces. And I thought, this is the best news ever. Carole Burns is the author of The Missing Woman and Other Stories. Astronauts inflated a new experimental room attached to the International Space Station on Saturday. The room is a early attempt at creating moon or Mars habitats and orbiting tourist hotels. (NASA via AP) NASA inflated a new experimental room at the International Space Station on Saturday, producing the worlds first pump-it-up compartment for astronauts. The operation took much longer than expected, stretching over three days in all. But victory, when it came, was sweet. A significant milestone has been accomplished, Bigelow Aerospace, the inflatable chambers creator, cheered via Twitter. Astronaut Jeffrey Williams spent seven hours Saturday opening and closing an air valve to expand the compartment. Enough air finally seeped inside so that the puffy white pod could stretch to its full 13 feet in length and 10 feet in diameter the volume equivalent to a small bedroom. Internal air tanks provided the final pressurization to complete the job. Williams and his five crewmates will have to wait a week before venturing inside. NASA wants to make certain the chamber is airtight before opening the door. These images show the inflation of the experimental room on Saturday. (NASA via AP) It was NASAs second shot at inflating the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, named for the aerospace company that built it. The room is an early attempt at Mars habitats and orbiting tourist hotels. BEAM barely expanded during Thursdays inflation attempt. Experts believe the soft-sided compartment was packed up tight for so long before last months launch that the fabric layers had trouble unfolding. Pressure inside the chamber was relieved Friday to ease the friction among the multiple layers. That apparently did the trick. The cubicle swelled an additional six feet in length Saturday, looking more and more like a giant beach ball with every pulse of air. In all, Williams opened the valve 25 times Saturday for a total of 2 minutes worth of air flowing from the space station into the chamber. Popping noises could be heard as pressure built up inside BEAM it sounded like popcorn in a frying pan. Officials said it was the sound of internal straps releasing as the pod swelled in both length and girth. NASA insisted on taking it slow to avoid a sudden pressurization of BEAM that could stress the connecting parts of the space station. Bigelow Aerospace created this first inflatable room ever built for astronauts and sold it to NASA for $17.8 million. Founder Robert Bigelow is working on a pair of private inflatable space stations that could fly in a few years. He sees inflatables as the spaceflights future. Because expandable spacecraft can be compressed for launch, the rockets can carry more cargo, yet space travelers can still enjoy lots of room. The standard aluminum rooms that make up the space station which are like fancy cans can never be larger than what fits into a rocket. BEAM empty except for sensors will remain attached to the orbiting lab for two years as engineers measure temperature, radiation levels and resistance to space debris impacts. It will be off limits most of the time to astronauts, given its experimental status. SpaceX delivered BEAM early last month, and it was installed on the outside of the 250-mile-high outpost. The following review appears in The Washington Posts 2016 Fall Dining Guide. Japanese octopus with spicy citrus juice, yellow peppers and pickled shallots at Conosci. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Conosci EXCELLENT I dont keep secrets, at least when it comes to restaurants. But if I did, Id keep for myself this hushed and handsome dining room and its fish-focused menu, the most intimate of chef Michael Schlows five Washington establishments. Looking for romance on the cheap? Conosci obliges, with a six-course tasting menu for $45, staged in a space with its own cocktail cart and what looks like gold leaf on the walls. Angling to splurge? Conosci, reached through the neighboring Alta Strada via a blue velvet curtain, is happy to help, with a $135-per-person treasure chest of indulgences running to scallop tartare on a puree of huitlacoche, Mexicos truffle, and Bing cherries stuffed with foie gras terrine. Then again, a diner can also order a la carte. In that case, ask for whatever oysters are being perfectly shucked; risotto swirled with sweet crab and gilded with sea urchin; maybe a fan of tender duck with grilled kumquats. (Chef Michael Zentner accords meat the same respect as seafood.) The name asks Do you know? in Italian. Well, now you do. Previous: Compass Rose | Next: The Dabney 3 stars Conosci: 465 K St. NW. 202-629-4662. conoscidc.com . Prices: Tasting menus $45-$135. Sound check: 70 decibels / Conversation is easy. -- The following review was originally published June 1, 2016. Conosci review: Michael Schlows crudo concept is a hidden gem Michael Schlow maintains three restaurants at home in Boston, but he could just as easily be identified as a Washington chef these days. Since 2014, when he opened Tico, a whimsical Latin American small-plates destination on 14th Street NW, the chef has gone on to make the District a more enticing place to eat, with a retro supper club in Dupont Circle (the Riggsby) and a neighborhood Italian joint (Alta Strada) in Mount Vernon Triangle. At the rate hes going, the mayor ought to give Schlow a key to the city. His latest contribution to the scene, the fish-focused Conosci, is his most personal expression yet. I opened it for selfish reasons, says Schlow of the 30-seat crudo bar (pronounced ka-no-shi) that shares an address with Alta Strada and made its debut in April. The guy loves raw fish and the interaction that happens when someone behind the counter is feeding someone an arms reach away. Chef Michael Schlow prepares dishes for customers at the bar of Conosci. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) But even from the distance of a table, Conosci feels intimate, like grazing at a small cocktail party where the hosts happen to be stylish friends. The walls around the counter are lit by votives whose backdrop appears to be gold leaf; early evenings might find Pink Martini on the soundtrack. The mood is reinforced by the likes of sweet shrimp carpaccio served with lardo toast. The venue, previously occupied by the Japanese restaurant Kushi, plays to Washingtons love of insider information with a name that asks Do you know? in Italian. To access the oasis, diners announce themselves at the host stand at Alta Strada, after which theyre led to a blue velvet curtain that parts to reveal a short dark hall leading to the restaurant-within-a-restaurant. In comparison to the Italian eatery, boisterous and casual, Conosci is hushed and romantic. Score another hit for Edit Lab at Streetsense, the Washington designers, and Schlows wife, Adrienne, whose black-and-white paintings are as pleasing as her husbands cooking. Originally, the owner wanted to call the place Gemma, Italian for precious stone, but the name was taken. The gist of the idea is retained in teal bar stools, walls the color of eggplant and multiple small chandeliers. The menu, just a dozen or so dishes long, is introduced by a server who can describe the food so vividly, you figure she plans to don a toque and head to the open kitchen as soon as shes done taking your order. In actuality, executive chef Michael Zentner, also from Boston, is likely to be fussing over your meal. Schlows team recruited staff from among the more hospitable waiters at his other Washington restaurants. The cherry picking has paid off. Dewy cubes of red snapper splashed with what Peruvians know as tigers milk make a rousing ceviche, its marinade of lime, chilies and fish juice as fierce and balanced as any Ive had in Lima. A lacy sail of crisp bread gives the appetizer both height and crunch. American red snapper ceviche with tiny tomatoes, chilies and leche de tigre at Conosci. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Small chandeliers light the cozy dining room at Conosci. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Three bites of hamachi let you pretend youre at an expense-account retreat, gilded as the fish is with glinting caviar and custardy monkfish liver. Tying the treats together is a liquid stripe billed as miracle sauce. Suffice it to say, the grace note coaxed from soy sauce, Thai basil, sriracha, rice vinegar and other enhancers does wonders for whatever it touches. Im a sucker for spice, says Schlow, whose miracle sauce serves as Exhibit A. Octopus is sliced into white coins and gathered in a puddle of citrus juices and cooked yellow peppers, a tad sweet for my taste. The presentation a bowl set within a bowl of ice almost makes up for it. Like his peers, Schlow is upping his plateware game, having shopped at the revered Korin Japanese Trading Company in New York for Conoscis sleek settings. Crudo is the thrust, but theres more than fish and seafood to occupy a diners fork. Any meal is better with the addition of market veggies, one night a hedge of crisp snap peas, radishes and fresh mint formed into a half circle and kept in place with snap pea puree on its plate. Adding intrigue to each bite are crisp walnuts and salty pecorino. Another category edges into entree territory with compositions including a roseate fan of thinly sliced duck set off with grilled kumquats and a swab of creamy onion sauce. A garnish draws the most attention, though. What looks like a chocolate truffle in the presentation is a ball of foie gras coated in crispy rice. Risotto swirled with sweet crab and finished with sea urchin is an indulgence hiding a surprise: minced Fresno chilies swirled into the creamy grains of arborio rice. Consider yourself warned: The bowl packs heat. The small bar cart at Conosci. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Eric Di Nardo prepares drinks at Conosci. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Conoscis autonomy from Alta Strada extends to the beverages. Select one of the signature drinks in the new place and its assembled from a nearby bar cart by your server. One of a handful of refreshments, a combination of cachaca, yuzu, lime and lemon grass is designed to flatter the kitchens ocean-based handiwork. The small kitchen leaves little room for making desserts, which goes against Schlows inclination to please. The compromise is a single gratis treat, an idea inspired by one of Schlows trips to Italy, where he recalls ending a meal simply and gloriously with cherries on ice. At Conosci, spring found a complimentary shot glass of chocolate ganache topped with salted caramel and piped buttercream: two spoonfuls make a sweet impression. Future visits might conclude with compressed watermelon zapped with chili vinegar. The beguiling food and chic environs suggest a trust fund must be footing the bill. But Conosci makes itself approachable with a $45 tasting menu of six courses, a bargain considering that the average cost for small plates here is $14. On the flip side, you can shell out $135 a person for up to 15 dishes selected by the chef, which underscores the beauty of this restaurant: You can make it a quick bite or a full-blown celebration. Theres no sign outside announcing Conosci, by the way. You have to know its inside another restaurant. Right now, it feels like a secret. As much as Id like it to stay that way, my job is to share, not withhold, such good news. You know that part of your vacation where you hold your breath and hope for the best? It used to happen just before the plane landed, in that precarious moment between heaven and earth. But lately, its been taking place on terra firma, when you arrive at the airport and youre confronted by a Transportation Security Administration screening. For good reason. A few months ago, the TSA announced that screening with a full-body scanner would no longer be optional for some passengers, meaning theres a better chance than ever youll be forced through one of the machines. What the agency euphemistically calls a random and unpredictable security screening adds an aspect of fear and uncertainty to an already fear-inducing and uncertain process. And then there are the long lines, which have been blamed on cutbacks related to the TSAs PreCheck program. The agency assigned to protect Americas transportation systems incorrectly predicted that more passengers would sign up for its trusted traveler program, so it cut staffing by 10 percent. The result? Record lines. The TSA says its taking steps to reduce the wait times. [Where banned TSA items go] The coping mechanisms have evolved in the past few months, so if youre a frequent air traveler, you probably already know a lot of the following strategies, at least subconsciously. But with the summer travel season about to get underway, you may find yourself face to face with a TSA agent, unsure what to do. Travelers can avoid that fate with a little planning and a few insider strategies. First, give yourself time. Lots of time. Josh Nathan, a professor at the Art Institute of Colorado, allows himself three hours to get through the TSA screening in Denver. Thats no typographical error. Its advice he would pass along to anyone whos thinking of flying this summer. Plan for three hours, and be delighted if you make it to your airplane, he says, adding, If that departs on time, you feel like you won an unpublicized lottery. Why so long? Nathan reports that the Denver TSA, once one of the most efficient of the agencys operations, has randomly closed checkpoints. A few weeks ago, the airport made headlines when TSA wait times exceeded one hour. To calm angry passengers, airport staff reportedly handed out bottled water, parceled out candies and brought in therapy dogs to soothe frayed nerves. There are shortcuts, but theyll cost you. Sonita Lontoh, a San Francisco technology executive and frequent flier, recommends paying $100 for a five-year membership in the Global Entry program, which also gives you TSA PreCheck eligibility. And the PreCheck lines, which allow you to get screened without removing the computer from your bag, taking off your shoes or passing through a full-body scanner, are significantly shorter. [TSA says most airport security lines werent so bad over Memorial Day weekend] Its much faster, she says. For example, on a recent flight from Orlando, the difference between using the TSA PreCheck lane and the regular lane was more than an hour. How does she know? A colleague without PreCheck went through the regular line, and she didnt see her until shortly before their flight began boarding. There are other ways to cut the line. In Orlando, for example, you can also use Clear, a private biometric screening system. It costs about $15 a month to belong to Clear, which can be used at a number of airports in cities including San Francisco, Dallas and Baltimore (but not Washington). Neither Clear nor Global Entry are practical solutions for infrequent travelers, though. What you wear this summer matters, says Katelyn OShaughnessy, a travel agent from Venice, Calif., who has advised countless clients on how to handle the TSA. With the agency beefing up security in the wake of various terrorist threats, you dont want to wear anything that could slow down the process. Dont wear shirts or pants with extraneous pockets, buttons, zippers, or anything with sequined bling on it, she says. These items tend to appear suspicious on the scanner, which is programmed to flag anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, its possible to follow all of this advice and still fall afoul of the TSAs random and unpredictable security. Kimberly Marcus, an educational consultant from Alfred, N.Y., thought she had done everything right when she showed up for her recent flight at the Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Blountville, Tenn. But an alarm sounded when she stepped through the scanner, and an agent ordered her to submit to an enhanced pat-down. [Huge bonuses and forced transfers were downfall of top TSA official Kelly Hoggan] An agent felt up my leg until she met resistance, she says. Several times. The agent also felt across the front of me with her fingertips. This routine is not at all routine or acceptable to me, and I found what would be sexual assault in other contexts to be very disturbing and upsetting. And thats the problem with the TSA this summer. The expert advice works, but not every time. Which is to say, you can show up three hours early and still miss your plane. Trusted traveler programs dont always send you to the front of the line, and you could still get a once-over by an agent and a possible delay. You can wear all the right clothes and still set off alarms. Of course, nothing can prepare you for a prison-style pat-down at the hands of a TSA agent. And nothing can guarantee youll avoid it, either. But if you take a few precautions, you can come close. Dont forget to breathe. Elliott is a consumer advocate, journalist and co-founder of the advocacy group Travelers United. Email him at chris@elliott.org. More from Travel: What the TSAs new body-scanner rules mean for you Dont mind the wet nose: TSA enlists more dogs to screen passengers Travelers are less certain about the airport screening experience than theyve been in years Read past Navigator columns here THE DISTRICT Man arrested after Georgetown gunre A man who was arrested after police said several gunshots were fired along the waterfront in Georgetown on Sunday night had just been ordered off a boat after an argument, according to an arrest affidavit filed in court. A witness told police the man shot a .38-caliber revolver three times in the air, and another person said the shots were aimed at people on the boat, the affidavit says. No one was injured. The suspect was identified as Dontrell Taylor, 35, of Southeast Washington. He is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. A court hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Peter Hermann MARYLAND Slain woman is identified Police in Prince Georges County have identified a woman whose bludgeoned body was found in the laundry room of an apartment complex in Adelphi. Police were summoned by a neighbor Sunday morning to an apartment complex in the 7400 block of 18th Avenue. When they arrived, police found the body of a woman identified Tuesday as Ashley Solano, 29. Police had said the victim suffered trauma; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the killing does not appear to be random. Dana Hedgpeth Ex-Baltimore mayor wont seek recount Former Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon announced Tuesday she will not seek a recount in Aprils Democratic mayoral primary that awarded state Sen. Catherine E. Pugh the partys nomination. Dixon said she will continue to press for answers over election irregularities that caused the state to decertify the results and investigate. As a result, Dixon said, an additional 555 provisional ballots were uncovered. While the city Board of Elections has re-certified the election results and I have decided not to seek a recount, the questions surrounding this election must be answered, Dixon said in a statement. The irregularities in this election are not acceptable, she said. This process is not over until we can assure every Baltimore citizen that their vote will be counted not just in this election but in future elections as well. Dixon had until Tuesday to seek a recount. Anyone may still challenge the election results in court. Baltimore Sun VIRGINIA School board denied in transgender case A federal appeals court that sided with a transgender teen in his lawsuit against a Virginia school board has denied the boards request to rehear the case before a full panel of judges. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in April ruled that a lawsuit filed by transgender teen Gavin Grimm, who sued the Gloucester County School Board after it passed a policy banning him from the boys bathroom, could move forward. The initial decision by a three-judge panel last month was the first time a federal appeals court had weighed in on the question of whether bathroom restrictions constitute a violation of Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funds. It is being closely watched nationwide as battles over the rights of transgender students head to court. The school board in May requested a rehearing of the case before a full panel of judges, arguing that the case warranted a second look because it has national implications. On Tuesday, the court denied the petition after no judge requested a poll to see whether a majority of his or her colleagues wanted to move forward. Plans to end a decades-old policy of concealing the first-semester grades of freshman at Johns Hopkins University from graduate school admissions officers and future employers are drawing outrage from students. Hopkins has been one of the few schools nationwide that cover the grades of their newest students, shielding them on transcripts and keeping them out of grade-point averages as the freshmen make the transition to college. But as nearby Goucher College considers joining the small club, Hopkins is planning to get out. The policy change, which the university says was decided by a committee, is scheduled to go into effect in 2017. Current students will not be affected theyve been through their first semester, and their grades are to remain covered. Still, two dozen student groups have united in opposition to the change. Students say the universitys mental health services are inadequate to meet the needs of those who will be stressed out by the change. They say the practice helps protect students who struggle to adjust to the demands of college. Students held a demonstration this month outside an academic council meeting, demanded the university reverse its decision and apologize for not including more students in the process. A lot of kids come here from private schools, said Chase Alston, a rising senior from Waldorf, Md., studying public health. Theyre better equipped to handle coming to school. Students from marginalized populations, they may need more time to figure out what resources work for them and what study habits work for them. A few schools including Swarthmore in Pennsylvania, Wellesley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have similar grading practices. Wellesley, a womens college in Massachusetts, started a four-year pilot of what it calls shadow grades in 2014. Lee Cuba, a sociology professor who worked to develop the policy, said the university wanted to ease students into their college careers. We were interested in trying to focus students attention on academic engagement instead of academic achievement, Cuba said. It was an attempt to say its important to work, but its important to make friends, get into Boston, explore extracurricular interests, exercise. It was a sense that this can be a very stressful time. Officials at Goucher College have been weighing whether to get rid of freshman-year grades. Spokeswoman Kathy Michel declined to comment on the discussion, but said a decision would come in the next few months. Hopkins administrators say covered grades might give students a chance to goof off, put off learning good study skills, or cram difficult courses into their first semester. The students who we attract to Hopkins are highly accomplished and academically strong, but we do recognize that they need support in transitioning to the Hopkins environment, said Kevin Shollenberger, the vice provost for student affairs. We feel that the best way to help them transition is to give them the study skills that help them do well here. Were concerned that the covered grades may delay them in seeking that type of help. Hopkins began covering grades in 1971. Under the policy, first semester freshman year grades appear on transcripts as S for satisfactory or U for unsatisfactory. Students are informed of the actual letter grades, but theyre hidden from future employers and graduate school admissions officers. The policy applies to all students even those who earned straight As. Exceptions may be made for students applying for scholarships or internships. Hopkins officials acknowledge that the practice puts some students at a disadvantage, as some graduate school admissions officers or employers may frown on it. Beverly Wendland, dean of the universitys Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, said the decision was made by a committee of faculty in 2011, after years of deliberation. The university held off on making the change until it could put in place programs to help students transition into college life. Administrators have boosted staff at the mental health counseling center, which has seen a rise in the number of students seeking services in recent years, as have many colleges. But Wendland said they could have involved students in the discussion more. I have to acknowledge that they have a point, Wendland said. Current students will not be affected by the change. The change applies only to students who enter Johns Hopkins in the fall 2017 semester or later, university spokesman Dennis OShea wrote in an email. The current policy will continue to apply permanently to covered grades already received by the rising senior, junior, and sophomore classes, he said. Members of the freshman class entering this August will likewise receive grades in the fall 2016 semester that will remain covered both while they are students and after they graduate. At Wellesley, which has covered grades for three years, about 90 percent of students surveyed said it helped their transition to college. I think its a statement to refocus on what college is really about, he said. And thats about risk-taking and exploration, and its not about getting good grades all the time. Charlotte Green, the president of the student government association at Hopkins, said many students primary concern was that they learned about the policy change through a campus-wide email. She said the student government association was not consulted. I knew this was probably going to happen eventually, but I was upset about the lack of communication, Green said. She said an student government association survey of students showed that about 70 percent opposed the change. Green started as a pre-med major but realized in her first semester it wasnt a good fit. She said covered grades gave her flexibility to discover what she really wanted to do. Many students come in as pre-med and realize its not for them during the first semester, Green said. We were able to experiment with what we wanted during that period. Michael Reilly is executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. First-semester performance, he said, might not matter as much as students think. I think most grad schools and employers look at progress, he said. It might look bad if those students did poorly their first year, but I would look and see if that student did better over time. A group of students who call their effort #ReCoverHopkins outlined their concerns with the change in a 27-page report. Among their complaints: their mental health issues are not taken seriously, and the environment at Hopkins is cutthroat. Erica Taicz, one of the organizers behind #ReCoverHopkins, said administrators and some parents whove laughed at their concerns just dont understand. Ive heard a lot of feedback from parents and the administration that kind of makes it feel like we are just trying to be coddled, and its not it at all, Taicz said. Im paying so much, I expect to be able to be critical of that service when it doesnt support me. Im paying to have a support network, academically and mentally. I cant be expected to do well in class if Im depressed and have anxiety. If the school is worsening my anxiety, thats their problem and they need to be held accountable for that. THE DISTRICT Men plead not guilty in shooting death Three District men pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the Aug. 15 shooting death of an American University alumnus near the Shaw-Howard University Metro station. Marcus King, 20, Andrew Dudley, 20, and Christopher Proctor, 26, all of Northwest Washington, were charged with more than 60 counts in the death of Cleveland native Matthew Shlonsky, a financial analyst and a 2014 American graduate. Authorities say that Shlonsky had emerged from an Uber ride in the afternoon near the bustling intersection of Seventh and S streets NW when he was caught in the crossfire between the men. The three were charged with second-degree murder while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon and charges involving injuries to two other adults and three children during the crime spree, which also included the theft of a vehicle that police say was used in the Shlonsky shooting. Keith L. Alexander MARYLAND Police identify shooting victim, 23 Police have identified the victim of a fatal shooting reported Tuesday night in the Capitol Heights area of Prince Georges County. At about 9 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to the 800 block of Kayak Avenue, Prince Georges police said in a statement. When they arrived, officers found 23-year-old Darryl Antjuan Walker of Walker Mill Road in Capitol Heights inside a car, suffering from gunshot wounds, according to the statement. Walker was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives are working to identify a motive and a suspect, police said. Anyone with information can call the Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925 or go to pgcrimesolvers.com and submit a tip online. Justin Wm. Moyer ATV rider tries to taunt officer Authorities in Prince Georges County are seeking information on a man seen speeding and doing tricks on an all-terrain vehicle in front of a police officer. A video shows the rider as he appears to try to taunt the officer while speeding down a county road. At one point, the driver pops wheelies, stands on the seat and waves his arms in the air as he drives without hands and yells at the officer. Police said they did not know when the video was taken or where the man was riding. They said their officer did not take the video. The video was posted on Twitter by an account called Chief Rosa. Police did confirm that it is an authentic video and that an investigation is underway. On Wednesday, Officer Tyler Hunter, a spokesman for the countys police department, said the incident is something we are actively investigating for traffic and criminal violations. The video is available on WUSA 9s website. Prince Georges police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 866-411-TIPS. Dana Hedgpeth VIRGINIA Driver faces murder charge in mans death A Springfield man is facing a murder charge after the death of a pedestrian he allegedly struck while repeatedly ramming his Hummer into a Virginia diner last month, police said. Samuel Ovie Abutoh, 59, ended the incident by dousing himself with a liquid and then lighting himself on fire, police said. Fairfax County police have not indicated what prompted the incident at the McLean Silver Diner on May 4. Abutoh was transferred from the District to the Fairfax County jail on Tuesday and was served warrants for second-degree murder, felony destruction of property and arson. He had been charged with malicious wounding. The charges were upgraded after the May 17 death of Andrew Sheren, 74, of McLean, from injuries sustained in the incident. Abutoh allegedly struck Sheren as he was entering the Silver Diner. Police said Abutoh intentionally drove his SUV into the diner. Four people were injured in the incident. The Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup. Prison advocates have hailed the major changes in Marylands criminal justice law. (Patrick Semansky/AP) About 1,600 prisoners serving long sentences in Maryland will become eligible for early release in October 2017, just as the state does away with mandatory minimum prison time for newly convicted, nonviolent drug offenders. Taken together, advocates said, the changes put Maryland at the forefront of states that are adopting major criminal-justice reform. No longer will a person convicted of possession with intent to distribute even a small amount of drugs face an automatic prison sentence of 10 years. And hundreds of nonviolent offenders who have been given severe penalties over the past three decades will be able to appeal to a judge to get out years ahead of schedule. But the states decision to jettison mandatory minimum sentences almost did not happen. The provision was not included in the sweeping criminal-justice legislation submitted to the General Assembly late last year, in part because of strong opposition from law enforcement and key Republicans. The Maryland Correctional Institution for Women is the state's only prison for women. (Andre Chung/For The Washington Post) It was added after two freshman lawmakers a Democrat and a Republican brokered a deal that also includes stricter penalties for certain violent crimes. No state has gone as far as Maryland in recent memory, said Gregory Newburn, the director of state policy at Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a national advocacy group. At the bill-signing last month, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called the legislation the largest, most comprehensive criminal-justice reform in Maryland in a generation. A national shift The original focus of the Justice Reinvestment Act, suggested by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and embraced by Hogan, was to figure out a way to reduce the states prison population and costs and help offenders reenter society. Deliberations turned into a discussion about whether the states approach to crime, particularly to nonviolent drug offenders, was fair and whether there was a better way to deal with those offenders, many of whom are drug users themselves. [Obama commutes federal prison sentences of 58 nonviolent drug offenders] I think the message all across the country is you cant jail your way out of the drug problems that people have, said Paul DeWolfe, the head of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender and a member of a state panel that made recommendations about the legislation to the General Assembly. Its an enormous waste of resources. Efforts to reduce state prison populations have been embraced in red and blue states across the country in recent years, as policymakers shift their focus from long sentences a remnant of the decades-old War on Drugs to treatment. Its a mix of fiscal realities and understanding what the research says, said Ram Subramanian, who recently worked on a study about criminal justice reform at the Vera Institute of Justice. It has brought about significant reform on the state level that we hope will be translated on the federal level at some point. Congress, too, has considered easing sentencing guidelines but so far has failed to act. Last month, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) signed a bill that allows the states parole board to release nonviolent drug offenders who have served at least half their sentences. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) approved a measure that gives judges more discretion in the sentencing of nonviolent offenders. In addition to the mandatory minimum repeal, Marylands Justice Reinvestment Act eliminates disparities in penalties for offenses involving crack and powder cocaine; makes it easier to have drug-possession and dozens of other convictions expunged; allows a judge to order a drug assessment for accused nonviolent drug offenders and requires the state to provide treatment; reduces the age for geriatric parole eligibility from 65 to 60; and offers drug offenders the same number of credits to reduce their sentences that are given to other nonviolent offenders. Last-minute amendments to the bill increased the maximum sentence for second-degree murder from 30 years to 40 years, and boosted penalties for drug gangs and racketeering and for causing the death of a child as a result of child abuse. Maryland should save at least $80.5 million over the next 10 years as a result of the changes, and reduce its prison population by 1,194 beds, researchers said. Those numbers do not include changes in prison population as a result of eliminating mandatory minimums, since judges will still be able to impose long sentences if they choose. [Landmark criminal justice bill delayed as its impact is questioned] DeWolfe said his Public Defenders office is in the process of combing through records to identify the 1,600 inmates who would be eligible to appeal their sentences when that portion of the bill takes effect in October 2017. Those prisoners will have until October 2018 to file a motion for a judge to consider a lesser sentence. Making the deal The legislation considered by the General Assembly this year was based on recommendations by the states Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council, which spent months last year examining data from the Pew Charitable Trust about who is in prison, how long they are there and why they are there. The data also looked at what changes could drive the states cost down. The panel which included defense lawyers, advocates, state prosecutors, lawmakers and law enforcement officials could not agree on whether to include a mandatory minimums repeal in its proposal to the legislature. Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick), who has worked on criminal justice reform in the past, told his colleagues on the commission that pushing too far could thwart the whole package. Others agreed. Dont shoot for the moon, Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger (D) said during the debate. Be happy we made it to California. But Del. Erek L. Barron (D-Prince Georges), an African American lawmaker and former prosecutor who also has done defense work, argued that it was imperative for the legislature to address the blatantly failed policy that has resulted in African Americans making up 87 percent of the inmates serving mandatory minimums. The panel decided to include the mandatory minimum repeal, along with a proposal to increase penalties for second-degree murder, as non-consensus items in its report. Mandatory minimums were not part of the Justice Reinvestment Act, which passed the Senate by a large margin. The Senate did, however, increase the penalty for second-degree murder. In the House, The push for a mandatory-minimum repeal was stronger, fueled by lawmakers such as Barron, who called the mandatory sentences a symbol of unfairness in the criminal justice system. Barron joined with Del. Brett R. Wilson (R-Washington County) to offer what many called the Barron-Wilson amendment. It added the repeal to the House bill, at the same time increasing the penalty for violent gang activity. The freshman lawmakers had strong support from the 45-member Legislative Black Caucus, which declared it would not support the Justice Reinvestment Act unless the legislation included the repeal. With the 90-day session drawing to a close, the House and Senate were at a standoff over the different versions of the bill. Christopher Shank, a top aide to Hogan who had chaired the Justice Reinvestment panel, tried to mediate, shuttling between groups of senators and delegates over a period of six hours one Saturday to iron out differences. Eventually, the two chambers agreed on a version in which both the repeal of mandatory minimums and the stiffer penalties for second-degree murder and violent gang activity survived. Even skeptics such as Shellenberger, the Baltimore County prosecutor, who said the elimination of mandatory minimums will make it harder to reach plea deals, applauded the bills shifting of resources from incarceration to drug and mental health treatment. If we can get to the root of the problem and solve the problem, . . . maybe we have done the right thing for the future of the criminal justice system, Shellenberger said. Looking to jails Almost as soon as Hogan signed the bill into law, the advocates who had push for it announced their next target: pretrial reform. They said that one-third of Marylanders who are behind bars are in jails, rather than prisons, and they are urging the state to turn its attention to changes in how people are held before trial including the bail system. According to the Pretrial Justice Institute, defendants of color are given higher bail amounts and are detained more often than white defendants. The institute says that more than 60 percent of the people in jails across the country have not been convicted of a crime but are awaiting trial in jail because they cannot afford the cash bail. Our leaders have to keep in mind that the justice reinvestment effort only applies to prisoners, said Toni Holness, the public policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland. Theres a huge chunk of our incarcerated population that has gone unaddressed. This Hooters restaurant, on Rockville Pike in Montgomery County, served beer and whiskey to a customer late last year who drove off and ran over a police officer. (Dan Morse/The Washington Post) A Hooters restaurant faces the possible loss of its alcohol license for allegedly over-serving a drunk customer before he drove off and fatally struck a Montgomery County police officer north of Washington late last year, alcohol regulators wrote in documents mailed to the restaurant this week. Representatives from Hooters are due at a show-cause hearing, now set for June 16, before the Montgomery County Board of License Commissioners. You are being charged with allowing a person to be served and/or consume alcoholic beverages past the point of intoxication on Dec. 3, 2015, Kathie Durbin, chief of licensure, regulation and education for the countys liquor control department, wrote in a Tuesday letter to the Hooters licensees. A spokeswoman for the Hooters chain declined to comment Wednesday, saying Hooters had not yet received the notice from the liquor board. Luis Reluzco (right) has pleaded guilty in the drunk-driving death of Officer Noah Leotta (left). (Courtesy of Montgomery County Police) After leaving the Hooters on Dec. 3, the customer, Luis Reluzco, 47, drove north on Rockville Pike. At the time, the officer Noah Leotta, 24 had pulled over a different vehicle on Rockville Pike and gotten out of his police car. Leotta was working on a special holiday task force designed to find drunk drivers. Reluzcos SUV struck Leottas police car and then hit Leotta, who died a week later at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. Reluzco was tested and found to have a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.22. The legal limit is 0.08. Reluzco has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the case and is awaiting sentencing. [Man pleads guilty in death of Officer Noah Leotta] Over the past two years, according to Montgomery alcohol regulators, about 12 establishments have been cited for over-serving intoxicated patrons. Of those, three have had their liquor licenses revoked, Durbin said. Two others had their licenses suspended. The fines levied in the cases generally ranged from $1,000 to $10,000, Durbin said. Establishing that a bar has violated liquor regulations by serving a drunk person can be difficult, Durbin said. Many times, intoxicated people are good at disguising their condition, and restaurant and bar workers say they didnt know the person was drunk, Durbin said. She said some people who have been drinking for many years may have learned to mask their inebriation at least outwardly and appear to function normally. Thats become an issue, Durbin said. It can also be difficult to establish that employees at bars and restaurants saw someone drinking alcohol, she said, adding that even bar tabs can be inconclusive because a customer may have been buying drinks for others. Its a difficult case to make, Durbin said. But its not impossible. A robbery occurred Tuesday afternoon in the Tenleytown area of upper Northwest Washington and at least one suspect was taken into custody at nearby Woodrow Wilson High School, police said. The robbery was reported just before 3 p.m. in the 4500 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, said officer Hugh Carew, a D.C. police spokesman. He said two people were arrested, a man and a teenager. At least one of them was picked up in the school, Carew said. He said there was no indication that any weapon was involved in the incident. A school system spokeswoman said neither victim nor suspects were Wilson students. She said she understood that police brought them there for security reasons. Nonstudents would not have been able to enter on their own,she said. Mervyn Jay Downes III of Caroline County, Md., was charged with slitting the throats of three goats at a state park on Maryland's Eastern Shore. One of the animals survived. (Courtesy of Maryland Natural Resources Police) The discovery of three goats with their throats slit at an arboretum in Tuckahoe State Park, a quiet site along Marylands Eastern Shore, has rattled those who go there to camp and walk. It made people uneasy, said Candy Thomson, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Its in a nice, quiet part of the Eastern Shore. It is a bucolic and rural area, so this was just something so weird. The department has arrested and charged a 21-year-old Caroline County man in the incident. Mervyn Jay Downes III turned himself in to authorities late Friday after officers searched his home and car in Ridgely, Md., and found a rifle and knives, officials said. Police said that evidence linking him to the crimes was also found, but they would not detail what those items included. The incidents with the goats began this spring. On April 8, officers were called to the arboretum after visitors found two dead goats. Then, on May 2, officers returned after another goat was found by police. That goat survived, officials said. The goats were part of a herd living at the parks Adkins Arboretum. They are on display, and people often watch them and take pictures, Thomson said. She said that Downes lives not far from the arboretum, on a road next to the park. Police said they think that a knife or other sharp object was used to harm the goats but didnt provide a possible motive. Downes was charged with three counts of aggravated animal cruelty in connection with the mutilation and death of two of the goats and in the maiming of the third, according to the states Natural Resources Police. He also faces charges of trespassing in a state park after-hours and of property destruction. He is scheduled for a hearing in July. If convicted, he could be fined a maximum of $5,000 and sentenced to as many as three years in prison. Police said that Downes was charged in December with multiple counts of illegal deer hunting. He pleaded guilty to one charge and was given probation before judgment and fined $1,500, all of it suspended. He was on probation until Sept. 3, according to police. Three District men pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the Aug. 15 shooting death of an American University alumnus near the Shaw-Howard University Metro station. Marcus King, 20, of Northwest Washington, Andrew Dudley, 20, of Northeast Washington, and Christopher Proctor, 26, of Northwest Washington, were charged with more than 60 counts in the death of Cleveland native Matthew Shlonsky, a financial analyst and a 2014 American graduate. Authorities say that Shlonsky had emerged from an Uber ride in the afternoon near the bustling Seventh and S streets NW when he was caught in the crossfire between the men. The three were charged with second-degree murder while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and charges involving injuries to two other adults and three children during the crime spree, which also included the theft of a vehicle that police say was used in the Shlonsky shooting. [Details of the fatal shooting from lead homicide detective on the case] King, who was the first arrested in the shooting days later, told police that he fired a .40-caliber gun at three men in a Chrysler. But he said he did so only after they opened fire on him from the cars sunroof as he was walking. Police said 18 shell casings were scattered on the sidewalk and grass. According to testimony at a previous hearing, King told detectives that the shooting began after the men pulled up next to King and asked him why he was looking inside the car. King told authorities that each of the trio had a gun and that as the car pulled away the men shot at him. He told detectives he then ran into the middle of Seventh Street and returned fire at the speeding Chrysler. Authorities are also considering that the men inside the Chrysler did not fire an actual shotgun. When police found the Chrysler, they found a CO2 cartridge often used in air guns inside. At the hearing in D.C. Superior Court, the three men, wearing orange D.C. jail jumpsuits, stood next to their attorneys. Dozens of family members of the men filled the courtroom. A trial date was scheduled for Jan. 17. Attorneys for the men have indicated they may request that their cases be tried separately, a decision that Judge Robert E. Morin, who is overseeing the trial, would have to make. Separately, Dudley is also charged in a home burglary that occurred three days before the shooting in the 4200 block of Argyle Terrace NW. Prim Smatsorabudh was a voracious buyer of high-end handbags, authorities say: Givenchy, Fendi, Chanel. At one point, she was T.J. Maxx's biggest online customer in the world. She was also prone to making returns over $1 million to that store alone. Federal prosecutors in Virginia say it was all part of a lucrative scam. Smatsorabudh returned fake bags she bought from overseas, they allege, then sold the real products on eBay and Instagram. Smatsorabudh, 41, of Arlington appeared in court Wednesday; a judge agreed that the Thai immigrant is a flight risk and ordered her held at least until a potential custodian can be found. She came to the United States on a student visa in 2010, Department of Homeland Security Special Agent William Corcoran testified, although he indicated that she had entered and exited the country previously. He did not say which school she attended but said she withdrew in May. Corcoran said federal authorities began investigating Smatsorabudh in 2015 after T.J. Maxx flagged the high volume of returns and started monitoring her, putting over 200 bags she returned in a warehouse for inspection. All of the bags examined by representatives from luxury brands have been deemed counterfeits, Corcoran testified. Smatsorabudh dealt directly with counterfeit bag-sellers in China, demanding high-quality fakes, according to an affidavit from Corcoran. It is terribly FAKe dont send me celine from this factory again or I will stop buying from you, she wrote one dealer. Another she criticized for cheap material, saying, It looks like the real Chanel when you look from very far. But when you touch the leather. You can tell its fake bag. Authorities found 572 handbags in her apartment. Officials say they nabbed Smatsorabudh by buying one of her bags on eBay a red Celine bag for $2,575 and having T.J. Maxx verify that it came from their store. Defense attorney Nina Ginsberg questioned how many of the 800 bags involved in the case were actually confirmed fakes. We have to wait and see how many of these handbags they can prove are counterfeit, she said after court. These items were accepted and returned as genuine for a long time. I have a feeling that the processes at T.J. Maxx are not as thorough as Agent Corcoran made them out to be. Corcoran testified that he was not very familiar with how T.J. Maxx dealt with returns and verified a bags authenticity, and he could not say how many of the bags in Smatsorabudhs apartment were real. But pointing to the large number of shipments of bags from China and Hong Kong to the apartment, he said, I do know that the genuine handbags are made in Italy, not in China. Corcoran said Smatsorabudh also violated the terms of her visa by working at the Beddow School, a Montessori school in Fort Washington. Trudy Beddow, founder of the school, said Smatsorabudh taught primary school for the past year but is no longer working there. Smatsorabudh, who is charged with wire fraud, has been held in jail since her arrest last week. Ginsberg said her client has applied for asylum and is therefore not currently at risk of deportation. Prosecutors noted that Smatsorabudh has been arrested four times and once pleaded guilty to theft but has not served jail time. Rachel Griffin, the songwriter behind the #imnotshamed hashtag, wrote a full-length musical, We Have Apples, to fight the stigma surrounding mental health. (McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post) Rachel Griffin, the songwriter behind the #imnotshamed hashtag, wrote a full-length musical, We Have Apples, to fight the stigma surrounding mental health. (McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post) Even as people with mental illness reveal their struggles to strangers on the Internet, theyre reluctant to divulge them at work. Their fears are founded; stereotypes of those with mental illness as unreliable, less competent and even dangerous abound in the workplace. I am constantly amazed at how widespread the fear of people with mental illnesses is and the false association with violence and dangerousness, said Jennifer Mathis, the director of programs at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. The Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990 made it illegal to discriminate against an employee with a mental-health issue and required reasonable accommodations be made for those who disclose. But there remains a high level of bias in the workplace, according to a 2011 study led by Boston University professor Zlatka Russinova. [The stigma of mental illness is under attack by sufferers, who are coming out publicly and defiantly] The study found that many people who revealed their mental illness at work reported experiencing prejudice and discrimination afterward. These reactions threatened not only their professional confidence but their sense of worthwhileness as a person as well, the studys authors wrote. Katherine Switz, a Harvard Business School graduate who has been hospitalized twice because of her bipolar disorder, said she never even considered disclosing her mental-health condition to her bosses at GE and McKinsey. While hospitalized for what she told them was a health issue, Switz said she realized she didnt know any people who were successfully coping with mental illness who could provide her hope. She decided that if she couldnt find the courage to speak out, nothing would change. So Switz joined a small vanguard of people who are leading efforts to lift the stigma of mental illness in the workplace. In 2013, she founded the Stability Network, an advocacy group that highlights successful working individuals who also live with a mental illness. Now she sees firsthand how much the stigma persists. I have had an extremely difficult time finding leaders to join the Stability Network and step forward to share their stories, she said. Often, people only share their story with their first name, or their name and not their title, or not their employer. That is why we Stability Leaders are trying to be open about every aspect of ourselves. Other efforts are cropping up. Patrick Corrigan, one of the countrys leading researchers of mental-health stigma who runs the National Consortium on Stigma and Empowerment, has developed a program called Hope, Open, Proud that includes a manual to help people decide whether and how to come out to their employers, friends and family. The New York City chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) held a forum in April with 12 chief executives of major corporations, such as Ernst and Young and Liberty Bank, to discuss how they can support employees with mental-health issues. The committee looked at successful anti-stigma campaigns in other countries as well as U.S. efforts around HIV/AIDS before concluding that federal intervention is necessary to reduce the stigma around mental illness. Mathis said she used to encourage people not to disclose in the workplace because the risk was too high and their livelihoods were at stake. While she still believes those risks exist, she now thinks that the new openness may be what is needed to make meaningful changes on the ground. Ive grown to appreciate the other side, which is that until and unless a lot of people are public about having a psychiatric disability, the prejudice will continue, she said. The Virginia Supreme Court next month will hear a legal challenge to Gov. Terry McAuliffes order restoring the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons. The court will take up the lawsuit, filed by state Republicans, on July 19 in Richmond during a special session scheduled to accommodate this and other cases. The decision came in response to Republicans request for an accelerated timeline. They would like the court to issue a ruling well ahead of the November general election. In their lawsuit, House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford), Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City) and four voters argued that McAuliffe (D) could not legally restore rights to nearly a quarter-million felons with one sweeping executive order. Until now, governors restored voting rights to felons on a case-by-case basis. We are pleased the Supreme Court recognizes the urgency of our challenge to Governor McAuliffes unprecedented and unconstitutional expansion of executive power, Howell said in a statement. Republicans want the court to cancel the registrations of all felons who have signed up to vote since McAuliffes April 22 order. As of Tuesday, that number was 5,816, according to the state Department of Elections. [In Virginia, felon voting rights mean simpler path to gun ownership] Republican leaders have accused McAuliffe of trying to add potential voters to the rolls to bolster the presidential bid of his friend Hillary Clinton. McAuliffe framed the order as a removal of the last vestige of laws such as poll taxes and literacy tests that disproportionately affected the voting rights of African Americans. One in 4 African Americans in Virginia had been banned from voting because of laws restricting the rights of those with convictions. McAuliffes executive order restores voting rights to all felons who have completed their sentences and have been released from supervised probation or parole. It also allows ex-felons to serve on juries, run for public office and apply for restoration of their gun rights. Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) has said the state constitution empowers the governor to restore rights en masse. If the state Supreme Court disagrees, Herring said, McAuliffe will simply issue individual restoration orders to hundreds of thousands of felons. WATERLOO, ON--(Marketwired - June 01, 2016) - D2L, a global learning technology leader, is proud to announce that New Mexico has chosen its Brightspace platform for statewide deployment. Sixty-five school districts, charter schools, and state agencies across the state will use the Brightspace learning management system (LMS) for both online and traditional classroom learning. New Mexico will manage the LMS centrally, which will help the state reduce the academic gap, increase graduation rates, and better prepare students for college and the workplace at scale in hopes of fostering the thriving economy. New Mexico initiated a competitive review of its LMS and selected Brightspace: the easy, flexible, and smart learning platform created by D2L. State leaders were particularly interested in the focus on personalized learning by Brightspace, which allows students at any skill level to progress at a rate that is tailored for them. The platform's powerful and flexible feature set, including support for third-party learning tools, robust administrative features, and the use of learning analytics to improve student outcomes, made Brightspace the ideal choice. "In New Mexico there is an academic gap between rural and urban communities -- students in some areas have access to a wider menu of course options, while others leave school ill-equipped for college," explained Amy Jaramillo, executive director of IDEAL New Mexico, who served on the RFP evaluation committee during the selection process. "With Brightspace's personalized learning tools and analytics deployed and managed at a state level, we can support educators in preparing students for both higher education and a career. Even more promising, the reporting and analytics integrated into the platform let us uncover macro trends and identify areas that need improvement before students are impacted -- not after." D2L's track record of innovation, which was a central element in New Mexico's selection of Brightspace, has been widely recognized. In March, Fast Company Ranked D2L #6 on the Most Innovative Companies of 2016 List in the Data Science Category, amongst Google, IBM, Spotify, Costco, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. eLearning Magazine also recently rated D2L as #1 in Adaptive Learning. "It has been an honor to work with New Mexico's leaders through this selection process, and we are excited that Brightspace will support educators throughout the state in improving the educational outcomes and the lives of students," said John Baker, CEO of D2L. "We created Brightspace with the goal of making learning experiences better -- improving educational outcomes, increasing graduation rates and retention, and inspiring students to help them reach their full potential in life. We look forward to working with the great educators throughout the state of New Mexico to deliver on that goal for students." Unlike a traditional LMS, Brightspace was created with the modern learner in mind. Highlights include: Mobile and Video Content that allows students to access learning from anywhere and on any device, while providing more authentic ways of delivering students feedback Game-Based Learning to engage students with new methods of teaching and learning by issuing trophies, encouraging competition with leaderboards, building game boards with various learning activities, and unlocking levels as learners demonstrate mastery of topics Learning Analytics to help keep students on track for success Personalized Learning which recognizes not all students start at the same level and that we need to adapt learning pathways, support individuals with different learning and assessment activities, and provide enrichment and remediation wherever needed To learn more about Brightspace, visit http://www.d2l.com/products/learning-environment/. ABOUT BRIGHTSPACE D2L's Brightspace is an online learning platform that helps schools and institutions deliver personalized learning experiences to people anywhere in the world. Created for the digital learner, Brightspace is cloud-based, runs on mobile devices, and offers rich multimedia to increase engagement, productivity and knowledge retention. The platform makes it easy to design courses, create content, and grade assignments, giving instructors more time to focus on what's most important -- greater teaching and learning. At the same time, analytics reports track and deliver insights into the performance levels of departments, courses, or individuals. Brightspace was recently named the #1 LMS in Higher Ed by Ovum Research, and #1 in Adaptive Learning by eLearning Magazine. ABOUT D2L D2L is the software leader that makes learning experiences better. The company's cloud-based platform, Brightspace, is easy to use, flexible, and smart. With Brightspace, organizations can personalize the experience for every learner to deliver real results. The company is a world leader in learning analytics: its platform predicts learner performance so that organizations can take action in real-time to keep learners on track. Brightspace is used by learners in higher education, K-12, and the enterprise sector, including the Fortune 1000. D2L has operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. www.d2l.com 2016 D2L Corporation. The D2L family of companies includes D2L Corporation, D2L Ltd, D2L Australia Pty Ltd, D2L Europe Ltd, D2L Asia Pte Ltd, and D2L Brasil Solucoes de Tecnologia para Educacao Ltda. All D2L marks are trademarks of D2L Corporation. Please visit D2L.com/trademarks for a list of D2L marks. Students and others marched in Rockville in 2014 in support of closing the achievement gap in Montgomery County. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) SOMETHING REMARKABLE is happening in Montgomery County. The biggest and most politically powerful union, which represents some 12,000 public school teachers, is positioning itself as a responsible partner rather than an antagonist in its dealings with local elected officials. If it continues, the shift will represent an evolution in the political culture of one of the regions biggest and most diverse localities a traditionally labor-friendly jurisdiction of 1 million people where profound demographic change is driving a rethinking of settled assumptions. Among those assumptions is the idea that the teachers union could intimidate politicians to the extent that it would dun candidates for public office for campaign contributions yes, you read that right an upside-down practice unknown in the rest of the United States. A correlate of that assumption in recent years has been that in the unions worldview, compromise was a zero-sum game. Union officials representing teachers and other school employees are engaged in talks with the countys Board of Education over previously signed contracts. Remarkably, the union has agreed to repurpose some funds previously earmarked for large wage increases; instead of 8 percent pay hikes in the coming year, most teachers would receive a still-generous 4.5 percent raise. The schools would use the freed-up funds to hire additional staff and reduce class sizes, which have crept higher since the recession. The unions concession came with prodding from the County Council, which demanded it in return for increasing school funding beyond the state-mandated formula. Union officials were also mindful that under state law, the Board of Education could have and would have imposed the concession had it not been offered. For students, the deals benefits will accrue quickly in terms of enriched educational programs and smaller class sizes, especially in poor and heavily minority schools. In an elementary school with a large component of low-income children, class sizes in the third grade would shrink to 26 kids from 28. Smaller class sizes, it is hoped, will help shrink the achievement gap that bedevils a school system, one of the nations 20 largest, in which a majority of students are minorities. The question now is how the union concessions will be received by 34,000 county employees, two-thirds of whom work in the schools. There are rumblings of dissent from some teachers and principals, though they are generally better-paid than their counterparts in nearby suburban systems. One idea is to put the agreement to a vote of rank-and-file members. That would be largely symbolic because the deal, once approved by the Board of Education, could not be undone. Still, it would provide a measure of whether teachers are on board with what their leaders and county officials are selling as a new partnership. Lets hope they are. Like private-sector workers, teachers and other public employees saw wages stagnate during the recession. Since then, pay for most has grown much faster than that of federal or state employees, to say nothing of wages in most companies. Thats good; teachers are key to the success of children and the community. Its also good if, for the sake of better educational outcomes, theyre willing to accept a healthy wage hike rather than an supersized one. YES, IT is going to be like this, Donald Trump said during a news conference Tuesday, after a reporter asked if he would be as hostile to legitimate scrutiny once elected as he is now. His honesty offered a bracing counterpoint to the pusillanimous Republican leaders who continue to insist that the reality-television star would be different once in office. Mr. Trump savagely attacked the dishonest media for asking honest questions, at one point calling a reporter sleazy. He suggested that recent political reporting is libelous and therefore not protected by the First Amendment, and he continued his assault on the federal judge overseeing one of the lawsuits against Trump University. The threats and personal insults show little regard for democratic accountability, the legitimate role of a free press in a free society and the importance of an independent judiciary. This is not the first time that Mr. Trump has attempted to chill press coverage by waving the term libel. In a March interview with The Post, Mr. Trump insisted he would loosen libel laws so that journalists could be attacked more easily. On Tuesday, his anger was directed at questions about his donation drive for veterans charities how much he raised, how much he disbursed, and to whom that he and his campaign have struggled to answer. These are legitimate questions. Mr. Trumps over-the-top response shows he does not have the restraint, the openness or the values every modern president has shared. Mr. Trump demonstrated the same disrespect for constitutional norms when he attacked a federal judge over the weekend. He called Judge Gonzalo Curiel a hater. He labeled the Indiana-born jurist a Mexican, once again proving an ability to offend and prevaricate simultaneously. If he is willing now to bully a judge overseeing a case involving his business, what respect for the separation of powers can we expect if he is president? Yes, it is going to be like this. Republican leaders are telling us, and perhaps themselves, that their nominee would become more reasonable if handed control of the Justice Department, the FBI, the U.S. military and the nuclear codes. I think Donald Trump will understand when hes sworn in the limits of his authority, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday in an interview with Hugh Hewitt. Hell have a White House counsel. There will be others who point out theres certain things you can do and you cant do. And its not quite like, you know, making a speech before a big audience and entertaining people. And I think hes a smart guy, and I think hes going to figure that out. So Im not worried about it. There you have it. You can believe Mr. McConnell, who posits that Mr. Trump will allow himself to be reined in by his White House counsel. Or you can believe Mr. Trump, who is telling us frankly: Yes, it is going to be like this. Acapulco Mexico violence business cartels The idyllic Pacific coast town of Acapulco in Mexicos Guerrero state once welcomed Hollywood stars and honeymooners, but the city has suffered a wave of bloody violence in recent years, as cartels and criminal groups battle for control. Since 2012, Acapulco, which has been called Guerrero's Iraq, has been the most violent city in Mexico, and among the most violent cities in the world, with homicide rates above 100 per 100,000 people each year. In 2015, Acapulco, home to about 800,000 people, saw 1,170 killings. In the first three months of this year, there were 205 homicides in March alone, the city had 98 of Guerreros 182 homicides. These numbers are down from violent peaks reached in 2012 the city had about 100 homicides a month that year but the intensity of the bloodshed stands out, and appears to be closely linked to the fragmentation of Mexicos criminal organizations. Violence in the southwest coastal area is the result of the some of the shifting cartel dynamics that we've seen among the major players ... dating back four or five years when we saw the takedown of the major figures of the Beltran Leyva Organization, David Shirk, professor at the University of Sand Diego, told Business Insider. The Beltran Leyva Organization, or BLO, partnered with El Chapo Guzmans Sinaloa cartel and controlled parts of central and southwestern Mexico. In the late 2000s, the BLO started fighting with the Sinaloa cartel and faced increased pressure from the Mexican government. Acapulco Mexico beach soldiers homicides violence Story continues The fragmentation effect that followed from that led to the splintering of the remnants of the Beltran Leyva Organization into various regional players, Shirk, the director of USDs Justice in Mexico program, said. "So it's a lot of those smaller groups along with the Sinaloa cartel that are in conflict in that area," Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, told Business Insider. Acapulco Mexico map The BLO, backed by the powerful and violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel, has tried to reassert control in Acapulco since late last year, clashing with local groups like the Independent Cartel of Acapulco (CIDA), according to The Associated Press. CIDA is one of three criminal groups operating in the city, and one of eight present in Guerrero, according to government reports seen by El Universal. The CIDA is believed to be responsible for recent violence that has gained international attention, in particular for multiple attacks on federal police stationed in the heart of Acapulco on April 24. The attacks were suspected to be retaliation for the capture of a CIDA leader the day before. The violence has also likely been exacerbated by recent political shifts. Guerreros governor, Hector Astudillo, took office in late October. Instability caused by criminal groups jockeying to make deals or gain influence with the new government has likely added to the bloodshed, Vigil noted. In the first 100 days of Astudillo's term, there reportedly were 734 homicides. Its a no-win situation for local governments and politicians, Vigil said, as they frequently become targets regardless of their stances toward criminal groups. Why anyone would want to be a politician in Mexico is beyond me, Vigil added. 'For the majority, its hell' As cartel clashes have intensified, the violence has filtered out of the poor neighborhoods surrounding the city, spilling into tourist areas. In a trend that has further hurt Acapulcos tourism industry, assassins used Jet Skis to approach targets on the citys beaches. As the violence spreads, beach-goers have started carrying small tote bags with weapons for protection. Acapulco Mexico beach vendor business Criminal groups in the city have turned more to localized crimes like kidnapping and extortion to create revenue, but Acapulcos location as Guerrero's coastal outlet indicates why its a prized possession for big cartels like CJNG. Acapulco is the state of Guerrero, and Guerrero is a major heroin-producing state, and right now heroin is a very lucrative market because we're suffering from an epidemic here in the United States, Vigil told Business Insider. So there's a different groups that are battling out for control of ... heroin production in the state of Guerrero, Vigil added. Astudillo, Guerrero's governor, has even suggested legalizing medicinal-opium cultivation as a way to reduce violence. In addition to drug production, Guerrero also offers traffickers access to smuggling routes throughout central Mexico and along the Pacific coast. "If you're trying to move product from anywhere from out of Mexico, into Mexico, or vice versa these areas are logistically strategic, both for legitimate and illicit businesses," Shirk said. Mexico police Guerrero Ayotzinapa violence protest Extortion, and violence related to it, has even made its way to the citys schools. In late 2014, schools were hit with extortion fees for each student and each teacher. In a two-month period at the end of that year, 21 teachers were killed. In response, the local government stationed soldiers at schools. Students see troops as something they like, something to admire. The girls even start to call them their boyfriends, a teacher told news site Animal Politico late last year. But in reality, in terms of security, nothing has changed. In that regard, conditions in Acapulco may mirror those in Mexico as a whole, which has seen a rise in homicides over the last year. "It's the same problem in Guerrero, the same problem in Tamaulipas, in Michoacan," security analyst Alejandro Hope told the AP, referring to states where homicides have jumped. Acapulco Mexico homicide murder killing "Suddenly there's an emergency, they send troops to where the problem is and in the short term crime drops. But then there is an emergency somewhere else, and then the troops have to leave, and they have not developed local law-enforcement capacity," Hope added. In the near term, violence in Acapulco is likely to continue unabated, said Vigil, who has spoken with sources in Mexicos federal-police force. Acapulco is the synthesis of the national tragedy, Abel Barrera, director of the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center, told Macleans last year. For a few, its paradise. For the majority, its hell. NOW WATCH: Federal agents found one of the longest US-Mexico drug tunnels hidden under a dumpster More From Business Insider ITS BEEN six years since regional leaders learned, in the aftermath of Metros most lethal accident, that the transit systems safety oversight body was a toothless phantom underfunded, ineffective and impotent. In those six years, the drumbeat of mishaps, maintenance disasters and quotidian delays has mounted while safety has continued to deteriorate along with ridership and passenger confidence. Now, after unprecedented intervention by federal transit regulators, who are providing the safety oversight that was so glaringly lacking, and threats from the U.S. transportation secretary himself, leaders in Maryland, Virginia and the District have finally stirred from their long and irresponsible slumber. They have produced a plan, in the form of coordinated legislation, to set up a functioning commission to oversee safety in the rail-transit system. Unfortunately, the plan has a fatal flaw. The commission would be broadly endowed with investigative and regulatory powers, invested with the authority to issue subpoenas, rejigger Metros budget to prioritize safety and slap the agency with warnings and fines if it fails to comply with corrective orders. That sounds promising, almost as if Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and District Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) were dead serious about reestablishing trust and accountability in a transit system on whose shoulders the economy of the nations capital depends. So why would they at the same time subvert that same project by carving out a zone of secrecy in which to shroud the new safety commissions work, including investigations it would conduct of incidents that could affect and imperil hundreds or thousands of passengers? In an agency whose shortcomings of accountability are so glaringly obvious, why would the workings of the agencys oversight body be encumbered, by design, by a similar absence of accountability? Its doubtful there is any surer way to accelerate the loss of public confidence in an agency already reeling from it. Yet that is precisely what Ms. Bowser, Mr. McAuliffe and Mr. Hogan are proposing. They would establish the Metrorail Safety Commission, at an annual cost of about $6 million that, at any rate, is what the Federal Transit Administration currently spends in its role of direct safety oversight of Metro. And, then, according to the legislation drafted for approval, they would exempt the commission from the two states and the Districts open-meetings and freedom-of-information laws. Moreover, according to the legislation, the commission may withhold from public view the contents of any investigation report it might produce, even after submitting it to the mayor and two governors. It seems to have slipped the minds of the measures authors that Metro is a public agency, funded by taxpayer dollars, serving a broad constituency of citizens who are entitled to know how their safety has been assured, or not. It is simply untenable that Metrorail, already the subject of intense scrutiny, should have its safety overseers granted a cloak of invisibility. ISRAELI PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces what looks to him like a serious diplomatic threat: that Western powers, including the United States, will soon launch a multilateral effort to formulate a plan for Palestinian statehood. France is convening a meeting of foreign ministers this week to discuss a possible Middle East peace conference. President Obama is said to be weighing whether to support a U.N. Security Council resolution later this year spelling out terms for a two-state solution. Israel has long opposed any such international initiative, worrying that it would produce results it found unacceptable. Several months ago, Mr. Netanyahu embarked on a political project that looked as though it could head off the outside intervention. The result, after several twists and turns, has been to make it more likely. Mr. Netanyahu tried to strengthen and moderate his fragile right-wing coalition by striking a deal with the leader of the left-wing Labor Party; as part of the bargain, his government would have stopped supporting settlement expansion in most of the West Bank and embraced an Egyptian offer to broker talks with the Palestinians. Then the prime minister abruptly switched course. Talks with Labor were suspended, and on Monday, the parliament ratified his appointment of Avigdor Lieberman, a hard-line nationalist with an abysmal international reputation, as defense minister. Mr. Liebermans party will join the government coalition, while Labor will remain in the opposition. Its leader, Isaac Herzog, bitterly accused Mr. Netanyahu of losing his nerve at the moment of truth. That may not be entirely fair. Mr. Herzog ran into considerable opposition to the proposed merger from his own party, and Mr. Netanyahu faced a rebellion from the right. As David Makovsky and Dennis Ross of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy observed, the episode served to demonstrate how deeply polarized Israel has become. Israeli officials argue that the new coalition is more flexible on a Palestinian state and that Mr. Netanyahu is still interested in bringing Mr. Herzog into the government. But negative international reaction has been as swift as it was predictable. Mr. Lieberman is well-known for belligerent rhetoric and radical proposals. He recently clashed with military leaders after they prosecuted a soldier who shot dead a wounded and disarmed Palestinian militant. The defense minister he pushed out, Moshe Yaalon, said in departing that extremist and dangerous forces have taken over Israel. In what looked like an effort to mitigate the diplomatic damage, both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Lieberman made statements this week in support of a Palestinian state. They hinted that they were interested in reviving the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, under which dozens of Arab and Muslim countries pledged to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel if it struck a comprehensive peace settlement with the Palestinians. Such rhetorical gestures are unlikely to reduce the international pressure unless accompanied by actions. Mr. Netanyahu may protest, with some reason, that Palestinian leaders have been uncompromising. But to stop the internationalization of the peace process, his government will have to show that it is willing to facilitate rather than foreclose a future Palestinian state. The partial settlement freeze Mr. Netanyahu discussed with Mr. Herzog would be a good start. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the media at Trump Tower in Manhattan about money he listed as being donated to veterans groups. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) Hong Kong television commentator Wu Jun observed recently that despite Donald Trumps anti-Beijing rhetoric, he could in fact be the best president for China. The Chinese analyst is right: A Trump presidency could open the way for Chinas strategic dominance in Asia and elsewhere. Wus comment was focused on Trumps mercantilist style, evoking a world in which Trump and President Xi Jinping, two big guys, might sit around a table at Mar-a-Lago and cut deals without worrying about human rights. The Republican Party is more practical and Trump is a businessman who puts his commercial interests above everything else, Wu said . But theres a deeper, more dangerous way in which Trump might be an enabler for Chinese ascendancy. His policies would play into Chinas narrative about the world and undermine the foundations of U.S. power in Asia, even as they are bolstering a rising China. Lets start with the impact of a Trump presidency on the Muslim world. A South Asian chief executive of a global company put it bluntly: There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and they wont forget what Trump said about banning Muslim immigrants to the United States. He predicted that Muslims would turn away from a Trump-led United States not just Iraqis and Syrians, but Malaysians and Indonesians, too. The beneficiary of this global rebalancing would be China, he warned. President Obama recently noted the national-security damage caused by Trumps comments. Isolating or disparaging Muslims, suggesting that they should be treated differently when it comes to entering this country that is not just a betrayal of our values, thats not just a betrayal of who we are, it would alienate the very communities at home and abroad who are our most important partners in the fight against violent extremism, Obama said in a graduation speech at Rutgers University. President Obama delivered the commencement address for Rutgers University on Sunday, May 15. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post) Trumps America First policies would reinforce the drift away from U.S. global leadership in ways that would benefit China. The most obvious example is Trumps disparagement of the trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (though hes hardly the only miscreant here). As the Wall Street Journal noted, citing the views of Singapores prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, An American failure to ratify TPP would bring about the very thing critics of the trade deal complain about: a more empowered China and bad terms for U.S. goods and services. New Zealands prime minister, John Key, described the risk for the United States of the TPPs collapse, in a comment cited by the U.S. trade representatives office: If [the United States] abdicates leadership in the region, that role will get filled. It has to. In the end, these economies arent going to stand still. China has already started creating its own network for economic and political influence, anticipating the retreat of U.S. power. In some eerie ways, these Chinese plans are reminiscent of the institutions through which the United States established its dominance in the post-1945 world. As an alternative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Beijing proposes the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. According to a Brookings Institution study, within five years, it could be lending $20 billion annually for regional development, roughly equivalent to what the U.S.-led World Bank lends. China has its own version of the Marshall Plan, too, to supplant a waning American vision of internationalism. Beijings blueprint for land and maritime dominance has the unlikely moniker One Belt, One Road. It envisions transportation and infrastructure networks stretching from China by land to Moscow and Rotterdam, and by sea across Southeast Asia and along the African coasts, notes the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Chinas global ambition has its hubristic side; The Posts Simon Denyer recently chronicled the empty cities in western China that have been built in overeager anticipation of a new Silk Road. But China is big and rich enough to make mistakes. Says Stanford professor Francis Fukuyama, If One Belt, One Road meets Chinese planners expectations, the whole of Eurasia, from Indonesia to Poland, will be transformed in the coming generation. China speaks the language that, in the U.S. age of expansion, was known as manifest destiny. This outward-looking vision of development and trade creates its own momentum. It becomes a focal point for private lenders and equity markets. Trumps call to Make America Great Again is incoherent because it is accompanied by inward-looking, reactive policies. Like Trumps own businesses, its more a franchising operation than a plan for real investment and growth. Trump may indeed have a formula for greatness but the winner in this story would likely be Beijing. 1 of 10 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad 10 celebrities who say theyll leave the U.S. if Donald Trump is elected president View Photos From Jon Stewart to Cher, some said theyd move to Canada, but some preferred another planet. Caption From Jon Stewart to Cher, some said theyd move to Canada, but some preferred another planet. Jon Stewart After the Emmy Awards in September, Stewart was asked whether hed consider returning to "The Daily Show" if Donald Trump is elected president in 2016. I would consider getting in a rocket and going to another planet because clearly this planet has gone bonkers," he said. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue. Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Lori Gruen is a philosophy professor and the coordinator of animal studies at Wesleyan University and was editor of the anthology The Ethics of Captivity. The death of Harambe, the endangered lowland gorilla shot at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old crawled through a barrier and fell into his enclosure, was a deeply traumatizing event for the child, for the surviving gorillas, for the witnesses, for the animal care staff and for those of us sensitive to the plight of captive animals. In the wake of such a tragedy, it seems someone must be blamed, but the fingers are being pointed in the wrong direction. The real culprits are zoos. Many in the animal protection community suggest that Harambe wasnt a threat to the boy. Gorillas tend not to be aggressive, and if Harambe wanted to hurt the child, the 450-pound gorilla could have done so immediately, not after interacting with this curious creature for 10 minutes. But these people werent on the scene. Did members of the gorilla care staff do enough to try to separate Harambe from the child? If they could lure the female gorillas away, why not Harambe? Some activists are calling the killing of Harambe an act of cowardice by incompetent zoo employees. But members of the zoo care staff, and those who raised Harambe from infancy at another zoo, are devastated by what happened. Some staff may have argued against the hasty decision. We dont yet know. Others are arguing that the boys mother is to blame. How could she let her child fall into a wild-animal enclosure? Why didnt she have control over her son? How long did she let her child wander unsupervised such that he had time to get through the barriers? In a post on social media, a woman who identified herself as the childs mother didnt express remorse for the death of Harambe, just praise to God and thanks to zoo authorities for saving her son. Some people are suggesting that she be deemed legally negligent and charged with causing the death of an endangered animal. But she is just one among millions of mothers who bring their children to zoos. This was a terrible accident, but she is not alone in teaching children to view wild animals as amusement. For me, the real question is not who to blame, but why anyone was in a situation in which they had to make a choice between the life of a human child and the life of an endangered teenage gorilla in the first place. Keeping wild animals in captivity is fraught with problems. This tragic choice arose only because we keep animals in zoos. Though killing is less common at U.S. zoos compared with the regular practice of culling at European ones, zoos are nonetheless places that cause death. Harambes life was cut short intentionally and directly, but for many zoo animals, simply being in captivity shortens their lives. We know this is true for whales in SeaWorld. Elephants, too, die prematurely in zoos. So why have zoos? One of the reasons often given is that zoos protect and conserve endangered wild animals. A few zoos do fund conservation efforts the Cincinnati Zoo is one of them. These efforts are laudable, and I would hope that in light of the tragedy the Cincinnati Zoo will spend more to help protect lowland gorillas. Their habitat, as is true for so many wild animals, is under threat. But captive animals, especially large mammals born in captivity, like Harambe, cannot be returned to the wild. These sensitive, smart, long-lived gorillas are destined to remain confined, never to experience the freedom of the wild. They are, at best, symbols meant to represent their wild counterparts. But these symbols are distortions, created in an effort to amuse zoo-goers. Zoos warp our understanding of these wonderful beings and perpetuate the notion that they are here for our purposes. If we really need someone to blame, maybe we should look at our society, which supports these types of institutions of captivity. If zoos were more like sanctuaries, places where captive animals can live out their lives free from screaming crowds and dangers not of their own making, no one would have had to decide to kill Harambe. Sanctuaries are places where the well-being of animals is of primary concern and animals are treated with respect. Four-year-olds and their families could see gorillas in Imax theaters, where their curiosity could be safely satisfied and gorillas could live with dignity, in peace. THE FEDERAL government gives billions of dollars based on the number of low-income students in local school districts for a simple reason: to help overcome the disadvantages poor children face in learning. But connecting those dollars to those children is anything but simple. School districts have found ways to game the system, using the federal funds not to help poor children but to spend less of their own money. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. is trying to fix that. Controversy has long surrounded the supplement, not supplant provision of the Title I program started under the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. A 1969 report from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. found flagrant misuses; regulators and school districts have struggled with cumbersome requirements. In the Every Student Succeeds Act, the latest renewal of the law, Congress in a rare display of bipartisanship retained supplement, not supplant but freed districts of what was seen as the most cumbersome requirement. The goodwill that accompanied that effort quickly dissipated as the Education Department began to draft regulations on how provisions of the law were to be put in place. Under the departments proposal, school districts would have to show that state and local per-pupil funding in Title I schools was at least equal to the average per-pupil spending in non-Title I schools. Studies have shown that districts with high levels of poverty receive less per pupil in state and local funds than districts with low levels of poverty. Poor families dont have the clout of their wealthy counterparts to influence how money is allocated; and more experienced, better-paid teachers tend to work in the wealthier districts. So Mr. King is right about poor students getting the short end of the stick and the need for equity in funding. Whether he is on solid legal ground with the draft regulations is open to some question. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) has accused the administration of overreach. He said the proposal would circumvent the law passed by Congress by requiring inclusion of teacher salaries, a conclusion that has been backed up by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. What happens next depends on the final language of the regulations, expected for release this summer. Congressional action is possible; so are lawsuits by states and local school districts. There is no question, as critics of the regulations have argued, that the proposal would cause disruption in the way that many schools do business. But it also is true, as a coalition of civil rights groups pointed out in a letter urging Mr. King not to back down, that the process of moving from inequity to equity or from injustice to justice has never been without disruption. Exhibitor Alexander Ganyushkin presents a prototype robot named Adam at the Innorobo European summit, dedicated to the service robotics industry, in Aubervilliers, France, last week. (Francois Mori/Associated Press) The robots are coming but not in numbers that would imperil most Americans jobs. Few subjects have inspired as much hype as robots. Consider some sample headlines: Robots and Computers Could Take Half Our Jobs Within the Next 20 years, Robots Could Put Humans Out of Work by 2045, Why the Highest-Paid Doctors Are the Most Vulnerable to Automation. Heres why you should be skeptical, at least in the near term. First, theres little evidence that robots have yet had much effect on job creation in the current recovery. Since a low point of payroll jobs in February 2010, the economy has added 14 million jobs. These figures surely obscure countless thousands of jobs lost to automation, but thats a normal part of a dynamic economy. Second, the actual number of robots doesnt suggest a huge impact either. In 2014, American firms installed 26,200 industrial robots, according to the International Federation of Robotics. Thats tiny compared with present payroll employment of 144 million, including 12 million manufacturing jobs. Even making generous assumptions about robots in stores or service jobs, the total remains modest. (In 2014, the U.S. industrial robotics market was the third largest, ranking behind China with 57,096 installations and Japan with 29,300.) Finally, robots arent new. In his monumental study of U.S. innovation (The Rise and Fall of American Growth), economist Robert Gordon notes that General Motors introduced industrial robots in 1961. By the mid-1990s, robots were welding automobile parts and replacing workers in the lung-killing environment of the automotive paint shop, he writes. But the adoption of robots outside the manufacturing and wholesaling sectors will be a long and gradual process. The alarmist headlines at the start of this column appeared in various publications and are quoted in an essay by Richard Freeman, a Harvard labor economist. As he notes, most economists (including Freeman) doubt the gloomy predictions of mass unemployment. True, robots enjoy some advantages over humans; they can work 24 hours a day and dont have fringe benefits. Still, the economists have history on their side. Its all happened before. There is no conceptual difference between robots and earlier labor-saving technologies, including the switch from steam power to electricity and the adoption of the assembly line. Although innovation hurts some industries and workers, it helps others by inspiring new products or reducing prices. Low prices spurred demand for both the Model T and smartphones. Meanwhile, new satellite industries arise say, cybersecurity now. Finally, theres inertia. Some innovation occurs slowly, because it encounters practical problems. Take driverless vehicles self-propelled robots which have received huge publicity. They are unlikely to become widespread soon. Dozens of regulatory issues need to be settled. Nor is it clear what the demand for driverless vehicles will be. Consider. An opinion survey by Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak at the University of Michigan found that only 16 percent of respondents wanted self-driving vehicles; 39 percent preferred partially self-driving and 46 percent wanted no self-driving features. Safety is one anxiety. Cost may be another. Presumably, car prices would be higher, reflecting the costs of software, sensors and electronics. Will drivers pay the premium, especially when todays cars last longer than ever? (The average age of todays vehicles is 11 years, up from five years in 1969, reports the Transportation Department). All these factors argue against the doomsday specter of robots creating mass unemployment. Of course, dramatic increases in the minimum wage will quicken the pace of automation. More jobs will be lost. Still, the real problem, suggests Harvards Freeman, is not jobs, but wages. The added competition from robots will depress workers wages and salaries. This could happen, but its an open question and overlooks an important countervailing force. As baby boomers age and retire, growth in the labor force is slowing. Workers may become scarce, pushing up their wages. One of Ford Motor Company's original factories in Dearborn, Mich., still produces the F-150 truck. The assembly line remains, but the process has come a long way. (Jayne Orenstein/The Washington Post) Read more from Robert Samuelsons archive. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is founder of the nonprofit Carter Center. It is disturbing that some human rights and public health organizations are advocating the full legalization of the sex trade, including its most abusive aspects. I agree with Amnesty International, UNAIDS and other groups that say that those who sell sex acts should not be arrested or prosecuted, but I cannot support proposals to decriminalize buyers and pimps. Some assert that this profession can be empowering and that legalizing and regulating all aspects of prostitution will mitigate the harm that accompanies it. But I cannot accept a policy prescription that codifies such a pernicious form of violence against women. Normalizing the act of buying sex also debases men by assuming that they are entitled to access womens bodies for sexual gratification. If paying for sex is normalized, then every young boy will learn that women and girls are commodities to be bought and sold. There is a much better policy option. In my 2014 book A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power, I described the approach known as the Nordic model, which is consistent with advancing human rights and healthy societies. Pioneered in Sweden and adopted most recently in Canada and France, this strategy involves decriminalizing prostituted women and offering them housing, job training and other services. Instead of penalizing the victims, however, the approach treats purchasing and profiting from sex acts as serious crimes. Another key component is public education about the inherent harms of prostitution for those whose bodies are sold. In Sweden, demand for prostitution has fallen dramatically under this model. Conversely, Germany and New Zealand, which have legalized all aspects of prostitution, have seen an increase in sex trafficking and demand for sexual services. Critics of the Nordic model assert that mature adults should be free to exchange money for sex. This argument ignores the power imbalance that defines the vast majority of sex-for-cash transactions, and it demeans the beauty of sexual relations when both parties are respected. Sex between people who experience mutual enjoyment is a wonderful part of life. But when one party has power over another to demand sexual access, mutuality is extinguished, and the act becomes an expression of domination. As author and prostitution survivor Rachel Moran explained in her book, Paid For, once money has exchanged hands, a woman must deliver whatever service the customer demands. In May 2015, when the Carter Center held a global summit to end sexual exploitation, sex-trade survivors, including Moran, described their painful journeys through exploitation. They told of the abuse they suffered abuse that should be understood as torture. They expressed their determination to speak not only for themselves but also for those who are either too traumatized to come forward or who perished as a result of homicide, suicide, drug abuse or disease. They compare their movement to the abolition of slavery, an institution that once also seemed like a permanent fixture in society. Prostitution is not the oldest profession, as the saying goes; its the oldest oppression. Those survivors told us that they once believed that selling sex was their choice but that this attitude was a requirement for survival that only once they were fully free from the fetters of the trade were they able to fully understand their lack of choice. If full legalization is adopted, it will not be the empowered sex worker who will be the norm it will be the millions of women and girls needed to fill the supply of bodies that an unlimited market of consumers will demand. Where do we think these young girls in the sex trade will come from? (Most victims are girls, though some boys are exploited, too.) It is simply naive to oppose sex trafficking of children and women and at the same time support decriminalizing the buyers who create the demand and the pimps who profit from the supply of girls and women. I believe it is better to help women and girls avoid a life of prostitution and to deter men from buying sex acts. We must not abandon the equal dignity of each human being by simply regulating a form of abuse. There is a better way. On Memorial Day weekend, members of my family gathered at the grave of my father, William Andrew White, who died on May 20, 1966. We gathered to celebrate his life 50 years after his death. My parents raised 18 children. My father served in World War I. Six of my brothers served in World War II, five in the Navy and one in the Army. Those brothers, who served on different ships, saw battles from Iwo Jima to Okinawa. Thankfully, my brothers all came home safe, unlike some of the sons who grew up in our neighborhood in the District. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is not a war hero because he was captured. There are thousands of men and women who have been captured in wartime. As commander in chief, would Mr. Trump refuse to award a medal to a returning prisoner of war because he or she had been captured? All of my brothers served in the military, as did my husband, my nephews, a niece and brothers-in-law. They served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. As we gathered at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, the last of the six brothers who served in World War II was with us, and at age 91, he could still recall all of the battles that his ship participated in and he was proud of his service. It is too bad Mr. Trump could not match that. Sara White Ruschaupt, Ashburn Hillary Clintons campaign hopes that there are many more national-security-minded Republicans and independents who would vote for her, even grudgingly, rather than see Donald Trump win the White House. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) Retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor plans to vote for Hillary Clinton for president this year, but not because the longtime Republican and former top aide to then-Gen. David Petraeus has had a political conversion. He just thinks Republican Donald Trump is too dangerous to be president. It will be the first Democratic presidential candidate Ive voted for in my adult life, said Mansoor, a professor of military history at Ohio State University. Clintons campaign hopes that there are many more national-security-minded Republicans and independents who would vote for her, even grudgingly, rather than see Trump win the White House. Those voters are an important part of the audience for her case that she is fit to be commander in chief and that Trump is not. Clinton has begun making that argument more forcefully as her long primary battle grinds to a close. She will deliver what her campaign calls a major foreign policy address in California on Thursday, focused both on her ideas and leadership credentials and on what she will describe as the threat Trump poses to national security. Clinton will rebuke the fear, bigotry and misplaced defeatism that Trump has been selling to the American people, an aide said. She will make the affirmative case for the exceptional role America has played and must continue to play in order to keep our country safe and our economy growing. The aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to outline the plan for the speech, which has not been previously reported. The address will expand on themes Clinton sketched in a CNN interview in May, when she flatly said Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is not qualified to be president. She ticked through positions the businessman has taken during a campaign few thought he could win. Among them: an apparent willingness to back out of the NATO alliance; a suggestion that the U.S. defense burden would be lightened if Japan and other nations acquired nuclear weapons; and his pledge to bar foreign Muslims from entering the United States. I know how hard this job is, and I know that we need steadiness, as well as strength and smarts in it, and I have concluded that he is not qualified to be president of the United States, Clinton said. The speech Thursday in San Diego marks a turning point toward an argument that, by design, has not been as large a part of the primary campaign as Democrats expect it to be in the general election campaign. Although Clinton cast herself as by far the more experienced and qualified person to be commander in chief when campaigning against her rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, she often tried not to feed liberal suspicions that she is a hawk. Clintons campaign celebrates each high-profile rejection of Trump by fellow Republicans and implicitly invites their support, but is leery of open courtship. Neither Mansoor nor several other Republicans opposing Trump said they have been contacted about supporting Clinton, although some plan to support her. I would support a random name in the phone book over Trump, said Philip Zelikow, a University of Virginia history professor who was a State Department official in the George W. Bush administration. National-security issues offer Clinton a way to play up her experience in contrast to Trump and appeal to people who probably would not vote for her otherwise, Clinton backers said. These include moderate Republicans and independents, but also suburban women turned off by Clinton but unwilling to support Trump, and some white men. 1 of 46 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Clinton on the campaign trail View Photos The former secretary of state visits key states in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president. Caption The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is the Democratic nominee for president. 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 Wait 1 second to continue. Although Sanders is running close to Clinton in California, she is expected to clinch the nomination even if she loses the June 7 primary there. As in most of the country, the Democratic campaign in California has focused largely on domestic economic issues, but the states defense industry and military bases lend a backdrop for her speech. The most recent Washington Post/ABC News poll in May showed Americans are largely split over whether Clinton or Trump would handle national-security issues better. Slightly more said Clinton (47 percent) would do more to make the country safer and more secure than Trump (44 percent), but the difference is within the margin of error. Among Democrats, 84 percent say Clinton would do more to make the country safer and a similar 83 percent of Republicans say the same for Trump. Independents shift toward Trump: 50 percent of them say that Trump would make the country safer and more secure; 39 percent say Clinton would. Emily Guskin contributed to this report. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), joined by her top lieutenants, during a news conference on Capitol Hill on May 11. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Vice President Biden stood on a stage at a Democratic retreat in Baltimore in late January and made a bold prediction: Democrats could win back control of the House of Representatives this year. Its been a tough last couple of cycles, he said. But we should get up, man! Theres a real shot here. Just a handful of the lawmakers clapped. Biden continued: Im confident well win back the Senate, and I think we can make great inroads and maybe win back the House when no one expects it now. Nobody applauded, because nobody believed him. If youd have polled the members and asked: Do we have a chance even an outside chance to get the majority back? At that point, the overwhelming majority would have said no, said Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.), who is in charge of recruiting new Democratic candidates. I dont think that is the case now. Some Republicans in Congress could be at risk of losing seats, in part because of the party's controversial presidential candidate Donald Trump. These are some the Republicans who are feeling the "Trump effect" the most. (Deirdra O'Regan/The Washington Post) Facing a 30-seat deficit, Democrats have dramatically improved their odds of retaking the House since Bidens remarks. Republicans are on the verge of formally nominating Donald Trump, a presidential candidate who remains deeply unpopular among minorities, women and younger voters just the kind of voters Democrats need to win House seats in swing districts. Democrats have scrambled to convince enough credible, well-funded candidates to enter key races that could flip control of the chamber and time is fast running out to recruit more. Party leaders in Washington had so written off the idea of retaking the majority that a Majority Project launched last fall was aimed at elections in 2022 after the next round of congressional redistricting. Trumps rise to presumptive GOP nominee sparked a scramble in recent months to recruit Democratic candidates, even in some Republican-leaning districts. Donald Trump has been our best recruiting tool, said Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who helps the party woo new House candidates. [Can Trump become so unpopular that Democrats could take back the House?] Democratic consultants think that Trumps rise has, broadly speaking, tilted the House battlefield in their favor by firming up candidates chances in competitive districts, allowing resources to be focused on more marginal seats. Trump, they say, has accelerated the partys demographic pivot into more affluent, better educated, suburban districts. But there are gaping holes that could cost them gains. Its unlikely that Democrats win back the House, but we cant completely rule it out, said Nathan Gonzales, editor of the Rothenberg & Gonzales political report. Donald Trump puts enough volatility into the national political environment that we have to keep an open mind to lots of different scenarios. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) boasted recently to The Washington Post that if the election were held today, We would win. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Takeover idea gains momentum Gonzales anticipates that Democrats will gain at least 10 more seats, but he said that picking up the 30 needed for the majority will be a challenge. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) boasted recently that she thinks she could reclaim the speakers gavel. If the election were held today, she said, We would win. We would pick up more than the 20, we could get to the 30. But its not today. Republicans, who enjoy a 246-to-188 edge over Democrats, disagree. Katie Martin, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, called talk of a House flip a far-fetched fantasy. Here in the real world, she said, a combination of their recruiting failures in races across the country and their own presidential candidates abysmal favorability ratings ensure that Democrats chances of winning the majority this year are as laughable as they were in 2012 and 2014. In the Orlando area, Democrats are touting Val Demings, a former police chief who is poised to win a safe Democratic seat. But in a neighboring district, the party has not found a challenger for John L. Mica, who represents a district with a fast-growing Latino population and where President Obama tied with Mitt Romney in 2012. The party has until a June 24 filing deadline to find a candidate. [These new polls should make Democrats feel good about winning the Senate] In Colorado, Democrats convinced popular former state senator Gail Schwartz to challenge Republican Rep. Scott R. Tipton in the states rural western district. But next door in Arizona, Democrats are not mounting a strong challenge to Republican Rep. Martha McSally, who won her district two years ago by just 167 votes but has amassed a nearly $2 million war chest. In Minnesota, the retirement of Republican Rep. John Kline has increased the likelihood of a Democratic pickup. But in Illinois, the party could not nail down quality recruits in two rural districts along the Mississippi River ahead of a November filing deadline. And there are problems: Rep. Mark Takai (D-Hawaii) recently announced his retirement due to declining health. Former Democratic congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa has announced plans to run, but the retirement sets up a potentially competitive race in a previously safe district. Actress Melissa Gilbert, who was challenging Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Mich.), also withdrew for health reasons last week, forcing a last-minute scramble for a new candidate that will not be resolved until August because of state ballot laws. It wasnt until late March when David Wasserman, a congressional race forecaster with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report who declared that it was difficult to be definitive about ruling out a Democratic takeover that party regulars began to take the prospect seriously. Trumps primary victories also helped Democrats convince candidates to run who might have taken a pass. As winter turned to spring, party strategists held late-night meetings at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee headquarters in Washington, poring over polls, turnout models and scenarios that they could use to convince top-tier candidates to run. They gamed out potential outcomes and how they could benefit Democratic candidates, including a contested convention or a prolonged fight between Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). A sudden comeback by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), though, would have caused at least some contenders to reconsider running. Worst-case scenario In Colorado, Democrats had been trying to convince Schwartz to run for six years, but she repeatedly rebuffed the overtures, citing her work in the state Senate and a desire to stay close to her family. But as Trumps campaign took off, friends encouraged her to run. She said her husband, the family gatekeeper, had been reluctant in the past but encouraged her to run this year in part because of Trump. He recognized that we all have a responsibility to do the most that we can and really saw that we would always regret not taking a run at this seat when we could have a really strong challenge, she said. Tipton, her opponent, is aligned with the Trump ticket, she said. It would be a worst-case scenario to see someone like Donald Trump be our president. More importantly, its the worst scenario for our region and state to have representation aligned with that ideology. Minnesota state Sen. Terri Bonoff, who decided against previous runs for the suburban Minneapolis seat held by Republican Erik Paulsen, jumped in after Democratic Party consultants showed her internal polling giving Hillary Clinton a 22-point edge over Trump in the district. Bonoff said she opted to run this year partly after watching the Republican presidential debates. Trump and other GOP candidates insulted women, they insulted immigrants, they talked about building walls and they were competing over who had more credibility in the war of insults, she said. That really concerned me. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, shied away from Pelosis optimism about reclaiming the majority. But he said that the party would be in a strong position to take advantage of a wave if it happens. The DCCC recently announced that it raised $8.6 million in April, compared with the NRCCs $5.4 million. In the first quarter, the DCCC was narrowly outraised by the NRCC. The House Majority PAC, a pro-Democratic super PAC, also announced Friday that it raised a record $12.8 million. But the super PAC is likely to face strong competition from Republican groups, many of which plan to concentrate spending on congressional races. [Trump once revealed his income tax returns. They showed he didnt pay a cent.] Privately, some Democrats say the party waited too long to find potential candidates. All year, party leaders have been saying, Were going to win the White House, win back the Senate and make gains in the House. Its hard to recruit candidates when you wont even suggest publicly that you can win, said one party operative, who requested anonymity in order to speak frankly about strategy. If Democrats get to the majority, they are going to have to rely on candidates such as Tony Ventrella, who plans to refuse the partys financial support. The 71-year-old challenger begins his race against Rep. Dave Reichert in Washingtons solidly Republican 8th Congressional District with enviable name recognition: He spent 27 years on Seattle television stations as a popular sportscaster. But Ventrella said he will only accept financial contributions from individual donors. He thinks that free publicity because of his name recognition will be key to his victory. What you need is three Seahawk players to tweet that youre a good guy, he said. Maybe five or six. If [Seahawks player] Richard Sherman can tweet to his million followers that Tony is okay, then Im in. Thats all I need. Kelsey Snell and Paul Kane contributed to this report. 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 visits key states in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president. The former secretary of state visits key states in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president. Even as Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to insist he can win the Democratic nomination, several prominent liberals have lined up behind front-runner Hillary Clinton in recent days signaling that the time is now to begin unifying the party to take on Republican Donald Trump. In endorsements of Clinton this week, California Gov. Jerry Brown and an influential environmental group, the NRDC Action Fund, argued that Democrats must stop fighting one another over their partys nomination. Brown wrote in an open letter that Clinton offers the best chance to defeat Trumps dangerous candidacy, while the fund, a political affiliate of the Natural Resources Defense Council, wrote that liberal groups must rally around Clinton because Trumps policies would take us back 100 years. Both efforts seemed aimed at bolstering Clinton in California, an enormous liberal state that Clinton could lose Tuesday even as she is expected to effectively clinch the nomination in other states. They also reflected how damaging it could be to Clinton to kick off her battle against Trump with such a symbolic defeat. This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other, Brown said in a message addressed to California Democrats and independents who will vote in next weeks primary. The general election has already begun. [Jerry Brown praises Sanders on his way to lukewarm endorsement of Clinton] Speaking in D.C. on May 24, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), slammed GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying the "central question" of the 2016 election is "whether this country works for billionaires like Trump and their big-bank friends or whether this country works for everyone else. " (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) Perhaps the biggest sign that a new effort is underway among liberals to begin healing fissures within the party comes from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the heroine of the left. Although Warren still has not endorsed Clinton and remains the lone Democratic woman in the Senate not to do so she has stepped up her attacks on Trump, and her advisers have begun communicating regularly with the Clinton campaign. We are in regular contact with her team and are very excited about the prominent role she has taken in defining whats at stake in the election, said Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon. Both sides continued to insist that there is no formal coordination and most likely no endorsement by Warren until after the last round of primaries. The effort is a delicate one given the ardor of Sanderss most steadfast fans and their insistence that he can still win the nomination. Sanders is already preparing supporters to reject any pronouncements of Clinton as the partys presumptive nominee Tuesday, when primary results in New Jersey are expected to bring her total of pledged delegates (those won in nominating contests) and superdelegates (party leaders and elected officials who may back the candidate of their choosing) past the 2,383 she needs to secure the nomination. At a rally in Santa Cruz, Calif., on Tuesday, Sanders warned that the media is expected to declare the primary process is over, Secretary Clinton has won. His statement was met with boos. That is factually incorrect. Its just not factually correct, the senator from Vermont said, predicting that he would win California and some other states Tuesday and head into the convention with enough momentum to flip the allegiances of superdelegates who have announced support for Clinton. [Sanders: No one will have majority of real delegates on June 7] Voting will also take place Tuesday in Montana, New Mexico and both Dakotas. Clinton leads in all delegates 2,312 to Sanderss 1,545, according to a tally by the Associated Press although that number includes support from a large majority of superdelegates who are free to switch their allegiance at any time, for instance if Sanders pulls ahead in pledged delegates. Clinton leads among pledged delegates 1,769 to 1,501, meaning it is possible, if entirely unlikely, for Sanders to overtake her with landslide victories Tuesday, when 475 pledged delegates are at stake in California alone. Although Clinton and her advisers remain confident about her prospects for securing the nomination, they have grown increasingly antsy about California. The former first lady canceled an event in New Jersey on Thursday to head to the West Coast sooner. She announced a five-day schedule chock full of campaign stops throughout the state, from Northern to Southern California, including a national-security speech in San Diego aimed at strengthening her position against Trump. [Clinton plans national security case against Trump in California speech] During an interview Tuesday with MSNBC, Clinton did not give any hint of nerves over the outcome of Californias primary, though. Im feeling very positive about my campaign in California, she said. We are working really hard. Democrats had largely accepted that Sanders was unlikely to concede the race until after the last votes are counted June 14, when the final nominating contest will take place in the District of Columbia. But the latest rumblings among progressives this week reflect a new level of worry about Clintons weaknesses heading into the fall and the need for her to shore up her support in the partys liberal wing starting now. There are two clear messages: one, that we need to work together, and two, that Hillary Clinton will move forward a populist, progressive agenda, said Mo Elleithee, a former Democratic National Committee official and a former Clinton aide. Its reassuring them that their message and their goal will be heard. He added: Do folks want to be responsible for putting Donald Trump in the White House? Because it could happen. The challenge is one that former Vermont governor and presidential contender Howard Dean knows well. He recalled coming to his own recognition of the need to unify after he lost the Democratic nomination in 2004 and spoke to former vice president Al Gore. After my ranting and raving, he just said: Look, its not about you. Its about the country, Dean recalled. Thats where Jerry Brown is its where most of us are. Dean, who supports Clinton, said that there has been a ferment of calls for unity among progressives so early because of the mathematical near-impossibility that Sanders could overtake Clinton. And, he added, unification will take time. They are going to have to get to a place where Hillary Clinton is the candidate that they are going to support, having supported somebody else in a contested, occasionally bitter primary, Dean said. And thats a hard thing to do, to climb down from your position. It takes time. Its a challenge that Brown, who competed against Bill Clinton in the 1992 Democratic primary, also knows well. Browns support for Hillary Clinton this week follows decades of sometimes acid criticism of both Bill and Hillary Clinton including one zinger in which he called Bill Clinton the prince of sleaze. In a debate in 1992, Brown raised the issue of Hillary Clintons ethics, accusing the then-Arkansas governor of funneling money to his wifes law firm for state business. Bill Clinton famously replied that Brown was not worth being on the same platform as my wife. More than 20 years later, Brown is finally standing with Hillary Clinton, lending the weight of his liberal credentials to her cause. Its not like hes a longtime Clintonite, Elleithee said. This is a guy who is a hero to many progressives, and the fact that he came out and said it is time for us to focus . . . that was a very strong signal to Sanders. Still, even in his endorsement, Brown signaled the challenge Clinton faces with liberals. The open letter was lukewarm in its praise for her, and while Brown laid out his reasons for his vote, he did not expressly urge California Democrats to vote for her. Brown also praised Sanders on his way to calling Clinton qualified and capable. Anne Gearan and John Wagner in Washington and David Weigel in Santa Cruz contributed to this report. Correction: An earlier version of this report misstated the name of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had given away all the money he had raised four months earlier for veterans and at the same time bitterly attacked the news media for pressing him to explain what he had done with the money. Instead of being like, Thank you very much, Mr. Trump or Trump did a good job, everyones saying, Who got it, who got it, who got it? Trump said in a news conference here at Trump Tower. And you make me look very bad. I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job. Trump also labeled the news media dishonest and unfair and called ABC News reporter Tom Llamas a sleaze. Trump was so bothered, in fact, that he stepped on his own good news interrupting his recitation of $5.6 million in donations to veterans to complain again about the media. I didnt want to have credit, Trump said at one point. What I got was worse than credit, because they were questioning me. The day was a strange, curdled end for an episode that had begun as a stunning success for Trump. On the night of the Jan. 28 fundraiser, Trump was at the top of his political game. With his celebrity boldness, he managed to upstage both the rest of the GOP field and a powerful television network by skipping a Fox News Channel debate and doing a televised fundraiser of his own. By Tuesday, however, the fundraiser had morphed into an uncomfortable test of Trumps competence and temperament. [Heres how we found out about Donald Trumps phantom $1 million donation to vets] Trump faced prosaic tasks, where celebrity and showmanship were of little help. Could he handle the task of moving money from donors to worthy recipients? And could he handle public questioning about how he did it? If Trump becomes president, is this what its going to be like? a reporter asked toward the end of the unhappy news conference. Yes, it is, Trump said. Trumps presumptive opponent in the general election, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, attacked Trump on Tuesday afternoon while borrowing one of his trademark tactics, the phone-in TV interview. 1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad These Republicans refuse to vote for Donald Trump View Photos And theyll tell you why. Caption And theyll tell you why. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell General Powell said at a meeting of the Long Island Association that he would be voting for Hillary Clinton, a spokeswoman confirmed Oct. 25. Powell added in an interview that he picked Clinton because I think shes qualified, and the other gentleman is not qualified. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Hes bragged for months about raising $6 million for veterans and donating a million dollars himself. But it took a reporter to shame him into actually making his contribution and getting the money to veterans, Clinton told CNN. Look, Im glad he finally did, but I dont know that he should get much credit for that. In all, Trump on Tuesday listed donations to 41 veterans charities, including at least a dozen gifts he had not previously disclosed. On the night of the fundraiser, Trump said the total had cracked $6 million. On Tuesday, he said the real total had been $5.6 million $4.6 million from other donors and $1 million from his own pocket. The same list also made clear that Trump had cut many of these checks only after he came under intense media scrutiny. Trump gave his own $1 million gift on May 23, after a Washington Post article questioned his handling of the money. Previously, Trumps campaign manager said falsely that the money had already been spent. Many of the new gifts disclosed by Trump on Tuesday were originally from other donors, who had entrusted funds to the Donald J. Trump Foundation on the promise that Trump would then give them away. The Associated Press found that many of those checks were dated May 24. On Tuesday, Trump said he had waited four months to give these last donations because he needed time to scrutinize the recipients. Its called vetting, he said. We vet the vets. But that vetting missed major questions about at least one charity on Trumps list. The Foundation for American Veterans got $75,000 from Trump despite its F rating from a charity watchdog, which noted that it spent only a fraction of its donations on veterans and the rest on overhead and fundraising. The group was also the subject of an alert from the Better Business Bureau earlier this year. The warning cited a pattern and high volume of complaints and customer reviews that alleged customers received a high volume of what they consider to be harassing phone calls from the groups solicitors. The Better Business Bureau said the group had blamed the problem on its telemarketer. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to questions about what Trumps team had done to vet the group or whether its vetting had turned up these concerns. The Foundation for American Veterans did not respond to calls and email messages Tuesday. Several other groups that received Trumps donations said they werent asked for detailed financial statements or other documents as part of Trumps vetting process. I dont have to go out and scratch for every single dollar for a promise that I make to a wounded veteran, said Andrew Biggio, whose Boston-based charity helps provide cars to veterans families and remodel homes to accommodate those with disabilities. Biggio served in Iraq with the son of one of Trumps bodyguards. Trump gave his group $75,000. Its the biggest weve ever gotten. The biggest donation weve ever gotten [before] was $15,000. And usually our donations are like $20 per person. Among the other groups that received new donations from Trump were: The Armed Services YMCA, which provides activities for children of military families. Connected Warriors, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based group that offers free yoga classes to veterans. The Mission Continues, which encourages volunteerism among veterans. Americas VetDogs, which provides veterans with trained guide dogs and service dogs. During the news conference, Trump said the groups names but little about their work. What he did say, again and again, was how unhappy he was to be there, answering questions about the gifts. The presumptive Republican nominee also hurled insults at reporters in the audience, whom he accused of liberal bias and of attempting to diminish his efforts. Youre a sleaze because you know the facts, and you know the facts well, Trump said in one instance, pointing at Llamas. By law, nonprofit charities such as Trumps foundation are not supposed to participate in political campaigns. However, Trump described the nonprofits gifts at what was clearly a campaign event. As he bashed his political rivals and talked up his poll numbers, Trump spoke from a lectern decorated with a sign that said Make America Great Again the slogan of his presidential campaign. Tax-law experts said that, even if the Internal Revenue Service were to find fault with the arrangement, it might be 2018 before the agency took action. Im going to continue to attack the press. Look, I find the press to be extremely dishonest. I find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest. I will say that, Trump said in ending the news conference, still angry. Okay. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. DelReal reported from Washington. Alice Crites, Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Thomas M. Gibbons-Neff in Washington contributed to this report. Donald Trump is being sued by former customers of Trump University. Here's everything you need to know about the ill-fated business venture. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) Donald Trump is being sued by former customers of Trump University. Here's everything you need to know about the ill-fated business venture. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) Donald Trump was personally involved in devising the marketing strategy for Trump University, even vetting potential ads, according to newly disclosed sworn testimony from the companys top executive taken as part of an ongoing lawsuit. In the testimony, part of a trove of records made public as a result of a federal judges Friday order, the executive said that the real estate mogul was involved in discussions and signed off any time we had a new ad. Mr. Trump understandably is protective of his brand and very protective of his image and how hes portrayed, Michael Sexton, Trump Universitys president, said in the 2012 deposition. And he wanted to see how his brand and image were portrayed in Trump University marketing materials. And he had very good and substantive input as well. The order Friday from U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel came in response to a request by The Washington Post, which argued that the public had an interest in learning about a business run by a potential president. Lawyers for Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, opposed the release, arguing that the records contained trade secrets. The records released Tuesday include documents from employees who described Trump University as a scam, as well as internal company manuals, called playbooks, which show that instructors were advised to aggressively steer prospective customers toward the most expensive courses. The playbooks advised staff members to collect personalized information about participants to help close sales. One example: Are they a single parent of three children that may need money for food? People attend a 2009 seminar in Arlington, Va., taught by professors of Trump University. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) [Read unsealed deposition in the class-action lawsuit against Trump University] Trump Universitys marketing tactics have been at the center of a case in which former students allege they were defrauded by the company. Among their allegations: that they were misled by ads featuring Trump claiming that he was overseeing the curriculum and that the faculty would be hand-picked by me. Trump has rejected the fraud allegations and has said the company provided a valuable service. A Trump lawyer, Jill A. Martin, predicted Tuesday that the company will prevail when the case goes to trial, which is expected to happen in late November. Much of the newly unsealed evidence, she said, demonstrates the high level of satisfaction from students, and that Trump University taught valuable real estate information. Tuesdays release included a number of glowing reviews from customers. Trump University is some of the best money I ever invested! one customer wrote. Trumps exact role in his for-profit educational venture has been a key point of contention. Previously reported testimony from the lawsuit suggested that Trump was not deeply involved in the substance of the courses. Sexton testified in a separate deposition that Trump did not personally select instructors for the marquee sessions. And Trump, in a sworn deposition, was unable to recall the names of key faculty members. Even so, according to the newly disclosed testimony from Sexton, the company was eager to leverage Trumps growing celebrity status stemming from his hit reality-television show, The Apprentice. Sexton said that, during the part of the year when the NBC show was airing, ads typically carried slogans related to the program, such as: I want you to be my Apprentice. 1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad These Republicans refuse to vote for Donald Trump View Photos And theyll tell you why. Caption And theyll tell you why. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell General Powell said at a meeting of the Long Island Association that he would be voting for Hillary Clinton, a spokeswoman confirmed Oct. 25. Powell added in an interview that he picked Clinton because I think shes qualified, and the other gentleman is not qualified. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Sexton testified that Trumps role as chairman of Trump University was purposely highlighted in advertising, as was a picture of the moguls signature. But he said one potential ad theme built around the idea of teaching students to invest like a billionaire was rejected. It wasnt accessible to people, Sexton said. People didnt necessarily walk around wanting to be a billionaire. Theyd be very happy to be a millionaire. . . . I think our feeling was that it was almost overwhelming, daunting, you know; thats not going to happen. [Read the unsealed 2009 Trump University playbook.] The records were unsealed as Trump continued to attack Curiel, the judge overseeing the case. He has previously said Curiel, who is Hispanic, may be biased because of Trumps proposal for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Friday, Trump described the Indiana-born jurist as Mexican. In an appearance Tuesday, Trump said Curiel was very bad. Asked why he would risk antagonizing the person presiding over the litigation, he responded: Because I dont care. I have a judge whos very, very unfair. He knows hes unfair. And Ill win the Trump University case. Trump University was started in 2004 as a business offering courses in entrepreneurship under the Trump brand. Trump gave his consent and became a 93 percent owner of the enterprise, according to Sextons newly unsealed deposition. Trump was the centerpiece of the companys advertising pitches. Trump University will deliver the experience, knowledge and wisdom of Donald Trump himself, according to marketing materials distributed to potential customers. In a promotional video, Trump declared that at Trump University, we teach success. Thats what its all about success. He described the faculty as the best of the best, with instructors handpicked by me. In addition to the class-action lawsuits being considered by Curiel, Trump University faces a separate $40 million fraud case in New York, filed by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. A New York judge recently ruled that the case should go to trial; Trump has appealed the ruling, a process that is expected to last several months. The documents unsealed by the federal judge in the class-action case include a contract with a Trump University speaker showing that a portion of the speakers compensation was based on signing up seminar participants to buy more Trump University products. While in training, speakers were expected to hit a certain sales rate in order to be retained by the program, according to the contract. One former Trump University staffer, Ronald Schnackenberg, wrote in a formal statement unsealed Tuesday that he quit the program in 2007 after working there for less than a year, deciding that it was engaging in misleading, fraudulent and dishonest practices. His statement said he was reprimanded by Trump University for not working harder to sell a $35,000 program to a couple who could not afford it and would have had to use disability pay and a loan taken out against equity in their apartment to pay for it. He said another salesperson talked the couple into paying for the seminar after he refused. I was disgusted by this conduct and decided to resign, he wrote. Schnackenberg wrote that he never saw Trump in seven months, and he concluded that the program was not intended to teach about real estate but instead that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money. [Donald Trump billed his University as a road to riches, but critics call it a fraud] The newly disclosed documents also include a series of annual behind-the-scenes strategy manuals intended to guide Trump University employees. Known as playbooks, the documents instruct staff in the minutiae of setting up and running free introductory courses, but emphasize that participants should be pressed to sign up for additional, pricey classes. One of the playbooks, first revealed earlier this year by Politico, suggested methods of luring attendees to buy a $1,495 ticket to a three-day workshop, described to those at the free sessions as all you need to start getting rich. However, the playbooks urged the sales team to push further, suggesting that those who paid $1,495 be encouraged to upgrade to classes with a mentor that could cost between $9,995 and $34,995. The playbooks instructed staff to have students fill out forms detailing their personal assets, ostensibly to provide targeted recommendations for investment. The playbooks, however, said the real purpose was to determine which students were good targets for the most expensive programs. rosalind.helderman @washpost.com Alice Crites contributed to this report. Residents sit outside a damaged building in the Damascus suburb of Darayya on May 23, 2016. The rebel-held city has lived under a punishing government blockade for more than three years. (Fadi Dirani/AFP/Getty Images) An aid convoy carrying medical supplies for besieged Syrian civilians entered a Damascus suburb for the first time since 2012, the United Nations and local activists said Wednesday, after Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, announced a 48-hour cease-fire in the area. The convoy, which included trucks from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, brought medicine, vaccines and baby milk to the rebel-held city of Darayya on the outskirts of the Syrian capital. Darayya residents have lived under a punishing government blockade for more than three years. An aid convoy dispatched in May was turned away by Syrian security forces at the last checkpoint, the ICRC and the United Nations said. First humanitarian aid to reach people of #Daraya, the ICRCs Syria office posted on Twitter on Wednesday. The organization also posted a photograph showing its vehicles driving on parched land next to bombed-out buildings. Weve just entered the city, the tweet said. [How the Syrian revolt went so tragically wrong] The delivery comes after a push by world powers for wider humanitarian access in Syria, where regime forces and other armed groups have besieged civilian populations, causing severe shortages of food and other essentials. The United Nations says more than 11 million Syrians have been displaced in the years-long conflict and 400,000 have been killed . Russias intervention on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad last fall prompted the ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war, including a cessation of hostilities between rebel groups and regime forces that went into effect earlier this year. That cease-fire largely broke down in April, and humanitarian agencies have struggled to deliver even basic supplies to civilians in need. [Airstrikes kill dozens near hospital in Syria as violence escalates] Wednesday marked the deadline for aid deliveries to areas deemed hard-to-reach by the International Syria Support Group, a cluster of nations spearheading the diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. The group said this month that if the deadline was not met, the World Food Program would begin airdrops of humanitarian supplies, including in Darayya. Also Wednesday, the U.N. humanitarian coordination office said it delivered food items to the Damascus suburb of Moadamiya, which is also under siege. Elsewhere, however, deliveries of aid continue to be rejected, delayed or tampered with leaving the most vulnerable communities still in need, Ashley Proud, Mercy Corps humanitarian director for Syria, said Wednesday. The continued failure to allow for the delivery of life-saving aid to innocent civilians is shameful, Proud said. On Wednesday, the Local Council of Darayya issued a statement on the convoys arrival. A U.N. medical aid convoy has just entered the besieged city of #Daraya, the council posted on its Facebook page. The convoy does not contain any food supply whatsoever. Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul contributed to this report. Read more: Airstrike destroys Syrian hospital amid fears of catastrophic turn in fighting Humanitarian aid situation in Syria deteriorating, United Nations warns Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Recovered debris of the EgyptAir jet that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea is seen in this handout image released May 21, by Egypt's military. (Reuters) French officials confirmed Wednesday that signals have been detected from one of the flight recorders from EgyptAir Flight 804, which crashed en route from Paris to Cairo last month. A French vessel, the Laplace, picked up the signals in the course of an ongoing search in the eastern Mediterranean. Egyptian officials first reported that the signals had been detected earlier in the day. A signal from a tag of a flight recorder was able to be detected, Remi Jouty, the head of Frances Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA), said in a statement. Because the flight originated at Paris, French officials have been assisting in the Egyptian-led investigation. The planes flight recorders, commonly known as black boxes, are crucial in determining the cause of the crash. The devices record both the various instrument readings and the voice communications of the cockpit crew, providing key information leading up to the crash. Alseamar, the French company that supplied the search ship, said in a statement Wednesday that "less than 24 hours were necessary" for the Laplace to find signals emitted from one of the black box's detectors. 1 of 22 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Possible debris from EgyptAir flight recovered in the Mediterranean View Photos Egypts military spokesman posted what he said were the first images of debris, including parts of the aircraft exterior. Caption Egypts military spokesman posted what he said were the first images of debris, including parts of the aircraft exterior. May 21, 2016 Recovered debris possibly from the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian Military via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. Time was running short to locate the black boxes: They emit signals underwater for up to 30 days following a crash. Once the locator beacons go silent, they are much harder to find in the depths of the sea. A second French ship, equipped to retrieve objects from the sea, is joining the search. Stephane Barthe, a spokesman for the BEA, cautioned against offering any explanation at this time. Its way too early to offer an interpretation of any kind, he told The Washington Post. The plane, an Airbus A320 carrying 66 passengers and crew members, vanished from radar screens shortly after entering Egyptian airspace early on the morning of May 20. Weather conditions were clear throughout the flight, and the pilots had not reported any passenger disturbances as they flew across Central Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. At approximately 2:30 a.m., the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. 1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Relatives of the victims of Flight 804 gather in Cairo View Photos Coptic Christians grieve during prayers for the victims of the crashed EgyptAir plane. Caption Coptic Christians grieve during prayers for the victims of the crashed EgyptAir plane. May 22, 2016 At Al-Boutrossiya Church, the main Coptic cathedral complex in Cairo, a Coptic Christian grieves during prayers for the victims of Thursday's crash of EgyptAir Flight 804. Amr Nabil/Associated Press Wait 1 second to continue. Radar data, communications and pieces of wreckage that search crews have been recovering suggest a rapid loss of control, as well as the possible presence of smoke in the aircrafts lavatories and avionics bay. If the crash was due to mechanical failure, the planes pilots appear to have never issued a distress call. Sherif Fathy, Egypts aviation minister, said last month that terrorism was a more likely cause for the planes disappearance. But at present, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility including, notably, the Islamic State, which conducted a broadcast shortly after the crash. The Islamic State did claim responsibility for another recent Egyptian aviation disaster: the downing of a Russian passenger plane bound for St. Petersburg from the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh last October, which killed all 224 aboard. Read more Remains from EgyptAir wreckage examined amid conflict over initial findings EgyptAir plane made sudden swerves before vanishing over Mediterranean What we know about EgyptAir Flight 804 Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world * Najib says FDI in Malaysia has been going up by 22 pct annually * Malaysia stock market worst performer in Southeast Asia * Amnesty's Salil Shetty says rights issues a concern By Praveen Menon and Joseph Sipalan KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday that investor confidence in Malaysia is high and blamed the rising "noise levels" for a negative perception of the country, where a state-owned fund is at the centre of graft probes across the world. Malaysia's economy and markets have been rattled by a slowdown in China, slumping oil prices and a burgeoning financial scandal around 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), whose advisory board Najib had chaired. Companies and banks linked to 1MDB are being investigated for money-laundering in at least six countries, a big embarrassment for Najib who welcomed hundreds of business and political leaders to Kuala Lumpur for the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2016. "The fact that foreign direct investment (FDI) has been going up in Malaysia by 22 percent per annum means that there is general confidence in Malaysia," Najib told an audience at WEF in Kuala Lumpur. "The problem is of perception and the problem is of noise levels outside. The noise level is rather high, I admit it, but it belies the strong fundamentals and commitment of the Malaysian government," he said. He did not directly refer to 1MDB or the financial scandal, which has deepened in recent weeks. Last week, Singapore shut down BSI bank's unit in the city-state and Swiss authorities began criminal proceedings against the Swiss bank in connection with money-laundering and corruption investigations into 1MDB in the two countries. Najib said some of the factors affecting the economy are beyond Malaysia's control, adding that a 1 percent drop in growth in China leads to a 0.4 pct slowdown in the Malaysian economy and a $1 drop in price of oil leads to 450 million ringgit ($108.6 million) in losses to Malaysia's revenue. Story continues "I believe we should concentrate on strengthening the fundamentals first. We should not be over reactive to short term conditions because we believe there will be some correction in the market," he said. Malaysian stocks have performed poorly this year in comparison to its neighbours in Southeast Asia. The FTSE KLCI index has lost 4.0 percent this year, versus a 10 percent gain in neighbouring Thailand, a 5 percent gain in Indonesia, and a 4.3 percent gain in the MSCI South East Asia index. RIGHTS ISSUE While Najib has been buffeted by allegations of graft and mismanagement at 1MDB, he has cracked down on dissenters within his party and outside, using a colonial-era Sedition Act and other security laws. Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General who is also a co-chair at WEF, told Reuters in an interview freedom rights in Malaysia have declined significantly over the last 18 months. "The Prime Minister came to power here talking about pluralism and diversity and promised to get rid of the Sedition act," he said. "And now post-election, where they had a challenging outcome, and the 1MDB scandal, there's been a real constriction of freedom of expression and we are very concerned about that." The 1MDB scandal and its impact will loom over the WEF meetings, he added. "Certainly in terms of the impact it (1MDB scandal) has had in terms of them (government) crushing voices of dissent or any critical voices asking question on where is the money, etc, is a matter of concern," Shetty said. Najib has denied reports that $681 million that was transferred to his personal bank account came indirectly from 1MDB. His attorney general said the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family and most of it was returned. Last month, the government said it could impose a three-year travel ban on its citizens who discredit or ridicule the government. ($1 = 4.1430 ringgit) (Reporting by Praveen Menon. Editing by Bill Tarrant) Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces fire a mortar shell toward positions held by Islamic State fighters in the northern province of Raqqa, Syria, May 27, 2016. (Rodi Said/Reuters) A U.S.-backed force of Kurds and Arabs advanced toward an important Islamic State transit town in Syria on Wednesday, brushing aside Turkish opposition to the involvement of Kurds in operations to recapture the strategically vital area. U.S. commandos are accompanying the Kurdish and Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they push north toward Manbij, backed by intense U.S. airstrikes, as part of an offensive aimed at recapturing the town in Aleppo province, said Col. Chris Garver, a U.S. military spokesman. Manbij lies on the main route used by foreign fighters traveling across the Turkish border to join the Islamic State in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist groups self-proclaimed caliphate. Capturing Manbij would sever the vital supply route, cut off militant fighters and further squeeze the Islamic State in Raqqa, Garver said. [Offensive in Syria targets Islamic States capital] But the offensive also risks incurring the wrath of Turkey, which reiterated this week its opposition to using the SDF to take control of the predominantly Arab area. The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, which has ties to the militant Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and Turkey. An American fighter, battling alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, holds a U.S. flag as he stands with SDF members in the northern province of Raqqa, Syria, May 27, 2016. (Rodi Said/Reuters) The Kurdish organization has declared an autonomous region in the part of northeastern Syria it already controls, and Turkey fears that its continued advance westward into Arab areas of Syria will further expand the Kurdish region emerging along the Turkish border and encourage Kurdish separatist sentiments inside Turkey. Pentagon officials said that the SDF fighters advancing on Manbij are predominantly Arab and that the YPG has agreed not to retain control of the town after it is captured but rather to hand over its administration to local Arabs. Garver put the percentage of Arabs in the advancing force at 80 to 90 percent. But SDF units fighting elsewhere are overwhelmingly Kurdish. One U.S. official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue, said that overall, Kurds are the main fighting force in the SDF. We shouldnt be under any illusions about that. [The new coalition to destroy the Islamic State] Despite Pentagon claims that Turkey has consented to the operation, the Turks are not happy about it, the official added. Turkish officials did not respond to requests for comment. The offensive signals the abandonment, at least for now, of a long-standing U.S.-Turkish plan to coordinate on efforts to reconquer the Islamic State-held pocket of territory in Syrias Aleppo province, known as the Manbij pocket, using vetted Free Syrian Army rebel groups. Those efforts have stalled since the Islamic State repelled a rebel offensive in March aimed at recapturing areas of the province that border Turkey. The Islamic State subsequently has not only pushed the rebels back from the areas they have taken but also has captured new territories that were formerly under rebel control. These gains have left the U.S.- and Turkish-backed groups battling for their survival and in no position to launch any new offensives against the al-Qaeda offshoot, which is also known as ISIS and ISIL. [ISIS fighters try to sell sex slaves online] Instead, the United States has decided to back the Kurdish-led assault on the Manbij area. We have bitten the bullet on the Kurds, said the U.S. official. The Manbij operation comes as part of a broader effort to squeeze the Islamic State in Raqqa. It began last week with a push by the SDF to capture villages in the mostly desert area immediately north of the city. Those forces have advanced several miles, and the operation is ongoing, Garver said. The Raqqa offensive also claimed its first U.S. casualty over the weekend. One of the 300 U.S. Special Operations forces working alongside Kurdish and Arab fighters in northeastern Syria was injured north of Raqqa over the weekend, the Pentagon said Tuesday. DeYoung reported from Washington. Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that Col. Chris Garver did not describe the force advancing on Manbij as Kurdish-led. Read more: Aid convoy reaches Damascus suburb for the first time since 2012, U.N. says The last remaining Pentagon-trained rebel group in Syria is now in jeopardy First images emerge of U.S. Special Operations forces in the fight to retake Raqqa Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world A 7-year-old boy has been reported missing for two days after his parents left him near the mountain range of Nanae-cho, Hokkaido in northern Japan on Saturday, according to the Hokkaido Prefectural Police. Over 150 members of the local police and fire departments, along with rescue teams, have been searching for Yamato Tanooka after his parents left him in the mountain range "as punishment," CNN reports. The location where the young boy was abandoned is home to wild bears. Authorities received an emergency call from his parents at around 6 p.m. Saturday. At first, police were told that the boy had gone missing during a day trip to the area with his parents and sister to collect wild vegetables. However, his parents later reportedly admitted they had left their son alone in the mountains to punish him for throwing stones at passing cars and people while on their way home. "I was not able to ask for [a search] with a reason of punishment," the father told TV Asahi. "I thought it might be taken as a domestic violence." The parents also reportedly confessed they had initially stalled in reporting their son missing due to the reasons behind his disappearance. According to the police, the parents quickly drove back to where they had left the child, but he was no longer there. The long day is ending for Donald Trump with a pint of vanilla Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Were settling in for a late-night chat at his Beverly Hills house, a 10,400-square-foot Colonial mansion directly across from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Hes here for the final presidential primary, a California coronation of sorts, after rallies in Orange County (where violence broke out and seven people were arrested). He is, as he has been for much of our conversation - and perhaps much of the last year - marveling at his own campaign. You looked outside before, you see whats going on, he boasts about the police surrounding his house, and the Secret Service detail cramming his garage and snaking around the pool at the center of the front drive. And hes just returned from a big donor fundraiser in Brentwood for the Republican Party at the home of Tom Barrack, the investor and former Miramax co-owner. There had to be over a thousand policeman. They had a neighborhood roped off, four or five blocks away from this beautiful house. Machine guns all over the place. One thing to understand about Trump is that, rather unexpectedly, hes neither angry nor combative. He may be the most threatening and frightening and menacing presidential candidate in modern life, and yet, in person hes almost soothing. His extreme self-satisfaction rubs off. Hes a New Yorker who actually might be more at home in California (in fact, he says he usually comes to his home here - two buildings on Rodeo Drive - only once a year). Life is sunny. Trump is an optimist - at least about himself. Hes in easy and relaxed form campaigning here in these final days before the June 7 California primary, even with Hillary Clintons biggest backers and a city that is about half Latino surrounding him. Earlier in the day, Id met with Trump at a taping of ABCs Jimmy Kimmel Live! at the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, where he was the single guest for the evening (musicians The Weeknd and Belly canceled upon learning of his appearance). Have you ever seen anything like this? he asked. He meant this, the Trump phenomenon. Circumventing any chance that I might dampen the sentiment, he quickly answered his own question: No one ever has. Story continues His son-in-law, New York Observer owner Jared Kushner, married to his daughter Ivanka and also a real estate scion - but clearly a more modest and tempered fellow, a wisp next to his beefsteak father-in-law - offered that they may have reached 100 percent name recognition. In other words, Trump could be the most famous man in the world right now. I may be, says Trump, almost philosophically, and referencing the many people who have told him theyve never seen anything like this. Bill O'Reilly said in his lifetime this is the greatest phenomenon hes ever seen. That notion is whats at the center of this improbable campaign, its own brilliant success. Its its main subject - the one you cant argue with. You can argue about issues, but you cant argue with success. Hence, to Trump, youre really foolish to argue with the Trump campaign. Ive spent $50 million of my own money to go through the primaries. Other people spent $230 million and they came in last. You know what Im saying? And this provides him the reason to talk endlessly and repetitively about the phenomenon of the campaign. That phenomenon is, of course, Trump himself, about whom Trump spends a lot of time talking in the third person. You can try, but its hard to resist this admiration for himself. The certainty of it, the enthusiasm for it and the lack of not just doubt, but of any negativity. Its all upbeat and positive. The dark, scary, virulent heart of American politics is having the best time anyone has ever had. Read More: Media Goes Too Easy on Donald Trump (Guest Column) Trump at a May 25 rally in Anaheim. Violent clashes between protesters and police followed him through California. If onstage he calls people names, more privately he has only good, embracing things to say about almost everybody. (For most public people I know, it is the opposite.) He loves everybody. Genuinely seems to love everybody - at least everybody whos rich and successful (he doesnt really talk about anyone who isnt). Expressing love for everybody, for most of us, would clearly seem to be an act. But with Trump, its the name-calling and bluster that might be the act. I offer that there are quite a number of people in New York, some we know in common, who are puzzled that the generous, eager-to-be-liked and liking-everyone-in-return Donald has morphed into a snarling and reactionary public enemy, at least a liberal enemy. This, I suggest, might be a source of the continuing dialectic - or to some, wishful thinking - that he does not necessarily believe what he says. I might detect the most mild sort of annoyance here. Trump says its that he just never talked about his beliefs in the past - after all, he wasnt a politician. Who thought this was going to happen? But his larger point seems to be that such a topic - what he says - is a silly thing to focus on. The point is not about politics, or policies, but about how people, about how many people, have responded to him. Its too big to ignore the bigness. You heard Jimmy announce tonight that I have the most votes in the history of the Republican Party, he says by way of explanation for the larger issues at hand - i.e., him. In a way, what this evenings Kimmel show was about was treating Trumps positions as though they are, well, Trumps positions, qualitatively different than other politicians positions. In fact, you might logically see the Kimmel show as a devastating attack on Trumps views and claims. Kimmel flat out doesnt believe him. That recording of the PR person alleged to be Trump sounding like a PR person? Trump: It didnt sound like me. Kimmel: No. Sounded like you. (An exchange repeated similarly several times, with no rancor from either Trump or Kimmel.) And oh, says Kimmel, remember when you liked Hillary? Trump: I just said I like her. I say I like everybody. And there was Kimmel, at every opportunity, happily mocking Trump, the overexposed media whore. The effect is not only not damaging, its fun-loving, comic, even joyous. Kimmel is tickled to have such a good sport to poke fun at, and Trump is tickled that Kimmel is tickled. Everybodys in on it. There are no phonies here. Or everybody here is honest about being a phony. Nobody is taking anyone very seriously - forget what might be at stake in a presidential election. If Trump is the subject of the conversation, then Trump is happy. If Kimmel has Trump as a guest, hes happy. Everybodys happy. (Trump has a staffer take a picture of another picture of Trump when he was previously on the Kimmel show thats now hanging on the studio wall.) Read More: Why Bernie Sanders Is the Best Candidate for Senior Citizens (Guest Column) It is this media frisson that, with countless other professional and amateur analyzers, Im trying to plumb. Surely a big part of the answer lies in the nature of Trumps performance, an unself-consciousness so extreme that he has passed through hurdles of humiliation that would have destroyed nearly all others to emerge as though free of a private self. Trump is only fully alive in public. But another aspect is that, differentiating himself from every other candidate, he has a long, intimate relationship with nearly every significant player in the media and, indeed, lavishes copious praise on almost all of them. He may know few people in Washington, and care about them less, but he knows his moguls and where they rank on the modern suck-up-to list. On Murdoch: Rupert is a tremendous guy. I think Rupert [who for several years lived in the Trump building on 59th and Park Avenue in Manhattan] is one of the people I really respect and like. And I think Rupert respects what Ive done. But what about Murdochs grumpy Trump tweets? When I got into the world of politics, that was a different realm for me and maybe he felt differently. But I think he respects what Ive done and hes a tremendous guy and I think we have a very good relationship. On Redstone: Sumner, well, hes had a good run. Good run. Terrible it comes to this, but a good run. Hed give me anything. Loved me. On Leslie Moonves: Great guy. The greatest. Were on the same page. We think alike. These are the bulls of his real party. The party whips, to strain this metaphor, are the news heads: Roger Ailes at Fox News, Jeff Zucker at CNN (who previously at NBC bought The Apprentice and launched Trump as a national TV star) and Andy Lack, now the head of NBC News. Despite his tweets about the dishonest media, Trump is lavish in his praise of all of them. I ask him to rate them. Thats an unfair question, he says, making a rare grab for politesse. I know Jeff very well. I know Roger very well. And, less well, but I think Andy has done a very good job. Read More: Which Is Worse That Donald Trump Lies So Much, or That Hes So Bad at Lying? (Guest Column) Among his frequent media and now political confidants is WME co-CEO Ari Emanuel - whose brother, Rahm, the mayor of Chicago, was once Obamas chief of staff - whom Trump says has offered to take charge of the Trump celebratory convention film. Emanuel and Trump, while at seeming odds politically, might in fact be even better united in a kind of hyper salesmanship. Hes a very good friend of mine, says Trump. He calls me a lot. I call him a lot and we talk. Hes very political. Even though hes not political, hes political. He gets it. Youre shocked to hear that, right? [About the movie.] But yeah, I might do something with Ari. Does he represent you? Sanders called a Trump win a real danger to the entire world on May 27. Trump will turn 70 on June 14, but he shows no sign of fatigue even as our conversation drifts toward 11 p.m. Hes been at this since either 4 a.m. or 6 a.m. (he offers different times at different moments). Today, Im up at six in the morning, Im meeting some of the biggest people in the world. I then had to give a speech to a big group, then I had to give a speech at 12 to [Dole Food mogul] David Murdock, [real estate magnate] Donald Bren, tremendous guys. Then I had to drive to Anaheim and give a speech in front of thousands of people. Then I came back and did more meetings, then I did a fundraiser tonight, then I did Kimmel. And now you. Youre not a two-minute interview guy. He hands me a water bottle from the refrigerator (it only contains water and about a dozen pints of ice cream), and we walk through the dark house decorated with hotel-like furniture (a four-star rather than a five-star hotel lobby). He reclines, still in his standard boxy suit, tie slightly loosened, with his Haagen-Dazs on an overstuffed couch in the living room (he asks me not to put my water bottle on the fabric-covered ottoman). Read More: Critic: Hillary Clinton Needs to Tap Into Warren Beattys Bulworth If theres any pattern to his conversation, its that hes vague on all subjects outside himself, his campaign and the media. Everything else is mere distraction. But I press him about Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire who, earlier in the day, has admitted to funding the $140 million Hulk Hogan lawsuit against Gawker. Thiel also is his most prominent Silicon Valley backer and will go to the convention in July as a pledged delegate. But Trump needs reminding who he is, and then concludes he must be a friend of his son-in-law Jared. (Wow, I love him! So he funded it for Hulk Hogan? You think Hulk Hogan would have enough money, but he probably doesnt.) Indeed, Trump doesnt appear to be interested in Silicon Valley, except to roll off his numbers on each social media platform. (On Facebook, I have close to 8 million people. On Twitter, I have 8.5 million. On Instagram, I have over a million people. Im inching on 20 million people. I have friends, somebody thats a great writer, where they write a book and call me up and say, 'Can you do me a favor, can you tweet it? Can you, I interject, tweet my book, please? I will!) Finishing his pint, he reflects again on the remarkableness of the campaign, asking his traveling staffers, Corey Lewandowski and press secretary Hope Hicks, as well as his son-in-law, to confirm again how remarkable it is. Lewandowski recites the latest polls (as of press time, they show Trump inching to within a few percentage points of Clinton in a head-to-head matchup), and Trump, with something beyond confidence, seems to declare de facto victory. I broach his problems with women and Hispanics and the common wisdom that hell have to do at least as well with these groups as Mitt Romney did in 2012. The pivot is the word more politico pros are using to refer to his expected turn to the center. Unless, I offer, you think you can remake the electoral math. He says he absolutely can. So no pivot. Itll be different math than theyve ever seen. He is, he says, bigger than anything anyone has ever seen. I have a much bigger base than Romney. Romney was a stiff! And hell be bigger with the people hes bigger with, but also hell be bigger with women and Hispanics and blacks, too. He believes, no matter what positions he holds or slurs he has made, that he is irresistible. Read More: The Donald Trump Conversation: Murdoch, Ailes, NBC and the Rush of Being TVs Ratings Machine I ask if he sees himself as having similarities with leaders of the growing anti-immigrant (some would say outright racist) European nativist movements, like Marine Le Pen in France and Matteo Salvini in Italy, whom The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had met with and endorsed in Philadelphia. (Matteo, I wish you become the next Italian premier soon, Trump was quoted as saying.) In fact, he insists he didnt meet Salvini. I didnt want to meet him. And, in sum, he doesnt particularly see similarities - or at least isnt interested in them - between those movements and the anti-immigrant nationalism he is promoting in this country. And Brexit? Your position? I ask. Huh? Brexit. Hmm. The Brits leaving the EU, I prompt, realizing that his lack of familiarity with one of the most pressing issues in Europe is for him no concern nor liability at all. Oh yeah, I think they should leave. It is hard not to feel that Trump understands himself, and that were all in on this kind of spectacular joke. His shamelessness is just so shameless. So how much, I ask - quite thinking he will get the nuance here - is the Trump brand based on exaggeration? He responds, with perfect literalness, none at all. I try again. He must understand. How could he not? Youve talked about negotiation, which is about compromise and about establishing positions that you can walk back from. How much about being a successful person involves well, bullshitting? How much of success is playing games? If he does understand, hes definitely not taking this bait. I try again: How much are you a salesman? Salesman, in the Trump worldview, is hardly a bad word, and he is quite willing to accept it, although, curiously, he doesnt want to be thought of that way when it comes to real estate. But as a politician, hes OK as a salesman. Read More: The Political Conventions Will Be Summers Must-See TV (Guest Column) Trump says hes reading Edward Kleins book Unlikeable: The Problem With Hillary. In this, he sees himself - and becomes almost eloquent in talking about himself - as a sort of performer and voter whisperer. He is, he takes obvious pride in saying, the only politician who doesnt regularly use a teleprompter. With a prompter, he says, you cant work the crowd. You cant feel it. You got to look at them in the eye. Have you ever seen me speak in front of a large group of people? Have you ever watched? He reflects on the lack of self-consciousness thats necessary to make spontaneous utterances before a crowd. He cites a well-known actor (whose name he asks me not to use, I dont want to hurt anybody), who had wanted to run for office but, without a script, was a blithering idiot. Trump was never fed lines on The Apprentice, he says. It was all him: You have to have a natural ability. I ask if hell use a teleprompter for his acceptance speech at the convention and, almost sorrowfully, he says he probably will. I find myself urging him not to, precisely for the theater of it all. The spontaneity. Who would want to miss that? Let Trump be Trump. Very interesting. What hes saying is very interesting, he notes to Lewandowski. Read More: Before Running for President, Donald Trumps First Gamble Was Building Trump Tower Hes punted on Hillary as a topic since we started our conversation, as though to talk about her was not to talk about him. If in public he needs to treat her as his cause, in private he doesnt want her taking up his time. But I sneak it back. Did you ever vote for Bill? I ask, thinking that both men have as much in common as they have that separates them. Lets see did I ever? Eh, I dont want to say who I voted for. Indeed. These two '80s guys were undoubtedly once quite in sync. The anti-Christ Trump, the Trump of bizarre, outre, impractical and reactionary policies that most reasonable people yet believe will lead to an astounding defeat in November, is really hard to summon from Trump in person. He deflects that person, or, even, dissembles about what that person might have said (as much, he dissembles for conservatives about what the more liberal Trump might have said), and is impatient that anyone might want to focus on that version of Trump. It does then feel that the policies, such as they are, and the slurs, are not him. They are just a means to the end - to the phenomenon. To the center of attention. The biggest thing that has ever happened in politics. In America. The biggest thing is the theme. Its what he always wants to come back to. Bigness is unavoidable and inevitable. Bigness always wins. Before Trump trundles off to bed - actually, before that, never too tired, he plans to watch himself on Kimmel - I ask that de rigeur presidential question, which does not seem yet to have been asked of him. What books are you reading? He knows hes caught (its a question that all politicians are prepped on, but who among his not-bookish coterie would have prepped him even with the standard GOP politician answer: the Bible?). But he goes for it. Im reading the Ed Klein book on Hillary Clinton - a particular hatchet job, which at the very least has certainly been digested for him. And Im reading the book on Richard Nixon that was, well, Ill get you the exact information on it. Im reading a book that Ive read before, its one of my favorite books, All Quiet on the Western Front, which is one of the greatest books of all time. And one I suspect hes suddenly remembering from high school. But what the hell. Donald Trump simply believes he is a unique individual, one whose singular conviction that he is special makes him appealing. And pay no attention to everything else. A version of this story first appeared in the June 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Presidential Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders recently sat down with Univision anchor Leon Krauze in California to discuss everything from Hillary Clinton, to U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. When probed by Krauze about the issues that surround Latin America in relation to the violence plaguing Central America, Sanders admitted he wasnt as familiar with the region to make an educated statement.Look, youre asking me questions about the impact on Central America, which honestly I should know more than I do know, he said. You are asking me questions about Latin America that I am very interested in but right now Im running for president of the United States, he continued when asked about the prominence of left wing politics in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. Instead of answering directly on those issues, he focused on what he plans to do if elected leader of America. He mentioned wanting to create a slew of progressive initiatives like raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and making health care available for all. Will Bernies lack of knowledge on Latin America affect his campaign, which is largely dependent on the Latino vote? Festival season is upon us, and Europe has some of the most exciting music on offer. From trance to pop via heavy metal, there's a stage for everyone's musical tastes this summer. Electronic/dance/techno Tomorrowland (July 22 - 24, Boom, Belgium): A globally-recognized music festival that takes place in the aptly-named town of Boom. The festival has won Best Music Event at the International Dance Awards for the past five years consecutively. Creamfields (August 25 - 28, Daresbury, Cheshire, UK): One of the most prestigious electronic festivals in the world that attracts world-famous headliners. This year the festival will introduce a new "Steel Yard" superstructure with a capacity of 20,000. Chill and ambient A Summer's Tale (August 10 - 13, Luhmuhlen, Germany): A Summer's Tale strives to be "much more than just an ordinary open air festival." Its diverse, multi-genre program includes performances from Sigur Ros and Fat Freddy's Drop. Obonjan Festival (28 July - 6 September, Obonjan, Croatia): Art, ecology and well-being accompany the musical lineup for this chilled-out festival on a Croatian island for six weeks of live music, talks, DJ sets and workshops. Rock & metal Rock am Ring & Rock im Park (June 5 - 7, Mendig and Nuremberg, Germany): Two simultaneous sister-festivals held in different regions of Germany. This year artists include Birdy Nam Nam, Black Sabbath, Biffy Clyro, Deftones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Panic! At the Disco, Rudimental, We are Scientists and more... Isle of Wight Festival (June 9-12, Isle of Wight, UK): One of Britain's biggest festivals that takes over a large part of the island. The Who, Queen, Faithless and Stereophonics will be onstage for the 2016 edition. Hellfest Open Air (June 17 - 19, Clisson, France): Heavy metal, hard rock, punk and hardcore music are on the menu for this popular French festival. More than 160 bands perform on Hellfest's 6 stages. Story continues Broad spectrum Primavera Sound (June 1 - 5, Barcelona Spain): Based in Barcelona, Primavera Sound features a variety of artists, from dance to pop and rock. This year, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem and PJ Harvey are on the lineup. Glastonbury Festival (June 22 - 26, Near Pilton, UK): Adele, Coldplay, Cyndi Lauper and Bastille are among the highlights for the internationally-renown multi-genre music festival this year. Exit Festival (July 7 - 10, Novi Sad, Serbia): An award-winning festival held inside a fortress. Originally founded as part of a student movement for democracy. George Clinton and David Guetta feature on this year's lineup. From Cosmopolitan 1. Therapy doesn't look at all like what you see on TV. I do have a couch, but people don't lie down on it. And we're not looking at inkblots or doing free association for an hour. People generally come to me with something they want to work through, and we talk about whatever they're going through and how it's changed since our last session. There are also a number of movies where therapists start dating their clients, which is totally unethical! I'd also never share my own problems with a patient or negotiate the doctor-patient boundaries. 2. Choose your degree and career path very carefully. There's plenty you can do with just a master's: research, teaching, and offer psychological evaluation, but only under the supervision of a licensed clinical psychologist. The PhD gives you more options, like becoming a professor or opening a private practice. To be a psychiatrist, which is similar but focuses more on neurological factors for mental health and involves prescribing medication, you have to go to medical school. I decided to get my PhD in psychology mainly because I wanted to go into academia, but then I had kids, so I decided to go into private practice instead. I have a lot more flexibility in my schedule than university psychologists, but I'm not making as much money as I could have if I had gone into academia. 3. It takes a decade before you'll actually see any patients one-on-one. You have to log four years of undergrad, five years of a doctoral program, a one-year internship, the time it takes to write a dissertation, and 2,000 hours of practice while being supervised by a licensed psychologist. I obviously knew that it would take that long, but I don't think I was prepared to be training for so long. For one thing, it's a big financial sacrifice. I held several teaching assistantships during grad school, which covered the cost of tuition and offset my living expenses. There's also no good time to have kids during that period. My husband and I decided to have our first baby after my pre-doctoral internship, and I completed my dissertation while she was an infant. Story continues 4. The client has to be in charge of the session. I specialize in clients who have depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorders; new mothers struggling with things like postpartum depression or depression during pregnancy; and LGBT clients, including quite a few transgender adolescents who are going through their transition. I practice psychotherapy, but I don't use a manual or a rigid structure to determine what we do in each session. My job is to help clients move through their own problems, at their own pace. 5. It takes multiple sessions to build trust. You can't be impatient in this career, because people aren't going to have breakthroughs right away. Especially in the very first session, when I'm asking a lot of questions and doing assessment, I try not to push any boundaries. Trust is an ongoing process, which is partly a byproduct of time. I can tell when a patient is developing trust when they start sharing more details or expressing deeper emotions. 6. People communicate a lot without words. My job is to listen, but people express themselves in lots of ways besides words - body posture, tone of voice, tension in their body. I rely on this a lot when I'm working with a parent and a teen, or a married couple, where I can watch their body language and tone of voice as they respond to each other. They might be saying one thing verbally, but their body language says something completely different. 7. There are times when you'll feel helpless that you can't help someone. Sometimes people start to feel better very quickly, and sometimes it takes a very long time. It's heartbreaking to hear someone tell me, "It still hurts so much," when they come in for their session. If I could wave a magic wand to take the pain away, I would, but that's not how therapy works. I can provide tools, resources, and compassion, but that's all I can do. I've learned over the years that the best thing I can do is to say, "I hear that you're suffering, I'm listening, and I'm committed to working with you." 8. Patients will break up with you. Sometimes when I work with teenagers, I get the feeling that their parents want them to be here, but they don't want to be here. If the child isn't invested, then it's not going to work. So sometimes I have to have a conversation with the parents where I say, "I don't think your child wants to be here," or they say, "I don't think this is working out." I don't take that personally. I am not the best psychologist for every client. I even tell clients that if they feel another therapist is a better fit for them, they should go see that person, because I want them to end up where they'll be most successful. 9. It takes a few years for your client base to grow organically. Private practice can be very slow when you first start out. I live in the same town where I went to graduate school, so some of my professors refer clients to me, but even then it took several years until I had a steady flow of referrals. One thing that helped was posting a profile on the Psychology Today website, where people can search for psychologists by specialty. Over the years, I've also developed referrals through primary care doctors, psychiatrists, and other physicians who have gotten to know my practice through patients we share. 10. You'll have to resist the urge to "psychologize" your loved ones. My husband is also a psychologist, and when my oldest daughter was growing up, she would constantly say, "Don't psychologize me!" My daughter will still bristle any time I say, "How are you feeling about this?" There's nothing wrong with being available to your friends and family, but people do tend to roll their eyes if they think you're using their psychology powers on them. 11. You have to practice what you preach. I focus a lot with my clients on self-care: Do you have time for yourself? Are you taking care of yourself? Sometimes I need to remind myself to fill my own emotional tank. I make sure to do things outside of work - spending time with family and friends, going for walks, having hobbies, readings things that aren't psychology journals. Not only is it crucial for my own well-being, but I can be more available to my patients when I practice what I preach. 12. Never tell strangers what you do for a living. I've made the mistake of telling someone next to me on a plane that I'm a psychologist. The next thing I know, they're dumping all their problems on me or asking advice about some kind of delicate situation. And it's like, "Darn, I really wanted to take a nap on this flight!" Now, I try to avoid those conversations by putting on headphones as soon as I get on the flight. Otherwise, I give them my phone number and tell them to make an appointment. Jill Kuhn, PhD, is a psychologist in Fort Collins, Colorado. Follow Arielle on Twitter. And the award for not shooting an unarmed black person goes to ... these 40 officers with the Philadelphia Police Department. A report published by the Associated Press Tuesday revealed that a growing number of U.S. law enforcement agencies are rewarding officers for showing restraint in the line of duty and the Philadelphia PD is one of them. The City of Brotherly Love has a police force of about 6,600 sworn members, a few dozen of whom have earned a "medal of tactical de-escalation," as it has become known, since December. They've done so by following a simple set of criteria: not shooting, clubbing or using other forms of lethal or excessive force against the city's citizens. The award does not come with any monetary bonus or other on-the-job perks, a Philadelphia police spokesperson told Mic on Tuesday. Officials established the medal after a federal probe into the city's police practices recommended they do so in 2013, according to AP. Police officers walk along Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadephia . It's quickly becoming trendy to reward police officers for showing restraint: The Los Angeles Police Department recently created a "Preservation of Life" award for officers who decline to use lethal force in the line of duty. And, later this year, the U.S. Department of Justice will for the first time recognize officers who de-escalate otherwise tense situations in the field as part of the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing initiative. Police killed as many as 1,186 people in 2015, according to tabulations by news outlets and grassroots groups, including the Washington Post, the Guardian and killedbypolice.net. Na tio nal attention to officers' professional conduct has grown largely due to police-involved deaths in communities of color over the last few years, including the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the fatal arrest of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Story continues President Barack Obama greets a Los Angeles police officer after the officer received the Medal of Valor in Washington, D . C . But de-escalation is not universally popular among police groups. Law enforcement think tanks have found officers receive far less de-escalation training than they do in firearms and self-defense tactics. De-escalation, which can include avoiding heated confrontations and maintaining distance in tense situations, has not won favor with many police union groups. Rich Roberts, a spokesman for the International Union of Police Associations, told AP that de-escalation techniques are kosher, as long as they don't impair an officer's ability to use split-second force tactics when other efforts don't work. The LAPD union, however, panned the Preservation of Life initiative last November. "This award will prioritize the lives of suspected criminals over the lives of LAPD officers and goes against the core foundation of an officer's training," the union said on its website. Will President Barack Obama be remembered as a "deporter in chief," or as a president who took a bold stand on behalf of undocumented immigrants? Much of the answer to that question hinges on a single Supreme Court ruling expected to arrive this month. For most of his tenure, Obama has deported undocumented immigrants at a ferocious pace. Fusion reports that since taking office in 2009, he's overseen the deportation of over 2.5 million people a 23% increase since George W. Bush's presidency, and a statistic that makes him the most aggressive deporter in U.S. history. But there are two major exceptions to Obama's proclivity for expelling undocumented immigrants from the United States. The first was an executive action that he took in 2012 that established the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which offered temporary protection to over 1 million young people who entered the country illegally as children. The second exception came in the fall of 2014, when Obama announced new programs also authorized through executive action that expanded DACA and inaugurated the program Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA. DAPA offers deportation relief to undocumented immigrants who are parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents and allows them to apply for work permits, assuming they meet a few conditions. Collectively, the programs shield over 4 million individuals from deportation. But Obama's 2014 programs haven't been allowed to go into full effect. Soon after they were announced, Texas and 25 other states sued the Obama administration over the policies, arguing that they represented an abuse of executive authority. The programs were blocked by a federal judge in Texas and a federal divided appeals court upheld his ruling. Now the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the matter and their ruling will play a key role in shaping Obama's complex legacy on the issue of immigration. Story continues Source: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP What's the case all about? There are number of legal principles at play in the case, but the states are suing the Obama administration primarily based on the idea that the White House lacks the authority to unilaterally change immigration enforcement in such a sweeping manner. As the Council on Foreign Relations explains, the states argue that "while the president does have some discretion in how he enforces the law, including the power to defer deportation on a case-by-case basis, he does not have broad powers to grant legal status and work authorization to whole categories of people." The states suing the White House say the programs would require them to spend millions of dollars on public benefits provided to residents with legal status, and that Congress must have a say in the matter. The Obama administration and its allies believe that the executive branch is well within its rights, and carrying on with a well-established tradition of overseeing immigration enforcement on its own terms. As Richard Lugar, a former Republican senator from Indiana, argued in a New York Times op-ed in April, the executive branch has long been given a great deal of latitude in dealing with enforcement of immigration law, both by Congress and the Supreme Court: Congress has repeatedly granted the executive branch broad power in enforcing immigration laws. The 2002 law creating the Department of Homeland Security explicitly said the executive should set "national immigration enforcement policies and priorities." The Supreme Court has recognized the leeway Congress gives the executive branch in deportations. In a 2012 majority opinion written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the court noted that "a principal feature of the removal system is the broad discretion exercised by immigration officials," including the decision "whether it makes sense to pursue removal at all." What's the Supreme Court going to do about it? It's difficult to foresee how the Supreme Court will rule. During oral arguments in April, the Obama administration faced a very tough line of questioning from the high court's justices. CNN reported at the time that Justices John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy Republican-appointed justices who joined three liberal justices in the last high-profile immigration case showed signs of skepticism of the legality of the programs: Roberts also seemed concerned with the scope of the government's argument defending Obama's moves. "Under your argument, could the President grant deferred removal to every unlawful -- unlawfully present alien in the United States right now?" he asked Solicitor General Donald Verrilli. At one point, Justice Anthony Kennedy suggested that the president might have strayed into Congress' territory. "It's as if -- that the President is setting the policy and Congress is executing it," he said. "That's just upside down." Due to the fact that that the court has eight justices conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, and Senate Republicans have refused to consider Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland the court could possibly split 4-4. In that case, the lower court's ruling would be upheld, and Obama's programs would be blocked. But the Supreme Court's ruling wouldn't necessarily be the final word on the programs. Even if the programs are upheld, they could be undone by a future president with tremendous ease just as executive actions can be undertaken without Congress, they can be dismantled without them too. Should Donald Trump be elected president, there's little doubt that he'd quickly unravel the programs the same way they came into being with the stroke of a pen. After a two model-year break, Hondas unique Ridgeline pickup returns as a 2017 model. Most obviously, it now looks more like a traditional truck; for example, the truck bed, instead of tapering downward toward the tailgate like it did before, is now a lot lower near the cab, making it easier to load from the side. The bed is also an important four inches longer and a half-inch wider, making it considerably more useful. But the bed is shallow, so you'll need to brush up on your knot-tying techniques for taller items. Honda pleased many weekend warriors with the 2005 introduction of its previous Ridgeline, which was considered a smaller, lighter pickup than its work-bred competitors. Rather than following the decades-old formula of body-on-frame design and a live rear axle, the Ridgeline used unit-body construction and an independent rear suspensionborrowing underpinnings from the mild-mannered Honda Pilot SUV. Despite that seemingly sound logic, the unconventionally-styled first-generation Ridgeline wasnt a sales success. Maybe it just wasn't "trucky" enough. Maybe the design was too weird. Undaunted, Honda has pressed forward with their second-generation pickup truck. The base, two-wheel-drive 2017 Honda Ridgeline starts at $29,475. While most trucks offer a variety of body styles, you can only get a Ridgeline as a four-door crew-cab. Driving Impressions Despite the new look, the 2017 Honda Ridgeline retains some of the key ingredients that made this svelte truck so appealingsuch as the innovative tailgate that can swing open like a door, or flip down in normal fashion. All Ridgelines also get a handy, lockable trunk-like cargo space beneath the bed floor. The independent suspension that makes the trunk space possible also contributes to a much more comfortable ride and better handling than all conventional trucks. It drives very much like a contemporary SUV rather than an antiquated load hauleras the Ridgeline's basic platform is still shared with the Honda Pilot and Acura MDX. The interior is very quiet, even on an extended highway cruise. Story continues The standard engine is a 3.5-liter V6 that puts out 280 hp (a 30-hp bump from the last version). It runs through a six-speed automatic transmission. And for the first time, the Ridgeline will be available with front-wheel drive, along with the usual all-wheel drive. EPA fuel economy figures show 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway for AWD models. This improvement was important, as the previous Ridgeline was really thirsty for its size and horsepower. Honda claims the Ridgeline outpaces traditional midsized trucks in towing capacity and cargo hauling, but like the first generation, towing is limited to 5,000 pounds. Competitors like the Chevrolet Colorado (nearly 7,000 pounds) and the Toyota Tacoma (6,400 pounds) have greater towing capacities. The 2017 Honda Ridgeline has some off-roading capability, but it wouldn't be wise to take this truck on a day of serious boulder hopping. This is where the independent suspension will fall short compared to traditional pickup trucks. Advanced safety equipment like blind-spot monitoring and forward collision warning with automatic braking are optional, but only on the two top trim levels. Inside the Cabin Inside, you'll find relatively comfortable seats and lots of handy bins and trays to hold stuff, including storage under the rear seat. All in all, it's a lot nicer in here than inside a Tacoma or Colorado. The layout of the 2017 Honda Ridgeline feels like a Pilot with a bed rather than a third-row seat. And all models come with keyless push-button start and a rear-view camera. Higher-end models get an 8-inch touch-screen infotainment system with navigation and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. However, about that 8-inch screen: Its a poorly-designed touch-screen thats frustrating to use. There are no conventional knobs or buttons for the radio. It's just a sleek-looking pane of glass that reflects glare, the screen layout isn't intuitive, and the controls are hard to tab with your fingers as you roll down the road. We didnt like this arrangement in the Honda Pilot, and we dont like it here. Lower trim lines have a 5-inch screen thats easier to use, with more traditional knobs and buttons. CR's Take The new Honda Ridgeline has real appeal, thanks to its supple ride, relatively responsive handling, punchy engine, and a cabin and bed that are full of clever tricks. Whether it appeals to truck traditionalists more than the first one did is a big question. Just maybe it has moved ever cautiously toward the mainstream enough to broaden its appearance and utility to attract a larger audience. Likely it will attract current Honda owners who realize they need a larger space to tow their jet-skis, or to bring home their weekend's haul of antiquing. Check back with us once we finish putting it through the entire battery of Consumer Reports' tests. More from Consumer Reports: 5 least reliable cars from Consumer Reports' survey Best Used Cars for $25,000 and Less Which Car Brands make the Best Vehicles Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. At least 26 women have come forward with allegations they were sexually assaulted at Schlossgrabenfest, a 400,000-attendee music festival near Darmstadt, Germany, which ran from Thursday to Sunday, CNN reported. Authorities arrested three Pakistani men in connection with the assaults, but told CNN as many as 10 suspects are sought in the crimes. According to the Local, in 2015 only one sexual crime was reported at the festival and involved exhibitionism. "Up until this year we have had no cases of sexual assault where men surround women, like we have this year," a Darmstadt police representative told the paper. Source: Boris Roessler/Getty Images A of recent mass sexual assaults in Germany has resulted in a backlash against some of the more than 1.1 million foreign nationals after authorities tied the crimes to immigrant men. On New Year's Eve, a large group of about 1,000 men were reported responsible for a rash of sexual assaults in the city of Cologne. Authorities later concluded the perpetrators were a largely of Moroccan and Algerian origin, according to Der Spiegel, with most of the suspects being either undocumented immigrants or recent asylum seekers. In January, an anti-Islam protest in Cologne turned violent, with authorities shooting water cannons at a group of 1,700 people who fought back with firecrackers and bottles. According to the Local, there have been only a handful of arrests in the Cologne incident and no successful prosecutions. However, a group of Syrian refugees made headlines during the New Year's Eve incident by rescuing and forming a circle around a U.S. student being assaulted by several men. Forty dead tiger cubs were found in the freezer at a Buddhist temple in Thailand two days after officials began work to relocate living tigers from the property. The temple, officially known as Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua but nicknamed Tiger Temple, is a popular tourist destination where travelers can take photographs with tigers. But ongoing accusations that it was involved in wildlife trafficking and abuse caused officials to begin a raid on the temple on Monday in an effort to evacuate and relocate 137 tigers, the BBC reports. When the dead cubs were discovered, officials said they would be bringing additional charges against the temple. Its unclear how the cubs died or why they were in the freezer, but in a post on its Facebook page, the temple explained, In the past, as per Buddhist customs, [dead] tiger cubs were cremated. In 2010, the ex-vet of Tiger Temple changed this policy. Instead of cremation, the deceased cubs were preserved in jars or kept frozen. The temple says cubs often die of natural causes, and denied selling cubs and other wrongdoing. An official from Thailands Department of National Parks speculated to Reuters that They must be of some value for the temple to keep them But for what is beyond me. [Reuters] VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jun 1, 2016) - Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.TO) ("Nevada Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the potential to develop solar energy generation at its 100% owned Pumpkin Hollow Copper Development Property (the "Project"). On May 23, 2016, the City of Yerington ("City") City Council unanimously approved zoning for the majority of Nevada Copper Lands ("Nevada Copper Lands") in a newly created industrial district, M-2 - Special Industrial District. This new zoning designation includes not only mining, which was previously allowed, but also explicitly allows for solar energy generation and energy storage. For our proposed copper mining operation, a solar development at Pumpkin Hollow provides substantial direct benefits in lowered or shared electrical infrastructure costs. Tim Dyhr, the Vice President, Environment and External Relations commented: "The zoning assures that Nevada Copper can move forward with both a mine and solar energy generation and storage development at the Project as soon as funding is available. The Company continues to engage a number of entities, including active discussions with NV Energy, to determine the best path forward for coordinated mine development including solar energy generation, transmission and onsite energy storage." The Company has completed the previously-announced study ("Study") with NV Energy, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Energy ("NV Energy"), to examine solar energy generation at Pumpkin Hollow in conjunction with our proposed Project. The study has shown that Pumpkin Hollow has immediate solar potential on the Project lands that can be further expanded in the future. As a result of the positive outcome of the Study, Nevada Copper and NV Energy are discussing a strategic alliance to develop both near term development and long term expansion of solar opportunities in the future. The following are key developments: The Study has identified approximately 800-900 acres of land with high solar irradiation (6.5-7.0 kW-hr/square meter/day) and 100-120 mW of solar generation capacity that are immediately available and ideally suited for solar generation facilities. There are ideal slopes, soil, geotechnical, surface hydrology and constructability conditions for installation of solar arrays in these areas; The M-2 zoning designation explicitly includes both the mining uses contemplated at Pumpkin Hollow and also permits "commercial solar energy conversion systems and energy storage systems". There are an additional 1,000 + acres zoned M-2 that can be developed for solar energy generation in the future, that represents an additional ~150 mW of solar generation capacity and a long term total of ~250 mW. Upon completion of mining an additional 500-1,000 acres of mine facilities could be converted to solar generation; Solar generation could provide power to the grid, augment power supply to the mine and offset potential peak demand charges; The Company can co-develop electrical distribution and transmission infrastructure to lower and share capital costs between the mine and solar generation, adding value to both the mine and solar projects. Story continues Dyhr added: "There are often significant barriers to solar development by land use and environmental constraints here in the western U.S. Pumpkin Hollow has none. To have a site with at least 100 mW of potential and future for 200-250 mW of generation capacity is an exceptional opportunity." The Company continues to have discussions with a number of companies that may be interested in a full range of solar and energy development opportunities at Pumpkin Hollow, including solar energy generation, energy storage, power management and onsite industrial uses linked to solar power generation. Pumpkin Hollow Project The Pumpkin Hollow copper development is located entirely on private land close to infrastructure with all required power and water supplies secured. With the project entirely on private land, all required Nevada permits for construction and mine operations are in hand (no federal permits are required). With many analysts forecasting improving copper markets over the next few years, the Company's Pumpkin Hollow Copper Project represents an attractive, "shovel-ready", fully-permitted copper project located in an ideal mine-friendly location. NEVADA COPPER CORP. Giulio T. Bonifacio, President & CEO We seek safe harbor. Beirut (AFP) - A humanitarian aid convoy on Wednesday entered the rebel-held Syrian town of Daraya, the Red Cross said, in the first such delivery since a regime siege began in 2012. But the opposition said only medical supplies were in the delivery and British charity Save the Children said it was "shocking and completely unacceptable" that it excluded desperately needed food. Last month the United Nations warned if it did not see improvement on aid access to besieged areas by June 1, it would task the World Food Programme to carry out air drops of assistance in Syria. The International Committee of the Red Cross said both United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent staff were involved in Wednesday's delivery. Daraya was one of the first towns in Syria to erupt in demonstrations against the government in 2012, and one of the first to be placed under a strict regime siege in late 2012. An estimated 8,000 people live in the town, which lies just a 15-minutes drive southwest of Damascus. Despite intensifying appeals from its residents, the United Nations and rights groups, Syria's government had so far repeatedly refused to allow aid into the town. On May 12, a five-truck aid convoy waiting on Daraya's outskirts was denied permission to enter in a dramatic 11th-hour rejection. "The last time, people were filling the streets waiting for the aid to come in," activist Shadi Matar told AFP from inside Daraya. "This time, there was no one. They were afraid the regime will shell them and they know the convoy only holds medical aid," he said. According to the UN, a total of 592,000 people live under siege in Syria -- the majority besieged by regime forces -- and another four million live in hard-to-reach areas. Peace talks to end Syria's five-year war stalled in April after the opposition walked out over escalating violence and lack of humanitarian access. - 'Not enough' - Daraya's local council said the convoy included only "medical supplies," but no food for the town's starving people. Story continues "Clearly the regime is trying to diffuse pressure but clearly one convoy that carries only medical supplies is not enough," a spokeswoman for Syria's main opposition group said. "We need to see substantial change in strategy and an end to the starvation strategy," Basma Kodmani said. The head of Save the Children in Syria said it was "shocking and completely unacceptable that the trucks are prevented from bringing any food". "The international community... must step up pressure on the parties to the conflict to allow full and sustained humanitarian aid," she said. Bissan Fakih, a spokeswoman for advocacy group The Syria Campaign, said people in Daraya would only breathe a sigh of relief when they received food. "The aid convoy was only able to go in today because world powers threatened airdrops if there was to be no access by land. "The members of the International Syria Support Group need to keep up the pressure," she said, referring to nations led by the United States and Russia pushing for peace talks to end the five-year conflict. "If they look away, there will be starvation." Earlier on Wednesday, Russia announced that a local truce would be observed for 48 hours in Daraya to ensure that aid could be delivered safely. The temporary freezes on fighting have been introduced in Daraya and elsewhere as a way to reinforce a broader ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US for swathes of Syrian territory. More than 280,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions have been forced to flee their homes. New Delhi, June 1 (ANI): Veteran actor Razak Khan, who was well-known for his comic timing, passed away on Wednesday afternoon following a cardiac arrest. The actor was rushed to the Holy Family hospital in Bandra, but the doctors declared him brought dead. The funeral will be held at Narialwadi Kabaristan, Byculla, after 4 p.m. tomorrow. Razak Khan had played comic roles in around a 100 movies in the past 25 years. His brother Shehzad Khan made the announcement in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning triggering a wave of condolences on social networking sites. Khan suffered a massive heart attack around 12.30 a.m. on Wednesday and was rushed to Holy Family Hospital, Bandra, where he was pronounced dead on admission. His son, Asad, who is working in Croatia, is expected to reach here later on Wednesday and the funeral shall be performed at the Nariyalwadi Cemetery, Byculla on Thursday afternoon. Tall, thin and lanky, with a hippie style haircut, Razak Khan was first seen in Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja in 1993, and later appeared in comic roles in many movies. More than his real name, his screen character names Lucky Chikna, Keshav, Manikchand, Fainku, Babu Bisleri, Popatwala became his trademark as he enacted memorable comic scenes besides some of the biggest actors. Among his notable roles were in movies like Kyaa Kool Hain Hum series, don Kabiras sidekick in Baadshah, Raja Hindustani, Hello Brother, Hera Pheri, Phir Hera Pheri, Bhagam Bhaag, Ankhiyon Se Goli Mare, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Loha and Ishq. (Additional inputs: IANS) PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - Archer Daniels Midland Co appointed Pierre Duprat as president of its business in Europe, Middle East and Africa and India, the U.S. agribusiness group said in a statement on Wednesday. Previously, Duprat served as director of international business development for ADM's corn processing unit. Before joining ADM, Duprat spent more than 20 years with French sugar, ethanol and starch marker Tereos, where he last served as CEO of its cereal transformation division. ADM made several acquisitions in EMEA in the past year, including a corn wet mill in Morocco and Belgian vegetable oil distributor AOR, as it sought to expand into higher-margin products including food-grade oils and sweeteners. Duprat will continue to serve as president, ADM Corn EMEA and Asia, the company said. His predecessor as president of ADM's EMEA business, Joe Taets, will return to the United States and continue to lead ADM's Agricultural Services business unit. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, editing by David Evans) The first wave of residents returned to Albertas Fort McMurray on Wednesday, June 1, following a devastating wildfire last month that saw the citys entire population evacuated. Some residents returned to find their homes intact, though covered by ash. Others, however, wont be so lucky. The video above shows several neighborhoods of Fort McMurray: 0-30 Athabasca 30-102 Beacon Hill 102-107 Forest with city in background 107-230 Centennial Trailer Park 230-346 Dickinsfield 346-end downtown Fort McMurray looking over Beacon Hill Credit: Jordan Redshaw/Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo NAIROBI (Reuters) - Egypt has become embroiled in a dispute with African diplomats after they accused an Egyptian official of referring to "dogs and slaves" in remarks about sub-Saharan Africa at a United Nations conference in Nairobi. The diplomats sent a formal complaint to Kenya's foreign ministry after the alleged remark at the U.N. Environmental Assembly last week, Yvonne Khamati, chairwoman of the African Diplomatic Corps Technical Committee, said on Tuesday. Egypt's foreign ministry said it had no evidence of any such remarks by a Cairo official and would investigate, adding that it rejected "flimsy accusations against the Egyptian state and people that cast doubt on its African identity." Khamati, a Kenyan diplomat who wrote the letter, said the remark was made following a disagreement on resolutions involving Gaza. "During our consultations with Egypt, the head of the Egyptian delegation and current President of AMCEN dismissed our concerns by informing that they would speak in their sovereign capacity and to that extent, referred to Sub-Saharan Africa as DOGS AND SLAVES, in Arabic," said the letter dated May 29. The term AMCEN in the letter, which has been circulated widely on social media, refers to the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment. In its statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said: "It is completely unacceptable to make the mistake of generalising and making flimsy accusations against the Egyptian state and people that cast doubt on its African identity." It asked Cairo's embassy in Nairobi to "a strongly worded statement ... expressing Egypts rejection and censure for this breach of authority" by Khamati and demanded to see the official minutes of the meeting. The incident looked likely to add to tensions Egypt has had with its sub-Saharan neighbours, with which it has been at odds in the past over how River Nile waters should be shared by the countries it passes through. (Reporting by George Obulutsa in Nairobi and Lin Noueihed in Cairo; Editing by Tom Heneghan) By Jonathan Stempel June 1 (Reuters) - American International Group Inc failed to persuade a California judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Pacific Investment Management Co that accuses AIG of lying about its subprime mortgage exposure prior to the 2008 financial crisis. Judge Thierry Patrick Colaw of Orange County Superior Court, in a decision dated Tuesday, rejected AIG's argument that Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE, waited too long to sue over the alleged deception. But the judge said AIG can appeal immediately, noting that federal courts in comparable cases have reached differing conclusions over the proper time limit. Pimco is seeking to recoup losses allegedly suffered by more than 60 funds, including its flagship Pimco Total Return , over securities purchased between 2006 and 2008. Newport Beach, California-based Pimco sued AIG last year after opting out of a $970.5-million class-action settlement between the insurer and other investors. AIG had been accused of misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages and credit default swaps, culminating in $182.3 billion of federal bailouts. Some plaintiffs opt out of class-action settlements when they hope to recover more by suing on their own. Pimco has about $1.5 trillion of assets under management. AIG spokesman Jon Diat in a statement said the New York-based company disagreed with Colaw's decision and will argue on appeal that "the more recent and better-reasoned decisions of the federal courts of appeal should be followed." Pimco declined to comment on Colaw's decision. AIG had brought related litigation in U.S. District Court in Manhattan seeking to thwart Pimco's federal securities law claim. A judge there ruled on April 18 that letting the California court handle the case was better than "piecemeal" litigation. The case is Pacific Investment Management Co et al v. American International Group Inc, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 30-2015-00779738-CU-SL-CXC. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler) By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - American International Group Inc (AIG.N) failed to persuade a California judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Pacific Investment Management Co that accuses AIG of lying about its subprime mortgage exposure prior to the 2008 financial crisis. Judge Thierry Patrick Colaw of Orange County Superior Court, in a decision dated Tuesday, rejected AIG's argument that Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE (ALVG.DE), waited too long to sue over the alleged deception. But the judge said AIG can appeal immediately, noting that federal courts in comparable cases have reached differing conclusions over the proper time limit. Pimco is seeking to recoup losses allegedly suffered by more than 60 funds, including its flagship Pimco Total Return (PTTRX.O), over securities purchased between 2006 and 2008. Newport Beach, California-based Pimco sued AIG last year after opting out of a $970.5-million class-action settlement between the insurer and other investors. AIG had been accused of misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages and credit default swaps, culminating in $182.3 billion of federal bailouts. Some plaintiffs opt out of class-action settlements when they hope to recover more by suing on their own. Pimco has about $1.5 trillion of assets under management. AIG spokesman Jon Diat in a statement said the New York-based company disagreed with Colaw's decision and will argue on appeal that "the more recent and better-reasoned decisions of the federal courts of appeal should be followed." Pimco declined to comment on Colaw's decision. AIG had brought related litigation in U.S. District Court in Manhattan seeking to thwart Pimco's federal securities law claim. A judge there ruled on April 18 that letting the California court handle the case was better than "piecemeal" litigation. The case is Pacific Investment Management Co et al v. American International Group Inc, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 30-2015-00779738-CU-SL-CXC. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler) The future of the Air Forces bomber and fighter fleet may not involve human pilots. A pair of experts argue in Defense One that the new B-21 bomber, also known as the Long Range-Strike Bomber, should be designed with an unmanned option that can be used as soon as the plane is operational. Related: The F-35s Billion-Dollar Brain Fails an IQ Test The next-generation aircraft is supposed to enter service, with a crew, sometime in the mid-2020s. The Pentagon has indicated it could fly without pilots on board one day, but doesnt seem to be in hurry to make that option a reality, a delay the experts call a grave mistake. Designing an unmanned version of the plane, which is currently estimated to cost more than $100 billion over its lifetime, would increase the U.S. militarys operational flexibility, providing much-needed endurance and persistence at only a marginal increase in cost, the analysts from the Center for a New American Security write. They contend that a pilotless plane might fare better against new air defenses being developed by China, Russia and Iran. An uninhabited B-21 could have much greater refueled endurance and persistence than it could with people onboard, enabling it to conduct ultra-long missions for example, loitering in or near enemy territory until a target presents itself, they wrote. Untethered from pilot endurance limits, a B-21 could stay aloft for days with aerial refueling, and could marshal many more sorties in an extended campaign, they added. Related: How the Air Force Is Stopping Hackers and Lawmakers from Leaking B-21 Secrets The B-21 isnt the only next-generation aircraft that could be unmanned. Many experts, including Senate Armed Services Committee chair John McCain (R-AZ), believe that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the last hurrah for manned attack jets. We think that the Navy should be looking at drones to replace manned aircraft. I believe that the F-35 is the last manned fighter aircraft," McCain told National Journal last year. Story continues "The F-35 should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike-fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a 2015 speech. Of course, a big concern with developing unmanned aircraft is that it could get very expensive. Take the F-35. Years of delays have driven the programs price tag to nearly $400 billion. Now imagine if the Pentagon had also tried to develop an unmanned option, too; costs would have likely risen even higher, perhaps substantially so. On the other hand, the CNAS experts argue that many existing human-inhabited aircraft already have sophisticated autopilot features, which are steadily expanding to a broader range of functions. Related: How the Air Forces New Planes Could Bankrupt the Pentagon Even so, defense contractors are still trying to come up with autonomous technology that is mature and reliable. Theres another issue as well: The Air Force is run by a bunch of people used to flying planes, and the move to unmanned aircraft could create a culture clash between fighter jocks and tech geeks. To their credit, service officials have acknowledged the eventual need for an uninhabited option. But their lack of urgency is consistent with a general lethargy about such systems outside of reconnaissance and counterterrorism-strike missions, the experts note. For the good of the joint force, the Air Force must move beyond this reluctance. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. APD will introduce and display its new continuous dew point monitoring system, along with its existing range of industrial gases, equipment and technology solutions for powder metallurgy and additive production at Powdermet 2016 in Boston, MA, from Jun 67. With the introduction of this system, the company continues with its goal of helping metal processors improve quality and reduce costs. Dew point measures the moisture composition in a furnace atmosphere and can widely differ from a fairly wet, oxidizing atmosphere in the pre-heat zone to a dry atmosphere in the hot and cooling zones. In order to get the optimum delubrication and consistency of the sintered product, it is important to maintain appropriate atmospheric conditions in each furnace zone. Manually monitoring the atmospheric conditions can be erroneous. Therefore, Air Products has provided a solution with a system to measure and control the same. The system also allows the sensors to self-clean, preventing any impact on accuracy. It enables manufacturers to comply with CQI-9 and NADCAP requirements, and lets operators plan ahead of their furnace shutdowns. Manufacturers can visit Air Products booth at the event and discuss individual operational problems with the representatives. The companys technical experts will help producers with problems related to applications and processes, including powder production, sintering, heat treating and additive manufacturing. Air Products conducts the research and development for metal processing in its Allentown, PA laboratory. The company also tests for customer operational problems by simulating and troubleshooting at this facility. Air Products recently featured its range of industrial gases and technologies to help steelmakers reduce costs at AISTech 2016 in Pittsburg, PA. The company also introduced a new business unit to help hydrogen producers increase productivity and reliability at their own plants. Story continues Air Products saw higher profits in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 (ended Mar 31, 2016), backed by restructuring and self-help measures. Adjusted earnings of $1.82 per share for the quarter beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues of $2,271.2 million missed the same. The company reported double-digit EPS growth for the seventh consecutive quarter. Air Products expects earnings from continuing operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2016 to be higher than the prior-year quarter by 13%16%. The company raised its earnings guidance for fiscal 2016 from $7.25$7.50 to $7.40$7.55 per share. However, it lowered its capital expenditure guidance by $0.1 billion to $1.2 billion. Air Products currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked companies in the chemical space include Innophos Holdings Inc IPHS, Albemarle Corporation ALB and BASF SE BASFY, all sporting 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 BASF SE (BASFY): Free Stock Analysis Report AIR PRODS & CHE (APD): Free Stock Analysis Report ALBEMARLE CORP (ALB): Free Stock Analysis Report INNOPHOS HLDGS (IPHS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Beirut (AFP) - At least 42 civilians including five children were killed in regime, Russian and US-led coalition air strikes in northern Syria on Wednesday, a monitor said. Regime air strikes killed 15 civilians in Idlib province, while Russian and regime air strikes killed at least 11 civilians in neighbouring Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Seven of those died in regime raids on a bus on the Castello road, a key supply route for the rebels out of the divided provincial capital of Aleppo city, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. Air strikes by the US-led coalition killed a further six civilians in Aleppo's Manbij town and 10 in Raqa city in the province of the same name, both held by the Islamic State jihadist group, he said. The international coalition fighting IS on Wednesday said it had conducted 18 air strikes near Manbij, which is located some 20 miles (30 kilometres) west of the Euphrates river. Last week, a US-backed Kurdish and Arab alliance launched an assault on IS north of their de facto Syria capital Raqa, seizing dozens of villages in the north of the Raqa province. At least 280,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the Syria war started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011. By Tim Hepher HAMBURG, May 31 (Reuters) - The crash of a missing EgyptAir jet has strengthened the case for "black boxes" that can pop out of an aircraft before an accident, removing the need for challenging searches on the seabed, Airbus' most senior engineer said on Tuesday. Investigators are searching in some of the deepest waters of the Mediterranean for flight recorders from an EgyptAir Airbus A320 which crashed on May 19, killing 66 people. The jet's flight recorders or "black boxes" are designed to emit acoustic signals for 30 days after a crash, giving search teams fewer than three weeks to spot them in waters up to 9,840-feet (3,000-meters) deep, which is on the edge of their range. "If we have a deployable recorder it will be much easier to find," Airbus Executive Vice President for Engineering Charles Champion told a media event. "We have been working on that and this only reinforces our overall approach." Ejectable or "deployable" recorders would separate from the tail during a crash and float, emitting a distress signal. Recommended by investigators after an Air France A330 jet crashed in 2009, the idea came to the fore after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in March 2014. The United Nations' aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, has called for key data to be recoverable in a "timely manner" on airplanes delivered after 2021. But it will be left to airlines and manufacturers to decide how to meet the goal, whether through deployable recorders or other technology such as new homing methods or data streaming. Deployable recorders have long been used in the military. But some in the industry have expressed doubts about their safe use on civil airliners, saying they could be deployed accidentally and introduce new risks. Airbus said last year it was talking to regulators about adding deployable devices to its two largest models of jets. U.S. planemaker Boeing is more sceptical, citing instances where they have failed on warplanes. Story continues A series of accidents over water including the Egyptair disaster and wider safety issues are likely to be discussed at a meeting of global airlines in Dublin this week. Teams are racing against the clock to find the EgyptAir black boxes, partly because rules that would extend the duration and range of their acoustic pingers do not take effect until 2018. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) By Abdirahman Hussein, Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber crashed his vehicle into a gate outside a hotel frequented by lawmakers in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday and the attack was followed by gunfire, killing at least 10 people, police said. Al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab militants quickly claimed responsibility for the attack at the Hotel Ambassador and one police offcer said some fighters might be inside the hotel. Colonel Ali Mohamed, a Mogadishu police officer, said the hotel on Maka Al Mukaram Road was hit by a car bomb that rammed its gate. "We believe there are some fighters in the hotel but we are not sure. So far we have confirmed three people died and a dozen others injured," Major Ibrahim Hassan, a second police officer told Reuters. Police later said there were 10 people killed and the toll was likely to rise further. Maka Al Mukaram is a major street lined with hotels, restaurants and banks in the heart of the capital that links another major artery, K4, to the presidential palace. In February, at least nine people were killed when al Shabaab fighters set off a car bomb at the gate of a popular park near a hotel in the capital. In January, an attack on a beach-front restaurant killed at least 17 people.[nL8N16556F][nL8N156092] Al Shabaab, which seeks to topple Somalia's government, was driven out of Mogadishu by the African Union force AMISOM in 2011, and last year was ousted from strongholds elsewhere in the south by AMISOM and the Somali National Army. In other incidents, Somali security forces killed 17 al Shabaab fighters including the head of their intelligence unit and a man suspected of orchestrating a deadly attack on a Kenyan university in 2015, government officials said. In one incident, Mogadishu municipality spokesman Abdifatah Omar said, security forces killed a man known only as Daud who headed al Shabaab's intelligence wing, known as Amniyat. Omar did not say when he was killed or give other details. In the second incident, Abdirashid Hassan Abdi, the semi-autonomous Jubbaland regions security minister said its forces had killed 16 al Shabaab fighters in Bulagadud, some 30 km to the north of the Indian Ocean port of Kismayu. Among the dead, he said, was Mohamud Ali Dulyadeyn, suspected to have been the mastermind of an April 2015 attack on Garissa University that killed 148 people, the worst such assault in Kenya in almost 20 years. [nL6N0WZ08E] Four of those killed were al Shabaab officials, he added. "We also seized this car which belonged to Dulyadeyn. The four al Shabaab officials including Dulyadeyn were responsible for masterminding explosions." Al Shabaab, which aims to impose its own strict version of Islamic law across Somalia, had no immediate comment on the killings. (Additional reporting by Feisal Omar in Mogadishu; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Richard Balmforth) BERLIN, June 1 (Reuters) - German discounter Aldi is in the middle of a major family feud that could threaten the entire empire, the reclusive heir to part of the business has warned in his first ever interview. German brothers Karl and Theodor Albrecht pioneered the discount store concept, setting up two sister businesses serving north and south Germany in 1962 and then expanding to much of Europe as well as the United States and Australia. Theodor Albrecht Jr. is the heir to the Aldi North business, which runs discount stores in countries including Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain as well as the more upmarket Trader Joe's in the United States. In an interview with the Handelsblatt daily, Albrecht, Germany's second-richest man since the death of his father in 2010, said a legal battle with Babette, the widow of his late brother Berthold, was becoming a burden for the company. "My brother would turn in his grave if he knew what was going on," he told the newspaper. The paper said Babette succeeded via court action in installing two of her daughters to lead a foundation that controls Berthold's 19.5 percent stake in Aldi Nord, which has a say in strategic decisions along with two other foundations. Albrecht told Handelsblatt that the daughters could now block key company decisions, such as foreign expansion plans, leading to uncertainty at a time when competitors like Lidl are expanding and modernising their stores. Albrecht said the Aldi store network in France urgently needed upgrading as well as those in Denmark, while plans to modernise the chain in Germany have already been agreed. Handelsblatt said Babette and her five daughters reject the accusation and court documents show they have yet to block a major decision. Aldi has not opened stores in any new countries in recent years, although it is growing fast in the United States, both under the Aldi banner and Trader Joe's, while German rival Lidl is preparing to enter the U.S. market in 2018. For the original story click here: [https://global.handelsblatt.com/breaking/exclusive-aldi-heir-theo-albrecht-jr-warns-family-spat-threatening-retail-chain ] (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; editing by Adrian Croft) New details are emerging about the Houston shooting rampage on Sunday that left two dead including the gunman, who police identified Tuesday as Dionisio Garza III of California. On Wednesday, Garza, who served in the army and was discharged in 2013, drove from his home in California, where he lives with his sister, and arrived in Houston on Saturday, where he visited with friends, Lt. John McGalin of the Houston Police Department said at a press conference Tuesday. After that, police believe Garza, who apparently suffered from PTSD, intentionally turned off his phone and "deliberately went off the radar at 4 o'clock," McGalin said. The 25-year-old broke into a tire shop, where he appeared to spend the night, with friends and family unable to reach him, he said. The next morning, he emerged from the tire shop, which surprised employees at a nearby car wash off Memorial Drive, where he shot Eugene Linsomb, a longtime customer, in the neck, McGalin said. Linscomb was sitting in his Mercedes talking to the owner of the Memorial Hand Car Wash when a bare-chested Garza approached him, saying "That man's the devil," according to the Houston Chronicle. Garza told the car wash owners, "Y'all calm down. I'm not going to kill y'all, y'all are Christians," before they fled for safety, the Chronicle reports. Screaming about Jews and homosexuals, Garza retreated and came back an AR-15 assault rifle, yelling that the world was coming to an end, the Chronicle reports. He began shooting at passing cars and then at police cars that rushed to the scene after residents called 911 at 10:15 a.m. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Residents barricaded themselves in their homes while passersby ducked for cover as Garga began shooting indiscriminately, striking a gas line at the Conoco gas station at Wycliffe and Memorial Drive, which erupted in flames. At that point, SWAT teams and snipers began to arrive on the scene. Some officers hunkered down in nearby homes. At 11:10 a.m., "the threat was eliminated," when a sniper fired four rounds at Garza, including the one that killed him, said McGalin. Besides allegedly gunning down two random people, Garza injured six others. "We donat know why he picked the location he picked," said McGalin. "It seems to be random." He said police believe he may have picked that particular location because of its "tactical advantage" over other areas. While police initially believed that John Wilson was a second shooter, McGalin clarified that he is a local resident who came to help. Garza shot him in the leg, but he is expected to survive, said McGalin who added that Wilson should have "stayed inside." Garza, according to McGalin, "had been suffering from some depression, I guess you would say." He appeared to be someone in a "mental health crisis at this point," he said. After leaving the military, Garza worked at various jobs, but seemed to be depressed, said McGalin. "His family said he wasnat feeling right and left to come and hang out with his friends and try to find work here." As far as police can tell, there are "no links to terrorism or anything like that," McGalin said. Police do not believe this was a hate crime, he added. In April, the state of Mississippi did something unusual. It made the definition of man and woman a matter of law: Male (man) or female (woman) refer to an individuals immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth. The Magnolia state is not alone in grappling with the meaning of gender and sex. This spring, after North Carolinas legislature ordered public agencies and local school boards to allow people to use only public bathrooms that correspond to their biological sex at birth, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it is suing the state. A similar bathroom bill was passed and vetoed earlier this spring in South Dakota. And the people of Washington will vote on a bathrooms ballot initiative in November. America is experiencing a period of profound gender anxiety. Mainstream understandings of gender are changing, which may be why Mississippi legislators felt the need to codify concepts that have always seemed culturally implicit. Perhaps because the stakes are so basic, both sides tend to draw the other as caricatures: Those opposed to transgender bathroom rights are obvious bigots; those who support them want to allow men in womens bathrooms and enable other predatory behavior. Recommended: The Seven Broken Guardrails of Democracy Bigotryfear or animus toward transgender peopleis undoubtedly part of the outcry over bathrooms. But thats not a sufficient explanation. To some Americans, maleness and femaleness is a basic, absolute part of what makes us human, a fact that undergirds their faith, sense of self, and daily life. To others, gender is mutable, ambiguous, and ultimately chosen. American culture has been shifting in this direction for some time, pushed along by academic gender theorists, the sexual revolution, and the gay-rights movement. But even as feminists argued for decades that gender is socially constructed and multi-formed, and increasing numbers of people became open about being gay, lesbian, or bisexual, most Americans remained comfortable with the notion that some people are men and some people are women. All of a sudden, a different consensus seems to have emerged. Story continues Culture can be selectively avoided, but the law cannot. Although some states have long protected transgender peoples access to public spaces, like bathrooms, those laws have been scattershotroughly half the country does not have them. Until very recently, the federal government has not definitively protected transgender rights. Now, state governments that formerly did not concern themselves with these issues are being forced to confront them. And so are their people. In some sense, Americas new wave of gender anxiety began with something very straight: marriage. Although recent debates have focused on trans people and bathrooms, they were enabled by the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to legalize gay marriage in the summer of 2015. The strategy behind the same-sex-marriage campaign has been well-documented: LGBT advocates purposefully tried to make gay marriage seem as disconnected from sex as possible by putting older lesbians on ads and focusing on love over sexual freedom. Yet, some gender bending is implicit: Married to a person of the same sex, men and women have to define and reinvent how they relate to one another. Recommended: What's a Republican Woman to Do? So long as its just been an institution thats made up of a man and a woman, a husband and a wife, [marriage] has had a kind of stabilizing effect, said Katherine Franke, a law and gender-studies professor at Columbia University. Allowing gay people to get married is destabilizing a gender binary, she said. I think its very unsettling to people, so it makes absolute sense to me that the next place they would go with that anxiety is targeting transgender people. At first, legislators focused on giving legal cover to business owners, government officials, and clergy who did not want to participate in same-sex-marriage ceremonies. These kinds of exemption bills, ostensibly created to protect religious conscience, are still being debated in statehouses around the country. They are a clear, direct reaction to the Supreme Courts same-sex marriage decision. But why did bathrooms come next? These bills seem to be about something slightly different. Theyre not objections to what people dohaving gay sex, for example, or getting married to a person of the same sex. Theyre objections to what people are, which isnt tied to any particular act. It doesnt really matter who transgender people have sex with, or if they have sex at all. What matters is their status: If a person is designated a boy or girl at birth, the objectors say, thats what determines his or her gender for life. There are a number of possible answers to the question, why bathrooms? This is one of the last remaining gendered spaces in public life, where women and men are divided and body parts exposed. And transgender people consistently struggle with bathroom accesswhich can lead to higher rates of attempted suicidemaking this a key issue for advocates. Recommended: The Art of the Swindle But theres also a more complicated explanation: Non-traditional notions of gender have finally become widespread enough to foment a sustained backlash. For a long time, the federal government hung back on creating firm protections for transgender people. But it has taken this question up in fits and starts over the last several years, recently making an unambiguous stand. The Justice Department maintains North Carolinas bathroom law qualifies as sex discrimination under Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch compared the legislation to Jim Crow in a recent press conference: State-sanctioned discrimination never looks good in hindsight, she said. As the federal government takes steps to create protections for transgender peoplewhich, quietly, it hasstates will have less of a say in questions like where transgender people can use the bathroom. In one sense, these legal protections are everything. Comprehensive legislation would outlaw discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations and provide protections in arenas such as health care. The law is essential for making sure transgender people can move through the world free from violence and harassment, and mitigating the side effects of extreme marginalization, including significantly higher rates of depression and suicide. But its also curious that these questions are being hashed out via lawsuits and legislation. This is a very recent dynamic, where legislatures feel they need to define what it is to be a man and what it is to be a woman, Franke said. The law is an imperfect tool for shaping culturea back-up cudgel for times when softer methods of persuasion dont work. The fact that legislators in overreach-hating, small-government-loving states like Mississippi and North Carolina have resorted to the law to protect their notions of gender shows the depth of their panic about these ambient cultural shifts. Politicians are taking note. In the dying days of his campaign, Ted Cruz picked transgender bathroom accessnot the economy, not the fight against ISIS, not abortionas his last hope to win conservatives away from Donald Trump. He stumped hard on the issue in the days before the Indiana primary, proclaiming the country had gone stark raving nuts. The law is a back-up cudgel for times when softer methods of persuasion dont work. It didnt work. Trumpwho has said he would let Caitlyn Jenner, the transgender former Olympic athlete, use any bathroom in Trump Towerbeat him by a wide margin. Yet, Trumps own rhetoric often emphasizes his masculinity and stresses the importance of traditional gender roles. Gender is becoming a new litmus test in the culture wars. Thats one reason its so important to understand why, exactly, the specter of men in womens bathrooms causes such anxietyto understand its parts, beyond simple hatred. Progressives may believe attitudes on gender and sexuality will go the way of race, with history neatly arcing toward acceptance, aided by generational replacement and a bit of federal strong-arming. But just as that story doesnt really capture the evolution of race relations in the United States, so the progressive narrative might not hold true on gender. While these bathroom bills may be a temporary flare-up, the divisions underlying them are foundational, and unlikely to be resolved by the Supreme Court or the Justice Department. One word that consistently shows up in legislation about bathrooms and same-sex-wedding vendors is religion. These bills claim to protect people with sincerely held religious beliefs about the nature of men and women. Some opponents of gay marriagelargely conservative Christiansfear being legally compelled to participate in these ceremonies, with which they disagree. The exemption language tends to echo that in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a federal law thats been emulated by many states, which was designed to protect Americans from being forced to violate their religious beliefs. Many publications have started using scare quotes or so-called when they write about these putatively religious claims, implying skepticism that refusal to serve LGBT people in any context is a matter of conviction rather than bigotry. The two motivationsconviction and bigotryare difficult to tease apart. Particularly in the United States, a country that remains more religious that its Western peers, faith and culture are in a feedback loop, complementing, responding, and reacting to one another. This is especially true when it comes to trans people in public bathrooms. Wisdom from the Bible can be brought to bear on any question, but on this issue, the ideas at stake are foundational. They are part of the way of reading the Bible, going back to Genesis said R. Marie Griffith, a professor of religion and politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Theres this belief that God created man, and out of man, he created woman. And these are really crystal-clear categories. Theres something very deep and fundamental about that for the Christians who have a way of thinking about the Bible as the word of God. The idea that someone might not identify with the gender that corresponds to the sex assigned to them at birth directly contradicts those categories. Anything that challenges that idea, of the clarity of gender, is really suspect. Its anxiety-producing, and it makes people angry, Griffiths said. Some Christian leaders have tried to wrestle thoughtfully with this challenge to their beliefs on gender. Russell Moore, who leads the Southern Baptist Conventions political arm, responded to Caitlin Jenners Vanity Fair cover with empathy, writing, We do not see our transgendered neighbors as freaks to be despised. They feel alienated from their identities as men or women In a fallen universe, all of us are alienated, in some way, from who we were designed to be. To Moore, gender is part of how humans are created by God, and it is not our role to change that. Many others share Moores belief, but without the same degree of empathy. Christians are used to being challenged on the truth of the Bible; after all, a core component of the faith is sharing the good news of Jesus with those who dont yet know him. But challenges to the Bibles description of gender attack something basic. And in some communities, these challenges are relatively new. This may be why the language of the bathroom backlash hasnt been overtly religious. It has been the language of self-evident truthgender difference as a fact that requires not faith, but logic, to understand. The bathroom backlash hasnt been overtly religious. It has been argued in the language of self-evident truth. Its common sense, said Vicki Wilson, a parent who is part of a lawsuit against an Illinois school district that has let a transgender student use the girls locker and restrooms. All children must be protected and respected, and having common sense, reasonable boundaries in these private, intimate spaces is protected by law, she said. Under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that took effect in January, Township High School District 211 agreed to let Student A, as the transgender child is called in the legal proceedings, have access to girls facilities. Student A is to use a private changing station behind a curtain, and any other girls in the school are also allowed to use these stations. The other girls can also request further accommodation, like changing in a single-stall facility or getting their own schedule for using the bathroom. With this new policy, the lawsuit claims, the 14-to-17-year-old girls at William Fremd High School 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. They dont want this person to see them without their clothes on, and they dont want to have to look. They are afraid of having to attend to their most personal needs, especially during a time when their body is undergoing often embarrassing changes as they transition from childhood to adulthoodtheir periods, in other words. According to the filing, some girls avoid going to the bathroom to avoid sharing it with the transgender student, thus risking certain health problems; they wear their gym clothes under their regular clothes so they never have to be naked at school; or theyre late for class because of the time they spend looking for an empty restroom. As much as anything, this is an issue of body parts. If Student A has a penis, as the filing seems to imply, the girls may be uncomfortable for reasons similar to those that led Student A to ask to use the girls facilities. But more broadly, this is also a question about gender roles. In a recent PRRI / The Atlantic poll, 42 percent of Americans said they believe society is becoming too soft and feminine. Thirty-nine percent said they believe society is better off when men and women stick to the jobs and tasks they are naturally suited for, including 44 percent of Republicans and 58 percent of white evangelical Protestants. These numbers suggest nervousness about fluid gender identitiesand that America isnt even close to a consensus that men and women should choose the way they act. Its no accident that the bathroom backlash has been framed in terms of sexual violence. If menthe putatively stronger, more powerful, and more physically intimidating sexare allowed in womens bathrooms, the argument goes, women will be in danger of sexual assault. What were looking at is a sex panic, said Franke, the Columbia professor. Bathroom-based fear, particularly framed in the context of the safety of women, is not new. One of the arguments against the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment is that it would require the dismantling of sex-segregated bathrooms, and that would be horrible both with respect to the privacy of women and the safety of women, she said. If transgender people are able to use the bathroom of their choice, that suggests women are perfectly safe when former men, or women who have masculine characteristics, enter their intimate spaces. Part of the threat here is that women are saying they do not need protection from men. That has long been a source of anger for men and women who believe in this notion of female submission to male authority, said Griffiths. At least in part, men who are supporting this are reasserting a protective role. Queer sex acts can be private. Queer gender expression requires acknowledgement and acceptance. In situations like the high-school bathroom, further work-arounds might be possible. The parents in the Illinois lawsuit, for example, say they support the possibility of an alternate arrangement for Student A, such as providing a single-stall restroom. (Although according to the lawsuit, Student A was dissatisfied with this original arrangement.) Arguably, this is as much a problem of school set-up as gender. What we have to do in the schools is to increase privacy for all students, said Mara Keisling, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. School lockers rooms arent being built anymore with wide-open dressing rooms and wide-open locker rooms. Nobody likes that. Nobody feels comfortable getting naked in front of strangersespecially teenagers. But theres also a tension inherent in this conflict. Student A perceives herself to be female. The girls do not agree. Wilson said she empathizes with Student As feelings of discomfort, but kids should have a right to choose when they are seen in a state of undress by the opposite sex, whether or not that child identifies as the opposite sex, she said. Many of us raise our kids to have modesty, and somebody else shouldnt be able to come in and decide what your modesty should entail. That should be a personal decision. Although this particular case is a legal dispute over rightswhether one students claim of sex discrimination should trump other students claims of a privacy violationits evidence that a cultural truce over gender expression might not be possible. Queer sex acts can be private. Queer gender expression requires acknowledgement and acceptance. Trans people ask to be recognized as their chosen gender in everyday interactions. Going to the bathroom may be the most obvious, because parts are exposed and people may feel vulnerable. But these interactions include everything from securing IDs to seeking medical help to interacting with employers or salespeople or friends. Being seen is not primarily a matter of legal rights. Its cultural: the composite of a thousand moments of locking eyes with someone in a restroom mirror and feeling fear, or not. Can Americans live divided on issues of gender expression? On most political issues in the United States, theres an acceptable band of opinion. Progressives and conservatives might disagree on topics like taxes, military spending, or entitlement reform, but opponents dont typically see each other as hateful for their views. Debates over identity, however, are not this straightforward. They are personal, and carry a moral valence. While there is arguably still an acceptable band of racism in America, it has shifted. Those who believe it is right to enslave other humans as chattel or send black people to the back of the bus are a tiny minority, and most everywhere, those views are roundly shamed and condemned. Categorically denying someones personhood on the basis of race is no longer acceptable in mainstream American culture. For people who are trans, or who express their gender in non-stereotypical ways, gender is part of their personhood. When the parents and kids of William Fremd High School tell a student who identifies as female that she is a biological male, that is a denial of who she says she is. Many Americans think its fine for trans people to express their gender however they want. But as the bathroom controversies have shown, many others do not. For some, this may reflect some combination of fear or lack of knowledge. Ignorance isnt always bigotry, said Keisling. I dont think everybody is a hateful bigot. But I wish they would go out and meet some trans people and understand that were spectacular, and not a threat, and I wish politicians would leave our children alone. And its true: Exposure and education may change peoples views on bathroom access. This is largely what happened with people who are lesbian, gay, and bisexual, said Brian Powell, a professor at the University of Indianaas more Americans met gay people, gay people became more accepted. Regarding transgender issues, were still at a really early stage on this, and in a very early stage of where its going to go, he said. Right now, [people] have a visceral reaction. This is not unlike peoples views about same-sex marriage from 10 or 15 years ago. Yet, its not clear that T will go the same way as L, G, and B. Transgender people make up a tiny portion of the American populationthe numbers alone will make it harder for people to resolve these issues by education and exposure alone. Meanwhile, many Americans believe in the firmness of gender as a matter of conviction. They dont see male and female as socially constructed, mutable categories, perhaps because God created them, or perhaps simply because that is what they believe. It will never be possible to completely disentangle conviction and bigotrybelief shapes prejudice, and prejudice shapes belief. But parents like those concerned about the girls locker rooms at William Fremd High School seem unlikely to change their views any time soon. And though their kids generation will likely be, on average, much more open to fluid gender expression than their parents, the lawsuit suggests that some of these beliefs are being passed to the next generation. Gender is not going to disappear. Its part of how people navigate the world, a shorthand for understanding others, a set of cues for reading and placing them and interpreting them. It is central to how people understand themselves, whether theyre conservative Christians or choosing to transition. Calls for pluralism fail to take this seriouslyhow deeply gender shapes people, and how viscerally both camps feel about its (im)mutability. Fights over bathrooms may seem trivial, but they are the logical meeting ground for this battle over the definition of gender, sitting between two irreconcilable camps on what it means to be a person. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. If you're comparison shopping flights for you summer vacation, take note: Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue were named as the airlines with the best customer service in the industry. These rankings are based on the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies using the opinions of 10,000 consumers in the U.S. This is the seventh year of the survey, which is conducted by Temkin Group, a research and consulting firm. The survey asks consumers about their experiences with different companies and ranks them based on three main elements how successful consumers are at doing what they set out to do with the brand, how easy/difficult it is to work with the brand, and how consumers feel about their experience with each brand. Southwest has earned the top spot every year since the report was first issued in 2011, except in 2015 when JetBlue overtook the leading position. Southwest is back on top again in the airlines category this year, coming in at 52nd place overall out of the almost 300 companies ranked in 20 different industries. While Southwest earned a 67% approval rating that caused it to lead the nine airlines that were ranked, Spirit Airlines made the bottom of the list, with only a 40% approval rating. Paul Berry, a Spirit Airlines spokesman, said the carrier felt the survey didn't have enough criteria to rank the airlines fairly because it treated every airline the same when they each have different value propositions. "They certainly didn't ask the question on their survey about what customers say over and over is most important in choosing an airline, which is price," Berry said. "If that's the case, we win every time. But we get it and we are certainly doing some things currently that will hopefully improve our rankings in the future." Here is how each airline included in the survey ranked. 1. Southwest Airlines: 67% 2. Alaska Airlines: 62% 2. JetBlue Airlines: 62% 4. Delta Airlines: 59% Story continues 5. Virgin America: 55% 6. American Airlines: 52% 7. United Airlines: 51% 8. US Airways: 48% 9. Spirit Airlines: 40% Whichever airline you prefer to fly with, flights can get expensive. You can cut back on some of the extra fees with airline credit cards and even get rewards points that help you pay for your next flight (you can check out our independent ranking of the best airline credit cards on the market here). But keep in mind that, while these credit cards offer some perks you may enjoy, getting into credit card debt to save on checking a suitcase simply isn't worth it. (You can see how paying your credit cards off in full each month helps your credit score by reviewing your free credit report summary for free each month on Credit.com.) More from Credit.com Kurdish People's Protection Units syria US-backed forces are finally moving toward Raqqa, ISIS' de facto capital in Syria. But the plan to retake the city and surrounding areas from the militants is burdened by a potentially fatal flaw: The alliance that is leading the effort on the ground, the Syrian Democratic Forces, is dominated by Kurdish fighters with the People's Protection Units, also known as the YPG. Raqqa's population is mostly Arab, and residents of the city are wary of a Kurdish force potentially moving in to control it. "People don't want the SDF to control the city because in general most of the people of Raqqa are not welcoming the YPG," Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, an activist with the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, told Business Insider. "They say, 'At least if we stay under ISIS control and we keep our mouths closed and don't do anything bad, at least we can stay in our homes.' If the YPG controls our city, we cannot go back," said Raqqawi, who uses a pseudonym. Raqqawi noted that the YPG had been accused of exiling Arabs from their homes in towns the Kurdish fighters had liberated from ISIS, which is also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh. But others say these concerns are overblown. "I was in Tal Abyad (part of Raqqa province) today and yesterday, and Arabs tell me a different story," Wladimir van Wilgenburg, an analyst with The Jamestown Foundation who has been traveling with Kurdish forces, told Business Insider. "According to people I spoke to," he added, "people of Raqqa don't care so much who liberates the city. As long as the city is not controlled by ISIS, and they'd rather have it as fast as possible." So far, the SDF is focusing on territory surrounding Raqqa rather than on the city itself. Before the alliance can move in on the city, however, it will need a proper contingent of Arab fighters. It's unclear where the appropriate number of fighters will come from or how long it will take to amass them, but the US recently dispatched special-operations forces to the area to recruit and train Arab fighters. Story continues But the SDF might be Kurdish-dominated by design, as Sam Heller, a writer and analyst on Syria, said on Twitter. He pointed out that the "Arab, Raqqa-native component of the SDF seems to be too small and fragmented" to retake the city and that the YPG wants to keep that Arab force small and under its tutelage. Raqqawi said Raqqa residents wanted fighters associated with the Free Syrian Army, a coalition group of rebels that aims to topple to government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. "Most of the FSA is from the Syrian revolution," Raqqawi said. Raqqa residents want the FSA "to be part of this they don't want foreigners to control them," he continued, adding that Raqqa residents wouldn't consider the city "liberated" if it were done at the hands of Kurdish fighters. "We can say 'controlling the city,'" Raqqawi said. "So people are saying, 'ISIS is controlling us,' or 'SDF is controlling us.' They are all foreigners, they are not from the city. People of Raqqa get tired of this." syria Ryan Crocker, a career US ambassador who has worked across the Middle East including as the ambassador to Syria, told Business Insider that involving Kurdish forces in an offensive against Raqqa would be "dangerously counterproductive." "Your average Sunni Arab would find it hard to choose between domination by Islamic State and domination by the Kurds," Crocker said. "The only way forward, in my view, is to increase a coherent, multifaceted effort to reach out to and work with the Sunni Arab forces that are not affiliated with Islamic State or with [Jabhat] al-Nusra," Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. He later added: "Islamic State isn't going to be defeated by the Kurds. As a matter of fact, the Kurds will be a pretty good recruiting tool for them." A Kurdish offensive on Raqqa could encourage some Sunni Arabs in the city to align with ISIS, which markets itself as a protector of Sunnis. "People are going to the side of ISIS because they are thinking, 'At least they are Sunni Arabs,'" Raqqawi said. Regardless of the ethnic and sectarian dynamics at play, the YPG have proved to be one of the most effective fighting forces against ISIS, and the US is short on other options for partnerships. Crocker suggested groups like Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam, but both have been associated with extremism. Still, "we need to rethink" working with them, Crocker said. "Neither of those two groups are going for a caliphate," he said, referring to the territory ISIS holds in Iraq and Syria. "Neither of them have a terror track record. Basically, I think the litmus test should be, if they'll work with us, we'll work with them." Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and an expert on Al Qaeda and its affiliates, cautioned against this kind of litmus test. "Both Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam are extremist organizations," he told Business Insider in an email. "Ahrar al-Sham's propaganda is openly jihadist. No one could possibly think it is anything but an extremist group." Joscelyn noted that Jaish al-Islam had cooperated with Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra at times as well. And regardless of whether it's officially affiliated with either group, Joscelyn said, "Jaish al-Islam advocates an extremist version of Sunni Islam and is not moderate in any reasonable sense of the word." NOW WATCH: Heres the $5.3 million mansion the Obamas will reportedly live in after the White House More From Business Insider He's ba-ack! On Tuesday, May 31, Simon Cowell returned to the judges table this time for America's Got Talent's season 11 premiere. PHOTOS: Biggest Costar Feuds Ever! These Celebrities Cant Stand Each Other Off-Screen ICYMI, Howard Stern (rather suddenly) departed the hit show after four seasons of appraising the performers, and now Cowell who also happens to have created the show has taken the shock jock's place. The American Idol alum joins mainstay judges Howie Mandel, Mel B and Heidi Klum, along with host Nick Cannon. Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin won season 10 and snapped up the $1 million prize before heading to Las Vegas, where he headlined at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Read on for Us Weekly's minute-by-minute updates as the blunt Cowell weighed in on the showbiz hopefuls! (Start at the bottom of this post if you want to read it in chronological order.) PHOTOS: Unlikely Celebrity Couples 9:59 p.m. ET: 13-Year-Old Laura Belts Out Some Opera It's not over until the teenager sings or something like that. Thirteen-year-old Laura blew all the judges away as she belted out a few minutes' worth of opera. When she finished, she was in tears (of relief), and all four judges were on their feet. Heidi called her gift "unbelievable," and Simon revealed he didn't think she was going to be able talk, let alone sing. He said he had never heard anything like it in all of his years. "What made it even better is that you are such a sweet person, so humble," Cowell said. Howie agreed it was amazing, and Mel B then hit the Golden Buzzer to secure Laura's fate. (The Golden Buzzer works!) 9:45 p.m. ET: Everyone Is Forced to Watch Grossest Magic Show Ever Umm. Well, a man did some tricks involving putting a meat hook in his nose and out his mouth and that was just the beginning. Heidi couldn't handle the ick factor, but the other three judges said yes. No comment. PHOTOS: Stars They're Just Like Us! Story continues 9:36 p.m. ET: Simon Calls Performer Who Doesn't Say a Word "Brilliant" It was one of the stranger acts to perform on the show, but perhaps one of the best. While the genius behind the routine never spoke a word (not even his name!), his performance did all the talking. With his mouth covered in duct tape, he began by "singing" "Endless Love" via puppets made out of oven mitts. Then he transitioned to "Lady in Red" with his very own lady which, honestly, you have to see in order to appreciate. All of the judges loved it, but Simon was totally gaga, calling it "simple, clever, unique, funny and brilliant." Seriously, Simon's sweet streak has to run out soon, right? 9:30 p.m. ET: Charlie and Rose Aren't Good But Simon Loves Them Anyway They met at bereavement counseling. They started flirting and got kicked out of the group. Then they got married. Then they performed at America's Got Talent. They were terrible, but it hardly mattered because they were so charming. Simon called it "one of the worst acts" he'd ever seen, but admitted he couldn't take his eyes off them. Simon questioned whether he should go with his head or his heart and he went with his heart, giving them the third yes they needed to go through. (Heidi said no; Mel and Howie said yes.) There was no doubt about it: Simon was being nice! PHOTOS: Reality TV's Breakout Stars 9:18 p.m. ET: Simon Invites a Contestant to Live With Him Not sure he had a chance to run this invitation by Lauren Silverman first, but in a moment of unbridled joy, Simon invited a contestant to come and live with him. After Hara performed a routine involving lots of fancy animated graphics and magic (some of which was undoubtedly lost over the broadcast compared to seeing it live), Simon said it made him so happy he "just didn't want it to end." The judge then proceeded to invite the Japanese native to "come back and live with me." For the record, the other judges were equally impressed though none of them offered to be Hara's new roommates and he went through to the next round with flying colors. 9:02 p.m. ET: Simon's Son and Baby Mama Came to Set A Spice Girls drag group was the first dud of the night. While the five performers clearly couldn't really sing or dance, Simon thought they were still "better than the original" and declared, "This is what the girls could have been like if they could sing." To be fair, though, he was laughing, so it was hard to take him too seriously. More importantly, however: In the midst of a montage showing the judges goofing off backstage, Simon could be seen hanging out on a sofa with his baby mama, Lauren Silverman, as their son, Eric, milled about nearby. Eventually, Eric curled up between his parents, and Simon seemed perfectly happy with that. Also, in case you hadn't seen any pics recently, Simon's son is super cute. PHOTOS: 2015's Babies of the Year 8:44 p.m. ET: Linkin Bridge Is Not What They Seem Though the four members of Linkin Bridge were rather soft-spoken (and dressed like hip-hop artists), they dazzled with their a cappella version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which Simon called "sensational." They, too, flew through with four yeses and then the group members all broke down in tears. PHOTOS: American Idol Winners 8:35 p.m. ET: Simon Calls One Contestant a Witch (But It's a Compliment!) Though it would be hard to beat the dancing dog, a clairvoyant named Amelie managed to do so. As her partner (who she is dating, just for the record) pulled random items out of people's handbags, a blindfolded Amelie guessed details, such as the exact number of the shade of Heidi's lipstick, and the expiration date on Howie's eyedrops. How said it was the "most amazing thing" he'd ever seen, while Mel said she felt like she was in the Twilight Zone. Heidi called it "absolutely incredible," and Simon said there was only explanation and that the explanation was that Amelie was "a witch." Needless to say, this pair sailed through, too. 8:28 p.m. ET: Simon Wishes His Dog Could Dance Jose Fuentes danced with his partner, Carrie (who happened to be a dog). Heidi got bored after the first 15 seconds, but Simon admitted he wished his dog could do that. Simon, Mel and Howie all gave the dancing duo yeses, which put them through, despite Heidi's no. More importantly, however, Simon seemed to actually be nice? PHOTOS: Celebrity Kids Just Like Us! 8:16 p.m. ET: Introducing the Golden Buzzer (Also, Simon Cowell Is Back) Two major changes were highlighted from minute one: First, Simon Cowell has taken Howard Stern's place (but you knew that already). Second, there's a thing called the Golden Buzzer. By pushing it, a judge can send an act straight through to the live shows but each judge can only call upon this magic button once this season, so they can't just go crazy or anything. In other news, Simon didn't bother to shower or shave (OK, he may have showered) before showing up to work. Also, the first victim of the season err, we mean contestant performed. He was Nate, a 6-year-old comedian who stole all of the judges' hearts (even Simon's) and sailed through with four yeses. Tell Us: What did you think of Simon as a judge? America's Got Talent airs on NBC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. From Popular Mechanics On May 31st-exactly 100 years ago-the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet met for battle in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark. Over the course of a day and a night, 250 ships (151 of them British, the other 99 German) exchanged fire and performed a complex set of maneuvers in the Battle of Jutland, World War I's first and only major naval altercation. By the time it was over, more than 7,000 were dead and over 20 ships went down. This is how it played out. This fantastic and fantastically in-depth video narrated by Nick Jellicoe-whose grandfather was a British Admiral that fought in the battle-details every twist and turn in the clash between the navies, which contained its fair share of twists, turns, and impressive maneuvering given the limitations of the time, which included commands issued with flags and signal lamps. Ultimately neither force was able to complete defeat its opponent, and the battle was celebrated as a victory by Germany-which did inflicted more damage to the British fleet than it absorbed, despite a smaller size-even though the conflict ultimately left the British in control of the area. Today, in a world of aircraft carriers and submarines, naval warfare has permanently changed, but the Battle of Jutland stands a reminder of what it was like just a century before. Source: Nick Jellicoe via Popular Science envy concept, bored sad woman in front of computer Leases can be chock full of fine print, but a move by one Salt Lake City apartment complex may have apartment dwellers reading their next one very carefully before signing on the dotted line. City Park Apartments presented tenants with a Facebook Addendum late last week that requires them to like the building on the popular social media site within five days or otherwise be considered in breach of their lease, KSL-TV reports. The addendum, which was taped to residents doors, also reportedly includes a release that would allow the complex to post pictures of tenants and their visitors on their pageand a clause that prevents residents from posting anything negative about the community on any public forums or pages. (Editors note: A law firm representing City Park said the complex has sent an update to residents that they will not be in violation of their lease if they opt not to sign the addendum.) It was brought to KSLs attention by a tenant who considered the addendum outrageous and a violation of my privacy. The law firm representing City Park Apartments told Credit.com in an email that the complex, as part of opening its pool and an anticipated pool party desired to provide some protection to its residents and its owners from usage of photos on its Facebook page from all community events. The Facebook addendum was provided to them to assist in that protection, the firm wrote. That addendum went beyond the request and intent of City Park Apartments, and was not carefully reviewed to ensure that it met with their needs and requests. At no time was any resident in jeopardy of eviction or action from City Park for failure to sign the addendum or friend City Park Apartments. City Park has not implemented the addendum nor is it requiring its residents to execute it. The firm did not respond immediately to follow-up questions from Credit.com regarding what protections, specifically, were being referenced. City Park Apartments Facebook page, which boosts a 1.1. star rating, is currently riddled with reviews from people calling the complex out on the policy. Story continues This is one of the most absurd requirements I have EVER heard, one Facebook user wrote. Facebook did not immediately respond to questions about whether it had any policies pertaining to this type of situation. Attorney Zachary Myers told KSL, however, that the City Park Apartments addendum had a few potential broader issues. The biggest issue that I have with it is that it seems to be discriminatory against elderly individuals and disabled individuals who are unable to utilize an online presence such as Facebook, he said. Attention, apartment shoppers Myers also told KSL that the complex may not be able to require tenants who already signed a lease to put their John Hancock on the add-on. Once you do sign the addendum, however, you could be legally beholden to the terms, he saida comment that underscores the importance of not blindly signing anything your landlordor companies in generalput in front of you. Youll want to be aware of any clauses that you may not agree with. And, of course, if youre in the market for a new apartment, you should check your credit. Most landlords pull a version of your credit report when deciding who to rent to, and you dont want any errors or surprises to cause you to miss out on a lease that aligns with what youre looking for in an apartment. (You can see where your credit currently stands by pulling your reports for free each year at AnnualCreditReport.com and viewing your credit scores for free each month on Credit.com.) This article was written by Jeanine Skowronski and originally published on Credit.com. More from Credit.com: The post Apartment Complex Orders Tenants to Like Its Facebook Page, or Else appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles Josh Harris Apollo The big banks' pain is private equity's gain. Regulators have forced banks to cut back on lending in the wake of the financial crisis a bid to stop the biggest lenders from inflating another credit bubble. The banks have to face more frequent reviews on leveraged lending and could be fined or face other sanctions if their activity is considered risky. That's creating an opportunity for alternative lenders, like private-equity firm Apollo Global Management, to fill that vacuum. The firm's credit business has $124 billion in assets under management, and was a major driver of its 23% compound annual growth rate from 2005 to 2016. Apollo cofounder Josh Harris said at a Deutsche Bank conference on Tuesday: Most of the growth in the credit business today is just taking advantage of in essence forced sellers, banks that are depressing market prices, and creating an arbitrage for us and our investors. That is going to go on for a while. I do think we benefit from regulation, and we are going to keep on filling the role of banks to provide capital. To be sure, even as they beef up their credit arms to help midsize companies fund deals, the alternative lenders are still a relatively tiny group, with just $500 billion in assets, compared with nearly $120 trillion in global banking assets. But to Apollo, that's just an opportunity to grow the business. a NOW WATCH: Here are all the big banks that paid Hillary Clinton for speeches in 2013 More From Business Insider An archaeologist thinks he has found the tomb of Aristotle at Stagira, an ancient city where the Greek philosopher lived for much of his life. But several other archaeologists say there is hardly enough evidence to link the tomb to Aristotle, and there's probably no way to confirm it either way. Even so, historical records do support the idea that Aristotle could be buried in the area. Konstantinos Sismanidis, the archaeologist who discovered the tomb in question, has told media outlets that he cannot be certain that the structure is Aristotle's tomb. [Bones with Names: Long-Dead Bodies Archaeologists Have Identified] Aristotle's ashes Now retired, Sismanidis announced the possible discovery of Aristotle's tomb in a paper presented recently at the Aristotle 2,400 Years World Congress, which marks 2,400 years since Aristotle's birth. The tomb, he said, is a small building with an altar and marble floor, and this building is located next to a larger, semicircular structure that could have functioned as a gathering place for the people of the city. "It's a public building, and it was constructed at the period of Alexander the Great," Sismanidis wrote in the summary of his presentation. Aristotle who taught and wrote on a wide range of subjects, including logic, metaphysics, ethics, poetry and biology was a tutor to Alexander. Though ancient records say Aristotle died on the island of Euboea in 322 B.C., Sismanidis noted that Arabic copies of a text written by a historian named Ptolemy (who lived from A.D. 90 to 168) say Aristotle's ashes were brought to Stagira (also spelled Stageira), where they were interred in a building constructed in his honor. No human remains or inscriptions mentioning Aristotle were discovered in the tomb at Stagira. Sismanidis first uncovered the building in 1996, and he has excavated at Stagira for more than 20 years. He plans to publish his findings this fall in a multivolume book, according to news reports. Story continues Skeptical reaction Since the announcement last week, media outlets all over the world have reported on the discovery of the supposed tomb. However, many of the archaeologists Live Science contacted expressed doubts about the discovery. "I would be skeptical, especially after the so-called discovery of Alexander's tomb at Amphipolis," said R. Angus Smith, a professor at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, who excavates in Greece. "It would be lovely if true, but I have not seen evidence to convince me of the connection." In September 2014, some media outlets and archaeologists speculated that a tomb found at Amphipolis in Macedonia (a historical region of Greece; not to be confused with the modern country of Macedonia) belonged to Alexander himself. However, further investigation revealed evidence, including an inscription, that the tomb likely belonged to the Macedonian king's friend, Hephaestion. [Photos: Mysterious Ancient Tomb in Amphipolis] "That the tomb found by Sismanidis at Stagira is that of Aristotle is a plausible suggestion but not a provable one, as the Greek archaeologist himself admits," said Jerome Pollitt, a professor of art history at Yale University. "Barring the discovery of an inscription, that state of affairs is unlikely to change." Spencer Pope, a classical archaeologist at McMaster University in Ontario, commented that "while the tomb at Stagira dates to the time of Aristotle and has a seemingly commensurable monumentality with the ancient philosopher, further evidence linking it with a specific historical figure would be needed for a convincing attribution." Perhaps the strongest reaction against Sismanidis' claim came from Edith Hall, a professor at the Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's College London. "Call me a cynic, but has archaeologist Kostas Sismanidis really found a single shred of evidence that the tomb excavated in ancient Stageira long ago in 1996 houses the remains of Aristotle?" she wrote in a post on her blog. "Releasing the information in the 2,400th anniversary year of Aristotle's birth strikes me as a little too much of a coincidence," she added. Sismanidis is not the first archaeologist who has claimed to have found Aristotle's tomb, Hall noted. In 1891, Charles Waldstein, an archaeologist at the American School of Archaeology of Athens, excavated a tomb at the site of Eretria that he claimed was Aristotle's. Waldstein claimed to have found writing instruments. "Waldstein's 'tomb of Aristotle' is much nearer [to] the place where the actual ancient sources said the philosopher died," Hall wrote. Voice of support Although most archaeologists Live Science contacted were skeptical of Sismanidis' claim, one researcher did voice support. "It is most likely his [Aristotle's] tomb," said Elizabeth Kosmetatou, a professor of ancient history at the University of Illinois. Kosmetatou told Live Science that she has heard that the structure uncovered by Sismanidis contains roof tiles stamped with Greek letters showing that they were produced at a royal workshop for pottery in Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia. Those letters would indicate that the tomb and semicircular structure were public buildings that may have been financed by the city or the Kingdom of Macedonia. Ptolemy claimed that Aristotle's tomb became a focal point for the city of Stagira, meaning that public gatherings likely would have taken place there, Kosmetatou said. The semicircular structure beside the tomb would have been a good place for such meetings or other public events, she noted. "He's probably reliable," Kosmetatou said of the ancient historian, adding that just because Ptolemy's account survives only in Arabic doesn't mean it isn't accurate. Still, Kosmetatou said there is no way to be sure that Aristotle's tomb has been discovered. "We don't have the time machine to go there," she said. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. SYDNEY, June 1 (Reuters) - Australian penny stock Rox Resources, backed by mining major Teck Resources of Canada, said it has discovered one of the world's largest zinc deposits in northern Australia, although any decision to mine is years away. The discovery comes seven months after Chinese conglomerate MMG Ltd shut the nearby exhausted Century zinc mine, once the world's third-biggest, leaving a hole in global supplies of the metal chiefly used to galvanise steel. The lode, named Teena, holds 14.2 billion pounds of zinc, as well as 2.1 billion pounds of lead, making it around the same size as the Century deposit. Teena is located eight kms (5 miles) from the Glencore -owned McArthur River zinc mine. Rox's stock more than doubled on Wednesday on news of the find to just under three Australian cents a share, giving it a market value of A$34.2 million ($24.8 million), although it would likely be a decade before a mine is built, if at all. "We've established that a significant resource is there and now we need to conduct more drilling and metallurgical work, which will not happen overnight," Rox managing director Ian Mulholland said. "Realistically, we are still anywhere between five and 10 years away from production," Mulholland said. Shares in Metalicity Ltd, another Australian penny stock sitting on a potentially big zinc mine, known as Admiral Bay, have more than tripled so far this year to 7.5 Australian cents. "Investors in small miners are hungry to allocate cash even in companies like Rox that have a long way to go," said Keith Goode, an analyst for Eagle Mining Research. "Teena is not a mine yet and will require huge amounts of capital and development work without any guarantees." The latest find is 49 percent owned by Rox and 51 percent by Teck, which also runs the world's second-biggest operating zinc mine, Red Dog in Canada. Teck holds an option to increase its stake to 70 percent by spending a further A$1.15 million on exploration having already spent A$13.85 million. Los Angeles (AFP) - US authorities filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to seize $275,000 worth of life insurance money linked to the man behind the San Bernardino attack that left 14 people dead. The suit filed in federal court in Los Angeles states that Syed Rizwan Farook had obtained two life insurance policies in 2012 and 2013, after he had become radicalized and had initiated plans to carry out terrorist attacks. Farook and his wife died in a shootout with police following the December 2 assault in San Bernardino, California. The insurance policies, one worth $250,000 and the second $25,000, named Farook's mother Rafia Farook as the primary beneficiary. But authorities said that given the nature of the San Bernardino assault and the fact that Farook had been plotting terror attacks when he took out the policies, the money was subject to forfeiture by the government. "Terrorists must not be permitted to provide for their designated beneficiaries through their crimes," federal prosecutor Eileen Decker said in a statement. "My office intends to explore every legal option available to us to ensure these funds are made available to the victims of this horrific crime. "We will continue to use every tool available to seek justice on behalf of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks." The San Bernardino carnage was the deadliest terror attack on US soil since the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A baby suffering from a birth defect caused by the Zika virus was born on Tuesday in New Jersey to a woman visiting from Honduras who is infected with virus after she was bitten by a mosquito early on in her pregnancy, media reported. The baby girl is suffering from severe microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems, after she was delivered through cesarean section at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, the news website NorthJersey.com reported. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly. The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,300 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The unidentified premature newborn also suffers from intestinal and visual issues, Manny Alvarez, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Hackensack, told NorthJersey.com. "You could see the pain in her heart," Alvarez said of the mother, the website reported. Hospital officials were not available for comment. The unidentified 31-year-old mother was staying with relatives after she arrived in the United States more than a month ago from Honduras, where she was bitten by a mosquito, Alvarez said. Zika is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit the virus to humans. A small number of cases of sexual transmission have been reported in the United States and elsewhere. A case of suspected transmission through a blood transfusion in Brazil has raised questions about other ways that Zika may spread. In January, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that a U.S. woman who had lived in Brazil gave birth to a microcephalic baby in Hawaii. The Zika outbreak is affecting large parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, with Brazil the hardest hit. Honduras is the Central American country with the highest number of Zika cases, with 19,000 infections, and at least 238 pregnant women infected. It has also detected at least 78 Guillain-Barre cases. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Robert Birsel) A woman infected with the Zika virus gave birth to a baby in New Jersey who doctors say was born with microcephaly. The mother traveled to the U.S. from Honduras for treatment after experiencing Zika-like symptoms, the Associated Press reports. She was diagnosed with the disease, and ultrasound testing last week revealed the baby would be born with microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an abnormally small head, which has been linked to Zika. The baby has not been diagnosed with the Zika virus, but appears to be completely Zika-affected, a doctor said. In January, a baby infected with Zika was born with microcephaly in Hawaii. A wave of Zika cases and a spike in babies born with microcephaly in Brazil have prompted some health experts to call for the summer Olympics to be relocated from Rio de Janeiro. [AP] A baby girl with Zika virusrelated microcephaly was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Tuesday, May 31. According to the Associated Press, the 31-year-old mother knew she had the virus and traveled to the U.S. from Honduras in hopes of receiving better medical care. A team of doctors at Hackensack University Medical Center performed an emergency C-section to deliver the newborn at 36 weeks after an ultrasound confirmed low birth weight and severe microcephaly, which means that her brain is not fully developed. Celebrity Health Scares It was very sad for us to see a baby born with such a condition, Dr. Abdulla Al-Kahn, director of maternal and fetal medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, told the AP, adding that the prognosis for babies born with microcephaly is generally very poor. Manny Alvarez, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the hospital, said the child has intestinal and visual issues. The baby apparently had been not developing properly over the last month or so, Dr. Alvarez told Fox News. "This patient came in on Friday for the first time ... and my team decided that it was appropriate now to deliver the baby." PHOTOS: Famous Celebrity Pregnancies: Baby Bump Hall of Fame In January, a baby with brain damage born in Hawaii became the first case linked to the Zika virus in the U.S. The mother had lived in Brazil. Zika is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito but can also be spread through sexual intercourse and blood transfusions. REYNOSA, Mexico A Mexican Navy helicopter pursues two SUVs carrying armed suspects through the outskirts of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Schools and local businesses are placed on lockdown as marines arrive to secure the area. Finally cornered in a public plaza, the eight suspects abandon their vehicles and take aim at the chopper with automatic weapons. The marines aboard quickly return fire, killing eight gunmen. Such a dramatic showdown would make headlines almost anywhere else in Mexico, yet in Tamaulipas state, which lies across from southeast Texas on the countrys oil-rich Gulf Coast, it was just another April afternoon. The Tamaulipas Coordination Group, a joint security body composed of local and federal forces, released a single official statement to confirm the incident took place. In recent years, Tamaulipas has earned a bloody reputation as one of Mexicos deadliest and most politically opaque states, where information regarding law enforcement and military operations is closely guarded and the media is cowed by threats from organized crime. Tamaulipas is one of 14 Mexican states set to hold local and gubernatorial elections on June 5 and one of five in which the National Electoral Institute, the countrys independent electoral authority, has issued warnings for the possibility of violence and fraud. And with good reason. Ahead of the last gubernatorial race in 2010, front-runner Rodolfo Torre was shot dead in an ambush by masked gunmen on the eve of his probable victory. The motive for the hit has never been determined. In many ways, Tamaulipas is a microcosm of the challenges facing Mexicos troubled democracy, which finally emerged from one-party rule in 2000. In 2012, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the countrys former ruling dynasty, returned to the presidency following 12 years of governance by the National Action Party (PAN). When President Enrique Pena Nieto took office, he vowed to turn the page on a bloody chapter of Mexican history dominated by drug violence. Few states offer a more damning example of the failure of consecutive administrations to tame the mayhem than Tamaulipas. The result of this years gubernatorial race may be historic: The PANs Francisco Cabeza de Vaca, a senator and former mayor of Reynosa, is polling ahead of Baltazar Hinojosa of the PRI, which has governed the state uninterrupted for more than 80 years. Allegations of high-level corruption among the incumbent party in Tamaulipas are rife. Two former recent governors, Tomas Yarrington and Eugenio Hernandez, have been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for laundering money from the cartels, while two other officials are officially under investigation in Mexico. All four remain fugitives. There are few states in Mexico where corruption is believed to be so widespread and the ties between leading public servants and organized crime so deeply rooted, Jesus Cantu, a political analyst at the Technological Institute of Monterrey, told Foreign Policy. The dominance of a single party and a mafia-style approach to politics has prevented the emergence of strong institutions compatible with democracy. Like many Mexican border states, Tamaulipas has a long and storied history of organized crime. As early as the 1940s, legendary gangster Juan Nepomuceno Guerra led a criminal dynasty dedicated to drug trafficking, gambling, and other rackets. According to Carlos Flores, an expert on Tamaulipas at the Center for Investigations and Superior Studies in Social Anthropology in Mexico City, the lack of transparency in state politics due to one-party rule led to a symbiotic relationship between public officials and organized crime. There are many cases over the years of relatives and business associates of gangsters holding public office at a time when a single party allocated municipal and congressional seats, he told Foreign Policy. In few places in Mexico is the evidence so clear. In the 1980s, Juan Guerras nephew, Juan Garcia Abrego, forged ties with Colombian drug traffickers and founded the Gulf Cartel, which, according to the U.S. government, trafficked billions of dollars of cocaine across the Mexican border every year. At the same time, Mexico was rapidly democratizing on the back of landmark electoral reforms, and local politics became more competitive. Several parties, notably the PAN, began to win municipalities in Tamaulipas. Today, you have a problem with disorganized crime and decentralized corruption, Jesus Cantu said. As politics has become more competitive, the cartels have begun to compete more fiercely for protection. Crucial to the current violence was a 2007 split between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, the formers highly trained armed wing, which produced an ongoing fight for territorial control. In 2014, President Pena Nieto launched Plan Tamaulipas, the latest of several federal interventions involving the military and federal police. Yet the insecurity continues. In recent years, several well-known businessmen in the state have been kidnapped by the gangs, a number of them murdered despite the payment of ransom. In 2010, the corpses of 72 undocumented migrants were found in a mass grave in the rural municipality of San Fernando. The victims were kidnapped from a passenger bus as they headed to the U.S. border and executed after they allegedly refused to pay protection money. The man tipped to finally defeat the PRI in Tamaulipas, Cabeza de Vaca, has promised increased investment in education and job creation and greater coordination with federal authorities as a way out of the crisis. Yet both Cabeza de Vaca and his rival, the PRIs Hinojosa, have accused each other of complicity with the mafias. Hinojosa has repeatedly cited a 30-year-old incident when Cabeza de Vaca, then 19, was arrested in Texas on firearms charges. On May 7, the PRI suspended three of its municipal candidates on allegations that they had been bribed by organized crime to defect to the PAN. Cabeza de Vaca and the partys national leadership deny the claims. The cynicism of the PRI knows no limits, PAN national chairman Ricardo Anaya said in a statement following the allegations. If any party has historically been linked to organized crime in Tamaulipas, its the PRI. Concrete evidence of criminal influence via campaign donations in Mexican elections is scarce, yet transparency regarding the source of funds is near-nonexistent. Edgardo Buscaglia, a senior research scholar in law and economics at Columbia University who has observed elections in several Mexican states, said evidence of vote buying in rural communities in Tamaulipas and intimidation of the electorate by organized crime groups is commonplace. Elections in Mexico are extremely competitive nowadays, but the institutions responsible for adjudicating them are weak, he said. It leaves the door open for organized crime to capture the process. Many residents of Tamaulipas said they see little difference between the parties competing in the state. Ill vote on June 5 because I believe in exercising my right to do so, but I dont think that anything will change in a hurry, said Felipe Cortes, a restaurant owner and father of three in Reynosa, declining to name which party he favored. The challenges for whoever wins are too great. The June 5 state-level elections will be a litmus test for the strength of Mexican democracy as the country heads to a presidential election in 2018, yet few are likely to be as controversial as the race in Tamaulipas. Right now, Mexico is a democracy without the rule of law, political analyst Jesus Cantu said. The result, in states like Tamaulipas that are particularly vulnerable to corruption, has been chaos. Photo credit: RAUL LLAMAS/AFP/Getty Images Basic income is a simple, futuristic idea: give everyone a salary, no matter if they have a job or not, and people will do meaningful, impactful work and poverty will be abolished. Sound utopian? It's about to get a test run, right here in the US of A. Y Combinator, a tech hub for young companies, is launching a pilot program that will grant a basic income to 100 Oakland residents for between six months to a year. Elizabeth Rhodes, the project's newly appointed research director for the project, told Motherboard that the tentative plan is to give participants between $1,000 and $2,000 a month. The goal is simply to see what will happen if they'll be happier, better off and more financially stable. "In our pilot, the income will be unconditional; we're going to give it to participants for the duration of the study, no matter what," Y Combinator wrote on its company blog on Tuesday. "People will be able to volunteer, work, not work, move to another country anything. We hope basic income promotes freedom, and we want to see how people experience that freedom." Though basic income is popular among Silicon Valley futurists lately, the idea is hundreds of years old, and has been championed throughout history by people like Bertrand Russell and Martin Luther King Jr., who saw it as an ultimate solution to poverty. Martin Luther King Jr. saw basic income as an ultimate solution to poverty. Modern techies have a particular interest in basic income, because they're part of the reason we're going to need it. Robot automation of the American workforce is projected to cause massive unemployment: Most estimates say that about 45% of all jobs are at risk in the next two decades. "Although basic income seems fiscally challenging today, in a world where technology replaces existing jobs and basic income becomes necessary, technological improvements should generate an abundance of resources and the cost of living should fall dramatically," the blog post by Y Combinator read. Story continues So why do they want to run a small program for just a hundred people? Because no one knows what basic income will do to us. Revolution, or destruction? While basic income advocates day that a universal salary would bring about a creative renaissance and free the people of the world from wage slavery, some argue that if you take away the profit motive, people will simply stop working. It's an identical thesis to the age-old argument that welfare makes people lazy. The issue is, there's no respectable research that proves the thesis one way or the other. And YC isn't the only group that wants to test the hypothesis. Source: Getty Images GiveDirectly, a charity that gives direct cash transfers to individuals in Kenya and Uganda, is raising $30 million so that it can test an unprecedented 10-year program with 6,000 Kenyans. Finland could pass their own national basic income in an upcoming vote, and another pilot project in Germany similar to YC is going to give 26 people $1,100 every month. All of these people want to put basic income to the test. Because what people need before advocating for basic income never mind proposing real legislation is to know that it works, without disrupting the economy and creating widespread atrophy in the workforce. With every test, we get closer and closer to that truth. Bear tries to break into cars, internet cant stop giggling Bear tries to break into cars, internet cant stop giggling According to WJLA News in Gainesville, Virginia, a black bear has been spotted trying to break into cars at a local elementary school. The ABC affiliate says the bear has shown up for several days in a row, where apparently hes on the prowl for snacks in vehicles in the school parking lot. Oh Mr. Bear, what a smarty pants you are. Anyone whos ever spent five minutes in the company of little kids knows that they never go anywhere without snacks. The cars in that parking lot are basically Cheerios on wheels. (You know were right.) If Mr. Bear is lucky, hell stumble upon an SUV with a juice box under the front seat. Officials at Tyler Elementary School arent crazy about a bear roaming around on school grounds, even if said bear is a genius opportunist. They sent a letter home to parents letting them know about the criminal wild animal and asking them not to feed the bear if they see it hanging around. WJLA News picked up the story (because bears) and tweeted it. Since then, the internet cannot stop laughing. Twitter users just cant bear it. (Come on. You know you laughed or was that an eyeroll?) Heres the original tweet: #BREAKING: Bear trying to break into cars at Tyler Elementary School. ABC7News (@ABC7News) May 31, 2016 And here are a few of our favorite witty responses: RT @ABC7News #BREAKING: Bear trying to break into cars at Tyler Elementary School pic.twitter.com/xeDZpFIilL Lincoln Hamilton (@LHamiltonPP) May 31, 2016 Were pretty sure this type of thing is why the internet was invented in the first place. Is it wrong that were sort of hoping the bear sticks around as long as people are tweeting about it? *blushing emoji* The post Bear tries to break into cars, internet cant stop giggling appeared first on HelloGiggles. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102357%2fbears It's 2016, and bears have more than human enemies to face they now have social media. Earlier today, ABC7 reported that an unspecified number of bears were trying to break into parked cars at Tyler Elementary School in Gainesville, Virginia. This isn't the first time there have been multiple bear sightings this week but people on social media responded with alarm, confusion, and bear-appropriate GIFs. As Twitter does. SEE ALSO: GoPro shows man tickling bear because sports are no longer enough A letter sent by school officials to parents this week advised parents of the bear sightings. Bears are indigenous to the Gainesville community and do not impose immediate harm until approached. Twitter responded to the sudden outbreak of crime among bears with a series of hilarious puns, GIFS, and emoji. Read, and bear with me. Police are encouraging everyone to keep food out of their cars. Bears: they just want to snack like the rest of us. PARIS (Reuters) - Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens reached her first grand slam quarter-final when she outpaced American 15th seed Madison Keys 7-6(4) 6-3 at the French Open on Wednesday. World number 58 Bertens often had the extra shot against Keys, setting up a meeting with Swiss eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky for a place in the last four. In a match that should have started on Monday but was delayed following two days of rain at Roland Garros, Bertens broke to lead 3-2 in the opening set. Keys broke back to force a tiebreak but she could not prevent Bertens, who won the Nuremberg claycourt tournament last month, from claiming the set after the Dutchwoman produced some stunning angled winners. Bertens stole her opponent's serve again in the fourth game of the second set and held throughout, ending the contest on the first match point with a backhand passing shot. Bertens said that although she felt a little sore because of the heavy balls, she adapted well to the heavy conditions on another gloomy day. "It's really different. I think I feel it already a little bit in my shoulder. The balls are much heavier than the other days," she told reporters. "Also my shots were not like they would have been if the sun was out but I think still I did a pretty good job today." (Reporting by Julien Pretot,; Editing by Pritha Sarkar) looking into house at night Think it cant happen to you? More than 1.7 million burglaries strike U.S. homes every year, with the bad guys stealing an average of $1,600 in electronics, jewelry, and other possessions you hold dear. Yes, security systems are important in thwarting thieves, but they dont cover everything. You still need to be aware of your homes weak spots that criminals case out from afar. Check out these danger zones where a few simple changes will safeguard your home and everything in itincluding you! Your homes exterior appearance An unmowed lawn in summertime. A walkway covered in pristine snow. A driveway devoid of vehicles. Letters overflowing from the mailbox. The first thing burglars hunt for is a house that looks vulnerable from the street, says Paul Cromwell, a professor of public affairs at the University of South Florida, who interviewed scores of burglars for his book Breaking and Entering. If your home appears to be empty, theyll consider it a target. Have a trusted friend or neighbor collect your mail and maintain your homes exterior while youre away. Keep mum about your vacation on social media until your safe return (no emoji-laden Finally, leaving for two weeks in Hawaii!!! posts on Facebook, please). When you purchase expensive items or receive them as gifts, avoid leaving the evidencesuch as the box for your laptop or 90-inch LED-screen TVout in the open in your garbage area (where documents of interest to identity thieves should be shredded before being tossed). Trim shrubbery so it looks neat and hovers below your windows so it cant serve as a burglars hiding place or makeshift stepladder. Make sure the exterior is free of tools, which should be locked safely away. Doors Ideally, your doors should be constructed of solid-core metal, devoid of those lovely glass panes that can be easily brokenand equipped with sturdy double locks. Standard locks can be opened with a credit card, says Cromwell. You need a deadbolt lock that extends at least an inch and a half into the door frame, because youd practically have to kick down the door to get in. Story continues Consider a smart lock that enables you to open doors using a mobile device, keypad, or finger scan. And get a store-bought patio-door lock to replace the flimsy (and yes, breakable) broomstick that youve wedged into your patio-door track. Make sure garage doorsand any entryways from the garage to the houseremain tightly locked. (And hide the cord that extends from the garage openers overhead cable, as burglars can yank it down to open the garage door.) Pay extra attention to securing doors that are below ground level. Thieves just love walk-out basements, says Scott Decker, a professor of criminology at Arizona State University in Phoenix and the co-author of Burglars on the Job. Theyre out of sight, muffle the sounds of break-ins, and often offer convenient spots where criminals can stash items, making off with them all at once. Windows Hang drapes or blinds in your windows to deter thieves from seeing what kind of loot lies inside. Near entryways, consider glass coated with a film that makes it difficult to break. Get storm windows, advises Decker. Shattering two panes of glass not only makes it more difficult to get in, but creates more noise that will prompt neighbors to call the police. Get deadbolt locks for your windows to complement the ones on your doors. And note that security grates or bars on windows can be a mixed blessing. Though they may deter thieves, they can pose a safety hazard if a fire or other emergency is blocking other exits in your homeand you cant find the grate key in your scramble to escape. Plus, theyre unattractive to buyers, who may wonder if the neighborhood is really that bad. Lights Install motion-detecting lights all around your house, and make sure you can adjust the sensitivity so they wont flip on (and freak you out) when a tree branch rustles in the wind. With compact fluorescent bulbs, these lights wont use too much extra energy. And note that while a security lighting system is important, theres actually less risk to your home at night. Nearly 70% of burglaries are committed during the daytime, when thieves know people arent around, says Cromwell. Lights can help, but you need to make sure you complete the full spectrum of safety measures in order to ward off thieves. Alarms If you do have an alarm system, you should post the alarm companys logo on your lawn and/or entrance. Generic alarm signs from hardware stores do nothing to deter experienced thieves, says Cromwell. Make sure you keep the system on at all timesa precaution many homeowners neglect to take. Also note that a dog can serve as a secondary (but not a substitute) alarm. My 15-pound, white bichon frise may look harmless, jokes Cromwell. But his bark is so loud that it can raise an alarm by attracting the attention of my neighbors down the street. The post Beware These Danger Zones That an Alarm System Wont Cover appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles Former President Bill Clinton campaigns for his wife, Hillary Clinton, at Edison High School in Edison, N.J., on May 27, 2016. (Photo: Dennis Van Tine/MediaPunch/IPX) CRANFORD, N.J. President Bill Clinton dismissed presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trumps policies as divisive and ineffective at a Wednesday campaign event for his wife, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Speaking at Union County College, Bill Clinton also said white, non-college-educated Americans who are widely seen as a core part of Trumps base need to be brought along to the future. Clinton began making his case by identifying a reason why this has been such a crazy political year. All over the world there is stagnant economic growth, stagnant incomes, rising inequality and deep arguments over what to do about our increasing diversity, Clinton said. This years election has delivered many surprises, including Trumps emergence from the GOP field. Clintons wife, who was initially viewed as the inevitable Democratic nominee, has also faced an unexpectedly strong primary challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Though Clinton attributed these unexpected results to tension and difficult economic realities in his speech, he argued that America remains the best positioned country for the future. He also presented a prescription for how to take advantage of that positioning. To do it, we have to build a future that is inclusive not divisive a future which has not only higher incomes but more upward mobility and less inequality, and one which recognizes our diversity because its the only way to honor our common humanity, Clinton said. Clinton criticized two of the most controversial elements of Trumps platform: building a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, and barring Muslim tourists and immigrants from entering the country. Though he took care not to name Trump, Clinton argued that these policies are misguided. We have been told over and over again in this election we ought to build a wall against Mexico, we ought to stop the Muslims from coming in, we want to do all this stuff, Clinton said as the crowd booed Trumps ideas. Let me tell you, all those people who want to do that and one in particular forget what the real security challenges we face are. Story continues Clinton went on to cite the December 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., as proof that fortified borders and immigration bans cant prevent terrorism. In the San Bernardino attack, a married couple opened fire at a holiday party for county workers, leaving 14 people dead and 22 injured. Clinton blamed online content for radicalizing the shooters. The last serious terrorist incident in the United States occurred in San Bernardino, Calif. Those people were converted over the internet, Clinton said. You can build all the walls you want. You can build them all across Canada; they got a bunch of foreigners in Canada. You could build a seawall in the Atlantic and a seawall in the Pacific. . And then you could send the Navy to the Gulf of Mexico to block anybody else, and put all the planes in the Air Force up. You could not keep out the social media. Clinton said he is really proud his wife has argued we need all people of all faiths, including Muslims who love freedom and hate terror, to help us improve the American idea. He went on to take a shot at Trumps slogan, Make America Great Again. Shes got the best vision: an inclusive, nondivisive America an America that is oriented towards our future greatness, not trying to reclaim a past that is past and gone, Clinton said, adding, And it wasnt so great for some people anyway. Somebody said theyre going to make America great again. They need to talk to the people for whom it wasnt so great. Clinton suggested that white, non-college educated Americans are the ones who want to reclaim the past. That group is widely seen as a crucial part of Trumps base of support. We all need to recognize that white, non-college-educated Americans have seen great drops in their income, have seen great increases in their unemployment rate, have seen drops in their life expectancy, and they need to be brought along to the future. But they cant live under the illusion that you can reclaim a past which is just that past. This country is always about the future, Clinton said. After his speech, Clinton greeted supporters along a rope line. Yahoo News asked if he read a column that was published by one of his former advisers, Doug Schoen, in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday evening. Clinton said he had not seen Schoens article. In his column, Schoen argued there is now more than a theoretical chance that Hillary Clinton may not be the Democratic nominee for president. It would be highly improbable for Sanders to perform well enough in the final June 7 state primaries to overcome Hillary Clintons pledged delegate lead. However, Schoen argued that a win by Sanders in California could lead delegates to back rule changes at the Democratic convention that would allow another nominee to emerge. The former president did not respond as Yahoo News explained the article to him. He also ignored a question from another reporter about whether Hillary Clinton could indeed lose in California. The RealClearPolitics poll average now shows Clinton with a more than 8-point lead over Sanders in the Golden State. On Tuesday, in addition to California, Democrats will vote in five other states, including New Jersey. The days contests are the final ones on the Democratic calendar other than the June 14 District of Columbia primary. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. BMRN announced that it has withdrawn a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for Kyndrisa (drisapersen) from the EU, following discussions with the European Medicines Agencys (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), which hinted at the issuance of a negative opinion. The company was seeking an approval for Kyndrisa for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), amenable to exon 51 skipping. BioMarin said that it will also discontinue the development of the three follow-on products of Kyndrisa BMN 044, BMN 045, and BMN 053 which are currently being evaluated in phase II studies for specific forms of DMD. Nevertheless, the company intends to work on the development of a transition plan for the patients who are currently being treated with these candidates. Meanwhile, the company stated that it will continue to develop next generation oligonucleotides for the treatment of DMD. Despite the fact that a MAA was withdrawn from the EU, BioMarin continues to expect to achieve break-even or better results in 2017. We remind investors that in Jan 2016, the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) related to the companys New Drug Application (NDA) for Kyndrisa for the same indication. The agency rejected the application, citing that Kyndrisa had failed to meet the standard of substantial evidence of effectiveness in treating DMD. DMD, a devastating and debilitating disease, is estimated to affect nearly 1 in every 3,5005,000 boys born across the world, indicating significant unmet need for treatments in this space. We note that Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. SRPT is also looking to get its DMD drug approved. Last week, the company announced that the FDA has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date for its DMD candidate, eteplirsen, which was scheduled for May 26. The agency reported that it intends to come up with a decision as early as possible. Currently, BioMarin carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY and ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP are a couple of better-ranked stocks in the health care sector, both sporting 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 BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOMARIN PHARMA (BMRN): Free Stock Analysis Report SAREPTA THERAP (SRPT): Free Stock Analysis Report ANI PHARMACEUT (ANIP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research BMW is refreshing its baby Gran Turismo family car to bring its exterior in line with the rest of the current 3 Series range while significantly improving the interior so that it feels as comfortable as it is practical. When the car goes on sale this summer, it will be available in three upgraded levels of trim -- Sport; Luxury; and M Sport -- plus a choice of three gasoline and five diesel engines. Depending on engine selection, the car can also be specified with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed Steptronic automatic transmission, meaning that regardless of trim level, when all powertrain options are taken into consideration there are essentially 18 different models in the range to chose from. And although the engines are all better and more efficient; regardless of the number of driven wheels or whether the transmission is manual or automatic, the GT's never had a powertrain issue. When the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo debuted three years ago, it was an attempt to be the automotive equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife -- a single car that met a host of different and often contrasting transportation needs. By making the vehicle 200mm longer than a standard 3 Series and by raising the roofline the car offers the lines and driving poise of a coupe, the practicality of a four-door sedan and a luggage capacity greater than that of the BMW 3 Series Touring station wagon. Yet it felt a little lacking in luxury considering its premium standing and the amount of interior space that comes from elevating the driving position. And seeing as the car has been a hit with families, particularly in the US and China and that for most owners it's been their first experience with the BMW brand, the company has been wise to rectify this perceived shortcoming. The cabin now has more wood, chrome trim and leather options and, significantly, the BMW Navigation System professional, a piece of equipment only available in the company's full size' cars until now, is now an option. In terms of standard equipment, regardless of trim level, all GTs will now come with automatic climate control, LED headlamps and fog lamps, a smartphone hands-free kit, a full HD color display with iDrive Controller, USB ports and Bluetooth for audio streaming. Boeing 737 MAX 9 The 737 is Boeing's bread-and-butter product. Over the past five decades, it has become the best-selling airliner of all time with more than 13,300 jets ordered in the model's history. But now, industry sources tell Reuters that Boeing may be ready to make significant changes to the 737 in order to fill a gaping hole in its product lineup left by the defunct 757. The rumored plan would call for a new version of the 737 nicknamed the "MAX 10," or the "Mad MAX." A Boeing representative declined to comment on the existence of the rumored jet. All of this stems from a decision the company made in 2004. In that year, Boeing discontinued the medium-range, twin-engine 757 after more than 20 years in production. A decade later, the aging but versatile 757 has now become a highly coveted asset for its operators. Unfortunately, airlines simply have not been able to find a new aircraft capable of delivering the range, performance, and profitability of the 757. Airbus' and Boeing's current offerings the A321neoLR and the 737 MAX 9 are widely seen as partial replacements for the 757, but are models adapted from smaller aircraft. Frantz Yvelin, CEO of boutique airline La Compagnie and a Boeing 757 operator, told Business Insider earlier this year that he believed Boeing made a "major mistake" when it put the plane out to pasture. Boeing's problems are compounded by the fact that the Airbus A321neo has outsold the 737 MAX 9 5-to-1. Although the company does not publicly break down the sales of the individual MAX variants, data from Flightglobal indicates that Boeing has sold only 224 MAX 9s. According to Airbus, it has 1,117 orders for the rival A321neo. Icelandair Boeing 757-200 As a result, Boeing is looking to close the performance and sales gaps between its MAX 9 and the Airbus by stretching the 737's airframe and bolting on larger engines. According to Reuters, Boeing is considering a plan to stretch the MAX 9's airframe so that its maximum seating capacity can match that of the A321neo's 240 seats. Story continues To compensate for the larger airframe, Boeing is reportedly planning to replace the plane's CFM LEAP 1B engines with the A321neo's more powerful LEAP 1A engines. Because there is a direct correlation between the diameter of a turbofan engine's fan blades and the amount of thrust the engine can produce, the more powerful 1A engine's fan blades have a diameter of 78 inches nine more than the 1B. Airbus A321neo WIZZ AIR Thus, this move will likely involve a redesign of the 737's landing gear. That's because the 737 was designed in the 1960s to be powered by Pratt & Whitney's JT8D engine with a much more compact fan diameter of 49 inches. Since then, Boeing has been bolting on larger and larger engines on the 737, but the under-wing space has not changed. The 737 has essentially maxed out on the engine size that can fit under its wings. As a result, Boeing will have to raise and relocate the plane's landing gear. Industry experts believe that the modification will likely cost Boeing up to $2 billion, according to Reuters. As steep as this price may be for Boeing, it is likely to be much less steep than building a new 757 replacement from scratch. NOW WATCH: Here's what happened when I took a 500 MPH ride in a real fighter jet More From Business Insider GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana is battling to repair its troubled 600 megawatt (MW)power station before a surge in power demand during the approaching winter season, its power supplier said on Wednesday. Built by China National Electric Engineering Company at a cost of $970 million, the power station was commissioned in 2012, but has often broken down due, leading to reliance on diesel generators and imports from neighbouring South Africa. In a statement, Botswana Power Corporation said demand is expected to rise from the current 530 MW to a projected 669 MW during the winter season, which runs between June and August. Only two units of the four units were operational producing 260 MW, the company said, adding that it was hoping to have all the units restored at the earliest possible time. The power utility projects it would import 190 MW. Botswana's power generation stands at 479 MW. Botswana is currently weighing an option to sell the troubled 600 MW power plant back to its Chinese developers, but a decision has not yet been taken. (Writing by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by James Macharia) DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish manufacturing activity grew at the slowest rate in almost three years in May, a survey showed on Wednesday, as fears about Britain's EU referendum weighed on the euro zone's fastest-growing economy. The Investec Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.5 in May from 52.6 in April. It remained above the 50 line that separates growth from contraction for a 36th month. The report's authors said that at least some of the poor performance in the sector was related to the June 23 referendum on Britain's place in the European Union and Sterling's recent weakness. "With momentum appearing to be building behind the 'Remain' campaign, sterling has recently begun to strengthen against the single currency, which augurs well for the near-term outlook for many Irish exporters," said Philip O'Sullivan, chief economist at Investec Ireland. "Assuming that our base case that UK voters choose to remain in the EU comes to pass, we suspect that conditions for Irish manufacturing firms should pick up in Q3 and beyond," he said. New export orders contracted after 34 months of consecutive growth, the survey found. Britain is Ireland's largest trading partner, with 1.2 billion euros worth of goods and services traded each week. Investec said around one-seventh of Irish merchandise exports go to Britain. The survey also showed pressure on margins, with input prices increasing while output prices continued to fall. The Irish economy outperformed the rest of the euro zone for the second time last year, with gross domestic product growing by 7.8 percent. The government has forecast growth of 4.9 percent this year. But the country was subject to months of political uncertainty after an inconclusive general election on Feb 26. before Prime Minister Enda Kenny was re-elected as head of a minority government earlier this month. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Hugh Lawson) The 2016 GOP Convention is officially less than one month away, but Donald Trump is still surprising us. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter columnist Michael Wolff, Trump waxed on his friendships ("Rupert Murdoch is a tremendous guy") and his voting record (did he ever vote for Bill Clinton? "I don't want to say."). While Trump makes even more headlines for his veteran's groups donations and gorilla death stance, here are the key revelations from his The Hollywood Reporter sit-down. He only visits his California home once a year but the freezer is still stocked. Trump's Beverly Hills mansion is an impressive colonial-style home, ranking in at 10,400-square feet across two buildings. He only visits it once a year. The media mogul was at the home, which is across from the Beverly Hills Hotel, to attend rallies ahead of California's primary. And, despite the fact that he gets so little use of it, himself, Trump had the fridge stocked with his favorites, according to Wolff: vanilla Haagen-Dazs ice cream and water bottles. He's currently reading a book about Hillary Clinton. Trump read a book about " Crooked Hillary?" Don't scoff it's happening! The businessman told Wolff that he's currently reading a book about the Democratic frontrunner by author Ed Klein likely his most recent on Clinton, 2015's Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary. "And I'm reading the book on Richard Nixon that was, well, I'll get you the exact information on it," Trump revealed of what else is on his bookshelf. "I'm reading a book that I've read before, it's one of my favorite books, All Quiet on the Western Front, which is one of the greatest books of all time." Brexit? 'Huh?' 5 Head-Scratching Things We Learned From Donald Trump's Latest Interview| 2016 Presidential Elections, politics, Donald Trump He might use a teleprompter during the GOP convention but he's not happy about it. Trump told The Hollywood Reporter that he's proud of the fact that he rarely relies on a teleprompter a skill that helps him work the crowd. "You got to look at them in the eye. Have you ever seen me speak in front of a large group of people? Have you ever watched?" Trump asked Wolff, noting of his previous time on television, "You have to have a natural ability." He acquiesced, however, that he will likely have to use a teleprompter at his acceptance speech at this summer's GOP Convention in Cleveland. He's not exactly well-versed on the "Brexit" "And Brexit? Your position?" Wolff asked. "Huh?" Trump retorted. "The Brits leaving the EU," Wolff eventually explained, finally prompting, "Oh yeah, I think they should leave." Brexit is shorthand for the U.K. leaving the European Union, a decision that will be made during June 23's referendum. He doesn't necessarily know who Peter Thiel is but he loves him. Wolff said that Trump needed to be reminded who Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire who backed Hulk Hogan's Gawker lawsuit, was before ultimately deciding that their connection was his daughter Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner. "Wow, I love him! So he funded it for Hulk Hogan? You think Hulk Hogan would have enough money, but he probably doesn't," Trump commented, before bragging about his social media prowess. By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Dawn, Friday, June 24. The votes are in. The British have spoken in their EU membership referendum and they want out. It is a scenario European leaders are now planning for in earnest while praying it never happens. Secret meetings in Brussels and across Europe reveal huge uncertainty, officials and diplomats familiar with the proceedings say, over what would follow a vote that British Prime Minister David Cameron calls a "leap in the dark" -- and also no little concern about what happens if Britain stays on. This is a rough roadmap to Europe after June 23, based on conversations with many diplomats and officials, few of whom speak of it in public for fear of inflaming debate in Britain: DAY 1 - FRIDAY, JUNE 24 - THE THREE R'S - OR MORE Polls close at 10 p.m.. No mainstream exit polls are planned but overnight counts should give a result by around the time the midsummer sun is coming up over Brussels. Aside from the result itself, there are already several big imponderables. Cameron says he will notify the EU "immediately" if Britain is leaving. But he may take at least a few days. If he has lost he will be under huge pressure from his divided Conservative party to resign. He might also be, even if he wins. Money markets will be volatile. The Bank of England and European Central Bank, with global allies, are assumed to have contingency plans to deal with a "Brexit shock" to sterling. Expect joint statements from EU founders Germany and France and from EU institutions. Look for a mantra of Three Rs: Regret - at losing nearly a fifth of the EU economy and more of its military and global clout; Respect - for the will of the British people; and Resolve - to forge ahead with European integration. "The show must go on," one senior EU official said. There may be a fourth message. Call it Reprisal, perhaps, though Britons should not take it personally; warnings of woe for those leaving will aim to discourage others from following suit. "Don't try this at home," was how one senior EU diplomat summed up the idea. There may be an element of spite, too. Some Europeans, sotto voce, may also feel Relief. Some in France fret at British blocking of federalist ideas and fear a British vote to remain could unleash a new push for a free-market EU. DAY 3 - SUNDAY, JUNE 26 - RALLYING ROUND THE EU FLAG After a Brexit vote, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will chair an emergency meeting of the executive's "college" of 28 commissioners, including Britain's Jonathan Hill, officials say. The Commission will be responsible for negotiating the divorce settlement between London and Brussels. EU officials insist there is no "Plan B" in place for Brexit. But, recalling the same denials during last summer's narrowly avoided Grexit during the Greek debt crisis, one speaks of a "Room B", where a fire-fighting team of EU lawyers and experts will be ready. "The idea is to have everything ready for Monday," the EU official said. The start of a new week on global financial markets will see investors and voters demanding answers on where Britain and the EU are heading. Expect both to offer assurances of orderly talks, while nothing changes immediately, for firms or citizens. DAY 5 - TUESDAY, JUNE 28 - "DAVID, ARE YOU LEAVING NOW?" A 24-hour EU summit is scheduled. After a Brexit vote, his political career may be over but Cameron would likely stay on at least until his deeply divided party elects a successor. He would be expected to appear for dinner in Brussels. Big question - would he notify summit chair Donald Tusk that he is triggering Article 50 of the EU, the legal basis for Britain to leave the Union? In London, pro-Brexit would-be successors may try to play for time. Until Britain declares its hand, the EU would stall, though many would be impatient to make clear there will be no new talks to try and keep it in. If Cameron secures a referendum win, the summit will discuss quickly enacting the reform package he won in March to give Britain a special deal to stem EU immigration. DAY 6 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29 - "PLEASE WAIT OUTSIDE, DAVID." Day Two of the summit and, if it is to be Brexit, leaders of the 27 other states will confer without Cameron in the room - a pattern Britons will have to get used to. Article 50 sets a two-year limit on divorce talks. The EU must fill a Britain-sized hole in its budget and reassure millions of EU citizens living in Britain and Britons on the continent of their future rights. EU leaders, notably Germany and France, may push for a quick show of unity on more integration. Divisions between Berlin and Paris on managing the euro zone probably rule out a big move on that front before both hold elections in 2017. Closer EU defence cooperation, without sceptical Britain, may be revived. A major EU security policy review is already on the summit agenda. Other initiatives, aimed at blunting Marine Le Pen's far-right, eurosceptic bid for the French presidency in 2017, could include a push to stimulate job creation, especially among the young. "Brexit or not, we have to think about what comes next," French Finance Minister Michel Sapin told Reuters. "France will speak. Germany expects us to. We'll need to ... work together and not alienate the others from a Franco-German initiative." The Council of EU leaders must give the executive Commission a negotiating mandate. Some in Britain see exit discussions lasting longer than two years. But an extension requires an EU unanimity that few in Brussels expect. Some suggest talks with Britain on its future trade terms can run in parallel to the exit talks. Juncker, who spoke to reporters over lunch in Paris on Tuesday, ruled that out: "After the two years, we'll negotiate relations with a blank slate," he said. FROM DAY 7 - NOTHING (AND EVERYTHING) CHANGES; HELLO ESTONIA After a Brexit vote, all EU laws apply in Britain until two years after London starts the process to leave. Then none would apply. Meanwhile, British lawmakers sit in the EU parliament, Hill in the Commission, thousands of Britons would go on working as EU civil servants and British ministers sit in EU councils. But they will have no real voice and Britain plans to renounce its EU presidency in the second half of 2017; Estonia would come forward to start its first stint in the chair six months early. Some also see heavy pressure to exclude British MEPs from a say on EU laws and to deprive Hill, a Cameron appointee, of his sensitive portfolio overseeing financial services regulation. Whatever the referendum's outcome, a host of other EU plans, shelved for fear of alienating British voters, will come out of cold storage, including energy-saving rules to limit the power of toasters and kettles. Dealing with the fallout from a Swiss referendum on EU migration and a Dutch rejection of the EU trade deal with Ukraine will get back on track, as will a review of the EU's seven-year budget. If Britain votes to stay in, some, notably in France, fear a new British-led push to free up EU markets and rein in regulation. Others doubt that Cameron, if he survives at all, would have much appetite for deeper EU engagement amid post-referendum Conservative blood-letting. A post-Brexit relationship between Britain and the EU is the great unknown. Many EU leaders, wary of eurosceptic voters at home, are determined Britain cannot have access to EU trade and financial markets if it wants to keep out EU workers. "All four freedoms, or none," is how EU officials refer to free movement of goods, services, capital and labour in the EU treaty. Others put it more even starkly: "Out means out." New trade barriers would hurt both sides' economies. But the EU fears a political "domino effect" would cost more long-term. Brexit would "break a taboo", Juncker says: "If others open the door, inspired by the British model, we'll see a stream of referendums, depriving the European project of all credibility." END OF THE ROAD? Leaders have much else on their plates to distract them from negotiating with Britain, including Russia, the euro, jobs and refugees. London may have other priorities, too, not least the likelihood europhile Scotland would bid again to break away. There is a "Brussels consensus" that Britain would face a chilly future, cast out after two years to perhaps talk its way back later into some kind of trade access in return for many of the things -- notably free migration from inside the bloc and contributions to the EU budget -- which Brexit voters want to end. But cautious diplomats do not rule out surprise turns. EU law may seem clear but EU leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel included, are loath to see Britain go and may yet seek a way to keep it in, whatever the vote on June 23. "Will Merkel really shut the door?" a senior EU diplomat said. "It may seem clear-cut in Brussels. But in politics, never say never." (Additional reporting by Paul Taylor, Ingrid Melander, Emmanuel Jarry and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris; Editing by Peter Graff) Stanford Business School graduate student Chika Okoro came across casting calls for the female actresses for Straight Outta Compton and saw they were ranked into four categories. The most desirable A-girls were described as Beyonce-like, while the last D-girls were "African-American, poor, not in good shape must have a darker skin tone." What Okoro had just come across was colorism, or "the discrimination of those with a darker skin tone, typically amongst individuals within the same racial or ethnic group," as she said in her TEDxStanford talk. It's systematic to and perpetuated by the media, and it sets damaging and unattainable beauty standards to younger generations. Okoro called colorism "just as sinister and subtle as racism." Source: TEDx Talks/YouTube Colorism is seen in photoshopped magazine covers, beauty products and movies, where there's a lack of darker-skinned actors. When trying to join an elite club, fraternity or sorority, people often have to pass tests that are dripping in colorism. The pencil test is when a pencil can pass through soft, silky hair. The brown paper bag test is when someone's skin tone is lighter than a standard brown paper bag. When she was younger, Okoro would always hear, "You're so pretty for a dark-skinned girl." Source: SEYLLOU DIALLO/Getty Images The roots of colorism dates back to the days of American slavery and slave masters who would give preferential treatment to children of mixed race. That racial hierarchy continues to this day. It also isn't just in the United States: In Asia, skin-lightening products have created a multi-billion dollar industry, proving that lighter skin is considered better when it comes to romantic and career pursuits. Even Okoro wondered about her own intentions when it came to beauty products made to mimic Anglo features, such as her extensions. But, as beauty standards are constructed, they can be deconstructed as well and that's up to those in the media and consumers of the media. Story continues "We don't have to passively accept what society tells us is beautiful we can question it and we can challenge the status quo because when we do we get one step closer to broadening the standard of beauty," she said. Buyers beware. Home sellers may be using surveillance cameras to record potential buyers. Surprise, home buyers: You might be on hidden camera. You may believe youre having private discussions about the merits of a homeowners wallpaper, the ugly, orange tiles in the bathrooms, or the to-die-for bay windows as you tour a residence. But what people often dont realize is that those surveillance cameras in the hallways may be turned on, according to Bankrate.com. And that smiling teddy bear in the corner? He may be taping everything you say. Even the not-so-neurotic sellers often want to know exactly who wants to buy their homes, what they dont like about them, and just how far theyve fallen in love with the residences (useful information when it comes to negotiations), say real estate agents. And what better way to find out than to play Big Brother? Its not unusual to see a camera at the edge of a playroom, says Atlanta real estate agent Jen Engel. But people dont realize theyre on. Engel once represented a seller who used a nanny cam to record everything potential buyers said about the sellers home. Engel learned of it after the property sold. They want to know what people dont like, says Engel. They want to know if theres an issue theyre not being told about. The cameras are most likely legal, although the laws can vary by state, says Indiana University law professor Fred Cate. Its against the law to record someone on audio or video if theyre in a situation in which they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, [such as in] a changing room or a locker room or a bathroom, says Cate, author of Privacy in the Information Age. But when youre in somebody elses house with a real estate agent, its a little harder to argue you really have an expectation of privacy. For sellers, getting that honest (if ethically murky) feedback can inspire them to make changessuch as replacing that 70s kitchen flooring or putting in new carpeting. Story continues It can also be valuable during negotiations to know just how much buyers want the homeand how much they said theyd be willing to pay for those properties when they thought no one else was listening. Thats why Houston Realtor Greg Nino cautions his Re/Max Compass clients to play their hands close their vests and not say anything that could potentially be used against themfrom commenting on the family pictures on the wall to gushing about how they finally found their dream home. Ive had sellers actually go and spy on buyers to see if they are the kind of people they want living in their house, Janine Acquafredda, a Brooklyn, NYbased associate broker at House-N-Key Realty, told Bankrate.com. But Boston real estate broker Douglas Bray of Century 21 Cityside doubts thats common. Whats important is if someone is financially qualified and capable of purchasing the home, he says. Of course, sellers may simply feel nervous about having strangers in their home, amid their possessions, and want some measure of security. If the home has precious works of art [or other valuables], then by all means, I think cameras are an important part of the home-selling process, Bray told realtor.com. But its important that people be told there are cameras present. Thats just useful in making everyone feel comfortable. The post Buyers Beware: You May Be Under Surveillance appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles TLC has renewed the popular docuseries "Cake Boss" for an eighth and ninth season, with a total of 30 more episodes, Multichannel reports. "Cake Boss" follows pastry chef Buddy Valastro and his team including his four sisters, two brothers-in-law and cousins, as they run the family bakery. The show has a large, engaged fan base around the world, and will be returning on TLC in the US as well as on Discovery Networks International channels in over 220 countries. Alongside "Cake Boss," Buddy Valastro will also star as host and judge of Brazil's "Kitchen Wars," a competition to find the country's most talented amateur cook. He has signed for 13 hour-long episodes, set to debut June 28 on TV Record and July 1 on Discovery Home & Health Brazil. When a Pennsylvania District Judge ruled on May 24 that entertainer Bill Cosby will stand trial on sexual assault criminal charges, it was a huge legal blow to the 78-year-old comedian. But the day-to-day fall-out from the case had long since taken a toll, a source close to the Cosby family tells PEOPLE. "He doesn't have his life anymore," the source says. "He has not lost his sense of humor and he has not become morose. But he is somber and there's been a physical toll - his walking is halting and he can seem downtrodden." While Camille Cosby, 71, continues to stand by her husband of 51 years even as more than 50 women have accused him of sexually assaulting and/or drugging them over the years, the ongoing ordeal has not been easy. "Of course it's very painful for Camille to go through this," says the source. "They have been married for over 50 years and she loves hima For both of them, it's a nightmare every day." For more on Andrea Constand, the woman at the center of the criminal case against Bill Cosby, pick up PEOPLE on stands Friday Camille Cosby Determined to Stand By Husband After Judge Orders Trial on Criminal Sexual Assault Charges| Crime & Courts, Sexual Assault/Rape, True Crime, Bill Cosby The nightmare won't be over any time soon. With Cosby facing criminal charges and a trial for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, 43, while she was a Temple University employee in 2004, the case will certainly drag on for the foreseeable future. Cosby and his attorneys have steadfastly denied the allegations from Constand, insisting the sexual contact was consensual, as well as those leveled by dozens more accusers. (While Cosby is fighting other civil cases involving similar accusations, he has only been charged criminally in Constand's case.) New revelations came to light on May 20 when a federal judge unsealed Cosby's depositions in Constand's civil suit, which he settled with her in late 2006. The depositions, which now are apart of a defamation lawsuit filed against Cosby by seven women claiming he drugged and sexually assaulted them, include his admission that he gave quaaludes to women and had sex with at least two teenaged girls. As long as the legal case continues to play out, Cosby is expected to remain largely out of the public eye and, to his disappointment, off the stage. "One of his greatest joys is performing and he can't do that or play an arena anymore," the source tells PEOPLE. "That's been taken away from him." The Gilded Age mansions of the East Coast owe their existence to moguls who amassed fortunes by forging steel, running railroads, or spanning the country with telegraph and later telephone wires. But as you move west, youll find equally impressive estates that owe their existence to different engines of wealthnamely cattle and oil. Such is the case with this 13,457-square-foot mansion on the market for $3.5 million in Wichita, KS. The propertywith 17 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, and three half-baths spread out over the Richardsonian Romanesquestyle main house and carriage housewas constructed from 1886 to 1888 by Burton Harvey Campbell, known locally as Barbecue Campbell. Campbell made his first fortune in lumber on the East Coast, but he eventually moved west and became a major figure in the cattle trade. Campbell catle better exterior After visiting castles in Scotland, he wanted a home that reflected the structures hed seen, explains listing agent Marilyn Hoffman. So he commissioned a Boston architect to build a castle on 2 acres on the banks of the Little Arkansas River. Campbell Castle was passed on to other owners after Campbells death in the early 1900s, even serving as a high school for a time, before the current owners bought it in 1994 and began a $2 million restoration, Hoffman explains. Campbell castle interior Today the home is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is like going back in time, Hoffman says. Original floors made of walnut, maple, and Canadian mahogany have been restored. Fireplaces that date hundreds of years, shipped in during the original construction, are placed throughout the house as is original stained glass. But the home also includes modern amenities such as air conditioning, six whirlpool tubs, and a two-car garage. Campbell castle master bath The main house is 10,457 square feet with 13 bedrooms and 15.5 bathrooms. It has a basement apartment that can be used for live-in staff. Theres also a four-bedroom carriage house, where the owners live. The owners had operated the main house as a bed-and-breakfast for 13 years while also renting it out for special events, including parties for hundreds of guests, Hoffman says. A new owner could again operate it as a B&B and special events venue. Story continues The home would also make a perfect corporate headquarters, Hoffman says, or simply a luxurious home for someone who wants to live as original owner Campbell once did. And if they do, they should be sure to hold a barbecue or two in his honor. The post Campbell Castle in Wichita: Just the Place for a Little Upscale Barbecue appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles Ottawa (AFP) - Canada has added a powerful synthetic opioid police describe as 10,000 times stronger than morphine to its list of controlled substances, the health ministry announced Wednesday. The ban of W-18 follows the first reported overdose death from the drug in Canada last month. It makes the production, possession and trafficking of W-18 illegal. "Evidence shows that W-18 has been used recreationally in Europe and Canada over the past two years," Health Canada said in a statement. "It has been found in samples seized by Canadian law enforcement that were made to appear like legitimate prescription tablets, such as oxycodone." Developed in the 1980s as a potential pain reliever, W-18 was never marketed commercially and has no legitimate use, the ministry said. The drug can cause serious injury and death if abused. A 35-year-old man who overdosed in March had taken W-18 mixed with heroin and other narcotics, the authorities confirmed last month. In April, Canadian police announced the seizure of four kilograms of W-18 in Edmonton, Alberta. Pills containing the opioid turned up a month later in a Kelowna, British Columbia drug bust. By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada on Wednesday pressed China about a Canadian citizen charged with spying and also raised the need to improve human rights around the world, Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said. Dion, part of the new Liberal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that while Canada wanted closer trade ties with China, it would not hesitate to speak out on sensitive matters. In January, China indicted Canadian citizen Kevin Garratt on charges of spying and stealing state secrets. He was detained in August 2014 near China's sensitive border with North Korea. "The case ... of Mr Garratt has been raised by the prime minister and by myself," Dion told reporters after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. "We never miss an opportunity to raise human rights, but the details should not be revealed publicly for the sake of Mr. Garratt. It's something the two governments will have to work together (on)," he said. Canada wanted to improve human rights globally and therefore had to talk to China, which has a sixth of the world's population, Dion said. A Trudeau spokesman declined to answer when asked about the prime minister's talks with Wang on Garratt. Wang did not mention the Garratt case but said through an interpreter that it was "normal and natural for our two countries to disagree on some issues." He did, however, criticize a female Canadian reporter who had asked about human rights problems in China, accusing her of displaying an unacceptable arrogance. Trudeau wants closer trading ties with China and other fast-developing nations to help boost a sluggish Canadian economy. Wang said he had told Dion that China wanted to speed up the process of starting talks on a free trade deal. Dion stressed the need for closer ties but did not mention free trade. Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources in Ottawa said Trudeau plans to visit China for a week in the run-up to a Sept. 4-5 Group of 20 Summit in Hangzhou. Details of the trip have not been finalized. The Liberals took power last November after defeating the Conservatives, who had an uneven relationship with China. Wang hailed Trudeau's victory, noting that his father - former Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau - was in office when Canada established diplomatic relations with China in 1970. The Conservatives complained about China's human rights record, accused Chinese hackers of cyber espionage and curbed investment by state-owned enterprises in the energy sector. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Alan Crosby) Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook attends a session during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/Files Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says that Peter Thiel will stay on Facebook's board. Thiel, Facebook's longest-serving board member, recently revealed that he has been funding lawsuits against Gawker, including one by Hulk Hogan that resulted in a $140 million jury verdict against the publication. Thiel's actions could be seen to contradict Facebook's past defenses of free speech, as Business Insider's Matt Rosoff and others have written. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post and is an investor in Business Insider, also criticized Thiel's actions. But Facebook demurred. "Peter did what he did on his own," Sandberg said. "We didn't know about it." She continued to say that Thiel's strong views make him a valuable board member. "We have very different board members with very different thoughts," she said. "Those people make good board members because they have strong views that they're not afraid to show ..." She also said that CEO Mark Zuckerberg won't publicly address Thiel's actions, even though he did publicly denounce the words of board member Marc Andreessen earlier this year. The difference: Andreessen looked like he was speaking for Facebook in commenting on its Free Basics program in India, while Thiel's actions aren't related to Facebook. NOW WATCH: I found 9 years' worth of messages hidden in my secret Facebook inbox More From Business Insider By Leah Schnurr OTTAWA, June 1 (Reuters) - Even with some parts of the Canadian economy operating near capacity, economists say business investment is unlikely to pick up soon because many companies are wary about the outlook for growth. Canadian business investment fell again in the first quarter, gross domestic product data released on Tuesday showed, the fifth straight quarterly decline, which weighed on economic growth. The business investment decline, heavily influenced by the oil price slump, contributed to Canada's slip into a mild recession last year. Stronger business investment, along with a pick up in exports, is key to the central bank's outlook. Weak global and Canadian growth expectations mean businesses do not need to invest as much in expanding their operations as they might have otherwise, said Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management. Additionally, there has been a shift toward risk aversion and away from investing for growth, he said. "Sometimes that means leaving something on the table in terms of growth opportunities and I think that is still very much central to business decision making around the world right now," Lascelles said. The Bank of Canada said in April it expects business fixed investment will take 0.8 percentage points off economic growth this year before contributing modestly in 2017. It more recently noted investment and intentions remain disappointing. Lascelles expects the bank may have to lower that forecast, possibly in its next monetary policy report in July. The bank had highlighted that some sectors, such as wood products and transportation equipment, are operating at capacity utilization rates that are close to historical highs, suggesting they will need to invest in factories and equipment as demand increases. But companies may wait to see that the demand is there first, given the risk that the U.S. economy does not rebound from a weak first quarter as strongly as anticipated. Story continues That means any bump up in spending in the near-term may be modest, if it comes at all. "Autos are running flat out and the problem with that is it doesn't look as though there's any more investment coming on that front," said Benjamin Reitzes, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, pointing to a fourth-quarter capacity utilization rate of 97.8 percent for the transportation sector. "That high number does not portend new investment, unfortunately." While there may be some bright spots outside the energy sector, the drag from the commodity slump is going to be a bigger weight on overall business investment, said Bill Adams, senior international economist for PNC Financial Services Group. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by David Gregorio) OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Cabinet minister Hunter Tootoo, who was in charge of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, resigned on Tuesday to seek treatment for addiction issues. Tootoo, 52, became the first minister to quit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Cabinet since his Liberal government took power last autumn. Tootoo, a member of Parliament for the sparsely populated northern territory of Nunavut, said he resigned his Cabinet post and would also be stepping down as a member of the Liberal caucus "in order to not distract from the important work of my colleagues." "I have decided to seek treatment for addiction issues and ask for privacy at this time," Tootoo said in a statement. He did not specify the type of addiction. Trudeau said in a brief statement announcing the resignation that Dominic Leblanc would assume Tootoo's responsibilities while maintaining his role as government house leader. (Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Writing and additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Calgary; Editing by Peter Cooney) A screenwriter and comic book creator from a prominent Canadian family was charged on Tuesday in the murder of his girlfriend, whose body was found mutilated and drained of blood in the couple's West Hollywood apartment, PEOPLE confirms. Blake Leibel, 35, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, mayhem, aggravated mayhem and torture, his publicist tells PEOPLE. He was charged in connection with the death of 30-year-old Iana Kasian, who died between May 23 and May 26, authorities say. "This is a serious matter," Leibel's attorney Alaleh Kamran said in a statement. "Mr. Leibel's defense team requests that the public and media respect his right to a fair hearing in court." The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced the charges in a statement on Tuesday, noting that Leibel faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. "Kasian was tortured and mutilated before she was killed and all of her blood was drained from her body," Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef said. Canadian Heir Charged with Torture and Murder of Girlfriend in West Hollywood: 'All of Her Blood Was Drained from Her Body'| Crime & Courts, Death, Murder, True Crime, True Crime Kasian's mother reported her missing last month, prompting Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies to go to the couple's apartment on May 26 where they found Kasian unresponsive in a bedroom, suffering blunt force trauma injuries to the head, according to a police statement. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Sheriff's homicide Lt. Dave Coleman told reporters then that Leibel was inside the apartment at the time, KTLA reports. "He had barricaded himself in the apartment, had placed furniture and bedding all around a to prevent us from entering," Coleman said. Authorities said that the couple have a child together, but the baby was with a family friend at the time, according to KTLA. Leibel is being held without bail and is schedule to appear in court on June 14, Bragman says. Less than a week before the body was found, Leibel was arrested for sexual assault, Mokayef told the Los Angeles Times. He was arrested on May 20 and later released on $100,000 bail, jail records confirm. Leibel is the son of Lorne Leibel, a prominent real estate developer in Toronto and former Olympic athlete he competed in sailing in the 1976 Olympics, according to the Times. Leibel moved to California in 2004 and received $1.7 million in monthly allowances from his family over eight years, the Times reports. By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The Western Canadian province of Saskatchewan, hit hard by weak crude oil and potash prices, expects a C$434 million ($331.68 million) deficit in 2016-17, the government said on Wednesday as it released the year's budget. Premier Brad Wall's right-leaning Saskatchewan Party government plans to spend C$14.5 billion on revenue of C$14 billion in Canada's biggest canola- and wheat-growing province. Both figures are up 1 percent for the year that began April 1. "There are years when unforeseen events drops in the price of oil or potash, or costly natural disasters make it prudent to run a manageable deficit rather than implement severe cuts to programs and services or increase the tax burden," Finance Minister Kevin Doherty said in a statement. "This is one of those years." For fiscal 2015-16, which ended March 31, Saskatchewan ran a C$427 million deficit, its first in two decades. The Sask Party government plans to return to a surplus in 2017-18. Wall, the province's charismatic premier since 2007, led his Sask Party to its third straight election victory in April. Saskatchewan's real gross domestic product will grow 0.4 percent in 2016, the third-slowest among the 10 provinces, due to its ties to the slumping energy sector, according to a TD Economics forecast in April. Saskatchewan estimated the price of West Texas Intermediate oil would average $40.50 per barrel in 2016, down from $48.79 last year. Production is expected to fall 7 percent to 164.5 million barrels, the government said. The province forecast average potash prices of $205.10 per tonne in 2016, down sharply from $274.85 last year. Production is likely to be flat, it added. Saskatchewan is working on revising its complex potash royalty formula by the end of 2016. The province is the home of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan. Rivals Mosaic Co and Agrium Inc also operate potash mines there. Revenue from non-renewable resources, which includes oil and potash, is forecast to fall 19 percent in 2016/17 to C$1.5 billion, the lowest in 13 years. Saskatchewan, with a population 1.1 million, expects total public debt to climb to C$14.8 billion, up C$1.2 billion, by the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2017. Neighboring province Manitoba on Tuesday forecast a C$911-million deficit for this year. ($1 = 1.3085 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Richard Chang) Mogadishu (AFP) - Gunmen holed up in a central Mogadishu hotel for more than 12 hours killed at least 10 people in the latest attack in Somalia by the Al-Qaeda group, the Shabaab. A huge car bomb that tore the front off the six-storey Ambassador Hotel in the heart of the capital signalled the start of the assault on Wednesday evening, with shooting continuing until Thursday morning when Somalia's security minister declared the attack over. "All the gunmen were killed by the security forces," said security minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed. "More than 10 people are so far confirmed dead and many others are wounded," he told reporters, adding that rescuers were searching the badly-damaged building for survivors and bodies. The toll is expected to rise as rescue and recovery efforts continue Thursday. Medical sources said that around 40 people were so far known to be injured. As Mohamed spoke, the bodies of three suspected attackers were displayed in the dirt outside the hotel. The Shabaab was quick to claim responsibility for the attack and has regularly in the past targeted hotels popular with government officials and wealthy Somalis. - Attacks expected to escalate - The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which protects the internationally-backed government and fights the Shabaab, said two parliamentarians were among the dead. Witnesses said the initial explosion, believed to be the result of a suicide car bomber ramming a vehicle into the hotel, was large by Mogadishu standards. Smoke rose from burning cars and debris was strewn across Maka al-Mukarama, the capital's usually busy main street. Mohamed Elmi, who was nearby at the time, said the blast "destroyed the whole area." After the blast an unknown number of gunmen then entered the hotel. Gunfire continued throughout the night and could still be heard at dawn on Thursday. - US-backed raid on Kenya mastermind - The Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda group, lost its foothold in the capital in 2011 but continues its battle to overthrow the Somali government and launches regular attacks on military, government and civilian targets in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Story continues Violence is expected to increase with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan next week, a time when Shabaab traditionally ups the tempo of its attacks. Also on Wednesday, Somali special forces backed by US troops claimed to have killed Mohamed Mohamud Ali -- also known as Dulyadin and Kuno -- the suspected organiser of an attack on a university in Garissa, Kenya, in April 2015 that killed 148 people, mostly students. The Garissa attack was the deadliest in Kenya since the Al-Qaeda bombing of the US embassy in 1998 and was carried out by four gunmen, all of whom died. "Sixteen armed men, four of them senior commanders including Mohamed Mohamud Ali... were killed by the Somali commandos and the special forces of Jubaland," said Abdirashid Janan, security minister for Jubaland, a federal state in southern Somalia. "US forces supported this Somali-led operation in an advise-and-assist role," US defence spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza said in a statement, saying that "the operation may have resulted in the death" of Ali. The US also said it had killed a senior Shabaab planner, Abdullahi Haji Da'ud, in a drone strike on May 27, the latest in an increasing number of air strikes and US-led or US-backed raids in Somalia targeting Shabaab leaders and recruits. "Da'ud was one of Shabaab's most senior military planners and served as a principal coordinator of militia attacks in Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. He said Da'ud was "presumed killed". By Karl Plume June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. agricultural trader Cargill Inc said Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire Five Star Custom Foods, Ltd, a Texas-based company specializing in cooked protein products, soups and sauces for restaurants and food processors. Cargill did not disclose terms of the deal, but said it expected the transaction to be finalized this summer after a regulatory review. The 151-year-old grain trader has recently been refocusing its operations by exiting lower-margin businesses and expanding deeper into higher-margin endeavors, like food ingredients and aquaculture, to capitalize on consumer trends such as simpler ingredient labels. The company sold its U.S. pork business last year. The Five Star acquisition includes facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, that currently produce products including meat toppings for pizza, pulled pork and chili. "Adding Five Star Custom Foods to Cargill's protein business will provide us with new capabilities we currently do not have, while allowing us to be more nimble in our ability to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers and consumers," Brian Sikes, vice president of Cargill's protein businesses, said in a statement. Cargill bought a ground beef plant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2012 and owns a cattle feed yard in nearby Bovina, Texas. It also operates beef and turkey processing facilities in the state and a food distribution center in San Antonio, which will complement the Five Star acquisition, Cargill spokesman Mike Martin said. (Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago, editing by G Crosse) (Photo: Instagram) Star Wars Carrie Fisher has had a lot of fun over the years describing just how awful her ridiculously revealing slave bikini costume was in 1983s Return of the Jedi. If you stood behind me, you could see straight to Florida, she told Star Wars Insider magazine in 2003. Youll have to ask Boba Fett about that. In a 1999 Newsweek piece, she described the outfit as what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of hell and said, I wasnt quite girl-next-door material; I was the girl-next-dogstar, the one in the titanium thong. Fisher in Return of the Jedi (Everett) Apparently her feelings arent all bad though, because Fisher and her constant companion Gary the French bulldog took some time out to visit Madame Tussauds in London, where theres a re-creation of Jabba the Hutts throne room, including a remarkable likeness of Princess Leia in her skimpy slave getup. (Fisher, whose character Leia got a promotion to General in The Force Awakens, will next appear in 2017s Episode VIII.) The result? Some tongue-wagging from Gary and a couple priceless new photos. As one Twitter user tweeted back at Fisher, #stillahottie. Inspector Koh (Shane Mardjuki in The Hush. (Mediacorp Channel 5) Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. Hes also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own. The Hush is Channel 5s latest drama is about the upheaval in the lives of residents after the death of a stranger in the swimming pool. The repercussions of the mystery are felt by every single person in the condominium, which shares the same name as the title of the show. The mystery serves as a catalyst for the unravelling of the lives of the people in the condominium itself, said executive producer and creator of the series Lee Thean-jeen, 47, who also wrote and directed several episodes in the 13-episode drama. Lee was the executive producer of the popular legal drama The Pupil, as well as its spinoff, Code of Law. Adam (Awad Salim) in The Hush. (Mediacorp Channel 5) From the hush to dialogue Its not uncommon in Western dramas, said Lee of the premise of the show. But what I wanted to do was to explore such a situation in a Singaporean, an Asian context. Would people become pantang or be worried about the price of their units? Or would they be concerned about who the boy was? We wanted to ask the question, what would happen in Singapore, and to delve into it in a very local context. The Hush sees a large array of Singaporean characters that come from all walks of life lawyers, students, civil servants, teachers. The only link that they have is that they stay in the same condominium. A lot of local dramas revolve around people living in HDB flats, and we thought it would be interesting to have a peep into the lives of condominium dwellers, as theyre of a slightly different profile, said Lee. While the show is classified as drama, it also has elements of a mystery, a thriller, and plenty of character drama in it. But is it based on Lees personal experiences? Story continues Every show is biographical in some way, whether it be emotionally or narratively, shared Lee. Nelson (Remesh Panicker) in The Hush. (Mediacorp Channel 5) Developing characters for The Hush The show took a little over six months to develop and write, and three months to shoot. We had five writers on board, said Lee. The characters were already fairly developed, so it was a matter of developing the character arcs. We explored the less conventional kind of relationships on the show. But there were no issues with censorship. The relationships are unconventional but not controversial. For example, Thomas (Tay Ping Hui) and Valerie (Carmen Soo) Teo discuss a divorce in their very first episode. They have two schooling children, one of whom is in his PSLE year. Nelson (Remesh Panicker) has to deal with a recently deceased wife, and struggles with his relationship with Luisa (Cassandra Jean Spykerman), a domestic helper who took care of his wife in her final days. Nelson has a lot of layers to him, said Lee. He goes through many different emotions, since his wife just passed away. But his son is also part o the management committee of the condominium. As the show progresses, we also see Luisa go from being just a maid to a very riveting character. When pressed for a favourite character to write, Lee picked the boy who died in the pool, Zulkifi (Shaquille Daniel). Hes one of the more intriguing characters for me, especially when it comes to fleshing him out and revealing who he was. Theres a lot mystery surrounding the character and what he was doing. Tony Eusoff as Daud in The Hush. (Mediacorp Channel 5) Challenges of the show This is the largest ensemble of characters Ive ever had on the show, said Lee. The challenge was trying to meld the different story arcs to maintain a consistent tone. But the sprawling cast wasnt the biggest challenge on the The Hush. It was the weather. When we conceptualised the show, much of it was set around the swimming pool. But we shot it at the beginning of the year, when the weather was crazy. Within one scene, we would have bright sunlight, cloudy weather, heavy storms with lightning and thunder. Then when we wrap, it would be sunny again. Lee, however, is no stranger to challenging shoots. The challenges are what inspire me to keep going. Every show has got its own unique challenges. While other shows like "Code of Law or Zero Calling fell into their own definitive genres, The Hush combined elements from different genres. Lee Thean-jeen, executive producer of "The Hush. (Mediacorp Channel 5) No stranger to the industry Lee is the managing director of Weiyu Films, a production studio. He recently won a Platinum Remy at the Worldfest Houston International Film Festival 2016 for last years horror film, Bring Back the Dead, and a Gold Remy for Zero Calling. Zero Calling is a thriller which sees an average Joe co-erced into doing an anonymous callers bidding in order to protect those around him. Bring Back the Dead saw its first US screening at the festival. It was interesting to see the responses of an American audience to what is essentially Asian horror. Were exploring the possibility of a theatrical release in the US, but nothing is confirmed yet. Lees mastery of a broad range of genres speaks to his continuing creativity in the production industry. After all, life is a neverending source of inspiration. The Hush airs every Monday, 10pm, on Channel 5. - By James Li Charles de Vaulx (Trades, Portfolio) (Trades, Portfolio), portfolio manager of the International Valuations Advisors (IVA) Fund, invested in two major stocks May 31: Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.KS). The manager of Sofire Fund Ltd., which won aFund of the Yeara in the global equity category in 2005 and in 2006, Charles de Vaulx (Trades, Portfolio), joined the IVA Fund in May 2008 as portfolio manager and chief information officer. According to his May 27, semiannual report, de Vaulx chooses stocks to buy using a apreservation of capitala approach: the manager targets company stocks that trade at areasonable discountsa to the companyas intrinsic value at the time of investment. Additionally, de Vaulx prefers companies that have good balance sheets so the fund does not suffer in case the valuations are inaccurate. The global banks industry presents a twofold view to the portfolio manager of IVA Funds. Although many Chinese banks are trading at low P/B ratios, de Vaulx chose not to invest in them, citing beliefs of acredit overextensiona in China. European banks, according to de Vaulx, are not well capitalized and are likely riskier than U.S. banks like Bank of America. Incorporated in Delaware July 31, 1998, Bank of America provides customers with banking and other financial services. Compared to its competitors in the global banking industry, Bank of America has a relatively high financial strength and low profitability. Although it has low ROE and ROA, Bank of America has a lower P/B ratio than its competition, suggesting that it is undervalued compared to competing firms. With a three-year EPS growth of 255, Bank of America has a higher three-year EPS growth than 99% of firms in the global banking industry. 1038128122.png Despite having a slightly higher trailing-12-month P/E ratio than JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America has a P/E ratio in the bottom 19% of global banking companies. The Peter Lynch chart suggests that Bank of Americaas stock price is undervalued based on its earnings line. Story continues 1464804957308.png 11449055.png The top 10 holdings of both IVA funds, Worldwide and International, include Hyundai Motor Co., a South Korean motor manufacturing and financing company incorporated Dec. 29, 1967. In his May letter, de Vaulx explains why he invests mostly in awell-capitalized and well-manageda stocks. The IVA Fund manager especially prefers two South Korean stocks, including Hyundai, because they still offer large discounts despite questionable corporate governance, according to the letter. With a financial strength of 7, Hyundai has a healthy financial outlook. Although it has a declining gross margin, the South Korean motor company has an operating margin that is expanding and higher than 65% of companies in the global automobile manufacturers industry. Among competing firms in its sector, Hyundai has the lowest valuation ratios, which are currently near five-year lows. The firm also has a dividend yield higher than 92% of global auto manufacturers industry. 1464807962371.png 1464808040474.png 1464808058610.png View Charles de Vaulx (Trades, Portfolio)as other top 10 holdings here. For the latest guru buys, go here. You can always customize your list of gurus using the personalized gurus tab. Looking for more good stocks in the auto business? Find them using the All-In-One Guru Screener, a comprehensive tool that allows you to find similar stocks. Start a free seven-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Algiers (AFP) - The leader of the Western Sahara's Polisario Front, Mohamed Abdelaziz, who died on Tuesday, will be buried on Saturday in a Polisario-controlled part of the former Spanish colony, an official told AFP. "On Friday the population will take a final look at its leader and the burial will take place on Saturday at Bir Lahlou in the liberated territories," said Mohamed Keddad of the movement's Committee on Foreign Affairs. Abdelaziz had been secretary general of the group for most of its decades-long struggle to win independence, but succumbed to a "long illness," said Brahim Ghali, another Polisario official. His body will be displayed on Friday in a camp for Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf, 1800 kilometres (1120 miles) south-west of the Algerian capital Algiers, to allow delegations and foreign dignitaries to pay homage. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called Abdelaziz "a central figure in the search for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict," in a message of condolence to the Polisario which was published by Algeria's APS news agency. An "important delegation" from Algeria would be at the ceremony, said Ghali. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika decreed eight days of mourning and opened a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday with a minute of silence in homage to Abdelaziz, according to state television. Abdelaziz, who was in his late 60s, had led the Algeria-backed Polisario since 1976, three years after the group was founded to struggle for independence for the territory, which was annexed by Morocco in 1975. Local Sahrawi people are campaigning for the right to self-determination, but Morocco considers the territory to be part of the kingdom and insists its sovereignty cannot be challenged. Keddad said Abdelaziz would be the first leader to be buried in Polisario-controlled parts of the territory, which are separated from Moroccan-administered areas by a 2200-kilometre sand wall and minefield created by Rabat in the 1980s. The other tombs there belong to those "who fell in the fields of honour," said Keddad. Abdelaziz's successor will be selected at an extraordinary conference within 40 days. The president of the Sahrawi National Council, Khatri Addouh, will lead the group in the interim, according to Polisario sources. China's foreign minister berated a Canadian journalist on Wednesday for questioning Beijing's human rights record, saying she had "no right to speak" about the issue. The remarks by Wang Yi came after the reporter asked Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion about what was being done to push China on human rights and its holding of a Canadian man on espionage charges. "Your question is full of prejudice and arrogance," Wang told a press briefing in Ottawa where he stood beside Dion. "This is totally unacceptable". "The people that know the most about human rights in China is not you, it's only the Chinese people. You don't have the right to speak," he added according to a video posted online by Canadian broadcaster CBC. "Don't ask these kinds of irresponsible questions again". China often condemns other countries for criticising its record on human rights, but usually refrains from doing so in such direct terms at press conferences overseas. In contrast, Chinese President Xi Jinping last year admitted the country had "room for improvement" on human rights after being asked a similar question by a British journalist while on a visit to London. Wang's Canadian visit -- where he also met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- was portrayed in local media as an attempt to improve relations as Ottawa presses for a free-trade deal with the world's second-largest economy. Ties have been strained by the detention of Canadian citizen Kevin Garratt in 2014 on espionage charges. He previously ran a Christian-themed coffee shop near the North Korean border. Beijing announced in January he had been formally charged, after his wife who was also detained was released on bail. Aside from the outburst, Wang reiterated China's standard line on the South China Sea, where it has overlapping claims with several Southeast Asian neighbours. Speaking after incoming Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte recently heaped praise on Xi, Wang said that "the door of dialogue between China and the Philippines is always open." Story continues Ties soured under outgoing President Benigno Aquino, whose government sued Beijing before a UN-backed tribunal over its claims in the South China Sea. With a ruling expected in the coming weeks, the Philippines' response will probably be left to Duterte, who takes office on June 30. In contrast to Aquino, Duterte has said he is willing to engage China in bilateral talks on the issue. However, he has also played to nationalist sentiments by saying he would ride a jet ski to plant a Philippine flag on disputed islands in the sea. Beijing (AFP) - Activity in Chinese factories expanded for the third straight month in May, official data showed, a further sign of stabilisation in the world's second largest economy after a period of slow growth. The official Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), which tracks activities in the country's factories and workshops, came in at 50.1 on Wednesday, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Any reading above 50 signals expanding activity, while anything below indicates shrinkage. The figure was unchanged from April and just below the March figure of 50.2, but beat economists' median expectations of 50 in a survey by Bloomberg News. Investors watch the figure closely as the first available indicator each month of the health of the world's second biggest economy. China's economy is a vital driver of global expansion. But it grew only 6.9 percent last year, its weakest rate in a quarter of a century. The key manufacturing sector has been struggling for months in the face of sagging global demand for Chinese products. Analysts with ANZ Research said the results were lifted by property investment and fiscal policies and ruled out any imminent "broad-based monetary policy easing" as China's leaders "do not welcome property-led growth" in the first quarter. Real estate spending can boost manufacturing by increasing demand for furniture, appliances and household goods. A recent private survey showed that new home prices rose at their fastest pace in more than two years in May, surging more than 10 percent year on year. "What is worth paying attention to is that the growth rate of raw material prices declined, showing that market demand remained rather weak and the foundation for manufacturing growth is still unstable," NBS analyst Zhao Qinghe said in a statement, referring to the May figure. China's economy is "operating steadily" now but is "lacking any upward momentum", Tao Dong of Credit Suisse told Bloomberg News, adding that the economy "will wane again in the summer", which will be a "key test" for the central bank to keep policies stable. Story continues - Elusive rebound - The signs were less positive from the private Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index, which puts a greater emphasis on smaller firms. That figure came in at 49.2, meeting economists' expectations of a fractional decline from 49.4 in April, the Chinese financial magazine said in a joint statement with data compiler Markit. Manufacturers continued to shed jobs as weak demand and a drop in new orders weighed on the figures, it said. "Overall, China's economy has not been able to sustain the recovery it had in the first quarter and is in the process of bottoming out," Zhao Zhengsheng, director of Macro economic Analysis at CEBM Group said. "The government still needs to make full use of proactive fiscal policy measures accompanied by a prudent monetary policy to prevent the economy from slowing further." While Beijing policies have managed to keep growth stable, a "significant rebound is proving elusive", Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said, adding that it has become likelier that "growth could merely hold steady this year". Investors were unimpressed with the figures as stocks edged down slightly on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closing down 0.11 percent. BEIJING (Reuters) - One Chinese United Nations peacekeeper has been killed, and four injured, after an attack in Mali, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, calling for an investigation into the incident to bring the perpetrators to justice. Soldiers of a United Nations peacekeeping mission have been stationed in northern Mali, along with French forces, for three years since separatists joined jihadists to seize the region from the government in Bamako. The militants have staged several high profile attacks in the past year, not only in Mali but also in neighboring Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. A peace accord signed last year was meant to bring stability to the region, but attacks against the U.N. mission, Malian military and civilians are still frequent. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China urged the Mali government and the United Nations to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice. "This is a grave and intolerable crime. China strongly condemns it," Hua told a daily news briefing, describing the incident as a terrorist attack on the U.N. peacekeeping mission. She did not say who China thought was behind the attack. China now has more than 2,400 peacekeepers in Mali and other African countries, she said, adding that the country would continue to positively contribute to U.N. peacekeeping missions to help ensure peace and stability in Africa. China will contribute a tenth of the budget for U.N. peacekeeping operations between 2016 and 2018, slightly behind the United States, the U.N.'s peacekeeping chief told the country's official Xinhua news agency on Sunday. Five U.N. peacekeepers from Togo were also killed and one person was seriously injured in an ambush in central Mali on Sunday. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) China is actively building out the European portion of its ambitious new Silk Road plan, with port deals from Greece to the Netherlands, railroad investments in Greece, Serbia, and Hungary, as well as a handful of historic, high-profile state visits this spring by President Xi Jinping. Beijings multibillion-dollar plans to build overland and maritime links across Central and South Asia whether that means huge investments in Pakistan or gas pipeline deals in places like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan grab the lions share of attention. But the ultimate prize in the Silk Road plan also known in China as the One Belt, One Road initiative is someplace else: Europe. Thats true both because Europe represents a bigger and richer market than the relatively poor countries that dot the steppe, and because Beijings ambitions arent purely commercial. It is not an economic project, it is a geopolitical project and it is very strategic, said Nadege Rolland, an analyst at the National Bureau for Asian Research, a think tank. As it has across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, China is trying to parlay its economic heft into bigger diplomatic influence in Europe, especially in cash-strapped states in the east and southeast. That task is made easier thanks to the increasing weight and reach of Chinese state-owned companies. Beijing began encouraging consolidation among competing firms last year as a way of trying to deal with overcapacity in Chinese industry, where having several giant firms in the same sector was leading to inefficiencies. The resulting mergers created giants like such as CRRC Corporation, formerly a pair of railroad equipment makers and now the worlds second-biggest industrial company, and COSCO, cobbled together from a pair of state-owned shipping firms and now the worlds fourth-largest shipping company. Story continues Both of those mega-firms are active in Chinas recent European investments: COSCO is snapping up stakes in ports, while CRRC is working to build new rail lines in Eastern Europe. Another state-owned giant, ChemChina, has been on a European buying spree in the last year, gobbling up agricultural firms, tire makers, and machine tool manufacturers. And their state-backed involvement makes clear that more is at stake than the financial bottom line. Most Chinese foreign direct investments are not normal foreign direct investments, said Philippe Le Corre of the Brookings Institution, co-author of the recently published book Chinas Offensive in Europe. With a few exceptions, they just happen to have the whole Chinese state behind them. One of the unstated purposes of Chinas entire Silk Road program is to buy political goodwill from countries along the way. Decades ago, Chinese investment in Africa often brought support from those countries for Chinese positions in the United Nations. Chinese investments in Afghanistan, for instance, have recently translated into Kabuls support for Chinas territorial positions in the South China Sea disputes. In Europe, Chinas investment push has indeed led to a few diplomatic victories. Fueled by big investments in the energy sector, Xi received red-carpet treatment from British leaders on a state visit last year, and China considers the U.K. its best friend in the West. Several of Europes biggest countries, including the U.K., France, Germany, and Italy, supported Chinas creation of a new international development bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, despite heated objections from the United States. China is perhaps making its biggest inroads on Europes periphery. It has created a new grouping, known as the 16+1, of the 16 Central and Eastern European countries including some inside and some outside the European Union. The informal club has responded to Chinese infrastructure investment with closer ties and a more compliant approach to issues that are prickly for Beijing, especially human rights. The Czech Republic, for example, once outspoken on the subject of Tibetan independence, now hews closer to Beijings line regarding its continued control of the Himalayan nation. Beijing hailed Slovenia as one of a group of 40 countries China says back its position on the disputes in the South China Sea; plenty of other countries on that list, from Afghanistan to Mozambique to Venezuela, have also been on the receiving end of Chinas economic largesse. But China is also encountering plenty of pushback and not just in Europe. In Central Asia, Beijing is a preferred partner for the regions many autocratic governments who welcome Chinas non-interference in their affairs. But Chinas growing footprint there has received a much cooler reception from the local population. Kazakhstan, which has inked $50 billion worth of deals with China, has been wracked since April by protests over the fears the government will open the country up to large-scale Chinese purchases of land. In neighboring Kyrgyzstan, mounting public pressure caused the government to abandon plans to offer mining concessions to Chinese firms in lieu of paying back $1 billion in loans. In Europe, Chinas geopolitical ambitions have run into growing opposition, both in the street and among some governments. Protesters defaced Chinese flags in the Czech Republic during Xis visit this spring, for example. And earlier this month, the European Parliament recommended against granting China market economy status, a label Beijing craves and which it believes it is entitled to 15 years after joining the World Trade Organization. The EU reticence is driven, in part, by concerns of continued unfair Chinese competition, including dumping the detritus of its industrial overcapacity in Europe, which makes life more difficult for struggling European firms. Europe has also begun to push back against Chinas territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. Slovenia made clear, in contrast to Beijings public pronouncements, that it does not take sides on the dispute. In April, France signed a $40 billion deal to build advanced new submarines for Australia, prompted by French concerns about Chinese military expansion in the Western Pacific. More recently, Britain urged all countries including China to respect an upcoming ruling by an international arbitration panel on the South China Seas imbroglio; Beijing has attacked the tribunals legitimacy and vowed to ignore whatever ruling it hands down. Those setbacks suggest theres a limit to the leverage that Chinese investment can buy in Europe, despite the regions continued economic woes, said Le Corre. The European part of One Belt, One Road will not be a walk in the park, he said. Its not that simple to say, China is going to come and rescue Europe. I dont think theres appetite for this. Photo credit: MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Reid Standish contributed to this article. PureWow There are countless news reports detailing what King Charles III plans to do with Queen Elizabeths belongings and pets. But you should know theres a totally valid reason why hes getting rid of some of her racehorses. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images This week, the royal family announced that King Charles will auction 14 of his mothers racehorses that were passed down to him. According to Hello! magazine, the animals will be sold at Tattersalls auction house in Newmarket. Per the outlet, this in By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China hopes all parties on the Korean peninsula will remain calm and exercise restraint, President Xi Jinping told a senior visiting North Korean envoy on Wednesday, after the isolated state rattled nerves with a failed missile test. The rare meeting in Beijing between Xi and one of North Korea's highest-profile officials, career diplomat Ri Su Yong, follows a flurry of weapons tests in the run-up to the first congress in 36 years of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party in May, when young leader Kim Jong Un consolidated his control. China is reclusive North Korea's only major ally but has been angered by its nuclear and missile programs. China signed up to harsh new U.N. sanctions against North Korea in March in response to its fourth nuclear test in January and a satellite launch in February. Xi told Ri that China attached great store to the friendly relationship between the two countries, and was willing to work with North Korea to consolidate that friendship, China's Foreign Ministry said. "China's position on the peninsula issue is clear and consistent. We hope all sides remain calm and exercise restraint, increase communication and dialogue and maintain regional peace and stability," the ministry cited Xi as saying. There was no direct mention of Tuesday's failed missile test, the latest in a string of unsuccessful ballistic missile tests by North Korea. Ri passed on a verbal message to Xi from Kim, the ministry said, in which Kim expressed a desire to work hard with China to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula and across northeast Asia. Xi welcomed Ri's visit to report on the North Korean party congress, which Xi said showed the importance Kim attached to ties with China, the ministry added. Xi said he hoped North Korea could achieve even greater achievements in improving its economy and people's livelihoods, the ministry said. Kim has yet to visit China since assuming office after his father died in 2011. Chinese state television showed pictures of the two men meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. The United States plans to use high-level Sino-U.S. talks in Beijing next week to discuss ways to bring greater pressure to bear on North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. But China has been reluctant to take tougher action, such as completely shutting its border with North Korea, for fear that North Korea could collapse in chaos. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel) By Lauren Hirsch and Denny Thomas June 1 (Reuters) - Chinese food and industrial conglomerate Xiwang Group Company Ltd is in advanced talks to buy Iovate Health Sciences International Inc, the Canadian owner of nutrition supplement MuscleTech, according to people familiar with the matter. Iovate is the latest Canadian vitamin maker to attract Chinese interest, as growing awareness of health and wellness issues among Chinese consumers, combined with a lack of confidence in China's safety standards, spurs the country's companies to look overseas for nutritional supplement assets. Canada has some of the most stringent safety standards for nutrition supplements in the world, making its companies coveted among peers for the popularity of their brands. Canadian vitamin maker Jamieson Laboratories, owned by private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors LP, has also attracted interest from Chinese buyers, Reuters previously reported. Xiwang, which is controlled by Chinese Communist Party insider Wang Yong, has so far prevailed in an auction for Iovate and is negotiating a price of more than $700 million, the people said this week. Privately held Iovate has around $70 million in 12-month earnings before interest, tax, and depreciation, the people added, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. There is no certainty that Xiwang will reach an agreement with Iovate, or that any deal would clear all regulatory hurdles, the people cautioned. Xiwang and Iovate did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Xiwang's bid follows a string of Chinese acquisition efforts overseas, after the government encouraged outbound corporate investment in light of slowing domestic growth. Last year, Chinese companies scored a record $104 billion of foreign deals, nearly double that of 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data. Headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, Iovate's nutrition supplement brands include MuscleTech, Six Star Pro Nutrition, Purely Inspired and Hydroxycut. It has partnerships with major North American retailers, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Sam's Club. Story continues Iovate was founded in 1995 as a direct-to-consumer mail order business. In 2010, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission charged Iovate with deceptive health claims about its products. Iovate subsequently settled that charge. Founded in 1986, Xiwang is active in beverage, food, steel logistics and several other industries, according to its website. Its chairman Yong is Communist Party secretary in the village of Xiwang in China's eastern Shandong province, where Xiwang is based. Xiwang Foodstuff Co Ltd, in which Xiwang has a nearly 35 percent stake, specializes in processing and distributing corn oil and products, and has a nearly $1 billion market capitalization. It could not be immediately determined whether the acquisition of Iovate would come through Xiwang Foodstuff, Xiwang Group, or another affiliated entity. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York and Denny Thomas in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Carol Zhong in Hong Kong and Greg Roumeliotis and Gui Qing Koh in New York; Editing by Tom Brown) A Chinese peacekeeper and three civilians working for the UN's Mali mission have become the latest casualties of the troubled outfit, the UN and China's foreign ministry said Wednesday. The last month alone has seen three attacks on members of the mission, known as MINUSMA, fuelling concern over its future with 65 killed in under three years. It is the deadliest active deployment for UN peacekeepers. Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate AQIM claimed responsibility for the latest attacks on Tuesday, the US monitoring SITE said. The MINUSMA camp was targeted in a mortar or rocket assault, a statement from the mission said, during which "a peacekeeper was killed and three peacekeepers seriously wounded." A second armed attack on a UN de-mining unit killed "two security guards and an international expert", said the same statement. It was "the first time a Chinese UN peacekeeper has been killed in the north," an African military source told AFP, adding that of the civilians killed one was French and the two others Malian. The three peacekeepers seriously wounded were all Chinese, the source added. The deaths bring to 12 the number of peacekeepers killed in Mali in May alone, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. In other attacks, five Togolese peacekeepers were killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen in the centre of the country on May 29. Five Chadians died on May 19 when their vehicle hit a landmine and then came under fire by Islamist group Ansar Dine. Dujarric said Ban was "outraged" by Tuesday's attacks and intended to present the Security Council with proposals "to strengthen the mission's posture and capabilities." The Security Council condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms". - 'Outrageous crime' - Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the Chinese peacekeeper was killed in a "terrorist attack". Story continues "This is a grave and outrageous crime, China strongly condemns it, we call for the UN and Mali to carry out a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice," she told a press conference on Wednesday in Beijing. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb meanwhile said that fighters from its "al-Murabitoun battalion engaged in a clash with 'crusader occupation forces'," referring to the UN mission in Mali, SITE said. Al-Murabitoun, led by one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has claimed responsibility for several spectacular and bloody attacks in sub-Saharan Africa. MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif called on the Malian government to track down the attackers and bring them to justice. "These crimes can no longer be tolerated," he said. Northern Mali has been the scene of repeated attacks since it fell under the control of three radical Islamist groups, including AQIM, in 2012. The rebels were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, but they have continued to mount attacks on security forces from desert hideouts. Dujarric said that MINUSMA, which deployed in mid-2013, needed to be "adequately equipped" to operate in Mali. But he poured cold water on suggestions that an intervention brigade like that deployed as part of the UN mission in Democratic Republic of Congo would protect the peacekeepers. "The threat that we are facing from terrorist groups in Mali is different from what we are seeing in DRC," he said. A Chinese teenager hid in the cargo hold of an Emirates airliner during a nine-hour flight to Dubai where he hoped to make a fortune, describing the journey as "comfortable", reports said Wednesday. The 16-year-old stowaway was found after the flight from Shanghai landed in Dubai on Friday, the English-language daily 7Days reported citing police. "He told us that the bags section in the plane had been comfortable," said Dubai's assistant police chief for ports and airports, General Ahmed bin Thani. "He planned to come to Dubai after hearing about the lifestyle, and he was looking to make money," he added. Speaking through a translator, the stowaway from Bazhong in southwest China said he heard an online rumour that "even beggars" can make good money in Dubai, the paper said citing Chinese media. It was unclear how the teenager, who remains in custody in the Gulf emirate, got into the cargo hold, which is usually pressurised and temperature-controlled, unlike wheel wells where stowaways risk death due to freezing temperatures and a lack of oxygen. From Country Living You watch them on your TV screens, you obsessively read about their upcoming projects online-but have you ever stopped to wonder how the duo behind HGTV's Fixer Upper first met? Before Chip and Joanna Gaines became the design powerhouse we know and love today, they were two ordinary college students just trying to discover their passions. While Chip started flipping houses as a student at Baylor University, Joanna majored in communications, with dreams of becoming a broadcast journalist. And while you probably know the couple share the same alma mater by now, you may be surprised to learn they didn't actually meet at Baylor. Instead, it was a side job that brought them together. Through high school and college, Joanna worked at her dad's Firestone Tire store in Waco, Texas. It was during this time that she had her first TV stint, appearing in commercials for the business. "Her dad made the mistake of putting a pic of the family behind the counter at his shop," Chip explained to PopSugar. "I knew I'd marry her one day just by the picture on the wall." He then frequented the shop, making any excuse to stop by, in hopes of meeting Joanna. "My buddies used to always joke that no one could get their brakes done as often as I got my brakes done," Chip told KWTX. By the time he saw Joanna working in the office in 2001, Chip had the perfect pick-up line prepared to impress his future wife: "Hey, you're the girl from the commercials." And yes, it worked. See the commercial that started their relationship below: Chip and Joanna pretty much have opposite personalities, so it makes sense that they each approached the relationship differently at first. While Chip fell head-over-heels before even meeting Joanna, she was more guarded at the beginning of their relationship. Chip even jokingly described his now-wife as a "cyborg" to US Weekly, explaining that he was the first to really fall in love in the relationship. Despite their differences, the couple recognized their shared values, such as religion, early on. Story continues "When I learned how to embrace Joanna for who she is and really support her all the way, I feel like that was a real lightbulb moment for me in my relationship with her," Chip told Jefferson Bethke. "As I really enveloped this concept of I'm going to support her, and love her, and fight for her regardless, I feel like that opened [her] heart to be able to reciprocate." It was Chip's sincerity that eventually won Joanna over. "At first, I couldn't believe how kind Chip was-he had kind eyes, and made me laugh a lot," Joanna told PopSugar. "I knew he was the one because I knew I could trust him." After dating for a little over a year, Chip and Joanna were married on March 31, 2003. They soon combined forces-Chip's renovating skills with Joanna's eye for design-to become the team that consistently wows us today. Chip and Joanna started flipping houses together within a month of their wedding and later began to focus on renovations, due to the changing housing market. At first, it took a whole lot of trial and error to get things right. One of their earliest "fixer uppers" was their first house together, as a newlywed couple. The couple has now been married for 13 years and have four wonderful children, Drake, Ella, Duke, and Emmie. And while Chip and Joanna's stunning makeovers may have caught your eye at first, it's their strong family values that have turned them into a well-known household name. See how Chip and Joanna describe their own love story: Follow Country Living on Pinterest. Cincinnati police have opened an investigation into the family of the boy who fell into the gorilla pit at the Cincinnati Zoo over the weekend, according to a tweeted press release from the department. The statement made clear that the office is not looking into "the operation or safety of the Cincinnati Zoo," and will only be "reviewing the facts and circumstances that led" to the incident. A rep for the family tells PEOPLE that the family has not been charged at this time. CPD statement on Cincinnati Zoo incident: We are closely reviewing the facts of the case. Updates will be provided. pic.twitter.com/8FkPKYliYC a Cincinnati Police (@CincinnatiPD) May 31, 2016 In a later tweet, the Cincinnati Police Department clarified that the boy was actually 3-years-old, despite various reports that he was four. On Saturday, the toddler fell into the moat at the Gorilla World exhibit and was, according to bystanders, dragged around by the 400-pound gorilla Harambe. The incident lasted about 10 minutes before zoo officials decided to shoot and kill the endangered silverback. Age of child verified... The child involved in this incident is three years old. a Cincinnati Police (@CincinnatiPD) May 31, 2016 The controversial event quickly put the parents of the boy in the center of a media storm, with many accusing the parents of negligence while others put the blame on the zoo for not having tight enough safety gates that would have prevented the boy from falling in. "After the review, we will determine if charges need to be brought forward," police spokeswoman Tiffaney Hardy told CNN. "If it is determined charges need to be brought forward, we would then discuss it with the Hamilton County prosecutor's office." On Tuesday, a Cincinnati parent, whose child attends the daycare where Michelle Gregg works, defended Gregg whose son is at the center of the incident saying that what happened was an accident and that she feels confident leaving her children under Gregg's supervision. "I really feel bad for her and what happened," the mother named Airy told PEOPLE. "All the negativity I see online that's not her. She's not a neglectful woman. She's caring. It's not about her not paying attention or not caring. Things happen." Reporting by LE DATTA GRIMES Cobalt International Energy, Inc. CIE announced the appointment of a new CEO with effect from Jul 2, 2016. The new incumbent Timothy J. Cutt has been appointed as both Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a Class I member of the board of directors. He was handed over the baton from the outgoing CEO Joseph H. Bryant who has resigned with effect from Jun 1, 2016. For the interim one month period prior to Timothy J. Cutt assuming the mantle, the company has made some temporary appointments. During this time, William P. Utt, the companys lead independent director, has been appointed as Interim Chairman of the board of directors and Van P. Whitfield, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer. In our opinion, Cutts appointment is a sound choice, given his profound experience in the exploration space over the years. Earlier, he served as President, Petroleum of BHP Billiton Limited BHP and was accountable for its global oil and gas business from Jul 2013 to Mar 2016. Apart from that, Cutt held positions in engineering, operations and senior management for 25 years with energy majors like ExxonMobil Corporation XOM. Headquartered in Houston, TX, Cobalt International Energy is an independent exploration and production company active in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa. The company was formed in 2005. The company holds lease interests in over 230 deepwater blocks in the Inboard Lower Tertiary and Miocene plays. To date, the company has drilled seven exploratory wells, three appraisal wells and four development wells in the northern pre-salt Kwanza Basin offshore Angola, and one exploratory well in the pre-salt deepwater region offshore Gabon. Of these wells, 13 have been successful in finding pre-salt hydrocarbons. Cobalt International currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the space can focus on a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock like CVR Refining, LP CVRR. 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 BHP BILLITN LTD (BHP): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report COBALT INTL EGY (CIE): Free Stock Analysis Report CVR REFINING LP (CVRR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. By Peter Apps Its the near future, and North Koreas regime is on the brink of collapse. As rumors swirl of palace coups, forces on both sides of the worlds most militarized border are on heightened alert. The U.S. military faces a much bigger problem. Somewhere in the Pacific, a North Korean submarine is believed to be carrying nuclear warheads and the missiles to deliver them. And nobody knows where it is. It sounds like the plot of a Hunt for Red October-style technothriller. But if Pyongyangs technicians continue at their current pace, experts say it is becoming ever more likely. One thing is certain: North Korea is plowing considerable resources into building its nuclear capability. And it is clearly making progress even if Tuesdays failed missile test shows it still has a long way to go. Japanese officials said what appeared to be a conventional Musudan rocket, which theoretically has the ability to reach Japan and the U.S. territory and military base of Guam, exploded either as or shortly after it left its launcher. North Korea is estimated to have some 20 to 30 of the missiles first deployed in 2007, but yet to be launched successfully. What North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants, most analysts believe, is simple a rocket that can fire a nuclear warhead at least to regional targets. His ultimate ambition, however, is to be able to hit U.S. cities on the West Coast, most likely from a submarine that could hide itself at sea. North Korea has been steadily improving its rockets which can also carry conventional explosives for decades. It detonated its first nuclear device in 2006 but most experts believe it has yet to build one small enough to be placed on a missile. Having the credible ability to do all of that and get the missiles to sea could take well over a decade, perhaps considerably more. Once it happens, however, it will be a strategic game changer. At worst, U.S. cities on the West Coast would have to deal with the prospect, however remote, that they might be struck by a North Korean atomic weapon. At the very least, a North Korea armed with nuclear submarines would hugely complicate the calculus for any U.S. president handling a crisis on the Korean peninsula itself. That, of course, is exactly the plan. The fact that Pyongyang has conducted so many tests this year, some experts believe, suggests Kim is pushing his scientists harder than ever to deliver working rockets and warheads. North Korea is believed to have tagged the expertise of Russian Cold War-era scientists, and while its capabilities on both fronts lag well behind established nuclear states such as Russia and China, it is already believed to be well ahead of Iran. In April, South Korean and U.S. officials said a North Korean submarine successfully launched a ballistic missile that traveled some 18 miles -- a major step forward. Technical experts say TV footage appeared to show a solid fuel rocket successfully launching from underwater, essentially the same system used by Western forces to achieve the same goal. When she testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in April, the incoming head of the U.S. Northern Command responsible for defending the mainland United States delivered a stark warning. "The North Korean threat is real," U.S. Air Force General Lori Robinson previously head of U.S. air forces in the Pacific told lawmakers. "For now, it's a medium range but they are trying very hard to be able to hit the homeland." Its impossible to know exactly how much money and expertise the North Koreans are expending. The scale of the effort, however, is seen as large in many ways, the same level of commitment the United States gave to the Manhattan Project to build the worlds first atomic bomb during World War Two. Pyongyangs reason is clear: building that kind of credible ability to strike is seen as central to the long-term survival of the Kim dynasty and its ruling party. Earlier this month, at the first meeting of its ruling party in 36 years, Kim said North Korea was a responsible nuclear weapons state and would never use its weapons unless it were threatened. That seemed a clear warning to outside powers, particularly Washington, to steer clear of any attempts to destabilize or attack the regime. Getting a submarine-based deterrent would be a very big deal and not just because it might allow the North Koreans to move the launch point much closer to the target. Submarines are central to what nuclear weapons states call a second strike capability, the ability to launch missiles even in the aftermath of an overwhelming and perhaps surprise preemptive attack. The United States, Russia, Britain and France all retain what they call a continuous at sea deterrent, at least one submarine offshore at all times ready to fight back even if the homeland and all other military forces are completely taken out. Israel is also believed to have the ability to mount nuclear cruise missiles on its Dolphin-class conventional submarines, while China is now moving quickly towards new ballistic missile submarines for its own at sea deterrent. This technology isnt new the United States and Russia developed it in the late 1950s based in part on plans originally developed to hit Nazi German U-boats in the dying days of World War Two. There is no good reason it should not eventually work for North Korea, too. If and when it does, Pyongyang is likely to try to keep its submarines very close to its coastsand its home defenses--at first. Still, once the first nuclear-armed submarine exists, Japan and the United States might feel political pressure to destroy it. That would come with considerable risks. The North is known to have huge volumes of conventional artillery based along the South Korean border, much of it in range of Seoul and its 10 million residents. The risk of those weapons inflicting massive casualties is one of the key factors that has deterred multiple U.S. administrations from considering the kind of preemptive strike on Pyongyangs weapons programs that the United States has threatened against Iran. The Korean War frozen by its 1953 cease-fire but never otherwise resolved may not be over yet. (Peter Apps is Reuters global affairs columnist, writing about international affairs, globalization, conflict and other issues. He is also founder and executive director of the Project for Study of the 21st Century; PS21; a non-national, non-partisan, non-ideological think tank operating in London, New York and Washington. Before that, he spent 12 years as a reporter for Reuters covering defense, political risk and emerging markets. Since 2016, he has also been an officer in the British Army Reserve. Follow Peter Apps on Twitter.) A congressional committee has launched an investigation into the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's handling of the heist of more than $80 million from accounts it maintains for the central bank of Bangladesh, CNBC has learned. In a letter to New York Fed President William Dudley on Tuesday, House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, asked for "all documents and communications" related to the cyberheist from the Bank of Bangladesh account. The committee also wants to know what oversight the Fed has conducted of the SWIFT system, an international electronic messaging system used by banks worldwide to authorize billions of dollars a day in money transfers. The House committee is requesting a briefing by the New York Fed on the status of its investigations, and "all documents or communications related to any review conducted by the NY Fed of its own information technology." The committee said its jurisdiction over the matter stems from its oversight of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal Information Security Management act of 2014, which created an overall effort to protect government information. "In light of the recent cyber attacks on our global financial systems, the Committee believes it is imperative to receive information from the NY Fed about its response, its oversight of SWIFT, the status of the investigation, and any remedial steps taken to address vulnerabilities," Smith wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by CNBC. "The question of bringing those responsible to justice is an important one. To date, investigators have not publicly announced significant progress." Although officials at the New York Fed have been careful to distance themselves from any electronic security problems related to SWIFT or its customers, the House committee asserts that the New York Fed has a role in overseeing the Belgium based consortium. SWIFT, formally known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has struggled to push the normally secretive international banks it works with to begin sharing information on the unprecedented wave of cyberattacks targeting the global financial community. In May it urged its customers around the world to tell SWIFT if they see cyberattacks or fraud. In a statement, the consortium said the Bangladesh hack was part of an ongoing campaign by unknown attackers, an effort SWIFT called a wide and "highly adaptive campaign targeting banks." Story continues Traditionally, global central banks have operated with a high degree of secrecy and reluctance to share information, given the sensitive nature of their operations. In April, a New York Fed official told CNBC that the Fed itself is not even required to report thefts from its accounts. "I am not aware of any laws or regulations that require public disclosure, certainly by the Fed," the official said. The House committee requested documents be produced by noon on June 14. More From CNBC By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee has launched a probe into the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's handling of the cyber theft of $81 million from one of its accounts held by the central bank of Bangladesh, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The letter, addressed to New York Fed President William Dudley and sent Tuesday from the House of Representatives' Science Committee, requests "all documents and communications" connected to the February heist, the bank's oversight of the global financial network SWIFT and the status of any reviews related to the Fed's information technology conducted since the attack occurred. The letter follows similar probes launched last month by Tom Carper, the Senate Homeland Security Committee's top Democrat, and Representative Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat. The latest inquiry comes as policymakers, regulators and financial institutions around the world increase scrutiny into the heist and related attacks on banks in Vietnam and Ecuador, in which hackers sent fraudulent transaction messages across the SWIFT. "In light of the recent cyber attacks on our global financial systems, the Committee believes it is imperative to receive information from the NY Fed about its response, its oversight of SWIFT, the status of the investigation, and any remedial steps taken to address vulnerabilities," states the letter, signed by House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican. A New York Fed spokeswoman said it intended to respond to the new request for information. The bank has so far denied responsibility for the Bangladesh Bank intrusion. The letter said it was "deeply troubling" that cyber security experts believe more attacks will be uncovered as banks review their security systems, and that Bangladesh Bank's systems appeared to be the "weak link" in the February attack. SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, last week urged banks to bolster their security, saying it was aware of multiple attacks. Banks around the world rely on SWIFT to issue payment instructions to each other. The committee requested a response from the New York Fed by June 14. (Reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington, additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in New York, editing by G Crosse) ROSEVILLE, CA--(Marketwired - June 01, 2016) - Sunworks, Inc. (SUNW), a leading provider of solar power solutions, today announced the opening of its Southern Oregon Office, signaling a strategic expansion of the Company's geographic reach. Sunworks is now providing high efficiency, low cost solar solutions to homes and businesses in the region, establishing itself as a driver of sustainability throughout yet another high-growth market. Sunworks is a natural fit for the region, having established a strong track record throughout California and Nevada. With an abundance of opportunities for large scale projects in Southern Oregon, the opportunity to expand into the high growth market aligns with Sunworks' strategic growth plan. Solarpowerrocks.com ranks Oregon as the fifth-most solar friendly state in the US. Sunworks has always placed an emphasis in promoting education within the marketplace, providing accurate and informative solar proposals for customers spanning commercial, residential, and agricultural sectors. The Company will utilize its ability to offer premium systems at a low price point together with generous state incentives to support its business in the new market. As a designated Oregon Energy Trade Ally, taking advantage of all incentives such as federal tax credits, accelerated depreciation and the Oregon Energy Trust, Sunworks is well-positioned to quickly establish itself as the premium local solar integrator. "We look forward to providing our widely-recognized solar expertise to save homeowners and businesses millions of dollars in energy costs while creating valuable jobs at the local level," said Kirk Short, V.P. of Commercial Solar at Sunworks, Inc. "Economics are the driving factor behind establishing a presence in Southern Oregon, creating significant opportunity for Sunworks," said Jim Nelson, CEO of Sunworks, Inc. "We believe customers deserve the best service, products, prices, and warranties that the industry has to offer, all of which Sunworks can provide to businesses and homeowners. The customer-centric Sunworks Advantage is a value ingrained into the way we conduct business, further establishing ourselves as a premier solar provider in the region. Opportunities to add value to the customer will be the driving factor for Sunworks as we continue to expand our footprint nationally." Story continues About Sunworks, Inc. Sunworks, (formerly known as Solar3D) a leading provider of solar power solutions, is focused on the design, installation and management of solar power systems for commercial, agricultural and residential customers. Sunworks is one of the fastest growing solar systems providers in the western United States, delivering 2.5 kilowatt to multi-megawatt commercial systems. The Company's mission is to further the widespread adoption of solar power by deploying affordable, state-of-the-art systems and developing breakthrough new solar technologies. The Company's focus is on putting the customer first, providing the best value systems in the industry, and delivering on what is promised. To learn more about Sunworks, visit our website at http://sunworksusa.com/. Safe Harbor Statement Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, products, and prospects for sales, failure to commercialize our technology, failure of technology to perform as expected, failure to earn profit or revenue, higher costs than expected, persistent operating losses, ownership dilution, inability to repay debt, failure of acquired businesses to perform as expected, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company. This is not a story about Brazil, but it could have been. At the starting gun a 2007 Cape Town conference of education experts Brazil and Poland were neck and neck in a race for open education, for a new world in which textbooks grow, change and dont need to be rebought every year. Nine years later, Brazil is not considered a world leader when it comes to digital textbooks and open licenses for academic resources. Poland is a different story. The Eastern European nation is now home to the first national open-textbook program in the world. Now, Poland isnt exactly seen as a bastion of forward thinkers, or of progressive education. But ironically, thats part of the reason the country has made such great leaps and bounds here: The educational system hasnt worked. About half the students in Poland have tutors outside of classes to augment the education they get in public schools, says Alek Tarkowski, an educational activist with the Centrum Cyfrowe Projekt. Radical dysfunction, in turn, allowed the Polish government the momentum to combine several progressive education programs digital textbooks for students, public funding for textbooks and open licenses on educational materials that let creative teachers remix their lessons. It began in earnest in 2011, when Poland decided to bring in an online open-textbook option. That struggled to catch on, so two years later there was a new model: a publicly funded textbook for first-graders, this time on regular paper. The nations textbook industry kicked back mightily against government-provided textbooks, arguing that their free-market rights were under attack, as schools would be pressured to choose the government version of the book, Tarkowski says. But the progressives have won a measured victory, at least for now: While older grades still see parents paying between $66 and $132 annually per child for textbooks, textbooks are now publicly funded for elementary and middle school. Story continues This might surprise those whove been following Polish politics: The very-right-wing Law and Justice party, which won a parliamentary majority in 2015, isnt what anyone thinks of when discussing traditionally lefty programs like open access to educational materials and creative commons licensing. We were very lucky that Alek in particular had very strong ties with the previous government and was able to work with them very closely on the development of the program, says Melissa Hagemann of Open Society Foundations, which has supported some of Polands initiatives. When the new government came in, it wasnt a problem partly because the initiatives are guaranteed funding until 2020. But how will the textbook content fare under a right-wing government? Tarkowski says the program may tie in with some near-and-dear Law and Justice issues and that the partys patriotic values could seep into government-created textbooks as the program progresses. The new government is big on nationalism, Tarkowski explains. They really want to shift the books children read to be more aligned with conservative, patriotic, traditional values, he says. Tarkowski says it doesnt much matter right now: As supporters of openness, were basically agnostic to it. Even aside from shifting political winds, there are limits to the revolution open textbooks can work in Poland. With open textbooks and digital textbooks all mashed up, the problem of Polish schools not always having decent digital access could be a serious impediment. And one of the selling points for open-education resources that they can be shared globally doesnt hold in Poland, since nobody outside the country is going to produce Polish-language resources. However, the open-access movement is thriving across the world: in South Africa, Hong Kong and (of course) Canada, where British Columbia has been working on its open-education movement for more than a decade, with millions put toward creating 140 open textbooks aimed at postsecondary students at universities and in trade schools. [Open education] is not a trend or a phenomenon, Amanda Coolidge, a senior manager at Canadian open textbook project BCcampus, says. Its a movement. The next step after open textbooks may be even more drastic: no textbooks at all. While the open-textbook movement has been great for introducing innovative policies into Polish schools, Tarkowski believes its possible to move beyond the concept altogether: Children sitting in rows, rote-learning content from a single textbook its very 19th century, he says. But now were in the postindustrial age. As Poland creaks into the future, he posits, itll need to train creative minds, and thats where creativity with the source material comes in. You can cut things out, create your own version and share it with others, he says. It becomes a living textbook. It becomes a bridge between the old model and the new. Related Articles Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102382%2fkatebeckinsalebodyshaming Can a movie about a tragedy really be great without huge boobs? That is an actual quandary allegedly faced by director and explosion enthusiast Michael Bay back when he cast Kate Beckinsale in Pearl Harbor. You know, one of those movies about a real attack and the resulting loss of life. SEE ALSO: Amy Schumer reminds body shamers that she's a Greek goddess Beckinsale discussed how she didn't "fit the type of actress Michael Bay had met before, on The Graham Norton Show. I think he was baffled by me because my boobs werent bigger than my head and I wasnt blonde, she continued. Beckinsale herself was baffled when Bay made demands that seemed to go against what the character she was playing would actually do. Id just had my daughter and had lost weight, but I was told that if I got the part, Id have to work out. And I just didnt understand why a 1940s nurse would do that. But despite wanting her to be hotter, Bay didn't want an actress that was too hot. Back in 2001, he told Movieline he "didn't want someone who was too beautiful. Women feel disturbed when they see someone's too pretty. He went on to cite Kate Winslet in as an example of the look he was going for, "When you look at Titanic, Kate Winslet is pretty, but not overwhelmingly beautiful. That makes it work better for women. Makes sense "not overwhelmingly beautiful" is most people's go-to description of Winslet. On The Graham Norton Show, Beckinsale recalled what it was like to promote Pearl Harbor with Bay making those comments. "When he was asked about me, hed say, Kate wasnt so attractive that she would alienate the female audience. He kept saying it everywhere we went and we went to a lot of places! You may wonder, in that case, what Bay said about the physical attractiveness of Beckinsale's co-stars, Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. Beckinsale recalls nothing: "He said, "'I have worked with Ben before and I love him, and Josh is so manly and a wonderful actor. Don't worry, Bay, you're not too attractive to be a male director in Hollywood! By Ned Parker ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - For at least a decade, Iraqi business mogul Khamis Khanjar has bankrolled Sunni politicians and fighters alike. Now, he wants to use his multi-million dollar fortune to create an autonomous region for Iraq's Sunnis. Khanjar's emergence from backroom deal-maker to would-be Sunni champion is just one sign of Iraq's continued political drift. Efforts by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to reconcile Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ites have mostly foundered, despite increased U.S. engagement in Iraq. Shi'ite parties and militias are often more focused on their own internal power struggles than brokering a political compromise with Sunnis. Sunni tribes tell security officials and politicians they are at the mercy of both Sunni extremist group Islamic State and Shi'ite militias. Dubai-based Khanjar says he offers an alternative: a federation in which Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds could all run their own parts of the country without formally breaking it up. A Sunni federal region would win billions in investments from Gulf Arab states and Turkey, Khanjar and partners in his alliance said. Last week, Khanjar, a native of the embattled Sunni city of Falluja, announced in a televised address that he was forming a delegation to investigate "extrajudicial killing," the "demolishing and looting of property" and other alleged human rights violations by Shi'ite militia there. "The Iraqi government is granting a political cover to militias and consistently denies the systematic violations of human rights" Khanjar said. The government has consistently denied any involvement by state forces in killings or abductions and said it actively works to arrest criminal gangs behind such actions. Over the past year, the six-foot-tall tycoon, flanked by a gaggle of aides and British private security contractors, has made a series of trips to northern Iraq. He limits himself to Kurdistan, because, he says, his life is in danger from Islamic State and Iranian-backed forces in other parts of the country. He is also paying $65,000 a month to a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm run by former Clinton White House officials to promote his cause in the United States. Iraq's ruling Shi'ite leaders deride him as a destabilizing opportunist. Jabbar al-Abadi, a member of parliament from the Prime Minister's Dawa party, described Khanjar's push for Sunni autonomy as "an invitation to tear Iraq apart." Sunni rivals of Khanjar describe him as a self-promoter and accuse him of putting his desire for power above Iraq's stability. Khanjar's advantage is his checkbook, which has helped bankroll political coalitions, finance tribal uprisings and fuel nationwide protests. Sunni and Shi'ite politicians alike have tried to woo him at one time or another, including some who despise him. Former U.S. diplomats say that Khanjar's sizeable fortune and close ties with Gulf States and Turkey allow him to be a secret and enduring force in Iraq's politics. "Khanjar will play any side so as to gain advantage for himself," one former U.S. official said. "Question is: does he really want to influence his country for the best, or is he just protecting and expanding his business networks? Or is it all just a game for a guy who is a billionaire?" That matters because over the past decade, assassinations by Islamic State and Shi'ite militias, and political infighting have severely winnowed the pool of budding Sunni politicians. Ex-U.S. diplomat Ali Khedery, who worked in Baghdad from 2003 to 2010, said "Khanjar is one of the very few Sunni figures with vision, intellect, and money, who is left standing, although he is far from perfect in a country wracked by violence, sectarianism and corruption." Khanjar's history is controversial. Former Sunni guerrillas in Iraq say he helped fund the anti-U.S. insurgency that began soon after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Later, they say, he backed the 2006 pro-American Sunni tribal uprising that helped destroy Islamic State's original incarnation, Al Qaeda in Iraq. In 2010, Khanjar says he helped found one of the two main political lists in Iraq's national elections. Three years later, he helped finance nationwide Sunni protests against Baghdad. Ezzat Shabandar, a Shiite politician, who negotiated with Khanjar during the 2010 Iraqi government formation process, described the tycoon as the man the Shi'ite parties had to talk with earlier this decade. "He had power and wealth," Shabandar said, though cautioned that the emergence of Islamic State meant it would be harder for Khanjar to be an unrivaled "strongman" for Sunnis today. Khanjar's net worth is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. His assets include manufacturing, banking, financial services and commercial and residential real estate across the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. Detractors from former insurgents to Iraqi intelligence officers say his family built its fortune by setting up front companies for members of Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1990s. They accuse Khanjar of seizing his partners' assets for himself after the 2003 invasion, accusations he denies. Asked his worth, Khanjar laughed and answered: "God has been very good to me." PANDORA'S BOX? Earlier this year, Khanjar flew into Iraqi Kurdistan to inspect some of the 14 schools and three clinics he funds for the one million Sunnis who have settled there after being displaced from their homes across Iraq. Dressed elegantly in a dark suit, he was greeted by dozens of Sunni children in matching blue and white uniforms. The children dutifully recited poems praising him as their rescuer from Iraq's sectarian conflict. Khanjar smiled, folded his hands and addressed them. Iraq's Sunnis must fight both Islamic State terrorists and Iraqi government-backed Shi'ite militias, he said. "We are heading towards a borderless, bloody Sunnistan if there is no immediate action by the Iraqi government to address Sunni rights," he told Reuters later. "Once we cross the threshold, no wise men myself or any other can close Pandora's box." Khanjar argues that a federal region modeled on Iraq's nearly independent Kurdish territory will grant Sunnis rights and help them to fight Islamic State. The Iraqi constitution allows the country's provinces to create a federal region. Sunni provinces have attempted to do so twice but were rebuffed by former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Abadi, who took over two years ago, has endorsed the principle of greater local governance. But he has been reluctant to address the campaign for a broader Sunni region. To push his case, Khanjar has recruited powerful Sunni political allies, including the former governor of Mosul, Atheel al-Nujaifi, and ex-finance minister Rafaa al-Issawi. U.S. officials viewed Issawi as a leading Sunni moderate before former Prime Minister Maliki issued a controversial arrest warrant against him for terrorism in December 2012. But Khanjar and his allies complain that they have been frozen out by the Obama administration. They say U.S. officials do not believe their complaints that the Iraqi government is failing to reconcile with Sunnis or to address abuses carried out by the Shi'ite militia forces. They say the U.S. government has refused to issue visas for Issawi and Nujaifi to travel to the United States after the two visited Washington last spring and criticized the Iraqi government. U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Stuart Jones, denied that there was a deliberate policy to keep the men out but declined to elaborate on why their visas had been refused. Jones said it was against policy to speak about individual visa cases. "The US embassy has no interest in silencing Iraqi voices in Washington DC or anywhere else," Jones said. "Nor do we have that capacity." U.S. officials declined to speak publicly about Khanjar. Seeking to address the impasse with the United States, Khanjar has deployed his wealth in Washington. In September 2015, he hired the Glover Park Group, a lobbying firm run by former Clinton White House and Democrat campaign officials. This winter, he opened an office in Washington. And his current media point man is the former spokesman of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. "We have great relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey," Khanjar said, while emphasizing he was an Iraqi patriot. "We want to leverage these relationships." Nujaifi, the former Mosul governor, says he is focused on securing the support of Turkey for the Sunni federal project. The pair are also building their own paramilitary forces to fight Islamic State. Nujaifi says his force now includes 4,000 men from Nineveh province who have been trained by Turkey. Khanjar says he has funded 2,400 men now fighting Islamic State just outside Falluja. He claims to have another 4,000 recruits who are ready for training. Khanjar insists he is trying to save his country for its sake, not his. "Anyone would like to see his country stable and secure," he said. "If it was stable and secure, I would never have thought of going into politics." (Additional reporting by Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Edited by Simon Robinson and David Rohde) As the divorce battle between Amber Heard, 30, and Johnny Depp, 52, continues, new court documents reveal just how much the actress made last year. According to court papers obtained by PEOPLE, Heard earned a total of $259,876 in 2015 from projects such as The Danish Girl, which paid her $31,112 and Paranoia for which she earned $45,314. She also received paychecks from high-end companies Tiffany ($120,000) and Bulgari ($50,000). But the papers also show Heard's long list of expenses including agent fees, auto payments and union dues. After all is said and done, the actress took home a total of $51,461 last year. In a request for a restraining order filed on May 27, Heard asked for spousal support in the amount of $50,000 a month along with protection for her dog Pistol and sole access to the downtown L.A. home where she and Depp have lived since getting married. She was granted the restraining order and sole access to the apartment, but a judge declined to order any temporary spousal support pending the next hearing, or to order Depp to stay away from Pistol. Depp, who has asked a judge to deny, Heard's request for spousal support, was ranked last year by Forbes as the 12th-highest paid actor for bringing in $30 million a and that wasn't even his most lucrative year to date. The actor earned $100 million in 2010. While married to Heard, Depp starred in the action-packed farce Mordecai and the crime biopic Black Mass. For his portrayal of Whitey Bulger in Black Mass, Depp earned an estimated 20 million. Meanwhile, Heard also took home residual fees for her film Machete Kills ($2,390) and acquired $2,472 from The Rum Diary, the film that introduced her to Depp. The formerly sharp line dividing television cinematography from feature film visuals continues to blur. Technology is certainly a factor, but the trend is also driven by new players and attitudes in TV production. Theres a lot of groundbreaking cinematography in television, says Michael Goi, DP on American Horror Story: Hotel. With new companies like Netflix and Amazon producing edgy material, theres an openness on the part of the audience to seeing things in ways they havent before. And that drives openness on the part of producers and studios. Goi shot Hotel on film, using hand-cranked cameras for scenes depicting silent-era Hollywood. Another throwback getting Emmy buzz is Foxs The X-Files. The original show made television imagery darker and creepier in the early 1990s. DP Joel Ransom returned for the six-episode season 10. Lana and Lilly Wachowski brought along Oscar-winning DP John Toll, who lensed their features Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending, on another journey: their ambitious Sense8. In the Netflix sci-fi series, eight characters live in different cities around the world. That required a lot of flexibility, says Toll, who shot in 4K using Sony F55 cameras. It became a very fluid, spontaneous style out of necessity. HBOs Game of Thrones has rewritten the manual for multi-location shoots. This year, Emmy voters will consider the team camerawork of Anette Haellmigk, Fabian Wagner, Jonathan Freeman, Gregory Middleton and P.J. Dillon. Tech tricks also improve the art. On Netflixs Bloodline, DP Jaime Reynoso avoided traditional TV coverage and added cinematic traits by using Hawk 1.3x anamorphic lenses, adding a subtler squeeze than 2x anamorphic. Similarly, Peter Menzies Jr. shot three-quarters of Historys Roots miniseries remake using the Hawk 1.3s, prizing the resulting background separation and depth of field. A glance at the original 1977 mini on ABC illustrates how high the bar has been raised for TV cinematography. Story continues DP David Klein uses specially adapted Canon Cinema Primes on Showtimes Homeland, and Manuel Billeter uses Panavision PVintage glass, which mimics the flavor of older lenses, on Netflixs Jessica Jones. Michael McDonough, on AMCs Fear the Walking Dead, uses Hawks Vintage 74 glass. Other productions getting a look from ATAS members: USAs Mr. Robot, shot by Tod Campbell; FXs The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, lensed by Nelson Cragg; and Netflixs Master of None, shot by Mark Schwartzbard. Not to mention HBOs Vinyl, with period cinematography by Reed Morano and David Franco; and Foxs Empire, shot by Paul Sommers. I dont think that television cinematography, as good as it is right now, has even reached the artistic heights it is capable of, Goi says. I think weve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Pictured: Sense8 Related stories Creative Arts Contenders for Editing Know How to Create Rhythm for Action, Suspense and Resolution Creative Arts Emmy Contenders for Hair and Makeup Change Faces to Serve the Story Creative Arts Emmy Contenders for Sound Contribute at Least Half the Meaning of Each Story Whether a show takes you into a kitschy horror universe or on a journey through the most controversial and tragic parts of American history, hair and makeup teams must fashion the masks actors use to take us on the journey. This year that often meant delving deep into realistic looks or striking an exaggerated pose. Roots, shown on History, HBOs All the Way, Cinemaxs The Knick and PBS Mercy Street each take us to a real place that has been documented. The inspiration started there. We shaved [Bryan Cranstons] hair every day because he has a great head of hair but (President) Lyndon Johnsons hair was thinning and he had a bald spot, and thats a big part of the look of LBJ, says Anne Morgan, hair department head for All the Way. Mens hair was also a consideration on Mercy Street and The Knick. The era of both shows demanded certain looks; facial hair in particular held a lot of meaning. Youre better off if an actor can grow his own beard because of HD, which can show lots of flaws, says Ashley Fetterman, makeup head for Mercy Street. With Bravos Odd Mom Out, Foxs Last Man on Earth, USAs Mr. Robot, Starzs Ash vs. Evil Dead and FXs American Horror Story: Hotel, different worlds use elements of realism but exaggerate or intensify their looks. The latter two pull furthest away from what you might see on the street. We were having a bit of fun with it because its based on horror films from the 1980s, says Jane OKane, makeup designer on Ash. We pushed it with blood because that was expected. Other makeup artists reached for new versions of familiar, if unreal, characters. With Lady Gaga, we wanted a version of old Hollywood glamour but a new take on a vampire, says Eryn Krueger Mekash, makeup department head for Hotel. Her eyebrows were bleached out and that make her look otherworldly. Pictured above: Bryan Cranston as LBJ in All the Way Related stories Creative Arts Contenders for Editing Know How to Create Rhythm for Action, Suspense and Resolution Story continues Creative Arts Emmy Contenders for Sound Contribute at Least Half the Meaning of Each Story Creative Arts Emmy Visual Effects Contenders Wow Viewers With Mind-Bending Images As the golden age of television continues, so does an era of spectacular visual effects for the small screen aimed at creating a theatrical-level experience. From shows like Syfys Childhoods End and Foxs The X-Files that deal in science fiction, to AMCs more subtle Better Call Saul, powerful vfx are among the tools for capturing an audience in a sea of programming. For Amazons The Man in the High Castle, effects were used to drape swastikas across urban buildings. We had to think about what the Nazis would do if they were in New York, says Dan Percival, helmer of the series. The tallest, most impressive structures you see are ones they added to put their stamp on the city. Series like Netflixs Daredevil and Starzs Black Sails also deal in augmented realities as they traverse New York and New Providence Island so superheroes and pirates can wage their wars. HBOs Game of Thrones, Syfys Childhoods End and Foxs The X-Files all deliver journeys into total fantasy as they create dragons, aliens and spaceships. I knew there would be a lot of pressure on that opening shot, says William Powloski, vfx supervisor on The X-Files, of an alien spacecraft crash scene. And creator Chris Carter is very sensitive to the look of visual effects. Powloski also worked on a four-and-a-half minute vfx shot in AMCs Better Call Saul that was based in part on the opening sequence of Orson Welles Touch of Evil, in which Charlton Heston crosses the U.S.-Mexico border. In our shot, a truck comes across the border and people pass in front of the camera that are used as wipes, says Powloski. We also had to add trucks and border structures. Much of what we did is invisible. With the exception of a tweet from Guillermo del Toro, not a lot of people talked about it, which is a big compliment. Pictured above: The X-Files Related stories Creative Arts Contenders for Editing Know How to Create Rhythm for Action, Suspense and Resolution Story continues Creative Arts Emmy Contenders for Hair and Makeup Change Faces to Serve the Story Creative Arts Emmy Contenders for Sound Contribute at Least Half the Meaning of Each Story By Jake Spring BEIJING (Reuters) - In China's booming sport utility vehicle (SUV) market, many automakers are selling cars without electronic stability control (ESC) as a standard feature, potentially putting lives at risk from rollover accidents. SUV sales topped 6 million in China last year, a jump of more than 50 percent in an overall market that grew less than 5 percent, as drivers sought more room for their money. As China's economy weakens, price-conscious drivers have shifted from foreign brands to cheaper domestic SUVs. To make the sale, many automakers and dealers only offer ESC as an extra, more expensive, option. SUVs have a higher centre of gravity putting them more at risk of rolling over. ESC counteracts that, quickly reorienting a skidding vehicle to stop it from rolling. A study published by Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine found vehicles with ESC are two-thirds less likely to flip. There is no legal requirement in China for ESC, and German parts maker Bosch [ROBG.UL] says 43 percent of SUVs do not come equipped with this technology. Industry experts note that China, the world's biggest autos market, similarly doesn't legally require anti-lock brakes, and other developing markets including India and Mexico do not require air bags. In 2007, following a series of SUV rollovers, the United States ordered ESC to be compulsory in all passenger vehicles. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) estimated the change saved more than 2,200 lives over a three year period. "ESC saves lives," said Chris Harrison, head of China R&D at Continental AG (CONG.DE), another German car parts and technology firm. China's Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, generally responsible for regulating the autos industry, did not respond to faxed questions about whether there are plans to make ESC compulsory. TOP-10 Among the 10 best-selling SUVs in China last year, seven did not have ESC as a standard feature. Those included cars made by Great Wall Motor , Chongqing Changan Automobile , Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (JAC) and Chery Automobile [CHERY.UL], according to company representatives and officially published specifications. Story continues The three foreign models in the top-10 are universally equipped with the safety feature, but some cheaper foreign SUVs also do not have ESC as standard in China. BYD Co Ltd (1211.HK), Guangzhou Automobile Group (2238.HK) and Geely said some of their models do not have stability control as standard, but it is often available on higher cost packages. Most of the automakers said their SUVs complied with regulations and reflected consumer demand. A spokesman for Chery said that with this year's model all its Tiggo SUVs come with ESC. JAC and Guangzhou Auto said sales of SUVs without ESC are very low and were part of a pricing strategy to attract customers. Geely said the majority of its third-generation vehicles have ESC. Great Wall, Changan and BYD declined to comment. CRASH DATA It's hard to gauge whether the lack of ESC in so many SUVs sold in China has contributed to more fatalities. In the United States, detailed information on every fatal road crash is made publicly available, but in China, crash records and data are often considered state secrets. The World Health Organization estimates China's overall traffic fatalities could be four times the official figure. The Ministry of Public Security records only fatal rollover crashes on highways and does not break those down for sedans and SUVs. Its latest available data logged 630 rollovers and 403 deaths on Chinese highways in 2014. In one instance in 2012, a Sante Fe SUV made by Hawtai Motor skidded on a highway at 110 kms per hour (68 mph), crashed through the barrier and rolled three times, killing a passenger and injuring two others, according to documents provided by a car industry researcher. The vehicle did not have stability control fitted. Last year, a Sportage SUV made by South Korea's Kia Motors and not equipped with ESC skidded and flipped over at 60 kph (37 mph) in snowy conditions, killing one occupant. Both Hawtai and Kia said their cars comply with all legal requirements and some of their SUV models do have ESC. Hawtai acknowledged that cars without ESC are less safe, but even those with the safety feature are "not 100 percent safe" because of road conditions and driver habits. CALCULATED RISK? BAIC Motor Corp's (1985.HK) Huansu SUVs, among China's 2015 top-10, did not offer ESC before last November, according to BAIC dealers and specifications on the automaker's website. BAIC sold 181,100 Huansu SUVs last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, with a starting price of just 51,800 yuan (5,466). In November, BAIC launched its Huansu S6, with ESC optional on cheaper packages, but standard on all but one priced above 96,800 yuan. Buyers appear either unaware of the risks or of the option to pay more for the safety feature. "You must give up something if you want a car at that price, so I sacrifice ESC," said Xu Zhou, a Huansu S3 driver in China's southern Hunan province. "If a car has ESC, that's great, but if not, you have to be more careful when you drive." Another Huansu owner told Reuters he didn't know about ESC when he bought the car, and would buy an SUV with stabilisation technology next time. A spokeswoman for BAIC Huansu said ESC could be offered in the S2 and S3 SUV models at their next redesign as "this option is more and more important." With China's SUV market now so competitive, automakers may look to emphasise safety features such as ESC as a way to differentiate, said Chen Liming, a Bosch regional president overseeing the China electronic stability programme. "People are willing to buy safety products," Chen said. (Reporting by Jake Spring and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Norihiko Shirouzu and Ian Geoghegan) Washington (AFP) - Newly unsealed court documents in a case against White House hopeful Donald Trump's "university" reveal allegations that the now-defunct business preyed on the uneducated and misled consumers with aggressive marketing that amounted to fraud. Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton pounced on the news to argue that Trump is a fraud who is "trying to scam America." The most damning revelations came from former staffers of the profit-driven operation that launched in 2004 and closed in 2010, triggering lawsuits that may well see the presumptive Republican presidential nominee dragged into court. "While Trump University claimed it wanted to help consumers make money in real estate, in fact Trump University was only interested in selling every person the most expensive seminars they possibly could," former Trump University staffer Ronald Schnackenberg wrote in a statement unsealed Tuesday. The business offered several courses in entrepreneurship, under the famous Trump brand. But Schnackenberg described how he quit his sales manager job in 2007 after coming to believe that "Trump University was engaging in misleading, fraudulent and dishonest conduct," echoing arguments laid out by plaintiffs who are former "students" who claim they were scammed. Another former employee, Jason Nicholas, acknowledged that the seminars were taught by "unqualified people posing as Donald Trump's 'right-hand men.'" Nicholas said those staff "were teaching methods that were unethical, and they had had little to no experience flipping properties or doing real estate deals." "It was a facade, a total lie," he testified. The court also unsealed internal company manuals, called "playbooks," detailing sales techniques for steering prospective students to the most expensive courses and programs, which ran as high as $35,000 for supposedly revealing Trump's wealth-generating secrets. Story continues "Let them know that you've found an answer to their problems and a way for them to change their lifestyle," read the playbook, which even suggested the best chair arrangements and specified the ideal room temperature for luring customers. "Retention starts here," the manual added. "Be sure to congratulate the buyer, shake hands, and make eye contact," it explained, telling the marketers that they are "not doing any favor by letting someone use lack of money as an excuse" not to sign up. A Trump spokeswoman told AFP that the newly released documents have "no bearing on the merits of Trump University's case." They instead demonstrate "the high level of satisfaction from students" who participated. - 'Trying to scam America' - The class action suit and fresh release of documents come as the 2016 presidential race shapes up to be a contest between Trump and his likely Democratic opponent, Clinton. The two have already pivoted toward their election matchup, and the former secretary of state wasted no time Wednesday laying into Trump over the revelations. "His own employees testified that Trump U -- you can't make this up -- that Trump U was a fraudulent scheme where Donald Trump enriched himself at the expense of hard-working people," Clinton told supporters at a rally in Newark, New Jersey. She noted that the marketers encouraged potential customers to "max out their credit cards, empty their retirement savings (and) destroy their financial futures." "This is just more evidence that Donald Trump himself is a fraud," Clinton said. "He is trying to scam America." In a tweet late Wednesday, Clinton said: "Trump University students entrusted Trump with their futures, and he scammed them. He'd do the same to our country." Trump has steadfastly defended the operation, claiming that thousands of students gave his courses and instructors "rave reviews." And he has repeatedly attacked the judge handling the case, Gonzalo Curiel. "Very unfair. An Obama pick. Totally biased -- hates Trump," the real estate tycoon tweeted Tuesday, days after he described the judge as "Mexican." Curiel was born in the US state of Indiana. Vote Vets Action Fund, a liberal dark money nonprofit thats raised millions to ostensibly advance pro-veteran causes, is prohibited from engaging in politics as its primary purpose. But the group nevertheless spent more than half the money it raised in fiscal year 2014 on direct or indirect political campaign activities, according to new tax filings reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity. Such activity is legal because Vote Vets Action Funds campaign spending made up less than half the groups overall expenditures for fiscal year 2014. It reported spending a total of about $7.6 million during the period that included the 2014 election, making the political spending only about 41 percent of total spending. The group spent more than it took in, leaving it with net assets of $1.5 million at the end of 2014. The law requires that a majority spent be used on issue advocacy, which VoteVets does by a healthy margin. We will always abide by the law, said Eric Schmeltzer, a spokesman for Vote Vets Action Fund, in an email to the Center for Public Integrity. Vote Vets Action Fund, which does not disclose its donors, is already establishing itself as a significant force during the 2016 election cycle. This story is part of Politics. Campaign donations, lobbying and influence in government and reports on the special interests that are funding elections and buying power. Click here to read more stories in this topic. Don't miss another Politics investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. The nonprofit has so far reported spending more than $623,000 to support U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., according to reports filed with the FEC. With control of the Senate at stake this cycle, the race is viewed as one of the most competitive for Democrats. So far, Vote Vets has spent more than any other outside group on the Illinois Senate race, according to data available via the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks election spending. Story continues Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran who piloted Black Hawk helicopters. She's also a former assistant secretary of veterans affairs. The Vote Vets Action Fund ad in support of Duckworth opens with a shot of a helicopter. Youve got to be a special kind of person to fly of these, the voiceover, by a veteran, says. Thats Tammy Duckworth. Vote Vets Action Fund reported making nearly $2.4 million worth of independent expenditures supporting Democratic candidates during the 2014 election cycle, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., ranked among its targets. Vote Vets Action Fund is organized as a nonprofit under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, which requires that it spend the majority of its resources on activities to improve social welfare. The groups website describes its mission as using public issue campaigns to give a voice to veterans. The IRS code also permits the group to keep its donors anonymous. But an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity of tax filings available via CitizenAudit.org and other public records has identified some of Vote Vets Action Funds donors in recent years, notably labor unions. In 2013, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada reported giving Vote Vets Action Fund $500,000, according to the unions own tax filing. America Votes, another liberal dark money group with ties to Hillary Clintons presidential campaign, reported giving Vote Vets Action Fund $55,000 during the 2014 fiscal year, the Center for Public Integrity reported last week. The American Federation of Government Employees reported giving Vote Vets Action Fund $96,000 in 2015, according to a filing with the U.S. Department of Labor. In all, Vote Vets Action Fund in 2014 raised more than $5.5 million from 52 contributors, none of whom it identified voluntarily. Its two largest donors who gave $805,000 and $735,000 respectively provided more than one-fourth of the groups income in fiscal 2014, tax filings indicate. Last week, in response to questions regarding the America Votes contribution, Schmeltzer, the Vote Vets Action Fund spokesman, told the Center for Public Integrity that the nonprofit uses a majority of its funds for issue advocacy and does not voluntarily disclose donors because the law does not require disclosure of peoples identities. We maintain that privacy for individuals, Schmeltzer said. This story is part of Politics. Campaign donations, lobbying and influence in government and reports on the special interests that are funding elections and buying power. Click here to read more stories in this topic. 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. Some prominent Republicans see David French, writer and war veteran, as a third-party alternative to Donald Trump. Right now, most people dont know who French is; the top Wikipedia hit for his name is a dead Canadian playwright. But his past writing for the conservative National Review shows some positions that could hurt him with women voters. First, French holds views about feminism that could anger some women voters. In November 2014, he took aim at modern feminism, calling it appalling stupidity backed by hysterical rage. French also wrotes that feminism is less a true womens movement than the public face of hysterical leftist intolerancecombined, of course, with utterly bizarre (and bizarrely stupid) ideas. He outlines a few examples, including an episode in which some women defended Lena Dunham over a passage in her book where she describes examining her baby sisters vagina when she was 7-years-old and later, bribing her sister with candy for kisses. French calls this an extended period of grotesque sexualized conduct and says it is conduct that would lead the Left to write any conservative woman out of respectable society. French has also written about what he deems the high cost of sexual license. In a May 2016 column, he linked to a story by a recent female Middlebury graduate discussing her unsatisfying experience in the college hookup culture. He outlined some of the authors findings in her piece, namely that many people she talked to were unhappy with a sexual culture that does not promote monogamy. Indulging in sexual desire without considering the underlying virtue of the relationship or the morality of the desire itself is a recipe for human sufferingleading to the paradox where many of the most sexually-active people are the most heartbroken and most lonely, he wrote. For those who understand biblical truth, the notion of slavery to sin is hardly newand it turns out that redefining sin as freedom doesnt make the slavery or sorrow any less real. Story continues Then theres Frenchs own relationship with his wife. In an article in National Review about marriage, Kathryn Jean Lopez paraphrased passages from the book French and his wife Nancy wrote about long-distance strains on relationships. Before French left for Iraq, he and his wife devised rules for their separation: she could not have phone conversations with men, or meaningful e-mail exchanges about politics or any other subject. She could also not go on Facebook, where she might talk to the ghosts of boyfriends past. At one point while David was overseas, Nancy began emailing with another man about questions of faith. David asked her to end the correspondence because, as he wrote in his book, the most intimate conversations a person has are about life and faith and spiritual and emotional intimacy frequently leads to physical intimacy. French, a veteran, also does not believe women should be allowed in military combat positions. In September 2015, he supported the Marine Corps position that women should be barred from infantry, machine-gunners and fire-support reconnaissance units. If you integrate infantry units by gender, more Americans will die, and our enemy will have a better chance to prevail on the battlefield, French wrote, citing a Marine Corps study that found all-male infantry units out-performed mixed gender ones, and that women were injured more often than men. Will we have to endure the broken bodies of men and women who could have been saved, of breaches in lines that never should have opened, before we acknowledge reality? French wrote. Men are stronger than women, and in ground combat, that strength is the difference between life and death, victory and defeat. Three months after French wrote this column, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter overruled the Marines and said that women will be allowed in all combat positions in the U.S. military. On the heels of the news that Jen Lilley is leaving her Days of Our Lives role of scheme queen Theresa Donovan comes word that the also-exiting Kate Mansi has been recast as troubled ingenue Abigail DiMera: Marci Miller will make her debut as Chads bride this fall, Soap Opera Digest reports. RELATEDReport: Days of Our Lives Jen Lilley Leaving the Role of Theresa Though a soap rookie, the actress has appeared in a bunch of short films and stars in the upcoming Children of the Corn: Runaway and Death Race 2050, Roger Cormans upgrade of his 1975 cult classic, Death Race 2000, with Malcolm McDowell and Manu Bennett (Arrow). RELATEDGeneral Hospitals Kirsten Storms Explains Break From Maxie Role In announcing her departure on Instagram back in January, Mansi a TV newbie when she was cast as Jack and Jennifers daughter on Days in 2011 wrote that the timing was right for [her] to set sail from Salem. Already, she has landed a lead in the thriller Boyfriend Killer, opposite her onetime Days castmate Patrick Muldoon, who played Austin. RELATEDGeneral Hospitals Tyler Christopher Replaced as Nikolas by Nick Stabile Miller inherits a juicy storyline in which newlywed Abigail has lost her marbles after being tormented by her ex, Ben, aka the Necktie Killer. NBC could not be reached for comment. What do you think, Days fans? Will you be able to accept someone new playing Abigail opposite Billy Flynns Chad? Hit the comments. Related stories Fall TV Poll: Which New Shows Are You Most Looking Forward To? Fall TV's First Scoops: A Grey's Baby, Vampire Diaries' New Big Bad and More Early Intel From 18 Returning Series Grimm Season 6: Renard (Kinda) Saved Nick's Life! -- What Happens Next? Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102480%2f4c60d43009c849eeb85a16fc9b690627 So, this is it folks. It's been saaah cool sipping on a flat white or the macchiato willy-nilly, but now there's a coffee out there that could signal the irreversible decline of our once productive and healthy societies. SEE ALSO: Discover the world's most Instagrammed coffee In what might be the worst trend since chopping boards for plates or fry baskets for chips (which have been slowly chipping away at our souls for years), deconstructed coffee is here to destroy us once and for all. Imagine this: Waiting 20 minutes for a single cup of coffee, only to find that it's been deconstructed into beakers of milk, hot water and an espresso shot. God help us all. That's what happened to writer Jamila Rizvi, who was served one at an unknown cafe in Australia's so-called coffee capital Melbourne, voicing her shock and displeasure on Facebook Tuesday. Rizvi told Mashable Australia via email she didn't want to reveal where the cafe was, but ordered a flat white, which she admits she did so without seeing the menu first. "Sorry Melbourne but no. No no no no no," she wrote. "Hipsterism has gone too far when your coffee comes deconstructed ... I wanted a coffee. Not a science experiment. I prefer to drink my beverages out of crockery and not beakers." Rizvi also foresaw the bleak future of the brew, in which we'd likely be eating beans out of a hat sometime soon. "Next stage? I'll just get a chopping board with a bunch of actual coffee beans and an upside down hat on it," she wrote. "This must stop, dear Melbourne. This must stop." Priced at A$4.50 (US$3.27), the deconstructed coffee was on par with normal prices, but was a bamboozling way to serve it, said Rizvi. "I love Melbourne, especially its coffee culture, but this was a pretty confusing way to be served a coffee," she said. Melbourne, please save yourself from your impending doom. UPDATE: June 1, 2016, 1:48 p.m. AEST Added quotes from Jamila Rizvi. Donald Trump Donald Trump has made some out-of-the-mainstream comments about American foreign policy, and US allies have noticed. After a week in which world leaders gathered at the G-7 summit in Japan, America's allies in Asia might feel particularly uneasy. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has said he is open to talking to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, insisted that countries like South Korea and Japan need to pay the US for security, and suggested that South Korea and Japan should obtain nuclear weapons to manage threats from North Korea and China. "South Koreans have not been able to figure out what Donald Trump really intends to do regarding South Korea, but he's issued a number of statements," David Straub, the associate director of the Korea Program at Stanford University, told Business Insider. He continued: All the statements made about the Korean Peninsula have deeply concerned the people and I think the government of South Korea because they make no sense to South Koreans. They don't fit into the context of any known American analysis of the situation on the Korean Peninsula or any existing American policy concept toward the Korean Peninsula. Straub characterized South Koreans as "totally confused" and "deeply concerned" about Trump's recent statements, explaining that the South Korean news media had been reporting "fairly extensively" on Trump. "Donald Trump's emergence as the presumptive Republican nominee has a lot of people throughout the world very concerned that the American people are not very smart and that our political system is about to collapse," Straub said, adding that many South Koreans regarded Trump's comments as "indicating some fundamental American weakness." Geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer told Business Insider that while much of what Trump says is "completely impractical," it fits comfortably in his wheelhouse as a tough dealmaker. But Bremmer agreed that it was unsettling to US allies. Story continues "The South Koreans are now competing with the Mexicans over who is more freaked out over a potential Trump presidency," Bremmer, the president of the political-risk firm Eurasia Group, said in an email. And while Trump's policies on Asia could work to his advantage, Bremmer said "what's much more likely is that American allies of all stripes will get unnerved and hedge their policies away from the Americans." This could then weaken American alliances and other international institutions. Straub predicted that if Trump were in charge of diplomacy, South Korea could pivot to China as leaders there lose faith in the US. "Every time you have something like the Wall Street financial crisis or a political campaign such as we have now, it tends to make South Koreans think they should be more on the side of the Chinese," Straub said. Donald Trump South Korea isn't alone in its concerns about Trump. The New York Times reported last month that world leaders gathered at the G-7 summit in Japan asked President Barack Obama anxious questions about the chances of Trump winning the presidency. The Times reported: Mr. Obamas Japanese hosts are particularly alarmed at the prospect of a Trump presidency because the real estate developer has been bashing Japan for decades. Mr. Trump's criticisms have a distinctly 1980s flavor, when Japanese cars were flooding American markets and Japanese businesses were buying premier American properties like Rockefeller Center in New York. Top Japanese officials visiting Washington, D.C., recently have expressed "anxieties" about Trump's recent remarks on foreign policy, according to The Times. And Reuters reported earlier this year that foreign diplomats were "expressing alarm" to US officials about what they perceive as xenophobic statements from Trump. One official told Reuters that "as the [Trump] rhetoric has continued, and in some cases amped up, so, too, have concerns by certain leaders around the world." India, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico are on the list of countries whose diplomats have complained about Trump, officials told Reuters. These officials also noted that it was highly unusual for foreign diplomats to weigh in on candidates during a presidential election. And it's not just Asian officials who are concerned. Trump has said NATO is "obsolete," worrying America's allies in Europe. "European diplomats are constantly asking about Trump's rise with disbelief and, now, growing panic," a senior NATO official told Reuters. The official added: "With the EU facing an existential crisis, there's more than the usual anxiety about the US turning inward when Europe needs US support more than ever." Even North Korea has taken note of South Korea's reaction to Trump's pronouncements. The Hermit Kingdom's state media reported recently that Trump's comments have created a "Trump Shock" in the South Korean capital of Seoul, according to the Associated Press. The outlet, DPRK Today, also praised Trump as a "wise politician and presidential candidate with foresight." NOW WATCH: FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Why I won't vote for Donald Trump More From Business Insider Over the past one week, though defense primes smarted under market depreciations, it did not stop them from picking up big ticket programs from the Pentagons funding list. To that effect, Boeing BA secured a major contract from the U.S. Air Force yesterday. Yet, its share price was down last week and 2.38% yesterday. This was because the company announced yet another delay to its KC-46 military tanker program late last Friday. Among the other important headlines last week, Raytheon RTN, Lockheed Martin LMT and L-3 Communications Holdings LLL won important contracts. (Read Defense Stock Roundup for May 24, 2016 here.) Recap of the Weeks Most Important Stories 1. Boeing secured a big contract from the Pentagons daily funding session yesterday. The company has been awarded a $3.2 billion contract modification to a previously awarded contract for Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tailkits, the Pentagon said. Boeing will provide JDAM strap-on inertial guidance kits with the capability of receiving guidance updates from Global Positioning Systems or GPS to boost weapon accuracy for conventional inventory bombs. The original contract was awarded on Oct 30, 2014, for a maximum value of $1.7 billion. However, this was boosted by $1.4 billion due to warfighter demand and to replenish depleted inventories, per the Defense Department. Work under the contract will be carried out at St. Louis, MI, and is slated to be complete by Sep 29, 2020. This contract also involves foreign military sales (FMS). Boeing shares however declined on Tuesday following the announcement late last week that there will be a delay in the delivery of new KC-46 tankers to the U.S. Air Force. Boeing was expected to deliver 18 KC-46 tankers by Aug 2017. But as things stand now, Boeing is likely to miss the deadline and may have to incur additional charges to the $1.3 billion already taken on its largest military program. The Air Force said that the first few KC-46 tankers are now due to arrive in late summer or early autumn of 2017 and all 18 are expected to be delivered by Jan 2018. 2. Lockheed Martin Corp. has won a contract from the U.S. Navy to build the guidance and control systems for the MK 48 Mod 7 torpedoes. The contract has a potential value of $424.7 million, if all options are exercised. Per the contract, Lockheed Martin will supply MK-48 common broadband advanced sonar system upgrade kits as well as MK 48 heavyweight torpedo guidance and control sections to the Navy. The latest contract is part of a five-year initiative to grow the inventory of the MK 48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedoes for the submarine fleet. Over the next five years, the company may receive production orders for another 250 torpedoes from the Navy to be used as anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare weapons by all classes of submarines. 3. Raytheon Co.s Integrated Defense Systems division has won a contract from the U.S. Navy for the production of Aegis Weapon System AN/SPY-1D(V) Radar Transmitter Group, Missile Fire Control System MK 99 equipment, and associated engineering services. This contract falls under an FMS program that includes purchases for South Korea and Japan apart from purchases for the U.S. Navy. Work under this contract is expected to be completed by Oct 2022. 4. L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, a subsidiary of L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., recently received a contract from the U.S. Navy for logistics services for the C-12 utility lift aircraft. The contract is valued at $302.2 million and will run through Jul 2021. Per the contract, the company will be responsible for post-production services, full aircraft maintenance, logistics support and the supply of materials for Marine Corps Reserve C-12 and US Navy TC-12B trainer aircraft. Modeled on Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900, C-12 Huron is the military version of an executive passenger and transport aircraft. It is mainly used by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps for a wide array of functions including range clearance, embassy support, medical evacuation, VIP transport, and passenger and light cargo transport. 5. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. HII has nabbed a contract from the U.S. Navy for advance planning of the detail design and production of the fiscal 2018 nuclear powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN 80). The contract, valued at $152 million, entails Huntington Ingalls to carry out research and development, integrated designing, engineering, and purchase of long lead-time materials. The Enterprise (CVN 80), Gerald R. Ford class third aircraft carrier, bears the name of the Navys first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Once it enters service, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Nimitz-class ship, will be retired from service. Performance Almost all the major defense stocks ended in the red last week. Lockheed Martin depreciated the most followed by Boeing. In the past six months, however, the picture is somewhat mixed. Northrop Grumman remained in the leading position while Boeing was the biggest loser. The following table shows the price movement of the major defense players over the past five trading days and during the last six months. Story continues Company Last Week Last 6 months LMT -1.29% 8.83% BA -1.06% -13.12% GD -0.76% -2.82% RTN -0.29% 5.36% NOC -0.94% 14.02% COL -0.52% -4.08% TXT -0.57% -10.80% LLL -0.82% 12.83% Whats Next in the Defense World? Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO Marillyn Hewson will present at the Bernstein 32nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2016 on Jun 1. Northrop Grumman will attend the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference 2016 on Jun 3. Boeing will attend the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Jun 2, 2016. Boeing as well as Rockwell Collins COL will also attend the Deutsche Bank Global Industrials and Materials Summit on Jun 8. 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 BOEING CO (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report ROCKWELL COLLIN (COL): Free Stock Analysis Report RAYTHEON CO (RTN): Free Stock Analysis Report L-3 COMM HLDGS (LLL): Free Stock Analysis Report HUNTINGTON INGL (HII): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Shares of Demandware (DWRE) soared nearly 56 percent Wednesday after Salesforce.com (CRM) agreed to buy the website design software maker for $2.8 billion in cash. The deal values Demandware at $75 a share, and represents a more than 56 percent premium over Tuesday's closing price of $47.99. Demandware was trading at $74.81 per share Wednesday. The acquisition is Salesforce's largest to date, topping its $2.5 billion purchase of marketing software maker ExactTarget in 2013. "With Demandware, Salesforce will be well positioned to deliver the future of commerce as part of our Customer Success Platform and create yet another billion dollar cloud," Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said in a statement. In an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer on " Squawk on the Street ", Benioff spoke about the competitive M&A landscape. "We're not winning every deal. This is just a deal we're actually able to get done. We're excited that we can actually get Demandware. And its tough to get deals done in this environment because everybody's positioning for growth for next year. I'm thrilled we got Demandware." The deal, slated to close in July, is expected to increase Salesforce's 2017 revenue by about $100 million to $120 million, but reduce adjusted earnings per share by 7 cents. Following the acquisition, Mizuho analyst Abhey Lamba downgraded Demandware stock to Neutral, predicting no other bidders will emerge. Lamba did raise his price target on the stock to $75 from $55. In a note to investors, Lamba said "as we expected, Demandware proved out to be a good strategic asset with Salesforce.com extending its reach into the e-commerce space." Demandware stock, up nine days in a row, hit a 52-week high in its best day of trading ever. Before Wednesday, Demandware shares were down 11 percent for the year, while Salesforce had gained 7 percent. Salesforce shares were down 0.3 percent Wednesday at $83.45. More From CNBC TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - June 01, 2016) - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Titan Medical Inc. ("Titan") (TMD.TO)(TITXF) today announced that it has entered into an agreement (the "Subscription Agreement") for an equity investment from Shanghai Jugu Equity Investment Fund Co. Ltd. ("Shanghai Jugu"). Under the terms of the agreement, Shanghai Jugu will subscribe for and purchase U.S. $16,000,000 worth of Common Shares of Titan under a private placement, at a subscription price of CDN $0.746 per share. The shares will be issued pursuant to an exemption from prospectus requirements and will be subject to resale restrictions for a period of 4 months following closing of the private placement under Ontario securities laws. The Subscription Agreement provides that the Private Placement may be completed in two separate closings: (1) at the first closing, expected to take place by June 30, 2016, ("First Closing") the parties will complete the issuance and purchase of 16,377,568 Titan Shares and (2) at a second closing ("Second Closing"), to occur following clearance by the TSX of a Personal Information Form (the "PIF") to be submitted by Shanghai Jugu, the parties will complete the issuance and purchase of 11,506,350 Titan Shares. The Second Closing will be conditional upon clearance of the PIF by the TSX. The proceeds will be used for the ongoing development and commercialization of Titan's SPORT Surgical System. "We are very pleased that Shanghai Jugu has recognized Titan as a valuable investment opportunity," commented Reiza Rayman, President of Titan Medical Inc. "This is an indication of emerging market interest in our technology and the value that it can bring to healthcare." John Hargrove, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Medical Inc., commented, "The SPORT Surgical System is expected to provide value clinically, financially, and operationally. As such, new markets that were not previously served can be addressed with our technology." Story continues About Titan Medical Inc. Titan Medical Inc. is a Canadian public company focused on the design and development of a robotic surgical system for application in minimally invasive surgery ("MIS"). The Company's SPORT Surgical System, currently under development, includes a surgeon-controlled robotic platform that incorporates a 3D high-definition vision system and multi-articulating instruments for performing MIS procedures through a single incision. The surgical system also includes a surgeon workstation that provides a surgeon with an advanced ergonomic interface to the robotic platform for controlling the instruments and provides a 3D high-definition endoscopic view of inside a patient's body. The SPORT Surgical System is designed to enable surgeons to perform a broad set of surgical procedures for general abdominal, gynecologic, and urologic indications. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.titanmedicalinc.com. About Shanghai JuGu Equity Investment Fund Co. Ltd. section. Shanghai JuGu, founded in 2008, is a private equity fund providing private equity, venture capital and other related financial services. Having registered capital of 100 million yuan and accumulated financial assets under management of more than 2 billion yuan, Shanghai JuGu funds is dedicated to wealth management, inductrial investment, small and micro loans and advisory services. Shanghai JuGu's head office is located in Pudong New District, Shanghai, China Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which reflect the current expectations of management of the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "potential for" and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs with respect to future events and are based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those listed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2016 (which may be viewed at www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in the news release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The Paris agreement of December 2015 raised new hopes that the worst effects of climate change might yet be averted. This agreement, whose signatories have agreed to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a voluntary basis, marks the first major international pact to combat climate change since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. In contrast to Kyoto, however, whose signatories accounted for only about 14 percent of global emissions, the countries that signed the Paris deal account for a whopping 96 percent. Of course, the outstanding question is whether the agreement will actually be implemented. As its critics are quick to point out, the Paris climate pact is a soft law that lacks the legal clout to impose sanctions and penalties, but rather attempts to change behavior through norm-building and consensus. And past attempts by individual nations to control greenhouse gas emissions have produced scant results. Low-cost, effective ways of lowering emissions already exist. A universal carbon tax, which would raise the cost of producing emissions, could push countries toward this goal without major economic disruptions by making the development and adoption of green energy sources, such as wind and solar, as cheap or cheaper than fossil fuels. But as William Nordhaus, one of the worlds leading economic thinkers on climate change, has argued, most governments lack the political will to do so. In the United States, for example, lack of political will has forced policymakers to choose from a number of second best policies. Pressure from large domestic energy companies, anti-tax groups and climate change deniers including many in Congress has forced the executive branch to tax carbon indirectly or to subsidize wind and solar power. Unfortunately, such measures do little to discourage the continued use of fossil fuels. Pointing to the susceptibility of democratic governments to interest groups that have an economic stake in maintaining the status quo, environmental ethicist Dale Jamieson questions whether democracy is up to the challenge of climate change at all. Scientist James Lovelock is similarly pessimistic, noting that human inertia is so great that, barring a catastrophic event, the best democratic governments can do is to adapt to climate change i.e., building sea walls around vulnerable cities. Lovelock argues that, to make the hard decisions needed to deal effectively with climate change, it may be eventually be necessary to put democracy on hold, opting instead for some kind of environmental authoritarianism. Story continues But is it really necessary to choose between democracy and saving the planet? A comprehensive review of various countries progress towards environmental sustainability suggests otherwise. In fact, the case against democracy as a vehicle for environmental sustainability may be grossly overstated, based less on the actions of the worlds democracies as a whole than on the failures of a conspicuous few. Two data sets can help us identify the impact of democracy on climate change: The Economist Intelligence Units (EIU) Democracy Index 2015 and the World Energy Councils Energy Trilemma Index. The Democracy Index divides 167 countries into four main groups: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. The countries are ranked best (Norway) to worst (North Korea). The Energy Trilemma Index ranks 130 countries in terms of their progress in three key energy performance measures: energy security (the availability of reliable supplies of energy), energy equity (the domestic price of energy) and environmental sustainability (the effect of the countrys energy sources on greenhouse gas emissions). Based on these measures, countries are ranked from best (Switzerland) to worst (South Africa). In 2015, the twenty countries grouped by the EIU as democracies had an average ranking of 34.2 on the energy sustainability index, while the 27 authoritarian regimes for which climate data existed scored much worse, with an average ranking of 85.6. In the two intermediate regime types, environmental sustainability fell off with democracy, with flawed democracies having an average ranking of 62.9 compared to hybrid countries at 67.5. The bad reputation of democracies in combatting climate change likely reflects the extremely low environmental sustainability scores of several of the more prominent members of this group, namely Canada (71), the United States (95), and Australia (110). As the name Energy Trilemma suggests, countries are forced to make trade-offs between energy security, energy equity, and environmental sustainability when determining their energy policies. For instance, a country that prioritizes energy equity might opt to import cheap fossil fuels at the expense of energy security and environmental sustainability until it can develop low-cost green domestic energy sources. Thus, the Energy Trilemma Index can provide insights not just into a countrys performance, but also into its priorities. As it turns out, countries that prioritized environmental sustainability ranked considerably higher on democracy than those that didnt (75.4 vs. 103.5). These countries also had somewhat lower average per capita income ($25,015 vs. $37,095), demonstrating that taking action against climate change is far from a luxury that only the richest nations can afford. As these patterns clearly show, democracies are much more likely than authoritarian regimes to give environmental sustainability priority over either energy security or affordable energy supplies. This fact appears counter-intuitive, given that an often-cited flaw of democracy is that politicians are forced to make short-run decisions based on the election cycle. However, the effects of climate change, in the form of more severe storms, damaging droughts, falling agricultural yields, and increased flooding of coastal areas, are already being felt. And voters whose lives and livelihoods are increasingly impacted by climate change are beginning to demand immediate action, effectively forcing politicians to take a longer-run view. As a result, democratic governments become more likely to comply with global agreements that set specific targets for carbon reduction. Nevertheless, as noted above, several of the more prominent democracies in particular, Canada, the United States, and Australia have failed to adopt a national strategy for combatting climate change. The governments of these countries have not only come under pressure from their domestic fossil fuel industries, but from other constituencies that oppose changing the status quo, due in particular to the perception that environmentalism comes at the expense of jobs and low energy prices. In the U.S., a long-term campaign of disinformation funded by the fossil fuel sector has given rise to a large group of climate-change naysayers, although their numbers may be shrinking. Even in these countries, however, democracy is at work subtly prodding the government toward greater environmental responsibility. For now, this work is taking place at the provincial, state, and municipal levels. British Columbia has imposed a carbon tax, California has initiated a cap-and-trade carbon plan, and Melbourne has set a goal of zero net emissions by 2020. In most cases where local action has taken place, the effects of climate change have already begun to affect peoples lives. Once the consequences of climate change begin to be felt in other parts of these countries, it is reasonable to expect movements of this sort to gain momentum. Public concerns about the effects of climate change are unlikely to have the same force in authoritarian regimes as in democracies for two basic reasons. Authoritarian regimes almost invariably prioritize energy security and equity over environmental sustainability, since rising fuel prices risk social unrest. This overarching concern with keeping energy prices low encourages increased usage of fossil fuels and a bias against green technologies. At the same time, authoritarian governments control information through state dominance of the media and access to official data. For example, China recently reported a sizable drop in coal consumption to placate citizens concerns about the countrys choking air pollution. According to the New York Times, however, Chinese coal consumption during the period of supposed reduction actually rose by 600 million tons, an increase equal to 70 percent of annual coal usage in the United States. Even as Chinese greenhouse gas emissions from coal grew, a Pew Research report noted the number of Chinese who expressed serious concern about global warming fell from 41 percent in 2010 to just 18 percent in 2015. The only explanation for the drop the reports author could suggest was a relative lack of public discussion of climate change. Fortunately, one of democracys greatest advantages is the ability of a free press to facilitate the dissemination of information and knowledge. Journalists have already begun to press home the direct link between human-induced climate change and weather-driven events, such as Californias record drought and the increased number and intensity of Australian bushfires. As voters become better informed, so too will democratic governments adopt better policies to promote climate stability. In the photo, activists dressed as polar bears join others to hold up a giant red banner during a demonstration against climate change near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on December 12, 2015. Photo credit: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images DNC Donald Trump The Democratic National Committee is trolling Donald Trump over his refusal to release his tax returns. The committee on Wednesday launched a new micro website called "taxesbytrump.com," which purports to show the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's tax records. Business Insider viewed the site ahead of its launch. But whenever users attempt to click on a large red "see returns" box, it zips away from the cursor, a reference to the public's inability to view Trump's actual tax information. In a statement accompanying the site's release, Mark Paustenbach, the DNC's national press secretary, criticized Trump for requesting tax information from charities he vetted for donations while refusing to release his own tax records. "It's more than ironic that Trump needs to see a group's tax records before supporting their efforts but is unwilling to show his own tax records before asking the American people to support his own bid for the White House," Paustenbach told Business Insider. "Donald Trump is the standard-bearer for a double standard, and his standard for 'deal-making' has no place in the White House," he added. Despite repeated calls over the past several months, Trump hasn't yielded to decades of precedent for presidential nominees, citing legal advice to wait until the IRS finishes an audit of his records. Many high-profile Republicans figures have already called on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to release his returns, a tradition that lends insight into a candidate's personal finances and tax history. In an interview promoting his newly released memoir, "The Long Game," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pointed out that Trump was the only major candidate in decades who hadn't released his tax returns. "For the last 30 or 40 years, every candidate for president has released their tax returns, and I think Donald Trump should as well," McConnell told Business Insider on Tuesday. Story continues NOW WATCH: How Donald Trump used bankruptcy to stay rich More From Business Insider Los Angeles (AFP) - Actress Amber Heard filed a police statement Tuesday accusing her estranged husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence, saying she had endured "years of physical and psychological" abuse. Heard's attorneys said in a statement that the actress had refused to file a police report after a May 21 argument with Depp that left a bruise on her face out of concern for his career and to protect her privacy. "Johnny's team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts, as she cannot continue to leave herself open to the vicious false and malicious allegations that have infected the media," the statement by attorneys Samantha Spector and Joseph Koenig said. "Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny," they added. "Amber can no longer endure the relentless attacks and outright lies launched against her character in the court of public opinion since the tragic events of May 21." Depp's representatives could not be immediately reached for comment and a spokesman at the Los Angeles police department declined comment, saying that an investigation was underway. Heard, 30, filed for divorce from Depp, 52, last week and subsequently obtained a restraining order that requires the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star to stay away from her. She appeared in a Los Angeles court on Friday with a black eye that she said was the result of Depp hurling a cell phone at her face during the May 21 incident. Heard and Depp met on the set of the 2011 film "The Rum Diary," when the actor was still in a relationship with French actress Vanessa Paradis, mother of his son Jack and daughter Lily-Rose. They married in February last year. Depp's former partner Paradis and their daughter Lily-Rose rushed to his defense over the weekend, describing him as a gentle person. "My dad is the sweetest most loving person I know, he's been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother and I, and everyone who knows him would say the same," the 17-year-old said in a message posted on Instagram. Paradis for her part described her former partner as "a sensitive, loving and loved person," in a letter posted by the celebrity website TMZ. A representative for Depp told the media last week that he would not respond "to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life. Hopefully, the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly." Colombian rock band Diamante Electrico rocked a packed house Tuesday night (May 31) during their intimate concert at The Mint. The Latin Grammy-winning trio -- lead vocalist and bass player Juan Galeano, Andee Zeta on the drums and guitarist Daniel Alvarez -- kicked off their four-year anniversary celebration in Los Angeles playing some of their hit songs like "Las horas," "Duele como yo," "Nos rompemos igual," "Kamikase" and their newest single "Placebo," which had the crowd singing along and rocking on the dance floor. [[{"fid":"615270","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":1963,"width":1240,"alt":"Diamante Electrico perform at The Mint in Los Angeles on May 31, 2016.","class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]] Rafael Marquez Diamante Electrico, who in March opened for the The Rolling Stones in Colombia, also sang their Spanish-language version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Up Around the Bend" which will be part of the multilingual tribute album Quiero Creedence featuring covers by Juan Gabriel, El Tri, Bunbury, Juanes, Ozomatli, among others. The up-and-coming rockeros embarked on their U.S./Mexico tour at the end of May, taking their powerful and energetic showcase to cities like Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana. L.A. and San Diego are their only two stops in the U.S. Following their Latin Grammy win for Best Rock Album in 2015, Diamante Electrico went on to produce a new album due in September, which they finished recording in Bogota before going on this tour. "We thought we should do a new record after the Grammy because each one of us were in different stages in our life personally and spiritually, so we want to show that in this new record which we titled La Gran Oscilacion," Galeano told Billboard. [[{"fid":"615269","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":1503,"width":1240,"alt":"Diamante Electrico perform at The Mint in Los Angeles on May 31, 2016.","class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]] Rafael Marquez Last week we warned you about the dangers of black salve the natural, over-the-counter skin cancer remedy that can lead to disfiguring, disastrous results, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. And this week, we bring you a highly disturbing visual that appears to support those findings. While the video of a woman whose nose appeared to rot from the salve was first posted to Worlds Greatest Medical on YouTube last year, its receiving attention anew after being featured in the British tabloid Daily Star. The woman smeared black salve an ointment which burns skin tissue onto her hooter and forehead in a bid to cure her skin cancer, the story notes. But the remedy allegedly rotted the womans skin instead. On the YouTube post, which has been viewed more than 3.6 million times, the woman, who also smeared some of the salve onto another self-diagnosed spot on her forehead, explained her situation. I have a diagnosed basal cell spot on tip of nose, opted out of Mohs surgery to go the natural route, after much research on the web, she wrote, and then shared details of her black scab. The eschar is still attached to my nose, but its loose enough that tonight, I could pull the top part away enough to see that my worst fear/outcome is going to be my reality. I can see my nose cartilage underneath the eschar, and I can even pull air through the top/front area of my nose if I completely clog my nostrils. The disturbing scabs this woman says the black salve caused on her nose and forehead. (Photo: YouTube) Black salve, which refers to a family of ointments containing corrosive ingredients such as zinc chloride and sanguinarine (derived from the bloodroot plant Sanguinaria canadensis), can eliminate the top layer of skin. The study of its possible results, which was published in the May issue of the dermatology journal, not only found that people are using it without their doctors approval, but that it also brings on numerous possible side effects such as infection, extensive scarring, and disfigurement and that it can further complicate skin cancer. Story continues Basically, its a skin poison, Doris Day, MD, a dermatologist and clinical associate professor of dermatology at the New York University Langone Medical Centers, told Yahoo Beauty regarding the salve last week. It just attacks and destroys living tissue and creates a scar. Its killing the skin locally. Its something the woman in the video apparently found out the hard way. Understandably, as you can imagine, she wrote, I am sickened and freaked out by my personal revelation tonight that the salve went completely through my nose down to my nasal passages. Related: All Sunscreens Are Not Created Equal: Check This Guide Before You Step Outside Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. On Saturday, the fashion jet set took their seats at the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum in Rio for the spectacular Louis Vuitton Cruise 2017 show and yesterday evening Dior got off to a slightly less sunny but no less spectacular start for their Cruise offering. The French fashion house set the collection against the Baroque backdrop of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, one of England's grandest stately homes and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. Unhindered by the dismal weather and torrential rain, Dior brought back the magnificence of earlier shows held at the same venue. In 1954, Christian Dior first unveiled a collection in Blenheim after his client, the tenth Duchess of Marlborough, invited him to stage a show at her residence. Then, a few years later, in 1958, a year after the designer's death, Dior's protege, Yves Saint Laurent also put on a show in the famous palace. Continuing on from the palatial theme of the Dior Resort show at Palais Bulles outside Cannes in May 2015, this year attendees hopped aboard the Diorient Express, departing from London Victoria. The grand train was replete with Dior porters, sumptuous decor including Dior china and a lavish lunch (which may have been necessary to soak up any hangovers from Monday night's pre-show party at the Lady Dior pop-up pub in Mayfair). Photo: Getty Yesterday's show coincides with the opening of a new Dior flagship in London, set across four floors and designed under the direction of architect Peter Marino, opening on New Bond Street on Friday. And that's not the only news from the Parisian house this week just hours before the show they announced Bella Hadid as a new ambassador for Dior beauty. The young supermodel later hit the catwalk at Blenheim, making her Dior debut. Like the AW16 collection, the Cruise line was designed by a studio team headed up by Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier, but Diors lack of an official Creative Director, since Raf Simons' departure last October, did not significantly squash the magnitude and noise surrounding the show. Social media was alight with posts from the day, from the tour of the new superstore first thing on Tuesday morning, to the party at Loulou's that went on until the early hours of this morning. Story continues But what about the show? And, more importantly, what about the collection itself? Befitting of an English palace, the pieces centred on quintessentially British garms, inspired by "not only the post-war high society's wardrobes, but also the restlessness and wanderlust that characterised the period: the urge to travel, to discover the new." Also influenced by national style icons like Edith Sitwell, there were cinched jackets, structured white shirts, equestrian scenes knitted into pictorial jacquards, cropped leather flares, country floral dresses, printed silk skirts and plenty of rustic tweed as stars including Alexa Chung, The Weeknd, Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka and Sai Bennett looked on from the front row. Though the wearable collection introduced a slighter looser silhouette than we might expect from Dior, were the designs eclipsed by the grandeur and ceremony of the day? We think so. While we still wait to see who will succeed Simons (will it be Valentino's Maria Chiuri Grazia? Will it be Erdem Moralioglu?), though it's perhaps evident that houses cannot excel without a star designer, Dior still know how to put on a bloody good show. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? The Danish Designer We Can't Get Enough Of Can The Hijab Actually Be Relatable To All Women? Indian Designer Dedicates Sari Collection To Trans Community Star Wars stand-alone movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will undergo several weeks worth of additional shooting, sources have confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. Much of the cast and director Gareth Edwards will regroup in mid-June for another round of shooting. The move is happening after execs screened the film and felt it was tonally off with what a classic Star Wars movie should feel like. The pic has not yet been tested before audiences, but one source describes the cut as having the feel of a war movie. The goal of the reshoots will be to lighten the mood, bring some levity into the story and restore a sense of fun to the adventure. Rogue One focuses on the fabled mission hinted at in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, that of a group of rebels stealing the plans to the Death Star. The plans later end up in the hands of Princess Leia, who transfers them to R2-D2. This is the closest thing to a prequel ever, a source tells THR. This takes place just before A New Hope and leads up to the 10 minutes before that classic film begins. You have to match the tone! And while its not confirmed, some suggest that the new shooting could pave the way for an appearance of Han Solo as played by Alden Ehrenreich. The actor only recently nabbed the role of the spice smuggler and was not involved in Rogue Ones principal photography, which ran from last August to February. Disney re-introduced audiences to Star Wars with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which garnered excellent reviews and grossed over $2 billion worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing movie of all time. Sources say that while Edwards first cut was a solid showing, it didnt measure up to the bar set in terms of four-quadrant appeal. Anything less than extraordinary wont do, says a studio insider. Reshoots or additional shooting are practically a given in this decade of tentpole comic book, fantasy and sci-fi moviemaking. The films are massive productions, filled with so much green-screen and fit together in a way that, more often than not, demands for shooting to fill in holes or clarify plots. Even acting deals have the shoots in mind when contracts call for run of show appearances, which include not just shooting anytime during production but even during postproduction, say several agency sources. Story continues The New York Post first reported about the Star Wars reshoots. Read More: Rogue One: 5 Things to Know About the Chinese Supporting Stars Watch the 'Rogue One trailer Star Wars standalone movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will undergo several weeks' worth of additional shooting, sources have confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. Much of the cast and director Gareth Edwards will regroup in mid-June for a round of shooting. The move is happening after execs screened the movie and felt it was tonally off with what a "classic" Star Wars movie should feel like. The film has not yet been tested before audiences but one source describes the cut as having the feel of a war movie. The goal of the reshoots will be to lighten the mood, bring some levity into the story and restore a sense of fun to the adventure. Rogue One focuses on the fabled mission hinted in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, that of a group of rebels stealing that plans to the Death Star. The plans later end up in the hands of Princess Leia who transfers them to R2-D2. Read More: 'Rogue One': Mads Mikkelsen Teases Important Details About His 'Star Wars' Character "This is the closest thing to a prequel ever," a source tells THR. "This takes place just before A New Hope and leads up to the 10 minutes before that classic films begins. You have to match the tone!" And while it's not confirmed, some suggest that the new shooting could pave the way for an appearance of Han Solo as played by Alden Ehrenreich. The actor only recently nabbed the role of the spice smuggler and was not involved in Rogue One's principal photography, which ran from August 2015 to February 2016. Disney re-introduced audiences to Star Wars with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which garnered excellent reviews and grossed over $2 billion worldwide, becoming the third highest grossing movie of all time. Sources say that while Evans's first cut was a solid showing, it didn't measure up to the bar set in terms of four-quadrant appeal. "Anything less than extraordinary won't do," says a studio insider. Story continues Reshoots or additional shooting is practically a given in this decade of massive tentpole comic book, fantasy, sci-fi moviemaking. The movies are massive productions, filled with so much green-screen, and fit together in a way that, more often than not, demands for shooting to fill in holes or clarify plots. Even acting deals have the shoots in mind when contracts call for "run of show" appearances, which include not just shooting anytime during production but even during post-production, say several agency sources. NY Post first reported about the Star Wars re-shoots. Read More: 'Rogue One': 5 Things to Know About the Chinese Supporting Stars Got some empty shelf space and spending cash crying out to be consumed by something nerdy? Well, prepare for some seriously frivolous spending, because Disney has just launched their own line of high-end, super-accurate Star Wars replica props. In the past, these kind of props would have come from a third party, and may have lacked somewhat in accuracy department, but these collectibles are being made by the PropShop at Pinewood Studios, which created all the real props for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You can get a look at the props and learn how theyre being made in the video above. Scroll on down for some more detailed pics. Related Links: gammasquadstarwarsprops2 Lucasfilm/Disney Darth Vaders melted helmet is obviously the crown jewel of the collection, and comes with an appropriately kingly price tag a whopping $3,500. gammasquadstarwarsprops3 Lucasfilm/Disney Meanwhile, Kylo Rens helmet is a more reasonable $2,000. gammasquadstarwarsprops4 Lucasfilm/Disney Chewbaccas Bowcaster. Dont carry this one around outside the house unless you want trouble. $2,500. gammasquadstarwarsprops5 Lucasfilm/Disney Reys lightsaber hilt. Sadly it doesnt come with the blade, because, uh, those dont actually exist. Still cool though! $1,250. You can check out more pieces from the Star Wars Collectibles: Ultimate Studio Edition collection right here. If youre thinking of buying, youre going to want to get on it quick, because some of the pieces (including the melted Vader helmet) are extremely limited editions. (via io9) WASHINGTON, DC --(Marketwired - June 01, 2016) - Under the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) President Baltimore (MD) Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a delegation from USCM traveled to Cuba last week and met with Cuban government officials and community leaders in an effort to forge a new bond between U.S. cities and the island nation. Over the course of four days, Rawlings-Blake, USCM Vice President Oklahoma City (OK) Mayor Mick Cornett, USCM Second Vice President New Orleans (LA) Mayor Mitch Landrieu, and USCM CEO & Executive Director Tom Cochran worked to learn about the changes that have occurred in Cuba since USCM last visited in 1978. While the mayors were in Cuba, their Cuban counterparts at the municipal and provincial levels urged them to call on Congress to remove the obstacles of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. "We are greatly encouraged by our visit and thank the Cuban government for inviting us," said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. "This mission marks the first step towards determining how we can collaborate with our counterparts in Cuba to strengthen the economic vitality of both of our nations. We look forward to sharing what we have learned with our fellow mayors and brainstorming with them on how we can continue to support the evolution of our relationship with the Cuban people and government." While in Cuba, the delegation met with the Honorable Gustavo Machin, the Deputy Director of the North American Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Gustavo Cobreiro Suarez, rector of the University of Havana; and provincial and municipal leaders in the Cuban National Assembly. The mayors also visited some of Cuba's most important political, technological, and cultural sites, including the National Arts School, the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, the Latin American School of Medicine, and Mariel Port. The agenda featured cultural exchanges with a diverse group of local experts and academics, who provided the delegation with details about the history of Cuba and the changes currently underway on the island. "We were honored to be invited by the Cuban government and appreciate the warm hospitality that they showed us throughout our visit," said Mayor Cornett. "It is our sincere hope that the dialogue that began this week will continue and we can move ahead in new and productive ways that allow us to enhance business opportunities benefiting the people of both countries." "The City of New Orleans and Cuba share cultural and commercial connections that date back to our City's founding in 1718," said Mayor Landrieu. "And as the United States continues to increase diplomatic relations with Cuba, this mission was highly instructive as we gained a better understanding of what opportunities exist in Cuba today. There's no doubt that there is great promise for both countries, and for New Orleans in particular, through potential trade relations and cultural exchanges. We are committed to finding common ground that will help open a new path forward that brings our two nations together. We are duly optimistic for what the future holds." "This trip marked the first official mission of the U.S. Conference of Mayors since 1978," said Tom Cochran. "The Conference has long been committed to creating and sustaining relationships with our international colleagues and Cuba is no exception to that rule. We look forward to removing the obstacles of the embargo as President Obama articulated during his visit to Cuba earlier this year." About The United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors. CHICAGO (AP) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers are bringing back 19-year-old left-hander Julio Urias from the minors to start this weekend against Atlanta. Urias will replace left-hander Alex Wood, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with elbow soreness. Urias lasted 2 2/3 innings in his major league debut Friday at the New York Mets, allowing three runs, five hits and four walks. He became the first teenage pitcher to start in the majors since Seattle's Felix Hernandez in 2005. Urias was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City a day later. Wood (1-4, 3.99 ERA) experienced triceps soreness after allowing two runs and seven hits while striking out seven in five innings in Monday's 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. What day Urias will start is uncertain because of more rotation questions. Right-hander Kenta Maeda was being treated for swelling in his right hand Tuesday, putting his Thursday start in jeopardy. In California, historically an overwhelmingly blue state, some conservatives dream of somewhere away from liberals' political correctness, Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton voters' ridicule and college students' demands for cushy safe spaces. What might a place like that look like? Well, a safe space. On Tuesday, Tracey Lindsey told San Francisco radio station KALW that she and about 11 other Donald Trump supporters have carved out what she calls a "safe space for them to talk" by way of regular meetings. Lindsey said it's become a necessity after she and others have been on the receiving end of anti-Trump hate. "We've had people ... say 'fuck you,'" she said, adding that the expletive has also been scrawled on her vehicle next to her Trump bumper sticker. "They put dog poop in bags, next to the windshield wiper, near the bumper sticker," Lindsey said. Mark Barnes, who attends the meetings with Lindsey, told the station that he needs the space because he's hard-pressed to find someone who shares his political opinions in his hometown of Martinez. "I kind of feel all alone, as a matter a fact," he said. Trump supporters run away from a protest outside a Trump rally in California T supporters may be feeling attacked for their beliefs, but over the course of the presumptive Republican nominee's campaign for the nomination and ultimately the presidency, it's been his opponents who have had to watch their backs. Protesters at Trump rallies have been kicked, punched and otherwise assaulted, with people of color being predominantly targeted. So while vandalism is no joke, and a "fuck you" is always a bummer, a little (albeit literal) shit-slinging might be preferable to a beatdown. Libya Oil Fire Libya has been the big supply "wild card" this year. Over a million barrels a day have been shut in amid political and security challenges over the past 12 months, keeping production stagnated at about 400,000 barrels a day. But after the establishment of the UN-backed unity government in late December, some investors started gearing up for the return of a substantial number of Libyan barrels to the market. Analysts and geopolitical watchers believe it's highly unlikely that Libya will see a serious spike in production, however, given that the country's thorny security situation has been further complicated by a lack of a strong government and the proliferation of armed groups, including ISIS. "Libya's political, security and financial challenges continue to worsen, with no clear path to recovery," a Morgan Stanley team led by Haythem Rashed wrote in a recent note to clients. "Even with the recent positive meeting between the two rival [National Oil Corporations] in Vienna earlier this month, and the international community's efforts to help establish the new Government of National Accord, we see a number of risks that would likely prevent or derail any significant production recovery," the team argued. As for these key risks, the Morgan Stanley team writes that they are as follows: More ISIS aka the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh attacks on oil infrastructure. Little political progress due to the various, splintered factions in power. Altercations between the Petroleum Facilities Guard blockading important oil export terminals in the country's oil "crescent" and General Khalifa Haftar's forces, who have been moving towards that area, according to the Morgan Stanley team. Screen Shot 2016 05 31 at 2.12.14 PM Things have been chaotic in Libya since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, as two rival governments and numerous armed groups have been competing for power. Story continues Delegates from the various Libyan factions signed a deal this past December to form a national unity government headed by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj but the other two administrations in the country were "reluctant to acknowledge its authority." Sarraj and some of his deputies arrived in Tripoli, Libya, in March. But, eastern militia leaders are still not keen on supporting the government. In a note to clients, however, the RBC Capital Markets team led by Helima Croft said that "even if the competing governments came together, the expanding presence of Islamic State in the country represents a direct threat to the energy sector." "The group's operational base is in Sirte," the RBC team continued, "which is in the immediate vicinity of the most critical eastern oil facilities, and it has already sabotaged the energy infrastructure and killed oil workers." Screen Shot 2016 05 31 at 2.59.06 PM Croft argued in particular that there's a key difference between ISIS' strategy in Libya and its strategy in Syria. As she told Business Insider in an interview last Tuesday: In the case of Libya, their tactics have evolved. Because what we saw in Syria and northern Iraq was that they really tried to incorporate [the infrastructure] as part of their economic infrastructure. Meanwhile, in Libya, they're not going to operate Ra's Lanuf ... I think they want to ensure that the UN-backed government that's now in Tripoli operating off a naval base that if they ever were to get real legs and [would be] able to establish control over the entire country, that they wouldn't be able to use oil money to build up the state apparatus and push them out. ... ISIS thrives in failed states. [They] don't want Libya normalizing. In short, don't count on Libya's oil coming back on the market anytime soon. NOW WATCH: Adam Savage reveals why he and 'MythBusters' cohost Jamie Hyneman won't be working together anymore More From Business Insider Bangkok (AFP) - Thai wildlife officials have discovered dozens of dead cubs inside a freezer at a controversial "tiger temple" that has been locked in a long-running dispute with authorities and animal rights groups, police said Wednesday. Wildlife officials found the tiger cubs during a continuing operation to remove dozens of adult cats from the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple in the western province of Kanchanaburi. "We found 40 tiger cubs today. They were aged about one or two days when they died but we don't quite know yet how long they have been dead," police colonel Bandith Meungsukhum, a local officer, told AFP. Adisorn Noochdumrong, the deputy head of Thailand's parks department, said they would file charges against the temple for keeping the carcasses without permission. "A keeper said he was told to place the carcasses when they died in cold storage," he told AFP. The temple has long proved a hit among mainly foreign visitors who flock there to be photographed -- for a fee -- next to the scores of exotic feline pets. Wildlife officials say the whole complex is illegal and have battled the monks for years to try and close it down. The dispute has been complicated by the fact that secular Thai authorities are often reluctant to intervene in the affairs of the clergy. This week officials were granted a court order to seize the cats and have so far removed around 45 adults. Animals rights groups and conservationists have accused the temple of complicity in the hugely lucrative black-market wildlife trade, making tens of thousands of dollars by selling off older cats and animal parts for use in Chinese medicine. Last year one of the temple vets turned whistleblower, handing authorities three microchips he said were inside a trio of tigers who had disappeared. It has never been fully established what happened to those tigers. - 'Preserved and frozen' - Wildlife officials have also discovered during previous raids dozens of hornbills, jackals and Asian bears that were being kept at the sanctuary without permits. Story continues The temple has always denied trafficking allegations. In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the temple said it was common for cubs to be stillborn or die shortly after birth. The temple said it used to cremate dead cubs but the policy was changed in 2010. "Instead of cremation, the deceased cubs were preserved in jars or kept frozen," the statement added, without elaborating on why the policy was changed. The temple also denied selling cubs, saying such rumours were from people who have "jumped to conclusions". Photographs from the scene on Wednesday showed the cubs laid out on a blanket alongside the body of a bearcat, some deer horns and nearly two dozen containers. Thai newspaper Khaosod, which had a reporter at the scene, said the containers had animal parts and intestines inside them. Edwin Wiek, a Thailand-based conservationist who has campaigned for the temple's closure and whose veterinary staff have accompanied wildlife officials this week in the operation to remove the cats, said the cubs might have been kept to make religious charms. "The key thing is these tigers are illegal under Thai law," he said. Moves to confront the monks and confiscate the tigers have been staggered over recent months. There are now believed to be around 100 tigers remaining at the temple. For years the government has been seemingly powerless to resolve the issue, partly for fear of being seen to confront the clergy and also because officials readily admit they have nowhere else to put such a large number of tigers. Person Hand With Magnifying Glass Over Luxury House Once you make an offer on a home and its accepted, theres a period lasting a few weeks before you close the deal. During this window of time, buyers are often told to do their due diligence on the home they soon hope to own. But just what is due diligence, anyway? In the world of real estate transactions, due diligence is a fancy term for do your homework. Before buying a property, you should fully investigate it for potential problems that could cost major money to fix after youve moved in. Due diligence in residential real estate means [making sure] youre getting the asset youre paying for, says Larry Anweiler, an Arizona real estate broker who teaches real estate at Kaplan University. Think of this as your last opportunity to kick the tires, turn on and off all the lightsand generally make sure youre not getting a lemon. And if you do find flaws, youve got time to negotiate with the seller, who could help you fix them or lower the home price. Or, if the seller refuses, you are free to walk away from the dealand as long as youve placed some contingencies in your contract, you wont have to forfeit that hefty deposit. Due diligence is definitely worth taking seriously, so heres a checklist of what youll want to scrutinize before closing the deal. A home inspection Most home buyers hire a home inspector to scrutinize the house top to bottom, looking for problems that could cost the buyer major money to fix. The inspector is looking for a crumbling foundation, faulty HVAC systems, termites, leaking roof, and other potential big-ticket problems. You should also hire a separate professional to test for biotoxins, including mold, radon, and asbestos. These hazards are typically not checked by a home inspector and are expensive to fix. You should also check for larger neighborhood issues that could have an impact, like whether your home lies in a flood zone or near some environmental hazard. These can all be reasons to reopen negotiations with the seller and, if youre not satisfied, prompt you to walk. Story continues A title search Before you can take title to the homea fancy way of saying you establish legal ownership of the property thats entered into public recordyoull want to do a title search to make sure you can indeed do that, free and clear. For instance, what if the previous owners long-lost brother shows up claiming he owns the property, or a creditor has placed a lien on the home due to unpaid debts, or there are unresolved boundary disputes with a neighbor? Such problems can be costly to address, and a title search will bring them to light so you can broach these issues with the seller before you inherit a problem you dont want to have. Condo or HOA rules If youre buying a condo or property within a homeowners association, youll want to thoroughly review its declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions, or CC&Rs. Basically this is the list of rules and regulations, as well as fines for infractions. Some can be quite strict, reserving veto power over the color you paint your home or the number or type of vehicles you can have in front of your house (RVs are sometimes banned). Given these are rules youll be living under for the foreseeable future, its wise to review them and make sure youre on boardand if not, you can back out with your deposit in hand. More from realtor.com : The Features That Help a Home Sell Fastest The post What Is Due Diligence? Find Out What to Do Before Buying a Home appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles Johnson at the MTV Movie Awards. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV) Hollywoods unstoppable force and immovable object is Dwayne the Rock Johnson, the wrestler turned actor who returns to theaters later this month alongside Kevin Hart in the eagerly anticipated action-comedy Central Intelligence. Its merely the first in an enormously long line of projects (including this Julys second season of HBOs Ballers) set to keep the superstar in the spotlight for years to come. While Johnson cannily uses Twitter and Instagram to keep fans up-to-date about his plans, the recent barrage of announcements about his upcoming roles has been nothing short of overwhelming which is why weve compiled a rundown of the all the would-be blockbusters the Rock is presently cooking for audiences. Moana. (Photo: Disney) Moana Johnson may boast a larger-than-life physique, but hell assume even grander form in Moana, an animated Disney release in which he voices Maui, a demigod who aids heroine Moana (AuliI Cravalho) in her search for a fabled island. As the below video of Johnson performing a traditional Maori Haka suggests, hell be bringing his trademark intensity to his vocal performance. (Release date: Nov. 23) Johnson in Fast 8. (Instagram) Fast 8 (and possibly a franchise spinoff, and/or Fast 9 and Fast 10) Johnson provided afterburner-grade electricity to the Fast and the Furious franchise when he joined in 2011 with Fast Five. Hell again return to the fold for next Aprils Fast 8, in which he reprises his role as DSA agent Hobbs. Last week, the actor posted a first photo of himself from the set via Instagram (sporting a badass biker look). The message that accompanied it made clear that he has additional plans for Hobbs possibly in a spinoff film, or future Fast installments. (Release date: April 14, 2017) Story continues The Baywatch cast. (Instagram) Baywatch For months, Johnson has been posting photos and updates about Baywatch, an action-comedy adaptation of the popular 90s drama that will co-star Zac Efron and feature cameos from original stars David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. Having just wrapped principal photography, and set for May 2017, it should be one of next summers earliest (and possibly biggest) hits. (Release date: May 19, 2017) Jumanji Later this fall, Johnson will begin production on a reboot of Jumanji, the Robin Williams-headlined 1995 fantasy adventure about a board game whose jungle creatures come to lethal life. Bad Teachers Jake Kasdan will be directing, and (as-yet-unconfirmed) rumors indicate that Johnson will be joined by his Central Intelligence co-star Kevin Hart. (Release date: December 2017) Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon and Journey 4 After assuming the reins of the Journey franchise from original star Brendan Fraser, Johnson has now set his sights on making two more sequels, which early reports imply may be filmed at the same time. While little fresh news has leaked about these projects, Journey 3 in which Johnson and co-star Josh Hutcherson will travel to the moon is slated to be directed by Brad Peyton (Journey 2, San Andreas). (Release date: TBA) San Andreas 2 The 2015 original grossed $473 million worldwide, so its no shock that Johnson will return to combat more natural disasters in San Andreas 2. In this bigger sequel (also from director Brad Peyton), the focus will be on the Pacific Oceans Ring of Fire, a location thats supposedly home to 90 percent of the worlds quakes all of which Johnson will undoubtedly punch to death. (Release date: TBA) Doc Savage Two days ago, Johnson officially confirmed (through Instagram) that hell be starring in Doc Savage, an adaptation of the tales about the 1930s pulp hero (known as The Man of Bronze) directed by The Nice Guys Shane Black. A genius scientist-explorer-hero whos the perfect human specimen, it should further establish Johnson as modern blockbuster cinemas preeminent he-man. (Release date: TBA) Shazam! Rather than playing one of DC Comics famed heroes, Johnson will instead transform into Black Adam a villainous anti-hero in 2019s superhero face-off Shazam! While no firm production date has been announced, the film is slated for a 2019 release (after DCs Justice League), and will be penned by Goosebumps scribe Darren Lemke. (Release date: TBA) Rampage Having already proved adept at dealing with crumbling cities in San Andreas, Johnson will again try to save metropolises from disaster this time, at the hands of gigantic monsters (a gorilla, lizard and wolf) in an adaptation of Bally Midways beloved 80s arcade game. Production is planned for later this year and will be overseen by Johnsons San Andreas director Brad Peyton and writer Carlton Cuse (Lost), whos working on the script with Ryan Condal. (Release date: TBA) The Janson Directive Robert Ludlums Jason Bourne novels have already been turned into a lucrative movie series, and now theyll be tied into a greater Ludlum Cinematic Universe beginning with The Janson Directive, which will star Johnson as a private security expert whos framed for murder. If its a success, it could potentially lead to future films in which Johnsons character crosses paths with Damons Bourne an idea that, in terms of box-office potential, boggles the mind. (Release date: TBA) Big Trouble in Little China John Carpenter and Kurt Russells 1986 martial-arts action-comedy classic is enjoying its 30th anniversary this summer, and itll soon get the remake treatment courtesy of Johnson, whos been talking about launching a do-over for years. In a recent interview with Fandango, Johnson made it clear that its still one of his top priorities, stating Thats happening, man! Thats happening, thats happening. And again, thats one of those things where you gotta take really good care of it. (Release date: TBA) Jungle Cruise Disney will try to duplicate Pirates of the Caribbeans success by turning yet another theme-park ride Disneylands original Jungle Cruise into a multi-film franchise, this time with Johnson as its headliner. Early word is that the project (which will be written by Focuss John Requa and Glenn Ficarra) will hark back to period classics like 1951s The African Queen, albeit presumably with far more muscles than Humphrey Bogart ever had. (Release date: TBA) Skyscraper Apparently conceived in the same vein as Die Hard and The Towering Inferno, Skyscraper will send Johnson to China, where he embarks on an action saga set in a towering metropolitan high-rise. Legendary won a bidding war for the film (to the tune of at least $3 million for the script alone), which will be written and directed by Johnsons Central Intelligence helmer Rawson Marshall Thurber. (Release date: TBA) Alpha Squad Seven Little is currently known about this upcoming film, except that itll be a Guardians of the Galaxy-style adventure thatll be led by both Johnson and an as-yet-unnamed co-star. DreamWorks won a bidding war for the project, and is eyeing it as a potential out-of-this-world franchise. (Release date: TBA) Seal Team 666 There have been scant reports about Seal Team 666 since it was first announced back in November 2013. Nonetheless, the film which would star Johnson as a military commando whose squad finds itself battling unholy demons sounds like the sort of all-out action extravaganza with which the star has made his A-list name. (Release date: TBA) Often times its not too difficult to spot an e-bike. Many modern commuter e-bikes are fairly obvious in their battery-powered intentions, in fact, some even store said batteries on a rear luggage rack or within bulky chassis components. Of course, they workoften times quite wellbut they leave a bit to be desired from a design standpoint. For those of discerning aesthetics, San Franciscos Faraday Bikes builds some of the prettiest pedal-assist bicycles around, beginning originally with the elegant Porteur (above) and now a new step-through Cortland bicycle. By the companys own admission, they dont build the fastest e-bikes or those with the most range; instead, their e-bikes are built to be enjoyed, deliver many smiles per hour, and look great in the process. RELATED: Check Out Ford Motor Companys Edgy New e-Bike Named after British physicist Michael Faraday, the company began in earnest in 2011 designing an e-bike for competition in Portlands Oregon Manifest bicycle design contest. With the help of a highly successful Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $175,000 worth of funding, the firm kicked off production of the sleek Porteur e-bike. Earlier this year, a second round of successful Kickstarter fundraising has resulted in the debut of the step-through Cortland, which is expected to reach customers towards the end of summer 2016. Like the looks? The performance is quite eye-catching too. Both the Porteur and Cortland cleanly integrate their Panasonic lithium-ion battery packs into their bike frames, leaving little hint that theyre e-bikes at all. Both weigh in at a relatively lightweight 39 pounds and both provide 20 miles of pedal-assisted riding range, courtesy of a 250 watt front hub motor. RELATED: The Bolt M-1 Blends Motorcycle and e-Bike in One! To get going, riders need only start pedaling and then select the level of assist the bike provides (enabled, disabled, or Boost), via the handlebar-mounted thumb switch. Hold on though, smiles are bound to follow. Story continues A number of different accessories are available for each bike, including front and rear luggage racks, a Brooks leather saddle, bamboo fenders, and eventually a GPS tracker and auxiliary battery pack that doubles range all while looking like a leather satchel. Different hubs and gearing help delineate the four models, with the top-of-the-line Porteur and Cortland models ($3,499) featuring slick Shimano Alfine eight-speed hubs and carbon drive belts, while the less-expensive Porteur S ($2,499) features a Sturmey Archer five-speed chain drive setup and the Cortland S ($2,499) boasts a Shimano Altus 8-speed chain drive. RELATED: The Specialized Turbo S is Like Biking with Supermans Legs By Matt Siegel, Jeremy Wagstaff and Eric Auchard (Reuters) - More than 18 months after Apple Pay took the United States by storm, the smartphone giant has made only a small dent in the global payments market, snagged by technical challenges, low consumer take-up and resistance from banks. The service is available in six countries and among a limited range of banks, though in recent weeks Apple has added four banks to its sole Singapore partner American Express; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in Australia; and Canada's five big banks. Apple Pay usage totaled $10.9 billion last year, the vast majority of that in the United States. That is less than the annual volume of transactions in Kenya, a mobile payments pioneer, according to research firm Timetric. And its global turnover is a drop in the bucket in China, where Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent dominate the world's biggest mobile payments market - with an estimated $1 trillion worth of mobile transactions last year, according to iResearch data. Anecdotal evidence from Britain, China and Australia suggests Apple Pay is popular with core Apple followers, but the quality of service, and interest in it, varies significantly. To use Apple Pay, consumers tap their iPhone over payment terminals to buy coffee, train tickets and other services. It can be also used at vending machines that accept contactless payments. Apple Pay transactions were a fraction of the $84.5 billion in iPhone sales for the six months to March, which accounted for two-thirds of Apple's total revenue. TECH HITCHES In Australia, where Apple Pay launched a month ago, payment machines supported by one mid-sized bank reported frequent failures. "Bendigo Bank is experiencing some unforeseen technical issues in accepting Apple Pay payments at selected merchant terminals," a spokeswoman for the bank told Reuters, adding that a lack of wider industry engagement in launching the service limited the lead time in testing the new technology. Apple Vice President Jennifer Bailey said such experiences were premature and not representative. "Like any set of major technology changes, it takes time," she said. "We want to move as quickly as possible, we push it as quickly as possible." Facing a slowing smartphone business, Apple has taken on the payments market hoping to add ways to make its devices more appealing, and more revenue streams. Apple takes a cut of up to 15 cents in the United States on every $100 spent. While it has long mastered the supply chain for its mobile devices, the payments ecosystem has proved harder to control, and banks in other countries have reportedly negotiated lower transaction fees, contributing to its slow global roll-out. Apple nearly doubled its R&D spending to more than $8 billion in 2013-15 as it pushed out a wave of new products including Apple Watch and Apple Pay, as well as upgrades to existing hardware devices and new services. RESISTANCE Apple has leveraged its huge U.S. user base to push Pay, but has met resistance in Australia, Britain and Canada where banks are building their own products. "Payments in general is such a complicated system with so many incumbent providers that revolutionary change like this was not going to happen very quickly," said Joshua Gilbert, an analyst at First Annapolis Consulting. The upshot: Apple has rolled out Pay in a dribble, adding countries and partners where it can - Hong Kong is expected to be added next - resulting in an uneven banking landscape with users and retail staff not always sure what will work and how. In Britain, for example, $14 billion was spent via contactless cards last year, according to Windsor Holden, a Juniper Research analyst. That makes it harder to persuade people to take the extra step on their smartphone for the same checkout convenience. "You have over 86 million contactless cards in circulation, you have to persuade Britons to register their cards to the (Apple Pay) service when they can already use them to make a contactless payment," Holden said. In Australia, where more than 60 percent of all card transactions are through contactless cards, reception has also been muted. A spokesman for one large retailer said he had seen "very little uptake of the payment option" in his sector. He didn't want to be named as he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Diego Machuca, 32, banks with Apple Pay-holdout Commonwealth Bank, has an iPhone and is already "largely cashless". He says Apple Pay is appealing, but he wouldn't switch banks just to access that one feature. "Not over that. There's too much work involved just for tap-and-go," he told Reuters. Three months after the China launch, users on online forums complained that using Apple Pay, even at popular fast-food outlets, was not as seamless as local services such as WeChat, Tencent's messaging and mobile commerce phenomenon. Nonetheless, Apple's approach has spurred development in several markets where the mobile payments industry had previously not taken hold - giving it the jump on rivals Google's Android Pay and Samsung Pay. Android Pay only launched in the United States in March and in Britain last month for use on the latest model Android phones. Samsung Pay is available in three markets; China, South Korea and the United States. (Reporting by Matt Siegel in SYDNEY, Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE, Eric Auchard in LONDON and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) 2000 - 2022 24 .- . focus-news.net, () . 24 . 24 . . 24 . In the early days of the social web, putting someone's name in multiple parentheses was meant to give that person a cute virtual hug. Today, it's something far more sinister. Neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and white nationalists have begun using three sets of parentheses encasing a Jewish surname for instance, (((Fleishman))) to identify and target Jews for harassment on blogs and major social media sites like Twitter. As one white supremacist , "It's closed captioning for the Jew-blind." Jonathan Weisman, deputy Washington editor for the New York Times, wrote about his experience as a victim of this harassment in a May 26 story. "Hello ((Weisman))" it began after Weisman tweeted a Washington Post article about Donald Trump titled "This Is How Fascism Comes to America." Weisman asked his harasser, @CyberTrump, to explain the symbol. "It's a dog whistle, fool," the user responded. "Belling the cat for my fellow goyim." With the parentheses, @CyberTrump had alerted an army of trolls. The attacks that followed were sudden and unremitting. "The anti-Semitic hate, much of it from self-identified Donald J. Trump supporters, hasn't stopped since," Weisman wrote. The origins of the symbol ((())) can be traced to a hardcore, right-wing podcast called The Daily Shoah in 2014. It's known as an "echo" in the anti-Semitic corners of the alt-right a new, young, amorphous conservative movement that comprises trolls fluent in internet culture, free speech activists warring against political correctness and earnest white nationalists. Some use the symbol to mock Jews; others seek to expose supposed Jewish collusion in controlling media or politics. All use it to put a target on their heads. To the public, the symbol is not easily searchable on most sites and social networks; search engines strip punctuation from results. This means that trolls committed to uncovering, labeling and harassing Jewish users can do so in relative obscurity: No one can search those threats to find who's sending them. Story continues (((Echoes))), Exposed: The Secret Symbol Neo-Nazis Use to Target Jews Online The origin of (((echoes))) The symbol comes from right-wing blog the Right Stuff, whose podcast The Daily Shoah featured a segment called "Merchant Minute" that gave Jewish names a cartoonish "echo" sound effect when uttered. The "parenthesis meme," as Right Stuff editors call it, is a visual pun. In Right Stuff propaganda, you'll often read that Jewish names "echo." According to the blog's lexicon page, "all Jewish surnames echo throughout history." In other words, the supposed damage caused by Jewish people reverberates from decade to decade. In an email, the editors of the Right Stuff said it is also intended as a critique of "Jewish power." They explained further: "The inner parenthesis represent the Jews' subversion of the home [and] destruction of the family through mass-media degeneracy. The next [parenthesis] represents the destruction of the nation through mass immigration, and the outer [parenthesis] represents international Jewry and world Zionism." What ((())) looks like in action A 'Right Stuff' blog post about "deranged creature" Amy Schumer L Here's how Twitter users deployed ((())) to single out Jewish member of the staff: Source: Twitter We got off easy just a flood of memes in our timelines, a few "kike" insults hurled our way. Other Jewish writers have faced more serious attacks: death threats, anti-Semitic cartoons, images of concentration camp ovens and executed Jews, threatening emails, even home phone calls. "With the cat belled, the horde was unleashed," Weisman wrote of his experience. One tweet he received included a photo of the gates of Auschwitz with the "Arbeit Macht Frei" slogan of the Nazi death camp replaced with "Machen Amerika Great," a clumsy translation of Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again." "I get plenty of anti-Semitic things, but this was different," said Michael, a Jewish journalist who was targeted by right-wing trolls in 2015 following a story he wrote that was critical of the GOP. (Michael asked Mic to use only his first name to protect his family.) "[The echo] is a way of bringing attention to people who are Jewish intimidating," Michael said. "They try to threaten." Michael received "awful cartoons," animated GIFs of Hitler with the caption "Don't you miss me?" and photos of Nazis killing Jews in Eastern Europe. Trolls threatened him: "'When the time comes, the Jews are going to be in trouble, lined up,'" Michael recalls. "That kind of tone. Random shit by people thinking it's funny Jews were being targeted." Michael said he blocked about 100 accounts during the onslaught. Hate speech and the election In a phone call, Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, said he's seen a "spike in hate speech and the harassment of journalists, in particular Jewish journalists" this election cycle. According to Segal and other social-justice advocates who keep tabs on racist groups and hate speech, the jingoism of Trump's presidential campaign has fueled this sort of harassment. Trump's xenophobic and Islamophobic rhetoric and policy proposals have resonated with the rebellious, belligerent, flag-waving alt-right "They've been on a tear," Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center said in a phone call. "You can't publish something about Trump right now and have any inclination of being Jewish without being trolled to hell." Don't trigger Mr Trump (((Rosenberg))) It might cause him to fire up the ovens #OvenWorthy https://twitter.com/jonrosenberg/status/698740454158966784 ... Beirich called for Trump to denounce the anti-Semitic harassment conducted in his name. "This is the most racist invective that's been directly involved in a presidential campaign in the last 16 years," she said. "It's frightening how cavalier Trump has been about these people." How have these trolls been able to hide harassment in plain sight? Partially because the ((())) symbol is difficult, if not impossible, for ordinary users to search for. When you try using Twitter's search engine with the query "((()))", you get the following: Source: Twitter If you try to search for "(((Last Name)))," Twitter's search engine strips the results of the parentheses, yielding every single result for the last name, the sheer size of which obscures instances of the symbol being used. Try searching for random combinations of parentheses on Twitter, Reddit or Google. Try searching Google for "site:twitter.com '((('" or a similar query. Try looking for (((Mic))) in a Google search. The results drop the parentheses from the search. Filtering is possible using the app TweetDeck, which has the ability to mute punctuation like parentheses. But the larger issue is the Twitter community's ability to identify and police hate speech. Singling out a particular method of harassment is more difficult when Twitter has to rely on users reporting single tweets, rather than being able to search for everyone who's using the construction. A spotlight on ((())) would let users and Twitter developers shut down the problem much faster. Twitter needs better tools to curb hate speech On Tuesday, Twitter, Facebook, Google and Microsoft partnered with the European Union to crack down on online hate speech, pledging to delete offensive comments on their respective platforms in under 24 hours. Asked about users targeting Jewish people, a Twitter representative directed Mic to a statement by Karen White, Twitter's head of public policy for Europe: "Hateful conduct has no place on Twitter and we will continue to tackle this issue head on alongside our partners in industry and civil society," she said. Twitter Rules, an extension of the company's Terms of Service, forbid its users from "incit[ing] or engag[ing] in the targeted abuse or harassment of others." Users are required to agree to these rules when they sign up for the social media site. At the same time, Twitter also pledged to protect free speech on its network. "We remain committed to letting the tweets flow," White said. "However, there is a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate." Twitter declined to address why the symbol is unsearchable on its platform, if a hate-speech filter would detect it or if the company plans to categorize the symbol as hate speech at all Users wary of the social network silencing unpopular views responded by launching the hashtag #IStandWithHateSpeech, which began to trend Tuesday night. "[Social justice warriors] are infecting society with their made-up terms," one user wrote. Twitter European VP Bruce Daisley Coded hate speech like ((())) may not be searchable, but it is public; tweets containing it can be reported to Twitter for abuse and shut down. This will not stop abusers from simply creating new accounts, and it will not stop other users from swarming on victims once they've been identified using the ((())) symbol a method of abuse known as "dogpiling." In 2014, the group Women, Action and the Media reviewed hundreds of Twitter harassment reports and recommended several measures to help curb the problem. To address dogpiling, WAM recommended that Twitter grant users the ability to report multiple accounts at once and to filter abusive content from their timelines. Twitter now lets users flag multiple tweets in one report. Whether they know it or not, Neo-Nazis on Twitter have discovered a brilliant loophole a code that's difficult to filter whose meaning incites waves of hate before the target realizes what's happening. Jewish writers can report those tweets all they want, but the damage ((())) sets into motion may only be beginning. Cairo (AFP) - Three leading figures in Egypt's journalists' union will stand trial for allegedly harbouring two fugitive colleagues, a lawyer and prosecution officials said, drawing condemnation from rights groups. Egyptian Journalists Syndicate president Yahiya Kallash, secretary general Gamal Abd el-Rahim and freedoms committee chief Khaled Elbalshy were charged with aiding fugitives after two reporters sought by police staged a sit-in at the union's offices, Elbalshy's lawyer said Tuesday. The three, who were released late Monday after more than 24 hours in detention, are also under investigation for "publishing false news", Karim Abdelrady said. The first trial hearing is scheduled for Saturday, according to the lawyer and prosecution officials who requested anonymity. "The message is that no one is too big to be detained, nor too big to be silenced," Abdelrady said. The EU said the indictments of the union members was "a worrying development". "It reflects broader limitations on freedom of expression and press freedom in Egypt," an EU spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Rights activists accuse Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of running an ultra-authoritarian regime that has violently suppressed all opposition since toppling Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. In an unprecedented crackdown on the press, police on May 1 raided the journalists syndicate to arrest two reporters for opposition website Babawet Yanayer, Amr Badr and Mahmud al-Sakka, who are accused of inciting demonstrations. Union chief Kallash had denounced their arrests, telling a news conference earlier this month that Sisi's government was "escalating the war against journalism and journalists". Reacting to Kallash's arrest Monday, Amnesty International accused the authorities of "the most brazen attack on the media the country witnessed in decades". The case "signals a dangerous escalation of the Egyptian authorities' draconian clampdown on freedom of expression," said Amnesty's Magdalena Mughrabi. CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt opened its border with Gaza for the second time in a month on Wednesday, giving Palestinians a four-day respite from a closure stemming from friction between Cairo and the enclave's Islamist rulers. Egypt's shuttering of Rafah and destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels, along with tight restrictions imposed by Israel along its own frontier with Gaza, have deepened economic misery for many of the 1.9 million Palestinians in the enclave. The crossing will be open for four days starting Wednesday and busses will transport Palestinians on either side of the border, an Egyptian border official said. It will close again on Friday and reopen on Saturday and Sunday, the official added. The crossing will open for humanitarian cases, medical patients, and students. Egypt has kept its border with the Gaza Strip largely closed since Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood was ousted as president three years ago. Egyptian officials view Gaza's governing Hamas group as a threat, accusing it of supporting an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai peninsula bordering the Palestinian territory. Hamas denies the allegation. Some 30,000 Gazans are on a waiting list to cross at Rafah. Only a few thousand, including patients, students and holders of residency permits in third countries, are likely to do so in the coming four days. Israel said in May that it planned to reopen a second border point for commercial traffic into Gaza, a step toward gradually easing the blockade it imposed since 2007. Israel says its blockade prevents the movement of militants and stops construction materials that could be used by Hamas to make bunkers and tunnels. Palestinians there say they are under siege and are unable to rebuild homes destroyed by Israeli bombing in a 2014 war. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein) The news that a French Navy vessel has probably found the black boxes from EgyptAir Flight 804 brought huge relief Wednesday to Egyptian and French officials, who have led a frantic search for devices seen as crucial in determining whether a terrorist attack brought down the plane on its way from Paris to Cairo last month. But leaving aside that relief, the two-week hunt for the flight-data and voice recorders has prompted another reaction: renewed calls to update the way airplanes gather and transmit information, and move past an aging black-box system that was introduced in the 1960sdecades before real-time data streaming became a ubiquitous part of life. Despite the costly and complicated effort involved in recovering black boxes, the debate over how to upgrade or replace the recording devices has dragged on for years. Governments, airlines and pilots have all resisted changes. Airlines argue it would cost too much, and pilots say it could be an invasion of their privacy. Since airplanes criss-cross the planet, aviation officials from around the world all need to agree on new technology. That is obviously a very complex process, said Anthony Philbin, a spokesman for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations agency that sets global aviation regulations. Philbin said that since 191 governments make decisions through ICAO, and our agencys role is to support them in achieving consensus, getting there can be a very lengthy process. Even so, experts believe changes are years or even decades overdue, and that recent plane crashes have made that painfully clear. For one thing, the hunt for black boxes is a race against time, since batteries on the devices last only 30 days. After that, the flight-data and voice recorders (which are in fact orange, not black) fall silent, making any efforts to find them hugely difficult, especially when planes fall to the bottom of the ocean, as is the case with Egyptair Flight 804. French officials, whose specialized deepwater vessels are key to the EgyptAir search, already have bitter experience with the limitations of black boxes. In 2011, after a 23-month hunt that cost millions, French ships finally uncovered the black boxes of Air France Flight 447, which plunged into the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. And despite an international hunt, the black boxes are still missing from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March of 2014, leaving its disappearance and the deaths of the 239 people on board one of aviations most confounding mysteries. In an era when everything from share prices to weather forecasts are transmitted in real time, such mysteries are unnecessary, aviation experts said. Indeed, the 2009 Air France crash pushed governments to suggest several changes. Those included designing data-recorders that eject automatically if the plane crashes and can float on the ocean surface, easily detectable from the air. Another fix was to transmit data from the locator beaconsthe pings heard this week by the French vesselat lower frequencies, allowing ships to detect the sound from further away. Aviation experts and governments have also argued since 2009 to lengthen the battery life on black boxes. The battery situation is pretty scandalous, Jean-Paul Troadec, who led investigation into the Air France disaster as head of Frances BEA air accident investigation authority, told Reuters last week. It hardly costs anything to install new batteries. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued new regulations requiring black box batteries to last 90 days. Yet that rule will come into effect only in 2019, and will affect thousands of planes that operate mainly in Europe. An EASA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TIME this week that the organization had delayed enforcement for 30 months, because it affects thousands of airplanes and helicopters, giving time for equipment suppliers to prepare for the significant increase in demand. In March, the U.N. agency ICAO issued new regulations that will slowly roll out between now and 2021. Those will require airplanes to transmit their location once a minute in distress circumstances, and to extend the voice recordings from the cockpit to 25 hours so that they cover all phases of flight for all types of operations. The black boxes currently record only the last two hours of the flightmaking it hard to determine whether a crisis occurred earlier in the journey. None of that will help investigators determine what doomed EgyptAir Flight 804. (Adds Houlihan Lokey confirmation of departure in paragraph 3) By Michael Flaherty NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) - Elliott Management, the $27 billion hedge fund, has hired a Houlihan Lokey banker as part of its activist team, as the group expands its reach across a broad range of sectors. Geoffrey Sorbello, a Houlihan director who specializes in shareholder activism, contested M&A and proxy contests, joined New York-based Elliott on Tuesday, according to an email seen by Reuters. Elliott declined to comment. A Houlihan spokesman confirmed Sorbello's departure but would not discuss further details, in accord with bank policy. Sorbello will remain based in New York and report to Jesse Cohn, Elliott's senior portfolio manager, according to a person familiar with the matter. Cohn has played a major role in the hedge fund's activist campaigns in the technology sector, including via its stake in Qlik Technologies, which prompted the data analytics company to put itself up for sale. Elliott's hiring of Sorbello, who previously worked at proxy solicitation firm Okapi Partners and proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), shows how the hedge fund is seeking to strengthen its activist strategy, which comprises a relatively small portion of the massive hedge fund's market activity. While the bulk of Elliott's activism has focused on the tech space lately, Elliott has broadened its reach across multiple sectors, including oil and gas, retail and other industries. Ares Capital Corp agreed to buy smaller rival American Capital Ltd on May 23 for $3.4 billion, after Elliott took a large stake in ACAS and pushed it to ditch a spin-out plan and instead explore a sale. The current auction of outdoor retailer Cabela's was the result of an Elliott campaign. Elliott's three largest equity holdings are data storage company EMC Corp, which is in the process of being bought by Dell Inc, oil company Hess Corp and aluminum maker Alcoa Inc, according to a quarterly filing. Story continues Elliott is among the largest and most active hedge funds in the activist arena - part of a growing crowd of investors pushing for leadership and strategy changes across Corporate America. Last year saw more than 500 activist campaigns, the most ever recorded, according to Thomson Reuters data. The wash of campaigns has led to several high profile moves among activist advisers in the last few years, including where advisers moved to investment banks tasked with defending dissident investors, or, as in Sorbello's case, advisers moving to an internal role at an activist. (Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Phil Berlowitz) American Horror Story star Finn Wittrock said people on the street often call him fing evil because of the characters that he has played on the hit FX show. I used to be offended when people would come up to me and say literally, I was meeting a director the other day at a restaurant and tried to put on a good show and be professional, and this waitress comes up and says, You are so fking evil!' Wittrock told TheWrap. I was like, could you please give this poor person some context of what you are talking about? In Season 5, American Horror Story: Hotel, Wittrock starred as both model Tristan Duffy and legend Rudolph Valentino. In the previous season, Wittrock played a twisted freak named Dandy Mott. See Video: 'American Horror Story' Star Finn Wittrock Praises Lady Gaga as 'Unstoppable Workhorse' Theres everything you could ask for theres blood, theres really scary stuff, theres naked people, theres some great actors and actresses its definitely a show that you have to expect the unexpected, he said. Theres all these shows that are all self-contained they are 10 episodes and thats it. And Ryan Murphy was really kind of the first to really do that. And another plus is that the cast on the series is extremely close. Wittrock admitted he was tight with Denis OHare and Lady Gaga, whom he praised during his interview. Also Read: 'American Horror Story' Star Finn Wittrock Says Season 6 'Might Be a Little More Claustrophobic' This season was a lot of Denis OHare, Lady Gaga, he added. Shes amazing. Everywhere you turn, theres another amazingly talented person. Watch the video above. Related stories from TheWrap: 'AHS' Star Finn Wittrock Reveals Emmy Nomination Secret Weapon: 'I'll Just Have to Wear Something Awesome' Emmy Contender Finn Wittrock on Playing 'American Horror Story' Psycho: 'Just Find That Little Demon Inside.. And Let It Rip' (Video) Lady Gaga to Return for 'American Horror Story' Season 6 Italian integrated oil and gas company Eni (Milan Stock Exchange: ENI-IT) is continuing to explore for oil, but is not taking big risks, its CEO said Tuesday. Instead it is focusing on areas it knows very well, Claudio Descalzi said in an interview with CNBC's " Closing Bell ." "If you want to keep your costs down, you must explore and explore and get good results, and then you can start developing." Since Descalzi took the helm two years ago, oil has had a rough ride. The challenge was changing the company's culture while continuing to do business, he said. "You have to transform your company. You have to do things differently, but you have to continue and progress and invest," said Descalzi. "So you have to reduce costs but without cutting production, without changing your business model." He believes fundamentals are now driving the price of oil, which he predicts will go back higher by the end of the year. "Higher means $55, $60, something around there," he said. U.S. crude (New York Mercantile Exchange: @CL.1) closed 0.47 percent lower, or 23 cents, at $49.10 a barrel Tuesday after the UAE oil minister said he was happy with the oil market and noted that oil prices had been correcting higher. Brent crude oil futures (Intercontinental Exchange Europe: @LCO.1) were down 9 cents at $49.67. Reuters contributed to this report. More From CNBC BRUSSELS, June 1 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday to extend its investment scheme beyond the initially planned three years and increase the amount of money available for small and medium-sized companies because of large demand. The aim of the investment scheme, launched in the middle of 2015, is to use 21 billion euros of EU money to attract 15 times more of private funds over three years for investment in European infrastructure, energy and research and development. The plan is attractive because the EU provides a first loss guarantee, reducing the risk for private investors. One year into to project, managed by the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and the European Investment Bank, the Commission said it was firmly on track to generate the expected flows. "The European Fund for Strategic Investments is creating jobs and triggering investments in the real economy every day. That is why we propose to extend it beyond 2018," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement. The Commission did not say for how long it would extend the scheme, saying it would make concrete proposals "in the autumn" nor how much more money would be allotted to help finance small and medium sized companies. The EU executive arm will also consider the leveraging model of the investment plan for financing projects in developing third countries, it said. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski) By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union put more pressure on Poland's euroskeptic government on Wednesday to scrap changes to its supreme court, in a test of the EU's power to impose democratic standards on ex-communist members in the east. The European Commission's decision to issue a formal complaint to Warsaw, a step in the EU's new and untried Rule of Law process, prompted Poland's justice minister to denounce a "one-sided opinion showing a distorted image". The warning was announced by the EU's main negotiator, Frans Timmermans, the deputy head of the European Commission. It comes after months of fruitless diplomacy since Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party won elections in October and imposed changes on the Constitutional Court and the Polish public broadcaster. "Despite our best efforts, until now we have not been able yet to find solutions," Timmermans told reporters. He stressed dialogue would go on and would not speculate on penalties for Poland. It is by far the biggest of the former Soviet satellites that joined the EU a decade ago and a powerful player in the 28-nation bloc, which is bracing for upheaval if Britain votes to leave in a referendum this month. Under a procedure adopted two years ago after a frustrating battle between the EU and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Poland has two weeks to respond to the formal "opinion". If more talks fail, the commission can recommend its own solution and set a deadline to implement it. Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski said Poland was ready for discussion of "anti-crisis scenarios" to ease EU concern that an increase in the number of judges needed for a ruling, a rejection of pending judicial nominees and other government decisions have undermined the court's independence. But, Szymanski said, the government would not agree to measures that would disappoint its supporters in parliament: "(They) must be in line with the parliamentary majority's expectations," he said. "That is the most important thing." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Brussels: "Democracy is more than a parliamentary majority. It's also about civil society." EU DILEMMAS More deadlock could trigger the "nuclear option" of fellow EU states launching a suspension procedure. Warsaw could lose its voting rights in the Union and possibly suffer other penalties, such as a loss of grants and subsidies. However, Orban for one has already said he would veto the unanimity required for that under Article 7 of the EU treaty. And EU leaders are loath to deepen an east-west split created by the refusal of Poland, Hungary and others to take in large numbers of refugees to ease the migration crisis in the bloc. That may leave the EU again assailed by rights activists, who complain that it has failed to uphold aspects of European democratic values, and at the same criticized by increasingly vocal eurosceptic movements for meddling in national affairs. Viviane Reding, a former EU justice commissioner who battled with Orban, approved of her successors' move to enforce the rules. All states had signed treaties whose fundamental values were "indivisible," she said. "When one member state disrespects them, this concerns us all," she told Reuters. EU leaders recognize, however, that the treaties give them few powers over each other unless the decisions are unanimous. As a result, senior officials in Brussels, when pressed on what may happen next in Poland, stress the role of Poles themselves. "The solution is in their hands," said Reding, now a member of the European Parliament. "The solution is in Poland." (Additional reporting by Adrian Krajewski and Wiktor Szary; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Larry King) Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) - The European Union on Wednesday formally warned Poland's rightwing government to roll back its overhaul of the top Polish court and remove a "systemic threat" to the rule of law, or risk sanctions. The unprecedented warning is part of a drawn-out procedure which could eventually see Warsaw have its voting rights suspended in the European council of ministers, the EU's most important decision-making body. "We have decided to send a rule-of-law opinion to the Polish authorities," European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans told a press conference in Brussels. "Despite our best efforts we have not been able to find a solution to the main issues that concern us," Timmermans said following five months of talks with the Polish government. The concerns focus on the overhaul of the constitutional court by the Polish government. Poland's deputy foreign minister Konrad Szymanski told the PAP news agency that the commission's written opinion "brings nothing new" because the government knew it was coming. Timmermans said the commission sent the warning to "frame the debate" toward solutions "so that there is no longer a systemic threat to the rule of law in Poland." Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party plunged the country into a political crisis in December, just weeks after winning power, when it pushed through legislation that has paralysed the constitutional court by modifying its decision-making rules. In January, the Commission, the EU executive, launched a probe to see if the changes violated EU democracy rules and merited punitive measures. Timmermans did not mention the threat of sanctions, but they are a last resort in a procedure that was introduced in 2014 and has never been used against any of the 28 EU member states. Poland's regional ally Hungary is likely to torpedo any possible sanctions, which would require the unanimous approval of all 28 EU members. Story continues Poland now has two weeks to respond to the warning. If it fails to satisfy EU concerns, the Commission could recommend that Warsaw solve the problems identified within a fixed time limit. - 'Process of dialogue' - Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister, played down the confrontation between Brussels and Warsaw which has also flared over Poland's rejection of refugees under an EU-wide plan to tackle Europe's migrant crisis. "I still see us in a process of dialogue, a constructive dialogue," Timmermans said. Szymanski, the deputy foreign minister, took a conciliatory line. "We are ready for consultations..., but that does not mean that we can agree to any specific solution (that is proposed)," the Polish official said. "Such solutions must be in line with the expectations of the parliamentary majority in the Polish parliament," he said. Following talks in Warsaw a week ago with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, Timmermans said he was confident of eventually finding "a sustainable solution" to the issue. Szydlo had also sounded upbeat after accusing Brussels of violating Poland's sovereignty and vowing that Warsaw would never bow to any EU ultimatum on the Constitutional Tribunal. Beata Mazurek, spokesperson for the PiS parliamentary group, told Polish media that the commission "is trying to interfere a little in Poland's internal affairs." But Timmermans said: "The commission does not intend and does not wish to involve itself in a political debate in Poland. Political issues in Poland are the business of politicians in Poland, not of the European commission." By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union must prolong its sanctions on Russia this month because the crisis in Ukraine is far from being resolved despite a Franco-German push to implement a peace deal, Ukraine's new Europe minister said on Wednesday. After briefing NATO envoys in Brussels on the violence in eastern Ukraine, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said 14 Ukrainian soldiers were killed over the past week and shellings by Russian-backed rebels were intensifying. "Sanctions must be prolonged because Russia is not delivering," said Klympush-Tsintsadze, who in April became new Ukrainian premier Volodymyr Groysman's minister for EU and NATO ties, one of five deputy prime minister posts. "When Europe stands united, that is the only language Russia understands," she told Reuters in an interview. Europe and the United States have linked any softening of the economic sanctions on implementation of a peace deal signed in Minsk in February 2015, which calls for a full ceasefire in the rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. EU leaders must decide at a June 28-29 summit whether to extend sanctions on Russia's financial, defense and energy sectors over what the West says is Moscow's support for separatists in the conflict that has killed more than 9,000 people since April 2014. The Kremlin denies any direct support for the rebels and last month returned to Kiev jailed Ukrainian military pilot Nadezhda Savchenko in a prisoner exchange welcomed by Western politicians. Some EU countries, including Greece, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria believe the West's sanctions on Russia, Europe's main energy supplier, are counterproductive for both sides. Seeking dialogue, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will go to Russia this month and is likely to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. But that is a visit Klympush-Tsintsadze said that "no Ukrainians are happy about". International OSCE monitors in eastern Ukraine observed a high number of ceasefire violations in their latest weekly report on May 30, which included reports of shelling near two kindergartens and the explosion of an anti-tank mine. Russia blames Ukraine's military for breaking the ceasefire and wants to see local elections held in eastern Ukraine, something France and Germany have also been trying to help formalize as a potential breakthrough on the peace process. Klympush-Tsintsadze said Ukraine was discussing whether an armed OSCE police mission could play a role in eastern Ukraine to monitor elections if violence dropped, but that no Russian officials could be part of such a mission. "It would need Russian approval, but I don't think any Russians could be included because then the mission would no longer be neutral. We need people to monitor that militants have been disarmed and that Russian troops have left." (Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Alison Williams) * Glyphosate widely used in farming pesticides * Debate focuses on scientific evidence over health risks By Alissa de Carbonnel BRUSSELS, June 1 (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose a temporary 12 to 18 month extension of EU authorisation for the weed killer glyphosate, used in Monsanto's Roundup, to allow time for a new scientific study into fears it may cause cancer. After failing to win support for an initial proposal for a 15-year approval, the EU executive proposed the compromise to avoid a six-month phase-out period when the current licence lapses at the end of June. The proposal will be put to a vote by experts from the 28 EU nations on Monday. "The ball is now in the member state court," the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, said. The compromise could enable member states that opposed licence renewal, such as France, to change their position, EU sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. If the new proposal fails to win support from the 28 EU nations, it will go to an appeal committee vote, although the compromise says the Commission can take a decision regardless of what emerges from the committee. Andriukaitis said he hoped a study by the European Union's Agency for Chemical Products (ECHA) would allay health concerns following a transatlantic row over whether glyphosate may cause cancer. "Under the EU law, the last word belongs to the ECHA," Andriukaitis told reporters in Brussels. Contradictory findings on the carcinogenic risks of glyphosate by scientific bodies and public campaigning by citizens' groups and non-governmental organisations have thrust glyphosate into the centre of a dispute among EU and U.S. politicians, regulators and researchers. In May, German chemicals group Bayer offered $62 billion to buy U.S. seeds company Monsanto, despite German resistance to glyphosate and Monsanto's genetically modified seeds. Experts from the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) said last month glyphosate was unlikely to pose a risk to humans exposed to it through food. It is mostly used on crops. Story continues The finding matches that of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), an independent agency funded by the European Union, but runs counter to a March 2015 study by the WHO's Lyon-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). That agency said glyphosate was probably able to cause cancer in humans and classified it as a 'Group 2A' carcinogen. It said it assessed whether the substance can cause cancer in any way - regardless of real-life conditions on typical levels of human exposure or consumption. (Editing by Barbara Lewis and Adrian Croft) Like airline food and all-inclusive hotels, the reputation of airport hotels hasn't always been the greatest. After all, such hotels were built out of necessity as a place for weary business travelers and budget-conscious families, not a place to be thoroughly enjoyed or take comfort. But while that image may have held true a few decades ago, it's a far cry from some of the airport hotels welcoming travelers today. Designed with road warriors in mind, today's airport hotels offer expansive rooms with plush beds and city views, restaurants you actually want to dine in and modern art decorating the walls. [See: The 50 Best Hotels in the USA 2016.] The best place to see the notable difference between the airport hotels of yesteryear and the innovative properties of the future is at many of Hilton's updated properties, such as outposts in Amsterdam and Frankfurt, Germany. As soon as you enter the property, you're welcomed with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, colorful art installations and welcoming desk attendants. Even better, there's an elegance, a comfort and an identity that was sorely lacking in airport hotels for years. For Hilton, it isn't just about refashioning the look or updating the beds -- it's about changing the entire perception of the airport stay experience. "People nowadays are not just buying a bed at the airport anymore; people enjoy staying at an airport hotel which contributes to their well-being, to their success and to a memorable travel experience," says Charles Muller, general manager at the Hilton Frankfurt Hotel. "In the same way that leisure and business travelers seek certain amenities at a 'downtown' hotel, there's now a greater understanding and appreciation for what airport hotels can offer in comfort, amenities, services and food," he adds. This is most apparent at many of Hilton's newest and largest airport properties, such the Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which recently opened in 2015. The hotel features a beautiful exterior with patterned windows that reflect and absorb the sunlight, a bar and restaurant and, most notably, a spa. Story continues "This property [the Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol] is actually home to Western Europe's first eforea Spa [Hilton Worldwide's global spa concept], which offers experiences that pay homage to wellness practices from Europe, Asia, the Pacific, Middle East, Africa and the Americas," Muller says. [Read: 10 Top Historic Hotels Across the U.S.] No longer simply a place to sleep, these hotels are being constructed to rival hotels in major city centers. How they're doing that is simple: They're treating each hotel like a separate resort, giving it a unique style, a fresh look and a local touch that was missing from airport hotels of the past. When you enter the Hilton Frankfurt hotel, for example, the look is entirely different than the Hilton Schiphol or the Hilton Beijing. Not only does the design reflect the location, so does the food. "Many of the culinary offerings at hotels within Hilton's airport portfolio are deeply connected to their respective local destinations. Chefs at Hilton airport hotels from Mumbaito Mexicoto the East Midlands source a variety of their kitchen ingredients from local markets," Muller says. "Here at Hilton Frankfurt Airport we have chosen the bread theme in our RISE restaurant, as it is an essential part of the culture and daily life in Germany," he adds. With more than 60 airport properties around the world, Hilton is adapting and changing each property to meet the demands of the guests, the marketplace and, of course, the location. And their future, which is ever-changing, continues to focus on updating and revolutionizing the airport hotel concept. "With the opening of each of new property, it is Hilton's goal to continue its pioneering legacy in the airport hotel sector and challenge the perception of what an airport hotel can be for business and leisure travelers alike," Muller adds. Hilton, of course, isn't the only hotel brand revolutionizing and revitalizing airport hotels. Starwood Hotels & Resorts have been appealing to travelers with their unique and innovative Aloft properties, which are designed with frequent international travelers in mind. Their properties, which span the globe from Montreal to Bogota, feature 24-hour delis (known as Re:Fuel) for those travelers flying in and out at odd hours; social lounges with multiple charging stations (for different adapters); indoor and outdoor pools and even a pet-friendly program for those traveling alongside their furry friends. [Read: 10 Hotels Targeting Millennials.] While airport hotels still have a long way to go to cater to the ever-changing demands of travelers today, one thing is for sure: Hilton and Starwood are making it easier than ever for travelers to actually enjoy staying at airport hotels again. ET has exclusively obtained never-before-seen text messages that a source says are between Amber Heard and a man purported to be Johnny Depps assistant, Stephen Deuters, that date back to before the estranged couple was married and long before other alleged incidents Heard previously detailed in court records claiming that Depp was physically abusive with her. The text exchange, which the source says is from May 2014, begins with a message from Stephen who is apologizing on behalf of a man, purportedly to be Depp. Think hes just texted you. Hes incredibly apologetic and knows that he has done wrong, Stephens alleged text reads. He wants to get better now. Hes been very explicit about that this morning. Feel like were at a critical juncture. WATCH: Newly Released Photos of Amber Heard and Reports From Her Friends Detail Another Alleged Violent Incident With Johnny Depp The recipient of the text, which ETs source says is Heard, responds, Yes but I dont know how to be around him after what he did to me yesterday. I dont know if I can stay with him. Stephen purportedly answers, He wants to see you so much. Hes distraught. WATCH: Amber Heards Monthly Expenses Revealed in Court Docs Amid Johnny Depp Divorce Dispute Heard texts back, Obviously he has no idea what he did or the extent that he did it. If someone was truly honest with him about how bad it really was, hed be appalled. Im sad that he doesnt have a better way to really know the severity of his actions yesterday, she continues. Unfortunately for me, I remember in full detail everything that happened. EXCLUSIVE: Johnny Depp Punched Wall During Argument With Amber Heard, Leading to Injury That Halted 'Pirates, Sources Say Stephen allegedly reiterates that the man purported to be Depp has no recollection of the events that occurred. He was appalled, Stephen writes. When I told him he kicked you, he cried. It was disgusting. And he knows it. Story continues Hes a little lost boy. And needs all the help he can get, Stephen allegedly continues. He is so very sorry, as he should be. Heard responds, Hes done this many times before. Tokyo, the island, London (remember that?!), and I always stay. Always believe hes going to get betterAnd then every 3 or so month [sic], Im in the exact same position. ET has reached out to Depps rep and Deuters in regard to these texts. ETONLINE ETONLINE ETONLINE ETONLINE After filing for divorce from Depp following 15 months of marriage, Heard filed and was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order against the 52-year-old actor. In the 30-year-old actress court filing, she claims that there was one severe incident in December 2015 when I truly feared for my life. Heard also says that during the entirety of their relationship, Depp had been verbally and physically abusive to her. Depps divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, said in court documents that Heard is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse. Depp is currently on tour in Europe with his band, Hollywood Vampires, and a number of his friends and family, including daughter Lily-Rose and reportedly her mother, Depps ex, Vanessa Paradis, have come forward to say that he never exhibited any abusive behavior towards them. WATCH: Amber Heards Lawyers Speak Out on Actress Domestic Violence Claims Against Johnny Depp 'Shes the Victim My dad is the sweetest most loving person I know, hes been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother and I, and everyone who knows him would say the same, Depps daughter wrote in an Instagram caption. Paradis also penned a letter in support of her ex. To whom it may concern, Johnny Depp is the father of my two children, Paradis note, which was obtained by TMZ, began. He is a sensitive, loving and loved person, and I believe with all my heart that these recent allegations being made are outrageous. Related Articles By Sumeet Chatterjee, Lisa Jucca and Saeed Azhar HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore have asked banks doing business there to disclose if they have dealings with entities and individuals named in the leaked 'Panama Papers', which contained details on thousands of shell firms, people familiar with the requests said. The leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, which contained information on 214,000 offshore companies, revealed that Hong Kong was the most active center in the world for the creation of shell firms, which have many legitimate purposes but can also be used to hide assets and avoid taxes. According to two sources familiar with the situation, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sent letters to the banks in April. The two central banks did not set a firm deadline for a reply, the sources said. One source, who had seen the letter sent to Hong Kong banks, said the request asked about their dealings with a list of between 16 and 18 names. The sources did not disclose which banks were written to nor the names on the lists. Bankers operating in Hong Kong have told Reuters that the Panama Papers have triggered a massive compliance exercise there, with banks carefully combing through their accounts to ensure there are no problems. HKMA said in a statement that it regularly collects information from banks on various issues or risks relating to anti-money laundering or counter-financing of terrorism, but it could not discuss details of its dealings. Singapore's tax authority is checking on local taxpayers identified in the leaked 'Panama Papers' for any non-compliance with local tax laws, the ministry of finance and MAS said in a statement late on Wednesday. "Banks and company service providers (CSPs) have been asked to ascertain that their customers are using offshore vehicles strictly for legitimate purposes. If there are any grounds for suspicion, they are required to file suspicious transaction reports and step up monitoring of these transactions or arrangements." The statement said the MAS and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority are also conducting checks to ensure that the intermediaries under their supervision have acted in compliance with their anti-money laundering obligations. Reuters contacted several large banks operating under MAS and HKMA jurisdiction, but they declined to comment when asked if they had received letters. According to the two sources, HKMA and MAS were trying to ascertain whether banks operating in their jurisdictions carried out due diligence and checked the source of funding when dealing with clients named in the Panama Papers, they said. One source said some banks in Singapore had already responded to the MAS request. The leak has put tax avoidance at the top of the global agenda by showing the extent to which tax havens have been used by politicians and business people around the world. Besides Hong Kong, Singapore and China were among the busiest office for Mossack Fonseca, which worked with more than 2,200 banks, law firms, corporate secretaries and other middlemen in the territory. A portion of the leaked data released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists showed 51,295 offshore entities and 25,982 individuals linked to Hong Kong, and 4,188 entities and 33,290 individuals linked to China. Some of the individuals in China routed their money through Hong Kong. Mossack Fonseca's list of clients includes senior political figures such as Chinese President Xi Jinping's brother-in-law. Appearing on the list is not evidence of any wrongdoing. None has made any comment. The requests by HKMA and MAS follow a series of measures taken by regulators in different parts of the world to crack down on irregularities by financial firms and undisclosed offshore wealth. New York state's financial regulator last month told 13 foreign banks doing business there to hand over details about their dealings with a law firm in Panama that helped set up thousands of shell companies. Many global private banks have put Asia at the center of their growth strategy, hiring thousands of people and tapping new customer segments in a region expected soon to boast more billionaires than the United States. Hong Kong and Singapore are two of the biggest centers for offshore wealth management in the region, which with 4.7 million individuals owning $1 million or more in liquid assets is the largest and fastest growing wealth region. In a sign of regulatory crackdown against breaches of anti-money laundering rules, Singapore last week moved to shut Swiss bank BSI's operations there over its dealings with scandal-hit Malaysian fund 1MDB. (Additional reporting by Clare Baldwin and Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Will Waterman) Washington (AFP) - The family of a toddler who fell into a gorilla exhibit in Ohio -- facing a torrent of criticism after zookeepers were forced to shoot the rare animal -- suggested Wednesday well-wishers should donate to the Cincinnati Zoo. Images of the three-year-old boy trapped in the enclosure with the 400-pound silverback have resonated around the United States and beyond, even reaching the White House press briefing room. In the statement, the family offered their thanks to zookeepers for saving their child and said he is doing well following "a checkup by his doctor." "Some have offered money to the family, which we do not want and will not accept. If anyone wishes to make a gift, we recommend a donation to the Cincinnati Zoo in Harambe's name," the statement said. The family has not been officially identified and a spokesperson said the parents had no plans to participate in interviews. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, asked about the gorilla incident, called it a "tragedy" and said it was not clear there was any role for federal officials to play in the aftermath. The Saturday incident, captured on smartphone video, has ignited a furious debate over the actions of zoo officials and the child's mother. She has alternately faced criticism and received support from well-wishers -- with much of the debate taking place online. One petition on change.org is asking officials to hold the parents "accountable for the lack of supervision and negligence that caused Harambe to lose his life." The petition had more than 450,000 supporters by midday Wednesday. The Cincinnati police say they are investigating the parents to see if criminal charges are warranted. - Questions about security - The zoo is facing scrutiny, as well. There has been criticism of zookeepers' decision to shoot the endangered animal instead of tranquilizing it. "Gorillas are gentle, nurturing animals who attack only when provoked, and experts report that Harambe was likely trying to protect this child," Brittany Peet of PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a statement. Story continues Asked to comment on Tuesday -- as footage of the drama ran on a loop on US television networks -- Donald Trump said it appeared officials had no choice but to shoot the gorilla. "I think it's a very tough call," said the Republican White House hopeful. Cellphone video of the incident showed the gorilla handling the child in an erratic manner -- sometimes seemingly tenderly, other times roughly dragging him through knee-deep water. Zoo officials have said that they could not take the risk that the gorilla might hurt the child in agitation, if hit with tranquilizer darts. "This is an animal (that) with one hand, I have seen take a coconut and crush it," zoo director Thane Maynard said. The zoo is also facing questions about the enclosure's security, since the toddler crawled through an exhibit barrier and fell into a moat. "The failure of the Cincinnati Zoo to adequately construct this enclosure to protect both the public and the animal held prisoner there is a clear and fatal violation of the Animal Welfare Act," said Michael Budkie, the head of the organization Stop Animal Exploitation Now, in a letter to the Department of Agriculture. The group, which claims the zoo has had other violations, wants federal authorities to investigate the facility. The boy was first identified as being four years old, but a family spokesperson confirms that he is three. A federal prosecutor announced Wednesday that authorities will not bring civil rights charges against Minneapolis police officers who shot an unarmed black man last year, the Associated Press reported. On Nov. 15, an officer shot 24-year-old Jamar Clark in the city, sparking large protests that included the occupation of the Minneapolis Police Department's fourth precinct headquarters and the at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airport. BREAKING: U.S. attorney says no civil rights charges against Minneapolis officers in shooting of black man. Clark, who had bee n arres ted i n connection to a domestic disturbance call, refused orders to take his hands out of his pockets, according to an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Authorities said a struggle between Clark and the officer led to the shooting. Clark died in the hospital the following day. Protesters have since questioned authorities' narrative in light of conflicting witness accounts suggesting that Clark may have been handcuffed when Officer Mark Ringgenberg shot him, according to the AP. Activists had called on authorities to release video surveillance of the area. Ringgenberg and a second officer, Dustin Schwarze, had been placed on leave while the department investigated the shooting. In March, the Hennepin County prosecutor declined to file criminal charges against the officers, citing forensic evidence that casts doubts over a belief that Clark posed them no threat. Mayor Betsy Hodges then requested a federal civil rights investigation. In addition to the weeks-long occupation of a north-side city police station, the protests at the nearby Mall of America and Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airport, several activists were injured when a group of white supremacists opened fire on a gathering of Clark supporters. The assailants were later arrested and charged by local authorities. Composer Thomas Newman laughs when recalling an email he received from producer Lindsey Collins three years ago, asking him to consider scoring a movie she and director Andrew Stanton were working on. Its about a fish, she wrote. Newman took the job. After all, his first collaboration with Stanton, Finding Nemo, hooked them three Oscar nominations. Another four noms came for their work on 2008s Wall-E. Both pictures earned Stanton the Oscar for best animated feature. The pair reunited for Disney/Pixar sequel Finding Dory, set for release June 17. Stanton can be forgiven if he waxes poetic about the composer. Hes the De Niro to my Scorsese. Hes my muse, Stanton says, during a break in recording Newmans 83-piece orchestra at the Sony scoring stage. While writing Nemo, Stanton listened only to the scores of his collaborator, who had also worked on such films as American Beauty and The Shawshank Redemption. I knew what his music would do in spots that might seem innocuous or benign on the page. There are complexities of emotion that can only be captured and expressed with music. Stanton says Newman has brought a maturity to his projects. While other musicians have about four or five flavors, he can just keep finding shadings within shadings. Some of the characters from Nemo return to the new film, but dont expect the Dory score to be a rehash of the 2003 original. The film centers on the Blue Tang (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), whos still plagued by short-term memory loss as she goes in search of her parents. Shes aided by clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) and some new friends, including an octopus (Ed ONeill), a beluga whale (Ty Burrell), and a whale shark (Kaitlin Olson). There are a couple of moments [that reprise themes from the first film] but not a lot, Newman says. This is way more Dorys movie. What is similar about the two tales is Newmans signature wide-ranging palette of musical colors. The big orchestra and small choir, recorded in February and March, were the final touches of a six-month creative process that began with the conductors experiments using a core group of key players (drums, guitars, woodwinds, sound design, and programming wizards) and continued in Newmans Pacific Palisades studio as he took those ideas and expanded them into a score. Story continues Stanton calls his meetings with Newman therapeutic. Tom cant go forward unless he really, really understands [the story]. If what he should be doing in a scene is not obvious, it forces me to explain out loud what my intentions are. Were always chasing adjectives, finding the right way to describe things. The final mix a blend of unusual acoustic and synth-generated sounds with traditional orchestra is warm and magical, with moods that range from eerie to menacing to propulsive to touching. Animation, Newman concedes, is more difficult to score than live action because every second is just so much change, and the moods typically dont last long. But, he adds, theres feeling in the movie that allows for feeling in the music. All of us can strongly identify with these characters. All of them are deeply flawed. Dory has issues that make her stumble, but that doesnt stop her. This movie is so deep, as was Nemo, in terms of themes: loss of family, fear about being a good parent. Huge issues come up again in Finding Dory. How does Newman musicalize such issues? You underline them, he says, because theyre real: fear, regret, self-doubt. In terms of storytelling, they all need to be addressed in a certain way. It boils down to scoring a movie its moving when it should be, its funny when it should be. You just hope you can sharpen the focus of the drama. Related stories 'Roots' Composer Blended Themes for Miniseries Reboot's Four Directors Edinburgh Film Festival Chief Mark Adams Unveils 70th Edition Dory Looks for Her Parents in Emotional New 'Finding Dory' Trailer Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f10312%2f73b7c59b47f742349bc39132dcadde4a Disney, you've made us squee yet again. The company's interactive team has retold the classic Finding Nemo with emoji and it is downright adorable. In an impressive move, Disney has used smartphone features to tell the movie's story. The brightness bar and those irritating three dots when someone is about to write a message have cameo roles, as Nemo and Dory make their way to Sydney, Australia. This creative take on Finding Nemo follows Disney's other "told by emoji" videos, which include Star Wars, Aladdin and Frozen. More please. A dog says 'Coca Cola' like a human and it's super impressive Hand in blender prank is hilarious but cruel joke More failed 'Star Wars' auditions, from Matthew McConaughey to Jon Hamm Taste the fiery, slow motion rainbow with the Slo Mo Guys Sickhouse, a horror movie starring digital celeb Andrea Russett based on 10-second video snippets posted to Snapchat, is now available for purchase another test of whether social followers will become paying customers. The 68-minute feature-length version of the movie, produced by Indigenous Media, launched Wednesday on Vimeo. The film is based on footage shot on iPhones over five days, from April 29-May 3, and unfolded as live 10-sec snaps sent out via Russetts Snapchat account (@andwizzle), without any warning to fans that it was a scripted movie and not real life. The story followed Russett and her friends including her fictional cousin, Taylour (played by actress Laine Neil) who decide to take a trip into the woods to explore the Sickhouse, a mysterious cabin outside of L.A. with a dark past once inhabited by a former Hollywood producer and his ailing wife. Russett (2.5 million YouTube subs) and actor Sean ODonnell (1 million Instagram followers) starred in the project; the cast also includes actor Lukas Gage and popular YouTuber Jc Caylen. Sickhouse was written and directed by filmmaker Hannah Macpherson (with some improvisation by the actors). The location of the Sickhouse was a ranch out near Calabasas, Calif. Russett conceded that she was initially worried about hoodwinking fans some of whom were concerned enough for her safety that they were contemplating calling the police. I had a big, big concern about that, but we went about it in a way that we werent completely trying to trick people. We wanted people to understand, it was a movie and that they were along for the ride, said Russett, who is repped by WME and affiliated with Fullscreen. She added, You can only do something like that once, but its definitely worth exploring doing other movies on social platforms. The final Snapchat post for Sickhouse revealed that the sequence was all a movie project, which Russett further explained in a YouTube video May 4. Story continues On Snapchat, the Sickhouse clips were viewed over 100 million times, but those vanished within 24 hours of their posting. Indigenous Media is hoping fans will fork over $5.99 on Vimeo to watch the directors cut of the movie, which includes substantial additional footage that wasnt posted on Snapchat. Jake Avnet, Indigenous Medias chief operating officer, said the concept of using Snapchat was to create an authentic and organic feel, as a way of stealth-marketing the movie. In order to make the storyline more believable, producers created an online mythology for Sickhouse, with a website and a Facebook page detailing the fake history of the house. At one point during the filming, several fans of Andreas created fake Twitter accounts for her cousin in the movie, Taylour, with one of the accounts, @SweetBaBayTay, garnering more than 4,000 followers in just a few days. We love the idea of creating premium content on new platforms, Avnet said. We think there are these great opportunities to tell these rich, quality stories natively on these platforms. What we want to do is figure out how to repackage them for other platforms. Were not interested in making content that runs once and doesnt appear anywhere else. Avnet declined to reveal the budget for Sickhouse, but said it was in line with an indie film. This didnt cost $100 million, he said, noting that it was shot entirely on iPhones. Related stories Is Viacom Ad Sales Chief Moving to Snapchat? Depends Who You Ask Snapchat May Already Be Bigger Than Twitter, Leaked Data Suggests 'X-Men: Apocalypse': Snapchat Ads Offer Movie-Ticket Purchasing for First Time Fort McMurray (Canada) (AFP) - The first convoys of weary, anxious residents returned to wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray on Wednesday, a month after they were forced to flee the Canadian oil city due to the inferno. Physically exhausted and worried about what had become of their homes, the returnees were welcomed by a giant Canadian flag tied to the ladders of two firetrucks and billboards that read "Together we will rebuild" and "We are here, we are strong." "To the people of Fort McMurray heading home -- we will be with you every step of the way," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Twitter message. By midday 7,500 people -- about half the number expected -- had returned in an initial wave, their vehicles packed with food, water, gasoline and other necessities, after being told to expect supply shortages. The rest of the nearly 100,000 forced to evacuate the city and surrounding villages on May 3 are scheduled to follow in staggered caravans over the next two weeks, officials said. "You have shown tremendous courage in the most difficult of circumstances, and you will need every ounce of that courage in the days to come because the road ahead is still a long one," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said. "Today is not the end of the story," she told a televised press conference. "It is not a return to normal life and it is not yet a celebration. There is still a lot of work to recover and rebuild (the city)." Abandoning hotels, campsites and emergency shelters that housed them over the last month, the first returnees took to the road starting as early as 5 am (1100 GMT), as soon as police brought down barricades, an AFP journalist witnessed. Police monitored traffic flows and ambulances were put on standby along the mostly barren 500-kilometer (310-mile) highway from the provincial capital Edmonton to Fort McMurray. As they trickled back, returnees found a devastated community that will take years to rebuild, littered with burnt-out dwellings and surrounded by scorched forests. Story continues Streets normally lined with pickup trucks are now eerily quiet. Lights shine from unoccupied homes after electricity was restored. The downtown was unscathed and most city services have been restored, except potable water. Most stores have restocked. Three hard-hit neighborhoods, however, have been fenced off by a 30-kilometer (19-mile) enclosure. The few homes undamaged by the fires there were deemed unsafe for habitation this week after tests of air, soil and ash revealed chemical and heavy metal contamination. On the edge of seared trailer park, a deer was spotted just after dawn prancing back into the blackened forest. Elsewhere, a man carried boxes and luggage from his truck into his undamaged home, while a few blocks away another man inspected a charred shed in his backyard. The flames had miraculously stopped a few feet from his house. The fire continues to burn but has moved away from populated areas, and grew only minimally in the last few days to more than 580,000 hectares (1.4 million acres). Some 1,700 firefighters, including teams from South Africa and the United States, continue to battle the blaze, assisted by water bombers and heavy equipment. Smoke has largely dissipated in the city, raising local air quality to safe levels. But Fort McMurray returnees were urged to wear rubber boots, masks and clothing that covers arms and legs when cleaning up to avoid coming into contact with contaminated ashes. People with respiratory problems, the elderly and children under seven years old were asked to delay returning until at least June 21, when the local hospital will be fully operational. Fort McMurray experienced rapid growth in recent decades as oil sands production to the north expanded, attracting workers from across Canada and around the world. But it fell on hard times last year due to the oil rout, when prices tumbled from $100 to less than $50. Area oil sands facilities are scheduled to bring production back online by week's end. Companies have reported no damage to oil sands infrastructure, but were forced to cut production by 1.2 billion barrels per day after evacuating workers as a precaution. Canada is the world's fifth largest petroleum producer. The water in Flint, Michigan, may not be ready to drink, but one prominent scientist is now saying it is clean enough for bathing and hand-washing. Marc Edwards, a professor of Engineering at Virginia Tech whose testing was among the earliest indicators of the growing crisis in the municipal water supply, now says that lead levels have fallen to a point where the water can be handled and used as normal for all but personal consumption. "We're seeing some very, very encouraging results," Edwards said at a press conference Tuesday, the Guardian reported. "Many parents were deciding not to allow their children to take baths or shower or even wash their hands, they were so afraid," he added to the newspaper in a phone interview. More good news: Edwards said he expected lead to be down to levels safe enough to drink within six months. Source: Mic/AP However, the science-supported incremental win hasn't stopped officials from touting a robust victory from the recovery effort some even boldly drinking from the tap themselves. Rick Snyder, the state's Republican governor who has taken the lion's share of criticism for the crisis, drank water in the city on a visit in April, and vowed to drink it exclusively at his home and office, the Detroit Free Press reported. When President Obama visited in May, he too drank from a glass of H2O while urging all children in the city to be tested for lead contamination. Source: Carolyn Kaster/AP As Mic previously reported, the city of Flint has become a byword for municipal blight since local officials rerouted the municipal water supply away from Detroit to the Flint River in 2014. The corrosive water leeched lead from the city's pipes, precipitating the current crisis. Lets be clear: There are no excuses for the incompetence that Americans routinely experience from the federal government. There is no excuse for any American missing his plane because the TSA cannot do its job. There is no excuse for a single veteran to be denied critical care because of long wait times. There is no excuse for the IRS not answering your phone call. There is no excuse for allowing tens of thousands of Central Americans to cross our southern border illegally. There is no excuse at all for ineptness on such a grand scale. But, there may be a cure. As Americans flock to vote for a change in Washington, what they may actually want is a country that works. Where the programs administered by the feds are efficient and where taxpayer dollars are not incinerated through stupidity. Where the roads are passable and the streets are safe, where kids learn the basics in school and jobs are plentiful. These are the things that people gripe about, not which bathrooms transgenders use in North Carolina. Most peoples needs are not impossible, but the government all too often fails to deliver. Related: Obamas Failure in Syria Now Extends to Turkey This is Donald Trumps platform: Making America Great Again. A lot of people would settle for: Making America Work Again. When President Obama took office, many worried about the unprecedented lack of private enterprise experience in his administration. This was an ideological issue, reflecting concern that an Obama White House would tilt towards big-government solutions. It was also a nuts and bolts issue; a lack of management expertise heralded administrative failures, critics charged. Both of those concerns have been realized. It takes some time before incompetence at the head of a large organization much less a sprawling enterprise like the federal government, with its 2.7 million employees trickles down. In 2014, Republicans delivered a crushing rebuke to the president, spurred mainly by White House goofs: the collapse of security at our border, the ill-considered swap of deserter Bowie Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders, the bungled handling of the Ebola outbreak, the inadequate response to ISIS, the IRS scandal and ongoing VA problems. Angered by so many examples of utter incompetence, Obamas approval ratings had swooned; riding the tide, Republicans took over the Senate. Story continues Ironically, the GOP victory may have been the best thing that could have happened to President Obama. It allowed him to shirk responsibility for all kinds of problems, by blaming Republican obstructionism. Too many black kids in jail? If only the GOP would pass criminal justice reform. Too long a wait in airport security lines? Not able to get your IRS phone calls answered? Thank the Republican penny-pinchers in Congress. Deportations too high? If only we could pass immigration reform. Related: Outrage of the Day: EPA Pays Child Molester $55K to Retire Obamas White House doesnt have the management expertise to run a Dunkin Donuts franchise, much less the vast unmonitored spread of federal bureaucracy. Even so, at every turn, Obama adds to the federal to-do list. More job training programs, more healthcare departments, programs to train doctors, more prisoner rehabilitation efforts, more environmental monitoring, increased oversight of labor practicesand the list goes on. An alarming data point: no one knows how many federal agencies there are; estimates range from 60 to 430. Donald Trump supporters hope he can do better. They cite his business success as proof that he has the ability to run an organization. People hope he will hire smart, capable managers to fill in the multiple blanks in his portfolio. As he rolls out his national campaign, he needs to make that case by bringing on recognized, thoughtful executives and leaders who can reassure voters that The Donald is not flying solo. People like Mitch Daniels come to mind. Daniels, the former governor of Indiana and current head of Perdue University, has made a career of fixing what is broken, standing for conservative principles while also managing progress. His success as a governor began when he fixed the interminable and unpleasant experience most people in his state encountered when visiting the DMV. When people used to ask Daniels on how he balanced the budget, and about his other achievements as governor, he would say, Its not rocket science. Hes right. Related: Obamacare: Costs Go Up, Insurers Drop Out and Consumers Get Screwed For instance, do we not seriously imagine that todays computer algorithms could significantly enhance the efficiency of the TSA? That the known travel patterns of most Americans could qualify them for TSA PreCheck? The agency bemoans the disappointing rate of PreCheck sign-ups; only 2.7 million have signed up, instead of the hoped-for 25 million. There are reasons for that not enough places where travelers can apply, lengthy waits for appointments, weeks of processing time and excessive fees for membership, for starters. Also, the agency relied on word-of-mouth to advertise the program. In other words, people will miss flights this summer because of bad management. It is a real problem, impacting real peoples lives. Thats what politicians should aim to fix. Hillary Clinton gets that. She tells voters shes going to make daycare affordable for young families. But, like so many nostrums from the left, there is a yawning chasm between good intentions and reality. Specifically, Hillary wants to limit outlays for child care to 10 percent of a familys income, using an unspecified combination of subsidies and tax credits. On the other hand, she is advocating the RAISE initiative, which aims to hike pay for childcare workers. Surely those two ambitions collide. Related: Six Years and $17 Billion Wasted in Afghanistan with Nothing to Show for It Republicans start at a disadvantage. Their support comes from more educated voters, who understand that the government is not one giant ATM. They have to sell voters on their ability to do better with less. Its not an easy pitch. But it can be made. And, by the way, it is what nearly every business executive has had to do in recent years. In 2012, Mitt Romney was intimidated into ignoring his main appeal to voters his impressive resume of management expertise and accomplishment in both the private and public spheres. Democrats attacked his business career, making it out to be something shameful, and Romney didnt punch back. That will not be the case with Donald Trump. His credentials are not as impressive as were Romneys, but he has done a far better job of selling them to GOP voters. Now he has to convince the nation. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: SAN FRANCISCO, May 31 (Reuters) - A former chief officer of Calpers, the nation's largest public pension fund, was sentenced by a federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday to 4-1/2 years in prison on a bribery conviction. Federico Buenrostro, who served as chief executive officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System from 2002 to 2008, had admitted to accepting gifts, travel and other benefits totaling approximately $200,000. The president of the Calpers Board of Administration, Rob Feckner, in a statement on Tuesday expressed relief that "this saga has now come to an end. We are stewards of a sacred trust, and it must never be compromised for personal gain." The public pension fund has incorporated a number of critical measures since 2009 to strengthen internal controls and risk management, improved accountability, and increased openness and transparency. "This chapter in our history is now behind us, and Calpers has emerged a stronger, more dynamic organization," Calpers CEO Anne Stausboll said in a statement. Prosecutors said Buenrostro was involved in a scheme with Alfred J. Villalobos, a former member of the pension fund's board, who later worked as a placement agent that solicited investments by public pension funds. In 2014, Buenrostro pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud as part of a federal conspiracy case. Villalobos, who also faced federal corruption charges, died in 2015. (Reporting by Robin Respaut; Editing by Leslie Adler) sheila bair Sheila Bair led the FDIC under two US presidents. She was named the second-most powerful woman by Forbes in 2008 and 2009, and currently serves as the president of Washington College. Now, she is adding to her resume: Bair is joining startup blooom as its first advisory board member. Robo-adviser blooom identifies and then improves any problems with your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement account, such as high fees or incorrect asset allocation. "Bair has decided to join blooom as the first advisory board member, and we see that as a big endorsement of what we're trying to achieve," blooom president and ex-Goldman Sachs banker Greg Smith tells Business Insider. "She's uniquely on the side of the consumer, and I think she believes our type of innovation bringing fiduciary advice to millions of Americans is a great model. We're really grateful that she saw the promise in what we're doing." Here's how blooom works: For $99 a month if you have more than $500,000 in your account, $19 for accounts between $20,000 and $500,000, and $5 if you have less than $20,000, it will determine the most advantageous mix of available investments for you, adjust your 401(k) appropriately, and monitor and rebalance it every 90 days. "I am very glad that blooom is doing its part to restore the good name of innovation and financial services by serving an overlooked segment of retirement savers," Bair said in a press release. "Blooom is an incredible tool that brings transparent pricing and un-conflicted advice to the millions of Americans who now, more than ever, need help keeping their costs low and choosing appropriate investments." The Kansas-City based company has grown from 100 users in October 2014 to 3,300 today, and raised $4 million in Series A funding in October 2015. NOW WATCH: These businesses profit off your laziness More From Business Insider (TULSA, Okla.) A former Oklahoma volunteer sheriffs deputy who said he mistook his handgun for his stun gun when he fatally shot an unarmed suspect last year was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison. A judge gave Robert Bates, 74, the maximum penalty recommended by jurors who last month convicted the wealthy insurance executive of second-degree manslaughter. Bates fatally shot Eric Harris while working with Tulsa County sheriffs deputies last year during an illegal gun sales sting. Harris, who had run from deputies, was restrained and unarmed when he was shot. Harris was black and Bates is white, but Harris family has said they dont believe race played a role. The shooting, which was captured on video, sparked several investigations. Among other things, the investigations revealed an internal memo questioning Bates qualifications as a volunteer deputy and showed that Bates, a close friend of the sheriffs, had donated thousands of dollars in cash, vehicles and equipment to the sheriffs office. After being sentenced, Bates was led away by deputies. His family members shouted, We love you! We love you! as he left court. Judge Bill Musseman said handing down the prison sentence was a legitimate and moral consequence of Bates actions. He said he took into account Bates failing health and dozens of letters written by members of the community asking for leniency from the court. Bates was given credit for the time he has served since being convicted. He must serve nine months of probation after his release. Defense attorney Clark Brewster said they are planning an appeal. Im confident well get a new audience through the appellate courts, and youll be interviewing me about the reversal, Brewster told reporters after the sentencing. Bates defense attorneys argued at trial that methamphetamine found in Harris system, along with his cardiac health, caused his death. Defense attorneys called the killing an excusable homicide. Story continues But prosecutors told jurors that Bates was guilty of culpable negligence when he shot Harris. One deputy testified that Bates apparently dozed off minutes before Harris fled from deputies. Following the shooting, an outside consultant hired to review the sheriffs office determined that the agency suffered from a system-wide failure of leadership and supervision and had been in a perceptible decline for more than a decade. The reserve deputy program was later suspended. Weeks after Harris was killed, an internal sheriffs office memo from 2009 was released by an attorney for Harris family that alleged superiors knew Bates didnt have enough training but pressured others to look the other way because of his relationship with the sheriff and the agency. A grand jury also investigated the agency and indicted the longtime sheriff, Stanley Glanz, in September, accusing him of failing to release the 2009 memo. He resigned on Nov. 1. The new sheriff, who was sworn into office last month, has detailed plans to reform and revive the reserve deputyprogram. Glanz was among dozens of people who wrote letters of support for Bates ahead of Tuesdays sentencing. Glanz wrote that he didnt believe his longtime friend was a threat or a danger to anyone and should not be placed in an overcrowded state prison system. This is a terrible injustice for a man that made a terrible mistake in a split second, Glanz wrote in the letter submitted to the court. Has Forum Energy Technologies Found a Winning Formula? (Continued from Prior Part) Forum Energy Technologies returns and key drivers Oilfield equipment and services (or OFS) companies like Forum Energy Technologies (FET) are affected by rig counts and energy prices. In the past one year, the West Texas Intermediate (or WTI) crude oil price has dropped ~19%. Forum Energy Technologies one-year returns of -26.5% have been on par with the industry ETF OIH with returns of -26%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) has produced a -15.6% return. Forum Energy Technologies has underperformed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which has returned -1% during the same period. SPY provides investors exposure to the broader market through investing in the S&P 500 Index. On the other hand, FET outperformed the US rig count, which fell 54% in one year. FETs peer Superior Energy Services (SPN) has also underperformed FET, producing a -32% one-year return, net of dividends. Whats the correlation between FET and crude oil prices? The correlation coefficient between Forum Energy Technologies stock price and crude oil prices from May 2015 to the present is 0.67, which indicates a relatively strong degree of correlation between crude oil prices and Forum Energy Technologies stock prices. Analyzing FETs underperformance and its strategies In its 1Q16 conference call, Forum Energy Technologies anticipated lower revenue following concerns about further upstream industry activity declines in North America. It had negative operating and net margins in 1Q16. However, FETs newly added completion segment can boost its revenue stream going forward. FET expects to expand its product offering in the midstream and downstream sector, which has done relatively well. The company has liquidity of over $300 million with which it plans to make acquisitions. It also plans to increase its foothold in the Middle East, which is a steady energy market. So, despite challenges, Forum Energy Technologies could deliver a steady performance in the medium-to-long term. Browse this series on Market Realist: Four workers were killed and 10 others injured in a collapse Wednesday at a subway construction site near the South Korean capital Seoul, the fire department said. The victims were doing welding work 15 meters underground when an explosion -- possibly of an oxygen tank -- caused the surrounding structure to cave in on top of them. Four workers were killed, while the injured, some of them with severe burns, were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, a fire department spokesman told AFP. The accident occurred around 7:20 am (2220 GMT Tuesday) in the city of Namyangju, east of Seoul, The precise cause of the accident is still under investigation. More than 300 possibly as many as 400 Fox film and TV employees have accepted buyout offers, part of an effort announced in February to save $250 million. The company declined to comment. But its believed to not be planning layoffs at this point. Fox has about 20,000 global employees. Fox Consumer Products president Jeffrey Godsick left last month to become EVP Worldwide Partnerships for the Sony Motion Picture Group. Fox Searchlights Claudia Lewis left in February. Fox Broadcasting marketing EVP Laurel Bernard also accepted a buyout. In a February 1 announcement of the buyout plan, Fox said that it wants to ensure our organization remains agile and structured to fully capture the many opportunities ahead of us. The company told Wall Street that it always looks for ways to control costs. But CEO James Murdoch also acknowledged in a call with analysts that at the end of 2015 continued currency movement against us and disappointing commercial results from the film business are simply too significant for us to hit its financial targets for the fiscal year that ends this month. The company made offers to virtually all employees in Foxs film and TV divisions who had been at the company for at least 15 years. In a note to staffers in February, Fox film boss Jim Gianopulos said that those with extended tenure would be offered an enhanced benefit package if they elect to voluntarily resign from the company effective at the end of May 2016. Variety first reported the number of layoffs. Related stories James Murdoch: "Incremental" TV Channels At Risk As Competition Grows Chip Smith, Former Al Gore Aide, Named EVP Public Affairs At 21st Century Fox Fox's James Murdoch Says Planned Hulu Service Can Boost Audience And Ads Paris (AFP) - France voiced "serious concern" Wednesday over threats made against Agence France-Presse's Burundi correspondent, accused by authorities in Bujumbura of inciting violence in his coverage of the African country's crisis. The French foreign ministry also called for Bujumbura to ensure the respect of press freedom after the threats against Esdras Ndikumana, journalist for AFP and Radio France Internationale (RFI). Ndikumana, who was tortured in August 2015 by security forces, was targeted Tuesday by threats on social media after being accused by Bujumbura of "promoting crime and violence" in his coverage. "France expresses its serious concern following statements by Burundian authorities accusing (Ndikumana) of incitement to violence," said French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal. "We condemn the threats made against him, notably on social media. It is essential that journalists are able to exercise their profession in total independence and security," he added. He added that Paris "calls for commitments announced in February by Burundian authorities to resolve the crisis to be fully implemented, including the reopening of all independent media." On Tuesday AFP's Global News Director Michele Leridon said the agency "deems unacceptable these personal attacks on its correspondent Esdras Ndikumana, which target and imperil a journalist providing irreproachable coverage of news in Burundi under very difficult circumstances." Ndikumana, who won the French Diplomatic Press Association Prize last year and is considered one of the best specialists on the region, fled Burundi last year but continues to cover the country's crisis from abroad. RFI said in a statement that it was "outraged and concerned" that its Burundi correspondent had been accused "without any basis". The station added that the threats faced by Ndikumana were "unacceptable". Story continues Burundi has been plunged into a deep crisis since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in April 2015 that he was running for a third term. He was re-elected last July. Marked by assassinations on both sides, attacks against the police and summary executions, the violence has left more than 500 people dead and forced more than 270,000 Burundians to flee the country, according to the UN. Burundi's government has silenced independent journalists at home and regularly lashes out at the international media, accusing the press of being part of a "conspiracy" to overthrow it. Ndikumana, who began working as Bujumbura correspondent for AFP in 2001 and for RFI in 2002, fled the country last August after being arrested by the security services. He was beaten and tortured in detention. RFI, AFP and Ndikumana have filed a criminal complaint over his mistreatment. So far, the complaint has not led to an investigation. Berlin (AFP) - French industrial giant DCNS is seeking a possible tie-up in its submarine activities with German rival ThyssenKrupp, one of its directors said in comments to German newspapers on Wednesday. "It's not perhaps the best moment just now for such discussions, but once the German side has overcome its disappointment, we'd be ready" to talk, DCNS' head of strategy, Andreas Loewenstein said. DCNS recently beat ThyssenKrupp in a bid for a 34-billion-euro ($38-billion) contract in Australia. His comments were reported by a number of German newspapers after a meeting with their correspondents in France. Loewenstein argued that a tie-up between the two European groups was necessary to retain the industry in Europe as new rivals emerge from China, South Korea and India. The two sides had entertained the possibility of joining forces in the past, without any concrete plans materialising. "The day after such a decision (on the Australian contract) may not be ideal to start discussing a project like this," a spokesman for DCNS told AFP. The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), without revealing any sources, suggested the German government was annoyed that the Australian tender was "too vaguely" formulated and discriminated against bids from ThyssenKrupp and Japan's Mitsubishi. Paris (AFP) - A French lawmaker on Thursday denied accusations he had sexually harassed 13 women, describing some of the alleged incidents as mere "games of seduction". Ecologist lawmaker Denis Baupin was forced to step down as deputy speaker of parliament after the allegations emerged in early May, triggering an outpouring of anger over often inappropriate behaviour by male politicians. "I maintain that I have never committed sexual harassment or sexual abuse in my whole life," Baupin said in an interview with L'Obs news weekly. He suggested the women accusing him may have had political motivations. "I am not the DSK of the Greens," Baupin said, referring to former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn whose career imploded over accusations of sexual assault which were eventually settled in a civil suit. Initially eight woman accused Baupin of harassment, but a French investigation into the charges has turned up 13 accusers, with some of the alleged crimes dating back to the nineties. The statute of limitations on sexual harassment charges is three years in France. One of Baupin's accusers, a spokeswoman for his ecologist EELV party, said he made an aggressive pass at her in October 2011 outside a party meeting. "Denis Baupin appeared in the corridor outside... He pinned me against the wall with his chest and tried to kiss me. I pushed him away vigorously," Sandrine Rousseau alleged. Baupin said it was impossible to prove this did not happen but that the charge was riddled with "improbabilities". A female lawmaker, Isabelle Attard, said she received near-daily lewd text messages from Baupin. Baupin said the messages were merely compliments and an attempt at seduction. "They were games of seduction," he said. A spokeswoman for feminist group Osez le Feminisme told AFP that Baupin's response was typical of a man who thinks his actions can be excused as bumbling or over-eager flirting. "It is what we say about a man who can't take 'no' for an answer. And not being able to hear 'no' to sexual advances is already an act of harassment," said the spokeswoman Marie Allibert. PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - French tax authorities are seeking 356 million euros ($397.37 million) in unpaid taxes from Booking.com, a unit of Priceline Group, according to a filing by the parent company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "In December 2015, the French tax authorities issued Booking.com assessments for approximately 356 million euros, the majority of which would represent penalties and interest," Priceline Group said in a filing dated May 4 and seen by Reuters on Wednesday. "The company believes that Booking.com has been, and continues to be, in compliance with French tax law, and the company intends to contest the assessments," it added. ($1 = 0.8959 euros) (Reporting by Yann Le Guernigou; writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Richard Lough) By Lin Noueihed and Chine Labbe CAIRO/PARIS (Reuters) - A French search vessel has picked up signals from one of the black boxes of EgyptAir flight MS804, Egyptian and French investigators said, a potential breakthrough in efforts to uncover why it plummeted into the Mediterranean last month. Search teams are working against the clock to recover the two flight recorders that will offer vital clues to the fate of the plane that crashed en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 killing all 66 people on board. Without the black boxes, say investigators and aviation disaster experts, there is not enough information to determine what went wrong or whether the plane was brought down deliberately. The recorders are designed to emit acoustic signals for 30 days after a crash, giving search teams fewer than three weeks to spot them in waters up to 9,840-feet (3,000 meters) deep, which is on the edge of their range. The Egyptian investigation committee said on Wednesday that the search was intensifying ahead of the arrival of another vessel, the John Lethbridge, from Mauritius-based company Deep Ocean Search to help retrieve the devices. That ship is expected to arrive within a week, it said. "Search equipment aboard French naval vessel Laplace ... has detected signals from the seabed of the search area, which likely belong to one of the data boxes," the Egyptian committee said in its statement. France's aviation accident bureau BEA confirmed that the signal had come from one of the recorders. The Laplace has equipment from ALSEAMAR, a subsidiary of French industrial group Alcen, which can pick up black box pinger signals over long distances up to 5 km (3 miles) and was contracted by the Egyptian investigators last week. Egyptian investigators have said that the EgyptAir plane did not show any technical problems before taking off and the pilot made no distress call to air traffic control. There has been no claim of responsibility for the crash. The jet transmitted a series of messages in the minutes before it crashed showing a rise in temperature at the co-pilot's window and smoke on board, but investigators say these shed little light on the cause. There are also conflicting reports of the plane's last moments as it crossed from Greek to Egyptian airspace. The head of Egypt's air navigation has told Reuters the plane disappeared suddenly from the radar while at a cruising altitude of about 37,000 feet. That conflicts with the account given on the day of the crash by the Greek defense minister, who said the plane swerved and dropped to 15,000 feet before disappearing from radar. The air disaster is the latest in a series for Egypt, complicating its efforts to restore tourism, which has suffered since the 2011 uprising ushered in a period of instability. In March, a man wearing a fake suicide belt hijacked an EgyptAir flight. In late October, a Russian plane carrying holidaymakers from a Red Sea resort crashed in Sinai. Islamic State said it downed the plane with a bomb. Britain and Russia suspended flights to Sharm al-Sheikh pending improvements to security. (Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Alison Williams) London (AFP) - A coroner on Wednesday ordered a re-examination of the deaths of 21 people in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings, one of Britain's worst ever terror attacks, after claims that police failed to act on two warnings. Coroner Louise Hunt ordered new inquests for the victims killed in the twin attacks, which were widely blamed on the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitary group, although it never formally claimed responsibility. She said there was evidence that police missed two warnings about the November 21, 1974 attack, which left 182 people injured -- one 11 days before, and another on the day of the bombings itself. The attack on two pubs in Britain's second biggest city came at the height of the IRA's bloody campaign to end British rule in the province of Northern Ireland. "I have serious concerns that advanced notice of the bombs may have been available to the police and that they failed to take the necessary steps to protect life," Hunt said. She cited the two potential warnings, saying that "it is only in respect of that issue that I consider there is sufficient reason to resume an inquest to investigate the circumstances of these deaths". Some relatives have claimed police were protecting an informant within the IRA, but Hunt said this was unfounded. She also said the emergency services' response was not a contributing factor towards the deaths. Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine died in the attacks, welcomed the decision to resume the inquests. "All we want is to be heard so we can get the truth, justice and accountability," she told reporters outside the coroners' court. She also urged the "cowards" responsible to give themselves up, saying: "If you have any level of humanity, any moral compass, then by rights you should come forward." - Miscarriage of justice - The original inquests -- judicial fact-finding investigations that do not apportion blame -- were halted by a police probe that led to six men being wrongly jailed for the bombings in 1975. Story continues The conviction of the so-called Birmingham Six was ruled unsafe by the Court of Appeal in 1991 and they were freed, after what is seen as one of Britain's greatest miscarriages of justice. No one has since been convicted, but the police investigation remains open. One of the Birmingham Six, Paddy Hill, said the new inquests were "the first step" but said he was "very sceptical" that the whole truth would emerge. Dave Thompson, chief constable of West Midlands Police, said the failure to catch the bombers and the wrongful conviction of the Birmingham Six was "the most serious failing in this force's history". "I hope the new inquest provides answers to families," he said, adding that the police force would "assist the process now under way". However, he warned against any hopes of imminent prosecutions in the case. "Since 2012 and directly as a result of the campaign by families of those who died we have carefully reassessed the opportunities to bring the people responsible to justice," he said. "Despite an intense scrutiny we have not been able to see, at this time, a prospect of doing this." An estimated 3,500 people, the vast majority of them in Northern Ireland, were killed during three decades of violence on both sides that was largely ended by the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement. Kit Harington wants to be known for more than his looks. The Game of Thrones star admits in a new interview with The Sunday Times that at times, he feels as though he's valued only for his appearance. "I like to think of myself as more than a head of hair or a set of looks. It's demeaning. Yes, in some ways you could argue I've been employed for a look I have," he tells the U.K. publication. "But there's a sexism that happens towards men." EXCLUSIVE: Emilia Clarke Talks 'Game of Thrones' Nudity, Strong Women & Balancing Her Love Life The 29-year-old actor, who plays Jon Snow on the hit fantasy drama, has faced some social media backlash over the comments from some who feel he is equating gender issues in a very male-dominated industry. "There's definitely a sexism in our industry that happens towards women," he acknowledges, adding, "and there is towards men as well." WATCH: 'Game of Thrones' Star Kit Harington Says He Revealed Jon Snow's Fate to Get Out of a Speeding Ticket "At some points during photo shoots when I'm asked to strip down, I felt that," Harington continues. "If I felt I was being employed just for my looks, I'd stop acting." The popular HBO series has come under fire for sexism in the past, including the lack of balance of male and female nudity, and has seemingly been trying to balance that with the inclusion of full-frontal male nudity in the current season. WATCH: Kit Harington and Rose Leslie Show Off Major PDA During Shopping Triple Harington's co-star Emilia Clarke -- who has done a number of nude scenes on the show herself -- is among the voices who think the stripping down should be more balanced between the genders. "Damn straight," she told ET's Leanne Aguilera, addressing the gender nudity disparity on the show. "Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) hasn't been around for a while, so yes." Story continues Watch the video below for more. Related Articles GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), a division of General Electric Company GE, recently announced the delivery of The Boeing Companys BA new leased Boeing 787-9 aircraft to Air Canada. This new leased Boeing 787-9 aircraft is powered by General Electrics GEnx engines. The details of this purchase-and-leaseback deal were kept under wraps. As part of Air Canadas deal with Boeing, a second new 787-9 aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in June. The company had placed a total order of 37 Boeing 787 aircraft out of which the current delivery is the 20th to join its fleet. Founded in 1937, Air Canada is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest domestic and international airline in the country serving over 200 airports across six continents. The airline recorded passenger revenues of approximately CA$13.8 billion in 2015. Till 2015, Air Canada was among the top 20 largest airlines in the world, serving over 41 million customers. GECAS owns or services a fleet exceeding 2,000 aircraft in operation. Also, it provides loans collateralized on an additional 380 aircraft. The company provides its services to more than 270 customers across 80 countries from a network of 26 offices. Air Canada too has been a long-time customer of GECAS. General Electric, the parent firm of GECAS, has been manufacturing new-age jet engines that are in high demand among aircraft manufacturers, namely the GEnx, GE90-115B engines and Leap-X. General Electric carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked stocks in the industry include Honeywell International Inc. HON and Koninklijke KPN N.V. KKPNF. Both these companies carry 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 BOEING CO (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report HONEYWELL INTL (HON): Free Stock Analysis Report GENL ELECTRIC (GE): Free Stock Analysis Report KONIN KPN NV (KKPNF): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. General Dynamics Corporations GD unit, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO), has won an undefinitized contract from the U.S. Navy for the procurement of long lead time material and engineering support for the Expeditionary Mobile Base 5. The contract has a potential value of $106.2 million. Contract work is expected to be complete by Mar 2017. Per the deal, General Dynamics will procure ship sets of purchase specifications, supporting integrated propulsion, main diesel generator engines, propeller and shafting, integrated bridge electronics, centrifugal pumps, fuel and lube oil purifiers, and steering gear components. Based in the San Diego industrial area, NASSCO has been designing and building ships since 1960. It focuses on designing and building supplementary and support ships for the U.S. Navy, as well as oil tankers and dry cargo carriers for the commercial markets. NASSCO also specializes in providing repair services for the Navys global force. In Mar, 16, NASSCO has jointly won another contract from the U.S. Navy to provide support services for amphibious warfare and surface combatant ships home-ported in the Port of San Diego. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract has a total potential value of $1.32 billion. The contract was also awarded to BAE Systems Plc BAESY and Continental Maritime of San Diego. General Dynamics has maintained a longstanding strategic alliance with the U.S. Department of Defense. The company is known for maintaining product and service standards, as well as timely deliveries. Zacks Rank & Key Picks Currently General Dynamics carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked stocks in the same space are HEICO Corporation HEI and CAE Inc. CAE, both carrying 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 GENL DYNAMICS (GD): Free Stock Analysis Report BAE SYSTEMS-ADR (BAESY): Free Stock Analysis Report HEICO CORP (HEI): Free Stock Analysis Report CAE INC (CAE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - Flour produced at a General Mills Inc plant in Kansas City, Missouri, was probably the source of an E.Coli outbreak that has sickened 38 people across 20 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. Ten people have been hospitalized in the outbreak, the CDC said. General Mills said the strain of E.coli behind the illnesses had not been found in any of its flour products or in the manufacturing facility. The Kansas City plant was open and running on Wednesday, and the company was continuing to investigate, company spokesman Mike Siemienas said. On Tuesday General Mills said it voluntarily recalled about 10 million pounds of flour "out of an abundance of caution," following reports of E.coli O121 among consumers. Investigations by federal, state and local health officials indicated that flour used by ill people or in restaurants where sick people were exposed to raw dough was produced at the Kansas City facility during the same week in November 2015, according to the CDC. The flour that General Mills recalled was produced in the facility during that time frame and sold nationwide, the CDC said. People sickened in the outbreak, which began in December, range in age from 1 to 95, according to the CDC. The agency's investigation is ongoing. (Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Leslie Adler) BERLIN (Reuters) - A boom in residential building and higher state spending on roads will boost German construction sales by 3.5 percent this year, lifting it to its highest level in nearly 20 years, the HDB construction industry association said on Wednesday. The booming construction sector has become one of the main growth drivers in Europe's biggest economy as a slowdown in emerging markets such as China weighs on exports. In the first three months of 2016, construction investment was one of the biggest contributors to German growth. "Construction will contribute to a stabilisation of the overall economic upswing which is under pressure from a struggling world economy and slackening exports," HDB president Thomas Bauer said. The association expects nominal sales to increase by 3.5 percent to 104.7 billion euros (80.57 billion pounds) this year, the highest level since 1997. In real terms, revenues are expected to rise by 2.0 percent. In January, HDB had forecasted nominal sales growth of 3.0 percent. Nearly 300,000 new homes will be built this year, but this is still not sufficient to meet demand in light of rising numbers of migrants and a growing urban population, Bauer said. In the medium term, some 400,000 flats need to be built annually to avert housing shortages in cities, he added. Even before the refugee numbers started to increase last summer, there was an estimated lack of 800,000 affordable flats in urban areas. With demand outstripping supply, property prices and rents have soared in cities like Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. In addition, record-low borrowing costs have encouraged many Germans to overcome their aversion to buying their own flats and houses, with some also regarding property as an attractive investment. The government has decided to increase its spending on social housing and introduce special tax incentives for private sector investors who build flats in urban areas. Both measures are expected to give the sector an additional push this year. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers) Berlin (AFP) - Germany expects up to 100,000 undocumented migrants to leave the country in 2016, a number Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere Wednesday hailed as high but insufficient after last year's record influx. "If the current trend continues then we will reach a total of between 90,000 and 100,000 deportations and voluntary returns," de Maiziere told reporters. "That is good but not good enough. That is why we must continue to work to ensure that those who must leave our country actually do so." Between January and April of this year, 20,000 foreign nationals without permission to stay in Germany returned to their countries of origin voluntarily under government programmes. Those totals marked a strong increase from 2015, when 37,220 returns were recorded during the year as a whole, and 13,574 in 2014. German authorities said 9,280 were deported during the first four months of 2016, compared to 22,369 in all of 2015 and 13,851 in 2014. De Maiziere did not provide a breakdown of the migrants' countries of origin. Germany has said it aims to speed up the returns of people not granted asylum after the arrival of nearly 1.1 million people fleeing war and poverty in 2015. In particular it has aimed to streamline processing of asylum applications and classified several Balkan states as safe countries of origin to accelerate expulsions. It has also moved to place certain North African countries on the same list. Germany recorded a steep decline in asylum-seeker arrivals in April, according to official data last month, after the closure of the popular route used by migrants through the Balkans. About 16,000 migrants arrived in April, down almost a quarter from 20,000 in March, and nearly a 90-percent plunge from December, when 120,000 arrivals were recorded. By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - Three Pakistani men seeking asylum in Germany are being investigated after dozens of women said they were sexually harassed at a music festival over the weekend, prosecutors said. The accusations follow mass sexual attacks on women at New Year's Eve in Cologne which fueled a backlash against Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy. After the festival in the western city of Darmstadt, which attracted 300,000-400,000 people over four days, 26 women made complaints of harassment and there are officially 18 injured parties, a spokeswoman for prosecutors said on Wednesday. "The women complained that they were surrounded by small groups of men who then touched them inappropriately," a police spokesman said. In Cologne at New Year, hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the train station. Police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance. The police chief was forced to resign over the incident. The events in Darmstadt do not seem to be on the same scale but, following several complaints of sexual harassment at a parade in Berlin in May, they could compound fears about the integration of migrants and worsen social tensions. There have been 449 assaults on migrant shelters so far this year, according to the interior minister. Prosecutors said three men between 28 and 31, all asylum seekers originally from Pakistan, were arrested at the weekend and released and are now under investigation. Two or three other men who were with them at the time have yet to be identified, prosecutors said. Despite a fall in her own and her conservative party's popularity, Merkel has said that, even with hindsight, she would allow people in humanitarian need to enter Germany again, as she did last year. "I recommend anyone who is fearful to take the opportunity to personally get to know someone who has fled to us. These are people who have experienced and suffered a lot and have their worries and hopes just as much as we do," Merkel told Bunte magazine. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) By Andreas Rinke and Arno Schuetze BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany is trying to coordinate an alternative offer for industrial robot maker Kuka (KU2G.DE) following Chinese home appliance maker Midea Group Co Ltd's 4.5 billion euro takeover bid, Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. Kuka is the latest and biggest German industrial technology group to be targeted by a Chinese buyer as the world's second-largest economy makes the transition from a low-cost manufacturer into a high-tech industrial hub. "There are efforts to formulate an alternative offer. Whether that materializes, we will see," Gabriel told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday. Government sources have said Berlin would examine how critical Kuka's technology is for the digitization of industry, an economic priority for Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. Citing government and industry sources, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported earlier on Wednesday that Gabriel wanted to forge an alliance of German or European firms to prevent a sale to the Chinese company. But Gabriel may face an uphill battle in convincing German companies that rely on the Chinese market for customers to try to snatch Kuka from its suitor. Also, Midea will not be able to control Kuka fully anyway unless unlisted mechanical engineering group Voith and another investor, Loh, sell their stakes, totaling just over 35 percent of Kuka's capital, or strike an agreement with the Chinese firm. Voith CEO Hubert Lienhard has criticized as premature Kuka management's positive stance towards Midea's bid. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Gabriel had proposed the idea of an alliance to a number of companies, including carmakers. One banker familiar with the sector said big industry players in Europe would not be lured into a rival bid as the price was too high and the path to control of Kuka unclear. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that German industrial group Siemens (SIEGn.DE) had considered a counterbid for Kuka but quickly dismissed the idea as too expensive. Story continues Chief Executive Joe Kaeser told investors on Wednesday that digitization would continue to be an area of focus in any takeovers by Siemens but said he was unlikely to agree any mega-deals. Daimler (DAIGn.DE) Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said on Wednesday he personally did not see any risks from a Chinese purchase of Kuka, considering previous takeovers by Chinese buyers had not had any negative effects. China's Shanghai Electric has in the past also considered buying Kuka but shied away from making a move, two people said. Another banker said Swiss engineering group ABB (ABBN.S) could be interested in Kuka in principle but that the price is now too high. Shanghai Electric was not immediately available for comment. ABB declined to comment. Despite its concerns about losing German technology to China, the ruling coalition of Merkel's conservatives and Gabriel's Social Democrats (SPD) usually does not like to meddle in takeovers. (Additional reporting by Paul Carsten, John Miller, Markus Wacket and Georgina Prodhan; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Madeline Chambers, Richard Balmforth and Alexandra Hudson) Abidjan (AFP) - Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama met his counterpart in Ivory Coast on Tuesday even as the two oil-producers bicker over a maritime border key to drilling. The border cuts through offshore oil fields that both nations are eager to exploit, but there are claims the boundary has not been properly demarcated. The disputed area is believed to hold the biggest hydrocarbon resources discovered in west Africa for the last decade. Several oil companies including France's Total, Russia's Lukoil and the UK's Tullow Oil have reported significant finds in recent years. Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara welcomed Mahama, his wife, and officials when his plane landed in the economic capital Abidjan. The trip, described as an "official visit," is expected to last two days. There was no official word from either camp on whether the leaders would engage in talks to resolve their disagreement over the boundary. The two-year-old dispute came to a head in September 2014 when Ghana decided to file a suit against Ivory Coast under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea after months of talks failed. In April 2015, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, ordered Ghana to limit its activity in the area until a ruling is handed down. Ivory Coast had wanted the suspension of all ongoing oil exploration and exploitation by Ghana. The court, however, said that would cause "considerable financial loss to Ghana." A final ruling on the issue is expected in late 2017, and both parties were ordered to cooperate until then as part of the arbitration process. In September 2015, Ivory Coast concluded an agreement with the US oil company Anadarko to explore for oil in the disputed waters. Both Ghana and Ivory Coast have denied that the lawsuit signalled a change in relations between the two countries, which are west Africa's second- and third-largest economies respectively. Story continues Ghana, a major producer of gold and cocoa, began commercial oil production in 2010 from the Jubilee oil field along its western border, which produces 100,000 barrels per day. Lukoil and its US partner Vanco are running the offshore sites. Commercial oil revenue has boosted the country's economy since then. With a modest output of 40,000 barrels per day, Ivory Coast is looking to hike its existing offshore oil production. The country is the world's largest producer of cocoa, but also wants to encourage a revival of its mining and agriculture sectors after a decade of conflict. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102540%2f7734baee5ba84e28a0a37ef9fee23249 Money, power, success. These are the three things that will fade into irrelevance once you've sunk your teeth into an awe-inspiring Nutella dessert kebab, which is currently attracting plenty of attention Down Under. SEE ALSO: South Korea claims it has ice cream that will cure hangovers It's actually called the "Tellabab" named so because it's from the Tella Balls Dessert Bar in Sydney, Australia and well, it's a kebab. As for what's in it, it's a doughnut pita bread, filled with milk and white chocolate shavings (off a freakin' rotisserie), strawberries, banana, whipped cream and finished off with "lashings" of Nutella. Heavy breathing ensues. This what the Nutella kebab looks like: The chocolate shavings come off an actual rotisserie. Like a real kebab. Here is another angle of the Nutella kebab. And another one. Last one, we promise. Such dessert kebab creations are popular in the United Arab Emirates under the moniker of a chocolate shawarma, cafe owner Aki Daikos told Good Food. However he believes it's the first time that such a creation has been sold Down Under. What have you done to us. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2016 / Golden Predator Mining Corp. (GPY.V) (the "Company") announces that it has entered into an agreement with William M. Sheriff, Chairman, for the assignment of two Option to Purchase Agreements to acquire up to 10,312,154 shares of the Company from Till Capital Ltd. at a price of $0.15 per share. The Option to Purchase Agreements were entered into between Till Capital, a Bermuda company, and Mr. Sheriff in September of 2015 and are being assigned to the Company for nominal consideration. The shares that the Company may acquire under the option to purchase agreements represent 16.2% of the current issued and outstanding shares. Upon exercise of the options in full, the Company will return the shares to treasury for cancellation, following which a total of 53,359,061 shares will remain issued and outstanding, assuming no warrants or options are exercised prior to the completion of the transaction. "This assignment of my personal options to Golden Predator, when viewed in light of the current trading price of the shares, is clearly a benefit to all shareholders. Retiring 16.2% of the Company's stock at a fraction of the current market value allows the Company to be in a much stronger financial position overall," said William M. Sheriff. "Our shareholders have been extremely patient and supportive in a difficult market and my action in assigning the options fully considers the strength of the Company as a whole. I am grateful to be in a position to share what amounts in essence to a dividend with all the shareholders of Golden Predator." The Board considered the transaction and determined that the acquisition and exercise of the option, and the subsequent cancellation of the shares, are in the best interests of the Company and provide a benefit to all shareholders. The Board of Directors of Golden Predator has approved payment of the exercise price in the amount of $1,546,823 to Till Capital to acquire the shares for cancellation. Completion of the assignment of Option to Purchase Agreements to the Company is subject to final acceptance of the TSXV. Story continues The Option to Purchase Agreements were entered into between Till Capital and Mr. Sheriff as part of a separation agreement. Under the terms of the Option to Purchase Agreements, the options could be exercised at any time up to March 1, 2017, provided that Till Capital has the right to accelerate the expiry date of the options if the 10-day volume-weighted average price of the Company's shares is at least $0.25 per share. This condition has now been satisfied and Till has accelerated the expiry date of the options to June 26, 2016. Golden Predator intends to exercise the options prior to the expiry date. Golden Predator Mining Corp. Golden Predator Mining Corp., a Canadian gold mineral exploration company, is focused on advancing the 3 Aces Project and Brewery Creek project in Canada's North. The Company has undertaken a bulk sampling at the 3 Aces project, focused on high grade native gold bearing quartz veins, to define the distribution and grade of gold in the veins. The Company's Brewery Creek Project is a past producing heap leach gold mine. For additional information: Janet Lee-Sheriff Chief Executive Officer (214) 304-9552 info@goldenpredator.com www.goldenpredator.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This press release contains forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. The exercise of the option requires final stock exchange approval and assumes the exercise will proceed as planned, which cannot be guaranteed. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change. SOURCE: Golden Predator Mining Corp. Google Taking a Number of Initiatives to Grow Its Ad Business (Continued from Prior Part) Google working on its mobile UX News reading is one activity that helps Google (GOOG) increase its user engagement. However, user engagement can actually take a hit if the news link takes too long time to open, especially in regions like emerging markets (EEM) where Internet speeds are slow. Google (GOOG) is working to improve its user experience (or UX) on mobile. It launched the Accelerated Mobile Pages (or AMP) product in early 2015 to provide users with an efficient reading experience of content from third-party providers. Google claims that these pages load four times faster and use 10 times less data than traditional pages. The content loads on the Google search page itself rather than Google redirecting the user to third-party website. This initiative from Google is similar to Facebooks (FB) Instant Articles and Apple (AAPL) News. Facebook and Apple also offer similar features Facebooks Instant Article feature allows users to read articles within Facebooks News Feed itself. Apple also unveiled its News app at the Worldwide Developers Conference in 2015, which offers news content from more than 50 publications on consumers Apple devices. Some of the notable news sources include The New York Times (NYT), Walt Disneys (DIS) ESPN, CNN, and Time magazine. This new feature is a win-win for users, publishers, and Facebook. For users, the faster access to articles should improve their user experience. For publishers, their revenue potential will increase as networks such as Google Search and Facebook gives them access to a large audience. Finally, the company keeps a cut of ad revenues if publishers use its ad network platform to serve ads. These initiatives from these players underscore the movement of ad dollars to mobile devices. According to a report from eMarketer and as the chart above shows, US digital ad spending on mobile could grow from $19 billion in 2014 to $65 billion in 2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 19%. Story continues Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Alphabet's Key Strategies for Non-Advertising Business Growth (Continued from Prior Part) Google provides users with a variety of payment methods In the previous part of the series, we discussed how Google (GOOG) hasnt been able to monetize Google Play effectively. However, the company is now trying to make the payment process on Google Play seamless. Google mentioned that users can now select credit cards, PayPal (PYPL), Google Play Credit, or carrier billings to purchase content from Google Play. With regards to carrier billing, Google has partnered with US telecommunications providers such as Verizon Communications (VZ) and Sprint (S) so that they can charge users for app and content purchases from Google Play by directly billing them to their accounts. Google is also looking for partnerships in emerging markets (EEM), where this sort of billing process could become even more popular since credit card penetration in these regions is still low. Google launched Android Pay app last year Another initiative that Google took a few months back was to launch the mobile payment app Android Pay on Google Play. Android Pay is an NFC (near field communication) technologybased payment feature. Google launched its revamped Android Pay mobile payment service at its I/O conference last year. During this event, Google announced that it wouldnt charge any fees to bank issuers for mobile transactions through Android Pay. The mobile payments market has huge growth potential. According to an eMarketer report and as the chart above shows, US mobile payment transactions have more than doubled in just a year, from $3.7 billion in 2014 to $8.7 billion in 2015. The report also mentions that 2016 will be a significant growth year for mobile payments transactions, which will more than triple from 2015 to 2016. In the next part of this series, well discuss how Google is taking on Amazon in the e-commerce space. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: June 1 (Reuters) - Sumner Redstone's granddaughter Keryn said on Wednesday she plans to support the independent directors of Viacom Inc to help free the 93-year-old media mogul from the "clutches" of his daughter, Shari. The independent directors have questioned Sumner Redstone's mental competence, and said they will legally contest any move by his purported representatives to remove them from Viacom's board. "I will soon be announcing legal steps to join with the Viacom directors in our common cause to liberate my grandfather from Shari's clutches and protect my fellow trust beneficiaries and myself from her machinations," Keryn Redstone said in a statement issued by attorney Pierce O'Donnell, who also represents Sumner Redstone's ex-girlfriend Manuela Herzer. Herzer had challenged Redstone's mental competence after she was ejected from his mansion last October. She had sought to be reinstated as his designated healthcare agent, but a Los Angeles judge dismissed that case in May. Herzer's lawyers have said she planned to appeal the decision. Keryn Redstone, who supported Herzer's lawsuit, said she had been prevented from seeing her grandfather by her aunt, Shari Redstone, who is vice chair of Viacom's board. A spokeswoman for Shari Redstone had no comment. She had previously denied allegations that she was manipulating her father. "Shari has made it abundantly clear that she has no desire to manage Viacom nor chair its board," she said in a statement on Tuesday. Sumner Redstone, in a statement issued last week by his spokesman, said he was considering replacing Viacom's chief executive, Philippe Dauman, and its board of directors. Legal experts said Dauman and the directors would face a tough legal battle to prevent their ouster because Redstone's National Amusements Inc (NAI) had the ability to immediately remove Viacom's board at any time under Delaware law. NAI controls 80 percent of the voting shares in Viacom and CBS Corp. Earlier in May, Redstone ejected Dauman and a Viacom board member from the seven-person trust that will control the voting shares after Redstone's exit. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Tiffany Wu) Great Plains EnergyInc. GXP announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Westar EnergyInc. WR. The transaction has an estimated value of $8.6 billion and is anticipated to close in the spring of 2017, subject to regulatory approvals. Under the terms of the agreement, Westars shareholders will receive $60 a share, consisting of $51 in cash and $9 in Great Plains Energy stock. Also, Great Plains Energy will assume Westar's debt of around $3.6 billion. Once the transaction is closed, Westar will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy. To finance the deal, Great Plains Energy has secured nearly $8.0 billion of debt. It has also secured a $750 million preferred convertible equity commitment. Apart from that, the company plans to issue long-term financing, consisting of a combination of equity, equity-linked securities and debt, prior to closing of the transaction. Upon closing of the transaction, Great Plains Energy will be able to cater to more than 1.5 million customers in Kansas and Missouri with a generation capacity of nearly 13,000 megawatts and gain access to around 10,000 miles of transmission lines and over 51,000 miles of distribution lines. The latest acquisition is expected to be a major consolidation in this sector, resulting in more controlled costs and consumer rates. Great Plains Energy also expects anticipated savings from the deal to help lower future rate increase requests. Clearly, the addition of Westars generation fleet will increase the diversity and sustainability of Great Plains Energys generation portfolio, giving it the capability to meet over 45% of the combined utilitys retail customer demand with clean energy. In a similar move, Dominion Resources Inc. D, a leading producer and transporter of energy, recently entered into a $4.4 billion merger deal with Questar Corporation STR in a bid to expand its geographical presence. Currently, Great Plains Energy carries 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 DOMINION RES VA (D): Free Stock Analysis Report WESTAR ENERGY (WR): Free Stock Analysis Report GREAT PLAINS EN (GXP): Free Stock Analysis Report QUESTAR (STR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research From Popular Mechanics California City was a grandiose vision that never amounted to much. Almost all that's left of a colossal vision to challenge Los Angeles primacy is a ghost of grid, roads leading to nowhere and signifying the failed dreams of a generation past. A big bunch of nothing that's still California's third largest city by area. Nathan K. Mendelsohn was a New York sociologist who moved out West in the 1950's to test out his community development theories, and to cash in on the California real estate boom. Any land in California felt like it was magic, and Mendelsohn saw no reason he couldn't create a massive city out of thin air if he wanted. He shipped in water from New York to fill a man-made 105,218 square meter lake complete with waterfalls, bused and flew up interested buyers from L.A. A few bought into his vision, more didn't. Mendelsohn planned out an entire metropolis without figuring out a reason it needed to exist. Industry wasn't interested in moving into the middle of what felt like nowhere. Crucial amenities, like telephone wires, failed to manifest. Although the novelty of the isolation appealed to those who did move to California City, like using CB radios to ask if anyone else in town needed food when going to the grocery store, it wore off. People still live in California City, a few over 14,000. They make up only a fraction of the space Mendelsohn initially envisioned, a small community in the Central region of California's Kern county. That leaves a whole lot of wide open roads. Source: NOWNESS via Digg By Andrew Mambondiyani CHIPINGE, Zimbabwe (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Several rivers pass from Zimbabwe's lush Eastern highlands through the lowlands of drought-hit Chipinge, Mutare and Chimanimani districts. But while river water is plentiful, hard-up farmers have no way to get enough of it to their fields. "We did not harvest anything in the past two seasons," said Amon Vhumbu, the traditional leader of a small, isolated village in Chipinge district, where many fields have been left barren by drought, despite a river flowing nearby. "As you can see, without irrigation our hopes of a good crop yield have now become unrealistic," he said. But a project to build dams and irrigation systems to bring water to parched fields is set to help and could protect at least some families against the more frequent droughts climate change is bringing in southern Africa. The Enhancing Nutrition, Stepping Up Resilience and Enterprise (ENSURE) program, a $55 million effort led by charity World Vision and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), aims to address some of the causes underlying chronic food security and malnutrition in Zimbabwes Manicaland and Masvingo provinces, where stunting rates among children are 34 and 31 per cent respectively. In Birirano, in Chipinge district, ENSURE has built a new dam and irrigation system that is expected to start functioning in June, in time for planting of winter crops. The system uses pipes to carry water from the dam to the fields. With this and 10 similar projects already running in Chimanimani, Chipinge and Buhera districts, the program plans to irrigate more than 100 hectares (about 250 acres) of farmland. Forty hectares are already receiving water. Ultimately, the program aims to bring 154 hectares of farmland under irrigation by 2018, according to Richard Ndou, the deputy chief of party for World Vision Zimbabwe. Turning to irrigation is crucial as rain-fed agriculture becomes increasingly unreliable, said Freeman Mavhiza, the Chipinge assistant district administrator. "The irrigation projects are community driven and for years to come many people will benefit from these projects," he said. TAPPING THE POTENTIAL Zimbabwe's current El Nino-induced drought is one of the most devastating in recent history, leaving up to 4.5 million in need of food aid, officials say. And the country still hasn't recovered from a previous serious drought that hit the 2014-15 farming season. Some of the worst-affected districts are in Manicaland province where, according to provincial administrator Fungai Mbetsa, up to 85,000 households are receiving government food assistance. And that figure, he said, is far below the actual number of food insecure households in the province. Government efforts to put more people on the food assistance program are hamstrung by lack of financial resources. "What we are giving people is not enough," Mbetsa said. But many of these districts lie along the Save River valley, an area with lots of potential for irrigation. Building dams and irrigation systems is helping villagers tap into that potential, said Thabisani Moyo, a food security specialist with USAID. The ENSURE program shows them how to build and fix dams and irrigation schemes, and provides materials and technical support, he said. Villagers who work on constructing the systems get 50 kg (110 lb) of sorghum every month for their labor. So far 2,334 people have received such payments. "Because of these irrigation schemes we are going to see a reduction in the number of people needing aid," Moyo said. ENOUGH WATER? Not everyone is persuaded the irrigation push will work effectively to combat food insecurity. The area covered by irrigation is still small, and critics point out that recurrent droughts could diminish water levels in the dams so much that the irrigation systems become useless. But Manicaland provincial administrator Mbetsa said most of the dams get water from rivers that are unaffected by drought. "We have perennial rivers in the Eastern Highlands passing through drought regions and this water can be harnessed for irrigation," Mbetsa said. "Water harvesting is key to sustaining communities in the dry areas." During a tour of the some of the projects in May, Stephanie Funk, the USAID director in Zimbabwe, said the effort needs to expand to reach many more of the countrys increasingly drought-hit farmers. "The drought will continue probably throughout the whole next year," Funk said. "More assistance is needed, not only from us but other donors and the government." (Reporting by Andrew Mambondiyani; editing by Jumana Farouky and Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate) DAKAR (Reuters) - Guinea has reached the end of active Ebola virus transmission, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday, the second such declaration from the country at the epicenter of the world's worst outbreak of the disease. The proclamation was made because the person with Guinea's last confirmed case tested negative for the second time more than 42 days ago. Guinea will now enter a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to make sure of the identification of any new cases before they spread to others. In the most recent outbreak, seven confirmed and three possible cases of the virus surfaced between March 17 and April 6. At least five people died. [nL5N16U5XW] Another three cases were recorded in neighbouring Liberia in a woman who had travelled from Guinea and her two children. The flare-up seems to have occurred after a person came into contact with infected body fluid from an Ebola survivor, WHO said. Since the virus can remain active in certain body fluids for months, the WHO cautions the risk of outbreaks remain. However, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said on Tuesday that the organisation was confident that affected countries were prepared and could deal with flare-ups efficiently. Guinea is believed to be where the world's worst Ebola outbreak occurred, spanning three countries primarily and killing 11,310 people. It first declared itself free of transmission in December. [nL8N14I0X3] (Reporting and writing by Makini Brice; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva) A gun found in the car that took Troy Ave to the hospital after a shooting at New York City's Irving Plaza has been matched to the bullet that killed the rapper's friend and bodyguard Ronald McPhatter, DNAinfo New York reports. Rapper Troy Ave Arrested for Fatal Shooting at T.I. Show Following the shooting, Troy Ave real name Roland Collins was driven to the emergency room at NYU Langone Hospital, where New York Police Department officers kept the car from leaving. After obtaining a warrant, investigators uncovered a secret compartment in the vehicle, which held three handguns, including the one that killed McPhatter. Detectives plan to perform DNA tests on the guns to determine who had handled them. The latest developments in the case come after Collins pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and criminal possession of a firearm at a hearing Monday at Manhattan Criminal Court. His charges, however, could be upgraded if tests determine his gun was responsible for McPhatter's death. Two members of the hip-hop community have already voiced their support for Troy Ave: Meek Mill and longtime proponent, 50 Cent. On Instagram, both posted pictures of the MC showing up to court in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast. "Self Defense that's more like it now," 50 Cent wrote. "Hold ya head TROY. See how the story change." The shooting took place at T.I.'s New York concert May 25th, and left four injured, including Troy Ave. McPhatter was the only fatality. The incident reportedly occurred after a set from rapper Maino, with whom Troy Ave had reportedly been beefing (though according to DNAinfo, other sources said the fight started when Troy Ave saw a music writer who'd been critical of him). The gunshots occurred in the green room above the stage, and surveillance video from the incident showed Troy Ave emerging backstage and opening fire. Initial reports claimed that Troy Ave shot both himself and McPhatter, but one of the rapper's lawyers denied the allegation, saying the video released by the NYPD did not show what happened before or after the incident. "The scientific evidence will show he didn't shoot himself," he added. Story continues Despite not having a criminal record, the judge who oversaw Monday's hearing denied Troy Ave's request of a $50,000 bail, instead opting to keep him in custody without bail until his trial ends. Related Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102372%2fdonaldtrumpsign Construction signs: They tell you what lanes to avoid, what speed to travel at, and who to vote for in the 2016 presidential election. Along Interstate 30 in West Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, motorists were confronted with a highly opinionated construction sign. No, the sign wasn't opining about the best exit signs to follow. It wanted you to know that Donald Trump "is a shape-shifting lizard." SEE ALSO: Even Stephen Hawking can't explain Trump's popularity A sign farther along the highway encouraged drivers to instead vote for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Later, a sign took a more bipartisan approach and let everyone know, "Work is canceled, go back home. The Texas Department of Transportation said two of the three signs were not in use, but they are password protected. Construction signs are a favorite target of hackers, and this isn't the first time they've been victimized this season. Signs posted to Interstate 15 in Coronas, California encouraged innocent voters to back Donald Trump. It is unclear how these signs will affect Trump's popularity with one of the most important demographics this election lizard people. Does Halliburton's Share Price Rally Indicate Recovery? (Continued from Prior Part) Halliburtons returns and key drivers Oilfield equipment and services (or OFS) companies such as Halliburton (HAL) are affected by rig counts and energy prices. In the past year, West Texas Intermediate (or WTI) crude oils price has fallen ~19%. Halliburton saw one-year returns of -11% net of dividends. This was better than the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETFs (OIH) -27% during the same period. HAL makes up 16.9% of OIH. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE), the broader energy industry ETF, produced a return of -15.4%. HAL significantly outperformed the US rig count, which fell 55% in one year. However, Halliburton underperformed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which returned -1% during the same period. HALs smaller market capitalization peer Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) underperformed HAL, producing a -14% one-year return net of dividends. How related are Halliburtons and crude oils prices? The correlation coefficient between Halliburtons stock price and crude oils price from May 2015 to the present is 0.59. This indicates a relatively strong degree of correlation between crude oils price and Halliburtons price. Analyzing HALs performance and strategies Ongoing energy market uncertainty in North America remains Halliburtons primary concern. Weak well completion activity in some of HALs international operations, including Angola, Australia, and the North Sea, could add to the companys problems. Halliburton incurred losses at the operating level, given its negative EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) and negative cash flow from operations in 1Q16. Halliburtons capex for 2016 has been significantly lower than it was in 2015, reflecting energy market volatility. In the next four quarters, Halliburtons earnings could fall. On the other hand, steady upstream activity in the Middle East and expected recovery in North America once the rig count stabilizes could drive Halliburtons performance in 2016. The fact that HAL provides technology and integrated project management as well as information solutions throughout the world has helped it to weather the industry downturn better than many other OFS companies. Story continues Despite its challenges, Halliburton can likely be expected to perform steadily in the medium to long term. Browse this series on Market Realist: I solemnly swear that I ate everything I could. Witches and wizardssome in robes and others in standard muggle clothingare waving their wands, muttering incantations, and managing all kinds of mischief. It smells like a mix of baked goods and sunscreen. The sound of a familiar score is deafening in the best wayand there's a line down the street of people waiting for mugs of frothy, golden Butterbeer. There's only one way to truly describe it: There is magic in the air. I'm at Universal Orlando Resort's Wizarding World of Harry Potter, smack in the middle of Hogsmeade's High Street, and Hogwarts Castlea replica of the architectural icon from all of the Harry Potter filmsis looming over me in the distance. It's 90 degrees, but the pointy, thatched roofs all around me are dusted with glittering, fake snow, giving the village its Christmas-card look. This place has the hustle and bustle of a theme park, but everyone here is staring upwards, in absolute awe of their surroundings. The level of detail is so perfect that it's enough to bring mea Harry Potter obsessiveto tears. Every summer, I reread all seven Harry Potter books and rewatch all eight Harry Potter movies. It started in 2002 when I was 18: I was, admittedly, a little old to join Potter mania. I read the first four books in quick succession and then started waiting, like all other rabid fans, for the next book and movie to come out. I attended every midnight book release party and every opening-night movie screening. Photo credit: Courtesy of Universal Studios Orlando Resort The rest of the Delish team knows the power of Harry Potter. Our copycat Butterbeer video (and its boozy cousin) racked up more than 6 million views last fall, whichat the timemade it our most popular video by a long shot. So my boss suggested I go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort to turn up other magical delights. With the announcement of a new play and book coming this summer (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child) and a new Rowling film (Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them ) opening this winter, Harry Potter mania is about to reach another high. It seemed like the perfect time to explore the two areas of the Wizarding WorldHogsmeade and Diagon Alley, located within Universal's two theme parkswith an eye toward identifying (and consuming) the most delicious eats and sweets I could find. Story continues Photo credit: COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO RESORT The Three Broomsticks That is how I found myself in Hogsmeadelocated at Universal Orlando Resort's Islands of Adventure theme parkunder a sweltering sun, surrounded by the aforementioned witches and wizards, and yes, some muggles. Despite the heat, I'm here to eat and the best place to get a good meal in Hogsmeade is The Three Broomsticks pub. This is the site of many Harry, Hermione, and Ron hijinks, and it's everything Rowling describes: "extremely crowded, noisy, warm and smoky." (Minus the smoke, of coursethis is 2016 in a family theme park.) Worn wooden beams soar over weathered walls, and there are antlers, portraits of wizarding history, and assorted unidentifiable knickknacks all over the place. Looking at the menu, I'm immediately in awe of The Great Feasta massive platter of rotisserie smoked chicken legs, spareribs, corn on the cob, and roasted potatoes. It's enough to feed a family of four, and was actually designed with family-style dining in mind, according to Universal Orlando Resort Corporate Executive Chef Steven Jayson. Hogwarts students all share ridiculously over-the-top platters of food when eating in The Great Hall, and this dish is an homage to that style of eating. I sneak a few bites of each portion of the platterthe chicken is actually perfectly cooked, bursting with herbs, and instantly comforting. The potatoes are nicely seasoned, the ribs are not the saucy KC-variety I'm used to, but I'm not mad about it, and the corn is wonderfully bright and tastes fresh. It is, however, 9:30 in the morning, so I actually focus more on the Traditional English Breakfast. If you've ever been to England, you'll know that this is the real thingeggs, sausage, black pudding, bacon, baked beans, grilled tomato, sauteed mushrooms, and potatoes. The grilled tomato bursts over the sausages and eggs when I dig in, and I struggle to remember that I am not even IN the U.K. It's all part of the magic, chef Jayons says. "We wanted to immerse our guests into what it was really like for these [characters]," he says. "What would they really eat?" They did their research: the culinary team traveled to England to research authentic British pub fare, and ran everything by Rowling herself to figure out how they could bring the right food back to the States.They settled on authenticity above anything else, which explains The Three Broomsticks distinctive lack of traditional theme park food. Beyond this classic breakfast, the menu is full of English favorites like Porridge (one of Mrs. Weasley's standard breakfast foods), a Smoked Salmon Breakfast, and a Pancake Breakfast to Shepherd's Pie, Fish and Chips, Cornish Pasties (pastry filled with ground beef, veggies, and potatoes), and Smoked Turkey Legs. By the end of it, I start to feel like an inflated Aunt Marge. Back outside, I check out the food carts that dot the high street. They're stocked with ice-cold Pumpkin Juice, Gillywater (aka bottled water), and other assorted snacks and sweets, but I'm most intrigued by a huge barrel that is pouring Butterbeer for a long line of eager guests. I decide my time has come to sample the famous beverage as well so instead of cooking in the sun, (pro tip: skip the line at the two kiosks outside and head inside to AC and ausuallymuch shorter line at The Hog's Head) I seek refuge in the dingy bar next door to The Three Broomsticks. The Hog's Head "It was not at all like The Three Broomsticks, whose large bar game an impression of gleaming warmth and cleanliness. The Hog's Head bar comprised one small, dingy, and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something that might have been goats."Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix Thankfully the place didn't smell like goats. But The Hog's Head does give off a darker, dirtier vibe than The Three Broomsticks. It's predictably packed, probably because it's the only place in Hogsmeade where you can get actual beer and alcohol, along with more kid-friendly counterparts. I order one of everything (except the non-magical stuff, like Boddington's and Guinness). I decide to start with the main attraction, Butterbeer, which is available in two varietiescold or frozen (I'm told they also serve a warm version of Butterbeer, but only when Florida weather requires it ... which is almost never). The cold version (my personal favorite) has a cream soda-like texture and is topped with a white, frothy head that is incredibly addictive. When the liquid passes through the foam, the flavors combine to create something that is super smooth and easy to drinkit has that butterscotch taste without being overly sweet. (The books describes Butterbeer as "a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch"and they nailed it.) The frozen version, on the other hand, is served with a straw so that you can mix the foam and slushie portion together to get both flavors in each sip. I could polish a cold version off at an alarming rate, but I control myself in order to try the other beverages on offerpumpkin juice, pumpkin fizz and Hog's Head Brew. The Pumpkin Juice, which comes on tap or bottled (so you can take it home), tastes like fall in a glass, while the Pumpkin fizz is a carbonated version of the juiceit tastes like pumpkin pie soda. (I actually preferred the fizzy version.) Finally, for the hard stuff, the exclusive-to-Hogsmeade Hog's Head Brew delivers a classic Irish red beer, not too hoppy, and not too heavy, perfect for those who need a REAL drink after a day in the park. I need to walk all this off so I head outside and duck into Honeydukes Sweets Shop. The tiny space is filled with towering shelves of every colorful candy or sweet ever mentioned in the Potterverse. Huge towers dispense the dreaded Bertie Bott's Ever Flavour Beans, and a bakery case features goodies like Butterber Fudge and Pumpkin Pasties. I grab a bunch to try later, but recognize I can't eat another thing at this moment. I feel like a regular Moaning Myrtlewailing about my body's current state. I decide a ride on the Hogwarts Express is the break my belly needs. Photo credit: Courtesy of Universal Studios Orlando Resort The newest area of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located at Islands of Adventure's sister park, Universal Studios Florida, less than a mile away from Hogsmeade. Guests have the chance to ride the famed Hogwarts Express between them, and I was freaking out with excitement. The 5-minute ride is so wonderful that I basically screw professional decorum and allow myself to go full-on fan girl. (Insider tip: It's worth riding the train both ways to get the full experience. You get to enter Platform 9 in King's Cross station, which any HP-obsessive won't want to miss.) Leaky Cauldron After exploring the main thoroughfare of Diagon Alleyfull of fun shops like Ollivander's wand shop, Flourish & Blotts bookstore, Quality Quidditch Supplies, the Magical Menagerie, and a fire-breathing dragon perched atop Gringotts bankI'm finally feeling hungry again. My destination is the Leaky Cauldron. Described in the books as "a tiny, grubby-looking pub ... dark and shabby," it's the literal entrance to the magical street (you tap a brick wall with your wand) and where Harry first meets his nemesis Voldemort. So as a fan, I have extremely high hopes. Photo credit: KATHRYN WIRSING This Leaky Cauldron exudes that vibe with a little more elegance. Cathedral-high ceilings with wooden beams, long communal wooden tables, huge candelabrasthis place is much more impressive than the books can even describe. I settle at a long table in the corner and am in awe of the plates that have appeared before me. If The Three Broomsticks was meant to emulate The Great Hall of Hogwarts, the Leaky Cauldron is more a classic British pub, according to Chef Jayson. The signature dish is The Ploughman's Platter, an enormous plate of English cheese, crusty bread, oven-roasted tomatoes, cornichon pickles, scotch eggs, green salad, and apple and beet salad. The platter is meant to be shared, but I refuse: the scotch eggs are all mine. I move on to the Fish and Chips, which hold their own to the version I ate in actual London: the cod and chips were perfectly crispy and the tarter sauce had a great bite. Next was a platter of Mini Piescottage (beef, vegetables, potato crust) and fisherman (salmon, shrimp, cod, potato crust). The cottage version was actually one of my favorite menu items of the tripI would definitely have devoured a whole one given the option. The meal continues with a Beef, Lamb and Guinness Stew that's served in the cutest mini bread bowl ever and is loaded with carrots, potatoes, and gravy. Yes, it's weird to be eating all this heavy pub grub when you're wearing a tank top and sandals and it's 90 degrees outside, but the food is so authentic, it doesn't faze me at all. Photo credit: KATHRYN WIRSING Plus, there are still sausages to try. There's a Bangers and Mash plate and a Banger Sandwich: the first is English sausages served on fluffy mashed potatoes, the latter served in a crusty bagel. Finally, there is the Toad in the Hole, an English sausage baked into Yorkshire pudding with onion gravy, peas, and tomatoes. It's an odd-looking dish, but Chef Jayson assures me it's incredibly British, the kind of dish I imagine Ron Weasley would scarf down with abandon. For dessert there is to-die-for Sticky Toffee Pudding with an incredible butterscotch sauce, Chocolate and Butterbeer Potted Cream, and a parfait-like dish called Cranachan that features fresh raspberries, jam and custard. I take small bites of each dessert despite the fact that my stomach is nearing Dudley Dursley levels. The Leaky Cauldron also pours the requisite Butterbeers and pumpkin juice, but you can also find inventive drinks like Tongue Tying Lemon Squash, Otter's Fizzy Orange Juice and Fishy Green Ale, and draught beers Wizard's Brew and Dragon Scale. I take sips of each one because I'm a completist and a glutton. The Fishy Green Ale has little bubble-tea-like balls that release a burst of fruity flavor when you bite into them (It's my favorite of these beverages). I stumble back out into the sunlight, woozy and so full. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a brilliantly orange and purple shop. The building's most notable feature, however, is a 20-foot high replica of a red-headed man who is constantly putting on and taking off his cap. I need to go in. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Photo credit: KATHRYN WIRSING The eponymous shop of Fred and George Weasley is mostly a joke shop with signature items like a stuffed version of the Pygmy Puff that Ginny Weasley affectionately named Arnold, Decoy Detonators, Sneakoscopes, Extendable Ears, and more. This place is an explosion of color and noise, worthy of the mayhem the Weasley twins were known for. However, there are also finds worthy of Delishspecifically, the famous Skiving Snackboxes. The box is filled with an assortment of sweets developed to help Hogwarts students get out of class. They don't actually cause any ailmentsbut they're delish, nonetheless. My favorite was the Nosebleed Nougatmilk chocolate, pistachios, and white pearls, kind of a Three Musketeers on steroidsbut there was also Puking Pastilles (super-sticky green and purple sweets that are pretty inoffensive), Fainting Fancies (half lemon, half orange sugary gummies), and Fever Fudge (vanilla fudge with red hot candies sprinkled throughout). I quickly make myself feel actually sick by trying all these sweets, but it's all in the name of research. A quick hug of a stuffed Pygmy Puff makes me feel better instantly and I'm back on the prowl, thankful that I reserve a separate chamber in my stomach for ice cream. I've saved the best for last. Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry stays at the Leaky Cauldron prior to term. He spends every day sitting outside in the sun, eating ice creams at Florean Fortescue's, occasionally getting hep from the man himself on his homework. Ever since reading that passage, I thought that sounded like an amazing way to spend an afternoon, homework excluded, so I ignored the voice in my head saying you've had enough for one day, and decide to try as many flavors as possible. Photo credit: Kathryn Wirsing The interior of the tiny shop is packed, but I manage to sneak a peek and it's a delightbright colors and a baked-good-meets-icy-goodies smell. The hum of the freezers and the happy chatter of the crowd creates a feeling of not-unpleasant madness. I gather up as many flavors as I can and take them outside for an epic tasting. The soft-serve flavors here look insane in the best way. They all have a vanilla base, but then flavored syrups are added to create pretty lines in the ice cream. My favorite: the Earl Grey & Lavender. I am not a tea person AT ALL, but the ice cream was so light and fresh tasting, that it was a blessing after some of the heavier flavors I scarfed down. Butterbeer was everything I've already waxed poetic aboutit's like licking the foam out of the bottom of the glass. And the Salted Caramel Blondie is a brownie, chocolate chip cookie, and an Oreo with salted caramel drizzle. In short, it's everything you could want in a dessert. After the ice cream binge has concluded I'm fairly convinced I've been hit by a stupefy charm, because I CAN NOT MOVE. Dusk is setting in behind Gringotts Bank, the crowd is miraculously thinning, and the dragon gives another one of it's trusty roars. I am seriously ready for a four-poster bed in my very own Gryffindor common room. The level of detail, love, and deliciousness in this place is totally overwhelming, especially as I head out toward King's Cross Station. I know it will take actual magic to make me ever want to eat againbut for now, all was well. Follow Delish on Instagram. PIN IT FOR LATER: You Might Also Like Matthew Lewis will never forget where he was when he learned of Alan Rickman's death in January. The 26-year-old actor, best known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter franchise, opened up with FAULT Magazine recently about the fateful day he heard that his former co-star had died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 69. In a strange twist of fate, Lewis happened to be touring the sets of the forthcoming Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, when he found out. WATCH: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and J.K. Rowling Mourn the Loss of Alan Rickman "[A producer] was taking me around the studio when the news came through. We were both just completely stunned," Lewis recalled. "But also, to be in the studio when that came through, suddenly every room that I went into, every corridor that I walked down on, I suddenly remembered a story or an image of Alan." However, being surrounded by memories of the late actor actually helped Lewis deal with the news. "It got a bit odd. It was quite surreal. But also, powerfully moving as well. It was quite nice to be there. All those happy memories came flooding back and I got quite nostalgic actually," he shared. WATCH: Alan Rickman: From 'Die Hard' to 'Harry Potter,' A Look Back at His Most Memorable Roles Lewis shared a tribute to Rickman when he died five months ago, posting a photo of the two of them to Instagram, which he captioned, "I was at Leavesden Studios today when I heard the news. As I walked through the canteen I thought of Alan queuing up for his lunch with us mere mortals." "I recalled the trailer in which he offered me some of the greatest advice I ever received about this mad profession we shared," Lewis continued in the caption. "Being back in those corridors made me remember a lot of things and I will treasure those memories all my life. He inspired my career more than he ever knew and I'll miss him." Story continues WATCH: Helen Mirren Shares What She Misses About Alan Rickman Rickman's passing hit Hollywood hard and elicited an outpouring of condolences and memories from his friends and colleagues in the days after his death. Speaking with ET in February, Rickman's Eye in the Sky co-star Helen Mirren shared her fond memories of the veteran thespian. "He was the best person to go out to dinner with," Mirren recalled. "He was very generous. He always insisted on paying the bill, he was just entertaining and fun and funny and loved going out to dinner and chatting. He loved that." For more on the life and legacy of the celebrated Harry Potter star, check out the video below. Related Articles Clare before her weight loss. (Photo: SWNS) A mother who weighed 280 pounds has lost a quarter of her body weight after her boyfriend broke up with her for being overweight, MetroUK reports. Clare Johnson had been warned that she would need brain surgery if she didnt slim down after doctors diagnosed her with a rare neurological condition called idiopathic intracranial hypertension, which puts pressure on the brain. The condition caused Johnson to stay in bed with severe migraines for days on end leading her to put on excessive amounts of weight. She was finally motivated to shed the pounds after splitting from her boyfriend last December and is now totally unrecognizable. The mom of two dropped from a size 20 to a size 6 after losing 100 pounds! Photo: SWNS Johnson, 31, from Staffordshire, England, told MetroUK, I was really low at the time and I was gutted when I got dumped. But now I get a few glances in the street from men, which doesnt interest me as Ive now found love. She now cooks healthy food with the help of daughters Danica, 12, and Millie, 10 and a check up is expected to reveal that her brain condition is in remission. Photo: SWNS My neurosurgeon said I had to lose weight or have brain surgery to drain fluid away and reduce the pressure on my brain, Johnson told MetroUK. I would wake up feeling awful and stay in bed sometimes to try and cope with the pain. I didnt binge eat at all, I just got fat due to the lack of movement, and then when Adrian broke up with me I was devastated. Describing her incredible weight loss, she added, I joined Slimming World and Elite Fitness in March last year, and when I could see it was working I just carried on going. Slimming World is a UK-based weight-loss support organization. Related: 10 Tips for Losing Weight (From People Whove Done It) Photo: SWNS I never really liked exercise and thought I couldnt do it. The feeling that I could do something that I never thought I could achieve spurred me on and I kept at it, Johnson said. Now Im quite addicted to exercise and go to the gym three or four times a week. Story continues When I was told to lose weight I thought there was no chance I could do it, but I did and so can others. Just keep trying and those small steps will add up to a massive change. Get inspired with more weight loss wins! Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Have a beauty story youd like to share with us? Email ybeautystories@yahoo.com. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 5, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Via Dave Lutz at JonesTrading, here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now: Good Morning! Markets are starting June in cautious mood, with US futures off 40bp - a combo of weaker global PMIs, Lower Commodity prices, OECD warning on Growth, and Brexit angst growing. Nothing but Red in Europe, with the DAX off nearly 1% as Miners are getting smoked across Europe and London Glencore, Rio and Anglo all off 3%+ in London hitting the FTSE for 75bp. Financials across the continent are seeing heavy profit-taking, with the EU Fin index off 2.2%. Volumes are pacing average. Asian readings on manufacturing and services sectors were generally disappointing, and the Yen stronger as Abe delays sales tax hike (as expected), hitting Nikkei for 1.6%. Aussie got whacked for 1% as commodity names got hit, while Shanghai closed almost flat. With the $ retreating, most EM Asian markets closed higher. The DXY is retreating from 9week peaks, and we have a continued bid into Havens the German 10YY down to 12bp, while US 10YY takes out yesterdays lows to yield 1.82%. Fed Funds for a June hike are retreating fast, as Sterling one-month hedging costs hit highest levels in over seven years BREXIT a key geo-political risk that could cause the Fed to wait until July. Aussie GDP better has A$ in rally mode, hitting the Greenback to yesterdays lows. Despite this tailwind for commodities, Metals are getting smoked, led by a 1.5% drop in Copper While the Crude complex drops over 1% into OPEC tomorrow as little change is expected. Natty is adding very small to yesterdays rally, confounding the growing short-base, while softs are all off small. Ahead of us today, Automakers will report May vehicle sales at 9:45 we get Markit US Manufacturing PMI, just ahead of the official ISM Manufacturing read at 10, along with Construction Spending. At 2pm, the Fed Releases Beige Book. After the close, we get that API data for Crude, Gasoline and Distillates at 4:30 (Crude supplies seen dropping 2.5M, with 745k coming out of Cushing according to Bloomberg). OPEC and ECB tomorrow, ahead of US Jobs on Friday continue to dominate traders thoughts. Quiet down in Washington, as the House and Senate are in recess. At 9am, the National Academy of Sciences begins 2-day meeting on biotechnology trends. Story continues NOW WATCH: The one thing you can add to coffee for even more energy in the morning More From Business Insider rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-felicity-jones_Disney-brightened Disney Earlier this week, many Bothans died to bring us a rumor that there would be a few weeks of reshoots on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (first trailer here) because Disney executives were allegedly unhappy with the tone of Gareth Edwards New Hope prequel. To be fair, reshoots were already scheduled in advance for this June with Rogue One still set to open this December 16th as expected and Star Wars: The Force Awakens also underwent three weeks of reshoots. Now The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and other sources confirm the Rogue One reshoots and explain Disneys motivation for them, which boils down to both the tone of the film and a potential cameo (more on that in a moment). Contrary to all of my theories, they arent adding three weeks worth of lovingly slow panning shots of Ben Mendelsohns fancy capes. Reportedly, Disney executives thought Rogue One was lacking the edge that Force Awakens had, and was tonally off with what a classic Star Wars movie should feel like. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter the current cut of Rogue One is like a war movie (um, yeah, theyre at war) and Disney wants to broaden the appeal. The goal of the reshoots will be to lighten the mood, bring some levity into the story and restore a sense of fun to the adventure. [] This is the closest thing to a prequel ever, a source tells THR. This takes place just before A New Hope and leads up to the 10 minutes before that classic film begins. You have to match the tone! Geez, now we know what happens after the ending of Rogue One. Thanks for the spoilers! Im never reading a source again. (Yes, this is sarcasm.) Writers for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety are also weighing in on Twitter, saying pretty much the same thing: ROGUE ONE, according to one of my guys, as prequel-ly as a prequel can get, leading up to 10 minutes before A NEW HOPE begins.Tone matters. Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) June 1, 2016 Yes, there will be more shooting for ROGUE ONE. The first cut was pretty serious. The new stuff to inject fun, "classic" #StarWars feel. Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) June 1, 2016 Sources say reshoots are expected on ROGUE 1; nothing to worry about, most of the shoot will involve the cameo of a very important character Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 31, 2016 As the last of those tweets references, another theory going around quite a bit is that the reshoots will add a cameo by Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo. Will a quick cameo by Han Solo interject enough fun to turn this war movie into a four quadrant adventure? Would that it were so simple. (Via The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and CBM) * Hikma to replace Inmarsat in FTSE 100 * Metro Bank, CYBG, CMC Markets to be added in FTSE 250 * Jimmy Choo, Melrose, Ophir Energy to leave FTSE 250 By Atul Prakash LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Hikma Pharmaceuticals will be promoted to Britain's blue chip FTSE 100 equity index following a sharp rally in its shares since March, while satellite firm Inmarsat will drop out of the index. The London Stock Exchange Group said on Wednesday that the changes will take effect on June 20. Getting into the FTSE 100 can often fuel further demand for a company's shares, since funds that track the FTSE or invest in the index can then add that stock to their portfolio, while the inverse is true if a company falls out of the FTSE 100. Shares in Hikma, which reiterated its guidance for 2016 last month and said it continued to expect full year group revenue in the range of $2.0 billion to $2.1 billion, have surged 45 percent since mid-March. On the other hand, Inmarsat has fallen 37 percent since early February as the company is facing tough trading conditions in its maritime and government markets businesses. A slowdown in the global economy has hit its shipping-related operations, one of the main engines for cash flow in the satellite communications group. The rankings are decided on the basis of market capitalizations. Companies with the lowest market cap in the FTSE 100 drop into the FTSE 250 mid-cap index, and vice versa. The companies joining the mid-cap index included Metro Bank , CYBG, whose brands include Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, and CMC Markets. Shares in the three companies have climbed between 10 percent and 30 percent since the start of April. Other companies to be promoted to the FTSE 250 index are Countryside Properties, Hill & Smith Holdings, Smurfit Kappa Group and Ascential. The companies being demoted to the FTSE small cap index are: Jimmy Choo, Highbridge Multi-Strategy Fund , Interserve, Lookers, Melrose Industries, Northgate and Ophir Energy , the Stock Exchange Group said in a statement. (Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Vikram Subhedar) As polls show tightening in California in her race for the Democratic nomination against Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton has sharpened her attacks on Donald Trump. At an appearance at Rutgers University on Wednesday, where she was joined by rocker Jon Bon Jovi, Clinton said that Trump is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump U. His own employees testified his own employees testified that Trump U you cant make this up that Trump U was a fraudulent scheme where Donald Trump enriched himself at the expense of hard-working people, Clinton said. Clinton is taking on a line of attack akin to that of Marco Rubio during the Republican primary, in which he brought up the Trump University litigation and called Trump a con artist. But Trump went on to win anyway, and Rubio recently indicated that he would back him. If anything, Clintons attack could help assuage concerns over how she would take on Trump in a general election, and that she would be the stronger candidate to do so. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll shows that Clinton led Sanders by just two points, 49% to 47%, in the California primary. Although it is likely that she will capture enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination by Tuesday, a loss in California would be an inauspicious end to primary season. Sanders also may be emboldened to take his fight to the convention in July, which he has already committed to do. On Tuesday, a trove of documents was made public in a federal court in California, including Trump University playbooks, as part of a class action suit against the venture, in which a former student characterizes Trump U as a scam. The playbooks gave instructions to course organizers on how to set up introductory sessions and seminars, how to sell real-estate course retreats for as high as $34,995, and how to persuade prospective students to put tuition on their credit cards even if they are reluctant to go into debt. One of the details in the documents showed that instructors were to play the OJays For the Love of Money, used in the show Trump hosted, The Apprentice. Story continues The organizers also wanted to draw on the success of the NBC series by running ads that said, I want you to be my apprentice. In an unsealed 2012 deposition, Michael Sexton, a former president of Trump University, said that the thinking was, theres millions of dollars in advertisement for The Apprentice TV show. If were in The Apprentice TV show season, it will be top of mind for people. He also said that got the idea to approach Trump about the idea for Trump University during the first season of the show, when he thought that from a branding standpoint, it would be a very, very effective way to connect with people. Trump has insisted that he will win the case and that students were highly satisfied. His campaign released a video in which former students praise the classes and real estate education they got from it. Crooked Hillary Clinton is a fraud who has put the public and country at risk by her illegal and very stupid use of e-mails, Trump tweeted on Wednesday. He is being represented in the California case by Dan Petrocelli of OMelveny & Myers. Petrocelli has a history of donating to Democrats, and gave $2,700 to Clintons presidential campaign in January, according to Federal Election Commission records. Clintons campaign also tweeted out links to a flurry of stories about the documents, in an effort to convey a negative out of one of Trumps perceived strengths, his business acumen. Clinton told the crowd in New Jersey that the documents were just more evidence that Donald Trump himself is a fraud. The Democratic National Committee also hammered Trump over Trump U. On a press call, Kevin de Leon, president pro tem of the California state senate, called him a con artist who is only out for himself. The judge in the case, Gonzalo P. Curiel, wrote that a factor in their release was that Trump has become the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race, and has placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue. On Friday, when Trump was appearing at a rally in San Diego, called Curiel a hater of Donald Trump and someone who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think thats fine. On Twitter, Trump also complained that the judge is totally biased against me. Clinton is returning to California on Thursday, to give a national security speech in San Diego, and is scheduled to remain in the state until at least Monday. That evening, her campaign is staging a fundraising concert at the Greek Theater featuring Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, Andra Day, John Legend and Stevie Wonder. Related stories WME: We're Not Doing Trump's Convention Film SiriusXM Suspends Glenn Beck Over Guest's Anti-Donald Trump Comments California Governor Jerry Brown Endorses Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton's campaign launched an all-out assault against Donald Trump on Wednesday over Trump University, the controversial for-profit school that has come under increased fire for its programs. The assault came on several fronts from Clinton and her campaign by email, on Twitter, and at a rally in New Jersey. Clinton's attacks came the day after hundreds of pages of internal documents were released in connection with an ongoing lawsuit against the now defunct program on real estate and investing. The documents include sales and marketing "playbooks" from 2007 through 2010 that advised instructors on how to sell the courses to students. "Trump and his employees took advantage of vulnerable Americans, encouraging them to max out their credit cards, empty their retirement savings, destroy their financial futures, all while making promises they knew were false from the beginning," Clinton said at a Newark rally, according to CNN reporter Dan Merica. "This is just more evidence that Donald Trump himself is a fraud. He is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump U," she said. Meanwhile, Clinton's press shop sent out several emails about Trump University on Wednesday, highlighting news stories about the document dump. The articles from Reuters, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post had unflattering headlines, like "Trump University told students how to 'cash in' on housing crash" and "Former Trump University Workers Call the School a 'Lie' and a 'Scheme' in Testimony." The Clinton campaign has also been using Republican politicians' own words to make a point about how prominent members of the party have criticized Trump over the school. Clinton's campaign Twitter account on Wednesday retweeted a March tweet from 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that called Trump a "phony" and a "fraud." Story continues "Here's what I know," Romney tweeted on March 3, the day he gave a high-profile speech coming out against Trump's candidacy. "Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University." Romney is still speaking out against Trump, but another prominent Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has come around to supporting Trump since dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Clinton's campaign press secretary, Brian Fallon, also on Wednesday resurfaced a February tweet from Rubio that he posted while he was still battling Trump for the nomination. "Trump University duped everyday Americans and Donald Trump made millions off of it," Rubio tweeted, with a link to his website. Fallon also cited an old tweet from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another former Trump rival who hasn't said yet whether he'll support the real-estate mogul's White House bid: The Trump campaign launched a counterattack of its own with a video of former Trump University students speaking out in support of the program. Trump remains enmeshed in multiple lawsuits filed by former students of Trump University and faces a third fraud suit from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, which likely won't go to trial until after the November election. The suits accuse Trump of defrauding thousands of students with worthless classes on real estate and investing. Abby Jackson contributed to this report. NOW WATCH: Trump continues walking back his stance that transgender people can use whichever bathroom they want More From Business Insider From Popular Mechanics You never know what will turn up on eBay. Volunteers from the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park, England, found the keyboard of a Lorenz machine-a cipher system used to create encrypted Nazi messages during WWII-for sale on eBay for 9.50 GBP, or less than 15 bucks. When a museum volunteer traveled to Essex to inspect the hardware, he found the keyboard in its original casing, out in a shed, buried under a pile of rubbish. The volunteer gladly paid 10 GBP for the keyboard and went on his way. The "teleprinter" looks like a typewriter, and it was used to enter messages in plain German before the Lorenz cipher machine itself used 12 individual wheels to encrypt the message. Three Lorenz machines-larger and more intricate than the Enigma machines-were used by the German high command to send classified messages during World War II, including personal messages from Hitler to his generals. British codebreaker and mathematician William "Bill" Tutte was able to envision the structure of a Lorenz machine without ever seeing one, allowing the Allies to decipher top-secret Nazi communications and gain a significant advantage over Germany in the war. Finding the teleprinter brings the Museum of Computing one step closer to having a complete, functioning Lorenz machine. According to the BBC, the Museum is only missing one last component before they can recreate the process of encoding a German message: the electric motor that drives the gears on the Lorenz machine. The museum is asking the public to keep an eye out for the motor, possibly for sale on eBay, and is considering building one to run the machine in the meantime. Source: British National Museum of Computing via BBC The show must go on and it has for actor Johnny Depp, who has continued to tour with his band the Hollywood Vampires despite the shocking domestic abuse allegations levied against him by wife Amber Heard last week. (In a response to Heard's claim, Depp's divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, said in court documents that "Amber is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.") While Depp is known best as an Oscar-nominated actor, famous for his turns in both serious dramas like Black Mass as well as franchise films like Pirates of the Caribbean, he's spent much of the last year playing guitar with the recently formed supergroup. The Hollywood Vampires, which consists of Alice Cooper and Aerosmith's Joe Perry, as well as Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum, were formed in 2015. Releasing their first album in September 2015 an impressive record that featured guest appearances by everyone from Paul McCartney to Dave Grohl the group announced their tour soon after, taking them from Los Angeles' The Roxy to Brazil. The band's current European tour recently made stops in Portugal, Germany and Sweden. Here's everything else you need to know about the band while they continue their tour, amid Depp's divorce proceedings. How they met Depp and Cooper first met in 2011 while the actor was filming Dark Shadows, according to Rolling Stone. The musician invited Depp to join him for a performance at London's 100 Club, which eventually led to jam sessions and, even further, dreams of creating an album. Perry was staying on Cooper's estate at the time, so he was a natural addition. "Joe would come down and start playing, and I went, 'There's the band, right there,' " Cooper told Rolling Stone. "We've got two guitar players that sing, now we need a drummer and a bass player, and then everybody started emerging. We just rocked it." What their name means Cooper was a member of the first iteration of the Hollywood Vampires, a drinking club founded at the upstairs bar of the Roxy in 1972. "To join the club, one simply had to out drink all of the members," Cooper said in a press release last year. "I would walk in on a typical night and John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon who would usually be in a costume like a maid or a chauffeurBernie Taupin, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz would be there. The next week might be Bernie Taupin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz." Eventually, the group was bequeathed a special plaque at the bar according to Rolling Stone, which read "The Lair of the Hollywood Vampires." What they play While the Hollywood Vampires is not strictly a cover group, the band's album mostly includes tributes to famous tunes of the past, like "My Generation" by The Who and "Manic Depression" by Jimi Hendrix. Homeland is nearing a renewal for Season 7 and Season 8, Showtime CEO David Nevins told reporters on Wednesday. Were just about done with a deal with Fox 21 for Homeland for three more years starting for season six, he said on a conference call. The hit series will also move from its regular fall premiere date to a winter debut scheduled for January 2017 in its upcoming sixth season. Season 6 will begin production in New York this August, once again starring Claire Danes, Rupert Friend, F. Murray Abraham and Mandy Patinkin. Speaking to reporters, Nevins indicated that the series could run for many more seasons to come. Homeland is a show thats constantly reinventing itself, Nevins said. Its not on a straight character trajectory path. Its changing season to season. More than most, its a show that has an open-ended expiration date because of the subject matter. After she thwarted a terrorist attack in Berlin, season six picks up several months later and finds Carrie Mathison (Danes) back on American soil, living in Brooklyn, NY. She has begun working at a foundation whose efforts are to provide aid to Muslims living in the United States. Season six will tackle the after effects of the U.S. presidential election, with the entire season taking place between election day and the inauguration. Its a strange, transitional time in the halls of government filled with anxiety and different competing interests, where a very fragile and complex transfer of power takes place between the outgoing president and the incoming president-elect. Homeland was developed for American television by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, and is based on the original Israeli series Prisoners of War by Gideon Raff. Along with Gansa and Gordon, the executive producers for season six will be Chip Johannessen, Lesli Linka Glatter, Patrick Harbinson, Michael Klick, Gideon Raff, Avi Nir and Ran Telem. We are proud that Homeland has been so consistently recognized for its excellence with awards and critical acclaim, but we are in awe of how the series fearlessly mines the geopolitics of our complicated world and translates that into compelling human drama, Nevins said in a statement released by the network. Under Alex Gansas brilliant leadership, Homeland has shown an uncanny ability to reinvent itself which makes us supremely confident that this show will remain as distinctive, relevant and cutting edge as anything on television for as long as these producers want to continue. Story continues Related stories Showtime Boss David Nevins on HBO, 'Homeland's' Future & 'Twin Peaks' 'Shameless,' 'The Affair,' 'Masters of Sex' Season Premiere Dates Set at Showtime Showtime Orders Comedy Pilot 'White Famous' from Jamie Foxx and 'Californication' Creator Key Events in the Consumer Sector in the Fourth Week of May (Continued from Prior Part) Price movement Hormel Foods (HRL) fell by 0.23% and closed at $34.78 per share at the end of the fourth week of May 2016. The stocks weekly, monthly, and YTD (year-to-date) price movements were -0.23%, -10.2%, and -11.4%, respectively. This means that Hormel Foods is trading 7.9% below its 20-day moving average, 12.7% below its 50-day moving average, and 6.1% below its 200-day moving average. Related ETFs and peers The Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples ETF (FSTA) invests 0.63% of its holdings in Hormel Foods. FSTA tracks a market-cap-weighted index of stocks in the US consumer staples sector. FSTAs YTD price movement was 4.7% as of May 27, 2016. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) invests 0.07% of its holdings in Hormel Foods. SPY tracks a market-cap-weighted index of US large and mid-cap stocks selected by the S&P Committee. The market caps of Hormel Foods competitors are as follows: Tyson Foods (TSN) $24.1 billion ConAgra Foods (CAG) $19.8 billion Hormel Foods purchased Justins LLC Hormel Foods purchased Justins LLC from private equity firm VMG Partners. Justins LLC makes natural and high-quality nut butter, nut butter snacks, and organic peanut butter cups. This transaction will provide Hormel Foods an established customer base and product portfolio. Performance in fiscal 2Q16 Hormel Foods reported fiscal 2Q16 net sales of $2.30 billiona rise of 0.92% compared to net sales of $2.27 billion in fiscal 2Q15. The sales from Hormel Foods grocery products and refrigerated foods segments rose by 1.1% and 6.8%, respectively. The sales from its Jennie-O Turkey, specialty foods, international, and other segments fell by 3.5%, 5.2%, and 17.2%, respectively, in fiscal 2Q16compared to fiscal 2Q15. The companys cost of products sold as a percentage of net sales fell by 3.4% and its operating income rose by 16.6% in fiscal 2Q16compared to the same period the previous year. The company reported a goodwill repair charge of $0.99 million in fiscal 2Q16. Story continues Its net income and EPS (earnings per share) rose to $215.4 million and $0.40, respectively, in fiscal 2Q16compared to $180.2 million and $0.33, respectively, in fiscal 2Q15. Hormels cash and cash equivalents and inventories rose by 9.4% and 3.4%, respectively, in fiscal 2Q16compared to fiscal 4Q15. Its current ratio rose to 2.1x and its debt-to-equity ratio fell to 0.42x in fiscal 2Q16compared to 1.7x and 0.53x, respectively, in fiscal 4Q15. Quarterly dividend Hormel Foods declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share on its common stock. The dividend will be paid on August 15, 2016, to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 18, 2016. Projections Hormel Foods expects EPS of $1.56$1.60 per share for fiscal 2016based on its 2Q16 results and growth expectations for the second half of the year. It expects a rise in earnings from refrigerated foods and grocery products, Jennie-O Turkey, and specialty foods. In the next part, well take a look at TreeHouse Foods (THS). Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Women are struggling to break into company boardrooms and get a seat at the table. In the United States, women account for just 12% of boardroom membership, severely below many European countries, according to a report by PwC. Deb Henretta, senior advisor at SSA & Company, told Yahoo Finances Seana Smith that it's time to take action to ensure women are in top leadership positions. First, set clear and measurable goals, which include looking beyond the typical CEO role for potential board members. If you have a goal that you encourage companies to achieve, I think we'll start to see more progress, said Henretta. We're going to have to look a little bit harder and look for women that are running large profitable businesses within companies or having leadership roles within those companies, but not necessarily having the CEO title. Henretta also said its important for companies to encourage the movement and progression of women, extend maternity and paternity leave and incorporate flexible work schedules. And it's in a company's best interest to have women in c-level positions. According to a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, which included 21,980 firms from 91 countries, gender diversity in high leadership roles results in improved firm performance. In an effort to address the lack of women in leadership positions, some countries have introduced mandated quotas for female boardroom membership. In 2003, Norway was the first in Europe to legislate boardroom quotas, followed by Spain and Iceland. In 2011, a bill was passed in France requiring 40% female directorship by 2016. And so far it looks like the mandate is working. PwC found that the largest increases were observed in countries with specific targets for female board membership. Norway is the worldwide leader with 39% of female boardroom representation, followed by Finland (30%), France (26%), Germany (17%) and the United Kingdom (17%). Story continues The success overseas highlights the fact that while theres progress being made in the US, more needs to be done. Weve nearly doubled the number of women board members over the past decade, but that progress just isnt fast enough. We need to see more women get onto boards because the boardroom is where important critical decisions like strategy and succession planning are being made, said Henretta. And if companies are searching for the appropriate actions to take, Henretta said there are some big corporations that are setting a great example. Netflix (NFLX) recently extended its maternity and paternity leaves Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) [has a] Women's Leadership Initiative where they're taking steps to try to internally promote women and to get them ready for increasing levels of responsibility. BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian police secured a fenced-in migrant processing center near the Serbian border on Wednesday to block about 300 protesting migrants from marching to Budapest, police said in a statement. A Syrian chosen as spokesman for the protest gave a petition to officials at the camp in the town of Kiskunhalas, it said, and then urged the migrants to march to the Hungarian capital, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north. A video posted on the news website index.hu showed dozens of people chanting "freedom, freedom!" behind a high wire fence while dozens of police vehicles and officers with dogs patrolled the area to secure the perimeter of the camp. "About 300 of the 484 detained migrants protested against closed quarters and slow processing of their cases," said the statement. "Police have deployed significant force to secure the processing center and the surrounding area and will stop migrants from leaving the premises of the center." The camp is closed because it houses migrants who have been expelled from Hungary legally but have not yet been deported. Police spoke with the migrants and a conflict was unlikely, Gyorgy Bakondi, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's national security advisor, told public television M1. Hungary was on the main overland route that about a million migrants took last year from the Middle East to Western Europe. Budapest diverted that traffic with a razor wire fence along its southern border with Serbia and Croatia. The flow has since slowed but thousands have still managed to make it through this year, keeping the issue in the public eye as Orban prepares a referendum in which he will ask voters to reject an EU plan to re-distribute migrants. Thousands of migrants camped out in front of a central Budapest train station for weeks last August before a large group of them decided to march for the Austrian border, forcing Hungary to abandon its efforts to process their claims and elevating tensions about the migrant crisis across Europe. (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Will IAMGOLD Continue to Be a High-Leverage Play on Gold Prices? (Continued from Prior Part) Challenges at the Westwood mine IAMGOLDs (IAG) Westwood project is located in southwest Quebec, Canada. This site started production in 1Q13. It achieved commercial production in 2014, producing 70,000 ounces in the first two quarters of the year. However, the mine has encountered three rock bursts so far. The workers at the site were safely evacuated after the rock bursts, but the full cause is not yet known. Ongoing concerns While the company remains confident regarding the prospects of Westwood, any such event in the future could lead to safety hazards as well as the loss of partial or full production. Also, to ensure stability at the mine, the company might have to spend much more than it has budgeted for. This could lower the potential returns from the project. Westwood mine remains key In the face of issues at the companys other mines as discussed in the previous part, its Westwood mine remains key to increasing production while reducing costs. While Westwood has the potential to turn investor interest toward IAG in the future, the company needs to demonstrate a robust ramp-up and consistent stability at the site. Until then, the risks related to another potential rock burst, cost overruns, and production halts are far too great to be ignored. IAGs peer Eldorado Gold (EGO) is also facing issues regarding its mines in Greece, while New Golds (NGD) capital expenditure requirements for its key Rainy River project are creeping higher. Investors looking to invest in gold may also want to look at leveraged ETFs such as the Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (JNUG) and the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NUGT). Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: A Closer Look at French Giant Totals Strategy and Performance (Continued from Prior Part) Impact of the Total, Oil Search, and InterOil deal In the previous part, we studied the deal between Total (TOT), Oil Search, and InterOil. In this part, well analyze the impact of the deal. After the acquisition, Totals interest in PRL 15 will rise to 62% from the current 40%. Plus, Oil Searchs stake will increase from 22.8% to 37.4%. Oil Searchs acquisition of InterOil (IOC) is expected to close in 3Q16. Total (TOT) plans to focus on the Papua LNG project in terms of lowering capex, reducing operating cost, fast-tracking the project, and making optimum utilization of resources. The Papua LNG is expected to come online by early next decade, when a robust demand for gas is anticipated. Total (TOT) also plans to synergize the Papua LNG and PNG LNG projects to maximize returns to its stakeholders. A word from management The deal is in line with Totals (TOT) objective to focus on gas and LNG projects in its upstream portfolio. Gas currently accounts for 48% of TOTs production mix. According to Totals management, Following our entry into PRL 15 in 2014, this agreement between Total and Oil Search demonstrates Totals strong commitment to the development of PNGs gas resources. In line with our strategy to hold significant interest when we are operator, we will increase our operated interest to a more material level to drive the future development of the Papua LNG project, a low-cost onshore LNG project close to Asian markets. For global stock exposure, you could consider the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT). This ETF has TOT in its portfolio. VT also contains Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and Chevron (CVX) in its portfolio. In the next part, we will analyze Totals stock performance. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Indian government has said a company acquiring mining rights from another firm will be charged 80 percent of royalty as premium if the acreage was originally obtained without bidding. The 80 percent charge will be on top of royalty that the new mining lease holder will pay to the state, the government said in an order on Wednesday. "When a mine is auctioned an additional premium has to be paid on royalty. This premium has been imposed using the same analogy," Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar told Reuters. India last month approved an amendment to the mining law, allowing the transfer of mines rights, mainly aimed at helping companies sell limestone mining licences along with their cement plants. However, the government had not notified charges to be paid by the acquirer of the mining lease on top of royalty to the state government. India has auctioned six mines and is likely to put up another 50-60 mines for bidding this year, Kumar said at an industry event. (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Ahmedabad (India) (AFP) - An Indian court convicted two dozen Hindus on Thursday over a massacre during religious riots 14 years ago when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat state. Sixty-nine Muslims were hacked and burnt to death as they sheltered at a residential complex in the city of Ahmedabad, in one of the single worst massacres of the week-long violence. The riots that left more than 1,000 people dead in total have long dogged Modi who was accused by human rights groups of turning a blind eye to the violence as head of Gujarat. But the latest verdicts are unlikely to have an impact on the Hindu nationalist premier who was cleared in 2012 by a Supreme Court-ordered investigation of any wrongdoing. Celebrations erupted in the courtroom in Ahmedabad amid tight security after the verdicts were read out, but some victims and their families were left disappointed. Judge PB Desai found 11 of the Hindus guilty of murder and 13 of lesser charges, with all of them set to be sentenced on Monday. But Desai acquitted another 36 people for lack of evidence including a former local police inspector on negligence charges and a local organiser of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The judge also stated the massacre was a spontaneous attack, not a pre-planned criminal conspiracy against the Muslim minority as victims have alleged. "I am happy 24 accused were convicted but sad that 36 others have been acquitted. This is incomplete justice and I will fight till the end," Zakia Jafri, whose husband was killed in the massacre, told reporters. More than 300 witnesses gave evidence during the years-long trial that began in 2009 but was delayed by legal challenges and several of the original accused died. Prosecutors had been seeking life in prison for all of the accused after a rampaging mob stormed the Gulbarg Society complex, killing the Muslims who were hiding there. - Pleas for help - Among those killed was former opposition Congress party lawmaker Ehsan Jafri whose wife, Zakia, claims that he repeatedly called police for help but none came. Story continues Zakia is fighting a separate legal battle demanding that Modi and others be held responsible for failing to stop the riots. The violence was triggered by the death of 59 Hindu pilgrims in a train fire on February 27, 2002 that was initially blamed on Muslims. Hindus bent on revenge rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods in some of India's worst religious riots since independence from Britain and partition in 1947. More than 100 people have already been convicted over the riots, including one of Modi's former state ministers who was jailed for instigating some of the killings. Rupa Mody, whose teenage son went missing during the massacre and whose body was never found, said she was left disappointed. "After such a long wait I feel this is half justice. I am sad that after 14 years of struggle 36 accused are free. We will continue our struggle and challenge the acquittals," she told AFP. The trial into the massacre only began after the Supreme Court ordered in 2009 a reinvestigation into some of the worst incidents of the riots. But one year later the same court issued a stay on any final verdict from the trial after a petition was filed seeking a probe into whether Modi and others played a role in the violence. The court only lifted its order last year when a lower court upheld a rejection of the petition. By Rajendra Jadhav MUMBAI (Reuters) - The area under guar seed production in India, the biggest producer of the tiny seed used to extract shale gas in fracturing, could drop 20 percent in the coming sowing season due to falling global oil prices. "Guar seed farmers are unhappy. They are likely to shift to pulses. We could see as high as 15-20 percent reduction in guar seed area," said K N Rahiman, chief research officer at Ruchi Soya, a leading guar gum exporter. Guar seed prices have fallen to the lowest level in five years after the U.S. shale gas producers cut guar gum purchases due to lower oil prices. Guar seed prices have fallen 41 percent in a year to 3,100 rupees per 100 kg, while the prices of pulses such as red gram have nearly doubled over the same period. "At the current price guar is not profitable. Pulses, paddy are giving better returns," said Balbir Arniawali, a farmer from Sirsa district of northern state of Haryana. Arniawali has not sold last year's harvest, hoping prices will recover, and has scaled back planting to 15 acres this year from 25 last year. Planting starts in June with the arrival of monsoon rains. Guar gum is extracted from the seeds and used to thicken the slurry of water, sand and chemicals pumped into wells during the hydraulic fracturing, and tap oil and gas. India, which produces 80 percent of the world's guar gum, saw exports from April to February fall 48 percent to 329,070 tonnes from a year ago. The United States, whose shale gas surge has transformed it from the world's leading gas importer to a budding exporter, is the biggest importer of Indian guar gum. More than half of India's guar gum processing plants are now closed and nearly half of the guar gum from last year's crop remains unsold, said a gum exporter based in Bikaner in north-western state of Rajasthan, the country's biggest producer. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Michael Perry) India's Tata Steel on Wednesday completed the part-sale of its European assets, safeguarding 4,800 jobs, but thousands more are threatened with no buyer found for the rest of the business. Tata Steel UK announced completion of the sale of its European piping business to Greybull Capital, a British-based family investment firm for an undisclosed sum. The deal, hailed by Tata, the British government and unions, means the return of the British Steel brand for the first time since 1999. "From today the Long Products Europe business... will trade under the name of British Steel," Tata Steel UK said in a statement. "All together the business employs 4,800 people -- 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France. The sale follows an accelerated process of negotiations between Tata Steel UK and Greybull Capital." Britain's government has been racing to find a buyer for Tata's UK assets -- and save around 16,000 jobs -- after the company's shock announcement in March that it was selling because of a global oversupply of steel, cheap imports into Europe, high costs and currency volatility. Tata Steel in April said it had agreed to sell its Long Products Europe (LPE) division, whose chief asset is the Scunthorpe works in northern England, to Greybull Capital. Long products are items such as steel pipes that are sold by length. Tata is still looking for a buyer for the rest of its British assets, including the Port Talbot steelworks on the south Wales coast, Britain's biggest steel plant, which employs 4,000 workers. "The sales process for the wider UK business is continuing," Tata told AFP in an emailed statement Wednesday. "Although we have been clear that the process needs to be time bound -- to avoid uncertainty for employees and customers -- we have not set a deadline on when it needs to conclude." Tata Steel last month said it had selected seven bidders as potential buyers of its remaining loss-making UK activities. Story continues Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative government has meanwhile said it would contribute hundreds of millions of pounds to any potential deal and take a 25 percent stake in the assets. - 'Long and proud history' - Tata on Wednesday said it would "not be commenting on the agreed price with Greybull". It had been widely reported that LPE was sold for a nominal 1 ($1.40, 1.3 euros), while Greybull said it would arrange a 400-million investment and financing package as part of the deal. The UK assets formerly belonged to Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, which Tata bought for $13 billion in 2007 -- at the height of Chinese steel demand and before the global financial crisis. Corus had been formed through the merger of British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens in 1999. "The name British Steel has a long and proud history and... (the Greybull deal) underlines the government's belief that there really is a viable, sustainable future for world-class steelmaking in this country," Britain's Business Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement Wednesday. Len McCluskey, general secretary of Britain's biggest union Unite, said the "first day of trading for British Steel is testament to the skills of the workforce and their union representatives who have worked hard to secure the future of Tata Steel's former long products division". From a rich beginning, Britain's steel industry has dwindled after losing foreign and domestic share to cheaper rivals. It accounted for 40 percent of the world's steel production in 1875 thanks to huge factory output in England's northern city Sheffield. Since the mid-20th century, Britain's steel industry has been nationalised and privatised on various occasions. What's Kept Payment Processors Strong among Financials in 2016? (Continued from Prior Part) E-commerce Visa (V) is thriving in the e-commerce space. Its e-commerce growth continues to be in the mid-teens compared to its single-digit growth in the physical world. The company saw 25% of spending occur through online transactions in fiscal 2Q16. Its investing more resources in technology upgrades to cater to increased spending through online transactions. Payment processors (DIA) are deploying more of their resources to e-commerce and wearable technologybased solutions. American Express (AXP) is spending its total allocated resources on the following: 30% on card member acquisition 30% on card member engagement, expansion of merchant coverage, lending on charges, and international lending 30% on other initiatives such as brand, service, technology, control, and compliance 10% on digital spending and its loyalty coalition business International revenue In the March quarter, Visa signed a memorandum of understanding with China UnionPay, wherein the companies would collaborate on payment security, innovation, and financial inclusion. Visa is also helping the Chinese government in its efforts to reduce poverty and promote financial inclusiveness. Visa announced a partnership with the China Foundation for Development of Financial Education and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. Visa also signed a cooperation plan with the China National Tourism Administration. Internationally, Banco do Brasil, the oldest and largest bank in South America, renewed a multiyear credit agreement with the company. In India, SBI Card, the State Bank of Indias credit card venture, renewed a multiyear credit card agreement with Visa. Revenue momentum for MasterCard (MA) is expected to continue in the current year, led by growth in Europe and Asia. MasterCard is also pushing for cost control in order to improve its margins. The companys main competitive advantages are accessibility, convenience, and security. Its brand name, product range, and track record of secure transaction processing give it an edge over new players. Story continues In the United States, MasterCard has confirmed its partnership with General Motors (GM). It will integrate digital enablement systems into GMs OnStar platform. MasterCard has also entered into a new partnership with Coin, a consumer electronics and financial software company. This marks a big move toward wearable payment systems. In the final part of our series, well see what earnings could be like for payment processors in 2016. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Sometimes all it takes is an intricate, custom tattoo to cheer up a child... an airbrushed one That's just what 25-year-old New Zealand artist Benjamin Lloyd is providing. He's been traveling to hospitals and health centers to temporarily tat up young children. Why, you ask? To boost kids' confidence, of course. Lloyd had previously airbrushed the children of friends and family using non-toxic ink, the Bay of Plenty Times reports. He decided to post an image to Facebook saying that if it received 50 likes, he'd go to the Starship Children's Hospital in Auckland to tattoo its patients. Lloyd ended up getting 50 likes in 30 seconds, with the post currently boasting 469,000 likes and more than 250,000 shares. Impressive numbers for a man whose only mission was to put smiles on kid's faces. Source: Facebook But it didn't just stop at Starship. Comments like "Wish you were in America! We have a children's hospital with so many kiddos that cannot leave their hospital floor," and "Love love love this. From a parent who spent 6 months at Cincinnati children's hospital with my son before he passed. This is a great thing you do" led Lloyd to set up a donation website so that he could travel and "spread the love." Hospitals have been known to host similar activities like face painting. But Lloyd's work is a unique form of creative expression. On May 31, 2016, we issued an updated research report on Plainsboro, NJ-based Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation IART one of the leading regenerative medicine manufacturers in the world. The company develops, manufactures and markets cost-effective surgical implants and medical instruments. Integra commenced 2016 on a mixed note. While earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, revenues were ahead of the same in the first quarter. Moreover, the strong year-over-year improvement in revenues is indicative of the company's healthy growth via organic and inorganic means across all its segments. However, foreign exchange headwinds continue to pose a threat to the stock. Despite a challenging foreign exchange scenario, the company witnessed strong 8.5% revenue growth at constant exchange rate or CER in the Specialty Surgical Solution business in first-quarter 2016. This was largely driven by higher sales in its dural repair franchise, which grew in low teens year over year on increased volumes stemming from new customer wins for both DuraGen and DuraSeal. Additionally, Integra is successfully emerging through certain key developments on the overseas front. In the first quarter, despite challenges in Brazil and Mexico, the companys international business grew 7% organically with high-teen growth in the Asia Pacific on strong performance in China, Japan and Korea. Integra also witnessed considerable progress in its Specialty Surgical Solutions business on account of the French medical device line, MicroFrances buyout and nice uptake of MAYFIELD 2 cranial stabilization device in the Asia Pacific. Integra is currently running its business per a three-pillar strategy optimize, execute and accelerate growth. According to management, these three pillars support the companys strategic initiatives to optimize its infrastructure, deliver its commitments through improved planning and communication, and grow by introducing new products through internal development, geographic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Story continues On the flip side, many of Integras manufacturing, development or research facilities are vulnerable to natural disasters or unwanted events, which depending on the extent of their severity, might force the company to cease the development and manufacturing of some or all of its products. Moreover, it faces tough competition in the surgical implants and medical instruments market. Further, consolidation trends in the industry could lead to intense pricing pressure and competition for Integra. Integra currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Key Sector Picks Some better-ranked stocks in the medical sector are Retrophin, Inc. RTRX, Neogenomics Inc. NEO and ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP. All the three stocks 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 INTEGRA LIFESCI (IART): Free Stock Analysis Report RETROPHIN INC (RTRX): Free Stock Analysis Report NEOGENOMICS INC (NEO): Free Stock Analysis Report ANI PHARMACEUT (ANIP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. DUBLIN (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines is considering whether to add new long-range narrowbody aircraft to its fleet, outgoing CEO Christoph Mueller said on Wednesday, with details of the expansion plan due to be revealed later this summer. "We are currently looking into whether we source some long-range narrowbody aircraft," Mueller told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the annual International Air Transport Association meeting in Dublin. Mueller was hired last year to lead a restructuring process at Malaysia Airlines as the carrier tries to recover from the loss of two jets in separate incidents in 2014, but he quit unexpectedly in April and will leave the job in September. "The progress on the restructuring plan enables us to now think about growth scenarios as of 2018, and how that will be reflected in the strategic fleet plan will be disclosed over the summer," he said. The CEO declined to provide further details on which specific aircraft were being considered by the carrier. "We cannot say, that would affect my negotiations," he said. Long-range narrowbody aircraft currently on the market include the Airbus A321neo or the Boeing 737 MAX. Malaysia Airlines narrowbody fleet is currently made up of 56 Boeing 737s, according to fleet-tracking website airfleets.net. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Adrian Croft) Investors brace for May auto sales as OPEC gets ready to hold its meeting in Vienna. Here are some of the other stories Yahoo Finance is keeping an eye on today. All eyes on OPEC Members of OPEC are expected to stand pat on their no-cut stance at their meeting in Vienna this week. This view was reinforced when the UAE energy chief said global oil markets are self-correcting. How will this impact the outlook for oil? Teslas curveball Tesla CEO Elon Musk says Model 3 owners will not be able to charge their vehicles for free at supercharging stations. But how much extra will Model 3 owners have to pay? Fight for higher pay, benefits States and cities across the country are fighting over pay and benefit rules. State legislatures are stopping cities from raising wages and mandating benefits. Why are states handcuffing cities on how business is done? By Thomas Wilson and Emi Emoto TOKYO (Reuters) - Emojis of a cuddly brown bear and his flatulent rabbit girlfriend Cony are met with investor scepticism as the company behind Line, the popular Japanese messaging app, prepares to kick off what's touted to be the world's biggest IPO this year. Line Corp [IPO-LINE.T] will likely raise between $2 billion (1.4 billion pounds) and $3 billion in a dual Tokyo-New York listing set for July, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. But the Tokyo-headquartered company has missed a trick by delaying the IPO until now, said some fund managers, pointing to Line's diminishing growth prospects in a Japanese market crowded with messaging platforms. In 2014, South Korea's Naver Corp , Line's parent, said a dual initial public offering would raise up to 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), predicting it would give Line worldwide recognition and improve its access to venture capital. But Line put that plan on ice last August, with its CEO saying the company would wait until its earnings and market conditions improve. "Line itself is already a pretty big company," said Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, which manages assets worth 140 billion yen ($1.3 billion). "Depending on its future strategy, it's hard to anticipate the fast pace of growth that it's had until now." Asked about the timing of the IPO, Tokyo-based Line spokeswoman Icho Saito said the information was from third-party sources and she was therefore unable to comment. The company had not yet made any official announcements, she added. A Naver spokesperson declined to comment, as IPO details were not finalised. With 68 million users, Line's eponymous free-of-charge messaging app is the most popular in Japan. The company makes money from selling electronic stickers, or emojis, as well as tokens for use in in-app games. It also charges for services like music streaming. But in a domestic market beset by weak growth and a shrinking population, Line has hunted overseas for new markets. Despite establishing itself as the top messaging app by number of users in Taiwan and Thailand, Line has been unable to break into the global premier league of messaging apps dominated by the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook (FB.O) Messenger. Story continues SHOW ON THE ROAD Line will launch a management roadshow for its IPO on June 10, with orders from institutional investors expected in the week of June 13, a person involved in the deal said. The IPO is set to be priced either the same week or early the following week, a separate person briefed on the matter said. But other details of the listing remained unclear, notably whether or not Naver would sell its entire stake in the company, or whether new shares would be issued. Regardless of the structure of the listing, the total amount could be smaller than that expected possible two years ago. "The timing's bad," said Hiroyuki Nakai, chief strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. "It would have been better to list when it was growing. They procrastinated and procrastinated, delayed and delayed, and in that time the market has become saturated." The decision to proceed with the IPO follows shortly after Japan's regulators last month found that Line had broken rules over the use of a type of token in a popular online game. Naver, South Korea's largest web portal operator, owns 100 percent of Line. The messaging app debuted in 2011 as NHN Japan, and changed its name to Line Corp in 2013. Line, operated separately from Naver, is the South Korean company's biggest growth driver. On Wednesday, Naver shares closed 4.6 percent lower, compared to a 0.7 percent drop in the wider market (.KS11), as reported valuations for Line fell short of expectations, analysts in Seoul said. Line's IPO is set to be Japan's largest since the $12 billion partial privatisation of Japan Post and its banking and insurance divisions in November. The IPO, Japan's biggest in nearly three decades, was well-received, with the listing wildly popular among individual investors and more than five times oversubscribed. Line Corp has hired Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Nomura to manage its IPO. (Reporting by Thomas Wilson and Emi Emoto in TOKYO; Additional reporting by Robert Hartley at IFR in HONG KONG, Yoshiyuki Osada in TOKYO and Joyce Lee in SEOUL; Editing by Ryan Woo) By Thomas Wilson and Emi Emoto TOKYO (Reuters) - Emojis of a cuddly brown bear and his flatulent rabbit girlfriend Cony are met with investor scepticism as the company behind Line, the popular Japanese messaging app, prepares to kick off what's touted to be the world's biggest IPO this year. Line Corp [IPO-LINE.T] will likely raise between $2 billion and $3 billion in a dual Tokyo-New York listing set for July, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. But the Tokyo-headquartered company has missed a trick by delaying the IPO until now, said some fund managers, pointing to Line's diminishing growth prospects in a Japanese market crowded with messaging platforms. In 2014, South Korea's Naver Corp, Line's parent, said a dual initial public offering would raise up to 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), predicting it would give Line worldwide recognition and improve its access to venture capital. But Line put that plan on ice last August, with its CEO saying the company would wait until its earnings and market conditions improve. "Line itself is already a pretty big company," said Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, which manages assets worth 140 billion yen ($1.3 billion). "Depending on its future strategy, it's hard to anticipate the fast pace of growth that it's had until now." Asked about the timing of the IPO, Tokyo-based Line spokeswoman Icho Saito said the information was from third-party sources and she was therefore unable to comment. The company had not yet made any official announcements, she added. A Naver spokesperson declined to comment, as IPO details were not finalised. With 68 million users, Line's eponymous free-of-charge messaging app is the most popular in Japan. The company makes money from selling electronic stickers, or emojis, as well as tokens for use in in-app games. It also charges for services like music streaming. But in a domestic market beset by weak growth and a shrinking population, Line has hunted overseas for new markets. Despite establishing itself as the top messaging app by number of users in Taiwan and Thailand, Line has been unable to break into the global premier league of messaging apps dominated by the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. SHOW ON THE ROAD Line will launch a management roadshow for its IPO on June 10, with orders from institutional investors expected in the week of June 13, a person involved in the deal said. The IPO is set to be priced either the same week or early the following week, a separate person briefed on the matter said. But other details of the listing remained unclear, notably whether or not Naver would sell its entire stake in the company, or whether new shares would be issued. Regardless of the structure of the listing, the total amount could be smaller than that expected possible two years ago. "The timing's bad," said Hiroyuki Nakai, chief strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. "It would have been better to list when it was growing. They procrastinated and procrastinated, delayed and delayed, and in that time the market has become saturated." The decision to proceed with the IPO follows shortly after Japan's regulators last month found that Line had broken rules over the use of a type of token in a popular online game. Naver, South Korea's largest web portal operator, owns 100 percent of Line. The messaging app debuted in 2011 as NHN Japan, and changed its name to Line Corp in 2013. Line, operated separately from Naver, is the South Korean company's biggest growth driver. On Wednesday, Naver shares closed 4.6 percent lower, compared to a 0.7 percent drop in the wider market, as reported valuations for Line fell short of expectations, analysts in Seoul said. Line's IPO is set to be Japan's largest since the $12 billion partial privatization of Japan Post and its banking and insurance divisions in November. The IPO, Japan's biggest in nearly three decades, was well-received, with the listing wildly popular among individual investors and more than five times oversubscribed. Line Corp has hired Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Nomura to manage its IPO. (Reporting by Thomas Wilson and Emi Emoto in TOKYO; Additional reporting by Robert Hartley at IFR in HONG KONG, Yoshiyuki Osada in TOKYO and Joyce Lee in SEOUL; Editing by Ryan Woo) By Shadia Nasralla and Alex Lawler VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC is set for another showdown between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran when it meets on Thursday, with Riyadh trying to revive coordinated action and set a formal oil output target but Tehran rejecting the idea. Tensions between the Sunni-led kingdom and the Shia Islamic Republic have been the highlights of several previous OPEC meetings, including in December 2015 when the group failed to agree on a formal output target for the first time in years. Several OPEC sources said Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies would propose to set a new collective ceiling in an attempt to repair OPEC's waning importance and end a market-share battle that has sapped prices and cut investment. "The Gulf Cooperation Council is looking for coordinated action at the meeting," a senior OPEC source said, referring to a group combining OPEC's biggest producer Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Any agreement between Riyadh and Tehran would be seen as a big surprise by the market, which in the past two years has grown increasingly used to clashes between the political foes as they fight proxy wars in Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia effectively scuppered plans for a global production freeze - aimed at stabilising oil markets - in April. It said then that it would join the deal, which would also have involved non-OPEC Russia, only if Iran agreed to freeze output. Tehran has been the main stumbling block for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to agree on output policy over the past year as the country boosted supplies despite calls from other members for a production freeze. Tehran argues it should be allowed to raise production to levels seen before the imposition of now-ended Western sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Tehran would not support any new collective output ceiling and wanted the debate to focus on the more radical idea of individual country production quotas. Story continues "An output ceiling has no benefit to us," Zanganeh told reporters upon arriving in Vienna late on Wednesday and before seeing any fellow OPEC ministers. COUNTRY QUOTAS New Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih was the first OPEC minister to arrive in Vienna this week, signalling he takes the organisation seriously despite fears among fellow members that Riyadh is no longer keen to have OPEC set output. At its previous meeting in December 2015, OPEC failed to set any production policy including a formal output ceiling, effectively allowing its 13 members to pump at will in an already oversupplied market. As a result, prices crashed to $27 per barrel in January, their lowest in over a decade, but have since recovered to around $50 (34.7) due to global supply outages. Those include declining output from U.S. shale producers badly hit by low prices but also forest fires in Canada, militant attacks on pipelines in OPEC member Nigeria and declining output in Venezuela, also a member of the group. Until December 2015, OPEC had a ceiling of 30 million barrels per day (bpd) - in place since December 2011, although it effectively abandoned individual production quotas years ago. OPEC currently produces around 32.5 million bpd. Any ceiling below that number would represent an effective cut. "One of our main ideas (is) to have a country quota. But I don't believe at this meeting we can reach agreement for this," Zanganeh said, adding that Iran was producing 3.8 million bpd and would soon reach pre-sanctions levels of 4 million bpd. Should OPEC fail to agree any policy on Thursday, it would again convince the market that its main members could try to raise supplies further to gain market share despite low prices. UAE Oil Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said oil markets were still not close to rebalancing due to a severe glut and a further price correction was possible. The Venezuelan energy minister also warned that supply outages have propped up prices in recent months but a global oil glut might build up again when missing barrels return. "More than 3 million barrels are out of the market. When those circumstances are removed from the market, what's going to happen?" Eulogio Del Pino told reporters in Vienna. (Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal and Reem Shamseddine in Vienna and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in Dubai; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson) Stockholm (AFP) - Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Tehran had no intention of leaving Iraq and criticised "arrogant" Saudi Arabia for accusing it of stoking sectarian violence. "We will leave Iraq whenever Iraq asks us to. And we will help Iraq to confront terrorism, as long as Iraq wants us to," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a press conference in Stockholm during a European tour to attract investors. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of sowing "sedition and division" in Iraq and sending in Shiite militias, and urged Tehran to "stop intervening" in the affairs of its neighbours. But Zarif, whose Shiite-dominated country is an arch rival of Saudi Arabia, bristled at the remarks by the Sunni-led kingdom's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. "It's an absurd statement, it's an arrogant statement. Nobody should arrogate themselves to talk on behalf of other countries," he said in English. Tehran and Riyadh, a traditional ally of Washington, are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides. Iran has advisors on the ground in Iraq and also in Syria to help the military in both countries battle armed groups fighting the national governments. Saudi Arabia is also taking part in a US-led coalition targeting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Without naming names, Zarif warned countries which consider groups such as IS and the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front as "leverages that can be used for political gains". "That's the worst miscalculation anybody has made in our region," he said. "I believe the sooner Saudi Arabia comes to understand that ISIS is first and foremost a threat against them, then, anybody else, the sooner we are able to confront this total menace for all of us, not only in the region but in the world," Zarif added, using another acronym for the Islamic State group. Near Fallujah (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces stalled at the fringes of Fallujah, slowed in their advance Wednesday by concerns over the fate of trapped civilians and resistance from the Islamic State group. Fighting also raged hundreds of kilometres (miles) further up the Euphrates Valley in Syria, as US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters opened a new front against the jihadists in the strategic Manbij pocket on the Turkish border. After a week of shaping operations aimed at sealing the siege of Fallujah, which lies just 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, elite forces launched a new, more aggressive phase on Monday morning. But they have so far been unable to reach the city centre and battle IS fighters in the streets of one of their historical strongholds. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said concern for the estimated 50,000 civilians the United Nations has said IS was using as human shields was slowing progress. "It would've been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't one of the foundations of our plan," he told commanders in comments broadcast by state television. Iraq's parliament speaker, Salim al-Juburi, held talks with officials from Anbar province, where Fallujah is located, as well as commanders and tribal leaders on the humanitarian issue. He discussed "ways of rescuing the families being held hostage and opening safe corridors for them," his office said in a statement. Inside Fallujah, trapped residents were under increasing pressure from worsening shortages and nervous IS fighters preparing for a desperate holdout. No aid has reached Fallujah since September last year and residents have been living on dates, dirty water from the Euphrates and animal feed. - Heavy toll - The Norwegian Refugee Council said another 300 families managed to flee areas around Fallujah in the past 24 hours, bringing to about 5,000 the number of people who escaped since the start of the operation. Story continues Commanders said another factor slowing the operation is the resistance they are meeting from jihadists fighters. A police colonel on the outskirts of Fallujah said "every time our forces try to push in, they encounter really tough defence systems set up by Daesh". The closest Iraqi forces have come to moving into the centre is from the south, where they entered a suburb of Fallujah but were pinned back by a massive counterattack on Tuesday. Iraqi commanders say they have killed dozens of IS fighters since the start of the operation on May 22-23 but have been coy about releasing their own casualty figures. Yet the number of coffins being sent back to some of Iraq's southern provinces and of burials reported in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf suggest that the anti-IS camp is also paying a heavy price. "Since the start of the operation, we have received about 70 martyrs, probably a bit more," said a member of the security forces posted outside Najaf's Valley of Peace, the world's largest cemetery, where many from Iraq's Shiite majority bury their dead. Officials in Basra said the southern province had lost 26 fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force alone. An official in Najaf province, who did not want his name to be published, confirmed 12 deaths from the province. Medics also reported many wounded from the battle for Fallujah. Since Monday, just two of the capital's hospitals received 97. - Syria offensive - Many Iraqi officers expect IS to put up more of a fight for Fallujah than some of the other cities they have lost in Iraq, such as Tikrit and Ramadi. Fallujah is one of only two major cities they still control in the country -- the other being Mosul -- and it looms large in modern jihadist mythology. IS has been on the back foot in Iraq, losing much of the territory it seized in 2014. But it has also come under growing pressure in the Syrian part of the "caliphate" it proclaimed two years ago. A US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters launched an offensive against IS-held territory along the Turkish border that is seen as a main entry point for foreign fighters. The advance brought the Syrian Democratic Forces to within 18 kilometres (11 miles) of Manbij, a strategic town held by IS since 2014 which was hit by intensive US-led coalition air strikes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Pentagon has deployed more than 200 special forces alongside the SDF, a Kurdish-led alliance in which it has been trying to boost the Arab element. "Over the past 24 hours, the SDF have seized control of nine villages... west of the Euphrates," the Observatory said. The US-led coalition against IS supports the operations in Fallujah and in Manbij, where it said its aircraft carried out 18 air strikes over the same period. By Maher Nazeh SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS OF FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq has delayed its assault on the city of Falluja because of fears for the safety of civilians, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday, as his forces halted at the city's edge in the face of ferocious resistance from Islamic State fighters. Abadi's decision to halt, two days after elite Iraqi troops poured into the city's rural southern outskirts, postpones what was expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State. The government, backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, has vowed to win back the first major Iraqi city that fell to the group in 2014. "It would have been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't among our priorities," Abadi told military commanders at the operations room near the frontline in footage broadcast on state television. "Thank God, our units are at the outskirts of Falluja and victory is within reach." Falluja has been a bastion of the Sunni insurgency that fought both the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government. Islamic State fighters raised their flag there in 2014 before sweeping through much of Iraq's north and west. Abadi first announced plans to assault Falluja 10 days ago. But with 50,000 civilians still believed trapped inside the city, the United Nations has warned that militants are holding hundreds of families in the center as human shields. After heavy resistance from Islamic State fighters, the troops have not moved over the past 48 hours, keeping their positions in Falluja's mainly rural southern suburb of Naimiya, according to a Reuters TV crew reporting from the area. Explosions from shelling and air strikes as well as heavy gunfire could be heard on Wednesday morning in the city that lies 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad. Falluja is the second-largest Iraqi city still under control of the Sunni militants, after Mosul, their de facto capital in the north that had a pre-war population of about 2 million. Abadi's initial decision to assault Falluja appears to have gone against the plans of his U.S. allies, who would prefer the government concentrate on Mosul, rather than risk getting bogged down in a potentially drawn out fight for a smaller, potentially hostile Sunni Muslim stronghold like Falluja. "You do not need Falluja in order to get Mosul," a spokesman for a U.S.-led anti-IS coalition, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, said in a phone interview ten days ago when the government first announced its plans to recapture Falluja. However, Falluja is Islamic State's closest bastion to Baghdad, believed to be the base from which militants have staged a campaign of suicide bombings in the capital that has increased pressure on Abadi to act to improve security. BAGHDAD BOMBS PRESSURE ABADI Abadi, a member of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, is trying to hold a ruling coalition together in the face of public protests against an entrenched political class. He has called for politicians to set aside differences and rally behind the army during the Falluja offensive. Falluja would be the third major city in Iraq recaptured by the government after former dictator Saddam Hussein's home town Tikrit and Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's vast western Anbar province. Falluja lies in Anbar on the highway from Baghdad to Ramadi, and capturing it would give the government control of the main population centers of the fertile Euphrates River valley west of the capital for the first time in two years. The United States is leading a coalition conducting air strikes in support of the Iraqi government offensive, and says it is having success in rolling back Islamic State both in Iraq and in Syria. Shi'ite militia groups backed by Iran are also taking part in the offensive against Islamic State, but say they are holding back from participating in the main assault on Falluja to avoid inflaming sectarian tension. "EXTREME VIOLENCE" Although most of Falluja's population is believed to have fled during six months of siege, 50,000 people are still thought to be trapped inside with limited access to food, water or healthcare. The United Nations' children's agency on Wednesday said at least 20,000 children remain in Falluja. "We are concerned over the protection of children in the face of extreme violence," UNICEF Representative in Iraq Peter Hawkins said in a statement. "Children face the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting" inside the besieged city, and "separation from their families" if they manage to leave, he added. The World Food Programme said the humanitarian situation in the city was worsening as family food stocks were depleting, pushing prices to a level few can afford. "The city is inaccessible for assistance and market distribution systems remain offline," the WFP said. "The only food available does not come from the markets, but from the stocks that some families still have in their homes." (writing by Maher Chmaytelli and Peter Millership; editing by Peter Graff) By Maher Nazeh and Phil Stewart SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS OF FALLUJA, Iraq/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State insurgents faced major assaults on two fronts in both Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in what could prove to be some of the biggest operations to roll back their caliphate since they proclaimed it in 2014. In Syria, U.S.-backed militia with thousands of Arab and Kurdish fighters were reported to have captured villages near the strategically-important Turkish border after launching a major operation to cut off Islamic State's last access route to the outside world. In Iraq, Prime Minister Haider Abadi ordered his troops to slow an advance at the gates of Falluja, Islamic State's closest redoubt to the capital Baghdad, to limit harm to civilians, two days after the army poured into rural areas on the city's outskirts. Both operations are unfolding with the support of a U.S.-led coalition that has been targeting the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim militants, who proclaimed a caliphate to rule over all Muslims from territory in the two neighboring countries. The Syrian operation includes American special forces operating in advisory roles on the ground. In Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition has provided air support to government forces who are also assisted by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia. While there is no indication that the two advances were deliberately timed to coincide, they show how a variety of enemies of Islamic State have been mobilizing in recent months in what Washington and other world powers hope will be a decisive year of battle to destroy the group's pseudo-state. "LAST FUNNEL" The Syrian operation, which began on Tuesday after weeks of preparations, aims to drive Islamic State from the last stretch of the frontier with Turkey it controls. "It's significant in that it's their last remaining funnel" to Europe, a U.S. military official told Reuters. Islamic State has used the border for years to receive material and recruits from the outside world, and, more recently, to send militants back to Europe to carry out attacks. An 80-km stretch of terrain north of the town of Manbij is the only part of the Turkish frontier still accessible to the militants after advances by Kurdish fighters and President Bashar al-Assad's government elsewhere. A small number of U.S. special operations forces will support the push on the ground to capture the "Manbij pocket", acting as advisers some distance back from the front lines, U.S. officials said, discussing the plans on condition of anonymity. "They'll be as close as they need to be for the (Syrian fighters) to complete the operation. But they will not engage in direct combat," the first official said. The operation will also count on air power from the U.S.-led coalition, which pounded Islamic State positions near Manbij with 18 strikes on Tuesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that reports on the conflict there with a network of sources on the ground, said Islamic State had been pushed out of 16 villages near Manbij. U.S.-led air strikes in support of the ground operation had killed 15 civilians including three children near Manbij in the last 24 hours, the Observatory said. The assault is being carried out by an alliance known as the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), which is composed of a powerful Kurdish militia called the YPG, and Arab combatants that have allied themselves with it. The group, set up last year, is the main ground force to receive U.S. backing in Syria, where Washington opposes Assad's government and has had difficulty finding capable allies on the ground in the past. U.S. officials stressed that most of the fighting near Manbij would be carried out by Arabs, an emphasis apparently aimed at Turkey, which considers the Kurdish YPG to be foes. "After they take Manbij, the agreement is the YPG will not be staying ... So you'll have Syrian Arabs occupying traditional Syrian Arab land," the first U.S. official said. However, the Observatory described much of the fighting so far as carried out by Kurds. The operation is taking place ahead of an eventual push by the U.S.-backed Syrian forces toward Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto Syrian capital, which, alongside Iraq's northern city of Mosul is one of two main objectives to bring down the caliphate. U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized about 300 U.S. special operations forces to operate on the ground inside Syria to help coordinate with local forces. In a reminder of the risks, one U.S. service member was injured north of Raqqa over the weekend, the Pentagon said. A five-year-long, multi-sided civil war in Syria, in which global powers back enemy sides, has made it impossible to coordinate a single campaign against Islamic State there. The U.S.-backed advance comes some weeks after Assad government troops, with Russian and Iranian support, recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State. FALLUJA PAUSE In Iraq, where Abadi's Shi'ite-led government enjoys military backing both from the United States and Washington's regional adversary Iran, the decision to pause at the gates of Falluja postpones for now what is expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State. "It would have been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't among our priorities," Abadi told military commanders at the operations room near the front line in footage broadcast on state television. "Thank God, our units are at the outskirts of Falluja and victory is within reach." Falluja has been a bastion of the Sunni Muslim insurgency against both the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government and U.S. troops, who fought the biggest battles of their 2003-2011 occupation there. Islamic State fighters, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, raised their flag in the city in 2014 before sweeping through Iraq's north and west. Abadi first announced plans to assault Falluja 10 days ago. But with 50,000 civilians still believed trapped inside the city, the United Nations has warned that militants are holding hundreds of families in the center as human shields. After heavy resistance from Islamic State, the troops have not moved over the past 48 hours, keeping positions in Falluja's mainly rural southern suburb of Naimiya, according to a Reuters TV crew reporting from the area. Explosions from shelling and air strikes as well as heavy gunfire could be heard on Wednesday morning in the city that lies 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad. Falluja is the second-largest Iraqi city still under control of the Sunni militants after Mosul. Abadi's initial decision to assault Falluja seems to have gone against the plans of his U.S. allies, who would prefer the government concentrate on Mosul. "You do not need Falluja in order to get Mosul," a spokesman for a U.S.-led anti-IS coalition, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, said in a phone interview 10 days ago when the government first announced its plans to recapture Falluja. However, Falluja is Islamic State's closest bastion to Baghdad and is believed to be the base from which militants have staged a campaign of suicide bombings in the capital, increasing pressure on Abadi to act to improve security. FLEEING CIVILIANS SCREENED Although most of Falluja's population is believed to have fled during six months of siege, 50,000 people are still thought to be trapped inside with little food. "The city is inaccessible for assistance and market distribution systems remain offline," the United Nations' World Food Programme said. "The only food available does not come from the markets, but from the stocks that some families still have in their homes." The military has been detaining men and boys older than 12 who leave the city, to screen them for Islamic State fighters. "Don't treat us like we are Daesh," said 54-year-old Mahdi Fayyadh, among hundreds of families who escaped the city and were now taking shelter in a school. Fayyadh, who lost a leg to diabetes while under Islamic State's rule due to a lack of medication, said he fled the city with 11 family members after the assault began. Relatives helped him walk on crutches until they reached army lines, when the other men in the group were taken away. "I already lost a leg," Fayyadh said, a battered pair of crutches leaning against his shoulder. "I ask all the good people to not treat us like they (the militants) treated us." U.S. officials caution that territorial gains will not spell the end of Islamic State, which has established itself outside of its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, spreading to Libya, Afghanistan and beyond. "It would be premature to say that the gains in Syria, even if theyre sustained, will spell defeat for ISIL, any more than the pummeling of al Qaeda in Pakistan has meant the end of that group, said one of the U.S. officials. (Additional reporting by John Davison in Beirut, Maher Chmaytelli and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Mark Heinrich) (Adds more quotes, details) By Ange Aboa ABIDJAN, June 1 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast will propose tax breaks to locally based cocoa grinders ranging from 40 to 70 CFA francs ($0.07 to $0.12) per kilogram of beans as it seeks to boost processing capacity, a senior finance ministry official said on Wednesday. The West African nation is the world's top cocoa producer as well as the leading processor of cocoa beans and is aiming to grind half of its production domestically by 2020. It currently processes around a third of its output. "What we're going to do is propose 40 to 70 CFA francs per kilo to the different grinders based upon their installed grinding capacity," the official, who works on the ministry's cocoa portfolio and who declined to be named, told Reuters. He said the government had already approved the measure and must now discuss the tax breaks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Ivory Coast is currently subject to an IMF programme. The official said the marketing board, the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC), would also reserve 60 percent of the April-to-September mid-crop harvest for grinders, up from 50 percent currently. The CCC will also propose a system of forward sales reserved for grinders. The government scrapped a 20-year-old regime of tax breaks for processors at the start of the 2012/13 season. Companies have been in talks with the CCC for the last two years to settle on a new scheme that would reward firms that grind locally. "We estimate the investments required to increase capacity from 30-35 percent to 50 percent of production between 2016 and 2020 at 500 billion CFA francs," the finance ministry official said. "The companies already present in the country are ready to do it and new ones are also interested, but they are waiting for the tax framework to be made known." The government of President Alassane Ouattara, which has overseen a rapid economic recovery in the wake of a decade of turmoil that ended with a civil war in 2011, is seeking to create jobs and add value to its leading export. Story continues Ivory Coast's 12 local grinders possess installed processing capacity of 720,000 tonnes annually, but most facilities run at 60 to 80 percent of capacity. Swiss firm Barry Callebaut, Singapore's Olam International, U.S.-based Cargill and France's Cemoi are the largest bean processors based in Ivory Coast. ($1 = 587.2500 CFA francs) (Editing by Joe Bavier and Susan Thomas) ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has taken a step towards drawing up a new constitution and scrapping a nationality clause which helped drag his West African nation into a decade-long crisis and bedevilled his own initial bids for the presidency. The presidential office, in a statement late on Tuesday, announced the appointment of a 10-member experts panel, including Justice Minister Sansan Kambile along with legal experts and law professors, to draft a new national charter. The new constitution would go to a public referendum for approval, Ouattara's office said. Ouattara pledged during his campaign for re-election last year to scrap a nationality clause which helped lead the world's top cocoa grower and French-speaking West Africa's largest economy into prolonged crisis. The current charter, ratified in 2000 in the wake of a military coup, states presidential candidates must prove both their parents are natural-born Ivorians. They must also have never claimed citizenship of another country. Ivory Coast has long been a magnet for immigrants from neighbouring countries and the clause became a symbol of exclusion, particularly of northerners whose family ties often cross into neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. Ivorian nationality became a burning political issue at the heart of a 2002-2003 civil war that divided the country in two for eight years. Ouattara himself was barred from seeking the presidency over what opponents said were his foreign origins before he finally won election in 2010. However, his victory sparked a second brief civil conflict that killed more than 3,000 people. The statement said Ouattara would hold consultations with opposition figures, traditional chiefs, religious leaders and members of civil society groups. "The results of these consultations will be transmitted to the Experts Committee with the aim of proposing to the President of the Republic a text to submit to referendum in order to give Ivory Coast a new constitution," the statement said. Ouattara is also believed to be seeking to create the new post of vice-president to take over and complete the president's term if he were incapacitated or died in office. Currently, the speaker of parliament is second in line to the presidency, but the constitution states that new elections must be organised within 90 days, a time frame critics say is unworkable. (Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Richard Balmforth) The ASA sees what you did there, Jack Wills, and it is not pleased. The Advertising Standards Authority, the independent organization which regulates ads across all U.K. media, is banning the "Fabulously British" retailer's Midnight Mischief underwear campaign for its use of double entendres as well as the "irresponsible" and "sexualized" photos of models in their skivvies. Read More: Megan Fox Is Moving Because Her Unborn Baby Says So The campaign was part of a direct-order catalog mailed to customers in February of this year. Of the nearly 3 million people that received the catalog, only one person complained. The complainant argued that the images as well as the accompanying text were too sexual for a younger audience - that is, should they get their hands on it. "Although we understood that Jack Wills' target audience was 18- to 24-year olds, and that the catalogue was sent to an adult, we considered that younger teens might have access to the ad either directly or indirectly, and that the images were likely to appeal to those readers because they portrayed a lifestyle to which they might aspire," reads the statement on the ASA's website. Read More: Lenny Letter Partners With Fab for Illustrated Collection The organization also posted the retailer's response to the upheld ruling, which they refute. "[Jack Wills] said the catalogue was addressed and sent to the complainant, not her children, and was delivered in a sealed, opaque paper envelope," they noted, and adding, "Jack Wills did not consider the claims 'Pure and comfortable cottons, or flirty delicate laces; whatever your choice, you can be sure it's what's underneath that counts ' and 'A favourite tee and your boxers, or a lounge short and bra; this is loungewear made for the morning after the night before' to be sexually suggestive or inappropriate because they accompanied images of the group of friends having fun together." Story continues Jack Wills was the subject of another ASA controversy in 2011, again for an "inappropriate" catalog. Tom Ford and Miu Miu have also been targeted for sexually inappropriate advertisements in the past few years, while Gucci and Saint Laurent have been banned for "unhealthily thin" models. If the ASA thinks the Jack Wills ad is bad, we can only imagine how they would react to anything Calvin Klein has done. New York (AFP) - Correction officers beat and kicked a defenseless inmate in the head "like an animal," a prosecutor said Wednesday, summing up his arguments in a two-month trial spotlighting abuse at a notorious New York jail. Nine officers went on trial in March accused of the savage beating of Jahmal Lightfoot, at the time a 27-year-old inmate convicted of armed robbery, and the cover-up of his night-time assault on July 11, 2012. The jury is expected to begin deliberations Thursday in a verdict to be closely watched given long-running allegations of systemic violence at Rikers Island, one of the largest municipal jails in America. Elected Democratic officials have called for the complex, which houses thousands of inmates, to be shut down, amid a national campaign against police brutality and demands for criminal justice reform. The defendants, all former or current correction officers, face prison terms if convicted of a raft of charges that include attempted gang assault, falsifying records and official misconduct. They have pleaded not guilty. "The crime is horrific, it's brutal, it's savage. They treat him like an animal," said assistant Bronx district attorney Lawrence Piergrossi on Wednesday at the Bronx Supreme Court. "They never thought in a million years that they would be here when they schemed and planned this cover-up." "Your job is to find them guilty," he told the jury who will be instructed by Judge Steven Barrett on Thursday. - Kicked and punched - Piergrossi spent more than three hours making a painstaking summation of the assault and alleged cover-up, and sought to demolish attempts by the defense to pick holes in the prosecution and question the credibility of Lightfoot and other witnesses called to the stand. Lawyers for the nine defendants declined to present any witnesses, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors say Eliseo Perez, an assistant chief of security, wanted to make an example out of Lightfoot, ordering officers to "kick his fucking teeth in" in response to yet another inmate slashing at a time of record violence at Rikers Island that made officers look bad. Story continues Perez colluded with Gerald Vaughn, a captain, and subordinate officers carried out the assault, Piergrossi said. They allegedly threw Lightfoot to the ground in a search pen shielded from surveillance cameras and where no one could witness the assault. Piergrossi read Wednesday from Lightfoot's testimony, given over five days during the trial. "I was getting kicked and punched all in my face, my eyes, my nose, my mouth," he said, quoting Lightfoot. Officers pinned him down, holding his arms over his head and keeping his legs locked down, he said. "Every time I tried to open my eyes I was getting kicked or swung at," read Piergrossi. "It happened six minutes and 45 seconds after chief Perez ordered them to kick his teeth out," the prosecutor added. - Blood - By the time Lightfoot saw a doctor, his eyes were swollen shut, he had trouble breathing and blood was coming out of his nose and mouth, said Piergrossi. The jury was shown a picture of his battered face, with huge bruises under his eyes -- taken at the hospital the next day. One of the defendants was allegedly grazed in the assault. But the prosecution said the officers concocted the story and planted a piece of metal on Lightfoot detached from a piece of their kit to justify their beating. Piergrossi disputed the idea that Lightfoot attacked the officer and called the injury "a scratch" that would have been impossible to inflict under the circumstances described. A jury will determine the guilt or innocence of six defendants. The other three have opted for the judge to reach a verdict. A tenth defendant will be tried separately. In 2014, a US federal investigation uncovered what prosecutors called a "pervasive and deep-seated culture of violence" at Rikers Island and called the facility a "broken institution" for teenage inmates. TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in more than three years in May as new orders slumped, a private survey showed on Wednesday, highlighting renewed weakness in the economy and adding pressure on the government and central bank. The Markit/Nikkei Final Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 47.7 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, which was slightly above a preliminary reading of 47.6 but below a final 48.2 in April. The index remained below the 50 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for the third month and showed that activity shrank at the fastest pace since January 2013. The aftermath of earthquakes in southern Japan in April may still be weighing heavily on some producers, a statement from Markit said, but it noted foreign demand also contracted sharply. The index for new orders fell to 44.7, which was revised up from a preliminary 44.1 but still showed the fastest decline since December 2012. In April the index for new orders was 45.0. Export orders also fell at a faster pace than in April. Some of the respondents to the survey mentioned the impact of a stronger yen and tougher international competition. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce a delay to next year's proposed sales tax hike to prevent a further blow to the economy, when he speaks to members of the media on Wednesday. Some economists say such a decision would be an indication that three years of Abe's reflationary policies have failed to fundamentally strengthen the economy and shift growth into a higher gear. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Kim Coghill) Japan's military joined the search for a seven-year-old boy missing in the country's north since his parents said they abandoned him in a bear-inhabited mountain forest, officials said. A total of 75 personnel from the Ground Self-Defence Force -- Japan's army -- joined some 130 fire rescuers, police officers and volunteers to look for the boy, rescuer Satoshi Saito told AFP by telephone. Yamato Tanooka has been missing since Saturday after his parents said they made him get out their car on a mountain road as punishment for misbehaving. He is reportedly without food or water. Rescuers have admitted it is a frustratingly difficult task to find the vanished boy due to a lack of evidence found so far of his presence in the rugged mountainous area on the wild bear-inhabited island of Hokkaido. The boy's parents originally told police their son had got lost while they were out hiking to gather wild vegetables -- but later admitted they were angry and tried to punish him because he had thrown stones at cars and people. The local town of Nanae requested military support after rescuers and police officers had already scoured the area for four days, with heavy rains at times hampering the search. "We asked the SDF to go into places which people can't easily access such as deep crevasses along creeks," town spokesman Mitsuru Wakayama told AFP. "We have already covered the same areas over and over again," he said, but added that it is hard to imagine even a lost adult being able to travel over such an extensive area on foot. "We have not taken such a long time before to find signs of a person in distress," he said. The parents told police they abandoned Yamato on a road, bounded on both sides by thick mountain forests, but quickly returned to find him missing. On the northern side of the road where the boy is believed to have been abandoned is a slope of Mount Komagadake, which rises to an altitude of 1,131 metres (3,710 feet). "The military personnel will scour the mountain slope," said Saito, the rescuer. "Unless he started climbing the mountain, he would have hit a main road after walking for two-three kilometres (1.2-1.9 miles) in any other direction," Saito said earlier. By Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Shimizu TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese convenience store chain operator Lawson Inc expects its overseas business to turn profitable in the next business year, led by growth in China, where it entered 20 years ago but has been struggling so far. Sadanobu Takemasu, who became president and chief operating officer on Wednesday, also said in an interview with Reuters the company would accelerate overseas store openings this business year. The bulk of the expansion would come in and around Shanghai, where he expects the number of stores to double to 1,000 over the next three years. Lawson opened its first store in China in 1996, but it has not been able to transplant its success in Japan. Lawson convenience stores in China currently number around 690. "We have finally topped 500 stores in Shanghai area. In convenience store business, once you pass that scale, things start to change, including relationship with suppliers and property developers," he said. Lawson has previously forecast an operating loss of 2.9 billion yen ($26.4 million) for its overseas operations in this business year ending in February 2017. Lawson lags far behind its rivals overseas. There are over 40,000 Seven-Eleven stores globally outside Japan. FamilyMart Co has about 5,900 stores overseas, including 3,000 in Taiwan. Lawson has only 790 stores outside Japan. In addition to China, it has stores in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Hawaii. Takemasu said the company is looking for opportunities to enter other southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Malaysia. He also said the company is studying possibilities of opening stores in Europe and the mainland United States, though it has no specific plan at this moment. Takemasu, 46, began his career at Mitsubishi Corp , which owns over one-third of the company. Asked about consumer sentiment in Japan, Takemasu said he "cannot take an optimistic view" towards consumer spending, citing uncertainty surrounding the economy. Story continues Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce later on Wednesday his decision to delay a national sales tax hike originally planned for next April by 2-1/2 years. The delay comes as scepticism grows about the government's three-year campaign to revive the economy, with recent data showing retail sales fell in April for the second consecutive month. Amid tepid consumer spending, however, the convenience store industry is bucking the overall trend. Lawson's same-store sales in April rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier. "Convenience store sales are not so sensitive to overall economic trends," Takemasu said. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Muralikumar Anantharaman) New York (AFP) - Rap mogul Jay Z has hit back in a new song against a conservative commentator who criticized his drug-dealing past. The hip-hop star includes a recording from Tomi Lahren, a host on pundit Glenn Beck's network TheBlaze who had attacked Jay Z's wife Beyonce over her performance at this year's Super Bowl. The host had accused Beyonce of using the top television event to promote the militant Black Panther movement in her performance of "Formation," whose video takes aim at police brutality. "Your husband was a drug dealer for 14 years / He sold crack cocaine," Lahren says to discredit Beyonce in a snippet sampled into "Drug Dealers Anonymous," a collaboration between Jay Z and rapper Pusha T that came out Tuesday evening. Jay Z then offers his own take on the 14-year period that apparently refers to the time before he switched to music in his mid-20s, boasting about how much wealth he has amassed. "Fourteen-year drug dealer and still counting / Who deserves the Medal of Freedom is my accountant," he raps, speaking of avoiding taxes. Born in Brooklyn as Shawn Carter, Jay Z spoke of his drug-dealing as a formative youth experience in his 2010 autobiography "Decoded." He goes into greater detail in "Drug Dealers Anonymous," describing his forays into narcotics in Virginia. "Life made me ambidextrous / Countin' with my right / Whippin' white with my left wrist," he raps in reference to cash and cocaine. Lahren replied sarcastically to the song on Twitter, writing: "Always wanted to be on a track with two drug dealers. Thanks." Referring to one of Jay Z's best-known songs, she added in another tweet: "I've got 99 problems but trust me, being on your rap ain't one." Jay Z, one of the top-selling rappers of all time who has built a business empire that includes the Tidal streaming service, is estimated with Beyonce to be worth $1 billion. Tuesday's song release was the second in as many weeks by Jay Z, who had been quiet on the musical front for the past two years. In a remix last week of "All the Way Up" by New York rappers Remy Ma and Fat Joe, Jay Z boasted about the money earned by Beyonce's latest album "Lemonade," in which she hinted that he had been unfaithful to her. Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are trying to pare early losses after a better-than-expected ISM Manufacturing report beat expectations. Consumer staples are (XLP) in the lead while telecom (IYZ) is the most in the red. Keith Bliss of Cuttone & Co. joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange. To discuss the other big stories of the day, Alexis Christoforous is joined by Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer and Yahoo Finance's Justine Underhill. Jeff Bezos explains why Amazon doesn't sell some Google and Apple products You can buy a lot of items on Amazon, but two items you cant purchase are an Apple TV or Google Chromecast. Amazons CEO Jeff Bezos says its because of a lack of acceptable business terms. Its believed that Apple takes a 30% cut on anything sold within its apps, and Amazon didnt want to share its Prime Video sales with Apple. Tenants reportedly required to "Like" a Facebook page Apartment tenants in Salt Lake City came home to a shocking notice on their doors last week. The management company of City Park Apartments had posted a mandatory "Facebook Addendum," which reportedly required tenants to "like" the apartment's Facebook page. It also contained a release that would have given the company permission to post pictures of the residents as well as their visitors. A law firm representing the company has since said that tenants will not be in violation of their leases if they don't sign it. Are millennials bad for business? Are millennials bad for business? That's what some companies are telling the Dallas Federal Reserve as part of its monthly manufacturing survey. They're concerned about new overtime laws that will expand rights of salaried employees. One respondent said, "The younger workers are often off task, engaged on social media, on the internet, texting on phones and other unproductive activities." Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App The Hague (AFP) - A Malian jihadist will go on trial in August for attacks on the World Heritage site of Timbuktu that triggered a global outcry, the International Criminal Court said Wednesday. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi will appear before judges on August 22 for a hearing which is likely to last a few days with the tribunal hoping "to complete the trial in a single week," The Hague-based court said in a statement. Mahdi has made clear "his wish to plead guilty" to a single charge of jointly ordering or carrying out the 2012 destruction of nine mausoleums and a section of Timbuktu's famous Sidi Yahia mosque which dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries, the ICC said. It will be the first time a defendant has pleaded guilty before the ICC, which was set up in 2002 to try the world's worst crimes. It is also the first case before the tribunal to arise out of recent conflict in Mali and to involve an Islamic jihadist. Mahdi, who is aged around 40, said he was "a Muslim who believes in justice," his defence lawyer Mohamed Aouini told a hearing last week. "He wants to be truthful to himself and he wants to admit the acts that he has committed. And he wants to ask at the same time for pardon from the people of Timbuktu and the Malian people," Aouini said. "He regrets all the actions that he has committed." ICC prosecutors say Mahdi was a leader of Ansar Dine, a mainly Tuareg group that controlled areas of Mali's northern desert together with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a third local group in early 2012. Founded between the 5th and the 12th centuries by Tuareg tribes, the fabled city -- which lies around a thousand kilometres (600 miles) from Mali's capital Bamako -- has been dubbed the "Pearl of the Desert" and "the city of 333 saints" for the Muslim sages who are buried there. It was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 1988. Story continues - 'World felt the loss' - Although it was revered as a centre of Islamic learning during its golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries, the site is viewed as idolatrous by the jihadists. For centuries people, would ask the Muslim saints buried in the tombs to intervene in marriages, to send rain, and prevent famines. During the 2012 attack, jihadists desecrated the centuries-old shrines using pickaxes and chisels. Chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has said the loss of the shrines "was felt by the whole of humanity, and at the expense of future generations". Reconstruction of some of the shrines began in March 2014, relying heavily on traditional methods and employing local masons, and work on the site finished in July 2015. Mali's north has seen repeated violence since it fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012. The Islamists were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, but they have since carried out sporadic attacks on security forces from desert hideouts. The show must go on. Johnny Depp took the stage with his band the Hollywood Vampires in Denmark on Wednesday, amid domestic violence allegations made by his estranged wife Amber Heard. The actor looked relaxed as he performed alongside fellow band members Alice Cooper and Joe Perry on the fourth stop on their European tour. Fans swiftly took to social media, posting numerous snaps of the actor rocking out on stage at the FAngslet venue in Horsens, which once served as a state penitentiary. "Look where I am," one user wrote alongside a shot of Depp onstage. Oh look where I am #hollywoodvampires #johnnydepp #concert #tagsforlikes #like4like A photo posted by Clara Buan (@claraabuan) on Jun 1, 2016 at 1:26pm PDT Dinamarca / Denmark 01.06.2016 #Hollywoodvampires #johnnydepp #johnchristopherdepp #depphead #thehollywoodvampires #alicecooper #joePerry A photo posted by John Christopher Depp ll (@centraljohndepp) on Jun 1, 2016 at 1:29pm PDT Another fan praised Depp for his impressive guitar playing skills. "I almost like him more playing guitar then when he's acting," they wrote. I almost like him more playing guitar then when he is acting #hollywoodvampires #grAnalund #joeperry #alicecooper #johnnydepp A video posted by J.O.H.N.N.Y D.E.P.P (@deppdelicious) on Jun 1, 2016 at 12:46pm PDT Guitar solo #johnnydepp #alicecooper #joeperry #hollywoodvampires #grAnalund A video posted by J.O.H.N.N.Y D.E.P.P (@deppdelicious) on Jun 1, 2016 at 12:37pm PDT The performance comes as new photos and more shocking details about his marriage to Heard continue to unfold. Heard was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp on May 27. In the court filing, the actress claims Depp was abusive to her throughout their relationship. For much more about Depp and Amber's toxic marriage and explosive divorce, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday Johnny Depp Performs in Denmark with Band Amid Amber Heard Abuse Allegations| Couples, Divorced, Movie News, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp New photos published in this week's PEOPLE cover story show Heard with facial injuries that allegedly resulted from a December 2015 altercation with Depp that she cited in her court filing. A rep for Depp has not responded to PEOPLE's requests for comment regarding the photos. The actor's divorce attorney Laura Wasser, however, said in court documents that Heard is "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse." When we recently spoke to Veep creator Armando Iannucci about televisions greatest a-hole, Jonah Ryan, the former showrunner of HBOs acclaimed comedy revealed that actor Timothy Simons has his own political ambitions. That was one of the aspects that made him so perfect for the character that was originally supposed to be a short, fat chain-smoker, and so its fitting that the shows fifth season has Jonah running for Congress in his home state of New Hampshire. Of course, its even more fitting that Granite State voters also think that Jonah is a massive tool, so its just another reminder that Veep is wonderful and hilarious. And because Veeps creative minds love to keep piling on poor Jonah, they even gave him a real campaign website that is sure to confuse New Hampshires voters that do not have cable. At Jonah Ryan for Congress, you can check out all three of the characters terrible campaign ads, as well as a gallery of the candidate on the campaign trail and photos from his childhood. Theres even this gem, which makes up for the lack of Simons in front of the portrait painted by his mother. Related Links: Timothy Simons middle finger Jonah Ryan for Congress The real question is whether or not Breakfast with Jonah will really happen on December 18, because itd be great to pour maple syrup on his head. Just a dream of mine, I suppose. ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Pro wrestling star Jimmy ''Superfly'' Snuka is mentally incompetent to stand trial in the death of his girlfriend more than three decades ago, a judge ruled Wednesday. Lehigh County Judge Kelly Banach ruled from the bench after a four-day hearing on whether Snuka should face trial on murder and manslaughter charges. Snuka, 73, took the stand last month and often seemed confused as he was questioned by the judge. ''I don't believe he's faking it,'' Banach said Wednesday. Snuka, a native of Fiji who lives in Waterford Township, New Jersey, was charged last year in the death of 23-year-old Nancy Argentino, whose body was found in their Whitehall Township hotel room. Snuka pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. His mental fitness will be re-evaluated in six months. The defense argued that Snuka suffers from dementia, partly due to the head trauma he suffered over a long career in the ring. A prosecution expert said Snuka's brain shows normal signs of aging and suggested he might be feigning symptoms. Questioned by the judge last month, the high-flying wrestler didn't know his age or the year, couldn't remember the name of his lawyer or identify the current U.S. president or any presidential candidates, and seemed befuddled about the reason he was in court. The judge said Wednesday she doesn't think that Snuka is ''smart enough'' to fake illness, characterizing the wrestler as ''vacant'' and ''leadable.'' ''Unfortunately justice suffers when it's delayed,'' Banach said. ''Justice suffers after 30 years because everything decays.'' Snuka had been at a World Wrestling Federation taping at the Allentown Fairgrounds in May 1983, and told police shortly after Argentino's death that he had returned to their Whitehall Township hotel room to find her unresponsive in bed. She was pronounced dead at a hospital several hours later. Story continues An autopsy determined she died of traumatic brain injuries and had more than three dozen cuts and bruises, and it concluded her injuries were consistent with being hit with a stationary object. But the probe went cold, and Snuka continued his high-profile pro wrestling career. Prosecutors reopened the investigation after a 2013 report in The Morning Call newspaper raised questions about the case. He was charged in September. His attorney has called Argentino's death an ''unfortunate accident.'' Photos appearing to show the leader of Iran's powerful Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, liaising with Iraqi authorities near Baghdad have prompted speculation and concern over the role Iran and its proxies intend to play in driving ISIS out of Mosul and Fallujah. Soleimani's presence in Iraq amid two major counter-ISIS offensives in Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad, and in Mosul, further north has unnerved those familiar with Iran's campaign to cultivate influence in the region through Shiite proxy militias, whose presence in Sunni-majority areas could provoke sectarian violence. "I can't emphasize enough how alarmed I am over these photos of Soleimani," Ali Khedery, the longest continuously serving US official in Iraq, told Business Insider in an interview. "Iran has a formal campaign of cultivating Shiite proxies, and those proxies have now been put on the Iraqi government's payroll in the form of the PMU." The PMU, or Popular Mobilization Units (Hashid Shaabi), is a state-sponsored umbrella organization of predominantly Shiite militias. Critics say that they have contributed to, rather than eased, the kind of sectarian tensions that made Mosul and Fallujah susceptible to an ISIS takeover in the first place. Story continues Iraq security forces Iraqi officials deny that the PMU is supported by Iran, but Soleimani's presence in Iraq suggests that Tehran is likely playing a significant military role there and that the US is letting it happen. Michael Weiss, coauthor of the book "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror," tweeted that Soleimani's "presence is clearly tolerated" in Iraq. "And he looks quite relaxed." The PMU's deputy chair, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis a US-designated terrorist also arrived in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Arimiyah on Tuesday to oversee operations in western Fallujah, according to the Institute for the Study of War. "What worries me most is the fact that Washington hasn't learned the lessons of the pre-surge era in Iraq," Khedery added, referring to the 2007 increase in US troops deployed to Baghdad and Al-Anbar Province. The surge coincided with a new counterinsurgency strategy implemented by Gen. David Petraeus. It aimed at building long-term relationships with the local Iraqi population and security forces instead of focusing on killing Sunni insurgents, which had created a cycle of alienation and mistrust. falluja "You cannot defeat a radical Sunni extremist group like ISIS with radical Shiite extremists," said Khedery, who served as a special assistant to five US ambassadors and as a senior adviser to three heads of US Central Command. "It will only push more Sunnis into ISIS's hands. You need another tribal awakening that will allow moderate Sunni Arabs to retake their own areas." US officials seem to be aware of the problem one official told The Daily Beast's Nancy Youssef earlier this month that "Sunnis see ISIS as their protection their wall against Shia revenge." The New York Times reported last week that US officials are worried about the role Iran will play in recapturing Fallujah. But because the PMUs have been one of the most effective forces fighting ISIS in Iraq, the Obama administration has not seriously challenged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's decision to allow the units' Shiite militias to help drive ISIS out of its strongholds. Iraqi and Western officials have insisted that the PMUs have taken only a secondary role in anti-ISIS operations. fallujah Khedery, for his part, predicted that Washington's tolerance for the militias will ultimately be the fatal flaw in its plans to defeat the Sunni extremists. "What bothers me enormously is how shortsighted US policy continues to be with regard to Iraq," Khedery said. "The Obama administration is willing to provide Soleimani [and his proxies] with virtually unending support for the sake of the anti-ISIS campaign." "We will thus win the battle, but we will certainly lose the war," Khedery added. "The US is unwittingly priming the Middle East for endless sectarian war, and that will certainly haunt the world for decades to come." A 'prototype' for Mosul Still, many experts agree that, currently, the main forces attacking ISIS in Fallujah are not the PMUs but Iraq's multiethnic counterterrorism units, which are being assisted by local tribal communities. The offensive is a "prototype" for the kind of cooperation between local and government forces against ISIS that helped drive ISIS out of Ramadi last year, according to Ahmed Rushdi, a political analyst and director of the House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation. "What is happening now in Falluja is paving the way for what will happen in Mosul on a much larger scale," Rushdi told Al Jazeera on Monday. The Iraqis had slowly been recapturing territory from ISIS around Mosul, which fell to the jihadists in 2014, before the government announced a new offensive on Fallujah last week. Saad al-Muttalibi, an adviser to the Iraqi Council of Ministers, agreed. "All of the PMUs have been ordered not to enter Falluja," he told Al Jazeera. "Only the Iraqi Special Forces have entered the city. The PMUs are controlling the outskirts of Falluja." Members of the Hashid Shaabi Shi'ite milita gather in the west of Samarra, in the desert of Anbar, as they prepare to depart for Mosul to fight against Islamic State, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer Still, Shiite forces within the PMU have been accused of attacking civilians in territory they have recaptured from ISIS. Reports have emerged that 17 civilians were killed by PMU fighters in the Garma district on the outskirts of Fallujah last week. Many Shiite forces believe that civilians in ISIS-held territory are sympathetic to the jihadists, even though Iraqi security forces helped nearly 800 civilians flee Fallujah late last week. President Barack Obama has said repeatedly that he intends to "tighten the noose" around ISIS by training and supporting the Iraqi army. But, ultimately, few believe that that will be enough to halt ISIS's momentum in the country, which continues to be driven in large part by Baghdad's political instability, financial struggles, and the perception that Abadi a member of Iraq's Shiite majority is beholden to Iran. "Abadi was and is a weak compromise candidate heavily influenced by Iran and its proxies," Michael Pregent, a former embedded adviser with a Peshmerga battalion operating in Mosul and former US Defense Department adviser, told Business Insider earlier this month. "The US has no leverage in Baghdad," Pregent added, "which has long since been ceded to Tehran." NOW WATCH: The US Army is sending Apache attack helicopters to fight ISIS in Iraq More From Business Insider (Reuters) - The Department of Justice said on Wednesday that a U.S. district court and Native American Enterprises LLC have resolved a litigation following which the Kansas-based company will stop manufacture or distribution of food and other meat products. The DOJ filed a complaint in U.S. district court in Kansas on March 21 at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, alleging that the company's refried beans and sauces have been prepared, packed under insanitary conditions. The insanitary conditions include the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in NAE's facility and insanitary employee practices. The FDA inspected NAE's facility in August and observed rain water leaking through the roof in the packaging room, directly above where the refried beans were packed, a complaint filed by the regulator on the matter said. The court and Native American Enterprises agreed to a consent decree of permanent injunction against the company, its vice president and part-owner, William McGreevy, and production manager Robert Conner. (http://1.usa.gov/1P6bk4V) (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru) Kawasaki Announces Plans to Scrap W800 It's the hipster bike that never made it to the States, the modern Bonneville that many felt was more authentic than the actual Bonneville: the Kawasaki W800. And after more than 50 years, the retro air-cooled twin W series is set to be retired. Kawasaki Motors Europe announced Wednesday that a final edition series of the motorcycle will be made available before European Union regulation makes it obsolete at the start of 2017. Kawasaki W800 Final Edition The W800 traces its history back to the original W series that first emerged from the Kawasaki factory in Akashi, Japan, in the mid 1960s. The air-cooled 4-stroke vertical twin displaces 773cc and keeps things ultra-retro by maintaining a drum brake on the rear. Kawasaki first introduced the the W1 the W800's "grandfather" in 1966, which, incidentally, is the same year the Japanese brand first set up shop in the United States. The 650cc W1 produced a powerful-for-the-time 50 hp. And it was a hit particularly in the American market, where it helped set the foundations for the brand in the United States. READ MORE: Not For America: Bikes We Want Now | RideApart Kawasaki W800 Final Edition More than 30 years later in 1998 Kawasaki introduced the W650, which echoed the styling of the W1 and was embraced by a number of new fans. Ultimately, Kawasaki released the W800 in 2011. Though, strangely, the bike has stayed somewhat under the radar amid the recent retro craze. One wonders if Kawasaki really knew how to capitalize on the W800's potential. At motorcycle shows it was often shuffled off into a corner, separate from the rest of the brand's lineup. For some unknown reason, the bike was also kept out of the American market. Kawasaki W800 Final Edition It's interesting to ponder what could have been, but now we'll never know. The W800 is being discontinued, since the current machine will not meet future European motorcycle regulations. Its never easy to say goodbye to an old friend, especially one as iconic as the W800," said Morihiro Ikoma, corporate planning director for Kawasaki Motors Europe. "Paying homage to the W series with this Final Edition is therefore a truly fitting end to a long and successful line of machines. Story continues Learn more about Chris and the rest of RideApart's excellent staff here: The RideApart Team Follow RideApart on Facebook and Twitter, along with @RideApart on Instagram. Author Jenny Deason Copeland has announced a speaking engagement ahead of the launch of her book, Tiananmen West: Why Nixon Ordered the Kent State Massacre. The talk deals with research behind the conspiracy theories that surround the shooting of unarmed students on May 4, 1970 WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI / ACCESSWIRE / May 31, 2016 / New author talk has been announced by Jenny Deason Copeland, the author of the upcoming book, Tiananmen West: Why Nixon Ordered the Kent State Massacre, at MENSA Annual Gathering in San Diego. The talk will focus on her book, which documents the research done while investigating conspiracy theories surrounding the Kent State massacre in an effort to find motives and proof. More information can be found at: http://crazyredheadpublishing.com. The MENSA Annual Gathering starts in San Diego on June 29, 2016. The Tiananmen West talk is scheduled for July 1, 2016 at 10:30 AM PDT. This will be held at 500 Hotel Circle N, San Diego, CA. This event will focus on the amount of research that has gone into the book across nearly three decades of work. This includes Freedom of Information Act requests in 1992 and 1994 that received unwelcome attention and threatened the lives of the author's children. The Kent State Massacre occurred on May 4, 1970, at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard. It's reported that 67 shots were fired over a period of 13 seconds, resulting in four deaths and nine people being injured. Following on from the shooting, a large national response ensued, with four million students striking and hundreds of universities closing across America. Some of the students who were shot had been protesting the Cambodian Campaign, announced by President Nixon on April 30. Others were not at the protest, and had been observing from a distance. A number of conspiracy theories surround the episode, with some believing the shooting was ordered and some suggesting the guardsmen themselves could have been shot at and were simply retaliating. Jenny Deason Copeland details her theory that Nixon was in direct control of the event and the research she used to shed light on that theory in her book, which forms the backbone of the two author events. Story continues For more information about us, please visit http://www.crazyredheadpublishing.com Contact Info: Name: Jenny Deason Copeland Organization: Crazy Red Head Publishing Address: 3900 Walnut Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI 48323 Phone: 248-227-5508 SOURCE: Crazy Red Head Publishing The luxury housing market is expanding to playhouses. Parents are now spending big money for customized, high-end playhouses for their children that have features ranging from kids-sized kitchens to media rooms. Despite the price tag, La Petite Maison interior designer Michelle Pollak says the demand for the playhouses has been consistent. Our demand has stayed very steady ever since we began this business. We usually do anywhere from Id say six to ten a year, a very, very small niche because they obviously take a lot of time to produce, Pollak told the FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo. But because of the amount of work involved for each one they have limited production. Theyre all hand built, by Alan [builder Alan Mowrer] himself, and designed. So even if the demand were more than 10 a year, we just couldnt fulfill it. We actually intentionally keep it small demand, said Pollak. Although the company delivers across the country, Pollak said they do see more demand from certain areas. It tends to be hit or miss, definitely concentrated on the west and the east coast, New York and California primarily, Texas is big and then we get these surprise requests from literally the middle of nowhere, Pollak said. Pollak then discussed some of the more unique requests they have received. When we first started doing this we got requests of course for running water, play kitchens, media rooms and we thought that was over the top. And then as time went on and we got more requests for things such as hurricane-proof houses, houses built on earthquake-proof foundations, which of course we have to contract out, said Pollak. Related Articles Actress Amber Heard, the estranged wife of Hollywood star Johnny Depp, is accusing her husband of domestic violence amid a bitter divorce battle. The Zombieland actress appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court with a bruised face last Friday, when she was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp. Her lawyers say the actress received the bruises during a fight at home with the Oscar-nominated actor, and that Heard has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her husband. Depp has not commented publicly, but his lawyers have argued that Heard is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse. This weeks People cover story includes new photos of Heards face after the alleged assault. Heres what to know about the dispute. The alleged attack Heard says Depp threw a cell phone at her face, hitting her cheek and right eye during an attack at their Hollywood home on May 21, according to the Associated Press, which cited her sworn declaration in court. She also said her husband was drunk and high when he allegedly pulled her hair, screamed at her and repeatedly hit her and violently grabbed her face during the incident. Heard and her lawyers say the incident is one of many, and that she was subjected to excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse during the entirety of the couples 15-month marriage. The alleged abuse, Heard said, included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him. I live in fear that Johnny will return to [our house] unannounced to terrorize me, physically and emotionally, she added. Depps defense According to court documents cited by People, Depps attorney Laura Waser says Heard is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse. Story continues Depps representative has publicly commented on their divorce but not the abuse allegations. Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life, a representative said in a May 26 statement, after news broke of their impending divorce, but before her abuse allegations became public. Hopefully the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly. Heards lead attorney Samantha Spector and her co-counsel Joseph Koenig said in a joint statement that Heards actions are not motivated by money. Amber is a brave and financially independent woman who is showing the courage of her convictions by doing the right thing against Johnnys relentless army of lawyers and surrogate, the statement said. Amber is the victim. Amber is a hero. Their relationship The couple met on set while they were shooting the 2011 film The Rum Diary, People reports. Heard, now 30, and Depp, 52, tied the knot in February 2015, the magazine reports in its new cover story. The two made headlines in April when they both appeared in an apology video filmed for the government of Australia. Heard faced criminal charges there after flying the couples two dogs into the country without proper permission. Australia ended up dropping charges of illegal importation after Heard pleaded guilty to improperly bringing the animals into the country. Heard filed for divorce on May 23, citing irreconcilable differences, her legal team told TIME. The filing came two days after the alleged abuse incident. When Jessica Piha, the director of communications for home improvement site Porch.com, bid on a single-family home in the Seattle area, she knew hers wasn't the highest offer presented to the seller. She'd offered to pay around 25 percent more than the asking price, but in a hot housing market like Seattle, other buyers were offering as much as 75 percent more than the asking price, sometimes without financing or inspection contingencies. "I knew that to be competitive I had to be able to leverage what I had -- and that was flexibility," Piha says. [See: 12 Home Improvement Shortcuts That Are a Bad Idea .] The current owners of the home were building a new property, so they wanted to close on their current home sale and lease it back from Piha. That way, they could continue living in the home for a few weeks while the new property was completed. Piha allowed them to lease back the property for free until May 15, and that flexibility got her the house she wanted. "I waived utilities, rent, everything," she says. "The only thing I required them to have was renter's insurance," she adds. Piha stayed in her apartment a few weeks longer and, fortunately, the previous owners moved out ahead of schedule and she was able to take possession of her new home. This type of arrangement is called a sale-leaseback or a post-closing possession agreement depending on where you live (for instance, you might hear sale-leaseback in the Southeast or Northwest, while you might hear post-possession in the Northeast). "The seller has sold the property, and they remain in the house for X amount of time so they can figure out their next move or close on their next house," explains Janine Acquafredda, associate broker with House-N-Key, Realty in Brooklyn, New York. "It's very common, but it's not going to work for everybody," she says. Often, she says, those willing to agree to this arrangement are first-time homebuyers who can simply stay in their rental a little longer like Piha did. Another situation where this might work is if the buyers are real estate investors who plan to rent out the property anyway. Story continues While Piha's sale-leaseback went smoothly, that's not always the case. What happens if the condition of the property changes between closing and actual possession? Or what if the sellers' new home takes longer than expected? These are just a few of the potential problems that can arise, so Bruce Ailion, a real estate broker and attorney with Re/Max Town and Country in Atlanta, recommends that buyers and sellers who want to go this route work with a real estate attorney or agent who's familiar with these types of transactions. "An owner may think they'll put a for-sale-by-owner [sign] up, have somebody in January who wants to buy now and move in in June, but I would definitely have someone who knows what they're doing draft or review the agreement," Ailion says. [See: The 20 Best Affordable Places to Live in the U.S.] Piha didn't charge her sellers rent, but buyers can include rental fees and a security deposit in their agreement. However, if buyers get too demanding, it may scare off the sellers. Ailion points to a deal that fell apart after the buyer requested $50,000 in an escrow account in case the seller (a senior partner at a major law firm) damaged the property during the two weeks it was leased. "That's totally unreasonable," he says. "Yes, they could take the appliances and they could take the mirrors and mark up the walls on their way out ... but the seller was offended and didn't want to put up the money," he adds. According to Ailion, $5,000 would have been more reasonable, and in the unlikely event that damage exceeded that amount, the new seller could have sued the previous owner for additional damage. Ailion says it's more common to charge rent that roughly covers the carry costs (mortgage, utilities, condo or homeowners' association fees, etc.) for the new homeowner. And if the seller stays beyond the agreed upon occupancy date, the agreement might charge a daily rate of, say, 150 percent of the daily rate for each extra day, incentivizing the previous owners to move out. For a longer-term lease, for instance, if the owners need to access their home equity, sell the property to an investor and lease it back, the new owners would likely charge higher rent. To avoid delays with possession, Acquafredda suggests that buyers considering a post-closing possession understand the sellers' situation. Do the sellers have a new home picked out or are they still looking? Are they planning to build or renovate and if so, what's the timeline? "If they're relying on the purchase of a home, make sure their financing is qualified to buy the home," she says. Ailion says buyers and sellers need to be comfortable with a little uncertainty, and the longer the timeline before the new buyer takes possession, the more uncertainty. "Both parties are taking some risk that it will work out the way they planned," he says. "People's circumstances may change over that time." [See: The Best Apps for House Hunting.] While a post-closing possession agreement has its potential pitfalls, Piha feels it was worth it for her. "I was willing to do whatever it took to make the sellers pick me," she says. More From US News & World Report When Jessica Piha, the director of communications for home improvement site Porch.com, bid on a single-family home in the Seattle area, she knew hers wasn't the highest offer presented to the seller. She'd offered to pay around 25 percent more than the asking price, but in a hot housing market like Seattle, other buyers were offering as much as 75 percent more than the asking price, sometimes without financing or inspection contingencies. "I knew that to be competitive I had to be able to leverage what I had -- and that was flexibility," Piha says. [See: 12 Home Improvement Shortcuts That Are a Bad Idea .] The current owners of the home were building a new property, so they wanted to close on their current home sale and lease it back from Piha. That way, they could continue living in the home for a few weeks while the new property was completed. Piha allowed them to lease back the property for free until May 15, and that flexibility got her the house she wanted. "I waived utilities, rent, everything," she says. "The only thing I required them to have was renter's insurance," she adds. Piha stayed in her apartment a few weeks longer and, fortunately, the previous owners moved out ahead of schedule and she was able to take possession of her new home. This type of arrangement is called a sale-leaseback or a post-closing possession agreement depending on where you live (for instance, you might hear sale-leaseback in the Southeast or Northwest, while you might hear post-possession in the Northeast). "The seller has sold the property, and they remain in the house for X amount of time so they can figure out their next move or close on their next house," explains Janine Acquafredda, associate broker with House-N-Key, Realty in Brooklyn, New York. "It's very common, but it's not going to work for everybody," she says. Often, she says, those willing to agree to this arrangement are first-time homebuyers who can simply stay in their rental a little longer like Piha did. Another situation where this might work is if the buyers are real estate investors who plan to rent out the property anyway. Story continues While Piha's sale-leaseback went smoothly, that's not always the case. What happens if the condition of the property changes between closing and actual possession? Or what if the sellers' new home takes longer than expected? These are just a few of the potential problems that can arise, so Bruce Ailion, a real estate broker and attorney with Re/Max Town and Country in Atlanta, recommends that buyers and sellers who want to go this route work with a real estate attorney or agent who's familiar with these types of transactions. "An owner may think they'll put a for-sale-by-owner [sign] up, have somebody in January who wants to buy now and move in in June, but I would definitely have someone who knows what they're doing draft or review the agreement," Ailion says. [See: The 20 Best Affordable Places to Live in the U.S.] Piha didn't charge her sellers rent, but buyers can include rental fees and a security deposit in their agreement. However, if buyers get too demanding, it may scare off the sellers. Ailion points to a deal that fell apart after the buyer requested $50,000 in an escrow account in case the seller (a senior partner at a major law firm) damaged the property during the two weeks it was leased. "That's totally unreasonable," he says. "Yes, they could take the appliances and they could take the mirrors and mark up the walls on their way out ... but the seller was offended and didn't want to put up the money," he adds. According to Ailion, $5,000 would have been more reasonable, and in the unlikely event that damage exceeded that amount, the new seller could have sued the previous owner for additional damage. Ailion says it's more common to charge rent that roughly covers the carry costs (mortgage, utilities, condo or homeowners' association fees, etc.) for the new homeowner. And if the seller stays beyond the agreed upon occupancy date, the agreement might charge a daily rate of, say, 150 percent of the daily rate for each extra day, incentivizing the previous owners to move out. For a longer-term lease, for instance, if the owners need to access their home equity, sell the property to an investor and lease it back, the new owners would likely charge higher rent. To avoid delays with possession, Acquafredda suggests that buyers considering a post-closing possession understand the sellers' situation. Do the sellers have a new home picked out or are they still looking? Are they planning to build or renovate and if so, what's the timeline? "If they're relying on the purchase of a home, make sure their financing is qualified to buy the home," she says. Ailion says buyers and sellers need to be comfortable with a little uncertainty, and the longer the timeline before the new buyer takes possession, the more uncertainty. "Both parties are taking some risk that it will work out the way they planned," he says. "People's circumstances may change over that time." [See: The Best Apps for House Hunting.] While a post-closing possession agreement has its potential pitfalls, Piha feels it was worth it for her. "I was willing to do whatever it took to make the sellers pick me," she says. Susan Johnston Taylor contributes to the money section of USNews.com. Her articles on business and personal finance have also appeared in or on The Boston Globe, Learnvest.com, Entrepreneur.com and FastCompany.com. You can find her on Twitter @UrbanMuseWriter. Torrential downpours hit parts of central and northern France on Tuesday, May 31, triggering flooding and widespread weather warnings. The departments of Loiret and Seine-et-Marne, to the south and east of Paris, respectively, were placed on red alert on Wednesday by Meteo France due to the dangers posed by flooding. These videos show pathways and houses partially submerged in Argenton-sur-Creuse, Centre, France, and a car battling the flooding on route D2020 near Salbris. Credit: Twitter/FloC36 New Discovery Area Includes the Highest Grades Found To Date That Are Coincident With the Strongest and Most Discrete SkyTEM Conductive Zones VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2016 / Noram Ventures Inc. (TSX-V: NRM; Frankfurt: N7R) ("Noram" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the latest exploration results and a project update on the Company's Jumbo flake-graphite property, located in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia (see Figure 1). "These latest results from Jumbo are very encouraging as we expect the project to play an integral role in realizing our plan of becoming a force in the Green Energy Revolution through the development of lithium and graphite deposits, as part of our near term strategy to build a multi-national lithium-graphite dominant industrial minerals company to produce and sell lithium and graphite into the markets of Europe, North America and Asia," said Mark Ireton, CEO & President. Project Highlights: a large, 15,048 hectare (150.48 square kilometer) property comprised of 26 mineral tenures; conductive features delineated in an airborne SkyTEM (Time Domain Electromagnetic) survey are consistently associated with a graphitic horizon throughout the Property; appears that all the SkyTEM-indicated conductors, with a cumulative length of roughly 50 kilometers of conductive horizon, may be related to a single continuous complexly folded graphitic sequence; initial metallurgical testing (SGS Lakefield) of a 10kg sample from the Property's Big Flake area returned a head-grade of 3.81% graphite with a total of 45.5% reporting to or above the large flake (+80 mesh) category at an average purity grade of 96.0% graphitic carbon; latest surface rock sampling program returned up to 16.6% graphitic carbon in one selected sample* from the new discovery area; the new discovery area includes the highest grades found to date that are coincident with the strongest and most discrete SkyTEM conductive zones. Story continues * Note: the high-grade sample result is not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted on the Property. The latest exploration work consisted of further prospecting and rock sampling over roughly 6,000 hectares of the Property. The program focused largely in the areas of the strongest and most discrete conductive zones as defined in the airborne SkyTEM survey completed in 2012 (see Figure 2). A total of 84 selected rock grab samples were collected and sent to ALS Minerals in North Vancouver, BC for graphite analyses using a LECO process. Graphite mineralization was encountered in all conductive zones sampled with sample assay values ranging from a low of 0.24% graphitic carbon (Sample 626429 - grab of massive skarn pyrite with trace flake graphite bedrock location above Branch 1 Road) to a high of 16.6% graphitic carbon (Sample 626421 - grab of high grade subcrop dark grey black massive flake graphite location Branch 67 Road). For further clarification, all rock sample locations and graphite contents are plotted in Figure 3. As previously reported, it appears that all the SkyTEM-indicated conductors, which have a total length of approximately 50 kilometers, may be related to a single continuous complexly folded graphitic sequence. This conductive horizon has the potential to host significant concentrations of graphite and very little of the total strike length has been tested to date. Based on all results to date, further drilling is recommended in the South Limb area and the Branch 1 and upper Branch 67 areas where significant graphite mineralization was observed in the latest sampling program (see Figure 4). Several other strong and well defined conductive features should also be drill tested to maximize coverage. Detailed structural geological mapping would logically be conducted in these selected areas prior to drilling to determine optimum dip angles and practical collar locations. A total of 3,000 meters of core drilling is recommended in 20 to 25 holes. This program is has been estimated to cost approximately $700,000. For more information visit the Jumbo page of the Noram website. Gordon Allen, B.Sc., P.Geo., and independent Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release on behalf of the Company. About Noram Ventures Inc. Noram Ventures Inc. (TSX-V: NRM Frankfurt: N7R) is a Canadian based junior exploration company, with a goal of becoming a force in the Green Energy Revolution through the development of lithium and graphite deposits and becoming a low-cost supplier for the burgeoning lithium battery industry. The Company's primary business focus since formation has been the exploration of mineral projects that include the Clayton Valley lithium project in Nevada and the Jumbo graphite property in British Columbia. Noram's long term strategy is to build a multi-national lithium-graphite dominant industrial minerals company to produce and sell lithium and graphite into the markets of Europe, North America and Asia. For further information, please visit www.noramventures.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS s/ "Mark Ireton" President & Director Direct: (604) 761-9994 This news release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. The following are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements; the uncertainty of future profitability; and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressed qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstance or management's estimates or opinions change. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Noram Ventures Inc. Mogadishu (AFP) - A senior Shabaab commander suspected of organising the 2015 attack on Kenya's Garissa University has been killed in a special forces raid in southern Somalia, a local official said Wednesday, as the Al-Qaeda-linked group launched a deadly assault on a top Mogadishu hotel. At least 10 people, including two lawmakers, were killed in the car bomb and gun attack at the Ambassador Hotel, according to medical and security sources, while dozens more were injured. Fighting between Somali security forces and Shabaab Islamists at the hotel raged into the evening, some five hours after the attack began. In the coastal Somali town of Kismayo meanwhile, a local security official said the suspected architect of the bloodbath in Garissa had been killed in a raid in southwestern Somalia in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. "Sixteen armed men, four of them senior commanders including Mohamed Mohamud Ali known as Dulyadin... were killed by the Somali commandos and the special forces of the Jubaland," said Abdirashid Janan, minister of state security for Jubaland, an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Local officials paraded the bodies of the four suspected commanders in the streets of Kismayo. The April 2, 2015 assault at Garissa University College, 365 kilometres (225 miles) northeast of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, left 148 people dead, 142 of them students. They were slain in their dormitories or rounded up and executed in a hall of residence. The operation was carried out by four gunmen from the Shabaab, Al-Qaeda's East Africa branch. It was Kenya's bloodiest terror attack since Al-Qaeda bombed the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing 213 people. Last July, the Kenyan government said that Dulyadin -- also known by the aliases of Kuno and Gamadhere -- had been killed in a US drone strike, but it swiftly backtracked on the claim. There was no immediate confirmation of Dulyadin's death from Kenyan authorities. "It happened in an area which is not under our control," Kenyan military spokesman David Obonyo told AFP late Wednesday. Story continues - US drone strike - Separately Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said a senior Shabaab military commander, Abdullahi Haji Da'ud, was "presumed killed" following a US air strike on May 27. "Da'ud was one of Shabaab's most senior military planners and served as a principal coordinator of (the group's) militia attacks in Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda," Cook told reporters in San Diego. Shabaab fighters were chased out of Mogadishu in 2011 but the group remains a dangerous threat. It has vowed to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Somalia, which is being buttressed by a continent of some 22,000 troops from the African Union. It has frequently carried out attacks in neighbouring Kenya and vowed retribution against "Western crusaders" who it says are guilty of offences against Muslims in Somalia. - 'Burned bodies' - The Shabaab group was quick to claim Wednesday's assault on the Ambassador Hotel. "The attack was started with a heavy explosion and members from the Mujahedeen fighters stormed the building," it said in a statement. "A VBIED (vehicle-borne improvised explosive device) exploded at the Ambassador Hotel, Makkah Almukarramah street," a security source told AFP. "According to latest information received there was a follow-up complex attack and the hotel was penetrated and an ongoing fire fight is in progress," the security source added. Witnesses described scenes of carnage. "I was a few metres (yards) away from the hotel when the blast occurred. It was a very heavy one and it destroyed the whole area. I saw the dead bodies of seven people, most of them burned," Mohamed Elmi said. Another witness, Ibrahim Sheikh Nur, said he saw "several dead bodies outside the hotel". "The security forces are now inside and the whole area is cordoned off." ALGIERS (Reuters) - The long-standing leader of Western Sahara's independence movement, Mohamed Abdelaziz, died on Tuesday after more three decades of war and diplomatic struggle for the disputed territory with Morocco. Abdelaziz, 68, the Polisario Front's secretary general and president of its self-declared Sahrawi Republic, had suffered from a long illness, the movement's Sahara Press Service and Algeria's state news agency said. His death came at a sensitive time for the Western Sahara dispute. Morocco earlier this year expelled part of a United Nations peace-keeping mission from the territory following a disagreement with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Ban's press office issued a statement expressing his sadness at the death of Abdelaziz, whom he met earlier this year during a visit to the region. "Mr. Abdelaziz was a central figure in the search for a resolution of the Western Sahara conflict," the statement said. Morocco took over most of the territory in 1975 from colonial power Spain, but the Polisario Front began a guerrilla war for Abdelaziz's Sahrawi people, saying the desert region in northwest Africa belonged to them. Polisario has been based in Algeria since a U.N. ceasefire in 1991 halted the conflict. But a dispute over a referendum on the area's future has left it in a deadlock for years. Algeria's government declared eight days of mourning after Abdelaziz's death was announced. Polisario rules state that the movement's assembly president takes over for 40 days after which an extraordinary session will be held to choose a new leader. Abdelaziz, who lived in the Sahrawi refugee camp in southern Algeria, had led the Polisario though a period of struggle and into the U.N.-backed truce. Since 1991, the dispute has been frozen over how to hold the referendum. Many younger Sahrawi are demanding progress after years in the camps in the Tindouf region of Algeria, exerting a pressure that the Polisario's new leadership will have to manage. Polisario representatives say Morocco put the ceasefire at risk by expelling U.N. staffers and trying to scuttle the referendum, including on the question of independence. Morocco has offered an autonomy plan as the only way forward. The U.N. statement said Ban wanted to help the parties "to achieve a mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara." During his recent visit to the region, Ban infuriated Morocco by referring publicly to the "occupation" of Western Sahara. (Reporting by Patrick Markey; Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in New York; Editing by Gareth Jones and Leslie Adler) For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 01, 2016 Zacks Equity Research highlights Lear Corporation (LEA) as the Bull of the Day and Macys (M) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and Amazon.com (AMZN). Here is a synopsis of all five stocks: Bull of the Day : Auto parts industry continues to benefit from surging auto sales, which are currently running at a decade high, thanks to still low gas prices and easily available credit. Lear Corporation (LEA) reported excellent quarterly results, sending estimates higher and the stock to a Zack Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Based in Southfield, MI, Lear is a leading global supplier of automotive seating and electrical systems. The company employs about 136,000 employees in its 240 locations worldwide. Solid First Quarter Results and Improved Guidance The company reported its Q1 results on April 27. Adjusted earnings for the quarter came in at $3.40 per share, up from $2.28 in the year-ago quarter. Earnings were also significantly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.83. Revenues increased 8% year over year to $4.66 billion beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.64 billion. For the current year, the management expects adjusted net income to be between $900 and $940 million, significantly up from the prior guidance of between $720 and $755 million. They expect sales to be between $18.5 and $19.0 billion. This outlook represents seventh consecutive year of higher sales and earnings. Earlier this year, the company increased its dividend by 20% to $0.30 a share. They also continue to return capital to shareholders via buybacks. Last year, they returned $566 million to shareholders via repurchases and dividends. Soaring Estimates After excellent results and upgraded guidance, analysts have raised estimates for the company. Zacks Consensus Estimates for the current and the next year are now $12.99 per share and $13.90 per share respectively, up from $12.45 and $13.62, before the results. Story continues Bear of the Day: Despite low gas prices and improving labor market, consumers remain reluctant to spend much. Further, their rising preference for online shopping is adding to the headwinds for traditional department store operators like Macys (M). The company reported its worst quarterly results since 2009 and also slashed guidance for the current year, sending shares sharply lower after the report. About the Company Based in Cincinnati, Ohio with a corporate office in New York, Macy) is the biggest department store chain in the country. The company operates approximately 870 stores under the names of Macys, Bloomingdales, Bloomingdales Outlet, Macys Backstage and Bluemercury. Weak Results and Downgraded Guidance The company reported its Q1 results on May 11. Adjusted earnings of $0.40 per share were slightly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.35. However sales of $5,771 million fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,955 million. Sales declined 5.6% from the same quarter year ago. Shares plunged about 13% after the results release. The management expects same-store sales to decline about 4% this year, compared with a 2.5% decline last year, and adjusted earnings for the year to be between $3.15 and $3.40 per share. Falling Estimates Analysts have slashed their estimates for the company after weak results. Zacks Consensus Estimates for the current and next fiscal year have fallen to $3.25 per share and $3.38 per share from $3.83 and $3.96 respectively, before the results. Additional content: Alphabet (GOOGL) Selling Robotics Division to Toyota Per reports from Tech Insider on Friday, Alphabet Inc. ( GOOGL) is selling its robotics division Boston Dynamics to Toyota Research Institute, a division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. (TM). The financials of the deal have not been disclosed yet, but according to Tech Insider sources, its almost finalized. According to an earlier report from Bloomberg in March, Amazon.com ( AMZN) and Toyota Research Institute were the potential buyers. Google acquired Boston Dynamics in late 2013 as a part of its robotics division, Replicant, which makes humanoid and animal-like mobile robots customized for military purposes. The primary architect of Replicant was Android founder Andy Rubin under whose leadership eight robotics-related companies were bought by Google in 2013. Under Rubin, the division was preparing for its first consumer product launch in 2020. However, the process was obstructed with Rubins departure in 2014. Additional issues cropped up when the Boston Dynamics team started facing problems working with Google robotic engineers in Tokyo and California while developing a new range of products including the "low-cost quadruped robot. With all these, Google executives became skeptical about the revenue-generating capacity of Boston Dynamics. They also feared that humanoids could take human jobs. In December, after its reorganization into Alphabet, Google announced the decision to fold Replicant into Google X hardware lab. Boston Dynamics was not made a part of this fold and instead put up for sale. One of Tech Insiders sources called this deal a friendly buyout considering Boston Dynamics long-time relationship with the Toyota Research Institute. The deal appears to be a win-win situation for both Google and Toyota. Google will be able to cull what appears to be a problematic and non-revenue generating operation while Toyota Research Institute will be in a position to use Boston Dynamics expertise for developing robots for industrial or personal use. At present, Google has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Get todays Zacks #1 Stock of the Day with your free subscription to Profit from the Pros newsletter: About the Bull and Bear of the Day Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months. About the Analyst Blog Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Click here to subscribe to this free newsletter today. About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer . Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report LEAR CORPORATN (LEA): Free Stock Analysis Report MACYS INC (M): Free Stock Analysis Report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report TOYOTA MOTOR CP (TM): Free Stock Analysis Report AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Baghdad (AFP) - At least 20,000 children are trapped in jihadist bastion Fallujah under siege by Iraqi forces and face shortages and forced recruitment as fighters, the UN Children's Fund said on Wednesday. "UNICEF estimates that at least 20,000 children remain trapped in the city," the agency's Iraq representative Peter Hawkins said. The few residents who have managed to flee the Fallujah area since Iraqi forces launched an offensive against the Islamic State group on May 22-23 speak of severe shortages of food and drinking water. The few hundred families who have escaped IS territory were camped out on the outskirts and residents reached by phone inside the city spoke of even worse conditions. "Children face the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting, strict procedures for security screening and separation from their families," Hawkins said. "Children who are recruited see their lives and futures jeopardised as they are forced to carry and use arms, fighting in an adult war." UNICEF renewed calls for safe corridors to be opened to allow Fallujah's civilian population to escape. The United Nations has accused IS of using the civilian population as human shields as it prepares to mount a desperate defence of one of its most emblematic bastions. Hard of hearing for years, Harvey Lillard finally brought his problem to a doc he saw nearly every day. Little did the African-American janitor know that hed soon be the poster boy for a budding new health profession. At work in the Ryan Building of Davenport, Iowa, back in 1895, Lillard unburdened himself to Daniel David Palmer, a hands-on magnetic healer who ran a practice on the premises. Lillard explained that 17 years earlier, hed stooped down to pick up a heavy item and felt something pop in his neck. Ever since, he told Palmer, hed been deaf. What followed was the first professional chiropractic adjustment, and Lillard proclaimed he could once again hear the ticking of clocks. A self-taught practitioner with an interest in human anatomy, Palmer wondered about the power of the spine and the possible restriction of brain waves. With this notion in mind, he examined Lillard and found that he had a vertebra that was out of whack. He gently applied pressure to it, performing the first professional chiropractic adjustment, and Lillard proclaimed he could once again hear the ticking of clocks. Variations of the story exist, but did the first chiropractic maneuver really cure deafness? I have my doubts, says Roger Hynes, associate professor of clinical sciences at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport and president of the Association for the History of Chiropractic. But, he adds, there are examples of vertebrogenic hearing deficits being improved by chiropractic. William Lauretti, a spokesperson for the American Chiropractic Association and associate professor of chiropractic clinical sciences at New York Chiropractic College, says there isnt really an anatomical explanation for a pop in the neck causing hearing loss, but notes that Lillard may have had congestion in his sinuses or some snapping in the Eustachian tube. Lillard told Palmer he could hear again, and whether it was true or just something Lillard said to get Palmer to stop pushing on his neck is a discrepancy lost to the annals of time, Lauretti says. We really dont know, but thats how the story goes, he adds. Story continues While most regard Palmer as the first professional chiropractor, accounts of hands-on healing like this date back to ancient Greece. But that didnt prevent the Iowa healer from becoming the target of ridicule, or legal woes. Like showmen selling miracle cures or Louis Pasteur peddling germ theory, Palmer was considered a classic quack par excellence, writes Rose Shapiro in Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All. Daniel david palmer Daniel David Palmer Source: Public Domain But Charles Darwins theory of evolution was similarly touted as ridiculous fiction, says Hynes, noting how health-related fields often get labeled as quackery when theyre new. A lot of people were very skeptical of [Palmers] claims, says Lauretti, perhaps because early chiropractors tended to boast of heroic results. But medicine of that era was admittedly hard to stomach: Gunshot wounds were often treated with leeches, and sterilization simply wasnt done. President James Garfield might have survived his assassination, in fact, had doctors not rummaged around his wound with unwashed fingers. The environment was brutal, Lauretti says, and it wasnt until the late 19th to early 20th century just as chiropractic was getting started that medicine began being regulated and licensed. Indeed, chiropractic offered a kinder, gentler health care, Lauretti says. Palmer opened his first chiropractic school in 1898 and lived to see many more open before his death in 1913. From the beginning, they were progressive, promoting hands-on healing and welcoming significant numbers of women to their classrooms females were often banned, either formally or informally, from medical schools well into the 1900s, Lauretti notes. But once medicine started being regulated, early chiropractors, including Palmer, were often arrested for not having licenses to practice health care. The legal challenge? Demonstrating that what you were practicing was not medicine, Lauretti says, explaining how early chiropractors distanced themselves from the medical community in order to stay out of jail. Arrests and jail time didnt help their reputation, but as chiropractic began to be regulated itself, that threat and disrepute faded. A bit. Today, its protected as a profession, but we still tend to butt heads with the medical mainstream, Lauretti says. Modern chiropractors treat everything from headaches and back pain to mental illness, and Hynes says studies have shown it helps reduce health care costs. For Lauretti, the most rewarding aspect of his work is helping his patients lead happy, healthy lives, ridding them of discomfort from lower back pain with hands-on therapies, as opposed to risky surgeries or highly addictive painkillers. As for those who remain skeptical of the field, Hynes and Lauretti wish more people would, like Lillard, give chiropractic a fair crack. Related Articles Kathmandu (AFP) - A wild leopard sparked alarm in Nepal's capital on Wednesday after it spent hours wandering through a residential neighbourhood before being sedated and captured. A Kathmandu resident alerted police around dawn after he spotted the big cat in the compound of his house. Police called in zoo and wildlife officials who tracked the animal as it clambered over rooftops and padded through backyards, while local residents watched from their balconies. "They were able to tranquilise it and it has been transported to the zoo now. No one was injured," Hem Bahadur Thapa of the city police told AFP. Nepal's common leopards are usually found in the southern plains and in forested hill regions, but they have recently strayed into human settlements due to a loss of habitat. In two separate incidents in January, officials were called in to catch leopards which had wandered into densely-populated Kathmandu neighbourhoods. In 2012, a leopard is suspected to have killed more than a dozen people in the country's remote western region before hunters shot it dead. Nepal is also home to snow leopards, which are found in the mountains and are listed as "endangered" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Bill Weld Libertarian vice-presidential nominee Bill Weld on Wednesday suggested that Donald Trump's plan to deport the millions of immigrants living in the country illegally was reminiscent of "Anne Frank hiding in the attic." Weld, the former Massachusetts governor, made headlines last week when he said Trump's deportation plan was reminiscent of "Kristallnacht," or the "Night of Broken Glass" in Nazi Germany. Weld defended the comments as "completely appropriate" during a Wednesday MSNBC interview. "They would be hiding in attics to not get found and sent back to Mexico," Weld said. "It would remind me of Anne Frank hiding in the attic." He also made mention of Trump's plan to build a massive border wall along the US-Mexico border, a proposition Trump has championed along the campaign trail. "Building a huge wall is evocative of the most famous wall, the Berlin Wall, which was a badge of shame and stain on the Soviet Union and helped to bring the end of the Cold War," he said "I think Mr. Trump is on the wrong side of history in these issues." Last week, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson said he "absolutely" stood by Weld's analogy. "In New Mexico here, is my door going to be knocked down because I'm going to get checked for papers?" Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, asked rhetorically of CNN's Jake Tapper. Watch Weld's remarks below: NOW WATCH: The real story behind Trump's taco bowl tweet More From Business Insider From Cosmopolitan Katrina Lake ditched plans to attend med school to instead pursue business. Then she left a successful career in venture capital to attend business school with the ambition of starting her own company. Lake founded Stitch Fix out of her apartment while still in school. The company is both an e-commerce site and a personal shopping service. Clients are paired with personal stylists to fulfill their fashion needs, such as a dress for a special occasion, a suit for work, or a new trend piece. Clients fill out surveys about their style preferences, budgets, and body types, which stylists then use to select five garments ("fixes") from the Stitch Fix inventory of curated fashion. Clients pay a $20 styling fee, buy the clothes they like, and return the rest. Lake, 33, now oversees five distribution centers, four office spaces, and thousands of stylists working across the country to ship out millions of fixes to clients. There were three powerful women who let me know that anything was possible. My great-grandmother and her sister both lost their husbands early in life. They had five kids between the two of them. They combined their households - one went to work, one stayed home to raise the children - to get through a tough situation. My grandmother grew up in war-torn Japan during World War II. She dreamed of being an American. She encouraged her two daughters, one of whom is my mom, to move to the U.S. and pursue a life here, and then she moved herself here too even though she didn't know any English. Because of the influence of these women, I've always looked at challenges as an adventure. I grew up in San Francisco until I was about 15, then I finished high school in Minneapolis. I came back to the Bay Area to go to Stanford, where I majored in economics and also took all the pre-med requirements. As graduation neared in 2005, I realized I didn't want to be a doctor. I just didn't love the environment [of hospitals and labs]. It wasn't as collaborative or intellectually stimulating as school, where you're constantly working with other people. Story continues When it came time to look for jobs, I focused instead on business. As an economics major, consulting was a familiar career track, and I knew it would expose me to different industries and give me a lot of general business knowledge. I ended up at the Parthenon Group, which does strategy consulting. It was the analytical work that I loved in a team environment that I craved. I worked with clients like IHOP, Applebee's, and eBay, and got lots of exposure to retail and restaurants, which became the two industries I was most interested in. I realized that if I had a vision, I could just create a company myself. After two years, I wanted to find a company really doing something innovative with technology and the customer experience in retail. My observations were that going to Macy's today is exactly the same as it was in 1970. I wanted to be a part of the company creating the vision of what the future Macy's would look like. When I couldn't find that, I ended up taking a job at a venture capital fund, which gave me exposure to the business world on a different level. After meeting hundreds of entrepreneurs over two years, I discovered not all of them [looked like] Mark Zuckerberg, sitting around coding in their hoodies. I realized that if I had a vision, I could just create a company myself. I decided business school would be a great next step in giving me the opportunity to [learn how to start a business] and also give me a backup plan. My goal was to have a company off the ground by the time I graduated. But the worst-case scenario was I would have an MBA and a lot of opportunities ahead of me. I ended up at Harvard after being waitlisted. I had some scholarship money and mostly student loans to pay for it all. Harvard had a program where they would subsidize students to work at small companies over the summer. I sent out my pitch to a handful of businesses telling them what my interests were and what I could do for them, and I ended up at Polyvore in San Francisco. This is where I met Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, who was then the CEO. I think I underestimated how big of an impact working for a powerful woman would have on me. I wasn't thinking, Oh, I could really use a female role model in my life. But just watching her inspired me. She was the first woman [executive] I met who had her own authentic leadership style not modeled after a man's. It was my first exposure to seeing how there is more than one way to be successful. I've always enjoyed shopping and loved fashion, but my interest as an entrepreneur was definitely more about the opportunities I saw to change the future of retail. My sister was a buyer in New York, and she knew my body and my style, and she could find me things I loved. I thought, What if everybody had access to this kind of experience? There was innovation [in retail] around getting things to people cheapest and fastest. But when you're going on a date next Friday, you're looking for the thing that looks best and makes you feel the most confident. I started testing the concept [my second year at Harvard]. I had a credit card with a $6,000 limit. I would buy clothes at boutiques around Boston, then bring them to people's houses, mostly friends of friends. I intentionally sought out people outside of HBS to create a more diverse sample group. I'd watch them try on the clothes, ask them questions, and have them fill out a survey, gathering as much data as I could. I focused on their feedback on the clothes - the fit, the colors, the textures, their style preference. I sold clothes at cost, so I wasn't making any money, but I was gathering critical information I would use to pitch the business to investors. Any time my credit card hit $6,000 or I was coming up on a 14- or 30-day return, I'd return whatever clothes I didn't sell back to the boutiques. By collecting this data over the course of several months, I was able to understand how Stitch Fix would work. Can you style for somebody without knowing them really well? Are people going to be comfortable seeing brands they're not familiar with? How many items are people comfortable trying on at once? I was in no way a data scientist, but I was able to gather enough data to [feel confident] that this business model would work. It was also really important for me to prove to myself that I could follow through on this and that it was something I wanted to dedicate my life to. The next step was trying to get funding. In January 2011, I stacked my classes in one-half of the week so I could spend a lot of time in California. I'd go to coffee with Sukhinder, and she introduced me to investors and potential advisors. I was [also] proactive about building my own network. I stayed with friends and used student loans to finance the travel. On Valentine's Day 2011, I received a term sheet [an intention to invest] from Steve Anderson, who was the first to invest in Instagram and one of the first to invest in Twitter. He invested $750,000, which is what I used to start the business. I launched in April 2011, shipping fixes out of my apartment in Cambridge. I bought inventory just like any other retailer - buying at wholesale and selling at retail. I went to trade shows and started to build relationships with brands. I started charging clients a $20 styling fee. My first 29 clients were friends and family; the next 35 were friends and family; the next 110 were [their] friends and family. For the first two years, we built organically - people telling other people, writing blogs about it, and sharing it on social media. I graduated in May and moved the company to a 1,100-square-foot office in San Francisco in June. San Francisco is one of the best places to attract both retail and tech talent. We had a team of about five in the beginning who I hired off Craigslist. Everyone played a role in early marketing, our blog, social media, customer service, and operations. Fundamentally what we're offering is personalization. The stylists look at the data we gather from the surveys clients fill out and any feedback they've given on previous fixes, and then they compare it to data from clients who are similar in size and style. Our data can say, for example, this client has a 50 percent chance of keeping this denim. It helps stylists make informed decisions, but ultimately the stylist retains her creative vision. She has a better understanding of what her clients will like than an algorithm. It's not just about convenience. They're happier in their clothes. By the end of 2012, I couldn't raise money to grow the business. I went out and demonstrated our success, showed that we had tens of thousands of customers and a waitlist, and we just needed more capital. It was a good story. But investors thought it was too small. They didn't like that we bought inventory [directly from brands] rather than buying on consignment. [Any clothing that didn't sell was a business loss.] I think because [the majority of] venture investors are men, there weren't a lot of people who felt passionate about what we were doing. At the start of 2013, we were eight weeks away from not making payroll. I knew that if the business didn't work, I could move on. I had signed myself up for that. I was in my late 20s in a rental apartment. I didn't care about eating cheap food for a while. But we had [about] 20 employees at this point. There were people on the team with mortgages and kids, who were sacrificing so much. It was really hard to not feel the weight of people's families on your shoulders when you're struggling to raise money. Steve Anderson, our initial investor who sits on the board [and is therefore privy to the company's financials], came to me and said, "I don't want you to worry." He invested enough to keep us [growing]. As we continued to grow, more investors came on. In five years, we've grown to more than 4,000 employees and we're shipping out millions of fixes. When the business really works is when we hear clients say, "I've never had jeans that fit me until I got a pair from Stitch Fix." We'll also hear, "I would never have tried this dress on in a store." It's not just about convenience. They're happier in their clothes. We're so close to the customer. We get to hear how somebody met their husband for the first time, or how a scarf we sold them helped a friend who had cancer. I have had one client for three years now and have styled her through two pregnancies. I feel like I know her very well. I have had another client for almost two years who wanted something special for her husband's return home after serving in the Marines. She let me know that she loved the dresses that I chose for her to welcome him home. Being able to be so connected to the impact we have on our clients' lives provides endless motivation. Get That Life is a weekly series that reveals how successful, talented, creative women got to where they are now. Check back each Monday for the latest interview. Follow Heather on Twitter. In the wake of last week's shooting at a T.I. show at New York's Irving Plaza that left one dead and three others wounded, concert promoter Live Nation has canceled or postponed six upcoming New York shows, including performances by YG, Joey Bada$$ and Mac Miller. Gun in Car Carrying Troy Ave Matches Bullet From Shooting "In light of last week's tragic event, we are acting with an overabundance of caution and coordinating a going forward strategy with the New York Police Department that may also include a curfew," a spokesperson for Irving Plaza and Gramercy Theatre tells Rolling Stone. "Because these discussions with New York Police Department are ongoing, we will be postponing a few of our upcoming shows." The six shows were to be split evenly between Irving Plaza and Gramercy Theatre. Joey Bada$$ was scheduled to play Irving Plaza Thursday night, with Mac Miller set to appear Friday and Vince Staples scheduled for Saturday. At Gramercy, Guns N' Roses cover band Appetite for Destruction was scheduled for Friday night, with Canadian rock duo Black Pistol Fire appearing Saturday and YG set to perform Monday night. On Wednesday, Joey Bada$$ tweeted, and quickly deleted, that the New York Police Department had cancelled his Thursday show at Irving Plaza. The cancellations and postponements are a joint effort by the NYPD and the two participating venues. An NYPD representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reps for Joey Bada$$, Mac Miller, YG and Appetite for Destruction declined to comment. A rep for Vince Staples did not immediately return a request for comment. Sources tell Rolling Stone that multiple acts are in negotiations to perform at an alternate venue this weekend, with Black Pistol Fire already rescheduling their show. "We are a rock duo from Texas who just want to play and have a good time," the group tells Rolling Stone. "We love the Gramercy but are happy to play anywhere and look forward to having our fans come out this Saturday night to Saint Vitus in Brooklyn." Story continues While four of the six affected acts are hip-hop artists, it appears that the the NYPD and Live Nation's decision was based on who was performing this weekend, regardless of genre. It is unclear if Live Nation will cancel any further shows. New York rapper Troy Ave was formally charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon Monday night following the Irving Plaza shooting. The rapper born Roland Collins pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court. Troy Ave's charges could be upgraded if ballistic tests determine his firearm was responsible for the death of his bodyguard Ronald McPhatter. According to the New York Daily News, the shooting took place after rapper Maino's set at the Irving Plaza concert. Maino and Troy Ave had reportedly been beefing, and the gunshots occurred in the green room above the stage area, with surveillance video from the incident showing Troy Ave emerging backstage and opening fire. Troy Ave's lawyer stressed that the rapper's actions were in self-defense, as he and McPhatter were first shot by an unnamed assailant. That assailant dropped the gun in the backstage area, the defense said, at which point Troy Ave picked up the weapon and opened fire on the initial shooter. A gun found in the car that took Troy Ave to the hospital after a shooting at New York City's Irving Plaza has been matched to the bullet that killed the rapper's friend and bodyguard Ronald McPhatter, DNAinfo New York reports. Related By Andrea Shalal BERLIN, June 1 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp aims to sweeten Sikorsky's bid to build 50 helicopters for Poland if Warsaw scraps a $3 billion plan to buy the helicopters from Airbus Group SE, a senior Lockheed executive told Reuters on Wednesday. Steve O'Bryan, head of business development for Lockheed's mission systems and training business, which includes Sikorsky, said a new bid would include weapons, combat training and pricing in the Polish currency, all elements that were not included in Sikorsky's original bid. He said Lockheed's acquisition of Sikorsky last year provided opportunities to strengthen the proposal. "We're better together," O'Bryan told Reuters in an interview, underscoring the benefit of bidding as a newly joined unit. As well as boosting Poland's defence industry, buying Sikorsky helicopters could further strengthen Warsaw's ties with Washington, already its closest ally, and could help secure U.S. backing for Poland's demands for a stronger NATO presence on the alliance's eastern flank. Lockheed officials have said they are standing by to work with the new Polish government if it decides to cancel the Airbus order placed by the previous government, and even have pre-built Black Hawk helicopters on hand if needed. Earlier this year, a Polish deputy defence minister said the deal with Airbus was likely to be scrapped. Members of the new government have said they would rather see the deal awarded to a company that builds the helicopters locally. Both Sikorsky and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy's Leonardo, formerly known as Finmecccanica SpA, have facilities in Poland. Airbus would source work on its helicopters in Poland, but Polish officials have said the aircraft would mostly be built in France. Lockheed will also display a Black Hawk helicopter built in Poland during large-scale bilateral U.S.-Polish military exercises planned in Poland next month, company officials said. Other Black Hawk helicopters will fly in the exercise, company officials said. This will take place shortly before a NATO summit in Warsaw in July, where Poland is expected to seek a greater allied presence on its territory. Story continues O'Bryan said it was increasingly important for weapons makers to involve local industry, ensure some technology transfer and help build lasting domestic industries when competing for large arms sales today, unlike the shorter term "offset programs" favoured in the past. Poland's previous centrist government, beaten by the eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party in elections last October, agreed a provisional deal with Airbus for 50 EC-725 Caracal multi-purpose helicopters. But the negotiations have dragged on, and Polish media have reported the government may scrap all but a few of the orders. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) It was 100 years ago today that the Senate voted to confirm attorney Louis Brandeis to the Supreme Court, ending an ugly and hard-fought fight over his nomination. Brandeis Brandeis is a mostly revered figure now, but the debate over his nomination by President Woodrow Wilson included contested political and religious factors. Louis Dembitz Brandeis was born in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 13, 1856; his parents were Jewish immigrants from Prague. He graduated from Harvard Law School with record-setting grades, becoming a prominent Boston attorney. Brandeis and his law partner Samuel Warren articulated the right to privacy in a legandary 1890 Harvard Law Review article. The success of his practice allowed Brandeis to become involved in public-interest cases, earning him the name the peoples lawyer. It also was Brandies who came up with the Brandeis Brief, a Supreme Court argument still used today that evaluates cases using expert testimony including economic and social evidence, as well as legal precedents. In 1908, Brandeis agreed to represent Florence Kelley and Josephine Goldmark (his sister-in-law) in a case about the constitutionality of limiting labor hours for female laundry workers. He won his case in front of the Supreme Court by citing non-legal data in a 113-page brief. Brandeis became associated with President Woodrow Wilson during the 1912 presidential campaign, an equally bitter battle between Wilson, former President Theodore Roosevelt and the incumbent President William Howard Taft. Brandeis accepted Wilsons nomination to the Court four year later, knowing it would be a difficult fight. Not only was Brandeis associated with Wilsons belief that public policy shouldnt be driven by Big Business, Brandeis was also Jewish in an era when that fact alone would marshal considerable opposition to his nomination to the Supreme Court. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times led the press opposition to Brandeis, calling him a radical. Among the Republicans who opposed his nomination were Taft, Henry Cabot Lodge and Elihu Root. Taft called the Brandeis nomination an evil and a disgrace. Six former presidents of the American Bar Association also opposed Brandeis. Story continues In response to the outcry, the Senate held the first-ever Judiciary Hearing on a Supreme Court nomination. During the nomination fight, Brandies wrote his friend, the legal scholar and Harvard Law School dean, Roscoe Pound, about the uproar over his nomination. I doubted very much whether I ought to accept, but the opposition has removed my doubts, Brandeis said in February 1916. The nomination process took four months, and while Brandeis wasnt required to attend the hearings, it set a precedent. In the end, the Senate approved Brandeis by a 47 to 22 vote on June 1, 1916. Brandeis stayed on the court until his retirement on February 13, 1939. In May 1916, the New York Times issued a stinging editorial about the impending confirmation of Brandeis. The Supreme Court, by its very nature, must be a conservative body; it is the conservator of our institutions, it protects the people against the errors of their legislative servants, it is the defender of the Constitution itself. To place upon the Supreme Bench judges who hold a different view of the function of the court, to supplant conservatism by radicalism, would be to undo the work of John Marshall and strip the Constitution of its defenses, it said. But on Brandeis retirement in 1939, the Times did an about face on Brandeis. The retirement of Justice Brandeis takes from the bench of the Supreme Court one of the great judges of our times, it said, lauding Brandeis as a Justice who has regarded the Constitution as no iron straitjacket, but a garment that must fit each generation. Brandeis died on October 5, 1941 at the age of 84. More Historical Stories From Constitution Daily 50 interesting facts about Abraham Lincolns life 10 fascinating birthday facts about President John F. Kennedy A future American presidents deadly duel After getting a glimpse of Harry Potter's family, it's time to meet the Granger-Weasleys. Another batch of new cast photos show Harry's pals Ron Weasley (Paul Thornley) and Hermione Granger (Noma Dumezweni) along with their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley (Cherrelle Skeete) in the London stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The photos, released on Pottermore, reveal the characters in full costume with wands in their hands. The Magic Is Back: New Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Cast Photos Feature First Look at Hermione and Ron's Family| Harry Potter, Movie News, J.K. Rowling Loyal Potterheads know that Ron and Hermione have another son, Hugo, but he isn't old enough yet to attend Hogwarts during the play's first act. But while the youngest child of the family will remain a mystery for now, author J.K. Rowling spilled a few details about Rose, saying she strongly takes after her mother. The Magic Is Back: New Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Cast Photos Feature First Look at Hermione and Ron's Family| Harry Potter, Movie News, J.K. Rowling aRose is ambitious, obviously her mum is Hermione so sheas got a lot to live up to. I think they're quite similar in the fact they put a lot of pressure on themselves. And she just wants to do the right thing," Rowling said. Rowling also shared that she is thrilled to see English actress Dumezweni bring the brainy wizard to life on stage. "I saw Noma workshop the part and when John Tiffany told me he'd cast her, I was overjoyed," the author said. "She gets Hermione inside out." The Magic Is Back: New Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Cast Photos Feature First Look at Hermione and Ron's Family| Harry Potter, Movie News, J.K. Rowling As for Ron, Rowling said the character is very much the same as the one Harry Potter fans grew to love. "Ron in his forties isn't very different from Ron in his teens, except that his feet hurt a bit more," Rowling noted. "Paul's so funny and brilliant in the role." The two-part play, which is based on a new original story by Rowling, catches up with Harry, Ron and Hermione as adults before shifting the focus to Harry's youngest son Albus Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Cast Photos Feature First Look at Hermione and Ron's Family" data-ad-channel="Brightcove" data-ad-subchannel="" data-auto-play="no"> And stay tuned Pottermore teased the arrival of two more character photos to be released in the next few days. Previews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begin at the Palace Theatre on June 7. Scholastic will release the script book of the play on July 31. CarWale Team With the mounting pressure from the NGT (National Green Tribunal) to ban large capacity diesel cars across major cities, Mahindra may introduce the petrol variants of the XUV500 and Scorpio later this year. The company has confirmed its intentions of moving away from the diesel-only approach for the entire line up. In an interview recently, to another publication, Pawan Goenka, executive director Mahindra & Mahindra said, Despite being a diesel player, we had a feeling that a diesel-only approach may not be good enough. Now, we will launch the Scorpio and XUV500 in petrol this year and in future all vehicles will have both options. The Supreme Court in the last December banned the sale of 2000cc and above diesel cars in Delhi and a similar ruling has been implemented in Kerala recently. Further, NGT has recently proposed a similar ban in 11 more cities, though that has been put on hold for now with intervention from the Central Government. Mahindra, at the moment, is heavily dependent on the high capacity diesel engines for its SUV range. Although, they recently introduced a sub-2.0-litre diesel engine in Delhi for the Scorpio and the XUV500, it is not a permanent solution. A new petrol engine that can power the large SUVs, will certainly give Mahindra an edge, allowing them to offer cars across the country. We are waiting for the companys response on the capacity and other details, but the rumours suggest that it will be a 2.2-litre petrol unit initially for the XUV500 and Scorpio, with smaller 1.6-litre engine option for rest of the range coming next year. The new petrol engines should also power the India-bound Ssangyong range at the time of the launch. Source: ET Auto For more news,reviews,videos and information about cars, visit CarWale.com. Check On-Road Prices | Find New Cars | Upcoming Cars | Compare Cars | Dealer Locator Students line the hallways soaked in fake blood as police scream, "I'm going to kill everybody! Nobody's getting out of here!" Teachers hide with their students behind displaced desks as they stare at the door in silence, waiting for a gunman to enter. It all happens fast, and at times the students aren't even told what's happening other than a routine lockdown. The Associated Press recently reported two-thirds of schools in the United States now practice active-shooter drills, attempting to educate teachers and students on what to do if an armed assailant enters their schools. It's essentially the 2016 version of the 1950s "duck and cover" drills though the threat of a shooting in the United States is far more realistic today than an atom bomb. Students at San Marcos High School in north San Diego County in an active-shooter drill. So, to make it realistic, some districts ask for students to volunteer as dead bodies. Various law enforcement groups participate, bringing real guns into the schools and firing fake rounds to simulate the noise of bullets ringing through the halls. Government Accountability Office investigators "said one district noted 'the difficulty of striking a balance between providing knowledge and inciting fear, particularly at schools with younger children,'" the Associated Press reported. In a country that saw 25 elementary and secondary school shootings between 2000 and 2013, according to the AP, there's no denying schools face a growing threat of violence on their campuses. However, as a preschool teacher noted in an essay for the Washington Post, "Instead of controlling guns and inconveniencing those who would use them, we are rounding up and silencing a generation of schoolchildren, and terrifying those who care for them." The FBI practices an active-shooter drill in Salisbury, Maryland. "Our principal had announced we were going to have a lockdown," Lauren Marionneaux, a student at Jewett Middle Academy in Florida, told ABC News. "We actually thought someone was going to come in here and kill us." Malaysia has sacked 15 Immigration Department officers and suspended 14 others after an investigation found personnel had colluded with criminal syndicates to manipulate systems tracking entry and exit, the government has said. The subterfuge was centred at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and had begun in 2010, the department's director-general, Sakib Kusmi, was quoted saying on Tuesday by state-run Bernama news agency. Around two dozen other department staff have faced administrative action or were under observation, 63 have been transferred, and criminal charges could be forthcoming, he said. "The syndicates hacked or breached our system with the help of the involved immigration officers," he said, adding that the activity allowed the criminal networks to manipulate information on who entered or left the country. No details on the syndicates, or other specifics on the nature or scope of the sabotage, were mentioned in Bernama's report. But last week Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi said about 100 people, including both immigration officers and criminal syndicate members, were under investigation by authorities over the security breaches. The punishments were meted out since February, said Sakib, who added that the immigration department would implement a large-scale transfer of personnel at KLIA to guard against a recurrence. By Rozanna Latiff and Emily Chow KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Authorities in Malaysia have uncovered an immigration racket involving the sabotage of a computerised passport-screening system at its main international airport, police said on Wednesday, raising worries about human-trafficking and security. The immigration department fired 15 officials on Tuesday, took disciplinary action against 22 and said it was investigating more in connection with the security breach at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which could have been going on for years. Police said arrests were imminent. "We have identified the suspects. We are still investigating but we will make arrests soon," deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim told reporters on Wednesday. International and domestic syndicates were involved, Noor Rashid said, and he suggested the motive was human trafficking. "The syndicates overseas collaborate with the syndicates here. These overseas syndicates their responsibility is to bring the man over and collect payments, while the syndicates here, their job is to accept. These are the ones that tried to penetrate the system," he said. Authorities said last week the airport's passport-verification system was deliberately disrupted at certain times of the day, possibly since 2010, raising suspicion people were being smuggled through immigration when it was down. The revelations come after the auditor-general said in a report tabled in parliament two weeks ago that the immigration system was not functioning satisfactorily. Human rights groups have questioned Malaysia's efforts to combat human trafficking after the discovery of mass graves of suspected migrants near the border with Thailand last year. Malaysia has an estimated two million illegal migrant laborers, many of whom work in the electronics, palm oil and construction sectors. The immigration system breach has also raised concern about security. Authorities in the Muslim-majority country have arrested about 170 people since the beginning of last year for suspected militant activity. Last month, Malaysia deported three foreign suspected militants and arrested 14 Malaysians on suspicion of links to Islamic State, including an aircraft technician. In March, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said police had foiled an Islamic State plot to kidnap Prime Minister Najib Razak and other senior ministers last year. Opposition lawmaker R. Sivarasa said the sabotage warranted a major criminal investigation and called for the police and the anti-corruption commission to look into it. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Emily Chow; Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Robert Birsel) ODG One of the big complaints people have about the current crop of virtual reality glasses, like Oculus for instance, is that the resolution can be disappointing. When you walk around in Oculus virtual world, it feels completely immersive, but still a bit cartoonish. If you look closely, you can literally make out the pixels. Jules Urbach, the CEO of $300 million VR pioneer OTOY, has run into this problem over and over again. OTOY makes a suite of software that powers VR experiences, and the company has worked with heavyweights from Facebook's Oculus to HBO and Jon Stewart (who are working with OTOYs platform on Stewarts latest venture). OTOY has won an Academy Award for its software, and has built an advisory board full of big names like Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt, Javascript creator Brendan Eich, and Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel. But even with a wealth of hardware partners over the years, Urbach says hed never tried a pair of consumer VR glasses that could effectively trick his brain until he began working with Osterhout Design Group (ODG). ODG has previously made military night-vision goggles, and enterprise-focused glasses that overlay digital objects onto the real world. But now the company is partnering with OTOY, and will break into the consumer AR/VR market with a model of glasses codenamed Project Horizon. The glasses work by using a pair of micro OLED displays to reflect images into your eyes at 120 frames-per-second. And the quality blew Urbach away, he tells Business Insider. When I saw this resolution, it was one of these life-changing things where I said, Wow this is the first time Im seeing a screen beamed into my eyes where I cannot tell where the pixels begin and end' I have better than 20/20 vision, and for me to see that is remarkable. I put it on my moms head and even she was like, Its like magic. You just cannot tell it is digitally played on a bunch of pixels. Story continues jules urbach While Urbach points out that Project Horizon will feature a higher resolution than virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, the new glasses are best compared to upcoming augmented-reality devices like Microsoft's Hololens glasses and the mysterious Google-backed Magic Leap. Urbach says he felt like he was jumping ahead two generations in glasses, and describes the mixture of this new hardware and OTOYs suite of VR software as a very powerful combination. One limitation, however, is the field-of-view of the glasses, which ODG describes as "over 50 degrees" (far from the 110-degree field-of-view found on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive). That field of view is likely closer to augmented-reality competitors like Microsoft's Hololens, which Microsoft says is like standing two feet away from a 15-inch monitor. ODG says the field-of-view for Project Horizon will be comparable to the best seats in an IMAX theater. While high-end virtual reality headsets feature positional tracking thanks to included infrared tracking cameras, there's no word yet on whether Project Horizon will feature positional tracking (which would sense if you lean forward to look at something closer up) or simply rotational tracking (which senses when you look down, around, or behind you). And the question remains as to what the primary use will be for Project Horizon, as it's extremely hard to do both AR and VR without compromising the other. In both its specs and form factor, Project Horizon appears to be targeting existing augmented-reality devices like Microsoft's Hololens and Magic Leap. But if the goal is to also compete with high-end virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR, the limited field-of-view and lack of true positional tracking would make it no match for the high-end VR experiences that exist today. The resolution may be better, but that's only one piece of the equation, and it sounds like it would only beat the Rift and Vive in certain circumstances, like watching content within a virtual movie theater, where field-of-view and positional tracking are arguably less important. ODG says the goal is to create a mobile, completely untethered device that is capable of both AR and VR. So what will the glasses be best for? Urbach describes three uses he's particularly excited about: You could replace your PC monitor with a holographic layer in front of you. You can absolutely see every piece of text, Urbach says. You could feel like you are going to the movies. We have been testing taking raw frames from our movie studio partners, he says. Even taking the same frames projected into IMAX screens ... Watching those in the glasses is like being in the movie theater. For the first time I think you could disrupt those types of experiences. You could overlay images onto the real world in a way that didnt appear ghost-like. We have the ability to do true opacity matching, he says. Following the roadmap of ODGs earlier product launches, it will likely take these glasses at least a year to hit the consumer market. ODG says a price point has not yet been worked out, though it probably will be significantly cheaper than the $2,750 its enterprise model runs. NOW WATCH: This smart earpiece translates languages as they are spoken More From Business Insider In the decades since her death in 1962, Marilyn Monroe has remained a sex symbol, an icon of her era, a money-maker and one of the most recognizable faces in the world. But even nowon what would have been her 90th birthdaysome aspects of her personality remain less well-known. Despite her immense fame, Monroes sexuality, feminism and political beliefs often get short shrift, argues historian Lois Banner, author of the 2012 biography Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox. The question of the relationship between Marilyn Monroe and feminism is a hard one to answerthough Banner has looked at the star through a feminist lens, she is quick to point out that Monroes life ended before the movement had a chance to go mainstream. Monroes left-leaning politics, however, are much more clear. Those beliefs were a product of her time, Banner says: being born in 1926 meant that she was a child during the Great Depression. Because her mother could not care for her, she spent her California youth bouncing between homes. There was always the dry bread, the army cot by the water heater, the monthly visit from the county social worker who inspected the soles of her shoes and patted the top of her head and went away, as TIME put it in a 1956 cover story. (How did I get through it? Monroe wondered aloud to the magazines reporter.) Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Though some of the caretaker families were terrible to her, Banner says that she did find one familythe Bolanderswhom Monroe particularly liked. There, her foster father worked delivering mail in Watts, a largely African-American neighborhood. As a result of her own poverty and her close contact with people of other races, Monroe grew up with progressive views on race and what Banner calls a populist vision of equality for all classes. Story continues Her background peeked through in her film roles, as she was often cast as a working girl. The most extreme example: Clash by Night, in which Monroe plays a fish-cannery employee who bounces around in a succession of slacks, bathing suits and sweaters, per TIMEs original review. On the set of 1950s All About Eve, she was once warned not to be seen by studio executives reading radical books (the book that prompted the warning: the autobiography of muckraker Lincoln Steffens). Even as Monroe stepped out in public in glamorous evening gowns, she favored blue jeans and flat shoes at home. She will say that she only likes fancy clothes when she dresses up, so you can kind of see [her populism] in what she wears, Banner says. MORE: Read Marilyn Monroes Obituary From 1962 In 1956, when she married the playwright Arthur Miller, her working-class roots blossomed into full-on political fervor. In 1960, she became a founding member of the Hollywood branch of the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy; that same year, as she kept a home in Roxbury, Conn., she was elected as an alternate delegate to the states Democratic caucus. She did not hide her pro-Castro views on Cuba or her support for the then-burgeoning civil rights movement. What really made her really openly political was the marriage to Arthur Miller, Banner says. He was the great love of her life. Broadway was not affected by McCarthyism and anti-Communist investigations to the same extent as the movie business, but Miller was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee shortly before their marriage. Monroe was never called on, which Banner believes was because the anti-Communist Congressmen thought she was just a dumb blonde. (In fact, some historians have theorized that Miller saw Monroe as a political shield.) Read TIMEs full 1956 Marilyn Monroe cover story, here in the TIME Vault: Marilyn Monroe So why isnt Marilyn Monroes political side a greater part of her legend? Perhaps its because fans dont want to know that part, Banner says, or perhaps its just because theres so much to say about her that its easy to skip one aspect or another. When you put it all together, [her political side] is pretty substantial. But in most of the biographies, including mine, it comes out as salt scattered on the biography, because one gets so fascinated by her psychological makeup, she says. But the political involvements are no less real. Mark Cuban Amazon Exclusives Mark Cuban has made a number of investments through his hit reality show "Shark Tank," where he appears as an investor. He's also seen how a "Shark Tank" appearance could instantly boost the sales of the companies he invests in. But it looks like Cuban believes Amazon is the better platform to promote and sustain the sales of his portfolio companies. It's why he's bringing some of his "Shark Tank" companies to Amazon Exclusives, a site dedicated to products sold exclusively on Amazon. Amazon is the best in the world in online transactions, Cuban said in a statement. According to Amazon, Cuban is bringing more than 100 items from about 20 of his portfolio companies, including the ones that previously appeared on "Shark Tank," such as Tower Paddle Boards and Nuts 'n More. The products will be showcased under a section called "The Mark Cuban Collection" on Amazon Exclusives, but will be available on Amazon's main website as well. Cuban's move also suggests more companies are seeing Amazon Exclusives as a viable platform for growing their businesses. Launched last year, Exclusives is a third party marketplace where sellers can sell their products exclusively on Amazon for added exposure and access to Amazon Prime's two-day shipping. Amazon takes a cut of their sales in return. Cuban cited the "back-end support" and logistics that Amazon offers for customers as big benefits. Amazon also shared updated numbers for its Exclusives service. Since last year, it's added 20,000 items, 60 of which went on to become one of the best sellers on Amazon's main site. Sales from the Exclusives store has passed $50 million in 2015, and it's been growing 15% a month since the start of the year, Amazon added. NOW WATCH: Watch never-before-seen footage of SpaceX's most impressive rocket landing to date More From Business Insider donald trump The 2016 general election is potentially shaping up to feature gender gaps that would prove unprecedented in recent memory, according to a new survey released Wednesday. The Quinnipiac University poll found Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, leading Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, by 4 points among likely voters nationwide. But the gaps were far wider among male and female voters, potentially setting the stage for what Quinnipiac billed as a "titanic clash of the sexes." Fifty-one percent of male voters who were polled preferred Trump, while only 35% said they would back Clinton. But Trump's support among female voters is even lower than Clinton's deficit among male voters. In that result, 54% of female voters reported they would support the former secretary of state, compared with only 30% who said they would support Trump. That's a 40-point swing between male and female voters. For perspective, Gallup reported a 20-point swing between male and female voters in the 2012 election between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. The president won among women by 12 points, while Romney won among men by 8 points. "This is a very tight race that will divide Democrats and Republicans, the young and the old, white, black and Hispanic voters and husbands and wives in the months ahead," Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director Tim Malloy wrote in a press release. Trump continues to maintain low levels of popularity among female voters, who in recent presidential elections have voted at a higher rate than men. Throughout the Republican primary, Trump consistently garnered the lowest favorability ratings among female voters of any major 2016 presidential candidate. Trump has tried to undermine Clinton's support with women by highlighting the decades-old marital infidelities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Democrats have fired back by unleashing a torrent of old press reports highlighting Trump's numerous inflammatory statements about women. Story continues Last month, a super PAC backing Hillary Clinton released its first set of anti-Trump ads. One of the ads prominently depicted women reading the real-estate magnate's statements about women. NOW WATCH: 'Youre a sleaze!': Here are all the insults Trump hurled at the press during a bizarre press conference More From Business Insider Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a supporter of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said the United States cannot handle four more years of Obama-like policies. In an interview on the FOX Business Networks Cavuto Coast-to-Coast, the Republican senator from Kentucky, explained that while he doesnt see eye-to-eye with Trump on every political issue, he believes a vote for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton is a vote for a four-year extension of President Barack Obamas leadership style. If [Trump] simply went into the Oval Office after he was sworn in and began to undo the executive orders and regulatory pronouncements that have slowed this economy, that would be the beginning step in the right direction, McConnell said. The senator went on to explain that Americas recovery from the Great Recession hasnt measured up to other recovery periods in the nations history since World War II. He said the trend is generally the deeper the recession, the quicker the snapback. That has not happened this time, he said. The middle class is shrinking. This is the worst recovery after a recession since World War II. The number of people on food stamps is at a record level. The labor force participation rate is back at a level it was during the Carter administration. The labor force participation rate, according to the Labor Department, fell to 62.8% from 63% in April from March as the unemployment rate steadied at 5% and the economy added 160,000 jobs. Fresh data on the state of the labor market will be released on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect to see 162,000 new jobs created in May with the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.9%. McConnell said its unnecessary regulations that have weighed on the U.S. economy, preventing it from seeing a higher rate of growth. The Commerce Department reported last week that in the first quarter, the economy grew at an annualized rate of 0.8%, a slightly faster pace than an initial reading of 0.5% showed. Story continues In his view, the 2016 election is about making a choice of two unpopular candidates. You might fanaticize about somebody else. You may have supported somebody else in the primary, but this is your choice. [A third-party candidate] will not succeed, and will only help elect Hillary Clinton. I would not want on my conscience, as a conservative leader in the country, that I did anything that made it more likely we have four more years like the last eight, McConnell said. During the interview on Wednesday, the senator also discussed his new book The Long Game, his decision to support Barry Goldwater in 1964 but not cast his vote for the candidate due to his view on civil rights, his battle with Polio, and how he decided to get into a political career. Related Articles Janna Jihad Ayyad is only 10 years old, but she's already carved out quite a career for herself. Ayyad, who lives in Nabi Saleh, a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, considers herself a journalist and she's taken on the task of reporting on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Ayyad told Al Jazeera that she became interested in reporting on the conflict after two family members in her village a cousin and an uncle were killed. She decided to become a journalist at age 7, using her mother's iPhone to capture videos of protests near her home, eventually extending her coverage to include other conflict-related violence and marches outside of her village, in places like Jerusalem and Jordan, to name a few. Her Facebook page, where she shares her videos, has more than 90,000 likes. Ayyad hopes to study journalism at Harvard one day. "I am proud of my daughter because as a child, she tells her message to the world. She shares her fears, what she feels, and the problems of attending school," Nawal Tamimi, Ayyad's mother, told Al Jazeera. "But I am scared for her, when the army comes in the middle of the night and tear-gases our house, and we wake up in smokeThey attack our people who demonstrate against the settlers and the Israeli occupation." While reporting on such a heavy conflict might seem odd for a child, Ayyad told Al Jazeera that there's one advantage she has over professional reporters. "The soldiers catch the big journalists and take their cameras," she said. And she feels a responsibility to her community, as well. "Not a lot of journalists are sending our message from Palestine to the world, so I thought, 'Why not send my messageand show them what is happening in my village,'" Ayyad told Al Jazeera. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Warning: Donald Trump Is Coming To The UK 6 Stunning Photos From The First Miss Trans Israel Pageant Make Sure You Know This New EasyJet Rule Before You Fly During a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, New Girl actress Megan Fox currently pregnant with her third child made some bold comments about her unborn babys powers of communication. You dont hear an audible voice, but I feel like you receive messages from the child if youre open to it, she said. Fox says her unborn child is sharing that it wants to be raised somewhere else so the actress is moving her family to another home in Los Angeles, she told the baffled talk show host. She also said the child is telling her its going to be a super genius along the lines of German engineer Wernher von Braun or technology visionary Elon Musk. I know it sounds crazy, like Im a lunatic but Ive made some really good decisions based on what I think, you know, the higher self is telling me to do, so now I just go along with it, she said. Fox is going to have a full house: her other two children are three and two. See the full clip, below. BERLIN, June 1 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel sees no reason at all now to roll back sanctions against Russia in the Ukraine crisis, a government spokeswoman said on Wednesday. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Tuesday some EU states were sceptical about extending sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis and it was unclear if the 28-nation bloc would decide to renew them. "I can only tell you that the Chancellor is in talks with the Foreign Minister and that both agree that the Minsk peace process needs to be continued and the chancellor currently sees no reason at all for rolling back the sanctions," government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz told a regular news conference. A Foreign Ministry spokesman added Steinmeier's comments were not inconsistent with the government's stance in the Ukraine crisis and the final declaration of G7 leaders in Japan. (Reporting by Matthias Sobolewski; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers) BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel sees no reason at all now to roll back sanctions against Russia in the Ukraine crisis, a government spokeswoman said on Wednesday. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Tuesday some EU states were skeptical about extending sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis and it was unclear if the 28-nation bloc would decide to renew them. "I can only tell you that the Chancellor is in talks with the Foreign Minister and that both agree that the Minsk peace process needs to be continued and the chancellor currently sees no reason at all for rolling back the sanctions," government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz told a regular news conference. A Foreign Ministry spokesman added Steinmeier's comments were not inconsistent with the government's stance in the Ukraine crisis and the final declaration of G7 leaders in Japan. (Reporting by Matthias Sobolewski; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers) SINGAPORE, June 1 (Reuters) - Software maker Microsoft Corp is selling about 1,500 of its patents to Chinese device maker Xiaomi, a rare departure for the U.S. company and part of what the two companies say is the start of a long-term partnership. The deal, announced on Wednesday, also includes a patent cross-licensing arrangement and a commitment by Xiaomi to install copies of Microsoft software, including Office and Skype, on its phones and tablets. Both companies declined to discuss financial terms of the deal. "This is a very big collaboration agreement between the two companies," Wang Xiang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, said by telephone ahead of the deal. Analysts said Xiaomi's ambitions to be a major player outside China were hampered by weak patent protection and a fear of a prolonged legal battle. "This deal might just give them enough of a patent trove to move to Western markets," said Sameer Singh, a UK-based analyst. "Their position in China has been under constant attack from even lower-end Android vendors, so moving overseas is now a necessity." Shipments of Xiaomi phones fell 9 percent year-on-year in China in the first quarter, according to Strategy Analytics, and its market share dipped to 12 percent from 13 percent, squeezed not only by Huawei and Samsung Electronics but also smaller contenders including Oppo and Vivo. Wang said the acquisition of Microsoft patents, which included voice communications, multimedia and cloud computing, on top of some 3,700 patents the Chinese company filed last year, were "an important step forwards to support our expansion internationally." Xiaomi launched its first U.S. device earlier this month, a TV set-top box it developed in cooperation with Alphabet Inc's Google, which owns the Android operating system it and most Xiaomi devices run on. Xiaomi has also launched a tablet which runs a version of Microsoft's Windows operating system. Jonathan Tinter, corporate vice president at Microsoft, said the company was keen to tap into Xiaomi's young, affluent and educated users by having its products pre-installed on their devices. He declined to go into detail about the patent deals, but said the overall deal was something "we do only with a few strategic partners." Microsoft has cut licensing deals with many Android device makers over the years, but has had less luck with Chinese manufacturers. Florian Mueller, a patents expert who consulted for Microsoft in the past, said it was rare for Microsoft to actually sell its patents, adding "it's possible Microsoft found it easier to impose its Android patent tax on Xiaomi as part of a broader deal that also involved a transfer of patents." (Reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Software maker Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is selling about 1,500 of its patents to Chinese device maker Xiaomi [XTC.UL], a rare departure for the U.S. company and part of what the two companies say is the start of a long-term partnership. The deal, announced on Wednesday, also includes a patent cross-licensing arrangement and a commitment by Xiaomi to install copies of Microsoft software, including Office and Skype, on its phones and tablets. Both companies declined to discuss financial terms of the deal. "This is a very big collaboration agreement between the two companies," Wang Xiang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, said by telephone ahead of the deal. Analysts said Xiaomi's ambitions to be a major player outside China were hampered by weak patent protection and a fear of a prolonged legal battle. "This deal might just give them enough of a patent trove to move to Western markets," said Sameer Singh, a UK-based analyst. "Their position in China has been under constant attack from even lower-end Android vendors, so moving overseas is now a necessity." Shipments of Xiaomi phones fell 9 percent year-on-year in China in the first quarter, according to Strategy Analytics, and its market share dipped to 12 percent from 13 percent, squeezed not only by Huawei [HWT.UL] and Samsung Electronics but also smaller contenders including Oppo and Vivo. Wang said the acquisition of Microsoft patents, which included voice communications, multimedia and cloud computing, on top of some 3,700 patents the Chinese company filed last year, were "an important step forwards to support our expansion internationally." Xiaomi launched its first U.S. device earlier this month, a TV set-top box it developed in cooperation with Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, which owns the Android operating system it and most Xiaomi devices run on. Xiaomi has also launched a tablet which runs a version of Microsoft's Windows operating system. Jonathan Tinter, corporate vice president at Microsoft, said the company was keen to tap into Xiaomi's young, affluent and educated users by having its products pre-installed on their devices. He declined to go into detail about the patent deals, but said the overall deal was something "we do only with a few strategic partners." Story continues Microsoft has cut licensing deals with many Android device makers over the years, but has had less luck with Chinese manufacturers. Florian Mueller, a patents expert who consulted for Microsoft in the past, said it was rare for Microsoft to actually sell its patents, adding "it's possible Microsoft found it easier to impose its Android patent tax on Xiaomi as part of a broader deal that also involved a transfer of patents." (Reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the Dubai Film Festival in December, Netflix's Ted Sarandos said he wanted to create a "really great scripted series about contemporary life in the Middle East." With the SVOD giant launching around the entire globe - including the Arab world - just weeks later, the Middle East's first and only talent agency now wants to help Sarandos achieve that goal. Amr Koura first set up Creative Arab Talent in Cairo just over two years ago, launching the Hollywood-style 10 percent agency model in a market not used to industry middlemen. Having overcome a few hurdles, most notably convincing talent not used to having an agent to sign up and overcoming derailing attempts by local producers who preferred to deal directly with the stars, the company now has a 30-strong roster, mostly Egyptian actors and actresses. "We have a waiting list of about 50," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We're in a unique position because we're the only people in town - we created a business that didn't exist." Koura says that when Netflix first started looking into prospect of working with talent in the Middle East a year ago the first thing they asked was: Who are the agents? "And they realized there weren't any," he says. "So they met with producers and were quite disappointed with the approach because producers have their own way of doing stuff, and Netflix require certain standards." As well as a four-agent-strong office in Cairo and another set to launch in Abu Dhabi, Koura is, as the proverb goes, taking Mohammed to the mountain by setting up shop in Los Angeles. Read More: Ted Sarandos Talks Netflix's Middle East Launch, Plans for Localized Scripted Series Opening Wednesday, Creative Arab Talent's Hollywood office will start with just one producer, but a triple-pronged set of ambitions. "I know this will be a difficult thing, but I want to try to take our talent into the American market or international media scene," Koura says, adding that he also wants to be the Middle East point of contact when Hollywood stars come to the region, something he says there is a "growing demand" for. Story continues "Thirdly, I want to create content projects, either joint ventures or creating something in the Middle East in collaboration with one of the studios," he says, pointing to similar deals being done by the likes of Universal and Disney in Turkey. "Like any agency, we package projects and because we have access to all the top regional talent we can package writers and directors, and stuff that would give them the standards they are looking for rather than just dealing with a producer who does it his way," Koura explains. The past few years have seen a moderate number of figures from the Middle East make a name for themselves in Hollywood circles. Palestinian actor Ali Suliman found roles in Body of Lies, Kingdom and Lone Survivor, while Egyptian star Amr Waked had a major part in Luc Besson's Lucy and a recurring role in Netflix's Marco Polo. Behind the camera, Saudi helmer Haifaa Al-Mansour (Wadjda) is currently finishing A Storm in the Stars with Elle Fanning and Maisie Williams, while double Oscar-nominee Hany Abu Assad (Omar, Paradise Now) is lined up to direct The Mountain Between Us, with Idris Elba attached. Elsewhere, Oscar nominee Naji Abi Nowar (Theeb) and rising Emirati talent Majid Al-Ansari (Zinzana) have both been picked up by UTA. Koura says he expects there to be a lot of collaborations with the main Hollywood agencies and has lined up meetings with the likes of UTA and CAA, alongside Netflix, around the L.A. launch of Creative Arab Talent. "I really want to keep [Middle East talent] constantly in the minds of Hollywood," he says. "What I heard every time I met people before I started was that they'd love to have Arab talent, but 'we don't know who to talk to.' I want to be the guy they can talk to. I'm trying to establish a trust base, and being in L.A. will help me do that." Read More: Netflix Acquires 'Rattle The Cage' in First Major Arabic Pickup TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's military on Wednesday joined the search for a seven-year-old boy abandoned in a dense northern forest by his parents as punishment for being naughty. Seventy five members of the Self-Defence Forces joined 200 police and civilians beating their way through thick brush in the mountainous forest on Hokkaido island. A local hunter was also added to the search for Yamato Tanooka after fresh bear tracks were found in the area where he vanished on Saturday, Jiji news agency said. The boy's parents first said he disappeared while they foraged for edible plants, but later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars. They said when they drove back a few minutes later the boy had disappeared. The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it. Despite the larger search party no leads turned up on Wednesday, with many worrying the boy might not have survived heavy rains which fell on Tuesday night. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt and jeans in an area where the overnight temperatures can fall as low as 7 Celsius (45 Fahrenheit). The search has gripped Japan, with news programs offering hourly updates, and thousands have taken to the internet to both pray for the boy's survival and excoriate his parents for what is seen as neglect. "If I was a small child in this situation I would either run after the car or wait there until they came back. I just hope he is safely found," one person wrote. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Perry) Mitch McConnell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday called for a cease-fire of sorts between Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans. During a Tuesday interview with Business Insider to promote his newly released memoir, "The Long Game," the Senate majority leader said it was time for Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, to stop focusing on "score settling." "Well it's pretty clear he's going to be the nominee, and I would think the better path to take would be to unify the party rather than settling grudges or old scores," he said. "I hope Trump will go in a different direction." "He's not a dumb guy, he's a smart guy," McConnell continued. "He's earned the nomination. Now's the time to put the party together, and I would put aside all the score settling with people who competed with him for the nomination or said things." This past week on the campaign trail, Trump has made it abundantly clear that he is not ready to put behind past grievances with fellow Republicans. Trump took aim last week alone at Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, and Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico, among others. "We have to get your governor to get going she's got to do a better job, OK?" Trump said during a rally in New Mexico. Martinez has yet to endorse him. "Your governor has got to do a better job ... She's not doing the job. Hey, maybe I'll run for governor of New Mexico I'll get this place going. She's not doing the job. We got to get her moving. Come on. Let's go, governor." Donald Trump San Diego Republicans have taken notice at Trump's apparent refusal to drop the friendly-fire insults. Yet during a news conference on Tuesday, Trump signaled that he would continue to be harsh toward the prominent Republicans who have refused to back his candidacy. Story continues "The real story is how fast we're getting together," Trump said. "Now, if I have a Republican that is not on my side, Im not going to why should I be particularly nice to that person?" "If I have a person that's not going to support me, I have no obligation," he continued. "Politically, I might be right, I might be wrong, but that's who I am." During his interview with Business Insider, McConnell also warned the Republicans who remain steadfastly against Trump's candidacy of the potential perils of mounting a third-party effort. The Senate majority leader also called on Trump to release his tax returns, something the mogul has refused to do. NOW WATCH: 'Youre a sleaze!': Here are all the insults Trump hurled at the press during a bizarre press conference More From Business Insider Japan's Mitsubishi Materials said on Wednesday it signed its first compensation settlements with Chinese wartime forced labourers, beginning a project to reach deals with more than 3,000 ex-workers or their descendants. Under the landmark deal, the Tokyo-based smelter and raw materials company said it reached settlements with three former Chinese labourers compelled to work during World War II at mines in Japan, including a payment of 100,000 yuan ($15,000) each. Japanese atrocities in China during the war years remain a source of periodic tension between the two countries, which have often struggled to overcome the legacy of the conflict. Tens of thousands of Chinese were forcibly sent to Japan to work in factories and mines during World War II to fill a manpower shortage arising from Japan's massive military mobilisation as it invaded China and countries in Southeast Asia. At a signing ceremony in Beijing, Mitsubishi Materials "expressed its sincere apologies regarding its historical responsibility to the former labourers". They accepted the apologies, the company said in a statement. The three were among 3,765 Chinese forced labourers who were known to have served in 10 mines operated by Mitsubishi Mining, its wartime predecessor, the company said. The settlements have won endorsements from several Chinese groups which support the former labourers and their family members, it said. As a part of the initial agreements, the company said it would set up a fund in China to support activities such as locating other former workers or surviving families. The company also said it would build memorials at places and mines where the labourers were put to work. - 'Responsible attitude' - The deal is one of the biggest of its kind to be reached by a Japanese company, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing a lawyer representing the workers. Wednesday's settlement was initially not widely reported in China, with the China News Service carrying a one-paragraph article online. Story continues Asked about the deal at a regular briefing in Beijing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the government was aware of it. "The forced recruitment of slave labour was a great crime committed by Japan," she said. "We hope that Japan will take a responsible attitude toward history." The Japanese government reached a series of official reparations deals with countries it colonised or invaded during the first half of the 20th century. It also invested heavily in many of them in the decades after the war as well as providing development assistance in the form of low-interest yen loans. Mitsubishi Materials last year made a landmark apology to US prisoners of war forced to work in its mines during the war, seven decades after the conflict came to an end. The Japanese government officially apologised to former American POWs five years before that. The sprawling conglomerate, which makes everything from cement to electronics, forced about 900 US POWs to labour at four mines in Japan. Thousands of other US prisoners were pushed into slave labour at Japanese firms during the war. (Adds background on hedge funds) May 31 (Reuters) - Three of the hedge fund industry's most closely followed managers reported mixed returns in May, underscoring just how tough it has become to pick winners. David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital dipped 1.9 percent in May, leaving the fund up 1.1 percent for the year so far. Daniel Loeb's Third Point Partners fund gained 1.7 percent in May and is up 1.5 percent for the year. Barry Rosenstein's Jana Partners fund gained 2.4 percent in May, but is nursing a 4.7 percent loss for the year. The funds do not release their numbers publicly but a source who invests with them shared the data with Reuters. Most hedge funds are losing money this year, according to Hedge Fund Research, which also reported that investors have pulled out more than $15 billion in the first months of 2016, marking the worst performance since the financial crisis. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston and Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler) This picture is worth four words all in caps: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? The look on Koto Nadamuras face when she learned she had given birth to a boy and not the girl she had been expecting for nine months was perfectly captured by her birth photographer. Australian shooter Jes Jackson has documented plenty of births, but she doesnt expect to ever capture another image like Nadamuras look of utter shock. Read: Days Before He Turns 69, Rolling Stones Guitarist Ronnie Wood's Wife Gives Birth to Twins I knew I had managed to capture the image, Jackson told InsideEdition.com. But with all the excitement, laugher and cheering, she worried it might not have been in focus. It was the first photo she opened when she began editing her collection of images from the event. "I was so relieved to see how amazing it was, she said. I knew it would make people laugh and make an awesome 'caption this' shot." Nadamura and her husband, Sina Niakansafy, had been told they were having a girl. They had plenty of pink shower gifts. They had picked out the name Hinata. Early in Nadamuras labor, her midwife had told a story about another client who had been told she was carrying a girl, only to deliver a boy. Read: Grandmother Gives Birth to Own Granddaughter 7 Years After Going Through Menopause "Ha, ha, ha," laughed Nadamura, her husband, their family and Jackson. So when the doctor said Its a boy, everyone thought he was making a joke. He wasnt. The excitement in the room and the cheering in Japanese coming from Kotos mom is a moment I will never forget, Jackson said. Watch: Why a Court Battle is Looming for Couple Who Streamed Son's Birth on Facebook Related Articles: By Hugh Bronstein and Maximiliano Rizzi BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Monsanto Co, eager to get royalties from growers in Argentina on genetically modified soybeans, said on Wednesday it was still trying to resolve a dispute with the government over inspections, while an agricultural ministry source said a deal may be reached in the coming days. Monsanto and the government have been at loggerheads over the company's request that Argentine exporters inspect soybean shipments to ensure growers pay royalties. The country's government has decreed it must approve such inspections. Monsanto, the world's largest seed company, then said it would suspend future soybean technologies in Argentina, a move that could limit output of the country's main cash crop. "Monsanto and industry stakeholders continue to engage in positive dialogue with the government of Argentina," the company said in a statement from Buenos Aires, adding that the government should have "a predictable business environment that recognizes intellectual property protection." A source at the Agricultural Ministry said there would likely be advances at the talks soon. "Though there is an advanced dialogue and good will from both sides, we can't get ahead of ourselves. I think in the coming days there will be something concrete," the source said. Argentina, the world's No. 1 exporter of soymeal livestock feed, relies heavily on Monsanto's genetic technology to produce soybeans. During the negotiations the government has contended Monsanto has failed to submit a proposal for an inspection system. The company said it was waiting for the government to outline its inspection requirements. Soy farming has spread rapidly across Argentina's Pampas agricultural belt over the last 20 years, thanks largely to the country's embrace of genetically modified seeds. The technology makes soy plants resistant to glyphosate herbicide, which kills most weeds that grow in Argentina. Argentine growers do not yet have the company's new "Xtend" technology, aimed at increasing soy yields and controlling glyphosate-resistant broad leaf weeds. Farmers have urged the government to make a deal with the company though they object to private exporters playing an enforcement role. Monsanto has pressured shipping companies to notify it when crops grown with its technology are slated for export without documentation that farmers have paid royalties. Argentina, the world's third biggest exporter of raw soybeans, is expected by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange to harvest a 56-million-tonne crop this year. The estimate was cut from a previous forecast of 60 million tonnes due to floods that hit key farm areas in April. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein and Maximiliano Rizzi; writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by David Gregorio) BUENOS AIRES, June 1 (Reuters) - An official from Monsanto Co and an Argentine Agricultural Ministry source said on Wednesday that no final deal had been reached in a disagreement over inspections of genetically-modified soybeans. Monsanto had asked Argentine exporters to inspect soybean shipments to ensure growers had paid royalties for using the company's products, but the Argentine government said such inspections must first be approved by the government. A Monsanto official in Buenos Aires said no deal has been reached, but that conversations between the two sides are constructive. A source at the Agricultural Ministry said there would likely be advances at the talks in the coming days. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein and Maximiliano Rizzi; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb) More than 2,000 Indians contracted HIV over a 17-month period after receiving blood transfusions, data from the national AIDS body showed Wednesday. In response to a Right to Information request filed by Mumbai-based activist Chetan Kothari, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) said 2,234 people had been infected between October 2014 and March 2016. The reply, which was shared with AFP Wednesday, was sent to Kothari last month after he asked for data for that particular time period. "I wanted to know what is the government doing to ensure people have access to safe blood," Kothari told AFP. "The data shows blood is not being screened for HIV despite so much awareness." Access to safe blood is limited, especially in rural areas, because of a lack of proper screening devices, according to NACO's website. The northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous, topped the list with 361 patients found infected with HIV due to contaminated blood in hospitals, followed by western states of Gujarat and Maharshtra with 292 and 276 respectively. A total of 264 cases were recorded in the capital New Delhi. The government estimates that about 2.5 million Indians are living with HIV/AIDS out of a population of 1.25 billion. A NACO official Wednesday said the data collected was "not scientific" as it was based on subjective responses from patients and reflected less than one percent of total HIV-positive cases. "There are several occasions when patients do not declare the exact reason or means of transmission because of societal pressure or even lack of awareness and sometimes ignorance," the Times of India newspaper quoted the unnamed official as saying. "Therefore, the data cannot be considered 100 percent accurate." In a posting on its website, NACO -- which falls under the health ministry -- said the government was in the process of improving blood safety screenings and introducing technology to ensure zero HIV transmission. Under Indian law, hospitals must screen donors and their donated blood for any kind of infections including HIV, Hepatitis B and C as well as malaria. Wednesday, June 1, 2016 May 2016 marked the third straight month in the green for S&P 500, though markets fell back Tuesday afternoon to close down a tad. But with many more results from economic data due today and through the remainder of the week, markets could shift either up or down, depending. One things were fairly certain of at this time, however, is that whatever moves the market makes are unlikely to be too drastic in either direction. Thats because, even though we await the May jobs report Friday morning, we are unlikely to get a definitive market action until Fed Chair Janet Yellens speech next Monday. Although Q1 earnings season is effectively retired, we did see reports from Michael Kors (KORS) after the bell yesterday and Cracker Barrel (CBRL) this morning. Both companies beat analyst expectations Kors on both top and bottom lines, though revenues are lower year over year, and Cracker Barrel pulled off the coveted beat, raised guidance and an increased dividend. Both stocks are up big in Wednesdays pre-market. Later today we expect May auto sales results. The sector has been one of the few strong narratives in the market so far in 2016, though all major automakers are expected to post lower numbers in the case of Volkswagen (VLKAY), expectations are for sales 18.7 percent down from May 2015. Much of this is still carried over from VWs emissions scandal, which took the Germany-based car maker from the biggest seller to the biggest drop-off in sales. Todays Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) Manufacturing results are also awaited today, not only by investors but by the various presidents of the Federal Reserve. Though U.S. Manufacturing is no longer the economic driving force Services currently is and those ISM and PMI numbers are due out Friday getting both supply and demand results for the month of May are still important puzzle pieces to consider for the health of the U.S. and global economies. Story continues Finally today, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Beige Book is due to be released this afternoon for the first time since April. This comprehensive study summarizes 12 U.S. districts and their current market conditions. More grist for the mill. As opinions shift in the outlooks of the various markets, its best to track aggregate impressions of these developments as theyre taking place. The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell) and the Zacks Style Score (Value, Growth, Momentum, or VGM) are excellent meters to utilize changing moods among your most loved (and/or loathed) stocks. Check out your favorite stocks Quote Page on www.zacks.com. Mark Vickery Senior Editor 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 VOLKSWAGEN-ADR (VLKAY): Free Stock Analysis Report CRACKER BARREL (CBRL): Free Stock Analysis Report MICHAEL KORS (KORS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research 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 It's not just the presidency that's up for grabs in 2016. As presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton duke it out for the White House, Democrats and Republicans will be fighting for control of the Senate the outcome of which will be crucial to the success of the next president. Republicans currently control the chamber and with that control have the power to block President Barack Obama's key initiatives, as well as his Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. Democrats want to win control back, and to do so must net five of the 31 Senate seats on the ballot in 2016. (Only one-third of the Senate comes up for election every two years.) Lucky for Democrats, many of the seats up in 2016 are held by Republicans in states Obama won in his 2012 re-election campaign. That could put the political winds at Democrats' backs especially with an unpopular Trump as the GOP's presidential nominee. Here are the seven seats likely to determine which party controls the Senate, in no particular order: Florida Source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images After his presidential bid came up short, Sen. Marco Rubio is not running for re-election to his Sunshine State Senate seat. That leaves his seat open in one of the largest and more competitive states in the country. Without Rubio on the ballot, five Republicans announced bids to replace him and will face off in an Aug. 30 primary. Candidates include everyone from Rep. David Jolly, a former lobbyist against money in politics, to Carlos Beruff, a wealthy real estate investor who's already of his own money to self-fund his race. However, in recent days, Republican leaders including Trump himself, have sought to convince Rubio to reconsider his exit from the Senate and run for re-election a sign the GOP is worried about the strength of its primary field. On the Democratic side, Reps. Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson are in a close race as they battle it out for their party's nomination a match-up that's also led to . Story continues Democratic leaders are lining up behind Murphy and against Grayson, a progressive from Orlando who is under an ethics over his management of a hedge fund. Grayson has denied any wrongdoing. Political handicappers rate the race a pure toss-up, and whichever party carries the state in the presidential race is likely to have an advantage in the outcome of the Senate contest. Nevada Source: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is calling it quits after more than 30 years in Congress, leaving his Nevada Senate seat open for the first time in decades. Reid's seat is one of the few Democrats are defending in 2016, and a loss here for Democrats would set the party back in its quest for Senate control. Reid has endorsed a potential successor and will campaign for former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto who is hoping to be the first Latina ever elected to the Senate in a state with a large Hispanic population. She will face Rep. Joe Heck, a veteran who represents a swing House seat in the Las Vegas suburbs. Political handicappers rate the race a toss-up. Wisconsin Source: Scott Bauer/AP Freshman Sen. Ron Johnson is one of the most vulnerable Senators up for re-election in 2016. A wealthy businessman-turned-senator, Johnson is running in a state that's voted for a Democratic presidential nominee every year since 1988. And polling shows Trump unlikely to change that trend. Additionally, Johnson is facing a rematch with the man he ousted six years ago: former Sen. Russ Feingold, a campaign finance reform advocate. Feingold currently leads Johnson in early polls by 5.7 percentage points. Johnson is one of the top fundraisers among the Democratic Senate field, a pace that's likely to increase following an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders last week. We need to elect leaders who share our values. Split a contribution with @RussFeingold and our campaign: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/feingold-for-senate?refcode=tw160527 ... Political handicappers currently rate the race a toss-up. Illinois Source: Seth Perlman/AP Illinois is the state most likely to flip party control in 2016, . The seat is currently held by Sen. Mark Kirk, a veteran and also a disabled American following a stroke in January 2012. Kirk is hoping his more moderate profile can help him overcome the political tides in Illinois, a state that hasn't voted for a Republican presidential nominee since 1988. But he faces a top Democratic opponent in Rep. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both of her legs in a helicopter crash during her service. And running on the same ticket as Trump in a blue state like Illinois make Kirk's chances look bleak. Political handicappers already rate the race as leaning Democratic. New Hampshire Source: Jim Cole/AP Democrats are heavily targeting the New Hampshire Senate seat currently held by freshman Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte. Obama won the Granite State in both 2008 and 2012, which Democrats say makes it ripe for a pick-up on the Senate level. Democrats recruited Granite State Gov. Maggie Hassan to run against Ayotte. And polling has shown the race between the two female politicians to be close, with Ayotte holding a slight lead. Trump's performance in New Hampshire is likely to play a major role in the outcome of this Senate contest. Polling currently shows Trump running competitive with Clinton in the state. Political handicappers say the race currently tilts Republican. Ohio Source: John Minchillo/AP Freshman Sen. Rob Portman is well-known in Washington, D.C., but less so back home in Ohio a swing state both Clinton and Trump will heavily compete for in November. Democrats are hoping to capitalize on voters' unfamiliarity with Portman and define him as a Trump Republican in the hopes of making Portman unpalatable to the state's swing voters. But Portman, a moderate Republican and one of the GOP's best fundraisers, began spending money early to try and raise his familiarity and popularity among voters in the Buckeye State. And he'll have ample money to spend against his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Ted Strickland, who served in Congress for a decade before serving one term as governor in 2007. Polls currently show the race in a statistical dead heat, though political handicappers give Portman a slight edge. Pennsylvania Source: Matt Rourke/AP Like many others on this list, Sen. Pat Toomey is a Republican facing re-election in a blue state putting him among the ranks of the most vulnerable Senators in 2016. Toomey barely won his seat in 2010 the year in which Republicans were swept into office on the Tea Party wave. In the years since his election, Toomey has sought to moderate his record including introducing gun reform measures but he'll still have to face an increasingly Democratic electorate in the Keystone State. Toomey will face Democratic nominee Katie McGinty, who won a competitive primary for the nomination thanks to the backing of top Democrats in Washington. Political handicappers say the race currently tilts Republican. Gorongosa (Mozambique) (AFP) - Decomposing corpses in the bush, destroyed villages, abductions -- in the central Mozambican district of Gorongosa clashes between the army and rebels have revived the spectre of a civil war that ended 20 years ago. "It has been two months since I have found these bodies and no one has come to remove them," Donca Sabir, a local farmer, told AFP as he contemplated remains barely hidden among shrubs on his land. Wearing scraps of civilian clothes, their trousers often pulled down, and their jaws open in macabre expressions of pain, the skeletal corpses lie just 100 metres (yards) from Mozambique's main north-south road. From the roadside, the smell is strong from the bodies of at least nine men and women. A little further down the road, under a small bridge, local authorities said they recently buried 11 other corpses. But no proper autopsy was conducted, and four skulls and some bones are still visible in the sand. The discovery of bodies in the area last month shocked many in Mozambique and alerted international human rights groups. Local villagers had also earlier reported an unconfirmed mass grave that could contain more than 100 corpses. But in Zone 76, the alleged location of the mass grave, everyone is too scared to speak about it, and the government has dismissed the reports. "The Mozambican government must tell us who are these people, how they died and who left their bodies there," Zenaida Machado, Mozambique researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AFP. "I find it difficult to understand how any investigation can be made without performing an autopsy on the bodies. "It is extremely worrying that instead of taking these reports (of graves) seriously, the first action of the authorities is to deny them." - Old enemies - Ivone Soares, head of the Renamo party in parliament, alleges that Frelimo, the ruling party in power since 1975, has implemented a campaign to eliminate all opposition. Story continues "Death squads terrorise those who criticise the regime... People are abducted and murdered in their homes," she told AFP. The "death squads" are said to patrol in white trucks and target supporters of Renamo -- a movement that operates as both an armed insurgent group and an elected opposition party. Frelimo and Renamo fought a bloody civil war between 1976 and 1992 that claimed one million lives. Since 2013, tensions have risen and Renamo fighters have again taken up arms in a battle that it says is against a Frelimo elite that has enriched itself at the expense of the country. Starting with a low-intensity insurgency, attacks intensified from late last year, forcing thousands of refugees to flee to neighbouring Malawi. In Gorongosa, a local government official insisted that the situation was calm across the region, but declined to go into further details. About 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Gorongosa, on the small dirt track, 10 armoured army trucks patrol outside the deserted village of Vunduzi, a Renamo stronghold surrounded by corn fields. In the distance stand the lush mountains where Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama is hiding after escaping several assassination attempts. On the side of the road, Joaquim Assais is visibly upset as he contemplates the fate of his village. "My father was sitting there when the army arrived. They tied him, beat him up and burned down the houses," said Assais, who now sleeps with 12 other members of his family under a tree in the bush. At the end of the dirt track, Vunduzi is a ghost town. A few military men patrol the small main square, their Kalashnikov rifles by their sides. Everything is closed, and there is little activity except for one or two banana sellers. In the abandoned village school, a blackboard suggests that the last maths lesson was given on March 16. - 'Both sides kill innocent people' - "It's war here," Siwageros Campira said, pointing to his general store which is riddled with bullets. "When it gets dark, we pack our belongings up and hide in the bush. In recent months, there has been a lot of shooting and many people were captured and killed by soldiers." Villagers say that just to have relatives who are accused of links to Renamo can mean kidnapping and death. In retaliation, Renamo has conducted 18 attacks in the past two weeks on the main road of the country, killing seven people and leaving more than 30 wounded, according to police. "Both sides are killing innocent people, both violate human rights," said Daviz Simango, the mayor of Beira, the main city in the central region. "Like any guerrillas, Renamo know how to blend in with the population and lead a normal life, while armed forces are trying to prevent them from getting supplies to their leader." In the capital Maputo, cautious negotiations resumed last week in a first step to restarting the peace process. In Gorongosa, the locals can only hope for some respite. Maputo (AFP) - Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, who has been holed up in the forests of central Mozambique, on Wednesday claimed the military had staged a fresh attack against his base. "Last Friday the Frelimo (ruling party) once again tried to attack us," Dhlakama said from Gorongosa forest in a news conference via telephone to journalists gathered at the party headquarters in the capital Maputo. "They (government troops) started firing from far and ... then we let them come close. When they got very close we massacred them " Dhlakama said, without specifying the number of dead or wounded. "But why do they want to kill me?" he asked, making reference to a previous attempt on his life that forced him to retreat to the bush last year. Dhlakama claimed the army had deployed 12 armoured vehicles and troops that he said included "mercenaries" from Angola, China, Tanzania and Zimbabwe near his mountainous base. Last week AFP correspondents reporting from Vunduzi, near Renamo's Satunjira base, saw 10 armoured vehicles and around 30 soldiers. Security spokesman Inacio Dina said the army had not launched any attack on Renamo nor had it hired mercenaries. Instead, he accused Renamo of attacking "civilians, institutions and even the armed forces positions. And the armed forces must respond to protect the population," he told AFP. According to Dina, Renamo fighters have killed seven civilians and wounded 30 in 18 attacks staged over the past two weeks. Most of the attacks have occurred along the main roads in central Mozambique. Government and Renamo late last month appointed teams to prepare for talks between President Filipe Nyusi and Dhlakama, and clear the way for the resumption of peace negotiations that stalled last year. Since 2013, tensions have risen and Renamo fighters have again taken up arms in a battle that it says is against a Frelimo elite that has enriched itself at the expense of the country. The clashes have intensified in recent months following Dhlakama's declaration in December that he would take power in six of the country's 11 provinces. London (AFP) - Rafael Nadal's hopes of challenging for a third Wimbledon title are in doubt after he withdrew from a warm-up tournament at London's Queen's Club on Wednesday due to the wrist injury. The Spaniard -- who won at Queen's in 2008 just weeks before winning his first Wimbledon crown -- withdrew from the French Open last week. "I am very sad that my wrist injury means that I cannot play at The Queens Club this year," Nadal, who turns 30 on Friday, told the tournament website. "It is a tournament and a club that I love. I enjoy playing in front of the British people, and I was looking forward to trying to win the title for a second time," added the 14-time Grand Slam champion. Missing Queen's means Nadal, who won Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010, has almost four weeks for his injury to heal, with the third Grand Slam tournament of the year beginning on June 27. Nadal, who had been bidding for a 10th French Open title, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, affecting his knees and wrist. Despite his latest setback, the charismatic Spaniard said he will keep playing. "This is a tough moment and the toughest press conference I have ever had to give but it's not the end," he said on quitting the French Open last Friday. * CEO says equity issue would be 'last resort' * Q2 net income C$210 million vs C$404 million * C$183 million set aside for oil and gas loan losses (Recasts, adds CEO comments from conference call) TORONTO, June 1 (Reuters) - National Bank of Canada said on Wednesday it had no plans to raise capital from shareholders after its second-quarter profit nearly halved as clients in the oil and gas industry struggled to repay loans. Canada's sixth-biggest lender raised C$300 million through a share offering last October after its core tier 1 ratio, a key measure of financial strength, fell to the 9.5 percent minimum required by the country's financial regulator. That capital raise helped it improve the ratio to 9.8 percent at the end of April. The bank warned last month that it needed to set aside C$250 million, or C$183 million after tax, to cover bad loans to oil and gas firms, again raising questions about its capital strength. Chief Executive Louis Vachon said on Wednesday the bank had set a target for its core tier 1 ratio to hit 10 percent by the end of 2017 at the latest but was not planning to tap shareholders again to achieve that goal. "At this stage we do not plan (an equity issue)," he told analysts on a conference call. "We think we can do that organically without having to do an equity issue and the equity issue I can assure you would be the very, very last option that we would look at." National Bank said net income fell to C$210 million ($161 million) from C$404 million a year earlier, while earnings per share fell to C$0.52 from C$1.13. Canada's biggest banks, including Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank, have reported increased bad loan provisions in the second quarter to April 30 as the decline in oil prices hit clients in the energy sector. Excluding one-off items, National Bank's earnings per share fell 48 percent to C$0.60, which analysts said was just under the C$0.61 consensus forecast. Smaller rival Laurentian Bank, which has no direct exposure to the oil and gas industry, said its net income before one-off items rose 10 percent to C$46.7 million in the second quarter. "We delivered strong earnings this quarter, as we took advantage of better capital market conditions and continued to benefit from the sustained credit quality of our loan portfolio," Laurentian Chief Executive Francois Desjardins said. ($1 = 1.3075 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO members will likely agree during a summit meeting in Warsaw next month to designate cyber as an official operational domain of warfare, along with air, sea, land and space, a senior German defense ministry official said Wednesday. Major General Ludwig Leinhos, who heads the German military's effort to build up a separate cyber command, told a conference at the Berlin air show that he expected all 28 NATO members to agree to the change during the coming Warsaw summit. Leinhos, who previously held a senior job at NATO headquarters, said he also expected NATO members to agree to intensify their efforts in the cyber security arena. The United States announced in 2011 that it viewed cyberspace as an operational domain of war, and said it would respond to hostile attacks in cyberspace as it would to any other threat. Evert Dudok, a senior official with Europe's largest aerospace company Airbus Group SE, called for adoption of Europe-wide or global standards in the cyber arena. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal) poland tank nato strong europe tank challenge leopard 2a5 During NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg's recent visit to Poland, Polish Minister of Defense Antoni Macierewicz announced that NATO would station four battalions in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on a rotating basis, Newsday reports. The multi-national battalions will be comprised of between 300-800 soldiers each. The Baltics have long been an area of concern for the alliance, as several generals and military analysts have warned that Russian forces could storm Baltic capitals like Riga and Tallinn in as little as 36 hours. Positioning NATO battalions and increasing military exercises in the Baltics and Poland has been identified as part of possible solution to Russia's increasing aggression in eastern Europe. In response to increased NATO drilling earlier this year, Russia announced it would form three new military divisions (up to 10,000 troops in each) on the European border, as well as deploying five strategic nuclear missile regiments on combat duty, Reuters reports. Before the announcement, Poland had asked for a "battalion plus," of NATO troops to bolster their domestic forces as Russia increasingly threatens military action in response to NATO operations. Poland has also sought to spend $33 billion on military modernization by 2022, and to increase the size of their military by 50%. But Macierewicz was clear that such a force would still not be capable of defeating Russia, and would merely increase the likely hood of deterring them in statements he made to DefenseNews. nato exercise us soldiers Story continues "From the military point of view, the problem so far has been that we have almost 100 percent certainty that in a situation of an aggression, NATO would lose the territory under attack and would have to reconquer it later," Macierewicz said. "Thanks to the forward presence [of additional battalions] it would be possible to maintain and defend the territory for a period sufficient for NATO to regroup and eventually repel Russian forces, Macierewicz continued. Stoltenberg explained in a speech at Warsaw University how the upcoming summit was a "critical moment for our Alliance." Stolengberg nato warsaw university "To the east, we see Russias illegal annexation of Crimea, its continuing actions against Ukraine and a significant build-up of its military forces, stretching from the Barents Sea, to the Baltic and the Black Sea, and the eastern Mediterranean, said Stoltenberg. "To carry out NATOs mission in this more dangerous world, we need to strengthen our collective defense, and to project stability beyond our own borders, he concluded. NOW WATCH: Here's the high-tech military equipment Russia could use against the world More From Business Insider Conservative editor Bill Kristol teased the political world when he tweeted over the weekend that hed recruited an impressive candidate with a strong team and a real chance to run as an independent. Who could it be? Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee? Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, a fierce Trump critic? But the potential candidate Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, was revealed to be courting did not measure up as a big political name. The supposed impressive candidate with a real chance is reportedly David French, a conservative lawyer, veteran of the Iraq War, and National Review columnist, as Bloombergs Mark Halperin and John Heilemann reported on Tuesday. Romney, however, seemed to indicate a willingness to be supportive of French. I know David French to be an honorable, intelligent and patriotic person, he tweeted on Tuesday night. I look forward to following what he has to say. French is relatively unknown outside of entrenched conservative circles. His wife, Nancy French, who has ghostwritten for 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and US Olympian Shawn Johnson, said that her husband is still on the fence about hopping into the race. Hes been trying to get other people to run for a long time, so thats probably why people are considering him, you know, because hes been very adamantly anti-Trump, or at least Never Trump, Never Hillary, she told NBC News on Wednesday. She added: So we just want someone to run. I dont know if itll be him itll be quite jolting to our lives if that is the case. But hed be great. We just dont know if its the right thing for him to do. The Iraq War veteran has limited time to collect the many signatures needed to appear on the ballot in states this fall. One person who Halperin and Heilemann reported was "deeply involved" in the efforts to recruit an independent candidate said that the search was centered on candidates who had one of the following three traits: fame, vast wealth, and experience in elected office. Story continues French has not held elected office and is not of great fame or known to hold vast wealth. All the normal political rules apply, he tweeted on Wednesday. The conventional wisdom has been right. An underdog cant win. Right? Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has ripped into Kristol since the weekend, tweeting that hes a dummy and later calling him a loser at a Tuesday press conference. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also weighed in, telling Business Insider in a Tuesday interview that he hoped that Kristol failed in his attempt because that will help elect Hillary Clinton to the presidency. I like Bill Kristol and I know hes a smart guy, but I hope hes unsuccessful, the Senate majority leader said. NOW WATCH:Youre a sleaze!: Here are all the insults Trump hurled at the press during a bizarre press conference More From Business Insider VIENNA (Reuters) - A building in northern Austria that was due to house dozens of asylum seekers was deliberately set on fire, the Red Cross said on Wednesday, a relatively rare attack on a refugee center in a country that has taken in many migrants. The new wooden building in the town of Altenfelden, near Austria's borders with Germany and the Czech Republic, caught fire overnight. The Red Cross, which owns the building, later said arson was the cause. "It was a shock for us," Red Cross spokesman Stefan Neubauer said, adding that 48 people had been due to move into the building in two weeks' time. "It was an act of vandalism with which we have not been confronted yet." Wooden buildings are being used as a cheaper form of accommodation in Austria, which last year took in 90,000 asylum seekers, more than 1 percent of its population, and has scrambled to house them in decent conditions. Police said two fire sources had been found at the building's external walls, adding that arson was the presumed cause of the blaze. Austria's Interior Ministry said an investigation was under way and referred to a report last month showing a rise in far-right crimes in 2015. "There can be no tolerance for extremist criminal acts," Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said in a statement. "Violence against those seeking protection is not the solution and is a breeding ground for radicalisation." Europe's migration crisis has heightened public concerns about security and jobs, fuelling a rise in support for far-right parties in Austria, Germany and other European countries. Despite the growing popularity in Austria of the anti-immigration Freedom Party, whose presidential candidate Norbert Hofer narrowly lost a run-off election last week, violent attacks on centers for new immigrants are rare. "We want to build a new house on the same site," Neubauer said, estimating the damage at 300,000 euros ($335,190). (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle and Francois Murphy; Editing by Mark Heinrich) (In May 31 item, in first paragraph corrects to "site" from "platform." In 6th paragraph corrects to clarify that NextGen aggregates information from crowdsourcing services rather than running crowdfunding campaigns itself) May 31 (Reuters) - Equity crowdfunding site NextGen Crowdfunding said on Tuesday that investors made more than $1 million in commitments after new U.S. investment regulations took effect two weeks ago. Crowdfunding is an alternative means of funding a project or venture by inviting contributions from a large number of people, often via the internet. The new rules allow anyone to invest in private companies, but just three dozen startups were peddling stakes to the public on nine funding websites, news site Crowdfund Insider said at the time the rules went into force. Many entrepreneurs had predicted more activity in crowdfunding. A new level playing field has emerged for startups and emerging businesses seeking alternative financing, NextGen founder Aubrey Chernick told Reuters in an email. "Entry-level and non-accredited investors can now join accredited investors in supporting early stage companies," he added. NextGen, whose website aggregates information from separate crowdfunding services, says it pulled together information from different platforms to arrive at its estimate of investor commitments. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission drafted regulations for equity crowdfunding after a law passed by the U.S. Congress four years ago that loosened rules restricting investment in private companies to "accredited investors", generally people with a net worth of $1 million or more. (Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Clarence Fernandez) If producer Joel Silver's new action-comedy The Nice Guys felt like a throwback to the 1980s, so did his behavior on the recent press tour. Multiple sources report witnessing a loud tantrum Silver threw at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc near Cannes, where the film, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, was premiering May 15 before its U.S. debut and a press tour to promote its rollout overseas. Silver, famous for his bad behavior during his 1980s and '90s heyday with the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon films, was seen berating a petite female staffer working on Nice Guys. Why? She had the unfortunate task of informing Silver that his luggage - all 20 pieces of it, says one source - would not be flown on a private jet to the next European tour stop. The staffer was said to be in tears after the encounter and "completely traumatized." For years, Silver had a reputation in Hollywood for his outsized lifestyle and difficult personality. "He's charming, he's funny, he's delightful. But keep your eye on him," director-producer Richard Donner told THR in 2015. "Joel will use you and get everything he can." More recently, Silver has faced tighter financial reins. Read More: The Epic Saga of Joel Silver: Money Struggles, Feuds and (Another) Second Chance Nice Guys reunited Silver with Warner Bros., which was his home base for much of the '80s and 90s. Warners agreed to distribute the $50 million-budgeted film from director Shane Black in North America, where it has grossed just $23.6 million (it has not opened overseas yet). Some have questioned releasing the midbudget, R-rated film in mid-May in the heart of blockbuster season and opposite another R-rated comedy, Neighbors 2. But sources say Silver personally insisted on the May 20 release date. Meanwhile, the Venice Post Office, a local landmark that Silver purchased as the future home of his Silver Pictures, remains boarded up and covered in graffiti. Story continues Silver's reps did not respond to a request for comment. A version of this story first appeared in the June 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. (Adds oil spill, background) YENAGOA, Nigeria, June 1 (Reuters) - A Nigerian militant group said on Wednesday that it had blown up two Chevron oil wells in the second such attack in a week on the company's facilities in Nigeria's oil-producing Delta region. An oil spill was seen in waterways and wetlands surrounding the Chevron sites after the attack, according to a Reuters witness and a local official, though the volume spilled could not be immediately determined. The attacks occurred as tensions flared between international oil companies and Niger Delta residents, some of whom are pushing foreign energy companies to leave Africa's largest economy in a bid for greater economic self-reliance. A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers said in a post on Twitter that it used "100 Gunboats, 4 Warships and Jet Bombers" to attack Chevron's RMP 23 and 24 wells early on Wednesday morning. It claimed the wells were Chevron's highest-producing in the country. The attacks have reduced Nigeria's total oil output to below that of rival producer Angola, sharply affecting the national budget which relies on oil tax revenue. The Niger Delta Avengers, a relatively new radical group that has claimed responsibility for a number of pipeline bombings in the country this year, had told Chevron and other oil companies to leave Nigeria by the end of May. Last week the group claimed responsibility for blowing up electricity feeds to Chevron's facilities, forcing the company to shutter onshore operations. Attacks carried out by the group since February have cut Nigeria's oil output by at least 300,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and shuttered two refineries. The group has also attacked facilities owned by Royal Dutch Shell. The wells attacked on Wednesday are in the Dibi field near Warri, about 265 miles (426 kilometers) southeast of Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. Local residents confirmed to Reuters that an attack had taken place. In response to a request for comment, Chevron spokesman Kurt Glaubitz said, "As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the safety and security of our personnel and operations." Story continues It was not clear what effect the attacks would have on Chevron's daily Nigerian output. Last year Chevron pumped about 224,000 bpd in Nigeria, about 9 percent of the company's global output. Militancy has been rife over the past decade in the Delta, one of the country's poorest areas despite generating 70 percent of state income. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi, Ulf Laessing and Ernest Scheyder; Additional reporting by Anamesere Igboeroteonwu in Onitsha; Writing by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Terry Wade, Toni Reinhold) TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's biggest steelmaker, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp <5401.T>, said on Wednesday there was no truth to reports that it was planning to break up its Brazilian affiliate Usiminas . A source close to the Japanese firm said on Tuesday that the recent change of chief executive at Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas has accelerated plans for controlling shareholders Nippon Steel and Ternium SA to break up the company Japan's Nikkei newspaper also reported on Wednesday that Nippon Steel intended to hold talks on dividing production assets of Usiminas with Ternium. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Ed Davies) By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has backed presumptive U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as "a prescient presidential candidate" who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North. A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state's mouthpieces, described Trump as a "wise politician" and the right choice for U.S. voters in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. It described his most likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as "thick-headed Hillary" over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula. Trump instead has told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program, and that China should also help solve the problem. North Korea, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is under U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear tests. South Korea and the United States say its calls for dialogue are meaningless until it takes steps to end its nuclear ambitions. DPRK Today also said Trump's suggestion that the United States should pull its troops from South Korea until Seoul pays more was the way to achieve Korean unification. "It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate," said the column, written by a China-based Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk. DPRK Today is among a handful of news sites run by the isolated North, although its content is not always handled by the main state-run media. It said promising to resolve issues on the Korean peninsula through "negotiations and not war" was the best option for America, which it said is "living every minute and second on pins and needles in fear of a nuclear strike" by North Korea. The North has for years called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the South as the first step toward peace on the Korean peninsula and demanded Washington sign a peace treaty to replace the truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Its frequently strident rhetoric also often threatens nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States. (Editing by Tony Munroe and Paul Tait) Seoul (AFP) - Donald Trump's push for the White House has caught the approving eye of North Korea, which appears to be relishing the potential strategic benefits of a Trump presidency. An editorial Wednesday in the ruling party's official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, gleefully pointed to rival South Korea's "anxiety" at the prospect of the former TV reality star winning November's US election. And the day before, a state-run propaganda website ran an article that praised Trump as a "wise" politician who would make a better president than "thick-headed" Hillary Clinton. Both pieces referenced Trump's repeated threat to withdraw US troops from South Korea unless Seoul forks out more cash to cover the cost of their presence. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has also said he would be willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. "The South Korean government has been unable to hide its anxiety as it watches closely US presidential candidate Donald Trump's stance on Korea policy," the Rodong editorial said. "That's because whenever Trump talks about foreign policy, he brings up the issue of US troops in South Korea and its 'free ride on defense'," it said. There are close to 30,000 US troops permanently stationed in South Korea -- a presence the North condemns as provocative and a measure of South Korea's "puppet-like" alliance with the United States. Trump's troop withdrawal threat had "surprised the servants that look up to the US as their master," the newspaper said. While clearly revelling in the South's perceived discomfort, the editorial stopped far short of endorsing Trump's candidacy and offered no opinion on him as a politician. Tuesday's article published by the propaganda website DPRK Today, on the other hand, was brimming over with opinion. DPRK is the official acronym of North Korea. The website is largely aimed at an outside audience and is not seen as a state mouthpiece like Rodong Sinmun. Story continues Authored by a Chinese national of Korean ethnicity who described himself as a North Korean scholar, the colourfully worded article also highlighted Trump's stance on US troops in the South. "Considering this, Trump is not, after all, a foul-mouthed, strange or ignorant candidate but a wise politician and a presidential candidate with a forward-looking capability," it said. It went on to encourage US voters to choose Trump "instead of the thick-headed Hillary" who it criticised for believing North Korea might follow Iran in striking a nuclear deal with the United States. However, it stressed that the choice was still between two evils, and suggested Trump's rhetoric was largely empty bluster. "No matter who is elected president, the hostile US policy towards the DPRK won't change and Trump's 'wild campaign promises' are nothing more than an election ploy aimed at boosting popularity," it said. From Popular Mechanics Yet another North Korean missile test failed today, the fifth in six months. It's a setback for leader Kim Jong-un's nuclear program, which is attempting to build long-range missiles capable of striking the United States. The failure, which happened earlier today, involved the Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Musudan is derived from the Soviet Cold War-era R-27 "Zyb" submarine-launched missile and has been adapted to be launched from wheeled, ground-based vehicles. The missile weighs 20 tons and has a range of up to 4,000 kilometers. That's more than enough to reach American bases in Japan and on the island of Guam, if not nearly enough to reach the U.S. mainland. So far, four Musudans have failed to launch. A previous launch failure was reported on April 15. Two more followed on April 28. In one case, the launcher was reportedly severely damaged by a "huge fireball" after the missile exploded. In November, North Korea's Bukkeukseong-1 (or KN-11) submarine-launched missile was tested and exploded shortly after launch. Pyongyang tried to pass it off as a successful test, but careful analysis in the U.S. determined the test had actually been a failure, with the missile exploding shortly after launch. Such a consistent string of failures calls into question the basic design of the Musudan. A Russian defense analyst familiar with the North Korean nuclear missile program told UPI the problem may be linked to the missile's liquid fuel propulsion system. The analyst also said North Korea has only eight launchers, including just two mobile launchers. Three North Korean women who worked at a state-run restaurant in China have arrived in South Korea after defecting, authorities in Seoul said Wednesday. It was the second such group defection announced this year, after 13 female employees of another Pyongyang-operated restaurant in China arrived in Seoul in April. The South Korean Unification Ministry confirmed the arrival of the three, but declined to give any details of how they managed to get to Seoul. According to unidentified government sources cited by the Yonhap news agency, they arrived via Thailand, after running away from their restaurant in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi. Their case will fuel tensions with North Korea which insists the previous group of 13 women had been tricked into defecting and were being held in Seoul against their will. Reports of the latest defection first emerged in late May, several weeks after the three women had initially escaped. The South Korean government estimates that Pyongyang rakes in around $10 million every year from about 130 restaurants it operates -- with mostly North Korean staff -- in 12 countries, including neighbouring China. Tough United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea after its January nuclear test significantly curtailed the isolated state's ability to earn hard currency, making the restaurants an even more important source of income than before. There have been reports of staff not being paid, with restaurants pressured into increasing their regular remittances to Pyongyang. Since the group defection in April, North Korean state media have repeatedly run emotional interviews with the 13 women's relatives still in North Korea, demanding their immediate return. South Korea has rejected the North's "kidnapping" claims and refused Pyongyang's demands to allow the women's parents to travel to Seoul to meet their daughters. Nearly 30,000 North Koreans have fled poverty and repression at home to settle in the capitalist South. But group defections are rare, especially by staff who work in the North Korea-themed restaurants overseas and who are handpicked from families considered "loyal" to the regime. OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian investigators looking into the cause of a fatal North Sea helicopter crash have sent a recommendation to European air safety authorities about a possible safety issue with the model's gearbox, they said on Wednesday. An Airbus H225 Super Puma helicopter ferrying passengers from a Norwegian oil platform operated by Statoil went down on April 29, killing all 13 people on board. Since then the helicopter model, a workhorse of the oil industry, has been grounded for commercial flights in Norway and Britain. Investigators have ruled out human error, saying that the crash was caused by a technical fault. On Wednesday, the Accident Investigation Board Norway said it had made findings recently that justified issuing an immediate safety recommendation to the European Aviation Safety Agency. "Recent metallurgical findings have revealed features strongly consistent with fatigue in the outer race of a second stage planet gear in the epicyclic module of the (main gear box)," the Accident Investigation Board Norway said in a report published on its website. "It cannot be ruled out that this signifies a possible safety issue that can affect other (main gear boxes) of the same type. The AIBN therefore recommends that EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) take immediate action to ensure the safety of the Airbus Helicopters H225 main gearbox." The head of the investigation board told Reuters that investigators were still looking at other reasons for the accident. "We are still investigating and keeping options open," said William Bertheussen, general director of the investigation board. "This is an important discovery and is part of the possible scenarios we have." "We wanted to make known (that) this is an important finding ... We have issued this immediate recommendation so that the European Safety Aviation Agency should follow up." Another accident investigation board official said signs of fatigue found on mechanical parts are seldom related to maintenance. "It is very seldom maintenance-related with a fatigue issue," Kaare Halvorsen, director of the aviation department at the board, told Reuters. Design and production are the responsibility of Airbus Helicopters, while maintenance is handled by the operator, CHC Helicopter. "We are analyzing the document with great attention," said an Airbus Helicopters spokesman. CHC Helicopter was in the process of reviewing the report, a company spokesman said. The European Aviation Safety Agency was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, Cyril Altmeyer in Paris and Victoria Bryan in Dublin; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Larry King) Mark Cuban Mark Cuban questioned Donald Trump's wealth during an interview on WABC's "The Bernie and Sid Show," BuzzFeed reported. The brash business mogul and owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks said that Trump's lack of transparency makes it particularly difficult to determine what the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is really worth. He also ripped Trump for being willing to put his name on "nonsense" such as Trump Steaks, a since-discontinued brand that was sold through The Sharper Image consumer catalog. "I know what I'm good at, and I know what I'm not good at," Cuban said. "I'm not so sure Donald knows what he's not good at." He said that Trump was good at putting his name on properties and licensing his name on hotels, although he added that Trump's lack of transparency makes it difficult to tell how much he's been able to profit from those deals. "He's good at that," Cuban said. "Whether or not that's made him a billionaire, I don't know." Cuban also said that he went over Trump's recent FEC filings the ones Trump's campaign claimed displayed his "massive" fortune. But the star of ABC's "Shark Tank" said that he saw a different story reading through the report. He said: I don't think he's very good at brands for non-real-estate products. And, to me, it's more a reflection of desperation. So when you're putting your name on steaks, and you're putting your name on water, you're putting your name on playing cards, you're putting your name on all this nonsense, right? You're not going to make big bucks, no matter what. It's not like Trump Steaks were going to make him $100 million. It's not like it was going to make him $5 million. "I asked, 'What the hell are you doing? Are you that desperate for money?' Seriously," Cuban said. After reading Trump's FEC filing, Cuban said that "it's not even close" as to who has more in liquid assets between the two. "I do," he said. He continued: Before all the Trumpians jump on me on who has more money, the reason I know is when you file your federal election-campaign reports, you have to list all your cash and liquid securities and bonds. You have to list them one by one. So we know without any question that, as of May 27, Donald doesn't have more than $165 million in cash and securities and bonds. Story continues And trust me, I've got a lot more than that in cash, securities, and bonds. And so you know, I'm willing to bet dimes against dollars that that's pretty much what he's got. Cuban told Business Insider in a Wednesday email that "liquidity is a good proxy for relative net worth." "You can't lie about cash, stocks, and bond values," he said. Cuban has flirted with presidential politics in recent weeks. He generated additional buzz after Hillary Clinton expressed openness to him serving as her running mate during a "Meet the Press" episode, during which Cuban also said that he'd be intrigued by the possibility. The mogul has since said that Clinton's team has reached out to his team about setting up a meeting, although it wasn't clear if it was to talk about the possibility of serving as a running mate. NOW WATCH: Heres Mark Cubans advice for whoever wins the $1.5 billion Powerball More From Business Insider LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 1, 2016 / Notis Global Inc. (NGBL) a pioneer in the worldwide hemp and CBD oil (cannabidiol) industry specializing in cultivation, production and consulting, today announced that the Company's Chairman of the Board, Ambassador Ned L. Siegel., U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (Ret.), will be a keynote speaker at the Viridian Cannabis Investment Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel on June 8, 2016. Ambassador Siegel has been a significant guiding influence to Notis Global and effective Board Chairman helping the Company achieve its goals through planning, direction and working with the government and potential Company partners in Europe and Israel. At the Viridian Conference, Ambassador Siegel will address the opportunities in the hemp derived cannabinoid (CBD) market, the importance of defining and branding the products for a new generation of consumers, and the prospects of guiding politicians and regulators toward a more sophisticated legal approach. "I am excited to participate as a keynote speaker at the Viridian Cannabis Investment Conference," said Ambassador Siegel. "The hemp and CBD industries are among the fastest growing industries in the world, but there are risks and challenges that are specific to these sectors. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with the conference attendees." This third installment of the Viridian Cannabis Investment Series, entitled Investing in the Emerging Cannabis Industry While Managing Risk explores the opportunities and risks in this growing multi-billion-dollar industry, and feature presentations and networking sessions with leading executives, investors, scientists, and thought leaders in the industry. Ambassador Siegel was appointed by then President George W. Bush, as the U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas from October 2007 to January 2009. He was also appointed by President Bush to serve under Ambassador John R. Bolton at the United Nations in New York, serving as the Senior Advisor to the U.S. Mission and as the United States representative to the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Prior to his Ambassadorship, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Presently, he is Chairman of the Board and CEO of The Siegel Group, a multi-disciplined international business management advisory firm located in Boca Raton, Florida, specializing in infrastructure, real estate, ports, energy, utilities, technology and financial services. Ambassador Siegel has four decades of experience as a real estate developer and entrepreneur. Story continues 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. 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. Novo Nordisk NVO announced positive results on its pipeline candidate, semaglutide, from the phase IIIa trial, SUSTAIN 4. Semaglutide is an experimental analogue of native human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that stimulates insulin and suppresses glucagon secretion in a glucose-dependent manner. Data from the trial showed that treatment with semaglutide, administered once-weekly, significantly improved glycemic control, compared to insulin glargine U100, in adults with type II diabetes. Results also showed that adults with type II diabetes, who were taking metformin with or without sulfonylurea, achieved statistically significant and superior improvements in HbA1c reductions of 1.2% and 1.6% when treated with 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg semaglutide, respectively, versus a 0.8% reduction with insulin glargine U100, from a mean baseline HbA1c of 8.2%. These results were presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 25th Annual Scientific and Clinical Congress (AACE), held in Orlando. The company expects to file regulatory application for semaglutide in both the U.S. and the EU later in 2016. We believe that an early approval and successful commercialization of the candidate will boost the companys top line significantly. We note that Novo Nordisk has a strong presence in the Diabetes Care market, supported by one of the broadest diabetes portfolios in the industry comprising drugs like Victoza, Levemir and modern insulins. The company expects sales to grow 59% in 2016, driven by continually strong performance of modern insulins Tresiba and Victoza as well as by contributions from Saxenda and Xultophy. Novo Nordisk carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include Abbott Laboratories ABT, Johnson & Johnson JNJ and Sanofi SNY. All three stocks hold 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 SANOFI-AVENTIS (SNY): Free Stock Analysis Report NOVO-NORDISK AS (NVO): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - A showdown between New York City and Donald Trump over one of the most potent symbols of Trump's candidacy, the glitzy atrium of Trump Tower, intensified on Wednesday as the mayor's office criticized his closing of the tower's public space for campaign events. Lined with pink marble and indoor waterfalls and a popular tourist attraction, the atrium has become a favorite event backdrop for Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the U.S. presidency, who frequently boasts to voters of his wealthy lifestyle and his success as a building developer. City officials are now investigating whether Trump's using the atrium for private campaign events without permission is in breach of a long-standing agreement between Trump and the city's planners. Trump had agreed to maintain it as a public space as a zoning concession when the tower was built. A spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, weighed in on Wednesday to register City Hall's displeasure, which may yet force Trump to find an alternative setting for his events for the five months remaining before the November presidential election. "Despite what he may think, the rules and laws of this city apply to everybody, including Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump should honor his agreement with the city to keep the space open to the public," Austin Finan, the spokesman, said in a statement. In order to build his flagship Fifth Avenue skyscraper taller than zoning rules would have otherwise allowed, including the penthouse where Trump lives, Trump agreed to keep the atrium open to the public from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. The atrium, opened in 1983, is one of scores of "privately owned public spaces" across the city, an effort to balance the wishes of developers to build taller while preserving pockets of space for New Yorkers in crowded neighborhoods. Since launching his campaign by descending an escalator into the atrium last June, Trump has held at least half a dozen campaign events where Reuters reporters have seen his security staff prevent anyone but a few pre-approved journalists from entering parts or all of the atrium. City officials, whose investigation was first reported by Reuters on Tuesday, say they have no evidence of Trump seeking or getting permission to close the space for a private event, which is allowed to happen up to four times a year. Michael Cohen, an executive vice president for the Trump Organization, said on Tuesday he could neither confirm nor deny if there had been a violation of the agreement while his staff tried to locate the paperwork. He did not respond to questions on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Additional reporting by Lucas Jackson, Carlo Allegri and Brendan McDermid; Editing by Leslie Adler) NEW YORK (AP) - Donald Trump's frequent campaign events in Trump Tower are attracting scrutiny from New York City officials who want to know whether he is abiding by rules requiring the building's atrium to be open to the public. The landmark tower's grand marble lobby is supposed to be open to visitors from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily under an agreement that Trump struck with the city back in the late 1970s in return for the right to make the tower bigger. City inspectors are examining whether people were barred from the space Tuesday for a Trump news conference, one of many campaign events the Republican has held in the atrium since announcing his campaign for the presidency there last June. "We'll investigate whether the space was closed," said Buildings Department spokesman Joe Soldevere. An executive and lawyer for the Trump Organization, Michael Cohen, insisted the atrium remained open. "The property was never closed and I dispute any reports from anybody stating otherwise," he said. Read More: The Donald Trump Conversation: Politics' "Dark Heart" Is Having the Best Time Anyone's Ever Had An Associated Press reporter observed only credentialed media and building employees permitted to enter after being screened by U.S. Secret Service agents Tuesday as onlookers peered into the building from Fifth Avenue. Trump has marked several of the biggest moments of his campaign in Trump Tower. He held celebratory news conferences in the skyscraper's atrium following his victories in the New York primary on April 19, multistate primaries on April 26 and the Indiana primary on May 3. As one of a handful of privately owned public spaces in the city, the Trump Tower atrium can only be closed by the building owners for private events four times a year, city officials said, and only with the city's permission. The city's planning and buildings departments told the Associated Press they could find no record in the past two years of Trump Organization officials seeking prior authorization to use the space for a private event. Story continues Cohen wouldn't address previous use of the atrium for campaign events. This isn't the first time city officials have confronted Trump over use of the public atrium. He was fined $4,000 in 2015 and $2,500 in 2006 for installing kiosks selling merchandise in the space. Tourist David Miller, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, said he was disappointed he wasn't able to make it in to hear the presumptive Republican presidential nominee address his charitable giving to veterans' groups in a contentious news conference. Miller said, "I had really hoped to get inside and take a look and I may not be able to now." Read More: Media Goes Too Easy on Donald Trump (Guest Column) Elkhart (United States) (AFP) - President Barack Obama shifted into full election campaign mode Wednesday, accusing Republicans of trying to dupe middle class American voters about the economy and prey on their fears. Democrat Obama ditched his suit jacket and rolled-up his shirt sleeves for an hour-long partisan political speech in a predominantly Republican district of Indiana, a battleground state in the heart of America's hard-hit rust belt. Obama leaves office in January next year, and with each passing week wades ever deeper into the 2016 presidential election campaign. Americans going to the polls November 8 will likely have to choose whether Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton should replace Obama in the White House. The cerebral 44th president has scarcely concealed his contempt for the brusque, tough-talking Republican. On Wednesday, Obama took another shot, lambasting Republicans -- read Trump -- for propagating "myths" about the state of the economy, that immigrants are taking US jobs, and that the United States is getting licked by trade rivals. "The primary story that Republicans have been telling about the economy is not supported by the facts. It's just not," he said. He later told a town hall meeting broadcast by PBS that Trump's prescription to fix the economy by negotiating better trade deals or stopping immigration had enticed some, but were illusory. "If people are feeling insecure and they are offered a simple reason for how they can feel more secure, people are going to be tempted by it," Obama admitted. "He just says, 'Well, I'm going to negotiate a better deal,' Obama continued. "Well how exactly are you going to negotiate that? What magic wand do you have? And usually the answer is, he doesn't have an answer." Obama's recent high poll ratings all but secure him a central role in the effort to secure a third White House term for Democrats. Story continues He could be pivotal in getting African-American voters to head to the polls, and in motivating a Democratic base that at times seems lukewarm to Clinton. Trump's electoral hopes lie in tapping into the deep anguish across huge parts of America, which has never fully recovered from the Great Recession. During Obama's time in office the crisis has abated, and jobs and growth have returned, but wages have stagnated and inequality is rampant. US President Barack Obama will host Singapore's prime minister for talks on a stalled trans-Pacific trade pact, maritime tensions with China and a prestigious White House state dinner. The White House said Obama would host Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on August 2, hoping to woo an ally that has "served as an anchor for the US rebalance to Asia." Lee is the son of longtime Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew, a trusted confidant to a string of US presidents despite criticisms of his authoritarian rule. Lee Hsien Loong, 64, became Singapore's third prime minister in 2004. "The two leaders will discuss how our relationship can continue to address international challenges and advance a rules-based order for the Asia-Pacific," the White House said. Obama visited Singapore in 2009 for a regional summit and has faced pressure to make a symbolic bilateral visit to the country. But with time running out in his presidency, Obama will instead have to offer the pomp and circumstance of an official visit. Singapore has been a key player in pushing through the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional trade deal that has yet to be ratified. And while cautioning that South East Asian countries must not get stuck in the middle of US-Chinese rivalry, Singapore has also developed deep military and security ties with the United States. It has also backed Obama's calls for territorial disputes in the South China Sea to be settled peacefully and through talks or arbitration. By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil settled down on Wednesday on technical resistance at around the $50 a barrel mark, with the market retracing most earlier declines after OPEC sources said the group will likely consider a production curb at its forthcoming meeting. Prices briefly slipped further after settlement when an industry group said its weekly data showed a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories and Iran's oil minister called for OPEC to adopt the radical idea of production quotas for individual member countries instead of for the group as a whole. Later, prices recovered to about where they settled. Reuters cited four OPEC sources as saying the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was likely to discuss an output ceiling at its meeting in Vienna on Thursday. Three sources said the ceiling needs to be set substantially above 30 million barrels per day and lengthy discussions may be required. But later, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh disagreed. "An output ceiling has no benefit to us," Zanganeh told reporters. Iran has steadfastly maintained that it will not curb its oil exports until they reach pre-sanction levels. OPEC failed to agree on a group production quota for the first time in years at its December meeting. It also could not agree to an output freeze at an April meeting in Doha, Qatar, after Saudi Arabia insisted Iran join the plan. Market participants doubted any quotas will be agreed upon at Thursday's meeting. But during the trading session, the possibility of production quotas returning to OPEC helped crude oil prices bounce off session lows. U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures (CLc1) settled down 9 cents at $49.01 a barrel, off a session low of $47.75. Brent futures (LCOc1) fell 17 cents to settle at $49.72, after plumbing $48.65 earlier. The session high was $50. After settlement, industry group American Petroleum Institute reported a surprise build of nearly 2.4 million barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles last week, versus analysts expectations for a 2.5 million-barrel draw. The U.S. government releases official inventory data on Thursday. [API/S] [EIA/S] (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio and Steve Orlofsky) Silicon Valley giants Oracle Corp. ORCL and Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE are embroiled in a legal tangle involving software for itanium chip-based servers over the last five years. The fresh trial, expected to run over the next four to five weeks, began yesterday at a state court in San Jose, CA. HP Enterprise has asked for $3 billion in compensation from Oracle for allegedly causing a decline in the demand for its itanium based products. HP Enterprise was formed after its parent company Hewlett Packard split into two separate entities HP Inc. HPQ and HP Enterprise in Nov 2015. The dispute started in 2011 when Oracle decided to stop the development of software needed to run Itanium chip-based servers assuming that Intel Corp INTC would eventually stop manufacture of Itanium chips fearing obsolescence. Intel and Hewlett Packard were joint manufacturers of these chips. Oracles decision came as a rude shock to HPE, then Hewlett Packard, as it uses the same Itanium chips in servers needed to run large corporate databases and other demanding computing tasks. Hewlett Packard and Oracle shared a long-standing association for over three decades. However, things drastically soured when Oracle bought Sun Microsystems for $7.3 billion in Jan 2010. The buyout resulted in Oracle becoming a direct competitor of Hewlett Packard in the hardware segment. In 2011, Hewlett Packard dragged Oracle to court accusing it of contract breach and also alleged that Oracle influenced customers to substitute their Itanium-based servers with its Sun servers. The rivalry turned bitter when Oracle hired Hewlett Packards former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Hurd and appointed him as the Co-President. This did not go down well with Hewlett Packard and the company filed a lawsuit claiming irreparable damage" as it believed that Hurd would provide valuable trade secrets to Oracle. This lawsuit was mutually settled later on. Story continues In its defense, Oracle said that the deal with Hewlett Packard did not include an agreement to provide continued support for Itanium-based servers. However, in 2012, the judiciary sided with Hewlett Packard and ordered Oracle to keep supporting HPEs itanium-based servers. The present trial will now see whether Oracle is liable to pay HP Enterprise any damages. Oracle is expected to mount a strong defense. Last week, Oracle found itself in trouble after a jury favored Alphabet (GOOGL) over copyright violations of Java APIs. The dispute has been going on for the past six years now. Oracle had first sued Alphabet and then Google. It claimed that Google, in order to take a leading position in the mobile market, was scrambling to launch its operating system and therefore used Java unauthorized as it was a well-known script with a lot of programmers then. However, Google denied such allegations and maintained that the usage of Java APIs was protected under the fair use clause which permits copying under limited circumstances. In May 2012, Alphabet initially gained an edge as the Northern District of California Judge William Asylup ruled that APIs are not copyrightable. However, next year, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the district courts ruling, thereby bringing some relief for Oracle. In a landmark ruling recently, a 10-member jury has found no copyright violations of Oracle Java APIs by Alphabet while developing its Android system. Oracle general counsel Dorian Daley was quoted saying Oracle brought this lawsuit to put a stop to Googles illegal behavior. We believe there are numerous grounds for appeal." At present, Oracle carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) while HP Enterprise is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. 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 HP INC (HPQ): Free Stock Analysis Report ORACLE CORP (ORCL): Free Stock Analysis Report INTEL CORP (INTC): Free Stock Analysis Report HEWLETT PKD ENT (HPE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. Taipei, June 1 (CNA) Lawmakers of the opposition Kuomingtang (KMT) said Wednesday that there is no need for the new government to hold fishery talks with Japan over the Okinotori atoll, because the waters surrounding it are part of the high seas. LONDON (Reuters) - Mohamed Nasheed, a former president of the Maldives now in exile in Britain after being ousted from office and jailed in his country, formed an opposition group on Wednesday aimed at toppling the government of President Abdulla Yameen. Best known as a paradise for wealthy tourists, the Indian Ocean archipelago has been mired in political unrest since Nasheed, its first democratically elected leader, was ousted in disputed circumstances in 2012. He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges after a trial in 2015 that was widely denounced as politically motivated, but flew to Britain in January after Yameen came under international pressure to let him leave. He was given permission to stay away for 30 days for medical treatment but has remained in Britain since then and was last month granted refugee status by the British authorities, according to his lawyer. At an event in London, Nasheed teamed up with Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who was Yameen's running mate in 2013 but was sacked and accused of treason last year, to form a group calling itself the "Maldives United Opposition". "We must understand that we have to come together. We have to be able to sit down, bridge our differences and hope for a better country," Nasheed said. The Maldives government has criticized Nasheed for his activities since he arrived in Britain, saying it had acted in good faith by letting him travel abroad to seek treatment for a back condition but his medical leave had become "media leave". (Reporting by Georgina Cooper; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Mark Heinrich) On top of dwindling orders, weak cash position. Things are heading south quickly for Cosco Corp Singapore (Cosco) as analysts outlook grow more bearish over the business leveraged position, problematic cash flow, and complicated restructuring efforts. According to a report by OCBC, new orders have dwindled for the group. The past few years have seen Cosco executing its order book with cost overruns as it struggles to scale the offshore learning curve. Coupled with continued bank borrowings, this has landed Cosco in a significantly leveraged position just as the industry is slammed by a downturn. Further, Cosco has reported negative operating cash flow each year for the past seven yearsCosco has essentially been propped up by bank loans. From a net cash position in FY09, the business net gearing has picked up to 3.9x as at end 1Q16. OCBC posits that operations are still ongoing likely due to the fact that Cosco is a part of a larger state-owned entity. In addition, it was announced last month that Chinas State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) had transferred its entire interest in China Ocean Shipping Singapore (Coscos controlling shareholder) to China Cosco Shipping Corporation at nil consideration. OCBC reports that the transaction has been regarded as one of the most complicated restructuring efforts in the history of Chinas capital markets. OCBC also notes that though asset injections and transferals could impact Cosco, it will take some time before the outlook for the business becomes more clear. More From Singapore Business Review ATHENS (Reuters) - A group of 113 mostly Afghan migrants has landed on Greece's biggest island Crete, officials said on Wednesday, the first big arrival on the island since the migrant crisis began. Crete, Greece's southernmost island, lies north of Libya and Egypt. The migrants said they had set off from Antalya on Turkey's southwestern coast, some 260 nautical miles away, police and coastguard officials said. Warm weather and calmer seas in the Mediterranean have led to a surge in recent weeks in the number of people trying to cross to Italy from Libya, where people-smugglers operate with relative impunity. However, with the much longer journey, there is more chance of boats being blown off course to islands such as Crete, a Greek coastguard official on the island said. "We fear that when boats start filling up and they sail north or south of the island, accidents may cause them to wash ashore on Crete whereas their aim is to reach Italy," Commander Spyros Aggelakis told Reuters. The 113 were discovered on a beach northeast of the island on Tuesday after their boat ran aground near the coast, police said. Two suspected smugglers from Croatia and Montenegro traveling with the group were also arrested. A separate group of 64 migrants and refugees, among them 17 children, landed on Crete last Friday. More than a million migrants and refugees from Syria and beyond arrived in Greece from Turkey in the past year, most taking the shorter journey on dinghies to Lesbos just few miles away. That became less attractive after a European Union deal with Turkey to halt the flow which sees all undocumented migrants and refugees arriving in Greece sent back to Turkey if their asylum applications are rejected. (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Alison Williams) Los Angeles (AFP) - The San Diego Padres' 16-4 defeat to the Mariners in Seattle was nothing to celebrate, but at least it gave catcher Christian Bethancourt a chance to demonstrate his versatility. With Seattle up by 12 runs and Padres manager Andy Green seeking to preserve his bullpen, Bethancourt made his professional pitching debut in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bethancourt, who had already moved form behind the plate to left field in the fifth frame, fired a 92 mph fastball for a called strike. His next three pitches -- clocked at 93 mph, 95 mph and 87 mph -- were balls. Seattle's Stefen Romero fouled off a 93 mph heater before Bethancourt reached back for a bit extra. Romero flied out to right on a 96 mph fastball. "We had no idea how high (Bethancourt's velocity) would be," Green said. "We knew it would be hard. "We also knew there was absolutely no mechanics in it. It was just 96 in the arm, not even trying. Its pretty impressive." Bethancourt, 24, estimated it had been at least a decade since he had pitched in a game. "It was definitely fun," he said. "Its something I guess a lot of us position players want to do at some point, just to get out there and see how it feels." A Muslim teacher in Pakistan could face the death penalty after being accused of blasphemy, sparking anger from school officials and activists who said the law is being abused to carry out personal vendettas. Arabic teacher Gibreel Ahmed was arrested at a government school in southern Punjab province on May 14 after allegedly beating two brothers in the sixth grade for not coming to class on time. The students' parents complained to the Government High School Gurmani in Muzaffargarh district, whose head told AFP the 40-year-old teacher had been suspended after an inquiry. But four days after the original complaint, the parents went to police to accuse Ahmed of blasphemy, according to local authorities. The school said no mention of blasphemy had been made before the police complaint. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in conservative Muslim Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can stir beatings and mob violence. Rights groups have said the laws are routinely abused to seek vengeance. Multan-based lawyer Shahbaz Ali Gurmani, who said he has spoken with the father of the accused, said this was one of those cases. "The case of this Arabic teacher seems fake and lodged to take revenge from him," he told AFP this week. "This is happening across Pakistan now, unfortunately, that wherever a blasphemy case is lodged there appears personal, social or political motive behind it in the most cases." The school's headmaster agreed, saying that the initial complaint from the parents had made no mention of blasphemy. The teacher did beat the students and was suspended for it, said Qazi Muhammad Ajmal. But the blasphemy allegation was "baseless", he said, adding that the majority of the school's 16 teachers agreed. Prominent human rights activist Hina Jillani said police at times act on such complaints as they are afraid of a backlash if they do not. "In Pakistan, these laws are used to take revenge, for vested interests, unfortunately," she said. Story continues Muhammad Bilal, the father who complained, told AFP that Ahmed would often beat students. "My son told me on May 10 that the teacher beat them for not carrying out a blasphemous act," he said. "We were angry and we took up the issue." The teacher is being held in jail as an investigation is carried out, said local police official Javed Akhtar. Ahmed's father Fazlur Rehman told AFP that police had refused to take his statement or clarify where they were keeping his son. * Palm prices seen trading between 2,500-2,700 rgt/T until August * Slower demand and better output to cap gains * Malaysia's biodiesel mandate only marginally supportive of prices By Emily Chow KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Reuters) - Palm oil is expected to trade until August within the same band its stayed in for 2016, as gains are capped by lower post-Ramadan demand and supply recovers on seasonal increases and as the El Nino's dry weather impact ebbs, a Reuters survey shows. Benchmark prices may trade between 2,500 ringgit and 2,700 ringgit per tonne in the next three months, based on a poll of ten planters, traders and analysts. Palm futures have fallen about 6.4 percent since reaching a high this year of 2,793 ringgit a tonne on March 29, its highest in two years. Palm fell to its lowest this year of 2,368 on Jan. 13. Palm fell 0.2 percent to 2,615 ringgit ($631) on Wednesday afternoon. "Exports tend to slow down seasonally after Ramadan," said David Ng, a derivatives specialist at Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur. Although China and India will pick up the slack in demand after Ramadan, said Ng, the world's largest palm oil consumers will see lower economic growth. "Thus, demand may be a drag this year." The month-long festival of Ramadan starts on June 6 this year and sees Muslims fasting and feasting, spurring palm oil demand for cooking. Malaysian shipments rose between 11 percent to 15 percent in May from April, cargo surveyor data showed. Price gains will also be capped as the drought from the El Nino weather phenomenon had less of an impact on palm production than expected, adding to seasonal output gains over the next few months. Recent rains and a potential La Nina, which causes heavy rains across Asia, in the second half of the year could also improve output. "We were surprised by the resilience of the trees, production didn't drop as much as expected," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, adding that output should improve on good rains. Story continues "Bad days are over on the supply side. Now the new story is demand." Analysts had forecast earlier this year that palm would trade above 2,800 ringgit by June, as the El Nino impact lowered fruit yields and supply. Malaysia's move to raise its biodiesel mandate to 10 percent is positive for prices, but the incremental demand is minimal versus the previous 7 percent mandate, said Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations at CIMB Investment Bank. "This is not as aggressive compared to Indonesia's biodiesel targets of (20 percent)," said Ng, keeping her price forecasts unchanged. ($1 = 4.1410 ringgit) (Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Panama City (AFP) - Panama's newly widened canal is ready to take bigger cargo ships and will start during an inaugurating ceremony on June 26, the consortium behind the project said Wednesday. Testing of new locks following the nine-year construction work is complete and "the project is ready to receive the first ships, proving that it works to perfection," the chief executive of the Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) consortium, Giuseppe Quarta, said in a statement. Work to broaden the century-old canal -- originally started by the French and then built by the United States -- began in 2007. Initially set to have been completed two years ago, the project was plagued by cost overruns, labor disputes and lawsuits. The original budget of $5.25 billion is believed to have been exceeded by $3.4 billion. Fissures were also found in one of the widened locks last year, requiring GUPC's testing. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela is set to lead the ceremony declaring the expanded canal officially open. Seventy heads of state and government have been invited. A Chinese freighter will be the first to navigate the wider locks. With the inauguration, the 80-kilometer (50-mile) canal will accommodate a much bigger class of cargo ship known as Neopanamax, or New Panamax, which carries nearly three times as many containers as the Panamax ships currently sent through the passage. That will mean the canal's annual income from shipping fees will also triple from the current $1 billion. Producing Person of Interest in New York City meant dealing with a lot of bone-chilling weather, and every cast member has a story about that. But the distinct advantage, according to executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman, was having access to an incredible pool of potential guest stars. Theres a community that lives in that city that works in Broadway or that doesnt necessarily do TV, but will do it when they find that the script is compelling, and when youre right there shooting in New York, Nolan says. Here are a few of the most memorable guest stars whove appeared on the show: Related stories 'Maya and Marty' Gets Solid Start Behind 'America's Got Talent' Return 'Person of Interest' at 100: 'A Celebration of All the Things the Show Has Done' 'Bloodline' Season 2 'Starts and It Doesn't Let Up,' Sissy Spacek Says at Premiere LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's centrist presidential hopeful Pedro Pablo Kuczynski canceled plans to take part in a rally against his rival Keiko Fujimori on Tuesday, in a last-minute U-turn that could reinforce a view he is indecisive ahead of Sunday's vote. Tens of thousands of Peruvians marched in downtown Lima to protest Fujimori's candidacy, calling the center-right frontrunner a threat to democracy and the embodiment of the authoritarian government of her father Alberto Fujimori, who is now in prison for corruption and human rights abuses. Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former World Bank economist who endorsed Fujimori during her first presidential run in 2011, said it would be "undemocratic" for him to join calls to stop Fujimori. "I think the march is just, its principles are just, but if I go it will look like I don't want this election to happen, and I think that would be wrong of me," Kuczynski said in broadcast comments from a press conference hours after announcing he would attend the protest. While the move may help Kuczynski win over conservative voters wary of protests, it might also alienate him from Fujimori's hard-core opponents or broaden the view that he is not firm enough to be president. Fujimori, who portrays herself as the strongest candidate to tackle crime, has taken the lead over Kuczynski in the past week despite a scandal involving a senior aide accused of having links to drug trafficking and money laundering. Fujimori has defended her aide and said both are victims of a smear campaign to keep her from power. An Ipsos poll on Sunday showed her winning the election with 53 percent support. "She is still covering up for the protagonists of corruption," said Carmen Pretel, a 52-year-old psychologist who took part in the anti-Fujimori rally. "I don't think she's changed at all." At least 40,000 activists marched in the rally, according to a Reuters witness. Banners in favor of Kuczynski were scarce amid a flood of signs that read "Fujimori never again" and "No to the narco-state!" A protest held at the same stage of the first-round race helped dent support for Fujimori, who nevertheless came in first with a double-digit lead over runner-up Kuczynski. Kuczynski has said he endorsed Fujimori in 2011 in a bid to keep then-leftist Ollanta Humala from winning. Humala, once an ally of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has governed moderately and will hand over power on July 28. (Reporting By Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Michael Perry) PETA has finally put its strategy for infiltrating Hermes to use. In July of 2015, the organization bought a single share of the French luxury fashion house in order to gain access to its shareholder meetings. At the time, PETA had planned to use the meetings as a means to directly confront Hermes regarding the use of crocodile skins for its Birkin bags - an issue that has since been resolved with the company as well as with actress Jane Birkin, who had asked that her name be removed from the bags following the accusations of cruelty. On Tuesday, however, PETA leveraged its position as a shareholder during Hermes' annual general meeting in Paris in order to address the company's use of exotic ostrich skins. Read More: Jack Wills Ad Banned in the U.K. for Aspirational Sexiness Last September, PETA posted a video showing ostriches being crammed into a pen before having their throats slit in front of their flockmates. The footage is allegedly from a South African farm that supplies skins to Prada as well as Hermes for their luxury goods. (PETA also purchased a single share of Prada in April of this year.) According to AFP, PETA spokeswoman Isabelle Goetz directly questioned Hermes CEO Axel Dumas regarding allegations of cruelty at one of the fashion house's alleged suppliers. Dumas responded to Goetz by saying that Hermes "fully meets its responsibilities in its partnerships with farms with which we work." Hermes did not immediately respond to The Hollywood Reporter's request for comment. Two Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha will now be added to the calendar for over 200 schools operated by the Philadelphia School District, making it the second major city after New York City to do so. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, a monthlong fast that commemorates the first revelation of the Qu'ran to the Prophet Muhammad; Ramadan falls on June 6 this year. Eid al-Adha commemorates both Abraham's sacrifice for God and the end of the hajj pilgrimage; it begins on the evening of September 12 and ends the evening after. Since Muslims follow the lunar calendar, the dates of these holidays change each year. "Philadelphia's history is based on being a place where religious freedom is part of its founding ethos," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said at a news conference in City Hall Tuesday. "Our city was built on the idea that while we may be different in nationality and ethnicity, the city welcomes all to worship and practice the faiths of our culture or our choosing." While there's great significance in the message of religious tolerance and acceptance, the timing of the announcement right before Ramadan begins makes it all the more poignant. Philadelphia is home to approximately 200,000 Muslim residents. In an announcement on Tuesday, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said he hopes to build on the historic milestone by further adding the two Muslim holidays to the municipal calendar, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Wardah Khalid, an analyst in Middle Eastern Policy and Islam in America, took to twitter to applaud the decision to adopt the Muslim holidays into the calendars for schools in the City of Brother Love: Would expect no less from the city of brotherly love. "Philadelphia schools add two Muslim holidays"http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20160601_Philadelphia_schools_add_two_Muslim_holidays.html ... For many American Muslims, celebrating Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha isn't always an option, as the holidays aren't usually recognized in schools or the workplace. American Muslims must choose between celebrating a religious holiday with their families or risking the consequences of missing class or work. This isn't usually the case for students of the Jewish, Catholic and Christian faith. In New Haven Connecticut, schools are shut down to commemorate the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, but the district does not recognize Muslim holidays. Across the country, students receive winter break for Christmas and spring break for Easter and Passover. Story continues Muslim women listening in on a sermon after morning prayers for Eid al-Fitr. By including the two Muslim holidays into school calendars, districts promote acceptance and celebrate religious diversity. While Muslims only make up about 1% of the American population, they account for a significant percentage of the population in cities like Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C. In Dearborn, a suburban town within the Detroit metropolitan area, Muslims make up 30% of the population. So while closing schools on Muslim holidays may not be worthwhile for schools in cities like Fargo, North Dakota, it makes sense for schools in communities with a considerable percentage of American Muslims. MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine press groups denounced President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday for saying journalists were being killed because they were corrupt and "you are not exempted from assassination if you are a son of a bitch". Duterte's comments about extrajudicial killings, calling bishops "sons of whores" and a joke about a murdered rape victim do not appear to have dented his popularity in the largely Roman Catholic country. But his comments about killing journalists have struck a nerve. About 175 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1986, ranking it among the most dangerous places to work in the news business. Duterte addressed reporters on Tuesday in the southern city of Davao, where his loud approval of hundreds of execution-style killings of drug users and criminals over nearly two decades helped propel him to the highest office. "Most of your are clean, but do not ever say all journalists are clean," he said. "Just because you are a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination if you are a son of a bitch." "... Most of those killed, to be frank, have done something. You won't be killed if you don't do anything wrong." When a female journalist asked a question, he wolf-whistled at her. Ryan Rosuaro, head of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said press freedom and murder were not joking matters. "It is appalling that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte should justify the murder of journalists in the country by playing the corruption card," he said. Philippine Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said journalists had a fundamental right to protection. "We deplore the proposition that some journalists may have been assaulted or killed in view of their alleged involvement in media corruption," he said in a statement. "It is the duty of government to arrest, prosecute and punish those responsible for violence against members of the media." Romel Regalado Bagares, executive director of the Center for International Law, said Duterte's comments showed "a cynical attitude towards what is a serious concern to the international community" and could perpetuate impunity for the killers. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines also expressed alarm. "Duterte's statement is a chilling reminder that journalists in the Philippines continue to live under threat, decades after (the association) was founded to fight for press freedom at the height of Ferdinand Marcos's dictatorship," it said. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Manuel Mogato and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines will not distance itself from its long-time security ally, the United States, but neither will it be a lackey to any foreign power, incoming Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told Reuters on Wednesday. In his first interview with the foreign media since being appointed by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, the lawyer by training sought to underline the Philippines' independence in dealing with disputes with China over the South China Sea. "We should not be a lackey of any nation," Yasay said in Manila, the day after Duterte named his cabinet. Under outgoing President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines moved closer to Washington, in turn straining ties with China. Yasay said relations with China should improve. "For as long as it (China) adheres to the rule of law, respects our territorial integrity and sovereignty...we should continue to make sure that our friendship and relationship would be stronger," he said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the door was always open to dialogue, which would be helpful for "breaking the deadlock" in China-Philippines relations in recent years. "If the Philippines sincerely wish to come back to the track of dialogue and negotiations we welcome that," Wang told reporters in the Canadian capital Ottawa. "We would be happy to see the new government in the Philippines make wise choices." Duterte, the tough-talking mayor who takes office on June 30, said on Tuesday that the Philippines would not rely on Washington, signaling a potential shift in approach to the South China Sea and broader security issues. "He was simply articulating the position that, according to the constitution, we are supposed to carry an independent foreign policy," Yasay said of Duterte's remarks. Yasay added that the president-elect would honor existing treaties with the United States, including the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that allows U.S. troops increased access to local bases. U.S. President Barack Obama called Duterte on May 17 to congratulate him on his election win. "That was a very strong indication about our friendship with America not being affected, and will not be affected by his election," Yasay said. At the same time, Duterte has not ruled out renegotiating agreements in the future if it was deemed necessary. "When he said he is committed to agreements we have entered into...he does not discount the possibility that in the future, if it is determined that there is a need to further negotiate on these agreements on the basis of pursuing the mutual interest of both countries, we should not hesitate to do so," Yasay said. The Supreme Court this year upheld the constitutionality of the agreement that lets the United States build warehouses and logistics hubs anywhere in the Philippines. Washington is also helping its former colony to bolster its defenses, providing three Hamilton-class cutters, radar equipment and a research ship that will arrive in July. The build-up is part of an effort by the Philippines to strengthen its claims in the disputed South China Sea, where China has been constructing artificial islands. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines also have overlapping claims in the sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas and a key trade route through which an estimated $5 trillion worth of goods pass each year. Yasay, who has participated in global trade deals in the past, said Manila would respect whatever decision is handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, where the Philippines is challenging China's position on the disputed waters. It is not clear when a ruling will come. Duterte has said he was open to joint ventures with China to explore and exploit resources in the South China Sea. The Philippines was willing to pursue bilateral talks with China to resolve a dispute over the Scarborough Shoal, but would stick to multilateral discussions for the Spratly islands, because there were other claimant states, Yasay said. (Additonal reporting by David Ljunggren in OTTAWA.; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Lincoln Feast) By Manuel Mogato and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines will not distance itself from its long-time security ally, the United States, but neither will it be a lackey to any foreign power, incoming Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told Reuters on Wednesday. In his first interview with the foreign media since being appointed by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, the lawyer by training sought to underline the Philippines' independence in dealing with disputes with China over the South China Sea. "We should not be a lackey of any nation," Yasay said in Manila, the day after Duterte named his cabinet. Under outgoing President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines moved closer to Washington, in turn straining ties with China. Yasay said relations with China should improve. "For as long as it (China) adheres to the rule of law, respects our territorial integrity and sovereignty...we should continue to make sure that our friendship and relationship would be stronger," he said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the door was always open to dialogue, which would be helpful for "breaking the deadlock" in China-Philippines relations in recent years. "If the Philippines sincerely wish to come back to the track of dialogue and negotiations we welcome that," Wang told reporters in the Canadian capital Ottawa. "We would be happy to see the new government in the Philippines make wise choices." Duterte, the tough-talking mayor who takes office on June 30, said on Tuesday that the Philippines would not rely on Washington, signalling a potential shift in approach to the South China Sea and broader security issues. "He was simply articulating the position that, according to the constitution, we are supposed to carry an independent foreign policy," Yasay said of Duterte's remarks. Yasay added that the president-elect would honour existing treaties with the United States, including the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that allows U.S. troops increased access to local bases. U.S. President Barack Obama called Duterte on May 17 to congratulate him on his election win. "That was a very strong indication about our friendship with America not being affected, and will not be affected by his election," Yasay said. At the same time, Duterte has not ruled out renegotiating agreements in the future if it was deemed necessary. "When he said he is committed to agreements we have entered into...he does not discount the possibility that in the future, if it is determined that there is a need to further negotiate on these agreements on the basis of pursuing the mutual interest of both countries, we should not hesitate to do so," Yasay said. The Supreme Court this year upheld the constitutionality of the agreement that lets the United States build warehouses and logistics hubs anywhere in the Philippines. Washington is also helping its former colony to bolster its defences, providing three Hamilton-class cutters, radar equipment and a research ship that will arrive in July. The build-up is part of an effort by the Philippines to strengthen its claims in the disputed South China Sea, where China has been constructing artificial islands. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines also have overlapping claims in the sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas and a key trade route through which an estimated $5 trillion worth of goods pass each year. Yasay, who has participated in global trade deals in the past, said Manila would respect whatever decision is handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, where the Philippines is challenging China's position on the disputed waters. It is not clear when a ruling will come. Duterte has said he was open to joint ventures with China to explore and exploit resources in the South China Sea. The Philippines was willing to pursue bilateral talks with China to resolve a dispute over the Scarborough Shoal, but would stick to multilateral discussions for the Spratly islands, because there were other claimant states, Yasay said. (Additonal reporting by David Ljunggren in OTTAWA.; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Lincoln Feast) In partnership with Right at Home, Koninklijke Philips N.V PHG declared the commercial beta launch of remote care services, powered by the new connected sensors platform, CareSensus. Right at Home is a leading in-home senior care franchise network globally. With their flexible and cost-effective mix of in-home and remote care options, Philips and Right at Home are redefining the entire home care landscape. Powered by potent data analytics and connected sensors, this distinctive high-touch, high-tech, "blended care" approach delivers insights and adjusts to a senior's needs to offer "always-on" home care. Thus, the Philips CareSensus platform is offering seniors the advantages of the Internet of Things right in their homes, with its unique home care monitoring solution. The powerful analytics of the CareSensus platform will help detect behavioral changes in seniors through a perceptive online dashboard with several views. The family caregiver can also access the dashboard, to help periodically assess their loved ones habits. This also allows them to potentially intervene before a more serious event can occur. The solution leverages Philips profound knowledge of advanced analytics in patient and home monitoring. The world has an ageing population, and this translates into increased demand for Right at Home's care services. Philips blended care approach and its innovative technology has the potential to set the future of home healthcare. Philips' impressive portfolio of aging services, which includes Philips Lifeline medical alert services, post-acute and long-term care solutions, connected medication adherence solutions and referrals to home health services, is further expanded with CareSensus. The Dutch conglomerate is striving to expand its lucrative and fast-growing health technology business, which competes with Siemens AG and General Electric Company GE. Its healthcare business is gaining rapid momentum with the rising demand for technology that enables hospitals to analyze clinical data and allow patients to monitor their health on smartphones. Story continues However, the company has been facing tough times recently, with escalating taxes and restructuring charges burdening earnings. Also, challenging market conditions, coupled with mixed outlook in China, Russia and Latin America, continue to exert pressure on this Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock. Some better-ranked stocks from the same space include Jason Industries, Inc. JASN and Kopin Corporation KOPN, both holding 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 GENL ELECTRIC (GE): Free Stock Analysis Report KONINKLIJKE PHL (PHG): Free Stock Analysis Report KOPIN CORP (KOPN): Free Stock Analysis Report JASON INDUSTRS (JASN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Shocking new details in the domestic violence allegations against Johnny Depp by his estranged wife have emerged. Read: Johnny Depp's Famous Friends and Exes Come to His Defense Amid Domestic Violence Claims Dramatic photos inside the latest issue of People magazine show Amber Heard with a bruised eye and cut lip. Heard claims Depp has been abusing her for years and tells the magazine: "There was one severe incident in December 2015 when I truly feared for my life." An unnamed friend of Heard claimed to the New York Post that the 52-year-old actor once tried to suffocate [Heard] with a pillow. Heard's friend says she rushed to their apartment last December after receiving frantic texts that Depp was beating her. "I got to her apartment to find her with a cut and bruised lip, a swollen eye and a chunk of hair missing from the top of her head, the friend claimed. It was the same night Heard told her that a drunken Depp had once tried to suffocate her with a pillow. According to The Post, Heard is reportedly tired of being married to the Oscar nominee, telling a friend: "What am I doing with this old man who used to look like Johnny Depp?" In one of the ugliest Hollywood breakups in recent memory, 30-year-old Heard filed for divorce from the actor last week and obtained a temporary restraining order claiming Depp had thrown an iPhone at her last Friday leaving a nasty bruise below her eye. Depp denies the allegations. According to sources, there was trouble brewing just a month after they tied the knot in February 2015. Depp reportedly injured his hand when he angrily slammed it into a wall during a heated fight with Heard. He had to postpone shooting the latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series for a month so he could fly home from Australia for surgery. Read: Amber Heard Accuses Johnny Depp of Domestic Violence After Showing Up to Court With Bruises The couple first met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2009. Depp was still with his longtime partner, Vanessa Paradis and Heard, who is openly bisexual, was seeing photographer Tasya Van Ree. Story continues By 2012, Depp and Heard were both single and stepping out in public together. Depp denies the abuse allegations and friends and family are lining up in his defense. But Heard's lawyers aren't backing down and are calling on Los Angeles cops to "conduct an accurate and complete investigation" of last week's incident. Meanwhile, Depp is staying far away from Heard, touring Europe with his rock band, The Hollywood Vampires. Watch: Divorce with Amber Heard Could Put Johnny Depp's Estimated $400M in Jeopardy Related Articles: Jonathon Niese's case of whiplash has subsided recently after watching plenty of his pitches leave the ballpark in a hurry during a difficult stretch. He was probably hoping Giancarlo Stanton's injury would keep him out at least another day. Stanton is just one of the Miami Marlins to have success off Niese, who looks to help the Pittsburgh Pirates avoid a fourth loss in five games Wednesday night in South Florida. Niese (5-2, 4.42 ERA) has been great over his last three, going 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA after allowing one run in six innings of Friday's 9-1 win at Texas. He posted a 7.36 ERA while giving up seven homers over his previous four outings. ''I've been working hard between games, and it's been showing in games,'' Niese said. ''I know I have it in me, but in my sides in between games I was able to work on the mechanical part of it.'' The left-hander allowed another homer against the Rangers, though, and the 12 he's surrendered are among the most in the majors. ''He's working and developing,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. ''The delivery's repeating itself. He's physically getting in a good place.'' Stanton homered off him last season when the Marlins roughed up Niese on May 30, but Niese bounced back with seven strong innings in his last start against them Aug. 4 while with the New York Mets. The Marlins slugger is hitting .414 with four homers off Niese, and Marcell Ozuna (5 for 12) and Chris Johnson (10 for 27) also have had success against him. Stanton is back in the lineup after missing seven straight games due to a sore right side. Miami (27-25) had dropped three of its previous four prior to Tuesday's 3-1 victory as Ichiro Suzuki had two hits to tie Sam Crawford for 31st on MLB's all-time list, 37 short of 3,000. J.T. Realmuto went 3 for 4 and Christian Yelich's RBI single in the seventh put the Marlins ahead for good. Story continues The Pirates (29-22) scored two runs or fewer for the third time in four games after exploding for 10 runs and 14 hits while winning Monday's series opener. They were held scoreless until Gregory Polanco's sacrifice fly in the ninth. Pittsburgh looks to bounce back against Adam Conley (3-3, 4.15), who continues to have control issues. Conley's average of 14.19 baserunners allowed per nine innings is among the highest in the majors. He walked a career-high seven in a loss to Washington on May 22, then walked another and hit three batters over 4 1/3 innings while getting a no-decision in the Marlins' 4-2 loss to Atlanta on Friday. The left-hander led 2-0 going into the fifth, then gave up two runs on four straight hits that chased him. "At this point, (he's) got to execute," manager Don Mattingly said. "You've got to get the ball where you want it, and make sure you're getting the ball to your spots. If you don't get your spots, and get into bad counts, you're going to give up some hits." Moviegoers will have to wait a bit longer to see Pitch Perfect 3. Universal announced Tuesday (May 31) it is pushing back the release of the threequel from July 21, 2017, to Dec. 22, 2017, the heart of the lucrative year-end holidays. Or, as the studio noted, "get ready to have a Merry Pitchmas." The move comes just weeks after the studio said it was moving up Pitch Perfect 3 to July 21 from Aug. 4. 'Pitch Perfect 3' Will Star Anna Kendrick & Rebel Wilson Elizabeth Banks is returning in the director's chair, while stars Anna Kendrick, Hailee Steinfeld, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow will reprise their roles. Universal is also shifting Girl Trip's release date, which now opens on July 21, 2017, to Pitch Perfect 3's old date. The movie, produced by Will Packer and directed by Malcom D. Lee, was originally set to open Aug. 11, 2017. Girl Trip centers on four lifelong friends who travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival. This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter. By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a challenge to a Pittsburgh ordinance that established a 15-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics in that city, to make it easier for patients to avoid protesters. By a 3-0 vote, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said anti-abortion campaigners seeking to provide "sidewalk counseling" to women entering a Planned Parenthood facility in downtown Pittsburgh could pursue claims that the 2005 ordinance violates their free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution. The Philadelphia-based appeals court had rejected a similar challenge in 2009, but said a different conclusion was now required after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 unanimously struck down a Massachusetts law setting a 35-foot buffer zone. "The speech at issue is core political speech entitled to the maximum protection afforded by the First Amendment," Circuit Judge Kent Jordan wrote. "The city cannot burden it without first trying, or at least demonstrating that it has seriously considered, substantially less restrictive alternatives that would achieve the city's legitimate, substantial, and content-neutral interests." Pittsburgh's ordinance was challenged by four women and one man represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative advocacy group. It was defended by lawyers representing the city and Mayor Bill Peduto. "The appeals court got it right," Matt Bowman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an interview. "Free speech deserve the highest level of protection on the public sidewalk. We're happy that we will get our day in court." Matthew McHale, a lawyer for Pittsburgh, said in a statement: "There will be other opportunities for the city to prove the ordinance should be upheld as constitutional." The appeals court did not decide the merits of the plaintiffs' claims. In the Massachusetts case, McCullen v Coakley, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the state had less burdensome alternatives to its 35-foot buffer zone that appeared "capable" of serving its needs while preserving free speech rights. But in March 2015, U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon in Pittsburgh refused to issue an injunction blocking enforcement of that city's ordinance. She said that while the protesters' message was restricted, it was not "effectively stifled." Jordan, however, said Pittsburgh did not show it considered less restrictive alternatives. "This case calls for nothing more than a straightforward application of McCullen," he wrote. The case is Bruni et al v. City of Pittsburgh et al, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-1755. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Frances Kerry) If your favorite price is free, you'll be in luck this Friday. In honor of National Donut Day 2016, many esteemed donut purveyors across America are doling out sugary goods free of charge. Contrary to other food holidays like Onion Ring Day, this national day of glazed deliciousness wasn't dreamed up as an elaborate ploy by the donut industry for America to focus on their particular food. According to Krispy Kreme's site, The Salvation Army created the day in 1938 to celebrate donut "Lassies." These people gave donuts to World War I soldiers, and it's widely believed this led to the donut's rise in popularity when troops returned to the U.S. after the war. Some donut shops, like Krispy Kreme, honor Donut Day's origins by encouraging customers to make donations to Salvation Army, but most simply use the day as an excuse to give America some extra sugar for free. Wondering how to get your paws on your own free donut? We've got you covered. Source: Giphy Here's where to get your donut fix this Friday, June 3: Dunkin' Donuts: Customers can score a free classic donut when buying any beverage. Krispy Kreme: No purchase necessary here stop in and get a free donut of any flavor. Entenmann's: Win free donut for a year (and other prizes) through a sweepstakes. Cumberland Farms: Get a free donut when buying a beverage. Honey Dew Donuts: Buy a drink, get a free Mocha Madness donut. Duck Donuts: Get a coupon from the company's Facebook page for a free sugar donut. LaMar's Donuts: Get a coupon from the company's Facebook page for a free donut and free 16-ounce cup with any purchase. If you manage to hit up all of these spots within the 24-hour time frame, well, wow. New York (AFP) - Playboy, fresh from doing away with full nudity for its models, is taking another step to modernize by entering the booming area of music streaming. The iconic men's publication founded in 1953 on Wednesday launched Playboy Music, an app for smartphones and tablets that sets racy footage of women to song. Playboy Music essentially offers original music videos, with subscribers who pay 99 cents each month gaining access to imagery of models posing, acting and lounging to the music. The app, administered by the music distribution company BAMM.tv, will feature only live recordings in hopes of increasing the chemistry rather than asking the women to move to pre-taped music. "The models are more than just sexy -- they are the focal point of a narrative that connects beauty with music in a way that men will enjoy and women will find empowering," Jeff LaPenna, creative director of the Playboy Music app at BAMM.tv, said in a statement. Unveiling its first artists, Playboy Music showed an interest in highlighting lesser known acts. Performers include the experimental electronic artist The Flashbulb and Colombian jazz fusion band Monsieur Perine. The app also presents new material from the latest Playmate of the Year, Eugena Washington. The Palmdale, California native is the first Playmate of the Year since Playboy, fine-tuning itself amid the wide availability of online pornography, decided to end full nudity. Playboy Enterprises in March said it had hired an investment adviser to look at offering itself for a buyout that could be worth some $500 million and include the famous Playboy Mansion. Playboy, which was known for publishing major authors in addition to nude pictures, peaked at circulation of seven million in 1972 with the figure standing last month at around 800,000. While Playboy Music will offer a much different product than major streaming services such as Spotify, the market for online music has been growing rapidly. Last year digital music revenue topped physical sales globally for the first time thanks to the popularity of streaming sites, which offer unlimited, on-demand song selection. Cincinnati Zoo officials shot an endangered 400-pound male western lowland silverback gorilla named Harambe on Saturday after it grabbed a child who had fallen into its enclosure, NBC News reports. The 4-year-old boy, who is currently unidentified, climbed under a railing and through wires before falling into the Gorilla World exhibit, according to zoo director Thane Maynard. The entire encounter lasted approximately 10 minutes. While the gorilla didnt appear to be attacking the child in a on video of the incident (below), it was reported that Harambe was extremely agitated. First responders on the scene witnessed the gorilla violently dragging and throwing the child. Police will investigate the family of the boy who fell into the gorilla enclosure, according to a CNN report. A Cincinnati police spokesperson told CNN Tuesday that their inquiry "is only regarding the actions of the parents/family that led up to the incident and not related to the operation or safety of the Cincinnati Zoo." The investigation could lead to prosecution. "After the review, we will determine if charges need to be brought forward," police spokesperson Tiffaney Hardy told CNN. "If it is determined charges need to be brought forward, we would then discuss it with the Hamilton County prosecutor's office." The boy's mother was allegedly with him when he fell through the fence and into the gorilla enclosure. The zoo itself will be investigated further by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "We'll of course be taking a closer look at that working with Cincinnati to figure out what happened and make sure we can firm that up so it doesn't happen again," AZA spokesperson Rob Vernon told CNN. The USDA has found the zoo in violation of the Animal Welfare Act nine times in the past three years, according to a CNN investigation, but none of those breaches in compliance were relating to the gorilla enclosure. The USDA reports that two investigations were due to health concerns and that the other seven were similarly resolved. The body will investigate the gorilla incident but did not provide a timeline for that investigation. Story continues Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? President Obama Speaks Out About Bathroom Access For Transgender Students Why Are So Many Abused Women Going To Jail In America? Three Women Claim To Have Thwarted A Rapist In Viral Facebook Post WARSAW (Reuters) - The European Union executive arm's critical opinion on the rule of law in Poland adopted on Wednesday is "one-sided," Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said. Brussels and Warsaw have held a series of high-level talks in recent days aimed at soothing a dispute over the Polish government's attempted top court reform, but failed to resolve the row. "I am surprised and saddened by the statement of the European Commission, which have had an intensive talks with the Polish government," Ziobro said. "The European Commission have had a chance to see that the government was looking for a compromise." "It's a one-sided opinion, showing a distorted image, despite the European Commission's awareness of what the situation looks like." (Reporting by Wiktor Szary and Adrian Krajewski) Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, is heading into the general election facing two major problems that aren't Donald Trump, according to a poll released Wednesday. The poll, from Morning Consult, found that 72% of respondents view her use of a private email server when she served as secretary of state to be a problem 48% called it a "major" problem. Democrats, too, are nervous about her use of the private server, with roughly a quarter of Democratic respondents dubbing it a major problem. The State Department's inspector general released a report on Clinton's use of a private email account last Wednesday, saying she "did not comply" with department policies. The report cited "longstanding, systemic weaknesses" related to communications that preceded Clinton's appointment as secretary of state. But the inspector general's report singled out Clinton's failures as more serious. "At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with department business before leaving government service and, because she did not do so, she did not comply with the Department's policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act," the report said. Voters who responded to the Morning Consult poll also said Clinton should release the transcripts of her paid speeches to Wall Street firms. It's an issue on which Bernie Sanders, the insurgent senator from Vermont still challenging Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has targeted Clinton along the campaign trail. Of the poll's respondents, 64% said Clinton should release the transcripts, including 47% of Democrats. Just 19% said she should not release the transcripts. A majority of respondents also said Sanders, who is facing near-impossible odds to become the Democratic nominee, should stay in the race. But, in a general-election matchup against Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, the poll found that Clinton held a 42%-to-39% advantage over the Manhattan businessman. It was a slight 1-point uptick in Clinton's favor compared with a Morning Consult poll released last week. Story continues NOW WATCH: Here are all the big banks that paid Hillary Clinton for speeches in 2013 More From Business Insider The Portuguese Air Force released video on June 1 described as showing the rescue of a crew of a Portuguese fishing boat in distress around 180km (112 miles) northeast of the island Porto Santo the day before. Porto Santo is the smaller of two islands in the Madeira Archipelago, located about 660km (410 miles) west of Morocco, and 800km (498 miles) southwest of mainland Portugal. The air force said it began the search and rescue mission just before noon, and transported the rescued crew to Madeira Airport, where they were expected to receive a medical assessment. Credit: YouTube/Portuguese Air Force Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102784%2fseniorprank Warning: the video below contains uncensored images of pornography, definitely NSFW. Kids at Montgomery Blair High School had a very "educational" lunch on Tuesday. Students honored the age-old tradition of the senior prank by streaming porn on the school's cafeteria television. SEE ALSO: Order porn with emoji, because 2016 While the students thought the prank was downright hilarious, school officials ran over to turn off the screen as soon as they saw it. Clearly this is a senior prank that will be burned into the minds of Montgomery Blair for years to come. School administrators are currently searching for the porn perpetrators. While the real culprits may have to suffer the penalty eventually, that is a small price to pay for being a legend. President Obama sought to myth-bust a number of Republican arguments about the economy in a fiery speech in Elkhart, Ind., a town whose recovery his Administration says is representative of the nations. The President spent much of his speech before a crowd of a little over 2,000 at Concord Community High School blasting the economic policies of Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail. The Republican economic agenda, he told the crowd, its not designed to help you. If the economy is really whats driving this election, then its going to be voters like you that have to decide what path the country will take, the President said Wednesday. Given polling data, voters in Elkhart arent likely customers for what the President was selling. Elkhart County polling data shows the area skews heavily Republican GOP candidates earned more than 33,000 votes in the recent primary, while Democratic candidates garnered a little over 11,000. But Obama said Wednesday the political leanings of the town, paired with the fact that it was the first place he visited as President in 2009, are what drew him to the area. I know I dont poll all that well in this county, Obama said. Im not here looking for votes. I am here because I care deeply as a citizen. The speech the President delivered on Wednesday could easily be considered a campaign speech and is likely a preview of how the President will address audiences on the stump in upcoming months. At every turn, Obama presented an argument that the policies hes championed as President and policies of Democrats in general are more beneficial to everyday Americans than those promoted by the GOP. But the Presidents remarks were not billed as such the White House presented the Presidents speech as an opportunity for Obama to lay out the choice Americans will face when they hit the polls in November a choice he contends could have a dire impact on their economic futures. Obama spent most of the hour ticking off the ways he says Republicans twist facts about the economy, the impact of trade deals, immigration reform, and the benefits of unions to curry favor among voters through a dramatized retelling of arguments made by pundits on conservative talk-radio shows and cable networks. The President argued that the deficit had shrunk under himself and former President Bill Clinton and said that his Administration has spent less on domestic priorities than his predecessor Ronald Reagan. He touted the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and said arguments that immigrants and minorities were the reason for stagnated wages were untrue. Obama also called on politicians to stop pitting working Americans against each other. The primary story that Republicans have been telling about the economy is not supported by the facts. Its just not, Obama said Wednesday. They repeat it a lot, but its not supported by the facts. And though the President has yet to jump behind a particular candidate on the Democratic side, he used the speech as an opportunity to take direct aim at policies of the presumptive Republican nominee for President, though President Obama did not call Donald Trump by name. It was arguably one of the Presidents most forceful speeches against the business mogul whose appeal he seemed visibly baffled by, particularly Trumps plans to roll back Wall Street reforms. How it is that somebody could propose that we weaken regulations on Wall Street? Obama asked. Have we really forgotten what happened on Wall Street eight years ago? When I hear working families think about voting for [the GOPs] economic plans, I want to have an intervention, the President said. Sometimes I just dont get it. The President also said the U.S. cant build walls around the U.S. economy or deport 11 million people, alluding to policies promoted by Trump. Reports from Elkhart show that beyond economics, which have dramatically approved in the area the unemployment rate has dropped from nearly 19% to around 4% the towns conservative values have contributed to a division among residents about the Obama presidency and his impact on the economy there. On Wednesday, the President said that hes O.K. with voters not agreeing with him based on social or moral values but said, if we get cynical and just vote our fears, or if we dont vote at all, we wont build on the progress that we started Whatever our differences, we all love this country. obama As the current presidential nominees jockey to take the reins of America's highest office, the current commander in chief passed a somber milestone earlier this month. Since President Barack Obama's ascension to office, his administration has been at war longer than that of any other US president. The milestone comes after Obama, from the time he entered office, had pledged to end what has become America's longest war. The conflict in Afghanistan has been ongoing since 2001. The Vietnam War lasted a little more than 10 years, while the Iraq War took nearly eight years. Perhaps pointing a rebuking finger toward Obama's policies would be impetuous: The US's asymmetric wars are no longer fought in glorified Hollywood fashion with a readily identifiable enemy. Instead, they can be more "difficult," in that it has become a game of patience and strategy. As technology has advanced the capabilities of US forces, so has the ability of enemy forces to meet these upgrades with effective, cheap, and readily available weapons of destruction. It can also be debated that because Obama inherited a war on such a massive scale, it would have been difficult to fully withdraw and successfully close out such a war during his administration, if at all. Compared with the 200,000 troops who were stationed in the two countries, the 13,000 who are now in the area represents a figure that can be used as a measurement of success. On the other side of the aisle, critics say he has failed to effectively curb the conflicts, perhaps even damaging the nation's ability to fight. The definition of "war" can also be fluid and easily manipulated, as in the case of the current campaigns: As Operation Enduring Freedom officially came to an end, the ongoing Operation Freedom's Sentinel took the helm the very next day. In addition, as the Pentagon has withdrawn its forces over the years, it has actually agreed to increase the use of nontraditional fighting tools, such as drones. Story continues With plans on sending an additional 250 Special Operations troops to Syria, Obama may be fanning the flames of his legacy or in fact adding fuel for his critics. NOW WATCH: Heres the $5.3 million mansion the Obamas will reportedly live in after the White House More From Business Insider Still cant understand the beginning bit though [Photo: James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock] Baracksdubs, Americas answer to Youtube sensation Casetteboy has released an incredible Barack Obama cover of Rihannas Work. The song is comprised from clips of the presidents various speeches painstakingly edited together and was released in time for Memorial Day. The video, thank Jesus, is less racy. Despite only being posted less than one day ago the video has already racked up almost 500,000 views. Baracksdubs has also produced Obama covers of Justin Beibers Sorry, Hotline Bling by Drake and Michael Jacksons Thriller. Were dont what the presidents thoughts are on lending his voice to such famous hits but were pretty sure hed have a good sense of humour about it. Barack Obama is famous for his quick wit and entertaining one liners. After accidentally dropping a mic during one speech he casually shrugged his shoulders and said All of you know who I am. The 44th president has owned hecklers on several occasions, telling one You kind of screwed up my ending but thats okay, and another He thought happy hour started earlier. Women Turned Away From Flight For Wearing These Shorts 10 Bloomin Lovely Indoor Window Gardens To Inspire You June 1 (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 ** The federal government is increasing the amount it pays to veterans who are so incapacitated they can no longer work, but many of those who currently make the least will get raises of just a couple percentage points while those at higher ranks will get 20 percent more.(http://bit.ly/1XOR4LY) ** Hunter Tootoo suddenly resigned as fisheries minister Tuesday evening after informing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that he had lost control over his drinking and needed treatment for alcohol abuse. (http://bit.ly/1TJqlvs) ** New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant remains squarely behind the controversial Energy East pipeline project, despite the virtual elimination of the price difference between North American oil and imported crude that provided the C$15 billion ($11.47 billion) project with one of its key selling points. (http://bit.ly/1r2BOOR) NATIONAL POST ** The House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs committee unanimously adopted a motion on Tuesday stating that the prime minister's apologies having been accepted, the point of privilege raised on May 18 was resolved and "no further action is required." The apology is regarding a heated kerfuffle two weeks ago with Ruth Ellen Brosseau, the MP who was elbowed by the prime minister ahead of a vote on time allocation for assisted dying legislation. (http://bit.ly/1spLYu5) ** Starting Wednesday, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Toronto-Dominion Bank customers can add bank-issued credit cards and Interac debit cards to a supported iPhone's digital wallet, Apple Pay, for contactless purchases in-store. (http://bit.ly/25Asrsv) ($1 = 1.3083 Canadian dollars) (Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru) June 1 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Shari Redstone made one of her boldest statements on Tuesday in the battle over her father's $40 billion media empire. Redstone underscored that she had no desire to manage Viacom nor to lead its board, but said she wanted "the best management in place" and "strong, independent directors who will properly oversee that management". (http://nyti.ms/1Ug8z2q) - The billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed in a statement that he has bought "a large position" in Allergan , which is technically headquartered in Dublin. He didn't detail how large of a stake or when the purchase was made. (http://nyti.ms/1Ug9WOu) - Volkswagen reported a 19 percent drop in its quarterly profit. However, the quarterly profit of $2.7 billion, was better than what analysts had forecasted. It was also an improvement from the loss in the last three months of 2015. (http://nyti.ms/1O47yOM) - Michael Pearson, the former chief executive of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International who departed in early May during a series of investigations into the company's business practices, will receive a $9 million severance payment and continue working as a consultant through 2017, Valeant said Tuesday. (http://nyti.ms/22wVJTz) (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru) While rumors spread that the royal family might be expanding, Vanity Fair has revealed the lengths to which Prince William has gone to preserve a sliver of normalcy for his children. In the new Vanity Fair, Katie Nicholl writes that William and wife Kate Middleton's 13-month-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, lives a guarded life. In fact, William seems to have made a concerted effort to keep his children out of the spotlight since Charlotte was born. WATCH: Prince George and Princess Charlotte Play in the Snow for First Time The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge moved 100 miles from their official residence at Kensington Palace in London to secluded Anmer Hall in Norfolk just 48 hours after Charlotte was born. Since then, there have only been rare glimpses of the baby princess. While Prince George, 2, stole the show during the family's tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2014, his sister Charlotte's only official appearance was at her christening last year. Getty Images Getty Images Last month, official photos were tweeted in honor of Charlotte's first birthday, showing off the toddler's blue eyes and striking resemblance to her great-grandmother, the Queen. The Duke and Duchess are delighted to share new photographs of Princess Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/Hvnk7FYEFC Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 1, 2016 The Duchess took these pictures of her daughter in April at their home in Norfolk. pic.twitter.com/dzPlj1snhN Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 1, 2016 Assisting with keeping the little tykes away from prying eyes is the bastion of security shielding Anmer Hall. NEWS: Princess Charlotte Gets a Flower Named After Her "If you happen to pull up outside, you're very quickly moved on by a patrolling police car," Nicholl told ET. "And earlier in the year, Prince William put up a no-fly zone." Story continues Despite its outward appearance, within the fortress-like perimeter is a warm and welcoming home. According to Vanity Fair, Kate often cooks family dinners as they do not have a chef. Additionally, the parents reportedly take turns giving the kids baths and tucking them in at night. WATCH: Kate Middleton Reveals Name of George and Charlotte's New Royal Pet While the family is enjoying their time in the countryside, royal insiders tell the magazine that the quaint lifestyle they've curated for themselves might not last. As the Queen delegates more duties to Prince William and Prince Harry, it might require William to move back to London. In the meantime, William is focused on raising his children in a normal environment away from paparazzi lenses. "William doesn't want George and Charlotte going through some of the experiences he went through growing up," a source told Vanity Fair. "Everything he does regarding his family is very deliberate." Related Articles Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday accused government soldiers of launching a new offensive near a prized but obliterated airport in the separatists' de facto capital of Donetsk. The claim appears to fit with a mounting death toll reported by the government in Kiev and foreign monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It also comes ahead of a decision later this month by the European Union on whether to extend its sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine. The insurgents seized Donetsk airport in January 2015. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vowed to win back the main trophy of the 25-month war -- a pledge that has clashed with the West's efforts to bring peace to the European Union's backyard. A rebel fighter who identified himself by the nom de guerre Moskva (Moscow) said the Ukrainian assault began from positions just north of Donetsk last Saturday. "The entire (airport) terminal was hit by air defence guns," he told AFP. Such heavy weapons were meant to have been withdrawn from the frontline dividing rebel-run regions from the rest of Ukraine within days of a February 2015 truce being signed. Poroshenko's military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told AFP that "the Ukrainian armed forces are observing a state of ceasefire" and blamed the escalation on the rebels. The truce helped contain the worst violence but failed to bring a halt to one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts since the 1990s Balkans wars. US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said on Tuesday he was "shocked by the escalation happening in eastern Ukraine in recent days". - Hundreds of 'undetermined explosions' - The scale of exchanges of heavy weapons fire appears to have grown exponentially after weeks of relative calm. The OSCE said its teams had recorded 305 "undetermined explosions" just north and west of Donetsk between late Monday and early Tuesday. Story continues A man who identified himself as a 42-year-old Russian volunteer fighter told AFP that eight members of the separatist force had been killed in a town 10 kilometres (six miles) north of Donetsk since Monday. And a spokeswoman for Ukraine's envoy to OSCE-mediated peace talks with Russia said that 26 government troops had died last month alone. More than 9,300 civilians and fighters from both sides have perished since the revolt against the pro-Western administration installed after the ouster of a Russian-backed president broke out in April 2014. Russia denies plotting the separatist conflict, which began shortly after it seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, in retaliation for seeing Ukraine pull out of its historic sphere of influence. But it admits that volunteer and off-duty soldiers were fighting alongside the rebel force. The self-described Russian volunteer solider blamed the latest spike in violence on attempts by Poroshenko to revise the terms of last year's truce. The agreement was meant to offer separatist regions limited autonomy and the right to hold local elections -- conditions opposed by numerous lawmakers and nationalist volunteer battalions who backed government troops throughout the war. By Kathryn Doyle Reuters Health - Access to mental health care in the U.S. may vary by race and class because of biases on the part of psychotherapists, a new study suggests. Based on calls to hundreds of therapists, the study found that middle class patients had an easier time than their working class counterparts getting an appointment, but among middle class callers, blacks were less likely to be offered an appointment than whites. Although we expected to see evidence of racial and class-based discrimination, the magnitude of discrimination against working-class therapy seekers, in particular, exceeded our grimmest expectations, said author Heather Kugelmass, a doctoral student in sociology at Princeton University in New Jersey. Deeply-rooted stereotypes associated with the working class could lead to negative reactions to their requests for care, she speculated. Even though all therapy seekers in the study were covered by the same insurance, it is possible that mental health care providers view working-class patients as a financial risk because, for example, they cannot be relied upon to keep appointments or pay insurance co-payments at the time of treatment. Kugelmass recruited four voice actors to record nearly identical voicemail messages using racially distinctive names as well as race- and class-based speech patterns. One voice actress played both the middle class and working class white female roles, while another played both black female roles, and two male actors did the same. Each help seeker recording mentioned symptoms of depression or anxiety, named their health insurance plan, and requested an appointment for a weekday evening and for the psychotherapist to leave a return voicemail with available appointment slots. The messages were left for 320 psychotherapists with solo practices in New York, who each received messages from one black middle class and one white middle class help seeker or from one black working-class and one white working class help seeker. Just 287 return calls were received, representing 44 percent of all the calls placed. Middle-class messages received appointment offers at more than twice the rate of working class messages, according to results in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. But white middle class patients received appointment offers in response to 28 percent of their calls while black middle class patients got offers from 17 percent of their calls. In particular, the black middle class male message was left for 80 psychotherapists and only one-third of the therapists left messages in return, with just one offering him a weekday evening appointment. Even the middle class white therapy seekers received return messages only half of the time, Kugelmass said. As consumers, or potential consumers, of mental health care, wed like to think that everyone deserves a response, she added. If individuals experience a lack of responsiveness during their help-seeking process, they may view reaching out to psychotherapists as a fruitless activity or develop negative attitudes toward the profession, she said. Appointment offer rates were similar for women and men, but women were more often given an appointment in their preferred time range, Kugelmass found. It is possible that working-class therapy seekers would receive more positive responses from social workers, who may be more willing to work with disadvantaged populations, or from group practices, where there could be more social pressure to be less discriminatory when selecting clientele, she told Reuters Health by email. Audit studies have revealed similar discrimination in other marketplaces, such as real estate and employment, she said. Among the studys limitations is that it did not have racial information about the therapists, and did not look at the reasons for their responses or failure to respond. Kugelmass writes that there may be conscious and unconscious biases on the part of therapists, including a greater affinity for people more like themselves and self-doubt about their cultural competence to treat patients of a different class or race. This study identified racial and class-based disparities in access, but could not evaluate potential solutions, Kugelmass said. Also, its important to caution that this study investigated only doctoral-level psychotherapists in New York City who were sole practitioners; therefore, recommendations based on this research might not be generalizable. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1sL8WvC Journal of Health and Social Behavior, online June 1, 2016. By Nick Brown SAN JUAN, June 1 (Reuters) - As struggling Puerto Rico enters a bitter election season, discord in the U.S. territory's ruling party is reaching new heights, which could benefit bondholders. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has pushed to force hedge funds, mutual funds and other investors to take losses on the $70 billion Puerto Rico owes them because it cannot repay the debt in full. He says the island's staggering poverty and lack of money to ensure basic services constitutes a humanitarian crisis. Garcia Padilla, deeply unpopular with exhausted political capital, has dwindling allies among campaigning lawmakers now distancing themselves from him. They may adopt more creditor-friendly policies to counter his populist ideals, experts say. Puerto Rican residents vote in local primaries this Sunday with some members of Garcia Padilla's Popular Democratic Party locked in tight battles, including Rep. Rafael "Tatito" Hernandez, who runs Puerto Rico's House finance committee. The island's election cycle is unique, with all posts decided on the same day every four years, making political campaigns especially heated. Election day, Nov. 8, is a holiday, and voter turnout averages more than 80 percent. The governor will not seek a second term, and financial markets have never given him much credibility. His administration has yet to publish fiscal 2014's audited financial results. That has fed a perception of irresponsible government, and spurred PDP members to try to distance themselves from his administration. The dynamic could play into the hands of creditors. Garcia Padilla set aside about $200 million in the fiscal 2017 budget toward the $800 million payment due on GO debt July 1, but Hernandez has said he will lobby to earmark enough to pay it all. "There is a lot of lobbying here by bondholders, and one of the big issues is whether to include money to pay that debt in next year's budget," Sergio Marxuach, a San Juan-based economist, said in an interview. Story continues A law signed in April, giving the governor authority to issue moratoriums on debt payments, could be scaled back, said Height Securities analyst Daniel Hanson, who follows Puerto Rico. "Our base case has been that the budget will be used as leverage to amend back parts of the moratorium," Hanson said. While these local fights play out, the U.S. Congress has been debating a bill that would pull Puerto Rico's finances under federal oversight and allow the government to restructure its bond debt. UNRAVELING GOVERNMENT The governor, though never wildly popular, has had some success pushing his agenda. But lately the wheels have come off, even though his party has controlled the House and Senate since 2013. Key party leaders, like Hernandez and former Secretary of State David Bernier, the PDP's gubernatorial candidate, have openly criticized him. Garcia Padilla's own economy minister, Alberto Baco Bague, publicly questioned the legitimacy of the humanitarian crisis, telling local media in May the narrative was a political "strategy." Baco declined to comment for this story. Last week, in a boon for businesses, the legislature repealed a new round of tax hikes on professional services, the same bill it had approved just last year on the strength of Garcia Padilla's message of financial desperation. Adding to the chaos, a group of Puerto Rico creditors sued Garcia Padilla's administration over the legality of the debt moratorium, despite having signed an agreement barring lawsuits while sides negotiated a restructuring. The move reflected ever-growing acrimony between the government and its creditors, Hanson said. A spokeswoman for Garcia Padilla's office had no immediate comment. A SLOW BURN Like Baco's criticism, much of the internal discord turns on whether there is actually a humanitarian crisis. But while that argument may be losing political steam, it should not be disregarded, Marxuach said. The message has resonated with Democrats in Washington, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Rep. Raul Grijalva, who made separate visits to Puerto Rico in May to stress the dire human circumstances on the island. "Puerto Rico is at a moment of necessity and crisis," Lew said May 9 in San Juan. Marxuach said the crisis is not so much a ticking time bomb, "it's a slow burn." Public pensions covering 330,000 beneficiaries are the worst-funded of any state-level U.S. pension this century, set to run out of cash in three years. Hospitals face staffing shortfalls as doctors flee to better-paying jobs on the mainland. The island's poverty rate is at 45 percent; unemployment is near 12 percent, and higher in rural towns. Puerto Ricans' ability to emigrate to the mainland is an escape hatch that mitigates the economic stress and political pressure to fix it. But for those without the ability to escape the burdens just grow. "The debt stays the same," said Marxuach, "but the economy grows even less." (Reporting By Nick Brown in San Juan; Editing by Daniel Bases and David Gregorio) By Nick Brown SAN JUAN (Reuters) - As struggling Puerto Rico enters a bitter election season, discord in the U.S. territory's ruling party is reaching new heights, which could benefit bondholders. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has pushed to force hedge funds, mutual funds and other investors to take losses on the $70 billion Puerto Rico owes them because it cannot repay the debt in full. He says the island's staggering poverty and lack of money to ensure basic services constitutes a humanitarian crisis. (Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/1PjZvh5) Garcia Padilla, deeply unpopular with exhausted political capital, has dwindling allies among campaigning lawmakers now distancing themselves from him. They may adopt more creditor-friendly policies to counter his populist ideals, experts say. Puerto Rican residents vote in local primaries this Sunday with some members of Garcia Padilla's Popular Democratic Party locked in tight battles, including Rep. Rafael "Tatito" Hernandez, who runs Puerto Rico's House finance committee. The island's election cycle is unique, with all posts decided on the same day every four years, making political campaigns especially heated. Election day, Nov. 8, is a holiday, and voter turnout averages more than 80 percent. The governor will not seek a second term, and financial markets have never given him much credibility. His administration has yet to publish fiscal 2014's audited financial results. That has fed a perception of irresponsible government, and spurred PDP members to try to distance themselves from his administration. The dynamic could play into the hands of creditors. Garcia Padilla set aside about $200 million in the fiscal 2017 budget toward the $800 million payment due on GO debt July 1, but Hernandez has said he will lobby to earmark enough to pay it all. "There is a lot of lobbying here by bondholders, and one of the big issues is whether to include money to pay that debt in next year's budget," Sergio Marxuach, a San Juan-based economist, said in an interview. Story continues A law signed in April, giving the governor authority to issue moratoriums on debt payments, could be scaled back, said Height Securities analyst Daniel Hanson, who follows Puerto Rico. "Our base case has been that the budget will be used as leverage to amend back parts of the moratorium," Hanson said. While these local fights play out, the U.S. Congress has been debating a bill that would pull Puerto Ricos finances under federal oversight and allow the government to restructure its bond debt. UNRAVELING GOVERNMENT The governor, though never wildly popular, has had some success pushing his agenda. But lately the wheels have come off, even though his party has controlled the House and Senate since 2013. Key party leaders, like Hernandez and former Secretary of State David Bernier, the PDPs gubernatorial candidate, have openly criticized him. Garcia Padillas own economy minister, Alberto Baco Bague, publicly questioned the legitimacy of the humanitarian crisis, telling local media in May the narrative was a political "strategy." Baco declined to comment for this story. Last week, in a boon for businesses, the legislature repealed a new round of tax hikes on professional services, the same bill it had approved just last year on the strength of Garcia Padillas message of financial desperation. Adding to the chaos, a group of Puerto Rico creditors sued Garcia Padilla's administration over the legality of the debt moratorium, despite having signed an agreement barring lawsuits while sides negotiated a restructuring. The move reflected ever-growing acrimony between the government and its creditors, Hanson said. A spokeswoman for Garcia Padillas office had no immediate comment. A SLOW BURN Like Baco's criticism, much of the internal discord turns on whether there is actually a humanitarian crisis. But while that argument may be losing political steam, it should not be disregarded, Marxuach said. The message has resonated with Democrats in Washington, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Rep. Raul Grijalva, who made separate visits to Puerto Rico in May to stress the dire human circumstances on the island. "Puerto Rico is at a moment of necessity and crisis," Lew said May 9 in San Juan. Marxuach said the crisis is not so much a ticking time bomb, "it's a slow burn." Public pensions covering 330,000 beneficiaries are the worst-funded of any state-level U.S. pension this century, set to run out of cash in three years. Hospitals face staffing shortfalls as doctors flee to better-paying jobs on the mainland. The island's poverty rate is at 45 percent; unemployment is near 12 percent, and higher in rural towns. Puerto Ricans' ability to emigrate to the mainland is an escape hatch that mitigates the economic stress and political pressure to fix it. But for those without the ability to escape the burdens just grow. "The debt stays the same," said Marxuach, "but the economy grows even less." (Reporting By Nick Brown in San Juan; Editing by Daniel Bases and David Gregorio) PARIS One of Syrias rare women directors, Gaya Jiji has fled her war-torn homeland to live in Paris where she is developing her anticipated feature debut, My Favorite Fabric a depiction of female sexuality in Syria which will likely spark waves across the Arab world. A sign of her up-and-coming status, Jiji (pictured above, in the middle) has just won the Women in Motion Young Talent Award along with Leyla Bouzid and Ida Panahandeh. While the prize is not part of the official selection, it was given by Cannes Film Festivals artistic director Thierry Fremaux and president Pierre Lescure, as well as Francois-Henri Pinaults Kering, the initiatives main backer and one of the fests partners. Jiji spoke to Variety about the status of women in front of and behind the camera in Syria and the rest of the Arab world, as well as the challenges shes facing to make My Favorite Fabric. What impact do you expect this Women in Motion Young Talent Award prize will have on your career as a director? Making a first film is always a very long process and a crucial milestone in the career of a director. You always need others to believe in your project. This prize underlines the trust that two great actresses [this years Women in Motion honorees, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon] put in me. Its a big encouragement for me; it keeps me going in this fight. For about two years, theres been a wide-ranging conversation going on about the role of women in cinema. Have you observed or experienced a change? For me personally, theres a shift in the role of women in cinema that we cannot deny. Women are more present at festivals, they make more movies, but this change is happening very slowly. For example, very few women get to direct high-budget films. We need people to trust us, to believe that we can make movies about anything and deal with sensitive and delicate subject matters. The role of women in world cinema is still very limited compared to men. Of course, we also have to fight to get there. Story continues Whats the biggest challenge for women film directors in Syria? First of all, filmmaking in Syria is entirely dependent on the state so theres a lot of censorship. Films usually go around a very limited number of festivals, without being released in theaters and without getting the opportunity of traveling extensively. The difficulty for women is especially hard, because it is a very patriarchal society. People always doubt our abilities, even our colleagues who work in artistic fields. How do you think women are perceived through the films made in Syria? In my country, men almost always direct films, especially fiction. In fact, I cant recall a fiction film directed by a woman. So were always perceived and presented by men. Women are usually victims in Syrian films, incapable of having a say in their future, and they usually exist through male characters only. Female characters in Syrian films [in the few films that are made] lack complexity. Theres a real need for women directors to talk about female characters in my country with a perspective and focus that men dont have. What challenges are your facing to make your film, My Favorite Fabric? For me, being in France was a necessity because its one of the only countries that supports movies so much, including first features made by directors and foreign films as well. Im working with good producers who have a lot of confidence in this project. Then, the number of projects is always greater than the number of subsidies, which makes financial development long and difficult. The real difficulty for my film, though, is that it wont be shot in Syria because of whats happening there. So we have to find alternatives that dont affect the authenticity of the film, and find Syrian actors from all over the world. When do you plan on shooting it? Its in pre-production, and I hope to shoot it next November. Related stories Cannes Winner Ken Loach's Producer Rebecca O'Brien on Their 30-Year Film Partnership First Japanese Animated Movie 'Momotaro' Gets U.S. Release Jerusalem Film Festival Sets Tribute To Ronit Elkabetz, Opening With Pedro Almodovar's 'Julieta' From one battleground to another? Viacom mogul Sumner Redstone's ex-girlfriend Sydney Holland is in the running to nab a spot on season 7 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, sources confirm to Us Weekly. PHOTOS: Former Real Housewives Stars Holland's recent love-life drama would certainly bring plenty of fodder for the hit Bravo series. According to The Hollywood Reporter which was first to report that Holland, 44, had pitched herself to the show's producers she and the 93-year-old media billionaire were together for five years until they parted ways in the fall of 2015. PHOTOS: Celebrity Feuds: The Biggest Ever! THR reports that the film producer was living in the lavish Beverly Park home of Viacom and CBS Corporation's chairman emeritus until she was booted for having an alleged affair with a former actor. Holland was initially introduced to the National Amusements chairman through Millionaire Matchmaker star Patti Stanger. A source tells Us that Stanger and Holland remain close, despite the split. PHOTOS: Real Housewives' Kids, Then And Now Viacom has been in turmoil recently as execs wage a legal battle to determine who will succeed the ailing Redstone. Erika Girardi and Kathryn Edwards were new RHOBH additions in season 6, joining the fray alongside mainstays Lisa Vanderpump, Kyle Richards, Yolanda Foster, Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson. PHOTOS: Stars They're Just Like Us! There has been speculation in the media about which Housewives might not return for season 7, but Andy Cohen has remained mum. When a fan asked last month on Twitter whether the show could get rid of Foster, Rinna, Girardi and Davidson, Cohen responded, "No way!" Tell Us: Would Sydney Holland be a good fit for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? As the lawsuits and filings fly from L.A. to Boston and NYC over who deteriorating Sumner Redstone really wants to run his family trust, the board of his National Amusements theater chain and ultimately Viacom and CBS, the moguls granddaugher Keryn Redstone has today stepped into the fray and shes planning to take on her aunt Shari Redstone in the courts too. I will soon be announcing legal steps to join with the Viacom directors in our common cause to liberate my grandfather from Sharis clutches and protect my fellow trust beneficiaries and myself from her machinations, said the devastated younger Redstone today in a statement released by her new lawyers at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinge. Philippe Dauman Shari Redstone I want to express my support for the Viacom directors who have tried to meet with my grandfather but have been denied access by Shari Redstone, not my grandfather, Keryn Redstone added jumping right in to the corporate battle that has seen Viacom Chair and CEO Philippe Dauman suddenly on the outs in the past two weeks with his long time boss Sumner. There is no way that a competent Sumner Redstone, acting of his own free will, would ever refuse to meet with his fellow directors who have been his close friends and allies and so loyal to him over many years. This would actually be the second such legal move by Keryn Redstone after she unsuccessfully tried to join the health care lawsuit of her grandfathers ex-companion Manuela Herzer earlier this spring. That was competency case was dismissed after only one day of trial on May 9 after L.A Superior Court Judge David Cowan ruled that the senior Redstone was in charge of his facilities enough to deem that he wanted his sometime estranged daughter Shari to be his health care agent. Herzers attorney Pierce ODonnell vowed to appeal the matter and immediately launched a a more than $100 million civil suit against Shari Redstone and seven members of the billionaires household medical staff. Today ODonnell, who is now also representing the younger Redstone said: The tide is turning. Shari Redstones coup has been exposed. We are confident that her oppression of her father will meet with defeat in the Cradle of American Liberty. Story continues RelatedSumner Redstone & The Battle For Viacom: What You Need To Know Heres the full statement released on behalf of Keryn Redstone: We are honored to announce that we represent Keryn Redstone, Sumner Redstones beloved granddaughter. Keryn has asked us to make the following statement on her behalf: I want to express my support for the Viacom directors who have tried to meet with my grandfather but have been denied access by Shari Redstone, not my grandfather. There is no way that a competent Sumner Redstone, acting of his own free will, would ever refuse to meet with his fellow directors who have been his close friends and allies and so loyal to him over many years. Manuela Herzer and I have also been prevented by Shari from seeing my grandfather. We are two of the persons who were the most devoted to his welfare and protecting him. Shari and her family have managed to totally isolate and effectively kidnap, brainwash, and take advantage of my grandfather due to his debilitated state of mind and frail health. They have lied to him about Manuela Herzer, the loyalty of his long-time friends like Philippe Dauman and George Abrams, and me. So far, Shari and her three adult children have succeeded in reversing decades of my grandfathers careful estate planning and are poised to seize control of Viacom and CBS. My grandfather (whom I affectionately call Grumpy) and I have had a very close and loving relationship ever since I was a little girl. Last September, when his health started rapidly failing, my grandfather and Manuela asked me to move into his house to help with his healthcare needs. Without hesitation, I moved from Colorado to Los Angeles. Sadly, in mid-September, I noticed that my grandfathers mental health was deteriorating. I witnessed with dismay his utter dependency on his nurses, especially Jeremy Jagiello. This made me very worried because my grandfather had never depended on anyone. The grandfather whom I knew and loved so much was gone. He could barely communicate at all, and he was unable to appreciate and understand what was going on around him. Manuela was the person closest to my grandfather in the world. Shari set Manuela up and had her ejected from my grandfathers home last October when my grandfather was not able to communicate intelligibly or understand what was going on around him. Sharis removal of Manuela from my grandfathers life is a perfect example of her disregard for what is in his best interests. With Manuela no longer there to protect my grandfather, Shari took charge of his health care and everything else in his life. I witnessed Shari yelling at him and treating him like a child. My grandfather sobbed uncontrollably, telling me over and over again, I miss Manuela. It was unbearable to watch him suffer so needlessly. I knew that I had to do something about this. For as long as I can remember, my grandfather had done everything that he could possibly think of to prevent Shari from having any type of control or power over his companies, whether public or private. This was no secret to anyone. I can assure you that Shari is the last person on the planet to whom my grandfather would entrust his healthcare if he were of sound mind. I am therefore heartbroken and devastated to see this tragic turn of events in my grandfathers life. Not to put words in his mouth, but what his happening now would be his worst nightmare if he had even the slightest mental capacity or understanding of what Shari was doing to him. The last time that I saw my grandfather was on Valentines Day for fifteen minutes. As he sat there lifeless and flanked by his nurses and caretakers, he seemed unaware of his surroundings. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I quietly sobbed as I held his cold hand before they made me leave and never let me return, despite all my unanswered emails, text messages, and voice messages to his home, lawyers, personal secretary, and doctors as well as Shari. My experience is the same as the Viacom directorsShari will not let us see Sumner. Because I was in the house, I know that my grandfather has been incompetent since last October. This is why Shari is keeping me away, because I will not lie or conceal the truth about my grandfathers condition. I love my grandfather, and I cry myself to sleep every night knowing that I might never see him again. I do not intend to let Shari get away with this outrage. I will soon be announcing legal steps to join with the Viacom directors in our common cause to liberate my grandfather from Sharis clutches and protect my fellow trust beneficiaries and myself from her machinations. Related stories Verne Lundquist Leaving 'SEC On CBS' Booth After 2016; Brad Nessler Subbing In Viacom Watchers Wonder: Who'd Step In If Sumner Redstone Cleans House? Shari Redstone: Viacom Needs "Strong" And "Independent" Directors San Francisco (AFP) - A granddaughter of Sumner Redstone alleged Wednesday that the ailing media mogul is being manipulated by his daughter, vowing to help stop her purported bid to "seize" his corporate empire. The statement from Keryn Redstone deepens the family drama, setting the stage for a heightened battle for control of holdings that include the CBS television group and media conglomerate Viacom. The daughter of Sumner Redstone's estranged son Brent, Keryn Redstone makes bitter accusations against her aunt Shari Redstone. The granddaughter has allied herself with the 93-year-old billionaire's ex-girlfriend Manuela Herzer, who has been waging a battle to have the ailing mogul declared incompetent. In a statement released by her lawyer Pierce O'Donnell, Keryn Redstone said she and Herzer have been prevented from seeing Sumner Redstone even though "we are two of the persons who were the most devoted to his welfare and protecting him." "Shari and her family have managed to totally isolate and effectively kidnap, brainwash and take advantage of my grandfather due to his debilitated state of mind and frail health," the statement said. Shari Redstone and her three adult children "have succeeded in reversing decades of my grandfather's careful estate planning and are poised to seize control of Viacom and CBS," it added. "I do not intend to let Shari get away with this outrage," the statement said. "I will soon be announcing legal steps to join with the Viacom directors in our common cause to liberate my grandfather from Shari's clutches and protect my fellow trust beneficiaries and myself from her machinations." - 'Not worthy' of comment - At stake is the future of Redstone's multibillion-dollar empire, including CBS and Viacom, which controls the hit channels MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central as well as Hollywood giant Paramount Pictures. Story continues Asked about Wednesday's allegations, a spokeswoman for Shari Redstone called them "not worthy of a comment." Earlier this week, Shari Redstone said she "has made it abundantly clear that she has no desire to manage Viacom nor chair its board" herself. Viacom's chief executive Philippe Dauman, a longtime protege of Sumner Redstone, has been feuding with her over keeping his job. Dauman and Viacom board member George Abrams -- both of whom Redstone removed from a seven-member trust meant to manage his empire if he dies or is declared incompetent -- alleged in a court petition that Redstone is mentally incapacitated and not able to make decisions about the trust. They accused Redstone's daughter of abusing her power over her father to seize control of Viacom against his longstanding succession plans. Keryn Redstone offered support for Dauman, arguing that Shari Redstone's immediate family "lied to him (Sumner) about Manuela Herzer, the loyalty of his long-time friends like Philippe Dauman and George Abrams, and me." Her attorney O'Donnell has also represented Herzer in a lawsuit seeking $70 million of an expected inheritance from Sumner Redstone. A judge in the case refused to declare the nonagenarian mentally incompetent last month. There was no immediate comment from Viacom or Sumner Redstone on the latest statement. Keryn Redstone's father Brent has had strained relations with his father. The mogul bought out his son's stake in the family business a decade ago to settle a lawsuit. Fourteen automakers have recalled nearly 40 million vehicles equipped with more than 80 million defective Takata airbags that can deploy with enough force to shoot pieces of shrapnel at drivers and passengers, leading to 10 deaths in the U.S. and hundreds of injuries. While the Japanese parts maker, federal regulators, and carmakers have worked to replace these dangerous safety devices, a new report reveals that at least four carmakers continue to equip new vehicles with affected airbags. Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Mitsubishi confirmed in a new report from Florida Senator Bill Nelson (PDF) that they are selling some new vehicles with defective airbags that must be recalled by 2018. There currently is no law prohibiting the carmakers from using the Takata airbags in the vehicles and then selling them, as the recall isnt technically effective for two more years. More from Consumer Reports However, Sen. Nelson and others are raising concerns that consumers may not be aware they are purchasing a vehicle that could contain a dangerous defect. Whats troubling here is that consumers are buying new cars not realizing theyre going to be recalled, Nelson said in a statement. These cars shouldnt be sold until theyre fixed. According to the report, the four carmakers vehicle models contain Takatas ammonium nitrate-based propellant in driver and passenger frontal airbag inflators without a chemical drying agent, also known as a desiccant. Investigators previous determination that the root cause of the violent ruptures was a combination of three factors: time, environmental moisture, and fluctuating high temperatures contribute to the degradation of the ammonium nitrate propellant in the inflators. Only two of the four automakers provided a list of new vehicles that contain the defective airbags. Those models are: 2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEV; 2017 Mitsubishi i-MiEV; 2016 Volkswagen CC; 2016 Audi TT; and 2017 Audi R8. Story continues Toyota said it expects to produce approximately 175,000 unspecified vehicles with the defective Takata inflators between March 2016 and July 2017, while Fiat Chrysler stated that at least one of its current models contains a frontal passenger-side airbag that uses the non-desiccated ammonium-nitrate inflators. Neither carmaker specified the models affected. Honda, which previously said it could produce as many as 17,000 new vehicles with the airbags tells Nelsons office that no new models are or will be equipped with the inflators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration previously ordered Takata and automakers to recall these airbags in phases. The airbags currently being used in new the Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Mitsubishi models are earmarked to be recalled by 2018. More from Consumer Reports: 8 Ways to Boost Your Home Value Why your cable TV bill is going up Get the Best Cell Phone Plan for Your Familyand Save up to $1,000 a Year Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. marijuana drug arrest us marshal People of color accounted for more than nine out of 10 arrests made on suspicion of marijuana possession and sale in New York City from January to March, according to statistics from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services obtained by the Police Reform Organizing Project. PROP also found that 86.5% of New York Police Department misdemeanor arrests involved people of color, up 2% from 2015. Arrests for "small amounts" of marijuana were up a whopping 33.7% from last year. Robert Gangi, PROP's director, said in a press release that the statistics showed that NYPD arrest practices are marked by "waste and racial bias" and that, despite the rhetoric in City Hall, marijuana infractions remain a major focus of the police. "While Mayor de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Bratton, and other city officials have made widely publicized pronouncements about reducing punitive sanctions for marijuana infractions, the data present a different story," Gangi said. "Arrests for these activities are actually on the rise." The NYPD was not immediately available for comment. Steve Zeidman, a law professor at City University of New York and a longtime police-reform advocate, said in an email to Business Insider that the fact that marijuana-related arrests had risen in New York despite changing public opinion and the fact people of color are overrepresented in the arrest statistics "should sound very loudly all kinds of alarm bells." arrest marijuana In 2010, the white arrest rate for marijuana possession nationwide was 192 per 100,000, while the black arrest rate was 716 per 100,000, according to a 2013 ACLU report. The racial disparity in the arrest rate has increased over the past decade too. While the white arrest rate has stayed constant at 192 per 100,000, the black arrest rate has risen from 537 per 100,000 in 2001 to 716 per 100,000 in 2010. Story continues Rate of marijuana use are more or less identical between whites and blacks, according to data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse and Health. arrest marijuana Zeidman offered some insight into what is behind the disparity. "Think of it this way," Zeidman said. "Let's say 50 cops are patrolling a Black neighborhood (designated by the NYPD as "high-crime") and 5 cops are patrolling a white neighborhood. In which neighborhood is a teenager smoking a joint more likely to be seen and arrested?" NOW WATCH: This is how the legal marijuana industry is affecting Mexican drug cartels More From Business Insider Rescue workers reunited a sea otter pup with her mother on Thursday, May 26, in Morro Bay, California. The Marine Mammal Center says it is rare to be able to successfully reunite a mother and her pup as they were able to do. The Marine Mammal Center and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife received calls of a female pup, less than two days old, that had drifted away from her mother because of a strong incoming tide. The two groups retrieved the pup from near a pier, guided by the directions given by concerned individuals. Heather Harris, a veterinarian with the center, who shot this video, was included in the group. The pup was alert, had no wounds and wasnt stressed, the Marine Mammal Center said, so the group attempted to reunite the pup with her mother. Marine Mammal Center volunteers and the Morro Bay Harbor Patrol took the pup by boat through the bay, testing responses from the multiple adult female otters in the area. They held up the pup in front of the other sea otters to see which one would respond to her cries. The mother responded quickly and swam over to the boat to retrieve the pup, which can be seen at the end of the video. Credit: Dr. Heather Harris/Tim Cowan Residents were evacuated from Bethune, France by boat, on Tuesday night, May 31, as flooding from the Yonne river cut power lines and filled homes with water. This video shows one of the homes affected beside the overflowing Yonne. Credit: Twitter/Juliedesbois of LYonne Republicaine By Haider Kadhim and Saif Hameed GARMA VILLAGE, Iraq (Reuters) - Desperate for food and water, residents are fleeing the Iraqi city of Falluja as Islamist militants seek to fend off an assault by the army, only for hundreds to be detained by the authorities on suspicion of siding with those they are escaping. A week after Baghdad announced the start of its offensive on Falluja, its troops advanced into the city limits for the first time on Monday, pouring into rural territory on its southern outskirts but stopping short of the main built-up area. By Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called a pause to the advance because of concerns about the safety of the tens of thousands of people still believed trapped inside. Residents who fled Falluja ahead of the army's attack and were sheltering in a village school nearby said that while they are glad to escape Islamic State militants, they now feared for hundreds of men and boys detained by the army. "Don't treat us like we are Daesh," said 54-year-old Mahdi Fayyadh, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Fayyadh, who lost a leg to diabetes while under Islamic State's rule due to a lack of medication, said he fled the city with 11 family members after the assault began. His relatives helped him to walk on crutches. But once they reached army lines, the other men in the group were separated from the rest and detained. He was left vulnerable, with nobody to help him walk. "I already lost a leg," Fayyadh said, a battered pair of crutches leaning against his shoulder. "I ask all the good people to not treat us like they (the militants) treated us." The government says it has no choice but to screen fleeing men and boys to prevent Islamic State fighters from escaping among civilians, and that it carries out the screening as quickly and with as much care for those detained as is possible on the battlefield. SECURITY SCREENING The United Nations said on Tuesday around 500 men and boys over 12 years old from Falluja were being held by the authorities, in a screening process meant to take up to seven days. About 30 were released on Monday, it said. Conditions in detention centers in Anbar province are known to be squalid. Last month, London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International said people as young as 15 were being held in "inhumane and degrading conditions". Fayyadh said he just hoped his detained relatives' screening would be over soon so they could together leave the school where he was housed in Garma, a village east of Falluja. The authorities are using the school to shelter 1,500 refugees. "I hope that the security commanders hurry up with the security screening of my relatives, so that we can move to other areas that have services and we don't stay here crowded with little food and medicine," he said. Falluja, where U.S. troops fought their biggest battles after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, is the militants' closest stronghold to Baghdad, and thought to be the base for their campaign of suicide bombings on the capital less than an hour's drive away. It was the first Iraqi city where Islamic State raised its flag in 2014, before sweeping through most Sunni Muslim parts of the country in the months that followed. The Shi'ite-led Baghdad government faces the task not only of driving out the militants but of winning over the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim population. Shi'ite militias assisting the army in its offensive have said they will take part only in the encirclement of Falluja, to avoid fanning sectarian tension. Government forces and allies began a siege on the city six months ago during which the humanitarian situation has deteriorated. Now they have begun to try to retake Falluja, the United Nations has warned that tens of thousands are trapped inside, lacking food, drinking water and medicine. HUMAN SHIELDS The United Nations says the militants are forcing civilians to serve as human shields, a tactic they have employed in other locations in Iraq. At least 20,000 children are trapped inside the city, facing the risks of forced recruitment or separation from their families, the United Nations said. [L8N18T0D9] At the shelter in Garma, some escaped residents said they had been forced apart from their relatives by the militants. Holding a baby in her arms, 40-year-old Umm Salam said Islamic State fighters had used the men of her village as human shields as the army closed in on them last week. The militants moved her and her family to another house in the village, Umm Salam said. "We remained trapped in the house for five days without food." They were freed when Iraqi security forces captured the village. Hassan Farhan Salih, a 45-year-old school head, said that as shortages in Falluja become more acute in recent months, militants had pressured residents to provide them with money and food. "They demanded produce from farmers and cattle from herders," he said. A group of older men sitting with Salih inside the Garma school nodded in agreement. Once the militants took $4,000 from him with which he was going to pay for a used car, he said. The unfolding offensive could determine the fate of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose government is in turmoil as months of political deadlock drag on. He has repeatedly promised that civilians would not be harmed. The fate of those taken by Islamic State is more uncertain than those being held by the authorities. Umm Salam does not know if she will see her male relatives again. "We don't know if they're alive or dead." (Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) May 31 (Reuters) - Resolute Forest Products Inc filed a racketeering lawsuit against Greenpeace and some of its associates for its campaign criticizing the company's forestry practices. The Montreal, Quebec-based company said in a statement on Tuesday that the complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Of Georgia, sought compensatory and other damages. The complaint included racketeering, trademark, defamation and tortious interference claims against Greenpeace over its campaign titled "Resolute: Forest Destroyer." In the campaign, Greenpeace said Resolute, one of the largest producers of newsprint in North America, had destroyed Canada's Boreal forest and woodland caribou habitat. Resolute said Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, Greenpeace Fund Inc, advocacy group STAND and others were named in the lawsuit. Greenpeace said in an emailed statement that it was premature for the group to comment as it had not yet been officially served with a lawsuit from Resolute. "We will comment in more detail at the appropriate time, but rest assured we will fully defend ourselves against this lawsuit," Greenpeace USA General Counsel Tom Wetterer said in the statement. Michael Bowe of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, which represents Resolute, said in an email the company had 120 days to serve those who were named in the lawsuit. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) air force one Taxpayers fork over $206,337 every hour the world's most famous plane is in flight, according to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents obtained by the nonprofit Judicial Watch. The FY15 cost per flying hour for Air Force One (VC-25A) includes "fuel, flight consumables, depot level repairables, aircraft overhaul, and engine overhaul," according to the letter from the Department of the Air Force Headquarters Air Mobility Command to Judicial Watch. According to the National Taxpayer Union Foundation, President Barack Obama has traveled internationally more than any other president, and he has done it on the "most expensive-to-operate Air Force One to date." BI_Graphics Air Force One Cost of Flying The aging Air Force One and it's twin decoy will be replaced with two Boeing's 747-8 and are expected to be operational in 2020. NOW WATCH: SEBASTIAN JUNGER: Why some soldiers return to battle when they don't have to More From Business Insider The Walking Dead comic book creator Robert Kirkman currently finds himself in court pursuing individuals planning a New Jersey "Walking Dead" restaurant. For those who are blood-thirsty - not in the trademark sense - the defendants appear to have health food, specifically of the Greek variety, in mind. Kirkman contends this is an infringement of his famous mark. But Philip Theodorou, Steven Theodorou, Anna Theodorou and Mohamed Elkady are not rolling over. In response to a lawsuit and summary judgment motion, the four are arguing that Kirkman and, by extension, AMC, which broadcasts a television adaptation of the zombie series, are limited in their rights. The defendants' court papers mention that Kirkman once was going to call his comic "Night of the Living Dead" after the 1968 George Romero film before picking "The Walking Dead." According to defendants' brief, "[Kirkman] now seeks to intimidate and stop defendants from using the instant mark by initiating suit, alleging the defendants were profiting from a 'famous' name, yet the name was made famous by well-thought of authors writing about zombies, the walking dead, and the like for almost a century. Plaintiff never took into consideration the fact that what happened to Mr. Romero, could very easily happen to him." Yes, the "walking dead" isn't new. It has been used to describe those afflicted with drug addition in the early 1960s, for instance, and arguing for a "crowded field of marks," the defendants point to the titles of songs, books and other works, including the 1936 film The Walking Dead, starring Boris Karloff. In their brief (read here), the defendants say that what Kirkman is taking ownership over "has been in common usage amongst horror film followers, fans, and others since the early 1900s, if not earlier," and further that "Walking Dead" is descriptive, not distinctive enough, and lacks secondary meaning. Kirkman is accused of engaging in trademark misuse and misrepresentation by suggesting otherwise. Story continues On Tuesday, Kirkman responded in a New Jersey federal court by lashing out at the list of other "Walking Dead" works as "inadmissible hearsay," and adding that "none of the third-party uses ... are using The Walking Dead as a trademark." Kirkman says he is, and has got four trademark registrations that afford the presumption of validity. He also points to his use in the market - not just a top-related cable series, but also the licensing of figurines, board games, tote bags, beer, towels, makeup kits and beer koozies - and takes issue with the contention that his "Walking Dead" mark is invalid. "Kirkman's The Walking Dead Mark is not descriptive," his brief (here) states. "The Walking Dead Mark is suggestive, as it requires consumer imagination, thought, or perception to determine that it refers to zombies." His attorneys add, "The Walking Dead Mark has acquired secondary meaning. Defendants do not dispute that AMC and Kirkman have substantially advertised and promoted the mark and, in fact, that the USPTO has held the mark to be 'famous.'" Watford (United Kingdom) (AFP) - England captain Wayne Rooney called Euro 2016 his "biggest test" as an international player on Wednesday and revealed that he has spoken to newly appointed Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. Rooney's immediate focus is on leading England out against Portugal at Wembley on Thursday in their final warm-up game before Roy Hodgson's men head to France. But with Mourinho having visited United's training centre for the first time this week, there was another Portuguese on the minds of the journalists who attended the pre-match press conference at England's team hotel in Watford, north of London. "Obviously I've spoken to him. It's exciting times for Manchester United, and for myself and the other players," Rooney said when asked about the new man in the Old Trafford hotseat. "He's one of the best managers in the world and very successful, so I'm looking forward to it." Mourinho, who tried to sign Rooney during his second spell as Chelsea manager, signed a three-year contract with United last week as a replacement for the sacked Louis van Gaal. Rooney will not play under Mourinho until United's pre-season tour of China in July at the earliest and in the meantime, he has a sixth major tournament with England to attend to. The call-up awarded to Marcus Rashford, Rooney's precocious United team-mate, has stirred memories of the former Everton striker's own stunning emergence as an 18-year-old at Euro 2004 in Portugal. Now 30, with 110 caps and a record 52 goals to his name, he is the senior figure in the England set-up and is relishing the challenge presented by his first tournament as captain. - 'Injury-free' - "I feel it's gone well. We were unbeaten in the qualifying campaign and I've scored a lot of goals since I've been captain," Rooney said. "But now is the big test. I think this is the biggest test now, going into a tournament. We're away a long time as a group of players and I need to be a good example to those players and hopefully help us be successful. Story continues "I don't think I have to look after them, but if I can set the right example around the hotel or on the training pitch, then they will see that. "There's a lot of players going to their first tournament who won't know what to expect. It is different to turning up every couple of months and playing one or two games. So if I can try and give them a bit of insight into that, then of course I will do that." When England last played Portugal, in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Rooney was sent off after planting his foot into the nether regions of Ricardo Carvalho. He had been rushed back after breaking his foot prior to the tournament and has since become accustomed to going into international competitions either nursing an ailment or, as before Euro 2012, with a suspension to serve. But having had two months' rest due to a knee injury sustained in mid-February, he says that he has never felt better ahead of a major assignment with England. "It's certainly as good as I've felt going into a tournament and that's largely because I'm injury-free," he said. "In previous tournaments I've gone in and I've had little concerns, which sometimes does play on your mind, but I have no concerns about that. I'm just looking forward to it." (Adds interior ministry statement, minor edits) By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW, June 1 (Reuters) - Russia's FSB security service said on Wednesday it had helped detain a gang of about 50 hackers who stole over 1.7 billion roubles ($25.33 million) from the accounts of various Russian financial institutions. The same gang had tried to steal a further 2.273 billion roubles by issuing false payment instructions which had been blocked, the interior ministry said. The suspects had used malware to set up a network of bots on infected computers to carry out the cyber attacks, the ministry said, and Sberbank, Russia's largest bank by assets, had helped the authorities crack the case. The hackers targeted accounts belonging to corporate entities as well as correspondent accounts belonging to financial institutions. The authorities did not name any other lenders apart from Sberbank or say how many accounts had been compromised. About 50 individuals were detained in nationwide raids as part of the investigation, 18 of whom were now behind bars in Moscow pending the outcome of the case, according to the FSB. A criminal case into the matter has been opened accusing those arrested of being part of an organised criminal group and of using computers to perpetrate fraud. Footage of the raids in 15 different Russian regions showed armed men wearing balaclavas using battering rams to gain access to properties and handcuffed men later being unloaded from a van. "As a result of (house) searches a large quantity of computer equipment was confiscated along with communications gear, bank cards in false names, and also financial documents and significant amounts of cash confirming the illegal nature of their activity," the FSB said in a statement. The FSB, the successor to the Soviet KGB, said it had carried out the operation with the interior ministry backed by armed units of the National Guard. The interior ministry said it had registered 18 cyber attacks on lenders since the middle of last year which had resulted in total losses of over 3 billion roubles ($44.70 million). ($1 = 67.1193 roubles) (Editing by Alexander Winning) Moscow (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday discussed "the need for decisive joint action" against the Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria, Lavrov's office said. The pair talked by phone about the situation in Syria, "particularly the need for decisive joint action against the Al-Nusra Front, as Russia has constantly proposed," the Russian ministry said in a statement. Russia last month floated a proposal for joint air strikes with the United States against jihadists in Syria but the offer was swiftly rejected. The Pentagon said on May 20 that US forces "do not collaborate or coordinate with the Russians on any operations in Syria," adding that Washington and Moscow had separate military objectives there. "Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime, and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating ISIL," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, referring to the principal jihadist group in Syria, the so-called Islamic State. The United States and Russia are partners in the so-called Vienna diplomatic process of the International Support Group for Syria, which met last month but made no notable progress. A cessation of hostilities between the government and non-jihadist opposition groups took effect on February 27 but it has failed to build into a durable truce. One factor in the complex equation has been Moscow's air campaign in support of its Damascus ally. It has been criticised for targeting non-jihadist rebels as well as Al-Qaeda and IS. On Wednesday, Russian officials said a 48-hour truce in the town of Daraya had been agreed "with the leadership and the American side" to help deliver aid to the population. At least 280,000 people have been killed and more than half of Syria's population have fled their homes since the conflict erupted in 2011. (Adds table, quote) LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Sales at Tesco fell 1 percent year on yeare in the 12 weeks to May 22, according to industry data published on Wednesday, showing signs of stabilisation for Britain's biggest supermarket chain in a tough market for the "Big Four" players. Tesco outperformed its main rivals, with sales at Sainsbury's down 1.2 percent while Wal-Mart's Asda suffered a 5.1 percent fall and Morrisons dropped 2.1 percent, Kantar Worldpanel said. All four companies are being squeezed by the march of the discounters in Britain, led by Aldi, which increased sales by 11.4 percent, and Lidl, up 14.2 percent. "The big four continue to be under pressure, with sales declining at each retailer this period," Kantar said. "Tesco saw signs of stabilising in comparison to historic declines over the past two years." Market share and sales growth (percent) 12 wks to May 12 wks to May pct change in 22, 2016 24, 2015 sales Tesco 28.3 28.6 -1.0 Sainsbury's 16.2 16.5 -1.2 Asda 15.8 16.6 -5.1 Morrisons 10.7 10.9 -2.1 Co-operative 6.2 6.0 +3.3 Aldi 6.0 5.4 +11.4 Waitrose 5.3 5.2 +2.1 Lidl 4.4 3.9 +14.2 Iceland 2.1 2.1 +0.6 (Reporting by Paul Sandle and Costas Pitas; Editing by David Goodman) LONDON (Reuters) - Sales at Tesco (TSCO.L) fell 1 percent year on year in the 12 weeks to May 22, according to industry data published on Wednesday, showing signs of stabilisation for Britain's biggest supermarket chain in a tough market for the "Big Four" players. Tesco outperformed its main rivals, with sales at Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) down 1.2 percent while Wal-Mart's (WMT.N) Asda suffered a 5.1 percent fall and Morrisons (MRW.L) dropped 2.1 percent, Kantar Worldpanel said. All four companies are being squeezed by the march of the discounters in Britain, led by Aldi [ALDIEI.UL], which increased sales by 11.4 percent, and Lidl [LIDUK.UL], up 14.2 percent. "The big four continue to be under pressure, with sales declining at each retailer this period," Kantar said. "Tesco saw signs of stabilising in comparison to historic declines over the past two years." (Reporting by Paul Sandle and Costas Pitas; Editing by David Goodman) By Anya George Tharakan and Kshitiz Goliya (Reuters) - Cloud-based software maker Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) said on Wednesday it would buy Demandware Inc (DWRE.N), whose software is used by businesses to run e-commerce websites, for about $2.8 billion (1.9 billion). The deal would help Salesforce open a new front as it seeks to take more market share from traditional software providers such as Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) and SAP AG (SAPG.DE), both of which already offer cloud-based e-commerce services. The e-commerce market has been growing at a blistering pace as retailers expand their online presence, boosting demand for software that helps manage functions such as payment processing and inventory management. Salesforce's cash offer of $75.00 per share represents a 56.3 percent premium to Demandware's Tuesday closing. The lofty premium indicates that multiple bidders were likely at the table for Demandware, Stifel Nicolaus & Co analyst Thomas Roderick said, naming Adobe Systems Inc (ABDE.O) and Oracle as the other possible contenders. "We're not winning every deal, this is just the deal that we were actually able to get done," Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff told CNBC in an interview. Demandware's shares, which have fallen about 21 percent in the past year, rose 55.9 percent to $74.81 on Wednesday. Shares of Salesforce, considered a barometer for the cloud-computing industry, edged down 0.3 percent. Demandware, whose customers include Lands' End Inc (LE.O), L'Oreal SA (OREP.PA) and Marks and Spencer Group Plc (MKS.L), has reported sales growth of more than 30 percent for the last 10 quarters. "I think Salesforce has effectively already won the CRM war - they need to stay out front in terms of innovation and they do need to have the broadest, deepest portfolio ... this was a blind spot for them," Wedbush Securities analyst Steve Koenig said. Global spending on digital commerce platforms is expected to grow over 14 percent annually to about $8.5 billion by 2020, Salesforce said, citing research firm Gartner. Story continues The deal, slated to close in Salesforce's second quarter ending July, is expected to increase the company's 2017 revenue by about $100 million-$120 million. Salesforce had forecast fiscal 2017 revenue of $8.16 billion-$8.20 billion in May. However, Salesforce said it now expected an adjusted profit of 93 cents-95 cents per share for the full year, down from its previous forecast of $1-$1.02. BofA Merrill Lynch is Salesforce's financial adviser for the deal, while Goldman Sachs is advising Demandware. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Kshitiz Goliya in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak Dasgupta) PLEASANT HILL, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 1st, 2016 / Textmunication Holdings, Inc., (OTC: TXHD) ("Textmunication"), a Nevada corporation is pleased to announce that SalonTouch Studio, the leading salon management software provider, has signed an agreement with Textmunication, a leader in mobile marketing communications, allowing SalonTouch and SalonTouch Studio customers to communicate with their members more effectively. SalonTouch and SalonTouch Studio will be exclusively promoting the Textmunication SMS service to its global client base of over 10,000 businesses in 14 countries. The complete set of powerful, automated messaging features available on the Textmunication platform includes: Lead generation Salon tip alerts New member alerts Birthday alerts Appointment reminders Mobile coupons The partnership will offer SalonTouch and SalonTouch Studio clients advanced online tools to more precisely reach their customers, build brand recognition and increase marketing ROI. "It's a huge time saver for salon owners who tell us it immediately magnifies the impact of their marketing and operations efforts in terms of customer retention, lead generation and staff productivity," says Wais Asefi, CEO of Textmunication. SalonTouch and SalonTouch Studio clients can take full advantage of this opportunity and immediately begin engaging with their clients using mobile marketing campaigns that get results. SalonTouch and SalonTouch Studio utilize both desktop and cloud-based software versions. Their Salon Management Software is used in a variety of salons such as tanning, hair, spa, fitness, cryogenics and other types of salons and studios. "We're excited about this partnership because every one of our salons that signs up to use the Textmunication mobile marketing platform will get one-on-one training and access to free marketing webinars helping increase their sales and customer loyalty," says Michael Young, CEO of SalonTouch Studio. "We feel one of the barriers of starting a successful social marketing campaign is understanding where and how to begin. This joint partnership between SalonTouch Studio and Textmunication breaks down this barrier by educating and training our clients on how to create and implement successful social marketing campaigns." Story continues About SalonTouch and SalonTouch Studio: Since 1991 SalonTouch has been providing innovative and creative software solutions helping businesses run and manage their day to day operations and tasks. SalonTouch is the leader in windows-based salon management software - and the NUMBER ONE recommended salon management program in the tanning industry. SalonTouch is designed to run any size salon in virtually any industry. From tanning to hair to spa to cryogenics, SalonTouch is designed to operate single salons all the way to national chain salons. Last year, SalonTouch started on a new and revolutionizing product called SalonTouch Studio. SalonTouch Studio expands the on the rich feature set of SalonTouch to offer more diversity and flexibility to salons. Both SalonTouch and SalonTouch Studio are designed to keep clients in "touch" with their business from anywhere in the world. Contact: SalonTouch Studio Michael Young, CEO www.salontouchstudio.com About Textmunication: Textmunication is an online mobile SMS marketing platform service provider helping salons and fitness clubs communicate more effectively. Textmunication uses a non-intrusive, FCC-compliant text messaging medium to build loyalty, engage and retain members and generate new business. Salons and fitness centers across North America rely on the easy-to-use Textmunication dashboard to customize and automate text messages to select member groups and individuals so that they immediately receive the latest promotional offers, discounts, service alerts, events, training schedules and any other tailored content right to the palm of their hand. Contact: Textmunication Holdings, Inc. Wais Asefi, CEO 1-800-677-7003 www.textmunication.com Safe Harbor Statement Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements in this press release as they reflect Textmunication Holdings' current expectations with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks described in Textmunication Holdings' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release. SOURCE: Textmunication Holdings, Inc. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f10403%2fa3p7235_a The San Diego Zoo has welcomed a new baby to its family: a rare red ruffed lemur. Although the lemurs are currently not available for viewing by guests due to the ongoing construction of their new exhibit, the zoo shared a photo of the baby on Wednesday, which was born May 18. SEE ALSO: Greedy lemur begs two kids to scratch its back According to a post on its website, a red ruffed lemur hasn't been born at the zoo in 13 years. Because the species is endangered, "every birth of a red ruffed lemur is a critically important one," said Kristen Watkins, a primate keeper at the zoo. "They are only found in one region in the entire world: the Masoala Peninsula in Madagascar," said Watkins. "Needless to say, the San Diego Zoo primate team is excited to welcome this little one to the world." The zoo reports that the baby is in good health, and is gaining weight, which is a good indication of successful nursing. The exhibit is expected to open in summer of 2017. Bonus: 100 years of kitten beauty in 60 seconds Its no surprise that Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to strip former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank of his duties as co-chair of the rules committee at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer. Sanders, the long-shot Democratic presidential candidate, and Frank, the cantankerous former House Financial Services Committee chair from Massachusetts, have been at each others throats for years and couldnt be further apart in their views on how to regulate the big banks on Wall Street or avert a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. Related: Some Democrats Pray for Clintons Indictment as Sanders Pushes On By Sanderss lights, Frank is the poster child for establishment Democrats who have done just about everything possible to rig the Democratic primary elections and candidates debates to assure Hillary Clintons nomination. And as Frank sees it, Sanders is a dyed-in-the wool independent and a late comer to Democratic politics who simply cant accept the fact that Clinton is beating him. Just a week before the critical Democratic primary grand finale in California, New Jersey and four other states, Frank lashed out at Sanders on Tuesday as a spoil-sport who was willing to jeopardize Clintons chances of beating Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump in the general election campaign for the sake of his political vanity. Sen. Sanders is disappointed that he hasnt won, Frank said during an interview with Kate Snow of MSNBC. Hes losing not because anything was rigged or there was dirty trickery. Hes losing because Hillary Clinton has gotten more votes. With 2,383 delegates needed for nomination, Clinton currently holds 2,323 delegate just 71 shy of the nomination. That includes 1,769 pledged delegates won during the primaries and caucuses and 543 superdelegates who automatically get to vote at the convention. Related: Clintons Staff Ignored Investigators as They Looked into Her Emails Sanders -- with 1,501 pledged delegates but only 44 superdelegates -- insists he can win the California primary and overtake Clinton in pledged delegates next week. An emboldened Sanders would then turn his attention to persuading hundreds of superdelegates to switch their allegiance from Clinton to Sanders. Story continues I think he has a right to stay in, Frank said, although he remains highly dubious Sanders has a legitimate chance of gaining the nomination at this point, especially after losing a substantial part of the African-American vote to Clinton. I never said he should stay out. I just wish he would stay in and talk about the issues where he wants to focus, and not make the bogus claim that he is being cheated. To say the tension between the two seasoned politicians is fraught with danger for the party is an understatement. Sanders and his campaign organization last Friday stepped up their attacks on the Democratic National Committee and demanded that Frank and Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy be removed as co-chairs of the Rules Committee and Platform Committee, respectively. Both men have endorsed Clinton for election. Sanders has also vowed that if he is elected president, he will oust Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the DNC chair who he blames for many of the party rules and the low-profile debate schedule that he said worked against his interests. Sanders recently endorsed Wasserman Schultzs Democratic primary challenger, a little-known law professor named Tim Canova who embraces Sanders stand against global trade agreements and other issues. Related: Five Clinton vs. Sanders Policy Battles That Could Blow Up the Convention While Brad Deutsch, a Sanders campaign lawyer, complained in a letter last week that Frank and Malloy have both been harsh, vocal critics of Sanders, the Vermont senators aides have been targeting Frank for special treatment for months. Back in April, Tad Devine, Sanders top political strategist, told reporters that Frank shouldnt have a role in the national convention after he criticized the 74-year-old democratic socialist by invoking his age. Devine said Frank mocked Sanders performance in discussing financial reform during an interview with the New York Daily News editorial board. Devine cited Franks April 6 statements on MSNBC that Sanders confused several things in his responses to questions about his core issue of breaking up big banks. Frank who co-authored the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation with former Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut in 2010 -- also said Sanders responses to the editorial board were not coherent. These are remarks that do not speak merely to the substance of policy proposals but speak to his capacity and obviously his age, an irate Devine declared, according to various reports. I think theyre trying to suggest that he does not have the capacity to be president of the United States. That is part of their attack on his qualifications." Related: While Clinton Braces for Trump, Sanders Sets Sights on Dem Platform Things only got worse last week when Sanders campaign advisers accused Frank of defaming the senator in a March interview with Slate. It was in that interview that Frank accused Sanders of being outrageously McCarthyite by suggesting Clinton would have a major conflict in dealing with Wall Street because of the millions of dollars in speaking fees and campaign contributions she has received from big banks. Sanderss demand that Frank and Malloy be pushed aside at the convention came closely on the heels of a compromise allowing Sanders to hand pick five of the 15 members of the platform committee that will draft party positions on a wide array of economic, trade and foreign policy issues Sanders and his liberal Democratic allies want to heavily influence. The letter, first reported by Politico, denounced Frank and Malloy as "self-proclaimed partisans intent on marginalizing" Sanders campaign supporters. The letter ends with a threat that if the national committee insists on keeping Frank and Malloy as leaders of the rules and platform committees, Sanders forces would do everything in their power to grind the convention process to a halt by taking their case to relevant committees or the convention floor. Frank has differed sharply from Sanders on financial policy, especially on the Vermont senators repeated call for breaking up big banks still deemed too big to fail and resurrecting the Glass-Steagall separation of banks commercial and investment activities. Related: Why Californias Clinton-Sanders Primary May Not Be So Important After All Frank has argued that the repeal of Glass-Steagall during the administration of former Democratic President Bill Clinton had nothing to do with the financial meltdown and crisis in 2008, and that reinstituting the law wouldn't address the problems that still exist a view shared by Hillary Clinton. With tensions running high between the Clinton and Sanders camps, Frank warned of a danger to his party if the two presidential contenders dont ultimately reconcile their differences and unite their party to battle Donald Trump in the general election. But that may prove difficult as the two sides dig in and nearly a third of Sanderss supporters say they dont trust Clinton and could never vote for her. And its far from clear how committed Sanders would be in rallying to the former secretary of states side if he loses the contest. You know what the biggest lie politicians tell? he said. Its not that Im going to cut your taxes or pick up your garbage. Its only that We ran against each other but were still good friends. Theres nothing about running against each other that avoids enmity. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: A Texas school district is investigating after video surfaced of a school bus driving through floodwaters. Karin Baker Williams posted the video on Saturday, May 28, stating it was her eighth graders trip home from the Montgomery schools on Friday. The Montgomery Independent School District had delayed classes by two hours because of the flooding and then released students early on Friday, according to local reports. Williams told The Houston Chronicle that the students were freaked out by the experience and parents were upset the district did not cancel classes like others in the area before putting students on buses. She also told the Chronicle that many parents wouldnt have been able to pick up their children from school because of the flooding. They couldnt have crossed the floodwaters in their vehicles like the bus did, she told the newspaper. The school district released a statement that it was examining the video and its authenticity. Currently, our standard operating procedures for drivers in high water situations are: stop, observe traffic (any other vehicles crossing), can you see the road (stripes/markings), is the water less than 4 inches in depth, if not, then proceed and if the water does not cross the first step on the bus, the driver can continue across the low water area. If the water comes across the first step, the driver is to stop and reverse course, the district said in its statement, according to the Chronicle. Credit: Facebook/Karin Baker Williams For quite some time now, the massive English Neolithic period monument Stonehenge has baffled scientists and visitors alike. After all, dragging those probably back-breaking stones that weighed two tons each for 140 miles from Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales, must've been a grueling task fit for a village, right? (While the stones from Preseli weighed two tons, the average Stonehenge stone weighed 25 tons.) Maybe not, University College London archaeologists found in a recent experiment. In the experiment, participants replicated the building of Stonehenge, located near Salisbury, England, with the technique of pulling stones on a wooden sleigh down a track. Turns out a one-ton stone only needed a team of 10 people to move at a speed of "more than one mile per hour," which leads scientists to believe that a team of 20 people could've helped assemble each Stonehenge stone. Source: Giphy Researcher Barney Harris had predicted that one of the one-ton stones would need 15 people to move it and up to 50 to actually lift it up. However, the conditions of the experiment were a little different than what would've been going on during the actual Stonehenge-building. For instance, the experiment used flat terrain and stones half the size of Stonehenge. Built about 5,000 years ago, Stonehenge was likely a sacred place for burials, according to History. It's made up of two rings: an outer ring made of sarsen sandstone and an inner ring made of smaller bluestones. Previous hypotheses suggested that Stonehenge was built using giant wicker basket-cage hybrids and oxen-power. But the sleighs used by Harris and his team have been around since ancient China, and were probably used to move around the 125 ton stones used in the Forbidden City. They're so effective that they're still used to build structures in India today. Paris (AFP) - German researchers on Wednesday presented a Trojan horse method of attacking cancer, sneaking virus impersonators into the human body to unleash an anti-tumour immune offensive. Tested in only three people so far, the treatment claims to be the latest advance in immunotherapy, which aims to rouse the body's own immune army against disease. Made in the lab, this Trojan horse is composed of nanoparticles containing cancer RNA -- a form of genetic coding -- enclosed by a fatty acid membrane. The particles are injected into patients to simulate a virus invasion, and infiltrate specialised immune cells. These so-called dendritic cells decode the RNA imbedded in the nanoparticles -- triggering, in turn, the production of cancer antigens. The antigens then activate cancer-fighting T cells, and thus prime the body for an all-out, anti-tumour assault. Following experiments in mice, three people with advanced skin cancer were given low doses of the treatment, in the first step of the long and cautious process to test new drugs on humans. All developed a "strong" immune response, the team reported in the journal Nature. If further trials find the therapy works, they added, the method could help pave the way to the highly-sought "universal" treatment against all cancer types. The new treatment is called an RNA vaccine -- it works just like a preventive vaccine by mimicking an infectious agent and training the body to respond to it. "Impressively, immune responses were observed" in the three cancer patients, expert commentators Jolanda de Vries and Carl Figdor of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen in the Netherlands wrote in an analysis, also published by Nature. But they cautioned "it is still early days, and a larger, randomised trial will be needed to validate these findings." Immunotherapy is already used in treating some forms of cancer, but there is as yet no universal vaccine -- the holy grail of cancer therapy. Story continues Unlike viruses, bacteria or fungi which can be targeted with drugs, cancer cells are not intruders but our own cells gone haywire due to DNA damage. This explains why they mostly circulate undisturbed by the body's immune system. Finding drugs that can kill diseased cells without harming healthy ones has proven very difficult. Chemotherapy, for example, targets fast-dividing cells -- good and bad alike. Immunotherapy seeks to activate the body's own immune response without killing healthy cells. "Although the research is very interesting, it is still some way away from being of proven benefit to patients," immunotherapy professor Alan Melcher of The Institute of Cancer Research in London, told the Science Media Centre. One outstanding issue was "the practical challenge of manufacturing nanoparticles for widespread clinical application." From Cosmopolitan As the Summer Olympics in Rio approach - raising concerns about the global spread of the Zika virus -the world's top scientists are urging the public to take greater precautions when it comes to sex. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization, or WHO, said people returning from areas with Zika should practice safe sex or abstain from sex entirely for at least eight weeks. Previously, WHO said people should not have sex for four weeks, according to NBC News. The new guidelines, WHO said, come as a result of new information about the virus. Basically, scientists discovered that Zika stays in a person's blood longer than they'd suspected. WHO's guidelines are now in line with those of the U.S. Center for Disease Control, or CDC, which urges eight weeks of avoiding unprotected sex after exposure to Zika. If a couple is planning on getting pregnant, and the man in the relationship is showing signs of Zika, then they should practice safe sex or avoid sex altogether for six months, WHO added. Zika, which is spread through Aedes mosquitoes as well as sex, is linked to birth defects if an expectant mother contracts the virus during pregnancy. The disease doesn't stay in a person's blood forever; the body's immune system ultimately flushes it out, according to NBC News. Last week, the CDC said 279 pregnant women in the U.S. and U.S. territories are carrying the Zika virus. Zika has set the world on edge because the epicenter of the disease, Brazil, is hosting the Summer Olympics in August. Officials fear that people from across the globe will visit Brazil, become exposed to the virus, and then bring it back to their home countries. In fact, 100 scientists sent an open letter to WHO last Friday calling on officials to postpone or move the Summer Games. "Our greater concern is for global health," the letter said. "The Brazilian strain of Zika virus harms health in ways that science has not observed before." WHO said in a statement, however, that canceling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not "significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus. " From Harper's BAZAAR For power couple George and Amal Clooney, a trip to Rome would be amiss without stopping to say hello to some famous friends. On Sunday, the pair met with the Holy Father for a special awards ceremony where George and fellow actors Richard Gere and Salma Hayek were honored. The Clooneys attended Pope Francis' Un Muro o Un Ponte Seminary at Paul VI Hall, where George was awarded a medal for his work with Scholas Occurrentes, a papal organization that "links technology with the arts, aiming at social integration and a cultural of peace," Reuters reports. The couple is a known supporter of human rights and equality, especially Amal, who is a human rights lawyer. Her past humanitarian work includes launching a scholarship for Lebanese girls, speaking out about the crisis in the Maldives, and discussing the migrant crisis with Germany's Angela Merkel. But at the Vatican, she reminded us of her rising style icon status, too. Amal dressed for the occasion in a quarter-length sleeved black lace dress by Atelier Versace, topped with a matching retro-inspired hat and a nude clutch and pumps. In fact, their entire Italian getaway was full of some of Amal's best sartorial moments. She reprised her '60s-inspired moment with a Jackie O-themed neutral ensemble during the trip. See more of Amal Clooney's best looks here. For those looking forward to seeing Transformers, G.I. Joe and the other Hasbro toy brands meet in the in-development the Hasbro Cinematic Universe, prepare for a sneak peek at what may be to come with this exclusive trailer for IDW Publishing's upcoming Revolution storyline. Launching this fall, Revolution will bring the Transformers, G.I. Joe, Action Man, ROM, Micronauts and M.A.S.K. properties together for the very first time, creating a unified mythology combining all the brands that will last far beyond the bi-weekly storyline. (While the combination of properties matches Hasbro's big screen plans, IDW clarified to THR that Revolution is a storyline to create a mythology specifically for the comic book incarnations of each brand.) Revolution doesn't rewrite the comic book histories of Transformers and G.I. Joe, both of which have been published by the California-based publisher for a number of years; indeed, it "builds out of a detail that was introduced in IDW's first-ever issue of Transformers in 2005," according to IDW chief creative officer Chris Ryall. "We've been working toward a full-fledged universe for some time," he continued. "It's great fun to be able to bring it to vivid life, especially since it allows us to give the world new titles like the very-requested M.A.S.K., as well as some exciting new books still to be announced." (IDW launched new comic book series for ROM and Micronauts earlier this year, with Action Man, the British incarnation of G.I. Joe, debuting this month.) Michael Kelly, Hasbro's head of global publishing, said in a statement accompanying the announcement of Revolution that while some of the properties have crossed over in the past, the scale of this storyline (and expanded universe) makes Revolution stand out. "Our heroes, whether they are from Earth or from distant reaches of the galaxy, all have one thing in common: Their powers and abilities are based primarily on technology," he explained. "We have been able to use this fact to build a natural and believable link between all of these disparate characters. The result is a complex and dynamic world where all manner of conflicts and team-ups can and will exist. If you are a fan of Hasbro's brands, your time is now." Story continues The five-issue central Revolution series, co-written by Cullen Bunn and John Barber, with art by Fico Ossio, launches this September, with one-off issues tying into the storyline for each of the properties beginning that month with G.I. Joe, Micronauts and ROM issues. Read More: Hasbro Cinematic Universe Takes Shape With Michael Chabon, Brian K. Vaughan, Akiva Goldsman (Exclusive) var el = document.getElementById('targetParams');if (el !== null && typeof(el) != 'undefined') {var srcParams = $('.advert iframe').attr('src');var addParams = srcParams.split(";");for (i=1;i<=addParams.length - 1;i++) {if (addParams[i] != '=null' && addParams[i] != 'dcopt=ist' && addParams[i] != '!c=iframe' && addParams[i] != 'pos=t' && addParams[i] != 'sz=728x90') {el.value += addParams[i]+";";}}}brightcove.createExperiences();>>>>>>> By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military judge overseeing the trial of the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks should step down and the case should be scrapped because he effectively conspired with prosecutors to destroy evidence, defense lawyers said in a court filing. The motion said Judge James Pohl, an Army colonel, and prosecutors had tainted the case against Pakistan-born Khalid Sheikh Mohammed by keeping defense lawyers from learning that the evidence had been destroyed. The motion was filed on May 10 and recently cleared for release. It raises a potential hurdle in the slow-moving capital case against Mohammed and four others charged in the hijacked airliner attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in which 3,000 people died. Pohl, along with prosecutors, "manipulated secret proceedings and the use of secret orders to mislead the defense and unfairly deprive Mr. Mohammed" of ways to keep the evidence from being destroyed, the motion said. Commissions spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Valerie Henderson referred questions to the prosecutor's response, which is expected to be made public in a few days. Pohl presided over a pretrial hearing on Tuesday in the case at the U.S. Navy prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The filing alleges that Pohl authorized prosecutors to destroy evidence six months after he agreed to a defense request that it be preserved. Defense lawyers were kept in the dark about the authorization and the contact between Pohl and prosecutors, it said. Pohl's order had included a provision that prosecutors give a redacted version of it to the defense. But he did not tell them to do so until 18 months after the order was issued, long after the evidence was destroyed, the filing said. The motion does not detail what the evidence was, and classified annexes are sealed. A prosecution response filed last week has not been cleared for release. The motion asks that Pohl recuse himself and that Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, the military commissions' chief prosecutor, and the prosecution team be disqualified. It also asks that Mohammed's trial be scrapped and/or the death penalty be dropped. Story continues Martins had no immediate comment. During Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors asked Pohl to let 10 relatives of Sept. 11 victims testify in open court. Reuters monitored the proceedings from a media center at Fort Meade, Maryland, outside Washington. The case is among a half dozen against Guantanamo inmates. (Additional reporting by Lacey Johnson at Fort Meade; Editing by David Gregorio and Matthew Lewis) La Tigra (Honduras) (AFP) - A massive bug infestation and cut-down of pine trees in a national park in Honduras has stunned residents and sparked a warning from experts that a localized spike in temperatures will ensue. Authorities are clearing huge swathes of forest in La Tigra National Park, seven kilometers (five miles) northeast of Tegucigalpa, in an effort to stop the plague of bark-munching southern pine beetles. The park, which serves as green "lungs" and a cooling zone for the city, is nearly 240 square kilometers (93 square miles) -- and 10 percent of it has been chopped down over the past nine months. "This has caused a big shock," said Jorge Murillo, a coordinating biologist for the scientific research program studying the park's diverse flora and fauna. The result will be "less water and higher temperatures, as well as biological aspects we will have to take into account," he added. Honduras' state Forest Conservation Institute (ICF) has been forced to cut down beetle-infested trees as well as healthy ones, to create a buffer against the insects, which can fly 100 meters (yards). Yet, despite the tree-clearing operation carried out with help from chainsaw-wielding soldiers, the infestation has covered far more territory than expected and continues to expand. It's not only the nature reserve that is affected: the southern pine beetle has already destroyed more than 600,000 hectares (one million acres) of pine forest, or nearly a quarter of the country's primary forest cover. Flying over the Central American country, one can see vast expanses of dying forest -- colored brown or red -- in sharp contrast with the green of healthy trees, predominantly conifers. - A wasteland - La Tigra park boasts a mountain from which run more than 70 creeks carrying water used by nearly a third of Tegucigalpa's one million residents. Its vegetation processes some of the exhaust fumes from the city's 800,000 vehicles. Story continues Hondurans living on its outskirts have suddenly found their homes, dozens of which once nestled under canopies of green, laid bare on a wasteland. Alcides Hernandez, a former director of the post-graduate economy department of the National University, noted that, before the bug invasion, rural residents "couldn't cut even a pine tree branch because they would be arrested." He described the devastation of Honduras' forests as a disaster. Hernandez had started a cybercafe in the middle of what had been a picturesque pine grove. But the insects passed through, ravaging the four hectares of trees, and he was forced to close the business. Murillo, the biologist, said: "This problem has struck us to our souls, and it's like this across the country." The culprit, the southern pine beetle, is no bigger than a grain of rice. A female can lay 50 eggs at a time, and thousands hatch under the bark of a stricken tree, which inevitably succumbs. The insects have always been present in Honduras, but in far smaller numbers. Specialists attribute the sudden explosion in the beetles' population to a drought that has gone on for three years now. It is attributed to the cyclical El Nino weather phenomenon. Those fighting the losing war against critter have likened it to a cancer that is eating away at the Honduras' tree cover. - A national emergency - Lucky Medina, an environmental advisor to the military, told AFP that 16 of Honduras' 18 provinces have been infected by the plague since it started last year. The 600,000 hectares that have been ravaged represent around a third of the coniferous forest of the entire country, he said. The government has declared the situation a national emergency so that resources can be freed up to immediately try to counter detected outbreaks in new zones. The ICF, in charge of tackling the plague, has deployed 2,500 people to affected areas. But they are not enough, Medina said. "More than double that is needed -- and even with that it would be difficult to bring under control." He estimated it will take at least five decades to restore the damaged zones. And during that time, the next two generations of Hondurans will suffer severe climatic effects. Syrian push. Theres been an agreement of sorts in northern Syria where Kurdish and Arab fighters will split the work to push the Islamic State out of the border region with Turkey. The area that U.S. officials have been calling the Manbij pocket a critical patch of land running along the Turkish border will be cleared by Kurdish YPG forces, but held and secured by Arab fighters. The plan is a critical concession to the Turks, who are opposed to Kurdish land gains, and to local Syrian Arabs, who fear being displaced. American commandos will be involved in the new offensive, which Reuters says kicked off Tuesday, but they wont engage in direct combat, a defense official insisted. The definition of combat has become a pretty fluid thing in Washington in recent months. Three Americans have been killed in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan since October, but Pentagon and White House officials have tied themselves in knots trying to describe how Americans are dying in combatwho are not involved in combat. More combat. Speaking during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, however, President Barack Obama said that the U.S. servicemen who have died over the past several months had given their lives in combat on our behalf. Over the weekend, two more U.S. servicemembers were wounded in Iraq and Syria by indirect fire probably rocket or mortar attacks operating north of the Syrian city of Raqqa, and near Irbil in the Iraqs Kurdistan, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said Tuesday. No more information is available, other than the two did not return to their units. Davis did say, however, that the servicemembers were not engaged in active combat. Meet the Iraqi general running the fight for Fallujah. As the Iraqi army pushes into the Islamic State-held city of Fallujah, theyre being led by Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab Al Saadi, a top general in Iraqs elite counter terrorism forces. He previously led the successful assaults on the cities of Baiji and Tikrit Iraqs first victories against ISIS fighters last year and is again at the front. A Baghdad-born Shiite, Saadi criticized the Iraqi militarys leadership last year, calling it old and outdated, and insisted that he refused Iranian help in taking Baiji, saying, if I had accepted help from non-Iraqis, the history books will say the victory was not ours. Story continues He also dinged U.S. air support: sometimes, they would carry out airstrikes that I never asked for, and at other times I begged them for a single air strike and they never did it, he said. I dont think they trust Iraqs government or military. In Fallujah, ISIS fighters are dug in, he said recently. We think they will fight to the last. There are an estimated 1,200 ISIS fighters inside the city, where about 50,000 civilians remain trapped. Trump and vets. Yesterday was quite a day in the annals of the U.S. 2016 presidential election. FPs Molly OToole writes that in Donald Trumps first public accounting of his fundraising for veterans groups, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said he did not want credit for trying to help American troops. Then he blasted the media for not giving it to him. As the result of a January fundraising event, Trump raised $5.6 million for vets, but for months refused to say which groups he gave the money to. Now we know, and OToole does some digging into who the groups are. Court of opinion. The International Criminal Court wants to know why Djibouti didnt arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he visited the tiny African nation earlier this month, and is giving the government there until next month to explain itself. FPs Paul McLeary has the ICC document, and asked the State Department why U.S. diplomats agreed to attend the same event as Bashir. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington has made its position with respect to hosting Bashirs travel clear with allies, and has called on them to not invite, facilitate or support travel by President Bashir. See you soon. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group leaves on a seven-month deployment to the Middle East on Wednesday, to support the U.S.-led air war against the Islamic State. The strike group replaces the USS Harry S. Truman carrier and its strike group, which is wrapping up its own seven-month deployment that was extended by 30-days last month by Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Thanks for clicking on through as we kick off the summer 2016 edition of SitRep. As always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley China The U.S. military isnt the only country seeing its recruiting pool expanding around the middle, Army Times reports. The Peoples Liberation Army will now accept new troops who weigh 20 to 30 percent more than weight targets. The move would mark the fifth time since China has loosened its weight requirements for entrance to the military. Chinas air force is telling mil geeks to pump the breaks on claims that the countrys J-20 stealth fighter jet is already being used in training exercises, Reuters reports. The statement, made by the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) on Chinese social media, came in response to some analysts claims that new, grainy imagery from a recent exercise showed a J-20 involved in the drill. Nonetheless, the PLAAF pledged that the J-20 would be available in the near future. North Korea North Korea has a new domestic Facebook knockoff and its already been hacked. Shortly after a research firm discovered the social media site, a Scottish teenager managed to take control of the site, hosted on servers in China, by correctly guessing the username and password to an administrator account admin and password. Control over the site is somewhat moot at the moment as its been down for the past few days. North Korea wants to make America great again. Pyongyangs state-run DPRK Today news outlet ran an editorial on Tuesday calling presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a wise politician with many positive aspects to his inflammatory policies, according to the Washington Post. The state mouthpiece was particularly fond of Trumps policy towards South Korea and North-South relations. In a series of statements, Trump has said hed withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea and signaled that he was open to a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. South Korea A South Korean newspaper claims that the countrys military is interested in converting one of its submarines to carry a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The Korea Joongang Daily reports that a military source says the countrys navy is putting a vertical launching pod on the Jangbogo-III submarine its building. The system is expected to be operational by 2020. North Korea, as well, has been developing a submarine capable of launching an SLBM, purportedly carrying out a recent test of the system in April. NATO NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliances defense spending will go up for this first time in nearly ten years, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Member states have for the past few years lagged behind the two percent of gross domestic product targets set by NATO. The threat from an increasingly aggressive Russia, however, has a number of countries in the Atlantic alliance spending more on their militaries. The increases are seen particularly among Baltic and Eastern European member states. But that good news is tempered by increasing tensions within the alliance over how to react to the Russian threat, the immigration wave, and where to position forces in Eastern Europe. Despite the growing threats, many European countries still resist strong measures to strengthen NATO, the New York Times reports. Many remain reluctant to increase military spending, despite past pledges. Some, like Italy, are cutting back. France is reverting to its traditional skepticism toward the alliance, which it sees as an instrument of American policy and an infringement on its sovereignty. Syria With pressure mounting on the international community to airdrop aid supplies over cities being starved by Assad regime, the Washington Institute for Near East Policys Michael Eisenstadt takes a look at what a humanitarian airlift campaign might look like. Assad regime troops have blocked access to ground convoys, and ruled out the possibility that an air bridge could address the problem. That leaves airdrops, which can be dangerous for locals when shipments drift off target or break free from their parachutes. The U.S. does have GPS-guided Joint Precision Aerial Delivery Systems, which can guide airdropped aid pallets to a location on the ground but theyre generally used for smaller deliveries and few in number, requiring them to be recovered. Ultimately, Eisenstadt recommends that the U.S. provide military aid to Syrian rebels to break the sieges if diplomatic initiatives to lift them continue to prove fruitless. Niger France is using a drone base in Niger to keep an eye on jihadists from al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb, the BBC reports. Five French drones are stationed at Base 101, which carries out around 40 sorties per month as part of Operation Barkhane, begun in early 2014. Business of defense The Air Force announced on Tuesday that its spending $3.2 billion on a contract with Boeing for more smart bombs. The contract is for Joint Direct Attack Munition tailkits to convert unguided munitions into precision-guided ones. The contract comes as the U.S. has faced a growing shortage of precision guided munitions due to its unexpected war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which has depleted much of the U.S. inventory. The Saudi-led coalitions war in Yemen has also kept American defense firms busy trying to supply allies with munitions. Photo Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images Taliban suicide bombers wearing police uniforms raided a courthouse in the eastern Afghan city of Ghazni Wednesday, killing six people in what they said was revenge for last month's execution of Taliban-linked prisoners. The assault comes a day after the Taliban killed 10 bus passengers and kidnapped dozens of others in northern Kunduz province, as the insurgents step up their annual spring offensive after naming a new leader. "Four attackers entered the court compound after killing the guard," provincial police chief Aminullah Amarkhail told AFP. "One of the attackers detonated his suicide vest inside the compound and the three others were gunned down by police." The interior ministry said five civilians and one policeman were killed in the 30-minute assault, which left bloodied corpses littered around the complex. The Taliban said the attack was in retaliation for the execution of six Taliban-linked inmates in early May, which were approved as part of President Ashraf Ghani's new hardline policy against the insurgents. On Tuesday the Taliban killed 10 people after pulling them off buses in the northern province of Kunduz, officials said, revising down their earlier toll of 16. The insurgents also kidnapped dozens of passengers, saying they were targeting Afghan security officials aboard the buses passing through the insurgency-prone district of Aliabad. Most of the passengers have since been released but a handful are still in Taliban captivity, officials said, without giving a precise number. The violence underscores Afghanistan's fragile security situation as the militants intensify assaults against government forces after launching their spring offensive in April. The Taliban last week announced Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader, elevating a low-profile religious figure in a swift power transition after officially confirming the death of Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike. The drone attack was the first known American assault on a top Afghan Taliban leader on Pakistani soil. Mansour was killed just nine months after being formally appointed leader following a bitter power struggle upon the confirmation of the death of Taliban founder Mullah Omar. On Tuesday Pakistan said his body had been handed back to his family. By Laila Kearney (Reuters) - After shooting dead a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo to save a 3-year-old boy, zoo officials said they had collected a sample of his sperm, raising hopes among distraught fans that Harambe could sire offspring even in death. But officials at the main U.S. body that oversees breeding of zoo animals said it was highly unlikely that the Western lowland gorilla's contribution to the nation's "frozen zoo" of genetic material of rare and endangered species would be used to breed. "Currently, it's not anything we would use for reproduction," Kristen Lukas, who heads the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Gorilla Species Survival Plan, said on Wednesday. "It will be banked and just stored for future use or for research studies." That undercuts a weekend statement by Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard that the death of the 17-year-old young silverback, who had been too young to breed, was "not the end of his gene pool." Zoo officials did not respond to calls on Wednesday seeking more detail on their plans for Harambe's sperm. There are currently 350 gorillas of Harambe's species in U.S. zoos, according to the AZA, which accredits zoos, including Cincinnati's and approves breeding plans. That population is large enough to maintain a breeding program so robust that many females of child-bearing age are given hormonal contraceptives. Zoo officials have stood by the decision to shoot Harambe dead on Saturday, saying the 450-pound (200-kg) animal could have easily slain or grievously injured the toddler. But their decision to kill the gorilla has drawn criticism online and sparked a Cincinnati police investigation into the boy's family. The highly charismatic animals are closely related to humans, making them popular zoo attractions. Major U.S. zoos from New York's Bronx Zoo to the San Diego Zoo rely on gorillas as a major draw for visitors. INTO THE 'FROZEN ZOO' Harambe's sperm will likely go into a collection of samples taken from gorillas and other animals that are preserved in liquid nitrogen and typically viable for hundreds of years, said the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Director Robert Hilsenroth. "We call it the frozen zoo," said Hilsenroth. "It's nice to have that in your pocket just in case." Given the numbers of gorillas in captivity, Harambe's genetic material would likely be drawn on only in the event of some new disease that took a heavy toll on the population, the AZA's Lukas said. "In a dire situation like that, we would then be able to continue the population," Lukas said. There are about 175,000 of the gorillas in the wild, but habitat destruction, hunting and disease are resulting in a rapid decline in the population. The practice of breeding gorillas in captivity has been criticized by animal rights groups. "In theory, conserving is great but without a habitat what's the point," said Julia Gallucci, primatologist for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. (Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York,; Editing by Scott Malone and Sandra Maler) BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia will put aside its strong views on curbing immigration and act as an honest broker on the issue when it holds the European Union presidency later this year, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday. The leftist Fico, who was reelected for a third term in March, said last week that Islam had no place in Slovakia, an extension of anti-immigration rhetoric in the election campaign. "We won't change our national position but we won't put it on the table during our presidency. We want to act as an honest broker and reach compromise wherever possible," Fico said at news conference in Brussels that was shown live on the European Commission website. Fico said he supported a return to the border-free Schengen zone after some counties introduced temporary border checks, stronger protection of the bloc's outside borders and a speedy formation of the European border and coast guard. His previous government filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice against last year's EU decision to redistribute 160,000 asylum seekers among member countries, including those who do not want to take any. He has also criticized the European Commission's plan to reform the so-called Dublin system of EU asylum rules so that each of the 28 states would be assigned a percentage quota of all asylum seekers or have to pay 250,000 euros for each refugee they refuse to take. "The reform of Dublin is one of issues where we see many divisions among member states and we see it will be very hard to overcome them and reach any compromise," Fico said after a meeting with Commission President Jean Claude Juncker. Slovakia has a tiny Muslim community of several thousand and has seen only a few hundred asylum requests from places like Syria in the past year. (Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Come and enjoy Read more [...] By Abdiqani Hassan BOSASSO, SOMALIA (Reuters) - Somalian al Shabaab militants killed two soldiers in the country's semi-autonomous region of Puntland on Tuesday in a bomb attack, according to an officer in the region's military. Al Shabaab took responsibility for the assault but cited a higher toll. Al Shabaab, which seeks to impose sharia law in Somalia, has been pushed from its southern strongholds by a series of offensives by the African Union force AMISOM and the Somali National Army. Officials, however, say the group remains resilient and is capable of mounting attacks on both civilian and military targets. Major Mohamed Abdi told Reuters late on Tuesday the soldiers were killed when a military convoy was hit by two bombs as it headed toward Galgala Hills, located east of Bosasso. "We lost 2 soldiers and 4 others were injured, al Shabaab planted two bombs as our convoy headed to Galgala Hills," Abdi said. Al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters they were responsible for the attack. "We destroyed 17 Puntland soldiers and destroyed two of their vehicles using bombs yesterday," he told Reuters on Wednesday. (Additional reporting by Feisal Omar; writing by Elias Biryabarema) MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack targeting a hotel in central Mogadishu on Wednesday and said some of its fighters had stormed the premises, while police said three people had died. "We attacked the hotel with a car bomb and we went inside. We shall give details later," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaabs military operations spokesman, told Reuters. Mogadishu police said some militants had apparently burst into the hotel. "We believe there are some fighters in the hotel but we are not sure. So far we have confirmed three people have died and a dozen others wounded," Major Ibrahim Hassan, a police officer, told Reuters. (Reporting by Feisal Omar and Abdi Sheikh; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Mark Heinrich) confounded face emoji Following the success of Angry Birds, the movie adaptation of the popular mobile game that knocked Captain America: Civil War off its box-office perch with a $39 million opening, Sony is confident that its emoji movie will have the same kind of success. But the studio is in a battle over merchandise trademark rights, which could seriously affect the ancillary markets of the project, and even what Sony is legally allowed to title the movie. Marco Husges, a former video game executive from Germany, has created more than 3,000 of his own emoji icons and trademarked and licensed them for use in an array of merchandise through his company The Emoji Co., according to The Hollywood Reporter. And Husges believes Sonys yet-to-be-titled emoji movie may be in violation of his trademarks. "I am curious how Sony would want to produce a movie under that name and do accompanying merchandising, especially given the fact our brand has already been successfully established with license partners and retailers all over the world," Husges told THR. (Husges does not own the rights to the emoji icons that populate phones and social media.) In October 2015, Sony filed an application for dozens of trademarks in connection with the film, and they were rejected in February, according to THR. Regardless, Sony Pictures Animation president Kristine Belson said in April at CinemaCon that the studio has hired a licensing company for the emoji project. Husges told THR that he has begun developing his own emoji projects for TV, movies, and the web. Hes even teamed with one of the producers of The Lego Movie, Roy Lee, to get some of them off the ground. A Sony spokeswoman told THR: We have full confidence in our rights as we make the film weve always intended to make. Sony's emoji movie is slated to be released in 2017. NOW WATCH: 2 millennials watched the original Star Wars for the first time More From Business Insider By Joyce Lee GEOJE, South Korea (Reuters) - Geoje Island, off the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula, appears as prosperous as ever: foreign cars cruise the streets, young mothers pushing strollers converge on coffee shops, and workers on motorcycles pour into bustling shipyards. It is what comes next that worries people in Geoje, the world's largest producer of ships by tonnage. South Korean shipbuilders are facing their biggest ever crisis, with mass layoffs expected later this year as finished vessels leave the shipyards and few new orders come in. "We've never had a serious downturn - ever," Kim Hyeon-gyu, director of Geoje's main industrial park, said on the sidelines of a public hearing to discuss looming layoffs. Because it takes about two years to build a ship, Geoje's docks are still busy. But without a major uptick in orders by September, which looks unlikely, 20,000 shipbuilding jobs in Geoje will be lost by March, city officials say. Some 70 percent of Geoje residents rely for a living on shipbuilding, an industry that for four decades was a key engine of South Korea's export-driven growth and still employs about 200,000 across the country. Now, a global slump in trade and commodities, plus rising competition from China, is forcing Geoje to find ways to ease its dependence on the shipyards. "Past strong shipbuilding growth made us lax in finding ways for the tourists to spend money here instead of driving through," said Kwon Min-ho, the mayor of Geoje, which is building a 424-room resort as part of a plan to expand its tourist infrastructure. HEAVY LOSSES But the shift is painful. Subcontractors at the massive Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd yards in Geoje and at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd in nearby Ulsan are especially hard-hit. "The number of subcontractors going out of business has exploded this year," said Kim Dong-sung, an official with a lobby group representing them. "Unpaid wages and bonuses plus 20-30 percent pay cuts are now seen as the norm." Story continues In the first quarter of this year, South Korea's total shipbuilding industry landed just eight orders totalling 171,188 CGT (compensated gross tonnage). That compares with 68 ships totalling 2,886,589 CGT in the same period last year and roughly 100 per quarter during a 2003-2008 industry boom that saw massive capacity expansion. The legacy of those boom days is still apparent, even as activity slows. Geoje's gross regional domestic product exceeded $50,000 (34,504) per person in 2013, nearly double the $27,214 national average in 2015, according to the Bank of Korea. A short drive from traditional fishing villages and the massive shipyards stand smart apartment blocks resembling those of Seoul's well-to-do suburbs. The island's 270,000 residents include 14,800 foreigners mainly working in the shipyards as shipowner representatives or workers, giving Geoje's city centre a cosmopolitan feel. "Business is alright near tourist spots, but it has slowed down in downtown stores," said Lee Mi-eun, owner of a large beef rib soup restaurant near one of Samsung's shipyards. "People ask for lower-priced menus, come in smaller groups." Shipbuilding here was largely spared the state-driven restructuring many other South Korean industries went through during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis as it earned valuable dollars and had years of orders in place. While in the aftermath, some shipbuilders were bankrupted or sold, and Daewoo Shipbuilding was bailed out by a state-run bank, industry heavyweights built a dominant position against European and Japanese rivals. More recently, as orders for traditional ships dried up or moved to China, Daewoo, Samsung and Hyundai - the world's three largest shipbuilders - bid aggressively to build complex, expensive offshore oil and gas facilities. That kept the yards humming but cost overruns and delays led to combined net losses of $4.9 billion for the three giants in 2015. Under prodding by Seoul, shipbuilders have been shedding assets and cutting staff and wages in hopes of riding out the downturn. Clarksons Research previously said it expects global commercial ship orders to begin resuming some time around late 2017, with a full recovery only emerging in 2020. Seen as "too-big-to-fail", the government is looking for ways to shore up the solvency of state-run creditor banks in the event that they need to step in to save one of the giant shipbuilders before then. Cho Hyun-woo, planning manager at the Daewoo Shipbuilding workers' union, said restructuring should not cut so deeply that the industry loses expertise it has developed for high-end structures, which it should bid on once demand returns. "If you kill the technology that can make these ships when they are ordered en masse starting 2018, it's painfully obvious the technology will go to China or Japan," he said. (Editing by Tony Munroe and Lincoln Feast) In the wake of departmental turmoil, the San Francisco Police Officers Association and Mayor Ed Lee reached an agreement on the department's use of body cameras after the union voted unanimously in favor of them Tuesday. Officers could be wearing the cameras as soon as August 1. There has been an ongoing national debate over the use of body cameras small devices attached to officers' uniforms that, depending on local laws, are used during interactions with the public. As police forces across the country have drawn increased criticism from the public for their deadly encounters with people of color, many have asked whether those cameras would actually stem police violence or provide an accurate depiction of events when it does occur. But do they work? One third of United States police forces use body cameras, including police in Miami and they are being tested in There's evidence, albeit a small pool of it, to suggest that body cameras do change policing. One study of police officers in Rialto, California, found that officers who were not wearing body cameras were about twice as likely to use force as those who were wearing them. In May, former San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr resigned after an officer fatally shot Jessica Williams, a 29-year-old unarmed black woman on May 19. Williams' death was the most recent of a string of high profile killings of civilians by police in the city. Others included Alex Nieto, who was shot 14 times by police officers in 2014. Nearly a year later, police shot and killed Amilcar Perez-Lopez, a Guatemalan immigrant. In December 2015, 26-year-old Mario Woods was shot 21 times by officers near his home in the city's Bayview neighborhood. In April, 45-year-old L was shot and killed by officers. Former SFPD chief Greg Suhr. Bigger than technology. Critics argue that body cameras alone won't fix the problem of officer-involved shootings. Both Woods' and Gongora's shootings were caught on camera by witnesses. In Woods' case, video of the shooting was shared widely and prompted outrage among city residents. The case even became a talking point after last year's Super Bowl when a group of Beyonce's dancers were pictured holding a sign that read "Justice for Mario Woods." But the attention didn't quite lead to accountability. Not one police officer in San Francisco has been c in an officer-involved shooting in recent years. Source: Ben Margot/AP And that problem extends far beyond the Golden Gate. New York City Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who was caught on camera by a witness putting unarmed 43-year-old black man Eric Garner in a fatal choke hold, was not indicted in Garner's death. The news prompted New York Times Magazine reporter Jenna Wortham to point out the limits of technology to curb police violence when she tweeted, "Eric Garner's death WAS captured on video. We all saw it. Body cameras for cops won't solve this problem. It's bigger than technology." Eric Garner's death WAS captured on video. We all saw it. Body cameras for cops won't solve this problem. It's bigger than technology. But while technology alone can't fix the problem, new acting police chief Toney Chaplin hopes that the cameras can at least help document it. "I think it's going to be a huge thing to help us out," he said of them during a press conference in May. "It's not going to solve everything, but it will give us another look at these things happening from the point of view of the officers." (Photo: WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES) From Cosmopolitan I once considered seeking an arrangement with a Sugar Daddy. I was fresh out of college in Los Angeles pursuing what I was sure would be an illustrious acting career. But as I waited for my big break, I also waited tables. And I hated waiting tables. Being a Sugar Baby a young woman who goes on dates with wealthy older men, or Sugar Daddies, in exchange for money or gifts seemed like it could be better than waitressing. In the end, I never pursued an arrangement. The social stigma of being a "kept" Sugar Baby made me apprehensive, and besides, weren't all Sugar Babies supposed to be young and hot? I look vaguely like Macie, the Seal Girl from As Told By Ginger. Enter Seeking Arrangement, an online dating site for those interested in the Sugaring lifestyle, and their second annual Sugar Baby Summit. When I was first asked to report on the Sugar Baby Summit, I'll admit I was secretly hoping the conference involved actual sugar, preferably chocolate. Turns out, it was a boot camp of classes, panels, and networking opportunities for experienced Sugar Babies and newcomers alike. I wasn't sure what to expect, other than sticking out like a sore thumb. Here's how I imagined I would look to the other Sugar Babies: Instead of a room full of Babies skating by on their looks, I was surprised to find a group of interesting women from a variety of backgrounds who treated Sugaring seriously, like a job. Was I mistaken for not pursuing a life in Sugar earlier? Or was it all too good to be true? Flavors of Sugar I arrived to the Summit in Hollywood, California, housed in a swanky LA nightclub that boasts an interior pulled directly from the set of The Great Gatsby. As I walked through the plush art deco hallway, I saw the stage set with at least 100 chairs. Was it possible that there were that many Sugar Babies coming? (Spoiler alert: there were more. Additional chairs had to be added later on.) In the background, the beat of TLC's No Scrubs thumped. The DJ was taking a very literal interpretation of the day's theme. Story continues As the day went on, my vision of young, leggy women roaming the room, congratulating themselves on their genetic gifts turned out to only be half right. Sure, there were the model types who came in party dresses and heels, but there were also casually dressed women, thicker women, older women, and a handful of men. Despite this variety in "flavors of sugar", the Babies were all serious about honing their craft. A 21 year old woman who I'll call Sugar Cube, (not her real name, duh) had been sugaring for over a year, and had found success a man she currently sees paid her $1,000 for their first meeting. But she wanted to improve upon more advanced Sugaring skills, like negotiating, and was willing to travel from San Francisco to the conference in LA to do it. Ms. Cube was not the only out-of-towner; women had traveled from Texas, New York and one all the way from London. These travel expenses were on top of the ticket cost $100 each, and that's not including parking. Sugar as Part of a Substantial Diet When I got ready for the conference, I wanted to feel like I fit in, so I tried to shed as much of my Macie, the Seal Girl, persona as I could. I bought Spanx. I wore my trendiest trouser. I went to yoga three times that week, which for the record is three times more than I usually go. Though appearance is a huge part of being a Sugar Baby, there is a lot more work to it. When talking to Sugar Sisters Sharie and Jagar Grand, actual sisters who sometimes work as a Sugar Duo, they stressed the importance of conversation. The Sugar Sisters "stay informed" on current events, sports, and the arts so that they can converse with their Daddies no matter their interests. They also gave me some fashion tips. "Never wear flats," they told me, almost in unison. I tried to shove my flat-wearing feet underneath my chair as far as I could. Despite my embarrassment over my woefully sub-par footwear, I could see the appeal of paying for time with the Sugar Sisters, they were contagiously funny and upbeat. And Sugar Daddies compensate them well for that pleasantness most recently with a new car. The classes I would go on to attend during the day began with crafting the perfect profile, going on first dates, and ended with finances and negotiating allowances. Most of it wasn't shocking: they advise rotating out profile pictures regularly to attract a Daddy, and always wearing makeup, natural makeup stay away from red and pink lip colors. Sorry Lip Kit fans. But what did intrigue me was, on top of this, a good Sugar Baby is supposed to have a career path outside of Sugaring. Whether it's starting a business or going to school, Sugar Babies, I learned, should be ambitious. The Sugar Sisters are retail managers. Candice Kashani, our teacher for the First Date and Safety class, used Sugar funds to pay for law school. Jordan Hasty, another experienced Sugar Baby and teacher of the highly anticipated "Negotiating an Allowance" class, is running for Congress. Even CEO and founder of SeekingArrangement.com Brandon Wade advised women who were in dire financial straights against seeking arrangements. After all, a Sugar Baby must be aware of their boundaries and be able to say "no" when they feel uncomfortable. Those who really need the money are less inclined to enforce their boundaries, he warned, which can get dangerous. 50 Shades of Stigma As the final panel ended, I was surprised to find sex was barely mentioned. When I was first researching the Sugar Lifestyle, I was confronted with stories of young women having sex with older men they didn't like; sex and Sugar Babies seemed to go hand in hand. Hasty used part of her Negotiating an Allowance class to clarify that Sugar Babies are not paid for sex; Sugar Babies are paid for their time and the enhancement they bring to their Daddy's life, which coincidentally is what makes it legal. Ava Kinsey, a current Sugar Baby and teacher of her own Sugar 101 classes in Manhattan, finds that the most pervasive stereotype surrounding Sugar Babies is sexual; however, Sugar Babies don't have to become intimate with their Daddies. In fact, Kinsey exclusively participates in platonic arrangements. Though the conference kept the positivity level at roughly 1,000% the whole day, I couldn't help wondering about the parts they glossed over. The controversial stigma persists, and the attendees were quick to say so. During a question and answer portion, a Sugar Baby/law student expressed anxiety at her peers discovering her life of sugar. After all, lawyers tend to lean conservatively and she didn't want her career prospects ruined by other's preconceptions. Kashani encouraged the nervous Sugar Baby to share only what she was comfortable with, and to keep her Sugar secret if that made her feel better. Though the answer pacified that particular Sugar Baby for now, the Internet makes secrets very hard to keep, and with the future of a career in question, this can prove a real risk of the Sugar Lifestyle. Despite the upbeat spin the panelists used to answer questions, it's not all Sunshine and Unicorns for Sugar Babies. The ratio of Babies to Daddies is about one in eight, with 50% of Sugar Daddies uninterested in giving a monetary allowance some prefer to give gifts instead. Some Babies can't even get that far. During the Question and Answer portion, a Sugar Baby expressed concern over the lack of messages she received, and feared it had to do with race she described herself as "Brown". The panelists couldn't give her a satisfying answer, simply commiserating that racist Sugar Daddies exist and encouraging patience "you'll find a Daddy one day!" And the drawbacks go beyond the financial the emotional expectations of Sugar Babies seem unfair in comparison to their Daddies. In the "Terms of Use" class, Kinsey explained that though a Sugar Baby might not be her Daddy's priority, she must make him feel like her priority. Is that kind of emotional imbalance worth the car? Though the positivity of the event was infectious, it was clearly curated. There was an entire pamphlet dedicated to Safety with special emphasis placed on anonymity. Babies were encouraged to use a fake number, an alias, even going so far as to use profile pictures that were not on their social media accounts, lest a particularly curious Daddy reverse image search them. I wondered why Sugar Babies had to go to Superman lengths to keep their identities secret. Were there a few Lex Luthers hiding amongst a group of well meaning Daddies, or was there something inherently dangerous about Sugaring? I thought back to the beginning of the day, when I was trying to interview one of Babies in attendance. A casually-dressed Sugar Baby approached and offered to speak with me, but an employee politely turned her down to bring me a Sugar Baby of their choosing. The level of control over their image went from benign to North Korea-levels when I overheard an employee, walking a pre-cast Sugar Baby to an interview, reminding her to keep it positive. I wondered why they were so careful, and if there was a side to the lifestyle I wasn't able to see. The Comedown After the conference, a Masquerade was held for the Sugar Babies to meet potential Sugar Daddies and implement the skills they learned during the day. The night was an expensive one, another $100 for admission for the Babies and starting at $250 for the Daddies prices rose up to $4,000 for a VIP experience. The party, a sea of beautifully dressed women, was a visual representation of the uneven ratio, and some women I met expressed frustration at the competition for the men's time. Sex was a more present topic of conversation at the party, serving as a gentle reminder that sex seems to be a natural part of many arrangements. As the ratio between men and women increased, I decided to leave talking to the Sugar Daddies to the professionals, for once happy for the lack of attention my Seal Girl look garnered. As the beat of Kanye's Gold Digger thumped on I decided there was a different kind of sugar I would rather spend time with a chocolate fountain in the corner. Follow Kathy on Twitter. By Shihar Aneez COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will gradually stop sending house maids abroad, mainly to the Middle East, due to rights abuses, social costs and a local labor shortage, government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said on Wednesday. Sri Lanka's expatriate workers, mainly house maids and unskilled laborers, send back remittances - the island nation's main foreign exchange earner - that help earn around $7 billion a year for the $82.2 billion economy. Senaratne said President Maithripala Sirisena had appointed a committee to study strategies to reduce the numbers gradually and finally stop sending maids abroad. "We want to discourage the house maids category in the foreign employment because the social cost is very high," he told Reuters. Human rights abuses and social costs due to rapes, drug addiction and child abuse in many families of house maids, and labor shortage locally, have prompted the government to take such a decision, he said. The total number of departures for foreign employment declined by 12.4 percent last year to 263,307, partly due to the slowdown of economic activities in the Middle East. Sri Lanka is already encouraging sending skilled male workers abroad instead of low-skilled females and house maids. In 2013, around 1,650 Sri Lankan house maids complained of being physically and sexually abused by their employers mainly in the Middle East, the latest data from the Foreign Employment Bureau showed. In 2013, the Saudis beheaded a young Sri Lankan housemaid for killing an infant left in her care, rejecting repeated appeals by the Indian Ocean island against her death sentence. Colombo recalled its ambassador from Riyadh in protest. After their Sri Lankan maid complained of too much work in 2010, a Saudi couple tortured her by hammering 24 nails into her hands, legs and forehead. The maid returned home. Last year, however, Saudi authorities reduced a Sri Lankan maid's sentence for adultery from death by stoning to a three-year jail term after an appeal. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Lucasfilm and Disney are now selling made-to-order "Star Wars" collectibles: prop replica products for fans, promising they will be the most accurate to date. The "Star Wars Collectibles: Ultimate Studio Edition" props will be manufactured in the UK, at the same studios where props for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" were created. Designers will use high-resolution 3D digital scans and advanced 3D-printing technologies. They will also have access to the original designs, ensuring the replicas are the most accurate on the market. The intial eight props on sale include Darth Vader's melted helmet ($3,500), Rey's lightsaber hilt ($1,250) and the FN-2187 Stormtrooper helmet ($1,750). For the moment, the props are only available in the US, and are sold exclusively on www.starwarsultimatestudioedition.com. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102716%2fcjxutiquyaewxxs Filming for Star Wars: Episode VIII has just finished in the coastal Irish town of Crookhaven, West Cork but before the cast and crew left, they had an important message. To praise the local community, Lucasfilm took out a thank you ad complete with a green Star Wars logo in the Irish Examiner newspaper. In the ad, they thank the people of Crookhaven, Goleen and the Brow Head Peninsula for the "warm welcome" received. "We have been captivated by the landscape of the Wild Atlantic Way, it has provided a spectacular backdrop for our story," the ad says. "The tireless commitment of our Irish Crew, the enthusiasm and support of all the people of West Cork have made our Irish adventure one we will always treasure." It ends with: Go mbeidh an forsa leat! (May the force be with you!)." Spot-on! via GIPHY Puerto Rico may soon be under the financial oversight of a congressionally appointed control board, thanks to 10 years of growing debt, outmigration and a declining economy. This board would be tasked with ending a fiscal free-fall that has been driven by a combination of federal tax policy, economic regulations, local financial mismanagement and a bloated public sector. Were it not for Puerto Ricos opaque accounting practices, we may have seen this coming in time to avoid such dire circumstances and such a drastic solution. The territory s crisis is uniquely rooted in 75 years of misguided U.S. policy interventions, but it still holds lessons for all of the states in the union. Like the 50 states, Puerto Rico issues a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) each year to disclose its short- and long-run finances. Ideally these reports provide policymakers and the public with a clear picture of a governments current position, underlying risks and future trends. In reality, even many policymakers lack the expertise to use these complicated documents. Slideshow: The Financial Health of All 50 States, Ranked The information is right in front of us, but if we dont pay attention, we risk missing the warning signs of the next state or territorial fiscal crisis. In the newest edition of the Mercatus Centers state fiscal rankings, Olivia Gonzalez and I take the most recent CAFR (from FY 2014) from each state and Puerto Rico, sort the comparable data and rank their fiscal health. Not surprisingly, Puerto Rico ranks dead last. It has little cash to keep the lights on in the short-term. Its revenues only cover 88 percent of its yearly expenses. And the islands total debt exceeds its GDP by 13 percent. Right above Puerto Rico in the rankings are Connecticut (50), Massachusetts (49), New Jersey (48), Illinois (47) and Kentucky (46). Their fiscal numbers are not quite as alarming as Puerto Ricos, though they also have little ready cash on hand. Each has a troublesome long-running habit of issuing debt to cover ongoing spending, along with a history of underfunding pensions. Several northeastern states are also dependent on the financial sector for revenue, exposing them to industry swings. Story continues To be sure, these states have comparatively manageable debt and are on better footing than Puerto Rico. But they have something big in common: The faulty accounting that plagues Puerto Ricos financial statements also obscures the full costs and risks of U.S. pension systems. Related: The Best and Worst States For Taxes Economists continue to stress that U.S. pensions are understating their debts by almost $2 trillion. Fiscal health depends not only on economic resiliency, but on how a government measures and manages its fiscal resources. With poor accounting, its possible for any state to gradually slip from sound to unstable. When viewed in context (like rankings), CAFRs can tell us a lot. Digging deeper tells us even more. Two of the top five states Alaska (1) and North Dakota (4) are flush with cash, revenues and assets. But they are highly dependent on oil revenues to cover spending. Shortly after their FY 2014 financial reports were published, oil prices started their plunge from $100 per barrel to the current level near $50. That translates into a significant drop in revenues, which they rely on to cover their spending. Alaska ranks first, but only due to a reserve fund that is projected to dwindle in the coming years, meaning something has to give. State spending accounted for 28 percent of residents personal income in fiscal 2014, which is double the U.S. average of 13 percent. Now, Alaska has a multi-billion-dollar deficit to close, and lawmakers are considering reducing the resource rebate given to residents, re-instituting the income tax and rolling back oil and gas tax credits. Related: The Worst States for Retirement 2016 The rest of the top five, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota are on better footing, though like all states, they have room to improve. So how does a state know when it hits the fiscal point of no return? As Alaska proves, it is possible to be flush with cash in one year and scrambling to close a budget deficit the next. Even if CAFRs only tell us so much, financial reporting is not just a paper exercise. We must use them as tools to solve problems before they leap off the balance sheet and into residents lives, rather than as a post-mortem. Eileen Norcross is the director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason Universitys State and Local Policy Project and author of the newest edition of Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: On May 30, 2016, we issued an updated research report on Louisiana-based Stone Energy Corporation SGY. Stone Energys widespread high yielding inventory places it strongly in the industry. The company has an extensive capital project inventory. Although Stone Energy aims to apportion the capital across its portfolio, the focus will be on the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) shelf as well as the Marcellus region. Recently, the company witnessed positive outcome from the first four Cardona wells whose combined production was a gross 20 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d). The companys plan to boost acreage in GoM is in line with the Amethyst, Harrier and Vemaccia well targets, all expected to be commissioned over the next 18 months A number of opportunities in new well production (like Apache Corp. operated Parmer well in Wideberth prospect) and continued activity in the La Cantera prospect, including drilling commencement at the Taildancer prospect in Ship Shoal 113, the Taggart prospect in Mississippi Canyon 816 and San Marcos prospect at Mississippi Canyon 983 are anticipated to significantly improve revenues. Also, exploration discoveries at its 100% operated prospects deepwater Amethyst and deep gas Tomcat should boost the top line. Further, permits for the Phinisi, and Floyd prospects, along with the interests purchased in Pompano and Mica fields in the GoM from BP and Anadarko, are expected to place the company favorably. However, with the advance in technology, a shift to unconventional drilling has become more widespread. However, the uncertainty regarding the regulations of these practices raises investment risk. Stricter regulations and more precautions in the wake of oil spills have increased the cost pressures on companies like Stone Energy, thereby affecting cash flows. The companys first-quarter 2016 earnings declined from the prior-year quarter. Its revenues too decreased year over year. Lower price realizations led to the deterioration in the first-quarter results. Like other independent exploration and production companies, Stone Energys results too are directly exposed to oil and gas prices, which are inherently volatile and subject to complex market forces. We note that realized prices could differ significantly from our estimates, thereby affecting the companys revenues, earnings and cash flow. Moreover, growing exploration exposure to the mature, low reserve life and capital intensive GoM shelf is expected to aggravate Stone Energys risk profile. Other risks faced by the company are changes in government regulations, dependence on individual well performance, possibility of unsuccessful wells and leverage to the company's drilling pace. Stocks to Consider Currently, Stone Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the oil and gas sector include CVR Refining, LP CVRR, Sasol Ltd. SSL and Braskem S.A. BAK. All these stocks 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 SASOL LTD -ADR (SSL): Free Stock Analysis Report BRASKEM SA (BAK): Free Stock Analysis Report STONE ENERGY CP (SGY): Free Stock Analysis Report CVR REFINING LP (CVRR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Advancing a nursing career with graduate school takes dedication and dollars. Many programs take two years to complete and require students to work hard and stay focused -- a work ethic that usually comes from within. They'll have to turn outwards, however, if they'd like scholarships to ease the burden of tuition and fees. organizations. A number of schools and organizations help nurses to reduce the cost of their education. "There's definitely funding out there," says Marta Okoniewski, associate director of student initiatives at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. [Aida nursing degree with these generous scholarships.] "The first place to start is really at the institution that they have been accepted into," she says. "A lot of times schools will have merit-based scholarships or scholarships that are funded through some sort of donors specifically for students at that school." For example, it's common for the college of nursing at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to have a number of scholarship opportunities for students, says Shane Hoon, assistant dean of student affairs and diversity at the school of nursing. Between 80 and 90 percent of graduate students receive various forms of financial aid, he says, which includes scholarships. The school has 448 students who are pursuing a master's degree in nursing. Somewhere between eight and 10 scholarships are specifically for graduate students, and some are just for students who want to study a specific topic, he says, such as midwifery. Students submit essays for various scholarship opportunities, and the school takes a holistic approach to evaluating their candidacy. "We look at everything," he says. Applicants' level of need, career plans and past achievements are considered, he says. "What we're really looking for is some sort of focus and passion," he says. [Boosta nursing career with a master's degree.] Applicants should also be humble. "If they come across almost with a sense of entitlement or being owed, I know that that's generally not looked upon favorably," he says. Story continues At the University of California--Los Angeles School of Nursing, 86 percent of master's students receive a scholarship, says Craig Kusunoki, the school's director of financial aid. Those interested in scholarships must start with filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to determine their need, he says. The school offers a mix of general scholarships and scholarships for students studying specific specialties, such as geriatrics. Students in the school's advanced practice nurse program, however, get a special advantage if they work at UCLA's hospital or a hospital within the University of California school system. "They get two-thirds off of the tuition so that counts as a type of scholarship," says Kusunoki. "That's a great employee perk because we have at least 70 students a year that are employees of UCLA that take advantage of that." Students write one essay to be considered for multiple scholarships and can discuss why they chose UCLA, what attracted them to nursing, community service and other aspects of their lives that show their interests. [Transitioninto nursing with an accelerated graduate degree program.] "We just want to learn more about the student," Kusunoki says. Nursing school experts also encourage students to look outside of their schools for resources. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing offers more than 20 scholarships for graduate students, Okoniewski says. Students can also find scholarships through the American Cancer Society and branches of the military and other organizations that are invested in nursing, Hoon says. Plus, they can continue to apply for scholarships after they enroll, he says. Nursing students should research opportunities sooner than later to make sure they're aware of their options. "As soon as you're thinking about graduate education," says Okoniewski, "that's a good time to start thinking about funding." For in-depth rankings, searchable data and an expanded directory of programs, sign up for the U.S. News Nursing School Compass. More From US News & World Report Suits latest cast addition is sure to be, er, popular. Carly Pope, who starred on the late WB series Popular and recurred on The CWs The Tomorrow People, has joined Season 6 of the USA Network drama, TVLine has learned. RELATEDSuits Boss Talks Mikes Fate and Season 6s Uncharted Territory Pope will recur as Tara Messer, a cultured and perceptive commercial architect. When Louis reaches his wits end with Stu Buzzini (Melissa & Joeys Ian Reed Kesler) and the other Wall Street traders, he brings in Tara to help partition them away. Other newcomers to the series include The People v. O.J. Simpsons Malcolm-Jamal Warner (as a prison counselor), as well as ERs Erik Palladino and Nurse Jackies Paul Schulze (as Mikes fellow inmates). Check out the official Season 6 description below: Season 6 begins immediately following the events of the shocking Season 5 cliffhanger that left Mike behind bars. After signing a plea deal to spare his colleagues at Pearson Specter Litt, Mike will be confronted with the harsh realities of prison life as he starts his two-year sentence. Meanwhile, the once-bustling Pearson Specter Litt offices are a ghost town the partners have defected, leaving Harvey, Jessica, Louis, Donna and Rachel to pick up the pieces. But the firms troubles are far from over, and they will have to deal with the fallout from Mikes crime before they can even begin to rebuild. Popes other TV credits include Game of Silence, Outlaw, 24 and Dirt. Suits returns Wednesday, July 13 at 9/8c. Related stories Ryan Phillippe's Shooter, Mind-Bending Falling Water Get USA Network Trailers Mr. Robot Season 2 Trailer: Elliot Is Told, 'There's More Work to Be Done!' Suits Season 6 Premiere Date Set A granddaughter of Sumner Redstone is vowing to take legal action to support Viacoms board of directors in the escalating fight between the moguls daughter and Viacoms incumbent management for control of the company. Keryn Redstone, a niece of Shari Redstone, has accused her aunt of executing a plan to totally isolate and effectively kidnap, brainwash, and take advantage of my grandfather due to his debilitated state of mind and frail health. In a statement distributed by attorney Pierce ODonnell, Keryn Redstone said she would soon take legal steps to join with the Viacom directors in our common cause to liberate my grandfather from Sharis clutches and protect my fellow trust beneficiaries and myself from her machinations. Keryn Redstone also reiterated her support for Manuela Herzer, Sumner Redstones one-time girlfriend who was removed from the moguls home last October at the instigation of Shari Redstone. Herzer filed a suit last year in an effort to restore her power over Sumners health care decisions, claiming that Sumner was mentally incapacitated and unable to make the decision to remove her from his life on his own. In May, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed Herzers action after the 93-year-old media baron indicated his dislike for Herzer in a videotaped deposition. Keryn Redstone had filed statements of support for Herzers position during the litigation although the judge prevented her from formally joining Herzers action. ODonnell represented Herzer in that suit and has filed a subsequent action on Herzers behalf against Shari Redstone. The new suit asserts that the younger Redstone violated Herzers privacy and interfered with Sumner Redstones plans to leave her substantial money and assets in his will. Here is the full statement from Keryn Redstone: I want to express my support for the Viacom directors who have tried to meet with my grandfather but have been denied access by Shari Redstone, not my grandfather. There is no way that a competent Sumner Redstone, acting of his own free will, would ever refuse to meet with his fellow directors who have been his close friends and allies and so loyal to him over many years. Story continues Manuela Herzer and I have also been prevented by Shari from seeing my grandfather. We are two of the persons who were the most devoted to his welfare and protecting him. Shari and her family have managed to totally isolate and effectively kidnap, brainwash, and take advantage of my grandfather due to his debilitated state of mind and frail health. They have lied to him about Manuela Herzer, the loyalty of his long-time friends like Philippe Dauman and George Abrams, and me. So far, Shari and her three adult children have succeeded in reversing decades of my grandfathers careful estate planning and are poised to seize control of Viacom and CBS. My grandfather (whom I affectionately call Grumpy) and I have had a very close and loving relationship ever since I was a little girl. Last September, when his health started rapidly failing, my grandfather and Manuela asked me to move into his house to help with his healthcare needs. Without hesitation, I moved from Colorado to Los Angeles. Sadly, in mid-September, I noticed that my grandfathers mental health was deteriorating. I witnessed with dismay his utter dependency on his nurses, especially Jeremy Jagiello. This made me very worried because my grandfather had never depended on anyone. The grandfather whom I knew and loved so much was gone. He could barely communicate at all, and he was unable to appreciate and understand what was going on around him. Manuela was the person closest to my grandfather in the world. Shari set Manuela up and had her ejected from my grandfathers home last October when my grandfather was not able to communicate intelligibly or understand what was going on around him. Sharis removal of Manuela from my grandfathers life is a perfect example of her disregard for what is in his best interests. With Manuela no longer there to protect my grandfather, Shari took charge of his health care and everything else in his life. I witnessed Shari yelling at him and treating him like a child. My grandfather sobbed uncontrollably, telling me over and over again, I miss Manuela. It was unbearable to watch him suffer so needlessly. I knew that I had to do something about this. For as long as I can remember, my grandfather had done everything that he could possibly think of to prevent Shari from having any type of control or power over his companies, whether public or private. This was no secret to anyone. I can assure you that Shari is the last person on the planet to whom my grandfather would entrust his healthcare if he were of sound mind. I am therefore heartbroken and devastated to see this tragic turn of events in my grandfathers life. Not to put words in his mouth, but what his happening now would be his worst nightmare if he had even the slightest mental capacity or understanding of what Shari was doing to him. The last time that I saw my grandfather was on Valentines Day for fifteen minutes. As he sat there lifeless and flanked by his nurses and caretakers, he seemed unaware of his surroundings. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I quietly sobbed as I held his cold hand before they made me leave and never let me return, despite all my unanswered emails, text messages, and voice messages to his home, lawyers, personal secretary, and doctors as well as Shari. My experience is the same as the Viacom directorsShari will not let us see Sumner. Because I was in the house, I know that my grandfather has been incompetent since last October. This is why Shari is keeping me away, because I will not lie or conceal the truth about my grandfathers condition. I love my grandfather, and I cry myself to sleep every night knowing that I might never see him again. I do not intend to let Shari get away with this outrage. I will soon be announcing legal steps to join with the Viacom directors in our common cause to liberate my grandfather from Sharis clutches and protect my fellow trust beneficiaries and myself from her machinations. Related stories Is Viacom Ad Sales Chief Moving to Snapchat? Depends Who You Ask Shari Redstone Fires Back: She Doesn't Want to Run Viacom, Despite Dad's Support Viacom in Turmoil: Will Shari Redstone Succeed in Seizing Control of Her Father's Empire? After a trial to determine who Sumner Redstone wants to control his healthcare decisions was cut short, his former companion is requesting a new one. Manuela Herzer claims newly discovered evidence makes the court order dismissing her initial petition vulnerable to reversal, according to the notice filed Wednesday by Herzer's attorney Ronald Richards. She sued to regain control after she was kicked out of Redstone's home and removed as his healthcare agent last fall. "Moments after this Court's ruling, Shari Redstone, in her father's name, began making irrational and self-interested decisions and isolating her father. Shari's ability to manipulate and deceive her father is further proof (not available at trial) that Sumner Redstone is not mentally competent, is the victim of extreme undue influence, and that Shari Redstone is unfit to serve as her father's healthcare agent." The notice claimstestimony was submitted and the court was shielded from relevant evidence. It also says the court considered Redstone's video deposition "in a vacuum" without considering other evidence. In that deposition Redstone repeatedly calls Herzer a "f - ing bitch," which weighed heavily in Judge David Cowan's decision to dismiss the matter mid-trial. "Mr. Redstone's testimony was strong," Cowan said after viewing the video. "How can I sit here and say after listening to that video, 'No, you can't have what you want'?" Herzer's attorneys argue that Redstone was brainwashed into believing she betrayed him and that brainwashing continues at present, which is why he would continue to hold hisopinions of her. "Ms. Herzer looks forward to exposing the numerous legal and factual errors that have come to light by the reckless acts of a few at the direction of one, who are part of a cabal to steal Sumner Redstone's legacy and to ignore both his medical and testamentary wishes," Richards tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Fortunately, subsequent events including legal actions by others have provided a window for her to expose the factual and legal errors that corrupted her search for justice in connection with the theft of her advance healthcare directive. We are hopeful we can save her friend Sumner Redstone from the familial apocalypse he had sought to avoid during his entire lifetime." Read More: Shari Redstone Fires Back at Viacom's Fred Salerno Sumner Redstone's granddaughter Keryn is again joining forces with those who oppose her aunt Shari - this it's Viacom directors. Keryn issued a statement Wednesday morning through her attorney Pierce O'Donnell saying Shari in charge of Redstone's companies would be his worst nightmare. "I do not intend to let Shari get away with this outrage," the statement reads. "I will soon be announcing legal steps to join with the Viacom directors in our common cause to liberate my grandfather from Shari's clutches and protect my fellow trust beneficiaries and myself from her machinations." The drama surrounding the 93-year-old mogul's mental capacity has now spread from his family and ex-girlfriends to his colleagues. Earlier this week Frederic Salerno, the lead independent shareholder of Viacom, sent a letter on behalf of himself and a handful of other board members that says they will fight any attempts to be removed by Shari. The letter also says Salerno and the chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee, Bill Schwartz, have tried to meet with Redstone in person for weeks to no avail. Shari fired back with a statement of her own, saying Salerno should spend less time worrying about her and how to keep his seat and more time thinking about how to increase the value of the company. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman also asked the court this week to fast track his lawsuit to determine if Redstone is being unduly influenced Shari. Keryn alleges that Shari not only influences her grandfather, but claims she and her sons "have managed to totally isolate and effectively kidnap, brainwash, and take advantage of" him. She alleges there's no way that Redstone, if competent and in control, would decline to meet with his fellow directors as Salerno has claimed. "My experience is the same as the Viacom directors - Shari will not let us see Sumner," says Keryn's statement. "Because I was in the house, I know that my grandfather has been incompetent since last October. This is why Shari is keeping me away, because I will not lie or conceal the truth about my grandfather's condition." Faced with fraud case, Trump brings up judge's 'Mexican' heritage Typical American, the Judge was born in the USA... but because his heritage is Hispanic, the Judge is now suddenly Mexican.. WTF!! Racist Fukk. If the Judge is Mexican, Chump is German.. (CNN)A spokeswoman for Donald Trump on Monday continued a line of criticism launched by Trump about a California judge who is overseeing a fraud case against him. She also suggested that the judge's Hispanic heritage and membership in a Latino lawyers association would affect his ability to judge the case.The criticism comes days after Trump himself said at a rally that U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel "happens to be, we believe, Mexican," criticizing him for scheduling a trial for the suit against Trump University in November.Appearing on CNN's "New Day," spokeswoman Katrina Pierson criticized Curiel for being a member of the La Raza Lawyer's Association, which is a leading Latino lawyers group in California. Curiel is a member of the organization's San Diego chapter."I think what's really interesting about this particular judge -- as Mr. Trump refers to him as a 'Trump hater' -- is he even mentions on his judicial questionnaire that he was a La Raza Lawyers Association member," Pierson said, apparently referring to the questionnaire Curiel filled out when his confirmation was being considered by the Senate. "This is an organization that has been out there organizing anti-Trump protesters with the Mexican flags -- they are pushing it. The signs have been very apparent. And so Mr. Trump is just stating the obvious."CNN has reached out to the La Raza Lawyers Association's national office and the San Diego chapter, but calls were not immediately returned."New Day" host Alisyn Camerota replied that Curiel, contrary to Trump's assertion, is U.S.-born and pushed back on making an issue of his ethnicity. "Why's (Trump) saying he's Mexican? What's the point?"After arguing that Trump had only said that "we believe" Curiel is Mexican, Pierson continued to try to link the judge to anti-Trump protesters."Well, it's because of what we see outside of these rallies, these anti-Trump rallies, these criminal rallies, these criminal protesters out there defacing property and attacking police officers. They're doing so under the guise of an anti-Trump protest, with their Mexican flags, and La Raza and this judge is connected to that," Pierson said.Efforts to reach Curiel on Monday were not immediately successful.Trump ripped Curiel on Friday after the judge ruled parts of internal documents, including "playbooks" regarding running the enterprise, should be released as part of a lawsuit against Trump University, which operated from 2005 to 2010.The playbooks, which include ones from 2009 and 2010, detail how the venture worked, how Trump University events were run and how to sell programs to customers.Curiel wrote that there is public interest in the case as Trump has become "the front-runner in the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race, and has placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue."Trump on Friday argued there was no need to schedule a trial for the Trump University fraud suit, while noting Curiel's heritage."The trial is going to take place sometime in November. There should be no trial. This should have been dismissed on summary judgment easily, everybody says it. But I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump, a hater. He's a hater," Trump said.Trump added, "The judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that's fine."source: Faced with fraud case, Trump brings up judge's 'Mexican' heritage - CNNPolitics.com ................................... Swollen river feeds Texas flooding A car and home sit in floodwater from Spring Creek along North Ravenswood Drive on May 27, 2016, in Magnolia, Texas. (Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle via AP) Residents of some rural southeastern Texas counties were bracing for more flooding along a river that reached a record high on Tuesday, as more rain wasA expected in the coming days. Large swaths of suburban communities southwest of Houston were underwater, and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes before the Brazos River reached 54.37 feet in Fort Bend County, just two years after it had run dry in places because of a drought. National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Roeseler said the 54.37 feet at Richmond early Wednesday was not yet the crest, and that the river was expected to slowly rise even more overnight. An additional 1 -3 inches of rain expected later this week could keep the Brazos in major flood stage into the weekend. (AP) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr!a By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria's main opposition has proposed a nationwide Ramadan truce, opposition delegate Basma Kodmani said on Wednesday. The proposal was made in a letter from Riad Hijab, the coordinator of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Kodmani said. "The letter to Ban Ki-moon suggests a truce, we know there should be one, full respect of the truce across the country, nationwide, for the full month of Ramadan," she said. "Ramadan being next week, that would start creating the right conditions, the right atmosphere, for us to return to (peace talks in) Geneva. This is the intention of the HNC." Kodmani said opposition armed groups were backing the proposal, which would revive the "cessation of hostilities" that began at the end of February and applied to all groups except for Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. "If the regime abides by it, the opposition and the armed groups will do so as well," she said. A spokeswoman for Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. diplomat mediating the peace talks, confirmed that the proposal had been put to the International Syrian Support Group, the group of countries led by the United States and Russia which is overseeing the peace process. "We are aware of this proposal, which is also being discussed between the co-chairs of the ISSG in the larger framework of consolidating the cessation of hostilities," she said. "Any consideration to de-escalate the fighting on the ground is most welcome, especially during the Holy Month of Ramadan." U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a briefing that the United States believes any cease-fire is a good thing, but Washington would like to see the cease-fires become "longer and larger." "What we really want to see happen, the best thing that can happen for the Syrian people, is an enduring nationwide cessation of hostilities," Kirby said. De Mistura has said he wants to see improvement in humanitarian aid access and a lessening of the violence before launching a new round of peace talks. On Wednesday, U.N. aid convoys entered the besieged towns of Daraya and Mouadamiya. Kodmani said that was a first step but much more needed to be done, and the international community should keep the pressure on the government of President Bashar al-Assad. "There is no indication that there is a true move towards loosening the sieges and allowing an end to the starvation strategy. That's what we need to see," she said. (Reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Leslie Adler) Berlin (AFP) - A leading German cultural heritage expert on Wednesday charged that Syrian regime troops are looting the ancient city of Palmyra like the Islamic State jihadists who controlled it until March. Archaeologist Hermann Parzinger, head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, was speaking on the eve of a two-day Berlin conference on ways to protect heritage sites in war-ravaged Syria. Speaking to media, Parzinger said that Syrian troops, when they are off-duty, "are conducting illegal excavations" and "have looted" at the UNESCO World Heritage site. Syrian troops backed by Russian air strikes and special forces recaptured Palmyra from the Islamic State (IS) group in March, delivering a major propaganda coup for both Damascus and Moscow. IS jihadists had staged mass executions in the Roman amphitheatre, blown up ancient temples and looted relics in the one-time trade hub in central Syria, a major tourist site before the war. Despite the liberation, "we shouldn't act like everything is alright now," said Parzinger, the former head of the German Archaeological Institute. He said retaking Palmyra was "an important victory for culture," writing earlier in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily. "But this victory has not made Assad and his backers the saviours of cultural heritage," he added. "Assad's soldiers too plundered the ruins of Palmyra before the IS takeover, and their rockets and grenades indiscriminately pounded the antique columns and walls when this promised even the slightest military advantage." From Thursday, the German government and UNESCO will host over 170 scientists, archaeologists, architects and planners to discuss how to preserve Syria's heritage despite the five-year-old war that has killed more than 270,000 people. UNESCO chief Irina Bokova, writing in the Tagesspiegel daily, wrote that "two-thirds of the old town of Aleppo have been bombed and burned" and at other sites, gangs have looted on an "industrial scale". "Archaeological sites are in the crossfire ... and being misused as military bases," she wrote, while "Palmyra, which had long been insufficiently protected, has experienced indescribable horror and destruction" under IS control. Where Does AT&T Stand before Rolling Out New Installment Plans? (Continued from Prior Part) AT&T GigaPower service AT&T (T) has been boosting its Internet proposition with AT&T GigaPower. According to a press release by the company, it plans to nearly double the availability of AT&T GigaPower in Southern Dallas in the next 12 months. Regarding the current availability of GigaPower, the press release mentioned that GigaPower is present in more than 1.6 million locations across 22 of the largest metro areas in the country. AT&T has planned significant expansion of the service to reach a minimum of 56 metro areas. Moreover, the company is planning to reach more than 14 million residential and commercial locations with fiber. AT&T GigaPower service AT&T GigaPower is a fiber-to-the-premises service. Its similar to Verizon Communications (VZ) Fios. The GigaPower service is capable of providing Internet speeds of a maximum of 1 Gbps (gigabits per second), subject to conditions. In the case of Fios, the maximum symmetrical Internet speed is 500 Mbps (megabits per second). These 100% fiber-based services provide telecom (telecommunications) players the ability to compete effectively with cable players. Per the Netflix ISP Speed Index, which takes into account the prime-time speeds witnessed by users, Verizon Communications Fios was the fastest in the index among large US ISPs (Internet service providers) in April 2016. Bright House Networks, Cox Communications, and Cablevision Systems (CVC), and Optimum followed it. Charter Communications (CHTR), Comcast (CMCSA), and Time Warner Cable (TWC) held the fifth, sixth, and seventh ranks, respectively, in this index. Note that the merger of Charter Communications, Bright House Networks, and Time Warner Cable was completed on May 18, 2016. For diversified exposure to US telecom players, you may consider investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The ETF held a total of ~2.7% of its portfolio in AT&T, Verizon Communications, CenturyLink (CTL), Level 3 Communications (LVLT), and Frontier Communications (FTR) at the end of April 2016. Story continues In the next part of this series, well look at the expansion of AT&Ts 4G LTE in Mexico. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwanese regulators have cleared Foxconn's $3.5 billion acquisition of Sharp Corp., paving the way for the world's largest electronics manufacturer and major Apple Inc supplier to begin the task of trying to turn around the Japanese display maker in the face of slowing smartphone sales. Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday said there was no anti-trust issue with the purchase. The green light came the day after the economics ministry's Investment Commission, in charge of reviewing and approving inbound and outbound investments, signaled its approval for the deal. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, is investing a total of 388.8 billion yen ($3.54 billion) to take a 63.64 percent stake in Sharp, according to the Investment Commission's statement on its approval. Earlier this month, Foxconn founder Terry Gou said there would have to be layoffs at Sharp to turn around the ailing Japanese company, but pledged that wages would rise and profit-sharing would again be the norm. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents stormed a court in the Afghan city of Ghazni on Wednesday, clashing with police for at least an hour in an attack in which 10 people, including all five of the militants, were killed, police said. The attack came days after the Taliban, who are fighting to topple the government of President Ashraf Ghani, vowed to seek revenge for the execution last month of six Taliban prisoners. The raid began when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of the court and four more attackers fought their way inside, sparking an hour-long battle with police, said city police chief Aminullah Amarkhil. "Four civilian visitors and a policeman were killed in the attack but our forces were on high alert and shot dead the other bombers in no time," he said. The court building in the city, 150 km (100 miles) southwest of Kabul, was damaged, he said. Spokesmen for the Taliban were not available for comment. The militants had vowed revenge for the hanging on May 8 of six Taliban prisoners convicted of terrorism offences, as part of a tougher security policy in retaliation for an April suicide attack in Kabul in which 64 people were killed. The Taliban have made considerable gains in various parts of the country since the departure of most foreign combat troops at the end of 2014, and both government forces and the militants have suffered heavy losses in fighting. The United States killed the leader of the Taliban in a drone attack in southwest Pakistan on May 21 but the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour has had no discernable impact on the violence. In another incident on Wednesday, a roadside bomb killed a top police administrator and wounded four policemen in the relatively peaceful northern province of Balkh, officials there said. (Reporting by Mustafa Andalib in Ghazni and Abdul Sayed in Mazar, Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Robert Birsel) (New throughout, adds background, details and comments from Monsanto and ministry source) By Hugh Bronstein and Maximiliano Rizzi BUENOS AIRES, June 1 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co, eager to get royalties from growers in Argentina on genetically modified soybeans, said on Wednesday it was still trying to resolve a dispute with the government over inspections, while an agricultural ministry source said a deal may be reached in the coming days. Monsanto and the government have been at loggerheads over the company's request that Argentine exporters inspect soybean shipments to ensure growers pay royalties. The country's government has decreed it must approve such inspections. Monsanto, the world's largest seed company, then said it would suspend future soybean technologies in Argentina, a move that could limit output of the country's main cash crop. "Monsanto and industry stakeholders continue to engage in positive dialogue with the government of Argentina," the company said in a statement from Buenos Aires, adding that the government should have "a predictable business environment that recognizes intellectual property protection." A source at the Agricultural Ministry said there would likely be advances at the talks soon. "Though there is an advanced dialogue and good will from both sides, we can't get ahead of ourselves. I think in the coming days there will be something concrete," the source said. Argentina, the world's No. 1 exporter of soymeal livestock feed, relies heavily on Monsanto's genetic technology to produce soybeans. During the negotiations the government has contended Monsanto has failed to submit a proposal for an inspection system. The company said it was waiting for the government to outline its inspection requirements. Soy farming has spread rapidly across Argentina's Pampas agricultural belt over the last 20 years, thanks largely to the country's embrace of genetically modified seeds. The technology makes soy plants resistant to glyphosate herbicide, which kills most weeds that grow in Argentina. Story continues Argentine growers do not yet have the company's new "Xtend" technology, aimed at increasing soy yields and controlling glyphosate-resistant broad leaf weeds. Farmers have urged the government to make a deal with the company though they object to private exporters playing an enforcement role. Monsanto has pressured shipping companies to notify it when crops grown with its technology are slated for export without documentation that farmers have paid royalties. Argentina, the world's third biggest exporter of raw soybeans, is expected by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange to harvest a 56-million-tonne crop this year. The estimate was cut from a previous forecast of 60 million tonnes due to floods that hit key farm areas in April. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein and Maximiliano Rizzi; writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by David Gregorio) By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania on Wednesday rejected findings by conservationists who said elephants could disappear from a reserve there within six years due to "industrial scale" poaching, saying the WWF analysis was outdated. WWF said Selous Game Reserve, Tanzanias largest protected area, was home to one of the greatest concentrations of African elephants on the continent, but rampant ivory poaching has seen the population reduced by 90 percent in less than 40 years. "Nearly 110,000 elephants once roamed the savannahs, wetlands and forests of Selous, but now only about 15,000 remain in the ecosystem," the conservation group said on Wednesday. "Based on historic trends of elephant poaching, by early 2022 we could see the last of Selous' elephants gunned down by heavily armed and well trained criminal networks that have turned poaching into an industrial scale global threat to conservation," the analysis said. The analysis, carried out for WWF by global development advisers Dalberg, said the loss of elephants at the reserve put the livelihoods of 1.2 million people at risk and hurt Tanzania's economy. The East African country relies heavily on revenue from safari tourism. Tourism is the biggest foreign exchange earner in east Africa's second largest economy. New President John Magufuli has pledged to root out poaching as part of a wider war on corruption. The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Gaudence Milanzi, dismissed the WWF findings. "The report has not taken into account the success of current efforts to curb poaching," Milanzi told Reuters. "There is no industrial scale poaching in the Selous right now, that was something in the past." Poaching has risen across sub-Saharan Africa, where armed gangs have killed elephants for tusks and rhinos for horns that are often shipped to Asia for use in ornaments and medicines. Milanzi said Tanzania's anti-poaching efforts over the past two years had recorded major achievements. "I am sure these projections that elephants could vanish at the Selous by 2022 are based on past events, not the current situation on the ground," he said. "We haven't completely curbed poaching -- we need to step up our efforts. But elephant populations are actually rising and stabilizing in some parts of the country, although poaching has not been completely eradicated." Milanzi cited the prosecution of a prominent Chinese businesswoman, Yang Feng Glan, dubbed the "Ivory Queen", as proof of the success of the poaching crackdown. She is accused of running a network that smuggled out tusks from 350 elephants, charges she denies. She is under police custody and facing trial at a court in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. (Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Editing by George Obulutsa and Alison Williams) From Cosmopolitan Brazilians are outraged after a horrific video of people mocking a naked 16-year-old girl gang-raped by at least 30 men emerged on social media last week. The graphic video has prompted multiple protests and a national discussion on rape culture and violence against women in the country, CNN reports. Hundreds took to the streets in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, and police in Brasilia used pepper spray against activists marching to the Supreme Court. On Twitter, hashtags #estuprocoletivo ("gang rape") and #estupronaotemjustificativa ("rape can't be justified") began trending to address rape culture and violence against women in Brazil. The victim, who came forward in an interview with TV Record over the weekend, told police that she had gone over to her 19-year-old boyfriend's house around 1 a.m. on Saturday. "I fell asleep and woke up in a completely different place, with a man under me, one on top of me and two holding me down, on my hands," she said in the interview. "Many people laughing at me, and I was drugged, out of it. Many people with guns, boys laughing and talking." Here's a description of the obscene 38-second clip that was released online, via Latin America News Dispatch: The clip showed an undressed, unconscious woman lying on a bare mattress. She was being filmed by two men, both fully dressed, who took turns manhandling and mocking her."This one just got knocked up by 30 guys," one of them says."Check out the state she's in. Bleeding," says the other, directing the camera toward her visibly injured genitals. At one point, the man positioned his head next to the unresponsive woman's buttocks, stuck out his tongue, and took a selfie. Brazil's problem with violence against women is well-documented. In 2013, according to the Global Post, Brazil had the highest rate of female homicide in the world. In 2016, UNICEF's Voices of Youth reported that "violence against women is by far the most notable form of violation of human rights in Brazil," noting that every 15 seconds, a woman in Brazil is assaulted and 15 women are killed a day. In 2015, Brazil passed a femicide law, but the problem will persist until Brazil improves upon a culture that "objectifies, discriminates and constrains the freedom of women," according to the Voices of Youth blog. Story continues In fact, CNN reports that over the weekend, the lead investigator on the case was "removed" over "criticisms of bias against the victim." Outrage over the case has also prompted a national inquiry. Interim President Michel Temer has condemned the crime, saying, "It is absurd that still in the 21st century we have to live with barbaric crimes like this." On Tuesday, he called for an emergency meeting with the security chiefs of all of Brazil's states. So far, police have arrested two men and warrants are pending for four other men, according to Reuters. One activist told the Latin America News Dispatch why this case in particular has shocked the nation into action: "This case has rattled Brazilians," said Vanessa Dios, a researcher at the Brasilia-based feminist institute Anis. She added that the irrefutable visual proof has kept more familiar responses to rape cases in Brazil from taking hold, such as "I don't think that's what really happened," and "the girl is probably exaggerating." "Even so," Dios said, "many people responded to the footage with justifications" that the victim had brought this on herself. "The day-to-day culture of codifying women's bodies persists in Brazil. They are constantly given signals to what constitutes acceptable behavior. Among men, the notion that they are allowed to touch and grab women without permission endures." However, the teen has little faith in the justice system. "If I have to wait for the justice system, they've already shown that nothing is going to happen," she told TV Record. "I am waiting for the justice of God. That might be late but it never fails." "I knew there would be no justice, that I would be ashamed. In the first moment, I didn't even want to tell my mom," she said. "Now I am sure that if I was going through this alone it would be much worse." Follow Prachi on Twitter. TELUS (NYSE: TU) revealed Wednesday that it closed the previously-announced transaction whereby Baring Private Equity Asia acquired a 35 percent stake in TELUS International, a global provider of customer service, IT and business process services. According to the company, the transaction valued TELUS International at about US$1 billion. TELUS' Chief Corporate Officer, Josh Blair, commented, "TELUS International is now poised, with the backing and support of TELUS and Baring Asia, to continue its rapid growth in the years ahead." He continued, "Under the continuing leadership of Jeffrey Puritt, President and CEO of TELUS International and now an Executive Vice-president of TELUS, I am confident that our 22,000 TELUS International team members will continue to advance our leading culture and deliver customer experience innovation for the benefit of our clients across the globe." The stock traded 0.63 percent down on Tuesday. See more from Benzinga 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Photos: NBC I blame Freddy Rodriguez. Yes, he was my gateway into the wild, insane, inspiring world of The Night Shift. I followed Freddy Rodriguez from Six Feet Under to Ugly Betty to Chaos (remember that show?), and I wasnt about to stop just because he jumped to yet another network for The Night Shift. As someone who devoured every episode of ABCs loopy medical show Off the Map (remember that show?), naturally I was intrigued about The Night Shift, which follows a group of skilled Army Rangers veterans/doctors who return from Afghanistan to work the night shift in the emergency room of San Antonio Memorial. The question, of course, is how will these unconventional battlefield doctors fit into the structured world of a major hospital while dealing with their inevitable personal demons? In the first five minutes of the pilot, rogue doctor/bad boy TC Callahan (Merlin alum and resident Irish hottie Eoin Macken) wakes up in the drunk tank with a black eye, hops on his motorcycle, and immediately happens upon a man impaled by a tree branch writhing on the side of the road with a couple of baffled paramedics looking on in horror. Callahan, with his battlefield resourcefulness, saves the day with a couple of tubes, a needle, and a scalpel. And with that, I was hooked. TC was equally compelling in the ER setting. From his sexy interactions with Dr. Jordan Alexander (Jill Flint), his on-and-off again girlfriend and chief of the night shift; to his combative relationship with Michael Ragosa (Rodriguez), a dogged hospital administrator who becomes a doctors assistant in Season 2 (its complicated, trust us); to the deep ties he forms with fellow veterans Dr. Topher Zia (Ken Leung) and Drew Alister (Brendan Fehr), TC Callahan did not disappoint. He proved to be the kind of psychologically damaged, broody nighttime soap hero I can root for. Another reason I love the series? Its set in San Antonio, a city that I have to conclude is one of the most dangerous places on earth. In between dealing with bizarre (and I mean, bizarre) late-night ER trauma cases, the emergency staff of San Antonio Memorial inexplicably desert the ER to ride along with paramedics to the scenes of various catastrophes involving things like hunting parties gone awry, nightmare car crashes, gas explosions in urban areas, disorderly rodeos, and snipers wreaking havoc on hapless San Antonians. Story continues But what makes The Night Shift work, what has endeared the show to my heart forever, is how well it blends the ridiculous, the schmaltzy, the harrowing, and the poignant. You wouldnt think that a show could move seamlessly from a besieged Texas ER room to the battle zones of Afghanistan without giving its audience whiplash, but The Night Shift manages to do it. It also deals with real issues like PTSD, gays in the military, miscarriages, rare diagnoses, and doctor accountability (many of these touchy themes in the same episode) with a soapy recklessness that is awe-inspiring and compelling. Though I am deep in mourning over the fact that Freddy Rodriguez will not be returning for Season 3, I am heartened by the fact that everyones favorite Scott Wolf is now a series regular as Dr. Scott Clemens, a recovering alcoholic surgeon who just so happens to be Jordans ex-boyfriend. Soon, after a year of waiting, we will find out what new mischief the staff at San Antonio Memorial will be getting into. If youre a fan of The Night Shift, you share my compulsion. I am not ashamed of it, as this confession proves. And if you havent seen The Night Shift, youre just a convert waiting to happen. Dont fight it. Just embrace it. The Night Shift Season 3 premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on NBC. Its Megan Foxs world and were just living in it er, or something like that. On Tuesday, the pregnant star appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and revealed some unique beliefs about her unborn child. But this is hardly the first time Fox has shared her unconventional thoughts about both this world and the great beyond. Heres a roundup of our favorite quotes from the eccentric star. 1. She thinks her unborn baby sends her messages. During her interview with Kimmel, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actress, 30, explained her (very) special ability to communicate with her unborn child her third with (possibly estranged?) husband Brian Austin Green. You dont hear an audible voice, but I feel like you receive messages from the child if youre open to it, Fox said. For instance, this baby wanted me to live somewhere else, so were moving to a whole different place in Los Angeles because I feel like thats where this baby wants to be raised. Hmm. I know I sound crazy, she added. Photo: Getty Images 2. She thinks her unborn baby is going to be a pioneer in the world of technology or engineering. In the same interview, Fox called her baby a super genius, predicting, This baby is telling me its kind of like a Wernher von Braun or Elon Musk. For his part, Kimmel speculated a real estate agent might be more likely since the baby already got her to move. Photo: Getty Images 3. She believes in leprechauns. I believe in all of these Irish myths, like leprechauns, Fox told Esquire back in 2013. Not the pot of gold, not the Lucky Charms leprechauns. But maybe was there something in the traditional sense? I believe that this stuff came from somewhere other than peoples imaginations. Photo: Getty Images 4. And the Loch Ness monster. While she didnt offer specific evidence for its existence to the magazine, she asserted, Theres something to it. Story continues Photo: Getty Images 5. And aliens. In the same interview, she said, I believe in aliens. A few years later she told MTV, I believe in everything, she said. To be clear, everything encompassed aliens, ghosts, and Bigfoot. She later defended her statement, basically arguing that the reason more people havent seen aliens is because the aliens dont want to be seen. If they are a more advanced species, why would we be able to find them if they dont want to be found? she asked. OK, she has a point. Maybe. Photo: Getty Images 6. She speaks in tongues at church. A devout Pentecostal, Fox claimed she began speaking in tongues at the age of 8, when she attended church in Tennessee. The energy is so intense in the room that you feel like anything can happen, she told Esquire. Theyre going to hate that I compare it to this, but have you ever watched footage of a Santeria gathering or someone doing voodoo? You know how palpable the energy is? Whatevers going on there, its for real. She then added, It feels like a lot of energy coming through the top of your head Im going to sound like such a lunatic and then your whole body is filled with this electric current. And you just start speaking, but youre not thinking because you have no idea what youre saying. Words are coming out of your mouth, and you cant control it. The idea is that its a language that only God understands. Its the language thats spoken in heaven. Its called getting the Holy Ghost. Photos: Getty Images 7. Shes called herself a doppelganger for Alan Alda and a tranny. During an interview with Giuliana Rancic on the Golden Globes red carpet back in 2009, Fox revealed just how she sees herself and its not the way the rest of us see her. I am pretty sure I am a doppelganger for Alan Alda. Im a tranny. Im a man, she stated. Im so painfully insecure. Im on the verge of vomiting now. I am so horrified that I am here, and embarrassed. Im scared. Photos: Getty Images 8. But she finds Olivia Wilde sexy. While she might consider herself a tranny, Fox thinks Olivia Wilde is the epitome of sex appeal. Olivia Wilde is so sexy, she makes me want to strangle a mountain ox with my bare hands, Fox explained. Weve never been tempted to strangle a wild animal with our bare hands because we saw someone we thought was hot, but something tells us if anyone might actually go through with this, it would be Fox. Maybe some aliens and leprechauns could help too. Nurses prepare influenza vaccine injections during a flu shot clinic at Dorchester House, a health care clinic, in Boston, Massachusetts January 12, 2013. REUTERS/Brian Snyder The role of clinical trials in medicine is changing. Clinical trials are research studies that help scientists and regulators understand whether a certain treatment is effective and safe. But, according to a recent national survey of consumers and physicians conducted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, only about 35% of people would consider taking part in one of these trials. Finding participants is critical, so that trials are large enough to show that a treatment really could work on a large population. Shortages of participants can often make it hard to continue trials or get them underway in the first place. Dr. Paul Sabbatini, an oncologist at MSK, told Business Insider that the low level of interest surprised him. With more information available through the internet, he had thought that there would be much more access to the trials. "We had thought that people would be more familiar but that wasnt found to be the case," he told Business Insider. It's not just concerns about the safety of an experimental medication that stops people. Other barriers people cited were concerns about cost, and insurance coverage, and that they'd be receiving the placebo instead of the actual drug. Sabbatini said that for the most part, these are actually misconceptions about how clinical trials are run. Other than location of the trial being a concern, he said, the other items dont really require changes. Safety is closely monitored, most trials don't have placebo arms (for example, many will opt to compare the drug to an approved treatment), and most don't have increased costs, Sabbatini said. Having a better understanding of what clinical trials are, and what participating in one actually entails, is key to changing these perceptions. It's particularly important as the role of clinical trials, particularly in cancer, shifts from "last resort" treatments. Story continues Instead, it's becoming more common to alternate between one established treatment to an experimental one when it's time to change treatments. Communicating this shift will be critical to getting the right people to enroll in the trials. "We did this because we know that one big way forward is education, and that's something we can all do," Sabbatini said. NOW WATCH: Scientifically proven ways to make someone fall in love with you More From Business Insider Thora Birch has joined Adrian Grenier and Mimi Rogers in the political thriller Public Affairs, Variety has learned exclusively. Eric Bross is directing from a script by Tom Cudworth. Producers are School Pictures Stephen Israel (Swimming With Sharks) and George Voskericyan (Helicopter Mom) of American Film Productions. Shooting starts this month in Norfolk, Va. 13 Films has international rights to the project, which was introduced to buyers in Cannes. Public Affairs follows a young campaign aide who sleeps with a presidential candidates wife a mistake that sends him into a downward spiral of corruption and blackmail. He is left fighting not only for his career, but also his life. Ive long-admired Thoras raw talent and am thrilled that she has joined the team, said Israel. Her honesty and depth will truly complement an already-strong cast. Birchs credits include Patriot Games, American Beauty and Ghost World. She took a break from acting for several years, but has resumed her career and is currently shooting Above Suspicion opposite Jack Huston, Emilia Clarke and Johnny Knoxville, reuniting her with Patriot Games director Phillip Noyce. Birch recently wrapped the independent feature The Etruscan Smile opposite Brian Cox and JJ Feild. She also has a recurring role on the USA series Colony. 13 Films slate includes the family adventure film Four Kids and It, starring Michael Caine, Bill Nighy and Matthew Goode; sci-fi thriller Spectrum, toplined by Lucas Till; British dark comedy Croak, written by David Thewlis; Worlds Apart, starring J.K. Simmons; The Forgiven, with Forest Whitaker and Vince Vaughn; thriller A Patch of Fog, toplined by Stephen Graham and Conleth Hill; and supernatural thriller Voice From the Stone, starring Clarke and Marton Csokas. Related stories Cannes: Adrian Grenier, Mimi Rogers Star in 'Public Affairs' (EXCLUSIVE) Sundance Film Review: 'Trash Fire' Film Review: 'Sex, Death and Bowling' Thora Birch has joined Adrian Grenier and Mimi Rogers in the political thriller Public Affairs, about a young campaign aide who gets in over his head after he sleeps with the wife of a presidential candidate. The film is being directed by Sundance alum and DGA-Award winner Eric Bross (USA Networks Traffic) and was scripted by Tom Cudworth. Produced by School Pictures Stephen Israel (Swimming with Sharks) and George Voskericyan (Echoes of War) of American Film Productions, the film will roll before the cameras this month in Norfolk, Virginia. Los Angeles-based 13 Films, founded by Tannaz Anisi, is handling international rights to the project which they introduced to buyers in Cannes. Birch just joined the cast of Phillip Noyces Above Suspicion and recently wrapped the independent feature The Etruscan Smile and also had a recurring role on USAs Colony. Gravitas Ventures just acquired North American rights to The Anthropologist, the documentary that explores climate change from Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger of Ironbound Films. In the film, the fate of the planet is considered from the perspective of American teenager Katie Crate. Over the course of five years, she travels alongside her mother Susie, an anthropologist studying the impact of climate change on indigenous communities. Their journey parallels that of renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead, who for decades sought to understand how global change affects remote cultures. The film will be released by Gravitas Ventures across all platforms in the U.S. and Canada this fall. The film has been selected by more than 30 film festivals across the nation. The deal was negotiated by Dan Fisher for Gravitas Ventures and Daniel A. Miller for Ironbound Films. Zeitgeist Films acquired the U.S. theatrical and non-theatrical rights to director Davidd Schisgalls Theo Who Lived about American journalist Theo Padnos who was kidnapped in Syria and held by Islamic militants for 22 months. The film will have its U.S. theatrical premiere on September 30 at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York, followed by a nationwide release to select cities. The deal was negotiated by Zeitgeist Films co-president Emily Russo and Andrew Herwitz, president of The Film Sales Company. Related stories Gravitas Ventures Boldly Goes 'For The Love Of Spock' Thora Birch, Johnny Knoxville Join Phillip Noyce's 'Above Suspicion' Gravitas Ventures & Broad Green Recruit Three War Films Including 'Citizen Soldier' Getty/Blaze TV If Jay Zs return to actively rapping on Fat Joes All The Way Up was lukewarm, his second turn at bat on Pusha Ts Drug Dealers Anonymous was scalding hot. Jay took a gander into his old life as a drug dealer, and similar to Amercian Gangster, it may have taken some outside influence to get him back there. Before he kicks off his verse, listeners are treated to a short portion of Fox News Tomi Lahrens infamous anti-Beyonce rant that saw her peg Jay as a 14-year drug dealer, much to his amusement. Well, somehow Tomi heard the song, and she seems psyched to be on the track shockingly. Always wanted to be on a track with two drug dealers. Thanks @PUSHA_T & #JayZ #DrugDealersAnonymous Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) June 1, 2016 Okay, she doesnt seem completely amused. Really, the Fox News personalitys irritation probably isnt even about her inclusion on the song, but from the fact that Jay took her insult and wore it like a badge of honor. Not only did he throw the clip on there but he also taunted 14-year drug dealer and still counting during his verse. Then again, maybe she is ecstatic, this whole ordeal probably gives Lahren and The Blaze TV fodder for the rest of the week. Oh well, its a welcome distraction if thats what it takes to get Hov to rhyme like that and return to whatever zone he was in for American Gangster. A Closer Look at French Giant Totals Strategy and Performance Series overview Total SA (TOT) is set to acquire InterOils stake in exploration assets from Oil Search. Before we begin analyzing the deal, lets have a look at what to expect from this series. In this series, we will provide an update on Totals operations, financials, and market performance. In the next few parts, we will examine TOTs latest stock performance, analyst ratings, and upstream and downstream segment analysis. Then we will analyze TOTs leverage and cash flow position. Finally, we will discuss TOTs valuations and conduct a correlation analysis of TOTs stock and oil prices. The Total, Oil Search, and InterOil deal Total SA (TOT) has signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Oil Search to acquire 60% of InterOils (IOC) interest in PRL 15 (Petroleum Retention License 15: the Elk-Antelope gas field in Papua New Guinea) and 62% of InterOils (IOC) exploration assets. This will occur shortly after Oil Searchs proposed acquisition of InterOil Corporation (IOC). InterOil is an oil and gas exploration and production firm, with a focus in Papua New Guinea (or PNG). Oil Search Ltd. is an exploration and development company in PNG, where it holds several licenses for oil and gas production and exploration. According to the deal, Total will pay around $1.2 billion to Oil Search on the settlement of the InterOil (IOC) purchase. Plus, Total (TOT) will pay $142 million in cash on July 1, 2017, and $230 million at FID (final investment decision) of the Papua LNG project. Total will also pay 60% of the CVR (contingent value right) above 6.5 tcfe (trillion cubic feet equivalent) to InterOil Shareholders, which will be triggered after resource certification. The remaining 40% of CVR consideration will be paid by Oil Search to InterOil Shareholders. If you are looking for exposure to integrated sector stocks, you can consider the iShares North American Natural Resources ETF (IGE). This ETF has ~22% exposure to the sector, including the integrated energy field majors like ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX). Story continues In the next part, well explore the impact of the deal. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: The just-concluded TV pilot season has already claimed its first victim: Universal Television president Bela Bajaria. Bajaria is abruptly exiting as of NBC Universals in-house studio after just one year with that title and a couple weeks after network executives presented their new fall schedules to advertisers in New York. UTV, which produces such fare as Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., is an important part of the empire of parent company Comcast, especially in an era in which networks seek to own the shows they air. Also Read: Bela Bajaria Exits as President of Universal Television But NBC boss Bob Greenblatt wasnt pleased with Bajarias development roster, according to a person familiar with the situation. UTV placed a big drama pilot bet on Mirandas Rights, a legal soap. But NBC programmers passed on that show and instead picked This Is Us, a dramedy about characters with interlocking lives, and Timeless, about a time-traveling criminal. This Is Us already has a key promotional element in place. The trailer has been viewed a record-setting total of more than 70 million times since NBC posted it on May 15. Also Read: Bela Bajaria Named President of Universal Television The problem is that neither This Is Us nor Timeless is owned by NBC. This Is Us is from the Fox studio division; Timeless is from Sony. The parent companies of networks strive to own the shows they broadcast because of the long-term value a hit show can create. Airing a series created by another studio means paying a license fee to a competitor and seeing no back-end value. UTV did produce two drama pilots that NBC picked up, Dick Wolfs Chicago Justice and the supernatural thriller Midnight, Texas. But both are slated for midseason. Another drama pilot, the CIA thriller Taken, was ordered straight to series. Bajaria, a longtime CBS executive prior to joining NBC in 2011, did not respond to an email seeking comment. NBC is expected to tap Pearlena Igbokwe, its current head of drama, as a replacement, although that move has not been finalized. Story continues Related stories from TheWrap: Bela Bajaria Exits as President of Universal Television Bela Bajaria Named President of Universal Television CBS Showtime's Bela Bajaria Named EVP of Universal Media Studios By Naomi Tajitsu TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday said it was recalling a total of about 490,000 vehicles in Japan, China, Europe and other regions over potentially faulty air bag inflators produced by Takata Corp (7312.T), further widening a massive global recall. Automakers are ramping up recalls of Takata air bag inflators after the auto parts maker, under pressure from the U.S. government, agreed last month to declare more of its airbags as defective in the United States. Toyota's latest recall covers passenger-side airbags produced by Takata which use ammonium nitrate to inflate the air bag, and do not contain a drying agent. These have been found to explode with excessive force in hot, humid conditions, and have been linked to more than 100 injuries and 13 deaths worldwide, mainly in the United States. Toyota is recalling around 45,000 Lexus IS model vehicles produced between 2005 and 2011 for the Japanese market, and will withdraw a total of around 140,000 Lexus IS, ES, and GX models from roughly the same production period which were marketed in China. The same Lexus models will be recalled in Europe, along with Toyota 4Runner SUVs and Corolla compact models, making up a total of 80,000 vehicles also produced around 2005-2011. In Mexico, Toyota is recalling 100,000 vehicles including Corollas, Sienna minivans, and the Yaris subcompact model, while a total of 120,000 vehicles from both brands will be withdrawn in South America and other regions, the company said. Facing ballooning recall costs and lawsuits over its faulty airbags, the embattled parts maker is in bailout talks with a number of potential investors including private equity firm KKR & Co (KKR.N), Reuters reported last week. Last week, automakers recalled more than 12 million vehicles in the United States over potentially defective Takata air bag inflators. Toyota has recalled more than 17 million Takata air bags globally since recalls began in 2008. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Richard Pullin) Donald Trump may still be having trouble corralling the votes of some conservative Republicans in the U.S., but he is well on his way to rounding up the endorsements of dictators and leaders of pariah states. The latest--approving articles about him appearing in two media mouthpieces of the regime in North Korea. Trump, who has also basked in the praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin (while expressing admiration for the authoritarian and anti-Democratic tactics of the Kremlin) was praised as a wise politician and a far-sighted leader in an article published this week in the regime-backed website DPRK Today. Related: Why Donald Trump Is Vladimir Putins Favorite Presidential Candidate The so-called Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea is, of course, not Democratic at all, and its people have little say in how the country is run. Kim Jong-un, the leader of the country and the son and grandson of its two prior rulers, runs a viciously oppressive regime that has gladly relegated much of its population to famine and destitution while pursuing greater military capability while regularly threatening its enemies -- including the United States -- with nuclear annihilation. Under Kims rule, nothing is published by the state-run media without the consent of the regime, which suggests that the DPRK Today piece, written by a man identified as a Korean scholar studying in China, had the implicit backing of the government. And the article appeared to see some promise in the Trump candidacy. The candidate the Americans must choose is not the thickheaded Hillary, who tries to apply an Iranian model to solve the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula, but Trump, who says he will try to solve it through direct dialogue with us, he wrote. The remarks were an apparent response to Trump saying that he would consider withdrawing US troops from South Korea, which is still officially at war with the north, unless the government in Seoul pays the US more for the protection they provide. Story continues Related: Donald Trumps New Role -- Apologist for Vladimir Putin Leave Now! Hurry! the article read. The day that the Yankee Go Home slogan becomes reality would be the day Korea is unified again. Trump has also said that he would be willing to sit down with North Koreas Kim for discussions about nuclear weapons. Another of the regimes media outlets, the newspaper Rodong Sinmun, was more sparing in its praise for Trump, but was plainly delighted by the discomfort the presumptive Republican presidential nominees comments are causing in South Korea. In an editorial Wednesday, it urged South Korea to stop living as a servant of foreign forces and come back to the side of the Korean nation. The editorial came on the same day that the U.S. Treasury Department further tightened restrictions on North Koreas ability to access the global financial system by declaring the regime a primary money laundering concern. That designation makes it unlawful for US banks to provide correspondent accounts to North Korean banks. Correspondent accounts allow institutions in one country the ability to do a significant amount of business in another country without actually operating there. Barring North Korean banks from US correspondent accounts is a major blow to the regime in Pyongyang in terms of access to the global banking system. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: By Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's eponymous business seminar program created a class to teach students how to cash in on U.S. mortgage foreclosures during the housing crisis. Trump University promised in 2009 that its "Fast Track to Foreclosure Investing" would teach students how to take advantage of the crisis, according to university documents unsealed last week in a lawsuit against the now-defunct program. The release will likely stoke criticism from the campaign of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who last week accused her likely rival in the Nov. 8 presidential election of having cheered on the 2008 housing crash as an investment opportunity. A spokeswoman for Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, although Trump reacted to Clinton's criticism last week, saying: "What am I going to do? I'm in business." A Trump University advertisement released in the case said one of its free investor workshops would explain how to "Cash in on one of the greatest property liquidations in history!" Trump University instructors were to teach students how to "capitalize without harm" and find ways for "sellers to move on without shame," according to a December 2008 summary of the seminar. An earlier 2007 memo to enrollment counselors stated that about 1.5 million U.S. homeowners would face foreclosure that year and laid out how they should advise students to seize the "tremendous opportunity" to purchase properties at "major discounts" in "hot markets" such as Arizona, Florida and Texas. The roughly 400 pages of documents included "playbooks" on how to recruit students, directions for how instructors should deal with the media and other details about Trump's seminar program. They were unsealed on Friday by U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump called "hostile" and "a hater," adding he believed the judge was Mexican. New York's attorney general slammed Trump on Tuesday for his comment on the judge's ethnicity. Curiel is an American who was born in East Chicago, Indiana, and graduated from the Indiana University School of Law. Clinton's attack on Trump last week was prompted by recently released audio that Trump recorded in 2006 for Trump University. In remarks on a possible "bubble burst," Trump said in the recording: "I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy" to "make a lot of money." (Reporting by Amanda Becker; Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Peter Cooney) The instructions for Trump University instructors were simple: Entice prospective students by making them feel special. Let them know they were being offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to get rich, and create more wealth than you have ever dreamed of by taking courses from Donald Trumps Real Estate Experts. This is not something we offer to just anyone, reads a confidential Trump University playbook for instructors at the now defunct school. We dont want to work with just anyone. You know who my boss is, right? the proposed script continues. Mr. Trump is on a mission to create the next wave of independently wealthy entrepreneurs in America. Is that you? Whether Trumps real mission was to help his students become wealthy real estate entrepreneurs or to line his own pockets through deceptive sales pitches that lured them into paying tens of thousands of dollars for courses of little if any value is now at issue in three lawsuits facing the real estate tycoon as he stands on the verge of becoming the Republican Party candidate for president of the United States. That litigation resurfaced as a campaign issueTuesday as hundreds of pages of once-secret Trump University documents were unsealed under orders from a federal judge. Trump, for his part, vowed again to fight the lawsuits and never settle, even if, he seemed to suggest, he is elected president. One of the lawsuits is slated to go to trial in federal court in San Diego on Nov. 28, three weeks after Election Day. I could have settled that case, he told reporters at a press conference. But I dont want to. His reason: Im a man of principle. And Trump once again tore into U.S. Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who presides over the case, and who ordered the internal documents (filed by Trumps lawyers under seal) to be released, after the Washington Post argued in a motion that their disclosure was in the public interest. Donald Trump and Judge Gonzalo Curiel (Photo illustration: Yahoo News, photos: AP, Thos. Robinson/Getty Images, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California via Wikipedia, San Diego Superior Court via San Diego Union Tribune) Last Friday, during a campaign rally, Trump stunned many in the legal community by referring to Curiel as a hater and a Mexican because he had ruled against him in the case. (Curiel was born in East Chicago, Ind., in 1953, the son of parents from Mexico,and was a federal prosecutor specializing in prosecuting Mexican drug traffickers before being nominated for the bench by President Obama.) On Tuesday, Trumps language about the judge was more temperate, but still pointed: I have a judge who is very, very unfair, he said Tuesday, complaining about one of Curiels recent rulings allowing the case to proceed. Story continues The documents unsealed Tuesday shed new light on Trump Universitys marketing strategy, which relied on playing up its founders reputation for unqualified success: Let me ask you, [instructors were told to fill in the name of a student] is everything Donald Trump does, the BEST? He wouldnt put his name on this, if it werent, right? The goal for the instructors was to persuade students who had signed up for introductory three-day seminars in hotel ballrooms, which cost about $1,495, to increase their investments and purchase Trump Gold Elite packages that cost $34,995 and included yearlong mentoring by Trumps experts. The instructors were told to be positive and encouraging at first. But if prospective students balked, the instructors were told to play hardball and tell them repeatedly that their financial plans were broken. Youve had your entire adult life to accomplish your financial goals, reads one of the proposed scripts instructors were to rehearse for recalcitrant students. Im looking at your [financial] profile and youre not even close to where you need to be, much less where you want to be. Its time to fix your broken plan [and] bring in Mr. Trumps top instructors Your plan is BROKEN. The scripts also show that, among the lessons that Trump University offered to reveal to the Gold Elite students during a wealth preservation retreat was how to use real estate investments to structure yourself for lower taxes. Learn how to reduce your overall tax bill through operation of your own small business, and save big money in the process, reads a description of the wealth preservation retreat. Identify different types of legal entities to protect your wealth Transform previously non-deductible expenses into fully and legally deductible expenses for your business, significantly reducing your income taxes. The playbooks dont say whether Trump who has so far refused to release his own tax returns has used any of these methods. But they do offer potential insight into another aspect of Trumps worldview that has become increasingly visible on the campaign trail: a hostility to the news media. Attendees at Trump University seminars were to be told not to speak to any reporters should they show up and ask questions; instead, they should be referred to an outside media consultant. Reporters are rarely on your side and they are not sympathetic, one of the playbooks reads. It also warns: Reporters use hidden cameras, placing them at odd angles in order to show a candid response and the interviewee appears nervous and/or caught off guard. It was not only the news media that instructors were warned to watch out for. The playbook also offers a separate set of instructions to use if a local prosecutor were to show up at the seminars. If a district attorney arrives on the scene, contact the appropriate media spokesperson and Michael Sexton [the head of Trump University] immediately, it reads. The playbook then adds: By law, you do not have to show them any personal information unless they present a warrant; however, you are expected to be courteous. One month after he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing an unarmed man during a 2015 sting operation, a former Oklahoma sheriff's deputy was sentenced Tuesday to a four-year prison term, PEOPLE confirms. During this week's sentencing before Judge Bill Musseman, Robert Gates, 74, received the maximum penalty recommended by the jurors who convicted him late last month, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE. Gates, an insurance executive who'd served as a reserve officer for the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, told investigators he confused his handgun for his stun gun when he fatally shot 44-year-old Eric Harris. The unarmed suspect was killed during an illegal gun sales sting, according to court records that allege Harris ran from deputies only to be restrained moments before he was shot. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Although Harris was African-American and Bates is white, the deceased man's relatives have consistently dismissed any suggestion that race played a role in the shooting. Several investigations followed the April 2, 2015, shooting, which was captured on video. One probe uncovered an internal memo from 2009 that appears to cast doubt on Bates's qualifications as a volunteer deputy. Investigators also learned Bates was friends with the sheriff, Stanley Glanz, and donated thousands of dollars in cash and equipment to the law enforcement agency. Bates received credit for time he has already served and will serve nine months of probation upon his release. Last fall, a grand jury investigated the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, returning an indictment against Glanz for failing to release the 2009 memo. Glanz resigned on Nov. 1, 2015. The next hearing in his criminal case is scheduled for July 15. DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish court on Wednesday convicted two former executives of the failed Anglo Irish Bank of conspiracy to defraud investors, depositors and lenders in the run-up to the country's banking crisis. Willie McAteer, 65, the bank's former finance director, and John Bowe, 52, its ex-head of capital markets, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. The jury will resume deliberations on Thursday relating to charges against former Irish Life and Permanent executives Denis Casey and Peter Fitzpatrick. All four men were accused of conspiring together and with others to mislead investors by setting up a 7.2 billion euro (5.5 billion) circular transaction scheme between March and September 2008 to bolster Anglo's balance sheet. Irish Life placed the deposits via a non-banking subsidiary in the run-up to Anglo's financial year-end to allow its rival to categorise them as customer deposits, which are regarded as more secure, rather than as deposits from another bank. Lawyers for the accused had said their motivation in authorising the deal was the so-called "green jersey" agenda, the financial regulator's request for Irish banks to support one another as the financial crisis worsened. No senior Irish banker has to date been jailed since the banking crisis forced Dublin to seek a three-year international bailout in 2010. Scandal-ridden Anglo, described by Judge Martin Nolan during the 84-day trial as "probably the most reviled institution in the state", was nationalised months later and was into liquidation in 2013. Its failure cost taxpayers 30 billion euros, equivalent to around 15 percent of Ireland's annual economic output and almost half the 64 billion euros Dublin had to pump into its banks to save the entire sector from collapse. Irish Life and Permanent was broken up during the restructuring of the sector and its banking arm, permanent tsb, remains under 75-percent state ownership. (Writing by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Gareth Jones) Two former managers of a shuttered private school were charged in court on Wednesday (1 June) for falsification of documents and failure to refund students. Pek Siew Gek, 39, is facing 13 charges under the Private Education Act (PEA). She was identified as a manager/director of Kings International Business School in the charge sheets seen by Yahoo Singapore. Tang Yudong, 28, who was also identified as manager/director of the school, was charged with one count under the same Act. Pek and Tang also face one charge each under the Penal Code. Kings International Business School made headlines in April 2015 after the Council for Private Education (CPE) ordered the school to shut down and cancelled its registration. The CPE found out that the school had offered and awarded some students with diplomas in maritime studies without requiring them to attend classes or sit for assessments. The council had ordered the school to either arrange for its students to continue their course in another school or refund the full course fees to them. According to court papers, Pek is facing one charge under the PEA for failing to refund $174,138.50 to 34 students despite being told by the CPE to do so by 3 July 2015. If found guilty, the Singaporean faces a fine of up to $10,000 or a maximum jail term of 12 months or both. She is also liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each day during which the offence continues after the deadline last July. The bespectacled woman is also facing 10 charges of providing false examination scripts and two charges of providing false attendance lists to the CPE. Pek, who is represented by lawyer Patrick Fernandez, is facing a fine of up to $5,000 or a jail term not exceeding six months or both for each of the 12 falsification charges under the PEA if found guilty. On the sole Penal Code charge, Pek could be jailed up to seven years and/or fine if she is found guilty of abetment by intentionally obstructing the course of justice. Story continues Court documents revealed that Pek had asked a certain Pan Yoke Ee to admit that she was the one who produced false documents to the CPE during an inspection in November 2014. The documents did not reveal Pans connection to the school or the two accused. Meanwhile, Tang, who is also represented by Fernandez, was charged for not refunding $174,138.50 to 34 former students of the private school under the PEA. The Singapore permanent resident is also facing one charge under the Penal Code for asking Pan to produce fake documents to the CPE in November 2014. Both Pek and Tang are currently out on bail and will have their case mentioned again on 29 June. From Popular Mechanics The Department of Defense will soon chose three finalists in a competition to be the U.S. Army and Air Force's new sidearm. One of the three finalists could go on to outfit all of the services, with total sales of of 500,000 handguns-but not before the Pentagon bureaucracy makes it as long and complicated as possible. The Modular Handgun System (MHS) is a $17 million dollar effort to replace the aging Beretta M92 handgun. First adopted in the 1980s, the U.S. Army's Berettas are beginning to wear out. The M92 is also a product of another time, and hasn't kept up with recent advances in pistol technology. The first requirement is that the new handgun surpass the M92 in accuracy, reliability, ergonomics, durability, and maintainability. In a 2006 report on U.S. infantry weapon reliability, the M92 scored at the bottom compared to the M4 carbine, M16 rifle, and M249 squad automatic weapon. In every category, from handling to accuracy to maintainability, the M92 came in dead last-or tied for last. Twenty-six percent of soldiers polled reported their weapon jammed while shooting at the enemy. Forty-six percent reported they didn't have confidence in their pistol's reliability. The MHS will also incorporate new advances in infantry small arms. The pistol will have a modular grip system, a recent development that involves interchangeable, different-sized grip panels to accommodate larger or smaller hands. This has become an important feature as the percentage of women in the military-who tend to have smaller hands-has jumped 50 percent since the 1980s when M92 was adopted. The handgun will have an integral MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny Rail underneath the barrel, allowing the attachment of gadgets such as flashlights and lasers. It will also have a threaded barrel to accommodate a suppressor and should have low recoil. Currently there are twelve bidders for the contract, including the Beretta APX, Ceska Zbrojovka's CZ P-09, FN Herstal's Five-Seven Mk 2, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS) and Smith & Wesson's M&P polymer handgun; the Glock 17 and 22; and Sig Sauer's P320. An updated version of the M9, the Beretta M9A3, was rejected by the Army and won't be involved in the competition. Story continues The pistol's caliber is still up in the air. Nine-millimeter and .40 Smith & Wesson appear to be the top contenders, with FN's 5.7-millimeter pistol also in the running, shooting a bullet that hadn't been invented when the M92 was first fielded. The venerable .45 ACP round, used for decades with the M1911A1 pistol, appears to have been disregarded due to the round's perceived heavy recoil. The selection process-beset by the Pentagon bureaucracy-is progressing at a snail's pace. First begun in 2015, the MHS program will chose three semifinalists in August, with a nine month evaluation process to follow. A winner will be picked afterward, with the winning entry to go into "low rate production." That means it will be at least another thirteen months before any pistols are delivered to the military. The program's complexity has been stifling, prompting complaints from the Army's top general and Congress. The paper outlining the MHS's requirements runs a ridiculous 350 pages. Senator John McCain described the handgun selection process as "byzantine", and Army Chief of Staff General Mark Miley complained in March, "We're not figuring out the next lunar landing. This is a pistol. Two years to test? At $17 million?" Miley claimed he could walk into a Cabelas outdoors store with $17 million dollars and buy a handgun for every person in the military. Miley may be exaggerating on how many pistols he could buy-even with a 20 percent bulk discount, $17 million would still only score you 40,000 Glock 17 pistols-but he's not wrong about the guns themselves. Practically every entrant for the Modular Handgun System is already on the lucrative civilian market in the United States, owned by thousands-in some cases, such as the Glock 17-by millions. The selection should be a fairly easy choice. For most gun owners, buying a new handgun is a quick process that takes no more than a few hours scrutiny. For the Pentagon, it's a process that requires hundreds of pages of paperwork and years of hand-wringing before even finalists can be named. Via Janes. By Phil Stewart and John Davison WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Thousands of U.S.-backed fighters opened a major new front in Syria's war, launching an offensive to drive Islamic State out of a swathe of northern Syria it uses as a logistics base and appearing to make swift initial battlefield advances. The operation, which began on Tuesday after weeks of quiet preparations, aims to choke off the group's access to Syrian land along the Turkish border that the militants have long used to move foreign fighters back and forth to Europe. "It's significant in that it's their last remaining funnel" to Europe, a U.S. military official told Reuters, which was first to report the offensive. A small number of U.S. special operations forces will support the push on the ground to capture the "Manbij pocket" of territory, acting as advisers and staying back from the front lines, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military planning. "They'll be as close as they need to be for the (Syrian fighters) to complete the operation. But they will not engage in direct combat," the official said. The operation will also count on air power from the U.S.-led coalition, which pounded Islamic State positions near Manbij with 18 strikes on Tuesday, including six militant tactical units, two headquarters facilities and a training base. A Kurdish source, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted the Syrian militias would reach Islamic State-held Manbij within days, after advancing to within 10 km (6 miles) of the town. It was too early to say how the battle for Manbij would go, the source said, but added that Islamic State defenses stationed on the west bank of the Euphrates River had collapsed at the start of the campaign. ASSAULT Driving Islamic State from its last remaining foothold at the Turkish border has been a top priority of the U.S.-led campaign against the group. The group controls about 80 km (50 miles) of the frontier stretching west from Jarablus. Still, some U.S. military and intelligence officers caution that Islamic State has proved adaptable, willing to change tactics. In Iraq, for example, the Sunni extremist group has countered some territorial and other losses by staging attacks in Baghdad, the seat of the countrys Shiite-led government. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said U.S.-led air strikes in support of the ground operation killed 15 civilians including three children near Manbij in the past 24 hours. The Observatory's reporting is based on an activist network in Syria. It said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which is conducting the assault to capture the Manbij pocket, had taken 16 villages and was 15 km (9 miles) from Manbij town itself. The U.S. officials said earlier the operation would be overwhelmingly comprised of Syrian Arabs instead of forces with the Kurdish YPG militia, who will only represent about a fifth or a sixth of the overall force. That is seen as important to NATO member Turkey, which has opposed any further expansion of Syrian Kurdish sway at the frontier. Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters, who already control an uninterrupted 400-km (250-mile) stretch of the border, as terrorists and has been enraged by U.S. backing for the militia in its battle with Islamic State in Syria. But the Observatory said the Kurdish YPG militia made up the majority of the fighters taking part in the SDF assault. SDF and YPG officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The U.S. officials told Reuters the YPG would only fight to help clear Islamic State from the area around Manbij. Syrian Arab fighters would be the ones to stabilize and secure it once Islamic State is gone, according to the operational plans. "After they take Manbij, the agreement is the YPG will not be staying. ... So you'll have Syrian Arabs occupying traditional Syrian Arab land," the official said. TURKISH SENSITIVITIES A U.S. official said Turkey supported the operation, but another clarified it was not expected to directly participate militarily. A Turkish military source said Ankara had been informed by Washington about the operation but could not contribute to it because of the involvement of Kurdish YPG militia fighters and because it was beyond the range of artillery stationed in Turkey. Still, Turkey has been shelling Islamic State positions in northern Syria by firing across the border in recent weeks. The operation precedes an eventual push by U.S.-backed Syrian forces toward the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria and the prime objective in Syria for U.S. military planners. The U.S. military official said depriving Islamic State of the Manbij pocket would help isolate the militants and further undermine their ability to funnel supplies to Raqqa. U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized about 300 U.S. special operations forces to operate on the ground from secret locations inside Syria to help coordinate with local forces to battle Islamic State. One U.S. service member was injured north of Raqqa over the weekend, the Pentagon said. The YPG has been the most effective ally on the ground for U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State, and last year captured large areas from it in Hasaka province. The United States hopes that success will draw more and more recruits from Arab populations in Syria to battle the militants and reclaim territory from it. U.S. officials caution that territorial gains would not spell the end of Islamic State, which has "metastasized" and established itself outside of its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, spreading to Libya, Afghanistan and beyond. "It would be premature to say that the gains in Syria, even if theyre sustained, will spell defeat for ISIL, any more than the pummeling of al-Qaeda in Pakistan has meant the end of that group, said one official, using an acronym for the group. "They arent nations that will surrender," the official added, saying the ideas driving them were far "harder to kill." (Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara and John Walcott in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney) By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are launching an offensive to capture from Islamic State a crucial swathe of northern Syria known as the Manbij pocket following weeks of quiet preparations, U.S. officials disclosed to Reuters. The operation, which only just started to get underway on Tuesday and could take weeks to complete, aims to choke off Islamic State's access to Syrian territory along the Turkish border that militants have long used as a logistics base for moving foreign fighters back and forth to Europe. "It's significant in that it's their last remaining funnel" to Europe, a U.S. military official said. A small number of U.S. special operations forces will support the offensive on the ground, acting as advisors and staying some distance back from the front lines, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military planning. "They'll be as close as they need to be for the (Syrian fighters) to complete the operation. But they will not engage in direct combat," the official said. The operation will also count on support from U.S.-led coalition air strikes as well as from ground-based firing positions across the border in Turkey. Perhaps essential for NATO ally Turkey, the operation will be overwhelmingly comprised of Syrian Arabs instead of forces with the Kurdish YPG militia, who will only represent about a fifth or a sixth of the overall force, the officials said. Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters to be terrorists and has been enraged by U.S. backing for the militia in its battle with Islamic State in Syria. YPG TO WITHDRAW Turkey has been alarmed by advances by Kurdish forces along its border and opposed the idea of YPG fighters taking control of the Manbij pocket. The Kurdish YPG militia already controls an uninterrupted 400 km (250 mile) stretch the border. The officials told Reuters, however, the YPG will only fight to help clear Islamic State from the area around Manbij. Syrian Arab fighters would be the ones to stabilize and secure it once Islamic State is gone, according to the operational plans. "After they take Manbij, the agreement is the YPG will not be staying ... So you'll have Syrian Arabs occupying traditional Syrian Arab land," the official said, adding Turkey supported the offensive. The operation comes ahead of an eventual push by the U.S.-backed Syrian forces toward the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's defacto capital in Syria and the prime objective in Syria for U.S. military planners. The U.S. military official said depriving Islamic State of the Manbij pocket would help further isolate the militants and further undermine their ability to funnel supplies to Raqqa. U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized about 300 U.S. special operations forces to operate on the ground from secret locations inside Syria to help coordinate with local forces to battle Islamic State there. In a reminder of the risks, one U.S. service member was injured north of Raqqa over the weekend, the Pentagon said. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Diane Craft) BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian militias will reach Islamic State-held Manbij within days after advancing to within 10 km (6 miles) of the town in a major offensive against the group near the Turkish border, a Kurdish source said on Thursday. The source said Islamic State defenses stationed on the west bank of the Euphrates river had collapsed at the start of the campaign by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance this week, but it was too soon to say how the Manbij battle would go. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The SDF includes the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and allied Arab groups. "The defenses on the (river) bank collapsed but we did not yet reach the defenses around the town," said the source, noting that the presence of civilians in Manbij could be a complicating factor. "It will not be like open ground ... the nature of the battle and weapons is different." Asked how long it would take the SDF to reach Manbij, the source said "mere days". Backed by U.S.-led air strikes, the SDF offensive marks an attempt to drive Islamic State from the last remaining tract of territory it holds at the border with Turkey, a top priority for the U.S.-led campaign against the jihadist group. "There were civilians in al-Shadadi too but it fell within 48 hours," added the source, referring to a town captured by the SDF from Islamic State in Syria in February. (Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by G Crosse and James Dalgleish) (New throughout, adds details, background, reaction) By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - Souring loans to energy companies drove down the net income of U.S. banks for the first time in two years in the first quarter, with a 2 percent decrease from a year earlier to $39.1 billion, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Wednesday. "Low energy prices have led to a sharp increase in non-current loans to oil and gas producers," said FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg at a media briefing on the banking industry's first-quarter performance. "The full impact of low energy prices on the banking industry remains to be seen particularly for consumer and business loans in energy-producing regions of the country," he also said, adding that the regulator will monitor the current banking environment closely. Oil prices were over $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014, but a sharp fall during the last two years squeezed energy companies, making it harder to repay loans made during boom times. Prices have recovered somewhat since hitting a 12-year low in December, and crude finished May just under $50 a barrel after four straight months of gains. The FDIC found that during the first quarter the total amount of loans and leases that were 90 days or more past due, labeled "non-current," rose for the first time in six years. The past-due amount for just commercial and industrial borrowers, almost all in the energy sector, shot up 65.1 percent to $9.3 billion. Meanwhile, banks set aside more money for bad energy debts, with loan-loss provisions 50 percent higher than the first quarter of 2015. Energy loans are concentrated at big banks, and community banks with fewer ties to the sector performed well in the quarter. Still, Gruenberg said effects of oil's slide could trickle out to community banks, especially in regions that benefited most from the boom. Altogether, Gruenberg said the picture of U.S. banks was "mixed" in the quarter, largely due to community banks' strength. Revenue rose from a year earlier, loan balances grew at the fastest 12-month rate since 2008, and the share of unprofitable banks fell to an 18-year low. "While most institutions saw an increase in earnings, banks continue to experience the lingering effects of the slowdown in the oil and gas sector and weaker-than-expected economic growth," said James Chessen, the chief economist at the American Bankers Association, the industry's leading trade group. "Banks' exposure to the oil and gas industry is small and won't restrain them from continuing to meet the credit needs of businesses and individuals." (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by David Gregorio) By J.R. Wu TAIPEI (Reuters) - U.S. semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Device Inc expects to return to operating profitability in the second half of this year, Chief Executive Lisa Su said Wednesday. "I expect our revenue to grow for the full year," said Su, speaking on the sidelines of the Computex technology trade show in Taipei. In mid-April, AMD reported first-quarter revenue fell 19 percent year-on-year, with a net loss of $109 million. But the company indicated that second-quarter revenue could grow from the same period a year earlier, which would end a run of six straight quarters of decline. Su said AMD was looking to accelerate its market access in China when it signed a $293 million agreement to licence its processor technology to a joint venture it formed with Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co, an investment unit of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The technology will help China produce its own server chips for datacentres, a market dominated by Intel Corp, one of AMD's biggest rivals, along with Nvidia Corp. AMD has also completed a joint venture deal, first announced in late 2015, that brings in Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics Co. as a controlling partner in AMD's chip test and packaging operation in Penang, Malaysia and Suzhou, China. Jiangsu-based Nantong Fujitsu paid AMD $371 million for an 85 percent slice of the venture. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kenneth Maxwell) (Revises slug, adds comment on China JVs) By J.R. Wu TAIPEI, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Device Inc expects to return to operating profitability in the second half of this year, Chief Executive Lisa Su said Wednesday. "I expect our revenue to grow for the full year," said Su, speaking on the sidelines of the Computex technology trade show in Taipei. In mid-April, AMD reported first-quarter revenue fell 19 percent year-on-year, with a net loss of $109 million. But the company indicated that second-quarter revenue could grow from the same period a year earlier, which would end a run of six straight quarters of decline. Su said AMD was looking to accelerate its market access in China when it signed a $293 million agreement to licence its processor technology to a joint venture it formed with Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co, an investment unit of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The technology will help China produce its own server chips for datacentres, a market dominated by Intel Corp, one of AMD's biggest rivals, along with Nvidia Corp. AMD has also completed a joint venture deal, first announced in late 2015, that brings in Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics Co. as a controlling partner in AMD's chip test and packaging operation in Penang, Malaysia and Suzhou, China. Jiangsu-based Nantong Fujitsu paid AMD $371 million for an 85 percent slice of the venture. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kenneth Maxwell) By Ian Simpson (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday denied a motion to reconsider its ruling that gave a Virginia transgender high school student access to the bathroom of his gender identity. The Gloucester County School Board had asked the full U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision by a three-judge panel last month in favor of Gavin Grimm, a student at the local high school. The request was denied since none of court's 15 judges asked for a vote on the rehearing, the court said. The case has been seen as impacting the national bathroom wars between gay rights activists and social conservatives. Grimm had filed suit after being barred from using the boys bathroom at his school. Grimm was born a female but identifies as a male. Now that the Fourth Circuits decision is final, I hope my school board will finally do the right thing and let me go back to using the boysrestroom again, Grimm said in a statement. The April ruling sent the widely watched case back to a lower court to re-evaluate Grimm's request for a court order. The ruling was the first by an appeals court finding protections for transgender students under the 1972 Title IX Act, which bars sex-based discrimination by schools receiving federal funding. President Barack Obama's administration filed a brief in support of Grimm. I Know What You Did Last Summer. Reminded of the famous 1997 slasher movie? We are not going to talk about it here of course. But the reason why we mention it here is that the Delaware court seems to have determined what Michael S. Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners did three years back when they took Dell private. (Read: Dell Goes Private in $24.4B LBO) The court yesterday ruled that the two underpriced their Feb 2013 $24.4 billion deal by almost 22% and therefore have to make up for the losses to shareholders along with interest. Travis Laster, vice-chancellor of Delawares special corporate court, said in the ruling that The sale process functioned imperfectly as a price discovery tool, both during the pre-signing and post-signing phases. The court determined that the fair value of the deal should have been $17.62 per share instead of $13.75. Therefore, it has asked Dell and Silver Lake to compensate for losses to dissenting shareholders along with interest. Originally, investors were seeking appraisal for about 40 million shares with some claiming a fair price of as high as $25 per share. However, the court ruled that only 5.2 million shares were still eligible for appraisal. This came as a major disappointment for mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price, given that his firms 27 million shares in Dell were disqualified for the appraisal. Although Price had been one of the biggest opponents of the deal and had even publicly criticized it, he mistakenly voted in favor of the transaction. As a result, the disqualification has cost over $100 million for his firm. As per the court ruling, Dell will have to cough up a little over $20 million to compensate shareholders. Notably, the deal was opposed from day one for being underpriced, followed by controversies related to the changing of voting rights to safeguard the offer from being blocked. Further, various activist investors including Carl Icahn as well as shareholders openly disapproved the move and highlighted the conflicting interests of Mr. Dell who was playing both the buyer and the seller. Story continues Presently, Dell is in the midst of acquiring EMC Corp. EMC for $67 billion, which is being considered as the largest-ever tech acquisition. (Read: Dell Acquires EMC for $67 Billion) While some may have misgivings about the recent court rulings impact on the acquisition, we believe that it will have negligible impact on Dells financials while finally clearing up matters with respect to the going-private deal, thereby making it easier to close the ongoing transaction. EMC currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other stocks worth considering in the broader technology sector include Facebook Inc. FB, Silicon Motion Technology Corp. SIMO and Paylocity Holding Corp. PCTY, all sporting 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 EMC CORP -MASS (EMC): Free Stock Analysis Report SILICON MOTION (SIMO): Free Stock Analysis Report FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report PAYLOCITY HLDG (PCTY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Security Council to add just over 2,500 peacekeepers to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, which has been hit by a series of deadly attacks, according to a new U.N. report. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack a day earlier on two U.N. sites in northern Mali where a peacekeeper from China and three civilians were killed and over a dozen others wounded. Ban's report to the 15-nation Security Council, issued on Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Wednesday, calls for increasing the maximum number of U.N. soldiers in Mali by 2,049 personnel, which would raise the force's authorized strength to 13,289. The report said the additional troops should bring capabilities such as intelligence gathering and surveillance, explosive disposal and protecting supply convoys. Ban also called for adding 480 U.N. police, which would raise the ceiling for police in the U.N. mission, known as MINUSMA, to 1,920 personnel. This would enable MINUSMA police to boost training and advisory capacities while "supporting the establishment of transnational organized crime and counter terrorism units in Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu," Ban's report said. "It remains critical that MINUSMA urgently address outstanding gaps in force requirements, enhance its capabilities, including intelligence and use of technologies and continue to adjust its posture to be responsive to the deteriorating security situation," Ban said. The Security Council is scheduled to extend the MINUSMA mandate later this month. French Ambassador Francois Delattre, council president this month, told reporters France was studying Ban's proposals. Within the MINUSMA police, Ban called for the establishment of a "special intervention team" in the country's capital Bamako, and the addition of water police capabilities to protect civilians and help Malian security forces combat transnational organized crime on the Niger river. Ban said in a statement on Wednesday that recent attacks have killed 12 peacekeepers in Mali. The Security Council visited Mali in March to push implementation of a fragile peace deal aimed at ending a cycle of internal uprisings and allowing the government to combat the growing threat of Islamist militants. French forces intervened in 2013 to drive back Islamist fighters that hijacked the Tuareg uprising to seize Mali's desert north in 2012. A U.N. peacekeeping mission was then deployed. But the militants have since reorganized and launched a wave of attacks against security forces, peacekeepers and civilian targets and have threatened neighboring countries. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Tom Brown) By Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on two United Nations' sites in northern Mali where a peacekeeper from China and three civilians were killed and over a dozen others wounded. China's Foreign Ministry said four of its peacekeepers were injured and called for an investigation into the attack late on Tuesday on the base in the town of Gao. The country said it has 2,400 peacekeepers stationed in Africa. Two Malian security guards and a French expert were killed in a later attack carried out with light arms on the U.N. anti-mining operation (UNMAS) in a different neighbourhood of Gao, the U.N. peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA) and U.N. headquarters said. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "outraged by the terrorist attacks carried out yesterday in Gao," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. He said recent attacks have killed 12 peacekeepers in Mali, adding that Ban would submit proposals to the Security Council in the coming days on strengthening MINUSMA's "posture and capabilities." "He reiterates the long-standing demand to ensure that MINUSMA forces are adequately equipped to operate in a dangerous and unpredictable environment such as Mali," Dujarric said. The 15-nation Security Council also condemned the attack and urged the government to investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice. Mali's government and separatists signed a peace accord last year but it has not stopped periodic violence in northern Mali by Islamist militants who have also staged a series of high profile assaults in Burkina Faso, Mali and Ivory Coast. AQIM said on social media its al-Mourabitoun division fought "crusader occupation forces" in Gao on Wednesday, according to SITE Intelligence Group, a monitoring firm. MINUSMA confirmed the death toll and said three peacekeepers and 10 civilians had been injured in the rocket or mortar attack. Its head, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, called on the government to ensure those responsible were brought to justice. The double assault occurred just days after five U.N. peacekeepers were killed and one injured in an ambush on a convoy in central Mali. In a separate incident on Tuesday, attackers killed three police officers at a station seven kilometres (four miles) from the border of Mali and set the building ablaze, Burkina Faso's Interior Minister Simon Compaore said after a cabinet meeting. Mali's peacekeeping mission was started in April 2013 after Tuareg separatists and Islamic militants began a rebellion in the desert north. (Additional reporting by Nadoun Coulibaly in Dakar, Souleymane Ag Anara and Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Tom Brown) By Kristoffer Tigue MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday they would not bring charges against two Minneapolis police officers involved in the shooting death of a 24-year-old black man, due to insufficient evidence. After a months-long investigation, officials said they could not establish that the shooting was unreasonable and that two white officers acted wilfully to deprive the shooting victim, Jamar Clark, of his constitutional rights, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said at a news conference. Civil rights leaders immediately decried the decision, which follows a previous conclusion by local prosecutors not to bring charges against the officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze. "There are no winners here, and there is no victory for anyone. A young man has died and it is a tragedy," Luger said. "We are unable to bring federal criminal civil rights charges in this matter," he said. The fatal shooting came at a time of fierce national debate over the use of excessive force by police, especially against black men. "Our government leaders have clearly let us down," Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told reporters after the announcement. Levy-Pounds and a dozen other civil rights leaders, including members of the Black Lives Matter movement that has led protests against police shootings, appeared at a news conference and said they would campaign to push local officials out of office due to their response to Clark's shooting. Some witnesses had said Clark was handcuffed when he was shot in the head, which they said showed the officers had acted unreasonably. But Luger said there was contradictory evidence that tended to show Clark was not handcuffed. He said the death of Clark had raised serious questions that must be addressed through a dialog in law enforcement regarding the use of force in Minnesota. He said that would prevent future tragedies. Story continues The U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Minneapolis division conducted the investigation into Clark's death at the request of the Minneapolis mayor. Authorities have said Clark was a suspect in an assault and had an altercation with the officers before one of them shot him. Clark's death in November sparked protests in Minneapolis and hundreds marched again in March when the prosecutor decided not to bring charges. The officers involved in the shooting are on desk duty and are still awaiting an internal investigation by the police department. (Writing by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Alan Crosby) A coalition of Syrian-American organizations blasted the United States, Russia, and the United Nations on Wednesday for failing to drop food into besieged areas of Syria following Damascuss refusal to provide unfettered ground access to humanitarian aid organizations. The criticism comes in the wake of an agreement last month by 20 countries to support World Food Programme airdrops if the Syrian government continued to block ground convoys to deliver aid to Arbeen, Darayya, Douma, and elsewhere by a June 1 deadline. Against Wednesdays looming deadline, the Syrian government allowed convoys into two of Syrias 19 besieged areas. But according to initial reports, the aid for the distressed Damascus suburb of Darayya included medical supplies, vaccines and baby milk but no food. And 17 of Syrias other 19 besieged areas continued to suffer from a lack of access. It is now obvious that without aid drops, the regime will continue to besiege areas containing over a million civilians languishing without access to food, the Coalition for a Democratic Syria (CDS), an umbrella group of nonprofit organizations, told Foreign Policy in a statement. The CDS condemns the all-too-familiar dynamic of international institutions backing down in the face of regime intransigence this time abandoning their commitment to conduct aid drops to all besieged areas facing the most dire humanitarian circumstances, the group said. The Syrian governments failure to fully comply with the May 17 agreement of the 20 countries, known as the International Syrian Support Group, presents difficult questions for Western governments and its NGO partners on the ground with few clear-cut answers or easy solutions. State Department spokesman John Kirby rejected suggestions that the ISSG pledge to support the aerial aid delivery was an empty promise. He insisted the organization will start preparing for the necessity of airdrops and air bridges. But he could not offer a date for when that would begin, or why countries hadnt already begun preparing to deliver air drops two weeks ago when the threat was originally issued. Story continues I just dont know when they would begin and I wouldnt speak for the World Food Programme in that regard, said Kirby. For members of the Syrian opposition, the failure to follow through is another dangerous capitulation to Syrian President Bashar al-Assads regime, which has consistently defied Western and Gulf powers over the five-year conflict. We are definitely looking for those airdrops to happen as a sign of the commitment of the international community, Basma Kodmani, a negotiator with the opposition High Negotiations Committee, told FP and two other journalists Wednesday. For a handful of European countries, especially Britain, which lobbied aggressively for the airdrops during the last ISSG meeting in May, not following through would also be an embarrassing letdown. On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond noted that on the day of the deadline, the Assad regime cynically allowed limited amounts of aid into Darayya and Muadhamiya, but it has failed to deliver the widespread humanitarian access called for by the international community. The U.N. should launch a program for emergency deliveries by air, he said in a statement. But aid organizations and U.N. institutions look at the situation very differently. Airdrops often face technical and logistical difficulties, exorbitant costs, and the risk of prompting inadvertent violence. Typically, the U.N. only approves airdrops as a last resort, and only if there are assurances the aid will reach the intended targets a standard aid groups say is impossible to meet in the environment of Syrias civil war. You dont want kids going for food that will be taken from their hands by Assads armed henchmen, a veteran NGO worker said on condition of anonymity. People get killed that way. Aid organizations also worry the civilian aircrew risk getting shot out of the sky during the food drops. Recent reports suggest the World Food Programme, the organization that would carry out the airdrops, is also opposed to the effort if the Assad regime refuses to cooperate, which most anticipate. On Tuesday, a World Food Programme spokesperson declined to say whether the organization would comply with the ISSGs call for delivering the aid through airdrops. A day later, on Wednesday, Kirby reiterated Washingtons hope that Assads regime would allow ground convoys to deliver the aid. Ground delivery is still the best kind of delivery, get the aid there more directly, he said. But for members of the Syrian opposition, airdrops serve an important political purpose, even if the humanitarian benefits are marginal or expensive. By defying Assads objections and violating Syrian airspace, the move sends a message about the strongmans international credibility. It seems ludicrous that the international community believes rhetoric has real impact on the Assad regime, said CDS board member Muna Jondy. Regime officials didnt blink when we threatened to bomb them. Why would they believe we would do what it takes to break the sieges? (Adds details, background, comments, context) By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday declared North Korea a "primary money laundering concern," and moved to further block its ability to use the U.S. and world financial systems to fund its weapons programs. The U.S. Treasury Department called for a prohibition on certain U.S. financial institutions opening or maintaining correspondent accounts, which are established to receive deposits from or make payments on behalf of a foreign institution, with North Korean financial institutions. Crucially, Treasury also prohibited the use of third parties' U.S. correspondent accounts to process transactions for North Korean financial institutions. The announcement came days after the latest failed missile launch by the isolated state. Tensions in the region have been high since January when North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and then followed that with a satellite launch and test launches of various missiles. Those efforts have all fueled calls in Washington, and abroad, for a clampdown on Pyongyang. U.S. law already generally prohibited U.S. financial institutions from engaging in transactions with North Korean institutions, but Treasury's latest actions would impose additional controls, especially the prohibitions on the use of third-country banks' U.S. accounts to process transactions for North Korea. "This is meaningful," said Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This is designating the entire country, which means essentially that any entity that is interested in interacting with U.S. financial institutions should no longer have any business with North Korea," "Most, if not all, entities, if faced with the choice of having access to the U.S. financial system or doing business with North Korea, are going to make the obvious choice," Cha added. Adam Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Washington expected other governments and financial authorities to make similar moves to prevent Pyongyang from "abusing" global financial institutions to support its development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. Story continues "The regime is notoriously deceitful in its financial transactions in order to continue its illicit weapons programs and other destabilizing activities," Szubin said in a statement. The Treasury was required to assess North Korea's status as a money laundering jurisdiction under the "North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act," passed nearly unanimously by the U.S. Congress in February. A U.N. Security Council resolution in early March also required member states to sever correspondent banking relationships with North Korean financial institutions within 90 days. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Susan Heavey, editing by G Crosse) Travis Kalanick Uber has raised $3.5 billion from a new investor: Saudi Arabia. The ride-hailing service announced on Wednesday that it has received a cash infusion from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the main investment fund in the kingdom. The investment was part of Uber's most recent round of funding, which totaled more than $5 billion and valued the company at $62.5 billion. The Saudi portion of the funding represents Uber's largest investment from a single investor, and it brings Uber's total balance sheet of cash and convertible debt to more than $11 billion, the company said on Wednesday. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in a statement that the company is partnering with Saudi Arabia to support its economic and social reforms. Uber first began operating in the kingdom in 2014. This investment also falls in line with Saudi Arabia's recently announced Vision 2030, the kingdom's plan to reduce its dependence on oil during the next 15 years, Uber said. Yasir Al Rumayyan, managing director of the Public Investment Fund, will join Uber's board of directors. The deal will not cash out any of Uber's existing investors. NOW WATCH: Apple invested $1 billion in this Chinese company More From Business Insider By Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber [UBER.UL] has raised $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the U.S. ride-hailing service said on Wednesday, gaining a crucial partner in its expansion into the Middle East. The investment from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund was part of Uber's most recent financing round that valued the company at $62.5 billion, Uber said, making it the most highly valued venture capital-backed company in the world. In a written statement, Uber co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick called the investment a "vote of confidence in our business." As part of the investment, a managing director at the Saudi fund, Yasir Al Rumayyan, will take a seat on Uber's board, the company said. Other board members include Benchmark Capital general partner Bill Gurley and Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington. Uber said the Saudi's investment puts the company's total balance sheet, including cash and debt, at more than $11 billion. The funding round is a departure from the startup investing climate, which has seen contraction in recent months as technology companies face greater scrutiny over their valuations. It shows that the some of the most high-profile companies with mass consumer adoption -- among them also Snapchat, which last week disclosed a $1.81 billion funding raise -- can still demand investor dollars, even as other tech firms are downsizing to weather a funding drought. Uber has committed to investing $250 million in the Middle East and North Africa, where it has grown aggressively and is now operating in nine countries and 15 cities in the region. But, as in other regions including China and India, Uber is competing in the Middle East against local ride-hailing startups such as Careem, which operates in 20 cities across the region. In the first quarter of the year, Uber had more than 395,000 active riders across the region, a five-fold jump from the first quarter of 2015, and 19,000 active drivers, representing a four-fold increase over the same period. Uber says it has operated in Saudi Arabia since early 2014 and about 80 percent of its more than 130,000 riders in that country are women. (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Tom Brown) Los Angeles (AFP) - Two men died in a murder-suicide at the University of California's Los Angeles campus, prompting a lockdown and a massive security deployment at the sprawling facility. Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said both victims were found with gunshot wounds in an office on campus. At least three shots were fired and a gun was found at the scene. "At about 10:00 this morning a homicide and a suicide occurred in the engineering facility... of the UCLA campus on the south side," Beck told reporters. "It appears it is entirely contained." Authorities declined to identify the victims. But various reports said the shooter was a student who killed a professor before turning the gun on himself. Many students at the university took to social media to offer condolences, identifying the professor as William Scott Klug, who taught mechanical and aerospace engineering. The shooter was thought to be a graduate student. Officials said they were still piecing together what prompted the deadly incident. "There is evidence there could be a suicide note but we don't know at this point," Beck added. "Tragically so many of these active shooter situations end like this." The incident prompted a campus-wide lockdown as hundreds of officers and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the university, where students are preparing for final exams. All university classes were cancelled for the day. The lockdown was lifted shortly after noon. "We are in the process of releasing the campus back to the students," Beck said. "They are in their finals. This is a very stressful time for them, and we're trying to alleviate that." - 'Resume normal operations' - Scott Waugh, the university's vice chancellor and provost, said classes would resume as normal on Thursday and next week's final exams would not be disrupted. He said counseling services were also being made available to the 40,000 students enrolled at the campus as well as faculty and staff. Story continues "We want to resume normal operations as quickly as possible," Waugh said. "Faculty, staff and students should show up tomorrow and go through their regular routines and complete the quarter as planned." Students recounted scenes of panic after the alert was raised by the university, with many barricading themselves in classrooms or hiding in dorms. "We were in the middle of class when we got (a text alert) and the professor just told us to lock the door really quickly and not to make any noise," said Ricky, a student who did not want his last name to be used. Many students and staff could be seen walking out of buildings with their arms raised. Others knelt down on sidewalks as officers patted them down for possible weapons. A nearby elementary school and a middle school were also put on lockdown. The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting and had asked his team to keep him updated on the situation. The killings forced Brazil's soccer team, which had planned to train at the university Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Copa America tournament, to find an alternate facility. "In view of what happened on the UCLA campus, the team will not train at the university," the Brazilian Football Confederation said in statement, adding that the training would take place at another sports complex in the city. News reports of gun violence are part of daily life in the United States where readily-available firearms claim around 30,000 lives each year. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has called for "comprehensive gun safety reform," although Obama's efforts in that direction have been hobbled by America's powerful gun lobby and Congress. The National Rifle Association has endorsed the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who boasts that he is a "long-term" NRA member and one of 13 million Americans with permits to carry firearms. Two people were killed in a shooting ruled a murder-suicide on the UCLA campus Wednesday morning. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the shooter was one of the two men killed. There is no continuing threat to UCLAs campus, Beck said during a news conference before lifting the campus lockdown. Its still unknown if the victims of the shooting, which occurred in a small office in the Engineering IV building, are students or knew one another. A note was discovered at the scene, although its connection to the shooting is still unclear. Local and federal law enforcement flooded to the campus this morning as the LAPD bomb squad and LAPD SWAT Team cleared the school. The LAPD also placed the city on a tactical alert. The police investigation continues and the engineering building is still off limits to the public. According to an LAPD spokesperson, a radio call came in from campus at 10:03 a.m. PST about the shooter. It was followed by a second 911 call about two victims possibly being down. The UCLA campus was placed on lockdown around 10 a.m., and everyone was asked to shelter in place. Shooting at Engineering 4. Go to secure location and deny entry (lockdown) now, a BruinAlert read. BruinAlert: Shooting at Engineering 4. Go to secure location and deny entry (lockdown) now! UCLA Bruin Alert (@UCLABruinAlert) June 1, 2016 According to the campus newspaper, the Daily Bruin, the shooter was described as a white male about 6 feet tall, who was wearing a black jacket and black pants. University Police Lt. Richard Davis told the Daily Bruin that students reported hearing a loud noise followed by the sound of gun shells hitting the ground. Rafi Sands, vice president of UCLAs student government, told the Los Angeles Times that about 30 students used their belts to secure their classroom door after news of the shooter spread. Story continues Related stories UCLA Shooting Unfolds Just as Tom Arnold, Brady Campaign Hold Press Conference to Curb Gun Violence Diverse Films Perform Better at Global Box Office, Study Says GoPro Expands University Program with NYU, UCLA (Exclusive) What we know so far: The gunman in Wednesdays shooting on the University of California, Los Angeles campus was identified as Mainak Sarkar, a former doctoral student of the victim, who has been identified as William Klug, 39. The shooting took place Wednesday morning at an engineering building on campus. Los Angeles police confirmed the shooting was likely a murder-suicide and lifted the lockdown. Follow the story with updates below. Updated on June 2 at 8:08 p.m. ET CNN reports that the deceased Minnesota women is Ashley Hasti, who married Sarkar in 2011. Heres more: Hasti was Sarkar's wife, officials in Hennepin County, Minnesota, said. Those officials did not confirm Hasti was the woman found dead. Hasti and Sarkar married June 14, 2011, Hennepin County Communications Officer Carolyn Marinan said. It was unclear if they were still married at the time of their deaths. Police who searched Sarkar's Minnesota home found a note with an ominous title, Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck told reporters. "Kill list," it said, spelling out the names of three people, according to Beck. Updated at 1:05 p.m. ET Recommended: A New Origin Story for Dogs Sarkar may have also killed a woman in a small town in Minnesota before Wednesdays campus shooting, law enforcement officials said this morning. Police officers found what LAPD Chief Charlie Beck described as a kill list in Sarkars apartment Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times has more: Beck said that Sarkar had written two notes, one of which had a list of names that included Klug, the dead woman, and another UCLA professor. It was a list that made the readers believe he was going to kill, Beck said. Sarkar had driven from Minnesota to Los Angeles with two semiautomatic handguns, and investigators were still searching for the vehicle, which the chief described as a gray Nissan Sentra with Minnesota license plates 720KTW. Beck said police dont expect it to be any significant danger but asks anyone who sees it to call police. Story continues After finding the womans name on the list, the LAPD contacted police in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, who found her dead inside her house Thursday morning with a gunshot wound, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Her identity and relationship, if any, to Sarkar is unknown. The unidentified UCLA professor also previously taught Sarkar and is unharmed. Updated at 10:19 a.m. ET BREAKING: Los Angeles police spokeswoman identifies UCLA gunman as Mainak Sarkar. The Associated Press (@AP) June 2, 2016 The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that Sarkar was a former doctoral student at UCLA who has accused the victimWilliam Klug, 39 of stealing his computer code and giving it to someone else. Recommended: Who Will the Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Be? Heres more: Klug was an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and had been the target of Sarkars anger on social media for months. On March 10, Sarkar called the professor a very sick person who should not be trusted. William Klug, UCLA professor is not the kind of person when you think of a professor. He is a very sick person. I urge every new student coming to UCLA to stay away from this guy, Sarkar wrote. He made me really sick. Your enemy is my enemy. But your friend can do a lot more harm. Be careful about whom you trust. A university source called the gunmans accusations absolutely untrue. Updated on June 1 at 3:41 p.m. EST In a statement, UCLA confirms the situation is contained. The campus has reopened and the lockdown is lifted. Classes are cancelled for the day and are expected to resume tomorrow, the university said. 3:13 p.m. EST The Los Angeles Police Department is describing the shooting as a murder-suicide and lifting the lockdown, according to the Los Angeles Times: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck confirmed that the shooter was one of the two men killed inside a small office in the campus engineering complex. The important thing for people to take away from this is the campus is now safe, Beck told reporters in a news conference that took place shortly after noon. The shooting, which led to a campus lockdown just after 10 a.m., prompted a massive response from local and federal law enforcement. While stressing that the threat had passed, the LAPD also said it would continue to search the site of the shooting. #LAPD News: @LAPDChiefBeck Out of an abundance of caution, search will still continue in bldg where incident took place. @UCLABruinAlert LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) June 1, 2016 2:57 p.m. EST Recommended: Trump: Mexican American Judge Has an 'Absolute Conflict' The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement it first received reports of shots fired on campus at 10 a.m. local time. According to NBC News, UCLA students are taking final exams this week. 2:27 p.m. EST The university confirmed that the two victims shot earlier Wednesday have died. Police confirm 2 dead in shooting at UCLA. Police are sweeping Engineering IV building for a possible shooter. Watch for updates. UCLA Newsroom (@UCLAnewsroom) June 1, 2016 Officials did not release the victims names pending notification of their families. 2:07 p.m. EST The University of California, Los Angeles campus is on lockdown after a gunman shot two people in an engineering building, the university said. The condition of the two shooting victims is not known. Campus officials issued the lockdown notice during morning classes on Wednesday. BruinAlert: Shooting at Engineering 4. Go to secure location and deny entry (lockdown) now! UCLA Bruin Alert (@UCLABruinAlert) June 1, 2016 Law-enforcement officials have responded to the scene, including the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the agency said on Twitter. BREAKING: ATF responding to #UCLA, agents en route. ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) June 1, 2016 Well update this story with more information when it becomes available. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. As Tom Arnold was in the midst of a press call for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence on Wednesday, word came down of a shooting at the UCLA campus. I can see UCLA from my office, Arnold told reporters, adding that the streets were blocked down there. He then noted that he does extensive work at the university to raise money for childrens health, and compared that to what is spent on gun violence. It is so frustrating, the amount of money that and medical attention that we waste on this, he said. It is so frustrating to me. Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign, called it another tragedy and said that it reflected the rate of gun violence in the country. You can rest assured during the length of this call that there are going to be tragedies. Arnold talked about his 24-year-old nephew, Spencer, a military veteran, who used a gun to commit suicide a month ago. Arnold talked about how his nephew was able to obtain weapons even though he had previously attempted to take his own life. His nephew got nicked out of the Army, Arnold said, and was actually deemed unsafe to operate a weapon. But in Iowa he got a concealed weapons permit, which is crazy to me, Arnold said, adding that his nephew was diagnosed with chronic depression but refused to get treatment. Spencer, he said, was obsessed with guns and joined gun clubs. He had five loaded handguns next to his bed. That would be like me sleeping next to a cabinet made of chocolate cake with a drawer full of cocaine, said Arnold, who is a recovering addict. Id do well the first night, but there is going to be a bad day for me sometime. That is just the temptation. That is just too much. Last fall, Arnold said that he grew alarmed that his nephew was engaging in social media conversations with right wing gun guys, talking about violence against the U.S. government. Arnold made plans to go back to Iowa to take away his nephews guns, even if that meant kicking down his door. But some of his family members thought he was overreacting, and tipped his nephew off. Story continues I dont want to take away guns, Arnold said. I just want mental health and mental illness protection. He also blasted GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump as an idiot and conspiracy theorist. Trump has criticized gun-free zones as like offering up candy to bad people an attractant to potential shooters. Arnold said Trump will say anything, and that he was more disappointed with my friends who are going to support him. If he is president he would probably close down White House tours because he probably wouldnt want any of those people in his house, he said. I happen to know how dangerous guns are, Arnold said, adding that he has experience firing guns at ranges. I am sure Donald Trump has not. Arnold also said that the idea of arming teachers in schools was the stupidest thing ever. Teachers need to be good teachers, he said. He said that a problem with the gun debate is that, when talking to gun rights advocates, as soon as you hear the word slippery slope by the other side, then you cant talk to them. There is no gray area. The Brady Campaign has been pushing for expanded background checks and closing loopholes that allow instant gun purchases at venues like gun shows. Related stories Two Killed in UCLA Campus Shooting Ruled Murder-Suicide Cannes: Tom Arnold Boards Indie Comedy 'Landline' (EXCLUSIVE) Diverse Films Perform Better at Global Box Office, Study Says Kampala (AFP) - Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye's treason trial began Wednesday with the prosecutor saying he could not be brought to court for security reasons. Besigye, who claimed fraud after coming second in February's presidential election, was arrested last month for holding a mock swearing-in ceremony and charged with treason. He is being held at the maximum security Luzira Prison in the capital Kampala. State prosecutor Lino Angunzu told the judge that Besigye could not be brought to court because of "a specific security threat" and requested that further hearings be held inside the prison. Chief Magistrate James Ereemye Mawanda said he would rule on the request on June 15 and adjourned the case until then. Opposition party officials and supporters who had thronged the small courtroom jeered as the brief hearing took place. Mugisha Muntu, president of Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change party, said the proceedings were "absurd" and a "manipulation of the judicial system by the executive." Besigye was arrested in Kampala on May 11 after staging his mock inauguration ahead of President Yoweri Museveni's swearing in. He was then whisked to a northern town and charged with treason before being brought back to the capital a few days later. Treason is a capital offence in Uganda, but the death penalty has not been carried out for years. Besigye was earlier charged with treason in 2005 and the case was eventually dropped. A long-standing opponent of Museveni, Besigye has been frequently jailed, placed under house arrest, accused of both treason and rape, tear-gassed, beaten and hospitalised over the years. Museveni seized power at the head of a rebel army in 1986 and has ruled the country ever since. His victory in February's poll marked the start of his fifth term in office and fourth decade in power. London (AFP) - A British paedophile on Wednesday faced a life sentence after admitting a string of sex attacks on children as young as six months, some from poor Christian families in Malaysia. Richard Huckle, 30, took pictures and video footage of himself abusing the children which he uploaded to the dark web -- a hard to access part of the Internet often used for illegal activity. Investigators found over 20,000 indecent images on his computer, while Huckle also kept a ledger of his attacks and wrote a manual called "Paedophiles And Poverty: Child Lover Guide". Graphic details of dozens of sexual offences by Huckle emerged for the first time Wednesday as his sentencing hearing started in London. Huckle, faced a total of 91 charges including against 23 children in Kuala Lumpur, where he set himself up as an English teacher. His victims were aged between six months and 12 years and the offences were committed between 2006 and 2014. Prosecutor Brian O'Neill said the abuse often included taking photographs of children and putting them online. "Those images of child abuse will inevitably have been shared with other paedophiles and therefore been the subject of uncontrolled worldwide distribution," O'Neill added. Huckle was arrested at London Gatwick airport in December 2014 as he came home to Britain from Malaysia for Christmas. He initially denied all 91 charges but later admitted 71 of them during a string of further hearings. The charges include 14 counts of rape and 31 of sexual assault. Judge Peter Rook has said he was considering a life sentence in the case, which he said was one of "exceptional gravity". Huckle, of Ashford in southeast England, was appearing at London's Central Criminal Court, also known as the Old Bailey, for a sentencing hearing expected to conclude on Friday. Reporting of the case was restricted until now because investigators wanted to make sure victims were safe from other online sexual predators. By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - British financial start-up SETL said it launched on Wednesday what it called the world's first commercial platform for using blockchain technology to register and settle securities transactions. Blockchain or distributed ledger technology is already used to underpin the bitcoin virtual currency, and creates a database in which participants can trace every transaction. A race is on among "fintech" companies to show how they can "disrupt" the way financial market infrastructure operates by speeding up transactions to cut costs and improve transparency. SETL Chief Executive Peter Randall said he was in "advanced negotiations with a very encouraging selection" of financial firms about their use of the new OpenCSD platform. It will allow banks to access a membership-only blockchain platform to jointly record and settle changes in the ownership of a security, he said. Randall likened it to providing basic market infrastructure such as rails and signalling, while banks supply the carriages they want. Banks would be able to use the ledger or chain for their own internal paperwork and for sending payments or assets to other banks, he said. Faced with weaker profitability, banks want to cut costs in the back office where paperwork for trading is completed. "Just maintaining the massive database structure banks have is very expensive and that would be a ripe area for saving," Randall told Reuters. Details on every transaction can be recovered almost instantly to answer inquiries from regulators, helping to cut compliance costs. Quicker completion of transactions leads to a shorter exposure to the risk from those trades going wrong, meaning far less collateral or cash is needed to back the trades in a further saving, Randall said. He is a former head of Chi-X Europe stock exchange which in a decade became Europe's biggest cross-border bourse, forcing long-established exchanges to cut trading fees. He declined to predict a repeat shake-up in the area of securities settlement where the likes of Euroclear and Clearstream (DB1Gn.DE) dominate in Europe. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to present proposals to bolster the UN mission in Mali following a string of attacks that have killed 12 peacekeepers in May alone, his spokesman said Wednesday. A peacekeeper from China died and a dozen UN personnel were injured when a vehicle-borne explosive device detonated at their camp in the city of Gao on Tuesday. A second attack by unknown assailants on a camp in another area of Gao killed a French contractor and two Malian security guards, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Ban is "outraged by the terrorist attacks carried out yesterday in Gao, Mali, against the United Nations," he said. Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks, the US monitoring group SITE said. In the coming days, Ban intends to present the Security Council with proposals "to strengthen the mission's posture and capabilities," Dujarric said. The series of attacks have left 12 peacekeepers dead and injured more, making the mission known as MINUSMA one of the most dangerous run by the United Nations. The Security Council unanimously condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms" and underlined that targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes. Forces serving in MINUSMA must be "adequately equipped to operate in a dangerous and unpredictable environment such as Mali," Dujarric said. AQIM said that fighters from its al-Murabitoun battalion "engaged in a clash with 'crusader occupation forces,'" referring to the UN mission in Mali, SITE said. Mali's north has seen repeated violence since it fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012. Deployed in July 2013, the 12,000-strong MINUSMA is already making use of drones and other technology to protect its bases. But the UN spokesman poured cold water over suggestions that an intervention brigade like the one deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo would help protect MINUSMA. "The threat that we are facing from terrorist groups in Mali is different from what we are seeing in DRC," Dujarric said. Ban called on Malians to come forward with information about the attacks to help find the perpetrators. The UN Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned North Korea's latest attempted missile launches and urged world governments to ramp up efforts to impose sanctions on Pyongyang. The council unanimously backed a US-drafted statement that demanded that North Korea "refrain from further actions, including nuclear tests," which are in violation of UN resolutions. French Ambassador Francois Delattre, who holds the council presidency this month, described the statement as a "firm and clear response from the Security Council" to North Korea's latest actions. Council members "strongly condemned" a series of failed missile launches on Tuesday and on April 27 and 28, which are in "grave violation" of North Korea's international obligations, said the text. China, Pyongyang's sole ally, and Russia supported the statement that calls on UN member states to "redouble efforts to implement fully the measures imposed" on North Korea. The council has adopted the toughest sanctions to date on North Korea after it carried out its fourth nuclear test in January and a rocket launch that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test. Among the sweeping measures is a new requirement that all countries must inspect cargo destined for and coming from North Korea, in all airports and sea ports. The resolution bans or restricts exports of coal, iron, iron ore and other minerals from North Korea, and prohibits the supply of aviation fuel including rocket fuel. The council tasked a UN sanctions committee to intensify its work and urged all governments to report as soon as possible on the concrete measures they are taking to implement sanctions. A previous council move to condemn North Korea's attempts to test-fire missiles in late April was blocked after Russia sought to include references to US-South Korean plans to develop missile defense. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters "not this time" when asked if he was planning to present amendments to the US text. North Korea has been hit by five sets of UN sanctions since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. The US Treasury said earlier it was taking steps to limit banks used by North Korea in other countries from accessing the US banking system. Otis Elevator a unit of United Technologies Corp. UTX was recently awarded a contract to provide its services for a state-of-the-art building, Beirut Terraces, in Lebanon. Per the contract, Otis Elevator Company s.a.l., the regional distributor, is likely to install a total of 10 elevators in Beirut Terraces, which will include 8 custom-designed elevators, 1 panoramic Gen2 elevator and 1 service elevator. Beirut Terraces is expected to outline the city's future by stimulating the indoor-outdoor living experience through the introduction of its first vertical village concept. Otis will be a part of this unique development, marking a prestigious project for this elevator company. The elevators which will be fitted in Beirut Terraces are expected to travel at speeds of up to 4 meters per second with 33 stops. In addition, these elevators have been custom designed with reflective surfaces to have a more appealing look. The companys latest Gen2 elevator will also be installed in the building, which will include steel flat belts replacing traditional elevator cables. This new replacement will help improve efficiency and provide comfort to passengers. The Gen2 elevator's compact gearless machine requires minimal machine room space, allowing for rapid installation. The Gen2 has an innovative ReGen regenerative drive, which captures energy created by the elevator, and feeds the energy back into a building's electrical grid. As a result, the Gen2 elevator is up to 75% more energy efficient than conventional systems with non-regenerative drives. Beirut Terraces is developed by Benchmark, a leader in the development, management and investment of the Middle East real estate market. However, the building is designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron. This is a unique residential building, located in the Beirut Central District, which is the most high-end residential area in Lebanon. Otis is a leading provider of elevator and escalator services. The company offers its services to over 200 countries and territories. Alongside, it maintains more that 1.9 million elevators and escalators worldwide. With a constant focus on innovation and expansion, Otis is likely to procure more such prime contracts in the near future. Story continues United Technologies, the parent company of Otis, currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same space include WageWorks, Inc. WAGE, Honeywell International Inc. HON and Koninklijke KPN N.V. KKPNF. All three stocks carry 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 HONEYWELL INTL (HON): Free Stock Analysis Report UTD TECHS CORP (UTX): Free Stock Analysis Report KONIN KPN NV (KKPNF): Free Stock Analysis Report WAGEWORKS INC (WAGE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Amina Ismail CAIRO (Reuters) - In June 2014, 23-year-old engineering student Mohammed Badawy was expelled from Cairo University. The university said it ejected him for obstructing the education process, and for rioting and destruction at a protest against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government. Badawy said it was because he protested against the government and supported the Muslim Brotherhood, a political movement that the Egyptian government has banned as a terrorist organization. His home was raided by security forces multiple times, he said. Fearing for his life and keen to continue studying, Badawy said he paid people-smugglers to spirit him out of the country. His reaction was not unusual. The murder of Italian postgraduate student Giulio Regeni has focused new attention on alleged police brutality in Egypt, but nearly a dozen local students have told Reuters they have been targeted over the past three years and regularly face violence and harassment at the hands of security forces. Regeni, 28, vanished in Cairo on Jan. 25. His body was discovered in a ditch on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital on Feb. 3. It showed signs of extensive torture, which human rights groups say suggests Egyptian police or security forces may have been involved. Egyptian intelligence officials and police sources have told Reuters that on the day Regeni vanished, he was detained by police and then transferred to a compound run by Homeland Security. The police and Interior Ministry deny they were involved and say they never held Regeni. Rights groups and students say that under Sisi, Egypt's universities have hounded students as a matter of routine, stationing dozens of security forces on campuses, expelling hundreds of students suspected of Islamist leanings, and abusing or torturing many of those they arrest. Some of those arrested admit they support or even belong to the Muslim Brotherhood and have taken part in protests that sometimes turned violent. But often, they say, they were reacting against abuses by the security forces. Twenty students have been killed by security officials on campuses either while they were protesting or near a protest, according to the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, a non-governmental organization of lawyers and researchers which says it has correspondents in most universities. Reuters was not able to verify these findings. As well, the association said, more than 790 students have been arrested, mainly for protesting against the government. At least 89 of those were referred to military tribunals. Some have been sentenced to death or life in prison. Officials from Egypt's two biggest universities say that at least 819 students out of some 700,000 have been expelled from the universities since 2013, the year Sisi ousted the Muslim Brotherhood government. They said the students were expelled for violence and law-breaking. Reuters was unable to verify these figures independently. In previous years, judges, university officials and veteran lawyers say, the number of expulsions was so small they didn't tally it. An Interior Ministry official declined to comment about general accusations, saying he could only respond to specific cases. Sisi has described Islamist groups, including the Brotherhood, as existential threats to Egypt, the Arab World and the West. A senior police official told Reuters that imprisoned students were mostly "accused of joining terrorist organizations and inciting violence." The official also said there has been no torture in Egypt's police stations or any detention facility. "Any torture incident that takes place is an individual act," he said. University heads also say there is no campaign against students. The head of one university said his students are offered a second chance if they apologize for protesting and committing violence. But Mohamed Nagy, a researcher with the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, said there was clearly a concerted effort to go after students. "This era is the worst for students. It never used to happen that hundreds of students used to get expelled from universities. Dealing with students was never that brutal," he said. Nagy himself was arrested on April 25 for taking part in an anti-government protest, his lawyer said. On May 14, a court sentenced him to five years in prison and fined him 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($11,261). Ten days later the court dropped the jail term. Badawy, the engineering student, said he decided to flee Egypt for fear of ending up in prison. He traveled for five days in the back of a pickup truck through blinding sandstorms and past gun-toting border guards, he said. A couple of weeks after he arrived in Khartoum, the capital of neighboring Sudan, he flew to Turkey, where he enrolled in a university in the south. He faces many challenges including financial and language barriers, but he said he and the four other people he fled with feel safer, if unsure of their future. "The moment we crossed the border and we were safe, we kneeled in prayer," he said during a telephone interview. "Of course, we will be facing a lot of difficulties, but it is still better than what we were living in." In recent days judges have ruled that tens of students, including Badawy, must be reinstated. "I am not happy at all," he said from Turkey. Two years after he was expelled, he said, he is angry at the wasted years and his loss of education. RETURN TO CAMPUS The crackdown on students started not long after Sisi seized power in July 2013. Millions of Egyptian protesters had rallied against the rule of democratically elected President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The military, with Sisi at its head, forced Mursi out and took control themselves. The new government declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, a description the Brotherhood rejects. It also began the fiercest campaign against Islamists in Egypt's modern history. Security forces killed hundreds of Mursi's supporters at Cairo protest camps. Thousands of others, including liberals, were detained. University campuses have been among the main targets. In February 2014, the government changed the law to give university heads the power to expel students without warning or investigations. That June, about a month after Sisi won an election to become president, he abolished elections for university posts and gave the government back the power to appoint university presidents and faculty deans. Security forces a ban on their presence on campuses was enforced shortly after the 2011 uprising that led to Mursi's election were also allowed back. Cairo University President Gaber Nassar, who helped shape some of the changes, said they were needed to give university leaders the authority "to expel students who take part in violence in a quicker way," and to be able to confront violence "with the sword of law," and "without an investigation." EXPULSIONS Being expelled from university is a serious blow in Egypt. A degree is an important badge of status, and once expelled, students have little or no chance of studying elsewhere. In January 2014, the Supreme Council of Universities, a government body, banned private universities from accepting students who had been expelled. Many students who have been expelled say Egypt doesn't let them leave to pursue an education abroad either, because they have criminal records either in connection with the expulsions or for protesting against the government. Young men are not allowed to leave the country without having done military service or being formally exempted. That forces some, like Badawy, to flee secretly. Most of the students now in jail were studying at Al-Azhar University and Cairo University, the senior police official said. Al-Azhar alone has expelled 419 students in the past two years, mostly for protesting against the government, according to spokesman Hossam Shaker. He said the expulsions were fair and not part of any government campaign. "All means are given to the students to prove their innocence. The university is not looking to incriminate the students," the spokesman said, adding that some were expelled for violating a law that effectively bans protests. One 20-year-old who used to study at Al-Azhar said he was kicked out after leading protests against the government. He said he struck a dean who had called him a "son of a bitch" for protesting in support of the Muslim Brotherhood and had tried to stop him from taking his final exam. After torching two police cars, the student said, he ended up at a police station and a state security building. The student did not identify the dean, and Reuters was unable to seek his comment. The student, who described himself as a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer, said he was subjected to electric shocks, hanged for days by his feet and hands, and sexually assaulted several times with a stick. "I felt that I was breathing my last breath. I was almost dead," he said. "My body was so weak. They used to give me a break from torture for nearly two hours a day." After 22 days, he said, he was sent to solitary confinement, where he stayed for two months. Reuters was not able to independently verify the details of his account. Once freed, he said he made the 30-hour drive from Cairo to Port Sudan. Passengers sat on the back of pickup trucks and clung to sticks rammed vertically among the luggage for support. His truck raced toward the border. "I was about to fall off," he said by phone from Khartoum. "I was too tired to hold on from the intensity of the heat. "I am dreaming of the day where I can go back. I think of revenge every day, but I am trying to be patient." "HUMILIATION" Cairo University President Nassar said the system offers second chances. Several times, he has issued an open invitation to students expelled from his university to come and meet him, in the presence of their parents, and apologize. If they promise not to protest again, he said, they are reinstated. Last year, at least 91 students took him up on the offer, he said. "I'm aware that (for) those who genuinely belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, it will be very difficult for them to accept such an initiative." Reuters spoke to three of those who attended such meetings and were reinstated after apologizing. They said they still live in fear of arrest or another expulsion. Two brothers Ahmed and Abdel Rahman said that despite being reinstated they have left the country to finish their education in Malaysia. "He who expels me once for no good reason and without an investigation, can expel me again," said Ahmed, 22, an engineering student. A 21-year-old engineering student said he had been expelled and reinstated twice after he attended meetings with Nassar. The second time he was expelled, in 2014, the university said it was because he had rioted, thrown Molotov cocktails at security forces, terrorized citizens and obstructed the education process. He said he had done none of those things and now lived away from home because he feared arrest. All three students said the meetings with Nassar were humiliating. They were not allowed to speak, ask questions or sit down during the hour-long session, they said. Nassar said he had long discussions with students. "I sat with them for more than two hours, we talked, we agreed and disagreed. We don't hold them accountable for their affiliation." From Turkey, engineering student Badawy said he would never apologize. "Apologizing means that I am admitting that I have done the things that they have accused me of. But I haven't. Also, criminal charges don't drop when I apologize," he said. "This is severe humiliation that I can't accept." FRUSTRATED Brotherhood supporter Gihad Fayez, 23, was in her fourth year in the faculty of commerce at Al-Azhar University's El-Zagazig branch northeast of Cairo when she learned she had been kicked out. She spotted her name on a list of expelled students posted on a university fence. The notice said that following an investigation, she and eight other students had been found guilty of "obstructing the education process" and protesting. She rejects those charges and said that in her case, she was not summoned for an interview until a month after being expelled. She believes she was targeted because she filmed anti-government protests, shared the films online, and exposed alleged abuse by the security forces. She applied to multiple private universities but was turned down she believes because of the 2014 law. "I was frustrated. I felt that I wanted to learn but the country doesn't want me to learn," she said. "Two days after my expulsion I felt that my whole life had stopped. I was crying. I felt sorry for myself. Is this what I deserve for defending my friends?" She appealed, filing a complaint with the administrative court a month after her expulsion in December 2014. But her case has been delayed. LED INTO VIOLENCE? At an administrative court complex in Giza on Cairo's outskirts in March, a judge flanked by two deputies sat near a table heaving with hundreds of documents. The papers detailed the defense arguments of expelled students and staff as well as other cases. The judge barely glanced at the papers. There was a series of short hearings during which each lawyer spoke for less than a minute. Then the judge announced the court would adjourn. Later, Hamed Al-Moraly, vice chairman of the state council and a member of the six-person judicial panel, blamed the delay on the universities, saying they had failed to present the necessary papers. There had been a problem with the interpretation of the law, he added. And the court was overwhelmed by the number of cases coming in. Omar Dahy, the head of the court, told Reuters that the expulsions were far more numerous than before the Arab Spring. "The reasons behind the expulsions (nowadays) weren't there during Mubarak's time," Dahy said. "There wasn't a revolution during Mubarak's time." While Muslim Brotherhood protests have faded, Western diplomats and security officials believe young members of the group are carrying out attacks on police. Some former students are talking about full-fledged jihad, says lawyer Abdel Aziz Youssef, who spent four months in jail with students late last year. A small but growing number of young Egyptians are vulnerable to Islamic State's radical ideology: "The number of students who see peaceful means of expression as useless is on the rise," he said. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdellah; Edited by Mike Georgy and Sara Ledwith) US ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar. Photo: Jeremy Ho/Yahoo Singapore Asia will remain a vital region for the United States, regardless of who occupies the top seat in the White House, said US ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar. Speaking to Yahoo Singapore in a wide-ranging interview last week, Wagar noted that Asia has been top of our agenda for the past 15 to 20 years, a policy underscored by President Barack Obama. The US has also been active in the region for the last 70 years, said Wagar, while its navy has kept Asian sea lanes open since the end of World War II. The reality is that our country is engaged in this region and globally, not just through our government - in fact, sometimes in spite of our government, said Wagar, who pointed to American businesses such as Coca-Cola and Microsoft, educational institutions and people-to-people contacts. Asias important because Asias important, not because of whos in the White House. This is the most dynamic region in the world. We should be creating apps together, curing cancer together, going to Mars together, he declared. Wagar also spoke of the ongoing territorial dispute in the South China Sea, warning that Chinas actions are a threat to peace and stability. The upcoming election (Video by Jeremy Ho) With the US presidential elections taking place in six months, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has cast a long shadow over the process. Observers have been alarmed by his often racist rhetoric Trump has proposed building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants from Mexico, as well as temporarily banning Muslims from coming to the US. And Wagar acknowledged that there had been many questions from Singaporean friends and partners about the new presidents outlook, and whether it might affect American engagement with Asia. During a meeting in Washington of American ambassadors serving around the globe in March, the topic of how to allay these fears around the world also came up for discussion, said Wagar. Story continues But the diplomat pointed out that there are some 525 million people in the middle class in Asia today, and this is expected to grow to 3.2 billlion by 2030. It is therefore in Americas core national interest to remain engaged in the region, whoever the new president may be. Asia is crucial for Americas development, said Wagar. With the United States poised to celebrate its 240th Independence Day, Wagar noted that the peaceful transfer of power has continued even as the US has grown in global importance and power. The fact that that has gone unfettered for all those years is unique and something were proud of, said Wagar. Barack Obamas legacy US president Barack Obama embraces a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Photo: Getty Images Given that Obama is in the final year of his presidency, Yahoo Singapore asked Wagar what the outgoing presidents strongest legacy in the region is. His response, The legacy is putting Asia on the American map. Oftentimes, said Wagar, to American businessmen and academics, Asia has meant China. But Obama has paid special attention to the region, such as signing on to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. And of the 47 overseas trips he has made as president, 24 of them have been to Asian countries. Hes put this region on the map in our eyes. Now that might be an indictment to the fact that people should have been paying attention, but I can tell you they are now, he noted And Singapore, he declared, is the perfect platform to engage the region together, given its commitment to good governance, rule of law and meritocracy. LGBT and human rights In response to a question on whether he hopes to see Singapore progress in areas such as LGBT and human rights, Wagar demurred. Its not my job to lecture a sovereign nation on what they should or should not do. He added that one of Americas greatest strengths is its diversity and that individuals can bring their whole selves to work. I think it makes our companies and our government stronger, and I think it makes our people better. So my job is to make that argument. Singapore and anybody else, can make their decision as to whether or not they agree. I have strong feelings about it, I personally dont understand why anyone cares about a persons private life. But Im not Singaporean, said the ambassador. Beirut (AFP) - US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters have opened a new front against the Islamic State group in northern Syria, thrusting into a strategic jihadist pocket along the Turkish border, a monitor said on Wednesday. The swathe of territory controlled by IS on either side of the Euphrates River has long been a key target for Washington as it is seen as the main entry point for foreign fighters. The Pentagon has deployed more than 200 special forces troops alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led alliance in which it has been trying to boost the Arab element. US-led coalition aircraft carried out intense strikes on the IS-held town of Manbij, 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of the Euphrates, in support of the offensive, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on reports from medics and activists on the ground, said three children were among 15 civilians killed in the pre-dawn raids. "The campaign for Manbij began on Tuesday," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "Over the past 24 hours, the SDF have seized control of nine villages... west of the Euphrates," he said. The advance has brought SDF forces within 18 kilometres (11 miles) of Manbij. SDF military adviser Nasser Haj Mansour told AFP that the alliance's fighters were heading from the Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates towards Manbij. "The clashes are fierce and intense," he said. The offensive is one of two the SDF has launched against IS in northern Syria in recent weeks. Last month, the alliance launched an assault on the jihadists north of their de facto Syria capital Raqa, seizing dozens of villages in the north of Raqa province. Washington sees the SDF -- which is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) -- as the most effective ground force against IS in Syria. With the help of coalition air strikes, the SDF has cleared IS jihadists from large parts of Syria's northeast. But the US support for the Kurdish-led alliance has angered NATO ally Turkey. Ankara regards the YPG as a branch of the rebel Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which has fought a three decade insurgency against the Turkish state. oxycodone The American death rate has risen for the first time in 10 years. According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a greater portion of the population died in the US last year than in any other year for a decade. The cause? Deaths from drug overdoses (many from legal drugs), suicide, and Alzheimer's disease. This marks a sharp contrast from a decade-long trend toward lower death rates, a positive shift driven largely by improvements in health treatments and access to care. In 2015, the death rate (adjusted for age to give us a more accurate picture) rose to 729.5 deaths per 100,000 people, an increase from last year's age-adjusted rate of 723.2, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. A bigger killer of Americans than heroin In 2014, opioid painkillers like Oxycontin and Vicodin killed more Americans than heroin. According to the new report, the age-adjusted death rate from drug overdoses of all kinds was 15.2, an increase from the 2014 figure of 14.1. Despite being perfectly legal with a doctor's prescription, opioid painkillers operate similarly to heroin in the brain and body and they can be addictive. In fact, many experts have said these drugs may open the door to later heroin use. A 2015 CDC report found that people who had abused opioid painkillers were 40 times as likely to abuse heroin as those who had not. painkiller heroin marijuana overdose death chart 2014 Nevertheless, the drugs are prescribed frequently. Healthcare providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for them in 2012, according to the CDC. That's enough for every US adult to have a bottle of the pills. "We know there are too many prescriptions being written for these drugs today that are not necessary, and our goal is really to eliminate those," Douglas Nemecek, the chief medical officer of behavioral health for US health insurer Cigna, told Business Insider. Cigna unveiled an ambitious plan last month that aims to curb prescriptions for opioid painkillers by 25%. Story continues According to the new report, the age-adjusted drug overdose death rate for all types of drugs, not just opioid painkillers, was 15.2 for 2015 a rise from 14.1 in 2014. Other disturbing factors behind the rise Drug overdoses are not the only factor behind the rise in the US death rate. Suicide and Alzheimer's also fueled the increase. A CDC report released in April found that more Americans are dying by suicide today than at any other point in the past three decades. The rate has been steadily on the rise since 1999. Suicide is among the leading causes of death for both adolescents and young adults, but it's rising among middle-aged Americans as well. NOW WATCH: This is how the legal marijuana industry is affecting Mexican drug cartels More From Business Insider The United States took steps Wednesday to further lock North Korea out of the world financial system as it officially labeled the country a "global money laundering concern." The action would prevent both direct and indirect North Korean financial activities within the US banking system, ensuring that any third-party deals involving significant sums of US dollars or other currencies cannot transit the United States. The action follows a recent United Nations Security Council resolution that calls on all UN members to cut off banking relations with Pyongyang. "Today's action is a further step toward severing banking relationships with North Korea and we expect all governments and financial authorities to do likewise pursuant to the new UN Security Council Resolution," said Adam Szubin, the US Treasury's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. The move essentially further isolates North Korea, which has defied UN Security Council calls to halt its nuclear weapons program and continued tests of ballistic missiles. In March, the UN Security Council imposed the toughest sanctions yet against Pyongyang, including unprecedented inspections of all cargo to and from the notoriously reclusive country which has locked itself away from the rest of the world for the past 60 years. Last week, the European Union also tightened sanctions on Pyongyang, blocking any trade finance activity and banning certain trade and investment with the country. The US Treasury's move to label North Korea a key money launderer allows it to take further steps to cut off the country from financial networks by hampering indirect deals that involve North Korean companies and banks. The move, which requires a 180 day review before final implementation, will prevent banks in other countries handling transactions for North Korean financial institutions from accessing the US system. "The United States, the UN Security Council, and our partners worldwide remain clear-eyed about the significant threat that North Korea poses to the global financial system," Szubin said in a statement. Vanessa Williams and husband Jim Skrip are celebrating their approaching one-year wedding anniversary by walking down the aisle all over again! William and Skrip were first married on July 4 last year, but tied the knot again in a Catholic ceremony on Monday. "Yesterday we took one last walk down the aisle this time in my little church," Williams wrote on Instagram. "Officially wedded Catholic. Amen! #MyJim." Vanessa Williams and Jim Skrip Tie the Knot Again in a Catholic Ceremony See Her Gorgeous Dress| Couples, Weddings, TV News, Vanessa Williams The 53-year-old picked a Pamela Roland dress for the occasion which featured a subtle v-neck and included a pink sash tied around her waist. Williams wore her hair in a wave and loose chignon, with oversized drop earrings. Yesterday we took one last walk down the aisle a this time in my little church. Officially wedded Catholic. pic.twitter.com/ZBf3FAk3gE a Vanessa Williams (@VWOfficial) May 31, 2016 Williams seemed in good spirits on her Memorial Day nuptials, goofing around in her gown in a video captured by daughter Jillian Hervey. Whip, Nae Nae...Stanky Leg (in @PamellaRoland!). Wedding weekend part deux. @lionbabe A video posted by Vanessa Williams (@vanessawilliamsofficial) on May 31, 2016 at 11:33am PDT Related Video: Why Is Vanessa Williams Proud to Be Called a Diva? The pair was wed last year in Skrip's hometown of Buffalo, New York. Married at the city's St. Stanislaus church, Williams first walked down the aisle to Carmen Ruby Floyd singing "Ave Maria." The reception was held at The Statler City banquet venue and was decked out with gold and ivory tents, Moroccan lanterns and colorful flowers to match the event's lavish Egyptian theme a nod to where the couple met. "Jim is a real man," Williams told PEOPLE of her husband at the time. "You want somebody in your life who has integrity, who is solid, who knows who he is. He's romantic and he's a great guy." Williams was married twice before first to Ramon Hervey II, and later to Rick Fox and has four children. Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela's opposition learns Thursday whether authorities will let them proceed with efforts to call a referendum on removing President Nicolas Maduro, whom they blame for the country's fall from booming oil giant to basket case. The National Electoral Board (CNE) is due to decide whether to accept or reject an initial petition with 1.8 million signatures endorsing a recall vote against Maduro, whom the opposition accuses of driving Venezuela into economic and political chaos. Maduro's opponents warn that the country faces an explosion of unrest if authorities do not allow a recall referendum this year. Enrique Marquez, the deputy speaker of the opposition-controlled legislature, said Wednesday the referendum was the only "escape valve" for a country racked by economic collapse, hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine, daily power outages and violent crime. He urged the CNE to "get in step with history, with the suffering of the Venezuelan people, and remove the barriers blocking the referendum from being held this year." The opposition accuses the CNE of dragging its feet to protect Maduro, the political heir to the late leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez. Maduro's camp, for its part, accuses the opposition of massive fraud in its petition drive. Even if the CNE accepts the petition submitted on May 2, Maduro's opponents face a long and winding road to call a referendum. And they may not get there by the crucial date of January 10 -- four years into the leftist leader's six-year term -- when a successful recall vote would trigger new elections rather than simply pass power to Maduro's vice president. For the petition to be accepted, the CNE must recognize at least 200,000 signatures as valid. If that happens, signatories must then present themselves in person to confirm their identity with a fingerprint scan. The opposition must then submit a second petition, this time with four million signatures, or 20 percent of the electorate, for the CNE to organize a referendum. Story continues The pro-recall camp would need more votes than Maduro won the 2013 election with -- some 7.5 million -- to remove him from office. - Waiting game - That adds up to a lot of ifs, and political analysts say the CNE could easily stall the process until next year, when Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) could orchestrate the unpopular president's replacement by another party leader. Polls show nearly seven in 10 Venezuelans want Maduro to go. But the divided opposition has struggled to rally a substantial protest movement or effectively wield the congressional majority it won last December, which has been hamstrung by a Supreme Court seen as loyal to Maduro. In Washington, the Organization of American States adopted a resolution urging Maduro and the opposition to engage in an "open dialogue" to "consolidate representative democracy." French President Francois Hollande and Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet joined the call for "dialogue" after meeting in Paris. Venezuela's economy is forecast to contract eight percent this year, with inflation of 700 percent. Home to the world's largest oil reserves, Venezuela has undergone a spectacular implosion as crude prices have plunged over the past two years. The grinding crisis has made daily life increasingly hard. Venezuelans face long lines at supermarkets tightly guarded by nervous soldiers -- bare shelves and soaring prices inside -- a dysfunctional health care system short on basic medications and supplies, daily power cuts of four hours across most of the country, and a government that only operates two days a week to save electricity. But they have not yet erupted into mass protests, whether because they are too busy waiting in lines or because they are haunted by the violence that killed 43 people during pro- and anti-government demonstrations in 2014. In a rare glimmer of good news, the country's largest brewery said it would restart production, more than a month after shutting down because of a barley shortage. The Polar brewing company said it had obtained a $35-million bank loan by putting up its shares in an investment fund as collateral, enabling it to import more barley. Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro backed Bernie Sanders for US president Tuesday night, saying the self-described democratic socialist would win "if the election were free." Sanders is nearly certain to lose the Democratic party's nomination to Hillary Clinton, but has doggedly refused to bow out, drawing large numbers of young voters and seeking to shift the party to the left. Maduro, the political heir to late leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, said Sanders's candidacy showed the United States "wants change" in the November election. "If the election were free, Sanders would be president of the United States," he said in a nationally televised address. Venezuela has had a rocky relationship with the United States since Chavez came to power and launched a "revolution" in 1999. The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010, and Caracas regularly accuses Washington of "imperialism." Maduro is currently fighting off opposition attempts to force him from office in a recall referendum. His popularity has plummeted as falling crude prices have plunged oil-rich Venezuela into a dramatic economic crisis marked by severe shortages of food and medicine, daily power cuts, weekly school closures and the near-paralysis of government offices. XLV Broke the $70 Jinx: It's Working to Reach a 3-Month High (Continued from Prior Part) Vertex receives FDA nod for priority review Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) was the top performer within the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) as of May 31, 2016. Vertex Pharmaceuticals gained 3.1% and outperformed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). SPY fell by 0.2% along with XLV. Vertex Pharmaceuticals closed at $93.15. It was trading above the 20-day moving average price of $84.60. The above graph shows Vertexs performance compared to SPY and XLV for May. Vertex gained ~10.6% from May 2 to May 31, 2016. Vertex stock rose as it received approval from the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) for priority review of Orkambis use in children aged 611 with cystic fibrosis. In a press release, Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the use of ORKAMBI (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) ages 6 to 11 who have two copies of the F508del mutation. The FDA granted Vertexs request for Priority Review of this sNDA, and a target review date of September 30, 2016, was set under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). The sNDA is based on data from an open-label Phase 3 clinical safety study of Orkambi. Data from this study will be presented at the 39th European Cystic Fibrosis Society Conference being held from June 8 to June 11 in Basel, Switzerland. Also, Vertex announced that management will take part in a presentation at the Goldman Sachs Healthcare Conference in Rancho Palos Verde, California, on Tuesday, June 7. Analysts recommendations and valuations Analysts consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals 12-month target price is $109.4. However, on a YTD (year-to-date) basis, the stock has fallen 26%. Vertex is the fourth-largest underperformer next to AmerisourceBergen (ABC), Perrigo (PRGO), and Endo International (ENDP). They have fallen 27.7%, 33.8%, and 74.2%, respectively, on a YTD basis. Its important to note that 17 analysts recommended the stock as a buy, eight analysts recommended the stock as a hold,' and no analysts recommended the stock as a sell. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is trading at a 2016 forward price-to-earnings multiple of ~83.5x. It has a book value of $3.87 per share. At its current price, the stock is trading at a price-to-book value of ~24.1x. Vertex has a weight of 0.8% in XLVs portfolio. Story continues Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: By Andreas Cremer BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is looking at on-demand mobility services such as smartphone ride hailing to earn a "notable share" of future revenues as the carmaker pushes a strategic shift in the wake of its emissions scandal, its top executive said. Volkswagen, or VW, which posted 213 billion euros ($237.90 billion) of revenue last year, on Wednesday signed a cooperation with ride-hailing company Gett after announcing a $300 million investment in the firm last week. Cooperation with Gett may lead to business models involving car sharing, limousine rides and taxi services in the fast-growing ride-hailing market which in Europe alone may yield 10 billion euros of sales by 2025 and could grow more than 30 percent annually, VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said. "In future, our core product will not be just the car," Mueller said. "Our core product, our promise to customers, is mobility." Europe's largest automaker will this month unveil a new business strategy aimed at improving accountability and speeding up model development, with greater investments in electric cars, new technologies and mobility services among the key elements, company sources have said. But VW's rivals are not standing idly by. Toyota Motor Corp last week said it would invest in mobility company Uber Technologies Inc while General Motors invested $500 million in Lyft, Uber's main U.S. rival. The growing number of deals reflects the desire by automakers to avoid becoming bystanders if a significant number of consumers around the world choose to forego vehicle ownership and buy transportation by the mile or the minute. "Through this partnership, we're getting access to 100 million VW customers," Gett founder and chief executive Shahar Weiser said. Volkswagen and Gett declined to disclose the financial terms of their agreement. Wolfsburg-based VW has long ignored alternative mobility concepts unlike its German rivals Daimler and BMW who have for years been running their own car-sharing operations. Story continues The advent of smartphones has fundamentally changed customer expectations, with travelers seeking to connect to different modes of transportation through apps. CEO Mueller on Wednesday pledged that post-dieselgate VW will open up to new investments and partnerships such as with Gett. "Volkswagen now is not the same as Volkswagen before I became CEO" in September 2015, Mueller said, indicating the group is willing to expand beyond manufacturing and selling cars as a means to broaden its appeal with customers. "The times when we thought that the world revolves around Wolfsburg are history." (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by David Gregorio) We havent seen Ramsay Bolton on the last couple episode of Game of Thrones, but its only a matter of time before he shows up again to stick a knife in another victims throat. In the meantime, Welsh actor Iwan Rheon wants you to know that just because he plays a flaying, castrating psychopath on TV doesnt mean he is one in real life. Thats why Rheon joined fellow actors Danny Trejo and Steve Buscemi who are both infamous for playing villains in a soulful lament of their reputations for NBCs Red Nose Day special. On TV, I play the guys whos the craziest of crazies I may be the worst in the world of Game of Thrones,' Rheon sings, but my world is filled with chrysanthemums, not a pile of blood and bones! Also Read: 'Game of Thrones' 101: Remember Lord Edmure and House Tully? Theres also a clever cameo from Boltons polar opposite, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Ellie Kemper, as she helps an old lady whos terrified of Trejo. Rheon has been joking around about the wild differences between him and his character in recent months. Before Season 6 premiered on April 24, he hugged it out with Theon Greyjoy actor Alfie Allen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! And last week, during an interview on the British breakfast show This Morning, he said that he hoped Ramsay would meet a grisly end at the hands of Daenerys dragons. Also Read: 'Game of Thrones': Ramsay Bolton Actor Says His Character 'Deserves' to Die (Video) Alas, such is the life of an actor typecast as a bad guy. One may wonder if the late Alan Rickman had to deal with problems like this. Inspired by the long-running British charity event, NBCs Red Nose Day Special mixed comedy and musical performances with heartfelt pleas for children in need, raising more than $30 million during a live variety show on May 26. Click here to donate. The headlines get you first. Banaras: Russian tourist has acid thrown in her face in the home of the holy Ganges. Local boy feels spurned. Delhi: Uber driver sexually assaults female passenger. She was out late. She was there. Bangalore: Woman gang-raped. She met the guards on a sunny day in middle-class Cubbon Park; they attacked her that night. People guess theyre migrants, the guards, that they were far from home and wives. They were alone. Theres nothing like a full stomach and a happy house to calibrate your moral compass, right? You talk about the headlines at parties in air-conditioned apartments. You talk about them with men. Each time one comes up, it balloons bigger and more hideous. Each time one comes up, you ink a new contract with a new man: you agree to check the danger at the door and be safe and protected here, inside. Men are always telling you to take care. You are forever saying thank you. He is not in any headlines; no one calls him a wolf. The neighbor is so helpful. He knows youre new, that your Hindi is weak. He calls electricians and Internet providers for you. He stops by in the morning and in the evening, on his way to and from his job at the American pharmaceutical corporation, just to check in. You have to be careful with all these guys, he says, gesturing to the rest of the world. After the party where you saw the Bollywood star and glimpsed the Four Seasons sign lighting up the city, the college acquaintance from the States goes out of his way. Its too late to take a cab safely, he counsels. The couch is yours if you want it. Or even the guest room, with the locking door. You agree, because it would be strange, rude and paranoid not to. Because even if you werent scared before, you feel a chill now, as he talks of the lecherous wolves out there, howling up at the Four Seasons sign, talks of the headlines. Of course you will stay, its so kind of him. During the interview, the guy your friends friend introduced you to offers you cigarettes and tea. Americans, he says of you, knowingly, beginning to discuss his French girlfriend. As you talk longer and later, your little table at the Mumbai bar acquires a portside view of the rest of the world. In a sentence you sweep from the Himalayas to London. And yet, when you stand up to go, after he has reached for your hand, after you have shaken it off, embarrassed, after you have stayed despite the grab because you werent done hearing what you came to hear, the world has never felt so small. I dont know this driver anything could happen, he says. He gets in the car with you to make sure you get home safe. As you drive across the water, you hear the echo of what he implied, and what you agreed to by letting him. Story continues Its only late afternoon. A sunny day, in middle-class south Calcutta. There are filmmakers asking you to act in their next productions to be shot at September Durga puja, when the goddess of power and strength reigns. People are showing you their draft black-and-white photography books, which capture history and telescope it out into modernity. Theyre listening to ghazels and qawwalis and teaching you about the nations poetry. He is older, educated, bicontinental. Back in America, he gave you India, spoon-fed it to you, taught you the word postcolonial and told you that if you wanted to be a writer you had to do two things: fall in love, and move to your motherland. Here you are now, years later, thanking him for the advice. He congratulates you, and then he shields you from oncoming traffic, translates for you, encourages you to try street food, teaches you about your own ancestors. Each time he annotates simple sightings with rich history, you grow weaker. How would you ever know this place without him? You look away when he says something about your thick South Indian hair. Hes got money. Hes got women. He is not the struggling emigrant from Bihar living in squalor on the outskirts of Delhi, sexually repressed, furious at modern women for wearing jeans and holding jobs. He is not in any headlines; no one calls him a wolf. When he walks the two minutes from the artists squat to your guesthouse, or slides into the car, eyeing the driver powerfully, or knocks on the locked guest room door, or steps into your kitchen to investigate the lighting fixture, nothing happens. He could go back to his girlfriend or wife and say, Nothing happened. And you if you were to look him in the eye and say, Stop, you would feel ashamed for presuming there was anything to reject. You go to wherever it is you are calling home at that moment: your new, foreign apartment or your hotel, where you will sit alone sweating under the ceiling fan and swatting mosquitoes. You could have stayed inside and said no when he invited you out. The thought of the white plaster walls and the gecko for company made you say sure. He hugs you too hard. He says hes never had the opportunity to fall in love with someone like you. He tells you to be safe, to mind the wolves. You say good night and you say thank you. Related Articles The Weinstein Co. has sued Open Road Films, and producers Moritz Borman and Dimitri Rassam over the U.S. distribution rights to the upcoming movie Playmobil. TWC filed the suit on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that the producers breached their agreement to sell the rights to TWC prior to the May 12 announcement that Open Road had purchased the U.S. rights. A spokeswoman for Open Road said the company had no comment about the suit, which alleged that the rights were sold to TWC on March 30 following a week of negotiations. The producer defendants materially breached the agreement by retracting their promise to sell TWC the Playmobil movie distribution rights and refusing to negotiate a written deal memo in good faith, the complaint said. Instead of honoring their contractual obligations to TWC, the producer defendants purported to terminate the agreement and entered into a contract with Open Road Films for the same distribution rights that they had already sold to TWC. The suit is asking the court to toss out the Open Road deal. It also seeks unspecified damages. The action alleges that the agreement was terminated two weeks later on April 13 after TWC didnt provide a letter of credit. The producers representatives allegedly told TWC, As we have not received substantive response despite our communications to you that time is of the essence, please be advised that negotiations are respectfully terminated. The complaint asserts that the termination was merely a pretext for breaking off negotiations so that the producer defendants could sell the distribution rights for the Playmobil movie to another buyer. Open Road planned to release Playmobil, based on the German toy line, on Jan. 18, 2019. The film will be directed by Disney veteran Lino DiSalvo and produced by the team behind The Little Prince (Aton Soumache, Dimitri Rassam, Alexis Vonarb), along with Axel Von Maydell and Moritz Borman. It said at that point that the project was developed in cooperation with Pathe France and will be sold internationally by Lionsgate and Wild Bunch. Story continues TWC had a similar high-profile dispute with Lionsgate in 2009 over the distribution rights to Precious, which won two Academy Awards and grossed $47 million domestically and $16 million internationally. The two competing suits were settled in 2010. The news about the suit was first reported by Deadline Hollywood. Related stories Weinstein Co. Boards Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'In the Heights' Movie 'Project Runway' Franchise Lands Mega-Renewal at Lifetime Weinstein Company Buys Quentin Tarantino Documentary '21 Years' June 1 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co CFO John Shrewsberry on Wednesday deflected an analyst's questions over the quality of the bank's earnings, saying the results "speak for themselves." During a question and answer session at a conference in New York, Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor asked Shrewsberry about concerns Wells Fargo's earnings have been "lower quality," or driven by market-related factors that might be difficult to repeat, as opposed to more traditional banking activities such as taking deposits and making loans. Shrewsberry said the issue "might be a fun academic topic for analysts--you know, getting together and arguing about what's core and what's non-core," but is not a major source of concern at the bank. "It's true that there's frequently from quarter to quarter something different about the composition at the margin of things that contribute to (profits), whether it's mortgage results or mortgage hedge results or non interest income items like gains from investing activity or tax items," Shrewsberry said. Still, he said the bank's earnings "have been the strongest in the business for at least the last five years or so." Wells Fargo shares opened lower on Wednesday, but made back some of those losses by mid-morning, similar to other big U.S. banks like Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp. (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Navistar International Corporation NAV is set to report second-quarter fiscal 2016 (ended Apr 30, 2016) results on Jun 2. In the last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 48.05%. Lets see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors Influencing This Quarter Navistar expects adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), excluding pre-existing warranty and one-time items, for fiscal 2016 in the band of $600$650 million, significantly higher than $494 million recorded in fiscal 2015. Further, sales volume of the school bus and severe service segment is anticipated to improve. The company also expects to generate profit and manufacturing free cash flow in fiscal 2016. Higher annual guidance raises hopes about an improvement in the companys second-quarter results as well. In addition, the company will benefit from increased production at its heavy truck assembly plant in Escobedo, Mexico and its bus assembly plant in Tulsa, OK. It also hopes to gain from the launch of new products with improved quality and performance, together with its expansion strategies. However, Navistars results have been affected by lower volumes in Brazil, resulting from economic uncertainties. Additionally, the company is incurring additional costs due to the ongoing changes in the on-highway emissions standards concerning fuel efficiency, noise and safety. Further, Navistar operates in a highly competitive industry. The intensity of this competition is expected to continue, resulting in price discount and pressurized margins. Earnings Whispers Our proven model does not conclusively show that Navistar is likely to beat estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below: Zacks ESP: The Earnings ESP represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Navistars Earnings ESP is -17.65% because the Most Accurate estimate stands at a loss of 20 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at a loss of 17 cents. Zacks Rank: Navistar carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, we need to have a positive ESP to be confident about an earnings surprise. 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 other companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter: Autoliv, Inc. ALV has an Earnings ESP of +0.57% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The companys second-quarter 2016 financial results are scheduled for release on Jul 15. Cummins Inc. CMI has an Earnings ESP of +0.46% and a Zacks Rank #3. The companys second-quarter 2016 financial results are scheduled for release on Jul 26. BorgWarner Inc. BWA has an Earnings ESP of +1.22% and a Zacks Rank #3. The companys second-quarter 2016 financial results are scheduled for release on Aug 4. (We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued yesterday, May 31, 2016, should no longer be relied upon.) 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 NAVISTAR INTL (NAV): Free Stock Analysis Report BORG WARNER INC (BWA): Free Stock Analysis Report AUTOLIV INC (ALV): Free Stock Analysis Report CUMMINS INC (CMI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Tobacco companies may heave a sigh of relief as the White House has reportedly decided to exclude e-cigarettes from a recent anti-tobacco regulation proposed by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA had announced that tobacco makers must seek marketing authorization for any tobacco product introduced after Feb 15, 2007. The law was extended to include e-cigarettes, pipe tobacco, cigars and hookah and was expected to be effective from Aug 2016. Per the initial proposal submitted by the FDA to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), tobacco manufacturers were allowed a grace period of 90 days to put a ban on flavored products. The grace period also allows tobacco manufacturers to submit marketing applications, during which they can continue to sell their products. As per the FDA, there has been a dramatic rise in smoking of typically flavored tobacco products like e-cigarettes and waterpipe tobacco among the youth, which might be harmful. Hence, the FDA wanted to restrict flavored e-cigarettes along with tobacco products. If this plan would have been put into effect, flavored e-cigarettes would have been removed from the market til its makers got authorization from the FDA. However, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) scrapped the FDA's planned policy of including flavored e-cigarettes in the current law. Tobacco companies like Philip Morris International Inc. PM, Reynolds American Inc. RAI and Altria Group Inc. MO have been penalized for taking recourse to any kind of advertising or packaging that flouts the laws. The global tobacco industry has been facing severe advertising and packaging restrictions on their products for some time. Meanwhile, the Indian government has imposed plain packaging rules on tobacco makers who are required to cover 85% of the cigarette packets with pictorial warnings in May 2016. Again, during the same period, the European Union (EU) Court of Justice ordered against tobacco companies and banned the use of flavored cigarettes like mint and menthol. Story continues The court ruled that the use of flavor makes cigarettes more attractive. It also stated that reducing the attractiveness of the packaging may help reduce tobacco use and dependence among new and continuing users. 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 ALTRIA GROUP (MO): Free Stock Analysis Report PHILIP MORRIS (PM): Free Stock Analysis Report REYNOLDS AMER (RAI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research What's the Crude Oil Market's State of Mind before OPEC's Meeting? Crude oil prices July WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil futures contracts trading in NYMEX fell by 0.47% and settled at $49.1 per barrel on Tuesday, May 31, 2016. In contrast, Brent crude oil futures contracts trading on the Intercontinental Exchange rose by 0.75% to $49.69 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices rose ahead of OPECs (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting on June 2, 2016. US crude oil prices fell ahead of the US inventory report. ETFs like the United States Oil ETF (USO) and the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) fell by 0.92% and 1.8%, respectively, on May 31. Crude oil prices in 2014, 2015, and 2016 History suggests that crude oil prices are volatile. US crude oil prices rose to a peak level of $107 per barrel in June 2014. Then, Brent and WTI crude oil prices started to decline due to strong non-OPEC crude oil production, weak demand growth, and OPECs objective to maintain market share. However, prices started to recover in 2015 due to the slowing US crude oil inventory and the fall in the US rig count. However, prices started to fall in late 2015 and early 2016 due to the slowing Chinese economy, lifting of Irans sanctions, and rising US crude oil inventory. Brent and WTI crude oil prices Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices rose to $50.51 on May 26their highest level since early November 2015. Likewise, WTI crude oil tested $50.21 on May 26its highest level since October 2015. Read Is the Supply Side of the Crude Oil Market Rebalancing? and Demand Side of the Crude Oil Market: India Is a Bright Spot for more on supply and demand drivers and their impact on crude oil prices. The volatility in crude oil prices impacts oil producers like Matador Resources (MTDR), Goodrich Petroleum (GDP), and Bill Barrett (BBG). They also impact ETFs and ETNs such as the iShares US Oil Equipment & Services (IEZ), the United States Brent Oil ETF (BNO), and the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil (SCO). Story continues Whats in this series? This series focuses on US crude oil inventories, OPECs meeting and its impact on crude oil prices, Saudi Arabias state of mind ahead of OPECs meeting, Irans oil production strategies, and crude oil price forecasts. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Sultan is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated Bollywood films this monsoon. The films trailer was released recently during one of the IPL matches in the presence of the lead castSalman Khan and Anushka Sharma. During his interaction with the media, Salman, who plays the character of a wrestler in the film, revealed the toughest part of shooting for Sultan. And no, it was not entering the ring to fight real-life wrestlers. Salman said, Wearing a langot (loincloth) was the most difficult thing for me in the movie. I can now understand how difficult it is for actresses to wear swimsuits and shorts. The actor spoke about the time when there were almost 5,000 people at the set cheering for him and screaming Bhai, Bhai, and how embarrassed he was to walk out wearing only a langot. He said, While I was walking to the shooting spot, there were tears in my eyes and I felt violated. You ask me to go shirtless or wear a short, I will never be ashamed. But wearing a langot was difficult. Throughout his career, Salman never shied away from taking his shirt off. But taking his pants off too was probably the real test. Well, hes done it! Also read: Salman Khans Eid releases: A blockbuster formula Salman Khan shares new look from Sultan From Esquire The sound of the sad trombone doth echo throughout the brainpans of Serious Conservative Thought Leaders these days. The Republican Party-the living embodiment of their hopes and dreams for nigh on 50 years, the vehicle through which they have brought the country the blessings of nearly untrammeled firepower, exploding fertilizer plants, and John Yoo-has been hijacked by a vulgar talking yam who is a much better con man than most of them ever thought of being. Now, as The Great Accommodation inevitably unfolds, every morning brings a new betrayal, every newscast brings another lash to their tender consciences. What's a fella to do? Well, if you're Michael Gerson, former word 'ho for the late Avignon Presidency, you take to the public prints and weep copious salty tears over the rotting corpse of the movement to which you sold your talents, and then you stand there, puzzled, as the rest of us collapse in helpless laughter. From The Washington Post: This is Trump on his best behavior, trying (once again) to act "presidential." A previous column I wrote-examining Trump's penchant for conspiracy thinking on issues from vaccination to the death of Antonin Scalia-appeared on the same day that Trump implicated Hillary Clinton in Foster's death. One challenge of detailing Trump's lunacy is the need for hourly updates. His allegation in the Foster case involved the exploitation of a personal tragedy, amounting to the mockery of a family's loss. It revealed a wide streak of cruelty. Poor little lamb. He is so verklempt over the whole business that he has forgotten the fact that, in the 1990s, the entire Washington Republican establishment-and every one of its plague of auxiliary operations around the country-was all in on every lunatic charge against the Clintons. There were congressional hearings (plural) into the alleged "fishiness" surrounding Foster's death. There were congressional hearings (plural) into the alleged "fishiness" surrounding Foster's death. It was why Congressman Dan Burton, then the chairman of a House committee, shot a melon in his backyard. The Foster episode is partly why Robert Fiske was removed (by establishment Republicans) as the first Whitewater special prosecutor, paving the way for the arrival of Ken Starr, enabler of alleged rapists at Baylor University. Fiske was pilloried over his conclusion that Foster had taken his own life by that noted fringe publication, The Wall Street Journal. Story continues We continue in the Post: And this meanness of spirit is also applied to some of the most vulnerable people in the world. Trump's mention of refugees was a subterfuge, but still a damaging one. To score his political point, Trump chose to heap disdain on a few people-vetted for years before arrival-who seek the protection of America after a terrible ordeal. Can you imagine, say, Ronald Reagan attacking women and children fleeing violence and oppression? They would more likely be used as an inspiring speech illustration. For Trump, the bully, a trickle of refugees is another chance to kick the weak. Lord above, is this all my bollocks. Prior to Donald Trump, it never occurred to a modern conservative Republican politician to heap disdain upon a small group of people. For example, in the years in which Gerson drew his weekly 30 pieces of silver from the worst administration ever, it never occurred to, say, Karl Rove to question the patriotism of his political enemies. Certainly, Saint Reagan never got mean to all those hippies who look like Tarzan, walk like Jane and smell like Cheetah. And he certainly did his damnedest to create violence, oppression, and refugees in Central America throughout his presidency. It's time for people like Gerson to take a good long nap, I'm thinking. Life has become too damn hard. Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page. 20% of consumers in China buy from e-commerce vendors abroad. While the retail firms growth momentum in China isnt exactly cheery due to new product launches and a general market slowdown, analysts still believe China may be a bright spot for the company. According to a report by UOB Kay Hian, Singapore brands an hold a premium in China amid increasing affluence of Chinese consumers and food safety concerns. A survey by McKinsey highlights nearly 20% of digital consumers in China buy from e-commerce vendors outside of China, where cross border shoppers prefer items that are either too expensive or too scarce domestically, the report said. Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian added that Super has also been gaining momentum on the ecommerce sales front and has expanded out of Jiangsu region to Chengdu as well as Wuhan. More From Singapore Business Review Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump openly frets that a serious third-party option this fall would likely hand the election to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. "Obviously, the independent or third party could not win, so the Democrats would have an absolutely free run," he declared in March, just as his campaign was catching fire. "Very simple. It guarantees 100 percent guarantees the election of the Democrat. That means the appointment of Supreme Court judges, three, four or five. That's a total wipeout for conservatives and for Republicans. Start thinking about that." Related: Why Californias Clinton-Sanders Primary May Not Be So Important After All However, even as former Republican governors Gary Johnson of New Mexico and William Weld of Massachusetts begin to gear up for a Libertarian Party presidential challenge, a new Quinnipiac University Poll suggests that a third-party bid might hurt Clinton as much or more than Trump. According to the new national survey released Wednesday, Clinton leads Trump, 45 percent to 41 percent, in a hypothetical matchup among Democratic and Republican voters. But Clintons lead shrinks to just 40 percent to 38 percent well within the polls margin of error when the Libertarian and Green Party candidates are added to the mix. Johnson, a former businessman who stressed concerns about the public debt and spending excesses during a previous Libertarian Party bid for president in 2012, garnered five percent of the national vote in the new Quinnipiac poll, while Jill Stein, the liberal Green Party nominee, picked up three percent. In the breakdown of the poll, Johnson drew four percent of the Republican vote, two percent of the Democratic vote and 10 percent of independents. Stein, a physician and two-time candidate for governor of Massachusetts, drew one percent of the Republican vote, three percent of Democrats and 7 percent of more liberal-leaning independents. Related: Some Democrats Pray for Clintons Indictment as Sanders Pushes On Story continues With both Trump and Clinton saddled with unprecedented unfavorability ratings approaching 60 percent, third-party candidacies that usually are ignored by the public during presidential campaigns suddenly are getting attention. Eighty percent of Americans surveyed by Quinnipiac said they had never heard of either Johnson or Stein, which highlights their challenge in drawing even modest support. But that could change. Johnson and Weld are both skilled and experienced politicians who hope to attract a sizeable fraction of the anti-Trump movement among disaffected Republicans and independents who are looking for an alternative. During the Libertarian Party convention in Orlando last weekend, Johnson described the billionaire businessmans immigration policies as "just racist," especially Trumps promise to deport 11 million undocumented people and to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Weld, who has enjoyed a long friendship with Hillary and Bill Clinton, stepped up the drum beat against Trump today during an interview on MSNBC. Weld said that Trumps ideas for rounding up and deporting millions of illegal immigrants reminds me of Ann Frank hiding in the attic during World War II. Related: We Now Know Hillary Lied Multiple Times About Her Email Server Its just not the tone I think is right for the United States, Weld said. Building a huge wall thats evocative of the most famous wall of the 20th Century -- the Berlin Wall which is a badge of shame and a stain on the Soviet Union and helped to bring the end of the Cold War. I think Mr. Trump is on the wrong side of history in these issues. The Green Party, which played a pivotal role in helping to elect Republican George W. Bush over former Democratic vice president Al Gore in 2000, is going after Clinton and the Democrats as much as Trump. In an interview this week with Salon, Stein described her campaign as plan B for Bernie Sanders and his supporters after Bernie gets wiped out by Clinton. Stein said that the Democratic Party talks the talk of income equality, national health care and Wall Street reform, but in fact it walks in exactly the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the Never Trump movement among Republican activists and intellectuals seeking to draft a credible challenger to the billionaire businessman appears to have come up short. Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, who has been heading the effort, struck out in trying to recruit a big name like Mitt Romney or freshman Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), among others. Related: Sanders Battles Barney Frank as Dems' Family Brawl Rolls On Over the Memorial Day weekend, Kristol tweeted a heads-up that an impressive candidate would soon emerge. But last night it was revealed that Kristol has in mind David French, a Tennessee lawyer who writes for National Review and who has never run for office. As The Washington Posts James Hohmann noted today, Kristol keeps striking out because no ambitious elected official wants to become a spoiler, remembered in the history books as the guy who tipped the election to Hillary Clinton. Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate who led the Green Party effort in 2000, is still living down his role in Gores defeat. University of Virginia political scientist Larry J. Sabato said today that it is far too early to assess the impact this year of a third-party challenge. Maybe some dissatisfied Sanders liberals go to the Green Party, and some unhappy conservatives go to Bill Kristol's candidate, he said in an email. But probably not many, overall. Sabato said that the Libertarians have the best chance to make an impact, but they've never gotten as much as two percent of the general election vote dating back to the 1970s. I have a hard time imagining them getting even upper single digits, he added. Still, Nader's 2.7 percent in 2000 switched the Presidency from Gore to Bush. So you just never know, and you don't get a good idea of the final impact of the other candidates until late October. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: With the U.K.s June 23 referendum on whether the country will exit the European Union, also dubbed Brexit, approaching, Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, is getting anxious. I think theres a lot of things to worry about. To me the biggest worry coming up near-term is the Brexit, the potential for the U.K. pulling out. That would really be a madhouse if it happened, Ross told the FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo. Ross also pointed out a twist in who is the most supportive of the exit from the EU. And whats strange about it, in Scotland it was the young people that wanted to break away from the U.K., young people idealist and patriotic and all that. In U.K., its the reverse, its the old people who want to pull out and the young people know there will be a half a million or so unemployed people if they break out, said Ross. In his opinion older people in the U.K. are committing financial suicide by supporting Brexit, according to Ross. More than 70% of the people over 45 years of age in U.K. own their own home. If you have half a million people laid off in the recession that would follow a British exit, those house prices will collapse and a house is usually the main asset that any family has Ross said. If the U.K. does vote to leave, Ross says there would be major complications in other regions of the world. There would be a domino effect, for sure the Scottish exit would come back up again, you know the Spaniards will have the problem with Catalonia, Germany, youll have all these extreme parties, Euro-skeptic parties, get together, Ross said. Ross then compared Britains potential exit to the previous concerns over a potential Greek exit from the EU. If you had a big country like U.K. pulling out, remember the EU was hysterical over the danger of Greece pulling out. Well Greece is a pimple compared to the U.K. To the degree the fears were at all justified for Greece, got to be ten times as dangerous with the U.K. said Ross. Related Articles Wiz Khalifa has filed a lawsuit against his former manager in an effort to terminate the 360 deal the then-up-and-coming Pittsburgh rapper signed in 2005. The suit, which accuses Rostrum Records and its founder Benjy Grinberg of profiting off "virtually every aspect of [Khalifa's] professional life" in the decade since the contract was signed, seeks $1 million plus punitive damages and legal fees. Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa: We Don't Give a F--k About Politics The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday and obtained by Rolling Stone, alleges that Grinberg steered Khalifa toward business opportunities that benefitted the manager more than the artist. This includes, according to the suit, Khalifa's one album-record deal with Warner Music that included five options for additional albums. Khalifa contends that his Warner deal expired with the release of his sixth LP Khalifa in February; the rapper ended Grinberg's tenure as personal manager in March 2014. "During the period that Grinberg and Rostrum acted as plaintiff's personal mangers [sic], they induced plaintiff to enter into a series of transactions in which Grinberg and Rostrum placed their own interests over those of plaintiff and failed to disclose to plaintiff material information necessary to obtain his informed consent for such transactions," the suit alleges. "An artist's most trusted advisor is his or her personal manager. Generally, nothing good comes out when the manager decides to go into business against his artist. Unfortunately, that is the case here," Khalifa's lawyer Alex Weingarten told Variety. In a statement, Grinberg said, "I was very disappointed and surprised by this news. To witness an artist turn on you after supporting them for a number of years is very disheartening, This is an egregious lawsuit filled with inaccuracies, yet unfortunately people sometimes resort to these practices as a way of conducting business." Story continues Grinberg, who also helped foster the career of Mac Miller, signed Khalifa to a 360 contract when the rapper was just 16. A year later, Khalifa released his debut LP Show and Prove through Rostrum. The album's credits lists Grinberg as the album's executive producer; according to Khalifa's suit, this was "commercial exploitation" in an effort to collect "an unknown amount of revenues and other ill-gotten gains" from the release. Grinberg received similar executive producer credits on 2009's Deal or No Deal, 2011's Rolling Papers and 2012's O.N.I.F.C. As part of the 360 deal, Khalifa's suit states that Rostrum Records would have a share of Khalifa's songwriting, touring and merchandise profits. Khalifa's suit also argues that the rapper can terminate that 360 agreement under the California Labor Code's seven-year rule. Related Wiz Khalifa is seeking a court declaration ending a so-called 360-deal as part of a lawsuit in which he contends that his former manager, Benjy Grinberg and his Rostrum Records, profited at his expense by self-dealing. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, contends that Grinberg and Rostrum acted as faithless fiduciaries in direct contravention of their obligations to him. An artists most trusted advisor is his or her personal manager. Generally, nothing good comes out when the manager decides to go into business against his artist. Unfortunately, that is the case here, said Alex Weingarten, Khalifas attorney at Venable LLP. His lawsuit claims that Grinberg and Rostrum induced him to enter into a series of transactions that amounted to self dealing. The lawsuit notes that Grinberg began representing Khalifa in 20o4, when the recording artist was just 16. His lawsuit contends that Grinberg and his label induced him to enter into a 360 agreement, which provided that Khalifa would be exclusive to Rostrum and Rostrum would share in his income streams as a songwriter and touring a merchandising. The lawsuit contends that with that contract and a series of amendments, Grinberg failed to disclose alternative arrangements that could be more beneficial to him, and instead tied him to an agreement that reached for more than a decade into virtually every aspect of his professional life. Khalifa dropped Grinberg and Rostrum as personal managers in 2014. He claims that he can end the 360 agreement under the California Labor Codes seven-year rule. In a statement, Grinberg said he was very disappointed and surprised by todays news. To witness an artist turn on you after supporting them for a number of years is very disheartening. This is an egregious lawsuit filled with inaccuracies, yet unfortunately people sometimes resort to these practices as a way of conducting business. Khalifa is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $1 million dollars, as well as punitive damages and attorneys fees. Story continues Related stories Wiz Khalifa Earns First No. 1 Album on U.S. Chart By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Dozens of miners who took part in a wildcat strike over the weekend at Sibanye Gold's Kroondal platinum mine may get fired, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Such a response to illegal union actions could raise tensions on the restive platinum belt. The union involved, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), has reacted to the firing of wildcat strikers in the past with stoppages and violence. "There is a real possibility that people could lose their jobs over this," CEO Neal Froneman told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a junior mining conference, referring to the weekend stoppage which ended on Monday. Disciplinary hearings still need to be held and Froneman said they would "be fair." AMCU officials were not immediately available for comment. A Sibanye spokesman said 80 to 100 jobs could be on the line after dozens of workers failed to heed the union's call and a court order to return to work by Monday evening. "In underground mining you cannot tolerate a loss of discipline ... We will not be bullied or intimidated by unions," said Froneman, a blunt-talking deal maker whose company recently acquired Kroondal from Aquarius Platinum. Kroondal is near the platinum town of Rustenburg west of Johannesburg, which has been the scene of often violent labour unrest in recent years, much of it rooted in a turf war between AMCU and the once unrivalled National Union of Mineworkers. "The platinum group metals industry is highly exposed to disruptions and companies cannot accept that," said Froneman. Froneman reiterated that he was on the hunt for new assets elsewhere in Africa in gold or platinum but said they would need to add value from the start. "So we are not looking at projects and they must be meaningful and producing at least 200,000 to 300,000 ounces per year," he said. (Editing by James Macharia/Ruth Pitchford) Patti Jo Peterson Managing editor Cass County American Legion Commander Mike Pauly issued a call for national unity in his Memorial Day speech May 30 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Plattsmouth. Pauly was the featured speaker and tackled the issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which so many young soldiers are returning with from their Middle East assignments. Most of us have heard the statistic that 22 veterans a day are committing suicide. It is a tragedy that our veterans would survive the horror of conflict only to die by their own hands in the land that they left to protect, Pauly said. The Veterans Administration is shouldering much of the blame for the suicides, Pauly said, but added that those claims are about treatment, not about the cause. Pauly noted people other than those in the military may suffer from PTSD. Imagine being one of the first police officers on the scene at Sandy Hook Elementary and having to step over the bodies of dead and dying children. What of the first responders at the Twin Towers on 9-11? he asked. World War II veterans also experienced atrocious situations and survived the horrors of the Bataan Death March, Pearl Harbor bombing, battle of Iwo Jima, D-Day landings on Normandy Beach and more. What is so different between then and now? Pauly rhetorically asked. Todays soldiers are not that different from those who fought in previous decades. Theyre young, eager, well-equipped and well-trained. For the most part, they have good leadership. They work as a close knit unit, each one relying on the other, Pauly said. Most of the men and women in combat units would die defending their comrades. Their exposure to combat today carries the same fears that it has always done. In fact, Pauly said, the intensity of combat has decreased since the Civil War. Yet there is three times the number of current veterans claiming disabilities than there were 50 years ago. Of particular note is that the majority of suicides that statistical 22 per day are Vietnam veterans. Theyre dying today, not 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. And then Pauly shared what he called another startling fact. There is no statistical connection between combat and suicide, he said. He cited the plight of the American Indians as an example. Why didnt the Indians, who endured unspeakable horrors, suffer from PTSD? Certainly Indians fought each other as well and they experienced combat. Yet when they returned to their respective villages, life went on as it had for a thousand years. There were no cluster suicides. Another study Pauly referred to showed wealthier American women are eight times more likely to commit suicide than Kenyan women in the poorest, most violent regions of Africa. The number conundrum goes on. About 10 percent of Americas military force served in active combat and a staggering 50 percent of those have filed for PTSD. Another 40 percent of veterans, who have not served in active combat, come home and experience the symptoms of PTSD. These troubled individuals are simply re-entering our society and expected to seamlessly meld back in, Pauly explained. Since before the United States was founded, armed conflict forced young men and women to witness acts of inhumanity. All of this is constant in America. So if all of this is constant what has changed? Pauly asked before answering his own question. Well, I believe that we have changed. After the Revolutionary War, soldiers returned home and began building the nation. Following the defeat of the Third Reich and Japan in World War II, veterans returned to a country again Unified in its fight for freedom and democracy. The problem with soldiers returning from world-wide conflicts today is not them. The root, the causes of this downward spiral is us, he said. We the people are creating a society where more and more of us are alienated and isolated. Civil discourse has become an oxymoron. Its rich versus poor, race versus race, gender versus gender, right versus left, religion versus religion, nationality versus nationality, and the list goes on. In the countrys history, many images exist that signify the times. Pauly referred to Emanuel Leutzes painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, as a metaphor for the Revolutionary War. For the Civil War you might choose Lincolns Gettysburg Address or maybe the movie adapted from Margaret Mitchells book, Gone with the Wind, he said. I think one of the famous images is Associated Press combat photographer Joe Rosenthals photograph of six U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Mount Surabachi in 1945. Pauly pondered over what image would represent the Middle East/Gulf Wars. Will the icons of these wars be images of Saddams statue being torn down? Perhaps the burning oil fields of Kuwait? How about a poster that simply says, 22 on it? He asked his audience of about 100 people at the Memorial Day services whether they would be happy with 22 as the new icon. What can we do? Pauly asked. I would recommend that we work to rebuild trust among ourselves, return respect to civil discourse and above all, decide what kind of America you want our veterans to come home to. Bear this in mind: Being great will not unite us because it is from our unity that we become great. Need I remind you of this? E Pluribus Unum? It is our national motto. Out of many, comes one. Let us strive to make the reason we come here on Memorial Day to remember those who have fallen for us, not because of us. canary The world's economic canary in the coal mine has flopped again. South Korean exports fell by 6.0% in May from a year earlier, according to Korea's latest export data. This is the 17th consecutive month in which exports have dropped. And while the data was an improvement from the 11.2% year-over-year drop in April, it was far worse than the 0.4% dip economists were expecting. Korean exports are often referred to as the world's economic canary in the coal mine, or a preview of what's to come, by economists both because of their heavy exposure to the US, China, and Japan, some of the world's biggest economies, and because the data comes out on the first day of each month. As such, they generally give a good taste of what has been happening in global trade activity in the month prior. Notably, a Morgan Stanley team led by Deyi Tan argued that the latest reading on Korean exports actually "saw some signs of stabilization in May at low levels, suggesting similar read-across for global trade activity." Screen Shot 2016 06 01 at 8.47.52 AM Last month, Deutsche Bank senior economist Juliana Lee argued that South Korean exports faced two major long-term problems: China's rise in industrial sophistication and increasing labor costs combined with falling export prices. "Needless to say, the combination of falling earnings and rising input costs bodes ill for Korea's manufacturing it is simply unsustainable, especially given China's rising industrial sophistication," she wrote in a note to clients. "They clearly point to Korea's need to improve its economic flexibility/adaptability to a changing global environment, to avoid a rather disruptive consolidation." world export share NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: How I dealt with stress when Greece nearly defaulted More From Business Insider LONDON (Reuters) - Shareholders should oppose the pay report at advertising firm WPP's (WPP.L) annual meeting, given the "excessive" pay of Chief Executive Martin Sorrell, leading advisory group PIRC said in a statement on Wednesday. Sorrell's total 2015 pay of 70.4 million pounds ($101.45 million) included variable pay that was 58 times his base salary of 1.2 million pounds, it said, which far exceeded an acceptable ratio of 200 percent of salary. The ratio between Sorrell's pay and that of the average WPP employee was "highly excessive" at 196 to 1, and well above the maximum acceptable ratio to PIRC of 20 to 1. In addition, PIRC said investors should oppose the reelection of Chairman Roberto Quarta as he was also chairman of Smith & Nephew and should focus on one FTSE 100 firm only, and reject the reelection of auditors Deloitte. WPP's annual general meeting is due to take place on June 8. (Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Maiya Keidan) By David DeKok HARRISBURG, Pa (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania judge ruled on Wednesday that former professional wrestler Jimmy Superfly Snuka was mentally incompetent to stand trial for murder in the 1983 death of his girlfriend in Allentown, his lawyer said. Snuka, 73, was ordered by Lehigh County Common Pleas Judge Kelly Banach to return in December for re-evaluation of his competency, Robert Kirwan II, the ex-wrestler's lawyer, said. Kirwan could not comment on the ruling because of a gag order from Banach. The Lehigh County District Attorneys office said it could not comment for the same reason. Snuka was charged in September with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the 1983 beating death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, 23, in a motel near Allentown. The case was revived after a 2013 investigation by the Morning Call newspaper in Allentown on the 30th anniversary of Argentinos death. An autopsy report unearthed by the newspaper suggested that the death was a homicide, not an accident. Snuka, a native of the Pacific island nation of Fiji, was a World Wrestling Federation star in the 1980s along with wrestlers Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant. His signature move was climbing to the top rope and diving onto an opponent's chest. During a competency hearing, Frank Dattilio, a Harvard University psychologist, testified that he had examined Snuka over a period of months and believed he suffered from severe dementia. Dattilio said he believed Snuka was not competent to help his lawyer with his defense and a trial would worsen his mental state. Prosecutors showed recent videos that appeared to show that Snuka was aware and competent and still able to compete in the ring. A prosecution psychiatrist, John OBrien, said he believed the former wrestler was faking dementia. The Morning Call reported that Banach denied a prosecution motion on Wednesday to have Snuka involuntarily committed to a mental facility for 60 days. She granted Snuka permission to leave the state to live with his son in Florida. (Editing by Ian Simpson and Leslie Adler) bray wyatt wrestlemania Via wwe network Back in April, Bray Wyatt suffered a calf injury on the very first night of the WWE European tour while wrestling Roman Reigns in Milan. This was, of course, terrible timing, since it came two nights after Wyatt appeared on the verge of a new major push and breakthrough as a world-conquering tweener, firing Roman Reigns-shaped bullets from an imaginary gun. Since his injury, the entire Wyatt Family (currently consisting of Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman, since Luke Harper is out of commission with a leg injury of his own) has been off WWE television, since it doesnt make sense to have a couple of directionless hillbillies wandering around. But fear not! Bray Wyatt is scheduled to return to WWE television next week, according to Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com. Related Links: Johnson says Wyatt is scheduled for next weeks set of TV tapings, so its unclear whether hell be at RAW, SmackDown, or both although RAW would certainly be the smart bet, given how WWE likes to handle things. Now its time to wantonly speculate on how Wyatt will return, whether hell have the entire Family in tow (probably) and what alignment hell have when he reappears. Will he be the seventh person in the Money in the Bank match? How would that affect the direction of the title picture as we prepare for the brand split? So many questions. Luckily, well have answers very, very soon. * Fidelity says Anbang working with regulator to secure nod * Anbang will be able to resubmit application- NY regulator (Adds Fidelity statement, share price reaction) By Suzanne Barlyn WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - China's Anbang Insurance Group has withdrawn its application for its planned acquisition of Fidelity & Guaranty Life after failing to provide information requested for processing the deal, New York state's financial services regulator said on Tuesday. Anbang will be able to resubmit its application if it provides the necessary information, the statement said. Privately owned Anbang agreed to buy U.S. annuities and life insurer Fidelity in November last year for $1.57 billion. Fidelity said in a statement earlier on Tuesday that Anbang was still working with the insurance regulator to secure regulatory approval and it expects to refile an application in the near future. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that New York regulators had sought more detailed information about Anbang's funding and shareholder structure. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the review have not been made public. Anbang could not be reached for immediate comment. Anbang has walked away from some deals previously. This year it dropped a planned $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.. Fidelity shares fell 3.3 percent on Tuesday. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in WASHINGTON; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs) Image via Young Thug Image via Young Thug So far, Young Thug has had a productive 2016, releasing the mixtapes Im Up and Slime Season 3, and now, hes back with a new song called Gangster Shit, which premiered on Beats 1 earlier tonight. Not much is known about the Wheezy Beats-produced track, which could potentially appear on his upcoming mixtape, I Came From Nothing 4, or his upcoming debut album, Hy!UN35. All signs point to either project being released in the near future: Thugger indicated in April that I Came From Nothing 4 is on the way soon, and he just finished a tour named after Hy!UN35. Listen to Gangster Shit below. More from Pigeons & Planes For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 01, 2016 Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Alphabet (GOOGL), Oracle (ORCL), Yahoo (YHOO), Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT). Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. Here are highlights from Tuesdays Analyst Blog: Technology Stock Roundup Last week, the jury gave Alphabet (GOOGL) a long-awaited win against Oracle (ORCL) even as AT&T started bidding for Yahoo (YHOO) and Apple ( AAPL) stores in India suffered a slight setback. Here are the top stories- Google Wins in Court Google and Oracle have been fighting it out for six years over Googles use of Java application programming interfaces (APIs) in Android. At first, the judge ruled that Java APIs could not be patented, a decision that was overturned on appeal with the case sent for retrial. The re-trial between Google and Oracle took about three weeks after which a jury of 10 unanimously voted that Googles dependence on Java APIs was fair use under law. As expected, Oracle said it would appeal. The question of APIs is highly sensitive because on the one hand, software developers cant build anything useful if they cant, without qualification, rely on another developers software stack. Interoperability is a must because discrete systems arent useful for consumers. On the other hand, companies building software need to be able to protect and commercialize their work in order to raise the funds for further development. In this case, it was ruled that Googles was fair use. The fact that the 11K lines copied amounted to just 0.0009% of Android helped. Google also pointed out that Oracle hadnt borne the risk and cost of creating and marketing Android, which is very different from the Java code used. It also said that Sun Microsystems, which owned Java at the time, was happy with Googles use of Java and didnt ask for licensing fees. There was no mention of Suns financial difficulties at the time, which made it impossible to get into legal duel with Google and forced it to sell out to Oracle. However, Oracle did exhibit emails wherein Google executives admitted that the inability to acquire the license from Sun could lead to legal trouble in the future. Story continues The use of APIs should probably not be deemed unfair unless such use makes it difficult for the owner to survive. For instance, if a Java-based OS couldnt survive in the market simply because of Androids clout and ecosystem or Googles willful attempt to stifle it (amounting to Googles attempt to destroy the source from which Android emerged), this would be unfair and Google should then be called on to pay up. Even AT&T Wants Yahoo Now Yahoo shares were highly volatile last week as news of the core selling for just $2-3 billion were made light of by CFO Ken Goldman. The CFO indicated that such leaks in the press should only be expected at this stage of the talks, which were progressing extremely well. Later, there were reports that AT&T had entered the bidding war after the digital advertising company YP Holdings (in which it has a stake) withdrew. With the next round of bidding about to commence this week, it has been reported that Verizon remains the front-runner and Microsoft ( MSFT), along with some private equity firms also remains in the race. India Stores Wont Be Easy for Apple Apple has high hopes for India and the CEO has done his bit visiting temples, fraternizing with film stars and meeting with the Prime Minister. These moves didnt soften the governments position on Apple retail stores in India. According to Indian law, total foreign ownership of a single-brand retail store is possible only when 30% of inputs are sourced from within the country. It was initially thought that the waiver for companies offering cutting-edge technology would apply to Apple. But Apples application on these grounds was rejected by the Finance Ministry. Other smartphone makers (local and foreign) also objected to Apples plans of selling refurbished iPhones saying it would hurt competition. Brand retailers like Apple offer empty calories, i.e., they sell products that bring limited benefit to the economy. So the government may not allow them. But all hope isnt lost because the Commerce Ministry hasnt objected to Apples stores and may take up the matter with the Finance Ministry. Further, Apple also has a Plan B: its manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron are reportedly looking to manufacture in India. Apple may also be able to sweeten the deal given the two software development centers recently inaugurated in Bangalore and Hyderabad. That said, there is no ban on selling iPhones in India. What Apple wants is to set up stores that will help to build the brand and this is where the problem appears to lie. So even if there are no Apple stores in the country right away, iPhone sales in India will likely continue to grow from the 50%+ rate in the last quarter. Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today. About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report ORACLE CORP (ORCL): Free Stock Analysis Report MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report YAHOO! INC (YHOO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 01, 2016 Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A), SeaDrill Ltd. (SDRL) and BP plc (BP). Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. Here are highlights from Tuesdays Analyst Blog: Oil & Gas Stock Roundup It was a week where oil prices briefly traded above the psychologically important $50 per barrel level for the first time since October though natural gas futures ended lower again. On the news front, shareholders at Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) voted down climate change proposals, while Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) announced plans to restart operations after the Fort McMurray fires in Canada. Overall, it was a mixed week for the sector. While West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 1.9% to close at $49.33 per barrel, natural gas prices fell 1.7% to $2.169 per million Btu (MMBtu). (See the last Oil & Gas Stock Roundup here: FMC Tech to Merge with Technip, Chevron Aims to Restart Gorgon .) Oil prices moved north for the seventh time in 8 weeks on supply disruptions in Nigeria, France, Venezuela and Canada. Things were further helped by the U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release that showed a large drop in crude stockpiles. Additional support came from a Baker Hughes report that showed another decline in oil-directed rigs, indicating a break in shale drilling activities. On the other hand, natural gas fared badly following a bearish inventory report. Meanwhile, predictions of mild temperatures across most parts of the country over the next two weeks will restrict the commoditys requirement for power burn. Story continues Recap of the Weeks Most Important Stories 1. U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil has been relieved of the tremendous pressure to implement climate change policies, after its shareholders narrowly voted the resolutions down. The policies, which necessitated limiting greenhouse gas emissions, reducing global warming, putting a climate expert on the board, reporting on fracking activities and even climate change impact assessments, were rejected at Exxon Mobils annual meeting. Notably, this is first time in the companys history that the climate-related proposals have received so much support. Initial results showed 38% support from Exxon Mobil investors that cast ballots. This is a sign that more conventional shareholders like pension funds, sovereign-wealth funds and asset managers are beginning to take the threat of a global warming from fossil fuels more seriously. (See More: Exxon Mobil Shareholders Reject Climate Change Resolutions .) 2. Suncor Energy announced that its operations, which were halted due to the massive Canadian wildfire, have resumed. The leading integrated player in Canada has restored its activities at its base plant and the MacKay River sites in Alberta. The initial production at the facilities will likely be started by this weekend. Almost 4,000 employees and contractors of the company have returned to the areas. In fact, an additional 3,500 people will likely return to the region to shore up operations. This announcement shows that the oil sands producers of Canada are gradually coming back to operations following the outage caused by the latest wildfire. 3. Europes largest energy firm, Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A), has decided to reduce its headcount further. This time, the company will eliminate a minimum of 2,200 jobs this year, of which 475 workers are attached to exploration and production activities in the U.K. and Ireland. Following this announcement, Shell is on the verge of slashing 5,000 jobs in 2016, while the total for 2015-16 will stand at 12,500. Energy companies around the world continue to slash jobs, defer/cancel projects worth billions of dollars and renegotiate contracts with suppliers to help protect their balance sheets and cope with lower for longer oil. The contentious takeover of BG Group and integration of its business also contributed to the decision. (See More: Shell to Slash 2,200 More Jobs Amid Prolonged Oil Rout .) 4. Offshore contract driller SeaDrill Ltd. (SDRL) reported weak first-quarter 2016 results owing to underperformances by Jack-up Rigs and Floaters. This was partially offset by decreasing operating expenses. Net operating income for the Jack-up Rigs segment plummeted from the first-quarter 2015 figure of $325 million to $86 million, while for Floaters the net operating profit came in at $237 million, significantly below the prior-year quarter figure of $376 million. SeaDrill incurred operating expenses of $568 million in the reported quarter, reflecting a significant decline from the year-ago quarter figure of $731 million. The company projects second-quarter 2016 operating income of almost $510 million, which is less than the first-quarter level of $528 million. (See More: SeaDrill Posts Weak Earnings in Q1, Revenues Lag .) 5. British oil and gas finder BP plc (BP) has commenced a major water injection project at its Thunder Horse platform, one of the biggest deepwater fields in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Located in a water depth of 6,000 feet, the Thunder Horse platform commenced production in Jun 2008. BP has revamped the platforms existing topsides and subsea equipment over the last three years alongside drilling two water injection wells at the site. Water is expected to be injected into the reservoir from these wells to enhance pressure and augment production. Moving ahead, these developments are anticipated to help the Thunder Horse facility recover an extra 65 million barrels of oil equivalent. Thus, the water injection project will extend the production life of the platform. Out of the five major upstream projects in 2016 that BP expects to commission, the aforesaid project is the second. BP intends to add new production of about 800,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day worldwide from projects commissioned between 2015 and 2020. Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today. About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report ROYAL DTCH SH-A (RDS.A): Free Stock Analysis Report SUNCOR ENERGY (SU): Free Stock Analysis Report SEADRILL LTD (SDRL): Free Stock Analysis Report BP PLC (BP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Patti Jo Peterson Managing editor First Lutheran Church in Plattsmouth is proving its faith by tackling one of the toughest issues today: how to provide help for caregivers of Alzheimers sufferers and disability diseases. First Lutheran Church Pastor Lloyd Stuhr teamed with Dorothy Heye and Pat Billings to implement programs to help caregivers in the area. In August 2015, they started the Alzheimers Caregivers Support Group, which meets 6-7:30 p.m. the second Tuesday every month in the small chapel in the church, 1025 Ave. D. Its open to anybody and everybody, Heye, the groups facilitator, stressed. Its not disease specific but there is an emphasis on Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease. The meeting usually includes a guest speaker who talks about medical and legal aspects of care-giving as well as general information. Caregivers share their concerns with each other. We average 25 people once a month and its all free, Heye explained. Heye said they actually started the group three years ago. We had a number in our church who were dealing with Alzheimers, Stuhr said. I was also dealing with my wifes nine-month battle with cancer. Pastor is always looking for ways to help the community, Heye added. Unfortunately, some of the people first interested in maintaining the program moved out of town, so it didnt get into full swing until 2015. As fate would have it, Billings and Heye met while taking exercise classes at the Plattsmouth Senior Nutrition Center. After the church announced the start of its Alzheimers Support Group, Billings approached Heye about adding Powerful Tools for Caregivers, a set of classes, based on clinical studies, to help caregivers. Billings is a master trainer for the classes. It is evidence based, Billings said. Its tried and true and works with the caregivers to learn to take care of themselves. Many lose their life and health taking care of others. This program has tools to walk them through the different emotions. In the class they feel safe to talk about things. They find comfort in coming to the classes, Heye added. Powerful Tools for Caregivers facilitators are trained and certified to help caregivers through didactic lessons, modeling, cognitive restructuring, brainstorming and other interactive experiences. They are licensed through Stanford University. Class leaders are discouraged from being perceived as experts and participate in many of the learning activities themselves, information about the classes states. Caregivers complete pre-and post-evaluations about the classes. Participants who complete at least five of the classes indicate they have experienced: An improvement in self-care behaviors, including exercise and use of relaxation techniques An increase in ability to manage difficult emotions including anger, guilt and depression An increase in self-efficacy in coping with care-giving demands A reduction in personal stress A higher level of self-confidence An increase in knowledge of community resources and services Although the first Power Tools for Caregivers session is already full and begins June 8, Billings said a second session will be scheduled. The sessions are limited to 10-12 participants. During the first session, First Lutheran Church and Waterford on the Woodbridge have agreed to provide two meals each, because sessions begin at 5:30 and last until 8 p.m. Having the meetings and Power Tools for Caregivers sessions in Plattsmouth is key to each of the programs success. People know they can come to a safe place and they know where to park, Billings said. Anyone interested in participating in the Alzheimers Support Group may call 402.216.3388 for more information. Those interested in the next session of Power Tools for Caregivers should email toolsforcaregivers@cox.net or call 402.306.6055. For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 01, 2016 Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL), KB Home (KBH), Installed Building Products, Inc. (IBP), Dycom Industries, Inc. (DY) and Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX). Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. Here are highlights from Tuesdays Analyst Blog: 3 Construction Stocks to Buy as Housing Market Strengthens This spring selling season the housing market fared much better than it had in the past years. Despite a weak start amid equity market volatility and global concerns, the construction sector seems to have recovered on the back of strong housing fundamentals. Positives like an improving economy, rising wages, favorable job outlook and a tight supply situation raise optimism about the sectors performance for the rest of 2016. This optimism is backed by the recently released housing data. New home sales soared in April per data released on May 24 - way ahead of market expectations. Sales of new single-family homes rose 16.6%in April on the back of strong housing demand and traffic. Moreover, existing home sales rose for the second straight month in April, per data released by the National Association of Realtors on May 20. U.S. housing starts rose 6.6% from a revised March number to an annual rate of 1,172,000 in April, surpassing market expectations. The number of building permits a gauge of future construction rose 3.6% in April, according to data released on May 17. And to top it all, Q1 performance across the broader construction sector was more or less better than expected. Most of the homebuilding companies, including Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) and KB Home (KBH) exceeded market expectations and remain optimistic that the growth momentum will sustain through the rest of the year. Story continues This increase in home construction not only benefits homebuilders but also spurs demand for homebuilding materials, home decoration products and other related businesses. This, in turn, boosts the growth prospects of companies manufacturing these products. Stocks for Your Portfolio With the housing sector gaining momentum, it makes sense to pick stocks from this space. Therefore, here we have picked three stocks from the wider construction sector based on a favorable Zacks Rank and an attractive VGM score . In VGM, V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM score. Installed Building Products, Inc. (IBP) operates as a residential insulation installer in the U.S. Installed Building Products has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a VGM Score of B. Its earnings estimate for the current year has risen 9.6% over the last 30 days. The company has gained about 20% over the month of May. Installed Building Products reported strong first quarter 2016 results on May 5, beating market expectations for both earnings per share and revenue. The better-than-expected results in the first quarter of 2016 were driven by benefits derived from the companys recent acquisitions and higher rate of housing completion. Dycom Industries, Inc. (DY) provides diverse services such as engineering, construction, maintenance and installation for cable and telephone companies. Dycom has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. Its earnings estimate for the current year has gone up by 5.9% over the last 30 days. The company has gained about 17.0% over the month of May. Dycom reported robust fiscal third quarter 2016 results on May 24, crushing markets expectations on both counts. The strong quarterly results were driven by stellar top-line growth and favorable industry trends. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX) provides comprehensive heating, ventilation and air conditioning installation, maintenance, repair and replacement services. The company has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. Its earnings estimates for the current year increased 7.7% over the last 30 days. The company has gained about 1% over the month of May. Comfort Systems reported strong earnings per share in the first quarter of 2016 on Apr 27. The quarter was also marked by solid bookings and positive cash flow. The company is optimistic about the upcoming quarters of 2016 and beyond. Conclusion With the rise in demand for homes in 2016, manufacturers of homebuilding products such as the ones discussed above are poised to benefit. Despite the obvious headwinds, there is a strong possibility that these companies will continue to perform well in the near term. 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 >> Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today. About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report TOLL BROTHERS (TOL): Free Stock Analysis Report KB HOME (KBH): Free Stock Analysis Report INSTALLED BUILD (IBP): Free Stock Analysis Report DYCOM INDS (DY): Free Stock Analysis Report COMFORT SYSTEMS (FIX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. New York-based specialty distributor Zeitgeist Films has acquired theatrical U.S. rights to potentially hot button docu Theo Who Lived, about American journalist Theo Padnos who was kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Syria and held captive for nearly two years in a series of prisons. Directed by U.S. documaker and producer David Schisgall known for prostitution-themed Very Young Girls and for The Lifestyle: Group Sex in the Suburbs Theo features Padnos returning to the Middle East where he retraces the physical and emotional steps of his harrowing journey, according to a statement from Zeitgeist. Padnos (pictured) spoke fluent Arabic and was thus thought by his captors to be a CIA operative after he slipped into Syria to report on the countrys civil war. He was kidnapped in October 2012. He has written a first-person account of his experience published in a The New York Times Magazine cover story which appeared in October 2014, shortly after his release. The docu, produced by Amanda Branson Gill (The Unknown Known), is said to describe how Padnos fluency, coupled with his remarkable personal expansiveness, also led to an extraordinary engagement with, and understanding of, his captors. By the time of his release, twenty-two months later, Padnos had become a confidante of Al Qaedas top commander in Syria. This is something he also describes in the New York Times piece. Theo will have its U.S. theatrical premiere via Zeitgeist on September 30 at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York, followed by a nationwide release to select cities. Zeitgeists current theatrical releases include New York filmmaker Van Neistats A Space Program, about a playful simulation of a voyage to Mars by the artist Tom Sachs, and Ada Ushpiz-directed docu Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt, about the German-born political philosopher who coined the phrase the banality of evil. The Theo Who Lived deal was negotiated by Emily Russo, Co-President of Zeitgeist Films and Andrew Herwitz, President of The Film Sales Company. Story continues Related stories Zeitgeist Films Will Release Timely 'Every Last Child' Docu In U.S. Cinemas (EXCLUSIVE) Christopher Nolan's Syncopy Teaming With Zeitgeist on Blu-ray Releases (EXCLUSIVE) Berlin: Zeitgeist Books India's 'Court' for U.S. Release Zhaos Lego re-creation of Zootopia fox Nick Wilde, pre-destruction (All images: Weibo) The age-old maxim that its hard to build but easy to destroy was proven yet again this past weekend all thanks to a young boys reckless love of Zootopia. As reported by The Shanghaiist, an intrepid artist named Zhao recently spent three days constructing a large statue of Zootopias con-artist fox Nick Wilde out of Lego blocks for display at a shopping mall in Ningbo, China. Zhao took photos to document the construction of this replica (which reportedly required thousands of dollars worth of Lego materials). However, mere hours after its public debut, disaster struck when a young boy bypassed a velvet-rope barrier and knocked the entire thing down, in the process just about completely ruining Zhaos creation (only one-third of which was held together with glue). Apparently, the childs parents apologized for their sons careless behavior. For his part, Zhao has refused to accept any reimbursement for the damage caused to his Disney-inspired handiwork, which lives on in the above photos. Kids you cant take them anywhere. Zootopia: Watch a trailer: Afrika Bambaataa Getty Image Well, this is an abrupt about-face. After initially defending Afrika Bambaataa against sexual abuse allegations in April, the Universal Zulu Nation is now apologizing to the alleged victims. We extend our deepest and most sincere apologies to the many people who have been hurt by the actions of Afrika Bambaataa and the subsequent poor response of our organization to allegations leveled against him, said the statement released to the New York Daily News. It was reportedly signed by nearly three dozen Zulu Nation leaders representing chapters across the United States and around the globe. Related Links: The Zulu Nation has already cut ties with Bambaataa, but this statement takes it one step further and perhaps even shows a schism within the organization. According to Zulu King EL One, the groups coordinator for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, its the older members who issued the earlier statements as most of them are friends with Afrika. The younger members, like himself, are more inclined to believe the allegations or at least not dismiss them outright. Most of the membership would like to hear what the victims have to say, said Zulu King EL One. The UZN was already in a tough spot, but theyre doing the right thing by trying to have a dialogue. These are serious allegations being thrown at their former member and it would behoove them to at least give the appearance of a proactive organization being willing to investigate, even if hes no longer a part of the group. The sooner this situation gets dealt with, the better, as it has to be a nightmare for everyone involved. (Via The New York Daily News) The Universal Zulu Nation has issued a new open letter apologizing to the alleged victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by their founder Afrika Bambaataa. The organization also apologized to Ronald "Bee Stinger" Savage and Hassan "Poppy" Campbell, two Bambaataa accusers who were "subjected to unjust and inexcusable attacks on their characters in official statements by our organization when they chose to speak their truths we hear you, we believe you, and we stand with you." Afrika Bambaataa: Sexual Abuse Claim 'Baseless and Cowardly' "On behalf of the members of the Universal Zulu Nation worldwide, who have made their voices heard through their chapter leaders, we extend our deepest and most sincere apologies to the many people who have been hurt by the actions of Afrika Bambaataa and the subsequent poor response of our organization to allegations leveled against him," the Zulu Nation said in a statement signed by dozens of UZN chapter leaders worldwide. "To the survivors of apparent sexual molestation by Bambaataa, both those who have come forward and others who have not, we are sorry for what you endured and extend our thanks to those who have spoken out for your bravery in bringing to light that which most of us were sadly unaware of, and others chose not to disclose." Bambaataa has denied all accusations against him, calling Savage's claims "baseless" and a "cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy." "I, Afrika Bambaataa, want to take this opportunity at the advice of my legal counsel to personally deny any and all allegations of any type of sexual molestation of anyone," the Planet Rock rapper said in April after Savage's claims were first published; since then, more former UZN members, including Campbell, have stepped forward to accuse the hip-hop pioneer of abuse. Bambaataa's lawyer, Charles Tucker Jr., called the allegations "meritless" in a new statement to Rolling Stone and said the letter represents an "attempt at legitimacy" for the organization. "We cannot explain or ponder why some from Zulu Nation who clearly [do] not know Afrika Bambaataa put out this statement," Tucker says via e-mail. "Those who truly are in the know and know that the allegations still are meritless at best as attempts from some of the alleged victims for payoffs continue to come to light. There clearly is a power struggle within the organization and this appears to be an attempt at legitimacy. Story continues "For those who are truly members of the organization and all it has stood for and continues to stand for the truth is quite clear; all these attempts to try and create truth have failed," Tucker continues. "To this day, Afrika Bambaataa continues to get support from around the world asking him to continue his work of combating violence worldwide and bringing a solution to real problems and real victims of violence. This is a fact that can't be disputed or distorted and this support which continues even today speaks louder than any letter." In early May, the Universal Zulu Nation disassociated themselves from Bambaataa as part of an organizational restructuring that saw the group removing "all accused parties and those accused of covering up the current allegations of child molestation" from their current roles in the organization. However, the statement did not mention Bambaataa by name, nor did it apologize to the alleged victims of their founder. "As an organization we are in a very difficult position because we are being asked to condemn one of our founders based on testimony through social media alone. We cannot do this," the Zulu Nation said at the time. However, with their new statement and firm apologies to Savage and Campbell, it is clear the organization has reconsidered its stance. Zulu King EL One, the group's coordinator for the New York tri-state area, told the New York Daily News that the initial May statement and earlier denials regarding Bambaataa's misconduct were made by older members of the Zulu Nation who were friends with the DJ. With new leadership in place since the restructuring, members have since accepted that Savage's accusations are credible. "I think the letter is sincere but it's too little too late," Savage told the Daily News following the Zulu Nation's latest statement. "They should have done this in the beginning instead of disrespecting me and the Daily News." Related (image: David Ramos/Getty Images) Facebook is planning to introduce optional end-to-end encryption for its popular Messenger app, according to a new report from The Guardian. The change would mean that if the user decides to switch encryption on for a message thread, the messages would be encoded in a way that makes them indecipherable to anyone who isnt either the sender or the messages intended recipient including Facebook itself and law enforcement. Its reportedly due to launch in the coming months. Facebook hasnt officially confirmed its encryption plans, with The Guardians report based off three anonymous sources close to the project. A Facebook spokesman told Business Insider: We dont comment on rumour or speculation. The move would not be totally surprising, given the tech industrys increasing focus on security amid a broad debate over consumer use of encryption and the challenges it presents. Apple was one of the earlier big tech companies to bring strong encryption to consumers. Its iMessage messaging service is end-to-end encrypted, meaning the company cant scan your communications, and [it] wouldnt be able to comply with a wiretap order even if [it] wanted to. (And Apple devices running iOS 8 and onwards also have full-disk encryption, preventing Apple or anyone else from accessing the data saved on a device without the correct passcode.) At the start of April 2016, WhatsApp the wildly popular messaging app owned by Facebook turned on end-to-end encryption for its more than one billion users. Building secure products actually makes for a safer world, (though) many people in law enforcement may not agree with that, cofounder Brian Acton told Wired at the time of the announcement. Even Google is now at it. The Californian search and mobile announced a new chat app called Allo at its I/O conference in May. Allo also comes with end-to-end encryption, but users have to choose to switch it on for specific chats, as using it means the sophisticated AI that differentiates the app can no longer work. Story continues In short: By not having encryption, Facebook Messenger is behind the times. Like Googles Allo, Facebook Messengers encryption will be opt-in. Facebook is increasingly emphasising the utility of automated bots in Messenger but if end-to-end encryption were enabled for all conversations, these bots wouldnt be able to function. So adding encryption as an optional extra placates users who are looking for additional security, and helps Messenger keep up with its competitors, while not hampering intended functionality for the majority. But the move once official may draw the ire of some in law enforcement, who have grown exasperated and angry over the consumer technology industrys widespread adoption of encryption. When Apple first introduced default-on full-disk encryption, it was accused of being the phone of choice for the pedophile, with law enforcement worrying that the encryption will make it harder to gather vital evidence from once-unlocked smartphones. But the tech companies and privacy advocates counter that strong encryption is vital to safeguard users privacy, and to protect their data from hackers. More from Tech Insider: JERUSALEM (Reuters) - IBM said on Wednesday it will acquire EZSource, an Israel-based application discovery company, to help developers modernise mainframe applications for digital business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. IBM, which has made 13 other acquisitions of Israeli companies since 1998, said the planned purchase is expected to close in the second quarter subject to completion of governmental review. It noted that applications can be made up of hundreds of thousands of lines of code and updating the code may take weeks. EZSource, it said, provides a visual dashboard to show developers which applications have changed to ease the modernization process. EZSource was founded in 2003 and has offices in Israel, the United States, UK, Switzerland, Japan and Romania. Its clients include ING Life, Maybank and 7-Eleven. IBM's last acquisition in Israel was Trusteer in 2013, for which it paid more than $600 million. (Reporting by Steven Scheer) First Lutheran Church, with support from the Health Cabinet, will host an American Red Cross Bloodmobile from 7:30 a.m. to noon Sunday in the church fellowship hall. An appointment to donate blood can be made by calling Lucy at 402-478-5406, Judi at 402-727-1405 or Colleen at 402-721-0463. Appointments also can be made online at www.redcrossblood.org. All types of blood are needed, but the Red Cross has issued a special plea for type O negative donors. O negative blood can be given to anyone and is especially important during emergency situations. P vacy is dead or at least, it will be soon. That's the conviction held by Russian entrepreneurs Artem Kukharenko and Alexander Kabakov, whose startup, , recently launched a facial recognition app that nearly obliterates the concept of anonymity. Called FindFace, the app has remained exclusive to Russia since going live earlier this year. Soon, though, Kuhkarenko and Kabakov are introducing a cloud-based platform that makes their frighteningly accurate algorithm available to everyone, the pair said in a Skype interview in May. FindFace indexes photos from V, Russia's Facebook equivalent, matching them to uploaded photos with 70% accuracy, according to Kukharenko and Kabakov. In a practical sense, what this means is that none of us is safe from an always-probing public eye. "In 10 or 20 years, there won't be a place on the earth [where] ... nobody [can] see you," Kabakov said over Skype. This is because cameras come attached to pretty much every gadget available phones, laptops, televisions, refrigerators and because our digital fingerprints are all over each of our social media interactions. A Your face is #bigdata http://okt.to/F37S8I #privacypic.twitter.com/03fSuqVqVB https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjVCn7EUYAAAySq.jpg:large How FindFace works It seems people are all too eager to test-drive the technology themselves. In an emailed statement from April, , but the Guardian more recently reported that the number had surged to 500,000. Something like 46 million people use VK every day, while 100 million active profiles exist on the site. That's compared to Facebook's 1.09 billion active users in March 2016 alone, and 989 million daily users. According to the Guardian, FindFace can't index Facebook photos because they're stored more securely than are VK photos. But theoretically, any public images are free search game. Story continues In 2015, NTechLab won the MegaFace challenge at the University of Washington, its facial recognition algorithm besting Google in terms of accuracy. NTech then launched that algorithm as FindFace, According to Kukharenko and Kabakov, that photo would be compared to a pool of 300 million pictures within VK's database, which the algorithm indexes almost immediately on just five servers. It's basically a search engine for faces. So if, for example, you spied an alluring beauty lurking by the train doors during your morning commute, you could sneakily snap her photo on your phone and feed it to FindFace. The app would furnish about 10 VK profiles of individuals who look like the stranger, which means you'd have access to these individuals' names and contact information. If the stranger you're seeking isn't on VK, FindFace will still show those 10 similar-looking individuals in what is essentially the human version of Netflix's "recommended for you" section. What FindFace means Hear that? It's the sound of . Many of the possibilities this hyper-accurate facial recognition software introduces are undeniably creepy, especially in a romantic context. But the inventors claim that FindFace isn't a dating app, per se. Rather, they said it serves to display "the power of our technology," which they see as being more useful for public safety. Some 10 police departments, they said, have written in to say FindFace had allowed them to obtain long-sought-after perps and solve cases. Kukharenko and Kabakov, who believe FindFace holds promise for airports, public transportation, border control and other broad-scale security initiatives. The pair said they have been approached by international government agencies and are currently in talks with Moscow authorities who are seeking to employ their technology in 150,000 surveillance cameras around the city. Kukharenko and Kabakov also spoke at length about FindFace's potential to revolutionize the retail experience both in-person and online. A customer enters a store, the security cameras capture their face and, Kabakov explains, "you can see every, any statistic about your customers in real time." Immediate access to all conceivable consumer data would help companies to devise better loyalty programs and connect with customers in unprecedented ways. In theory, all the above sounds anywhere between fine and great but do more aggressive rewards programs or more effective police surveillance systems justify the end of privacy? Check out FindFace - Russia's new facial recognition app http://bit.ly/1WSfUfp https://amp.twimg.com/v/5dd17c5b-38f5-4103-8964-2c264a2209b7 ... Can't fight progress The app's creators maintain that no one can or should stop the forward march of technology. Facial recognition software isn't confined to Russia: Facebook has a program called DeepFace, which the company hopes will be able to recognize a face with "human-level" accuracy, and North American retailers are already experimenting with precisely the kind of customer tracking Kukharenko and Kabakov describe. And then, the pair have plans to launch a cloud-based FindFace platform this summer, which they said could be used by "any company, all companies" for their facial recognition purposes. The FindFace creators suggest that users who don't want their faces found can "set their permissions to private," but as Jonathan Frankle, staff technologist at Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology, pointed out in a recent Atlantic op-ed, the only way a VK user can make their profile picture private is to block a specific user. Making one's face unsearchable, then, means just not having a VK profile. As long as the technology remains within the realm of VK, that is. But as cameras become ubiquitous, Technology like FindFace, Kabakov said, might make for a world in which people are more conscientious because they know they're being watched. It's easy to see where it could just as easily make for a world in which harassment is rampant because anonymity is obsolete, no longer a right. We'll find out either way, because as the pair stressed, this future is inevitable. "Prepare for the things you do to be public," Kabakov said. Recently, Mexico's Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) has confirmed that it will announce the names of the winners of its 700 MHz nationwide shared broadband network on Sep 29, 2016. The SCT was initially slated to declare the tender winners on Aug 24. The SCT cited the number of tenders and the complexity of queries and requests for clarification submitted by the bidders as the primary reason for the delay. In 2014, the Mexican government had undertaken a massive project of shared wireless network to instil competition in the highly monopolistic telecom industry. The idea was to facilitate small-scale telecom operators to use this state-owned network for their wireless coverage instead of installing their own network, which tends to be a highly capital intensive process. However, in May 2015, the government of Mexico slashed its planned expenditure from $10 billion to $7 billion for the proposed deployment of the nationwide wholesale mobile network over the next 20 years. The primary reason for the cut in planned expenditure was the governments belief that 12,000 mobile towers should suffice for the installation of this network as against 20,000 estimated earlier. The SCT opened the tender for the proposed wholesale shared mobile network project as early as Mar 2015. However, the auction finally materialized on Jan 29, 2016. The SCT has decided to auction at least 90 MHz of spectrum within the 700 MHz-band to cover nearly 98% of the population by 2018. Various leading telecom infrastructure equipment developers with global operational experience offered bids for the state-owned mobile network project. Notable among them were Ericsson AB ERIC, Nokia Corp. NOK, Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO, Motorola Solutions Inc. MSI, China Telecom Corp. Ltd. CHA, Alestra, and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. The SCT received 39 tenders from interested parties. Mexico is the largest economy in the Latin American region with a growing middle class population eager to spend more on high-speed wireless networks to facilitate the use of smartphones and tablets. Also, the wireless penetration rate is relatively low in the country. Given the potential for growth, an investment in the nation may bode well for telecom network equipment manufacturers. 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 CISCO SYSTEMS (CSCO): Free Stock Analysis Report ERICSSON LM ADR (ERIC): Free Stock Analysis Report NOKIA CP-ADR A (NOK): Free Stock Analysis Report CHINA TELCM-ADR (CHA): Free Stock Analysis Report MOTOROLA SOLUTN (MSI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Microsoft Corporation MSFT announced a deal with Xiaomi on Wednesday per which it will sell 1500 of its patents to the Chinese smartphone maker. As a part of this deal Xiaomi will install Office, Skype and other Microsoft software on its phones and tablets. The financial terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed. We note that the deal is important for Xiaomi as it will now ease out its efforts toward acquiring intellectual property required to sell devices outside China. Weak patent protection was hampering Xiaomis efforts to expand beyond China. Lower phone shipments further compounded its woes. Xiaomi phone shipments reportedly dropped 9% in the first quarter in China while its market share was down to 12% from 13%. The company faces tough competition from giants like Samsung and Huawei as well as from smaller competitors like Vivo and Oppo. Wang Xiang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, stated, "This is a very big collaboration agreement between the two companies." According to Xiang, the acquisition of Microsoft multimedia, voice communications and cloud computing patents provides a strong support to the companys international expansion efforts. As far as Microsoft is concerned, it appears that the company is eyeing a long-term partnership with the smartphone maker that would help it to attract Xiaomis affluent and educated users with its pre-installed products. Microsoft needs to get its productivity and collaboration software into as many devices as possible because this will help its cloud strategy. Currently, Microsoft is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are CommVault Systems, Inc. CVLT Netgear Inc. NTGR and Radcom Ltd. RDCM, each sporting 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 NETGEAR INC (NTGR): Free Stock Analysis Report MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report COMMVAULT SYSTM (CVLT): Free Stock Analysis Report RADCOM LTD (RDCM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Microsoft announced that Windows software is being opened to partners interested in building devices for "mixed reality" experiences (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour) (AFP/File) San Francisco (AFP) - Microsoft is out to use Windows software to do for altered reality what it did for personal computers: make them commonplace. The US technology giant on Wednesday announced that Windows software already powering a wide range of devices including HoloLens augmented reality headgear is being opened to partners interested in building devices for "mixed reality" experiences. Devices built on the Windows platform will be interoperable, meaning that someone wearing HTC Vive virtual reality gear would be able to virtually visit and collaborate with someone using HoloLens virtual reality goggles, Microsoft executives told AFP. The list of partners already working with Microsoft included HTC, Lenovo, Asus, and HP. Microsoft said it built HoloLens to showcase the potential for the technology, which is based on the same Windows operating system that powers computers, smartphones, Xbox consoles and more. Sharing the Windows platform will mean that augmented or virtual reality gear from various manufacturers will be able to work with one another, the same way Windows computers do. "We are bringing the software that lights up HoloLens to the entire ecosystem of mixed reality devices - and inviting partners to join us in this platform," Microsoft spokesman Greg Sullivan told AFP. - Walk on Mars - While virtual reality devices such as those from Facebook-owned Oculus and Sony's PlayStation unit immerse users in fantasy worlds, HoloLens "augments" reality by overlaying holograms on the real world in view. HoloLens lets users interact with virtual objects using hand gestures. Microsoft would not disclose details regarding how it will make money from the move. But it is expected to pursue the kinds of licensing deals it negotiates with companies that make Windows-powered computers. Creating a common platform for a wide range of companies to create and market mixed reality gear promises to bring down prices for altered reality gear while enriching variety in the marketplace. Story continues Microsoft in March began its first shipments of its HoloLens to application developers, staking its place in what is expected to be an emerging computing platform. At a recent Microsoft Build developers' conference, the company showed some of the possibilities for HoloLens -- such as giving users a view of Mars that up to now could only be seen by space vehicles, and an inside view of the brain by medical specialists aiming to deal with a cerebral tumor. Aiming to encourage new applications for the device, Microsoft noted that developers can create "new mixed reality" with holograms to enable users to see and experience things in new ways. The holographic capabilities in the Microsoft gear can open doors for developers to augment tasks from complex surgery to motorcycle design, according to the company. Marketers predict virtual headsets will soon top wish lists for kids and young adults from Silicon Valley to Hong Kong. But some analysts say virtual reality will be eclipsed by augmented reality within a few years. BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO members will likely agree during a summit meeting in Warsaw next month to designate cyber as an official operational domain of warfare, along with air, sea, land and space, a senior German defence ministry official said Wednesday. Major General Ludwig Leinhos, who heads the German military's effort to build up a separate cyber command, told a conference at the Berlin air show that he expected all 28 NATO members to agree to the change during the coming Warsaw summit. Leinhos, who previously held a senior job at NATO headquarters, said he also expected NATO members to agree to intensify their efforts in the cyber security arena. The United States announced in 2011 that it viewed cyberspace as an operational domain of war, and said it would respond to hostile attacks in cyberspace as it would to any other threat. Evert Dudok, a senior official with Europe's largest aerospace company Airbus Group SE, called for adoption of Europe-wide or global standards in the cyber arena. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f102214%2f8482fa235def4ad6903e8163e12726c4 A website registered in North Korea appeared on the Internet Friday. It was a social network that looked almost exactly like Facebook: a blue and white color scheme, a newsfeed, the ability to add friends, post statuses, like, comment and share. After the news hit that the site existed, Motherboard reported that the site had been hacked by an 18-year-old college student from Scotland. SEE ALSO: North Korea officially blocks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube After checking out the site, Andrew McKean clicked the "Admin" link at the bottom which brought up a login page. From there he guessed the username and password pretty easily: "admin" and "password." From there, he had full control of the website. McKean told Motherboard he could "delete and suspend users, change the sites name, censor certain words and manage the eventual ads, and see everyones emails." The hack was spotted because McKean changed one of the sponsored ad spots on the page to say "Uh, i didn't create this site just found the login.. @mckeany_" McKean also renamed the website to "Best Korea's Social Network." The website is currently unaccessible, and it's unknown whether McKean still has control of it. The whole idea of the North Korean Facebook-clone is pretty interesting, because North Korea barely has access to the Internet in the first place. There are very few Internet users and many websites are blocked, including YouTube, Facebook and more. SEE ALSO: 5 Internet-inspired cross stitch patterns to meme your home The domain of the website .kp points to North Korea, but its name starcon.net alludes to South Korean company Starcon, which helps startups build websites. Most North Korean websites' servers are located in China, not North Korea, so the .kp domain name is very rare. The site itself was made using website-creator phpDolphin. Here is a demo of the Facebook clone that was used to make the North Korean version. Perhaps the mysterious North Korean social network will pop up again, but Starcon will likely take it down for good. Six months ago, Segway glided back onto the world stage at CES 2016 with the new hoverboard competitor which, at various times, has been called Segway Ninebot, and the Ninebot mini." But its now called the Ninebot by Segway miniPRO, or "miniPRO for short. Its also arriving in the U.S. on June 1, which is, by some measures, months ahead of schedule. SEE ALSO: The rise and fall of the hoverboard On pre-order today, the miniPRO is nominally a Segway, a brand and product that was the brainchild of maverick inventor Dean Kamen. Since he unveiled the mobility device that was supposed to change the face of human transportation, the brand and company have changed hands multiple times. Segway/Ninebot is now a subsidiary of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi. Image: segway The new product, which resembles the Segway we checked out in January, features Segways signature (and contested) self-balancing technology. And while most hoverboards also feature a platform, two wheels and some intelligence, the miniPRO differs in a few significant ways. Instead of a pair of solid rubber wheels, the miniPRO has a pair of inflatable, 10.5 inch tires, which may change the ride feel. In addition, theres a stem that sticks up from the middle, which Segway calls a Knee Control Bar. Its designed to sit neatly between your knees and give the rider a level of stability and, perhaps, control that they might not find with existing self-balancing boards (hoverboards). Image: Segway The other big difference is that the miniPRO is truly part robot it can be remote controlled via the free app. Segway rates the miniPRO to go 14 miles on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery and at speeds of up to 10 miles per hour. Swagways new Swagtron can, according to the company, last for 20 miles on a charge. Of course, the only way miniPRO can ship into the U.S. is by adhering to the new, stricter UL certifications. The U.S. government set those safety regulations after a rash of hoverboard fires last year. Segways product was among the first to get the new UL 2272 safety certification. Other safety features include headlights and backup lights and a battery indicator. Story continues Image: Segway The rider also includes app-based anti-theft technology that will launch an alarm if someone other than you tries to move your miniPRO. The pre-sale is live on Amazon right now and Segway says deliveries could happen as soon as the end of June. Mary Lou Dobson, 89, passed away peacefully, after a short illness, on May 18, 2016, at home in Fremont, surrounded by her family. She was born in northern Minnesota to Leon E. Battles, a civil and mining engineer, and Kathryn M. Battles, and grew up in Coleraine, Minn. She graduated with a degree in home economics with an emphasis in institution management from Iowa State University, where she met and married Robert D. Dobson, a returning GI and chemical engineering student from Omaha. Upon his graduation he received a job offer from Proctor & Gamble, and the couple moved to Greenhills, Ohio, near Cincinnati, where their son and three daughters were born. Mary Lou was active in community affairs, especially the Girl Scouts, serving in high-level volunteer positions for the Great Rivers Girl Scout Council. She then went on to teach high school home economics. Mary Lou also expertly facilitated many camping trips for the family throughout the U.S. and Canada. When her husband Bob took an early retirement option from P&G, the couple moved to Arlington to help care for Bobs parents and to design and build their dream home, a unique earth-sheltered passive solar house that was 30 years ahead of its time and received a lot of attention. Mary Lou worked professionally with the Eastern Nebraska Council on Aging as a nutrition site supervisor, manager, and consultant, traveling to Nebraska towns over a wide area. She was also active as a spinner and weaver in the Spinners Web weavers guild, of which she was a founding member. Mary Lou spent hundreds of hours demonstrating her craft at historic Fort Atkinson, and also at the May Museum and many other locations. In addition, she donated her organizational expertise to local fairs and the Nebraska State Fair for many years. A major highlight for Mary Lou and Bob was the Elder Hostel trip they took to Mary Lous ancestral land of Scotland. Also, when Bob was singing with the world-ranked Pathfinders Barbershop Chorus, Mary Lou travelled with him on a once-in-a-lifetime performing tour to Russia. Mary Lou was quite talented musically in her own right and played piano exceptionally well. Mary Lou and Bob moved to Fremont (Bobs birthplace) to live at Nye Square in 2009. Mary Lou is survived by her son, Rob of Bedford, Mass.; daughters, Deborah of Tucson, Ariz., Becky of Roseville, Minn., and Martha (Molly) Gamm of Dakota Dunes, S.D.; granddaughters, Emily and Alison Gamm; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Robert (Bob) D. Dobson; her elder sister, Elizabeth Hanson; and her younger brother, Charles Battles. Mary Lou donated her body to science, as did her mother. A memorial service will be planned for sometime this summer. Contributions in Mary Lous memory may be made to the international education organization AFS-USA at http://www.afsusa.org/donate. Condolences and memories may be sent to the family at remembrance@rddobson.net. From Iran to China, repressive governments are posing as journalists to hack into the computers of dissidents and other enemies of the state. In December 2013, a journalist named Andrew Dwight emailed Rori Donaghy, a journalist with Middle East Eye and a founder of the Emirates Center for Human Rights, which focuses on abuses in the United Arab Emirates. I have been trying to reach you for comment and I am hoping that this e-mail reaches the intended recipient, Dwight wrote, explaining that he was working on a book about his experiences from the Middle East. My focus is on human factors and rights issues in seemingly non-authoritarian regimes (that are, in reality, anything but). I was hoping that I might correspond with you and reference some of your work. The email concluded with a link to an article Dwight wanted to discuss. Donaghy clicked on it, but it wasnt an innocent connection to a webpage. That link was instead part of an elaborate Internet infrastructure set up to scan computers for vulnerabilities, allowing hackers to later target them with so-called spyware, software that can be used to monitor a computer and its users. The email from Dwight was a ruse, one piece of a larger campaign that researchers say went after activists and opposition figures online. In fact, Dwight never existed. He was a persona created to win Donaghys trust and get him to click on links that surveilled his computer. Dwights creators hackers likely working on behalf of the UAE government, according to the University of Torontos Citizen Lab made him a journalist for a reason: Its a remarkably effective tool for spreading spyware. Around the world, authoritarian governments are increasingly using a basic tool of journalism unsolicited emails to a source or expert against their opponents by hiding that kind of malware in emails purportedly coming from both real reporters and fake ones like Dwight. The Citizen Lab, a research group that has done groundbreaking work on digital surveillance, has documented hacking campaigns tied to the governments of the UAE, Iran, Bahrain, and Latin Americas left-leaning dictators in which their spies have posed as reporters in emails and phone calls in order to convince dissidents to click on links and open documents containing spyware. Story continues The tactic provides an easy ruse for government sleuths. Security experts will tell you to be suspicious of unsolicited emails, but writing an unsolicited email is a basic aspect of reporting. Journalists will write to activists and experts they have never met, seeking interviews and expertise. It is an infinitely adaptable cover story, and the autocrats and monarchs of the world are catching on. In a report released Sunday, the Citizen Lab documents how an UAE hacking group active from 2012 until the present tried to infect the computers of Emirati journalists, activists, and dissidents with spyware via Dwights fake persona and other methods. The Citizen Lab is careful to note that it cant definitively prove that the hackers, which targeted more than two dozen individuals besides Donaghy, worked on behalf of the UAE, but it lays out compelling circumstantial evidence that the attackers were sponsored by the country. The hacking group, dubbed Stealth Falcon, displayed a level of operational security consistent with a state-sponsored group. Of 27 Twitter accounts targeted by the group, 24 primarily engaged in political activities, or were otherwise critical of the UAE government, the Citizen Lab found. The group consistently displayed a high level of knowledge about its targets and used that information to write intricate spearfishing emails. Moreover, the Citizen Lab observed a Twitter account tweet a link associated with Stealth Falcon while that account was likely under government control. Bill Marczak, a senior research fellow at the Citizen Lab and the lead author on the UAE report, called the impersonation of journalists very effective for government surveillance campaigns. Sharing links and documents is fundamental to the work of journalists and civil society workers. This is something thats natural to how you are interacting online, he told this reporter, who had written himself an unsolicited email seeking to set up an interview. The Emirati Embassy in Washington didnt return a request Tuesday for comment on the report. Other journalists have also found themselves targeted by hackers posing as reporters. In August 2015, Jillian York, the director of international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, woke up to a call from a man posing as a Reuters journalist. That man told York that he would soon be sending her some materials that he wanted to discuss and checked that he had the right address for her. That phone call was the first step in a sophisticated campaign to steal Google credentials for members of the Iranian diaspora that the Citizen Lab traced to Iranian hackers. York was targeted likely as a result of her work with Iranian activist groups. The fake Reuters reporter likely hoped that he could establish his credibility with a phone call and then trick York into providing her Google username and password. Shortly after the call, the fake reporter sent her an email with what looked like a PDF hosted by Google. By clicking on the link, York would have been taken to a spoofed Google login page, which the hackers would have used to steal her username and password. But hackers arent just creating fake journalist personas to spread spyware. In 2012, hackers working in Bahrain impersonated Al Jazeera journalist Melissa Chan to send emails to activists laced with malware that allowed them to take over their computers. It is unclear, Marczak said, whether the email from Chan infected the computers of any activists. In a seven-year hacking campaign in Latin America that the Citizen Lab named Packrat, hackers went a step further: creating fake news outlets complete with fake articles to bolster their perceived credibility. That hacking campaign succeeded in installing spyware on the phone of Alberto Nisman, the principal investigator of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. He was found dead in his home just hours before he was set to deliver a report on allegations that then-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had sought to cover up Irans role in the attack. In China, researchers have observed what is now a strikingly similar pattern of obfuscation in the governments treatment of Tibetan activists. We tracked a series of emails designed to trick Tibetan journalists into entering their Google credentials into a phishing page, said Masashi Crete-Nishihata, the Citizen Labs research manager. One of the messages was made to appear as if it came from the press secretary of the Central Tibetan Administration. Just as the Internet has enabled a more free flow of information between journalists and their sources, it has also enabled far greater government surveillance. This is the flip side of the Internets ability to mobilize resources, said John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab. But the impersonation of reporters by hackers working on behalf of governments is not limited to authoritarian regimes. In 2007, police in Washington state were trying and failing to identify the source of emailed bomb threats against a local high school when the FBI settled on a novel strategy to identify the suspect. An agent for the bureau posed as an Associated Press reporter and began exchanging emails with the accounts used to send the threats. The agent sent the suspect a fake AP article about him that contained malware designed to reveal his location. When the suspect clicked on the link, the software downloaded. Two days after clicking it, police arrested a 10th-grader at Timberline High School, the target of the threats. Photo credit: Flaticon/Foreign Policy illustration Credit: Valen CoscarellaThe 2016 edition of Mountain Jam, the annual festival co-founded and co-organized by ex-Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes, gets underway this Thursday in Hunter, New York. As usual, Haynes will perform at the event with his group Gov't Mule, and this year's lineup also includes with Beck, Wilco, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Train, The Avett Brothers and many others. Gov't Mule is among the headliners on Friday, day two of the four-day fest. Haynes tells ABC Radio that unlike 2015, when his group did a Pink Floyd-themed tribute dubbed "Dark Side of the Mule," the band will "do more of a traditional Gov't Mule set this year." That being said, Warren points out that "it's not gonna be predictable. It's gonna be something new and exciting that will also contain elements of early Gov't Mule." Mountain Jam, now in its 12th year, continues to focus on jam bands, but has seen its lineup diversify into a wider range of musical styles over its existence. As Haynes explains, "I think [it's] the natural process of trying to reach out to more people and not just adhere to one genre." Although this year's bill doesn't feature many famous classic-rock acts, Train will pay homage to Led Zeppelin during its set on Thursday, Marco Benevento & Superhuman Happiness will pay homage to David Bowie that same evening. Warren says the Bowie tribute "makes sense on so many different levels, [because] Bowie was such a pioneer, and he also was a resident in that area." As for whether Haynes plans to join any of the other artists during the fest for some onstage collaborations, he tells ABC Radio that the jams usually happen in a completely impromptu fashion, which is "one of the things that I love about it." Visit MountainJam.com for more details about the festival. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. More in The final three: Everything you need to know about Clinton, Sanders and Trump (8 of 11) BRITT A tray with fruit or small plastic bags of cereal sits on the counter of the Britt Public Library. The pace at which those daily snacks leave the tray was the evidence library director Linda Friedow needed to consider sponsoring a summer meals program at the library. Its quite obvious there is a need in the community, Friedow said. Weve been putting out snacks for a few years for kids. The Britt Lioness group has helped pay for those daily snacks as the need continued to grow. The library will now sponsor a free summer meals program in partnership with the U.S.D.A. and the Food Bank of Iowa. The library will serve a free lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for infants through 18-year-olds. Friedow plans to start June 8. Friedow said kids dont need to enroll, they just need to show up to have the meal. The U.S.D.A. sponsors a summer meals program thats free to kids in school districts that qualify. School districts such as the Forest City School District and the Belmond-Klemme School District. The West Hancock School District qualifies for the program because of the number of free and reduced meal eligible children in the district, said Stephanie Dross of the Iowa Department of Education. West Hancock School District Superintendent Wayne Kronemann said in an email provided to the News Tribune that staffing and other issues caused the school to decline to sponsor the summer meal program. Although the program is based on qualifying factors, meals are for every kid up to age 18, Friedow said. Libraries became a point of interest for the state and U.S.D.A. As we work to expand the reach of the summer food service program, libraries are organizations that we have encouraged to consider getting involved, Dross said. The summer meals program is important because When school releases in the summer, many children lose access to healthy meals and snacks, Dross said. Summer meal programs help fill that gap. The Summer Food Service Program is designed to make sure children get the nurtitious meals they need during the summer months so theyre ready to learn when they return to school in the fall. Friedow said when she learned the West Hancock School District was unable to sponsor the free summer meal program, she decided to pursue it. Meals will be provided by the Food Bank of Iowa and will not be made at the library, Friedow said the library has the space to serve. The only additional equipment the library may need is a refrigerator, she said. Friedow said serving the meals three times a week should go smoothly. Kronemann said in an email to Friedow that he provided to the News Tribune, that staffing and the scheduling, such as the need to do summer maintenance, were concerns for the district. Although the district chose not to serve summer meals, the district does use other programs Kronemann said in an email to Friedow. We do take advantage of other programs such as working with United Way during the year for the backpack program and provided lots of food to the food bank through different organizations here, Kronemann said in an email to Friedow that he provided to the News Tribune. We have also sponsored healthy snacks via the Extension Service. We can do these things because we have the personnel here to operate them and willing to do it during the school year. Library employee Mary Swenson is a volunteer at the alternative high school in Clear Lake. ... I am more aware of food insecurity. Its a community problem, not just a school problem, Swenson said of why shes happy the library is sponsoring the local program. It just makes sense! Thats the sentiment from the Iowa Biodiesel Board and other supporters as Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed SF 2309 into law, expanding state biodiesel incentives. The bill includes a tax credit that helps keep the states 13 biodiesel producers competitive on a national scale. It also includes a retailers credit that entices fuel retailers to carry higher blends of biodiesel than they may currently carry. Flanked by biodiesel supporters from around the state, Branstad signed the legislation at the REG Newton biodiesel plant in Newton, Iowa. We are extremely grateful that Gov. Branstad and the Iowa Legislature appreciate the impact of biodiesel in Iowa and beyond, said Grant Kimberley, Iowa Biodiesel Board executive director. Renewable fuels like biodiesel point the way to a more sustainable energy futureand a more independent, home-grown energy future as well. The legislation: Extends the Biodiesel Production Credit through 2024, originally set to expire at the end of next year. The credit is 2 cents per gallon on the first 25 million gallons of production per biodiesel plant, and helps keep biodiesel production and economic activity in Iowa. Extends and expands the Biodiesel Promotion Retail Tax Credit. The incentive will continue to provide petroleum retailers 4.5 cents a gallon on blends of at least 5 percent biodiesel (B5) through 2017. From 2018 2024, the B5 incentive will drop to 3.5 cents per gallon, but an additional incentive of 5.5 cents per gallon will take effect for gallons of B11 and higher. With these additional incentives, Iowa is perfectly positioned to experience even more economic growth in environmentally friendly biofuels, Kimberley added. The governor previously signed legislation to secure another year of funding for the states successful biodiesel and ethanol blender pump program, the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program. In 2015, Iowas operating biodiesel plants produced a record 242 million gallons of biodiesel. The industry supported more than 3,000 jobs and contributed almost $345 million in GDP for the year. Biodiesel is an advanced biofuel made from agricultural byproducts and co-products, such as soybean oil. The Iowa Biodiesel Board is a state trade association representing the biodiesel industry. DES MOINES Work could soon begin in Iowa on Dakota Access LLCs interstate crude oil pipeline. Members of the Iowa Utilities Board on Wednesday directed staff to draft an order to allow Dakota Access to begin construction on portions of the Bakken pipeline not under federal rule and where all other approvals have been granted. This would cover the bulk of the project in Iowa, officials said, noting Dakota Access still is awaiting other approval on certain portions of the pipeline. Members of the three-member utilities board said the move is instep with the boards March 10 order granting Dakota Access, a subsidiary of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, a hazardous liquid pipeline permit and the power to use eminent domain to acquire farmland for the pipeline. I think following that, we would be in the same realm to say they could begin construction in areas of which they have all necessary approvals, permits and easements, board member Nick Wagner said. David Lynch, staff general counsel, said he should have the order drafted by the end of the week and board members could either sign the document or discuss the matter again at a future meeting. Essentially, the order would allow work to begin on segments of the pipeline where voluntary easement agreements have been secured. Officials with Dakota Access have said they have secured such agreements with 96 percent of property owners along its 1,168-mile path from North Dakota oil fields, through South Dakota and Iowa, to a distribution hub in Illinois. Dakota Access officials plan to complete the $3.8 billion pipeline by the end of the year. The Texas company still is awaiting construction approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, which has jurisdiction on about 2.5 percent of the land in Iowa. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revoked its approval for one segment of the pipeline in the Big Sioux River Wildlife Management Area in Lyon County after the Upper Sioux tribe stated the land had a sacred tribal burial ground with human remains. Construction will not be allowed there until after officials investigate the veracity of the claim. Meanwhile, the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter has filed a lawsuit in Polk County District Court to block the pipeline. Wally Taylor, a lawyer with the environmental group, filed a petition against the Iowa Utilities Board and Dakota Access seeking judicial review of an order granting Dakota Access permission to construct a hazardous liquid pipeline. The petition was filed on May 26 and the case was created on Tuesday. Landowners have also filed a lawsuit in the case, and others including native tribes and the Iowa State archaeologist have intervened to raise concerns over cultural impacts of construction. SIOUX CITY | In just five months, voters will elect a new president and a host of federal, state and county office holders. Cody Hoefert, Iowa GOP co-chairman, stopped in Sioux City Tuesday morning to urge the importance of strong Republican showing from the school house to the White House in the November general election. He said thats only possible through unity. Hoefert predicted Republican voters would largely support presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, even though some have misgivings about the outspoken billionaire businessman and reality TV star. There are two things that unite our Republicans like no other, Hoefert said. Number one, the thought of Hillary Clinton as president of the United States, and number two, the thought of the continuation of the failed policies of (President) Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Hoefert said the party is well on track to unite by November. He cited statistics that showed the Iowa GOP was on par with Democrats for absentee ballots in the 2014 election, and that the GOP has had a director on staff for more than 900 days. He also pointed out that the Republicans have a nominee in Trump, while Democratic voters are still divided over Clinton, the former secretary of state and first lady, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Here we stand at the end of May and we have a nominee and they do not, he said. Grassroots activists of our party have spoken and spoken loudly and they have said they want Donald Trump to be the nominee. I couldn't be more excited to work with Donald Trump to make sure he becomes the next President. Standing in front of supporters holding #UniteIowa signs, Hoefert turned his attention to races in Iowa. He stressed the partys desire to re-elect Sen. Chuck Grassley, continue to support Gov. Terry Branstad and target Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. At the unity news conference, the contested GOP primary between 4th District Rep. Steve King and state Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City was not addressed. By gaining the majority in both the Iowa House and Senate, Republicans can work to pass bills in regards to Voter ID, water equality and other issues, Hoefert said. MASON CITY | Deadra Stanton was overcome with emotion on Sunday when she walked into the room. For days, her husband Mark had helped keep up the ruse they were attending a graduation party. But, more than 100 current and former students had gathered at Mason City High School for her, with a red carpet to mark the longtime English teacher's semi-retirement. Juniors Kaitlin O'Neill and Abbie Read organized the event. Even with a clandestine Facebook page, Twitter retweets and Mark's suspicious last minute venue change, Stanton said she had no idea the party was for her. "You know when you really have those moments when you just go, 'What?," she said afterwards. "I'm overwhelmed." After 38 of a 40-year teaching career spent at Mason City, Stanton will transition in the next two years to become a mentor for educators in the state's teacher leadership and compensation program at the school. "There's going to be a hole to fill," said Mason City High School teacher John Lee, who also spoke at the ceremony. Students said Stanton left a mark as a tough and compassionate teacher with a sense of humor who earned their respect with high expectations. "She was one of my favorite teachers of all time," said U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose, who was Stanton's student from 1988 to 1991. Rose drove from Des Moines for the event. "She was a tough teacher that just made you want to work harder, because you wanted to (please) her." As a teacher, she could be counted on to gut their papers with red marks and made them read unpopular literature like Ernest Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea". But, she said, the purpose was to teach them to "never let go of the fish" a message of perseverance against all obstacles. For graduating seniors, she often kept in touch and sent them out of high school with postage to return their first college essays to her, so she could "rip it up" again. After the ceremony, Stanton hugged many who had come to pay tribute to her, including Principal Dan Long, who she remembered as a rookie first-time teacher. She also thanked the Mason City High School community for its generosity, who after the ceremony left at least 10 cards on the cafeteria table across the hall for her. "I'm pretty lucky to have spent my career in this town and this school because both of them has been very supportive of me my whole life," she said. "Mason City is my town, my home. I am the lucky one." CHARLES CITY | A Charles City man who police say had pornographic images of children on his cell phone faces criminal charges. Jeffrey Kirk, 53, was charged Tuesday with seven counts of misdemeanor sexual exploitation of a minor. He's accused of having seven photos or videos of child pornography on his cell phone on Friday, according to court documents. Investigators say Kirk had downloaded the material from the Internet. His initial appearance is set for Monday. -- Molly Montag. MASON CITY | A Mason City man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a drug-related felony. Brody Lee Boggess, 21, was sentenced Tuesday in Cerro Gordo County District Court for a controlled substance violation. He was also fined $1,000. Boggess was one of 18 individuals arrested in a North Iowa Central Narcotics Task Force warrant sweep in December 2015. He was accused of delivering methamphetamine in September 2015 to someone cooperating with the task force, according to court records. Boggess filed a written guilty plea in April. MASON CITY Re-sentencing for a Mason City man convicted of shooting a man to death during a home robbery when he was a juvenile, which was scheduled for this week, has been postponed. Part of the reason for the delay in Tuesdays re-sentencing hearing for Damion Seats, now 25, was an anticipated Iowa Supreme Court ruling in another case involving a juvenile that could have an impact on the options available to the court, according to an order signed by District Judge James Drew on May 25. Drew told the Globe Gazette Tuesday the anticipated decision he was referring to was in the case of Isiah Sweet, who was 17 when he killed his custodial grandparents at their home in Manchester in 2012 and received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Iowa Supreme Court made a 4-3 ruling in the Sweet case Friday, banning judges from imposing that sentence for juveniles conducted of first-degree murder. The ruling stated it should be up to parole officers, not judges, if those who committed crimes as juveniles are beyond rehabilitation and should spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Drew declined to comment on how that ruling might impact Seats. A new date for Seats re-sentencing has not been determined. Seats shot Isidoro Erreguin to death at a residence on North Adams Avenue in 2008. Seats was 17 at the time. He was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, in accordance with Iowa law. In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court determined mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole were cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles. Gov. Terry Branstad then commuted the sentences of all Iowa juveniles previously convicted of first-degree murder to a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 60 years. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled individual hearings were still needed in those cases. In 2013 the district court upheld Seats sentence of life with parole eligibility after 60 years. Seats, who was seeking immediate parole eligibility, appealed that decision. Last year the Iowa Supreme Court sent the case back to district court for re-sentencing, stating the lower court must determine whether Seats is beyond rehabilitation and thus unfit to ever enter society. MASON CITY | A woman police say crashed into a tree one block from Harding Elementary School in Mason City on Tuesday has been released from the hospital. Tamara Anderson, 49, of Mason City lost control of a silver two-door Dodge car and crashed into a tree just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. No other injuries were reported. She was traveling in the 1400 block of North Virginia Avenue when the crash occurred, according to Mason City Police Sgt. Dave Houser. Car crashes into tree in Mason City neighborhood MASON CITY A woman was taken to the hospital Tuesday after a car crashed into a tree in Ma Anderson was transported to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, where she was treated and released, according to hospital officials. Mason City Police and the Mason City Fire Department responded to the scene. -- Meredith Colias MASON CITY | If you live in Cerro Gordo County, your residential property will be reappraised in the next few weeks and months. Mason City Assessor Dana Naumann and County Assessor John Boedeker say door-to-door inspections of all residential properties in Mason City and Cerro Gordo County began this week the first door-to-door inspections in nearly 25 years. They will include exterior and interior inspections. "It is quite difficult to appraise a property if you cannot get inside it," said Naumann. Also, she said, those collecting information do not want to make assumptions about the interior. Representatives of Vanguard Appraisals of Cedar Rapids are assisting with the project. They are working in northwest Mason City this week. "There was nothing to it," said Ray Putney, 1011 N. Fillmore Ave., after Tony Hargrave of Vanguard appraised his house. "He was inside for five to seven minutes. That was it," said Putney. "I didn't have a problem with it at all." Hargrave said in his career with Vanguard, he has appraised about 14,000 homes and has met with little resistance from property owners. He said he looks primarily for structural changes since the last appraisal. "We're just trying to be fair," he said. Naumann said Iowa law requires property owners to assist with appraisals and the best way to do that is to allow access. Iowa Code 441.19 stipulates that refusal to assist constitutes a simple misdemeanor and subjects the property owner to a possible fine. "The purpose of the reappraisal program is to equalize property assessments so that each taxpayer is responsible for paying only his or her fair share of the property tax burden," said Naumann. "It is to establish the current market value of each property and to ensure that like properties are equitably assessed." She said the last time properties were reassessed door to door was in 1992. "So it is time to re-evaluate the assessments to ensure the taxpayer is being treated fairly in comparison with other taxpayers," she said. Naumann said periodic inspections and reappraisal of properties are necessary because all properties do not increase or decrease in value at the same rate. "Some properties physically deteriorate faster than others, and in many instances similar buildings located in different areas of the county will differ greatly in value due to economic factors," she said. The information collected will be used to estimate the fair market value of each property. Information includes type of construction, type of interior finish, physical condition of the property, age of structures and exterior measurements. A complete sales analysis, local construction costs and economic conditions are also considered. No estimate of value will be given at the time of inspection. The project will take about a year. Notice of final value estimates will be mailed to each property owner after Jan. 1, 2018. The property owners will have an opportunity to meet informally to discuss their revaluation in the spring of 2018. The new assessed values will be effective for Jan. 1, 2018, for taxes payable in fiscal 2019-2020. All law enforcement agencies and the assessors will know the areas where data collectors are working and will have names and license plate numbers of anyone involved in the project. Vanguard employees wear lanyards with their identification on them. The commercial, industrial and multi-residential reappraisal was done earlier this year at a cost of $225,000. The residential reappraisal is being done at an estimated cost of $975,000, said Naumann. That breaks down to $10.35 a year (or $51.75 over five years) on a $100,000 home. Anyone with questions can contact the city assessor at 641-421-3061 or the county assessor at 641-421-3065. MASON CITY Hoover Elementary welcomed a special group of alumni with cheers, claps and high-fives Tuesday morning. Dressed in their Mohawk red caps and gowns, graduating seniors who attended Hoover paraded down the schools hallways to Pomp and Circumstance. Some stopped to hug their former teachers. Among them was fourth-grade teacher Anne Lewis, who is in her 29th year with the school district. She said shes saved portfolios of her former pupils notes and photos. Its so nice to see them greeted with hugs and handshakes, she said. Im so proud. Mason Citys other elementary schools also hosted similar parades for their alumni Tuesday morning. The seniors reunited as they marched the halls of Lincoln Intermediate and John Adams Middle School. Hoover third-grader Claire Sampson said shes proud of her older sister, Kacy Sampson, who will graduate on Sunday. I think its exciting, she said. Its very cool to see their cap and gown. Id like to come back to Hoover someday, too, and see my old teachers. The building, classrooms and lockers still felt familiar to seniors Riley Bonzer and Timothy Hoffman, who crouched as they passed through a tunnel elementary students created by linking arms. I have memories of being here, Bonzer said. Its amazing how quickly time passes. Hoffman said the parade was a really big treat. It was also a treat for second-graders Christian Worple and Brogan Evans. I felt like they missed Hoover a lot, Worple said. He hopes to do the parade when hes a senior so he can feel missed, too. Evans hopes to see her teacher, Jean Kraft, again. I think its cool because they went to Hoover like us, she said of the seniors, who were awarded diplomas by the schools mascot, Herbie the Bee. MASON CITY | A North Iowa woman said she was going to have a tough time convincing her daughter that she won the lottery. Angela McEachran of Nora Springs claimed the sixth of 12 top prizes of $50,000 available in the lotterys Spin N Win scratch game, but she said her oldest daughter would most likely need to see the prize check before she believed it. My oldest is very skeptical that this is real because she and her dad are pretty good at practical jokes, McEachran told lottery employees Tuesday as she claimed her prize at the lotterys regional office in Mason City. Yesterday when we were trying to figure it out, she was like, OK. This is a joke; this is one of those pretend scratch tickets. McEachran won her big prize on a scratch ticket she bought Monday at Caseys, 505 Highway 65 S., in Manly. She said she was in Manly because one of her daughters was participating in the towns Memorial Day parade and she stopped at Caseys as she waited for her daughter after the parade had ended. The 42-year-old said shes previously won up to $100 playing scratch games, but this was the first time shed played the Spin N Win game. I looked at it and Im like, Gosh, I think I won, but Im like OK Im not sure if this is right. So I sent (my husband) a picture of my ticket and said, Does this look like I won? He thought it looked right, too, but were still like, Dont get excited until you know for sure. McEachran said. McEachran got the confirmation she needed Tuesday when she had her winning ticket verified by the lottery. The couple said they plan to save a majority of their winnings. MASON CITY | Two meetings dealing with economic development will be held in Mason City Thursday. At 9:30 a.m., the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a private meeting of citizens and civic officials concerning the proposed Prestage pork processing plant in Mason City. The meeting is at the Historic Park Inn Hotel. On May 3, the City Council rejected a development agreement proposal with Prestage by a 3-3 vote, thereby killing the deal. Prestage officials will be at Thursday's meeting. Also in attendance will be Debi Durham, head of the state's Economic Development Authority. Knock. Knock. Im here! sing-songed the boy as he went off with his school bus driver. I laughed at his joy at the end of the school week and so did the others who heard him. His turn of the joke is who he is. This is a boy who needs extra support to deal with lack of focus, fear of failure and frustration. Its my job to help him succeed, but the end result is that he and so many others his age continue to teach me. Knock. Knock. Im here! Last summer I traded a 40-year career with a 24-hour-on brain for retirement. And although I work part-time as a para educator substitute thanks to the Clear Lake School District, I am beginning to count the gifts this new time has given me. Here are some of the things I have learned, thanks to my young associates. Its time to listen. A walk around the gardens each morning is solace. The chimes of a nearby church offer Welcome Happy Morning and remind me each day is a gift. The birds in the evergreens call out to each other with a favorite cardinal leading the chant. Later on, the school playground is filled with childrens voices. If I could bottle up a sound for everyone to hear it would be playground noise. The screeching glee signals life at its best. Its also time to encourage. I get more thumbs-ups these days from young ones than I ever imagined. Its a collaborative effort to take each day and know we can get through it with or without personal reward. Its time to let go. I have been purging possessions the past year and my house and my heart are lighter. Some family things have gone to relatives, some to charity and some to the all-American garage sale. It has been difficult. Some trinkets were from friends and family who are no longer on this earth. I have told myself this object is not them and cobweb storage is not a memorial. Its time to grow. Its time to plant more flowers, more vegetables, more ways to share the bounty. The new asparagus and strawberry beds have produced this year. The tomato and pepper plants from seeds are thriving. Working in Mason City so many years I am learning how life is in Clear Lake. I have neighbors and friendships and walks to discover. Knock. Knock. Im here! Hope to see you around. NEW YORK, May 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Less than a year following NASA's nine-year, three-billion plus mile New Horizons mission to explore Pluto, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated Forever stamps to commemorate the historic event, while dedicating a second set of stamps depicting NASA's stunning images of our planets. The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the PlutoExplored! and Views of Our Planets Forever stamps took place before a crowd of 500 at the world's largest stamp show that only occurs in the United States once a decade, World Stamp Show-NY 2016. The show runs through Saturday. The public is asked to share the news on social media using the hashtags #PlutoExplored and #PlanetStamps. Visit Our Planets Forever Stamps to view images of the stamps and background on the planets. "In 1991, the Postal Service issued a Pluto: Not Yet Explored stamp that served as a rallying cry for those who very much wanted to explore it," said U.S. Postal Service Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President David Williams in dedicating the stamps. "At the time, Pluto was still considered a planet, and it was the only one in our solar system that hadn't been visited by a spacecraft." Pluto is now officially designated as a dwarf planet. The Postal Service is issuing the PlutoExplored! Souvenir sheet as a companion to the Views of Our Planets stamp pane. Pluto Explored. (from left): New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, CO; New Horizons' Deputy Project Scientist Leslie Young, SwRI; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Director Ralph Semmel; Annette Tombaugh, daughter of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930; and New Horizons Co-Investigator Will Grundy, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona hold a print of the 1991 Pluto stamp with their suggested update on July 14, 2015, at APL in Laurel, MD. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls "In 2006," Williams continued. "NASA placed a 29-cent Pluto: Not Yet Explored stamp on board the New Horizons spacecraft, which is safe to say, makes it the most widely-traveled stamp in the universe." The New Horizons spacecraft, launched into space on the fastest rocket ever built, traveled 3.26 billion miles at a speed exceeding 34,000 m.p.h. to reach Pluto on July 14, 2015. Placing that in perspective, it took three days for Apollo 11 to reach the moon. New Horizons passed the moon in nine hours. The Postal Service learned of the 29-cent stamp's journey aboard New Horizons on the eve of last July's flyover and quickly put plans into place to set the record straight as noted in NASA's celebratory photo. "Now, the Views of Our Planets and PlutoExplored! stamps will begin their own journeys today on letters and packages to millions of homes and businesses throughout America," added Williams. "We trust they'll find a home in your own collections too." Joining Williams in the dedication were NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Ellen Stofan; NASA Director of Planetary Science Dr. Jim Green; Oceanographer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Norman Kuring, who created the Earth stamp image; and, New Horizons Principal Investigator, Southwest Research Institute, Dr. Alan Stern. Honored guests included Astronaut Alice Bowman, New Horizons first female Mission Operations Manager. "These breathtaking new images of Pluto and our planets make for an exciting day for NASA and for all who love space exploration," said Green. "With the 2015 Pluto flyby, we've completed the initial reconnaissance of the solar system, and we're grateful to the U.S. Postal Service for commemorating this historic achievement." "The 1991 stamp that showed Pluto 'not yet explored' highlighted some important, unfinished business for NASA's first exploration of the planets of our solar system," said Dr. Alan Stern, principal investigator for the New Horizons mission. "I'm thrilled that 25 years later, these new stamps recognize that Pluto has indeed been explored by the New Horizons spacecraft and revealed to be a complex and fascinating world." Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price. Art director Antonio Alcala of Alexandria, VA, designed the stamps. The PlutoExplored! Forever stamps will only be available online at this link at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-782-6724. Leveraging Technology The U.S. Postal Service is introducing four new products tailored to stamp collectors at the World Stamp Show NY 2016: The self-adhesive Classics Forever Stamps that will be dedicated Wed., June 1, will be the first water soluble First-Class Forever stamps. Desirable to collectors of stamps from delivered mail, the stamps can be removed from envelopes undamaged simply using water. World Stamp Show Souvenir Portfolio, a coffee-table book featuring each of the eight stamp issues to be released during the show will include 3-D, augmented reality. The first pane of the book includes a pane of the August 2015 World Stamp Show stamps. Collectors are encouraged to collect a new pane each day. 2015 eGuide to U.S. Stamps, a fully digital version of the latest Postal Service Guide to Stamps includes all of the content in the beautifully re-designed printed edition. It features high-resolution stamp art with comprehensive search capabilities and pinch and zoom viewing options. The eGuide is available at usps.com, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and iTunes along with 1,000 other e-tailers. USPS StampApp, the only official cloud-based U.S. stamp collecting app that includes an entire stamp reference library along with user-generated content for stamp collectors to upload their own stamp collection. It is available on usps.com, Apple's App Store and Google Play. At the World Stamp Show NY 2016, the U.S. Postal Service will hold an official stamp dedication almost every day of the show, to introduce a total of eight new stamp subjects. Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmarks by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at the Postal Store website at usps.comshop or by calling 800-782-6724. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others and place them in a larger envelope addressed to: Pluto Explored! and/or Views of Our Planets Stamps Special Events Coordinator 380 West 33rd Street New York, NY 10199-9998 After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by July 31, 2016. Ordering First-Day Covers The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at usps.comshop or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to: U.S. Postal Service Catalog Request PO Box 219014 Kansas City, MO 64121-9014 Philatelic Products There are nine philatelic products for the PlutoExplored! stamp issue: 586624, Framed Art, $39.95. 586606, Press Sheet with Die-cut, $26.32 586610, Keepsake, (2 panes wDigital Color Postmark, set of 2), $7.95. 586616, First-Day Cover (set of 2), $1.82. 586618, First-Day Cover, Full Pane, $4.38. 586619, Cancelled Full Pane, $4.38. 586621, Digital Color Postmark (set of 2), $3.24. 586630, Ceremony Program (random single), $6.95. 586633, Panel, $17.95. There are nine philatelic products for the View of Our Planets stamp issue: 473606, Press Sheet with Die-cut, $60.16 473610, Keepsake, $9.95. 473616, First-Day Cover (set of 8), $7.28. 473618, First-Day Cover, Full Pane, $10.02. 473619, Cancelled Full Pane, $10.02. 473621, Digital Color Postmark (set of 8), $12.96. 473624, Framed Art, $39.95. 473630, Ceremony Program (random single), $6.95. 473633, Panel, $10.95. When reproducing the stamp images for media use only, please provide the copyright sign (the "c" inside the circle) and 2016 USPS. Earth Credit line: NASA Jupiter Credit line: NASA, ESA, and E. Karkoschka (Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona) Mars Credit line: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Mercury Credit line: NASA/The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington Neptune Credit line: NASA/JPL-Caltech Saturn Credit line: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Uranus Credit line: NASA, ESA, and E. Karkoschka (Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona) Venus Credit line: NASA/JPL-Caltech Download broadcast quality video and event photos at this link: https://uspsvideo.com/shop/video/nasas-planet-images-get-stamps-approval/ Here's the link to the photo in the news release of NASA scientists holding up the image of the 1991 "Pluto Not Yet Explored" Please credit NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/19692433785_f109c50f24_o.jpg The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom. Reporters interested in speaking with regional Postal Service public relations professionals should visit this link. Follow us on twitter.com/USPS and like us at facebook.com/USPS. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts. Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=40430 http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=40431 NEW YORK, May 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced that the following Guggenheim exchange traded funds (ETFs) have declared distributions. The table below summarizes the distribution for each ETF. Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share GSY Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration ETF1 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0548 GTO Guggenheim Total Return Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.1189 BSCG Guggenheim BulletShares 2016 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0175 BSCH Guggenheim BulletShares 2017 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0259 BSCI Guggenheim BulletShares 2018 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0290 BSCJ Guggenheim BulletShares 2019 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0355 BSCK Guggenheim BulletShares 2020 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0419 BSCL Guggenheim BulletShares 2021 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0484 BSCM Guggenheim BulletShares 2022 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0485 BSCN Guggenheim BulletShares 2023 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0515 BSCO Guggenheim BulletShares 2024 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0541 1On September 30, 2013, Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration Bond ETF changed its name to Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration ETF. Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share BSCP Guggenheim BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0484 BSJG Guggenheim BulletShares 2016 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0525 BSJH Guggenheim BulletShares 2017 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.0825 BSJI Guggenheim BulletShares 2018 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.1022 BSJJ Guggenheim BulletShares 2019 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.1038 BSJK Guggenheim BulletShares 2020 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.1141 BSJL Guggenheim BulletShares 2021 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.1081 BSJM Guggenheim BulletShares 2022 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.1146 BSJN Guggenheim BulletShares 2023 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 06/01/16 06/03/16 06/07/16 $ 0.1198 Past performance is not indicative of future performance. To the extent any portion of the distribution is estimated to be sourced from something other than income, such as return of capital, the source would be disclosed on a Section 19(a)-1 letter located on the Funds website under the Literature tab. Distributions may be comprised of sources other than income, which may not reflect actual fund performance. For more information, please visit http://www.guggenheiminvestments.com/products/etf. About Guggenheim Investments Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners, with $199 billion1 in total assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. We focus on the return and risk needs of insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. Our 275+ investment professionals perform rigorous research to understand market trends and identify undervalued opportunities in areas that are often complex and underfollowed. This approach to investment management has enabled us to deliver innovative strategies providing diversification and attractive long-term results. Read a funds prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the funds investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) at http://guggenheiminvestments.com or call 800.820.0888. The referenced funds are distributed by Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC. Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management businesses of Guggenheim Partners, LLC (Guggenheim), which includes Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC ("GFIA") and Guggenheim Partners Investment Management (GPIM), the investment advisors to the referenced funds. Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, is affiliated with Guggenheim, GFIA and GPIM. 1 Guggenheim Investments total asset figure is as of 03.31.2016. The assets include leverage of $11.4bn for assets under management and $0.5bn for assets for which we provide administrative services. Guggenheim Investments represents the following affiliated investment management businesses: Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, Guggenheim Real Estate, LLC, Transparent Value Advisors, LLC, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited, and Guggenheim Partners India Management. Endeavour Mining Announces Notice of Annual General Meeting George Town, May 31, 2016 - Endeavour Mining Corporation (TSX:EDV)(OTCQX:EDVMF) announces that it will hold its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. The Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular relating to the meeting have been mailed to shareholders and have been filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Mr. Neil Woodyer has decided not to seek a nomination to the Board, and as a result, will cease his role as director at the completion of the Meeting. The Board of Directors wishes to thank Mr. Woodyer for his significant contribution to the Company over his 6-year tenure. As the founder of Endeavour, he has grown the company into an intermediate gold producer with five operating mines. The other individuals nominated for election as directors are currently members of the Board. Mr. Michael E. Beckett will continue in his role as Chairman and Non-Executive Director. Shareholders as of the record date of May 24, 2016, will be eligible to vote at the AGM. Registered Endeavour Shareholders are encouraged to vote by proxy, which must be received by Computershare by 4:00 a.m. (EST) on June 24, 2016. If you have any questions or require assistance in voting, please contact our proxy solicitation agent, D.F. King, at 1-800-926-7043 toll free in North America, or call collect outside North America at 1-201-806-7301 or by email at inquiries@dfking.com. About Endeavour Mining Corporation Endeavour Mining is a TSX-listed intermediate gold producer, focused on developing a portfolio of high quality mines in the prolific West-African region, where it has established a solid operational and construction track record. Endeavour is ideally positioned as the major pure West-African multi-operation gold mining company, operating 5 mines in Cote d'Ivoire (Agbaou, Ity), Burkina Faso (Karma), Mali (Tabakoto), and Ghana (Nzema). In 2016, it expects to produce between 535koz and 560koz at an AISC of US$870 to US$920/oz, excluding Karma which is expected to enter commercial production in June. Endeavour is currently building its Hounde project in Burkina Faso, which is expected to commence production in Q4-2017 and become its flagship low-cost mine with an average annual production of 190koz at an AISC of US$709/oz over a 10-year mine life based on reserves. The development of the Hounde project is expected to lift Endeavour's group production +900kozpa and decrease its average AISC to circa $800/oz by 2018, while exploration aims to extend all mine lives to +10 years. Contact Information Vincent Benoit EVP - Strategy & Business Development +33 (0)1 70 38 36 96 vbenoit@endeavourmining.com Martino De Ciccio VP - Strategy & Investor Relations +33 (0)1 70 38 36 95 mdeciccio@endeavourmining.com DFH Public Affairs in Toronto John Vincic (416) 206-0118 x.224 jvincic@dfhpublicaffairs.com Brunswick Group LLP in London Carole Cable, Partner +44 7974 982 458 ccable@brunswickgroup.com Endeavour Mining | Executive Office | Bureau 76, 7 Boulevard des Moulins, Monaco 98000 This news release contains "forward-looking statements" including but not limited to, statements with respect to Endeavour's plans and operating performance, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of future production, future capital expenditures, and the success of exploration activities. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "expected", "budgeted", "forecasts", and "anticipates". Forward-looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Please refer to Endeavour's most recent Annual Information Form filed under its profile at www.sedar.com for further information respecting the risks affecting Endeavour and its business. AIM: MARL 1 June 2016 Suite 102, 3 Eden Street North Sydney, NSW 2060 Australia THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Issue of Equity- Warrant Exercise GUERNSEY, United Kingdom, June 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mariana Resources Ltd ("Mariana" or the "Company"), the AIM listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey and South America, announces that 9,800,000 warrants exercisable into ordinary shares at 2.636p each have been exercised and funds have been received. The warrants were issued pursuant to a Convertible Security Agreement with Bergen Global Opportunity Fund, LP, the details of which were announced to the market on 17 September 2014. The facility was subsequently terminated, as announced on 23 February 2015. The Company will issue and allot 9,800,000 new ordinary shares. Admission to AIM Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Dealings are expected to commence on or about 6 June 2016 ("Admission"). Following Admission, there will be a total of 1,199,318,272 ordinary shares on issue. **ENDS** For further information please visit website at www.marianaresources.com or contact the following. In Australia: Glen Parsons (CEO) Mariana Resources Ltd +61 2 9437 4588 Eric Roth (COO) Mariana Resources Ltd +56 9 8818 1243 Rob Adamson RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0041 Will Souter RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0050 In U.K. Oliver Stansfield Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5061 Jonathan Evans Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5016 Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3224 Megan Ray Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3203 About Mariana Resources Mariana Resources Ltd is an AIM quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver and copper projects in South America and Turkey. Mariana's most advanced asset is the Hot Maden gold-copper project in north east Turkey, which is a joint venture with its Turkish JV partner Lidya (30% Mariana and 70% Lidya). A maiden mineral resource estimate of 2.03 Moz gold Equivalent (Indicated Category) and 0.97 Moz gold Equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) was reported for Hot Maden on August 18, 2015. Elsewhere in Turkey, Mariana holds a 100% interest in the Ergama gold-copper project. In Suriname, Mariana has a direct holding of 10.2% of the Nassau Gold project.) The Nassau Gold Project is a 28,000 Ha exploration concession located approximately 125 km south east of the capital Paramaribo and immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining's 4.2Moz gold Merian project. In southern Argentina, the Company's core gold-silver projects are Las Calandrias (100%), Sierra Blanca (100%), Los Cisnes (100%), Bozal (100%). These projects are part of a 160,000+ Ha land package in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz Province. Mariana acquired 100% interests in the Dona Ines gold-silver and Exploradora East copper prospects in northern Chile through the Aegean Metals Group transaction which closed in January, 2015, with Mariana exploration now being funded by Asset Chile through the provision of $1.65m for a total 50% interest. In Peru, Mariana is focusing on acquiring new opportunities which complement its current portfolio. Safe Harbour This press release contains certain statements which may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this press release and include, without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, the realization, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource estimates, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, and requirements for additional capital. The words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecasts", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", or similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the effects of general economic conditions; the price of gold, silver and copper; misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements; risks associated with international operations; the need for additional financing; risks inherent in exploration results; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters; currency and commodity price fluctuations; title matters; environmental liability claims; unanticipated operational risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; political risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual financial statements for the most recently completed financial year which is available on the Company's website at www.marianaresources.com. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have 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 can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. HUG#2017011 Hamilton, Bermuda, June 1, 2016 In our press release May 2, 2016 Nordic American Tankers Limited ("NAT" or "the Company") announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire four top quality Suezmax tankers built in Japan. The first of these four vessels, the Nordic Luna, was delivered to us yesterday. The second vessel is expected to join the NAT fleet in mid-June. The last two vessels are expected to be delivered soon thereafter. Following the delivery of these four vessels, the Company will have a fleet of 30 Suezmax vessels, including two newbuildings from Korea, scheduled for delivery in August 2016 and January 2017. The NAT fleet of Suezmaxes has a substantial earnings capacity. We believe that our solid balance sheet and our well defined and transparent operating model, including quarterly dividend payments, is giving NAT a strong competitive position. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and world wide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K. Contacts: Jan H. A. Moller, Head of Investor Relations & Financial Manager Nordic American Tankers Limited Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 90 11 53 75 Turid M. Srensen, CFO & EVP Nordic American Tankers Limited Tel: +47 33 42 73 00 or +47 90 57 29 27 Rolf Amundsen, Advisor Nordic American Tankers Limited Tel: +1 800 601 9079 or + 47 908 26 906 Gary J. Wolfe Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, USA Tel: +1 212 574 1223 MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., June 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - OneNeck IT Solutions successfully completed the 2016 ISO 27001 Surveillance Review. Today's announcement confirms OneNeck's continued compliance with ISO 27001 certification requirements. The scope of the validation includes OneNeck's Tier 3 data centers in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, as well as the company's headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. ISO 27001 is the best-known standard when it comes to establishing and recognizing global requirements for the industry's Information Security Management System (ISMS). In order to earn ISO 27001 certification, a company's ISMS is reviewed in a systematic manner. The process includes examination of a company's information security controls, which are scrutinized to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of all sensitive information assets. "On behalf of our customers, we pursued this third-party validation," said Clint Harder, CTO and senior vice president at OneNeck. "Securing this validation offers assurance of our ongoing commitment to meeting the most widely accepted security management parameters in the industry. For our customers, it also affirms we are managing their sensitive customer information in a manner consistent with internationally accepted best practices." The ISO 27001 ISMS at OneNeck was certified by Schellman & Company, Inc., a leading provider of attestation and compliance services. Schellman is a CPA firm, an ISO Certification Body, a PCI Qualified Security Assessor and a FedRAMP 3PAO. As a result of the ISO 27001 certification validation, it allows businesses, including many OneNeck customers, to streamline portions of their annual due diligence process. In addition to ISO 27001 certification, OneNeck also regularly submits itself to third-party audits for Type 2 SSAE 16 (SOC 1) examination, PCI DSS, HIPAA and HITECH. To learn more, visit oneneck.com. OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, employs nearly 550 people throughout the U.S. The company offers hybrid IT solutions including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, ERP application management, professional services, IT hardware and top-tier data centers in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin. OneNeck's team of technology professionals manage secure, world-class, hybrid IT infrastructures and applications for thousands of businesses around the globe. Visit oneneck.com for more information. TDS Telecommunications Corp., headquartered in Madison, Wis., operates OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, TDS Baja Broadband LLC, and BendBroadband. Combined, the company employs 3,400 people. Visit tdstelecom.com. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS] a Fortune 1000TM company, provides wireless; broadband, video and voice; and hosted and managed services to approximately 6.1 million customers nationwide through its businesses U.S. Cellular, TDS Telecommunications, OneNeck IT Solutions and BendBroadband. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employs 10,400 people. Visit tdsinc.com. This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/06/prweb13453749.htm ATLANTA, June 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legal software company Aderant announced today that Birmingham based law firm Maynard Cooper & Gale, P.C. is live on Aderant Expert for its practice and financial management system exactly 12 months to the day of contract signing. With more than 230 attorneys across six offices, Maynard Cooper needed a unified, robust solution that would support its dynamic business requirements as it expands its geographic footprint, and chose Expert to be that solution. "We need a solution that will grow with us," commented Ray Bullock, Chief Operating Officer for Maynard Cooper. "We were looking for a modern and flexible solution that's built for today as well as the future. We want to minimize use of third-party applications, and Aderant Expert's all-in-one approach does that. We were also looking for a strategic partner to support our growth, and our relationship with Aderant has certainly become that." The firm successfully went live on Expert in early May. In addition to the core Expert modules, the firm has rolled out Business Intelligence, Expert Time, On the Go Time, Found Time, Expert Expenses, Expert Collections, Expert Image and Advanced Workflow. "We're thrilled to be able to announce that Maynard Cooper has had such a successful roll-out of their Aderant Expert system in the 12 month timeline we originally projected," said Aderant CEO Chris Giglio. "With the increasing migrations that Aderant has completed from our competitor to Expert, our factory-like conversion process has become time-tested and proven. The hard work that our services team has invested in identifying and standardizing our best practices is really making a difference, and that difference is allowing our clients to realize the value of their solutions quicker and at less cost." About Aderant Aderant is a global provider of comprehensive business management software for law and other professional services firms. Headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Sydney and Auckland, Aderant helps firms run a better business by providing market leading solutions for business intelligence, matter management and a full suite of front and back office solutions to optimize firm performance. With a 35-year history as a global industry leader, Aderant supports nearly 3,200 clients in more than 30 countries, representing 77 of the top 100 Global Law Firms and more than 88 percent of the Am Law 200. Aderant represents leading brands such as: Aderant Expert for practice and financial management, Spotlight Analytics for business intelligence, MatterWorks for matter planning, Total Office Case and CompuLaw for calendaring and docketing software. More information is available at www.aderant.com. Aderant and Aderant Expert are registered trademarks of Aderant Holdings, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the properties of their respective owners including, if so indicated, Aderant Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. Aderant operates as a unit of Roper Technologies, a constituent of the S &P 500, Fortune 1000 and the Russell 1000 indices. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Preveceutical Medical Inc. ("Preveceutical", or the "Company"), a health and wellness company focused on combining nature and science for the benefit of health conscious consumers, is pleased to announce that CELLB9 is now available for sale. CELLB9 is an oral solution containing polarized and potentiated essential minerals extracted from a novel peptide, obtained from Blue Scorpion serum. The active potentiated ingredients in the Blue Scorpion serum appear to support health at a deep cellular level, having been used for many years and in over 40 countries. The solution is colorless and odorless and can be administered orally. CELLB9 and other products developed from Blue Scorpion Venom and Polarization Technology will form a strong set of related products for the Company, said Stephen Van Deventer, Chairman and CEO at Preveceutical. We are presently negotiating national distribution agreements on a country-by-country basis for the sale of CELLB9, and will be pursuing additional research and formulations of Blue Scorpion Venom. About Preveceutical For more information about Preveceutical, please visit www.preveceutical.com, or follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/preveceuticals On Behalf of the Board, "Stephen Van Deventer" President and CEO This news release may contain forward-looking statements concerning future operations of Preveceutical Medical Inc. (the "Company"). All forward-looking statements concerning the Company's future plans and operations, including management's assessment of the Company's operational expectations or beliefs may be subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual performance and financial results may differ materially from any estimates or projections. vdadwal wrote: A major film studio announced the release date of a movie based on a novel that, though it was a bestseller when first published, has been out of print for nearly fifteen years. Hoping to capitalize on the anticipated success of the film, the publisher who owns the copyright on the novel plans to print a new edition to be made available the same week the film premieres. EACH of the following, if true, supports the soundness of the publishers plan to capitalize on the success of the film EXCEPT The publisher has received permission from the film studio to stamp the words Now a major motion picture on the cover of each book. Last year a new edition of a novel that had been out of print hit the bestseller lists two weeks after a movie biography of its author was released. The publisher received two hundred thousand dollars after selling the production rights to the film studio. The actress playing the lead in the film has discussed her love for the novel in nationally televised interviews. Last year a new edition of an unpopular novel was adapted into a top-grossing film, and sales of the book spiked. No. This supports the publisher's plan. If "Now a major motion picture" is not present on the book, it seems that sale would be relatively less. This year's event would work similarly how it worked last year. Eliminate. It supports the plan to publish the book along with movie release. Beware. The publishing event is linked with movie release. Publisher wouldn't receive $ 2000, if movie is not published. Eliminate this choice. Correct. Actress loves thriller novels by Agatha Christie ( for example ). Will anyone purchase book on which her latest movie is running? Love for novel doesn't correlate with the novel based on the movie. This event doesn't justify to publish novel based on the movie. The reason is same as that of B. Guys, Its EXCEPT question. Eliminate the choices that supports the plan to publish the book in the week movie based on it will be released. Tell the option to the publisher and ask, 'will you publish the novel based on the movie?' If he said, 'yes' with the option, Eliminate the answer choice.(A) The publisher has received permission from the film studio to stamp the words Now a major motion picture on the cover of each book.(B) Last year a new edition of a novel that had been out of print hit the bestseller lists two weeks after a movie biography of its author was released.(C) The publisher received two hundred thousand dollars after selling the production rights to the film studio.(D) The actress playing the lead in the film has discussed her love for the novel in nationally televised interviews.(E) Last year a new edition of an unpopular novel was adapted into a top-grossing film, and sales of the book spiked. Tue, 10/26 (11:30am ET): MBA Essays - Talking About Your Past and Making Your Reader Excited About Your Future Sagarkalra92 wrote: Hi All I am planning to apply to Darden in R2 and would love if some one could evaluate my profile and help me put the best foot forward during my application. Please find below the details of my work experience. GMAT-710( Q49, V37, IR5, AWA-5) WORK EXPERIENCE: RLARD ENGITECH PVT.LTD (Start-up) (August 2016-Present) Head-Sales & Marketing Implemented ideas to expand the customer base and helped in streamlining the online product channel. Hosted workshops to spread awareness about the product. AXIS RISK CONSULTING PVT.LTD. (March 2015-July 2016) Associate Consultant Member of IC COE team for Mondelez International- designed the RCM and monitored the risk and control framework of North America and Bratislava Region. Member of Internal Audit Team for Dabur International- Independently reviewed -Sales, Logistics, Production and Payroll processes- highlighted process loopholes and provided recommendations to the top management Lead the GE India Dresser site and ensured ICFR compliance Independently handled the ANZ region for GlaxoSmithKline and ensured appropriate documentation, adequate testing and accurate reporting on financial control activities SKYTEX INDUSTRIES PVT.LTD. (December 2014-March 2015) Associate Director Oversaw Sales and Marketing for company products Provided valuable inputs to minimize production costs and to ensure optimum utilization of resources Streamlined the distributor channel to maximize profits. AXIS RISK CONSULTING PVT.LTD. (July 2013- November 2014) Senior Analyst Independently lead the Beverage Division (North-East Region) and Stales Process (North Region), which included over 100 audits per months, for PepsiCo India and trained over 50 CA Firms Received Gold Team Appreciation Award for contribution to Claim Management Project for PepisCo India. Regularly inspected Distributor sites of PepsiCo India across the Northern Region of India Managed Store Inventory for Vishal Mega Mart which resulted in optimization of the STR (stock transfer ratio) throughout India, reducing the clients annual inventory management cost by INR 30 Cr. INTERNSHIPS: Finance Intern at Indian Oil Corporation Limited - June 2012 to August 2012 Marketing Intern at Viacom 18 - January 2012 to February 2012 ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS: 2010-2013 Delhi University Hansraj College (B.A. Eco (H)) 75.7% 2010 C.B.S.E (XII) D.P.S, Mathura Road, New Delhi 94% 2008 C.B.S.E (X ) D.P.S, Mathura Road, New Delhi 90.33% EXTRACURRICULAR INTERESTS, ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS: Member, Axis Fun@ Work Team - organised Freshers training, day outs and sports competitions (2014-2016) Participated in Axis CSR Initiatives (2013-2015) - plantation drive, blood donation drive etc. All India Crime Reform Organisation (2011-present) -worked with Delhi Police to reduce the crime rate in locality, made people aware about their rights and civic responsibilities. Member, Axis Recruitment Team 2014 helped in recruitment process and took 1st Round of interviews accompanied by Senior Managers in Delhi University Colleges- SRCC, Hansraj, SSCBS Volunteer, AISEC UDAAN 2011- held cultural workshops and various competitions for underprivileged children. Dance Society, Hansraj College - represented college at college festivals - BITS OASIS 2010, Rendezvous 2010 Event Management, Dance, Basketball and meeting new people Specializing in candidates with GMATs under 720 or low GPAs Try our free Admissions Chances Calculator - All statistics verified by Ernst & Young - https://ARINGO.com/ MBA Admissions ConsultingSpecializing in candidates with GMATs under 720 or low GPAsTry our free Admissions Chances Calculator - https://aringo.com/mba-admission-chances-calculator/ All statistics verified by Ernst & Young - https://aringo.com/aringo-mba-admission-statistics/ Signature Read More Your profile looks promising but maybe slightly borderline for Darden just due to you being Indian, with all that entails. I would therefore say that your chances depend highly on essays and recommendations as well. How do you think you stand there?If you are not sure and/or think that might not be your strong suit, I would recommend professional help with that part because the potential is definitely there with this profile but I would not call it a sure thing by any means.Good luck!_________________ Early summer means it's time for baby falcons! The MTA has released photos of a trio of peregrine falcon chicks currently nested 360 feet up in a box installed on one of the Throgs Neck Bridge's towers and hoo boy, are these things cute. One female and two male chicks were banded by city Department of Environmental Protection research scientist Chris Nadareski, and fortunately he was accompanied by an MTA photographer. Look at those fluffy feathers! Peregrine falcon chicks hatch each spring, and early June appears to be the MTA's preferred time for identifying and banding the three-week-old fledglings. The process helps the city track the number of falcons throughout the city and quickly identify them if they become sick or hurt. In addition to the Throgs Neck nesting box, there's a falcon home 215 feet up atop the Rockaway tower of the Marine Parkway, and another on the 693 foot tall Brooklyn tower of the Verrazano Bridge. MTA bridges and tunnels have been part of New York state's nesting programs since 1983. "Peregrine falcons were nearly wiped out in the 1960s as a result of pesticides in their food supply, and remain on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation endangered birds list," the MTA said when last year's new chicks were banded. "Urban falcons like to nest atop bridges, church steeples and high-rise buildings because they provide an excellent vantage point for hunting prey, including pigeons and small birds." That makes sense, because Peregrine falcons are murderous and fast as hell. A baby with Zika virus was born at a New Jersey hospital yesterday, exhibiting associated birth defects like low birth weight and microcephaly. She is the first confirmed case with these birth defects in the Northeast, though doctors say her mother contracted the illness in her native Honduras and traveled to the United States to visit relatives before she gave birth. The infant was born at the Hackensack University Medical Center; her mother had been receiving prenatal care in Honduras, but apparently exhibited a rash consistent with Zika after being bitten by an infected mosquito early on in her pregnancy. The woman's mother is a microbiologist and sent her blood samples to the CDC, where they tested positive for Zika. The baby's mother visited New Jersey to visit relatives, but also went in for tests at the Hackensack University Medical Center. Doctors determined the baby was in distress and delivered her via Cesarian section yesterday. It tells you that Zika is real, Manny Alvarez, chairman of the hospital's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, told the Times. He told NJ.com the mother told him, "I used to look at the billboards in my country about Zika, and I never realized it was gong to be me." This is not the first child to be born with Zika in the United States, as a baby with Zika-related brain damage was born in Hawaii in January. Though Zika has primarily ravaged Caribbean, Central and South American countries, health officials warn that NYC is in range of the mosquito that's been transmitting Zika virus across those countries, and the city is making efforts to target breeding grounds for mosquitos that could carry Zika using larvicides. A 16-year-old girl was killed Tuesday night after being shot multiple times while babysitting her 3-year-old cousin. Police and paramedics responded to a 911 call at 1406 Brooklyn Avenue in East Flatbush just before 6 p.m. last night. Upon searching a 6th floor apartment, officers found Shemel Mercurius semi-conscious with multiple gunshot wounds to her body. Mercurius, who is a resident of the building, was rushed to Kings County Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. NBC reports that Mercurius had been babysitting her 3-year-old cousin at the time of the shooting. Mercurius's aunt, the toddler's mother, also told the network that the teenager described her shooter to officers before she died at the scene. The 3-year-old was not injured in the shooting, according to ABC. After the shooting, Mercurius's relatives told the Daily News that she had moved to Brooklyn four years ago from her native Guyana, where her parents still live. I havent been able to reach her parents, Mercurius's grandmother told the tabloid. We brought her here for a better life. We hoped she could go to college. She was a sweet, loving little kid, nearby neighbor Bobby Blake told the News. Shes not the type to be in any problems. She wasnt raised in the street. She was a very decent person. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed that no arrests have been made in the shooting case and an investigation is ongoing. ABC reports that detectives are currently searching for Mercurius's boyfriend. Cheers greeted Mamadou Diallo when he was escorted from a Bronx police station last night. Diallo was in police custody after killing a man who allegedly tried to rape his wife. One supporter said, "He has a right to defend his wife. What are you going to do if somebody comes in and tries to rape your wife?" Diallo said to reporters, "He threatened my wife." Police say that the 61-year-old cab driver fatally beat Earl Nash, 43, with a tire iron after Nash apparently broke into Diallo's home at 1240 Washington Avenue in the Bronx and attacked his wife, Nenegale Diallo. According to NBC New York, "Nash allegedly knocked at the victim's door, pushed his way in when she answered and exposed himself and tried to tear off the woman's clothes, according to sources. Amid the struggle, the woman called for her husband and one of the woman's [relatives] tried to fight off Nash." Nenegallo Diallo recounted to DNAinfo that Nash told her, "I don't want anything. I don't want money. I'm going to rape you." She also said that Nash beat her and then attacked her sister, allowing her to get away, open the door and scream for help. But she said that then Nash caught up with her, hitting her with a chair. Nash locked the door again and started beating Nenegale and cursing at her. At one point, he hit her with a chair. "He hit me in my head and I fall again," Nenegale said. Police said Nenegale's sister helped to pull Nash off of her, and Nenegale managed to grab her phone in the fray. "I took my phone and see my husband's number first. I pressed the number. I made a loud noise, screaming, 'Please, help me! Help me! Call the police!' Then he slapped me again. The phone is falling, but I was making noise so my husband could hear the noise," she said. Diallo returned home and when he got to the 6th floor of the building, his wife pointed out Nash who was leaving. Surveillance video shows Diallo arriving in the hallway and turning around, after he's told Nash is behind him, before attacking him in the elevator: The Post reports, "[Diallo] followed with several more blows, in a beating that lasted up to two minutes, sources said. Nash fought back with a belt, but the pounding left him with a fractured skull, sources said." By the times cops arrived, Nash was found unconscious in the elevator and was later pronounced dead at Lincoln Hospital. Diallo was initially charged with manslaughter, but was only charged with assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon after his court appearance. Diallo's defense attorney said, "This was not an offense where the defendant committed an aggressive act. This was an attack on his family, in his house under extreme circumstances." The cabbie was released on his own recognizance. Daniel Bibb, a criminal defense lawyer and a former Manhattan prosecutor, writes in the Daily News today that the manslaughter charges would have been too difficult for the Bronx DA's office to pursue: "I dont care who you are your race, color, creed youre going to be sympathetic to this guy. The facts of the case are going to lead to sympathy, and sympathy can oftentimes overcome the rule of law." A woman got into a car on the Lower East Side one night last month under the impression that the man behind the wheel was the Uber driver she had requested. But the driver of the black four-door sedan was not affiliated with Uber, and proceeded to take her on a terrifying ride from East Houston Street up to the northeast edge of Manhattan. According to the NYPD, the woman got into the car at approximately 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, May 15th, by the intersection of Margin Street and East Houston Street. Police say that as the driver headed north on the FDR Drive, the victim realized he was not taking her to her residence on the Upper East Side. As he proceeded past the 96th Street exit on the FDR, the driver demanded money while threatening to shoot and sexually assault the woman. The woman, who has not been named, complied, and handed over her iPhone, wallet, $20 in cash, a pair of gold earrings, her jacket, and other items. The driver pulled off the highway at an unknown location in northern Manhattan and continued north, but the woman was able to escape from the car when it stopped at a red light on Park Avenue. The suspect is described as a black man in his 30s, short hair, dark skin, with a beard. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential. In May of 2015, a woman was raped by a driver who had a fake Uber sign in his car window. We reached out to Uber to ask if they have any guidance for customers to help them avoid getting into a car with a fake Uber driver, and we'll update if we hear back. Gloria Steinem has been on the front lines fighting for women's equality since the 1960s, and though she's drummed up a fair share of controversy, she's earned her status as a feminist legend. On Thursday night, she'll be at the Brooklyn Museum to speak with famed feminist scholar, activist, and writer Angela Davis at the 2016 Sackler Center First Awards, an annual event that celebrates women who have managed to break gender barriers while making remarkable contributions in their fields. We caught up with Steinem before the event to get her perspective on the perils of a Trump presidency, what young women should be fighting for, and why Beyonce is a feminist icon. Im a millennial, and my generation is having some trouble. Theres been a lot of talk about how womens rights have been moving backwards, with the Oklahoma abortion law, and states defunding Planned Parenthood, and it seems like the outlook for womens equality is actually worse than it was 15 or 20 years ago. Well yeah, there is a backlash. But that has to do with past successes. So youre not responsible for that. So what do you think the future looks like for us? It depends what we do every day. Its really up to us. Theres nothing automatic about it. I mean we do now have the majority support in public opinion polls, which is a good thing and very different from how it was in the beginning [of the feminist movement]. But also part of the reason we have a backlash is because now the minority of people who are on the other side are getting worried about many things. Not only are women as a group rebelling but also, in very short order, the country is not going to be a majority white country anymore, which is of course tied up with women rebelling. They just feel theres what they assume to be a natural hierarchy shifting under their feet. So it is a time of danger. But its not something that is so unexpected. In the beginning [of a movement], you get resistance because this is a whole new idea. It seems to be going against God or Freud or somebody, nature itself. And then there is this second stage of resistance that comes along because youre winning because youre the majority. What are some issues that todays young women need to fight for? Im here to support the issues you want to fight for. I think you know them. Its quite possible that you know them better than I do. For instance, graduating in debt from college and university is something that didnt happen to my generation or happened much less and is a big problem, a huge problem. To be indentured at the exact same time that you should be able to adventure is not a good thing. It requires figuring out why its happening. Its mainly happening because state legislatures are building prisons with the money instead of giving the money to universities. So that says that we need to focus on the state legislature much more than we have. Weve tended to look at Washington more than state legislatures, which is why were losing and also why the abortion battle has shifted to state legislatures because the majority are controlled by the right wing. How do you see the future of the country emerging when were making positive steps in certain states, like plastic bag taxes, creating the Belmont-Paul National Monument, and marriage equality, but there are also states creating these TRAP laws like in Texas and Mississippi, and with the transgender bathroom bill? How do we strike that balance? We look at where the leverage of power is and go there. Like state legislature, most Americans dont know who their state legislators are. As a movement, we havent really focused on state legislatures since the equal rights amendment. So now we need to do that. We can make it fun. If you have 200 people in a group in Texas, each of you can choose a state legislator to focus on, because it seems overwhelming to focus on them all. If one, 12 or 20 people focus on each one, and monitor that person, then inform and/or harass or dis-elect, its quite doable. What do you think the future will look like for women if Donald Trump becomes president? It would be as bad as he could possibly make it. The only possible good news about Donald Trump is that he doesnt believe in anything. Unlike some of the other right wing presidential candidates who really believe it, he doesnt believe in anything. It would be hard to find a better symbol of crazed masculinity gone mad than Donald Trump. Even people who dont usually comment on the gendered nation of politics are commenting on his insane kind of testosterone poisoning. Theres been an apparent divide between older women who support Hillary Clinton and younger women who support, or supported, Bernie Sanders. Ive seen it with my friends and with my family members. Some people have argued that since younger women have always lived in a world where they had access to birth control and abortion, that women who havent had children or havent had to make certain choices with careers, dont have that experience. Do you think that thats true, that we havent quite struggled enough yet? It was certainly true for me. We get educated by what happens in our lives. I didnt realize how tough it was to make change until later on. We get educated by our experience. I think because Bernie is talking about free universal education, and young women are not only experiencing the same debt as young men, but also realizing that that theyre going to get paid a million dollars less over their lifetime to pay the debt back, I think that has great appeal. I think it also may be true that young women dont realize that the president doesnt affect that. I have faith that well all come together in the end. I think it will all work out. Why do you think its important that we elect Hillary Clinton? Well, setting gender aside, because obviously I wouldnt vote for Sarah Palin, she may be the most experienced and effective candidate weve ever had. I cant think of another presidential candidate who has had the kind of experience she has. Also from her Wellesley graduation speech, to her struggle for health care, shes always been out there. Neither she, nor you, nor I, agrees with everything that emerges from a democratic process. She knows how to go in there and make it better than it would have been without her. What's the most important women's issue not being discussed during this campaign? I think theyre all being discussed, but im not sure that the connections are being made. That is, I think by now we understand that sex and race are totally connected. You cant maintain a racist division without controlling reproduction, which means controlling women. Im not sure that so far anybody but Hillary Clinton has understood that. When were assessing our foreign policy, trying to make foreign policy decisions, if we look at the degree of violence against women, well make much better decisions. For instance, we supported in Afghanistan in the past, the Mujahideen, who were the generation before the Taliban. If we had looked at their position on women, we never would have supported them. We made a huge mistake to do so, as it turns out because they turned out to be the Taliban. That decision was made because the more secular regime, which we should have been supporting in Afghanistan, seemed too friendly to the then-Soviet Union. Nobody that I am aware of was looking at the reason [the Mujahideen rebels] went to war against the more secular regime. Three things were in the headlines: one, that the government in Afghanistan was allowing girls to go to school, two, that they were saying women had consent to marriage, and three that women could go to political meetings. If we listened to that, we would have not armed them, which we did. Is there a possibility in the future that the United States will be taken back by the religious right? I hope not. Theres a wonderful book called Fighting Words, which is something Robin Morgan did a few years ago. Its the accumulation of all the founding fathers talking about religion. They were so hostile to religion that they didnt even want to have chaplains in the army or in congress because they had seen what happened with the combination of religion and monarchy in Europe. They were way more hostile to religion than we have become. The right wing doesnt seem to understand that. They keep supposing the founding fathers were religious, which they definitely were not. Jefferson rewrote the bible by hand. So no, I think religion is very often politics in the sky. If God looks like the ruling class, the ruling class is god. Its very dangerous for us to forget that division. A major fight for equality right now involves transgender rights. I know that some transgender women feel that feminism excludes them. There are some feminists that think the battle for transgender rights is overshadowing womens rights or is at odds with womens rights. Do you think that theyre at odds? I dont think theyre at odds. Because anything that challenges the gender bifurcation and the polarization into masculine and feminine is a good thing. Certainly transgender people by and large are challenging it. I think what feels disrespectful [to some feminists] is the idea that you could just change your clothes and become a woman without the experience of being a female human being walking around for 30 or 40 years. But who are we to say that the transgender person who has probably all the time identified as a woman hasnt had that experience? We have to accept peoples self definition. A lot of young women are idolizing celebrities like Kim Kardashian and people whove become famous not based on any sort of talent or anything like that, but just because theyre famous for being famous, as opposed to celebrating women who used their education to tackle more instead of, say, their looks or reality show stardom. Is this problematic? Well it depends who it is. Doesnt it? I would say Beyonce is someone who, within her sphere and her experience, is a serious human being who puts content into her work. I saw her a couple of years ago in England. There was this massive concert with lots of different performers and she was the last one. It was a benefit for funds for violence against women around the world. At the end she came out and said to this huge number of women, thousands mostly women, she said, I know its hard, but were together for the next hour and youre safe. I was very moved by that. She puts feminism on the stage and she uses the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's definition of feminism, and her latest, Lemonade, is very, very daring. So that has content. Kim Kardashian has no content that Im aware of. I dont know. Do you know of any? Well, she's very good at marketing herself. Yeah but thats not content. So it isnt whether or not the person is a celebrity, its who the character is inside the celebrity. The 2016 Sackler Center First Awards will be held tomorrow at 6 p.m. the Brooklyn Museum, with honoree Angela Davis in conversation with Gloria Steinem, and remarks by First Lady Chirlane McCray. You can purchase tickets here. When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to have a pet. I was very sad about this for many years, but the universe works in mysterious ways, and since I moved out of my childhood home I have had many pets. I've had silverfish, for one thing, and drugstore beetles, and ants. I've had spider beetles, stinkbugs, and moths. I've had bedbugs twice, and my kitchens have hosted several generations worth of mice. Now, there are tiny German cockroaches living in my closet, and they like to come out and say hi when I turn off my light. Why these creatures are drawn to me is unclearall I ever wanted was a puppy. Of course, I am not the only one who's been repeatedly besieged by vermin. In New York, pests reign supreme, taking over our homes, streets, subways, movie theaters, Greyhound buses, dumpling shops, and viral hoax videos. Here is a ranking of the most unpleasant infestations, from most tolerable to most horrifying, as experienced by one battle-scarred, boric-acid armed New Yorker. Silverfish: Silverfish are slithery little weirdos that wiggle around and like to nibble on your cardboard boxes, papers, and clothing. They can do damage to your home and property, apparently, and they're hard to get rid of, especially in the summer when things are humid. I had silverfish in an apartment in Baltimore, and though it was unsettling to see them slither across my desk, they never really bothered me. To keep them out, use a dehumidifier to make your home environment less welcoming to silverfish, sweep up dust, vacuum regularly, and use liquid sprays, bait or dust (tips here) to weed out the rest of them. Or you can do what I did and whack them each individually with a copy of Hegel and the Human Spirit. At least that philosophy class was put to some use. Drugstore beetles: The first time I saw a drugstore beetlecrawling across my pillow, no lessI was convinced it was a bedbug. I then proceeded to spend the next four hours comparing the teensy specimen to Google images of bedbugs. Thankfully, at some point I determined they were not, and I was able to sleep. Drugstore beetles aren't nearly as bad as the rest of the creatures on this list, but they are pretty annoying, and they multiply like crazy. The summer they were in full force, we found them everywhereclimbing walls, clustering behind picture frames, and crawling over our pillows and bedspreads. When I moved out, I found thousands of teeny dead beetle bodies behind my bed and nightstand, and it was pretty gross. If you find yourself with a drugstore beetle problem on hand, you need to track down exactly where they're infesting. As the American Museum of Natural History's resident entomologist, Lou Sorkin, told us in 2014: "You have to find out what theyre infesting. It could be potpourri, which is common. They like spices, so paprika is a pretty commonly infested thing." They also like dried plants and forgotten rodent baits. Awww, look at the little baby roaches! (Sergei Toronto/Shutterstock) German cockroaches: There's a big difference between German cockroaches and waterbugsthough the former are smaller and less gross to squish; the latter, while fat and gross, are usually one-offs and not part of a significantly larger invasion. I had my first German cockroach infestation in a bathroom in Greenpoint, and my second is currently being battled in my closet in Crown Heights. A roach infestation is difficult to deal with, but it's not insurmountable. I am not a fan of sprays, which kill on contact but do little to kill off the little guys you can't see. Your best friend in a roach infestation is boric acid, which you can purchase at a hardware store or on Amazon. Sprinkle a very thin, nearly unseen amount the powder along baseboards and in corners where you've seen bugs (it helps to put a penny in the bottle and shake it up first before you sprinkle). When the roaches walk over the powder, the acid's positive charge will stick to the roach's body, screwing with its exoskeleton and killing it in about 72 hours. The bad news about boric acid, which can also be used to kill silverfish, is that you might see roaches walking around in daylight for a few days while they die. The good and important news, though, is that it probably means it's working. You only need one application of the acid (though feel free to apply again in a few months to be safe), and you can also buy Combat or Raid traps to keep any surviving creatures at bay. It's also a good idea, while you're fighting these bad boys, to caulk up any holes in your baseboards and floors, and to ensure you don't have any food items or exposed wet spots and moisture (leaks, etc.) bugs can get to. They need water to survive, and they also feed on everything from human hair to the corpses of other roaches, so do your best to keep things nice and clean so the buggies stay away. Cute, but evil. (Eric Isselee/Shutterstock) Mice: This may be controversial, but I believe a mouse infestation is far worse than a roach infestation. Mice, in my opinion, are more psychologically affecting. As Spielberg proved in Jaws, the unseen horror is the most unsettling, and mice like to announce their presence from the shadows. You can hear them squeaking and rustling around when you can't see them, for one thing, and they leave droppings all over your stovetops long after you've tried to convince yourself they're gone. I am against sticky traps, which do you the duel disservice of forcing you to stumble unsuspectingly upon a writhing, squealing mouse and leaving you responsible for killing it, since letting the poor thing starve to death seems even less humane. I once watched a friend bash a stuck mouse's head in with a wine bottle, and the sound of the poor thing's final whimper still haunts me. Snap traps, meanwhile, threaten your feet, and even the sight of a tail sticking out of those little black house-like ones makes me squirm. In college, I suffered a mouse infestation so severe I stopped going into the kitchen altogetherthose Baltimorean rodents were so unyielding one managed to escape while still attached to a sticky trap. In Bushwick, we had an infestation an exterminator likened to Stage IV cancer, and my roommate woke to find one fat little dude jumping in her bed. Somehow, at some point we stopped seeing the mice, but they still left little hard poops on our counters. Keeping mice out of your apartment is difficult, but there are ways to mitigate an infestation. Keep food in plastic containers, and never leave dishes in your sink. Shove steel wool in any open crevice in your apartment (radiators, behind your sink and dishwasher, etc.) Set up the aforementioned sticky traps at mouse-entry points and steel your stomach. Call an exterminator and expect to spend some cash. Mice are dirty, unsettling, hard to get rid of, and too cute to kill. Fuck mice. Bedbugs: Bedbugs don't carry diseases like mice or roaches, but the psychological terror that will grip you when you find one of these bad boys gripped to your mattress is something that will stick with you years after your exterminator gives you the all-clear. The funny thing about it is that bedbugs aren't actually that hard to get rid of, provided you catch the infestation before you've got bugs crawling the wallsa few visits from the exterminator and a handful of trips to a laundromat will usually do the trick well enough. But the fact that bedbugs come out to FEED on YOU at NIGHT, when you're most defenseless and dreaming about being Han Solo or pulling your teeth out or turning into a sushi burrito, is deeply unsettling. Roaches are gross, but they aren't after you; mice drive you crazy, but they'll leave you alone. Bedbug infestations are best battled by a professional (for one thing, the sprays they sell in hardware stores aren't potent enough as what an exterminator can get his or her hands on.) If you find a bug, or suspect that cluster of bites is suspicious, call an exterminator ASAP. You should do this through your landlord so he or she can have neighboring apartments treated, but there are private companies you can call, too. The worst part of having bedbugs is the night between calling the exterminator and waiting for him to arrive in the morningyou know those little fuckers are lying in wait, but there's not much you can do about it. You will be tempted to sleep elsewherethe couch, a friend's place, with a Tinder datebut DO NOT, because bedbugs know when their food's going elsewhere, and the worst thing you can do is spread your infestation around. The best exterminators, I've found, are the ones with those cute little bedbug sniffing doggies. This is both because the doggies are so cute, and also because the dogs are usually able to pinpoint the exact areas that are infested, so you don't have to clean/launder/throw out things unnecessarily. Your exterminator will then treat infested areas, give you instructions re: bagging clothes and belongings, and set up a date to return in two weeks. I've found throwing clothes and bags in a dryer on high heat for a minimum of 30 minutes is good enough to murder buggies and their eggskeep your clean clothes bagged until the exterminators return and give you the all-clear signal so you don't re-infest anything. It usually only takes a few treatments to get rid of a mild-to-medium infestation, but it's the paranoia that strikes deep. I spent months checking for bites, even though I never even had any initially (some people don't react to bedbugs). Anything I buy at a thrift store I bag and throw in a dryer immediately. A vacation stay in a hostel or two is panic-inducing. My back started itching as I wrote that last sentence, and I'm considering checking my mattress again. Bedbugs are beatable, but they also bite at your brain, and so, they win the title of Worst Infestation. Thus ends the ranking. Other infestations I have not experienced but imagine are quite terrible are: termites, rats, toilet rats, and toilet snakes, all of which are real and probably planning to attack my home at some point in the future. Stay tuned! Five high-ranking NYPD officers have filed for retirement in the last two weeks as top cops continue to try to contain the damage from an FBI corruption investigation. The latest, Deputy Chief Eric Rodriguez, former second-in-command at Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, and Deputy Chief Andrew Capul, former second-in-command at Patrol Borough Manhattan North, filed for retirement on Tuesday. Both were demoted by their bosses in April in connection with a wide-ranging federal investigation into possible corruption in the upper echelons of the department, as well as in the Mayor's Office, among businessmen and a Jewish neighborhood patrol in Borough Park, and an alleged Ponzi schemer in Harlem. Capul was stuck on an administrative post and Rodriguez was working the Support Services Division at the time they called it quits, the New York Post wrote. Last week, three others whose names have been publicized as targets for questioning in the probe put in their papers: Deputy Chief David Colon, Deputy Inspector James Grant, formerly head of the Upper East Side's 19th Precinct, and Deputy Housing Chief Michael Harrington. So far, 11 officers have been demoted or stripped of their guns and badges in relation to the investigation. Inspector Michael Ameri, head of the Highway Patrol, killed himself last month after federal investigators reportedly pulled records on police escorts provided by his unit. It is not clear whether Ameri was a target of the feds. Officers and community members dedicated a stretch of bike lane outside the 78th Precinct station house, Ameri's former command, to Ameri on Tuesday, the Daily News reported. Roy Richter, president of the Captain's Endowment Association, a union for high-ranking cops, told the Daily News that no one filing for retirement has internal charges pending, and none "has been identified by federal investigators as a target of their investigation." Both Capul and Rodriguez have put in more than 20 years on the job, so they are set to receive pensions even if they are later arrested and convicted of felony crimes. Former Borough Park Community Affairs Detective Michael Milici was fired for pleading the Fifth Amendment before a grand jury, and for failing to show up to a departmental trial, but because he had already filed his retirement papers and had put in 27 years, he will keep his pension, his attorney told the Staten Island Advance. Grant, once commanding officer of Borough Park's 66th Precinct, retired less than a month shy of 20 years, meaning he won't receive a full pension. Colon, Grant, Harrington, and Harrington's onetime boss, retired chief of department Philip Banks are among the officers reported to have accompanied businessmen Jeremy Reichberg and Jona Rechnitz on international vacations, possibly in exchange for police escorts and other favors. Last month, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said he expects more people to be fired, and some to be arrested, as the investigation proceeds. Corey Pegues, a retired deputy inspector who has written a book about selling drugs as a teenager, escaping with a clean record, and joining the NYPD, knows many of the cops named in the federal investigation. He said that he is not surprised by any of it. "I've seen this movie before," he said, emphasizing that he did not have inside information about the investigation. "It's NYPD corruption." During his time with the department, Pegues became an outspoken critic of police misconduct and what he saw as unfair treatment of black and Hispanic people within the department and on the streets. In his book Once a Cop, he writes that gifts were a constant temptationofficers are barred from accepting anything worth $50 or morestarting with restaurant managers trying to give beat cops free meals and growing from there. As a commander, he said, it was not uncommon to be approached by a prominent person and offered, say, a Rolex. Pegues said he resisted temptation, but that from the sounds of things many others at the top of the department may not have. "Commissioner Bratton said this is going to be bigger than the Knapp Commission," he said (Bratton told the Post, "Youd have to probably go back to the Knapp Commission days to find [an investigation] that has that focus on the senior leadership of the department."). "Do you know how big the Knapp Commission was?" Convened by Mayor John Lindsay in response to information about corruption publicized by famed whistleblower cop Frank Serpico and Sergeant David Durk, the commission concluded in 1972 that corruption was "an extensive, Department-wide phenomenon, indulged in to some degree by a sizable majority of those on the force and protected by a code of silence on the part of those who remained honest." The findings led to reforms of the NYPD, including heightening individual responsibility for reporting corruption, stricter personnel standards, new community relations programs, and increased support for the Internal Affairs Division. Some cops were ousted and officers and civilians were convicted of crimes as a result of the investigation. It seemed like there were an unusually large number of new restaurants and concessions opening out on Rockaway last summer, and the good news is that the best of the bunch are back to feed all of our beautiful beach bodies once again. Old favorites like Tacoway Beach and Rippershome to NYC's best fish tacos and one its best burgers, respectivelywere both mobbed throughout the weekend, with the likes of Bolivian Llama Party, Playland Grill, Chicks to Go, Caracas Arepas, Breezy's Barbecue, and the essential La Newyorkina all also enjoying the return of summer customers. That said, there are a few new options by the beach this year, and a couple of things in the works. Brothers (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) BROTHERS AT BEACH 106 Joining Caracas Arepa at the Beach 106th Street concessions is a brand-new outfit from two brothers (and Rockaway Taco alumns) called Brothers. The emphasis here is on healthy dishes using fresh ingredients like the superb, just-made bread from local baker Diwa, produce from nearby Edgemere Farms, and salad greens from the great Campo Rosso Farm who also, by the way, have one of the best booths at the Union Square Greenmarket. The menu at Brothers will change based on whatever looks best, but last Saturday, in addition to my terrific breakfasta thick slice of delicious seedy bread slathered with almond butter, drizzled with NYC honey, and topped with datesthere was also an egg, cheddar, and ramp pesto sandwich, a kimchi grilled cheese, and a brown rice bowl. Oh, and scoops of Blue Marble ice cream. Sharkys (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) The concessions at Beach 97th Street are always popping, and this summer there's a new reason to wade into the crowds: Sharky's Grilled Cheese, which specializes in exactly that. There are a few different options here, all on potato breadI had the cheddar-and-butter El Classico with added bacon, and it was okbut the stealth hit is the overflowing boat of twirly Ribbons Chips, which are freshy-fried, seasoned with "secret" spices and, if you're smart, covered in nacho-like cheese. Santa Salsa (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) SANTA SALSA ON BEACH 96 Last year, the former home of Rockaway Taco on Beach 96th Street saw a rotating series of pop-ups, called Summer Shift, none of which really found their footing. This summer the now-iconic space with that breezy little side yard has a permanent tenant, the terrific Santa Salsa, who you may know as the dudes who flew the pirate flag from their cart on the boardwalk. The new Santa Salsa was a bit laggard in its opening times over the weekend, so I didn't get to try anything, but the appealing menu features such things as a crazy burger topped with potato chips, ham, avocado, fried egg, and more; a crazy plate of french fries smothered in three kinds of meat (streak, chicken, bacon), veggies, and housemade BBQ sauce; and a crazy mushroom burger called La Halucinogena. 95-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard at Beach 96th Street Beach Bistro 96 (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) BEACH BISTRO 96 As stated recently, this all-day Brazilian cafe on the corner of Beach 96th and Rockaway Beach Boulevard is serving excellent food, especially the Feijoada, which is a stew made from about four different kinds of meat, black beans, a thick, complex broth, and, following tradition, is only available Wednesday and Saturday. Also highly recommended: the Pasteis (like empanadas), and the sweet, coconutty, Tapioca "crepe." 95-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, at the corner of Beach 96th Street NEW BAKERY & SURF MUSEUM AT BEACH 96Word has it that David Selig, one of the co-founders of the original Rockaway Taco, is opening a surf museum with bakery in his Palms complex on Beach 96th Street, but nothing looked close to being ready over Memorial Day. Stay tuned. MooSkyBlue (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) MOOSKYBLUE AT BEACH 67 Although Beach 67 long ago stopped being a secretit's still not nearly as crowded as the areas around Beach 90 and 97, but it's not close to empty, eitherand they've added a new swimming section to the traditionally surfers-only stretch, there are still no big boardwalk concession stands down this way. If you're thirsty, the By the Beach Coconut tent will sell you a $6 husk filled with coconut water shipped from Thailand, but the better move is to get whatever Arley Tapirian is hawking from her MooSkyBlue "icicle tricycle" filled with hippie snacks and terrific homemade ice cream creations. If she has the Dark Dark Chocolate variety, get it. Ok, so MooSkyBlue isn't new, but the scheduled Trop Pops cart we were all excited about didn't pass NYC inspection it seems, and so wound up in Riis Park, which is managed by the more laid-back National Park Service. Fat Cardinal Bakery at Uncle Louie G (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) FAT CARDINAL BAKERY AT UNGLE LOUIE G ON ROCKAWAY BEACH BOULEVARD For a full-on dessert experience, the Uncle Louie G on Rockaway Beach Boulevard between Beach 96th and 97th is hosting a pop-up of sorts (it's just a table in the corner) by the guys from local cookie masters, Fat Cardinal Bakery. The cookies are good on their ownor, at least, the chewy Almond Cherry I ate while waiting for the A was goodbut if you really want to go to town, you can create your own ice cream sandwich using all of the goodies at your disposal here. 92-10 Rockaway Beach Boulevard between Beach 96th and 97th The driver who struck and severely injured a pedestrian in the Financial District last spring has pleaded guilty to felony charges. According to a release from the Manhattan DAs office, 35-year-old Tiffany Murdaugh has been convicted of second degree assault and first degree reckless endangerment for driving her 2013 Dodge Challenger up on the sidewalk on Beekman Street on the morning of April 13, 2015. Murdaugh almost struck a mother walking her child to PS 379, before hitting a 37-year-old woman and dragging her several feet. Murdaugh fled the scene and later got into a fender bender when trying to park the car in Brooklyn. The Post reported that Murdaugh told investigators that she blacked out after smoking marijuana: It must have been laced with something." The victim suffered a broken knee and head injuries. Murdaugh faces 2 years in jail and 3 years of probation on the assault count, and 2 to 6 years in jail on the reckless endangerment count, to be served concurrently. Shes scheduled to be sentenced on August 3. This defendant careened onto a sidewalk near an elementary school at 8 oclock in the morning on a school day, Vance said in a statement. It is a miracle that no one else was hurt by her recklessness. This driver not only narrowly missed a mother and her two young children, she seriously wounded a woman who had to endure months of physical therapy to rehabilitate her leg. I hope this conviction serves to deter reckless and illegal driving that endangers our Citys residents. Murdaughs conviction is the latest in a string of Vision Zero wins for the Manhattan DA. Vances office recently secured a homicide conviction against Thomas Shanley, who struck and killed Charity Hicks in 2014 while she was walking in Midtown. Shanley fled the scene. Jesus Fabian was also convicted of evidence tampering after he struck and killed Antonio Ramirez on West 176th Street in 2013. Fabian also fled the scene. And Roberto Mercado was convicted of criminally negligent homicide for striking and killing Jean Chambers in an Upper West Side crosswalk in 2014. Yet if Vance is eager to charge dangerous drivers who strike pedestrians and flee the scene, he is less willing to use the citys Right of Way law, a misdemeanor which punishes drivers for failing to yield to pedestrians and cyclists. Vance dropped Right of Way charges against the driver who struck and killed 86-year-old Peter Romano while making a right turn on East 96th Street in 2014, claiming that the victims short stature and the poor visibility from the truck complicated the case. Vance also did not charge the driver who struck and killed 24-year-old Mallory Weisbrod in Midtown last August. A Transportation Alternatives report released in December that analyzed the response of the citys DAs to traffic violence praised Vance for his aggressive prosecutorial leadership, but also noted that he "places traffic violence as a priority well below cybercrime and money theft, even though traffic is the leading cause of injury-related death for New York City children." The report found that fewer than 1% of the drivers involved in roughly 4,000 hit-and-run crashes in 2015 that resulted in injury or death were charged with a crime. We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today News, analysis, and archives on the grassroots in Haiti. Nouvel, analiz, ak achiv sou baz yo an AYITI. Noticias, analisis y archivos sobre el pueblo de Haiti. For All U of U Health Patients & Visitors St. Peters Hospital is replacing one Olson with another, at least for now. The hospitals Board of Directors on Wednesday named Dr. Fred Olson as the interim replacement for outgoing CEO Nate Olson, who announced his exit in December to pursue an opportunity closer to his family in Colorado. The incoming Olson, a longtime Helena internist and former executive vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, takes over the hospitals top job effective immediately. A statement released by the hospital notes a leadership committee comprised of appointees from inside and outside St. Peters will continue exploring what leadership models best serve St. Peters mission, including a process to secure permanent leadership for St. Peters. Fred Olson will not be considered among committee-selected candidates for the permanent CEO position. The 66-year-old New York native said thats fine by him. He expects to hold down the fort for the next year or two before slipping back into retirement. We have to conduct day-to-day operations successfully, Olson said. You need to set a standard of providing high-quality health care and patient safety. I have no reason to suspect those arent well done today, but you can always improve. Ill make that an emphasis of my tenure as interim CEO. In a statement, hospital board chair Mark Taylor lauded Fred Olsons local experience and said the former Blue Cross executive was uniquely equipped for the job. A St. Peter's spokeswoman said he is now one of only three hospital CEOs in Montana with past experience as both an administrator and clinician. Olson said hospital board board members decided to bring him on board late last week, and had not yet finalized his contract or offered him a salary. BILLINGS As Brad Veeder limped through the dark forest bleeding and scared, his one thought was about the graphic bear attack scene he had watched months earlier in the movie The Revenant. What kept going through my mind is that its following me and its going to pounce, he recalled. It certainly could have finished me off. I was not looking forward to being eaten alive. In the movie set in the early 1800s, actor Leonardo DiCaprios character is mauled nearly to death by a grizzly bear in a scene that some reviewers called disturbingly lifelike. In contrast, Veeder was the victim of a black bear attack that was not nearly as vicious but was real real blood, real pain and visceral fear. Yet the May 10 attack in Great Smoky Mountains National Park seems a world away on this day. The 49-year-old Veder sits on an ottoman in the living room of his parents' home. Hes at ease talking about the incident, grinning so often that he feels compelled to note that even before the attack he was a person who smiled easily and often. Now he has even more reason to be happy. I have so much relief and gratitude to be alive. Although the former Billings West grads puncture wounds from the bears bite to his calf are now mostly healed, covered only by Band-Aids, he thinks the next time he sleeps outdoors in a tent he will be a bit nervous. I was shocked, said Jolane Jones, Veeders older sister, about hearing the news from her mother. I think its totally a miracle that he ended up as unscathed as he was after a bear attack. Bear facts Although there are an estimated 1,500 bears spread across Great Smoky Mountains National Parks more than 522,000 acres, black bear attacks are fairly rare, according to Jamie Sanders, park spokeswoman. The park advises hikers, which number in the thousands since the Appalachian Trail passes through the Smoky Mountains, to hike in groups, carry bear spray, hang their food out of a bears reach and even provide shelters to sleep in and cables to hang food on. Having grown up in Montana and backpacked across the West in regions occupied by grizzly and black bears, Veeder was familiar with the drill: dont leave food in your tent, hang your food away from camp, etc. He wasnt even using a cook stove, deciding instead to avoid the hassle and just eat cold foods. I was very careful, he said, even keeping his food in an odor-proof sack. His attention to details may come from his former career as a computer network engineer. Yet Jones described her brother as awfully adventuresome, evidenced by a stint as a teacher in Southeast Asia and extended bicycle trips in Korea, Japan and Taiwan after leaving the computer business. Hes not afraid of taking risks, and hes pretty smart, she said. The trip he had started on April 30 was meant to be a hike along the entire distance of the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail, a walk from Georgia to Maine. Unfortunately, he only made it about 180 miles. Night of the bear Veeder arrived at the Spence Field Backcountry Shelter at about 11 a.m., exhausted after a lengthy days hike of about 17 miles. But the shelter and even the overflow camping areas were full of hikers. Park trail workers suggested a field about 200 feet farther up the mountain as a good place to pitch his tent. Another shelter located about 3 miles before Spence Field had been closed because of bear activity, perhaps leading to congestion at Spence Field. So Veeder pitched his lightweight tent in the field, pumped some water, ate and then hung his food, washed his feet and socks and hung them out to dry, before crawling under his sleeping quilt. He guesses it was around 10:30 that night when he was awoken by a crushing pain in his left leg, which was resting against the tent fabric as he laid on his right side. It felt like it was in a hydraulic press, Veeder said. It was a frightening deal. Immediately upon waking and sitting up, Veeder realized what was happening and yelled at the bear, whose ear must have been fairly close to Veeder's mouth at the time. No bear! Go away! The bear retreated, leaving Veeder wondering if he was simply having a nightmare. But then the bear attempted to walk into the tent. Veeder punched the bear as hard as he could, possibly hitting it in the shoulder, which he said felt like a rug with meat behind it. At the same time he continued yelling. No bear! Back off! The cloudy night was so dark that Veeder couldnt see the bear, and the bear probably couldnt see Veeder in his thin-walled tent. Which is fine, he said. I didnt want to see it. Second assault Then the bear began attacking the small tents vestibule, an enclosed area near the head of the tent where gear can be stored overnight to keep it dry. Veeder yelled as loud as he could again, thinking that maybe someone at the nearby shelter would hear him. The bear would back off, then attack again. Veeder said it happened about four times before everything went quiet. Thats when the bear apparently found Veeders socks hanging nearby and gave them a thorough and loud sniffing. Then the bruin hit the vestibule harder than any of the previous attacks but again backed off. I sat there holding my leg, Veeder said. Hed been sleeping in long underwear bottoms that were now soaked with blood from the calf down. I waited about 10 minutes and finally realized I have to go. I put on my shoes, coat and grabbed my quilt. Long walk Thats when Veeder began limping back toward what he thought was the shelter, hoping that he could get help. But it was so dark that he almost walked into a tree. Not only was he worried about the bear attacking again, but he also feared he might get lost in the thick, dark forest and wander around bleeding and confused. Luckily, he stepped onto the smooth surface of the trail. As he got closer to where he thought the shelter was located he began yelling that hed been attacked by a bear, been bitten and was bleeding. He cried out for help asking where the shelter was. Its right over there, a mans voice yelled in irritation, as if it was too obvious to miss. A female camper heard his pleas and joined him in the shelter. Her tent was only 40 feet away but in the morning had also been shredded by a bear. Another hiker wrapped up his leg. One camper was able to get a cellphone signal and call 911. The trail workers also had a radio on which they called park rangers who appeared in the afternoon on horseback. While waiting for the rangers to arrive, fellow campers retrieved all of Veeders gear from his campsite. The bear had chewed everything, even my aluminum tent poles, my smartphone, book, plastic water filter, Veeder said. Bear search Three days later park rangers trapped a 400-pound male black bear in the area and euthanized it based on a comparison of its bite and the marks on Veeders phone. Unfortunately, a later DNA test comparing saliva on Veeders shredded gear to the bears revealed it was the wrong animal. Another black bear trapped in the area on May 20 also failed the DNA test but was released alive with a GPS collar. The first bears neck was so big a GPS collar wouldnt fit. While human injury is rare, we have recently had multiple incidents of bears ripping into tents in the backcountry, the Park Service said in a press release following Veeders attack. The months of May and June are particularly difficult for bears due to the lack of abundant natural foods. Summer foods, primarily berries, will begin to ripen over the next several weeks and we historically see less aggressive bear behavior after that point. Yet only last June, a 16-year-old Ohio boy was dragged by his head from his familys Great Smoky Mountains campsite by a black bear. His father had to jump on the bears back and punch it repeatedly in the face before the bear released its grip on his son. In 2000, the park recorded its first lethal bear attack when a sow and yearling female attacked and killed a 50-year-old Tennessee woman. She was the first person killed by a black bear in a federal park or reserve in the Southeast, according to news accounts. Going back Despite the incident, Veeder said he plans to return to the Appalachian Trail, this time hiking from the north to the south. He wont be doing any camping off by himself, though. Ive slept really well since the attack, he said, with no nightmares or post-traumatic stress. But out on the trail I think it will take me a few nights to settle down. Although the two puncture wounds in his left calf missed his shin bone and never severed an artery, hes hoping the injuries are big enough to leave marks. I hope I have a scar, he said and smiled. I want to have something to back my story up. Its a story that has become a precautionary tale for Veeder, because even though he thought he had done everything right, he was still attacked. Even if youre really careful and use best practices, you can still get a rogue bear. And if it does happen, you just fight. At 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, Veeder is no bantamweight bear fighter, but bears are incredibly strong with a bite force thats been estimated at 700 pounds. Still, one of the common instructions given to people who run into a black bear is to appear big and fight back. The attack may have frightened Veeders family more than it has him. I will never spend a night in a tent again, said his older sister. Its too scary. A 39-year-old Helena woman has been arrested for allegedly threatening a man with a kitchen knife. Alicia Mae Violante faces a felony charge of assault with a weapon. Authorities say Violante threatened to stab her husband Saturday during an argument over parental duties. The next day, she allegedly fought with him again, this time accusing him of stealing her medication and threatening to stab him, according to court documents. "The defendant denies brandishing a knife but did admit to thoughts of harming the male victim to include cutting his jugular or stabbing him in the neck," the arresting officer wrote in documents. Police arrested Violante on Sunday after receiving a report of a fight on the 1500 block of Broadwater Circle. An 18-year-old man is hospitalized in critical condition following a crash on Montana Highway 21 Tuesday evening. The man's vehicle collided with a trailer on the state highway between Augusta and Simms. Authorities say the man was reportedly "spinning broadies" in a dirt parking lot when his vehicle went out into the roadway and struck the trailer, which was being towed. The man, who is from Montana, although his hometown is not known at this time, was airlifted to Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls. He was listed in critical condition as of Tuesday night, according to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton. The other driver was in stable condition. The crash was reported at about 5:30 p.m. An investigation into the crash continues. The Montana Highway Patrol was on scene reconstructing the collision Tuesday night. A guest letter from the retiring administrator of the Montana State Hospital describes the good intentions of the state officials in moving patients with disabilities to a former youth prison at Galen. The letter describes selling points that one might pitch if one were trying to sell, for example, a new prison. The reality at Galen (and by reality, I refer to the actual living conditions of the newly-imprisoned patients) is very different from the officials stated intentions. Disability Rights Montana knows that reality because we dont rely on newspaper stories or politicians for our information; instead, we rely on professional staff who actually go into the facilities for several hours at a time on a near-weekly basis, to physically observe the facilities, the patients and staff, and to personally talk with the people who live and work in the facilities. The reality is that since the move to Galen, patients have not been allowed to go outside for fresh air because there is only one very high razor-wire fence; a second fence is being constructed inside the already small yard and patients are confined indoors until that second fence is finished. In addition, Galen has imposed new prison-like restrictions that were not in place at the hospital. These include greatly diminished phone time, and only one phone in the entire facility for nearly 50 patients. DRM was told in February that phones were to be installed. As of this date, there is still only one wall phone so patients take turns passing around a cellphone with very poor reception. The executive branch of our state government never discussed the Galen facility or creating a new mental health prison with the 2015 Legislature. As a result, many legislators, including those on the oversight committee for DPHHS, were surprised and disappointed when the move was announced only after the 19-year lease for the facility had already been signed. The unnecessary institutionalization of people with mental illness is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C., which is a landmark civil rights case prohibiting the segregation of people with mental illness in congregate institutions, apart from the rest of society. Just like confining racial minorities to segregated facilities (schools, bathrooms, restaurants, parks, theaters) is wrong, confining people with mental illness to segregated facilities or institutions is also wrong. Olmstead is the federal law of the land a national public policy that states are not free to ignore. Mr. Glueckerts letter concludes with a good observation, but a false premise: the good of patients, staff, and communities does matter; but the institutionalization of more and more people is not the way to achieve that common good. Montana needs to adopt 21st century best practices in community mental health care and align its mental health services system with the federal public policy (Olmstead) that requires it. Bridgitt Erickson is an attorney with Disability Rights Montana. In 1964, Congress designated the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Fifty-two years later, on May 12, 2016, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project, which -- among other things -- would modestly expand the boundaries of the "Bob." Why is this relevant? Because big game needs big country. When it comes to abundant wildlife populations, one of our biggest challenges is providing enough room for wildlife to roam. The most fundamental way to protect our hunting heritage is by protecting the habitat that both wildlife and hunters depend upon. In their recent resolution supporting the project, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission addressed this positive relationship between protecting security habitat and the abundance of Montanas big game species. They said the Blackfoot Clearwater project would help ensure the future viability of the Blackfoot-Clearwater Game Range, which supports wintering elk, mule deer, whitetail populations and over 200 other species of wildlife who utilize the surrounding habitat year-round. They also said the project will help preserve the future viability of Montanas native fishes, including bull trout and Westslope cutthroat, by protecting the North Fork of the Blackfoot, Monture Creek, and West Fork of the Clearwater River -- all are critical habitat for spawning fish. Its important to recognize that nobody is proposing these new protections lightly. This effort is community driven and developed by local residents. Several long-time Seeley Lake and Ovando residents and business owners came together around the local sawmills conference room table 10 years ago to hammer out a proactive agreement for the Blackfoot and Clearwater valleys. Thats why all three local county commissions in the area support the project. The Blackfoot Clearwater project isnt just about protecting important headwaters like Monture Creek, the North Fork of the Blackfoot and the West Fork of the Clearwater River. It also included active forest management, restoration, and local jobs in the woods. Community members have already successfully leveraged federal funds to pay for ongoing stream restoration and vegetative treatment on our national forests. These treatments have improved habitats for elk, bighorn sheep and deer populations. They have improved watershed health by reestablishing natural stream channels, combating noxious weeds, and removing barriers to fish migration. Importantly, they have also created jobs. But the work is not done. Protective status for the higher elevation headwaters has yet to be realized. Its time to change that. We hope Montanas delegation will pay attention to the recent endorsement by the Fish and Wildlife Commission. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project will protects our rights to fish and hunt on public land in Montana for generations to come. Hunters and anglers have always been at the vanguard when it comes to conserving critical habitats, and special places. Its why we are joining the Fish and Wildlife Commission in urging our Montana delegation to introduce the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project as soon as possible. Kathy Hadley is a lifelong hunter and angler, lives on a ranch in the Deer Lodge valley and is currently president of the Montana Wildlife Federation board of directors. Johnny Nunez/WireImageThe Universal Zulu Nation is no longer standing by their leader, Afrika Bambaataa, after previously refuting claims from the hip-hop pioneer's alleged sexual abuse victims. In a statement obtained by ABC Radio, the organization apologizes to those who have allegedly been victimized by Bambaataa, who has denied the allegations. "On behalf of the members of the Universal Zulu Nation worldwide, who have made their voices heard through their chapter leaders, we extend our deepest and most sincere apologies to the many people who have been hurt by the actions of Afrika Bambaataa and the subsequent poor response of our organization to allegations leveled against him," the statement reads. Included in the statement are mentions of Ronald Savage and Hassan Campbell, who were some of the first to speak out against the "Planet Rock" producer. "To the survivors of apparent sexual molestation by Bambaataa, both those who have come forward and others who have not, we are sorry for what you endured and extend our thanks to those who have spoken out for your bravery in bringing to light that which most of us were sadly unaware of, and others chose not to disclose," the statement continues. Just weeks ago, the group defended Bambaataa, saying that Ronald Savage, who made the first accusation, was mentally challenged. Now the organization is promising change and to educate their members and communities on child molestation and sexual violence, as well as seek justice for Bambaataa's alleged victims. The statement was signed by over 30 Zulu Nation leaders representing chapters from the United States to Australia. The organization was founded by Bambaataa to promote art and unity in the hip-hop community. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. If the Central Illinois comnedy scene becomes a comedy version of Decatur Celebration, that's fine by me. Gilbert Gottfried performs at the Decatur Civic Center on Sunday, June 5. This comes on the relative heels of Kevin Meaney performing at Decatur's Lincoln Square Theatre and at Mason City Limits. And let's not forget Will Durst's series of appearances at Mason City Limits over the years. Gottfried is an interesting choice for Decatur. It's not one on which I would have been willing to gamble, but that's more because the general tastes around here have regularly confused me. I'm glad my living doesn't depend on bringing in touring acts and selling tickets. I'd have been broke dozens of times by now. I'm a fan of Gottfried, but I know how he can annoy some people. Are there enough people in Decatur to make his appearance worthwhile and profitable? I hope so. One of the great things about comedians is they are only expected to stay sharp mentally. Both Emo Phillips and Bobcat Goldthwait, contemporaries of Meaney and Durst and Gottfried, have made a number of appearances in Mason City, Springfield and Peoria during the past 10 to 15 years. Goldthwait is rounder and has less hair, and has only recently abandoned his opening line of Yeah, you don't look the same either. Phillips talked about his hair being gray for a movie. I can get it on the senior discount now. All of the comics are delivering new material as well, some of them making direct references to their own pasts, mocking as well as celebrating. At its best, that's what happens at Decatur Celebration as well. DECATUR Quick, how many different pizza combinations does Dominos have on its menu? The answer is 34 million. And new rules passed down by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will require pizza franchises to list calorie information for every item on their menus. Sound impossible? Thats what pizza franchisees around the country have tried to tell the FDA. We tried to work with them, said Chris Brandon, Director of Investor Relations and Legislative Affairs for Dominos. But instead, the issue is being argued in the U.S. Legislature. The problem dates back nine years, according to the Lyle Beckwith, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the National Association of Convenience Stores, convenience stores are another group struggling to figure out how theyll meet the FDAs new guidelines. All these cities and townships began coming up with ordinances requiring caloric information, Beckwith said. Theres a McDonalds in every town in American and they all have the same menu, but all these ordinances were different. So they went to Congress and asked them to pass one law making the rules the same around the country. When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, it included a law that eventually said if 50 percent of a business profits came from prepared food, they had to list the number of calories in each item on the menu board. That included restaurants that were part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items. The problem was, the way they wrote it was perfect for McDonalds, but not other entities, Beckwith said. If you walk into any fast food restaurant, theyre all the same. You walk up to the counter, theres a menu board and you order off of it. Its a piece of cake for them. But for pizza places and convenience stores, its not so simple. A pizza chains customer procedure is completely different. At Dominos, 90 percent of orders are taken either by phone or online, and according to customer surveys, just 1.5 percent of customers ever even look at the menu board. Their procedure is very one-size-fits all, but were just different, Brandon said. Putting that information on menu boards is a really ineffective way for our customers to assess calorie information, and it would be costly for our individual franchises to try to do. To truly meet the requirement, a pizza franchise would have to wallpaper its store with each individual combination. And even if ranges were used for each size of pizza, it would be ineffective. So wed have a sign that no one is even looking at saying that this slice of pizza is between 50 and 400 calories. Again, not very helpful, Brandon said. Brandon said it wasnt that Dominos and other pizza franchises were against posting caloric information, but prefer to use an online tool called the cal-o-meter. The intent of the law was good. We agree that labeling and being transparent with customers is good, Decatur Dominos franchisee Mark Ratterman said. But the law the way it is written doesnt make any sense for the pizza industry. It would penalize a lot of small businesses and franchise owners $5,000 per year per store to update the menu because it changes from year to year. Thats not a financial burden you want to put on any businesses. The solution is to provide it online. If a customer does have a question, they can go to our website and see exactly how many calories their pizza will have and change the toppings as they want to. Beckwith said the rules are murky for convenience stores, too, particularly because many stores under the same franchise offer different things. Theres not always a lot of continuity between franchises, Beckwith said. And different foods might be sold in different parts of the store. There might be a salad bar in one part, rotisserie chicken in another, subs in another and pizza in another. Everyone has a unique situation. Everyone has unique issues, which is why you cant have one size fits all regulation. All were asking for is flexibility. Currently, the pizza and convenience store chains have a bill in Congress, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, which passed the U.S. House and awaits Senate action. Were not looking for some landmark decision and were not trying to get out of labeling, Brandon said. We just want some flexibility and to save our franchises from putting money into something that doesnt benefit consumers in any way. MIAMI More than 10 years after her first surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Marlie Casseus is still grateful. Im so happy to be able to be back here, the 23-year-old resident of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, said while speaking at the same hospital where doctors saved her life in 2005. That first surgery, to remove a 16-pound tumor from Casseus face, made the then-teenager internationally famous. Her struggles with a rare form of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, a condition that causes bones to swell and become jelly-like, attracted widespread media attention. Casseus was featured on the Discovery Channel. She has her own Wikipedia page. Casseus also has dreams of becoming a photographer, she said during a press conference. Through an interpreter, she told the gathered reporters, I would love to be one of you. Casseus traveled to Miami this week with a group of about 150 Haitian nurses, in celebration of National Nurses Week. The life-saving care that Casseus received at Jackson came through Jackson Health Foundations International Kids Fund and a Haitian charity, Good Samaritan for a Better Life. Doctors at Jackson donated their time, and the Jackson Health Foundation received more than $100,000 in donations to support Casseus. All told, the young woman has had about 10 surgeries at Jackson. The first of those surgeries, in 2005, lasted nearly 16 hours. When this child came to us, she was in very bad condition, she couldnt eat, she couldnt breathe, said Niurka Del Valle, senior director of major gifts at the Jackson Health Foundation. Del Valle said Casseus has gone through an amazing transformation that improved both her health and her confidence. Right now, shes able to live a normal life, Del Valle said. Shes on Facebook. She has friends. She has a better outlook on life. At one point in her talk with reporters, Casseus became teary-eyed. She said they were tears of joy. Im overwhelmed, she said. Although the treatment Casseus received at Jackson saved her life, the road to recovery hasnt always been easy. Because of the extensive damage caused by the original tumor, Casseus had to re-learn how to speak and swallow. There have also been follow-up surgeries in 2014, for example, she underwent several procedures to open up a closed nasal passage, and to replace two nasal tubes. She spent months in the hospital. In the future, there may be additional cosmetic surgeries to further repair her face. At home in Haiti, Casseus hasnt attended school since the catastrophic earthquake of 2010, which destroyed her special-needs school. But in dealing with those obstacles, Casseus now has an extensive support network of doctors, including her older sister, Stellcie, who was inspired to become a physician because of Casseus condition. Ginette Eugene, a nurse who co-founded Good Samaritan for a Better Life, the Haitian charity, said Casseus life is far different from where it was before the surgeries. Before 2005, she said, Casseus condition was simply getting progressively worse, and her family had no ability to help her. Marlie was left in her room to die, because there was no hope, no physician could save her life, Eugene said. DECATUR -- Four teens have been arrested for multiple robberies of two separate locations in southern Macon County. Dalton Johnson, 18, Jordan Farris, 18, and Waylon Harris, 19, were arrested May 23 on charges alleging their particiaption in the robberies of Dippin' Merv's in Blue Mound and the Macon Speedway Track Enterprises in Macon between May 14 and May 23. A fourth teen, a 17-year-old juvenile, was also involved in the burglaries. Deputies of the Macon County Sheriffs Office were initially called to Dippin Mervs on May 14 to investigate a burglary that occurred overnight that resulted in a safe and money being stolen. A deputy contracted out of Blue Mound recalled a car traveling at high speeds near the area the night of the burglary, and video surveillance in the area showed the same car as the lone vehicle in the parking lot during the night. Deputies were told by Moweaqua chief of police that the vehicle belonged to a juvenile who had recently been arrested for a burglary at the local high school. Three days later, deputies were called to the Macon Speedway Track Enterprises concerning a forced burglary and the theft of two surveillance camera systems valued at over $1,000. Due to the similar method of forced entry, deputies considered the two robberies connected. On May 17, the stolen safe from Dippin Mervs was located in a body of water off Hibbard Road on the east side of a bridge. Deputies also found a cellular phone, which was later tied to Farris. The juvenile admitted to deputies that he, Farris and Harris were involved in the burglary, and said that Farris had lost his phone as the three of them dumped the safe in the creek. Hours after the Dippin Mervs burglary, the juvenile and Farris were observed by video surveillance entering the north Walmart in Decatur at around 1:35 a.m., where the juvenile is seen purchasing a large, flat-screen television with cash. The juvenile admitted to police that he used the money to purchase a television and surround sound speakers, which were located at his residence. On May 23, Macon County sheriffs detectives observed the same vehicle in the area of the Macon Speedway Track Enterprises building and later by Dippin Mervs. Detectives made contact with the juvenile and Johnson as they were parked in the car in Moweaqua, where the two admitted they had committed burglaries at both locations. The juvenile and Johnson, along with Harris, allegedly admitted to deputies that they had stolen about $200 worth of goods from the Speedway and cookies and change from Dippin Mervs. In regard to the stolen camera system, both the juvenile and Harris admitted they were currently in possession of them. Johnson is held in Macon County jail on $25,000 bond, while Harris, who was released from prison in March after a prior burglary charges, is in Macon County jail on $60,000 bond. DECATUR A special prosecutor was formally appointed Tuesday to investigate allegations of misconduct by City Manager Tim Gleason. The investigation relates to Gleason's use of a police car and driver on May 7, 2015, to reach the St. Louis Airport for a personal trip following his appearance at the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce State of the City breakfast. The Macon County State's Attorney's Office filed the request for the special prosecutor, which was granted by a judge. First Assistant State's Attorney Nichole Kroncke wrote that prosecuting Gleason could be a conflict of interest for the office or create the appearance of impropriety. Gleason's use of the car and driver has been a central point in former Decatur police Chief Brad Sweeney's lawsuit against the city. Sweeney alleges that Gleason fired him on Feb. 4, in part, for objecting to the use of the car. Gleason declined to comment Tuesday. Gleason has previously acknowledged that he took the police car and driver to attend a scheduled trip to California for an event related to his son's Army service. He has said former Mayor Mike McElroy, who died in July, told him to do so. The appointment Tuesday comes nearly two weeks after former Decatur police Chief Mark Barthelemy filed a petition in Macon County Circuit Court requesting a special prosecutor be appointed to investigate Gleason. Macon County State's Attorney Jay Scott said at the time that he had referred the information about Gleason to the Illinois State's Attorney's Appellate Prosecutor's Office, along with a report related to alleged eavesdropping and official misconduct by Sweeney. However, the appellate prosecutor's office only considered itself appointed to the Sweeney case, according to the response Scott filed Tuesday to Barthelemy's petition. The process began in March, when Scott received reports of an Illinois State Police investigation into Sweeney's actions. Shortly after, Sweeney's attorney sent information about Gleason's use of the police car and asked for criminal charges to be filed against Gleason. The state's attorney's office has a potential conflict of interest in both cases, Scott wrote. He filed a motion for appointment of a special prosecutor and forwarded all the materials, including those related to Gleason. On May 18, the day after Barthelemy filed his petition, the appellate prosecutor's office advised Scott that the motion he filed specifically addressed only the conflict with Sweeney. Because of this, the office had technically not been appointed special prosecutor regarding the allegations against Tim Gleason. The appellate prosecutor wanted to decide whether to pursue charges against Sweeney before accepting the Gleason case, Scott wrote. The office was slated to announce that decision in a letter that had not been filed as of Tuesday afternoon. On Friday, the appellate prosecutor agreed to accept the Gleason case. The process of obtaining independent review by a special prosecutor as to the allegations against Tim Gleason was initiated well in advance of the present petition, Scott wrote, calling Barthelemy's petition moot. Barthelemy said Tuesday that he thought Scott had done the right thing by obtaining the appointment of a special prosecutor in the Gleason matter. I wish that had been done earlier. That would have avoided my action, he said. Meanwhile, a judge still is considering whether to dismiss Sweeney's lawsuit against the city of Decatur. Attorneys for both sides argued about the legal standing for the case in a hearing last week. Macon County Circuit Judge A.G. Webber IV said Thursday he planned to take the arguments under advisement and issue a decision in the reasonably near future. WASHINGTON The report on Hillary Clinton's email by the State Department's inspector general last week was devastating not because of how she handled email but because of how she handled investigators. The report's revelations weren't particularly revelatory: Clinton violated department policies and went further than predecessors in her use of private email, but she wasn't the first to take this path. Beyond that, as my colleagues Rosalind Helderman and Tom Hamburger reported, officials say the FBI has "found little evidence that Clinton maliciously flouted classification rules." But what's damning in the new report is her obsessive and counterproductive secrecy: The Office of the Inspector General said it "interviewed Secretary Kerry and former Secretaries Albright, Powell, and Rice. Through her counsel, Secretary Clinton declined OIG's request for an interview." "In addition ... eight former Department employees [most of them Clinton aides] declined OIG requests for interviews." "Two additional individuals did not respond to OIG interview requests." "OIG sent 26 questionnaires to Secretary Clinton's staff and received five responses." The stonewalling creates a firm impression, well captured by CNN's Wolf Blitzer last week when he interviewed Clinton's spokesman, Brian Fallon: "If she didn't do anything wrong and she had nothing to hide, why didn't she cooperate with the inspector general?" There is no good answer to this. And that's why the IG report was just another of Clinton's self-inflicted wounds caused by her tendency toward secrecy and debilitating caution. Donald Trump has decided to dub her "Crooked Hillary." This isn't quite true: Though investigations into her activities have occupied much of the past 25 years, her accusers, from Whitewater to Benghazi, never really get the goods. But what Clinton has been is nearly as problematic as being crooked: Hunkered Hillary. At the first sign of conflict or accusation, Clinton circles the wagons, shuts her mouth and instructs those around her to do the same. This generates a whole lot of smoke, even if there's no fire. Fifteen months ago, when the email scandal broke, I viewed her use of a private server as an extension of the "same flaws that have caused Clinton trouble in the past terminal caution and its cousin, obsessive secrecy. In trying so hard to avoid mistakes in this case, trying to make sure an embarrassing e-mail or two didn't become public Clinton made a whopper of an error." She resisted releasing records on the Whitewater land deal (causing the scandal to drag on, leading to the independent-counsel investigation that exposed the Monica Lewinsky scandal) and about her 1993 health care task force (giving her opponents ammunition to defeat the plan). This time, she again hunkered down. Clinton's response is emblematic of her caution. While Trump and Bernie Sanders drive the narrative of the 2016 campaign with their freewheeling styles, Clinton is missing: She puts herself into the debate less often than the others and, when she does, she says little to merit headlines. Her hiring of a full slate of advisers to President Obama, himself a cautious leader, reinforces the risk aversion. But caution won't win this year, and it's unclear whether Clinton will, or even can, liberate herself from the bunker. The inspector general's bottom line wasn't good: "She did not comply with the department's policies." But the description of Clinton's secrecy was worse. When one State staffer raised concern about Clinton's private email, this person was told "that the secretary's personal system had been reviewed and approved by department legal staff and that the matter was not to be discussed any further." Investigators found no evidence of such a review. What they found was stonewalling by Clinton and her aides. This, not mishandled email, is what tripped up Fallon as he tried to defend the candidate to Blitzer. "It looks as if she's got something to hide when she doesn't even want to answer questions from the inspector general of the State Department," the anchor said. Fallon tried to argue that Clinton and her aides prioritized the similar Justice Department investigation and were cooperating with that one. Then he insinuated that "there were hints of an anti-Clinton bias" in the IG's office. The vast right-wing conspiracy had infiltrated the State Department! Asked Blitzer: "Are you accusing the inspector general of the State Department" a Democratic appointee "of having an anti-Clinton bias?" The spokesman retreated, noting that the report documented "that the use of personal e-mail was widespread and done by her predecessors, including Secretary Powell." And that might have been the takeaway if Hunkered Hillary hadn't let her instinctive caution again get the best of her. Since the beginning of May, five Illinois state troopers, two firefighters and a civilian have been injured, and another civilian killed, because of drunk or distracted driving or failure to obey Scott's Law. How many more people must be hurt or die before the motoring public realizes that "slow down, pull over" isn't just a catchphrase? A Decatur woman died May 9 when she drove into the path of an Illinois State Police squad car with lights and sirens activated. The Decatur Herald & Review said the trooper, who was injured, had been rushing to assist in the hunt for a Mahomet suspect who had allegedly shot and wounded a police officer. A trooper along Interstate 55, near O'Fallon, was injured May 5 when his stopped squad car was rear-ended. It appears it was a case of distracted driving, state police spokesman Calvin Dye Jr. told the Belleville News-Democrat. Jack in the Box was all over the inside of the windshield. A trooper in Massac County, just north of Paducah, Ky., was injured May 5 when his squad car, with lights activated, was struck by an apparent drunk driver. Three people in a car previously stopped by the trooper also were injured, as well as the third driver, WJPF AM reported. A trooper in Moline was injured May 6 when a van driver disobeyed a traffic control device and hit the squad car, the Moline Argus Dispatch reported. Two state troopers were injured May 20 when an alleged drunk driver hit their squad car during a traffic stop along the Stevenson Expressway near Bolingbrook, WGN TV reported. Two Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District firefighters and a civilian were injured May 25 in Lincoln when the woman allegedly failed to yield for a fire tanker truck with lights and sirens activated. Tow truck drivers, highway construction workers, police, fire and rescue workers can share horror stories of close calls, of motorists who ignore lights, sirens and reduced speed zones. They may be texting (illegal), talking on a phone (illegal), drugged or drunk (illegal), in excess of allowable hours behind the wheel (illegal) or simply in a hurry, distracted by a kid or worse just thoughtless. Scott's Law, named for a Chicago firefighter, requires drivers to change lanes (if safe to do so) or reduce speed and proceed with caution when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing warning lights. Central Illinois has lost several first responders because of people who haven't followed Scott's Law, even though it's been in effect for 14 years. It's time to pay attention. Someone's life depends on it. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) Illinois appeared poised at press time to enter a second year without a budget after lawmakers finished their legislative session Tuesday without agreement on a spending plan, setting up a November electoral showdown while public schools and social service providers brace for an uncertain future. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's suggestion for a last-minute, short-term budget to give the state some near-term stability amid the 11-month impasse also failed to gain traction with Democrats. Hours before adjournment, Rauner delivered a verdict on the past five months. "Today we end the spring session of the General Assembly in stunning failure," he said, blaming Democrats for prolonging the budget battle in what sounded like an election-year stump speech. Democrats argue Rauner's yearlong insistence on passing pro-business legislation and curbing the power of unions one of their strongest constituencies is the reason for the historic impasse. Come November, the wealthy former venture capitalist will try to chip away at Democrats' majorities in the House and Senate while they look to boost their numbers to impose their will on the first-term governor. As the budget stalemate has dragged on, Democrats have refused to give in to Rauner's demands, and he hasn't back down, either. Rauner wants business-friendly legislation that he says will spur economic growth in exchange for signing off on a tax increase to address a $5 billion deficit. Democrats say Rauner's ideas hurt the middle class. With about an hour to go before they finished work, Democrats had no viable budget proposal. The Senate rejected the House's $40 billion budget plan, which was $7 billion out of balance. Meanwhile, with only hours before they adjourned, Senate Democrats pushed stand-alone proposal for public schools that Republicans decried as an unrealistic because it added nearly a billion dollars at a time when the state is running a massive deficit. Senate President John Cullerton said lawmakers were working to find the money to cover the costs. He said the proposal is what Rauner asked for when he requested lawmakers fund education by itself so it wouldn't get caught up in a possible overall budget veto. "I'm very certain we can sit down with the governor after this passes and we can work out the differences in our two approaches," Cullerton said. But House Democrats indicated they weren't going to take up that proposal Tuesday night, leaving its future prospects uncertain. Illinois has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the country without a budget for the current fiscal year, which began July 1. The stakes for getting a budget this time around are higher because public schools are afraid they won't have funding to open this fall. Rauner's temporary budget proposal sought to fund public schools through next year and provide support for financially-strapped social service providers and higher-education institutions through December. "If the Democrats leave here today without having done that, every single rank-and-file Democrat who sides with their leader against keeping the state operating wears the collar," said Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno. Last week, Rauner's administration opposed a temporary fix when Democrats first raised the idea but relented as the end of the session neared. Lawmakers can keep working after the session ends and have said they will. But passing legislation will become more difficult. They needed a simple majority to pass a budget before adjournment Tuesday night. After that, they'll need three-fifths support from each chamber. Democratic leaders said they'll consider the idea of a short-term solution over the coming weeks. DECATUR -- Local officials will await one more look into potential archaeological sites along the planned Macon County Beltway route before the long-discussed plan can come to fruition. A memorandum of understanding among the Federal Highway Administration, Illinois Department of Transportation, Macon County and the Illinois State Historical Preservation Officer that would investigate sites of potential historical relevance was approved Tuesday night by the Macon County Finance Committee. Studies conducted by the preservation officer and the federal and state departments have identified nine archaeological sites that represent historic Native American and Euro-American sites that could be affected by the beltway project. The memorandum would allow additional archaeological surveys and test excavation to be conducted to determine whether the site would be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. If any sites are deemed eligible, the multiple agencies would then attempt to avoid and minimize potential impact. If impact cannot be avoided, then a data-recovery excavation will be conducted by IDOT. No timeline for the work was provided in the memorandum, though Macon County Highway Engineer Bruce Bird said after Tuesdays approval that it is one of the last hurdles to leap before the beltway construction can fully begin. Its the big one weve been waiting on, he said. In other business, the county will seek to continue its agreement with the village of Long Creek that allows off-duty deputies from the county sheriffs office to be employed by the village. Those deputies will be considered employees of the village during their shift, and will be provided a police vehicle and insurance coverage by the village. The agreement comes up on an annual basis, and sheriffs Lt. Jonathan Butts said it has been successful for the several years they have done it with the village. This month we continue our spring break from equal employment enforcement to examine another issue. Youre in the checkout line at the grocery store. Over in the next lane, two customers argue loudly over who got there first. Interesting, but of no great concern to you. You are a spectator, not a participant. Doesnt matter to you who wins; you just wish theyd stop fussing at each other. Thats exactly the way most people feel about the war that is raging between two venerable human resource associations. In one corner stands SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. SHRM is a broad-based member association made up of HR professionals. In the other corner is HRCI, the Human Resource Certification Institute. This battle has absolutely no impact on how you do your day-to-day business. But it might be important to know just a bit about it the next time you fill an HR position. And as the certification chair for the Decatur area SHRM Chapter, I have had a ringside seat. Everything was fine until the summer of 2014. SHRM and HRCI had distinct roles, and each organization stayed in its lane. SHRM played the role of professional association providing technical assistance and knowledge, spawning a vast network of local chapters, hosting conferences, and providing study guides for those studying for certification. HRCI limited its role to professional certification: administering tests, overseeing renewals, and maintaining a hands-off attitude. It offered the two best-known certifications: PHR (professional in human resources) and SPHR (senior professional in human resources), plus specialized credentials for international and California-based practitioners. All was well; the two groups shared similar logo designs and were headquartered in the same offices in Alexandria, Virginia. Then things abruptly changed. Two years ago SHRM announced that it would henceforth offer its own certification system, with two new designations: SHRM-CP (the CP is for certified professional) and SHRM-SCP (the S is for senior). In doing so, it went into direct competition with its former partner, HRCI. As in many divorces, one partner prettified itself in a hurry. SHRM added three attractive incentives. First, it made a limited-time offer for holders of HRCI credentials to acquire SHRM certifications through the end of 2015 it was free and required no test. Second, SHRMs basic exam is easier, with a pass rate of 69 percdnt contrasted to HRCI at 57 percent. Finally, SHRM made its recertification process much easier than HRCIs with less stringent pre-approval processes, no added requirements for senior-level credentials, and lower fees. This action started a bitter battle that still rages. SHRM promptly withdrew its study materials for the HRCI exams, and HRCI fired back with several new levels of certification. SHRM claimed that its certifications were based on real-life competencies, not rote knowledge and memorization of facts. Its exams offer more scenarios. HRCI countered that its exams do contain complex scenarios and test for the same skills, only more rigorously than SHRM. Critics of SHRM say that it is motivated by the chance to collect recertification fees, which are $100 for SHRM and $150 for HRCI. With up to 50,000 persons eligible for recertification each year, this is a $5 million-plus market. So far, HRCI is holding its own, with 145,000 persons holding HRCI certifications. At last count, SHRM had about 92,000, most of them HRCI holders who added a SHRM credential. Most HR practitioners still value the better-known PHR and SPHR designations. What does this mean for employers? Some companies are taking sides, requiring that their HR staffers hold credentials from one contestant or the other. I recommend that employers accept either certification. The two organizations have bitterly parted ways. HRCI has a new logo and new administrative offices. SHRM and HRCI will likely be fighting for a long time, over in the next check-out lane. I say, let them fuss and stay the heck out of it. Lynda Ortega, left, stands beside Tara Gray while being presented Tuesday evening with a bouquet of flowers and a framed photograph in recognition for her work with Comal Countys Relay for Life. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. Gov. Scott Walker, shown here speaking earlier this year at an event at Monona Terrace, tried to eliminate the Wisconsin Idea as part of his 2015-17 state budget. When that effort was revealed, he claimed that the proposed changes were a "drafting error." Many people thought his claim was ridiculous, and last week all doubt was removed after previously secret records were opened as the result of a lawsuit. The truth is that Walker did not tell the truth. PHOTO BY SAIYNA BASHIR The best way to get into the Halloween spirit is by streaming some spooky flicks. Here are the best Halloween films on Hulu, from scary thrill An apparently homeless Racine woman faces felony charges of armed robbery and aggravated battery for allegedly stealing money and stabbing a woman who tried to help her get food and clothes. Valerie A. Fisher, 32, of the 1100 block of Washington Ave., appeared in Racine County Circuit Court Tuesday facing charges of armed robbery, aggravated battery and two misdemeanor counts of bail jumping in connection with the incident, which occurred May 22. According to the criminal complaint, a Racine woman attempted to help Fisher, who the victim said was homeless and a drug user, with clothes and food in the 1400 block of 12th Street. Once at the residence, Fisher told the victim she wanted alcohol and drugs and demanded money, the complaint said. The victim refused so Fisher punched the victim about a dozen times in the back of the head, then reportedly stabbed the victim in the hand and the leg with a wooden-handled serrated steak knife, the complaint said. Fisher, who according to court records has a string of convictions for drug possession, obstruction and prostitution in Dane and Racine counties, was in Racine County Jail Monday, jail records showed. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 8, court records showed. Investigators discovered three children alone Monday in a South Side house littered with drug needles and garbage before arresting their father for robbing a La Crosse credit union and their mother for neglect. Shane Sherburn, 37, told police he robbed the Altra Federal Credit Union inside Festival Foods, 30 Copeland Ave., about 3:10 p.m. Saturday to pay off a heroin debt to his getaway driver, 41-year-old Rodney Simmons of Illinois, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in La Crosse County Circuit Court. The teller turned over $862 after Sherburn demanded cash on a note written on a deposit slip. He did not show a weapon and fled in a car waiting outside the store. La Crosse police used security video to identify the getaway car and Simmons, who admitted driving Sherburn to the grocery store, but denied involvement in the robbery, the complaint stated. Officers were monitoring Sherburns house at 947 Green Bay St. while investigators prepared a search warrant, and they saw him leave in a car and arrested him at 3:15 p.m. Monday. His wife, 36-year-old Tenesha Sherburn, also left the house. Investigators found the couples three children, ages 10 years, 7 years and 10 months, alone in the house covered with garbage, dirty dishes, food containers, soiled diapers and more than 300 syringes. Investigators indicated it was extremely dangerous for anyone to live in the residence, the complaint stated. Investigators were barely able to walk through the house due to all of the items all over the place. Tenesha Sherburn admitted to concealing the clothes her husband wore during the robbery in a used needle collection container, according to the complaint. Sherburn told investigators Simmons threatened him into robbing the credit union to repay an $850 drug debt, according to the complaint. The stolen money was not located. La Crosse County Child Protective Services found safe places for the children. The citys inspection department was notified about the condition of the dwelling. Prosecutors charged Shane Sherburn and Simmons each with robbery with threat of force as party to the crime. Shane Sherburn and his wife each are charged with three counts of child neglect as party to the crime, while Tenesha Sherburn also is charged with aiding a felon. As early as 2013, Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne said the county was dealing with "a heroin epidemic." He said that because in 2012, at least nine people in the county died from heroin overdoses. That problem only got worse in the following years, peaking at 19 in 2014 and reaching 16 in 2015. However, due to a crackdown on abuse of prescription opiates, which often leads to heroin addiction, on both legal and governmental levels, Racine County may start to see a significant drop in heroin and drug-related overdoses. According to Payne, three people have died from heroin overdoses in the county so far in 2016, with another dying from a combination of heroin and cocaine, according to numbers as of Tuesday. At the same time last year, six people had died in the county from heroin overdoses. "Between [drug awareness] campaigns like The Fly Effect and first responders carrying narcan, that could contribute to these numbers decreasing," Payne said. However, the number of fatal overall overdoses so far in 2016 remains steady with 2015 numbers. Seventeen people have fatally overdosed in the county on various prescription pills and other drugs since Jan. 1, while at this time last year 16 people had fatally overdosed. Through aggressive law enforcement and legislation, there's reason to believe both numbers will continue to fall. Operation Orange Bottle On Friday May 20, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling addressed the media with several prominent county officials at his side. He told the story of one Racine drug abuser who sold an entire prescription to an informant immediately after getting it filled. "The ink wasnt even dry on the orange bottle yet and they were already selling their entire scrip," he said. That day, Schmaling announced that 50 people had been charged with prescription drug related offenses since his office initiated a crackdown in fall 2015, and that those charges were just the tip of the iceberg. His agents, led by Metro Drug Unit head Sgt. Scott Krogh and in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Agency, are buying prescription drugs almost daily. "The goal of this operation has been to identify those sources of supply and to stop them from obtaining these very prescriptions and selling them to our children in our streets." County Executive Jonathan Delagrave, who stood by Schmaling's side at the news conference, said the sheriff's office deserves all of the credit for the operation's early success. "The county and myself want to make sure he has all of the resources to proactively deal with this issue," Delagrave said. "You can see by the results of Operation Orange Bottle that its been a really good thing for Racine County. As the list of those charged and educated through the operation grows, Delagrave thinks the number of overdoses will go in the opposite direction. "I think with all of those things in total, youll see a huge drop," he said. "Were really proud of the collaboration we have." National legislation While local law enforcement has cracked down, Congress has been busy passing bills to quash the nationwide opiate epidemic. At a March 15 news conference, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., stressed Congress' commitment to solving the problem. "We need to make addressing this opioid epidemic a priority, and that's exactly what the House will do," said Ryan, who represents Racine County in Congress. According to Ryan's press secretary Ian Martorana, the house has passed 18 bills since 2015 that specifically deal with opiate abuse. Those bills address everything from addiction treatment to prescription regulation. One of the bills, H.R. 5046, was proposed by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. According to a press briefing from Ryan's office, the bill will establish a "streamlined, comprehensive opioid abuse grant program" that will train first responders and law enforcement and aid investigators and drug courts with enforcement. "Addiction is a problem that affects all Americans, and it has been pushed to the back burner for too many years," said Sensenbrenner, of Menomonee Falls. Sensenbrenner, who represents Wisconsin's fifth district, hopes his bill will positively impact the lives of millions of Americans. "The swift and bipartisan actions by Congress not only signal the seriousness of the situation, but also the fervor to find and implement meaningful solutions," he said. And it's that bipartisan effort that encourages Ryan about the possibility of developing a comprehensive solution to the epidemic. "I am encouraged with the bipartisan steps taken by the House, and look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to get a comprehensive bill on the Presidents desk," Ryan said. LeRoy T. Roy Carlson, founder and chairman emeritus of Telephone and Data Systems, has died. He was 100 years old. Chicago-based TDS is parent company of TDS Telecom, Madison, and Suttle-Straus printing, Waunakee, as well as U.S. Cellular, and OneNeck IT Solutions of Scottsdale, Arizona. Roy was a visionary and an inspiration to those who knew him personally and professionally, TDS chairman Walter Carlson, his son, said in a statement. Roy was always looking forward and saw new opportunity in every situation. He understood and appreciated the great potential in telecommunications and its ability to improve the lives of all people. Born on May 15, 1916, in Chicago, Carlson displayed entrepreneurial skills from an early age. His parents, Axel and Gerda, were immigrants from Sweden.When his father, a carpenter and contractor, could not find work during the Depression, young Roy pitched in, selling fruit and vegetables from a cart in his South Side neighborhood. He earned a bachelors degree in business from the University of Chicago in 1938 and a masters from Harvard Business School in 1941, working his way through graduate school by running a laundry pickup and delivery service for students. But beyond that, Carlson was particularly proud of a manual he wrote, along with two other Harvard M.B.A. students, on how to organize U.S. resources to prepare for World War II. Sent to advisers to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the manual brought the trio a meeting with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, where they presented her with a copy of the book-long document, just months before the U.S. entered the war in December 1941. During World War II, Carlson served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1943; later, he served in the U.S. Navy, from 1945 to 1946. After the war, he held a variety of business management positions, including a stint working for Joseph P. Kennedy at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Carlson founded TDS in 1969. Starting with a handful of rural telephone companies in southern Wisconsin, it has grown to a nationwide telecommunications provider with revenues of $5 billion in 2015 and more than 10,000 employees. Carlson celebrated his 100th birthday with more than 100 well-wishes from employees at TDS in Madison, TDS spokeswoman DeAnne Boegli said. He died eight days later, on May 23. His survivors include his wife, Margaret; children LeRoy Jr. (Ted), Letitia, Prudence, and Walter; a sister, Florence Wertz; and 10 grandchildren. A private funeral service was held for the family on Memorial Day with plans in the works for a public celebration of his life at a future date. TDS Telecom has 3,400 employees, including about 1,100 in Madison, while Suttle-Straus has about 180 employees, according to personnel figures provided to the Wisconsin State Journals 2016 Book of Business. OneNeck has a large data center in Fitchburg. A full obituary is on Page A6. A Madison man was jailed on $15,000 bail after a criminal complaint was unsealed charging him with involvement in a shooting from a car last month that injured a girl in an oncoming car. The 17-year-old victim told police that while she was hospitalized after the shooting, which happened May 1 on the 1300 block of Fish Hatchery Road, the driver of the car from which the shots were fired called her and apologized, saying the shots were intended for her boyfriend, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court. The complaint charged Maurice Graham Jr., 18, with being a party to first-degree reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm from a vehicle. Graham was also charged with misdemeanor bail jumping. The complaint was initially filed under court seal on May 12. Graham was arrested in Chicago on May 19, and the case was unsealed Tuesday after Graham was brought back to Madison. He appeared in court on Wednesday. Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said police believe that Cortez A. Dobson, 16, of Madison, fired the shots from Grahams car. Dobson is currently in the Dane County Jail, following his arrest on May 9. Five days earlier, Dobson had led police on a high-speed chase on Madisons North Side after police tried to arrest him, according to a complaint filed last month against Dobson. According to the complaint against Graham: The shooting victim, who was identified in the complaint by initials, told police she was a passenger in a car along with her boyfriend, Joseph Balcarcel. Another man was driving. They noticed they were being followed, the girl told police, so they turned around. As they came alongside the car that was following them, the girl told police, gunshots were fired and she was struck. They drove immediately to St. Marys Hospital. The girl sustained wounds to her left arm and chest. Police later recovered 14 bullet casings, a mix of .45-caliber and .40-caliber casings, from the 1300 block of Fish Hatchery Road. The girl said that while she was at the hospital she received a phone call from Graham, who apologized. Graham said he didnt mean for her to get hurt, because Balcarcel was the real target of the shooting, the girl told police. Balcarcel, 18, of Fitchburg, faces first-degree reckless endangerment charges for his alleged involvement in a shooting on Tompkins Drive in May 2015. He failed to appear on May 2 for a hearing and was later arrested in Outagamie County, where he remains in jail. Sixteen south central Wisconsin high school students are set to receive National Merit Scholarships to help their collegiate endeavors. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. on Wednesday announced the recipients of the university- and college-sponsored scholarships. Of the approximately 3,000 nationwide winners, 79 are from Wisconsin. The awards, which are financed by the institutions the senior students anticipate attending, range from $500 to $2,000 annually for four years of undergraduate study. Another round of scholarship winners will be announced in July, bringing the total number of National Merit recipients this year to about 7,500. The approximate worth of all the scholarships is $33 million. Area recipients, with their high school, anticipated university and probable career field, include: Jennifer Gisi, Edgewood High School, Fordham University (undecided) Mary Lazar, Edgewood High School, Northwestern University (civil engineering) Anna Harvatine, Milton High School, University of Minnesota (microbiology/immunology) Lucy Kates, Fort Atkinson High School, University of Oklahoma (law) Fiona Adams, Madison West High School, Macalester College (foreign service) Matthew Daley, Madison West High School, Lawrence University (engineering) Matthew Kinsella-Walsh, Madison West High School, Oberlin College (activism) Vincent Knauss, Madison West High School, University of Minnesota (physics) Aidan Meara, Madison West High School, University of Chicago (medicine) Russell OBrien, Madison West High School, Bowdoin College (physics) Russell Kjorlie, Middleton High School, Michigan Technological University (engineering) Kjetil Odden, Oregon High School, Northwestern University (astrophysics) Meghan Sharkus, Oregon High School, University of St. Thomas (entrepreneurship) Kenneth Hoversten, Viroqua High School, Concordia College (music) Samantha Mitchell, Waunakee Community High School, University of Minnesota (neuroscience) Jonah Schiestle, Waunakee Community High School, University of Minnesota (physics) The presidential election isn't the only contest on the ballot this fall. A closely watched U.S. Senate rematch, all eight U.S. House seats, 11 of 16 state Senate seats and nearly two-thirds of Assembly seats all feature contested races. The slate of Congressional and state legislative candidates began to take shape with the passing of Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline for filing the necessary paperwork and signatures to run for office this fall with the Government Accountability Board. The top statewide race on the November ballot will be the U.S. Senate rematch between incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and Democratic challenger Russ Feingold, D-Middleton, whom Johnson ousted in 2010. Taxi manager and real estate company owner Phillip Anderson of Fitchburg also filed nomination papers Wednesday to run as a Libertarian and Scott Harbach of Kenosha also filed papers on Wednesday to run as a Democrat. A handful of other races around the state drew multiple candidates from the same party, which will be resolved in a primary election on Aug. 9. The most closely watched U.S. House races are taking place in the 8th Congressional District in northeast Wisconsin around Green Bay, where Republican Reid Ribble is retiring, and the 1st Congressional District, where inventor Paul Nehlen is seeking to "Cantor" House Speaker Paul Ryan a reference to Eric Cantor, the former Republican majority leader from Virginia, who lost his 2014 primary to a tea party challenger. In the 8th district, four Republicans have filed to run, including state Sen. Frank Lasee, who is not up for re-election this year, Mike Gallagher, a Marine and former foreign policy adviser to Gov. Scott Walker's presidential campaign, U.S. Army veteran Terry McNulty and entrepreneur Gary Schomburg. The only Democrat running is Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson. In the 3rd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, faces a primary challenge from the left against retired teacher Myron Buccholz. In the Madison-based 2nd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, faces another challenge from Republican Peter Theron, a Madison College math instructor. Among state legislative races, Democrats are hoping to win back the state Senate a difficult task and dent a 63-36 Republican advantage in the Assembly. Republicans hold a 19-14 majority in the Senate, where 16 seats are up for election this year (all are for four-year terms). Five seats aren't contested and three contested seats only drew candidates from one party, so Republicans will need to win three of eight contested seats to hold on to the majority. Noteworthy match-ups include a race for Sen. Rick Gudex's open seat between two Democrats Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris and Oshkosh School Board member John Lemberger and two Republicans Fond du Lac County Republican Party chairman Dan Feyen and real estate developer Mark Elliott. Also Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling faces a potential rematch against Dan Kapanke, whom she unseated in a 2011 recall election. Shilling first faces a primary challenge from former private investigator Jared Landry. Chip DeNure, an independent who ran and lost against Kind in 2006, is also on the ballot. And in Milwaukee, Rep. Mandela Barnes is challenging Sen. Lena Taylor. Both are Democrats. In the Assembly there are 35 uncontested seats, of which Republicans hold 19 and Democrats hold 16. Republican incumbents face Democratic challengers in 36 districts and independent challengers in three others. Democratic incumbents face Republican and Libertarian challengers in nine districts, and Democratic primary challengers in five districts. In Dane County the most hotly contested race will be for Rep. Robb Kahl's seat, which covers parts of Fitchburg, Monona, Madison, Cottage Grove and the town of Dunn. Three Democrats and a "Bernie Sanders Independent" have filed to run. Brandon Weathersby, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said there are two primary challengers, among a number of races that will see a Democratic primary, that are suspected by the party of being conservatives posing as Democrats, including Landry who is challenging Shilling and Luke Joseph, who is challenging Rep. Sondy Pope. On Joseph's campaign website, he is listed as believing life begins at conception, having concerns about the Common Core State Standards being used in all childrens' school curriculum as well as supportive of parents choosing between public, private, homeschooling, virtual schools, etc. Joseph also says he is in favor of reducing regulations on business and supports a free market economy. Landry does not have a campaign website to indicate positions on issues. State records show he has a number of misdemeanor on his criminal record. Independent candidates are allowed to include a five-word statement of their principles, rather than a party affiliation. Others include Spencer Zimmerman running as a "Trump Conservative" in the 1st Congressional District and DeNure running with "The Integrity Party" in Shilling's Senate district. Here is a list of those who had filed to run as of Wednesday. Statewide offices U.S. SENATE Philip Anderson, Fitchburg Libertarian Russ Feingold, Middleton Democrat Scott Harbach, Kenosha Democrat Ron Johnson (I), Oshkosh Republican U.S. House of Representatives District 1 Tom Breu, Janesville Democrat Ryan Solen, Mount Pleasant Democrat Jason Lebeck, Janesville Libertarian Paul Nehlen, Williams Bay Republican Paul Ryan (I), Janesville Republican Spencer Zimmerman, Janesville Trump Conservative District 2 Mark Pocan (I), Black Earth Democrat Peter Theron, Madison Republican District 3 Myron Buccholz, Eau Claire Democrat Ron Kind (I), La Crosse Democrat District 4 Gwen S. Moore (I), Milwaukee Democrat Robert R. Raymond, Milwaukee Independent Andy Craig, Milwaukee Libertarian Gary R. George, Milwaukee Democrat District 5 Khary Penebaker, Hartland Democrat John Arndt, Brookfield Libertarian F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (I), Menomonee Falls Republican District 6 Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Dells Democrat W. Michael Slattery, Maribel Democrat Jeff Dahlke, Mequon Independent Glenn Grothman (I), Glenbeulah Republican District 7 Joel Lewis, Wausau Democrat Mary Hoeft, Rice Lake Democrat Robert Burke, Hudson Libertarian Donald Raihala, Superior Republican Sean Duffy (I), Wausau Republican District 8 Tom Nelson, Appleton Democrat Gary E. Shomburg, Lakewood Republican Terry McNulty, Forestville Republican Frank Lasee, De Pere Republican Mike Gallagher, Green Bay Republican Local State Legislative Offices State Senate District 14 Brian Smith, Waupaca Democrat Luther S. Olsen (I), Ripon Republican District 16 Mark Miller (I), Monona Democrat District 26 Fred Risser (I), Madison Democrat District 32 Jared William Landry, La Farge Democrat Jennifer Shilling (I), La Crosse Democrat Chip DeNure, La Crosse Integrity Party Dan Kapanke, La Crosse Republican John Sarnowski, Onalaska -- Republican State Assembly District 33 Brandon White, Jefferson Democrat Cody Horlacher (I), Mukwonago Republican District 37 Jordan Turner, Watertown Democrat John Jagler (I), Watertown Republican District 38 Chris R. Guschenritter, Oconomowoc Democrat Scott Martin Michalak, Marshall Democrat Joel Kleefisch (I), Oconomowoc Republican District 39 Jim Zahn, Juneau Democrat Mark L. Born (I), Beaver Dam Republican District 41 Bradley Pearson, Adams Independent Joan Ballweg (I), Markesan Republican District 42 George E. Ferriter, Fall River Democrat Keith Ripp (I), Lodi Republican District 43 Don Vruwink, Milton Democrat Anissa Welch, Milton Democrat Allison Hetz, Whitewater Republican District 44 Debra Kolste (I), Janesville Democrat District 45 Mark Spreitzer (I), Beloit Democrat District 46 Gary Hebl (I), Sun Prairie Democrat District 47 Adam Dahl, Madison Bernie Sanders Independent Jimmy Anderson, Fitchburg Democrat Julia Arata-Fratta, Fitchburg Democrat H. Tony Hartmann, Fitchburg Democrat District 48 Melissa Agard Sargent (I), Madison Democrat District 49 Jesse Bennett, Bagley Democrat Travis Tranel (I), Cuba City Republican District 50 Tom Crofton, Richland Center Democrat Art Shrader, Reedsburg Democrat Ed Brooks (I), Reedsburg Republican District 51 Jeff Wright, Plain Democrat Todd Novak (I), Dodgeville Republican District 72 Russ Brown, Coloma Democrat David Gorski, Wisconsin Rapids Democrat Scott S. Krug (I), Nekoosa Republican District 76 Chris Taylor (I), Madison Democrat David Aguayo, Madison Independent - For the People Jon Rygewicz, Madison Republican Abram Smith, Madison -- Libertarian District 77 Terese Berceau (I), Madison Democrat District 78 Lisa Subeck (I), Madison Democrat Jacob Wischmeier, Madison Democrat Chris V. Fisher, Madison Independent District 79 Dianne H. Hesselbein (I), Middleton Democrat Jordan Zadra, Madison Republican District 80 Sondy Pope (I), Mount Horeb Democrat Luke Joseph, Oregon Democrat District 81 Dave Considine (I), Baraboo Democrat David J. Moore, Wisconsin Dells Republican District 96 Alicia Leinberger, Viroqua Democrat Sumner Matteson found his lifes passion earlier than most. In nursery school, with the help of a teacher, he cut and pasted images of birds onto construction paper and bound the pages into a book, beginning his lifelong passion for birding. Matteson now works to protect endangered and threatened birds as an avian ecologist for the Wisconsin DNR. Last month, he and fellow bird enthusiast Tod Highsmith participated in the Great Wisconsin Birdathon to raise money and awareness for bird conservation. Matteson and Highsmith, both of Madison, counted a total of 127 species. Now in its fifth year, the Great Wisconsin Birdathon which began April 15 and runs through June 15, is a joint effort between the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative. Signature teams made up of experienced birders from across the state as well as more novice birding teams, are competing to spot the most bird species within 24 hours. Ears are as important as eyes in bird watching, Highsmith said. Many birds have such distinctive songs that hearing the song is as good as seeing. One of eight signature teams, Matteson and Highsmith comprise the Madison Green Team, which Matteson said is the only signature team to compete completely carbon-free, trading all motorized means of transportation for their own feet, bikes and kayaks to complete about a 10-mile circuit from the Arboretum to the Nine Springs wetlands. The Great Wisconsin Birdathon also helps raise money for the Wisconsin Bird Protection Funds nine priority projects, which include monitoring mercury in common loons, the second Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas, reforestation work in Costa Ricas Osa Peninsula, and the recovery of two of North Americas most endangered birds whooping cranes and Kirtlands warblers. On Tuesday, the birdathon was less than $50 away from its $70,000 fundraising goal, according to its website. Matteson said that about $30,000 of the donations come from what signature teams raise through their own efforts, while gifts and grants make up the remainder. In 2015, the Madison Green Team spotted 149 species, 17 shy of the winning teams count. While the Green Team doesnt get as many species as its counterparts using trucks or cars to cover hundreds of miles for the competition, it tends to spot more species per mile. And the team was the top birdathon fund- raiser last year, with a total of $7,500. The point is that you dont need to travel far to enjoy birds and you dont need to really leave a carbon footprint to enjoy birding and to maximize your fundraising efforts, Matteson said. To Matteson, pairing the birdathon with a carbon-free approach is essential to aligning the competition with its mission: bird conservation. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, 24 of Wisconsins nearly 300 bird species are classified as threatened or endangered. But more native bird species make the species of greatest conservation need list. By highlighting the priority projects the birdathon supports, Matteson hopes to raise awareness about the Natural Resources Foundations bird conservation efforts. Some of the projects address the specific plights faced by migratory birds, like warblers and thrushes, that breed in North America and winter in South or Central America. Specifically in Wisconsin, Matteson said, their breeding habitats can be threatened by development, pesticides or other contamination. The priority projects also support Wisconsins common birds, Highsmith said. Often people think that we should put all of our money into trying to save the rarest birds, but sometimes making an investment in our more common species is a good one to keep them common, he said. Highsmith and Matteson emphasize the importance of the birdathon in educating people about bird conservation through partnerships with businesses, students and a variety of organizations. Its really to raise awareness about bird conservation, Matteson said, and how birds are a part of the fabric of our lives, not only in Wisconsin but worldwide. Madison Public Library representatives were in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to receive the nations highest honor for community service by museums and libraries. First lady Michelle Obama presented the National Medal for Museum and Library Service to Madison Public Library and other libraries and museums from around the country, in ceremonies at the White House. Library director Greg Mickells, Library Board president Tracy Kuczenski and Madison hip-hop artist and library volunteer Rob Dz Franklin were on hand to accept the honor. The national medal is truly a community achievement, Mickells said. We are honored to accept this prestigious award that recognizes the dedication and hard work of our staff, who work with many individuals and community partners who inspire Madison Public Library to create innovative, engaging programs that have a deep and long-lasting impact on our community. To celebrate the honor, all nine Madison Public Library locations had community receptions Wednesday. The Madison Public Librarys programs and services promote creativity, innovation and collaboration, said Kathryn Matthew, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Madison Public Library has shown an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of the people it serves, and is extremely deserving of this honor. Politicians come and go. UW-Madison is here to stay and so are the vast majority of its professors. Thats reassuring. This is still a great public university, and its still a fantastic place to live, David Canon, chair of the universitys political science department, told Wisconsin Public Radio last week. Hes right. Despite a big state budget cut, weaker (yet reasonable) tenure, and Gov. Scott Walkers ham-handed attempt to diminish the University of Wisconsin Systems mission statement, most UW-Madison professors remain committed to the states flagship institution of higher learning and research. Canon said 10 of 35 professors in his department have been recruited for jobs elsewhere during the last year and just two chose to leave. More broadly on campus, Canon said 94 professors have received offers. Of the 86 cases the university has resolved so far, 76 professors decided to stay. Thats an 88 percent retention rate, Canon said, despite more than twice as many attempts to lure top staff away over the last year. We hear a lot about the 12 percent who are leaving, but we havent heard the success story, which is we had a strong year in retention, the professor said. At the same time, UW-Madison and other state campuses continue to attract new talent. For example, the Morgridge Institute for Research just landed Phil Newmark, a pioneering professor in the study of how the body regenerates damaged tissue. He comes from the University of Illinois. Retaining top professors costs money at least $8 million at UW-Madison as of February. And if other universities continue to try to aggressively poach top UW staff, the high retention rate may fall. Its also possible some professors who didnt seek counter offers from UW before deciding to leave werent part of Canons tally, he acknowledged Tuesday, though that number is smaller. Wisconsin is one of only a few states spending less on higher education this year. Its not a winning strategy for competing in the global economy, where knowledge attracts and produces better jobs with higher pay. UW-Madison and the larger System need a much better state budget next year. Our state universities are too important to Wisconsins economy to take for granted. The issue should be a big one in this falls election. Were confident and proud of UW and the Wisconsin Idea, which requires university experts to help solve state problems. Gov. Walker quickly dropped his attempt to narrow the universitys mission statement last year after a strong public backlash. His push for $300 million in cuts was unpopular, too, though he eventually secured a $250 million reduction. Were glad so many top faculty at UW-Madison and across the System remain committed to the cause of higher education in Wisconsin. More lawmakers should pledge their support this fall. A Wisconsin court of appeals has finally put to rest some of the questions over what information must be withheld under the federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, or DPPA. Its recent decision ends years of confusion in a way that squares with the states traditions of openness and with common sense. The DPPA was enacted more than two decades ago to restrict the release of personal information from DMV records. It was never meant to prevent police from releasing basic information in accident reports and other law-enforcement records. But that was how the law was interpreted in much of Wisconsin. In recent years, following a federal court ruling in an Illinois case, concerns over liability have led some law enforcement agencies to heavily redact (black out) reports before releasing them limiting their news value and hampering public oversight of police. In its May 10 decision, Wisconsins 3rd District Court of Appeals held that accident reports need not be redacted to comply with the DPPA, because state law expressly mandates their disclosure. Personal information obtained from other sources and merely verified with DMV records may also be released. I was one of the attorneys, along with Bob Dreps, who represented a newspaper that filed the lawsuit that led to this ruling. The case was brought by the New Richmond News against the city of New Richmond. Congress passed the DPPA in 1994 after a television actress was murdered by a stalker who obtained her home address from a local DMV. The laws intent is clear: DMVs, with their vast repositories of personal information, cannot disclose that data except for one of 14 permissible uses. The same restrictions apply to other agencies that use DMV data. But then, in 2012, the village of Palatine, Illinois, was threatened with liability for printing vehicle owners personal information obtained from DMV records on parking tickets placed on car windshields. The Palatine case caused some police departments in Wisconsin to start redacting records, prompting the New Richmond News to file suit. In the end, reason won out in Palatine. The courts ultimately ruled that disclosing personal information on parking tickets was allowed because the police department used the information in carrying out its functions one of the 14 permissible uses. Reason should also win out in Wisconsin, though this may not happen right away. Whereas the court of appeals ruled accident reports must always be accessible, it also concluded that personal information obtained from DMV records and incorporated into incident reports can only be disclosed if doing so serves a function of the police department a question that was returned to the circuit court to resolve. The public has a legitimate right to law enforcement records, which are of little value if scrubbed of names and addresses. How can the public know if laws are enforced equally and appropriately if the identities of the people involved are obscured? Ideally, the common-sense approach adopted by the court of appeals will serve as a blueprint for addressing the questions that remain without further litigation. Is it any wonder voters dont trust Hillary Clinton? Her chronic obsession with secrecy laid out in a new report on her email practices while secretary of state makes them wonder what shes trying to hide. The report by the State Departments inspector general last week was damning not only because she failed to comply with department rules but also because she failed to cooperate with investigators. The Office of the Inspector General spoke with Secretary of State John Kerry and former secretaries Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice but through her counsel, Secretary Clinton declined OIGs request for an interview. Whats more, eight former State Department employees, most of whom were appointed by Clinton, refused to talk. Why the secrecy? In this case, thats hard to say. But it does fit a Clinton pattern going back decades. When she ran the Clinton administrations health care project in 1993, the meetings were secret. When she was under investigation for the Whitewater land deals, she resisted releasing the records. She still hasnt released transcripts of her multimillion-dollar speeches to Wall Street bankers. This latest news about her private email server operated out of the Clintons home in New York is of a piece with the rest. The report concluded Clinton didnt seek legal approval for her use of the private email server and that agency staff wouldnt have approved it if they had known because of obvious security risks. Clinton handled email in a way that was not an appropriate method for preserving public records, the report said, and it found that while Clinton said the system was secure, she never provided details to officials responsible for ensuring that it was. In fact, when IT staff raised concerns about the system, they were told never to speak of the Secretarys personal email system again, the report says. ... There was every reason to fear for the security of the system. Indeed, the report found several cases in which either Clinton or her aides expressed fear that the server she shared with her husband, the former president, Bill Clinton, might have been hacked. There is no evidence that it ever was. Clinton has not adequately explained her actions or even acknowledged she understands the severity of the issue. We get it: She is overly cautious after years of political attacks and wants to shield herself from more attacks. Understandable. But hiding emails from the public only reinforces a well-deserved reputation for secrecy and raises concerns about what kind of government she would lead if elected president in November. Her halfhearted attempts so far to explain away her secret email server are not reassuring. Court battle looming on maximum age for judges: Angela Couloumbis has this front page article in todays edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Supreme Court Wont Touch This Legal Challenge to Ted Cruzs Natural Born Status; Yes, that controversy is still alive: Cristian Farias of The Huffington Post has this report today. Justice Dept. Says Judge in Immigration Case Is Out of Bounds: Julia Preston will have this article in Wednesdays edition of The New York Times. At WSJ.coms Law Blog, Brent Kendall has a post titled Justice Department Pushes Back on Sweeping Sanction. And Seung Min Kim and Josh Gerstein of Politico.com report that Feds seek to halt judges demand for data on immigrants. Alabama Judge Preaches States Rights, Till He Disagrees With His State: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online today at Bloomberg View. Constitution Check: Was the Supreme Court only an afterthought for the Founders? Lyle Denniston has this post today at the Constitution Daily blog of the National Constitution Center. For Gawker, Legal Issues Beyond Hogan: Katie Rogers and Danielle Ivory have this article in todays edition of The New York Times. Also in that newspaper today, Stephen Marche has an op-ed titled Gawker Smeared Me, and Yet I Stand With It. Trump University case shows consequences of court secrecy: Alison Frankels On the Case from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this post today. In a Secret Meeting, Revelations on the Battle Over Health Care: Carl Hulse has this article in todays edition of The New York Times. Hatch steadfast in holding up Supreme Court confirmation after meeting with Garland: Dennis Romboy had this article in last Fridays edition of The Deseret News. Last Fridays newspaper also contained an essay by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) headlined My meeting with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. An editors note that follows the essay explains that [a] draft of this op-ed was erroneously published on DeseretNews.com prior to final revisions and edits from Sen. Hatch. We apologize to Sen. Hatch and our readers for this error. Star Wars is about freedom of choice: Today at The Volokh Conspiracy, Cass Sunstein has a post that begins, If youd told me a year ago that I would end up writing a book about Star Wars,I wouldnt have believed you. Trumps sister likes EPA better than he does: Robin Bravender of Greenwire has this report. Chalices, Jack-o-Lanterns and Other State Court Tiebreakers; Never mind the 4-4 U.S. Supreme Court; Heres how state high courts deal with potential stalemates: Justice Don Willett of the Supreme Court of Texas has this essay online at The Wall Street Journal. You can freely access the full text of the essay via Google. Native Americans move to frontlines in battle over voting rights: Mica Rosenberg of Reuters has this report. The editors of the leftwing Nation magazine declared Rape culture exists because we dont believe it does. The Atlantic chronicled Rape culture in the Alaskan wilderness. Mother Jones ran an article entitled, How to fight fat shaming, internet trolls, and rape culture. The Huffington Post, with an article titled Every adult should listen carefully to this teens speech on rape culture implored Americans to listen to Nadia Goldman, an 18 year old who, according to the Huffington Post, dropped some serious knowledge about misogyny and sexism in a speech she made. BuzzFeed ran an article entitled What is rape culture? It began with a bold subheading that read anybody can be a rapist. Marshall University, like many other universities, takes rape culture seriously. What is rape culture? According to Marshall University on its website, Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of womens bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards womens rights and safety. Rape culture is taken so seriously by the American left that progressive pundits were quick to seize on a Rolling Stone magazine article about college rape at the University of Virginia. The journalist who wrote the article, Sabrina Erdely, documented an alleged rape at a fraternity house at the University of Virginia. When people started pointing out things in the story that did not add up, Erdely and others on the left were outraged that the claims were not believed. Now Erdely and Rolling Stone are being sued because the story did turn out to be the fabrication of Jackie, the student who supposedly was the victim of a rape that did not happen. But, as with so much on the left, it is not the truth of the matter asserted that is important. Rather it is the seriousness of the charge that matters. Rape culture, according to the American left, is rampant in the country. The Obama Administration is committed to stamping it out. Now, however, there is a new twist on rape culture. The Obama Administration insists that any school that accepts federal dollars allow boys to use the girls bathroom. In a culture the left claims is filled with rapists, the left led by the Obama Administration, wants to let the rapists have free reign in bathrooms across America. If you disagree, you support Jim Crow laws according to Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The issue, in truth, has nothing to do with actual transgender people, who are estimated to be no more than 0.3 percent of the population. If an authentically transgendered person went into a bathroom, the odds of anyone ever knowing are slim. But there is no standard definition of transgenderism. It is a feeling. If a boy suddenly decides he feels like he is a girl, he can go to the girls bathroom. But what of the legitimate rape victim? Suddenly, the actual victim of violence is cast in the role of bigot for not wanting a member of the opposite sex in her bathroom. In fact, the whole of transgenderism leads to absurd results that fly in the face of other accepted doctrines of the left. For example, if, as the left claims, our sexual orientation is something we are born with and the male husband in a heterosexual relationship suddenly decides he identifies as a woman, is his female wife suddenly to be a lesbian or will she be labeled a bigot and transphobic for not wanting to stay with her husband who is now supposedly a woman? None of it makes sense, and the Obama Administration is willing to govern based on feeling while ignoring contradictions and the concerns of others. In a nation where the left believes every man is a potential rapist, they are fine with letting him in the girls bathroom if they feel like a girl that day. If you disagree, the Attorney General of the United States and the political left think you are a bigot. That is nearly double the 191 kilometre per charge that will be offered by an electric version of Hyundai's IONIQ sedan, which is set to hit the market later this year. Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors plan to more than double the number of their environmentally-friendly models to 28 in 2020. By Reuters: Hyundai Motor said it plans to launch an electric vehicle with a driving range of more than 320 kilometres (about 200 miles) per charge in 2018, aiming to better compete with other electric car makers such as Tesla Motors Inc. ALSO READ: Hyundai launches special edition Grand i10 for Rs 5.68 lakh That is nearly double the 191 kilometre (119 miles) per charge that will be offered by an electric version of Hyundai's IONIQ sedan, which is set to hit the market later this year. advertisement Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors plan to more than double the number of their environmentally-friendly models to 28 in 2020, the automaker said in a statement. The goal is up from its previous plan of 26 vehicles. ALSO READ: Hyundai Santro set to return to India by 2018 --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Taking a cue from Delhi-NCR's diesel ban on vehicles of over 2000cc engine, Paris has issued a law that puts a ban on cars made before 1997, and motorcycles made before 1999, from the city roads on weekdays (Monday-Friday). The move follows an earlier order issued in July 2015, which banned heavy polluting vehicles such as buses, and heavy transport vehicles registered before 2001 from driving on the streets. advertisement ALSO READ: Kerala High Court stays NGT's ban on diesel vehicles in Kerala for 2 months According to a French daily, the law was passed by Anne Hidalgo, Paris Mayor, and Groupement des autorites responsables de transport (GART), in association with the French Environment Ministry. The law is set to come into effect from today. Moreover, the city officials have made it mandatory for vehicles to place a label on the windshield of the car representing the vehicle's pollutant level. ALSO READ: NGT bans diesel vehicles over 10 years old in Kerala So, only the cars with the labels will be allowed to move around in the city, while the passenger vehicles that are not complying with the law will face a fine of Euros 35 (Rs 2639) if caught once. The amount will rise to Euros 68 (Rs 5127) if caught a second time. The fine for trucks is set at Euros 135 (Rs 10180), which will come into effect from 2017. Meanwhile, the Delhi government, in their bid to reduce the increasing level of pollution, undertook various schemes, such as odd-even policy and car-free day in Gurgaon. ALSO READ: Supreme Court slaps temporary ban on luxury diesel car sales in Delhi Moreover, the Supreme Court had ordered a ban on vehicles with diesel engines of over 2000cc from registering in the city. The National Green tribunal (NGT) had earlier ordered a complete ban on diesel vehicles in Delhi and later in 6 cities of Kerala, with their latest proposal to extend the ban to 11 more states. --- ENDS --- ASEAN NCAP crash tested two models from Suzuki in which both models, the Suzuki Ertiga and Suzuki Ciaz obtained 4-Star rating in AOP assessment. Suzuki Ertiga and Ciaz respectively met 33 per cent and 37 per cent compliance for COP. By India Today Web Desk: In conjunction with the fourth edition of ASEAN Automobile Safety Forum (AASF) 2016 held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) announced the test results of Suzuki Ertiga and Suzuki Ciaz models that had been assessed in the second quarter of 2016. ALSO READ: Popular Indian cars fail safety rating test; Scorpio, Celerio, Kwid, Eon all score a zero at NCAP advertisement ASEAN NCAP crash tested two models from Suzuki in this quarter. Both models, the Suzuki Ertiga and Suzuki Ciaz obtained 4-Star rating in AOP assessment. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz ASEAN NCAP Results The Ertiga, an MPV, scored 12.39 points whilst the Ciaz, a C-segment sedan scored 14.56 points. With both models having seatbelts for child safety attachment method, they were awarded 2-Star in COP assessment; Suzuki Ertiga and Ciaz respectively met 33 per cent and 37 per cent compliance for COP. Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ALSO READ: India-made Maruti Suzuki Baleno gets 3-star safety rating from Euro NCAP Dr Wong Shaw Voon, Chairman, ASEAN NCAP said, "In the advancement of vehicle safety, vehicles crashworthiness has been aggressively addressed by automotive industries since 1947. A lot of latest technologies had become matured and saved thousands and probably millions of lives. With the strong push by the relevant authorities and the pressure from the consumers, I strongly believe the day where there are no zero-star vehicles on our road will soon come true." Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ASEAN NCAP Results Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ASEAN NCAP Results Suzuki Ertiga obtained 39 points for AOP category, within 4-Star range. For COP, it scored 33 per cent compliance, a rating within 2-Star, while Suzuki Ciaz scored 14.56 points in AOP that makes achieved 4-Star rating. In COP assessment, Ciaz met 37 per cent compliance, hence it received 2-Star rating. ALSO READ: After failing GNCAP tests, Mahindra, Renault say their cars match Indian safety standards --- ENDS --- As the Assam education board has declared the Class 10 High School Leaving Certificate (HLSC) results on May 31, on the official website, this time a Muslim boy studying at school affiliated to RSS has topped the Assam Class 10 examination. By India Today Web Desk: The Assam education board has declared the Class 10 High School Leaving Certificate (HLSC) results on May 31, on the official website, the link for which is www.resultsassam.nic.in. (Read: Assam Class 10 board results 2016 declared at www.resultsassam.nic.in ) As all the major boards of India have declared the results of the Class 10 and 12 board examination, it has been seen that in a majority of the examination results, girls have outshined boys in the examination. advertisement However, breaking the popular myth, this time a Muslim boy has topped the Assam Class 10 examination. Meet, Sarfaraz Hussain, a 16-year-old boy, who was the first Muslim candidate from the Sankardev Sishu Niketan, affiliated by Vidya Bharati, the RSS's education wing. Overall marks obtained by the student: Sarfaraz Hussain scored 590 marks out of 600, recording a percentage of 98.3 per cent This year, a total of 381,585 candidates appeared for the examination In comparison to 64.11 per cent boys who passed the examination, only 61.56 per cent girls passed The overall success rate among students was 62.79 per cent which has slightly improved from last year Around 239,614 candidates passed the board examination making a success rate of 62.79 In the examination, 232 students came under the top 20 merit list Also, 5,449 candidates have passed the examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) with distinction Meanwhile, as compared to other districts of the state, Dhemaji district has recorded the highest pass percentage of 78.06. Not only this, Sarfaraz Hussain, who belongs to Sankardev Sishu Niketan, situated on the outskirts of Guwahati has bagged prizes for reciting the Bhagwad Gita. Also, this school has just 24 Muslim students. Teachers applaud the scholar: In a recent HT report, Akshaya Kalita, the school's headmaster said, "They have never complained about what we teach because our emphasis is on academic excellence apart from giving the students a grip on Indian culture and values" "We did not make them feel different, and as a rule, they have lunch with all the other students and teachers after a bhojan mantra (prayer before meal)," he added Further, rejoining the moment, Sarfaraz said, "The school shaped my life, and I hope to achieve greater academic glory as my teachers expect" What Hussain father said? While showing happiness about the marks obtained by his son, Ajmal Hussain, Sarfaraz's father, said that he gave permission to his son to study in this school as they provided free education Apart from thanking school teachers for the success of his son, Ajmal Hussain also expressed gratitude towards Hindu goddess of education, Saraswati He also said, "It would have otherwise been difficult to sustain his studies with my meager income as a waiter in a small restaurant" advertisement Number of students as per division: First division: Around 54,197 students Second division: 96,568 candidates Third division: 88, 849 students To congratulate the topper, Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Sarfaraz Hussain's home and promised to give Rs 5 lakh reward on his success. Moreover, Himanta Biswa Sarma also announced to give Rs 10 lakh to the school for overall infrastructure development. "The Assam government will fix deposit Rs 5 lakh against Sarfaraj's name for his future studies. Sarfaraj tells me that he wants to pursue his higher secondary course at Cotton College. The state government will also bear all his educational expenses in Cotton College till his Class 12 examination, " said Sarma. How to check the results: All the candidates need to visit the official website, the link for which is http://assamboardresult.co.in/ and click on the relevant link. After the results' links open, all the candidates need to enter the required details such as roll number, date of birth and other details. After the results are displayed, the candidates need to take a print out of the same for future reference. advertisement Read: "Political Science, the subject talked about the preparation of food," says Bihar Class 12 Arts topper Ruby Click here for education related news. --- ENDS --- KEAM Results 2016 will be declared on the official website today, June 01, 2016 at 12 pm. By India Today Web Desk: The Kerala Engineering Agricultural Medical (KEAM) examination results will be declared today, June 01, 2016 at noon, on the official website. The medical entrance examination was conducted successfully on April 27 and 28, 2016. Once the results are declared officially, the candidates who had appeared in the medical entrance examination will be able to access their results on the official website. advertisement The candidates should take the following steps to download their score cards: Log on to the official website, the link for which is www.cee.kerala.gov.in Click on live link 'KEAM Results 2016' Enter the requisite details like roll number, name etc in the space provided and submit The result will appear on the screen, candidates should take a print out of the same for future reference. The examination is also known as the CEE Kerala exam. About KEAM The Commissioner of Entrance Examination (CEE), Thiruvananthapuram conducted the KEAM 2016. KEAM is a state level entrance examination for the admission to various colleges and institutions located in Kerala state for UG programmes. It is conducted for the admission to various courses like MBBS, BDS, BHMS, BAMS, BSMS, B.Sc (Forestry), B.Sc (honors) agriculture, B.VSc (animal Husbandry), B.FSc and B.Tech (in all regular branches including agriculture, food engineering and dairy science and technology). CHECK: MHT CET 2016: Check out the paper analysis here Get latest updates on exam notifications and scholarships across India and abroad here. --- ENDS --- The State Bank of India (SBI) has released an employment notification, inviting interested, eligible candidates to apply for the positions of Officers in specialist cadre. The last date for submission of online application is June 14. By India Today Web Desk: The State Bank of India (SBI) has released an employment notification, inviting interested, eligible candidates to apply for the positions of Officers in specialist cadre on contractual basis. Vacancy details Total posts: 19 Name of the posts: Officers in Specialist Cadre Cadre wise vacancies Business Analyst: 1 Customer Service Analyst: 1 Sr. Manager (Marketing): 1 Relationship Manager (Marketing): 2 Assistant Relationship Manager (Marketing): 2 Sr. Manager (Servicing): 1 Manager (Servicing): 2 Project Manager: 2 Digital System Architect: 2 System/Business Analyst: 2 Analyst (Analytics): 3 advertisement Eligibility criteria Educational qualification: Business Analyst: The candidates interested in applying for this post should have done B.E./B.Tech in computer science/information technology/electronics from a reputable university. Preference will be given to the candidates with MBA/equivalent degrees. Customer Service Analyst: The candidates interested in applying for this post should have done B.E./B.Tech in computer science/information technology/electronics from a reputable university. Preference will be given to candidates with MBA/equivalent degrees. Managers: The candidates interested in applying for this post should have done B.E./B.Tech, also those candidates with MBA (Marketing) or equivalent from reputable institution are preferred. Digital System Architect: The candidates interested in applying for this post should have done B.E./B.Tech in computer science/IT/electronics Or MCA/M.Sc. (IT)/M.Sc. (computer science) from a recognised university. System/Business Analyst: The candidates interested in applying for this post should have done MBA in system/finance/operations or equivalent from reputed institution. Analyst (Analytics): The candidates interested in applying for this post should be holding a degree in statistics or equivalent qualification from reputed institute, preferably Indian Statistical Institute. Selection procedure The selection will be based on short listing and personal interview. A merit list for selection will be prepared in descending order on the basis of scores obtained in the interview. How to apply The candidates interested in these posts are required to fill in the online application at www.sbi.co.in/careers. Copies of the application along with other required enclosures should be sent to the "State Bank of India, Central Recruitment & Promotion Department, Corporate Centre, 3rd Floor, Atlanta Building, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021'. Important dates The online application submission will start from June 2. The last date for the submission of an online application is June 14. The last date for the submission of a hard copy of online application is June 20. Read: Want to work for High Court of Madhya Pradesh? Apply now for 08 District Legal Aid Officer post For information on more latest government jobs, click here. --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: History has been made in Sweden! For the first time since 1749 when population census started in the Nordic country, Sweden has more male than female residents. The country is famous for gender equality and plays a pioneering role in promoting women's rights around the world. The shift in population happened last year in Sweden. In March, there were 277 more men than women in the country. The gap has increased by over 12,000 in the last 14 months. Although Sweden experiences a natural birth rate of around 105 boys against 100 girls, it has had more women as the girls live longer. advertisement The swift shift in Sweden's sex ratio indicates towards the overall demographic transformation in Europe with migration and refugee crises growing by the number. However, Sweden's sex ratio tip-off is nothing extraordinary. In fact, the world has more countries where number of women is higher. There are only a few countries with more men than women and they are all in Asia, in fact India is one of them. Check it out: It is also important to know that Ecuador, Cameroon and Costa Rica enjoy a perfect sex ratio of 1.0, which means the countries have 100 men against 100 women. The socio-political scenario in Afghanistan is worse than most countries due to its recent war-affected history. A documentary presented by Qatar-based news house Al Jazeera that shows how Afghan women live under Talibani threat even after 13 years of the fall of Taliban. --- ENDS --- A Greek archaeologist may have found the long-lost tomb of Aristotle 2,300 years after his death. But for many classical scholars the discovery is still questionable. By India Today Web Desk: To start with, Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a pupil of Plato and one of history's most influential thinkers. Known as the father of Western philosophy, Aristotle was instrumental in shaping the theory of formal logic and wrote extensively on topics ranging from astronomy to biology. Aristotle's brand of reason was influenced by the progress of Judaism, Islam and Christianity and his work stand as a yardstick for every aspect of contemporary political debate. advertisement His most influential written works include Nicomachean Ethics- judgements that constitute a good living and Politics on society and government. One of the greatest mysteries associated with the ancient Greek philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great, is the place where he was laid to rest at. Archaeologists have been searching for Aristotle's tomb for years. A Greek archaeologist's statement about having unearthed the tomb of Aristotle has sent shock waves among classical history scholars. Here are ten things you need know about the controversial discovery: Greek Archaeologist Kostas Sismanidis concedes that a destroyed structure he discovered may have been the tomb of Aristotle, in the ancient village of Stagira, Greece. His discovery comes after 20 years of slow and steady excavation and research. This ancient Greek seaside city is considered to be Aristotle's birth place ( 384 BC). According to him the structure unearthed in the ruins of Stagira was actually a monument erected in Aristotle's honor after his death in 322 BC. Sismanidis who announced at the Aristotle 2400 Years World Conference at Aristotle University on the 2,400th anniversary of the birth of Aristotle stated that, "I have no hard proof, but strong indications lead me to almost certainty," reports the New York Times. The Greek Archeologist may not have any hard evidence to back it up, but he claims that tomb's location and layout in Stagira are a testimony for the public prominence of the deceased. Strong indications include marble floor, panoramic view and ceramics, pottery, and coins that seem to be from the beginning of Hellenistic Period that started in 323 BC. However, there are some contradicting factors. Aristotle did not die in Stagira but in Chalkis in 322 BC. Stagira and Chalcis are over 300 miles away from each other. According to the literary sources Aristotle was cremated in Chalkis and then his ashes were transferred at some point to his birthplace at Stagira. David Meadows a classicist who runs a blog called Rogue Classcicim , says, "If we're hanging the identification on claims of a return of ashes, one thing I'd really like to know when this return of ashes is supposed to have happened. What also bothers me is the actual claim that he was cremated, which doesn't strike me as being what he expected to happen after his death.(sic)" Either way, the news of this new discovery elated the Greek culture ministry. "A team of independent archaeologists with no connection to a particular school or department have been working at the site. What we know is that their excavation has been meticulous and we await further details with great anticipation." a senior aide to the minister, Aristides Baltas told the Guardian. --- ENDS --- An official from the Namyangju fire department said a gas tank used for the welding operations might have exploded. By AP: Four people died and 10 others were injured after an explosion at a subway construction site on Wednesday near the South Korean capital of Seoul. The workers were welding iron bars 15 meters (49 feet) underground when the explosion occurred in the morning, said officials from the Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters, who didn't want to be named, citing office rules. advertisement One worker was found dead above ground, his body possibly blown upward by the force of the explosion, while three others were found dead underground. Three of the injured were seriously hurt, the officials said. CAUSE FOR EXPLOSION The cause of the explosion wasn't immediately known. An official from the Namyangju fire department, who also didn't want to be named, citing office rules, said a gas tank used for the welding operations might have exploded. The accident is the latest addition into a long list of deadly safety accidents in South Korea, where, despite a period of soul-searching after a 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people, safety issues continue to be overlooked. PUBLIC OUTRAGE There was public outrage about the death of a 19-year-old subway worker who was hit by a subway train on Saturday while doing maintenance work on screen doors on a station platform in Seoul. Critics have questioned the labor policies at Seoul Metro, the subway operator, asking why the man was working alone when safety regulations require at least two for such jobs. Analysts say many safety problems in the country stem from little regulation and wide ignorance about safety in general - and a tendency to value economic advancement over all else. --- ENDS --- The 40 dead tiger cubs were found in a freezer in a kitchen area, a Thai government official said. A dead tiger cub is held up by a Thai official after authorities found 40 tiger cub carcasses during a raid on the controversial Tiger Temple, a popular tourist destination which has come under fire in recent years over the welfare of its big cats, in Kan By Reuters: In a blow to tiger conservation efforts, Thai wildlife authorities found 40 tiger cub carcasses in a freezer in Thailand's infamous Tiger Temple on Wednesday as they removed live animals in response to international pressure over suspected trafficking and abuse. The Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province west of Bangkok had become a tourist destination where visitors snapped selfies with bottle-fed cubs. In this Feb, 12, 2015 file photo a Thai Buddhist monk gives water to a tiger from a bottle at the advertisement KEY DEVELOPMENTS 1. The 40 dead tiger cubs were found in a freezer in a kitchen area, a Thai government official said. 2. "They must be of some value for the temple to keep them," he said. "But for what is beyond me." 3. Officials have moved 52 live tigers from the temple since Monday, Adisorn said, leaving 85 still there. 4. The temple has been investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and abuse. 5. A raid that began on Monday is the latest move in a tug-of-war since 2001 to bring the tigers under state control. 6. Thailand has long been a hub for the illicit trafficking of wildlife and forest products, including ivory. 7. Exotic birds, mammals and reptiles, some of them endangered species, can often be found on sale in markets. 8. Monks at the temple were not immediately available for comment. 9. On Tuesday, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals group said the temple was "hell for animals" and called on tourists to stop visiting animal attractions at home and abroad. 10. Tiger parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine. --- ENDS --- A section in the BJP feels that though the intent may be all right, the overt projection of this new-found love for Dalits may boomerang badly on the party in the election. By Brijesh Pandey: Rahul Gandhi learnt it the hard way and by all indicators BJP president Amit Shah will learn it the harder way. Simply because he has much more to lose. Rahul Gandhi's famous Dalit sojourns in Uttar Pradesh from 2009 to 2012, in the build-up to UP elections and the subsequent results, made him an object of ridicule. advertisement BJP WOOS DALITS Enter 2016. Two back-to-back tailor-made events showcasing BJP party president Amit Shah hobnobbing with the Dalit community had several BJP leaders in UP wondering if they were also headed the Congress way. Ever since Narendra Modi government had come to power, there seems to be a concerted effort to appropriate Dalits and their icons, the most famous being Dr BR Ambedkar. Last year, Modi government announced that Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary will be celebrated as "Samajik Samrasta Diwas". On that particular day PM Modi was at Ambedkar's birth place in Mhow (officially known as Dr Ambedkar Nagar). As a long-term strategy, BJP seemed to be cruising smoothly. But barely a year away from the all-important UP elections, BJP President Amit Shah has upped the ante in his pursuit of the elusive Dalit vote. During Sihansth Kumbh, Shah took a holy dip along with Dalit seers at the Valrico Ghat of Kshipra River and later on had food with them. The programme was named Samrasta Snan (Social harmony bath). As the event and its significance picked up pace in the media, BJP leaders tried their level best to downplay the event, claiming it wasn't political. But the intent was not lost on anybody. On May 31, BJP president Amit Shah was on his way to Allahabad from Varanasi to hold a rally and on the way stopped at a Dalit house in Jogiyarpur village of Varanasi to have lunch. The photographs which came out of that lunch were strikingly similar to Rahul Gandhi's from the run-up to the 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. CASTE MATRIX The ruling SP and the BSP were quick to criticise this. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav called it "drama" and BSP leader Mayawati termed it a "nautanki" (drama), saying that BJP can never be a well-wisher of Dalits. A section in the BJP feels that though the intent may be all right, the overt projection of this new-found love for Dalits may boomerang badly on the party in the election. According to a Uttar Pradesh BJP leader, "If the party is thinking that like 2014, a major chunk of Mayawati vote bank will go to BJP, then they are sadly mistaken. The year 2014 was Modi wave. But 2017 is a completely different election and we will have to acknowledge the changed ground reality". Though, the BJP leaders were quick to downplay this by saying that this was just an impromptu stopover at one of party's workers place and wasn't planned, the explanation didn't cut much ice. There are several people within the Uttar Pradesh BJP who feel that if the Opposition is able to get this impression across then instead of getting Dalit votes, they might end up upsetting its upper caste and non-Yadavs OBC's. The Uttar Pradesh unit also feels that with aggressive wooing of Brahmins and upper caste voters by both BSP, Congress and SP, this overture of the BJP can very easily upset the caste calculus in Uttar Pradesh and then they will be neither here nor there. Majority of leaders in the state believes that that Dalits are a mainstay of Mayawati's vote bank and will not get swayed over these symbolic gestures and the party will have to adopt a longer narrative to win them over. advertisement A UP BJP leader summed it up perfectly, "If we don't play to our strengths in Uttar Pradesh and keep on chasing mirages, then our situation could very well be like - Na Khuda mila, na visaley sanam". ALSO READ: Amit Shah dines with Dalits, Mayawati calls it melodrama --- ENDS --- advertisement By India Today Web Desk: Arpita Khan and Aayush Sharma welcomed their first child Ahil on March 30 this year. Ever since, the new parents are making sure they are always by their son. The trio was recently snapped by the cameras after dinner at a fine dining restaurant in Mumbai. ALSO SEE: Salman Khan's photo with nephew Ahil is beyond words advertisement ALSO SEE: Salman Khan's sister Arpita and Aayush blessed with a baby boy, Ahil Ahil, who just turned a month old, has already been to the US with his mom and dad. Over the last one month, doting dad Aayush has shared Ahil's life on Instagram, much to his followers' delight. Back in April, Ahil received a swanky new car as a gift from his mamujaan Salman Khan. The Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor played the part of Ahil's maternal uncle well, what with spending a considerable amount of time shopping for Ahil before the big day. Reports back then had pointed out how Salman's hectic schedule was no dampener when it came to playing the devoted maternal uncle for Ahil. As for Arpita and Aayush, the joy of being with Ahil was more than visible on their faces. (Photos: Yogen Shah) --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Harnaam Kaur set the internet ablaze when pictures of her owning her facial hair for a wedding-themed shoot went viral in June last year. Also read: Harnaam Kaur is changing the perception of beauty single-handedly People loved the fact that even though Harnaam had struggled with body-image issues during her early years, she didn't let that deter her. She let her bad experiences inspire her to become a maturer person who not only inspired others with her unconventional beauty but also ended being the face that came to be known as a "Body Confidence Activist" and an "Anti-Bullying Activist". advertisement As if that wasn't enough, she even achieved the milestone of being the first bearded runway model. Recently, Instagram account 'trophywifebarbie' presented a bearded version of the doll, and it obviously got us talking. Also read: Barbie Saviour: Instagram account hilariously mocks aid workers who think they are saving Africa The account is run by a South African conceptual artist, Annelies Hofmeyr, who uses Barbie to showcase the life of a woman after a divorce. Speaking to Buzzfeed, she said, "Trophy Wife Barbie started on the day of her divorce and documents her journey of self-discovery. She has been judged by her appearance and now that her situation has changed (and she's no longer a wife), she needs to find her identity outside of her label." Considering that Hofmeyr uses the doll to tackle the stereotypes and labels associated with women, the idea fit perfectly! Hofmeyr also posted a picture of both the Barbie dolls, accompanied by the caption, "#effyourbeautystandards with @harnaamkaur ???????? Not only does Harnaam totally own the #beardedlady label, she also works to inspire and encourage others to feel confident in their own bodies. What a woman (sic)!" Them Barbies killing it. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@trophywifebarbie --- ENDS --- The BSEB has put on hold the results of Arts topper Ruby Ray and Science topper Saurabh Sreshtha. The board has announced a review exam for both of them on June 3. Ruby Ray scored 444 out of 500 marks in her intermediate exams. By India Today Web Desk: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has ordered a probe into the results of toppers of intermediate exams a couple of days after Aaj Tak showed a report highlighting their poor knowledge about the subjects they had excelled in. The BSEB has put on hold the results of Arts topper Ruby Ray and Science topper Saurabh Sreshtha. The board has announced a review exam for both of them on June 3. advertisement EDUCATION MINISTER ADMITS LAPSE The Aaj Tak video report, which has gone viral now, has raised serious questions over the Bihar government's education system. State Education Minister Ashok Chaudhury has admitted the lapse. Choudhury has assured a swift probe into the issue and said the government will take strict action against those responsible. "I agree that there has been some lapse. But you can't raise questions over the whole examination system due to a couple of such cases," Choudhury said. POLITICAL SCIENCE IS ABOUT COOKING! Hajipur's Ruby Ray has scored 444 out of 500 marks in her intermediate exams but she was clueless when Aaj Tak asked some basic questions about her core subjects. "Prodigal (read political) science is about cooking ," she said when asked what political science is all about. Ruby is not alone. Science topper Saurabh Shrestha, who scored 485 out of 500 marks, failed to answer a simple Chemistry question. However, Saurav's neighbour claimed that Saurav had failed in Class XII CBSE exams in which he appeared a year ago (2015). "Most reactive element in the periodic table is aluminium," Saurabh said replying to the question. CHEATING RAMPANT IN BIHAR BOARD EXAMS Bihar Board's class 10 and 12 exams have hogged headlines every year due to the rampant mass cheating. Every year, reports and visuals surface of guardians and friends helping their wards cheat in the exams. However, this year, the Nitish government took some tough measures to ensure cheating-free exams. All the examination centres were put under CCTV surveillance. The authorities had even announced a fine of up to Rs 10,000 on students found using unfair means and punish the guardians found helping their child cheating. Also Read: Bihar board Class 10 result declared: Only 46.66 per cent students pass --- ENDS --- By PTI: Dehradun, June 1 (PTI) Stating that "Congress-free India" is its commitment, the BJP today asked the ruling party why it expects the opposition party in Uttarakhand to give it a walkover in Rajya Sabha. "We are pitted against Congress everywhere and building a Congress-free India is our commitment. Why in a situation like this does the Congress expect us to give it a walkover in the Rajya Sabha?" Pradesh BJP President Ajay Bhatt said in a statement here. advertisement Replying to Chief Minister Harish Rawats objection to BJP backing Independents who are in the fray for Rajya Sabha, Bhatt said the party had never made a secret of its intentions to support Independents. "The BJP had of course said it will not enter the fray as it did not have the numbers but we always said we may support Independents in the interest of the state and we have done exactly that," Bhatt said. If some people want to contest for the Rajya Sabha seat as independents what is wrong in that? he asked. BJP leaders Gita Thakur and Anil Goel have filed their papers as Independents. Bhatt also asked Rawat to explain to people what compromises did he have to make to quell the revolt in PDF and Congress sparked by Pradeeep Tamtas nomination as the partys candidate for Rajya Sabha. Burying their differences, ruling allies Congress and PDF in Uttarakhand yesterday fielded a joint candidate for the Rajya Sabha with former Lok Sabha MP from Almora Pradeep Tamta filing his nomination for the Upper House seat from the hill state on behalf of the alliance. Tamtas candidature had earlier raised eyebrows in the PDF which was expecting a Rajya Sabha seat in recognition of its consistent support to Harish Rawat during the recent political crisis in the state which finally saw him winning the floor test in the state Assembly and being reinstated as Chief Minister. It had also not gone down well with some contenders for the seat within Congress including former PCC president Yashpal Arya. However, last minute confabulations with the Congress high command assuaged ruffled feathers with PDF deciding to stay out of the fray and field a joint candidate with Congress for the Upper House of Parliament. PTI ALM RCJ RG RCJ --- ENDS --- Till a few weeks back, the BJP was following the policy of treating the BSP as its principal opponent, but with the Modi government completing two years in power, the party is ready for a face-off with the SP. By Siraj Qureshi: As the UP assembly elections are closing in, the BJP is changing tack, gearing up to treat the Samajwadi Party as its main opponent instead of the Bahujan Samaj Party. Till a few weeks back, the BJP was following the policy of treating the BSP as its principal opponent, but with the Modi government completing two years in power, the party is ready for a face-off with the SP. advertisement MUSLIM VOTES A KEY FACTOR When India Today spoke to the local political analysts and prominent citizens, the equation of Muslim votes came up as the reason behind the BJP's changed stance. Senior citizen Rama Shanker Sharma said that the BJP seems to have made an electoral agenda to rope in as many Muslim voters as possible before the elections and by showing itself as the primary opponent of the SP, it hoped to gain the Muslim voters who had become disenchanted from the SP. This way, he said, the BJP is also burrowing in the Muslim voters of the BSP as Mayawati is hoping to gain a lot of mileage in these elections through Dalit and Muslim vote polarisation. If any Muslim voters of the BSP leave the party's fold, they are bound to fall into the lap of the BJP as the SP is fast losing the sympathies of this community, while Modi's inclusive politics was gaining the support of Muslims, although the number was still quite insignificant. BJP NOT PLAYING HINDUTVA CARD He said that although the firebrand leaders of the BJP are active in Hindu majority areas, the party is not focusing on Hindutva agenda and instead, it was projecting development as its main agenda, which was evident from all the speeches Modi had given till date, where the BJP's erstwhile communal agenda was sidelined by development. However, he said, the Muslim voters have been indoctrinated to oppose the right-wing BJP and their votes usually go in the favour of the candidate who they believe, can defeat the BJP. If the SP candidate appears weak, the Muslim votes could go en-masse to the BSP candidate, spoiling the BJP's electoral math. All India Hindustani Biradari Secretary Ziauddin said that the BJP hopes that by portraying itself as the principal contender against SP, it could prevent the complete polarisation of Muslim votes in favour of the BSP and will increase its voter base through windfall Muslim votes. A local BJP leader claimed that the party high command had already divided the state into six divisions and the divisional task forces had been assigned the task of making a detailed study of the regional problems in their respective divisions and prepare an electoral strategy based on that. The high command has also instructed to prevent the polarisation of Muslim votes in the favour of the SP or the BSP. He said that this election will ascertain the political future of both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, both of whom had laid high stakes in anticipation of these elections. advertisement Also read: Ahead of 2017 elections in UP, storm brews in Samajwadi cup --- ENDS --- Chinese Foreign Ministry tells India Today it has asked Pakistan "to take concrete measures to protect Chinese institutions and personnel" after bomb attack in Karachi. By Ananth Krishnan: China has asked Pakistan "to take concrete measures" to protect its personnel after a bomb attack on Monday left a Chinese engineer wounded, raising fresh concerns over future Chinese projects in the country. CHINESE INJURED IN BOMB ATTACK The roadside bomb attack on the Chinese engineer left him and his driver injured, with local police authorities quoted saying the attack in a Karachi suburb "was aimed at the Chinese national". A group identifying itself as the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that it was opposed to Chinese investments and that "the world's most plunderous nation has set its eye on Sindh", Reuters reported. advertisement The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed to India Today in Beijing that one Chinese citizen was slightly wounded in the bomb attack. "He has returned to his residence safely after receiving medical treatment," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. CHINESE ASKED TO HEIGHTEN THEIR SECURITY The ministry added that China had attached "high importance" to the incident and that the Embassy in Islamabad and Consulate-General in Karachi "instantly lodged representations with the Pakistani side, asking them to get to the bottom of this incident and take concrete measures to protect Chinese institutions and personnel". Local Chinese have also been advised to "heighten their security alert". The attack comes as China has stepped up investment in Pakistan, going forward with a $46 billion economic corridor project. In a May visit to Beijing, Pakistan's Army Chief Raheel Sharif assured the Chinese government that the security of Chinese personnel and investments would be protected. According to reports, the Pakistani army has set up a force of 20,000 personnel dedicated to protect Chinese projects and workers. While voicing concerns about the attack, the Foreign Ministry said it appreciated the Pakistani government's efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese companies. "The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the consensus between governments of the two countries, which has won extensive support from the two peoples," the Foreign Ministry said. "We appreciate that the Pakistani side attaches great importance to and makes all-out efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and companies in Pakistan. We believe that the Pakistani side will continue to take effective measures to assure the building of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and safe, stable and smooth progress of the Corridor projects." MORE ABOUT CPEC PROJECT Hundreds of Chinese personnel are employed in projects as part of the CPEC, although the Foreign Ministry said it did not immediately have accurate figures on hand of the number of Chinese citizens currently in Pakistan. The more than 3,000 km-long corridor runs from Kashgar in China's western Xinjiang province to the Gwadar port that China has helped build and manage on the Arabian Sea. The project envisages a widening of the Karakoram Highway, construction of roads in Pakistan and energy projects, while feasibility studies into a railway line and pipeline are on-going. Pakistan officials have said the total investment value could rise to $ 46 billion, although China hasn't officially confirmed that figure. advertisement Part of the corridor runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) which borders Xinjiang, and India has voiced its opposition to projects in PoK. The CPEC has been pushed as a landmark initiative of President Xi Jinping's "One Belt, One Road" plan, which envisages building a land Silk Road economic belt from China to Central Asia and Europe, as well as a Maritime Silk Road to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean Region. --- ENDS --- The Special Forces troops came up with the idea after a Pakistani-born intelligence officer with the British Army said Bollywood tunes would really annoy ISIS, Britain's Daily Mirror said. By India Today Web Desk: Not everyone enjoys Bollywood music, it seems. British commandos have been blasting songs from the Hindi film industry at ISIS fighters in Libya to 'freak them out', British media reported. The Special Forces troops came up with the idea after a Pakistani-born intelligence officer with the British Army said Bollywood tunes would really annoy ISIS, Britain's Daily Mirror said. advertisement SPECIAL FORCES ON SONG In one instance, the Joint Special Operations Command's psychological operations unit intercepted the insurgent's communications and blasted them with Bollywood chart toppers. No, they were not trying to get them to dance. The ISIS militants have imposed Sharia in the town of Sirte and banned anything western or frivolous. In these circumstances, playing Bollywood songs will be seen as a huge insult. PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE In another incident, a Special Forces team, along with some Libyan troops, left two cars near checkpoints on the edge of Sirte. At dawn they blasted Bollywood music by remote control through two huge speakers mounted on the vehicles, the Mirror said. British tabloid The Sun quoted a senior source as saying: "We needed to unnerve militants and at the same time use some sort of passive measure to gauge their force strength in the area we are working and it went well." Interestingly, while Bollywood songs may be working as weapons of mass 'distraction' in Libya, they are wildly popular with outfits in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We could not ascertain which Bollywood numbers were played by the soldiers. ALSO READ: Islamic State makes bombs using material from Indian companies: Union minister in Parliament --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) The Cabinet today gave its approval to signing and ratifying of an agreement between India and Qatar on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters. "The agreement aims to entering into a bilateral agreement on cooperation in Customs matters between India and Qatar," an official statement said. It will help in the availability of relevant information for the prevention and investigation of Customs offences. The pact is also expected to facilitate trade and ensure efficient clearance of goods traded between the countries. The release further said Qatar is an important trading partner of India and bilateral commerce has been expanding over the years. "In view of the steady growth in bilateral trade, it was felt imperative to provide a legal framework for sharing of information and intelligence between the Customs authorities of the two countries to help in proper application of Customs laws, prevention and investigation of Customs offences and to facilitate legitimate trade," the release said. A draft text of the Agreement has been finalised after mutual discussions, it said. It takes care of Indian Customs concerns and requirements, particularly in the area of exchange of information on correctness of the Customs value declared, the authenticity of certificates of origin of goods and the description of the goods traded. PTI NKD MR --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) The government today gave its nod for inking of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. "The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Qatar for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism," an official release said. advertisement The main objectives of the MoU include creating favourable conditions for long-term co-operation in the field of tourism and exchange of expertise and information related to the sector, it said. The MoU also aims for exchange visits of tour operators, mediapersons and opinion makers for promotion of two-way tourism and encourage public and private sectors to invest in the sector, among others. Qatar is an emerging tourism source markets for India with over 6,300 tourists arrival from it in 2015, besides it offers vast opportunity for India in terms of medical tourism, the release said. "The signing of MoU with Qatar will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this emerging source market," it added. PTI MP RG --- ENDS --- By PTI: From K J M Varma Beijing, Jun 1 (PTI) China is set to declare an air defence identification zone over the disputed South China Sea to counter US militarys "provocative moves" in the strategic waterways, according to a media report. "If the US military keeps making provocative moves to challenge Chinas sovereignty in the region, it will give Beijing a good opportunity to declare an ADIZ in the South China Sea," Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted sources in the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) as saying. advertisement The timing of declaration of the ADIZ would depend on security conditions in the region, particularly the US military presence and diplomatic ties with neighbouring countries, it quoted another Chinese official as saying. The development comes two years after China announced an ADIZ in the East China Sea. ADIZ requires all incoming aircraft, including civilian planes, to register with Chinese authority to fly in the air routes. The report came ahead of next weeks US-China annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue here on June 6 and 7 in which US Secretary of State John Kerry would take part. Officially China maintains that it is "the right of a sovereign state" to designate an ADIZ in its waters. "Regarding when to declare such a zone, it will depend on whether China is facing security threats from the air, and what the level of the air safety threat is," the report quoted an official statement as saying. China, which has built airfields and placed weapons systems on the man-made islands in the Sea, claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have rival claims. The rival claimants have been fretting over what they see as Chinas expansionism as it rushes to exert sovereignty over the vital waterway, a major global shipping route believed to have large oil and gas reserves and through which about USD 5 trillion in trade passes each year. The US has been wading into the dispute, pressing its naval ships and aircraft to assert the "freedom of navigation" in the disputed region. Its moves in recent months have led to angry protests from China. US military defend its maneuvers in the region and say they will continue to exercise freedom of navigation. In the past seven months, US warships have sailed three times close to one of the artificial islands and challenge the claims. In response, China has deployed fighter jets and ships to track and warn off US ships. PTI KJV ABH AKJ ABH --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) The auction of coal linkages for sponge iron industry has been deferred and bidding for the sector will now be held next week. "Based on the feedback received during the pre-bid meeting held on May 29, 2016, it is hereby notified that the time line for auction of linkage of sponge iron sector has been extended," Coal India (CIL) said in a notice. advertisement "The auction shall commence on June 10, 2016 instead of May 31, 2016," it said adding that a detailed timeline will be published shortly. In the interim, registration of MSTC website will continue. Coal India had earlier said it will conduct the auction of coal linkages for the sponge iron sector on May 31, -- the first sale of the dry fuel for non-regulated industries through bidding route. The Coal Ministry has directed CIL to conduct auction of coal linkages for the non-regulated sectors such as cement, steel/sponge iron and aluminium with a view to ensuring fuel availability to end users. Coal India had earlier said that the first sale of coal linkages would be conducted for the sponge iron sector. The PSU had also organised a pre-bid meeting with sponge iron consumers with regard to auction of linkages for the sector to explain different features of the auction process. CIL has decided to allocate a total quantity of around 23.25 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in the first tranche of coal linkage auction. Auction of coal via linkage from Singareni Collieries Company will be done subsequently. "The phase I of tranche 1 would be for Sponge Iron sub-sector. Total quantity of approximately 2 MTPA has been allocated for sponge iron sub-sector under Phase I," the source had said. The government had earlier said allocation of coal linkages for non-regulated sector industries will be only through the auction route to ensure transparency. Sectors included are cement, steel/sponge iron, aluminium, and others (excluding fertiliser, urea). The framework attempts to make coal available in a fair manner to end-users. PTI SID ANU --- ENDS --- By PTI: Bhubaneswar, May 31 (PTI) Taking up the grievances of the people of Lakhanpur block in Odishas Jharsuguda district against the NTPCs proposed super thermal power plant at Lara in Chhattishgarh, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today asked the centre to address the concerns of the project affected residents. "I request you to direct the NTPC authorities to address the genuine concerns of the project affected people of our state," Patnaik wrote to Union Power and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal. advertisement Stating that NTPC has been setting up a 1600 (2X800) MW Super Thermal Power Project at Lara in Chhattishgarh which is about two kilometer from the border of Odisha, Patnaik pointed out that Kendeikela, Remata, Kanakatara, Chandpali, Pithinda and Badimal gram panchayat of Lakhanpur block in Jharsuguda district will be adversely affected by the smoke, dust and green house gases. "Of these 27 villages, six villages are likely to be severely affected," Patnaik said in the letter adding that public hearing regarding the environment impact assessment has been done in the villages to be affected by this project in Chhattishgarh, but no such exercise was undertaken in the villages to be affected in Odisha. It is also learnt that CSR activities in the nine villages in Chhattishgarh have been started by the NTPC, Patnaik said in the letter. "There will be serious impact on the environment, livelihood and health condition of the people in these 27 villages of Odisha when the project is commissioned," Patnaik said adding that this issue has been agitated by the local people and the MLA of Brajrajnagar. Patnaik sought Goyals intervention in the issue in a bid to give justice to the residents of the 27 villages on Odisha side. PTI AAM CR ANP KKB --- ENDS --- The villagers in Bishada have now decided to file a complaint against the family of Mohammad Akhlaq. By India Today Web Desk: After the Dadri lynching case took a new turn on Tuesday with a fresh forensic report saying the meat at the centre of the controversy was beef, the villagers in Bishada have now decided to file a complaint against the family of Mohammad Akhlaq. The family of Sanjay Rana, whose 22-year old son Vishal is in jail for the last eight months for the lynching of Akhlaq, and other villagers are likely to file a complaint today at Jarcha police station. advertisement HERE ARE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: On Tuesday, a Mathura forensic lab submitted its report in a court, saying the beef found in 52-year-old Akhlaq's freezer in September last year was beef, and not mutton as stated by a preliminary lab test done by the Uttar Pradesh veterinary department. It was stated that on the basis of chemical analysis the forensic investigation of the sample showed that it belonged to "cow or its progeny". The report was sent to the Noida police and submitted to a fast-track court in a sealed cover. "We were right (about the meat)," Rana told news agency ANI. "The compensation given to Akhlaq's family should be taken back and a case should be registered against them," he added. However, a number of reports today said the meat, which the forensic lab in Mathura tested, was not from Akhlaq's house, but from a trijunction near his house. It was at this trijunction that the mob of about 200 people had gathered on the night of September 28 before barging into Akhlaq's home and attacking him and his son. Nearly three months after the lynching incident, police filed a chargesheet on December 23 against 15 people, including a minor, but there was no mention of beef in it. A local BJP leader's son is among those named in the chargesheet. A chargesheet was also filed against BJP leader Sangeet Som for allegedly violating the prohibitory orders imposed Bishada village where the incident took place. Akhlaq's family, which has always denied eating beef on the day of the attack, has rejected the Mathura lab report. "Dadri police said mutton, now you are saying it is beef. This is all politics," said Akhlaq's brother Chand Mohammad. "This report(of Mathura lab) has come after six months. At that time, a report (of veterinary department) had also come, but it didn't say the same thing. We don't know what they have done and what they have done with it?" he added. Beef eating is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh, only cow slaughter is. The Dadri attack had sparked a nationwide debate over intolerance and beef politics and unleashed a chain of protests across the country, with prominent writers, filmmakers and scientists returning their state awards. ALSO READ | Dadri lynching: The meat in victim's house was beef, says forensic report --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) In a departure from previous years, minority colleges such as St Stephens and Jesus and Mary College will join Delhi Universitys centralised registration process for undergraduate admissions but will come out with their separate cut-off lists. Three colleges - Mata Sundari College for Women, Sri Guru Nanak Dev (SGND) Khalsa College, Sri Guru Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa (SGTB) College and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, which were granted minority status by the Delhi High Court last year when the admission process was underway, will also follow the same process. These colleges are run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC). advertisement "Unlike previous years, the aspirants of Stephens and JMC will have to register themselves with the University first and then use that registration number to apply to the two colleges. The same process will be followed by the three new minority colleges," DU s Dean of Students Welfare J M Khurana said here. "Following the registration process these colleges will be free to adopt their own admission criteria and will come up with their own cut-off lists," he added. The University today announced the undergraduate admission policy for the upcoming academic session. The online registration process will start tomorrow at 12 PM and will continue till June 19. The first cut-off list will be announced on June 27 and the varsity will release only five such lists.PTI GJS RCJ PAL RCJ --- ENDS --- The 'Look Beyond Borders' experiment by Amnesty International aims to break down barriers between refugees and Europeans. By India Today Web Desk: The 'Look Beyond Borders' experiment revolves around psychologist Arthur Aron's study that four minutes of looking into another person's eyes will bring the two closer. In this unique experiment carried out by Amnesty International refugees who recently arrived from Somalia and Syria were asked to lock eyes with Europeans for an uninterrupted four minutes. advertisement What follows next is a mixed bag of emotions. The film was shot near Berlin's old Cold War-era crossing, Checkpoint Charlie. A mere 4-minute eye contact evokes a series of spontaneous reactions from people. While some smiled awkwardly, others laughed, engaged in conversations, and even broke down into tears. "People from different continents who have literally never set eyes on each other before come away feeling an amazing connection," says Draginja Nadazdin, Director of Amnesty International Poland. He points out that it is very hard to get past this video without shedding a tear. "Too often, what gets lost in the numbers and headlines is the suffering of actual people, who, like us, have families, friends, their own stories, dreams and goals. What if we stopped for just a moment and looked at who they really are?" He adds, "Borders exist between countries, not people." The video posted on Facebook has received more than 43,000 shares and has gone viral. Watch the video below: --- ENDS --- BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav is being credited for his party's splendid performance in Assam and also in Jammu and Kashmir. BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav (left) speaks to Karan Thapar on his show To The Point. By India Today Web Desk: BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav is being credited for his party's splendid performance in Assam and also in Jammu and Kashmir. It was Madhav who succeeded in forging an alliance between the BJP and PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the former member of the National Executive of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) believes that election victories are a result of cumulative effort and not because of an individual. advertisement Speaking to Karan Thapar on his show To The Point, Madhav, who was deputed to the BJP from RSS in August 2014, said he continues to be a pracharak. "I have been loaned to the BJP. It is quite flattering to see people calling me an architect of party's win but I know the truth. No electoral victory is possible because of one individual. We've had many things at time, at time place to achieve success," Madhav, who planned PM Modi's much talked about Madison Square and Sydney diaspora meets, said. HERE'S WHAT MADHAV SAID ON CONGRESS - If there is one message which has come out of recent election results then it is this that people have rejected the Congress completely. - Look at Assam, Kerala, they were rejected. In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, those who tried to become their bedfellows actually became the victim of the alliance. - If the Congress still refuses to take the message and want to justify their defeat by saying they got more seats that the BJP, let them be happy. - You can compare 2014 elections with that in 2009. 2016 has to be compared only with 2011. Parliament elections are fought on totally different issues. State elections are fought on different issues... combinations change. ON UTTARAKHAND - What we did in Uttarakhand was based on the given situation at that time. - Looking back, one may feel that probably whatever happened should not have happened at that time although you had a right to do that. - Whatever we did was right. ON JNU CONTROVERSY - Kanhaiya Kumar has become a big icon for the Congress and its supporters. - I'll tell you one interesting thing, in Assam, we found more posters and hoardings of Kanhaiya Kumar than Rahul Gandhi himself. - Most of the people in this country believe that the kind of politics that people like Kanhaiya Kumar practice is not in the national interest and also not in the interest of campus students. ON BHARAT MATA KI JAI ROW - India, in our Constitution in Article 1, is described as Bharat. When you say Bharat Mata Ki Jai, you are hailing your country. advertisement - Why should one have objection to this? - I believe that every citizen of the country should at least respect the slogan. They may choose not to utter it morning, day and night which is fair enough. - Why should a Member of Parliament or a prominent leader say 'I will never say Bharat Mata Ki Jai'? - We should not create unwanted controversies. INTOLERANCE ROW CREATED BY OPPOSITION - We are not creating controversies, it is being created by our opponents. - This government is only focusing on good governance. - Results of various surveys show that 70 per cent people are happy with the Modi government. MODI GOVT WILL DELIVER WHAT IT PROMISED - At a time when the entire global economy is in tatters, we have a government which has been able to maintain 7.9 per cent growth rate. - The world has acknowledged that India has the most stable economy today. The government must be credited for it. - People are happy but there are some commentators who keep on harping that negative things. - We have only completed 2 years, we have been elected for 5 years...reforms are on their way. But you must understand that we have a great obstructionist party as Opposition. advertisement - This government will not bulldoze anything. We will take every stakeholder into confidence before bringing in the reforms. Those reforms will be good for the industry, farmers, investors and nation. ALSO READ: BJP makes history in Assam, Mahendra Singh plots party's win Mehbooba Mufti defends alliance with BJP, hits out at Congress --- ENDS --- The Iraqi army's assault on Fallujah has begun what is expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State. Children who fled their homes due to the clashes in Falluja, pose for the photographer on the outskirts of Falluja. Photo: Reuters By Reuters: Islamic State fighters halted an Iraqi army assault on the city of Fallujah with a counter-attack at its southern gates on Tuesday, while the United Nations warned of peril for civilians trapped in the city and used by militants as human shields. The Iraqi army's assault on Fallujah has begun what is expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State, with the government backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, and determined to win back the first major Iraqi city that fell to the group in 2014. advertisement FALLUJAH A TURNING POINT IN WAR AGAINST ISIS A week after Baghdad announced the start of the assault, its troops advanced in large numbers into the city limits for the first time on Monday, pouring into rural territory on its southern outskirts but stopping short of the main built-up area. Baghdad describes the assault to retake the city as a potential turning point in its US-backed campaign to defeat the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim militants who rule a self-proclaimed caliphate across much of Iraq and Syria. Civilians who fled their homes due to clashes on the outskirts of Falluja, gather in the town of Garma, Iraq. Photo: Reuters Fallujah, where US troops fought the biggest battles of their own 2003-2011 occupation against Islamic State's precursors, is the militants' closest bastion to Baghdad, believed to be the base from which they have waged a campaign of suicide bombings on the capital less than an hour's drive away. Retaking it would give the government control of the main population centers in the fertile Euphrates River valley west of the capital for the first time in more than two years. But the assault is also a test of the army's ability to capture territory while protecting civilians. Although most of Fallujah's population is believed to have fled during six months of siege, 50,000 people are still thought to be trapped inside with limited access to food, water or healthcare. Iraqi security forces gather near Falluja, Iraq. Photo: Reuters "A human catastrophe is unfolding in Fallujah. Families are caught in the crossfire with no safe way out," said Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the organizations helping families displaced form the city. "Warring parties must guarantee civilians safe exit now, before it's too late and more lives are lost," he said. The United Nations said there were reports that the militants were using several hundred families as human shields in the city center, a tactic they have employed in other locations in Iraq. It said 3,700 people had managed to escape the city in the past week. "Most people able to get out come from the outskirts of Fallujah. For some time militants have been controlling movements, we know civilians have been prevented from fleeing," said Ariane Rummery, spokeswoman for UN refugee agency UNHCR. advertisement "There are also reports from people who left in recent days that they are being required to move with ISIL within Fallujah," she said, using an acronym for Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh. Soldiers from Iraq's elite Rapid Response Team stopped their advance overnight about 500 meters from the al-Shuhada district, the southeastern part of city's main built-up area, an army commander and a police officer said. MILITANTS DUG IN "Our forces came under heavy fire, they are well dug in in trenches and tunnels," said the commander speaking in Camp Tariq, the rear army base south of Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad. Reuters journalists in the area could hear explosions from artillery shelling and air strikes from a US-led coalition supporting the Iraqi forces. --- ENDS --- Parrikar had asked the Centre to look into the matter as around four lakh Goans had registered their names in Portugal's Central Registry of Births, Marriages and Death that gave them the Bill of Identity. Goans may now have to give up the privilege of holding a 'Bill of Identity' granted by Portugal to retain their Indian citizenship. By Abhishek Bhalla : Generations of Goans who enjoyed easy access to Europe through their Portuguese ties may now have to give up the privilege of holding a 'Bill of Identity' granted by Portugal to retain their Indian citizenship. The dual identities of thousands of Goans had created confusion over citizenship issues. People from Goa could travel to Portugal on an Indian passport and with the Bill of Identity granted by the country, they could travel across all European Union states without a visa. Former Goa chief minister, Manohar Parrikar, who is now the defence minister in the Narendra Modi government, had flagged the issue. advertisement Parrikar had asked the Centre to look into the matter as around four lakh Goans had registered their names in Portugal's Central Registry of Births, Marriages and Death that gave them the Bill of Identity. HOW TO DECIDE CITIZENSHIP? An inter-ministerial committee, headed by additional secretary in the home ministry, BK Prasad, has recommended that the issue of citizenship of such persons should be decided as per the Citizenship Act 1955 and Citizenship Rules 2009. It has recommended setting up of a designated authority that should examine each case as per Indian laws. "They will have a choice of either relinquishing their Portuguese identity or hold on to Indian passports," said a home ministry official. BENEFITS As per Portuguese law, those who register their names in the Central Registry, are given rights to purchase property in the country. "Many people are ignorant and became victims as they were lured by the option of having a document from Portugal that allowed them easy access to Europe without a visa," said a home ministry official. Several public servants, including MLAs and MPs, have registered their names in the Central Registry, which they claim was not been done by them or done without their knowledge. After going through various deliberations, evidence and records available, the interministerial committee felt that if any question arises as to whether, when and how any citizen of India has acquired the citizenship of another country, it should be determined by provisions of Citizenship Act 1955 and Citizenship Rules 2009. PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS The panel recommended that the issue of citizenship of such persons will be decided by an authority designated by the central government after receiving representations that have been enquired upon, in a just, fair, reasonable and transparent manner. Thereafter, a report will be submitted to the central government along with recommendations for necessary action. The inter-ministerial committee suggested that whosoever has acquired a Portuguese passport automatically became citizen of Portugal and ceased to be an Indian citizen. To determine nationality status of all such persons who were born before December 20, 1961, when Goa became independent from Portuguese rule, in the territories comprising the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu, an order called the Goa Daman and Diu (Citizenship) order 1962 was issued through a notification dated March 28, 1962. advertisement According to the aforesaid notification, every person, who or either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents was born before December 20, 1961 in the territories now comprised in the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu became a citizen of India on that day, if the person did not opt to retain the citizenship or nationality which he had immediately before December 20, 1961. Subsequently, many Goans who became citizens of India as per Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) order 1961, registered their birth in the Central Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths in Lisbon, Portugal. --- ENDS --- Sources said a Bill to amend the Citizenship Act 1955 is likely to be introduced during the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled in July-August. The BJP, in its election manifesto ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, had stated that India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus. By Abhishek Bhalla : Hindus from Pakistan who have faced religious persecution could soon find homes in India as the Centre has decided to change existing laws that will make the process for getting Indian citizenship hassle-free for them. Sources said a Bill to amend the Citizenship Act 1955 is likely to be introduced during the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled in July-August. "Final touches are being given to the Cabinet proposal that is expected to get the nod this month itself," said a home ministry official. There are several changes proposed that have been included in the Cabinet note being prepared by the Union home ministry to get rid of all hurdles being faced by Pakistani Hindus who want to become Indian citizens. advertisement The BJP, in its election manifesto, had stated that India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here. RELAXATIONS According to the proposed amendments, Hindus seeking Indian citizenship can be given several relaxations. A renunciation certificate that is compulsory from the home country to get citizenship can be done away with for them. A reduction in registration fees is also part of the proposals. "While the amount is Rs 5,000 for each member of the family, for Pakistani Hindus it could be as low as Rs 100," said a home ministry official. Another major change proposed in the existing legislation is that procedure for dealing with citizenship matters could be delegated to the district level where the district magistrate and Superintendent of Police will examine applications. "This will cut the longdrawn process and instead of applicants approaching home ministry, it can be facilitated quickly," said a home ministry official. The amendments to the Citizenship Act will also allow them t open bank accounts, get driving licenses, PAN cards and Aadhaar cards. The changes will also allow Hindus from Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who have been targeted in their country to become citizens of India. Though the exact numbers are not known, there are around 2 lakh Hindus and Sikhs from these countries living as refugees in India. 400 PAKISTANI HINDU REFUGEE SETTLEMENT There are around 400 Pakistani Hindu refugee settlements in cities like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Kutch, Bhopal, Indore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Delhi and Lucknow. A day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj promised help to Pakistani Hindu girl Mashal Maheshwari, Home Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting to review the status of facilities being extended to minorities from neighbouring countries living in India. "The present government has taken a number of steps to address the problem being faced by minority communities in neighbouring countries who have come to India due to religious persecution in their country," the statement said. Earlier the Narendra Modi government had rolled out an online system for Long Term Visa applications that allowed them to live in India for a period of five years. Within a year of assuming power the BJP-led NDA government gave over 4,000 citizenships to Hindus from neighbouring countries while the UPA had handed out a little over 1,000 in its five year rule. advertisement The home ministry also organised 26 Special Camps at district level in of Gujarat, MP, Rajasthan, UP, Karnataka, Mahashtra, AP, Haryana and NCT of Delhi in 2015. Also read: EAM Sushma Swaraj assures medical seat to Pakistani girl Mashal Maheswari --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Ashwani K Anand Rabat, Jun 1 (PTI) With India keen to tap Morocco as the hub for its economic activities in the resource-rich Africa region, the two countries have jointly launched a trade body to boost bilateral commercial engagements. The India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMCCI) was launched by visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari and Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane at a function here yesterday. advertisement Speaking on the occasion, Ansari said that a Chamber of Commerce and Industry did not exist because "we took things for granted". He said that the world is changing and it has become a globalised world. "We do need bodies like the IMCCI," he added. "It is a testament to the growing importance of commercial engagement between our two countries, said Ansari, whose visit marks the first by an Indian Vice President in 50 years to Morrocco. He said that the IMCCI should focus on the requirements of both sides. An official spokesman said that bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 1.26 billion in 2015 with Indian exports forming roughly 25 per cent of the trade volume. He said that Morocco has emerged as a favoured destination for investments by Indian firms, adding that Indian companies have cumulatively invested more that USD 320 million in Morocco, including in the flagship project, the Indo-Maroc Phosphore SA joint venture. The last two decades of economic growth have also strengthened Indias private sector and it is keen to expand its global operations, the spokesman said. Earlier in the evening, Ansari visited the Mohammed VI Imam Training Centre which promotes the values of moderate Islam and is actively working on ideologies and beliefs. The Centre trains a large number of preachers from the Arab world besides Africa, including women. PTI AKA KUN CPS AKJ SAI --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Ashwani K Anand Rabat (Morocco), Jun 1 (PTI) India and Morocco today launched the India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMCCI) here to accelerate the pace of economic development between the two countries. The chamber was jointly launched by visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari and Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane at a function here. Speaking on the occasion, Ansari said that a Chamber of Commerce and Industry did not exist because "we took things for granted". advertisement He said that the world is changing and it has become a globalised world. "We do need bodies like the IMCCI," he added. Ansari said, "It is a testament to the growing importance of commercial engagement between our two countries". He said that the IMCCI should focus on the requirements of both sides. An official spokesman said that bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 1.26 billion in 2015 with Indian exports forming roughly 25 per cent of the trade volume. He said that Morocco has emerged as a favoured destination for investments by Indian firms adding that Indian companies have cumulatively invested more that USD 320 million in Morocco, including in the flagship project, the Indo-Maroc Phosphore SA joint venture. The last two decades of economic growth have also strengthened Indias private sector and it is keen to expand its global operations, the spokesman said. Earlier in the evening, Ansari visited the Mohammed VI Imam Training Centre which promotes the values of moderate Islam and is actively working on ideologies and beliefs. The Centre trains a large number of preachers from the Arab world besides Africa, including women. PTI AKA KUN CPS --- ENDS --- With this change, petrol will cost Rs 65.60 per litre in Delhi after the increase while diesel will cost Rs 53.93 a litre. The midnight announcement was the second hike this month. The prices were last hiked on May 17.(Picture for representation) By India Today Web Desk: The Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) hiked the petrol prices by Rs 2.58 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.26 per litre, yesterday at midnight. With this change, petrol will cost Rs 65.60 per litre in Delhi after the increase while diesel will cost Rs 53.93 a litre. Zone wise price movement shows that petrol prices will be comparatively cheaper in Chennai with Rs 65.04 and costlier in Mumbai with Rs.70.18 per litre. advertisement THAT'S TWO IN A ROW The midnight announcement was the second hike this month. The prices were last hiked on May 17. According to IOC, the hike in prices is due to the movement in the international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate. "The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and INR-USD exchange rate warrant increase in price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision," said Indian Oil Corp (IOC). LIBERTY TO HIKE Since deregulation in 2014, oil marketing companies now have the liberty to to hike or cut prices according to global price movement. IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) revise rates of the fuel on 1st and 16th of every month based on the average oil price and the foreign exchange rate in the preceding fortnight. While movement of prices in the international oil market will continue to be observed closely, developing trends will reflect on the future price movement. --- ENDS --- NIA is in process of giving final touch to its two crucial chargesheets in ISIS case. By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: A tale of two Islamic State or ISIS recruits, two separate chargesheets, their lives entwined by a WhatsApp group. And now a common fate: a life behind bars. NIA investigators are in process of giving a final touch to its two crucial chargesheets in the ISIS case. Both chargesheets will be filed this week, one in Jaipur and other in Delhi. advertisement HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: 1. The first case is against Mohammad Sirajuddin (33), a marketing manager with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) posted in Jaipur, who was arrested last December, for his alleged links to the Islamic State. He wanted to travel to Syria with his newborn son and train him to become a Jihadi. Sirajuddin was arrested by Rajasthan ATS in January this year. 2. A brilliant student, who not only got a scholarship for his education as an engineer, Sirajudeen got a campus placement in IOC, Bangalore but was finally posted to Jaipur, from where he was arrested. His online activites were being monitored. Deeply radicalized, he was in the process of making plans to fly to Syria without being detected. But his plan was nipped in the bud. 3. The second is the case Mohammed Naseer (23), a computer engineer from Tamil Nadu who was working in the UAE. So radicalized was he that he flew to Sudan in a bid to reach Libya, from where he attempted to reach his final destination, Syria. 4. His father Mohammed Pakeer and a terminally-ill cancer patient Yusha Kashmiri have made statements against the young ISIS terror recruit. His online activity is also being used a digital evidence in the ISIS case. Karen Sirajuddin and Naseer, otherwise unknown to each other, were part of the same WhatsApp group known as the 'Umma Affairs'. The group, administered by a Filipino woman named Karen Aisha Hamidon and a Kenyan woman Ameena, had a deep influence on them. 6. The common link to both the accused in the ISIS case is not just the two women, but also the WhatsApp group. The group had soon swelled to about 100 members, but there were differences of opinion, so another group was created by the name of 'BUG' on Telegram. 7. Radicalized and ambitious to join the ISIS, Naseer shared his plans with the group unknowingly influencing a married and well-settled Sirajuddin to make plans too. Naseer's plans were nipped in the bud, with him getting arrested and finally being deported from Sudan in December 2015. advertisement Ameena Sirajuddin, meanwhile, got deeply involved with Ameena, chatting for several hours and wished to marry her. She later turned out to be a housemaid from Kenya who was working in Hyderabad. She was deported back. 9. Sirajuddin and Ameena were also part of a WhatsApp group run by a woman ring leader, Karen from the Philippines. The digital trail is an important evidence in both cases, besides witness statements, who only corroborate what the investigators have claimed. 10. While the chargesheet against Sirajuddin will be filed in Jaipur NIA court, the one against Naseer will be filed in Delhi's NIA court in Patiala House. Both are expected to be filed between the June 4-6. They now await the same fate, a life behind bars for being ISIS terror recruits. --- ENDS --- The apex court is hearing an appeal filed by Karnataka challenging the acquittal of the 68-year-old AIADMK chief and three others in the disproportionate assets case. By India Today Web Desk: The Karnataka government today told the Supreme Court that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's acquittal by the state High Court in an illegal assets case is perverse and defeats the mandate of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The apex court is hearing an appeal filed by Karnataka challenging the acquittal of the 68-year-old AIADMK chief and three others in the disproportionate assets case. advertisement Here are the latest developments: Jayalalithaa and others were accused of allegedly amassing disproportionate asserts to the tune of Rs 66.65 crores during her first term as chief minister from 1991 to 1996. Karnataka has challenged the state High Court's May 11, 2015 verdict reversing a September 27, 2014 Bangaluru trial court order convicting Jayalalithaa, her aide N Sasikala Natrajan and the latter's two relatives VN Sudhakaran and Elavarasi in the case. Pointing to the figures that the High Court had relied upon for reversing the trial court verdict, Karnataka had argued before the apex court that the accused had conspired to camouflage the disproportionate assets by creating a web of companies. After a trial that lasted for 18 years, a trial court in Bangaluru had convicted Jayalalithaa and sentenced her to four-year jail term and a Rs 100 crore fine. Last month, in a historic victory, Jayalalithaa bucked the trend to beat anti-incumbency - and allegations of corruption - to retain power in Tamil Nadu, a first since 1984. In a coincidence, the AIADMK supremo took oath as Chief Minister for the second time in a span of one year on the same day - May 23. Jayalalithaa had assumed office on May 23, 2015, exactly a year ago, as Chief Minister for the fifth time of the state then following her acquittal. ALSO READ: May 11, 2015 | PM Modi greets Jayalalithaa after acquittal in assets case October 7, 2014 |Jayalalithaa's bail plea rejected in illegal assets case --- ENDS --- By PTI: Bengaluru, June 1 (PTI) Bracing itself to deal with the threat by the constabulary to go on mass leave on June 4, Karnataka government has brought the state police and related services under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). The government has issued a notification stating that ESMA provisions were being invoked to maintain public order and safety, which would be disrupted if the police refuse to discharge their duty. advertisement Maintenance of public order and protection of property, besides crime detection was an essential duty of police, said the order which comes after Chief Minister Siddaramaiahs warning against any act of "indiscipline" by the force. As the police association, protesting the alleged harassment of lower rung police personnel by senior officials and lesser pay, persisted with its stand to go ahead with the en masse leave, Siddaramaiah had yesterday asked the force not to get instigated, saying there should not be any room for indiscipline. He also said that the protest has been called by a non-recognised organisation and there should be no room for indiscipline in the police department that has the responsibility of protecting public life and property. Akhila Karnataka Police Maha Sangha is spearheading the stir led by V Shashidhar, a suspended police personnel who is its founder-President. Siddaramaiah has said government was willing to hold discussions with the police personnel on their grievances. The association has highlighted the issues faced by police, particularly constables, pointing out irregular working hours coupled with no proper leave and pay anomaly, besides complaining about interference by politicians and influential persons. It has also demanded a separate pay commission. PTI RA VS DV --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) Korean tech giant LG will launch more affordable and flagship devices in India this year as it looks to regain lost ground in the domestic smartphone market. The company, which competes with the likes of Samsung, Apple and Sony in the premium category, will launch 5-6 devices in the sub-Rs 15,000 category to cash in on the burgeoning Indian smartphone market. advertisement It launched its flagship smartphone G5 today, priced at Rs 52,990. "LG is a leader in consumer durables but that is not the case for mobile phones. We are starting to analyse that. We will prioritise (presence in segments)," LG Electronics India MD Ki Wan Kim told PTI. He added that LG is studying various segments and will launch products in the affordable category, which accounts for a significant portion of the Indian handset market. "We are looking at sub-Rs 10,000 and sub-Rs 15,000 range tentatively. Till Q3, before Diwali, we are looking at launching 5-6 models to test the market," Kim said. He added that depending on the response, the company may look at launching smartphones designed for the Indian consumers. India is the second largest smartphone market globally, after China. Samsung, Micromax, Intex, Lenovo, Lava and Xiaomi are some of the leading brands in the space. Asked about the contribution of the handset business to LGs overall revenues in India, he said it is not yet "meaningful". The G5, which features a modular design, is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 5.3-inch display, 4GB RAM, 32GB memory (expandable up to 2TB) and 2,800 mAh removable battery. Launched first in the Mobile World Congress in Spain earlier this year, the handset comes with two rear cameras -- 16MP primary rear camera and a 8MP rear camera for wide-angle shots. It has a 8MP front camera. "This phone will certainly amaze the smartphone users with its ability to be transformed into multiple devices like digital camera, Hi-Fi player and more. G5 will certainly redefine smartphone experience for consumers," Kim said. Along with the phone, the company has also introduced a range of companion devices like 360 Cam, 360 VR and LG Friends Manager. PTI SR SRK ABI --- ENDS --- She was responding to the debate on the Governor's address in the Assembly. Srinagar is witnessing intense battle between stone-throwing protesters and the police almost after every Friday prayers. By Naseer Ganai: Known for being soft towards separatists, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister on Tuesday hit hard at separatists, accusing them of turning Fridays into stone-throwing events. She said people were frightened to go to the grand mosque, Jamia Masjid in the old city on Friday fearing stone throwing incidents. She was responding to the debate on the Governor's address in the Assembly. Srinagar is witnessing intense battle between stone-throwing protesters and the police almost after every Friday prayers. advertisement Safeguard Kashmiriyat Mehbooba said Kashmiri Muslims are fed up with recurring violence. She said Kashmiriyat (syncretic culture of Kashmir) should be safeguarded. The chief minister said that the separatist leadership claimed their political space without any intervention of the government during the 2002-2005 tenure of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. "At that time, separatist leaders were jailed but we set them free. I came across them during election campaigns. We talked to them. Umar Farooq (Mirwaiz Umar Farooq) and Bilal Lone (Bilal Gani Lone) spoke with the Centre. Militancy went down and ceasefire was implemented. It sparked the hope of a new dawn of peace but the unfortunate events after 2008 turned the tide against the peace efforts," she said. Taking about the opposition accusing her of implementing the RSS' agenda in Kashmir, she said such remarks reflect the lack of faith among opposition members in their ideology, which is deeply secular and plural. "Even Pandits swear by the name of Dastgeer saheb and Rash-Maili saheb. Those shrines are sacred and no one has returned empty handed from them. No power on earth can dilute our secular ethos," she said. Also read: Mehbooba Mufti defends alliance with BJP, hits out at Congress --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, June 1 (PTI) A top aide to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju was today dragged into the controversy involving arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, with allegation that he made 355 calls to the official who denied any wrongdoing and insisted that the relationship was only "professional". The probe by investigative agencies is said to have found that Bhandari was constantly in touch with Rajus Officer on Special Duty Appa Rao. advertisement The agencies claim that Bhandari, who is being probed for allegedly buying a becnami or proxy-owned house for Robert Vadra in London, made some 355 calls to Rao in over one year time. "First of all so many calls would not have been there, I I tell you. It was a professional relationship..He (Bhandari) came to meet the minister 3-4 times, in the last one-and-a-half year. ..It was only a professional relation. "We got an acquaintance for the first time at the Bangalore Air show. He (Bhandari) had invited the minister to see his stall. Minister went and saw it. I dont have any personal relationship," Rao told a private TV channel. The Enforcement Directorate earlier in the day served Bhandari notice seeking bank accounts and details of his properties. The ED action has come even as the Income Tax has sought information from some countries about the properties purchased by him, one of which is said to have been owned and later sold by Robert Vadra in London allegedly facilitated by Bhandari. PTI IAS AKK AKK --- ENDS --- Monsoon rains are expected to commence over north eastern states around June 10 and advance further westward across West Bengal, Bihar, East UP and Himalayan belt between June 16 and June 20 By Indo-Asian News Service: Monsoon in Kerala is "slightly delayed" and likely to set in by June 6 and "normal to excess rainfall" is expected over most parts of the country from July till September, said private weather forecaster Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS). GOOD ADVANCEMENT "The onset of monsoon in Kerala is expected to be slightly delayed and is likely to take place around June 6 to June 7 as a weak current," said Kanti Prasad, senior consultant, climate sciences, WRMS Pvt Ltd. advertisement "Though slightly delayed, its advancement will be good," Prasad said. The company processes the NOAA climate CFSV2 (coupled forecast system version 2) model and adds statistical and synoptic interpretations to provide long range weather forecasts to its clients. NOAA is the US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. SCANTY RAINFALL IN NORTHEASTERN STATES The analysis says rainfall during the month of June may "remain subdued" over many parts of India except in the northeastern states. NORTHEAST MONSOON "Monsoon rains are expected to commence over north eastern states around June 10 and advance further westward across West Bengal, Bihar, East UP and Himalayan belt between June 16 and June 20. Our analysis of the model shows that monsoon 2016 may end up on the positive side of the normal with well distributed rainfall over the country," said Prasad. "The monthly precipitation forecasts based on the model products dated May 26 indicate positive anomalies (normal to excess rainfall) over most parts of the country during July, August and September." But a few pockets of south peninsula such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu may receive "deficient rainfall" during the months of July and September, he said. --- ENDS --- Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum -- revise jet fuel and non-subsidised LPG prices on the first day of every month, based on the average international price. By India Today Web Desk: Price of non-subsidised cooking gas was raised by Rs 21 per cylinder today while that of aviation turbine fuel or jet fuel price was hiked by a steep 9.2 per cent. CONTINUOUS INCREASE IN ATF PRICES In the fourth straight monthly increase in rates on global cues, ATF price in Delhi was increased by Rs 3,945.47 per kilolitre, or 9.2 per cent, to Rs 46,729.48 per kilolitre, the oil companies announced today. advertisement The hike comes on the back of 1.5 per cent increase effected on May 1 and a steep Rs 3,371.55 (8.7 per cent) hike on April 1. Prior to that, rates were hiked by steep 12 per cent, or by Rs 4,174.49, on March 1. Rates vary at different airports because of differential local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). Jet fuel constitutes over 40 per cent of an airline's operating cost and the latest price increase will add to the financial burden of cash-strapped carriers. No immediate comment was available from airlines on the impact of the price increase on passenger fares. ANOTHER INCREASE IN LPG PRICES Simultaneously, the oil firms raised prices of non- subsidised LPG, which consumers buy after exhausting their quota of 12, by Rs 21 per 14.2-kg cylinder, the second monthly increase in rates. Non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) now costs Rs 548.50 in Delhi as against Rs 527.50 previously. The hike comes on the back of a Rs 18 per cylinder increase in price on May 1. Subsidised LPG costs Rs 419.18 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. The three fuel retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum -- revise jet fuel and non-subsidised LPG prices on the first day of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding month. --- ENDS --- A column carried by DPRK Today described Trump as a "wise politician" and the right choice for US voters in the November 8 US presidential election. A combination photo shows a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) handout of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un released on May 10, 2016, and Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump posing for a photo after an interview with Reuters in his office in By Reuters: North Korea has backed presumptive US Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as "a prescient presidential candidate" who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North. TRUMP A WISE POLITICIAN? A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state's mouthpieces, described Trump as a "wise politician" and the right choice for US voters in the November 8 US presidential election. advertisement It described his most likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as "thick-headed Hillary" over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula. CHAI PE CHARCHA WITH KIM AND DONALD Trump instead has told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear programme, and that China should also help solve the problem. North Korea, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is under UN sanctions over its past nuclear tests. South Korea and the United States say its calls for dialogue are meaningless until it takes steps to end its nuclear ambitions. DPRK Today also said Trump's suggestion that the United States should pull its troops from South Korea until Seoul pays more was the way to achieve Korean unification. "It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate," said the column, written by a China-based Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk. DPRK Today is among a handful of news sites run by the isolated North, although its content is not always handled by the main state-run media. Also read: Insults, political attacks and retweets: The origins of Donald Trump's Twitter account --- ENDS --- By PTI: Malappuram (Ker), May 31 (PTI) The office of a language daily was vandalised today by a group of people protesting against a road accident at Kottakal in the district, police said. Some media personnel had reportedly tried to make video footage of the group attacking and damaging a private bus, which had knocked down a motorcycle rider in the afternoon, Kottakkal Sub-Inspector Manjith Lal said. advertisement The group reportedly objected to this, following which the media personnel abstained from filming the incident and gathered near the Mathrubhumi office. The protesters became suspicious and some of them hurled stones at the glass door, barged into the office of the daily and went on a rampage, damaging furniture, glass cabinets and telephones. They allegedly tried to manhandle staff members also but ran away on seeing police personnel who rushed to the spot on getting information, police said. The bus knocked down the motorcycle rider in front of the Kottakkal HMS Hospital. However, no ne was injured in the accident, Lal said. Meanwhile, some locals staged an agitation on the Kozhikode-Thrissur road, damaged the bus and prevented media from filming their act, the SI said. No media personnel was injured, he said. A case under sections of rioting was registered and investigations are on, police said, adding, no one has been arrested. PTI KV BN SRY --- ENDS --- By PTI: Mumbai, May 31 (PTI) Oman, which hosted nearly 3 lakhs Indian travellers in 2015, is expecting 15-20 per cent rise in footfalls this year, mainly backed by the wedding destination, and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) segment. "We have received 2,99,022 tourists from India in 2015, which is 17 per cent growth from 2014. With growing interest in the wedding destination and MICE segments, we are expecting 15-20 per cent growth in travellers visiting from India in 2016," Oman Tourism Ministry, India Representative, Lubaina Sheerazi told PTI here. advertisement She said Oman targets high-end, evolved, neo-educated travellers from India, who are looking for a destination filled with natural beauty and provides authentic Arabian experience. "Our target segment from India mainly consists of families, couples, business and weddings. And we mostly look at age group between 25-65 years," she added. Meanwhile, Oman is set to become a major regional centre for MICE, for which the countrys Tourism Ministry has established a new Convention Bureau. "The objective of the Bureau is to support the international and local organisations in hosting their events and cater to their requirements. The main aim is to promote Oman as an ideal destination for the MICE tourism sector," Oman Tourism Ministry Director General of Tourism Promotion Salim Al Mamari said. Oman saw a growth of 17.7 per cent in total international visitor numbers in 2015 to 2.4 million. The Arab country has an ambitious new tourism strategy and plans to increase the number of international visitor to 5.3 million by 2040. PTI SM ARS AMS BAS --- ENDS --- By PTI: From M Zulqernain Lahore, Jun 1 (PTI)A Pakistani schoolteacher has been arrested for allegedly making blasphemous comments in Punjab province. The FIR was registered a couple of days ago against Gabreel Ahmed on the complaint of Bilal, his students father, under Section 295-C (blasphemy) of the Pakistan Penal Code which carries the deathpenalty. Senior police officer Sajjad Khan said that Ahmed,an Arabic language teacher at Government High School, Qasba Gormani, Muzaffargarh district, is accused of blasphemy. advertisement "Initially the police had arrested Ahmed for torturing Bilals two sons of grade-VI in the school. But later Bilal complained that Ahmed committed blasphemy and his sons endorsed his allegation. On this blasphemy sections have been included in the FIR," Khan said. "We arethoroughlyinvestigating the matter. However it is a sensitive matter," he said. Ahmeds colleagues told police that he did not commit blasphemy as Bilal had tried to settle scores with him for torturing his sons. Rights groups allege that Pakistans controversial blasphemy law is frequently misused to target minorities and to settle personal scores and disputes. PTI MZ KUN --- ENDS --- The plan, which aims to make India disaster resilient and reduces loss of lives, covers all phases of disaster management - Prevention, Mitigation, Response and Recovery. By Snehanshu Shekhar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). This is the first ever national plan prepared in the country. The plan aims to make India disaster resilient and reduces loss of lives. The plan is based on the four priority themes of the "Sendai Framework," namely: understanding disaster risk, improving disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction (through structural and non-structural measures) and disaster preparedness, early warning and building back better in the aftermath of a disaster. Salient features of the plan advertisement The plan covers all phases of disaster management: Prevention, Mitigation, Response and Recovery. It provides for horizontal and vertical integration among all the agencies and departments of the Government. The plan also spells out the roles and responsibilities of all levels of Government right up to Panchayat and Urban local body level in a matrix format. The plan has a regional approach, which will be beneficial not only for disaster management but also for development planning. It is designed in such a way that it can be implemented in a scalable manner in all phases of disaster management. It also identifies major activities such as early warning, information dissemination, medical care, fuel, transportation, search and rescue, evacuation, etc. to serve as a checklist for agencies responding to a disaster. It also provides a generalised framework for recovery and offers flexibility to assess a situation and build back better. To prepare communities to cope with disasters, it emphasises on a greater need for Information, Education and Communication activities. ALSO READ: Cannot bring in change without considering farmers' welfare, says PM Modi PM Narendra Modi's Digital India intiative aims to empower society --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) The Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) has launched a probe into the premium bus service scheme notified by the Arvind Kejriwal government, allegedly without obtaining the permission of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, a development that could trigger a fresh bout of sparring between the two. ACB chief MK Meena said that the probe has been launched on the complaint of Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, who has alleged that the government is "trying to benefit" a Gurgaon based private bus aggregator. advertisement "There are allegations that no prior approval of Lt Governor was sought before launch of the scheme and that it was aimed at benefiting a private company," he said. The premium bus service scheme was notified on May 20. "The Lt Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to notify that all premium buses which ply in Delhi in conformity with guidelines specified in the app-based premium bus services scheme shall be deemed to be used for the purpose of reducing pollution and shall be exempted from provision of sub section (1) of Section 66 of the said Act (Motor Vehicle Act 1998) to such an extent as may be necessary for operation of such buses," read the notification signed by Delhi Transport Commissioner Sanjay Kumar. Citing media reports Gupta said in his complaint that the Lt Governors office had clarified on May 28 that no "approval" was given by him for the premium bus service. "It calls for criminal probe into how the AAP government under the signature of Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport) could misuse Lt Governors name in this manner," he said. The Leader of Opposition alleged the AAP government "seems to be in extraordinary hurry to approve the Premium Bus Service Scheme and the procedure adopted leaves many questions unanswered." The entire scheme has been "designed to favour one particular Gurgaon-based bus aggregator platform that is already "illegally operating contract carriage buses in Delhi" as on date also, Gupta claimed in his complaint. The rules and regulations were "deliberately bypassed" that "smack of malafide intentions" of the decision making authorities in the government, he alleged. "The manner in which the decision was approved in the Cabinet without bothering to ensure that the due procedure was followed leaves no one in doubt that there was criminal intention to provide unprecedented benefit to the private operator," he alleged. "The government in place of penalizing an operator who is flouting law with impunity has chosen to legalize the system. It smacks of a big scam," he alleged and demanded a thorough investigation into all aspects of the scheme and its notification. PTI VIT/DEY SK SK SK --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: Patna, Jun 1 (PTI) Stung by the media expose of "dubious" toppers of class 12th examination conducted by Bihar board,state Education Minister Ashok Choudhary today said a high level probe has been ordered to re-check merit of the toppers. The probe would be conducted in all the three streams - Humanities, Science and Commerce--and merit of examiners who awarded the marks would also be checked, he told PTI. advertisement Video of a girl who topped the state governments +2 examination in Humanities pronouncing Political Science as Prodigal Science and describing it as a subject related to cooking, while that of a boy who topped in Science but was unaware of electron and proton, exposed the results of the exam conducted by Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) this year. Both toppers hail from Bishun Rai college in Bhagwanpur in Vaishali district. The institution had courted controversy last year as well when the then Education Minister P K Shahi had ordered withholding its results following complaints of large-scale irregularities. "Five merit holders of all the three streams of Science,Arts and Commerce will be re-examined by an expert team to know the truth of the excellent marks awarded to them by examiners," Choudhary said. The state Education minister sounded perturbed over "lapse" shown by the board in publication of results. The incident has once again shown the state in a poor light after a photograph of parents and well wishers scaling a school building in Vaishali district last year during matriculation exam to supply chits to examinees went viral. "I admit lapse on the part of the state examination board despite all efforts of the government to conduct a cheating-free examination," the minister said. "After a lot of hard work the state government had conducted cheating-free examination this time to erase its bad image due to copying in matriculation exam last year ... But the expose of toppers has once again tarnished the governments image. "We will dismiss officials found guilty in committing this irregularity," the minister said. MORE PTI SNS KK SRY SNP --- ENDS --- The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and the Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident. By India Today Web Desk: Death toll in Pulgaon military ammunition depot fire rose to 18 on Wednesday, as rescue workers recovered two more bodies from the site. The bodies are yet to be identified, sources told PTI. 16 others lost their lives in efforts to douse the fire, including two officers, a jawan and 13 civilian fire fighters. Two officers and 15 personnel (including nine Army Jawans and six civilian fire fighting staff) were reported injured. advertisement The high security central ammunition depot (CAD), spread over 7,000 acres, is Asia's biggest ammunition depot. It houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country. The fire occurred at one of the sheds that housed "highly sensitive ammunition," in the wee hours yesterday. Loud explosions were heard one after the other as the raging fire lit up the night sky. "The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and the Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident," Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said. Earlier, defence minister Manohar Parrikar had said sabotage was not involved, but the exact cause of the fire would only be known after inquiry. Parrikar along with Army chief General Dalbir Singh met the injured persons at a local hospital in Pulgaon yesterday. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Chandigarh, Jun 1 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today decided to hold a state level function in observance of 300th Martyrdom day of legendary Sikh warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Chappar Chiri in SAS Nagar (Mohali) on June 26. Presiding over a high level meeting to commemorate the 300th Martyrdom day of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur here, Badal constituted a high level committee under the chairmanship of Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Sohan Singh Thandal to oversee all arrangements regarding the commemoration of this event in the state, where several functions were being organized on the occasion. advertisement It was also decided in the meeting to organize laser shows at the historic Aam Khas Bagh at Sirhind to depict the life and philosophy of Sikh warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in order to apprise people about his contribution in the abolition of Jagirdari system from the control of Mughals, who made the tillers and cultivators, the actual owners of the land and issued coins and seals in the name of Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Gobind Singh. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was the first one to establish Khalsa Raj in 1710. Taking part in the deliberation, the Chief Minister informed that he would personally extend invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to preside over a function with regard to this tercentenary commemoration of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur?s martyrdom at New Delhi, where he was martyred in 1716. Badal authorised the high level committee to take all decisions related to the commemoration of this historic event. He also said that the state government has already earmarked a sum of Rs 25 crore for commemoration of this in a befitting manner. PTI VJ RG --- ENDS --- In a circular issued by the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Om Prakash, strict actions, including dismissal of the staff, will be taken against those who participate in the protest. By India Today Web Desk: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act(ESMA) in the state in a bid to subdue the proposed protest on June 4 by constabulary, today. In a circular issued by the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Om Prakash, strict actions, including dismissal of the staff, will be taken against those who participate in the protest. advertisement According to sources, the Health and Family Welfare Department has issued directions to all government hospitals not to issue any medical certificate for police personnel on health grounds for June 4. Asserting that they face human rights violation on daily basis, around 60,000 cops decided to go for a mass leave on June 4. The protest was against meagre salary, overburdened work and lack of scholarship or educational facilities for their children. As the policemen are not entitled to go on a strike like other government employees, they have decided to apply leave en masse instead. While the policemen have received support from the BJP and APP, which suggested to the government to revise the salaries, state government has taken a stern stance to subdue the protest. WHAT IS ESSENTIAL SERVICES MAINTENANCE ACT? The Essential Services Maintenance Act (Esma) was enacted in 1968, to maintain "certain essential services and the normal life of the community." ESMA gives police the right to arrest, without a warrant, anybody violating the Act's provisions. The Act reads. "Any person who instigates a strike which is illegal under this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both." The Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir. Any person who commences a strike which is illegal under this Act or goes or remains on, or otherwise takes part in, any such strike shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both. ALSO READ: Karnataka cops to go on mass bunk on June 4 --- ENDS --- By PTI: Colombo, Jun 1 (PTI) Sri Lanka today allowed those who sought asylum abroad due to political persecution back home to obtain a passport and return to the country, ending a Mahinda Rajapaksa-era restriction imposed on them. A foreign ministry statement said that the government was ending the "restrictive practice". "The Government has issued a circular today ending the restrictive practice of preventing the issuance of passports to Sri Lankan citizens resident abroad who were compelled to leave Sri Lanka due to political persecution," it said. advertisement The Rajapaksa government in March 2011 had issued instructions to all its missions abroad to refrain from issuing Sri Lankan passports to citizens who have sought asylum due to political persecution in the country. Foreign ministry said the circular constituted a serious violation of our citizens rights under the Constitution and under the many human rights conventions to which Sri Lanka has become a party over the years. It has also caused immense hardship and difficulty to many Sri Lankans who were forced to leave the country as a result of their struggle against authoritarian rule, it said. The Sri Lankan government has renewed its commitment to upholding citizens rights and the rule of law. Freedom of movement and impartial treatment of our citizens, irrespective of their political beliefs, will be secured for all our citizens, the statement said. Since Maithripala Sirisena took over presidency from Rajapaska in January last year, his government has said it would govern the country on the twin objectives of sustainable development and reconciliation with the Tamil minority. The government has indicated it was considering an Office of Missing Persons, a Truth, Justice, Reconciliation and Non-Recurrence Commission, a Judicial Mechanism with a Special Counsel and an Office of Reparations as part of the reconciliation mechanism. The Sirisena government has also released some of the Tamil civilian land held by the military during the 30-year conflict with the LTTE, that finally ended in 2009. The foreign ministry said that as a result of the good governance and reconciliation efforts of the Sirisena government, many Sri Lankans living abroad have expressed interest in visiting and investing in Sri Lanka. "Ending this restrictive practice will further enable our citizens overseas to visit and return to Sri Lanka and thereby contribute to the countrys development and reconciliation process," it said. The previous government had said the restrictions were necessary as those who fled the country were supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). However, there were a few journalists and rights activists from the Sinhala-majority community who fled the country fearing political persecution by then government. PTI CORR ABH AKJ ABH --- ENDS --- advertisement By India Today Web Desk: 1A view of London at night British astronaut Tim Peake uploaded this photo of London at night on January 31, 2016. No wonder here's where Harry Potter's magical world unfolds. 2Coast Mountains Peake clicked this 'cool' photo of British Columbia's Coast Mountains on January 5, 2016. 3Northern Lights from space The International Space Station Commander Scott Kelly took this stunning photo of the Aurora borealis on January 20, 2016. 4Hurricane Danny Kelly took this picture of major hurricane from the ISS while orbiting over the Atlantic Ocean. 5Sunrise view from ISS He also clicked this stunning picture of the sunrise. 6And here's the sunset view He did not give the sundown chiaroscuro a miss either. 7Bahamas Believe it or not, this is what the Bahamas look like from the sky. In a detailed interview, Rahul has termed Pratyusha's suicide as "cowardly" and said that he's ready to put up a fight to prove his innocence. By India Today Web Desk: On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to actor-producer Rahul Raj Singh, who was booked for abetment of TV actress and girlfriend Pratyusha Banerjee's suicide. The Supreme Court declined to quash the bail, saying the last conversation between the two shows they were "intensely in love with each other". In a detailed interview, Rahul has termed Pratyusha's suicide as "cowardly" and said that he's ready to put up a fight to prove his innocenece. advertisement Excerpts from an interview: Also read: This is how Pratyusha's boyfriend Rahul celebrated his birthday Q: The Supreme Court has refused to cancel your bail. This is a big reprieve for you? A: I knew I was innocent. I wanted the truth to come out on its own. People who hardly knew the truth about my relationship with Pratyusha, lashed out at me. I kept quiet. If I had retaliated, it would have seemed like a feeble attempt to defend myself. Q: Why were her friends so keen to attack you? A: They couldn't bear the fact that I had made a place for myself in Mumbai. Q: Who are these friends? A: Kamya Punjabi claims to be Pratyusha's friend. And if Pratyusha's call log for the entire year was checked, there might be just one or two calls. Kamya Punjabi, Shashank Vyas, Vikas Gupta hold press conference post Pratyusha's death. Photo: Yogen Shah Q: What about those girls who went on record accusing you of defrauding them? A: I don't know who they are. Where were they for five years since that's when I'm supposed to have wronged them? Also read: SC refuses to cancel Rahul Raj Singh's anticipatory bail Q: What about Saloni Sharma? A: She is my partner in an events management company. She'd meet me for business reasons. Stories about her and me are untrue. More people know me now than they did before. I'll be linked with any girl I am seen with. Saloni Sharma, Rahul Raj Singh's alleged ex girlfriend. Q: Are you single right now? A: Of course! I don't know what will happen in the future. I was on anti-depressants until recently. Q: Looking back at the whole experience, how do you feel? A: Suicide is a very cowardly thing to do. I've gone through hell. I wasn't given a chance to grieve for Pratyusha. I had to deal with all the rubbish that was heaped on me, plus a 9-year-old son who never existed. Q: Where did this son come from? A: I want to ask Kamya that. I am sure she pays my son's school fees. I have no clue about the son. advertisement Also read: Pratyusha death: Rahul Raj claims innocence, vows to fight till the end Q: Why was Pratyusha depressed? A: It was her financial mess that landed her in a depression. At a very young age, she earned Rs.5 crore to Rs.6 crore. Since she didn't know how to handle her finances, she handed over her earnings to her parents. When she asked back for her hard-earned money, they said there was nothing. Q: Her parents spent all her money? A: She had a loan of lakhs and lakhs to pay. Her EMIs had not been paid for months. All the loans that she had taken were in Pratyusha's name, not in her parent's name. Because her parents didn't earn anything. They own a five-bedroom home in Jamshedpur. Pratyusha didn't even own a shack. She didn't have one piece of jewellery. Pratyusha's mother Soma Banerjee. Photo: Yogen Shah Q: What did her parents do with their daughter's money? A; She got Rs.30 lakh to Rs.35 lakh in Bigg Boss and yet she couldn't pay back the loan. Nor were her EMI instalments paid back. Her car was purchased on loan. She had personal loans amounting to Rs.20 lakh to Rs.25 lakh. advertisement Q: Are those loans going to be written off now? A: According to the law, the parents have to repay the loans. And when they can afford to take me to the Supreme Court, I am sure her parents have the money to repay loans. Q: What are your future plans? A: I want to work hard. In spite of what has happened I love Mumbai. After Pratyusha's death, I haven't visited my hometown Ranchi even once. I don't want people to say I've run away. The police has sealed my house for the last two months. I am staying in a hotel with my father. Q: Why did the police seal your home? A: No reason was given. Contrary to belief that isnt Pratyushas house. Its mine. Q: Has this experience put you off relationships? A: At least for now. Q: What do you say to those who blame you for Pratyusha's suicide? A: I did nothing to provoke her into taking such a drastic step. I found out about her financial distress only three months before her death. Q: So what did you do? advertisement A: I gave my share of the fees that we earned for Power Couple to her. She stayed in my house. If we had fights she could've easily broken up since we weren't married. Why did she party with me days before her death? Why did she order her wedding lehenga if as her so-called friends say, she was unhappy with me? Q: What about her friends saying you were physically abusive? A: They claim to have a video to prove it. Why haven't they shown it to the court? Pratyusha had filed a case against her former boyfriend for physical abuse. If I was violent with her, she could've done the same with me. Q: So you don't hold yourself responsible in any way for her death? A: I've done nothing wrong. So I don't feel guilty. If the courts had any doubts about my innocence, they'd have cancelled my bail. May 29th was my birthday. A day later, I got this wonderful gift from the courts. (With inputs from IANS) --- ENDS --- By PTI: London/New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) Tata Steel today announced completion of sale of its European long steel business, including the giant Scunthorpe plant, to Greybull Capital LLP. Besides Scunthorpe steelworks in England, Tata Steel has sold mills in Teesside and northern France, which employ a total of 4,800 people, the company said in a statement. The transaction was announced back in April for a nominal one pound, marking the revival of the brand name British Steel. Workers have accepted a temporary 3 per cent pay cut and changes to terms and conditions in April as part of the deal to salvage the business. Community unions general secretary, Roy Rickhuss, said: "Community warmly welcomes the opening of this new chapter in the course of the UK steel industry. It also demonstrates that there is the chance of a brighter future for steelmaking in the UK, with the right vision and investment." Tata Steel has yet to find a buyer for the remainder of the UK business, but according to the Financial Times, will announce the preferred bidder on June 24, a day after the European Union (EU) referendum in the UK. "Tata Steel UK today announced the completion of the sale of its Long Products Europe business to Greybull Capital LLP," the statement said. advertisement The company, which had in March announced plans to sell all its UK operations after years of losses, had been in exclusive talks for the long products business with London-based private equity firm Greybull since December. Greybull had previously said it will invest 400 million pounds (USD 569 million) in the new business. "From today the Long Products Europe business, which in the UK includes the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, and associated distribution facilities, as well as a rail mill in northern France, will trade under the name of British Steel. All together the business employs 4,800 people ? 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France," it said. Tata Steel said, in last one year, the Long Products Europe business has implemented a transformation plan including a portfolio restructuring of assets, underpinned by committed support from employees and their trade unions. "This has focused the business on higher-value markets supported by a more competitive cost base," it said. Bimlendra Jha, Executive Chairman of the Long Products Europe business and CEO of Tata Steel UK, said: "As a responsible seller, Tata Steel is delighted to have secured a buyer for this business and we hope that under Greybull ownership, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement programme that has been initiated in the last 12 months." He said employees and trade unions have worked closely with the Long Products Europe management team to improve the business prospects, putting it in a more competitive position than it has been for many years. "It is through their dedication and hard work that we are in this position today in spite of continued challenges in the market," he added. PTI AK/RNK ANZ MR --- ENDS --- By PTI: Hyderabad, Jun 1 (PTI) In a setback to TDP in Telangana, its lone Lok Sabha member from the state Ch Malla Reddy joined the ruling TRS today. Malla Reddy, who represents Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency here, joined the TRS in the presence of party president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Welcoming Malla Reddy into the party fold, Rao said the entry of the MP into TRS should be seen as part of "reconstruction of Telangana". advertisement TDP won 15 Lok Sabha seats in AP and one (Malla Reddy from Malkajgiri) in Telangana in the 2014 general elections. Though the party had won 15 Assembly seats in the 2014 elections (simultaneously held with Lok Sabha polls), its strength came down to three as 12 MLAs joined the ruling TRS. TDP is in power in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also said the annual budget of Telangana would be to the tune of Rs two lakh crore by 2019-20 and up to Rs five lakh crore by 2024. Such a big budget means a lot can be done for welfare of different sections of society, he said. The Telangana government proposed a Rs 1.30 lakh crore budget for 2016-17. PTI SJR RS DK PVI BAS --- ENDS --- Three of the four SSBNs were to have been equipped to fire Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes, whose purchase the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cancelled last week. By Sandeep Unnithan : The scrapping of a Rs 1,800 crore contract for 98 Black Shark torpedoes last week has directly impacted a critical strategic project, the construction of four 'Arihant' class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). Three of the four SSBNs were to have been equipped to fire Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes, whose purchase the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cancelled last week. The cancellation would mean modifications to the SSBN's torpedo tubes and delay induction of the second vessel by two to three years. Torpedo maker Whitehead Alenia Systemi Subacquei (WASS) is a subsidiary of Italian arms manufacturer Finmeccanica. The MoD believes Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland paid bribes for the 2010 purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters for Rs 3,760 crore. advertisement "Alternatives (to Black Shark) are being considered, but at this stage it will not be possible to divulge further details," an MoD spokesperson told Mail Today. The spokesperson declined to comment on the nuclear submarine project. DEADLY NOSE Torpedoes are self-propelled weapons with explosives packed in their nose. They are a submarine's primary weapon and when fired through torpedo tubes, home in to destroy their targets - ships or other submarines. Arihant class SSBNs, a key to the nuclear triad of land, sea and air launched weapons, carry four to eight K-4 nuclear tipped ballistic missiles with a range of 3,500-km, far away from land and safe from any adversary's pre-emptive strike on Indian nuclear assets. SSBNs rely on the unlimited power of their nuclear reactors for endurance and on torpedoes as defensive weapons. The Arihant, which completed deep water and weapon trials this year, is armed with the Type 53-65 Russian torpedoes and fire control system and thus unaffected by the cancelation. It is the second SSBN, the Aridaman, now in an advanced state of construction at the Ship Building Centre, Visakhapatnam, that has been equipped to fire the Black Shark. The Aridaman is due to be inducted by 2018. The submarine's manufacturer Larsen and Toubro conducted nearly 20 simulated 'swim out' trials of the Black Shark from indigenously designed and torpedo tubes. The trials were conducted at a special L&T facility in Pune between 2013 and 2014. While the 98 Black Shark torpedoes cancelled by the MoD were meant for the six Scorpene class submarines being built at Mazagon Docks Ltd, the nuclear submarines were to get a second batch of 49 torpedoes to be imported under the defence procurement procedure's option clause. The Italian torpedoes had been integrated with French assistance into the indigenous 'Saransh' submarine combat system on the Aridaman and two sister ships -- the S4 and the S4*. FUTURE PROJECTS RISK A SIMILAR FATE Without torpedoes, the strategic platforms will be incapable of defending themselves from enemy submarines or warships. These vessels, naval officials fear, could meet the fate of the first of the Scorpene class conventional submarines being built at the Mazagon Docks Ltd. The first Scorpene, the Kalvari, is currently on sea trials in the Arabian Sea without torpedoes. Naval officials say it will be commissioned by the year-end without torpedoes. advertisement Five more Scorpene type submarines, due to join the Navy in intervals by 2022, risk a similar fate given the delays in the torpedo project. "Scrapping the contract is an illconsidered move done purely for political reasons," Rear Admiral Raja Menon (retired) told Mail Today. "It (the Black Shark) is the best torpedo in present circumstances. An alternative will mean time and cost and inconvenience," he said. The time and cost delays could flow from the fact that submarines are only configured to fire a particular make of torpedo. The weapon has to be hooked up to the submarine's fire control system (FCS) which converts electronic inputs from the vessel's sensors into geometric coordinates for it to pursue a target. The Navy's existing Russian torpedoes cannot be fired from the Kalvari or the Aridaman class submarines without hardware and software modifications in those vessels. The MoD put the case for acquiring the Black Shark on hold after bribery allegations in the VVIP deal surfaced in 2013. Price negotiations with the Italian firm had concluded in 2013 after it emerged as the lowest bidder, edging out a German torpedo maker Atlas Elektronik. advertisement In 2014, the Navy pushed the case to buy the torpedo citing an urgent operational necessity which was accepted by the government, but the procurement did not go through as a cautious MoD waffled over the file. In January this year, Vice Admiral Dinesh Prabhakar (retired), Director General of the classified ATV Project which builds the submarines, wrote a letter to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval warning of delays in the Aridaman if the torpedoes did not come on time. He requested for the option clause for 49 Black Sharks to be exercised to firewall the ATV project from the bribery controversy. The strategic project is directly supervised by the Prime Minister's Office and the NSA. The latter is believed to have communicated the project team's concerns to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The government changed tack with the April 7 verdict of an Italian court convicting senior Finmeccanica officials of bribery and the resultant political battle in Parliament last month that saw the BJP attacking the Congress over the scandal. All contracts carried out by Finmeccanica and its subsidiaries now face the defence ministry axe. The Navy, which has five critical projects with the firm, is likely to be the worst hit (SEE BOX). But clearly it is the delays to the nuclear submarine fleet that promise to hit hardest. advertisement GRIEVOUS BLOWBACKS The MoD's options to replace the Black Shark have narrowed down to two - government to government purchases of Germany's 'SeaHake' or France's 'F-21' future heavyweight torpedo. The most optimistic assessments within the Navy say it will take between two and three years for new torpedoes to be acquired and several hundred crores of rupees to modify the submarines to fire them. Grievous blowbacks from a kickback scandal. Also read: India's first indigenous torpedo vessel INS Astradharani got commissioned today: All you need to know Undersea warfare: Surfacing now, navy's biggest batch of submariners --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) The National Commission for Women (NCW) will support Dehradun-based Shayara Banos case in Supreme Court demanding abolition of triple talaq, its chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said today. The Supreme Court had recently admitted a petition by 35-year-old Bano, demanding abolition of the oral and unilateral practice of divorce in the Muslim personal law. advertisement "NCW is already a party in the case. We will file rejoinder in Supreme Court this month. We 200 per cent support the demand. We will do whatever we can," Kumaramangalam said. She was reacting to the demand of Muslim womens rights group Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) which has sought NCWs support to ban triple talaq terming it as an un-Quranic practice. BMMA, in its letter to the NCW chief, said it has collected 50,000 signatures in support of their campaign and is in the process of writing to state commissions for women for their support. "We have found that women want a legal ban on the practice of oral/unilateral divorce. Our national study Seeking Justice Within Family found that 92 per cent of Muslim women want an end to this practice which destroys their life and the lives of their children," it said and demanded "the heinous practice of nikah halala be also abolished. "The instant method of divorce has no mention in the Quran. In fact the Quranic method requires a 90-day process of dialogue, reconciliation and mediation before divorce takes place," the group said. PTI HC SMN SMN --- ENDS --- Speaking in New Delhi on the Role of Good Governance in International Relations, Benjamin Louis "Ben" Cardin, a Democrat senator from Maryland, said that anti-conversion laws in India are being used to infringe upon people's right to religious freedom. By Smita Sharma: In what could raise eyebrows in the Indian foreign policy establishment in South Block, a visiting US Senator has been come down heavily upon India's track record on corruption, human rights and religious freedom. This comes ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington DC for a bilateral visit next week, where he will also address the joint session of the US Congress on June 8. advertisement CRITICISES EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLINGS Speaking in Delhi on Role of Good Governance in International Relations, Benjamin Louis "Ben" Cardin, a democratic Senator from Maryland, criticised India for extra judicial killings. He emphasised that extra judicial killings must not be allowed to continue in the country. SLAMS ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS Citing the 2015 United States minorities watchdog report on religious freedom, Cardin said that anti-conversion laws in India are being used to infringe upon people's right to religious freedom. Further adding to India's criticism he said that women in India are very vulnerable and how a nation treats its women, is the barometer of its progress. And human trafficking is a major challenge with India being a Tier 2 country in the global index, he said . TO RAISE ISSUES WITH PM Ben Cardin intends to raise these social and human rights issues with Narendra Modi when he hosts a dinner for the visiting Prime Minister on Capitol Hill. Responding to an India Today question the Senator said, "I will include human rights dimension in my conversation." Cardin, ranking member of the US Foreign Relations Committee responsible for fixing accountability in America's global policy, also flagged corruption as a challenge that still haunts India despite the Modi administrations' assurances. Saying that he is impressed with Modi on this front Ben Cardin added, "The Modi administration has been speaking out against corruption. Their language says they have zero tolerance to corruption. But they need to act." Asked if his criticism of India just ahead of the crucial official visit could cast a shadow, Ben Cardin replied that democratic countries have strong responsibilities. And embracing these issues will help Prime Minister Modi in dealing with them in the political environment. In the wake of the Gujarat riots of 2002, Narendra Modi was treated as a pariah till he rode to power with a decisive victory in the general elections of 2014. Now, as he prepares to address the joint US Congress, only the fifth Indian PM to be accorded this honour, Ben Cardin says Modi was not invited because of his name, but 'because of the country he represents.' And, that the Indo-US relationship will continue even after change of administration on both sides. advertisement The American Senator was hopeful of some major announcements on military and strategic ties and discussions on terrorism and economic cooperation during the visit. ALSO READ: Justice for 1984 victims would have prevented Gujarat, Dadri incidents, says Kejriwal --- ENDS --- By PTI: From K J M Varma Beijing, Jun 1 (PTI) Chinese President Xi Jinping today called on all parties to disputes on the Korean Peninsula to exercise restraint and calm during a meeting with a North Korean delegation as the two close allies seeks to repair strained ties over Pyongyangs nuclear programme. Xi met the visiting delegation of North Koreas ruling the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) and expounded Chinas stance on the issue of the Korean Peninsula, advertisement Chinas stand on the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear, Xi said and called on relevant sides to stay calm, exercise restraint, and enhance communication and dialogue to safeguard regional peace and stability, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Ri Su Yong, head of the North Korean delegation, delivered a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Xi. In his message, Kim said that North Korea hopes to work with China to strengthen and develop the bilateral traditional friendship, and maintain peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. Ri also gave a briefing on the seventh WPK Congress, which was held in early May, during which Kim was elected chairman of the ruling party. China in the recent past distanced itself from North Koreas nuclear weapons programme which has triggered international sanctions on the reclusive nation. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, welcomed the delegation, saying the visit was evidence of the tradition of strategic communication between the two parties on major issues. The visit also demonstrated that Chairman Kim and the WPK Central Committee attach importance to relations between the two parties and two countries, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Xi wished the people of North Koreagreater success in endeavours related to the economy, standard of living and socialism. China highly values the friendly cooperative relations with North Korea, Xi stressed, adding that Beijing is willing to work with Pyongyang to properly maintain, consolidate and develop bilateral ties. PTI KJV NSA --- ENDS --- At least 54 people were sent to prison for hate speech last year, most of them for sharing and posting things online, which is almost five times as many as five years ago. By AP: Anastasia Bubeyeva shows a screenshot on her computer of a picture of a toothpaste tube with the words: "Squeeze Russia out of yourself!" For sharing this picture on a social media site with his 12 friends, her husband was sentenced this month to more than two years in prison. As the Kremlin claims unequivocal support among Russians for its policies both at home and abroad, a crackdown is underway against ordinary social media users who post things that run against the official narrative. Here the Kremlin's interests coincide with those of investigators, who are anxious to report high conviction rates for extremism. The Kremlin didn't immediately comment on the issue. advertisement At least 54 people were sent to prison for hate speech last year, most of them for sharing and posting things online, which is almost five times as many as five years ago, according to the Moscow-based Sova group, which studies human rights, nationalism and xenophobia in Russia. The overall number of convictions for hate speech in Russia increased to 233 last year from 92 in 2010. A 2002 Russian law defines extremism as activities that aim to undermine the nation's security or constitutional order, or glorify terrorism or racism, as well as calling for others to do so. The vagueness of the phrasing and the scope of offenses that fall under the extremism clause allow for the prosecution of a wide range of people, from those who set up an extremist cell or display Nazi symbols to anyone who writes something online that could be deemed a danger to the state. In the end, it's up to the court to decide whether a social media post poses a danger to the nation or not. In February 2014, when Ukraine was in the middle of a pro-European revolution, President Vladimir Putin signed a bill tightening penalties for non-violent extremist crimes such as hate speech. In July of that year, three months after Russia had annexed the Crimean Peninsula, he signed a bill making calls "to destroy" Russia's territorial integrity a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison. The new amendment makes the denial of Russia's claims on Crimea an even greater offense if the statement is made in the press or online, even on a private social media account. Many of the shares that led to the recent rash of convictions were of things critical of Russia's involvement in Ukraine. Also read: EU hate speech deal shows mounting pressures over internet content blocking This was true of the articles and images shared by Bubeyeva's husband, a 40-year-old electrician from Tver, a sleepy provincial capital halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. "Andrei Bubeyev thinks that he was charged as an example so that other ordinary citizens would be discouraged from expressing their opinion," said his lawyer, Svetlana Sidorkina. Bubeyev spent a lot of time online, sharing links to various articles on his VKontakte page and engaging in political debates on local news websites, his wife says. In this family handout photo taken on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 and provided by Anastasia Bubeyeva, Andrei Bubeyev and his wife Anastasia pose for picture on a boat sailing along the Volga River in Tver, Russia. (Family Handout photo via AP) In this family handout photo taken on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 and provided by Anastasia Bubeyeva, Andrei Bubeyev and his wife Anastasia pose for picture on a boat sailing along the Volga River in Tver, Russia. (Family Handout photo via AP) advertisement In spring 2015, he left town to work on a rural construction site. After investigators couldn't get through to him on the phone, they put him on a wanted list as an extremism suspect. When Bubeyev stopped by to visit his wife and young son at their country cottage, a SWAT team stormed in and arrested him. His wife now lives alone with their 4-year-old son in a sparsely furnished apartment on the ground floor of a drab Soviet-era apartment block. After her husband was arrested, Anastasia Bubeyeva, 23, dropped out of medical school because she couldn't find affordable day care for her child, who still wears an eye patch for an injury he suffered when he bumped his head during the raid. Several months after his arrest, Bubeyev pleaded guilty to inciting hatred toward Russians and was sentenced to a year in prison. His offense was sharing articles, photos and videos from Ukrainian nationalist groups, including those of the volunteer Azov battalion fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Among them was an article about the graves of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine and a video describing Russia as a "fascist aggressor" and showing Russian tanks purportedly crossing into Ukraine. advertisement Less than two weeks after the verdict, Bubeyev was charged again. This time, he was accused of calling for "acts of extremism" and "actions undermining Russia's territorial integrity." He had shared the picture of a toothpaste tube and also an article under the headline "Crimea is Ukraine" by a controversial blogger, who is in jail now, calling for military aggression against Russia. "He was interested in politics, read the news, shared things, but he did it for himself. It was like collecting newspaper clippings," his wife said. "His page wasn't popular - he only had 12 friends. He couldn't have aimed to coerce anyone into anything." The new charges were soon followed by a damning report on local television station Tverskoi Prospekt. The program showed an anonymous blogger complaining about social media users who voiced their support for Ukrainian troops and were "ready to back a coup in Russia and take up arms and kill people as the Nazis did." The television report claimed that the blogger's complaint had prompted the prosecution of the electrician. advertisement On May 6, Bubeyev was convicted and sentenced to two years and three months in prison. Also this month, a court in the Caspian Sea city of Astrakhan sentenced a man to two years in prison for his social media posts urging Ukrainians to fight "Putin's occupying forces." In this family handout photo taken on Sept. 25, 2010 and provided by Anastasia Bubeyeva, her husband Andrei Bubeyev looks on at the Volga river in Tver, Russia. (Anastasia Bubeyeva/ Family Handout photo via AP) In December, a court in Siberia sentenced a man to five years in prison for "inciting hatred" toward residents of eastern Ukraine in his video posts. In October, a court in southern Russia sent a political activist to prison for two years for an unsanctioned picket and posts on social media criticizing Putin and calling for southern Russia to join Ukraine. The articles, photos and videos that landed Bubeyev in prison were posted on his page on VKontakte, Russia's most popular social media network with 270 million accounts. Also read: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Microsoft back EU hate speech rules VKontakte founder Pavel Durov sold the site and fled Russia in 2014, claiming that he had come under presser from the security services for VKontakte to disclose personal data of the users of a group linked to a protest movement in Ukraine. The company is now controlled by the media holding of Kremlin-friendly billionaire Alisher Usmanov. Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the Sova group, says roughly half of the convictions of hate speech online are about posts on VKontakte, which he said might be because its administration might be easier for the Russian police to deal with than that of foreign-owned social media. Bubeyev's defense claimed that the privacy settlings on his account made the articles he shared available only to him and his 12 friends. Sidorkina, his lawyer, said she has no explanation for how the security services found his posts unless they received the credentials to his account from VKontakte. VKontakte declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press. Russia faced a surge of racially motivated attacks against Central Asian migrant workers in the 2000s, but the crime rates dropped drastically after dozens of neo-Nazis got lengthy prison sentences for extremism. Rights activists and lawyers who have worked on extremism cases say the drop in violent hate crimes sent police and investigators scrambling to prosecute people for non-violent offenses to show a solid record of tackling extremism. The Moscow-based Center for Economic and Political Reform said in a 23-page report on extremism law released this month that most convictions for this type of crime resulted in fines or a few days in custody, with the aim of boosting the crime statistics. But as tensions with neighboring Ukraine heated up, courts across Russia began to hand out more and more prison sentences for hate speech, the report said. Many of the hate speech convictions do deal with dubious content, but the severity of the punishment doesn't seem to correspond to the level of public danger posed, said Verkhovsky of Sova. "These cases are very arbitrary because there are lots more people out there who have done the same thing. Such enforcement of the law does not address or combat radical activities," he said. "No one knows where the red line is: It's like roulette." --- ENDS --- Thanks to the people at Cincinnati Zoo we can now also see it from a cheetah's point of view. By India Today Web Desk: Ever wondered what the world looks like running at 100-120 kmph? Well, a cheetah would certainly know that. But thanks to the people at Cincinnati Zoo we can now also see it from a cheetah's point of view. The Cincinnati Zoo shot a video using a GoPro camera strapped to the back of Savanna, one of the cheetahs raised at the zoo. The whole ride looks like something in between a rollercoaster ride and Millennium Falcon making the jump to lightspeed. Here take a look: advertisement Also Read: Gorilla shot dead after he grabbed boy who fell into enclosure --- ENDS --- By Saurabh Singh: The OnePlus 3 will officially launch on June 14, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei announced on Wednesday. But that's not the big news. The bigger news is that the OnePlus 3 will be available for buying invite-free from day one. Yes, the company has finally decided to ditch its often loathsome invite-based sales model for the OnePlus 3. That's not all. The company will now sell all its products invite-free, Carl added. advertisement "We're releasing the OnePlus 3 invite-free, right from launch day. In addition, invites are gone forever from future OnePlus product launches," Carl wrote on the company's official forum . OnePlus will launch the OnePlus 3 in VR , just like it did with the OnePlus 2. Only recently it announced the Loop VR Headset, which is a gradual evolution of its Google Cardboard-inspired VR that it brought about last year, setting the stage "for the smartphone launch of the year, the OnePlus 3." It has partnered with AntVR for the Loop headset. The visor-style Loop VR Headset definitely seems like a visible improvement over last year's Cardboard and the company is also extending its use beyond just the launch event. "The OnePlus 3 launch will be the world's first global shopping experience in VR. Visitors to The Loop will be able to order the OnePlus 3 before anyone else, in VR," according to OnePlus. The company was expected to launch its third-generation flagship phone sometime in June. On Wednesday it made it official that the OnePlus 3 will be launched on June 14 at 10:00 PM IST, in VR. "During the first two hours of the launch, our new flagship device will be available exclusively in the Loop, which doubles as the world's first global VR shopping experience," it said. The company will start selling the OnePlus 3 via regular open sale method from 12.30 AM IST exclusively through OnePlus.net/in. It is yet to be confirmed whether Amazon India will be its online channel partner or not. The Loop VR Headset meanwhile will be available for buying from Amazon India, on June 3 and June 7 starting from 12PM IST. The headset will be exclusively available for buying through Amazon app, at a price of Re 1, including shipping. Only 30,000 units of the headset will be up for grabs, according to the company. Long rumoured specs of the OnePlus 3 include : a 5.5-inch FullHD display, OxygenOS based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB/6GB RAM and 32GB/64GB memory variants. The phone is also said to have a 3,000mAh battery and Dash Charging, which is apparently OnePlus' take on Qualcomm's Quick Charge feature. --- ENDS --- advertisement The green light came the day after the economics ministry's Investment Commission, in charge of reviewing and approving inbound and outbound investments, signaled its approval for the deal. By Reuters: Taiwanese regulators have cleared Foxconn's $3.5 billion acquisition of Sharp Corp., paving the way for the world's largest electronics manufacturer and major Apple Inc supplier to begin the task of trying to turn around the Japanese display maker in the face of slowing smartphone sales. Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday said there was no anti-trust issue with the purchase. The green light came the day after the economics ministry's Investment Commission, in charge of reviewing and approving inbound and outbound investments, signaled its approval for the deal. advertisement Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, is investing a total of 388.8 billion yen ($3.54 billion) to take a 63.64 per cent stake in Sharp, according to the Investment Commission's statement on its approval. Earlier this month, Foxconn founder Terry Gou said there would have to be layoffs at Sharp to turn around the ailing Japanese company, but pledged that wages would rise and profit-sharing would again be the norm. --- ENDS --- Solarin packs in Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, promises "far superior" Wi-Fi connectivity, has a 23.8MP rear camera and a 5.5 inch IPS LED 2K resolution screen. By Indo-Asian News Service: Bringing speculations to an end, Israeli start-up Sirin Labs has officially unveiled its high-end $14,000 (over Rs 9 lakh) Android smartphone that promises chip-to-chip 256-bit encryption similar to what the military uses to protect communications. Dubbed as the 'Rolls Royce of smartphones', the device called Solarin is activated via a physical security switch on the back and was launched on Tuesday at an event in London, venturebeat.com reported. advertisement Solarin packs in Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, promises "far superior" Wi-Fi connectivity, has a 23.8MP rear camera and a 5.5 inch IPS LED 2K resolution screen. For the Solarin promises "the most advanced privacy technology, currently unavailable outside the agency world", Sirin Labs has joined hands with communication security firm KoolSpan. According to Sirin Labs, it wanted to "create the most advanced mobile device that combined the highest privacy settings, operated faster than any other phone, built with the best materials from around the world." "Cyberattacks are endemic across the globe. This trend is on the increase. Solarin is pioneering new, uncompromising privacy measures to provide customers with greater confidence and the reassurance necessary to handle business-critical information," Tal Cohen, CEO and cofounder of Sirin Labs, was quoted as saying. "Every single design decision and material choice was based on performance and functionality," added Fredrik ?ijer, vice president (products) at Sirin Labs. The device for the rich and famous is available at Sirin Labs' first retail store in Mayfair (34 Bruton Place), London from June 1 and at Harrods, Knightsbridge from June 30. The luxury smartphone is not a new phenomenon. In 2006, Nokia launched a $310,000 "Signature Cobra" device in 2006 and the $5,000 "Constellation" smartphone in 2011. In 2012, Nokia dropped luxury-phone brand maker Vertu. After leaving Nokia, Vertu brought its first Android device "Vertu Ti" to market. According to media reports, the smartphone was priced at a whopping Rs 6,49,990 in India. It has dual-core 1.7GHz processor along with 1GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. According to Vertu, its smartphones have 184 individual parts. The body is made by Grade 5 titanium, and has a set of Bang and Olufsen stereo speakers. The sapphire crystal renders the screen virtually scratch-proof and it is tested to be four times stronger than other smartphones in terms of impact resistance, it had claimed. Vertu was later acquired from Swedish private equity group EQT by a consortium of Chinese investors. --- ENDS --- * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. In his profile, Rhodes put the Ploughshares Fund at the center of the echo chamber constructed to sell the Iran deal: We had test drives to know who was going to be able to carry our message effectively, and how to use outside groups like Ploughshares, the Iran Project and whomever else. The Associated Press followed up with a detailed story, based on Ploughshares most recent annual report detailing funding of some 85 organizations and 200 individuals. That network included journalists and media outlets, think tanks, nuclear associations, and pro-Tehran lobbies, including the infamous National Iranian American Council (NIAC). Last year, NIAC was paid $281,211; over the past five years, more than $814,000. According to Trita Parsi, NIACs lifetime President: What Ploughshares Fund has done by bringing these groups together structuring a campaign and crafting a strategic vision is unprecedented and thats part of the reason these battles have been won. In its annual report, Ploughshares boasted of contributing to building the narrative across the country, by proactive media work by Ploughshares Fund grantees, partners and allies, who published nearly 1,400 pro-diplomacy op-eds, letters to the editor and editorials during critical moments of the Iran campaign (June 2014-September 2015). Ben Rhodes narrative worked wonders for the Obama administrations nuclear sales pitch but, like all schemes, it had a dark side yet to come to light. One aspect involves how information exposing the true scope of the Iranian secret nuclear weapons program was filtered. Anyone knowledgeable about human intelligence understands that obtaining such information entails huge risk. This was certainly the case in Iran, where the network of the National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI) and its biggest component, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), provided the lions share of sensitive information, acting as the international communitys eyes and ears on the ground. Over the years, MEK operatives put their own lives and those of their families on the line to inform the world about Tehrans most closely guarded secrets. In 2002, the NCRI revealed the Natanz and Arak secret sites, which triggered the inspections of the Iranian nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for the first time. NCRI disclosed the construction of the underground enrichment facility, Fordow, near Qom in December 2005. On numerous occasions, the U.S. Government conceded the Iranian oppositions crucial role. On March 16, 2005, for instance, President Bush told reporters that Iran has concealed its nuclear program that became discovered, not because of their compliance with the IAEA or NPT but because a dissident group pointed it out to the world. Frank Pabian, a senior adviser on nuclear nonproliferation at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, lauded the accuracy of the information provided by the NCRI, in an interview with the New York Times in 2010. Theyre right 90 percent of the time, he said of the councils disclosures about Irans clandestine sites. That doesnt mean theyre perfect, but 90 percent is a pretty good record. New revelations followed, helping to corner Tehran and compel it to negotiate with the world community. In July 2011, the MEK revealed a new organization, SPND, formed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to consolidate all nuclear weapons activities. SPND and its detailed activities were reflected in the November report of the IAEA, and SPND was designated by the State Department in August 2014. But after mid-2013, when Hassan Rouhani became president of Iran, the theocratic government was ready to relinquish many of its nuclear ambitions, and negotiate in good faith with its traditional enemies in the West. The Rhodes narrative took off, and the administration became dismissive of the NCRIs non-conforming information. Some cases are telling. 2014, intelligence surfaced about suspicious activities in a military site called Parchin, where high-explosive tests with exploding bridge wire were widely recognized as having potential applications to the detonation of a nuclear device. Those tests were carried out with the help of foreign nuclear experts, in a specially designed explosive chamber that subsequently disappeared. In Nov 2014, in a press conference in its Washington office, the NCRI revealed details about the explosive chambers in the early 2000s, including individuals and IRGC entities involved in their design, construction, set up, and testing. The critical revelation involved details establishing that two such chambers had been manufactured, not one. This revelation should have been vigorously investigated by the Obama administrations experts; it never happened. On February 24, 2015, in a widely reported press conference, the NCRI revealed details of a site in Tehran where the regime conducted secret research involving advanced nuclear enrichment centrifuges. According to dissident operatives, the entrance to the plant, called Lavizan-3, was a series of tunnels leading from under a building ostensibly used to process passports and identity cards. In response to questions in a daily briefing, a State Department spokeswoman said, We have seen these claims and we take all such reports seriously. The next day, Secretary of State Kerry told members of the House of Representatives in a hearing, Im not going to go into greater detail. But these things are obviously going to have to be resolved as we go forward. The next day, less than 48 hours after the revelation, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, We dont have any information at this time to support the conclusion of the report. No inspector ever visited the site, nor was any request ever made to do so. Instead, many now revealed as components of the echo chamber attacked the NCRIs information on Lavizan-3 as having been fabricated to sabotage the nuclear agreement. Clearly the facts did not fit the narrative. And the talks went forward. In May 2015, the NCRI revealed new details on Iranian cooperation with North Korea on ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. When questioned by reporters, the State Department reacted in standard form: We have seen these claims and we take all such reports seriously. Ultimately, despite growing evidence of nefarious conduct, the possible military dimensions of Iranian nuclear activities were glossed over in the final phase of negotiations. The Obama administration discarded non-conforming realities as nuisances. The narrative had to be maintained, whether or not the good people who wanted the world to know the truth of the Iranian nuclear program paid the ultimate price. For the ayatollahs, conceding to the nuclear agreement was a major retreat, albeit a temporary one. But if the true scope of their nuclear program had been exposed, and if Tehran had been held accountable for its lies and deceptions, that retreat would have been more profound and lasting. That would have made the world a safer place. So far as the narrative is concerned, the appropriate narrative should have been the one that aligns with reality, the one that the American people deserved to hear. Raymond Tanter is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan and a former senior staff member of the National Security Council. He is an adjunct scholar of The Washington Institute, researching U.S. policy options toward Iran. Raymond Tanter is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan and a former senior staff member of the National Security Council. He is an adjunct scholar of The Washington Institute, researching U.S. policy options toward Iran. Source: http://opinion.injo.com/2016/05/256394-obamas-iran-deal-caused-administration-ignore-valuable-nuclear-intelligence/ Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdish forces, supported by the US military, were beginning operations to retake the Iraqi Islamic State stronghold of Mosul. And in Syria, Kurdish and Arab forces launched an offensive outside of Raqqa, mirroring similar activities led by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Syrian army in nearby areas. As Iran News Update also pointed out on Monday, the escalating Iranian role in the region is a source of concern for the US. While some Western policymakers see convergent interests with Iran because of the mutual conflict with the Islamic State, others are more inclined to focus on the same sorts of criticisms voiced by the Saudis, especially regarding Iranian contributions to escalating sectarianism. The Breitbart report on the Fallujah offensive indicates that the Sunni populations in the region are bracing for the potential aftermath of territory being claimed by the Shiite militants operating under Irans command. Reportedly, many of those militants view Sunni citizens as collaborators, and consequently there have been numerous reports of the Shiite groups carrying out reprisals and summary executions on civilian populations. In fact, some commentators have specifically described these actions as being as bad or worse than the atrocities for which the Islamic State has long since become notorious. These accounts of escalating sectarianism have played into Saudi and other recommendations that the Iranians be prevented from further expanding their influence in these conflict zones. But the Iranians for their part have pushed back against such recommendations. They have in fact reiterated their commitments specifically in the context of these latest offensives. And these reaffirmations have in many cases helped to underscore the notion of Irans influence on sectarianism and the continuation of broader conflicts in the region. For instance, the Indo-Asian News Service reports that on Monday, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said that the Islamic Republic of Iran would continue to maintain unqualified support of the embattled Syrian regime and the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq. Iranian officials have tended to characterize this support as the deployment of military advisors, but Tehrans critics have insisted that it is more straightforward participation in the war. By some accounts, the IRGC has several thousand fighters in Syria, who have been joined by many thousands of other foreign Shiite fighters mainly drawn from Afghan and Pakistani communities, and more recently by a division of the Iranian regular army. But despite trying to downplay the extent of its involvement, Tehran has not been the least bit shy about describing that involvement as being religiously motivated. Dehqan said that Iran is committed to sending its so-called advisors because parts of the Islamic community have been under attack and we are defending them. Even though some Western policymakers see Iran as a potential partner in the fight against the Islamic State, various Iranian officials have expressed a much different view, even going so far as to accuse Irans traditional enemies in the West and in Israel of deliberately creating the Islamic State in order to destabilize the Muslim world. Such commentary raises additional questions about the likely divergence of Iranian and Western interests, and the possible consequences of Irans further regional empowerment. Those policymakers who have embraced Iran as a partner have tended to be the same people as have expressed hope that the Iranian regime is facing a period of moderation. The latter claim is bolstered by Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis pursuit of a nuclear deal with Western powers, but it is also undermined by his broader record, including his contribution to rhetoric aimed at the US and its allies. For some critics of the Iranian regime, all of these indications of a lack of moderation help to make the case against collaboration with Tehran in general. This reflects not just on the perception of Iran as a potential partner in the latest offensives against the Islamic State, but also on the perception of Iran as a trustworthy counterpart in the nuclear deal. Certainly, many of those critics have decried the weakness of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and have described it as trading significant wealth for insufficient guarantees that Iran will not obtain a nuclear weapon in the near future. Whereas the moderation narrative suggests that the Rouhani administration entered into the agreement on the basis of a genuine change in sentiment, the recent evidence of persistent anti-Western rhetoric supports the view expressed by Algermeiner on Tuesday regarding the nuclear deal. In an article detailing the long history of cooperation between Iran and another US enemy, Algermeiner suggested that Iran likely agreed to the limited restrictions in the JCPOA because it would later simply be able to rely on North Korea to fill in the gaps on the Iranian nuclear program. The article went on to tie this into Irans purported interest in dominating the Middle Eastern region, noting that North Korea has made many previous moves to support Iran in its conflict with Israel and other US allies. [June 01, 2016] Level 3 Awarded Extension on GSA's Networx Enterprise Contract BROOMFIELD, Colo., June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) today announced the General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded the company an extension on its Networx Enterprise contract. The contract allows Level 3 to bid on and deliver telecommunications solutions to support the GSA's goal of providing federal agencies access to a broad range of domestic and international network services. Key Facts : GSA's Networx Enterprise contract was originally set to expire in May 2017 , but is being extended until May 2020 in order to give agencies time to transition to the next generation acquisition, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS), which is currently an active solicitation. , but is being extended until in order to give agencies time to transition to the next generation acquisition, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS), which is currently an active solicitation. More than 300 U.S. government departments and agencies rely on Level 3's consultative approach to help meet complex network requirements. Level 3 provides critical networking support to civilian agencies, the Department of Defense, systems integrators, state/local government agencies and educational/research institutions. Key Quote : David Young, Regional Vice President, Level 3's Government Markets Group "The importance of a smooth transition to the EIS contract cannot be overestimated, and Level 3 is pleased that the GSA is providing us with this extension to best meet the needs of the departments and agencies we serve. Level 3 prides itself on helping our customers achieve their mission critical objectives by delivering a wide variety of global network services, and we look forward to our continued support of these groups." Level 3 is Authorized to Bid on and Provide : Ethernet services Virtual Private Network (VPN) services Internet services Collaboration services Private line services Wavelength services Cloud connectivity services SIP trunking services Security services Managed services Colocation services Content Delivery Network (CDN) services Dark fiber Key Resources : About Level 3's Government Solutions Level 3 Contract Vehicles About Level 3 Communications Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 500 markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. For more information, visit www.level3.com or get to know us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3, Level 3 Communications, Level (3) and the Level 3 Logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or one of its Affiliates in the United States and elsewhere. Any other service names, product names, company names or logos included herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Forward-Looking Statement Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Level 3's control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to: increase revenue from its services to realize its targets for financial and operating performance; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; avert the breach of its network and computer system security measures; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; manage the future expansion or adaptation of its network to remain competitive; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Contact Information Media: Investors: Francie Dudrey Mark Stoutenberg +1 720-888-5434 +1 720-888-2518 [email protected] [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140908/144115 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/level-3-awarded-extension-on-gsas-networx-enterprise-contract-300275895.html SOURCE Level 3 Communications, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] ManageEngine Launches Comprehensive Reporting Solution for Office 365 ManageEngine, the real-time IT management company, today launched Office365 Manager Plus, a comprehensive, Web-based reporting solution for Microsoft Office 365. The new product offers detailed and fully customizable reports, covering all the critical components of Office 365. The reports provide insights into Office 365 licenses, users, groups, mailbox size and growth, mail traffic, Skype (News - Alert) for Business and mobile device details. The solution is available immediately, and a free trial can be downloaded at https://www.manageengine.com/office365-management-reporting/download.html. Click to tweet this news. ManageEngine (News - Alert) is demonstrating Office365 Manager Plus at the ManageEngine User Conference 2016, New Jersey, being held June 1-2, 2016, at the Hilton Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. Microsoft Office 365 serves as the backbone of collaboration and communication for many enterprises that have moved to the cloud. It is crucial for IT teams to have precise and comprehensive data on all aspects of the Office 365 environment. Unfortunately, the limited built-in reports available in Office 365 are neither detailed nor customizable to efficiently manage Office 365. Moreover, Office 365 doesn't provide the required functionality to easily gather data from its different components. One has to rely on PowerShell scripting, which is time consuming and hard to use, to retrieve the data. "Many of our customers have migrated to Microsoft Office 365, and we want to support them with a solution that exclusively focuses on Office 365," said Parthiban Paramasivam, product manager at ManageEngine. "Office365 Manager Plus is specifically designed to provide all the data an IT administrator would need to better manage Office 365. It generates in-depth reports at the click of a button, and all the reports can be customized, scheduled and exported as needed." Gain Visibility and Control Over Office 365 The reports available in Office365 Manager Plus cover a broad range of categories including Exchange Online, security groups, distribution lists, users, licenses, mobile devices and Skype for Business. Some of the key reports include: Mailbox size and content reports - help monitor mailbox usage in detail, identify hidden mailboxes and analyze OWA logon attempts. - help monitor mailbox usage in detail, identify hidden mailboxes and analyze OWA logon attempts. Mail traffic reports - assist in identifying top senders and receivers as well as monitor mailbox securit with details on spam and malware. - assist in identifying top senders and receivers as well as monitor mailbox securit with details on spam and malware. Office 365 group reports - provide a complete inventory of Office 365 security groups, distribution groups and group membership details. - provide a complete inventory of Office 365 security groups, distribution groups and group membership details. Office 365 license reports - offer insight into how the Office 365 licenses are being utilized; reduce cost by limiting waste of unused licenses. - offer insight into how the Office 365 licenses are being utilized; reduce cost by limiting waste of unused licenses. Office 365 user reports - list all Office 365 users and their account statuses, including inactive users and deleted users. Highlights of Office365 Manager Plus Unlike most Office 365 reporting solutions in the market today, Office365 Manager Plus has advanced features that make it easy for users to find the information they need. There is an intuitive dashboard that provides an at-a-glance overview of all the critical data pertaining to Office 365. Other highlights include: Technician's role - securely delegate Office 365 reporting tasks to IT staff and help desk technicians without giving them full access to the Office 365 admin center. - securely delegate Office 365 reporting tasks to IT staff and help desk technicians without giving them full access to the Office 365 admin center. Embeddable dashboard and reports - embed individual reports or the entire dashboard in another webpage or a wiki. - embed individual reports or the entire dashboard in another webpage or a wiki. Customizable reports - customize the reports to extract only the required information by applying built-in filters. - customize the reports to extract only the required information by applying built-in filters. Report scheduler - automatically generate, export and distribute reports via email at specified times in various formats including CSV, PDF, XLS and HTML. Pricing and Availability Office365 Manager Plus is available immediately and can be downloaded at https://www.manageengine.com/office365-management-reporting/download.html. Pricing starts at $295. For more information on Office365 Manager Plus, please visit https://www.manageengine.com/office365-management-reporting/. For more information about ManageEngine, please visit http://www.manageengine.com/; follow the company blog at http://blogs.manageengine.com/, on Facebook (News - Alert) at http://www.facebook.com/ManageEngine and on Twitter (News - Alert) @ManageEngine. About Office365 Manager Plus ManageEngine Office365 Manager Plus is a Web-based reporting solution that helps to gain insights on all the different components of Office 365. It helps monitor mailbox usage, identify security issues, analyze license usage, and much more without the need for PowerShell scripting. For more information on Office365 Manager Plus, please visit https://www.manageengine.com/office365-management-reporting/. About ManageEngine ManageEngine delivers the real-time IT management tools that empower IT teams to meet organizational needs for real-time services and support. Worldwide, established and emerging enterprises - including more than 60 percent of the Fortune 500 - rely on ManageEngine products to ensure the optimal performance of their critical IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, applications, desktops and more. ManageEngine is a division of Zoho Corporation with offices worldwide, including the United States, India, Singapore, Japan and China. For more information, please visit http://www.manageengine.com/; follow the company blog at http://blogs.manageengine.com/, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ManageEngine and on Twitter @ManageEngine. ManageEngine is a trademark of Zoho (News - Alert) Corporation. All other brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Tags: ManageEngine, real-time IT, Zoho, Office 365, mailbox usage, mailbox security, mailbox monitoring, PowerShell, Skype for Business, IT management View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601005416/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPCTM) Launches TPCx-BB, a New Benchmark for Big Data Analytics Systems The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) today announced the immediate availability of the TPCx-BB benchmark. The benchmark is designed to measure the performance of Hadoop based systems including MapReduce, Apache Hive, and Apache Spark Machine Learning Library (MLlib). The benchmark suite is publicly available for download as a self-contained kit via the TPC web site. TPCx-BB executes frequently performed analytical queries in the context of retailers with physical and online store presence. Historically, online retailers recorded only completed transactions, whereas today they demand much deeper insight into their online consumer behavior. Simple shopping basket analysis techniques have been replaced by detailed behavior modeling; new forms of analysis have resulted in an explosion of Big Data Analytics Systems. Yet there have been no mechanisms to compare disparate solutions in a real-world scenario. TPCx-BB was specifically designed to meet this need, and provides concrete insight in terms of performance versus cost tradeoff. "TPCx-BB marks a significant milestone for the TPC," said Bhaskar Gowda, chairman of the TPCx-BB committee. "With the advent of so many Big Data and Analytics Systems - from an array of hardware and software vendors - there is immediate demand for apples-to-apples, cross-platform comparison. TPCx-BB was carefully crafted to meet this need." First Results Hewlett Packard Enterprise published the following results soon after the benchmark became available: 9x HPE ProLiant DL 380 Gen 9 and 3x HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen9, 337.26 [email protected], $1,102.94 USD/[email protected], Availability Date: 03/31/2016 9x HPE ProLiant DL 380 Gen 9 and 3x HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen9, 265.93 [email protected], $1,222.72 USD/[email protected], Availability Date: 03/23/2016 "The speediness of how fast the TPC stepped in to address the vacuum of an end user application benchmark - usable right from lanch - really is remarkable," continued Mr. Gowda. "Immediately after benchmark release, Hewlett Packard Enterprise published two results. This is a striking proof point as to industry demand for such a benchmark. It is also a testament to the talent of the members of the development committee." Additional information, including the TPCx-BB downloadable kit, is available via the following URL: http://www.tpc.org/tpcx-bb/ TPCx-BB Listing Sub-Committee Members Include Seetha Lakshmi, Actian Raghunath Nambiar, Cisco (News - Alert) David Rorke, Cloudera Nicholas Wakou, Dell Paul Cao, HPE Da Qi Ren, Huawei John Poelman, IBM Bhaskar Gowda, Intel (News - Alert) Wayne Smith, Intel Jamie Reding, Microsoft Meikel Poess, Oracle Andy Bond, Red Hat (News - Alert) Reza Taheri, VMware TPCx-BB is currently the TPC's third Big Data benchmark. TPC-DS 2.0 was recently launched in December 2015 and measures the performance of SQL-based Big Data systems by expanding upon the original TPC-DS benchmark. And, in August 2014, the TPC introduced TPCx-HS, the industry's first Express-class benchmark for benchmarking Big Data systems, designed to assess a broad range of system topologies and implementation methodologies. Additional Updates The TPC is also hosting its eighth annual International Technology Conference on Performance Evaluation and Benchmarking (TPCTC 2016) collocated with the 42nd International Conference on Very Large Data Bases (VLDB 2016) on September 5, 2016 in New Delhi, India. The main focus of this year's TPCTC will be benchmarking emerging areas including Analytics, Cloud and Internet of Things. Abstracts are due June 8, 2016. Additional deadlines and submission instructions are available via the following URL: http://www.tpc.org/tpctc/tpctc2016/default.asp About the TPC The TPC is a non-profit corporation founded to define transaction processing and database benchmarks and to disseminate objective, verifiable TPC performance data to the industry. The TPC currently has 19 full members: Actian, Cisco, Cloudera, Dell, Fujitsu, HP Enterprise, Hitachi, Huawei (News - Alert), IBM, Inspur, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Oracle, Pivotal, Red Hat, SAP, Teradata, VMware; and five associate members: Ideas International, ITOM International Co, San Diego Supercomputer Center, Telecommunications Technology Association and the University of Coimbra. Further information is available at http://www.tpc.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601005180/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Fitch Affirms Bishop Gadsden (SC) Revs at 'BBB'; Outlook Remains Stable Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'BBB' rating on the following bonds issued by the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority on behalf of The Episcopal Church Home d/b/a Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community (Bishop Gadsden): --$13.8 million revenue and refunding bonds, series 2002F1; --$17.6 million refunding revenue bonds, series 2007. The Rating Outlook is Stable . Bishop Gadsden has an additional $28.7 million in series 2014 bonds which Fitch does not rate, as well as a $27.1 million draw-down construction loan ($3 million left outstanding at May 31, 2016) to be repaid with initial entrance fees. SECURITY The bonds are secured by mortgages on Bishop Gadsden's real estate, a gross receipts pledge, and a debt service reserve fund. KEY RATING DRIVERS STABLE OPERATING PROFILE: Bishop Gadsden's operating profile is characterized by a strong operating ratio, which has averaged at 95.5% over the last three years, and net operating margin (NOM)-adjusted which has averaged a high 28.3% over the same time period. Both metrics are favorable to the 'BBB' category medians of 96.1% and 19.3% and have remained strong through the three-month interim period (ended March 31, 2016). EXPANSION PROJECT COMPLETED: Bishop Gadsden's 45 independent living unit (ILU) expansion project, The Quay, was completed on time and on budget and has reached 100% occupancy in March of 2016. Fitch views the completion and fill-up of the project favorably, and expects it to have a positive impact on financial performance as Bishop Gadsden benefits from incremental monthly resident fees. HIGH, BUT MODERATING DEBT BURDEN: Bishop Gadsden's debt burden remains high as evidenced by maximum annual debt service (MADS) equating to 21.2% of 2015 revenues, significantly unfavorable to Fitch's median of 12.4%. However, with the fill-up of The Quay, Bishop Gadsden's revenue base is expected to increase, which should help moderate the debt burden. The growth is evident through the first quarter of 2016, when operating revenues were up 16% over the prior year period. SOLID LIQUIDITY: Bishop Gadsden's $37.4 million in unrestricted cash and investments equated to 546 days cash on hand (DCOH), 61% cash to debt and a 6.0x cushion ratio, all in line with the 'BBB' category medians of 400 DCOH, 60% and 7.3x, respectively. Management notes that liquidity through the first quarter was impacted by front-loaded annual capital spending and that unrestricted cash should improve throughout the year as incremental revenues are collected. FAVORABLE MARKET POSITION AND OCCUPANCY: Bishop Gadsden benefits from its position as the only facility offering the full continuum of care in a favorable service area. As a result, occupancy remained strong throughout all service lines with 98% ILU, 94% assisted living unit (ALU) and 93% skilled nursing facility (SNF) occupancies in 2015. RATING SENSITIVITIES FURTHER DEBT MODERATION: Fitch believes that Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community will continue to moderate its debt burden through incremental revenue and cash flow growth from The Quay residents, as well as additional new service lines. A continued moderation of the debt burden over the medium term, or an improvement in debt service coverage, could lead to positive rating action. CREDIT PROFILE Bishop Gadsden is a type-A continuing care retirement community (CCRC) with 260 ILUs, 88 ALUs (inclusive of a 19-bed Memory Care unit), and 46 skilled nursing beds. The community is located on James Island, approximatelysix miles from downtown Charleston. Bishop Gadsden reported total revenues of $28.6 million in 2015. STABLE OPERATING PROFILE Bishop Gadsden's operating ratio has historically been favorable to Fitch's 'BBB' category median and remained strong at 94.5% through the interim period. In addition, entrance fee receipts were solid through the interim, resulting in a strong NOM-adjusted of 26.4%. Management is budgeting to receive $7.2 million (comparable to 2015 receipts) in net entrance fee receipts and have a $1.7 million operating income in 2016, both which Fitch views as feasible given the sales trajectory and positive operating performance through the interim. HIGH, BUT MODERATING DEBT BURDEN Bishop Gadsden's debt burden has moderated through the interim period, driven by incremental revenue growth from new monthly service fees. MADS equated to a lower 19.3% of total annualized revenues through the three-month interim, down from 22.2% in 2014. Fitch would expect Bishop Gadsden's debt burden to continue moderating over the medium term as it realizes the full benefit of its expansion project, as well as service line expansions, including home health. Debt service coverage of 1.8x in 2015 remained unfavorable to Fitch's median, however, coverage has been consistent over the last three years, averaging at 1.9x. Debt to net available of 6.6x in 2015 is also moderating towards the 'BBB' category median of 5.9x. DEBT PROFILE Total debt was $73.5 million at 2015 year-end; however, debt decreased to $61.3 million at March 31, 2016, which reflected the payoff of a large portion of the 2014A draw-down loan. All of Bishop Gadsden's debt is fixed rate and it includes $31.4 million in publicly held bonds and $28.7 million in direct placement debt, of which $16.1 million has an initial 10-year term through 2024, and $12.6 million fully amortizes by April 2024. MADS is equal to $6.3 million, which assumes full repayment of the series 2014A draw-down from initial entrance fees. DISCLOSURE Bishop Gadsden covenants to provide annual disclosure (within six months) and also provides quarterly disclosure to bondholders through the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA System. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria Not-for-Profit Continuing Care Retirement Communities Rating Criteria (pub. 04 Aug 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=868824 Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750012 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1005414 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1005414 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601006691/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 01, 2016] Technavio Announces Top Six Vendors in the Global Residential and Commercial Security Market Until 2020 Technavio has announced the top six leading vendors for the global residential and commercial security market in their latest research report. This report also lists 26 other prominent vendors who are expected to contribute to this market's growth over the forecast period. To identify the top vendors, Technavio's market research analysts have considered the top contributors to the overall revenue of this market. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the sales of the following security solutions: Surveillance systems: IP domes, high-performance security cameras, CCTV systems, and video monitors. Intruder alarms: Motion detection and window sensors, which protect home and businesses against burglary. Software: It includes video analytics software - both integrated and stand-alone. Access control systems: These provide access to restricted areas such as main entrances and internal doors and enable users to check the status of entries and exits in real time. Request sample report: http://bit.ly/20pJKWq "Rise in criminal activities, thefts, and unauthorized access to residences has prompted homeowners to adopt security systems. Many residential buildings are being equipped with a special platform that will help residents remotely control electronic devices with their mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Remote management includes energy management, lighting control, controlling safety and security, and electronic locks," said Amrita Choudhury, one of Technavio's lead analysts for IT security. Top six leading vendors in the global residential and commercial security market: Axis Communications (News - Alert) Axis Communications was established in 1984 and is headquartered in Lund, Sweden. The company, along with its subsidiaries, operates in more than 40 countries and markets its products in more than 70 countries. The key product offerings of the company are network cameras, video encoders, accessories, video management software, physical access control products, and camera applications. The company is in strategic partnerships with distributors, value-added resellers, system integrators, technology vendors, software developers, and consultants. The company has more than 65,000 partners in more than 179 countries. Bosch Security Systems/b> Bosch Security Systems was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Fairport, New York, US. The company, which is a subsidiary of Robert Bosch, supplies and designs security equipment for communications, video surveillance, access control, intrusion, and fire detection applications. Bosch North America Corporation has acquired Climatec, which provides energy efficiency, building automation, security, and life-safety solutions for the US market. This acquisition will expand Bosch's global presence, especially in the growing North American market. Checkpoint Systems Checkpoint Systems was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Thorofare, New Jersey US. It helps its customers, such as apparel manufacturers and retailers, promote their brand and track and protect their merchandise throughout the supply chain. Apparel labeling is its second largest segment, and it provides customers with a single source for all their apparel labeling requirements. The retail merchandising segment focuses on European as well as Asian markets and provides promotional displays, hand-held labeling applicators and tags, and customer queuing systems. Honeywell (News - Alert) Security Systems Headquartered in Mougins, France, Honeywell Security Group is a subsidiary of Honeywell International, which provides intelligent, advanced, and integrated security solutions. The company develops and markets a comprehensive range of security solutions for homes, businesses, and possessions. The company offers various products to its customers such as intrusion, integrated security, video surveillance, and access control solutions. Their products serve customers, including retail establishments, seaports, utilities, airports, banks, educational campuses, industries, life sciences establishments, military infrastructure, residential buildings, government offices, healthcare centers, and places of worship. It operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 7,100 people. Qognify Founded in 1986, Qognify (formerly NICE Systems (News - Alert)) is headquartered in Ra'anana, Israel. The company provides integrated digital recording and management solutions to its customers. Qognify's solutions help organizations capture and analyze big data to anticipate and mitigate security and safety risks, maintain business continuity, and streamline operations. The company operates its business through three segments: customer interaction solutions, security solutions, and financial crime and compliance solutions. Tyco International Tyco International was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The company sells security and fire protection products and services to a huge customer base covering three million customers across the world. As of September 25, 2015, the company employed approximately 57,000 people worldwide, of which about 19,000 were in the US. The company's products and services find applications in the oil and gas industry, government offices, banks and financial services firms, healthcare centers, retail establishments, and the marine infrastructure, home security, and transportation industries. Browse related reports: Global Network Security Appliance Market 2015 -2019 Network Security Market in North America 2015-2019 Global IoT Security Market 2015-2019 Purchase these three reports from our library for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact [email protected] with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160601005069/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Itongadol.- World Jewish Congress (WJC) leader Ronald S. Lauder addressed the Building Bridges Not Boycotts international summit at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York Tuesday, an event against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Lauder began by addressing the location. "The United Nations was created 70 years ago out of the carnage of World War II," he began. "It was created on the broken bones of the Jewish people, with the pledge that the world would never see again the kind of human destruction that the Nazis forced on our people." "But now, just 70 years later, this organization of all places has singled out the only Jewish State in the world, Israel, with lie after lie after lie," he continued. "So it is no accident that we chose to look at an equally dishonest campaign against the Jews the BDS movement right here at the United Nations." The Jewish people have changed, he emphasized. "The era of the quiet Jew, the timid Jew, the Ghetto Jew, is long over!" Lauder said. "Those tough leaders of the early Zionist movement buried that Jew three generations ago." "We are no longer victims! We no longer have to rely on others to protect us!" he added. "And we are absolutely done being quiet enough is enough!" Lauder also noted that he "understands the popularity of BDS," and attempted to explain why it has received so much popular and media attention. "A political boycott makes you feel good; it makes you feel important; it makes you part of the group," he said. "And who doesnt want to be part of the group? "Especially when you think you are doing good for mankind, like standing up against tyranny and fighting oppression," he continued. "Because when you are standing up to injustice, you are standing with Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, and even Moses." "That is very seductive especially when you are joined by beautiful celebrities, famous rock stars, and your favorite professors." "This explains why people as different as British journalists and freshmen at NYU are part of the BDS movement." Lauder then explained that the masses really are following the BDS movement blindly. "I wonder if all those people that support BDS have the slightest understanding of what this movement really means," he said. "Those BDS supporters who join protest marches on campuses and chant: From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free! "I wonder if they realize that the River is the Jordan, the Sea is the Mediterranean, these activists are calling for the destruction of the State of Israel and the campus groups Justice For Palestine and the Muslim Student Association have their roots with the Muslim Brotherhood." "Thats the same Muslim Brotherhood that believes that the Koran should be the basis for every government including our own." "BDS is built on lies nasty anti-Jewish lies," Lauder stressed. "And that puts everyone connected to BDS in some very bad company." Anti-Semitism is as anti-Semitism does, he said. "The plain truth is that todays boycott against the State of Israel is no different from Henry Fords anti-Semitism of the 1920s , the Soviet blocs anti-Zionism of the 1950s and 60s [. . ] so when you march with BDS, you are marching with every anti-Semite." Lauder then spoke at length about Israel\s merits as a free and democratic country, where all religions, persons of varying sexual orientations, ethnicities, and races have equal rights in contradistinction to most of the Middle East. "500,000 dead in Syria and Iraq and Israel is charged with crimes against humanity," he fired. "We see no boycotts against North Korea, Sudan, Iran; only Israel." "Make no mistake: the BDS movement doesnt support the Palestinian people," Lauder concluded. "It is strictly a campaign to delegitimize Israel which is simply the latest attempt to deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination." "Every other people on earth have that right but BDS wants to deny that basic right to Jews." "Do the British have a right to Britain? Do the French have a right to France? Do Germans have a right to Germany?" he added. "Well, before there was a Great Britain or a France or a Germany there was a Jewish Kingdom in the land of Judea with a king, and a temple, with laws, and a Torah." "If anyone doubts that there is pretty strong historic back-up in the best selling book of all time," Lauder stated. "Its called the Bible." "So when someone says the Jewish State of Israel is not legitimate that is one of the biggest lies of all time." CHARLESTON -- The new traffic lights that have been installed at the intersection of Loxa Road and Illinois Route 16 between Mattoon and Charleston will be online soon. According to an Illinois Department of Transportation press release, the new lights will be turned on and placed into service Tuesday. Bob Utz, IDOT construction engineer, said they should have the traffic lights on around late morning or afternoon, dependent on good weather. Also, all the pavement markings, including the stop bars and other striping at each side of the intersection, will be placed that day as well before the signals can be turned on. If weather prohibits the work that day, activating the traffic lights will be rescheduled for the next suitable day, the release states. Please, extra use caution when approaching the intersection from either direction until such time motorists can become more familiar with the signalized intersection being operational, the press release stated. This traffic light installation project started March 25. It was installed as a result of the growing amount of traffic at the intersection. The traffic at the intersection has mounted as a result of more motorists using Loxa Road as a through road to the highway or going off of it from places like Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. This information is gathered from data determining how busy the road is. This joins the two other traffic light intersections between Charleston and Mattoon, one of which sits less than a mile from where the new lights are installed at the intersection of Health Center Drive and Route 16. Charleston City Council members approved the obligation of $10,000 from motor fuel tax funds to aid in paying for the construction of traffic signals in September. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Picture use Unless otherwise stated all photos on this site are copyrighted Jim Budd. They should not be used without authorisation and due credit. Please contact me on budmac@btinternet.com for all use. There will usually be a charge for use in commercial publications papers, magazines, websites etc. and for other commercial uses. Photos that are used for commercial use without permission will be charged double the fee for the use of photo and for breach of copyright. Commercial organisations asking to use photos for no payment may not always receive a polite response. A culture survey of state Corrections workers, released Wednesday, confirmed those employees have concerns about pay, employee safety, inmate culture, communications, leadership and training. Written surveys and interviews with workers showed employees feared retaliation, were shown a lack of respect and received inconsistent communication from leadership, said Sharon Rues Pettid, former state chief human resources officer, and now a state special projects leader. Pettid said 471 of 2,200 employees were surveyed across 13 department locations. When Corrections Director Scott Frakes took on the challenges of the department in February 2015, he learned that a culture of fear existed, he said. He knew he had to address the issues, once he got a clear picture of what was going on. He announced more than 10 months ago he would undertake the culture study, to allow him to move the agency forward based on facts, data and analysis. Now, his promise to the state, the Legislature and employees, he said, is to prioritize and address the issues. Perceptions of inequity and favoritism among employees are two he has already started working to dispel. "This perception took years to develop, which means dispelling it will not occur overnight," Frakes said. "But I am committed to it changing." Pay issues were one of the main themes of the study. More than 60 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with their wages. Starting wages are not competitive with private employers in Nebraska or government in surrounding states, they said. Long-term workers often were making the same wages as newly hired workers. "This is frustrating for the employees that are tenured, but just as frustrating for the new employees coming in not seeing any opportunity for growth," Pettid said. Morale is affected by the perceived wage inadequacy, and the need to find ways to be the most effective with limited resources, Frakes said. "It is my challenge -- every NDCS leader's challenge -- to find innovative ways to accomplish the mission without overburdening our people," he said. Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse, whose district in Southeast Nebraska includes Tecumseh, introduced a bill (LB733) this session to appropriate $2.5 million next fiscal year to retain and recruit quality staff for prisons with staff shortages. That amount was reduced to $1.5 million for retention bonuses for prisons staff. Collective bargaining requirements limit what the department and the Legislature can do, Watermeier said. But it is a priority, and senators will need to make the money available to help solve the problem, he said. "We're hearing it now long enough and repeatedly enough ... and I'm willing to work for it," he said. "It's going to help our recidivism. It's going to help our turnover rate." The survey also showed that among 180 protective services staff -- corrections officers, corporals, sergeants and case workers -- about 39 percent were dissatisfied with the leadership at their facility. Many, though, were satisfied with their immediate supervisors. Employees commented in the survey that some prison leaders don't acknowledge staff, make inappropriate comments, seem to be looking for what people do wrong, and do not communicate well. Some felt their opinions are not heard. "The leadership of NDCS must demonstrate they value the staff of the agency," Frakes said. "We will continue to address those leaders who do not embrace the vision of this agency." His listed expectations for employees: Everyone treating each other with respect at all times; no tolerance for retaliation; ethical behavior in all decisions and actions; timely responses to any request for information; accessible leaders; treating inmates with respect, even when inmates do not show respect. He also pledged increasing diversity among leadership ranks. Frakes said the department has instituted employee councils at each facility to bring staff together for open and honest dialogue. In the survey and conversations with Frakes, workers also talked about a shift they see in the inmate population. They said inmates are more demanding, more prone to violence and more disrespectful of authority. More than 93 percent of inmates will return to their communities, Frakes said, and so providing and expanding treatment and programming opportunities is important. Inmate councils at each facility allow inmates to voice their concerns and ideas. "We will not allow inmates to dictate policy or to compromise the safety of our staff, but there is great value in open lines of communication," he said. The survey also addressed how prison workers feel they are represented by the media and perceived by the public. Fifty-nine percent of protective services staff said the media portrays them unfavorably, and 38 percent said the public portrays them unfavorably. One worker commented in the survey that they are stereotyped as bullies and new workers are portrayed as incompetent. "We have a lot of new staff that are competent," the worker said. Another said the media does not understand the job they do daily and the environment they work in. A number said the public's view is influenced by the media. "The general public does not have an understanding of what happens behind the wall, only knows what they read or see on TV," one worker wrote. Across the state, 60 percent of kids in juvenile court had access to an attorney in 2015, according to a Voices for Children report. Often, the report said, youth waive their right to a lawyer without adequately understanding what they are giving up. In some counties, as few as 35 percent of juveniles with court charges against them receive advice from attorneys. In Southeast Nebraska's Judicial District 1, which includes 11 counties, 36 percent of kids had attorneys in 2015. In Douglas County, which makes up its own judicial district, 94 percent did. In Lancaster County's Judicial District 3, 63 percent had counsel. The Legislature passed a compromise bill this session, introduced by Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, that addressed the issue of juveniles having legal representation. As amended, the bill (LB894) applies only to juveniles in counties with populations of 150,000 or more. That's Lancaster, Sarpy and Douglas. In those counties, kids and parents are told they have the right to an attorney when any juvenile court petition is filed. The county of jurisdiction pays for that attorney if the youth or parents cannot afford one. Those three most populous counties already provide counsel for youths, but the bill expands that to consultation with an attorney even if the child is considering waiving his or her right to one. In counties with fewer than 150,000 people, kids and parents are still advised of their right to retain an attorney and that the attorney could be paid for by the county if they cant afford one. But that happens only when they get to court. Before the compromise, Pansing Brooks' bill was subjected to extended debate because some rural senators thought it would be too hard for smaller counties to pay for attorneys for all young people who face charges. The Voices for Children report said that statewide, white youth are less likely to have lawyers, which could be because youth in more diverse cities are more likely to have representation than those in rural areas. In every area, girls get lawyers at lower rates that boys. Charges brought against young people in juvenile court can have significant, even life-long impacts on children and their families," said Aubrey Mancuso, executive director of Voices for Children in Nebraska. "No matter how serious the charge, a juvenile court case can mean months or years of probation, treatment, out-of-home placement and even juvenile incarceration." The vast majority of kids are allowed to waive counsel without even talking to an attorney about it, the report said. On a regular basis, children and their parents misunderstand the importance of waiving the right to an attorney because of the impersonal and rushed nature of the process. Mancuso said there is a need for clear, consistent and fair procedures across the state in appointing lawyers for kids. "Having an attorney present to provide expertise and guidance can make the difference between justice served or justice denied," she said. An interim study (LR576) that Pansing Brooks introduced will examine childrens access to attorneys statewide. It will include cases of juvenile delinquency and status offenses, the numbers and rates of juveniles requesting or waiving counsel and local court rules, practices and procedures surrounding appointment of counsel and access to lawyers in juvenile delinquency and status offense proceedings. Almost six months into 2016, the seven killings Lincoln police have investigated equals what the city saw in all of 2014 and matches a 10-year-high for murders in Nebraska's capital. "I think Lincoln residents (and police personnel) are startled when seven have occurred in the city so far in 2016," Lincoln Public Safety Director Tom Casady said in an email. But neither Casady nor Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister believes the number is a sign of growing danger in a town that generally sees far fewer murders than other U.S. cities with 275,000 residents. The most recent killing was discovered by police Thursday, when officers checking out a report of a man breaking his car windows found the body of Robert Leazer in a mobile home in northwest Lincoln. Investigators believe he was killed by Trenton Reiner, who shared the trailer with him. Reiner was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder. Leazer's death followed the May 15 shooting deaths of Tina Jensen and Norma Voges, who police believe were shot by Ronald Blake Heritage before he shot himself. Each murder is concerning, Bliemeister and Casady said, but they don't represent a pattern. "There is no connection between any two of them, and the underlying issues have included diverse factors," said Casady. Three women died at the hands of men who later killed themselves in two murder-suicides, and two men were slain in what police believe were drug-related shootings. In addition to Leazer, a 25-year-old man was killed after a man opened fire on a crowd outside an apartment in north Lincoln. Lincoln consistently sees single-digit murder totals while cities of similar sizes like St. Paul, Minnesota, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, work double and sometimes triple the number of killings, according to FBI crime statistics. The city's one-year homicide record remains 1987, when 10 people were murdered. Four of those murders came at the hands of Stanley Gushard, who, despondent over debts, killed his wife and three children before shooting himself. The small number of murders in Lincoln make it hard to draw conclusions from statistics, Casady said. "To measure violent crime you look at much more than just these homicides," Bliemeister said. The city's overall violent crime rate, which includes murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults, has been decreasing over recent years, Casady said. Last year, it was 3.7 offenses per 1,000 people, he said. That rate was 33 percent higher in 1991, the peak year for overall crime in the city with a violent crime rate hitting 5.6 offenses per 1,000, Casady said. There weren't any murders in 1991 but a large number of aggravated assaults contributed to a higher rate, LPD data shows. From Jan. 1 to May 26 this year, there have been 354 violent offenses reported in the city, which is down from the 365 reported in the same period last year. Analyzing other specific measures of violence like total assaults, the number of aggravated assaults or assaults with guns over the same period show little to no change in the city's safety, the public safety director said. In fact, the 1,600 assaults reported to Lincoln police between Jan. 1 and May 26 represent a 9 percent decrease over the same period last year. Aggravated assaults -- defined by the FBI as those done with the intent to inflict great bodily harm -- continue to hover between 200 and 240, with Lincoln seeing eight fewer this year over last year. Just over a month into his new job as police chief, Bliemeister said he understands concern about safety. "Perception of the masses is important and we do take strides to measure how safe and secure people feel," he said, noting that annually 80 percent of residents surveyed by the department say they feel safe. But isolated, tragic incidents occur, the chief said. "We and our partners are going to do what we can to prevent those from occurring." When they do, Bliemeister said, his officers work diligently to solve the cases. Investigators have solved all but one of this year's killings and are still trying to identify the people involved in the unsolved case, the April 18 killing of Christopher Coleman. Bliemeister said detectives are trying to identify everyone involved in the shooting at 1966 Euclid Ave. and pin down their exact involvement. Every murder concerns police, he said, but they are also troubling to the family and friends of the victim. "We tend to focus on a statistical number," the chief said at a news conference announcing Leazer's body had been found. "It's not a number. It's somebody that has friends, family members, the whole gamut." The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department has issued food enforcement warnings to: Fox Neighborhood Bar & Grill, 1245 Libra Drive. Two kitchen staff without current permits (repeat). Bottle of sweet Vermouth with vinegar flies, tub of refried beans with mold, discarded (corrected). Walk-in cooler holding food at unsafe temp, food discarded (corrected). Slicer sharpener, icemaker drip shield, soda nozzle holster with residue accumulation (repeat). Opened cottage cheese, cream cheese and pizza meats missing date of open (repeat). Schlotzsky's Deli, 4320 N. 27th St. Five employees lacking current food handler permits, some employees with incorrect permit (repeat). Soup reheating in steam table, pulled and reheated in microwave, repeat (corrected). Sandwich meat at salad station at unsafe temps, discarded (corrected). Employee food handler roster not current (repeat). Meat lacking date of prep, some meat hold past due (repeat). Spray bottle and sanitizer bucket lacking labels. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump last week gave voters another example of why he is unfit to become president. In a weird and disjointed 11-12 minute segment of a stump speech in San Diego Trump launched a personal attack on a U.S. judge who is presiding over one of the lawsuits filed by students against the now-defunct Trump University. Trump clearly was trying to intimidate the judge for the benefit of his own pocketbook. The former reality television stars attack had nothing to do with legal principles or rule of law. His attack was a nasty disparagement of judge personally and judicial system in general. He called U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel a hater, a Mexican, hostile. Trump said, It is a rigged system. I had a rigged system, except we won by so much. This court system, the judges in this court system, federal court. And Trump said, "But we will come back in November. Wouldn't that be wild if I am president and come back and do a civil case?" Lets not miss the obvious. Judge Curiel is not the plaintiff. Hes the judge. The ongoing lawsuit was filed by people who thought they were defrauded by Trump, just like the people who filed other lawsuits in California and New York who believed that Trump University did not deliver on the promises made by Trump. Trump University brought in an estimated $40 million between 2005 and 2010. It was shut down in 2011. And lets also clarify that Curiel is an American, born in Indiana to parents who immigrated from Mexico. Curiel became a federal prosecutor in San Diego during the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. As head of the Narcotics Enforcement Division he put many Hispanics behind bars. ABCV News reported in 2002 that Curiel had been targeted for assassination by a cartel headed by Arellano Felix. He was first appointed to the bench by Republican California Gov. Arnold Swarzenegger. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Curiel faced no recorded Republican opposition in the U.S. Senate. And yet Trump continued his attacks on Judge Curiel on social media on Memorial Day, tweeting: Totally biased-hates Trump. Trumps charges are baseless. Hes just worried that the judge has the authority under federal law to rule that he conned people out of their money. Trump has been fighting the lawsuit for six years. If the plaintiffs win their case, Trump would have to give back some of his millions. Any private citizen has the right, of course, to defend themselves in court against charges filed in a civil lawsuit. But a man who would be president of the United States of America should show some respect for the countrys institutions, the balance of power under the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. On that standard Trump fails. A recent article showed that two-thirds of Americans would have trouble coming up with $1,000 for an emergency ("Two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty covering $1,000 crisis," May 20). It also showed that two-thirds of Americans think their finances are adequate. Those two ideas are contradictory. I guess denial is not just a river in Egypt. Is it just me or do others also think, "If I had the exclusive concession or franchise for orange barrels, orange cones, orange barricades and orange signs for only Lincoln Nebraska, by the end of this calendar year, I would be a billionaire?" If you have food you would like to donate to the Food Bank of Lincoln and those in need this holiday season, you can take those donations of n RACINE A 50-year-old Illinois man was in the Racine County Jail Tuesday after being charged for allegedly smoking marijuana with a 14-year-old girl and for sending lewd messages to the same girl. Andre L. Alexander, 50, of the 3000 block of Gabriel Ave., in Zion, Ill., appeared in Racine County Circuit Court Tuesday to face felony charges of delivering marijuana to a minor, child enticement, and exposing a child to harmful descriptions, along with misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of drug paraphernalia. According to the criminal complaint, Racine Police were called to the 5500 block of Byrd Avenue on May 27 for a report that a 14-year-old girl was with Alexander. Relatives of the girl told police that she had left her Facebook account open and they had found several distributing, sexual messages allegedly sent to the girl by Alexander, the complaint said. Police found Alexander and the girl sitting in a red Jeep, the complaint said. Officers detected a strong odor of marijuana in the area, the complaint said. When asked if they had marijuana, the girl gave officers a marijuana cigarette and a large bag of what later was identified as 17.8 grams of marijuana, the complaint said. The girl told police that when officers approached the car, Alexander pulled the bag from the vehicles cup holder and told the girl to place it in her pants, the complaint said. Alexander also had more than $1,000 in currency in his possession, the complaint said. Alexander was in the Racine County Jail Tuesday, jail records showed. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 9, court records indicate. RACINE A quest of more than four years to identify skeletal remains discovered wedged among Lake Michigan rocks in November 2011 an odyssey that covered several states and involved numerous medical experts and police officials came to end Thursday. The Racine County Medical Examiners Office identified the remains as Antonio Guerrero, 31, of Berywn, Ill., who had been reported missing from his suburban Chicago home in the fall of 2011. The manner of Guerreros death is being listed as undetermined, as the investigation into the cause of death by police and the Medical Examiners Office continues, said Racine Police Lt. Al Days. A cousin of Guerrero plans to talk about the case Thursday or Friday, officials said. The identification ends a four-year-plus pursuit that wended from Racine to Madison to Waukesha to Texas, and finally, to Illinois, one that was stalled by several dead ends and blind alleys, and was resolved by the cooperation of several medical experts and police officials. That probe started Nov. 12, 2011, when a passerby discovered decomposed human remains lodged in rocks near Lake Michigan just east of the Fifth Street boat launch. The skeletal remains had little flesh on them, said Tom Terry, the Racine County Medical Examiner at the time. We werent really sure what we had, recalled Terry, who retired in 2013 and lives outside Burlington. It looked really strange and we were unsure if was a body. But it was. The case got more mysterious three weeks later, when a forearm and hand were discovered among the rocks near Carre-Hogle Park, about one mile south of the boat launch. Those parts were later matched to Guerrero, Days said. The skeletal remains were sent to the Waukesha County Medical Examiners Office, where an autopsy was conducted. An odontology exam also was completed in the event teeth found with the remains could be matched to the dental records of a missing person, Days said. Terry consulted an independent anthropologist in Madison, who studied the remains in order to determine the gender, approximate age and ethnicity of the deceased, Days said. This process took nine months to complete and revealed the skeletal remains were that of a male in his early 20s to mid-30s, Days said. Ethnicity could not be determined at the time. Terry also authorized the case information to be entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) database, Days said. We had to rely on a lot of outside agencies to help us, Terry said. They really gave us back some good information. Forensic and detective collaboration While forensic identification efforts continued, Racine Police Department investigators reviewed missing-persons reports filed in southeast Wisconsin and compiled a list of unsolved cases that might match that of the man found among in Racine, Days said. Investigators discovered Guerrero, then 31, had been reported missing in September 2011 from his home in Berwyn, a western suburb of Chicago. The Guerrero family told Racine police that Antonio might have been in Racine in September 2011, when he stopped communicating with family members, Days said. Investigators obtained Guerreros dental records to compare with the odontology exam performed on the unidentified male, Days said, but the exam provided inconclusive results. The case remained open for the next 15 months while investigators continued to review reports of missing persons who might match the profile provided by the initial anthropology exam, Days said. In 2015, Waukesha County Medical Examiner Dr. Lynda Biedrzycki contacted Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne, who was appointed in 2013 after Terrys retirement, and told him her office had hired forensic anthropologist Cristina Figueroa Soto as a deputy medical examiner, Days said. Figueroa Soto wanted to examine the unidentified skeletal remains from Racine County being stored at the Waukesha County morgue, Days said, and Payne immediately consented to the request. She gave the whole case a fresh set of eyes, Payne said. We were ready to follow any lead. Testing by the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification Laboratory found a DNA sequence in the unknown skeletal remains that is more commonly found among persons of Hispanic descent, Days said. After conducting her exam, Figueroa Soto urged Payne to obtain DNA specimens from Guerreros family so further testing could be conducted, Days said. DNA collected Last fall, Racine police investigators traveled to Illinois to obtain DNA swabs from Guerreros mother and two of his siblings, Days said. The swabs were sent to the University of North Texas Laboratory for comparison with the DNA extracted from the skeletal remains. The methodical testing process took almost six months to complete, Days said. The UNT Laboratory confirmed with a high degree of mathematical probability that the unidentified remains were those of the biological child and sibling of the Guerrero family, Days said. Last week, Racine police investigators and Payne met with the Guerrero family and provided them with the conclusive findings. The family has since made funeral arrangements for Antonio, Days said. Racine Police and the Medical Examiners Office acknowledged the staff at the Waukesha County Medical Examiners Office for their assistance and guidance in making the identification of Guerrero possible, Days said. Days also thanked members of the community for their help during the investigation and said police remain interested in any additional information that anyone may have about this investigation. Any witnesses, or citizens with information, are urged to call the Racine Police Department Investigations Unit at 262-635-7756. Those who wish to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers at 262-636-9330, or text 274637 (CRIMES). Text message should begin with RACS. Terry, who served as medical examiner for 21 years, said the identification resolved a frustrating case. Payne called Terry on Wednesday to tell him about the identification. This one nagged at me after I left, Terry said. There were times when I didnt think we would be able to pull all the ends together and determine what happened to him. I dont know if we ever will know exactly what happened. But the family has his remains back and that is a big, big thing. When you think about local government, ideally, as much as possible should be decided at the local level. Members of the city council and village trustees should be able to decide what is best for the people whom they directly represent and who live in their boundaries. With that said, there does come a time when the federal and state government do need to step in and make decisions that are right for the state as a whole and the nation. This issue is coming up after Rep. Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point, asked the Legislative Fiscal Bureau to compile a list of provisions enacted in the 2011-12 and 2013-14 legislative sessions that represented unfunded mandates or would restrict the authority of local units of government. The list she returned had 128 items on it. That number is concerning, but, looking at it, a number of the changes were important for the well-being of the state. Act 10 is among the many changes on the list. Those changes, that essentially eliminated collective bargaining for public workers, have saved taxpayers an estimated $5 billion. That was a tool that Gov. Scott Walker gave to local municipalities and local governments to help them balance their budgets and provide needed services. Yes, that was the state stepping in. But, in that case, the state had to step in to make a big difference. The governor also put in place levy limits to help local taxpayers. In addition, there are several measures on the list that directly affected Racine County. For instance, the Legislature required school boards to adopt a policy to fill vacancies and changed the geographical boundaries for Racine Unified School Board election districts. The law establishing a policy to fill school board vacancies was essential after the June 8 resignation of Lisa Parham from the Racine Unified School Board. For more than four months last year, one Unified board seat sat vacant because the board was deadlocked on whom to appoint. In the end, after Walker changed the law, then-School Board President Melvin Hargrove was able to appoint John Koetz. There were important issues that the board needed to vote on, including its budget, which couldnt wait. In addition, the reason for changing the geographical boundaries for Unified was to give each municipality more local control on the board, rather than having a majority of board members coming from the city. Sometimes its hard to have your hands tied by the state and federal government, and officials should be very thoughtful before putting in place mandates and only do so when necessary. At the same time, sometimes state officials have to do what is right for all, and sometimes that means the governor and state officials have to step in. To see a copy of the memo on unfunded mandates go to JournalTimes.com and click on the editorial. Call for law to realise integrated settlement plan Welcoming the decision to develop integrated human settlements for affected communities, experts working on disaster management have urged the government to formulate an Act for its effective implementation. Four PEs to be merged to form new supply company Four state-owned trading companies will be merged to form National Supply Company which will operate as an oversight agency to ease the supply of essentials. Girls file case of fathers murder Two school students in uniform reached the Local Peace Committee (LPC) office to register their complaints in Lamjung district on Tuesday. Ruling parties from eight member probe committee, House business proceeds The thematic discussion of on the budget commenced on Tuesday after the ruling parties agreed to form a parliamentary probe committee to investigate the budget leak as demanded the by the major opposition Nepali Congress. Hostel Returns Besides the poor direction and noticeably flaky acting, the movie constantly produces a series of indigestible scenes. Indian National Congress flays Modi admin for its Nepal policy The Indian National Congress (INC) has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for its inept handling of Nepal-India relations in the last two years. Indian pilgrims urged to avoid Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hisla route to Mansarovar The Indian government has issued a travel advisory to Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims to avoid Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa route through Nepal for the next few weeks. Islamic State group hits back as Iraqi army moves into Falluja Militants from the so-called Islamic State have launched a dawn counter-attack as Iraqi government troops push into the city of Falluja. Lack of policy likely to slow electric vehicle sales Lack of a clear policy on the registration of electric vehicles is likely to impede an expected sales growth despite a reduction in the import duty by the new budget statement and resulting drop in prices. Mobile prices likely to rise after rebate cut Mobile phone prices may go up as the VAT rebate has been slashed, traders said. The budget statement for the fiscal year 2016-17 has reduced the exemption on the import of cell phones from 50 to 40 percent. My marriage is my biggest accomplishment: Hayek Actress Salma Hayek says marrying businessman Francois-Henri Pinault is her "biggest accomplishment". North Korea editorial praises 'wise' Trump North Korean state media has hailed US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a "wise politician" who could be good for the North. NRA signs pact to distribute relief funds The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has signed a pact with 29 Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to distribute relief funds to earthquake victims in the most-affected districts. The 29 BFIs, who signed the agreement with the NRA on Monday, include 20 commercial banks, eight development banks and a finance company. Oli, Dahal have different take on gentlemans agreement Did Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal reach a gentlemans agreement on government change when they signed the nine-point deal on May 5? Pokhara residents decry lease plan for historical properties The residents of Pokhara are trying to stop the plan of Nepal Trust to lease the lands of Ratna Mandir and Hima Griha for commercial purpose. Still indentured In this day and age, there should be no place for bonded labour Swiss support to continue Nepal and Switzerland have reviewed the overall state of bilateral relations. Trans-national route from India to Nepal on the anvil India is set to announce the Buddhist circuit as Indias first trans-national tourist route by incorporating Nepals Lumbini, an Indian media reported on Tuesday. Yes, its hard to to tell when one enters the city limits Yes, they will make the city more inviting Maybe ... does it really matter? No, the signs in place are fine No, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars Vote View Results City lawyer Fred Muwema has dragged social media site Facebook to court, accusing it of defaming him and refusing to block defamatory content by a one Tom Voltaire Okwalinga. Muwema has sued face book through an Irish law firm, Lavelle solicitors found in Dublin. In his suit, Muwema wants Facebook to pay him 10 million dollars (about 34 billion shillings) in damages for refusal to pull down the posts by Okwalinga, a Ugandan national. Muwemas Lead Counsel Andrew Walker claims that on March 29th, his clients reputation was brought to contempt after several Facebook posts alleging that he was paid hefty amounts of money to betray Amama Mbabazi at the hype of a contested election. The lawyers are also seeking an order of court stopping Facebook from hosting any further publication of articles against him by TVO, in addition to revealing the identity and location of TVO. However, Facebook in its response claims that the reported defamatory content posted by TVO is no longer accessible. Story By Moses Kyeyune The Inspectorate of Government has accused some politicians of sabotaging its investigations. This comes just a day after the president Yoweri Museveni re-echoed the call for all Ugandans to join government in its efforts to wipe out corruption in the country. According to the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Justice Irene Mulyagonya, whenever investigations into corruption scandals launched, politicians rush to her office pleading for lenience on behalf of their implicated colleagues. She says that on several occasions they have found themselves directly fighting with politicians who attempt to conceal implicating evidence. Earlier, the Inspectorate of Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Finance Intelligence Authority, a move that is aimed at bolstering the fight against money laundering in Uganda. This comes in the wake of the enactment of the Anti-money laundering act which provides for the creation of this authority to fight money laundering in Uganda. Addressing the media earlier today, the authoritys executive director Sydney Asubo said under this arrangement they will be sharing information formally with the IGG to enable quick prosecution of culprits. He adds that Uganda has been identified as one of the destinations for laundered money from neighbouring countries, while culprits from Uganda mainly keep their ill-gotten wealth in countries like DR Congo, Kenya, Dubai , Sudan and others. Story By Samuel Ssebuliba Arrests rack up over long weekend ANGOLA The following people were arrested Friday through Tuesday morning by law enforcement officers working in Steuben County and lodged in the Steuben County Jail. Tristin A. Brown, 27, of the 5000 block of East C.R. 700S, Hamilton, arrested in the 2000 block of North Wayne Street on a misdemeanor charge of theft. Dana R. Camble, 54, of the 100 block of Lane 220 Hamilton Lake, Hamilton, arrested on a felony fugitive warrant. Isaac K. Cash, 27, of the 4000 block of West U.S. 20, arrested in the 1800 block of West S.R. 120, Fremont, on a felony charge of battery. Jolene M. Fuchs, 40, of the 8700 block of West Orland Road, Orland, arrested on Orland Road, east of C.R. 900W, on misdemeanor charges of battery and operating while intoxicated. Vance T. Mackubbin, 54, of the 5000 block of Archwood Lane, Fort Wayne, arrested in the 6000 block of West C.R. 490N on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Michael A. McDonald, 41, of the 800 block of Randolph Street, Garrett, arrested on a warrant alleging misdemeanor battery. Timothy R. Osborn, 53, of the 500 block of Lane 221 Hamilton Lake, Hamilton, arrested on C.R. 100N, north of C.R. 155W, on a misdemeanor charge of operating while intoxicated. Lewis F. Park, 32, of the 1400 block of C.R. 27, Waterloo, arrested at U.S. 20 and McKinney Street on a misdemeanor fugitive warrant. Kevin E. Patten, 54, of the 3000 block of U.S. 20, Edon, Ohio, arrested at Washington and Mill streets on a misdemeanor charge of operating while intoxicated. Cole A. Quickery, 30, of the 100 block of Lane 340 Jimmerson Lake, Fremont, arrested at Lake James on a misdemeanor charge of operating with .08 percent or more blood alcohol content. Arthur E. Richardson, 49, of the 1800 block of Tecumseh Avenue, Fort Wayne, arrested in Angola on misdemeanor charges of operating while intoxicated and operating with between .08 and .15 percent blood alcohol content. Johnathon V. Ringler, 21, of the 3000 block West Nevada Mills Road, Fremont, arrested on a fugitive warrant. At a relatively brief and quiet May 24 Houston County Board of Commissioners meeting, the board unanimously approved the installation of a new holding tank at the countys La Crescent shop. Justin Conway, who appeared before the board, said the Environmental Protection Agency had done an inspection and found a violation in the drain system. It sounded like it was draining out our wash area, and the run-off was just draining out onto the pavement, Conway said. In order to come into compliance, he said, the EPA told them to plug the existing holding tank or put in a new one. They had already gone out and gotten a quote from Zenke, Inc. for a new tank, Conway said, which included piping connections and wiring at a total cost of $9,089. Commissioner Teresa Walter said she cant remember a time when the drain system was updated. Its been there forever, she said. Weve kind of known this was on the horizon, Chairman Judy Storlie added. Now the EPAs come in and kind of put their foot down and said this cant happen anymore, Conway said. Conditions in the area, which is part of a MS4 district, are more stringent, he added. The board unanimously approved the installation of the new holding tank by Zenke, Inc. TZD grant Deputy sheriff Travis Lapham also came before the board asking for its approval of a grant agreement between the sheriffs office and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for a Towards Zero Deaths grant, which aims to make the countys roads safer through increased enforcement, education and safer driving practices. Just a little history, Lapham said. The numbers for that grant period have not been released yet, but from 2014 to 2015, Houston County received $12,050, and from 2015 to 2016, it was $10,300, so I would anticipate somewhere in there. The board gave its unanimous support for the grant agreement. In other news The board also voted unanimously for the hire of several 67-day employees, including Ardell Olafson and Matthew Schellsmidt as county drop site supervisors, and Sam Stemper, who will work in the surveyors office/highway department. Commissioners also approved the hire of Kayla Vit as public healths summer intern. County employees, on the boards unanimous vote, will also be released during work hours for three hours of voluntary CPR/AED training, on condition of approval from their various department heads. The cost of the training is $30 per person and will be paid by the employees, but it will be done during work hours. The board also unanimously approved a maintenance and grooming application for the Houston-Money Creek Snowmobile Club. Melrose-Mindoros class of 2016 finished a life chapter and opened another as they marked commencement Friday night. The class 47 graduates reflected on lessons learned at Mel-Min and how they will embrace the future during the ceremony held before family, friends, school staff and the community. Its important to make the most of every moment, said Alexis Ruffi, one of the class two salutatorians, during her address. We need to appreciate our experiences. Ruffis message touched on the lessons she learned from developing and operating a lemonade stand on her familys dead-end road when she was young. First, making the most of the moment is important, she said. Also key is seeing experiences from a positive perspective. (Im) wishing you success with your lemonade stand at the end of a dead-end road, she said as she concluded her remarks. Sixteen of Mel-Mins graduates will attend a four-year college or university and another 18 will pursue two-year degrees. One will enter the U.S. Navy and another 12 plan to enter the workforce or apprenticeships. Twenty-four students received scholarships at the schools annual awards night May 9, when more than $68,000 was distributed. Joe Stange, the class other salutatorian, said hes observed the ups and downs of his classmates but also how quickly time passes. Observations become memories that will last, he said. More than anything, Ive been witness to the passing of time. Time really does fly, he said during his address. ... No matter what, every minute has the potential to become that next fond memory. You just have to be observant enough to notice it. Valedictorian Avery Aasen said its important to set goals and pursue ones passions while working hard and doing more than whats needed. Once you find your passion, the next step is to turn it into a goal, she said while delivering her address. A mediocre goal isnt much of a goal at all. Jordan Waughtal, class president and one of the class six honor students, delivered the final message in which he thanked those who made an impact on the graduates and also looked to the future. It seemed like this day would never come, he said. Now its time to leave our mark. Class of 2016, lets take one final walk down that hallway. The ceremony also included the annual senior slide show, which included childhood and current photos of the graduates, , a performance of Within These Walls by the high school choir and the bands performance of Sky Bound. Graduate Emily Oehler sang My Wish and High School Principal Jeff Arzt gave the annual introduction and presentation of this years foreign exchange students. I came across this item in the history section of the Stoughton Courier Hub. It first ran in the December 25, 1896, issue, 110 years earlier. Farmers do not approve of the new scheme of having their mail delivered, and will send a petition to Washington against it; they think its too expensive, and it deprives them of an excuse for going into town. That got me thinking about our rural mail delivery on the farm when I was young. I never gave it a second thought back then. I guess I thought mail had always been delivered to farms and people living in the country. Thanks to that history lesson in the Stoughton Courier Hub, I learned something new. I decided to look up rural mail delivery on the Internet and find out more about it. RFD started in October 1896 as an experiment. It became an official service of the U.S. Post Office in 1902. Prior to that, people living in rural areas went to the local post office to pick up their mail or paid to have it delivered by a private carrier. Remember, back in those days you didnt just jump in your car and head for town. It was a major trip by horse and buggy over dirt roads. Some farmers welcomed the new mail service, but others liked going to town to pick it up. It became a social gathering around the pot-bellied stove at the general store, and I suspect many cups of coffee were consumed as they visited, swapped stories and caught up on the local news. Many post offices were operated out of the local general store. General stores also opposed Rural Free Delivery because most farmers bought goods from them when they stopped to pick up their mail. That all happened long before I was born, and I doubt if many people can remember not having rural mail delivery. Our farm was on RFD 2 or RR 2. I knew RR 2 meant Rural Route 2, but I never realized RFD meant Rural Free Delivery. I remember mail delivery as being an important part of our day on the farm. Our rural carrier on Westby Route 2 was Howard Crume Jr. You could set your watch by his arrival on most days. Around 9 a.m., six days a week, his car came down our side road with a cloud of dust billowing out behind him and pulled up to our mailbox. I always wondered how he could drive sitting on the wrong side of the car. For those not familiar with rural delivery, the mailboxes are located on the passenger side of the road. Back when real letters, not e-mail messages, arrived in your mailbox, the mailman brought you news from distant relatives and friends. The only real letters we receive these days come from Alice Sherpe Parish in Arizona. We also received our newspaper each day and the Sunday edition arrived on Saturday. In winter, the mailman had a rough time getting through the drifted rural roads, but somehow the mail always arrived, although not by 9 a.m. when the roads were bad. Outside of a major blizzard when nothing was moving, Howard Crume Jr. always came through. When David and I were in Vietnam, he went out of his way to let our folks know a letter had arrived from us. If he saw one of them outside, hed stop and hand-deliver it and ask how we were doing. Other times, when he knew they had been waiting for news, hed honk his horn to let them know hed left a letter from us in the mailbox. The red flag in the upright position signaled outgoing mail to the carrier and a honk from him signaled incoming to the folks. Mail Call was an important event, as anyone who spent time in military service knows. You looked forward to those letters and news from home. Evelyn Wang Schye, my mothers cousin, was wonderful about writing. Evelyn and her three brothers were all in the army during World War II. She understood the importance of Mail Call. When a package arrived with food, you always shared it with your friends. When I received a package from home, the guy handing out the mail, would announce for all to hear, Looks like Doc Sherpe received a package of chocolate chip cookies. You had to grab fast, or they might all disappear before you got any. Needless to say, the C-ration cookies didnt compare to Mas chocolate chip cookies, even if they were a bit hard after close to a month in the mail. If you received a letter, you headed off to a quiet spot where you could sit and read the news from home in private. Mail call kept us in touch with the world outside the insane, brutal one we were living in and experiencing. One more important thing about rural delivery. You werent just a number if you lived in the country. In a rural community, the people in the post office knew the people they delivered mail to. One time, my cousin Sandys young daughter, Krissy, sent a letter to my folks. It was addressed to Uncle Hans, Westby, Wisconsin. No last name, No RR address or zip code. It still arrived in our mail box. In a rural community, the postal people knew Uncle Hans was most likely Hans Sherpe because people close to the family knew Sandy always called him Uncle Hans. They knew where relatives lived too, because they picked up mail from us addressed to them. There was no return address on the letter, but there was a Manhattan, Kansas postmark. Lou, Sandy and their family lived in Manhattan at the time. The Westby Post Office put the sender and receiver together and delivered the letter. When we lived in Madison, we couldnt get a letter delivered if it had a wrong house number and everything else was correct. By the way, there were only five houses on our street and we were the only Sherpe. What a difference from the personal service we received from our rural delivery on the farm. In all fairness, I know the man who delivered our mail in Madison would have delivered it to us if the post office had given it to him instead of returning it to the sender. Times have changed. The rural carrier was, and still is, an important link to the world beyond farms and homes in the country. Some farmers in the Westby area and other areas may not have approved of the rural delivery service over 100 years ago when it first began, but Im willing to bet they still found excuses to get into town and join the guys swapping stories and drinking coffee at the local general store or diner. Gundersen Health System in La Crosse will add a second helicopter to its emergency flight service today, deploying the choppers to corners of its coverage area, according to its director. The volumes are increasing, with increases in requests and increases in turn-downs, said Stephanie Hill, program director of Gundersen MedLink AIR. Because of our high demand, we arent always able to respond when a request for a transport comes in. Adding the second helicopter will allow us to better respond to the needs in our communities, Hill said of Gundersen facilities serving 19 counties in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, with flights extending farther, to a 150-mile radius from La Crosse. MedLink, which was launched in 1992, has reached volumes of 500 completed runs a year amid 1,000 requests, including not only responses to crashes and other emergencies but also transfers to other facilities, Hill said. Some requests are declined because of weather, but others result from the fact that MedLink has just one helicopter, based at its main La Crosse campus, she said. Gundersen officials mulled the move for four years before settling on the six-month trial period starting today with a leased helicopter, Hill said. During that time, one helicopter will be based at the Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport in Sparta and one at the Decorah (Iowa) Municipal Airport from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Both will return to their home hangar in La Crosse from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., with just one helicopter in service overnight, Hill said. Opting for those schedules was a very strategic decision to provide equal service and meet the most requests, she said. Just 5 percent of MedLink flights now are from Gundersen in La Crosse, generally involving transfers for transplants or burns. Between 80 percent and 90 percent are incoming from crash sites or other facilities or involve relocating patients, such as a flight from Prairie du Chien to Madison, for example, she said. Having our aircraft based outside La Crosse will give us greater reach and allow us to handle a greater volume of flights from our regional hospitals and accident scenes, she said. In most cases, it will also shorten transport time, especially from some of our remote locations. This should result in better patient outcomes for time-critical emergencies such as stroke and heart attack, Hill said. The existing medical flight crews, including nurses and paramedics, will staff the choppers during the trial period, Hill said. MedLink has not sought bids on buying a new helicopter, but one like the EC-145 it has now could cost about $7 million, she said. Factors that officials will begin analyzing about halfway through the trial include the numbers of flights, their originating points, the tally of declined flights, response times and patient outcomes to see if it is feasible, Hill said. The outcomes will be the most important, she said. An Onalaska man once charged with vehicular homicide in the death of his girlfriend drove his pickup truck off a bike trial and into a slough Records released as part of a Senate investigation into narcotic over-prescription at the Tomah VA show a veteran contacted Congressman Ron Kind before he died at the facility and that Kind intervened in 2008 over complaints about abusive behavior by the top doctor. Jason Simcakoski died in August 2014 in the Tomah VAs mental health ward from a toxic cocktail of more than a dozen drugs. He is one of two veterans whose deaths have been linked to allegations of over-prescription practices and abuses of power within the facility. Phone records released Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs show the Marine veteran made dozens of calls to law enforcement agencies and one to Kinds office in the year before his death. The result of a 16-month investigation, the report pointed to failures of VA officials and the departments watchdog agency to intervene. The 359-page report revealed that the facility and its former Chief of Staff Dr. David Houlihan had a reputation for pushing prescription painkillers for more than a decade before the high levels of opioid use were made public by a nonprofit news organization in 2015. According to the report, the facilitys former police chief acknowledged its reputation as a big pill box in 2009, and the Drug Enforcement Administration has been investigating possible drug diversion there for more than seven years, although it has yet to result in any charges filed, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Heather Simcakoski testified at a congressional hearing in March 2015 that her late husband had made reports to multiple law enforcement agencies of patients selling prescription medications but nothing came of those calls. Inspector General records show the 35-year-old vet was treated at the Tomah VA on multiple occasions between 2005 and 2014 for mental health issues including addiction to painkillers. More than 5,000 pages of source materials released by the Senate committee includes records of incoming and outgoing calls from two of Simcakoskis phones made between July and November 2013, nine months before his death. Among hundreds of calls marked personal and dozens to the Tomah VA pharmacy are 29 calls to law enforcement agencies, including the Tomah VA Police Department, the Tomah city police and the FBI. The log also shows a seven-minute and 39-second call to Kinds Capitol office on Nov. 8, 2013. Kind said Tuesday that he had no knowledge of the call but his office will conduct a thorough review of its files. I cant imagine that if someone, anyone called my office, gave their name and asked for help then a case file would have been started immediately, he said. Kinds office issued a statement Wednesday saying: Our office has strict protocol to handle every call in the most appropriate way, so while we dont have a record of his call, our process ensures that when constituents provide their name and contact information, and have concerns, those concerns are addressed. If Jason had called our office to ask for help, we would have immediately opened a casework file and asked him to sign a Privacy Release Form in order to work on his case, as we have with almost 2,000 veterans cases since 2011. If he had provided information, we would have flagged it and sent to the authorities, like we did when we sent the VA Inspector General an anonymous letter we received in 2011. Lastly, if he in any way sounded distressed we would have asked for his contact information and taken immediate action to reach out to the proper authorities. About a minute after the call to Kinds office, Simcakoski called the FBIs La Crosse field office. The 8-minute and 34-second call was the last of five made to that number, according to the records. According to the committee report, the FBI denied any contact with Simcakosci, although Johnson played a voicemail Tuesday that was left on Simcakoskis phone by someone identifying himself as an FBI agent returning a call. The report acknowledges the committee has no information about what was said in any of the calls. A memo from Houlihan notes that Simcakoski talked to him Nov. 6 about another patient who had sold him $200 worth of pills in the past and was offering oxycodone and a stimulant. That conversation is the subject of a separate OIG investigation that was opened in February 2015, according to the report. Heather Simcakoski said Thursday that Kinds staff apologized to her after the source materials were made public on Tuesday. She said she remains frustrated that law enforcement agencies as powerful as the FBI claim to have no record of the contacts. Theyve at least admitted they did receive a call I will give them credit for that, she said. As far as all the other agencies I feel like they could give two cares. Kind, along with Sen. Ron Johnson and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, expressed outrage when the Tomah allegations surfaced in the media, though all have been criticized for not taking action sooner. Kinds office received an anonymous complaint in 2011 about over-prescription, which he forwarded to the Inspector Generals office. Johnson and Baldwins offices were also made aware of problems in 2014. Johnsons staff referred the matter to a Senate committee. Baldwins staff sent letters to the Tomah director, the VAs congressional liaison and to the OIG. In the wake of the scandal, Baldwin fired her casework supervisor who then accused the senator of scapegoating her for the failures of her chief of staff. Former Sen. Russ Feingold, who is challenging Johnson in the November election, has also been accused of failing to act on a 2009 union memo that was marked as being hand delivered to members of Wisconsins congressional delegation, although the author, Lin Ellinghuysen, told the Senate committee that notation was based on a false assumption. Ellinghuysen, who is president of the Tomah chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, told the committee union representatives contacted Kind and then Sen. Herb Kohl in 2008 not about narcotics but concerns that Houlihans treatment of the staff was affecting patient care. She said Houlihan became more respectful after Kind met with the director but soon reverted to abusive behavior. MANITOWOC, Wis. Manitowoc officials say city employees will be trained how to properly handle the American flag after a U.S. Army veteran complained about seeing flags piled up like "dirty laundry" after Memorial Day. Clarence Launderville posted to Facebook on Tuesday morning a photo of American flags piled on top of each other in the back of a Public Works vehicle. "I am appalled by this display of lack of respect to the flags that were just days before being flown across the city of Manitowoc in honor of those who sacrificed all for the ideals and beliefs that these very flags stand for," he wrote in the post. After posting the photo, Launderville heard from angry citizens and apologetic officials about the neglectful treatment of the flags, he told USA Today Network-Wisconsin (http://htrne.ws/1Uh0fzm ). "I feel my response was completely and utterly justified. It was just really upsetting," he said. "(Memorial Day) isn't just an excuse to go out and grill. People died and are continuing to die for the rights we have." In response to the photo, Mayor Justin Nickels posted to Facebook a statement from Public Infrastructure director Dan Koski, who said a policy will be developed and employees will be trained to ensure the American flag is properly handled in the future. "This will not happen again. We are handling the situation as far as the employees responsible for (Tuesday's) breach of etiquette and they will be reprimanded appropriately," he said. "On behalf of the City of Manitowoc, please accept our apologies. In no way was the act intentional, nor was it meant to convey any sort of disrespect for the flag of our great country." Launderville said the "swift and justified response" from city officials, including the mayor, "was more than satisfying." MADISON Backers of Bernie Sanders are pushing for a vote at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention this weekend that they hope will pressure the state's superdelegates to switch their allegiance from Hillary Clinton to the Vermont senator. The vote on the nonbinding resolution, set for Saturday afternoon, will come on the second day of the convention. On Friday, party leaders and those running for office, most notably Senate candidate Russ Feingold, will speak to delegates at the meeting in Green Bay. The party convention is designed as a way to rally Democrats heading into the election season. Feingold's rematch against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is the biggest race on the ballot, but Democrats are also eyeing the open 8th Congressional District seat in northeast Wisconsin and hoping to make gains in the state Legislature, where Republicans control both the Senate and Assembly. The keynote speaker at the convention on Friday night is U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez. The split among Wisconsin Democrats over Sanders and Clinton mirrors that seen nationally as the presidential primary drags on. Anger over the party's election rules where party insiders known as superdelegates aren't bound to vote for the candidate who won the state's popular vote has led some Sanders supporters to say the system is rigged. That rallying cry now moves to Wisconsin where several Sanders supporters gathered near the state Capitol on Wednesday to rail against the current system. They are pushing for approval Saturday of a nonbinding resolution that would say superdelegates should cast their votes proportionately based on who won the state. If the superdelegates in Wisconsin would do that, Sanders would leave Wisconsin with 12 more delegates than Clinton. As it stands now, the best Sanders can hope for is an eight delegate advantage, but it could be as slim as just two. He won the state's April primary by 13 percentage points. But six of the 10 superdelegates back Clinton, one is for Sanders, and three are undecided. "It's a corrupt system and it's designed just to ensure democracy will not be stolen by the people," said Sanders backer Buzz Davis, speaking into a megaphone next to a farmers market a block from the Capitol. "The vast majority of Americans are against the rigged primary system we have and against superdelegates," he said. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released this week showed that 38 percent of Americans say they have hardly any confidence that the Democratic Party's process for selecting a presidential nominee is fair. Only 31 percent said they have a great deal of confidence that it is fair. Democrats embraced superdelegates in 1982 to make sure party leaders have a say in who is nominated. About 15 percent of the total delegates this year are superdelegates, and critics say this group has given Clinton an advantage. She holds a commanding lead over Sanders, however, even without counting the superdelegates. Feingold, who has refused to say who he voted for, downplayed any rift between Sanders and Clinton supporters but told reporters Wednesday that some changes to the superdelegate system were needed. "Not for this election, not for this convention, but certainly going forward I think it would be much more in the spirit of a populous Democratic Party if we had a different, more direct system," he said. The resolution the Sanders supporters are backing is nonbinding, meaning even if it passed, the superdelegates would not have to follow it. And there's no guarantee it will even come up for a vote, based on party rules dictating how issues like that are considered at the state convention. Sanders backer Dan Thomson said that if they don't get their way this weekend, they won't resort to violence. "I won't throw any chairs," he said, in reference to unrest at the Nevada Democratic Party convention two weeks ago. "I don't know what other people are going to do." This is an edited version of an essay that won first place in the Never Again! contest, which is open to high-school students in La Crosse and connects lessons of the Holocaust with 21st century issues. One of the most important lessons of the Holocaust is to be on guard against intolerance and demagoguery. Unfortunately, some United States politicians today are proposing to tighten borders, deport masses of people and bring acts upon America that would spread intolerance and prejudice. Puritan John Winthrop once described America as a shining city on a hill. He spoke those words as he traveled to the New World to set up his colony. Many modern Americans embrace this concept of living as an example for the rest of the world to follow, yet America is repeating some historical mistakes. In a recent ABC-Washington Post poll, 59 percent of Republican voters supported a ban on Muslims entering America. These hostile attitudes toward Muslims echo those of Germans toward Jews in the 1930s. While no American politician has proposed such an extreme plan as that of the Nazis to eradicate certain populations, some have proposed deporting those who are deemed unwelcome namely Hispanics and Muslims. Furthermore, like in the past, the media is being used as a brainwashing device to imply all Muslims may pose a threat. This is an echo of an organization from Nazi-controlled Germany, appropriately named the Propaganda Ministry of the Third Reich. By spreading misinformation that Jews were corrupting society, Adolf Hitler spread his message of anti-Semitism. As Hitler manipulated the public, it became possible for Germans to view Jews as inhuman, thus making it easier to eliminate their presence through genocide. In modern America, it is often implied in coded language that immigrants and people of different religions are a danger to society and do not belong in the U.S. Those who call to make America great again often harken back to a time when white, Christian men ruled society and people of other races and religions were considered lowly in comparison. The concept of good versus bad immigrants has existed in America since its creation. While the groups of immigrants have changed, the argument against their presence in America has remained the same: that immigrants will steal jobs from native-born Americans; that they will become a poverty-stricken community because of unemployment; and that they will then turn to violence against Americans. Jews were considered guilty of similar social crimes as Hispanics and Muslims are today. Jews were accused of being the reason the Germans lost World War I, as well as responsible for the rapidly degrading economic structure of post-war Germany. Since the fall of the Third Reich, society has promised that the mistakes during Hitlers reign in Germany would never occur again, yet modern society seems to have forgotten as America stands ready to repeat mistakes from more than 70 years ago. By slowly grooming the public attitude to be anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant, America runs the risk of morphing into a puppet not unlike the one Hitler manipulated a puppet of fear, and a puppet of hate. The illusion that people are to blame for their own poverty goes back centuries in our culture. If youre poor, many Americans think, its your own fault. Its a sign of your own moral failing. I dont personally believe that, though. In The Wealth of Nations, the foundational work of modern capitalism, Adam Smith extolled the virtues of working hard and being thrifty with money. That wasnt just the way to get rich, he reasoned it was morally righteous. Sociologist Max Weber took the idea further in describing what he called the Protestant work ethic. To Puritans who believed that one was either predestined for heaven or for hell, Weber wrote, working hard and accumulating wealth was a sign of Gods blessing. Those who got rich, the Puritans thought, must have been chosen by God for heaven; those who were poor were damned. Even major American philanthropists have subscribed to this idea. John D. Rockefeller, a religious Baptist, thought his extraordinary wealth was evidence from God of his righteousness. Fortunately, he took this as a sign that he should use his money for good. He gave it to universities and medical research centers, and his descendants used it for great art museums, national parks and more. But Rockefeller also believed that the poor were often deserving of their fate. If theyd just worked harder, or budgeted their money wisely, then they wouldnt be poor. Plenty of Americans agree. Sadly, thats often not the case. The first factor determining ones wealth as an adult is an accident of birth. If youre born to wealthy parents, youll go to better schools and get better health care. Your odds of success as an adult are higher. If, on other hand, youre born to poor parents who must work multiple jobs instead of staying home to care for you or who cant afford healthy food, medical care, or a house in a good school district your chances of earning your way into the middle class as an adult plummet. In fact, if your parents income is in the bottom 20 percent, theres a 40 percent chance youll be stuck in that low-income bracket for your entire life. Thanks to racism, that figure rises to 50 percent for black people born into poverty. Indeed, racial disparities crop up even at the bottom of the ladder. Due to historic racism and discrimination, data from the Economic Policy Institute shows, low-income white families tend to be wealthier than black families making the same income. Furthermore, whites are more likely to have friends and family who can help them out of a financial bind. Finally, thanks to decades of discriminatory housing and lending practices, black families are more likely to live in poorer neighborhoods. That impacts the quality of the schools they attend, among many other things. So why cant a hardworking family get ahead? For one thing, its expensive to be poor. Try finding an affordable place to live. You need to have enough cash on hand to pay a deposit. Many apartments require you to prove your income is 2.5 times the cost of the rent. Public assistance programs only help the most destitute, and often dont provide enough even then. For the disabled, the situation is worse. In theory, Social Security provides for those with disabilities. In reality, getting approved for disability payments is costly (in both medical and legal fees) and difficult. Once you get approved, disability payments are low, condemning you to poverty for life. In short, there are many reasons why poor Americans are poor. It doesnt help that our society thinks its their own fault. An article in the Tribune (May 27) stated that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is reviewing discrepancies within its tax credit programs between the number of jobs created and the amount of money claimed in tax credits, which has been nearly $66 million since 2007. It also stated that WEDC officials are still trying to understand the scope and magnitude of the problem. Officials have acknowledged inaccuracies in how the agency counts the number of jobs a company creates that qualify it for tax reductions. WEDC went into closed session to further talk about the issue, citing an exemption in the states open meetings laws to discuss potential litigation. The agency has awarded 305 job-related tax credits totaling $170.6 million since July 2007, but the tax credits issued have been based on faulty calculations. As a citizen of this city, I am appalled when I read items like this. Who is tending the store? A group of Bernie Sanders supporters wants to see Wisconsin's Democratic superdelegates cast their votes proportionally based on the results of the state's presidential primary. Members of the state's Better With Bernie group said Wednesday they plan to push for a vote at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention this weekend to direct superdelegates to give six votes to the Vermont senator and four votes to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sanders earned 57 percent of the vote in Wisconsin's April 5 primary to Clinton's 43 percent. "It's a corrupt system, and it's designed just to ensure democracy will not be stolen by the people," said Better With Bernie member Buzz Davis of the superdelegate system. Even if such a resolution were to pass, the party's 10 superdelegates would not be bound to follow it. Davis acknowledged that, but said superdelegates would be smart to follow the will of the voters. Of Wisconsin's 10 superdelegates, six have pledged their votes to Clinton. Three remain unpledged, and one state Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee is pledged to Sanders. Among the resolutions the party will consider at the convention is one proposed by the state's 1st Congressional District, resolving that the DPW "supports the abolishment of the superdelegate system." But some Sanders supporters say that resolution doesn't go far enough. They plan to introduce an amendment that would support the abolition of the superdelegate system for the 2020 election and would direct Wisconsin superdelegates to "cast their votes proportionally ... on each national convention ballot until released by their pledged candidate." "The best thing we can do is neutralize their power and ... demand they vote the same way their state did," Davis said. In order to have the amendment considered, it must be submitted to the convention secretary in writing before it is taken up. Approval would require support of a majority of the voting delegates present at the convention. "This weekend will be a great opportunity for Democrats across the state to come together and talk about the future of our party and the issues that matter to all of us," said DPW spokesman Brandon Weathersby. "We look forward to a healthy discussion on Saturday about proposed resolutions and changes to the party platform including conversations about how pledged and unpledged national delegates are selected. As Democrats in Wisconsin, we pride ourselves on being open and fair, and giving people across the state a process and venue to share their ideas and address their concerns." Members of the Better With Bernie group who spoke with reporters declined to say whether they would vote for Clinton if she earns the party's nomination. They also didn't say whether they expect disruptive behavior from Sanders supporters at the convention should their resolution fail to pass. Last month, Sanders supporters at Nevada's state Democratic convention were reported to engage in everything from throwing chairs to dispensing misogynistic vitriol in a dispute over delegates. "I won't throw any chairs," said Better With Bernie member Dan Thomson. Counting superdelegates, Clinton currently leads Sanders with 2,312 delegates to his 1,545. Without including the superdelegate count, Clinton has 1,769 to Sanders' 1,501. To win the nomination, 2,383 delegates are needed. Better With Bernie members dismissed the notion that Sanders' only path to victory is through picking up superdelegates' votes, arguing instead that Clinton and "the one-percenters" are the ones relying on superdelegate support. "If she wins with pledged delegates, fine," Thomson said. Better With Bernie member Randy Schumann argued that by including superdelegates in the candidates' delegate counts, the media unfairly influences the primary process and paints an "illusory picture." Sanders has kept the Democratic Party at arms' length for much of his political career, identifying and running as an Independent but frequently voting with Democrats. Asked why the party should change its rules in 2016 for a relative newcomer, Davis likened the primary race between Clinton and Sanders to the 2000 election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. Davis argued that the 2000 election was "stolen" for Bush by the U.S. Supreme Court. "We're heading toward a possible stolen election," Davis said. "In this case, we may have a stolen election by the superdelegates." Two University of Wisconsin-Richland students placed in the top six scores in the 2016 Integrator of the Year competition, a math contest held each spring with participants from across University of Wisconsin Colleges. Valerie (Chenrui) Wu of China placed third and Israel Ostrem of Viroqua placed fifth out of all contestants. There are many students attending the 13 UW Colleges who find integration a welcome challenge. Integration is also important for education in mathematics and useful for a future career involving math. UW-Richland students have regularly placed in this competition, winning first place in 2009, first and third place in 2013, and first and third place again in 2014. For more information about the competition, visit uwc.edu/depts/math/integrator-year. You have the power to keep local news strong for the coming months. Your financial support today keeps our reporters ready to meet the needs of our city. Thank you for investing in your community. Start your day with LAist Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. Subscribe Our nerves may be a little frayed after this weekend, when a female swimmer was attacked by a shark off Newport Beach. Maria Korcsmaros was training 150 yards offshore for an Ironman competition when she was bitten by a shark, reports the L.A. Times. Korcsmaros required surgery but did not sustain any life-threatening injuries. If you need something to reaffirm your trust of the water, check out an interactive map that NBC 4 just put up. It shows all fatal shark attacks that have happened by the California coast since 1900. We count only 14 incidents in total, with two of them happening by the L.A. County. So hey, sharks aren't quite as menacing as popular culture make them seem. Data from fatal-shark-attacks-off-the-california-coast.silk.co The data was compiled through the Shark Research Institute. According to the Global Shark Attack File, which works in conjunction with the Shark Research Institute, "An 'attack' by a shark is an extremely rare event, even less likely than statistics suggest. When a shark bites a surfboard, leaving the surfer unharmed, it was historically recorded as an 'attack'." In one of the two fatalities that happened by L.A. County, it was debated whether or not a shark-related death had actually occurred, according to the Shark Attack File. In the July 1952 event, 12 men were forced into the water after the motor for their fishing boat exploded. Three of the men were rescued. Of the deceased, one body was noted as being mutilated. It was unclear if the mutilations were sustained from the explosion or from shark attacks. It was reported that "some of those who survived the explosion were bitten by sharks," which lead some to believe that the mutilated body was the result of a shark attack. Which means we only have ONE totally-confirmed shark-related fatality in the L.A. County during the past 100 or so years. As reported by the Telegraph, it'd be more worthwhile to worry about snakes, crocodiles, and hippopotami. Premier Li says neighbors must 'optimize common interests, manage differences' Premier Li Keqiang, accompanied by China Daily Publisher and Editor in Chief Zhu Ling (right), meets Suthichai Yoon of Nation Multimedia Group of Thailand and other Asia News Network executives in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY China does not intend to assume a role as Big Brother, but instead seeks to build a community of a shared future with all its neighbors, Premier Li Keqiang said in Beijing on Tuesday. "There are no grounds for China to become a superpower, and neither does China have the intention to be one," Li said. "China has a long way to go to realize modernization. It needs a stable regional and peaceful international environment, and China is committed to safeguarding that environment." The premier made the remarks while answering a question from Suthichai Yoon, chief adviser of Nation Multimedia Group, at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday during a meeting with a delegation from 21 Asian media outlets. The media representatives gathered in Beijing for the two-day annual board meeting of the Asia News Network. The ANN, founded in 1999, is one of the world's biggest media alliances. It comprises leading, mostly English-language news groups with a combined readership of at least 14 million. Zhu Ling, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, is the acting chairman of the ANN for 2015-16. The event coincides with China Daily's 35th anniversary, which falls on Wednesday. Li said that even if China can realize modernization in the coming decades, Beijing will not seek hegemony, and nor will it bully any country, however small that nation is in terms of population or landmass. Just as a person might accidentally bite his lips, it is only natural that neighbors will have differences, the premier emphasized, but the key is to address such disparities in a calm, diplomatic way. "I firmly believe that our era is one that needs peace and cooperation," he said. "The common interests among China and its neighbors are way greater than disparities, and we can always optimize the common interests and better manage our differences." Endy M. Bayuni, editor-in-chief of The Jakarta Post, said he was very impressed that Premier Li answered all of the questions, which Bayuni described as serious and tough ones. On 31 May riot police evicted trade union protestors from an encampment outside the provincial government headquarters in Ushuaia, the capital of Argentinas southern province of Tierra del Fuego, which left seven people injured according to protesters. End of preview - This article contains approximately 495 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Up to 700 migrants are believed to have died in the past week crossing the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations said Tuesday. At least three boats sank in the biggest death toll for migrants in more than a year, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said. The boats left Libya and were trying to reach Italy. Most of the migrants came from Africa. About 14,000 people were rescued in calmer seas since Monday, Reuters news agency reported. Survivors who arrived in Italy said one of the boats was carrying many women and children. The migrants pay smugglers to take them on small rubber boats or old fishing vessels. Many do not know how to swim and do not have life jackets. Giovanna Benedetto is with the humanitarian group, Save the Children. She said the survivors spoke about horrible conditions on the boats. They lived [in] terrible situations. They told us terrible stories. They saw killing people only because those people want to have some food. Their stories are really, really terrifying. The U.N. announced Tuesday that more than 2,500 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe so far this year. That is a big increase from 1,855 people who died in the first five months of 2015. The trip from North Africa to Italy is the deadliest way to cross, according to UNHCR spokesman William Spindler. 2,119 of the deaths reported so far this year have been among people making this journey, making the odds of dying as high as one in 23, he said. Most migrants traveling this way are from Nigeria and Gambia. Spindler said the migrants are risking everything to make the trips because they face very desperate conditions at home. The reason why so many people are taking to sea at the moment, and risking their lives, is because they have no option. We have to give them the possibility to travel legally and safely. Im Bryan Lynn. VOANews.com reported this story. Additional material came from Reuters and Associated Press. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story calm n. a quiet and peaceful state smuggler n. a person who illegally moves people or things from one country to another vessel n. a large boat of ship journey n. the act of traveling from one place to another Officials in Thailand found 40 dead tiger cubs at a Buddhist temple accused of animal abuse. The dead cubs were discovered Wednesday in a freezer at the temple, west of Bangkok. Authorities found them while removing dozens of mostly full-grown live tigers from the temple grounds. Officials said the cubs appeared to be about a week old. It was not known why they were in the freezer, where temple staff kept food. Monks have been operating an unsanctioned zoo, called Tiger Temple. Tourists paid money to view and take pictures with the tigers and other exotic animals. Wildlife groups say the animals were illegally bred and poorly treated. They also accuse the monks of making money by selling tiger parts used in traditional Chinese medicine. Thai authorities plan to file charges against the temple for illegally possessing endangered species. On its website, Tiger Temple said some tigers have to be tied up to protect visitors and other tigers because they sometimes wake in a restless state. Peoples safety has to be our main concern, it said. The monks recently sought permission from the government to operate a zoo, according to the Associated Press. But the request was denied because the temple did not have proper resources to deal with the animals. The monks resisted previous attempts to remove the tigers. But this time officials got a court order and the temple complied. All of the temples 137 tigers are being transferred to various shelters in Thailand. Im Bryan Lynn. VOANews.com reported this story. Additional material came from the Associated Press. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story unsanctioned adj. not officially approved breed v. cause an animal to produce offspring endangered species n. a species of animal or plant that is at risk of extinction comply v. to do what you have been asked or ordered to do Critics were outraged after zoo officials shot and killed a gorilla that held a 4-year-old boy at an American zoo this weekend. Harambe, a male western lowland gorilla, was shot and killed Saturday by Cincinnati Zoo officials. The boy had fallen into the gorillas exhibit. Officials feared the animal would hurt the four-year-old. The boy climbed over a 3-foot-tall railing, walked through bushes and fell 15 feet into the moat of the gorilla exhibit. Zookeepers called to the gorillas to come out of the exhibit. Two female gorillas complied, but Harambe did not. Instead, he was attracted to the child. At times, he seemed protective. At others, he dragged the boy through the water of the moat violently. Zoo officials say Harambe was visibly agitated by the screams and panic of the crowd around the exhibit. They decided to shoot the gorilla. Zoo Director Thane Maynard said there was no doubt that the boy's life was in danger. He said the gorilla could crush a coconut in one hand. Tranquilizing Harambe was not an option, Maynard said. The impact from the dart could agitate the animal and cause the situation to get much worse, Maynard said. If they had to make the same decision over again, they would do the same thing, he said. Critics are furious about the killing of Harambe. Many on social media are blaming Michelle Gregg, the mother of the boy. They say she did not watch her son closely enough where there were many dangerous animals. An online petition has been created, called Justice for Harambe, that says the situation was caused by parental negligence and that Gregg should be held accountable. The petition already has more than 350,000 signatures. People have been active on Twitter and Facebook, too. The hashtags #RIPHarambe and #JusticeForHarambe express their anger. Others have defended Gregg and the zoo. Jack Hanna, host of Jack Hanna's Into the Wild,'' said the zoo was correct by shooting the gorilla. Hanna said he saw video of the gorilla jerking the boy through the water. I'll bet my life on this, that child would not be here today,'' Hanna told television station WBNS in Columbus, Ohio. Im Mehrnoush Karimian-Ainsworth. Mehrnoush Karimian-Ainsworth wrote this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Did you see the video and hear of the gorilla story? Which side did you take? Please leave us a comment below this story, and post to our Facebook page, thank you. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story moat n. a deep, wide ditch that is usually filled with water and that goes around the walls of a place (such as a castle) to protect it from being attacked exhibit n. an object or a collection of objects that have been put out in a public space for people to look at : something shown in an exhibition agitated v. to disturb, excite, or anger (someone) tranquilizing v. to use a drug to cause (a person or animal) to become very relaxed and calm furious adj. very angry negligence n. failure to take the care that a responsible person usually takes: lack of normal care or attention jerking v. to push, pull, or twist (something) with a quick movement From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. Pronouncing English can be difficult. One reason is because English has some difficult sounds that are unfortunately for English learners very common. But English learners can improve their pronunciation by using simple, everyday objects. These objects include candy, a pencil, and a mirror. What are some of these common difficult sounds? Well, you have already heard or read th em several times in th is story. The "th" sounds In English, two different sounds are spelled with the same pair of letters: "th." You hear (//) in the word "this," and (//) in the word "thing." When you say "this," your voice box moves. When you say "thing," air moves freely through your throat. Marla Yoshida teaches English as a foreign language at the University of California, Irvine. She notes how strange these sounds are: "Those [sounds] are hard for speakers of a lot of languages, because they are very unusual sounds... Very rare. I don't want to hurt those sounds' feelings by saying that they're strange... but, they're [strange]..." Sometimes, th sounds are difficult for English learners to make because saying them seems impolite, or rude. All cultures have rules about polite ways to speak to each other. When speaking English, learners may need to break some of the rules of politeness they use in their native language. Tamara Jones, a program coordinator at the English Language Center at Howard Community College, explains. She tells why English learners might feel uncomfortable making the "th" (//) and "th" (//) sounds: "This can be really tricky for lots of different speakers because in many languages, it's not polite to stick your tongue out of your mouth when you are speaking. But in English, to make the "th" (//) or "th" (//) sound, you have to put your tongue between your teeth." So how can English learners teach their tongues to pronounce "th" (//) and "th" (//) correctly? Tamara Jones recommends a tasty, fun way to get in the habit of sticking your tongue between your teeth: using a lollipop. "I like to give my students lollipops, and they hold the candy right in front of their mouth and they can practice saying words like "thanks" or "there" or "this," and they can practice sticking their tongue out between their teeth far enough so that they can taste the candy. So, this is another fun way to practice saying that tricky sound." The "-er" sound Other sounds in English may not be as strange as "th" (//) or "th" (//), but they can still be difficult to pronounce. One example is the "er" () sound. English speakers often use er () when they make comparisons. Here is an example of an er () sound in a popular song by Britney Spears: Strong er than yesterday Now its nothing but my way My loneliness aint killing me no more Im strong er Tamara Jones at Howard Community College says many English learners have problems clearly pronouncing the "-er" () sound. Part of the difficulty is finding the right tongue placement. To practice using the tongue correctly, Jones recommends that English learners use a pencil. "But one little trick that students might find useful is to put a pencil in their mouth lengthwise. So they're biting down on the pencil, and the pencil is sticking out of both sides of their mouth. "And then saying the sound "-er" (). When they say the "er" () sound, their tongue should not touch the pencil. It should be down, under, or around the pencil, but it shouldn't touch the pencil. "So this is a nice way, kind of a fun way, to make sure that they are pronouncing that sound correctly." Common problems with vowel sounds Consonant sounds are not the only common difficult sounds for English learners. Vowel sounds are often difficult, too. Marla Yoshida, the teacher at the University of California, Irvine, points out that English has many vowel sounds. She says that English dialects can include between 13 and 15 vowel sounds. By comparison, some languages, such as Japanese and Spanish, have only five vowel sounds. Two of the hardest challenges for English learners are pronouncing the "i" () and "ee" (i) vowel sounds. Listen for the difference between the "i" () and "ee" (i) sounds in popular music, such as in Tom Waits' song "All the World Is Green." Pretend that you owe me nothing And all the world i s gr ee n We can br i ng back the old days again When all the world i s gr ee n Tamara Jones at Howard Community College says one way English learners can start improving their pronunciation of the "i" () and "ee" (i) sounds is to use another common object. Look in a mirror, she says, while you say the words pin and green. "Because to say "i" (), your face is very relaxed, but to say ee" (i), you are pulling the sides of your mouth, almost like you're smiling it's a bigger mouth movement; it's a tenser sound "ee," ee versus "i" () that is more relaxed. So, looking in a mirror can help students verify that they are saying the sound correctly because their mouth is moving in the correct position." Using these tips Clearly pronouncing common but difficult sounds can help you communicate better in English. Improving your pronunciation will take time and hard work, but a few basic objects will help. Touch a lollipop with the tip of your tongue to practice "th" (//) and "th" (//) sounds Bite a pencil but do not touch it with your tongue when saying the er () sound Use a mirror to make sure your face is relaxed when you say "i" (), and that your face is tense when you say "ee" (i) As you learned in the previous Education Tips story, pronouncing individual sounds correctly is only part of the pronunciation puzzle. Future Education Tips stories will give you more suggestions for how to improve your pronunciation. I'm John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Kelly J Kelly was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story pronunciation n. the way in which a word or name is pronounced candy n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate mirror n. a piece of glass that reflects images tricky adj. difficult to do or deal with stick v. to put something or someone in a specified place lollipop n. a round piece of hard candy on the end of a stick tongue n. the soft, movable part in the mouth that is used for tasting and eating food and in human beings for speaking relaxed adj. not strict or carefully controlled tense adj. not relaxed but hard and tight A new study suggests a majority of U.S. citizens now get their news from social media websites. The Pew Research Center is an organization that researches issues and trends affecting America and the world. It surveyed 4,654 people in January and February. Pew researchers found 62 percent of the group got their news from social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. The new study shows Facebook to be the most popular social media website for news. More registered users of Reddit get their news from Reddit than registered users of Facebook do from Facebook. But the Pew research shows that 44 percent of all U.S. adults get news from Facebook. Only 2 percent of all U.S. adults get news from Reddit, the study suggests. Twitter, Tumblr and Youtube also had high numbers of registered users getting news from these websites. But the number of people using more than one web site to get news was fairly low. Just 26 percent said they use two sites to get news and only 10 percent said they use three or more. A total of 64 percent of people said they only use one web site to get news. Most commonly that site is Facebook. Researchers also found news on each of the five most popular social media websites appeals to different types of people. People looking for news on Instagram are most likely to be young. Female social media users are most likely to seek news on Facebook. More people with some type of college degree look for news on LinkedIn. Information from a total of nine social media websites was part of the study. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat and Vine. The number of visitors to all nine websites grew from a similar study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2013. Jeffrey Gottfried and Elisa Shearer wrote the report for Pew. They say people who use social media for news still use traditional media like television and newspapers. Doug Bernard reported and wrote this story for VOA news. Pete Musto adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. Now its your turn. Where do you go to get most of your news? Which social media website is most appealing to you? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________ Words in This Story social media n. websites and applications that let users create and share content or to participate in social networking survey(ed) v. to ask many people a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something user(s) n. a person or thing that uses something The number of Afghans displaced within their country has increased sharply over the past three years, says Amnesty International. The rights group reported on Tuesday that Afghanistan has 1.2 million internally displaced people. That is almost double the number in 2013. The report comes at a time of concerns over increasing violence by the Taliban this year. Champa Patel is Amnesty Internationals South Asia Director. She said that growing numbers of displaced Afghans are living in very bad conditions. Afghans are one of the worlds largest refugee populations. The United Nations refugee agency estimates that 2.6 million Afghans are living in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. Champa Patel said, While the worlds attention seems to have moved on from Afghanistan, we risk forgetting the plight of those left behind by the conflict. In recent years, Afghanistans central government has promised to help internally displaced people. But these Afghans still lack food, water, health care, and chances to seek education and employment, Amnesty said. The report said the situation facing internally displaced Afghans has worsened in recent years. It said less aid and essential things, such as food, are available. Amnesty blamed reported corruption, a lack of ability in the government and decreasing international interest in Afghanistans national IDP Policy. The latest policy was launched two years ago. Instead, the report said, forced evictions by both the government and private groups are a daily threat to internally displaced people. Amnesty said the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has the job of coordinating the IDP policy. But the ministry lacks financial resources and has been accused of corruption, the group said. Most of the internally displaced population is in need of basic health care. Also, schooling for children has been suspended since their families were forced to leave their homes. Champa Patel said, They have lost the traditional sources of their livelihoods, and only have few opportunities for informal work, creating circumstances where women are excluded, and children are being exploited and not educated. Amnesty International has called on Afghan officials and the international community to act quickly. It said these groups must work to meet the most urgent needs of displaced Afghans. The Afghan government has yet to comment on the Amnesty International report. Im Mario Ritter. Ayaz Gul reported this story for VOANews.com. Mario Ritter adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Send us your thoughts in the comment section below. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story plight n. a bad or difficult situation essential adj. absolutely necessary, something that cannot be done without implementation n. the process of carrying out a plan evictions n. to force someone to leave a place exploited adj. used, used in an unfair or improper way Googles Chromecast may be one of the smallest, cheapest media streaming devices available. But you know whats even cheaper than a $35 Chromecast? Using hardware that may already be in your home. And soon thats exactly what Google Fiber customers will be able to do, because Google has announced that its bringing Google Cast functionality to Fiber TV boxes through a software update. That means folks who subscribe to Google Fiber for internet and/or TV service will also be able to stream internet content to a TV while using a phone as a remote control. Just open YouTube, Netflix, or another supported app on your iPhone or Android device, hit the Cast button, and choose the destination (your Fiber TV box) to start playing a video. You can also use the Google Cast extension for the Chrome web browser to stream content from a PC. The Google Cast protocol is also built into smart TVs and TV boxes that use Googles Android TV software, as well as some other third-party products including Vizios latest TVs and soundbars. via The Verge US software company Microsoft and Chinese device maker Xiaomi have announced a partnership that will lead to Microsoft apps including Skype and Office being pre-loaded on Xiaomis Android-powered phones and tablets. Microsoft has also sold about 1,500 patents to Xiaomi and the deal also includes a cross-license agreement. Microsoft says Xiaomis Android devices including the Redmi 3, Redmi Note 3, Mi 4s, Mi Max, and Mi 5 will ship with Skype and Office starting in September, 2016. There are a few big implications to the deal. For Microsoft it could help get some of the companys most successful apps into the hands of millions of users in China. At a time when Microsofts own smartphone operating system doesnt have much market share, it also makes sense for the company to focus on bringing its apps to Android, iOS, and other more popular mobile platforms. For Xiaomi, the deal could give the company intellectual property that will come in handy if or when Xiaomi enters the US smartphone space. While the company makes everything from smart TVs to air purifiers and desk lamps, Xiaomi is probably still best known as a smartphone maker. But the company only offers a handful of products in the US, and none of them are smartphones. As Reuters notes, the patent and licensing deals could help protect Xiaomi from potential legal battles with other phone makers. At the annual International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) conference in Brussels from 6-9 November 2016, Cape Town businesswoman, Renee Keeble, will represent South Africa. Renee Keeble Janine Myburgh, president of Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry and board member of IWEC, said the IWEC Foundation, based in New York, had identified Keeble for this strategic position based on her success as a business owner, her extensive contacts and her proven leadership and management skills. She will be one of seven global ambassadors located in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. "We are proud that IWEC chose someone from Cape Town, says Myburgh. The new ambassador will be key to expanding IWECs empowerment programmes through outreach, mentorship and sharing best practices to assist women entrepreneurs in creating a level playing field that supports their opportunities to achieve success in the international business arena. Since 2010, the Chamber has nominated 17 successful women businesses owners from South Africa for the IWEC awards. I think this is a clear indication that women are playing an increasingly creative role in our economy and they are building substantial businesses. They are performing exceptionally well in industries, which historically are male dominated. We need to help and inspire women who have successfully grown their own businesses and recognise their outstanding achievement through the IWEC Award. To be nominated for an award, the businesses must be woman-owned, in existence for at least three years, have an annual turnover equivalent to $1.5m and be a for-profit entity. Contact the Chamber on +27 (0) 21 402 4300, email az.oc.rebmahcepac@jm or go to the website to download entry forms before 8 June 2016. An innocuous looking Powerpoint presentation could possibly become the next bone of contention between the students and the management at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Called a Vision Document, the presentation is a proposal for transforming the venerable institute into a full-fledged digital media university, and has been put forward by BP Singh, the vice-chairman of FTIIs governing council. Among the recommendations the proposal makes is to initiate several short term courses at FTII (specifically, 22) in allied subjects like hair and make-up, broadcast journalism, video games, dubbing etc. These courses will be set up at nine schools, under the FTII umbrella. In a report dated 31 May, The Indian Express outlined the proposed changes, as well as the fact that these were tabled for discussion at the meeting of FTIIs Academic Council on 1 June. Student representatives will be present at this meeting. And from the conversations that Firstpost has had with the students and alumni, it is evident that the proposal will be opposed. AC 74 Agenda Just why are the students concerned? Because the proposal to make FTII into a digital media university goes against the very idea of FTII, they believe. Abhijit Khuman, who was among the leading figures at FTII during the students protests against the appointment of new chairman Gajendra Chauhan, says that the focus of these proposed changes is entirely on revenue generation, which isnt in line with the institutes ethos. The reason to have so many new short term courses is only to garner revenue. But FTIIs core value is not to generate revenue, it is to create art, Abhijit said. This is a sentiment that the other students Firstpost spoke to, reiterated. Anunay Barbhuiya, a second year student of film direction, said that the idea of FTII was to bring together students from diverse backgrounds and regions and help them make cinema. But the new modules that have been proposed have no purpose apart from attracting more people (to apply to the institute), said Anunay. Theyre also an indication, he believes, of how differently the management views cinema (as compared to the students and faculty). Cinema is not about making a product and selling it in the market. Its about understanding yourself and the socio-economic factors influencing the world, and the people around you. And you need to have the time and space and discourses that allow you to develop this understanding. With these new courses, the focus is on skills, not on developing this understanding; its about getting people to come in, finish and get out; to be some sort of multi-purpose media institute which is against the very mission of FTII, he said. If these short-term, revenue-driven courses are introduced, there is a fear that fees at FTII will increase detrimental to students from less advantaged backgrounds studying here. Yashasvi Mishra, one of the six students who were instrumental in leading the FTII protests last year, pointed out that the idea of FTII was closely tied to that of the welfare state, and the access to education it provides. The alternative, he said, is an institute like Subhash Ghais Whistling Woods, where the Rs 25 lakhs fee means only those from affluent families get in. The proposal contained in the Vision Document seems like an attempt to merely sell the FTII brand name to make more money, according to Yashasvi. The students we spoke to asserted that they are not averse to change, but they wanted the management to focus on more pressing and genuine issues. The proposal contained in the Vision Document felt too ad hoc, said Vidhaat Raman, a second year sound recording student. He added that instead of referring to the exhaustive PK Nair report that had recommendations on upgrading FTII, the Academic Council was discussing this proposal. He clarified that what the students are opposed to, is this Vision Document, and their representatives will take a stand in the Academic Council meeting on 1 June. Vision Document We have proposed changes to the syllabus, in terms of the technology used for making films, progress timelines for courses, extend weekdays, equipment/infrastructure availability, restructuring courses from the learning point of view. Students are open to change, said Vidhaat. Students also indicated the areas that need the managements attention. Students have to go from Pune to Mumbai every time they need colour correction done. There are limited number of high-end cameras, we dont have a proper sound studio, there are faculty positions lying vacant. There are cases against students who are out on bail, filed by the previous director. Rather than resolving these issues, and taking students on board, it feels like they (the management) are cutting them out, said Yashasvi Mishra. The priority should be to ensure that whatever exists now should be made to function to the best. Abhijit Khuman also added that change was welcome, but not at the cost of FTIIs core values. Equipment and technology will come and go, he said. But the aesthetic you learn here, is what will remain. Incidentally, the Express report stated that FTII chairman Gajendra Chauhan said he had not yet seen the Vision Document, as of 22 April, and would only be in a position to comment when he had discussed it with BP Singh. This is Part 2 of an ongoing series on evolving definitions of masculinity in Hindi cinema [SPOILER ALERT: in case you have not yet watched Kapoor & Sons] Any comprehensive discussion on men in Bollywood this year would perforce be dominated by the industrys change in attitude towards gay men. After decades of stereotypes, caricatures and hesitation, with positive messaging usually heavily veiled, the Hindi film industry has rolled out three liberal films within a span of four months featuring significant homosexual male characters who are just regular folk, unlike the cartoons and camp figures who earlier dominated gay portrayals: director Hansal Mehtas Aligarh starring Manoj Bajpayee, Tanuj Bhramars Dear Dad with Arvind Swamy and Shakun Batras Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921) starring Pakistani television actor Fawad Khan. This Khan, who made his Hindi film debut with the Sonam Kapoor-starrer Khoobsurat in 2014, is a heartthrob among women on both sides of the border. For a man who has played a landmark role in a landmark film involving the subject, he is also surprisingly shy about discussing LGBT issues, a reminder perhaps that movements across the world are best served when they involve partnerships between feisty, vocal activists and ordinary people making a difference in their own way while going about their daily business (in his case, read: making films). In this exclusive interview, Khan speaks to Firstpost's contributing editor Anna MM Vetticad about Hindi cinemas notions of masculinity, his initial reluctance to play a gay man on screen, his no-kissing policy and going shirtless. Excerpts: What do you think is mainstream Hindi cinemas definition of masculinity? A greater number of earlier films revolved around a plot where the hero saves the heroine. In todays evolving cinema, masculinity is not the focal point of films as it once used to be. Why did you hesitate to accept the role you finally played in Kapoor & Sons? It does kind of startle you a bit and make you wonder: would my audience accept it (a character being homosexual)? To some extent, thats hypocrisy because we have appreciated Western cinema that has dabbled in far more controversial subjects. I was for a second worried about a tag being attached to it, so I shared the draft with my wife and she was like, Why would you let go of a beautiful film because maybe someone might have an issue with it? At the end of the day, its just another character that Ive played. This is a part of society, its very real and apparent. By not doing such films we simply shut it (homosexuality) away rather than trying to understand it within our communities. Besides, with the kind of difficulties were facing as a global society where were having trouble getting along, if anything this is just more love in the system rather than adding conflict. Who would have guessed that a mainstream Hindi film with a central character who is gay could be released without offending fundamentalists in India? Yet it has happened. So is it not often a question of mainstream cinemas hesitation to push the envelope? Is it really mainstream cinema being conscious or is it just people working in a certain direction and thinking ki yaar this trend is working right now so lets follow it. Im sure after Kapoor & Sons a lot of people will feel encouraged that ya, this also works. Its not because they were hesitant about portraying a persons sexual orientation in a film, its more related to the fact that yaar jo chal raha hai woh chal raha hai (whats working is working). Its an industry at the end of the day. Theyre responding more to the market than anything else. That being said, film makers should have fresh perspectives on making films. Mainstream cinema is now opening itself to content-related stories rather than stories revolving around a similar plot every time. What people, especially producers, were afraid of was ki yaar looks more like a drama, so does it work for a film? The sexual orientation of a character was not the main concern, the main concern is ki yaar iss tarah ka drama chalega ki nahin in cinema (will this sort of drama work in a film)? There always has to be a person who takes the risk first. Last year Piku did that in a certain way, tried to break the fetters and change the way people were looking at mainstream cinema by using mainstream actors for a not-so- eventful subject. Shakun Batra told me he used to joke with you that there would be a #FatwaForFawad hashtag trending on Twitter after Kapoor & Sons release in Pakistan. [He laughs] That did not happen. Do you think the Pakistani audience is less conservative than you imagine and filmmakers assume they are? I would believe so, but now that you have mentioned it again, they might just slap me with a fatwa. [laughs] Youre like giving people ideas. But seriously, 10-20 years ago, mainstream actors in both countries were hesitant to play eunuchs. They got over that. It is a part of life, how can you ignore it? Earlier just using the word hijra or eunuch would cause people to giggle. Similar was the case with homosexuality, transsexuals or what not. Some people still giggle, but that giggle is much better than responding violently. And again with the current affairs taking place all over the world, people have started realising there are so many more beautiful things in life than just like focusing on these issues in a negative way. People have evolved. Its refreshing to see them not be all like taboo-taboo about things now. You have entered Hindi cinema at a time when male stars have become very body proud. Theyre taking off their shirts on camera, routinely displaying their worked out bodies. Are you willing to do that? Ya, if a role requires it, then it will be cool. Matlab it will be nice to try everything. I am petrified about dancing, but I still would like to try it. My only request to producers is that please give me a heads up when youre doing such things because Im not as accustomed to coming and getting it right at the first go like other stars, so Id like some more time to rehearse. When it comes to taking off your shirt or making the six pack ab for a role, its nice but I also appreciate artistes like Leonardo DiCaprio who I think still carries a pot belly and yet has become one of the greatest sex icons not just in Hollywood but all over the world. So I feel its secondary, but if the role requires it, why not? Is there a line you draw in the matter of objectification? Are there any no-nos, any lines you refuse to cross? I just feel that when you come to watch a film, come for a film, not porn. That maybe the maximum reservation I have, that when people become so obsessed with the way people are looking on screen rather than seeing what they are, what theyre playing, then I feel theyre coming to watch porn rather than mainstream cinema. I believe you have a policy of no kissing on screen. Where does it stem from? Oh that mainly stems from how comfortable people have been seeing me play certain characters on screen. My core audience, not just in Pakistan but across the board, have always appreciated my old-world approach to romance on screen. Im not offended when I see something on screen, but I feel there are a lot of lovely stories I would like to tell my audience and this fact of intimacy should not become an obstacle. For example in Kapoor & Sons I feel people have been able to appreciate my character because I dont make them uncomfortable in their seats. Maybe theyre able to accept a lot of things because of that. At this point in time I feel a lot of my core audience may not be comfortable with that and that is why I choose not to get too intimate on screen. Kapoor & Sons was breaking viewers in because they are conservative about homosexuality. But I am talking about kissing a woman on screen. We do have maybe a couple of Bollywood heroines who remain conservative about kissing but you would be pretty rare among male stars with your no-kissing policy. [Laughs] I still stick by it. Its not just a matter of homosexuality, it could be a character who is straighter than a bloody arrow, but something within the story could be missed or dismissed because of this intimacy which does make a lot of my audience uncomfortable. My audience would probably miss the point if theyd just engage in that whole argument ki yaar haan isne yeh kar diya, haww usne yeh kar diya (hawww, he went and did this). Considering that Hindi cinema is getting less conservative about physical intimacy on screen, could this hamper your career here? No, not at all. Why? I dont think so. Because there seem to be more scripts for which kissing is a requirement. Scripts Im going through right now in India dont have any such scenes. If I do come across a script at this stage in my career where the director or producer feels its absolutely necessary to perform acts of physical intimacy on screen, I might just shy away from it. I may lose an opportunity but I know where Im coming from. And I dont think its hypocrisy. Im catering to an audience with a certain degree of tailoring. Theres so many amazing characters to play that might just not need that. Since you are talking about your audience, I must tell you I googled Fawad Khan kissing scene Khoobsurat and found viralinpakistan.com announcing, Here you can watch the scene, that has been cut out by censors in Pakistan! [He laughs loudly] So clearly there is an audience that wants to see you doing more physically intimate scenes. Ya, Im sure there must be. But even Khoobsurat and Kapoor & Sons have been instances of cheating from the back to show that moment, and that Im fine with. I just feel right now Im not comfortable so Im just not comfortable with it. Thats just me. Many film industry folk contend that films do not have the power to influence society. Do you agree? It does obviously always have some sort of an impact at least culturally or maybe in some way educate people regarding things. Then would you say a film like Kapoor & Sons could play a part in the national discourse on homosexuality and LGBT rights? [Long pause] If it encourages discussion amongst parents. But it is absurd for people who are not homosexuals to think ki yaar because this movie has been made, it is encouraging our children. You cannot change someones sexual orientation just because of a film. That can be part of the conversation too, right? And of course there are people who think ki gay character ko dikha diya toh sab log gay bann jayenge (that people will turn gay if they see gay characters on screen). That is the kind of discourse I dont believe in, but if there are people who are having trouble communicating with each other, if this film could remove that awkwardness, that would be a great thing. Tomorrow in this series: Part 3: Interview with actor Pankaj Tripathi. Also read Part 1: The changing face of mardaangi in Bollywood: men may now be gentle, gorgeous and/or gay Warsaw: Poland's justice minister is reviving an effort to have filmmaker Roman Polanski extradited to the U.S., where he is wanted in a nearly 40-year-old case. Zbigniew Ziobro's office said Tuesday he asked Poland's Supreme Court to annul a ruling in October by a court in Krakow that Polish law forbids Polanski's extradition. Ziobro, who took office late last year as part of a new conservative government, argues that celebrity status is shielding Polanski in Poland. Polanski, who has Polish and French citizenship, lives in Paris but often visits Poland. The director pleaded guilty in 1977 to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in Los Angeles. In a deal with the judge, he served 42 days in prison, but then fled the U.S. Mumbai: Actress Richa Chadda says finding your way towards fame and success in Bollywood is tough without any connections due to the prevalent 'star system'. But she also believes that times are changing with showbiz opening its gates to 'outsiders'. Only someone ignorant will claim that the star system doesn't prevail in the Hindi film industry. It's very difficult to break in because the whole system, from the producer, press and the fraternity itself support their kith and kin, Richa told IANS. The Masaan actress, who recently came out in the open about her battle with bulimia, feels that the term 'outsiders' should not exist in Hindi filmdom. She added: However, times are changing and I am a testimony to that. There's a growing acceptance of 'outsiders'. However, the fact that there is a term called 'outsiders' is something we should introspect about. Are we aliens? Are we not from India, or the world? The term shouldn't exist actually. Richa carved a place for herself in Bollywood through non-conventional roles from portraying a hot-headed don in Fukrey to a small-town girl fighting taboos around sex in Masaan. Now, she has gone behind the camera to produce a Punjabi short film Khoon Aali Chithi based on terrorism the Khalistan movement spawned in the 1980s and early 1990s. Richa, who forayed into Bollywood with Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! in 2008, was lauded for her performance in films like Gangs of Wasseypur and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. Asked about how tough it is to break into Bollywood with no connections, Richa said it's difficult. My mentor Anurag Kashyap once told me it will take you five films to prove that you are capable while a star kid will do it breezily in one. And we won't get second chances either, she said. On the silver screen, Richa was last seen in Sarbjit, and has projects like Cabaret and David Womark's Indo-American production titled Love Sonia in her kitty. London: Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is a father again at the age 68. The rocker's wife Sally Wood, who is 30 years his junior, gave birth to their twin daughters named Gracie Jane and Alice Rose, his publicist has confirmed. "Ronnie and Sally Wood are delighted to announce the birth of their twins Gracie Jane (6 lb) and Alice Rose (5.7 lb)," so the publicist said in a statement, reports aceshowbiz.com. "The girls arrived on 30 May at 22:30 and all are doing brilliantly. The babies are perfect," the publicist added. Sally also took to Twitter to share her excitement about being a new mother. "Thank you all so much... I can't believe our babies are a day old already. They are wonderful," she tweeted on Tuesday. Ronnie and Sally, the owner of a theatre production company, got married on December 21, 2012. New Delhi: Government today cleared proposal to set up India Post payments bank with a corpus of Rs 800 crore and has plans to have 650 branches operational by September 2017, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "The Cabinet has cleared proposal of postal payments bank. We have 1.54 lakh post offices of which 1.39 lakh are rural post offices. 650 branches of postal payments bank will be established in the country which will be linked to rural post offices," Prasad said. The Minister said the payments bank, which will be run by Chief Executive Officer, will be professionally managed and there will be a representation from various other government departments including the Department of Posts, Department of Expenditure, Department of Economic Services etc. "Total architecture of postal payments bank is of Rs 800 crore which will have Rs 400 crore equity and Rs 400 crore grant. By September 2017, all 650 branches of postal payments bank will become operational. This we had planned for three years but now we will be doing it in a year," Prasad said. He said that all 'grameen dak sevaks' in rural post offices will be given handheld devices by March 2017. "We are reinforcing it further. I have had discussion with my officers to give iPad and smartphones to postmen in urban post offices," Prasad said. At present, core banking network of post offices is more than that of State Bank of India. SBI has 1,666 core banking branches while 22,137 post offices now have core banking facility. New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has indicated that he doesn't want to remain in the position after his tenure ends in September, a media report said on Wednesday. Leading Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika said Rajan had told the central government that once his term ends, he would return to the United States. Quoting sources close to Rajan, the daily said he had plans to join an American university and pursue research on the Indian economy. Rajan recently came under a strong attack from the BJP leader Subramanian Swamy who demanded he be sacked. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had indicated that he would want Rajan to continue, the daily said. Several leaders in the BJP have questioned the logic of Swamy's demand. It has been speculated he was being supported by party President Amit Shah. The daily also quoted "informed sources" as saying the Prime Minister had supported a two-year extension for the governor. Rajan also found support in Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who has told the Prime Minister, according to the daily, that if the Governor is sacked it would send a wrong message around the world. Rajan has also been supported by several industrialists and think tanks around the world who believe that he is one of the finest economists. They have pointed out that Rajan had stuck to the path of reforms ensuring that India moved ahead on a growth trajectory. New Delhi: Tata Steel today said it has completed sale of its European long steel business, including the giant Scunthorpe plant, to Greybull Capital LLP. Besides Scunthorpe steelworks in England, Tata Steel has sold mills in Teesside and northern France, which employ a total of 4,800 people, the company said in a statement. The sale is for a "nominal" fee, it said. "Tata Steel UK today announced the completion of the sale of its Long Products Europe business to Greybull Capital LLP," the statement said. The company, which had in March announced plans to sell all its UK operations after years of losses, had been in exclusive talks for the long products business with London-based private equity firm Greybull since December. Greybull had previously said it will invest 400 million pounds (USD 569 million) in the new business. "From today the Long Products Europe business, which in the UK includes the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, and associated distribution facilities, as well as a rail mill in northern France, will trade under the name of British Steel. All together the business employs 4,800 people 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France," it said. Tata Steel said, in last one year, the Long Products Europe business has implemented a transformation plan including a portfolio restructuring of assets, underpinned by committed support from employees and their trade unions. "This has focused the business on higher-value markets supported by a more competitive cost base," it said. Bimlendra Jha, Executive Chairman of the Long Products Europe business and CEO of Tata Steel UK, said: "As a responsible seller, Tata Steel is delighted to have secured a buyer for this business and we hope that under Greybull ownership, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement programme that has been initiated in the last 12 months." He said employees and trade unions have worked closely with the Long Products Europe management team to improve the business' prospects, putting it in a more competitive position than it has been for many years. "It is through their dedication and hard work that we are in this position today in spite of continued challenges in the market," he added. CINCINNATI The family of a 3-year-old boy who fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, prompting the killing of the endangered animal in order to rescue the child, said on Wednesday the boy is doing well and suggested donations in the gorilla's name. The family, whose name has not been released by police, said it had been offered money, without specifying what the funds were intended for, but said it would not accept financial gifts. "If anyone wishes to make a gift, we recommend a donation to the Cincinnati Zoo in Harambe's name," it said in a statement to Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT. Harambe, a 17-year-old, 450-pound (200-kg) Western lowland silverback, was shot by officials after the boy fell into its enclosure on Saturday. Police are investigating to determine if charges should be filed against the child's parents. Witnesses said the boy had expressed a desire to get into the enclosure and climbed over a 3-foot (1-meter) barrier, falling 15 feet (4.6 m) into a moat. Zookeepers took down gorilla after he violently dragged and tossed the child, officials said. The boy's mother previously said on Facebook that he suffered a concussion and scrapes but was otherwise fine. In its statement on Wednesday, the family said, "Our child has had a checkup by his doctor and is still doing well. We continue to praise God for His grace and mercy, and to be thankful to the Cincinnati Zoo for their actions taken to protect our child." Mounting outrage over Saturday's killing of Harambe sparked criticism of both the zoo and the child's parents. Online petitions at change.org drew more than 650,000 signatures demanding "Justice for Harambe." The death of the gorilla also prompted the animal rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now to file a negligence complaint on Tuesday against the zoo with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The group is seeking the maximum penalty of $10,000. (Writing by Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Trott) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Ahmednagar (Maharashtra): Veteran social activist Anna Hazare will try to create moral pressure on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as its most senior minister, Eknath Khadse, is facing charges of corruption, an aide said on Wednesday. Social activist Anjali Damania, who met Hazare, said she will stage a sit-in outside the chief minister's official residence 'Varsha' on the Malabar Hill in Mumbai from Thursday to demand Khadse's resignation from the state cabinet. She said Hazare will shortly speak to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, as part of his anti-corruption agenda. Hazare conveyed his intention to Damania when she called on him at his Ralegan-Siddhi village in Ahmednagar. Damania showed Hazare the documents purportedly linking Khadse to certain scams and said the 78-year-old well known social activist was "shocked". Meawhile, Mumbai police slapped Damania with a notice prohibiting her from agitating in the sensitive VVIP zone. Some BJP activists and Khadse supporters too threatened to burn her effigy in Jalgaon, the northern Maharashtra district from where the minister hails. Damania hit back at the BJP with a tweet: "Achche Din... Great, BJP! Instead of burning effigy of those indulging in corruption, you are targeting those fighting against graft." BJP Jalgaon burning my effigy for fighting against corruption? Is this the culture? Is this how BJP respects women? pic.twitter.com/OUkxaKhL9y Mrs Anjali Damania (@anjali_damania) June 1, 2016 Both Hazare and Damania have in the past targeted ministers, bureaucrats and officials for various acts of alleged corruption spanning several key government departments. The beleaguered Khadse -- number two in the state cabinet and holding around 10 key portfolios, including revenue -- has been accused of corruption by different opposition parties too, which have demanded his sacking or resignation. Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam on Monday led a delegation to Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao to demand Khadse's removal. On Monday, Pune-based businessman-cum-activist Hemant L. Gawande accused Khadse, his wife and son-in-law of various irregularities in the purchase of a piece of land. Gawande charged Khadse with misusing power and authority, subverting laws, bypassing norms, evading tax, pressurising officials and other wrongdoings in closing the land deal in April to benefit his family members. The ruling BJP, however, dismissed as "baseless and mala fide" the allegations against Khadse. The trajectory of the number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) in India every year generally follows an upward slope. However, the comparison list of top 15 source countries for the years 2014 and 2015, released by the Ministry of Tourism, reveals an interesting change. Russia has dropped from fifth place in 2014 to 12th in 2015. While the United States continues to contribute the maximum to Indias FTA, Bangladesh, UK and Sri Lanka have also retained their respective positions on the list. Even in the FTA list 2013, Russia stood at number five. Here's a quick look and some of the possible reasons for this drop-off in 2015. Goa was scrapped off the list of safe travel destinations recommended for Russian tourists, according to a Times of India report in 2015. It was one of the most popular tourist destinations for Russians. However, the number of Russian tourists to Goa has since halved in number. India was not deemed to be a promising destination for Russian travellers, according to Russian News Agency INTERFAX. The ugly experiences faced by some Russians in recent years has further led to the decline in the number of tourists. For instance, a Russian woman was attacked with acid in Varanasi in November 2015 and suffered over 40 percent burns. Another Russian tourist was beaten up after offending the locals in the village of Mandrem, according to a report by Daily Mail. The General Elections in India in 2014 and the change of leadership may have also been responsible for Russias sudden fall in the list of top 15 countries for FTA in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modis warm relationship with US president Barack Obama and expanding bilateral ties could be a reason for concern for Russia. Although Modi still decribes Russia as a strong and reliable friend, India is leaning more towards the US. President Vladimir Putins 2014 visit to India was curtailed from three days to a single day because of the Ukraine crisis and the imposition of stricter sanctions on Russia. Following this, Putin began looking at India and China to financially help the country. According to an article in The Diplomat, Indias defence ties with Russia were a major pillar of bilateral ties. However, in recent times, some of these deals have gone to the US, Israel or other countries which has irked Russia and hurt its economy. It lost the Indian helicopter deals and MMRCA fighter jet deals to the US and France respectively. And in what could be seen as a retributive response, Russia turned to Pakistan and signed defence agreements with India's neighbour. Another possible reason for the depletion in numbers of travelling Russians could also be the fact that the Russian economy is in tatters following the sanctions imposed by the US and EU in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.. There's probably a lot of reasons for this decline in the numbers of Russian tourists to India, however the attacks on Russian tourists, the Russian economy and stagnating India-Russia relations are likely some of the major reasons for this drop in numbers. Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday put implementation of various proposals made in the budget for 2016-17 on hold after opposition leader Omar Abdullah objected to it saying the Assembly had not approved the proposals yet. As soon as the House assembled, Omar raised the issue saying the budget proposals have been implemented by the government even as the House was still conducting the general discussion on these proposals. "We know you have the numbers and you will pass the budget anyway. But there could have come some good suggestions from here (assembly)," he said. Omar said the orders for implementation of the budget proposals were issued by the government the same day the Finance Minister made his speech in the House. "It is the contempt of this House. This house cannot be taken for granted. You (speaker) do not have to protect the government all the time. You have to protect this House also," the former chief minister said. Congress members led by Nawang Rigzin Jora also questioned the rationale of passing the implementation orders when the discussions had not been completed and the House was yet to approve the proposals. BJP leader Satpal Sharma also joined the opposition in opposing the move. "While this is an established practice at the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir has a special status due to which even laws passed by Parliament are discussed and debated in the state Assembly. "I agree with my friends (pointing to opposition benches) that these orders should be withdrawn till budget is approved by the House," Sharma said. Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said it was an established practice in the state and the Centre that notifications are issued after budget presentation. "If there is any discomfort on this account, we will put these orders on hold," he added. Speaker Kavinder Gupta directed the government to put on hold the orders for implementation of budget proposals till the same are passed by the House. The Modi government has been celebrating its two-year achievements at a breathless pace. But the sound and fury over two years of glorious achievements has been missing from at least one ministry. Hoardings put up at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, which houses the Ministry of Civil aviation, speak eloquently of double digit traffic growth, fall in jet fuel prices etc. But minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju did not hold any press meet to speak about his Ministrys work over the last two years. He merely spoke to state-owned Doordarshan and one national daily, telling both that significant progress had been made in the sector and the much-awaited civil aviation policy was on its way. The only problem is the policy has not even been sent to the Union Cabinet yet for discussion and approval despite months of discussions. Some of the key provisions have divided the industry right down the middle and there are again murmurs of at least one important recommendation stalling the policy, one more time. The civil aviation sector has seen unprecedented growth without much effort from the government itself. Domestic passenger traffic grew 21% in FY16, the highest in the world. Average seat occupancy of 83% means on an average, eight out of ten seats on an aircraft were paid for. Most Indian carriers reported higher profits or smaller losses in FY16, with some reporting record profits. Much of this can be attributed to benign jet fuel prices and some of it happened because of cost cutting by airlines themselves. There seems to be little the ministry has done to bring about this stupendous growth. In this backdrop, where Raju prefers silence and his ministry continues deliberations on key decisions, it is quite surprising to see junior Civil Aviation Minister Mahesh Sharma speaking about key final recommendations in the policy in an interview today. Whatever happened to secrecy and sanctity of Cabinet decisions, two attributes which mark the NDA governments every move? Why discuss and confirm recommendations before they have been approved, especially since these very clauses have divided the aviation industry right down the middle and could be changed or significantly altered by the Cabinet? Could it be that Sharma and Raju do not have common views on key policy clauses and this is juniors way of putting out his views to gain approval from the world at large, whatever the final decision of the Cabinet might be? Aviation consultancy CAPAs South Asia CEO Kapil Kaul says the civil aviation policy needs an expert review and the ministry could set up something like a Naresh Chandra committee (with 1-2 months target to revert) before it goes to the Cabinet. The present draft, though widely consulted and with right intentions, has some serious strategic flaws and is not well thought out. More importantly, is not worthy of being sent to the PM. The PM has transformational plans for the Indian economy and the present draft policy is not going to support this mission in any way. Indias aviation mission must support PMs transformational economic plans. That the two ministers and indeed, this Ministry, do not work in harmony is apparent not just from Sharmas outburst alone. Several decisions which the government wants to implement seem to have little thought or logic behind them. Here are a few: 1) There is fresh indication that ignoring all warning signs and much against plain common sense, the Ministry is moving to cap air fares. Secretary R N Choubey has been quoted by the Times of India this morning as saying that the government is examining whether to put "limited restrictions on domestic fares that can be charged under some circumstances". While Choubey did not elaborate on the 'circumstances', he said the idea is to provide relief to flyers. If this is about restricting sudden fare surge during natural calamities like floods/earthquakes or during unprecedented situations like the recent Jat agitation, this move could be a sensible one. But even here, an attempt to twist free market dynamics by telling airlines how much they should charge reeks of sense of false socialism. There are enough forums which take care of consumer interest and abnormally high fares can be challenged there. The government is neither empowered to cap fares under the existing laws nor is it setting the right example by making such a move. At best, airlines should be asked to self-regulate. 2) In the same interview, Choubey talks of asking airlines to enhance free baggage limit and also tweak the cabin baggage norms. When the world is moving towards unbundling of services, we Indians want more free baggage and other conveniences. World over, airlines are allowed to charge for every service and this helps both, airlines as well as flyers. Airlines generate more revenue and flyers can choose which services they want and pay for only those instead of paying for everything by default. 3) The 5/20 rule is apparently only being diluted, not abolished all together. This unique restriction bars Indian airlines from flying overseas unless they have first operated domestic routes for five years and have a fleet of 20 aircraft. Sharma has said that the five year clause will go but the 20-aircraft requirement will stay. Amber Dubey, Head of Aerospace and Aviation for KPMG in India, noted in a recent newspaper column that the anti-competition 5/20 rule should have never been there in the first place. NCAP (the policy) is expected to still retain it, albeit, in a watered down 0/20 version. It effectively means 3/20 since any new airline would typically take 3-4 years to reach a fleet size of 20 aircraft 4) Auctioning unused bilateral rights. This is one of the proposals which the airlines are bitterly opposed to. And this one proposal seems to be holding up the Policy again. An industry source said the PMO has raised objections to this proposal, which envisages that unused bilaterals (rights which airlines of two signatory countries acquire to mount flights to each other) be auctioned off. This source said such a proposal is not followed anywhere in the world, will weaken our own airports and hurt the industry. As the hike in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices this morning show, the days of benign oil prices could soon be over and with that the time to get things right. A beginning can be made by junking populism and embracing pragmatism. Having the Civil Aviation Ministry mandarins all on one page will also help in sending the right message, so that the third year anniversary of the Modi government gives the Ministry some genuine cause for cheer. Mathura: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya "is a matter of faith" and not an election issue. "Construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya is a matter of faith. Even in 1990, it was not an election issue," the Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology told reporters. Prasad said construction of the Ram temple will not be an issue during campaign for the 2017 Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. On the cleaning of Yamuna river, Prasad said, "We don't want ad hoc arrangement on eliminating Yamuna pollution. Constructive work in this direction is required and it has started." On Congress president Sonia Gandhi's remarks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was functioning like a dictator, Prasad said, "In fact Modi is working as Pradhan Sevak of the countrymen." Claiming that the country has made tremendous progress in two years of the Modi government, Prasad said in the next three years, India will become a "leading" country in the world. "Through Skill India, Digital India, Make in India and Start-up India schemes not only platform has been prepared for rapid development but transparency would also be ensured," he said. To ensure that the rural lot gets the benefit of the Digital India campaign, he flagged off a 'Digital Vehicle' which will cover the rural areas and familiarise the people with digitalisation. "In order to apprise rural lot with digitalisation, the digital vehicle would travel all over the country in 12 languages. We have decided to make the digitally literate," he said. Asserting that proper management of the economy has propelled growth, he said capital investment has increased leap and bound in last two years. "Rs 27,000 crore investment was only in telecom sector. While spectrum was auctioned for Rs one lakh ten thousand crore, coal block was auctioned for Rs three lakh crore," he said. He claimed heavy increase in revenue of BSNL. A pilot project for providing Ganga Jal of Rishikesh and Haridwar and prasadam through post offices has started. "Now prasadam of Bankey Behari temple, Radha Ballabh, Radha Raman temples of Vrindaban, Sri Krishna Janmasthan and Dwarkadheesh temple will also be available through post office," he said. Mumbai: Intensifying its investigations into the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday raided the premises of two suspected right-wing activists based in Pune and Panvel in Raigad, an official said. During the raids, the CBI said it had recovered certain documents, mobile numbers, emails, and other materials which are being scrutinized. The action follows the case registered by the CBI on 9 May, 2014 into the sensational Dabholkar killing on 20 August, 2013, following a Bombay High Court order in a PIL. A medico by profession, rationalist Dabholkar, 68, was gunned down by two unidentified motor-cycle borne assailants around 7.20 a.m. near his house when he was out on a morning constitutional, shocking the nation. The case, which was first probed by the Deccan Police Station, Pune, was later taken over by the CBI. Nearly three years after the brazen daylight murder in full public view, the investigators have yet to ascertain the exact motives behind Dabholkar's murder or identify and zero in on the killers, though some right-wing groups and activists are under a scanner. Dabholkar's campaign of several decades finally bore fruit when Maharashtra became the first state in the country to enact a full-fledged law against black magic and other superstitious practices, albeit after his death. Lucknow: BJP parliamentarian Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that action should be taken against Mohammed Akhlaq's family for eating beef and the compensation given to the family should be taken back. Akhlaq, a resident of Bisara village near Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, was lynched by Hindu mob on 28 September 28 last year for allegedly possessing and eating beef. The incident, which drew attention of international media, was widely condemned in India. Yogi's remarks came after a report from a forensic lab in Mathura emerged, saying that the meat seized in the case was actually beef. It is a crime in Uttar Pradesh to slaughter cow and possess or eat its meat. Akhlaq's family has indulged in this crime. Action should be taken against them for this, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP said. Secondly, the compensation given to Akhlaq's family by the government should be taken back, he added. He also asked for releasing the persons arrested by the state police for Akhlaq's murder. An earlier report by Dadri Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer YS Tomar had declared the meat found in Akhlaq home was mutton and not beef. After the Mathura lab's report came out, Tomar said he had only visually examined the meat and the forensic lab's report should be seen as the final report. However, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav raised questions about the relevance of the report, saying nothing objectionable was found in Akhlaq's home. From where was this meat sample collected? As you may recall, nothing objectionable was found in Akhlaq's household or his fridge. Everyone wants justice in this case, the family (Akhlaq's) deserves justice as one of their members has been murdered, the chief minister said. What one eats, what one wears, what language one speaks...I think we should keep away from such unnecessary controversies, he added. Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammed questioned the veracity of the report, saying that the meat sample in question was not collected from their family fridge. The meat sample was not collected from our fridge. The police collected it from outside, and it is possible that somebody planted that meat there to politicise the issue, Mohammed said. He said the latest report was not above doubt as it may be a tactic to divert attention from the issue of Akhlaq's murder. Union Minister for Law and Justice DV Sadananda Gowda expressed his concern about the false terror charges slapped on Muslim youths in the country. "Arrests of Muslim youths on false terror charges are a matter of concern. We are thinking of bringing in changes. The law commission is working on a report in this matter to bring about reforms in criminal procedure, bail, prosecution lapses, etc," Gowda said in an event in Aligarh marking the two years of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, reports The Times of India. This comes days after Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that there is no threat to India from the Islamic State as people of the Muslim community are against the terror organisation. "They (Islamic State) cannot grow in India as Muslims won't allow them," Singh said in an interview to ETV. Gowda's comments in Aligarh come at a time when the BJP is gearing up for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Also, the state of Muslims and other minorities in the country has caught the attention of the Congressional commission in the United States. The commission will hold a hearing to examine the current state of human rights in India, coinciding with the White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. "In 2015, religious tolerance deteriorated and religious freedom violations increased in India. Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims and Sikhs experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups," the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its latest report. With inputs from agencies. New Delhi: Eminent lawyer Indira Jaising on Wednesday termed the suspension of licence of her NGO as a "blatant attempt to victimise" the organisation and an "act of vindictiveness" on the part of the NDA government. The response came after the Home Ministry barred the NGO Lawyers' Collective from receiving funds from abroad and suspended its licence for six months for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). "The Lawyers' Collective condemns the blatant attempt of the government of India to victimise the organisation and its office bearers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover. This is noting but a gross misuse of the FCRA Act which is being used to suppress any form of dissent. "It is far too well know that both Anand Grover and Indira Jaising have represented several persons in their professional capacity as lawyers in several cases against the government and the functionaries including the President of the BJP party, Amit Shah protesting his discharge in the Sohrabuddin murder case," the NGO said in a statement. The Home Ministry's order/show cause notice is a mala fide act and an act of vindictiveness on the part of the government, it said. "This is being done because of the cases that Lawyers Collective ('LC') and its trustees, Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, are involved in, including but are not limited to Sanjiv Bhatt, Yakub Memon and Priya Pillai," the statement said. The association accused the government of leaking the notice suspending the NGO's licence to media. "The aim is to destroy the credibility of LC by leaking it to the media, before even serving it on LC. LC till today has not received the order purportedly issued on 31 May, 2016, though it is available to the press," it said. The Lawyers' Collective intends to challenge the order as unconstitutional and required to be set aside, the statement said. "At the outset, LC states that all the foreign contribution received were spent for the purposes received and accounted for," it said. The Home Ministry, while suspending the licence, asked the NGO to submit its reply within 30 days. Rameswaram (TN): Condemning the arrest of seven Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy near Katchatheevu, a fishermen body urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday to seek Centre's intervention and arrange for talks between the fishermen community of the two countries to resolve the dispute over fishing in "traditional" areas. Referring to the arrest of the seven fishermen from Rameswaram on Tuesday while fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet ceded by India to Sri Lanka in the 1970s, mechanised boat fishermen's association asked the Chief Minister to take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jayalalithaa had on Tuesday written to Modi urging him to take up the matter with the highest authorities in Sri Lanka and secure the immediate release of the seven fishermen and a total of 89 boats impounded on various occasions. Speaking after a meeting of the association, its leaders T Sesuraja and S Emiret said the Centre should be asked to arrange a meeting of the fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka to resolve the vexed issue of fishing rights in the Palk Bay. They also said the association members would hold a 'rail roko' agitation on 24 June if the seven fishermen were not released along with 19 boats in the custody of Sri Lanka. The leaders also sought compensation for 18 boats that were sunk in the sea or damaged due to anchoring without maintenance. If the fishermen were not allowed to fish in their traditional areas (Katchatheevu), they would be left with no other alternative except to commit suicide like distressed farmers, they said. Alleging that fish merchants were forming cartels and procuring fish at very low price, they urged the state government to set up procurement centre to buy fish from them directly. Kohima: Four cadre belonging to Naga underground groups who had decamped with a huge cache of arms and ammunition and Rs 1.25 lakh from Lakpong Designated Camp of NSCN (Reformation) in Tuensang district of Nagaland have been arrested, police said on Wednesday. On Monday, the cadre decamped with one G3 rifle with 250 live rounds, one MQ rifle with 150 live rounds, one Mark-III rifle with 100 live rounds, one 410 Musket rifle with 125 live rounds, one .22 pistol with 25 live rounds and one live hand grenade and the money, the police said. The accused had allegedly fled after looting the money and the arms from the Lakpong Designated Camp but were caught at Sechu (Zubza) in Kohima district. Acting on an FIR lodged by the Cease Fire Monitoring Cell of NSCN(R), personnel of Sechu (Zubza) Police Station arrested the four of them, three belonging to NSCN (Reformation) and another of NSCN (Unification) on Tuesday, the police said. The arrested persons have been identified as self-styled 'Captain' Nukshi Chang, 'Sgt Major' Y Nayang and '2nd Lieutenant' Ngaku Chang, all three of NSCN (R) and Chang Region Chairman of NSCN (U) Nasuyangbou Chang. A case has been registered and further investigation is in progress to recover the stolen arms, the police said. Hyderabad: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has favoured a debate on common civil code in the country and said the government would not "thrust" it and would move ahead only after a broad consensus emerges on the issue. "Definitely, there is a need (for a debate on common civil code). The Constitutional framers, they advocated it and they have put in directive principles (of state policy) hoping the country in due course will go for a uniform civil code. I call it as a common civil code. Uniform conveys a different meaning," he told PTI here in an interview earlier this week. Noting that issues like marriage, divorce and right to property should be common, he said others like way of worship be left to individuals. "What is best in every religion, in every society should be taken out. I am of the firm view, marriage, divorce, inheritance and right to property these things should be common. Other things, of course, what is the way of worship, what is the way of other practices. That is left to...there is nothing against any religion in common civil code," he said. Naidu made it clear that the government "would not thrust it" and move forward only when there is consensus. "There is more and more awareness generating. But, we will not thrust it; unless consensus emerges and the country is now waiting for this. But, as I told you, we will move forward only when there is a broad consensus though we are committed to that," he said. Observing that Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections are important to BJP, Naidu said the party would assess the situation and take a call whether to project any leader as a chief ministerial candidate. "That has to be discussed. Strategy varies from state to state. Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana, we have not projected a CM candidate. Still, we have won. In Assam, we projected. There also, we won. We will assess the situation and take a call," he said. New Delhi: A charity aimed at rescuing children from forced labor said Wednesday that while India tops a recent global slavery index, the situation is improving in the South Asian nation. The Walk Free Foundation counted some 18.35 million modern slaves in India in its index released Tuesday. That includes children and adults forced into labor, often unpaid or to pay off a debt. The index showed China with the second highest number, 3.39 million, and Pakistan next with 2.13 million. North Korea was found to have the highest per capita rate of modern slavery, with 4.37 percent of its population affected. Ramesh Senge from Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi's charity Save the Children Movement said that while slavery in India is a problem, the situation is improving with more awareness, legal reforms and rescue campaigns. Senger cited India's garment industry hub in the Indian capital as an example of how police-backed raids could end child labor. "We rescued nearly 400 children in the area between 2012-2014," he said. "The garments industry in the area no longer employs child labor." The report ranked 167 countries by the number of people affected by practices included forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage and sexual exploitation. The total of 45.8 million is 10 million more than the group estimated in its last report in 2014. New Delhi: Karnataka on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the state High Court judgment acquitting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others in disproportionate assets case was unsustainable both on facts and law and that it defeated the very purpose of cleansing the public life. The top court is hearing appeal by the Karnataka government challenging the acquittal of Jayalalithaa, her aide N Sasikala Natrajan and her two relatives VN Sudhakaran and Elavarasi by the Karnataka High Court. They were accused of allegedly amassing disproportionate asserts to the tune of Rs. 66.65.crores during her first term as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996. Describing the defence offered by Jayalalithaa and three others as "cock and bull story", the vacation bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy was told that accepting the arguments by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister would amount to throwing the anti-corruption law - Prevention of Corruption Act - into the dustbin. As arguments by Karnataka government were concluded, the court said that one of the three options it may exercise would be either to uphold the High Court verdict acquitting Jayalalithaa and three others, reverse the verdict and restore the conviction or still after re-appreciating the entire evidence, direct fresh trial or remit for the matter to the High Court for fresh consideration. The bench outlined the three options available to it after senior counsel Dushyant Dave appearing for Karnataka described the judgment acquitting Jayalalithaa and others as "perverse beyond imagination", devoid of reasoning and based on "conjectures and surmises". He told the court it had the three options available to it but could not re-appreciate the evidence to find faults with the trial court judgment of conviction. Telling the court that the burden of proof of the legitimacy of the sources of the income was on the accused, Dave said merely that the income tax department had accepted their returns does not attach legitimacy to their incomes and assets. He said that the income tax department was only concerned with realising the tax and production of returns was not the end of the matter. He said that the burden is on the accused to show the lawful source of the money and on the basis of which property have been purchased. Senior counsel and Special Public Prosecutor in the case BV Acharya told the court that the disproportionate assets would be surface if the income, expenditure, and assets acquired by Jayalalithaa and the others were taken together and not individually separating one from the other. The High Court, while acquitting Jayalalithaa and the others, had reversed the 27 September, 2014, Bengaluru trial court order convicting her. After a trial that lasted for 18 years, the trial court in Bangaluru had convicted Jayalalithaa and sentenced her to four-year jail term and a fine of Rs 100 crore. Panaji: A Nigerian national, arrested for allegedly raping a 31-year-old woman in Goa last week, had been booked earlier for rioting, assault and illegally over-staying in India, police sources said. Kenneth Upwegdha, 41, was arrested on Monday at the Panvel railway station near Mumbai and on Tuesday was remanded to police custody for three days by a trial court. "Kenneth was arrested for rioting and blocking the National Highway in Goa in 2013. Our records also showed that he was booked at the Calangute police station in 2012 for illegally overstaying beyond his stipulated visa duration," police sources said. Kenneth, along with another accomplice, who is still on the run, has been accused of allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman at knife-point on 28 May. The rape had caused outrage in the state, with Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar accusing Nigerians of trying to deceive the Indian legal system and committing crimes on purpose to prolong their stay in the country, using the judicial process as cover. Jammu: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said India is not afraid of any threat by Pakistan's nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan and that "we are prepared to tackle everything". "We are not afraid of any such threat and we are prepared to tackle everything," Singh told reporters, reacting to Khan's remarks that Pakistan could target New Delhi anytime. He said that the central government has taken cognisance of the threat made by the Pakistan nuclear scientist. "Nuclear armed Pakistan has the ability to target Delhi in five minutes," Khan had said while addressing a gathering on the 18th anniversary of Pakistan's first nuclear test. Replying to a question regarding the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, Singh said the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to honourable return and rehabilitation of the community. Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh government has issued show cause notice to an IAS officer apparently for congratulating Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jaylalithaa in a Facebook post on her party's win in recent Assembly polls, days after slapping notice on another civil servant in a similar case. Narsinghpur district collector Sibi Chakraborthy had on 19 May posted on his Facebook page, "Congrats Amma". It was however, deleted within few hours. A few days back, Barwani collector Ajay Singh Gangwar was shunted out after he had praised country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in his Facebook post in Hindi. He was also slapped a show cause notice on Monday for allegedly advocating a 'jankranti' (people's revolution) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a Facebook comment. "Yes, the notice was served to Chakraborthy. Reply is going to come shortly," General Administration Department (GAD) Secretary, Rashmi Arun Shami told PTI when she was asked if Chakraborthy was issued notice over his Facebook post congratulating AIADMK chief. Chakraborthy declined to comment on whether he was issued the notice over his FB post for congratulating Jaylalithaa and told PTI, "No comment on the matter, please." Meanwhile, MP Minister of State for GAD Lalsingh Arya said, "I am not aware of any development in connection with Chakraborthy." Earlier, Gangwar contested the charge stating he had neither posted nor 'liked' anything against Modi on his Facebook account on 23 January 2016, for which he had been issued the show cause notice. He had contended that he was transferred 'primarily due to his FB post' on Nehru. New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday asked Maharashtra government and other authorities to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families as well as medical assistance to the injured in Pulgaon's ammunition depot fire. In a message to Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra, the President said "I am sad to know about the massive fire at the central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Wardha district of Maharashtra, in which some persons have lost their lives and many others are injured. "I understand rescue as well as relief operations are currently underway. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the families who have lost their near and dear ones." At least 18 Army men have lost their lives and 15 others are injured in the major fire that broke out yesterday. "I call upon the State Government and other authorities to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families as well as medical assistance to the injured." "Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish speedy recovery to the injured persons," Mukherjee said. Spread over 7,000 acres, the depot is the country's biggest ammunition storehouse. The death toll in the Pulgaon fire mishap on Wednesday rose to 18 as two more bodies were recovered from the site, according to a PTI report. While the two bodies recovered are yet to be identified, the rescue teams are still looking for one missing person. The massive fire that broke out in the early hours of Tuesday morning, at the central ammunition depot, the largest stockpile of ammunition in the country, in Pulgaon, Wardha district was finally doused at 4 pm on Tuesday afternoon. One of the sheds that housed "highly sensitive" ammunition in the high security central ammunition depot (CAD), spread over 7,000 acres, was the first to catch fire. Once ablaze, loud explosions followed as the fire raged. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in a statement said there was no sabotage involved, but the exact cause could be known only after the enquiry. The army was quick to take charge. The nearby villages were evacuated and army helicopters were sent in service to help in evacuation of the injured personnel according to an Indian Express report. "In our efforts to douse the fire, two officers and 14 personnel, including one jawan and 13 civilian firefighting staff, lost their lives, while two officers and 15 personnel, including nine jawans and six civilian firefighting staff, were injured. A court of inquiry has been ordered by the army," the Ministry of Defence stated in a press release. The Pulgaon explosion, indicates that the authorities have not paid heed to the findings of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) audit report on 'Ammunition Management in the Army', submitted last year, reports Pune Mirror. The report had raised questions over safety measures followed at the ammunition depots, stating that "The depots were functioning with risk of fire accidents, as the firefighting equipment were not as per equirement/authorisation". Lt Gen Ashok Joshi, explosives expert said "Something has gone abnormally wrong at CAD, Pulgaon. It is a well-organised depot and every material is kept separately. Atmospheric temperature alone cannot be the reason behind the fire." Along with launching an inquiry, the army has also sent a medical team comprising a neurologist, anaesthetist and forensic experts from the Southern Command to Pulgaon, reports The Indian Express. With inputs from PTI. Pulgaon: Three more bodies were recovered from the site of the fire mishap at the Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon in Maharashtra, taking the death toll to 19. "Three bodies charred beyond recognition have been recovered from the accident site on Wednesday," Defence sources said. All the three belonged to Defence Security Corps, the sources added. Seventeen persons including a senior CAD official were rushed to the Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital in Sawangi Meghe as they sustained injuries in the blaze that broke out at one of Asia's biggest ammunition depot, which houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country. Three of the injured were airlifted to Army Hospital in Pune on Wednesday, a hospital spokesperson said. They include Deputy Commandant of the CAD, Col Ganendra Singh and two other officers Sharad Yadav and Jagdish Chandra. Yadav has suffered some injuries on his face and arm caused by flying splinters and Chandra suffered burn injuries, the spokesperson told PTI. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar along with Army Chief General Dalbir Singh had visited the hospital yesterday after inspecting the fire site. The Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident. Parrikar had said that there was no sabotage involved in the fire at the ammunition depot but the exact cause would be known only after inquiry. Pulgaon (Maha): Two more bodies were recovered on Wednesday from the site of the fire mishap at central ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district, taking the death toll to 18. Three persons were missing since on Tuesday. Two bodies have been recovered and one person is still missing, sources told PTI. The bodies recovered on Wednesday were yet to be identified, they said. A massive fire on Tuesday broke out at one of Asia's biggest ammunition depot in Maharashtra's Pulgaon that houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country. The fire occurred in the wee hours on Tuesday at one of the sheds that housed "highly sensitive ammunition" in the high security central ammunition depot (CAD), spread over 7,000 acres. "However, in efforts to douse the fire, two officers and 14 personnel (including one Army jawan and 13 civilian fire fighting staff) lost their lives and two officers and 15 personnel (including nine Army Jawans and six civilian fire fighting staff) were injured," Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh had said. Loud explosions were heard one after the other as the raging fire lit up the night sky. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and the Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident, Singh had said. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said there was no sabotage involved in the fire at the ammunition depot but the exact cause would be known only after inquiry. Parrikar along with Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, had Tuesday visited CAD, Pulgaon and met the injured persons in a local hospital. Pulgaon: The intensity of fire and explosions at the central ammunition depot here that left 16 persons dead, was such that seven of the victims were blown to pieces, a top police official said. The fire-explosions killed 16 persons - 13 fire brigade personnel, two Army officers and one jawan. "Seven of them were blown to pieces and their body parts were later recovered from the site. The impact of the fire and explosions was so severe that these victims were thrown in the air and landed in pieces," a top police official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. He said all the 16 victims were dead on the spot. The massive fire at one of Asia's biggest ammunition depots that houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country broke out around 1 am on Tuesday, in which 17 personnel, including Army Jawans and civilian fire fighting staff, were injured. Loud explosions were heard one after the other and raging fire lit up the night sky at Pulgaon in Wardha district. The police official said it was for the first time in the history of this depot that such fatalities has occurred. On two occasions in the past, major fires were recorded in 1980 and 2004. However, there was no loss of life. The injured were admitted to Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital in Sawangi Meghe village, attached to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. "17 persons are undergoing treatment at the hospital. Out of them, three were operated for minor injuries. Four others were surgically operated. While one person was admitted with severe burn injuries, another one with neuro injuries," Dr Sandeep Shrivastava, dean of the college and hospital said. Deputy Commandant of the central ammunition depot, Col Gajendra Singh, is among the injured and he is out of danger, Shrivastava added. Most of the patients complained of injuries in ear drums. Some of them sustained burn wounds, while some others were injured due to flying splinters after explosions, he said. Two of the injured who are in critical condition will be shifted to Mumbai, if necessary, Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Vinod Tawde said. Tawde, who visited Pulgaon, said Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of each deceased and Rs 1 lakh to the injured. Mumbai: Terming the massive fire at the Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon as "abnormal", NDA ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday smelt sabotage behind it and asked the Centre to take responsibility for the loss of lives and the huge stockpile of ammunition. "Our enemies like Pakistan and China must have been very happy to hear that a huge stockpile of ammunition has got destroyed in the fire. There would not have been so much loss even in a war. Our government only expresses sorrow over the loss of lives and order inquiries. It is shameful that there are laxities on matters related to the nation's security," Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana. "If army personnel are struggling at the borders and there are not enough weapons for them, who is responsible? The government cannot shirk off its responsibilities. This fire was not normal and has raised many doubts and questions," it said. At least 18 army personnel were killed after a massive fire on Tuesday broke out at one of Asia's biggest ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district of Maharashtra that houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country. The Sena mouthpiece further said the way "corruption" can not be tolerated in the AgustaWestland deal, fires in ammunition depot can not be condoned. "Earlier there were incidents in submarines, and now there is a fire in an ammunition depot. Why do these kinds of incidents keep happening? If they happen due to negligence then who is in a slumber with regards to national security? If it is happening due to a sinister plot, it is difficult to imagine the extent of power of our enemies," it said. New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) will support Dehradun-based Shayara Bano's case in Supreme Court demanding the abolition of 'triple talaq', its chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court had recently admitted a petition by 35-year-old Bano, demanding abolition of the oral and unilateral practice of divorce in the Muslim personal law. "NCW is already a party in the case. We will file rejoinder in Supreme Court this month. We 200 percent support the demand. We will do whatever we can," Kumaramangalam said. She was reacting to the demand of Muslim women's rights group Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) which has sought NCW's support to ban 'triple talaq' terming it as an 'un-Quranic' practice. BMMA, in its letter to the NCW chief, said it has collected 50,000 signatures in support of their campaign and is in the process of writing to state commissions for women for their support. "We have found that women want a legal ban on the practice of oral/unilateral divorce. Our national study 'Seeking Justice Within Family' found that 92 per cent of Muslim women want an end to this practice which destroys their life and the lives of their children," it said and demanded "the heinous practice of 'nikah halala' be also abolished. "The instant method of divorce has no mention in the Quran. In fact the Quranic method requires a 90-day process of dialogue, reconciliation and mediation before divorce takes place," the group said. New Delhi: The probe into the financial dealings of arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari took a new turn on Wednesday with the Enforcement Directorate serving him notice seeking bank accounts and details of his properties. The ED action has come even as the Income Tax has sought information from some countries about the properties purchased by him, one of which is said to have been owned and later sold by Robert Vadra in London allegedly facilitated by Bhandari. Bhandari is also likely to face a case under the Officials Secrets Act as Income Tax department had allegedly recovered minutes of the meeting of Defence Acquisition from his residence during raids in the last week of April this year. The ED has been shared with all the documents and information by the Income Tax department about Bhandari. Efforts to reach Bhandari did not fructify as he neither replied to phone calls or messages sent on his mobile telephone. The Enforcement Directorate may file a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once the Defence Ministry gives its opinion about the classification of defence documents is recovered and a case under OSA is registered against him. Income Tax returns of Bhandari and his set of companies besides Vadra's companies are being examined afresh by the tax sleuths before raising a tax demand on him. In the meantime, requests have been sent to various countries where Bhandari had opened a web of companies to share the bank information details, the sources said. New Delhi: Members of a women's rights group have sought the support of the National Commission for Women (NCW) to abolish the practice of 'triple talaq', terming it as an "un-Quranic" practice. The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) in its letter to NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam stated that the have collected 50,000 signatures in support of their campaign and are writing to Women's Commissions in different states for their support. "We have found that women want a legal ban on the practice of oral/unilateral divorce. Our national study 'Seeking Justice Within Family' found that 92 percent of Muslim women want an end to this practice which destroys their life and the lives of their children. Coupled with oral divorce is the heinous practice of 'nikah halala' which also must be abolished. "The instant method of divorce has no mention in the Quran. In fact the Quranic method requires a 90-day process of dialogue, reconciliation and mediation before divorce takes place. "The Muslim personal law must be reformed in such a manner that all discriminatory practices are struck down as illegal and Muslim women's Constitutional and Quranic rights are safeguarded," said the letter. The body said that on a mere pronouncement of 'talaq' thrice, the woman gets instantly and irrevocably divorced and becomes a "destitute" overnight. "This practice is being supported by the clerics of the community who encourage such misogynistic and patriarchal practice," the letter said. The women's body also sought equal citizenship rights for Muslims as enshrined in the Constitution as well as justice and equality for Muslim women based on the "Quranic tenets". Lucknow: Every day as Kamla dug through the mud and molded bricks for north Indian kiln, her two hungry children would cry out to her for food. The 200 rupees ($3) she made for producing 1,000 bricks at a time wasn't nearly enough to feed her family, and her daughter died of malnutrition before she turned four. Kamla's story, told to one of the many charities fighting forced labour in India, is common enough to explain how slavery persists in the country despite rapid development that has helped make India the world's fastest-growing economy. On Tuesday, the South Asian democracy topped a global slavery index counting some 18.35 million modern slaves or 40 percent of a global total of 45.8 million. The report, released by The Walk Free Foundation, included children and adults forced into labour, often unpaid or to pay off a debt, as well as child brides, child soldiers and migrant workers in 167 countries. "These poor and deprived people are forced to leave their homes because of poverty. This is clear reflection of the failure of the welfare state," said Lenin Raghuvanshi of the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, the charity which put together a December report based on testimony from 450 people rescued from slavery and bonded labour in India in 2015, including Kamla. "Bonded labour is a contemporary type of slavery," he said. "The government, which is supposed to provide them basic necessities, has failed them." Officials with the Indian Labour Ministry declined to comment on the slavery index report, which showed China a distant second with some 3.39 million modern slaves counted. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. North Korea was found to have the highest per capita rate of modern slavery, with 4.37 percent of its population affected. The problem of slavery in India including child marriage and bonded labour has long been a challenge and cause for shame. Just last week, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee lambasted India's record on human rights, asking how India could have so many slaves. "I mean, seriously, do they have just zero prosecution abilities, zero law enforcement? I mean, how could this happen? It's on that scale, it's pretty incredible," Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said. Many had seen the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, who was awarded along with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, as a sign that India would be forced to better protect its 1.25 billion citizens from abuse. But child labour, the trafficking of sex workers, and bonded labour remain widespread, despite India's rapid economic growth over the past decade. Laws meant to keep children in school and out of the workplace are routinely flouted, as millions are forced into difficult and sometimes toxic jobs including rolling cigarettes, blowing glass in factories, mining in stone quarries or dyeing leather in tanneries. Some activists blamed the government for maintaining a top-down economy where illegal labour can still flourish because of high unemployment and abject poverty in the countryside. While the official jobless rate has hovered around 10 percent since 1983, some economists say that counting only the number of people actively looking for work ignores the masses who have only part-time jobs or who have simply given up. "The laws are there, but there is no political will on the part of the government to implement them," peace activist Swami Agnivesh said. "The government can't afford to annoy rural rich as well as the urban rich who are exploiting the situation." Amid the rising criticism, the Centre on Monday published draft legislation to curb human trafficking without punishing its victims. "At present the law says the trafficked and the trafficker are both criminals and they both go to jail. Now, we are saying the victim will not go to jail," said Maneka Gandhi, the government's minister for women and child development, according to Press Trust of India. Still, some activists said the situation was improving in India, thanks to public awareness, legal reforms and police-backed raids on factories employing workers illegally. "We get 20 complaints per day from family members and public in general" reporting labour abuse a sign that awareness of the problem was growing, said Ramesh Senger from Satyarthi's Save the Childhood Movement. He noted that India's carpet industry used to employ 300,000 trafficked children just a decade ago, but that the number has come down to an estimated 5,000-10,000. Meanwhile, the number of children forced to work making plastic bangles in parts of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is now negligible, whereas thousands worked in the industry 10 years ago. India's garment industry hub in New Delhi has also eliminated child labour, Sanger noted as an example of how police-backed raids can make a difference. "We rescued nearly 400 children in the area between 2012-2014," he said. "The garments industry in the area no longer employs child labour." But for those still mired in forced labour, the scourge can't be ended soon enough. And with little recourse against abusive employers, they can only hope to be rescued by a charity intervening. Radha, kidnapped from her family by a woman from her village and forced into bonded labour at a brick kiln near Varanasi, told the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights she was raped daily by the factory's owner when she was not cooking and cleaning for him, and then was beaten when she tried to object. "I was so scared," she said. "I'm still in pain from the rapes." Why is Tate Modern exhibiting an old-fashioned, second-rate artist whose art recalls the kind of British painters it would never let through its doors? So begins the review of Bhupen Khakhars retrospective at the Tate Modern, London, by The Guardians art critic Jonathan Jones. The review, which proceeds to equate Khakhar with a hamfisted hack, labels him genuinely not much good. Why are we supposed to be interested in this old-fashioned, second-rate artist whose paintings are stuck in a time warp of 1980s neo-figurative cliche? The answers appear to be political rather than aesthetic. Khakhar portrayed his own gay identity at a time when this was still brave. All right. Yet his depictions of arses and cocks dont seem at all shocking or provocative, probably because his renditions of human flesh are so drab and vague, Jones writes. Unsurprisingly, the review hasnt gone down too well with the Indian art community, which considers Khakhar among its leading lights. Artist Bose Krishnamachari, the founder of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, pointed out that The Guardian itself had carried a far more nuanced piece on Khakhars art, by the writer Amit Chaudhuri just a few days before the critique by Jones appeared. Chaudhuri has traced Khakhars life and placed his art within the context in which it was created unlike Jones. Khakhar wasnt interested in perfectionism. It wasnt that he wasnt aware of style or craftsmanship, but he wanted to create a poetic language with his paintings, says Krishnamachari, addressing the criticisms in Jones review. Several artists and curators took to social media after the piece by Jones was published in The Guardian. Among them were gallerists Shireen Gandhy (who called the critique, agonisingly and embarrassingly ignorant) and Saloni Doshi (who said it was a waste of time). Critic and curator Girish Shahane also posted a message on his Facebook page, to this effect: I'm always puzzled when people post articles by Jonathan Jones on their timelines, because I think he's a blowhard doofus. This piece has settled any doubts I had on that score. A common sentiment seemed to be that Jones known as a scathing critic had written his review of the Khakhar retrospective with an intention to provoke. Bose Krishnamachari said in this, Jones was not alone: I know many critics, even in India, who just like to be provocative and get a reaction. Thats how they get recognition, get noticed. Art critic and writer Alka Raghuvanshi also pointed out that everybody in the business of critiquing has a distinctive style. Its the job of a critic to present his/her opinion, so I dont have any issues with what Jones has said, Raghuvanshi told Firstpost. Raghuvanshi also found one of the points raised by Jones in his review interesting: The only reason to give Khakhar a soft ride would surely be some misplaced notion that non-European art needs to be looked at with special critical generosity that Khakhars political perspective on the world is more important than the merits of his art. (From Bhupen Khakhar review: Mumbai's answer to Beryl Cook) Raghuvanshi feels that the question of different yardsticks being applied to artists is one that requires serious thought. However, she adds that an artists work cannot be seen as separate from the context in which it was created. Sensibilities differ from region to region, says Raghuvanshi. When I am viewing art from Sri Lanka or Thailand, I will not judge it from an Indian or an American context. As for Bhupen Khakhar, you have to consider the milieu. In the times when he was painting when he came out as gay (in the 1980s) homosexuality was not openly practiced or confessed, leave alone celebrated. So his work was very bold, a form of rebellion. Whether critics from the West tend to look at art from the subcontinent in a blinkered way is a question that has been raised in the past. The review of Khakhars work by Jones has brought the spotlight back on the debate. Ive seen it happen with the works of artists from Asia and Africa, says Bose Krishnamachari. Some critics (in the West) have an approach that can be described as almost racist. However, Krishnamachari adds that some of Khakhars close friends were from the art world in the West, including the noted artist Howard Hodgkins. Incidentally, Hodgkins also finds mention in Jones review. To drive home his point that talented artists will not find space at the Tate Modern, he names Howard Hodgkins as one of the greats who have relegated to the Tate Britain. Alka Raghuvanshi says that the choice of showcasing artists is up to the Tate, and it is something the museum puts an incredible amount of thought into. Its not like in India, where you organise an exhibition in a matter of days. The Tates shows are planned years ad months in advance and they do a bloody good job of it. In contrast to The Guardian piece, the Telegraph, UK, has a glowing recommendation of Khakhar's art. To decide on the merit of an artists work, its a complex question, says Raghuvanshi. Nothing is absolute, not even the truth. So how can criticism be absolute? More importantly, why take offence at what one critic has to say? The Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh took an interesting turn on Tuesday with an Independent candidate Preeti Mahapatra, backed by several BJP MLAs and some others, filed her nomination papers, making it 12 candidates for 11 seats from the state. With 11 candidates seven of the Samajwadi Party (SP), two of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and one each from the BJP and Congress for 11 seats, there would have been no contest. But Mahapatra's unexpected entry into the fray has now ensured that the seats would be fought for. Preeti Mahapatra, 37, a Hinduja College commerce graduate who hails from Gujarat, runs an NGO, Krishnaleela Foundation, engaged in social welfare projects and is settled in Mumbai with her husband, Harihara Mahapatra, runs construction and investment firms in Gujarat, Odisha and Maharashtra, reports The Indian Express. According to the report, Mahapatra denied any connection with the BJP. "I want a Rajya Sabha membership from UP because this state is backward in development and needs a lot of work done. The Prime Minister too is an MP from here I too will work for cleanliness and development," she said claiming that the BJP MLAs were only supporting her because they were impressed with her vision for development. Interestingly, Mahapatra's Facebook page proves otherwise. Apart from boasting of an album which goes on to show how closely she works with the party, Mahapatra's cover image is a photo of herself and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mahapatra describes herself as a member of the Narendra Modi Vichar Manch and calls the prime minister her 'mentor'. Furthering that point, a report in The Hindu quoted a source close to Mahapatra and claimed that she was hoping to qualify as the BJPs official nominee. "But with the announcement of the BJPs official candidate that was dashed," the source was quoted saying. Flanked by influential state politicians such as BJP's Suresh Khanna and Radha Mohan Das, and former BSP coordinator Jugal Kishore, she comes off as a significant political contestant, reports Hindustan Times. BJP spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak, however, denied that the party had offered support to Mahapatra and said he did not know the couple. The contradicting claims are intriguing as they only reaffirm the BJP's attempt to gain more seats in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in minority, and to counter Congress bringing Kapil Sibal to the Rajya Sabha. In 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly ruling SP has 229 MLAs, BSP 80, BJP 41, Congress 29, besides some smaller parties and Independents. Each candidate would require 37 votes for victory. A similar situation arose for the UP Legislative Council, where 14 aspirants have filed their nomination papers for 13 seats. With inputs from PTI Site: spiritualdating From: ritadickson Date: Jan 05, 2016 Good day My Name is Rita I was impressed when i saw your profile i will like to establish a long lasting relationship with you. In addition, i will like you to reply me through my e mail box (ritadickson25@hotmail.com) I am very interested in knowing more about you, and in my next mail i will send you some picture of mine and tell you more about me, contact me with my email address. Remember that distance, age or color does not matter but love matters a lot in life. Thanks waiting to hear from you .through my email address with love and kiss, yours Rita ritadickson25@hotmail.com From: Rita Dickson Hubert Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2016 14:38:28 +0000 Subject: je vais en savoir plus sur vous Bon jour merci pour votre courrier. Comment faites-vous de cette belle journee! Je espere que tout va bien avec vous amitie ne peut pas etre mesuree en termes de valeur materielle, il ne peut etre explique par notre utilisation de la langue, il est une chose que l'on ressent profondement dans le cur, ou aucun mot ne peut jamais venu pres de la verite En attendant, je veux profiter de cette occasion pour informer vous peu de moi, mon nom est Mlle Rita Dickson suis celibataire, 25 ans, ne a Bangui, la capitale de la Republique centrafricaine, sans enfant et jamais marie. teint clair, je dois une belle famille qui ai perdu il ya quelques annees a la suite de porte a porte meurtre brutal des personnes entre la coalition rebelle Seleka et les forces gouvernementales en 2012. Mon pere ingenieur fin Dickson Hubert, etait le directeur de A1 Oil & Gas. Societe en Republique centrafricaine le meurtre brutal de mes parents y compris ma sur cadette Il est avait que moi et mon petit frere qui survivent cette tragedie parce que je suis a l'ecole lorsque l'incident est survenu. Je suis parvenu a courir a l'un la voute de la charite chretienne au Senegal ou je suis actuellement a la recherche d'asile en vertu programmee des Nations Unies pour le developpement (PNUD Senegal) Dakar, Republique du Senegal. Parce que les maux qui ont tue mes parents saisissent de me tuer et enlever mes affaires Je suis joyeux, honnete, gentil et tendre. Je profiter de voyager, d'un repos sur la nature, rencontre avec des amis, piscine, et la cuisine. suis une fille simple et la comprehension qui cherissent, tolerance, d'amour, de soins et de l'amitie. Je cherche a rencontrer un bon et honnete ami que nous pouvons etre d'avoir la conversation et le partage des ideaux que je veux savoir un peu plus sur vous, je viens d'envoyer ma photo ici comme une piece jointe .Je suis impatient de vous entendre et de savoir sur vous , votre famille, travail, etc. Je vous souhaite une belle journee et toutes les bonnes choses qui vient avec elle l'espoir de vous entendre plus tot. Cordialement Rita Good Day thanks for your mail. How are you doing this beautiful day! I hope all is well with you Friendship can not be measured in terms of material value, nor can it be explained through our use of language, it is a thing that is felt deep within the heart, where no words can ever come close to the truth Meanwhile, I want to use this opportunity to brief you little about myself, My Name is Miss Rita Dickson am Single, 25 years old, born in Bangui the capital city of Central African Republic, with no kid and never married. fair in complexion I have a nice family which I lost few years Ago as result of door to door brutal killing of people between the Seleka rebel coalition and government forces in 2012. My late father engineer Dickson Hubert, was the manager of A1Oil & Gas. Company in Central African Republic The Brutal killing of my parents including my younger sister It's was only me and my little brother that survive this tragedy because i was in school when the incident happened. I managed to run to one the christian charity vault in Senegal where I'm presently seeking asylum under United Nations Development Programmed (Undp Senegal) Dakar, Republic of Senegal. Because the evils that killed my parents seize to kill me and take away my belongings I am Joyful, Honest, Kind and Tender. I enjoy Traveling, Having Rest on Nature, Meeting with Friends, Swimming, & cooking. am a Simple & understanding girl who Cherish, Tolerance, Love, Care and Friendship. I am looking to meet a good and Honest friend that we can be having conversation and sharing ideals I want to know a bit about you i have just sent my picture here as an attachment. I am looking forward to hearing from you and knowing about you, your family, work, etc. Wishing you a nice day and all the good things that comes with it Hoping to hear from you soonest. Best Regards Rita From: Rita Dickson Hubert Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2016 08:35:18 +0000 Subject: esperant de vous entendre Hello, I pray that the grace of God will be upon you so that you will help me realized my dream with what is left behind.I know it is not going to be easy but please consider me and give me a total attention as i believe you will have nothing to regret in this matter. we are not allowed to go out the way we like.Its just like one staying in the prison the only person i have now is Dr. Desmond Lambert his is the supervisor here he has been very nice to me since we came to this place but i am not living with him rather i am leaving in the Female hostel if you want to talk to me you can call me with his number +221765193419 tell him you wants to talk to me he sent for me his email is Dr. Lambert@dr.com we i don't have any right or privilege to any thing be it money or whatever because it is against the law of this country. I will like to go back to my studies Please listen to this,i have my late father's Deposit Certificate and the certificate is here with me which i will send to you latter,because when he was alive he Deposited some amount of money in one of the leading Bank in Europe which he used my name as the next of kin,the amount in question is $5.8M (Five Million Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars). So i will like you to help me transfer this money to your account and from it you can send some money for me to get my traveling Documents and air ticket to come over to meet with you. I kept this secret to people here So in the light of above i will like you to keep it to yourself and don't tell it to anyone for i am afraid of loosing my life and the money if people gets to know about it. Already i have informed this Bank about my intention to claim my late father's Deposit. The only thing the Bank told me is to look for a foreign partner who will assist me in the transfer due to my Situation here in Senegal am not allowed direct claim of the money but through an appointed representative as the law of the country. Or in the alternative, if you can help me to get international Passport and air ticket to come over there in your country i will come with the whole document then i can apply directly to bank so that they will transfer the money to your bank account. It is now left for you to choose which option you prefer to help me. (1.) Either to agree to represent me at the bank so that I can give you the contact of the bank in London and all information for you to contact them directly so that they can transfer the money into your bank account. (2) Or to help me come over to your country so that the bank can transfer the money in to your bank account. I promised to give you 20% of the total sum for your assistance, while you will help me to manage my money in any good investment in your country because i don't know much about business. these are the ways you can help me.waiting for your positive response. Your lovely, Rita From: Rita Dickson Hubert Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2016 15:28:57 +0000 Subject: contact of the bank Name of the Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Cambridge London The Director Mr, OXFORD MCMORIS +447440610245 email address; StandardCharteredBankCambridge@aol.co.uk Foreign Transfer Manager Mr Peter sands +447440610246 foreigntransferdirectorSCB@aol.co.uk Account information of my father. Account name. (Engr DICKSON HUBERT) Amount (5.8 American Dollars) Next of kins, (RITA DICKSON HUBERT) Account number. BLB745008901546/QB/91/B Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2016 08:41:05 -0500 From: Standard Chartered Bank Subject: foreign operation/Wire transfer dept Standard Chartered Bank United Kingdom Registered in Scotland No. 90312. Registered Office: 36 St Andrew Square, Cambridge EH2 2YB. 18/1/2016 Email address, StandardCharteredBankCambridge@aol.co.uk +447440610245 Our Ref, No. 90312 Your Ref, Transfer Department Sir, I have been Directed by the Director of Foreign Operation and Wire Transfer to write you in respect to your mail and your partner miss Rita Dickson which we received in our Bank actually we have earlier been informed by your partner miss Rita Dickson Hubert (the next of kin) that she wishes you to be her trustee or representative for the claim of her late father's deposit with this Bank (Engr. Dickson Hubert) is our late customer with sum substantial amount of money he deposit with us $5.8Million USD (five million eight hundred thousand dollars) hence you have been really appointed as a trustee to represent the next of kin. Before we can start any transaction with you both of you must have a written agreement that will prove to our bank that she have given you the right to transfer her late fathers money to your position. now tell Miss Rita Dickson Hubert to take a lawyer from her residence country Senegal to prepare a power of attorney in your name is an authority to act for another person in specified or all legal or financial matters, a legal document giving power of attorney to someone with her signature or tone print then she send a copy to our bank and a copy to you as soon as we received the document we start processing the transfer you direct us were and how you want the money to be transfer. these shall also ensure that a smooth, quick and successful transfer of the fund is made (we promise to give our customers the best of our services) Should you have any question(s),please contact The Director Mr,OXFORD MCMORIS through his, Via Phone for more directives/clarifications Yours Faithfully Mr Peter sands (foreign operation/Wire transfer dept) SCB From: Rita Dickson Hubert Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2016 09:47:40 +0000 Subject: Dear contact the lawyer for the agreement paper I appreciated the way you are handling this transfer pending on my arrival to meet with you to start a new life. I am suffering here life is not easy for me and my brother but i believe with you we can start a new life again in your country after the transfer of my money to your account I can see what the bank is demanding before transferring the money to your Account because the bank send me copy of the mail. After reading your mail i discussed it with camp supervisor of the charity vault Programmed (Undp Senegal ) were am seeking asylum Dr. Nicolas Williams and he gave me the contact of this lawyer Barrister Djibril Fall. I will want you to contact him now both on phone and email telling him that you are my foreign partner that you need his services to prepare a power of attorney that will enable you transfer my 5.8 million US Dollars from Standard chartered bank to your account in your country on my behalf. His contact information are as follows, Name Barrister, Djibril Fall E-mail address. djibrilfalllawfirm@hotmail.com Telephone number +221771575083 God bless you as you contact him immediately. Yours Rita From: Djibril Lawfirm Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2016 19:06:39 +0000 Subject: Bar. (Dr) DJIBRIL Fall Associations & Memberships Lawyers Society of Senegal (Board Member) National Organization of Human Rights (ONDH) Association of European Lawyers Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce Member, (ECOWAS) Bar, Associate Address 48 Avenue Lamiue gueye Republic Du Senegal. Tel: +221771575083 Email djibrilfalllawfirm@hotmail.com REF File; No, XX129ADVOCATDKS DATE; 19-1-2016 ATTENTION, SEQUEL TO YOUR MAIL AND YOUR PARTNERS EMAIL WHICH WE RECEIVED IN OUR NOBLE LAW FIRM ON HOW TO PREPARE A POWER OF ATTORNEY IN YOUR NAME FOR YOU TO STAND ON BEHALF OF YOUR PARTNER MISS RITA DICKSON HUBERT TO TRANSFER SUM MONEY FROM STANDARD CHARTERED BANK TO YOUR ACCOUNT. OUR NOBLE LAW FIRM WISH TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT BEFORE WE CAN PROCEED WITH THIS SERVICES WE WANT YOU TO FORWARD TO THIS LAW FIRM IMMEDIATELY YOUR FULL CONTACT DETAILS; 1. YOUR FULL NAME --------- 2. YOUR PHONE NUMBER--------- 3. YOUR OCCUPATION--------- 4 . YOUR AGE---------- AS YOU WANT IT TO APPEAR ON THE POWER OF ATTORNEY SO THAT I WILL GO TO THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF SENEGAL IMMEDIATELY TO ASCERTAIN THE COST OF THE AUTHENTICATION OF THE POWER OF ATTORNEY BEFORE IT BECOMES VALID FOR THE TRANSFER OF THE MONEY TO YOUR ACCOUNT. AFTER WHICH MY NOBLE CHAMBER WILL CONTACT YOU BACK IMMEDIATELY WITH THE REQUIRED COSTS BEFORE ACCEPTING TO RENDER THE REQUEST Faithfully yours Bar. (Dr) DJIBRIL Fall Principal Attorney, DJIBRIL Fall LAW CHAMBER Office tel +221771575083 From: Djibril Lawfirm Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2016 11:29:25 +0000 Subject: Bar. (Dr) DJIBRIL Fall BARRISTER DJIBRIL FALL CHAMBER LEGAL PRACTITIONER Associations & Memberships Lawyers Society of Senegal (Board Member) National Organization of Human Rights (ONDH) Association of European Lawyers Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce Member, (ECOWAS) Bar, Associate Address 48 Avenue Lamiue gueye Republic Du Senegal. Tel: +221771575083 Email djibrilfalllawfirm@hotmail.com REF File; No, XX129ADVOCATDKS DATE; 20-1-2016 ATTENTION, In compliance with the content of your email and your partner I wish to inform you that after due confirmations from the Bank, of the true existence of the money, its legitimacy and inquirers from appropriate quarters about the needful for successful completion of the transfer process, that I hereby accepted to dutifully handle the case. Prior to my conversation with the Bank I understand from the Bank Transfer Director that the Actual Credit balance at the moment is $5.8 Million United States Dollars The Transfer Director also mentioned that you have already being nominated by the next of kin and they are expecting that you get back to them soonest for further transfer to your country. I have seen the Documents even as your partner shows me. The young girl father's Death Certificate, and the Deposit Certificate. I was made to understand from the Bank that these Documents are required by them for the transfer. I have Drafted a tentative Power of Attorney/affidavit of oath based on your partner request and information which will be Notarized on my chambers letter Head after the signature of the young Girl involved at the Federal High Court here In Dakar Senegal 1 After due consultations from Federal High Court, I understand that it will cost the sum of = 850 USD for the registration and authentication of the power of attorney for such amount of money in your name Mr. "xxxxxx" which must be paid to Inland Revenue Office of the country (2.) = 250 USD for stamping on power of attorney in High Court of Justice before it will be come valid. (3.) = 150 USD For swearing an affidavit of oath at the High Court of Justice here in your name (4.)= 50 USD For notary stamping at the notary public office here (before it will become valid) (5.) = 550 USD For Endorsement and Legalization of Fund Deposit Certificate here in Dakar Senegal. (6.) = 50 USD For Endorsement and Legalization of Death Certificate of Late Dickson Hubert here in Dakar Senegal, (7.) = 650 USD For Senegalese Government Tax on $5.800,000.00 and Legalization of the deposit certificate. which must be paid to Inland Revenue Office.of the country (8.) DJIBRIL Fall legal processing fee = 800 USD Total Amount: = 3,350 USD After which the funds in Bank is now Guarantee to you by the next of kin While you should arrange and send the money to enable me commence and conclude actions on the authentication of the power of attorney/agreement in the Federal High Court. To speedy the process you are to send this money through western union money transfer system which is the fastest mean's of sending money with my secretary name and address Name: OMOYEMI OLUFEMI ADE Country: SENEGAL CITY DAKAR Address, 48 Avenue Lamiue gueye Dakar Senegal Send or call my office for the information as soon as you send the money to enable my chamber to go and get the money out from the western Union office and start the preparation of those document's as you requested which will only take three working day's for it readiness for the transfer. Send the transfer information payment slip as soon as you send the money to enable him go for the collection of the money from any of their local office here. I have noted down your information for the power of attorney. Please do not fail to contact me for more clarifications needed on the receipt of this mail. Faithfully yours Bar. (Dr) DJIBRIL Fall Principal Attorney, DJIBRIL Fall LAW CHAMBER Office tel +221771575083 From: Rita Hubert Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2016 12:50:09 +0000 Subject: compensation for you effort Hello my Good Friend, I am happy to inform you about my success in getting the money transferred under the cooperation of my new partner from united kingdom. Presently I am in London for an investment project with him Meanwhile, I didn't forget all your past efforts and attempts to assist me despite that it failed Now you will need to contact Dr.Desmond Lambert he is one of the camp supervisor when i was in Senegal his email address is Dr.Lambert@dr.com Tell. +221765193419 Ask him to kindly direct you on how you can received the Bank Draft of $250.000.00 from Ecobank which I prepared for you as a compensation for all the past efforts I appreciated all that you did for me so feel free and get in touched with him he is waiting for you Please do let me know immediately you receive money so that we can share our joy after all the sufferings at that time. In the moment, i am very busy here because of the investment projects which myself and my new partner are having at hand Take care and remain Blessed. Yours Sincerely, Miss Rita Salut mon bon ami, Je suis heureux de vous informer au sujet de mon succes a obtenir l'argent transfere dans la cooperation de mon nouveau partenaire du Royaume-Uni. Actuellement, je suis a Londres pour un projet d'investissement avec lui Pendant ce temps, je ne l'ai pas oublie tous vos efforts passes et tente de me aider malgre cela il a echoue Maintenant, vous devrez contacter Dr.Desmond Lambert il est l'un du superviseur du camp quand j'etais au Senegal son adresse e-mail est Dr.Lambert@dr.com Tell. + 221765193419 Demandez-lui de bien vouloir vous diriger sur la facon dont vous pouvez recu le projet de la Banque de 250.000.00 $ de ECOBANK que je preparais pour vous comme une compensation pour tous les efforts passes J'ai apprecie tout ce que vous avez fait pour moi, donc se sentir libre et entrer en touche avec lui, il vous attend S'il vous plait laissez-moi savoir immediatement que vous recevez de l'argent afin que nous puissions partager notre joie apres toutes les souffrances a ce moment-la. En ce moment, je suis tres occupe ici en raison des projets d'investissement moi-meme et mon nouveau partenaire eprouvez au Prendre soin de la main et rester beni. Cordialement, Mlle Rita If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... BEIJING -- China on Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack in Mali in which a Chinese peacekeeper was killed and four others were injured. According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying,the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was attacked Wednesday morning. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and express our heartfelt sympathy to the wounded and the families of the victims," Hua said. The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council are taking the attack very seriously, Hua said, noting that emergency response and follow-up measures had been launched immediately. As the attack targeted UN peacekeepers, Hua said, it was a terrible, intolerable crime. China strongly condemns the terrorist attack and has asked the Mali government and the UN to investigate the incident immediately, Hua said. Hua reiterated that the Chinese government firmly supports international peace and stability in Africa. At present, more than 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are operating in seven African task areas including Mali, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hua said. China will continue to participate in international peacekeeping operations and contribute to peace and security in Africa. Records accessed by Firstpost from London's land registry department reveal that Robert Vadra is not even remotely linked with 12, Ellerton House, 11 Bryanston Square, London, a property purportedly bought by the Congress president's son-in-law through a proxy. According to official documents, the flat no 12 in Ellerton House, located in Central London is owned by Harold and Shirley Sacks, not by any company allegedly fronting for Vadra. The current owners had bought this flat for 9,50,000 GBP on 23 September, 2005, documents reveal. Since then, the property has not changed hands. On Tuesday, NDTV had reported that the government was probing allegations that Vadra had purchased the property through Sanjay Bhandari for 19 lakh GBP in 2009 and then sold it a year later. According to NDTV, the investigation was based on two reports by investigating agencies based on e-mails allegedly sent by Vadra and his executive assistant Manoj Arora to Bhandari. Vadra's lawyer had denied the allegation saying their client had nothing to directly or indirectly with 12, Ellerton House. On Wednesday, The Indian Express reported that Bhandari had admitted to the alleged e-mails exchange between him and Vadra. "...the property in question (located in Bryanston Square, thus several of the emails are titled BS) was registered with the Westminster City Council in the name of Mayfair Properties, a company based in Dubai and thus a reference has been sent to Dubai via the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) for details of its ownership," the newspaper said, quoting sources. "According to information with the Department, the property was bought in 2009 from a company called Vertex FZE which is registered in the British Virgin Islands. ...Sources said the transaction for the sale of the London property was done with a branch of Barclays Bank in London acting as the custodian...," The Indian Express said. But, official records, updated till Wednesday (1 June, 2016) contradict allegations that the property in question was purchased by Vadra through arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari in 2009 or by Mayfair Properties through Vertex FZE . Websites of several independent realtors and agents, apart from official land registry records, also conclusively suggest that the ownership hasn't changed since 2005. The charge against Vadra, available information suggests, is false and baseless. When the BJP had sought a clarification from the Congress on the alleged benaami transaction, Sonia Gandhi had labeled it a controversy. "Get an independent enquiry done, doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani ho jayega," Gandhi had dared the government. 12, Ellerton House is an imposing building in the middle of London. Though conveniently located, it is not considered a posh area since most of the inhabitants are of migrant origin. By London's standards, it is moderately priced and isn't on the priority list of city A-graders. According to Zoopla.com, a London-based website that tracks the real estate market, its current market worth is estimated at 2,524,000 GBP, a pittance compared to the posh addresses preferred by London's elite with deep pockets. "Bryanston Square is definitely upmarket but not the kind of place where the Gandhis would have preferred like to live. The closest Tube stations are Edgware Road and Marble Arch. Edgware road is a huge security risk it has lot of Arab/Muslim businesses , making it impossible to check the backgrounds of people in the neighbourhood. It is a high-risk environment for a Z-security family," sources told Firstpost. Thiruvananthapuram: CPM veteran and former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Wednesday denied giving a note to CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury seeking a position for him in the government. "I can say with boldness that I have not gone after positions during the seven decade long public life. During my public life, the party has given me certain positions. I have accepted that proudly," the 93-year-old Communist leader said in a Facebook post. "If I want a position in the new LDF government, I do not have to handover a note to party General Secretary amidst swearing-in ceremony of the government,"Achuthanandan said while denying the reports that he had given the note to Yechury during the new ministry's swearing-in ceremony on 25 May. "On that day and before I met Yechury alone and otherwise many times. It is difficult to describe the imagination of the report that I have given the note in a bit paper during the swearing in function,"Achuthanandan said. "What Yechury also had said on the issue was that certain suggestions have come and that has been handed over. The comrade has not said that I have given a note to him seekingany position," Achuthanandan said. Stating that he had entered into public life without an eye on positions, Achuthanandan, said because of that "I will continue to be one among the people." The veteran leader was not considered by the party for the post of Chief Minister this time considering his age and selected party politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, once a bete noire of Achuthanandan, for the post. It was reported that Achuthanandan would be accommodated in the government by providing him with a senior position. After the politburo meeting in New Delhi earlier this week, Yechury had said that a formal decision on providing post to Achuthanadan would be taken by the state government. The issue had become a talking point in the state last week when print and electronic media published certain visuals showing the veteran reading a note while attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet and giving it to Yechury. Chandigarh: With Jat community members set to hold sit-in demonstrations across the state on 5 June to press for reservation, security forces on Tuesday staged flag-march in many districts, including Rohtak, as Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said law and order would be maintained at any cost. Central forces, along with the Haryana police, conducted the flag marches. In Rohtak district, which was the epicentre of the Jat stir in February, police and Rapid Action Force personnel took out the flag marches. The police appealed to the public to help maintain law and order. Security forces set up check points at several places at Rohtak's entry and exit points. Border Security Force personnel have been deployed on the outskirts of the town. Khattar said that any kind of undesirable act, which threatens peace, would not be tolerated during the demonstration announced by members of the Jat community on 5 June. He said there was no objection to holding a peaceful demonstration. However, those who disturb law and order, would be dealt with strictly as per law, he told reporters. He said the government has made all arrangements to thwart any untoward incident. Thirty people were killed during the Jat quota agitation violence in the state in February. Asked about the report of Prakash Singh Committee being made public, the Chief Minister said that he had earlier said the report had been submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court and also made public, as per his earlier statement. Replying to another question, he said the report was studied and action was being taken accordingly. The Chief Minister said the Committee report has suggested departmental inquiry against many junior officers. Departmental inquiry of such officers would be conducted and they are being asked for explanation. Further action would be taken on the basis of their replies, he added. In addition to their reservation demand, the leaders of the Jat community have called for cancellation of FIRs registered against some of its members during the stir in February this year. Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti filed her nomination papers for bypoll to Anantnag assembly segment as she seeks to become a member of the state legislature within the mandatory period of six months from her swearing-in as CM. 57-year-old Mehbooba, who is currently a Lok Sabha member from the south Kashmir constituency of Anantnag, is contesting from the seat where bypoll was necessitated due to death of her father and the then chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, on January 7 this year. After filing her nomination papers before the returning officer for Anantnag assembly segment, the PDP chief voiced hope that the people will repose faith in her father and elect her so that she can complete the work started by him. "People showed their trust in Mufti sahab and gave him an opportunity to be the chief minister. I am hopeful that people will again repose their faith in him and give me an opportunity to complete the work left by Mufti sahab," said Mehbooba who took over the reins of the PDP-BJP government on April 4 this year, three months after Sayeed's demise. Congress has fielded Hilal Ahmad Shah while National Conference has nominated Iftikhar Misger to take on the Chief Minister. Wednesday is the last date for filing nomination while scrutiny of papers will be conducted tomorrow. The candidates can withdraw their nomination till June 4. The voting will be held on June 19 and counting of votes on June 22. Mehbooba has been elected to the state assembly three times in the past 20 years with her first victory coming in 1996 elections from Bijbehara segment as a Congress candidate. She has never lost an Assembly election and her only electoral defeat so far was in 1999 Lok Sabha elections when she lost to arch rival and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah. She resigned from the Assembly in 1999 to float regional Peoples Democratic Party along with her father. She won the 2002 Assembly polls from Pahalgam segment in Anantnag district but resigned two years later after she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Anantnag. Her father won the bypoll to Pahalgam seat held that year. She won the 2008 assembly elections from Wachi assembly segment in south Kashmir's Shopian district and completed first full six-year term in the House till 2014. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from south Kashmir in 2014 general elections and did not contest the Assembly elections held later that year. Faced with the peculiar problem of facelessness in Uttar Pradesh, it may not be surprising if the services of Kalyan Singh who adorns the Governors chair as an octogenarian at Jaipur are requisitioned sooner rather than later by the BJP's powers, to act as the head of the partys state election campaign committee. The BJP now needs as never before a credible, well-known face that can match the charismatic influence of a Mulayam Singh Yadav or a Mayawati. And who else can fill up the blank better than the 'good, old war-horse' who had, apart from being the state chief minister twice, been the face of the saffron brigades social engineering in the wake of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement during the closing years of 1980s and all through 1990s? Indeed, there are three additional reasons why the partys central leadership is reported to have zeroed in on the old war-horse: First, being from a backward caste himself, Kalyan Singh is perceived to be quite capable of making an effective dent into Mulayam Singh Yadavs otherwise impregnable backward vote bank in the caste-conscious state of Uttar Pradesh. He had managed to do this effectively in 1991, when BJP rode to power for the first time on its own strength winning 221 of the total 425 Assembly seats in UP. Second, Kalyan Singh is known for his ultra-right wing Hindu credentials. The Hindutva poster-boy of yesteryears had never been shy of owning full responsibility for the demolition of the Babri Mosque. In fact, he considers it to be a matter of pride that his government was dismissed by the Narasimha Rao establishment at the Centre on the day the Mosque was pulled down by karsevaks in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992. In the days prior to the demolition, he had told the then union home minister that he would not let his police force fire upon the karsevaks, come what may, unlike what Mulayam Singh had done about two years ago. He seems to cherish yet another landmark in his long, turbulent political career. The Supreme Court of India had, in a contempt case, given him punishment (imprisonment for a day) for his failure to protect the Mosque despite making repeated promises before the judges. Third, the BJP doesnt have a single leader at its command who can effectively make an impact electorally even in one of the five regions of the state Eastern UP, Awadh belt, Ruhelkhand, Western UP and Bundelkhand. The current state party chief, Keshav Prasad Maurya, is a little known political entity. Past party stalwarts including Lalji Tandon and Kalraj Mishra appear to be losing relevance in state politics. Kalyan Singh is perhaps the only name that can create excitement among both friends and foes alike, polarizing politics at the pan-UP level. The BJP knows for certain that unless the state stands polarized on religious lines, it would lose the fight in this crucial state even before it begins next year. What is even more significant in this context is that the Mulayam-Akhilesh duo of the Samajwadi Party banks equally on a religiously polarized situation in the state, for the sake of survival of its Muslim-Yadav vote bank. Did you notice the new turn given to the Dadri lynching incident by the state police earlier this week? Yes, eight months after 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq was beaten to death in Dadri, following allegations of cow slaughter and beef consumption, the police which had described the meat as mutton in September last year has now told the court that it was, in fact, beef. Queer? The UP police chief, Javed Ahmad, was unruffled when he told a national news channel, Initially, we did say it was mutton but subsequently we were told by the laboratory that it was beef. It may be recalled that the Dadri incident had triggered a nationwide debate over intolerance last year. Even letting bygones be bygones, what rankles the observers minds at the present juncture is a simple question: How on earth can the same meat become mutton before the Bihar elections and then turn into beef before the ensuing UP polls? Another incident that points to fears of peace getting disturbed in this election bound state has been reported from Shamli, where local BJP leaders have threatened to hold a mahapanchayat over the failure of the police to withdraw cases against the relatives of a murdered woman. The allegation of the BJP leaders is that the police is trying to frame the victims kin in order to help two Muslim men, who have been arrested in connection with the case. If Kalyan Singh does not come to lead the BJPs election campaign in UP, anybody from an otherwise long list of probables for chief ministership Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Varun Gandhi, Yogi Adityanath, Mahesh Sharma and Sunil Bansal might be projected as the partys face in the run up to the 2017 Assembly polls. But one thing is clear: we all need to stay alert all the time. The atmosphere is getting quite vitiated. Already. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will write to the Centre asking it not to make Aadhaar cards mandatory for those working under the MNREGA scheme. Official sources said the state government was opposed to making Aadhaar must for labourers as it was estimated that only about 70 percent of them possessed Aadhaar cards. They said the Chief Minister would soon write to the central government requesting it not to make Aadhaar card compulsory till its registration was 100 per cent complete. The Trinamool Congress government also said that it wanted a discussion in Parliament and Assembly on how to conduct elections without affecting the work of the government. "The term of a government is five years but in effect it is four-and-a-half years. Even during that time we have Parliament elections, bypolls, panchayat and municipal polls. And when there is election in other states, they take officials from here. This affects work," the sources said. The sources said the state had shown the way to other states by direct transfer of money to beneficiaries in their bank accounts for its schemes like Kanyashree, Yubashree, etc. "The credit goes to the state and not the Centre," they added. At a time when BJP is plotting a Congress-mukt Bharat, India's grand old party is planning to coronate Rahul Gandhi as the president of the Congress. A top party official told News 18 said that confusion over twin leadership won't exist for a long time as his ascension to the top post is imminent. Reports suggest that the party is also planning to induct younger people and the older members will be asked to take a step back to make way for the new order. Struggling to find relevance in the current political landscape, the party hopes to gain ground just ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections with the organisational overhaul. Speculations around the elevation of the Congress vice-president has been doing the rounds for quite sometime. However, not everyone with the party are happy about the takeover by the Gandhi scion. According to News 18, many of the seniors are uncomfortable with Rahul's style of functions, want his mother to remain the president. Moreover, under Rahul's leadership have come under fire after the party's many electoral defeats. According to India Today, Rahul is finalising the list of new office bearers. A 'chintan shivir' is also in the pipepline. In fact, the report added that senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath have called for "a major surgery to remove the deadwood". A close aide to Rahul was quoted by India Today saying that the party vice-president have owned responsibilities of the recent defeats without being in full command, but all that is soon to change. Meanwhile, Sonia and Rahul cancelled their rallies in Gujarat due to poor response, reported The Times of India. Vijay Rupani, the state BJP president was quoted as saying, "The election results from six states have greatly disappointed the Congress high command." He added that the people of Gujarat are not interested in listening to the Congress leaders. In a Firstpost piece, Nalini R Mohanty wrote, the Congress predicament is such that it is wilting under the weight of anti-incumbency where it is in power and it is not able to bounce back to power where it is in the opposition. She added that the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty will be the key to the future of the party: If the leadership is incapable of infusing new zeal in what is quickly turning into a moribund party, then it will pass into history. When Henry David Thoreau wrote, If misery loves company, misery has company enough, Im sure he didnt have the current Sonia Gandhi-led Congress party in mind, but thats precisely the beauty of literature: Timeless relevance of the human condition. What's well-known is that nothing has been going right for the Congress since May 2014. Right from suffering a string of electoral slaughters, the millstones around the partys neck seem to be increasing and getting heavier. The latest is the revelation of the nexus between private Robert Vadra and arms lobbyist, Sanjay Bhandari. As the expose by Firstposts Shalini Singh and earlier ones in the same vein show Vadra is not entirely an angelic businessman. An alchemic formula Does Vadra possess a secret alchemic formula that enables him to start Sky Light Hospitality with just Rs 50 lakh as promoters capital in 2008 and buy vast tracts of real estate in and around Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan? The Celebrity Net Worth website estimates Vadras net worth at a massive $2.1 billion. Theres yet another crucial fact: as this Rediff report shows, Sky Light Hospitality had a paltry Rs 1 lakh as its paid up share capital when it began. Vadras artificial jewelry export outfit, Artex infused a loan of Rs 4.45 crores and Corporation Bank gave a generous overdraft of Rs 7.94 crores to Sky Light. The later entry of DLF is a familiar story now. In a bizarre parallel, the Rs 1 lakh figure is a common factor between Vadra and Sanjay Bhandari, whose Offset India Solutions (OIS) too, began with a paid up capital of Rs 1 lakh. Both men became billionaires almost overnight. The rise and rise of Sanjay Bhandari Sanjay Bhandaris is a truly fascinating tale. In the latest Indian Express report Bhandari has admitted that the email trail recovered from his computer was indeed that of messages exchanged between him, Robert Vadra and Vadras assistant Manoj Arora he acknowledged the exchanges on the subject of finalising interiors for an apartment in London. Indeed, the list of Bhandaris contacts includes the whos who of the then all-powerful Congress party, starting right from the First Family: Sonia Gandhi, Robert Vadra, and Sheila Dikshit. Apart from his OIS, Bhandari was also appointed as a director in the Ravi Rishi-headed Vectra Group of companies, which was the largest shareholder of Tatra Holdings, the same Tatra Holdings involved in the Rs 750 crore Tatra truck scam, which was perpetrated with the collusion of BEML and officials in the Defence Ministry. The beginnings of Bhandaris deep penetration into the Defence Ministry can be traced back to 2010 when he booked a stall at a defence expo in Delhis Pragati Maidan, according to this extensive report by the Hindustan Times. However, it was only in 2012 that he struck gold when the Swiss firm Pilatus engaged OIS and won a Rs 4000-crore basic trainer aircraft contract from the Defence Ministry. His stall at that years defence expo attracted the bigwigs, including Robert Vadra. We can track his business trajectory by sampling these: - In September-October 2010, Bhandari received one million Swiss Francs from Pilatus even before the basic trainer contract was awarded. - Between 2009-14, he received a total of Rs 69 crores from as many as 35 shell companies. - In 2012, the South Korean firm KAI had lodged a protest with the Defence Ministry over the selection of Pilatus as the lowest bidder. KAI was also in the race for bagging the basic trainer contract. - A Hindustan Times investigation revealed that when HT randomly picked 10 out of the 35 companies from which Bhandaris group received payments and found that their office addresses listed with the registrar of companies (RoC) were fake. - The Rs 69 crore came from a hawala operator named Deepak Aggarwal whos also being probed in a case involving funding to the Aam Aadmi Party. Equally, the role of media management comes in focus in this case as it did in AugustaWestland, where a huge chunk of slush fund was allocated for the purpose. To quote the Outlook expose on Bhandari, A senior, Delhi-based journalist with an English daily is also under the scanner. His call data records show that he made at least 478 calls to Bhandari. Now, recall the earlier mention of Sanjay Bhandaris contacts and read this: "In fact, Bhadaris contact list was so impressive that after the I-T raids, he could send word to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through two influential people to explore possibility of immunity in exchange of information. However, his request received a cold response and he went into a shell, deserted by his powerful friends, including Cabinet ministers, senior intelligence officials, industrialists, senior judicial functionaries and power brokers." If anything, this is the most obvious evidence of the manner in which Bhandari had penetrated the highest levels of the government, and the fact that he still had enough clout enough to send out feelers to the Prime Minister himself. And, equally obvious, that those who wielded the levers of the power till 2014 had full knowledge of and in some cases, facilitated his endeavours. Is Sonia Gandhi nervous? This perhaps explains the nervous haste with which Sonia Gandhi jumped in to defend her son-in-law, an act which this Firstpost report aptly characterizes as a strange outburst from a party leader who doesn't speak to the media very often, but on this occasion spoke at length in defence of Vadra, who isn't even a party member. There have been almost no instances in the last 12 years where Sonia has taken Vadras name even when he began speaking out of turn about his political ambitions or that he doesnt need to depend on Priyanka Vadra, etc. And now, by suddenly, emphatically rising to his defence, does she tacitly admit that Vadra too, is a member of the Congress party? Clearly, Sonia Gandhi understands the damaging political ramifications. Indeed, the path of the serial electoral losses, the NH and Augusta cases, and now Vadra, has terminated directly at the doorstep of the dynasty. Unlike in the past, it appears that this time, even if the party so wishes, the possibility of finding a scapegoat is non-existent. Perhaps for the first time, Sonia Gandhi has displayed her nervousness openly. She is named in the Italian High Court judgment on AugustaWestland. Sanjay Bhandari too, is being investigated in the same case. Her accusations of conspiracy and false allegations sound empty for three reasons. One, because its an old diversionary tactic each time the Congress is out of power whether in the states or at the Centre. Two, the phenomenal blow it received in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls indicate a fundamental shift in the mood and aspirations of the Indian electorate propelled primarily by the national outrage against the decade-long UPA misrule. Three, because theres no way Sonia Gandhi couldnt have known what was happening both within the party and the government. Indeed, its pertinent to recall these bits from Natwar Singhs One Life is not Enough: "Nothing happens in the Congress without the knowledge and the nod of Sonia Gandhi. This is power without responsibility and backseat driving with impunity there was a mole in his office who supplied information to the Congress President" Sonia Gandhis current state of barely-concealed anxiety over the Bhandari revelations also reveals itself in her usage of Congress-mukt Bharat, a phrase devised and popularised by Narendra Modi. An oft-repeated tenet in most tomes on politics and statecraft goes like this: You know that the opponent has imposed his/her will upon you, when you start invoking the same phrases and the language that he/she uses while referring to you. Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today announced a Rs 54.65 crore package to Cauvery Delta farmers including a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per acre for using modern equipment, to achieve higher yield and increase short-term 'kuruvai' paddy crop cultivation. Like in previous four years, 12-hour power would be supplied to six Cauvery Delta districts, including Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam, for agriculture, she said in a release in Chennai. At an outlay of Rs 40 crore, a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per acre would be directly transferred to the bank accounts of farmers who take up Kuruvai cultivation through farm implements. Jayalalithaa announced the package after chairing a high-level meeting in which Agriculture Minister R Duraikannu, and top state officials participated. She said the storage in Mettur Dam, the lifeline of delta farmers, was only 45.82 feet with storage of 15.281 TMC. Even if the state received 10 TMC water from Karnataka, being its entitlement for June, there will be only 61 feet and hence water could not be released for Kuruvai season. "The six Cauvery Delta Districts have received sufficient rainfall in the current summer season and it has led to a rise in the ground water table.I have ordered measures to encourage farmers to go in for large scale Kuruvai crop cultivation," the Chief Minister said. She said farmers will be encouraged to go in for timely paddy planting work by deploying farm implements, and by using the system for Rice Intensification. SRI envisages less water utilisation while fetching a higher yield. Similarly, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes will be provided at 100 per cent subsidy to efficaciously use ground water resources and increase the Kuruvai cultivation area. Micro-nutrients will be provided at 100 per cent subsidy which will be Rs 170 per acre for 50,000 acres of land that face nutrient deficiency. Also, zinc sulphate will be provided to one lakh acres of land and for this purpose a subsidy of Rs 400 will be given to farmers and Rs 4.85 crore will be allotted for it, she said. For the benefit of farmers where there are not adequate numbers of borewells and who had not carried out Kuruvai cultivation in the past several years, subsidy for seed will be given so that they could go in for short term millet (green gram) cultivation in 15,000 acres, she said. Besides, a subsidy of Rs 1,400 per acre will be given for millet cultivation and an allocation of Rs 2.10 crore will be made for it. Similarly seeds will be given at 100 per cent subsidy for farmers in the Cauvery tail end regions at an allocation of Rs 5.70 Crore. "These measures will entail an expenditure of Rs 54.65 crore," she said adding due to these measures farmers will be able to get higher yield and go in for kuruvai crop cultivation in more areas. Chandigarh: As speculation raged over the issue, Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that time is right for Rahul Gandhi to take over from his mother as Congress President and favoured Priyanka's entry into active politics. "Sonia Gandhi is a brilliant leader. I have said that she has been working (as Congress President) for the last 20 years. If she feels that time has come to give it to a new generation, then she should pass it on and we will fully support Rahul (to take over)," he told a press conference in Chandigarh. He was replying to a question whether time has come for Congress Vice-President to take over from Sonia Gandhi. Singh said, "Look, she has not talked to me (on the issue). But what we are coming to know is that she is now feeling that the time has come for a new generation (to take over), which everyone today is saying. "We are also saying so that 70 percent of India's population is under the age of 40. She also knows this, may be she feels she would like to hand it over to the new generation. I think there is nothing wrong in it." Asked if Rahul could take over this month itself, Amarinder said, "look, I do not know this. If Sonia wants to hand it over to Rahul ji, I think everybody will support". About Sonia, he said, "she has worked really hard. Let me tell you the amount of work she has put in since 1997, it is amazing". "Her way of work has been very intensive..Now, if she is feeling that the time has come for her to handover the baton to somebody else, then we must honour what she wants. I think we have gained so much from her over the last 20 years that if she herself wants to leave, then we must honour what she wants," he said. Asked if this will become a benchmark for party leaders who are over 70 years of age to quit in favour of younger generation, Amarinder replied, "No, its not a benchmark, everyone has his or her time. And everyone gets tired after a while. "I have also announced that I am not going to fight another election. Why because I have done 47 years now." Amarinder Singh is leading the Congress' campaign ahead of crucial 2017 Punjab assembly elections, where the opposition party is eyeing to wrest power from the SAD-BJP combine. About Rahul Gandhi, Amarinder Singh said, "I have been interacting with Rahul as Vice-President. Executive decisions are being taken by him. I find him very perceptive, he asks pertinent questions and he agrees what you say, if he feels it is right." "Sonia is a brilliant leader, but you know we have to give (pause). Why am I wanting to quit (fighting 2017 as last elections), because I think enough is enough. I think the new generation has emerged and the baton should be passed to the new generation," he said. "Similarly, I think Soniaji wants to do the same. Nobody is asking her to handover (the baton). It is her own thinking that she would like Rahul to take over. And that of course when the matter is put before the party, I am sure we will all endorse Rahul," he said. Asked if he has full faith in Rahul's leadership, the former Punjab CM further said, "I have been interacting with him on many occasions. Everybody learns and I think in the last 4-5 years, he has learnt a lot. I am meeting him even tomorrow." When asked if he will make a good leader, he replied, "I am sure he will make a good leader." He also added that Rahul belongs to a family in which politics runs in its blood right from Moti Lal Nehru to Jawahar Lal Nehru to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. When asked what about Priyanka Gandhi, he said, "I hope she will come into (active politics). I have always suggested that she must come into this thing. She will be a great asset to the Congress President and the Vice-President." Asked if Rahul will get full support of the party, he said, "why not. There is a system of take over, it is not Amarinder Singh announcing or Sonia ji announcing, the party will meet on the issue." Damascus: At least 15 Syrian civilians were killed in the past 24 hours by US-led airstrikes against the city of Manbej, which is controlled by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, a monitor group reported. The victims in the countryside in Syria's northern Aleppo city were from two families, and three children were killed by the US-led anti-terror coalition airstrikes, Xinhua cited the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying. The airstrikes were supporting the advance of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rebels, who are fighting to reclaim Manbej from the IS, as part of a new military offensive recently unleashed to strip the IS from their key posts in northern Syria. The British watchdog group said the SDF raided 16 villages near Manbej in the past few hours and were supported by the US coalition air fleet. Beijing: Mothers of some of those killed in the bloody crackdown on China's 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy movement are condemning the Chinese government for failing to account for their children's deaths and vowing to continue pushing for the truth ahead of this weekend's 27th anniversary of the events. Signed by 131 mothers and published by the advocacy group Human Rights in China, the letter said victims' families continue to suffer from harassment and intimidation by Chinese security services for pursuing their quest for justice for their loved ones. "For 27 years, the police have been the ones who have dealt with us. For 27 years, we, the victims' families, are eavesdropped and surveilled upon by the police," the letter said. "The police use contemptible means, such as making up stories, fabricating facts, issuing threats, etc., against us." While such treatment "undoubtedly desecrates the souls of those who perished," the mothers, who along with their families and supporters have become known as the Tiananmen Mothers group over the years, said they were convinced their campaign will eventually produce a full and objective reckoning of the events. The letter condemns the Chinese government for its apathy, accusing Beijing of ignoring pleas by family members and wiping out public memories of the movement and the bloody crackdown on the night of 3 and 4 June 1989, in which hundreds, possibly thousands were killed. The government says it was correct to send in troops and tanks to quell it, saying it was a violent uprising against Communist Party rule, and has rejected all calls for an investigation or even to permit discussion of the events. Most of the main student protest leaders who fled aboard after the crackdown are still forbidden from returning home. The letter was partially prompted by tightening security following the death of Jiang Peikun, husband of Ding Zilin, one of the most prominent Tiananmen mothers, said Yin Min, a fellow Tiananmen mother and signee of the letter. "It feels that there's no end in sight. We are all at ages where death can happen any day, and we'd like to see the truth revealed and justice upheld while we are still alive," said Yin, whose 19-year-old son, Ye Weihang, was killed in the crackdown. "We believe we have the obligation and the right to tell the public how we have lived those 27 years and to urge the government to take action," Yin said over the phone. Ding, whose 17-year-old son Jiang Jielian died in the crackdown, declined to be interviewed when reached by phone on Wednesday. As the face of the group, she has been subject to the most stringent restrictions. Each year's anniversary brings a tightening of such measures, with family members confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing. Ignored by China's entirely state-controlled media, they are forbidden from publicly commemorating the deaths of their loved ones. Despite that, the letter continued to express faith that justice will eventually come. "We use our immense maternal love to declare publicly to future generations: do not succumb to brute force, confront all evil forces with courage, and justice will prevail," the letter read. Camp Tariq: As Iraqi forces pressed an offensive on Tuesday to dislodge Islamic State militants from Fallujah, conditions are worsening for tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the city, and a leading aid group raised alarm over an unfolding "human catastrophe." IS fighters launched a fierce counterattack on the southern edge of the city, slowing the progress of the elite Iraqi counterterrorism troops, and the militants reportedly corralled civilians into a single neighborhood for use as human shields. With an estimated 50,000 civilians still inside Fallujah, humanitarian groups renewed calls on both sides to open safe corridors for noncombatants to flee an action that seems unlikely because it would require negotiations between IS and the Iraqi forces to agree on a cessation of hostilities. In addition, Iraqi authorities want to prevent IS fighters from escaping the city by melting into the fleeing civilian population. Iraqi forces repelled the four-hour counterattack a day after entering the southern part of Fallujah with the help of US-led airstrikes. The dawn attack unfolded in the Nuaimiya area, most of which was captured by Iraqi troops on Monday, two special forces officers told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. IS militants used tunnels and snipers, and targeted Iraqi forces with six explosives-laden cars that were destroyed before they reached their targets, the officers said. Iraqi forces suffered casualties, but no details were given. The clashes subsided by Tuesday afternoon, but the officers said progress was slowed by roadside bombs the militants left behind. The troops also paused to destroy tunnels in the area. Since Monday, 106 militants have been killed, the officers said. The push into Nuaimiya, a sprawling agricultural area, was the first attempt by Iraqi forces to enter Fallujah, which fell to IS in 2014. In recent days, Iraqi forces had focused on expelling the militants from outlying areas to tighten a siege on the city, which is 40 miles (65 km) west of Baghdad. The Sunni majority city was the first in Iraq to fall to IS and is the last major urban area controlled by the extremist group in western Iraq. The Sunni-led militants still control the country's second-largest city, Mosul, in the north. The US-led coalition and Iranian-backed Shiite militia forces are helping the Iraqi army in the offensive. But the fight is expected to be protracted because the militants have had more than two years to dig in, hidden bombs are believed to be strewn throughout the city, and the presence of trapped civilians will limit the use of supporting airstrikes. "A human catastrophe is unfolding in Fallujah," said Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Only one family managed to escape the town yesterday, he said. Since the offensive began more than a week ago, 554 other families have fled areas surrounding Fallujah. "Warring parties must guarantee civilians safe exit now, before it's too late and more lives are lost," Egeland added. GARMA VILLAGE, Iraq Desperate for food and water, residents are fleeing the Iraqi city of Falluja as Islamist militants seek to fend off an assault by the army, only for hundreds to be detained by the authorities on suspicion of siding with those they are escaping. A week after Baghdad announced the start of its offensive on Falluja, its troops advanced into the city limits for the first time on Monday, pouring into rural territory on its southern outskirts but stopping short of the main built-up area. By Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called a pause to the advance because of concerns about the safety of the tens of thousands of people still believed trapped inside. Residents who fled Falluja ahead of the army's attack and were sheltering in a village school nearby said that while they are glad to escape Islamic State militants, they now feared for hundreds of men and boys detained by the army. "Don't treat us like we are Daesh," said 54-year-old Mahdi Fayyadh, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Fayyadh, who lost a leg to diabetes while under Islamic State's rule due to a lack of medication, said he fled the city with 11 family members after the assault began. His relatives helped him to walk on crutches. But once they reached army lines, the other men in the group were separated from the rest and detained. He was left vulnerable, with nobody to help him walk. "I already lost a leg," Fayyadh said, a battered pair of crutches leaning against his shoulder. "I ask all the good people to not treat us like they (the militants) treated us." The government says it has no choice but to screen fleeing men and boys to prevent Islamic State fighters from escaping among civilians, and that it carries out the screening as quickly and with as much care for those detained as is possible on the battlefield. SECURITY SCREENING The United Nations said on Tuesday around 500 men and boys over 12 years old from Falluja were being held by the authorities, in a screening process meant to take up to seven days. About 30 were released on Monday, it said. Conditions in detention centres in Anbar province are known to be squalid. Last month, London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International said people as young as 15 were being held in "inhumane and degrading conditions". Fayyadh said he just hoped his detained relatives' screening would be over soon so they could together leave the school where he was housed in Garma, a village east of Falluja. The authorities are using the school to shelter 1,500 refugees. "I hope that the security commanders hurry up with the security screening of my relatives, so that we can move to other areas that have services and we don't stay here crowded with little food and medicine," he said. Falluja, where U.S. troops fought their biggest battles after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, is the militants' closest stronghold to Baghdad, and thought to be the base for their campaign of suicide bombings on the capital less than an hour's drive away. It was the first Iraqi city where Islamic State raised its flag in 2014, before sweeping through most Sunni Muslim parts of the country in the months that followed. The Shi'ite-led Baghdad government faces the task not only of driving out the militants but of winning over the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim population. Shi'ite militias assisting the army in its offensive have said they will take part only in the encirclement of Falluja, to avoid fanning sectarian tension. Government forces and allies began a siege on the city six months ago during which the humanitarian situation has deteriorated. Now they have begun to try to retake Falluja, the United Nations has warned that tens of thousands are trapped inside, lacking food, drinking water and medicine. HUMAN SHIELDS The United Nations says the militants are forcing civilians to serve as human shields, a tactic they have employed in other locations in Iraq. At least 20,000 children are trapped inside the city, facing the risks of forced recruitment or separation from their families, the United Nations said. [L8N18T0D9] At the shelter in Garma, some escaped residents said they had been forced apart from their relatives by the militants. Holding a baby in her arms, 40-year-old Umm Salam said Islamic State fighters had used the men of her village as human shields as the army closed in on them last week. The militants moved her and her family to another house in the village, Umm Salam said. "We remained trapped in the house for five days without food." They were freed when Iraqi security forces captured the village. Hassan Farhan Salih, a 45-year-old school head, said that as shortages in Falluja become more acute in recent months, militants had pressured residents to provide them with money and food. "They demanded produce from farmers and cattle from herders," he said. A group of older men sitting with Salih inside the Garma school nodded in agreement. Once the militants took $4,000 from him with which he was going to pay for a used car, he said. The unfolding offensive could determine the fate of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose government is in turmoil as months of political deadlock drag on. He has repeatedly promised that civilians would not be harmed. The fate of those taken by Islamic State is more uncertain than those being held by the authorities. Umm Salam does not know if she will see her male relatives again. "We don't know if they're alive or dead." (Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New Delhi: Australia said on Wednesday, as it has concluded the nuclear agreement with India, the supply of uranium will begin in a short period of time. Australian High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu said that concluding contracts and supply can take some time but active engagement is underway on supplying uranium to India. "I am hopeful that we will see contracts concluded and supply start in a relatively short span of time," she said at a ICRIER seminar on trade liberalisation in New Delhi. The Australia-India nuclear cooperation agreement permits Australian companies to commence commercial uranium exports to India. Australia has about 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves and exports nearly 7,000 tonnes of yellow cake annually. India and Australia began talks on the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2012 after it lifted a long-standing ban on selling uranium to energy-starved India. India, which has nuclear energy contributing just 3 per cent of its electricity generation, will be the first country to buy Australian uranium without being a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. When asked Australia's stand on India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), she said that her government is "very very supportive" of India's entry into NSG. "We very much want to see India enter, engage and to make the contribution in the group," she added. India has been eyeing to get entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group Boston: A burlesque dancer said that JetBlue employees at Boston's Logan International Airport forced her to change clothes before she was allowed to board a connecting flight to Seattle. The 26-year-old dancer who uses the stage name Maggie McMuffin, told The Boston Globe she was waiting for her 18 May flight when a JetBlue employee requested that she change out of her high-waisted shorts or risk not being admitted onto the plane. McMuffin says her black-and-white short-shorts "covered everything" and her body was "90 percent" covered, given that she was also wearing thigh-high socks and a sweater. JetBlue spokesman Doug McGraw said that airline employees discussed McMuffin's clothing and determined it might offend families on the flight. McMuffin complied but called it embarrassing and vowed to never fly JetBlue again. Beijing: Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) is set to issue its first yuan-denominated bonds, and is eyeing future funding for infrastructure projects. The bank was founded in July 2014 by the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to finance sustainable development in the emerging markets and developing countries, the China Daily reported on Wednesday. Its first five-year yuan-denominated bonds, also referred as green bonds, will be issued after receiving a rating from international ratings agencies as well as getting authorities' approval, said Paolu Nogueira Batista, the bank's vice-president for economic research, strategy and partnerships and chief risk officer. Batista outlined the bank's plans on Monday at the closing ceremony of the Shanghai Forum, an annual meeting of officials, academics, business chiefs and world opinion leaders, that discusses issues such as business solutions and social governance. Batista said that more bonds denominated in local currencies of the BRICS countries, including the rupee in India, will be issued if the bank's board and local authorities endorse the project plans. He said that as a result local investors will be more engaged in projects financing sustainable development because they will be exposed to less currency exchange volatility with bonds issued in local currencies. The NDB announced its first batch of loans on 16 April, providing $300 million to Brazil, $81 million to China, $250 million to India and $180 million to South Africa. So far, the projects the bank has been working on are all financing sustainable energy projects, such as solar power and hydropower, an initiative that is included in the bank's articles of agreement. Batista said local investors will be more engaged in projects financing sustainable development because they will be exposed to less currency exchange volatility as bonds are issued in local currencies. He said these would benefit the projects as well as sustainability in these markets in the long run. Ambitious yet humble, the bank has been working with efficiency and neutrality, and aims to become a global lender that helps the developing countries to grow in a sustainable manner, Batista said. "Each loan modality is different based on project-specific features and borrower preferences. Government approvals, where necessary, will be sought as part of follow-up procedures," the daily quoted the bank statement as saying. Batista said that although the bank's founding countries (BRICS) have been facing challenges of economic growth at different levels, be they slowdown or recession, this condition would not affect the NDB's long-term plan and commitment to finance sustainable growth. India is the only country among the BRICS countries whose GDP continues to grow above seven per cent while the rest of the economies including that of China reported sharp slowdown. Chinese economy slipped to 6.9 per cent last year. The NDB aims to be a global lender instead of being limited to being an institution for just a handful of countries, Batista said. It wants to expand and be involved in more countries in the future, on condition that the emerging markets and developing countries take a majority of shares and voting rights in the bank, he said. Beijing: China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in which India and 56 other countries joined as founding members said it will expand its membership to nearly 100 countries and regions by year-end as it prepares to announce its first round of investment projects this month. Some 30 countries are waiting to join the AIIB and 20 of them have expressed "firm commitment", AIIB President Jin Liqun was quoted as saying by state-run China Daily today. While the US and Japan have declined to join the bank, Jin said all countries would work together, regardless of the bank membership. "The door will remain open," Jin said, adding that US and Japanese companies will be treated equally and fairly by the AIIB. Jin said the bank will announce its first round of infrastructure projects this month, and the second and third rounds by the end of the year. The bank will extend funding to non-Asian countries with "strong economic relations" with the continent and from physical infrastructure projects to sectors including education, healthcare, and urban planning and management, he said. The bank plans to holds the first meeting of the board of governors here on 25 June. Beijing-based AIIB was officially established late last year with authorised capital of $100 billion. China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 percent voting shares. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 percent followed by Russia 5.93 percent and Germany with 4.5 percent. It prioritises investment in energy, power generation, transportation, rural infrastructure, environmental protection and logistics, Jin said. Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping met a visiting North Korean delegation on Wednesday, state media reported, in an apparent attempt by Pyongyang to mend frayed ties with its powerful neighbour. Although the official Xinhua News Agency did not give the names of those in the delegation, the encounter comes on the heels of a rare visit Tuesday by top North Korean politician Ri Su Yong, vice chairman of the country's ruling Workers' Party and former foreign minister. China is North Korea's largest trading partner and has been its key diplomatic protector for decades. But relations have soured following Pyongyang's internationally-condemned nuclear tests, with Beijing supporting UN sanctions against the hermit kingdom. UN resolutions ban North Korea from using any ballistic missile technology, although it regularly fires short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast. Ri Su Yong met Chinese official Song Tao on Tuesday, head of the international department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, to brief him on the North's once-in-a-generation party congress, according to the CCP. The isolated nation held its first party congress for nearly 40 years in early May, formally endorsing leader Kim Jong-Un's policy of expanding the country's nuclear arsenal. The lack of any official Chinese representation at the congress was viewed as a sign of friction between the two traditional allies. Kim has not visited China since coming to power and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has not visited Pyongyang. Washington: As the US presidential election draws closer, political commentators have begun to speculate upon likely scenarios with the passage of each day and the newest theory is very interesting. A recent comment by political analyst Douglas E Schoen, writing in The Wall Street Journal, says there was now more than a theoretical chance that Hillary Clinton may not be the Democratic nominee for the US presidential elections. The inevitability behind Clintons nomination will be in large measure eviscerated if she loses the 7 June California primary to Bernie Sanders. That could well happen, he writes. A recent PPIC poll shows Clinton with a two per cent lead over Sanders, and a Fox News survey found the same result. Even a narrow win would give Sanders 250 pledged delegates or more a significant boost. California is clearly trending to Sanders, data from mid-May show that there were nearly 1.5 million newly registered Democratic voters in California since 1 January. Thats a 218 percent increase in Democratic voter registrations compared with the same period in 2012, a strongly encouraging sign for Sanders, the commentator figured out. A Sanders win in California would powerfully underscore Clintons weakness as a candidate in the general election. Democratic superdelegates chosen by the party establishment and overwhelmingly backing Clinton 543-44 would seriously question whether they should continue to stand behind her candidacy, he asked. In recent weeks, the perception that Clinton would be the strongest candidate against Donald Trump has evaporated. The Real Clear Politics polling average has Clinton in a statistical tie with Trump, and recent surveys from ABC News/Washington Post and Fox News show her two and three points behind him, respectively. Clinton also faces growing legal problems. The State Department Inspector Generals recent report on Clintons use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State made it abundantly clear that she broke rules and has been far from forthright in her public statements. The damning findings buttressed concerns within the party that Clinton and her aides may not get through the governments investigation without a finding of culpability somewhere. There are increasing rumblings within the party about how a new candidate could emerge at the convention. John Kerry, the 2004 nominee, is one possibility. But the most likely scenario is that Vice President Joe Biden who has said that he regrets every day his decision not to run enters the race, the comment reads. While questioning President Barack Obama, the writer adds that so far he has largely stayed out of the campaign, other than to say that he does not believe Clinton compromised national security with her home-brew email server. BRUSSELS The European Union put more pressure on Poland's eurosceptic government on Wednesday to scrap changes to its supreme court, in a test of the EU's power to impose democratic standards on ex-communist members in the east. The European Commission's decision to issue a formal complaint to Warsaw, a step in the EU's new and untried Rule of Law process, prompted Poland's justice minister to denounce a "one-sided opinion showing a distorted image". The warning was announced by the EU's main negotiator, Frans Timmermans, the deputy head of the European Commission. It comes after months of fruitless diplomacy since Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party won elections in October and imposed changes on the Constitutional Court and the Polish public broadcaster. "Despite our best efforts, until now we have not been able yet to find solutions," Timmermans told reporters. He stressed dialogue would go on and would not speculate on penalties for Poland. It is by far the biggest of the former Soviet satellites that joined the EU a decade ago and a powerful player in the 28-nation bloc, which is bracing for upheaval if Britain votes to leave in a referendum this month. Under a procedure adopted two years ago after a frustrating battle between the EU and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Poland has two weeks to respond to the formal "opinion". If more talks fail, the commission can recommend its own solution and set a deadline to implement it. Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski said Poland was ready for discussion of "anti-crisis scenarios" to ease EU concern that an increase in the number of judges needed for a ruling, a rejection of pending judicial nominees and other government decisions have undermined the court's independence. But, Szymanski said, the government would not agree to measures that would disappoint its supporters in parliament: "(They) must be in line with the parliamentary majority's expectations," he said. "That is the most important thing." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Brussels: "Democracy is more than a parliamentary majority. It's also about civil society." EU DILEMMAS More deadlock could trigger the "nuclear option" of fellow EU states launching a suspension procedure. Warsaw could lose its voting rights in the Union and possibly suffer other penalties, such as a loss of grants and subsidies. However, Orban for one has already said he would veto the unanimity required for that under Article 7 of the EU treaty. And EU leaders are loath to deepen an east-west split created by the refusal of Poland, Hungary and others to take in large numbers of refugees to ease the migration crisis in the bloc. That may leave the EU again assailed by rights activists, who complain that it has failed to uphold aspects of European democratic values, and at the same criticised by increasingly vocal eurosceptic movements for meddling in national affairs. Viviane Reding, a former EU justice commissioner who battled with Orban, approved of her successors' move to enforce the rules. All states had signed treaties whose fundamental values were "indivisible," she said. "When one member state disrespects them, this concerns us all," she told Reuters. EU leaders recognise, however, that the treaties give them few powers over each other unless the decisions are unanimous. As a result, senior officials in Brussels, when pressed on what may happen next in Poland, stress the role of Poles themselves. "The solution is in their hands," said Reding, now a member of the European Parliament. "The solution is in Poland." (Additional reporting by Adrian Krajewski and Wiktor Szary; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Larry King) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Kabul: Taliban militants stormed a court complex in the Afghan city of Ghazni on Wednesday, clashing with police in which 10 people, including all five of the militants, were killed, police said. Twelve others, including a woman, were also wounded in the attack, TOLONews reported. The attack took place in Ghazni city after the suicide bombers attacked the court. A gunfight ensued, which resulted in the death of all attackers, the provincial police chief, Aminullah Amarkhil said. "The first attacker wanted to detonate a car bomb near the Appeal Court to open a way for other attackers (but was stopped by security). Security forces defused the bomb. All other attackers were killed when they attacked security forces," Amarkhil said. "The head of the Appeal Court was also slightly injured in the attack," he added. The attack came days after the Taliban, who are fighting to topple the government of President Ashraf Ghani, vowed to seek revenge for the death in a US drone attack of their chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. Kabul: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said Pakistan should opt for friendship and brotherhood instead of violence in order to help boost relations between the two neighbours. The remarks came after Karzai had a meeting with a team of Pakistani journalists who visited the country as part of the Equal Access programme. The former President thanked Pakistan for supporting the Afghan people who were forced to take refuge there and insisted that establishment of an environment of trust between the governments of the two nations was key to maintaining good relations. The remark by Karzai comes as Afghan officials have long been criticising Pakistan for supporting anti-government groups including the Taliban fighting in Afghanistan. Kabul has often said that Pakistan allows the militant groups, including the Taliban and Haqqani terrorist network, to use its soil as a safe haven from where they plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan. German prosecutors are investigating claims by 26 women that they were sexually harassed at a music festival in the western city of Darmstadt at the weekend and police have arrested three men with Pakistani backgrounds, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. By late on Tuesday, 26 women had come forward and 14 formal complaints had been made. "The women complained that they were surrounded by small groups of men who then touched them inappropriately," the spokesman said, adding the matter was now with prosecutors. The incident has set off alarm bells in Germany after mass sexual attacks on women at New Year's Eve in Cologne, which fuelled a backlash against Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy. Hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the Cologne train station and police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance. Darmstadt police said they had on Sunday arrested three male suspects aged between 28 and 31. Two are seeking asylum, and a third is also from Pakistan but has been living in Germany for a long time. It is unclear if he was also seeking asylum. More women came forward once they heard about the arrests at the four-day music festival which attracted a total of 300,000-400,000 people, the spokesman said. Despite a fall in her own and her conservative party's popularity since her welcome to migrants, Merkel told Bunte magazine that even with hindsight, she would allow people in humanitarian need to enter Germany again, as she did last year. "I recommend anyone who is fearful to take the opportunity to personally get to know someone who has fled to us. These are people who have experienced and suffered a lot and have their worries and hopes just as much as we do," she told Bunte. Nay Pyi Taw: A total of 129 out of 249 Myanmar fishermen, who had served their prison terms in India after being detained for illegally entering territorial waters, were released and have returned home, officials said on Wednesday. The return of the first batch of the fishermen, detained at Open Distress Camp of India, came after several rounds of negotiations with the Indian authorities, Xinhua news agency reported. They arrived at the Yangon International Airport late Tuesday, the officials said, adding that the remaining fishermen will return on Thursday by a chartered flight. The Myanmar fishermen were arrested by the Indian Navy while floating in the territorial waters of India due to a storm and engine failure. Tokyo: India will move up "rapidly" on the Ease of Doing Business ranking within a couple of years following an array of reforms undertaken by the government to ease rules, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday. India ranks at 130th out of 189 economies on the World Bank's Doing Business report, which is topped by Singapore as the easiest country in which to do business. Though India has moved four places up, it ranks way below China, which is placed at 84th position. "India has taken a number of steps to ease doing business and I have not the least doubt that over the next 1-2 years we will move up more rapidly in the Ease of Doing Business ranking," he said at a conference organised by Institute of International Economic Studies. Jaitley, on a six-day investor wooing tour of Japan, said India's taxation system required some more reforms. "Major reforms are underway as far as direct tax system is concerned. It is work in progress because all exemptions have to be phased out and corporate tax has to be brought down to 25 per cent (from current 30 per cent)," he said. Stating that retrospective taxation can no longer visit an investor investing in India, he said that any form of unpredictability or surprise is being done away with. He advised Japanese investors, wanting to invest in India, to be "very patient. "It will pay to be very patient. As you say the Japanese companies have been very patient." A combination of Japanese innovation and technology with human resource of India can be rewarding in a market as big as India where the purchasing power of that market was rising. "And therefore the Japanese companies have a lot to look forward to as far as the Indian market is concerned," he said. India, he said, is passing through a phase where the per capita income of every Indian is going to increase significantly over the next decade. "With the purchasing power increasing...I think this is the right time for those who haven't entered India to enter India. The markets are open, the entry has been made far easier and wide open and as a fast growing economy in the world those who don't look at Indian market will miss a great opportunity," he added. SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS OF FALLUJA, Iraq Iraq has delayed its assault on the city of Falluja because of fears for the safety of civilians, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday, as his forces halted at the city's edge in the face of ferocious resistance from Islamic State fighters. Abadi's decision to halt, two days after elite Iraqi troops poured into the city's rural southern outskirts, postpones what was expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State. The government, backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, has vowed to win back the first major Iraqi city that fell to the group in 2014. "It would have been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't among our priorities," Abadi told military commanders at the operations room near the frontline in footage broadcast on state television. "Thank God, our units are at the outskirts of Falluja and victory is within reach." Falluja has been a bastion of the Sunni insurgency that fought both the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government. Islamic State fighters raised their flag there in 2014 before sweeping through much of Iraq's north and west. Abadi first announced plans to assault Falluja 10 days ago. But with 50,000 civilians still believed trapped inside the city, the United Nations has warned that militants are holding hundreds of families in the centre as human shields. After heavy resistance from Islamic State fighters, the troops have not moved over the past 48 hours, keeping their positions in Falluja's mainly rural southern suburb of Naimiya, according to a Reuters TV crew reporting from the area. Explosions from shelling and air strikes as well as heavy gunfire could be heard on Wednesday morning in the city that lies 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad. Falluja is the second-largest Iraqi city still under control of the Sunni militants, after Mosul, their de facto capital in the north that had a pre-war population of about 2 million. Abadi's initial decision to assault Falluja appears to have gone against the plans of his U.S. allies, who would prefer the government concentrate on Mosul, rather than risk getting bogged down in a potentially drawn out fight for a smaller, potentially hostile Sunni Muslim stronghold like Falluja. "You do not need Falluja in order to get Mosul," a spokesman for a U.S.-led anti-IS coalition, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, said in a phone interview ten days ago when the government first announced its plans to recapture Falluja. However, Falluja is Islamic State's closest bastion to Baghdad, believed to be the base from which militants have staged a campaign of suicide bombings in the capital that has increased pressure on Abadi to act to improve security. BAGHDAD BOMBS PRESSURE ABADI Abadi, a member of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, is trying to hold a ruling coalition together in the face of public protests against an entrenched political class. He has called for politicians to set aside differences and rally behind the army during the Falluja offensive. Falluja would be the third major city in Iraq recaptured by the government after former dictator Saddam Hussein's home town Tikrit and Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's vast western Anbar province. Falluja lies in Anbar on the highway from Baghdad to Ramadi, and capturing it would give the government control of the main population centres of the fertile Euphrates River valley west of the capital for the first time in two years. The United States is leading a coalition conducting air strikes in support of the Iraqi government offensive, and says it is having success in rolling back Islamic State both in Iraq and in Syria. Shi'ite militia groups backed by Iran are also taking part in the offensive against Islamic State, but say they are holding back from participating in the main assault on Falluja to avoid inflaming sectarian tension. "EXTREME VIOLENCE" Although most of Falluja's population is believed to have fled during six months of siege, 50,000 people are still thought to be trapped inside with limited access to food, water or healthcare. The United Nations' children's agency on Wednesday said at least 20,000 children remain in Falluja. "We are concerned over the protection of children in the face of extreme violence," UNICEF Representative in Iraq Peter Hawkins said in a statement. "Children face the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting" inside the besieged city, and "separation from their families" if they manage to leave, he added. The World Food Programme said the humanitarian situation in the city was worsening as family food stocks were depleting, pushing prices to a level few can afford. "The city is inaccessible for assistance and market distribution systems remain offline," the WFP said. "The only food available does not come from the markets, but from the stocks that some families still have in their homes." (writing by Maher Chmaytelli and Peter Millership; editing by Peter Graff) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Amman, Jordan: Jordan's new Prime Minister Hani Mulki formed his government on Wednesday to prepare for legislative elections following the dissolution of parliament, the royal palace announced. The 65-year-old, who has held several ministerial posts, is expected to push for business-friendly policies to revive Jordan's lagging economy. He was appointed by King Abdullah II following the resignation of his predecessor Abdullah Nsur in line with the constitution after the end of parliament's four-year term on Sunday. Mulki will also hold the defence portfolio. The king swore in the new cabinet of 28 ministers, among them 17 newcomers including four women. Several key posts were unchanged, including Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Interior Minister Salamah Hammad and Finance Minister Omar Malhas, a former investment banker. Salama Hammad was named interior minister, a post he held in a previous administration, while Mohammed Momani remains information minister and government spokesman. Among the four women brought into the government was Lina Annab who replaced Nayef al-Fayez as tourism minister. Trained in engineering, Mulki has served as advisor to King Abdullah and ambassador to Cairo, as well as minister for water, energy, foreign affairs and industry. He was also deeply involved in negotiations with Israel that led to a peace treaty between the two countries in 1994. The last parliamentary elections in Jordan, held in 2013, were boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition party, which demands greater transparency and electoral reforms. New elections are scheduled for this year but a date has yet to be set. Mogadishu, Somalia: A police official says an Islamic extremist attack on a hotel in the Somali capital has killed at least two people. Somalia's rebel group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility. Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the attack Wednesday evening on the Ambassador Hotel is continuing. The Mogadishu hotel is frequented by government officials and business executives. The attack began when an explosives-laden vehicle was detonated by a suicide bomber at the gates of the hotel. Fighters on foot then tried to force their way into the hotel. The attack comes on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which extremists in the past have stepped up attacks in this volatile East African country. LOS ANGELES A murder-suicide at the University of California, Los Angeles shut down the campus for two hours on Wednesday, drawing officers in camouflage and tactical gear to the scene and prompting officials to lock down the campus. "A homicide and a suicide occurred," Los Angles Police Chief Charlie Beck told reporters near the scene. "It appears to be entirely contained," he said. (Additional reporting by Amy Tennery, Lisa Girion and Nichola Groom; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. London: British special forces are blasting Bollywood music as a new psychological warfare weapon against Islamic State terrorists in Libya on the advice of a Pakistani-born intelligence officer, it emerged on Wednesday. They came up with the idea after the Pakistani-born intelligence officer with the British Army said that Bollywood tunes would annoy Islamic State, which considers music un-Islamic. "We needed to unnerve militants and at the same time use some sort of passive measure to gauge their force strength in the area we are working and it went well," a source told the Daily Mirror. As part of a force known as the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), British forces are training Libyan troops on how to drive out Islamic State from the town of Sirte and a 185-km stretch of the Libyan coastline. The psychological operations unit intercepted Islamic State communications and blasted them with Bollywood chart music, in direct retaliation of the Sharia law imposed inside Sirte banning all things western or frivolous. Bollywood songs will be seen as a huge insult by the terror outfit, the newspaper reports. British and Libyan soldiers also dumped two cars with Bollywood music blaring out near Sirte. According to media reports, as well as tormenting the terrorists, the new musical weapon is also helping reveal their hiding places as when Islamic State members complain about the music over their radios, it gives away their precise location. British special forces are in Libya in a non-combat role, training the nations forces in how to wipe-out Islamic State. The SBS (Special Boat Service) sister agency of the SAS (Special Air Service) will only launch an assault on Islamic State if they are attacked first. It is believed that Islamic State, who have held swathes of coastal Sirte for 20 months, have around 4,000 insurgents in the region. Nay Pyi Taw: Nobel laureate and Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung Sang Suu Kyi will chair a new committee dedicated to promoting peace and development in Rakhine state, where the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority lives, officials said on Wednesday. The founding of the committee was announced a week after the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, urged Suu Kyi who is also the country's foreign minister, to promote human rights after a meeting in which both discussed the situation of the Rohingya minority. The committee will include 19 more members of the new Cabinet, according to the state newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar. Among other matters, it will be responsible for coordinating the activities of UN agencies and international NGOs working in the area. These organizations work, albeit with restrictions, in the area to assist the Rohingyas, a minority living in Myanmar for centuries, who are not recognised as Burmese citizens but are considered Bengali immigrants. About 120,000 of them are confined in 67 camps and suffer all kinds of restrictions since the outbreak of sectarian violence in 2012 between this minority and the Buddhist majority in the region, which caused at least 160 deaths, EFE news reported. In March, just days before handing over power, the former government lifted the state of emergency imposed since then in Rakhine where the Rohingyas have limited freedom of movement and access to education, and suffer the confiscation of their property. Stockholm: Iran's foreign minister says the nuclear deal reached in 2015 with world powers can't be renegotiated despite Republican presidential contender Donald Trump's pledge to do so if elected. After a lecture in Stockholm, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the deal "is not an Iran-US agreement for the Republican front-runner or anybody else to renegotiate. It's an international understanding annexed to a Security Council resolution." Trump has denounced the deal and said he'd seek to renegotiate it if elected president. Zarif also criticized Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir for calling on Iran to stop intervening in Iraq, saying "we will leave Iraq whenever Iraq asks us to leave." Iran says its military advisers in Iraq are there at Baghdad's request to help Iraqi forces fight Islamic State militants. Tokyo: Donald Trump appears to be finding some friends in North Korea. The presumptive US Republican Presidential nominee has been getting good press this week in North Korea's carefully controlled media, first in an opinion piece that praised him as "wise" and full of foresight and then on Wednesday in the official mouthpiece of the ruling Worker's Party itself. Both articles noted how his suggestions he would be willing to meet leader Kim Jong-Un and wants to rethink and possibly withdraw US troops from South Korea have created a "Trump Shock" in Seoul. The state-run DPRK Today in Pyongyang started off the Trump praise on Tuesday by juxtaposing the "wise" Trump with what it called a "dull" Hillary describing the leading Democratic Party candidate only by her first name. In the lengthy column, Trump is described as a "wise politician and presidential candidate with foresight" for his comments about the US potentially withdrawing its troops from South Korea if Seoul doesn't bear the costs. It also noted his public willingness to directly talk with the North Korean leadership if he becomes president. Clinton, the column said, is "dull" for promising to pursue an "Iran-type model" to solve nuclear issues with the North. Trump told The New York Times in March that South Korea and Japan should pay much more for the US troops based in their countries about 28,000 in South Korea and around 50,000 in Japan. In a more recent interview with the Reuters news agency, Trump said he was willing to meet with Kim. "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," he said. The removal of US troops from the Korean Peninsula and direct talks with a US President dovetail nicely with objectives Pyongyang has held for years though undoubtedly for different reasons than the American real estate magnate. The North wants the US troops to leave because it sees them as a direct threat to the regime's security and has long wanted talks with Washington, ostensibly toward a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War, that would boost its international status and acknowledge that North Korea is a nuclear state. "There are many 'positive aspects' to take away from Trump's 'inflammatory campaign promises,'" the writer says in the DPRK Today column, pointing out Trump's indications that Seoul should pay "100 percent" of the cost for the American troops stationed in the South and, if not, Washington should pull them out. "Yes, go away, now!" it says. "Who knew that the 'Yankee Go Home' slogan we shouted so enthusiastically could come true so easily like this? The day that the 'Yankee Go Home' slogan becomes reality would be the day of unification." The Korean War that solidified the division of North and South Korea ended in an armistice, not a full peace treaty. The DPRK Today website is considered to be a propaganda outlet aimed at readers outside the North, though its position within the government is not clear. While not as colorful or overtly supportive as the DPRK Today column, the ruling party's official Rodong Sinmun editorial said the emergence of Trump is causing anxiety in South Korea because of his comments about the potential US troop withdrawal. It said the South Korean government should stop living as a servant of foreign forces and come back to the side of the Korean nation, but didn't comment directly on Trump as a candidate. Islamabad: Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday asserted that the country's democracy has been strengthened to the extent that it can now withstand various crisis. Addressing a joint session of parliament, the president said sustainable development was not possible without a stable democracy and added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had guided the country on the path towards progress. The president said a government which ensures rule of law, economic development and provision of basic needs to its people can easily overcome challenges, stabilise democracy and reinforce the relationship between the individual and state, Radio Pakistan reported. The president's address to a joint session of both houses of parliament marks the beginning of a new parliamentary year and is mandatory under the Constitution. London: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who underwent an open-heart surgery in London on Tuesday, is "happy and healthy" and soon will be able to receive visitors beyond family members, a party official said on Wednesday. The 66-year-old PML-N leader is "resting and recovering" with his family members by his side at The Harley Street Clinic in central London. "Everything has gone well, the operation was successful and he is stable, resting and recovering. He is happy and healthy," said a PML-N UK spokesperson. The spokesperson also said that Sharif will be moved to another room in the clinic on Thursday to be able to receive visitors beyond family members. "When he had come to London for his check-up in April, he had been advised by doctors to not undertake any air travel. But he wanted to go back to Pakistan. We were aware back then that another check-up and even surgery may be necessary," the spokesperson said. Sharif had arrived in London on 22 May and went in for the surgery on Tuesday, his second cardiac procedure in five years. Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who accompanied him to the UK, had been providing updates on social media. "All arteries successfully grafted... Surgery successful by The Grace Of Almighty," she had tweeted yesterday. Her last tweet after the surgery concluded read: "My father... the LOVE of my life... Allah bless you with a long life & perfect health... Ameen." Sharif is expected to stay at the clinic for a week and his date of return to Pakistan will be decided based on doctors' advice. Earlier reports had indicated the surgery would take place at the Princess Grace Hospital in London but it took place at The Harley Street Clinic, one of the UK's well-known private hospitals just off London's Harley Street - famous for medical specialists. London: The parents of a white British Muslim convert dubbed 'Jihadi Jack' were on Wednesday charged with terrorism offences for making money available for their son who left the UK to join the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Jack Letts' father John, 55, and mother Sally, 53, have been charged with three counts of entering or becoming concerned in an arrangement to make money available, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that it may be used for terrorism. They will appear at Westminster Magistrate's Court in London on 9 June. The couple had said the money was for their 20-year-old son to buy a new pair of glasses when they were arrested earlier this year. "Even if you know he's in danger or can't see straight, what parent isn't going to try get their child a pair of glasses if he can't see straight," John Letts had told Channel 4 News in an interview in February. The couple have said there was no evidence their son had become an IS fighter and claimed the police have "put two and two together and made 10". "He has the freedom to practice whatever he wants, that's British values. It's so unfair, but if there is any evidence that he's done anything violent, if anyone can prove any of these allegations... if you can show me any of that I'll be the first to believe it and I'll be the first to report it," Jack's mother Sally said. Jack, who attended Cherwell School in Oxford, converted to Islam as a teenager and left his home to travel to the war-torn country of Syria over a year ago. WASHINGTON The U.S. military judge overseeing the trial of the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks should step down and the case should be scrapped because he effectively conspired with prosecutors to destroy evidence, defence lawyers said in a court filing. The motion said Judge James Pohl, an Army colonel, and prosecutors had tainted the case against Pakistan-born Khalid Sheikh Mohammed by keeping defence lawyers from learning that the evidence had been destroyed. The motion was filed on May 10 and recently cleared for release. It raises a potential hurdle in the slow-moving capital case against Mohammed and four others charged in the hijacked airliner attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in which 3,000 people died. Pohl, along with prosecutors, "manipulated secret proceedings and the use of secret orders to mislead the defence and unfairly deprive Mr. Mohammed" of ways to keep the evidence from being destroyed, the motion said. Commissions spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Valerie Henderson referred questions to the prosecutor's response, which is expected to be made public in a few days. Pohl presided over a pretrial hearing on Tuesday in the case at the U.S. Navy prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The filing alleges that Pohl authorised prosecutors to destroy evidence six months after he agreed to a defence request that it be preserved. Defense lawyers were kept in the dark about the authorisation and the contact between Pohl and prosecutors, it said. Pohl's order had included a provision that prosecutors give a redacted version of it to the defence. But he did not tell them to do so until 18 months after the order was issued, long after the evidence was destroyed, the filing said. The motion does not detail what the evidence was, and classified annexes are sealed. A prosecution response filed last week has not been cleared for release. The motion asks that Pohl recuse himself and that Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, the military commissions' chief prosecutor, and the prosecution team be disqualified. It also asks that Mohammed's trial be scrapped and/or the death penalty be dropped. Martins had no immediate comment. During Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors asked Pohl to let 10 relatives of Sept. 11 victims testify in open court. Reuters monitored the proceedings from a media centre at Fort Meade, Maryland, outside Washington. The case is among a half dozen against Guantanamo inmates. (Additional reporting by Lacey Johnson at Fort Meade; Editing by David Gregorio and Matthew Lewis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Beirut: A besieged suburb of Syria's capital Damascus received humanitarian aid Wednesday for the first time since 2012, as the United Nations said it was looking into "every possible means" to reach besieged Syrians now that a deadline set by world powers has passed. Elsewhere in Syria, Kurdish-led fighters aided by US-led airstrikes launched a new advance on the northern town of Manbij, an Islamic State stronghold on a key supply route linking the Turkish border to Raqqa, the extremist group's de facto capital. UN spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero said the "main priority" is to access 592,700 people in besieged areas and millions more in hard-to-reach areas facing severe food shortages. The International Committee for the Red Cross reported that a joint convoy with the UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent entered the Damascus suburb of Daraya in the afternoon. The UN estimates that 4,000 to 8,000 people currently live in the suburb. Daraya has been subject to a crippling government blockade since residents expelled security forces in the early stages of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad. A 36-truck aid convoy entered neighboring Moadamiyeh, which is also under government siege, around the same time. The suburb last received aid one month ago. The Russian military, which has been carrying out airstrikes since September to bolster Assad's forces, said earlier in the day that the government had agreed to a 48-hour cease-fire around Daraya. The US- and Russia-led International Syria Support Group last month called on the UN to "immediately carry out a program for air bridges and air drops for all areas in need" starting 1 June if it was denied access to designated areas. The UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has called air drops, which cost more than land delivery, a "last resort." The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia that includes Arab fighters, have meanwhile approached to within 14 kilometers (nine miles) of Manbij. The SDF announced a campaign to advance on areas around Raqqa, the de facto capital of the IS group's self-styled caliphate, last week. "There are tens of casualties among fighters and evacuating civilians," said Nasser Haj Mansour, an adviser to the SDF. "Daesh is using its entire means to stop the forces," he told the AP by telephone from near the front line, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighters had recaptured at least 16 villages from IS. The monitoring group, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria, said coalition airstrikes supporting the advance have killed 15 civilians in the past 24 hours. The Observatory said coalition aircraft struck at least one bridge between Manbij and Jarablus, a town on the Turkish border under IS-control. An IS-affiliated news agency said coalition aircraft bombed all bridges between the two towns. The SDF has also launched an offensive to capture the IS-held Tabqa air base, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Raqqa. Mansour said the air base is a "major weapons depot" for the extremist group. IS seized Tabqa in 2014 and massacred at least 160 captured Syrian soldiers. Turkey's state-run news agency meanwhile said coalition airstrikes and Turkish artillery fire killed 14 IS militants near the Turkish border. The Observatory said no casualties had been inflicted. The Anadolu Agency, citing military officials, said Wednesday that the strikes by U.S.-led coalition jets targeted IS positions north of the city of Aleppo, destroying a tank, two mortar positions, a headquarters' building and three vehicles. It said the strikes came after Turkey's military had determined that IS was preparing to attack Turkish territory from the region. The report could not be independently verified. Turkey has not explained how it counts casualties in Syria. Cross-border fire from Syria has killed 21 people and wounded dozens of others in the border town of Kilis this year. Berlin: A leading German cultural heritage expert on Wednesday charged that Syrian regime troops are looting the ancient city of Palmyra like the Islamic State jihadists who controlled it until March. Archaeologist Hermann Parzinger, head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, was speaking on the eve of a two-day Berlin conference on ways to protect heritage sites in war-ravaged Syria. Speaking to media, Parzinger said that Syrian troops, when they are off-duty, "are conducting illegal excavations" and "have looted" at the UNESCO World Heritage site. Syrian troops backed by Russian air strikes and special forces recaptured Palmyra from the Islamic State (IS) group in March, delivering a major propaganda coup for both Damascus and Moscow. IS jihadists had staged mass executions in the Roman amphitheatre, blown up ancient temples and looted relics in the one-time trade hub in central Syria, a major tourist site before the war. Despite the liberation, "we shouldn't act like everything is alright now," said Parzinger, the former head of the German Archaeological Institute. He said retaking Palmyra was "an important victory for culture," writing earlier in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily. "But this victory has not made Assad and his backers the saviours of cultural heritage," he added. "Assad's soldiers too plundered the ruins of Palmyra before the IS takeover, and their rockets and grenades indiscriminately pounded the antique columns and walls when this promised even the slightest military advantage." From Thursday, the German government and UNESCO will host over 170 scientists, archaeologists, architects and planners to discuss how to preserve Syria's heritage despite the five-year-old war that has killed more than 270,000 people. UNESCO chief Irina Bokova, writing in the Tagesspiegel daily, wrote that "two-thirds of the old town of Aleppo have been bombed and burned" and at other sites, gangs have looted on an "industrial scale". "Archaeological sites are in the crossfire ... and being misused as military bases," she wrote, while "Palmyra, which had long been insufficiently protected, has experienced indescribable horror and destruction" under IS control. Kabul: Taliban gunmen disguised in women's burqas and wearing military uniforms underneath stormed a court building in an eastern Afghan province on Wednesday, killing five civilians and a policeman, Afghan officials said. A statement from the Interior Ministry said "four terrorists" were involved in the attack in the city of Ghazni, the capital of the eastern Ghazni province. Jawed Salangi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said a suicide bomber launched the coordinated attack by blowing himself up at the court's entrance, after which three other attackers stormed the building. The ministry said a firefight ensued and the three other attackers were shot and killed by the security forces. Salangi said police were also attempting to defuse an explosives-packed vehicle parked near the courthouse. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the country's interior minister, said the attackers concealed themselves under women's traditional head-to-toe coverings, called burqas, which they removed during the attack. They also wore uniforms underneath, he said. Two women and one policeman were among the six killed, Sediqqi said, adding that 13 civilians were also wounded in the attack. The Taliban, who have waged war on Kabul since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion toppled their regime, claimed responsibility for the attack. The insurgents have increasingly targeted Afghan judicial workers since the government executes six convicted Taliban members last month. They routinely also target government employees and security officials across the country. In the northern Balkh province, district police chief Bismullah Khan was killed when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb on Wednesday, said Gen. Abdul Razaq Qaderi, deputy provincial police chief. Three other policemen who were Khan's bodyguards were wounded in the blast, said Qaderi. He added that Khan was police chief in Sholgara district and was on his way to attend a security meeting in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in Balkh. On Tuesday, the Taliban attacked several buses on a road in volatile northern Kunduz province, forcing passengers to disembark and killing 10 people and abducting at least 18, Sediqqi said. He added that 10 of the hostages were later released but that the abductors still have eight people. The insurgents also launched attacks on several districts in southern Helmand province and on the outskirt of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Islamabad: A teenage Pakistani girl died on Wednesday, two days after she was tortured and set on fire for refusing to marry a divorcee twice her age, the latest case that highlights rampant violence against women in the Muslim nation. Maria Sadaqat, 19, was attacked on Monday in Upper Dewal village of Murree hill resort in Punjab Province. Abdul Basit, her uncle, told the media outside a hospital here that she was pressed for marriage by the owner of a local private school where she used to teach. She had resigned due to the harassment by the school principal, a divorcee who was twice her age. "He attacked her with accomplices on Monday. First she was tortured and then doused in petrol and set on fire," said Basit. She was admitted in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) with 85 per cent burn injuries. In a statement before dying, the victim accused the principal of the school and his four accomplices for attacking her. Police official Muhammad Zeeshan said that one accused has been arrested and the raids being conducted to arrest others. Ayesha Isani, spokeswoman of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, confirmed the death Maria due to severe burns. Violence against women is common in Pakistan where every year hundreds of women are killed for honour. Nearly 1,100 women were killed in Pakistan last year in so-called honour-killings, the country's independent Human Rights Commission says. Campaigners say most "honour killings" are not reported in Pakistan. Near Fallujah: Iraqi forces stalled at the fringes of Fallujah, slowed in their advance Wednesday by concerns over the fate of trapped civilians and resistance from the Islamic State group. Fighting also raged hundreds of kilometres (miles) further up the Euphrates Valley in Syria, as US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters opened a new front against the jihadists in the strategic Manbij pocket on the Turkish border. After a week of shaping operations aimed at sealing the siege of Fallujah, which lies just 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, elite forces launched a new, more aggressive phase on Monday morning. But they have so far been unable to reach the city centre and battle IS fighters in the streets of one of their historical strongholds. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said concern for the estimated 50,000 civilians the United Nations has said IS was using as human shields was slowing progress. "It would've been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't one of the foundations of our plan," he told commanders in comments broadcast by state television. Inside Fallujah, trapped residents were under increasing pressure from worsening shortages and nervous IS fighters preparing for a desperate holdout. The United Nations Children's Fund said at least 20,000 of them were thought to be children, most vulnerable to dire living conditions and to forced recruitment as fighters. "Children who are recruited see their lives and futures jeopardised as they are forced to carry and use arms, fighting in an adult war," the agency's Iraq representative Peter Hawkins said. Heavy toll No aid has reached Fallujah since September last year and residents have been living on dates, dirty water from the Euphrates and animal feed. Commanders said another factor slowing the operation is the resistance they are meeting from jihadists fighters. "Our forces are still pushing to break into the city centre but there is tough resistance from Daesh," said Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the overall commander of the operation, using an Arab acronym for IS. A police colonel on the outskirts of Fallujah said "every time our forces try to push in, they encounter really tough defence systems set up by Daesh". The closest Iraqi forces have come to moving into the centre is from the south, where they entered a suburb of Fallujah but were pinned back by a massive counterattack on Tuesday. Iraqi commanders claim they have killed dozens of IS fighters since the start of the operation on May 22-23 but have been coy about releasing their own casualty figures. Yet the number of coffins being sent back to some of Iraq's southern provinces and of burials reported in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf suggest that the anti-IS camp is also paying a heavy price. "Since the start of the operation, we have received about 70 martyrs, probably a bit more," said a member of the security forces posted outside Najaf's Valley of Peace, the world's largest cemetery, where many from Iraq's Shiite majority bury their dead. Officials in Basra said the southern province had lost 26 fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force alone. An official in Najaf province, who did not want his name to be published, confirmed 12 deaths from the province. Medics also reported many wounded from the battle for Fallujah. Since Monday, just two of the capital's hospitals received 97. Syria offensive Many Iraqi officers expect IS to put up more of a fight for Fallujah than some of the other cities they have lost in Iraq, such as Tikrit and Ramadi. Fallujah is one of only two major cities they still control in the country the other being Mosul and it looms large in modern jihadist mythology. IS has been on the back foot in Iraq, losing much of the territory it seized in 2014. But it has also come under growing pressure in the Syrian part of the "caliphate" it proclaimed two years ago. A US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters launched an offensive against IS-held territory along the Turkish border that is seen as a main entry point for foreign fighters. The advance brought the Syrian Democratic Forces to within 18 kilometres (11 miles) of Manbij, a strategic town held by IS since 2014 which was hit by intensive US-led coalition air strikes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Pentagon has deployed more than 200 special forces alongside the SDF, a Kurdish-led alliance in which it has been trying to boost the Arab element. "Over the past 24 hours, the SDF have seized control of nine villages... west of the Euphrates," the Observatory said. The US-led coalition against IS supports the operations in Fallujah and in Manbij, where it said its aircraft carried out 18 air strikes in the past 24 hours. Washington: US National Press Club President Thomas Burr slammed Donald Trump, ripping into the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for comments he made during a combative news conference. Donald Trump misunderstands - or, more likely, simply opposes - the role a free press plays in a democratic society, Burr said in response to Trump's remark on Tuesday that journalists should be ashamed of themselves for digging into his fundraising efforts on behalf of veterans groups. Reporters are supposed to hold public figures accountable. Any American political candidate who attacks the press for doing its job is campaigning in the wrong country. In the US, under our Constitution, a free press is a check on politicians of all parties, Burr said. Trump has repeatedly called reporters "dishonest people" and referred to one journalist as a sleaze while speaking to reporters at Trump Tower on Tuesday, Politico reported. In February, the Manhattan billionaire raised alarms for warning that if he were elected president, he would work to open up libel laws to make it easier for public officials to sue media outlets. Later on Tuesday, Trump bashed his likely general-election opponent, Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton, for not taking more questions from the media. I am getting great credit for my press conference today. Crooked Hillary should be admonished for not having a press conference in 179 days, he tweeted. Washington: Controversial presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has stepped up his attack on the US media as he termed it "dishonest" and called a television journalist "a sleaze", promising to continue his assault on the press. "We have to read probably libellous stories, or certainly close, in the newspapers and the people know the stories are false, I am going to continue to attack the press," Trump, 69, told reporters at a news conference in New York on Tuesday. "I find the press to be extremely dishonest. I find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest. I will say that. OK. Thank you all very much," the former reality TV star said. He slammed the US media for questioning $6 million fund he claimed to have raised for veterans on one night in Iowa in January. He had skipped a Republican debate hosted by Fox News and hosted a fundraising event for veterans' charities. "The press should be ashamed. I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job. I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I have ever met," he said. Trump pointed to ABC News journalist Tom Llamas and said, "You are a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well". The New York-based real estate tycoon-turned politician, however, immediately faced backlash from the media and presidential candidates of rival parties. Without naming Trump, the White House Correspondent's Association (WHCA) condemned any attack on the freedom of press. "The WHCA advocates for access to the president and administration officials to enhance the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press. We are concerned that any administration or presidential candidate would seek to curb the First Amendment right to free speech and a free press," WHCA President Carol Lee said. "We do not know who will be in the White House in January, but the presidential campaign has underscored the importance of press freedoms, and the WHCA will continue to defend those rights through the transition this fall and with the new administration next year," Lee said. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, 68, meanwhile alleged that Trump has been attacking everybody. "He attacks everybody. Is a recipe for gridlock in Washington. And that is what we have got to break and get away with. You know he seems to believe, or at least is demonstrating that insulting and attacks is his mode of operations," Clinton told the CNN in an interview. In another interview to MSNBC, Clinton hoped that voters look at the full picture of everything she has done in her career. "I have faith in the American people that they will make the right choice here," Clinton added. LOS ANGELES At least two people were shot at the University of California, Los Angeles on Wednesday, police and campus officials said, drawing a phalanx of police cruisers to the scene and prompting officials to lock down the campus. "Police are investigating a shooting in Engineering IV. Police are on the scene and report that there are two victims," UCLA's office of media relations said in an online posting. "The campus remains on lockdown." NBC News reported two people were killed, citing unidentified law enforcement sources. "Right now the police are at the scene and the campus is on lockdown," said an office manager in the university's media relations division. The university has more than 43,000 enrolled students, according to its website. "Police yelling at everyone in Boelter to evacuate immediately," bioengineering student Bahjat Alirani posted on Twitter. "I was in Boelter and I just see police spread around in the building yelling at everyone to run." (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON/BEIRUT Thousands of U.S.-backed fighters opened a major new front in Syria's war, launching an offensive to drive Islamic State out of a swathe of northern Syria it uses as a logistics base, and were reported on Wednesday to be making rapid progress. The operation, which began on Tuesday after weeks of quiet preparations, aims to choke off the group's access to Syrian land along the Turkish border that the militants have long used to move foreign fighters back and forth to Europe. "It's significant in that it's their last remaining funnel" to Europe, a U.S. military official told Reuters. A small number of U.S. special operations forces will support the push on the ground, acting as advisers and staying some distance back from the front lines, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military planning. "They'll be as close as they need to be for the (Syrian fighters) to complete the operation. But they will not engage in direct combat," the official said. The operation will also count on support from U.S.-led coalition air strikes as well as from ground-based firing positions across the border in Turkey. ASSAULT Driving Islamic State from its last remaining foothold at the Turkish border has been a top priority of the U.S.-led campaign against the group. The group controls around 80 km (50 miles) of the frontier stretching west from Jarablus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said U.S.-led air strikes in support of the ground operation killed 15 civilians including three children near Manbij in the last 24 hours. The Observatory's reporting is based on an activist network in Syria. It said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, the force that is conducting the assault to capture the tract of land known as the Manbij pocket, had taken 16 villages and were at a distance of 15 km (9 miles) from Manbij town itself. The U.S. officials said the operation would be overwhelmingly comprised of Syrian Arabs instead of forces with the Kurdish YPG militia, who will only represent about a fifth or a sixth of the overall force. This is seen as important to NATO member Turkey, which has opposed any further expansion of Syrian Kurdish sway at the frontier. Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters -- who already control an uninterrupted 400 km (250 mile) stretch of the border -- to be terrorists and has been enraged by U.S. backing for the militia in its battle with Islamic State in Syria. However, the Observatory said the Kurdish YPG militia made up the majority of the fighters taking part in the SDF assault. A U.S. official said Turkey supported the offensive. SDF and YPG officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The U.S. officials told Reuters the YPG would only fight to help clear Islamic State from the area around Manbij. Syrian Arab fighters would be the ones to stabilise and secure it once Islamic State is gone, according to the operational plans. AGREEMENT "After they take Manbij, the agreement is the YPG will not be staying ... So you'll have Syrian Arabs occupying traditional Syrian Arab land," the official said. In Ankara, a Turkish military source said Turkey was not contributing to the operation. Ankara had been told by Washington about the push but could not back it because of the involvement of Kurdish YPG fighters and because it was beyond the range of artillery stationed in Turkey, the source said. The operation is happening ahead of an eventual push by the U.S.-backed Syrian forces toward the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's defacto capital in Syria and the prime objective in Syria for U.S. military planners. The U.S. military official said depriving Islamic State of the Manbij pocket would help further isolate the militants and further undermine their ability to funnel supplies to Raqqa. U.S. President Barack Obama has authorised about 300 U.S. special operations forces to operate on the ground from secret locations inside Syria to help coordinate with local forces to battle Islamic State there. RISKS In a reminder of the risks, one U.S. servicemember was injured north of Raqqa over the weekend, the Pentagon said. Syrian Kurdish groups have established their own government in northeastern Syria since 2011. Capturing the last remaining Islamic State foothold at the Turkish border would help them to link up with the area of Afrin, which is controlled by the same Kurdish groups in northwestern Syria. The YPG has been the most effective ally on the ground for U.S.-led air strikes against IS, and last year captured large areas from it in Hasaka province. The SDF alliance, including some Arab militias, was formed in October, since when it has led the campaign against IS with U.S. support. The SDF last week began attacks against Islamic State in areas north of Raqqa, but says the city was not a target of that operation. (Editing by William Maclean and Peter Millership) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: The US has called for improvement in bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan, expressing concern over nuclear and missile developments in South Asia, saying a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours is important. "We are concerned by nuclear and missile developments in South Asia," a State Department Spokesman told PTI when asked about the recent statement of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, 80, the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, that Islamabad has the ability to target New Delhi in five minutes. "We are concerned by the increased security challenges that accompany growing stockpiles and the increased risk that a conventional conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate to include nuclear use," the spokesman said. Improvements in Indo-Pak bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, the official said on Tuesday. "It is important that there be a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours, and that all parties in the region continuously act with maximum restraint and work collaboratively toward reducing tensions," the State Department spokesman said. Meanwhile, the State Department said it is looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We look forward to the prime minister's visit and we want it to be successful," State Department John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from 4 June which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on 7 June at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. During his stay, he will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. Washington: A Congressional commission will hold a hearing to examine the current state of human rights in India, coinciding with the White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission said the hearing among other things will also examine the challenges to fundamental freedoms, and opportunities for advancement in India. A "wide variety of serious human rights concerns persist," the commission said in a statement explaining the reasons for holding the hearing on India. Despite Constitutional provisions abolishing the legal existence of "untouchable", the caste system remains deeply ingrained within Indian society, leading to ongoing discrimination, it said. "Dalit communities, which make up a quarter of India's population, are also disproportionately at risk of suffering from another major human rights concern in India, that of human trafficking. "Tens of thousands of individuals, including children, are believed to be trafficking annually within India for the purposes of commercialised sexual exploitation or forced labour. Religious minorities also face growing challenges," the commission said. A large number of international non-governmental organisations supporting a range of causes, including human rights, have been added to government watch lists or had funding cut off by Indian officials, it said. "These actions, coupled with perceived crackdowns on groups or individuals critical of the Indian government, have many concerned that the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association are being increasingly curtailed," it alleged. The hearing will examine these and other issues, while seeking to provide concrete recommendations for how US policy makers can most effectively encourage the protection of human rights given the strategic importance and continued growth of the USIndia bilateral relationship, the commission said. "In 2015, religious tolerance deteriorated and religious freedom violations increased in India. Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims and Sikhs experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups," the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its latest report. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from 4 June which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on 7 June at the invitation of Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. During his stay, he will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. Washington: Expressing concern that a "conventional" conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate to include nuclear use, the US has called for a "sustained" and "resilient" dialogue process between the countries to boost regional peace. "We are concerned by nuclear and missile developments in South Asia," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about the recent statement of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, 80, the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme, that Islamabad has the ability to target New Delhi in five minutes. "We are concerned by the increased security challenges that accompany growing stockpiles and the increased risk that a conventional conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate to include nuclear use. "It is important that there be a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours, and that all parties in the region continuously act with maximum restraint and work collaboratively toward reducing tensions," the spokesperson said. Improvements in Indo-Pak bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, the official said yesterday. Meanwhile, the State Department said it is looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US. "We look forward to the prime minister's visit and we want it to be successful," State Department John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from 4 June which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on 7 June at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy, and will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. Islamabad: Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday asserted that failure was not an option in the war against terrorism and vowed that Operation Zarb-e-Azab would be completed this year. In an informal conversation with media at the Parliament House, the army chief reflected on the ongoing activities of the Pakistan Army and said that the operation to root out terrorism was progressing successfully. I have earlier said that 2016 will mark the elimination of terrorism, he said. Gen Sharif said that 99 percent terrorism had been brought under control and that the remaining one percent would be eradicated as well. Gen Sharif on his visit to the Parliament House met the executive parliamentarians in the capital. When Deo Nuyu arrived in Australia as a student five years ago, he thought he had found safe haven. His homeland, the tiny central African country of Burundi, was rapidly descending into strife with Mr Nuyu suffering repeated threats due to his political beliefs. Over the past five years the situation has worsened, with more than 250,000 people fleeing the country as it teeters on the brink of civil war. The Department of Foreign Affairs warns Australians not to travel to Burundi due to the "high level of violence". Fearing for his life, Mr Nuyu asked for a protection visa to allow him to stay in Australia but his application was refused and a series of appeals were unsuccessful. Mothers of some of those killed in the bloody crackdown on Chinas 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy movement say they have lived through 27 years of state-led terror and suffocation and vow to continue pushing for the truth ahead of this weekends anniversary of the events. An open letter signed by 131 mothers and published by the overseas advocacy group Human Rights in China said the victims families have endured constant harassment and intimidation by Chinese security services for pursuing justice for their loved ones. For us, family members of the victims families, it has been 27 years of (state) terror and suffocation, the letter said. For 27 years, the police have been the ones who have dealt with us, it said, listing a string of measures including electronic snooping and surveillance of family members, fabricated accusations and intimidation. All these actions undoubtedly desecrate the souls of those who perished in (the crackdown) and insult the honor of the living, the letter said. The letter condemns the Chinese government for apathy, accusing it of ignoring pleas by family members and wiping out public memory of the pro-democracy movement and the bloody crackdown on the night of June 3-4, 1989, in which hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed. The government insists it was necessary to send in troops and tanks to quell what it has labeled a violent uprising against Communist Party rule, and has rejected all calls for an investigation or even discussion of the events. Most of the student leaders who fled abroad after the crackdown are still forbidden from returning home. Yet, the women, who along with their families and supporters have become known collectively over the years as the Tiananmen Mothers, said they were convinced their campaign will eventually produce a full and objective reckoning of the events. The letter was partially prompted by tightening security following the death of Jiang Peikun, husband of Ding Zilin, one of the most prominent Tiananmen mothers, said Yin Min, a fellow Tiananmen mother and signee of the letter. Fellow mothers have been forbidden to visit Ding since April 22, Yin said. Ding, whose 17-year-old son Jiang Jielian died in the crackdown, declined to be interviewed when reached by phone yesterday. As the face of the group, she has been subject to the most severe restrictions. It feels that theres no end in sight. We are all at ages where death can happen any day, and wed like to see the truth revealed and justice upheld while we are still alive, said Yin, whose 19-year-old son, Ye Weihang, was killed in the crackdown. We believe we have the obligation and the right to tell the public how we have lived those 27 years and to urge the government to take action, Yin said by phone. Another Tiananmen mother, Zhang Xianling, said she remains optimistic. Isnt there a report that someone has lived to 105? I think I will live to the day when justice comes, said Zhang, who lost her 19-year-old son Wang Nan in the crackdown. Each years anniversary brings a tightening of restrictive measures, with family members confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing. Ignored by Chinas entirely state-controlled media, they are forbidden from publicly commemorating the deaths of their loved ones. Even private events linked to the crackdown are banned, and overseas rights groups have reported that police hauled away at least three pro-democracy activists who attended a commemorative dinner in a Beijing home ahead of the anniversary. Two other men have also been detained for making or promoting bottles of Chinese liquor with labels that referenced June 4, a Hong Kong newspaper reported. Despite such threats, the letter expressed faith that justice will eventually come. We use our immense maternal love to declare publicly to future generations: Do not succumb to brute force, confront all evil forces with courage, and justice will prevail, the letter read. Didi Tang, Beijing, AP About USD13 million in bitcoins will be auctioned in Sydney this month after Australian police confiscated the digital currency as proceeds of crime, an official said yesterday. Ernst & Young was running the process, which is only the second such bitcoin auction in the world after the U.S. Marshals Service sold 144,000 bitcoins over a two-year period that had been confiscated from Ross Ulbricht, who founded the online drug bazaar Silk Road, the accountancy firms transaction partner Adam Nikitins said. Bidders can register until June 7 for the 24,518 bitcoins on offer. The 48-hour sealed auction will take place from June 20. Based on yesterdats bitcoin price of $533.80, the cryptocurrency is valued at almost $13.1 million. Nikitins expects strong interest in the auction since the bitcoin price has become less volatile after the U.S. auctions. Ernst & Young has received expressions of interest from the United States, Europe and Australia, he said. Over the last few months, the price of bitcoins has been steadily rising and the volatility has gone out of it, said Nikitins, adding that was expected to lead to greater interest. Nikitins would not say who the bitcoins were confiscated from, but said registered bidders would be told. MDT/AP The Macau Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Jean-Philippe Tremblay, will join forces with French pianist Alexandre Tharaud for a concert on Sunday night at the Cultural Centres Grand Auditorium. Acclaimed as a modern poet of the piano, Tharaud was once a student of the great French pianist Marguerite Long. Renowned for his unique music style and remarkable performance skills, Tharaud will perform Edvard Griegs Piano Concerto in A minor, a piece that fuses German and Austrian musical influences from the Romantic era with elements of Norwegian folk music. IFT co-organizes training course In order to provide diversified training opportunities for industry professionals, and enhance the management quality within the local service industry, the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) and Cornell University School of Hotel Administration co-organized an Executive Development Programme on Leadership and Motivation, last week. The course, which attracted 21 professionals from local hotels and resort complexes, addressed the real-world complexities faced by front-line leaders and their teams. IFT invited Professor J. Bruce Tracey from the Faculty of the School of Hotel Administration to give a lecture during the course. Focusing on human resources, strategy and management, Professor Traceys research has examined a wide range of strategic and operational-level human resources topics, including the impact of training initiatives on individual and company performance, employee turnover, employment law and leadership. Ink painting exhibition opens The Roaming Vision + Digital: Exhibition of Ink Paintings by Leung Kui Ting opened yesterday at the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau of Macau Temporary Exhibitions Gallery. The exhibition features 28 ink works by Hong Kong artist Leung Kui Ting. According to a statement from the Bureau, Leung Kui Ting founded the Hong Kong Chingying Institute of Visual Arts in 1980 and worked as a part-time lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for over ten years. He is currently an expert art adviser of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong government. Leung invented a digital landscape painting technique, which superimposes digital lines and dots on the outlines of mountains and rocks drawn in a traditional way. In honor of the upcoming Italian National Day, the Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel is Celebrating Italy at Bene throughout the month of June with entertaining pizza performances, an exclusive wine dinner and festive menus. According to Sheratons statement, the two-time World Champion of Pizza Acrobatics, Chef Pasqualino Barbossa, will be entertaining diners with his pizza dough antics and will encourage guests to participate in the act as well. The chef, who entertains diners by throwing, twirling, spinning and juggling multiple pizza bases into the air, will be on stage in the evening from June 21-27 at Bene. The Culinary team at Bene have also crafted festive Celebrating Italy menus, with the restaurant hosting a wine dinner featuring Colle Massari wines from Tuscany. The restaurants chefs have designed a five-course menu to pair Colle Massari wines with the trattorias traditional Italian dishes. Ford recalling 1.9 million vehicles to replace air bags Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 1.9 million vehicles in North America to replace faulty passenger-side front air bags made by Japanese supplier Takata Corp. The recall is part of a nationwide expansion of an ongoing Takata air bag recall, which was already the largest U.S. recall in history. Certain Takata air bags can inflate with too much force and spread shrapnel into the vehicles. At least 11 deaths worldwide have been linked to this the defect. The vehicles affected in the expanded Ford recall include the 2007-2010 Ford Edge, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, 2005-2011 Ford Mustang, 2007-2011 Ford Ranger, 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX and 2006-2011 Lincoln MKZ, Zephyr and Mercury Milan. Ford has stated that it is not aware of any injuries resulting from these vehicles. It will notify customers and replace the air bags for free. Airbus says much-delayed a400m military plane worth waiting for Airbus Group SE sought to ease mounting tensions over the A400M military-transport plane, vowing to find fixes for the latest issues as Germany considers leasing or even buying aircraft from competitors to meet the countrys needs. The plane is worth waiting for, Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said Wednesday at a press conference at the Berlin Air Show. Together with its suppliers, Airbus is working intensely on resolving production issues and is seeking solutions for the foreseeable future. Germany, the largest customer for the A400M, has grown increasingly frustrated with delays, which threaten to hamper plans to expand its military role globally. The country has thus far received just three planes, and a schedule that called for nine deliveries in 2016 is in question amid technical problems including fuselage cracks and faulty engine gearboxes. The New Macau Association (ANM) criticized the local government yesterday, for allegedly failing to address Macaus safety regarding the Taishan nuclear power plant that is under construction in Guangdong province. During a press conference held yesterday, ANMs leaders claimed that the power plant is located some 64 kilometers from Macau. Since the region is located downwind from Taishan, due to the southwestern monsoon in summertime,, Macau would be exposed to the fallout in the case of a catastrophe at the power plant. Even if the impact is not that much, considering that the city is a tourist city, that will be a tremendous blow to the economy, said ANMs president, Scott Chiang, emphasizing that tourists may lose confidence in traveling to the region. The association is concerned with MSARs lack of necessary awareness for the situation of a nuclear incident. Chiang claimed that no evacuation or decontamination plans of the government have yet been released to the public. According to ANM, in considering Macaus interest and safety, the location of Taishan Nuclear Plant is unwarranted and unacceptable. ANM has claimed that the building of the plant and its piles are substandard. FactWire interviews engineers in the project. [It is] a reliable information on the structure and quality in the containers, said Jason Chao ANMs vice president. Chao claimed that the steel of one of the pressure containers contains too much carbon, making it overly brittle in a high-temperature and high-pressure situation. The level of defect exceeded European standard[s] and can contribute to potential damage, Scott Chiang claimed. Although Chiang admitted that there is no reason to stop the construction as the work is almost completed, safety measures should be met before the power plant goes into operation. The association also noted that Taiwan has refused to operate a number of its nuclear plants due to public pressure and concerns regarding safety measures. Chiang demanded the government to convince the public that Taishan plant is safe, however he claimed that authorities have refused to answer the press questions in regards to safety measures. What are the [contingency] plans? They have a website that states stay calm, listen to radio, listen to instructions, but we need a concrete and clear contingency plan, he said. Chiang also criticized authorities for cancelling school days during normal weather, suggesting that such decisions speak of foul play, and that the public would not be able to trust MSARs conclusions regarding incidents such as the Taishan Nuclear Power Plants safety measures in the case of a catastrophe. The government issued a statement this week indicating that it has requested more information regarding the Taishan nuclear power plan from the Guangdong Provincial Government. Staff reporter Chapas Sinicas (official records of Macau during the Qing Dynasty) has been listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) register following a unanimous vote during a the General Meeting of the committee held in Hue, Vietnam. Jointly nominated by the Archives of Macau and the National Archive of Torre do Tombo of Portugal, the collection of Chapas Sinicas was recommended by the expert MOWCAP Register Subcommittee and unanimously approved by the participating member states to be listed on the MOWCAP register. The Chapas Sinicas comprises a total of 3,600 documents, including over 1,500 official letters written in Chinese, five books of Portuguese-translated copies of letters kept by the Loyal Senate of Macau and four packets of miscellaneous documents. The collection of Chapas Sinicas is composed of official and non-official documents created mainly from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. The largest part of the collection consists of official correspondence exchanged between the sub-prefects of Macau, magistrates of Xiangshan and other Chinese officials and the Procurators of the Loyal Senate of Macau. The records contain the terms and limitations that were established for the Portuguese administration in Macau, reports and petitions submitted by the Portuguese authorities based in Macau and replies received from the Chinese authorities in Guangdong. According to a statement issued yesterday by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, those documents are a manifestation of the territorial and jurisdictional sovereignty of China over Macau. Chapas Sinicas also includes accounts, letters, deeds, contracts and other documents that reflect social conditions, everyday lives, urban development, industrial and agricultural production and trade and commerce. Also featured in the collection is the official correspondence between the Chinese and Portuguese authorities under the special circumstances when Macau was leased to Portugal. The collection contains first- hand information that is considered valuable for the study of the citys history, as well as the history of East- West relations. The Chapas Sinicas was brought to Portugal in the 19th century and later transferred to the custody of the National Archive of Torre do Tombo. In 2015, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the archival domain was signed between the local authorities and Lisbon. The memorandum facilitated the cooperation between the Archives of Macau and the National Archive of Torre do Tombo of Portugal in the joint nomination of the collection of the Chapas Sinicas to be listed on the MOWCAP register, and in a bilateral collaboration for the conservation and digitization of the collection. Recently, the two archives have completed the submission procedures for the inscription of the Chapas Sinicas on the Memory of the World Register, the result which will be announced in 2017. During MOWCAPs 7th General Meeting, 14 nominations from 10 countries were inscribed on the Asia-Pacific Register of the Memory of the World. Sands China will kick off its Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) roadshow in Tokyo, Japan later today, just one of numerous international trade fairs which seek to promote the companys MICE and tourism offerings in key markets. According to Sands representatives, the roadshow, which is being held at the Conrad Tokyo hotel, will attract more than 120 Japanese travel agent invitees and other interested parties in an effort to motivate more business clients to host their meetings and conferences in Macau. A meeting was held yesterday between Carolina Cheung, Sands Chinas senior manager for Destination Marketing, representatives of brand experience and event marketing company, Jack Morton, and staff at the Conrad Tokyo ahead of the main event today. The parties discussed some of the operational arrangements for todays events. Organizers say that the roadshows event will include a banquet, a presentation and a variety of performances, some of which will be delivered by entertainers from The Venetian Macao. Tokyo is the fourth show out of a planned 11 that will comprise Sands Chinas set of international trade fairs. It follows similar shows in Beijing, Shanghai and Osaka, the latter of which was held on Tuesday. Organizers say that further trade fairs are planned for Seoul, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Taipei and Guangzhou, with two Indian dates in Mumbai and New Delhi provisionally penned for July. Aside from visitors from mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong are major sources of tourism in Macau, followed by visitors from Japan and Malaysia. Organizers say they are hoping to drive visitors from those regions they believe have the potential for growth. They are not planning a similar event in Hong Kong as they believe the market is already informed of Macaus offerings. MACKAY | This weekend, 50-80 Idaho Army National Guard soldiers from Twin Falls will arrive in the Mackay area to participate in a service day. The soldiers will camp at Wildhorse Guard Station on June 4-6, and numerous military vehicles will pass through Mackay and in the area of the Wildhorse Guard Station, the Salmon-Challis National Forest said in a release. On Sunday, these soldiers from the 116th Brigade Special Troops Battalion will participate in five to eight work projects on the forest's Lost River Ranger District, depending the number of soldiers. The projects include, by priority: Wildhorse Guard Station facilities maintenance, Burnt Aspen Trail maintenance, Fall Creek Trail maintenance, Lower Cedar Trail maintenance, Copper Basin Spring fence construction, Boulder Creek Trail maintenance and Toolbox Trail maintenance. Information: District Ranger Allison Jackson, 208-588-3400, or Idaho National Guard spokesman Maj. Chris Borders, 208-422-5268. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy TWIN FALLS A father of four from Tennessee accused of robbing a convenience store Thursday was arrested Monday night after confessing the crime to a friend and then fleeing from cops and hiding in a Dumpster, police said. Cody William James Meade, 25, whose last known residence was in Tennessee, was arraigned Tuesday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court on one felony count of robbery. A public defender said Meade has four children in Tennessee and needed to get back to work to support them, but Magistrate Judge Calvin Campbell called Meade a flight risk who was likely to reoffend if released from jail. Campbell set Meades bond at $200,000, more than the $150,000 requested by prosecutors. Deputy Prosecutor Peter Hatch said Meade has a long criminal record in Tennessee that includes charges for assault, burglary and theft. This is a community safety issue, Campbell said during Tuesdays arraignment. This was a violent crime in which a gun was used. Prosecutors say Meade pointed a handgun at a convenience store cashier Thursday night, threatened to put a hole in her and made off with $626 in cash and $194 in cigarettes and hookah sticks from the Oasis Stop N Go at 1390 Blue Lakes Blvd. N. The robbery happened about 11:50 p.m. when a man entered the store, pulled out a handgun and demanded the cashier give him all the money from the till, court documents said. The cashier gave the man all the money from both tills behind the counter, at which time the robber demanded cigarettes and the cashiers purse, which she handed over. The robber then walked behind the counter and looked under the register drawers for more money, stealing more cigarettes while he was there, court documents said. When the cashier asked the robber to give her back her wallet from her purse, he gave the wallet back, asked her for the money from the wallet but ended up leaving the money behind. The cashier reported to police that during the robbery, the man told her he would put a hole in her if she didnt hurry up, court documents said. He also told her sorry and to have a good night on his way out the door, telling her not to call the police for five minutes. Police set up a perimeter shortly after the robbery but did not find the suspect. On Sunday, a woman called police and said a man named Cody James had confessed to her friend to robbing the store, court documents said. Police later learned Cody James was actually Cody William James Meade, a Tennessee man who they believed was staying at one of Twin Falls motels. Police distributed photos of Meade to all of the citys motels on Sunday, and early Monday morning they got a call that he was staying at the Old Towne Lodge on Second Avenue East, court documents said. When cops went to the motel Monday night, Meade fled into the alley between Second Avenue West and Main Avenue West. Officers set up a perimeter and searched the immediate area, eventually finding Meade, who was hiding inside a dumpster. He was taken into custody. Meade is being held at the Twin Falls County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bond and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10. TWIN FALLS A gas company project has blocked off a lane of traffic along a busy downtown street, creating access and parking issues for area businesses and residences. Intermountain Gas Co. has started improvements to a gas line to handle future growth, and is preparing for upgrades in alleyways as part of a partnership with the city and the Urban Renewal Agency. The first phase will stretch along Second Avenue East from Blue Lakes Boulevard to Shoshone Street North, and Second Avenue North from Shoshone Street North to Addison Avenue. But the scope and length of the project has some business owners concerned about what they see as a lack of communication. Tony Roberts, owner of Magic Valley Gold Buyers, said he had not received any information prior to work beginning. When he came into work last week to find construction cones and signs in front of his business, he was caught off guard. For the first couple of days, customers were coming in as usual, but that changed as work continued. Wednesday through Friday we were just dead, Roberts said. I just closed Friday and went home. Cheryl Imlach, spokeswoman for Intermountain Gas Co., said the company hand-delivered letters to all businesses and residences along the route. The letters stated that detours and lane restrictions would be marked, but not specific impacts to each business. Firas Alsaedi, owner of Alsinbad Smoke Shop & Mediterranean Market, said he appreciates whats being done, but was not warned about the scope of the construction and how it would affect his business. The majority of his customers are families, he said, and a pipe in front of his business creates a tripping hazard. Im scared about their kids, Alsaedi said. Hes even told some customers that have called to come another day once the work is done. Alsaedi gets the most business between Tuesday and Saturday, and said he would have liked more consideration or warning since it has affected business. Customers are also having to park farther away, he said. Staff at the veterans outpatient clinic said they received notice Tuesday that the main parking lot would be blocked Wednesday. And city staff had to talk with the gas company while work was being set up to prevent the closure of two access points to the temporary city hall. Weve heard some frustrations from our customers as well, city spokesman Joshua Palmer said. Still, not all businesses have seen huge effects. It has been a little inconvenient, no doubt, Jaggedge salon owner Sheryl Patheal said. We knew this was coming. It could have been a lot worse. Her salon has tried to let customers know in advance, but did not know how long the project was going to be. Rikki Smith, office manager at The Blind Store, said she hasnt seen a negative impact to business. We were worried, but its been great, she said. An employee with Advantage Archery said most customers use the entrance off Main Avenue. He expected the upcoming Main Avenue reconstruction to have a larger effect on business, mainly because of timing as hunting season approaches. Imlach said work began in mid-May and the first phase will be complete by the end of June. Its a new intermediate-pressure gas line, she said. Upgrades to the existing system will also take place this summer, with expected completion by mid- to late-October. Palmer said the gas company is adding the trunk line and upgrading the existing system following the Urban Renewal Agencys request that utility companies move lines to assist with its Main Avenue redesign. Second Avenue North and Second Avenue East are state roads, so permits and traffic plans would have gone through the Idaho Transportation Department, Palmer said. TWIN FALLS Kami Freestone first thought she wanted to be a wildland firefighter about 10 years ago when she watched them at work as a wildfire burned through her familys ranch in Malta. It sounds like they do the same kind of ranch work, minus the cows, when theyre not fighting fires, she said. Freestone was one of about 52 returning seasonal firefighters and 38 new hires from the Bureau of Land Managements Burley, Shoshone, and Twin Falls fire yards, who gathered at the College of Southern Idaho Tuesday morning for the yearly pack test. Firefighters follow a set course through the college grounds and have to cover three miles in 45 minutes, while wearing a 45-pound vest, to demonstrate their physical fitness for the fireline. These vests are roughly equivalent to the packs full of food, water and tools that firefighters have to carry when theyre headed out a fire, said Ryan Berlin, spokesman for the BLMs Twin Falls district. Lots of times they dont know when theyre going to be back to their engines, Berlin said. This year was Freestones second taking the test. The first time was a lot harder than she expected, but her colleagues were encouraging and have been great to work with since then. They were helpful as she has learned the job, she said. She said she views her job as one where you can stay in shape and also help public lands stay healthy. Its one of those industries (where) you can really climb to the top if you want to make a career out of it, she said. Sarah Rochford, who was taking the pack test for the first time Tuesday, is new to the area, having moved here recently from Arizona. She said she decided she wanted to be a firefighter after the 2011 Monument Fire, which burned through almost 50 square miles in southern Arizona, forcing people to flee their homes and engulfing many peoples homes and businesses. Rochford had to wait, though, because she was in the Navy Reserve and also getting her associates degree. Im taking a break from that and fulfilling what I want to do with this part of my life, she said. Rochford said she would probably stay on as a wildland firefighter for a while, and might make a career out of it. If I like it, I dont see why I would stop doing it, she said. Freestone said she responded to only a few fires in her first year. You can never tell what kind of year youre going to have, she said. It remains to be seen what this years fire season will be like, Berlin said. At the moment, the area is pretty green, due to the recent rain. If it all dries out, though, that could leave a lot of flammable material. Right now its just dependent on the weather, he said. But even if its a quiet fire season in southern Idaho, there could still be plenty for these firefighters to do, depending on how it is elsewhere. If its a bad fire year somewhere else in the West, crews from here could be sent to help. We share resources throughout the U.S., Berlin said. Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte talks to reporters in Davao city in southern Philippines, May 9, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Under the leadership of outgoing President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines saw a freefall in relations with China, and the divergences with Beijing truly outgrew the bilateral framework. The scenario could have been dramatically different had the Aquino administration accepted Beijing's offer to negotiate to keep the territorial disputes between the two countries from derailing overall relations. Now, with Aquino outgoing as president and Rodrigo Duterte incoming, many entertain the hope that a reset button on relations can be pressed. Chinese President Xi Jinping included. In his congratulatory message to Duterte, Xi expressed the wish that "both sides can work hard to push Sino-Philippine relations back onto a healthy development track". This friendly overture is aimed at opening up a fresh chapter for ties in the post-Aquino era, and opens a window of opportunity for Beijing and Manila to rethink, readjust. Given the messy state of affairs Duterte has inherited from his wayward predecessor, particularly the pending arbitration the Aquino administration initiated, China-Philippine relations could well be the first diplomatic hot potato for Duterte. Beijing is not so naive as to expect Duterte to eat his own words on what he insists to be Philippine sovereignty. But Xi's message did show there are ways out, so long as Beijing and Manila share the political will and talk. The territorial disputes between Beijing and Manila are not a long story. And the two countries generally got along well, even with the disputes. Their disagreements did not get in the way of overall relations until a few years ago, after instigators from outside the region stepped in and fanned the flames of discord. Duterte, who will be sworn in on June 30, is yet to announce his policies toward China and on the South China Sea issue. However, he told the press on Sunday he wants friendly relations with China, and confirmed he is open to direct talks. He is also open to the possibility of joint exploration for resources with China. He even said he has an interest in Chinese assistance to meet his country's infrastructure needs. From improving infrastructure to creating jobs and reducing poverty, Duterte has daunting development tasks to tackle. China's Belt and Road Initiative could be of great help with these, if the two governments can find a way to manage their disputes and clear the ground for cooperation. Mohamed Badie, the Supreme Guide of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday together with 35 members of the organization for their roles in the clashes in Ismailia that left three people dead. The incidents took place during the weeks of violence that followed the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi in a military-backed coup detat led by al-Sisi in July 2013. Morsi is considered as Egypts first president to be elected in free and fair elections. Mohamed Badie had been sentenced to death in three previous trials. The Court of Cassation revoked two of the death sentences and ordered retrials. An appeal against the third death penalty is currently under deliberation. The Monday verdict handed some of the defendants jail terms ranging from 3 to 15 years. Muslim Brotherhoods Freedom, Justice political party had claimed in 2013 that the charges against Badie and his comrades were trumped up, and political. Under the Sisi administration, the Muslim Brotherhood and its entities were blacklisted as a terrorist organization and demonstrations organized by them were forcefully dispersed. Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members have received death sentences in mass trials since the end of the Morsi regime but many sentences were overturned in appeal courts. Sheikh Ali Salman, General Secretary of the Al Wefaq Islamic Society, saw his sentence increased from 4 to 9 years in prison after Bahrains Public Prosecution appealed for heavier sentence. Sheikh Ali is accused of promoting a forceful change of the Kingdoms political system, threatening to use illegal means, and inciting publicly the hatred of a sect of people to stir turmoil. He is also charged for inciting disobedience, publicly demeaning law enforcement agencies and their personnel as mercenaries, and alleging that some of these personnel are affiliated to terrorist organizations, according to general prosecutor Haroon Al Zayani. Zayani also accused the outspoken opposition figure of calling for Jihad and of requesting superpowers to intervene in Bahraini affairs to support him to change the constitutional regime. Zayani claimed that Salmans explicit call to violating the provisions of the law and his call for forceful regime change led to some groups expressing their readiness to supply him with weaponry in order to adopt the method of the Syrian opposition and to transform the country into a military battleground. The defense lawyers stressed that Salmans speeches being used against him were taken out of context. A joint statement by four major opposition groups warned that the court ruling will further strain the security and political situation while Al Wefaq said the ruling is provocative. Prime Minister Netanyahu and newly sworn-in Defense minister Avigdor Liberman have called in a joint statement for the revival of talks to end the conflict with Palestine. Netanyahu said the 2002 Arab peace initiative unveiled by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and endorsed by the Arab League includes positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians. We are willing to negotiate with the Arab states revisions to that initiative so that it reflects the dramatic changes in the region since 2002 while remaining faithful to the two-state solution, Netanyahu said. Liberman, whose return to the government raised concerns because of his strong ultranationalist views, said the Arab initiative has several very positive elements that allow for a serious dialogue with the countries of the region. I agree to everything, including the two-state solution, he said. Both Netanyahu and Liberman hailed President Sisis speech geared towards reviving the talks. Under the revised Arab peace initiative, 22 Arab states will normalize ties with Tel Aviv if Judea and Samaria are handed over to Palestine with the possibility of land swaps for other territories. I am committed to peace with our Palestinian neighbors and with all our neighbors, Netanyahu said but Palestine said the occupation and settlement policies hinder the viability of a Palestinian State. The addition of Libermans Yisrael Beitenu, an extreme right wing party, to the coalition government made Netanyahus government the most right wing party in Israels history. There are fears that the will to revive the Arab Peace initiative that has been stalled for years could be a maneuver meant to sideline the French initiative that Tel Aviv met with a cold shoulder. Israel has always maintained that negotiations with Palestine should be direct without any preconditions. The newly appointed Jordanian caretaker Prime Minister Hani Mulki has been criticized by some sides as being a pro-Israel figure, although King Abdullah laid emphasis in his appointment letter on the economic situation in the country. The Kingdom faces grave economic difficulties due to the volatile situation in this region, which has had an adverse impact on growth levels, the King said in his letter. Some critics claim that the economic difficulties led Jordan to allow Israeli companies to invest in the kingdom. According to official data, unemployment is around 14.6%. Husam Abdallat, a former top government aide at the office of the Jordanian premier, said Mulki will be working on reviving talks for a final solution to the Palestinian cause, which will most likely be at the expense of the Palestinian people. Mulkis appointment came after the parliament at the end of its mandate was dissolved by the King on Monday and elections are scheduled to take place before the end of September. The new prime minister was heading the Aqaba economic zone before his appointment and he had held several other key posts. The appointment letter pointed out that exceptional and innovative measures must be taken to overcome the economic challenges and obstacles. Observers claim the appointment is part of efforts to promote economic relations between Amman and Tel Aviv. Political analyst Bassam Badareen said the king is looking forward to a government that puts the economy as a first priority. Meanwhile, one of the main opposition political parties is expected to be absent in the elections as it closed its offices in protest against the methodical harassment and alienation that the government is exercising against the party. The Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, closed its general secretariat offices in Amman and its Secretary General Muhammad Awwad Al-Zuyud told Arabi 21 that party officials, members and family members are being targeted as part of a clampdown on the party spearheaded by the outgoing government. As the German Bundestag prepares to vote a resolution recognizing the 1915 massacre of around 1.5 million Armenians as genocide committed by the Ottoman forces during World War I, President Erdogan called Chancellor Angela Merkel to alert her of the consequences of such a decision. The nonbinding draft resolution states that Germany, an ally of the Ottoman Empire at the time, bears partial responsibility for the events that transpired and notes that the fate of the Armenians is exemplary in the history of mass exterminations, ethnic cleansing, deportations and yes, genocide, which marked the 20th century in such a terrible way. Erdogan warned that if Germany fell in this trap, it would damage our future diplomatic, economic, political, commercial and military relations. He said he is concerned about the resolution and urged for common sense from Germany. The draft is being supported by the Greens party, the Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Social Democrats (SPD.) Germanys Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it would be unwise to jeopardize from the outside the dialogue between the Turks and the Armenians on the issue that took place in 1915 while the newly appointed Turkish Prime minister Binali Yildirim said it is a laughable draft and Germanys Turkish community was concerned by the Bundestags baseless and unfair action. The draft was to be voted last year. Armenias president, Serzh Sargsyan, said the Bundestag should not be intimidated stressing that changing the word genocide just because that makes the head of state of another country angry would be unfair. More than 20 countries have recognized the massacres as genocide but Yildrim argues that those incidents were the norm under the conditions of World War I in 1915, and could have happened in any society and in any country. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe on Monday, vowed to push bilateral ties to a new stage. The Togolese president is paying a state visit to China from May 29 to June 2. The two leaders agreed to promote bilateral ties through enhanced cooperation in various fields that will benefit the people of their respective countries. Diplomatic relations between the two nations were established 44 years ago and the two countries have been cooperating on various fronts since then. President Xi Jinping vowed to enhance his countrys cooperation with Togo in the area of security to among others fight piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and crack down on transnational organized crimes. He said China-Togo cooperation has bright prospects since the two economies are highly complementary. The two sides should strengthen political mutual trust, continue high-level contacts, enhance friendly exchanges between governments, political parties, legislative bodies and at local levels, Xi Jinping said. Togos Faure Gnassingbe assured his Chinese counterpart that his government will offer better policies and an improved legal environment to attract more Chinese investment. An Egyptian court has handed down the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie and 35 other members of the banned organization life sentence. The defendants were found guilty of engaging in violent acts in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, during the 2013 ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. Badie, 72, had already been sentenced to prison terms and to the death penalty in other trials. Charges ranged from murder and inciting violence to stealing weapons and destruction of public and private property. The court exonerated 20 people involved in the case. Egypts military courts have been under fire by rights groups for their harsh verdicts. The Muslim Brotherhood has faced crackdown since Morsi was ousted in a coup led by the then military chief and current president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in July 2013. Since the ouster of Morsi, thousands of anti-government protesters, mostly Brotherhood supporters, have been sentenced to jail by civilian and military courts. The Brotherhood was later blacklisted as a terrorist organization in a bid to prevent its affiliates from running in elections. International rights groups have repeatedly blasted the Sisi government for the heavy-handed crackdown on anti-government protesters and stifling freedom of speech. Egypts foreign minister Tuesday said they would investigate allegations that an Egyptian official at UN Assembly on environment last week in Nairobi referred to Sub-Saharan Africans as dogs and slaves. Kenyan diplomat and chairwoman of the Yvonne Africa Diplomatic Corps technical committee Khamati has demanded in a memo that Egypt no longer represents Africa at international gatherings after she alleged that Egypts Minister of Environment and also President of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) referred to Africans from sub-Saharan Africa as dogs and slaves. According to the Kenyan diplomat the comments were made following failure to adopt a resolution on Gaza due to lack of quorum as most delegates had already left the Assembly. During our consultations with Egypt, the head of the Egyptian delegation and current President of AMCEN dismissed our concerns by informing that they would speak in their sovereign capacity and to that extent, referred to sub-Saharan Africans as dogs and slaves, in Arabic, Khamati explained in the memo relayed by local media. Khamati demanded that Egypt apologizes for the comments and also called for the resignation of the President of AMCEN. Egypts foreign minister Sameh Shoukry denied that such comments were ever made and rejected Khamatis bash on Egypt. Egypts minister of environment Khaled Fahmy denied any wrongdoing saying that he did not attend the conference. Egyptian ambassador to Kenya and two consultants of his Ministry were representing Egypt in the conference, Fahmy claimed. The incident is likely to sour Egypts ties with sub-Saharan Africa and questions related to the incident will be posed to Egyptian leader al-Sisi who is expected to attend the African Union annual summit scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, in July. The Affordable Care Act has reduced racial and ethnic disparities in health insurance coverage, although substantial disparities remain, a new study shows. Researchers at the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin say that Hispanics and blacks had the largest percentage-point declines in their rate of uninsurance7.1 and 5.1 points, respectively, compared with 3 points for whites. However, a much larger percentage of Hispanics and blacks remain uninsured, compared with whites. Coverage gains for these two groups were greater in states that expanded Medicaid programs. The analysis of data from the American Community Survey from 2008 to 2014 examined changes in the percentage of non-elderly adults who were uninsured, covered by Medicaid, or covered by private health insurance. "The data suggests that both before and after the ACA coverage expansions went into effect, differences in income explain much, but not all, of the coverage gaps between blacks and whites," said Thomas Buchmueller, professor of business economics and public policy at the U-M Ross School of Business. In 2014, the coverage gap between blacks and whites was 3.2 percentage points among adults in the lowest income category, compared with a gap of 9 points among all adults of both groups. Income also appears to explain a sizeable, although smaller, portion of the coverage gap between whites and Hispanic citizens. The coverage gap between whites and Hispanic noncitizens was extremely largeit was more than 40 percentage points in both non-expansion and expansion states. The eligibility restrictions facing many Hispanic immigrants, along with language barriers and a reluctance to use benefits, have a negative effect on coverage for this group, the researchers say. "To increase coverage for low-income adults in expansion states will require the adoption of Medicaid expansion by more states along with an improvement in program enrollment in states that have already done so," said Helen Levy, research associate professor at U-M's Ford School of Public Policy. Explore further Medicaid expansion significantly boosts insurance coverage among low-income adults More information: Thomas C. Buchmueller et al. Effect of the Affordable Care Act on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage, American Journal of Public Health (2016). Journal information: American Journal of Public Health Thomas C. Buchmueller et al. Effect of the Affordable Care Act on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage,(2016). DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303155 (HealthDay)Betrixaban may be beneficial versus enoxaparin in acutely ill medical patients, according to a study published online May 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research was published to coincide with the annual meeting of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Scientific and Standardization Committee, held from May 25 to 28 in Montpellier, France. Alexander T. Cohen, M.D., from Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals in London, and colleagues randomized 7,513 patients who were hospitalized for acute medical illnesses to either subcutaneous enoxaparin plus oral betrixaban placebo or subcutaneous enoxaparin placebo plus oral betrixaban. Analyses were performed in three prespecified cohorts: patients with an elevated D-dimer level (cohort 1), patients with an elevated D-dimer level or an age of 75 years (cohort 2), and all enrolled patients (overall population cohort). The researchers found that the primary efficacy outcome (a composite of asymptomatic proximal deep-vein thrombosis and symptomatic venous thromboembolism) occurred in 6.9 percent of patients receiving betrixaban and 8.5 percent receiving enoxaparin in cohort 1 (relative risk, 0.81; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.65 to 1.00; P = 0.054). In cohort 2 and the overall population cohort the rates were 5.6 and 7.1 percent (relative risk, 0.80; 95 percent CI, 0.66 to 0.98; P = 0.03) and 5.3 and 7.0 percent (relative risk, 0.76; 95 percent CI, 0.63 to 0.92; P = 0.006), respectively. "Prespecified exploratory analyses provided evidence suggesting a benefit for betrixaban in the two larger cohorts," the authors write. Several authors were employees of Portola Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures betrixaban and funded the study. Explore further Rivaroxaban found noninferior to enoxaparin in acutely ill Copyright 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Two studies published online by JAMA Cardiology examine the usefulness of a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I assay to help identify or exclude the diagnosis of a heart attack for patients reporting to an emergency department with chest pain. Patients with suspected cardiac chest pain account for more than 6 million emergency department visits annually across the United States. Current American Heart Association guidelines recommend serial measurements of cardiac troponin at presentation and 3 to 6 hours after symptom onset. As a result, most patients require prolonged assessment prior to safe discharge. This diagnostic approach leads to a large number of costly, potentially avoidable hospital admissions. Strategies that could safely identify a large proportion of patients suitable for discharge after a single sample of blood is taken on arrival in the ED would have major benefits to health care systems. In one study, Edward Carlton, Ph.D., of the North Bristol National Health Service Trust, Bristol, England and colleagues determined the diagnostic performance of low concentrations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I in patients with suspected cardiac chest pain and an electrocardiogram showing no ischemia as an indicator of acute myocardial infarction (AMI; heart attack). The researchers analyzed 5 international (Australia, New Zealand, and England) observational cohort studies with outcome assessment and 30-day follow-up. A total of 3,155 patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of cardiac ischemia were included in the analysis. Eligible patients had a nonischemic electrocardiogram determined and high-sensitivity troponin I measured at presentation. The lower limit of detection (1.2-ng/L) as well as rounded cutoff concentrations for a high-sensitivity troponin I assay were used in the analysis. Acute myocardial infarction developed in 291 individuals (9.2 percent). High-sensitivity troponin I concentrations that were below the limit of detection identified 19 percent of patients as being potentially suitable for immediate discharge, with a high diagnostic performance in excluding AMI. "To place these results in the context of absolute numbers of presenting patients, a number-needed-to-diagnose approach shows that, for the 1.2-ng/L cutoff level, for every 10,630 patients assessed, 1,990 would be correctly reassured that they are not having an AMI, 10 would be falsely reassured, and 8,630 would undergo further investigation, of whom 990 would ultimately receive a diagnosis of AMI. We also demonstrate that cutoff values above the lower limit of detection may not have the required diagnostic performance for clinical implementation," the authors write. In another study, Dirk Westermann, M.D., of University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany and colleagues aimed to develop an algorithm for accurate and rapid exclusion and diagnosis of AMI after 1 hour. Current European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend the use of high-sensitivity troponin assays on admission and after 3 hours. Recent studies suggest that AMI can be diagnosed earlier than 3 hours, when values below the 99th percentile are used as cutoff values. This study investigated the application of the troponin I assay for the diagnosis of AMI in 1,040 patients presenting to the emergency department with acute chest pain. Results were validated in 2 independent cohorts of 4,009 patients. The researchers found that with application of a low troponin I cutoff value of 6 ng/L, the rule-out algorithm showed a high negative predictive value of 99.8 percent after 1 hour for AMI, allowing for accurate and rapid exclusion of AMI. The l and 3-hour approaches yielded results that were not statistically different. Similarly, a rule-in algorithm based on troponin I levels provided a high positive predictive value with 83%. Application of the cutoff of 6 ng/L resulted in lower follow-up mortality (1 percent) compared with the routinely used 99th percentile (3.7 percent) for this assay. "This cutoff [6 ng/L] enables a rapid triage that excludes AMI and a faster initiation of evidence-based treatment for patients diagnosed as having AMI," the authors write. Explore further Rapid, more sensitive test speeds up chest pain triage Coronary artery bypass patients who have severe obesity are more likely to experience infection shortly after surgery and stay in the hospital longer, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Compared to coronary artery bypass patients with normal weight, patients with severe obesity were three times more likely to develop an infection after bypass surgery, researchers said. Coronary artery bypass surgery redirects blood flow to the heart around clogged heart arteries. "Based on the results of this study it appears that addressing infection risk might be an effective strategy to decrease the length-of-stay for patients with obesity who undergo coronary artery bypass surgery," said Mary Forhan, Ph.D., the study's senior author and assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Using a Canadian database of heart patients, the new study examined how a racially and ethnically diverse group of 7,560 patients fared after having bypass surgery in Edmonton between April 2003 and March 2014. Patients were divided according to their body mass index, a measure of body size based on weight and height, into five groups: normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9); overweight (25-29.9); and obesity class I (30-34.9), class II (35-39.9), and class III (40 or higher). For example, a 5-foot-4 woman would be at normal weight if she weighed 110 to about 145 pounds; she would be considered overweight from 145 to about 174 pounds, and to have obesity at 174 pounds or more. At 232 pounds she would have a BMI of 40, the threshold for severe obesity. In the Edmonton study, 20 percent of the bypass patients were at normal weight, 40.7 percent were considered overweight, and 25.7 percent, 9.2 percent, and 4.4 percent fell into obesity classes I, II, and III, respectively. Compared with patients at normal weight, those with severe obesity tended to be younger; were more likely to have diabetes, elevated cholesterol/triglycerides, high blood pressure, or lung disease; and were more likely to have undergone coronary angioplasty, a surgical procedure to open clogged arteries in the heart, the researchers reported. The study also found that: Patients with severe obesity were 56 percent more likely to have complications within a month of surgery, and those with a BMI classified as having moderate (class II) obesity had a 35 percent higher risk. The median hospital staythe point where half the patients stayed fewer days and half stayed morewas a day longer for patients with severe obesity than for patients of normal weight.In patients with severe obesity, patients with diabetes who experienced an infection had hospital stays 3.2 times longer than patients without either condition. Those findings emphasize a need for attentive care in bypass patients with diabetes, Forhan said. "We know that wound healing in general is affected by poorly controlled glucose levels, and that adipose (fat) tissue may take longer to recover from trauma" such as the kind that occurs during surgery, she said. "Therefore, as is recommended for all patients, efforts to ensure good glycemic control for patients with diabetes pre- and post-bypass are important." Why these patients are more likely to develop infections isn't clear, Forhan said. "We need further study that includes ways of preventing infection using evidence-based methods, and determining if such methods meet the needs of coronary artery bypass patients with moderate to severe obesity." The study did not determine types or locations of patients' infections, a topic the researchers plan to explore. They also intend to investigate whether chest binders used to promote healing after surgery are providing proper support in bypass patients with obesity. Each year almost 400,000 patients in the United States undergo coronary artery bypass. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults age 20 or older are classified as overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Samina Ali examines a child. Credit: University of Alberta Canada stands at the verge of a new standard of pediatric pain management, thanks to the dedicated leadership of Samina Ali. Over the last few years, she has been making headlines for leading several research projects revealing that Canada's children are consistently undertreated for pain in emergency departments across the country, with lack of policies and self-reported knowledge gaps identified as leading causes. Ali, an associate professor of pediatrics in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, is the lead author of a recent study in the journal Pediatric Emergency Care that examines the best ways of minimizing acute pain for children and youth in the emergency room. She is now working with national communities of practice to introduce single-source educational tools for health-care professionals who work in emergency departments. "This wasn't a hypothesis-generating paper," says Ali, who is also assistant dean of professionalism in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. "This was a paper meant to help front-line clinical care providersnurses, doctors, nurse practitioners or whoever might take care of children when they are ill or injuredwith knowledge of basic, proven therapies that work and also happen to be very easy to use." Using 12 Cochrane systematic reviews encompassing hundreds of articles, Ali and her team have created a practical and easy-to-reference guideline that can help any health professional who may be treating a child for pain in the emergency department and beyond. She notes that only articles that had demonstrated proven results were included in the review. One of the biggest gaps that leaves children at risk of being undertreated, Ali says, is that few hospitals have consistent policies in effect for situations involving children. "For example, right now at the Stollery emergency department, if a nurse is doing blood work on an infant, she has a nurse directive to go get sucrose and give the child drops of this sucrose. It's wonderful because we know that it takes away at least 20 per cent of their pain, if not more, and it's such a simple, low-risk intervention," she explains. "Now, if they happen to call the lab to draw that blood and the nurse is not in the room when the lab arrives to do the test, the lab has no protocol to use that same sucrose. We are offering differential care because we don't have an overarching hospital policy for such an intervention." Ali notes that the Stollery Children's Hospital Pain Committee is already working to implement such a policy. In an attempt to ensure that there are less discrepancies in future pediatric pain management, Ali is also working with the Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centres to create easy-to-use toolkits, which will be introduced to medical facilities that treat children across the country. Parents should also be engaged in this process, Ali says. With several practices from breastfeeding to distraction techniques showing considerable reduction in children's pain, parents should have the opportunity to voice which method would best suit their child during medical procedures. "My ultimate vision is a place where the responsibility doesn't sit on the individual care provider, or the individual parent, or the individual child. Rather, it's built into the system that when you walk inand it is just an expectationwe're going to take the best pieces of information that are usable for your child and offer them to you to make this the least painful experience possible." Explore further Canadian children need improved pain management in emergency departments More information: Samina Ali et al. An Evidence-Based Approach to Minimizing Acute Procedural Pain in the Emergency Department and Beyond, Pediatric Emergency Care (2016). Samina Ali et al. An Evidence-Based Approach to Minimizing Acute Procedural Pain in the Emergency Department and Beyond,(2016). DOI: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000000669 If pregnant women take antiepileptic drugs, the child can develop autistic traits. The administration of folic acid preparations appears to be a suitable means of preventing this serious side-effect. This finding is suggested by a Norwegian study presented at the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen. Having a sufficiently high level of folic acid is especially important for pregnant women who have to take antiepileptic drugs. Dr Marte Helene Bjrk from the University of Bergen in Norway had this to say on the subject at the Second Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) in Copenhagen: "Suitable nutritional supplements could substantially contribute to protecting the child from a possible side-effect of antiepileptic drugs, namely from autism." Possible side-effect of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs): 12 out of 100 children with autistic traits With her current study, Dr Bjrk was able to show that women with epilepsy with a lower concentration of folic acid during pregnancy have a higher risk of giving birth to a child with autistic traits if they take antiepileptic drugs. Possible autistic traits were examined in about 58,000 three-year-old children whose mothers are healthy or have epilepsy. Among the women with epilepsy, a distinction was also made between those who took antiepileptic drugs during their pregnancy and those who did not. In addition, the research team recorded possible folic acid intake during pregnancy and the level of folate concentration in blood plasma for women with epilepsy who continued taking their antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy. Dr Bjrk: "The results clearly show how risky antiepileptic drugs can be for unborn children. Twelve percent of the children who were exposed to the effects of these drugs during pregnancy ended up exhibiting autistic traits a rate substantially higher than in the two other groups." In women with epilepsy who did not use medication, only about three percent of the children showed autistic traits whereas the rate for healthy mothers was about four percent. The expert went on to say this: "The good news is that the risk can be mitigated if the woman takes folic acid supplements." The data shows that women with epilepsy who took AEDs were affected more intensely than all others if they dispensed with taking folic acid supplements during early pregnancy: Their children developed autistic traits six times more often compared to women using antiepileptic drugs and taking folid acid supplements. This finding was arrived at after statistically factoring out of the comparison other risk factors such as epileptic seizures, depression, socioeconomic status or the concentration of antiepileptic drugs or cotinine in the blood of pregnant women. Dr Bjrk concluded by saying: "The lower the folate concentration in the plasma during pregnancy, the worse the children fared later at age three in the test to determine the degree of autistic traits (Social Communication Questionnaire, SCQ). For pregnant women with epilepsy, the early administration of folic acid preparations is therefore an absolute must." Women with epilepsy should plan their pregnancy under the control of the treating neurologist. Although continuing antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy poses risks to the child, stopping antiepileptic drugs represents in most cases a higher health risk - both for mother and child. Intense epileptic seizures can lead to oxygen deficiency, which can damage or kill the foetus. The mother is also at risk: Five per cent of fatalities during pregnancy are attributed to epilepsy. Explore further Prenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs associated with impaired fine motor skills More information: EAN 2016 Abstract Bjrk M H et al, Low maternal folic acid in women with epilepsy during pregnancy is linked to autistic traits in the child at 3 years of age EAN 2016 Abstract Bjrk M H et al, Low maternal folic acid in women with epilepsy during pregnancy is linked to autistic traits in the child at 3 years of age Bjrk M H et al, Using the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study to determine risk factors for delayed development and neuro-psychiatric symptoms in the offspring of parents with epilepsy, Norsk Epidemiologi 2014; 24 (1-2): 79-89 Provided by European Academy of Neurology Georgia reveals its economic reform progress to donors The progress of reforms implemented to boost economic growth in Georgia is being presented today to Georgias donor organisations and countries.Yesterday a special coordination group on economic growth met for the first time at the Administration of the Government of Georgia to discuss the economic reforms already implemented and future plans.Georgias business and investment climate reforms, access to finances, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), business development, innovations and technologies, development of tourism and infrastructure and utilisation of Georgias transit potential were the main topics of todays meeting.The Government of Georgia has an intensive reform agenda which is planned to be implemented in the nearest future. We provided information to donors and we now hope to strengthen [Georgias] implementation of economic reforms through cooperating with them, said Georgias Deputy Economic Minister Irma Kavtaradze.European Union (EU) Delegation to Georgia envoy Kaido Sierl said the EU was cooperating with Georgia within the European Neighbourhood Policy and within the Association Agreement (AA), which Georgia signed in June 2014.The topics related to economic growth are very important for the EU. We will continue supporting Georgia in the future as well, Sirel said.Over time the Government of Georgia will provide information about how the country was implementing its reforms to donor countries and organisations. Single tariffs to increase competitiveness of Trans-Caspian route The use of single tariffs will increase the competitiveness of the Trans-Caspian international transportation route, Taleh Ziyadov, head of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, told reporters on May 24.The use of single tariffs in cargo transportation from Europe to China and back shows the high competitiveness and operability of the transportation corridor, he said.Ziyadov noted that each new meeting aimed at increasing the number of countries joining the single tariff policy, is a big step forward."I believe that these meetings will be held regularly, every 1-2 months, and we will see the use of new single tariffs and many countries joining this process," he added.Ziyadov noted that many countries welcome the use of single tariffs.The Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine and goes to Europe.Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine signed a protocol in January to set competitive preferential tariffs for cargo transportation via the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route. Those tariffs will be used from June 1 2016. Sanctions for election violations By Messenger Staff Georgias Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, is initiating tighter sanctions regarding violence during political and electoral processes.He commissioned the Minister of Justice to draft a relevant bill.The PMs initiative comes after a clash at one of polling stations in the western Samegrelo region, which left opposition leaders and party supporters beaten.I condemn the violence which occurred near one of the polling stations in Samegrelo during the by-elections for Sakrebulos (local councils). This inflicted major damage upon the state image. An investigation has already been launched, and I expect the Ministry of Internal Affairs to indicate all alleged perpetrators of the violence who will be punished to the fullest extent, the PM said.The PM stressed that existing legislation does not foresee any relevant punishment for this kind of offence.Hence, I would like to assign the Ministry of Justice to elaborate relevant legislative amendments and present them during the upcoming Cabinet Session. Respective draft clauses shall provide for the stricter sentences for violence during political and electoral processes, Kvirikashvili said.The PM stated that the government would not permit violence in the electoral process.We will strictly punish the perpetrators of such crimes. We aim to ensure adherence to democratic standards in the electoral process. Citizens shall be enabled to make a choice, and all political actors shall be provided with a calm and competitive electoral environment, said the PM.It is good that the Prime Minister admitted that the existent legislation lacks levers to address election violations and that it would be better for the police to act better where a clash erupted between the supporters of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) and their Georgian Dream rivals. After the clash, both sides said their opponents were guilty of staging a provocation.The most unwelcome fallout came in the lack of effective police actions; so far, the MIA has not provided an explanation as to why the police failed to calm the situation.Each government body and its leader must be responsible for the actions (or inaction) of his/her staff. The News in Brief Suspects in Kortskheli incident remain unidentified The Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating the recent violent incident in Kortskheli, Samegrelo under Article 125th of the Criminal Code. So far, no-one has been arrested in connection to the case. On Monday, Tamta Kokelidze, deputy head of the MIA press office, said to DFWatch that intensive investigation measures were being taken and witnesses were being questioned. They did not, however, confirm how many people were injured during Sundays violence, or whether the investigators had questioned men, whom the United National Movement party is accusing of being complicit in the assault. DF Watch talked to the MIA press office Tuesday too, and was told there were no updates so far. We cannot reveal any details in order not to affect the investigation. Every single witness will be questioned, Tamta Kokelidze said. The Article 125 of the Criminal Law Code of Georgia punishes any type of violence by imposing a fine or community work and/or corrective labour. A by-election was held on Sunday at nine electoral districts in Georgia in order to elect members of the Sakrebulo (municipal assemblies). The clashes took place in the precinct in Kortskheli in Zugdidi. Supporters of the Georgian Dream party attacked members of the UNM; the UNM claims former and active sportsmen were among the attackers. Initially, it was said that there were rugby players and boxers among the attackers. However, information later distributed by the UNM suggested there were mostly sportsmen from different combat sports. Several prominent members of the UNM, including MPs, were injured. Georgian Dream stated their supporters and activists were also injured. However, the UNM ultimately won the elections in Kortskheli. (DF Watch) NATO does not have a common position with regard to Georgia and Ukraine NATO does not have a common position with regard to Georgia and Ukraine's membership, but the "open door" policy is still in force, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics said in an interview with the news portal "Delphi". "NATO has always made statements about the 'open door' principle. But now, we cannot talk about the integration of Georgia or Ukraine with NATO in the near future. Of course, there was a summit in Bucharest, where it was noted that such a thing could happen. However, today NATO has no common position on this issue. At the same time, I think that we should not send wrong signals to Kiev and Tbilisi and utterly rule out the possibility of joining. The fact that Montenegro is joining NATO is clear proof that the 'open door' policy is still valid, but the candidate countries themselves must be prepared to carry out reforms. This applies not only to defence policy, but also to safety of information, prevention of corruption and implementation of reform in the judiciary and public administration. All of these issues are a subject of interest for NATO. In this regard, both countries still have a lot of work to do, said Rinkevics. (IPN) Ukrainian Foreign Minister says Georgia may get visa-free regime with the EU before Ukraine Georgia may get a visa-free regime with the EU a few weeks earlier than Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin told reporters in Brussels. "As the Ministers informed me, Georgias visa-free regime may be put on the agenda a few weeks earlier because it fulfilled its commitments before us, said Klimkin. According to him, the EU foreign ministers confirmed at the meeting with him that the EU has questions neither with Georgia nor with Ukraine. As reported by the Ukrainian media, several days ago the French Interior Minister stated that the issue of Ukraines visa liberalization will not be put on the agenda in the coming weeks or months. (ipn) New concert arena on Black Sea coast opens in June A new concert venue on Georgias Black sea coastline - boasting a retractable ceiling and modern infrastructure - will open next month. About 200 million GEL ($93 million/83 million) was invested in the Black Sea Arena a mini stadium located in Shekvetili on eastern Georgia's Black Sea coast, about half an hour north of Batumi. Designed by German architects Drei Architekten, the Black Sea Arena can accommodate 8,700 spectators on circular grandstands and will host concerts, sporting events and other public events. Construction of the arena was funded by the Cartu Charity Foundation and the facility was fitted with state-of-the-art technology including a retractable ceiling cover that can open or close within several minutes. Specifically, 168 rotating, translucent facades lamellas will protect guests from the sun, wind and rain, but once opened will allow the full view of the nearby landscape and towering mountains in the Greater Caucasus. (agenda.ge) New Challenges for Old Players By Messenger Staff The political situation since 2012 in Georgia has changed after the Georgian Dream coalition (created by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili) came to power.The elections were won by the coalition and the incumbent UNM government was defeated. Since then, several elections have taken place in Georgia and all of them were assessed as being democratic without any serious violations. The new ruling coalition started to implement democratic approaches with the aim of holding fair elections and leading the country in the right direction.The UNM (United National Movement) party, meanwhile, spent its time preparing for the next parliamentary election and rallying its supporters. The ruling coalition, under pressure from the International Community, did not overtly punish former government officials and administering what most in the ruling party (and the public) believed to be 'justice'. The population then expressed disappointment in the new Georgian Dream leadership's advocacy of tolerance.When the UNM lost its position in Georgia, many demanded that the party be banned as a criminal organization. Facts of different instances of injustice were brought to the public's attention, including seizing property, secret surveillance and even murder.Gradually the UNM started to recover its position, claiming that, the GD coalition began to lose its popular support.The by-elections conducted in the middle of May showed that Georgian Dream still enjoys the leading position, but it should seriously consider the current moves inside the political body. The coalition is fragmented, as different members - individuals as well as political parties - are leaving it.Voters have also been lost. Many do not want to go to the polling stations at all. This has created hope for the UNM to come back into power. Some analysts think that tolerance for the parliamentary opposition will be in evidence whichever party wins the election. The chances have appeared for several non- parliament parties as well to enter the legislative body. Russian diplomat: Georgias integration into NATO will be a blow to European security By Gvantsa Gabekhadze Georgias integration with NATO would be a blow to European security, Russia's Ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, told reporters."I think that NATO will act wisely because Georgias integration into NATO would be a blow to European security. This is a huge risk to peace and security in Europe, said Grushko.The NATO Secretary General's Special Representative James Appathurai said after the Warsaw summit Georgia will be invited to more NATO meetings than any other partners.The major country that threatens regional and European security is Russia.At Georgias Defence and Security Conference on May 24, Vice President of the US Atlantic Council Damon Wilson said that Russia forcibly changes borders and stirs provocations for its neighbours.Georgia is steadily striving towards membership in NATO and has done much to be part of the alliance.Georgia needs clear messages from the alliance, as being part of NATO means security for Georgia.It is hard to feel safe with Russia as a neighbour, especially when the country occupies 20% of Georgia's territory and routinely kidnaps (and occasionally kills) Georgian citizens and changes the borders.Without stability, it is hard to develop and attract businesses to any country.Georgia is repeatedly told by the international community that it is adept at fulfilling its obligations and carrying out democratic reforms.No one will praise Georgia for inactivity, though the hollow praise that Tbilisi does receive is not enough to guarantee the country's security.Georgians are well aware that membership in the EU or NATO is not dependent on their own efforts, and that the membership will ultimately be a political decision.Such statements made by Russian officials alarm some European leaders and NATO members, which Russia knows all too well and uses to its advantage.Western fear enables Russia to carry out aggressive actions and violate international laws, standards and territorial integrity. The News in Brief Georgia should be more encouraged by NATO Adam Kinzinger Georgia is a very strong ally of the West, Republican Senator Adam Kinzinger told the Voice of America's Georgian office. He says Georgia should be more encouraged by NATO. Georgia has managed to eradicate corruption in the government but important problems are still ahead and it continues working on them. Besides which, Georgia is in a very sensitive position with regards to Russia as we saw when Russia almost reached its capital in 2008. The Russians only withdrew after President Bush sent warships to Georgia, he said. According to the Congressman, Putin should know that the United States will never again become involved in proxy wars, as Russia is attempting to drag Washington further into the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. Kinzinger also criticized the so-called reloading policy launched by President Obama with Russia, adding that the White House Administration is weak enough in terms of external affairs. We all understand very well that the Russians only want to restore the Soviet Union, including Ukraine, Georgia, Baltic countries and every other former Soviet territory. They have been calculating how to implement this plan and how to increase pressure on their neighbours without prompting a NATO response, the Congressman declared. (IPN) Saakashvili announces his return to Georgia before the elections The former president of Georgia and the current governor of Ukraines Odessa region, Mikheil Saakashvili, declared in aninterview for Rustavi 2 that he intends to return to Georgia and engage in the campaign before the parliamentary elections in October. No-one should doubt or see it as a threat what is a natural development. Im planning to return to Georgia and Im planning to be actively involved in the [political] process under the circumstances. We are doing a lot for Ukraine, which for me is another component of the same battle. Im planning to continue my struggle both here in Ukraine and at home in Georgia, Mr Saakashvili said. He denied that there was a tension within the United National Movement and confirmed that he was the partys primary leader by virtue of being the partys founder. The former president also criticised former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili - who is believed to exercise major influence over Georgian politics despite having formally left the scene - for the way he handled the Batumi Institute of Technology project. One of the projects which I offered him [Mr Ivanishvili] very gently, yet firmly, was the University of Technology. He gave an aloof no for his answer. Later we found some 140 million dollars from the Americans after many conversations with my friend, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. We built this building which cost more than 100 million [dollars] and they sold it for 25 million as flats. They ruined it. They had all the money and in September 2013 the university was supposed to receive its first Georgian students, when it had partners, teachers, accreditation, and money. Now hes saying hell build it Does he think were morons? Mr Saakashvili said. He also accused Mr Ivanishvili of causing the death of the former minister of economy, Kakha Bendukidze, by threatening to incarcerate him. Kakha Bendukidze died in 2014 due to heart failure. He [Mr Ivanishvili] personally killed Kakha Bendukidze. I kept in touch with him until his last breath and I know for sure that Ivanishvili was telling him Ill put you in prison, Ill put you in a 4 m? cell and I wont even let you wash yourself. Ivanishvili said it to him personally. I know that Kakha didnt take it well, his nerves werent as strong as mine are, and a great patriot, Kakha Bendukidze, who did everything for Georgia, was killed by Ivanishvili, Mr Saakashvili said. (DF watch) Venice Commission Looking into Georgias Controversial Bill on Constitutional Court The Council of Europes advisory body for legal affairs, the Venice Commission, is expected to release its preliminary opinion over Georgias controversial bill on Constitutional Court on May 27, the Georgian Presidents adviser for legal and human rights affairs said. Kakha Kozhoridze told Georgian journalists in Strasbourg after meeting representatives from the Venice Commission on May 24 that the bill poses serious risks to the smooth functioning of the Constitutional Court. The bill increases the quorum required for the Constitutional Court to decide cases and was rushed through Parliament by the GDDG ruling party, who adopted it with its third and final reading on May 14. Kozhoridze also said that the President has objections over the bill and the Venice Commissions opinion will help him in deciding whether to veto it or not. Deadline for the President to either sign the bill into law or to veto it will expire on June 3, according to the parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili. The Venice Commission said on May 20 that it received two requests from Georgia for an opinion one from the Presidents Office and the other from the Parliament. In lieu of the urgency of the matter, the President [Giorgi Margvelashvili] requested an opinion to be prepared within 10 days, the Venice Commission said. On May 24 it also said that within the frames of preparation of an opinion on the bill - along with the meeting with the Presidents representatives - information would also be provided from the Georgian Justice Ministry and Parliaments human rights committee via Skype on the following day. Although the chairperson of the human rights committee and co-sponsor of the bill, GDDG MP Eka Beselia, apparently told co-rapporteurs from the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) when they visited Tbilisi earlier this month that the bill would have been sent to the Venice Commission before its adoption, the ruling GDDG party went ahead and passed the bill and sent it to the Venice Commission only after its adoption by the Parliament. The monitoring co-rapporteurs for Georgia from the PACE expressed regret at the hasty adoption in final reading of the bill without it being first sent to the Venice Commission for review. (Civil.ge) Annette Taddeo, who is running in a Democratic Congressional primary against former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, has fired three staffers in a campaign shakeup. Campaign manager Shaun Daniels, finance director Foxhall Parker and communications director Francisco Bravo were fired, said Jermaine House, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman. Bravo's last day is today while Daniels and Parker left within the past couple of weeks. (Politico reported the news earlier today.) It was necessary for the Taddeo campaign to change directions and hire new senior campaign staffers," House said in a statement. "Annette has a clear path to victory with the right team on board, and while difficult, we absolutely support her in these decisions. Clearly, Taddeo has the strategic eye to make decisions necessary to win. James Stretch is Taddeo's new campaign manager. He was formerly campaign manager for Melissa Gilberts, a Congressional candidate in Michigan. Additional staffers will be announced by the end of the week, House said. Taddeo did not return a phone message seeking comment. The Democrats are vying to compete for the seat now held by U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Miami. The DCCC supported the firings following polls that showed Taddeo lagging behind. A poll released by Garcia's campaign earlier this month showed that he has a 25-point lead over Taddeo. An internal poll by Taddeo's campaign released to the Miami Herald showed Garcia has a 21-point lead but with one-quarter of the voters undecided. Two Republicans who ran against Curbelo in 2014 -- Ed MacDougall and Lorenzo "Larry" Palomares-Starbuck -- said that a Republican plans to file against Curbelo. The two men wouldn't identify the challenger but Palomares-Starbuck told the Miami Herald that the person is not an elected official. Both MacDougall and Palomares-Starbuck are Trump supporters while Curbelo is not a fan of Trump and suggested he might be a ringer for Hillary Clinton. Term limits, a federal balanced budget amendment and docking the pay of members of Congress for missing votes are among a list of reforms U.S. Senate candidate Carlos Beruff said he'll advocate for if he is elected. It is all part of an "End Government Greed" program that the land developer from Manatee County outlined on Wednesday that also includes imposing a lifetime ban on members of Congress ever becoming lobbyists and reducing federal employees - not including the military - by 20 percent. "Some of these reforms may be controversial and you can bet that the political class in Washington will say that theyre extreme or unrealistic," Beruff said in a statement to the media in advance of a speech he was expected to deliver to the Lake County Republican Party on Wednesday night in Mount Dora. "But the people of Florida know that we need bold ideas and real change in Washington, not more of the same." Both term limits and the balanced budget proposal would require a change to the U.S. Constitution. That would require a constitutional convention and at least 38 states voting to ratify the proposed amendment. Beruff is one of five Republicans running to replace Sen. Marco Rubio. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Orlando businessman Todd Wilcox, and U.S. Reps. David Jolly and Ron DeSantis are also running in the Aug. 30 Republican Primary. Beruff's 10 point program (more on each on his website here): TERM LIMITS LIFETIME BAN ON CONGRESSMEN, SENATORS AND CABINET SECRETARIES FROM BECOMING LOBBYISTS NO BUDGET, NO PAY- FOR CONGRESS, THE PRESIDENT, AND THE CABINET NO CATCH-ALL SPENDING BILLS BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION REQUIRE A SUPER MAJORITY TO INCREASE TAXES REPEAL AUTOMATIC PAY RAISES FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TIE CONGRESS PAY TO PERCENTAGE OF VOTES CAST/MISSED EVERY LAW CONGRESS PASSES MUST APPLY TO CONGRESS REDUCE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CIVILIAN WORKFORCE BY 20% Amid warnings of a potential Zika "disaster" in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday asked President Barack Obama for an extensive list of preparedness items from the federal government to fight the dreaded virus. In a three-page letter to the President, Scott said some of the requested items were detailed in a May 12 meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, but have not been fulfilled. "I cannot waste any time on disappointment. Florida needs action from the federal government now," Scott wrote. The requested items include 5,000 Zika preparedness kits, money for more mosquito control workers and for an outreach program, insecticides, spraying equipment, mosquito traps and personal protection equipment. Scott also asked for a report from the feds by June 15 on how the state should work with FEMA, the federal emergency management agency, on how to request federal help after the Zika virus becomes mosquito-borne in Florida and causes an outbreak that requires an immediate response. The governor also voiced unhappiness with inaction by the Republican-controlled Congress, which "has failed to act and they are now on vacation." Scott's letter is here. For Floridians, having access to live coverage of oral arguments before the state's highest court is nothing new -- the court has allowed cameras in the courtroom since 1979 and live coverage since 1997. But across the nation, and the world, the idea is still gaining traction and Florida is a model, according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington, released on Tuesday. The GAO report, intended to help Congress as it studies the possibility of similar broadcasts at the U.S. Supreme Court, includes detailed information about the Florida Supreme Courts program to broadcast all of its oral arguments. According to the Florida Supreme Court, every oral argument "has been broadcast on the Web, on cable television, and via satellite since that program began in 1997. Videos also are archived for access at any time." The GAO report cites the cooperative relationship the court has with the taxpayer-funded Florida Channel and notes that "Florida case law establishes a presumption that coverage is allowed and requires judges to make an on-the-record finding to prohibit coverage." The report cites how the program has been used to expand public understanding of the court system, and cites a Florida court official who stated that "high-profile, controversial cases can be misunderstood by the public and broadcasting oral arguments in their entirety can help dispel misconceptions about the case and how the court operates." Notably, the court's live broadcast of oral arguments in the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election case, "helped educate the public about the judicial system and noted that it was beneficial for the public to be able to see the arguments and draw their own conclusions,'' the report said. It is flattering that the U.S. Congress turns to the Florida Supreme Court as it looks at ways of increasing public access to the highest court in the nation,'' said Chief Justice Jorge Labarga in a statement. Considering the other courts they reviewed, it shows that we have set a world-class example. Cameras were permitted into Florida trial court proceedings on a limited basis starting in 1975 and, after four years of study, the court adopted its permanent rule in 1979 allowing cameras into trial and appeals court proceedings statewide. @JeremySWallace On the eve of the Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate being together at the same event for the first time in South Florida, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Canteras campaign is taking shots at a pair of rivals for allegedly not being tough enough on Cuba. All five candidates have said they oppose President Barack Obamas recent attempts to improve relations with Cuba. But Lopez-Canteras campaign put out a statement accusing both U.S. Rep. David Jolly and Manatee County land developer Carlos Beruff of backing Obamas efforts on Cuba. Jolly, a Pinellas County Republican, has said he supports easing some travel restrictions with Cuba, but has said Obama has been too aggressive in trying to normalize relations. Beruff was quoted in the Bradenton Herald in December of 2014 saying opening Cuba to the U.S. economy and culture would end the communist regime, but said earlier this year that Obama has botched those efforts by poorly negotiating with the Castro regime. But to the Lopez-Cantera campaign, both are weak on Cuba. Supporting travel to Cuba, both Jolly and Beruff are taking the naive approach that a dictatorship and its brutal regime can end overnight simply by pouring more money into the island nation and rewarding the Castros who continue to abuse their own citizens, Lopez-Cantera spokeswoman Courtney Alexander said in statement to the media. Beruffs and Jollys campaign both responded by painting Lopez-Cantera as desperate candidate struggling to remain relevant in the race. "Its clear the Lieutenant Governor is getting desperate, which is not surprising to anyone whos paying attention, said Joanna Rodriguez, press secretary for Beruffs campaign. Several members of Carlos' family fought for a free Cuba, including his uncle who lost his life trying to bring down the Castro regime during the Bay of Pigs invasion. The fact that the Lieutenant Governor would try and insinuate Carlos has any sympathy for the Castro regime is a disgusting and disrespectful new low. And from the Jolly campaign: "Poor Carlos just can't get David Jolly out of his head, Jolly campaign manager Max Goodman said. Regardless of his flimsy attacks and staff stumbles, we're flattered he's keeping such a close eye on our campaign to get Congress working again. The topic is bound to come up on Thursday, when all five Republican candidates meet in Boca Raton on Thursday at an event put on by America First, an organization created last year by Margi Helschien, a political consultant and former vice chairwoman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. @PatriciaMazzei A Democratic superdelegate from Miami-Dade County made it official Wednesday that she's backing Hillary Clinton for president. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, one of the longest-serving local elected officials, is a Florida member of the Democratic National Committee. "Secretary Clinton is the most qualified to lead from day one and has the experience to confront our domestic and international challenges," Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. "She has the energy and commitment to continue to move our country forward as we tackle issues from criminal justice reform and gun violence that continues to tear apart our youth, to closing the salary wage gap that American families face every day." Superdelegates aren't bound by popular primary results. But Clinton won Florida in a rout on March 15. Fernandez Rundle was re-elected without opposition last month. Two solar energy groups are joining forces with the the hopes of providing some social media clarity to the now-cloudy state of the future of solar energy in Florida to advance Amendment 4. The measure, which proposes to give commercial property owners a tax break when they install renewable energy devices, comes before voters on the Aug. 30 primary ballot. There is no announced opposition to the effort but the groups want Floridians to know this is not the same proposal as the utility-industry proposal on the November ballot that is designed to protect their energy investments, not broaden the solar market to competition. The utility-funded group calls itself Consumers for Smart Solar. The groups -- Florida for Solar and Floridians 4 Lower Energy Costs -- launch the digital aspect of their education campaign today on Twitter, Facebook and other Internet sites to spread word about the proposal. Florida for Solar, is a non-profit advocacy organization formed by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and headed up by his former aide, Chris Spencer. Brandes is one of the authors of the proposal. The other group, Floridians 4 Lower Energy Costs, is headed up by Tory Perfetti, and it will work with grassroots organizations, renewable industry supporters and advocates, and non-partisan players. It is an affiliate of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the organization that backed a rival amendment that failed to get on the November ballot. SACE organized Floridians for Solar Choice and pushed its own amendment, only to be stymied when the utilities conducted a price war over petition gathering and they ended up in federal court suing their petition gathering vendor over billing practices. That proposal, now intended for the 2018 ballot, would allow property owners to sign lease agreements with solar companies to finance and install equipment. Solar owners would then be allowed to generate and sell solar electricity to contiguous property owners, as well as to area utilities. Meanwhile, the first question for voters is whether or not they want to support the August ballot measure. It already has the support of the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, The Nature Conservancy and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Incredible as it sounds, financial scamming targeting older adults is now the crime of the 21st century, according to the National Council on Aging, or NCOA. Its not just bank accounts that are hit hard by financial fraud the stress, shame and worry it causes have an impact on the mental health of many elders, too. On June 15, local agencies are coming together to focus on senior financial abuse and what we can do about it. A free film and panel discussion by area experts called Face It Senior Financial Fraud Happens is scheduled from 9:3011:30 a.m. at the DoubletreeEdgewater, 100 Madison St. in Missoula. Its easy to believe that this sort of crime does not happen in Montana, but as Missoula County Sheriffs Detective Glenville Kedie notes, Its a sad fact that people prey on older Americans. (Sadder still is the fact that financial fraud is often perpetrated by a family member, but thats another discussion.) Kedie says lately local law enforcement is hearing from older adults receiving calls from persons claiming to be IRS agents. The victim is told they, or a spouse, owe back taxes and that an arrest warrant has been issued. The solution offered is that the victim go to the bank and transfer funds into an IRS account. In several cases, victims have complied by transferring funds into the bogus account. Sometimes this has led to subsequent calls demanding additional fees and penalties supposedly accrued while the account was delinquent. Recently a Missoula County victim was bilked out of nearly $5,000; another Montana case resulted in the victim surrendering over $40,000 before notifying law enforcement. Just remember that no legitimate IRS agent will ever demand payment be transferred into a blind account or threaten you with a warrant if you dont. Should you ever receive a call from anyone representing themselves as law enforcement, politely offer to call them back not at the number they provide, but at a number you find on the agencys website or in blue government pages in the front of every phone book. The NCOAs list of the Top 10 financial scams targeting older adults are: Medicare/health insurance scams, counterfeit prescription drugs, funeral and cemetery scams, fraudulent anti-aging products, telemarketing/phone scams, Internet fraud, investment schemes, homeowner/reverse mortgage scams, sweepstakes and lottery scams and the grandparent scam. Although Missoula Aging Services has a program, Montana SMP, which empowers older adults to prevent healthcare fraud specifically, scams can take many different forms. Last July, the Missoulian reported on a rural resident of Granite County who lost his lifes savings to a scam that used the Publishers Clearinghouse name. The scammers required him to pay to receive his prize. Its wise to consult with a person you trust before making a large purchase or investment. Dont be pressured or intimidated into immediate decisions. Any legitimate sweepstake or prize does not require payment from the supposed winner. June 15 is also World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, or WEAAD, which supports the United Nations International Plan of Action acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue. WEAAD serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations and communities to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Experts believe that for every case of elder abuse or neglect reported, as many as 23 cases go unreported. Thats where each of us comes in, because individuals can make a difference. One way to take action is by making a commitment to volunteer such as becoming a Friendly Visitor or Meals on Wheels driver. Both programs serve vulnerable older adults and provide regular contact with them. Also, consider volunteering for Montana SMP to help combat Medicare fraud, or any of the other wide range of volunteer opportunities that make a difference in the lives of older adults and are available at Missoula Aging Services or other organizations which serve seniors. Or simply get to know your older neighbors and be aware of any warning signs that indicate possible exploitation. You may anonymously report suspected mistreatment to the local Adult Protective Services, or APS, agency at 329-1315 or to law enforcement. If the person is in immediate danger, please call 911. Although a situation may have already been investigated, continue to speak out if circumstances are getting worse. Raising awareness of any type of mistreatment of older adults and preventing it is an ongoing effort, not limited to one day. Please consider getting involved. Susan Kohler is chief executive officer of Missoula Aging Services. SUPERIOR Fingers crossed and picket signs waving, 16 Mineral County deputies, dispatchers and detention officers spent a second day on strike outside the county courthouse Tuesday. They claim county commissioners have refused to negotiate after delivering a last, best and final offer on May 13. Commission chairman Roman Zylawy said theres no room in the budget to up the offer of hourly increases of 70 cents an hour for lower-paid workers and 50 cents for others. What people dont understand is how complicated the budgeting it, Zylawy told the Missoulian. They dont understand that this is a really poor county. Everybody is worth more than theyre getting paid. Im the first to say that. I want to give them more. Every year theyve been getting more. Zylawy said the countys attorney, Dan Johns of Crowley Fleck Attorneys in Kalispell, would be looking at bringing in a state mediator from the Department of Labors board of personal appeals. At this point we have not received a request from Mineral County to engage in mediation, labor department spokesman Jake Troyer said late Tuesday afternoon. Five deputies, five dispatchers and six detention officers are striking in what union representative Shawn Fontaine of Teamsters Union Local No. 2 said was the first sheriffs office strike in Montana in a long, long time. Under state statute, city police and fire departments cant strike, but sheriffs office employees can unless theyve negotiated out a no-strike clause, Fontaine said. *** Sheriff Tom Bauer and Undersheriff Mike Boone, who support the striking workers, were sharing triple duty Tuesday, helping take calls at the 911 dispatch center and manning the detention center along with their regular duties. At one point in the day Bauer approached the striking detention office workers and inquired how to operate the dishwasher. Roni Phillips, administrative assistant at the sheriffs office, said in the afternoon dispatch had fielded some ambulance calls and some thefts and a few things, but nothing real bad yet. Its one day at a time. We take them as we can, said Phillips, whos also the mayor of Superior. Emergency things were going to respond to right away. If its not an emergency we prioritize. Volunteers with experience are helping pull the load, Phillips said one man in the detention center and two or three other people working with Phillips in dispatch. Zylawy, a sergeant with Montana Highway Patrol, said that area patrolmen are aware of the situation and will be responding to urgent, critical, life-threatening incidents such as barfights and partner family assaults under a mutual-aid agreement. Mineral County also has such agreements with Missoula and Sanders counties. But the day ended with both sides in an impasse. *** Mineral Countys Board of Commissioners has the statutory responsibility to ensure the economic well-being of the county, commissioners said in a news release drafted by Johns. Union proposals are not accompanied with a financial analysis showing that its proposals are achievable now or in the future by Mineral County. Zylawy said hes heard a lot of misinformation over the situation. Ive heard people say if youd only give them health insurance, he said. Well, we already pay 100 percent of their health insurance. We have raises on the table that we can afford, but for some reason I heard a quote that 10 years ago (sheriff employees) were funded better than they are now. Theres 10 percent more in the budget now than there was 10 years ago. Zylawy said budget shortcomings in the sheriffs office have been met in recent years by taking operation mills from the library, the fair board, Mineral Community Hospital and the general fund. Its about baby steps, he said. This is about all we really can afford. Id love to give them the moon but were a poor county. *** Employees have been working without a 2015-16 contract since July 1. Strikers say the board of commissioners Zylawy, Duane Simons and Laurie Johnston made a proposal in February that included the pay raises of 50 and 70 cents and an insufficient one-time longevity clause to dispatchers and detention officers of 1 percent after 10 years of service. When the two sides met on May 13, the final offer hadnt changed. The union met last week and voted unanimously to strike. Fontaine said a letter was sent to commissioners on Friday morning, on a day of a regularly scheduled commissioners meeting, informing them that the strike was coming Monday. We were totally blindsided, Zylawy said. Normally we get notified they intend to strike. All we got on Friday was a letter that was telling us theyd be on strike at 8 oclock Monday morning. That was a surprise, to go right to that." Fontaine said he expected the commissioners to go to court and get an injunction, forcing the employees to remain on duty while negotiations continued. Instead, the union heard nothing. Dead air, said Fontaine. They didnt think we would strike. They really honestly didnt. They relied on the fact that weve taken subpar agreements in the past and so thats what their whole train of thought was. It did catch them off guard. Longevity incentives are a big issue for strikers, said detention officer Brandy Taylor. The county pays to send employees to a detention center academy. Then they come back, stay a minute and go, Oh, wait a minute. I can get a better job in Missoula,' and then theyre out of here, Taylor said. So the turnover rate is insane. Fontaine said the union is pressing for a better longevity agreement and the two-year contracts that are the norm in other sheriffs offices instead of one-year deals. According to an information sheet Fontaine passed out to passers-by, Mineral County detention and dispatch hourly wages are dead last among counties comparable in size and population. In their news statement, commissioners underlined the budget restraints they face. Each fiscal year presents financial challenges for Mineral County, they said. The county predominantly consists of state and federal lands and business activity on those lands has decreased over the years. Federal financial subsidies intended to compensate the county for lack of taxable real property are uncertain and steadily declining. Unfortunately, the statement concluded, demands for the countys limited resources are increasing faster than financial resources available to the county. *** Meanwhile, strikers say they arent happy with leaving their posts. You have to remember deputies are sworn officers, said Taylor. Their duty is to protect the public, so theyre sitting here and they dont feel good that theyre not doing the job that they swore to do. Its the same thing with us (at the detention center). We dont feel good that our inmates are sitting in there in chaos and things arent going the way theyre supposed to go. We all have a work ethic, we all want to do our jobs. But at what point do you say, 'OK, enough is enough?' THOMPSON FALLS The babys father said his 3-month-old son had appeared to choke on food. A medical examiner said it was a homicide. During the Memorial Day weekend, a Sanders County jury agreed with the state. Gunner Dye was found guilty of negligent homicide on Saturday, following a week-long trial in the death of Shane Gabriel-Leon Dye. The baby died more than two years ago; 37 hours after a 911 call summoned medical help to a home in Plains. The first police officer on the scene found the childs grandmother performing CPR on the baby. Gunner Dye was crying and stated that he was feeding the baby and the baby acted like he choked on food, according to court documents. The boys mother, Rachel Ibarra, who was at work at the time, said she did not believe Dye would ever do anything to hurt their son. Karla Ibarra, the grandmother who lived next door, told officers she had never witnessed anything that would lead her to believe that either parent would hurt the baby. And a friend who had been at the home 30 minutes before the incident said little Shane appeared to be happy and smiling. But even before the baby died, a hospital in Missoula informed police the child appeared to be the victim of shaken baby syndrome. Later, court documents filed by Sanders County Attorney Bob Zimmerman said an autopsy concluded the cause of death was craniocerebral and cervical trauma, and that nothing Dye told police explains the autopsy findings. It is the medical examiners opinion that there is at least clear and convincing evidence that the manner of death is homicide, Zimmerman wrote. After many delays, Dye was finally tried on a charge of negligent homicide. District Court Judge James Manley set Dyes sentencing for Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. Acknowledging that he caused a total loss of $906,300 including $122,250 derived from a wire fraud conspiracy the former chief financial officer of Vanns, Inc. has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors who allege that he helped the company's chief executive defraud the now-defunct electronics and appliance chain and its employees, leading it into bankruptcy. Paul Nisbets plea agreement was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Missoula Division on May 24. In it, he agrees to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three years supervised release and mandatory restitution. Nisbet has agreed to pay the $122,250 in restitution. Prosecutors said they would not recommend prison time, but the judge is not bound by their recommendation. Vanns, which was founded in Missoula in 1961 and had stores across Montana, closed in May 2013. Former CEO George Manlove has pleaded not guilty to more than 200 counts of conspiracy and fraud. His trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 11. Prosecutors allege that Manlove and Nisbet created shell companies and had Vanns lease property from them without the permission of the companys board. Manlove is also alleged to have used company money to pay for his familys membership at private clubs and for vacations, all with Nisbets knowledge. Manlove is the son-in-law of company founder Pete Vann. Nisbet said he can provide substantial assistance to prosecutors, which could make him eligible for lighter sentencing guidelines. Nisbets change-of-plea hearing has not been set. He originally had negotiated a similar plea agreement, but backed out of that deal this past January and was later added as a co-defendant in the case against Manlove. A civil lawsuit filed against the two former executives filed on behalf of the former employees was settled for $7.3 million in 2014. Montanans across the political spectrum think federal public lands benefit the states economy and quality of life, according to a new poll released by the University of Montana. We found that support for national parks and conservation is about as popular and bipartisan an issue as you can find these days, UM geography professor Rick Graetz said Wednesday. Theres agreement in the state, on all sectors of politics. The poll of 500 registered voters throughout Montana took place on May 7, 9 and 11 by wireless and landline telephone interviews. It used the bipartisan team of Republican pollster Lori Weigel and Democratic pollster Dave Metz, who have cooperated on numerous other opinion surveys in the Rocky Mountain West. The poll had a margin of error of 4.38 percent. Respondents believed parks and public lands had positive impacts both as national treasures and personal income. When asked the same question in 2014, 62 percent said national parks produced a positive impact on jobs. That number jumped to 77 percent in 2016. Those saying protecting public lands had a negative impact fell from 14 percent in 2014 to 6 percent this year. Thats a full 15 points, Metz said. Some of the other questions were within the margin of error, but all were moving up. In each case, more respondents were telling us that parks have a positive impact than they did two years ago. *** Michael Jamison of the National Parks Conservation Association said the finding backs up other research showing public lands are transforming Montanas economy. Tourism-related jobs have evolved from entry-level hotel and restaurant jobs for locals to a new wave of activity driven by newcomers opting to bring their business to the state. That translates to both increases in real estate and construction markets around popular public lands and new companies that attract employees who want to live here. The Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce used to have the motto Industrial Hub of the Flathead Valley, Jamison said. Now theyre using Gateway to Glacier. Weve gotten better at telling the story of economic impact from the parks. However, on the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, the poll takers had some criticisms to lodge. Two-thirds of them considered the national parks overcrowded, and four out of five said they were in need of additional resources to manage and protect. The poll found three-to-one support for the Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Project, which would add about 85,000 acres of new wilderness along the edges of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex while creating new places for snowmobile riding and maintaining timber harvest. Republicans favored the project by 74 percent, Independents by 75 percent and Democrats by 73 percent. Similarly strong majorities opposed plans to drill for oil and gas in the Badger-Two Medicine region between Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, with an overall 70 percent against the idea. On the partisan scale, 50 percent of Republicans opposed it, along with 71 percent of Independents and 93 percent of Democrats. East of the Continental Divide, a proposal to dig two new gold mines in the Paradise Valley north of Yellowstone National Park also drew opposition. Just 34 percent of respondents were in favor (16 percent strongly so) while 61 percent were against (41 percent strongly opposed). Survey takers also listened to editorial opinions about the Paradise Valley mine proposal. The argument that gold mines have a bad track record of leaving toxic waste and the state should not risk allowing more industrial mining drew 56 percent support, compared to 40 percent who agreed with the proposition that new mines would bring good jobs using safe technology to protect the environment. *** Montanans are somewhat out of step with the rest of the region in their opposition to state takeover of federal public lands. This poll found 55 percent opposed the idea while 41 percent supported it. Weigel said in other regional polls, shes found peoples general inclination was that states do a better job than the federal government. Its pretty significant that a majority oppose that in Montana, given the historically low ratings for the federal government and Congress, Weigel said. She added it was surprising to see twice as much strong opposition (38 percent) to state takeover, compared to strong support (19 percent). While the political split in the poll was 30 percent Republican, 24 percent Democrat and 44 percent Independent, the totals were different when party labels were removed. About 42 percent called themselves conservative, 36 percent chose moderate and 21 percent said they were liberal. Three-quarters of the participants considered themselves conservationists. That was up from 67 percent in 2014. One out of five objected to that label. Asked what kinds of outdoor recreation they enjoyed, 64 percent said hiking, followed by camping at 61 percent, kayaking/canoeing/boating at 43 percent and bird/wildlife watching at 42 percent. Off-road vehicle/snowmobile riding was chosen by 28 percent, while mountain biking drew 17 percent. Survey takers could offer multiple responses. Snowshoeing/skiing got 39 percent, while hunting/fishing got 4 percent. Eight percent did not choose any of the outdoor recreation options listed. UMs Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative commissioned the survey. We dont take positions at the university, professor Graetz said. Our purpose is to get information out to the public. The case against the two men accused of robbing a Missoula gas station on Friday, then taking a family hostage and leading police on a high-speed chase, will be handled by federal prosecutors. Thomas Earl Dempsey, 36, and Nick West, 38, made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. Both men are charged with five federal offenses including robbery, carjacking, possession of and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, and possession of a firearm as a felon. Wests girlfriend Carissa Kopp, 33, who prosecutors say drove the pair to Deano's, appeared in court Tuesday. Kopp, who faces the same charges as Dempsey and West, apart from the felon in possession of a firearm count, also was present when the men were planning the robbery, according to court documents. All three made their appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch for their initial appearances Tuesday, during which the judge ordered them to remain in custody pending further court hearings. *** According to court complaints filed against the three defendants, Dempsey and West entered Deanos on West Harrier Street shortly after 3 a.m. Friday, each brandishing handguns. One of the men also hit the surveillance cameras inside with a broom stick. Dempsey allegedly ordered an employee to give him the money out of the register and safe. The employee complied, with a later audit showing the men were given around $3,200. While the robbery was occurring, a man came into Deanos to pick up an employee. Dempsey and West confronted him and forced him to turn over his keys, according to court documents. Another man walked into the store to buy a candy bar and a soda. Dempsey allegedly confronted the man, asking why he had come inside, and threatened to shoot him. The mans 12-year-old son entered the store shortly after. Dempsey allegedly told them to leave. The man and his son did so, getting back into their SUV parked out front, which was also occupied by the mans wife, his daughter and his mother-in-law. His wife called 911 and reported the robbery. The family then drove to a nearby interstate on-ramp, and while they were still on the phone with law enforcement, Dempsey and West pulled their doors open, pointing their guns at the family. Hey, I let you go, what the hell are you doing? You told me you werent going to tell anyone, the family said one of the men told them. Dempsey and West got into the SUV and told the familys mother to drive away, heading east on Interstate 90 before turning off on Orange Street. The family said Dempsey appeared agitated and possibly on drugs. The men told the family to call 911 again, and when they saw sirens, told them to tell law enforcement to back off from the vehicle. During the pursuit, West allegedly made at least two phone calls. A Missoula County Sheriffs Office negotiator told the men law enforcement would back off if the children were released. After stopping the vehicle to let one child go, Dempsey allegedly told police he would kill the other child if police did not back off. When law enforcement fell back slightly, the alleged robbers again made the vehicle pull over, releasing the second child and their grandmother, and Dempsey took over driving. During the pursuit, Dempsey allegedly leaned out of the drivers side window and fired at a deputy. West allegedly did not point his guns at anyone or fire any shots during the chase, which continued back onto I-90 and north onto U.S. Highway 93. At Sweet Grass Lane, Dempsey allegedly turned off the highway and stopped before making a call on his cellphone. To stop the interior lights from turning on, West and Dempsey crawled through the windows, and told the husband and wife to wait 20 minutes, then leave. *** Missoula law enforcement brought in a specialist from the FBI to help identify the robbers. Using wireless interception and tracking technology, law enforcement accessed data from cell towers around Missoula, analyzing all calls that took place during the time of the robbery and chase. Dempsey and Wests phone numbers were found after the cell tower data was cross-referenced with information from Adult Probation & Parole. Dempsey is a registered violent offender with prior robbery, attempted burglary and theft charges, who is currently on probation. West is a violent offender now on parole after being convicted of assault with a weapon, assault on a peace officer and witness tampering, among other charges. On Friday afternoon, sheriffs deputies began to monitor Dempseys home in Missoula. He was seen leaving and driving to a motel on North Reserve Street with a woman, then going through the drive-through of a fast food location before returning to the motel. Dempsey left again and went to a different Deanos in Missoula, where he was arrested. Officers said he appeared to be high on methamphetamine. The woman he was with at the hotel was identified as his girlfriend, Hannah Parker, who initially said she knew nothing of the robbery, but later provided a different story. She said she was a friend of Dempseys and would help him sell methamphetamine in Missoula. The morning of the robbery, the three defendants picked her up, with Kopp driving. Parker said there was an AK-47 covered by a pillowcase in the backseat. Parker said she rode with them to an off-ramp near Deanos, where Dempsey and West got out. Parker said they left shortly after when the two men didnt come back out of the gas station, but that Dempsey later called Kopp, saying he needed her to meet them so he could get the rifle to use to shoot cops. Dempsey also called his wife, Mariah, early Friday saying he needed her to come pick him and West up, telling her to go to Sweet Grass Lane to get them. She went to the Evaro location and the men got into her car. West was arrested at his workplace, which was not identified in court documents. Wests girlfriend, Kopp, gave a voluntary statement to law enforcement and agreed to be interviewed by the FBI. She allegedly admitted to driving the men to Deanos, and to being present while they planned the robbery. She also said she watched the men load guns into the car she was driving. Kopp referred to Parker, who has not been charged, as Dempseys girlfriend. After she dropped the men off, Kopp said she became nervous and decided she didnt want to go through with the robbery and left. Dave Strohmaier represents himself as a bridge builder between opposing views, a good listener and a conservationist. But, when a candidates words contradict his core values and beliefs, you must question his motivation for seeking public office as a county commissioner. In Strohmaiers case, it appears his thirst for votes and campaign donations trumps the facts, the science and unanimous votes by the last five commissioners to remove Maclay Bridge and construct a new one at South Avenue. The removal of the old bridge was most recently re-affirmed by commissioners Jean Curtiss, Bill Carey and Nicole Rowley on April 22, 2015, in a unanimous resolution vote and in the signing of a South Avenue bridge funding agreement with Montana Department of Transportation on May 27, 2015. Candidate Strohmaier has taken an adversarial position to this resolution and agreement, presumably based on politics. When asked at a recent public meeting, on Facebook and in several emails from Target Range residents, Strohmaier stated that his order of bridge alternatives is: First, I am in favor of spending county funds to rehabilitate the existing bridge and do ecological restoration where it currently sits; second, build a new bridge at the current site; and lastly, consider a new alignment along South Avenue. Ironically, there are no county funds currently available for a rehab project of the bridge. The cost of this alternative would fall squarely on the checking accounts of local taxpayers. It would also trigger a county payback clause to the MDT for work done to date of up to $1.42 million by spring 2017, another hit to taxpayers wallets. His bridge alternative also ignores more than 20 years of work and two independent studies produced by outside consulting firms confirming the existing Maclay Bridge is obsolete and unsafe. Furthermore, it is in a poor location from an ecological perspective and the scour hole created by the bridge, along with its three piers, is not only dangerous, but also damaging to the riparian area. With no information other than politics to support his position, Strohmaiers alternative is a direct contradiction to his stated conservation ethic, which is to do as little harm as possible (to the river). Strohmaier would rather homeowners in Missoula County pay for putting lipstick on the pig of a bridge than use federal highway funds to construct a new, safer and more ecologically friendly bridge at South Avenue. Through the agreement with MDT, the new South Avenue bridge will utilize federal funds already paid for through gas taxes. And, the decision has already been made to move forward with the project. Why the topic continues to be revisited and studies requested is a classic example of analysis paralysis supported by Strohmaier. The completed studies identified the best site for the new bridge as the South Avenue crossing. It has been vetted publicly and the new bridge approved. Ignoring the science and the facts to needlessly fulfill a campaign promise is very troublesome. It appears a vote for Strohmaier is a vote for more county taxes being charged to you for rehabilitation of a dangerous bridge. We instead believe the county needs a commissioner who is a forward-thinker, follows the science, listens to the public majority and remains committed to building bridges, literally and figuratively. In early 2009, the economic situation facing the United States was truly frightening. I had joined the Presidents campaign in the summer of 2008 and watched as the collapse of the housing bubble, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, and staggering, widespread financial losses left the country plummeting toward a second Great Depression. In January 2009 alone, the month that President Obama took office, our economy lost more than 750,000 jobs and unemployment was on its way to a peak of 10 percent. In February 2009, I traveled with the President to Elkhart, Indiana, his first visit to an American city after taking office. Elkhart had been hit harder by the recession than almost anywhere else in America: the areas unemployment rate more than quadrupled during the crisis, peaking at 19.6 percent as thousands of local manufacturing workers lost their jobs. In Elkhart, President Obama laid out a path toward recovery, rebuilding and resurgence, beginning with the Recovery Act. It took an unprecedented set of policy responses across the government to stave off a second Great Depression. The President acted boldly to reinvest in our economy; to rescue the auto industry from near-collapse; to cut taxes for working families and strengthen the safety net for those who had lost their jobs; to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages; and to shore up the financial system. Thanks to these tough choices we made in the depths of the recession, and most importantly the hard work and resilience of millions of Americans, our economy has experienced a truly remarkable recovery. These hard-earned benefits of the recovery are also making an impact in Montana. The unemployment rate in Montana is currently 4.2 percent, down from its peak of 7.4 percent. Since the start of the recovery, Montana has added 40,000 jobs. Homeowners have returned to stronger footing, with home prices rising and the share of mortgages 90 days late or in foreclosure falling from 4.1 percent to 1.4 percent. And thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 58,000 Montana residents were enrolled in health insurance through the Marketplace in 2016. In 2016, the American economy is in the midst of the longest streak of private-sector job growth on record, with businesses adding 14.6 million jobs over 74 straight months. Unemployment has been cut in half from its peak the recession and now stands at 5 percent. Rising home prices have brought millions of American homeowners back above water. The auto industry has added over 660,000 jobs since Chrysler and GM emerged from bankruptcy. And weve taken historic steps to strengthen our economy in the long term. Twenty million more Americans now enjoy the security of health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform has made our financial system safer and stronger, with less leverage and risk-taking. None of this would have been possible without our forceful response in the early days of the downturn. Economists Alan Blinder of Princeton University and Mark Zandi of Moodys Analytics have estimated that without those actions, unemployment would have peaked at nearly 16 percent and remained over 2 percentage points higher in the middle of 2015, with 3.6 million fewer jobs in the economy. But there is still more work to be done. In his remarks today in Elkhart, President Obama will lay out some of the challenges that remain for the U.S. economy, especially in fighting the long-term trends that have left some Americans behind over the past decades. That includes raising the minimum wage so that parents working full-time do not raise their children in poverty. It means ensuring that high-quality pre-K and two years of community college are available to all. If we make sure that those at the top pay their fair share of taxes, we can fund new investments in infrastructure and R&D. And we can support more high-paying jobs by passing high-standards agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that give American workers and businesses a fair chance to compete in the global economy. The effects of the steps that the President took in 2009 can be seen today in Elkhart, in Montana and across the United States. Thanks to these tough choices, we have turned what could have been a second Great Depression into a robust recovery. As we focus on the challenges that remain, the entire Obama administration will continue our work to grow the economy and to strengthen opportunities for all Americans. Donald Trump's philosophy is never to use a scalpel when a meat ax is available, and so it is with his attack on the Clinton scandals of the 1990s. And yet, in slamming Hillary as Bill's "enabler" and daring to invoke the allegation of rape against Clinton, Trump is again demonstrating his unsurpassed ability to needle his opponents and expose their vulnerabilities. Hillary Clinton's self-image as a feminist champion has always been at odds with her political partnership with a serial womanizer. Hillary tends to get a pass, because the 1990s were long ago, the media often scold anyone who brings up the scandals, and most politicians hesitate to talk about someone else's marriage. Unconstrained by these boundaries, Trump is hitting her with his characteristic abandon. Hillary's defenders say this is tantamount to blaming her for Bill's infidelities. Of course, she's not responsible for his philandering. But as a fully vested member of Bill's political operation, Hillary had as much interest in forcefully rebutting allegations of sexual misconduct as he did. The Clinton campaign in 1992 reportedly spent $100,000 on private-detective work related to women. The approach, when rumors first surfaced, was to get affidavits from women denying affairs the reflex of most women is to avoid exposure and, failing that, to use any discrediting tool at hand. Hillary was fully on board. When a rock groupie alleged that a state trooper approached her on Gov. Clinton's behalf, Hillary said, "We have to destroy her story." When the Star tabloid subsequently reported that Clinton had affairs with five Arkansas women, including Gennifer Flowers, the Clinton campaign waved affidavits signed by all them denying it. (This is what Clinton had advised Flowers to do in a taped conversation.) Then Flowers admitted to a 12-year affair. Hillary did the famous "60 Minutes" interview with Bill as he delivered a lawyerly denial of the 12-year allegation (he later admitted having sex with Flowers once). Hillary joined strategy sessions over what verbiage to use in the interview. After Bill's election, state troopers told of how they had procured women for him, and one of the procured was Paula Jones. When she came forward, she was abused as trailer-park trash, even though her story of a gross come-on by Clinton in a hotel room was completely credible. Hillary apparently didn't spare a moment's thought on why her husband the governor would have wanted a private meeting with a 24-year-old state employee. She interviewed superlawyer Bob Bennett to handle the Jones sexual-harassment suit and insisted on a hard-line defense. Bennett spread rumors of nude pictures of Jones and had another lawyer subpoena men to try to find evidence of Jones' alleged promiscuity. Hillary was even more instrumental to the defense in the Monica Lewinsky case, setting the tone of the White House response in her "vast right-wing conspiracy" appearance on "Today." The allegation the Clintons have never truly grappled with is Juanita Broaddrick's charge of rape. Her story has been consistent over the years; she told people about the alleged assault at the time; and her account includes details that accord with what other woman have said about encounters with Bill. Perhaps you think Hillary had to stand by her man, or she correctly calculated that the broader political project both of the Clintons and of liberalism justified waging political war against a few inconvenient women. Even so, there is no doubt that Hillary compromised herself, by the standards of feminism 20 years ago, and even more by the standards of today. Is there anyone more "privileged" than a white male who is a governor and president? Even if you don't believe the worst, Bill didn't live up to contemporary norms of consent, to put it mildly. If consistency mattered, feminists would demand safe spaces whenever Bill Clinton approached a college campus. Hillary's answer to Trump's offensive is telling nothing. Sometimes there's just not a good answer. During the past few weeks, Alaska became the fourth state Democratic Party to call for an end to superdelegates in the presidential primary. Along with Maine, Colorado and Vermont, the Alaska Democratic Party decided that giving party insiders the right to defy the will of the people they serve was far from democratic. In addition to being unfair, the superdelegate count distorts public perception of the facts. Back in mid-February, for instance, Hillary Clinton was well behind in both pledged delegates and the popular vote after a tie in Iowa and earning only 38 percent of the vote in New Hampshire. However, her superdelegate lead of 451 to 19 still allowed her to claim she was the partys inevitable candidate. Giving any candidate such a large head start flies in the face of the democratic principles of inclusion and fairness. Montana Democrats will have their chance to side with responsible, transparent government at the partys convention on June 11, the 105th anniversary of the Peoples Power League. Lets continue Montanas wonderful tradition of fighting against the powerful trying to keep their thumb on the scales of democracy. Ryan Swank, Helena I have worked with Gail Gutsche in one capacity or another for more than 20 years. Most of that time was spent promoting policy and programs that protected women and their families from the ravages of environmental degradation. I don't know anyone who is as committed to a cleaner environment, and more specifically to a cleaner energy future than Gutsche. I also don't know anyone with more integrity. I wholeheartedly support her candidacy for the Public Service Commission. I have watched firsthand as she stood up for protecting our wild lands and wildlife; for improving river habitat; for eliminating harmful pesticides; and the transition to renewable energy during her numerous years working in the non-profit world, eight years serving in the House of Representatives and during her term on the PSC. Gutsche is always on the right side of the right issues, especially when it comes to conservation and protecting the environment. Her extensive legislative know-how and policy-making experience, plus a term on the PSC under her belt, put her head and shoulders above the other Democrats running for election to this office in the Primary. Another thing that sets Gutsche apart from her competitors: she has a tremendous ability to work across the aisle, a skill exemplified by her partnership on the PSC with Commissioner Travis Kavulla, R-Great Falls. Working with another Democratic commissioner, the trio formed a bipartisan majority that brought clean, renewable wind on-line and bolstered energy conservation. Gutsche honed her skills working with Republicans during her tenure in the legislature, where she passed numerous bills with their help. Yet she never compromises her principals or values. Political acumen, uncompromising principals and a clear vision towards moving us to a cleaner energy future! Thats what you get with Gail Gutsche. Please join me in voting for Gutsche for PSC on June 7. Bryony Schwan, Missoula BUTTE - A 52-year-old Butte mental-health counselor is facing felony charges for soliciting methamphetamine in what prosecutors called an attempt to implicate three other Butte people in drug activity. Dana Ann Trandahl, a licensed clinical professional counselor, was charged with solicitation of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. She was also charged with criminal distribution of dangerous drugs at an initial appearance late Friday afternoon before Butte justice court Judge Ben Pezdark. Trandahl is serving as campaign treasurer for Mark Reavis, a Butte-Silver Bow chief executive candidate. County prosecutors accuse Trandahl of giving money to a woman to purchase meth and plant it in vehicles owned by a man and another woman. She also allegedly ordered the woman to mail envelopes of meth to the man and another male in an effort to implicate all three individuals, who were not identified, in drug activity, according to a complaint filed Friday. According to the complaint, Trandahl also sold or gave away hydrocodone, an opioid; Tramadol, a narcotic; and Lorazepam, an anti-anxiety medication, on or about April 19. On Tuesday morning, Reavis said Trandahl was "innocent until proven guilty" and that she would continue to serve as his campaign treasurer. In a statement, he said, "The orchestrated events taking place one week prior to the primary election are suspicious." The matters and person involved surround personal longstanding issues that are complex," he added. He said the "issues" went "back decades." He declined to comment on Trandahls possible drug use or alleged drug activity, only saying that shes one of the most highly respected people in the field of counseling. Reached by telephone Tuesday morning, Trandahl said I have no comment regarding the allegations lodged by the county attorneys office. Deputy County Attorney Ann Shea declined to provide specifics on the case late Tuesday afternoon, but she said that in her nearly 20-year career as an attorney, shes never seen a case like this before ever. Details released on the case are limited. Police said Tuesday morning an official report had not been filed in the departments computer system. Shea said the basis for the complaint came from secured investigative information from the detective division. Trandahl was taken into police custody Friday afternoon. She was booked at 3:55 p.m. and released on $100,000 bond at 1:31 a.m. Saturday. She is due back in court June 23. HELENA Injured railroad workers may file lawsuits against their employers in Montana, even if they weren't hurt here and they are not residents of the state, the Montana Supreme Court ruled. Congress granted railroad workers special protections nearly a century ago under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, the justices said in a 6-1 ruling on Tuesday. That law allows injured workers to sue BNSF Railway wherever the Texas company does business, Justice James Shea wrote in the majority opinion. "If Montana residents may sue BNSF in a Montana state court for injuries that occur outside of Montana, so may residents of other states," Shea wrote. Robert Nelson and the family of Brent Tyrell sued BNSF separately in Billings in 2014. Nelson was injured in Washington state in 2008 when he injured his knee. Tyrrell's lawsuit alleges his exposure to carcinogenic chemicals while working in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa that caused him to develop cancer and die. BNSF officials said filing such lawsuits in Montana amounts to forum shopping seeking a court that is likely to look favorably on the plaintiffs' claims. Spokesman Ross Lane declined to say whether BNSF plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but said the company is evaluating its options. "We continue to believe that the practice of filing and prosecuting out of state lawsuits that have nothing to do with Montana is inconsistent with both practice in other states and with precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court," Lane said in an email. An attorney for the company argued in December that a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruled it is a violation of due process to file such lawsuits where the corporation is not headquartered or conducts the bulk of its business In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit filed in California by plaintiffs from Argentina against the German corporation Daimler. The plaintiffs alleged the car maker was complicit in the kidnapping and torture of auto workers in Argentina, and filed the case in California because Mercedes Benz, a Daimler company, does business in the state. The majority opinion rejected the idea that the Daimler decision applies to the BNSF case. Daimler is not a railroad company, and the Federal Employers' Liability Act, referred to as FELA by the court, was written specifically to allow injured railway workers to file such out-of-state lawsuits, as long as the rail company operates in the state where the claims are filed. Justice Laurie McKinnon dissented with the majority opinion, saying the Daimler case should apply to BNSF, too, regardless of the law, and that the majority's ruling takes away BNSF's constitutional right to due process. "A defendant does not forfeit liberty or have a diminished liberty interest merely because the plaintiff brings a FELA action," McKinnon wrote. "Nor does a defendant forfeit constitutional protection by operating a railroad." BNSF operates in 28 states, and about 10 percent of BNSF's revenues come from Montana. Its more than 2,000 Montana workers represent less than 5 percent of the company's total workforce and the 2,000 miles of track in the state is 6 percent of BNSF's total mileage. HELENA Republican candidate for governor Greg Gianforte again dipped into his own pockets to loan his campaign $50,000 on May 24. That's according to the last campaign finance report before Tuesday's primary election. Gianforte raised $37,395 without the loan between May 19-27. Incumbent Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, raised $62,520 in the same period. Gianforte had previously loaned his campaign $272,000; the total is now $322,000. Gianforte reported spending $110,122 between May 19-27, with the biggest chunks of money spent on media airtime, almost $69,000, and a little more than $25,000 on a townhall telecast and a 15,000-piece mail campaign. Bullock reported spending about $6,000, with $4,500 going to digital and fundraising consultants. Gianforte's report includes wages for some staffers, while Bullock's does not. Bullock's report also showed he received $3,300 from political action committees, while Gianforte has said he will not accept money from PACs and called on Bullock to do the same. Bullock staffers have pointed out Gianforte, who sold his tech startup RightNow Technologies to Oracle in 2012 for $1.8 billion, has the ability to self-fund his campaign. On paper, both men face challengers. Republican Terry Nelson reported raising $300 between May 19-27 and had $1,300 cash in the bank. Democrat Bill McChesney reported having no money in the bank, having raised none and spent none, in the same period. Having a primary opponent allows a candidate to raise more money. Late register Polling places are open June 7 for those who have not voted absentee. A current ID is required to vote. People can find their polling place or check to see if they are registered online at app.mt.gov/voterinfo/. People can register to vote at their county election office up to and including on Election Day, except for from noon until 5 p.m. the day before election day. Push to the primary Crisscrossing the state is the theme for both candidates for governor in the next week, with Bullock and Gianforte ending their swings in Helena on Monday. Bullock has announced stops in Bozeman on Friday, Billings and Great Falls on Saturday, Butte on Sunday and Helena on Monday. Gianforte has a bit more aggressive schedule, with stops in Billings, Livingston, Bozeman on Wednesday, Hamilton and Missoula on Thursday, Polson, Kalispell and Columbia Falls on Friday, Conrad, Valier and Havre on Saturday, Malta and Lewistown on Sunday and Big Sandy, Great Falls and Helena on Monday. Both are traveling with their running mates, Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney for Bullock and Phillips County Commissioner Lesley Robison for Gianforte. Gianforte's pretrip press blitz repeated themes common in his campaign so far Montana's wages and need to grow an economy focused on tech jobs. Earlier this year Gianforte went to 60 communities on what he called a Regulation Roundup tour, but this is his first swing with Robinson. Bullock will open field offices during the stops on his tour, including one in Missoula and one in Kalispell. GREAT FALLS (AP) Wildlife authorities shot and killed a female grizzly bear after she twice killed sheep on a ranch southeast of Valier. Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly bear manager Mike Madel tells the Great Falls Tribune that federal wildlife officials shot the 6-year-old bear from a helicopter last weekend as it was bedded down near the west shore of Lake Frances, with is southwest of Valier. The bear and two cubs were relocated to the North Fork of the Flathead River area last July after killing sheep on the ranch. The 350-pound bear returned this year, without her cubs, and killed more sheep. Madel says wildlife officials have captured and relocated three grizzly bears along the Rocky Mountain Front this spring, while one grizzly was shot in self-defense east of Choteau. HELENA Attorneys who worked on a yet-unresolved case that has pitted the state against those who think campaign contribution limits here are too low say Montana is on the hook for more than $800,000 in legal fees. The lawyers representing a group of individuals and political party committees have been battling the state about how much can be given to candidates running office since 2010. Late Tuesday, attorneys for The Bopp Law Firm, with offices in Bozeman and Indiana, filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Helena saying they and past counsel are owed $819,673.79 for their work on a lawsuit filed by several county-level Republican political parties, political action committees and individuals who believe Montana's cap on how much can be giving to candidates is too low. On May 17, U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell agreed, striking down the limits as unconstitutional. Though interim limits are in place while the state waits until the end of this election cycle to appeal Lovell's order, and a partial stay was granted to nix part of the order, the plaintiffs say the May 17 decision means they are "prevailing parties" and entitled to recover reasonable expenses and fees. The pending appeal, the Bopp firm said in their filing Tuesday, means the estimated fees will rise as the case proceeds. The defendants in this case, including Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl and Attorney General Tim Fox, oppose the motion to pick up the plaintiff's tab, the filing Tuesday said. So far the firm has spent $695,759.25 on attorneys fees and $100,542.54 in expenses. Doney Crowley, who also worked on the case, estimates his fees and expenses as $23,372. The Bopp firm asked for a decision to be made on paying the fees 30 days after the appeal is settled and the case is finalized, which could be months or longer. The case was first filed in 2010 and has been through a previous cycle of an order striking down campaign contribution limits and a stay to reinstate the limits. Now 51, Mr. Attal says that worryingly, and without his consent other people have started pointing out his Jewishness, or seeing it as central to his identity. Journalists have lately described him as Franco-Israeli, because they cant say Im a Jew, he tells me. At dinner parties, he says hes found himself the designated Jew, called upon to justify actions by Israels government. They said to me, How you irritate us, and I asked them, Whos the you? Whos the us? Its a very French concern. Here, pointing out someones religion or ethnicity can come across as questioning whether theyre fully French. Jews are especially sensitive to this; they remember that Juif was stamped across peoples passports during World War II, a first step before they were deported and killed. (The movies French title, Ils sont partout they are everywhere is a reference to the collaborationist newspaper Je Suis Partout.) And yet, while anti-Semitic acts have become more common, so has tolerance of Jews. (Racist acts are probably carried out by a small segment of the population, a government report says.) In a 2014 Pew poll, 89 percent of French people said they had a favorable view of Jews, more than in any other European country surveyed. When a Jewish social center in my Paris neighborhood was burned and covered in anti-Semitic graffiti, both the prime minister and the mayor came and made speeches. (It later turned out that a disgruntled Jewish man had done it.) Even the far-right National Front cant get away with espousing anti-Semitism anymore though its supporters are less circumspect. One of the few places anti-Semitism really thrives in France is among some Muslims. In one French poll, 44 percent said there was a global Zionist conspiracy, and 67 percent said that Jews had too much economic power. Still, 85 percent of Muslims said that when they discover that someone is Jewish, I do not care. Most Muslims have bigger problems: They are themselves one of Frances least accepted minority groups. Nevertheless, Jewish stereotypes can have tragic consequences. Members of the gang that kidnapped, brutally tortured and murdered 23-year-old Ilan Halimi in 2006 were surprised to find out that Mr. Halimis family, though Jewish, wasnt wealthy. Their leader, the son of immigrants from the Ivory Coast, demanded a ransom from a French rabbi instead. On May 31, Valdir Misnerovicz, an important and effective organizer of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil, was arrested while teaching a class on agricultural coops in Veranopolis, a city in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. The arrest did not stem from his lectures, but from his activism. To organize the poor to occupy land in the name of fulfilling Brazils constitutional mandate to ensure the social function of land through its appropriation and distribution among peasants is considered illegal gang activity by the government of Michel Temer, which came to power last month in what many consider to be a coup detat. The news of Misneroviczs arrest came a few days after a related revelation. In March, two high-level members of the opposition against President Dilma Rousseff (Workers Party/PT), whose power was recently suspended as she awaits impeachment proceedings in the federal senate, were recorded while discussing the current political crisis. Senator Romero Juca was taped assuring his colleague that he had recently spoken with the generals, military commanders. He went on, Everything is fine, they told me they would ensure order. Theyre monitoring the MST, I dont know how, to ensure there wont be any disturbances. (See Rubens Valente, Em dialogos gravados, Juca fala em pacto para deter avanco da Lava Jato, Folha de S. Paulo, May 23, 2016, .) Juca, who recently resigned as minister of planning in the coup government due to these revelations, is the vice-chair of the Brazilian federal senate. In addition to dedicating years to the landless movement, Misnerovicz recently completed a bachelors degree in geography at the State University of Sao Paulo (UNESP), where he studied in a special undergraduate program for peasants sponsored by the ousted Workers Party (PT) government. The author of this note was a professor in the program and Misneroviczs thesis advisor was Bernardo Mancano Fernandes, a Latin American Perspectives (LAP) contributing editor. Misnerovicz studied the new demands for organizing the landless movement among Brazils urban poor. The arrest of Misnerovicz on criminal charges demonstrates what Juca may have meant when he said that the generals claimed to be monitoring the MST. While the warrant for Misneroviczs arrest was issued in the state of Goias, where Valdir lives and works, his arrest occurred over a thousand miles away in a different state and was carried out by local police, indicating systematic communication and intelligence gathering in the execution of police work reminiscent of systems developed under Brazils long-lived dictatorship (1964-1985). This same system used such arrests to generate information through torture recently confirmed in Red Cross documents from the period. These suspected connections increases the urgency for guaranteeing Misneroviczs quick release. Please write to expressing concern over Valdirs arrest and urging his quick release. Struggling for agrarian reform in Brazil is not a crime, it is a constitutional duty. Clifford Andrew Welch, UNIFESP, Latin American Perspectives Contributing Editor Butte police reports ASSAULT Tiffany Martin, 31, of Butte was arrested for misdemeanor partner assault, felony assault with a weapon and a probation violation after police say she attempted to slash a tire and then swung the pocket knife, slicing the area above the left thumb of an ex-boyfriend, 44, Monday night. The two allegedly had a verbal altercation on the 300 block of S. Montana Street. The victim walked to St. James Healthcare. THEFT Tools valued at $500 were reported missing Monday from a garage on the 600 block of S. Jackson Street. Items included a reciprocating saw, a hammer and hand tools. There was no forced entry, police said. HOTEL ROOM THEFT A 30-year-old Henderson, Nevada, man reported an iPad and wallet with $50 and credit cards were stolen from his room at the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort on Monday night. He left the room at 7:45 p.m. and returned to find the door ajar at 10:15 p.m. Video surveillance shows four males and two females walking in the hallway checking doors. When they came to the mans door, they pushed it open. Police do not believe the individuals were guests. The iPad was valued at $500. THEFT FROM VEHICLE Two rifles .22-caliber Remington and .17 HMR Ruger were reported missing from a 2012 Dodge pickup truck parked on the 2300 block of Ottawa Street. There was no forced entry. Former World Bank chief economist Justin Yifu Lin attends a press-conference on the eve of Gaidar economic forum in Moscow, Russia, Jan 12, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] China's renowned economist Justin Yifu Lin, former chief economist of the World Bank, acquired a new hat at the end of April when he became the inaugural dean of the South-South Cooperation and Development Institute of Peking University. In September, the enrolled students from developing countries will be able to study the experiences and lessons of China's development in previous decades. Lin, who is passionate about using China's experiences to spark African economies, since his four-year stint in World Bank, says the inauguration of the institute is a milestone event, as it will systematically begin sharing of China's development and institutional experiences. In fact, Tsinghua University, just a few blocks away from Peking University, has already begun this. Led by Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management, the university launched a master's program in international development, several years ago, mainly focusing on offering those outstanding students from the developing world chances to exploring China's recipes for development. Such initiatives are also designed to offer support for the less-developing countries to bring about their own miracles. It is also worth mentioning that many renowned high-level officials and academic leaders in China graduated from universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and other Western countries in the 1980s and early 1990s. They well know how to mingle the knowledge earned in the West into China's development realities. So teaching the students from the developing countries such skills should probably be the core of the curricular in the programs offered by Peking and Tsinghua universities. Over the years, nearly all of the renowned business schools in the US, the UK, France, Switzerland and other countries have launched programs in China, while Chinese students and executives in their hundreds of thousands have flown overseas to further their business education. But now the business management schools of China's universities have also become more competitive. And some of them have started to take small steps in enrolling students overseas. Just as China has shaped a great development legacy on the policy front, Chinese businesspersons have also gained tremendous experiences in building up various-scale business empires starting from scratches. Considering the massive demand for such knowledge from developing countries, the next step might be to develop an independent university for South-South cooperation and international development. With its headquarters in Beijing, it could set up branches in African and other developing countries. China's leading business schools could also take into consideration the opportunities in Africa and other developing countries when designing their strategies. The author is deputy editor of China Daily European Edition. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn LONDON -- Sixty-five years ago, what has become the European Union was an embryo conceived in fear. It has been stealthily advanced from an economic to a political project, and it remains enveloped in a watery utopianism even as it becomes more dystopian. The EU's economic stagnation -- in some of the 28 member nations, youth unemployment approaches 50 percent -- is exacerbated by its regulatory itch and the self-inflicted wound of the euro, a common currency for radically dissimilar nations. The EU is floundering amid mass migration, the greatest threat to Europe's domestic tranquility since 1945. The EU's British enthusiasts, who actually are notably unenthusiastic, hope fear will move voters to affirm Britain's membership in this increasingly ramshackle and acrimonious association. A June 23 referendum will decide whether "Brexit" -- Britain's exit -- occurs. Americans should pay close attention because this debate concerns matters germane to their present and future. The EU is the linear descendant of institution-building begun by people for whom European history seemed to be less Chartres and Shakespeare than the Somme and the Holocaust. After two world wars, or a 31-year war (1914-1945), European statesmen were terrified of Europeans. Under the leadership of two Frenchmen, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, they created, in 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community to put essential elements of industrial war under multinational control. This begat, in 1957, the European Economic Community, aka the Common Market. Money, said Emerson, is the prose of life. The EU is the culmination of a grand attempt to drain Europe of grandeur, to make it permanently peaceful by making it prosaic -- preoccupied and tranquilized by commerce. European unity has always been a surreptitious political project couched in economic categories. Britain's Remain side is timid and materialistic, saying little that is inspiring about remaining but much that is supposedly scary about leaving. The Leave campaign is salted with the revolt-against-elites spirit now fermenting in nations on both sides of the Atlantic. The Remain camp relies heavily on dire predictions of economic wreckage that would follow Brexit -- forecasts from the U.K. Treasury, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, etc. Although none of these, in spring 2008, foresaw the crisis of autumn 2008, they now predict, with remarkable precision, economic damage to Britain's economy, the world's fifth largest, if it is detached from the stagnation of the EU. For example, the U.K. Treasury projects that Brexit would cost Britain 6.2 percent of GDP by 2030. This confirms the axiom that economists prove their sense of humor by using decimal points. Passion is disproportionately on the Leave side, which is why a low turnout will favor Brexit: Leavers are most likely to vote. Current polls show Remain slightly ahead, but Leave has a majority among persons over age 43, who also are most likely to vote. The most conspicuous campaigner for Brexit is Boris Johnson, the two-term Conservative former mayor of London. He is an acquired taste, and some thoughtful people oppose Brexit because if it happens, Prime Minister David Cameron, who leads the Remain campaign, might be replaced by Johnson. Johnson is frequently compared to Donald Trump. Johnson, however, is educated (Eton; an Oxford classics degree), intelligent, erudite (see his book on Roman Europe), articulate and witty. (Johnson says the EU's latest compromise with Britain is "the biggest stitch up since the Bayeux Tapestry." The British locution "stitch up" denotes something prearranged clandestinely.) So, Johnson's only real resemblance to Trump, other than an odd mop of blond hair, is a penchant for flamboyant pronouncements, as when he said that Barack Obama opposes Brexit because Obama's Kenyan background somehow disposes him against Britain. Actually, Obama likes the European Union's approximation of American progressives' aspirations. These include unaccountable administrators issuing diktats, and what one EU critic calls "trickle-down postmodernism" -- the erasure of national traditions and other impediments to "harmonizing" homogenized nations for the convenience of administrators. Obama said Britain would go to "the back of the queue" regarding a U.S. trade agreement. Surely, however, reaching an agreement with one nation is easier than with 28. Perhaps Obama has forgotten U.S. diplomat George Kennan's axiom: The unlikelihood of a negotiation reaching agreement grows by the square of the number of parties taking part. Brexit might spread a benign infection, prompting similar reassertions of national sovereignty by other EU members. Hence June 23 is the most important European vote since 1945. George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com. (c) 2016, Washington Post Writers Group Let's get this straight: Accepting millions of dollars made some of the Montana University System regents' hearts break and voices quiver, but it was not enough to stop their hands from taking a donation with plenty of zeroes. There's that old saw about every person having his price -- I guess we know the regents' is at least $8 million. That's what happened in May when every regent except Martha Sheehy voted to accept a donation to Montana State University in Bozeman by the Gianforte Family Foundation, led by Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte. We'd suggest that if these regents' hearts were so pierced and their minds so conflicted, they should have at least waited to vote. You'd think emotion that, in the words of regent Casey Lozar, "made my heart hurt," would have led them to graciously thank the Gianforte family, but return the donation because of its record of supporting discriminatory groups and fighting against a non-discrimination ordinance to protect LGBTQ people in Bozeman. It's right to question if accepting a donation from a group that has also supported clearly discriminatory groups is appropriate or even acceptable. This isn't a one-time gift to the university, rather a name by which it will be known. It's also unacceptable that the regents and President Waded Cruzado would take the gift, given that it could be seen as endorsing views which should run against the kind of places our public universities claim to be -- tolerant, open, welcoming, and accessible by all, regardless of sexual orientation. To accept this gift means that the Montana University System and Montana State University are willing to bend, if not outright compromise values, for a large donation. Regent Asa Hohman said that mistreatment of anyone would not be tolerated. He said, "And any actions to the contrary in my opinion are untenable." Hohman's support of the gift puts his actions at odds with his words. If the university system is so concerned with the mistreatment of folks who are LGBTQ, he has voted to tolerate it by accepting $8 million. His vote, using his logic, is, in his own words, untenable. But darn if MSU doesn't need the money. There should be certain values and ideas that shouldn't be compromised, no matter what the donation. Some principles shouldn't be for sale. Folks in Missoula experienced a similar controversy last year when the regents accepted a $10 million gift from the Alexander Blewett III family in exchange for name the University of Montana Law School. When that happened, Sheehy raised concerns about the lack of transparency of such a donation. Even then, the regents admitted the process needed improvement for the public's sake. And yet, in the intervening months, it seems little has been done to improve the process. Shame on the regents and Commissioner Clayton Christian for letting this happen again. At a minimum, it seems like the Gianforte gift should have been slowed or even put on hold until a better, less rushed process was in place. We also wonder about the timing of the gift: The Gianforte offer would have raised concerns because of the foundation's funding regardless. However, now that it's being done as Greg Gianforte makes a run for governor, you can't help but wonder if this is really just a high-priced publicity stunt. In short, this is a mess -- and part of it should be placed at the feet of the university system level which has not created a process soon enough and lacked the backbone to slow it so that it could be fully vetted. We have serious concerns about what is for sale at our university, and how much public scrutiny is allowed. Our public universities are investments that belong to everyone in the state, not just those who can write large checks or have their own foundations. The regents also need to develop a rationale and a system that allows naming rights or large donations to be made to things that the taxpayers have already built. In other words, Montanans had already built the law school and the computer science in Missoula and Bozeman respectively. They made the investment with their tax dollars. Now, Blewett and Gianforte get the credit. Moreover, if the naming rights, buildings or programs at our state universities are up for sale, how about letting the public know? And, let's make sure such things aren't just run through the university foundations as a way to avoid public scrutiny. How about explaining to the public that buildings paid for by our taxes are now being sold to private individuals? And, if we are really selling any program and every building, why not open the bidding up? How do we know all a computer science program is only worth $8 million? How do we know there weren't deeper pockets for the law school? We acknowledge that a university education isn't getting cheaper and the Legislature, which funds the Montana University System, isn't getting any less stingy. Maybe it's time for more political pressure to fund the university system more completely instead of being forced into the position of taking money from wealthy donors, regardless of those donors' own motives or past history. Really, it's not what a building or program is worth; what's the value of our name in Montana? -- The Missoulian COLSTRIP The future of Montanas largest coal-fired power plant remains uncertain, but Gov. Steve Bullock told members of the Colstrip community Tuesday that hes doing what he can. No answers emerged from the Democratic governors hour-long meeting with community leaders here. Bullock said the power plants fate, particularly the fate of its two oldest units, was mostly up to its owners and their customers. Nobody for certain knows where all of this is going, and there are pieces of it that are certainly beyond anyone up here's control, Bullock said, referring to himself and his panel of mostly people from town. The market for coal, the way that, uh, the rise of natural gas, other things. But Im certainly, Im committed, and been committed, to making sure were turning over every rock. What Colstrip needs is time, said Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip. The power plants future has become bleaker with every passing month. Last week, the plants operator and co-owner, Talen Energy, announced that it no longer wanted the responsibility of running the power plant and put Colstrips five other stakeholders on two-years notice. Talen informed Bullock earlier in May that it was losing millions on power plant operations. None of the plants other owners have shown a willingness to assume Talens role. In April, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed into law a plan allowing Puget Sound Energy to begin setting aside money for the future shutdown of Colstrips two oldest units. Both Puget and Talen have a 50 percent interest in Colstrip Units 1 and 2. After much lobbying from Montana lawmakers, Washingtons state assembly had conditioned Pugets Colstrip retirement plan on the company not using the cash for seven years. Inslee vetoed that condition, giving Puget a green light not to wait. In Oregon, the state government has ordered Colstrip co-owners PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric to stop selling coal power in that state by 2030 and 2035 respectively. Both Washington and Oregon have been under pressure from the public to abandon coal by wire, as coal-fired electric power is called. Utilities in those states consume the majority of electricity produced by Colstrip. Ankney said the Montana government needed to get behind bringing in companies who see benefits in coal-fired power, possibly by offering incentives. Possibly incentives, offered by the state, for a legitimate group to come in here and put enhancements on this plant to make it burn cleaner so they can lower their carbon, increase their profits, Ankney said. Im talking about incentives, whether its tax incentives, and I dont know. We would have to wait and see what they need, but it could involve loan guarantees, something like that. Ankney said he had heard of a researchers in Texas who used coal power plant pollution as an octane booster in gasoline. He hoped something like that may be possible. Colstrip Mayor John Williams said Montana and the region had forgotten how much Colstrip has meant to the economy because of the years of affordable energy it has produced, as well as the strong wages the power plant had supplied to its employees since the mid-1970s. Taxes on coal mined in Montana built a $1 billion trust fund that has benefited communities across the state, not just Colstrip, Williams said. Even Yellowstone County has received coal tax money, he said. Part of our problem is that we have lost sight of the value and we havent done what we should do to communicate the value of what we are to the rest of the state, Williams said. Colstrip is out of sight out of mind, setting out here. The mayor called on Bullock to carry the message of the importance of Colstrip to the rest of the state. Williams' comments drew applause from a crowd of roughly 40 spectators. Not everyone was as encouraging toward the governor as Williams. Terry Taylor, who owns a hardware store in Colstrip, said Bullocks team, particularly the Department of Environmental Quality, had done more harm than good. He faulted the state for accepting $86 million from now-bankrupt Arch Coal for a lease on nearby Otter Creek coal, but then not granting the company a permit before a sour coal economy devastated it. We feel like youre a very handsome, smooth, intelligent man, but we dont feel like youre getting excited about whats going on, Taylor said. We feel like the Department of Environmental quality is letting everything happen to us and not fighting for us. The state of Montana took $80 million from Arch Coal. Can you imagine that Arch Coal would be broke if they had that money? This kind of stuff goes on time and time and time again and were really frustrated. Arch Coal had more than $4.5 billion in debt when it filed for bankruptcy this spring, according to the companys website. Taylors comments drew the loudest applause of the meeting. Bullock said the state couldnt grant a permit to Arch Coal because the mine didnt submit the paperwork to prove it could handle the groundwater at the proposed mine. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Staying in? We've got you covered Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy City of Muscatine plans to submit a Notice of Intent to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to be covered under the NPDES General Permit No. 2. The storm water discharge will be from road reconstruction of Mulberry Avenue located in NE Section 28, T27, R2W. Storm water will be discharged from construction site for reconstruction of existing street to the unnamed tributary of Geneva Creek. Comments may be submitted to the Storm Water Discharge Coordinator, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division, 502 E. 9th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0034. The public may review the Notice of Intent from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, at the above address after it has been received by the department. Muscatine Police and Sheriff's departments May 27, 5:05 p.m., 2200 block of Demorest Ave., accident, report. May 27, 6:54 p.m., East Sixth and Poplar streets, traffic stop, arrest. May 27, 6:54 p.m., East Sixth and Poplar streets, fight in progress, arrest. May 28, 12:48 a.m., 200 block of Walnut Street, criminal mischief, report. May 28, 1:50 a.m., 100 block of West Fourth Street, pursuit, arrest. May 28, 2:25 a.m., 1400 block of First Avenue, criminal mischief, report. May 28, 4:09 a.m., 600 block of East Eighth Street, criminal mischief, report. May 28, 8:25 a.m., 3400 block of North Highway 61, thefts, report. May 28, 9:38 a.m., 2000 block of Cedar Street, disturbance, arrest. May 28, 6:35 p.m., 3000 block of University Drive, gas drive-off, information. May 28, 9:12 p.m., 700 block of Grandview Avenue, traffic stop, arrest. May 29, 1:58 a.m., 2700 block of cedar Street, suspicious activity, arrest. May 29, 9:04 a.m., 500 block of Maple Avenue, hit and run, report. May 29, 4:38 p.m., 900 block of West Mississippi Drive, traffic stop, arrest. May 29, 9:36 p.m., 2300 block of South 57th Street, threats, report. May 29, 9:38 p.m., Colorado Street and University Drive, traffic stop, arrest. May 29, 9:42 p.m., 3000 block of North Highway 61, shoplifting, report. May 29, 11:49 p.m., 100 block of North Clay Street, business check, arrest. May 30, 1:32 a.m., 3800 block of Highway 61, intoxicated driver, arrest. May 30, 11:10 a.m., 1600 block of Grandview Avenue, accident, report. May 30, 1:11 p.m., 400 block of Bond Street, missing person, report. May 30, 3:48 p.m., 2100 block of Saulsbury Road, hit and run, report. May 30, 7:31 p.m., East Fifth and Spring streets, traffic stop, arrest. May 30, 10:10 p.m., West Fulliam and Roscoe avenues, traffic stop, arrest. May 30, 10:54 p.m., 600 block of Maiden Lane, non-structure fire, report. May 31, 1:52 a.m., 600 block of Kindler Avenue, suspicious activity, arrest. MUSCATINE, Iowa Local author Misty Urban is celebrating the publication of her short-story collection, A Lesson in Manners, with a book launch party at the Muscatine History and IndustryCenter. The launch is part of Muscatines inaugural Second Saturday event running June 11 from 5 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The launch party will feature games, etiquette contests, and a chance to win items inspired by different characters in the book. Urban will read from the book starting at 7:00 p.m. and follow this with an author Q/A and drawings for prizes. Books will be available for sale and signing throughout the event. As part of the book launch, Urban is holding a short story contest for stories inspired by the book. Full details of the contest, and prompts from which to select, are described on the authors website at http://www.mistyurban.net/contests. Stories can be up to 3000 words and are to be submitted by July 15 through the website. There is no entry fee. A Lesson in Manners won the Serena McDonald Kennedy Award for fiction and is published by Snake Nation Press, a non-profit literary arts organization located in Valdosta, GA. Judge Jacob M. Appel, who selected the manuscript for the award, called it an extraordinary collection that distills the lives of ordinary peoplerefreshing, compelling, and moving. Urban describes the book as a how-to manual for dealing with love, lies, and loneliness. Several of the ten stories were previously published and won prizes from New Letters, Writers at Work, The Atlantic Monthly, and Cornell University, where Urban earned an MFA in fiction and a Ph.D. in medieval literature. The book is available for sale at Just Because, in the Pearl Plaza in downtown Muscatine, and online at http://www.snakenationpress.org/. Urban coordinates the Writing Center at Muscatine Community College and is current president of Writers on the Avenue, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting local authors. The Muscatine History and Industry Center is located at 117 West Second Street in Muscatine. Regular visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. What is the emerald ash borer? It is a very small, shiny green beetle about a half inch long by an eighth of an inch wide; about the size of Mr. Lincolns image on a penny. What does EAB eat? Hosts are species and cultivars of ash in the genus Fraxinus. Hosts include green ash (e.g., Marshall Seedless, Patmore, and Summit), white ash (e.g., Autumn Purple) black ash, blue ash, and pumpkin ash. Manchurian and Chinese ash trees are primary hosts in its homeland [Eurasia]. A new host record of white fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) was discovered in Ohio; this is not a common plant in Iowa. Mountain ashes (Sorbus species) are not hosts. Where is EAB from? This beetle is native to Asia and is found in China and Korea. It also has been reported in Japan, Mongolia, the Russian Far East, and Taiwan. EAB arrived in the United States sometime before 2002 in wood packing materials. How did it get to Iowa? Most EAB infestations in the United States have been started by people unknowingly moving infested firewood, nursery plants, or sawmill logs. The adult beetle also can fly short distances from two to five miles. Should I be concerned about EAB? Yes. It kills ash trees, usually in two to four years. In the Midwest, millions of ash trees have been killed by EAB since 2002. There are about 3.1 million urban ash trees and an estimated 52 million ash trees in forests in the state of Iowa. Statewide, Iowa averages 16- 17 percent ash on city property, though the ash component in tree inventories can reach 87 percent. Contact one of the following if you suspect EAB in your tree: State Entomologist Office, IDALS: 515-725-1465 Iowa DNR Forestry: 515-725-8453 ISU Extension and Outreach: 515-294-1101 What does an EAB quarantine mean? A quarantine by state and U.S. agriculture departments means that hardwood firewood, ash logs, and wood chips cannot be moved out of the area without a permit. Homeowners must not remove their ash tree or firewood from their tree to an area outside the quarantine. Tree removal companies must not haul logs or firewood outside the quarantine area unless inspected and treated as required by the regulations. How many counties in Iowa have been quarantined? The entire state (99 counties) of Iowa has been quarantined for EAB. What general recommendations are available to communities? The Iowa Department of Natural Resources Forestry Bureau has worked with several communities to deal with EAB infestations. Contact Tivon Feeley (515-725-8453) or Emma Hanigan (515-725-8201) for more information. Where can I find current information about EAB on the Internet? Sites to gather current information about this exotic pest include: ISU Extension & Outreach: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/psep/EmeraldAshBorer.html Who is a local contact? Call the Louisa County Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Office at 319-523-2371. MUSCATINE, Iowa Like so many in Muscatine, Linda Last has been touched by cancer. Her father, Ernie Reeves of Muscatine, battled three different forms of the disease before passing away in 2006. So when a friend asked if she'd be willing to make a quilt for the silent auction at this year's Relay for Life of Muscatine County she enthusiastically said yes. "It's a good cause and I love to sew," she said. Her father suffered from lymphoma and colon cancer, Cancer also took his voice box. He was cancer-free for long stretches of his life until he succumbed to colon cancer and a brain tumor at the age of 80. "My dad worked at Heinz for 30 some years. He retired in 1986," Linda said. The quilt measures 60 by 60 inches. The pattern is called "Charm and Cozy." The 27th annual Relay for Life kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, June 3 at Muscatine High School. Team campsite set-up is scheduled for 1-5 p.m. From 4:30-6 p.m., survivors can register and attend the survivor dinner. The silent auction will run from 5 - 8 p.m. The opening ceremony begins at 6 p.m. with special laps around the track for survivors, caregivers and honorary survivors. At 9 p.m. this year's honorary survivor, Holly Oppelt of Muscatine, will be on hand for the luminaria ceremony. Bagpipes will be played by Derek Grant. Music will be provided by Lefty & the Spinners at 5 p.m. and Sheltered Reality will play from 6:45-8 p.m. Pat Church will lead a Zumba class at 7:30 p.m. Food will be available for purchase from A Guy and A Grill and Pizza Ranch. There will be them laps throughout the evening. Participants are encouraged to dress to fit the theme. The color laps begin with red at 5 p.m., followed by orange, yellow, green blue and purple. After luminaria, there will be a presentation by Joshua Kane/QC Slims. A "Why I Relay" video will be played at 10:30 p.m. Closing remarks are scheduled for 11:30 p.m. followed by clean-up and tear-down of the team campsites. DAVENPORT, Iowa Eight area students received Gallon Grad awards from Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) at the Louisa-Muscatine High School graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 22. The Blood Center established the Gallon Grad award to honor students who donate blood at least eight times before graduating from high school. (The fluid volume from eight whole blood donations is approximately one gallon.) Students are eligible to begin donating blood at age 16 (with a signed parental permission form, provided by the Blood Center) and most began donating blood at a blood drive hosted by their high school. These students have done something really special, said Sharee Hoegerl, Donor Relations Consultant for MVRBC. As dedicated blood donors, they provide a resource that helps save lives at hospitals throughout our region. Gallon Grad award recipients received an award certificate and a Red Cord that signifies the connection between the blood donor, the Blood Center and patients who have been helped by the students donations. Local students from L-M High School receiving the Gallon Grad award include: Brad Wachtel Lakota Lackey Harold OBrien Emily Stephens Jenna Brockert Olivia Hitchcock Tristian Rinnert Payton Beers MVRBC is the provider of blood and blood components to hospitals in Muscatine, Burlington, Washington, Iowa City, the Quad Cities and beyond. DAVENPORT, Iowa Gregory P. Schermer, Lee Enterprises vice president- strategy and board member announced Wednesday that he will retire after more than 27 years with Lee Enterprises, Incorporated. Schermer will remain a member of the board of directors. His retirement is effective August 31, 2016. Greg has played an essential role in Lees digital transformation, said Mary Junck, Lees executive chairman. Among his significant contributions to Lee and our industry, Greg helped found The Local Media Consortium, which connects advertisers to the audiences of nearly 1,600 newspapers and local media outlets. He also has negotiated other key digital partnerships, which have contributed greatly to our success. Greg has been a member of Lees top management team for nearly two decades, she added. Were fortunate that he will remain on the board to continue sharing his counsel and expertise. Schermer, 62, was named vice president-strategy in 2012, having served as vice president of interactive media since 1998. He joined Lee in 1989 as corporate counsel and held the position until 2006. He became a member of the Lee board of directors in 1999. It has been an honor to be a part of the evolution of Lee and the industry as a whole, Schermer said. Its a much different landscape now, and Im very proud of the work weve done to position Lee as a major part of that landscape. Im greatly looking forward to the opportunities my retirement will bring as well as my continued work as a member of the Lee board. Before joining Lee, he was a partner at the law firm of Hanson, O'Brien, Birney and Butler in Washington, D.C. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts and a juris doctorate degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1980. Schermer served on the Newspaper Association of Americas Digital Advisory Committee and also serves on the board of Lee's digital subsidiary, Townnews.com, an online service provider to more than 1,600 community and weekly newspapers. Among community activities in Davenport, he formerly was president of the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts and president, board and executive committee member of the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra. The stage at the Adler Theater in Davenport was recently named the Gregory P. Schermer Stage in honor of his contributions to the theater and performing arts in the Quad Cities community. MUSCATINE, Iowa Officials at Muscatine Power and Water are taking steps to make sure coal is delivered from mines in Wyoming to the utility's coal fired power plants. The Board of Water, Electric, and Communications Trustees Tuesday evening approved a five-year extension of the agreement with the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad to transport coal from the Powder River Basin to Ottumwa. "This is an extension as opposed to a new contract," General Manager Sal LoBianco told the board. "There's a fixed annual pricing schedule so we have some certainty. There are no minimums. If we choose to buy no coal, we pay nothing." "I wouldn't have been here without that stipulation," added Supply Train Services Manager Brad Spratt. "That was a lot of work to get to that point." Talks are underway for renewal of the agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railroad to transport coal from Ottumwa to Muscatine. FINANCIAL REPORT All three utilities at Muscatine Power and Water outperformed their April budgets. A deficit of $745,501 was budgeted for the Electric Utility in April, but the actual deficit was $266,667. LoBianco reported April revenue was lower than budget by $867,000 while expenses were lower by $1,340,000. But for the year to date through April, the budgeted loss of $195,821 was exceeded by actual loss of $659,780. An April loss of $219,130 was budgeted for the Water Utility, but profit of $71,814 was posted. LoBianco said both revenue and expenses were lower in April. A loss of $192,000 was budgeted for the year to date, but profit of $114,429 was posted. Profit of $136,475 budgeted for the Communications Utility in April was exceeded by actual profit of $177,084. LoBianco said revenue was slightly above budget while expenses were lower. For the year to date, budgeted profit of $416,940 was outpaced by actual profit of $646,069. But in answer to a board question, LoBianco reported the Fiber to the Home Project has continued to move more slowly than hoped. "This last month has been a little of spinning the wheels," he commented. "Hopefully we'll get the wheels to have some traction." IN OTHER BUSINESS: The board ratified April expenditures and transactions totaling $9,918,552. The board approved a revised project summary form to install a new autotransformer at the South Transformer located along Wiggins Road, increasing the estimated cost from $3,475,000 to $4,472,000. The board went into closed session to conduct annual performance reviews of the General Manager and Directors. MUSCATINE, Iowa U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack said that visiting small businesses is an important use of his time away from the Capitol. The congressman toured Reliable Network Solutions, LLC, and White Distribution and Supply, Inc., in Muscatine on Tuesday. Loebsack said that he enjoys visiting small businesses, especially because of their importance as employers. "Small businesses account for 65 percent of all the new jobs in Iowa, and almost that much around the country I think at this point, so they are in many ways, not to take anything away from the larger companies, the job-drivers," he said. Tom McCleery, a sales executive at White Distribution and Supply, showed the congressman the various areas of the facility. He said the company has been in operation for around 25 years. White Distribution and Supply has five main areas in which it operates: fasteners, packaging, MRO (material repair and operating), safety, and janitorial, according to McCleery. He said that although HNI was the company's biggest customer, it serves many other companies. "What we do is we have these national contracts... so, for example, when a company needs a glove we go right to the manufacturer... and based off of annual usage, we order what companies need, but try to find the best quality for the lowest price. We bring that in, test that for them and see if there's a cost savings," he said. Loebsack also visited Reliable Network Solutions, LLC, which provides IT services for companies that may not have their own IT department, including software and security updates. Jon Hartman, the owner of Reliable Network Solutions, showed the congressman their offices and described some of the services they can provide to businesses that may require some technical assistance. "We do work for a lot of small town stuff so some of those places need that help," Hartman said. Loebsack said that, although the company had five employees including the owner, small businesses like it are still important job providers. "A place like this, he's got relatively few employees, but there are opportunities for growth," he said. He also said that he often discusses tax policy, or simply asks small business owners what he can do to help them at the federal level. One example, he said, was of bipartisan legislation that he co-wrote, H.R. 4596, the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act. "That's exempting them (small internet service providers) for 5 years from some FCC transparency regulations that are onerous, cost money, and also requires their workers to spend a lot of time filling out paperwork instead of providing broadband to rural areas, that kind of thing is what I'm talking about too, and that was passed in the U.S. House 411 to nothing," he said. Loebsack said he hopes to provide support for small businesses, and one of the best ways to learn about their needs is by meeting with them. "If someone can talk to me about a specific regulation that's onerous, that's burdensome, something that should not be in place or we should do something about it, I'm more then open to talk about that and do what I can," Loebsack said. MUSCATINE, Iowa Two Democrats and one Republican are running for state representative from Iowa House District 91. Democrats Jessica Brackett and Phil Wiese are seeking their party's nomination for the right to oppose Republican incumbent State Rep. Gary Carlson in November. Carlson is running unopposed in the primary. Primary election day is June 7. Each candidate was sent a list of questions and asked for their responses. Their responses were published in their entirety. Name: Jessica Brackett Age: 34 Hometown: Dubuque Education: University of Iowa, BA, political science (developing areas); Drake University, masters degree in public administration Experience: Ive held the title of executive director, program director, and publisher/editor across many policy areas, including child safety issues, civil rights and the environment. I also have experience working for the rights of people with disabilities, smart growth policies, farmland protection. What issues do you see facing the district/Iowa? The most pressing issues I believe we face include: building a more diverse economy with stable high quality jobs; ensuring adequate infrastructure for a modern economy; access to affordable physical and mental health care; rebuilding our world class education system after years of under funding; and protecting our natural resources to ensure public health and safety, now and for future generations. How do you plan to address water quality in Iowa? As a supporter of Iowas farm families, I believe the Iowa Legislature should take advantage of the opportunity created by the federal government and allow Iowa farmers to grow industrial hemp, like our neighbors in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Illinois. This puts power in the hands of farmers, increases dollars per acre, breaks the dependence on chemical inputs, and provides a crop that acts like a sponge to clean up impaired soils, thus decreasing the pollution of our waterways and the cost of water treatment. Also, incentives should be used to promote increased pollution controls at point sources, and programs like REAP and IWILL should be fully funded. All funds should be accompanied with expected measurable outcomes, benchmarks, and timelines. How would you deal with issues constituents may face with the privatization of Medicaid? The multi-billion dollar heath care industry in Iowa was handed to for profit companies this year. The only oversight provided in this dangerous transition is data collection. My constituents, and all Iowans, deserve to be more than just a number to be counted. If a complete reversal is not possible, I will push for a robust monitoring and reporting system for those harmed by these hasty and shortsighted actions. Our most vulnerable Iowans deserve better. How would you ensure funding for schools? I believe we should be treating children as a priority. Ensuring students have the resources needed to become confident and happy life long learners, and leaders in Muscatine, across Iowa, and around the globe is my goal. Working toward consensus about the needs of our children and our labor force will build the political will, and create the path to achieve these goals. Muscatine County and its region have been discussing issues regarding mental health funding. What would you do to ensure mental health funding for Muscatine County and its mental health region? I would regularly meet with the County Boards of Supervisions and service providers in our region to determine the depth of need and programs necessary to make sure mental health funding and care are priorities. Name: Gary Carlson Age: 65 Hometown: Consider Muscatine my hometown moved here originally in 1973. Wapello High School graduate. Education: University of Iowa, BBA Experience: Currently member of HNI Corporation, VP of Community Relations. Previously President and CEO of Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and also 23 year career with Bandag. Have held positions in manufacturing, logistics, human resources, strategic planning and international. What issues do you see facing the district/Iowa? Economic development is still critical need for Iowa. Iowa must continue to create opportunities for business expansion and business startups which creates jobs and career opportunities, especially in high value positions in manufacturing, skilled trades, and STEM careers. Additionally, in the near term, Iowas economy is soft, especially in the agri-business sector. Agri-business is critical to Iowas overall economy and when it slows, the States economy slows which translates into less tax revenues for State of Iowa budgets. How do you plan to address water quality in Iowa? The issue regarding water quality discussions is focused on what can the entire State do to improve water runoff and Iowas role, along with other States along the Mississippi River meeting the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy focuses on phosphorus and nitrogen. Research from Iowa State University has identified a number of initiatives to address solutions and strategies. Phosphorous moves primarily with eroded soil so practices such as cover crops and no-till farming have proven to be effective. Iowans have clearly made progress in the reduction of phosphorus run-off. Nitrogen is more of a challenge. The rich soils of Iowa contain many naturally produced nitrates plus agriculture use nitrates to improve the productivity of crops. Nitrates move primarily with water so heavy rainfalls, flooding, and even drought impact the migration to water ways. Again, research is showing multiple solutions, ranging from wetlands and bio-reactors to crop rotation and the improvement in technology regarding application such as the utilization of GPS sensors. While research needs to continue so the most effective tactics are used effectively, more financial resources are needed to move the process more quickly. In the last legislative session, several different proposals were reviewed. With water quality becoming a higher priority for Iowans, the House of Representatives passed bi-partisan legislation to allocate more existing funds to these efforts. Unfortunately the Iowa Senate did not consider the House legislation but I anticipate in the next session much more discussion will take place and funding solutions will become law. How would you deal with issues constituents may face with the privatization of Medicaid? I use the same process to work with constituents on Medicaid issues as I do with any other issue when constituents contact me for assistance. It starts with listening to the problem and issue. Most times people simply do not know whom to contact. In regard to Medicaid specifically, I have assisted many constituents already and the vast majority of the outcomes have been successful. Sometimes I know the answer and can provide a quick solution such as the telephone number of one of the managed care companies. Generally, the issue is more involved and I utilize state staff and the managed care vendors to resolve the issue. I continue to have conversations with the constituent to make sure they get the information they need. How would you ensure funding for schools? Education is very important and impacts the future of our State. School funding in Iowa is the single largest portion of the budget and consequently school funding is generally the first budget item finalized. For Fiscal Year 2017, starting July 1, 2016 the State of Iowa budget will be approximately $7.3 billion. K-12 funding receives approximately $3.2 billion or 43 percent of the budget. K-12 funding now exceeds $10,000 per student. The three Regent Universities, (U of Iowa, Iowa State, and U of Northern Iowa) receive $600 million or 8.2 percent of the budget. Iowas community colleges receive $3 million or 2.8% of the budget so in total education is 54 percent of the states budget. We have continued to increase school budgets while other state agencies have had cuts or status quo budgets. The challenge will remain to find more resources for schools but I, and other legislators, are committed to having excellent schools. Muscatine County and its region have been discussing issues regarding mental health funding. What would you do to ensure mental health funding for Muscatine County and its mental health region? The failure to finalize a longer term solution for mental health funding was my biggest disappointment in the last legislative session. Mental Health funding in Iowa is a challenge. Prior to regionalization we had significant disparity in funding across the state. Regionalization has helped the consistency of the services provided across the State but we have not permanently resolved the financial funding formula. This year, I and other local legislators, were successful at obtaining additional funds ($500,000) for our region but quite candidly this was only a partial and temporary solution. Mental health is primarily funded today by property tax but mental health services are provided to all Iowans, not just those paying property tax. The current system has disparity between the levee rates actually paid in some counties vs. other counties and we clearly have disparity in our region. A likely component of the solution will be to change the per person cap, allowing for some equity adjustments with the intent to stay within the total levee cap now outlined in state code. Name: Phil Wiese Age: 34 Hometown: Muscatine County is home. Education: Associate of arts degree from Kirkwood Community College and a bachelors degree from the University of Iowa Experience: Small business owner, tree farmer, type 2 diabetes sales specialist, concerned citizen What issues do you see facing the district/Iowa? There are so many issues facing our district and the state of Iowa. Those include: Repairing the damage done by the governors privatization of Iowa Medicaid, which affected more than 560,000 Iowans Expanding funding for education, mental health, and roads and bridges Ending workplace discrimination by making equal pay for equal work a reality for women in Iowa Reviewing legislation addressing drainage districts Protecting our natural resources How do you plan to address water quality in Iowa? As your state representative, I will support conservation efforts to preserve our natural resources for future generations. I will do this by working with our conservation departments so they can better enable farmers to reach their goal of reducing the amount of fertilizer and nitrates that reach our soil. How would you deal with issues constituents may face with the privatization of Medicaid? This issue hits close to home, and its the reason why I decided to run for the Iowa House. I have a family member who relies on Iowa Medicaid, and Ive seen first-hand the glitches in the system. Now that privatization is in place (which I believe was a dangerous and disastrous mistake), I want to make sure that the glitches are worked out as soon possible so that our most vulnerable residents do not continue to be negatively impacted by the governors decision. I will hold the managed care organizations accountable for ensuring Iowans get the health care they deserve. Our governor continues to defend his decision, which hurts fragile Iowans, by saying this was a necessary cut for budgetary reasons. Instead of defending legislation that hurts Iowans, Ill go to Des Moines with solutions that will actually drive down the rising costs of health care in Iowa. Changes are needed, but we need to ensure that change helps Iowans, not hurts them. Im amazed by the good ideas that health-care professionals have come up with to improve care while reducing costs, and Ill continue to listen to them, instead of lobbyists. How would you ensure funding for schools? School funding in Muscatine County is a big priority, especially when you consider that approximately 53 percent of students in the Muscatine School District are on free and reduced lunches. First off, we need to create non-partisan support for our education system, so that we make sure the governor does not slash and line-item veto our states education budget. We also need to work towards correcting the education funding formula to ensure equal funding to schools across Iowa. As your state representative, I will continue to have the mindset that our children are an investment (not some politicians mindset that our children are an unnecessary expense). Our children are our future, and instead of giving millions of dollars to big companies that dont pay income tax in our state, I will advocate for investing that money into our public schools. Muscatine County and its region have been discussing issues regarding mental health funding. What would you do to ensure mental health funding for Muscatine County and its mental health region? I will support the Eastern Iowa Mental Health/Disability Services region by creating levy equality. As your state representative, I will work in a non-partisan way and support a bill that will remove the 1996 frozen levy amount. This will ensure mental health services in Muscatine County and the region are adequately funded while reducing the tax burden on Muscatine County residents. Our regional staff has concluded that levy equality will reduce the per capita levy rates from $47.28 to approximately $35 here in our district. If you elect me to the Iowa House, I will be the loudest voice in Des Moines for our most vulnerable Iowansthe elderly, those with disabilities, and the mentally ill. Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] Communications Minister Faith Muthambi has noted the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling on the free-to-air television broadcaster, eTVs Set Top Boxes (STBs) encryption court battle. The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, on Tuesday, found that the amendment to the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy in 2015 by Minister Muthambi did not follow a process of consultation and was irrational and in breach of the principle of legality. In a statement, following the court ruling, the department said: The Minister will study the judgment and decide how to proceed. Last year, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed the free-to-air television broadcasters case to encrypt STBs with costs. This comes after the free to air television channel had questioned the rationality of the Ministers decision to amend the policy, saying its not in the best interest of free-to-air broadcasters. When eTV took the legal route to challenge the legality of the Ministers decision to amend the policy, other stakeholders who were embracing digital migration accused the television channel of pursuing its own business interests. However, eTV had earlier indicated the amendment to the policy will result in them forking out R3 billion to distribute its own STBs. The public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), was also in support of Minister Muthambi that encryption will cost an initial R580 million and R500 million annually after that. By filing an application for leave to appeal a judgment by the high court, the free-to-air broadcaster wanted the Supreme Court to set aside a provision in the policy that says government subsidised STBs will not have the capability to encrypt broadcast signals. Again, it also wanted an amendment to the provision that says the control system will not be mandatory. Broadcasting Digital Migration Amendment Policy The Broadcasting Digital Migration Amendment Policy was approved by Cabinet last year with the inclusion of the control system in the STB, which was clearly defined when the policy was published. The policy seeks to clarify the use of a control system in STBs that will enable households to switch from analogue to digital broadcast signals. The issue of whether to include the control system in the STBs has been a source of disagreement amongst free-to air broadcasters for some time now, which impacted negatively on the ability of the country to implement the broadcasting digital television. SANews More on the SABC SABC 3 will have 80% South African content: Hlaudi Motsoeneng The SABC wants to give the ANC an advantage in the elections: DA Eaton Towers Group announced it has signed an agreement to sell its South African towers to American Tower Corporation (ATC) South Africa for an undisclosed sum. This transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The successful execution of our build-to-suit strategy over the last few years has resulted in a unique portfolio of some 300 towers serving some 600 tenants across South Africa, said Terry Rhodes, CEO of Eaton Towers. The sale, which represents about 5% of Eaton Towers total business, will allow us to invest further in the countries where Eaton Towers are market leaders and expand into new markets in Africa. Eaton Towers said the South African market of some 30,000 towers is dominated by the telecoms and broadcast organisations, which own over 90% of the towers. More on Eaton Towers and ATC South Africa MTN wants to share cellphone towers Eaton Towers secures R1.12 billion for towers in Africa Cell C tower infrastructure sale confirmed Cellular tower sharing Internet travel booking service Airbnb has revealed how South Africans are using the tool to make extra money. The sharing economy platform said that local hosts earn on average R28 800 per year as tourists make South Africa a travel destination. Cape Town and South Africa offer tremendous beauty; the tourism infrastructure is great, Nicola DElia, managing director for Africa and Middle East at Airbnb told Fin24 from a hosts home in Cape Town. The company has reported 190% growth in local hosts to 7 500 with 134 000 inbound guests, representing growth of 250%, and guests staying an average of 4.9 nights. But DElia said the company was working hard to prevent unpleasant incidents that could mar the travelling experience. Security, safety When were talking about security or safety, this is not something that is unique to South Africa. Its something that is at the core of our mission, he said. The platform employs 250 trust and safety officials available for guest or host problems and offers users the ability to verify IDs to promote trust. It also only allows reviews from guests and hosts who have booked with each other. If you look at the numbers, on average last summer we had one million guests travelling on Airbnb every single day. Our community is based on trust and safety is paramount for us, said DElia. The depreciation of the rand has made SA more attractive to foreign visitors who make up 72% of the local Airbnb visitors. Sometimes Capetonians have a reputation for being a little closed, being a little bit insular, and not being that open. The fact that you have 7 500 hosts now in Cape Town, youve got a lot of Capetonians who are literally opening up their homes and their lives to guests from around the world, said Tim Harris, chief executive officer of Wesgro, himself an Airbnb host. Fin24 More on Airbnb Airbnb shows massive growth in South Africa Airbnb stops local payouts in South African rand The rand has weakened from R10.35/USD in 2014 to the current R15.15/USD, which is putting pressure on computer brands to keep equipment affordable in South Africa. High-end laptop brand Gigabyte said it is a battle to make sure price points are agreeable with local consumers. Gigabyte said it invested heavily to make sure they were linked to an exchange rate of around $14/USD, rather than R15-R16/USD. This, said Gigabyte, means that South African consumers were not adversely affected by the volatile rand. This also allowed the company to keep machine prices stable. New technology pricing, however, remains a challenge. New tech costs more, especially at launch, and this has been the greatest challenge to keep the pricing within the previous amounts, said Gigabyte. Gigabyte said it is near impossible for pricing not to increase with a weakening currency and the latest, more expensive technology. We generally see a 10% to 15% increase when compared with earlier generation technologies. There is an upside to the latest laptops, though. Certain areas of performance and convenience more than doubled with our latest laptops, said Gigabyte. RAM capacity typically doubled, SSD speeds on the NVMe bus quadrupled, and the HDMI 2.0 bandwidth more than doubled to be able to produce 4K images at 60Hz. So even with a 10% or 15% increase in price, the value for consumers is still there, it said. That has been and always will be the Gigabyte promise to its clients value for your hard-earned buck. More hardware articles Intel to cut workforce by 12,000 employees Upgraded Apple MacBook revealed HP unveils worlds thinnest laptop HP Spectre Little royals on Children's Day 2016-05-31 17:39 By (chinadaily.com.cn) The children of royalty and politicians around the world are used to the spotlight since birth. With International Children's Day coming on June 1, let's take a look at some of the cute pictures of these privileged kids. WASHINGTON Newly released documents about a now-defunct business owned by Donald Trump reveal strategies for enticing people to enroll in real estate seminars even if they couldn't afford it, opening the presumptive Republican nominee up to fresh criticism from Hillary Clinton that he took advantage of vulnerable Americans. "Trump University was a fraudulent scheme used to prey upon those who could least afford it," Clinton's campaign wrote on Twitter Wednesday morning. Clinton aides suggested the likely Democratic nominee would use Trump University as part of a broader effort to cast Trump as a callous businessman who promises Americans ways to get ahead, but is only concerned with enriching himself. As part of that effort, Clinton has previously hammered Trump for appearing to cheer for the collapse of the U.S. housing market and for failing to make good on pledges to donate to veterans until he was pressured to follow through by the media. "He is pitching voters that he can help improve their lives, but it is all a scam whose only goal is to promote Trump," Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said. Trump University is the target of two lawsuits in San Diego and one in New York that accuse the business of fleecing students with unfulfilled promises to teach secrets of success in real estate. Plaintiffs contend that Trump University gave seminars and classes across the country that were like infomercials, constantly pressuring customers to buy more and, in the end, failing to deliver. Trump has maintained that customers were overwhelmingly satisfied with the offerings a point that his attorneys repeated after the new documents were unsealed Tuesday. Last Friday, a judge who has earned Trump's scorn sided with attorneys for The Washington Post who argued that the public had a right to know what was previously confidential. As Trump steamrolled through the GOP primary, some of his rivals raised Trump University as a liability for the businessman and at least five different outside groups mentioned the business in attack ads. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also used Trump University in his campaign speeches as part of his failed attempt to blunt the real estate mogul's political rise. "It was targeted at people that were struggling," Rubio said during a March 1 campaign appearance. He said they were retirees, single mothers and young people trying to start a business. "They were people that were hurting, and they specifically targeted them." Rubio said last week that he's eager to help the party defeat Clinton. While details about the business did little to stop Trump in the primary, Clinton allies say GOP candidates were too slow in raising concerns and inconsistent in their attacks. Democrats have vowed to avoid repeating those same mistakes in the fall campaign. The documents released Tuesday give Clinton some fresh ammunition for raising concerns about Trump's business dealings. The "playbooks" for Trump University outline how employees should guide customers through "the roller coaster of emotions" once they have expressed interest in the courses. "The motivation that they experienced can die quickly as the realities of their daily lives take over. It is our job to rekindle that motivation ... to make them once again see the potential of achieving their dream," according to a "sales playbook." Trump University offered a three-day seminar for $1,495, using it as a springboard to sell more expensive "Trump Elite" packages for up to $34,995 a year. "You don't sell products, benefits or solutions you sell feelings," according to the sales playbook. Trump University's core customers are identified in the documents as male heads of households between 40 and 54 years old with annual household incomes of at least $90,000, a college education and a net worth of more than $200,000. During one-on-one conversations, "you may begin with some small-talk to establish rapport but do not let them take control of the conversation," a playbook reads. "You must be very aggressive during these conversations to in order to push them out of their comfort zones." "If they complain about the price, remind them that Trump is the BEST!! This is the last real estate investment they will ever need to make." For those who have hit credit limits, employees are told to suggest they dip into savings or identify other "seed capital." "Money is never a reason for not enrolling in Trump University; if they really believe in you and your product, they will find the money," a playbook reads. The documents unsealed Tuesday do include testimony from several satisfied customers. "Much of the unsealed evidence, including declarations and surveys from former Trump University students, demonstrates the high level of satisfaction from students and that Trump University taught valuable real estate information," said Jill Martin, vice president and assistant general counsel for The Trump Organization. "Trump University looks forward to using this evidence, along with much more, to win when the case is brought before a jury." The 6-year-old case in San Diego is scheduled to go to trial shortly after the November presidential election. Trump has railed against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who ordered the documents unsealed. At a rally in San Diego on Friday, he accused the judge of being "hostile" and a "hater of Donald Trump," and raised questions about his ethnicity. "The judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great, I think that's fine," Trump said of Curiel, who was born in the U.S. It was the second time Trump has brought up the judge's ethnicity as he complained about his treatment. SAN RAFAEL Two Northern California high school students have been charged as adults with murder for the shooting death of a classmate. The Marin County district attorney's office also charged 17-year-old Juan Carlos Martinez Henriquez and 16-year-old Edwin Guevara Tuesday with attempted murder for the gunshot and stabbing injuries another classmate sustained on a Marin County hiking trail last week. All four students attended Novato High School, about 20 miles north of San Francisco. The two suspects were arrested Friday and have not yet been appointed lawyers. Authorities are searching for a third suspect thought to have participated in the attack on the two students Wednesday. Prosecutors also charged 20-year-old Elmer Fernando Machado-Rivera with being an accessory after the fact. Machado-Rivera has not yet been appointed a lawyer. Gen. John A. Logan would have been pleased that Memorial Day landed on May 30 this year. It was, after all, the day that he selected for all Memorial Days in 1868 when he first called for a nationwide day of remembrance. Logan, who was second commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic was instrumental in creating the holiday, first called Decoration Day. Until the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed in 1968 and put into effect in 1971, Memorial Day was always on May 30, no matter the day of week. If they had their way, the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War would return Memorial Day to May 30, said Mace Gjerman during the ceremony at Pioneer Cemetery on Monday. Gjerman told the small gathered group the history of Decoration Day, which became Memorial Day in 1967, and noted that Southern states had their own day of recognition and did not participate in Decoration Day until after World War I. Memorial Day in Calistoga is organized by the American Legion Calistoga Post 231 and includes a morning event at the cemetery to honor the 22 known Civil War veterans buried there. Later a celebration is held at the Veterans Memorial at Logvy Park for all American military personnel who lost their life in all American-fought wars. Led by Paul Coates, post commander of the American Legion, and Councilmember Jim Barnes, they were joined by the Boy Scouts, Col. Elmer Ellsworth Camp 23, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and Ivy Stiers Auxiliary 23, Auxiliary to Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, at the Pioneer Cemetery event, which included a brief history on the Grand Army of the Republic, a roll call of the Calistoga-buried Civil War veterans, a rifle salute, taps and closing prayers. At the Veterans Memorial the program included the singing of the national anthem by Katie Hopgood, a rendition of America the Beautiful by Placido Garcia, remarks by Ken Flynn, City Manager Dylan Feik and Councilmember Jim Barnes, a reading of a letter by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), the reading of the names of the new bricks laid at the memorial, taps and audience contributions. Noting that he is not a veteran, Feik said he was humbled by the contributions and sacrifices of those in his family who are veterans and those who lost their lives, such as his great-uncle who died in Pearl Harbor, and veterans all over. He said he believes strongly in our Constitution, keeping near him a pocket guide of the Constitution, and that he has devoted his career to public service. The U.S. has fought in 10 wars, Barnes said, averaging about 24 years between each conflict. He named the wars and the number of lives lost in each, saying that these men and women fought to preserve our way of life, our freedom. Since 1776, 240 years (ago) we have stood for life, liberty and freedom, he said. We have fought unceasingly to protect our freedom and our freedoms. We have been a shining beacon of hope for millions who have flocked to our shores from all parts of the globe. We have fought at home and many foreign lands to keep that beacon shining brightly. We have paid dearly but willingly to protect our shores and way of life. There are 483 names enshrined at this memorial who have fought these battles. Some gave all on the battlefield. Some came home to resume their lives. Many are gone, but many are still with us. They are all heroes and they are all honored here today. When Vintage High School ends classes next week, it will say goodbye to a longtime staff member who has spent nearly two decades working to make the campus safer and keep students from getting into fights. Campus Supervisor Debbie Raines is retiring this month after 18 years at Vintage. She will end her long career, 24 years overall with the school district, on a high note. Fighting on campus, which in the past was a regular, often frequent problem, is down noticeably, according to school officials. They credit Raines use of conflict resolution with students, particularly girls, for helping turn things around, a success that also garnered her honors in Sacramento. Earlier this month, Raines was named Classified School Employee of the Year by the California Department of Education, which gives out six such honors annually. Raines received the top award for her classification (support services and safety), both statewide and for Napa County. Over her 18 years at Vintage High School, Ms. Raines has grown and reshaped her position from a campus security role to becoming an adult role model for students, CDE wrote in a statement announcing her award. Administrators and staff say thats been a key transformation at the high school, the statement read, because students need positive adult relationships particularly when being held accountable for their behavior. Principal Mike Pearson, who has worked with Raines for nine of his 14 years at Vintage during stints as assistant principal and now principal, said she was very deserving of the award. When Debbie first came on board, Pearson said, the school had one solution for fighting among students: Hey, you screwed up, get out! Education has evolved since then, he said. We evolved from being very authoritarian, My way or the highway. We try to understand why a kid is doing what a kid is doing, he said, and if we can repair the relationship or restore the justice, we take those opportunities to do that. Raines decided on a different approach to student conflict after attending a Mean Girls conference eight years ago in San Francisco, which provided training to educators on ways to defuse tensions and other troubles in school without only resorting to suspensions and expulsions. Now, We discuss the problem, said Raines. The process involves bringing both sides of a conflict or bullying episode into the same room with her acting as mediator. They are free to say whats on their mind, why theyre angry, and then the other person is able to say their side of the story, she said. Then I talk to them about ways to handle it like adults, not by calling them names or handling it on the campus, which could result in a fight. Assistant Principal Peter Abboud, who supervises Raines, said the campus supervisor has a knack for conflict resolution. I tell parents I dont have a magic bullet for conflicts between students, said Abboud, but I have Debbie Raines, and shes almost a magic bullet. We have a lot of students now who will come up to her and say, Somethings going on, I need your help with it, he said, and shell jump right in and support them before it bubbles up to something we have to deal with in the office. Students largely trust Raines and go to her with their problems, particularly girls who have gone through the conflict resolution program, according to Abboud. Some trust her not only with their problems but they will come up and talk to her about anything, said Junior Alexis Ceja, who has seen Raines multiple times for help with other girls at school. They can get things out with her. Freshman Mikayla Medina went to Raines for help after things got heated between her and some friends. It was really nice to talk with confidentiality, said Medina. It was nice to talk to them without yelling and screaming all the time in the courtyard. We would argue a lot. Sometimes, it gets heated in the mediation room, too. One time, Ceja went to Raines after hearing rumors and receiving text messages about a female student and two others who were going to jump me. Raines got Ceja and the other girl into the same room to talk. When we came in at first there was a lot of yelling, said Ceja, and Mr. Abboud had to come in to make sure everything was OK. She said things eventually calmed down between her and the other student. I agreed to smile and not give her dirty looks if I saw her on the campus, said Ceja, and she agreed the same and we shook hands. She made the point of adding, Were not friends. Both Ceja and Medina admire Raines for her work and approach with students, saying shes amazing. Shes so nice, shes nice to everyone on campus, said Medina. I mean, unless youre in trouble. Ceja agreed, saying: The troublemakers in the school, they see her as a threat. Shes very nice at first, the first time you get into trouble. Shell work through it with you. But if you give her attitude and you disrespect her, thats when she will be, OK, you need to stop. She makes it known that shes the boss, Ceja added. You have to follow the rules, and if you dont, you have to pay the consequence. Pearson said Raines has the right approach with teenagers, knowing when to listen and guide them, and when to lay down the law. She wants to help and wants to be a mentor, said Pearson, but she also knows the importance of boundaries. We still have consequences. If you get in a fight, you still gotta go home, Pearson said. But if you agree to conflict resolution with Debbie, guess what, youre only gone three days instead of five [of suspension]. Pearson took over Vintage four years ago, following a long period of campus unrest. Fighting on a small scale (one student against another) was common years ago, sometimes averaging twice a month, he said. Larger brawls or near brawls between groups of students also happened on campus. One of the worst episodes occurred in September 2009, when 11 students were suspended in one week after five separate fights broke out on a single day. That same week three other students were arrested. Things were so unstable then that Napa police sent more than a dozen officers to patrol Vintage. Ross Walker, Vintages sophomore class vice-president at the time, told the Napa Valley Register back then: It was just very strange, with the amount of police on campus. I felt like I was going to school in Oakland. Its not that way now, according Pearson and Raines. We had one fight last year, said the principal, who defined a fight as two or more students throwing punches at each other. This year, the total is less than five, he said. Statistics from the California Department of Education show fighting and other troubles at Vintage have gone down so far this decade. Four years ago, Vintage reported 33 suspensions due to students causing, attempting, or threatening physical injury. Last year, the number was only seven. The 2011-2012 school year also saw Vintage report more than 400 offenses stemming from disruption or defiance on the part of students. That number declined to 171 during 2014-2015, the latest year figures were available from CDE. Raines credited the conflict resolution program for the change, saying it has been very successful. It has reduced fighting dramatically, she said. The kids are getting along better. Starting next fall, Vintage will have to figure out a way to keep the peace without Raines around, said Pearson and Abboud. Shes definitely going to leave a void behind, said Abboud. Well need to figure out how to fill that without her here. Pearson concurred. Having a campus supervisor do conflict mediation, I like that idea a lot, he said. Im going to see how we can continue to replicate that. Although shes retiring, Raines has told Pearson and Abboud that she would be willing to come back and train her replacement on the art of conflict resolution. I dont want to see the program end, she said. Two local June 7 tax measures one for schools, the other for a new jail and childrens programs have campaign groups spending tens of thousands of dollars to sway voters. The Napa Valley Unified School District is running Measure H, a $269 million bond measure to build, replace and renovate schools. The measure authorizes an annual property tax of up to $60 per $100,000 of assessed value, though the school district estimates the tax will be $39. State law forbids the school district from using public money to run a campaign. Instead, the group Safe Schools for Napa Valley Unified has raised $138,425 this year for that purpose. The result has been mailers, phone calls and yard signs in favor of Measure H. Safe Schools for Napa Valley Unified is using Oakland-based CliffordMoss as a campaign consultant. Earthquake Safe Schools, reads one mailer that shows photos of school damage sustained from the 2014 South Napa earthquake. Another features local educators urging a yes vote. Donors to Yes on H campaign for the year through May 21 are on file with the county Election Division. Construction and engineering companies are some of the larger contributors. Among those donating $5,000 apiece are Napa Electric, R.E. Maher Inc. Concrete Construction of American Canyon, ZFA Structural Engineers of Santa Rosa, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 180 PAC and Bell Products, a Napa heating, air conditioning and plumbing company, the campaign reported. Among those donating $2,500 are Zeco Electric Co. of American Canyon, Long Electric of Napa and Dutra Cerro Graden, a Dublin-based real estate firm that deals with school district transactions. District Superintendent of Schools Patrick Sweeney donated $500 and American Canyon Middle School Assistant Principal Keith Nickolaus donated $100. Measure Y Measure Y would enact a quarter-cent sales tax increase that would bring money to the Napa County general fund. The Board of Supervisors has targeted these revenues to help pay for a new jail on Highway 221 near Syar quarry and for childrens programs. Childrens advocates had initially planned their own November ballot measure. When the jail and children programs came together under the auspices of Measure Y, the campaigns and fundraising merged. Yes on Y, Invest in Napas Future reports having raised $66,217. It too has sent out mailers, set up yard signs and has done phone calls. One of the bigger recent donations is $5,000 from COPE Family Center. The local nonprofit lists its mission as preventing and addressing the root causes of child abuse and neglect. Napa Mill Development Co. and Nacht & Lewis of Sacramento donated $2,500 apiece. The county is paying Nacht & Lewis $137,765 to do architectural and other planning work for the proposed, new jail. Among those donating $1,000 apiece are 2nd District Supervisor candidate Ryan Gregory, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 180 PAC, District Council of Ironworkers PAC, Friends of Alfredo Pedroza for Supervisor, Belia Ramos for Supervisor, Keith Caldwell for Supervisor 2012 and Bill Dodd for Senate 2016. Meanwhile, the Napa County Taxpayers Association has posted the all-purpose Stop Taxes in Napa County signs it previously used to protest the Napa Sanitation District sewer fee hike. The group merely removed the small sewer fee blurb from the bottoms of the main signs and attached small blurbs reading Measure Y and Measure H. American Canyons Memorial Day ceremony was a solemn occasion held under a bright sunny sky, in which a multitude of numbers were offered up to mark the importance of this annual day of remembrance. Today, we pay tribute to the 1.8 million troops whove died in battle since 1775, said Air Force Lt. Col. Andrew Frankel, who gave the keynote address at Mondays event in Veterans Memorial Park. That number is almost too large to comprehend, Frankel told about 200 people in attendance, including dozens of veterans. Frankels speech included other numerical references to reinforce Memorial Days significance and purpose to honor the men and women who have died serving their country in the military. I use numbers that I can get my mind around, said Frankel, the deputy commander of the 349th Mission Support Group at Travis Air Force Base, whose overseas deployments have included tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. I think of numbers like 36, he continued, the number of Fallen Comrade Ceremonies where I, like every other member of the base, stood at attention, and silently saluted our fallen as they passed on their way home. Another number he threw out was nine, the total of Humvees I helped unload of their flag-draped coffins. Frankel, who was joined at the ceremony by his wife and children, also acknowledged the suffering at home when parents, spouses and siblings have died while fighting in wars. I cant even begin to quantify the impact of our losses on their families, friends or on their communities, he said. I would imagine that its at least three times greater than that 1.8 million number I threw out earlier. For Frankel, Memorial Day 2016 marked the second time he has served as keynote at the citys annual ceremony. He expressed appreciation for the chance to return, saying this is the first time Ive been invited back anywhere among the many times he has spoken at civic events over the last 10 years. Its an honor to again spend part of the day with my friends here in American Canyon, which he described as one of the many communities that take time to remember the sacrifices of our nations guardians. Mayor Leon Garcia noted American Canyons long tradition of honoring members of the armed forces, a connection that stretches back to the 20th century when Mare Island Naval Shipyard provided jobs to many local residents. The ceremony also featured members of the local VFW Post 11099 as well as Army personnel from the American Canyon recruiting office who served as honor guard. One of the soldiers, Sergeant Quante Carter, rang a ceremonial bell 45 times, once each for the 45 deceased veterans whose names were submitted by local residents for honoring. The final days of the local State Assembly race are a continuing deluge of campaign mailers being crammed into Napa County mailboxes, with the latest twist being a turn to negative campaigning. Its not just the 4th District Assembly candidates themselves who are responsible for the onslaught. More than $1.8 million in spending by independent expenditure committees funded by oil companies, real estate interests, teachers organizations, attorneys organizations, farming interests, pharmaceutical companies and other interests is the real rocket fuel. Independent expenditure committees are the super-PACs of California politics trying to shape the Legislature to their liking. They have launched campaigns on their own that, under state law, the candidates cannot control or influence. Davis Mayor Dan Wolk, Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor, Winters Mayor Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Davis physician Elmer Mark Kropp are the Democratic candidates in the 4th District Assembly race. Esparto resident Charlie Schaupp is the Republican. Aguiar-Curry has been far-and-away the main beneficiary of the independent expenditure money, with the committees spending more than $1.7 million to support her. The committees have spent money on polls, consultants, mailers, phone calls and television commercials. Many residents have even been mailed cloth potholders emblazoned with the words Cecilia Democrat Assembly. In this case, campaign spending by the independent expenditure committees in support of Aguiar-Curry has eclipsed Aguiar-Currys own campaign spending by more than a tenfold. On her own, she spent $141,509 from January through May 21, behind the $216,167 spent by Wolk and the $264,062 spent by Saylor, according to forms filed with the California Secretary of State. The 4th District campaign being waged by the independent expenditure committees that began by praising Aguiar-Curry and giving her name recognition recently turned negative. One mailer says Wolk makes and breaks promises and is a typical Davis politician. It is paid for by Keeping Californians Working, an independent expenditure committee that supports Aguiar-Curry. Aguiar-Curry said a few weeks ago the independent expenditure committee mailings are beyond her control. She also expressed hope that the mailings wouldnt turn negative against opponents with whom she interacts within the political life of Yolo County. I like every one of those guys, she said. Ive worked with them. Keeping Californians Working is financed by such interests as Chevron, the California Apartment Association and Personal Insurance Federation of California. It has also spent money backing the candidacies of incumbent Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, D-San Bernardino, and incumbent Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Encino, among others. Wolk in an email response to questions on Tuesday emphasized the oil company and tobacco company contributors to independent expenditure committees that favor Aguiar-Curry. These companies know who their friends are and they are investing heavily in my opponent and attacking me because I have consistently stood up to them as mayor, he said. Meanwhile, another recent mailer from an independent expenditure group blasts Aguiar-Curry. It says a corporate Super-PAC called Keep California Golden funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris is spending a fortune to elect her to the Assembly. The Big Tobacco Takeover, the mailer said. Keep California Golden has spent $218,000 in support of Aguiar-Curry, according to campaign filings with the Secretary of State. That includes $135,000 for a television advertisement. State records show that Keep California Golden received a $5,000 donation from Philip Morris, while receiving far larger contributions from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and groups associated with the California Association of Realtors, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and California New Car Dealers Association. The group responsible for this tobacco mailer is called Coalition for a Healthy Community Supporting Wolk and Opposing Aguiar-Curry for Assembly 2016. This pro-Wolk independent expenditure committee is backed by groups associated with the California Nurses Association, the California Federation of Teachers and the Consumer Attorneys of California. It reports raising $128,500 and spending $60,418 through May 26. While I have nothing to do with independent activity supporting me, I am proud to have support of Californias teachers and nurses, Wolk said. David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, predicted a few weeks ago that independent expenditure committees would turn to negative campaigning in the 4th District race. It does work, he said. In yet another eleventh-hour campaign twist, an independent expenditure committee called Fairpac backed by the Civil Justice Association of California is supporting Saylor. It reports spending $28,456 on mailers, a survey and research. But the Wolk campaign speculates the Fairpac isnt really trying to elect Saylor. Rather, it sees a backdoor move to support Aguiar-Curry by taking votes from Wolk. This is all part of a confusing, hugely expensive chess game involving the 4th District Assembly race being played by wealthy players who are in the shadows. And it could have a big impact in the June 7 election. The role of independent expenditures is absolutely critical to altering the dynamics of close races or races that have multiple candidates, McCuan said. But McCuan said all of this spending by interests groups such as tobacco and oil companies has another effect. It leads to what he calls junk-food politics of empty calorie campaigns that can mobilize people to vote in an angry fashion, only to feel bad about the campaigns afterward. Napa Valley wineries have been spruced up and owners will don their best bib and tucker to welcome hundreds of wine collectors and friends of wine to this weekends 36th annual Auction Napa Valley. Hosted by Napa Valley Vintners, the American Wine Classic celebrates the world-renowned wines, warm hospitality and vineyard backdrop of the nations leading wine region as it raises funds for area nonprofit organizations focused on health and childrens education. Auction Napa Valley proceeds touch the lives of more than 100,000 clients of Napa Valley nonprofits annually, records show. Since the charity wine auctions inception in 1981, the 525-member trade association has invested more than $150 million from Auction Napa Valley proceeds in the areas of health and childrens education. Under the leadership of Agustin F. Huneeus of Quintessa, this years honorary event chairman, Auction Napa Valley 2016 kicks off Thursday evening as dozens of Napa Valley vintners welcome bidders and guests into their wineries, vineyards and cellars for casual parties. The Napa Valley Barrel Auction takes place Friday at the Robert Mondavi Winery, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Attendees will stroll the grounds enjoying more than 100 current release wines and small bites from dozens of Napa Valleys talented chefs. Inside the winery, guests will be able to sample 100 wines from the much-anticipated 2013, 2014 and 2015 vintages directly from the barrel as they bid on single cases of some of Napa Valleys top wines. New this year is the Big Board Auction, an additional way for attendees to bid on one-of-a-kind Napa Valley wines, experiences and other custom adventures. On Friday evening, auction guests will disperse around the valley to enjoy intimate dinners at vintner homes and wineries, prepared by many of Napa Valleys renowned chefs. Saturday kicks off with another new addition to the charity wine event experience vintner-hosted alfresco parties including such outdoor activities as bocce and brunch, yoga in the vineyards and plein air art classes. The centerpiece of Auction Napa Valley, the live auction, begins at 2:30 Saturday afternoon on the fairway at Meadowood Resort with attendees entering a giant white tent an hour later to bid on three dozen spectacular one-of-a-kind lots. The live auction will be followed by dinner on the lawn prepared by South Americas celebrated chef Francis Mallmann and his Meadowood team. Music during dinner will be provided by well-known flamenco guitarist Ottmar Leibert and dancing will take place under the stars to the most recognized post-revolution Cuban musical group, Los Van Van. Live auction lots include a private dinner for 14 at Press in St. Helena with renowned wine critic Robert Parker Jr., a VIP experience at next years BottleRock Napa Valley with vintners Valerie and Jeff Gargiulo, a 1941 Ford Woody Wagon filled with Rombauer Vineyards wines, dinners in Napa Valley and Pomerol with celebrated winemaker Michel Rolland, a visit with the Antinori family at Tuscan and Napa Valley wine estates and a yacht trip down the Napa River with Pillar Rocks Ron and Teri Kuhn to San Franciscos McCovey Cove to take in a San Francisco Giants game. The weekend comes to a close with a farewell brunch on Sunday. With Napa Countys Board of Supervisors election drawing near, Napa County residents would do well to examine not only the stated positions of the various candidates, notably in District 2, but their track record as well. On both of these points, there is clearly one candidate that stands out among the rest - James Hinton. Amidst the debate surrounding the position of Board Supervisor for District 2, Hinton is the only candidate who has consistently spoken out about the dangers of genetically modified food and the necessity of labeling GMOs at both the state and county level. Hinton has never been afraid to raise the issue publicly at debates, forums, and campaign events. Just as important, Hinton has been a tireless fighter for clean food long before he was a candidate in the race for County Board of Supervisors. Hinton has been raising the issue of GMOs in prior political action for years and he has done so out of his own commitment and belief that all people should have access to healthy food. His track record is one that is clear in regards to this issue. Thus, one can easily see that Hintons position is longstanding and was not made for political points. Hinton has also taken a stand on the controversial S.B. 277 vaccine bill in California, another issue that is most certainly not one that politicians are clamoring to comment on. On S.B.277, Hinton could have remained silent and pushed on, but he chose to take a public stand on principle and oppose the bill. Likewise, Hinton has advocated for the adoption of an organic, local school food program in Napa County schools similar to the Conscious Kitchen approach of the Sausalito Marin City School District. In addition, while other candidates in the Board of Supervisors race appear to be content with the status quo of the drug war and position of the county when it comes to medical marijuana and other cannabis policies, Hinton has publicly supported the legal use of medical marijuana and advocated an end to the drug war. Hinton has been fighting for an end to the persecution of medical marijuana growers, dispensaries, and patients before and during the campaign both as part of his political platform and as a private citizen. Hinton has also been highly active in the defense of Hakeem Brown, a medical cannabis cultivator who was recently found not guilty in a jury trial, a court case viewed by many in the area as the harassment of a law-abiding citizen. Hinton is also the only candidate in the Board of Supervisors race that supports raising the minimum wage to a living wage of $15 per hour countywide. While Hintons campaign is obviously not the choice of Big Money (his campaign has been operating on a shoestring budget since the start), it is no surprise why many in Napa County view his candidacy as a breath of fresh air and a noticeable shift from standard Board of Supervisors candidate. Despite being financially outgunned, Hinton is confident about his chances on June 7. I think the people in Napa are ready to see a change in leadership in District 2, he said. People here are tired of the draconian anti-medical marijuana legislation and the deforestation agenda thats being pushed. Only time will tell whether or not Hinton will be successful in his bid for Board of Supervisors, but if voters were looking for a candidate outside the status quo they certainly have the option. Brandon Turbeville Florence, S.C. Napa Valley wineries have been spruced up and owners will don their best bib and tucker to welcome hundreds of wine collectors and friends of wine to this weekends 36th annual Auction Napa Valley. Hosted by Napa Valley Vintners, the American Wine Classic celebrates the world-renowned wines, warm hospitality and vineyard backdrop of the nations leading wine region as it raises funds for area nonprofit organizations focused on health and childrens education. Under the leadership of Agustin F. Huneeus of Quintessa, this years honorary event chair, Auction Napa Valley 2016 kicks off Thursday evening as dozens of Napa Valley vintners welcome bidders and guests into their wineries, vineyards and cellars for casual parties. The Napa Valley Barrel Auction takes place Friday at the Robert Mondavi Winery, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Attendees will stroll the grounds enjoying more than 100 current release wines and small bites from dozens of Napa Valleys talented chefs. Inside the winery, guests will be able to sample 100 wines from the much-anticipated 2013, 2014 and 2015 vintages directly from the barrel as they bid on single cases of some of Napa Valleys top wines. New this year is the Big Board Auction, an additional way for attendees to bid on one-of-a-kind Napa Valley wines, experiences and other custom adventures. On Friday evening, auction guests will disperse around the valley to enjoy intimate dinners at vintner homes and wineries, prepared by many of Napa Valleys renowned chefs. Saturday kicks off with another new addition to the charity wine event experience, vintner-hosted alfresco parties, including such outdoor activities as bocce and brunch, yoga in the vineyards and plein air art classes. The centerpiece of Auction Napa Valley, the live auction, begins at 2:30 Saturday afternoon on the fairway at Meadowood Resort with attendees entering a giant white tent an hour later to bid on three dozen spectacular one-of-a-kind lots. The live auction will be followed by dinner on the lawn prepared by South Americas celebrated chef Francis Mallmann and his Meadowood team. Music during dinner will be provided by well-known flamenco guitarist Ottmar Leibert and dancing will take place under the stars to the most recognized post-revolution Cuban musical group, Los Van Van. Live auction lots include a private dinner for 14 at Press in St. Helena with renowned wine critic Robert Parker Jr., a VIP experience at next years BottleRock Napa Valley with vintners Valerie and Jeff Gargiulo, a 1941 Ford Woody Wagon filled with Rombauer Vineyards wines, dinners in Napa Valley and Pomerol with celebrated winemaker Michel Rolland, a visit with the Antinori family at Tuscan and Napa Valley wine estates and a yacht trip down the Napa River with Pillar Rocks Ron and Teri Kuhn to San Franciscos McCovey Cove to take in a San Francisco Giants game. The weekend comes to a close with a farewell brunch on Sunday. Auction Napa Valley proceeds touch the lives of more than 100,000 clients of Napa Valley nonprofits annually. Since the charity wine auctions inception in 1981, the 525-member trade association has invested more than $150 million from Auction Napa Valley proceeds in the areas of community health and childrens education. The monthly Rianda House newsletter always provides me with plenty of fodder. First, do you want to learn more about the political convention process, without all the shouting and partisan spinning you hear on cable news? Doug Pharr and Tracy Krumpen will discuss How the Democratic & Republican Conventions Really Work at 3 p.m. Thursday, June 2, at Rianda House. RSVP to 963-8555. As usual at Riandas community events, attendance is free but donations are appreciated. *** Audrey Ward, pastor at the Methodist Church, will share stories from her book Hidden Biscuits: Tales of Deep South Revivals Told by Heart at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, at Rianda. As a young girl Audrey and her family lived out of a trailer they towed behind their car as her father wandered the Deep South spreading the gospel through Pentecostal revivals. Esther and Ron Brunswick will accompany Audreys talks with some down-home songs of the South. RSVP to 963-8555. Now say it with me: attendance free, donations welcome. *** A final Rianda note: Susan De Lucca is giving mahjong lessons from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Thursdays, June 9-30, at Rianda. Beginners will learn the basics of the American version of mahjong, a tile matching game that originated in China. The cost is $60 for the four-part series. RSVP to 963-8555. *** The St. Helena Public Library is offering a bilingual story time at 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 3, at the St. Helena Farmers Market at Crane Park. There will be stories and a simple craft. This months theme is Soil and Down Below. *** The locally based nonprofit Clinica Verde is a finalist for something called a Classy Award, which honors social innovators around the world. The winners will be feted in Boston in June. Hats off to Susan Dix Lyons of St. Helena for spearheading the group, which built a clinic in an impoverished region of Nicaragua. *** Love books? Love local wine? Then come hear Richard Mendelson talk about his new book, Appellation Napa Valley: Building and Protecting an American Treasure, at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 16, at the St. Helena Public Library. Aside from being an author, Mendelson is a wine lawyer and an authority on the industry, which makes him uniquely qualified to tell the story of the birth, definition and protection of Americas most famous wine region. His book will be available for purchase and signing, and refreshments will be served. *** This ones for kids ages 5-10. The library is hosting Aventuras en la Biblioteca (Adventures in the Library), a Spanish language immersion camp from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, through Friday, June 24. Kids will be treated to stories, games, crafts and general fun all en Espanol. Space is limited, so register in advance by dropping by the librarys Childrens Room (tell Leslie Stanton I said hello). *** Local theater buffs will be interested to hear that Barry Martin, co-founder and managing director of Lucky Penny Productions, has been named the 2016 Napa County Arts Hero by Arts Council Napa Valley. He was chosen out of 20 nominees for the award, which takes into account impact of achievements, service for public benefit, leadership, innovation and reputation among peers. Barry was honored at Tuesdays annual Napa County State of the Arts meeting at Lincoln Theater. *** Lets close with a note from the St. Helena Historical Societys Mariam Hansen, who spotted a slight anachronism in the May 19 editorial about the Museum for a Day, which mentioned the horse-drawn wagon from the old Christian Brothers Winery that was donated to the society by the Culinary Institute of America. By the time the Christian Brothers acquired the renowned Greystone property in around 1945, they were using internal combustion. It would be more accurate to say the wagon is from 1894-1928, when the California Wine Association owned the property. Never one to make blithe assertions, Mariam backs up her point with deeds tracing the propertys changes in ownership: from builder William Bourn to Charles Carpy (1894) to the California Wine Association (also 1894) to the Bisceglia family (1928) to the Christian Brothers (around 1945) to Heublein Inc. (1990). Huzzahs to Mariam for her unwavering commitment to preserving an accurate historical record. The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will travel to Berlin on Wednesday 1 June and Thursday 2 June 2016. During his visit the Secretary General will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Minister of Defence, Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen and other high level officials. On Thursday 2 June 2016, the Secretary General will also address the Koerber-Stiftung. Media Advisory Thursday, 2 June 13:40 Joint press point with Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel (the Federal Chancellery) 14:30 Secretary Generals press conference at the Bundespressekonferenz. To be confirmed - Both events will be webstreamed live on the NATO website. Still and video imagery will be available on the NATO website after the event. Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg) Scientists, experts and policy makers from Ukraine, the region and NATO member states gathered for the Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme Information Day 2016 in Kyiv, Ukraine on 27 May. The event provided an opportunity for the dissemination of the tangible results achieved through practical cooperation and the implementation of SPS projects in Ukraine. The SPS Information Day, organised jointly with the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Mission of Ukraine to NATO, allowed participants to learn more about the work of the SPS Programme, to develop new initiatives for practical cooperation, and to create networks of experts to address security-related civil science and technology issues. The event attracted more than 200 interested scientists and experts who shared their experience of the SPS Programme and talked about their projects that address mainly the defence against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons and security-related advanced technologies. The funds, training and equipment provided by the SPS Programme benefit not only the Ukrainian scientific community but also local populations. The SPS Information Day sends a strong message of NATO support to Ukraine, emphasised Dr Maxim Strikha, Deputy Minister of Science and Education of Ukraine. After a lively panel on the political importance of international scientific cooperation and SPS activities with Ukraine, Ambassador Sorin Ducaru, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, opened an exhibition that showcased the fruitful research and concrete results of 24 SPS projects with Ukraine. Over 80 SPS project directors and young scientists displayed their research on posters and handouts, but also by showcasing samples, simulations, and models that they have produced in their SPS projects. Not only the number of SPS projects matter, but the quality of these projects, commented Ambassador Ducaru. By bringing together high-level scientists, collaboration through the SPS Programme benefits not only Ukraine, but the global scientific community. SPS collaboration creates important networks and synergies, while producing practical results. This exhibition is a proof of the progress being achieved in a wide range of activities. Intensified scientific cooperation Active engagement between NATO and Ukraine dates back to 1991 and has been deepening ever since. In response to the crisis in Ukraine and following the political guidance provided by NATO foreign ministers in April 2014, practical cooperation with Ukraine in the field of science and technology has been further enhanced. From left to right: Ambassador Sorin Ducaru, Dr Maxim Strikha, Mr Volodymyr Horbulin (First Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and Prof. Anatoliy Zagorodniy (Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) underscored Dr Olga Bogomolets, Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Health Care and Advisor to the President of Ukraine on Humanitarian Issues, about the SPS Programme. Today, Ukraine is the largest beneficiary of the SPS Programme. Since 2014, 49 SPS activities with Ukraine have been launched. These include 40 Multi-year Research Projects, 7 Advanced Research Workshops and 2 Advanced Training Courses. More than 600 international scientists and experts are involved in 35 ongoing multi-year projects. Within the scope of these projects, more than 250 young scientists, many of them Ukrainian, received the opportunity to pursue research in their field of interest, together with their counterparts in NATO countries. Moreover, among these scientists, the SPS Programme provided financial support in the form of stipends to over 100 young scientists to kick-start their academic careers. For its yearly meeting, the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Scientific and Environmental Cooperation (JWGSEC) met at NATO HQ in Brussels in September 2015 to take stock of SPS activities in Ukraine. The high-level Ukrainian delegation that was led by Dr Maxim Strikha, provided an overview of the significant impact of the current security crisis in Ukraine on the scientific infrastructure and education institutes in the country. In this regard, the SPS Programme plays an important role by engaging Allied and Ukrainian scientists and experts in meaningful, practical cooperation, forging networks and supporting capacity-building in the country. India fines Google for $113 million Biden says Russia would make 'serious mistake' if it deploys tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine Romania plans to intensify talks on Black Sea and military purchases Karekin II and Aram I refuse to participate in World Armenian Forum IMF Director: Ukraine's need for external financing could reach $5 billion month Turkey continues to beat out gas discount from Russia and payment deferral from Gazprom Alen Simonyan refuses to participate in fifth meeting of Russian-Armenian Lazarev Club UN Security Council to meet at Russia's request over accusations that Iran is supplying drones to Russia Leading Wall Street bankers warn of recession in US and Europe Armenian FM tells Vatican secretary of state about Azerbaijani aggression Secretary of Armenian Security Council holds telephone conversation with Biden's aide IEA head: World still needs Russian oil to flow into the market Norwegian police arrest man on suspicion of spying for Russia Ambassador-at-Large meets with Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office EU to offer banks to offer mandatory instant payments in euros Ambassador: Active efforts of Armenian authorities are registering regress in Armenian-Russian relations Saudi minister: Saudi Arabia and US will overcome unjustified spat Zatulin: My ban on entering Armenia coincides with trilateral meeting planned in Russia Rishi Sunak vows to fix 'mistakes' of Liz Truss MFA comments on information about meeting of special envoys of Armenia and Turkey Daily Sabah: Armenian, Turkish special representatives next meeting planned in Turkey The Telegraph: US President Biden mispronounces Rishi Sunak's name Zelenskyy proposes creating platforms for the 'de-occupation' of Transnistria and Abkhazia 'Armenia' bloc deputy: Nikol Pashinyan and Suren Papikyan are lying Dollar falls, euro rises Stanislav Zass discusses with Lavrov situation in CSTO zone of responsibility New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife are richer than royalty Klaar: EU actively engaged in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process at all levels Nissan reveals updated Juke crossover FM briefs Sovereign Order of Malta Grand Chancellor on Armenia position on normalizing relations with Azerbaijan Azerbaijan prepares for peace with Armenia but dramatically increases military budget North Korea completes preparations for nuclear test Azerbaijan manipulates facts, creates information pretext to encroach on Lachin corridor Azerbaijan military aggression against Armenia is discussed at Francophonie Parliamentary Assembly conference (PHOTOS) Peskov says details of gas hub with Turkey were being worked out Konstantin Zatulin on ban on his entry into Armenia: I see it as insulting move Putin's spokesman says building wall on Russian-EU borders is nonsense Turkey begins its part of work on gas hub agreement with Russia Kremlin responds to Macron's appeal to Pope to negotiate with Putin Millliyet: Turkish and Finnish delegations hold talks on NATO membership in Ankara Zelenskiy: Ukraine receives not 'a single cent' on $17 billion rapid recovery plan Rishi Sunak takes office as Prime Minister of Great Britain Indonesian armed woman tries to break into presidential palace Pashinyan's family newspaper writes that Konstantin Zatulin is forbidden to enter Armenia from now on President Raisi accuses U.S. of information terrorism, organizing riots in Iran AraratBank and 4090 Charity Foundation team up for the education of war participants Ursula von der Leyen: EU to provide Kyiv with 1 billion for urgent restoration of energy supply World Bank to provide Armenia with EUR 22.6 million of additional credit funds Macron asks Pope to call Putin to solve Ukraine crisis PM: Azerbaijan hinders search of Armenian soldiers' bodies in occupied territories German president assures Ukraine of his full support Armenia ruling force MP: Major powers have told us You should sign that agreement by the end of the year WSJ: Saudi Prince Bin Salman mocks Biden in private talks OSCE needs assessment mission is briefed on situation in Armenias Jermuk after Azerbaijan military aggression (PHOTOS) Armenias Pashinyan to Kazakhstans Tokayev: Mutually beneficial cooperation corresponds to our countries interests Driver, 41, dies in hospital 2 days after Armenia car accident US: Former student opens fire at school Turkish Finance Minister says he would seek gas discount from Gazprom US State Dept.: We are interested in seeing stable Caucasus where we work both with Armenia and Azerbaijan US plans to allocate $25M to project to strengthen Armenia economy Copper prices decline Armenia premier: Italy is friendly country, important partner for us Pashinyan to Xi: We will succeed in qualitatively raising Armenian-Chinese political dialogue to new level World Bank allocates Ukraine additional $500 million Zelenskyy: If Moscow says Ukraine is making dirty bomb, then Russia made it Newspaper: Anti-CSTO consolidation initiative group of Armenia sends petition to parliament speaker World oil prices going up Newspaper: Armenia PM forbids political teammates to say anything about Karabakh Azerbaijan opens fire at Armenia positions Largest cruise liner in world 'Icon of the Seas' presented U.S. police officers mistake pet cat for mountain lion Joe Biden gets another Covid-19 booster shot US imposes sanctions on Nicaragua's gold mining industry Kremlin says Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents prepare to meet Leading Party Sponsor: Conservative Party is not fit to run Britain 'From Old Memory': Drivers can't see road signs on section of North-South highway under construction in Yerevan Russian MFA: We are sure that attempts of external forces to split Moscow and Yerevan will not succeed Yair Lapid: Israel is deeply concerned over Russia and Iran's military ties Another school shooting in U.S.: 3 dead, including shooter Azerbaijani Armed Forces shell Armenian positions Kenyan police shoot and kill prominent Pakistani journalist OSCE representatives visit villages affected by Azerbaijani aggression in Syunik Province US presidential adviser calls OPEC's decision to cut oil production political move Lavrov: Russia and Iran gave comprehensive answers about alleged use of Iranian drones Netanyahu's comeback dominates Israel's elections Georgian president complains that she was not informed about Aliyev's visit S&P Global Market Intelligence: Recession in Eurozone looks increasingly inevitable Benny Gantz tells his Ukrainian colleague that Israel will not supply weapons to Kiev Greek Armed Forces can effectively respond to any provocation by Turkey Qatar urges to depoliticize oil and gas General Staff of Armed Forces head discusses Ukraine with his British colleague Zelenskyy: Russia wouldn't cooperate militarily with Iran if Israel had not denied air defense systems to Kyiv Azerbaijan sends note in connection with 'anti-Azerbaijani statements' on Channel One Goldman Sachs foretells European business worst year since global financial crisis Artificial intelligence leads political party in Denmark Aliyev says Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route should be increased U.S. State Department official expresses support for Armenia's sovereignty Iranian MFA: IRGC exercises on borders with Azerbaijan are not directed against any neighboring state Pashinyan: Damage caused to country by corruption must be restored Rishi Sunak to become UK PM YEREVAN. Armenian military serviceman Arman Avetisyan, who lost his leg as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh in early April, was one of the first wounded. Doctor-orthopedist Mkrtich Ginosyan has fitted a prosthetic leg to Avetisyan, and the latter again met with the physician to adjust this prosthetic leg. Ginosyan told NEWS.am that Arman has been fitted a temporary, training prosthetic leg, and that the permanent one will be fitted in three months. The young man said, as a result of a grenade blast by the adversary, he lost his foot when he was trying to retrieve his commander, Lieutenant Ashot Shahbazyan, from the shots being fired. Avetisyan, however, had sustained another shrapnel wound while he was being taken down from the military positions. Arman was rushed to the nearby hospital, where his leg was immediately amputated. Subsequently, he was transferred to the Central Clinical Military Hospital, in Armenias capital city of Yerevan, where he underwent two surgeries. Before being drafted to the army, Arman Avetisyan was accepted to the Armenian National Agrarian University. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan spoke to Bild daily newspaper of Germany, ahead of Thursdays German Bundestag debates on the draft resolution on Armenian Genocide. Armenian News-NEWS.am presents below the English-translated abridged version of this interview. () Why is it so important that the German parliament recognize the 1915-1916 Armenian Genocide? Its about remembering the Armenian martyrs of the violent crime in 1915, and keeping the memory alive (). Its very important for our country that the Bundestag wants to adopt this resolution. But not only that is important, but also that such genocide shall no longer take place anywhere in the world. Many German politicians () are afraid that Turkish President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, who denies the Genocide, may take political revenge. None of the German politicians disputes that it was genocide (). For German politicians, universal values need to be more important than short-term political interests (). Are you understanding [toward the fact] that German politicians are afraid of a sharp response by Erdogan? No, I cant understand it. Germany is a powerful country, and the voice of the Bundestag can be heard anywhere in the world. And that is why Germany has a special accountability, and it has no right to compromise on ethical issues (). And what will happen if, after the [passing of the] Bundestag resolution, Erdogan were to foil the refugee deal? I have a feeling that this deal is already on flimsy grounds, and its difficult to always implement it with a partner like Turkey. () Im definitely sure that the failure of the refugees deal has nothing to do with the genocide resolution (). Can Europe somehow trust Erdogan at all? () We [i.e. Armenians] dont trust Erdogan, and the matter is not only Genocide denial. We have been trying for years to build diplomatic relations [with Turkey] (). In my view, Europe should not blindly trust Turkey, but rather find its own solutions to resolve the refugee problem. Armenia is at war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)]. What is the [present-day] situation there? At the moment the situation is calm, there are no shots [being fired]. But when the armed attack of Azerbaijan began [in early April], we didnt see international solidarity (). What do you ask for from the international community? Armenia is a small country. Its clear for us that we are perhaps less interesting, economically. [But] for us its important that injustice be called injustice. First of all, it would be sufficient for us that ample number of European voices condemn the act of Azerbaijan. If its not enough, we can also envision sanctions, as a further step. YEREVAN. - The European Investment Bank (EIB) is ready to contribute $50 mln to support the modernization of irrigation system in Armenia. The Chairman of State Committee of Water Economy of Armenian Ministry of Agriculture, Aram Harutyunyan, on Wednesday received the EIB delegation headed by the Director of EIB Lending Operations in Eastern Neighbours & Central Asia, Heinz Olbers, the Committees press-service reports. The sides discussed the investment project in Armenian water sector, which is funded by three sources: 30 mln euro from EIB, 30 mln euro form the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and 20 mln euro from the European Neighborhood Program. Heinz Olbers noted that one of the priorities of the EIB loan policy is the development of water sector and rural communities, in the framework of which the Bank is ready to support Armenia also in terms of technical development and modernization. Apart from this, the sides discussed the project aimed at the modernization of the irrigation system, the implementation of which will also include 50 mln euro loan support from the EIB. The bank representatives expressed satisfaction with the constructive nature of the negotiations held in the framework of the project, noting that they are ready to discuss the possibilities for implementing projects aimed at improving the quality of portable water also in the framework of this loan project. Bundestags draft resolution on Armenian Genocide, which will be put to a vote on June 2, mentions about the guilt and responsibility of that period and not current Turkey, the article published in Repubblica reads. President Joachim Gauck was the first to speak about the Genocide in Germany. Since then the public discussions on that topic havent already been anyhow limited. The limits are so much absent that on June 2 the Bundesdtag MPs are going to vote on the draft resolution, which entirely speaks about the Armenian Genocide, starting from its title. The resolution, entitled Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916 is actively supported by Christian democrats headed by Angela Merkel, social democrats and the greens. The resolution also touches on the grave responsibility of Kaiser Germany and shameful role of the German Reich, who, despite receiving information from the German diplomats and missionaries, initiated nothing to stop this crime against humanity. Until now the Turkish schools avoid telling about the deportation of Armenians. Historian Yusuf Halacoglu from Turkeys ultranationalist Historical Society not only denies the Armenian Genocide but also justifies the deportations by the fact that Armenians attacked the Turks from the back, fighting under the scepter of the Russian tsar. Germanys experience shows how difficult it is for any society to face the darkest pages of its history. The guilt of the perpetrators and responsibilities of those alive today should be differentiated, the text of the draft resolution reads. Exactly this subtle but very important difference pushed the Christian democrats to introduce the draft resolution in Bundestag, MP from Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Franz Jung, thinks. Today the issue doesnt concern calling Turkey to prisoners dock or accusing the Turkish government for the genocide. The issue only concerns Ankaras recognition of its responsibility for its history. German-based Turks have already held a demonstration in Berlin. According to the assessment of the police, nearly 1300 people had gathered. Following the practice of Safarov and Daesh, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan beheaded and tortured not only servicemen, but also the civilian population, including the elderly and women. Armenian Deputy FM Ashot Hovakimian, who heads the Armenian delegation in Germany, said the aforementioned at the anti-terrorism conference entitled Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism held in Berlin in the framework of the OSCE German Chairmanship. The event was also attended by a number of high-ranking officials from the OSCE member and partner states. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Foreign Minister of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier together with Germanys Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere delivered an opening speech. In the beginning of his address, Deputy FM Hovakimian noted that Armenia was the first in the OSCE framework to condemn the crimes committed by the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Nusra against the Yezidis in Iraq and Armenians in Deir ez-Zor and Kessab. In his words, greater attention should be attached to the prevention of crimes committed on the ground of hatred since they immediately link the violent extremism with terrorism. According to Hovakimian, the current conflicts pave the way for violent extremism, especially when the state authorities use those conflicts to limit human rights and sow hatred against the sides to the conflict. The Deputy FM also stressed that unfortunately the recent developments in our region came to only reconfirm the Armenian sides concern, when the Azerbaijani armed forces - following the practice of Safarov and Daesh - beheaded and tortured not only servicemen, but also the civilian population, including the elderly and women. The perpetrators of those crimes were not condemned, but awarded by the Azerbaijani president, he added. Concluding his speech, Deputy FM Hovakimian stressed that any attempt of the states to serve the violent extremism and terrorism their purposes should be severely condemned. 00:52 Underscoring that relationship between India and US is "not about one person", key American Senator Ben Cardin on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to Washington because of the country he represents and not his name. "The prime minister was not invited to address the joint session of the Congress because of his name but because of his country," he said here at a seminar after which he responded to some questions. The relationship between the two countries is "not about one person", Cardin said in his response when it was pointed out that Modi was a pariah in the US until recently but now he has been invited to address the joint session of the Congress. This is "representation of the importance of that relationship" between the two countries, he said. Modi will travel to Washington on June 7 for a visit during which he will address a joint session of the US Congress. Earlier, the US had refused to grant visa to Modi post Gujarat riots. Cardin, who has been vocal about the "religious intolerance" in India, said the relationship between India and the US will continue to go strong beyond the election of the next administration in the United States. "It underscores by the fact that here we are in an election year in a Republican controlled Congress and PM is to speak before the joint session of the Congress," Cardin said. Does billionaire-funded lawsuit against Gawker create playbook for punishing press? Clay Calvert, UFs Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication, reflects upon the revelation that PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel financed Hulk Hogans lawsuit against Gawker and the questions it raises in the battle between privacy and the press. Word last week that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel bankrolled wrestler Hulk Hogans invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against Gawker added a wrinkle to a case already featuring colorful characters and a US$140 million jury verdict. At a sensational and personal level, the story highlights the animus between PayPal co-founder Thiel and Gawker founder Nick Denton stemming from a 2007 gossip item that publicly outed Thiel as gay. Thiel sees Denton as a singularly terrible bully who invades privacy for profit. In turn, Denton sympathetically portrays Gawker, in an open letter to Thiel, as a small New York media company being bullied by a man with a net worth of more than $2 billion. But regardless of whether its framed as a personal battle between Thiel and Denton or a larger one between protecting privacy and a free press, the revelation raises important questions about third-party financed litigation targeting U.S. news media outlets that are safeguarded under the First Amendment. Most importantly, should third-party-funded litigation against news organizations be banned by lawmakers? This is the kind of issue I explore at the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project at the University of Florida, which Ive directed for the past six years, and in my book about privacy and articles about various threats to a free press. Threats to a free press The fear from First Amendment advocates in the press advocates is palpable. They see Thiel as creating a playbook for other billionaires and millionaires to take on and silence members of the news media. As Vox correspondent Timothy B. Lee writes: The threat to freedom of the press is obvious. Any news organization doing its job is going to make some enemies. If a wealthy third party is willing to bankroll lawsuits by anyone with a grudge, and defending each case costs millions of dollars, the organization could get driven out of business even if it wins every single lawsuit. Others agree that Thiel has created a model where any thin-skinned billionaire can ruin a media company without even telling anyone. In other words, billionaires who feel they have been libeled or had their privacy invaded by a news organization can score legal victories against the press via third-party funding of lawsuits in one of two different ways. First, the sheer fear of such lawsuits may result in self-censorship by news organizations who choose not to criticize a wealthy individual rather than risk fighting a potentially expensive and protracted legal battle. Second, even if such a chilling effect does not occur and a critical story actually is published, the costs of defending a lawsuit arising from it can be enormous. Leveling the playing field Indeed, Thiel has been villainized in some media quarters for his cloak-and-dagger tactics and satirized in others since it was discovered he funded Hogans lawsuit. Denton blasts Thiel as someone who, despite all the success and public recognition that a person could dream of, seethes over criticism and plots behind the scenes to tie up his opponents in litigation he can afford better than they. But has Thiel broken any laws? Apparently not. Professor Eugene Kontorovich of Northwestern University, for example, emphasizes that what Thiel did is well within the parameters of third-party involvement in lawsuits. In fact, some scholars contend that third-party financing of plaintiff lawsuits actually represents another step in leveling the playing field between plaintiffs and defendants. Why might that be true in a libel or privacy case against the news media? Because most plaintiffs' attorneys in such cases work on a contingency fee basis. That puts plaintiffs at a disadvantage because it means their lawyers collect money down the road only if they win aside from, perhaps, a modest retainer upfront to cover the initial costs of getting the case going. Rather than billing clients by the hour, as media defense attorneys do, plaintiffs' attorneys in libel and privacy cases thus take a large financial risk that they may not collect any money if they lose. This, in turn, may make them less likely to take such a case in the first place. Nobility of purpose? The practice of champerty, in which a person or company steps in to help fund a case in return for a cut of the potential payoff, thus allows some lawsuits to go forward that otherwise might not because an attorney doesnt want to take on the cost or the risk of not recovering anything. Thiels lawsuit distorts this concept because he does not seek money but rather has a personal motive. Thus, at least one major litigation funding firm, Burford Capital, has distanced itself from the current fracas. As CEO Chris Bogart notes in a blog posting: What Burford and other commercial litigation financiers do is part of a large and pretty boring business around commercial litigation businesses suing each other That world is miles away from professional wrestling, sex tapes and revenge litigation. We dont have anything to do with that other, more salacious world. Third-party litigation funding by the likes of Burford Capital is far from rare today and, in fact, is prevalent in litigation and arbitration both domestically and internationally. Had, however, Thiel been funding a lawsuit for a more noble cause one not for revenge against an entity that is part of the media we might see it differently. As First Amendment defense attorney Marc Randazza observes: When the ACLU represents a party in an important civil rights case, isnt that a third party funding a case to promote an agenda? What about the NRA? It happens all the time. Northwesterns Kontorovich concurs, noting that anyone who donates to the ACLU or a Legal Aid fund is basically underwriting third-party litigation. For Thiels part, he emphasizes that his motives are less about revenge and more about specific deterrence. I saw Gawker pioneer a unique and incredibly damaging way of getting attention by bullying people even when there was no connection with the public interest I thought it was worth fighting back. The real danger In any case, is the sky now suddenly going to fall on the mainstream news media? Are the odds in favor of Thiel or others like him striking a future $140 million jackpot against a media defendant? It is highly doubtful. As Slates Mark Joseph Stern points out, Thiel essentially: lucked out with Hogans judge and jury its hard to imagine a court more sympathetic to Hogans claims but theres no reason to think future plaintiffs will be so wildly fortunate. Yes, deep-pocketed donors could theoretically finance frivolous yet costly nuisance lawsuits and pester publications into oblivion. But most such suits would be dismissed early on, and an attorney who brings overtly frivolous claims risks court sanction. In short, it is exceedingly rare for the stars to align as neatly as they did for Hogan. Yet, even if a media defendant ultimately prevails in court against a third-party financed lawsuit, it still has rung up potentially massive bills to pay its attorneys and other costs in fighting that battle. That is the real danger here. Ultimately, however, the First Amendment protects the press against government censorship, not private third-party funding of lawsuits that target it. If change is to occur, then, because of the fear of another billionaire running the Thiel playbook against a media organization, it will take legislation. A first baby step, as it were, for such legislation might concentrate on transparency. It would require attorneys who accept third-party funding for cases to file documents in public court files related to those cases to acknowledge and identify all sources of funding beyond those coming directly from clients. Completely banning the practice of third-party litigation seems impractical, however, given both how well instantiated it now is in the U.S. and that it can support legitimate plaintiffs who might not otherwise possess the fiscal resources to do battle in court. But openness, regarding who funds whom, will make the public aware about the individuals or businesses that hold a vested monetary stake or, in Thiels case, a non-pecuniary one, in the outcome. Indeed, it seems to be the secretiveness of Thiels funding that has so many taken aback. This article originally appeared in The Conversation on May 29, 2016. Nobel laureate and Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung Sang Suu Kyi will chair a new committee dedicated to promoting peace and development in Rakhine state, where the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority lives, officials said on Wednesday. The founding of the committee was announced a week after the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, urged Suu Kyi who is also the country's foreign minister, to promote human rights after a meeting in which both discussed the situation of the Rohingya minority. The committee will include 19 more members of the new Cabinet, according to the state newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar. Among other matters, it will be responsible for coordinating the activities of UN agencies and international NGOs working in the area. These organizations work, albeit with restrictions, in the area to assist the Rohingyas, a minority living in Myanmar for centuries, who are not recognised as Burmese citizens but are considered Bengali immigrants. About 120,000 of them are confined in 67 camps and suffer all kinds of restrictions since the outbreak of sectarian violence in 2012 between this minority and the Buddhist majority in the region, which caused at least 160 deaths, EFE news reported. In March, just days before handing over power, the former government lifted the state of emergency imposed since then in Rakhine where the Rohingyas have limited freedom of movement and access to education, and suffer the confiscation of their property. --IANS ksk ( 252 Words) 2016-06-01-10:22:04 (IANS) Twelve others, including a woman, were also wounded in the attack, TOLONews reported. The attack took place in Ghazni city after the suicide bombers attacked the court. A gunfight ensued, which resulted in the death of all attackers, the provincial police chief, Aminullah Amarkhil said. "The first attacker wanted to detonate a car bomb near the Appeal Court to open a way for other attackers (but was stopped by security). Security forces defused the bomb. All other attackers were killed when they attacked security forces," Amarkhil said. "The head of the Appeal Court was also slightly injured in the attack," he added. The attack came days after the Taliban, who are fighting to topple the government of President Ashraf Ghani, vowed to seek revenge for the death in a US drone attack of their chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. --IANS ahm/dg ( 182 Words) 2016-06-01-15:22:05 (IANS) South Korean exports to China fell 9.1 percent in May from a year earlier to mark an 11th straight month of declines, government estimates showed on Wednesday.Exports to China had slumped 18.4 percent in April.Exports to the U.S. rose 0.7 percent over the same period after falling for two months prior, while shipments to the European Union fell for a second month in May by 13.1 percent on-year.The trade ministry added in the statement export conditions for June do not look favourable.REUTERS DS PM0900 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-762712.Xml The economist widely expected to be Peruvian presidential frontrunner Keiko Fujimori's pick for finance minister said higher corporate taxes and a bigger budget deficit would be part of an initial raft of reforms if she wins Sunday's election.Elmer Cuba, whom Fujimori tapped as her chief economic adviser this month, said President Ollanta Humala's bid to shore up slumping private investments in the world's third biggest copper supplier by cutting the corporate tax rate during a sharp slowdown in 2014 had failed."Nothing happened with the reduction," Cuba said in an interview in his offices at consulting firm Macroconsult. "Without a doubt, we're bringing it back up to 30 percent," next year from 27 percent now.The tax hike would help replenish public coffers as Fujimori plans to ramp up infrastructure spending to bring economic growth rates back to at least 5 percent per year, Cuba said.Fujimori enjoys a nearly 5 point lead over her run-off rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former World Bank economist. Both candidates are free-market champions and pleased markets after they defeated leftist rivals in the first-round election in April.But Cuba described as "regressive" Kuczynski's proposals to cut sales taxes, while offering tax rebates to companies that reinvest their earnings."It's also fiscally irresponsible," Cuba said. "Our economic plan is much more orthodox."Fujimori recruited Cuba, a prominent economist in Peru and former central bank official, as she has sought to broaden her appeal beyond the loyalists of her father Alberto Fujimori's authoritarian government.Her previous economic adviser Jose Chlimper, who is still her running-mate, was once farm minister for her father."I trust Keiko Fujimori," Cuba said in reply to a question about a scandal involving a senior aide who resigned amid media reports linking him to drug trafficking.Cuba cited Fujimori's firm leadership and popularity with the poor in conflict-prone Peru as a likely boost for business sentiment that has sunk during Humala's term.But he threw cold water on Fujimori's initial campaign pledge to tap a rainy day fund in the finance ministry, saying it would be used "minimally, less than during this government."The budget deficit that Fujimori would widen to up to 5 percent of gross domestic product in 2017 would be financed with loans from multilateral institutions and a "probable" bond sale in global markets in 2017, Cuba said.The deficit would be left at 1.5 percent of GDP in 2021 and the public debt level capped at 30 percent of GDP, he added.REUTERS DS PM0901 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-762714.Xml BJP is now gearing up its Mission 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls with holding its first national executive committee meeting in the state in five years and first time in the city. The national executive would be held in the Sangam city of Allahabad, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythological Saraswati on June 12- 13 from where the BJP and Congress is set to launch their UP election campaign. While BJP is doing it through the national executive this month, the Congress will launch from November 19, to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The highlight of the national executive would be a public rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 13 which will be attended by top brass of the party including national president Amit Shah. The meet will discuss the party's success in the Assam polls and its performance in other four states besides planning strategies for the coming assembly elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand and other places particularly the home state of Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Mr Modi is also expected to attend almost all the sessions of the national executive thus giving its thrust on the party's importance in the UP elections. Around 450 delegates, several cabinet ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states would be attending the meet. The last time BJP had held its national executive committee meeting in Lucknow was in June 2011, a year ahead of the state assembly elections in which the party had fared more badly than the preceding one in 2007. The BJP's decision to hold its national executive in Allahabad was just an effort to counter the desperate Congress, who is trying to revive itself in the state before the assembly elections with a plan to invoke the 'legendary' stature of Indira Gandhi at the very place where she was born - the historical Anand Bhawan in Allahabad as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will launch the party's mission for UP polls on November 19, Indira's 99th birth anniversary. UP BJP president and Lok Sabha member from Phulpur seat, Keshav Prasad Maurya said that hectic preparation are underway to hold a grand party meet here on June 12-13. Talking to UNI, Mr Maurya, who himself is monitoring the preparation said that a big pandal is being erected at the KP college ground for the national executive while the rally of Prime Minister Mr Modi would be held at the Parade ground. "We are expecting around two million people in the rally of the PM and this was the reason the parade ground has been choosen," he said. Mr Maurya also announced that the new committee of the state unit would be announced very soon probably by this week." we have fixed a target of winning 265-plus Assembly seats in the elections next year and it will be achieved easily," he further claimed. Yesterday, BJP national president Amit Shah too visited the both the venues in Allahabad for the national executive as well as for the rally and has given his approval.Mr Shah had addressed a 'kisan sammelan' here yesterday to end the one week long celeberations of the second anniversary of the Modi government. Mr Shah is expected to address a booth-level convention in Kanpur on June 4 and a convention of party's Scheduled Caste Morcha in Lucknow the same day. He will address another convention of Braj region workers in Kasganj on June 7. UNI MB ADG SB1200 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-762807.Xml A couple was killed and their son injured when the car in which they were travelling was hit by a lorry at Nandi near Koilandy in this district of Kerala today. The deceased were identified as Basheer ( 55) and his wife Jameela ( 45). Police said the accident occurred when the victims were on their way to Nandi from neighbouring Kannur district on hearing the news of the death of Basheer's mother. The couple's son Mohammed Abhi, injured in the accident, was admitted to Kozhikode Medical College.UNI PCH CS 1335 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0300-763051.Xml President Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the loss of lives due to fire that broke out in the Central Ammunition Depot of Pulgaon at Wardha district of Maharashtra. In a condolence message to Maharashtra Governor Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, the President said, ''I am sad to know about the massive fire at the Central Ammunition Depot of Pulgaon, in which some persons have lost their lives and many others are injured. I understand rescue as well as relief operations are currently underway. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the families, who have lost their near and dear ones." He called upon the state government and other authorities to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families, as well as medical assistance to the injured. Conveying his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased, Mr Mukherjee wished speedy recovery to the injured persons, an official statement said here today.UNI SD RJ SW 1526 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0005-763216.Xml In a swift move, the Maharashtra government has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kith of those who died in yesterdays' Pulgaon Central Ammunition Depot blast and Rs 1lakh to those who were injured in the blaze. Guardian Minister Sudhir Munangtiwar who also holds the Finance portfolio in the state government said here that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced the compensation and directed the district administration to complete the formalities and handover compensation within 15 days. He said the 17 injured personnel including two army officers, three Army Jawans and four DSC cops were being provided with the best possible medical treatment for which a team of doctors with specialisation had arrived at Wardha from Pune. He further added that the government was reviewing the situation for adopting proper measures to prevent any such incident in future. Health Minister Depak Sawant said here air ambulance had been kept in standby for shifting the injured toMumbai for better and specialised treatment if required. He further said those whose houses have been damaged due to the impact of the explosion, would be suitably compensated. Meanwhile, with recovery of the mortal remains of two more cops the death toll swelled to 19. According to the latest information revealed by the Army headquarter in Delhi the deceased include two Army officers, four Jawans of DSC and 13 firefighters. Earlier after visiting the spot yesterday, the Defence Minister had informed the causalties at 16 including two Army officers, one CDS cop and 13 fire fighting security personnel. Nearly 130 tonne anti-tank mines were gutted in the major fire that broke out at Pulgaon CAD during the wee hours on Monday. Houses and other buildings in the nearby villages too were damaged due to the intense impact of the explosions.UNI PK RS PR SW AS1545 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-763249.Xml The State Directorate of Municipal Affairs today issued a clarification on the Supreme Court's order pertaining to the issue of 33 per cent reservation to women in the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and also the Assembly Resolution. A statement issued by the Joint Director & Head of Department A Zanbemo Ngullie said there is no stay of the Legislative Assembly's Resolution (22.09.2012) and it continues to hold the field. The statement clarified that the Apex court has neither adjudicated upon the merits of the case, nor has it issued any directions to the State of Nagaland and that, it is under no obligation to hold elections to ULBs and any communication or information to the contrary is misleading. Stating that Nagaland awaits the final outcome of the Civil Appeal, Mr Ngullie said, "A bare perusal of the Order passed in the mentioned matters reveals that the Supreme Court has been pleased to convert the Special Leave Petition into a Civil Appeal [Civil Appeal No. 3607/2016]." The Order (dated 05.04.2016) was passed by the apex court in Special Leave Petition (Civil) (No. 26794/2012) and Writ Petition (Civil) (No. 242/2014) pertaining to the issue of 33 per cent reservation to women in the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) within the State of Nagaland and also challenging the Assembly Resolution (dated 22.09.2012) exempting the operation of Article 243-T [one-third reservation of seats for women in the ULBs] of Part IX-A of the Constitution of India to the State of Nagaland. "It is relevant to point out that the directions issued by the Learned Single Judge on 21.10.2011 were not sustained by the Division Bench and were replaced by the operative Directions issued by the Division Bench on 31.07.2012. The Directions issued by the Learned Single Judge were subsumed and merged with the Impugned Judgment passed by the Division Bench." Mr Ngullie further said, "The Stay on the implementation of the Impugned Judgement by the Supreme Court does not operate to revive the Single Judge's Decision and Directions. Also, there is no stay of the Legislative Assembly's Resolution dated 22.09.2012, though the same was challenged in the aforementioned Writ Petition, thus, implying that the Assembly Resolution dated 22.09.2012 continues to hold the field," He added. Chief Minister T R Zeliang told newspersons yesterday that the Government offer of 25 per cent reservation will be taken up in the next Assembly Session and the present Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001. However, president of Naga Mothers's Association Abeiu Meru had rejected it and insisted on the Supreme Court judgement of 33 per cent, otherwise it will be a contempt of court. UNI AS PL RJ GC1548 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-763118.Xml At least 24 people sustained burn injuries, 10 of them critically, and six shops were gutted when a fire broke out during illegal refilling of an LPG cylinder at Chhapwa village under Sugauli police station area in East Champaran district last night. Police said the fire broke out when some people were refilling an LPG cylinder illegally in a cloth shop, injuring at least 24 people and gutting six shops located in the adjoining area. Local people rushed 10 critically injured to the Patna Medical College and Hospital and Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur. Others injured are undergoing treatment at a local hospital, sources added. Further investigation is on. UNI XC DH PL SW GC1610 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-763418.Xml An eight-game winning streak helped Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky battle her way past a weary-looking Venus Williams on Wednesday into her second French Open quarter-final in a row.After losing the first two games against a player she called an inspiration, the Swiss eighth seed won the first set without losing another and led 2-0 in the second as she took control of the match from the centre of the court, winning 6-2 6-4.Bacsinszky will now play Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens, who beat American Madison Keys, in the last eight.The Swiss, who reached the semi-finals last year before losing in three sets to Serena Williams, kept the world number one's older sister guessing by varying the pace and depth of her play with precise groundstrokes and disguised drop shots.Reflecting on her first win over Venus Williams in three attempts, Bacsinszky told a news conference the 35-year-old American was "definitely an inspiration ...and has been a great player for so many years."Asked about the eight-game streak, the Swiss said she had struggled for control early on. "I tried to tell myself to move more... I was just focusing on playing deep and mixing also the rhythms... I think variation was the key."Speaking earlier on court, she agreed it was important to have won in straight sets as "there is no longer any respite" in terms of days off between each match in a tournament ravaged by rain.Ninth-seeded Williams, playing her 19th Roland Garros and the oldest player in the women's draw, had strapping on both knees and moved stiffly, especially in the first set, once losing her footing as she tried to reach a sliced short ball from her opponent that ended up in the net.She sought to hit winners from sometimes unpromising positions, aiming to keep the rallies short, and in all the American notched up just six winners to Bacsinszky's 18 and 24 unforced errors against 18."The most disappointing part is just not playing well," Williams told a news conference."It was just a frustrating day of balls not going in or hitting the net tape... but I competed as well as I could out there and she played a smart match. That definitely added to my troubles."Williams dug deeper in the second set, breaking her opponent twice in succession to level at 3-3 as she started to find her range with the heavy groundstrokes that were previously going long or finding the net.But the Swiss broke back to lead 4-3 and held serve twice more to close out the match with her first ace. REUTERS JW BL1808 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-763923.Xml Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today questioned the authenticity of the forensic report, which stated that the meat found from Dadri lynching victim Mohammad Akhlaq's house was of beef. However, the recent development in the Dadri case has given the opposition, particularly BJP, to attack the Samajwadi Party government in UP. " Investigation was underway and it would be completed without any bias. But it is surprising from where the substance was taken as there was no meat in the fridge during the time of the incident," the CM said in Ambedkarnagar. "Where was the sample sent, who received it? There was nothing objectionable found in Akhlaq's house. Everyone wants that the victim's family should get justice as a murder had taken place," he added. "After this incident, there was debate in the world regarding what to eat ,wear and speak. I think one should not get involved in such matters,"Mr Yadav added. The CM's statement came after a report prepared by a forensic lab in Mathura concluded that the meat found in the victim's house was beef. The report was said to have been submitted in the court. Meanwhile, BJP MP from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath today demanded registration of cow slaughter case against Akhlaq's family and all the benefits given to the family should be withdrawn. In a Twitter comment , he said ," charge Akhlaq's family, drop their benefits." The BJP MP said,"they are mum on this report. The innocent Hindus arrested in the matter should be immediately released from the jail and state police should register a case of cow slaughter against Akhlaq's family." "I also demand the state government to withdraw all facilities given to his (Akhlaq's) family," he told mediapersons in Gorakhpur. BJP UP Spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak too said that had the state government acted in time, the incident could have been avoided. However, the new report by the lab has been rejected by Akhlaq's family, which has always denied eating beef on the day of the attack. "Dadri police said mutton, now you are saying it is beef. This is all politics," said Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammad. The new finding was in contrast to the preliminary report of an inquiry by the Uttar Pradesh Veterinary department, which said the meat over which Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was lynched on September 28 last in Dadri, was mutton of 'goat progeny'. The report by the Forensic laboratory of Uttar Pradesh University of Veterinary Service(Animal Husbandry), Mathura examined the sample of meat recovered from the house of the lynched victim in Dadri. It was stated that on the basis of chemical analysis, forensic investigation of the sample showed that it belonged to "cow or its progeny". The report was sent to Noida police and submitted to a fast-track court in a sealed cover, an official said. The veterinary officer in his report that was cited by the police, had earlier said that the sample which was investigated was not beef, but meat of "goat progeny". The sample was later sent to the forensic laboratory in Mathura for 'final diagnosis', according to its report. Akhlaq was beaten to death on September 28, 2015 in Bisahra village of Dadri district by a mob of 100 people, infuriated by rumours that he and his family had stored and consumed beef. According to police, the meat was sent for testing only to establish the motive for Akhlaq's killing. Later, around 19 people were arrested in the lynching incident, while UP government opened its treasury to provide them Rs 45 lakh and then four flats in Greater Noida at a nominal rate of Rs 9.5 lakh. UNI MB RJ SW BL1702 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-763476.Xml A Bangladeshi research scholar, attached to Visva-BharatiUniversity at Santiniketan, identified as Md Safiqul Islam was today convicted for molestation and rape of a teenager, also a Bangladeshi girl, by the Bolpur court here. The quantum of punishment would be delivered tomorrow, one of the prosecutors said.The scholar in sociology had allegedly kidnapped the class XII girl from the campus on August 4, 2014, and then raped her repeatedly in his hostel room, the prosecutor said.UNI XC-PC PL PR SW AS1712 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-763548.Xml Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak today said action would be taken against the persons found guilty for yesterday's fire incident at the Cardiology department of the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack.After reviewing the situation at a high level meeting here, Mr Nayak said the Cuttack District Collector has been asked to inquire into the incident and submit a report within seven days and action would be taken on receipt of the inquiry report. A fire broke out in the Cardiology department of the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack due to a suspected short circuit. Though there was no casualty and loss of property, around 70 patients had to be shifted to avoid a major disaster. The Minister said in addition to the officers of the department concerned, experts from outside will be included in the inquiry committee. Expressing concern over fire mishaps in various health care institutions, he said a decision has been taken to strictly enforce the fire safety measures in both government and private hospitals. He said the GED and the fire department were asked to jointly study the fire safety measures in three government-run medical college and hospitals, Acharya Harihar Cancer Research Institute, Sishu Bhawan and Capital Hospital and submit a report within a month. On the basis of the report fire safety measures will be undertaken in these hospitals. Mr Nayak said the Health and the Family Welfare and the Fire department will jointly prepare a guideline for fire safety measures in private hospital and nursing homes.He said action would be taken against the private hospitals and nursing homes if they did not follow the guidelines. UNI BD DP PL SW SB NS1842 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-763745.Xml A mob attacked a police station in Azamgarh to protest arrest of a local history sheeter in the wee hours today. The agitated villagers not only ransacked the Bardah police station, but also torched the belongings including the vehicles parked inside the police station. They also attacked the cops in which half-a-dozen of them, including a sub-inspector were seriously injured. The situation could be only controlled after senior officers rushed with heavy police force and fired several round in air to disperse the crowd. Later 17 of the villagers which included 7 women were held by the police. Heavy police force is still patrolling in the area to avert any further clash. According to reports, one Santosh Bhartiya, a listed history-sheeter of Narway locality of Bardah in Azamgarh, was arrested by the cops of Gambhirpur police station, who conducted raid late last night. Gambhirpur police was looking for Bhartiya in connection with a loot case. Reports said as soon as Gambhirpur police left the village, the news of Bhartiya's arrested went like a wild fire and within a hour, hundred of local villagers gathered and raised slogan against the cops alleging unnecessary harassment of the criminal. They later proceeded and ghearoed Bardah police station hoping that Bhartiya was kept in custody there. When they failed to locate Bhartiya, the mob attacked the cops, ransacked the police station campus and torched several vehicles parked there. When the cops tried to push them away, the mob was engaged in heavy stone pelting in which over half a dozen cops were injured. Later, the news of attack on police station was passed on to senior officers who subsequently rushed along with heavy police force. However,finding the situation going out of control, senior officers ordered to open fire in air to terrorise the trouble makers. Later after half an hour of pitched battle, the cops managed to disperse the crowd. However they nabbed 10 of the men and 7 women who were engaged in attack on police party. A case against 100 to 150 of unknown villagers has been registered and further action has been initiated. Meanwhile, in a clash between two families over filling water from public hand-pump in Pratapgarh led to death of one person while four others were injured. Police reports said that 50-year-old Ram Bhadhur Verma, a resident of Rampur Umri area of Antu in Pratapgarh, was having dispute with his neighbor Ram Dewas, over filling of water from public hand-pump. The matter took an ugly turn when both the families clashed over the issue on late last night in which Ram Bhadhur was killed while four others which included Ram Bhadhur's wife and his two children were seriously injured. They were admitted to nearby local hospital and case has been registered in this regard. No one was arrested so far in the matter. UNI MB PR 1955 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0105-764299.Xml Congress president Sonia Gandhi today expressed her displeasure over slow pace of work in the MGNREGA scheme, beside taking a pot shot on changing the name of Indira Awas to Pradhanmantri Awas Yojgna. Ms Gandhi, who was chairing the meeting of District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, was peeved over the slow pace of MGNREGA scheme and drinking water problems in her Parliamentary constituency. While giving direction to the officials to speed up the work, she also did not spare the Narendra Modi government by commenting," there is no objection in changing the name of any scheme, but work should be done as." She was furious on non-selection of any single beneficiary for Pradhanmantri Awas scheme in her constituency, so far. The NDA government has changed the name of Indira Awas to Pradhanmantri Awas Yogjna. Ms Gandhi reviewed the developmental works of her constituency in the meeting for around four hours and took interest in each and every project, enquiring with the officials about its delay. She was not satisfied with the excuse of the officials on delay of the schemes in the constituency. She directed that all villages facing drinking water problems should be the same given immediately while supporting the objection raised by the other peoples' representatives about the bad condition of roads. The meeting also reviewed the Central-sponsored schemes of Pradhanmantri Rojgar Srijan programme, Rashtriya Swasth Mission and several others. Earlier, Ms Gandhi held a Janata Durbar at Bhuemau guest house in the morning from 0900 hrs to 1130 hrs, in which 75 delegations met her with submitting the memorandum. Several local people complained about the poor drinking water supply in the villages and lack of solar power system in their area. Ms Gandhi assured them to look into their problems. Some Congress leaders also pleaded for giving them tickets in the coming Assembly polls and even submitted their biodata. Ms Gandhi also visited the residence of City Congress Committee Secretary Pramod Tripathi to express her condolence on the death of his father recently. Later, she left for New Delhi. However, on the second day of her visit, Ms Gandhi did not speak on politics after her outburst against the Narendra Modi government yesterday over targeting her son-in-law Robert Vadra. UNI XC-MB RJ SB BL1956 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-763632.Xml : Telangana IT and Industry Minister KT Rama Rao who is touring in US to attract investments said that leaders are temporary and institutions permanent and Telangana Government has been striving to build institutions for the last two years. Mr Rama Rao addressed an impressive gathering at an event hosted by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) at Santa Clara in California, USA. Prominent CEOs and industrialists from the Silicon Valley took part in the event. The Minister said that Telangana became a reality after decades of protracted struggle and the leadership is focussing on addressing the basic issues first. Introducing the Telangana industrial policy TSiPASS - to the audience, Mr Rama Rao stated that Telangana ranks very high not only on Ease of Doing Business Index, but also on Cost of Doing Business index. Mr Rao said that support to entrepreneurs and skilling the next generation are two initiatives high on Telangana's agenda. The minister also detailed on the salient features of Telangana ICT Policy 2016 and four other allied policies launched in April this year. The Minister invited the Silicon Valley fraternity to partner with Telangana Government in scaling up of start-ups being incubated at T-Hub adding that an outpost to the incubator would be soon opened in the Valley. He spoke about Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge (TASK) the wing of IT E&C Department that is making Graduates industry-ready by imparting state-of-the-art skills. He also said that Telangana Government has been giving very high priority to manufacturing sector and in this direction brought out an unparalleled Electronics Policy recently. Industries, IT and MAUD Minister said that Telangana is number one welfare state in the country with a slew of schemes and programmes. The Minister's speech and the presentation got a thunderous response from the audience. UNI VV KVV AK 2010 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-763629.Xml Manipur police and troops of Jwalamukhi Battalion of Red Shield Division apprehended three active cadres of underground group of KCP(Porei Meitei) in an operation which began on May 30.The Defence Wing today informed that after the arrest of a cadre on May 30, the operation continued resulting in arrest of two more cadres. A joint operation was launched by troops of Jwalamukhi battalion and Imphal West commandos at Imphal West on May 30 and on seeing the presence of troops near Pheidinga-Leimakhong axis, one individual tried to skirt the mobile vehicle check post (MVCP) put up by security forces. The individual was apprehended on the spot. On questioning, the individual identified himself as Laipharkpham Chaoba Singh of Basikhong Panthoibi Lampak, Imphal East district. He confessed of being an operational commander of KCP (Porei-Meitei) for Imphal East and West, Bishenpur and Thoubal districts and working with the organisation since 2013. He also confessed of being involved in shooting incidence at a restaurant in Wangoi in 2014 and lobbing of grenade at the house of PWD contractor Rameshwar, located opposite Manipur university in Nov 2015. On further questioning, he revealed that Porei Meitei, Chief-in-Command of the insurgent group, tasked him to lob grenade on state Congress bhawan and BJP headquarters at Imphal. On his indication, two live Chinese hand grenades were recovered from his house at village Basikhong Panthoibi Lampak, Imphal East district. One bike and extortion notes were also recovered from the individual. On his information, two more insurgents of KCP (Porei-Meitei) were apprehended from Wangoi and Kanglatongbi respectively. They were identified as Bhim of Wangoi and Tek Bahadur Niroula of Kanglatongbi, both working with KCP (Porei-Meitei) since 2014 and 2013. UNI NS AKM SB NS2030 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0213-764220.Xml Mr Prasad will be arriving at Rajahmundry airport at 1100 hrs from Hyderabad on June 4 and straight away reach Kakinada by road at 1200 hrs. He will be addressing the engineering college students and teachers at 1400 hrs at JNTUK alumni auditorium. Later, he will address the officials of telecommunications, postal , BSNL and IT at Vidhan Gouthami hall in Collectorate at 1630 hrs and interacted with social workers, advocates, doctors and senior citizens at GRT grand hotel at 1830 hrs. After making a night halt here, the next day at 1030 hrs the Minister will participate in the Vikas Purve function organised by the BJP. The minister will address a media conference at GRT grand hotel at 1215 hrs and leave for Rajahmundry at 1430 hrs from where he will leave for Delhi by flight at 1805hrs .UNI XR KNR KVV AK 2055 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-764412.Xml Brigadier C K Jakhmola and Brigadier Tathagata Chatterjee, Commandant of the Military Hospital also attended the occasion. The General Officer was highly appreciative of the tremendous effort and good work being done by all ranks of the hospital. In the quest for providing the best treatment to our brave soldiers, the hospital is equipped with state of the art diagnostic facilities, X-Ray, CT Scan and Ultrasound facilities and an advanced molecular biology laboratory. The newly installed 1.5 Tesla MRI is a wide bore design imaging system with latest imaging facilities. It offers good resolution, with maximum patient comfort and lesser scan time. The newly commissioned MRI Centre at the hospital will go a long way in improving facilities to the patients and provide quality medical care. UNI VBH SB 2106 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764417.Xml General Officer Commanding in Chief (Army Commander) Northern Command, Lt Gen DS Hooda complimented all ranks of AEC fraternity for raising the human resource quotient in Northern theatre. He exhorted the corps to maintain its momentum to ensure further enhancement in the educational standards to be true with technological revolution and emerging challenges. The Army Commander called upon all ranks of AEC to uphold the ethos and spirit enshrined in the Corps motto "Udhyaiv Balam (Knowledge is strength)". Army Educational Corps was raised on June 1, 1947 at Panchmarhi. The history of AEC dates back to 1944 when then Sir Claude Auchinleck proposed the formation of self contained organization to look after the educational training of the Indian troops. ''Today the Corps is playing pivotal role in meeting aspirations of serving and retired soldiers of Indian Army in various aspect such as higher education through IGNOU Army Education Project, Bachelor of Education Course for the dependents of Defence personnel, Map Craft Training with modern navigation skills and QGIS, Management of Military and Sainik Schools, Foreign/ Regional Languages Training, Personality Development Training and Military Music Training,'' Col S D Goswami, PRO Defence said. He said that the responsibility of handling RTI since 2008 by the AEC makes it a unique Army wing in the world.UNI VBH SB 2107 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764431.Xml Mentioning that government respects the hard work of peasants, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said that the government would ensure that they do not suffer losses. "In this context, onion will be purchased from farmers at Rs 6 per kg. Directives have been given regarding all arrangements for the purchase," said Mr Chouhan while addressing the concluding function of 'Gramoday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan' from Tara Sewaniya village in Bhopal district's Phanda block, according to an official release issued here. He said that a Farmers' Welfare Fund would be instituted for timely assistance to farmers. He directed collectors to ensure that agricultural schemes are chalked out in villages itself and discussed at gram sabhas following which the government will implement them. On the occasion, the Chief Minister described 'Gramoday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan' as a unique campaign. He administered pledge to villagers to keep villages clean under Swachchh Bharat Mission, conserve water, send children to school daily, conserve energy and make village addiction-free.UNI PS SB AN2257 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-764519.Xml The seized bullion has had a market value of approximately Rs10,97,789. Giving this information, BSF DIG of the South Bengal Frontier R P S Jaswal today informed that three Bangladeshi and two Indian nationals were also apprehended under charges of smuggling for carrying the contraband. Mr Jaswal informed that the latest seizure of 16.4 KG silver ornaments was made on Monday last in North 24-Parganas district. He said acting on a prior input, the alert BSF Jawans of Tentulberia Border Out Post under Gaighata Police station launched a special operation and apprehended a person along with a plastic bag containing the silver ornaments and Scooty. The seized ornaments, having a market value of approx Rs 2,46,000; were handed over to the Gaighata Police for further legal action.UNI BM SB AN2256 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-764504.Xml The first priority of Kerala Police is to bring to book the culprit of Jisha murder case, DGP Loknath Behera today said after taking over the charge of state police chief.Talking to newspersons at the police headquarters here, the new DGP said the police took the probe as a challenge. The Dalit girl was raped and murdered at Perumbavoor on April 28.Stating that steps would be taken to modernise the police force, he said the investigation system of police would be improved to the standard of CBI. To a question on former DGP T P Senkumar's comment on his removal from the post, he said the police officials are liable to accept the policies of the Government.UNI DS SB 2318 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764551.Xml The chorus against "Triple Talaq" continued to grow today with more people choosing to oppose it, describing it against tenets of Islam, anti-women and against the spirit of law of the land. BJP leader Shazia Ilmi termed the practice of awarding divorce merely by saying or writing three times Talaq "Mullah''s Islam" and underlined that 22 countries, including, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, even Pakistan, have already abolished Triple Talaq."Muslim Personal Law Board is a self-anointed guardian of faith and we reject them. Uniform Civil code will do away with these things, but if we bring it, it''ll be seen as attack on personal laws," Ms Ilmi said during a TV debate. Over 50,000 Muslim women and men have signed a petition seeking a ban on triple Talaq. The petition, spearheaded by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), has sought the National Commission for Women''s intervention to end this "un-Quranic practice". BMMA co-founder Zakia Soman said a national signature campaign was underway in different states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, MP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala and UP. Noted Journalist and former MP Shahid Siddiqui held that Triple Talaq was Islamic, but in one go it was not. He said Muslim Personal Law was not made by ''Ulema'' in India, but imposed by the British then why treat it as word of the god. "Answer has to come from within community; women are speaking up and we men must support them," Mr Siddiqui said. In a letter written to NCW Chief Lalita Kumarmangalam, BMMA reasoned that Triple Talaq was not mentioned in the Quran and that Muslim women must also receive same rights as enjoyed by other''s religion women. The organisation said though it will take some time to revamp Muslim Personal Laws, "riddance" from Triple Talaq will provide respite to lakhs of Muslim women. UNI RG SB 2316 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764564.Xml Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he donated $5.6 million to veterans associations and criticised the members of the press, whom he said "should be ashamed of themselves" for having doubted that he would keep the promise he made in January to make the donations. "I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job," Trump said at a press conference at his offices in New York's Trump Tower, EFE news agency reported. "As of this moment, it's $5.6 million," the real estate magnate said, adding that "all of the money has been spent". Trump lambasted the press all during the press conference, calling political reporters "among the most dishonest people I've ever met". He also released the names of a number of organisations to which donations were made, along with the size of those contributions. In late January, Trump made a surprise announcement in Iowa that he would not participate in a debate with other Republican candidates to hold a fundraising event to help veterans. At the event, he said that he had managed to raise $6 million, but several media outlets said weeks later that there was no proof of any donations being made, while many associations confirmed that they had not received any such funds. Trump also promised to put up $1 million out of his own pocket. For months, Trump's campaign refused to list which organisations had received the donations arguing that they were reviewing the validity and suitability of the veterans groups. On Sunday, Trump participated in the traditional gathering of bikers in Washington to pay tribute to veterans and US war dead over Memorial Day weekend. Trump, who avoided the draft during the Vietnam War after receiving a medical exemption, said at the gathering that illegal immigrants are treated better than America's former soldiers. --IANS vr/ ( 321 Words) 2016-06-01-06:30:03 (IANS) The United States has said that it is looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country next week and asserted that they wanted it to be a successful visit in all aspects. "We look forward to the Prime Minister's visit and we want it to be successful," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said in a press briefing here. He further said that when U.S. held talks with Indian officials, the topics ranged from regional to global issues and were not only limited to discussions about the two nations. "There's no question that in routine meetings, bilateral meetings, with Indian officials we talk about all manner of regional, even global issues. They're not just about issues between the United States and India," Kirby added. Prime Minister Modi will embark on a five nation tour that kicks off next week, where he will first head to Afghanistan on June 4 and from there to Qatar on June 5 for a bilateral visit. Then the Prime Minister will fly to Switzerland on June 6 and then to the United States for a bilateral visit on June 7 and June 8. He will be addressing a joint session of the US Congress on June 8. According to reports, he is then expected to visit Mexico before returning home on June 10. He will be the fifth Indian Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of Congress, and the first since 2005. The first-ever Indian premier to make such a speech was Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, followed by P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1994 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. Prime Minister Modi will be the fifth, speaking 11 years after his predecessor, Congress leader Manmohan Singh. Every full-term prime minister since 1984 has addressed a joint meeting of the House and Senate. (ANI) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's eponymous business seminar program created a class to teach students how to cash in on US mortgage foreclosures during the housing crisis.Trump University promised in 2009 that its "Fast Track to Foreclosure Investing" would teach students how to take advantage of the crisis, according to university documents unsealed last week in a lawsuit against the now-defunct program.The release will likely stoke criticism from the campaign of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who last week accused her likely rival in the November 8 presidential election of having cheered on the 2008 housing crash as an investment opportunity.A spokeswoman for Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, although Trump reacted to Clinton's criticism last week, saying: "What am I going to do? I'm in business."A Trump University advertisement released in the case said one of its free investor workshops would explain how to "Cash in on one of the greatest property liquidations in history!"Trump University instructors were to teach students how to "capitalize without harm" and find ways for "sellers to move on without shame," according to a December 2008 summary of the seminar.An earlier 2007 memo to enrollment counselors stated that about 1.5 million US homeowners would face foreclosure that year and laid out how they should advise students to seize the "tremendous opportunity" to purchase properties at "major discounts" in "hot markets" such as Arizona, Florida and Texas.The roughly 400 pages of documents included "playbooks" on how to recruit students, directions for how instructors should deal with the media and other details about Trump's seminar program. They were unsealed on Friday by US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump called "hostile" and "a hater," adding he believed the judge was Mexican.New York's attorney general slammed Trump yesterday for his comment on the judge's ethnicity. Curiel is an American who was born in East Chicago, Indiana, and graduated from the Indiana University School of Law.Clinton's attack on Trump last week was prompted by recently released audio that Trump recorded in 2006 for Trump University. In remarks on a possible "bubble burst," Trump said in the recording: "I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy" to "make a lot of money."REUTERS PS PR0500 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-762681.Xml The US military judge overseeing the trial of the accused mastermind of the September 11 attacks should step down and the case should be scrapped because he effectively conspired with prosecutors to destroy evidence, defense lawyers said in a court filing.The motion said Judge James Pohl, an Army colonel, and prosecutors had tainted the case against Pakistan-born Khalid Sheikh Mohammed by keeping defense lawyers from learning that the evidence had been destroyed.The motion was filed on May 10 and recently cleared for release. It raises a potential hurdle in the slow-moving capital case against Mohammed and four others charged in the hijacked airliner attacks of September 11, 2001, in which 3,000 people died.Pohl, along with prosecutors, "manipulated secret proceedings and the use of secret orders to mislead the defense and unfairly deprive Mr. Mohammed" of ways to keep the evidence from being destroyed, the motion said.Commissions spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Valerie Henderson referred questions to the prosecutor's response, which is expected to be made public in a few days.Pohl presided over a pretrial hearing yesterday in the case at the US Navy prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.The filing alleges that Pohl authorized prosecutors to destroy evidence six months after he agreed to a defense request that it be preserved.Defense lawyers were kept in the dark about the authorization and the contact between Pohl and prosecutors, it said.Pohl's order had included a provision that prosecutors give a redacted version of it to the defense. But he did not tell them to do so until 18 months after the order was issued, long after the evidence was destroyed, the filing said.The motion does not detail what the evidence was, and classified annexes are sealed. A prosecution response filed last week has not been cleared for release.The motion asks that Pohl recuse himself and that Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, the military commissions' chief prosecutor, and the prosecution team be disqualified. It also asks that Mohammed's trial be scrapped and/or the death penalty be dropped.Martins had no immediate comment.During yesterday's hearing, prosecutors asked Pohl to let 10 relatives of September 11 victims testify in open court. Reuters monitored the proceedings from a media center at Fort Meade, Maryland, outside Washington.The case is among a half dozen against Guantanamo inmates. REUTERS PS PR0541 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-762691.Xml Peru's centrist presidential hopeful Pedro Pablo Kuczynski canceled plans to take part in a rally against his rival Keiko Fujimori on Tuesday, in a last-minute U-turn that could reinforce a view he is indecisive ahead of Sunday's vote.Tens of thousands of Peruvians marched in downtown Lima to protest Fujimori's candidacy, calling the center-right frontrunner a threat to democracy and the embodiment of the authoritarian government of her father Alberto Fujimori, who is now in prison for corruption and human rights abuses.Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former World Bank economist who endorsed Fujimori during her first presidential run in 2011, said it would be "undemocratic" for him to join calls to stop Fujimori."I think the march is just, its principles are just, but if I go it will look like I don't want this election to happen, and I think that would be wrong of me," Kuczynski said in broadcast comments from a press conference hours after announcing he would attend the protest.While the move may help Kuczynski win over conservative voters wary of protests, it might also alienate him from Fujimori's hard-core opponents or broaden the view that he is not firm enough to be president.Fujimori, who portrays herself as the strongest candidate to tackle crime, has taken the lead over Kuczynski in the past week despite a scandal involving a senior aide accused of having links to drug trafficking and money laundering.Fujimori has defended her aide and said both are victims of a smear campaign to keep her from power. An Ipsos poll on Sunday showed her winning the election with 53 percent support."She is still covering up for the protagonists of corruption," said Carmen Pretel, a 52-year-old psychologist who took part in the anti-Fujimori rally. "I don't think she's changed at all."At least 40,000 activists marched in the rally, according to a Reuters witness. Banners in favor of Kuczynski were scarce amid a flood of signs that read "Fujimori never again" and "No to the narco-state!"A protest held at the same stage of the first-round race helped dent support for Fujimori, who nevertheless came in first with a double-digit lead over runner-up Kuczynski.Kuczynski has said he endorsed Fujimori in 2011 in a bid to keep then-leftist Ollanta Humala from winning. Humala, once an ally of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has governed moderately and will hand over power on July 28.REUTERS CJ PM1113 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-762822.Xml An appeals court ruling on whether a Liberian mortgage is valid for a Brazilian-owned oil production ship, due on Wednesday, could cast doubt on the future of secured lending for such vessels in the world's largest deepwater market.The court in So Paulo is due to decide on the appeal by Nordic Trustee ASA to overturn a February ruling that the $500 million mortgage registered in Liberia is invalid for the OSX3 floating production, storage and offloading vessel, or FPSO, owned by a subsidiary of OSX Brasil SA.The court will hold hearings on the case early on Wednesday, according to sources in the case and court documents seen by Reuters.OSX, the shipbuilding and ship leasing arm of former billionaire Eike Batista's mining, energy and logistics empire, has been under bankruptcy protection for three years. The OSX3 FPSO is owned by OSX3 Leasing BV, the OSX Brasil unit that is also under creditor protection in the Netherlands.The lower court's ruling favors investment bank Grupo BTG Pactual SA in an effort to recover a $28 million loan from OSX3. BTG Pactual has a lien on the FPSO and wants immediate repayment of the loan.International law would normally give precedence to the mortgage holders in bankruptcy proceedings. In this case, the mortgage was given as collateral to OSX bondholders, represented in this case by Nordic Trustee.Liberia is not a member of a 1926 global treaty on ship mortgages. If the appeals court upholds the lower court's decision that the mortgage agreement is invalid in Brazil because it was registered in Liberia, it would put BTG Pactual ahead of bondholders in the queue for repayment.BTG Pactual argues the mortgage contract is invalid because there are no links between the ship and Liberia, where it is flagged. Nordic Trustee alleges that none of the 142 Liberian-flagged ships that operate in Brazilian waters have locally registered mortgages.Ship owners "flag," or register, their vessels in countries such as Liberia and Panama to avoid regulations, taxes and obligations that come with owning a ship in larger countries such as Brazil or the United States.The case underscores the extent to which loopholes in Brazil's bankruptcy protection laws and their interpretation by courts could stall secured lending for offshore oil vessels, complicating development of Brazil's deepwater fields.According to London-based law firm Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, the current ruling is affecting ongoing and future projects and financing deals, putting borrowers at risk of breaching credit terms. Lenders are ordering foreign-flagged ships operating in Brazil to reflag in countries that are signatories of the treaty, such as Panama."This has become a big issue for banks, since they thought they would be given priority in the line of repayment under the contractual structures in place," said Andrew Haynes, partner at Norton Rose's Rio de Janeiro office. He has no involvement in the case.So Paulo-based BTG Pactual and Nordic declined to comment, as did the law firms representing them: Tepedino, Migliori, Berezowski Advogados, and Felsberg Advogados, respectively.UNCERTAINTYAccording to So Paulo-based law firm Souza Cescon Advogados, unless the decision is reversed, the situation will create uncertainty among owners, creditors and operators of Liberian ships in Brazil.FPSOs are oil tankers converted to collect and process oil from deepwater fields and then unload it to other tankers that ship the output to shore. Apart from OSX3, other Liberian-registered FPSOs in Brazil include FPSO Polvo, FPSO Marlim Sul and FPSO Cidade de Mangaratiba, Thomson Reuters data showed.A court-appointed administrator has warned BTG Pactual that it could be held liable for the lien on OSX3 should it seek repayment before other creditors.A year ago, a So Paulo court ordered the OSX3 FPSO be sold to repay creditors after BTG Pactual won an injunction. However, bondholders challenged the order, saying they had priority over BTG Pactual because OSX Leasing gave the mortgage as collateral.Nordic Trustee's lawyers said the prior rulings declaring Liberian mortgages void in Brazil could have a ripple effect within the industry, noting in one of the documents that "the court is ignoring widely followed principles of maritime law."Nordic Trustee has vowed to file a lawsuit at Brazil's Supreme Justice Tribunal, the top appeals court, should the So Paulo tribunal uphold the current ruling. REUTERS CJ PM1151 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-762866.Xml China's said today it welcomed a proposal by the incoming Philippine government for bilateral talks on the disputed South China Sea.China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea while the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims. The sea is rich in oil, gas and fish, and trade worth trillions of dollars passes through it each year.Tension between the Philippines and China has risen as an international tribunal in the Hague prepares to deliver a ruling in the next few months in a case about the South China Sea lodged by Manila in 2013.The Philippines is seeking a clarification of UN maritime laws that could undermine China's claims to 90 percent of the South China Sea. China has rejected the court's authority.Philippines President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has backed multilateral talks to settle rows over the South China Sea that would include the United States, Japan and Australia as well as claimant nations.He has also called on China to respect the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone granted to coastal states under international law.But he also said today his country would not rely on long-term security ally the United States, signalling greater independence from Washington in dealing with China.Duterte pick for foreign secretary, Perfecto Yasay, sounded a conciliatory note this week, saying he would like to resume bilateral talks with China.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she welcomed the comments and hoped the new Philippines government could return to a track of bilateral talks, appropriately handle disputes and work hard for the healthy development of ties.China hopes to get relations with the Philippines back on track, President Xi Jinping told Duterte this week. REUTERS VS JW AS1655 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-763654.Xml Poland's justice ministry, which makes the final decision on extraditions of Polish citizens, intends to extradite Roman Polanski to the United States if the court approves it, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said today.Ziobro, who also serves as Poland's prosecutor general, said yesterday he would appeal to the supreme court an earlier court decision not to extradite the Oscar-winning filmmaker over a 1977 child sex conviction, reigniting a long legal battle."If the (supreme court) appeal is upheld, I will give an approving decision," Ziobro said, adding he awaits the ruling "respectfully." REUTERS JW AS1655 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-763656.Xml The Philippines will not distance itself from its long-time security ally, the United States, but neither will it be a lackey to any foreign power, incoming Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told Reuters today."We should not be a lackey of any nation," lawyer Yasay said, in his first interview with foreign media since being appointed to the cabinet by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.The tough-talking Duterte said yesterday that the Philippines would not rely on Washington, hinting at greater independence from the United States when dealing with China in the South China Sea dispute.REUTERS AKC NS1901 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764106.Xml The Egyptian authorities on Wednesday opened the closed Rafah border crossing point for four days, according to Hamas-run interior office in Gaza. It is the second time in less than 20 days that the Egyptian authorities have reopened the only key crossing point of Rafah on the border between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, the only window for Gaza populations to the world, Xinhua reported. The Hamas-run borders and crossings corporation said the authorities informed the Palestinian side late Tuesday of the decision. The Gaza Strip populations with around two million people were under a tight Israeli blockade for around ten years, while Egypt has been closing the crossing and usually reopens it only for humanitarian reasons. The tight restrictions of free movement were imposed on the coastal enclave's populations were made right after Hamas movement and its militias violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007. "The crossing of Rafah will be operating from Wednesday to Sunday, but it will be closed during Friday," said the statement, adding "those who will be travelling through the crossing, are students, patients and with dual nationalities." The Hamas-run corporation and international rights groups said there are 30,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who are in an urgent need for travelling abroad through Egypt. This huge number of people cannot travel through the Israeli-controlled crossing points between Israel and the Gaza Strip because Jerusalem said they have security records and travel through its territories to Jordan or to the world. On Wednesday, thousands of people crowded outside the crossing point of Rafah to cross. They usually take buses travelling in between the two parts of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Around 20 days ago, Egypt also temporarily reopened Rafah crossing point for three days only. The Hamas-run corporation said only 790 people out of 30,000 were able to cross Rafah terminal into Egypt. Ties between Hamas and Egypt worsened after Hamas supported the Muslim Brothers in Egypt. Egyptian courts had also outlawed Hamas and its military wing for being involved in backing militants that carried out deadly attacks against the Egyptian army. --IANS py/dg ( 369 Words) 2016-06-01-19:42:03 (IANS) Sweating, hoarse and jostled at every turn, opposition leader Henrique Capriles is back pounding Venezuela's streets, exhorting crowds and fuming about corruption and shortages.Capriles' profile faded after his failed presidential runs in 2012 and 2013 but the Miranda state governor is again on the political front line, this time driving an opposition push for a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro."The only way to fix Venezuela's crisis is asking Venezuelans," he told Reuters after a day campaigning in the pressure-pot nation reeling from economic hardships, protests and viciously polarized politics.Even though government officials insist a recall referendum will not take place this year, Capriles' new-found protagonism is restoring his image among Venezuela's opposition supporters.Some had dismissed him as a loser despite doing well in the 2012 election against late socialist leader Hugo Chavez and almost beating Maduro a few months later after Chavez's death.Supporters of hardline opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez painted Capriles as cowardly for not pressing vote fraud claims more aggressively in 2013 or backing street protests in 2014.Yet he is now tied with the imprisoned Lopez as the most popular opposition figure, according to one recent poll. He could even have a third stab at the presidency should Maduro be recalled this year, triggering an election."He's recovering his lost splendor," said Luis-Vicente Leon, a leading pollster.Under the constitution, a recall referendum is possible from half-way through the six-year presidential term but the opposition coalition needs it this year if Maduro's potential departure is to force a new election."Chavez subjected himself to a recall referendum, why not Maduro?" Capriles added, warning of a possible military coup or social explosion if the government and electoral authorities block such a vote.If Maduro were to go next year, his vice-president would take over, probably prolonging "Chavismo" until the next presidential election at the end of 2018.The Capriles camp is frustrated the opposition's concerted push began in April rather than January, as soon as it took control of Congress following big wins in legislative elections. The coalition's two dozen parties were unable to quickly reach a consensus over strategy.Seizing on that delay, the government says there is now no time for a vote this year. It also accuses the opposition of inflating its first signature drive with the names of 10,000 dead people.The election board is dragging its feet on the complex procedures involved: 1 per cent of registered voters' signatures to start the process, then 20 per cent to request the referendum."The government is trying to sow the idea there isn't time," Capriles said. "That is false ... Twelve years ago, they organized a recall referendum in four months," he added, referring to Chavez's 2004 referendum victory.MILITANTOfficials accuse Capriles of trying to foment violence, recalling his activism during a short-lived 2002 coup against Chavez, and have revived old innuendoes about his sexuality.On the street, the wiry and sports-loving governor is taking a more militant approach. At one march, he followed youths who burst onto a highway and was pepper-sprayed in the face by a security official in the melee.Despite government prohibitions and a Supreme Court ruling protecting the election board's premises, Capriles says the marches will continue even though numbers have not been massive, reaching just a few thousand in Caracas.That, he says, is because people are preoccupied with daily problems, including hours-long lines for ever-scarcer food.Opposition leaders are cheered by a build-up of international pressure against Maduro's government, including a push this week by the head of the Organization of American States (OAS) to have Venezuela suspended from the regional grouping for violating its democratic principles."Maduro is like a pariah ... Who wants to have their photo taken with him?," said Capriles, who describes himself as a center-leftist.While Capriles may be the opposition's man of the moment, there is still quiet carping in some quarters of the opposition, especially among hardliners.Some believe the referendum drive is doomed and Capriles has no alternative strategy, meaning his star will wane again and the more aggressive tactics prescribed by Lopez will be vindicated."Henrique is trying to play by the rules of a normal democracy, but Maduro is a dictator and won't go like that. Leopoldo was right all long," said one Lopez supporter, identifying himself only as Luis, at a recent rally. REUTERS AKC BD2000 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764301.Xml Chancellor Angela Merkel has public commitments that mean she will miss a disputed vote in Germany's parliament tomorrow on a resolution that labels the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, a spokeswoman said.Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said earlier on Wednesday the resolution, which German lawmakers are expected to approve, was "ridiculous" and would damage relations between the two countries.Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan urged German lawmakers not to be cowed by Turkey's warnings and to go ahead with the motion. "I am sure: the politicians in the Bundestag see it the same way and will not allow themselves to be intimidated," Sargsyan told German mass-selling daily Bild in an interview.The symbolic resolution labels a mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces in 1915, during World War One, as "genocide". It follows similar steps pursued in other parliaments, including France and Canada.The opposition Greens thrust the resolution onto the agenda at a time when Merkel, a driving force behind an EU-Turkey deal to cut the number of illegal migrants entering Europe from Turkish territory, cannot afford friction with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan."At the moment, this vote is due in the morning or at lunchtime and as things stand the chancellor will not take part in the vote in the German Bundestag because she has public appointments," spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said today.By skipping the vote, Merkel risks criticism at home over her stance towards Turkey. Critics accuse her of going soft on Ankara over human rights because of her desire to stem the flow of migrants.COMEDIAN'S CRUDE POEM INFURIATED ERDOGANIn April, she drew fire for allowing German prosecutors to look into charges against a comedian who mocked Erdogan in a crude poem. The comedian, Jan Boehmermann, has accused Merkel of serving him "up for tea to a highly strung despot".Wirtz said Merkel had told her she voted with her conservatives' parliamentary party in an internal straw poll on the Armenian issue on Tuesday at which only one lawmaker voted against and five abstained.Merkel is due to give a speech on digital issues in Berlin late on Thursday morning, before having a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians were massacred in clashes with Ottoman forces but denies that hundreds of thousands were killed, that there was any organised campaign to wipe out the Armenians or that there were any such orders from Ottoman authorities.Sargysan, the Armenian president, urged the Bundestag not to buckle to Turkish warnings. "If one makes compromises for short-term political interests, then one ends up doing so again and again. And that is bad for Germany, that is bad for Europe and the world," he was quoted by Bild as saying.Erdogan said at a televised news conference yesterday that the German parliamentary resolution would damage bilateral ties.The migrants deal between the EU and Turkey has significantly reduced undocumented migration into Europe, easing political pressure on Merkel at home. But it has been under a cloud since its strongest proponent in the Turkish government, Ahmet Davutoglu, was pushed out as prime minister last month.Since then, Erdogan has questioned aspects of the agreement and some of his allies have even threatened to unleash a new wave of refugees on Europe."I have the feeling that this deal is anyway built on sand and, with a partner like Turkey, will be difficult to implement over time," Sargsyan said.The resolution, which is formally supported by Merkel's conservative bloc, the centre-left Social Democrats and the Greens, uses the word "genocide" in the headline and text. REUTERS AKC NS2002 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764317.Xml Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism today after they were convicted of attacks on police in the Shi'ite Muslim minority area of Qatif in the Eastern Province, scene of past anti-government protests, their lawyer said.Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquitted, their defence lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.The sentences could further deepen resentment among the kingdom's Shi'ites, some of whom already complaining of discrimination in the predominantly Western-allied Sunni Muslim country. Saudi Arabia denies any discrimination.Arabiya TV said the charges had included opening fire on security forces and civilians, causing several deaths and destruction of property. They were also accused of peddling drugs and armed robbery against shops and cars.The defence lawyer said he intended to appeal the rulings.The 24 defendants -- most in their 20s -- had been held for about four years and accused of carrying weapons and shooting at police, he said. During 2011-14 protests, around 20 Shi'ites and several police officers were killed.A spokesman for the Saudi justice ministry could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report, first broadcast by the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV.Some Saudi Shi'ites complain they suffer systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia, whose majority follow a strict form of Sunni Islam that regards the minority sect as heretical. The government denies that.On January 2 Saudi Arabia executed four Shi'ites convicted of similar crimes alongside 43 Sunnis accused of carrying out attacks for al Qaeda a decade ago.The execution of the Shi'ites, including a prominent cleric, by Sunni-led Saudi Arabia pushed up tensions with its main regional rival Iran and contributed to rising sectarian anger in some neighbouring countries.International human rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia's justice system, which they say holds unfair trials, and have said that convictions for terrorism sometimes extend to peaceful protesters and are secured by torture.Saudi Arabia denies this, saying its judiciary is independent and that it does not practice torture. It says it does not differentiate between Sunnis and Shi'ites accused of politically motivated attacks on other citizens or the security forces. REUTERS AKC AN2008 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764239.Xml Russian riot police in two trucks rolled down a dirt track on the outskirts of the Crimean town of Bakhchisaray, past a woman standing outside her house in a floral-print dressing gown, before climbing out and forming a line across the road.The officers, all wearing balaclava masks and some carrying truncheons and automatic weapons, stood in silence as a crowd of about 20 local residents came out of their houses and asked them to explain what they were doing there."We haven't done anything wrong and we're being treated like criminals," one man in a black Adidas track suit can be heard saying in amateur video footage of the standoff on the morning of May 12.Two years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, police are intensifying their scrutiny of the Crimean Tatars, a mainly Muslim community that makes up about 15 per cent of the peninsula's population. Searches of properties, raids, and arrests have become commonplace, say local people.The Tatars, who were deported from the region by Stalin during World War Two and only allowed back four decades later, have largely opposed Russian rule.The authorities say the police have a good reason for their activities. They say they have evidence that some Crimean Tatars belong to Islamist groups they deem extremist, and are acting to prevent them carrying out acts of terrorism. They have not disclosed evidence of any violence or planning for acts of violence.But many Crimean Tatars - and some independent human rights activists - say the community is being targeted by police because of its opposition to Moscow.The people being targeted by police "are ideological opponents of the authorities, and the Russian Federation sees them as a threat", said Emil Kurbedinov, a lawyer representing four Crimean Tatars awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges.BANNED GROUPRussia has been in de facto control of Crimea since March 2014 when it sent in troops to drive out Ukrainian forces after a popular uprising overthrew Kiev's pro-Moscow president and replaced him with a Western-backed administration. Moscow later oversaw a referendum in which a majority of the region's voters chose to become part of Russia.The tensions between the Crimean Tatars and their new rulers in Moscow have been well-documented.Brussels and Washington have condemned Russia's decision to suspend the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatars' semi-official legislature. The Eurovision song contest was won by a Crimean Tatar singing about her people's history of oppression by Moscow.The police campaign targeting Crimean Tatars has drawn little comment from foreign governments, however, perhaps because it is difficult to separate officials' legitimate concerns about Islamist extremism from other possible motives.Some of the people who have been arrested in the police sweep are adherents of Hizb ut Tahrir, a group which seeks the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. The organisation - which says it is non-violent - is banned in countries including Russia and Germany but is legal in Britain and the United States, as well as in Ukraine.Ruslan Balbek, deputy prime minister in the Moscow-backed Crimean government, told Reuters the security services had to act to root out dangerous forms of Islamism."Neither Hizb ut Tahrir, nor Wahabbism, nor any forms of political Islam are characteristic to the Crimean Tatar people," Balbek, himself a Crimean Tatar, told Reuters in an interview."There is often a confusion of concepts: people interpret a crackdown on religious sects which are banned in Russia ... as a persecution of the Crimean Tatars," he said.The Moscow-backed prosecutor's office in Crimea said it had opened 28 criminal prosecutions into "extremist and terrorist manifestations" since the start of 2015.However, rights campaigners and community activists say the Islamist problem is being over-stated. They say that, while there are some hardliners, the vast majority of Crimean Tatar Muslims are moderate.Fazyl Amzayev, Hizb ut Tahrir's chief spokesman in Ukraine, who is based in Crimea, said there were no confirmed cases of the group's supporters being involved in terrorism. He declined to say how many adherents the group has, citing the risk of reprisals from the authorities.Crimean Tatar leaders also say that many of those arrested may have no link to Hizb ut Tahrir and that police tactics - including showing up in large numbers in Crimean Tatar communities - are designed to intimidate, not fight crime."In the Russian Federation, every citizen is supposed to be loyal to the existing authorities. They did not get that loyalty from the Crimean Tatar people," said Ilmi Umerov, deputy head of the Mejlis, now suspended by Moscow.POLICE METHODSThe police tactics are also causing concern among Kremlin advisers. The presidential Human Rights Council, a body that advises President Vladimir Putin, will discuss the treatment of Crimean Tatars when it meets in June, said Nikolai Svanidze, a council member.He told Reuters there were some examples of possible oppression of Crimean Tatars. "We're keeping this question in our sights," he said.The riot police who drove into the outskirts of Bakhchisaray last month arrived shortly after security service officers in plain clothes searched a home there, according to local residents. The details of the search were unclear.This would be typical of the pattern followed by security forces carrying out raids on Crimean Tartar targets, according to interviews with Crimean Tatar activists, lawyers, independent rights activists and local residents.They say that plain-clothes security service officers, often driving vehicles without licence plates, show up at homes or businesses owned by Crimean Tatars suspected of Islamist links. They often break down the door, conduct a search and take the suspects away for questioning.In several cases, truck-loads of riot police have been sent into the areas afterwards to prevent or break up any protests by local people, the sources say.Another video from Bakhchisaray, shot on a mobile phone, showed a police operation underway at a cafe. The footage was shot on the same day as the two truck-loads of police arrived on the outskirts of the town, May 12, but it was not clear if the two operations were linked.Inside the cafe, decorated with Arabic inscriptions, police were detaining suspects. In the square outside, several dozen police in full riot gear formed lines to hold back a crowd of about 100 people who had gathered to protest.Many in the crowd recited Muslim prayers, while others shouted "Shame on you!" to the police. REUTERS AKC BL2049 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764416.Xml Slovakia will put aside its strong views on curbing immigration and act as an honest broker on the issue when it holds the European Union presidency later this year, Prime Minister Robert Fico said today.The leftist Fico, who was reelected for a third term in March, said last week that Islam had no place in Slovakia, an extension of anti-immigration rhetoric in the election campaign."We won't change our national position but we won't put it on the table during our presidency. We want to act as an honest broker and reach compromise wherever possible," Fico said at news conference in Brussels that was shown live on the European Commission website.Fico said he supported a return to the border-free Schengen zone after some counties introduced temporary border checks, stronger protection of the bloc's outside borders and a speedy formation of the European border and coast guard.His previous government filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice against last year's EU decision to redistribute 160,000 asylum seekers among member countries, including those who do not want to take any.He has also criticised the European Commission's plan to reform the so-called Dublin system of EU asylum rules so that each of the 28 states would be assigned a percentage quota of all asylum seekers or have to pay 250,000 dollar for each refugee they refuse to take."The reform of Dublin is one of issues where we see many divisions among member states and we see it will be very hard to overcome them and reach any compromise," Fico said after a meeting with Commission President Jean Claude Juncker.Slovakia has a tiny Muslim community of several thousand and has seen only a few hundred asylum requests from places like Syria in the past year. REUTERS AKC BL2050 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764420.Xml US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will contrast her foreign policy credentials with those of Donald Trump in a speech tomorrow that will portray the Republican rival she calls a "loose cannon" as too dangerous be president, her campaign said.Clinton, US secretary of state from 2009-13, has called Trump "divisive and dangerous" and has said the former reality television star is unqualified to lead the country.She will seek to convey the threat Trump poses and to present her vision for preserving US security and its position as a world leader, Clinton's campaign told Reuters.Her foreign policy speech in San Diego will come just before presidential nominating contests in California and five others states on Tuesday, which Clinton hopes will put to rest what has been an unexpectedly tenacious challenge from US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.Her target, however, will be the Republican, who has moved past the primary battle and is now presumptive nominee for his party in the Nov. 8 presidential election.Trump's willingness to speak with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, his criticism of British politicians and his suggestion that Japan and South Korea should acquire nuclear weapons have been cited by Clinton as risky and irresponsible. She has repeatedly called the New York billionaire a "loose cannon."In an interview on CNN in May, the former US senator and first lady said his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States would play into the hands of terrorists."When you run for president of the United States, the entire world is listening and watching," Clinton told CNN. "So when you say you're going to bar all Muslims, you're sending evidence to the Muslim world, and you're also sending a message to terrorists. ... Donald Trump is essentially being used as a recruiter for more people to join the cause of terrorism."In her speech, first reported by The Washington Post, Clinton will denounce the fear-mongering, bigotry and defeatism that she believes Trump is peddling, the campaign said.California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, endorsed Clinton on Tuesday with a warning about "the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump," which he said would risk the spread of nuclear weapons.Trump has touted himself as an American strongman who would embrace waterboarding and other brutal interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects. Waterboarding, a kind of simulated drowning, has been widely denounced as torture and its use by the United States was banned by President Barack Obama in 2009.Trump has also said he would renegotiate trade deals and ask non-paying NATO members to "pay up" or "get out." His sweeping pronouncements, isolationist tendencies and disregard for decades-old US foreign policy positions has alarmed a number of Republicans.In March, more than 90 Republican foreign policy veterans have pledged to oppose Donald Trump, saying his proposals would undermine US security.REUTERS AKC NS2047 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764428.Xml Three local employees of an international aid organisation affiliated with the Aga Khan Development Network were shot and killed by gunmen in eastern Afghanistan today, officials said.Two men and a woman working for Focus Humanitarian Assistance were killed in their vehicle while traveling on a road in rural Parwan province, north of Kabul, according to Noor Aqa Sameh, a district governor in the province.He blamed Taliban militants for the attack, but the group did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It does not control major territory in Parwan but sometimes threatens roadways and launch attacks, Sameh said.Locked in a war between Islamist insurgents and the NATO-backed government, Afghanistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for aid workers. Threats of kidnapping and bombings have forced many organisations to scale back programs.Focus is a non-profit organization based in South Asia, Europe and North America that works to help people in developing countries transition from reliance on international aid to sustainable development.It is linked to the Aga Khan Development Network, which has one of the largest aid operations in Afghanistan. Officials with the aid organisation did not respond to requests for comment. REUTERS AKC BL2121 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764476.Xml Tanzania today rejected findings by conservationists who said elephants could disappear from a reserve there within six years due to "industrial scale" poaching, saying the WWF analysis was outdated.WWF said Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania's largest protected area, was home to one of the greatest concentrations of African elephants on the continent, but rampant ivory poaching has seen the population reduced by 90 percent in less than 40 years."Nearly 110,000 elephants once roamed the savannahs, wetlands and forests of Selous, but now only about 15,000 remain in the ecosystem," the conservation group said today."Based on historic trends of elephant poaching, by early 2022 we could see the last of Selous' elephants gunned down by heavily armed and well trained criminal networks that have turned poaching into an industrial scale global threat to conservation," the analysis said.The analysis, carried out for WWF by global development advisers Dalberg, said the loss of elephants at the reserve put the livelihoods of 1.2 million people at risk and hurt Tanzania's economy.The East African country relies heavily on revenue from safari tourism. Tourism is the biggest foreign exchange earner in east Africa's second largest economy.New President John Magufuli has pledged to root out poaching as part of a wider war on corruption.The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Gaudence Milanzi, dismissed the WWF findings."The report has not taken into account the success of current efforts to curb poaching," Milanzi told Reuters. "There is no industrial scale poaching in the Selous right now, that was something in the past."Poaching has risen across sub-Saharan Africa, where armed gangs have killed elephants for tusks and rhinos for horns that are often shipped to Asia for use in ornaments and medicines.Milanzi said Tanzania's anti-poaching efforts over the past two years had recorded major achievements."I am sure these projections that elephants could vanish at the Selous by 2022 are based on past events, not the current situation on the ground," he said."We haven't completely curbed poaching -- we need to step up our efforts. But elephant populations are actually rising and stabilising in some parts of the country, although poaching has not been completely eradicated."Milanzi cited the prosecution of a prominent Chinese businesswoman, Yang Feng Glan, dubbed the "Ivory Queen", as proof of the success of the poaching crackdown.She is accused of running a network that smuggled out tusks from 350 elephants, charges she denies. She is under police custody and facing trial at a court in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.REUTERS AKC AN2334 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764562.Xml Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy urged the opposition today to end unrest over alleged bias in the electoral commission, but opposition leaders said protests would continue if their demands for dialogue were not met.To help defuse tensions, Kenyatta on Tuesday had talks with his political rival, the leader of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy Raila Odinga, but the rare meeting between the two appeared to have little impact.The president's office said yesterday's meeting yielded no deal between Kenyatta and Odinga on how to revamp the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).Police in Nairobi fired tear gas at people leaving a rally of the Coalition that was fully authorised and had passed without incident, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.The next presidential and parliamentary polls in Kenya, East Africa's largest economy, are not due until August 2017 but politicians are already trying to galvanise supporters in a country prone to political strife. Violence erupted after the 2007 vote and the opposition disputed the outcome in 2013.The opposition wants the IEBC scrapped, accusing it of bias.The commission's electronic identification system collapsed during the 2013 election that brought Kenyatta to power. The opposition cried foul but a court declared the result valid. Odinga, who was also running for president, accepted the ruling.In a speech at a separate event today, Kenyatta said the opposition should use legal channels to seek changes to institutions, rather than demonstrations."The law is good when it favours you, but when it takes an unfavourable turn, you don't like it. We can't work like that. We must be a nation that follows the rule of law," the president said in a speech at a ceremony in the town of Nakuru to mark Kenya achieving independence from Britain in 1963.TALK OR TEAR GASHis deputy, William Ruto, said the opposition should eschew further protests, citing a court ruling that had banned them marching. "I now wonder if we want to transact the business of Kenya over a tete-a-tete or a cup of tea, or in street engagements, clouded by clouds of tear gas," he said.Speaking at the Nairobi opposition rally, Odinga said there was no such court ruling.In late April, Kenya's High Court barred the opposition from storming the election commission's offices, but did not forbid them from protesting. Another lawsuit brought by ruling coalition lawmakers to stop Odinga from interfering with the running of the electoral commission is still with the court.Ruto did not elaborate on the ruling he was referring to.Odinga also told the rally that the coalition would tomorrow appoint five of its lawmakers who, alongside their counterparts from the ruling Jubilee Alliance coalition, would meet with the electoral body on Friday for talks."If the talks don't start on Friday, then on Monday we are going back to marching," Odinga told some 10,000 supporters.Parliament's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee had said yesterday it would invite the public to present their views on how to reform IEBC and other election-related issues, according to the statement from Kenyatta's office."President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto intend to make their submissions to this team," it said."The Presidency expects that the sessions by the ... Committee will be held in public, and that they will also be televised live so that all Kenyans can hear what anyone with any views on the subject has to say."REUTERS AKC AN2335 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-764563.Xml A car bomb was set off by a suicide bomber at the gate of the Ambassador Hotel, after which other gunmen moved in. "We can confirm that at least 10 civilians were killed in the blast while 25 others injured," police officer Mohamed Farah told Xinhua. Witnesses said they heard a huge blast followed by heavy gunfire from the hotel. Local residents said troops were trying to rescue possible hostages in the hotel. Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Ambassador Hotel on the busy Makka Al-mukarram street is frequented by government officials. Al-Shabaab, which has been battling the Somali government for years, stages periodic attacks in the country. --IANS vr/ ( 149 Words) 2016-06-02-02:24:03 (IANS) GHAZNI, June 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Policemen stand near the body of a militant wearing a police uniform at the attack site in Ghazni City, capital of Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, June 1, 2016. Five people including a policeman and four suicide bombers were killed and a judge was injured as Taliban militants stormed a provincial court in Ghazni on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Sayed Mominzadah) GHAZNI, Afghanistan, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Five people including a policeman and four suicide bombers were killed and a judge injured as Taliban militants stormed a provincial court in the eastern Ghazni city on Wednesday, provincial police chief Aminullah Omarkhil said. "The attack which occurred at around 10:30 a.m. local time and followed by gunshots left four attackers and a police dead," Amarkhil told Xinhua. However, he admitted that the head of the court also sustained injuries in the attack. Going into detail, the official said that one of the suicide bombers after killing the guard of the court gate by pistol blew himself up and enabled three others to enter the court compound. After entering the court compound, the three militants began indiscriminate firing that triggered gun battle which lasted for a while. All the three insurgents were killed, Amarkhil asserted. The situation is under control, the police officer said. Meantime, Zabihullah Majahid who claims to speak for the Taliban in contact with media claimed the responsibility for the attack, insisting heavy casualties inflicted to the court employees. GHAZNI, June 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Afghan policemen carry an injured man from the site of a suicide attack in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, June 1, 2016. The number of those killed in the massive suicide attack in the eastern Ghazni city on Wednesday has risen to nine, with 13 others injured, provincial governor Mohammad Aman Amin said. (Xinhua/Sayed Mominzadah) GHAZNI, Afghanistan, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The number of those killed in the massive suicide attack in the eastern Ghazni city on Wednesday has risen to nine, with 13 others injured, provincial governor Mohammad Aman Amin said. "Nine people including four civilians, four attackers and one police were killed and 13 others including head of appellate court sustained injuries in the suicide bombing and firefight," Amid told reporters in a press conference here. A four-member suicide bomber group stormed the appellate court at 10:30 a.m. local time, triggering gun battle which lasted for 10 minutes. Earlier, provincial police chief Aminullah Omarkhil in talks with Xinhua confirmed five dead including four attackers, a police and a judge injured. Meantime, Zabihullah Majahid who speaks for the Taliban in contact with media claimed the responsibility, insisting heavy casualties inflicted to the court employees. Judge laments violence to resolve disputes The charge is that Trevor Creft attempted to murder his wife Tricia Anthony by slashing her throat and stabbing her, six years ago. The attempted murder charge against Creft, in which he is alleged to have attacked Anthony with a knife in the presence of their then two-yearold son at her mothers house in Fyzabad, occurred on the morning of June 19, 2010. The couple was estranged and Creft had asked Anthony for $100 to go to work and she invited him over for the money at her mothers house where she was staying. Would you say our society is becoming more violent and we resort to violence to revolve disputes, the judge questioned the accused mans defence attorney, Hubert Charles. Responding in the affirmative, Charles said his client was remorseful. In his mitigation, the attorney said that Anthony had forgiven her attacker and hoped that this act of forgiveness, be transcended to the State, to also forgive the accused man. Charles said his client was drinking at the time the act was committed amd that nagging, led to the crime being committed. Previously, during the trial, Anthony told the presiding judge and jury that she forgave her common-law husband Creft, 35, but moreso, she deliberately and persistently departed from the facts adduced in her testimony at the Preliminary Inquiry. Holding for the State was attorney Hema Soondarsingh. The case was adjourned to June 8, for sentencing. Culinary team gears for Taste of Caribbean Taste of the Caribbean is an annual culinary competition where the competitors cook, mix and present food and drink to be judged on taste as well as execution of skills and presentation. In extending the greatest support to the team, Minister of Tourism Shamfa Cudjoe, noted that Trinidad and Tobago is the epicentre of authentic Caribbean cuisine; a melting pot of extraordinary cultures and exotic, vibrant island flavours. And our food is the best representation of our rainbow nation. Our fusion of blends and flavours has created an eclectic cuisine that is nothing short of exciting, mouth-watering and simply irresistible. Our delightful culinary offerings can satisfy the palette of even the most discerning traveller. The International Culinary Tourism Association states that, on average, food travellers spend around US$1,200 per trip; with over one-third of their travel budget going towards food-related activities. In this regard, our local culinary practitioners have a critical role to play, said a media release from the ministry. Moreover, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) predicts that in the year 2020, the number of international tourists will reach approximately 1.6 billion. The Caribbean region has also witnessed a 2015 record of 28.7 million in international arrivals and an estimated visitor spend of US$30 billion. Against this background, Cudjoe urged tourism stakeholders to have a different approach, a different mindset, a different commitment, and a different kind of investment as must government. We both have our work to do. Our business is to get the visitors here, your business is to show them a good time, make them spend, and wow them to the point of returning again and again the release said. The members of the 2016 National Culinary Team are: Brandon Maharaj - chef ; Jeremy Lovell - chef; Clinton Ramdhan - bartender; Kimberly Jaggasar - pastry chef; Annelca Mendoza - junior chef ; Adam de Freitas - alternate chef and Kishion Guillaume - alternate bartender. The team captain is the executive sous chef of the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Adrian Cumberbatch. The 2016 team has a long-held reputation to maintain as this country has long been considered the culinary powerhouse within the Caribbean; being the only team to win Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year an impressive five times - 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011. The release noted that this is indeed a testament to the diligence, creativity, consistency, commitment and grit of our flag-bearers. 8 NOT GUILTY The other two will return to court for a fresh trial. Of the eight acquitted, only Devon Blackboy Peters walked out of the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain, into the arms of jubilant relatives. The jurys mixed verdict brought to an end a three-year long trial which began in June 2013, when jurors were empanelled. Originally, 12 men were accused of Naipaul-Coolmans murder and were put in the jurys charge in October 2013. The prosecution began leading evidence in the case in March 2014, with lead prosecutor Israel Khan SC, opening the States case on March 24 of that year, in which he gave gruesome details of the businesswomans killing. Following the death of accused Allan Scanny Martin who was shot dead by police last July after he and two others staged a daring prison break from the Port-of-Spain State Prison, 11 stood accused of Naipaul- Coolmans murder. This number was reduced by one when in January of this year, Justice Malcolm Holdip upheld a no-case submission of accused Joel Fraser, who was immediately acquitted and freed. Acquitted yesterday were Shervon Peters; Keida Garcia, Marlon Trimmingham; Ronald Armstrong; Antonio Charles; Devon Peters; Anthony Dwayne Gloster also called Anthony Peters and Jamile Garcia. Earl Trimmingham and Lyndon James were the two who will face a fresh trial. At the start of the case yesterday, Justice Holdip ended his directions to the jury, going over the joint enterprise and felony murder principles on which the men were charged. At about 12.30 pm, the jurors retired for their verdict, returning only once, seeking the statement of the prosecutions main witness, Keon Gloster. Their request was denied by the judge, who previously told them they will not be allowed to retire with the statement, as he did not want it to take precedent over the other evidence, during their (the jurors) deliberations. In accordance with Section 28(3) of the Jury Act, after the expiration of four hours from the time they retired, the jurors were returned to court. At this point they indicated they had arrived at a verdict for eight of the men but were unsure of two. Moments later, they returned to the courtroom and announced that they found eight of the ten men not guilty but could not arrive at unanimous verdicts for Trimmingham and James. There were shouts of joy from relatives of most of the eight men while tears were shed by James and Trimminghams families. The eight acquitted men immediately lent support to the other two when it was announced that they will face a retrial. Outside the court, it was one of confusion when it was learnt that only one of the eight who were acquitted would be released immediately. Attorneys said there was a procedural issue relating to a charge of abduction which were on the other mens record and this will be sorted out at the prison. The seven are expected to be released from the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca, before the end of this week. A NEW FUTURE Devon Peters, who was ecstatically embraced by family outside the Hall of Justice, told reporters that justice had been served, by the grace of Allah. Draped in a red, chequered head scarf, Peters told reporters he will never get back the last nine years of his life; time spent awaiting trial. That time done gone. I looking for a new future, he said. Justice has been served and I looking to get my life back on track, he added. Anthony Peters, father of three of the accused men, said he was pleased with the jurys verdict and was happy his sons would be back home with them. We always had faith, he said, while Margaret Charles, mother of Antonio Charles, said God was awesome and they too had faith that the men would be found not-guilty. JURY TRIALS INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE Immediately after the verdict, several of the defence attorneys as well as lead prosecutor Israel Khan SC, advocated the retention of jury trials. Trial by jury is more than an instrument of justice. Trial by jury should never be abolished, Khan said. Commenting on the jurys verdict, Khan noted that it was one that the prosecution accepts. The prosecution never wins or loses, he said, adding that the jurys verdict was in keeping with the evidence and their (the jury) interpretation of it. As for the two men who will face a new trial, Khan said, They will get their justice when their day comes. Also reacting to the jurys verdict was defence attorney Ian Brooks, who said the jury deliberated long and hard and came to a just and right conclusion. It comes at a time when we are forced to look at the issue of juries and continuity of juries. They (the Naipaul-Coolman jury) stood hard and firm for three years and deliberated soberly to come to a decision only they can rightly come to. It shows the strength of their character, Brooks said. His colleague, attorney Joseph Pantor, whose client was also freed, praised members of the jury panel. This was a trial with no interference with the jury. It was exceptional for a trial and we must compliment ourselves for doing a case of this magnitude where a jury can walk freely and come to a conclusion as they have done, he said. Attorneys Wayne Sturge and Mario Merritt, who led the case for most of the defence, said it was an immense team effort and the jurys verdict proved that the jury system was alive and well. Those who wish to have it removed, must think again, Merritt said. At the close of the trial, Justice Holdip admitted that it was a very long trial with many challenges. He thanked the court staff, attorneys and in particular the jury. I want to specially thank the jurors. The amount of jury service you all have done over the three years. I will have you all registered so that everyone of you will be listed so you dont have to do jury service again. This service took years, It must have been the longest jury service. This has been one of the longest trials. This has truly established a record for a jury, the judge noted. I can refuse to sign The President yesterday broke his silence on the delay since the Parliament passed the law last month, revealing he has taken it upon himself to conduct a review. In a statement issued by Presidents House, Carmona confirmed last weeks Newsday story which reported the law had been sent to him for signature since May 16. He said every bill that has to be assented had to trigger, a process of constitutional and legal reflection. In every Bill to be assented, there is always a need or cause for pause, said Presidents House in a media release issued by a spokesman. The assenting to Bills can neither be pre-emptive or instanter, often dependent upon His Excellencys consultation and receipt of legal advice. The statement further said, Accordingly, assenting to Bills of this Republic, will continue to be for His Excellency the President, a process of constitutional and legal reflection, analysis and determination vis-a-vis his duties and responsibilities pursuant to section 61(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Section 61(2) states, When a Bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall signify that he assents or withholds his assent. In relation to the SSA law, Presidents House disclosed several factors were weighed by Carmona before the assent was granted. The Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Act No. 4 of 2016 engaged His Excellencys remit with the highest regard to the national security interests and democratic well-being of our Republic, Presidents House said. The President has paid careful heed, and acknowledges the impressive jurisprudential arguments, in and out of the Parliament, by the public at large, both for and against the various legislative amendments, inclusive of those concerning privacy and fundamental rights and freedoms. However, Carmona said it was expected the law would be implemented properly. His Excellency assures that our Republics safety, the security of its citizens and our fundamental rights and freedoms are of paramount importance to him always, said Presidents House. It is therefore expected that the operation of the Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Act No. 4 of 2016, will be engaged meaningfully and justly, with regard and respect for the rule of law, due process and the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. In an interview with Newsday last week, former Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide warned that it is not open to a president to withhold assent on any law passed by Parliament. He said Section 61(2) must be read in light of Section 80 of the Constitution which says in the exercise of his powers the President acts in accordance with the advice of Cabinet. The former Chief Justice said the drafters of Section 61(2) may have envisioned a situation where the Cabinet advises His Excellency to withhold assent for whatever reason. De la Bastide said a President withholding assent would have implications for democracy. I dont think he has that sort of role of being the ultimate protector of the people, de la Bastide said. I dont think he has been thus anointed. There is no case for it as long as we call ourselves democratic. Hinds: Speed limit still being reviewed This as Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds yesterday announced that while he has received the report on the proposed increase to 100 kph, the ministrys experts (engineers and traffic management personnel) are still reviewing the, new system brought about by enforcement of speed limits through the use of speed guns. The report recommends that certain safety measures should reasonably be seen to be put in place before we consider any adjustments. (The) experts are looking at the roads and...at the places where we could really seriously consider improving speed, Hinds said. He was responding to questions from the media yesterday afternoon at the Licensing Office on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain following an approximately hourlong meeting with staff there about working conditions and efficiency of service, among other issues. Hinds took the opportunity to commend drivers for obeying the speed limit and thus doing their part to ensure a fatality-free long holiday weekend on the nations roads. I want to salute Trinidad and Tobago (TT) because...we had, perhaps for the first time in a long time in the nations history, an accident-free or at least a fatal accident- free long holiday weekend. On a related matter, the minister revealed that prior to the use of speed guns from April 29, cameras at certain intersections had recorded as many as 1,500 red light violations per week. Since we improved the detection for speeding, these cameras are working less; seed violations have (been) substantially reduced. There are plans to erect more barriers along the highways to reduce crossovers by vehicles into oncoming traffic. Expert advice and budget constraints will determine where to install cable barriers and where New Jersey barriers would be better suited. The Motor Vehicle Authority (MVA) was another item on the agenda. Hinds noted the MVA Bill had lapsed during the last session of Parliament but since his party came into office, it has been tweaked and passed through the Legislative Review Committee. I am to have a meeting with the representatives of the workers of this division before I go any further, Hinds said before adding that the MVA Bill is on its way to Cabinet. Until such time, the ministry is doing what it can to implement aspects of the MVA, such as introducing a points system whereby we will penalise drivers who would lose points, and eventually lose the capacity to drive, if they continue to (commit) offences. One such offence would be failing to have your vehicle inspected bi-annually once it is more than five years old. ASJA head: No need for exchange of words Maharaj made controversial comments at an Indian Arrival Day ceremony in Monday in which he called on Archbishop Harris to, mind your damn business when it came to the issue of child marriages as allowed in the Hindu faith. The Hindu Marriage Act allows for males to be married at 18 years and females at 14 years. While delivering the feature address at an Indian Arrival Day celebration on Monday at Parvati Girls Hindu College in Debe, Maharaj also advised Harris to, look at the mote in your own eye before you point out the mote in the eye of the Hindu. If I have to leave one message, the message is Allyuh go to hell. This is a business of the Hindu community and the State. If we require a change in the law, we will invite the government to speak to us and change the law, Maharaj said, referring to the ongoing debate on child marriage and the law. Contacted yesterday, Anjuman Sunnat ul Jamaat Association (ASJA) president Yacoob Ali said there was no need for, an exchange of words, between Maharaj and the Archbishop, as different religions possess different beliefs regarding marriage and other institutions. It doesnt call for those sort of statements to be made publicly, Ali said, adding, you have to rationally understand how the other denominations feel and you dont get into any exchange of words in these matters, it is not the right thing to do. If you have your belief and you want your practice or your faith practised that way, thats your faith, freedom of religion, you could practise it as you want, Ali said. Every religion would have their principles by which they are guided with marriages, while generally speaking nobody should propagate child marriages, it depends on the age of maturity of the young lady, Ali said He fulfilled his purpose I believe that every person was born with a purpose, and it is only when that purpose is fulfilled that we are called before God, said Allison John, his sister-in-law during his eulogy yesterday. I encourage you not to question Gods work, as He is always on time. We are called to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and not our own understanding. We must understand that he was only meant to be a brief part of our lives. I believe that his purpose on this earth has been fulfilled. Every day Jason lived, he wrote his resume which would get him into heaven, and I believe that he is looking down and smiling. Relatives and loved ones gathered at the Wesleyan Holiness Church at Red Hill, DAbadie yesterday to pay their final respects to the slain policeman. John, who enlisted in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service in 2015, was killed on Tuesday last, while on his way home. Newsday understands he was talking on the phone to his wife, while walking toward his Five Rivers, Arouca home, when he was shot dead. At the funeral service, relatives described John as a responsible and hard-working man and a devout Christian who loved his three children and enjoyed life to the fullest. Supt Surrendra Sagramsingh of the Court and Process Branch told Newsday that all the police officers who had had the opportunity to work with John described him as a team player who was always willing to go the extra mile. Sagramsingh said the Police Service will continue to offer support to Johns family. Speaking after the service, Minister of National Security, Edmond Dillon said it is always a tragedy when a member of the security services is killed. It is a very sad day in the life of all citizens in Trinidad and Tobago when young people like Mr John and last week Cpl Leaccok from Defence Force, who made a choice to join these services, as the choice they made was to serve Trinidad and Tobago, Dillon said, So its very sad when officers lose their lives in the manners in which they have. Mayor remembers Arima Kid, a humble icon of TT culture This was how Arima Mayor George Hadeed remembered Holly Betaudier who died on the weekend at the age of 91. The mayor said it was now fitting that the burgesses of Arima honour Betaudier who was affectionately known as the Arima Kid, having born and grew up in the eastern borough. The Arima Kid, Holly B, as he was affectionately called was a true giant on the Trinidad and Tobago cultural and media landscape. A very humble man from Arima, who pioneered our local culture featuring artistes from every walk of life, from every part of Trinidad and Tobago. Many of our successful senior artistes can trace their beginning to one of Holly Bs various talent shows. He ensured everyone had a stage and space to perform; first on the radio and then Trinidad and Tobago television (TTT), stated a release from the Mayors Office. Starting in the early days at the American Military base in Wallerfield, where he got his first stint as a radio broadcaster, then to Radio Fusion, Radio Trinidad and on to TTT. He hosted a multitude of local talent shows. On his signature local talent show Scouting for Talent you would be able to see, someone singing Calypso, Parang, traditional Indian songs, drummers, limbo dancing, you name it, there it was on Scouting for talent. He carried the flag of Arima and T&T far and wide here at home but internationally wherever he visited to host live shows with our local acts, the release added. Mayor Hadeed said that on a personal note, he and Betaudiers son Holly Betaudier Jr attended Holy Cross College in Arima. Meeting Holly B Snr,the mayor said, when I visited their home was always a great pleasure. He would set us down and share his wealth of knowledge on the history of Arima, Trinidad and Tobago and all things cultural. Once it was cultural there were no barriers to his involvement and he was able to speak volumes on these topics. Hadeed recalled Betaudiers passion for parang which helped to preserve this aspect of the countrys culture, referring to his television programme Holly B Parang Bandwagon, where Betaudier and a television crew would visit different areas of the country to highlight the Parang culture and Parang bands. Hadeed also credited Betaudiers Scouting for Talent show with giving Parang the national attention it deserved. For his part, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday hailed Betaudier, as a cultural icon and a walking encyclopedia of our music and dance. In extending condolences to Betaudiers family and friends, the Prime Minister said Holly B was, a walking encyclopedia of our exploits in music and dance. More importantly as this reservoir of experiences, he was always so eager to share his library with the nation and encourage young talent. The Prime Minister added that, He (Holly B) and his daily interventions will be sorely missed by all who knew him and his lifes work. Safety measures in place at schools The voice note was first circulated on the messaging service WhatsApp on Saturday last. In it, a man warned there will be no examinations today and there will be no school for secondary school students as ISIS had planned to blow up schools. In a release, the minister said, I want to assure that everything is in place for the exams. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. I have spoken to the Minister of National Security and he has assured me that everything is in place to make sure that our children are able to write the exams without any disruption or fear in their minds. The matter has since been reported to the relevant authorities. The release stated that on Monday, the Ministry of Educations security manager met with Assistant Commissioner of Police Wayne Boyd and Assistant Superintendent of Police Joseph Edwards at the Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain. Also in attendance was MTS Security Manager St Clair ONeal. Arising out of the meeting, plans have been put in place to ensure there is no disruption during this weeks CSE C and CAPE examinations. Principals have been instructed to be on the lookout for any incident/s that may cause disruption, and Garcia explained that one of the major responsibilities of school principals, according to the Education Act, is to ensure the safety of all those who operate within the school system. All security measures are in place so that in the event there is any truth to these rumours, we will be prepared. You have absolutely nothing to fear or to believe that would cause any undue stress to the exams, he said. Locals calls for US to end Cuban embargo At a press conference yesterday at the Communication Workers Union (CWU) headquarters in Port-of- Spain, Neyra said they are making the demand because Guantanamo Bay is part of Cuban territory. Neyra said during the US elections, a promise was made by Obama to start the conversation on lifting the embargo. He said Cuba is in the process of normalisation of relationship with the United States of America. Obama was the first American president to visit Cuba in nearly a century and the first since a revolution led by Fidel Castro toppled the US-backed strongman in 1959. We have started the process of talks and hope we can work in this field, and it is a long process with many difficulties especially the question of Guantanamo Bay, Neyra said. The question of compensation for damage for more than half a century of the blockade, we are talking with the Americans but we would not abandon any of our principles and will not sell the country. Also addressing the media, president of the local group Clyde Callender said it was necessary to make the call and stand in solidarity with Cuba because they have done a lot for the world, including Trinidad and Tobago. Dillon: Due process in case of jailed Trinis On Monday, Dillon met with members of the Venezuelan government to discuss security measures that could be of mutual benefit both countries. During this meeting the issue of the five detained men was raised, but Dillon said they would have to abide by Venezuelan law. One has to recall that the persons detained are before the courts of Venezuela, said Dillon. Therefore it is left upon the government and judiciary to determine protocols and methodology in terms of those persons. We have asked that the matter be treated expeditiously because those five persons have been before the courts for about two years. We cannot interfere with the judicial process in Venezuela, Dillon said. Wade Charles, Dominic Pitilal, Asim Luqman, Andre Battersby and Leslie Daisley were arrested on March 19, 2014 in Caracas, after police raided the hotel they were staying in. The five men were held under suspicion of terrorism. Despite not being able to further negotiate the release of the five men, Dillon still said that the meeting was a successful one. Dillon related that there were discussions on several issues, but they focused on information and intelligence sharing and sharing of resources. We dealt with information sharing, in terms of partnering with our security resources to deal with situations which concern both our countries, in the respect of moving illegal drugs, guns ammunition and the trafficking of persons, said Dillon, We have also agreed to operationalise joint exercises between Venezuelan and our police service which we call VENTRIN. It is something that we have done in the past, but we will re-establish those exercises which will begin in August, with a high powered meeting with the commandant of the Venezuelan Navy coming to Trinidad, he said. Security JSC meets on prison break Among issues to be discussed are the status of the investigations of the PCA and TTPS into the events surrounding the Total Policing Initiative on March 23, 2015; the status of a police investigation into the events surrounding the Port-of-Spain prison break of July 24, 2015 and an inquiry into the operations of the Forensic Science Centre and the issue of DNA sampling in TT. This JSC is chaired by Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds. Other committee members are Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre and St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar. This hearing takes place in the J Hamilton Maurice Room. This is one of three JSCs which will hold live hearings at Tower D today. From 10 am, members of the Public Accounts Enterprises Committee (PAEC) will meet with officials from the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco). The PAEC is chaired by Opposition Senator Wade Mark. The Energy Affairs JSC will meet from 11 am in the ANR Robinson East Room of Tower D today, to continue its examination of the countrys energy industry. This committee is chaired by Finance Minister Colm Imbert. What you need to know about the Octagon Art Festival on Sunday in Ames news Challenge for the modern world is to accept diversity as an existential reality and to configure attitudes and methodologies for dealing with it: Vice President Morocco, Wed, 01 Jun 2016 NI Wire Addresses Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the challenge for the modern world is to accept diversity as an existential reality and to configure attitudes and methodologies for dealing with it. He was delivering a lecture at the Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, today on the topic Accommodating Diversity in a Globalising World: The Indian Experience. The Moroccan University later conferred an honoris causa degree on the Vice President. The Vice President said that Indian Muslims have lived in Indias religiously plural society for over a thousand years and that has impacted on modern India and its existential reality of a plural society on the basis of which a democratic polity and a secular state structure was put in place. He further said that the framers of our Constitution had the objective of securing civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights as essential ingredients of citizenship with particular emphasis on rights of religious minorities. The Vice President said that the Muslim experience in modern India is that its citizens professing Islamic faith are citizens, consider themselves as such, are beneficiaries of the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution, participate fully in the civic processes of the polity and seek correctives for their grievances within the system. There is no inclination in their ranks to resort to ideologies and practices of violence, he added. He further said that in countries having complex societal makeup, accommodation of diversity in political structures and socio-economic policies is not an option but an imperative necessity ignoring which can have unpleasant consequences. The Vice President said that the Indian model was of relevance to our globalizing world because in India, an attempt was being made to look beyond the traditional virtue of tolerance and seek acceptance of diversity and adopt it as a civic virtue. Following is the text of Vice President's address: "Accommodating Diversity in a Globalising World: The Indian Experience A traveller from a distant land in mashriq-al-aqsa comes to Maghrib-al Aqsa and marvels at his good fortune. His sense of history quickly reminds him that centuries earlier a great name from this land had travelled to India and recorded in some detail his impressions about the governance, manner and customs of Indians. He attained high office and also had his share of minor misfortunes. I refer, of course, to Sheikh Abdullah Mohammad ibn Abdullah ibn Mohammad ibn Ibralim al Lawati, better known as Ibn Batuta of Tanja. I thank the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, and His Excellency the President of the University, for inviting me to address the Mohammad V University today. Even in distant India, the contribution of Moroccan intellectuals to modern thought and challenges is known and acknowledged. Names like Abdullah Al-Arui and Abid al-Jabri readily come to mind; so do the contributions of feminist writers like Fatima Mernisi and Fatima Sadiqi. The challenge in each case was that of modernity and the contemporary responses to it. Each addressed a specific aspect of the problem; the general question was posed aptly by al-Jabri: How can contemporary Arab thought retrieve and absorb the most rational and critical dimensions of its tradition and employ them in the same rationalist directions as before the direction of fighting feudalism, Gnosticism, and dependency? This is a rich field, amply and productively explored by contemporary thinkers in Arab lands. This included the debates on Arabism, nationalism, democracy and Islam. Much has also been written about the trauma, self or externally inflicted, experienced individually and collectively by Arab societies in the past seven decades. The misfortunes visited on Arab lands since the 19th century was in good measure a result of their proximity to Europe in the age of imperialism. I would like to pause here and take up a related matter to draw the attention of the audience to some terminological questions. In current discussions in many places, the terms Arab and Islam are used together or interchangeably. But are the two synonymous? Is Arab thought synonymous with Islamic thought? Is all Arab thought Islamic or visa versa? Above all, can all Islamic thinking be attributed to Arabs? I raise these questions because for a variety of reasons and motivations the contemporary world, particularly the West, tends to create this impression of a powerful, irrational force that, from Morocco to Indonesia, moves whole societies into cultural assertiveness, political intransigence and economic influence. The underlying basis for this, as Aziz Al-Azmeh put it, are presumptions of Muslim cultural homogeneity and continuity that do not correspond to social reality. Allow me to amplify. Islam is a global faith, and its adherents are in all parts of the world. The history of Islam as a faith, and of Muslims as its adherents, is rich and diversified. In different ages and in different regions the Muslim contribution to civilisation has been note worthy. In cultural terms, the history of Islam is the history of a dialogue between the realm of religious symbols and the world of everyday reality, a history of the interaction between Islamic values and the historical experiences of Muslim people that has shaped the formation of a number of different but interrelated Muslim societies. This audience is in no need of being reminded of the truism that reasoning should proceed from facts to conclusions and should eschew a priori pronouncements. What then are facts? The Wikipedia indicates the worlds Muslim population in 2015 as 1.7 billion. The Pew Research Center of the United States has published country-wise and region-wise religious composition and projections for 198 countries for the period 2010 to 2050. It indicates that in 2010 Muslims numbered 1.59 billion out of which 986 million were in Asia-Pacific. It projects that four years from now, in 2020, the corresponding figures would be 1.9 billion out of which 1.13 billion (around 60 percent) would be in Asia-Pacific. The comparative figures for West AsiaNorth Africa would be 317 and 381 million (19.9% and 20.52%) and for Sub-Saharan Africa 248 and 329 million (15.59% and 17.31%) respectively. Within the Asia-Pacific region Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey together would account for 830 million in 2010 and 954 million in 2020. These numbers underline the fact that an overwhelming number of Muslims of the world are non-Arabs and live in societies that are not Arab. Equally relevant is the historical fact they contributed to and benefited from the civilisation of Islam in full measure. This trend continues to this day. The one conclusion I draw from this is that in ascertaining Islamic and Muslim perceptions on contemporary happenings, the experiences and trends of thinking of the non-Arab segments of large Muslim populations in the world assume an importance that cannot be ignored. These segments include countries with Muslim majorities (principally Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey) as also those where followers of the Islamic faith do not constitute a majority of the population (India, China, and Philippines). Amongst both categories, India is sui generis. India counts amongst its citizens the second largest Muslim population in the world. It numbers 180 million and accounts for 14.2 percent of the countrys total population of 1.3 billion. Furthermore, religious minorities as a whole (Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis or Zoroastrians) constitute 19.4 percent of the population of India. Indias interaction with Islam and Muslims began early and bears the imprint of history. Indian Muslims have lived in Indias religiously plural society for over a thousand years, at times as rulers, at others as subjects and now as citizens. They are not homogenous in racial or linguistic terms and bear the impact of local cultural surroundings, in manners and customs, in varying degrees. Through extensive trading ties before the advent of Islam, India was a known land to the people of the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf, and western Asia and was sought after for its prosperity and trading skills and respected for its attainments in different branches of knowledge. Thus Baghdad became the seeker, and dispenser, of Indian numerals and sciences. The Panchatantra was translated and became Kalila wa Dimna. Long before the advent of Muslim conquerors, the works of Al-Jahiz, Ibn Khurdadbeh, Al-Kindi, Yaqubi and Al-Masudi testify to it in ample measure. Alberuni, who studied India and Indians more thoroughly than most, produced a virtual encyclopedia on religion, rituals, manners and customs, philosophy, mathematics and astronomy. He commenced his great work by highlighting differences, but was careful enough to relate, not criticize. Over centuries of intermingling and interaction, an Indo-Islamic culture developed in India. Many years back, an eminent Indian historian summed it up in a classic passage: It is hardly possible to exaggerate the extent of Muslim influence over Indian life in all departments. But nowhere else is it shown so vividly and so picturesquely, as in customs, in intimate details of domestic life, in music, in the fashion of dress, in the ways of cooking, in the ceremonial of marriage, in the celebration of festivals and fairs, and in the courtly institutions and etiquette. Belief, consciousness and practice became a particularly rich area of interaction. Within the Muslim segment of the populace, there was a running tussle between advocates of orthodoxy and those who felt that living in a non-homogenous social milieu, the pious could communicate values through personal practice. In this manner the values of faith, though not its theological content, reached a wider circle of the public. This accounted for the reach and popularity of different Sufi personalities in different periods of history and justifies an eminent scholars observation that Sufism took Islam to the masses and in doing so it took over the enormous and delicate responsibility of dealing at a personal level with a baffling variety of problems. It also produced a convergence or parallelism; the Sufi trends sought commonalities in spiritual thinking and some Islamic precepts and many Muslim practices seeped into the interstices of the Indian society and gave expression to a broader and deeper unity of minds expressive of the Indian spiritual tradition. The cultural interaction was mutually beneficial and an Islamic scholar of our times has acknowledged an incontrovertible fact that Muslims have benefited immensely from the ancient cultural heritage of India. I mention this because I am aware, but dimly, about the role of Sufi movements and zawiyas in the history of Morocco. There is, in my view, room for comparative studies of Sufi practices in Morocco and India. It is this backdrop that has impacted on modern India and its existential reality of a plural society on the basis of which a democratic polity and a secular state structure was put in place. The framers of our Constitution had the objective of securing civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights as essential ingredients of citizenship. Particular emphasis was placed on rights of religious minorities. Thus in the section on Fundamental Rights all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion. In addition, every religious denomination shall have the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes, to manage its own affairs in matters of religion, and to acquire and administer movable and immovable property. Furthermore, all religious or linguistic minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. A separate section on Fundamental Duties of citizens enjoins every citizen to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and also to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture. Given the segmented nature of society and unequal economy, the quest for substantive equality, and justice, remains work in progress and concerns have been expressed from time to time about its shortfalls and pace of implementation. The corrective lies in our functioning democracy, its accountability mechanisms including regularity of elections at all levels from village and district councils to regional and national levels, the Rule of Law, and heightened levels of public awareness of public issues. The one incontrovertible fact about the Muslim experience in modern India is that its citizens professing Islamic faith are citizens, consider themselves as such, are beneficiaries of the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution, participate fully in the civic processes of the polity and seek correctives for their grievances within the system. There is no inclination in their ranks to resort to ideologies and practices of violence. The same diversity of historical experience, and the perceptions emanating from it, is to be found in Indonesia that has the worlds largest population of Muslims and where two Islamist parties Nahdatul Ulema and Muhammadiyah function legally, have large memberships, and participate in political activities including local and national elections. On a visit to Jakarta a few months back, I had occasion to solicit their views on contemporary debates on Political Islam. They said Islam in Indonesia has united with the culture of the people and their Islamic traditions have adapted themselves to local conditions. They felt Indonesian Muslims are moderate in their outlook, that Islam does not advocate extremism, and that radicalization of Islam is harmful and does not benefit the community. Both instances cited above indicate that in countries having complex societal makeup, accommodation of diversity in political structures and socio-economic policies is not an option but an imperative necessity ignoring which can have unpleasant consequences. I come back to the principal theme of this talk. Why is the Indian model of relevance to our globalizing world? Globalization has many facets economic, political and cultural. All necessitate the emergence of a set of norms, values and practices that are universally accepted. A sociologist has defined it as the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole. An obvious implication of this would be assimilation and homogenization. In a world of intrinsically diverse societies at different levels of development, this could only result in denial of their diversity and imposition of uniformity. Such an approach can only result in conflict. The challenge for the modern world is to accept diversity as an existential reality and to configure attitudes and methodologies for dealing with it. In developing such an approach, the traditional virtue of tolerance is desirable but insufficient; our effort, thinking and practices have to look beyond it and seek acceptance of diversity and adopt it as a civic virtue. We in India are attempting it, cannot yet say that we have succeeded, but are committed to continue the effort. We invite all right-minded people to join us in this endeavour. Thank you." Source: PIB Randeep Hooda choreographs action sequences for his upcoming film 'Do Lafzon Ki Kahani' Bollywood, Wed, 01 Jun 2016 NI Wire Randeep Hooda is undoubtedly one of the most talented actors of B-town and the actor never ceases to surprise his fans with his superlative performance. And in the upcoming romantic saga 'Do Lafzo Ki Kahani' where he will be seen opposite Kajal Aggarwal, the actor is all set to give his fans a brilliant performace. Not just that, Randeep who plays a MMA fighter (Mixed Martial Arts) in the film has choreographed some of the stunts all by himself. His trainer and India's best MMA fighter Irfan Khan supervised the MMA sequences to give it an authentic touch. As a part of his training, the actor along with his trainer practiced real fights so that he could play his part to the Tee. Not just that, each of the training sessions would go on for over four hours daily and even though the actor injured himself during one of the real fights, it did not deter him for continuing his practice. What's more, real fighters were called for the practice and infact special permissions were taken to shoot at the Muay thai clubs. Muay thai which is a combat sport of Thailand helped Randeep to get into the skin of his character. The special oils used during this sport was also a surprise element for Randeep as these oils somehow help the boxers to fight better. While Irfan helped him with MMA, Trainer Mansoor Sayed helped him in body building and as a first producer of the film Avinaash Rai trained with him to keep him motivated. Jayantilal Gada (pen) presents, Directed by Deepak Tijori, Produced by Dhiraj Shetty, Avinaash V. Rai & Dhaval Jayantilal Gada, Co Produced by Siddhanta Ashdhir, Vikas Katyal, Aksshay Jayantilal Gada, Kushal Kantilal Gada & Reshmaa Kadakia, Do Lafzon Ki Kahani' starring Randeep Hooda and Kajal Aggarwal in lead roles is all set to release on 10th June,2016. View More : 'Do Lafzon Ki Kahani' Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. Share Despite what sometimes tends to be a bad reputation standards are important. This is true even in a hotly competitive world where vendors tend to use standards more as guidelines than rules that can enable everyone to get ahead. It is thus a reason to pay attention when one of the most prestigious standards bodies, ETSI (News - Alert), makes news in terms of where it plans to enable standardization on what will be the future if everyone can find a way to get along. The reason is ETSI produces globally-applicable standards and is officially recognized by the European Union as a European Standards Organization. It is an independent, not-for-profit association with over 800 member companies and organizations from 66 countries. When ETSI talks the industry listens. The case in point is the recent unveiling of a new industry Specification Group, the Mobile and Broadcast Convergence (News - Alert) (MBC) ISG. It commands attention because after years of the industry talking about the promise of convergence, now that it has become a reality that is looming large in the window, this is work to not just keep an eye on but hopefully become a participant in. In making the announcement, ETSI noted that the MBC ISG, will explore the deployment and business models of converged networks from the perspectives of all interested parties, including broadcasters, satellite, mobile and terrestrial broadcast network operators, content owners and providers, network infrastructure vendors and manufacturers of consumer equipment and consumers. The group will study the means to support delivery of media including linear and non-linear elements over converged networks, taking into account the potential benefits and challenges from a commercial and technical perspective. Think of this a making what many would have considered not that long ago mission impossible as mission probable hopefully on the way to mission accomplished. Lets face the way in which video content in particular is being delivered and consumed has been in the midst of a major transformation. This includes not just the likes of Hulu, YouTube (News - Alert) and Netflix in terms of content providers but also the fact that the smartphone via Wi-Fi in particular, has become a viewing platform of choice and IPTV (News - Alert) is gaining traction. In the process, whether via Wi-Fi and/or the cellular networks, the traffic load on mobile networks is growing exponentially and new ways to carry the load are needed. This includes leveraging such things as one-to-many broadcasting. Increasingly consumers are using Smartphones and tablets to access linear and non-linear content interchangeably and the old model of a screen in the living room to watch TV broadcasting is becoming more and more irrelevant. Broadcasters and mobile operators will have to adapt their business models to these changed bandwidth flows and there is uncertainty about the optimum technology choices. This ISG is to allow all interested parties to engage with the technical debate now, ahead of whatever standardization work will be needed subsequently. says David Hendon, convener of the MBC ISG. Getting ahead of the curve As noted, ETSI wants the new ISG is trying to get a discussion going ahead of the formal standards processes. Hence, it will not make recommendations about spectrum allocation, spectrum authorization models which impact the regulatory framework and/or business models that may be required going forward. What it will do is facilitates interaction between what should be considered vitally interested parties as video consumption behaviors are changing rapidly. In fact, several reports have already been published about the impact the Millennials becoming the dominant part of the workforce is going to have on the ways in which networks will be used. In short, it puts a premium in a converging world on getting this one right sooner rather than later. If you are interested, the MBS ISG will meet for the first time on 22-23 June 2016 in Guildford, UK, hosted by the Institute for Communication Systems at the University of Surrey. Participation is open to all ETSI members as well as organizations who are not members, subject to signing ISG Agreements. For information on how to participate please contact: [email protected] Edited by Maurice Nagle Dutch company, Guard from Above, intercept bad drones using of birds of prey. Not every location has the same threat of drones. A drone doesnt have be a threat at all. Is a drone carrying a HD-camera? This could be a threat but doesnt always have to pose a threat. The first step is always to do a Threat analysis. The next step is to select the best combination of contra drone solutions. Detection and classification and of course neutralisation (interception). After a drone incident it is important to investigate the background of the incident and to share the incident data. They are working on a Database with global drone incidents and future threats (also Red teaming). Guard from Above (GFA) trained birds and GFA-trained Birdhandlers are stationed at High Risk Locations. Their services are like security dog handler services. They also train staff of Police, Defense forces and Security companies to handle GFA-trained birds. Their training program is based on -over 25 years specialist experience in working with birds of prey combined with experience in international consulting. Falconry is a practice that is over 3000 years old Falconry was practiced Mongolia at a very remote period and was already in high favor some 1000 years BC, thats 3000 years ago. Falcons were given as presents to Chinese princes as early as 2200 BC, but these may have been for pets and not for hunting. Falconry appeared with the emergence of civilizations and was already popular in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf region several millennia BC. In the Al Rafidein region (Iraq) it was widely practiced 3500 years BC; in 2000 BC the Gilgamesh Epic clearly referred to hunting by birds of prey in Iraq. It achieved a very high level of refinement on the military campaigns of the Great Khans who practiced falconry for food and for sport between battles. One such military expedition reached almost to the gates of Vienna. By the time of Marco Polo there were over 60 officials managing over 5000 trappers and more than 10000 falconers and falconry workers. Today the IAF International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey, founded in 1968, represents 75 falconry clubs and conservation organisations from 50 countries worldwide totaling over 30,000 members. Currently there are an estimated 4,000 falconers in the United States with roughly 5,000 birds. Currently the available anti-drone options fall into two camps: shoot it or jam its sensors. In the former case, you might miss (and hit something else), and even if you hit youre left with a heavy drone falling to earth, potentially onto someones head. In the latter, you end up canceling out GPS or radio signals for everyone in the area, which isnt practical as a preventative measure. There are, as you might imagine, a few potential downsides. Theres harm to the eagles, should they catch a stray propeller during the grab, or should the drones they fly off with be in some way weaponized. Theres the logistical challenge of where and when to put them in service. SOURCES Guard from Above, Wired The New Zealand branch of British American Tobacco said Australia's law had been a failure, and that New Zealand should not move forward until decisions are made on legal challenges to plain packaging with the World Trade Organization. Plain packaging has been credited with helping to reduce smoking in Australia since being adopted in 2012, with an additional 0.55 percent decline in smoking among people age 14 and older seen since packages changed, according to the WHO. The latest evidence that plain packaging works comes from Australia. Today, Tuesday May 31st, 2016 is "World No Tobacco Day" but that's not all; it's also the 10th Anniversary of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which came into effect in 2006. As the WHO's study of plain packaging notes, it reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products, eliminates packaging as a form of advertising and promotion, addresses package design techniques that may suggest some products are less harmful than others, and increases the effectiveness of health warnings. "On this World No Tobacco Day, I call on Governments around the world to get ready for plain packaging", he added. EVEN though less South Africans are smoking than 20 years ago, up to 44 000 die every year of smoke-related diseases. Tobacco advertisements are not allowed to appear outdoors. The Heart and Stroke Foundation applauds the Canadian government's announcement on World No Tobacco Day to begin consultations on plain and standardized tobacco packaging. As the global community marks World No Tobacco Day, the United Nations is advocating for the use of plain packaging of tobacco products in an effort to save lives by reducing demand for such products, which kill almost 6 million people every year. "The removal or countering of smoking and tobacco images in the media is a major neglected area for tobacco control, and a tobacco and smoking R rating appears to be a practical and effective way of intervening for health". Pakistan needs to withstand the pressure tactics of the tobacco industry by moving in the direction of plain packaging of cigarettes. "Eighty per cent of cigarettes are consumed in developing countries including Pakistan", Dr. Farrukh said. The colorful packaging makes the product more desirable and eye-catching, encourages people to buy and consume, and at the same time distracts them from warnings. The directive sets a unsafe precedent that may ultimately result in plain packaging regulations for alcohol, candy, soda, fast foods, and anything else nanny-state lawmakers want to scare people away from consuming. The WHO says other countries including Ireland, Norway, Singapore, Belgium and New Zealand are also planning to implement this measure. The chaos ended with Garza being killed by a SWAT officer. The man originally thought to be a second gunman was hospitalized and was being interviewed by police. The identity of the gunman was learned after investigators found his backpack on Monday, close to the scene of the shooting and discovered Garza's personal papers inside. "He's telling us a version as to what his involvement is", Houston Police spokesman John Cannon said, per CNN. "We do not know what started this", Montalvo said, "but what we do know is they were shooting randomly, just at whoever". A motive for the shooting wasn't immediately clear. In total, eight people shot were in the chaos at Memorial and Wilcrest. Two deputy constables who were wounded have been treated and released. The suspect was also armed with an AR-15 that was used to shoot at officers. According to authorities, the civilian was in his 50s and was a customer at an auto detail shop where the suspect shot him with a pistol. "Couldn't believe it...just coming to get his vehicle washed and get his head blown off", William McDaniel, owner of Memorial Auto and Tire, said. Several family members of the nine people gunned down at a historic black church in Charleston say they support decisions by state and federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the man charged in the slayings. Michelle Lopez Garza, a woman who identified herself as Dionisio Garza's mother on Facebook, posted a photo of the mother and son hugging with no comment. Patrol cars were riddled with bullets and a police helicopter was hit by at least five shots. Police said one of the deceased was a suspect who was killed at the scene, while another suspect was wounded and taken to hospital in a critical condition. Authorities haven't released further details about the victims or the suspects. He struck a line to the gas station, which then caught on fire. In my mind, theyre heroes and averted what I believe could have been more casualties, Montalvo said. "I said those are gunshots", Stephen Dittoe, neighbor, said. "I know he caused a lot of pain to a lot of people that were involved and we are truly sorry for that". Sources also said he had recently expressed anti-government sentiments. "He said: 'It's better to go to Texas.' He was trying to get us all to go over there and you know go live in a compound". "But the police were here". The husband and wife who owned the shop were able to sprint away as the gunman allegedly told them that he would spare them because they were Christians. Mr Trump won the sole Republican contest in OR and socialist Mr Sanders was declared the Democratic victor shortly after the polls closed in the liberal-leaning state. "Both campaigns have been invited by Fox News to a debate". She went into Tuesday's primaries with a commanding lead of almost 300 pledged delegates over Mr Sanders, the democratic socialist senator from Vermont. The two candidates will likely split the 55 delegates up for grabs in Kentucky, which Sanders hailed as a victory when he took to the stage during a campaign speech in Carson, California moments after the results came in. The dent Sanders supporters hoped to make in Clinton's insurmountable delegate lead would have been minor - she leads Sanders by 283 pledged delegates, and that grows when superdelegates are factored in. Clinton this time won Kentucky by half a percentage point in a state she won by 35 percentage points over Barack Obama in their 2008 primary clash and where her family has deep political roots going back decades. The former secretary of state remains on track to clinch the nomination on June 7 in the New Jersey primary. Apparently, the convention chair made a ruling that outraged the Sanders' supporters, and they responded by prolonged invective, the booing of Sen. On Tuesday, the Nevada Democratic Party sent a formal complaint to the Democratic National Committee, saying Sanders backers and campaign officials "actively incited disruption and violence" at the convention. Pelosi said she's encouraged by the enthusiasm Sanders has generated among his millions of supporters. While it's generally accepted that Donald Trump will walk away with the Republican vote since all of his opponents have dropped out, the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the 61 delegates is going down to the wire. Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky Secretary of State, said, with 99pc of the votes counted, Mrs Clinton was 1,800 votes ahead and only around 700 votes remained to be counted. But in the Derby state, it was Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton who won by a nose. Bernie Sanders will have the support to sustain his campaign though California, whether the Clinton campaign likes it or not. Trump now has 1,160 delegates. He still needs to win about 66 percent of all remaining pledged delegates to hold a majority of them; when superdelegates are included that proportion climbs to around 84 percent. They have set up a nominating system aimed at keeping candidates like Sanders from gaining the nomination, the voters' wishes notwithstanding. CNN reported Tuesday that several top Democrats told the network publicly and privately that the aggressive enthusiasm of Sanders supporters has on multiple occasions "descended into incendiary attacks" on fellow Democrats who support Clinton. Well, this is what social movements do: They apply pressure on people who disagree with them. The attack took place on the Ambassador hotel, which is often frequented by government officials and business executives. "So far we have confirmed three people died and a dozen others injured", Major Ibrahim Hassan, a second police officer told Reuters. Maka Al Mukaram is a major street that links another major artery, K4, to the presidential palace, and it is lined with hotels, restaurants and banks in the heart of the capital. A auto bomb was set off by a suicide bomber at the gate of the Ambassador Hotel, after which other gunmen moved in. Describing Wednesday evening's suicide vehicle bombing at a popular hotel in the Somali capital, police Captain Mohamed Ali Hussein said the attack was continuing and that gunfire had been heard. US officials said they couldn't confirm yet if he was killed. Da'ud, who at one point led al-Shabab's security and intelligence wing known as the Amniyat, "has been responsible for the loss of many innocent lives through attacks he has planned and carried out", Mr. Cook said. The attack underlines challenges facing the Somali government and African Union forces that are struggling to secure the seaside capital, which has seen a series of attacks by al-Shabab. "We shall give details later", Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, told Reuters. Fighters on foot then tried to force their way into to the lobby. Four of those killed were al Shabaab officials, he added. The strike comes a few months after the United States targeted an al Shabaab training camp in Somalia in an air strike that the Pentagon says killed more than 150 fighters. "We also seized this auto which belonged to Dulyadeyn". A Palestinian young refugee pupil has been denied stage performance at a public speaking competition after organizers had been bullied to bar her. 15 years old Leanne Mohamed who is attending Wanstead High School could not compete for Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge Grand Final after her speech Birds not Bombs was judged inflammatory and offending. She previously won London Speak Out Challenge. In her speech, Leanne Mohamed reportedly talked about the everyday agony of Palestinians since 1948 and how the Palestinians, even children, are discriminated against because of their nationality. She also took aim at the Israeli bombings and incursions in Palestinian territories. How would you feel if you didnt even feel safe in your own home? How would you feel if you witness your own family die in front of you? Edgar Davidson, a Pro-Israel blogger complained to Jack Petchey Foundation [organizer of the challenge] arguing that the young girls speech was full of lies and it was regrettable that the organizers supported hateful and vicious political propaganda. The Foundation bowed down to Davidsons complaints, censored the young Palestinian by crossing her off the list of competitors, and suspended the video of her speech. Turkeys Foreign Minister said Monday during a visit to Tripoli that Ankara was willing to work with the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the reconstruction of the North African country. Turkey and Turkish companies will play an important role in meeting all of Libyas needs, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. Choosing Libya as his first visit, the newly reappointed Turkish top diplomat also indicated that Ankara is willing to be among the first countries to reopen its embassy in Libya. Many countries had pulled out their diplomatic staff in 2014 following growing security concerns in the Libyan capital. The Turkish embassy is located near the Abu Sittah naval base where the GNA is headquartered temporarily. At a joint press conference with Prime Minister-designate Faiez Serraj, Cavusoglu also addressed the thorny visa issue imposed on Libyans since August. Many Libyans have complained about the slow and long visa processing duration. Cavusoglu told reporters that they had taken measures to make applications quick and friendly. We have given the appropriate instructions to our consulates regarding the extension of Turkish visas to Libyans, he said. We have begun e-visa applications and have authorized some private companies to begin granting visas. Cavusoglu is the latest high profile international figure to lend his support to Serraj and his GNA. Most western diplomats along with Arab League foreign ministers have pledged to back the GNA still struggling to impose its authority in the war-torn country two months after arriving in the capital. Prime Minister Serraj arrived by sea in Tripoli, late March with his team following many failed attempts. The GNA took control of key ministries but it is still weak due to lack of official recognition by the internationally recognized parliament; the House of Representative (HoR) based in Tobruk. The GNA is facing another rival government affiliated to the HoR, which has refused to recognize it as Libyas sole legitimate government. Stability is the cornerstone of any sustainable development in the Arab world, said Moroccan Economy Minister Mohamed Boussaid, affirming that political and economic stability will enable the Arab world to take up all challenges. Addressing a conference on Middle Easts economic future in Doha, the minister called on countries in the region to foster their stability and peace to be able to go ahead in development, progress and prosperity. The Arab world needs more than ever strong, stable, democratic and prosperous countries, he added, noting that regional integration is one of the tools to achieve this goal. He hailed in this regard the experience of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) gathering Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, saying this regional bloc has accomplished major strides thanks to its economic integration. He also recalled Moroccos partnership set out with the six-member countries of the GCC, facing huge security challenges and serious terror threats. Relations between Morocco and Arab Gulf countries have gained momentum thanks to the special ties King Mohammed VI has with all the leaders of the GCC who invited in 2011 the North African kingdom to join the group. According to Boussaid, together we can achieve the desired change in the region (.) and if we continue our rapprochement and joint efforts, we can quickly move forward and overcome all difficulties. It is worth noting that King Mohammed VI took part at the 1st summit meeting held in Riyadh April 20th between Morocco and the GCC, a historical event that ushered in a new era in partnership between Rabat and the six-member powerful regional economic bloc, sharing common geostrategic, economic, and religious interests. Militia fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) announced on Tuesday they recaptured two key towns near Sirte; the nerve center of Islamic State in war-torn Libya. The coastal towns of Ben Jawad and Nofliya have been taken back from IS fighters, according to a statement issued by Petroleum Facilities Guard, loyal to the Prime Minister-designate, Faiez Serraj. Guards at oil installations, led by the GNAs defense ministry entered Ban Jawad and flashed out IS fighters, said col. Bachir Bouthefira. Our forces took control of Nofliya and are now thrusting towards Harawa, around 75 km, East of Sirte. The Monday fighting has left five people killed and 18 people wounded, the military source further revealed. After significant wins against the militants, GNA loyal forces are gearing up for final assault on Sirte; home to former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi killed in 2011. The militants entered the city in 2014 after they ousted militiamen and took control of the port and the airport. The city siting some 100 miles from European coasts is also used as a launch pad of terror attacks in the region and as a training camp for would-be terrorists. The fight against IS has been complicated by involvement of several other militias and arm forces including the Libyan National Army led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar answering to the rival government siting in the east and Libyas internationally recognized legislature; House of Representatives. Fearing that the divide among groups could play in the hands of IS, UN Special envoy Martin Kobler urged the various Libyan fighting forces to unite. The fight against IS must be first a Libyan fight and second a united fight. I think nobody acting alone would succeed. Thats why it is very important and my constant message to all security actors, be them in the west or the east, to unite their forces, he said during a meeting in Paris with Frances Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Aryault. Two months since it arrived in capital Tripoli, the GNA is still finding it hard to assert its power across the country even though the international community has stood by it and agreed last month to ease the arms embargo imposed on the country since 2011 in a move to help it purchase needed weaponry to fight IS. Cairo has expressed doubts as to the veracity of allegations that a senior Egyptian official referred to African countries as dogs and slaves in Arabic at the UN Environment conference that took place last week in Kenya and stated that it will launch an investigation into the matter. The incident purportedly took place during consultations due to the lack of quorum to pass resolutions on the environmental situation in Gaza. The conference, scheduled to end on Friday, dragged on into the early hours of the next day leaving several resolutions untreated. Yvonne Khamati, chairwoman of the Africa Diplomatic Corps Technical Committee, in a note dated May 29 protested against the uncivilized, undiplomatic, irresponsible, degrading and insulting remarks of the Egyptian diplomat. She requested an apology from Cairo and demanded that Egypt be suspended from representing Africas interests in any negotiations. Egypts environment minister Khaled Fahmy said none of the two members of the Egyptian delegation to the conference was in Kenya during the said session in which the remarks were allegedly made because they had already flown to Cairo one day earlier. The delegation was headed by Assistant Foreign Minister for Environmental Affairs. Khamati wants the issue to be raised with the Permanent Representative Committee in Addis Ababa, New York, Vienna, Geneva and subsequently at the summit of Heads of State to be held in July. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the alleged remarks should not be used to cast doubt on it (Egypt) belonging to Africa and its perpetual defense of the continents interests. He said the matter should not be generalized and decried the flimsy accusations against the Egyptian state and people. The Egyptian embassy in Nairobi addressed to the Council of African Ambassadors in Kenya a note expressing its total rejection and disappointment of Khamatis language. It said it categorically rejects the demand to suspend Egypt from representing African interests claiming that all aspects of this issue must be addressed in its proper contest as an individual issue. The Egyptian government said it has launched an investigation into the matter while reiterating its unwavering respect and commitment to its African identity. In Egypt, black Africans and other minorities have long complained of racism and discrimination. Morocco and India have set up a joint trade and industry chamber to boost economic cooperation between the two countries. The chamber was launched during a ceremony attended by Indias vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari who is paying a visit to the North African country, the Head of the Moroccan Government Abdelillah Benkirane and businessmen from the two countries. Morocco is committed to developing its relations with India in all fields, said Benkirane, recalling the longstanding and strong ties existing between the two countries sharing common development goals and views regarding several international issues. For his part, Indias vice-President stressed the importance of the newly created trade chamber, which will enhance cooperation and partnership between Moroccan and Indian businessmen. He also said that trade between Morocco and India has grown steadily during the past years, stressing the huge potential of the two countries economies, banking on common history. Relations between India and Morocco go back to the 14th century when the famous traveler and writer from Tangier, Ibn Batuta, travelled to India. India is one of the major markets for Moroccan phosphate and its derivatives. India, one of the most populous countries in the world, needs fertilizers to boost agriculture output to ensure its food security and Morocco is one of the worlds top producers and exporters of fertilizers thanks to its phosphates. The state-run OCP Morocco, the worlds biggest phosphate exporter, has already trading ventures with Tata Chemicals and Chambal Fertilizers, and 400,000 tons of phosphoric acid are exported to India each year. In addition, India buys 5 million tons of rock phosphate a year, 20 pc of which comes from Morocco. Exports from this North African country to India also include metallic ores and metal scrap, semi-finished products and inorganic chemicals, while its imports from India include cotton yarn, synthetic fiber, transport equipment, pharmaceuticals, agricultural implements, chemicals, spices and manufactured metals. Trade exchange and cooperation between the countries gained momentum since the visit paid last October by King Mohammed VI to India to attend the 3rd India-Africa Summit (IAFS). In his address before this summit, the Moroccan Sovereign said the Moroccan-Indian fruitful partnership in the field of phosphates and their derivatives can be expanded to include other sectors, such as agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry, research in science and technology, training of managerial staff, and food security. Morocco and India should build on their experience to put their know-how at the disposal of some African countries and to serve African peoples, stressed King Mohammed VI. Morocco, thanks to its multi-dimensional cooperation with Africa and to its strong trade partnership with India, can actually serve as a platform for cooperation and solidarity between the African continent and the Asian giant, the Sovereign had said. The passing away on Tuesday of long-time serving leader of the separatist Polisario Front, Mohamed Abdelaziz, opens an all-out war for his succession, at a time the front is facing up deep divisions. According to the movement status, the new leader of the Polisario and of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Republic (SADR) is elected forty days after the death of the previous leader. However, finding a new leader and restructuring the front leadership will not be an easy task. Actually, according to news coming out of the front headquarters in Tindouf, no one of the contenders enjoys unanimity. In addition to that, the majority of the Tindouf camps inhabitants are tired of their dire living conditions and the youths can no longer stand idleness and a bleak future. Only the privileged oligarchy benefits from the status quo that it nurtures. In one of his last interviews, Abdelaziz had told Spanish El Mundo daily last November that new blood should be instilled in the front leadership and that young peoples aspirations to participate in the affairs management and to hold key positions were legitimate. Yet, the names that are currently being circulated as would-be successors are all part of the old circle, indicating that nothing will change and that another hawk will be placed by Algeria at the head of the Polisario. Analysts believe that the succession war will take place between the former so-called Minister of Defense, Mohamed Lamine Bouhali, a former officer in the Algerian army, and the current Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb Omar, a native of the Moroccan city of Tan-Tan. According to the analysts, Bachir Mustapha Sayed, brother of the late El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, founder of the Polisario Front, who was killed by the Algerian intelligence services in June 1976 in Nouakchott, because of his insubordination to Algiers regarding the Saharan conflict, could have been Abdelazizs successor, if Algeria was not pulling the strings. Bachir Mustapha Sayed, known for his refractory spirit, has been disgraced by the Algerian rulers and by Mohamed Abdelaziz, as troublesome. And Why? Just because Bachir Mustapha Sayed favors a political solution to the Sahara conflict and has even discussed the matter with Moroccan officials. So, he is unlikely to succeed Mohamed Abdelaziz. Yet, whatever the outcome of the succession war, the Tindouf camps inhabitants aspire to a better life and most of them know that they can find such a better life only in their motherland, Morocco. Whichever. Photo: MARK RALSTON/This content is subject to copyright. Last month, an appeals court ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm, a 16-year-old transgender student whose high school in Gloucester, Virginia, barred him from using the boys bathroom after complaints from religious groups. The ruling marked the first time a federal appellate recognized the protection of transgender individuals under Title IX a law that forbids federally funded institutions from sex-based discrimination. As such, it was a groundbreaking decision; Joshua Block, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued the case on Grimms behalf, told the New York Times that, With this decision, we hope that schools and legislators will finally get the message that excluding transgender kids from the restrooms is unlawful sex discrimination. But change is slow to take root, and despite the appeals court ruling in Grimms favor, his school asked the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision, which was made by a three-judge panel. On Tuesday, the school boards request was denied, Reuters reports, meaning Grimm is legally entitled to use the boys restroom. Now that the Fourth Circuits decision is final, I hope my school board will finally do the right thing and let me go back to using the boys restroom again, Grimm said in a statement. His case is seen as a touchstone for recent controversial laws that mandate individuals must use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate. North Carolina governor Pat McCrory has spoken out against the ruling, saying he disagrees with the courts attempt to force our high schools to allow boys in girls restrooms, locker rooms or shower facilities. But the Justice Department, which issued its own set of guidelines designed to prevent transgender discrimination in public schools, said it was pleased with the courts decision, which agreed with the position that the United States advocated. The Obama administration itself is facing a fat lawsuit over said guidelines, which states claim interpret Title IX in a way that goes beyond its original intention. In this case and others, the interpretation of Title IX is the main point of contention. As Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a speech earlier this month, the legal scuffle over who can use which bathroom is about a great deal more This is about the dignity and respect we accord our fellow citizens and the laws that we, as a people and as a country, have enacted to protect them. Meet David French, the next president of the United States, if several other candidates are wiped out by a meteor. This weekend, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol who has been trying to recruit a conservative Republican to run an independent candidacy announced that he had found his man: There will be an independent candidatean impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance. Kristol is known among the political cognoscenti for being wrong about everything. Still, even after applying a standard Kristol hyperbole discount, there was reason to believe he had recruited a Republican of some repute. He had reportedly met with Mitt Romney not long before, and Kristol had compiled a record of success in convincing high-level Republicans to do insanely risky things (invade Iraq with no troops or occupation plan, make Sarah Palin vice-president) that were deeply contrary to their political self-interest. But Mark Halperin and John Heilemann report that Kristols candidate is David French, a blogger for National Review Online. However, French has not yet decided whether to accept Kristols overtures. Kristols candidate would have stood no chance of actually winning even if it were a well-known figure like Nebraska senator Ben Sasse or even Romney. Still, a national-level Republican running as an independent might have attracted the funds and publicity to leave some measurable imprint on the race higher conservative turnout that might impact down-ballot races, or sapping enough votes from Trump in swing states to all but ensure victory for Clinton. And no offense to French, who is arguably one of the ten best bloggers currently writing for National Review Online, but impressive and real chance are not terms the non-Kristol world would apply to his candidacy. Trump has virtually consolidated the support of regular Republican voters. It is fitting that the candidate of anti-Trump Republicans would be a professional pundit, since most anti-Trump Republicans seem to be pundits themselves. Dont ask questions. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images In late January, Donald Trump decided not to attend a Fox News debate because one of the networks moderators had a history of asking him difficult questions. Instead, the GOP front-runner held a fundraiser for veterans, raising $6 million for our returning warriors, including $1 million from his own wallet. Or so he said. Over the ensuing months, the mogul offered few details about what had actually become of that cash. More than a week ago, Trumps campaign manager told the Washington Post that the Donald had already donated $1 million but refused to identify the recipient of that gift. Post reporter David Fahrenthold then surveyed various veterans groups on Twitter, asking if any of them had received $1 million from Trump. None had. The GOP nominee saw Farentholds inquiries and responded by calling the media dishonest and disgusting and then called Farenthold to say that he had just now made the $1 million donation. Four months after the fundraiser. Which just so happens to be exactly the amount of time it took to vet the relevant charities, so, clearly, Fahrentholds disgusting badgering had nothing to do with his decision to finally, actually send the money hed promised. On Tuesday, Trump gave further details on his donations. Although he claimed to have raised $6 million in January, the GOP nominee now says he raised $5.6 million. He also provided the names of specific organizations that benefited from his largesse. But he spent the bulk of his press conference scolding the dishonest media for its unfair smears. The GOP nominee explained that any time he claims to have given money to a charity, the medias job is to believe him, thank him, and ask no further questions. The press should be ashamed of themselves, Trump complained. Instead of being, like, Thank you very much, Mr. Trump, or Trump did a good job, You say, Well, who got it? Who got it? And it makes me look very bad. Trump also shamed the media for forcing him to take credit for the donations. Apparently, he had wanted to make his gifts anonymously (which is why he raised the money at a nationally televised campaign event). If we could, I wanted to keep it private because I dont think its anybodys business if I wanna send money to the vets, Trump lamented. The Republican nominee went on to call ABC News journalist Tom Llamas a sleaze. When Llamas asked what made him a sleaze, Trump replied, Youre a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well. In a sense, this was the Donalds most honest answer of the afternoon: Any journalist who knows the facts well is a sleaze in Trumps eyes. Is this what its going to be like covering you if youre president? one reporter asked near the events end. Yeah, it is, the man hoping to oversee the NSA, CIA, FBI, and IRS in eight months replied. Im going to continue to attack the press. The world rushes to contain Zika. Photo: Carlos Becerra/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Good morning and welcome to Fresh Intelligence, our roundup of the stories, ideas, and memes youll be talking about today. In this edition, a baby born with brain damage in New Jersey tests positive for Zika, Californias governor endorses Clinton, and North Korea endorses Trump. Heres the rundown for Wednesday, June 1. WEATHER Today marks the official start of hurricane season, although this year, hurricanes dont seem to have gotten the memo. Otherwise, weather is all over the place, with record high temperatures in the west and more heavy rain expected in Texas. In New York City, expect temperatures in the upper 70s with a bit of cloud. [Weather.com] FRONT PAGE Baby With Zika Virus Born at New Jersey Hospital It has been confirmed that a baby infected with the Zika virus was born yesterday at a hospital in New Jersey. The baby girl tested positive for the virus and had severe microcephaly a smaller-than-normal head that often leads to brain damage and that scientists believe is caused by the Zika virus. Her mother became infected with Zika in her home country of Honduras; she gave birth while visiting relatives in New Jersey. Another baby, born in January in Hawaii, was the first known case of the same Zika-caused disorder in a baby born in the United States. A third woman in Connecticut became pregnant on a recent trip to Central America and has been found to have the virus. [NYT] EARLY AND OFTEN Trump Snags Doppelganger Endorsement Representatives from North Korea recently dismissed Donald Trumps diplomatic overtures as mere propaganda, but now it looks like theyre changing their tune. Yesterday, an editorial that ran in North Koreas state media gushed that Trump was a wise politician and described Hillary Clinton as dull. We struggle to see what a paranoid despotic government whose political philosophy is a bizarre mix of world domination and extreme isolationism sees in Donald Trump. [The Guardian] California Governor Chooses Sides California governor Jerry Brown has spent most of the primary battle in his state lying low, but now it looks like meetings with Bill and Hillary have made up his mind; Brown announced yesterday that he would support Hillary Clinton. This is a big move, especially considering that the animosity between Brown and Mr. Clinton is something of an open secret. Even in his endorsement, his affection for Bernie Sanders was hard to conceal, with Brown praising the way Sanders has driven home the message that the top one percent has unfairly captured way too much of Americas wealth. [NYT] Trump Shames Journalists, Gets a Little on Himself Yesterdays What is going on? moment was brought to you by Donald Trump, who hosted a kind of ambush disguised as a press conference at Trump Tower where he explained precisely which veterans charities received his much-boasted-about $6 million donation in fact, it was closer to $5.6 million. In reality, Trump spent most of the time haranguing journalists, but between insults, he did have some thoughtful words about that gorilla that was shot. Trump Teaches What He Knows: Cashing In on Misfortune 101 Those Trump University documents that a federal judge and alleged Mexican unsealed yesterday are beginning to bear fruit. A class offered at the university in which Trump promised to teach students how to cash in on the housing crisis is getting most of the attention, especially in light of audio released last week by the Clinton campaign that has Trump saying he hopes the bubble bursts because, then people like me would go in and make a lot of money. THE STREET, THE VALLEY MGM Gambles Big on Gambling Big MGM Resorts International has agreed to spend $900 million buying out Boyd Gamings 50 percent stake in Atlantic Citys Borgata hotel and casino. Boyd is set to rake in $600 million when you take into account the propertys debt, because Atlantic City. [Bloomberg] Staples CEO Gears Down for Good The botched merger between Office Depot and Staples is still having repercussions. Just yesterday, Staples CEO Ron Sargent announced that he is stepping down, although some sources claim Staples was looking for a new CEO before the merger went south. Sargent has been the head of the company for the last 14 years and will officially resign on June 14. [WSJ] Microsoft Saves Chinese Corporate Spies a Lot of Time Microsoft yesterday announced a historic partnership with Chinese technology firm Xiaomi. Microsoft will sell 1,500 of its patents to the Asian tech giant, and in return, Xiaomi has promised to install Microsoft software on all of its phones and tablets. [Reuters] CEO Does the Valeant Thing, Accepts $9 Million for Ruining His Company J. Michael Pearson, the former Valeant Pharmaceuticals CEO whose tenure was marred by accusations of unfair drug-price increases, inappropriate relationships with pharmacies, and shady accounting practices, has accepted a severance package worth $9 million and a consulting deal seriously? worth six figures. That ought t0 teach him. [Reuters] MEDIA BUBBLE Gawker Bets Big on Politics, Learns Americans Are Sick of Politics The bad news just keeps coming for Gawker. After all of the sites recent legal trouble, it looks like the controversy isnt even bringing in eyeballs; its traffic has taken a nosedive this month, dropping a full 37 percent since the end of April and bringing down traffic to the whole Gawker Media family of sites to a nearly two-and-a-half-year low. The same is true for other political-news sites; we blame Trump fatigue. [Variety] Los Angeles Times Loses Influential Name in Digital Media The Los Angeles Times is losing a well-known influencer in digital media. S. Mitra Kalita is departing as the papers managing editor for digital strategy and will be taking up a new role at CNN in a few months. Kalita hasnt commented, but it is widely supposed her departure is related to the recent appointment of Anne Vasquez as chief digital officer at Tribune. [Politico Media] Glenn Beck Suspended After Guest Says What Everyone Is Thinking Something Awful Glenn Beck has been suspended from SiriusXM this week while the satellite-radio company reevaluates his show after a guest made comments that seemed to call for the assassination of Donald Trump. On last weeks show, fiction writer Brad Thor said Trump is dangerous enough to America that citizens may have to use illegal means to remove him from office. For his part, Thor has said hell no he wasnt talking about assassination, and Beck has said he was planning on taking a vacation anyway, so there. [Politico] PHOTO OP Best Birth Picture Ever? It seems Koto Nakamura had been told she was going to have a baby girl. This instant classic is the face she made when she discovered it was actually a baby boy. [The Cut] MORNING MEME So Cute. So Correct. This video of an adorable child making some very good points about vaccines took the internet by storm yesterday. You know, he makes a lot of sense were finally convinced. OTHER LOCAL NEWS The Misadventures of a Very Nearly Hero Cop A bout of heroism on the part of a Birmingham, Alabama, police officer did not go perfectly. After a man called 911 to report that he was lost in the woods after escaping from two armed men, a lone officer threw caution to the wind and ran into the woods after him. Perhaps he should have brought a compass. The officer found the missing man no sign of the gunmen before becoming hopelessly lost himself; it took a K9 unit three hours to find them. [AP] Lawmaker Fundamentally Misunderstands His Role Tennessee lawmaker turned scofflaw Andy Holt is getting lots of attention after releasing a video of him burning a traffic citation after a traffic camera caught him breaking the law. Holt even went a step further and called on his constituency to burn their tickets as well, perhaps forgetting whose salaries all of that revenue pays. [Newser] HAPPENING TODAY Its Official, Pro Bowl Is Coming to Orlando Everybody has long suspected that the NFLs Pro Bowl would be hosted in Orlando, but tomorrow it becomes official when the NFL, ESPN, and Disney jointly make a major announcement that will almost certainly be that the all-star game will be coming to Orlando in 2017. [Orlando Sentinel] Obama Brings His Presidency Full Circle President Obama is in Elkhart, Indiana, today to tout the areas economic progress over his two terms in office. The appearance is highly symbolic: In 2008, Obama used the city as an example of working-class America, and it was the first place he ever visited as president more than seven years ago. [Wane.com] Good News for Immigrants, Schools, and Students A new law comes into play in New York today that will allow illegal immigrants who came to this country as children to apply for licenses in 57 professions for the first time, including applying for teaching certificates. Other available jobs include nurses, social workers, and engineers. [NYT] Trumped. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Congressman Blake Farenthold of Texas once lamented the Houses failure to impeach Barack Obama. As of 2013, Farenthold was still questioning the authenticity of the presidents long-form birth certificate and, thus, his qualifications for the presidency. But now the right-wing representative is trying to pass a bill promoting free speech online before the illegitimate tyrant leaves office because he doesnt trust the great patriot hell be voting for in November to support his conception of the First Amendment. The legislation, co-sponsored by California Democrat Anna Eshoo, would make it harder to sue people for what they say online. About half of the states currently have statutes protecting individuals from what are known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (or SLAPP) frivolous acts of litigation designed to intimidate someone into silence. Farenthold and Eshoo co-sponsored federal anti-SLAPP legislation after a Virginia carpet cleaners attempt to punish Yelp reviewers for defamation garnered national headlines. The bill boasts the support of Silicon Valley titans looking to protect online speech and conservative politicians looking to antagonize trial lawyers. But the bills greatest enemy might be Farentholds favorite presidential candidate. Obama will sign this. I dont think Trump will, the Texas Republican told Politico Wednesday. But why wouldnt the GOP nominee support legislation that prevents the powerful from using their financial resources to suppress free speech online? I mean, besides the fact that he loves using his financial resources to suppress free speech online. After a New York Times business editor published a book that called his stated net worth into question, Trump boasted, I spent a couple of bucks on legal fees, and they spent a whole lot more I did it to make his life miserable, which Im happy about. Trump lost that case. Politico catalogues some of the moguls other frivolous lawsuits from just the past four years: In 2012, the Miss Universe Organization Trump co-owned at the time brought a legal claim against a contestant in its Miss USA pageant, in part over Facebook posts in which she called the event fraudulent. In 2013, he threatened a $25 million suit against the creator of an online petition that encouraged Macys to Dump Trump. That same year, he said he would teach rapper Mac Miller a big boy lesson about lawsuits after the musician posted a YouTube video of a wealth-fetishizing song called Donald Trump. (Trump praised the song at first, but changed his tune after it went viral.) In an interview with the Washington Post earlier this year, Trump suggested that he would like to expand the scope of libel laws to make it easier for public figures to sue media outlets for printing inaccurate information about them. Critics of the Farenthold-Eshoo bill argue that nothing in the legislation limits its protections to meritless lawsuits the Church of Scientology recently tried to use Texass anti-SLAPP law to get a harassment case against it dismissed. However, that attempt was ultimately shot down on appeal. Regardless, Farenthold believes his bill protects Americans constitutional rights. And he trusts Obama but not Trump to sign it. This fact may have some bearing on the partisan squabble over which of these men is, in fact, a power-mad tyrant who threatens our democracy. It looks like Kim Jong-un likes Trump as much as Trump likes him. Photo: ED JONES/This content is subject to copyright. North Korea seems to have changed its mind about Donald Trump. Last week, a North Korean envoy dismissed the Republican nominee as nonsense and a kind of propaganda or advertisement, but on Tuesday, a column in DPRK Today one of the states mouthpieces described him instead as a wise politician and a far-sighted candidate whose approach to diplomacy could unify the Korean peninsula, The Guardian reports. It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate, read the column, which was written by Han Yong Muk, who identifies himself as a Korean scholar based in China. Han continues, There are many positive aspects to Trumps inflammatory policies. Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North, isnt this fortunate from North Koreas perspective? In particular, Han praises Trumps resolution to remove American troops from South Korea and Japan unless those respective countries foot more of the bill for defense. Yes, go away, now! Han writes. Who knew that the Yankee Go Home slogan we shouted so enthusiastically could come true so easily like this? The day that the Yankee Go Home slogan becomes reality would be the day of unification. Meanwhile, the column criticizes Hillary Clinton using only her first name as dull, or, by another translation, thick-headed. The president that U.S. citizens must vote for is not that dull Hillary, who claimed to adapt the Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula, it reads. And although North Koreas ambassador in Geneva seemed doubtful that his Supreme Leader would have any desire to meet with Trump, the column praises Trumps willingness to hold talks one-on-one. Meanwhile, a less openly supportive, but perhaps even more significant editorial in Rodong Sinmun, the DPRKs official newspaper, said Trump is causing anxiety in South Korea due to his threats to withdraw American troops, the Associated Press reports. There you go, Donald at least youre popular somewhere. Trump before his AIPAC speech in March. Photo: SAUL LOEB Having made major progress toward unifying a hostile Republican Party, Donald Trump is now seeking to win over another skeptical constituency: politically conservative Jews. According to four sources briefed on the discussions, Trump is considering traveling to Israel sometime before the GOP convention in July to bolster his support among Middle East hawks. In February, the candidate lost the confidence of many Israel backers when he said he would be neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and associates of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson are organizing the potential tour, sources say. This is a typical time frame when a general-election candidate has an opportunity to flex his foreign-policy muscles, one Trump staffer says. (Later this month, Trump plans to visit Scotland). Trump sources cautioned that an Israel trip has yet to be finalized. The planning is delicate, and not only because Trump supporters have launched anti-Semitic online attacks on Jewish journalists whove covered Trump. In December, Trump canceled a planned visit to Jerusalem after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Trumps call to ban Muslim immigration. According to sources, Trump was furious that Netanyahu didnt call him before issuing his statement (Trumps father, Fred, became friends with Netanyahu in the 1980s when Netanyahu served as a U.N. ambassador). Trump blamed Kushner for the debacle, telling him, This was all your idea! The candidate tweeted he would not meet with Netanyahu until he became president. But since then, Trump has made wooing the Jewish community a priority. In March, Trump used a teleprompter for the first time while delivering a speech written by Kushner and Observer editor Ken Kurson to the AIPAC conference. Last month Trump welcomed a group of Orthodox Jewish journalists to his office at Trump Tower. He has also forged a closer relationship with Adelson since tweeting last fall that the other candidates in the GOP primary field were puppets of the conservative megadonor. Sheldon Adelson is looking to give big dollars to Rubio because he feels he can mold him into his perfect little puppet. I agree! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2015 According to two sources, the Trump campaign has indicated to Adelson that Adelsons preferred choice for vice-president, Newt Gingrich, will be given a senior role in a Trump administration even if he doesnt get the VP nod. Adelson, of course, is one of Netanyahus most vocal supporters. Yesterday, Politico reported Adelson advisers are in talks to set up a new pro-Trump super-pac. Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks said there are no current plans to visit Israel. Photo: Werner Nystrand One of the weird quirks of human populations is that, naturally, more boys are born than girls. Yet depending on the country, the ratio between genders can be skewed by history and culture. In Russia, a 20th century full of war and a 21st century full of drinking means that there are now 86.8 men per 100 women. Government sanctions and a preference for sons can stymie a female population, too: In China, there are 106.3 men for every 100 women, and in India its 107.6. Which makes the news coming out of Sweden, that petri dish of Nordic socialism, so very interesting. Quite unexpectedly, the country all of a sudden has more men than women, the Associated Press reports. Its the first time thats happened since the country started keeping such records, way back in 1749. The gap opened in March 2015 at 277 more men than women, and now its over 12,000 a more than 4,000 percent increase. Its a sign of things to come, the AP reports: Norway hit a male surplus five years ago, and its slated to happen in Britain by 2050. Two big trends are at work here: one regarding where people live, the other how they live. As is reflected by Stockholms ever-more-insane housing crisis, tons and tons of people are moving to Sweden. Conflict and instability across Afghanistan, Syria, and North Africa are sending teenage boys to Sweden; the AP reports that 35,000 unaccompanied male minors arrived in Sweden last year. Theres also the fact that men are living longer in developed countries than they ever have before. Nordic countries have the smallest gaps between gender life expectancy in the world. In Sweden, the life expectancy for a male baby born today is just 3.4 years behind that of his female counterpart, second-best behind Icelands 3. Thats because unlike, say, Russia Swedish guys arent getting shot during war or dying in coal mines like their forebears did; and the Swedes as a people drink way less than people in any other European country save for Norway. Social scientists arent quite sure about how the increase in men, especially young men, will affect Sweden. Some demographers the AP talked to are concerned that the increase in bros could turn the ultraprogressive country hypermasculine, while others say thats only a problem if masculinity were to show up in traits like aggression and men-centric hierarchy. Unlike in China and India, where women are still often second-class citizens, men and women in Sweden are very much on equal footing. So even as guys live longer and show up in droves, Sweden wont become a place that abruptly abolishes its world-leading parental-leave policy. But that doesnt mean finding an apartment is going to get any easier. Photo: KEVIN CURTIS/Getty Images Female circumcision has been illegal in Egypt since 2008, yet the practice still goes on, sometimes with tragic results. Manar Moussa and her twin sister underwent the procedure in the city of Suez on Saturday, and Manar died of a suspected stroke while under anesthesia. Her sister survived. The city health inspector in charge of issuing burial permits suspected female genital mutilation, or FGM, but a forensic report determining the cause of death has yet to be released. Health officials shut down the facility, the private El Canal Hospital, and referred two doctors and the hospital head for prosecution for conducting a banned procedure and causing Manars death. In 2015, a doctor who performed the procedure on an Egyptian girl who consequently died in 2013 was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison. It was the first case that came to trial over the practice. Activists in the country argue that FGM should be a felony, not a misdemeanor. The U.N. General Assembly has called for a global ban on the practice, which is thought to control womens sexuality. But as the World Health Organization points out, FGM has no health benefits, only possible harms. No, Beyonce didnt kill feminism. Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images Feminism cant win. In the backlash years of the 80s and early 90s, feminism was the f-word and stereotyped as uncool a label applied to hairy-legged, Birkenstock-shod straw-women who were either excessively intellectual, out-of-touch harpies or tarot-reading, goddess-worshiping weirdos. To claim the feminist label was to declare yourself a living, breathing hang-over from a time when collective activist movements made headlines. Starting sometime around the release of Spiceworld, that very slowly started to change. Today, feminism is the bleeding edge of pop culture. Maybe its because tarot and Birkenstocks are cult-cool now. Or maybe the negative stereotypes have been forgotten entirely. Ads that appeal to womens independence the modern cousins of Virginia Slims Youve come a long way, baby are too numerous to count. Many of the biggest stars in the world call themselves feminists, proudly performing in front of the word in giant neon letters. In her new book We Were Feminists Once, the writer and cultural critic Andi Zeisler calls this phenomenon marketplace feminism, a convenient packaging that companies and celebrities can use to sell themselves as more substantive, woman-friendly, and change-making than they really are. Moviegoers know what the Bechdel test is, but the barriers to Hollywood acceptance remain prohibitively high for anyone who isnt a white dude. Companies from Verizon to Always to Spanx promise empowerment as a selling point, yet women are still hard to find in the corridors of power, from Congress to corporate boards. The word feminism, Zeisler writes, is now used interchangeably with words like strength, authority, wealth, and happiness. She makes a convincing argument that, as a result, feminism these days is more personal ideology than broad-based activist movement. The modern self-labeled feminist, Zeisler argues, is binge-watching Orange Is the New Black while courts continue to lock away women who were simply defending themselves against an abuser. She is celebrating Transparents Emmy nominations, meanwhile hate-fueled bathroom bills spread across the country. She was outraged that the NYC subway wouldnt allow ads for period underwear, but isnt sure what to do about the fact that state legislators continue to pass abortion-restricting laws. Her book club read Girlboss, but she has no idea that domestic workers are organizing for better legal protections in her own state. Zeisler sees this as a failure, and shes done a service by cataloging the disconnect between marketplace feminism and the decades-old movement for justice and equality. But as wary as I am of empowering undergarments and feel-good TV, its possible that they could be gateways to something more substantive. Maybe Im a wide-eyed optimist, but I believe there is potential for this hypothetical woman to do more than watch Broad City in her feminist granny panties if she realizes that real feminist change requires more action than swiping a credit card or setting a DVR. The low-bar requirements of marketplace feminism might actually make a friendlier introduction to feminism than leaping into the movement. Feminism, Zeisler acknowledges, has a poor track record with being inclusive and forgiving. Even though I wasnt alive in the 70s and didnt go deep on feminist activism when I was a college student in the early 2000s, I got my taste of movement drama when I was a feminist blogger from 20042010. I found some great community in the feminist blogosphere, sure, but by the end I absolutely hated it. To opt into a group of active feminists is to adhere to the lines they draw around themselves. Write the wrong thing, or fail to support the right cause, or use the wrong word, and the feminists who consider you one of their own are quick to call foul. Most of us know the drill, wrote the writer and activist Ngoc Loan Tran a few years ago. Someone says something that supports the oppression of another community, the red flags pop up and someone swoops in to call them out. There is power in broad political movements, but they ask a lot of the people involved. It is a time-consuming, exhausting pursuit to declare yourself part of a movement for direct action, especially when the cause is as broad and as variably defined as feminism. Not everyone can be a devoted activist. For the rest of us, theres casually worshiping Beyonce and taking our politics into the voting booth and fighting with our partners about chores and making small donations to organizations we support and, yeah, making personal decisions about how we present ourselves to the world. I dont actually think these things are small potatoes. Daily choices and personal experiences are important front lines of feminism, too. But many of us should be setting the bar higher for ourselves. The reality is that if youre buying $45 underwear with the word feminist on it, you can afford to spend a little time and money supporting more explicitly activist causes, too. This is the potential in the mainstream embrace of all things labeled feminist. Zeisler writes that feminism isnt supposed to be fun. But I see some truths in the much-blogged quote often attributed t0 Emma Goldman: Its not my revolution if I cant dance to it. Sure, some truly committed people will sign up for an activism that exclusively involves legislative slogging, in-person protests, and intramovement politics. But that number is doomed to stay small. Activism cant make a difference if its all sketch-comedy satire and snarky enamel pins, but a staunch commitment to no-fun feminism is really hard to sustain, too. Get people dancing, and its possible to pull them into harder, more meaningful activist work. Near the end of her book, Zeisler name checks an impressive list of political efforts that have cropped up in the years since feminism became cool HollaBack, Black Lives Matter, the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Where Zeisler sees a disconnect, I see a pipeline. The answer isnt to roll our eyes at the Bechdel test going mainstream or granny panties becoming marketable. Its to see those things as a starting point. Maggie McMuffin wearing the outfit that got her turned away from a JetBlue plane. Photo: CBS WBZ Following airline companies grand traditions of making flying more difficult for passengers who speak Arabic, do math, or breast-feed, one woman says she was stopped from boarding a JetBlue plane because her shorts were too short. The passenger, a burlesque dancer who goes by Maggie McMuffin, says she was stopped at Logan Airport in Boston on May 18 when she attempted to board a connecting flight in short shorts. Maggie told KIRO-TV, the flight crew had discussed it and the pilot had decided that I needed to put something else on or I would not be allowed to board the flight. There is no specific JetBlue dress code, though the companys contract of carriage states that it can refuse persons whose conduct is or has been known to be disorderly, abusive, offensive, threatening, intimidating violent, or whose clothing is lewd, obscene, or patently offensive. To catch her flight, she bought larger, more appropriate shorts in a different terminal for $22. JetBlue ultimately refunded her for the shorts and offered her credit toward a new flight, though, as she told King 5 News, I dont really want to fly JetBlue again and they told me they couldnt give me a cash refund. We support our crewmembers discretion to make these difficult decisions, JetBlue said in a statement to CBS. The crew members determined the burlesque shorts may offend other families on the flight. Still, Maggie insists, theyre not like burlesque shorts, theyre just shorts. And its obviously subjective. And, perhaps most offensively, Maggies shorts look both extremely comfortable and wrinkle-free doesnt the JetBlue crew know how hard it is to find something that convenient to fly in? Looking good, ladies. Photo: alexisburrmann/Twitter If you thought getting one of your selfies printed on a coffee mug was a bold move, think again. Sugar Land, Texas, has erected a statue of two women taking a selfie outside its City Hall. The $35,500 bronze sculpture was created as a representation of activities that occur in the [town] square. Residents have expressed mixed reactions to the installation. What's my hometown like? Well they just erected a statue of 2 girls taking a selfie next to city hall sooooooo... pic.twitter.com/k4J2vQRZun Alexis (@lex_burr) May 30, 2016 I'm sure @SugarLandtxgov is just messing with archaeologists who'll be excavating site in 10,000 yrs # selfie statue pic.twitter.com/tKpSMR40fj Jay Carr (@AstrosTracker) May 27, 2016 Can Columbus get a #SelfieStatue please??? Chelsea Burbridge (@CBridge_03) June 1, 2016 However, those opposed to the statue can rest assured that tax dollars were not used for its creation. A Sugar Land resident provided funds to create and install several statues, including the much more sophisticated and refined option of a young man in a newsboy cap and sunglasses playing acoustic guitar. And to any naysayers: At least Sugar Land has more statues of women than all of Central Park. Photo: Just One Film/Getty Images In 2015, a 14-year-old Idaho girl was raped by a 24-year-old family acquaintance. Once she discovered she was pregnant, rather than press charges for the sexual assault, her father drove her across state lines to Missouri so she could marry her rapist. According to the Associated Press, he reportedly said he believed that a man should marry a girl he gets pregnant. The AP, which is not releasing any of the names so as to protect the identity of the minor, also reports that the girl and the man reportedly told family members they wanted to be married, with the 24-year-old telling family members they were in love and the girl saying she didnt want her child to have to deal with a split custody arrangement. After they married and moved back to Idaho, she miscarried, and her mother had the marriage annulled. In September 2015, the 24-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for felony rape. Meanwhile, last week, a judge sentenced her father to 120 days in jail and three years of probation. I would note that the 120 days is approximately how long this vile farce of a marriage lasted, Seventh District judge Gregory Moeller said. While you sit in jail, you will sit and think about the 120 days your daughter was in a vile farce of a marriage to a rapist because of you. Taraneh Alidoosti. Photo: Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images An Iranian actress faced backlash in her native country on Tuesday for displaying what appears to be a feminist tattoo. Known as the Natalie Portman of Iran, 32-year-old Taraneh Alidoosti was at a Tehran press conference for her film The Salesman; the movie recently won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Reaching for a microphone, Alidoosti appeared to reveal a tattoo of the woman power symbol under her left sleeve a raised fist combined with the Venus symbol, which is often associated with radical feminism. In a country with a nonexistent womens-rights movement, the ink sparked an uproar on social media, the New York Times reports, with many questioning whether Alidoosti is actually a feminist. The actress spoke up on Twitter to explain the meaning behind the symbol. Keep calm and YES I'm a feminist. pic.twitter.com/95nMY3H9kT Taraneh Alidoosti (@t_alidoosti) May 31, 2016 "The Feminist Fist" pic.twitter.com/aG67rZETrD Taraneh Alidoosti (@t_alidoosti) May 31, 2016 She also posted to Twitter, Feminism doesnt mean antiman or antifamily. Feminism means that each human aside from his or her gender has the right to an individuality and according to that, to choose the life that she or he wants. Irans judiciary has convicted groups for working to change laws that treat women and men unequally. Last month it threatened to publicly shame and name those who fail to uphold Islamic values a direct warning to famous athletes and actors like Alidoosti. Yay thanks for posting! This is another song that at first thought I wasn't impressed, but now I'm replaying it often so I'm really enjoying it. That's been happening a lot with my music lately. It's just that the teaser was so good so when I saw that sound was only a small part, I was initially bummed lol But I really like the line and screen distribution, it seems more equal compared to last singles. Le's rap is awesome. They all look great, I'm happy with Hyelin's current look because this is the first time she stands out. I feel like she's the forgotten member so hopefully this look and release will win her some fans. Reply Thread Link Same the album was a huge letdown for me ;c Reply Parent Thread Link Also in general I think I prefer their past singles more, but Lie is fun and I prefer it way over Hot Pink. I thought the HP era was lame despite the visuals Reply Thread Link Song is terrible. They better be lucky they cemented themselves a spot in the k-pop game. Reply Thread Link i honestly don't like it :/ it's another 2-in-1 song and the verses etc sound kinda dated, like the kind of kpop songs that came out in 2010-2011 OOP sorry didn't mean to reply to you! Edited at 2016-06-01 12:15 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link IA about the 2 in 1 trend should've been heading out but still going strong in 2016 in Kpop. I do think it can be pulled off well but it's overkill at this point Reply Parent Thread Link yas, my queens! just discovered them by seeing the "up & down" video on in a bar and being like "what is this?" then me digging to find who it was and entering the world of K-Pop for the first time in my life. Reply Thread Link i'm curious to see how they do on the charts with this... they debuted kinda low on melon (i know it's a noon release but ah yeah was one too and did way better) and they keep fluctuating between the 20s and 30s Reply Thread Link hani looks amazing! the song has decent parts but kind of all over the place, nhft creepy guy in the video lol also does anyone maybe have girl groups recs? im rly hoping to see more girls w/ a strong choreo :) (nice first post op! ) Reply Thread Link [ me gustas tu ] I also really like Lovelyz's choreo for Destiny, which is also the start to their new trilogy. They previously had more of a cute concept, but this one is more mature? [ destiny ] Gfriend always kill their choreo! They ended their "triology" (Glass Bead + Me Gustas Tu + Rough) and are coming back this summer, so they might have a diff sound than what they've been putting out so far?I also really like Lovelyz's choreo for Destiny, which is also the start to their new trilogy. They previously had more of a cute concept, but this one is more mature? Reply Parent Thread Link (i was actually meaning to check out gfriend before now lol) [ thank u! ] bless, this is exactly what im looking for! they are all in sync i love it :)(i was actually meaning to check out gfriend before now lol) Reply Parent Thread Link I'm not really a fan of k-pop, but that first choreo vid you posted was amazing. I wish western girl/boy bands still had such a focus on choreography. Those girls are machines. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Nine Muses, Purfles, BESTie, Dal Shabet and Berry good come to mind as Musts! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Oh My Girl https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AJqhKWo89FQ Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this is just so bad... SO BAD... Reply Thread Link I don't even care I am all about this. The song is going to be stuck in my year for days and they all look cute, and it sounds like they let hani sing in her own tone for once. Reply Thread Link IA lol. Also I listened to their album, I really like it! Reply Parent Thread Link Oh duh, I haven't even listened to the album yet, thanks for reminding me! Reply Parent Thread Link This song sounds so.. overproduced? Reply Thread Link all i hear is an off tune "bitch i'm madonna" in those beat drop parts, especially during that rap verse...yikes :/ Reply Thread Link The album is so good, I love most of the songs on it. Especially Will you take me (I can relate to the lyrics so much), Hani's solo song (her voice is fucking me up) and Good (feel-good dance song). Lie is amazing as well, the lielielie-part is stuck in my head. All in all, this is a great first full album, I can hear that they worked on every song very hard..no fillers. They improved so much vocally, especially Hyerin and Junghwa. Reply Thread Link the album is good but not great imo i think their strength is in downbeat or sadder songs which isnt the majority but i get that its the wrong time of year for that. i like it a lot but i was hoping for more songs like every night and 1m. anyway hyerin looks soooo good with her short hair Reply Thread Link This is just awful, I'm so disappointed :( Reply Thread Link Rose Granger-Weasley (@CherrelleSkeete) in #HarryPotterPlay #CursedChild. First public preview in 6 days! pic.twitter.com/I3VOOC4ihG Harry Potter Play (@HPPlayLDN) June 1, 2016 I love, love, love this picture She looks exactly like what Ron and Hermione's child would look like, tbh I love, love, love this pictureShe looks exactly like what Ron and Hermione's child would look like, tbh Reply Thread Link right? I'm in love with her smile. cute face. I may have to change icons lol Reply Parent Thread Link she looks amazing, i love it! i'm just wondering why they didn't add hugo to the mix Reply Parent Thread Link Yes!! Like I don't care about this play but this is the perfect Rose! Reply Parent Thread Link and people are saying they think she is a puff!! I love this pic because Rose looks so fucking happy lol and I'm here for it. I want the Granger-Weasley kids to be so happy.. reading and eating sweets and playing around the houseand people are saying they think she is a puff!! #puffpride DO THIS FOR US JK. Reply Thread Link yay hufflepuff!! Reply Parent Thread Link eating sweets! better just be toothflossing stringmints. Hermione would never Reply Parent Thread Link I adore that they're Grainger-Weasleys. I've got a really good feeling about this show. So much talent is behind it. Reply Thread Link all the adults in this show are wildly unattractive Reply Thread Link i mean i love daniel radcliffe but he's not exactly adonis sis Reply Parent Thread Link They look like average BCC people, not like unnaturally good looking people from American television Reply Parent Thread Link They're just British tbh. Reply Parent Thread Link Because they look like normal people. Reply Parent Thread Link Just like the movies then. Edited at 2016-06-01 02:31 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Hermione is perfect Reply Thread Link Those kids must be so excited! Crossing my fingers it lives up to the hype. Reply Thread Link I like these much better than Harry and Ginny, idk, Ron looks, well, like Ron, and i like this new take on Hermione ^^ I really like Rose, if only for these pictures, do we know anything at all about the character? Reply Thread Link Edited at 2016-06-01 01:05 pm (UTC) Rowling and the actress talked a little bit about Rose in the Pottermore article: https://www.pottermore.com/news/cursed-child-first-look-at-weasleys-in-character . :) Reply Parent Thread Link God I'm still so happy about Hermione, and Rose is so cute!!! I really hope a bootleg will leak or something, cause u won't be able to see it :( Reply Thread Link These are so awesome! I really needed some cheering up this morning, and this did it. Hermione looks really badass and beautiful. Reply Thread Link i'm still not sold on the new take on hermione, i was looking at tumblr yesterday and someone had posted a fancasting of hermione of some POC model (i honestly can't remember if it was an actress either) and in the picture next to her was an asian ginny (which i definitely would not be sold on) i dunno. maybe it's because i always pictured myself as a hermione when i was first reading th books and it'd be like they're crushing my dream to be using a different take on her? eh. i suck, i know. sorry. hate away, chums. edit: though after writing this i have to admit i have not been sold on things before and the time has rolled through and i've loved them months later. i mean, i wasn't sold on michael gambon as dumbledore but aside from the HARRY DID YA PUT YAH NAME IN THA GOBLET OF FIYAH?!?!! (which dumbledore according to the books said 'calmly') he was wonderful. Edited at 2016-06-01 12:12 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link You can still identify with hermione despite not looking like her. Reply Parent Thread Link I agree. Any person of colour will tell you that they have the ability to relate to the white-led movies Hollywood has crammed down our throats for 100s of years. Get used to it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Never said you couldn't. Wow, next time I'll shut the fuck up, right. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link IKR, this person is a privileged idiot Reply Parent Thread Link are you white? i majorly identified with hermione as a character as well, still do. i don't see how her skin colour matters in that respect. lbr we have enough characters to identify with on the basis of skin colour, we got nothing to complain about here Reply Parent Thread Expand Link If you picture yourself as an Hermione and that's the reason you're not sold on black Hermione, why aren't you sold on asian Ginny? do you picture yourself as both Ginny and Hermione? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link what about all the little black girls who read the books and pictured hermoine looking like them? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link we had to relate to white characters practically our entire lives as poc. welcome to our world! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link yes it's all about you honey! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I didn't identify with Hermione because she was white. I identified as her because she was a brainy, studious, and amazing character. And Michael Gambon was a HORRID Dumbledore, but that is just my opinion. Dumbledore was this gentle man, and he made him out to be really abrasive and harsh. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link You had seven books and eight movies to identify with. Crushing your dreams, really? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link as long as you know that your opinion sucks, ig! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Umm wow u sound really racist rn you might want to reexamine that comment tbh Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I won't come for you since that's already happened but I hope some of the other comments were helpful in showing how, with the way you worded it originally, it could be read as racism since - with her a new race - Hermione was someone you no longer related to. I wouldn't say it makes you racist so much as short cited & limited in your frame of reference. POCs are always told to relate to white characters but for some reason white people refuse to do the same the seldom times they have to and that's frustrating you know? Hopefully your responses to this comment weren't an altogether negative experience and it helped you a bit to 'get it' when it comes to things like racially blind casting for things in the future. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Of course it's a Supernatural fan.. Reply Parent Thread Link look, you're racist. you're a white person who will always benefit from the implicit racial bias that undergirds our culture's relationship with race. instead of being ott in your reaction to pretty thoughtful comments, read them and grow. you know your opinion is dumb af anyway! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lmao this thread Reply Parent Thread Link ha Reply Parent Thread Link lmao i can't Reply Parent Thread Link i identified hardcore with Ginny Weasley and I'm Chinese so you can stfu tbh Reply Parent Thread Link I love black hermione! Reply Thread Link i really do too, and i think noma looks and gets hermione so well! i am so excited for this Reply Parent Thread Link this is a really great casting, rose looks exactly like a granger-weasley lol. i don't care much about the future generation stuff but i'll probably be watching this anyway if a bootleg leaks Reply Thread Link Aww they look lovely Reply Thread Link Maybe it's the lighting, but they look so old :( It's weird how NOT excited I am about Cursed Child considering how I loved all things HP. Reply Thread Link wizards age faster than muggles when they reach their 30s, which is why Snape, Lupin, Sirius, James and Lily all looked haggard af at 36 (and younger in James and Lily's case) on the upside they live to 100 years old and older tho! Reply Parent Thread Link Ooh I was wondering about that, thanks! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lmao this is a great explanation for the Marauders old looking asses Reply Parent Thread Link lol Reply Parent Thread Link lmfaoooooo Reply Parent Thread Link no way does that kid have a ginger as her dad Reply Thread Link but lbr, we all know hermione's genes would be stronger than ron's Reply Parent Thread Link hopefully, cause I still think Ron is dumb and uncouth af Reply Parent Thread Link that was my thought too... i know two mixed kids with a nigerian and a ginger parent, both very light skinned and the girl has slightly reddish hair. still dark tho, but reddish. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link not necessarily. my brother & i have a tanzanian mom & a ginger dad, yet my brother isn't super light-skinned Reply Parent Thread Link Woohoo! Hermione has a hot, steamy affair with someone else and passes off the kid as Ron's! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link No, but so what? It's a play, not a movie. Reply Parent Thread Link well i guess it is Tom then Reply Thread Link I'm holding out hope for Olivia Colman. Reply Parent Thread Link Oh God. This would be perfect. And if she isn't Bond, can she be in the film anyway? She'd be a fantastic M. I absolutely adore Olivia. Reply Parent Thread Link Ikr I just did a Grinch smirk when I read she directed The Night Manager Reply Parent Thread Link Night Manager was so fucking boring. Reply Thread Link so tom is actually going to be bond? blegh. if I thought he was insufferable now, imagine after nabbing this role. they should've went with a more low key, unknown actor. Reply Thread Link Tom what'shisface is so ugly and unsexy tho. Shouldn't Bond be at least sexy? Reply Parent Thread Link I actually love Susanne Bier so this would be really cool. Reply Thread Link i will actually pay money for these movies if this is true. Reply Thread Link Ehhh her movies do nothing for me but then again Mendes hasn't been shit since American Beauty. Reply Thread Link also, here to post my oblig 'give it to james norton' comment yes, pleasealso, here to post my oblig 'give it to james norton' comment Reply Thread Link ugh james!!! my ugly bae! Reply Parent Thread Link this could actually work tbh Reply Parent Thread Link OMG yes, please. Reply Parent Thread Link SIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Reply Parent Thread Link but his voice is so high, it kills it Reply Parent Thread Link I wish they'd consider him... Fantastic actor. Reply Parent Thread Link Looks like The Night Manager was just one giant Bond audition. I hope this means Olivia Coleman will be the next rumored casting! Reply Thread Link it's weird that Hiddleston is being considered bc usually the actor is fairly unknown prior to being cast, right? I know Daniel Craig was. but I guess they also went with super well-known actors in supporting roles in both Skyfall and Spectre so meh. I'm excited for Susanne Bier tho. Reply Thread Link Yeah, I think he would be very miscast but I also don't get why he seems to be so hated here. He's even chilled out on the effusiveness lately. Reply Parent Thread Link tom is a nobody to the general public tho Reply Parent Thread Link his pr has been pulling major moves. he's been everywhere promoting his flop film and night manager did well although it was boring af. Reply Parent Thread Link We're going to have a women's perspective on Bond 90% chance Tom's playing him Everyday's better with 2 scoops of haters! Reply Thread Link lol welp, guess tom it is then Reply Thread Link u must be a pretty big fuckhead if well-known fuckhead sean connery is calling u a fuckhead Reply Thread Link IKR, lol Reply Parent Thread Link lmao this Reply Parent Thread Link lmao right? Reply Parent Thread Link I like that this is the first comment. I was going to comment something similar. Reply Parent Thread Link Flawless icon. Reply Parent Thread Link lmao Reply Parent Thread Link MTE. That's an advanced level of fuckhead. Reply Parent Thread Link "It's Michael's style." Shia ain't shit either. LOL. Reply Thread Link He's not. in that same interview, he said megan was going through some "spice girls woman empowerment [stuff]." and what he probably said was "shit" instead of "stuff" because the mag couldn't print profanity. Edited at 2016-06-01 04:27 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Bay's been known to wear neon Nike sneakers that say Bayhem on the tongues i fucking hate him omg Reply Thread Link lmao right that immediately made me furious Reply Parent Thread Link That's a great comparison, lol I hate that I kind of like his first movie The Rock Reply Thread Link Lbr, you wouldn't have enjoyed it as much had it been one of Mann's recent films. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm pretty sure quentin tarantino had something to do with the script. he re-wrote it and I've seen that mentioned as why the movie is pretty good. not 100% on that tho. Reply Parent Thread Link All these stories coming forward about his douchery make me thing those horrible BIs about Ashley Greene a few years ago were true... :( Reply Thread Link What was the BI? Reply Parent Thread Link Lower tier actress - you know her name - is desperate for a big(ger) break. When she heard The Director was working on a new blockbuster, she begged and begged for a meeting. And he repeatedly kept dicking her around, cancelling at the last minute, making her wait for a couple of hours before sending the assistant out to tell her he wasnt showing. I mean, hes a legendary misogynist. And theres nothing he likes more than playing mind games with young actresses. Though he has no intention of putting her in his movies, hes having a great time f-cking up her head. So he sent word that he might agree to see her but only if she loses some weight. This girl was fit to begin with. Like really fit. So shes starving herself to let go of an extra 10, even though theres not much there to begin with. But its not like it would help. Again, hes just doing this because he can, for sh-ts and giggles, because hes a twisted f-ck. As he explained to a colleague, That girl is regular person pretty, and not even really regular person pretty. Definitely not hot enough for one of my movies. And its like hes almost insulted that she thought she was. Which is why this game, this game is just his way of putting her in her place, of punishing her for actually thinking shed be good enough, sexy enough, to be his new model muse. He justifies it by saying hes giving her a life lesson. Oh, and if she offers me a blowjob, Ill take it. One of these days, maybe Ill throw her a favour. Sad part is...shes coming close to it. Shes coming very close. http://www.blinditemsexposed.com/2012/02/lainey-thin-for-nothing.html?m=1 Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I remember this, it was the most depressing thing. I hope Bay drives his Ferrari off a cliff tbh. Reply Parent Thread Link what happened to that amber heard people cover post???? Reply Thread Link Just going to ask this...... hm...... Reply Parent Thread Link I feel paranoid that johnny's people are coming for us because we're one of the few sites explicitly trashing him Reply Parent Thread Link I think it was bc there was a similar post below it. Reply Parent Thread Link gross. this is why it's so important for their to be more female writers, directors and producers. he's sadly far from the only man behind the scenes who operates like this. Reply Thread Link I can't even tell if that picture if him is photoshopped or not Reply Thread Link he actually wore that Reply Parent Thread Link disgusting omg Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this fucking douchebag would Reply Parent Thread Link google tells me it was at a halloween party, but you just KNOW he secretly wears this all the time Reply Parent Thread Link Trash Reply Parent Thread Link He seems like the type of turd that posts "if you get offended by the confederate flag you need a history lesson" on fb Reply Thread Link We use the term "problematic" too much. For instance, here, instead of problematic, I would just say "fucked up." Reply Thread Link Yeah, problematic is your fave vearing a bindi, or something alike as a fashion statement out of stupidity and ignorance. This is pure fucked up. Reply Parent Thread Link I hate the terms the problematic and messy. They are such baby words and they make it sound like the person using them is just whining for no reason. Call the person what they are. Racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Reply Parent Thread Link That whole story about Megan Fox being 15 in Bad Boys II is so gross. Reply Thread Link michael bay sucks, news at 11 Reply Thread Link Yeah, I don't think I like this guy. Reply Thread Link I can just imagine how amused Keira must be sitting at home with her baby getting all this random, free press, lol Reply Thread Link lol mte Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah, they have a daughter named Edie who was born last year in May Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yep. Her daughter just had her first birthday last month, actually Reply Parent Thread Link She was so beautiful in that Chanel campaign. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I mean, I guess that's a nice apology but it's like... wtf why did he say any of that out loud in the first place? Reply Thread Link He's an asshole, that's why. He was publicly shamed into making this apology. He didn't want her for the role in the first place, he wanted a pop star, not an actress. Which makes his comments about her bad acting even more stupid. I think she was probably a lot more professional on set and he wanted someone he could mold and push around, or someone who would think he's a bigger deal than he is. Evidently she wasn't playing his game so he takes it out on her now. Loser. Reply Parent Thread Link The apology is well-written but I hope it was from his heart as opposed to a product of the backlash that he faced. It was good to see film twitter defend and Keira's collaborators defend her. You are still shit John. Reply Thread Link I loved seeing her other directors come out to basically say "um WTF are you talking about?" Reply Parent Thread Link IKR. That was nice. People didn't hold back in their disgust for his comments. Reply Parent Thread Link Nothing he said originally seems that bad? Reply Thread Link It wasn't like he called her a bitch or something. He called her, a 2-time Oscar nominee, a bad actress who is really just a silly supermodel, while at the same time praising Adam Levine for his amazing acting skillz. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol, I just clicked the link to that post. I actually don't disagree with anything he said about her. Oop. But yeah, he should have kept it cute lol. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lol k Reply Parent Thread Link you think she holds back and doesn't really give herself into a performance? I mean the "keira is a bad actress" club usually swings the opposite direction and say she overacts, trotting out that jaw gif. Reply Parent Thread Link I feel like I'm gonna get whiplash I feel like I'm gonna get whiplash Reply Thread Link lol @ him making it seem like it was one interview that got a ton of attention when he was talking shit to multiple people Reply Thread Link http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/john-carney-i-ll-never-make-a-film-with-supermodels-again-once-sing-street-interview-keira-knightley-a7053076.html http://www.heyuguys.com/john-carney-interview-sing-street/ https://twitter.com/Lieryn/status/737038384003227648 yep, he talked about her in at least three different interviews Reply Parent Thread Link Mte lol Reply Parent Thread Link Seriously. And I honestly think he only apologized because of the unexpected backlash. Which was probably unexpected by him because he's a yt dude who has directed some semi-well-received movies. LOL @ this whole debacle while Keira goes on with her life. Plus my money is on him hitting on her and being rejected and since he lashed out at her apparently having an "entourage" and it has been noted that her husband was on set during the filming of Begin Again I'm betting big time on this theory. Reply Parent Thread Link Plus my money is on him hitting on her and being rejected Mte. Reply Parent Thread Link yeah I'm side-eyeing him for this because it wasn't just a one-time thing, he said it multiple times. So I can't really buy his apology when it's clear he's only doing it because of the backlash. Reply Parent Thread Link Yep. Also the "conversation" didn't just "turn" toward Knightley, he brought her up completely out of nowhere when they were discussing a film she wasn't in. "Oh it was so nice working with this child actor because they were so real, UNLIKE KEIRA KNIGHTLEY." "What did I like about making this film? THERE WERE NO KEIRA KNIGHTLEYS." Reply Parent Thread Link whatever dude Reply Thread Link Meh, glad he worded it the way he did. It's humble and shows that words do mean something. I have to wonder what his mind frame was like when he spouted all those things, usually Hollywood stays pretty hush-hush about their inside fighting or hating. Reply Thread Link that's great so he was just making up stuff.. he still feels that way just sorry he said it out loud. Reply Thread Link lol but that's most people who say stupid shit and then have to apologize for it. Apologies aren't normally because the person truly feels sorry and sees they were wrong imo, it's to smooth things over. Reply Parent Thread Link lmao he sounds like he got some angry texts Reply Thread Link i can only assume that he regularly speaks this way about most of the women he has worked with and will continue to do so privately. i am sure he'll slip up at some point and say something equally bad about some other woman, because he will think it was insulting keira that was the problem and not his sexism. he will remain insecure and fragile. this is a well-written pr apology though. Reply Thread Link Sometimes our mouths speak before our brains know our lips are moving. And I wish more people would, only because i get so tired of ass kissing. I'm a pain in the ass and if i dont know it, let me know. But yes he was harsh. Reply Parent Thread Link to our friends or family, sure.. but if we said whatever we felt like to coworkers, i think our lives would be even harder than they probably already are Reply Parent Thread Link The EIA has apparently stopped publishing its International Energy Statistics. Instead they are now publishing an abbreviated version on their Total Energy web page titled: Table 11.1b World Crude Oil Production. Here they publish crude + condensate production numbers for Persian Gulf Nations, Selected Non-OPEC Countries, Total Non-OPEC and World. The Selected Non-OPEC Producers are Canada, China, Egypt, Mexico, Norway, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States. They have just released their latest data through February 2016. All the data below is in thousand barrels per day and through February 2016 unless otherwise noted. (Click to enlarge) They have world C+C peaking, so far, in November 2015 at 80,630,000 bpd. February production was 79,653,000 bpd, or 977,000 bpd below the peak. World C+C production, they say, averaged 80,035,000 in 2015. Average for the first two months of 2016 was 79,933.000 or 102,000 bpd below the average for 2015. So with world production continuing to decline, there is little doubt that 2016 production will be well below 2015 production. (Click to enlarge) They have Non-OPEC peaking in March 2015 at 46,504,000 bpd and down by 925,000 bpd in February to 45,579,000 bpd. (Click to enlarge) They also publish OPEC members data, Table 11.1a. OPEC C+C failed to breach its 2012 peak but did reach 34,562,000 bpd in July 2015 but by February 2016 it was down 488,000 bpd to 34,074,000 bpd. (Click to enlarge) This is the EIAs version of Canadian production. It looks exactly like Canadas National Energy Board data except the EIAs data is about 150,000 bpd less than Canadas NEB shows. Obviously Canada is counting something that the EIA is not. Look for Canadas production to decline substantially in 2016. And those May wildfires will not help at all. (Click to enlarge) China has peaked. The only question left to be answered is how fast will she decline? There are several articles on the web about Chinas decline, but they all say about the same thing. Related: Over 20 Oil Majors Sign Up for Mexicos Most Lucrative Offshore Oil Blocks Data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Saturday showed China produced 16.59 million tonnes of crude oil last month, or about 4.04 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest rate since July 2013 on a daily basis. (Click to enlarge) Egypt is in a slow decline. But we have known that for years. (Click to enlarge) Mexico managed to stem their decline for a few months but their production has begun to decline again. (Click to enlarge) Norway, which produced around 3 million barrels per day from 1996 to 2004, has now dropped to almost half that amount. But they have managed halt the decline in 2012 and have since even increased their production slightly. It is likely they will continue to hold this production for at least another year. They are managing to buck the trend. (Click to enlarge) The UK peaked at just under 3 million barrels per day in 1998 and for the last three years or so has averaged about one third that amount. But the UK has also managed to stem their decline. For how long, I have no idea. (Click to enlarge) Russia has been a real shocker. No one, inside or outside Russia, expected them to increase production by over 200,000 bpd over the last few months. *Production declined by .7 percent in April according to the Russian Energy Ministry. My above projection was made using average change in production of the Energy Ministrys data. Everyone has a different opinion on what to expect from Russia next year. Everyone now expects their production to increase slightly this year. I say now because everyone had a different opinion a few months ago. But The U.S. is, of course, a big part of what is happening to world oil production, and will continue to play a big part. I think U.S. production will continue to decline for another year or so. After that? I think production will flatten out then increase slightly. But the boom times very expensive shale oil brought are over. Related: Crude Bounces Back On Pre-OPEC Meeting Rumors (Click to enlarge) Iran is the main reason the price induced decline has not become obvious. In conclusion, In spite of the recent increase in Russian production, as well as the slight increase from the North Sea, and in spite of the dramatic production increase from Iran due to the lifting of sanctions, world crude oil production is in decline. And while it is true that most of this decline is due to the price crash, it remains to be seen just how much production will recover when the price returns to to wherever it returns to before it stops. But the decline has only just begun. The price collapse caused the plateau in world oil production that begun about March 2015. However, the decline did not actually begin until January 2016. The dramatic rise in production from Iran has kept the decline from becoming obvious to everyone. However when the May production numbers come in, I think it will then become obvious to everyone. By Ron Patterson via Peakoilbarrel.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: In 2015, the U.S. was the largest producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in the world by a wide margin, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates. While that sounds great, the reality is a bit different, and Russia and Saudi Arabia are having the last laugh. Holding the clunky title of Worlds Largest Producer of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hydrocarbons is an honor on some level, but if you dig a bit further below the surface and unravel the creative mathematics, the details of this story become a bit less impressive. And even less so when we consider that U.S. production of crude oilthe creme de la creme of petroleum productsis falling, and both Russia and Saudi Arabia produce more in this battle for supremacy. When it comes to total petroleum production, the U.S. is trailed by Russia and then Saudi Arabia, as shown in the chart below. (Click to enlarge) In the above chart, the darker portion represents petroleum production and the lighter shade represents natural gas. The chart shows that the U.S. produced close to 15 million barrels per day of petroleum fuels in 2015. Nevertheless, the latest Weekly Petroleum status report by the EIA shows that the U.S. produced only 8.76 million barrels per day of crude oil in the week ending 20 May 2016. We might assume that this means U.S. crude oil production halved in 2016, but that is not the case. We need to understand the terminology to fully comprehend the charts. The definitions provided on the EIA website can help us understand the terminology and the chart better. The above chart shows the production of total petroleuma broad category that includes crude oil, as well as other petroleum products derived from crude oil and other liquidsnamely natural gas liquids. Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, which is found in liquid form in the reservoirs, and it retains its liquid form when extracted to the surface. Petroleum products are processed from crude oil and other liquids at petroleum refineries, from the extraction of liquid hydrocarbons at natural gas processing plants, and from the production of finished petroleum products at blending facilities. Though the petroleum products have many uses, most natural gas liquids cant be used to make gasoline, and just as importantly, they contain only about two-thirds of the energy content of crude oil. Related: When Will Solar Overtake Oil? The chart below shows the U.S. crude oil production, which peaked in mid-2015, and since then is in a declining trend. The U.S. produced an average of 9.4 million barrels of crude oil in 2015. (Click to enlarge) In sharp contrast, unlike the United States, the bulk of the Russian and the Saudi petroleum production consists of crude oil. The Saudis produced 10.2 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2016, according to Saudi Aramcos 2015 annual review, while Russia produced 10.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2015. While both Russia and Saudi Arabia continue to pump oil at record levels in 2016, it is a different case with U.S. oil production. The bulk of U.S. production came from the shale oil drillers, and since the drop in crude prices, 77 North American oil companies have declared bankruptcy, according to the Wall Street Journal, which led to the production falling below 8.8 million barrels per day. Related: Oil Heading for $60 Though the rally in crude oil prices from the lows of $27.10 per barrel to the current level of $50 per barrel will help the shale oil drillers to continue pumping, any drop towards the lows again will bring in a fresh wave of bankruptcies. So although the U.S. may rightly call itself the worlds largest petroleum and natural gas producer, its a rather unimportantand some might say meaninglessfact when viewed in isolation apart from crude oil, and Saudi Arabia and Russia have no reason to be worried about losing such an inconsequential title. By Rakesh Upadhyay for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Imagine how workers would behave if they were paid not on the basis of their output or productivity, but simply on time spent at the office regardless of what they were doing with that time. Its likely that many employees would choose to spend evenings at the office watching TV and eating dinner. Some might even choose to sleep at work. None of this would be helpful to their employers, but it would let the employee receive a bigger paycheck. That situation, as absurd as it sounds, is essentially the way that many oil companies are still being run these days at least with respect to their CEOs. In the last decade, significant numbers of oil company CEOs have found their pay tied not to profits or a firms stock, but rather to production levels of the company. Unfortunately, despite the biggest oil bust in decades, many CEOs at large production companies are still paid based on production, not profits. The problem with this approach is that at current oil prices, significant amounts of current production are not profitable. Thats not to say those wells never will be, but they arent now. By incentivizing current production rather than current profitability, or better yet, long-term profits, firms are destroying shareholder value. Instead the focus ought to be on incentivizing CEOs to cut costs and build the leanest and most profitable organizations possible. That might seem obvious, yet thats not how many firms have set up their compensation structures. Related: Flower Power Takes On A New Meaning With Pollen Batteries The CEOs of Continental (CLR), Devon (DVN), and Chesapeake (CHK), for instance, all derived a substantial portion of their 2015 bonuses based on production and reserves rather than profits. According to the Wall Street Journal, 30 percent of DVNs CEO bonus, 40 percent of CLRs CEO bonus, and 34 percent of CHKs CEO bonus were all tied to production. At Chesapeake, CEO Doug Lawler earned $1.56 million in pay for exceeding production and reserve targets for instance. That contributed to a 4.9 percent increase in CHKs production compared to a 2 percent target. That increased production did not help shareholders though. Earnings collapsed during the year and all the while CHKs share price imploded, falling 77 percent in 2015. Chesapeake is far from the only firm that is taking this misguided and destructive approach towards its shareholders though. Incentive pay for CEOs at production companies helps to explain in large part why U.S. products have been slow to cut output even as prices have tanked. U.S. oil production has declined only 9 percent from record highs despite the fact that the vast majority of oil companies are now unprofitable and would be better off going into long term survival mode and emphasizing profitability rather than break-neck growth. Related: When Will Solar Overtake Oil? To be fair, the problem is more complex than simple myopic CEO bonus structures. Wall Street analysts have historically tended to favor production companies with significant future growth prospects rather than current earnings. That in turn gave companies an incentive to look for growth in production and reserves rather than profits. Maximizing sales makes little sense in a pure valuation framework, but analysts at major Wall Street banks have been slow to realize this and update their models to account for the more difficult to measure cost of future production. Similarly, most production firms are in large part dependent on banks for a critical mass of their financing these days. Banks have made loans largely on the basis on untapped reserves as collateral. This misses the key point that collateral trapped underground is only worth something if it can profitably be extracted. On the whole then, its clear that firms arent alone in their misguided pursuit of production over profits. By Michael McDonald of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A day before the OPEC summit kicks off, top officials from the oil cartel say that the markets are moving in the right direction, a sign of confidence that suggests little could emerge from this weeks meeting. Few expected the June 2 meeting to result in some sort of agreement on supply cuts or even a production freeze, given the enmity between several of the groups top members. The collapse of the Doha summit in April, a meeting that only sought to implement a very modest freeze deal, suggests that any cooperation is almost certainly off the table. However, even since April the chances of a deal have narrowed. That is because oil prices have continued to climb, trading just below $50 per barrel on the eve of the semi-annual OPEC meeting in Vienna. From the beginning of the year until now, the market has been correcting itself upward, U.A.E. oil minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told reporters from Vienna on May 31. The market will fix itself to a price that is fair to the consumers and to the producers. Oil prices have moved up nearly 90 percent since the February lows of $27 per barrel. This extraordinary rally has taken the pressure off of OPEC to take coordinated action on cutting or freezing output. Related: Why We Need $120 Oil Nevertheless, it might still be a bit early for OPEC to claim victory. The major supply outages in Canada and Nigeria helped to push up crude oil prices over the past month. Canadian oil producers, led by Suncor Energy, are getting back to work. The prospect of a return in large sources of supply has halted the price rally just short of $50 per barrel. "I think the market trends are better now Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigerias oil minister said in Vienna. Oil prices are moving in the right direction but he said that he thinks it needs more acceleration of the pace. While he may want prices to rise faster, OPEC members appears unwilling to cooperate in order to make that happen. Instead, the goals for the OPEC meeting are much more modest: to patch up broken relationships and cobble together some sort of foundation for cooperation. All eyes will be on Saudi Arabias new oil minister Khalid al-Falih, who replaced the well respected and long-time former minister Ali al-Naimi. Mr. Naimi worked well with the group, even though Saudi Arabia has competing and sometimes hostile relations with other members (namely, Iran). Bloomberg reports that al-Falih comes to the meeting with the goal of mending fences with its fellow OPEC members, hoping to restore trust after Saudi Arabia killed off the Doha deal. Saudi Arabia wants to reassure OPEC that it will not flood the market, and may even be open to reinstating production targets. Related: Oil Speculators No Longer Confident In Price Crash It is hard to see how OPEC could agree on such an outcome, unless the production targets were substantially higher than the previous ones. Several OPEC members, including Saudi Arabia, are producing in excess of those former targets, and Riyadh has shown no willingness to cut back on production unless Iran does as well. Iran, of course, has refused to limit its output until it brings production back to pre-sanctions levels. The IEA said in its May Oil Market Report that Iran succeeded in boosting oil production to 3.6 million barrels per day, a level not seen since before the harsh 2012 sanctions. Iran insists it still has some lost ground to recover and has not expressed an interest in production limits. In short, not much has changed since the April Doha summit collapsed in acrimony. If anything, the rise in oil prices has erased the urgency to make collective sacrifice. Bloomberg surveyed 27 oil analysts, polling them on what they expect to happen in Vienna. All but one of them project that the group will fail to set a production target. Perhaps the best the group can hope for is a restoration of some trust that could lay the groundwork for cooperation at some point in the future. On the other hand, the past few OPEC meetings have defied expectations, ending with surprise announcements. One should not entirely rule out another unexpected result. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Federal appeals judges sided with environmental groups over ExxonMobil in a case regarding pollution from the oil giants refinery in Baytown, Texas. The plaintiffs The Sierra Club and Environment Texas filed the suit in 2010 regarding thousands of pollution violations, according to the Energy Voice. Two years ago, a Houston-based federal judge said Exxon was not liable for the damages caused by the violations, but the judges presiding over the appeal unanimously found the company guilty. Related: Why We Need $120 Oil U.S. District Could Judge David Hittner erred in his analysis of Exxons liability and abused his discretion by refusing to penalize Exxon for violations it had already admitted to, according to the majority opinion. This is huge news. We took on the worlds biggest energy company, Luke Metzger of Environment Texas, told reporters in front of the downtown Houston courthouse. We think this is great news for anyone downwind of polluting facilities. The appeals court ruling confirms that even the worlds most powerful corporations must be held accountable when they violate our environmental and public health laws, the activist added. The Baytown facility - the largest refinery in the United States experienced roughly 4,000 pollution violations, averaging out to more than one incident a day, court documents said. Related: Oil Speculators No Longer Confident In Price Crash The appeals court judges also opined on Exxons intentions regarding four new environmental improvement projects it had been working with regulators to implement. We think it is possible that the agreement between Exxon and the [Texas Commission on Environmental Quality] is a sterling example of regulatory capture at its worst, the opinion read. However, it is also entirely possible that Exxons explanation for pursuing the agreementthat it wanted more certainty in enforcementis valid and that the company did want to take good-faith steps towards reducing future compliance issues. By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Islamic State (ISIS) has been making up for its oil profit losses by increasing the taxes it levies on the people living on territory it still controls. Terrorism experts Jean-Charles Brisard and Damien Martinez from the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism concluded in their report on Wednesday that "ISIS's military defeat is not imminent... as things stand, ISIS economic collapse remains some way off in the mid-term." At $2.4 billion in revenues during 2015, it made $500 million less than the year before, according to the researchers figures. Despite the drops reportedly caused by the international military coalitions attacks on the groups oil strongholds, ISIS remains the richest terrorist organization on the planet. Enhanced extortion tactics used by the group have led tax revenues to increase from $360 million in 2014 to almost $800 million in 2015, the authors said. Related: Iranian Oil Is Disguising A Significant Decline In Global Production Evidence of the groups failing financial state has been mounting as it cut fighters salaries in half for a second time earlier this year. The U.S. military has said ISIS has lost control of roughly 40 percent of its territory, though eight million men, women and children still reside in occupied lands. Those who remain face an array of taxes, all marketed as zakat, or tithings. There is a 10 percent income tax, up to 15 percent in business taxes, five percent fees for cash withdrawals and up to 35 percent in taxes on essential drugs. Christians must also pay the jizyah tax, which ensures their protection from ISIS enforcers. "It's really an adaptive organization," Brisard told CNNMoney. "What strikes me is the fact that they're clearly behaving as managers, not simple looters. They really have budget requirements, and they're compensating." Related: The Offshore Oil Business Is Crippled And It May Never Recover Researchers estimate that Turkish buyers have been conducting business with organizations in ISIS controlled territory, but the United Nations has not been able to approve an embargo on countries or individuals known to work with the terrorists, Brisard said, noting that the situation is absurd. In the meantime, Oilprice.com sources on the ground in Turkey caution that much of the reports claiming that Turkey is complicit in smuggling ISIS oil is Russian propaganda. It is also the result of skewed information on smuggling chains that have existed long before the emergence of ISIS and not through major Turkish suppliers or the government. By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Reprinted from Consortium News Dear Democrats, Please don't commit suicide by nominating Hillary Clinton. Allow me to explain. I have been a Democrat since birth. My first political memory was Robert Kennedy's assassination. I remember thinking that perhaps the best politician that ever was had died and being terribly sad from that thought. I will never forget the election of 1972, watching as state after state chose Nixon instead of McGovern. "How can they all be so wrong?" I remember thinking as a young girl. Ignorance and selfishness seemed the only answers. I suffered through Nixon and Ford before enjoying, briefly, the interruption of Jimmy Carter for a term. Then it was another 12 years of Republican rule under Reagan and George H. W. Bush. From my childhood to adulthood I had seen 24 years of Republicans and only four years of Democratic rule. The country felt profoundly unfair. It's the money in politics, I realized somewhere along the way to the 1992 election. So when Jerry Brown, the past and future governor of California, said he would only take $100 campaign contributions because money in politics was corrupting America, for the first time I walked into a campaign office and volunteered. Getting money out of politics profoundly inspired me. I wanted to join the cause. I fell into my first political love affair. The antagonist in that election, as you well know, were the Clintons. They came as a package. But there was something about them, their love for pomp and circumstance and money, that set me on edge from the beginning. That said, when I heard fellow "Brownies" might be voting for Perot if Brown lost, I argued vigorously the Democrats are not the problem. The Clintons may be, but don't blame the party. No matter how much we hate the Clintons, we have to suck it up and vote for the Democrats. Yes, I really had those conversations. And I lived to regret them. But that's getting ahead of the story. During my time on the Brown campaign, I saw how completely biased and inaccurate the media was. I would go to an event with 3,000 people in attendance and see it dismissed as "a small handful" of supporters. I thought, if the media is this wrong about something I have firsthand knowledge of, what else are they wrong about? I started reading many more sources than the typical mainstream ones. I didn't rely on television news for information. So as the debate for North American Free Trade Agreement was going on, I found myself drawn to C-SPAN, where I could hear the Senators argue for and against the trade agreement without a filter. It was clear to me, listening to both sides, that those who opposed NAFTA were correct and those who supported it were incorrect. I was so incensed I promised myself that I would volunteer in 1996 for anyone who had opposed NAFTA. I reached out to Rep. Dick Gephardt's office, as he had led the opposition to NAFTA, but sadly, he declined to run that year. The Democratic Party had failed me yet again by offering no principled opposition to a president who could best be described as "Republican Lite." Rationalizing War And it wasn't just NAFTA. I was not impressed by our "humanitarian" efforts in Kosovo once I learned how a photograph that appeared to show people inside a fence in a modern-day concentration camp really showed people outside a fence looking in , among many other lies. Having learned from Mark Fineman's Los Angeles Times story " The Oil Factor in Somalia ," which was one of Project Censored's top stories from 1993 , that George H.W. Bush's "humanitarian" efforts in Somalia were run out of the oil companies there in the hopes of securing the oil that studies had indicated were underground there, I learned to be suspicious of "humanitarian" excuses for attacks on other countries. Rumors abounded that our efforts in Kosovo were also more oil than a humanitarian effort, and specifically, an oil pipeline. The mainstream media chimed in many times to tell us these were simply "conspiracy theories," that no pipeline was planned, that our efforts were simply to help the poor people of Kosovo. But that wasn't true. This pipeline is now in existence. As George Monbiot spelled out in The Guardian of Feb. 15, 2001: "During the Balkans war, some of the critics of NATO's intervention alleged that the western powers were seeking to secure a passage for oil from the Caspian Sea. This claim was widely mocked. Robin Cook observed that 'there is no oil in Kosovo.' This was, of course, true but irrelevant. His discovery was repeated by an eminent commentator for this paper, who clinched his argument by recording that the Caspian Sea is 'half a continent away, lodged between Iran and Turkmenistan.' "For the past few weeks, a freelance researcher called Keith Fisher has been doggedly documenting a project which has, as far as I can discover, yet to be reported in any British, European or US newspaper. It's called the Trans-Balkan Pipeline, and it's due for approval at the end of next month. Its purpose is to secure a passage for oil from the Caspian Sea." Reprinted from Wallwritings When the Democratic nominating convention meets in Philadelphia, July 25, the Platform Committee deliberations will indicate how much Hillary Clinton feels she needs Bernie Sanders' support. Given the dire, looming alternative of a President Donald Trump, it is tempting to stop worrying about the Bern and embrace the New York Times' pro-Clinton narrative. Not so fast. There is still ample time to support the party's nominee after the Bernie Sanders' forces make their Platform Committee stand. Sanders has lain down a defiant marker by selecting three major pro-Palestinian Platform Committee members: Cornel West, James Zogby and Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, each of whom brings a unique background to this fight. That trio sounds like one of those powerful law firm of West, Zogby and Ellison, a team you would not want to face in the courtroom of public opinion when the issue is the continuous torture of a battered client. The Arab American Institution posted a video introducing five progressive activists appointed by Sanders to represent him on the Platform Committee. Sanders will arrive in Philadelphia lacking enough delegates for the nomination. But thanks to his delegates, including his progressive "Dream Team" on the platform committee, he is in a strong position to shape the platform. The New York Times, and the rest of the establishment mainline media, constantly remind voters that platforms do not matter. And to be sure, Democrats in Congress are not guided by the party platform. Still, the media thrives on conflict and since this should be a lively platform committee conflict, those sessions will get attention. First, we need to debunk portions of the mainstream media pro-Clinton narrative . The Washington Post report on Sanders and his platform committee choices, began this way: "Sen. Bernie Sanders was given unprecedented say over the Democratic Party platform Monday in a move party leaders hope will soothe a bitter split with backers of the longshot challenger to Hillary Clinton -- and Sanders immediately used his new power to name a well-known advocate for Palestinian rights to help draft Democratic policy." Sanders did not suddenly gain his "new power." A candidate still in the race for the nomination, with earned delegates, is entitled to an allocated percentage of committee seats. Contrary to the Post, Sanders was not "given unprecedented say over the Democratic Party platform." He earned those committee seats by winning delegates. He was not given seats to "sooth a bitter split," and he did not use "his new power" to name committee members. He did not get them as largess from the DNC. He got them the "old fashioned way." He earned them. Party unity can wait until after the convention. Sanders should stay in this race as long as he and his delegates can impact the future of the party. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Reprinted from Palestine Chronicle Associating the ongoing Palestinian intifada (uprising) with the number of stabbings or alleged stabbings carried out by Palestinian youths was a mistake from the start. An intifada is a collective movement, not individual acts of violence, no matter how frequent. The current intifada dates back to last October, when a large number of Palestinian youths began staging protests and clashing with Israeli occupation soldiers in various parts of occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. One aspect of the intifada was an increase of Palestinian reciprocal attacks, often involving youths wielding knives. They targeted occupation soldiers, armed colonists and also Israeli civilians. Many reported incidents of such attacks were contested by Palestinian and certain Israeli groups as fabrications, which often led to the death and injury of Palestinian civilians. In contrast to commonly-held views, a recent assessment by Israel's internal intelligence, the Shin Bet, indicates a palpable decrease in the number of stabbings in April, compared to earlier months. To some, this reported decrease has led to the conclusion that the Intifada is dying. However, the real reason behind the decline in Palestinian retaliatory attacks is unclear. One theory argues that Palestinians in general are increasingly finding such attacks of no practical use. Another, as argued by Adnan Abu Amer in Al-Monitor, suggests that "security coordination between the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Israel has been an important factor behind the possible decline. "On May 5, Shin Bet chief, Yoram Cohen, said that the PNA security services have been thwarting attacks soon after receiving intelligence from Israel, praising the security coordination's role in the efforts," Abu Amer wrote. This has been corroborated by Palestinian officials themselves. Head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, Majid Farah, said in an interview with DefenseNews last January, that his agents managed to thwart "200 potential terror attacks against Israel," as phrased in Israel's YNet News. While Farah spoke of arresting over 100 Palestinians in cooperation with the Israeli army, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, told Israel Channel 2 last March that his security forces are cracking down on Palestinian school children. Apart from apprehending suspected Palestinian resisters, the security coordination includes searching school children's bags for knives, according to the Palestinian leader. "Our security forces are entering schools and checking if students are carrying knives. In one school, we found 70 students with knives, and we told them that this was wrong. I told them I do not want you to kill someone and die; I want you to live and for others to live, too," he said. Yet, reducing a historic event as popular as the intifada to knives allegedly hidden in schoolbags is a major misrepresentation of what is taking place in the Occupied Territories. The issue is much larger than that, and is unlikely to be quelled by Abbas's henchmen or Israeli occupation forces. The nature of the current uprising in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem is testament to a pent-up anger of an entire generation that grew up behind walls and checkpoints. They are fighting two separate enemies -- the occupation army and their own oppressive leadership. Previous uprisings were massive in their mobilization, clear in their message and decisive in their delivery. They were willed by the people and, within days, imprinted themselves on the collective consciousness of Palestinians everywhere. The current uprising is different, particularly because it is yet to have a clear sense of direction -- a leadership, a political platform, demands, expectations and short and long-term strategies. At least that is how the 1987-93 intifada played out and, to a lesser extent, the 2000-2005 Al Aqsa intifada as well. But is it not possible that the outcomes of these previous Intifadas are what is making the current uprising different? The first intifada metamorphosed into a worthless peace process which eventually led to the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. A year later, the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization was reproduced into the emasculated form of the PNA. Since then, the latter has served largely as a conduit for the Israeli Occupation. The second Intifada had less success than the first. It quickly turned into an armed rebellion, thus marginalizing the popular component of revolt that is required to cement the collective identity of Palestinians, forcing them to overcome their divisions and unify behind a single flag and a distinct chant. That intifada was crushed by a brutal Israeli army: Hundreds of activists were assassinated and thousands were killed in protests and clashes with Israeli soldiers. It was a watershed moment in the relationship between the Israeli government and the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah and between the Palestinian factions themselves. Mahmoud Abbas was elected President of the PNA in 2005, shortly after the death of Yasser Arafat. Abbas's greatest achievements include the cracking down on civil society organizations, ensuring total loyalty towards him -- personally -- and towards his branch within the Fatah faction. Under Abbas, there has been no revolutionary model for change, no "national project." In fact, no clear definition of nationhood to begin with. The Palestinian nation became whatever Abbas wanted it to be. It consisted, largely, of West Bank Palestinians, living mostly in Area A, loyal to Fatah and hungry for international handouts. The more the Abbas nation agreed to play along, the more money they were allowed to rake in. Until October of last year, when the current uprising slowly began building momentum, the situation on the ground seemed to be at a standstill. In the West Bank, occupation was slowly normalized in accordance with the formula: Occupation and illegal colonies in exchange for money and silence. Reprinted from Consortium News For months now, poll after poll have registered the judgment of the American people that they want neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump as the next President, but the two major parties seem unable to steer away from this looming pileup, forcing voters to choose between two widely disdained politicians. The Republicans are locked in after Trump's hostile takeover of the party's selection process, but the Democrats have one final chance to steer clear -- on June 7 when they hold several primaries and caucuses including New Jersey and California. If Bernie Sanders can upset Clinton in California -- and/or if Clinton's legal problems over her emails worsen -- there remains a long-shot chance that the Democratic convention might nominate someone else. Two Washington insiders -- Democratic pollster and political adviser Douglas E. Schoen and famed Watergate investigative reporter Carl Bernstein -- have described panicky meetings of top Democrats worried over Clinton's troubled campaign, with Schoen also describing private talks about possible last-minute alternatives. As far-fetched as this might seem, some senior Democrats, including reportedly White House officials, are giving serious thought to how the party can grab the wheel at the last moment and avoid the collision of two historically unpopular political figures, a smash-up where Trump might be the one walking away, damaged but victorious. I've heard similar tales of hushed discussions -- with the fill-in options including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry or Sen. Sanders -- but I still believe these fretful leaders are frozen by indecision and don't have the nerve to pull Hillary Clinton's hands off the steering wheel even to avoid disaster. But at least I'm not alone hearing these frightened whispers. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Schoen, who served as a political aide to President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, wrote: "There is now more than a theoretical chance that Hillary Clinton may not be the Democratic nominee for president. ... "The inevitability behind Mrs. Clinton's nomination will be in large measure eviscerated if she loses the June 7 California primary to Bernie Sanders. That could well happen. ... A Sanders win in California would powerfully underscore Mrs. Clinton's weakness as a candidate in the general election. "Democratic superdelegates -- chosen by the party establishment and overwhelmingly backing Mrs. Clinton, 543-44 -- would seriously question whether they should continue to stand behind her candidacy. ... "Mrs. Clinton also faces growing legal problems. The State Department inspector general's recent report on Mrs. Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state made it abundantly clear that she broke rules and has been far from forthright in her public statements. The damning findings buttressed concerns within the party that Mrs. Clinton and her aides may not get through the government's investigation without a finding of culpability somewhere. "With Mrs. Clinton reportedly soon to be interviewed by the FBI, suggesting that the investigation is winding up, a definitive ruling by the attorney general could be issued before the July 25 Democratic convention in Philadelphia. Given the inspector general's report, a clean bill of health from the Justice Department is unlikely. "Finally, with Mrs. Clinton's negative rating nearly as high as Donald Trump's, and with voters not trusting her by a ratio of 4 to 1, Democrats face an unnerving possibility." Besides the lack of trust, voters simply don't like her. On Wednesday, the Real Clear Politics poll average of Clinton's favorable vs. unfavorable numbers were 37.6 percent to 55.8 percent, an 18.2-point net unfavorable. Looking for a Fill-in Schoen continued: "There are increasing rumblings within the party about how a new candidate could emerge at the convention. John Kerry, the 2004 nominee, is one possibility. But the most likely scenario is that Vice President Joe Biden -- who has said that he regrets 'every day' his decision not to run -- enters the race. Reprinted from Counterpunch Has it happened to him too? Is he losing touch with reality? It happened to David Ben-Gurion after 15 years in power. His behavior in the Lavon Affair was crazy. He was removed. It happened to Menachem Begin after six years in power. With great honesty, Begin admitted: "I cannot go on any longer." He said so, and withdrew to his home. Is that what is now happening to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years in office? His most recent acts were not sane. They were crazy as far as his own interests are concerned too. Netanyahu could have brought Isaac Herzog into his government. The good Bougie -- honest, submissive and disciplined. Herzog would have brought his party with him, all of it or the great majority of it, and guaranteed a long life for the government. Herzog would have calmed the nations of the world, who have started being afraid of Netanyahu. And what did he want after all? For Netanyahu to put certain promises in writing? So what? Since when has Netanyahu hesitated to break his written promises exactly the same way he breaks his verbal promises? Instead of the comfortable and pleasant partner, Netanyahu chose a devious bully who does not even bother to hide his deep contempt for him. Avigdor Lieberman does not hide his hopes to succeed Netanyahu at the first opportunity either. A partner who the entire world views as a dangerous man. Why? There is no explanation. No logical reason. To bring Lieberman into the government is a suicidal act. To hand the Defense Ministry to him is an insane act. So what has happened to Netanyahu? Until now he has acted sanely and pragmatically. True, he has taken the path where devastation awaits at its end, our end. True, almost every step he has taken harmed Israeli democracy, the Supreme Court and now the IDF too. But it was possible to explain all these steps as means to survive in power. But no longer. A person cannot continue to rule the country when a growing number of esteemed people with influence and power, who head such major institutions -- the military leadership, courts, media, arts and academia -- have all reached the conclusion that he is dangerous. When clear establishment figures such as former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan and former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon feel the need of their consciences to stand up and voice a warning. This is what happened to Ben-Gurion. And who is Netanyahu in comparison to Ben-Gurion? It is a slow process. If only it will not come too late. What can be done to speed it up? He has received many proposals. I made an offer too. But the most practical proposal is the one I read last Friday in an op-ed by Yair Assulin in Haaretz (in Hebrew). A simple and practical proposal, which can be implemented immediately, if only all those involved can understand they have enormous responsibility on them for the fate of the country. The proposal, as I understand it: The young Knesset members of the Zionist Union will arise -- Merav Michaeli, Stav Shaffir, Omer Bar-Lev, Itzik Shmuli, Miki Rosenthal and the others -- and leave their party, which is nothing but a living corpse, and establish a new, young and energetic party. They will be joined by other MKs who see the iceberg approaching, such as Orli Levi-Abekasis. They will also invite the support of Ya'alon, Gabi Ashkenazi and MK Benny Begin. They will immediately establish a new faction in the Knesset, raise the flag, write a platform that will put an emphasis on what is shared and not what separates: a banner of peace, democracy, justice, social partnership and purity of arms. In order to do so, there is no need to wait for the Messiah, to dream. It is possible and necessary to stand and take action tomorrow morning. The alternative is too terrifying. This column originally appeared in Ha'aretz. by Colin C. Cortbus Oregon Officials Told To Ignore Immigration Status When Considering Relatives Foster Parent Applications Oregons Department of Human Services instructs its social workers to disregard the immigration status of relatives when considering them as potential foster parents for a child taken into care. Experts warn that placing foster children with illegal immigrants can lead to disrupted, short-lived placements with long-term, detrimental developmental effects for the child. The departments official Valuing Diversity in Casework Practice training materials make clear the Oregons child care workers should ignore the question of whether migrant relatives of a child taken into care are in the US legally when considering them as potential foster parents. They state When it comes to relatives, immigration or residency status does not matter. They go as far as instructing social workers to not even make enquiries regarding the (il)legal immigration status of such relatives If they say theyve been in Mexico, you can request a record check from the Consulate. Make sure to tell them you are not checking on immigration status, whether or not they have legal or illegal status, but rather checking on criminal history to ensure suitability as a placement for the child. The diversity training materials, which were kindly disclosed to Oregon Catalyst following a public records request, form part of the core curriculum used to train Department of Human Services (DHS) child care workers. They were developed by Rudy Torres of Portland State University, and by Oscar Herrera, the Cultural Competency Coordinator at the DHS. It remains unclear whether illegal migrants are considered for foster parenthood if they are not related to the child. However, the specialist Pathways to Permanency training program for DHS Child Care specialists involved foster parent & child matching features an exercise that suggests workers are trained to put aside bias against illegal immigrants as potential long-term foster parents. The programs three-hour Bias & Matching training session, developed by Michelle Warden of Portland State University, includes a First Reactions exercise. Here, DHS workers are asked to write down their personal responses to certain categories of people, as part of a process of Assessing our personal bias and Moving beyond personal bias to find the best fit for a child. The First Reactions list of categories includes people who dont speak English and People who have immigrated to this country but who are undocumented, a euphemism for illegal immigrants primarily used by liberal immigration reform campaigners. Oregon Catalyst has contact the DHS, and the authors of the training materials individually, for comment, but is still awaiting a full response. Oregon DHSs politicized diversity instructions come despite extremely serious expert concerns about the risks associated with placing foster kids with illegal immigrants. This isnt a question of being pro- or anti-immigration or amnesty. It is a fundamentally pragmatic, non-political child welfare issue. Having experienced traumatic, stressful situations, foster kids need stability and permanency to prosper. Illegal immigrants, by definition, live a legally precarious existence and are at great risk of running into problems with immigration enforcement authorities, employers, landlords or the police. In the US, parents can, and often do, face sudden deportation even if it results in their children being taken away from them or destroys the family unit. Illegal immigrant families may abruptly have to change locations to evade immigration enforcement authorities, or move frequently from city to city to survive in the precarious, short-term market for illicit employment, uprooting kids from their schools and friendship groups. Thus, illegal immigrant foster parents are at an immense risk of not being able to provide the stability foster kids need. New York Yeshiva University social work professor Dr. Daniel Pollack discussed concerns about the unsuitability of illegal immigrants as foster parents in a 2012 article in the Policy & Practice Journal, the authoritative, specialist magazine for child care professionals published by the highly respected, bipartisan American Public Human Services Association. He wrote If in the process of evaluating a foster home applicant it is discovered that the applicant is an undocumented immigrant (often revealed by an incorrect social security number), should this status alone be a bar to approval? If this discovery is made after approval of the applicant has already been made, should the license be rescinded? A number of foster care certifiers, supervisors, administrators, and attorneys with whom I spoke all said yes. This is not a matter of bias; it is a matter of stability. If the applicant will potentially face deportation proceedings or may otherwise become entangled with immigration authorities, the placement will likely be disrupted and the child will need yet another placement. Dr Pollack likened the situation to the outrage consumers would feel over a manufacturer knowingly selling them an unsafe, injury-causing product and concluded Whatever the explanations, it is unethical to knowingly or recklessly place a child into a setting that has an enhanced likelihood of being unnecessarily short-lived. There is absolutely no dispute among child care professionals about the devastating effects short-lived, unstable foster parent placements can have on kids. The Federal Governments Childrens Bureau warns A large body of evidence links multiple placements with behavioral and emotional problems, education difficulties, and juvenile delinquency. Devastating emotional damage can also result: as children experience placement disruptions, they can develop a sense of profound distress, loss and absence of belonging which can then lead to feelings of distrust and fear about forming healthy relationships with others. Oregon DHS child care worker training program itself seems to acknowledge this. One document used as part of its Pathways to Permanency training lists the ability to provide safety and permanency for the child as the first among the considerations when assessing families for foster parenthood. Given these clear risks, the question has to be asked: Is Oregons DHS recklessly risking the wellbeing of children in its care as part of a politically correct diversity drive? Colin Cortbus is a freelance journalist his investigative work has appeared in the UK Daily Mirror, the UK Daily Star, the Berliner Kurier and Channel 7 (Israel). The Whys of the Clinton Email Scandal The Office of the Inspector General for the State Department released its report on former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons (D) use of a private email account and server for official State Department business. The results were not good for Ms. Clinton. In essence it confirmed everything that we already expected Ms. Clinton lied about every aspect of the inception and use of the private email account and server. Peggy Noonan put it best in a column in last weeks Wall Street Journal: Which brings us to the State Department Office of Inspector Generals report involving Hillary Clintons emails. It reveals one big thing: Almost everything she has said publicly about her private server was a lie. She lied brazenly, coolly, as one who is practiced in lying would, as one who always gets away with it could. No, she was not given legal approval to conduct her business on the server. She was not given the impression it was fine. She did not comply with rules on storage and archiving. Her own office told U.S. diplomats personal email accounts could be compromised and they must avoid using them for official business. She was informed of a dramatic increase in hacking attempts on personal accounts. Professionals who raised concerns about her private server were told not to speak of it again. But the Inspector Generals report and the pundits and politicians continue to be distracted by the underlying questions. So engrossed with the how and the when they have lost track of the why. If we continue on that minutia Ms. Clinton will once again slip away blaming a vast right wing conspiracy, a confusion on the classification of emails, an uncertainty on the application of the rules of the State Department, and the age old favorite other public officials have done it before. So lets turn our focus back to the why. Before anything else, Ms. Clinton is a money-grubber. She spent years in politics rubbing elbows with the rich and the privileged and recognized that she actually had nothing that wasnt provided by the offices held first by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and subsequently by herself. Her history before entering politics herself was steeped almost exclusively in using the positions of her husband to enrich themselves. It starts with the fact that she was fired from her first job with the Watergate Committee for lying and withholding information. She failed the bar exam in Washington DC and moved to Arkansas to live with Mr. Clinton. It was not until Mr. Clinton was elected Attorney General of Arkansas that Ms. Clinton was hired by Arkansas most prominent and politically connected law firm the Rose Law Firm. It was not until Mr. Clinton was elected as governor, that Ms. Clinton was made a partner in the firm. Thereafter it became standard practice in Arkansas to engage the Rose Law Firm through Ms. Clinton in order to secure a positive outcome when dealing with state government. There is no record of any significant accomplishments by Ms. Clinton as an attorney with the Rose Law Firm despite which she became managing partner midway through Mr. Clintons terms as governor. And along the way there was the land development deal known as Whitewater involving the Clintons, James McDougal and a small savings and loan bank owned by McDougal Madison savings which in the end contributes to a nearly $60 Million bailout by the federal government. And then there is $1000 cattle futures trade by Ms. Clinton which turned into $100,000 virtually overnight despite the fact that Ms. Clinton knew nothing about the cattle market, the futures market, or how either worked. Ms. Clintons trades were facilitated by an executive with Tyson Foods and included questionable practices by the actual broker. But it was when President Barack Obama was elected president and appointed Ms. Clinton as Secretary of State that the tap for personal riches opened wide. All sorts of large businesses seeking to engage in foreign trade, foreign governments seeking largesse from the United States government, and foreign businesses seeking access to American markets require State Department contacts, information and approvals. Not surprisingly many of those businesses and governments began to engage Mr. Clinton as a speaker, began to make substantial contributions to the Clinton foundation (which is principally a repository for Clinton political aides to assist Ms. Clinton in her nearly decade long quest to become President herself) and after Ms. Clinton left office began to engage her personally in the same fashion. During the time Ms. Clinton was Secretary of State, Mr. Clinton was paid nearly $50 Million in speaking fees the majority of it from outside the country. The Clintons went from dead broke to a net worth in excess of $110 Million all without creating a product, an idea or a service. What is it that Mr. Clinton imparted that was worth over $100 Million? He never started or ran a business, he never created a product, and he never invented a thing. It was all for political influence influence that was made all the more valuable when Ms. Clinton was Secretary of State. Government for sale should be the Clinton motto. In the immortal words of Deepthroat about the Nixon Watergate scandal: Follow the money. And because Ms. Clinton was involved in the investigation of that scandal she was acutely aware of the dangers of leaving a trail for that investigation. But in this case it appears that Ms. Clinton has obliterated the trail. According to witnesses being interviewed by the FBI and/or deposed by Judicial Watch, Ms. Cl;inton did not want her emails to be scrutinized as a public record at least not until she was able to purge them of any embarrassing or incriminating information. And while Ms. Clinton has tried to convey the impression that such information was in the nature of planning her daughters wedding, we are left to accept her word that it did not include incriminating information about the relationship between her actions as Secretary of State and benefits received by those who contributed to Mr. Clinton and the Clintons foundation. (And given Ms. Clintons long record of lying, stonewalling and deception her explanation is more baloney.) There is sufficient evidence that payments from individuals, companies and governments seeking favors from the State Department coincided with payments made by them to Mr. Clinton and the Clinton foundation to raise the specter of corruption. The fact that Ms. Clinton acted in a fashion to avoid disclosure and subsequently destroyed evidence of any such communications under evidentiary rules should be construed against her. In other words, by her acts in exclusively using a private email account and private and unsecured server, and destruction of tens of thousands of emails generated during her service as Secretary of State, the burden shifts to Ms. Clinton to demonstrate that she did not engage in corrupt and illegal activities. In the end, excerpts from last Fridays Wall Street Journal put the matter in lineal and absolute perspective. Hillary Clinton has said for more than a year that her use of a private email server as Secretary of State violated no federal rules and posed no security risk. Only the gullible believed that, and now everyone has proof of her deceptions in a scathing report from State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. The WSJ notes: The IG concludes that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee broke federal record keeping rules, never received permission for her off-grid server [in fact never sought permission] ignored security concerns raise by other officials and employed a staff that flouted the rules with the same disdain she did. [Bracketed words supplied] * * * One official suggested State set up a stand-alone computer from Mrs. Clinton in her office to check the internet and private email. That never happened. A different official suggested she have two mobile devices one for personal use and the one with a State Department email account that would be subject to [Freedom of Information Act] requests. Her team said no. Those staff members dumb enough to suggest means and conveniences that would meet State Department requirements and secure information appropriately were not only rebuffed repeatedly but told to never mention it again. Trust me. This is about the money. And all of the energy should be directed towards demonstrating that. But then Ms. Clinton has gotten away with it in the past and she is going to get away with it again. There is a less than zero chance the President Obama is going to permit his Justice Department to indict Ms. Clinton even though the facts as disclosed thus far demand it. The Clintons have corrupted everything they touch and it will continue unabated if she if elected President of the United States. Unknown just three decades ago, 'mineral water' is today ubiquitous in India. Packaged drinking water is a Rs 6,000-crore industry with brands like Bisleri, Kinley and Aquafina becoming household names. Even in the early 1990s, the per capita annual consumption of bottled water was a mere four to five litres. It has since risen to more than 20 litres. The industry is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 22 per cent and expected to touch Rs 16,000 crore by 2018, according to market intelligence firm, ValueNotes. "The public perception that bottled water is pure and safe, fuelled by intense advertising, led to the sales explosion," says Arun Jethmalani, Managing Director, ValueNotes. "The increase in the number of tourists, both foreign and domestic, gave it a further fillip." The demand is all-weather, with seasons making only marginal difference. "There is a peak in summer no doubt, but sales are high during the monsoons, too, due to fear of diseases from unsafe water, as well as in winter because it is the festive season," says Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman, Bisleri International, the pioneer and still the lead player in this sector. ALSO READ: Dripping Success A 2013 study by ValueNotes shows that 35 per cent of packaged water consumption takes place in Western India, 30 per cent in the South, 25 per cent in the North and the remaining in the East. While the southern states have the maximum number of registered players - 3,300, or 48 per cent of the total - the big boys like Bisleri, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Parle Agro are all headquartered in Mumbai. The profusion of marginal players is not necessarily healthy. "Many of them have little concern for quality standards and procedures," says Jethmalani. The bigger players are strengthening their distribution networks to improve sales as well as innovating with the size of their bottles and jars. "We keep innovating with concepts like the 'Rocking Jar' which makes it is easier to carry five litres of water," says Chauhan. Alongside bottled drinking water, water purifiers for home use are also spreading rapidly. ValueNotes estimated this segment at Rs 3,400 crore in 2014, having grown at a CAGR of 20 per cent in the three previous years. It is expected to reach Rs 91,900 crore by 2019. "With the water table falling, groundwater is being drawn from much deeper in the earth than before, thus carrying more impurities, the importance of water purifiers has increased," says Marzin R. Shroff, CEO, Eureka Forbes. Marginal players are fewer in this segment than in bottled water, with 75 per cent of the market held by well-known brands like Eureka Forbes, Kent RO, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Chemicals and Ion Exchange. Water purifiers are broadly of three kinds: those using reverse osmosis (RO), those employing ultraviolet radiation (UV) and those using a bed of sediment (offline). RO purifiers contribute the most - 39 per cent by value - to the market, being the most expensive. Numerous innovations have been introduced, such as a combination of UV and RO technologies, which are available at prices of Rs 17,000-18,000, while the average UV purifier costs less than Rs 10,000. "Water purification needs in India vary widely according to regions," says Shenoy of Dow India. "We are working with our partners to provide different cost effective solutions for different markets." With inputs from Ajita Shashidhar A curious sight greets visitors arriving at Kambi village in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district: a large number of pipes, both rubber and plastic, stretching into the distance, their ends suspended over a dry canal bed. What is their purpose? Once every two months, for a week, the Jayakwadi dam on the Godavari river releases water into the canal for supply to Nanded town, 135 km away. "This canal was made purely to provide water for Nanded," says R.H. Nawale, former Deputy Planning Officer, Ahmednagar. But a good deal of the water is diverted by farmers in the villages en route for their own fields using these pipes. "It is illegal, but no one does anything about it," adds Nawale. "The villagers, too, have no choice as there is no other water source in their region." Illegal tapping of both surface and ground water is rampant throughout the country. "Water loss due to leakage and theft is as high as 90 per cent in some areas," says Rudresh Kumar Sugam, researcher with the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). "On average, across 28 cities, it has been estimated at 39 per cent." A good deal of the water used by smaller players in the Rs 6,000-crore packaged water business is illegally procured. Restrictions on drawing of groundwater have been imposed in numerous areas to prevent further depletion of the water table, but it has made little difference. In a drought situation, as currently prevailing in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, the temptation - and indeed in many cases, the compulsion - to procure water by means fair or foul, increases manifold. In Beed, for instance, one of the worst affected areas, the maximum depth permitted for a borewell is 200 feet. Yet, along the highway from Beed to Kaij 60 km away, those drilling for water freely admit that they will continue to dig till they achieve their objective. "The soil is so hard, we stopped drilling at 100 feet, but we have been told to continue till we reach 300 feet below," says Kishore, a worker at one of the borewell drilling rigs. Others have delved even further. "The situation is so bad, we sometimes don't find water even 800 feet below," says B.N. Chalak, a resident of Lahuri village, 10 km short of Kaij. Despite sinking millions of dollars into acquiring new generation capacity, especially expensive emergency power plants, to fix the power crisis which has hiked electricity tariffs, Ghana is still importing 180 megawatts of electricity from Ivory Coast to close deficits. Ghana currently has installed capacity exceeding 3,000 megawatts, but peak demand is a little over 2,100 megawatts. Therefore, the deficit in demand, which has necessitated import from Ivory Coast, indicates that the urgent problems have to do with getting assured, regular and ample fuel to fire thermal plants, which in turn is very much dependent on paying outstanding bills to the power producers and suppliers. Information gathered by The Finder revealed that import from Ivory Coast romped up to 180 megawatts last Sunday. Out of this, 60 megawatts was dispatched to Togo and Benin. Ghana and Ivory Coast have a power exchange arrangement. Ivory Coast comes to the aid of Ghana at certain times when power is needed and Ghana also goes to their aid when they need power. What happens at the end of the day, or month, or year, is that there is reconciliation to determine who gave more and who gave less so that the countries can balance through a clearing house. However, energy experts are questioning why Ghana continues to import power from Ivory Coast when installed capacity far outstrips peak demand. Only 1 unit of Bui Dam running According to information, Bui Dam is operating only on one unit because of low water level, measuring 168.32m as of Sunday. Asogli producing only 40 megawatts The Sunon Asogli Power Plant is only generating 40 megawatts out of 200 megawatts due to the low level of lean gas from Nigeria. As of Sunday, gas from the West African Gas Pipeline was 13.76 million standard cubic feet of gas. Akosombo Dam running 4 turbines Akosombo Dam is operating four turbines despite the water level measuring 236.46 feet. 110-megawatt TT1 down Tema Thermal Power Plant (TT1), with 110-megawatt capacity, is down while one unit of Takoradi Thermal Power Plant is also out of operation. Capacity charge Under the system of contracting new generation from the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), the cost of power has two main components; namely, a Capacity charge and an Operational charge. Capacity charge represents a cost that is paid simply to have the plant here in Ghana. It has nothing to do with whether it is producing power or not. Therefore, Government of Ghana has to pay such producers huge sums of money if government is unable to provide fuel as agreed. Therefore, any power generation capacity acquired beyond the peak load, plus a spinning reserve of about 25%, which is just sitting doing nothing, is adding to the costs that go into the calculation of the realistic or economic tariffs. ECGs Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are priced with IPPs in dollar and cents, including Asogli. However, ECG bills consumers and collects tariffs in the constantly wobbling Ghanaian cedi. VRA also signs all its contracts, PPAs, fuel purchases from WAGP and Ghana Gas, and power purchases from Ivory in dollars and cents too. ECG is obliged to first pay its IPP partners in dollars and cents at current forex rate before it can share the rest of it with VRA and Gridco. The reality is that ECG needs to convert the cedis into dollars to pay the IPPs. Even before then, they must pay their staff, and if there is anything left, before they can pay VRA, GRIDCO and anybody else in the supply chain. Source: The Finder Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NSW Shooters & Fishers MP Robert Borsak has always been something of a renegade in Parliament. His party is based on defending the rights and recreational desires of Australians in regional Australia, like shooting and four-wheel driving, and this, in conjunction with his conservatism, often has him butt heads with other pollies especially those from The Greens. His love of shooting and hunting attracts the standard sort of criticism you would expect, but it all came to the fore when an old photo of him posing next to a dead elephant in Zimbabwe started doing the rounds a little while ago. He maintains that he was invited to participate in the elephant hunt by traditional land owners, who cull elephants to protect their crops. He outlined that in a Sydney Morning Herald op-ed with the straight-down-the-barrel headline Why I Shoot Elephants. The elephant issue came up in Parliament again on Tuesday. Borsak was delivering a late night address on what he saw as the insidious growth of skewed animal rights ideology which he reckons stifles human rights and gives animals rights that they ought not have. Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham took issue with Borsaks remarks and brought up the elephant photo. He asked him whether he ate the elephant, and Borsak said he absolutely had, and that it was like venison and very tasty. Buckingham wasnt a fan. Its sick to shoot and kill an elephant for thrills, and its revolting that Mr Borsak would eat the elephant, said the Greens MP. Hes unfit for office. A Shooters and Fishers spokesperson slammed Buckinghams comments. The meat from Mr Borsaks hunting trip was offered to the traditional owners of the land as a mark of respect, on top of other fees paid. We are surprised at Mr Buckinghams hypocrisy. Mr Buckingham was more than happy to eat Mr Borsaks freshly-hunted venison sausages at a NSW Parliament House BBQ raising money for Westmead Childrens Hospital in June 2013. There ya have it. Elephant eating is absolutely on the agenda in New South Wales. Will any other MPs come forward and confess that theyve chowed down on Dumbo? I would say probably not. Source: Sydney Morning Herald. Photo: Getty Images. Credit: University of Birmingham Britain's railway is facing a dramatic increase in the cost of dealing with extreme weather over coming decades unless it starts taking pre-emptive action now, according to new research released by RSSB today. Climate change is forecast to have a significant and damaging impact on the railway network, through a combination of higher average temperatures; rising sea levels; more frequent floods and heat waves; wetter winters and dryer summers. The Tomorrow's Railway and Climate Change Adaptation report, prepared in close collaboration with Network Rail, predicts that, without mitigation, climate change will present a significant increased risk to the railway network, to passengers and railway workers. "The rail industry has already introduced wide-ranging measures to combat the effects of climate change," said Mark Phillips, RSSB's Interim Managing Director. "But more investment and support will be needed to maintain an effective rail network, which is prepared for the potentially damaging impact of extreme weather."' The report presents a number of recommendations to improve the network's resilience including; improved mapping of vulnerable assets, accurate logging of the location of incidents and the weather, revising rail industry standards to take account of future climate predictions and developing a 'journey availability' metric to assess the long-term availability across UK transport networks during extreme weather. "The project has developed our understanding of the scale of the challenge and helped us to shape long-term investment plans for the infrastructure", said Network Rail Principal Engineer, Caroline Lowe. "It is clear that there is an immediate imperative for government agencies, infrastructure operators and transport providers to work together. NR is committed to implementing many of the recommendations of the research and collaboratively working to deliver a resilient railway service to customers today and in the future. "We found strong evidence that Britain's railway will be affected by changes in weather conditions caused by climate change", said climate change expert and project team member John Dora. "By improving understanding of where the network is most vulnerable and by taking action now, the future impact of climate change can be significantly reduced." The lead academic on the project, the University of Birmingham's Dr Andrew Quinn, from the Department of Civil Engineering, said: "The Tomorrow's Railways and Climate Change Adaption project is a major step forward for the GB rail sector in adapting to the changing climate and extreme weather events. It has consolidated existing knowledge and highlighted critical developments that are needed to improve the reliability and resilience of the future railway." Dr Quinn's team led ground breaking work on new metrics for adaptation and resilience, which showed how these can improve decision making for adaptation investments for rail services. The team also conducted interviews with overseas railway organisations to build a compendium of adaptation actions and illustrated how a holistic view of the railway system is a requirement for good management decisions and how different organisations both inside and outside the rail industry need to work together to achieve resilience. The report also found that some climate change adaptation and resilience projects often fail to gain the funding they need owing to the wider economic and social impact of disruption to rail services not being taken into account. A potential major disruption to the rail network caused by adverse weather conditions, as happened at Dawlish in February 2014, could have a range of impacts on other transport modes and the wider economy, the report found. Any assessment of the relative merits of climate change adaptation or resilience projects should take into account the wider socio-economic benefits and the knock on effects it has on other networks. "The true cost of the collapse of the railway at Dawlish is far higher than just the bill for repairs and compensation payments. When you take into account the impact on local businesses and communities, the case for building alternative routes becomes much more compelling", said Tim Armitage of Arup who led the consortium which produced the report. RSSB is also launching a new video today to help the rail industry to understand the associated carbon emissions with their activities and identify where reductions can be made by using our industry-approved Rail Carbon Tool. The tool now has more than 100 users and is being utilised on several large infrastructure projects, such as Great Western Electrification, East West Rail 2 and Bank Station Upgrade. Please visit the sustainable development pages on RSSB's website for more. Explore further Railway suicide rates climb despite industry efforts More information: The Rail Carbon Tool is a web-based tool that allows you to calculate, assess, analyse, report and reduce your rail project carbon footprint by evaluating low-carbon options using verified, centrally-available carbon factor data. Please click here for more details: The Rail Carbon Tool is a web-based tool that allows you to calculate, assess, analyse, report and reduce your rail project carbon footprint by evaluating low-carbon options using verified, centrally-available carbon factor data. Please click here for more details: www.railindustrycarbon.com General dorsal view of holotype of new late Cretaceous worker ants Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri. Credit: WANG Bo Ants comprise one lineage of the triumvirate of eusocial insects and experienced their early diversification within the Cretaceous. The success of ants is generally attributed to their remarkable social behavior. Recent studies suggest that the early branching lineages of extant ants formed small colonies of either subterranean or epigeic, solitary specialist predators. The vast majority of Cretaceous ants belong to stem-group Formicidae and comprise workers and reproductives of largely generalized morphologies, and it is difficult to draw clear conclusions about their ecology, although recent discoveries from the Cretaceous suggest relatively advanced social levels. Remarkable exceptions to this pattern of generalized morphologies are ants with bizarre mouthparts in which both female castes have modified heads and bladelike mandibles that move along a horizontal plane rather than a vertical plane. The specific ecology of Haidomyrmecines has puzzled evolutionary biologists, who believe the mandibles apparently act as traps triggered by sensory hairs in a way distinct from that of modern trap-jaw ants. Not all ants cooperate in social hunting, however, and some of the most effective predatory ants are solitary hunters with powerful trap jaws. Models of early ant evolution predict that the first ants were solitary specialist predators, but discoveries of Cretaceous fossils suggest group recruitment and socially advanced behavior among stem-group ants. Life-like reconstruction of Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri. Credit: YANG Dinghua Dr. WANG Bo of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his colleagues describe a new bizarre ant, Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri, from 99 million-year-old Burmese amber that displays a prominent cephalic horn and oversized, scythelike mandibles that extend high above the head. These structures presumably functioned as a highly specialized trap for large-bodied prey. The horn results from an extreme modification of the clypeus hitherto unseen among living and extinct ants, which demonstrates the presence of an exaggerated trap-jaw morphogenesis early among stem-group ants. Together with other Cretaceous haidomyrmecine ants, the new fossil suggests that at least some of the earliest Formicidae were solitary specialist predators. In addition, it demonstrates that soon after the advent of ant societies in the Early Cretaceous, at least one lineage, the Haidomyrmecini, became adept at prey capture, independently arriving at morphological specializations that would be lost for millions of years after their disappearance near the close of the Mesozoic. The exaggerated condition in the new fossil reveals a proficiency for carriage of large-bodied prey to the exclusion of smaller, presumably easier-to-subdue prey, and highlights a more complex and diversified suite of ecological traits for the earliest ants. The study, entitled "Extreme morphogenesis and ecological specialization among Cretaceous basal ants," has been published online in Current Biology. Explore further 100-mllion-year-old amber preserves oldest animal societies More information: Vincent Perrichot et al, Extreme Morphogenesis and Ecological Specialization among Cretaceous Basal Ants, Current Biology (2016). Journal information: Current Biology Vincent Perrichot et al, Extreme Morphogenesis and Ecological Specialization among Cretaceous Basal Ants,(2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.075 Recent studies have shown that visitors to U.S. national and state parks are disproportionately white, with low numbers of ethnic minorities, especially African Americans. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has identified several reasons why African Americans choose not to patronize public parks in greater numbers, including a racist history that curtailed African Americans' access to parks, on-going racial conflict within communities near parks, and a lack of African American heritage at parks. "The benefits of national and state parks for American society are numerous, including great observed health benefits," lead researcher KangJae "Jerry" Lee said. "Because these parks are such a valuable resource, it is concerning that many racial and ethnic minorities are not taking advantage of the public spaces, which they help fund through tax dollars." For the study, Lee, an assistant teaching professor of parks, recreation and tourism in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, interviewed African American residents in the community of Cedar Hill, Texas. The community is predominately middle-class, African American and located close to Cedar Hill State Park. Despite the proximity, Lee found that very few African Americans visit the park. During in-depth interviews with members of the community, Lee found that most African Americans had no interest in park visitation or chose to avoid the park due to a history of racial discrimination in the area and concerns about how they would be treated if they visited the park. "Many of the adults I spoke with were raised by parents who experienced discriminatory Jim Crow laws which prevented or discouraged African Americans from visiting public parks," Lee said. "Park attendance in America is culturally embedded, meaning children who are raised going to parks will grow up to take their children. Many African Americans do not go to parks because their parents and grandparents could not take their children. In other words, many African Americans' lack of interest in parks or outdoor recreation is a cultural disposition shaped by centuries of racial oppression. While Cedar Hill is a unique community, these issues are prevalent around the country and applicable to many national and state parks." Lee says that Cedar Hill State Park was once a large plantation run by a family who owned slaves. The historical sites at the park make no mention of this history, which Lee says adds to the resentment from the black community. "Researchers have documented that the omission of African American history is quite common at public parks and recreation areas," Lee said. "So the question is: whose story needs to be told to the public and future generations? African Americans I interviewed firmly believed that African American history needs to be told at these parks." Lee suggests that public officials partner with schools and youth development organizations to encourage children to visit parks at early ages. He suggests hosting field trips and picnic days. He says exposing younger generations to parks will help them develop an interest in the outdoors, leading black children to revisit the parks when they grow up. The study "Bourdieu and African Americans' Park Visitation: The Case of Cedar Hill State Park in Texas," was published in Leisure Sciences. Research educator Tim Riedel works with a student in the University of Texas at Austin's Freshman Research Initiative on developing a diagnostic tool for malaria, Zika virus and more. Credit: University of Texas at Austin In a positive sign for efforts to boost U.S. competitiveness in science and technology, a new study finds that courses that engage college students in conducting scientific research early on can dramatically increase students' odds of completing a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) degree. The study, published in today's edition of CBE-Life Sciences Education, is the largest and most carefully controlled analysis to date of how participating in course-based undergraduate research experiences affects students' outcomes. It found that across all demographic groups students who participated in a program called the Freshman Research Initiative were more likely to graduate college and to earn degrees in STEM disciplines at The University of Texas at Austin. "We've been able to increase STEM retention by almost 25 percent," says Erin Dolan, executive director of the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science at UT Austin and senior author on the new study. "This is a real solution for addressing the shortfall in the STEM workforce that we anticipate for the next decade." According to a 2012 report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the U.S. needs to produce approximately 1 million more STEM professionals during the next decade than is currently projected, yet "fewer than 40 percent of students who enter college intending to major in a STEM field complete a STEM degree." The report indicated that boosting retention of STEM majors to 50 percent nationwide would provide three-fourths of the needed increase in STEM workers, and it suggested that improving science education with more hands-on research opportunities would be a good strategy. The decade-old Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) in UT Austin's College of Natural Sciences puts first- and second-year undergraduate students in faculty-led labs, a model that is unconventional at research universities. The newly published research finds that FRI: Increases a student's likelihood of graduating with an undergraduate degree from 66 to 83 percent, and Increases a student's likelihood of graduating with a STEM degree from 71 to 94 percent. This means that for every 10 students who enter the College of Natural Sciences and participate in FRI, two will graduate who would have otherwise dropped out or taken longer than six years to get an undergraduate degree, and almost three more students will wind up with a STEM degree, as opposed to changing majors, because they participated in FRI. Early successes at UT Austin have led six universities, including three more in the UT System, to replicate the approach in which students work in teams to conduct research projects with guidance from established scientist mentors. Students at UT Austin choose projects from more than 25 different research areas in the life sciences, physical sciences and computer science. Projects have included developing diagnostic tools for the Zika virus, programming autonomous robots, attempting to develop biofuels, and identifying wine varieties based on their chemical makeup. "Students who participate in FRI are more likely to graduate from college and are more likely to finish a STEM major," Dolan says. "They go on to do exciting things like graduate school, medical school, work in industry and even start their own companies." Dolan and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 4,000 students who participated in the FRI program. They carefully matched these FRI students with peers who did not participate but were otherwise comparable in terms of socioeconomic background, gender, race, ethnicity, scores on standardized tests and other factors. Students who are underrepresented minorities or first in their families to go to college are even more likely than their counterparts to leave STEM and leave college, earlier research has found. Dolan and the other authors found that FRI boosts retention and graduation for students regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds or racial and ethnic backgrounds. "Many science educators have suspected that early exposure of undergraduates to the process of doing real science would have educational benefits," said Nobel laureate Carl Wieman, a Stanford University physics and education professor, who did not participate in the study but has been a champion for improving undergraduate science nationwide. "This study provides the first good evidence, with a large and diverse population of students, that such exposure through undergraduate research has dramatic benefits for all students, substantially improving both graduation rates in STEM and overall graduation rates. Every university ought to be looking closely at these results as they think about how to improve the quality of STEM education provided to their students." Explore further New book: How to keep STEM support from falling short Colorado State University researchers set out to discover whether degradation of hydraulic fracturing chemicals in agricultural soil are affected by co-contamination. Credit: Borch Lab/Colorado State University Hydraulic fracturing, a widely used method for extracting oil and gas from otherwise impenetrable shale and rock formations, involves not only underground injections composed mostly of water, but also a mixture of chemical additives. These chemicals range from toxic biocides and surfactants, to corrosion inhibitors and slicking agents, and many are also used by other industries. A Colorado State University research team desired a deeper understanding of the fate of these chemicals when they are spilled accidentally during either transportation or production in oil and gas operations. These spills, especially in Colorado, often take place on or near agricultural lands. The researchers set out to discover whether the degradation of these chemicals in agricultural soil are affected by co-contamination. The team consisted of Thomas Borch, a professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences, with joint appointments in civil and environmental engineering and chemistry; Jens Blotevogel, a research assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering; and their graduate student Molly McLaughlin. Their results are online in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, published by the American Chemical Society (ACS). In the paper, Borch, Blotevogel and McLaughlin cite 838 total hydraulic fracturing fluid spills in Colorado, reported to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2014. These spills only include those larger than five barrels of fluid when they happen within a well pad, and larger than one barrel when outside a well pad. For their proof-of-concept experiments, the researchers used reactors to simulate chemical reactions and biodegradation of hydraulic fracturing additives spilled on agricultural soil. Later, they plan to test their conclusions at actual spill sites. They tested three well-known organic chemicals: polyethylene glycol (PEG), a commonly used surfactant; glutaraldehyde, a biocide that prevents pipe corrosion from microbial activity; and polyacrylamide, a slicking agent that allows hydraulic fracturing fluid to better penetrate shale. They looked at how these chemicals interact both with each other, and with naturally occurring salts underground. They found that the PEG (surfactant) by itself completely biodegrades within about 70 days, but that in combination with glutaraldehyde (biocide), the PEG stayed in the soil much longer. That biodegradation was fully inhibited by salt concentrations typical for oil and gas extraction activities. "Our motivation for doing this is because the chemicals often come up as mixtures," Borch said. "While you may see biodegradation of a surfactant under normal circumstances, if you spill that together with a biocide that kills bacteria, maybe you don't break that surfactant down as quickly. And that's exactly what we see. If chemicals don't degrade as quickly, it gives them more time to be transported to groundwater or sensitive surface water." They also looked at the degradation cycle of glutaraldehyde (biocide), which occurred within about two months. While polyacrylamide stuck around in the soil for six months, it covalently bonded with the glutaraldehyde, effectively lowering the toxicity of the biocide. The bottom line is that more science is needed around how spilled chemicals interact with each other and the underground chemical environment - and this applies not just to oil and gas extraction, but to many industrial processes, the researchers say. Such follow-up studies could lead to better understanding of the potential uptake of pollutants in crops, or contamination of groundwater and surface water, with the ultimate goal of helping improve human health risk assessment of spills. "We cannot say our findings are valid for all the different chemicals used worldwide in hydraulic fracturing," Blotevogel said. "There are probably 1,000 different chemicals used globally, and they all behave very differently with respect to how they are broken down." Borch and Blotevogel previously published a comprehensive review of the biocide toxicity in hydraulic fracturing fluids and have worked together for almost nine years. The ES&T study was supported primarily by CSU's School of Global and Environmental Sustainability (SoGES), a grant from the CSU Water Center, and by the Borch-Hoppess Fund for Environmental Contaminant Research. Explore further Can fluids from fracking escape into groundwater More information: Molly C. McLaughlin et al. Spills of Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals on Agricultural Topsoil: Biodegradation, Sorption, and Co-contaminant Interactions, Environmental Science & Technology (2016). Molly C. McLaughlin et al. Spills of Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals on Agricultural Topsoil: Biodegradation, Sorption, and Co-contaminant Interactions,(2016). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b00240 Abstract Hydraulic fracturing frequently occurs on agricultural land. Yet the extent of sorption, transformation, and interactions among the numerous organic frac fluid and oil and gas wastewater constituents upon environmental release is hardly known. Thus, this study aims to advance our current understanding of processes that control the environmental fate and toxicity of commonly used hydraulic fracturing chemicals. Poly(ethylene glycol) surfactants were completely biodegraded in agricultural topsoil within 4271 days, but their transformation was impeded in the presence of the biocide glutaraldehyde and was completely inhibited by salt at concentrations typical for oil and gas wastewater. At the same time, aqueous glutaraldehyde concentrations decreased due to sorption to soil and were completely biodegraded within 3357 days. While no aqueous removal of polyacrylamide friction reducer was observed over a period of 6 months, it cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, further lowering the biocide's aqueous concentration. These findings highlight the necessity to consider co-contaminant effects when we evaluate the risk of frac fluid additives and oil and gas wastewater constituents in agricultural soils in order to fully understand their human health impacts, likelihood for crop uptake, and potential for groundwater contamination. Journal information: Environmental Science & Technology Credit: Wageningen University With an investment of 25 million euros the Colombian coffee sector should become climate proof to ensure more than half a million coffee farmers to cope with or fight the impact of lack or excess of water in 25 Colombian river basins. The programme 'Manos al Agua' ('hands on water') generates solutions to avoid annual losses of up to 30% of crops, affecting farmers' income and livelihood. On Friday May 27th the private-public initiative presented their mid-term results in The Hague, Netherlands. The Intelligent Water Management programme 2013-2018, Manos al Agua, shows significant progress to contribute to increase the resilience and adaptability of the coffee sector to water and climatic phenomena. The programme yields the participation of eleven thousand coffee growing families, fifty public, private and civil organizations linked to water management and covers more than 150.000 hectares in the Andes mountains in the first five years. The innovative program for integrated water management in 25 Colombian river basins is led by Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC Colombia), the multinational companies Nestle and Nespresso, Wageningen University & Research Centre and Cenicafe. The next few years the investments should further reduce poverty, foster cooperation for farming improvements, protect the environment, encourage partnerships and influence policy to develop and enhance the Colombian coffee sector. The project develops a climate adaptation model, implementing technologies that reduce production losses from climate hazards (now up to 30%) and that lower the environmental impacts of coffee production on the environment and landscape. In the long term it will benefit more 563.000 coffee-growing families to increase their competitiveness, wellbeing, and resilience and adaptability to water and climatic phenomena. With the coffee-growing families in the river basins of Antioquia, Caldas, Cauca, Narino and Valle del Cauca, the transfer has to take place of appropriate technologies for adequate water use and pollution management on the coffee farms; at the same time, bioengineering and reforestation techniques are applied to stabilize the river basin ecosystems. Explore further Future demand and climate change could make coffee a driver of deforestation SIMPONI(R) Receives CHMP Positive Opinion For Treatment Of Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Details Category: Antibodies Published on Wednesday, 01 June 2016 10:33 Hits: 2160 SIMPONI Recommended for Sixth Indication in Europe and First in Pediatric Population LEIDEN, The Netherlands I May 27, 2016 I Janssen Biologics B.V. (Janssen) announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the use of subcutaneous SIMPONI (golimumab) in combination with methotrexate (MTX) for the treatment of polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) in children with a body weight of at least 40 kg, who have responded inadequately to previous therapy with MTX. Based on the CHMP's positive opinion, a final decision from the European Commission is expected in the coming months. If approved, SIMPONI will become available for the treatment of patients with active pJIA, the most common type of arthritis in children under the age of 17 in which the predominant symptoms are persistent joint pain, swelling and stiffness. It is estimated that nearly 60,000 Europeans are affected by juvenile idiopathic arthritis.1 "Despite advances in biologic treatments in rheumatologic disease, there remains a need for effective and well-tolerated therapeutics for patients with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a complex and debilitating inflammatory arthritis," said Alberto Martini, M.D., Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Genoa, Founder and Chairman of the Pediatric Rheumatology International Trial Organization (PRINTO). "On behalf of PRINTO and the pediatric rheumatology community, we applaud the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency on today's recommendation of SIMPONI for the treatment of polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis." The CHMP adopted the opinion based on a review of data from the Phase 3 GO KIDS trial, a Janssen-sponsored program conducted in collaboration with MSD (known as Merck in the United States and Canada), that evaluated the efficacy and safety of SIMPONI in 173 children (2 to 17 years of age) with pJIA and active arthritis in at least five joints that had poor response to MTX. Part 1 of the study consisted of a 16-week open-label phase, in which enrolled patients received SIMPONI 30 mg/m2 (maximum 50 mg) subcutaneously every four weeks and MTX. The 154 patients who achieved an American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Pediatric (Ped) 30 response at week 16 entered Part 2 of the study, the randomised withdrawal phase, and received SIMPONI 30 mg/m2 (maximum 50 mg) and MTX or placebo and MTX every four weeks. The primary endpoint, the proportion of patients who achieved ACR Ped 30 response at week 16 and who did not experience a flare between week 16 and week 48, did not reach statistical significance, as the majority of patients did not experience a flare between week 16 and week 48 (59 percent in the SIMPONI and MTX and 53 percent in the placebo and MTX groups, respectively; P=0.41). However, pre-specified subgroup analyses of the primary endpoint by baseline CRP (1 mg/dL vs <1 mg/dL) demonstrated higher flare rates in placebo and MTX compared to golimumab and MTX treated subjects among subjects with baseline CRP 1 mg/dL (87 percent vs 40 percent, p=0.0068). In this study, the type and frequency of adverse events reported were generally similar to those seen in adult RA studies. "We commend the European Medicines Agency, the Pediatric Rheumatology International Trial Organization and the Pediatric Rheumatology Collaborative Study Group, for a concerted and collaborative review of data and supportive analyses from the SIMPONI Phase 3 GO KIDS study to arrive at today's positive opinion," said Newman Yeilding, M.D., Vice President, Head of Immunology Development, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. "We believe the totality of data from the GO KIDS study supports the efficacy and safety of SIMPONI in the treatment of polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and look forward to the European Commission's decision." About Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, also known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, is a type of arthritis characterised by persistent joint pain, swelling and stiffness.2 The disease can cause serious health complications, such as growth problems and eye inflammation.3 The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) defines seven subcategories of pJIA, with most forms more common in females than males.4 While the cause of pJIA is unknown, heredity and environment are both thought to be factors.3 About SIMPONI (golimumab) SIMPONI is a human monoclonal antibody that targets and neutralises excess tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, a protein that when overproduced in the body due to chronic inflammatory diseases can cause inflammation and damage to bones, cartilage and tissue. SIMPONI is approved in more than 85 countries for rheumatologic indications including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. In the European Union (EU), SIMPONI received European Commission approval in October 2009 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe, active RA in combination with methotrexate, for the treatment of active and progressive psoriatic arthritis alone or in combination with methotrexate and for the treatment of severe, active ankylosing spondylitis. In September 2013, SIMPONI received European Commission approval for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adults. In June 2015, SIMPONI received European Commission approval for the treatment of adults with severe, active non radiographic axial spondyloarthritis with objective signs of inflammation. SIMPONI is available either through the SmartJect autoinjector/prefilled pen or a prefilled syringe as a subcutaneously administered injection. Janssen Biotech, Inc. discovered and developed SIMPONI and markets the product in the United States. The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies market SIMPONI in Canada, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. In Europe, Russia and Turkey, Janssen Biotech, Inc. licenses distribution rights to SIMPONI to Schering-Plough (Ireland) Company, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. In Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan, Janssen Biotech, Inc. licenses distribution rights to SIMPONI to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and has retained co-marketing rights in those countries. Important Safety Information (EU) In the European Union, SIMPONI is contraindicated in patients with active tuberculosis, severe infections such as sepsis, opportunistic infections, in patients with moderate or severe heart failure (NYHA Class III/IV), as well as in patients who are hypersensitive to SIMPONI or any of its excipients. Serious infections, including sepsis, pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), invasive fungal and other opportunistic infections have been observed with the use of TNF antagonists including SIMPONI. Some of these infections have been fatal. SIMPONI should not be given to patients with a clinically important, active infection. Caution should be exercised when considering the use of SIMPONI in patients with a chronic infection or a history of recurrent infection. Patients must be monitored closely for infections including TB before, during and after treatment with SIMPONI. If a patient develops a new serious infection or sepsis, SIMPONI therapy should be discontinued and appropriate antimicrobial therapy should be initiated until the infection is controlled. Patients should be advised of, and avoid exposure to, potential risk factors for infection as appropriate. For patients who have resided in or traveled to regions where invasive fungal infections such as histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, or blastomycosis are endemic, the benefits and risks of SIMPONI treatment should be carefully considered before initiation of SIMPONI therapy. All patients must be evaluated for the risk of TB, including latent TB, prior to initiation of SIMPONI. If active TB is diagnosed, SIMPONI must not be initiated. If latent TB is suspected, a physician with expertise in the treatment of TB should be consulted. The benefit/risk balance should be very carefully considered for the following: treatment of latent TB infection must be initiated prior to therapy with SIMPONI. Antituberculosis therapy prior to initiating SIMPONI should also be considered in patients who have several or highly significant risk factors for tuberculosis infection and have a negative test for latent tuberculosis. Patients receiving SIMPONI should be monitored closely for signs and symptoms of active tuberculosis during and after treatment, including patients who tested negative for latent tuberculosis infections. The use of TNF blocking agents including SIMPONI has been associated with reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in patients who are chronic carriers of the virus. Some of these cases have been fatal. Patients should be tested for HBV infection before initiating treatment with Simponi. Carriers of HBV who require treatment with Simponi should be closely monitored during treatment with, and for several months following discontinuation of SIMPONI. In patients who develop HBV reactivation, SIMPONI should be discontinued. Lymphomas have been observed in patients treated with TNF blocking agents, including SIMPONI. The incidence of non-lymphoma malignancies was similar to controls, and lymphoma is seen more often than in the general population. The potential role of TNF-blocking therapy in the development of malignancies is not known. Cases of leukaemia have been reported in patients treated with SIMPONI. Based on an exploratory clinical trial in patients with COPD using another anti-TNF agent, caution should be exercised when using any TNF-blocking therapy in COPD patients, as well as in patients with an increased risk for malignancy due to heavy smoking. Rare post-marketing cases of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) have been reported in patients treated with other TNF-blocking agents. This rare type of T-cell lymphoma has a very aggressive disease course and is usually fatal. Malignancies, some fatal, have been reported among children, adolescents and young adults (up to 22 years of age) treated with TNFblocking agents (initiation of therapy 18 years of age) in the post marketing setting. It is not known if SIMPONI treatment influences the risk for developing dysplasia or colon cancer. All patients with ulcerative colitis who are at increased risk for dysplasia or colon carcinoma, or who had a prior history of dysplasia or colon carcinoma should be screened for dysplasia at regular intervals before therapy and throughout their disease course. Melanoma has been reported in patients treated with TNFblocking agents, including SIMPONI. Merkel cell carcinoma has been reported in patients treated with other TNFblocking agents. Worsening and new onset congestive heart failure (CHF) and increased mortality due to CHF have been reported with another TNF blocker. SIMPONI has not been studied in patients with CHF. SIMPONI should be used with caution in patients with mild heart failure and must be discontinued if new or worsening symptoms of heart failure appear. TNF-blocking agents, including SIMPONI, have been associated in rare cases with new onset or exacerbation of demyelinating disorders, including multiple sclerosis. The benefits and risks of anti-TNF treatment should be carefully considered before initiation of SIMPONI therapy in patients with pre-existing or recent onset of demyelinating disorders. There is limited safety experience of SIMPONI treatment in patients who have undergone surgical procedures, including arthroplasty. A patient who requires surgery while on SIMPONI should be closely monitored for infections, and appropriate actions should be taken. The possibility exists for TNF-blocking agents, including SIMPONI, to affect host defenses against infections and malignancies. Treatment with SIMPONI may result in the formation of auto-antibodies and, rarely, in the development of a lupus-like syndrome. There have been postmarketing reports of pancytopenia, leukopenia, neutropenia, aplastic anemia, and thrombocytopenia in patients receiving TNF blockers. Cytopenias including pancytopenia, have been infrequently reported with SIMPONI in clinical trials. Discontinuation of SIMPONI should be considered in patients with significant hematologic abnormalities. The concurrent administration of TNF-antagonists with anakinra or abatacept is not recommended. Concurrent administration has been associated with increased infections, including serious infections without increased clinical benefit. The concomitant use of SIMPONI with other biological therapeutics used to treat the same conditions as SIMPONI is not recommended because of the possibility of an increased risk of infection, and other potential pharmacological interactions. Patients should continue to be monitored when switching from one biologic to another. Patients treated with SIMPONI may receive concurrent vaccinations, except for live vaccines. In postmarketing experience, serious systemic hypersensitivity reactions have been reported following SIMPONI administration. Allergic reactions may occur after first or subsequent administration of SIMPONI. If an anaphylactic reaction or other serious allergic reactions occur, administration of SIMPONI should be discontinued immediately and appropriate therapy initiated. The needle cover on the syringe in the pre-filled pen is manufactured from dry natural rubber containing latex, and may cause allergic reactions in individuals sensitive to latex. SIMPONI also contains sorbitol; patients with rare hereditary problems of fructose intolerance should not take SIMPONI. Patients should be given detailed instructions on how to administer SIMPONI. After proper training, patients may self inject if their physician determines that this is appropriate. The full amount of SIMPONI should be administered at all times. Mild injection site reactions commonly occur. Women of childbearing potential must use adequate contraception to prevent pregnancy and continue its use for at least 6 months after the last SIMPONI treatment. Women must not breast feed during and for at least 6 months after SIMPONI treatment. The most common adverse drug reaction reported from clinical trials through week 16 was upper respiratory tract infection (12.6 percent of SIMPONI-treated patients compared with 11.0 percent in control-treated patients). In the controlled periods of pivotal trials, 5.4% of golimumabtreated patients had injection site reactions compared with 2.0% in control patients.The majority of the injection site reactions were mild and moderate, and the most frequent manifestation was injection site erythema. The SIMPONI Patient Alert Card provides safety information to the patient. It should be given and explained to all patients before treatment. Patients must show the Alert Card to any doctor involved in his/her treatment, during and up to 6 months after SIMPONI treatment. For complete EU prescribing information, please visit: http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/medicines/human/medicines/000992/human_med_001053.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac058001d124 About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, we are working to create a world without disease. Transforming lives by finding new and better ways to prevent, intercept, treat and cure disease inspires us. We bring together the best minds and pursue the most promising science. We are Janssen. We collaborate with the world for the health of everyone in it. Learn more at www.janssen.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JanssenGlobal. Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding product development including expected availability. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen Biologic B.V., any of the other Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges inherent in product research and development, including uncertainty of clinical success and obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; manufacturing difficulties or delays; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2016, including in Exhibit 99 thereto, and the company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. None of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies or Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments. References 1 Thierry S, Fautrel B, Lemelle I, Guillemin F. Prevalence and incidence of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a systematic review. Joint Bone Spine. 2014 Mar;81(2):112-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2013.09.003. 2 Sherry, D. (2016, March 3). Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Medscape. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1007276-overview Accessed May 12, 2016. 3 Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The Mayo Clinic website. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/juvenile-rheumatoid-arthritis/basics/definition/con-20014378. Accessed May 12, 2016. 4 Musculoskeletal Health in Europe Report v5.0. The European League Against Rheumatism website. http://eular.org/myUploadData/files/EU_eumusc.net_Report_final.pdf Accessed May 12, 2016. SOURCE: Janssen For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Republicans kept up criticism of Democratic congressional candidate Mike Derrick on Tuesday for his discounting of the National Defense Authorization Act as a campaign issues. And separately, Green Party congressional candidate Matt Funiciello emphasized the importance of NDAA as a campaign issue. The topic was raised in separate telephone interviews in response to a conference call U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Derrick and two other New York Democrat House candidates held with regional and national reporters on Tuesday. Derrick, during the conference call, criticized Stefanik for repeatedly saying she will support the Republican nominee for president. (Donald) Trumps brand now stands for reckless irresponsibility. My opponent Elise Stefanik is following the party line, telling reporters she looks forward to support her partys nominee whose inflammatory and reckless comments are already putting our troops at risk, he said. Moulton said those who say they will support the Republican nominee are essentially endorsing Trump. Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, is running in the 21st Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, and Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls. Lenny Alcivar, a Stefanik campaign spokesman, said it is disingenuous for Derrick to criticize Stefanik for supporting the Republican nominee when Derrick has said he will support the Democratic nominee, expected to be Hillary Clinton. Alcivar reiterated criticism the National Republican Congressional Committee recently made of Derrick for discounting the NDAA, a defense national policy bill the House passed on May 18. He attacks Congresswoman Stefanik on defense issues while admitting that he doesnt have time to read vital defense legislation because he is campaigning, Alcivar said. In an interview with The Post-Star about Trumps defense policy last week, Derrick said, I have not gone through that (NDAA) legislation. I am trying to win this election, and that has not been on my to-do list. Funicielo, the Green Party candidate, said Tuesday congressional candidates need to talk less about presidential candidates and more about the NDAA. To me its a travesty that you can have mainstream, establishment Democrats sit around and talk about the GOP as it its the ultimate evil. Theyre (Democrats) voting for the NDAA, he said. Funiciello criticized appropriations in the bill to modify military tanks and to build an F-35 flight simulator in Burlington, Vt. My question as a Green, right off the bat, would be, Why cant we shave 50 percent off this budget?' he said. Funiciello said there are provisions in the bill that are good. A raise of 2.1 percent for military personnel? Hey, thats long overdue," he said. "But why dont we give them 5 percent and give them single-payer health care for free. Click here to read more about Stefaniks position on NDAA. Click here to read more about the conference call with Moulton and Derrick on Tuesday. BOLTON The school board has given a vote of confidence to Superintendent of Schools Michael Graney by extending his contract through 2021. Graney has been at the helm since July 1, 2014, after taking over for Raymond Ciccarelli, whose retirement followed 17 years of leadership of the 200-student district. Before becoming superintendent, Graney had served for a year and a half as K-12 principal of the school. Graney is set to make $125,000 in 2016-17. His salary in 2017 will be $128,343 and will increase in increments of 2.75 percent until his salary arrives at $139,224 in the 2020-21 school year, according to the agreement approved by the board last month. In addition, starting next year, Graney will receive 25 days of paid vacation leave up from 20 currently. Graney said he is happy to receive the contract extension and said he and the board believe the district is moving in the right direction. Im certainly appreciative of the vote of confidence. I think weve been working well together and working though some nice initiatives, he said. The districts overarching strategic plan focuses on raising academic expectations, increasing community involvement and boosting student enrollment. Among some of the initiatives school officials have been working on during 2015-16 school year are offering more advanced classes; increasing connections to local businesses by developing student internships; offering more courses in science, technology, engineering and math; improving the facility; and increasing community engagement. The district is working to open a maker space for the elementary grades. These rooms, which have been set up in other schools, are equipped with computers, Legos and other tools and toys to provide an opportunity for students to create their own projects. Bolton also has expanded advanced placement courses and is working to establish internships with local businesses such as The Sagamore resort. The goals are constantly evolving, according to Graney. The district held a community forum in March to get input. The school board will review that feedback at a retreat and set goals for the coming year. Graney said the community has been supportive of the school and said staff, students and parents have pride in the district. I think this is a great place, and I look forward to staying here for the foreseeable future, he said. The state Assembly and Senate now have matching bills that would return the New York Racing Association to private control. Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, said she introduced a bill last Thursday that matches the Senate bill previously introduced by Sen. Kathy Marchione, R-Halfmoon. The two legislators who represent the city worked together to craft the bills, to avoid the risk of there being competing proposals between the Republican-controlled Senate and Democrat-controlled Assembly. We are in lockstep, Woerner said in an interview Tuesday in Saratoga Springs, just before announcing her plans to run for re-election in the fall to represent the 113th Assembly District. She will be seeking her second two-year term representing the district, which includes Saratoga and Washington counties. Having both chambers pass the same bill will strengthen the Legislatures hand in any final negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has a different privatization proposal. The Senate bill introduced by Marchione is going before the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee today in Albany. It would have NYRA return to its prior status as a nonprofit organization devoted to racing. Marchione is a member of the committee. Under the bill, a 15-member governing board would include four state appointees. Two would be appointees of the governor, and one each would be named by the Senate and Assembly leadership. The bills would also give representatives of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemens Association full voting powers on the board. NYRA would also have a representation on the board of those organizations. Currently, the breeders and horsemen are represented on the NYRA board, but the representatives are without voting power. The plans also would guarantee that one board member represents Saratoga Springs, as has historically been the case. Nassau County, as home to Belmont, and Queens, as home to Aqueduct, would also be guaranteed representation. Thats where the tracks are located, so you have someone who has a local perspective serving on the board, Marchione said. The Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee has yet to schedule a vote. Action on the bills in both chambers is expected before the Legislatures scheduled adjournment on June 16. I dont see any reason why we should not have it done by the 16th, Woerner said. The legislative bills differ from Cuomos proposal to reprivatize NYRA, which would continue to have nearly half the board members appointed by state leaders. Cuomo is proposing that the governor appoint five members, the Assembly and Senate, one each. An influential group, Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing, has come out against the governors proposal, while endorsing the legislative version, because it puts more control into private hands. NYRA, which operates thoroughbred racing tracks in Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga Springs, has been governed by a state-appointed reorganization board for the last four years, following years of management scandals and financial losses. The original reorganization was to be for three years, but Cuomo in 2015 extended state control for another year. Marchione said one of the difficulties with the current board is that all its meetings are open to the public, and there are times when the board may want to meet privately to keep information from competitors. She also said a private organization can do more effective planning. Long-term planning is very difficult, Marchione said. You have to be able to look long-term at the improvements that are needed, and thats more difficult with government control. The organization has made a profit the last two years. In April, the NYRA board cited that and other progress in calling for returning the organization to private control, though without endorsing a specific plan. Kenneth Tingley Editor 12801 Follow Kenneth Tingley Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Three months ago an investigating grand jury in Pennsylvania released a 147-page report that revealed that hundreds of children had been sexually abused over four decades by at least 50 priests or religious leaders in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Three months ago. If you thought this was an old story, you were wrong. It is living, breathing and continuing. Laurie Goodstein, the national religion correspondent for The New York Times, wrote last month, Nearly every time I wrote about child sexual abuse, more people with more allegations come out of the woodwork. I get phone calls and emails urging me to dig deeper, telling me I have seen only the tip of the iceberg. In Pennsylvania, the grand jury report found that district attorneys and judges colluded with two former bishops to cover up allegations against priests. One judge secured a job at the county courthouse for a priest accused by multiple families of molesting young boys. The scandal was shocking enough that it led the Pennsylvania House to pass potential reforms for the first time on the statute of limitations for filing criminal charges on child abusers cases while also extending the statute of limitations to age 50. Yet down in Albany without the benefit of a fresh scandal the Republican-controlled state Senate has taken a hard-line position against a similar law that would eliminate the statute of limitations against sex abusers and allow a one-year civil review of past crimes. Just last week, the Republicans blocked a Democrat from introducing the Child Victims Act. Apparently, the politicians fear it would be the end of local Catholic dioceses as opportunists seek an easy payday. But according to Goodstein, it is not money that is the motivating factor for victims. I have met survivors who would prefer never to speak of it, Goodstein wrote. But many more find salvation in telling their stories. This is not simply catharsis. They want to be assured that their abusers are known to the world and can never hurt another child. They want to know if their abusers had other victims. They want other victims to know that they were not alone, and that it was not their fault. They want to put their trauma to some use. Only then can they rest. Yet, the Republican senators including Sen. Elizabeth Little and Sen. Kathy Marchione refuse to give New York victims that opportunity. That is wrong. On Tuesday, the New York Daily News published a front-page story that the Catholic Conference, led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, has spent more than $2.1 million since 2007 with some of the most well-connected and influential lobbying firms to help block a bill that would make it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice, including Mark Behan Communications of Glens Falls. That feels wrong, too. Goodstein wrote that she tries to respond to each new complaint she gets. There are too many, she writes, and the bar for doing more articles on this is now very high. We do them only when it tells us something new. Sadly, the horror of sexual abuse has become yesterdays news, and our legislators have still not done right by the victims. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the insurance industry are expected to lobby hard against adopting the statute of limitations bill that was passed in the Pennsylvania House. I suspect they will prevail, just as they did in Albany. Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether Read more The farmers, who depend on electricity to power their irrigation pumps, said the cost of electricity is driving them out of business and could render most of them jobless. The aggrieved farmers marched through the principal streets of Keta to present a petition to the president through the Municipal Chief Executive. They appealed to the president to subsidize the cost of solar irrigation pumps. We are aware of the challenges Ghana is facing in the generation of power. For us farmers, the long term solution is the use of solar pumping units, Roland Tudzi, leader of the farmers said. We are appealing to government to look critically at solar energy option and subsidize it cost to enable farmers own the solar pump unit. Ghanas Auditor-Generals Report for 2014 revealed the country lost GHc2.6 billion to corruption and mismanagement. Previous years recorded similar heart-breaking figures. And, the future looks bleaker. Franklin Cudjoe, the founding President of IMANI, a leading CSO in Africa has observed recently, my estimation of all corruption involving politicians and civil service in Ghana is about $3bn-$4bn annually and that's almost 10% of Ghana's GDP and that is a big deal. There is, certainly, no surer way to spark a spirited argument than to raise the subject of corruption anywhere in the country as the nation prepares for the seventh Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in her Fourth Republic. It is obvious the aged old canker will feature prominently in this years campaigns just as it did in previous elections. On his return from the recent anti-corruption conference in UK where he was praised as an exemplary performer in the fight against corruption in the sub-region, John Dramani Mahama, the President of Ghana and the flag-bearer of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) Party boldly challenged citizens to name the corrupt men in his cabinet. In swift response, members of Occupy Ghana (OG), a transparency and accountability advocacy group washed ashore the devils in the details of the Smarttys deal, linking the stinking bus branding scandal which, caused the resignation of Road and Transport Minister, Dzifa Ativor, to the Presidency. The Presidency has answered OGs call with a very loud silence. Meanwhile, his toughest opponent Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party flagbearer has also reiterated a call he has made several times, I am not seeking the high office of this land because I want to steal your money and line my pockets with the nations resources. His supporters say he is incorruptible. Of course, it is not enough to say I am incorruptible; I will not steal your money. Or, I have not taken bribe before; I have fought corruption better than previous administrations did. Critical minded electorates will need more than that to decide on the corruption card because corruption has always been on election campaign tables, yet, citizens have not seen any meaningful political will and commitment exhibited in the fight against the nations resources robber over the years. Whereas John Mahama and the NDC will be judged based on their efforts against corruption than on new promises, Nana Akuffo-Addo and the NPP will also be examined not based on only their promises but also on how they fought corruption from 2001 to 2008 when they were in power and on how they are presently addressing internal corruption allegations. Since 2009, the NDC government has suffered numerous heart-tearing corruption scandals. The President says this administration has addressed these cases better than past governments did. According to him, his government has investigated and retrieved various amounts of monies from those found culpable and others are being prosecuted. He argues that unlike previous administrations, his does not cover up but further exposes acts of corruption when they come up and transparently probes them for remedial actions. But, many Ghanaians genuinely think the measures government is employing to address corruption cases are not stringent enough. Instead of applying strict preventive measures to save the nations resources from draining into individuals pockets, government seems to be concentrating more on curative measures which, are not addressing the numerous scandals fluttering their wings across the media landscape as satisfactorily as citizens expect. Nevertheless, the incumbent is not the only sufferer of allegations of corruption scandals. Paul Afoko, the suspended NPP Chairman and other members of the main Opposition have raised serious issues regarding financial malfeasance in their party and the Flag-bearer has been blamed for endorsing such ill-acts. Members of the incumbent party and other well-meaning citizens are genuinely arguing that if the Opposition Candidate cannot ensure transparency and accountability in his party, much cannot be expected of him in government. Some supporters of the NPP, however, say that the Constitution of their party does say the flag-bearer is the leader of the party so he should not be blamed for the transparency and accountability challenges the party is facing. Voters, the final decision makers will, however, determine whether Nana Akuffo-Addo needed to promote or ensure transparency and accountability in his party as a demonstration of his corruption fighting competence or not. Unfortunately, Ghanaian politicians and political parties have not shown the leadership and commitment required to address the bribery and corruption problem the country has faced since it attained independence. In opposition, they seemed to have the panacea, but, in government, they got caught up in same or bigger scandals than what they condemned. This is because the systems are rooted in corruption and many of the people and institutions that have a responsibility to protect the interest of the public are themselves beneficiaries of the various corrupt acts they are supposed to fight against. Even, how political parties are funded in Ghana can partly explain why it is difficult to kill the kick-back phenomenon. Many of those who fund the parties are not philanthropists. The political parties and some very important party and government functionaries are direct or indirect beneficiaries of various corrupt acts in officialdom thus making the fight against corruption suicidal to them. Anna Bossman, a former Commissioner for Human Right and Administrative Justice was more than right when she said in her interview with Africa Watch Magazine in 2011 that, as a society, we condone it and we do not have robust systems that would allow us to even trace and monitor properly. And then, when we do monitor and find things, we do not sanction. We turn a blind eye. The situation has not changed much. Thus, the candidate who will be able to provide proofs to the electorates that he is more committed to winning the tough battle against this chronic socio-economic ailment may win the debate on corruption on the election platform. But, regardless of who wins the 2016 elections, the government of Ghana will have to show more will power than she has ever done to reduce corruption appreciably. And, that can only be achieved if civil society organizations, media and individual social accountability advocates increase their resolve to demand transparency and accountability from duty bearers at all levels One of the taxes that has been heavily criticised under the new tax law is the 20% tax on employee retirement benefits and allowances. Mr. Terkper in response to the public disapproval of the tax said, Its a thorny one because you are exiting. But remember that as you make your social security contributions, they are exempt from tax even though it is part of your income. Mr. Terkper however agreed that people who earn more pension emoluments must be made to pay while those who earn less are exempted. Perhaps we will have to exempt a certain level of income on the pension so that those who are fortunate enough to make fat pensions they may pay a little tax, Mr Terkper said. Mr. Terkper was addressing the gathering at the Stanbic Bank-Daily Graphic Executive Breakfast Meeting which was centred on the new tax law and its implications for the economy and businesses. Addressing the argument as to whether allowances should be taxed, the Finance Minister said, The festival which is scheduled to take place at the Accra International Conference Center from June 24-26, 2016 will also see other artistes like saxophonist Tom Braxton and a host of local acts like Aka Blay, Ayisah, Kyekyeku and Constant Boty. Speaking at the launch of the festival in Accra on Wednesday, Head of Marketing and Communications at Stanbic Bank, Mawuko Afadzinu said: Over the past three years we have been ensuring that the Stanbic Jazz Festival gains recognition as a stop on the global jazz calendar by presenting top-flight musicians to the people of Ghana. This year we are presenting Bob James to cement the plan of making this a must-attend event on the jazz circuit, he added. According to him Stanbic intends to develop and grow the jazz music industry in Ghana hence the decision to introduce the training and skills development in all the related fields of technical production including sound engineering and lighting, marketing and PR, event management and hospitality. Mr. Afadzinu also revealed at the launch that Stanbic will use 20% of proceeds from the event to support the Leukemia Foundation of Ghana. The parents of the baby - a Ghanaian father and a woman who have been described by Italian authorities as a refugee are in the grip of the police. An autopsy will be carried out on the body of the baby on Wednesday. According to reports from ansa.itan online news platform in Italy, the baby suffered a cardiac arrest after the circumcision and was later confirmed dead at the hospital. The emergency call to alert authorities came from a venue know as "Spazio Neruda" occupied by the homeless. A resident at the Spazio Neruda told ansa.it "They circumcised their son, then they wrapped him with gauze and gave him paracetamol," Ansa.it reports that the baby had been brought to the shelter by parents on Sunday evening to pass the night. The mother of the baby who was reported to the police for alleged culpable homicide told investigators she gave the baby 250mg of paracetamol after the circumcision. The Italian police is yet to track down the Ghanaian doctorwho carried out the circumcision. The news portal reports that Mustafa Qaddurah, a pediatrician with the Islamic Cultural Centre of Rome, said the national health system in Italy does not cover circumcision performed for cultural or non medical purposes. One of such commemorative pieces is a sculpture that has proved to be a major spectacle for passer-bys. The brain behind the artwork is artist an environmental advocate, Faisal Dauda popularly known as Mallam Concern. Concerned about the sanitation problems the country face especially in Accra, he decided the best way to bring attention was through art at the epicentre. The artwork is made entirely from plastic materials including bottles, sachet water, plastic bags and packaging that had been indiscriminately disposed. Dauda then repurposed the materials to make a sculpture of a man (security personnel) carrying the charred body of a victim of the disaster. According to Dauda, he decided to use plastic for his work because of its destructive role in causing the floods. Flooding always occurs when it rains here. And you can see on top of the water; plastic materials...So I believe this would create the awareness needed to solve this problem. Along with the artwork are inscriptions from Dauda calling on citizens to stop littering, keep the environment clean and a change of mindset about waste. Dauda fears his message of cleanliness will be short lived as Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) officials have already told him to remove it. Officials of the AMA have been busy clearing up the site ahead of an expected visit of President John Mahama and other dignitaries on Friday, June 3, 2016. On our letter reference and dated 31 May 2016 to government and management of the judicial service and our subsequent meeting with the parliamentary select committee on the judiciary and further deliberations with the employment and labour relations, the National Executive Council of JUSAG has concluded on a framework with government and management in a bid to implement our proposed salary structure. It has become necessary to appeal to all members of the Judicial Service Staff Association and workers of the judicial service that they resume work immediately, he said. JUSSAG has been on strike since Friday 20th May 2016 over what they say is government's failure to implement the new agreed consolidation of their salaries and allowances. JUSSAG embarked on a similar strike but was called off after assurances by Haruna Iddrisu the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations to ensure the implementation of the new salaries. But two months afterwards the judicial service workers accused government of showing a lackadaisical attitude towards their demands and cannot hold on further for their demands. The Employment Ministry as well as the Labour Commission had described the strike as illegal with the latter heading to court to challenge the legality of the strike. President John Dramani Mahama subsequently met with representatives of the Judicial Service staff Association of Ghana and other stakeholders on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 in a bid to find a lasting solution to their salary concerns. The autopsy report states that, the deceased died of a heart failure. But residents have rejected the report, adding that the said police officers have a hand in the boys death and should therefore be prosecuted. Some of the residents demonstrated against police on the matter on Tuesday, creating tension in the town. Commenting on the matter on Accra-based Citi FM, the MP for Manhyia North said he and his constituents will officially state their position on the matter after the one week memorial of the deceased, Osei Tawiah. We are not happy people at all. Honestly the way this young man has lost his life, we find it difficult to comprehend. I share the sentiment of my people. This reports suggesting that he died as a result of heart failure are imaginations. The fact of the matter is that we are not satisfied, Collins Amankwah added. Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kofi Boakye has vowed to deal ruthlessly with the youth of the area if they fail to stay clear off the streets in their bid to protest over the autopsy report. Otumfuo Manwerehene Baffour Osei Brentuo Hyiaman has told Kumasi-based Ultimate FM that the regional security council can take it up for investigations to take place to get to the bottom of the matter. If its the Police versus the youth, the Police cannot come in as judges in their own case, there should be a third body and that third body should be able to cool tempers.But paramount in all these is the peace that we need in this region. The things that are happening lately here are not good for the region and there is no traditional leader who will be happy with such developments. There appears to be some heat somewhere and we should be in the position to resolve those matters as we go into the polls in November, he said. JUSSAG has been on strike since Friday 20th May 2016 over what they say is government's failure to implement the new agreed consolidation of their salaries and allowances. JUSSAG embarked on a similar strike but was called off after assurances by Haruna Iddrisu the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations to ensure the implementation of the new salaries. But two months afterwards the judicial service workers are accusing government of showing a lackadaisical attitude towards their demands and cannot hold on further for their demands. The Employment Ministry as well as the Labour Commission have described the strike as illegal with the latter heading to court to challenge the legality of the strike. The boat operator was arrested on Tuesday afternoon following reports of negligence. The accident occurred around 1 pm when the boat, which was on its way to Yeji from Nantwekope capsized after hitting a tree stamp. A rescue team made up of police personnel and naval officers are still trying to retrieve some bodies. Meanwhile, the owner of the boat involved in the Yeji disaster, T.T Gbedeho has attributed the low water level of the Volta Lake for the disaster. He said passengers always refuse to put on life jackets when they are asked to do. THE REAL STORY IN THE ALLOTEY JACOBS SAGAThe New Patriotic Party wishes to urge all communicators, members, as well as sympathisers to not get involved in the unsavoury accusations against the British High Commissioner, Jon Benjamin, that he lied and aided corruption by defending the Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress.Clearly, the British diplomat is not above criticism but it can be done without attacks on his person. The NPP finds the attacks against the integrity of Mr Jon Benjamin unsavoury and diversionary. What we believe Ghanaians must focus on are the issues bordering on incompetence and corruption which the trip by the NDC Regional Chairman represents.We appreciate that the story over an alleged incident on the British Airways flight from Accra at Heathrow last Sunday involving Bernard Allotey Jacobs first emanated from a person who claimed, with evidence of presence, to have been an eyewitness on board that flight. Nevertheless, Ghanaians should have no reason to doubt the official statement issued by the representative of the British government in Ghana.This incident, allegedly in the form of British Security Agencies boarding the said British Airways Flight from Accra to London and interrogating the Central Region Chairman on suspicion of money laundering, amongst other unproven allegations, according to the British High Commissioner, never happened, as per his thorough checks with the airport authorities.In the absence of any form of evidence to prove otherwise, we urge all NPP members who have commented and may still be commenting on this issue to ceasefire and desist from attacking the British High Commissioner. We also condemn such baseless attacks.Indeed, if there has been any diplomat who has been forthright and proactive in voicing his concerns about the high levels of corruption and incompetence in Ghana, it has been Jon Benjamin. From urging Small and Medium Enterprises in the country to demand governments commitment to eliminate corruption and foster growth of the sector, to lamenting about governments failure in not tackling corruption, Mr Benjamins pronouncements against rising levels of corruption in Ghana is well-documented and deserves commendation.Indeed, the corruption and incompetence that have characterized the Mahama administration is readily evidenced in this Allotey Bernard Saga where the dealings of an important State institution, the National Petroleum Authority, is subjected to party cronyism and left in the hands of a board member who is bereft of the competence and expertise in the activities of the institution mandated to regulate, oversee and monitor the petroleum downstream industry in Ghana.Authentix, a US company, which, according to Allotey Jacobs, has dealings with the NPA specializes in safeguarding clients in the refined fuels, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, agrochemicals and spirits industries from counterfeiting, product theft, product diversion, smuggling and adulteration. It is an interest player in procurements in the petroleum sector, which the NPA has oversight responsibility.It is essentially a 2-week paid holiday for Mr. Allotey Jacobs. In one breadth, he claims the Board of Directors of the NPA sent him to Dallas to represent the company. In another breadth, he states that the entire cost of his trip is being funded by Authentix. Both issues raise red flags in Ghana and in the United States of America.The trip raises some major questions:What was the purpose of the trip that appeared to have been sanctioned by the NPA Board of Directors?What was the Board of Directors thought process behind choosing Allotey Jacobs to represent the NPA? Did competence inform the decision to settle on him? And if so, which competency?Was the business class return ticket sponsored by the NPA or by the US company as claimed publicly by the NDC Central Regional Chairman?Did the company also sponsor the business class return ticket for Mrs Agbenotor, the other NPA staff who was on the trip?Did the company also sponsor their hotel bills, as the lowest rate at the Westin Galleria Hotel, in Dallas, where Allotey Jacobs is staying, goes for $2,800 a night. Or, are Ghanaian taxpayers paying for the NDC Regional Chairmans 12-day stay at the hotel, which is estimated to cost at least $33,600 or $67,200 for the two?Is the US company also providing per diem and if so how much?If this trip is sponsored by the Ghanaian taxpayer, we wish to know if it is in consonance with the recent directive from the Office of Chief of Staff, ostensibly issued to curtail wasteful, expensive, luxurious travels by public officials.If Allotey Jacobs trip, as he boldly stated on radio Monday, is being funded by Authentix, then we wish to draw the attention of the United States government to a possible breach of Federal rules.The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, 15 U.S.C. 78dd-1, et seq. ("FCPA"), was enacted for the purpose of making it unlawful for certain classes of persons and entities to make payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. Allotey Jacobs' claims on Citi FM's Eye Witness News, gives cause for Authentix to be investigated by the SEC for flouting the FCPA.Based on this disclosure, there is a possibility of an infringement of this specific provision of the FCPA by Authentix, and the NPP is by this, drawing the attention of the United States Embassy to this potential bleach.The people of Ghana must see this usual habit of the NDC as highly unethical and smacking of the kind of corruption that has buried our nation under an ever-heaping pile of debts. It is wrong for a board member of state regulatory body such as the NPA to easily, willingly and boastfully open himself up to be corrupted by receiving perks from a company that has contractual interests in procurements to do with the very state agency for which the board member works.This is just another example of the corruption and incompetence that have been the hallmark of John Mahamas presidency.We, however, encourage Ghanaian journalists not to be disturbed by the vile insults from the likes of Allotey Jacobs when they probe the propriety or otherwise of such actions by public officials. The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are among 19 political parties in the country who failed to meet the May 31 deadline of the Electoral Commission (EC) for the submission of audited financial records. The EC requires political parties to submit their financial accounts for scrutiny to ensure that financial administration of the various political parties are acquired in consonance with public financial management standard. This year, the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Convention Peoples Party (CPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Independent Peoples Party (IPP) and the United Front Party (UFP) are the parties who have submitted their financial accounts. Possible sanction for parties who fail to comply is the withdrawal of their certificates. But the Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Evans Aggrey Darko believes that is impossible. I dont know the EC can possibly say they will not allow these political parties to compete...This is not the first time this is happening. Year in year out we have heard political parties not complying and what have we been able to do over the years, he said on Accra-based TV3. Conditions attached to the deal include a binding one that no South African employee be laid off because of the merger, the Competition Commission said in a statement. The commission said it had recommended to the Competition Tribunal, which has the ultimate say, that the deal be "approved with conditions." Its recommendations usually meet the tribunal's approval. The companies have also agreed to submit within two years of the merger "black economic empowerment plans setting out how the merged entity intends to maintain black participation in the company, including equity," the commission said in a statement. South Africa's government has a number of targets that companies must meet to lift the ownership of previously disadvantaged blacks in the economy. Jobs are a major issue in South Africa, where unemployment is over 25 percent and income disparities are glaring, and AB InBev granted significant concessions on this front as it strives for approval of one of the largest corporate takeovers. "The Commission received concerns regarding the potential impact of the proposed merger on employment ... In this regard, AB InBev has undertaken that it will not retrench any employee in South Africa as a result of the merger. This condition will endure in perpetuity," the commission said. In the area of social development, AB InBev has committed to investing 1 billion rand over five years in to the agriculture sector that supplies the brewing business, with a focus on emerging black farmers. "This investment will be utilised for the development of the South African agricultural outputs for barley, hops and maize, as well as to promote entry and growth of emerging and black farmers in South Africa," the Commission said. Badmus, in an interview published by Encomium Magazine on June 1, 2016, said the harm caused by the press and social media has encouraged her to maintain silence about her love life. When questioned about her love life, she said, "Those are the things I dont like talking about. Let us just talk about my career." "I dont believe in talking about personal issues to the press and social media. They wont make such relationship last." On her take regarding celebrities and the social media, the comic actress commented that she will rather not respond to opinions made online about her by the fans no matter how hurtful they are. According to her, fans are generally not loyal to any particular celebrity. They can make or break any public figure. "Nigerians in the disapora do not really have loyal fans. My fans are other celebrities fans. We dont have fans that wouldnt move out from you. So, I dont reply them." "I am a comic person. I dont reply them. Nothing gets to me. There are some comments that get to me but I dont reply." "I am not about that. They are the same set of people that will praise me tomorrow. It is better to ignore such comments." Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! According to a report by Punch Newspaper, Olufokunbi has admitted fleecing the banker whose name was simply given as Lekan, to the tune of N2.5m. The 33-year-old fake herbalist said he sold herbs to Lekan before he approached to help increase his fortune and he in turn requested for the money which will be used to prepare a special soap that will increase the banker's fortune in two days. In his account to the men of the Nigerian Police Force, Olufokunbi said, I have known Lekan for a long time and he is my customer. He was initially patronising me for herbs for his ailment." Speaking further, he said, 'But he later approached me for money ritual, saying the money he was making as a banker was not enough for him. I said I could do it if he could give me N2.5m. He brought the money and I gave him a bar of soap. 'I told him to keep the soap in a box for two days, after which he should check the box and he would see a lot of money. He did that, but it failed, he then reported me to the police, who arrested me,' he revealed. Lekan was reported to have petitioned the Lagos State Police Commands Rapid Response Squad in February 2016 after the money magic was said to have failed and Olufokunbi was trailed and arrested at his base in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said Olufokunbi will be arraigned after due investigations as members of his syndicates are currently being hunted. Ariori, who runs a rental service, told the court that his wife had stopped preparing meals for him for over six years and had denied him sex for three years. He said that the problem started when his wife followed one of his friends to Oshogbo for his father's burial for six days. "My wife started misbehaving since she followed my friend to Oshogbo in 2010. When she came back and I attempted to make love to her, she refused. "Our two children, Yetude, 31 and Bilikisu, 28, who are now married and my club members had on different occasions tried to mediate, but to no avail," he said. His wife, a business woman, told the court that she loved her husband and she had been the breadwinner of the home. "I feed and clothe my husband. When I had money to spend there was no problem and complaints. "I usually travel to Dubai to buy male and female wears; my business started dwindling because there was no money. "This whole problem started because I have no money to spend on my husband again. "His friend that I followed to Oshogbo told me that his club members has found him a woman much younger than me who he is presently dating," she said Tawakalitu said that she had been denying her husband sex because she has attained menopause. She told the court that Edmund with whom she had two children in their 18-year-old marriage could not make decisions on his own. My husband's mother and brothers are controlling our home. If we discuss anything, my husband will first go to his family to consult with them, what they say will be my husbands final decision. Anna also told the court that her husband was a drunk. My husband always spends his salary with his brothers at a beer parlour and after drinking to stupor, he will be staggering and falling into the gutter. He urinates and messes up everywhere in our flat whenever he is drunk and most times, he beats me without reason, she said. Anna accused her husband, who has failed to appear in court after receiving several summons, of being an irresponsible husband and father. When my daughter fainted when she had fever, I called my husband to come home so that we could take her to the hospital, he said that he was in a beer joint and that he could not come. He does not sleep at home most times as he stays with his brothers or mother. He always tells me that nothing can separate him and his family. I pay the house rent and the childrens school fees because my husband refused to pay, she said. Anna claimed that her husband asked her to go to his village for spiritual cleansing. My husband is forcing me to go to his village for cleansing; I don't just understand what the cleansing is all about. Two of my husband's elder brothers wives had gone to the village for cleansing, they died few days after returning to Lagos. I am afraid because I don't want to die now, she said. The petitioner presented a text message sent to her by her husband that she should go to his village for cleansing and that he would not appear in court for any dissolution. Bello said We have laid the cards on the table; we are not hiding anything. We are very transparent as much as we can but the truth of the matter is that I cannot give what we dont have. I wish I had; personally if I had, I would have paid (salaries) from my pocket but I cant. The Governor made this revelation after holding a closed door meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Bello said it was not wise for the state government to borrow money to pay salaries, when there are other pressing issues for the government to attend to. He added that if nothing is done to salvage the financial problem the state is facing by the end of December 2016, its debt profile will increase to N10b. The Niger state Governor said he had to talk with labour leaders, so theyll understand what the government is facing. He also said I think we should go back to the table. Of course, we cant give what we dont have. We are facing difficult times now, so let us sit down and see what we can do. I really think it is unhealthy to keep on borrowing just to pay salaries. Apart from that, we are not just there to pay salaries, there are a lot of issues. I got a call this morning from one Girls Secondary School that their roof is off in six out of seven dormitories. Where will they sleep? Now if I take the whole revenue and pay salaries, how am I going to fix schools, hospitals? Civil servants in Ekiti state are currently on strike following the inability of the government to pay them salaries for 10 months. Abdullahi said the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides for the free movement of citizens across the country. You will recall that undefinedfollowing the alleged of killing of two people by the cattle rearers. The professor also described the Fulani herdsmen as businessmen who can move freely to access the resources they require for their business. Abdullahi said And if for any reason, somebody in one section of this country will deny him access then we have to take measures to response to that. We are not saying that if a herdsman encroaches on a farm land . . . and this has been the tradition here for years; when they do some crops get damaged and an assessment is made and they pay. So why all the petty attitude? I see what is happening today as a new dimension to political and ethnic cleansing that if not carefully handled may lead to other big things. The Herdsman is a Nigerian his rights must be exercised as a Nigerian he has free movement like everybody else to pursue legitimate business and he cannot be denied access to any part of the country. I am a Fulani man my ancestors were in the bush, but we find reasons to settle in one place. I have cows and anytime they cause damage I pay compensation and so that is the way it will be. The Fulani man is a Nigerian he has rights like any other Nigerian he works freely to access legitimate economic resources of this country like land. Land is common thing for all Nigerians. In fact, what really amazes me there is no Nigerian I know that works as hard as a herdsman; he sleeps on the branches of trees he has no permanent abode, he toils day and night with his animals, he added. Fulani herdsmen in Cross River state have begged the Governor,Ben Ayade to allocate a portion of land for them in the state for grazing. The armys comments were contained in a statement released by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Hamza Gambo. It reads: The attention of the general public is hereby drawn to the unwarranted attack that was launched by combined members of the Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) against the peace loving populace as well as security agencies at about 0415 hours on 30 May 2016. This attack was purported to have been orchestrated in order to mar the first anniversary of the present democratic government as part of the activities earmarked to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Biafra. Due to the wide spread panic, tension and apprehension that generated from the activities of the MASSOB and IPOB members, security agencies which comprised of detachment of Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police, Department of State Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency were compelled to intervene in consonance with constitutional provisions of aid to civil authority where and when such occasion demands. The overarching imperative to ensure a reign of peace, security and stability in this circumstance was most starring. However, the MASSOB/IPOB members who had earlier assembled at a school location on Ataa Road near Saint Edmunds Catholic Parish Maryland Nkpor-Agu in Anambra State resorted to fierce attack against the intervening security agencies who were carrying out their legitimate mandate. The nature of this attack involved brazen employment of various types of fire arms and all sorts of crude weapons, volatile cocktail such as acid and dynamites. Instructively, troops of 82 Division Nigerian Army as the lead agency of the security agencies had to invoke the extant Rules of Engagement (ROE) to resort to self-defence, protection of the strategic Niger Bridge, prevent re-enforcement of the pro Biafran members apparently surging ahead from the far side of the strategic Niger Bridge at Onitsha. All these efforts were in order to de-escalate the palpable tension as well as ward off the apparent threats to lives and property in the general area. In the aftermath of the fire fight that ensued, many of own troops sustained varying degrees of injury. These injured troops are currently receiving treatment at own medical centre. Similarly, 5 members of MASSOB/IPOB were killed, 8 wounded while 9 were arrested for due legal actions. Reports say 225 captives, comprising of women and children have also been rescued from various camps of the terrorists. Vanguard reports that the Acting Director of Army Public relations, Col. Sani Usman said Nigerian troops deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole and their neighbouring counterparts under the Multinational Joint Task Force have been very busy clearing the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in their respective areas of responsibilities. In the process, they were able to rescue quite a number of abducted persons, arrested suspected Boko Haram terrorists, recovered weapons and equipment. The troops of 81 Battalion and 251 Task Force Battalion, 25 Task Force Brigade on 30th May 2016, received 79 persons who claimed to have been kept captives by Boko Haram terrorists at Ngwalimiri village but escaped at their location. The Nigerian Army also said its troops averted attacks on oil pipelines located at Gulobokri and Eweleso communities in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa. The president gave the assurance during the democracy day lecture organised on Tuesday in Abuja by the Save Democracy Group Africa, to mark the 2016 democracy day. The theme of the lecture is, the Change Agenda and Sustenance of Nigerian Democracy. The President was represented by Secretary to Government of the Federation Babachir David Lawal He said while his government would not shy away from finding non-military solution to the vandalism and destruction of oil facilities in the country, it would not succumb to intimidation and blackmail by any criminal element. ``You will agree with me that two major reasons why our economy is in such a deplorable condition is the slump in crude oil prices. ``It is also due to decline in production as a result of the recent upsurge in activities of criminals and saboteurs in the oil producing region. ``While the control of the selling price of our crude oil is not solely in our hands, the challenge of militancy, criminality and vandalism is solely within our control. ``I therefore wish to restate that I have directed all the nations security outfits to take all steps necessary to secure the oil facilities and other government assets in the Niger Delta region. ``While our doors are open to dialogue, political and non-military solution on the matter, this government will not succumb to intimidation and blackmail by criminal element, coming to inflict further unnecessary social and economic hardship on the citizens. He urged the perpetrators to desist from the act or face the consequences. `` In the area of insecurity, I can gladly report that the government has recovered territories hitherto under the control of insurgency in the North East. ``What remains is the ongoing military campaign to mop up pockets of insurgents scattered in forests and mountains of the region. ``In the meantime government has started resettling the returning internally displaced persons to their original localities. ``The challenging task of rebuilding the region will start in earnest with the implementation of the 2016 Budget of Change. ``As to the rampant cattle-herdsmen clashes across the country, the Federal Government is partnering with state governments to find a lasting solution to the unfortunate menace. ``Among the solution being considered is the establishment of animal grazing reserve and other policies targeted at encouraging the nomad herdsmen to adopt modern methods of animal rearing. ``In the meantime, I have directed all security agencies to bring all perpetrators of the clashes to book. I wish to assure all Nigerians that there will be no sacred cows, he said. He commended the electorate for voting the All Progressives Congress (APC) into power, assuring that his government would continue to work in their interest. ``I can say unequivocally that the electorate made the right choice at the right time considering that this government came into power at the very brink of the collapse of our economy. ``Then for 16 years the nation was characterised by flagrant misrule and impunity, resulting in unimaginable corruption, insecurity, massive unemployment, and economic meltdown. ``In order to arrest the slide into total social and economic chaos, this government has to take very difficult and painful decisions. ``Decisions required putting the nation back into the path of good governance by the rule of law. ``Restoring hope and security among its citizens and providing a sustainable and enduring environment for employment and economic growth. He promised that the implementation of some of the governments reforms would start with the implementation of the 2016 budget. The Governor said The Monday killing of over 30 Igbo youths is therefore condemnable. Its justification is barbaric, heartless, crude and must be condemned by all lovers of unity of Nigeria and its people. I therefore wish to express my sympathy to the people of the South Eastern part of Nigeria and I urge them to remain resolute in their agitation for a Nigeria in which all Nigerians are treated equally irrespective of their tribe and religion. He also said Nigeria has become more divided under the Buhari led administration. Fayose called on the international community to take note of what he called the wanton killings of Nigerians under Buhari's watch. The Ekiti state Governor also said To even justify the killing by claiming that the Igbo youths protest was orchestrated in order to mar the first anniversary of Buharis government is to say the least, wicked and animalistic. I am alarmed that Nigerians who were only on peaceful protest could be shot at and killed by security agents and after the senseless killing of innocent Nigerians, security agents could demonstrate their heartlessness by coming up with justifications for the criminal act. Fayose added that One is however not surprised because every evil perpetrated by the Buhari-led government against Nigerians, especially those the presidents appears to hate have been justified by those who perpetrated them. We were in this country when over 1,000 Shiite Muslims were killed and buried overnight in Zaria, Kaduna State and the murder was justified. We were also here when over 400 Agatus were killed in Benue State and the President said nothing. undefinedof destroying Nigerias economy. However, instead of taking the incident like a man, the senator ran to social media to whine and complain. I was at the Presidential Villa today. Went to the Presidents table. DSS would not allow me greet him but let another Senator greet him, Murray-Bruce said via Facebook and Twitter. I have nothing against the President, however, nobody is too important to be criticised and my mouth will never be silenced, he added. Ben Bruces story was however dismissed by two of his colleagues, Shehu Sani and Sola Adeyeye who were also at the dinner. We met with Mr President at the Villa yesternight. He was frank and blunt with us and we were honest with him. He addressed us, and those nominated to speak responded, raised issues and asked questions of which he answered. I actually wanted to speak but I was not so lucky, Shehu Sani said. I was surprised to learn that one of us later disclosed that he was prevented by security agents from coming close to Mr President. I personally experienced NO such. And I don't think Mr President can bar any legislature from coming close to him for holding different opinion on National issues, he added. Senator Adeyeye on the other hand said that some senators broke protocol by approaching Buharis table and that Ben Bruce wasnt the only person who was turned away. I was at the dinner. I sat in the front row along with other principal officers of the national assembly. I had a vantage view of what transpired. I am disappointed by this comment from a respected colleague, Adeyeye said. I have on two occasions provided robust defense of Sen Ben Bruce. Not this time! It was Sen Dino Melaye who first went to greet those seated at the presidents table, including President Buhari. He was well greeted. No one in the senate has criticised President Buhari more than Sen Melaye. But as others rose to do what Dino had done, the scene got clumsy and indecorous because people were approaching the presidents table from different directions. I sat between Sen Olujimi and Sen Bwacha. The three of us felt embarrassed by what was clearly a breach of dinner protocol. At that level, if dinner was served or being served, good etiquette demanded that the presidents table should not be approached. One should wait until people had finished eating. The first person to be turned back was Sen Gemade who was visibly embarrassed. He belongs to the APC; he is not a known critic of the president. When I noticed that most people had finished their food, I approached the table and offered my pleasantries. Others followed suit. No one was turned back, he added. After being turned away, Ben Bruce stayed on at the event and apparently even ate the food which he was served, but he still managed to summon up enough righteous indignation to complain on social media. Ben Bruce prides himself on being a strong opposition force, with his common sense campaign, but this incident has exposed him for what he truly is, an attention seeker. The honourable senator needs to save his anger for more important national issues instead of turning into a cry baby over such a trivial matter. He said We use to instruct our people to always ask for permission before entering into any land to graze. If I were to be a farmer, I wont be pleased if any cattle come along to destroy my crops. If a grazing land is provided, the animals would not stray into farms and this would further prevent any future crisis between herdsmen and farmers in the state. All we are appealing for is a grazing land that is different from the farmlands; this would help us to stop encroaching into peoples farmlands in search of food for our cattle. We have also sensitised our people to always have a good understanding with their host communities. Governor Abiola Ajimobi has established grazing spaceand feeding lots for Fulani herdsmen in Oyo state. The Reps ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, to deploy policemen to the state to avoid any violent clashes. The lawmakers also asked the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to send relief materials to those affected in the Oke Ako Ekiti community of Ekiti state. Emmanuel Agboola, the lawmaker who moved the motion, said Lives are randomly lost in these incessant attacks and sometimes in a dimension that is similar to genocide, just like the one at Oke Ako in Ekiti state. Certain states have already taken steps to stem the tide in a manner that suggests that the Federal Government is seemingly insensitive to this very worrisome development. Governor Ayo Fayose also banned the Fulani herdsmen from grazing in the state, following the alleged killings. Speaking at the World no-Tobacco-Day sensitization organised for students of various health schools in Kaduna on Tuesday, May 31 2016, Hajiya Maryam Abubakar, said smokers have great risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels. Maryam said tobacco-related illness is one of the highest public health threat the world has ever faced, adding that smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and affects a persons overall health system. "Approximately one person dies from a Tobacco-caused disease every six seconds in the world, equivalent to almost 6 million people a year. Smoking causes general adverse effects on the body, including inflammation and decreased immune function. This causes general adverse effects on the body, including inflammation and decreased immune function," Hajiya Maryam while calling on the Federal government to quickly intervene. He said People talk about the price of tomato but they forget one thing; they forget that the price of tomato today is a direct result of the fact that we have lost two years harvest to Boko Haram insurgency. Most of the people you see riding Okada (motorcycles) in Lagos are people who would have been in the farm to produce consumable items. The minister also said Do you farm where there is war? We have lost two seasons of harvest in addition we have had very poor rainfall last year and this year. These are the combined responsible for the scarcity of tomato. Go and ask economists and agriculturists, they will tell you. Mohammed said this while fielding questions on a Channels Television program. He said farmers have abandoned their farmlands because of attacks from Boko Haram. President Muhammadu Buhari recently revealed that he feels sorry for the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed. A group under the aegis of Concerned Niger Delta Leaders, have joined other prominent leaders in the region to condemn the acts of the militants. The group described the actions of the Niger Delta Avengers as criminal, adding that it is unacceptable. The groups spokesman, Chief Mike Loyibo also asked the military to go about their operation to fish out the suspected militants with caution. Loyibo also said We have for some time watched with utmost dismay the manner in which the Niger Delta Avengers, a group with an aimless agenda, has been destroying our common heritage and the economic mainstay of the country through the vandalisation of critical government infrastructure and oil installations. To us, the agenda of these people still remains unclear. At best, their actions are clear acts of sabotage and criminality, both against the state and humanity. It is also a direct threat to the collective existence of us all. The activities of the Niger Delta Avengers also threaten the un-negotiable unity of Nigeria to its very foundation, and this must be condemned by all well meaning stakeholders. The Bayelsa state government has also called on the militants to stop bombing crude oil facilities. Most of the Niger Delta leaders have come out to denounce and condemn the activities of the militants. Even the Bayelsa state government has called on the militants to stop bombing offshore oil facilities. According to Sahara Reporters, ex-militants who fought for the Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), have called on the Niger Delta Avengers to surrender. Reports say the spokesman for the ex-militants, Mack Anthony, said "We are appealing to members of the Niger Delta Avengers to surrender and accept dialogue. No group or individual can fight federal Government. Anthony also said "We NDLF have staged FG and until today, we are still nursing our wounds. We also appeal to FG to employ internationally accepted military practice in Niger Delta. We recall during our experience, you guys [soldiers] bombed and burned Ayakoromor and killed several innocent persons. We repeat once again, pipeline bombers are criminals, fighting a selfish course over failed business empire with the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari. We will always support Buharis administration to succeed just as we supported former President Goodluck Jonathan." The Niger Delta Avengers, in a Tweet, claimed responsibility for blowing up a Chevron Oil well in Warri, Delta State, despite the heavy presence of the Nigerian military. In a tweet in the early hours of Wednesday, June 1, 2016, the militants celebrated the attack on the oil well saying despite the heavy security presence attacks on oil facilities has continued. In one of the tweets, the militants wrote, "With the heavy presence of 100 Gunboats, 4 Warships and Jet Bombers NDA blew up Chevron Oil Well RMP 23 and RMP 24 3:44am this Morning." It should be noted that the Nigerian Military has insisted that it would hold no peace talks with the militants until the leaders of the deadly organisation is uncovered. The Niger Delta Avengers have been blowing up oil facilities in Delta and Bayelsa States for many weeks with the damage greatly affecting the Nigerian oil production per day. The militant group has claimed responsibilityfor almost all the bomb blasts on offshore facilities belonging to major oil companies. An Army representative, Brig.Gen. J. Hamakim, made the announcement in reaction to accusations that they did not try to dialogue with the militants first, before laying siege on Gbaramatu kingdom. He also denied reports that the men of the Joint Task Force that went to the community, were maltreating residents, killing innocent people and raping women. The military representative said We have done our investigation and nothing like that is happening. Hamakim, who spoke on behalf of the Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai,said I quite agree that dialogue is very important. But where it is not too obvious that the adversary is ready to come out and talk, you can also force such a person. I think that is what the Nigerian Army is trying to do. Yes, we dont know the groups leader, for now; that is the only option, possibly we have to bring the people out to know who you can talk with. The military chief also said Remember that lives were lost; policemen were killed; some were thrown overboard and the military has rules of engagement. The rule of engagement is that if you feel threatened, you have the mandate to respond. What we can say is that that was not at all a demonstration that you can say was peaceful. The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has also denied reports that 10 of its members have been arrested by the Nigerian Army. The plea was made by Deputy Governor, Gboribiogha John-Jonah on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, Vanguard reports. A lot of destruction has happened, therefore we are not expecting any improvement due to the current situation in the Niger Delta. The future is not that bright even if indicators point towards that direction, he said. Already, the Trans-Niger trunk line and Nembe Creek 1,2 and 3, trunk line located in Bayelsa State which link the Bonny Terminal have been affected. We are appealing to our brothers and sisters that in addition to the ecology, the damage is quite devastating to us as a state, he added. ``We have the primary, secondary and of recent, tertiary institutions in the prison, courtesy, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) into which a number of the inmates have keyed and are running various programmes. ``These things are all ongoing. It is our desire to ensure that no prisoner goes out of the prison the way he or she was when they came in. ``That has been the policy thrust of the present Controller-General of Prison. ``He is committed to seeing that no prisoner leaves the prison the way he came. ``He wants to ensure that one way or the other prisoners are reformed and do not return to their previous lifestyles. ``We have a number of skills acquisition centres across the country and we have a plethora of skills like welding, shoe-making, dress-making, and farming which we are trying to recuperate now going by the recent economic structure in the country. ``We have 14 large farm centres across the country and a number of small agric projects like fishery, poultry, piggery, cattle rearing and all of that. ``These programmes are all going on and a number of inmates are been trained in them. He said the standardisation effort of the Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau, had addressed the challenges in the prisons. Rotimi Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has however debunked media reports that Wetkas absence was due to his need for rest adding that the witness was testifying before Justice Ademola Adeniyi in a matter brought against Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa state, and his two sons by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Jacobs who is also the prosecuting counsel said: "Our witness is busy before Hon. Justice Ademola of the Federal High Court Abuja in respect of Sule Lamido case." A new date has not been announced for the hearing as the time of filling this report. Similarly, a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja failed to hear an application by Saraki challenging the tribunal's jurisdiction to try him on false declaration of asset on Tuesday, May 31, 2016. Justice Moo Adumie, one of the three-man panel of judges who appeared for the matter, had told the court that hearing on the application could not be held as the court cannot sit if a quorum is not formed. While he did not give any reason why the two other judges were absent, Justice Adumie adjourned the matter to June 2, 2016 to enable the court form a quorum. Premium Times reports that the tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, said Saraki's case was adjourned because the court needed to hear other cases. The decision of the tribunal to adjourn the Senate President's case indefinitely, was announced on Wednesday, June 1, 2016. Reports say one of the reasons for the adjournment was that the key prosecution witness, Mr. Michael Wetkast was absent. According to Premium Times, an inside source revealed the Wetkast had to make an appearance at another trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Saraki was arraigned by the Federal Government on 16-count allegations of false asset declaration and money laundering, to which he had pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, amended some sections of in the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. Bukola Saraki also took a swipe at Nigerias anti-graft agencies, saying they are paying lip services to the issue of fighting corruption. The president made the comment on Monday, May 30, 2016, while hosting state house correspondents at the Presidential Villa, The Cable reports. One of the men I pity is Lai Mohammed. Everyday he is on TV explaining our performance or lack of it, Buhari said. The ministers sit down day and night to work. Some of them have literarily lost weight because they were sleeping less and eating less (while working on the budget). They were working on every kobo to be spent. We recently just found out that we are poor because we dont have anything to fall back to. This is the condition we found ourselves and this change mantra had to go through hell up till yesterday. And for you to talk to whoever came to visit us throughout that year, I wonder how each of your diaries would be, because people were expecting this change mantra in their own way. How do you define change? Luckily our party identified three major items, security, economy and corruption," he added. The President must be commended for his doggedness and robust resilience in tackling the perennial problem of insecurity and corruption which stagnated the development of this nation," he said. The mess he (Buhari) is cleaning, the sacrifice he is making because of our better tomorrow, should be appreciated. The people of Nigeria should be patient. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning; our time for weeping is over. We will soon experience joy in abundance, he added. He said this after having a closed door meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Oshiomhole said These issues were discussed yesterday (on Tuesday) and as usual President Buhari has been extremely supportive even though we all agree including PDP governors among us that the crisis that we are being faced was as a result of the misrule of the past. The challenge of today is as a result of the abuses of yesterday. But inspite of that, President Buhari has been very helpful. But for that, many states would have gone into crisis. I dont know what you will call a state that is completely insolvent and bankrupt. We have to appreciate the President for the leadership he has provided, I mean we all have a greater sense of security today than was the case around this time a year ago. Governor Adams Oshiomhole increased the salary of Edo state workers from N18,000 to N25,000 on May 1, 2016. Speaking in Ibadan, yesterday, May 31, Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy Yomi Layinka said the government simply plans to go into Public Private Partnership (PPP) and return some schools to their original owners. According to him, the states decision followed over 40 years appeal from missionaries and communities that their schools should be returned to them. ALSO READ: Govt makes moves towards improving educational sector The governors aide noted that not all schools will be ceded in the process, explaining that schools would be affected based on certain criteria. He added that the decision was in the interest of promoting qualitative education. Layinka, who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs. Ronke Makanjuola and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mr. Bashiru Olarewaju, said only 30 schools will be ceded out of the 631 public secondary schools. The issue of return of schools has been a recurring issue since 1975, when schools were being taking over by government from missionaries and private individuals for best reasons known to them. Governor Ajimobi administration has deem it fit to respond positively to their request and has started the process of returning the schools as far as it is for public interest, especially for proper management and sustenance of such schools. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tambuwal made the disclosure on Monday at a media chat organised to mark the 2016 Democracy Day in Sokoto. The governor said this was part of the recommendations in a report of a technical committee he had earlier set up to advise the government .on the education sector The governor said that the committee was headed by Prof. Riskuwa Shehu, the immediate past Vice Chancellor of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. The State Government set up the committee as part of the measures to improve the standard of the education sector in the state, Tambuwal added. ALSO READ: Tambuwal said, according to the committees report, we are short of no fewer than 10,000 qualified teachers in the state. We will do everything possible in moving our standard of education forward in order to guarantee a productive citizenry in the state. The government will also cover the training and retraining of teachers in line with the global trend of making education a priority, he said. He stated that the state of emergency on education already declared in the state would remain until the government achieved the desired standard. Tambuwal also added that the committee had recommended the construction of additional 6,000 classrooms in the state. ALSO READ: Gov approves upgrading of 6 Sokoto hospitals According to him, the government will implement the committees report, so as to generally improve the education sector in the state. He called on the people of the state to always complement the efforts of the government in funding education at all levels. The students Twitter hashtag, #Olayinkamustgo has been trending on the platform since the early hours of Monday, 30th of May, 2016. This protest was carried out as a response to the arrest of two past union leaders, Tokunbo Salako, and Babatunde Badmus, presumably on the orders of the VC. Babatunde Badmus (BB) took to the official Facebook page of University of Ibadan students Union on Monday, May 30, to inform the public that he and Tokunbo Salako have been arrested and detained at Sango Police station, Ibadan, on the directive of the University of Ibadans Vice Chancellor. ALSO READ: Varsity to remain shut for one month Speaking to SaharaReporters, Tokunbo Salako narrated how he was accosted by the school's security services when he was Students Union Building. Without being informed of their offence, Salako and Badmus were eventually arrested and taken to Sango police station. The University of Ibadan has been shut down since April 26th, 2016 after a two-day protest against what the students perceived as unjust rustication of Tunji Epketi Micheal aka MOTE, a 500 level student of Petroleum Engineering. In a special release by the Students Union government, a meeting had been scheduled to hold by 10 am on Monday, May 30th at the SUB where Tokunbo Salako was arrested. ALSO READ: According to Saharareportes, Tokunbo Salako and Babatunde Badmus are postgraduate students at the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Al Shabaab took responsibility for the assault but cited a higher toll. Al Shabaab, which seeks to impose sharia law in Somalia, has been pushed from its southern strongholds by a series of offensives by the African Union force AMISOM and the Somali National Army. Officials, however, say the group remains resilient and is capable of mounting attacks on both civilian and military targets. "We lost 2 soldiers and 4 others were injured, al Shabaab planted two bombs as our convoy headed to Galgala Hills," Abdi said. Al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters they were responsible for the attack. In January, Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko ordered the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to probe the use of the funds after opposition leader Raila Odinga said the government could not account for 140 billion shillings from the sovereign bond. "Further, I have found no evidence disclosing any criminality of any government officials. In the premises and, as matters stand now, there is no evidence upon which a prosecution may ensue." However, Tobiko said the office of the Auditor General ought to carry out a special audit to ascertain that the ministries and other government agencies that received the eurobond's proceeds had put it to proper use. CNN reports that the entire campus was placed on lockdown and security operatives cordoned off the whole area. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) also issued an official statement asking people to evacuate the area, describing it as an active shooter situation. The UCLA newsroom also confirmed that two people have been shot. The two victims who were shot by the assailant have also been confirmed dead. According to TMZ, the shooting reportedly happened near Boelter Hall, adding that police snipers were positioned in strategic positions in the campus. CNN also reports that the police combat team combed every class in the Engineering building to make sure students were safe. Reports also say the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other security agencies were on ground to assist with investigations. An employee, Kimberly, who called CNN, said a guy came into the UCLA campus with a shotgun and opened fire. Reports say the campus was busy, because lectures were winding down and exams were slated to start on Monday, June 6, 2016, so students were in classes for reviews. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 20152016 ranks UCLA 16th in the world for academics and 13th in the world for reputation. The gamut of issues in Nye County Commission District III were on display at Fridays commission race debate, where each Republican candidate pushed their vision for the districts and countys most nagging problems. The gamut of issues in Nye County Commission District III were on display at Fridays commission race debate, where each Republican candidate pushed their vision for the districts and countys most nagging problems. Incumbent commissioner Donna Cox, Pahrump businessman Leo Blundo, Nye County Water District Governing Board Chairman Greg Dann and Pahrump residents Louie DeCanio and Antheny Dodd sparred on business, growth density, water and other issues that face the district. The primary election is on June 14. Since there in no Democrat or third-party candidate for the seat, the candidate receiving the most votes in the primary will be elected. Cox, who is running for her second term, talked about her accomplishments as a commissioner, as she tried to distinguish herself from the four other candidates. Cox said she was a true conservative and enjoyed being in Pahrump. I enjoy what I do, I think I was born to be here, she said. I have saved tons of money by helping to do away with the town board and I also stay here for my people, she said, referring to her declining to travel to Tonopah once a month for the commission meeting, instead participating from the commission chambers in Pahrump Blundo highlighted his vision for Pahrump and Nye County, talking about business and the rural roots of Pahrump. Im vested here, he said about Pahrump. Dann talked about moving to Nevada 30 years ago for a job at the Nevada National Security Site, formerly known as the Nevada Test Site. He said as a pipefitter, he worked as a problem solver. I was immediately recognized as the type of guy who gets the problems solved, he said. Dodd said in the position of a commissioner, one needs to take care of people. Thats what I like, taking care of the people, he said. DeCanio, who previously operated a bar business in Chicago, touted his survivor skills. Im not happy with the way things are being run, he said. During the debate, Dann said water was his main priority. While his opponents talked about the need of bringing businesses to Pahrump, Dann said he puts water above other issues. Additionally, Dann said he wants to see implementation of rules in ordinances. He suggested hiring a code compliance officer. If we dont have enough water and dont properly allocate it, no one is going to come here. Money will find its way. Lets take care of now, he said. This water thing is far from being solved, far. Thats why Im running for county commission, he said. Dodd, meanwhile said Pahrump needs real jobs: Thats just one issue, weve got myriad of others. At the debate, DeCanio talked about his opposition to the appointment of Beatty Justice of the Peace Gus Sullivan to the Pahrump Justice Court. He stated the decision took the opportunity to have a say away for Pahrump voters. Cox highlighted her involvement in animal control issues and the work with the Nye County Animal Shelter and wild horses. She also said water is a very big issue. Its either going to create or prevent growth, she said. Blundo criticized the five-cent gas tax that was passed by Nye County commissioners last October. He was echoed by DeCanio who said that raising taxes shouldnt be a solution, it should be a last resort. Candidates also told the audience about how they would allocate the countys money. Blundo said he would invest in education and veterans services, Dodd said theres a lack of things for kids to do in Pahrump Valley and Dann said he would invest in public safety. Candidates also voiced their opinions on high-density projects stating that she supports low-density projects. I believe that we do need development and growth, just not the high density, she said. Im a proponent of the rural lifestyle, and I think the majority of people in this town are, Blundo said. Blundo said Nye County commissioners should look at balance. The District III race has been the most contentious so far, as incumbent Cox faces four opponents in a district that has a heavy concentration of businesses along Highway 160 and Nevada State Route 372. Cox has previously said that the role of bringing businesses is on the shoulders of the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce and other entities. Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77 All five Republican candidates running for the Nye County Commission District II made a last pitch to their constituents during the debate on Friday. All five Republican candidates running for the Nye County Commission District II made a last pitch to their constituents during the debate on Friday. Republican candidates John Koenig, Amy Riches, Ray Grant, Sal Ledesma and David Lancaster debated on numerous countywide and Pahrump issues in the first Nye County Commission debate that was hosted by the Pahrump Valley Times. The winner of the June 14 primary will compete against Harley Kulkin, the only Democrat in the race. Early voting started Saturday. In their opening statements, each candidate made a case why they should be elected as a replacement for outgoing Commissioner Frank Carbone, who had announced earlier that he will not run for re-election. Ray Grant, a military veteran and church pastor, said that peoples voices arent being heard by local politicians. Theres no accountability and I can show accountability, Grant said. Former Pahrump Town Board member Amy Riches said that she had fought the taxes, retired trucking industry veteran David Lancaster said that he is well-versed in communications with the public and Sal Ledesma highlighted his work on numerous committees. John Koenig, current chairman of the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission and member of the Nye County Regional Transportation Commission, cast himself as best informed and said he wanted to get in the middle of water problems. I will be the best commissioner, the best choice. I can start day one knowing what I know today, Koenig said in his opening statement. Candidates voiced their opinions on some of the issues in Pahrump and Nye County. Koenig said he would bring common sense back to the table. He talked about his involvement in the mobile food vending ordinance that was passed by commissioners recently. Koenig was endorsed by the Nye County Republican Central Committee. Riches said she wanted to give people a voice. The people did not want the water plan sent to Jason King and it was. The majority of the people didnt want a five-percent gas tax in the middle of a recession and it was passed. There are many examples at meetings for people, they get up, they talk, and they are not heard. They are listened to but they are not really heard, she said. Commission District II candidates talked extensively about water. That has become one of the hot-bottom issues in the community for the last few years. Riches criticized the proposed rapid infiltration basins (RIBs) and said that no utility company should have access to Pahrump water. In all of Nevada, the use it or lose it law needs to be done away with, Riches said. I dont want anybody touching our basin. That is my role, she said, when asked about the role of a county commissioner. The only role I see they can take is selecting the right people and placing them on boards and committees that deal with water. Thats one of the biggest roles of the commissioners, Ledesma said. Our role is going to be to protect our water, our water is a precious resource given to us, Grant said. Koenig, whose campaign platform includes water, said that the county commissioners dont control much about the water. He said one of the most important things when it comes to water is education. I believe education can start here in the school, to teach the kids how to conserve water, he said. One of the important things that you can do (is) educating the public, Koenig said. The state of Nevada issued over 60,000 acre feet of water rights for Basin 162. Additionally, Pahrump has 11,000 domestic wells. The amount of annual recharge in Basin 162 is 20,000 acre feet. Lancaster called for leaving private well owners alone. Candidates also voiced their opinions on how to balance high-density projects in the valley. Before we start giving people water rights to the land to build apartments or tract homes, we need to sit down with owners of these properties and make a deal, Grant said. High density is not in my vocabulary. I dont believe in it, I believe in controlled growth, Ledesma said. He added that he was an advocate of several governments. We need to go back to having a local government and let them make the local decisions for this community as the rest of the county does, Ledesma said. Riches said that she wants to see a moratorium on growth. I think you have to listen to the residents, she said. I dont see any problem in growth, but I do see a problem in motorhome parks and things like that, Lancaster said. Commission candidates also sparred on the abatement issue. Sal Ledesma said countys role is selecting the right people to look into it. He also said officials should take into account public reaction. I am so sick of the government telling people how they can live, Riches said. Lancaster said, I dont foresee the government telling me what I can and I cant do, he said. Koenig said theres an issue when junk becomes an eyesore and degrades the value of the neighbors house. At that time, the county can step in, he said. He said abatement is a touchy situation. Candidates also proposed solutions for reducing unemployment in Nye County. Some commissioners said that they first need to attract new business. Riches praised doing away with the impact fees. She said the county needs to do away with red tape. What you do as a county commissioner is you clear away a lot of red tape, so the businesses can come in, she said. I think we are making it too difficult for businesses that want to come in Nye County, Lancaster said. Koenig echoed Riches comments and said the reason why he wants to become a commissioner is because he wants to get rid of red tape. In his answer he also defended his vote for a five-cent gas tax. One of the ways to grow business is to improve the infrastructure of the county, he said. How else can we improve the infrastructure if not through our taxes? Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77 Nevada Congressman Dr. Joe Heck made a weekend campaign stop in Pahrump as he tries to mount support for his U.S. senatorial bid. Nevada Congressman Dr. Joe Heck made a weekend campaign stop in Pahrump as he tries to mount support for his U.S. senatorial bid. Heck spoke to more than two dozen residents at the Bob Ruud Community Center on Saturday. The stop was one of a handful of rural communities Heck visited during the past several days. On Friday, Hecks campaign traveled to Ely, Eureka and Yerington before arriving in Pahrump from Tonopah. He said Nevadans living in rural communities have unique concerns and challenges than those from larger cities and towns around the Silver State. They are concerned with public land use and management and their water rights, he said. They also have serious concerns about the second amendment. People from rural areas are also concerned about the bread-and-butter issues such as jobs and the economy, health care, education and national security. Fortunately for me, those four areas are areas that I have lived and worked in my entire life so I can address those issues with firsthand experience. Heck, who is seeking to take over the seat being left vacant with the retirement on Democrat Harry Reid, also spoke about the 2016 presidential campaign. Nevadas unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent in April 2016 under the current administration following the nations worst recession since the Great Depression under a two-term Republican administration. In December 2008, Nevadas unemployment rate stood at 9.0 percent. We are getting a great response everywhere we go, he said. What weve learned after eight years of Barack Obama and 30 years of Harry Reid, people in Nevada are ready for a change. Additionally, Heck is throwing his support to presidential candidate Donald Trump. I have high hopes that we will see Donald Trump become the next president, he said. Though I dont necessarily agree with how he talks about women and minorities and all of his policy positions, but if he wants to make America great again by bringing jobs back to America, then I am willing to help him achieve those goals and hold him accountable. And as the next U.S. senator from Nevada, I will make sure I stand as a check against anything that is not in our best interest. Heck was elected to Congress following the 2010 mid-term election. According to his bio, Joe Heck was elected to the United States Congress on Nov. 2, 2010 as Nevadas representative for the Third Congressional District, defeating incumbent Dina Titus. He serves on the Education and Workforce Committee and the Armed Services Committee where he is chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee. Heck is also a member of the House Permanent Committee on Intelligence and chairs the Subcommittee on Department of Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture. Heck touts more than 35 years in public service as a physician, Army reservist, and community volunteer. As a small business owner, he served as the president and medical director of Specialized Medical Operations, Inc., a corporation providing medical training, consulting and operational support to law enforcement, EMS and Military Special Operations. Heck also represented Nevada State Senate District 5 from 2004 through 2008, serving on the Natural Resources, Human Resources and Education, and the Commerce and Labor committees, and as vice-chair of the Transportation and Homeland Security Committee. The campaign is going very well and weve been traveling around the state and we just covered four other stops over the last two days before ending up here in the Pahrump Valley, he said. Its very exciting because every time we come into another town, we get built up by all the excitement thats in the room. Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com In the midst of saving for a much-needed piece of equipment, a local pregnancy center received a surprise gift that the executive director of the facility said came from above. In the midst of saving for a much-needed piece of equipment, a local pregnancy center received a surprise gift that the executive director of the facility said came from above. Nancy Erwin, executive director of First Choice Pregnancy Center, located at 1601 E. Basin Ave., Suite 303, was raising funds for an ultrasound machine for their nonprofit, Christian clinic when a facility over the hump stepped in. This one was donated from the Womens Resource Medical Center in Las Vegas, Erwin said. We started a fundraiser in March at Saddle West with a dinner, because we wanted to raise $10,000 because the smallest one we saw online was that price. The donation came about after networking with a previous volunteer at First Choice who now worked out of Las Vegas at Red Rock OB who knew of the centers need and passed it along to the right people at the Womens Resource Center. We were so excited when we heard about it, Erwin said. First Choice, whos been in business for almost 20 years in town, was about halfway to their goal of $10,000 before the donation of the ultrasound machine and now the money raised will go toward operating the centers new machine. We started a fundraiser in March with a dinner and we got up to a little over $4,800 and we got a call asking if we would like to have an ultrasound machine, Erwin said. Now the money will go toward materials and supplies we need for the machine. Plus, if we need to service (the machine) we already have that money in there. It was a gift from God. I am a firm believer that God always comes through. The money will also go toward knocking a wall down in the room that houses the ultrasound machine, which will provide direct access to a sink that Erwin said would be beneficial during appointments. With the center seeing a lot of teenage and early 20-year-old clients, many of which have an unplanned pregnancy, the center knew the importance of bringing in an ultrasound machine to the center to help their decision about what to do with the baby. The machine will give the client an opportunity to see their fully-developed baby in utero and theyll get to see that its not a clump of cells, as some places will tell them, said Beth Sorrell, a registered diagnostic medical sonographer. Theyll get to hear the babys heartbeat and theyll get an estimate of how big the baby is and far along they are. Erwin explained that if someone is unsure if they want to keep the baby or not, that the center will affirm life or suggest the client have the baby and put it up for adoption. Before the addition of the ultrasound machine, First Pregnancy clients had to be referred to Dr. Richters office for a free ultrasound appointment, which take place once a week on Thursdays. The only day First Choice offers its free ultrasound appointments is Wednesdays, where Sorrell volunteers her time at the clinic. If client volume rises enough, the center is prepared to offer additional days that ultrasounds are available at the clinic. First Choice Pregnancy Center is hosting a dessert auction on Saturday, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at Joshelles Teriyaki House, located at 1330 S. Highway 160. All are encouraged to submit their own dessert, as prizes will be given out for first, second and third place for best presentation. First Choice Pregnancy Center is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. and can be reached at 775-751-2229 or online at their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/First-Choice-Pregnancy-Center-122389624575601/?fref=nf. Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. Journalists have some nasty habits. One is that when they break stories they become so invested in those stories that they sometimes seek validation that they were right by affecting the outcome. Journalists have some nasty habits. One is that when they break stories they become so invested in those stories that they sometimes seek validation that they were right by affecting the outcome. I remember how, in the late 1970s, the Los Angeles Times began publication of a series of reports critical of coroner Thomas Noguchi. And in an unseemly display, the newspaper seemed to try to drive him out of office in order to justify its coverage. Noguchi was fired, then cleared by a grand jury but not reinstated but instead exiled to an obscure office. That kind of behavior is encouraged by journalism awards, whose rules make awards more likely when actions [are] taken and results accomplished as a result of news coverage. Merely getting information to the public is not necessarily enough for professional recognition. Bagging the head of a public official increases chances of an award. This naturally creates a conflict of interest for journalists. Not only do they gain an incentive for piling on the official, but they can end up subtly pressuring whoever controls the fate of the official. Some public figures accused of wrongdoing end up going through an ordeal that is made more difficult by news coverage, only to be cleared. When Nevadas lieutenant governor was charged by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in 2008, there was something malodorous about the prosecution. Krolicki was charged with four felony charges of misappropriating state funds and false accounting while state treasurer, but the case reeked of politics and of gaming the system particularly since no money ever went missing. Krolicki was a Republican, Cortez Masto a Democrat, and Democratic state treasurer Kate Marshall had been promoting bad publicity for Krolicki. In addition, Krolickis chief of staff was indicted on two lesser charges in what was believed to be an effort to get her to testify against her boss. The case involved, at best, mismanagement, not dishonesty, and was a waste of time. The whole prosecution was thrown out of court. Yet there were journalists who kept using the details of the case to write against him. Recently Washoe County School Board member Nick Smith was accused of sexual harassment of a teenager at the restaurant where he worked. The story evaporated almost as soon as it began. When school district officials informed him they knew of the charges, he promptly resigned as a school board member, a development that was on the local front page above the fold. His news value then dropped by about ninety percent because he was no longer a public figure or an elected official, yet the newspaper kept him on the front page above the fold when the next developments in the case hit in his private employment. There was considerable comment in the community about how difficult it was becoming for Smith to move on with his life, in whatever way that would be. Then theres the way we produce news coverage that is wholly lacking in nuance when some public figure is involved in controversy. The recent disputes involving Nevada higher education chancellor Dan Klaich is a good example of that. The immediate disputes were covered with virtually no context, with little indication of whether Klaich had a history of such problems, and whether the rest of his career merited such condemnation. I first encountered Klaich at Reno High School, where he was a class officer and I was newspaper editor, confirming the notion expressed by a friend of Kurt Vonnegut who said our roles in life are set in high school. Because I was made aware of Klaich early, I naturally paid attention as his career unfolded, and so I know that there is more to that career than the recent problems he has experienced. Klaich is an attorney, but he never saw that as his whole identity. At one point, for instance, he left his law practice to promote an alternative vehicle fuel called A-55 which was tested in local bus lines and was interesting enough that corporate giant Caterpillar joined the little Nevada company (and then, according to an arbitrator, defrauded the A-55 firm). Klaich served as a Nevada regent, later becoming a vice chancellor and often putting out fires set in the Nevada Legislature by chancellor Jim Rogers. Its unfortunate that reporters who covered those problems didnt make an effort to portray the whole person. Should any public official be defined by the latest events in his career, particularly if those are the first events that reflect on him negatively? Dennis Myers is an award-winning journalist who has reported on Nevadas capital, government and politics for several decades. He has also served as Nevadas chief deputy secretary of state. It is helpful to remember the bad old days. Before it was cool to line our riverfronts with concrete pathways and ornamental trees, things were ugly. The Mississsippi River, nature's workhorse, attracted industry long before it drew baby strollers and bicycles. Manufacturing and the transport of crops were critical to the economy. Jobs and profits trumped even the most promising views from donated benches. Then we discovered we could have it all. Grain operations were evicted from public land that the public had awakened to reclaim. In the grand scheme of things, progress has been fairly swift. No one can accuse the Quad-Cities of rushing to restore its greatest asset, but we came around. We're still coming around. Thanks to the demise of a fad that lasted too long, our shorelines soon will be free of all the neon trappings that are gambling's homely bedfellow. The day is coming, this very autumn, in which we will have more riverfront than we know what to do with. What a glorious problem to have. As tempting as it is to rush in and redecorate, it is best to take our time. We don't have the money to repaint every room right away, anyway, to carry the metaphor too far. And we have one grand piece of evidence to show that well-paced baby steps are the surest path to great strides. Chicago's hugely popular Millennium Park was supposed to take two years and $224 million to construct. It took six years and $482 million. Some of its harshest critics could not help but admit in the end how little room there was for criticism. For a much smaller version of the same set of problems-turned-promise, look at Davenport's River Heritage Park just upstream of the Government Bridge. Nearly three years ago, the Davenport Rotary revealed a plan to build a gazebo on land that has been dormant since semis and gravel trucks used it to pick up and deliver cargo at the grain and gravel businesses that vacated it several years prior. But the pretty gazebo with its stacked-stone pillars and well-placed tables would not be alone for long. Soon came plans for new bike-path connections. The state came through with the scratch to help pay for a wide walkway with a winding-river design built into it. City and state money paid for attractive iron railings, then proper light standards to illuminate the loftily named "promenade." Even the new garbage cans are handsome in their sturdy newness. A couple hundred yards upstream, weed-covered piles of dirt are soon to be graded and, ultimately, part of the foot bridge that will help tell the story of how "River Heritage" got its name. It also will deliver park-goers across River Drive while greatly reducing the risk of being run over trying to get there. Planners are coming up with a way to cut into a piece of the new railing to hinge a section and accommodate a plank for passengers coming and going from large excursion boats that could be moored on the park's seawall. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still is deciding whether to invest in the deep-water spot to moor its enormous towboat, Motor Vessel Mississippi. If the five-story tow creates the demand, city leaders say, the Celebration Belle may follow suit. The Moline-based family business has been looking to reclaim a port-of-call in Davenport. Meanwhile, city staffers have been considering a water feature, more parking (I counted only 35 spaces) and possibly plumbing, so bathrooms can be added. So much for the Rotary's little gazebo. Its stand-alone moment was as fleeting as the shadows thrown upon it by squadrons of pelicans that pass overhead. We have come to cherish these places where river meets land, stubbornly waving off any reminders of riverfront landfills. The promenade of the still-unfinished River Heritage Park is as proud an accomplishment as any we have added to our shores. But the truth of its name may be best told in that which surrounds it still. The rattling clank of cars driving over the grate-like surface of the Government Bridge frequently is overwhelmed by the warning wail of a passing train. Industry lives. But the inheritance that was ours will be different from the one we hand down, answering the prayer of every generation. April 27 1. Child endangerment was reported in the 800 block of Hillside Drive. April 28 2. A Chrysler Town and Country collided with a Ford F350 at State and 13th streets, resulting in $5,000 in damage. May 1 3. Joshua Allen Baldridge, 40, 2220 Mississippi Blvd., No. 4, was arrested in the 6000 block of Valley Drive on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, operating a vehicle without registration, failure to maintain control, and striking a highway fixture. May 3 4. Travis Lee Cole, 43, 4422 State St., No. 12B, was arrested at the same address on intrastate warrant and on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, third or subsequent offense. 5. Theft of credit cards, drivers license and wallet, all valued at $20, was reported in the 4500 block of Utica Ridge Road. May 4 6. A Chrysler Town and Country collided with a Chevrolet Equinox at Tanglefoot Lane and 18th Street, resulting in $2,000 in damage. 7. A Ford Explorer collided with a Chevrolet Cruze in the 1800 block of Spruce Hills Drive, resulting in $700 in damage. May 5 8. Shoplifting of alcohol, valued at $10.41, was reported at the Expo Discount Liquor Mart, 1810 State St. 9. A Ford F150 collided with an Oldsmobile Aurora on Interstate 74 East at mile marker 3.9, resulting in $3,500 in damage. 10. A Hyundai Tiburon collided with a Chevrolet Equinox and a fence pole and gate at Bettendorf High School, 3333 18th St., resulting in $6,500 in vehicle and property damage. 11. A Ford F150 collided with a Chevrolet Lumina at Central Avenue and 23rd Street, resulting in $4,500 in damage. 12. Theft of electronics, valued at $159, was reported in the 2700 block of 62nd Street Court. May 6 13. A Cadillac Deville collided with a GMC Sierra at Calvert Drive and Kimberly Road, resulting in $6,000 in damage. 14. During a traffic stop in the 3300 block of Kimberly Road, Gabrielle Nechol Anderson, 25, 819 Hillside Drive, was arrested on suspicion of driving while barred, operating a vehicle without registration and violation of financial liability. 15. Jason William Tinnian, 40, Twin Bridges, 221 15th St., was arrested in the 1800 block of State Street on suspicion of public intoxication, third or subsequent offense, and habitual alcohol violation. 16. Eric Anela Perry, 30, 535 23rd St., was arrested at the same address on suspicion of driving while license is revoked, driving with suspended registration, and interference with official acts. 17. A Chevrolet Cobalt collided with a Chevrolet sedan on the eastbound Interstate 74 bridge, resulting in $3,000 in damage. May 7 18. Marc Edmond Conway, 47, 2815 Tanglefoot Lane, No. 2, was arrested at Tanglefoot Lane and Devils Glen Road on suspicion of operation a vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident. Vehicle damage of $9,500 was reported with the accident. 19. David Paul Garnaas, 49, no address reported, was arrested in the 1400 block of Kimberly Road on suspicion of public intoxication, third or subsequent offense. 20. An animal bite complaint was reported in the 2900 block of South Hampton Drive. May 8 21. Jordan Brittany Knox, 21, 4130 Aspen Hills Drive, was arrested at Kimberly Road and Calvert Drive on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, second offense, driving with a suspended license and open container. 22. A hit-and-run accident resulting in $1,000 damage was reported in the 1000 block of 39th Street. 23. Shoplifting of alcohol was reported at Schnucks, 858 Middle Road. May 9 24. A Buick Enclave collided with a Volkswagen EOS at Lincoln and Kimberly roads, resulting in $25,000 in damage. 25. A Dodge Durango collided with the Harris Pizza sign post in the 2500 block of 18th Street, resulting in $1,100 in vehicle and property damage. 26. Burglary from an unoccupied vehicle was reported in the 900 block of Jones Street. Cash of $590 was reported stolen. May 10 27. A Chevrolet Cavalier, a Kia Rio, a Ford F150, and a Chevrolet Suburban all collided at Devils Glen Road and State Street, resulting in $1,150 in damage. May 11 28. Darryl Wayne Wilkins, 31, 718 Hillcrest Road, Milan, was arrested on a warrant the Scott County Courthouse, Davenport, and in an incident from April 2015, was arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse and lascivious acts with a child in the 800 block of Hillside Drive. May 12 29. Fraud with a counterfeit $100 bill was reported at the Big 10 Mart, 999 Middle Road. 30. Breon Marquis Allen, 23, 715 N. Lincoln Ave., Davenport, was arrested at the Scott County Courthouse, Davenport, on suspicion of eluding, reckless driving, and failure to obey a traffic device in the 800 block of Golden Valley Drive. May 13 31. Criminal mischief, resulting in $225 damage, was reported at the Agape Center, 1101 Devils Glen Road. Compiled by Patty Herzberg The Greater Quad-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will host a multi-cultural speaker series, featuring Maria Bribriesco, from 7:45-9:30 a.m. Monday, June 6, at Scott Community College, Kahl Educational Center, 10th Floor, Room 1006, 326 W. 3rd St., Davenport. Cost to attend is $15 for members, $20 for future members, $12.50 for students or $110 for a table of eight. Breakfast is included. Parking passes will be available for registered attendees and parking is available in the parking garage located at 202 N. Harrison St. To register, visit http://gqchcc.chambermaster.com/events/details/speaker-series-featuring-maria-bribriesco-456. Registration is open online through 3 p.m. Friday, June 3. The series provides an opportunity for individuals and organizations to engage diverse residents and employees from multiple sectors in the Quad-City region, broaden their networks, and enhance their awareness of diversity issues. Maria Cano Bribriesco is an attorney licensed to practice law in Iowa. She retired in 2011 from serving as a civilian attorney for the U.S. Army at the Rock Island Arsenal. She was the Chief Counsel for the TACOM-Rock Island Legal Group, and retired at the highest grade service level and served as the Chief Counsel for TACOM in Warren, Michigan. For more information, email info@gqchcc.com. For the first time in public, the Bettendorf School Board on Tuesday discussed a re-audit of district policies and finances. The re-audit by the Iowa Auditor's Office was released Thursday. It was done at the behest of the district's chief financial officer, Maxine McEnany, and others. The board met Tuesday in a special public session at the district's Administration Center. The board will consider several actions, mainly on financial matters from 2013 and 2014. McEnany pointed out she has brought her concerns to the board for years. "Be very robust with your conduct and discussions," one resident, Mike Whiteman of Bettendorf, said. He spoke twice during the public session to encourage board members to take a close look at the state's conclusions. Examples discussed included $693 in T-shirts, purchased by Bettendorf High School Principal Jimmy Casas for the high school staff. In addition, the school board noted that the re-audit showed the district paid for T-shirts for other student groups as a way to promote pride in the school. The board will look at past actions and finesse the policy to be clearer in the future, with a first draft to be discussed in June. Professional development and leave was discussed, and the board will seek a balance to allow employees to take the trips, with the expectation of keeping better records. Bettendorf assistant superintendent Michael Raso said about 70 percent of professional leaves have already been approved for 2016-17. McEnany is working on a policy that would make the central business office responsible for making travel and hotel reservations for groups of more than two people; groups of one or two people would handle their own arrangements. The board also aims to end use of a credit card available to a number of individuals for travel expenses. In general, individuals will use their own credit cards and then be reimbursed for expenses. Most situations will discussed well ahead of the intended trips. "I did not bring up these cases willy-nilly," McEnany said. For example, on the topic of employees and hotel bonus points, it was noted that three employees sought to keep the rewards for themselves. That practice will end, board members agreed. The board discussed the use of school facilities, noting new technology has been purchased to expedite and organize the process. One issue was an EdCamp conference, which involved using the school on what was supposed to be a snow day but actually ended up being a regular school day. This, McEnany said, was a difficult issue to sort out, and involved more then a financial cost. Theron Schutte, Bettendorf superintendent, pointed out that he and staff members drew up the first employee handbook for the Bettendorf district, and distributed it to all the buildings. The handbook, which can be edited and amended, lays out the district policies and regulations on many of the issues that were brought up in the re-audit. Schutte has accepted the superintendent's job in the Marshalltown, Iowa, school district and will leave Bettendorf on June 30. The board also met in closed session. Board president Pepper Trahan said the search for an interim superintendent was discussed during the session. SIOUX CITY, Iowa In just five months, voters will elect a new president and a host of federal, state and county office holders. Cody Hoefert, Iowa GOP co-chair, stopped in Sioux City on Tuesday to stress the importance of strong Republican showing from the school house to the White House in the November general election. He said thats only possible through unity. Hoefert predicted Republican voters would largely support presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, even though some have misgivings about the outspoken billionaire businessman and reality TV star. There are two things that unite our Republicans like no other, Hoefert said. Number one, the thought of Hillary Clinton as president of the United States, and number two, the thought of the continuation of the failed policies of (President) Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Hoefert said the party is well on track to unite by November. He cited statistics that showed the Iowa GOP was on par with Democrats for absentee ballots in the 2014 election, and that the GOP has had a director on staff for more than 900 days. He also pointed out that the Republicans have a nominee in Trump, while Democratic voters are still divided over Clinton, the former secretary of state and first lady, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Here we stand at the end of May and we have a nominee and they do not, he said. Grassroots activists of our party have spoken and spoken loudly and they have said they want Donald Trump to be the nominee. I couldn't be more excited to work with Donald Trump to make sure he becomes the next President. Standing in front of supporters holding #UniteIowa signs, Hoefert turned his attention to races in Iowa. He stressed the partys desire to re-elect Sen. Chuck Grassley, continue to support Gov. Terry Branstad and target Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. At the unity news conference, the contested GOP primary between 4th District Rep. Steve King and state Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City was not addressed. By gaining the majority in both the Iowa House and Senate, Republicans can work to pass bills in regards to Voter ID, water equality and other issues, Hoefert said. MAQUOKETA, Iowa No decisions were made after law enforcement officials and Jackson County supervisors talked about a county courthouse security guard. At previous meetings, Chief Deputy Steve Schroeder said the department planned to provide full-time security at the courthouse by July 1. Now, current deputies have been assigned to the courthouse when there are district court judges in the building. As of July 1, a full-time security guard will be in place at all times. Questions whether the guard should be civil service- and law enforcement-certified have been discussed between the two groups. Tuesday, Schroeder said County Attorney Sarah Davenport had not made a decision about a civil service deputy. Davenport said later in the morning, however, that she had told Schroeder to have a civil service deputy in the position so the deputy could have arrest powers. Sheriff Russ Kettmann told supervisors he had a required civil service list that could be used to make the hire. The position would be full-time with a salary at 62 percent of the sheriff's pay. Schroeder said road deputies could be used to fill in when the person is sick or has time off. The sheriff said a Iowa State Patrol trooper who is expected to retire soon has expressed interest in the full-time job or as a part-time fill-in. The part-time guard would not have benefits. "It concerns me that you would pull someone off the road," Supervisor Jack Willey said. "How long is this going to take to make a decision? We are in a time crunch." Supervisors said they would see that the sheriff's part-time employee budget was enough to cover employees when needed at the courthouse. "Rules are made to be broken" is a saying that has many variations, but perhaps no one has summed up Hillary Clinton's attitude (and Bill's, too) about rules more than the late science-fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein, who said: "I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." In its report on how Hillary Clinton handled her "private" emails while serving as secretary of state, the State Department's inspector general (IG) has found that Hillary Clinton disregarded cyber security guidelines when she used a private computer server. She continues to deny she did anything wrong and falsely claims she turned over "all" of her emails to the State Department after she left office. In fact, she, or members of her team, deleted about 30,000 of them before an investigation of her practices began. The IG's report chides her, saying she should have "preserved any federal records she created and received on her personal account by printing and filing those records with the related files in the Office of the Secretary. At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with Department business before leaving government service and, because she did not do so, she did not comply with the Department's policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act." There are federal penalties for tampering with a smoke detector on an airplane and disobeying flight attendants that can include fines and even jail time. Isn't what Hillary Clinton did far worse than that, if she potentially compromised U.S. secrets? The IG also says she stonewalled requests by the government for access to her server, which was in her Chappaqua, N.Y., home, with another discovered at an unsecured location in a Denver bathroom closet. Marcel Lazar, the Romanian computer hacker calling himself "Guccifer," claims to have hacked into Clinton's servers. He pled guilty to the charge before a Virginia judge this week. Might there also be Chinese and Russian hackers out there who've also had a look at Clinton's emails? Hillary Clinton has claimed she only used private email for her daughter's wedding and yoga classes. Who believes that, other than her partisan supporters and uninformed voters? High-ranking government officials are aware of the regulations governing their tenure while in office and their responsibilities for the handling of records once they leave it. Will Hillary Clinton's failure to comply with the State Department's policies on records necessarily lead to an indictment? That is what an FBI investigation is attempting to determine. Hillary Clinton has invoked the "everybody has done it" defense, but again that's not true. She often cites former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who also used a private email server, but as a Wall Street Journal editorial notes, Mr. Powell's use of private email was limited, and he never set up an unsecure server in his home, not to mention a Denver bathroom. Something else from the IG's report that firmly rebuts Hillary Clinton's defense: "Notification is required when a user suspects compromise of, among other things, a personally owned device containing personally identifiable information." But the IG found "no evidence" that she or her aides complied. For years the Clintons have skirted laws and practiced disinformation, rhetorical gymnastics ("It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.") obfuscation, changing the subject, non sequiturs and anything else that might block their enrichment or achievement of political goals. This time, Hillary Clinton should not be allowed to get away with it, nor should she have her incidents of malfeasance rewarded by being elected president of the United States. Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. News from the campaign trail has Latinos across America cringing. It happens every time a scene like this splashes across the news: Protesters went plumb loco outside a Donald Trump rally in Albuquerque, N.M. Waving Mexican flags, they lobbed rocks at police, set fires, pushed aside barriers and generally acted like little hooligans. The outburst was followed by the inevitable. Cable news talking heads, as they always do, wondered why the protesters were so angry. Really? The United States is veering shockingly close to electing as president a man whose version of "making America great again" includes scapegoating some of the very people who helped make the country so incredible -- Latino immigrants. That's the problem. That this has to be explained. And, no, this is not an excuse for the riotous behavior of a few. Most Hispanics know such out-of-control displays of emotion will not help. Decapitating a Trump piAata might feel good -- a symbolic display of cultural fury. But when it's televised, such an act merely lends credibility to Trump's innuendo that Latinos are interlopers intent on mayhem and criminality. Nothing could be further from the truth -- even for those who arrive here without all the legal paperwork. If you want to find someone willing to literally die to become an American, find a recent Latino immigrant. Talk to the Central Americans who risked their lives to cross through multiple countries, hoping to gain asylum in the U.S. They can tell you about yearning for the dignity and freedoms America, privileges that so many third-, fourth- or nth-generation Americans take for granted. Latinos have some of the highest rates of service in the U.S. military. They are highly entrepreneurial, creating businesses wherever they settle. In a nation that so prides itself of being created from immigrant stock, an awful lot of Americans are naive about migration. Many of Trump's supporters are unaware that their own forefathers did not arrive here with documents in hand, not like what is required now, a system that didn't even exist until recent decades. Nor did their ancestors instantly master English. Rather, they followed the same patterns of language assimilation that we observe among Latinos today. Adult immigrants rarely become proficient in English, but their children become bilingual. Following generations are monolingual -- in English. The process of assimilation is a blessing and a curse. It helps bind us together as a nation: one people from many sources. But as we lose our accents and the stigma of origins in another country, we tend to lose contact with a certain historical truth: Not everybody is welcomed in America. America might admit them for their cheap labor, but if these immigrants want to get a piece of the American dream they're going to have to fight for it. When you're ignorant of what previous generations went through to become Americans, it's easy to believe the sort of isolationist screeds that Trump preaches. Following the New Mexico melee, Trump headed to the heavily Latino Anaheim, Calif., for another rally. The Los Angeles Times reported that warm-up speakers told stories about loved ones who had been murdered by immigrants not legally in the U.S. Trump followed up by leading his supporters in a chant of "Build that wall!" the Times reported. Never mind that much of border control is better managed by drones and high-tech sensors and the dull monotony of paperwork. Also ignore the fact that so many of the workers who keep California's agriculture and restaurant industry humming crossed that border at some point. Trump has a simple, effective message for the ignorant of America: Immigrants are murderers and rapists, and my wall will keep you safe from them. By the week's end, Trump had reached the threshold of enough delegates to clinch the GOP nomination. Latinos have taken notice. Reports from around the country are of an increase in Latino migrants moving from legal permanent residency to full U.S. citizenship. They are registering to vote. And many cite Trump's obnoxious anti-immigrant slogans as the impetus. Wouldn't it be rich if these new Americans proved to be the voting bloc that shut Trump out of the White House? These novice voters embody a truth: Donald Trump not only lacks presidential credentials; he fails to understand what makes America great. Latino immigrants do, and that's why so many proudly become Americans. Mary Sanchez is an opinion-page columnist for The Kansas City Star. Readers may write to her at: Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or via e-mail at msanchez@kcstar.com. DES MOINES A hiring freeze and sustained judicial vacancies will help cover a fiscal shortfall and avoid cutting popular rehabilitation programs such as drug courts under the state judicial branch budget set Wednesday by the Iowa Supreme Court. Iowas judicial branch, with more than 1,900 employees throughout the states 99 counties, was given a status quo $178.7 million budget this year by state legislators. Judicial leaders said that was $5.4 million shy of what was needed to maintain the current level of services. Instead, the judicial branch will institute a hiring freeze and keep open judge vacancies for six months. The moves are expected to save $4 million. The remaining $1.4 million in required savings will be achieved through reductions in spending on furniture, technology, supplies, travel and training. The budget achieves savings without cutting personnel or requiring furloughs, at least immediately. These are difficult times that require difficult decisions, state court administrator David Boyd wrote Wednesday in a memo addressed to all judicial branch employees. "Unfortunately, the grim reality is that I cannot guarantee you that we will not need to make a midcourse correction as we move through the year. This budget is a bit of a gamble." The budget also spared the 55 specialty treatment programs such as drug courts and family rehabilitation courts; it even requires the Supreme Courts approval to eliminate any specialty courts currently in operation. But the budget does call for a moratorium on the expansion of specialty courts. With this budget, the Supreme Court tried to minimize disruption of services to Iowans despite the significant shortfall in our appropriation, Boyd said in a statement. The budget does not include court closure days or layoffs, but there will be consequences. With unfilled positions in courthouses around the state combined with fewer judges, Iowans can expect delays, and our troubled youth may not have as much interaction with juvenile court officers as they do now. Judges will not receive a raise; they have received only one since 2008. Judges salaries are set by legislators. Judicial leaders said the $5.4 million would have covered negotiated salary increases and increased health insurance costs. With the staffing pinch, the Supreme Court has directed Boyd to conduct a judicial branch workload study, the results of which will guide future budget decisions, a news release said. The court will maintain regular meetings with the judicial council, judicial branch employees, attorneys, and business leaders to discuss the results of the judicial branch workload study, listen to the impact of budget decisions on services for Iowans, and develop long term planning options, Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady said in a statement. The woman in charge of counting votes in Pennington County told a candidate during a heated confrontation that he will not win his county commission race, and the fallout from their lingering feud has contributed to a nasty campaign focused on the criminal records of two of the three hopefuls. Pennington County Auditor Julie Pearson acknowledged to the Journal Tuesday that during a March 15 clash with county commission candidate James Bialota at her office, she told him, Youre not going to win anyway. Pearson characterized the comment as a response to a Bialota accusation that Pearson and her staff do not run fair and accurate elections. Bialota, in a separate Journal interview last week, said Pearsons remark undermined the impartiality of her office and should cast doubt on the legitimacy of the upcoming Tuesday primary election results. The Auditors Office, led by Pearson, conducts the election and runs the vote-counting machines. Pearson said her comment to Bialota did not undercut her ability to handle the election fairly. We handle the ballots every time, and we do it very accurately, she said. In one of many races on local ballots, Bialota is in a three-way contest for the Republican nomination for an open District 2 Pennington County Commission seat being vacated by outgoing Commissioner Nancy Trautman. Because there are no independents, Democrats or members of other parties running for the position, the winner of Tuesdays primary will win the seat representing areas of northern and eastern Rapid City. Meeting was flashpoint Besides being a candidate, Bialota is among a cadre of local conservative activists who have launched attacks in recent years on some of their fellow Republicans in county government, whom the activists view as too liberal. One such attack occurred at the March 15 meeting of the Pennington County Commission, and precipitated the confrontation later that same day between Bialota and Pearson. During the commission meeting, a man arose from the audience to challenge the commissions handling of payment vouchers. A heated argument ensued, pitting him against some of the commissioners and Pearson. She defended the countys voucher-approval process, saying in part that anyone from the public can examine vouchers anytime in her office. Commission Chairman Lyndell Petersen eventually ordered the man from the audience to sit down so the meeting could proceed. Other commissioners moved and seconded the approval of that weeks vouchers, and when Petersen called for discussion on the motion, Bialota rose from the audience and strode to the podium. Im being told that I can ask the auditor at anytime about these vouchers, Bialota said to the commission, in reference to Pearson. However, the auditors out of state for half the year in Maricopa County. Maricopa County is in Arizona, where Pearson herself a Republican elected official has a second home. Commissioner Trautman interrupted Bialota and called his comment about Pearson inappropriate. Petersen agreed. He closed discussion on the motion and ordered Bialota to sit down. Before leaving the podium, Bialota uttered a last retort. I think the voters need to know this come election day, Bialota said, and, Lyndell, I think your numbers up. Separate from Bialotas District 2 race, Petersen is in a three-way race for re-election in District 4. Bialota claims that Pearson, the auditor, later came to the back of the meeting room where Bialota was sitting and said, You better watch out. Pearson, in her interview with the Journal this week, denied saying those words. Instead, she recalled telling Bialota that his claim about the amount of time she spends in Arizona was incorrect. This week, in response to Journal questions, Pearson said she does not track the amount of time she spends at her second home in Arizona but said it is less than half the year as Bialota alleged. Later on March 15, after the commission meeting, Bialota went to Pearsons office, where another confrontation happened and Pearson told Bialota directly that he will not win his election. In previous weeks, Bialota had battled with the Auditors Office staff over fees the staff attempted to charge him for viewing a voter registration list. Pearson claims Bialota is often combative when he visits the office. Bialota disputes that claim. Criminal records used in campaign Since the events of March 15, Bialota has continued to be a thorn in the side of the Auditors Office. Among his many lines of attack is a claim that the envelopes used to store early voting ballots are not opaque enough, leaving the choices of individual voters potentially visible to the Auditors Office staff. Pearson, when asked about that claim, did not defend the opacity of the envelopes but said her office would never look through them to see an individual voters ballot. We dont spend our time looking to see who voted what way, Pearson said. Bialota said he forwarded his complaint about the ballot envelopes on May 17 to the South Dakota Secretary of States Office, which oversees elections statewide. The next day, Gary Mayer, husband of Pennington County Register of Deeds Donna Mayer, formed a political action committee called Transparency in Candidate Selection. Using one large donation $2,500 from local businessman and former legislator Stan Adelstein the committee sent out a campaign mailer with a photo of Bialota manipulated to look like a criminal mugshot. Alongside the photo was a bullet-point summary of three items from Bialotas criminal record. The mailer said one son had to get a protection order against Bialota, and another son had to get an order to stop him from stalking. Neither of those statements is entirely accurate, according to Bialota and according to Bialotas actual record. There were two protection orders issued against Bialota in 2013, but not for a son. One was issued for protection against domestic violence to Bialotas stepson, and the other was issued for protection against stalking to the boys biological father. The mailer did not mention that Bialota obtained his own order that same year against his stepson for protection against domestic abuse. Bialota denied abusing his stepson and said the protection orders arose from a messy family dispute over the boys behavior and custody. The mailer also mentioned that Bialota had been arrested for intentional damage to property. While thats true, the mailer did not mention that the 2012 charge was eventually dismissed. According to Bialota, the charge was erroneously filed after he defended himself against an assault, although he did admit to breaking a vehicle window with the butt of his handgun during the incident. Gary Mayer told the Journal this week that the items on Bialotas record are nonetheless indicative of a man who has consistently been crosswise with the law. That pattern of behavior aligns with the threatening presence Bialota has brought to confrontations with county officials, Mayer said. We shouldnt have somebody in office who is a bully, who has temper tantrums in a public office, Mayer said. We shouldnt have somebody with anger issues. Bialota and his supporters including Jordan Mason, who tried unsuccessfully to unseat Donna Mayer in 2014 have fought back by pointing to the criminal record of one of Bialotas opponents, Lloyd LaCroix, who has three drunken-driving convictions. The third one, which happened 15 years ago, was automatically considered a felony because of laws that impose stiffer penalties on third convictions. LaCroix said in a Journal interview last week that the convictions were the result of an alcohol problem and depression that got worse after a breakup. He has been sober for the past 15 years, he said. The races third candidate, Bonnie Redden, refused to comment when reached. A search of her criminal record yielded only two minor traffic violations, both more than 14 years ago. Contract negotiations have fallen apart between Rapid City school district officials and the Rapid City Education Association teachers' union. The RCEA announced in a press release that its membership voted to not ratify the district's proposed 2016-2017 contract that would do away with the current salary structure. The crux of the disagreement stems from the districts decision to no longer adjust salaries upward for teachers who have pursued higher education, such as a master's degree. Instead, the new structure would set the base starting salary for all teachers even those with only a bachelor's degree and little to no experience at $40,000. According to a statement released by Superintendent Tim Mitchell, teachers would see an annual salary increase of $2,000 each following year for the next five years, capping at a salary of $50,000. Those currently at $50,000 will receive a one-time $3,000 pay increase this year. Once a teacher reaches the $50,000 mark in future years, any additional salary increases either a percentage or a prescribed dollar amount would be determined during annual contract negotiations. Mitchell said the amount of future increases would rely on how much money the state Legislature provides. The district's current base salary for incoming teachers is $32,000, Mitchell said. After working in the district for five years, teachers make about $34,922. That is not anywhere near the $48,500 average that our taxpayers and legislators expect us to reach, Mitchell said, referring to the target average salary set by lawmakers. The Rapid City school district received $5.2 million from the state to boost its teacher pay. Failure to raise the average teacher salary and meet other benchmarks set by the state could result in losing the funding. Mitchell said setting the new base salary at $40,000 is a way to put teachers on an accelerated track to meet the new state salary standard. In an effort to follow the intent of the law, we proposed that a much larger portion of the new money go to teachers making under $50,000, Mitchell said. That causes two problems, according to RCEA President Sue Podoll. First, it tells veteran teachers they arent valued. Second, it does not reward teachers for their varying levels of experience and higher education, as happens under the current system. While incoming teachers would benefit for the first five years, Podoll worries that without an incentive to pursue and maintain a higher level of personal education, those teachers with master's degrees eventually will quit for jobs at other school districts that compensate them accordingly. Yes, its great for those new young teachers, but we dont want to lose them once theyve gotten that training and experience, Podoll said. Mitchell disagrees, saying that paying incoming teachers a higher salary up front will provide the financial ability to pursue a higher education instead of spending a lot on a master's degree in the hopes of achieving a salary increase. Veteran teachers, meanwhile, are left uncertain of their position in the new system, which does away with the salary structure they fought to secure in past contract negotiations. A salary schedule has been in place for as long as Ive been a teacher, Podoll said. To strip it all away in one fell swoop is somewhat unexpected. The uniform nature of the new salary structure takes away the ability of teachers to pursue higher education goals as a way to control how much they make. Removing that sense of self-determination could be damaging, Podoll said. Another change the district proposal would make is to stretch the annual salary distribution from a 10-month schedule to a 12-month schedule. District officials are holding a press-conference after a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the state of contract negotiations with teachers and what will happen next if no agreement can be reached. DES MOINES, Iowa | The Iowa Utilities Board is preparing an order that would allow a Texas oil pipeline company to begin construction in Iowa in areas for which it has landowner approval and permits. Dallas-based Dakota Access LLC, which is building a 1,150-mile pipeline from North Dakota into Illinois, had asked the Iowa board for permission to begin work in areas outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps hasn't issued permits for about 60 Iowa river crossings, wetlands or federal land where historical or environmental issues could arise. One in northwest Iowa is under review for a possible Native American burial site. The board directed its attorney to draft an order allowing construction to begin and will review it for final approval early next week. A passer-by flagged down the officer late Tuesday. The Argus Leader reports that the ducklings had fallen through holes in the storm drain lid. With the mother duck nearby, the officer removed the lid, lowered himself into the drain and handed up the ducklings to people who had gathered to help. PIERRE Telecommunications company CenturyLink faces a $2,000 penalty for failing to respond to an emergency request to locate buried lines in Fort Pierre last winter. South Dakota requires utilities to respond within four hours. CenturyLinks contractor USIC of Indianapolis didnt respond within that time. The request came at 4:55 p.m. A city crew began digging at 9 p.m. to deal with a broken water valve at the Casey Tibbs Street and E. Cedar Avenue intersection. Its always a safety concern, said Larry Janes, executive director for the state One-Call Notification Board. He said the boards enforcement panel recommended the $2,000 penalty with none of it suspended. The full board will decide whether to invoke the full penalty. Failure to pay causes the matter to proceed to the state Public Utilities Commission for collection. The citys complaint said overtime expenses resulted, five fire hydrants were out of commission and 14 residents lacked water service during the wait until nearly 2 a.m. The local Expo Center and its indoor ice rink also were without water. It was the third complaint against CenturyLink in the Pierre and Fort Pierre area in five months. The company was fined $500 in December and $1,000 in January for similar complaints. The company said the USIC employee involved was terminated. Larry Zimmerman said Monday that he had to choose whether to wear a suit as South Dakota's Secretary of Veterans Affairs or his uniform as the state's Army National Guard Command Sergeant Major. The Belle Fourche native chose the uniform to speak to his hometown Memorial Day Services. He thanked the crowd for coming to the day's ceremonies on a holiday with many other activities available to them. Zimmerman asked the crowd at Pine Slope Cemetery to remember their Butte County service members who lost their lives in their nation's military services. "Remember them as we remember the rodeo on the Fourth of July," he said noting the signature Belle Fourche event, the Black Hills Roundup. He then then read the names of Butte County residents who lost their lives in their nation's military service from World War I through Vietnam. World War I had 22. "We thought that was the end of the wars," he said. But in World War II, there were 19 lost fighting for American freedom. In the Korean War and Vietnam War, one county resident was lost in each conflict. "Remember those families in your hearts, not just on Memorial Day," he said. Zimmerman said each veteran who raised a hand in joining the nation's military services should be remembered on Memorial Day as well, since all knew they were swearing to serve wherever ordered, regardless of consequences. The program for the Belle Fourche services held the names of all Belle Fourche veterans who are now interned at Pine Slope or elsewhere. After his speech in Belle Fourche and greeting longtime friends, Zimmerman left for the Black Hills National Cemetery where he was scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. ceremonies. The avenue of flags flying at the entrance to the cemetery included 113 that had covered local veterans' final military rites and were donated by their families to commemorate their service. Zimmerman spoke with friends before and after the official services. "It can't get any better than coming home to Belle Fourche," he said. Now "retired" from the Army National Guard after serving as the state's senior enlisted soldier and overseas deployment, Zimmerman said he plans to serve his cabinet post through the term of Gov. Dennis Daugaard. A Rapid City inmate who walked away from a work assignment last month is back in custody. State corrections officials say Dickinson, N.D., authorities apprehended Paul Steiner on Tuesday. Steiner left his community service job in Rapid City on May 20 without approval. The 62-year-old was sentenced in Meade County in March to serve five years for sixth-offense drunken driving. He had been housed at the Rapid City Community Work Center. Donald Trump delivered big time Thursday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck. He told the enthusiastic crowd of 7,000 that he would eliminate regulations and do everything possible to promote energy. Thats what the crowd of mostly oil industry officials and supporters wanted to hear. Clearly, the points he raised tremendously impact North Dakota. Besides easing regulations, Trump promised to support more pipelines, continue U.S. oil exports, work to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency's emissions rules targeting coal-fired power plants and blasted the EPAs Waters of the United States rule. Trump offered his simple litmus test for deciding on regulations: Is this regulation good for the American worker? Rep. Kevin Cramers influence on Trump came through during the speech. The Republican representative has been tapped as an energy adviser to Trump and many of the key points in the speech reflect Cramers positions. Supporters praised Trumps speech for its details, but whoever is elected president will face challenges when developing an energy policy. Trumps positions are extremely different from those of President Barack Obama, Hilllary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders. For the last seven years the president and Congress have been battling over energy policy and theres no reason to expect that to change. The battle lines might be a little different under a new president, but Congress and the courts will continue to have a say. It was a big boost for Bismarck and the state to have a leading contender for president deliver a major policy address in the capital city. He highlighted the important role the oil patch plays in the nation trying to achieve energy independence and the issues surrounding that quest. The North Dakota Petroleum Council and the conference should be commended for bringing Trump to Bismarck. The last three weeks have been exciting for the city as Trump and Sanders visited. Theres something special about seeing a presidential candidate in person. There are a lot of little things that can be observed as the candidate campaigns. Bismarck handled both visits well. It will be interesting to see how involved Cramer remains in the campaign. Having a North Dakotan close to the man who may become the next president can only help the state. North Dakotans can be proud they have a role in this ongoing presidential campaign. Moscow City Court reduces sentence in metro accident case MOSCOW, June 1 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court has reduced sentence in the case over Moscow metro crash that left 24 people dead, RAPSI reported from the courtroom on Wednesday. The court has reduced the sentence for Deputy Chief of a subcontractor of the repair project Anatoly Kruglov by three months. He is to stay in penal colony for 5 years and 3 months. Therefore the court partially granted the motion filed by his lawyers. Earlier the victims in the case began to receive compensations from Kruglov. However, the court upheld the sentence for other defendants in the case. Three metro cars derailed on a section between the Park Pobedy and Slavyansky Bulvar metro stations in the west on the city during peak commute hours on July 15, 2014. Alongside Kruglov, Alexei Trofimov, a senior executive in the Metro's repair department, the enterprise's track supervisor Valery Bashkatov and his assistant Yury Gordov have been found guilty of violation of traffic safety rules and underground operating rules that entailed death of two and more people. Kruglov, Trofimov and Bashkatov were sentenced to 5 .5 years in prison each. Gordov was given a 6-year prison sentence. The explosion of an orange insect, three times the size of a mosquito, in the Flathead Valley in northwestern Montana, happened entirely by accident.But it hasnt been by accident that a targeted defense against the orange wheat blossom midge (OWBM) has been carefully developed over the years since a producer found the midge larvae feeding on a wheat kernel in his farm field in the valley.During the third week in July, 2006, a local grower threshed some spring wheat heads to check on his grain fill, said Bob Stougaard, Montana State University professor and superintendent at the Northwestern Agriculture Research Center in Kalispell. He called and said, what are these little orange things in my wheat head?The producer didnt have a clue at the time, but it turned out the pests feeding on his wheat kernels were OWBM larvae.Not only that, but the midge was feeding in the spring wheat in most of the farm fields around the Flathead Valley, leading to low yields that harvest. The next year, many producers decided not to grow spring wheat at all.Stougaard has led a successful fight over the years.Long-term control of the orange wheat blossom midge will require the use of several management tools, he said.Stougaard, with the help of other researchers, discovered what worked to control the pest: crop rotation, utilizing natural predators like parasitoids, insecticides, planting an OWBM resistant variety (Egan) and monitoring the pest with pheromone traps to find out the distribution and abundance of the midge.He relied on the research already conducted in Canada and North Dakota, where entomologists were helpful.At the same time Stougaard was studying the biology of the midge, Dr. Luther Talbert, MSU spring wheat breeder, jumped on developing a spring wheat variety with resistance to the midge, the HRSW variety Egan.Luther wanted to fast-track a resistant variety to help producers and he did, Stougaard said.Checking natural deterrents, Stougaard found the midge preferred some spring wheat varieties more than others but that was in the small plots at the center. It did not work in field trials.But insecticides did work.We started monitoring the use of insecticides to find out when the right growth stage of the plant would respond to the insecticide, Stougaard said.He found that the right time to apply insecticides was when the spring wheat is heading.Parasitoids were a major help.Back then, I initially imported parasitoids from North Dakota and we made releases here, Stougaard said. In addition, parasitoids moved into Montana on their own. Now, the populations are quite high in the Kalispell area, and are helping to keep midge populations in check.The next step was pheromone traps in farm fields to monitor when the midge was out flying and to find out where the midge was and in what numbers. Stougaard purchased pheromone traps from Canada, and the traps worked by using the mating instinct to attract male midges.We put them out in a few sites throughout the county, and monitored them closely, he said, adding a local CHS dealer helped them acquire a lot of traps.The exact distribution in the rest of the state was largely unknown, so we began monitoring the midge numbers in the Golden Triangle with traps.Pondera County first reported low OBWM midge numbers in 2008, and it was not until 2013 that economic levels of this pest were found, and over 12,000 acres had to be treated.In 2013, there were low OBWM populations in Chouteau, Glacier, Liberty and Toole counties, while midge damage was suspect in Daniels County.This dramatic increase in the distribution of wheat midge served as the initiative behind the development of the MSU Pestweb site, Stougaard said.With all the research and work everyone has done on the midge, Stougaard said he feels optimistic, we can stay on top of controlling the midge for the future. Ceidra Keele put away her paintbrush for a chance to pick rocks Tuesday morning. The Trapper Creek Job Corps union painting student couldnt have been happier. I like when I get to volunteer to do something that will help out, said the young woman from Hamilton. With smudges of dirt on her cheek, Keele soon rejoined the busy crew of fellow job corps students who were picking up every rock they could find from a swath of dirt on the edge of the Darby Rodeo Grounds. A short distance away fellow painting student, Kalli Wurth of Missoula, was working on her own mission to spruce up the facility in preparation for a major grand opening this Saturday to celebrate the completion of the facilitys impressive new skyboxes. Taking a moment away from her broom, Wurth said shes happy to know that she is helping to make a difference for the community. The young men and women enrolled in Trapper Creeks painting trade had already redone all the wood on the eastside bleachers at the rodeo grounds. Plans call for them to repaint most of the buildings at the rodeo grounds before the big bull riding event and Aaron Tippen concert on July 9. Im looking forward to seeing what this place looks like when its all done, Wurth said. Community service has always been a part of Trapper Creek Job Corps mission. We do a lot of work for the community, said Trapper Creeks Doug Wilson. They step up and take a lot of pride in what they do. Darby Mayor JC McDowell said the job corps center has been a great asset for the community of Darby. A lot of work would never get accomplished without them, McDowell said. Were fortunate to be in such close proximity of the center. Cal Ruark is president of the nonprofit Darby Rodeo Association and the main driver of the remarkable transformation of the rodeo grounds over the past seven years. With the completion of the $220,000 124-foot-long skybox project, he and other community members wanted to celebrate with their own Rocking in the Arena event that will kick off Saturday, June 4 at 2 p.m. with a pitchfork steak fondue and music until dark. I wanted this place to look its best, Ruark said. I knew who to call. One call to Trapper Creek was all it took. And now they are out here giving this place a spit shine, Ruark said. Im proud of them. Dan Gager said the job corps center is always looking for ways to give back to their local communities. That volunteer effort provides their students with a life skill they can carry with them always, said Gager, Trapper Creeks work program officer. We talk with our students about how they can contribute to their communities, Gager said. Trapper Creek Job Corps is a federally-funded program that provides the students with a good education that is paid for by taxpayers, he said. With that in mind, we want them to think about ways they can give back, Gager said. At the same time, Gager said Trapper Creek is careful not to accept work that might be done by someone else in the private sector. Most of the work their students volunteer to help with is for nonprofits or school or some other agency dependent on public funding. We are mainly trying to demonstrate to our students that this is the way you should function in a community, Gager said. Here are ways you can contribute to your community and help improve the facilities that are used by the public. Gager said the students respond to that opportunity. It improves their sense of self-worth, he said. It gives them a good feeling to receive the appreciation and recognition that follows. Sometimes that appreciation comes as a simple thank you and other times it might be a cold soft drink or a meal. They like it, Gager said. Its never hard to find volunteers. They like the recognition it brings to the center. It makes them feel good about doing something for someone else. Corvallis Memorial Day Parade organizer John Mowats badge said, Fearless Supreme Leader of the World. According to Mowat, the parade ran 50 minutes and an estimated 4,000 people came to watch on the sunny Monday morning. This is the longest parade weve had in a while, Mowat said. It all went well. The parade began with the firing of the cannon, paratroopers fluttering down and the Corvallis High School band playing the Star Spangled Banner. The Corvallis American Legion Post 91 hosted the event and their banner was carried by scouts. The parade theme was Law Enforcement Keeping Us Safe Through Sacrifice. Grand Marshall Chris Hoffman and his wife, Ginny, were driven by Don Dunbar in his restored army jeep. The parade had law enforcement representatives and emergency responders from the Ravalli County Sheriffs Office, Search and Rescue, Missoula, National Institutes of Health, Highway Patrol, Corvallis Fire, Victor Fire, Fish Wildlife and Parks and the U. S. Forest Service. Montana Hope Project supporters proudly carried their banner. Granting wishes for Montanas critically ill children. One child at a time, is their motto. The American Legion Auxiliary unit sold poppies. Military veterans from World War II rode in the Fort Owen Post 94 wagon. Parade judges selected Ray Petersons Rocky Ridge Express as the grand champion entry, Patriot Guard as the most patriotic and Theresa Manzellas horse drawn wagon as reserve grand champion. Boy Scout Troop 1962 won first place in the clubs and organization category. The Bitterroot Womens Club won first place in their western-themed covered wagon with accordion players. Other entries included antique farm machinery, horse drawn wagons, horses, other farm animals, vintage and classic cars, political candidates, group horseback riders and individual riders including rodeo princess Jadyn Scheffer. Businesses showed their community spirit and the Corvallis Community Church had a barrel train to announce their vacation Bible school. Flower Happy florist Pam Suarez and helpers gave out 600 beautiful long-stem roses to honor veterans. The Corvallis High School track team rode a float displaying their track trophies. The Corvallis Girls won Class A track for the sixth consecutive year on Saturday. Democrats and Republicans were out in force supporting their candidates. Monte, the University of Montana mascot, and Smokey Bear, the U.S. Forest Service mascot, met and entertained parade spectators with flips, hugs and high fives. Community members started the day with the breakfast by the Corvallis Community Events Center and stayed after the parade to enjoy the music of the Corvallis symphonic band, jazz band and mens choir. They also ate at the Corvallis Performing Arts Booster Club, played games at the Corvallis School Foundations mini-carnival and bought pies and plants from the Bitterroot Womans Club. There were two formal memorial ceremonies by the American Legion, one at the Corvallis Cemetery and one at the Woodside Bridge. News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-10-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). "Marijuana Enforcement Disparities In California: A Racial Injustice" | Main | Examining the high costs of expungement process in some jurisdictions May 31, 2016 Is "geography" really an "arbitrary feature" of a capital prosecutions? The question in the title of this post is prompted by this passage today in Justice Breyer's dissent from the denial of certiorari in Tucker V. Louisiana (with my emphasis added): Lamondre Tucker shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend in 2008. At the time of the murder, Tucker was 18 years, 5 months, and 6 days old, cf. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 578 (2005) (The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed), and he had an IQ of 74, cf. Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 321 (2002) (execution of the intellectually disabled violates the Eighth Amendment). Tucker was sentenced to death in a Louisiana county (Caddo Parish) that imposes almost half the death sentences in Louisiana, even though it accounts for only 5% of that States population and 5% of its homicides. See Pet. for Cert. 18. Given these facts, Tucker may well have received the death penalty not because of the comparative egregiousness of his crime, but because of an arbitrary feature of his case, namely, geography. See Glossip v. Gross, 576 U. S. ___, ______ (2015) (BREYER, J., dissenting) (slip op., at 1214). One could reasonably believe that if Tucker had committed the same crime but been tried and sentenced just across the Red River in, say, Bossier Parish, he would not now be on death row. I do not dispute that Tucker might not have been sent to death row if he had committed the same murder, and had been tried and sentenced, in another county. Indeed, one can certainly assert that had Tucker committed the same murder in, say, Michigan, a state without te death penalty, he definitely would not be on death row. But, I do not think it quite right to call this geographic reality "an arbitrary feature of his case." Arbitrary means "not based on reason," but there are many (seemingly sound) reasons why geography often will define and influence how a capital prosecution proceeds. Most obviously, a criminal being capitally prosecuted has generally picked where his murder took place, and he typically will be (and some times only can be) prosecuted in a particular locality due to his own homicidal choices. Moreover, the locality where a murder is committed necessarily experiences the impact of the crime most directly, and local decision-makers ought to be most responsive to local concerns as to how best to respond to that murder. And, a locality's prosecutors and judges and jurors have all been selected to be respresentative of local community views and judgments. (Indeed, in his concurring opinion in Ring v. Arizona, Justice Breyer made much of a "communitys moral sensibility" in the resolution of capital cases and the importance of a jury's role in reflecting "a communitys sense of capital punishments appropriateness in a particular case.") In other words, to parrot a newly popular SCOTUS term, I think it is nonsense to call geography an "arbitrary feature" of a criminal case. And while lots of abolitionists complain about the impact of geography on the adminstration of capital punishment, I have never found this complaint to be conceptually convincing or nearly as compelling as other arguments against the modern administration of the death penalty. May 31, 2016 at 11:33 PM | Permalink Comments All of Breyer's complaints are, equally, as nonsensical as his geography one. The Dallas Morning News writes: "The report illustrates the nations grossly uneven use of the death penalty, with 2 percent of the counties responsible for most executions, far out of proportion to their population." The DMN, as most media, as Breyer, missed both the forest and the trees. Why? They didn't even look. They, intentionally, blind folded themselves. There are 3144 counties (aka as parishes & others). If we look at the 2% of the counties, with the highest number of death penalty convictions in death penalty states, I suspect we will be in the ballpark of having a majority (51%) of the nations capital murders, in death penalty states, with the greatest variable in executions, caused by the judges, the case managers. In 2002, the 75 largest counties had 51% of murders and non-negligent manslaughters, 61% of robberies and 36% of forcible rapes, nationally (1), which is in the ballpark of 60-70% of what we know as capital, death penalty eligible murders, inclusive of robbery/murders, rape/murders, police murders, multiple and serial murders, in death penalty eligible counties. 75 is nearly 2.4% of all counties, both death penalty eligible and not. There ya go. Judges, by far, cause the most "disparity" issues (2) 1) Highlights, page 1, State Court Processing Statistics, 1990-2002, Violent Felons in Large Urban Counties, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, July 2006, NCJ 205289, http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/vfluc.txt 2) Judges Responsible For Grossly Uneven Executions http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2013/11/judges-responsible-for-grossly-uneven.html Posted by: Dudley Sharp | Jun 1, 2016 7:22:43 AM Yes, including in the 6th Amendment, local trials (which will result in varying punishments in practice) are encouraged legitimately for a range of reasons. The concern here -- and it need not just be "abolitionists" -- is to determine if very different results, perhaps extreme results (e.g., one county having 95% of the capital sentences even if objectively the murders are in no way that skewered in respect to the "worse of the worst" etc.), is legitimate ENOUGH to meet constitutional safeguards. Two issues here -- (1) the death is different rule (2) the concern for cruel and UNUSUAL punishments. The word "unusual" here might include a sentence generally unusual or absent except for a certain locality. If, e.g., the locality is dominated by those with strong beliefs the death penalty is warranted given the religion of the area, that factor alone -- given that the death penalty has to be warranted per the "worse of the worst" of the defendant -- might not be enough. Local justice is sometimes balanced for justice reasons with change of venue etc. anyway. At a certain point, severe regional differences -- let's say if being executed depends on the chance of the crime being done in 2% of the country -- might be problematic. "Arbitrary" at some point is a matter of degree. Posted by: Joe | Jun 1, 2016 8:39:14 AM This goes hand in hand with the Justice's internationalism. He has no respect for venue. This is also one of the major reasons why I oppose the change to Rule 41. Geography was always intended to be a limitation on the court's power, indeed at the founding this was by virtue of necessity. Take away the context of geography and what you get is a bland uniformity that robs the nation of the creativity necessary for social progress. This is why I don't buy into @joe's logic that "unusual" needs to be understood in a geographically comparative sense. Joe sees certain divergences as "problematic" but I don't see anything problematic about such divergences. Joe asserts that arbitrary is a matter of degree but that avers both too much and too little. In reality, everything is arbitrary simply because time never repeats itself and thus no two situations are ever perfectly identical. In order words, any type of uniformity or regularity is in some sense fictional or artificial. Anyhow, Doug writes, "But, I do NOT think it quite right to call this geographic reality...." I think Doug you are missing a "not" in that sentence. Posted by: Daniel | Jun 1, 2016 9:23:02 AM I don't necessarily think you're wrong. In fact, I think there is much that cuts against Breyer's position precisely because we value the moral judgment of a jury in capital cases. That being said, it does seem disproportionately impactful. I think it has to do with the broad, virtually unlimited discretion factors like "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman" that means a lot of different things to different people and the decision to appellate courts to essentially not review these things (this is different from right after the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, when the term was limited to things like torture killings and the US Supreme Court actively reviewed the standard). Ultimately, I don't think Justice Breyer's opinion will persuade the unpersuaded, but I do think it is a notable contribution to the capital punishment debate. Posted by: Erik M | Jun 1, 2016 9:23:14 AM The battle between central and local control is an on-going debate in many democracies (not just our own). Take a look at Europe (or countries like the United Kingdom) where there is a constant debate about what should be done at the EU level, at the national level, at the regional level or the local level. Local control -- whether by locally elected prosecutors (restrained by local finances and local priorities) or local juries -- will result in some variations in the charges filed and penalties imposed. You can get less variation by replacing the locally-elected prosecutor with a state-appointed prosecutor who answers to a state official (similar to the U.S. Attorney system) and a narrower range of punishment, but is that reduction in variation worth the centralization that will give less weight to local opinions and needs. Both in the respect for state autonomy found in Article IV and in the Tenth Amendments and in similar provisions in many state constitutions (with regards to counties and cities) and in federal (and state) constitutional provisions regarding venue, the U.S. has expressed a substantial preference for local control even with the understanding that it will result in regional variations. Sound textual analysis would argue against treating the existence of local control as a basis for finding that any particular punishment is constitutionally unusual merely because it is more likely to be imposed in certain localities but not in others. Posted by: tmm | Jun 1, 2016 10:40:25 AM The geographical comparative definition I provide is not merely my own. It reflects current constitutional law and such law over time. Solem v. Helm's headnotes summarizes, e.g.,: "(a) Criteria that have been recognized in this Court's prior cases include (i) the gravity of the offense and the harshness of the penalty; (ii) the sentences imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction, that is, whether more serious crimes are subject to the same penalty or to less serious penalties; and (iii) the sentences imposed for commission of the same crime in other jurisdictions." This need not have "no respect for venue." I argue (sic) this is a matter of degree. Breyer, e.g., can argue that some degree of flexibility here is okay but at a CERTAIN POINT it is too far. This is not necessarily correct as a legal and policy matter, but it has the charm of showing more nuance than the rather crude denunciation we sometimes get. Also, Daniel is using his own gloss on words again, including what "arbitrary" means, which is okay, if we realize what he is doing. The word in this legal context has a specific meaning and "never repeats itself" is not it. And, in fact, again this is now a trend, that isn't how many an average person use the word. Reference is made to the 10A. But, "local control" here goes to the county level. States do have broad power over crime control but there are also constitutional limits here including as set forth in the 14th Amendment. "Sound textual analysis" is quite possible where states retain control but to balance other constitutional concerns that large differences of who lives and dies at some point warrants more centralized state oversight etc. Finally, as to persuading the unpersuaded, what else is new? But, I repeat this is not merely "abolitionist." Someone who SUPPORTS the death penalty might find it troublesome if who lives and dies -- granting execution is just -- turns so much on where one commits a crime. Again, not something like 1 in three or something but 50 to 1. This is so especially since local control can still be in place in various ways. For instance, prosecutorial discretion very well might be a big factor here -- local juries might not even have the ability to choose in most cases given the local prosecutors are wary except in select districts. Posted by: Joe | Jun 1, 2016 11:58:00 AM @Joe https://www.wordnik.com/words/arbitrary The first definition of the word arbitrary is the exact same definition I use, "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". The twist I put on it in my comment is to say that we can talk about TIME as being arbitrary as well as PLACE. I did so to illustrate the silliness of Breyer's position. Let's take his quote and substitute a word: "but because of an arbitrary feature of his case, namely, time." When we do we see the absurdity in his claim because every particular legal case is arbitrary in time. Indeed, any legal case which did not arise by chance we would accuse the parties of gaming the system and the judge of running a kangaroo court. So this claim that somehow I'm using words in weird ways is asinine. I'm using them exactly in the way that the dictionary defines them. If the legal profession uses the word as jargon to mean something other than what I have quoted here that is news to me. I'm willing to be corrected on that point. Posted by: Daniel | Jun 1, 2016 2:35:21 PM Great debate, folks, and thanks Daniel for catching my (now fixed) left-out word. Posted by: Doug B. | Jun 1, 2016 3:55:14 PM Isn't "geography" another way of saying that the defendant is denied the equal protection of the laws because the death penalty as applied is so dramatically differently from one parish to another applying precisely the same procedural and substantive law, to circumstances that have no statutorily recognized factual distinctions from each other, that effectively one parish is applying one law to one defendants, while another parish is applying a different law to another identically situated defendant (with regard to all statutorily relevant distinctions in the offense). Posted by: ohwilleke | Jun 1, 2016 8:04:49 PM Another way to describe the issue is statutory vagueness. If the definition of a crime eligible for the death penalty is so vague that the interparish disparities seen are possible then it does not provide meaningful guidance to potential criminal defendants and should be void for vagueness. Posted by: ohwilleke | Jun 1, 2016 8:08:25 PM @Daniel, used "arbitrary" this way: "In reality, everything is arbitrary simply because time never repeats itself and thus no two situations are ever perfectly identical. In order words, any type of uniformity or regularity is in some sense fictional or artificial." You cite this definition: "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle" The fact something doesn't "repeat itself" in a "perfectly identical" way is not the same as it being merely by "chance, whim" etc. But, maybe "same" has some special meaning too. Sorry. Your usage of language continues to confuse. But, maybe I'm the "asinine" one, using your usage of language, who's to know? I'm sorry to focus on language like this, since it's tedious, but at some point when it is used this way, especially when others like Breyer are sneered at in part because their arguments are slipshod treated, it's too much. It doesn't really help to criticize Breye's position too much though I guess as with not needing to be an "abolitionist," that might be something even those who disagree with his position can see. Posted by: Joe | Jun 2, 2016 9:17:02 AM ohwilleke ... that's a pretty good way to phrase it with the other side saying that like "beyond a reasonable doubt," the system does allow a good deal of discretion in applying the overall punishments. Posted by: Joe | Jun 2, 2016 9:19:14 AM ohwilleke, The question for equal protection would be whose actions are denying equal protection and to whom. The "tough" prosecutors are applying the law as written (or at least much closer to as written) seeking the death penalty when there is probable cause to believe that the defendant is eligible and a reasonable probability to believe that the jury and court will return a death sentence. Unless the equal protection clause requires all prosecutors to show leniency (even if not warranted by the facts of the case) because some prosecutors are showing leniency is a rather novel theory. (Given that there are some differences in the punishment applied for all offenses across jurisdictions, it is unclear where the line would be drawn other than the line of "death is different," except when it isn't.) The statutes really aren't vague. What has made the sentencing decision less predictable is the Supreme Court's interpretation of due process as allowing a defendant to argue anything as mitigating evidence and a jury to impose a lesser sentence for any reason. If the argument is that "due process" requires allowing a certain outcome, a later argument that the breadth required by due process violates due process by making the law vague tends to show that the initial premise (that due process requires a certain outcome) questionable. Posted by: tmm | Jun 2, 2016 10:50:45 AM I thought this was a good opinion piece on this issue as well: http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-01/democracy-and-the-death-penalty Posted by: Erik M | Jun 2, 2016 4:05:36 PM Post a comment Is "geography" really an "arbitrary feature" of a capital prosecutions? | Main | "Correctional Control: Incarceration and supervision by state" June 1, 2016 Examining the high costs of expungement process in some jurisdictions The Marshall Project has this effective new piece highlighting the ugly economics behind how some jurisdictions handle the expungement processes. The piece is headlined "Want to Clear Your Record? Itll Cost You $450: In Tennessee and other states, former felons cant always afford it." Here are excerpts: Many states charge $150 or less to apply for expungement, the legal term for clearing a criminal record, and some states offer a waiver if the applicant is too poor to pay. But the Tennessee legislature wanted money for the states general fund, so it set the fee much higher. While a gun permit may be discretionary, a decent job or money for an education are crucial, and for many people once convicted of a crime, Tennessees high fee has put expungement out of the reach. In Tennessee, there are 958 restrictions based on a criminal record, including disqualification for any state-funded student loan or grant. A record also bars employment in a number of fields and any job that involves working with children. In recent years, increased attention to the connection between these restrictions, which make it difficult to lead a stable life, and recidivism has spurred lawmakers in states across the country to pass legislation affording those with a conviction or an arrest a clean slate, according to a Vera Institute report. Between 2009 and 2014, 31 states and Washington, D.C., established or expanded expungement laws. Most laws only included misdemeanor convictions or arrest records. A growing number of states are including some low-level, non-violent felonies. Of the 17 states that do so, the application fee is generally in line with standard court fees. But three states are charging far more. Tennessees $450 is trumped by Louisiana's $550 fee, and as of July, Kentucky will charge $500. Louisianas high fee results from inefficiencies that make processing an application arduous the states jurisdictions are largely autonomous, with no central storehouse for information, said Adrienne Wheeler, executive director of the Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, a group that has worked to make expungement more accessible. Further, the justice system from the state police to sheriffs departments as well as district attorneys and court clerks are underfunded and depend on fines to make up for the tax dollars they dont receive. We were pretty vocal that this was an impossible cost, said Wheeler of recent reform discussions. But, she said, These agencies are not getting the funding that they need to function, so its hard to ask them to bring it down. In Tennessee and Kentucky, bloated prices have little to do with processing the application, but rather the state revenue they were designed to produce. Fifty-five percent of the cash collected in Tennessee goes into the states general fund. In Kentucky, it will be a full 90 percent. The prospect of revenue is exactly why Tennessee lawmakers were persuaded to pass felony expungement legislation in 2012, said State Representative Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat. At the time, the official estimate was that the law would raise $7 million for the state annually. In reality, it has generated only about $130,000 each year according to an analysis by a criminal justice nonprofit, Just City. The lack of income is tied to the fact that few would-be applicants can afford to apply, Akbari said. Public awareness of the issue is gaining momentum in Tennessee. At a fundraising event in February, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland raised $55,000 in private donations to cover the cost of expungement for indigent applicants. June 1, 2016 at 08:56 AM | Permalink Comments Expungements/pardons etc. for those who have led law-abiding lives long after criminal behavior should be routinely granted--with certain exceptions. Posted by: federalist | Jun 1, 2016 10:09:00 AM The quibble would be over what qualifies as "long". Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Jun 1, 2016 10:43:27 AM I may be mistaken, but I believe that all states have a mechanism for expungement of a felony conviction if certain (usually quite stringent) criteria are met. The shame is that,apart from the rare pardon, the federal government does not. Society is the worse for it. See U.S. v. Smith 683 F.2d 1236, 1240 (9th Cir. 1982) (The stigma of a felony conviction is permanent and pervasive.); Wayne A. Logan Informal Collateral Consequences 88 Washington Law Review 1103 (2013) (Today, convict status serves as a perpetual badge of infamy, even serving to impugn reputation beyond the grave.); id at p. 1107 (stigma can have a self-fulfilling criminogenic effect, predisposing individuals to become the deviants they were branded to be.); Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow (Paperback ed. The New Press 2012) at p. 94 (Once a person is labeled a felon, he or she is ushered into a parallel universe in which discrimination, stigma, and exclusion are perfectly legal.); id at 163 (When someone is convicted of a crime tody, heir debit to society is never paid.) ; Ernest Drucker, A Plague of Prisons (The New Press 2011), at p. 130 (Having served their formal sentences, ex-prisoners will endure new forms of punishment capable of generating more anger, more shame, and the scars of permanent social stigma.most statesbar many ex-felons from living in public housing, from working in a wide variety of jobs and professions, and from receiving a range of forms of public assistance including school subsides, income support and food stampsThese [are ]enduring disabilities.]; U.S. v. Wulff 758 F.2d 1121, 1125 (6th Cir. 1985) (a felony conviction irreparably damages one's reputation.); U.S. v. Prosperi 686 F.3d 32 (1st Cir. 2012) (Sometimes [courts do not] fully recognize the anguish and the penalty and the burden that persons face when called to account, as these men are, for the wrong that they committed. ). Posted by: Michael R. Levine | Jun 1, 2016 12:52:25 PM Federalist and I agree 100 percent on this one. Posted by: Michael R. Levine | Jun 1, 2016 12:57:40 PM Post a comment An effort to recall Mayor Ed Lee hit a roadblock last week, as the Department of Elections told a coalition of activists working to remove the mayor from office that it will not process the paperwork necessary to create a recall petition until July. Those leading the recall effort say this is based on a misreading of the city's recall rules, and delaying the process by over a month will make it extremely difficult to gather the 60,000 signatures needed to place the recall on the November ballot. According to a press release, recall organizers intend to take the DOE to court if it will not certify their filing. The conflict arises from the San Francisco Department of Elections' interpretation of city rules governing who may or may not be recalled. "[No] recall petition may be initiated with respect to an officer who has held office for less than six months or who has had a recall election determined in his or her favor within the last six months," the rules read. While Ed Lee was appointed as mayor in 2011, and has thus held office for much longer than six months, the Department of Elections says that as we just voted the mayor back into office in November of last year, we can't yet recall him out. "The Mayoral inauguration occurred on January 8, 2016," reads a letter from DOE's Gregory Slocum addressed to the "Potential Proponents of Mayoral Recall." "As such, no recall petition may be initiated until July 8, 2016, we cannot begin processing your Notice of Intent to Circulate Recall Petition until this date." This logic is questionable on its face, and a spokesperson for the recall effort, former D-6 candidate David Carlos Salaverry, writes of the group's intention to fight back. "[Today at 4:30 p.m.], we will present our valid Notice of Intent to Recall," he explains via press release. "If DOE refuses to process it, on June 13 after the mandatory 10 day DOE turnaround time, our lawyers will get a court order to force the filing. We will assert that a) the City Attorneys interpretation of the Charter is in error, b) telling us we must wait till July makes a Nov 2016 recall impossible, c) the City Attorneys interpretation was made in collusion with a corrupt administration to thwart our constitutional right to recall." With the threat of legal action from those looking to recall the mayor, this effort looks like it is here to stay. Expect to hear a lot more about it in the coming months as November approaches and activists work to get the measure on the ballot. Related: Will We Be Voting To Recall Ed Lee In November? You know those guys who are crazy good at predicting elections and also think they're qualified to judge burritos? Well, the whole Five Thirty Eight team, including founder and editor-in-chief Nate Silver, podcast host and producer Jody Avirgan, senior policitcal writer and analyst Harry Enten, and senior political writer Clare Malone will all be on hand June 23 at San Francisco's Herbst Theater for a panel discussion with InForum. And yes, there are tickets available here starting at $50. As you likely know, Silver founded the Five Thirty Eight blog which takes its name from the number of electors in the US electoral college in the midst of the 2008 election cycle. His mission was to add real statistics, polling, and demographic data to discussions around election predictions, and he and his team proceeded to accurately call the election for Obama as well as the winners of 35 Senate races. They were again accurate, in 50 out of 50 states, in calling the 2012 election, but so far 2016 has turned out to be a whole lot more bizarre and unpredictable. Everyone, including me, hopes that at least the Five Thirty Eight will be able to accurately predict that Donald Trump will not be given the opportunity to light our country on fire and dance through the flames, but on June 23 you can at least listen to them hash it out. Also, you can "watch Nate and Harry go head-to-head in round two of their obscure political trivia game." And, just today, FYI, FiveThirtyEight published this discussion about the latest presidential campaign polling which, disturbingly, discusses just how Donald Trump could win, and how the latest polls show some weird potential swing states and huge numbers of undecided voters. Related: According To Facebook Likes, Californians Love Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump (And Ben Carson) What do you want first, the good news or the bad news? The good news is that a gun stolen from the parked car of an FBI agent was recovered Tuesday. The bad news is that just a few hours later, three more guns were stolen from yet another vehicle parked in San Francisco...so all in all, we're still two guns behind. You already know that an out-of-town FBI agent left his personal Glock in his parked vehicle near Alamo Square Sunday. When he returned to his car, the gun, as well as his FBI ID and credentials had been stolen, as happens oh-so-frequently in our fair city. According to CBS 5, in this case the Fed had left his firearm "in a backpack in the front seat of car, which is against FBI protocol." They also report that he was visiting from Oklahoma City, and was here "to watch the Warriors-Thunder playoff game." (So guess he had two reasons to be bummed out on Sunday.) But unlike most San Francisco car break-ins, this time the alleged thief was tracked down and the gun retrieved. According to a press release from the FBI, surveillance footage from the scene of the theft led investigators to a residence at Keith Street and Thomas Avenue (according to NBC Bay Area, the exact address was 1832 Keith Street). By 11 a.m. yesterday, a SWAT team was serving a federal search warrant at the home. A hour later, a suspect had been taken into federal custody, and the gun was retrieved. The FBI agent's ID and credentials were not found during the search, and remain missing. A call to the FBI for more information on the suspect and for what penalties the agent might face for leaving an unsecured gun laying around was not returned at publication time. But just a few hours after the Fed's errant gun was pulled off San Francisco's streets, three more firearms went missing, once again stolen from a parked car. This time, reports KRON 4, the theft went down at Geary Boulevard and Webster Street, at 3 p.m. Tuesday. The owner (who this time, was not in law enforcement) had the three firearms in a case, KRON reports. According to ABC 7, the guns' owner "had just came back from the shooting range." Information on the make and model of the guns was not provided by SFPD at publication time, but police did conform that no arrests had been made in the case. "Auto burglaries are on the rise, San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Carlos Manfredi told KRON 4. I mean, like anything else, if you break into enough cars, eventually youre going to hit a jackpot and youre going to grab somebody who has their weapon in the vehicle. Previously: Yet Another Law Enforcement Gun Theft, This Time In Alamo Square Did you know that you were responsible for charges on your Clipper card, even if you had reported it stolen? Well, until very recently, that was indeed the case. According to ABC 7, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has finally changed the rules although the update doesn't appear anywhere in the fine print. Clipper cards are accepted by 28 transit agencies, and the MTC is unable to quickly communicate news of a stolen or lost card to all of them. As such, even if your purse was snatched right out of your hand and you immediately called Clipper to cancel the card, you were still on the hook for the cost of the thief's getaway (assuming he or she used public transit, that is). And yes, this definitely happened to unsuspecting commuters. "I found out the hard way that, in fact, the thief gets to use your card all day and it's on you," Bruce Mirken told the channel. He lost his Clipper card and quickly canceled it, but he was still responsible for all the charges that had accrued that day after he canceled it and there were definitely charges. "The Cardholder is responsible for any payments made with the Card up until the end of the day on which the Cardholder reports the Card lost, stolen or damaged to the Clipper Customer Service Center," the cardholder agreement reads. John Goodwin, a spokesperson with Clipper, told ABC 7 that even though the fine print still needs to be changed (they need a Chinese translation), the rule has been updated effective immediately. Related: Supervisors At Odds Over Penalizing Muni Riders Paying Cash SIOUX CITY | On a busy weekday morning, Stacy Orndorff poured batter into a waffle grill while adding a shot of vanilla into a cafe latte. "It's been pretty hectic around here," she said, inside a small trailer parked inside the Wednesday Sioux City Farmers Market. "We like it when things get hectic." Along with her family, Orndorff opened the Java Hub Coffee Shop in Correctionville, Iowa, more than three years ago. They started Java Hub Jr. -- a traveling coffee shop on wheels -- last year. "We set up shop at the Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays," she said. "We'll also be at the Woodbury County Fair later this summer." Orndorff said that both the shop and its mobile offspring are part of ATLAS Rural Community Services. A faith-based nonprofit organization, ATLAS provides assistance to individuals and families in need through a Correctionville-based food pantry. In addition, both coffee shops provide young people with customer service skills and entrepreneurship. "We created Java Hub as a way to connect with a wide range of people," Orndorff said. "I guess you can say that our coffee shops have become a popular 'hub' of activity." That's especially true when people are thirsting for made-to-order gourmet coffees, teas, frappes, organic smoothies and sparkling lemonades. "Personally, I need my morning cortado," Orndorff said, taking a sip of her espresso mixed with warm milk. "I can't function without it." Orndorff said she'd like to gradually increase Java Hub Jr.'s food menu. Currently, the mobile restaurant serves up hot waffles, cinnamon roll waffle bites and a popular power breakfast burrito. "I think the reason the breakfast burrito has taken off is because of its versatility," she said. "A standard one comes with eggs, cheddar and sausage while a vegetarian one comes with plenty of quinoa and spinach." While Orndorff is taking steps to add healthy wraps and salads to her menu board, Java Hub Jr. has already gone the extra mile in taking an eco-friendly approach to food service. All of the cups, plates, lids, straws, utensils and containers are now made from renewable sources. "We think it's important to minimize the way we impact our environment," Orndorff said. "That's why we're using products made from a variety of renewable materials (which include recycled materials, sugar cane and corn)." As the breakfast crowd begins to dissipate, Orndorff and her young crew of employees prepare for lunch time at Java Hub Jr. "People may not notice the eco-friendly products but we will," she said. "In addition, they may not realize all of the quality ingredients that go into their food and coffee." Instead, Orndorff said her regulars simply come back for Java Hub Jr.'s tasty menu items as well as the always courteous service. "It's the people that make all the difference," she said. "That will never change." ALEXANDRIA, Va. George Washington is most famous for the military leadership and political prowess that led to him becoming our nations first president. But as you learn at his reconstructed gristmill near Mount Vernon, the Virginia native also had a pretty good head for business. After leaving the military following the first stages of the French and Indian War, Washington became a successful farmer at his now-famous plantation 15 miles south of Washington, D.C. Tobacco grew well and sold profitably in England, and Washington married in 1759 to the wealthy Martha Custis was only too happy to devote himself to the care and development of his vast land holdings along the Potomac River. Farming was in his blood: his father, Augustine, who built Mount Vernon in 1735 (then known as Little Hunting Creek Plantation), was a planter until his death at age 48 in 1743. Upon inheriting the 2,000-acre estate from his half-brother, Lawrence, in 1754, the young Washington soon discovered that producing tobacco was a labor-intensive occupation thats as hard on the dirt as it was on the backs of those growing it. Not only was the crop subject to disease and insects, but also the plants eventually sucked all the micronutrients out of the soil, leaving it useless for anything but grazing. Some years he made a good profit, but in others, his revenue fell short of his expenses. So in 1766, Washington was among the first Virginia farmers to switch from tobacco farming to growing grain for merchant trade. Wheat was a more dependable source of income than tobacco. And customers from as far away as England and the West Indies were happy to pay top dollar for the high-quality flour he was producing by the 1770s, after replacing the deteriorated gristmill of his fathers with a larger, more efficient operation. The mill fell into disrepair in the decades after Washingtons death and was dismantled by the 1850s. In 1932, the Commonwealth of Virginia purchased the property and after carrying out archaeological research, decided to reconstruct it. After acquiring the mill in 1997, The Mount Vernon Ladies Association which owns and operates the estate embarked on a five-year renovation culminating with the site being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Open daily to tourists from April through October, The Gristmill at Mount Vernon is a meticulously reconstructed version of the mill Washington built three miles west of his house on Dogue Run Creek in 1797. History comes noisily alive in this 2 1/2-story stone structure, with millers in early-American attire giving demonstrations of Colonial milling, a process in which cleaned wheat and corn are ground into flour, grits or cornmeal between a pair of 4-foot millstones. SIOUX CITY | On a recent Wednesday, state Sen. Rick Bertrand traveled up U.S. Highway 75 to Sioux Center for a campaign stop at a coffee shop in the Sioux County city. The May weather was nice, so Bertrand sat in direct sun with the three people on the deck outside Butler's Cafe and Coffee. Five minutes later, a fourth and final person showed up as Bertrand spent 40 minutes chronicling his life story and making the case for why voters in the 4th District should send him to Congress. Bertrand began with the basics, starting with his upbringing in Sioux City, and his years attending Iowa Central Community College and the University of Northern Iowa. After graduation, he left the region to work as a pharmaceutical salesman. He moved back to Sioux City in 1997 to raise a family and begin a career as a businessman and commercial developer. Introducing himself to voters makes sense, considering Bertrand is a relative unknown compared to his Republican opponent in the 4th district race -- seven-term U.S. Rep. Steve King, of Kiron. As he spoke to the handful of voters in the Sioux Center cafe, Bertrand pivoted to the first time he ran for the Iowa Senate in 2010. He shared the doubts he heard back then: "Why are you running? Do you really think you can win?' " Bertrand is repeating those same questions in his long-shot campaign against King. Bertrand touts how he was the first Republican in 30 years to win a state Senate seat in Sioux City. He adamantly answered yes to the second question, contending he has the message and vigor to gain traction in the 39 counties that make up the 4th District and upset King. "Iowans are ready for a change," Bertrand asserts, while acknowledging he's had to introduce himself to people who barely knew him a few weeks ago. Bertrand said the dogged approach of reaching five, 12 or 25 people in public meetings will ultimately pay dividends. "That's how you do it," Bertrand told the foursome in Sioux Center, the largest city in Sioux County. A bit later, Bertrand wrapped up the event, saying, "All I can ask of you guys is open-mindedness ... Tell people, we've met him, he's viable." John Lee, of Sioux Center, and Tim Allen, of Orange City, said Bertrand was a relative unknown entity in the GOP stronghold of Sioux County, so they wanted to hear him in person. They enjoyed the small event, with the ability to ask questions and even pose follow-ups. "He seems to be pretty good on economics," said Allen, a Republican who had roughly made up his mind on which congressional candidate to support, but didn't want to share it. Lee, a registered independent voter who caucused as a Republican in February, had Bertrand flesh out thoughts on immigration policy. Another participant, Jacob Hall, pushed Bertrand to explain his change from opposition to a state gas tax increase to an eventual vote for a 10-cent increase in 2015. Lee said he can't accept a flip-flop on core principles, but noted people sometimes need to change positions to effectively govern in a bipartisan political system. Bertrand repeated his position that he was "voting my district," since the new gas tax money was needed to complete the four-laning of U.S. Highway 20 in western Iowa. He said less than five people have directly told him they didn't like his gas-tax vote. Bertrand said on entering the race in March that he figured strong Republican counties such as Sioux, Lyon, Plymouth and Cherokee could be hard sells. However, Bertrand said he's found solid inroads that make him optimistic. "Not only do we feel we are going to do well up there, but we feel we are going to win those counties... The race has heated up in places that I thought I would really, really struggle," he said. The last time a sitting Iowa congressman lost a primary battle was 1948. King leads in fundraising, with Federal Election Commission preprimary reports showing the incumbent brought in $110,193 from April 1 to May 18, compared to $52,727 for Bertrand. "If I didn't believe there was a path (to victory) there, or the momentum there, or the chatter in the field, I wouldn't be doing it," Bertrand said. While Bertrand is holding many public campaign events, he bypassed a chance to address hundreds of Republicans at the 4th congressional district convention at Fort Dodge in April. King spoke to the delegates that day. Bertrand contends he is just as conservative as King, mentioning his support for Second Amendment gun rights and opposition to abortion. On the latter social issue, he cites his strong Catholic faith. "(King) is trying to brand me as a moderate, which is funny," he said. Bertrand said he's delivering a message of being a reliable conservative who can deliver results, as opposed to King having a focus outside the district on national issues. He contended King is out to make a name for himself and seeking the media light through appearing at the Mexican border and calling for a wall to stop illegal immigration, while Bertrand said he wants to boost Iowa over the next decade toward an economic rebirth. "I am going to run an Iowa agenda. If you want someone to go down to the border every three months, that's not me," Bertand said. Early voting began in late April, and Bertrand has six days left to reach Iowans. His voice rose and body language became animated as Bertrand discussed the issues with the small Sioux Center audience. "I am passionate, I am excited," he declared, his voice steadily rising. SIOUX CITY | An Anthon, Iowa, man will serve 60 days in jail and three years on probation for his role in the burning of a stolen pickup truck. Christopher Aspleaf, 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court to felony second-degree arson and a misdemeanor charge of third-degree theft, which was reduced from first-degree theft as part of a plea agreement. Charges of first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree fraudulent practice will be dismissed. District Judge Mary Jane Sokolovske suspended a 10-year prison sentence for the arson charge and ordered probation. Aspleaf is eligible for work release for his 60-day jail sentence on the theft charge. He also could serve the time on electronic monitoring. According to court documents, Aspleaf helped Brooks Olson strip parts from a Ford F350 pickup stolen on Feb. 21 from Sioux City Ford, 3601 Singing Hills Drive. The two tried to submerge the truck in a pond on March 21. When the truck wouldn't sink, they doused it with gasoline and set on fire, destroying it. Olson, 19, of Sioux City, is charged with breaking into the dealership and stealing the keys to the truck. He has pleaded not guilty to several charges. SIOUX CITY | Two suspects accused of stabbing a man in Sioux City Wednesday morning face felony charges. Trevor Peterson, 18, of Sioux City, was arrested and charged with attempted murder Wednesday afternoon. Michael Stewart, 16, was arrested earlier Wednesday and charged with willful injury, a felony. According to court documents, Stewart, Peterson and another individual went to a residence in the 1900 block of Sherman Avenue to "beat up" a subject. They knocked on the door and the person who answered it was not the individual the three were looking for. The three suspects and the individual got into a physical altercation, in which the person who answered the door was stabbed seven times. The victim was taken to Mercy Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Sioux City Police are not releasing the name of the victim and have not said who stabbed the victim. SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City lawyer has pleaded not guilty to a hit-and-run accident that injured two men. Thomas Farrens, 31, entered his written plea Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court to leaving the scene of a serious injury accident, an aggravated misdemeanor. According to court documents, Farrens did not stop after striking two pedestrians and sideswiping a vehicle on April 4 near 18th Street and Grandview Boulevard. His car was later found abandoned in Grandview Park. Sioux City police Sgt. Jeremy McClure said a blood test done later that evening after the accident showed that Farrens' blood-alcohol percentage was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. "The results came back over the legal limit, and we forwarded the request for charges to the county attorney's office," McClure said. First Assistant Woodbury County Attorney Mark Campbell said he could not comment on the specifics of the case because it's still open. "The use of alcohol is still under investigation," Campbell said. Farrens was found at his home later in the evening after the accident. He was cited for failure to produce insurance, but that charge was later dismissed after he provided proof of insurance in effect at the time of the accident. Dean Williams, 53, and Ryan Hogue, 29, were both taken to Mercy Medical Center after the accident. Williams suffered a hemorrhage and contusion and had to be placed on a ventilator. Williams has sued Farrens for negligence. SIOUX CITY | Bethany Svacina and Alicia Hummel would often talk about the future and how they hoped to have children who would one day grow up together. Now expecting her first child, Svacina said the reality is finally sinking in that she won't have Hummel, one of her best friends, with her as she starts her family. "That's what's hitting me hard is watching my life change, and she's not there to experience it with me," Svacina said. It's been one year ago today since Hummel's body was found in the Missouri River near the shore at a boat dock at Myron Grove, also known as the Highline Area, about seven miles west of Vermillion, South Dakota. An autopsy showed that Hummel, 29, died of drowning, with contributing circumstances of blunt-force head injuries and an incised wound on her neck. Toxicology reports were negative for alcohol and controlled substances. There have been no arrests. "It's a difficult thing, and even more difficult when you're coming up on a year and there still are no answers," Svacina said. Hummel was alone when she went to the area to fish on the first day of her vacation from her job at Siouxland Family Center in Dakota City, where she taught Early Head Start classes. The boat dock and recreation area's isolated location further reduced the chances that a witness might have seen something suspicious. Still, tips continue to come in to investigators, Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe said. "We are following up on a lot of tips and leads that are pointed at certain people," Howe said. "It's something we're working on so often, it's still an active case." Lab analysis of evidence collected at the scene has been completed, but Howe said he can't comment on what it revealed because the case is ongoing. In addition to the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Howe's office has gotten help from the FBI with profiling DNA evidence and compiling psychological profiles. Hummel's husband was quickly ruled out as a suspect, Howe said, and others whose names came up have also been cleared. "We've done a lot of work toward an arrest, but we're not issuing arrest warrants at this time," Howe said. Howe said a $5,000 reward remains for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. He remains optimistic that the case will be solved. "The family needs and deserves closure, and so do our people," Howe said. Svacina said friends and family continue to hope for that closure. They've set up a Facebook page, Fighting for Alicia Hummel, and continue to do what they can to raise awareness of the case. "For us, it's doing what we can to not let it go," Svacina said. "Whoever did it is still out there." Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 605-677-7100. SOUTH SIOUX CITY | South Sioux City has pledged $20,000 for future advertising efforts related to American Airlines flights to Dallas. On Tuesday, the City Council voted 8-0 to reserve the funding for two years for the service at Sioux Gateway Airport, which held its inaugural flight May 5. The money, if used, will be funneled through the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, City Administrator Lance Hedquist said. Hedquist added the council's action shows the city supports Siouxland's flight, which offers access to 200 markets in 24 countries. "This is great for the residents and the industry of South Sioux City," he said. Sioux City has two connections to American's largest hub -- one arriving from Dallas at around 2:40 p.m. and another leaving Sioux City around 3:25 p.m. Barbara Sloniker, executive vice president of the Siouxland Chamber, said initial observations show the western connection has been popular. Ridership numbers weren't immediately available. Sloniker said she has not heard from other Siouxland municipalities about pledged contributions to help American advertise the Dallas flight. "People have to know about (the flight), and that takes dollars," Sloniker said. "We want to make sure the Dallas service is successful." SIOUX CITY | The seven Republican contenders seeking the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors District 5 seat are very mindful of the same number -- 35. Under Iowa election law, primary candidates must receive at least 35 percent of the vote to automatically win their party's nomination. Otherwise, delegates at a special convention pick the nominee. Because of the large field, election officials say it's unlikely any of the District 5 GOP candidates will meet the threshold in Tuesday's primary. If needed, a convention would be held within two weeks of the primary, Woodbury County Republican Party Chairman Kevin Alons said. The roughly 200 Republicans who served as delegates at the county convention in March would vote on the nominee, who would meet Democrat Bruce Garbe in the November general election. The last time a Republican Party county convention was held to determine a county supervisor nominee was in 2004. The District 5 seat is currently represented by Democrat Larry Clausen, who decided to retire after 34 years on the five-member board of supervisors. The GOP field includes Nathan Heilman, the mayor of Correctionville, Brian McNaughton and Rocky De Witt, both of Lawton, and four men from rural Sioux City, Gary Niles, Bruce Hokel, John Van Eldik and Tom Verzani. ROCKY DE WITT Party: Republican Age: 57 Residence: Lawton Occupation: Woodbury County Sheriff's Office courthouse security officer Electoral experience: First run for elective office Two Main Issues for 2016: 1. The jail and the mental health costs, since the state has shut down mental health facilities, thus shifting those costs to the respective county jails, and 2. Maintain the budgets of each department, since over the years all have had to do more with less, with slower service to residents. Why vote for me: "I believe I am qualified, and capable of leading our county to smart decisions with our money, economic opportunity and job growth, while maintaining or improving services. Government should be lean, and able to respond to needs of all county residents, while keeping jobs and eliminating waste and bloat." NATHAN HEILMAN Age: 38 Residence: Correctionville Occupation: Project manager at Diamond Insulation in Sioux City. Electoral Experience: Mayor of Correctionville for the last two years, previously elected to Correctionville City Council. Two Main Issues for 2016: 1. Countywide Economic Growth: I want to see our county grow and prosper all the way from Sioux City to the rural communities. As mayor of Correctionville, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges that many rural communities face daily in trying to attract new businesses. 2. Infrastructure: We need to make sure we keep investing in our roads, bridges, parks and county buildings. These are the foundation for all economic growth. Why Vote for Me: "My experience in city government has taught me many valuable things; the most important is to listen to all sides of an issue. I have proven that Im a fair person and can get things done. I would be honored to represent District 5." BRUCE HOKEL Party: Republican Age: 43 Residence: Rural Sioux City Occupation: Sioux City Police Department detective and Hokel Construction owner. Electoral experience: First run for elected office Two Main Issues for 2016: 1. Budget: Board members must question and drive full analysis of decisions regarding budget issues. We need to consider the future impacts of decisions regarding money and funding. 2. Countywide approach: Make sure that our entire district has a voice, not just those inside city limits, but in our small towns such as Moville, Lawton, Correctionville, etc. Why vote for me: "I am not a career politician looking to further personal agendas and put in a flashy show to win. I am more interested in making sure that the decisions being made in our county make sense just not now but in the future, for you, your kids, my kids and the betterment of the community as a whole." BRIAN MCNAUGHTON Age: 61 Residence: Lawton. Occupation: Owner of Macs Heating and Air Conditioning business in Lawton Electoral experience: Served on Lawton City Council in the mid-1980s. Two Main Issues for 2016: 1. I will create an atmosphere of support for economic growth within the county, especially in the rural areas to maintain a stable population. 2. Assist fire and ambulance squads in the local communities to recruit and train additional volunteers to serve their departments. Why Vote For Me: "Ive lived in the county my entire life. Im committed to maintaining economic growth for the county yet maintain a quality of life. If you want to share this vision of balance between economic growth and family life vote for McNaughton from Lawton." GARY NILES Party: Republican Age: 62 Residence: Rural Sioux City Occupation: Chief juvenile court officer for 3rd Judicial District State of Iowa Electoral Experience: First run for public office Two Main Issues for 2016: 1. Regional economic development that creates favorable conditions for economic growth and improves the quality of life by expanding opportunities for both individuals and communities. 2. Collectively achieve good governance through openness, accountability, reliability and fiscally sound practices that promote citizen involvement and safeguard worthy public safety and basic services for every community. Why Vote for Me: "I am a lifelong Woodbury County residence and have both public and private business experience. For nearly twenty years I have managed a large complex department funded through a variety of state and federal dollars which has been recognized for its innovations and achievements. I have extensive leadership experience dealing with most of the issues of county government." JOHN VAN ELDIK Party: Republican Age: 44 Residence: Rural Sioux City Occupation: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad employee Electoral experience: First run for elective office Issues for 2016: I am fed up with the county government (1) not investing proper funds for the Sheriffs Department and (2) mental health care in our county. Why vote for me: "I am running to be a voice for the people of Woodbury County. I have sat on the sidelines far too long and have finally decided to speak up for the people. I am just a normal guy, living a normal life, not trying to advance myself or friends in this county." TOM VERZANI Party: Republican Age: 55 Residence: Rural Sioux City Occupation: Manager/salesman for Carroll Supply Electoral experience: First run for public office Two Main Issues for 2016: 1. County roads: Gravel roads have become hazardous in many areas around the county. Safe and reliable roads are important for community development. 2. Economic conditions: Many small towns and cities are at risk of losing local fire/rescue and public safety services. By growing the economies of these towns, we can ensure that people have access to life-saving services. Why Vote For Me: "My business and management experience will be beneficial in prioritizing county projects against the available resources to complete those projects. The board of supervisors needs to responsibly spend the tax dollars received from Woodbury County residents and minimize future tax burdens." SIOUX CITY | The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors leaders will get more information Wednesday as the board tries to make a decision on whether to give money to a proposed Ag Expo and Learning Center. Board Chairman Jeremy Taylor said Tuesday he and Supervisor Matthew Ung will meet with officials from the city of Sioux City, The Siouxland Initiative and the Ag Expo's board of directors to learn more about the $6.7 million project. Taylor noted some supervisors like the concept of the expo center, but still aren't certain they will support it. Ung and Taylor said the facility has merits, but they want to hear details on how the center would be marketed and managed for daily operations. "We are hoping to hear some more details on what that looks like," Taylor said. The prospect of building an agriculture expo center in Moville previously died on the vine, so the possibility of building it in Sioux City has been explored since 2013. The most recent concept calls for the center to host a variety of events, including livestock and farm shows, which backers say will be a significant draw for the city. The center is currently being packaged with some other downtown developments. The city has asked the Iowa Economic Development Authority for $14 million in future sales and hotel taxes to support $72 million worth of projects, which also include an upscale convention center hotel and Virginia Square, a commercial project in the 100 block of Virginia Street. At a March meeting, an IEDA committee considering the city's application suggested the state aid could hinge on whether the county delivers funds for the Ag Expo. The Sioux City Council in November pledged $2 million and 12 acres near the site of the former John Morrell plant. The city's funding is contingent on pledges of $2 million from Woodbury County and $1 million from the nonprofit Missouri River Historical Development. Taylor said there is no set timing for when the supervisors will make a decision, although he said it likely would happen by the end of the year. He said three things could be aired in an upcoming board meeting: whether the county will give money, how much and from what source. Taylor previously said directing any county money for the project would have to be thoughtfully considered, since taxpayer dollars must be used in a fiscally responsible manner. Supervisor Jackie Smith in April pitched a proposal to use tax-increment financing for the expo center, and she said Tuesday the idea should be considered again. Governments use TIF to divert increased property taxes from new construction to pay off money borrowed by issuing bonds to pay for public improvements that spur development and new jobs. In his op-ed in The Washington Post, Chris Grayling, leader of the House of Commons, made the case for British withdrawal from the European Union -- in terms Americans can understand. Would you accept, Grayling asks, an American Union of North and South America, its parliament sitting in Panama, with power to impose laws on the United States, and a high court whose decisions overruled those of the U.S. Supreme Court? Would you accept an American Union that granted all the peoples of Central and South America and Mexico the right to move to, work in, and live in any U.S. state or city, and receive all the taxpayer-provided benefits that U.S. citizens receive? This is what we are subjected to under the EU, said Grayling. And as you Americans would never cede your sovereignty or independence to such an overlord regime, why should we? Downing Street's reply: Prime Minister David Cameron says leaving the EU could cost Britain a lot of money and a loss of influence in Brussels. The heart versus the wallet. Freedom versus security. While Barack Obama, Cameron and Angela Merkel are pulling for Britain to vote to remain in the EU, across Europe, transnationalism is in retreat, and tribalism is rising. As Britain's Independence Party and half the Tory Party seek to secede from the EU, the Scottish National Party is preparing a new referendum to bring about Scotland's secession. The strongest party in France is the National Front of Marine Le Pen. In Austria's presidential election, Norbert Hofer of Jorg Haider's Freedom Party came within an eyelash of becoming the first European nationalist head of state since World War II. The Euroskeptic Law and Justice Party is in power in Warsaw, as is the Fidesz Party of Viktor Orban in Budapest, and the Swiss People's Party in Bern. The right-wing Sweden Democrats and Danish People's Party are growing stronger. In 2015, Merkel, Time's Person of the Year, admitted a million Middle East refugees. This year, Merkel flipped and paid a huge bribe to Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan to keep Syrian refugees from crossing the Aegean to the Greek islands and thence into Europe. In Germany, too, nationalism is resurgent as opposition grows to any new bailouts of the La Dolce Vita nations of Club Med. The populist AfD party has made major strides in German state elections. While the rightist parties in power and reaching for power are anti-EU, anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant, the secessionist movements roiling Scotland, Spain, Belgium and Italy seek rather the breakup of the old nations of Europe along ethnonational lines. By enlisting in these parties of the right, what are the peoples of Europe recoiling from and rebelling against? Answer: The beau ideal of progressives -- societies and nations that are multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual. Across Europe, the tribalists are rejecting, in a word, diversity. And what are they seeking? God-and-country, blood-and-soil people, they want to live with their own kinfolk, their own kind. They do not believe in economics uber alles. And if democracy will not deliver the kind of country and society they wish to live in, then democracy must be trumped by direct action, by secession. This is the spirit behind Brexit. This is the spirit that drove the Irish patriots of 1919, who rose against British rule, though they were departing the greatest empire on earth in its moment of supreme glory after the Great War, to begin life among the smallest and poorest countries in all of Europe. What is happening in Europe today was predictable and predicted. At the turn of the century, in "The Death of the West," I wrote: "Europe has begun to die. The prognosis is grim. Between 2000 and 2050, world population will grow by more than three billion to over nine billion people, but this 50 percent increase in population will come entirely in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as one hundred million people of European stock vanish from the earth." Europeans are vanishing, as the peoples of the Maghreb and Middle East, South Asia and the sub-Sahara come to fill the empty spaces left by aging and dying Europeans whose nations once ruled them. Absent the restoration of border controls across Europe, and warships on permanent station in the Med, can the inexorable invasion be stopped? Or is "The Camp of the Saints" the future of Europe? An open question. But if the West is to survive as the unique civilization it has been, its nations must reassume control of their destinies and control of their borders. Britain ought not to go gentle into that good night the EU has prepared for her. And a great leap to freedom can be taken June 23. Trooping to the polls, the cousins might recall the words of Vera Lynn, 76 years ago, as the Battle of Britain was engaged: "There'll always be an England, "And England shall be free, "If England means as much to you "As England means to me." After a scathing report last year that the Transportation Security Agency was actually insecure with weapons going undetected during an undercover operation, its now under attack for inefficiency. TSA checkpoints reportedly have had lines spanning three hours in some instances. An estimated 7,000 American Airlines travelers missed flights in March while stuck in lines. Take our multiple-choice test to determine blame: a) TSA, which has 48,000 checkpoint screeners nationwide and 12,000 behind-the-scenes intelligence operatives. Mid-level executives have accused it of mismanagement and 103 screeners quit weekly. b) Congress, which raised the security fees on airline tickets in 2013, then ordered the Department of Homeland Security to forgo $12.6 billion over 10 years $1.25 billion annually to reduce the deficit, including a TSA budget cut. TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger said when he inherited the job last July there were 5,800 fewer screeners than four years earlier. c) The airlines, which refuse to simplify screening by eliminating baggage fees that have led to a deluge of carry-ons causing delays. The airlines made $3.8 billion from baggage fees last year. d) Passengers. With declining airfares (although the airlines savings on fuel are only partially passed along), an estimated 231.1 million passengers will use U.S. airports this summer, nine million more than in 2015, while stuffing items into carry-ons to avoid baggage fees. e) All of the above. For its part, TSA officials seem hell bent to make it the poster child for attacks on Big Government, although its private predecessors had big problems. TSAs annual employee attrition rate of 23 percent indicates something gone terribly awry. Neffenger, a former Coast Guard vice admiral, succeeded acting TSA administrator Melvin Carraway last spring after undercover operatives used by the inspector general passed through airport security with weapons and phony bombs nearly 96 percent of the time (67 of 70 attempts). In April, three mid-level TSA executives told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform their bosses would punish employees who reported security lapses. TSA plans to add 768 officers by June 15, but wont be close to its previous high. Congress also has allocated $34 million in overtime for the summer. Then theres Congress, which wont look itself in the mirror after the 2013 increase in user fees, while cutting the budget and screeners. This is not like paying more for fewer potato chips in a larger bag. The safety and efficiency of our major transportation system is at stake. Which brings us to the airline industry. After years of running deficits, the airlines are now making money, albeit while shrinking seats and legroom Congress refused last month to set minimum standards on both for those of us sitting in steerage. Industry profit margins rose two points to 13.2 percent in the past year. Senators maintain the airlines should forgo the baggage fees, which have channeled more carry-ons through security checkpoints while slowing departures with the quest to find overhead space. The airlines, though, cite TSA data to show checked bags per passenger are unchanged since 2010. The airlines and some airports want more TSA PreCheck expedited screening for frequent travelers and have threatened to hire private screeners. While we are reluctant to commiserate with the airlines given our aching legs during cramped flights and disdain for baggage fees the evidence tends to exonerate them. So eliminate (c). Cross off (d) as well. It was a red herring. We would never blame the victims. TSA mismanagement is certainly a culprit, which Congress has made evident. So (a) is correct, but so is (b). While our elected representatives would never pass a tax increase, Congress did so under the guise of a user fee, and then actually decreased the budget for an essential service. Now were paying the price in inconvenience and the threat to safety. Thats unconscionable. Waterloo-Cedar Falls (Iowa) Courier ARNOLDS PARK, Iowa | Jim Hussong's political career began with a question. "What do you think about serving as mayor of Arnolds Park?" asked Matt Richter, a Three Sons retailer who serves on the Arnold Park City Council. Like many questions involving service with local government, Hussong's answer was quick and confident. "No," he replied. Richter persisted, asking Hussong to give the position an 18-month trial run, the time to fill the term of former mayor Mike Mitchell, whose job requirements moved him from this Iowa Great Lakes city of 1,184. Hussong agreed. He served the remaining portion of Mitchell's term, and discovered he enjoyed being the Arnolds Park mayor. He put his name on the ballot in November 2015 and won re-election. "I like it," Hussong said from his office at Kozy Heat, the family business he oversees in Arnolds Park and Lakefield, Minnesota, where 150 staff the manufacturing facility, turning out some 30,000 fireplace units each year. "I found that in business, you try to surround yourself with good people. And I believe we've got that in our city staff and on the city council." As the president of a thriving business, while also being a husband and father of three daughters, Hussong's time is finite. He understands the necessity to take care of business and then move to the next item. His city council meetings are known for their efficiency. "We had one 17-minute meeting," he said. "The students at Spirit Lake High School are asked to observe a council meeting and I think we've had several come to the Arnolds Park meeting. I guess I like to run things tight." If there are no additional agenda items, Hussong entertains a motion to adjourn. There are other fish to fry, as the saying goes. It's not that Arnolds Park isn't doing much. The city recently saw a 28E agreement on police protection with nearby Milford end. When it did, Arnolds Park entered a 28E agreement for protection with Okoboji, an agreement, the mayor said, that makes more sense for his city. Arnolds Park leaders are also working on a grant application to help pay for curb-and-gutter improvements, one important measure in filtering storm-water run-off into West Lake Okoboji. "Water quality, of course, is a huge issue here," Hussong said. He's known this for years, even prior to moving from Lakefield to Okoboji in 1997. He and wife Tresa resided there until 2006, when they moved to Spirit Lake. They relocated to a home on West Lake in Arnolds Park three years ago. Serving as mayor, as in business, has seen Jim Hussong follow the lead of his father, Dudley Hussong, who served at least two terms as mayor of Lakefield, where he founded Kozy Heat Fireplaces in 1976. "My dad had worked in manufacturing, a sewing business, and went around to various plants making sure everything ran correctly," Jim Hussong said. "When the company asked him to move to Minneapolis, he quit." Dudley Hussong wanted to remain in Lakefield, where he and wife Betty were raising their only child, Jim. Dudley Hussong went to work for his father, James Hussong, at his millwork shop in Lakefield. While there, the price of oil spiked, forcing Dudley to examine -- and create -- a more efficient heating alternative. He built a 55-gallon barrel stove and fueled it with wood chips for a free heat source. Roland Koster, a mason from Lakefield, noticed the fireplace, and asked if he and Dudley might work together to build a similar fireplace for a farmer who was having a home constructed at the time. "My dad said, 'If it's made of metal, I can weld it,'" Jim said. The unit was a hit, as was a fireplace for a second farmer. Dudley Hussong then took out a lien against a 1975 Chevrolet Blazer and started his business, Kozy Heat. "He'd have to sell one fireplace to be able to buy the materials for the next one," Jim said. Now in its 40th year, Jim Hussong presides over a company that has 580 dealers all over the United States and Canada. The business growth, especially in the Iowa Great Lakes, prompted Jim to open a retail site (Kozy Heat Gallery) in Arnolds Park on Jan. 20, 2016. "I live two blocks from the gallery and go back and forth between here and Lakefield," he said. In addition to fireplaces, Kozy Heat has taken on outdoor furniture and grills and grills fueled by wood pellets. Dudley Hussong, 73, resides in the Iowa Great Lakes and serves as the company's chairman of the board. Jim and Tresa's daughters, Heather Reasoner and Hannah Hussong, ages 27 and 26, respectively, have joined Kozy Heat in marketing (Heather) and research and development (Hannah). Their third daughter, Sarah Hussong, 22, earned an accounting degree from the University of Iowa in May. Like her sisters, she may one day return to the Iowa Great Lakes to help Kozy Heat burn even brighter. "Sarah would like to one day come back and work and raise a family here," Jim Hussong said. The quality of life found in Arnolds Park makes it a possibility. It also makes possible this second generation of "Mayor Hussong" maybe one day yielding the gavel to a third generation. Textbooks are getting more expensive each passing year, and for college students looking to buy or sell used textbooks, BookScouter has just the tool. Even though there are several platforms which buy and sell used books, where BookScouter differentiates itself is by letting you get the best possible price. The service is not limited to college students, so anyone who is looking to sell their books can use the platform. And it may even become a business opportunity for a side income. Sell Used Textbooks for the Right Price with BookScouter What BookScouter does is offer a price comparison tool for books. President Dustin Checketts told Small Business Trends, BookScouter is a price-comparison platform that allows students, book resellers and anyone simply wanting to de-clutter their lives, sell their books for the best possible price with no membership or registration required. ? Business Niche Comparing rates from plenty of different platforms. Checketts explains, BookScouter is known as the most comprehensive book buyback price comparison site and the largest referrer to many of the countrys largest book buyback companies including Amazon.com, Chegg.com, Powells.com, and TextbookRush.com. How the Business Got Started To get the most out of selling back college textbooks. Checketts explains, After hearing the inconvenient process that a friend was going through to get the most cash out of their old college textbooks, Brandon Checketts, BookScouter founder and developer, decided to build a working prototype that simplified and expedited the process. Users would simply input their ISBN once and receive quotes from several online book buyback companies, making the decision of who to sell to for the most cash quick and easy. Biggest Risk Growing the business through acquisition. Checketts explains, One of the biggest risks we have taken was buying out a competitive website. It was our first attempt at acquiring another website and we didnt really know what we were doing. We were mostly guessing at the value of the website and quite frankly, the seller could have just taken our money and ran. Ultimately, it worked out fairly well; and although the website has not been a huge revenue source, it has been worthwhile and profitable. Lesson Learned Invest in marketing. Checketts says, One thing that we would have done differently would have been to hire a marketing team sooner. The power of word of mouth advertising is incredible and has led the company to great success, but we also found that our marketing investments resulted in great ROI as the company continued to grow. How BookScouter Would Spend an Extra $100,000 Building a platform for actually buying and selling books. Checketts explains, We would use it to build a business where people could buy and sell their books directly through the BookScouter website. We would write informative blog posts and use the experience and traffic to teach others how make a business out of reselling books and other products. Favorite Team Outings Going to the movies. Checketts says, The company rented a theater so all employees could see Star Wars: The Force Awakens when it came out. Favorite Quote Its kind of fun to do the impossible Walt Disney * * * * * Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program There are many fitness goals out there that we desire. Some of us want to be leaner and others wish to put on muscle mass. The thing is, for you to achieve your fitness goals, you need to GREENBELT, Md. (May 31, 2016)Abdelrahim Ayyad, a/k/a Sahid, age 50, of White Plains, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to: an armed robbery conspiracy; two armed commercial robberies; and to using and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Ayyad was originally scheduled to go to trial today on those charges, but instead pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment.The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron.According to court documents, in June 2014, Ayyad conspired with Furman Troy, Darrell Lee and Michael Burgess, to rob commercial businesses in St. Mary's County, Maryland. For example, on June 18, 2014, Ayyad admitted that he drove to Washington, D.C. and picked up Troy, Lee and Burgess and drove them to a jewelry store in Charlotte Hall, Maryland in order to commit a robbery. Ayyad handed Troy a bag containing a gun. Troy and Lee entered the store and Lee brandished a firearm at the owner of the store. Troy subsequently bound the victim with duct tape. The robbers then demanded the key to the jewelry counter from an employee of the store and stole jewelry worth more than $8,800, cash, a laptop computer and other items. On June 22, 2014, Ayyad and Burgess drove to a pharmacy in Mechanicsville, Maryland, with Troy and Lee following in another vehicle. Ayyad and Burgess waited in their vehicle while Troy and Lee robbed the pharmacy. During the robbery Lee again brandished a gun and Troy bound the pharmacy employee with duct tape. According to their plea agreements, Troy and Lee stole cash and prescription bottles containing oxycodone, methadone, hydrocodone and endocet, valued at $8,897.U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for Ayyad on September 12, 2016, at 2:00 p.m.Furman Troy, age 45, and Darrell Lee, age 48, both of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, and Michael Burgess, age 54, of Alexandria, Virginia, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the robberies. Furman was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Lee and Burgess are awaiting sentencingUnited States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office for their work in the investigation and recognized the St. Mary's County State's Attorney's Office for its assistance in the case. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Leah J. Bressack and Thomas P. Windom, who are prosecuted the case. PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://so.md/expungeme. (May 31, 2016)The Calvert County Sheriff's Office today released the following incident and arrest reports.WEEKLY SUMMARY: During the week of May 23 through May 30, deputies responded to 1,552 calls for service throughout the community.BURGLARY CASE #16-29741: On May 26, 2016, Deputy G. Gott responded to Birch Drive, in Huntingtown, for the report of a burglary in progress. One of the home owners, upon returning home at approximately 10:00pm, heard voices in the basement of his home. He discovered a female,, to be in his home. She was arrested and charged with fourth degree burglary and possession of alprazolam. There are two other suspect(s) with charges pending.BURGLARY CASE #16-30136: On May 28, 2016, Deputy N. Barger was dispatched to a home on Dalrymple Road, in Chesapeake Beach, for the report of a burglary in progress. He determined that, had entered the victim's home, upon being asked not to return, and damaged a door in order to make entrance. He refused to leave the premises and was charged with Third Degree Burglary, Malicious Destruction of Property and Alcohol Beverage/Intoxicated Endanger.BURGLARY CASE #16-29703: On May 26, 2016, Deputy G. Gott responded to Catalina Drive, in Lusby, for the report of a burglary. Sometime between 3:00pm on May 25 and 4:00pm on May 26, an unknown suspect(s) kicked in the front door of a vacant home. No one was found inside and it was unclear if anything was stolen.CDS VIOLATION CASE #16-30416: On May 30, 2016, at approximately 4:00pm, Deputy C. Ward conducted a traffic stop in the vicinity of Broomes Island Road, in Port Republic. During the traffic stop the driver,, fled the scene on foot and was later detained. He was charged and arrested for multiple traffic violations, Obstructing and Hindering, Possession with Intent to Distribute Oxycodone and Marijuana, Possession of Controlled Dangerous Substances (Oxycodone and Marijuana).CDS VIOLATION CASE 16-30103: On May 28, 2016, at 6:00pm, Deputy J. Denton conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling south on S. Solomons Island Road/Parran Road, in St. Leonard. He arrested the passenger of the vehicle,, who was in Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Heroin) and Possession of Paraphernalia (hypodermic needle). Upon being processed at the Detention Center, a bag of Heroin was discovered hidden on Madden's person. He will also be charged with Possessing or Receiving CDS (Heroin) While Confined.DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY CASE #16-29910: On May 27, 2016, Deputy N. Barger was dispatched to Manor Court, in Owings, for the report of damaged property. He determined an unknown person(s) scratched a boat the victim had parked in his driveway. It is not known what was used to cause the damage; this crime occurred sometime between May 19 and May 27.DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY CASE #16-29090: On May 23, 2016, Deputy D. Naughton was dispatched to H.G. Trueman Road, in Lusby, for the report of damage to the Lusby Liquor store. He determined that at approximately 5:45pm, a black male customer, who became angry upon being asked for identification, had kicked and broke the glass in the front door. The unidentified male left the scene and has not been apprehended.DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY CASE #16-29083: On May 23, 2016, Deputy J. Denton responded to the Calvert High School, located on Fox Run Boulevard, in Prince Frederick, for the report of damage to the school. He determined that sometime between 6:00pm on May 17 and 5:00pm on May 23rd, an unknown person(s) entered the rear of the school property and spray painted numerous areas with paint. At this time the identity of the suspect(s) is not known.DISORDERLY CONDUCT CASE #16-29357: On May 24, 2016, around 10:30pm, Deputy J. Denton was called to Wawa on Costley Way/Market Square Drive, in Prince Frederick, for the report of a disorderly intoxicated subject., continued to use profanity and scream after she was instructed multiple times to calm down but refused. She was transported to the Detention Center and charged with Disorderly Conduct.THEFT CASE #16-30104: On May 28, 2016, at approximately 5:45pm, Deputy B. Boerum was dispatched to Sherry Lane, in Prince Frederick, for the report of a theft. A male subject was seen entering a locked vehicle and stole the victim's wallet containing credit cards, driver's license and money.THEFT CASE #16-30072: On May 28, 2016, Deputy V. O'Donnell responded to Saw Mill Road, in Lusby, for a report of a theft. An unknown person(s) had stolen a black 2009 Mercury 9.9 horsepower outboard motor from a 16' boat that was 'for sale' and parked along MD Rt. 4. This crime took place sometime between 5:00pm on May 26 and 2:30pm on May 28.THEFT CASE #16-30063: On May 28, 2016, Deputy V. O'Donnell was dispatched to Hallowing Point Park around 1:30pm for the report of a theft. The victim reported inadvertently leaving his Iphone 6s cell phone in the restroom; upon returning to retrieve it, found it missing.THEFT CASE #16-30061: On May 28, 2016, Deputy P. Mosely was dispatched to Los Alamos Lane, in Lusby, for the report of a theft. Sometime between May 21 and May 28, an unknown person(s) entered the victim's property and stole an aluminum 'Little Giant' ladder.THEFT CASE #16-30059: On May 27, 2016, Deputy P. Wood was dispatched to Pine Tree Lane, in Lusby, for the report of a theft. The victim reported a package was stolen off the front steps of his home. After contacting the Post Office, he was able to confirm the package had been delivered at 11:30am that day (May 27th) and was stolen sometime before 10:30pm that night.THEFT CASE #16-29636: On May 26, 2016, Deputy J. Migliaccio was called to 7th Street, in North Beach, for the report of a theft from a vehicle. Sometime overnight an unknown suspect(s) had entered two unlocked vehicles and stole a portable Hard Drive.THEFT CASE #16-29528: On May 25, 2016, Deputy J. Hardesty was dispatched to Birch Drive, in Huntingtown, for the report of a theft. An unknown person(s) stole cigars, a diaper bag and baby clothes from a vehicle. This crime took place between 11:30pm on May 22 and 8:00am on May 23rd.THEFT CASE #16-29214: On May 24, 2016, Deputy P. Mosely was dispatched to Washburns Boatyard on Dowell Road, in Dowell, for the report of a theft. Sometime between May 23 and the morning of May 24th, an unknown suspect(s) stole a 3' silver boarding ladder off of a boat being stored in the boatyard.THEFT CASE #16-29038: On May 23, 2016, Deputy V. O'Donnell made contact with a victim on Parkers Creek Road, in Port Republic, who reported a theft. Sometime between 11:00pm on May 22 and 5:45am on May 23rd, someone entered an unlocked vehicle and stole money from a purse.THEFT CASE #16-28981: On May 23, 2016, Deputy R. Kreps responded to Birch Drive, in Huntingtown, for the report of a theft and destruction of property. Sometime between 8:00pm on May 22 and 7:00am on May 23, someone shattered the passenger window of the victim's vehicle and stole a Starwars USB charger. Publishers Note: This unsigned SFGN editorial ran in our May 5 newspaper. Ive decided to rerun it since Wilton Manors installed their permanent Pride flag last week. But this editorial is a reminder that pride is more than just a flag. Recently Wilton Manors decided to show the world how LGBT-friendly the city is by voting to permanently install a Pride Flag in a city park. But last week they decided to not to add gender confirmation surgery to their employees health plan. Symbolism is important and so we applaud the city for permanently displaying the Pride Flag. But that symbolism should be backed up with real policy. And the city had a chance last week to do just that, but instead commissioner after commissioner, offered up excuse after excuse, on why they couldnt offer transgender inclusive healthcare to their employees. It was a disgrace. Wilton Manors is one of the gayest cities in America and should be leading the charge on trans rights, but instead they passed a toothless resolution calling on state regulators to add transgender-related procedures and treatments to current standards of care. Really? The State of Florida taking the lead on transgender healthcare? This is the same legislature that attempted to pass a bathroom bill just last year. Commissioner Julie Carson brought up the motion to add these benefits, which didnt even receive a second. A second is a professional courtesy in parliamentary procedure that allows discussion to ensue, Carson said. My colleagues would not even engage in an open dialogue on transgender equity in our City. If these benefits primarily affected gay men would Carson have gotten her second? Before gay marriage was the law of the land many cities such as Wilton Manors provided healthcare to an employees domestic partner, but in doing so employees were hit with a tax penalty because the federal government didnt equate an unmarried partner to a spouse when it came to taxes. In order to make it more fair Wilton Manors voted to pay $750 to those employees affected by the extra tax burden. The commission was quite proud of itself at the time. Mayor Gary Resnick even wrote a letter to the editor to the Sun Sentinel patting himself on the back. To put this in perspective, the city spends in excess of $1.1 million on health insurance for employees, he wrote. And added with flourish at the end Wilton Manors truly values its diversity. The estimated cost to add trans inclusive healthcare would be $32,500 per year. Thats not a lot when you put it into perspective. If this trans inclusive healthcare didnt cost the city a dime you bet they would have voted in favor of adding these benefits. But as is often the case when politicians are forced to put their money where their mouth is their true priorities come out. The trans community needs more folks that are willing to stand up for them even when it costs money to do so. Wilton Manors needs to stand for more than just a vibrant main street. Instead of giving the trans community a flag, give them the inclusive healthcare they need. Gender Confirmation Surgery isnt something people have done for the hell of it. We know that discrimination increases suicide risk, and transgender people in states without LGBT legal protections are at higher risk of suicide, it is imperative that we adopt comprehensive trans-inclusive anti-discrimination and employment policies, Carson said. Proper health care for transgender individuals can be life-saving reports the American Medical Association. And $32,500 a year is small price to pay. How much will the city spend on upgrading Wilton Drive? How much have they spent on additional parking? The list goes on and on. Each in his own way suggested that the City did not need this coverage because it was not employee driven or that no one came forward. Really?, Carson said. When was it an employees obligation to tell an employer that he or she needed medical care? SFGN calls on Mayor Gary Resnick and commissioners Scott Newton, Justin Flippen, Tom Green to reconsider this vital part of trans health. Perhaps the city should amend its new tagline to say Lifes just better hereexcept for transgender employees. Meanwhile trans employees can find solace at Jaycee Park while watching the citys newly installed pride flag wave back and forth welcoming visitors to this city of equality. A horrifying incident in LGBT history is the subject of a new opera by Fort Lauderdale composer Michael Ross. Not In My Town, a dramatization of the events surrounding the tragic 1998 murder of college student Matthew Shepard will receive its gala preview by Opera Fusion on Friday, June 17 at the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale. Ross originally conceived the opera as a commission for an LGBT-themed work from one of his alma maters. Ross was then living and working in New York City when word quickly spread through the gay community about the horrific beating and murder of the 21-year-old in a Wyoming field. Everybody congregated for a candlelight vigil and then marched through the streets, recalled Ross. I asked myself if I could write a whole opera about that. While Ross chose to include the events of that October night, he made the decision to make Shepards close friend and ally, Romaine Patterson, the heroine of the opera. Pattersons name is familiar to Sirius XM Out Q listeners as the host of the former Derek and Romaine talk show, but most people are not aware of her role in the events that unfolded after Shepards murder. Patterson and Shepard first became friends when Patterson, who is a lesbian and was leader of gay student group, defended him against a bully. When Rev. Fred Phelps and his supporters from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka protested the trials of Shepards murderers, Patterson created giant seven-foot-long angel wings to shield his parents from seeing the groups hateful signs. Her counterprotest became known as Angel Action and she would become an LGBT activist, speaking to civil rights groups and lobbying for the passage of a national hate crimes bill. Noting that the murder occurs mid-way through the opera (but is not dramatized at her request), much of the narrative focuses on Patterson and her efforts to cement Shepards legacy. Patterson is expected to attend the June preview and the world premiere, scheduled for September at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, during the schools International Peace Week observations. Not In My Town will be premiered by Opera Fusion, an innovative new performing arts company, featuring seven principals, a double chorus and 18-piece orchestra under the direction of Gordon Roberts. The musical drama seemed like the perfect fit for Opera Fusion, considering the national debate that has raged in the last 20 years, as well as the size of the work, Opera Fusion executive director Birgit Fioravante said. From my point of view, this work has everything a new opera should have great music, great drama, a riveting story. The tonal palate is somewhere between grand opera and musical theater, giving it a wider appeal than most new works. It has the potential to move people much in the same way West Side Story first did in its day. The opera has already been previewed by audiences at a series of fundraisers and during the spring concert of the Gay Mens Chorus of South Florida. Noting the tremendous advances the LGBT community has made in recent years, Ross sees his opera as a period piece rooted in the era of Dont Ask Dont Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act. Its such a special story and by the end it reveals a beautiful message, explained Ross. Weve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. It is a gay opera but could be about any person who is persecuted or bullied. Opera Fusion performs Not In My Town by Michael Ross on Friday, June 17 at 8 p.m. at Sunshine Cathedral, 1480 SW 9th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $38 and $100 (including dinner and post-performance reception) at OperaFusion.org. Einstein Ring Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias This unusual phenomenon, predicted by the theory of General Relativity, was discovered by chance by a doctoral student at the while analysing images of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy The PhD student Margherita Bettinelli, of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna (ULL), together with an international team of astrophysicists has recently discovered an unusual astronomical object: an Einstein ring. These phenomena, predicted by Einsteins theory of General Relativity, are quite rare but scientifically interesting. The interest is sufficiently strong that this object has been given its own name: the The Canarias Einstein ring. The research was carried out by the Stellar Populations group at the IAC, led by Antonio Aparicio and Sebastian Hidalgo. The results were published in the international journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. An Einstein ring is a distorted image of a very distant galaxy, which is termed the source. The distortion is produced by the bending of the light rays from the source due to a massive galaxy, termed the lens, lying between it and the observer. The strong gravitational field produced by the lens galaxy distorts the structure of space-time in its neighbourhood, and this does not only attract objects which have a mass, but also bends the paths of light. When the two galaxies are exactly aligned, the image of the more distant galaxy is converted into an almost perfect circle which surrounds the lens galaxy. The irregularities in the circle are due to asymmetries in the source galaxy. Confirmation using the GTC The chance discovery was made by Margherita Bettinelli when she was examining data taken through the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) of the 4m Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Observatory, in Chile. While working on her doctoral thesis, she was analyzing the stellar population of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy and noticed the peculiar morphology of the Einstein ring. This quickly raised the attention of the members of the group and they started to observe and analyze its physical properties with the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC). This Canarias Einstein ring is one of the most symmetrical discovered until now and is almost circular, showing that the two galaxies are almost perfectly aligned, with a separation on the sky of only 0.2 arcseconds. The source galaxy is 10,000 million light years away from us. Due to the expansion of the Universe, this distance was smaller when its light started on its journey to us, and has taken 8,500 million years to reach us. We observe it as it was then: a blue galaxy which is beginning to evolve, populated by young stars which are forming at a high rate. The lens galaxy is nearer to us, 6,000 million light years away, and is more evolved. Its stars have almost stopped forming, and its population is old. Studying these phenomena -says Antonio Aparicio, one of the IAC astrophysicts who is leading the resarch-, gives us especially relevant information about the composition of the source galaxy, and also about the structure of the gravitational field and of the dark matter in the lens galaxy. Copernicus Sentinel-1A Image La Reunion Island ESA today unveiled the first Sentinel-1 satellite images sent via the European Data Relay Systems world-leading laser technology in high orbit. The two images were taken by the radar on the Copernicus Sentinel-1A over La Reunion Island and its coastal area. The first was scanned in a high-resolution mode, the second in a wide-swath mode that provides broad coverage of surrounding waters, and used in particular for maritime surveillance. Sentinel-1A, sweeping around the globe at 28 000 km/h, transmitted the images to the EDRS-A node in geostationary orbit via a laser beam at 600 Mbit/s. The laser terminal is capable of working at 1.8 Gbit/s, allowing EDRS to relay up to 50 TB a day. EDRS immediately beamed the data down to Europe. The transfer between the two satellites was fully automated: EDRS connected to Sentinel from more than 35 000 km away, locking on to the laser terminal and holding that link until transmission was completed. The German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, tasked by the Mission Operating Center of Airbus Defence and Space in Ottobrunn, received the raw Sentinel-1A data at its station in Weilheim, Germany. They were then passed to the ESA-managed Sentinel-1 ground segment, where they were processed to generate the final products. EDRS will dramatically improve access to more urgent and potentially life-saving coverage from space than ever before. Satellites like the Sentinels can help to survey areas struck by natural disasters. When the situation on the ground is changing rapidly, hours-old satellite information is of little use to rescue teams. EDRS will allow access to time-critical data acquired around the world. EDRS will help in disaster relief as well as for operational monitoring services like maritime surveillance by relaying the data as quickly as possible to Europe, thanks to its network of ground stations like the one in Oberpfaffenhofen. Magali Vaissiere, ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, said at the Berlin Airshow today, With todays first link, EDRS is close to becoming operational, providing services to the Copernicus Sentinel Satellites for the European Commission. EDRS is the worlds first laser relay service and features technologies developed by European industry. Volker Liebig, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes, stated: The Sentinels are the anchor customer of the new commercial EDRS service and the Copernicus system wins new downlink flexibility. So we have a real win-win situation. SpaceDataHighway is no longer science fiction, noted Evert Dudok of Airbus Defence and Space. It will revolutionise satellite communications, and help to keep Europes space industry at the forefront of technology and innovative services. For Sentinel-1, EDRS adds flexibility, increasing the availability of products to users. It will also allow fast downlink of data acquired outside of Europe, helping services requiring products in real time, as well as in emergency and crisis situations. The SpaceDataHighway is a publicprivate partnership between ESA and Airbus Defence and Space. The DLR German Aerospace Center funded the development of the cutting-edge laser technology that forms the backbone of the system. The first node, EDRS-A, was launched on 29 January 2016 as a hosted payload on the Eutelsat-9B satellite. The second, the dedicated EDRS-C satellite, will be launched in 2017. The European Commissions Copernicus Sentinel satellites are the first users of the EDRS service. ESA is planning the GlobeNet programme to extend EDRS by 2020, providing additional security services to satellites, aircraft and drones. The laser communication technology used today will be able to bridge up to 75 000 km, sending data from one node over the AsiaPacific region (EDRS-D) to another over Europe (either EDRS-A or EDRS-C). This global coverage will provide quasi-realtime services around the world linking instantaneously back to Europe. Larger images Students assembling a cubesat NASA In 2012, the students from St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington, Virginia lined up in the shape of a space shuttle in the school parking lot and witnessed the flyover of the Space Shuttle Discovery as it was being retired to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. This awe-inspiring vision was an inspiration to the entire school and a catalyst for them to literally reach for the stars. Thus beginning their quest to build a small satellite, called a CubeSat, that would engage students around the world in Earth observations. Over the next three years, all 400 pre-kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students participated in the design, construction and testing of their small satellite. Through this hands-on, inquiry based learning activity the students conducted real-world engineering and will operate the St. Thomas More (STM)Sat-1, the first CubeSat built by elementary school students to be deployed in space. Image of St. Thomas More Students watching as their CubeSat deploys from the International Space Station St. Thomas More Students watch as their CubeSat deploys from the International Space Station Credits: NASA Joe Pellegrino, a deputy project manager from NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center serves as the teams mission manager, he mentors the students on spacecraft assembly, integration, testing and launch. Pelligrino engages the students in the entire systems engineering process to build, launch and operate a satellite in space. The school conducted two high-altitude balloon flights to test their hardware before constructing their spaceflight model. They learned how to operate an amateur radio and build the ground station theyll use to communicate with their satellite. Students donned anti-static clothing as they learned how to solder and construct the fragile electronic components that make up their CubeSat. Once built, the CubeSat needed a ride to space, and the school submitted a proposal to a public announcement by NASAs CubeSat Launch Initiative and was one of 16 organizations selected to receive a flight opportunity and were in the company of MIT, the University of Michigan and John Hopkins Applied Physics lab. Image of MinXSS students sharing their CubeSat mission science objectives with NASA Administrator Bolden. MinXSS students sharing their CubeSat mission science objectives with NASA Administrator Bolden. ?STMSat-1 was launched to the ISS on Dec. 6, 2015 aboard an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft as part of NASAs Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) IX mission. Along with CubeSats from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Michigan, STMSat-1 was deployed from the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) system on May 16. The NRCSDs are commanded one-by-one, allowing the dispenser doors to open and the large internal spring to be released, deploying the CubeSats into an orbital altitude similar to that of the ISS, which orbits about 250 miles above Earth. After 30 minutes in orbit, the internal timers on the CubeSats allowed their onboard computers to boot up and begin transmitting. The CubeSat teams utilize their ground stations to listen for their beacons to determine the small satellites functionality and operational status. Once operational they begin their missions. The STMSat-1 mission is an educational mission to provide hands-on, inquiry-based learning activities with an on-orbit mission to photograph the Earth and transmit images to our primary ground station and to remote ground stations throughout the country. The University of Michigans CubeSat investigating Atmospheric Density Response to Extreme driving (CADRE) mission is a space weather investigation that will improve our understanding of the dynamics of the upper layers of our atmosphere: the thermosphere and ionosphere. -The University of Colorado Boulder Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) mission is a science investigation to study solar flares, active regions, the quiescent sun, and their impact on Earths upper atmosphere. MinXSS is sponsored by NASAs Science Mission Directorate. As part of a partnership with NASAs Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, Santa Clara University will conduct ground operations for two Node satellites that were also deployed on May 16 from the space station. Nodes will demonstrate the ability to receive and distribute commands in space from the ground, while periodically exchanging scientific data from their onboard radiation instruments, a first for small satellites. These satellites were sponsored by the Small Spacecraft Technology Program, within NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate, and received additional funding from Ames. The CubeSat Launch Initiative provides access to space for CubeSats developed by the NASA centers and programs, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations, enabling CubeSat developers access to a low-cost pathway to conduct research in the areas of science, exploration, technology development, education or operations. ELaNa Missions, managed by the Launch Services Program at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, provide a deployment opportunity or ride-share launch to space for the CubeSats selected through CSLI. Since its inception in 2010, the initiative has selected more than 100 CubeSats and launched 46 CubeSats. These miniature satellites were chosen from responses to public announcements on NASAs CubeSat Launch Initiative. NASA will announce another call for proposals in mid-August 2016. The brother-and-brother inventor team behind the BKON brewer are at it again, and theyre hoping its going to be a hot, hot summer. BKON founders and Sprudge advertising partners Dean and Lou Vastardis, whose reverse atmospheric infusion (RAIN) brewing technology entered the hot coffee and tea landscape in 2013, have applied their unique patented ideas to a faster andtheyre more than confidentmuch tastier way to do cold brew. Its a claim, of course, that many would love to maketo build a better cold brew, to take the flat flavors and lost acidity out of slow, overnight methods, and to take the coffee-wasting high doses of coffee often required out of the equation, too. Using the same vacuum-based, patented RAIN technology the BKON uses for coffee, tea, and even spirits infusions, BKONs Cold Brew Project brewer aims to bring depth of flavor, preserved acidity, and nuance to cold coffee. And it can bring you five gallons of it in under 20 minutes. Were trying to make flavor super accessible, Dean Vastardis told me on a late spring afternoon at the BKON headquarters in bucolic Moorestown, New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia. His prototype for the cold brewer involves a hot-water delivery system, a shower head, and a vacuumall programmed with a brand new, cold-brew-specific algorithm to deliver high-volume, high-speed, high-flavor cold coffee into a fermentation tank. The size of the tank can vary, Vastardis points out, which allowed the team to create a logic thats very easy to scale up. To the Vastardis brothers, the cold brewers scalability is almost as big an asset as its flavor potential. Seeing the huge growth in craft cold brew refreshment in recent years, the BKON team wanted to introduce something to market that had the potential to shift thinking as well as units. We want to support the industry to raise awareness of great cold brew, said Dean Vastardis earnestly, while setting up a couple of rapid-fire cold brew batches from the brewer to taste. From establishing flavor parameters (a 15-minute brew cycle makes it much easier to dial in desired flavors than waiting for a 12-hour steep) to replicating results across long distance, the BKON cold brewer offers the potential for roasters to better express what they want to in their cold-served coffees. Whether its for in-store serving via kegs or brewed to bottle, the ability to deliver a lot of cold brew crafted to exacting parameters may shift roasters mindsets towards what their cold coffee beverage service can really be. And unlike the original BKON brewer, the Cold Brew Project machines wont be devices a coffee bar or restaurant can simply purchase and install. Instead, the Vastardis brothers plan on establishing long-term partnerships with roasters and retailers, the first of which is slated to be Miamis Panther Coffee. Broadening their cold brew capacities is essential for Panther, said co-owner Joel Pollock, whose shop serves cold-brew and iced beverages throughout the year. Partnering with the BKON team on cold brew technology has allowed Pollock to experiment with both his cold brew blend as well as single origins, which are currently served at Panther cafes both Toddy-style and via nitrogenated casks. Most of all, Pollock says, he was impressed by the technologys ability to express flavor. It just has a vivid nature, said Pollock of the coffee. It has a certain amount of depth, is a little bit more true. We know what we put into our cold brew blend, and this gives you a much more complete view of what the coffee is. A relationship with BKONand its cold brew gearwill allow Pollock to fine-tune his cold brew offerings much more, as well as open the door for Panther to send whole bean coffee out of the Miami market to faraway cities for brewing to Pollocks exact cold brew parameters. Its a brand expansion that wouldnt be feasible without a scalable, reproducible technologyshipping kegs of already-brewed cold brew out of market would be too impractical. Because were basically down here in Cuba and things need to be refrigerated, Pollock laughed. And hows it work? The Cold Brew Project brewer relies on a less-than-hot temperature and RAIN vacuum cycles to penetrate the coffee quickly, necessitating far fewer coffee grounds than traditional slow-brew methodsup to 70% less, according to Lou Vastardis. Its a feature which again allows for much more latitude to experiment at at the roaster level in terms of establishing flavor. Lou Vastardis believes the technology will empower the roaster in the category of cold brew by drawing on the roasters existing knowledge and palate, freeing them from the constraints of time and dulled flavor. To this end, the team is also hoping to build more partnerships in the culinary sphere, where they believe the potential of better-tasting cold brew is a largely untapped category. For now, the Vastardis brothers are hard at work on perfecting the cold brewer for summer deployment in multiple regions. Theyve also partnered with Philadelphias Yards brewery to work on food-safe bottling productionDean Vastardis says the BKON cold brews continue to taste great for up to 60 days when correctly preserved. And while, unlike the BKON brewer, the cold brewer may never be a countertop showpiece, it could become the engine behind the scenes of a cold brew coffee revolution. At least thats what two very inspired brothers are counting on, one reverse atmospheric infusion at a time. Liz Clayton is the associate editor at Sprudge.com. Read more Liz Clayton on Sprudge. GENEVA (Sputnik) The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end to the Ebola outbreak in Guinea on Wednesday. "WHO commends the Government of Guinea and its people on ending this Ebola outbreak. We must continue to be vigilant to ensure that we rapidly detect and stop any new cases that may occur," Dr. Abou Bekr Gaye, acting WHO representative in Guinea, said, as quoted in the WHO press release. The report came 42 days after last cases of Ebola were detected. As latent period after primary infection expired, the epidemic outbreak is considered to be over, the WHO statement said, adding that Guinean bacteriologists would ensure strong surveillance over the next 90 days to stop the virus if new cases emerged. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The death of a Chinese national who was serving in a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali resulted from a terrorist strike that demands a rapid government response, including the capture and punishment of the attackers, the UN Security Council said in a unanimously approved statement on Wednesday. "The members of the Security Council called on the government of Mali to swiftly investigate this attack, and bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement said. "They underlines that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law." MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, suicide bombers attacked the Ambassador hotel, taking several people hostage. In response to the attack, Somali security forces launched an operation to rescue the hotel residents. Medical personnel at a Mogadishu hospital is fighting for the lives of 50 people who were injured in the attack, the Somali National News Agency reported. "Allowing oil prices to plunge into the single digits in the mid-1980s was a way of plunging the knife into the Soviet economy, with deadly consequences just half a dozen years later," Lazare recalled. "So the Saudis no doubt figure that if it worked once, it will work again with regard to Iran." However, he noted, oil prices were now trending steadily up again, which would mean economic relief for Iran and other oil-exporting nations as well, despite greatly increased Saudi production. Northern Ohio University Assistant History Professor Robert Waters agreed that in the face of the escalating race between the Saudis and Iran to maximize their share of global export markets, OPECs meeting was likely to prove futile in getting them to reduce their production. "Oil production is tremendously high at or near peak for most countries so even if OPEC and a few others did freeze production, it would be a PR stunt without changing much," he said. US efforts to keep up production by the use of controversial fracking technology would also add to record global oil output, Waters predicted. The Saudis also calculated that higher cost producers, particularly in North America, would have a tough time competing. "The drop in US production levels to about 8.7 million barrels is probably a pretty good indicator that they were right," McGillian noted. The recent crude oil rally from $30 to $50 a barrel, McGillian argued, is largely due to forward expectations about declining North American production levels, but questions loom over whether this means oil supply will "tighten" in the long run. "What we are going to find out in the next couple months is whether that fundamental [supply] picture has tightened and this rally is justified or [if] we still have a glut on our hands," McGillian suggested. Brown University Professor Jeff Colgan told Sputnik that he expects very little to come out of Thursdays OPEC summit in Vienna. "OPEC is unlikely to come to any agreement to change the status quo, and even if they do, its very doubtful it will be enforced," Colgan stated. The big news ahead of the summit, Colgan added, is that Saudi Arabia has a new oil minister and this is his first meeting, although it will not affect the outcome. The OPEC meeting is being held against a background of steadily reviving oil prices, which hit $50 a barrel on Tuesday, despite Saudi Arabias efforts to drive global prices down by dramatically expanding its own production. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) "They are so obsessed with being independent from Russia that they seem to have abandoned any pretense of sovereignty with respect to anybody else, in particular European Union, NATO and the United States," University of Louvain Professor Jean Bricmont and author of "Humanitarian Imperialism" said. Bricmont noted that Poroshenkos appointment of former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as his personal adviser was "odd" and indicated Poroshenkos bizarrely distorted policy priorities. "There is something strange about Ukraine or at least about its new government. There is something quite odd in that choice," Bricmont told Sputnik. Out of the six cubs he was the thinnest, the weakest and was constantly tormented by the other cubs, the couple recalls. When he got into my arms, he cuddled to me and I felt with my heart that he was my favorite one, Yuri further recalls. Bearing no resentment: MOSCOW (Sputnik) This is the first group out of 90,000 evacuees, which has been allowed to come home, the CBC broadcaster said. Over 200 police officers will be reportedly deployed in the region to provide security during the return. A state of emergency has been declared in Alberta after a wildfire, discovered near oil-rich Fort McMurray in early May, spread into the city. Some 2,400 buildings have been affected by the fire. MOSCOW (Sputnik) China is ready to go ahead with installing its planned air defense identification zone in the South China Sea if the United States continues "provocative" activities in the disputed area, local media reported Wednesday, citing Chinese army sources. "If the US military keeps making provocative moves to challenge Chinas sovereignty in the region, it will give Beijing a good opportunity to declare an ADIZ in the South China Sea," a source in the Peoples Liberation Army was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post newspaper. In May, Beijing expressed discontent with a US warship sailing in the waters near the disputed Spratly archipelago, also known as the Nansha Islands, in the South China Sea. TOKYO (Sputnik) The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to increase pressure on North Korea and not to accept the proposals for negotiations reopening as long as Pyongyang fails to show commitment to denuclearization, Japanese media reported. A trilateral meeting between Japan's Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kimihiro Ishikane, US State Department's Special Envoy for North Korea Policy Sung Kim and South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Hong-kyun took place in Tokyo, Kyodo news agency reported. The parties further called on North Korea to refrain from any provocative actions and to strictly comply with the UN Security Council resolutions. MOSCOW(Sputnik) Thailand is ready to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement once it is open for membership applications, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Wednesday. Speaking at a business forum in Japan, the deputy prime minister confirmed the support of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for the deal, noting that a committee headed by the country's commerce minister has been set up to assess Thailand's readiness for joining the Pacific bloc, which will include analyzing other countries' experience in the TPP once it comes into force, the Bangkok newspaper reported. "Thailand cannot afford to be complacent. We can take lessons from other member countries. At this point, we are ready to join the TPP. It depends on when they will accept us. Thailand is also ready to join the TPP. It depends on when they will accept us," Jatusripitak said, as quoted in the publication. MOSCOW (Sputnik) On May 29, Pakistani Interior Ministry said that the DNA analysis confirmed the death of Mansour. The confirmation of Mansour's identity was complicated by the fact that he had documents of a different person when the body was found. "The family of the leader of Taliban took the body on the other side of the border," Khan said, as quoted by the local Geo TV broadcaster. Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed on May 21 in a drone strike on a vehicle he was occupying en route to the Pakistani city of Quetta, Balochistan province. Mansour was picked to replace Taliban's previous leader in mid-2015. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif slammed the US drone strike, describing it as a violation of Pakistans sovereignty. Whatever the outcome of the US presidential election in November, the White House will try to make Beijing alter its political course, the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of the US and Canada Sergey Rogov told RIA Novosti on Tuesday. "I think that regardless of the outcome of presidential elections in the US, next year will see a serious attempt from Clinton or Trump to come to some sort of agreement with China, to force China to change its politics," said Rogov, who nevertheless remarked that he does not think the move will have the desired effect. "It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that it would probably be the last such attempt," he said. New Delhi (Sputnik) On Wednesday the government of Nepal categorically denied that they had named one of the mountain peaks of the Himalayas in honor of Nadiya Savchenko. The Nepalese Prime Ministers Office told Sputnik that the government hadn't named any Himalayan peaks after Savchenko. They further added that they have not issued any certificate in this regard. Nepal Tourism Board CEO Dipak Joshi also told a Sputnik reporter that "no certificate was issued regarding the naming of any of the mountain peaks of the Himalayas after the Ukrainian pilot Nadiya." The Prime Minister's daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, tweeted about his condition in order to inform the nation. The citizens of Pakistan offered special prayers for his speedy recovery and sacrificed goats and cows across the country. It was the second time Nawaz Sharif has undergone open-heart surgery; the head of state has been treated for heart problems over the last five years. The PM intends to return to Pakistan as soon as his doctors say he is ready for travel. In the capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, about 24 police units comprising of only women personnel will be patrolling the citys public transportation like buses to ensure womens and childrens safety during their commute. Kerala Police rolls out "Pink Beat" @ Trivandrum, deployed women police personnel on buses,bus stops,schools &colleges to ensure safety. Rajesh.R (@rajesh_karamel) June 1, 2016 The citys Commissioner of Police, G Sparjan Kumar told Sputnik news agency that initially, the patrolling will be done during the peak hours from 8-11am and 3-7pm. The trial patrols will be carried out for a week, after which the forces would decide whether to press on with this innovative scheme. The patrolling women officers will be constantly monitored by the Police Control Room. If there is any emergency call made by the patrolling officers, additional reinforcements would be sent. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The United States does not envision newly ascendant Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada to negotiate with the Afghan government anytime soon given his violent radical background, Resolute Support Mission deputy spokesperson Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland told reporters on Wednesday. "I dont believe that we will see peace talks anytime in the short term with Mullah Haibatullah [Akhundzada]," Cleveland said. Akhundzada has issued religious rulings, or fatwas, to suicide bombers and authorized Taliban to kill each other, and is not expected to come to the negotiating table, Cleveland noted. Speaking to CNN on the meaning of the editorial, geopolitical analyst Bruce Kligner, a former CIA officer and expert for the neoconservative think tank Heritage Foundation, warned that Pyongyang "has a long standing objective to divide the US from its allies, to remove US forces or at least reduce them on the peninsulaIf they see a future policy-maker as advocating the removal of US forces, that fulfills their objectives, so they would be in favor of anyone who's willing to do that." For his part, Aidan Foster-Carter, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Leeds, told NKNews that while the op-ed was not the official face of the North Korean government speaking, "it is certainly Pyongyang flying a kite, or testing the waters." "For the rest of us," the professor bizarrely suggested, "this is a timely reminder if it were needed, of just how completely Trump plans to tear up established US policy in the region; and what an irresponsible, unthinking menace the man is." Last month, Pyongyang proposed military talks with Seoul, citing the need to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korean officials rejected the proposal, demanding real steps toward denuclearization from Pyongyang. "Sanctions have been tightened of course, but really you need to get China to curtail energy exports to North Korea, which is really key, and any other trade leaking through the northern border and I'm not sure China is willing to do that." "China has a key interest in propping up North Korea. Firstly it doesn't want a lot of refugee flows, and second of all it doesn't want the North Korean government to collapse and have the situation that happened in Germany, where Korea is ruled by the government that's now in the South, which is allied with the US." "In other words, it doesn't want US forces, or bases, or intelligence bases right on its border." However, China is faced with a dilemma because North Korea's missile launches give the US a case for carrying out exercises with South Korea, or for the deployment the THAAD anti-ballistic missile system there. "China is very annoyed with North Korea for doing nuclear and missile tests because it knows that it causes the US to put the THAAD anti-missile system in there, and of course China doesn't like that because it threatens Chinese security." VIENNA (Sputnik) The Russian LUKoil oil giant is not interested in taking part in the initial public offering (IPO) of the shares of Saudi Arabias Aramco energy company, its president Vagit Alekperov said on Wednesday. In January, Saudi national oil giant Aramco announced that it was considering offering shares of its corporation for sale to public investors. Aramcos decision to go public comes amid record low oil prices, which some attribute to oversupply. "No, we are not financial investors," Alekperov told reporters answering a corresponding question. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Possible political misunderstandings between Russia and Qatar must not affect the development of business relations between the two states, Second Secretary of the Qatari Embassy in the Russian Federation Rashid al-Suwaidi said Wednesday. "Regarding the politics of Qatar as a whole, the leadership of our country has never bound politics and the economy. And if, say, there are some political problems, this should in no way affect the relations between our business communities. I would like to emphasize and convey that to the business representatives of the two countries," Suwaidi said at a meeting of Russian and Qatari businesspeople. Speaking about the bilateral relations between Moscow and Doha, the diplomat noted that following the Russian-Qatari Business Council creation "Qatar reaffirms its desire and readiness to establish relations with the Russian business community." VIENNA (Sputnik) Global oil prices look set to rise in the second half of this year, the deputy oil minister of Iraq predicted on Wednesday. Fayadh Nima heads the Iraqi delegation to the ministerial meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is due in Vienna on Thursday. Asked if Iraq expected the cartel to change its policy, Nima replied "No." Last year, OPEC failed to agree a cap on crude output, prompting oil prices to slide. A series of talks with non-OPEC Russia led to no clear commitments. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The number of Russian tourists planning to travel to Greece has surged by a third this year, Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Nikos Xydakis told Sputnik Wednesday. Xydakis commented on reports that Greece expected up to two million Russian travelers to go on holiday to the country in 2016. "There is a safe indicator, which is visa applications and it points to a rise in the number of tourists by at least a third," the minister said. VIENNA (Sputnik) Oil production remaining at the current level would signify that there is a de facto crude output freeze, Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino said Wednesday. Speaking in the Austrian capital of Vienna ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) session on Thursday, Del Pino referenced the situation in the last few months as evidence of the de facto crude output freeze. "The production has stayed the same in the last three or four months due to the circumstances that negatively influence some oil producing states," the minister said as quoted by the Venezuelan Petroleum Ministry. VIENNA (Sputnik) Russian oil company LUKoil is not yet delivering diesel fuel to Ukraine, the firms president said Wednesday. In March, the company received a permission from the Russian government to sell diesel fuel to Ukraine. "We are not delivering it yet," Vagit Alekperov told reporters. The Iraqi military had surrounded Fallujah over the past week before launching their offensive. The delay was intended to give civilians as much chance as possible to evacuate. What seems curious is the apparent concern for civilian safety in Fallujah as expressed in the US and Western media. This is the same city that was almost razed to the ground by American and British forces during two major battles in 2004 one year after the US-led invasion of Iraq and the fall of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The Fallujah resistance was then made up mainly of Sunni militia. During the US-British assaults on Fallujah, it is estimated that more than 1,000 civilians were killed a disturbingly high casualty toll, similar to that incurred by the armed militants. The Americans spared no effort to crush the resistance deploying over 10,000 troops, warplanes, 2,000-pound aerial bombs, helicopter gunships, howitzers and snipers in what was reckoned to have been the fiercest fighting by US forces since the Vietnam War. The US military even blared rock music at deafening levels in order to draw out protesters who would then be cut down by sniper fire. But the killing of civilians did not stop when those battles ended. Years after the artillery smoke cleared, the people of Fallujah have been battling alarming cancer rates and horrific birth defects as a result of the depleted uranium munitions that the American forces bombarded the city with in 2004. Millions of rounds of this highly toxic metal are believed to have been fired by US forces during their assaults on Fallujah. Several scientific studies, conducted by Iraqi and foreign medics, have since reported that the rate of cancer, childhood leukemia and fatal birth deformities have increased several-fold in Fallujah since the US-British military offensives against the city in 2004. In one study, it was found that the incidence of birth defects in Fallujah were higher than those recorded in Hiroshima or Nagasaki the Japanese cities hit by US atomic bombs in 1945. In addition to toxic uranium, US forces also indiscriminately used massive quantities of White Phosphorus as incendiary weapon against the city. One investigative Italian television documentary, The Hidden Massacre, confirmed numerous local reports that people had died from grotesque skin burns inflicted by the White Phosphorus. At the time of the offensives, the US military claimed that the phosphorus was being used as illuminating flares in order to target combatants. A year later, in November 2005, the Pentagon finally admitted that the chemical was actually used as an incendiary weapon. US troops on the ground callously referred to the White Phosphorus bombardments in Fallujah as shake and bake operations, because of the twin-effect of inciting terror in the target population and burning victims down to the bone. A victims head could be completely incinerated while the rest of the body remained unscathed. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said more than 880 migrants had died in several shipwrecks while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat over the last week. "The past eight days marks one of the deadliest periods yet in the migration crisis, which is now in its fourth year," the statement, published on the IOM website Tuesday, reads. Inhabitants of the island of Kamsholmen east of metropolitan greater Helsinki spotted uniformed men with guns. One of the locals reportedly fled to the mainland and called the country's emergency services. Later it transpired that the "invaders" in fact were Finnish Army soldiers, which had either "invaded" the wrong island or failed to inform its residents in good time. Bjarne Winberg, a resident of Kamsholmen, told the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat that a large boat had docked in the immediate proximity of his house and unloaded a group of men in army uniforms carrying rucksacks and what looked like guns. When the mystery militants disappeared into a nearby forest, Winberg valiantly jumped into his own boat and set sail for the mainland, where he called the emergency services, supposedly tipping them off about the "enemy." However, the invasion later proved to be a night-time training exercise had gone wrong. In an interview with Sputnik News, Eberhard Bort, Head of the Institute of Governance at the University of Edinburgh, suggested that those campaigning for a Leave vote see the European Union as a sinking ship, and they want to give it a "good kick". "What you get from the more vicious side of the Leave campaign from Farage's [Nigel Farage, UKIP MEP] and Hannan's [Daniel Hannan, Conservative MEP] is that this is a ship that's going down. Give it a good kick so that it does go down. They actually want a leave vote that will disintegrate the entire European Union. They hate the European Union so much that they think it is inherent evil and it has to be destroyed, and that the best way to destroy it is to vote leave." How come most Europeans hope we win and leave the EU? the truth is there's a massive majority of them that hate the EU too #voteLEAVE EnglishBrit (@MoreEUnothanks) May 28, 2016 Earlier this year, a poll run by the University of Edinburgh showed a rise in Euroskepticism across the EU, with many countries suggesting that they should be holding their own referendum on EU membership. BRUSSELS (Sputnik) According to EurActiv information portal, the agenda of the Slovak presidency, beginning in one month, is a source of real concern for the European Commission. Officials of the commission are expected to meet with the Slovak government on Wednesday to hold the first discussion of the agenda. On Tuesday, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker called unacceptable Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's statements rejecting the possibility of introduction of the mandatory quotas for the distribution of refugees between EU member states. Slovak presidency of the Council of the European Union will last from July until December. KIEV (Sputnik) NATO is going to approve aid for Ukraine at the alliances summit in Warsaw after assessment of the reforms implemented in the country, Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov said on Wednesday. "There will be a session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) on the level of heads of states and governments in Warsaw. This session will give an opportunity to assess progress of the reforms in Ukraine and discuss our joint work on supporting Ukraine in security and defense," Vinnikov told the Segodnya daily newspaper. He expects the alliance to make a political statement concerning support for the Ukrainian sovereignty and to approve a package of aid for Ukraine. BERLIN (Sputnik) German Chancellor Angela Merkel told those dreading the rising inflow of migrants to meet refugees in person, in an interview with a local magazine published Wednesday. "I recommend that everyone feeling anxious should meet a refugee. These are people who have been through and suffered a lot, they have problems and hopes just like we do," Merkel told Bunte. The chancellor said she never regretted the decision she made together with Austrian authorities last September to open national borders for thousands of migrants stranded at a Hungarian train station. For decades, municipal swimming pools in Sweden have operated on mixed-gender basis, but by offering women-only hours, officials are hoping to help the country's growing Muslim population to adapt. Despite being ethically dubious and contrary to Sweden's obsession with egalitarianism and gender equality, separate swimming hours have been introduced by thirteen of Sweden's 100 largest municipalities, and the number continues to rise, the Swedish TV channel TV4 reported. In the past months, the issue of separate swimming hours has stirred a sizzling debate in Sweden. Some rebuke the move as regressive and morally repulsive, while others laud it as a sensible way to include the country's increasingly diverse population. On the face of it, the goal is to encourage women and girls to take up swimming, as females only account for 40 percent of swimming pool visitors, 10 percent short of parity. However, there are many indicators that this noble quest has gone too far. Earlier this month, Sweden's Democracy Minister Alice Bah Kuhnke of the Green Party argued that gender-segregated swimming pools are "problematic" and lauded mixed-gender swimming as "a victory after many years and generations of the struggle for gender-equality," the tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet reported. "We, the refugees, told him [UNHCR representative] that a month ago the situation was the same and we got the same answers, then he left us desperate and disappointed again," Wassim told Sputnik. "He stressed that there are very few employees in the Greek asylum service." "The representative told us there are only three people working for the Greek authorities and just two people working for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), while the UNHCR are trying to push things forwards." ATHENS (Sputnik) A new bill, coordinated with international creditors in return for more bailout loans, and enacting, in particular, an increase of value added tax (VAT) for a variety of goods and services, came into effect in Greece Wednesday, local media reported. According the Greek Reporter news portal, the increase of the country's VAT by 1 percent from 23 to 24 percent has forced the growth of prices for such goods as pasta, rice, canned goods, coffee, tea, margarine, ice cream, soft drinks, juices and some others. The prices for public transport services, taxi, restaurants, communal payments and other services have been also increased. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk addressed German Foreign Ministry calling to denounce the Left Party lawmaker's Andreas Maurer visit to Crimea. "Regarding the illegal visit of the Left Party member Andreas Maurer in the occupied Crimea, [I] called on the German Foreign Ministry to strongly condemn this and other such gambles," Melnyk posted in this official Twitter account. The delegation of some 60 German businessmen, politicians and representatives of the public are paying an official visit to Crimea to participate in the Days of German culture on May 24-June 1. A senior CSU figure, Markus Soder, told German weekly Der Spiegel: "We want to go into the election campaign with her [Merkel], together. But she's not making it easy for us at the moment." Rise of the Right MOSCOW (Sputnik) A new round of negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement in the 5+2 format will be held in Berlin on June 2-3 for the first time since 2014, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement Wednesday. "The two-day meeting will bring together representatives of the sides, mediators and observers in the negotiations Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the US and the EU [5+2 format]," the statement said. According to the statement, the negotiations will be headed by Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodt, the Special Representative of the German OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian Settlement Process. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland expressed concern over internet censorship and called on the governments of the member states to ensure that there are transparent and proportionate rules for blocking and removal of internet content, in a statement published Wednesday. "I am concerned that some states are not clearly defining what constitutes illegal content. Decisions are often delegated to authorities who are given a wide margin for interpreting content, potentially to the detriment of freedom of expression," Jagland was quoted in the statement published on the Councils website as saying. Jagland also called on the governments to ensure that their laws and procedures regarding the issue incorporate "adequate safeguards for freedom of expression" and do not limit the access to information granted by the European Convention on Human Rights. However, this is a case where the figures speak for themselves. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies ( IISS ), Russia spent 70 billion dollars on defense in 2014, whereas the US spent 581 billion dollars on its military. Add Germany's 44 billion, the UK's 61 billion and France's 53 billion, and you are getting close to the real picture. The West's perennial arguments for the arms race are Russia's alleged bloodthirstiness and the weakness of NATO's eastern flank. The RAND Corporation, an American global policy think-tank, conducted several simulations of a Russian invasion of the Baltic states and arrived at an inauspicious conclusion: NATO is unable to protect its members, who supposedly run a great risk of a Russian invasion. According to the RAND Corporation, it would take Russia a mere 60 hours to march into the capitals of Estonia and Latvia. According to Michael Jarlner of the Danish newspaper Politiken, this is an echo of the Cold War. The RAND Corporation operates with full support of the state and was founded by the Douglas Aircraft Company shortly after WWII (one of the predecessors of the aerospace company McDonnell Douglas). The majority of its 1,700 employees are US State Department officials, so the think-tank is all but "unbiased." BRUSSELS (Sputnik) The European Commission and Poland failed to make any steps toward the resolution of the ongoing constitutional court crisis, First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans said Wednesday. The European Union is concerned about reforms introduced by Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which include limiting the judicial freedom of the Constitutional Tribunal, alongside extending control over state media and banning abortions. In January, the European Commission opened an inquiry into the changes, and regularly assessed progress in its dialogue with Poland on the issue. "Our discussions were very constructive and fruitful but as yet these discussions have not led to a situation where I believe we come close to a solution for these outstanding issues. That is why I think it is useful to concentrate debate on these outstanding issues and that is what we do by sending our opinion to the Polish authorities," Timmermans told journalists. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The South Stream gas pipeline project is not completely dead and can be revived, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Nikos Xydakis told Sputnik. "At the moment, this question [South Stream gas pipeline project] is not on the agenda. However, it is not completely dead. Despite the sanctions, the idea of the implementation of the South Stream gas pipeline has been kept alive. Following this logic, I could say that the South Stream can be revived," Xydakis said. The Southern Gas Corridor is backed by the US and European Commission and considered by them as a competitor to the suspended Turkish Stream project. MOSCOW (Sputnik) According to The Sofia Globe news portal, the ban was favored by 34 councilors of the 51-seat council, while nine councilors abstained and one voted against. The proposal was filed by the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB) having four seats in the council, according to the media outlet. It is noted that the country's municipalities of Pazardzhik and Stara Zagora have already banned burqas in public. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Greek Foreign Ministry is not informed of any talks between Moscow and Athens on the purchase of Russian fighter jets and S-400 air defense systems, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Nikos Xydakis told Sputnik. "Probably, the Russian president and Greek prime minister had these talks, however, personally, I have not heard an official statement on the issue, thus, I cannot comment on what I don't know," Xydakis said. Greece, among those countries which are in good relations with Russia. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov held a meeting with Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov who is in Bulgaria to participate in the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) summit, local media reported Wednesday. The two leaders discussed a range of topics, including the refugee crisis and recent political developments in Macedonia. Borisov reaffirmed Bulgarian support for the Macedonian European integration, Novinite News Agency reported. The political crisis in Macedonia began in 2015 as the opposition accused the ruling conservatives of intercepting telephone conversations of some 20,000 people, including police officers, judges, journalists and diplomats. It resulted in the agreement reached last year between the most influential parties in Macedonia, under which then-Prime Minster Nikola Gruevski resigned in January, the parliament was dissolved, and early elections were announced. Earlier this week, the Norwegian tabloid newspaper Verdens Gang proudly presented images of cruise missiles from KNM "Storm" smashing a full scale model of a "hostile" control center. According to the tabloid newspaper, the further development of the Norwegian high-tech project the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) allows the Norwegian Armed Forces to fire middle distance cruise missiles from warships. This sought-after addition to its military arsenal grants Norway exclusive club membership. NSM missiles have a high speed and a very low altitude, which makes it "virtually impossible" to detect and stop them before they reach their target. With a range of "over 200 km" they are close to being an advanced brother to American Tomahawk or Russian Kalibr, Verdens Gang noted. "This increases our overall military capacity significantly. Now, the Norwegian Navy is able to attack ground targets with a weapon system that is both long range and high precision," Navy information officer Per Rostad told VG. "Some 2,510 lives have been lost so far compared to 1,855 in the same period in 2015," William Spindler, UNHCR spokesperson said. 2016 is proving to be another deadly year for people crossing #Mediterranean https://t.co/fHLQQIl5p3 pic.twitter.com/aEFeZEPJDQ IOM (@IOM_news) June 1, 2016 New figures released by the International Organization For Migration (IoM) have again sparked concerns about how effective the European Union's strategy is to stem the migration crisis. More than 205,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe this year, 90,000 more than during the same period of time in 2015. UNHCR has also gathered evidence from survivors revealing that the number of people traveling from Syria to Greece via Turkey has not dropped. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Ukraines crackdown on foreign journalists, including last weeks decision to ban 17 editors and reporters from Russia, reflects a government move toward censorship, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a press release on Wednesday. "Ukraine is legitimately concerned about the effects of Russian propaganda, but cracking down on media freedom is a misguided, inappropriate response to whatever disagreement the Ukrainian government may have with Russias media coverage about Ukraine," Human Rights Watchs Europe and Central Asia Researcher Tanya Cooper stated. "Targeting journalists in this way inevitably encourages censorship." In addition to the latest ban, that was imposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in a May 27 decree, Ukraine had blacklisted earlier 41 journalists and bloggers from several countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Israel, the release explained. Regardless of the result, many believe Slovakia will need to play a key role in quelling the angst and Euroskeptic sentiment stirred up by the Brexit referendum. "It is very important for Slovakia to take ownership of this presidency, which will follow the British referendum, whose aftermath will need managing, whatever the result," Harlem Desir, France's Minister of State for European affairs, said. While the Brexit issue will test EU unity, cooperation across the bloc is also under immense pressure as a result of Europe's ongoing migration crisis. The EU has long been criticized for its failure to come to a common approach over the issue if immigration, with Slovakia seen by many within the EU establishment as a polarizing nation with a hard line anti-immigration stance. Fico at Odds With Brussels Although a leftist, Prime Minister Robert Fico's stance towards Muslims and immigration differs vastly from other left-wing movements in Europe, with Slovakia filing a lawsuit against the EU over plans to introduce bloc-wide quotas for the distribution of refugees. "It may seem strange, but sorry, Islam has no place in Slovakia," Fico said during an interview last week. Fico: "I would be lying" if saying that Dublin reform will be agreed before end of Slovakia EU presidency. #asylum pic.twitter.com/NZPpe97QU3 Eric Maurice (@er1cmau) June 1, 2016 "I have talked about this several times with the Maltese prime minister, who told me that the problem is not that they were coming, but they are changing the character of the country," he added, referring to a conversation with Maltese PM Joseph Muscat. His comments led to a sharp rebuke within the bloc from European leftists. What a combo: Slovakia's upcoming presidency of EU, @MiroslavLajcak's UN aspirations and Robert Fico's "Islam has no place in Slovakia". Harun Siljak (@the_wrAIter) May 26, 2016 "While the European right seems happy to accommodate Viktor Orban in its movement, European social democracy has always fought national-populism and refuses to make any rhetorical or political compromise with the ideas of exclusion and division that characterize the extreme right," Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, the first secretary of the ruling French Socialist Party, told Euractiv. "This is the opposite of the Europe we want to build. The Socialist Party firmly condemns the statements of Robert Fico and expresses its concern about his political orientation as Slovakia prepares to take on the European Union presidency," he added. Focus on European Unity With the migration crisis likely to be a major issue over the course of Slovakia's rotating presidency, there are concerns Bratislava's position may further expose divides in the union. In a subtle warning to PM Fico, Desir urged Slovakia to "contribute to European unity" during its time in the EU presidency. "I think that Slovakia, as the future president of the EU, will certainly want to contribute to European unity and to joint positions concerning the hosting of refugees." Fico moved to quell concerns about Slovakia's term in the EU presidency, saying his country would act as an "honest broker and reach compromise wherever possible." On Monday, Assange gave an exclusive interview for French digital channel i>Tele, where he talked about various subjects including mass surveillance, French anti-terrorism laws and President Francois Hollande's ostensible political weaknesses. Commenting on the interview in her official blog, in a post titled Merci Julian Assange [Thank you Julian Assange] on Wednesday, Le Pen noted that Assange had once again provided a very "lucid analysis on the reasons for our strategic weaknesses, particularly in connection with our submission to the European Union, and thus to the United States." Noting that it was perfectly clear why Francois Hollande has refused to provide Assange with asylum, Le Pen wrote that nevertheless "I ask once again that France honors him by offering asylum." "We are in support of the Leave Alliance which proposes an exit plan called Flexcit, which we believe to be the only seamless exit route from the EU. This proposes that we re-join EFTA and access the Single Market via the EEA agreement, which requires us to adhere to the 'four freedoms' of the Single Market including free movement of people," Campaign director John Petley told Sputnik. "However, EFTA members do have more leverage when it comes to restricting migration from the EU. Under Articles 112(1), 113 and Protocol 15 of the EEA agreement, non-EU members may apply for an emergency brake on migration without requiring the consent of the EU. Liechtenstein has availed itself of these exemptions for some time and no one is putting undue pressure on this country to end the "emergency'." It's over to you to end this unhappy marriage. https://t.co/5au74w8wx3 pic.twitter.com/xnZYeaATPI CIB (@FreeBritain) May 30, 2016 Mr Petley believes this is the best solution, while banning migrants due to lack of English language skills may not be necessary. "This is as far as we could go initially as far as restricting immigration from the EU is concerned, at least until the EEA agreement can be replaced with something better in the longer term. As to the migration from non-EU countries, we could already impose tougher controls if the government so desired and we don't have any problems with them so doing." "However, in the modern age, there will always be people seeking to move from a failing country to a successful one. The 'migration crisis' in the Mediterranean is a particularly graphic illustration of this, but the large number of Greeks and Spaniards now working in the UK makes the same point." Mr Petley and the Campaign for an Independent Britain team believe that Brexit will indeed make the UK more successful. "We believe that the UK will be a more successful country after Brexit, so people will still want to come here. Some people, hoping for a drastic cut in the number of migrants the day we leave, are going to be disappointed. Outside the EU, however, we do have more leverage in reducing the 'pull' factor, including reducing tariffs with non-EU countries to enable them to send their goods to us more cheaply and thus generate more prosperity in their own countries," Mr Petley told Sputnik. However, Mr Petley does believe that this latest Brexit proposal will not be made law and is somewhat impractical. "I don't see anything as radical as this being implemented in the event of a Brexit. It sounds good in theory. [It's] impractical as far as migration from the EU is concerned, with non-EU migration, it does make sense, given the pressures our green spaces, schools, etc. are under. But I'd be surprised if it was adopted, even though it is not really that radical, being based on the policies of countries like Australia," Petley told Sputnik. When it comes to the issue of the UK potentially losing skilled workers, the Campaign for an Independent Britain, believe that there is no risk of executives and academics or doctors being excluded from the UK. But the excess of unskilled labor is an issue especially in the long term. However, on the issue of whether this new proposal could alienate the UK from the rest of the world, Mr Petley does not believe, given the opinion polls and rise of anti-immigrant parties in other EU States, that migration will continue on the same scale for much longer. "The sheer scale is becoming unacceptable. Therefore, it is unlikely that the UK will be alienated." MOSCOW (Sputnik) The European Commission acts very "delicately" with Poland in a dispute around the Constitutional Tribunal, not interfering into domestic affairs, but rather playing a role of the guardian of the law, Polish lawmaker from the Civic Platform party Rafa Trzaskowski told Sputnik on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday, first Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans said that the body was critical of the rule of law in Poland. The European Commission is very delicate and shows a lot of patience, it said quite clearly that it doesn't want to interfere into the Polish affairs, that this is a domestic problem and that it has to be resolved in Poland but obviously it has the right to check the situation when there are doubts, Trzaskowski, a former Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs said. "We are the collateral damage of Europe, which can't integrate one and a half million refugees," Dodik said, and expressed concern that calls from Bosniak politicians, who enjoy the backing of Turkey, to change the terms of the Dayton accord will result in the weakening of Bosnian Serbs' political and legal rights. Ankara "has always involved itself in Bosnia and Hercegovina, and always on the side of Muslims," Dodik said. Last month former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davotuglu visited Banjaluka, Bosnia and Hercogovina's second largest city after Sarajevo and the largest in Republika Srpska, for the reopening of the city's Ferhadija Mosque, which was destroyed in 1993. Davotuglu caused a stir in the region with his speech, in which he said that Bosnians have "78 million friends," and that millions of Turks "were here, are here now and will always be here." At the forum on Tuesday Dodik also complained that the activities of the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Hercegovina, an ad hoc international institution created under the framework of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, are undermining the contents of the accord, which he said have consequently become a "caricature." The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska has repeatedly complained of bias against Bosnian Serbs in the justice system in Bosnia and Hercegovina, and last year voted to hold a referendum on the work of the Constitutional Court. A number of journalists obtained accreditation from the self-defense forces. Now Ukraine has labeled them accomplices in terrorism. Anton Gerashchenko, a member of Ukraines Parliament and an adviser to the Ministry of Interior, praised the publication of the list and called for journalists to assist Ukraine in its information war with Russia, the journalist notes. However a number of organizations including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Committee to Protect Journalists criticized the publication. Ukraines ombudsman called for the website to be blocked. The people running Mirotvorec said they would take their website offline and the Kiev prosecutors office began an investigation into whether or not those running the site had committed a crime, the journalist writes. In response, Bateson says, the interior minister, Arsen Avakov, declared his support for Mirotvorec and accused those who criticized the publication of the list of harboring separatist sympathies. After an official from the Ministry of Information Policy said on TV that the list threatened the lives of journalists her boss, Yuriy Stets, Ukrainian Minister of Information Policy, posted an apology on social media, saying that the official did not represent the ministrys position. As the result, the website is now back online and has posted additional journalists contact information. Meanwhile, the editors stated that they would not listen to the whimpering about freedom of speech. Too many people have arrived recently in Europe seeking refuge and most of them should go home, the Dalai Lama told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on Tuesday. The 14th Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since 1959, explained that he doesn't have a passport, but travels using a registration certificate given to him by the Indian government. "This is a travel document which states that I am a Tibetan refugee living in India. Normally it's no problem, there are only a few countries who don't accept this document," he said. MADRID (Sputnik) A group of 19 refugees arrived in Spain from Greece on Wednesday under the European Union's refugee redistribution quotas, the Spanish Interior Ministry said on its website. This is the fourth group of refugees in the last eight days, the ministry said. There are 14 migrants from Syria and five from Iraq. They will be sent to the city of Salamanca and the Navarre region. Spain has accepted 105 refugees since 2015 under the quota system. BERLIN (Sputnik) Steinmeier made the remarks in Berlin after negotiations with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin. "I hope that we will prepare the grounds for the Normandy Four [foreign ministers] to meet and discuss the bill on local elections," he told journalists. According to the German foreign minister, the meeting of the Normandy Four in Berlin on May 11 was "better than the previous", but was not "good enough to come significantly closer to the implementtion of the Minsk deal." The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine that includes representatives of Ukraine, Russian and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) tries to work out a political solution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Kiev launched a military operation in eastern Ukraine in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities that came to power as a result of a coup. Some 1.2 million Armenians were slaughtered or starved to death by the Ottomans during and after the first World War. The Turkish empires policy of ethnic violence was recognized by many European countries and by the European Parliament as the Armenian genocide. Ankara dismisses any accusations of massacre and rejects the term "genocide," saying that Turkish nationals were also victimized. The Armenian genocide has been officially recognized by 27 countries, including Russia. SULAYMANIYAH (Sputnik) Nearly 120 people have been killed since February in the Sheikh Maqsood district of the Syrian city of Aleppo, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan media center (PUKmedia) said Wednesday. "Since the start of the attacks and shelling on February 16 and until today, the total number of those killed comes to 117 people, 38 of them children. Furthermore, 777 civilians have received injuries of various degrees of severity, most of these women and children," PUKmedia told RIA Novosti. SULAYMANIYAH (Sputnik) The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance has continued its operation to liberate the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa from Daesh militants, advancing 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the north of the city, Kurdish media said Wednesday. "Yesterday, on the seventh day of the liberation operation, the Syrian Democratic Forces 4th detachment was able to liberate an area 10 kilometers long near the Tishrin Dam in Kobani Canton," the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan media center (PUKmedia) said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Turkey is willing to cooperate with Iran, namely with its province of Kermanshah, in petrochemical industries, Deputy Head of the Turkish Chamber of Commerce Cuneyt Golet said Wednesday. Golet announced that the volume of trade between the two countries could reach $30 billion within a short period, the Iranian Irna news agency reported. He noted that the relations between the two countries were made more easy following the lifting of sanctions against Iran. In July 2015, the P5+1 countries of China, Great Britain, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany reached an agreement with Iran guaranteeing its compliance to a peaceful nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. EBRIL (Sputnik) Kurdish Peshmerga forces have liberated some 120 square kilometers (46 square miles) from the Daesh to the east of Iraq's Mosul, a Peshmerga representative said Wednesday. "After three days of fighting, Peshmerga was able to capture 120 square kilometers of territory, containing nine settlements, to the East of Mosul," Amir Sherifi told reporters. The advance is being carried out with the support of the international coalition air cover, he added. MOSCOW (Sputnik) At least 20,000 children are in jeopardy in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday. Fallujah is a Sunni-populated city in Anbar province, Iraq, in which the Iraqi army is laying siege to communities controlled by Daesh religious extremists. "At least 20,000 children remain trapped in the city. According to reports, food and medicine are running out and clean water is in short supply. Children face the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting, strict procedures for security screening and separation from their families. Children who are recruited see their lives and futures jeopardized as they are forced to carry and use arms, fighting in an adult war," UNICEF said in the statement. MOSCOW (Sputnik) According to the portal, the Egyptian law enforcement forces security operations which continued in the North Sinai area saw "at least 19 terrorist targets being hit, while killing eight and wounding 10 insurgents, and also destroying five trenches used as hideouts and underground stores of weapons and explosives." The sources added that the security forces had foiled four terrorist attacks during the operation. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Four Taliban militants attacked the Appellate Court of Ghazni in eastern Afghanistan killing one policemen and wounding court's chief along with two civilians, local media reported Wednesday. All four confirmed Taliban attackers were killed by the police, Khaama Press reported. Afghanistan is experiencing significant political, social and security-related instability, as radical extremist organizations, including the Taliban, continue to stage attacks against civilian and state targets. Besides, the Russian draft will supposedly give the Syrian Kurds a constitutional right to speak their own language on par with Arabic. However, the Kurdish autonomy must not be political or economic, but rather cultural, the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar wrote. One goal that Kurds and Arabs currently have in common these days is to out Daesh from the town of Raqqa. However, reconciliation between the two ethnic communities may prove a tough task in the future, according to the latest poll, Politiken wrote, quoting the Syrian Observer. In the autonomous Kurdish region near the border with Turkey, a whole 79.6 percent of the population spoke in favor of federalism, which in future can guarantee them autonomy. At the same time, roughly as many non-Kurds (78.1 percent) oppose any autonomy for minorities. In the government-controlled areas, 65.6 percent of the population are against decentralization and prefer a single government with all the power. However, 55.3 percent of the population in areas under rebel control are in favor of decentralization. Alawites, the ethnic group from which Assad himself comes from, are known as the fiercest opponents of any autonomy, which, according to Politiken, may be perceived as a "reluctance to share Syria." Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would support Syria's federalization, as long as it is backed by the country's inhabitants. "Whichever form of government, be it federalization, decentralization or a unitary state, must be approved by all Syrians," Lavrov said as quoted by RIA Novosti. "We have never tried to make decisions on behalf of the Syrian people," he stressed. Prior to the war, Syria had an Arab majority of 74 percent of the population. The Kurds made up some 9 percent, whereas the Turkmen numbered some 100,000. CAIRO(Sputnik) The Egyptian authorities have opened up the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip for four days starting on Wednesday, local media reported. According to the Youm7 news portal, the border crossing will work in both directions. The Egyptian border authorities will let people who need medical treatment or are returning from it, students and those who need to leave or enter Gaza for humanitarian reasons cross. The Rafah border crossing, the main entry and exit point in Gaza, was closed after a series of October 2014 terrorist attacks that killed dozens of Egyptian security personnel. The check point currently only opens for a few days every several months. DAMSCUS (Sputnik) The Syrian Army plans to advance on the city of Deir ez-Zor in the countrys east that has been occupied by Islamic State terrorists, prohibited in numerous countries including the United States and Russia, an informed source told Sputnik on Wednesday. The Syrian Army along with its allies are preparing for a broad military operation in the direction of Deir ez-Zor from the direction of Palmyra. It will begin within the next few days as soon as preparations are finished, the source said. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire, which excludes terrorist groups, came into force across Syria on February 27. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people accused of committing terrorist acts to death, local media reported Wednesday. According to the Al Arabiya broadcaster, the decision was made by a court in the eastern city of Al Qatif with the predominantly Shia population. Some 24 members of terrorist cell were imprisoned to three to 15 years by the Riyadh Court, one of the suspects was acquitted. DAMASCUS (Sputnik) An artillery strike on a hospital in the Syrian province of Aleppo has killed doctors and patients, a local source told Sputnik on Wednesday. "A number of doctors and patients were killed as result of artillery strike on the building of heath center, " the source said. The source was unable to specify the number of dead and injured. Brigadier General Seyed Kamal Hadianfar, chief of Irans Cyber Police (FATA) announced that his agency has managed to identify the IP addresses of hackers responsible for an attack against the Statistical Center of Irans website. According to the general, the perpetrators were traced to three Arabian countries, and the entire attack was coordinated by a mastermind residing in Saudi Arabia, Fars News Agency reports. "We monitored a cyber-attack on May 24 which was conducted from three countries and led by hackers in Saudi Arabia and they launched deceive attacks on the Statistical Center of Iran and of course such an attack is not important technically," Hadianfar said. Recent revelations have shown that Daesh have in fact been trading young women and girls online. The demand for these women is huge and there is no shortage of potential buyers. However, experts believe that this is not just an issue faced by people in areas of conflict, where war is used as a tool to rape and enslave women and girls. This is a growing trend of discrimination against women, which is prevalent in societies and communities where misogyny and gender based violence is a part of the culture. Aiden McQuade, Director of Anti-Slavery International, believes that countries legal systems need to be challenged in order to stop the growing trend of sexual slavery and discrimination against women and girls. "To put it bluntly, reducing violence against women and girls, particularly in the current wars waged by the proxies of Saudi Arabia, requires their jurisprudence to be explicitly and loudly repudiated," Aiden McQuade told Sputnik. It is widely known that in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the rape victims are the ones who are punished and prosecuted. It is this link between Saudi Arabia and Boko Haram, Daesh and other similar organizations, which has allowed the use of women as sex slaves and has caused a growing amount of discrimination against women. Fighting Slavery in the Midst of War https://t.co/9sqSW2LbMq via @wordpressdotcom Aidan McQuade (@the_mcquade) December 21, 2015 It was only recently that the Council of Islamic Ideology, in Pakistan, allowed for a wife to be lightly beaten by her husband if she disobeyed him. Pakistan: Council of Islamic Ideology recommends a LIGHT BEATING for a wife if she defies her husband: This https://t.co/IvhLeYjMS5 Pamela Geller (@PamelaGeller) May 30, 2016 "The relationship between Saudi Arabia, Boko Haram and Daesh has been well established. What we so see is this attitude of misogyny prevalent in Saudi. Daesh is linked to Saudi Arabia and it has taken on a terrifying life of its own. So a lot of the issues and attitudes such as misogyny have translated into Daesh and it is manifested out into their views of women and girls," Aiden McQuade told Sputnik. Aiden believes that the only way to solve this issue of sex slavery is to provide a robust and structured police gathering system that will help tackle and find the perpetrators. The International Criminal Court defines sex slavery as a war crime, but the only way to achieve justice is to have a good amount of evidence. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The civilian population in Syria's Aleppo province is in danger of becoming internally displaced amid an Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) advance in the region, the United Nations said Wednesday. Daesh offensives on the towns of Marea, Kiljibrin and Kafr Kalbein have resulted in over 15,000 people becoming trapped in besieged areas in late May, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said, citing UN special rapporteurs on human rights. The special rapporteurs added that 165,000 internally displaced persons remain trapped in areas near the Turkish border and called for a safe passage of all civilians out of conflict areas, as well as unimpeded humanitarian aid access. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A total of 867 Iraqis were killed and 1,459 nationals were injured as a result of multiple terrorist attacks and armed conflict in the country in May, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said Wednesday. "Iraqi civilians going about their daily life have been the target of terrorist suicide bombers and car bombs. Armed clashes have spared no one. But the will of the Iraqi people, despite all the carnage, remains unshaken and this gives hope for the future," Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq Jan Kubis was quoted as saying in a UNAMI statement. According to the mission's latest data, the province of Baghdad was the primary target of extremists' attacks with 267 killed and 740 injured. The Egyptian military has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the northern Sinai region since 2013, when the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who came to power on the wave of the so-called 'Arab Spring' that swept the region between 2010-2012. But Sissi's real ultimate enemy, Diehl suggested, "is not the Islamic State and other Muslim extremism, but Western liberalism headed by the United States." This, according to the journalist, is evidenced by the Egyptian leadership's concept of 'fourth-generation warfare.' This kind of warfare, "Sissi once explained to cadets at Egypt's military academy, occurs when 'modern communication channels, psychology and the media aredeployed to create divisions and harm Egypt from within'." And the enemy in this war, Diehl complained, is "the United States the same country providing the army with those free armored vehicles and billions in aid." Adding insult to injury, the journalist recalled that in March of this year, the same month that the US lifted its arms embargo against the country in connection to the 2013 army coup against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, "the Defense Ministry's Nasser Military Academy briefed the parliament about fourth-generation warfare," with "subjects includ[ing] 'Egypt's defense strategy and Western plans to divide the Middle East.'" With local media taking a similar tone, suggesting that the country's civil society NGOs, sponsored by the United States, are willing to "demolish the state through fourth generation warfare for a few dollars," Diehl warned that such "anti-American ranting" is by no means harmless. WASHINGTON, June 1 (Sputnik) A Kurdish-led battle to retake the Syrian city of Manbij from the Islamic state could escalate tensions between Turkey and the West over support for the Kurds, the private intelligence firm Soufan Group said in a report on Wednesday. "Such a battle [in Manbij] could escalate tensions between Turkey and the West over support for Kurdish fighters to the point of seriously delaying or complicating the fight against the Islamic State," the report stated. The Soufan group said that SDF victory in Manbij could further expand Kurdish influence in northern Syria. Asked to comment on the latest case against him by Sputnik Turkey, Aydin insisted that fear lies at the heart of Erdogan's behavior. "Earlier," the veteran actor recalled, "the major part of my life was devoted to rehearsing in the theater, performances, participation in theater festivals. Now, I spend most of my time in courtroom corridors and the offices of prosecutors. I consider this to be a shameful situation. It's a disgrace of the 21st century." Even during the period following the military coups in Turkey, the actor noted, he continued to go on stage, to perform. Still, he insisted, "never before have we lived under such an unbelievable, hideous censorship, under such an unprecedented fascist dictatorship, under such pressure from authorities from all sides." "I think that it is no exaggeration to say that that a deliberate, large-scale operation is underway to destroy, suppress, and desecrate the values which have existed in Turkish societies over many years," Aydin added. "I think that in terms of the pressure it places on the population, the current government is no better than Hitler's Germany or Pinochet's Chile." MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Syrian army killed at least 20 terrorists in the Hama province and targeted a number of Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) vehicles across the country on Wednesday, local media reported, citing military sources. The Syrian army clashed with Nusra Front terrorists and Ahrar ash-Sham militants in the northern part of the Hama province, destroying their weapons and ammunition, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said. Fierce clashes between the Nusra Front terrorists and the Syrian troops took place in the southwestern countryside of Damascus, leaving a number of militants dead and injured. As far as the concentration of Syrian government troops between Raqqa and Hama is concerned, Khramchikhin indicated that this is connected with preparations to liberate Deir ez-Zor, the capital of the Deir ez-Zor province, in order to lift the blockade of the Syrian anti-Daesh factions there. The analyst said this was likely the case because following the liberation of Palmyra, "Assad's forces received access to the M20 highway, which runs through the desert to the city." It is known that a few units of the 11th Tank Division have also been deployed in the eastern part of the province of Homs to participate in the operation to liberate the stretch of highway between Deir ez Zor and Palmyra. "After that," the analyst said, "it will be possible to turn around toward Raqqa as well. It's entirely possible that we may see a situation where Daesh is attacked by the pro-American coalition on the one hand, and the Syrians, with the support of Russian aviation, on the other. In a way it will be reminiscent of the offensive both sides carried out against Nazi Germany during World War II, only in a more rigid form, because back then there was still a formal alliance between the Soviet Union and the Western allies, and that's not the case in Syria." For her part, Elena Suponina, an advisor to the Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, warned that the Turkish foreign minister's words should be considered very carefully in Moscow. "Turkey and Saudi Arabia have bet on the failure of the Geneva peace talks. Every day the ceasefire is complicated by new incidents. In this regard, Riyadh and Ankara are preparing an 'action plan', in the event of the complete failure of the negotiations. Specifically, Turkey is attempting to persuade the US to work together with them. The danger is that the Turks may thus push Washington the brink of a military confrontation with Russia, since actions uncoordinated with Moscow might provoke a response from our air defenses." RAMALLAH (Sputnik) France brokered a ministerial meeting on Israel-Palestinian conflict in Paris slated for June 3, which neither Palestine nor Israel are expected to attend. "Arab countries, participating in the Paris conference on June 3, will represent the viewpoint of the Palestinian Authority," Maliki said. Despite consistent criticism of the US president on both the domestic and international stage, Obama promised the Netanyahu regime some $3.7 billion in military aid annually, the single greatest offering of aid from one nation-state to another in recorded history. In what many are considering an act of bad faith between allies, Netanyahu countered with a demand for $4.5 billion instead. Most recently, Netanyahus regime appointed controversial far-right politician Avigdor Lieberman to head the Ministry of Defense, sparking regional concern that Jerusalem seeks to employ an ever-more hostile military strategy in coming years, earning increased scrutiny from Beltway policy-makers. Despite continued human-rights abuses and acts many consider to be undermining the stature of the United States, many Americans continue to hold a favorable view of Netanyahus administration, dismissing allegations of apartheid-like conditions for Palestinians. Danny Danon, Israels ambassador to the United Nations, observed that Israel has "no more important ally than the United States and no closer friends than the American people." However, the ambassador observed that students are increasingly refuting the conventional wisdom that Israel is always right, suggesting the country has support primarily among voters over 30. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The number of settlements that have joined ceasefire regime in Syria has increased to 129, the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website. "Within the last 24 hours, a truce agreement has been reached with representatives of a settlement in the Homs province bringing the total number of settlements that have joined ceasefire to 129," the bulletin reads. The Russia-US brokered ceasefire regime in Syria came into force on February 27. "When Ramadi was taken from ISIS a couple of months ago, about 70% of all buildings were destroyed or damaged," he said. He quoted the Roman senator Tacitus: "They create a desert and they call it peace.' That is what US airstrikes are doing." Endicott, who was in Ramadi in 2003, recalled that during the war the US military completely destroyed the city, including civilian objects and infrastructure. For the people of Ramadi, the "liberation" from Daesh meant only "more bombs and more destruction," he said. Speaking of his mission, Endicott explained that while their primary task was to guard the city center and conduct "combat patrols, in reality we went door to door, kicked in doors and zip-tied anyone of military age at the age of 13 or above and hurled them in the trucks if we suspected anything. When a US Marine got killed in action or we had a triggerman spotted, we would shut down the entire block, and we would hurl every single military-age male, zip ties on their hands, at night, screaming, machine guns in their face And that's what we did four days a week." "I dont want to be sarcastic but I would like to thank [the US government] for any of the projects that was not approved by the US because it forced us to develop our own systems," Demir said Sunday. The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed severe misgivings over the Pentagons cooperation with the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Unit (YPG), a group Ankara views as a terrorist organization. Photos that emerged last week showed US Special Forces operating with the YPG insignia. "I am someone who believes that politics should be conducted honestly," Erdogan declared, adding, "Therefore, our allies, those who are with us in NATO, cannot and should not send their own soldiers to Syria, with insignias of the YPG." However, "it is far from sufficient to provide relief to all of the communities identified by ISSG [International Syria Support Group]," the message added. The Red Cross has said that the delivered aid on Wednesday includes vaccines and baby milk. UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) Daesh jihadist group, outlawed in a number of countries worldwide, including Russia, launched an offensive in Iraq in June 2014 and took control of large parts of the country. "Already, in the case of Iraq, we are looking at 3.4 million people, who have been displaced due to the rise of Daesh. What we are talking about in the next couple of months is another 3 million people being displaced," UNAMI Deputy Special Representative Lise Grande told reporters on Tuesday. In February, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi vowed to eradicate the militants in 2016, stressing that Daesh continued to lose ground in the country. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia's Strategic Missile Forces will hold more than 50 exercises in 2016 with 30 percent being snap drills, the Russian Defense Ministrys press service said Monday. During the summer of 2016, more than 30 tactical exercises with missile battalions and more than 20 tactical specialized drills with units from provisions and security will be held. More than 30 percent of them will be snap [drills], the press service said in a statement. The Russian Strategic Missile Forces will also hold exercises this summer in the countrys westernmost unit. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The experience of weapons, hardware, and aviation utilized in Syria is being used to train servicemen, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday. As you know, with each year more and more modern equipment and military hardware enters service. This presents particular demands to the professional skills of servicemen, including junior specialists. Its also important to note that during the process of training, the experience of exploiting aviation and missile systems used in operations in Syria is being widely utilized, Shoigu said during a Defense Ministry meeting. Russia has been bringing food, medicines and construction materials to besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria since the beginning of 2016. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Russian United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC) will present its multirole electronic warfare vehicle Infauna to foreign customers for the first time during the upcoming KADEX-2016 military hardware exhibition , press service of the corporation said Wednesday. "The United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation will for the first time introduce the complex Infauna to foreign audience at KADEX 2016 international exhibition," the company said. The development of the UIMC's Infauna began in 2005 and finished in 2009. In 2011, the first vehicle was ready to be delivered to the Russian army. In January 2012, four Infauna vehicles were delivered to the Russian airborne units of electronic warfare. Asked to comment on the prospects of the NATO initiative going ahead, Russian military experts Mikhail Alexander, Konstantin Sivkov and Vladimir Romanenko spoke to the Russian online newspaper Svobodnaya Pressa about what exactly those 'adequate measures' might be. Alexandrov, a senior expert at the Center for Military-Political Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, explained that while NATO has the capability to grow its presence in the region, this will not have any impact on the strategic balance between Russia and the alliance. "NATO really is looking to strengthen its naval group in the Black Sea, and the Montreux Convention can't prevent it from doing so," Alexandrov noted. "Most likely," he added, "the ships will be part of a NATO squadron operating on a rotating basis. What's more, the alliance has many members, and it would be sufficient if each of them were to send maybe one ship to the Black Sea, thus enabling them to bypass tonnage restrictions. Finally, [major NATO seapowers] can strengthen the fleets of some countries Romania, Bulgaria and even Georgia, handing over some of their own warships to them. I won't even mention Turkey, which is allowed to stage an unlimited number of warships in the Black Sea. As a result, the alliance will have no problems in creating a strong flotilla." Nevertheless, the defense analyst emphasized that from a strategic perspective, such a buildup would give NATO "almost nothing" in terms of gaining an advantage against Russia. "Judge for yourself: Russia's [K-300P] Bastion-P anti-ship coastal defense complexes are equipped with Onyx missiles. These Mach 2.6 supersonic missiles are highly maneuverable, with a complicated flight route, are able to climb to 15,000 meters, and then swoop down to an altitude of only 10-15 meters above sea level. They are difficult to detect against sea waves using radar. When the first missile locks on to its target, it transmits the information to others. In this way, Onyx missiles effectively distribute targets between one another." What's more, Alexandrov noted, "the Bastion is capable of striking enemy ships at long range nearly 300 kilometers. Add to this the fact that with the help of the Monolith-B radar station, the system is capable of obtaining over-the-horizon target designation," (making it capable of detecting targets at ranges of hundreds or thousands of kilometers beyond radar horizon). Meanwhile, in his own visit to Poland earlier this week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg similarly emphasized that "there will be more NATO troops in Poland after the Warsaw summit, to send a clear signal that an attack on Poland will be considered an attack on the whole alliance." Cited by Defense News, Macierewicz explained that in the event of 'Russian aggression', the NATO battalion-sized force would look to slow down any hypothetical Russian invasion. "These are just forward forces that are present, and together with the armies of the host countries should be able to stop the aggression for the time sufficient for the treaty to organize its structures and forces in order to defend its members," Macierewicz said. "From the military point of view, the problem so far has been that we have almost 100% certainty that in a situation of an aggression, NATO would lose the territory under attack and would have to reconquer it later," he added. Macierewicz didn't make clear what exactly would cause the Russian leadership to effectively lose its mind and attack Poland, a NATO member, effectively marking the outbreak of World War III, but based on his earlier remarks, the minister's words on NATO deployment were pretty tame. The process will take at least another year as US military officials conduct product verification tests of the preferred bidders ahead of initial production a delay that has caused considerable scorn among lifetime military officials. General Milley complained about the process, apparently steeped in bureaucracy, with an eye toward benefiting weapons contractors rather than advancing the countrys military imperative. "Were not figuring out the next lunar landing. This is a pistol. Two years to test? At $17 million?" The General proceeded to request that the Pentagon issue him the $17 million directly saying that he could go down to the local sporting goods store and buy a handgun for every person in the military by the end of the afternoon. DoD officials have yet to respond to the Generals offer. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US Navy has provided the contract to conduct pilot survivability training at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Lockheed Martin announced in a press release. "Lockheed Martin has been awarded a five-year contract with a ceiling value of $424 million by the US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWC-WD) to support the Aircrew Electronic Warfare Tactical Training Range (AEWTTR) program," the release said on Wednesday. The center is based in Ridgecrest in the US state of California, the release noted. Researchers speculate that over 80% of detainees have no connection to a terror group, but were snatched in roving dragnets in Iraq and Afghanistan on the basis of mistaken identities, faulty intelligence from neighbors seeking a payday from Americans, or because they were fighting for their homes. No Light at the End of the Tunnel "At some point if detention operations continue here we will have to address, Are the doors in the cells wide enough to move wheelchairs in and out? Are there ramps to reach medical facilities," said Rear Admiral Peter Clarke, detention center commander. "And weve just started looking at that so I cant tell you we are ready or not but it is something we are planning for." While President Obama continues to advocate for the immediate emptying and closure of the facility, his plan to move captives to detention facilities on the United States mainland are consistently blocked by Republicans in Congress. In a strong bid to maintain the torture site for future administrations, Capitol Hill Republicans are contemplating advancing legislation to outlaw transfers anywhere in the world, setting up a fierce legal battle between the President and Congress in the coming months. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia regrets that despite regular exchange of information there is still no cooperation between Moscow and Washington on anti-terrorist efforts in Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. "We regret to state that there is still no cooperation during the counterterrorist operation in Syria, but at the same time I would like to remind and [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin spoke about this that we exchange information with our US partners through the existing communication channels twice a day. So the exchange of information is really taking place," Peskov told journalists. He also added that there was no "secret" Russia-US agreement on Syria. The controversy surrounding TTIP is several-fold for Europeans, not least of which is the unusual secrecy of the negotiations. European political officials have been barred from revealing the contents of the deal, and, at most, are allowed to sit in a room with the document and make notes. Europes agricultural sector is especially said to face destruction under the details of the arrangement. The European continent maintains a strong tradition of family farming, along with some of the most strict food-safety standards in the world. Elements of the treaty would make it impossible for those small farmers to compete with low-cost American agricultural multinational corporations like Monsanto or Cargill, who would take advantage of generous tax breaks, lax standards on pesticides, copyright-protected genetically-modified produce, widespread hormone use, and poor animal safety, all to increase product yields, company profits and shareholder satisfaction. On Tuesday, Loud & Clears Brian Becker sat down with commentator John Hilary to discuss whether the deal may move forward despite European and EU dissent. "The determination of some ministers in Israel to block progress, and kill hope by promoting illegal settlements and rejecting a Palestinian state is concerning," said Nickolay Mladenov in a statement. The UN envoys comments came after Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked condemned a proposed two-state solution, declaring on Tuesday that, there will be no Palestinian state, there will be no settlement evacuations and we will not give any land to our enemies as long as we are in power. BEIJING (Sputnik) Russia and China are priority for each other in diplomacy, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday. "China and Russia are a priority for each other in diplomacy, and also important partners for the strategic partnership. Both countries support close cooperation in international relations," she told journalists. On May 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the current state of partnership between Russia and China was the best example of intergovernmental relations. He also noted that the official visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China in June would give a powerful impulse to the strategic partnership between the two countries. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Russia to discuss a wide range of international issues, including Syria, with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. "This visit was planned long ago. The agenda is quite broad [and includes] advanced and partnership relations in various areas, the large potential in the economy, but also in the areas of security and the wide field of mutual cooperation in international policy," Peskov told journalists. When asked if the two leaders would discuss the crisis in Syria, Peskov said, "Undoubtedly." The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has agreed to attend the St. Petersburg forum, which would be the first visit of an EU diplomatic official to Russia since its reunification with Crimea back in 2014, French daily Le Figaro reports on Wednesday. However the outlet further notes that the President of the Commission would not be the first European leader to brave the two-year cooling. Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, it says, have already visited Russia since the reunification with Crimea in March 2014 and the outbreak of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. YEREVAN (Sputnik) Armenia and Iran plan to sign an agreement on abolishing visas, a draft of which is put on the agenda of the upcoming June 2 session of the Armenian government, the government said in a statement on its website. "The agreement is aimed at further development of relations between the two countries, strengthening mutually beneficial economic, trade and other relations and regulation of mutual visits of both countries' citizens," the statement said. According to the document, Armenian and Iranian citizens will not need the entry visas for a stay of up to 90 days in a period of 180 days. The authorities of the two states can extend the period of stay. ANKARA (Sputnik) The vote in the German parliament on the recognition of Armenian genocide is "absurd," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Wednesday. On June 2, German legislators are set to vote on a resolution recognizing the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in World War I as genocide. "We believe that the vote is absurd and wanton. These events took place during World War I We know that those who try to accuse Turkey do not have good intentions. We frankly and openly say to the whole world that we have nothing to hide on the matter Turning a history topic into a matter of politics, including internal politics, is inherently wrong," Yildirim told journalists. BERLIN (Sputnik) The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) should meet at all levels to improve transparency and revive cooperation from top down to bottom up, the former chief of NATOs senior military authority told Sputnik. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that the bloc wished to have an NRC meeting with Russia ahead of the July summit in Warsaw. "This would help create an atmosphere of transparency. This would bring all the formerly agreed principles on finding consensus and managing crises back to life. That is why I support an NRC meeting not just on the level of ambassadorsbut on all levels," Harald Kujat, ex-chief of the NATO Military Committee and former inspector general of the German military said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A new negotiating team of the Syrian opposition that may be created by the next round of the talks should be more moderate and include Kurds, Mais Krydee, one of the leaders of a domestic Hmeymim-based opposition group told Sputnik on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) adviser Yahya Aridi told Sputnik that the group was considering the possibilities of joining forces with other opposition delegations at the intra-Syria talks. Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) member Naser Hariri refuted these claims. "When you need to build peace, you need to have a more realistic vision, being closer to the middle and closer to people in Syria. We need to make this step in the right direction and make a new negotiation group, having a more realistic vision. It is important to remember that Kurds must be part of this negotiating team too. They must also be at the negotiation table," Krydee said. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Canadian Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland is visiting Belgium and France to promote international trade between Canada and the European Union under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Global Affairs Canada said in a press release on Wednesday. "To highlight the benefits of CETA and attend the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECDs) annual ministerial meeting, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of International Trade, is in Brussels, Belgium, and Paris, France, today and tomorrow, June 2, 2016," the release stated. In Paris, Freeland will also chair a ministerial session of OECD and hold bilateral meetings with French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Matthias Fekl and their counterpart from the Netherlands, Lilianne Ploumen. BERLIN, June 1 (Sputnik) German Chancellor Angela Merkel sees no reason to lift or ease sanctions against Russia, the European Union will make that decision, German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirt said Wednesday. "The German Government insists on the implementation of the 'road map' the Minsk agreements. Thus, at the current moment, according to the Chancellor, there are no reasons for a discussion on the lifting or easing of sanctions," she said. Moscow's relations with the West deteriorated in 2014 over the Ukrainian crisis, when the European Union along with the United States as well as several other countries imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia, accusing it of meddling in Ukrainian internal affairs, which Moscow has repeatedly denied. Moreover, Spiegel Online reported Monday that the Merkel government has allegedly developed a plan for "a step-by-step easing of the sanctions against Russia," adding that the process could begin as early as this year. In accordance with "the plan," some sanctions could be lifted in return for the Kremlin's cooperation in holding local elections in the Donbass region this summer. The media outlet clarified that Berlin is unlikely to lift financial sector restrictions or abolish the sanctions imposed in response to Crimea's re-unification with Russia; instead, the German government could reconsider travel restrictions imposed on select Russian individuals, including members of the Russian parliament. "Another approach under examination is that of simply reducing the interval for extending the sanctions from six months to three months," the media outlet revealed, stressing that the German Chancellery supports the new approach. Why have German policymakers changed their mind? The truth of the matter is that the EU's sanctions policy is bursting at the seams, as more and more member states express their vocal dissatisfaction with the strict penalty regime. Indeed, Euroskeptics express their increasing discontent with the EU policies, and with reason: eight years after the global financial crisis of 2008 the EU is yet to overcome its dire consequences. To add insult to injury, Brussels imposed restrictive measures on Russia back in 2014; predictably, the EU sanctions backlashed against the European nations, triggering further controversy. The final straw that is about to break the camel's back is the ongoing refugee crisis that has engulfed Europe since 2015. However, Brussels is still in denial of the fact that it has shot itself in the foot by pursuing inconsistent domestic and foreign policies. Instead of looking in the mirror omnipotent EU bureaucrats point the finger of blame at Euroskeptics and right-wing political parties branding them as "fascists." Much in a similar vein American neocons have unleashed an all-out propaganda campaign against Donald Trump, lambasting him for his anti-immigration stance as well as his remark that NATO has become an obsolete alliance. "Arguing that being part of the European Union is not in the British interest, that NATO has outlived its usefulness, that protectionist policies or anti-immigration policies are desirable is not fascist. These ideas have no connection to fascism whatsoever," Friedman underscores. MOSCOW(Sputnik) Israel is ready to sign the peace treaty with its neighboring countries, including Palestine and Saudi Arabia, Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Zvi Heifetz said Wednesday. "We signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. We are ready to sign peace treaties with all our neighbors, including the closest [neighbor] to us Palestine. We have no reasons to avoid signing the international treaty with Saudi Arabia and other states. We would be glad for that," Heifetz told the Rossiya-24 television channel. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Top officials in the United Kingdoms opposition Labour Party are at odds over claims that a mole inside the party leaked party leader Jeremy Corbyns parliamentary questions to the ruling party, a letter seen by the British press said Wednesday. A Vice News documentary profiling Corbyn that aired earlier in the day showed his strategy director Seamus Milne accusing Labour staffers of leaking Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) to Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of the PMQs. "I wanted you to know, directly, that your work does not go unappreciated or unnoticed Every single one of you is an integral and vital part of that march," Labour General Secretary Iain McNicol wrote in a letter to party members seen by The Telegraph. "The first [issue] is the situation on the oil market, after the meeting in Doha the organization has to make a decision how to react to the unfolding situation on the oil market and fluctuations in crude prices Regarding the issue of freezing the oil prices, all options are on the agenda and will be discussed," a source in one of the delegations told Sputnik ahead of the event. According to the source, the other issue will be the election of the new chief of the organization to replace Abdalla Salem Badri, who was set to retire since 2013 but had stayed on because the cartel was not able to agree on a new leader. 50,000 civilians are trapped in the city and a human catastrophe looms. Who do the people fear more Daesh or the United States and its Iraqi allies? Joining Becker to discuss the latest assault on Fallujah in western Iraq is Nicolas J.S. Davies, author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq, as well as Ryan Endicott, a US Marine veteran who took part in the ioccupation of Ramadi in 2003, and is now an anti-war activist. Tensions flare between the European Union and the United States over the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. John Hilary, executive director of War on Want, joins Becker to talk about if the latest revelations reveal that world's largest free trade deal is being derailed by a growing mass movement. France bracing for a wave of strikes this week as the streets have been aflame with anger over the governments new labour reform law. As the country is running low on fuel, will the country completely grind to a halt? Will President Hollande give in to the protesters demands? Becker is joined by Steve Hedley, the assistant general secretary of the RMT Union in Britain who was in France last week in solidarity with the protests. . If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the Access to the chat has been blocked for violating the rules . You will be able to participate again through:. If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the feedback form The discussion is closed. You can participate in the discussion within 24 hours after the publication of the article. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia will not drop plans of sending tourists into the space as part of a crew but not until 2018, the head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center said. We have all the crews staffed until 2018, training has started. So there is no need to send tourists into space, Yuri Lonchakov told journalists. He also noted that there were no Russians among the candidates for tourist flights to the International Space Station (ISS). MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara was willing to resume ties with Moscow, but was not sure what first step Turkey was expected to make. "I do not understand what kind of first step is being expected from us. We are not a country that is sitting in the defendant's chair. We did not row with Russia. On the contrary, we are the country that wants to develop relations with Russia. We have been friends with Putin, and when one sacrifices such a vast country like Turkey because of a pilot's mistake, or for any other reason, it raises some thoughts. I think we need to make efforts in order to rebuild relations with Russia. I hope that we can overcome this problem as soon as possible," Erdogan said at a press conference. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reminded Erdogan what must be done if Turkey hope to improve relations with Russia. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned Wednesday media propaganda campaigns and information wars. "We believe that information wars, propaganda campaigns, information distortion and blatant lies are unacceptable We are deeply concerned about attempts to prevent journalists from their professional activities for political reasons," Lavrov said at a meeting with Russian non-profit organizations. He reminded that journalists were included in sanctions lists, banned from entry to certain countries, deported and subjects to psychological and physical pressure. SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik) Crimea authorities are skeptical of Avakovs plan to have Ukrainian patrol police work in the Russian republic. "Minister Avakovs new idea reminds of yet another number in a circus program," deputy head of Crimeas government Ruslan Balbek told RIA Novosti. The project brought together bioengineers, academics, combat veterans, small tech firms and defense giants such as Raytheon Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and General Dynamics. Furthermore, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are involved in developing a next-generation armor dubbed "liquid body armor," that will transform "from liquid to solid in milliseconds when a magnetic field or electrical current is applied." SOCOM spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Matt Allen told Scout.com that the goal of the project is to create a working prototype by 2018 that will be then evaluated for operational purposes. However, there are skeptics that express doubts that the project will ever come true. Ryan Devereaux of the Intercept wrote in July 2015 that "there are growing doubts and a sense that the evolution of the project has become a symbol of wild and unnecessary Pentagon spending." He cited DefenseTech.org that reported back in April 2014 that although it was expected that SOCOM's four-year research and development project would cost $80 billion, "the program will likely cost hundreds of millions more to perfect the sophisticated technology." Time will show whether or not the defense skeptics were right. "During the flight, Predator B Big Wing demonstrated its ability to launch, climb to an operational altitude, loiter and conduct reconnaissance maneuvers, and land without incident," the release stated. "A follow-on test program will be conducted to expand its flight envelope further and push its endurance profile to the limit." GA-ASIs Aircraft Systems division President David Alexander explained that the Big Wing will be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. All eyes have been on California, the US most populous state, leading up to its June 7 primary, where the race is extremely tight between the former First Lady and Senator Sanders. I have closely watched the primaries and am deeply impressed with how well Bernie Sanders has done, said Brown in an open letter addressed to California Democrats and independent voters. He has driven home the message that the top one percent has unfairly captured way too much of Americas wealth, leaving the majority of people far behind. In 1992, I attempted a similar campaign. Brown also called for party unity, as one-third of Sanders supporters have vowed not to support Clinton if she becomes the nominee. GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE (Sputnik), Joanne Stocker Sowards, who represents purported September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, made his request to the judge during a pre-trial hearing at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday. "The nature of the issues have to do with a very real basis for concern that we were at that time, and probably still are, subject to governmental monitoring," Sowards told Judge James Pohl. "Until we are able to perform our own due diligence and conduct the sort of investigation that professionally responsible attorneys would, we just simply cannot be comfortable" when speaking with clients. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) California Governor Jerry Brown requested formation of the Task Force in a May 12 letter to US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, the Tuesday release noted. "BOEM announced it will initiate planning with the state of California to establish an Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force to examine opportunities for offshore renewable energy development along the Golden State," the release stated. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Boeing will provide JDAM strap-on inertial guidance kits with the capability to receive guidance updates from Global Positioning Systems to increase weapon accuracy for conventional inventory bombs, the Defense Department noted. "Boeing Defense Space and Security [in] St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $3.2 billion contract for Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits," the announcement stated on Tuesday. The original contract was awarded on October 30, 2014 for a maximum amount of $1.7 billion, but that amount has since increased by $1.4 billion due to warfighter demand and to replenish depleted inventories, the Defense Department explained. In addition, Schwartz said the inability of the defense to contact bin Attashs family impedes their ability to gather mitigating evidence. Such evidence would be important for lawyers to argue against the death penalty if bin Attash is convicted of involvement in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. Schwartz noted that during bin Attashs 13 years of detention by the US government, he has sent one video message to his family. Bin Attash and four other defendants on trial at Guantanamo Bay are charged with conspiracy, attacking civilians, murder, violation of the laws of war, hijacking and terrorism. GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE (Sputnik), Joanne Stocker The US military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba must allow an investigation into whether there are dangerous levels of carcinogens in Camp Justice where the trial against the alleged September 11, 2001 terror attacks plotters is being held, a lawyer for one of the defendants stated during a pretrial hearing on Wednesday. Attorney Michael Schwartz told Judge James Pohl that funding should be made available for an independent expert to examine Camp Justice after a US Navy report revealed earlier that high levels of toxins are present on the site. "It comes down to this: Im not comfortable being in this room, and Im not comfortable bringing a team of typically 12-15 people and asking them to be here on behalf of my role as a defense attorney and on behalf of [defendant Walid] bin Attesh," Schwartz stated. An opinion piece by pollster Douglas Schoen went viral after he detailed how a win by challenger Bernie Sanders in California would turbocharge the mounting Democratic unease about her viability. Schoen pointed to the shrinking lead held by the former Secretary of State, who in recent polls has been within margins of error ahead of her opponent, at times by only 2%. He also noted that there are 1.5 million newly-registered Democratic voters in California since January 1, and that the primary is semi-open, both very good signs for a win by the Vermont Senator. A Sanders win in California would powerfully underscore Mrs. Clintons weakness as a candidate in the general election. Democratic superdelegateschosen by the party establishment and overwhelmingly backing Mrs. Clinton, 543-44would seriously question whether they should continue to stand behind her candidacy, Schoen wrote. The organization is planning to do additional research into whether air travel increases the risk for DVT, adding, "The findings of the epidemiological studies indicate that the risk of venous thromboembolism is increased 2- to 3-fold after long-haul flights (more than 4 hours)." The Center for Disease control has made similar findings. "Blood clots can form in the deep veins (veins below the surface that are not visible through the skin) of your legs during travel because you are sitting still in a confined space for long periods of time. The longer you are immobile, the greater is your risk of developing a blood clot. Many times the blood clot will dissolve on its own. However, a serious health problem can occur when a part of the blood clot breaks off and travels to the lungs causing a blockage. This is called a pulmonary embolism, and it may be fatal." In 2010, a 36-year-old American passenger on a transatlantic flight took a sleeping pill just before take off. She awoke after 7 hours to use the bathroom but collapsed in the aisle. Two hours later, the flight made an emergency landing in Boston and it was discovered the woman had suffered a pulmonary embolism with blood clots traveling from her legs to her heart and lungs. The woman suffered brain damage, lapsed into a coma and has never recovered. "This evening at approximately 20:45 pm, the MINUSMA camp in the Water Tower neighborhood of Gao was the target of an attack by mortars or rockets. According to preliminary reports, one blue helmet was killed and three blue helmets were grievously wounded, while more than ten members of MINUSMA including civilians were lightly wounded and have received the necessary medical care," the statement reads. Mali has been in crisis since a 2012 coup attempt as several insurgent groups have been fighting against the Malian government in an effort to gain independence or greater autonomy for the country's northern region. MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) The deputy minister added that Moscow and Mexico City might sign a new program of scientific and technical cooperation by the end of the year. "The [Eurasian Economic] Union is of great interest to us, [cooperation] would give us a much greater presence in the region, it is necessary to look at the possibilities of convergence of the Pacific Alliance [Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia] and the EEU," de Icaza told RIA Novosti in an interview ahead of the official visit to Russia that begins on Wednesday. According to de Icaza, the sixth meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission will be held in Moscow in 2016. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Putin paid a two-day visit to Greece last week on May 27-28. "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Greek colleagues for their hospitality during my visit to the Hellenic Republic on May 27 and 28. I was genuinely moved by the cordial, warm welcome accorded to the Russian delegation in your country," Putin said in an article for the Kathimerini daily. According to the Russian leader, the visit and negotiations were very positive. This brings at least some sense not only to the concept that Eastern Europe is part of the European Union, but to the whole idea of the EU, Korovin told the Russian media, in reference to the recent comments by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg regarding the planned rise in defense spending among European countries which are members of NATO, for the first time in nearly a decade, due to fear over the so-called Russian aggression and the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. Europe has reached a conceptual and civilizational dead end, Korovin added. It is 'diluted' and has no idea in which direction it should progress further. The political analyst further suggested that Europe does not have any consolidating idea, what he called an assemblage point. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The SBU said in a statement: "The Ukrainian Security Service has prevented an attempt of smuggling supporters of the Islamic State terror organization from the territory of Syria through Ukraine to the countries of Western Europe." Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with the countrys government fighting multiple opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries, including Russia. VIENNA (Sputnik) The president of Russia's oil giant LUKoil, Vagit Alekperov, told Sputnik on Wednesday he was currently in Vienna for talks with the companys partners from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). "Today we shall meet the Saudis, tonight [we will meet] with the acting Iraqi minister and tomorrow with Iran," Alekperov said. OPEC members will convene in Vienna, Austria on Thursday to discuss a plan to freeze oil production, two months after the previous attempt failed amid Saudi Arabias reversal. BERLIN (Sputnik) US special envoy for the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq, Brett McGurk, said earlier that the use of NATOs surveillance aircraft to back the coalition could be brought up at the July summit. "It is a pretext. It is really about making NATO part of the Syrian operation," Harald Kujat, ex-chief of the NATO Military Committee and former inspector general of the German military said. However, the number of foreign arrivals from Germany, France, Greece and the US has also drastically decreased as tourists are becoming increasingly reluctant to visit Turkey due to security concerns, according to Die Welt. April also saw 35.4 percent fewer arrivals from Germany year-on-year and 24.4 percent fewer arrivals from the UK. Ankara may yet attempt to salvage the situation by attracting tourists from Georgia and Ukraine, though in that case local businesses would have to reconsider their pricing policy as tourists from Russia and Germany are considered to be the biggest spenders among those who visit Turkey, the newspaper adds. As high season in Turkey begins, this situation becomes even more poignant as the decline in tourists becomes more and more noticeable by local businesses. According to the current estimates, the Turkish tourism industry may end up losing from $6 billion to almost $9 billion in revenue if the current negative trend continues. However, the Turkish government may yet be able to reverse this dangerous trend and to mend relations with Russia. Andrei Podyelyshev, Russias Consul General to Istanbul, made an interesting remark during a meeting in bilateral trade relations, claiming that despite all the problems "well overcome the crisis, well definitely find a solution," according to Hurriyet Daily News. Podyelyshev also declared that the two countries should be able to reach a mutual understanding, and noted how Russia's President Vladimir Putin recently stated that Moscow expects certain concrete steps from Ankara to be made in resolving the crisis. Nevertheless, President Erdogan continues to insist that he doesnt understand what kind of first step is expected from the Turkish leadership, arguing that Turkey is "not a country that is sitting in the defendant's chair." While he repeatedly declares that he wishes to restore relations with Russia as soon as possible, what kind of things hes willing to do to achieve that remains to be seen. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement earlier that the cabinet was to debate the bilateral visa waiver agreement on Thursday. "We saw significant progress in Iranian-Armenian relations in the past few months. This decision is a result of lengthy consultations between the two countries," the source said, adding Iran had similar waivers in the pipeline for Russians. MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Tuesday, Ziobro filed an appeal with the Polish Supreme Court against the decision of Krakow's District Court on the inadmissibility of Polanski's extradition. "If the Supreme Court considers an appeal favorably, I will sign an extradition claim," Ziobro said at a press conference, as quoted by Wirtualna Polska. He also suggested toughening punishment for sexual offenses. PARIS (Sputnik) French shipbuilders will officially hand over the first out two Mistral class helicopter carriers, originally built for Russia, to Egypt on June 2, a spokesman for France's DNSC company said Wednesday. "We will hold an official handover ceremony tomorrow," the spokesman said, adding that the warship, named after legendary Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, will depart for Egypt in a week. The second Mistral class ship is expected to be handed over to Egypt in late September, the official said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia and China are working on a comprehensive document on the development of the bilateral strategic cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the protocol of the Russia-China intergovernmental energy cooperation commission said. "The parties support the authorized organizations in the development of a comprehensive document on the development of strategic cooperation between Russia and China in the field of nuclear energy," the protocol obtained by RIA Novosti said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Construction of stable isotopes project facilities has begun at the Fordow underground uranium enrichment site near the Iranian city of Qom, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said Wednesday. "In the ceremony held on this occasion, Dr. Salehi [AEOI head] said that this project will further facilitate Irans progress vis-a-vis stable isotopes production and technology, which is of utmost importance in the framework nuclear industry, and multiple useful applications in industry," the AEOI said in a statement. According to the statement, Tehran and Moscow are in talks "to further advance the scientific dimensions of this technology." MOSCOW, June 1 (Sputnik) Donald Trump will visit the United Kingdom one day after Brits hold a vote on their future in the European Union, the presumptive presidential nominee for the US Republican Party said Wednesday. "I look forward to attending the official opening of this great development on 24 June," Sky News quoted Trump as saying in a statement, referring to his Trump Turnberry luxury resort on the western shore of Scotland that underwent $288-million renovations. Previously, there were suggestions he could travel to London in August for a Republican fundraiser drive. "With Russian dollar bond yields now lower than Portugal's, don't be confused about the message from the market: Concerns about the weakest members of the eurozone have picked up again, even as emerging-market worries recede," wrote Markets Columnist James Mackintosh. "Here is a simple explanation. Investors think highly indebted Portugal, with a socialist government, is more likely to default than Russia, which has little debt and has shown itself willing to pay. Portugal is rated as junk by all three of the main rating companies, while Russia has clung to its investment-grade status." Mackintosh also focused on the discrepancy between dollar-denominated bonds issued by Eurozone countries, and those in Euros, which are subject to the European Central Bank's 80 billion program of bond-buying that launched in March 2015, and is set to continue until March 2017. While the price of Euro-denominated bonds has risen thanks to the increasing demand, the handful of bonds Eurozone countries have in other currencies have a higher yield, demonstrating that investors still see their debt as a risky bet. "As the central bank began quantitative easing, a persistent gap opened up between Portugals dollar- and euro-denominated spreads relative to safe bonds, a differential that widened when the ECB expanded its buying in December," Mackintosh wrote. Alan Higgins, chief investment officer of the private bank Coutts, told the newspaper that the market has seen "a mania for Russian bonds." Last week the Russian Ministry of Finance issued sovereign debt for the first time since 2013, selling $1.75 billion in ten-year Eurobonds at an annual yield of 4.75 percent. Total bids for Russian bonds topped $7 billion, while the Russian Finance Ministry limited total bids to a maximum of $3 billion. SOS Revange kept her unbeaten streak intact in 2016, posting her third straight win with a decisive victory in the second round of the $120,000 Quebec-Bred Series at Hippodrome 3R on Tuesday evening. A four-year-old mare by Kadabra, SOS Revange and driver Gaetan Lamy started from the rail in the seventh race feature for four and five-year-old trotting mares, but the inside post position had little bearing on the way she raced. The contest got underway with 21-1 Kim Sorel (Martin Gingras) shooting to the lead with SOS Striking Monte (Mario Charron) grabbing the two-hole spot to the opening quarter in a speedy :28.1. There was no real movement until the half mile marker in :58.2 when National Trace (Stephane Brosseau) started up first-over. The action then took place as the field entered the backstretch the final time. Just as Charron eased SOS Striking Monte from the two-hole to challenge Kim Sorel, Gaetan Lamy, who was in seventh place along the rail, found clearance, swept to the outside and started up three-wide down the backstretch with brilliant speed. Meanwhile, after the three-quarters in 1:28.4, Charron and SOS Striking Monte had not yet cleared by a stubborn Kim Sorel, but it was Lamy and SOS Revange who kept the momentum going three-wide around the final turn, collaring SOS Striking Monte as they started down the stretch and wining by one length in 1:59.2. Kim Sorel held for third. It was a lifetime mark for SOS Revange, who is trained by Jean Tourigny and was bred and is now owned by Claude Hamel of Ayer's Cliff, Michel Damphousse of Louiseville and Jean Claude Vinette of St-Didace, Que. She paid $5.20 to win. The Quebec-bred horses did battle in their division as a non-wagering race with just three starters. Seeyou Men and driver Robert Shepherd went right to the lead with Promesses Imperial (Jerome Lombart) sitting right on their back as Met The Boss (Stephen Charlton) went off stride at the start. Cutting fractions of :30.2, 1:01.2 and 1:31.3, Seeyou Men could not seem to shake Promesses Imperial off his back. Then in a torrid stretch drive, Lombart came after Shepherd and Seeyou Men was barely able to hold off Promesses Imperial to the wire, winning by a head in 2:01.1. It was the second win in five starts this year for track record holder Seeyou Men. The four-year-old gelded son of Muscle Mass is trained by Isabelle Darveau for co-owners Catheline Pelletier of Mirabel and breeder Chantal Gravel of St-Cyrille-De-Wendover, QC. To view the results from Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Results - Hippodrome 3R This Sunday, June 5, 3R will host its first All-Star Drivers Challenge featuring many of the top drivers in the world coming to Trois-Rivieres. Hall of Famer John Campbell, Tim Tetrick, Yannick Gingras, Daniel Dube, Jody Jamieson, Sylvain Filion and 3R leading drivers from 2015, Denis St. Pierre and Mario Charron. They will all compete in eight tournament races with $10,000 in prize money. All of the drivers will be at a meet and greet with race fans starting at 12:15 pm in the clubhouse area. (with files from Quebec Jockey Club) Years after Kaiser Permanente began sending more of its Longview patients out of town rather than to Longview PeaceHealth providers, the two medical groups are talking about reversing those policies. Starting this week, several representatives from PeaceHealth and Kaiser will start meeting about where Kaiser sends patients, according to Nancy Steiger, chief executive of PeaceHealths Columbia network. No such discussions have taken place in recent years, she said. We are agreeing to look at ways to keep people close to home, Steiger said. Were glad to be back in the conversation, she said. Dr. Jennifer Bard, the physician in charge of Kaiser clinics in Cowlitz and Clark counties, said recent changes in executives at both Kaiser and PeaceHealth lead to a resumption of the talks. With a change of leadership we both recognized that this is a good thing to do, Bard said. Its exciting that the two organizations are going to be working together and having this conversation that will be beneficial to everyone in the community, Bard said. Its too early to say what Longview specialists or clinics Kaiser might use more, Steiger said. When Kaiser first opened its Longview clinic in 1985, it referred many patients to independent Longview specialists and for treatment at St. John Medical Center, which is owned by PeaceHealth. But Kaiser ended its contract for radiation and no longer has a contract for hospital services here in Longview, through Kaiser patients can still be treated at St. John. Kaiser, which has 28,500 enrolled members in Cowlitz County, also has gradually brought in more of its own specialists, such as cardiologists and gynecologists. In 2012, Kaiser stopped using the Lower Columbia Womens Clinic, an ob-gyn practice which closed the following year. Cowlitz County women with Kaiser health coverage have to go to Vancouver to deliver their babies if they want a Kaiser doctor attending. For some surgeries, Kaiser sends patients to its Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Ore., which is more than an hours drive from Longview. In conjunction with the talks, Kaiser and PeaceHealth last week announced a partnership aimed at improving the health of people in Cowlitz County, though it didnt provide details of any new programs. Both of our organizations share a deeply held commitment to the people of Cowlitz County, Steiger said. We are both dedicated to providing high-quality care to every member of our community. Our new partnership is designed not only to do that, but also to leverage the strengths of our two organizations. In addition to strengthening our partnership with PeaceHealth to meet the acute care needs of our members at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center, we look forward to working closely together to identify innovative ways to promote health and well-being in our schools and neighborhoods, Andrew McCulloch, president of Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of the Northwest, said in the release. We believe that by combining our strengths, we can put Cowlitz County residents on a path to better lifetime health. For years, Millennium Bulk Terminals has said its proposed Longview coal dock would employ 135 workers, but some opponents challenged that number at last weeks public hearings on the projects draft environmental impact statement. Some opponents suggested the terminal would only create a handful of jobs on top of the existing workforce at the former Reynolds Metal Co. site. According the draft environmental impact statement though, there would be 112 jobs in the initial phases. That would rise to 135 jobs at full-build out in 2028 with an annual payroll of $16 million. Broken down, that would be 25 staff workers, 30 waterfront staff and 80 terminal upland staff, according to the study. The company said these workers would be in addition to the 35 employees currently employed at the site. Nearly all of the coal terminal jobs would be either associated dockworkers jobs with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union or other unions, the company said. There would also estimated 165 indirect and induced jobs by 2028, according to the EIS. The latter was calculated by consultants using a model developed by the state Office of Financial Management and a professor at University of Washington. The model assumes that there will be roughly 1.22 indirect jobs for every direct job at the terminal. Millennium wants to build a $680 million terminal capable of handling 44 million tons of Powder River Basin coal annually. The coal terminal would take up just 190 acres of a 540-acre site. The remaining space would potentially be leased by other bulk commodity companies. Opponents such as Dana Minium, 57, of Kalama argued Millenniums job numbers arent big enough compared to other projects regionally. And they want to do this on ... prime, deep-port, waterfront property. What right-minded business person would accept such a sour deal? Minium asked. At the Port of Portland, the former Reynolds Metals Co. site at Troutdale is now owned by FedEx, which operates a distribution center there employing about 790 people on 78 acres. At the Port of Vancouver, Tesoro-Savages proposed oil terminal would create about 176 direct, on-site jobs on 42 acres of leased port property. At the Westshore coal terminal site in British Columbia, there were about 260 employees handling 29 million tons of coal in 2011 (more up-to-date numbers werent immediately available). Millennium supporters say construction jobs shouldnt be overlooked either. The project would create an estimated 1,350 direct jobs throughout a 5-year construction period, according to the DEIS. Mike Bridges, president of Kelso-Longview Building Trades Council, said that could mean 50 to 100 more people are kick-started on a construction career through apprenticeships. I think the DEIS told us exactly what we know. The project is going to meet strict standards. It validates what Millennium has planned from Day 1, to build a responsible plant, Bridges said last week. Were ready to start building this thing. Oregon authorities are offering $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest or conviction after two bull elk were killed illegally in Columbia County last week. The Oregon State Police discovered the elk near Baker Point, about 3 miles from Scappoose-Vernonia Highway in the area of Pittsburg Road on Sunday evening. The elk were likely shot Saturday and the carcasses were just left to rot, according to law enforcement. Oregon residents can purchase a tag for hunting bull elk, but OSP Public Information Officer Bill Fugate said poaching elk still is common. It occurs more often than you realize, but we never really know about all of it, Fugate said. We have very limited resources to patrol or attempt to apprehend poachers. Were really relying on the public to give us information. Michelle Dennehy, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman, said elk are the second-most popular animal to hunt in the state, and its unfair to lawful hunters when others disregard the law. We try to maintain hunting opportunities and wildlife viewing opportunities, Dennehy said. Oregons bull elk hunting season typically occurs in October and November. Fugate said sometimes the wait time for hunting tags can be years. Poachers are often trophy hunting for the racks, he said. To generalize, it usually comes out of greed and they just cant help themselves from killing animals, Fugate said. Im a hunter myself, and its frustrating for me because Ive never killed an elk. ... Its a sad deal. Half of the reward comes from the Oregon Hunters Association Turn-In-Poachers program and the remaining $500 from the Oregon Hunters Association Columbia County Chapter. Citizens with information should contact OSP Sgt. Joe Warwick at 1-800-452-7888. Tips can be kept anonymous. tech2 News Staff Xiaomi has agreed to buy about 1,500 patents from Microsoft in exchange for bundling Microsoft Office and Skype with their smartphone devices. This was announced earlier during the day and we have been closely monitoring the situation and the various factors that made both tech giants in teaming up together. Curiously this move comes right before the highly anticipated entry of Xiaomi, the popular smartphone company from China in the US smartphone market and other western markets. The nature of patents part of the deal is unclear at the time of writing. Talking to CIO, Bryan Ma, Vice-President for device research at IDC adds I'm assuming that Microsoft would want to keep its Android patents, and thus probably wouldn't sell those, Either way, Xiaomi was trying to build up its patent portfolio, particularly to help it in its overseas efforts, so this sounds like it gives them a nice boost, Ma said. The parents transfer deal is a part of a larger cross-patent licensing deal between Microsoft and Xiaomi and this deal comes after similar cross-patent licensing deals with Asus, Samsung and Dell. Both the companies have much bigger hopes with the deal than merely the cross-patent deal which for Microsoft translate into increasing the market share of its Microsoft Office platform along with Skype and for Xiaomi to successfully rejuvenate its growth. The growth as reported by Fortune has fallen flat in first quarter for the company and its only driven by lower-priced models selling in India, China and Brazil. The company had fallen out of top 5 in terms of global market share for smartphones from the third position it held just approximately a year back. But according to a IDC report it has managed to stay in the top 5 in terms of global market share in Quarter 2 of 2016. The deal will strengthen Xiaomis IP weakness that had prevented it from entering the developed markets. The weakness was noted by the fact that Xiaomi was the last one to add the fingerprint sensor in its devices out of all the Chinese smartphone makers. For Microsoft, on the other hand, the deal focuses on the revised strategy for pulling the users into the ecosystem through web and mobile apps through availability across all platforms rather than pushing them to adopt Windows Phone platform. This comes directly after the misadventures with Nokia that aggregated up to more than $7.2 billion along with other such cross-patent licensing with other OEMs and other write-downs. However despite the deal Xiaomi has a long road ahead of itself to conquer the market in developed countries including the restructure of key business operations like distribution of Smartphones through online resellers to shifting to brick and mortar stores. High school football playoff pairings announced Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, 7:20 p.m. -- AREAWIDE -- The high school football playoff pairings are being announced as you read this posting. In Div. 1, Reg. 2, Lapeer will play at Clarkston and Grand... Volleyball results from Thursday Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, 8:34 a.m. -- LAPEER COUNTY -- The Almont varsity volleyball team beat Madison Heights Lamphere and New Lothrop in a triple header at Almont Thursday. Dryden beat Bay City All Saints... Golf and tennis regional results Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, 5:41 p.m. -- LAPEER COUNTY -- Boys' high school tennis regionals and girls' golf regionals took place yesterday. Lapeer girls' golf placed 11th at the Div. 1 regional hosted by Oxford... Friday night football scores Friday, September 30, 2022 10:15 p.m. LAPEER COUNTY Lapeer beat Grand Blanc 39-17 at Lapeer to remain undefeated at 6-0. Almont upset Croswell-Lexington 37-26 North Branch routed Richmond 62-10 Imlay City/Dryden fell to Yale... UN warns 20,000 children are trapped in Falluja Islamic State halts Iraqi army at gates of Falluja Displaced Iraqis who fled fighting between government forces and the Islamic State (IS) group in Anbar province line up to collect donated food at the Alexanzan camp in the Dora neighbourhood on the southern outskirts of Baghdad on Tuesday. AP, Baghdad : The U.N. children's fund on Wednesday issued a stark warning to Iraqi troops and Islamic State militants in the battle for Fallujah to spare the children, the most vulnerable among the tens of thousands of civilians who remain trapped by the fighting for control of this city west of Baghdad. Backed by aerial support from the U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary forces mainly made up of Shiite militias, Iraqi government troops more than a week ago launched a military operation to recapture Fallujah which has been under control of the extremist group for more than two years. As the battled unfolded - with Iraqi forces this week pushing into the city's southern sections after securing surrounding towns and villages - more than 50,000 people are believed to be trapped inside the Sunni majority city, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad. The UNICEF estimated the number of the children trapped with their families inside the city at about 20,000, warning that they face a dire humanitarian situation, in addition to the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting by the IS militants. "Children who are forcibly recruited into the fighting see their lives and futures jeopardized as they are forced to carry and use arms, fighting an adults' war," the organization said in a statement. It called on "all parties to protect children inside Fallujah" and "provide safe passage to those wishing to leave the city." Fallujah was the first large city in Iraq to fall to IS and it is the last major urban area controlled by the extremist group in western Iraq. The Sunni-led militants still control the country's second-largest city, Mosul, in the north, as well as smaller towns and patches of territory in the country's west and north. Meanwhile, Islamic State fighters halted an Iraqi army assault on the city of Falluja with a counter-attack at its southern gates on Tuesday, while the United Nations warned of peril for civilians trapped in the city and used by militants as human shields. The Iraqi army's assault on Falluja has begun what is expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State, with the government backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, and determined to win back the first major Iraqi city that fell to the group in 2014. A week after Baghdad announced the start of the assault, its troops advanced in large numbers into the city limits for the first time on Monday, pouring into rural territory on its southern outskirts but stopping short of the main built-up area. Comedian Razzak Khan passes away Actor Razzak Khan, who is popularly known for his role of Manikchand in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Baadshah, passed away on Wednesday. He suffered a massive heart attack at 12:30am. He was rushed to Holy Family hospital in Bandra, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. His son Azad Khan, who works in Croatia, is awaited.The list of his popular films include Hello Brother, Joru Ka Ghulam and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum and many more. The comic actor made his debut in Bollywood with Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja in1993 and was seen in more that 90 movies in his entire career span. He had also appeared on Kapil Sharmas show Comedy Nights with Kapil in 2014. Razzak Khans funeral will be held in Mumbai today after the 4:00pm. Manik Mia, The six point programme and national unity Dr. Kamal Hossain : The fact that one of the first Cabinet decisions after liberation was to name the road on which the Jatiyo Sangsad building stands, Manik Mia Avenue, should provide an insight as to how those who had led independence viewed his role and that of the Ittefaq newspaper. I had the privilege after joining the High Court Bar in 1959 to meet him and be a regular visitor to his residence in Shantinagar. In those days when Ayub Khan's martial law had been imposed, political parties were banned and political leaders were being persecuted and prosecuted. The Ittefaq office and Manik Mia's residence were places where all those who were threatened by martial law could share their anxiety and discuss the problems they faced. Since I had the opportunity to visit Manik Mia's residence, in particular when Mr. Hoseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy visited, I was particularly privileged to meet Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who in those days was respected as our Mujib Bhai. He was always there when Mr. Suhrawardy visited. This not only gave me opportunity to participate in political discussions with him but also to obtain Mr. Suhrawardy's assistance in moving bail in the cases that were being instituted against him. The elections in 1946 and the United Front Election in 1954, demonstrated the commitment of the Bengali people to democracy. Manik Mia remained uncompromisingly committed to the restoration of democracy. As the Editor of the Ittefaq, he, undeterred by martial law, continued to write forcefully in favour of democracy and informed the people of the repressive actions of martial law against political leaders. He, thus, contributed significantly to keep alive the spirit of democracy in those dark days. His columns under his pen-name "Musafir" were read as a source of inspiration. Progressively as the issue of discrimination and disparity to which Bengalis were subjected by the authoritarian government and exploitation by the central ruling coterie gave strength to the growing Bangali nationalism. The Ittefaq under the editorials of Manik Mia attracted young journalists, whose powerful pens contributed to the cause. One of them Ahmedur Rahman was killed tragically in an air crash in Egypt, but Serajuddin Hossain wrote on powerfully for the cause of the Bengali people until he was martyred in 1971. Up until 1963 the united democratic movement had been focusing on restoration of democracy and free and fair election, led by leaders like Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Huq. Political parties remained united and a national democratic front had continued to gain strength. On 5 December 1963 Mr. Suhrawardy had died. Following this Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had taken the initiative to revive Awami League. While supporting restoration of democracy and unity of democratic forces opposed to martial law, the revived Awami League emerged as a nationalist force to unite Bengali people in order to end the exploitation to which they had been subjected by the central government. Following the 1965 War, the movement against Ayub gained ground in both wings of Pakistan. It was in that context that in early 1966 a meeting was convened in Lahore at which Awami League was invited to participate. The distinctive role of Awami League leadership of Bangabandhu was to launch the six-point programme and to present it to the conference, but it met with a negative response from the West Pakistani leaders, who urged that free and fair elections alone should be pressed and not the demand for regional autonomy. Between 1966 and 1969 the politics in Eastern wing gathered strength centered around the six-point programme. The Ittefaq's role in articulating the issue of disparity and discrimination from which Bangalis suffered continued to play a vital role in promoting the unity of the Bangali people. Manik Mia's position in this period was a particularly challenging one. Since he enjoyed broad support of political leaders his role was important in sustaining the unity of the Bengali people. Some Bengali leaders who took the view that election and democracy should be given priority within NDF kept up pressure on Manik Mia to support them. Manik Mia while maintaining respectful relations with those leaders continued to give forceful support to the six-point Programme for regional autonomy. June 7, 1966 is a historic date in the six-point Movement since it was a national protest day. Ayub launched his repressive assault on that day, arresting Bangabandhu and his associates and Manik Mia and seizing and forfeiting the Ittefaq newspaper. The forfeiture order dated 19 June 1966 specifically included in its schedule, the following grounds for forfeiture: SCHEDULE B: News, comments, statements and reports regarding the proposed observance of 'Protest Day' by the Awami League on 7.6.66 and all matters connected with or relating thereto. SCHEDULE C. News, views, statements, reports or photographs concerning or relating to the observance of hartal and Protest Day in East Pakistan on 7th June, 1966 and Government measures taken in relation thereto. "SCHEDULE D: The news under the heading wjelbi g~jZex cOIve AMOvn in page 1 and 2 of the issue of 9th June, 1966, Dacca. 1. The publication with the caption ivRbwZK g in page 4 of the issue of the 9th June Dacca. 2. The news under the heading 6 `dvi evIevqb AvIqvgxjxMi chvqwgK Kgm~Px in page 1 and 10 of the 12th June, 1966. 3. The news under the heading Qq `dvi cOk Kvb Avcvl bvB of the issue of 13th April, 1966. 4. The news under the heading msMOvg PjeB-cebi wekvj Rbmgy` bZe`i Nvlbv of the issue of 25th April, 1966 in page 1. 5. The publication under the heading `xNmywIZvi dj of the issue on 27.4.66." This repressive assault on Ittefaq and Manik Mia drew me closer to Manik Mia and the Ittefaq, as I was among lawyers who filed the Writ Petition challenging his detention and the forfeiture of Ittefaq. For the main hearing we had obtained the assistance of Mr. Muhammad Ali Kasuri. He came to Dhaka and we together interviewed Manik Mia in the central jail. Mr. Kasuri insisted that our interview being a lawyer's interview, under the law no police officer could overhear our conversation. We insisted that the officers stand outside. They stood near the window, when Mr. Kasuri returned to them and said that since from the window they could overhear what we were saying, they must move further away which the police officers were compelled to do so that the lawyers interview could continue. Mr. Kasuri had to return to Lahore before the submissions could be completed. He, therefore, prayed for an adjournment. The Court directed that no adjournment could be allowed but that I should continue with the submissions, which gave me a unique opportunity to conclude the submissions on behalf of Manik Mia and the Ittefaq. The Special Bench of five judges, consisting of Justice Siddiky, M.R. Khan, S.D. Ahmed, A.M. Sayem and Abdulla, delivered their judgment on 9 August 1966, and held as follows: "In terms of the unanimous opinion of the Court, the Rule in Petition No. 250 of 1966 is made absolute and the impugned order of forfeiture, dated 16.6.1966 is declared to have been made without lawful authority and is of no legal effect and the respondents are directed to withdraw or rescind the same." Another critical role played by Manik Mia was in the context of the Roundtable Conference which Ayub held with political leaders in 1969. Manik Mia had hoped that political demands be met through discussions in the Roundtable Conference. Ayub Khan, however, was prevailed upon by those opposed to the six-point programme not to accept them so that at the end of the conference on 13 March he stated that he would not address the issue of regional autonomy but would provide only for direct elections to the national assembly on the basis of direct adult franchise, which could make the necessary amendments for a federal parliamentary form of government. It was quite obvious that the anti-autonomy forces had succeeded in shutting the door to negotiations on regional autonomy. Bangabandhu therefore rejected the award. On returning from the conference hall, he sat with his senior colleagues to decide on their next course of action. Before the press conference, Bangabandhu had telephoned Manik Mia in Dhaka, as he was anxious to gauge the popular reaction, which he had correctly assessed would support his decision to reject Ayub's award and to carry forward the political movement. Manik Mia in no uncertain terms said that the movement and the peoples' unity had been strengthened by Bangabandhu's decision which was fully supported by them. The public reaction was to intensify the movement: spontaneous demonstrations in Dhaka denounced Ayub Khan, and pledged support to the Six Points movement. Bangabandhu's position as the authentic spokesperson of the Bangali people was confirmed by these demonstrations. Manik Mia's views thus contributed to the taking of the decision in March 1969 to intensify the six-point movement, which was a key chapter in our liberation struggle. (Dr. Kamal Hossain is the President of Gano Forum. He delivered this speech to mark the 47th Anniversary of Death of Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia, Founder Editor of the Daily Ittefaq observed by the Manik Mia Foundation on June 1, 2016 at Ittefaq Bhaban, Dhaka.) Watch on quality of food during Ramzan THE government decision to intensify Mobile Court drives to check the sale of stale, adulterated food ahead of the month of Ramzan deserves appreciation. Food Secretary and Chairman of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) jointly made the disclosure after a meeting with stakeholders at the latter's office in the city two days back. Their decision to standardize all tests to be carried out during such drives is also critical to satisfy the shop owners that Mobile Court are not charging them arbitrarily but on the basis if scientific proof. Consumption during the month of Ramzan sharply goes up because people buy more and try to eat fresh food or at least not stale food often sold in departmental stores and city's open market. Traders also often sell products with expired dates and naturally people would like to see that the market is under strict monitoring to ensure quality of food items in Ramzan and also beyond it round the year. The decision for intensive Mobile Court visit came after Mobile Courts discovered stale food items in several city superstores last month. The Court on that occasion had fined several superstores and sentenced some managers for selling time expired products. The action was protested by over 100 superstores across the country keeping their doors shut for a day demanding assurance from the government that Mobile Courts would not harass them as it may like. But the Food Secretary defended such drives saying when people will sell date-expired food and rotten fish it is visible but the authorities accept their demand for scientific test to hold somebody accountable for selling rotten food. We believe that vigilance of the appropriate food monitoring agencies is very essential to protect public health but occasional inspection by Mobile Courts is not enough to make sure that stores and city shops are maintaining quality of the merchandise. When such quality inspection may become regular superstores will remain alert and other traders in city markets will also try to sell fresh products. We have said it many times that the Health Ministry should play a regular role to ensure quality of every kind of food. Mobile Courts are for dealing with serious but urgent situations. The courts by their nature are arbitrary, in the sense that they have to decide on a sudden inspection. So the authority must not be arbitrary and listen to shop owners demands. We will also say that owners of super shops and city markets should remember that customers pay high price in the hope that they will get the best quality of food. They must not compromise on the quality of food items they sell and which people buy on trust. Journo Fahim Munaim dead UNB, Dhaka :Syed Fahim Munaim, chief executive officer and chief editor of Maasranga Television, died of cardiac arrest onWednesday morning. He was 62.Fahim Munaim, also ex-managing editor of UNB, breathed his last at his Gulshan residence around 6:15am, said sources at the TV channel. Known to his journalist colleagues as Tipu Bhai, Fahim Munaim is survived by wife Nadia Munaim, three sons-Farhan Munaim, Faraz Munaim, and Fayad Munaim-and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death. His body has been kept at the Square Hospital mortuary, and the decision about his burial will be finalised after the return of his two sons return home from the USA.Born in July 4, 1953, Fahim Munaim worked for different media outlets, including the Daily Sangbad, the Morning Sun, news agency UNB, weekly Dhaka Courier, The Daily Star and finally Maasranga Television in top posts. Son of journalist Syed Nuruddin, Fahim Munaim had worked for the UNB as its managing editor for nearly one year in 1991. From UNB, he returned to the Daily Sangbad as its managing editor in 1992.Later, he joined The Daily Star on June 10, 1996 as its deputy managing editor and was made managing editor on December 1 the following year. He worked for the daily in the same post before he was appointed press secretary to then chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed during the 2007-2008 caretaker government. He again joined The Daily Star and was made its executive editor on February 1, 2010. A month later, he joined Maasranga Television as its chief executive officer (CEO). He was very popular among his colleagues for his professional and well behaviours. Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed deep shock at his death. Syed Fahim Munaim was a member of the Jatiya Press Club.Jatiya Press Club President Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman and General Secretary Kamrul Islam Chowdhur also expressed profound shock at his death. Tributes to Manik Mia Dr Kamal hopeful of country`s better future Dr. Kamal Hossain speaking as Chief Guest at a discussion meeting marking the 47th death anniversary of Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia at the Manik Mia Foundation at Ittefaq Bhaban on Wednesday. Dr. Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun,Pre Staff Reporter :Speakers at a discussion on Wednesday gratefully recalled the glorious role of Tofazzal Hossain Manilk Mia for his unflinching role against all sorts of injustice, oppression and deprivation through his bold writings. A doyen in the field of journalism, Manik Mia had fought throughout his life persistently against all odds and adversities for the emancipation of common people, they said. His very objective of journalism was perhaps the best to inform, educate and entertain the people of his beloved motherland, they said while taking part in the discussion on 'Manik Mia's eventful life' at the Ittefaq Bhaban at 1 R.K Mission Road in the city. Manik Mia Foundation organised the discussion with Prof Dr Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque in the chair. Former adviser to the caretaker government and elder son of late Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia, Barrister Mainul Hosein gave the welcome address. Syed Tosharaf Ali, Secretary General of Manik Mia Foundation moderated the discussion. (See also Editorial Page)Paying tribute to late Tofazzel Hossain Manik Mia, the legendary journalist and founder-editor of the Daily Ittefaq, eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain hoped for a better future of Bangladesh."I'm still hopping for the better future of Bangladesh as the soil and people of the country did never allow the autocracy to run. I'm calling upon the young generation to get united in a bid to make Bangladesh a happy and prosperous country," Dr Kamal told the discussion. Narrating his memories of long association with Manik Mia, Dr Kamal said he (Manik Mia) used to present the brute rule and repression of the then Pakistan government to the common people in a very simple but sharp language. "By telling only about the development of the country, none could be able to cling to power. Our soil and people did never accept the autocrat. Since long we have been listening to the development of the country," he said. Dr Kamak said Manik Mia's main essence of journalism and political activities were boldness and devotion to the Bengali's national interest."As Manik Mia and his newspaper daily Ittefaq had played a vital role in achieving the country's independence, the first cabinet after liberation took decision to name the road in front of the national parliament after him as Manik Mia Avenue and I had an opportunity to attend the meeting as a cabinet member," he said. President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun and teachers of Dhaka University, Prof Syed Anwar Husain and Prof Golam Rahman also took part in the discussion. The speakers termed Manik Mia as one of the bright stars of the country, urging the new generations to take lesson from his biography in a bid to do good for the nation.Apart from the journalist, they said Manik Mia was also a politician but he was not doing politics for the political party but for the country.They said his (Manik Mia) main thoughts were freedom of individual speech and freedom of the press.They said Manik Mia was sent to jail with other political leaders as he had extended his strong support to the six-point through his writings in order to gear of the movement.Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque said Manik Mia had a mission to uphold the image of the people of the then Pakistan and to protect their rights."Apart from journalism, he was also very conscious about the political activities of the then Pakistan. Without the help and role of Manik Mia and his newspaper, Bangabandhu couldn't be a great leader of the country," he said.Abul Kashem said a complete biography on Manik Miah should be published by the Bangla Academy so that the young generation would be able to know about him. Yusuf Hossain Humayun said when Bangabandhu used to face any political crisis, he (Banganadhu) used to go to him (Manik Mia) for advice. Prof Golam Rahman said Manik Mia was really a pearl (Manik) as he only worked for the people."Now a day no newspaper has a mission to serve the people's interest. They don't have any challenge and dedication. But Manik Mia had taken the challenge only to protect the rights of the people of the then Pakistan," he said.Quoting a headline 'Birale Nurul Aminer Cokhe Mutia Dieche) of a post editorial by Manik Mia, Prof Syed Anwar Husain said as he was courageous only he had done this through his writings. 60 people including 10 cops injured Around 50-60 people, including 10 cops, were injured during a clash between police and unemployed nurses demonstrating outside Health Minister Md Nasim's Dhanmondi residence on Wednesday evening.Bangladesh Diploma Bekar Nurses Association (BDBNA) and Bangladesh Basic Graduate Nurses Society have been agitating over the last several weeks to press home their demands, including employment based on seniority. Contacted, Secretary General of Bangladesh Diploma Bekar Nurses Association Faruk Hossain told UNB that they were trying to meet the Prime Minister regarding their demands. Though they were assured of an appointment with the PM on Wednesday morning, they did not get time till Wednesday afternoon, he said.Failing to get the PM's appointment, they gathered in front of The Health Minister's Dhanmondi residence at around 6pm and started demonstrating, the BDBNA leader said. A large number of police were deployed to foil their demonstration programme. The police charged batons, lobbed tear gas shells and also used water canons to disperse the unemployed nurses. Finally, police dispersed the agitating nurses at around 8:30 pm. Several nurses' leaders and activists were detained from the spot, said. Faruk Hossain.At least 50 agitating nurses were injured as police foiled their programme using baton charge, lobbing teargas shells as well as using water canons, he said. A three-month pregnant nurse, Fatima Akhtar, suffered injuries leading to her aborting the child she was carrying, said Faruk while talking to UNB.Deputy Commissioner (Ramna Division) of DMP Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman said 8-10 police, including an Assistant Commissioner and one Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dhanmondi Zones) were injured when they tried to refrain the agitating nurses. Two nurses were also detained from the spot in connection with the incident, the DC (Ramna Division) said. Fateha & Milad Staff Reporter :The 47th death anniversary of legendary journalist and founder-editor of the Daily Ittefaq Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia was observed on Wednesday in a befitting manner. In the morning, leaders and workers of different organisations, groups, individuals, family members and journalists paid homage to his graveyard at Azimpur by placing wreaths and offering Fateha there. Journalists and employees of The New Nation held a Milad and Doa mahfil in the Ittefaq Bhaban after Zohr prayer. Among others, publisher of the paper Barrister Mainul Hosein attended the function. Besides, journalists and employees of daily Ittefaq also held a Milad and Doa mahfil at Baitul Jannat Aman Jame Mashjid after Zohr prayer at Kazlar Parh in Dhaka. Similar programmes were also held at the residences of Manik Mia's younger son Anwar Hossain Manju and his elder daughter late Akhtarunnahar Baby. Meanwhile, the Manik Mia Foundation and Jatiya party (Manju) organized the discussion meetings on Manik Mia's eventful life held in the city.Speakers at a discussion held in the auditorium of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) highlighted the powerful writings of Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia saying that his writings inspired the nation for achieving independence of Bangladesh.They also recalled his contribution in the field of journalism.An uncompromising personality in journalism, Manik Mia raised his voice against all sorts of injustice, oppression and deprivation through his powerful writings, they added.The discussants also said Manik Mia, one of the leading votaries of democracy, who fought relentlessly against all odds and adversities for the emancipation of common people, never failed to use his mighty pen against oppression and violation of democratic and human rights.Jatiya party (Manju) organized the discussion with its Secretary General Sheikh Shahidul Islam in the chair.Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju, Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman and President of Jatiya Press Club Shafiqur Rahman, among others, addressed the discussion.The speakers gratefully recalled the glorious role of Tofazzal Hussain Manik Mia, a doyen in the field of journalism.Discussants in another discussion meeting held in the Ittefaq Bhaban in the city also sketched the eventful life of Manik Mia. They said Manik Mia is a symbol of protest against conspiracy and democracy and place intrigue. They also mentioned that Manik Mia played a vital role in the development of Bengali nationalism in 1960s and was one of the main architects the then East Pakistan's autonomy movement based on Six Point. Manik Mia was a close companion of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardi and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Keeping in close touch with them he fought against military rule, autocracy and stark violation of political rights of the people. So his activism in the movement for democratic rights is clear-cut, they added. The discussion was organised by Manik Mia Foundation with Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Hoque in the chair.Prominent lawyer and politician Dr Kamal Hossain attended the discussion as the chief guest. President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, teachers of Dhaka University Prof Dr Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, Syed Anwar Husain, Prof Golam Rahman remained present at the programme as panel discussants.The discussion was conducted by Syed Tosharaf Ali, Secretary General of Manik Mia Foundation. A memorable meeting, on the occasion, was also held at the National Press Club in the morning organised by Bangladesh Sangbadik Odhikar Forum. 4 held with huge cigarettes at HSIA Staff Reporter : Customs officials seized 337 cartons of foreign cigarettes worth around Tk 10 lakh in the 'Lost and Found' area of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) on Wednesday. The law enforcers have detained four persons in this connection. They are Abu Bakar, Sohel Patwari, Foyez Ahmed and Shah Alam, customs official said. Customs Intelligence and Investigating Department' Assistant Commissioner (AC) Mohammad Rejaul Karim, said, "The Preventive Team of Customs Intelligence conducted a drive in 'Lost and Found' area of the airport around 11: 30am and recovered 337 cartons of foreign cigarettes." They haul of cigarettes came from Malaysia in the morning, the customs official said. The arrested persons admitted their involvement with the smuggling, he said. A case was filed with the Airport Police Station regarding the incident. Philippines cancels licence of remittance firm after BB heist probe Channel NewsAsia, Manila : The Philippine central bank said on Wednesday it had revoked the licence of a remittance company that anti-money laundering investigators said was used to transfer some of the US$81 million hackers looted from the Bangladesh central bank. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) issued a complaint against Philrem Service Corporation on April 28, accusing it of creating a fog around transactions and washing the stolen funds via a web of transfers and currency conversions through Philippine bank accounts, before moving the cash through casinos in Manila and junket operators. Philrem has denied wrongdoing. Unidentified hackers infiltrated the computers at Bangladesh Bank, the central bank, in early February and tried to transfer some US$951 million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. All but one of the 35 attempted transfers were to the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp in the Philippines. Most were blocked, but $81 million went to four accounts, held in fictitious names, at a RCBC branch in Manila. The central bank also cancelled two other remittance agents' licenses, citing "significant violations" of anti-money laundering rules without elaborating further. Firing at BNP procession in Savar: 20 hurt Staff Reporter : At least 20 people, including journalists, were injured at Savar when a group of Awami League activists fired at the BNP procession on Wednesday night. The injured were admitted into local hospitals and clinics. The incident took place at 9 pm when the party's chairman candidate Mahmudul Hasan Alal brought out a procession. The Cannel i representative's vehicle was also damaged. Officer-in-Charge of Savar PS Qumruzzaman said that he had heard the news and sent police there. The face is one of the first places that shows signs of aging. Fine lines and wrinkles can appear as early as your twenties, and by the time you reach your forties, you may start to see more pronounced changes such as sagging skin and deeper creases. But did you know that the face shape can also affect how you age? How Face Shape Affects the Aging Process The shape of your face can impact the aging process in a few different ways. First, certain face shapes are more susceptible to sagging skin and wrinkles due to gravity. Second, the thickness of your skin can also affect how quickly fine lines and wrinkles appear. And finally, the placement of your features can also play a role in the aging process. Different Face Shapes and How They Age There are seven different face shapes: oval, round, square, oblong, heart, diamond, and pear. Each face shape ages differently due to the inherent characteristics of that particular shape. Oval Oval faces are considered to be the ideal face shape because they are well-proportioned and tend to age very well. The skin on oval faces is of medium thickness, which allows it to retain its elasticity and resist wrinkles and sagging skin for a longer period of time. Round Round faces tend to age a bit quicker than oval faces because the skin on round faces is thinner and not as resistant to gravity. Additionally, round faces tend to have fuller cheeks, which can sag over time. Square Square faces are similar to round faces in that they also have thinner skin that tends to age quicker. However, square faces are less susceptible to sagging cheeks since the cheekbones are more pronounced. Instead, square faces tend to develop wrinkles around the mouth and eyes. Oblong Oblong faces have a longer shape with less width, which can cause the skin to sag and wrinkles to form around the mouth and eyes. Additionally, the thinner skin on oblong faces makes them more susceptible to sun damage, which can further accelerate the aging process. Heart Heart-shaped faces are characterized by a wide forehead and narrow chin. This face shape ages well overall, but the skin around the chin is thinner and can sag over time. Diamond Diamond-shaped faces have a narrow forehead and chin with wider cheekbones. This face shape also has thinner skin, which can cause wrinkles to form around the mouth and eyes. Additionally, the thinner skin around the chin can cause it to sag over time. Pear Pear-shaped faces are characterized by a narrow forehead and wide chin. This face shape is similar to diamond-shaped faces in that it has thinner skin and can experience wrinkles around the mouth and eyes. However, pear-shaped faces are less susceptible to sagging skin since the chin is not as pronounced. So, which face shape ages the worst? While there is no definitive answer, square, oblong, and diamond-shaped faces tend to show signs of aging sooner than other face shapes. This is due to the thinner skin and less pronounced features of these face shapes. However, all face shapes will eventually show signs of aging. The best way to combat the aging process is to take care of your skin by cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing on a regular basis. You should also wear sunscreen every day to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. By following these simple steps, you can help keep your skin looking its best no matter what face shape you have. Its time Lafayette had a black police chief, if for no other reason than weve never had one before. White men, all of them. Our sheriffs and mayors, too. Black folks have historically been about a quarter of Lafayettes population, yet their access to civic power has been nil. If youre white in Lafayette and have never passed through Truman, Washington Heights, Azalea Park or any of the other majority-black, economically stressed neighborhoods on our citys north side and you dont recognize that Lafayette has race issues, youre part of the problem. Thats not to say youre racist, but naivete and myopia form a bias of their own. You could shout across the chasm separating white and black Lafayette and hear a baleful echo when the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board held a hearing in mid-May on whether to change the qualifications for chief of police. The board, four white men (natch), was weighing whether to accept a recommendation from Mayor-President Joel Robideaux that the qualifications for police chief be tiered, allowing an applicant without a bachelors degree but with a mix of some higher education and law enforcement experience to test for the position. Lafayettes current qualifications mandate a bachelors degree. The board balked at Robideauxs recommendation, keeping in place the degree requirement but backing off a motion to raise the threshold and require a degree in criminal justice, business management or a related field. (Full disclosure: The editorial board at this newspaper discussed calling for even tougher qualifications for police chief than now exist, but couldnt arrive at a consensus, and Robideaux declined to meet with us to discuss the matter.) The qualifications the board chose to keep in place make someone with a bachelors degree in, say, art history and 10 years experience pushing a pencil in a police office more qualified than a candidate with decades of experience, a supervisory rank and the respect of peers in the department someone like Reginald Thomas, the police captain Robideaux appointed as interim chief who, after the civil service boards decision, is merely keeping the seat warm for that art history major. Thomas doesnt have a bachelors degree, but he does have an associate degree in criminal justice, 25 years with the department including 10 as a supervisor, and hes a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Hes also black, has the backing of the police union and the mayor, and he wants the job. Within the audience backing Thomas at that public meeting were about 20 members of Lafayettes black community, several with ties to the local NAACP. An unmistakable sense of grievance generations in the making hung in the room as they sparred with the board during public discussion. But the lilywhite Civil Service Board, which made it clear long before the final vote that it would nix Robideauxs recommendation, was merely a sounding board for that grievance. This meeting was about more than a black police chief, although even Thomas, gracious in defeat, was compelled to point out the boards melanin-deficient complexion. His supporters came to this meeting on streets named after white supremacists in a city that erected at the height of Jim Crow a monument to a slave-owning Confederate general a city that this spring saw white privilege rally to beat back an effort to move that monument out of a place of public exaltation. They live in a state that unbelievably still has as official holidays (Revised Statute 1:55) Robert E. Lee Day on Jan. 19 the day before MLK Day and Confederate Memorial Day, which, if youre reading this after June 3, you unfortunately missed. Their grievance is earned and its real. Appointing a black police chief may only be a salve, but its an overdue dressing on a wound that has never healed. DA Keith Stutes Photo by Robin May [Editor's Note (June 1, 2016): The hearing on the merits of Stutes' suit against consolidated government is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, June 15.] Just how consolidated Lafayette Consolidated Government actually is will be put to the test, likely this year, when District Attorney Keith Stutes lawsuit against LCG is heard in court. The parishs top prosecutor filed suit May 17 against LCG seeking full funding of his office. The legal process hit a snag in late May when the judges of the three-parish 15th Judicial District recused themselves from the case, necessitating an out-ofdistrict judge being called in to preside. But the suit will be gaveled, and its anyones guess how the case will be decided. Yet the short version of it is that if Stutes wins, the city of Lafayette loses. Two stories converge here: Stutes suit and just what consolidation means, legally, with regard to LCG. Shortly after he was sworn into office in January 2015, Stutes let LCG and the Lafayette City-Parish Council know that he would stop paying so-called reimbursements to LCG for a portion of the D.A. staff salaries a custom established by his predecessor, Mike Harson, who served as district attorney from the commencement of consolidated government in 1996. Out of courtesy, Stutes nonetheless paid those reimbursements for 2015 nearly $600,000 in four installments, but he did it under protest and refused to remit the reimbursements for the current 2015-16 budget that began Nov. 1 of last year. The D.A. cites legal precedents including a state Supreme Court ruling to argue that LCG is responsible for paying the entirety of his offices annual budget, which, according to the current fiscal year LCG budget, is roughly $2.2 million, begging the question: What, precisely, is Lafayette Consolidated Government? LCG officials have argued that Louisiana state law requires parish government to fund offices with parishwide duties the jail, the parish courthouse, the assessor and, yes, the district attorney and because of the nature of LCG, which isnt really consolidated since the parish and city of Lafayette have separate budgets, the parish general fund alone is responsible for funding the district attorney. Problem is, parish government is essentially broke and, from LCGs perspective, even broker now that Stutes is refusing to remit the reimbursements. Bruce Conque Parish government is mandated under state law to fund parishwide services such as the D.A., says Councilman Bruce Conque, vice chair of the Council Finance Liaison Committee, who acknowledges gray areas in the Home Rule Charter (i.e., the constitution for LCG) when it comes to city-versusparish fiscal responsibilities: The charter establishes that the governmental functions of the City of Lafayette are hereby consolidated with the governmental functions of Lafayette Parish. This could be interpreted as the city of Lafayette being absorbed by the parish and thus responsible for parish obligations. The charter creates a fiction of city and parish funds, Stutes asserts, underscoring the interpretive contortions reading the charter requires. As long as there was money in the parish fund, nobody cared. The parish is experiencing a significant shortfall in revenue, Conque adds. This fiscal crisis can only be offset by either cutting services or reducing personnel. This applies to the D.A.s office as well as the operations of the 15th Judicial District as applied to the parish obligations under state law. What and how much is yet to be determined pending legal counsel input. Parish sales tax collections are currently down about 35 percent compared to this time last year, Conque notes. The council will soon undertake a midyear budget adjustment that could lead to layoffs that hasnt happened, by our reckoning, in the 20-year history of LCG and will almost certainly usher in significant cuts to services in unincorporated Lafayette Parish, i.e., the parish part of LCG. In many ways this sober review of city and parish budgets and responsibilities is long overdue; Stutes lawsuit against LCG is forcing city-parish leaders to finally settle the matter or will, more properly, force a judge to decide it for us. Joel Robideaux Its worth noting maybe speculate is the better word that the impasse between the D.A. and consolidated government could possibly have been avoided had the two sides sat down and tried to hammer out an agreement early this year but, Stutes says, Mayor-President Joel Robideaux declined to meet. But an impasse it is, and from the perspective of Stutes, who has a legal obligation to maintain a functioning prosecutors office, it doesnt matter whether his funding comes from the parish general fund, the city general fund or a combination of the two. He needs to pay his staff, to prosecute bad guys. Its equally worth noting how easy it is to get bogged down in details, to fail to see the proverbial forest for the trees. Looking at the bigger picture lets us focus on the bigger issue consolidation and how consolidation as we know it in Lafayette Parish hasnt always been in the best interest of the city of Lafayette. The city of Lafayette pays about half the cost of a Parks & Recreation Department that everyone in the parish uses; the rest of Parks & Recs budget is funded by a cityonly property tax established in the early 1960s. Until 2014 the city paid 80 percent of the cost of funding the mayor-presidents office, although the city is only about 53 percent of the overall parish population and the mayor is elected by everyone in the parish; that funding disparity was right-sized under former Mayor-President Joey Durel, who long emphasized during his three terms in office the disadvantages to the city via consolidation. Every earth mover, bull dozer and other heavy equipment working in unincorporated Lafayette Parish belongs to the city, which fuels them, maintains them and pays to replace them when they no longer work. The list goes on. If Stutes is successful and no ones arguing that his office should not be fully funded the only place the additional revenue can come from is the city general fund. The other towns in the parish Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Scott and Youngsville wont have to pay an extra penny to help fund an agency that serves everyone in the parish. Theyre not part of LCG. Only the city of Lafayette will. When voters parishwide all six municipalities plus those living in the unincorporated parish approved consolidation in 1992, they did so resoundingly: 60 percent in favor. But it was city of Lafayette voters who propelled the proposition to victory with 67 percent in favor. Outside the city of Lafayette, in the unincorporated parts of the parish and the smaller towns, the proposition failed 49-51. But for many city folk like Conque, who led the charge to reverse consolidation in 2011 as a member of the Charter Commission voters parishwide overwhelmingly rejected the proposition at the ballot box that fall the 1992 consolidation measure voted on parishwide was flawed from the outset because it let voters in the small towns who wouldnt be part of consolidation help make the decision. As a result of consolidation, residents in Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Scott and Youngsville help select four of the nine members of the City-Parish Council who regularly vote not only on parishwide fiscal matters but the city of Lafayettes finances as well. In other words, through the representatives they vote onto the council, residents in the small towns make decisions about city of Lafayette finances and affairs. This is not a reciprocal situation. Its lost in the haze of decades why the small towns werent included in consolidation. This newspaper and others have used the phrase opted out in accounting for it. Its not an unreasonable assumption that the small towns resisted being part of LCG doing so would have meant dissolving their corporate identity, relinquishing their mayors and councils and becoming part of one parish entity. (This is the case in New Orleans, which consolidated with Orleans Parish in 1805, the first such consolidation of a city and county in U.S. history; there is no other city in Orleans Parish besides New Orleans, whose corporate limits are also the parish limits.) Attorney Ed Abell, who was chairman of the Lafayette Consolidation Commission established by legislative act that paved the way for consolidation approved in a parishwide vote in 1992, recalls that including the small towns in the consolidation proposition was outside the scope of the commissions work; the small towns couldnt legally be included. Clearly they had made it known to the Legislature that they wanted no part of consolidation. Yet, voters in those towns were allowed to vote on consolidation even though they wouldnt be part of LCG. Consolidation was sold to voters as a cost-saving measure: By having one City- Parish Council instead of separate city and parish councils, we could save millions in salaries and duplication of services. It seemed like a good idea at the time so good that city voters embraced it with gusto. But back then the city of Lafayette was 60 percent of the parish. That majority has dwindled to about 53 percent and, by the time the 2020 Census rolls around, could be 50 percent or less. Like every city, county and state in the country, LCG is required by federal law following each decennial census to redraw voting districts. If the city is below 50 percent after 2020, it would mean having a majority of districts on a City-Parish Council that calls the financial shots for the city of Lafayette elected by non-city of Lafayette voters. Is Rod Serling writing the script here? Many of us assumed [the city of] Lafayette would maintain its relative position, Abell says, noting with regret that Walter Comeaux, the first mayor-president of LCG who served two terms, brought annexations to a trickle during the first eight years of consolidation, ushering in the city of Lafayettes slow but inevitable decline as the majority entity within the parish. Since then, developers have planted subdivisions throughout unincorporated Lafayette Parish, which now accounts for nearly a third of the overall parish population. Back at the intersection of competing interpretations of the charter whether parish government alone is responsible for funding parishwide offices remains an immutable fact: Parish government simply doesnt generate enough revenue to support the services. Sales taxes are continually dwindling in unincorporated Lafayette Parish because soon after a business opens in the unincorporated area it gets annexed by a nearby city, thus redirecting those sales taxes away from the parish general fund and into the annexing citys spreadsheets. The result, following the councils mid-year budget readjustments, will surely be wide cutbacks in services, if not layoffs of LCG employees. Fewer coulees will be cleared of debris, grass in medians will grow taller, potholes will widen and dilapidated rural bridges will be closed rather than repaired, increasing traffic congestion as motorists seek alternative routes. Abell says he believes the consolidated Home Rule Charter needs amending to make LCG function better, but he says we shouldnt abandon it in and return to separate city and parish governments. Conque, who still prefers deconsolidation but recognizes the impracticality of it at the ballot box, doesnt disagree: The charter is a seriously flawed document, and the unintended consequences may adversely impact the city of Lafayette, which has been my argument for re-establishing separate governing bodies for the city and parish of Lafayette. Even as our consolidated city-parish comes to terms with the terms, a district attorney awaits the funding he needs for his office to operate at full capacity. The law is the law, Stutes says. My duty and responsibility is to the citizens all the citizens of the city-parish government. I didnt participate in the consolidation effort. I wonder if anyone knew at that point that this interpretation would be an after-the-fact interpretation I dont know. This is not about deconsolidation for me its simply about following the law. If Stutes prevails and the city is on the hook for making up his funding shortfall, it will be unfair to city taxpayers an unintended consequence of consolidation. Adds Stutes: If the law as it is now is an unintended consequence, thats someone elses conclusion not mine. Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes. What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection? Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were. Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly. Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection: You get to see exactly what will happen to your money When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor. Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on. A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with. You find out about potential major repairs Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing. If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately. You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home. Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly. You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best. This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit. Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home. You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home. You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price. You can sell your home faster and for more money If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are. In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price. Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for. Your home will hold its value longer As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property. When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home. You can make smart decisions about property investments Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property. If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal. There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about. If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing. They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit. You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for. For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money. You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building. You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure. Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so. As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process. My friends Carl Weese and his wife Tina are visiting TOP Rural Headquarters from their home in Connecticut. They're out today on a sortie in the direction of Rochester, scouting a drive-in theater for Carl and farm landscapes for Tina's paintings, hoping they have enough time to fit in a visit to George Eastman Museum. I stayed behind to work and mind the dogs. I got to see a whole lot of Carl's gorgeous platinum/palladium prints last night, and you know it always makes me happy to look at prints. He's now doing Pt/Pd prints from digital internegatives of film originals, from digital negatives of digital originals, and from in-camera film negativesfrom Pt/Pd renderings of some very early 35mm work to 7x17" contact prints. Lovely. Although he has taught the art of platinum printing for many years (and is available for private workshops, by the way, in case you want to learn), he continues to refine and improve his superlative craftsmanship, exploring the nuances and shadings of formulas and papers. Some of his extremely delicate, quiet landscapes and nature photographs almost dissolve in low contrast, collapsing into the middle of the tonal scale, while at the same time managing to render fine detail that almost descends into the microscopic. The effect is both soothing and revelatory, and I got kind of fascinated. One thing he said last night that I thought I'd pass on was, "If you can print, you can print." Paraphrasing, he said it doesn't really matter if your medium is platinum, conventional silver, or Canson paper in an Epsonthe techniques can be mastered; the real skill is having good judgment and knowing what you want the print to look like. Carl Weese. Photo by Bill Mitchell. This is on another topic altogetherfoodbut I learned something else about Carl I thought was interesting. He's a lifelong vegetarian, but only because he doesn't like the taste of meat and never has. Even as a kid, he says, he hated meat and fish of all kinds and went to great lengths to avoid having to eat ithe only wanted the veggies, fruits and starches. I just thought that was interesting because it seems to me that all the vegetarians and vegans I've known have been motivated at least in part by some mix of humanitarian/ethical concerns, or personal health concerns, or because the efficiency of production (global health concerns?) appeals to them. There's usually some amount of virtuousness in the mix. Carl says he doesn't mind those aspects of it but he can't take any credit for being virtuous in any way. With him it's just what does and doesn't appeal to his tastebuds, and that's it. I fixed a lentil curry over rice, which cleared the bar and was pretty tasty, to boot. Mike (Thanks to Bill) Original contents copyright 2016 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. TOP's links! (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.) Featured Comments from: JG: "I have a couple of Carl's platinum prints from an earlier TOP sale and agree they are gorgeous, both technically and artistically. The inkjet prints of his that I have (and have seen) are quite nice, too. And of course, he's also a nice guy! I had the pleasure of his company for a few days when he stayed with me and my family during his Drive-In Theater roadtrip back in 2012 and he's welcome back any time." The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. CARBONDALE Randall Davis, an assistant professor of political science at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, has been working on a project about business owner perceptions of the local climate since January. The assistant professor, in partnership with the citys Business Development Corporation, said his survey will be used to for data collection and analysis on permitting and regulatory procedures. Right now I am partnering with the Carbondale Business Development Corporation to essentially assess the attitude of local business owners regarding the city of Carbondales permitting and regulatory process, Davis said. Davis said the plan was cultivated with Interim City Manager Gary Williams, after which surveys for the project were mailed to local business owners. He (Williams) was interested in identifying how local business owners felt about permitting the regulatory process and came to us at the SIU MPA Program, Davis said. Using data relevant to the city and CBDC, Davis said, the survey which consists of 40 questions allows for local businesses to explore how they feel about rules and regulations that govern permitting and approval processes. Based on a stream of research, I have identified five dimensions of quality rules and regulations just asking business owners about the extent to which they agree or disagree with those aspects of the process, he said. Davis said he anticipates the project to conclude by the end of the year, after which he hopes to provide data and analysis from at least 200 responses. Im looking for (200) people to respond," he said, "so I suspect that the project will be finalized at the end of this calendar year." CARBONDALE Since the citys Super Splash Park Aquatic Center opened on Saturday, the director of the Carbondale Park District said despite concerns of the parks concessions policy, business has been as anticipated. We had a busy three days, and we hope that crowds continue to gather this opening week, said Kathy Ranfro. As numbers for the Memorial Day weekend are being calculated, Renfro said she expects estimates to be significantly high because the center attracted locals, plus individuals from outside of the community. Theres a lot of people coming from other areas, she said. People from all over Jackson County and Williamson County certainly have been with us this past weekend and the good news should travel. Additionally, Renfro said, concessions were busier than members of the Park District board had anticipated. We didnt see as many people opting to bring their own food, she said. "But (opening) weekend is a different kind of thing so we will continue to monitor that and see how the families respond. Concerns regarding the outside food and beverage policy were addressed during a park district meeting on May 7 when Carl Flowers, treasurer for the Park District, inquired about the permit and whether or not it would interfere with the sale of concessions. In a follow-up interview, Flowers said since opening day he has heard positive reviews from a number of locals many, he said, suggested that the aquatic center had been long overdue. As treasurer, I anticipate reviewing the concession sales for the Splash Park versus the budget, and (will) likely have some thoughts to share with the Board at our next meeting, and with the Administration and Finance committee meeting on June 20, said Flowers, who is also the interim chair for the department of counseling, quantitative methods, and special education at Southern Illinois University. As opening week continues, Renfro said she expects to see more business as programs such as the Saluki Masters Swim Club which offers swim lessons to adults open for the summer. I think we will begin to see more birthday parties (and) more private rentals over the break, she said. Additionally the director said she is confident that as the temperature increases, so will crowds. Attendance will continue to grow. We had a good turn out this weekend, and as the weather gets a little warmer and with more consistent sunshine I think we will see crowds grow. A Park Hills, Missouri man was arrested Tuesday after he cut a family member with a knife during an altercation, Carbondale Police said in a news release Wednesday. Officers with the City of Carbondale Police Department responded to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale after a report of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. According to the release, officers learned that the male victim and family member Preston Turner of Park Hills, Missouri, began arguing with each other at a residence in the 400 block of East Sycamore Street. A confrontation between the pair ensued, during which Turner brandished a knife and cut the victim twice causing serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. The victim was treated at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, and Turner was arrested and charged with aggravated battery. The Southern SPRINGFIELD After finishing another legislative session without agreeing on a budget, Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois' ruling Democrats began looking for other options Wednesday even as they focus on November and trying to convince voters the other side is to blame for the state's enormous fiscal mess. Just hours after lawmakers adjourned their spring session, Rauner and fellow Republicans began touring the state, bashing Democrats. But there's huge political risk for both sides leading up to the general election. As Senate President John Cullerton put it late Tuesday: "(Rauner) is in trouble, just like we're in trouble." "We have universities that might close, social service providers that might close and schools that might not open," the Chicago Democrat said. "And we're all confronted with this right now." Rauner on Wednesday started a two-day, campaign-style tour of Illinois, where he repeated his assessment from late Tuesday that the session was a "stunning failure." He went on to blame Democrats for the state's fiscal troubles and not just this year's failure to pass a budget. He took a shot at Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, his main political rival in the state's 11-month budget standoff, pointing to his decades-long rule as the reason for the state's $5 billion deficit and $111 billion pension debt. "The tragic fact is Speaker Madigan and his Democrats have controlled the General Assembly for more than 30 years. Thirty years of total power. And in those 30 years we have the highest deficits, debt, unfunded pension liabilities in America," Rauner said during a stop at Vienna Correctional Center. Democrats argue Rauner's yearlong insistence on passing pro-business legislation and curbing the power of unions one of their strongest constituencies is the reason for the historic impasse. Madigan has repeatedly said Rauner is holding hostage schools, social service programs, and higher education institutions because of his "personal agenda." Rauner was joined in his tour by Harrisburg Mayor Dale Fowler, a Republican who's challenging Democratic state Sen. Gary Forby in November. The governor called on Forby and other area Democratic lawmakers to stand up to their party's leaders and help him pass a short-term budget fix and a school funding bill while he and lawmakers negotiate a full spending plan. Several Republicans looking to unseat Democratic incumbents also held news conferences Wednesday to criticize lawmakers for the lack of progress on a budget. Three of those incumbents are in suburban Chicago districts where the GOP sees its best odds of picking up seats and they'll have the financial backing of Rauner, a wealthy former venture capitalist. Democrats, meanwhile, are looking to boost their numbers in each chamber to have solid supermajorities that will allow them to impose their will on the first-term governor. Each party is gambling that voters' anger will damage the other side with public schools in danger of not receiving money this fall and the continued decimation of social service programs. Illinois has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the country without a budget for the current fiscal year, which began July 1. But there are signs that neither side is willing to stomach possible school closures heading into the general election. Cullerton and Madigan said they want to work with the governor to pass a temporary budget that allows the state to fund schools, social services, and colleges through the end of the year. Madigan said House lawmakers will return to Springfield every Wednesday in June beginning next week, and Cullerton said he'll call his members back for votes once there is progress in negotiations. Passing any legislation now is a heavy lift. Before this year's session concluded, lawmakers needed a simple majority to pass a budget. Now, they'll need three-fifths support from each chamber. Rauner was already preparing to blame Democrats if they can't reach a deal. "If they refuse and want to wait until after the general election, we need to hold them accountable for their decisions and what' they've done to us over time," he said Wednesday. Ameren customers will start to see slightly smaller electric bills starting Wednesday, the Citizens Utility Board announced. Starting Wednesday, Amerens price to compare the rate customers compare to alternative supplier offers will be about 4 to 5 percent less than the June 2015 price. According to the Illinois Commerce Commission, the new Ameren Illinois prices ranging from central Illinois moving to the south will be 5.6 cents per kilowatt-hour from June to September. Starting in October through May 2017, Ameren customers will pay 6.4 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first 800 kilowatts, and then it will be 4.7 centers per kilowatt-hour. The Citizens Utility Board reports that Ameren estimated that customers on its supply rate who use about 10,000 kilowatt hours a year will save about $1.75 a month, or $21 over the next year. Were glad that central and Southern Illinois consumers are paying slightly lower power prices this summer, CUB Communications Director Jim Chilsen said in a news release. We still have a long way to go to better protect Illinois consumers from price spikes in the electricity market, but this is a step in the right direction. Last June, Amerens prices went up about 30 percent, the utility board says. The spike was because of an increase in capacity costs, which is what consumers pay to ensure power plants are able to deliver electricity on the highest demand days of the year. The decrease comes after Illinois capacity costs were about 50 times higher than 14 other states in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator the power grid operator in center the Southern Illinois. Each spring, the system operator holds an auction to determine capacity costs for the next year for June through May 31. To the Editor: Your recent editorial (A future without coal?, May 15) raises important questions about Illinois energy future. For Southern Illinois, it is worth remembering that the type of energy with the greatest potential to create jobs and savings is the energy that we dont use. Energy efficiency has a proven track record in Illinois. Since efficiency standards were adopted in 2007, customers have saved more than $1 billion. Those standards spurred an industry now employing 86,000 people statewide, which grew by 25% in 2015. Southern Illinois is fertile ground for savings and job growth through energy efficiency. This is due especially to the number of large industrial users, many of whom our company has helped cut energy usage in half. These savings put more money in peoples wallets, including local residents and small business customers, and puts more people to work-- at the companies we have served and among union workers whom we hire across downstate Illinois. Unfortunately, legislation introduced by ComEd (SB1585) limits new energy efficiency benefits to Northern Illinois. This is a bitter pill for Ameren ratepayers who would pay more to support Exelons nuclear fleet under the bill. Southern Illinois should not be left in the dark when it comes to new jobs and savings. A better solution is the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill (SB1485/HB2607) which boosts energy efficiency standards statewide. In your editorial, you asked whether Southern Illinois risks becoming lost in the shadow of progress? By embracing energy efficiency, lawmakers can ensure that Southern Illinois prospers. Jason Vogelbaugh Director, Energy Solutions Alpha Controls & Services Bamberg County Councilman Joe Guess Jr. is facing an opponent, Rufus Jamison Jr., in this years Democratic primary. Both are seeking the County Council District 4 seat Guess has held for a term. The states Democratic and Republican primaries will be held June 14. Joe Guess Jr. Guess received a bachelors degree in history from the College of Charleston. The former Orangeburg Preparatory School teacher has been retired since 1989. He also owned a Western Auto store in Denmark. Guess said that during his time on council, the countys financial status has improved. Also, the councilman believes he had a large role in increasing cooperation between various districts. We are acting like a county and are all focusing on moving the county forward, Guess said. If re-elected, he wants county council to continue working together to make the county better. We are responsible for all of the countys services and I intend to continue to try to fight for our share of the state Local Government Fund, which we have been shortchanged on since I began serving, Guess said. State lawmakers pretend they are cutting taxes in Columbia, when theyre actually pushing them down to citizens who can hardly afford them, he said. I intend to continue the fight for this money that is due to us. That has been my prime issue and I want to continue to make it my prime issue. Otherwise, they will push us in a position that will not allow us to attract industry, he said. Rufus Jamison Jr. Jamison attended Denmark-Olar High School. He previously served on Denmark City Council for two years. During Jamisons tenure on city council, council purchased covers for tractors, added new walkways in the city of Denmark and made street repairs. He says a lot of things need to be done in Bamberg County. Im dedicated toward making progress and focused on making a dynamic difference motivated and dedicated to make a difference in the community and the county, Jamison said. He says hes committed to family and community values and enhancing morals for all citizens, especially in education. Jamison says he plans to work with Bamberg County Administrator Joey Preston to attract more industries to the county, if elected. There are a lot of things that need to be upgraded, he said. Jamison says he also plans to speak with State Rep. Justin Bamberg. Vote for me so we can make a difference in the community and improve things for everyone in the community, he said. If Memorial Day weekend is an indicator, the forecasts are looking pretty ominous for hurricane season. Tropical Storm Bonnie was a surprise visitor to South Carolina, coming days ahead of the official beginning of hurricane season on June 1. Mother Nature does not always recognize our calendar. The storm, weak by tropical storm standards, caused all kinds of problems with travel and should serve as a reminder of what could be in store in the coming months. Bonnie dropped about 8 inches of rain in southern South Carolina on Sunday, closing the southbound lanes of Interstate 95 about 20 miles north of the Georgia state line for about 16 hours. The highway finally reopened around 1 a.m. Monday, and troopers reported the 10-mile backups caused by the detour had been cleared. Rainfall amounts from 5 to 6 inches were reported in inland counties before the storm lost its tropical makeup. Bonnie formed Saturday, becoming the second tropical storm in the Atlantic to form before the official start of the hurricane season on Wednesday. Hurricane Alex struck the Azores in the far eastern Atlantic in January. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations hurricane forecast issued Friday indicates the early storms are a precursor. NOAA forecasts 10 to 16 named storms for the Atlantic hurricane season, with four to eight hurricanes and one to four major ones with winds reaching 111 mph and up. The long-term season averages are 12 named storms, with six hurricanes and three major ones. The 2015 season was slightly below average with 11 named storms, including two tropical storms that made landfall and caused flooding in South Carolina and Texas. Hurricane Joaquin played a significant role in the record flooding in South Carolina in October, which is generally late for a tropical storm here. September is the month in which the state historically is a greatest risk. Hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30. The Atlantic Coast is due. The last major hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland was Hurricane Wilma, which cut across Florida in 2005. And the potential impact on people has grown significantly over the decade. Since 2005, the population in the 185 coastline counties most threatened by hurricanes has grown 8.7 percent to 59.2 million people, according to U.S. Census estimates. Overall, 143.6 million people 44.7 percent of the U.S. population from Maine to Texas could be living in harms way. The T&D Region is at risk. As counties bordering those along the coast, the area is subject to significant impact as storms move inland. With major highways, the regions counties play a key role in the evacuation process and in sheltering people leaving the coastal counties. Preparedness is important. As hurricane season begins, we echo advice from the American Red Cross of Central South Carolina, urging people to remember the impact of past storms and the October 2015 flooding. Be ready. Build an emergency kit with a gallon of water per person, per day, non-perishable food, a flashlight, battery-powered radio, first aid kit, medications, supplies for an infant if applicable, a multipurpose tool, personal hygiene items, copies of important papers, cell phone chargers, extra cash, blankets, maps of the area and emergency contact information. Many of these items are available through the Red Cross Store at redcrossstore.org. Talk with household members and create an evacuation plan. Practicing the plan minimizes confusion and fear during the event. Be informed. Learn about your communitys hurricane response plan and use the South Carolina Hurricane Guide (included in Sundays T&D) to Know Your Zone for evacuations. Plan routes to local shelters, register family members with special medical needs as required and make plans for pets. People should also download the free Red Cross Emergency App to select up to 35 different severe weather and emergency alerts on their mobile device. The content includes expert guidance on what to do before, during and after different emergencies or disasters from home fires to hurricanes. All Red Cross apps can be found in smartphone app stores by searching for American Red Cross or by going to redcross.org/apps. Many observers were mystified when Donald Trump attacked New Mexico Republican Gov. Susana Martinez. But the story was really very simple: Martinez hit Trump, so Trump hit back. Especially now that Trump is the GOP's presumptive nominee, he attempted to make an example of a Republican who won't get with the program. It might work, or it might not, but from Trump's perspective it's the tactic he used to beat 15 rivals for the GOP nomination. The Trump-Martinez bewilderment focused on four factors: Martinez is Hispanic, she's a woman, she's a Republican (head of the Republican Governors Association), and she's popular. "I think it sent all the wrong signals," said Newt Gingrich, who has generally been pro-Trump. "You particularly don't want to see your candidate who needs to ... get stronger with Latinos, and stronger with women, attack a Latina woman Republican governor." "(Trump) has a problem with women, Hispanics, and Republicans," said George Will on Fox News Sunday, "so he attacks a Republican Hispanic woman governor." Trump ignored all those concerns. Also on Fox, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski explained that Trump's remarks about Martinez at a May 24 rally in Albuquerque -- Trump said, "The governor has to do a better job. She's not doing the job" -- was simply a continuation of Trump's habit of discussing economic problems wherever he travels. "Outlining the economy of a specific location is something that he has done across the country, everywhere we've gone, because we need to highlight the problems that we have and what we're going to do to fix those problems," Lewandowski said. It's true. Trump has pointed to economic problems in state after state. But he has no more Republican rivals to defeat now, and he is trying to consolidate GOP support. And there are those problems with Hispanic and women voters. So why go on the offensive? To Trump, there was something more important at work. "(Martinez) continues to attack him publicly and privately," one person in TrumpWorld told me recently. Trump has made a principle of hitting back harder than he is hit. And he has been so effective that many Republicans, elected and not, have decided the smart thing is to refrain from taking on Trump, even if they oppose him. Not Martinez. In mid-April, the New Mexico governor issued a "remarkably strong rebuke" to Trump, in the words of a Washington Post report, when Martinez spoke to a GOP fundraiser at the home of David Koch in Palm Beach, Florida. Martinez, according to the Post, "did not mince words. She told the crowd of about 60 wealthy GOP backers that, as a Latina, she was offended by Trump's language about immigrants. Noting her years working as a prosecutor on the Mexican border and now as a border-state governor, Martinez said Trump's plan to build a wall and force Mexico to pay for it was unrealistic and irresponsible, according to multiple people in attendance." Team Trump believes Martinez has continued to criticize him in private since those remarks. And when Trump traveled to Albuquerque, after having clinched the Republican nomination, Martinez told reporters she was "really busy" and did not have time to attend. So Trump slammed Martinez for, among other things, the state of the economy and a rise in food stamp usage in New Mexico. "We have got to get your governor to get going," he said. "She's got to do a better job." "There was no attack on a Latino or a woman governor," Lewandowski said on Fox. "What this was, was laying out the economic perspective of what the state of New Mexico was doing, and he's saying we need to do a better job." It was that -- plus a threat to Martinez to get in line. Trump confirmed as much at his news conference Tuesday. Asked why he went after Martinez, Trump said, "She was not nice. And I was fine -- just a little bit of a jab. But she wasn't nice, and you think I'm going to change? I'm not changing, including with her." Perhaps Martinez will change her tone after Trump wins New Mexico's primary on June 7. Perhaps not. As far as Trump is concerned, attacking Martinez, to the (unknown) degree that it angers Hispanic voters in general, could affect his fortunes far outside the boundaries of New Mexico. But Trump apparently felt it was more important now to crack down on Republican resistance, at least on GOP politicos who openly attack him, than it was to ignore Martinez's opposition. It's not the way things are done these days. But the person in TrumpWorld looked back to a time when powerful party bosses would occasionally make an example of an off-the-reservation official just to inspire others to stay in line. That's still necessary, the person said, and that's what Donald Trump is doing. ----- Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Turkey is a key partner in the fight against the terrorist organization "Islamic state" (IS) in Syria, John Kirby, spokesman of the US State Department, said during a daily briefing. Kirby stressed that Turkey is a strong NATO ally. "And as we do with all our partners in this fight, we're going to continue to discuss with Turkey all the different means where we can cooperate better against Daesh", he said. He also said that the US is still going to support Syrian Democratic Forces inside Syria. /By Azernews/ By Fatma Babayeva Normalization is being observed in relations between Turkey and Israel, whose ties were tense during the past six years. The process of restoration of Turkish-Israeli relations is going in a positive way, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference, TRT Haber news channel reported on May 31. Relations between Israel and Turkey severed after the Freedom Flotilla incident in 2010 when a convoy of six ships, including one flying under the Turkish flag tried to approach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid and activists on board. The flotilla was blocked and stormed by Israeli forces, resulting in a fight with Muslim activists aboard the ships, in which eight Turkish citizens were killed. The incident led to deterioration of the diplomatic relations between two countries. Ankara laid out conditions for the normalization of the relations, stating that Israel should apologize for the Freedom Flotilla incident, pay compensation to the families of those killed and end the blockade of the Gaza Strip. "We wanted apologies for normalization of the relations, and we got them," said Erdogan, adding that payment of the compensation is also coming to an end. The third condition was the lifting of the blockade [of Gaza]. There are serious problems with electricity and water supply in Palestine. We have made ??several proposals to solve them. Things are developing in a positive way, it seems. If we are able to solve these problems, Turkey will build schools, hospitals [in Gaza], Erdogan said at press conference. Previously, spokesperson for Turkey's presidential administration Ibrahim Kalin stated that the talks on normalizing the relations between Turkey and Israel continue. He further noted that the parties have achieved serious results during the talks. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 30 that Israel is close to normalization of relations with Turkey, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported. Netanyahu noted that the normalization of relations is in the interests of both Turkey and Israel. Following the deterioration of relations between Russia and Turkey, some Turkish media outlets reported that Ankara and Tel-Aviv will resume the previous relations. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed earlier that Turkey and Israel had private talks. In April, negotiating teams from Turkish and Israeli met in London. Following the meeting, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that a reconciliation deal is expected to be finalized during the next round of consultations that will be held in the near future. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the Swedish investors to cooperate with Iran in its development projects. "I encourage everyone to cooperate with Iran," Mehr news agency quoted Zarif as saying at a joint economic meeting between Iran and Sweden in Stockholm. Zarif added that Iran is a safe country and investors cannot find a country safer than Iran for investment. Minister Zarif is heading an economic and political delegation during his ongoing European tour aimed at promoting trade and economic opportunities. The foreign minister has already visited Poland and Finland as part of his tour kicked off May 29. Latvia will be the final destinations of the delegation. So far, the business delegation accompanying Zarif during his tour has signed documents on cooperation with Polish and Finnish companies worth up to $1.2 billion. Members of the Iranian business delegation attended dozens of business to business (b2b) meetings in Helsinki and Warsaw to discuss ways for the expansion of trade ties. /By Trend/ /By Azernews/ By Fatma Babayeva The Turkmen Oil State Concern carries out drilling works in 5 wildcat wells, as well as 10 operating wells in the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea at an accelerated pace. The state concern reported on June 1 that the drilling works correspond to the national development programs of the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan for the period till 2030. Under this program, the industry is assigned with a task to accelerate the development of new oil fields, increase the productivity of the exploited fields and output of oil reservoirs, to complexly mechanize and automate the production of hydrocarbons. Currently, drilling operations are simultaneously conducted in 3 exploratory and 11 producing wells in Altiguyu field in Balkan province of Turkmenistan. Turkmen Oil is equipped with cutting-edge equipments for drilling operations in ultra-deep wells, according to the information disseminated by the state concern. Turkmenistans reserves in the shelf of the Caspian Sea are estimated at 12 billion tons of oil and 6.5 trillion cubic meters of gas, excluding the already contracted blocks. Companies such as Petronas, Dragon Oil, Buried Hill, RWE Dea AG, Areti (Itera) and Eni have been involved in the exploration work in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. The total volume of investments made by the contractors operating in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea on the basis of the Production Sharing Agreements (PSA), was estimated at over $3.5 billion in 2015, compared to over $3 billion in 2014. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan aims to increase the production of finished goods, to improve oil refining within upgrade of the Turkmenbashy Complex of Oil Refineries (TCOR). Currently, the complex is increasing the volumes of oil refining and building up production of new types of oil products, according to the Ministry of Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan. More than 10 million tons of hydrocarbons are refined per year at the TCOR. Turkmenbashy Complex includes two refineries - one in the city of Turkmenbashy and the other one in the city of Seydi. The refined oil is exported to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Switzerland. Turkmenistan plans to increase the capacity of its oil refining industry to 20 million tons of oil by 2020, to 22 million tons by 2025, and to 30 million tons by 2030. At the present, the country produces nearly 10 million tons of oil per year and the major part of this volume is refined locally. Turkmenistan produced 0.3 percent of the total global oil output in 2014, according to the BPs statistical review of energy world 2015. /By Azernews/ By Rashid Shirinov Ships of the Russian Naval Forces have launched military exercises in the northern part of Caspian sea. The crew of the Russian artillery ship Volgodonsk and support vessels of the Caspian flotilla left the port of Makhachkala in the Caspian sea to fulfill the tasks of ensuring Russian Federations marine security and conduct combat shooting, the southern military district of Russia reported. During the voyage, the crews of the squadron are to perform tasks on ensuring the safety of marine economic activities of the Russian Federation in the Caspian sea, work out the elements of search and rescue support, conduct combat exercises with artillery fire on sea, air and shore targets, and perform the objectives for joint maneuvering of ships group," the agency stated. Moreover, the ships will train for Cup of the Sea contest which will be held in August in the framework of the international army games. The ships will pass around 1,500 miles on the Caspian sea. Last summer, naval forces of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran participated in the Caspian Cup - 2015 international contest. Azerbaijan was represented by one rescue tug and two frigates. In the first stage of the competition, the naval forces of the participating countries tested their skills in artillery. Ships of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russian Federation showed high skills in the course of aerial gunnery. Azerbaijani sailors demonstrated their skills in the destruction of floating mines and obstacles in heavy hydro-meteorological conditions. After the first stage of the competition, patrol ship of Azerbaijani naval forces ranked the third place. During the second round crews worked through the transmission and reception of signals using colorized flags in accordance with the international code of signals. In this discipline, Azerbaijan was the first. In transition of ships to the areas of anchorages and anchoring them, Azerbaijan became the second. Overall, Azerbaijani Navy Forces keep systematically implementing their exercises and their volumes are growing constantly. Russian and Azerbaijani Navies have held their joint naval exercises repeatedly and plan to continue that experience in the future. Naval Forces of both countries are considered the strongest and most equipped in the Caspian sea region. I was elected in March 2008, the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara under the Democratic Action Party (DAP). I'm also the DAP National Publicity Secretary, as well as the investment liaison officer for the Penang Chief Minister based in the Klang Valley.Before joining politics full-time in January 2007, I was the CEO and founder of a Malaysian IT company, publicly listed in Singapore. I divested all my shares in the company to be able to serve the community and take part in socio-political affairs of Malaysia.I've always had faith that there has been a guardian angel looking after me all these while - my personal well-being, my education, my career. Some will call it "God's will", some "fate" while some others, "destiny". I strongly believe that it is time for me to repay the kindness and fortune showered on me by my family, the society and of course, not forgetting, my guardian angel. :-)Also, don't forget to visit my other blog at Education in Malaysia and my Chinese blog Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has selected BPC Banking Technologies SmartVista suite to enhance its payment business. This will enable the bank to meet its objective of having a modern platform to adapt to the changing retail banking market. The product will enable the bank to manage its ATM estate more effectively, comply with future standards for the introduction of Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) alongside modern and flexible card issuing capabilities and fraud prevention, the company said. In the future OAB will offer EMV compliant card products as well as support local cards (Islamic) based on Visa Electron. The bank will also acquire AmEx cards for the first time. With the introduction of SmartVista the bank will provide support for e-commerce for Visa debit cards issued by OAB, it added. Fahd Amjad, general manager of retail banking at OAB, commented: Transforming customer experience is always heavily reliant on investing and improving on technologies within the retail business. The partnership with BPC gives us an ability to innovate products and adapt our business offerings to changing consumer demands. We expect our clients to be delighted not only with the enhanced level of security but also the many feature rich products that we will be introducing with the help of the new solution. Angelo Bertini, managing director for Mena region at BPC Banking Technologies, added: Although the project has just begun, with Oman Arab Bank we see huge delivery opportunities via SmartVista, among which are total control of its reloaded card business, terminal network management improvements and crucially the future flexibility and control to introduce new products and services easily. We believe that even now the benefits of choosing SmartVista are obvious: OpEx reduction, speed to market, the introduction of new products and services for the banks customers and regulatory compliance. TradeArabia News Service King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), a special economic zone in Saudi Arabia, has leased a plot of land to Venezuela-based Golden Tuna, to build its first tuna production facility in Saudi Arabia. Construction work on the project which will be located on a 35,906-sq-m parcel of land in Phase 3 of its Industrial Valley, and is scheduled to start later this year, with production set to begin by the beginning of 2018 for sales in the GCC, Saudi Arabian and Egyptian markets, said a statement from KAEC. Golden Tuna is investing in KAECs Industrial Valley in order to boost its production capacity and expand into global markets, following the companys dramatic growth in sales, production and manpower this year, it said. Fahd Al-Rasheed, group CEO and managing director of KAEC, said: The eagerness of national and international corporations to invest in KAEC is proof positive that we are well on our way to achieving our strategic objective of making the Industrial Valley the regions manufacturing and logistics hub. The economic city has a unique set of compelling advantages, including a world-class infrastructure, advanced public services, efficient logistics, social, commercial and industrial facilities, and a giant global seaport, all of which have made it the go-to place in which to invest, live and work. The city is fully equipped to become the dynamic centre of Saudi Arabias non-petroleum economy, which will put the kingdom in a position of power among the worlds 20 biggest economies. Our city actively succeeds in meeting the needs of all the industries we target, he said. Dr Khaled Khalil, general manager of Golden Tuna, said: The companys decision to invest in KAECs Industrial Valley is part of our plans to expand into global markets and increase our investments in the GCC and Egypt. Our decision to manufacture at the Industrial Valley came after we explored all possible investment opportunities and studied KAECs existing achievements, after which we concluded that the city is the best possible place to take our national and international investments, given its capability to be an engine of change in the Saudi economy and the many facilities the government provides to accelerate growth, he added. A comprehensive range of housing solutions, such as the Village project, provide an ideal residential environment for workers and supervisors, said the statement. Rayan Qutub, CEO of the Industrial Valley, stated that the completion and opening of Phase 3 to investors was a breakthrough that has helped bring about many new achievements, underscored by its popularity with national and international investors and corporations, due to the wide range of services and advantages that facilitate the ease of establishing commercial and industrial operations in KAEC. Qutub also noted that King Abdulla Port will play a major role in Golden Tunas growth in exports, and expand the companys reach to more than 620 million consumers in Red Sea region, it added. TradeArabia News Service UAE conglomerate Al Habtoor Group has officially announced that it has no relationship with leading construction company Al Habtoor Leighton, also known as Al Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG). The HLG is not a subsidiary of Al Habtoor Group and neither is it involved in the company's day-to-day operations, said a statement from the group. The Al Habtoor Group's core focus is on hospitality, automotive and real estate sectors, as well as car rental and education, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, the founder and chairman of the group, was quoted as saying in the statement. The family-owned company had in November last year declared plans to sell its stake in HLG with its chief saying it wanted to focus on its core businesses. Several international and regional companies were interested in buying the stake in the venture, Al Habtoor had told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television in that interview. A regional construction giant, HLG was formed in 2007 following the merger of the UAE's premier building contractor, Al Habtoor Engineering with Gulf Leighton, the original operating company of the Cimic Group, Australia's largest project development and contracting group, in the Gulf region. The company, which employs more than 21,000 people according to its website, has operations in the UAE, Oman, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.-TradeArabia News Service Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) recently signed a contract with Al Batina International Engineering and Services for warehouse facilities improvement at its premises in Sohar Industrial Port in Oman, said a report. The multi-million-dollar deal is in keeping with Orpics promise to support and develop Omani small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and as part of its strong commitment to maximise the in-country value (ICV), the Oman Daily Observer report said. Ibrahim Al Kalbani, Orpics manager of procurement, contracting and inventory (PCI), said that from all the bids received, Al Batina was not just technically qualified but also offered the most competitive commercial bid. A delegation from Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (Dafza) recently showcased investment opportunities for UK businesses in Dubai in a bid to increase foreign investment flowing into the emirate. Among the key markets targeted by the delegation were software and IT services, industrial machinery, consumer products, textiles, communications, transportation, metals, food, and electronic components. Dafza held seminars in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce, in Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcestershire, Manchester and Glasgow. Delegates showcased the free zones mutually beneficial partnerships with major British brands such as Yardley, Richard Mille, Serco, Dover, Murphy, Thomas & Betts, Hospira, and Champion Laboratories. The delegation, led by Jamal Bin Marghoob, director for marketing and corporate communication, addressed those who are interested in doing business with Dubai and Mena region and raised awareness on Dafzas leading business solutions, incentives and its role in Dubais economy. The UAE and the UK maintain strong trade, economic and cultural relations. Last year, their bilateral flow stood at Dh63 billion. There are currently around 5,000 British businesses operating in the UAE, which represents the UKs 12 largest trading partner. More than 100,000 British nationals live and work in the UAE, while over a million British tourists travel to the country each year. Thousands of Emiratis, on the other hand, regularly visit the UK for tourism or study under the countrys prestigious academic institutions. Bin Marghoob said: Our visit is an important strategic step towards promoting partnership between Dafza and the business community in UK. Our seminars were excellent platforms for highlighting Dubai as a preferred business destination to the attending investors, entrepreneurs and government representatives. We also had the opportunity to share details about Dafza, our offerings, and the potential role we can play in enhancing British business in the Mena region. Overall, we achieved our goal of strengthening Dubais ties with the British Chambers of Commerce and the UKs business community. The visit to the UK is an outcome of research conducted recently by Dafza to identify its target markets for 2016 as well as the specific industries that can benefit most from setting up operations in the free zone. It is one of a series of visits aimed at fostering international good will, interacting with major foreign business bodies, promoting Dubai to foreign investors, and educating international audiences on Dafza and its importance to the local and national economies. TradeArabia News Service Microsoft Corp is selling about 1,500 of its patents to Chinese device maker Xiaomi, a rare departure for the US company and part of what the two companies say is the start of a long-term partnership. The deal, announced on Wednesday, also includes a patent cross-licensing arrangement and a commitment by Xiaomi to install copies of Microsoft software, including Office and Skype, on its phones and tablets. Both companies declined to discuss financial terms of the deal. "This is a very big collaboration agreement between the two companies," Wang Xiang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, said by telephone ahead of the deal. Analysts said Xiaomi's ambitions to be a major player outside China were hampered by weak patent protection and a fear of a prolonged legal battle. "This deal might just give them enough of a patent trove to move to Western markets," said Sameer Singh, a UK-based analyst. "Their position in China has been under constant attack from even lower-end Android vendors, so moving overseas is now a necessity." Shipments of Xiaomi phones fell 9 per cent year-on-year in China in the first quarter, according to Strategy Analytics, and its market share dipped to 12 per cent from 13 per cent, squeezed not only by Huawei and Samsung Electronics but also smaller contenders including Oppo and Vivo. Wang said the acquisition of Microsoft patents, which included voice communications, multimedia and cloud computing, on top of some 3,700 patents the Chinese company filed last year, were "an important step forwards to support our expansion internationally." Xiaomi launched its first U.S. device earlier this month, a TV set-top box it developed in cooperation with Alphabet Inc's Google, which owns the Android operating system it and most Xiaomi devices run on. Xiaomi has also launched a tablet which runs a version of Microsoft's Windows operating system. Jonathan Tinter, corporate vice president at Microsoft, said the company was keen to tap into Xiaomi's young, affluent and educated users by having its products pre-installed on their devices. He declined to go into detail about the patent deals, but said the overall deal was something "we do only with a few strategic partners." Microsoft has cut licensing deals with many Android device makers over the years, but has had less luck with Chinese manufacturers. Florian Mueller, a patents expert who consulted for Microsoft in the past, said it was rare for Microsoft to actually sell its patents, adding "it's possible Microsoft found it easier to impose its Android patent tax on Xiaomi as part of a broader deal that also involved a transfer of patents." Reuters French telecom operator Orange has opened a very large-capacity IP Point of Presence (PoP) facility in Amman, Jordan. The facility will enhance the internet connectivity in the region by offering faster connection speeds and improved reliability for wholesale customers. An IP PoP is part of the technical infrastructure equipment necessary to enable local operators to access the Internet through an interconnection point with long-distance networks. With its strategic position in the region, following the launch of this IP PoP in Amman Orange is fully able to address the markets needs, said the company. The group is already able to leverage its strong existing customer base, through Orange Jordan. In the medium and long term, the Amman IP PoP will facilitate the development of the Middle Eastern IP market, it added. By connecting to this very large-capacity PoP, wholesale customers, regional operators and Internet Service Providers will benefit from cost-effective connections to a Tier 1 operator. Additionally, customer experience will improve due to this Point of Presence which will bring content providers closer to Internet users. TradeArabia News Service Dubai fashion exhibition Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD), touted as the regions definitive fashion platform, will return for an eighth season from October 20 to 23 at the Dubai Design District (d3). The exhibition will showcase a carefully edited selection of the Middle Easts most coveted ready-to-wear, couture, accessory and jewellery designers. As the central fashion platform championing Middle Eastern design talent, FFWD has propelled the careers of many designers. Most recently after showing at FFWD S7, Style.com/Arabia DDFC Fashion Prize winner Hussein Bazaza debuted his Fall 2016 ready-to-wear collection on the online shopping platform Moda Operandi. Thanks to FFWD we had the opportunity to be in contact with Moda Operandi and we are glad to be available on their platform. I was very pleased with FFWD Season 7, as usual, and I was especially happy with the new location and found the event to be very professional and well-organized, said Bazaza. Dubai-based fine jewellery and accessories designer Madiso unveiled a collection of evening box clutches and statement necklaces on the international platform, Moda Operandi. Additionally, the popular online shopping website exclusively launched the Middle Eastern fine jewellery brand SeeMee. Founder Catherina Occhio delivered an empowering talk at FFWD S7 and created a special collection based on the shape of the heart which were handcrafted by women who were victims of violence. Accessories designer and creative director of fashion brand Madiso, Madiha Muzaffar, commented: Madiso has been part of Fashion forward since season 2, and the event has always been extremely successful for us. It is a great platform for the fashion industry in this region. FFWD Season 7 had international fashion buyers in attendance, which I believe is a great foot forward, and Moda Operandi, one of the biggest retailer names in the fashion industry, selected us for a trunk show. Im extremely grateful to Fashion Forward for giving us this platform where we can interact with such huge international names. Longtime FFWD participant Rula Galayini was picked up by FarFetch during Season 7 and also received an invitation to reveal her signature cuffs at the iconic Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris, among a select group of 10 emerging brands originating from the Mediterranean in 2015. Bong Guerrero, chief executive and co-founder of FFWD, said: With each season, the event has gained credibility and respect amongst designers and industry professionals. We have witnessed multiple success stories over the past four years of contributing designers gaining global recognition and are now stocked with some of the worlds leading retailers. Such accomplishments demonstrate how FFWD acts as a catalyst for international visibility and drives our commitment to invest in the platform with new and innovative elements each season. The upcoming four-day event will be hosted at the custom built space, Hai d3, where guests will see catwalk shows and presentations from regional designers, talks and panel discussions spearheaded by industry professionals, accessory and jewellery collections at The Showcase, as well new and international elements to be announced soon. Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi, chief operating officer of Dubai Design District (d3), commented: Dubai Design District is again delighted to be the home of Fashion Forward as it enters its eighth season. The platform has grown to become a significant event in Dubais design and fashion calendar and the partnership allows us to welcome designers, buyers and the regional fashion industry to our home and helps us enable our ambition of serving as a platform for nurturing the regions design industry. We look forward to continuing to support FFWD in the future and enabling the industry to flourish. TradeArabia News Service UAE Oil Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said on Tuesday he was happy with the oil market, noting that prices had been correcting higher. "We are optimistic. We are seeing that the market is correcting upward," Mazroui told reporters in Vienna, Austria. Meanwhile, Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said that the oil market was doing well, but declined to comment on when his country would be able to recover lost crude output. "The market is doing good," Kachikwu told reporters in Vienna. Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meet on Thursday in the Austrian capital. Oil prices rose on Tuesday, heading for the fourth straight monthly gain, with investors betting on higher US fuel demand as peak driving season arrived in the No. 1 oil consumer. Reuters Oman plans to raise production of regular grade petrol and reduce output of super grade petrol in order to meet a growing demand for the former product in recent months, a report said. We have to match it (a higher demand for regular petrol). Whatever the market needs, we will supply, Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, was quoted as saying in the Times of Oman report. Normally, 90 per cent of consumption in Oman is super grade (M95), while regular petrol (M90) constituted only 10 per cent of overall consumption, he noted. Refineries in Oman are planning to produce a better quality M91 petrol grade to replace M90 this year, he added. A Nigerian oil technocrat has emerged as frontrunner to take the top job at Opec, with members seeing Mohammed Barkindo as what would be a rare compromise candidate to lead the group amid rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Barkindo has been a key face of the Nigerian oil industry for the past decade, during which various governments tried and effectively failed to reform national oil company NNPC. Today, Nigeria has alongside Venezuela become one of the main victims of oil's price collapse, with the country's output declining sharply due to militant attacks on pipelines and infrastructure. Opec is likely to choose Barkindo, a former head of NNPC, as the next secretary-general of the producer group, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has since 2012 been looking for a replacement for Libya's Abdullah Al-Badri, who was elected acting secretary-general in December until the end of July after serving full terms. However, Barkindo's appointment was by no means certain and Badri's tenure could yet be extended by another six months, some sources said. Rivalries between Opec heavyweights Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq have so far prevented the group from choosing candidates proposed by those countries. Opec oil ministers meet on Thursday in Vienna. The consensus of all members - which in the past has sometimes been elusive - is required for the appointment of a new secretary-general. Barkindo led the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation from 2009 to 2010 and served as acting secretary-general of Opec in 2006 after the original Nigerian nominee, junior oil minister Edmund Daukouro, took over the rotating Opec presidency. Barkindo also served on Opec's economic commission and held various high-ranking positions during a career at NNPC that spanned over two decades. He was deputy managing director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company, a joint venture between NNPC, Shell Gas BV, Total and Eni. He was also head of NNPC's London office, managing director of NNPC's oil and gas trading division, and an NNPC group executive director. "He's a reasonably safe pair of hands and good for a more administrative role like secretary-general. He also knows the ropes at Opec from when he was Lukman's (right-hand man)," a senior industry source with close ties to Nigeria said. Rilwanu Lukman was influential in Nigeria's oil industry for many years. He served as oil minister during military rule and later as secretary-general to Opec and special adviser on oil to former president Olusegun Obasanjo. "Don't expect any fireworks, either positive or negative," the industry source said. - Reuters An interior view of the museum 'The Nest' during a media visit in Vevey, Switzerland on May 31. To celebrate 150 years Nestle will officially open the museum to the public on June 2. The discovery centre spans more than 3,000 sq m at the exact location where Henri Nestle first developed his infant cereal in 1866. EPA/Cyril Zingaro Ajman witnessed a 20 per cent increase in the number of guest arrivals during the first quarter of the year, generating total tourism revenue of Dh108 million ($29.3 million), a new report has unveiled. According to tourism statistics released by the Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD), the total number of guests from January to March 2016 was reported as 142,404, delivering 313,724 guest nights, reflecting a hotel apartment occupancy rate of 76 per cent -up 22 percent compared to 62.4 per cent in the same period in 2015. Total tourism revenue also increased by 20 per cent, from Dh90 million ($24.4 million) in Q1 2015 to Dh108 million ($29.3 million) in Q1 2016. Domestic tourism within the UAE remained the primary source of guests for Ajman hotels, with 34,334, followed by 28,228 guests from Asia and African countries covering total guest nights of 60,190. Guests from Europe for the first three months reached 13,129 but delivered 56,585 guest nights. Faisal Al Nuaimi, general manager of ATDD, said: "The report for the first quarter of 2016 is the result of our effective promotional and marketing outreach to attract different segments of visitors to Ajman. Our presence in different travel and tourism exhibitions and road shows has helped us a lot because we have seen remarkable interest from the industry when we presented the available attractions in Ajman to them, including accommodation and activities. We are pleased with the result and will continue to work hard to sustain growth throughout the year, despite the different factors affecting todays global travel." Guests from GCC and other Arab nationals also contributed to the growth, with total guests of 26,315 and 23,885 respectively. Other nationalities who visited the emirate are from Europe, Russia and America. - TradeArabia News Service Sue Wheatley has been named the new director of sales and marketing at Fairmont The Palm, Dubai, a luxurious property in the UAE emirate. Wheatley joins the resort from FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI) where she was executive director in charge of luxury sales across the companys three luxury brands (Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel), and oversaw an international team with presence in China, France, the UK and the US. Sues long association with Dubai and the region, her insider market knowledge and expertise within the luxury arena will further elevate Fairmont The Palm as we continue to push our strategic vision and position the resort as a leading destination, said Mark Sawkins, general manager, Fairmont The Palm. In this position, Wheatley will oversee the sales and marketing operation for the Palm Jumeirah flagship, including the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy touching every aspect of the 381-room resort. Fairmont The Palm features six restaurants including an interactive culinary studio, 13 treatment rooms at Willow Stream Spa, four temperature controlled swimming pools, 800-m of pristine beach with watersports activities, an award-winning Falcons Kids Club and 3,000 sq-m of meeting indoor and outdoor space with stunning views of Dubai Marina skyline. Her proven 25-year track record in driving sales and growing market share for regional and international high-end hotel brands such as Londons Grosvenor House, Raffles Dubai and the Burj Al Arab, has run the gamut of the sales and marketing discipline from her early days in Mice and leisure sales in the UK to a 12-year tenure with Jumeirah. Her notable achievements include gaining a strong footfold with major consortia and forging strong commercial partnerships with international high level influencers and corporate decision makers. During her five-year tenure with Raffles Dubai, she successfully positioned the hotel as a leading luxury property, where it was ranked number one in terms of global performance for FHRI and spearheaded the business strategy for sister resort Raffles Seychelles. A graduate of the UKs prestigious University of Surrey with a BA in hotel management, Wheatley is also an active contributor to the local business community as a member of the board of the British Business Group in Dubai. She is also a founding member of the Capital Club, a private club for Dubais corporate elite. - TradeArabia News Service Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village Page Not Found 404 Error The page you requested could not be found. Try using the search box below or click on the homepage button to go there. BOISE, Idaho Federal authorities have fined an Idaho food processing company $273,000 following the release of a dangerous gas. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday announced the fine against Dickinson Frozen Foods. Federal officials say the large release of anhydrous ammonia in December 2015 at the eastern Idaho plant in Sugar City where Dickinson Frozen Foods process potatoes didnt cause any injuries but other major ammonia releases at the facility have. Investigators say they issued 19 serious and two willful citations following the hazardous release at the plant with 220 workers. Its a miracle no Dickinson Frozen Foods employees were killed or hurt last year, David Kearns, Idaho director for OSHA, said in a statement. Authorities say the plant lacks an adequate emergency response program and failed to equip employees with protective gear. The company, which has another plant in Fruitland, didnt immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Tuesday. Kearns, during a telephone interview with the AP, said anhydrous ammonia is used for refrigeration, and is kept under pressure in a closed system. Under pressure, he said, its a liquid. But if the system has a leak, the anhydrous ammonia escapes into the air as a colorless gas with a pungent odor that can damage the eyes and respiratory tract. It can also explode if mixed with other chemicals. You need to make sure (the system) is maintained and operated appropriately so we dont have catastrophic releases to workers or even the surrounding community, Kearns said. Among the violations found during an inspection of the eastern Idaho plant, authorities said, were employees exposed to liquid ammonia without chemical protective clothing, employees entering potentially life-threatening atmosphere without appropriate breathing apparatus, and employees responding to an emergency without proper training. The Sugar City plant process potatoes for use in items such as frozen dinners, federal officials said. Kearns said the company has asked for negotiations to discuss the fines, with that meeting to take place within the next two weeks. If the company isnt happy with the result of those efforts, Kearns said, the company can ask for a review. If the company remains unsatisfied, an appeal can be filed thats heard by an administrative law judge. Were thankful nobody was hurt and hopeful they will be able to work with us to provide a safe and healthy work site, Kearns said. He noted that the average fine in Idaho for safety violations is about $2,500 to $3,000. A state lawmaker who has sponsored some of Wyomings most controversial gun rights bills has decided not to seek another term in office. Republican Rep. Allen Jaggi of Lyman recently paid a candidate filing fee to appear on the ballot for House District 19. But then he withdrew. He said he had gone back and forth in his mind about whether to run again, and he finally decided against it when another Republican, Danny Eyre, filed to run for the seat. Jaggi said hes been thinking about retiring for years. My wife didnt want me to sign up to start with, he said. I told her Id sign up. Then when this Mr. Eyre signed up, I thought, hes kind of like I me. I am hoping he would stick up for the same values. I think he represents Bridger Valley and Uinta County similarly, so I felt a little better about that. As a lawmaker, Jaggi sponsored or co-sponsored a number of bills that would have repealed gun-free zones in schools and allowed people to carry concealed firearms without a permit in state and local government meetings. Many of the bills failed. Jaggi was also a vocal critic of the Wyoming Department of Game and Fishs operations. He served on the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee for seven years, regularly blocking attempts by the department to increase licenses and fees to raise more money. After seven years, leadership removed him from the committee. Jaggi has served in the Legislature since 2007. He and his wife recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. Hed like to spend more time with his family, he said. My wife and I talked, he said. We werent going to run again last time. We decided weve been there 10 years, its enough. We want to do more with our family. As we get a little older, taking on other projects that were doing, its time to quit. In addition to Eyre, Democrat Mel McCreary seeks the HD19 seat. Most of the district is in the Bridger Valley. It includes other parts of Uinta County. The primary is Aug. 16, and the general election is Nov. 9. JACKSON The town of Jackson has warned about 20 homeowners so far this year to stop illegally renting their homes to tourists. Before this year the town hadn't cited anyone for illegal short-term rentals. Town officials pursued a new policy on illegal short-term rentals because they wanted to crack down on the practice. They have argued that it simultaneously eats into the town's already limited housing stock while also hurting community character by inserting tourists into neighborhoods. The practice has proliferated in recent years because of the rise of easy online advertisement on websites. People found to be breaking the law could face a penalty of as much as $750 a day. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Workers at a state-run mental health hospital in Yankton violated patients rights by misusing restraints to control potentially unruly subjects, a federal inspection concluded. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began an unannounced inspection of the facility in late February. The agency found that hospital employees excessively used restraints and failed to document the reasons. One patient was kept restrained for almost six days. These deficiencies resulted in safety risks, violations of the patients right to be free from undue restraint and failure to ensure privacy for patients, inspectors wrote in the report. The misuse of restraints was among dozens of problems flagged in the report, which included details classified as horrifying by Phyllis Arends, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Sioux Falls. The state has addressed the problems, according to Department of Social Services spokeswoman Tia Kafka. We submitted a plan of correction that was approved by CMS and have made the necessary changes, she said. Federal officials visited the hospital last week for a follow-up inspection, but did not release details or comment on whether previous problems had been resolved. State Social Services Secretary Lynne Valenti said the federal officials did find the implementation of the changes satisfactory. The federal investigation comes as the hospital grapples with security and turnover issues. An Argus Leader Media investigation found that workers have logged more than 1,000 injuries attributed to combative patients since 2010, and that employees have left the hospital at a rate of about one every three days since July 2008. NEW YORK (AP) When customers at Indigo Books in Johns Island, South Carolina, ask for a good beach read, Mary Alice Monroe's "A Lowcountry Wedding" is an obvious choice. Not only does Monroe live nearby, her book is set along the South Carolina coast. "It's a surefire hit," says Indigo owner Linda Malcolm, who also recommends Louise Penny's upcoming "A Great Reckoning" and John Sandford's "Extreme Prey." With summer approaching, bookstores are offering local favorites and national hits, faraway adventures and stories quite close to home. At Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida, store owner Mitchell Kaplan recommends John Dufresne's latest Wylie Coyote detective caper, "I Don't Like Where This is Going," calling it a "hilariously inventive and funny whodunit." Kaplan also likes the latest novels from James Grippando, James W. Hall, and Brad Meltzer, and puts in a word for Florida's Carl Hiaasen, whose books "we read anytime of the year." Barnes & Noble, where outlets range from Gulfport, Mississippi, to the heart of Manhattan, provided a list of reads featured at stores around the country. Suggestions include Richard Russo's "Everybody's Fool," his sequel to the acclaimed "Nobody's Fool," and Louise Erdrich's "LaRose," along with novels that actually take place on a beach, among them Dorothea Benton Frank's "All Summer Long" and Nancy Thayer's "The Island House." "Everyone has their version of the beach whether they are going to the lake, the park or dreaming of the beach so 'beach reading' is more a place of mind than literal from our perspective," explains spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating. At Forever Books in St. Joseph, Michigan, where you can see Lake Michigan just by stepping out the back door, store owner Robin Allen cites the best-selling "The Second Life of Nick Mason," by crime writer and Michigan native Steve Hamilton and Mary Kubica's popular "Don't You Cry," a thriller set in a Michigan harbor town more than a little like St. Joseph. She also likes Jessica Brockmole's "At the Edge of Summer," noting that "anything with the word 'summer' in the title does really well." On Cape Cod in Massachusetts, manager Val Arroyo of the Brewster Book Store says that she likes to recommend the historical fiction of Sally Cabot Gunning, whose "The Widow's War" is set in colonial Cape Cod. Elin Hilderbrand is another perennial best-seller and her upcoming novel, "Here's to Us," takes place on the nearby island of Nantucket. Arroyo also has hopes for Yaa Gyasi's "Homegoing," which begins in Ghana in the 18th century and continues into the present. "It's just so beautifully written, and it's by a first-time author, which I love," she said. Some stores take you right to the water, but don't quite lead you in. At Small World Books, on the Venice boardwalk in California, store owner Mary Goodfader says that customers are as likely to be poets as beachgoers. The current top seller is a classic indoor read, Don DeLillo's chilly "Zero K." "We don't really have anything designated beach reads," she says. "People don't come in for that. They get their 'Moby Dick' or Charles Dickens instead. Not since "Fifty Shades of Grey" did we have a summer beach read." John McCain has said he expects Raytheon to make hundreds of new hires. Senator John McCain is bullish on the future of the citys largest private employer, telling reporters before privately meeting with Raytheon Missile Systems executives on Tuesday that he expects them to hire hundreds of more employees. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain said the National Defense Authorization Act in its current form virtually doubles the number of missiles built by Raytheon in Tucson. The NDAA, which currently is headed for a vote on the Senate floor next week, would nearly double the budget for Raytheon to manufacture 96 additional Tomahawk missiles for a total of 196 missiles in fiscal 2017. It would also pay for the production of 439 Sidewinder missiles and 163 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs), also made by Raytheon in Tucson. Additionally, the current version of the NDAA funds the Missile Defense Agencys request to procure 35 Standard Missile-3 Block IB ballistic-missile interceptors and also funds the Navys request for 125 SM-6 missiles, both of which are engineered and developed in Arizona. Raytheon officials, McCain said during a campaign stop on Tuesday morning, told him privately they would need to hire more workers to meet the increased demand. They didnt say the exact number, McCain said, but he earlier estimated the number would be several hundred. A spokesman for the missile contractor had no immediate comment on McCains statement. Raytheon is Southern Arizonas largest private employer, with 9,600 local employees, according to the Star 200 survey. But the companys reported workforce has been flat the past three years. In 2014, the Pentagon had proposed halting Tomahawk orders, citing a large inventory of the weapons. But Raytheon said the production lines would be costly to restart, McCain led a push to keep up minimum production, and the U.S. fired nearly 50 Tomahawks at the outset of action against Islamic State militants in September 2014. A long-term procurement plan the Pentagon released in February calls for buying up to 4,000 Tomahawks over the next five years while funding upgrades, including the ability to hit moving targets. Also included in the NDAA are provisions to keep the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jet, a mainstay at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, flying for years to come. McCain and Rep. Martha McSally, a Tucson Republican, have twice blocked the Air Forces plan to retire about 300 remaining A-10s including more than 80 in three squadrons at D-M by 2019. The Air Force has moved the retirement date to 2022, though some cuts could start in 2018. The Defense Authorization Act also fully funds the EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack airplanes stationed at D-M. PHOENIX Saying there is no reason for further review, a judge has thrown out the last bid by an organization to unearth texts between state utility regulator Bob Stump and others. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner acknowledged that an examination of Stumps phone by an expert hired by the Attorney Generals Office did not produce the documents that Dan Barr, attorney for the Checks and Balances Project, contends are there. And he did not dispute the contention that the organization may have an expert who could recover more of the deleted texts. But Warner, in a ruling released Tuesday, said all thats legally irrelevant. The legal standard is that a custodian must make a good faith search, the judge wrote. And he said the burden is on whoever has the phone to show it adequately searched for the records sought. Based on the evidence submitted, the court concludes as a matter of law that the attorney generals forensic examination of the phone was an adequate search, Warner wrote. But Scott Peterson, the groups executive director, said the ruling, the second by Warner denying further review of Stumps phone, may not be the last word and that an appeal is possible. The judge overlooked what we believe is compelling evidence, he said. That includes a contention that there is other data available in the phone, information a better examination could uncover. Peterson has said he wants the texts to determine if there was any improper activity by Stump to steer dark money into last years Corporation Commission race. Stump said he was not surprised by the possibility of an appeal. I suspect theyll invest yet another cockeyed excuse to push on and keep suing me because they wish nothing more than to seize my phone and publish my personal texts, he said in a statement. This is Dan Barrs witch hunt, Stump continued. He should be embarrassed and ashamed for abusing the legal system in this manner. But Barr said the evidence suggests there is more information to be had. He said just the circumstances that have created the barriers to getting the texts merit a deeper review. Here you have a public official who did everything in his power to evade the public records law, Barr said. That includes Stumps admission he routinely deleted text messages from his state-issued phone and that he later threw away that phone without approval of the Arizona Corporation Commission. Then theres the log of texts essentially a list without content which showed about 3,600 messages between Stump and others, including 2014 candidates for the commission, their campaign manager, the head of a group using anonymous cash to get them elected and a utility executive. With Stumps original phone gone, what was examined is a new phone Stump was issued in a bid to see what might have transferred from the old device. Warner said he reviewed several hundred deleted texts that the expert hired by the attorney general did recover. But the judge said only 36 fell within the dates sought by Peterson. And all 36, he said, came up empty. Everything else Warner said he saw were either personal matters or protected by attorney-client privilege and therefore not public. Barr said other electronic footprints suggest more texts can be recovered. And he disputed Warners findings that the fact that the attorney generals expert could not find them should end the matter. He said Checks and Balances was willing to foot the entire bill for a more thorough review of the phone and even sign an agreement that its expert would keep what he found secret from everyone but the judge. As a practical matter there wasnt any reason for the court to say no to that, Barr said. Peterson has 30 days to decide whether to file an appeal. Stump himself was not up for election in 2014 when the texts were being exchanged. But he was openly backing Tom Forese and Doug Little in the Republican primary over two other Republicans who were running as solar advocates. There were messages between Stump and the candidates as well as their campaign manager. Forese and Little won the primary and went on to defeat Democrat challengers. Of particular note in that election is that outside groups that will not disclose their donors spent more than $3.2 million to get Little and Forese elected. There were messages between Stump and Scot Mussi, who headed one of those groups, as well as with Barbara Lockwood, an executive of Arizona Public Service, which has refused to confirm or deny it funneled money into the race. Stump said the texts were for things like setting up meetings but not to conduct commission business. Wal-Mart-Going Native in China A shopper uses a net to catch live fish on sale at a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. In American Wal-Marts, customers dont get to fondle their fish. But America is not China, as the worlds biggest retailer has learned. If the Arkansas-based company wants to win over foreign consumers, it has to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions that are fast changing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) On summer weekends in Rocky Point, the beach feels like a food hall: merchants pulling oysters out of their push carts, college bros licking Mexican popsicles, ladies carving mango fruits into spicy red flowers. Then there are the tent villages where the local families tailgate, bringing along their abuelas and lots of barbecue equipment. It's no coincidence, that this where the fruit people set up shop. Because if you wanna eat what they're selling, you're gonna need a support network. It takes them ten minutes to make this watermelon creation at the beachside fruit stand, Pinas Coladas Cocos y Sandias Shapis. On my visit they cut each ingredient to order: splitting a whole jicama, slicing cucumbers and honeydew melons, then stabbing it with forks and looping orange slices onto them. (If you want, they'll also squirt spicy Chamoy sauce on top, but we kept it simple with lime and Tajin powder.) This Sonoran beach town is stuffed to the gills with doctored fruits boozy pineapples, seafood coconuts, etc. but this is the biggest and most elaborate I've seen. It's a riff on the Sandia Loca, which means crazy watermelon in Spanish, and costs $10. You can get it the healthy way like I did, or the Loca way packed with peanuts and spicy tamarind candies. I found the healthy version perfectly satisfying, bright and refreshing under the raging sun. You can find this lime green stand Thursdays through Sundays on the beach near the Penasco del Sol Hotel, Paseo Las Glorias #1. But honestly no matter what part of town you're in, it's probably easy to find a Sandia Loca. Just get up and walk toward the ocean! BOISE, Idaho Federal authorities have fined an Idaho food processing company $273,000 following the release of a dangerous gas. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday announced the fine against Dickinson Frozen Foods. Federal officials say the large release of anhydrous ammonia in December 2015 at the eastern Idaho plant in Sugar City where Dickinson Frozen Foods process potatoes didn't cause any injuries but other major ammonia releases at the facility have. Investigators say they issued 19 serious and two willful citations following the hazardous release at the plant with 220 workers. "It's a miracle no Dickinson Frozen Foods employees were killed or hurt last year," David Kearns, Idaho director for OSHA, said in a statement. Authorities say the plant lacks an adequate emergency response program and failed to equip employees with protective gear. The company, which has another plant in Fruitland, didn't immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Tuesday. Kearns during a telephone interview with the AP said anhydrous ammonia is used for refrigeration, and is kept under pressure in a closed system. Under pressure, he said, it's a liquid. But if the system has a leak, the anhydrous ammonia escapes into the air as a colorless gas with a pungent odor that can damage the eyes and respiratory tract. It can also explode if mixed with other chemicals. "You need to make sure (the system) is maintained and operated appropriately so we don't have catastrophic releases to workers or even the surrounding community," Kearns said. Among the violations found during an inspection of the eastern Idaho plant, authorities said, were employees exposed to liquid ammonia without chemical protective clothing, employees entering potentially life-threatening atmosphere without appropriate breathing apparatus, and employees responding to an emergency without proper training. The Sugar City plant process potatoes for use in items such as frozen dinners, federal officials said. Kearns said the company has asked for negotiations to discuss the fines, with that meeting to take place within the next two weeks. If the company isn't happy with the result of those efforts, Kearns said, the company can ask for a review. If the company remains unsatisfied, an appeal can be filed that's heard by an administrative law judge. "We're thankful nobody was hurt and hopeful they will be able to work with us to provide a safe and healthy work site," Kearns said. He noted that the average fine in Idaho for safety violations is about $2,500 to $3,000. Plans to demolish parts of a West University church property to build residential and retail spaces have moved one step closer to approval. The nearly 3-acre site of the Trinity Presbyterian Church complex at 400 E. University Blvd., at the intersection of North Fourth Avenue and University , could see two new buildings with retail, office and rental units if the plan is approved by the mayor and City Council. Church members also hope it will bring life to unused buildings and the large plot of land owned by the shrinking congregation. Back in the day when there was 3,500 members of the church, every inch was used, said Bucky Lovejoy, head of the Long Range Development Team at Trinity Presbyterian. But with the roster now closer to 200 members, the congregation put out a call for development proposals in 2011. Realization of the plans are still a long way off, says Randi Dorman of local firm R+R Develop, which is handling the project in cooperation with the church. We have so much that we still need to do. We have to go through the whole PAD (planned area development) process, I mean, thats going to take through the end of the year, said Dorman. On Thursday, a joint city-county historical review subcommittee recommended approving the proposal to rezone areas of the church out of the West University Historic District. Big infill project In addition to a building known as the childrens annex, plans would remove a 1950s-era addition and cement awning that blocks the historic facade of the 1924 church building. Trinity Presbyterian required renovation of historic buildings in the development plan and relocation of a historic duplex owned by the church to elsewhere in the district. It has also mandated nothing rise higher than the current Donald Hitch Memorial Tower, at 51 feet, to keep the church spire unobstructed. The proposed structures would rise to three and four stories. There will be ground-floor retail in both, two floors of offices in one and three floors with 72 rental units in the other. About 160 parking spaces are also in the plans. The zoning allowance approved Thursday would carve a hole in the current protected area if passed by the mayor and council. This was a concern for the West University Historic Zone Advisory Board. This is a big infill project, and as it looks now it would involve the relocation of historic buildings. And both those things are troublesome, so were keeping a close eye on it, said Robert Fleming, who chaired the advisory board meetings that reviewed and ultimately approved the plans over the last couple months. The code has always provided a pathway for rezoning out of a historic preservation area, said Jonathan Mabry, historic preservation officer for the city. But Mabry says he doubts the time and expense of the review process makes it a tempting prospect to smaller-property owners, which comprise most of those in the West University area. Dorman estimated the review process added $150,000 to the cost of developing their plans. The reason its different somewhat in this case is the Trinity Church has a big enough property to make the trouble and time worth it and viable, Mabry said. Neighbors concerned Theyre proposing rezoning that would allow them to demolish a later addition to the church from the 1950s, Mabry said. The State Historic Preservation Office has evaluated that later addition and determined it is not designated historic and is not a contributing property to the West University Historic District. Theyre proposing rezoning that would put back all the regulatory requirements of the historic preservation zone, except it would allow them to demolish that non-historic addition and allow them to build a new building to a taller height than would be allowed by the historic preservation zone standards, Mabry said. The process is so onerous because its so important, says Teresita Majewski, who chaired the meeting of the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission Plans Review Subcommittee, which approved the plans Thursday. People are skeptical and tend to be less supportive of things like this than they might normally be because of past experience, she said. In 2012, the West University Neighborhood Association circulated a petition objecting to the 12- and 14-story high-rises built by Chicago developer Campus Acquisitions on the northern edge of the UA campus. The effort was ultimately defeated in Pima County Superior Court. At that time, City Attorney Mike Rankin told the Arizona Daily Star the neighborhoods complaints had been heard by the City Council. But neighborhood president Chris Gans said concerns were not addressed and protections had failed them. Gans declined to comment on the church plans for this story. The next step is a review by the mayor and City Council on June 21. If approved, the developers will write the proposed zoning they hope to use, and the review process begins anew. That round also includes a public hearing with the zoning examiner. Ultimately, the mayor and council will decide on the project. For Lovejoy, who is a third-generation member of Trinity Presbyterian, the plans success would mean a new lease on life for his congregation. Part of the idea was well get a chunk of change for the land and then participate in the rents to help support the church, said Lovejoy. The agreement grants the church an equitable stake in the development once built, and it has worked closely with R+R on plans. Carolyn Maycher is a 45-year member of Trinity Presbyterian. She greeted Lovejoy in the church parking lot the day after the meeting and was pleased to hear the subcommittee had recommended the zoning allowance. Its going to be so great, were not going to have to worry about money anymore, Maycher said. This is going to keep us vibrant and alive. Its a small group, but we really stick together. People have raised their children here. Its so important to keep it going, she said. A man fatally shot by Tucson police was in the process of being detained by officers for giving them false names when he pulled a handgun, officials said Tuesday. The man, identified as Osee Calix, 33, was taken to Banner-University Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead, according to TPD. It was determined later that Calix was wanted on felony warrant for probation violations out of Florida involving drug offenses, Tucson police said. Police said the incident began around 11:15 a.m. Monday when an officer saw Calix riding his bicycle on the sidewalk of North Columbus Boulevard near East Fairmount Street and initiated a traffic stop. Before the officer could make the stop, Calix hit a raised portion in the sidewalk and fell off the bike. Paramedics and an additional officer were called to help treat Calix for minor injuries. During the encounter Calix gave officers several names but the officers were not able to verify his identity. After receiving care, the officers were in the process of detaining Calix for providing false information and a false name. It was at this time that Calix pulled out a handgun and began struggling with officers. Calix fired the gun during the struggle with the officers, Tucson police said. Calix attempted to turn the gun on the officers and that is when one of them shot Calix, police said. No officers or paramedics were hurt in the incident. Police identified the officer who shot Calix as Officer Ian Brown, a one-year veteran of the Tucson department. The Florida Department of Corrections online database shows Calix was sentenced to prison in 2008 for cocaine trafficking in Collier County. With businessman Donald Trump locking up the Republican nomination, Arizona Senator John McCain is apparently paying close attention to the Democratic presidential primary in California. When asked if his Senate colleague Bernie Sanders should bow out given projections that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected win the Democratic nomination, McCain disagreed. "I am just beginning to feel the Bern," McCain said, chuckling. "Go Bernie, go. He is fighting a valiant fight and we are all behind him." The Republican Senator argued a victory in the Golden State for Sanders might not change who will be the Democratic nominee, but should give him a seat at the table in terms of setting goals for the party. "I am not an expert on Democrat politics but it seems to me that if (Hillary Clinton) lost in California that he would fight in the convention for the issues that he wants the Democratic Party to have as their agenda, " he said. "You could make an argument, given all the states he has won that he has a role to play." "It is sort of like the Trump thing. He has tapped a vein of dissatisfaction and anger, particularly amongst young people. The turn-out at his rallies are incredibly impressive and if you look at the audience, there are a lot of young people, " he said. "The same ones that are looking at a huge student loan debt that is going to take them years to pay off. The same students that cannot afford their medical insurance premiums." He also sees parallels between Sanders and likely Republican Presidential nominee. "As Trump is a phenomena on one side, Bernie Sanders is on the other. No one 6 months ago predicted Trump and six months ago the prediction was it was going to be a day at the beach for Hillary Clinton," he said. "Obviously, this ain't over yet." He also sees Sanders continued popularity as a sign of serious infighting inside the Democratic Party. "If Senator Sanders ... succeeds in California, that is bound to do damage to the Clinton campaign," he said. McCain concluded his remarks by reminding reporters that his track record with a crystal ball hasn't been very good. "Everything I've predicted so far has been wrong," he said. Jurors deciding whether to sentence someone to death are entitled to be told that in Arizona the only alternative is life behind bars, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In an unsigned opinion ordering a resentencing, six of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court said it was a mistake for a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to block the defense attorney for Shawn Patrick Lynch from telling jurors that if they did not sentence him to death he would be sentenced to life behind bars, with no possibility of parole. Denied that information, the jurors sentenced Lynch to death. The ruling is important, not only in this case but other murder trials. In essence, the high court is saying that jurors, told someone would never get out and never pose a risk to anyone else might decide not to impose the death penalty. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, whose office prosecuted the case, had no comment. Justice Clarence Thomas, in his dissent, acknowledged that Arizona had abolished parole as an option in these kinds of cases. But he pointed out that, at least technically speaking, there was a possibility, albeit remote, that Lynch could be released: He could get a recommendation after 25 years from the Board of Executive Clemency, with the governor having the final word. Thomas also said requiring Lynch to be resentenced, this time with jurors having new information, ignores that it was the sheer depravity of the crime that resulted in the death penalty rather than any specific fear by jurors that Lynch would get out in the future. According to court records, Lynch and Michael Sehwani met James Panzarella in March 2001 at a Scottsdale bar. All three went to Panzarellas residence early the next morning. The victims credit cards were used over the next two days. Panzarella was eventually found in his home tied to a chair with his throat slit. Police also found credit card receipts from purchases made that morning at a supermarket and convenience store. Lynch and Sehwani were arrested later that day. Sehwani had Panzarellas credit cards and checks in his wallet. In the truck and motel room he and Lynch were using they found the keys to Panzarellas car, a pistol belonging to the victim and a sweater with Panzarellas blood on it. Blood on Lynchs shoes matched the victims DNA. During sentencing, prosecutors argued that jurors should consider Lynchs dangerousness when determining proper punishment. But the trial judge refused to let Lynchs attorney tell the jury that under Arizona law, the only alternative sentence was life without parole. The majority, in Tuesdays ruling, conceded that there was a chance Lynch could be released after 25 years. But the justices said that was not enough of a possibility to let jurors think if they did not sentence Lynch to death he might be released. Sehwani separately pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and theft and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of early release. Chile Bachelet Protest A woman is detained by riot police during a protest turned violent near Congress, where President Michelle Bachelet was presenting the state-of-the-nation report, in Valparaiso, Chile, Saturday, May 21, 2016. The anti-government protest that began as a peaceful march turned rough as some demonstrators threw rocks at police and gasoline bombs at buildings, resulting in the death of one man who reportedly died of asphyxiation. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) The Amphitheater School District will evaluate whether its high schools teachers and students are spending more time in their classrooms than their peers in other districts. The district has formed an advisory committee to conduct a study on high school instructional scheduling after a Canyon del Oro High School parent approached district employees and Governing Board members with concerns about possible negative impacts of longer hours in the classroom. Independent research done by that parent, Tina Mehren, showed that Amphis high schools had about 300 more hours per year in instructional time than their peers, thus making each school day a little longer. This is a long day for students, she said. But its also a big deal if faculty arent aware. Amphitheater administrators disputed that the high schools hours are exceptionally long, noting that Mehrens calculations factor in time between classes, whereas the numbers for other districts high schools did not. There are some variances in different schools instructional hours, due to the individual specifics of each high schools bell schedule, and such other factors as the frequency and duration of their early release periods and their passing time between classes, Associate Superintendent Todd Jaeger wrote in a memo. An Arizona Daily Star review of high school bell schedules showed that CDO students spent an average of about 7.4 hours a day in class, Amphi High students, six hours and Ironwood Ridge students just more than seven hours. However, not all students in Amphi or at other Tucson-area districts are required to take whats called zero hour classes that typically start at 7 a.m. Excluding time allotted for those periods, the averages went down, but findings showed that Amphitheaters high school students were spending slightly more time in the classroom than Catalina Foothills and University high schools, which were two peer schools Mehren used as examples in her research. Students at Catalina Foothills spend just shy of seven hours each day on average in the classroom, and University High, six hours. The extra time spent by Amphis high schools has no apparent correlation to higher academic success, as evidenced by those schools instructional time, Mehren said. Students arent scoring so much higher than other districts because they have longer classes, the CDO parent said. She believes the extra time is a burden for both students and teachers. The state requires 900 hours of instruction per year for high school students and 180 calendar days. If spread out equally, that would amount to about five hours a day of instructional time. Several district employees said Amphitheater adjusted the high schools schedules about three years ago when it was found to have been noncompliant to those state standards. Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up The penalty for not meeting the minimum requirement would be a decrease in funding, as students would no longer be considered full time. Longer instructional hours, if used correctly, could lead to a richer and more robust educational experience for students, said David Farbman, senior researcher for the National Center on Time and Learning, which advocates for expanded time in schools. Expanded time, in best practice, allows for more collaboration and project-based learning, he said. Farbman reviewed the bell schedules of the districts three high schools and said their hours appeared to be longer than the nationwide norm of 6.8 hours of instruction a day. But he could not comment on whether that time was being well-spent, as he had not reviewed that. He said there is no single figure identified as an ideal amount of time students and teachers should spend in classrooms. The ideal is not a quantity, he said. The ideal comes in making sure in the schedule that we develop and in the education program that you put in place, you are serving all kids adequately. A longer schedule shouldnt be in place without significant consideration going into it, he said. If its not designed in a way that serves students well, then there is value in reflecting on that and making changes. Jon Lansa, principal of Amphitheater High School, said at his school, instructional time has not been an issue. Schools are given parameters, but also allowed autonomy in creating their own schedules. What Amphi High has set for itself works, he added. It really hasnt even come up among our teachers, he said. However, if the study reveals that changes must be made, then the school will do so, he said. The concerned parents research grabbed the attention of the Amphitheater Education Association. I think the data is very compelling, said Mike Robinette, vice president and advocacy chair of the association. The association conducted a survey of teachers and an overwhelming majority of teachers wanted the issue studied, he said. The advisory committee, of which Mehren is a part, will look into the numerous pieces that go into scheduling instruction, including transportation, food services and compliance with state law. It was directed by the Governing Board to produce a report by November. Help India! By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net Bihar/Jharkhand: Every summer, Mohammed Raket Miyan, 40 from Village Gordhia in Gaya District of Bihar has no choice but to migrate from his village to another for water. As summer approaches, his village, struggles for water to even drink, forget farming or cattle rearing. The water in wells dries up like it never existed. Support TwoCircles Our main source of water is the wells, but they dry up in summers, forcing us to migrate to our relatives place which is at 6 kms distance from Gordhia. It is very frustrating to migrate and leave our house, but at the end life is all about survival, said Raket Miyan. Every village in Gaya and Chatra, the bordering districts of Bihar and Jharkhand has a different story to tell, but a common grief of treacherous summer drying up their water resources. Take the case of Nazirun Bibi, 35 from Sherghati (Imnabad) from Gaya District of Bihar. Bibi house is in between two mountains with no source of water nearby; not even a well. Every day she walks 2.5 kms one way to get a pot of water for her family of five. She takes two such journeys every day, thus spending most of her day in collecting water. These journeys are very atrocious. In summer, travelling such a distance makes me unconscious at times. Sometimes, risks are quite high because in late evening there are chances of getting mauled by wild animals, but its all about water, the basic necessity of life. For us, its like dying this way or that way, says Bibi. Now, there is something to cheer both for Raket and Bibi, as their water woes have ended. The US based Indian Muslims Relief and Charities have installed hand pumps through ring boring in their villages. Raket hasnt migrated this summer and is living happily in his village, Gordhia, whereas Bibi collects water from hand pump installed at 15 meters from his house. Now, she spends most of her day better in household chores and rearing her cattle. More importantly, she is feeling healthier than before and her joint pains have subsided. India is presently reeling under the scorching heat ever to be witnessed in decades. The rise in temperatures have left water sources dried leading many farmers to commit suicides or forcing families to migrate to the places where water is available. The bordering districts of Bihar and Jharkhand are also facing serious water crisis. Responding immediately to the need of water in worst hit villages, Indian Muslim Relief and Charities have installed 24 hand pumps via ring boring within first 20 days of the May, 2016. Four hand pumps were installed in village Sherghati, three in village Kuinbar, and one each in Jamuna, Belha Zaribchak, Jhikatiya and Gordhia villages of Gaya Distirct in Bihar. Whereas five hand pumps were installed in Village Humajaan, four in village Gajwa, two each in Bahri and one in Sarcha villages of district Chatra in Jaharkhand. The hand pumps have brought relief to hundreds of families living in these eleven villages. Many times we tried to search for water in ground by doing hand boring. But water was 100 to 200 meters below the surface and we couldnt afford ring boring for that. But now, these good people have come to our rescue and have solved our water woes. This isnt the first time they are helping us. They also help us in winters with blankets and clothes, said Mohan Yadav from Village Siba in Gaya district of Bihar. IMRC has also installed 50 hand pumps since January 2016 in three districts of Marathwada viz. Nanded, Hingoli and Parbhani whereas some other water projects are already under process. Since the initiation of IMRC water project in India in 2013, it has build and installed more than 400 bore wells and hand pumps across six Indian states. In 2013, IMRC built 54 water wells and 40 hand pumps; in 2014, 57 bore wells and 75 hand pumps whereas in 2015 the number touched 200. This year, the number has already crossed 100. Help India! By Kaleem Kawaja for Twocircles.net Assam has the second-highest percent (34) of Muslim population in India. Forty nine of its 126 Assembly constituencies (about 40%) have very sizeable Muslim presence and that can be a determining factor in an election. The animosity of RSS Hindus and Bodos against Muslims and their strong desire to suppress Muslims is well-known for decades. BJP and AGP including PM Modi have falsely labelled a large number of Assamese Muslims as Bangladeshi infiltrators for many years now. Support TwoCircles Thus the recent Assam election was an important watershed for the Muslims of not only Assam but of India itself. It was therefore necessary for leaders of Assamese Muslims to handle the recent election with much strategy and care, not with false bravado like AIUDFs Maulana Ajmal, who put up candidates in 71 constituencies despite limited resources, asking Muslims to vote for Muslims only, and claiming to win 45 seats and becoming deputy chief minister. All this lack of planning and putting up AIUDF Muslim candidates against Muslim candidates of Congress in such a large number of constituencies had only one effect. It caused major division in Muslim votes in 49 constituencies and polarized voters along Muslim-Hindu line. Maulana Ajmal, and AIUDF that had gradually progressed to an impressive 18 seats in the previous state elections were erong to think that the people or even the Muslims of Assam were willing to accept the Ajmal political dynasty. Ajmal infused several inexperienced members of his clan in leadership positions in AIUDF. They also felt that they could give a run to Chief Minister Gogois family that has ruled Assam for 15 years. It is true that the power-drunk Gogoi thought that Assam belonged to his family and he did not need alliance or seat adjustment with AIUDF, which he detests. Another factor was that for long, many Muslims have been in the Congress party. Regardless of the blunders and arrogance of Gogoi and Congress it behoved AIUDF and Maulana Ajmal to act wisely and not create such a political division in the Muslim constituencies. In election after election in several states, local Muslim leaders running against each other and putting up Muslim candidates against other Muslims has resulted in division of Muslim votes and victories of Hindu- BJP candidates. Therefore, not doing that should be the basic strategy of all Muslim leaders. Most galling was that Maulana Ajmal, a member of parliament, contested for an Assembly seat against another Muslim candidate of the Congress party and lost by 16,000 votes. Also, AIUDF lost 5 seats, more than one-fourth of their seats in the outgoing Assembly. Surely there is no way to explain this and say that things are not that bad for AIUDF or Assamese Muslims. Despite their relatively big population base and their recent political progress this election is a political and social debacle for both. Will the anti-Muslim parties, BJP and AGP, take Assam in the same direction as they did in Gujarat? With deep seated anti-Muslim hostilities among Hindus in Assam fanned over the years, it is likely that in Assam, Muslims may be cowed down and discouraged from being first among equals. Just as in Gujarat, where Muslims face subtle and not so subtle across the board discrimination. We pray and hope that it does not happen but the writing seems to be on the wall. That brings us to think of the performance of Muslims in the recent election in West Bengal and a few months ago in Bihar. In both states, Muslim leaders by working deftly with secular Hindu leaders and not challenging them crushed BJP despite Modi at his divisive and communal best. That was a remarkable performance. In West Bengal with 27 percent Muslim population, 56 Muslims were elected MLAs seven percent less Muslim population and about 20 more Muslim MLAs compared to Assam. Just think that if the Muslim leaders in West Bengal and Bihar had allowed MIM and Owasi to crow for Muslim vote banks, what would have been the result for Muslims. Obviously then the question arises as to why the Muslim leaders in Assam do not behave like their counterparts in west Bengal and Bihar? This requires an honest and deep analysis by Muslim journalists, leaders and thinkers. Unfortunately in the week since the Assam election results have been announced they are either blasting Congress party leaders or are keeping quiet. None of them have shown the wisdom to accept the bitter truth about the unthinking and defective leadership and strategy demonstrated by the Muslim leaders of Assam. This is a core deficiency among the Muslim media and journalists that they cannot accept the problems created by the communitys leaders. All problems are shoved under the rug. With the election in U.P. less than a year away, we need to learn the lessons of Assam and what was done right by the community leaders in West Bengal and Bihar. I am very hopeful that many strategic Muslim thinkers and luminaries in north India will take up this task in earnest and draw up a viable strategy to keep BJP out of the U.P. state Assembly. There is a big need for the Muslim leaders, leaders of sects and parties to sink their differences and jointly negotiate strategy with the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Congress and with the Maha Gathbandhan that the media is writing about. Or else a debacle awaits 40 million Muslims in U.P. the heartland of Indian Muslims if BJP wins there next year. In UP another major problem is the presence of so many small Muslim based parties like Peace Party, Ulema Council, Muslim League, Parcham Party etc .that are vulnerable to divide the Muslim vote or get misled by the major parties to do their bidding. Concern for the welfare of the Muslim community often takes a back seat. The writer can be reached on: [email protected] Help India! By Imphal Free Press for Twocircles.net IMPHAL, May 31: At least 30 student protestors have been arrested so far during ILPS related protests and scores of students have been injured. Support TwoCircles Speaking to media persons at its Keishampat office, JCILPS Students Wing convenor Oinam Nandababu said that 30 students has been arrested by the police and many others sustained injuries from police actions.. He said out of the 30 arrested students, 14 students each are being kept at Langthabal and Thangmeiband Children Home and one each at Takyel Children home and Central Jail. Photo courtesy: Bina Nepram Condemning the police brutality while confronting the student protestors, Nandababu demanded the unconditional release of the 30 arrested students and five KSA volunteers, asserting that the government cannot suppress the peoples movement. He declared that the students wing is ready to take up all necessary steps to actuate the series of agitations which the JCILPS had announced earlier. Meanwhile, pro-ILPS movements continued in many areas of the valley with the agitators blocking roads at Kongba, Konung Mamang, Tiddim road and Mayai Lambi Road. The news is taken, with permission, from Imphal Free Press. Ever since announcing his candidacy for president, Donald Trump has found himself surrounded by a constant cloud of controversy. In typical Trump fashion, the billionaire real estate mogul often vents his frustrations on his personal Twitter account. In an attempt to return the favor, Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton unloaded on Trump in her own Twitter rant. Clinton on Trump University The biggest news to come out of the Memorial Day weekend is the newest information released on the Trump University fraud case. Nearly 5,000 students are being represented, many of whom claim they were scammed out of as much as $35,000. The Trump campaign denies any wrongdoing, and after the GOP nominee lashed out against the the judge handling the case, previously sealed documents were ordered to be unsealed. In the 400 pages that are now free to view by the public, the information shows how the school handled their operating procedures. Clinton took note of the documents, unleashing a fury of tweets, as reported by Mediaite on June 1. Clinton Takes Cue From Trump and Goes on Twitter Rant Against Him https://t.co/KZ0GYHEIF1 pic.twitter.com/zbtUm2dFs8 Mediaite (@Mediaite) June 1, 2016 "New documents confirm Trump 'University' was a scam that preyed on families to make money. Cautionmay cause nausea," Clinton tweeted out Wednesday afternoon. The former Secretary of State continued, unleashing tweets over the next hour that ripped into the former host of "The Apprentice." "The gist: Trump's for-profit university deceived & exploited students to take their money," anther tweet read, stating, "And he has the gall to call the media 'sleazy." New documents confirm Trump "University" was a scam that preyed on families to make money. Cautionmay cause nausea. https://t.co/d2qYRLKsou Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2016 In tweet after tweet, Clinton accused Trump and the university of targeting the less fortunate in an attempt to increase profit, regardless of what the outcome resulted in with those who signed up. Trump University employed instructors with no experience and lied to sell outrageously expensive packages. In a word: fraud. Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2016 Clinton concluded her Twitter firestorm asking, "If you can't trust him with your personal financeshow can we trust him with our country?" The Trump University con says a lot about Trump. If you can't trust him with your personal financeshow can we trust him with our country? Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2016 Election outlook Even with the controversy surrounding his campaign, Trump was able to pull off the political upset, becoming the last man standing in the GOP primary and clinching the nomination last month. According to Real Clear Politics most recent rolling average, Clinton and Trump are essentially tied, with both candidates polling within the margin of error. Despite this, most pollsters expect Clinton to regain the lead following the conclusion of the Democratic primary. There are horrifying reports out of Mexico that the town of Silao is starving their police k-9 dogs. Anger on Facebook is the main reaction of those commenting from Mexico itself, whilst other Facebook users have launched a petition against the cruel state of the Animals. Two dogs serious condition. The news site, El-Mexicano carried the story on 31 May, as did HOY Estado de Mexico. They reported that the municipality of Silao, Guanajuato, has slashed the budget to provide food for the K-9 dog unit that works with the Municipal Police. At least two of the dogs are in very serious condition. Order from Treasurer. HOY quoted an attending veterinarian as saying that the dogs are starving and bed-ridden as they are suffering from extreme dehydration and malnutrition. They are unable to even walk. A councilwoman, Espinoza Corral said that the remaining dogs are also suffering from the lack of food. The order to reduce the purchase of food for the dogs apparently originated from the Treasurer, Rodolfo Guerrero Duran, as he felt they were too expensive to maintain. Petition. The dogs were previously being fed food that cost 23 thousand pesos for 45 kilograms. This was good quality food. Due to budget cuts, the unsuitable food now being provided is much cheaper at just 11 pesos a kilo. The petition that was started on the YouSignAnimals petition website was initiated by Janel East. She called for signatories to call on Juan Antonio Morales Maciel Mayor of Silao, to act urgently to rectify the situation. Sack of bones. Janel implored people to please take a look at the photo on the right. That police dog is nothing but a mere sack of bones. How is he supposed to protect the citizens of this town if he is unable to even stand on his own feet? So far the petition has accumulated over 3,000 signatures but they are aiming at a minimum of 20,000. They will probably meet their target as the petition has already started to go viral, with 2592 shares, and 3.3k reactions. Twitter. On Twitter, disgust surrounds the actions taken by the treasurer, and many comments point out that he is carrying enough weight to never have experienced any hunger. K-9 abuse. This is not the first time that cruelty to Mexican K-9s has come to light. In 2014 another petition via Care2 was run calling for action against a police officer caught on tape severely abusing one dog during training sessions. China, Malaysia promote twin industrial parks for cooperation Updated: 2016-06-01 10:14 (Xinhua) KUALA LUMPUR - China-Malaysia twin industrial parks are set to boost investment and cooperation between the two countries as well as in the region under China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, officials said Tuesday. Companies from both countries signed a series of agreements on investment related to the Qinzhou Industrial Park in Guangxi, China and the Kuantan Industrial Park in Malaysia respectively, including investment by Guangxi Investment Group to set up an aluminium component manufacturing facility in Malaysia. Officials said the high level of interest shown thus far towards the twin parks underscores the long standing partnership the two nations have enjoyed in driving economic growth in the region. Zhang Xiaoqin, vice governor of Guangxi, told an investment promotion conference here that the twin parks would bring about new growth and opportunities. Since the two sides joining hands to expand the Kuantan Port less than two years ago, the port has seen doubling in both the volume of cargo it handled and its revenue, said Zhang. The Kuantan industrial Park was launched in 2013 and is the first in Malaysia to be jointly developed with China. Its target industries include energy-saving and environment-friendly technologies, alternative and renewable energies, high-end equipment manufacturing and the manufacture of advanced materials. In the Kuantan Industrial Park, a modern integrated steel plant to produce high carbon steel and H-shaped steel is scheduled to become operational in 2017, with an annual production capacity of 3.5 million tons. A porcelain production plant with a total investment of $600 million is also expected to be built. In Qinzhou, the infrastructure for the first area of the industrial park is now ready for projects to move in. Ong Ka Chuan, Minister II of Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Ministry, said Malaysia should seek the opportunities to participate in the Belt and Road initiative, to boost connectivity with the Belt and Road countries, particularly within Southeast Asian countries through institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. China 'committed to safeguarding' peace Updated: 2016-06-01 01:55 By Zhao Huanxin and Hu Yongqi(China Daily) Premier Li says neighbors must 'optimize common interests, manage differences' Premier Li Keqiang, accompanied by China Daily Publisher and Editor in Chief Zhu Ling (right), meets Suthichai Yoon of Nation Multimedia Group of Thailand and other Asia News Network executives in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY China does not intend to assume a role as Big Brother, but instead seeks to build a community of a shared future with all its neighbors, Premier Li Keqiang said in Beijing on Tuesday. "There are no grounds for China to become a superpower, and neither does China have the intention to be one," Li said. "China has a long way to go to realize modernization. It needs a stable regional and peaceful international environment, and China is committed to safeguarding that environment." The premier made the remarks while answering a question from Suthichai Yoon, chief adviser of Nation Multimedia Group, at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday during a meeting with a delegation from 21 Asian media outlets. The media representatives gathered in Beijing for the two-day annual board meeting of the Asia News Network. The ANN, founded in 1999, is one of the world's biggest media alliances. It comprises leading, mostly English-language news groups with a combined readership of at least 14 million. Zhu Ling, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, is the acting chairman of the ANN for 2015-16. The event coincides with China Daily's 35th anniversary, which falls on Wednesday. Li said that even if China can realize modernization in the coming decades, Beijing will not seek hegemony, and nor will it bully any country, however small that nation is in terms of population or landmass. Just as a person might accidentally bite his lips, it is only natural that neighbors will have differences, the premier emphasized, but the key is to address such disparities in a calm, diplomatic way. "I firmly believe that our era is one that needs peace and cooperation," he said. "The common interests among China and its neighbors are way greater than disparities, and we can always optimize the common interests and better manage our differences." Endy M. Bayuni, editor-in-chief of The Jakarta Post, said he was very impressed that Premier Li answered all of the questions, which Bayuni described as serious and tough ones. China strongly condemns terrorist attack in Mali Updated: 2016-06-01 19:53 (Xinhua) BEIJING -- China on Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack in Mali in which a Chinese peacekeeper was killed and four others were injured. According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying,the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was attacked Wednesday morning. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and express our heartfelt sympathy to the wounded and the families of the victims," Hua said. The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council are taking the attack very seriously, Hua said, noting that emergency response and follow-up measures had been launched immediately. As the attack targeted UN peacekeepers, Hua said, it was a terrible, intolerable crime. China strongly condemns the terrorist attack and has asked the Mali government and the UN to investigate the incident immediately, Hua said. Hua reiterated that the Chinese government firmly supports international peace and stability in Africa. At present, more than 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are operating in seven African task areas including Mali, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hua said. China will continue to participate in international peacekeeping operations and contribute to peace and security in Africa. AIIB head fields questions from news execs Updated: 2016-06-01 08:10 (China Daily) Editor's note: Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, was interviewed by media executives from the Asia News Network at the news organization's board meeting in Beijing on Tuesday. Howfastwill the AIIB expand its membership? Zhou Li, editorial board member of China Daily We have 57 founding members. We have about 30 countries waiting to join, of which we have a firm commitment from about 20 countries. Some of the countries are still working on the internal procedure and can't give us a firm commitment at the moment. The deadline for application is the end of September, and we will try to complete the whole process of membership before the end of this year. So likely, by the end of this year, our membership will be a little less than 100. This is going to be a really international organization with countries from Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, North Africa and some other regions. So we will be able to work with so many countries across the world. AIIB certainly promotes, first of all, the benefits of Asian countries, but we don't forget about those that are, by definition, not Asian countries. We support other countries that have a direct and indirect impact on Asia's development. AIIB is considering some projects in Asia. Are all of those projects with the founding members? Nguyen Hai Van, chief, Vietnam News We are going to deliver the first batch of projects for board consideration in late June. All the projects will be in Asian member countries and I am very happy to see, geographically, they are covering broad areas, including ASEAN countries, south Asian countries and central Asian countries. It's very gratifying to see that geographically we cover so many countries. We will have the second batch and the third batch by the end of this year. At this moment, we are considering projects with Asian member countries. I'm sure very soon we will be able to cover non-Asian countries, particularly if these countries' economic relations with Asian countries are very strong. You've mentioned considering investing outside Asia. Very recently, Russian President Putin said he invited the AIIB to invest in Russia. Are you going to consider investing in Russian projects? We finance infrastructure projects in any member countries that are eligible for our funding. It's very clear. But as I said, any project proposed by any government must meet our three basic requirements. So I cannot prejudge any project. Do you see China's foreign policy complementing the objectives of the organization? Ravindra Kumar, editor and managing director, The Statesman I was asked by a New York correspondent in Davos: do you think the AIIB is a success in term of diplomacy. My answer is 'Yes'. I have to add the AIIB is a success in terms of diplomacy for all 57 member countries. What is the desirable ratio between the number of standalone projects and cofinancing projects? Are you going to provide financing to projects outside of the Chinese government's priorities, such as the Belt and Road Initiative? Michinobu Yanagisawa, assistant director, The Japan News, a subsidiary of Yomiuri Shimbun I'm going to get a Japanese national to serve in a very senior position in our bank. Recently your senior officials came to see me, looking for possible cooperation. I believe we can work together to promote development in Asia. We don't have a fixed target with regard to the ratio of standalone projects vis-a-vis cofinancing. We will take in projects that meet our standards. Probably in the future, there will clearly be a higher proportion of cofinancing projects. When it comes to huge infrastructure projects, it's easy to go over $1 billion, it's not really a great idea for one institution to single-handedly manage the finances of a project. But also, just because we are a little bit different from the existing institutions, we do not take poverty reduction as a direct objective. Poverty reduction will be a derivative of our efforts, so our focus will be a little bit different. Some of the projects that cannot be done by some other institutions will be perfectly all right for us to finance. So I also think we could have a clearly greater proportion of free-standing projects, particularly after we have recruited all our operational staff in the next couple of years. When you recruit people, you really have to be more or less sure if he or she will be a good team worker, if he or she will be working very well and would achieve very high success by working at this institution. Imagine that you were in the middle of a board meeting, and I were a board member from Thailand, and my first question to you as a CEO of the AIIB would be: Mr. CEO, we seem to have a brand image problem. If we are launching a product, people may think this product is Chinese, it's not international. The No 1 question to the CEO is: how do you plan to correct this brand image? Suthichai Yoon, chief adviser, The Nation Multimedia Group We have heard very critical comments on China's initiative. We never, ever, engage in any vocal arguments with these people because it's not worth it. In my view, trust has to be earned. Credibility has to be earned. You cannot talk people into belief. You can exhaust all the nice words in any dictionary and you still fail to convince these people. Just forget about it. Do your job. Ifwe have a project to upgrade a slumin a country in the ASEAN, do you think this is a Chinese project? We cleanup the dirty water. We provide safe drinking water. We provide electricity to low-income people. When we finance a project in South Asian countries, improving the power transmission system and contributing to the reduction of global warming, do you think this is a Chinese project? None of the projects are Chinese projects. All of these projects, I would say, are benefiting the local people. China does not want to borrow from this bank. It doesn't make sense for China to start this bank and borrow massively from this bank. India can borrow, India is No 2. China does not want to borrow ... even though China has 30 percent of the bank's shares, contributing 30 percent of the $100 billion. China will also contribute $50 billion as a donation to this bank to establish a special fund. You may remember President Xi Jinping said that in the last three decades, China has benefited from the general support of the World Bank, the ADB and all the bilateral sources, and now it's China's turn to contribute. That is the basic idea or principle of this institution. So our first batch of projects will speak volumes for the basic principle of this institution. With the goal of public institutions, combined with the efficiency of private sector companies, we are going to serve as a new role model. That's why we do not want to clone any existing institution. We want to be a new entity with the strong features of private sector companies and public sector companies. That is why we believe this bank is so attractive. What is the responsibility of member countries? June Wong Har Leng, chief operating officer for content development, The Star Media Group First of all, I want to take issue with you when you say I pick the rosy pictures. I never pick the rosy pictures, I always pick the realistic pictures.... Certainly my picture involves lots of aspirations on what we aim to achieve. This is not my aspiration; it is the aspiration of the people of all these countries. So let's be realistic. We cannot achieve all these objectives over a really short period of time, but I think we should always aim at all these grand programs, which would benefit all of the people of all the member countries. New members or existing members certainly will place high expectations on this bank. They certainly try, at least for many developing countries, to get as many resources as possible from this bank. They would like to have as many projects as possible. But we cannot, I think, meet all of their expectations. We must achieve counterbalance and regional balance. Sometimes we have to decline ... because we believe some other projects are more important from the regional perspective. ... Probably, the response from other institutions would be the same. If your project does not measure up to their high standard for environmental protection they cannot do it. What is the budget of AIIB? John Nery, editor-in-chief, Inquirer.net I enjoyed living in the Philippines for a good five years when I served as vice-president of the Asian Development Bank. That platform gave me a lot of opportunities to communicate with people in member countries and also helped me learn more about your great country. The Philippines is a founding member, and we certainly will look forward to new opportunity to develop a strong relationship with your country. We are early in the stages and it's not responsible for me to give you some definite figure of how much we can lend a year, but maybe I can offer you some examples. ADB has a capital base of $160 billion. Roughly, there is $16 billion for lending out in a year. The World Bank has $257 billion; their lending program is probably $25-$26 billion a year. So that kind of reference probably would help you to more or less arrive at a rough idea. We depend on the experience of the IMF, World Bank and ADB if we want to learn more about the macroeconomic situation of the country. We don't have to duplicate the research in these areas. Instead, we can focus our resources on research in some other areas, such as renewable energy. But we don't have to duplicate the efforts of other institutions. You see, it is truly important for us to keep in mind any country would have a need, a special, particular need. Just quote Jane Austen. If I remember correctly, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." And this wife is a matter of preference. What is the investment target of AIIB? Warren Fernandez, editor, The Straits Times We start with infrastructure - physical infrastructure, to be exact. But since we have other productive sectors in mind, we can probably finance projects in the future for nonphysical infrastructure. For instance, education and healthcare are nonphysical infrastructure. Or, if we can help a municipal government better design the way it manages, I think it could be very important. It's certainly important to build roads and streets, but people don't understand if you don't include the traffic lights, if you don't manage the flow of the people in the city, probably no matter how many roads you build, it's still not enough. So you need to better manage the urban problems. That could be part of our efforts. Now, when it comes to new technology, I have to be cautious about financing. This is not our job. Any investment in new technology has variants. And I don't think it's appropriate to spend our shareholders' money on something with dubious prospects. This should be left for venture capital to take care of. But once the new technology proves workable and effective, we can't miss it. So in my view, this is the way we can serve our countries. We apply new technology; we do not invest in developing new technology. This is my personal view. How long until the United States or Japan joins the AIIB? Pana Janviroj, executive director, Asia News Network I cannot speak on behalf of the US government or the Japanese government with regard to the membership issues. The door has opened, and will remain open. This is our basic principle. And as we are inclusive, if any country wants to join, they pick up the phone, give us a ring and discuss the rest of the issues. You know, the conditions are all stated in the articles of agreement. But I want to highlight one point, that regardless of the membership of any country in the world, we can work together. As I said, the companies of the United States and companies of Japan can participate in the international competition, and they will be treated equally and fairly. This is our basic principle. I have already hired some US nationals to work in this institution, sit in various positions, and I told you that we would have some Japanese nationals. We are still in the recruitment process, interviews. I am sure the Japanese nationals will meet our standards. We are indeed very happy to have any national of any country who can serve this institution. So I highlight this point again and again, that regardless of who is a member, there are various ways that we work for the companies and work for the nationals. When you describe reforming distribution, what do you feel was lacking in the decision-making and distribution at IMF, ADB or the World Bank, or whether their decisions were politically motivated, and did that prompt you to advance this idea? Zaffar Abbas, editor, Dawn newspaper I think we can evaluate the performance or contribution of any international institution only from a historical perspective. The Bretton Woods institutions were created before the conclusion of the World War II. So it was timely for all these countries to meet in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. China was also a member. All the last seven days, the Bretton Woods institutions, and the new institutions that were created more or less patterned on these institutions, have contributed enormously to international financial or economic stability, to reconstruction and the readoption of recruitment. No institution, just like no individual, is perfect. So when we talk about the international financial order, or international economic order, you may have noticed the Chinese position, that we do not intend to upend the existing international financial order because we in China have also benefited from this system, particularly over the last three decades. Now, I understand these institutions are also trying to improve, to undertake reforms, to make them serve better. We were all created in the 21st century, meeting the needs of countries from the 21st century, so we have a lot to learn from the existing institutions, and we also enjoy the advantages of the institutions of different cultures. And any institution will make mistakes. I do not think we will be flawless in the future. I think what is important is, first of all, to understand the reality and acknowledge or confess that you made mistakes - and that you will have the guts to confess and to correct. No mistake is a mistake unless you don't want to take it back. So I think this is very very important for understanding. It is not appropriate for me to make judgments on the merits or demerits of existing institutions. My job is to learn from the strong points. And I would say this is the shared view of all 57 members of the institution, because they are all members of existing institutions, right? So when some people asked me, 'Aren't you worried about rivalry with the World Bank or ADB?,' I told them that I worked for six years on the board of the World Bank, five years in management. If you think the sibling, the new institution, has sold out the existing institution, I would not agree. What is lacking in the practices of existing institutions? It's not appropriate for me to comment on the merits or demerits. But one essential fact is that the existing institutions mostly are made of the developed nations. This institution is made by developing nations, so we can offer the development experience of developing countries that has accumulated over the last half-century, particularly the last three decades. Will the Chinese government ask the AIIB to finance all its infrastructure projects? Endy M. Bayuni, editor-in-chief, Jakarta Post The United States basically shuffled the order of the World Bank. Japan has numerous financial assistance programs. Many European countries also have their own financing systems. So the way they handle this is also offering some experience. If I have to be specific about the relationship between AIIB and Chinese financial systems, I do not rule out the possibility that we can work together if they follow our standards and rules. For instance we have Chinese development institutions, and they may finance ideas or infrastructure in some countries. Jin Liqun (second from left), president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Zhou Li (fourth from left), editorial board member of China Daily, attend the Belt and Road Initiative and Regional Cooperation seminar with other Asian media representatives in Beijing on Tuesday. Feng Yongbin / China Daily (China Daily 06/01/2016 page4) Beijing, Manila sharing goodwill Updated: 2016-06-01 08:11 By Mo Jingxi(China Daily) Beijing and Manila are on a goodwill drive as President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, and key figures from the incoming Manila administration expressed willingness to talk with China. Duterte assumes office on June 30, and observers said practical action from Manila is required to put China-Philippine relations back on track. Xi said the friendly, stable and healthy development of China-Philippine relations conforms to the fundamental interests of both countries and their people. It is the responsibility of both nations' leaders to deepen their mutually beneficial cooperation, he said. "I hope the two sides can work together to put China-Philippine relations back on the track of healthy development," Xi said. Ties between Beijing and Manila suffered after the latter claimed sovereignty over China's Huangyan Island in the South China Sea in 2012. The relationship hit further turbulence in early 2013 after Manila initiated an arbitration case against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over their disputes in the South China Sea. The court's decision is expected in the coming weeks. While sitting Philippine President Benigno Aquino III adopted a confrontational policy toward China, the new leadership has shown willingness to hold talks. Perfecto Yasay Jr., the incoming Philippine foreign secretary, said on Monday that tensions in the South China Sea can only be eased if the Philippines holds talks with China. "This is necessary. I don't think there is any other way of resolving this except talking to each other," Yasay was quoted by the Manila Times as saying. Jia Duqiang, Southeast Asian studies researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said there is a chance for ties to get back on track if Manila is willing to take practical action. "But it will still take time to find out how to take the first concrete step to improve ties," he said. mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily USA 06/01/2016 page5) US officials have praised the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) as a great platform in advancing cooperation between the two nations while addressing their differences. Daniel Russel, US assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, called the S&ED "the flagship dialogue" and "mechanism for connecting the work of our two governments". "And over the last eight years, we've used it to do two things. One, to set the goals and the direction of the relationship. But secondly, to help us work through and absorb some of the shocks to the system by allowing our teams to talk through, to think through and to work through real problem areas," he said on Tuesday. Russel and Undersecretary of State Catherine Novelli briefed reporters on the S&ED to be held in Beijing from June 6-7, ahead of Tuesday's department daily press briefing. "There is, in my view, huge value in this institutional mechanism," he said. The eighth S&ED next week will be headed on the Chinese side by Vice-Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, while the US delegation will be headed by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry. Meanwhile, the seventh China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange also will be held in the Chinese capital. Russel citied accomplishments from the strategic track of the S&ED, such as efforts leading up to the cooperation on climate change, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, US Security Council Resolution on the nuclear tests by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the improved military-to-military relations between China and the US, fighting pandemics like the Ebola virus, and cooperation on Afghanistan and UN peacekeeping. "At the same time, it has served as a venue that allows to discuss, and in some cases, to narrow our differences," he said, citing issues of the South China Sea, cybersecurity and human rights. Novelli called the S&ED "a very productive and important forum" for a number of economic and environmental issues. She gave examples of the bilateral cooperation on energy, banning ivory trade and support for science and technology innovation to address environmental challenges. "It's a very large and diverse relationship, and we're trying to work together where we can agree because when we agree, we can have great results and be very constructive," he said. A report by two scholars from the Center for American Progress (CAP) released on Tuesday recommended that the US prioritize cooperation with China. "Finding more areas of tangible cooperation on political- and security-related issues in the multilateral context can build trust between the two countries and lay the groundwork for more substantial regional cooperation," said the report, titled The Missing Link: Multilateral Institutions in Asia and Regional Security by Michael Fuch and Brian Harding of CAP. It also recommended the US not to rigidly defend the status quo, citing US "knee-jerk" opposition to Chinese-initiated regional projects such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). "It should be a US priority to find ways to complement China's initiatives that have potential to enhance regional prosperity and connectivity, such as its One Belt One Road strategy," the report said. Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com. Anbang withdraws offer for Starwood hotels: Reports Updated: 2016-06-01 04:40 (AGENCIES) Passengers walk past an advertisement for Anbang Insurance Group at a subway station in Shanghai, Oct 18, 2012. [Photo/IC] China's Anbang Insurance Group Co is dropping its proposed $14 billion takeover of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, US media reports said on Thursday. The surprise move comes as Anbang appeared close to securing Starwood's agreement for a deal that would have topped an earlier merger pact between Marriott International Inc. Starwood, which has popular brands including Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis and Westin, now plans to revert to Marriott's last offer, which valued Starwood at $13.6 billion at the time of the offer, unidentified sources said. Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, said that Anbang had never followed through with its March 26 proposal to Starwood to make its offer binding. The company did not provide a reason to Starwood for walking away, Reuters reported. Starwood and US representatives for Anbang did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters said. Shares of Starwood fell 4.2 percent to $79.90 in after-hours trading, while Marriott shares declined 5.1 percent to $67.55. Anbang had fired the latest shot in a bidding war, offering $14 billion for Starwood against Marriott's $13.6 billion proposal. In a Monday statement, Starwood said that its board had determined that the Anbang-led offer was "reasonably likely" to lead to a "superior proposal" to the proposed Marriott deal. Starwood said at the time that the Anbang proposal was non-binding, but that the company and the consortium were "working to finalize the other terms of a binding proposal from the Consortium, including definitive documentation." Anbang has mounted an aggressive expansion into the US hospitality industry, agreeing to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts from Blackstone for $6.5 billion earlier this month and concluding a deal last year to acquire New York's Waldorf Astoria for $1.95 billion. China to fund friendship village for Sri Lankan families affected by disaster Updated: 2016-06-01 09:17 (Xinhua) Print Mail Large Medium Small 0 COLOMBO - China announced on Tuesday it would fund the construction of a Sri Lanka-China friendship village to house families affected by the recent natural disaster. Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Yi Xianliang made the announcement after handing over a consignment of emergency relief supplies donated by China to the Sri Lankan government at the country's main airport. This batch of relief supplies, valued at 15 million yuan (2.28 million US dollars), includes 1,000 tents and 2,000 folding beds. Sri Lanka's Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, said China has also promised 1.5 million U.S. dollars' aid for constructing houses in the friendship village. The minister said the funds and the relief items donated by China will help boom bilateral relations. "As the sincerest friend of Sri Lanka, China will do the best for Sri Lanka to conquer disaster,"said the Chinese ambassador. Heavy rain followed by floods and landslides in Sri Lanka two weeks ago killed about 100 people with many more still missing. Over 500,000 people have been affected by the adverse weather. UN Security Council renews sanctions on South Sudan Updated: 2016-06-01 10:13 (Xinhua) Displaced people receive food parcels at a joint UNICEF-WFP Rapid Response Mission (RRM), which delivers critical supplies and services to those displaced by conflict, in Nyanapol, northern Jonglei, March 3, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council on Tuesday renewed sanctions on South Sudan for another year to support the implementation of a peace agreement in the country. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-nation council decided to renew the travel bans and asset freezes imposed on individuals obstructing the peace deal and meanwhile extend the mandate of the panel of experts who monitor the sanctions for 13 months. The council also expressed its grave alarm regarding the conflict between the government of South Sudan and oppositions forces which emanated from internal political disputes. Fighting erupted in the world's youngest oil-rich nation two years after it gained independence in 2011, when South Sudan President Salva Kiir accused the rebel leader Riek Machar of plotting a coup. The Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan signed on Aug 17, 2015 ended the 21 month-long civil war which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more. Late last month, South Sudan formed a Transitional Government of Nations Unity, which the Security Council hailed as an important milestone in implementation of the peace agreement. Xi tells DPRK delegation peninsula stance is clear Updated: 2016-06-01 17:47 By An Baijie(chinadaily.com.cn) President Xi Jinping told a rare high-level delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Wednesday that China's stance on the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear. Speaking with the delegation led by career diplomat Ri Su-yong, Xi said that China hopes relevant parties will remain calm and show restraint, enhance communication and dialogue, and maintain regional peace and stability. The delegation arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit. It was the first visit by a top DPRK official to China since the DPRK conducted a series of nuclear tests and missile launches, defying sanctions by world powers, earlier this year. Ri served as the DPRK's foreign minister from April 2014 until he was named a member of the politburo during the recent Workers' Party congress. Ri transmitted a message from DPRK leader Kim Jong-un to Xi, in which he expressed willingness to work with China to strengthen and develop DPRK-China traditional friendship, and maintain peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast Asian region. Ri also briefed Xi about the 7th congress of DPRK Workers' Party held in early May. The visit reflected that Kim and the DPRK Workers' Party Central Committee attached great importance to the relationship between the two parties and the two countries, Xi said. He extended his wishes that the DPRK people could make more achievements in developing the economy and improving people's livelihoods. China hopes Philippines' new government choose dialogue on sea disputes Updated: 2016-06-01 19:01 (Xinhua) BEIJING -- China hopes the Philippines' new government can return to dialogue with China to resolve the South China Sea disputes, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The comment came after the Philippines' incoming foreign minister Perfecto Yasay said that bilateral talks between the Philippines and China could help untangle the disputes in the South China Sea, adding "there is no other way but to go bilateral." "China welcomes Mr. Yasay's remarks," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing. Successive leaders of the two countries have agreed in their meetings and bilateral political documents that the South China Sea disputes should be resolved peacefully through direct negotiations, Hua said, adding that it was also outlined in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). Thanks to the above-mentioned consensus, China and the Philippines have managed the South China Sea disputes through dialogue and consultation for a long time, Hua said. "We hope the Philippine's new government can honor their commitments and return to dialogue with China to properly handle the disputes so as to contribute to the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations," the spokesperson added. The Philippines' incoming president Rodrigo Duterte has said that he wanted to cultivate friendly relations with China, and confirmed that he was open to direct talks over the row in the South China Sea, which had damaged bilateral relations. US likely to raise pressure, observers say Updated: 2016-06-02 02:02 By Zhang Yunbi(China Daily) An aerial photo taken on Sept 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows cruise vessel Haixun 1103 heading to the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in the South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua] With the Shangri-La Dialogue a high-profile regional security convention set to begin on Friday, observers predicted that Washington will try to further pressure and isolate China on maritime issues. They also cautioned that the United States should not let the South China Sea issue overshadow China-US ties. Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is scheduled to give the keynote speech at the influential gathering of senior defense officials from within and outside the Asia-Pacific region. The 15th dialogue, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, will be held from Friday through Sunday in Singapore. Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said that the dialogue this year has a new twist the arbitration sought by the Philippines against China regarding the South China Sea issue. Zhao Xiaozhuo, a researcher at the Center on China-America Defense Relations at the PLA Academy of Military Science, said it is common to see conflicting ideas debated between Chinese and US military officials during the annual dialogue. He said Washington will likely use the opportunity to pressure and isolate China, especially militarily. Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, will lead a Chinese delegation and deliver a speech during a plenary session. The South China Sea, China-US military ties and the Korean Peninsula are on the top of the Chinese delegation's agenda. Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said, "It is time for both sides (China and the US) to evaluate how far they will allow the South China Sea issue to go." It was unclear whether Sun will have a meeting or other contacts with the US participants, who will include Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Sun is also expected to hold bilateral and multilateral meetings and introduce China's policies and practices of "strengthening Asia-Pacific security cooperation and regional security governance", the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. Tim Huxley, executive director of IISS-Asia, said in an online article that "there is much speculation about China's next steps in the South China Sea". Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. Peoples Committee Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong ordered the Department of Industry and Trade to complete zoning plans for commerce-services development, develop the citys brand name and identify its key products. Photo VGP HCM CITY The HCM City administration has instructed relevant departments to take targeted measures to help local retailers strengthen their competitiveness and retain market share before they lose out to foreign rivals. Speaking at a meeting to review the citys socio-economic performance in the first five months and plan for June, Peoples Committee Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong ordered the Department of Industry and Trade to complete zoning plans for commerce-services development, develop the citys brand name and identify its key products. Leading South Korean retailers in Viet Nam regard the country as a promising growth market and will source products from small and medium-sized enterprises in Korea, according to Phong. Japans Aeon is working towards making Viet Nam its second biggest retail market in Asia after Malaysia. Thai retailers have entered the country, acquiring Metro, Big C Vietnam, e-commerce firm Zalora and others. Foreigners now make up 51 per cent of the HCM City retail market, and If we do not have a suitable development strategy for the retail market, it will be dominated by foreign investors in future, he warned. This would adversely affect domestic production, he added. Many delegates urged the city to soon adopt measures to support local retailers and producers. Phong said he would hold a meeting on how to develop the retail market in a sustainable manner. He urged departments, agencies and districts to continue with measures to achieve the citys socio-economic targets. "The city needs to focus on promoting production and trading, resolve difficulties faced by businesses and improve the investment environment to attract more investment from domestic and foreign investors," he said. Strengthening trade promotion activities to boost export and soliciting investment in targeted sectors would be among the tasks the city would focus on, he said. Good growth According to a report tabled by the Peoples Committee at the meeting, the city economy achieved robust growth in the first five months, with the retail and service sectors and exports reporting a higher turnover than in the same period last year. Retail and services revenues are estimated at VN288.55 trillion (US$12.93 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11.2 per cent. Exports increased by 1.2 per cent to reach $11.89 billion, with coffee, rice, computers, electronic products and accessories seeing a significant rise. Industrial production rose by 6.4 per cent year-on-year, with some sectors such as machinery and equipment, beverage, electronics, computers and optical devices enjoying high growth. The citys four key industries mechanical engineering; electronics; chemicals; and rubber, plastics and food processing achieved higher growth than a year earlier. The tourism and transport sectors also enjoyed good growth. - VNS The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked for tighter management of fishery products amid warnings by major import markets on food hygiene and safety standards of aquatic products. VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung HA NOI The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked for tighter management of fishery products amid warnings by major import markets on food hygiene and safety standards of aquatic products. In the directive issued on Monday, the ministry said that while diseases were causing complications, there were violations in the use of chemicals and antibiotics in some localities, forcing several markets to stop imports. The ministry asked for enhancing disease prevention and violations in the use of chemicals and antibiotics to be handled strictly. Reports must be submitted to the ministry before the end of July. Regarding the warning on some export batches or others that were returned due to contamination, there was a need to clarify their origins, the ministry said. US, EU warnings According to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD), the European Commission (EC)s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, on May 13 sent a document to NAFIQAD saying that measures to control the use of antibiotics in fisheries products of Viet Nam were not effective enough to completely eradicate misuse of banned antibiotics. On May 25, the EU watchdog also warned its member countries about the sudden mass fish deaths in the central coast of Viet Nam and asked for tighter checks towards imported fisheries batches. In addition, EU would eliminate fisheries processors from the list of firms which were allowed to export to the EU, in case their products carried warnings about antibiotic content. NAFIQAD asked fisheries exporting firms to strictly comply with hygiene and safety standards. In another move, NAFIQAD also asked Siluriformes processors and exporters to tighten management of raw materials, especially chemical and antibiotic content. The order came following the warning by the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on two batches of catfish sent by two Vietnamese exporters, which were found to contain banned chemicals and antibiotics, just days after the United States (US) approved a bill that would repeal the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)s catfish inspection programme. The two companies are Tan Thanh Loi Frozen Food Company Ltd. and Golden Quality Seafood Corp. FSIS in its document sent to NAFIQAD said the reasons for the contamination and the handling measures for the two contaminated catfish batches must be clarified within 30 days. The FSIS also asked for information on other catfish batches supplied by the two firms that had received the warning and on other exporters who had the same suppliers of raw materials. Catfish processed from raw materials which were found to be contaminated could not be exported to the US until appropriate handling measures were put in place, FSIS said in the document. On December 2, 2015, FSIS published the "Final Rule" on the inspection programme for Siluriformes. In accordance with the programme, FSIS has checked Vietnamese catfish exported to the US since April 15. The "Final Rules" full enforcement will come into effect on September 1, 2017. However, on May 25, the US Senate approved a bill that would repeal the USs catfish inspection programme that critics argued was wasteful and unnecessary, Vietnam News Agency reported. The resolution still needs the approval of the House of Representatives and President Barack Obamas signature for it to take effect. In the first five months of this year, fisheries exports reached a revenue of US$2.43 billion, rising slightly by 1.1 per cent over the same period last year, the ministrys statistics have revealed. VNS Vietnamese businesses should be active in seeking information about markets to further penetrate into distribution systems abroad to improve their export turnover, a minister has said. Photo baodauthau.vn HA NOI Vietnamese businesses should be active in seeking information about markets to further penetrate into distribution systems abroad to improve their export turnover, a minister has said. Several local firms have been waiting for orders instead of directly seeking information from markets and listening to response from their partners. This could make them lose several business opportunities which could benefit from Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Tran Quoc Khanh, deputy minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said. Khanh told the seminar, EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA): Opportunities for Businesses held in Ha Noi yesterday that each firm should prepare itself with an active action plan in the aspects of market orientation, partners, renewing production and administration methods, together with corporate social responsibility and business culture. There could be different market segments in the Asian region, but the European market is quite united. The only way for local firms to penetrate into the market is to ensure high quality, he added. In addition, consumers in the European Union (EU) have always paid attention to the environment and ensuring benefits to labourers. For this reason, Vietnamese exporters should note the requirements to ensure higher export turnover in the market. Viet Nam and the EU have a supporting export structure. Viet Nam exported to the EU products such as garments and textiles, shoes, phones and spare parts, in addition to computers, agricultural, seafood and wooden products, while it imported machines, vehicles, and spare parts from the EU. Over the past decades, the EU-Viet Nam trade and investment relations have witnessed remarkable progress. The two-way trade between the EU and Viet Nam has increased nearly seven-fold from US$6.3 billion in 2003 to $41.2 billion in 2015, making the EU one of Viet Nams biggest trade partners. Specifically, Vietnamese exports to the EU reached almost $31 billion and its imports from the EU, more than $10 billion. One significant characteristic of the trade between the two sides is its complementary nature, rather than direct competition. In terms of investment, the EU is also a major investor in Viet Nam and has funded 1,809 valid projects with total registered capital of $23.16 billion, accounting for 8.7 per cent of the projects and for 8 per cent of the total registered capital in the country. However, a survey of the Central Institute for Economic Development (CIEM) shows that around 30 per cent of private firms had no plans in place to increase their business operations for their EU partners. Some did not even pay attention to renewal plans for long-term strategies. The Government should further improve awareness of businesses in implementing the renewal to avail the opportunities from the FTAs, Tran Toan Thang, deputy head of the CIEMs Business Environment and Competitiveness Capacity Department, said. Mauro Petriccione, deputy general director of DG Trade, EUs chief negotiator for the EVFTA said the conclusion of the negotiations in December 2015, had been an important step towards strengthening bilateral comprehensive relations, especially trade and investment relations. With the level of commitment undertaken by both sides, the EVFTA has been a comprehensive agreement of high quality and balanced interests for both Viet Nam and the EU which is also expected to further promote trade and investment between the two parties. To realise the benefits gained from the EVFTA, the EU and Viet Nam have agreed to attempt to complete the ratification process so that the agreement could take effect in 2018. He said they would facilitate businesses both in the EU and Viet Nam to access and expand investment opportunities as well as business corporations. The two sides have been in negotiations to find a way to implement commitments for better exchange while encouraging the business community to support each other in investment, he said, and added that the economic relations are expected to see a strong growth in the upcoming time. At the event, the ministry also introduced the Handbook on the EVFTA which provides readers, especially Vietnamese enterprises with details of regulations and commitments reached within the EVFTA. In the near future, the Handbook will be published in large quantities and distributed to readers. This is one of MoITs efforts to disseminate detailed contents of the EVFTA in a clear, concise way in order for Vietnamese businesses to proactively take advantage of trade and investment opportunities soon as the agreement comes into effect. At the same time, the EU delegation to Viet Nam also plans to introduce a guidebook written in English which gives similar information to the business community, particularly European businesses. VNS Now, investors will not have to wait until the end of the session to see the volume of foreigners net selling and buying, as before. According to local investors, the live reporting will allow the board to be used as a consulting tool before making purchasing decisions, and it also helps the market become more transparent. It could further help to reduce risks taken by local investors, who often repeat foreign decisions in trading. VNS China does not intend to assume a role as big brother, but instead seeks to build a community of a shared future with all its neighbours, Premier Li Keqiang said in Beijing on Tuesday. There are no grounds for China to become a superpower, and neither does China have the intention to be one, Li said. China has a long way to go to realise modernisation. It needs a stable regional and peaceful international environment, and China is committed to safeguarding that environment. The Premier made the remarks while answering a question from Suthichai Yoon, chief adviser of Nation Multimedia Group, at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday during a meeting with a delegation from 21 Asian media outlets. The media representatives gathered in Beijing for the two-day annual board meeting of the Asia News Network (ANN). The ANN, founded in 1999, is one of the worlds biggest media alliances. It comprises leading, mostly English-language news groups with a combined readership of at least 14 million. Li said that even if China can realise modernisation in the coming decades, Beijing will not seek hegemony, and nor will it bully any country, however small that nation is in terms of population or landmass. Just as a person might accidentally bite his lips, it is only natural that neighbours will have differences, the premier emphasised, but the key is to address such disparities in a calm, diplomatic way. I firmly believe that our era is one that needs peace and cooperation, he said. The common interests among China and its neighbours are way greater than disparities, and we can always optimise the common interests and better manage our differences. Endy M. Bayuni, editor-in-chief of The Jakarta Post said: I am glad he responded to our concerns about where the country is going, as many are worried about the potential of China misusing its growing power. In answering a question by Phonekeo Volakhoun, editor-in-chief of Vientiane Times of Laos about the outlook of China-Asean relations, Li said that China has consistently supported the integration process of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the building of the Asean community. Li said he would attend a summit in Laos in September to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Asean dialogue. We are committed to pursuing the policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in developing relations with neighbours, he said. We would like to expand political trust with Asean members and other Asia countries and make concerted efforts to build a close community of a shared future in Asia. Pana Janviroj, executive director of ANN, said: The premier is very candid. He wants to convey Chinas policies that in recent months have been subject to some skepticism. Li also took questions from participants from Indonesia, South Korea, Pakistan, Singapore and India regarding a raft of hot spot issues such as the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea, and relations with specific countries. He said that Asia, as one of the most dynamic regions in the world, has played an increasingly important part in the world political and economic arenas. The premier said he hoped the Asian news outlets, by following the ANNs goal of improving Asian medias coverage of Asian affairs, can help create an optimal environment for peace and prosperity in the region and around the world.-China Daily/ANN Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh receives Thai Ambassador to Viet Nam Manopchai Vongphakdi yesterday. Photo VGP HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has praised continuous improvements in the strategic partnership between Viet Nam and Thailand. At a reception for Thai Ambassador to Viet Nam Manopchai Vongphakdi yesterday, Deputy PM Minh suggested that both sides accelerate the implementation of their 3rd joint cabinet meetings statement to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties this August. The Thai Ambassador announced the Thai governments donation of US$100,000 to help Viet Nam overcome the impacts of drought and salt intrusion in the south. Meeting with Filipino Ambassador Noel Servigon, the Deputy PM said Viet Nam wants to strengthen ties with the Philippines for peace, stability and prosperity. He called for the drafting of an action programme to promote the bilateral strategic partnership. VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Australias Ambassador to Viet Nam Hugh Borrowman in Ha Noi yesterday. Photo VGP HA NOI Australias Ambassador to Viet Nam Hugh Borrowman pledged to continue stepping up his countrys co-operation with Viet Nam while saying farewell to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Ha Noi yesterday. PM Phuc hailed the outgoing ambassadors accomplishments during his working term in Viet Nam, citing strong developments across economics, trade, tourism, education and training, employment, transport, security and defence between the two countries. He said he was impressed that Australia had hosted the largest number of Vietnamese students abroad, with about 30,000 students. He expressed his hope that the two sides would accelerate people-to-people exchanges, farm produce exports and labour co-operation. Ambassador Borrowman announced that Cao Lanh Bridge, which is being built with Australias development assistance, would be inaugurated in 2017 ahead of schedule. The diplomat said some varieties of Vietnamese fruit were being sold in Australia, and he hoped to see the entry of others. He noted his belief that bilateral relations would thrive in economics, trade and people-to-people exchanges. - VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday greeted Cuban Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Elba Rosa Perez Montoya, who is on a working visit to Viet Nam. Photo VGP HA NOI Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday greeted Cuban Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Elba Rosa Perez Montoya, who is on a working visit to Viet Nam. The host spoke highly of the countries partnership in science-technology through a string of projects on the research and transfer of biological technologies, agriculture and climate change. Prime Minister Phuc affirmed Vietnamese leaders and peoples resolve and wish to enhance comprehensive ties with the Caribbean country. In that spirit, the PM called on the two countries high-ranking leaders, ministries and localities to maintain regular exchanges of visits and to facilitate co-operation between their businesses. The two sides should improve the efficiency of bilateral co-operation mechanisms, especially the Inter-Governmental Committee, and speed up bilateral negotiations to reach co-operation agreements, particularly those in trade, investment and science-technology, he said. The leader suggested the two ministries of science and technology continue to share their experience in managing and building legal documents, mechanisms, policies and programmes on science-technology and personnel training. The Cuban minister said her visit aimed to consolidate the cooperation in science-technology and natural resources between the two countries. She noted that the recent Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba approved a strategy on a scientific, technological and environmental development model by 2020, which is expected to facilitate the two countries co-operation in these fields in coming time. Cuba is ready to share its experience with Viet Nam in areas of its strengths, including health care and pharmaceutical products, according to the minister. VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Hessens Minister of Science and Arts Boris Rhein in Ha Noi yesterday. Photo VGP HA NOI Viet Nam has always attached importance to co-operation with the German state of Hessen and regards it as a positive example of relations between the country and foreign localities, affirmed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. At a reception for Hessens Minister of Science and Arts Boris Rhein in Ha Noi yesterday, the Government leader praised the fruitful developments of the countries strategic partnership. Germany is now Viet Nams leading European partner, especially in politics, the economy, education and training, he said, applauding Hessen leaders for their attention to the relationship between the locality and the Southeast Asian nation. Stressing similarities in the history shared by Viet Nam and Germany, Rhein said Vietnamese living and studying in Germany are helping to promote the two countries bilateral ties. Both countries have paid heed to educating and training young people, and prioritising scientific and technological training, he said. This explains why the Viet Nam-Germany University was established in Viet Nam, the minister added, calling on the Prime Minister and the Vietnamese Government to facilitate the schools operation. In response, the PM hailed the achievements the newly-established university has attained recently, adding that the number of qualified new graduates from the school has reflected the quality of the German education. He suggested the two sides continue to strengthen its staff and outline a programme to train high-quality Vietnamese teachers. VNS HA NOI Drunk driving or refusal to comply with a police ordered alcohol and drug test will now attract penalties of up to VN18 million (US$800). The new rules are included in Decree 46/2016/N-CP, recently issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, to ensure road and rail traffic safety. The new decree, with stiffer regulations to ensure traffic safety and order, has increased fines on some traffic safety offences to replace and fix weaknesses in the two previous orders. It comes into effect on August 1. Under the new order, the penalty on drivers with alcohol exceeding 80mg per 100ml of blood, or 0.4mg per litre of breath, will increase from VN10-15 million ($445-670) to VN16-18 million ($710-800). The driving licences of those who are found with drugs in their system will be revoked for 22-24 months or they will be fined VN16-18 million if they do not have a driving license or it has been withdrawn. The decree also states a new regulation under which those who steer their vehicles with their feet will incur a fine of VN7-8 million ($310-360). The same penalty will apply for speeding and swerving the vehicle recklessly. Violators who fail to follow the polices order to stop or cause traffic accidents will face a penalty of VN18-20 million ($890). The decree also says umbrellas, earphones and mobile phones cannot be used while riding vehicles including motorbikes and electric bikes. Assisted listening devices for the deaf are, however, permitted. Those who fail to comply with this regulation will receive a stiffer fine of VN100,000 ($5)-200,000 ($9), compared to the current fine, which is only VN60,000-80,000 ($3-4). Motorbike riders and pillion passengers aged above six without helmets or are wearing it incorrectly will be fined VN100,000-200,000. The fine will not be applied in emergency cases or for those who are accompanying the violators. The government hopes the new regulations will improve public awareness on road and railway safety and reduce traffic accidents. According to the National Traffic Safety Committee, from December 16 last year to May 15 this year, there were more than 8,300 traffic accidents, resulting in more than 3,500 fatalities and over 7,300 injuries. The road traffic police fined over 1.5 million people for violating traffic safety regulations, collecting more than VN1 trillion ($45 million) in penalties. A total of 140,256 people had their driving licences revoked. The railway traffic police fined more than 1,200 people and collected VN316 million ($14,000). VNS ONG NAI A worker died yesterday morning while installing the spans at the Ghenh Bridge in Bien Hoa City of southern ong Nai Province. The victim, Phan Van Thuy, 21, a native of central Nghe An Province, was hit by a crane pulling up steel blocks at the scene. Due to his serious injuries he died on the spot. The accident happened at an empty ground in Quyet Thang Ward about 200mes from the bridge which is under construction. According to Tran Tien at, Bien Hoa Citys police head, the police are working with relevant agencies to probe into the accident. The victims body was transferred to ong Nai General Hospital for further investigation. The 112-year-old Ghenh Bridge, across River ong Nai, collapsed after its pillar was rammed by a barge carrying 800 tonnes of sand on March 20 this year. The collapse resulted in the interruption of railway services on the North-South railway line. Construction work on the new bridge started in early April and will be finished this July. The width of the new bridge will be expanded by 2.4m to allow movement of motorcycles and bicycles. VNS HA NOI The Vietnam URC Company Limited has been fined VN5.8 billion (US$264,000) for its lead-contaminated beverages. The two beverages of the green tea C2 product and the energy drink Rong o (Red Dragon) contained higher levels of lead than mentioned on the labels. The company had sold the products to the market for VN3.8 billion ($173,000). Under the decision of the Ministry of Health signed yesterday, the company had to withdraw and destroy all products from the two batches which contained high levels of lead. Recently, unsubstantiated reports about two beverages containing high levels of lead were circulating on the Internet and on social media networks. Samples of C2 and Rong o were found to have lead content of 0.087mg per litre and 0.085mg per litre, respectively, while the permissible limit is 0.05mg per litre. The reports went viral on the Internet recently, attracting the attention of the Ministry of Health. The ministry had collected samples of the two beverages sold by Vietnam URC., to test for lead in response to allegations that it was selling poor-quality products. An inspection team, led by Nguyen Van Nhien, deputy chief inspector of the ministry, has been tasked with evaluating the companys adherence to food-safety regulations over a period of 15 days. The company stands accused of using low-quality citric acid as an acidity regulator in its beverages. VNS Authorities inspect cosmetics in Ha Noi. VNA/VNS Photo uc Duy HA NOI No exceptions should be allowed in the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said yesterday. The deputy prime minister, while working with National Steering Committee 389 for Anti-Smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud, of which he is also the head, pledged to take more resolute actions to strictly punish all violators, including Government officials who directly take part in or protect others engaged in smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. Speaking at the working session, Binh said no areas should be off limits in the fight, and stressed the determination of the Government and authorities of all levels against such social and commercial deplorability. He highlighted remarkable achievements that the Government and authorities have made against the illegal activities since earlier this year, stating that it helped to boost not only domestic production and trade, but also to ensure national market and social security. In particular, he said, the active and enthusiastic participation of mass media, as well as political and social organisations, was proof that there had been positive changes in society to take action and raise awareness of the issue. However, Binh said the domestic market was facing a more complicated expansion and increase in smuggling cases and trade fraud. As a result, he asked the committee to guide ministries, agencies, localities and competent agencies to adequately perform the tasks put forth in the Governments Resolution No 41/NQ-CP, dated June 9, 2015, on stepping up efforts against smuggling, trade fraud and fake goods. In addition, Binh said more efforts should focus on inspections in a bid to bring to light those tolerating these bad deeds or not fulfilling their assigned tasks. In the same vein, the committee needed to complete relevant mechanisms and regulations to closely supervise the temporary import for re-export model, as well as business activities relating to food safety, the deputy prime minister requested. Another job is to raise public awareness of the harmful effects caused by smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods, he said, urging the committee to play a more active role in learning about serious cases of public concern and to closely coordinate with the press, socio-political organisations and associations in this regard. The committee reported that in the first five months of this year, especially during the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, complex smuggling and trade fraud cases took place nationwide due to increasing consumption demands. Violations mainly occurred in border areas and via air and sea routes with the main smuggled goods including drugs, firecrackers, explosives, oil and gas, wild animals and their products, wine, tobacco, food, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics and electronics. Notably, there have been organisations and individuals illegally using chemicals and additives in production, cultivation and animal husbandry, which have potentially affected human health and sparked public concerns. Thanks to the committees guidelines, efforts to combat these activities, particularly in major cities and border provinces, have shown positive signs, contributing to ensuring national security and social safety. From January to May, competent agencies handled more than 78,300 cases of smuggling and trade fraud and contributed nearly VND5.3 trillion (USD$238.8 million) to State coffers. The most noteworthy cases involved the seizure of 1.84kg of cocaine at HCM Citys Tan Son Nhat International Airport; 143.5kg of elephants tusks and their products at Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi; and 42,000 methamphetamine pills in the central province of Quang Tri. VNS HA NOI The shortage of micronutrients in Viet Nam has decreased, but the rate of decrease is slow, experts from the Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health said. The shortage has affected the health of children, pregnant women and women of childbearing ages. A study by the institute in 2014-15 revealed that the country had some 7.5 million children under five, of which one third had anaemia and two third had a deficiency of iron. Tran Khanh Van, an expert from the institute, said their meals did not supply enough micronutrients. Meat contained the required micronutrients, but poor people in the remote mountainous and rural areas could not afford it. Tran Thuy Nga, another expert from the institute, said the deficiency of important micronutrients, such as iodine, vitamin A, iron and zinc, could lead to serious consequences. The shortage could cause blindness, brain seizures, nervous system malformations and decrease peoples working capacity. Associate professor Le Bach Mai, deputy director of the institute, said, Increasing micronutrients is a long-term goal to raise working capacity, develop peoples intelligence, height and health, and thereby improve the quality of life. The most important task was to supplement micronutrients to people facing the highest risks due to the shortage by improving the quality of their lives and diversifying their food, she said. The food that contained these essential micronutrients are salt, wheat flour and vegetable oil. Children under five need to drink a vitamin A tonic twice a year. The institute has supplied more than six million vitamin A tablets to children aged between six months and three years across the country. A nationwide drive to supply vitamin A tonic has been organised today and tomorrow. -- VNS HCM CITY A flood control and prevention project proposal for downtown HCM City, worth VN20 trillion (US$900 million), has been rejected by municipal leaders and irrigation experts. The project, designed by the Environment and Public Target Company (EPT), proposed measures to control the tides causing floods in the city. At a meeting yesterday with municipal leaders and irrigation experts, the EPT representative introduced urgent measures to control the unusual tides in the rivers of ong Nai ad Vam Co to reduce flooding in HCM City. The company suggested building embankment systems on the rivers of Soai Rap, Long Tau and ong Thanh and a reservoir on the ong Nai and Vam Co rivers, as well as a water regulation system on the Sai Gon-ong Nai-Vam Co rivers to ensure the sustainable development of HCM City in the 2020-2050 period. The project would have cost VN20 trillion ($900 million). At the meeting, several irrigation experts opposed the project because of its low feasibility. According to Dr. Pham Sanh, the EPT had only considered the tides, a small part of the flooding situation, but had not considered rainfall and the citys drainage system. Meanwhile, the citys deputy head of Agriculture and Rural Development Department, Tran Cong Ly, said, The flood in the inner city was also related to upstream flooding and the water discharging capacity of the Dau Tieng and Tri An reservoirs. Ly said the city should consider the worst case scenario of Dau Tieng Reservoir breaking, causing the city to be inundated quickly. Pham The Vinh from the Southern Irrigation Institute raised the opinion that building embankments on the rivers should be considered carefully to avoid landslides on the riverbanks. The company should provide information on the economic impact of the project, Vinh said. The city should also create a master plan for flood control and prevention, he added. Municipal Party Committee Secretary Tat Thanh Cang said drawing up anti-flood measures was one of the city administrations most urgent tasks. To effectively handle the situation, the city had to review the reality of old and new sewage systems as well as co-operate with neighbouring provinces. Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said flooding in the city had been a major concern for the authorities and the people. The serious flooding incidents of recent years have had a negative impact on the citys economic development and peoples daily lives, he said. The city needs to immediately introduce a solution for the situation. To begin with, the city has built drainage systems and dredged canals to reduce inundation during this rainy season, Phong said. VNS Toshiba Corps Westinghouse Electric will relocate a planned project to build six nuclear reactors in India, said officials, bringing the first deal stemming from a US-India civil nuclear accord struck over a decade ago closer to reality. The six AP-1000 reactors would be built in Andhra Pradesh, after the original site proposed for the multi-billion-dollar project, in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state Gujarat, faced local opposition. The breakthrough comes ahead of a June 7-8 visit by Modi to Washington, where he will be hosted by President Barack Obama for a final summit before the US presidential election in November, and will address both houses of Congress. US lawmakers ratified the civil nuclear accord three years after it was struck in 2005, as part of an attempt to deepen the strategic relationship with India, but have expressed growing dismay over its failure to yield follow-on deals for US-based reactor makers like Westinghouse. One obstacle was bringing Indias liability rules into line with international norms, which require the costs of an accident to be channeled to the operator rather than the maker of a nuclear power station. But, following the announcement of a breakthrough understanding on nuclear cooperation during Obamas visit to India in January 2015, this issue has been resolved to the satisfaction of the US government and it is down to commercial partners to agree a deal. Analysts say resolving the land issue is a crucial step, but complex issues remain, including project financing and reaching a civil nuclear pact with Japan, where Westinghouse parent Toshiba is based. Some time before the end of the calendar year they may be able to close, said Ashley Tellis, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who was a negotiator for the George W Bush administration in the US-India nuclear talks. India wants to dramatically increase its nuclear capacity to 63,000 Mw by 2032 to meet growing demand and restrict its reliance on fossil fuels, and has struck a series of accords with other countries to help meet that goal. Russias Rosatom operates two reactors at Kudankulam, in Tamil Nadu, while Frances EDF (EDF PA) signed a preliminary deal with the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) in January to build six reactors at Jaitapur, Maharashtra. East coast Central and state officials confirmed that NPCIL, which would operate the plants, had made a down payment on 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of land in the eastern coastal district of Srikakulam. The land acquisition was stuck for over a decade, but now its coming to a conclusion, Ajay Jain, energy secretary of Andhra Pradesh, told Reuters, adding the purchase would close this year. Construction can begin in 2017. Ninety per cent of local farmers had agreed to sell their land, they were being well compensated and no court cases were pending, Jain added. Two sources, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that the site was being acquired for Westinghouse, which plans to build six AP-1000 pressurised water reactors, each with a design capacity of around 1,100 megawatts. Westinghouse did not respond to requests for comment, while senior executives at NPCIL were not available. Westinghouse Chief Execuitive Officer Danny Roderick told Reuters earlier this year that an Indian reactor deal was close, but negotiators missed a deadline to wrap it up before Obama hosted a nuclear security summit in Washington in April. Fruit farmers Westinghouse was originally offered a site at Mithi Virdi in Gujarat, on Indias west coast, but encountered opposition from local fruit farmers. A nuclear joint venture between General Electric Co (GE N) and Hitachi (6501 T) meanwhile showed no interest in Indias offer of land for a plant in Andhra Pradesh, opening that option to Westinghouse. Andhra Pradesh has had more success in acquiring land for development than some rival states, acquiring tracts of land for a new state capital by offering farmers future plots developed for commercial or residential buildings, as well as cash, in compensation. The state is also proposing its own land law to speed up acquisitions after Modis efforts to get a new law through parliament failed soon after he rose to power two years ago. STARTS ROLLING 27:08 IN FULL: Treasurer delivers Labors first budget Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down the Albanese Governments Budget 2022, saying it begins to build a better future that befits Australians.... 07:52 Albonomics: Five things Australians need to know from horror budget In tonights episode of Paul Murray Live, Paul discusses the five things Australians need to know from the Albanese governments horror... 00:32 Government expects inflation to peak at 7.75 per cent later this year Treasurer Jim Chalmers says inflation is expected at 7.75 per cent later this year before moderating over time to 3.5 per cent through 2023-24.... 04:06 Australias GDP to grow 3.25 per cent in 2022/23 Australias GDP is expected to grow 3.25 per cent in 2022/23 before slowing to 1.5 per cent growth in 2023/24, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers... 01:36 Power of pain for families in Albanese governments budget Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell says its a power of pain for families in the Albanese governments first budget. WATERLOO The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber will host Live the Valley, a summertime series of events, over the next two months, starting with pizza, ice cream and a downtown tour in Waterloo Wednesday. Also on the schedule are a Waterloo Bucks night game, the annual Summer Social at Lost Island Waterpark and wrapping the summer up with a downtown tour in Cedar Falls. The events are free to attend (except for the Bucks game), and students and interns can find more information and register for the events at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com. CEDAR FALLS A new idea is no better than a bad idea if it doesnt move, John Tudor said. A program called Product Camp Iowa, which is all about movement, will bring 20 speakers to 16 educational sessions to downtown Cedar Falls. The event will unfold at numerous venues in downtown Cedar Falls 200 State St., 103 Main St., 407 Main St. and 409 Main St. Tudor and Trace Steffen, co-owner of Cedar Falls-based startup HowFactory, worked together to bring the Product Camp event to Iowa for the first time, and their plan is to make it annual, Tudor said. Its designed for entrepreneurs to find a way to give their products, services or concepts some needed momentum, said Tudor, a product developer with Waterloo-based Mission to Build. Attendees can expect to learn about developing sales and marketing channels and managing growth, among other concepts, organizers say. What to do with a great idea Ideas happen, but doing something with them is a different challenge, and entrepreneurs need to know what to expect, Tudor said. Ive been in the boardroom, product development, annual supplier and distributor meetings, he said. Ive helped execute at national and global trade events. Everyone has gaps that need more focus. Product Camp will address those gaps, he said. Product Camp Iowa, which organizers want to turn into an annual event, is a chance for businesses to learn how to find a market for their ideas and get feedback from experts, Tudor said. Product Camp Iowa provides a cross-functional buffet of learning tracks for existing businesses; product development, marketing execution, channel execution and managing for growth in a format that provides access to industry professionals who bring decades of expertise, he said. The idea behind Product Camp Iowa isnt new, but its a first for the Cedar Valley, Tudor said. Ive participated in Product Camp St. Louis the last three years so the idea for Product Camp is not mine; I just picked up the torch and helped bring it to Iowa. Jim Volgarino, a local historian, author and veteran entrepreneur in Cedar Falls, said Tudors enthusiasm for bringing Product Camp to the Cedar Valley spread to him. I am going as an attendee primarily because I am still very interested in business management, having spent 35 years of my life in various roles in business, said Volgarino, who teaches graphic technologies at the University of Northern Iowa. It still is exciting to me and I love hearing new ideas. Tudor told Volgarino about his idea over lunch one day. He told me about the St. Louis event, which sounded pretty interesting to me because it was bringing together such a diverse cross section of business people rather than just CEOs or just marketing people or just customer-service types, Volgarino said. It essentially was bring all segments of business operation into a single venue to talk about one common issue product development and management, which includes services, as well. A necessary step Tudor said it was a needed next-step in an entrepreneurial environment that germinates plenty of new ideas. For some reason weve breathed into existence that startup concepts only apply to new business, he said. What ignites the startup? A new idea or new way of providing a solution for customers. And its the new idea and potential solution that feeds existing businesses with an opportunity to grow, too. The challenge for existing businesses is as the scale up to maintain that entrepreneur spirit as a team of intrapreneurs, Tudor said. Keynote speakers will be Debbie Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and social entrepreneur Andy Stoll. Product Iowa isnt designed for startups, but it is for anyone who has a product they have developed, produce, market or sell, said Nate Clayberg, director of business retention & expansion with the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber, who also will lead a session at the event. This type of un-conference is designed to bring those product people together to learn from each other and hopefully find ways to innovate new and existing products and how they are used and marketed in business, Clayberg said. The event will feature 12 sessions during the day which participants can pick and choose to attend. In addition there will be Founders Talks, wherein four local or Iowa-based entrepreneurs will tell their own success stories. This event is an important step through which well continue to drive innovation in Iowa, said Kathy Anderson, former manager of IEDAs Home Base Iowa program, which focuses on helping businesses hire military veterans transitioning from active duty. Anderson will lead a session on how two Iowa manufacturers built their sales channels. By connecting those with strong product ideas to leaders in the manufacturing industry, there is a ripe opportunity to take viable ideas through to implementation, Anderson said. Iowa manufacturers can integrate some of these new innovative products within already solid manufacturing, marketing and distribution expertise. The founders will include Kevin Harberts, owner of Kryton Fabricated Metals in Cedar Falls; Sean Abbas, president and co-founder of Threads Inc., a software company in Cedar Falls; Mike Draper, founder and owner of Raygun, an apparel company in Des Moines; and Reshonda Young, founder of Popcorn Heaven in Waterloo. We have a real mix of founders, Tudor said. We have what might be considered the traditional manufacturing segment, then someone in software development (who came out of the manufacturing segment), and a couple of people who have been successful at penetrating the retail markets. Participants will get insight from a lot of different perspectives. The cost is $49 per person, and each ticket includes a $10 lunch voucher in downtown Cedar Falls. For for more information, go to www.productcampiowa.com. WATERLOO Five people have been indicted in connection with a ring that stole from numerous Lowes Home Improvement stores in five states, including the Waterloo location. A federal grand jury in Cedar Rapids issued an indictment Thursday charging Lamont William Hall, 25, Paris Lawrence, Megan Ware, Jatoya West, 28, and Devin Dawson with conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce. The eight-page indictment was unsealed Tuesday when Dubuque police arrested West and Hall. As of Tuesday afternoon, Dawson was in custody at the DuPage County Jail in Illinois. Court records allege the group operated between February and May, visiting stores in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, each time stealing hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. For two members of the group, the spree came to an end when a police detective was struck by their getaway car in Illinois. According to the indictment, Lawrence, West, Hall and Ware traveled to Iowa on March 19, where they took $815 worth of items from Lowess on East Tower Park Drive in Waterloo about 9:28 a.m. Before that, they had visited the Dubuque Lowes at 8:02 a.m. and took $2,563 worth of merchandise, court records state. The indictment lists 38 thefts allegedly undertaken by members of the group. Other locations include, in Illinois: Bradley, Springfield, Chicago, Arlington Heights, Carol Stream, Naperville, Lincolnwood, Northbrook, Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria and Lake in the Hills; in Indiana: Michigan City, Indianapolis, Merriville, Fort Wayne, Warsaw and Schererville; in Wisconsin: Wauwatosa; in Michigan: Niles, Benton Harbor and Battle Creek. All of the thefts occurred at Lowes locations with one exception, a Home Depot in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., on May 4. Lawrence was discovered while taking $2,723 worth of goods from an Arlington Heights Lowes on March 25 with Ware, West and Hall. Lawrence ran off when approached by officers and found a vehicle that had been left running in a nearby driveway, records state. He stole the vehicle and fled. On May 4, Ware and Dawson triggered an alarm when they took $475 worth of items from the Home Depot in Oakbrook Terrace. As they ran from the store with Home Depot security close behind, an on-duty Oak Terrace Police Department detective who was at the business shopping, noticed the foot chase and joined the pursuit. The suspects got into a Buick, and Dawson, 19 and of Chicago, accelerated at the detective, according to the Dupage County States Attorneys Office. Dawsons vehicle struck the officer, who fell onto the hood of the Buick. It is alleged that in the middle of the afternoon, in a crowded parking lot, Mr. Dawson aimed his car at a man he knew to be a police officer and hit the gas, striking him head-on like a bug on his windshield, DuPage County States Attorney Robert B. Berlin said in a prepared statement. Then, as the detective held on to the hood of the car, Mr. Dawson allegedly accelerated, turned sharply and threw him to the ground. Dawson escaped but was later arrested on state felony assault charges. The officer has recovered and returned to duty, said Sgt. Benjamin Kadolph of the Oak Brook Police Department. IOWA CITY (AP) Members of the Board of Regents were accused in a lawsuit Wednesday of breaking the law by meeting privately with Bruce Harreld last summer before hiring him as University of Iowa president. The lawsuit brought by retired university administrator Gerhild Krapf argues Board President Bruce Rastetter and four others violated the Iowa Open Meetings Act through a series of closed door meetings and other indirect methods taken to avoid transparency. It asks a judge to void Harrelds hiring, to award damages and attorneys fees and to enter an injunction warning regents theyll face civil contempt for future violations. The board has argued the July 30 meetings didnt violate the law because a majority of nine regents didnt meet Harreld at once. Harreld has said he requested the meetings to learn more about the job, and Rastetter has called them appropriate. Its the second lawsuit alleging open meetings violations during the search to replace Sally Mason, a process critics have called a sham that favored Harreld. The other, set for trial next year, alleges a search committee held improper closed meetings and violated the law by meeting near Chicago. It comes as the regents begin the process of hiring a replacement for University of Northern Iowa President William Ruud, who has resigned effective July 2. If there was a conscious effort to circumvent the law, then the public should know, said Krapf, who retired last year as special assistant to the law school dean. I think that the search was incredibly flawed. ... It was not only a waste of tax dollars, it was an insult and a black mark on this university. The American Association of University Professors will decide this month whether to sanction the university over the regents decision to hire Harreld, a former IBM executive, despite overwhelming opposition. The regents rejected more traditional finalists the provosts of Ohio State and Tulane and the Oberlin College president. AAUP has alleged the search was orchestrated to prevent any meaningful faculty role in the selection of the final candidate. The lawsuit targets Harrelds meetings with regents Katie Mulholland, Milt Dakovich, Larry McKibben and Mary Andringa on the day before the application deadline. The four along with Rastetter are named as defendants. The meetings happened at the Ames office of Summit Agricultural Group, the business owned by Rastetter. Rastetter, who had met with Harreld twice previously, helped coordinate the meetings and shared Harrelds resume with others. But he has said he didnt sit in on them. Andringa later sent an email praising Harrelds great skill set, experience and passion for excellence and urged him to seek the job. In the email Andringa wrote: Crisis necessitates change it may be the big challenge that can energize you in the next 5 years! Harrelds candidacy wasnt made public until Aug. 30. The regents hired him as the schools 21st president with a five-year contract days later. Board spokesman Josh Lehman declined comment on the lawsuit. The case comes after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in March private meetings can be illegal even when a majority of board members arent physically present. The court held any meeting called to discuss policy in which a majority of members attend by virtue of an agent or proxy is subject to the law. Even if a majority of the board wasnt physically present at once, the meetings should have been open under that standard, said Krapfs attorney, Gary Dickey. This idea that you will communicate in multiple settings in less than a majority of the board in an effort to avoid the open meetings requirements doesnt fly anymore, he said. The lawsuit alleges regents should have provided public notice and access and kept minutes as legally required. Krapf, 60, said she was motivated to sue out of concern for the university where shes spent most of her life. Her father, a professor, founded the organ department in the music school in 1962. She earned multiple degrees from the university. Her husband is a graduate, as are her twin daughters. Krapf held numerous jobs, including counsel for the university hospital and assistant vice president for university relations. She said shes speaking out on behalf of employees who are unable to air their concerns. We are at many levels being manipulated. Its not the Iowa I grew up in, she said. Politics have become dominated by a bunch of cronies. CEDAR FALLS The artist behind Black Hawk Countys Freedom Rock is available to repair the monument after it was vandalized over Memorial Day weekend. Ill be able to touch it up rather than have another artist mess with that work, Ray Bubba Sorensen II of Greenfield said Tuesday. He is preparing to work on a Freedom Rock in Conrad in nearby Grundy County. He could begin restoration in Cedar Falls as early as this weekend. Staff with the Hearst Center for the Arts, which the city contacted Tuesday morning, agreed Sorensen should be consulted. A city crew cleaned up the rock as much as possible Tuesday. Some of the lettering next to the likeness of Cedar Falls sailor Taylor Morris is blurred, and one of the Sullivan brothers on an adjacent side was slightly smudged. But most of the spray paint was removed. Sorensen said it is the first Freedom Rock to be vandalized. In addition to the original near Greenfield, he plans to locate a Freedom Rock in each of Iowas 99 counties. Black Hawk Countys rock was installed in November. It also includes the likeness of Robert Hibbs of Cedar Falls, a Medal of Honor winner killed in Vietnam. I figured it would happen, especially in the cities, Sorensen said of the vandalism. Theres more idiots that dont think out their actions, and theyre in their own universe. Police think the vandalism occurred early Sunday. A nearby utility box and an adjacent residence also were vandalized. Memorial Day weekend visitors to the rock and nearby Veterans Park expressed outrage at the vandalism, said Tom Hagarty. The former City Council member is commander of Cedar Falls American Legion Post 237, which is responsible for the rocks upkeep. The rock is insured against vandalism, Hagarty said, and the post has received many expressions of support and offers of donations. City staff said security measures will be taken to prevent future incidents. Staffers cleaning the site Tuesday believe the spray paint can used in the vandalism may have malfunctioned or been nearly empty, based on drip marks found on a nearby street. It could have been a lot worse, said Kevin Cross, park development and arborist supervisor with the city. DES MOINES A hiring freeze and sustained judicial vacancies will help cover a fiscal shortfall and avoid cuts to popular rehabilitation programs such as drug courts under the state judicial branch budget set Wednesday by the Iowa Supreme Court. Iowas judicial branch, with more than 1,900 employees throughout the states 99 counties, was given a status quo $178.7 million budget this year by legislators. Judicial leaders said that was $5.4 million shy of what was needed to maintain the current level of services. Instead, the judicial branch will institute a hiring freeze and keep open judge vacancies for six months. The moves are expected to save $4 million. The remaining $1.4 million in required savings will be achieved through reductions in spending on furniture, technology, supplies, travel and training. The budget achieves savings without cutting personnel or requiring furloughs, at least immediately. These are difficult times that require difficult decisions. Unfortunately, the grim reality is that I cannot guarantee you that we will not need to make a midcourse correction as we move through the year. This budget is a bit of a gamble, state court administrator David Boyd wrote Wednesday in a memo addressed to all judicial branch employees. The budget also spared the 55 specialty treatment programs such as drug courts and family rehabilitation courts; it requires the Supreme Courts approval to eliminate any specialty courts currently in operation. But the budget does call for a moratorium on the expansion of specialty courts. With this budget, the Supreme Court tried to minimize disruption of services to Iowans despite the significant shortfall in our appropriation, Boyd said. The budget does not include court closure days or layoffs, but there will be consequences. With unfilled positions in courthouses around the state combined with fewer judges, Iowans can expect delays, and our troubled youth may not have as much interaction with juvenile court officers as they do now. Judges will not receive a raise; they have received only one since 2008. Judges salaries are set by legislators. Judicial leaders said the $5.4 million would have covered negotiated salary increases and increased health insurance costs. With the staffing pinch, the Supreme Court has directed Boyd to conduct a judicial branch workload study, the results of which will guide future budget decisions, a news release said. WATERLOO -- Waterloo safety services director Dan Trelka had a memorable Memorial Day weekend - and 29th wedding anniversary. Trelka and his family were vacationing in San Francisco when he helped an officer there apprehend a subject resisting arrest. He, his wife and daughters were walking on Market Street a few blocks from the waterfront. "We're just walking down the street and I see an officer try to make contact with the guy," Trelka related. "The officer hops in a car, drives 30 yards, gets out, gets in a short foot pursuit" and a scuffle ensued. Trelka said one of his daughters saw the suspect take a swing at the officer. Trelka bolted across the street. "I ran to the officer, said, 'I'm a cop,' and we got the cuffs on him," Trelka said. The subject had an arm tucked under his body as the officer had him down. "I was afraid he had a weapon, " Trelka said. He pulled the subject's arm out from him and ordered him to open his hand and the officer cuffed him. One of Trelka's daughters took photos and posted them on social media. "What a great memory maker," Trelka said. "I'm a runner, but my daughters said they didn't know I could run that fast." The street was surprisingly empty of traffic then. Trelka said his actions were almost instinctive. "I thought afterwards, would I have made the same decisions? I said 'yes.' That was the right thing to do." Wikert column DENNIS HARBAUGH WATERLOO Steve Wikerts recent column encouraging Bernie Sanders to withdraw from the Democratic primary lacks an understanding of differences between the 2008 and 2016 elections. During the 2008 primary there were few policy differences between Clinton and Obama, by their own admission. The 2008 primary was an election about personality, gender and race. When it became clear in early June Obama had enough delegates to win the nomination, Clinton had no reason to continue on since her only goal was to win the nomination. In contrast, there are significant policy differences between Clinton and Sanders in 2016. Rather than Sanders ego getting the best of him as Wikert suggests, actually its just the opposite. Sanders is leading a movement focused on numerous issues far greater than himself. He is trying to shift the ideological direction of the Democratic party, something that will necessarily involve issue discussions, media coverage and platform debates at the party convention. Its called democracy. Sanders and most Democrats will eventually get behind Hillary. Facts show at this point in 2008 only 60 percent of Hillary supporters said they would vote for Obama. Today, 72 percent of Bernies supporters already say they will support Clinton. Q: Is there still talk of East and West merging into one school and building a new school? A: No. Waterloo Community Schools high school reform steering committee did consider this as one of three options. However, in August 2015, the committee recommended another one of the options, building a career center adjacent to Central Middle School. The Board of Education approved this recommendation, in which the two schools would not merge but their students and Expo High School students could enroll in career and technical education programs at the new center. Since a bond issue to pay for the building was defeated in February, the board is now exploring remodeling a portion of Central as a location to offer a limited number of career programs. Q: In the April 27 edition I read Waterloo Schools earned several awards for the career and technical school bond issue. Where can I obtain information on the cost breakdown for the printing and mailing of brochures, TV advertisement, expense of holding the vote and any other costs involved in this bond issue? A: That news brief was actually in the April 24 edition. Call the school district at 433-1800 and ask for the school and community relations department, which should be able to answer your questions or direct you to someone who can. Q: What is the status of the effort by Anna Mae Weems granddaughters to sponsor a fellowship in her name at the Midwest Academy in Chicago in honor of her 90th birthday? Was a person ever selected for the fellowship? A: It is still in process, according to Tsehaynesh Abebe, one of the granddaughters. Q: Since most schools now count hours in a school year rather than days, why do they have to make up snow days since there is more than enough hours to fulfill what the Iowa of Department of Education requires, specifically Hudson? A: Making up snow days gives us an opportunity to provide more instruction to our students, said Tony Voss, Hudson Community School superintendent. Q: Who is responsible for repainting the handicap markings at Black Hawk Village in front of Dollar Tree Store? A: Cedar Falls Public Safety Director Jeff Olson responds: Black Hawk Village is privately owned. They are responsible for painting and sign placement. The citys Code Enforcement Division will contact them about the concern. Q: How do I recognize lead paint in my home? A: Lead paint often cracks and chips in a scaly or geometric pattern; it might also rub off a wall or surface with a chalky residue. You can buy lead paint test kits at home improvement or hardware stores to make sure. Q: Near the creek on Easton Avenue close to Ninth Street there are two signs that say No Trespassing. But isnt that creek public property? A: No. The creek is on private property in that location, according to Black Hawk County property records. There are some easements on the private property for creek maintenance but that does not give the public the right to be on the property. McCracken County the first to lift burn ban If youre looking to try out an online casino, there are several things that will help you make a decision. Heres what you should look for when choosing an online casino Are they regulated? A lot of the larger ones have licenses issued by the authorities in their respective regions, so its worth checking this first. Do they offer games from different software providers? Some casinos just use one software provider and limit your selection. This is fine if you like playing those types of games but you may want to check other casinos as well. What does their payout percentage look like? The payout rate refers to how much money you can expect to win after every bet. A high payout rate means youll be able to play more often without having to worry about losing all your money. Its also important to know the minimum and maximum bets allowed on each game. 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Many online casinos offer free bonuses as part of their welcome package which includes new players being awarded 100% up to $10 instantly, for example. These offers are great but not everyone has access to them all the time (and some require you to deposit real money). If youd prefer to avoid paying a fee, some casinos offer no-deposit bonuses where you can get a certain amount of funds before you need to put any actual money into the account. These are usually offered alongside welcome bonuses, so make sure you read both parts of the terms and conditions carefully before signing up. Does it offer live dealer games? Live dealers are much preferred by many over regular virtual versions, so it pays to check this option out too. Most online casinos now offer live dealer games in addition to their regular offerings, allowing you to experience the thrill of the real thing without needing to leave home. 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Sonrasnda dahil olmak istediginiz musabakann saatini ogrenip, gerekli analizleri yapmalsnz. Tahminlerinizi belirledikten sonra karsnza ckacak olan bahis sayfasndan istediginiz hamleyi yapmalsnz. Bahis tutarn belirledikten sonra musabaka baslayacaktr. Canl bahis diger normal bahis esaslarna gore farkllklar icermektedir. Bunlardan en onemlisi musabakann gidisatna gore islem yapabilir olmaktr.Ayrca musabakann 2. Yarsna gore hamle yapp ayr bir bahisin soz konusu olmas da ciddi avantajdr. Dogru hamle ile sizde istediginiz bahisi yapp kazanc elde edebilirsiniz. Nitekim canl olarak yapacagnz bahis icin mac oncesi raporlara gore hareket etmek onemlidir. Cunku takmlarn durumlarn analiz etmek tahmin gucunu arttracaktr. Misal tamnn en iyi oyuncusu sakat ya da kart cezals ise takmn performansnda dusus yasanacaktr. Buna ek olarak takmn deplasman performans ile evinde ki performans ayr olacaktr. Burada da takmn musabakay nerede yaptgna bakmak gerekir. Bu ayrntlar da iyice analiz ettikten sonra bahsinizi yapp kazanmann keyfini yasayabilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Son derece yuksek getiriye sahip bahis sektoru uzun zamandr faaliyet gostermektedir. Cok ciddi rakamlarn soz konusu oldugu bu sektor zamanla sanal ortamlara donusmustur. Elbette guvenli ve bir o kadar da avantajl olan bu siteler cok yonlu frsatlar sunmaktadrlar. Canl iddaa siteleri gerek yeni uyelere gerekse de hali hazrdaki uyelerine bolca bonus frsatlar vermektedir. Yatracagnz tutara gore belirlenen bonuslar site icerisinde rahat hareket etmenizi de saglayacaktr. Canl bahis sitelerini kullanmadan once mutlaka guvenli olup olmadgna goz atmalsnz. Zira baz kullanclar guvenli olmayan sitelerden yaptklar islemlerden dolay magdur olmaktadrlar. Nitekim guvenli ve sorunsuz hizmet sunan yurt ds site tercih etmek en dogru secenektir. Sektorde uzun yllar faaliyet gosteren siteleri tercih edebilirsiniz. Bu alanda yer alan yabanc siteler musteri memnuniyetine onem vermektedir. Oncelik site kullanclarn sorunsuz sekilde bahislerini yapabilir olmasn saglamaktr. Bahis sitelerinde amac hem daha fazla kullancya hizmet vermek hem de sektorde emin admlarla ilerlemek onceliklidir. Dogru site tercihi ile sizde canl bahislerinizi sorun yasamadan gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Sizler icin hazrlams oldugumuz canl bahis siteleri listesi su sekildedir; Mobilbahis Tempobet Bets10 Bahigo 1xbahis Betboo Youwin Superbahis Sralams oldugumuz bu siteler sektorde basarl islere imza atms sitelerdedir. Canl bahis konusunda beklentileri karslayacak olan bu siteler sizlere kolaylk sunmaktadrlar. Bol bonuslu secenekle de sizlere farkl bahis yonlerini sunacaklardr. Sistemsel etki icerisinde her zaman etkin sonuc alabilmek icin surekli olarak faaliyet icerisindedirler. Canl Bahis Taktikleri Bahis sektorunun en fazla dikkat edilmesi gereken hususu dogru taktik ve dogru tahmindir. Elbette dogru tahmini yapabilmek icin analizi cok iyi yapmak gerekir. Canl bahis taktikleri arasnda ilk sra analiz gelmektedir. Analiz yapamadgnz zaman basarl tahminlerde bulunmanz pek de mumkun degildir. Cunku bahiste onemli olan konu musabakann analizini cok iyi yaplmas gerektigidir. Canl bahisin ozelliklerini iyi bilmek ve nasl bir hamle yapacagnz bilmek gerekir. Ozellikle riskli maclarda yaplacak degerlendirmeler cok daha onemlidir. Canl bahis yapacaklarn takip edecegi degerler takmlarn durumlar ile alakal olmaldr. Performans uzerine kurulu bahis sisteminde takm degerlendirmesine iyi bakmak gerekir. Iki takmn son 5 macta nasl bir sonuc ortaya koyduguna bakarak hareket etmek onemlidir. Ayrca hangi takm evinde daha iyi performans sergiliyor diye de ayrca bakmak gerekir. Analizlerle alakal puan durumlarna da goz atmak cok onemlidir. Puan degerlendirmesinde oncelikle takmlarn ihtiyaclar ile dogru orantl hareket etmek gerekir. Cunku olusturulan performans takmn da durumunu ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim istenilen sonucu elde edebilmek icin tum ayrntlar bilmek gerekir. Takm ici duzenden tutunda da takmn son durumuna kadar her ayrnt onemlidir. Iki takmn birbirleri arasnda ki sonuclar da incelemek gerekir. Burada dikkat edilecek detaylarn basnda maclarda kac gol oldugu ve gollerin hangi dakikalarda atldgdr. Cekismeli gecen musabakalarda bazen goller ilk yarda daha fazla olurken baz maclarda da ikinci yarda daha cok gol olmustur. Iki takm arasnda ki maclarda gollerin cogunlugu ilk yarda geliyorsa buna gore bahis yapabilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Bonuslar ve Kampanyalar Bahis yapanlar veya yapmay dusununler sitelerin sunmus olduklar frsatlar merak etmektedirler. Cunku siteler daha fazla kullancya erismek icin her donem kampanyalar duzenleyerek kullanc odakl hamleler yapmaktadrlar. Canl bahis bonuslar ve kampanyalar oldukca populer olup, siteler bu konuda adeta birbirleri ile yarsmaktadrlar. Birbirinden farkl ozelliklere sahip olan kampanyalar size frsatlar sunmaktadr. Daha cok kazanma ihtimalinizi arttran bu bonuslar daha cesur olmanza da dogrudan etki edecektir. Nitekim bonuslar sitelerin cekiciligini ve avantajlarn arttrmaktadr. En cok kazandran canl bahis siteleri bedava bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin http://www.milano2018.com/canli-bahis-siteleri-2022/ linkinden yardm alabilirsiniz. Hos geldin bonusu ile baslayan ve sonrasnda para yatrdkca bonus veren cok sayda site bulunmaktadr. Canl bahis bonusu veren siteler yeni uyelere sunduklar frsatlar farkl kampanyalarla mevcut uyelerine de sunmaktadrlar. Hali hazrda siteyi kullananlarn da bonus frsatlarndan yararlanmalar icin donemsel kampanyalar olusturmaktadrlar. Boylece baska sitelere gidisler olmayacag gibi site de daha keyifli zaman gecirmek mumkun klnmaktadr. Bu tur eklentiler yapan sitelerde musteri memnuniyeti daha fazladr. Bahis siteleri ozellik ve uygulama bakmndan farkllklar bunyelerinde bulundurmaktadrlar. Verilen bonuslarn olusturulmas ve kullanclar aktarlmasnda yatrlan para miktarlar belirleyici olmaktadr. 1.000 TL yatran bir kullanc yuzde 20 bonus frsat olan bir kampanyadan 200 TL bonus kazanabilmektedir. Yatracag tutar 10.000 TL oldugunda bu bonustutar 2.000 TL olabilmektedir. Gerceklesen ve uygulanan esaslar tamamen donemsel olarak yaplan kampanyalarla alakaldr. Iyi Canl bahis siteleri bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin sitelerin vermis oldugu oranlar takip edebilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Yatrma Online Canl bahis yapacaklarn merak ettigi konulardan bir digeri de para yatrma islemleridir. Oldukca onemli olan bu konuda hata yapmamak cok onemlidir. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemi sanlann aksine son derece basittir. Oldukca basit ve uygulama esas dogru etki olusturan bu yapda sizde islemi rahatca tamamlayabilirsiniz. Para yatrma konusunda su yolu izleyebilirsiniz. Guvendiginiz ve herhangi bir sekilde aklnzda soru isareti kalmayan bahis sitesine uye olmanz gerekmektedir. Uyelik islemini sorunsuz sekilde tamamladktan sonra para yatrma islemine gecebilirsiniz. Kullanacagnz siteye uye olduktan sonra karsnza kullanc ad ve sifresini gireceginiz yer gelecektir. Buraya giris yaptktan sonra site icerisine islemlere devam edebilirsiniz. Sitede yer alan para yatrma sekmesine tklayp sonrasnda karsnza gelen sayfay inceleyebilirsiniz. Para yatrma bolumunde yer alan ksma ne kadar para yatracagnz yazp devam tusuna basmalsnz. Yatrmak istediginiz tutar girip sonrasnda da devam tusuna bastktan sonra karsnza kart bilgilerinizi gireceginiz sayfa gelecektir. Kredi kart kullanarak para gondermek isteyenlerin tercih ettigi bu sayfa tum bilgiler girilip islem onaylanmaldr. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemini gerceklestirmek icin hesaba havale secenegini de kullanabilirsiniz. Site icerisinde musteri hizmetleri ile iletisime gecerek banka hesap numaralarn ogrenebilirsiniz. Belirtilen IBAN numarasna istediginiz tutar havale edebilirsiniz. Havale ederken acklama ksmna yazlacak bilgilere dikkat etmelisiniz. Kredi kart veya banka havalesi ile gerceklesen para yatrma islemi sonucunda site hesabnzdan bakiyenize bakabilirsiniz. Bakiyenize gore dilediginiz sekilde bahislerinizi gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Cekme Canl bahiste dogru hamleler ve dogru tahminler sonucunda kazandgnz bedeli geri almak isteyebilirsiniz. Kazanclarnz istediginiz banka hesabnza cekebilmek icin uymanz gereken kurallar soz konusudur. Oncelikle bahis sitelerinden para cekebilmeniz icin uye olurken dogru bilgi paylasmnda bulunmanz gerektigidir. Cunku canl bahis sitelerinden para cekme islemi icin kullanc hesab ile talep edilen banka hesap bilgilerinin ortusmesi gerekir. Yani uye olurken verilen bilgi ile banka hesab kime ait ise o bilgiler ayn olmaldr. Bu uygulama sitenin hem kullancsn hem de kendisini guvene alma politikasdr. Ayrca frsatclarn onune gecerek yeni bir uye olusumunun da onune gecmek amac gutmektedir. Uye olan kisi farkl para cekilme talebi verilen hesap farkl oldugunda para cekme islemi gerceklesmeyecektir. Bahisleriniz sonucunda kazanc elde edebilir ve bu kazancnz da hakknz olarak almak isteyebilirsiniz. Burada son derece basit uygulama soz konusu olurken siteler aras farkl gorunumler soz konusu olabilir. Fakat yine de tum sitelerde uyenin site icerisinde para cekme bolumune girmesi yeterlidir. Burada cekilecek olan tutarn belirlenmesi ve hesap numarasnn girilmesi ile birlikte islem onay gerekecektir. Para cekme taleplerinde sizden gerekli bilgiler istenmekte ve havale islemi istenilen bilgiler esliginde yurutulmektedir. Dogru bilgi paylasmak sorunsuz para cekebilmeniz en onemli kuraldr. Istenilen bilgiler girildikten sonra site sorumlular gerekli kontrolleri yapp herhangi bir sorun yoksa ksa surede hesabnza gerekli paray aktaracaklardr. Canl Bahis Sitelerinden Para Cekmek Icin Istenen Belgeler Bahis sitelerine uye olduktan sonra baz kullanclar para cekme taleplerinin karslanmadg konusunda sikayetlerde bulunmuslardr. Bu sikayetlersektorde uzun zamandr bulunan guvenilir bahis siteleri de yer almaktadr. Fakat sikayetlerin dayanaklarna bakldgnda ise islerin tamamen farkl oldugu gorulmektedir. Yasanan bu durum kullanclarn hatal bilgi girmesi ve uyelik bilgileri ile banka bilgilerinin uyusmamas ile dogru orantldr. Birde canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler eksik ya da hatal olarak sunulmus olabilir. Ortaya ckan karsklar neticesinde para cekme talebinde bulunan kisi istedigini alamadg icin sikayetci olmaktadr. Oysa ki istenilen bilgiler dogru ve istenilen evraklar eksiksiz sunulsa para cekme islemi sorunsuz olacak. Sitelerin para cekme konusunda dikkatli hareket etmesi hilelerin ve illegal faaliyetlerin onune gecmek adnadr. Cunku baz kullanclar farkl bilgiler vererek ikinci hesap acabilmektedirler. Bazen de bilincsizce hatal bilgi girilebilmektedir. Hatal islemlerin cozumu konusunda islem yaptgnz sitenin musteri temsilcileri ile gorusebilirsiniz. Talepleriniz dogrultusunda para cekme islemlerinde ki sorunlar giderilecektir. Canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler listesi su sekildedir; Kullanc bilgileri ile banka bilgilerini karslastrmak icin kimlik fotokopisi Banka hesap bilgileri Ikametgah ve kisiye ait herhangi bir fatura. Kacak Iddaa Turkiyede dogrudan bahis yapmak icin resmi kanallar kullanlabilmektedir. Fakat tercih edilen ve oran olarak cok daha fazla frsatlar sunan kacar iddaasiteleri bulunmaktadr. Bu siteler kanunlara aykr sekilde yaplmakta olup, yasal bir dayanag yoktur. Elbette bu sitelerin kurulus merkezi Turkiye olmayp, ds ulkelerdedir ve faaliyetler belirlenen siteler uzerinden yaplmaktadr. Kacak Iddaa oldukca riskli olup, cok dikkatli olunmas gerekir. Kacak Bahis Kanunlar cercevesinde istediginiz gibi bahis yapamayabilirsiniz. Bahis yapabilmek icin ya kanuni olarak sorun olmayan ulke dsnda ki kumarhanelere gitmeniz veya kacak bahis sitelerinden islem yapabilirsiniz. Zira bu durum tehlikeli olsa da cok sayda site guvenli sekilde bu alanda hizmet vermektedir. Kacak bahiste oldukca fazla secenek bulunurken yuksek oranda kazanc sunuyor olmas da ragbeti arttryor. Illegal Bahis Bahisin bircok alanda yasak oldugu Turkiyede bu alanda cok sayda yabanc merkezli siteler hizmet vermektedir. Illegal bahis sektorunde faaliyet gosteren siteler guvenli hizmet anlays ile kullanclarna frsatlar sunmaktadr. Yurt ds merkezli bu siteler sorunsuz sekilde hizmetlerini surdururken bulunduklar ulkelerde kanunlara uygun sekildedir. Elbette faaliyet noktasnda bulunduklar ulkelerde sorun teskil etmese de Turkiyede faaliyet gostermeleri kanunin yasaklanmstr. Yasads Bahis Gerek olusturulan etkenler gerekse de ortaya konulan riskler yasads bahis de oldukca tehlikelidir. Kanunlarn mudahil olduklar bu alanlar da hem kullanclar hem de populer bahis yaptranlar tum riskleri goze almaktadrlar. Fakat yasaklardan uzak sekilde guvenli hizmet sunan siteler de bulunmaktadr. Takipler neticesinde kapatlan sitelerin muhakkak alternatifleri kurularak yollarna devam etmektedirler. Canl Iddaa Siteleri Nelerdir? Dunya genelinde kabul gormus cok sayda guvenli hizmet veren populer bahis siteleri bulunmaktadr. Elbette bu siteler dunyann bircok ulkesinde faaliyet gosterse de Turkiyede yasaktr. Sektorde yer alan cok sayda legal iddaa siteleri bulunmaktadr. Herhangi bir kanunsuzlugun olmadg bu sitelerden hzl ve guvenli islem yaplabilmektedir. Tabi bu sitelerde uygulanan oranlar yasal olmayan sitelere gore daha dusuktur. Illegal sitelerin tercih edilme sebeplerinin en onemli etkeni de olusturulan oranlardr. Peki, Iddaa siteleri nelerdir? Faaliyetleri ve uygulama esaslar nelerdir? Turkiyede faaliyet gosteren yasal iddaa siteleri listesi su sekildedir; Iddaa Bilyoner Tuttur Birebin Oley Nesine Misli Iddaa 2004 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslayan Iddaa Spor toto tarafndan kurulmus olup, ilk etapta bayilik seklinde calsmaya baslamstr. Elbette zamanla gelisen teknolojiye ayak uydurarak internet uzerinde de populer bahis severlerin hizmetine sunulmustur. Kuruldugu donemde devletin resmi kurumu olarak faaliyet gosterirken gelinen yeni donemde ozellestirilmistir. Bilyoner Turkiyede faaliyetine 2006 ylnda baslayan Bilyoner ilk ozel yasal bahis sitesi olma ozelligine sahiptir. Guvenilir bahis siteleri Turkiyede bunlardr. Ksa surede populer olan site halen faaliyetlerini sorunsuz sekilde surdurmektedir. Tuttur Ksa surede adndan bahsettirmeyi basaran Tuttur 2009 ylnda faaliyetlere baslamstr. Guvenilir bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almstr. Gunumuze dek bircok alanda populer bahis yapanlara frsatlar sunarken avantajlar ile de begeni toplamstr. Birebin Kullanc odakl calsmalar surdurse de 2011 ylnda sektore giren Birebindiger sitelere gore daha az ragbet gormektedir. Bahis oynamak ise bu sitede oldukca kolaydr. Elbette farkl yaklasmlara sahip olmasndan dolay ilerleyen sureclerde adndan sklkla bahsettirecek gibi gorunuyor. Oley 2009 ylnda Dogus yayn gruplarnn istiraki olarak kurulmus olup yasal olarak herhangi bir sorunu olmayan sitelerdendir. Bahis siteleri arasnda hzl cks yapms bir sitedir. Oley yapms oldugu yenilikler ile kullanclarn da dikkatini ksa surede cekmeyi basarmstr. Nesine Birbirini takip eden surecte Nesine de yine 2006 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslamstr. Yasal bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almay basaran firma ksa surede sevilen ve ragbet goren bir site olmustur. Misli 2009 ylnda sektore cok hzl giris yapan Misli cok sayda reklam filmi ile on plana ckmay basarmstr. Internet uzerinden hem yasal hem de sorunsuz hizmet veren bahis sitelerinden bir tanesi olmustur. Canl Bahis Siteleri Kayt ve Uyelik Islemleri Her zaman populerligini koruyan ve surekli gelisim gosteren canl bahis gun gectikce daha da gucleniyor. Bahis oynamak icin ise sitelere uye olunmas gerekir. Yuksek getirisi ve begeni toplayan faaliyetleri ile cok sayda site bu alanda faaliyet gostermektedir. Elbette sorunsuz sekilde uye olmanz ve faaliyetler gostermeniz de oldukca kolaydr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri dakikalar icerisinde gerceklestirilecek yapya sahiptir. Uye olacagnz siteyi belirledikten sonra siteye girmeniz gerekmektedir. Girdiginiz sitenin ana sayfasnda uye ol ya da kayt ol bolumu bulunacaktr. Siteler arasnda degiskenlik gosteren bu alanda temel unsurlar bulunmaktadr. Elbette farkllklar olsa da temelinde benzer bilgiler uye olmak isteyen kisilerden talep edilmektedir. Uye ol bolumune tkladktan sonra karsnza uyelik bilgi formu ckacaktr. Bu formda sizin kim oldugunuzu ogrenmek ve sitenin guvenligini saglamak adna islemler yaplmaktadr. Uyelik formunda yer alan ad soyad bolumunu eksiksiz ve dogru sekilde doldurmalsnz. Sizden bu formda istenen bilgilerin tamamn girmeniz istenecektir. Istenen bilgiler mutlaka dogru ve eksiksiz sekilde olmaldr. Eksik veya hatal bilgi uyelik islemlerinde sorun teskil edebilir. Yine de yanls bilgi girisine ragmen uyelik islemleri tamamlanabilir. Fakat boyle bir yol izleyenler sonrasnda buyuk skntlarla karslasabilirler. Bu skntlarn basnda da para cekme islemlerinde yasanan sorunlardr. Uyelik islemleri dikkatli ve ozenle doldurulmas gereken yapdadr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri gerceklestirilirken verilen bilgiler site yonetimi tarafndan muhafaza edilmektedir. Herhangi bir sekilde 3. Sahslarla paylaslmas gibi bir durum soz konusu degildir. Bu faaliyetleri surduren sitelerin guven unsurlar arasnda bu nokta onceliklidir. Bahis sitelerine uye olurken hatal bilgi paylasmnda bulunmak size faydadan cok zarar verecektir. Diyelim ki bilgileri hatal girdiniz ve uyelik onayland. Uyelik tamamlandktan sonra siteye para yatrdnz ve kazanc elde ettiniz. Kazancnz sonrasnda hesabnza almak istediginizde karsnza banka bilgileri bolumu gelecektir. Para cekme talebi gerceklestikten sonra site uyelik bilgileri ile banka hesap bilgileri ortusmez ise paranz alamazsnz. Boyle bir durumla karslasmamak adna bu hususa ayrca dikkat etmelisiniz. We extend a warm welcome to fans attending the Kane Brown concert. SIMPSONVILLE, SC, June 01, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The new Fairfield Inn & Suites Greenville Simpsonville SC hotel offers comfortable accommodations for country music fans attending the Kane Brown concert on June 4. The concert will be held at Charter Spectrum Amphitheatre in Simpsonville, one of the most popular outdoor venues in the Upstate region. Special guest will be new country artist Jordan Gray. General admission tickets are $27. "We extend a warm welcome to fans attending the Kane Brown concert," comments Greg Carpenter, General Manager of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Greenville Simpsonville. "Our hotel is one of the closest properties to Charter Spectrum Amphitheatre," explains Carpenter. Guests at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Greenville Simpsonville hotel will enjoy spacious rooms with free Wi-Fi and flat screen TVs. A microwave and mini refrigerator are an added convenience for travelers. Fairfield Inn's complimentary breakfast buffet, featuring eggs, sausage, cereal, and other favorites, is the perfect way to start the day. Property amenities include a refreshing outdoor pool, fitness center, business center, and 24-hour market in the lobby. Nearby Simpsonville attractions include Discovery Island Water Park and the Great Escape IMAX Theatre. This hotel near Greenville SC is located off I-385 at Exit 27. AAA, senior, and military rates are available. Marriott Rewards members will earn points toward free hotel nights. For more information about the Kane Brown concert at Charter Spectrum Amphitheatre, visit http://charterspectrumamphitheatre.com/. To book your stay at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Greenville Simpsonville, call 864-962-8500 or visit online at http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/gspsm-fairfield-inn-and-suites- ... mpsonville. About the Fairfield Inn & Suites Greenville Simpsonville The Fairfield Inn & Suites Greenville Simpsonville is located just south of Greenville and only minutes from Mauldin, Fountain Inn and Laurens. The hotel is located just off I-385 at exit 27, with easy access to I-85, I-185 and I-26. Both Southchase and Woodfield Business Parks are located within 5 miles of this Greenville Simpsonville hotel. This property offers a full range of services and amenities to make your stay exceptional. For more information visit: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/gspsm-fairfield-inn-and-suites- ... mpsonville For all media inquiries, please contact: Allison Reinert Cardinal Web Solutions http://www.CardinalWebSolutions.com # # # Jun 1, 2016 | By Alec Its probably not the first baby to be born out of an laboratory romance, but certainly the only one of its kind. In the Artificial Intelligence laboratory of the VU University in Amsterdam, two 3D printed robots recently courted each other and together produced a 3D printed robot baby exhibiting traits of both parents. This worlds first 3D printed robot baby has been developed by professor Guszti Eiben, who unveiled the robot baby to the crowds at the Campus Party in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht a few days ago. It signals the start, he says, of a new age of development: the industrial evolution. This remarkable robot baby has been under development for a few years now. Through a collaboration with colleagues from a number of different universities, professor Eiben and his team have been developing a robotic delivery system that includes a delivery room, a kindergarten and the arena, where the robots learn to walk, live, work and eventually procreate themselves. The result is the worlds first 3D printed robot baby, who can complete this whole lifecycle himself. As a proof-of-concept, Eiben and his team developed a few robots with their own robot DNA, which is little more than the code that forms the robot (both in terms of hardware and software). And as Eiben explains to Scientias reporters, robotic sex is slightly different from the human version. Its not as exciting as you might think, Eiben explains. Before people have sex, they first meet and date and court each other. Robots do that too. Approaching each other at a certain distance, they first analyze their potential partner. If both end up with positive results, they have sex. This consists of little more than randomly combining their DNA through Wi-Fi. The lucky parents Together, they subsequently send this DNA mixture to a 3D printer, which produces a body that combines elements of both parents. It 3D prints a large portion of the necessary parts, and does so completely randomly. So even if the robots produced more than one baby, each would be different from their siblings, Eiben explains. But just like in nature, mutations can definitely occur. In the case of the worlds first 3D printed robot baby, the parents combined their spider-like and lizard-like movement techniques to form a hybrid creature. The baby is subsequently trained to meet a few conditions before it is deemed sexually mature. Depending on its application, this could be anything from recharging its battery to walking at a certain speed. Should it never meet these conditions, the robot is recycled again. The conditions themselves are determined by humans, and can be altered for any application. Mining robots, for instance, need to be able to retrieve enough ore to be deemed mature. Maturity can, of course, be reached on the first day, depending on whether or not the new design is functional. The beautiful (and slightly scary) result is a sort of industrial evolution system. Eibens team can program the robots in such a way that procreation is only possible by being very successful in their underwater mining application, for instance. Two successful mining robots can then positively review each other, and produce offspring that might be even more efficient. That evolution comes extra, and you cant even turn it off if you tried, Eiben says. For robots that, for whatever reason, are unable to become sexually mature or find a partner, they disappear along with their DNA. Only the successful robots thrive and pass on their successful DNA. While this first baby doesnt look to be more functional than its parents in any way, its siblings could arguably find new movement patterns quite quickly. As Eiben explains, this evolution could be the key to overcoming current or even unforeseen obstacles through robotics. Evolution is a powerful designer. The Evolution of Things is a new technology that harnesses the power of selection and reproduction to grow robots that are impossible to realize or conceive using classic techniques. The bodies, brains and behavioral patterns are constantly tested by the environment, with their useful attributes being strengthened through the generations, he argues on the VU website. This technology paves the way for new breakthroughs in robotics, AI, space exploration and even biology. Matrix-esque dystopian future scenarios are quickly imagined, but Eiben isnt worried about where this is heading. We purposefully set up a central facility where all children are produced. Humans are in control of the facility, and can shut down reproduction if they want to, he says. Robots wont be able to multiply unchecked, my lab wont work on that. While skeptics might say that the robots could, over time, become so clever that they can find a way around it, Eiben says there is no possible scenario in which that will happen. Whats more, this industrial evolution system is still quite modest and impossible to sustain without human assistance. The 3D printer needs about twenty hours to 3D print all parts, and we have to assemble them by hand and find all the wires and CPUs in our supply room. While we are getting better at it, it will still take up to a day to give birth to a robot baby, Eiben says. But with 3D printing technology improving constantly, Eiben believes it might be possible to 3D print moving parts in three to five years from now. Once that is realized, industrial evolution will become a reality, and we wont be the only ones working on it, Eiben says. This technology will greatly expand robotic potential, but its almost impossible to prevent abuse of the system. Its all still very futuristic, but Eiben is currently envisioning three scenarios in which these robots will be used. The first is simply for research purposes: to give more insight into AI and natural evolution. The second is use in remote areas, where the robots can develop the most efficient movement or reconnaissance methods that suit the local environments. Its a combination of natural and human selection, with humans determining the criteria for procreation, Eiben says. Above: Professor Eiben The third is more ambitious. We could give the robots access to the nursery. We could do this when sending the robots to a distant planet, where they can individually optimize designs with the purpose of making planets inhabitable, Eiben says. This 3D printed baby robot is only the first step in that direction, and 3D printing is expected to play a crucial role in the development of this new form of AI. Could we be looking at the robots of tomorrow? Posted in 3D Printing Technology Maybe you also like: Julio wrote at 6/1/2016 3:19:43 PM:The failure of this experiment will prove biological evolution is also an incredibly big lie. I bet no useful robots will come after this "evolution" The best robots will be the ones designed by someone. Of course, no one is trying to use this as a prove the biological evolution, but it will gives an insight of it. Evolution does not work because it doesn't exist. Is even evolution cientific? It's pure speculation. Aleksandar Hemon at Literary Hub: I didnt sign the Letter. For one thing, if the writers take the American electoral system to be legitimate and legal, the way to oppose Trumps candidacy is to vote against himthats what voting is for. Its true, as the writers assert, that the history of dictatorship is the history of manipulation and division, demagoguery and lies, but Trump is presently abiding by the rules of democratic election, as are his followers, rabid as they may be. Its also true that neither wealth nor celebrity qualifies anyone to speak for the United States, to lead its military, to maintain its alliances, or to represent its people. But what would qualify Trump to speak for the United States is his being elected in the fall, horrifying as that may seem, thats how the system worksthe election is the job interview. The Open Letter demands that Trump be excluded from the democratic process because he and his words are repellent, because his pelt and short fingers tarnish the comforting picture of American history that despite periods of nativism and bigotry, has from the first been a grand experiment in bringing people of different backgrounds together. Its questionable, however, that his absence from the electoral process would restore the said picture to its full American glory. Would the writers have written a letter opposing Ted Cruz, an ardent sociopath who at some point in his life must have tortured rodents, and who is just as hateful as Trump, because he wouldve conformed to the accepted practices of American politics? Would Ben Carson, a stranger to reason, comply with the writers belief that any democracy worthy of the name rests on pluralism, welcomes principled disagreement, and achieves consensus through reasoned debate? more here. Monday night fire destroys garage, damages home, vehicle Nobody was injured, but a Monday night fire destroyed a garage and damaged a home in southeastern Aberdeen. Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ECT) is in the business of commercialising leading-edge coal and iron making technologies, which are capable of delivering financial and environmental benefits. We are focused on advancing a portfolio of technologies, which have significant market potential globally. ECT's business plan is to pragmatically commercialise these technologies and secure sustainable, profitable income streams through licencing and other commercial mechanisms. Launch of Flexiroam X for Data Roaming Perth, June 1, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - FLEXIROAM Limited ( ASX:FRX ) is pleased to announce that it's subsidiary FLEXIROAM Sdn Bhd ("FLEXIROAM") has launched its new flagship data roaming product, "X" today. The "X" App is a mobile application which works with "X", a thin, microchip-embedded film to be applied on a user's existing SIM. Once applied, "X" provides access to FLEXIROAM's data roaming network in up to 100 countries without having the need to physically change their existing home SIM while abroad. FLEXIROAM is pleased to announce that the "X" App is available now for download on both Apple iOs and Google Play. FLEXIROAM is now shipping "X" to Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia and the Company plans to make "X" available in more countries in the near future. Highlights: - FLEXIROAM launches its new flagship data roaming product, "X" in 8 countries. - The adhesive microchip "X" provides access to global data in 100 countries. - "X" App is a free download and users have the opportunity to earn up to 100GB of data. - Accumulated data can be used in conjunction with a yearly membership for only $9.99 which includes the "X" microchip - Subscribers who sign up to "X" by 11.59pm (EST) on 7 June 2016 will receive 500MB of free data. The "X" App allows users to earn up to 100GB of free data per year through interactions with the mobile app, such as the referral of the app to friends. In this instance, the user can earn 100MB of free data for each friend they refer and in turn their friend earns the same amount of data by signing up to a membership. In addition to the above, users can earn free data through special promotions. One such current promotion is that FLEXIROAM is giving away 500MB data to all new users when they sign up to "X" using the promo code "XLAUNCH". This promotion is available from 12.00am (EST) on 1 June 2016 to 11.59pm (EST) on 7 June 2016. More information can be found on the Company's website. Users of the "X" App can then utilise their accumulated data by purchasing a yearly subscription for as low as US$ 9.99, inclusive of the "X" microchip which is mailed to users for a small shipping fee of US$5. The Company believes that the combination of the features of the "X" App and the microchip-embedded film is set to make FLEXIROAM X one of the best value for money data roaming services in Asia Pacific from a price, convenience, coverage and validity perspective. The Company's Managing Director, Jef Ong says "We are a pioneer to offer up to 100GB of free data to travellers. Being a futuristic telco and in line with our vision to enable travellers to have easy and efficient communication, we believe "X"'s technology and business model will be a game changer to both the telecommunication and travel industry." Leveraging on the Company's highly-scalable, asset light business model, FLEXIROAM will be addressing the needs of global travellers. It is estimated that by 2019 there will be 1.4 billion first time, global travellers around the world and the global data roaming market will be worth US$50 billion per year. With the release of "X", FLEXIROAM will be actively streamlining their products by phasing out their SIM card products and migrating their corporate clients over to the new platform over the coming months. About Flexiroam Ltd FLEXIROAM Limited (ASX:FRX) is a leading telecommunications company offering universal voice and data services for mobile users globally. Its flagship data roaming product, FLEXIROAM X has coverage in over 100 countries with 4G speed in over 56 countries. FLEXIROAM is an asset light telecommunications company that does not own physical infrastructure yet is able to connect to around 580 network operators globally. FLEXIROAM aspires to be a household name in borderless mobile broadband service in Asia and beyond. Please visit https://www.flexiroam.com Distribution of company announcements to the professional platforms, finance portals and syndication of important corporate news to a wide variety of news aggregators and financial news systems. Shareholder Update - India Activity Melbourne, June 1, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Environmental Clean Technologies Limited ( ASX:ESI ) is pleased to provide the following update to shareholders on its Coldry-Matmor project in India. Key Points: - Techno-Economic Feasibility (TEF) study on track for completion by the end of June 2016 - Preliminary report data indicates significant capital and operating advantages for Matmor Since its update to the market on 20 April 2016 the Company has completed two more week-long working group sessions hosted by India's national lignite authority, NLC and leading pyrometallurgical engineering firm M.N. Dastur, in Chennai and Kolkata respectively. The working group sessions have focused on progressing the Coldry-Matmor TEF study in support of the Company's Indian project endeavours. Collaborative activities across the sessions have resulted in the finalisation of highly detailed process flow sheets, advancement of plant layout options, comprehensive identification of key operational expense items and refinement of the capital cost estimation methodology. ECT Managing Director Ashley Moore stated "The TEF work is currently progressing in line with original timelines and we expect to wrap up the report by the end of June, ready for submission to the Boards of NLC and NMDC. Initial operating expense estimations around major material process inputs (ore, coal-based materials, electricity and water) indicate a substantial overall comparative advantage. "The data being developed throughout the study continues to support our long-held view on the substantial capital and operational cost savings potential for Matmor at commercial scale, when compared to either Blast Furnace or Coal-based Direct Reduced Iron processes." The TEF study entails the technical and economic modelling of a commercial scale, fully integrated steel plant operation consisting of Coldry 'composite' pellet preparation, Matmor metal-oxide reduction plant, steel refining furnace, and casting plant with an output of 500,000 tonnes per year of billet steel. This modelling, led by M.N. Dastur, provides an appropriate basis for comparison against incumbent steel making processes, underpinning the R&D investment decision making requirements by the parties, in order to access the commercial scale potential. The balance of activities in coming weeks will focus on completion of capital cost estimates for the Matmor process. Current indicative capital cost figures, which are subject to validation and detailed engineering following pilot scale activity, show potential for significant savings compared to traditional steel making processes, providing another layer of competitive advantage. The Company will continue to provide progress updates, including guidance on expected decision making timelines by both NLC and NMDC, when appropriate. About Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ECT) is in the business of commercialising leading-edge coal and iron making technologies, which are capable of delivering financial and environmental benefits. We are focused on advancing a portfolio of technologies, which have significant market potential globally. ECT's business plan is to pragmatically commercialise these technologies and secure sustainable, profitable income streams through licencing and other commercial mechanisms. Hartleys Updates Research Coverage Perth, June 1, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Goldphyre Resources ( ASX:GPH ) is pleased to advise that leading Australian broking and corporate advisory firm, Hartleys Limited, has updated its previous research report on the Company. A full copy of the research note is available for download on the Company's website, http://goldphyre.com.au/research-media/ To view the report directly, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/UBL459W4 About Australian Potash Ltd Australian Potash Limited (ASX:APC) is an ASX-listed Sulphate of Potash (SOP) developer. The Company holds a 100% interest in the Lake Wells Potash Project located approximately 500kms northeast of Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields. Following the release of a Scoping Study in 2017, APC has been conducting a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) into the development of the Lake Wells Potash Project. The Company is aiming to release the findings of the DFS in H2 2019. The Lake Wells Potash Project is a palaeochannel brine hosted sulphate of potash project. Palaeochannel bore fields supply large volumes of brine to many existing mining operations throughout Western Australia, and this technique is a well understood and proven method for extracting brine. APC will use this technically low-risk and commonly used brine extraction model to further develop a bore-field into the palaeochannel hosting the Lake Wells SOP resource. A Scoping Study on the Lake Wells Potash Project was completed and released on 23 March 2017. The Scoping Study exceeded expectations and confirmed that the Project's economic and technical aspects are all exceptionally strong, and highlights APC's potential to become a significant long-life, low capital and high margin sulphate of potash (SOP) producer. RICHMOND, Texas Residents of some rural southeastern Texas counties were bracing for more flooding along a river that reached a record high Tuesday as more rain was expected in the coming days. Large swaths of suburban communities southwest of Houston were underwater and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes before the Brazos River reached 54.37 feet in Fort Bend County, just two years after it had run dry in places because of drought. National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Roeseler said the 54.37 feet at Richmond early Wednesday was not yet the crest and the river was expected to slowly rise even more overnight. An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain expected later this week could keep the Brazos in major flood stage into the weekend. Im scared, said Abigail Salazar, standing in knee-deep water outside her home in Richmond, where she was retrieving personal belongings after the city issued a voluntary evacuation advisory. My kids ask me in the morning, Ma, what happened? The water is here.' During four days of torrential rain last week, at least six people died in floods in Texas. Scott Overpeck, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said that the Brazos will recede in the coming days but that its levels will remain high for up to three weeks, in part because water will need to be released from swollen reservoirs upriver. Theres so much water on the Brazos that its going to take a long time to drain through the whole river and drain out into the Gulf of Mexico, Overpeck said. Four of the six people killed in flooding were recovered in Washington County, which is between Austin and Houston, County Judge John Brieden said Monday. Lake Somerville, one of the Brazos reservoirs, was gushing uncontrollably over the spillway and threatening people downriver, he said. About 40 people were rescued Sunday and Monday from low-lying homes in a flooded neighborhood of Simonton, a Fort Bend County community of about 800 residents. The county had set up a pumping system to divert the water from the neighborhood, but it was overpowered by the flooding, county spokeswoman Beth Wolf said. Wolf said any additional rain in the region would be a problem. The ditches are full, the rivers high, theres nowhere else for that water to go, she said. In the Fort Bend County city of Rosenberg, which is next to Richmond, about 150 households were evacuated and city officials were coordinating with the countys office of emergency management to have rescue boats in place, city spokeswoman Jenny Pavlovich said. Heavy rains moved across the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Tuesday. In Hood County, southwest of Fort Worth, several roads were washed out and authorities performed about 15 water rescues, including from homes and vehicles, said Sheriff Roger Deeds. He says they were still trying to determine how many homes flooded. Elsewhere, authorities were searching for the body of an 11-year-old boy who fell into a creek in Wichita, Kansas, and is presumed dead. Relatives have identified the boy as Devon Dean Cooley, who disappeared Friday night. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Suhr in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to reflect that its not clear whether the six people who died in flooding were killed along the Brazos and that the 54.37 measure on the Brazos was taken early Wednesday. Freshly minted University of New Mexico political science graduate Naomie Germain, 22, the reigning Miss New Mexico USA, is vying to become Miss USA. The contest will be shown live on Fox Channel 2 at 7 p.m. on Sunday and Germain is hoping to secure enough votes to guarantee her a spot among the top 15 contestants that hail from all 50 states. Voting opened on Tuesday and will continue through 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 4. Votes can be cast online via vote.missusa.com, by downloading the Miss U app from the iTunes or Google Play stores or through Twitter. Submit a tweet or retweet with #MissUSA and #MissNewMexico. There is a limit of 10 votes per account per day. Germains parents were born in Haiti and met in New York City. They moved to Albuquerque when her father was accepted to the architecture program at UNM. She attended St. Pius High School and has been accepted for an internship with Emerge New Mexico, an organization that trains women to run for political office. If you can have the dedication and the belief in yourself that you belong on that stage, then you have what it takes to be the next Miss USA, Germain said. CHICAGO Drew Peterson slouched in his chair at the defense table and rested his head on his left hand, his face dispassionate and devoid of emotion as the judge read aloud the jurys verdict that found Peterson guilty of trying to hire a hit man to kill the prosecutor who put him in prison for murder. Clad in baggy black trousers and a yellowed prison-issue white shirt at least one size too large, the former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officers muted reaction was the opposite of the persona he displayed nearly a decade ago when he garnered international headlines with his oafish behavior after the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. He shook his attorneys hand and filed out of the courtroom flanked by massive prison guards in black fatigues, mouthing something unintelligible at Stacys sister, Cassandra Cales, who smiled uncomfortably as she stared him down. It took the jury only about an hour to find Drew Peterson guilty of solicitation of murder and solicitation of murder for hire. The verdict was a victory not only for the intended victim, Will County States Attorney James Glasgow, but also for Cales. You know, this just put another nail in his coffin and now, obviously, I hope he sees that hes never getting out of jail, Cales said outside the courthouse in downstate Randolph County. Karmas catching up with him. Hes, you know, gonna stay in prison forever. Cales would not reveal what Peterson said to her as he left the courtroom, but said she still holds hope that the mystery of her sisters disappearance one day will be solved. Peterson, 62, faces up to 60 years in prison when he is sentenced in July. The sentence would start after Petersons 38-year prison term for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. The heart of the states case which was co-prosecuted by the Illinois attorney generals office and Randolph County States Attorney Jeremy Walker was hours of secretly recorded conversations between Peterson and Antonio Beast Smith, the fellow Menard Correctional Center inmate Peterson tapped to find someone to kill Glasgow. The recordings, made over two weeks in November 2014, captured Petersons statements that he believed Glasgow abused the law to prosecute him and was unethically manipulating the legal system to obstruct his appeal. He told Smith that with Glasgow dead, his appeal would be nearly guaranteed to succeed and the prosecutors assistants wouldnt have the guts to charge him with Stacys disappearance. But Peterson was unaware that Smith, 25, had tipped off authorities to the plan and agreed to wear a wire, which caught Peterson exulting over the idea of Glasgows murder. As part of his ruse, Smith told Peterson he had arranged for his uncle to kill Glasgow by Christmas 2014. I told him what you said, that its the green light on, that basically go ahead and kill him, Smith said in a Nov. 15, 2014, recording. Thats what you wanted, right? It aint no turning back. OK, alright. Im in, Peterson responded. From the first time we talked about it, there was no turning back. If I get some booze in here, well celebrate that night. That exchange left no doubt about Petersons intentions, Assistant Attorney General Steve Nate told the jury Tuesday during his closing argument. He said it, he meant it and hes guilty, Nate said. But Petersons defense attorney Lucas Liefer said the recordings were nonsensical prison talk and pointed out that Peterson never directly said on the recordings that he wanted Glasgow killed. He also said Smith, serving time for attempted murder, was unreliable and a liar. This case is wrought with inconsistency and incomplete evidence, Liefer told the jury. Stacy Petersons disappearance in 2007 prompted Glasgow to reopen a probe into Savios death, which was originally ruled an accident after she was found dead in her bathtub. No one has ever been charged in Stacy Petersons disappearance. Drew Peterson is the only suspect in the case, authorities have said. On the recordings, Peterson told Smith he believed his wife was still alive which Liefer tried to use to show the jurors that Smith was lying when he testified last week that Peterson told him he had killed her. Liefer said the states case hinged on the word of a man who was later paid about $3,000 by the FBI a lying snitch, who is so unreliable that its embarrassing the state paid him money. He argued prosecutors, eager to get a second crack at Peterson, were willing to work with Smith, who had been transferred from Menard to another facility in Pontiac where he made enemies for informing on correctional officers. It had nothing to do with doing the right thing, Liefer argued. He (Smith) had to get out of Pontiac, and he didnt know what else to do. He was a rat caught in a trap, and he had to get out. Smith testified the payments were made to replace property he lost when he was transferred to federal custody after wearing the wire on Peterson. Walker said Smith who is serving the remainder of a 40-year sentence for crimes including attempted murder has a challenging future in the prison system. You think hes ever going to sleep with both eyes closed again? Theres no way, Walker argued. Because he crossed the biggest line there is: He wore a wire on a fellow inmate in a maximum security prison. For his part, Glasgow said he hoped Petersons conviction would give pause to any other inmate who might want to seek revenge on a prosecutor. I think (Walkers) last statement said it all, Glasgow said outside the courthouse. A prosecutor has a right to go home and sleep soundly and not worry about getting a bullet in his head after hes done his job. And Glasgow vowed that he would prosecute Peterson in connection with Stacys disappearance if the evidence warrants. If we get to the point where we think we can prove that beyond a reasonable doubt, I wont hesitate to move forward, he said. I have always had the philosophy (that) if I have a provable murder case against a defendant, Im bringing it no matter what. WASHINGTON One cause for Syrias torments is that regional powers have used proxy forces to advance their position in the great game of influence, without regard for the effects on the Syrian people. An example is the standoff between two Syrian Kurdish militia groups. One, known as the YPG, appears to be tacitly backed by an odd coalition that includes the United States, and, less visibly, Russia and Iran. The other, much smaller group known as the Peshmerga of Rojava, or Roj Pesh is supported by Iraqi Kurdistan and the official, Saudi-backed, Syrian opposition, and it might also get support from Turkey. The Kurdish factional politics may reflect an attempt by the regional powers to check the expansion of a greater Kurdistan. All Kurdish groups want this big nation as an aspirational goal, but they know its bitterly opposed by the neighbors, with whom they must work to survive. The YPG and Roj Pesh sometimes seem to be chess pieces in a game to block unity and expansion. A transnational movement is less likely to spread from Iraqs Kurdish Regional Government across the Syrian Kurdish land known as Rojava let alone into Turkey and Iran if the YPG and Roj Pesh refuse to fight together, as seems to be the case today. After traveling recently to a training camp inside Syria for the YPG and its allied Sunni Arab partners, I have a sense of the military power of this group and why U.S. commanders have given them such a strategic role. But the Roj Pesh were still a mystery, so I asked the Kurdish Regional Government to arrange an interview. Brig. Gen. Mohammed Rejeb Dehdo, commander of the Roj Pesh, told me by telephone Thursday that he has 3,000 trained fighters who are ready to move across the border from their Iraqi camps near the Mosul Dam and along the eastern Syrian border, into the ancestral lands that Kurds call Rojava. But he says theyre blocked by the far larger YPG, which has at least 25,000 battle-hardened troops in Syria. The Roj Pesh say they have been trained by the elite Zeravani Force thats backed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, headed by President Masoud Barzani, who runs the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil and has managed to stay friendly with both the United States and Turkey. We are prepared to work together with the YPG, Dehdo said. He said plans for joint operations were being explored by the United States until they collapsed in August over where the joint command center would be located. The YPG nominated Sulaymaniyah, which is ruled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, a group thats friendly to both Washington and Tehran. The Roj Pesh wanted Zakho, a city in northern Kurdistan, close to the Syrian border, thats controlled by the Barzanis. They are all Kurds. They want to go back home. There is no reason why the YPG is preventing their return, argues a spokesman for Kurdish national security adviser Masrour Barzani. We feel this unit is another option for the U.S. It doesnt have to rely solely on the YPG. Barzani echoes this endorsement. Peshmerga of Rojava is an organized, battle-tested force and not affiliated with any suspicious groups, he told me in a statement. Though the Roj Pesh would add little military clout to the Syria fight, it might give the Kurds more weight with the overall Syrian opposition. Then theres the PKK issue. Gen. Dehdo, like his backers in Iraqi Kurdistan, shares the Turkish view that, there are no differences, political and military, between the YPG and the PKK. The latter group, whose acronym stands for Kurdistan Workers Party, is seen by Turkey as a terrorist group that threatens security in the Kurdish areas of southeast Turkey. PKK supporters argue that the terrorist designation is nonsense. Many say they favor resumed dialogue with Ankara if it will halt its rocket and artillery attacks on Kurdish strongholds in southeast Turkey. An intriguing hint of the proxy wars inside Syria came from Lt. Col. Hussein Ahmed Hassan, the Roj Pesh intelligence chief. He told me in a telephone interview Thursday that Iranian commanders from what he called the Johariya Force have helped train and supply some members of the YPG. He said, further, that Iranian and Syrian intelligence officers have told the YPG commanders not to allow the Roj Pesh into Syria. This is the kind of divide-and-rule manipulation that allowed European colonial powers to play off different Kurdish and Arab factions for the past century. The Kurds would be wiser if they could make common cause, rather than play the neo-imperialist game of the regional powers. A fleet of new helicopters scheduled to start arriving at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2020 ensures the bases continued role as the nations leading training center for Air Force combat search-and-rescue operations. Kirtland will be the first Air Force installation in the country to receive the new breed of search-and-rescue helicopter, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said Tuesday during a news conference at the base. Heinrich, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the new copters will replace KAFBs fleet of aging HH-60G Pave Hawk Helicopters between 2020 and 2028. The 58th Special Operations Wing at KAFB is the premier training site for Air Force special operations and combat search and rescue aircrews, currently operating 14 HH-60Gs and employing more than 2,570 airmen, civilians and contractors, Heinrich said. Todays announcement is another example of why New Mexico is, and will continue to be, a leader in national security for years to come. Heinrich said the new helicopters will ensure the future viability of the base as well as the economic benefit to the Albuquerque community that comes with keeping more than 2,500 people employed. Although the new helicopters will not arrive for several years, a simulator designed to help train crews will be installed at the base next year, Heinrich said. The old Pave Hawks will be used until they are all replaced. The Air Forces new combat rescue helicopter is the HH-60W, nicknamed 60-Whiskey until an official name is chosen. It is based on the Armys UH-60M Black Hawk but will have extended range and efficiency, better high-altitude performance and more cabin space. In 2014, Sikorsky won a $1.28 billion contract to develop the new helicopter. Col. Dagvin Anderson, commander of the 58th Special Operations Wing, said the new aircraft will be a welcome replacement for the venerable Pave Hawks, twin-turboshaft-engine aircraft that have been in service since the 1980s. He said the U.S. had been using Pave Hawks since the invasion of Panama in 1989. And they have been in the desert (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan) since then, Anderson said. We have worked them hard. The Air Force had considered terminating the helicopter replacement program. Heinrich was among the senators who more than two years ago sent a letter to the secretary of defense strongly opposing the replacement programs termination and urging the Pentagon to fund the combat-rescue helicopter mission. Heinrich said it is a program worth preserving. This rescue mission is about saving lives, Heinrich said. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Air Force search and rescue forces have saved over 5,000 U.S., allied and host nation lives in the U.S. Central Command theater (Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia) and saved over 3,300 American lives during rescue operations in the United States. GENEVA The treacherous Mediterranean Sea crossing from Libya to Italy has claimed the lives of over 1,030 migrants in the last week, mostly as barely seaworthy smuggling boats foundered and sank despite calm seas and sunny skies, a migration agency said Tuesday, citing new accounts from survivors. The staggering death toll foreshadows more disasters ahead in the next few months as the region gears up for its traditional summer-fall spike in human trafficking as the weather improves and the seas grow warmer. Aid officials said it also suggests that Libyan smuggling gangs are using even riskier tactics than before to profit from the torrent of those desperate to reach the safety or economic promise of Europe. Making matters worse, the jaw-dropping tally is only from capsizings or shipwrecks that are known to authorities, who readily admit they simply do not know how many people are being cheated by smugglers, jammed into obviously unsuitable vessels and swallowed up by the vast waters of the southern Mediterranean. Two Eritreans interviewed by The Associated Press among the hundreds of shipwreck survivors brought to Italian ports were haunted by the fact that so many women and children had been on their capsized boat and did not survive. They said they could still hear the cries of the children. I started to cry when I saw the situation and when I found the ship without an engine. There were many women and children, said 21-year-old Filmon Selomon who plunged into the sea to save himself. Water was coming in from everywhere, top, bottom. The children were crying and the women, said Habtom Tekle, a 27-year-old Eritrean. At this point I only tried to pray. Everybody was trying to take the water out of boat. U.N. refugee spokesman William Spindler told reporters at a news conference in Geneva that this year is already proving to be particularly deadly on the Mediterranean, with some 2,510 lives lost compared to 1,855 in the same time span a year ago. The International Organization for Migration, citing what could be a record weekly death toll on the Mediterranean by its count, said Tuesday that 62 people were confirmed dead and another 971 were missing and presumed dead in nine separate deadly emergencies since May 25 on the Libya-to-Italy sea route. The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday it had tallied at least 880 deaths on the Mediterranean over the last week. Spindler noted such estimates are an inexact science, and said his agencys figures tend to be conservative. Last week marks only the second time since January 2014 that 1,000 deaths or more on that route have been tallied in a single month let alone a single week, said IOM spokesman Joel Millman. The only other time was in April last year, with 1,244 dead. He said up until last week, only 13 migrant crossing deaths had been recorded in May in the southern Mediterranean. Spindler gave the following estimates: about 100 people died in a shipwreck Wednesday; some 550 others died in another capsizing Thursday, the one that the two Eritreans survived; and a third sinking Friday left 170 others missing and presumed dead. The discrepancy between the agencies stems largely from Wednesdays sinking: IOM now estimates that 250 people died in that incident. Like UNHCR, it had originally estimated about 100 deaths. UNHCR said shipwreck survivors who landed in Augusta, Italy, over the weekend indicated that another 47 migrants were missing at sea after a raft carrying 125 migrants deflated. It said eight others were lost overboard from another boat and four deaths were reported after fire on a separate vessel. Spindler, speaking alongside Millman, said authorities were still trying to understand the jump in deaths, even as they know the region is moving into its high season for human trafficking. He said some survivors told his agency that some Libyan smugglers appeared to be trying to earn extra cash before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins next week. Spindler also noted new and strikingly risky tactics from the smuggling gangs: he said before this, he had never heard of smugglers using one overloaded boat carrying hundreds of people to tow another vessel without an engine packed with even more people. The second boat sank Thursday the most deadly capsizing last week and carried mostly Eritreans, according to the IOM. Millman said traffickers could be also cutting prices to draw in new migrants mostly from elsewhere in Africa and have recently been seen using bigger boats that can carry up to 750 people. Over the last year smaller rubber inflatable dinghies were more prevalent on the smuggling route, he said. Those factors appear to mean that more people were dying even as fewer were coming. IOM said nearly 19,000 migrants arrived by sea to Italy in May more than twice the figure in April but less than the 21,221 arrivals in the same month a year ago. A deal between the European Union and Turkey to return migrants has significantly dampened the key route into Europe from Turkey to Greece, which hundreds of thousands of people used last year. That has left international refugee agencies watching for signs that migrants may be shifting to the much longer and more dangerous Libya-Italy option. As of now, UNHCR has not seen evidence of a significant diversion of Syrians, Afghans or Iraqis from the Turkey-Greece route to the central Mediterranean one, Spindler said. He reiterated UNHCRs appeal to the EU to allow for more legal pathways for refugees to reach Europe, calling it shameful that the 28-nation bloc had resettled fewer than 2,000 people under an EU plan announced last year to resettle 160,000. ___ Sarah El Deeb contributed from Pozzallo, Italy. The crews charged with building new bus stations, sidewalks and bus lanes for Albuquerque Rapid Transit plan to avoid working in the Old Town and Nob Hill shopping districts during the holidays, city officials say. The work could start this summer, though opponents of the $119 million project are seeking an injunction in federal court to stop it. Some work already is underway. The city-county water authority began construction in May to move utility lines to clear the way for the project. But construction on the nine-mile network of bus-only lanes, bus stations and sidewalks has not yet begun. Online To learn more, visit To learn more, visit brtabq.com A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for late July, and most construction work would start in early August. The citys goal is to have the new system running by late 2017. Supporters say Albuquerque Rapid Transit will mimic a light-rail system, but with buses instead of expensive trains, moving people quickly to and from employment centers and triggering redevelopment in the urban core of the city. Opponents say it will choke traffic along Central Avenue and fail to lure new riders, among other problems. The city on Tuesday released a preliminary construction schedule for work on sidewalks, landscaping and curbs. Throughout most of the route between Coors and Louisiana the work is expected to begin in August. But in Nob Hill, the sidewalk work wouldnt begin until January. Around the heart of Old Town, it would start in February. Construction in the middle of the street for the entire project will take place throughout the construction period, from August to fall next year. At least one lane in each direction will be open at all times, spokeswoman Joanie Griffin said. SANTA FE New Mexicos Health and Cultural Affairs departments will be among the agencies hit hardest by budget cuts that take effect next month. For the Department of Cultural Affairs, the plans in response to the budget cuts include laying off 11 employees and reducing the operating hours of some state-run museums and historic sites. For the Department of Health, it means pared-back state-funded contracts. The cost-saving moves are still being completed by both agencies but were confirmed in recent days by officials in both departments. They are being driven by a $6.2 billion state budget plan for the fiscal year starting July 1 that due largely to plummeting energy prices will reduce New Mexico state spending for the first time in five years. If we had our choice, we would not be doing this, Health Department spokesman Kenny Vigil told the Journal of the agencys plan to cut its state-funded contracts by 6 percent. But we have no other choice based on cuts mandated by the Legislature. The Department of Health is facing the loss of about $12.5 million in state funding in the coming year, from $304.4 million to $292.9 million. In addition to trimming general fund contracts for education, preventive care and direct care, the agency is also considering not filling vacant positions when employees resign or retire, Vigil said. The impact could be even greater for the Department of Cultural Affairs, which operates 16 museums and historical sites, including the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque and the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. The agency told 11 employees last week that they will be laid off, pending approval next month from the State Personnel Board. The laid-off workers would be given assistance in finding new state government jobs, an agency official said. The layoffs would represent less than 3 percent of the agencys total staff, which currently has 452 filled positions, according to an online state database. Meanwhile, the department also plans to leave vacant staff positions open, freeze noncritical contracts and trim the schedules of at least some museums and historic sites. An agency official said Tuesday that they are still evaluating which specific museums and historic sites would be affected. Despite these challenges, we are fully committed to continuing to do all we can to preserve, enhance and showcase New Mexicos strong artistic and cultural heritage, which is important to our states tourism industry and our economy as a whole, said Loie Fecteau, executive director of New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Under the budget bill passed by legislators this year and signed into law by Gov. Susana Martinez, the department is facing a funding decrease of $1.2 million, from $30.7 million in the current fiscal year to $29.5 million in the coming year. Complicating the agencys efforts to absorb the cut is that wages and benefits for employees account for roughly 70 percent of the agencys operating budget, Fecteau said. However, Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, questioned the timing of the layoff decision, citing uncertainty over state revenue levels. It seems a little premature to be making those judgments, Smith said Tuesday. But he also said the cost-saving moves could reflect concern in the Martinez administration that the state economy might not bounce back quickly in the coming budget year, adding that he planned to have legislative budget analysts ask the states central budget agency, the Department of Finance and Administration, for more information and rationale. While some agencies face cuts, the $6.2 billion budget bill will provide funding increases for a few agencies, including public schools, the states prison system and the Children, Youth and Families Department. In addition, the budget will provide for salary increases for some corrections officers at state-run prisons, State Police and veteran teachers. Daniel Begay thought he was talking to someone he could trust when he described the details of his alleged crime. He said he had stabbed a man in the chest 30 minutes prior and hid the murder weapon, and needed to get rid of the body, according to court records. But what he didnt realize was that he was not talking to someone who could help him dump a body he was talking to an undercover police officer. Minutes later officers surrounded him and he was arrested, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Metropolitan Court. Begay, 31, a transient man, was charged with an open count of murder and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he remained Wednesday afternoon with no bail. Police found out about the death after an undercover officer received a tip that Begay had asked the tipster how to get rid of a body, according to the complaint. The officer went to Central and San Mateo and found Begay, who explained the situation and asked for help. He showed the undercover officer the body of a man, later identified as 65-year-old Joe Salcido, slumped against the back of a title loans business near Silver and San Mateo, according to police. More officers then showed up and arrested Begay. Begay told the undercover officer he owed the victim money, then later told police a prostitute had murdered Salcido. But when police told him that surveillance cameras were pointed toward where the body was found, Begay told police hed killed Salcido because Salcido had told other people Begay was a snitch and a pedophile, according to the complaint. He was drunk and high and said he wanted to confront Salcido, and so he did and began stabbing him, he told police. Dont stab me, I dont want to die, the victim said as Begay attacked him, according to the complaint. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Republican New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez says she wont support Libertarian presidential candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. The nations only Latina governor, who has not endorsed fellow Republican Donald Trump, said Wednesday she disagrees with Johnsons stance to reduce the nations military. Martinez also said as a former prosecutor she couldnt support Johnsons plan to legalize marijuana. Johnson recently won the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party and is seeking the support of Republicans who feel uncomfortable with supporting Trump. Last week, Trump attacked Martinez at an Albuquerque rally for the number of state residents on food stamps. Martinez, who is the chair of the Republican Governors Association, has criticized Trump for past comments about Mexican immigrants. She also says she wanted to hear how Trump would defend the states federal military bases. Presbyterian Healthcare Services has hired MedeAnalytics to mine its information mother lode to support its business goals. The eight-hospital healthcare organization, which includes a statewide health plan and multi-specialty physician group, said that California-based MedeAnalytics will help Presbyterian use data more effectively to improve financial, clinical and operational outcomes across the its system. The financial terms of the deal, a three-year contract with MedeAnalytics, were not disclosed. As healthcare becomes more complex, having unified reporting and analytics tools becomes increasingly important to our work to care for those we serve, said Soyal Momin, vice president of analytics for Presbyterian. Analytics is the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. Firms may apply analytics to business data to describe, predict, and improve business performance. We are excited to embark on this strategic partnership and help Presbyterian achieve its care management and revenue cycle goals, said Andrew Hurd, CEO of MedeAnalytics. The technology collaborator will also help Presbyterian chart ways to better contain costs and evaluate the viability of specific lines of business. The payoff for patients will better health in the long term, said Momin. The initiative may include a ramp up in employment on the information technology side, said Momim. Were looking to hiring some unique talent geared to healthcare analytics. Copyright 2016 Albuquerque Journal Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie OMalley accused the Santolina development team on Wednesday of skirting the county ethics code by donating to a political action committee involved in the campaign for an open County Commission seat. She asked County Attorney Ken Martinez to investigate the donations, and he said the countys compliance office will examine the allegations, as it would any other complaint. The Santolina development team, in turn, said its confident the PAC activity is legal. The county Code of Conduct prohibits people with business before the County Commission from donating $1,000 or more to candidates. At issue in this case, however, is a series of donations exceeding that amount to a political action committee from people at firms involved in the Santolina development, which is seeking county approval for tax incentives and land-use plans. The PAC, which calls itself New Mexicans for New Mexico, has raised about $25,000 and campaigned against Adrian Pedroza, a County Commission candidate whos been critical of Santolina. The committee is supporting both of Pedrozas opponents in the June 7 primary election, Robert Chavez and Steven Michael Quezada. All three are Democrats, as is OMalley. The PACs donations include $5,000 from Jeffrey Garrett, president of the development company serving as asset manager for the Santolina project. In a written statement, the Santolina development team said the group is confident the PAC is operating pursuant to county ordinance. It is unfortunate that Commissioner OMalley is using her position as a Bernalillo County commissioner to influence the District 2 election. The Santolina team added that OMalley is promoting her handpicked candidate while the PAC supports candidates who are promoting jobs for District 2. OMalley, for her part, called the PAC a front group for Santolina and a thinly veiled attempt to circumvent our strong ethics laws in order to buy influence for their sprawl development. The treasurer for New Mexicans for New Mexico didnt immediately respond to OMalleys comments. The Santolina Master Plan a framework for growth covering 22 square miles of the West Mesa won approval on a 3-2 vote of the County Commission last year. OMalley voted against it. A key supporter of the plan, Commissioner Art De La Cruz, is stepping down at the end of this year because of term limits. And the Santolina development is still seeking county approval for land-use plans for the area and a proposal to divert a share of the future tax revenue generated there to reimburse the developer for building roads and other infrastructure. De La Cruz faced calls last year to recuse himself from voting on Santolina because he had written an opinion column in favor of it. Critics said the column showed he wasnt objective, but he continued to vote on the project anyway. Its unclear whether OMalley will face a similar request to abstain. Martinez, the county attorney, said he would evaluate the issue if someone raises the question. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Colorado lawmakers are working to block an effort by Sen. John McCain that could put U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs on the chopping block. McCain, R-Arizona, has floated the idea of merging Northern Command, which oversees defense of the continent, with Southern Command, which focuses on Central and South America, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported (http://bit.ly/1TQ9AUK). Its an idea that has united Colorado politicians across partisan divides, with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, and U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, in rare agreement on the issue. Lamborn, whose district includes five military bases, has said hell kill McCains idea if it comes to the House. Bennet is working to squash it in the Senate first. It doesnt make sense, and I havent seen evidence that makes it make sense, Bennet said. In a series of hearings, McCain, who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called for redrawing the boundaries of the nations regional combat commands in a bid to cut Pentagon overhead while making the headquarters more effective in wartime. We need a defense organization that can meet our present and future challenges, McCain said in a November speech. At the heart of the debate is the 30-year-old Goldwater-Nichols Act, which built the combatant commands in a bid to clean up problems identified after Operation Eagle Claw, the militarys botched 1980 mission to rescue hostages in Iran. Combatant commands such as Northern Command were set up as entities that exist outside the armed services. The four-starred leaders of those commands, like Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson who recently took the reins of Northern Command, report to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter rather than uniformed leaders. That structure was meant to stamp out rivalries between the services that could cause chaos in combat. But with the military facing a budget crunch and new ways of warfare emerging, some have argued that the combatant commands need a shake-up. Cyber operations have reached such a high importance and complexity that arguably they should no longer be subsumed within Strategic Command, wrote Michael OHanlon of the Brookings Institute think tank. This question deserves scrutiny, as does the question of whether Northern Command is really needed, or whether it might best be merged with Strategic Command. Northern Commands old boss, Adm. Bill Gortney, said he cant figure out why theres a push to squeeze that command out of business. Im a fact-based person, Gortney said. What is the problem you want to fix? Northern Command was created after the 9/11 attacks to monitor and deter threats to North America. It has the additional role of providing Defense Department help to local authorities when disaster strikes. In addition to terror concerns, Northern Command includes Americas contribution to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a 58-year-old binational organization built during the Cold War. Carter in an April speech said the Department of Defense needs to cut the fat out of top-heavy combatant commands, but said merging commands isnt the right way to find efficiencies. We can meet these targets without combining Northern Command and Southern Command, or combining European Command and Africa Command actions that would run contrary to why we made them separate, because of their distinct areas of emphasis and increasing demands on our forces in them, Carter said. Bennet said if McCain wants to understand the necessity of an independent Northern Command, he needs to visit Colorado Springs. The senator learned of its importance during a recent visit to the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, the underground command post that includes Northern Command operations. It just became clear that these missions are so critical and that the infrastructure we need to carry out these missions is here, Bennet said. Gortney said if McCain keeps pushing, Northern Command can easily justify its existence. Sen. McCain asks tough questions, Gortney said. I like tough questions. ___ Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com AUSTIN, Texas State agencies must stop offering severance pay, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Wednesday in light of reports that Attorney General Ken Paxton and Land Commissioner George P. Bush have quietly kept former employees on the payroll at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to taxpayers. Bush and Paxton, who have defended the arrangements as practical and legal, said they would comply even though the governor cant enforce such rules on other elected officials. Abbott did not single out Paxton or Bush in a memo to agency leaders. But the directive essentially takes aim at how the two prominent Republicans continued paying former staffers long after they stopped coming to work, and was revealed following investigations by The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle. The staffers included a former Paxton aide who left to help Republican Ted Cruzs presidential run and more than two dozen General Land Office employees whom Bush didnt retain after taking over in 2015. Bushs office has defended the settlement agreements, which amounted to at least $383,000, as a way of sparing the state from potential lawsuits from fired employees. Severance pay is not allowed in Texas government, but Paxtons office has said payments to former top aides were permissible under administrative leave policies. Abbott, however, made clear that such interpretations or workarounds going forward would not be allowed. The use of emergency leave, administrative leave or other mechanisms to continue paying state employees who have ceased to work will be prohibited, Abbott wrote. Abbott said his order will remain in place until the issue is taken up next year by the Texas Legislature, which has already signaled a coming crackdown. Republican House Speaker Joe Straus told one of his committees Wednesday to delve into the issue before lawmakers return in 2017. The public should have confidence that state agencies are being cautious with taxpayer dollars, Straus wrote in a letter to the chair of the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee. Bush spokeswoman Brittany Eck said their agency will suspend the use of separation agreements until the Legislature provides clarification. On Tuesday, a left-leaning political group asked state investigators to look into whether the severance packages across state government were proper. ___ Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber DENVER From small towns that barely dot the map to the states largest urban areas, revenue from retail marijuana sales is helping communities address homelessness, send children to college, patch potholes, secure water rights and fund an array of projects. Aurora is using $1.5 million of its revenue from pot sales and fees to address its homeless issue. Money also is going to road improvements and a new recreation center, the Denver Post reported (http://dpo.st/1r0roPK). Adams County has earmarked more than $500,000 for scholarships for low-income students. Wheat Ridge keeps its revenue in the citys general fund, and its used in a variety of areas. The same goes for Northglenn, where five marijuana stores generated $730,000 in 2015. The money will go toward water purchases and capital improvements to infrastructure and city facilities. Although many cities stash the cash in their general funds, Aurora City Councilman Bob Roth, who led a committee that drafted retail marijuana regulations, said it was important to show residents exactly how the money is being spent especially those who opposed marijuana legalization. One thing I felt very strongly about was that it not just to go the general fund but kept in a separate bucket so we could show the community what specifically we were doing with it, Roth said. There are 62 cities and 22 counties in Colorado that allow retail marijuana sales, according to the state. Marijuana sales this year are expected to reach $1 billion in Colorado, and local government entities are cashing in. A lot of communities have struggled to have enough revenue to fill potholes and to keep the street lights on, said Mike Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group. What weve seen out of Aurora is that money going to address homelessness. Its a great use for the money. Henny Lasley, project director for Smart Colorado, a group that advocates for protections for children from marijuana, noted that about 70 percent of communities in the state have opted out of retail marijuana. Lasley said pot proceeds should go toward marijuana education and other efforts to enlighten the public on pot. We believe that if you are going to collect money from marijuana, lets do something with marijuana from those taxes, she said. In Aurora, the money earmarked to help the homeless will be used to purchase two vans for local nonprofit outreach groups to use to transport people to shelters and for other needs, said Nancy Sheffield, project manager for Auroras neighborhood service department. Two outreach workers will be funded with the money for the Comitis Crisis Center and the Aurora Mental Health program. Our City Council has been very wise in how theyre allocating the revenue, Sheffield said. By the end of this year, Aurora expects to see $8.1 million in sales taxes and fees since the first pot shop opened in Aurora in October 2014, city spokeswoman Julie Patterson said. Aside from the $1.5 million for the homeless, about $3.8 million is earmarked for improvements to the East Alameda Avenue and Interstate 225 intersection. Another $2.8 million will go toward bonds for a new recreation center in the growing southeast part of Aurora. And $680,000 will be put in reserve to help outreach programs that work with the citys needy. Because the number of pot shops is capped at 24 in Aurora, revenue is expected to stabilize going forward, with about $6.4 million in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Even Pueblo West, which isnt a town or city but a special district west of Pueblo, is seeing marijuana revenue. Pueblo West received about $200,000 from the county, and it plans to use that to fill pot holes and fix roads. For a district of roughly 28,000 residents that is funded primarily through property taxes, it has a limited revenue source. The money from marijuana sales is a big deal, district officials said. Wheat Ridge has five locations that sell recreational marijuana, and four of them also sell medical pot, said city spokeswoman Maureen Harper. She said the city saw a total of $530,105 in sales taxes and fees associated with marijuana sales last year. That revenue goes directly into Wheat Ridges general fund and is not earmarked for any one program. We treat revenue generated by marijuana like we treat other general fund revenue and it helps support city operations, Wheat Ridge Mayor Joyce Jay said. At this point, I dont see the number of establishments increasing here in Wheat Ridge. In Denver, which has the states most extensive recreational and medical marijuana markets, the city took in $29 million last year from all sales by taxes and licensing fees. That money goes into the general fund, and Denver devotes some to ramped-up regulation, enforcement, public health and education efforts budgeted at $9.1 million this year. It also has dipped into pot taxes to cover higher costs on a recreation center project. In Northglenn, five recreational marijuana stores generated $730,000 in 2015, spokeswoman Margo Aldrich said. The city also has medical marijuana shops. Northglenn has seen about $3.6 million in total revenue since 2009. The money is used for capital projects, and some is used for purchasing water rights, she said. Elliott said part of the money cities and counties receive is used to properly regulate and license the industry and that makes communities safer. Theres a lot of money left over to address safety issues that come up or really take on projects that these local communities do not necessarily have the funds to deal with, he said. For some communities, this tax revenue has made a huge difference. No matter the size of the community, retail marijuana has been, well, a big hit. For Mountain View, a 12-block enclave nestled among Wheat Ridge, Lakeside and Denver, the extra revenue has been a godsend. Known more for funding its budget through speeding tickets, which Mayor Jeff Kiddie said is not true, the influx of cash is much needed. The town has two pot shops that both sell recreational and medical marijuana. It uses that revenue to take care of streets, alleys and other improvements. We have such as small tax base, said Kiddie, who opposed allowing pot stores in Mountain View. Medical and retail marijuana have definitely helped the towns bottom line. Id be lying if I said it didnt. ___ Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com Crowe Horwath LLP has merged in AbleBridge, a Westborough, Mass.-based software company and consulting firm that develops and sells technology built around the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management system. As part of the transaction, Crowe has acquired all of AbleBridges intellectual property. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Crowe Horwath, based in Chicago, ranked 8th on Accounting Todays 2016 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $721.5 million in annual revenue. This will be Crowes first location in the Boston area. Last month, Crowe merged in BaxterBruce, a London-based insurance risk consulting firm (see Crowe Horwath Merges in BaxterBruce). AbleBridge brings an innovative software mindset, with a focus on specialized industry solutions, said Crowe Performance Consulting managing principal Josh Cole in a statement. The talented people of AbleBridge bring tremendous synergies with our existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM practice, while adding to our deep specialization and focus on the insurance industry. AbleBridge has built a Microsoft Dynamics CRM software and consulting practice since CEO Ryan Plourde established the firm in 2007. AbleBridges main product, BenefitsBridge, provides insurance benefits brokers with a specialized agency management technology. In addition to insurance, AbleBridge also services organizations in the manufacturing, broker-dealer, wealth management, construction and professional services areas. Plourde will join Crowe as a principal in the firms Performance Consulting practice. Joining with Crowe gives us greater capacity to better serve our clients and the ability to bring new software solutions to the market rapidly, said Plourde. The combination of our product development and marketing expertise, combined with the service capability of Crowe will create a truly differentiated and leading CRM practice. Marcum LLP has merged in Lautze & Lautze CPAs & Financial Advisors, an accounting firm in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., effective June 1. Marcum, based in New York, already has three California offices in Irvine, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The firm ranked 16th on Accounting Todays 2016 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $412.43 million in annual revenue. The deal will add 60 professionals, including four partners, to Marcum. Lautze & Lautze has a history of professional excellence and long-standing client relationships that naturally complements Marcums business, said Marcum managing partner Jeffrey M. Weiner in a statement. We welcome the entire Lautze & Lautze team to the firm. We look forward to leveraging our combined resources to improve and expand services to our clients, and to partnering in our continued mutual growth and success. Lautze & Lautze has provided audit, tax and consulting services to individuals, California businesses and nonprofit organizations for more than 70 years. The firms industry specialties include real estate, professional services and manufacturing, with specific expertise in servicing private schools and private foundations. Lautze & Lautze will play a strategic role in expanding Marcums presence and deepening our service capabilities in the Northern California market, both in San Francisco, where Marcum has an existing office, and in San Jose, said Philip J. Wilson, Marcums California partner-in-charge. Marcums IT Risk & Assurance Practice, which manages our cybersecurity, information risk management and technology consulting services, will be a particular asset to the Silicon Valley office. As a national firm, Marcum gives the Lautze team access to a deep bench of talent and expertise that will expand the ways we can serve our clients, while giving the Firm a larger footprint in the Greater Bay Area, said Anne Marie Bianchini, former managing director of Lautze & Lautze. Allan D. Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, who advised both firms on the merger commented, Marcum continues to show its commitment to expanding in California and their merger with Lautze should make them a major player in the Bay area. With this merger they are now over $50 million in California and I wouldnt be surprised to see another merger or two from Marcum here in the next year. Koltin said he began working with Lautze about one and a half years ago on their strategic planning. During the course of putting a five-year plan together, we decided to explore upstream as a simultaneous strategy to growing as an independent firm, he added. We looked at larger firms already built out in the Bay area as well as firms not in the region but desirous of wanting to expand here. In the end we found Marcum was a great fit both in terms of its presence already in California but also the resources and depth it could bring to Lautze. It also had a highly entrepreneurial culture which played well with Lautzes existing and future partners. Hats off to Annie Bianchini for leading the merger process from start to finish. Annie was about what was best for her people and clients throughout the entire journey. Ogilvy & Mather India was the toast of the evening at the 2016 AME Awards held in Singapore, winning the Agency of the Year title in all the three sections in which the AMEs are awarded - Effectiveness, Media Strategy and Digital Strategy. Never before has any one agency been awarded the top honours in all three award sections in the history of the AMEs. Commenting on the wins, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director South Asia, said Im delighted with Ogilvy & Mather Indias historic performance at the 2016 AMEs. These results give me double delight as I have maintained right through my career that creativity is only great if it is effective. This is the principle on which Ogilvy & Mather works and will continue to work in the years ahead. It is also a remarkable achievement for the young talent at Ogilvy that made this happen. In this new age, it is also great to see our digital work live up to the creative spirit of Ogilvy. Kunal Jeswani, Chief Executive Officer, added here, Ive said it before and Ill say it again - we are here to produce business results for our clients. The fantastic AME 2016 wins today are the result of an agency culture that we have carefully built over the last decade. A culture where creativity is everyones responsibility and effectiveness is everyones goal. It is particularly wonderful to see Ogilvy India recognised as the best in Asia for Advertising Effectiveness, Digital Strategy and Media Strategy at the highest, most respected forum in Asia the AME Awards. This achievement belongs to our clients as much as it belongs to our people. The Wins: GOLD 1. Effectiveness - Charities, Public Health & Safety & Public Awareness Messages: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars 2. Digital Strategy - Charities, Public Health & Safety & Public Awareness Messages: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars 3. Digital Strategy - Lifestyle: Ilha de Calma Daman & Diu Tourism SILVER 1. Effectiveness - Small Budget Marketing Campaign: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars 2. Effectiveness - Sustained Success: The Joy Exchange - The Akanksha Foundation 3. Digital Strategy - Digitally Integrated Campaign: Ilha de Calma Daman & Diu Tourism 4. Digital Strategy - Social: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars 5. Digital Strategy - Video: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars 6. Media Strategy - Charities, Public Health & Safety & Public Awareness Messages: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars 7. Media Strategy-Branded Content: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars BRONZE 1. Effectiveness - Charities, Public Health & Safety & Public Awareness Messages: A For Anthem, The Akanksha Foundation 2. Media Strategy - Digital Media: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars 3. Media Strategy - Small Budget Media Campaign: A for Anthem, Akanksha Foundation 4. Media Strategy - Social: #EndAcidSale Make Love, Not Scars The AMES Conference and Awards was held today, May 31, 2016 at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. The AMES has earned its stripes over the years in the industry across Asia Pacific and is a significant platform for agencies and clients involved in effective brand strategy and strategic brand solutions. The annual awards are evaluated by a panel of top client and agency professionals who review the submissions against stringent criteria to determine the winners. Arvind Fashion Brands recently announced its joint venture partnership with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to launch an iconic premium mens wear apparel and accessories brand called True Blue. Today True Blue announces the launch of its debut store at High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel. True to its name, the brand re-interprets traditional Indian heritage in the modern context, making it relevant to the spirit of the global Indian - a modern traditionalist - comfortable in his skin and someone who seamlessly blends - in either New Delhi or New York. Rajiv Mehta, CEO, Arvind Fashion Brands Limited commented, Menswear is the largest segment in Indias apparel market, accounting for approximately 42% of the overall market and is expected to grow consistently at a CAGR of 8.5% over the next 5 years. Upwardly mobile and contemporary fashion aspiring men with India on their sleeve, aging 25-40 are the biggest spenders in this space and thats who True Blue would love to cater to. With True Blue, we are in the process of making the usual boring and unexplored to its potential mens wear category unboring and more content fashion driven. He further added These customers are shopping on the go as per the need of the hour. We want to make ourselves available everywhere anywhere and anytime. Hence, this offline launch comes strategically in conjunction with Arvinds most recent launch of Indias first true omni channel business initiative NNNow.com. Were making True Blue available for you through offline and online channels exclusively at NNNow.com The apparel range designed and led by Sachins persona will showcase 300 styles inspired from the heart of India and is priced at INR 1,199 onwards. As this partnership with Arvind and Sachin Tendulkar grows, True Blue will launch 25-30 stores across India and will target a turnover of approximately INR 200 crores in the next 5 years. At the launch of his own brand True Blue, Sachin Tendulkar added Theres so much unexplored India in mens wear fashion and I had a very specific line of thought for True Blue. Its unique to the point that you can discover vintage prints hidden under the collar, bundis and blazers in classic celebratory tones with Indian heritage prints, polos with heritage motifs and other very interesting detailing. It truly embodies the spirit of the global Indian and youll see a fascinating design theory in each garment. Working on the design philosophy with the team at Arvind has been highly inspirational for me and youll be able to see that in my collection at the store and on NNNow.com The 10th edition of Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards, hosted in Manila was dominated by MullenLowe Lintas Group, India, which won the Agency of the Year title for the third year running. It is the first time an agency has been crowned Agency of the Year for three consecutive years. Overall, the MullenLowe Group also put up a strong show as it was named Network of the Year with winning performances by MullenLowe Singapore, MullenLowe Vietnam and MullenLowe Philippines too. MullenLowe Lintas Group, India bagged a rich haul of 15 awards, including the Special Award for Lifebuoy - Help a Child Reach 5 under the Best of the Decade category and a Grand Prix for Lifebuoy - Future Child under the Family-oriented Brand category. Apart from these, the agency also won 4 Gold awards, 4 Silver awards and 5 Bronze awards across various categories. On the network front, MullenLowe Group won a total of 22 awards, including the 15 awards that were won by India. The other awards include MullenLowe Vietnam winning a Gold for OMO Gallery of Dreams, while MullenLowe Singapore won 3 Bronze awards for its work on OMO TET Coming Home and MullenLowe Philippines winning two Bronze awards for Surf Labahan and 1 Bronze award for Selecta Bisita. The only regional award of its kind, the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards honours brands that deliver business results while promoting a positive societal value brands from around Asia that celebrate human truths, inspire purpose, and effect real change. Commenting on the achievement, Joseph George, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group India, said, Its been a dream run for us this year with a stream of accolades at award shows that recognise effectiveness. Tambuli is special for us and this win reaffirms our brand building philosophy of doing well by doing good. We thank the jury for the trust they showed in our work and also our clients whove partnered us in making this achievement possible. The Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards began in Manila in 2005, and opened up to the Asia Pacific region in 2012. The Tambuli (a native Filipino horn) is organised by the School of Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) in collaboration with the industry, to create positive impact in society through marketing communications. F-15s reinforce defense capability at Arctic Fighter Meet The 48th Fighter Wing trained alongside the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish air forces from May 23-27 during exercise Arctic Fighter Meet 2016. Seven jets from the 492nd and 493rd Fighter Squadrons were brought to Norway to conduct basic fighter maneuvers with dissimilar aircraft to improve combined air operations. "Back home we are training against like aircraft, other F-15s," explained Maj. Nick Norgaard, the Arctic Fighter Meet 2016 project officer. "The opportunity that is unique here is that we get to train with F-18s, F-16s and Gripens. That allows us to get a different perspective on how other aircraft maneuver because when we go to war, we don't expect to fight other F-15s." This training exercise allowed forward-based U.S. Airmen and aircraft from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, to train with NATO allies and European partners, building on skill sets and improving every nation's ability to seamlessly work together. "There are always challenges, that's why we do training like this," said Royal Norwegian Air Force Col. Baard Reidar Solheim, the Bod Main Air Station commander. "We are getting better every time. To have different types of jets work together from different nations, there will always be different things to think about and different ways of doing things." Training regularly with other nations improves the U.S. Air Force's interoperability with fellow air forces and increases all NATO allies and partner nations' overall ability to respond to crises together. Air Force trailblazer returns to Ramstein after 54 years It doesnt happen often but occasionally Airmen get the opportunity to meet an Airman who, in 1947, was there when the Air Force first stood on its own -- those trailblazers who laid the first bricks of airpower on the long blue line. Retired Chief Master Sgt. Kenneth Andrews, who served at Ramstein Air Base from 1959 to 1962, started his 30-year Air Force career in 1947. He recently took advantage of the opportunity to come back to Europe to visit family and a familiar sight -- the air traffic control tower. What an eye opener this has been to see whats happened in the last 50 years, Andrews said. If someone were to blindfold me and set me down here I would not recognize this place as Ramstein; its changed that much. The former air traffic controller had the opportunity to serve in several combat roles including in Vietnam. His stories were told as if they happened yesterday; the details still clear to him. Vietnam was a different situation. We would have maybe 50 airplanes taxiing out for departure and coming in at one time, Andrews said. As one aircraft was taking off, the other was taxiing right behind it. Every morning it looked like the whole airport was headed out to the runway. I would go into meetings and tell them we were violating every rule in the book it was the only way to make the operation work and have that many airplanes out there. Andrews and his grandson, Lt. Col. Michael Andrews, toured the tower and met other controllers, including Airman 1st Class Paige Goulette, who was testing for her Air Traffic Control 5-level upgrade training that day. She stuck close to the side of the retired chief, hanging on to every word of every story he told during his visit. When we were briefed (Andrews) worked here from 59-62 we were all so excited up here in the tower. I think its extremely humbling to listen to someone talk about the area you work and the way things were more than 50 years ago, Goulette said. I think the moment he told us he was here when the Berlin Wall was being built really made us realize how different the world was back when he was controlling traffic. The equipment Andrews was working with as a controller was far different than the equipment being used today. The stories he shared with Goulette and others showed just how far avionics and other advances in the air traffic controlling realm have come. After hearing the equipment he worked with it really made us take a step back, Goulette said. I don't ever think we can understand how hard this job was when he worked as a controller, but we can try to imagine and we all have the utmost respect for him and all that he's done. As Andrews departed the tower he shook the hands of every tower controller and thanked them for all they continue to do for the Air Force. I would do it all over again tomorrow, said Andrews, as he made his way toward the door. A gunners tale: 100th Bomb Group veteran shares memories of war Lewis Herron, a 100th Bombardment Group veteran, enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps when he was 18 years old. By the time he was 19, he was overseas dodging enemy fire. The first thing we did when we landed and parked the airplane was get out and count how many holes we had in it, either from fighters or from flak, said the 90-year-old former staff sergeant. One day we counted 103 holes in our airplane. Danger zone Stationed with the 350th Bomb Squadron at Royal Air Force Thorpe Abbots, near Diss, England, Herron was a tail gunner on the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and flew 33 missions on his aircraft, nicknamed Heaven Sent. The 100th Bomb Group performed a mission to Warsaw, Poland, he recalled. We went in over Warsaw at 10,000 feet, dropping supplies to the Polish underground, but then we didnt have enough gasoline to get back to England, so we flew on into Russia, landed there and spent the night. In a Skype interview April 20, the veteran described how the next morning he and the rest of his crew loaded up their aircraft with bombs, and deployed their ordnance on a railroad bridge in Budapest, Hungary, on their journey home. We got credit for two missions after that trip, he said. Each aircraft was accompanied by a nine-person crew made up of a bombardier, navigator, pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, radio operator, ball turret gunner, waist gunner, and tail gunner. The same crew stayed together on all missions. When we got together and our crew was formed, the only ones who didnt know exactly what they were going to be doing were the gunners. One of the other guys was real short, so I said hed be a good one for the ball turret gunner, who sits underneath the airplane, Herron said. The other two looked at me, and I said, Well, if nobody wants it, Ill take the tail; Id like to have that. So it was my choice. Herron had an idea hed be a tail gunner when he first joined the Army Air Corps. We were in training in the States, and every chance Id get Id crawl back to the tail of the airplane and ride back there, he chuckled. I was kind of fascinated with being back there -- it was a good place to be, but of course it was one of the most dangerous places on the aircraft. Boxed in Being positioned in the rear of the B-17 meant the tail gunner was constantly squashed up in an extremely small space. The only way I could be in there was on my knees; I would kneel down and I had a seat that was tilted at an angle that I could rest my hips on, he said. I had to be in the kneeling position to fly back there; it was that cramped. From the edge of my shoulders to the edge of the aircraft was about 6 to 8 inches; I was pretty much boxed in. The veteran then held up a photo taken in 2015 at a reunion for 100th BG members, which took place in Louisiana. The photo showed two square D tails, one with the original tail markings on a B-17, and the second displayed on one of the 100th Air Refueling Wings KC-135 Stratotankers. Right there in the back is where I was at; you can see the twin-50s (M2HB .50 caliber machine gun) that I fired, he said, proudly. Most of the missions, he said, lasted around nine hours. The one we made to Russia was 11 hours, 20 minutes -- that was the longest flight that we had, Herron said. But I wasnt back in the tail the entire time; that was the flying time. Service before self The 100th BG suffered heavy losses, earning them their nickname of The Bloody Hundredth. Despite this, the men willingly continued to carry out the missions, knowing each time that this might be their last. That was always the thought -- will we make it back or not? Herron recalled. We had some that were fairly easy and others that were extremely rough, but we always made it back every time. The hardest trip we ever had to make was to a synthetic oil refinery in Merseburg, Germany. His very first combat mission was Aug. 26, 1944, to Ruhland, Germany. One memory from his early missions was of how cold it was. It was never less than 60-below-zero up there and our aircraft werent insulated or heated, so not only were you on oxygen for six or seven hours, you had all that dreaded cold which was pretty hard to take, he said. We had electrically heated suits, like an electric blanket people have on their bed. That kept us fairly warm, but of course back in the tail of the aircraft where I was at were all the nooks and crannies of the aircraft -- it was like a wind tunnel back there. Today, the date of Sept. 11 brings to mind horrifying memories of terrorist attacks. Back in 1944, Sept. 11 also brought tragedy when the 100th BG sent up its usual 36 aircraft. Thirteen of those were from Herrons squadron, the 350th Bomb Squadron. All 13 got shot down. There were five (sets of) crew living in each of the barracks. The other four from our barracks flew that day, but we didnt because wed flown three days before and were supposed to fly three days after that. So they gave us a day of rest. We had 20 empty beds in our barracks that night, Herron said. There had been 25 of us that had lived together for several months, and then all of a sudden 20 of them were gone. Price of freedom Tragedy continued when the tail gunner and the rest of his crew flew a mission to Merseburg on Nov. 2, 1944. The 3rd Division went to Europe that day; we lost more than 40 aircraft over that one path. We didnt get the job completely finished so we had to go back Nov. 27 and the anti-aircraft shot down 56 B-17s, he said. The former tail gunner explained that a bomb group formation was made up of 36 aircraft going up each day they flew a mission. On Dec. 30, 1944, the 100th BG flew a mission to Hamburg, Germany. This time, 10 of the 36 aircraft were shot down. Herron said as they flew each mission, he and the rest of his aircrew tried to concentrate on just getting the job done and getting back home again, though it was always in the back of their minds that they might not make it out alive. Royal Air Force Mildenhalls KC-135s, which proudly bear the square D heritage symbol on their tail, dont carry parachutes. Back in the days of the B-17, parachutes were carried on board. They were a chest-type chute; you had the harness on but the parachute itself was down by the side of you, Herron explained. I would reach over and grab mine, then snap it on before I got ready to bail out. We also had canteen cups we used for drinking our coffee in the mess hall, and sometimes I would take mine out to the airplane with me right before I was ready to go out on a mission, and would put it down by my side where I sat, he continued. One day, this piece of shrapnel came up from the bottom of the airplane and made a big hole in the canteen cup. It rattled around and scared me to death. On returning to base, the tail gunner went straight to the supply sergeant to ask for a replacement. He asked me why, so I held it up and said, It wont hold coffee anymore, he said, laughing. The sergeant told me that before I could get a new one, I had to turn the old one in -- but I told him, No, Im keeping that as a souvenir. Herron said he kept that canteen cup for 50 years, before finally donating it to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Savannah, Georgia. Honoring the past Another part of the shared heritage between the 100th ARW and 100th BG is Maj. Robert Rosie Rosenthal. The 100th Operations Group auditorium was renamed in May 2012 after the man who also happened to be Herrons squadron commander. He was a great guy. He only had to fly 25 missions, and once hed completed them he let the boys go home. But then he said, Give me a new crew -- I want to keep flying, Herron said, adding Rosie flew a total of 52 missions. By that time he was a squadron commander and got to pick and choose; but he wouldnt pick the easy missions, he would only pick the hard ones, he continued. So when they came in at 2 a.m. to wake us up to fly a mission, the first question we would ask was, Whos leading the group today? If they said it was Rosie, we would groan because it was going to be a bad, bad mission. The tail gunners final mission -- he flew 33 -- was Jan. 10, 1945. In a way to honor its heritage, the 100th ARW is the only flying unit that bears the historical markings of the 100th BG and Bloody Hundredth on its aircraft. It makes me feel real good, it really does, Herron said, his voice breaking with emotion. Im real proud of the fact they still kept the 100th Bomb Group designation -- thats quite a treat and an honor, I think, to still have a logo up in the air today. State Street globale di Exchange ha rilasciato i risultati della fiducia State Street Investor Index ( ICI ) per maggio 2016. L'ICI globale e sceso a 106,6, in calo di 2,0 punti rispetto al dato di aprile di 108.6. Il calo della fiducia e stato guidato da una diminuzione nel Nord America ICI da 114 a 109. Al contrario, l'ICI asiatico e aumentato di 4,1 punti a 112,1, mentre l'ICI europeo e aumentato 95,4-96,8. IL TESTO INTEGRALE DELLA RICERCA Investor Confidence Falls in May by 2.0 Points to 106.6 BOSTON, May 31, 2016 - State Street Global Exchange today released the results of the State Street Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for May 2016. The Global ICI decreased to 106.6, down 2.0 points from April's revised reading of 108.6. The decline in sentiment was driven by a decrease in the North American ICI from 114 to 109. By contrast, the Asian ICI increased by 4.1 points to 112.1 while the European ICI rose from 95.4 to 96.8. The Investor Confidence Index was developed by Kenneth Froot and Paul O'Connell at State Street Associates, State Street Global Exchange's research and advisory services business. It measures investor confidence or risk appetite quantitatively by analyzing the actual buying and selling patterns of institutional investors. The index assigns a precise meaning to changes in investor risk appetite: the greater the percentage allocation to equities, the higher risk appetite or confidence. A reading of 100 is neutral; it is the level at which investors are neither increasing nor decreasing their long-term allocations to risky assets. The index differs from survey-based measures in that it is based on the actual trades, as opposed to opinions, of institutional investors. "In May, we saw a continued decline in Global and North American investor sentiment driven by weak earnings in the United States, renewed Fed hawkishness and uncertainty associated with the upcoming US presidential elections", commented Jessica Donohue, executive vice president and chief innovation officer, State Street Global Exchange." "The regional breakdown of our investor confidence index this month reveals an interesting story, with confidence rising in both Asia and Europe," commented Ken Froot. "While strong policy support in China fuels the country's economic growth, fears of Chinese Yuan devaluation--along with elevated debt levels--may give investors pause. Risk aversion remains central in Europe as investors doubt the efficacy of policy makers and anxiously anticipate the outcome of the UK referendum." About the State Street Investor Confidence Index The index is released globally at 10 a.m. Eastern time in Boston on the last Tuesday of each month. More information on the State Street Investor Confidence Index is available at http://www.statestreet.com/ideas/investor-confidence-index.html. About State Street Corporation State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $27 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $2 trillion* in assets under management as of March 31, 2016, State Street operates in more than 100 geographic markets worldwide, including the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, visit State Street's website at www.statestreet.com. * Assets under management include approximately approximately $32.6 billion as of March 31, 2016, for which State Street Global Markets, LLC, an affiliate of SSGA, serves as the marketing agent. Total force Airmen support European theater security package After two months of being split across four countries, approximately 250 U.S. Air Force and Massachusetts Air National Guard Airmen from the 131st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron reunited at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria, May 27. The Airmen, originally assigned to the 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, deployed to the European theater April 3, as part of a theater security package to Iceland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Bulgaria in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Four of the 104th FWs F-15C Eagles and nearly 100 Airmen deployed to Keflavik Air Base, Iceland, to augment Icelandic Air Surveillance under the TSP designation. At the same time, eight F-15s and 150 personnel deployed to Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands, to participate in Frisian Flag 2016 and conduct training alongside NATO allies and partners. A few of the 131st EFSs F-15s, at both locations, are on loan from the 144th FW at Fresno ANG Base, California. While deployed to Keflavik AB, the California guardsmen acted as rotational stateside total force Airmen reinforcing existing U.S. Air Force capabilities to show a forward presence in Europe. Since 2008, the U.S. Air Force has conducted an air surveillance mission there as part of NATOs commitment to Icelands security and defense. The IAS mission compared to the alert mission in Massachusetts, said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Beckel, the 131st EFS detachment commander for the Icelandic mission. We were sitting with live loaded jets ready to intercept in the region if needed, he said. Members of the 131st EFS at Leeuwarden AB commenced flying operations April 11-16, participating in Frisian Flag under the scope of OAR. The multinational, large-force operation included personnel and aircraft from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Finland, Poland, Norway, U.K., Germany and Australia. Guardsmen stationed at Keflavik AB later forward deployed to Amari AB, Estonia, while guardsmen stationed at Leeuwarden AB forward deployed to Bulgaria. In conjunction with OAR, at Amari AB, Estonia, the wings F-15Cs flew alongside Estonian Defense Forces L-39 Albatross, Royal Air Forces Typhoon FGR4 and Polish Air Forces Su-22. They also participated in Estonias exercise Spring Storm from May 2-20, which represented the countrys largest of its kind this year, comprising of approximately 6,000 soldiers and personnel from nine NATO countries. It was an air-to-ground exercise, and our mission was to provide top cover for the forces on the ground, said Lt. Col. Matthew Woodfield, a 131st EFS F-15 pilot. It depended on the day which side we would be on good or bad. Working out of Bulgaria, 104th FW fighter pilots are currently participating in Thracian Flag, an exercise featuring Bulgarian Air Force MIG-29s, SU-25s and L-39s and ground-based air defense in integrated flying scenarios. Its important for us to have U.S. forces here; we are not able to create a realistic tactical picture to fight on our own, said Bulgarian Air Force Lt. Col. Metodi Orlov, the Graf Ignatievo operations officer. The (Air) National Guard is helping us receive a good sense of modern warfare. Lt. Col. David Halasi-Kun, the 131st EFS commander, said when in the Netherlands and now in Bulgaria, his Airmen conducted and will conduct all phases of small- and large-scale air-to-air training. Our goal is to build partnerships with our NATO allies through joint training exercises and operations, he said. Guardsmen arriving from Estonia to Bulgaria will join their 104th FW counterparts and will remain in place until the end of June when the 144th FW takes over the TSP mission utilizing eight Massachusetts F-15s. Living with mental illness has been a harrowing ordeal for Safiatu Kondeh. The 34-year-old, who lives in Kabala, northern Sierra Leone, with her mother and two children, has had to endure conditions almost worse than the disease. Its a spine chilling saga, youth lodged in jail for years because the authorities had suspected them of committing crime but there were no evidence against them. Arresting of Muslim youths on false terror charges are a matter of concern now. Today, its Nisar but if we fail to seek accountability from the authorities then tomorrow it may be some Nilesh or Nelson too. Irony is that, even after the release of a person and proved that he is innocent, no authorities or officers ever questioned for their act to conspire against the innocents. There are hundreds of innocent Muslims in jails, without committing any crime. It is an accepted practice that the police arrests innocent Muslims and brands them as terrorists. After blasts like Mecca Masjid, Parbhani, Jalna, Mumbai local trains and Malegaon twin serial blasts of 2006 and 2008, Muslims were arrested in the name of counter terrorism, locked in jails, tortured and majority of them are still behind bars. Arrested and tortured Muslims do not receive the opportunity to prove their innocence. Nisar was among three men who walked out from Jaipur jail after the Supreme Court acquitted them of all charges, setting aside their life sentence and ordering their immediate release on May 11. They were booked for five blasts onboard trains on the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition that killed two passengers and injured eight. He was just 20 years old when he was imprisoned. Today he is 43. On January 15, 1994, police picked him up near his home in Gulbarga, Karnataka. He was a second-year student in Pharmacy. A police vehicle was waiting. A man showed me his revolver and forced me to get in. The Karnataka Police had no idea about his arrest. This team had come from Hyderabad. They took him to Hyderabad. Thats how his family got to know where he was. His older brother Zaheer-ud-din Nisar has two brothers, two sisters who was working in Mumbai as a civil engineer, was picked up in April that year. His father Noor-ud-din Ahmad left everything to fight a lonely battle to prove his childrens innocence. He didnt see any hope until he died in 2006. Now, there is nothing left. Like Nisar, Zaheer, too, was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released on bail on May 9, 2008 by the Supreme Court on health grounds he was diagnosed with lung cancer in jail. Zaheer says, he could fight the cancer because that was the only way to get his brother out of jail. Police records link the two to five separate bomb blasts in trains at Kota, Hyderabad, Surat, Kanpur and Mumbai in the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993, bomb on the Bangalore Kurla Express, while the train was near Karjat Railway Station, was detected by a passenger who threw it out. Initially, police booked them for a bomb blast that had taken place in October 1993 in a Muslim educational institute in Hyderabad. This case was registered in Abid Road Police station. They were also booked in few unsolved bomb blasts that had taken place in August and September that year. Subsequently, they were booked in the serial train blasts. The only evidence police produced was their alleged custodial confessions the provisions of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) were later invoked to make these admissible. These alleged confessions of Nisar, Zaheer and Yusuf, as per court records, were taken by Hyderabad Police officers at Abid Road Police station. In his alleged confession, police claimed that Nisar accepted his role in planting of Bomb in the compartment of A.P. Express on 06.12.1993 and that he was also having two other bombs which were meant for use in K.K. Express on the same day but because of his ill health, he could not use them. Similarly, the others too had allegedly confessed their role in the train bombings. In these alleged confessions, however, there was no mention of the case in which Nisar, Zaheer and others from Gulbarga were first arrested and brought to Hyderabad. This is not first case of same type. Last month, a Special Mumbai Court discharged all the Muslim men accused in the September 2006 Malegaon blast case. Similarly, Nisaruddin Ahmad was acquitted in the Babri anniversary blast case after spending 23 years in jail. Delhi Police had recently released seven of the 10 suspects held for their alleged involvement in a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror plot. There have been several instances in which innocent Muslim youth were sent behind bars. Most of the police officials and personnel of intelligence bureau are pro- Hindus. The reports appearing in the media of unconfirmed claims by police and intelligence about the involvement of Muslim organizations or persons in each and every act of terror even before an inquiry begin further. Enhance the fear factor in minds of the thinking people, irrespective of religion, caste, colour and race in the country. This has been going on for years even though such claims turn out to be false in most of the cases. Around 72,000 out of 77,000 detained under TADA were released without having been charged or tried. Most of them were tortured with a view to extract confessions from them. Thirteen years after the TADA lapsed, 147 persons are still under detention, for offences under that Act. Similarly, around 3,500 persons in 18 states of India were held under POTA in three years of its existence. Gujarat is the state with the highest number of detentions but one of the 287 people initially held under the act were Muslims. As many as 234 Muslims belonging to various groups are currently lodged in different jails in Assam. The Andhra Pradesh Minority Commission had appointed Ravi Chander as Advocate commissioner to submit factual report on the illegal detention and torture of Muslim youth. Advocate Ravi Chander, in his interim report submitted in November 2007, had clearly mentioned that the Muslim youths were illegally arrested, detained by the police and they were inhumanly tortured, and implicated in false cases. In Maharashtra, the percentage of Muslim jail inmates in all categories is way above their share in the population (Muslim share in population is 10.6%, share in the total prison inmates is 32.4%). When it comes to those in prison for less than a year, Muslims contribute 40.6% of all prisoners in Maharashtra. In Gujarat, the percentage of Muslims in the state is just 9.06% but they make up over a quarter of all jail inmates. Assam, the second highest Muslim populated state in the country, after J&K, has 30.9% Muslims, and here, the percentage of Muslim jail inmates is 28.1%. Even Karnataka, which did relatively better than other states in providing jobs to Muslims, shows the same trends, 17.5% of its jail inmates are Muslim as compared with 12.23% of its population. The government is requested to drop the false cases and immediately release all individuals held without charge under those cases. The time spent in detention should be counted towards time served. The trial, conviction and sentences imposed in cases already completed and must be reviewed in light of the provisions and requirements of ordinary criminal laws and of international standards of justice and fairness. The same principles should be applicable to those still detained or imprisoned under the earlier Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), 1987. If Government or judiciary fails to do justice then in future we might find many innocent youth languishing in jail. People will lose trust in judicial system. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) At a time when reports of African nationals being attacked in the nation have stirred a row, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday courted controversy saying that people of the state are specifically not happy with the behaviour of Nigerians. Pareskar said, People of Goa are not happy with Nigerians. Goans, in general, are complaining about these foreigners, we get people from all other countries, but in general, people of Goa are really annoyed with their behaviour, attitude. In the recent past, incidents of African nationals being attacked in various parts of the nation have been reported and have instigated a huge debate over security issues. External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday met a delegation of African students to address their grievances where she condemned the killing of a Congo student (Oliver) as heinous and unacceptable, but denied the charges of racial attack. Over a dozen African nationals were attacked in Rajpkhurd village of Chhatarpur, South Delhi on Wednesday night. It is learnt locals objected to the free lifestyle of these men and women who stayed in the area. There were four attacks within a span of an hour, sources said, which hint the attacks may have been organised and pre-planned. Four men and two women have been injured in the attacks and are admitted in hpsital. The Delhi Police on Friday registered four FIRs in the case. All four complainants, in their 30s, have been residing in Delhi for past few years, police said. Just like Hannibal in ancient times, Swiss engineers have conquered the Alps. More than 2,200 years after the commander from the ancient North African civilization of Carthage led his army of elephants and troops over Europes highest mountain chain, Swiss leaders have completed another gargantuan task and on time: Burrowing the worlds longest railway tunnel under the Swiss Alps to ease trade and congestion in European trade and travel. Switzerland on Wednesday inaugurated the Gotthard Railway Tunnel, a major engineering achievement deep under snow-capped peaks carried out over 17 years at a cost of 12.2 billion Swiss francs ($12 billion). Many tunnels today crisscross the Swiss Alps, and Gotthard Pass already has two the first, also a railway tunnel, was built in 1882. But the Gotthard Base Tunnel is a record-setter: It eclipses Japans 53.8-kilometer Seikan Tunnel as the worlds longest and bores deeper than any other tunnel, running about 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) underground at its maximum depth. The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease roadway traffic and draw cargo from pollution-spewing lorries trucking between Europes north and south. Once it opens for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel will take up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day. Swiss planners have dreamt of such a tunnel for decades. And it should have an impact far beyond Switzerland for decades to come. Switzerland has pulled out the stops for Wednesdays inauguration. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi are all on hand for a glitzy celebration featuring musical bands, dancers and even a tunnel theme song. The EU turnout is little surprise: The project, while cutting a north-south axis through central Switzerland, has received financial support and industrial know-how from around the European Union. Though Switzerland isnt one of the blocs 28 members, the EU railway network will get a major boost from the shortcut through the Alps notably on the route from Germany to Italy. Vartak threatens to file defamation case against Ashish Khetan and AAP. Abhay Vartak spokesperson of Sanatan Sanstha has rubbished all allegations made by AAP leader Ashish Khetan holding the outfit and Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) responsible for the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar. Vartak added that political parties have always been making baseless allegations against Sanatan Sanstha without providing any proof. He said that such allegations will pose a threat to the democracy and added that Sanatan Sanstha will file a defamation case against Khetan and AAP. When asked as to whether Ashish Khetans allegations on social media had some semblance of truth to it, Vartak replied, Of course not. These statements (by Khetan) on social media definitely show that he has commented without any proof or actual investigation being launched into the matter. We will take our own stance on this issue as nothing has been proved in concrete as of yet by the authorities. And on further questioning as to whether his party would launch a counter-case against AAP, Vartak said, Such allegations on social media are definitely a danger to democracy and the nation. We are appalled by it and would definitely take steps to launch a defamation case against Khetan and AAP. Earlier, Ashish Khetan had posted messages on social media and mentioned that Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Jangruti Samiti had perpetrated the murder of Dabholkar. Khetan added that investigation agencies have identified the culprits responsible for Dabholkars murder. He had named four members of the Sanatan Sanstha Sarang Akolkar, Rudra Patil, Jaiprakash Hegde and Praveen Limkar behind the murder. All four have been absconding since 2008. Ashish Khetan tweeted, Right wing group Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliate wing Hindu Janajagruti Samiti are behind the murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar. Agencies have cracked the case. Sadhaks of Sanatan Sanstha and HJS behind Dr Dabholkars murder have been identified. Sanatan Sanstha had carried out bomb blasts in Maharashtra and Goa. Even though agencies had demanded for a ban to be imposed on Sanatan Sanstha but the erstwhile Democratic Front government had failed to take action against the organisation, he added. Khetan nonetheless failed to disclose the sources from where he received this information and didnt provide any documentary evidence in support of his claim. Narendra Dabholkars son Hamid Dabholkar said, Mr. Khetans allegations confirm our suspicions which we, along with the kin of Mr. Pansare and Mr. Kalburgi, have been expressing for a long time that the murders are the handiwork of extreme rightwing elements. The State government ought to wake up at least now and reveal the names of the assailants, he said. The CBI on Wednesday searched the house of an alleged Sanatan Sanstha member Sarang Akolkar, wanted by the NIA in the Goa blast case, in Pune, in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. CBI sources said besides Akolkars house in Pune, searches were on at the premises of Virendra Singh Tawde in Panvel near Mumbai in connection with the Dabholkar assassination case. Leader of opposition in the state assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said, The BJP government lacks political will to bring the culprit responsible for Narendra Dabholkars murder to book. The party is shielding Santan Sanstha and the investigation process too is moving at a slow pace. The revelation made by Ashish Khetan needs to be taken seriously and the government must probe this case. Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune when he had gone for a morning walk in Pune. Even though three years have passed ever since Dabholkar was murdered but police have failed to crack this case. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was willing for a dialogue with Israels newly-appointed defence minister, if the latter accepts the principle of the two-state solution, the media reported on Wednesday. Abbas made the remarks in a meeting on Tuesday with several mayors of Israeli cities. It was Abbas first reaction to the appointment of Lieberman as defence minister in Israel on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. Lieberman, chairman of the far right-wing Israeli Party Israel Batino (Israel is our home), is well-known for adopting radical thoughts against the Arabs and the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, mainly against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Islamic Hamas movement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement to join Liebermans party into his coalition. Our judgements are not made in accordance to their factional or racial ideologies and beliefs, but according to their positions in their governments in relation to the peace process, Abbas said. During Israels experience in peace over the past 40 years, we learned that the right-wing in Israel can only make peace. However, Lieberman and Netanyahu said in a joint news briefing that they accept the two-state solution and ready to negotiate with the Arab states on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative made during the Arab Summit held in Beirut in 2002. It is necessary to make a good use of the Arab peace initiative in order to make a comprehensive peace, Abbas said. Fifty-seven Arab and Islamic states will be willing to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel, he said. Terming the massive fire at Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon as something abnormal, NDA ally Shiv Sena smelt sabotage behind it and asked the Centre to own up responsibility for the loss of lives and the huge stockpile of ammunition there. Our enemies like Pakistan and China must have been very happy to hear that a huge stockpile of ammunition has got destroyed in the fire. There would not have been so much loss even in a war. Our government only expresses sorrow over the loss of lives and order inquiries. It is shameful that there are laxities on matters related to the nations security, Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana. If army personnel are struggling at the borders and there are not enough weapons for them, who is responsible? The government cannot shirk off its responsibilities. This fire was not normal and has raised many doubts and questions, it said. At least 18 people, including army personnel, were killed after a massive fire on Tuesday broke out at one of Asias biggest ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district of Maharashtra that houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country. The Sena mouthpiece further said the way corruption cannot be tolerated in the AgustaWestland deal, fires in ammunition depot cannot be condoned. Earlier there were incidents in submarines, and now there is a fire in an ammunition depot. Why do these kinds of incidents keep happening? If they happen due to negligence then who is in a slumber with regards to national security? If it is happening due to a sinister plot, it is difficult to imagine the extent of power of our enemies, it said. North Korea has backed presumptive U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as a prescient presidential candidate who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North. A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic states mouthpieces, described Trump as a wise politician and the right choice for U.S. voters in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. It described his most likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as thick-headed Hillary over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula. Trump instead has told he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang`s nuclear programme, and that China should also help solve the problem. North Korea, known officially as the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea (DPRK), is under U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear tests. South Korea and the United States say its calls for dialogue are meaningless until it takes steps to end its nuclear ambitions. DPRK Today also said Trump`s suggestion that the United States should pull its troops from South Korea until Seoul pays more was the way to achieve Korean unification. It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate, said the column, written by a China-based Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk. DPRK Today is among a handful of news sites run by the isolated North, although its content is not always handled by the main state-run media. It said promising to resolve issues on the Korean peninsula through negotiations and not war was the best option for America, which it said is living every minute and second on pins and needles in fear of a nuclear strike by North Korea. The North has for years called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the South as the first step towards peace on the Korean peninsula and demanded Washington sign a peace treaty to replace the truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Its frequently strident rhetoric also often threatens nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States. By Dan Olmsted Hey everybody tell your psychiatrist to call me --I need help in a hurry. Well sort of Im renewing my request for a member in good standing of the American Psychiatric Association to request some material for me from the APA library. The library is perfectly happy for me to go that route they just need a member request. Email: Olmsted.dan@gmail.com. Another request Id like to speak to someone who knows enough chemistry to talk me through arsenic and its variations in a fairly detailed way. Again, please email me. -- How are you liking our redesign? I like the overall look and feel a lot, but there are tweaks to come, and we want everyones viewpoint as we go about it. For reference sake (and because Im kind of proud of it!) here is my original sketch for the new look that we adopted last week. As you can see, I have no one to blame but myself, as what we ended up with is a pretty faithful rendering. But there is something a little loose, at least to my eye, about the way it looks on the actual screen. Its not quite as elegant as Id like it to be. Is the type too big? The logo too small? Should we move up the comments on the right and move down the search function? In all of this the goal is to create a clear and calm and intelligent, and irreverent, and funny, and moving, and all that -- corner of the world for like-minded people to hang out (and for the rest of the world to slowly be convinced we are right). Just dont suggest messing with the red i, as in iconoclast. --Do you know that feeling when a cold is coming on but hasn't quite arrived? A certain scratchiness in the back of the throat, that first sneeze that kind of hurts your ears not your normal idle sneeze sneeze followed by the desire to watch Law and Order SVU reruns and rustle around for that last can of chicken soup in the pantry? I have perfected a version of this early warning system when it comes to articles that are heading in the direction of mentioning vaccines and autism as a crazy conspiracy theory. I can feel it coming on well before it arrives.Usually they start with a mention of our susceptibility to Internet nonsense Ahhhhhh --- and then talk about global warming deniers Ahhhhhhhhhhh and then come right out and tell me what an idiot I am for thinking there is a connection between vaccines and autism CHOOOOOOO!Here is the latest rhinovirus: I subscribed to The Week recently, a small newsmagazine that I hoped would serve up information without too much spin, spice and slant added. And generally, it delivers. But the editors letter this week began this way: Weve been a paranoid country from pretty much the beginning. . Ahhhhhhhhh . Long before the 9/11 truthers and the Obama birthers . Ahhhhhhhh . the black helicopter and the grassy knoll --- AHHHHHHHH conspiracy theories were woven into our political fabric.By now Im anticipating the sneeze, arent you? It comes at the end of the paragraph. People who scoff at the notion that Barack Obama is secretly a Muslim may believe that vaccines cause autism or that the government is hiding evidence of alien visitations to Earth.CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!Why oh why must publications I pay good money for put me in between Obama-is-a-Muslim and space aliens have landed? Why must they make my throat tickle, my ears hurt why must they make me sneeze uncontrollably? Why?--Speaking of press coverage, I hate hearing how our veterans deserve so much better which they do when the handfuls of bad drugs the government has given them are never, ever mentioned as a reason they are so bad off.This especially goes for Lariam, or mefloquine, which Ive written about many times and will only mention here as a case in point. It is known to trigger suicide; that risk is known to last forever; tens of thousands of U.S. troops were ordered to take it in Iraq (briefly) and Afghanistan (for many years); now the military has backed off using it; and there is no question that there is a fearsomely high suicide rate among veterans.Is the logic so hard to follow here? An urgent effort to stop suicides by veterans needs to look at mefloquine and other drugs soldiers were given. And it needs to do what are called forensic case histories to try to understand the role theyve played in the thousands of deaths that have already occurred deaths that deserve to be compensated as service-related injuries.A decent government would have put that issue squarely on the table by now, if for no other reason than an aggressive press would have forced them to. There have been plenty of suicides directly due to Lariam, and there will be many more, in large measure because those with the responsibility and in some cases, the culpability would rather talk about warm hugs and faster wait times. Yes, by all means, hug more and work faster, but dont forgot we gave these folks a drug that causes suicide and now they are killing themselves!At least were a bit ahead of Canada and Britain. Thestar.com reported this week:A controversial drug that has been given to thousands of Canadian soldiers and is still in use in the military was deemed too risky for British troops in a landmark report released TuesdayThe report by MPs on the U.K. parliamentary defence committee recommended that the British military use the anti-malaria drug mefloquine only as a drug of last resort, due to the risk of severe psychological side effects. -- Laura Hayes offered her take on Memorial Day this year. I admire her moral clarity a great deal: Those of us who are parents of vaccine-injured and vaccine-killed children often reflect not only on those who have fallen in the line of duty on Memorial Day, but also how our children have fallen at the hands of our very own government and medical community. Memorial Day often causes us to reflect on all that our children, and families, have lost, due to vaccinations, vaccine propaganda, vaccine mandates, and non-stop vaccine lies that taunt and offend us every single day, be it on TV, at the grocery store, on billboards, in magazines, in hospitals, or at doctors' offices. The vaccine propaganda which has overtaken our country cannot be escaped, and causes daily hurtful reminders of what was done to our children, and what continues to be done to children, despite mountains of evidence that vaccination is a barbaric, dangerous, completely unnecessary, and potentially-fatal procedure. It is not health-inducing in any way, shape, or form. So, as we remember our fallen troops, let us also remember our fallen children, who, if still alive post-vaccination, are struggling greatly, and who have been stripped of living independent, healthy, and full lives. Let us remember that they are plagued with learning, communicating, understanding, and basic living skills challenges, and with chronic autoimmune illnesses...ALL BECAUSE of procedures that were deceitfully sold as protecting and inducing health. Let us also remember that our troops have no opt-outs for the multitudinous vaccinations that are forced on them. Their health, well-being, and longevity have been greatly affected for the worse, too, by these barbaric procedures. As we fight to ban vaccine mandates, let us always be mindful to include banning vaccine mandates for the men and women serving our country in uniform, too! Web Toolbar by Wibiya Date: 29 May, 2016. Place: Yuba City, State of California, United States. Located in the arid lands of northern California, next to the worlds smallest mountain range (the Sutter Buttes, which were named after John Sutter, one of the first men to discover gold in the surroundings of the Sacramento River) Yuba City is a small village with a population of just 65,000 people. However, in the last fifteen years, this town has become one of the fastest growing cities in the whole state, yet its unemployment rates are also among the highest ones (14%). The city also gained fame during the decade of the 60s as a result of the B-52 plane crash that occurred on 14 March, 1961. According to some sources, the craft (which would carry two nuclear bombs) ran out of fuel and ended up crashing 24 kilometres west of Yuba City. Nevertheless, almost 55 year later, another extraordinary incident (much less catastrophic) would take place in the skies of the Californian city. According to an anonymous report published on UFO specialised website MUFON.com, two gigantic star-looking craft were seen hovering above the village. [I was] out smoking looking at Jupiter like I always do [when] instantly appeared above Jupiter 2 gigantic star-looking craft, related the witness. The watcher claimed having called her husband for him to testify the event. I yelled for my husband and for 10 minutes we watched these gigantic stars moving together in unison, she affirmed. She also stated that these lights showed a strange behaviour, changing their flight trajectory a couple of times. They changed direction twice, she wrote in her report. Draw your own conclusions For further information: http://mufoncms.com/cgi-bin/report_handler.pl?req=view_long_desc&id=76685&rnd= Long Description of Sighting Report Out smoking looking at Jupiter like I always do.. Instantly appearing above Jupiter 2 GIGANTIC star looking crafts appeared.. I yelled for my husband and he came out and we watched this gigantic crafts change direction and moved in unison and then instantly disappeared.. WASHINGTON, June 1, 2016 The National Pork Board has selected Bill Even to serve as the organizations next CEO. He takes over on Monday. Even is currently global industry relations lead with DuPont Pioneer, where he has worked in some capacity since 2010. Before then, he served as South Dakota agriculture secretary for three years under then-governor Mike Rounds, who now is a U.S. senator. In a release, Even said he is looking forward to his new job. As a fourth-generation farmer, I have deep, personal knowledge of the challenges facing todays pork producers and I am impressed with and completely support the Pork Checkoffs strategic plan that guides and directs its programs, Even said. I look forward to working on behalf of Americas more than 60,000 pig farmers to build consumer trust, drive sustainable production and grow consumer demand for pork. National Pork Producers CEO Neil Dierks said Even brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job. He added that he look(s) forward to working with him on promoting the interests of Americas pork producers. Do you find the information on Agri-Pulse helpful? See even more ag and rural policy news when you sign up for a four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription. Even holds an associates degree from Lake Area Technical Institute, a bachelors degree from South Dakota State University, and a law degree from Drake University. In addition to his time as South Dakota ag secretary, Even served as the director of the Governors Office of Economic Development and the states energy policy director. He and his family operate a diversified crop and livestock operation near Humboldt, South Dakota. #30 For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com Turkey's Double Standard on Terrorism On May 27, America once again capitulated to Turkey's tantrums regarding support for forces that are battling Islamic State (IS). US commandos are currently advising the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) consisting of Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, Turkmen and Circassian fighters in northern Syria. On Thursday, photos surfaced of US troops sporting the Kurdish YPG insignia on their uniforms, a standard operating procedure when they are embedded with local troops to blend in and enhance their own protection. However, Turkey's AKP regime immediately attacked Washington for "unacceptable" behavior and "applying double standards" in not recognizing YPG as terrorists, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hurling insults that US commandos should also wear IS and Boko Haram patches.[1] In face of this vitriol, Washington submitted to AKP's orders and commanded the Special Forces to remove the insignia, thereby marking them as US troops and compromising their security.[2] Unfortunately, this pattern of allowing Turkey to define who should be America's friends and foes is severely degrading US counter-terrorism efforts. Buchanans warning On observing Turkey's insistence that Kurdish groups such as YPG and others are unpalatable allies for the US in its efforts to combat IS, and its attempts to replace them with al-Qaeda-laced jihadi groups, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan in July 2015 warned the Obama administration that "We must stop allowing our friends to choose our enemies in the Middle East."[3] Buchanan noted that the Iraqi Kurds have been loyal friends of the US since Desert Storm and the Syrian Kurds YPG have been effective fighting boots on the ground against IS. As such, this renders them "de facto allies no matter what the Turks say," while "our enemies are al-Qaeda, which slaughtered 3,000 of our people, and its progeny. Our enemies is IS, which has beheaded Americans, and threatens us, our allies and friends." Buchanan continued: "Turkey's actions demonstrate, as do those of other allies in the region, that their enemies are not always our enemies, and that, as they single-mindedly pursue their national goals, so should we." Indeed, Turkey has been pursuing its own interests and supporting groups -- including Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Al Nusra/Al Qaeda affiliates, and Turkistan Islamic Party -- that are designated terrorists by countries such as Egypt, Israel, China, Russia, the EU and the US. Egypt's terrorists While Ankara expresses outrage toward any sympathy and support for PKK and YPG, it seems to have no qualms in supporting Egypt's designated terrorist group Muslim Brotherhood, which is also recognized as such by Russia and other Arab Gulf states. In fact, the Brotherhood has set up television stations in Ankara with commentators delivering ominous predictions of violence in Egypt, and Cairo accusing Ankara of working with IS on the Sinai Peninsula to destabilize Egypt.[4] Moreover, on 23 July 2015, Cairo identified four agents with Turkey's intelligence agency MiT (Colonel Ismail Aly Bal and operatives Diaa El Din Mehmet Gado, Bakoush Al Hussaini Youzimi and Abd Allah Al Turki), who were linked to IS affiliate in Sinai Ansar Beit Al Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem) that also calls itself Wilayat Sinai, or Sinai Province.[5] Egyptian officials contend Turkish weapons show up in the hands of Ansar Beit Al Maqdis militants. Israels terrorists Turkey also supports the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestinian arm Hamas whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel.[6] In early 2015 amid reports Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal would be expelled from Qatar, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu declared he would be welcome in Turkey whenever he wants.[7] This prompted then State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki to warn "Hamas is a designated foreign terrorist organization...we continue to raise our concerns about the relationship between Hamas and Turkey with senior Turkish officials, including after learning of Mashaal's recent visit there"--in reference to Turkey hosting Mashaal's December visit to an AKP congress in Konya. Mashaal was seen holding hands with the recently ousted Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.[8] German politician Volcker Beck also warned that "a Turkey that sees itself as a partner of Hamas is not a partner of D [Germany] or the EU" and is likely an increasingly illegitimate NATO member, as Israel lodged a complaint to NATO on Turkey providing a base for Hamas to set up headquarters and coordinate attacks against the Jewish state from there.[9] US/EU's terrorists Ankara also supports al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria. On 24 August 2015, Syrian rebels revealed Turkish intelligence tipped Al-Qaeda in Syria (Nusra) to US trained fighters when they entered Syria, and enabled Nusra to snatch many of the 54 graduates of the now defunct $500 million program. An unnamed officer of Division 30, the rebel group the captured unit was supposed to join, revealed "only the Americans and the Turks knew about the plans for the train-and-equip fighters to enter Syria." Captain Ammar al Wawi, spokesman for Division 30, refused to say Turkey had betrayed the operation though he corroborated that only Turkey and the US were aware of the details of the plan to enter Syria. An official from southern Turkey said Ankara leaked the information to Nusra to sabotage the train-and-equip program, hoping the rapid disintegration of the program would force the Americans into expanding the training and arming of Turkey's rebel groups focused on toppling Assad rather than IS.[10] Indeed, America is expanding support for Turkey's anti-Assad Army of Conquest (Jaish al Fath), a jihadi witches brew of al Nusra, Ahrar al Sham and other al-Qaeda affiliates responsible for the massacring of other religious and ethnic minorities in the region. To add insult to injury, Ankara also dismisses the fact that Al Qaeda has the blood on its hands of over 3,000 Americans in 9/11, almost 5,000 American troops in Iraq and over 2,000 US troops in Afghanistan, as well as being a designated terrorist organization in US, EU and various other countries. China's terrorists The Chinese are also outraged at Turkey's support for anti-Chinese militants, as Ankara's Army of Conquest includes the al-Qaeda affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party.[11] The party has claimed responsibility and expressed support for a number of high-profile terrorist attacks in China, including the Kunming train station attack that China dubs its 9/11.[12] Moral hazard of backing AKP regime In a recent Brookings article entitled, "How America enables its allies' bad behavior", Jeremy Shapiro and Richard Sokolsky pointed out how Washington has become so focused on maintaining relationship with so called allies that it has forgotten the original purpose of the relationship --securing US interests.[13] They observed how many US allies are highly dependent on US support --military, economic, diplomatic and intelligence. Yet more often, it is America "that performs the awkward gymnastics, bending over backward to keep relations smooth and assistance flowing." Moreover, this creates a moral hazard wherein US enables its client states' bad behavior and protects them from paying the consequences of their mischief, to the detriment of US national security. One such example they noted is US support for Saudi's indiscriminate bombardment in Yemen that has killed more than 3,000 civilians, displaced 1.3 million others, and empowered Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) that threatens the US homeland.[14] Now US support for Turkey-backed al-Qaeda-laced jihadists is degrading the US-led anti-IS coalition, empowering both Al Qaeda and IS, and destroying US credibility as a leader for global counter-terrorism. In the face of current costs outweighing the benefits of some of these alliance relations, it may behoove Washington to re-evaluate its alliance structure in the changing Middle East. As for Turkey's fury over US troops wearing YPG badges to fight IS while it is supporting so many of other countries' terrorist groups, one wonders if perhaps Ankara should first modify its own behavior before accusing others of supporting terrorism. Notes [1] "US commandos ordered to remove 'inappropriate' YPG patches", Middle East Eye, 27 May 2016, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-commandos-ordered-remove-inappropriate-ypg-patches-1796083604 [2] Krishnadev Calamur, "Reversing Course on U.S. Soldiers Wearing Kurdish Rebel Insignia", The Atlantic, 27 May 2016, http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/05/turkey-us-ypg/484631/ [3] Pat Buchanan, "Now the Turks are all in", 31 July 2015, http://buchanan.org/blog/now-the-turks-are-all-in-16313 [4] Umar Farooq, "Turkey Nurtures Egypt's 'Terrorist' Muslim Brothers", The Daily Beast, 15 April 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html [5] Jacob Wirtschafter and Muhamed Sabry, "Turkey-Egypt feud undercut U.S. hopes for Middle East", The Washington Times, 29 July 2015, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/29/turkey-egypt-feud-undercuts-us-hopes-for-middle-ea/?page=all [6] Jonathan Schanzer, David Andrew Weinberg, "The Turkey-Hamas Nexus: How a NATO member became Hamas' biggest backer", The National Interest, 16 January 2015, http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-turkey-hamas-nexus-12044 [7] "US condemns Turkey-Hamas ties", Jerusalem Post, 9 January 2015, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/US-condemns- Turkey-Hamas-ties-387226 [8] "Davutoglu meets with Hamas leader, vows support for Palestinians", Today's Zaman, 28 December 2014, http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_davutoglu-meets-with-hamas-leader-vows-support-for-palestinians_368218.html [9] Benjamin Weinthal, "Top German MP: Merkel should condemn Turkey for hosting Hamas", The Jerusalem Post, 31 December 2914, http://www.jpost.com/International/Top-German-MP-Merkel-should-condemn-Turkey-for-hosting-Hamas-official-386205; Herb Keinon, "Israel slams Ankara: This is no way for a NATO state to act", The Jerusalem Post, 28 November 2014, http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-slams-Ankara-This-is-no-way-for-a-NATO-state-to-act-383083 [10] James Rosen, Duygu Gevenc and Zakaria Zakarira, "Syrian rebel: Turkey tipped al Qaida Group to U.S.-trained fighters", McClatchy, 25 August 2015, http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42715.htm [11] Mohanad Hage Ali, "China's proxy war in Syria: Revealing the role of Uighr fighters", Al Arabiya, 2 March 2016, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2016/03/02/China-s-proxy-war-in-Syria-Revealing-the-role-of-Uighur-fighters-.html; http://www.longwarjournal.org/tags/turkistan-islamic-party [12] "Nothing justifies civilian slaughter in China's '9-11'", Gobal Times, 2 March 2014, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/845570.shtml#.UxKm_s6xfX4; Qiu Yongzheng, "Turkey's ambiguous policies help terrorists join ISIS jihadist group--analyst", Global Times, 15 December 2014, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/896765.shtml [13] Jeremy Shapiro and Richard Sokolsky, "How America enables its allies' bad behavior", Brookings, 4 May 2016, http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/order-from-chaos/posts/2016/05/04-us-allies-bad-behavior-shapiro-sokolsky [14] Ben Norton, "Saudi coalition massacred 119 Yemenis at market with U.S.-supplied bombs", Salon, 7 April 2016, http://www.salon.com/2016/04/07/saudi_coalition_massacred_119_yemenis_at_market_with_u_s_supplied_bombs/ Dr. Christina Lin is a Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University where she specializes in China-Middle East/Mediterranean relations, and a research consultant for Jane's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Intelligence Centre at IHS Jane's. Aeromexico has appointed Globe Air Cargo, part of the ECS Group, as its general sales and service agent (GSSA) in the Netherlands. With a fleet of more than 120 aircraft, Aeromexico serves more than 75 destinations globally and transported a total of 132,000 tonnes last year. Aeromexico operates 10 flights per week to Madrid, one daily flight to Paris, six to London and, from now on, three to Amsterdam. With 25 weekly operations connecting Mexico and Europe, its wide body capacity is now 700 tonnes of cargo per week. The carrier offers Mexico City, with destinations in the Latin American market that include as Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo, Guatemala City, Panama and Buenos Aires. ECS has "special opportunities" at Amsterdams Schiphol Airport to shorten the transit time for temperature-sensitive goods. Aeromexico and ECS Group started working together in Spain in 1992, and Globe Air Cargo now operates as the carriers full GSSA within the European Union. ECS Group chief operating officer Adrien Thominet said: We are delighted that Aeromexico has chosen Globe Air Cargo to intensify our long-standing partnership, which has proved over the years to be very successful. We have been supporting other destinations of our partner such as Madrid, Paris and London Gatwick on a daily basis. "Now it is time to offer our Dutch customers a direct service and to strengthen Aeromexicos activities in Europe. Aeromexico Cargo, part of Grupo Aeromexico, is a founding member of the SkyTeam Cargo alliance. Aeromexico Cargo revenue has grown 39% in the last two years and its profitability by around 70%, due in part to its new Boeing 787-8 fleet. Share this story May 31, 2016 With Avigdor Liberman appointed as minister of defense, Israel is now debating Liberman's demands for the death penalty for terrorists. At the same time, the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip has been preparing to execute Palestinian criminals. Hamas already executed three Gazans convicted of murder on May 30. On May 26, before the execution of the three Palestinian prisoners, the deputy leader of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, announced that the organization had decided to execute 13 Palestinian prisoners who had been sentenced to death previously. Hamas also announced that the executions would take place publicly in Gaza Citys Palestine Square to serve as a deterrent. Haniyehs announcement sent shockwaves through Palestinian society, pitting Gaza against Ramallah and supporters of the death penalty against its opponents, including the Palestinian Authority. In response to criticism by Gazan human rights organizations, Hamas went back on its plan to conduct the executions in Palestine Square. Instead, Hamas explained that the executions would take place in a closed compound in front of journalists, who will be permitted to photograph and film the events and then air the images to show how Hamas is actively fighting crime. The first execution took place in the Gaza prison. Ever since the 2007 coup in Gaza, the leaders of Hamas have boasted to me about how they have managed to restore order and safety to Gaza after the chaos, which is how they describe the disorder that threatened Palestinian society in the days of PLO leader Yasser Arafat and later, when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ruled the Gaza Strip. The problem that Hamas is now facing is that its own regime is coming under harsh criticism with the sharp increase in local crime. Mustafa Ibrahim, a veteran human rights activist in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, Hamas is under attack and facing very serious public pressure. Since 2007, it has sentenced 73 civilians to death, but only executed 17 of them, mostly for collaboration with Israel. Some of them were executed publicly during Operation Protective Edge, and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades dragged their corpses through the streets. It was a brutal act intended to deter collaboration with the Zionist enemy. Ibrahim, speaking to me before the three Palestinians were executed, said that it was not yet certain who the 13 selected for execution were, but all human rights organizations in Gaza are fervently opposed to the executions. Hamas decision to impose the death penalty on 13 prisoners already sentenced to death is not just the result of public pressure from Gaza residents who want to see their personal security restored. As always, the Hamas decision also has a political aspect. On May 13, Suria al-Badri was murdered. She was the mother of Dr. Bassam al-Badri, Gazas senior medical coordinator who was responsible for sending patients for urgent medical treatment outside of Gaza, some of them to Israel. Badri is a familiar figure in Gaza and identified with the Fatah movement. His mother was killed by his neighbor, Mahmoud al-Hudri. He broke into the Badri home while everyone was supposed to be attending a family event. When Badris mother surprised and recognized him, he stabbed her to death. The murder of the well-known doctors elderly mother sent shock waves throughout the Gaza Strip and provided Fatah activists with reason to attack the Hamas regime. Hamas promised change and reform, Fatah activists mocked, when in fact there has been a sharp rise in cases of armed robbery and murder under its rule. With its image shattered, Hamas felt the need to respond, and this is the motivation for the leaderships rapid decision to execute 13 criminals with TV cameras rolling. According to Hamas, some of the executions will be broadcast live on Al-Aqsa TV. Yes, there were executions in Gaza even under Mahmoud Abbas, Ibrahim said. Five Palestinians were executed in Gaza up until 2005. After that, there was a moratorium on the death penalty. Human rights organizations in Gaza demanded that death sentences never be implemented, as a rule, and that criminals and prisoners accused of treason be granted minimal rights. Our demands were demonstrably ignored until now, and even come under extensive public criticism in Gaza, where we Gaza human rights activists are called 'bleeding hearts.' Ibrahim was quick to stress, Despite all the attacks against us, we believe that Palestinians should act like all the other civilized nations in the world. Palestine was recognized as a state by the institutions of the United Nations, so we must adopt the 2014 UN declaration that executions are immoral. The execution of the three Palestinian prisoners clearly indicates that Hamas did not cave in to the pressure exerted by the human rights organizations. Indeed, even before the news about the execution, Ibrahim argued that Hamas image is so tarnished that it will not relent, and that it will ultimately execute the prisoners. He believes that the 13 will include the murderer Mahmoud al-Hudri, as well as the perpetrators of other killings that shocked the Gaza Strip over the last year. To reduce criticism, Ibrahim claims that several prisoners sentenced to death on charges of collaboration with Israel will also be executed. Human rights activists in Gaza claim that the executions will not keep criminals from committing crimes. They argue that the crime wave in the Gaza Strip is the direct result of Gazas severe economic situation. Unemployment, poverty, desperation and hopelessness are what cause so many young people to descend to crime. Furthermore, so many Palestinians in Gaza use drugs, particularly Tramadol, a painkiller that many Gazans take regularly. The cost of these tablets, which were smuggled in the past into Gaza from Egypt, has gone up consistently with the closing of the tunnels, causing deep crises for those Palestinians who have grown addicted to them. Gaza is a seething pressure cooker that could blow up at any moment, at least according to human rights activists in the Gaza Strip. They say that there is only one thing that Hamas can do about it. It must redirect some of its resources designated for increasing its military power to benefit the people of Gaza suffering from dire poverty and hopelessness. But it wont happen, one human rights activist in Gaza told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. Would you people in Israel reduce your defense budget to help the sick and needy? It wont happen here either. This is how we are destined to live." May 31, 2016 RAMALLAH, West Bank Layla al-Isawi is concerned and fears the Israeli authorities might demolish her familys house in the Issawiya neighborhood of Jerusalem, allegedly because the family did not have a building permit from the municipality. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Isawi, 69, said she was surprised when she found a demolition notice on her door on May 9 after she returned from a visit to Hasharon prison in Israel, where her daughter Shirine is kept. Shirine was arrested on March 6, 2014, and sentenced to four years in prison on charges of providing assistance to prisoners and acting as a facilitator between prisoners and leaders, along with her brother, who was sentenced to eight years in prison. The demolition notice stated that Isawi had 30 days to contact the Israeli authorities about the issue. Isawi has been living in her family home for more than 40 years with her husband and eight children; the ground floor was built in 1969 and the second floor in 1996. She now worries that it will be destroyed, just like the house of her son Raafat, which was demolished on Jan. 1, 2013, under the same pretext of lack of a building permit. Speaking to Al-Monitor, the head of the Jerusalem Legal Aid Center, Issam al-Arouri, said the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem and the Israeli Interior Ministry have been issuing orders to destroy houses and facilities that belong to Palestinians and were built without a permit. The Israeli authorities often refuse to grant building permits to Palestinians. The civil administration in Area C in the West Bank executes these orders. In the rare cases where building is approved by the Israeli authorities, Palestinians are burdened by issuance fees, which may amount to 120,000 Israeli shekels ($32,000). Arouri said, Israel only approves less than 1.5% of Palestinian applications for building permits; this is why they end up building without them. In Jerusalem, Israel issues a lot more demolition orders than building permits. The Israeli authorities speak of 25,000-30,000 houses in Jerusalem that were built without a permit, and therefore might be subject to demolition, without basing the decision on certain specifications. According to statistics published in September 2015 by B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, Israel has partially or completely demolished a total of 1,049 houses between 1999 and 2004 in the West Bank, and 927 houses between 2006 and August 2015. In East Jerusalem, 988 houses built without permits were destroyed between 1999 and 2014, as per BTselem statistics published on Sept. 17, 2015. This came amid talks about over 30,000 houses in Jerusalem without permits, which means Israel only granted permits for a few houses, but there are no statistics in this regard. Since the beginning of the occupation in the West Bank in 1967, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, Israel has adopted the demolition policy under different pretexts, mainly the lack of permits. In an interview with Al-Monitor, international law professor at Birzeit University Hanna Issa said, Israel has been violating international law and resolutions, basing its actions on Article 119 of the British Mandate law, which was abolished right after the inception of the State of Israel in 1948." The article stipulates, A Military Commander may by order direct the forfeiture to the Government of Palestine of any house, structure, or land from which he has reason to suspect the any firearm has been illegally discharged, or any bomb, grenade or explosive or incendiary article illegally thrown, or of any house, structure or land situated in any area, town, village, quarter or street the inhabitants or some of the inhabitants of which he is satisfied have committed, or attempted to commit, or abetted the commission of, or been accessories after the fact of the commission of, any offence against the Regulations involving violence or intimidation or any Military Court offence; and when any house, structure or land is forfeited as aforesaid, the Military Commander may destroy the house or the structure or anything on growing on the land. Where any house, structure or land has been forfeited by order of a Military Commander as above, the High Commissioner may at any time by order remit the forfeiture in whole or in part and thereupon, to the extent of such remission, the ownership of the house, structure or land and all interests or easements in or over the house, structure or land, shall revest in the persons who would have been entitled to the same if the order of forfeiture had not been made and all charges on the house, structure or land shall revive for the benefit of the persons who would have been entitled thereto if the order or forfeiture had not been made. The house demolition policy contradicts UN Security Council Resolution 1544 of 2004, calling on Israel to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law, and insists, in particular, on its obligation not to undertake demolition of homes contrary to that law. The Israeli policy of house demolition also violates Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, stating, Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations; as well as Article 46 of The Hague Convention of 1907, which states, Family honor and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private property cannot be confiscated. Issa explained that Israel destroyed 23,100 homes since 1967 as part of a collective punishment policy against Palestinians, with the aim of emptying regions, especially Jerusalem, for the benefit of the settlers. The house demolition policy was harshly criticized by many international parties on several occasions, with the last one on May 16, when Israeli forces demolished and disassembled 12 EU-built homes in the Bedouin neighborhood in Jabal al-Baba east of Jerusalem, claiming they had been built without Israeli authorization. The incident led Robert Piper, the UN coordinator for humanitarian assistance and development aid for the occupied Palestinian territory, on May 19 to strongly criticize the Israeli move, while the European Union denounced the confiscation and demolition in a statement May 20, and only demanded Israel to put an end to this policy. On Feb. 6, the EU called on Israel to halt the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank, denouncing the destruction of EU-funded houses. In turn, Piper stated in February, Most of the demolitions in the West Bank take place on the spurious legal grounds that Palestinians do not possess building permits. The head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Walid Assaf, spoke to Al-Monitor about the role of the Palestinian Authority, saying, There are 155 Palestinian neighborhoods in Area C that were built without a permit or a structural plan [to organize the phases of construction and cover all of the buildings facades and the infrastructure]. Since 1967, Israel has been refusing to approve any structural plan. The Israeli High Planning Council stipulates that to grant a building permit, the building must fall under a Palestinian structural plan. Therefore, since all structural plans have been rejected, no building will ever be granted the necessary permit and could be destroyed. Assaf said that Israel has intensified demolition operations in the first quarter of this year, with 600 demolitions to date. This figure is higher than the total of 587 demolitions reported last year. Assaf indicated that the commission has been working with EU-affiliated organizations to prepare 103 structural plans for Palestinian neighborhoods in Area C. After submitting them to the Israeli authorities, only three were approved. Meanwhile, the Civil Administration and High Planning Council approved 103 plans for settlers and is now examining 177 new ones. May 31, 2016 Russian Ambassador to Libya Ivan Molotkov recently said that Moscow would be ready to supply the legitimate Libyan government with weapons as soon as the arms embargo against the country is lifted. The statement came after the US-chaired summit in Vienna had agreed to consider a request from the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya to be exempted from a UN arms embargo. The countrys unity government has been calling for international backers to speed up the re-arming of its forces ever since it came to power in January 2016. However, with 31 of its fighters recently killed by the Islamic State (IS), which is gaining stronger on Libyan soil by the day, the request seems especially urgent. Molotkov is not the first Russian diplomat to hint at possible military aid for the Libyan government. In February 2015, Vladimir Churkin, the head of Russias mission to the UN, told journalists that Moscow was considering backing the official government in Tobruk with weapons and if necessary imposing a naval blockade on Libya to prevent the delivery of weapons to jihadists by sea. Since the five-year arms embargo that was upheld by the UN Security Council last year is still in place, it is not entirely clear how serious the Kremlin is about propping the emergent government in Tripoli up with military equipment. After all, it seems that Moscow is too invested in Syria at the moment, and its involvement in a conflict elsewhere in the Middle East could erode its efforts to support President Bashar al-Assad. That is not to say, however, that Russia is unable to provide weapons to Libya. Just before the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Moscow was reported to have signed between $4 billion and $10 billion in arms deals with Tripoli. The revolution that followed had the new government review these deals, but due to the UN-imposed embargo contracts with Moscow they were suspended. In 2008 the Kremlin canceled $4.5 billion of Libyan debt in exchange for Gadhafi signing multi-billion-dollar contracts with Russian defense procurers. While Moscow fulfilled its part of the deal, Tripoli is yet to purchase the weapons. With the first major Libyan-Soviet arms deal signed in 1974, the Libyan National Army almost entirely relies on Soviet-produced weapons and hardware. Between 1973 and 1992 over 11,000 Soviet troops were stationed in the country advising the government on defense and security and, according to some accounts, directly participating in several conflicts alongside Libyan forces. As per Soviet defense instructors in Libya, over 80% of local servicemen had no prior military training, which resulted in almost all senior Libyan command being trained in Soviet Union. The same happened between 2004 and 2011. As a result of this process, the Libyan National Army today almost entirely relies on Soviet training and weapons, making Russia an ideal candidate to prepare the army for a fight against IS. Without proper maintenance Libyan arms have considerably degraded, often to a critical level, especially its military aircraft. Just recently a MiG-21 crashed in Tobruk, where the Libyan National Army is headquartered. This is only the latest in a string of accidents involving Soviet MiG jets, the powerhouse of what remains of Libya's air force. The fear of jihadists infiltrating Egypt from Libya has allegedly led Cairo to donate secondhand jets and helicopters, but recent accidents suggest they will not last long. It is not the existing embargo that prevents Moscow from supporting the Libyans militarily so much as the disagreements between the ruling groups. With the power-sharing agreement brokered in Libya in December 2015 and the arrival of the GNA to Tripoli, the authorities in Tobruk formerly recognized by the international community as the official government lost their power. The Libyan National Army headed by Gen. Khalifa Hifter (who, predictably, received his military training in the Soviet Union) stayed in Tobruk and refused to support the GNA and the Presidential Council. The legitimate legislative authority in Libya, the House of Representatives, is also based in Tobruk, and until it gives the new government a vote of confidence, the GNA cannot be considered legitimate. Consequently, Libyas governing institutions have split between two cities, and while the GNA in the capital is struggling to maintain control of the city, Hifters army in Tobruk remains the only potent force in the country. The dilemma posed before the international community is who is going to receive all the arms when and if the embargo is lifted, the GNA or Hifter? Arming the newly created Presidential Guard under the GNA, whose militias have no clear chain of command, means that the weapons may end up in the wrong hands or, even worse, give it a false sense of military might and spark a confrontation with the army. Arming the Libyan National Army would essentially mean that the Government of National Accord with whom Hifter is at odds is redundant. According to Russian diplomats, the Kremlin fully supports the process of the unification of the country and the formation of the Government of National Accord. Yet after his meeting with the chair of the African Union Commission, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists that the GNA is not legitimate without the approval of Tobruks House of Representatives. Lavrov also said that it was Moscow that insisted on the inclusiveness of the Libyan agreement in the first place, advocating for the participation of all parties. The message that the foreign minister was trying to send is that unless Tripoli includes Hifter and the Libyan National Army in the political process, Russia will resist the lifting of the international embargo against Libya. Considering Hifters extensive military background and Soviet training, he may in fact be a perfect Russian ally in Libya. His secularist vision of the countrys political process also hugely appeals to Moscow, which is suspicious of any political force that comes with religious slogans. Russia is not alone in supporting this controversial character, who is also backed by the UAE and Egypt. In October 2015, Hifter was unusually explicit about the level of support that he enjoys in Moscow. Talking to the Libyan National Army, he said that Russia has promised him assistance in fighting terrorism and strengthening the army. These statements might not be groundless, considering that Hifter is a regular guest in Moscow and in Cairo, where he has reportedly met with Russian diplomats on several occasions. Moreover, the head of Tobruks House of Representatives, an ally of Hifter's, sent his representative to Moscow last year to bolster military relations with Russia. More recently, Russian media outlets reported that following Hifters meeting with President Vladimir Putins Mideast envoy in Cairo, his visit to Moscow is currently being planned by the Foreign Ministry. A member of the Russian Parliaments Commission on International Affairs confirmed to journalists that Moscow is in fact in close contact with the chief of the Libyan National Army. According to some analysts, Russia is already providing arms to the Libyan National Army via a network of middlemen, bypassing the embargo regime, meaning that Moscow may have already made its bid in the Libyan reconciliation process. Despite this move, the Kremlin understands that without Hifter its most likely ally joining the UN-backed political process, his international support will be extremely limited. And with the international focus shifting from Tobruk to Tripoli, his career is likely to be short-lived. May 31, 2016 ISTANBUL Eastern Ghouta is still witnessing infighting among Syrian opposition forces, who have gradually come to dominate the area since Jan. 26, 2013. The most important military achievement for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was taking over the Tamiko plant Oct. 19, 2013, in Eastern Ghouta. It was previously used as a military barrack by the Syrian regime forces. Essentially, the FSA has reached the Jermana region, the gate to Damascus, which allows it to cut the road to the international airport and impose more pressure on the Bashar al-Assad regime. But the recent opposition infighting that flared up on April 28 posed a great danger to the fate of Ghouta. The regimes supply routes pass through the Ghouta region, which surrounds Damascus, so controlling Ghouta is a prelude to controlling Damascus. The clashes began when Faylaq al-Rahman, supported by Jaish al-Fustat (Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and the Brigade of the Nation's Dawn) attacked the headquarters of Jaish al-Islam in Eastern Ghouta. Faylaq al-Rahman has accused Jaish al-Islam of attempting to assassinate Khalid Tafour, the head judge of Ghouta. Jaish al-Islam denied the accusation and replied by issuing a statement calling Faylaq al-Rahman to stop the clashes, blaming the group for the infighting in Ghouta and calling it to resolve this feud through dialogue. Jaish al-Islam spokesman Capt. Islam Alloush told Al-Monitor from Istanbul on May 22, We do not know the reasons behind this attack. They are invoking mere ordinary disputes between the military formations that are not considered an excuse to launch a military campaign to eliminate Jaish al-Islam, arrest hundreds of members and kill our finest fighters. As for the standing truce, we hope it will be permanent and the situation is restored to what it was. This is why we do not resort to solutions beyond the point of no return, such as military solutions. We are still looking for a political solution that gives back to each party its due rights. On April 28, Faylaq al-Rahman attacked Jaish al-Islam headquarters and its military leaders' homes located in towns inside Eastern Ghouta, which led to clashes between the two sides, causing many deaths and injuries. The fighting between the two factions, which involved different types of medium- and short-range weapons, claimed the lives of nearly 300 civilians and armed men in Eastern Ghouta, according to activists from the region. The Syrian regime and its allies exploited the battles between the opposition factions in Ghouta and tried to advance in the southern sector of Eastern Ghouta. The regime established full control over this sector; Jaish al-Islam members withdrew from their defense posts there. An opposition source from Eastern Ghouta told Al-Monitor via Skype on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, At the beginning of the confrontations in Ghouta, Jabhat al-Nusra and Faylaq al-Rahman laid a siege on al-Marej region in Eastern Ghouta, to put pressure on Jaish al-Islam, the main force in this region. The blockade cut out the supply of fighters to Jaish al-Islam, and most of the battlefront leaders were arrested there, most notably Abu Abdullah, a deputy chief of staff of Jaish al-Islam, and the commander of al-Marej front against regime forces. This placed the southern sector under the authority of Faylaq al-Rahman and [Jabhat] al-Nusra, which dispatched large troops and deployed them in Ghouta at the checkpoints and bunkers, cutting across Ghouta and surrounding areas of Jaish al-Islam. This undermined the oppositions strength there. The conflict subsequently peaked, and an intervention between Faylaq al-Rahman and Jaish al-Islam seemed necessary. Several reconciliation initiatives were put forward, mainly the 10-item initiative proposed by a faction of the FSA. This initiative provided for the formation of a judicial and security committee to issue binding recommendations, impose a cease-fire, end hostilities and open roads between the regions controlled by Faylaq al-Rahman and those controlled by Jaish al-Islam to all opposition parties and for the opposition to return to the battlefronts against the regime that they had left as a result of the infighting. Qatar submitted another initiative on May 1, known as the Doha Initiative, which was praised by the fighting parties. Meetings were held in Doha under the auspices of the General Coordinator of the Supreme Commission for Negotiations Riyad Hijab, and a reconciliation agreement was reached. According to this agreement, the parties should release detainees, implement the cease-fire, refrain from using of arms to resolve problems, reopen roads and return the civil institutions operating in the Ghouta region, such as the Free Syrian Police, to their rightful owners. On the position of Faylaq al-Rahman, Wael Alwan, the group's spokesman, told Al-Monitor in Istanbul on May 26, a few days after the signing of the reconciliation agreement, Given the expanding size of the factions in Ghouta, it was necessary to find a safety valve to overcome the problems and conflicts. The judicial body assumed the role of mediator and solved numerous problems, but the series of problems and takeovers of headquarters triggered an intensified use of force and bullets. He added, The two sides regretted the bloodshed. They resorted to the media and exploited the Sharia for inciting strife. This is why one of the main conditions of the agreement was to stop all sorts of provocation. We accepted the initiatives since we want a peaceful solution. Civilians played a major role, in addition to the role of the military factions, Riyad Hijab and Qatar. We all hope the reconciliation will persist and ranks will be united to direct arms in the right direction. Civil society played a critical role in the appeasement and reconciliation between the two factions. Protesters took to the streets to demand a stop to the fighting and they worked to remove the sand mounds between neighborhoods. Suleiman al-Naser, one of the protesters in Daraya, told Al-Monitor over Skype on May 26, When the two main factions in Ghouta started fighting, we felt that this will affect everybody negatively and that we must stop the fighting. Our experience in the Syrian revolution taught us that civil society is stronger than weapons. It is the most influential among the rebels. For that reason, we immediately took to the streets to call for ending the fighting and preventing the division of Ghouta through mounds. We hope things will go back to the way they were and the factions will reunite. In the wake of the escalation, Ghouta faced a state of stagnation and entered a stage of calm and reassurance for civilians. However, this does not mean the problems ended. This is the beginning of the solution. The conditions of the agreement remain on paper, and if they arent implemented soon, the military escalation between both factions will resume and Ghouta will face internal strife between factions in addition to an external conflict with the regime army and the forces supporting it. May 31, 2016 Anyone trying to reach Istanbuls international airport on its European side or trying to enter the city after landing on Sunday met with treacherous traffic. The holdups began around noon and continued until almost midnight. In Istanbul, impossible traffic is nothing extraordinary, but on May 29, it exceeded even Istanbul standards. The reason was simple: People were celebrating the conquest of the city 563 years ago. It was impossible to miss the huge banners hanging from bridges, electric poles, anything standing upright with giant portraits of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and slogans in Turkish that read Resurrection, Re-rise. No eye could miss the number 563 plastered over them. Big celebrations of the day Ottoman Turks conquered the capital of the East Roman Empire aren't exactly a novelty, yet the 563rd anniversary of the conquest was different from previous years. It was incomparably ornate, overblown and innovative. An expensively produced light and sound show in front of the long Roman walls, supported by digital technology, revisited that fateful moment when Byzantine (East Roman) defenses were breached and the victorious Ottoman forces penetrated the city following a 56-day siege. On that date 563 years ago, the East Roman Empire was terminated and a new era opened in history. But what is so special about the 563rd anniversary? What made it different than the 500th or even the 550th? The answer can be summarized in three words: Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The 563rd anniversary was designed to create the perception that Turkeys mighty president continues the grand and glorious heritage of the great Ottoman sultans. Mehmet the Conqueror has an exceptional standing in this regard. For pious Muslims, he being the conqueror of Istanbul, or as it was known then, Constantinople is the blessed sultan. The fall of Constantinople was a disaster for Christendom but the most glamorous glory for Muslims, establishing their supremacy over the infidels. All the ingenious military tactics the Ottoman army employed, including transporting ships from the Bosporus Strait over land to the Golden Horn harbor, an inlet facing the Byzantine capital, were revisited. Hundreds if not thousands of people dressed up in Ottoman garments took part in the ceremonies and magnificent show. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party spared no expense. Residents of Istanbul are accustomed to celebrations of the conquest since its 500th anniversary in 1953. According to renowned historian Ilber Ortayli, Turkish nationalists had taken the initiative and forced authorities to start the celebrations. Now Islamists have taken over and reached todays zenith. The ideological frontiers between Turkish nationalism and Islamism had always been blurred, and the nationalists' lighting of the torch just to pass it on to the Islamists is not surprising from the Turkish Muslim vantage point. The pompous celebrations this year were attempts to construct a cult of personality around Erdogan's name and persona, much like North Korea's mammoth celebrations for occasions centered around Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, just like those for his predecessor and father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, Kim Il Sung. From the celebration's format to the disciplined, minute organization and enthusiasm of the participants, the similarities with North Korea were striking. It would not be wrong to say that Erdogan can boast of a strong following among the Turkish population, particularly those of Istanbuls periphery who attended the celebrations by the tens of thousands with apparent pride in a glorious imperial past. Whatever the motivation might have been, there is no doubt that the event's attendance and level of organization translates into political capital for the towering figure of Erdogan, consolidating and deepening his mass support. However, there are also those who remained aloof or dismissed the vainglorious display. The non-Muslim minoritys sentiments have generally been expressed with sarcasm. Some might say such fanfare attempts to overcompensate for a sense of inferiority to take refuge in the grandeur and glory of the imperial past. Rober Koptas, the former editor-in-chief of the Armenian weekly Agos, tweeted two days before the anniversary, [Erdogan and his loyalists] are so distanced from Istanbul that they cannot help but conquer Istanbul every other day, once again. Another Armenian journalist, Raffi Hermonn, wrote a blog entry titled, The conquest of a capital unfinished for 500 years." For me, the conquest of Istanbul has always been a personal issue. Although from one side of my family I am related to Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Mehmet the Conqueror or Mehmet II), my relation with his grand vizier (Prime Minister) Candarli Halil Pasha is more important to those who miss no opportunity to defame me. I am a descendant of the Candarli family, as my surname suggests, and Candarli Halil was executed by Mehmet the Conqueror on allegations that he was bribed and thus was against the conquest of Istanbul. In some nationalist and Islamist circles, he is a traitor. The historical record is more complicated than that. Steven Runciman, in his seminal book The Fall of Constantinople 1453, sets the record straight. Reminding his readers that a few days before the day of the conquest the siege of Istanbul looked doomed to failure, Runciman writes, On Saturday [May 26], Mehmet summoned his inner council. The vizier Halil Pasha, relying on his record of long and distinguished public service, rose to his feet and demanded that the siege be abandoned. He had never approved the campaign, and events had shown him to be right. The Turks had made no headway; instead they had suffered some humiliating setbacks. The next to speak was Zaganos [Pasha]. He disliked Halil, and he knew that the sultan shared his dislike. Seeing his masters look of angry despair at the effect of Halils speech, he declared that he had no faith in the grand viziers fears. Mehmets spirits rose; this was what he wished to hear. The sultan then announced that the assault should take place as soon as it could be prepared. It did take place on May 29. Let us recall Runcimans lines, From that moment Halil must have known that his days were numbered. He had always been a kindly friend to the Christians with the tolerance of a pious Muslim of the old school, unlike such upstart renegades as Zaganos. Whether he had actually received presents from the Greeks is uncertain. But his enemies now insinuated that this was so; and the sultan was glad to believe them. Halil was the first of several prime ministers to be executed. His death became a precedent and took its place in the annals of Turkish history. At the 563rd anniversary of the conquest, during the extraordinary celebrations, all attention was focused on Erdogan. Nobody remembered my relation to Halil, and I was very happy this time. May 31, 2016 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Palestinians received the news of Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government with frustration and despair. This came amid mounting expectations of a military escalation in the Gaza Strip. On May 25, Liberman was appointed to serve as Israeli defense minister and be the one responsible for implementing Israeli policies in the occupied territories. Liberman, who was a nightclub bouncer after he immigrated to Israel in 1978 from Moldova, is seen as a prominent Israeli figure with extremist and radical stances toward the Palestinians. Liberman set as a precondition for joining the Netanyahu government that Israel impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of terrorism. He had also promised Israelis in February 2015 that he would implement such a law if he won in the March 2015 elections. His party won only six seats in the Knesset. Wassel Abu Youssef, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, told Al-Monitor that Liberman joining the Israeli government warns that Israeli violence against Palestinians will escalate and that the ongoing Palestinian bloodshed will be fueling the survival of the extremist government. Yet Abu Youssef said that Libermans presence in the government was not a concern for Palestinians, expressing his view that "Liberman is the most fascist [leader] in Israel's history. He explained that with Liberman joining the government, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has lost hope of resuming negotiations based [on the principle] of preserving Palestinian rights. Most notably among these is the Israeli withdrawal of all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, as Liberman does not consider Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a peace partner. He said, Nevertheless, our positive stances toward the peace initiatives, particularly the French initiative, have remained unchanged. Abu Youssef pointed out that the PA will wait to gauge Libermans official stances toward Palestinian rights and issues. If it turns out that his stances are negative and hostile, as they used to be before he joined the government, we will not wait too long before implementing the PLO central committees decisions of March 2015, most notably among these is the halt of security coordination between the PA and Israel and the activation of all diplomatic and political efforts to sanction Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its accumulated crimes against Palestinians. Islamic Jihad leader Ahmed al-Mudallal told Al-Monitor that Liberman joining the Israeli government reveals the ugly face of Israel and shows the extent of extremism that prevails over the Israeli Netanyahu-led government. Mudallal said that Islamic Jihad expects additional military escalation on the Gaza Strip after Liberman takes office as minister of war. He added, Yet in case Liberman makes a new military foolishness against Gaza, the resistance will be ready to respond. Therefore, the resistance will deal with Liberman or any other [Israeli leader] based on one policy, namely responding to any aggression. He believes the best solution to face Netanyahus new governments extremism is that the PLO backs down on its recognition that Israel has a right to exist on 78% of historical Palestine, and to achieve Palestinian unity to confront Israel. For her part, Mariam Abu Dakka, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's political bureau, told Al-Monitor, Liberman bears a grudge against Palestinians. He wants to kill more and more [Palestinians] and does not want to make peace with them. She believes that Netanyahu's decision to appoint Liberman as minister in the government confirms the Netanyahu governments insistence on violating all international laws and resolutions related to the two-state solution, most importantly UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967, which stipulates the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict. Abu Dakka shared Mudallals view that Liberman will conduct a new expanded aggression on Gaza. She said, The resistance should be well-prepared for it. She believes that the appointment of Liberman in the Israeli government should be an additional motive for Fatah and Hamas to end their division and unite in order to face the risks that may be produced by this Israeli coalition. Political analyst Eyad al-Qara told Al-Monitor that Libermans appointment has caused Palestinians to be increasingly desperate about resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He added, Liberman's appointment means more aggression on Gaza, more settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem and more punitive measures against the West Banks inhabitants, such as setting up checkpoints, withdrawing work permits from Palestinian workers in Israel. Qara believes that it is very possible that Liberman will expand military escalation in the Gaza Strip. He added, The resistance will not stand idle in the face of any new Israeli aggression, for sure. Yet with Liberman in this post, escalation is of high probability. Antoine Shalhat, director of the Israeli Scene Supplement Unit at the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies, told Al-Monitor, Bringing Liberman into the government allows Netanyahu to secure a [greater] majority of 67 out of 120 votes in the Knesset, rather than the 61 votes he had before Liberman joined the government. He added, Netanyahu had a better option to guarantee his government stability; it was, namely, to bring into the government the left-wing Zionist Camp, which has 24 votes in the Knesset. This party has more flexible stances toward Palestinian issues, especially the two-state solution. Yet Netanyahu opted for Yisrael Beitenu, although the number of votes it has in the Knesset does not exceed six. This suggests that Netanyahu wants to have a purely right-wing government to complicate the peace process with Palestinians. Shalhat, however, expects that Liberman, as defense minister, will adopt a discourse that is more balanced than the one he had prior to joining the government. He said, Liberman reminds us of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was one of the most extremist Israeli leaders during his rule. Sharon was considered the godfather of the [Israeli] settlements when he was part of the opposition. Yet when he took office as prime minister in February 2001, he [made the decision] to dismantle settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005. June 1, 2016 TEHRAN, Iran The European Unions foreign policy chief has stated that the 28-member bloc once again wants to become Irans biggest trading partner. We are the ones that used to be Irans first partner on the economic fields, on trade, investment, and we want to be back to that, Federica Mogherini told Tasnim News Agency during her one-day trip to Tehran on April 16. Indeed, an increasing number of European political and trade delegations have visited Iran following the Jan. 16 removal of nuclear-related sanctions. With Iran determined to rebuild its economy, which has been hampered by sanctions over the past decade, and the EU still reeling from its debt crisis, which began in 2009, the expansion of economic ties is perceived to be beneficial for both sides. A former senior Iranian diplomat who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said the development of ties has turned into a necessity for [both] Tehran and the EU. He said, Economic ties with Europe is advantageous for Iran in terms of development, and it carries [fewer] issues than relations with the United States. Europes approach to Iran has been, is and will be strategic and long term as far as energy security is concerned, because the continent has no better choice to substitute Irans oil and gas resources. For Iran, the former Iranian diplomat underscored that access to European markets and the use of its advanced technology have historic roots and is an economical option. Relations between Iran and the European Union date back to 1963. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the relationship was maintained despite many ups and downs. In the early 1990s, relations began improving. Following the 1997 election of Reformist President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), ties greatly expanded in many areas, including trade, culture and academic exchanges. Indeed, EU exports to Iran increased from 3.9 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in 1996 to 11.3 billion euros ($12.6 billion) in 2006, while imports expanded from 5.8 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in 1996 to 14.1 billion euros ($15.7 billion) in 2006. As such, the EU during this period became Irans largest trade partner. In 2006, it was the destination of 38% of Iranian exports and accounted for 31% of Iranian imports. Following the election of Principlist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, and the heightening of political tensions with the West over Irans nuclear program, trade relations between Iran and the European bloc assumed a downward trajectory. As the EU took a similar position to the United States in imposing unilateral sanctions on Iranian banks, insurance companies and even cutting access to SWIFT, the impact on trade was clear. EU exports to Iran plummeted to 7.3 billion euros in 2012, down from highs of 11.3 billion euros in 2006. In response, Iran began shifting the focus of its trade eastward, and thus expanded economic ties with countries such as China and India. In 2013, moderate Hassan Rouhani, who had promised to end the countrys isolation through dialogue, was elected president. After the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July 2015, many Europeans from various industries including aviation, telecommunication, automobile, agriculture and energy have visited Iran, and many contracts worth billions of euros have been signed. Indeed, during her April 16 visit to Tehran, Mogherini specifically stated that the EU needs its banks to be present in Iran. As such, the bloc is making efforts to reassure European banks about engaging with the country. In this regard, Iran and the EU have also agreed to broaden bilateral cooperation in various fields, including trade and investment, agriculture, transport and energy. To be clear, interest in the expansion of ties between Iran and the EU is not only limited to the Europeans. Iranian authorities have also time and again spoken of their countrys willingness to expand relations with the bloc. Expansion of ties with EU states is among Tehrans policies. The post-JCPOA era must be used for development and job creation in the country, Rouhani said before departing for Italy and France in January. As Iran eyes foreign investment to revive its economy, officials estimate that the country can absorb over $50 billion in foreign investment a year. Attracting foreign direct investment from Europe would help the Rouhani administration to achieve its stated objectives of boosting Irans private sector, liberalizing the economy and further diversifying it away from dependency on oil. Such a partnership would also serve the countrys long-term interests, because it will prevent Tehran from being a mere consumer and thus decrease its dependency on the bloc. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Charles Robertson, global chief economist at Renaissance Capital, said he expects that among European countries, France, Germany and Italy will be leading investors in Iran in the years to come. Iran historically had very close links to Europe from French retailers to UK defense equipment. Since 2014, there has been a constant stream of European companies visiting Iran hoping to trade with and/or invest in the country, Robertson told Al-Monitor. He said, In the 1970s, Iran was one of Carrefours top three global markets. Already we have seen European banks opening up to Iranian banks. We expect European industrial firms to follow suit. Yet while senior Iranian and EU officials have expressed a mutual desire to expand ties, several obstacles remain. Remaining US banking sanctions are hampering trade between Europe and Iran, non-Western countries are intensifying their efforts to expand their market share in Iran, and there are also the reported efforts by Saudi Arabia to deprive Iran from the economic benefits of the JCPOA. A European diplomat who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity further reiterated that Iran and the EU can now restore their commercial ties but not without bumps in the road. Re-engagement with Iran will certainly create opportunities on both sides in terms of trade and investment, but change will come only progressively and results cannot be expected overnight. Ambitious Iranian projects will require the support of international investors, but European [and international] investment firms still need time to adjust their plans to the new situation and assess the new legal provisions. As such, despite the nuclear agreement, it appears that the EU is months if not years away from becoming Irans largest trade partner once again. June 1, 2016 After Iranian director Asghar Farhadis latest film received two awards at the Cannes Film Festival in France, the director and both of the leading actors in the film have all been the subject of various controversies in their home country of Iran. The Salesman earned Farhadi the best screenplay prize and Shahab Hosseini the best male actor award, the only film at Cannes to win two prizes this year. Farhadi became an internationally recognized name after becoming the first Iranian to win an Academy Award for his 2011 film "A Separation," which won best foreign language film. "A Separation" was also nominated for best original screenplay. The Cannes awards, however, were followed by scrutiny and criticism from the Iranian media. Saeed Mahdavi wrote in the hard-line Kayhan newspaper that "The Salesman" won two awards even though many critics believe the film was at a lower level than the directors previous work. Mahdavi added that despite this, it still was predictable that Farhadi's film would win the awards. Mahdavis major issue with the film was how it addressed the issue of rape, saying the movie portrayed the defense of family honor and dignity as fanaticism and violence." He accused the film of depicting traditional and ethical behavior as being inferior to intellectual character. Mahdavis criticisms are in line with what hard-liners see as a cultural invasion from the West to change Iranian and Islamic values and beliefs in Iranian society. While "The Salesman" was made in Iran, the French company Memento is an investor in the film. Mahdavi derisively called the movie a purchased film, as in being made at the behest of a customer. The Islamic Republic newspaper, without addressing Farhadi by name, also brought out an old accusation against Iranian directors who win prizes abroad by accusing him of portraying a dark side of Iran. The article accused Farhadi of seeking overseas prizes and criticized him for never thinking of making Iranians happy. Hosseini also became the subject of controversy. During a May 30 news conference in Iran, Hosseini said he wanted to dedicate the award to the 12th Shiite imam because he received the best actor prize on the imams birthday. Some Iranians on social media attacked the actor, because during his Cannes speech Hosseini dedicated the award to the people of Iran. Some also resorted to attacking Hosseini's religious beliefs as well, according to Iranian media reports. The female lead in "The Salesman," Taraneh Alidoosti, also became entangled in a controversy during the same news conference after her bare arm revealed a feminist tattoo. Hard-line media criticized the actress, accusing her of being pro-choice. After the media storm, Alidoosti responded on Twitter, Keep calm and YES Im a feminist. Farhadi, who has been previously criticized for other films, including "A Separation" and "About Elly," has publicly remained calm over the criticism of his film. They will eventually find any excuse, Farhadi said at the news conference. A June 1 article in Shargh Daily wrote that Farhadi has been labeled as a director who paints a negative image of Iran, literally blackwashing, and is often called Weststruck and anti-Iranian. Hard-liners previously accused Farhadi of promoting Baha'ism after they jumped to the conclusion that a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci in a scene of "A Separation" was that of the founder of the Bahais. Reflecting on the criticism, Farhadi said that the 1969 film "The Cow" was also criticized for portraying the lives of the rural poor but that after 50 years Iranians continue to watch it and now consider it great. Perhaps by appearance it looks dark but inside there are hidden shining diamonds, said Farhadi of the pre-revolutionary film that became the first Iranian movie to be nominated for an Academy Award. If 'The Cow' was made today and won an award, would it be construed as 'blackwashing'? On May 31, Culture Ministry officials in charge of film releases approved the domestic release of "The Salesman" to Iranian theaters as early as next week. June 1, 2016 QAMISHLI, Syria On the top floor of an unfinished concrete building in the northern Syrian city of Qamishli last week, a group of journalists milled around a video camera trained a few hundred meters away across the Turkish border to the city of Nusaybin. With the steady dull thuds of shelling in the background, the reporters, who were camped out to document the bombing in Nusaybin, smoked, drank tea, talked quietly around the recording equipment and ducked out to the balcony to snap photographs as a laptop showed a live feed of the action. On the screen was construction equipment, beginning what they guessed was an extension of a separation wall between the two cities by Turkey. After one particularly loud explosion, the camera zoomed out past a foreground of destroyed residential buildings to catch a fast-rising white plume of smoke. While state-imposed curfews have made it difficult to document the fighting in Turkey's southeast between Kurdish militants inspired by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Turkish state forces, residents and local journalists in Qamishli have witnessed over two months of siege on neighborhoods in their sister city of Nusaybin. Amid the relative calm in a standoff between the dominant People's Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian regime forces, Qamishli residents have had a unique window into the wider conflict in Turkey. The group No More Silence, which was formed in April by local Syrian journalists, has been recording from its location in Qamishli in 12-hour shifts, occasionally facing bullets and harassment from the Turkish side while receiving updates from Kurdish sources inside of Nusaybin. No More Silence member Abdulselam Mohamad told Al-Monitor the group's goal is to break the silence of the world toward Bakur, southeastern Turkey in general and Nusaybin especially because it is considered the twin city of Qamishli. He added, All the people in Qamishli have relatives in Nusaybin. Everyone talks to each other and conveys the news. The exact number of casualities is impossible to know, Mohamad guessed it is in the hundreds. The living situation has become dire for those trapped, with residents left without electricity and some resorting to drinking rainwater. He explained that entire blocks of homes have been destroyed and those who try to leave the besieged neighborhoods are targeted by Turkish snipers. Across the street from the organization's makeshift outpost, farmers have watched the fighting from their fields, where they were menaced by Turkish border forces. All the time our children ask us about the sounds, about what is happening there. We tell them not to fear. We say they are fireworks from Turkey and not clashes, said Eymed Ibrahim, a farmer who has lived in this community on the Nusaybin border for more than 30 years. The sprawling Kurdish-majority cities of Qamishli and Nusaybin share long historic ties. Before the clashes, Ibrahim said he was on friendly terms with the Turkish border forces. But now farmers are afraid to get too near the border for fear of being shot. According to No More Silence, farmers have claimed Turkish forces have shot livestock and threatened residents. We can't sleep. Sometimes at midnight, we wake up because of the sounds. Our life has become hell, said Ibrahim, standing beside children playing in a tractor bed. They seemed unperturbed by the continuous sounds of shelling. We are not afraid because we have a strong force here, but we fear their shells that fall on us and their bullets, he said. Two have died and at least 14 have been injured since early April by bullets and shells, according to No More Silence and media reports. Our hearts break when we hear [the bombs] because it is also our city, our relatives living there. Also, not because it is a Kurdish city, but because humans are living there, said a woman sitting with others drinking tea outside of her house. The people who defend [Nusaybin] are defending their lives. We want our people to take revenge because Turkey has destroyed everything. We will stay here in front of [the Turkish army] to tease them. Our sitting here is resistance, she said. Those Al-Monitor spoke to in the community say a wall is being constructed by Turkey on their land to separate the residents. Erdogan opposed how Israel built the wall. Now he builds this wall himself. He has two faces. They cannot destroy and break our will. It is a means of siege around Rojava [Syrian Kurdistan]. Where is the democracy of Europe? They see with their own eyes how many cities here are destroyed, but they do not speak, said Abdel Bari, another local resident. On May 26, the Civil Defense Units announced a withdrawal from Nusaybin. They claimed it was to prevent the kind of civilian casualties seen in Cizre earlier this year. Even so, explosions can still regularly be heard from Nusaybin. A solidarity protest formed down the street among the farming community a day after the announced withdrawal. Large speakers blasted Kurdish revolutionary songs toward Turkey. Around 40 people holding the flags of the YPG and Rojava and depictions of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan chanted, Long live the resistance in Bakur! A group of children chanted into a microphone, Who is a gangster? Erdogan is a gangster! In the distance, storm winds blew a cloud of gray smoke from a blast over a Nusaybin neighborhood. Editor's note: This article has been updated since its initial publication June 1, 2016 Investors in the Turkish financial markets are taking blows from a legal battle across the Atlantic these days as a US prosecutor digs deeper into the dealings of an Iranian-Turkish businessman accused of violating US sanctions against Iran with help from high places in Turkey. Leading the judicial saga is Preet Bharara, US attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bhararas indictment against businessman Reza Zarrab, who has been under arrest in the United States since March, has rekindled massive corruption allegations against senior figures in Turkey that the government had managed to suppress two years ago. The jolts of Bhararas probe, however, are not just felt in the political realm. The financial markets have their own to worry about as Turkeys second-largest public lender, Halkbank, stands at the heart of the probe. Zarrab allegedly bribed Halkbank managers to process transactions and advance his gold trade scheme to evade sanctions against Iran. Halkbank shares have lost 16% of their value since March 22, when the news of Zarrabs arrest in Miami reached Turkey. On March 22 alone, the shares plunged 5%, followed by another dive of nearly 3% on May 26, after Bharara appealed to the US court for denial of Zarrab's bail request, citing corruption allegations in Turkey. Analysts say the US probe has placed Halkbank under a cloud of uncertainty, with the fallout affecting the entire stock exchange. Sadrettin Bagci, an analyst at Deniz Investment, expects Halkbank shares to remain volatile throughout the judicial proceedings in the United States. The investor sentiment has turned sour because of this legal process. As long as it goes on, the uncertainty over Halkbank shares will continue, Bagci told Al-Monitor. Halkbank weighs about 7 or 8% on the index, which means a significant impact on the stock exchange as a whole. The flight from Halkbank shares affects other state banks as well. The sentiment toward other public banks is similarly souring because of Halkbank. Hence, VakifBank shares are falling, too, Bagci said. Vedat Mizrahi, research director at the investment firm Unlu & Co., shares a similar view on the spillover effect of plunging Halkbank shares, but believes it will be a limited one. I dont think that the story with Halkbank in particular is creating a systematic risk for the market in general, Mizrahi told Al-Monitor. There is still vagueness. It is Halkbanks former CEO who faces accusations. The banks institutional entity is not part of the probe. Thats the most critical question for the markets: Will the investigation be limited to the banks former CEO or extend to the bank as an institution? In a statement following Zarrabs arrest, Halkbank claimed it was not part of the probe and had nothing to do with the controversy. All our transactions are in line with national and international rules, the statement said. There is no demand for inquiry targeting our bank, and our bank is not part of any inquiry or investigation. Halkbank CEO Suleyman Aslan was detained during the corruption probes that shook Turkey in December 2013, after $4.5 million stashed in shoe boxes was discovered in his home. Four ministers were also implicated in the scandal, which involved graft allegations in a number of other areas. Aslan resigned in February 2014, and the charges against him and dozens of other suspects were later dropped. Bhararas accusations against Zarrab are very similar to what his Turkish colleagues had claimed before their investigation was quickly thwarted. The shoe boxes were said to contain the kickbacks Aslan received from Zarrab, who allegedly bribed his way through the Turkish government and bureaucracy to keep the gold scheme going. Similarly, Bharara now says Aslan took at least $1.4 million and 2.5 million euros ($2.8 million) in bribes from Zarrab to help him evade the sanctions. Those were in fact the accusations that led to Zarrabs arrest in Miami in March. Most recently, Bhararas office asked a federal court to deny bail to Zarrab, given the gravity of the charges he faces. Former Turkish Ministers Zafer Caglayan, Egemen Bagis and Muammer Guler, all close aides of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, figure prominently in Bhararas accusations. The prosecutor says Zarrab, 33, used his wealth to buy access to corrupt politicians in Turkey and transferred money to Togem-Der, a charity linked closely with the Erdogan family. Since Dec. 17, 2013, when Aslan was detained in Turkey as a central figure in this web of bribery and smuggling, Halkbank shares have plunged a staggering 42% to become the worst-performing banking shares on the market. The overall index of the Istanbul stock exchange rose by 7% in this period, while the banking index went down by 4%, reflecting the strong sell-off pressure on Halkbank shares. Up until the graft probe, Halkbank was nothing but a success story for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Like other state-owned banks, it was restructured in the early 2000s and put on a course of strong, profitable growth after years of financial turmoil in the 1990s when bad loans and mismanagement at public banks dragged the Turkish economy from crisis to crisis. Founded in 1938, Halkbanks assets amount to 190 billion Turkish liras ($64.7 billion) today, which makes it Turkeys sixth-largest lender in terms of assets. The news of Halkbanks involvement in the US probe coincided with a political shake-up in Ankara as Erdogan forced Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to step down, adding to the worries of foreign investors. Amid uncertainty over the new Cabinet, foreign investors in Turkey sold shares worth $646 million in May. Political fallout on the Turkish banking sector has become more and more frequent in recent years. Following the 2013 corruption scandal, the government seized Bank Asya, an Islamic lender linked to the Gulen movement, which faced a massive clampdown for allegedly orchestrating the graft probes in a bid to topple the AKP. Turkeys largest private bank, Isbank, meanwhile, has increasingly come in AKP crosshairs amid political spats over its shareholder structure a legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of both the bank and the secular Turkish republic. In remarks to Al-Monitor, Atilla Yesilada of GlobalSource Partners, a business consultancy working with foreign investors, warned that such controversies were taking a serious financial toll. Long-term and quality foreign investors are no longer coming to Turkey due the increasing erosion of law and institutions and the banking sectors central place in political conflicts, he said. Apart from the 'hot money' seeking short-term interest gains, the desired quality investment will never come if this situation continues. April 12, 1963.jpg Bethany Collins, "April 12, 1963," 2016, blind embossed Somerset paper, 17" x 26", Courtesy of the artist and Richard Grey Gallery Wassan Al-Khudhair By Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Hugh Kaul curator of modern and contemporary art, Birmingham Museum of Art "April 12, 1963" is one of 12 blind embossed prints contemporary artist Bethany Collins produced as part of her project "The Problem We All Live With," a site-specific work commissioned by the Birmingham Museum of Art for its new series "lobby projects." For this project, Collins presents a mixed-media installation using the archives of The Birmingham News sourced from the Birmingham Public Library to examine the intersection of race, language and violence. In her practice, Collins is drawn to official documents in which part of a story or historical record is either inaccurate or missing. By erasing, writing and re-writing, Collins manipulates these found texts to re-direct the viewer's seeing, reading and perceiving, all while challenging the text's original intent. While researching "The Problem We All Live With," Collins came across an NPR story, "How the Civil Rights Movement Was Covered in Birmingham," which discussed the intentional absence of coverage of local events related to the civil rights movement in The Birmingham News, while other regional and national papers gave the same stories front-page, above-the-fold importance. Using The Birmingham News cover pages from the spring of 1963, the most violent period of protests in Alabama, Collins produced a series of 12 blind embossed prints, a process which does not utilize ink but rather creates deep impressions in the paper itself. The result is a braille-like texture that tempts the viewer to touch, with legibility that depends on your proximity to the surface. In its absence, Collins draws attention to the story, relying on the viewer to question what is missing. The installation also includes "American Heritage Dictionary, 1982," a large-scale wall piece depicting illustrative sentences for definitions of words that involve violence, denoting the preoccupation with right and wrong in violence. "The Problem We All Live With" by Bethany Collins is on view at the Birmingham Museum of Art until Aug. 7. The exhibition is free and open to the public. UNA.JPG UNA campus. (File photo) University of North Alabama students in Florence will have a new food service provider this week after nearly four decades with Sodexo. Bryan Rachal, UNA director of communications, said the college's Board of Trustees voted this month to switch from Sodexo to Compass Chartwells on June 1. The 10-year contract is the university's largest campus-wide. Although the state of Alabama's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) website lists 105 Sodexo layoffs, spokesperson Greg Yost said Chartwells has agreed to hire all hourly employees when the company begins service at UNA. "All former Sodexo employees have been made aware of this and were also paid out any vacation time they were owed," he told AL.com. "The incoming company has made resources available to employees interested in seeking a different job within the company." Chartwells Southeast Regional Marketing Director Gina Wells, who is based in Atlanta, said all Sodexo associates will be retained at their current pay rate and job position, but there are two caveats: They must pass a background check. If their current job position is affiliated with a location/concept that is no longer under the new brand portfolio, they will be assigned new duties as appropriate at their same rate of pay. The TimesDaily in Florence reports Chartwells will spend nearly $7 million to bring new food vendors and other changes to UNA's Guillot University Center (GUC), Student Recreation Center, the planned nursing education building, and Towers Dining Hall. Yost said Sodexo has enjoyed a "long and successful relationship with (UNA)" despite the university's decision to go in a different direction with its campus dining program. "We are proud of the many ways in which we've improved the student experience and quality of life on campus and we would welcome the opportunity to serve the University again in the future," he told AL.com. "We wish the students, staff, administration and campus community continued success." The owners of a movie theater near Madison Square Mall are not happy about the City of Huntsville's plans to acquire land at the University Drive site. Karishma Dattani, who bought TouchStar Cinemas with her husband, Bimal, in 2008, said they are upset the city has proposed buying their land and building a road through the middle of it as part of a new proposal to revitalize the property as a mixed-use project with RCP Companies developer Mid-City Owner, LLC. TouchStar Cinemas recently invested $3 million on renovations at Madison Square 12, which employs more than 30 staff and will double its workforce after completing its kitchen remodel to offer more dining options to customers. The theater currently serves about 30,000 customers each month. "We're all for the redevelopment and improvements of the area and everything they're planning with MidCity Huntsville, but we're already a step ahead," she said. " ... I just don't understand why the city would want to rip our theater down and run a road right through it." Dattani, who received a letter saying the city will soon begin the appraisal process and make an offer on the property, said she has spoken with Huntsville's Director of Urban Development Shane Davis about the matter. She is still in disagreement with the city's plans in relation to the site. The city wants to acquire land for new roads, regional stormwater upgrades and retention infrastructure, and public open space in and surrounding the site, which is also home to owners Sears and JCPenney. Sears spokesman Howard Riefs said they intend to protect their property rights "vigorously." "Sears has been a proud member of the Huntsville community for more than 30 years and we look forward to continuing to serve our members and customers," he said in a written statement. Davis told AL.com in May the city is working with JCPenney to find another site within the market and has identified 3-4 possible locations. A spokesperson for JCPenney Corporate Communications would not confirm Davis' account, instead saying they do not comment on real estate activities. Mid-City Owner must develop a minimum of 150,000 square feet of commercial and office space, 350,000 square feet of retail, a hotel with at least 100 rooms and 560 multi-family units at the property. A clause in the agreement said 70 percent of the businesses must be new to the Huntsville market. The developer will come back to the city this summer with a plan, which must be approved by the council before it can move forward. Dattani said they are frustrated the city let the theater move forward with a multi-million dollar facelift last year knowing the property could possibly be acquired or redeveloped. She is also concerned the removal of Madison Square 12 would give Monaco at Bridge Street Town Centre a monopoly in Huntsville. "Right now, we've given Monaco a good amount of competition with our renovations and I think they're starting to do a renovation of their own later this year as a result of our renovations," she said. "So, taking our theater out, how is that going to help the community? Monaco's prices are pretty high and they might even go higher once they do their renovations, whereas our prices are more reasonable." The city's plans are part of a newly-adopted urban renewal agreement to transform Cummings Research Park East into an economically viable, attractive and functional part of the community. CRP East, the original and oldest section of the park, has struggled in recent years as vacancies rise and companies move out due to deteriorating conditions. The plan identifies four priority zones, the first of which is the Madison Square Mall site. The area at University Drive and Old Monrovia Road has been in decline as businesses desert the mall, property values drop and crime goes up. Davis, who presented the redevelopment agreement with Mid-City Owner last week at the Huntsville City Council meeting, said it is still too early to comment on how the acquisition process at Madison Square will go. He said it has been the city's goal all along to "work with landowners to find alternate locations for them to remain in the market." "We continue to work with ownership of all properties in regards to the urban renewal plan," he told AL.com. "The city will continue with appraisals and communication with landowners to assist with hopefully a workable solution for those businesses to remain in the Huntsville market." Mid-City Owner is expected to start construction on the project by early 2017, with final phases finishing in 2022. The city must complete its public improvements within a timeline that coincides with the developer's schedule for each phase of the project. Moving forward, Dattani said they are working with Helmsing Leach Herlong Newman & Rouse attorney Casey Pipes to defend their business against unnecessary demolition. "We will do everything in our power to fight the city vigorously to keep our property and remain open and serve the community in Huntsville," she said. Updated June 2, 2016, with details from Shane Davis and TouchStar's attorney. Agnes Tennenbaum, a Holocaust survivor who lived in Mobile since 2006, died Monday at age 93, according to a close friend, Shoshana Treichel, who referred to Tennenbaum as her "Mobile mom." "There are no coincidences," Treichel wrote on Facebook. "She passed on Memorial Day, because her memory and her experiences must never be forgotten." Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson noted her death and acknowledged her impact on the Mobile community at Tuesday's City Council meeting. "Just to be in her presence, and to listen to her tell her story, it was like there was no air in the room," he said. "It was just an amazing story. She touched many people." Tennenbaum experienced the horrors of the Holocaust first-hand. Born Dec. 9, 1922, to Malvina and Arnold Lowinger, she had a happy childhood with a loving Jewish family in Miskolc, a small town north of Budapest, Hungary. At age 17, she married Andrew Weinberger, who was drafted by the Hungarian army, contracted tuberculosis and was sent to a sanitarium, according to a biography of Tenenbaum on the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center's website, where she is included among 20 Alabama Holocaust survivors in the "Darkness into Life" exhibition of art and photography. When the Germans occupied Hungary, her father and brother were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, never to be seen again. Soon after, she, her mother, her aunt and cousin were packed into a cattle train bound for Auschwitz. After a nightmarish two-day journey, she arrived, she told Mobile Bay magazine in a December 2015 interview, on June 16, 1944, at age 21. There, she was separated from her mother and recalled clinging to her hand as the two were pulled apart. Her mother was sent to the gas chamber. Her aunt was ordered into a forest, where she was forced to dig her own grave before being shot. Her sister, meanwhile, was thought to be dead after being shot on a bridge over the Danube River; 10 years later, Tennenbaum learned that she'd survived by jumping into the river and seeking refuge at the Swedish embassy on the other side. Tennenbaum and her cousin Edith were sent to work in an underground munitions factory at Allendorf labor camp, where a guard tried to rape her. She told an audience at Mobile's Ben May Main Library in February 2015 that she encountered Josef Mengele, "the angel of death," on a daily basis. She considered touching an electric fence to end her misery, but Edith convinced her not to. Both of them were finally freed by American troops in 1945. "She saw atrocities and evil no one can comprehend, and yet still had faith that all people were still good at heart," wrote Treichel. In her thick Hungarian accent, Tennenbaum told these stories and more to schools and religious groups after moving to Mobile from Phoenix in 2006 to live near her only son, Henry Schwarzberg, and his family. She was "a great storyteller," said another friend, Patricia Silverman. "She was just a wonderful human being, very loving." Despite everything she'd been through in the Holocaust, Silverman said, "She was so compassionate and gave so much of herself. Every time she talked about it, she'd relive the whole terrible situation. It never got easier." After the war, she married another Holocaust survivor, Berek Schwarzberg. They had one son, Henry, and moved to America in 1949. After the couple divorced, she married David Tennenbaum, who died in 1985. After moving to Mobile, Tennenbaum wrote two books, "A Girl Named Rose," inspired by a 16-year-old girl she met in Allendorf who was dying of tuberculosis and begged Tennenbaum to write about her, and "When the Magic Was Gone," a book of short stories and poems about her Holocaust experiences. She donated her books, and others, to the University of South Alabama Agnes Tennenbaum Holocaust Collection. The title of her memoir refers to the way the Nazis had stolen "one of the most precious things in life: the magic of youth," she wrote. "It was gone, gone forever." Tennenbaum suffered a fall in January, and since then her health has declined, her friends said. "She had a zest for life," said Treichel, comparing Tennebaum's outlook to that of Anne Frank, who wrote, "I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains." Rabbi Steven Silberman officiated at a June 1 graveside service at Ahavas Chesed cemetery. Her family requests that contributions in her memory be made to Little Sisters of the Poor in Mobile. Tennenbaum expressed her love for her adopted city in the following poem: A Tribute to Mobile When I was seventeen It was a very good year. I married the guy of my dreams. When I was twenty one It was a dangerous year. I lost everyone who was Close and dear to me. I suffered without end I was ready to die. Then God smiled on me. Sent the liberators Our wonderful, brave GIs. When I was twenty four I married a kind stranger. I was not lonely anymore. I had a baby, The joy of my life Waiting to enter the promised paradise. When I was twenty six It was a very good year. I came to America Full of hope Leaving behind fear. When I was eighty three It was a very good year. I came to Mobile The city of fresh, green trees And scented air. It was the end of the road, So I thought. I didn't know The city has a soul And a warm heart. People wanted to know my tragic past. With an open mind, When I reached eighty five. School and church doors opened wide. They all wanted to know the truth. They listen to me. When I will breathe my very last, I can say, Maybe in Mobile My years were the very best. Calhoun County deputies are looking for a man who a couple says kidnapped them at gunpoint as they were leaving a concert. Chief Deputy Matthew Wade said the incident happened Saturday at the Back 40 Bash in Pleasant Valley. A man and woman, both 22, were leaving the concert because the woman was having an asthma attack. As they were leaving, a white man pulled a pistol and instructed them to take him to the Star Mart, a Jacksonville convenience store on Nisbet Street. He told them deputies were pursuing him. At some point in the trip, the man concealed the weapon. At the Star Mart, the man exited the pickup, leaving the couple behind. The two then drove to Jacksonville's Regional Medical Center where they reported the incident. However, Wade said, deputies were not pursuing anybody at the time. "Our investigators are looking into it," he said. "There's not a lot to go on." No one was injured in the incident. Back Forty_bottlesandcans.jpg (Back Forty Beer) ((Back Forty Beer) ) Back Forty Beer Co. was chosen as Alabama's representative in an economic impact study for Google. The report, which can be seen here, says the Internet search engine and its products helped provide $357 million of economic activity for Alabama businesses, website publishers and non-profits in 2015. The report also says Google provided about $1.5 million in free advertising for Alabama non-profits through its Google Ad Grants program, while about 11,000 Alabama businesses and non-profits benefited from Google's AdWords and AdSense last year. In the case of Back Forty Beer, the report mentions how the Gadsden-based company used AdWords, Google's advertising program, to gain attention, as well as other tools such as Google Analytics, Gmail, Google Docs and Google Groups. Brad Wilson, Back Forty's director of marketing, is quoted in the report as saying, "The Internet is the ultimate leveler, the revolutionary force behind companies like ours." When former Birmingham Health Care CEO Jonathan Dunning left that job he set up several companies "to make a profit off" the federally-funded medical provider for the poor and homeless, Dunning's former employee and ex-lover told a jury Tuesday. When asked by a federal prosecutor what percentage of the income into Dunning's companies came from BHC and another community health center in Tuskegee, Sharon Waltz responded: "I don't know of any other income they had." Dunning, 52, the former nonprofit CEO of BHC was indicted Nov. 14, 2014. He faces 112 fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with diverting to his own companies $14 million in federal government funds meant for treating the poor and homeless at BHC and Central Alabama Comprehensive Health in Tuskegee. The two community health centers, BHC and CACH, were among 1,400 federally-funded centers nationwide. BHC in January changed its name to Alabama Regional Medical Services. Jonathan Dunning and Sharon Waltz Federal prosecutors allege Dunning diverted federal grant money for health care services into his own pockets by setting up companies, most of them with the name Synergy in them, to contract with BHC for services and lease agreements on buildings. Waltz, a clinical psychologist, testified that while doing post doctorate work at UAB in 2001 she worked at BHC for a year with a $24,000 salary. In August 2002 Dunning offered her a job as clinical director over BHC's mental health department and a few years later she was making $70,000 a year. But in 2004 she went to work for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa at $35,000 a year "because Mr. Dunning told me to," she said. Waltz said that at the time she was pregnant with Dunning's baby, who was born in May 2005. Waltz came back to work at BHC in August 2005. The couple had a second child in August 2007, she said. When Dunning left as CEO at BHC in November 2008 he took Waltz and a few others with him to run his Synergy companies. Those companies would end up with contracts for billing, management consulting, and other services to the two community health centers in Birmingham and Tuskegee. One of his companies, Synergy Real Estate Holdings, had bought the BHC's headquarters building on Southside in February 2008 and was leasing it back to BHC. Other real estate deals involving Synergy and BHC would come later. The relationship between Dunning and Waltz ended in 2012 and Waltz sued for child custody and support and also filed a sexual harassment complaint with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and later an unsuccessful lawsuit against Dunning. "Is it fair to say the relationship ended badly?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Kay Atwood asked Waltz. "Yes," Waltz replied. Waltz testified that she knew of only two contracts that Synergy worked on that didn't involve BHC or CACH. Both were grant applications for projects with other groups and neither was successful, she said. Waltz said that she continued working on grant applications for BHC and submitting progress reports on the federal grants BHC already through Dunning's Legacy consulting company. Dunning's attorney, Bill Athanas, asked Waltz if she was engaged in a conspiracy with Dunning to carry out a scheme to defraud BHC, CACH and federal Health Resources and Services Administration. "No," she replied. Waltz also denied that she ever did anything improper in working on grants with BHC, CACH or HRSA. Atwood asked Waltz if she had formed an opinion on the reason why Dunning had set up the different companies. Atwood reminded Waltz of her grand jury testimony in the case and Waltz replied "for Synergy to make a profit off Birmingham Health Care." Board members Three BHC board members, Shirley Pruitt, Gloria Ayers and Cornell Hall, also testified Tuesday that they never had access to financial records at BHC. Hall, the current chairman of Alabama Regional Medical Services (formerly BHC), testified that before the board met they weren't given any financial information prior to the meetings and they couldn't take it with them. Pruitt said that the board members had to leave their information packets on the tables after the meetings. Pruitt was asked by defense attorney William H. Thomas, Jr. whether anyone ever told her how to vote. She said "no." Hall said that the current board has created new rules in which the board member can't vote on something they have not read. The board now receives the information packets before their meetings. The three also said they agreed to be on the volunteer board over the past eight years at the request of BHC CEO Jimmy Lacey, who took over in late 2008 after Dunning left. Dunning gave Lacey, who at the time was chairman of the BHC board, a check for $25,000 in September 2007, according to testimony. The check, which Athanas told jurors was to help an out of work friend, was given to Lacey days after the BHC building on Southside appraised for $6 million. It was also five months before the board would sell the facility to Dunning's company for less than half that appraisal. Terry Burney, Birmingham Mayor William Bell's chief administrative analyst and a long time Birmingham Health Care board member, had testified Friday that he never saw a $6 million appraisal on the BHC's building on Southside near Vulcan before the board voted in February 2008 to sell it to a company - Synergy Real Estate Holdings - formed by Dunning. The board sold it for $2.8 million, which is more than the $2.75 million BHC had paid for it about eight years earlier. The trial continues Wednesday before U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, a specially appointed judge on the case. Charles Walton Prueter also represents Dunning. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tamarra Matthews-Johnson and John B. Ward also are prosecuting the case. Al.com reporter Mike Oliver contributed to this story Flashing Police Lights.jpg ( ) Two Montgomery men were killed when they exchanged gunfire early Monday morning, police said Tuesday. Montgomery police and fire medics responded to reports of shots fired at the 4700 block of Park Towne Way around 3:45 a.m. Monday, where they found 21-year-old John Riley dead at the scene. A second man involved in the shooting, 24-year-old Quarnavious Hamilton, was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Riley and Hamilton had been involved in a long-standing dispute, according to police. Evidence indicated that Hamilton was the "primary aggressor" in the fatal shooting and that he was killed after Riley returned fire. Police said Tuesday that they were still probing the incident, saying Riley's death is being investigated as a homicide while Hamilton's is being looked at as a death investigation. Wild South conservation awards Carl Silverstein with father J.M. (Courtesy Carl Silverstein) When Carl Silverstein was a teenager, tramping through the Alabama outdoors with his father to places like Mt. Cheaha and the Walls of Jericho, Mike Leonard was an inspiration and friend, an example of how one person can make a difference in preserving special wild places. Leonard was fresh out of law school, working for a firm in Birmingham and dedicating hours upon hours of his own time to protecting sensitive wild places. He got to know Carl's father J.M. Silverstein through the Alabama Conservancy, and sometimes Carl would tag along. Now Leonard and Carl Silverstein are both attorneys living in North Carolina who have successfully preserved thousands of acres of wilderness throughout the southeast, and who show no signs of slowing down in their mission to ensure that the region's natural treasures are still around for future generations. Photos from Wild South conservation awards Earlier this month, both Silverstein and Leonard were honored by regional conservation group Wild South at its annual Green Gala. Wild South executive director Pat Byington said that between the two of them, Leonard and Silverstein have preserved more than 200,000 acres of sensitive land throughout the South. Silverstein, now the full-time executive director of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, received the group's Outstanding Conservationist award. Leonard, a partner at a North Carolina law firm who does land conservation work on the side, was named the group's Friend of Wilderness for 2016. "These two gentlemen, with deep Alabama ties, have saved so many special places throughout the South," Byington said. "It's inspirational." Silverstein grew up in Birmingham and said some of his happiest memories came hiking through the woods with his father, who died of cancer when Carl was a teenager. It wasn't until several years later, after his mother passed, that Silverstein decided to make conservation his life's work. "I realized I wanted to do something that every day I would be contributing some good," Silverstein said. "That really catalyzed me going into conservation as a career. That's when it all came together for me." Since then, Silverstein has helped preserve more than 50,000 acres of land, mostly in North Carolina and Tennessee, with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. "Carl has led for more than a decade, one of the country's oldest and most respected land trust organizations - Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy," Byington said. "His most recent victory was the preservation of Rocky Fork in Tennessee, a 10,000-acre watershed that borders the Sampson Wilderness and Appalachian Trail." 30 years and counting working on the Pinhoti Trail When Leonard first moved to Alabama, he fell in love with the Pinhoti Trail area, stretching from Flagg Mountain in east-central Alabama to north Georgia. He's an avid long-distance hiker and has worked for at least 30 years to connect the Pinhoti to the Appalachian Trail, giving hikers a path to get from central Alabama all the way to Maine. If everything goes according to plan, the 63-year-old Leonard says he'll spend at least 20 more years improving the trail, moving it off of paved roads and into the woods, although not usually by hand. "I don't go down there with a mattock and a hoe to clear the trail," Leonard said. "Instead, I sit up here and look at maps and stitch together land deals." For Leonard, the Pinhoti project is just part of his work in land conservation, even if it is a 50-year project. It's also not his full-time job, though he is chairman of the board for a major conservation group. "Everything I do with land conservation is my hobby," Leonard said. "With the amount of time I spend on it, it's one heck of a hobby, but that's what it is." Leonard's impact has been felt in other parts of Alabama as well. He worked on deals to preserve land around the famed Walls of Jericho, and around the Little River Canyon. Byington said Leonard helped establish the Cheaha Wilderness and expand the Sipsey. "Mike Leonard has championed wilderness and wild places in Alabama for more than 30 years," Byington said. "In North Carolina he has preserved over 125,000 acres in 22 counties. Now as chair of the Conservation Fund's board of directors, Mike is saving wild places throughout the nation." Leonard said he remembers hiking the Pinhoti with the J.M. Silverstein and taking his first steps into land conservation. "All of this work in Alabama has very important ties to my conservation roots, and important ties to Carl," Leonard said. "The very first projects I worked on with The Conservation Fund were tied in with creating the trail corridor along the Pinhoti. "That's what got me really involved in the late '80s and I got more and more involved as time went on, and the rest is history." Silverstein said he still thinks often about his parents and his childhood experiences outdoors, including those hikes with Leonard. He also thinks of land lost to development that wasn't preserved. "It's a very emotional thing, the feeling of loss of special places that we may have enjoyed when we were young," Silverstein said. "And that if we don't very proactively go out and try to secure protection for the future, more of that will be lost. That's a driving force." Bill_Kristol_1.JPG Bill Kristol (pictured) is eyeing conservative lawyer and author David French as an independent candidate for president. Conservative author, lawyer and Iraq war veteran David French is the target of Weekly Standard publisher Bill Kristol's attempt to get a Republican to run as an independent to challenge Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the general election, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing two Republicans close to Kristol. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Kristol, one of the most prominent figures of the "Never Trump" movement, tweeted that there will be "an independent candidate--an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance." Just a heads up over this holiday weekend: There will be an independent candidate--an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance. Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 29, 2016 Trump dismissed Kristol's attempt at recruiting a third-party candidate for president, calling Kristol a "dummy" and "an embarrassed loser" on Twitter: Bill Kristol has been wrong for 2yrs-an embarrassed loser, but if the GOP can't control their own, then they are not a party. Be tough, R's! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2016 Gov. Robert Bentley is expected to testify Wednesday morning in the ethics trial of Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, the Associated Press reported. Updated information on Bentley testimony Reporters from Alabama Public Television and the Alabama Political Reporter said today Bentley was on the list of witnesses for Wednesday that prosecutors announced in court. Four of the charges against Hubbard accuse him of lobbying the governor's office and the state Department of Commerce on behalf of Southeast Alabama Gas District and CV Holdings, a business owned by Robert Abrams that includes the Capitol Cups plant in Auburn. In 2012, SEAGD hired Hubbard under a consulting contract to help recruit businesses to the Wiregrass, and Abrams hired Hubbard to help market his company's products. The contracts were with Hubbard's company, Auburn Network. Wednesday will be the sixth day of testimony in Hubbard's case. The speaker has denied all charges in a 23-count indictment issued by a special grand jury in Lee County in 2014. Hubbard's lawyers have claimed the speaker relied on guidance from the Ethics Commission on his consulting contracts. Prosecutors allege he did not adhere to those guidelines. Too many people know Carolyn Johnson. Too many mothers have been comforted by her after the death of a loved one by homicide. Too many brothers and sisters have shed tears on her shoulders. Too many young children have looked into her eyes and seen empathy -- and their own searing pain. Not enough people know Carolyn Johnson. Not enough people have seen the raw agony on her face as she recounts the still-vivid images, the unfathomable encounters and the terrible, wrenching emotions of Nov. 22, 2003, when her 20-year-old son, Rodreckus, a young man working two jobs to support his year-old son, was killed as he, his cousin John Simpson, younger friend King Ford younger brother DeMarcus and a friend pulled up to a party on Maple Avenue Southwest in Powderly. Not enough people have seen her hold her stomach as she recalls answering the door that evening and hearing DeMarcus say, "Ma!, Ma!...He's been shot in the head and I think he's dead'; falling to the floor of the hospital as a nurse says, "He didn't make it"; and kissing her dead son's chest just moments later, saying he still smelled like soap from the shower he had taken earlier in the evening. Not enough people have seen her shoulders slump as she describes how her son's death altered the trajectory of her and her family's lives, how it "destroyed" them; how she "didn't know how to live, breathe, eat, walk or talk" for eight years after Rodreckus died; how her daughter, Shunquarius, still can't talk about her brother; how her dead son's son, Nidreckus, now 14, constantly asks her to tell him what his father was like as a little boy. I met Carolyn just a few weeks ago. Or, rather, I watched her share those memories with more than a dozen young men who had been identified by area law enforcement officials as the most likely to kill or be killed. It took place at a "call-in" organized by the Violence Reduction Initiative, an effort to stem homicides in Birmingham -- which soared in 2015 -- and Jefferson County with a pro-active, in-your-face approach it is hoped will stop tragedy before it happens. Nine people addressed the group that night, including the expected (state and district attorneys, city law enforcement officials) and maybe the less expected (two men who served prison time and a local pastor). The core of their message was: We care about you. We care about your futures. We care about our city. We need your help. They were also told that, knowing most homicides promulgate from a "group"--not necessarily "gang" culture -- the full force of the state, county and city law enforcement would rain down upon any one of them and their group upon the determination that the next homicide committed was unjustified and that anyone in their "group" was involved. For real. Call it a little bit of "scared straight," and let's all pray it works -- even to the smallest degree -- because if just one life, one son or daughter, or mother or father, one brother or sister is saved... ...then one less family will experience what Carolyn and her family, as well as other families throughout the city, still endure. Thirty-eight Birmingham families have been wrenched by homicidal tragedy in 2016--one of them two-fold, by the death of 18-year-old Naki'a Darlene Harris, shot to death in her own home, allegedly by her boyfriend (who has been charged with capital murder), and her unborn son, seven months in her womb. Some lost their lives as a result of the lawless lives they led, or the dangerous circumstances they put themselves in, but many, many were innocents--people caught in the crossfire of a culture that appears to value humanity less and less each day. All of their names have slipped from the headlines and from our consciousness, but the grief, the painful ripple effects of their deaths still reverberate among the loves they left behind, the kin and acquaintances, the parents and children. Just as they still reverberate within Carolyn Johnson. On the night of the call-in, Johnson stood before the "most likely to kill or be killed" and once again painted a painful portrait of the night of her son's murder, and its after-effects. The room, filled with about 100 invited witnesses, was silent. We were not allowed to take notes, but not long after, Johnson, sitting in her home in Center Point, recounted it again. She had been upbeat and positive, engaging and smiling, until she began to speak of the day she lost her oldest son. For the next few minutes, it was November 22, 2003 once again, and it was raw, difficult to even hear: I got up that morning and went to a car wash to raise money for a play that was being staged at Carver Theater called, "The Way it Was Then, the Way it is Now." A minister and friend, who had written the play said that something about me had been on her mind and she asked to talk for a bit. She asked how everything was going and I said my kids were and that we had a happy life. I asked her to keep praying for them. I came home and Rodreckus...he had two jobs--one working for the city of Bessemer Street and Sanitation department, the other for the CVS distribution Center. His foot was swollen due to a really bad case of athlete's foot. He was soaking it in some solution. I asked him, 'What are you doing? You going somewhere?' He just smiled. We were gonna watch a movie that night, 'Head of State' with Chis Rock, but John called and asked him to go to a party in Powderly. Rodreckus got ready. He was ironing his shirt and burned his hand. I told him, 'Boy, you'd better be careful.' I said it was too bad we can't watch the movie. He said, 'We can watch it tomorrow.' Rodreckus had a thing about not letting more than three people in his car, so John sat in the passenger seat, while King rode in the back. Marcus drove my car. I said: 'Y'all be back by 12 o'clock so you won't be sleepy at Sunday school.' He said, "Okay, Ma. I'll be back.' I started watching a JFK special; it was the 40th anniversary of the assignation. I remember watching Jackie O and thinking: 'Oh Lord, I don't ever want to be in that situation.' Before going to bed I got on my knees and prayed that no hurt or harm would come to anyone that night. I got up and felt fine, so I went to sleep. I may have been sleep about thirty minutes when I heard a car pull up in the yard, then there was banging at the door. Marcus was with one of his friends, who was holding him up. 'Ma, Ma, Rodreckus got shot!' I said, 'What do you mean?' 'We pulled up to the party and people started shooting into a crowd and a bullet hit him' I thought he might have been shot in the arm or leg, so I just said, 'Okay, I'll get ready' Marcus kept yelling: 'We don't have time. He was shot in the head and I believe he's dead.' I fell to the floor and started yelling, 'God, please no! Marcus, that can't be right!' Then, I actually heard a voice say: 'Where's your God now?' Then I heard another one. It said, 'Get up, I got your baby. Get up.' So I got up and said: 'Let's go, I'll show you what kind of God I serve.' I got on the highway to Bessemer and flagged down a cop. When I told him what happened he said he'd escort me to Princeton Hospital. There were so many children there. They were screaming, crying. Some were on the ground. Some were praying. It was awful. I went inside and said, 'I'm Rodreckus Johnson's mother.' A nurse told me, 'The doctor is with him now.' 'Thank you, Jesus,' I said. 'That means he's gonna be okay.' We were sent to a waiting area separate from the regular waiting area. Marcus was losing it. I tried to convince him that Rodreckus would be okay but he kept talking about what he had seen--'...all the stuff coming out of his head..." 'I don't care what it looked like, god can fix it,' I told him. The nurse came in and said the doctor wanted to talk to me; my older sister Ann came with me. He tried telling me about the damage had done but I wasn't getting it. He asked the nurse to come in; maybe she could explain it to me better. She started talking again about the 'damage' his head had sustained, then she said: 'He didn't make it.' But I didn't let her get that out. I screamed, 'God no!' and fell out on the floor. It was ugly. I just kept screaming: 'I need to see my child!' They let us go back. It was the worst sight I'd ever seen. He was lying on a table. I didn't kiss his face because it still had blood on it. His left eye was partially; it was the side where the bullet hit. His clothes were still neat because he has starched them to death, and he had on one shoe because his other foot was swollen. There was so much hurt in that room, so much pain, so much agony. The people at the hospital were very nice. They didn't rush us out. I couldn't understand that he had to go to a funeral home. I said, 'No, he's going home.' 'He can't go home with you,' the nurse said. We left that hospital and I just kept waiting for someone to tell me it was a mistake. I got home and just couldn't go to bed. Somebody gave me something and I did get some sleep but I woke up on Sunday morning looking for him. I called back to the hospital to see if they might have been wrong. They were not. I thought I'd get a phone call saying they'd made a mistake. I didn't. I had to plan a funeral for my child. People were saying they were going to make it a 'celebration.' I was like, 'I'm not celebrating. He's gone. I can't rejoice. My child had his whole life ahead of him. I'm not going to rejoice.' The trajectory of the bullet that took Rodreckus' life also altered the lives of Carolyn and her children. Shunquarius, now 31, and DeMarcus, 29, both dropped out of high school and Carolyn, mired in her own grief, was in no position to help them. Carolyn says Shunquarius still "feels like her big brother, her hero, the person she looked up to, was taken away." On the night before the funeral, police caught DeMarcus in a car in which there was a gun. The cops thought he was going to try to retaliate. No charges were filed. Instead, an officer called Carolyn; she picked him up and brought him home. "I didn't even fuss at him," he says. "We just laid in the bed together and cried. I didn't know what to say to a 17-year old who saw his brother killed, saw what it did to his mom, and was just trying to step up." "What [Rodreckus' death] did to me, my other children, our family," she says. "People don't see that side. People don't see the after effects, the 'Then what?' "Friends get tattoos, make T-shirts and stuff like that, but the family is left with not having that person there anymore. It really destroyed our family." Some parents die from grief. They fall to drugs or illness, or psychologically never recover. Johnson finally reached back towards that God who told her 'I got you' on that tragic night. In 2008, she married Willie Turner, a man whom she has known for a few years but had only dated less than a year. Seeing the positive effect he had on her, Carolyn's sister called her early that year and told her she was getting married on February 16. Carolyn didn't want a February wedding and asked if it could be pushed back to July. The answer was no. "So actually," she says with a laugh, "my family married me to him." Being married helped guide Carolyn out of the abyss of grief, but it was her children, and six grandchildren--along with her faith--that finally spurred her exit. "People see my strength and my faith now, but they don't know," she says. "I was fighting to live, there were times I didn't want to. "But I had two other children who were in pain, agony and turmoil, and I didn't want them to lose me, too." Carolyn tries to move through her pain by embracing and supporting other families who lost a loved one of homicide. She launched Parents Against Violence just months after Rodreckus' death and later appeared in a 2010 Alabama Public Television documentary called "Not My Son". She also wrote a book called "When Your Child is Murdered". On June 18th--Father's Day weekend--she's hosting a book signing at the Birmingham Central Library downtown. (A forum on violence will be held from 2p-4p, the signing begins at 4p.) RELATED: Watch Carolyn Johnson discuss why she wrote "When Your Child is Murdered" "All of the pain, just all of it," is in the book, she says. Except the pain that re-occurs each time she struggles to makes sense of what happened, yearns to know: Who shot my child? Carolyn has asked God to remove that part from me. "I just wanted to kill somebody. He helped with that." But then just recently, police went public with an account of what happened that night, on November 22, 2003, that is in stark contrast to what she has been told, and what others who were there--including DeMarcus, Simpson and Ford--have told her for 13 years. "Now it's coming back," she says of the longing to know. "Rodreckus didn't deserve that," she told me just today. "It's not like he got sick. This was murder. He was a lovely person with hopes and dreams..." Too many Birmingham families know her grief, her struggle, her pain. Way too many. Roy S. Johnson, a nationally known journalist who now calls Alabama home, writes a column on vital topics and trends, and inspiring people throughout Alabama in business, technology, innovation, the arts, religion, politics and more. Email him your ideas at ForReal@al.com or tweet them to @roysj using the hashtag #ForRealAlabama) The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted an Alabama inmate's challenge of his death sentence, less than a month after granting a similar request to another death row inmate in the state. The court vacated the judgment against Corey Allen Wimbley, who in 2008 was convicted in the slaying of a store owner during a robbery attempt in Washington County. Wimbley was charged with capital murder in the death of 55-year-old Connie Ray Wheat at a grocery store in Wagarville. In 2014, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and death sentence in the case. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Wimbley's certiorari petition, sending the case back before the state appeals court. It comes less than a month after the court granted similar review in the case of Bart Johnson, also a death row inmate in Alabama. The decisions in both cases were spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in January that Florida's sentencing scheme allowing judges to override juries in death penalty cases is unconstitutional. Alabama has a similar sentencing scheme. The court originally denied review of Johnson's case, but after its ruling in the Hurst v Florida case, his attorneys with the Equal Justice Initiative asked again for a hearing. The U.S. Supreme Court granted that request May 2. Johnson's case was the first Alabama case challenging Alabama's capital murder sentencing scheme, since the Florida case was decided, to be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court. At the time, a law professor told AL.com that the ruling was limited in scope because it merely sent the case back to the appeals court, not the original trial court. But at the time Johnson's attorney said it could have broad-reaching effects. "This ruling implicates all (capital) cases in Alabama," Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of EJI, told AL.com. "We have argued that Alabama's statute no longer conforms to current constitutional requirements. The Court's ruling [May 2] supports that view." District attorneys and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange have said that Alabama's law is not the same as Florida's. They note that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state's sentencing scheme constitutional in 1995. economy-2014.jpg So called middle market companies - worth between $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenues - have seen dramatic growth in Alabama over the last five years. That's according to the latest Middle Market Power Index from American Express and Dun & Bradstreet. The new study puts the number of middle market companies in Alabama now at 2,513. That's an 80 percent increase since 2011. Alabama now ranks 31st out of all 50 states for growth in middle market firms. While that constitutes strong growth, middle market firms still only account for just 1.13 percent of all firms in Alabama. Small businesses - companies with less than $10 million in annual revenues - make up 98.9 percent of all firms. Large companies - those with $1 billion in annual revenues - comprise 0.01 percent of Alabama firms. But while middle market firms make up just over 1 percent of companies in Alabama and just 0.96 percent of all businesses in America - they account for more than half of the total job growth nationally since 2011. And such companies contribute one in four dollars and employ one in four workers in the private sector. Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban said that he would consider the possibility of running as Hillary Clinton's vice president if she asked him, CNN reported. Cuban told NBC's Chuck Todd that he would "absolutely" listen to the suggestion if Clinton approached him. "But the key would be she would have to go more to center... I like the fact that Sen. Clinton has thought out proposals. That's a good thing, because at least we get to see exactly where she stands. But I think Sen. [Bernie] Sanders has dragged her a little bit too far to the left." "If she's willing to listen, if she's willing to hear other sides of things, then I'm wide open to discussing it," he said on the program. Cuban has been open about his friendship with the likely GOP nominee Donald Trump, but said that he has a "love-hate relationship" with the real estate mogul. He joked on NBC that if he was Clinton's running mate, he would "throw bombs" at Trump. From rising up against British colonialism and US occupation to battling al-Qaeda and ISIL, Iraqi city has seen it all. Fallujah is a city with many names. The city of mosques; the city of minarets; the bastion of the resistance; the city which defeated the US army; the city of men; the city of terrorism; the cancerous tumour; the city of best kebabs. It has a symbol and it has a history. The city, among other parts of Anbar province and Iraq as a whole, rose against British colonisation in 1920. After grabbing the attention of the worlds media after the US occupation of Iraq in 2003, Fallujah quickly turned into a hub of armed resistance groups fighting foreign occupying forces and Iraqi government forces. It became a symbol of resistance among mainly Sunni Arab and some Shia Iraqis, neighbouring Arab countries and the wider Muslim world. READ MORE: Residents fleeing Fallujah tell of horrific ISIL rule But the city gradually turned into an al-Qaeda stronghold. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the late Jordanian leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, started a relentless campaign against foreign forces. He ordered waves of suicide bombings against foreign and Iraqi troops, the targeting of Shia Muslims, kidnapping and beheading of foreigners. The burned bodies of four Blackwater contractors hung on a bridge and gruesome videos of beheadings are still vivid memories for many people. Over the years, Zarqawis group turned into the Islamic State of Iraq and then eventually transformed to present day ISIL, also known as ISIS. US-led offensives The US military led two major assaults in 2004 on the city. In the first battle of Fallujah, it couldnt enter the city where only a few hundred armed men were entrenched inside. And in the second, the US military almost levelled the city and faced accusations of using non-conventional weapons as it deployed tens of thousands of Marine Corps personnel. The Americans kept their soldiers in Anbar until they withdrew in 2011 to make sure that the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi remained calm. Many in these two cities brag that their province is where most casualties among the US military occurred. This gave Fallujah pride and became a symbol among its residents and its supporters in and outside Iraq. With the help of local tribes, US and Iraqi government troops turned the tide on al-Qaeda and took control of the city. But Fallujah kept the spirit of rejecting government policies. The men who were fighting the Americans and government forces were killed, jailed or simply returned to their daily jobs. Discrimination felt Fallujah is Sunni. Its residents, like many other Sunni parts of Iraq, feel they are being discriminated against and targeted by sectarian Shia-led governments. Large weekly protests started in late 2012 into 2013 in six Iraqi provinces, including in the city Fallujah. They demanded the government to end what they say was the marginalisation and targeting of Sunnis. The government of Nouri al-Maliki, the then prime minister who labelled the protests rotten, ignored the calls and ordered troops to disperse the gatherings using force. Fallujah quickly became the first major city to fall to ISIL in 2014. The government of Haider al-Abadi blamed many of the suicide attacks on ISIL using Fallujah as a base to attack Baghdad. Leaders of Shia armed units, known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, started an unprecedented wave of statements and comments aimed at the city. Influential militia leaders were keen to show their presence near the frontlines. Everyone wants to benefit from achieving victory over ISIL, especially in Fallujah. Not all residents of the city are members of or sympathisers with ISIL. And not all of them trust the government and its collaboration with the Shia militias. A new chapter of the citys history is being written. Like so many great stories, this one, too, starts as a love story. Mayaneli Brown and Niles Keith met in high school in Albuquerque, but we barely spoke two words to each other then, as Keith puts it. Years later Keith was attending the Cinema Makeup School in LA while Brown was busy working as a gourmet chef at The Artichoke Cafe. The two reconnected and subsequently, their lives were changed. I packed all my stuff up, put it in my car, and drove from Los Angeles to Albuquerque. Two days later, [Mayaneli] and I met up and that's how our relationship started, Keith explained, and by proxy, it was also the genesis of the beautiful, weird baby that is FoodGore. It's difficult to tally the many things that FoodGore is. It's an ongoing multiplicity of projects. It's curated, monthly art pop-ups. It's jewelry, fashion and assorted other handcrafted wares. But, perhaps most importantly, it is ice cream. Fuck. Yes. It started out weird, Keith said. Weird is, in fact, a word we will all say many times over the course of our interview. Brown mentioned to Keith that she really wanted a necklace with a favorite culinary iteman eggon it. Keith used the sculpting skills he learned from makeup art and crafted a sunny-side up egg necklace from resin for her. I brought it to her one night when she was cooking. That's how we started making things together, Keith explained. From there, the two married Brown's culinary skills and Keith's crafting expertise to begin FoodGore, teaching each other and collaborating along the way. In October of 2015, FoodGore held its first, informal art exhibition and ice cream tasting in the spare room of their home. The goal? We just wanted to [have] weird little art shows and serve weird ice cream, Keith explained. FoodGore has grown exponentially since then. The unofficial home of the project has shifted to The Shop Breakfast & Lunch, where last month's pop-up featured an eight-course dessert menu and a range of handmade goods. FoodGore also highlights the work of other local visual artists; in the past they have showcased work from diverse artists such as the whimsical drawings and paintings of Tina Yara-Nieto and the tattoo-inspired design work of Osiris Keith. We thought that doing art shows would be a cool opportunity to collaborate with our friends who are trying to get out there as artists, that way we bring in different types of people, Brown elaborated. Their next pop-up at The Shop on June 26 will feature the food-laden artwork of Kelly Gee. The multitude of happenings at FoodGorethe jewelry and the pins and the other petite luxuries that they create, the art shows that they host and the ice cream they serve up monthlyall have an end goal. We thought it would be cool to have an ice cream cart one day, Brown said, Now it's starting to become real. The vision is outrageous, Keith interjected, And we just roll with it, Brown added. Equally brilliant and outrageous are the ice cream flavors the two engineer which include things like matcha-nori, avocado and chocolate chip, and green chile. Post-interview they sent me home with their Girl Gang flavortriple berry ice cream with cotton candy extract which Managing Editor Renee Chavez gleefully described as something like eating a thunderstorm cloud. What I love [about FoodGore] is that it's all made in-house night to night, we make it. It's us, Keith explained about their creative process, which most often takes place in the few hours between work and sleep. Their ice cream is made by hand, and their creations are all hand molded and sculpted. In fact, they just invested in a screen printing press, so that they can create their own t-shirts and art prints as well. This is our break from work, Brown explained. It's a fun way for us to be together. And that strikes at the heart of what FoodGore is aboutendless fun (it's evident in everything they create) and, on a more intimate plane, being together. It's why I moved back, Keith clarified. As FoodGore expands and evolves (they even have designs for their ice cream cart in place and are only waiting on the funds to build it), it remains a love story. Brown and Keith not only share a personal connection and amazing creative synergy, but the love they have for the fruits of their collaborative efforts is palpable, and they celebrate it in their own weird way, with ice cream and art. Discover your own reasons to love FoodGore by finding them on Facebook (/foodgore) and Instagram (@foodgoreshop) and making your way to The Shop on June 26 for a multi-course dessert plating and a whole lot of fun. London, UK Its half past midnight at a North London community centre and a group of men in flashy hats and shiny trousers are explaining what it means to be a sapeur: To be a sapeur is a state of mind, un etat desprit. Its not about the money you spend: you must have the eye, taste in coordinating clothes, sensibility in matching the colours. The outfit reveals the personality: thus, a man must be clean, presentable, and properly dressed. This is our art: we all are artists. La Sape is our glory, and makes us proud to be Congolese. The men, who are aged between 25 and 49, are originally from inner-city Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They wear flamboyant clothing made by world-class fashion designers. Their clothes reinforce the message: enjoy life and show the world that you do. Behind the clothes, however, la Sape (the Societe des Ambianceurs et de Personnes Elegantes or The Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People) implies an entire life philosophy that is, sapologie. It is both the ideology of the movement about being happy and elegant even if you havent eaten enough; cosmopolitan, non-violent, mostly apolitical and the colourful, exuberant manifestations of its members. This compulsive obsession with fashion and elegance has its centre between Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo, and Kinshasa two African capitals facing each other across the Congo River. But it has also followed the Congolese diaspora all over Africa, Europe and America. With la Sapes origins dating back to French and Belgian colonial times, the movements adherents were politically repressed by Central African governments, in particular by President Mobutu Sese Sekos authenticite campaign in Zaire (now the DRC) during the 1970s and 1980s. But la Sape is more than a subculture. It is a significant feature of Congolese culture which permeates mainstream politics, art, economy and communication. Politicians and musicians respect the movement; while the sapeurs in turn look to the outfits of public figures and performers for sartorial inspiration. And as a night out with Londons sapeurs reveals, Congos diaspora often debate what their fashion movement really stands for. 11pm at the barbershop My journey with London-based ambience-makers begins at 11pm on a Saturday night in Tottenham, where the majority of the citys Congolese community live. The first stop is a local barbershop, which shares its premises with the atelier of a Congolese tailor. The sapeurs stop here before embarking on the rest of their night, obeying the commandment to be impeccably groomed. They pay homage to Papa Wemba, the superstar of Congolese rumba and king of la Sape who died on April 24, when explaining the ritual. Papa Wemba taught us so, they say, quoting lyrics from the 1980s song Aisa Na Zoe, one of la Sapes anthems in which Wemba describes the features of a perfect playboy: Well-shaved, well-styled hair, nicely scented and well-dressed. Wemba himself would often repeat this maxim in interviews. Charlie Schengen, who is in his late 40s and a veteran of Londons Sape scene, welcomes us with a short defile the traditional way to display the elegance of an up-to-date outfit. He alternates slow, long strides with rapid sequences of heel-toe steps, loudly knocking his J.M. Weston triple sole shoes on the salon floor. He concludes by standing in the middle of the room with his arms wide open, taking in the admiration of the audience while a younger sapeur turns the lapel of his jacket to reveal the original Dolce & Gabbana label in case there was any doubt. La Sape is not easy. There are only two options with it: if you feel it, you have to spend money on it, really big money. If you dont feel it enough, youd better give up, especially if you are responsible for your house and family. Otherwise, your life can be destroyed. It can drive you crazy, says Charlie, who considers himself a retired sapeur but still dresses up. The older ones warn the younger about the risks of fashion fanaticism, expressing a mixture of lust for luxury, pride for being able to make it, and regret for the shallowness of their societe as a waste of time and money. Its this contradiction that baffles outsiders. The sapeurs at the barbershop always a good gauge of public opinion are concerned with Congos political turmoil and poverty. La Sape has its own part in this, with its focus on spending money on luxury clothing. Some of the men share their views on this as their beards are trimmed. I dont want to say how expensive my clothes are. People in Congo are starving, someone could get mad at me, Charlie says. When I go back to Kinshasa, its so sad to dress nicely among people who are suffering in poverty, and still admire me, and want to be like me. Sometimes I feel I dont want to dress like that any more. But if I dont, they would laugh at me, as someone who emigrated and failed, says Aime Champagne, who is originally from Kinshasa. Aime and others still maintain ties with home, travelling for holidays or business. We, the Congolese, are exaggerated, we push things way too far. We should just eat as much as we can buy, and forget about competing among us and judging people for what they appear. Everyone has the right to be what he wants. To me, la Sape is just about being clean: I feel comfortable in my Ozwald Boateng suit, so I wear it, Aime says. What has la Sape done for Congolese society? The sapeurs often refer to famous fashion designers by their first names Yohji, Coco, Vivienne as though they were old friends, but become critical when the conversation turns to what la Sape has brought to Congolese society. Zero, nothing but stupidity. No one wants to go to school, people just want to spend on clothes, even the shegey [a Lingala term to denote young men often belonging to gangs] who live in the streets. Plus, other African people dont feel shy to dress in their traditional costumes, while in Congo this is still seen as ridiculous. We lost Congo to the foreigners because of la Sape, Charlie says, referring to the movements political disengagement. Congolese people who are sceptical about la Sape define it as an obsession an addiction you cant quit even if you feel its wrong. Yet sapeur Cedrick Golden defends the ideology and sees it as empowering: To me, clothes are like food. If you are elegant, people treat you on a different level. La Sape turns you into a strong person, gives you the courage to wake up in the morning and work hard to make yourself better. A christening party The highlight of our Saturday night is, unexpectedly, a christening party. The father is a grand sapeur, or a yaya (meaning elder one in the Lari language of Brazzaville) from Kinshasa, so the cream of Englands sapeurs has gathered for the occasion. Its past midnight when we get to the venue, and the aristocracy of Congolese elegance (both women and men) are solemnly eating dinner. Members of the company pose for the camera with an indifferent air a sly look behind sunglasses and then go back to sipping their dark lagers. They are used to the media, having been the subject of dozen of films, documentaries and photography shoots, from 1987 film La Vie est Belle starring Papa Wemba to a 2014 Guinness ad which fabricates Brazzaville but was filmed in South Africa. When it comes to fashion, the Kinshasa or Kinois version of la Sape is wilder than the original one from Brazzaville: leather, jeans, reptile skin, metal inserts and mens skirts are widely used, and the no-more-than-three-colours golden rule is gleefully infringed. Among the guests there are the parlementaires, outstanding sapeurs chosen by Papa Wemba in every country where Congolese live to represent the international movement. There are also important members of les Combattants, a radical movement which systematically boycotts Congolese musicians performing abroad. They have blocked venues and attacked musicians and have completely stopped them from performing in Europe, as punishment for many performers open support for the government of President Joseph Kabila and perceived indifference to the DRCs hardships and brutalities. Yet, at the party, they dance to the hits of Papa Wemba and his Viva La Musica band, the same live music they have targeted in Europe. Party rules are different, I suppose. The legacy of Papa Wemba Many sapeurs remain emotional about Wembas recent death. Bokul [one of Wembas nicknames] is our icon, we are never going to have another one like him. He was our papa. We turned into sapeurs because of his music and his example. People focus on the bad side of la Sape, and of Papa as well. They say its about thug life but real sapeurs dont steal. First of all, la Sape is an education, a code to manage family and friends relationships, and to improve yourself. Its not just about clothes. In any case, we dont have to copy every aspect of our model, says sapeur Gauthier Mudiata. Now, well keep up the work of Papa, may his soul rest in peace. Hes still with us. Look at how Im dressed: this is thanks to Papa. Other sapeurs point to what the greater visibility of their fashion movement as a result of Papa Wemba has done for the Congolese people as a whole. We African people are still extraneous to the domains of media and fashion, so we still struggle to be in control of that, Aime says. Thanks to la Sape and Papa Wembas music, Congo is today well-known worldwide for something else than war and poverty, add two parlementaires at the party. When we go downtown London, people point at us saying: Look how elegant they are, they must be Congolese.' What have I done to deserve all this? asked the graffiti on the wall of the cage in an Egyptian courtroom. In the third installment of Chronicle of a caged journalist, Egyptian war correspondent Yehia Ghanem explores the physical and psychological cages that imprison us. Read the first part A trial without a case and the second Crocodiles in a courtroom. Cairo, Egypt Just before the judge arrived to start the first hearing in our trial, the television cameras and photographers rushed towards us. We were blinded by the flash of their cameras as they competed to capture the images of the caged defendants that would lead the prime-time news bulletins and illustrate the front-page news stories. I felt one of the young women defendants press her shoulder against mine as she leant against the wall. Her whole body was shaking with fear fear of the cameras, fear of the angry, baying crowd. Crying, she asked me if I could step forward so that she might hide behind me. Did you do anything that you ought to be ashamed of? I whispered to her. God be my witness if I did anything of what they accuse me, she replied. Then, I told her, they are the ones who should be ashamed. Dont hide, lets step forward and show ourselves. She held my hand and together we stepped towards the cage window and the flashing cameras. From time to time she looked at me, tears welling in her eyes but a smile on her lips. As the trial progressed, I was seldom able to hear my defence, the prosecutor or the judge. All I could hear were the shouts of the crowd calling for my death. So, with little else to focus on, my attention was drawn to the graffiti on the walls of the cage. The messages scrawled there offered a telling insight into the multiple injustices that had been endured between these walls. When I pass away, I will place my complaint against all of you to Allah, declared one. To myself I thought: I need not to wait until I pass away, I place it now before you, God. We were here and so will others be, said another. As I read and re-read this, it dawned on me that its author must have understood that for oppressors, injustice is like salty water it makes them thirst for more. But there was one that really struck me. What have I done to deserve all this? it asked. I asked myself the same question. But, years later, exiled from my country, separated from my children and deprived of my career and sometimes, I think, of my humanity I realised that what I was accused of was not an act of wrongdoing but one of right. The investigative judges offer had been clear and blunt: Either give evidence against the Americans or face trial yourself. I was dismissed and given a chance to consider the offer. But my response came without hesitation. No, I would not sell out innocent people. My reasoning was simple: Taking the offer might have meant saving my own skin. But it would also have meant losing myself. After the trial was over, I realised that my physical cage had merely led me to a much larger cage the cage of exile. I came to understand something Id been unable to see before my trial: so many of us live in cages. There are the physical cages imposed by courtrooms devoid of any real justice. There are the mental cages of those living under dictatorships. There are the endless cages of social inequality and oppression. As I reflected on my 30-year career as a journalist and war correspondent, remembering the people I had met along the way the mujahedeen who had left Egypt and other Arab countries to fight in Afghanistan during the 1980s, moving on to Bosnia in the 1990s and to parts of sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s and early 2000s I realised that those cages have become more numerous and evident. For there is a sobering reality we must face: the cages constructed by oppressive dictators and those who condone their actions nurture terrorism. And by this I mean terrorism in the linguistic sense of the term in Western culture. Most of those people whose stories I told had been caged in the prisons of dictators, subjected to torture and psychological violence that left them as mentally caged as they were physically. The few who made it out alive often resorted to the methods they had themselves endured the extremes of violence in their search for the freedom and dignity that had been so brutally taken from them. And that was when the world began to hear of something the West chose to call Islamic terrorism a by-product of the brutality of Western-backed Arab dictators. Perhaps the story of K. L., a neighbourhood friend I grew up with, will help to illuminate the lives of so many others just like him. But thats a story for another time Chronicle of a caged journalist is a series of excerpts from a forthcoming book. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policies. Many forget that the first Muslims to celebrate Ramadan in America were African slaves. This weekend marks the beginning of Ramadan. Nearly one-fourth of the world will observe the annual fast and eight million Muslims in the United States will abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during the holy month. A gruelling task at any time of the year, Ramadan this year will be especially daunting during the long and hot summer days. Islam in America is rapidly expanding. It is the fastest-growing religion in the nation, and the second most practiced faith in twenty states. These demographic shifts prompted a prominent Los Angeles-based imam to comment, Ramadan is a new American tradition. The clerics forward-looking pronouncement marks Islams recent arrival in the US. However, this statement reveals a pathology afflicting a lot of Muslim Americans today an inability to look back and embrace the opening chapters of Muslim American history written by enslaved African Muslims. Social scientists estimate that 15 to 30 percent, or, [a]s many as 600,000 to 1.2 million slaves in antebellum America were Muslims. 46 percent of the slaves in the antebellum South were kidnapped from Africas western regions, which boasted significant numbers of Muslims. These enslaved Muslims strove to meet the demands of their faith, most notably the Ramadan fast, prayers, and community meals, in the face of comprehensive slave codes that linked religious activity to insubordination and rebellion. Marking Ramadan as a new American tradition not only overlooks the holy month observed by enslaved Muslims many years ago, but also perpetuates their erasure from Muslim-American history. Between Sunnah and slave codes Although the Quran [a]llows a believer to abstain from fasting if he or she is far from home or involved in strenuous work, many enslaved Muslims demonstrated transcendent piety by choosing to fast while bonded. In addition to abstaining from food and drink, enslaved Muslims held holy month prayers in slave quarters, and put together iftars meals at sundown to break the fast that brought observing Muslims together. These prayers and iftars violated slave codes restricting assembly of any kind. The breadth of Muslim Americas racial and cultural diversity today is unprecedented. For instance, the Virginia Slave Code of 1723 considered the assembly of five slaves as an unlawful and tumultuous meeting, convened to plot rebellion attempts. Every state in the south codified similar laws barring slave assemblages, which disparately impacted enslaved African Muslims observing the Holy Month. Therefore, practicing Islam and observing Ramadan and its fundamental rituals, for enslaved Muslims in antebellum America, necessitated the violation of slave codes. This exposed them to barbaric punishment, injury, and oftentimes, even death. However, the courage to observe the holy month while bonded, and in the face of grave risk, highlights the supreme piety of many enslaved Muslims. Ramadan was widely observed by enslaved Muslims. Yet, this history is largely ignored by Muslim American leaders and laypeople alike and erased from the modern Muslim American narrative. Rewriting the history of Ramadan in the US Muslim America was almost entirely black during the antebellum Era. Today, it stands as the most diverse Muslim community in the world. Today African Americans comprise a significant part of the community along with Muslims of South Asian and Arab descent. Latin Americans are a rapidly growing demographic in the community, ensuring that Muslims in America are a microcosm of their home nations overall multiculturalism. In the US today, Ramadan dinner tables are sure to include staple Arab or Pakistani dishes. Yet, many Muslim Americans will break the fast with tortas and tamales, halal meatloaf and greens. Muslim diversity in the US has reshaped Ramadan into a multicultural American tradition. The breadth of Muslim Americas racial and cultural diversity today is unprecedented, making this years Ramadan and the Ramadans to follow new in terms of how transcultural and multiracial the tradition has become. This Muslim American multiculturalism comes with many challenges: Namely, intra-racism, Arab supremacy, and anti-black racism prevents cohesion inside and outside of American mosques. These deplorable trends perpetuate the erasure of the Muslim slave narrative. Integrating this history will not only mitigate racism and facilitate Muslim American cohesion, but also reveal the deep-rootedness of the faith, and its holiest month, on US soil. This Ramadan honouring the memory of the first Muslim Americans and their struggle for freedom and sharing their story with loved ones at the iftar table, seems an ideal step towards rewriting this missing chapter of Muslim American history into our collective consciousness. Khaled A Beydoun is the Critical Race Studies Teaching Fellow at the UCLA School of Law. Follow him on Twitter: @KhaledBeydoun Shia militias must behave in a sensitive and empathetic way to the mostly Sunni civilians they liberate in Iraq. Afzal Ashraf is a consultant fellow at Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) and served in the UK Armed Forces. He was involved in developing a counterinsurgency strategy and in the policing and the justice sectors in Iraq. The more experience an analyst has of the conflict in Iraq and Syria, the more reluctant he or she is to predict what is going to happen and why. This is because there are so many players involved and almost as many agendas. Until recently, everyone was expecting an operation to recover Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). News reports were about coalition leafleting of Raqqa, warning civilians to get out of the city before an all-out assault. Now the news is about Fallujah. Suddenly, a full-scale assault is under way to free Fallujah. It is unlikely that the Fallujah and Raqqa liberation plans are linked. There was a plan of sorts to coordinate the attack on Raqqa with Mosul but Fallujah unexpectedly came to the fore. The reason for the attention on Fallujah seems to have more to do with events in Baghdad than any coordinated anti-ISIL strategy. Mother of all insurgencies The high death toll in the recent ISIL bombings in Baghdad has rattled the Haider al-Abadi government. This, coming so soon after the storming of the Green Zone earlier this month resulting from growing unrest among the population about security, food, water, electricity, etc. READ MORE: A new formula in the battle for Fallujah These events are being exploited by the one man in Iraq who knows how to run the mother of all insurgencies, Moqtada al-Sadr. He has skilfully positioned himself as the champion of the common Iraqi. The government needs to be seen to be doing something and needs to distract from the day-to-day suffering of its civilian population. That is why Fallujah has made it up the charts in terms of recapture planning. As the US-led coalition discovered more than a decade ago, Fallujah is easy to lose and hard to regain. How successful the current assault is likely to be will depend on three things. First, how many ISIL fighters are actually in the city? The fewer there are, the more chance of success. Second, it will depend upon how willing the fighters or their leadership is to stand and fight. If they choose to have a tactical withdrawal, something they have done in the past, then the recapture might happen relatively easily. Why the Iraqi army, which is already getting air support from coalition partners, ground support ... from the US and some operational support from the Iranians, needs to use sectarian militias is a curious question. by Third, it will depend upon the Iraqi army and their Shia militias appetite for civilian casualties and destruction. The more willing they are to inflict civilian casualties and destroy infrastructure, the easier and quicker will be the recapture. This last point about the use of Shia militias is significant to the long-term sustainability of any gains in Fallujah and elsewhere. Why the Iraqi army, which is already getting air support from coalition partners, ground support in the form of training from the US and some operational support from the Iranians, needs to use sectarian militias is a curious question. Political bankruptcy It betrays the political bankruptcy of the Baghdad government and even the sustainability of the idea of Iraq as a state. If the state cannot have monopoly of force then it cannot govern a country. The absence of this monopoly of force is largely the cause of the current crisis. The assault on Fallujah may yield a tactical victory in the short term, but it is likely to lay the foundation for a future crisis of sectarian and identity-based extremism. The only way to avoid that would be to ensure that the Shia militias are disciplined and behave in a sensitive and empathetic way to the mostly Sunni civilians they liberate. Also, it would require a massive rebuilding and resettlement programme for the city. Performance of the post-Saddam regimes in Baghdad has been poor in both exerting discipline over armed groups and in investing in non-Shia areas, leaving little room for optimism. READ MORE: How to prevent sectarian backlash from Baghdad bombings The use of Kurdish forces by the US in Raqqa faces a similar political and military equation short-term success at the risk of long-term instability and conflict. Fatal blow to ISIL Should Raqqa be liberated, it will definitely strike a near-fatal blow to ISIL, given that the city is its capital. However, the presence and even the knowledge that Kurdish militias have been victorious in Raqqa will not rest easy with local proud Arab egos. Indeed, regional powers such as Turkey are irritated that Kurdish groups they regard as terrorists are being supported by the US. Many Syrian rebels, even those that disguise their Islamist agenda behind a veil of moderation, see the Kurdish YPG as godless socialists. For detached political analysts, the alliance of US troops with a Marxist-inspired group of Kurds who are more ideologically aligned with Russia than the US is a source of academic amusement. Its like being at the wedding of a friend when you know the marriage will result in a quick and possibly acrimonious divorce. However, if these two assaults are successful and closely followed by a victory in Mosul, then there is a chance of dismantling ISIL. That will at least simplify the Iraq and Syrian issues to the enduring ones of poor, ineffective governance, sectarian violence and Kurdish nationalism. Afzal Ashraf is a consultant fellow at Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies and served in the UK armed forces. He was involved in developing a counterinsurgency strategy and in the policing and the justice sectors in Iraq. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Turkey looks forward to working more closely with our African friends and allies in a range of areas. Over the next days, Turkeys political and business leaders will embark on a historic visit to Uganda, Kenya and Somalia. We will seek to promote closer cooperation with our regional allies, develop solutions to shared challenges and explore mutually beneficial opportunities. Many people in the world associate the African continent with extreme poverty, violent conflict and a general state of hopelessness. The people of Turkey have a different view. We believe that Africa deserves better. Africa has three core advantages First, the continent has a young and vibrant population at a time when Europe and other parts of the world are rapidly ageing. If the world cooperates with local and national governments in the region, we can create avenues for young people to make a positive impact on their communities. African women, likewise, have the potential to become more active players in economic and social life. Moreover, Africa is a continent blessed with vast natural resources. Uganda and Kenya, among others, have not only large oil reserves but also plenty of fertile land and regular rainfall. To be clear, the rest of Africa is no different, even though years of colonial rule and exploitation stripped local communities of what rightfully belongs to them. If the world stops acting out of greed and focuses on helping the African people to help themselves, the continent could become an economic powerhouse. Finally, the people of Africa have an entrepreneurial spirit that could potentially turn the continent around. Despite decades of exploitation and various challenges, the continent has always found a way to survive through innovation. As Africa assumes a more prominent role in the international arena, this spirit of entrepreneurialism will help to build a safer future for the next generation. Turkeys efforts Since 2002, the government of Turkey has been working hard to help African nations to discover their potential and take steps in the right direction. In an effort to reinvigorate our long-neglected ties with the continent, Turkey in 2005 launched an African initiative to cooperate more closely with our friends and allies in the region. Over the next years, we proceeded to hold two Turkey-Africa partnership summits in Istanbul, Turkey and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The events were not only our way of thanking the people of Africa for their warm welcome but also reiterating our commitment to a long-term partnership. Indeed, the summits marked a turning point in Turkeys relations with Africa. The growing cooperation between Turkey and Africa shows a lot can be accomplished by engaging our partners genuinely and finding solutions that serve the interests of both sides. It also sends a strong message about Africa's true potential in the world. by At the same time, Turkish officials and non-governmental organisations have been working with local communities to address pressing problems. Over the years, Turkeys development-centred humanitarian aid model helped millions of people, including thousands in drought-struck Somalia, to get back on their feet. Since 2011, Somalia has been one of the top three recipients of Turkeys development aid. Our efforts continued with the completion of the Turkish-Somalian Education and Research Hospital, East Africas largest medical facility, last year. As a sign of Turkeys continued commitment to the future of Somalia, I will inaugurate the new Turkish embassy in Mogadishu, which is Turkeys largest diplomatic mission, during my forthcoming visit. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, or TIKA, remains active across the continent and implements hundreds of humanitarian and development projects to provide better healthcare, promote agriculture, protect the environment and facilitate commerce. Meanwhile, more than 4,500 African students continue their education in Turkeys prestigious universities on government and NGO scholarships. What sets the Turkish development and humanitarian aid model is our focus on mutual respect. Deeper partnership In recent years, Turkeys bilateral relations with African nations have also been improving. A record number of official visits by Turkish and African leaders helped us to build stronger ties with the continent, promote partnerships of equals and serve the interests of both parties. Since assuming the Turkish presidency in August 2014, I had the pleasure of visiting nine African countries and hosting a large number of African leaders on the occasion of bilateral visits and international summits. Our cooperation with Africa has not been limited to official visits. Over the past decade, Turkey signed a number of treaties and launched joint projects across the continent to challenge the traditional hierarchy between the exploiter and the exploited. As a sign of our faith in Africa, Turkish Airlines took a bold decision to enter the African market and quickly expanded its network to 48 destinations in 32 countries. Since 2000, Turkeys trade with Sub-Saharan Africa grew eightfold to reach $6bn as the number of Turkish embassies across the continent reached 34 a fivefold increase. Turkeys cooperation with Africa isnt limited to diplomacy and trade either. In the international arena, we are committed to furthering the interests of African nations. OPINION: World Humanitarian Summit and Turkey Having hosted the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2011, Istanbul set the stage for the first ever World Humanitarian Summit last week. As representatives from 173 countries, including 32 Sub-Saharan nations, joined forces to reform the international humanitarian system along with NGOs, volunteers and survivors of humanitarian crises, the summit gave hope to millions of people in Africa and elsewhere. Compatriot of Africa Turkey looks forward to working more closely with our African friends and allies in a range of areas. Many African nations, including Uganda, Kenya and Somalia, remain on the frontlines in the war against human suffering as Western nations devote their resources to building taller walls, ramping up security and tightening travel restrictions. OPINION: Erdogan The hero of Somalia Having spent more than $10bn to provide humanitarian relief to three million Syrians within our borders, the Turkish government will continue raising awareness about the efforts of African nations. The people of Turkey and Africa are also united in their experiences with terrorism. As a country facing crucial challenges including terrorism, regional instability and the refugee crisis, we can relate to the predicament in which our partners such as Uganda and Kenya find themselves. Moving forward, we pledge to work with our African allies and friends more closely on counterterrorism, among other issues. Finally, Turkey will take necessary steps to promote entrepreneurialism, which has had a positive influence on the Turkish economy over the past decade. The African Handicraft Market and Culture House, which was launched in the Turkish capital of Ankara with the support of Turkeys First Lady Emine Erdogan, represents a concrete step to generate income for Africas female entrepreneurs. Moving forward, we hope to share our entrepreneurial experiences with the people of Africa. The growing cooperation between Turkey and Africa shows that a lot can be accomplished by engaging our partners genuinely and finding solutions that serve the interests of both sides. It also sends a strong message about Africas true potential to the world. One of my favourite African proverbs goes: True poverty is the lack of friends. Today and for ever, Turkey will be a friend, a compatriot and a partner of Africa. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the President of Turkey. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Mohamed Mohamud Ali was accused of leading the April 2015 attack on university that killed 148 people. A commander believed to have orchestrated the 2015 deadly attack on Kenyas Garissa University has been killed in a special forces raid in southern Somalia, a top local official said. Local security forces in the coastal Somali town of Kismayo announced on Wednesday that Mohamed Mohamud Ali, the suspected architect of the bloodbath in Garissa, had been killed in a raid in southwestern Somalia overnight. Sixteen armed men, four of them senior commanders including Mohamed Mohamud Ali, known as Dulyadin were killed by the Somali commandos and the special forces of the Jubaland, said Abdirashid Janan, minister of state security for Jubaland, an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Local officials paraded the bodies of the four suspected commanders in the streets of Kismayo. The three other suspects were not idetified. In Washington, US officials said American forces provided advice and assistance support in the operation. They spoke to the AP news agency on condition of anonymity. The April 2015 assault at Garissa University College, 365km northeast of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, left 148 people dead, 142 of them students. The victims were slain in their dormitories or rounded up and executed in a hall of residence. The operation was carried out by four al-Shabab gunmen. The attack was the bloodiest in Kenya since al-Qaeda bombed the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing 213 people. Last July, the Kenyan government said Dulyadin had been killed in a US drone strike, but it swiftly backtracked on the claim. Drone strike Separately on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said a senior al-Shabab military commander, Abdullahi Haji Daud, was presumed killed following a US air strike last Friday. Daud was one of al-Shababs most senior military planners and served as a principal coordinator of [the groups] attacks in Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda, Cook told reporters in San Diego. We are confident that the removal from the terrorist network of this experienced al-Shabab commander with extensive operational experience will disrupt near-term attack planning, potentially saving many innocent lives, Cook said, adding that the US is still assessing the results of the strike. Al-Shabab fighters were chased out of Mogadishu in 2011 but the group remains a dangerous threat. On Wednesday, fighters from the armed group launched a suicide attack in Somalias capital Mogadishu, killing at least 15 people. Government keen to highlight reconstruction after decades-long war with fighters seeking a homeland for ethnic Somalis. Jijiga, Ethiopia Eleven-year-old Bushra Saad Awsiads father was killed four years ago. The Ethiopian government says he was murdered by fighters from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a group it considers a terrorist organisation. Bushra along with hundreds of other children who lost their parents in a decades-long conflict between the government and the rebel group live and go to school at a government-run orphanage. I want to be a doctor when I grow up, Bushra told Al Jazeera. I want to treat the elderly people and the vulnerable. I want to take care of them for my country. The ONLF has been fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Somalis in the region known as Ogaden, in eastern Ethiopia. Jijiga is the regions capital. There is still no formal agreement between the two parties to end the conflict, but the government says the fighting is over, and it is keen to show that it is investing in infrastructure. Meanwhile, government officials deny that tight security restricts the political and civil rights of ethnic Somalis. During Al Jazeeras reporting in Ogaden, which is difficult for journalists to access, this correspondent was often accompanied by government representatives. New hospitals The majority of the ethnic Somalis work in agriculture. Twenty years ago they had almost no access to medical services or education. The government says it has built more than 200 health centres in recent years. A new hospital is due to open in a couple of months. A university opened in 2007 where 21,000 students now study. There are more than 150 high schools across the region. Twenty years ago there were just two. The Somali regional state and the federal government of Ethiopia is the real liberator of people from poverty, Abdifateh Ahmed, adviser to the president of the Ethiopian Somali Regional State, told Al Jazeera. We are fighting diseases, we are fighting illiteracy, we are fighting unemployment. Thats where the real war is. Thats where they need to contribute. Ethiopia has an ethnically based federal state system that, in principle, gives each state the right to govern itself and even secede. Though the government insists it is building bridges and making investments, in a recent interview an ONLF leader living abroad told Al Jazeera the government was still ignoring the rights of ethnic Somalis. The ONLF is seeking whats already in the constitution, which is: every nation has the right to self-determination, said Abdirahman Mahdi, the ONLFs self-declared foreign minister. To watch the first report from Ethiopia on efforts to train former ONLF fighters, click here Fallujah is an opportunity for the central government to regain the trust of Iraqs Sunni population. As Iraqi forces, backed by a coalition of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Popular Mobilisation Forces (al-Hashd al-Shaabi), and local tribes, fight to recapture Fallujah, the battle represents a major effort against ISIL, which took over the city in January 2014. Ever since, Fallujahs predominantly Sunni Arab residents have lived under ISIL jurisdiction with no connection to Baghdad, which is only an hours drive away. The battle to reclaim Fallujah has implications not only for the city and its residents, but more generally for the larger fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). For the battle for Fallujah is not only a military undertaking. There is a political element that needs to be addressed simultaneously, rather than after the fact. According to Sunni Arab leaders in the city, many of their constituents are not necessarily pro or anti-Islamic State. Rather, they remain indifferent. This means they may be willing to jump from one camp to the other, or from ISIL ranks to the central government. This will only come to fruition, however, with the provision of certain guarantees associated with greater local autonomy and revenue sharing. Without such guarantees, Fallujah will continue to be a hot spot. As the battle continues, with ISIL set to lose more territory and influence, the group is more likely to change its tactics and move towards an asymmetrical style of warfare, rather than the previous attempt to to replicate state-like warfare and conquer territory. The battle in Fallujah serves as a test of whether Iraqi forces are prepared to fight in Sunni Arab areas that it has not controlled for two years or longer. It is an opportunity for the central government to regain the trust of Iraqs Sunnis. This has already been evident in May, when the frequency of ISIL attacks on civilians in Baghdad increased significantly. Although over the past two years the central government has grown confident that the threat of Baghdad being overaken or conquered is unlikely, it is evidently less certain about bombings, as ISIL returns to the more accustomed tactics of its predecessor, al-Qaeda. Given that background, Fallujah become even more significant: its proximity yet seclusion from Baghdad makes it an ideal spot from which to plan attacks on the capital. More critically, Fallujah is a microcosm of Iraqs crisis of representation, which has acutely affected the Sunni Arab population. It was the forst major city to be taken by ISIL, in other words, its residents were the first to allow for this alternative to the central government. This sense of disenfranchisement among Fallujahs residents grew rapidly during former Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikis second term, 2010-2014, when overcentralisation policies marginalised the local population. In spirit with the so-called Arab Spring, local residents took to the streets to voice their grievances and protest against Malikis policies, including his targeting of their leadership. In response, the former premier opened fire. Fallujah was the first city to see Iraqi forces killing protesters. As repression grew, so did resistance. This eventually paved the way for the re-emergence of ISIL, only a few years after al-Qaeda was kicked out of the city. This predicament is not only inter-sect. In fact, intra-Sunni Arab disagreements further complicate the crisis of representation leading to an emerging rivalry between Fallujah and Ramadi even though they are predominantly Sunni Arab cities in the same province (Anbar). Al Jazeeras Omar Al Saleh: The battle for Fallujah Iraqi army commanders estimate it will take them about 48 hours to clear Fallujah. I think this is very optimistic. There are between 400 and 1,000 ISIL fighters stationed inside the city including its most experienced. In the early hours of Monday morning, Iraqi forces began efforts to advance from three fronts mainly from the south and northeast. Fighting is going to be tough for both sides. We understand that there is heavy air power provided by the US-led coalition and the Iraqi air force. Fallujah is very symbolic for the government. Its very close to the capital, Baghdad, which can be reached in a 30-minute drive. Fallujah was the first Iraqi city to fall to ISIL in 2014. It was also the main Sunni city that fought against the Americans when they occupied it in 2003. Many in Fallujah feel as if the Sahwa movement (Awakening), which was a successful effort by the central government to re-engage with Sunni Arabs in Iraq by offering money, weapons and land to successfully fight off al-Qaeda in Iraq, had an unfair bias towards Ramadi. The famous Sahwa leader Ahmad Abu Risha was from Ramadi. Several Sunni Arab residents, from Fallujah and elsewhere, do not view Abu Risha as their legitimate representative. Many complain that he leads a small tribe of merely 2,000 members. In short, Fallujah is significant not only because it represents the extremes of Sunni Arab grievances against their central government, but it also showcases the Fallujah-Ramadi problem and therefore intra-sect struggles an underanalysed yet equally critical phenomenon. There is also the question of the timing of the battle to recapture Fallujah. Many express surprise that Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced an offensive to retake Fallujah at a time when the political discourse centred around overtaking Mosul, a bigger prize for ISIL, which declared its Caliphate after taking over Mosul in June 2014. However, the battle in Fallujah serves as a test of whether Iraqi forces are prepared and adept enough to fight in Sunni Arab areas that they have not controlled for two years or longer. It is an opportunity for the central government to regain the trust of Sunni Arab Iraqis. The residents of Mosul will carefully analyse this battle. If the coalition of Iraqi forces is able to expel ISIL from Fallujah and facilitate the re-emergence of local leadership, without resorting to sectarian violence or over-extending the central governments reach, it may quell anxieties in Mosul. Al-Abadi also views the battle for Fallujah as a key test of his leadership. Faced with tough challeneges politically as he failed three times in April to carry out a cabinet reshuffle, and with protesters storming the Green Zone and deadly ISIL attacks in Baghdad, Abadis authority is in question. A victory in Fallujah will help him to prove his critics both outside and inside his camp wrong. Iraqi forces are making considerable ground in pushing ISIL back. However, similar to the Sahwa movement, the political is the key; in other words, winning back the segments of the Sunni population that remain indifferent is just as important as an effective bombing campaign. To quell Sunni Arab anxieties, the ISF, predominantly Sunni, has taken the lead to move into the city, while the PMF, predominantly Shia, stays on the outskirts. Despite the opportunity that Fallujah presents for the war against ISIL, the effort to win it back has also faced some setbacks. Notably, the presence of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force leader Qassim Sulaimani only adds to the fears of Fallujahs residents, many of whom are convinced that there is an Iranian/Shia conspiracy to control their land. More critically, a hung parliament that has not had many effective sessions in the past few months drives the crisis of representation, which is at the core of the problem. For now, from Fallujah, the political horizon remains cloudy in the effort to move past the 13-year conflict that the city endured, moving from engagement to disengagement with the central government. The question, then, is whether this battle can stop the cycle by addressing the fundamental needs and concerns of the citys residents. Renad Mansour is a scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Centre. His research focuses on Iraq, Iran, and Kurdish affairs. Hamas leaders and The Other Voice peace activists agree on need to end animosity and stop war once and for all. A small group of Israeli peace activists is pushing to have their government end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and siege on Gaza while fostering personal relationships on both sides of the border. Eric Yellin is the leader of The Other Voice, an Israeli organisation dedicated to changing the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians. He said his group is proposing peace and reconciliation meetings with Palestinians in Gaza, based on the work of the late Palestinian psychiatrist Dr Eyad al-Sarraj. Sarraj tried to reconcile differences between Palestinians and Israelis and build relationships on both sides of the Gaza border, and to eventually reach a hudna, or a ceasefire, that will bring a lasting peace. We are trying to establish a future reality between Israelis and Palestinians, and we believe that Palestinians deserve an equal opportunity to have a prosperous life in Gaza by ending the siege that makes life in Gaza unbearable, Yellin, who is from the Israeli town of Sedrot bordering Gaza, told Al Jazeera. He added that he eventually wants full peace between both peoples but for that to take place, there must be incremental steps. Israel: Will Nazism comparisons trigger soul-searching? To get there, Yellin said someone must initiate the process, which could either be Palestinians or Israelis, or international intermediaries such as the French or Egyptians or any other party. Hamas leaders who spoke to Al Jazeera did not oppose the idea of a long-term hudna with the Israeli side, and expressed the desire to have calm and peace on both sides of the border. Ghazi al-Hamad, senior Hamas leader in Gaza, agreed with Yellin that the region does not need another war. Should Israel negotiate with Hamas? UpFront But Hamad said calm can only come when political and security problems are resolved. Without ending the occupation, tensions and conflict will remain, he said. He said he hopes The Other Voice can create a peaceful environment towards the Palestinians in Israel, because after all, we are a nation that wants to live in peace and have its independence and freedom on its own land. We in the Hamas organisation want calm and peace at the frontlines, and we are not interested in any military escalation or a war with Israel. That said, however, if we were attacked, we would have no other choice but to defend ourselves, said Hamad. Julia Chaitin is an Israeli member of The other Voice who lives in Kibbutz Urim near Gaza. She said that after three devastating wars between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza it is time to end the cycle of violence and start rebuilding. Chaitin, a trained social psychologist who teaches at Sapir College in the area, told Al Jazeera there is a culture of fear that has become the primary instinct dominating the Israelis who live around Gaza. This fear is due in part to lack of communication and interaction with the other side, she said Osama Hamdan, a Lebanon-based senior Hamas leader in charge of foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera the idea of a long-term hudna between Israel and the Palestinians was first suggested by Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin in 1992. Yassin was assassinated in an Israeli air strike in 2004. The peaceful efforts by this group could represent a positive message and the beginning of positive transformation that would save the region from unpredictable dire consequences, Hamdan said. Rise in Palestinian children held by Israel alarming Hamdan added that he senses unsettled feelings among Israeli citizens because of the far-right positions the Israeli government has taken. Directing his message to ordinary Israelis, Hamdan said the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will never bring stability to the region. He also said the two-state solution has all but died due to hardline Israeli policies inside the Palestinian territories. The problem now, according to Hamdan, is the solutions that regional and international actors are advancing are made at the expense of the Palestinian people. This is just unacceptable, he said. Chaitin said Israeli leaders have exploited the uncertainty and fear of war felt by Israelis living near Gaza, and this has contributed to moving Israeli society further to the right. At this point, we are stuck in a lose-lose situation with the Palestinians, but we must turn that around. As common sense would have it, we would work with each other, open borders, and make the Palestinians lives better and hopeful, she said. Chaitin admitted she is also fearful and angry, but said shes more angry with Israeli politicians and leaders who are dragging us into more wars. Follow Ali Younes on Twitter: @Ali_reports Truce agreed in rebel-held Daraya to let humanitarian aid in for first time since 2012, Russian officials say. Convoys have reached two out of Syrias 19 besieged areas on the day of the deadline set by the international community over the arrival of humanitarian aid to affected populations. The first Red Cross convoy entered the rebel-held Syrian town of Daraya on Wednesday, in the first such delivery since a government-imposed siege began in 2012. Both UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent staff were involved in the delivery, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. Al Jazeeras diplomatic editor James Bays, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the Daraya convoy carried some medical supplies, vaccines, and nutritional items, such as baby milk but no food. Sources are telling me that the Syrian government did not allow all medical items they certainly didnt allow surgical kits into Daraya, Bays said. Fadi, a local activist, told the dpa news agency the convoy contained no food supplies, only medical and school kits. Another convoy, containing only food supplies and no medicine, entered into neighbouring Moadamiyah. Bays said Wednesday was the deadline to decide whether there should be airdrops in Syrias besieged areas. On the day of the deadline for the start, perhaps, of an airdrop programme, the Syrian government, which hadnt been allowing convoys through, has allowed a little bit in, he said. Truce agreed Al Jazeeras James Bays, New York This was the deadline set by the international community. If aid wasnt going to get in by convoy they were going to start having air drops in Syria. So UN officials are telling me every little bit helps, but they add this isnt really enough. Diplomats are saying that what they are seeing here is something we have seen so many times before; the tactics of the Syrian government, when confronted with a deadline, when confronted with an imminent Security Council meeting, they let in a little aid at the last minute. Daraya, which lies in Western Ghouta outside the capital Damascus, has been under an increasingly tight government siege since 2012, with no access to essential services, such as running water and electricity. No vaccinations have been carried out during that time. Only about 8,000 people remain in Daraya, which had a population of about 80,000 before the war. But what little food can be grown locally is not enough, locals say. On May 12, a five-truck aid convoy was turned back by the government in a dramatic 11th-hour rejection. Wednesdays delivery came after Russias foreign ministry said a local truce would be observed in Daraya for 48 hours to ensure the safe arrival of aid to the citys besieged population. On the initiative of Russia and in agreement with the leadership of Syria and the American side a regime of silence has been introduced for 48 hours on June 1, 2016 from 00:01am in the settlement of Daraya to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian aid to the population, Lieutenant-General Sergei Kuralenko said. READ MORE: Civilians flee Idlib bombardment Russia had last week called for a 72-hour regime of silence in Eastern Ghouta and Daraya amid deadlocked efforts to turn a cessation of hostilities into a lasting peace in the country. The United States and Russia are co-partners in the so-called Vienna diplomatic process of the International Support Group for Syria, which met last month in the Austrian capital but made no notable progress. At least 280,000 people have been killed and more than half of Syrias population have fled their homes since the conflict first erupted in 2011. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated and housed in makeshift shelters as firefighters battle the blaze. Toronto, Canada Tareq Hadhad knows what it means to lose everything in an instant. Thats why the 24-year-old Syrian refugee and his family did not hesitate to offer help to the tens of thousands of Canadians displaced by the deadly wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, last month. We really know the meaning of losing everything in one moment To lose everything in one moment you will lose your whole past, everything you have been building since you were born, Hadhad told Al Jazeera. But the Hadhads Tareq, his parents and three siblings were only reunited in Canada last January. How much help could they offer, while still struggling to learn English, find jobs and get accustomed to their new surroundings? Thats when Tareqs father, Isam Hadhad, with little to do at home in Antigonish, Nova Scotia a small, university town on Canadas east coast where the Hadhads have been resettled decided to go back to what he does best. In Syria, it was my fathers passion to make chocolates. He was an excellent chocolatier, and he established a factory in Damascus for 20 years, Tareq said. Now the family sells its handmade chocolates stuffed with pistachios, almonds, and other nuts and fruits every Saturday at a local farmers market and caters at local events. A portion of the money they make during the month of May will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross and other groups working on Fort McMurray disaster relief, Tareq said. We thought, We know this feeling, so we decided to support them. About 90,000 people were displaced when flames engulfed the northern Alberta oil town of Fort McMurray and the surrounding areas earlier this month. Families were evacuated and have been housed in makeshift shelters across the province as firefighters continue to battle the blaze. Officials in Fort McMurray have set a voluntary return date of June 1, but they say that it is contingent on a last-minute safety evaluation, including air quality in the city. Canada wildfire leaves trail of destruction Local wildfire officials said they expect to continue to battle the fire for several weeks, if not months. Lucille Harper of Syria-Antigonish Families Embrace, a local group that helped sponsor the Hadhad family, said it was clear the crisis in Fort McMurray touched them. It just speaks to them in a way where they say, OK, we cant do a lot, but we want to do something and we want to show our support,' Harper told Al Jazeera. And the Hadhads arent alone. Canada evacuates oil workers as wildfire spreads Canada has resettled more than 27,000 Syrian refugees since last autumn through government-backed and private sponsorship, and refugees across the country are providing whatever they can to the Canadians affected by the fire. In Calgary, Syrian refugees used social media to collect donations from as little as $5 to basic essentials such as clothes, diapers, and medical supplies. When I saw what happened, I remembered what happened to us and I wanted to do something, said Rita Kanchet Kallas, who arrived in Canada last December with her husband and young son. Kallas, one of the refugees who collected the donations from families in the Calgary area, told Al Jazeera they filled 16 hampers of emergency items and donated $400 to the Red Cross. They are still collecting whatever they can to help, including a bicycle for a young boy who was displaced, she said. Even Kallas five-year-old son, Elie, wanted to help. I told him the story about Fort McMurray and the children who lost everything. He asked me, Do they still have enough toys? Without any words, he [went] to his room and said, I want to give my toys to those children,' Kallas recalled. We are good people, we want to be a good part of this society, she added. We will do our best to give back the good things [Canadians have done] for us. Afghans frustrated by Torkham restrictions, which will force tens of thousands to buy expensive visas to continue trip. Pakistan has tightened security at its border with Afghanistan, a move it says will prevent fighters from entering. The Torkham crossing is usually used by about 15,000 Afghans every day. But now it will be closed to anyone who does not have a visa and a valid passport. The crossing is a way of making ends meet for many. It is usually packed with cargo-filled trucks and minibuses crammed with passengers including the sick and elderly. READ MORE: Border fencing escalates Pakistan-Afghanistan tension Some walk, from entire families and merchants to children, often on their own. New regulations mean Afghans living along the border, which stretches 2,000km, would need a visa. I have to cross the border every morning to go to work and return home. How can I get visa every time? Mohammed Yusuf, an Afghan national, wondered. How can each visiting family member pay $300 for a passport? There are also fears that the new measures will stoke a historical dispute over this border. In late 19th century, Mortimer Durand, a British colonial diplomat, drew a line in the sand which Afghans say had cut a third of their territory and placed it in Pakistan, by then part of former British India. It included the present Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Afghans never came to terms with the arrangement that was signed off by an Afghan king at the time. I blame the Afghan authorities at that time, Faridon Momand, an Afghan MP, said. For short-term gains they cut one body in two, causing harm that still hurts today. Some of Faridons family members are prominent politicians in Pakistan and their native village is divided in two by the Durand Line. Khan Wali Shinwari, an Afghan army general, says the Durand is a line on paper with no markings on the ground. People there are the same tribes and used to move freely, he told Al Jazeera. But since 2001 the Pakistani forces took positions there and created problems. With the Pakistani and Afghan governments accusing each other of harbouring armed groups across the border, there is little sign that the tension will ease any time soon. Account @DarthPutinKGB, which mocked Russian president, had attracted over 50,000 followers before it was shut down. Social media users in Russia are voicing their anger at Twitters decision to suspend popular accounts parodying President Vladimir Putin and other government officials. A number of Twitter profiles, including parody Putin account @DarthPutinKGB and @Russia_Not, have been unavailable since Tuesday. The @DarthPutinKGB account had attracted more than 50,000 followers before it was shut down. The link to the account said it was suspended. A parody account of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, along with two others mocking the Russian Embassy in London and the Russian ambassador, were restored and available to users after a reported suspension on Tuesday. Social media users launched the #NoGulagForDarthPutinKGB hashtag on Twitter in protest. https://twitter.com/GraceCuddihy/status/737939504183582720 "If Twitter can be told 'kill these accounts now' and they do it, whose side are they on?" https://t.co/BquOyvGFt5 #NoGulagForDarthPutinKGB Katrin Scheib (@kscheib) June 1, 2016 Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an avid social media user, condemned the suspension, describing the @DarthPutinKGB profile as one of the funniest parody accounts around. In an interview, the creator of the parody Putin account told The Moscow Times that the suspensions showed how sensitive officials have become about criticism of Russian leaders. I think that they cannot take being laughed at, The Moscow Times quoted him as saying, without identifying him by name. The creator of the account said Twitter had not contacted him before the suspension. There was no immediate response from Twitter. On its website, Twitter says it does not edit or remove user content except in response to a Term of Service violation or valid legal process. When we receive a valid impersonation or trademark report about an account that violates our parody policy, we temporarily suspend the account and may give the user the opportunity to come into compliance, Twitters website says. The Twitter rules and terms of service do not prohibit the creation of parody accounts, and users are required to write descriptions that indicate that the user is not affiliated with the account subject by stating a word such as parody, fake, fan or commentary. Mechanical engineering professor identified as victim of murder-suicide which led to cancellation of classes in UCLA. A murder-suicide has killed two people at the University of California, Los Angeles, shutting down the campus for two hours as officers in camouflage and tactical gear responded to reports of a shooting. Charlie Beck, Los Angeles police chief, confirmed one man shot another and then himself on Wednesday in the engineering building and that police recovered a gun at the scene. There are no suspects outstanding and no continuing threat to UCLAs campus, Beck said. Police recovered what may turn out to be a suicide note, he said. US gun culture: What will it take to change? A law-enforcement official said the victim was a mechanical engineering professor. William S Klug was shot in the engineering building office on Wednesday morning, according to the official, who has knowledge of the investigation but was not authorised to publicly discuss it. Colleagues of Klug told the Associated Press news agency he was a married father of two and a kind, gentle person. Charles Knobler, UCLA biology and chemistry professor, said those who knew Klug are in shock. He described the professor as a very lively, lovable, likeable guy. The shooter has not yet been identified. UCLA, with more than 43,000 students, is in the Westwood section of Los Angeles and one of the more well-regarded schools in the University of California system, known for its successful sports programme. Classes were cancelled on Wednesday, but they are expected to resume on Thursday. Extraordinary grace Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the people of UCLA for extraordinary grace and calm and lamented the violence at a place of learning. I am heartbroken by the sight of SWAT teams running down avenues normally filled with students, and angered by the fear that one person with a firearm can inflict on a community, Garcetti said. The response to the shooting was overwhelming: up to 200 police officers approached the scene, fearing the shooter might still be active and university officials ordered the campus to be locked down. The officers stormed into buildings that had been locked down and cleared hallways as police helicopters hovered overhead. Advised by university text alerts to turn out the lights and lock the doors where they were, many students let friends and family know they were safe in social media posts. Some described frantic evacuation scenes, while others wrote that their doors were not locking and posted photos of photocopiers and football tables they used as barricades. Those locked inside classrooms described a nervous calm. Opposition has been staging angry protests across Kenya, calling for reform of body that oversees elections. Tension is rising again in Kenya, where a presidential election is due next year. A repeat of the chaos and killings following the election in 2007 is feared. That result was hotly disputed. At least 1,200 Kenyans were killed in the fighting which ensued among rival political supporters. More than 500,000 people were made homeless. Now, more concerns over voting fraud have led to weeks of violent protests and demands to reform the electoral commission which is accused of political bias. So, is Kenya on the verge of renewed unrest? Presenter: Sami Zeidan Guests: Thomas Letangule commissioner of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. David Anderson professor of African History and Politics at the University of Warwick. Senator Moses Otieno Kajwang member of the Coalition for Reform and Democracy. Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Drugstores, discount shops, websites that appear to have been created in 1999we've all run across designer fragrances for sale in decidedly undesigner settings (for very undesigner prices) and wondered if they could possibly be real. Those too-good-to-be-true deals usually are just that, and in case you doubted it, five men have been arrested in New York by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for knowingly selling counterfeit designer perfumes made with ingredients including antifreeze and urine across at least seven states. The arrests were made as part of an ongoing two-year investigationaptly named Operation Bad Odorinto counterfeit perfume and cosmetics. The members of the counterfeit ring allegedly imported the sketchy generic fragrances as well as forged designer perfume packaging (including Daisy by Marc Jacobs, Chanel No. 5, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, and Gucci Guilty) from China and then resold them in several U.S. states and online. The authorities reportedly recovered approximately 10,000 boxes of the faux scents, whose ingredients included the aforementioned urine and antifreeze along with "other unpleasant, flammable, or dangerous chemicals that burn when applied to the skin." The combined charges could land each of the men anywhere from 10 to 30 years in prison. "We are seeing more counterfeit beauty products and cosmetics, and that specific area is an area where we're aggressively targeting the individuals who sell those goods," said Khaalid Walls, a spokesperson for ICE. The problem isn't limited to the U.S. Last year, England began dealing with a major epidemic of fake beauty loot, including designer fragrances, cosmetics, and hair tools, which the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit estimated had cost the public about 90 million pounds (around $140 million). No matter what country you're in, the best way to ensure you're getting the safest, most effective products is to shop at legitimate sources (meaning no discount stores and definitely no questionable websites) and stay away from deals that seem too good to be true. As Walls notes, "Anything that can be counterfeited is a potential profit for the individuals or group who are selling these inferior goods. If you're getting a counterfeit beauty product or cosmetic, the reality is you don't know what's in it." h/t: Jezebel Scent is the base note in attraction. 2005 .. We live in a changing world where outdated rules and assumptions prevent needed innovations. This is particularly true in the case of consumer credit. Back in the "good old days," the U.S.'s thriving middle class had stable and increasing household income and high savings. Not long ago, banks were the main provider of consumer credit and most Americans could expect to be approved if they needed a loan from a bank. Now, as average household income drops (by another 8% since 2007) and destabilizes as a result of the "gig economy," our hollowed-out middle class buckles under widespread financial pressures. According to the Federal Reserve, nearly 50% of Americans cannot cover an emergency expense of $400. Furthermore, over half of Americans' credit scores have dropped below 700 while banks have eliminated nearly $150 billion in revolving credit (e.g. credit cards) to non-prime consumers. Unsurprisingly, nonbank lenders such as payday, pawn, title and installment lenders have grown rapidly. In addition to the looming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal to rein in short-term lenders, the government has also responded with programs to "bank the unbanked." However, these programs haven't been profitable and haven't scaled due to their interest-rate caps. Even Google has taken a position on the situation by recently blocking paid ads from payday lenders. But does this help consumers or is it an example of how the elite have become out of touch with mainstream America? I argue that the problem with American credit is not nonbank lenders; it's the fundamental change in the economic status of average Americans and the failure of banks, regulators and consumer groups to recognize it. We need to adopt a nuanced view of credit that considers not only the cost of credit, but also the cost of default and the cost of having no credit. To illustrate the decisions facing millions of Americans, let's introduce Jane. Jane is a single mom working as a part-time nurse supplementing her income driving for Uber. Last year she went through a contentious divorce and defaulted on her credit card debt. Jane prides herself on being a responsible example for her daughter, but it's hard to build savings. Unfortunately, the brakes on Jane's car failed and the mechanic estimates it will cost $1000 to fix. What should Jane do? She could: a) Get a two-week payday loan with a finance charge of $170 (or 440% APR); b) pledge the title of her car for a loan with an 80% APR; c) get a home equity line of credit at 10% APR; d) borrow the money from friends and family; or e) get a bank installment loan at 14%? It's a trick question: her friends and family don't have $1000 and she isn't eligible for a bank installment loan because her credit score is below 700. Jane is worried that her hours as a nurse may be cut again, so she chooses the most expensive option - the payday loan - to avoid the risk of losing her car or house if she cannot make her loan payments. Most traditional credit is provided with a relatively low APR on the assumption that customers will repay the loan. To guarantee repayment, lenders typically can sue the customer, add punitive fees and seize the borrower's property (like a car) for collateral. Prime consumers with high savings, stable income and financial support from friends and family can ignore these risks, but for non-prime consumers with a higher likelihood of default, this is a ticking financial time bomb. One solution is to institute a strict rate cap on credit which would limit credit to only consumers with the highest credit quality. However, the need for credit is even more critical for non-prime consumers. Fifty percent of Americans are like Jane: access to credit improves their quality of life, helping pay for car repairs, bills and medical emergencies. For people like Jane, the most expensive form of credit is often no credit at all. There is an answer, albeit a counterintuitive one. Instead of traditional prime credit with low rates but drastic financial downsides for nonpayment, non-prime credit should be priced to the risk of each customer. And there should be no default costs if people are unable to repay their loans. So, will consumers stop repaying their loans? No. Our experience suggests that consumers repay their loans because they are responsible and desire future access to credit. New data and analytical techniques like machine learning are constantly improving the accuracy of credit scoring. Lenders can determine default risk more accurately than ever and price loans to that risk to achieve target returns without penalizing borrowers. The customer who repays their loan may pay more money, but it's controllable, well-disclosed, and contains no financial downside risk to consumers. I remain convinced that improved federal regulations governing non-prime credit are essential to protect consumers from abusive practices and to promote needed innovation. I support the CFPB's efforts to create rules for non-prime and nonbank lenders. However, in my opinion the bureau (along with banks and consumer groups) remains too focused on the cost of credit rather than the cost of default and the cost of no credit at all. We need to foster a new breed of no-harm consumer credit products that support the financial realities of the new middle class rather than letting obsolete views and naive assumptions constrain access to the emergency credit that is essential to the well-being of millions of Americans. Ken Rees is the CEO of Elevate, an installment lender. Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania in Narbeth, back on track after three years of painstaking restoration, is eager to take advantage of disruption in its home state. The $788 million-asset company, which is operating with its lowest level of nonperforming assets in a decade, recaptured a $5.4 million slice of its deferred-tax asset last month. As a result, Royal's 2015 profit more than doubled that of a year earlier, reaching $11 million. Its Tier 1 common equity ratio ended the year at a healthy 9.4%. At the same time, a wave of consolidation has hit the Keystone State, with 52 banks selling since 2010, including 14 last year. BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., has been a big disruptor, acquiring the $19 billion-asset Susquehanna Bancshares last year and agreeing to buy the $9.6 billion-asset National Penn Bancshares in a deal expected to close next month. Royal could eventually take part in that wave, but for now management is keen on stealing market share by poaching bankers and clients, said Kevin Tylus, the company's president and chief executive. Royal agreed in June to buy a branch in Media, Pa. with $39 million of deposits from First Cornerstone Bank in King of Prussia, Pa., but Tylus' company withdrew its application in September. The change of heart had a lot to do with the success of loan production offices opened in Princeton, N.J., and Bala Cynwyd, Pa. Tylus said those offices have been instrumental in advancing the new private banking model his team is eager to implement. The new model is "an important component of our value proposition," Tylus said. "For customers who feel the need to meet with a professional banker that's highly trained, we're willing to sit down and spend time with them." Royal, meanwhile, said in a recent quarterly filing that its loan production offices, along with continuing investments in technology such as mobile banking, remote deposit capture and a suite of cash management products, were doing as much or more to drive growth than its traditional branches. Those investments have translated into growth elsewhere. Total loans increased 20% last year, totaling $499 million on Dec. 31. Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans fell from 2.36% to 1.1%. "We're seeing very strong credit quality," Tylus said. "The average risk rating on our loans continues to strengthen." So far, it is an encouraging turnaround for a company that lost nearly $116 million from 2008 to 2013. There is more opportunity ahead, as Royal continues to tap into a $36.4 million deferred-tax asset that Tylus referred to as "a silver lining" following five years of post-crisis losses. Royal's steady-as-she-goes strategy is serving the company well, said Ted Peters, chairman and chief executive of Bluestone Financial Institutions Fund and a former chairman and CEO of Bryn Mawr Bank in Pennsylvania. "I don't think they want to do anything too radical," Peters said, adding that Tylus has done "a terrific job." The recaptured deferred-tax asset has already helped goose Royal's book value to $1.77 a share at the end of 2015, compared with $1.44 a year earlier. Share price typically follows book value, so Royal's stock price should eventually appreciate as more DTA benefits hit its books, Peters said. "I'm surprised it hasn't moved more already," Peters said of Royal's share price, which ended last week at $1.91 a share. While Hillary Clinton likes to appear unconcerned about her email scandal, her actions have the potential to invite serious Federal issues. For example, when Hillary accepted donations to her Foundation she may have violated Title 18 201. Section (b) clearly states Whoever -- (2) being a public official or person selected to be a public official, directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally or for any other person or entity, in return for: (A) being influenced in the performance of any official act; (B) being influenced to aid in committing, or to collude in, or allow, any fraud, or make opportunity of any fraud, on the United States The contents of the Clinton private server have yet to be fully investigated. However, if Hillary made any contact with any foreign agent or officer, such as booking speeches by Bill Clinton, she committed a Federal felony. The FBI seem to be looking into the connections between her Charitable Foundation and her actions as Secretary of State. And when she allowed Russia to control 20% of Canadian uranium in return for donations to the entity of her foundation, even indirectly, she violated 201. The penalty for each offense is to be fined or imprisoned for two years or both. When she placed classified information on her personal server she may have violated USC 18 798; Disclosure of classified information: (a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information -- (3) concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government; (4) obtained by the processes of communication intelligence from the communications of any foreign government, knowing the same to have been obtained by such processes Note that just making this information available -- to hackers -- or using it in a manner prejudicial to safety, is a Federal crime. Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. The term classified information means information which, at the time of a violation of this section, is, for reasons of national security, specifically designated by a United States Government Agency for limited or restricted dissemination or distribution Romanian hacker Guccifer claims to have hacked into her server and has struck a plea bargain with federal prosecutors. The existence of this server, with her approval, is itself a violation of federal law, since it was kept in an insecure manner. There are no excuses, the prosecutors wont have to prove anything was done intentionally. For Hillary to employ a private internet tech to set up this server was itself a federal felony since it could not have been secure. Particularly since she was given a secure .gov email address and knew she had to use it exclusively for work product. High school freshmen today are instructed to submit all their homework to a very specific website maintained by their high school. 832. Participation in nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats to the United States (a) Whoever, within the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, willfully participates in or knowingly provides material support or resources (as defined in section 2339A) to a nuclear weapons program or other weapons of mass destruction program of a foreign terrorist power, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be imprisoned for not more than 20 years. Hillary worked, through her private server and Clinton Foundation, to aid Russia in gaining access to uranium. 1001. Statements or entries generally: (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully -- (1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; (2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or (3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry 1519. Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title. When Hillary said her emails only concerned yoga classes and her daughters wedding plans she was making fictitious statements, misrepresented the nature of the emails, and fraudulently described the nature of the emails in order to avoid investigation. She also erased over 30,000 emails. Some of those recovered contained classified information. 2071. Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally (b) Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States 2232. (a) (a) Destruction or Removal of Property To Prevent Seizure.Whoever, before, during, or after any search for or seizure of property by any person authorized to make such search or seizure, knowingly destroys, damages, wastes, disposes of, transfers, or otherwise takes any action, or knowingly attempts to destroy, damage, waste, dispose of, transfer, or otherwise take any action, for the purpose of preventing or impairing the Government's lawful authority to take such property into its custody or control or to continue holding such property under its lawful custody and control, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.. (b) Impairment of In Rem Jurisdiction.Whoever, knowing that property is subject to the in rem jurisdiction of a United States court for purposes of civil forfeiture under Federal law, knowingly and without authority from that court, destroys, damages, wastes, disposes of, transfers, or otherwise takes any action, or knowingly attempts to destroy, damage, waste, dispose of, transfer, or otherwise take any action, for the purpose of impairing or defeating the court's continuing in rem jurisdiction over the property, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. Hillary knew her emails were being investigated and intentionally acted to obstruct the investigation. If not for the efforts of Judge Rudolph Contreras to order the State Department to release emails, Hillary would have continued to destroy them and delay the investigation. An interesting side note is that Hillary went to Maine South high school in Park Ridge, IL, a suburb that borders Chicago. The FBI agent who sold more secrets to Russia than any agent in history, Robert Hanssen, grew up two miles from her and went to nearby Taft High School in Chicago. In evaluating Hillary Clintons competence, a good place to start is to take a close look at her tour of duty as Secretary of State. Is the U.S. safer and/or held in higher regard around the world as a result of her efforts? Perhaps it might be worthwhile to note why she got that appointment: Not because of either her acumen or experience. Rather it was Barack Obama extending the olive branch in order to bring a fractured Democratic Party together -- fractured because of a very heated and divisive Democrat primary. That said, even a cursory examination of her service in this position yields up a resoundingly negative answer to that question. As has already been frequently noted, her tour began with her screwing up the Russian reset button, and it ended with her Benghazi dereliction, leading to the death of 4 Americans. What happened in between these bookends, and what are the consequences of those happenings? Lets start with the Middle East, that boiling cauldron of infidel hatred. Syria, where, you may recall, President Obama drew a red line (apparently in invisible ink) should Assad use chemical weapons against the insurrectionists, is in chaos -- after Syria did use chemical weapons and Obama failed to act on his red line. And now, long after Obama declared the importance of taking down the Assad government, Russia is in the country, providing support for Assad remaining in power (and thereby providing the Russians with a Mediterranean access). Note: Whenever I refer to Obama, I include Secretary Clinton, since she was the foreign policy czar as Secretary of State. Also, ISIS (Obamas designated jayvee) is heavily engaged in the area. But the most important news would seem to be Russias involvement, giving it a more important position on the world stage (as well as directly preventing Obamas takedown of the Assad regime). And here, one has to question the wisdom of taking down the Assad regime. Why? Because we have no idea of who or what would replace it. And, as our intervention in Libya demonstrated, when you create a vacuum in backward, barbarian regions, you set the stage for it to be filled by even more hostile forces. And that is exactly what happened in Libya, where the Obama/Clinton team led (from behind) a coalition of forces to depose this petty tyrant who was no more a national security threat to the U.S. than was Somalia. Indeed, as soon as we invaded Iraq when George W. Bush was president, Gadhafi abandoned any nuclear ambitions that he may have entertained. The pretext for Obamas completely unnecessary action against Libyas regime was that genocide was being committed by this dictator. On that basis, assuming that it was true, we could just as easily have invaded many other any Middle Eastern countries; there are no democracies in that region other than Israel. As a result of this completely unnecessary invasion, anarchy ensued; there was nothing resembling a government left when we finished. The result? Benghazi and the death of 4 of Americas finest thanks to Hillary Clintons abdication of duty, another of her massive failures which she then endeavored to lie her way out of. First, by claiming that the slaughter was the result of an anti-Muslim video (which she knew to be a lie at the time she uttered it), and then by arguing that there was no time to come to the rescue of these embattled agents of the U.S. As to the claim that her security people were responsible for not responding to Ambassador Stevens requests for additional security made many weeks before the slaughter this boggles the mind. At her Benghazi testimony she appeared to claim no responsibility for the actions of her security people -- as if they didnt work for her. And not only was no one ever fired for this failure, Bill Clinton came out and produced some Clintonian malarkey to the effect that no predecessor had ever been responsible for the failure of the security personnel. Hillarys experience as secretary of state cannot be counted as a positive entry on her resume. Experience does count. This experience counts against her. As construction of the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture progresses toward its September opening, Museum Director Lonnie Bunch joined CBS 60 Minutes Scott Pelley on a visit to Mozambique in search of a ship that carried hundreds of African slaves to the bottom of the Indian Ocean when it foundered 220 years ago. The story of slavery is everybody's story, Bunch explained to Pelley. It is the story about how we're all shaped by, regardless of race, regardless of how long we've been in this country. We hope that we can be a factor to both educate America around this subject but maybe more importantly help Americans finally wrestle with this, talk about it, debate it So how are 21st Century citizens of the United States obliged to finally wrestle with, in this case, the long-ago deaths of Africans who were enslaved by other Africans, forcefully driven for many miles through a Mozambique port and on to a Portuguese slave ship bound for Brazil, while the descendants of all those who actually participated in this event are allowed to be wistfully unconcerned and guilt-free? You see, Mr. Bunch is wrong on one key point. Slavery is not everybodys story -- it must remain exclusively a story for the United States and its people. Only we are required to bear the indelible stain of this countrys original sin -- and it appears those who entered or will enter here assume this mantle of guilt themselves a century-and-a-half after the institution of slavery was ended. It is a scab that must be picked at incessantly -- not out of any real concern for those who suffered centuries ago, but to gain political advantage today. Our nation can nominally assuage its relentless shame with assorted forms of reparations from those who never were masters to those who never were slaves. Hollywood again obliges this week with an eight-hour retelling of Alex Haleys "Roots", a venture apparently so vital it requires an unprecedented simultaneous airing on three television networks over four consecutive nights. Variety magazine suggested the new miniseries finally will provide the truth about the cruel persistence of this peculiar institution in our country to generations of Americans who are uninformed about the true dimensions of slavery, or who prefer to remain willfully ignorant of its scope and lingering effects. However, those generations of American schoolchildren have been marinated in the notion that the institution of slavery sprang fully formed in 1619 when 20 Africans slaves landed in Jamestown, Virginia. (Actually, they originally were destined for Vera Cruz, Mexico aboard a Portuguese slave ship before being intercepted by a British privateer. It is believed the 20 were accepted as indentured servants and eventually were freed.) Any discussion of slavery in this country should start with the recognition that the North American British colonies were remarkably small players in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Of the approximate 12.5 million Africans taken in bondage to the New World, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Databases estimates only about 388,000 came to what is now the United States -- and virtually all aboard European-flagged slave ships. That represents a little more than 3% of the Africans brought to the Western Hemisphere. So is Washington D.C. really the most appropriate place for a museum that focuses so heavily on the desperate institution, or should other candidates be considered? Here are some possible alternatives: Baghdad, Iraq -- The institution of slavery predates recorded history but the earliest references were recorded in the Code of Hammurabi in about 1760 B.C. Mecca, Saudi Arabia -- Beginning in the 7th Century, adherents of Mohammed founded a series of caliphates that brought all of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Iberian peninsula under Muslim control. For eight centuries before the first European slavers arrived in Africa, Arab Muslims established a robust trans-Sahara trade that would eventually capture an estimated 18 million Africans. Slavery was not made illegal in the Arabian Peninsula until 1962. Lagos, Nigeria -- African slavery predated the arrival of the Arabs and Europeans and continues to this day. In some areas of Cameroon and Northern Nigeria, up to half the population lived in slavery. More than two million slaves were released by the British in Nigeria alone in the early 1900s. Tripoli, Libya -- Muslim pirates along the North African Barbary Coast didnt stop with the enslavement of Africans, but also preyed upon Mediterranean shipping and coastal cities. An estimated 1.25 million Europeans and Americans were enslaved by these pirates, whose abuses forced Thomas Jefferson to send the nascent United States Navy to shut them down. The event is commemorated to this day in the Marine Corps hymn reference to their exploits on the shores of Tripoli. Lisbon, Portugal -- This Iberian peninsula country was by far and away the most prolific transporter of Africans to the New World and was, along with Spain, notorious for its ruthless in the treatment of those slaves. Rome -- It is estimated that 35% to 40% of the First Century B.C. Roman Empire population were slaves. They were drawn from throughout Europe and acquired by slave traders who followed the Roman army on its path of conquest. London -- While England played a key role in reducing the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the early 19th Century, it had previously been involved in selling Irish and African human cargo. More than 30,000 Irish prisoners were sent in bondage by King James II to work on English plantations in the West Indies beginning in 1625. In a single decade more than half a million Irish were killed and another 300,000 sold as slaves -- reducing the population of Ireland by more than 60%. Many hundreds of thousands of Irish peasants were shipped to Barbados, Jamaica, and British North American colonies. Over a period of two-and-a-half centuries, more than 10,000 voyages by British ships also carried an estimate five million Africans in bondage to the New World -- second only to Portugal. Mexico City -- Slavery was widely practiced by the Aztec and Mayan nations long before the arrival of the Spanish. Ritualistic human sacrifices and cannibalism were commonplace, with tens of thousands of slaves slaughtered each year. African slaves arrived in Mexico almost a century prior their appearance in what is now the United States. Violent slave revolts against their brutal treatment occurred as early as 1537 in Mexico, 82 years before the first Africans were brought to what is now the United States. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- Long before the first Portuguese settlement in 1532, indigenous tribes routinely enslaved one another. However, Brazil soon became by far the leading New World importer with more than 4.8 million African slaves toiling in the most brutal working conditions in this nations plantations and gold mines. Brazil also was the last Western country to abolish slavery in 1888. It is a pretty good rule of thumb to conclude that wherever humans have existed, so has slavery. It was far more brutally practiced throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, where the death rate was so high the slave population could not be sustained without continual importations from Africa. In the U.S. there was a near balance of male and females so the slave population crew by natural reproduction after the trans-Atlantic slave trade was banned in 1809. Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates caused a firestorm among his colleagues in the African-American studies ranks when he shared the facts of the relatively low number of slaves transported to British North America and primary role of African slave traders. People wanted to kill me, Gates said. Black people were so angry at me. But we need to get some distance from the binary opposition we are raised in: evil white people and good black people. The world just isnt like that. This is a message unlikely to resonate among those with a vested interest in fostering racial discord in this country. World War I was probably the most important event of the 20th century for many well-known geopolitical, military, and social reasons but it also had a profound psychological impact as well, which strongly resonates, particularly in the West. It was World War I that introduced what many call the age of irony. Western democracies lurched towards an ironic worldview when the certainties of antebellum Europe were destroyed, but it took nearly a century, another world war and the Cold War for this attitude to finally dominate Western societies. And now it would seem, with the emergence of two very unironic candidates for President in America, this country, at least, is shifting back to a historical mean. The emergence of the ironic age (meaning a worldview of where inauthenticity, dishonesty, and cynicism are accepted as the norm) was neither immediate nor smooth. The first Western nation to slip into the ironic bubble was Germany, reflected in the emergence of the DaDa school of art, and subsequently scandalous and libertine 1920s Berlin. But the Germans werent yet ready and quickly succumbed to the lure of Nazism. Same dynamic largely held true for for Italy, Japan, Spain, and various lesser states in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Further east, the Russians also resisted the rise of the ironic state, falling instead for a bowdlerized version of Marxism. Marx himself understood irony, he of the famous line that History repeats itself first as tragedy, second as farce but he also believed that communism was an antidote. Whether Marx would have appreciated the irony that his doctrines, developed and intended as the inevitable and final cure for Western industrialized societies would only ever thrive -- to the extent they have at all -- in Eastern agrarian ones, well never know. Indeed, the actual ethos that eventually emerged in industrial Western states would owe more to another Jew named Marx (Groucho) who reveled in ironic absurdity, than it would to the doctrinaire bearded Marxists that followed the Communist Manifesto. Duck Soup presaged the modern age better than Das Kapital. These developments delayed the full onset of the Western ironical age. Fighting fascism and then communism left Western ironists somewhat on the fringes of society (where they largely preferred to be the better to mock everyone else.) The end of the Cold War that changed that. It left the West somewhat adrift again ideologically, but rather than bankrupt and bloodstained, wealthy, clean, and comfortable. It was, as one contemporary put it, The End of History? Following a string of presidents who were unironic World War II vets (or close -- Carter) the end of the Cold War ushered our first ironic president, Bill Clinton. Today Clintons presidency is seen by many as a success. That is largely the result of good timing (Clinton having come along in a historical sweet spot), and his own ironic sense of self, which is to say that he had no principles and so did not let principle stand in the way of politics. More interested in what was in his pants than what was in his briefing books, Clintons accomplishments such as they were came from unashamedly adopting the policies of his opponents, rather than pushing through his own ideas -- to the extent he actually had any. George W. Bush could not escape the Weltanschauung of the time, due to his own personal and political weaknesses, and the lefts ceaseless and cynical, and largely successful effort to depict him as a buffoon. Of course, Bush was succeeded by our current president, the full flower of the ironic age -- an inexperienced, chameleon-like, faux intellectual leftist doofus hipster, who likes nothing better than to play the funnyman. Hillary Clinton would follow in her husbands footsteps but finds the winds blowing against her. Hillarys opponents are post-ironic candidates, a true believing socialist and a true believing nativist, who lived through the age of irony, and having survived are seemingly now immune. Good evidence that these two are beyond irony is the difficulty of effectively mocking them. Take Saturday Night Live, which over the ironic age has sent up with varying degrees of success politicians of all stripes, including both Clintons. But Sanders and Trump have proven much harder. The actor who imitates Trump is just a pale shadow of the man himself, who at any given moment is more outlandish and funnier. Comedian Larry Davids impersonation of Bernie Sanders is only really entertaining because David and Sanders are almost indistinguishable -- two elderly up by-the-bootstraps, balding, successful, loudmouthed, New York Jewish men who mostly spout nonsense for a living. Cynicism is the handmaiden of irony, and David, a true cynic, was also one of the great beneficiaries of an ironic age that now seems to have passed him by. Seinfeld the hugely successful and very funny television show he created with its namesake very much embodied and helped celebrate the final ascendance of the ironic age that emerged after the Cold War. The show was famously about nothing, itself a statement of high ironic purpose. One of its longest lived and funniest tropes was Davids off-camera impersonations of former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, always shown from behind. In Steinbrenner, David actually foreshadowed Donald Trump. Steinbrenner, like Trump, was the scion of a wealthy businessman father, attended an exclusive military prep school (though he later served), and became a loudmouthed New York businessman who mostly spouted nonsense for a living. Hillary Clintons problem today is that unlike Trump and Sanders, she is very much susceptible to mockery. Her indomitable cynicism, so hip in the ironic age, against which even Bills pales, now weighs heavily on her cankles. Talk to a Hillary supporter. Their support is almost entirely borne of pure cynicism. They say Yes, Hillary is will do anything to get elected, is avaricious and dishonest -- but so are all politicians. And shell make a great president. Trumps and Sanders supporters are mostly true believers. They are cynical in some respects, especially when it comes to anyone who questions their heroes, but irony largely escapes them. In the case of Trumps people, they have mostly lived through the ironic age and either didnt get it, didnt do well in it, or both. In the case of Sanders supporters, they came into adulthood as it waned, and dont see that it paved a decent future for them. The post-World War I ironists saw in their worldview an alternative to the ideological certainties which they believed bred war, social inequity, and ultimately political and economic collapse. They were right in certain respects, but also never offered an entirely coherent alternative. Occasionally, politicians emerged have who could effectively navigate the shifting currents of a cynical ironic time and still provide effective and meaningful leadership -- Churchill and Reagan stand out. Today Israels Benjamin Netanyahu has effectively charted this difficult course, which gets under the skin of our current hipster ironic-age president, and Netanyahus own leftist post-modern countrymen. Meanwhile Germany has finally succumbed fully, arguably now led by a politician even more scornful and absurd than Obama. The politics of irony and cynicism appear to have had their day, and have opened the door to Sanders and Trump. Neither man is of presidential quality, nor is Hillary Clinton. But at least Sanders and Trump dont wallow in phoniness and cynicism, which is Hillarys only path to the presidency. How did Barack Obama emerge from Chicago in 2008 untainted by political corruption? His rise to power began at the 2004 Democratic Party Convention when Illinois State Senator Barack Obama was catapulted onto the national stage by the alluring force of his oratory. Four years later, in December 2008, Rod Blagojevich, the fourth governor in recent Illinois history to be imprisoned, was arrested by the F.B.I. culminating a long investigation led by the U.S. Attorney (USA) in Chicago. Blagos arrest came just as he was about to meet with someone to negotiate a bribe in exchange for appointing then-U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. to complete President Obamas senatorial term. On the day Blago was arrested, the agent in charge of the Chicago F.B.I. Office said, If [Illinois] isnt the most corrupt state in the United States, it is certainly one hell of a competitor. Jackson, Co-Chair of President-Elect Obamas campaign, was later arrested, along with his wife, and sentenced, in August 2013, to 30 months in jail for stealing $750,000 from his own campaign fund. One year before Obama was inaugurated President, Antoin Tony Rezko, a key fundraiser for both Obama and Blagojevich, and one of three core members of Obamas 2004 senatorial campaign finance committee, was arrested by F.B.I. agents acting on evidence gathered by the USA in Chicago. Three years later, Rezko was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison. Theres no need here to rehash Rezkos and Blagos criminal transgressions in detail, or document the many Illinois politicians, from both major parties, who, over the years, traded their business suits for jump suits. It is common knowledge that Chicago is the center of political corruption in a widely corrupt state. Yet, somehow, the 44th President of the United States emerged from that toxic cauldron called Crook County untainted by the maelstrom of high-profile corruption cases that engulfed several of his closest, political associates. The question is How did that happen? Was he an example of sharing no guilt by mere association a petunia in an onion patch? Was he blessed by divine intervention, or dumb luck? Or did others, positioned in the Department of Justice to help him, plot a course that safely navigated him through the fraudulent waters of Chicagoland political corruption, thereby enabling him to cruise untarnished into the White House? If such a route from Chicago to Washington, D.C. was prepared for Barack Obama, it was done by more than one official of the Department of Justice (DoJ). And, it was accomplished with the coerced assistance of, at least, three F.B.I. moles that helped the Bureau build cases against Blago and Rezko cases that would not implicate the man who would be President. What follows is the story of one of those moles: Bernard Barton; also known as John Thomas. Much of the information herein is distilled from multiple Chicago media sources most often the Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune. Those outlets, plus a few lesser known Chicago business news sources, published bits-and-pieces of the Barton-Thomas story as it unfolded. But they, collectively, fell short of providing a comprehensive overview of his role as a mole for the F.B.I. Bernard Bartons transition to John Thomas began in the late 1990s when investigators in the USAs Long Island office in the Eastern District of New York caught Barton and a partner defrauding customers of their billboard leasing company by charging them $350,000 in rental fees for billboard space. It was fraud; they never intended to deliver on their contractual obligations. Barton also charged $140,000 on an American Express card using his fathers Social Security number. To avoid a 15-20 months jail sentence, Barton agreed to help federal prosecutors gather evidence against organized crime families trying to penetrate the billboard business in New York. Barton apparently did that job well because his adjudication was delayed for what would total about a decade. As he awaited his eventual fate before a federal judge, there was more DoJ undercover work awaiting him in Illinois. In 2000, he moved to Chicago, legally changed his name to John Thomas (to avoid recognition as the federal billboard mole?), and opened a real estate brokerage, plus another billboard company. Bernard Barton, aka John Thomas (photo credit: Chicago Tribune) On its face, it looks like the DoJ set him up there to aid an on-going investigation conducted by the USA for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald, targeting corrupt Chicagoland pols. Among those targets was Rod Blagojevich former U.S. Representative (Il 5th Dist., 1997-2003) and later Governor of Illinois (2003-2009). The feds maintained their leverage over Barton-Thomas by delaying adjudication of charges against him back in New York. He was a fish hopelessly hooked on the line, but not yet reeled into the courthouse boat. Sometime between 2000 and October 2003, according to a May 4, 2007 article by Thomas A. Corfman entitled Real estate exec plays mole in Fed probe posted in a Crains Chicago Business real estate site, Burton-Thomas became a confidential informant (C.I.) for the USA in Chicago. This was confirmed in an announcement from the Long Island office of the Eastern District of New York. Federal prosecutors in Long Island disclosed Mr. Thomass cooperation in October 2003, when Mr. Thomas entered his guilty plea in New York. We just want to put on the record that the defendant has approached the U.S. attorneys office in Chicago to cooperate with the U.S. attorneys office in Chicago, an assistant U.S. attorney said, according to an Oct. 27, 2003, transcript of the hearing in New York. And in an unusual move, prosecutors asked for a court order allowing Mr. Thomas to commit crimes during the investigation, a tell-tale sign that Mr. Thomas was part of an undercover sting operation. The court granted the request. It is contemplated that in connection with his work with law enforcement, Barton may be asked to engage in criminal activity, that is, activity that may violate a federal, state and/or local criminal lawbut that is undertaken with the prior knowledge and consent of federal law enforcementfor purposes of furthering the ongoing grand jury investigation in Chicago according to a document filed by prosecutors in New York on October 29, 2003. The assertion from the USAs Long Island office for the Eastern District of New York that Barton-Thomas approached the U.S. attorneys office in Chicago to cooperate with the U.S. attorneys office in Chicago is, at least, odd. At most, the notion that he volunteered to be a mole is incredible. Its more plausible that he didnt have a choice whether to cooperate or not with the Chicago USAs sting operation. According to a May 5, 2007 article by Chicago Tribune staff reporter David Jackson, in 2004 Barton was convicted of the fraud charges originating in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York from the late 1990s. But his sentencing was delayed for six more years. Burton-Thomas is now in the boat, but with an uncertain fate. Leverage over him remains in place. Does he go in the frying pan, or back into the lake? In his article cited above, Jackson also reported: When a Tribune reporter discovered that Thomas was acting as a federal operative in May 2006, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald took the unusual step of asking senior editors at the paper to refrain from publishing a report that would expose the ongoing probe. Fitzgerald offered no specifics but said an article would derail an important investigation and put people in serious danger of harm. So who were the people put in serious danger, from whom, and why? On February 10, 2010, David Roeder of the Chicago Sun Times reported: Thomas wouldn't discuss details of his work for the FBI. But sources said that, for more than two years when he was giving information to agents, Thomas provided a fly-on-the-wall look inside Rezko's real estate operations and his desperate attempts to keep his projects afloat. Sources said Thomas also logged frequent visits to Rezko from Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). [bolded in the original] Blagojevich and Obama were among the many politicians for whom Rezko raised campaign cash. Neither has been charged with any wrongdoing. Thomas had good reason to help. He hopes to get probation for his own felony fraud conviction in a New York case. And he said he wants to redeem himself in the eyes of business associates and his family. Sources said Thomas helped investigators build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko and former business partner Daniel Mahru's Rezmar Corp., at 853 N. Elston, by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005. According to Roeder, Both politicians relied on Rezko for fund-raising connections. Obama was in the thick of his successful run for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Now in the glare of a presidential campaign, Obama has donated to charity $157,835 from contributions to his Senate campaign that he has linked to Rezko. During his (March 2008) candidate interview with the Sun Times editorial staff, Presidential Candidate Obama denied having made frequent visits to Rezkos office during the 2004-2005 timeframe. Heres the relevant excerpt from that interview: Q. In November 2006, you and your campaign exchanged with us written interrogatories. So a lot of the quotes I will give you just come out of those. The campaign said that you probably had lunch with Rezko once or twice a year. You sort of added four or five times, something like that. John Thomas is an FBI mole. He recently told us that he saw you coming and going from Rezkos office a lot. And three other sources told us that your and Rezko spoke on the phone daily. Is that true? A. No. Thats not accurate. I think what is true is that, it depends on the period of time. I knew him forIm just trying to do the math here. Ive known him for 17 years. There were stretches of time where I would see him once or twice a year. But as I said when he was involved in finance committee for the U.S. Senate race, or the state senate races, or the U.S. Congressional race, then he was an active member. And theres no doubt there were much more intensive discussion at that point. During the U.S. Senate race, theres be [sic] stretches of like a couple of weeks for example prior to him organizing the fundraiser that he did for us where I would probably be talking to him once a day to make sure that was going well. But the typical relationship was one that was fond. We would see each other. But there would be no reason for me to be seeing him that often. Why would Barton-Thomas misrepresent the truth about the frequency of Obamas visit to Rezko, knowing that conversations he witnessed in Rezkos office were recorded? Another federal mole was working fulltime in Rezkos real estate office at the time. He, too, was wired. A third wired mole had an on-going outside business relationship with Rezko. Compartmentalization of assets would have required that each would not know the roles of the other two. Barton-Thomas did not testify in Tony Rezkos or Rod Blagojevichs trial. And, not one word of any of his recorded transcripts was ever made public. Was that because the information wasnt needed, or because it would have broadened the scope of the investigation beyond its intent, and perhaps included Obama? Neither of the other two Rezko moles testified in Rezkos or Blagojevichs trial, nor was a single word from their clandestine recordings ever made public. Both were, like Burton-Thomas, awaiting long-delayed sentencing. Finally, in June 2010, Barton-Thomas was sentenced to three years probation for his New York crimes dating back to the late 1990s. It was a case of catch-use-release as the fish was thrown back into the lake. But, later, he got caught swimming in illegal waters again. In 2015, Thomas was sentenced to 5 years in prison for a subsequent crime unrelated to his earlier misdeeds in New York. DoJ officials with direct knowledge of the Burton-Thomas mole would have included Patrick Fitzgerald and senior officials in the USAs Long Island office of the Eastern District of New York. The New York list would have included a now-familiar name, Loretta Lynch. From 1994-1999, Loretta Lynch was Chief of the Long Island Office and then top assistant to U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter (1993-1999). In 1999, President Clinton appointed Lynch USA for the Eastern District of New York. Today, she is the Attorney General of the United States, having been nominated by President Obama. Among others likely to have had indirect knowledge of an investigation into a U.S. Representative who became the Illinois Governor, would have been James B. Comey, U.S. Deputy Attorney General from 2003-2005. Today he is Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a long-time close friend of Patrick Fitzgerald, who is godfather to one of his children. All this does not definitively answer the initial question: How did Barack Obama emerge from Chicago untainted by political corruption? But it does suggest one plausible explanation: He had help. In the aftermath of Austria's deeply flawed presidential election, which was likely stolen from the right-of-center Freedom Party, the problems continue to come to light. According to a report in the Austrian media late Sunday night: "We are going to get the countless indications (of irregularities) looked at by an independent, neutral body and then decide" whether to challenge the result, Freedom Party (FPO) head Heinz-Christian Strache said. "There are lots of indications coming from voters, and so far five criminal complaints where the law was obviously broken," he told the populist Kronen-Zeitung daily in an interview published on Sunday. "The result of the election could change," Strache said. The next day, the Austrian government -- which many think might be complicit in potential election fraud -- released statements that "it does not expect the recent presidential election will be need to be repeated" and that "Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said on Monday that it's probable there 'will be no shift in the result' of the election, although the final decision over whether the irregularities could have influenced the result will be taken by court authorities." Of course, the question remains as to whether the Austrian courts are truly independent on this question, or if sufficient political bias exists within the judiciary such that the results need to be assessed by an international team that includes conservatives who are not opposed to the Freedom Party's ideology. A petition by Freedom Party supporters contesting the results has reached nearly 30,000 signatures, which is significant for a small country such as Austria. If a similar proportion of the U.S. population signed a petition, it would be at 1.1 million and counting. While unspecified "experts" interviewed by some Austrian media sources claim the multiple problems are unlikely to have swayed the vote away from the Freedom Party, these comments are unconvincing given the hard evidence at hand. After the in-person polling had been counted, which comprised about 85% of the total vote, the Freedom Party candidate -- Norbert Hofer -- was leading 51.9-to-48.1%. But after the "postal vote" was counted the next day, despite apparently having been opened earlier than statutorily allowed and thereby subject to potential tampering, the Green Party candidate -- Alexander Van der Bellen -- was declared the final winner with an overall 50.35-to-49.65% reversal in his favor. The change in election result due to the absentee ballot required Van der Bellen to have won the postal vote by an extremely large margin (~25%) that is out-of-character with the pattern of regional results, and which appears to have been practically impossible unless defenders of the result can offer a sensible explanation as to why the absentee ballots were so singularly biased in Van der Bellen's favor. Tensions are rising in the European nation as the nature of the potential denial of democracy settles in on the populace. Freedom Party representatives have been asking supporters to avoid violence if the result is not their liking, but the frustration is understandable given that this is the clearest example yet of possible national election fraud in a Western state since democracy became the norm. The federal judge who ruled last week that Department of Justice lawyers defending the administration's immigration executive orders lied about the circumstances surrounding the 50,000 illegal aliens who were given three year green cards despite a court order that halted the program and must attend ethics classes. In addition, the judge ordered that the names of illegals who had received the illegal green cards be placed in the court's possession under seal. Yesterday, the White House issued a blistering statement criticing the judge for "scaring" illegals who now might not want to participate in the amnesty program. And they questioned the judge's decision to force DoJ lawyers to take ethics classes. Washington Times: The Obama administration accused a federal judge Tuesday of sowing fear and confusion among illegal immigrants, potentially scaring them away from signing up for President Obamas deportation amnesty by demanding immigration officials submit names of tens of thousands of migrants whove already enrolled. Justice Department lawyers also asked Judge Andrew S. Hanen not to force thousands of attorneys to take remedial ethics classes an order the judge issued two weeks ago after he concluded that theadministration intentionally and repeatedly misled him by implementing part of the amnesty, even as they assured the court it wasnt in operation yet. The sanctions ordered by the court far exceed the bounds of appropriate remedies for what this court concluded were intentional misrepresentations, a conclusion that was reached without proper procedural protections and that lacks sufficient evidentiary support, theJustice Department lawyers wrote in asking for a stay. Judge Hanen scheduled a hearing for June 7 to let the Justice Departmentmake its case, in whats become a nasty court battle between himself and the administration. Theyve been at odds since soon after Mr. Obama announced his expanded amnesty for illegal immigrant parents in November 2014. Judge Hanen has ruled the amnesty illegal, and issued an injunction in February 2015. But the administration repeatedly broke that order, approving thousands of three-year work permits after the fact. Lawyers admitted that more than 100,000 applications for three-year permits were approved between February and March, despite lawyers telling the judge no part of the amnesty was in operation. The judge has ordered the administration to file a secret document with the court containing the names of illegal immigrants who live in 26 states that sued to stop the amnesty. The document is to remain under seal. Immigrant rights activists were enraged by the order, and the Obama administration has vowed to appeal. "... Lacks sufficient evidentiary support..."? Who are they trying to kid? Did immigration authorities or did they not illegally give three year green cards to 50,000 illegals? Did lawyers for the DoJ lie about the program being active or did they not? U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that botched the applications in the first place, is pleading poverty, saying the $1.1 million needed to amass the names and give them to the court would tax their resources. One top immigration analysts calls that excuse BS: Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies, said that was a lame excuse for an agency that sets its own fees, doesnt rely on taxpayers money and has socked away $1.2 billion that it had skimmed off the fees paid by legal immigrants. They are still sitting on this money. Its outrageous enough that they diverted this huge sum of money from legal immigrants, but to now cry poverty is just insulting our intelligence, she told The Washington Times. They just can't stop lying. From the gist of the administration's statement, it doesn't appear they have a legal leg to stand on. The judge is very likely to uphold his original ruling. According to the latest reports coming out of Colorado, marijuana is a major cause of homicides in the state, and the problem is only getting worse. Regular readers will know that Colorado has seen a massive increase in crime since it legalized pot. The numbers just keep getting worse. Over the first four months of 2016, total crime in Denver is up 10% over the same period from 2015. This rate of increase is five times the population growth rate and adds to equally large increases in 2015 and 2014, as well as the period in 2013, after which the state government signaled marijuana legalization was forthcoming. The cops in Colorado knew this would happen. They predicted it, and it has come to fruition. Now a prosecutor in the state has gone on the record with his concerns. Arapahoe County district attorney George Brauchler provides some disturbing statistics: 10 of the last 15 murders in his jurisdiction were connected to marijuana. Mr. Brauchler expressed the following to FOX 31 out of Denver: "There is increased crime, sometimes violent crime, associated with legalization of marijuana," Brauchler said. "That's not what you'd expect. You'd expect the harder-core drugs." ... "If cash is the only way to acquire marijuana, crime follows cash," Brauchler said ... Brauchler believes the legalization of marijuana is partly to blame for the rise in crime. "It is easier for there to be black market in a legalized system than there was before," he said. This all wasn't supposed to happen. The pot legalization advocates told us that legalized marijuana would reduce crime and effectively eliminate the black market. Now we have experienced and respected prosecutors saying they are seeing, firsthand, the exact opposite. The legalization proponents overlooked a basic fact that District Attorney Brauchler's comments make clear you will always require money to purchase pot, whether it is legal or not, and it is that need to acquire currency to procure the addictive drug that is a primary driver of marijuana-related crime. Legalization will not reduce the need to acquire resources often illegally to purchase a drug. In fact, it generally increases the problem, as Colorado is showing. Since marijuana makes users, in non-technical terms, stupid and lazy (note to liberals: this is #science and #fact, aka settled science), the drug thus poses severe challenges toward the acquisition of money via legal means in order to satisfy the corresponding habit. Thus, legalization functions as a positive feedback loop, making access to the drug easier, getting users hooked, then diminishing their drive and desire to perform socially beneficial work to feed their addiction, thereby resulting in crime to get their fix. This is the Socio-Economics of Drugs 101. And then there are the road hazards from legalized pot: A report by the AAA Foundation released Tuesday found that traffic fatalities involving drivers in Washington where marijuana was involved had doubled between 2013 and 2014. Marijuana became legal in the state in 2012. Similar trends were observed in Utah, where "officials say the number of fatal car wrecks in Utah in which drivers tested positive for marijuana has more than doubled in the last three years." This social experiment has failed miserably. Time to recriminalize marijuana in all jurisdictions as a means of minimizing, as best as practical, the damage already done. One day after Iran released the 10 sailors they had abducted for strayinhg into Iranian territorial waters, the administration released $1.7 billion in taxpayer dollars to Iran. The money was part of a settlement of a decades old legal claim by Iran and came from a special fund that the executive department can tap to pay claims against the US. Or was it a ransom paid for the kidnapped sailors? The administration insists the timing of the released funds is coincidental. But legislation introduced in Congress now seeks to discover the truth of the matter. Washington Free Beacon: The bill, jointly filed by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), comes on the heels of a Washington Free Beacon report disclosing that the Obama administration has been suppressing potentially shocking details related to the January abduction of the sailors, who were held at gunpoint by Iranian soldiers and forced to apologize on camera. The legislation, dubbed the No Impunity for Iranian Aggression at Sea Act, would compel the Obama administration to issue a report to Congress detailing whether it paid Iran a $1.7 billion settlement as part of the hostage release. It also would level sanctions against Iran for possible breach of Geneva Convention rules governing legal military detainment. Lawmakers and others have suspected for months that taxpayer money was partly used to secure the release of the sailors and other imprisoned Americans, though the administration has been adamant the issues are not linked. The new legislation would require the White House to certify whether any federal funds, including Januarys $1.7 billion payment, were doled out to Iran as part of a ransom to secure the release of these sailors and citizens imprisoned in Iran. The legislation noted that the administration released the money to Iran just a day after it freed several U.S. citizens from prison. The bill would further require the White House to determine if Irans treatment of the sailorswhich included filming them cryingconstitutes a violation of the Geneva Conventions or international laws governing innocent passage in international seas, according to the bill. If it is determined that Iran violated either of these accords, the legislation would force the White House to list and sanction every Iranian complicit in the detainment. Why would Congress disbelieve the president? Perhaps because the Iranians themselves are claiming the money was part of the deal to release the sailors. A senior Iranian military commander said Wednesday that the cash settlement was reached as a perk to motivate Iranian authorities to free the imprisoned Americans, who were released over the weekend. The annulment of sanctions against Irans Bank Sepah and reclaiming of $1.7bln of Irans frozen assets after 36 years showed that the US doesnt understand anything but the language of force, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of Irans volunteer Basij forces, told the countrys state-controlled press. This money was returned for the freedom of the U.S. spy and it was not related to the [nuclear] negotiations, he said. Administration officials who spoke to the Free Beacon denied this characterization, saying that the settlement was reached outside of the nuclear agreement and not directly tied to Irans release of the five imprisoned Americans. The final report on the incident has been continuously delayed by the Pentagon. A Congressman who has seen the details of the capture says that the American people will be shocked when the truth comes out: The classified details behind Irans treatment of several U.S. sailors who were captured by the Islamic Republic during a tense standoff earlier this year are likely to shock the nation, according to one member of the House Armed Services Committee, who disclosed to the Washington Free Beacon that these details are currently being withheld by the Obama administration. Rep. Randy Forbes (R., Va.) told the Free Beacon in an interview that the Obama administration is still keeping details of the maritime incident under wraps. It could be a year or longer before the American public receives a full accounting of the incident, in which several U.S. sailors were abducted at gunpoint by the Iranian military. Ive had a full classified briefing from military officials, Forbes told the Free Beacon. It could be as long as a year before we actually get that released. Details of the abduction are likely to start an uproar in the nation and call into question the Obama administrations handling of the incident, which many experts say violated international and maritime law. The payment of ransom will only encourage future kidnappings by the Iranians. Beyond that, the mocking, sneering rhetoric from Tehran toward the United States and our weakness in the face of aggression shows that our grorveling response has emboldened the Iranians. It really doesn't get much worse than this in bi-lateral relations. The 19th Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Campbell, is experiencing an ongoing Twitter meltdown of epic proportions over Donald Trump. Usually former leaders of neighboring democracies behave with maturity and class after they have left office when it comes to the internal politics of the other state. But not Ms. Campbell. Some representative tweets by the former prime minister: -- Calling Trump a "weenie": "And a super-sensitive, thin-skinned weenie at that! LOL!" -- Kim Campbell, May 31, 2016 as she re-tweets a professor at the Naval War College also calling Trump a "weenie" -- Calling Trump a "scuzzbag": "Definition of 'scuzzbag'!" -- Kim Campbell, May 31, 2016 as she retweets the senior editor of The Daily Beast going after Trump over veterans affairs issues Interested readers can peruse her feed for further undiplomatic idiocy, but the following tweet of Ms. Campbell's with regard to Trump caught my eye: -- "No- he must lose so badly that there is no room for revanchist 'I wuz robbed' conspiracy- believe me- there will be!" -- Kim Campbell, May 29, 2016 as she re-tweets the now infamously irresponsible quote from Mediaite whereby the Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens states that "Trump must lose so badly that the GOP voters 'learn their lesson'" When it comes to losing an election badly, Campbell is the poster-child. She led the Progressive Conservative party in 1993 to the worst known defeat of any incumbent party -- and potentially worst defeat ever -- within a Western democracy. For international readers, some background is needed. Due to an undemocratic flaw in Canada's parliamentary system, a prime minister can be effectively unelected -- as Campbell was. Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney led the Progressive Conservative party until early 1993. Upon his resignation from politics, a leadership race in the party was conducted, Campbell won, and by default she assumed the prime minister role. Campbell was never elected to the prime ministerial role. Voters in the previous (1988) election could not reasonably have expected her to ever become party leader should Mulroney step down before his term was finished. Ergo, Campbell never had any true mandate to govern. And when voters were asked whether they wanted Campbell to govern the nation during the 1993 election, we saw a drubbing of biblical proportions. The answer was the most unequivocal "no" ever handed down to a governing democratic leader. In the 1984 election, Mulroney won 211 (or 75%) of the seats in the House of Commons. Come the 1988 election, the party picked up a still respectable majority of 169 seats (57%). Then came Ms. Campbell's turn to lead the party to victory in the 1993 election, or at least a decent showing. Instead, she only managed two (yes, 2) seats out of a possible 295, or 0.68%. After Mulroney won two majority parliaments, Campbell could only manage a fifth-place finish among all parties. And she lost her own seat in a landslide victory for her Liberal opponent. She's now on her third husband, and has no children. In short, Campbell knows what it is like to "lose so badly that there is no room for revanchist 'I wuz robbed' conspiracy" and to learn a lesson. The lesson from the 1993 election is that the Canadian electorate despised Campbell, and the arrogance and disdain she has displayed towards the voting public in her comments about Trump nicely contextualize why she was a failure at political leadership. Not too long after Campbell's election loss, her party ceased to exist altogether at the federal level and has never been seen since in the Canadian electoral scene. Campbell displays problems common among the progressive wing of the "progressive conservative" marriage that characterizes center-right Canadian politics, namely a lack of judgment and unprincipled non-conservatism. We've seen that reinforced multiple times in recent years. Witness the current interim leader of Canada's Conservative Party -- Rona Ambrose -- conducting a love-in selfie with Elizabeth May (another Mulroney product), the radical leader of the Green Party, in support of May's dangerously misguided climate-change related bill on Lyme disease. Then there is current "Conservative" MP Jason Kenney, Canada's former Minister for Multiculturalism and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, whose twitter feed contains a number of love-ins over the years with Urz Heer, the now infamous Muslim with Liberal Party ties who recently publicly accused the Conservative Party -- of which Kenney is a member -- of Islamophobia at the party's most recent conference. The current leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party, Patrick Brown, contains similar linkages to Heer. The establishment hates Trump because Trump threatens the corrupt establishment, and this incompetent establishment isn't just localized in one country. It's a multinational effort that is easy to connect the dots among, with far fewer than six degrees of separation. Just take Campbell, a Canadian, re-tweeting David Frum's anti-Trump rant in the The Atlantic, considering that Frum is also a Canadian, but who was a speechwriter for George W. Bush in 2001 and 2002, and you get the magnitude of the problem. If the base doesn't wake up and immediately start enforcing true conservatism, she is going to be all over for the West in short order. Last Friday presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump railed against a San Diego federal judge presiding over the class-action lawsuit involving the billionaire's real estate school. Trump told a crowd of 25,000 at a campaign rally in the same city,We're in front of a very hostile judge. The judge was appointed by Barack Obama. He's not doing the right thing." Trump also said the case "should have been dismissed on summary judgment easily." In fact, in 2013 Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel easily dismissed the Quechan tribe of the Fort Yuma Reservation's lawsuit against The Interior's Bureau of Land Management and a green energy company. In May of 2012 the tribe sued to halt construction of a wind facility on sacred land 90 miles east of San Diego in the Valley of the Dead. The Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility would stretch across 10,150 acres of public land sacred to the Quechan, Kemeyaay and Cocopah Nations. Ocotillo Wind was fast-tracked under the Obama's push for "green" energy projects. Pattern Energy developed the project and was given the go-ahead in 2012. "Pattern not only got funds from the federal government, but also from the North American Development Bank/Border Environmental Cooperation Commission a group with a board that includes Secretary of State Hilary Clinton Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson. The entity is supposed to fund border region projects that enhance environmental conditions and quality of life a mission statement many in Ocotillo believe was violated by this project. On January 18, 2013 U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by the Quechan Tribe against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management, Pattern Energy, as well as other defendants. In late February, 2013 Curiel rejected the lawsuit brought by the Tribe and ruled in favor of the federal government and Pattern Energy. One of the attorneys for the Quechan tribe declared that the judge did not rule on the merits of the arguments, specifically that the project lacked adequate wind resources to produce enough power. Many experts predicted before the project was built that the site did not have enough wind to sustain a wind farm. After Curiel's ruling, a member of the Tribe stated: This was a case based on deception, greed, and misinformation about jobs, money, and energy. The case is part of a negligent, irresponsible and ambitious national plan to change from fossil fuels to renewable resources. It is a plan that, because of poor planning, will destroy much of what environmentalists and Native Americans have been struggling to protect and preserve for decades." Three years later, reports show the Ocotillo Wind Project to be an abject failure. Pattern Energy, which received lucrative federal subsidies, promised a much greater capacity than actually occurred in 2013 and 2014. According to one report, the project desecrated sacred sites and burial grounds, destroyed groves of century-old Ocotillo plants for which the town was named, left residents plagued by noise and flashing red lights from turbines shining in their windows all night long, lost views on protected public land surrounding the town, and plummeting property values. Every time a state tries to enact reasonable voter identification legislation, Democrats (and only Democrats) rush to assure us that vote fraud is very rare. Unless you look for it, as the Los Angeles CBS affiliate did: A comparison of records by David Goldstein, investigative reporter for CBS2/KCAL9, has revealed hundreds of so-called dead voters in Southern California, a vast majority of them in Los Angeles County. He took a lot of time choosing his candidates, said Annette Givans of her father , John Cenkner. Cenkner died in Palmdale in 2003. Despite this, records show that he somehow voted from the grave in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010. But hes not the only one. CBS2 compared millions of voting records from the California Secretary of States office with death records from the Social Security Administration and found hundreds of so-called dead voters. Specifically, 265 in Southern California and a vast majority of them, 215, in Los Angeles County alone. A number of these members of the Zombie-American community are very civic-minded: Goldstein uncovered 32 dead voters who cast ballots in eight elections apiece, including a woman who died in 1988. Records show she somehow voted in 2014, 26 years after she passed away. Writing at the Daily Signal, Hans von Spakovsky and Jana Minich recall how numbers like this can swing an election: This report comes 20 years after the contested election of Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., from this same area. An investigation by a U.S. House committee found that hundreds of illegal ballots were cast by noncitizens and improper absentee ballots. In that 1996 election, when she defeated incumbent Bob Dornan, a winning margin of 979 votes was whittled down to only 35 votes or fewer when that voter fraud was factored in. In cases like these, where elections are decided by only a small number of votes, the harmful effects of voter fraud are most obvious. Yet here, two decades later, California has still not taken the necessary steps to ensure the reliability of its electoral system. It is completely fair to infer that those who resist reasonable electoral safeguards are profiting from vote fraud. Hat tip: Clarice Feldman First ladies generally are allowed considerable immunity from criticism, because they generally stick to feel-good issues, like literacy, roadside beautification, and other subjects most people can agree on. But not Michelle Obama, who has enjoyed some of the most unrealistic flattery in the history of first ladies, such as the concerted effort to convince the public she is a fashion icon. After becoming the national food and exercise scold, provoking vast waste and mass starvation as public school students discard the unappetizing and skimpy lunches she has forced on school cafeterias, she has now turned toward outright slander of those who oppose the greenies. CNS News reports: First lady Michelle Obama told graduates of the Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, N.M., last week that some of the loudest voices in our national conversation say its okay to harm the planet and use our land, air and water however we wish. I call BS. I challenge Mrs. Obama to find a single instance of someone sane saying, its OK to harm the planet or we can act however we wish with regard to land, air, and water during her time in the White House. People can and do dispute whether or not certain things like emitting CO2 (when breathing, for instance) are harmful. But I dont know of any sane person advocating harming the planet. Michelle Obama has been handed a golden pass to easy street ever since she got into Princeton University and wrote a senior thesis demonstrating her difficulty writing and spelling the English Language at a 10th grade level. She got a made-up job at over $300,000 a year when her husband became a US Senator, and when she moved to the White House nobody was needed or appointed to replace her. Now, with her husbands post presidency looming, she stands at the brink of fabulous wealth, as is the post-Clinton practice of Democrats leaving the presidency. And she will still be angry, resentful, and libelous toward those who disagree with her. In his forthcoming book I Know Best, How Moral Narcissism is Destroying Our Republic, If It Hasnt Already (to be published June 14 but available for pre-order from Amazon now), Roger Lichtenberg Simon writes that: moral narcissism is the enemy of change because it is the enemy of clear thought. Simon, who among many other accomplishments, is an American novelist and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, co-founder and former CEO of PJ Media, the author of ten novels, including the Moses Wine detective series, and seven screenplays, joins me and my partner Todd Feinburg this week for a wide ranging discussion of his new book on the Harvard Lunch Club Political Podcast. Drawing a contrast with the preening, I like my pompadour, Kardashian form of narcissism the all too human narcissism so prevalent in our culture Simon more broadly captures our current political and philosophical culture as an epidemic of moral narcissism which is comprised of (from the interview): ideas and theories and ideologythat people attach themselves to such a degree that they define themselves because they believe in those ideas. And it doesnt matter at all if those ideas work out in the real world; its how those ideas work out theoretically and are approved of by the masses. With that concept he weaves together an expansive array of dysfunctional philosophies on topics ranging from global warming to Islam denialism, from nostalgia for Marx to the establishment of an American nomenklatura. The subtitle of Simons book harkens self-consciously back to the totemic work of political/psychological theory: The Culture of Narcissism, American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations, which was published by Christopher Lasch in 1979. Laschs book, which became required reading for a legion of government and sociology majors in the 80s, captured the disappointment and ennui of the Vietnam War and Watergate generation as the ecstasy of the revolution and its transient accomplishments ebbed even as bourgeois society itself (heretofore the target of the movement) seemed to falter in its ability to provide for prosperity and the promise of a brighter day. But if Laschs book was about the demise of public Man as despair about the future forced him to withdraw into self-indulgent pursuits of consciousness-raising through est, gestalt therapy, tai chi, Reichian therapy, rolfing, acupuncture and, of course, drugs, Simons concept of moral narcissism is about the capture of the public sphere by a set of ideas which are themselves a kind of comfort therapy for the slovenly and vain. An archetypical case is where Simon, who asks throughout the book what evidence it must take to separate a person from a bad idea, cites an interview with President Obama by journalist Charles Gibson where the President argues that an increase in the capital gains tax is fair, even if it is shown that the increased tax generates less revenue, because hedge fund managers should simply not be allowed to make as much money as they do. Our discussion with Simon on the HLC podcast is (hopefully) as wide in scope as Simons moral narcissism idea itself, spanning the issues from global warming to nation-building to the Laffer curve and the personalities from Morgan Freeman to Bill Kristol to Barbara Streisand. Here are a few excerpts. On global warming: Its absolutely immaterial [whether the planet needs saving] because whats important is that you are a person who is saving the planet. As I go through in the book theres a whole history of this stuff, starting with the Silent Spring [by Rachel Carson] where it didnt turn out that things were quite as bad as they were supposed to be. On the attempt to introduce democracy to the Middle East (and the evidence that moral narcissism is not a wholly owned subsidiary of the Left): We wanted to think we could bring democracy to the Arab worldthe whole thing of democracy, whiskey, sexy. If we came there they would become us. Of course we discovered that wasnt so. It is the pose and not the result. Actually you could look at the whole neocon-Iraq thing, which I was very much a part of, I plead guilty to that, I wouldnt say that it was bad that I did that we were naive essentially, but what we wanted to show to everybody was that we loved democracy. That was the morally narcissistic part of the thing. That Iraq was not even remotely ready for democracy in the beginning was irrelevant. On racial relations: I think the most controversial chapter in my book, the one I really stand behind, is called Nostalgia for Racism. Im an ex-civil rights worker, I was in the South in the sixties. I did it. And my best friend from kindergarten on up was a fellow named Andy Goodman who you may recall didnt survivefrom Mississippi Burning. But in those days we were all wanting something called integration that was what we wanted.Nowadays no one wants integration anymore. You go onto college campuses and the #Blacklivesmatter all that stuff is about the opposite of integration. On the Presidential election and moral narcissism: Obviously the Trump campaign is a revolt against it in certain ways I think the Republicans have to win the Presidency and I think the people who are #NeverTrumpers are really asking for it because if Hillary and/or Bernie win you can look for a lot more moral narcissism. And finally (I had to ask), is Bill Kristol morally narcissistic? Interesting question. I think hes trapped into some stuff there...I think he is from his father what they say is reified, turned his ideas into objects so that they cant adjust. I mean, Trump is no savior hes just better than the other guys. But because of their own morally narcissistic impulses they cant even listen to what he is saying. There is a whole lot more to this fascinating discussion. Check it all out, as well as the whole series of HLC podcasts, here. The Environmental Protection Agency suffered a major blow from the Supreme Court to its high-handedness in seizing control of land belonging to private owners. Robert Barnes reports in the Washington Post: The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it easier for landowners to challenge the decision of federal regulators that the use of property is restricted by the Clean Water Act. The justices ruled unanimously that property owners could file suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the agencys determination that their land contains waters of the United States covered by the Clean Water Act, which provides criminal and civil liabilities for violations. The government contended that such suits could be brought only after the landowner filed for a permit and was dissatisfied with the result. Alternatively, the government said, the conflict could be resolved if the owner proceeded without a permit and faced sanctions. But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said neither alternative was acceptable. Proceeding without a permit opens owners to penalties of up to $37,500 a day if they are determined to have violated the act. Individuals and companies need not assume such risks while waiting for [the Environmental Protection Agency] to drop the hammer in order to have their day in court, Roberts wrote. And applying for a permit requires an arduous, expensive and long process that is different from challenging whether the land was properly designated, Roberts wrote. Congress is looking into the funding for several Obamacare programs for which no money has been directly appropriated. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the administration is unlawfully paying insurers who are required to reduce costs for poorer customers on Obamacares exchanges. But there are other Obamacare programs that the administration is running for which Congress has refused to fund. Washington Times: But they also want to know if the administration is going around the Affordable Care Acts text to fund the Basic Health Program, a second, lesser-known part of the 2010 health care law that allows states to set up a coverage program for low-income people who are ineligible for Medicaid and would otherwise enter Obamacares subsidized health care exchanges. So far, only Minnesota and New York have implemented the program. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, Texas Republican, said they have been asking for nearly a year about how the program is funded. They said a high-ranking official who briefed them did not bring any of the documents with her and that documents they later received had multiple redactions. They subpoenaed a narrower set of records in March. These subpoenas created a legal obligation on the department to produce all responsive materials, the chairmen wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. Since the subpoenas have been issued, however, your department has produced only one heavily redacted page of one document. On May 23, the chairman also asked HHS to hand over documents that justify the administrations decision to permanently fund Obamacares cost-sharing program, which reimburses insurers who reduce co-pays and deductibles for qualified Obamacare enrollees as a condition of participating in the laws insurance exchanges. Republican lawmakers say the administration needs annual permission from Congress and even zeroed out funding for the payments. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, presiding in Washington, said this month that the reimbursements must stop until Congress explicitly permits them, though she stayed that order pending an appeal. The chairmen said that ruling strengthens their hand in pursuing the cost-sharing documents and that HHS hadnt asserted any legal privilege for withholding documents related to the Basic Health Program. Your refusal to provide the requested documents and information raises serious concerns about the departments willingness to be accountable for the lawful execution of laws passed by Congress, the chairmen wrote. HHS spokesman Matthew Inzeo said the agency is reviewing the letter, and that the Basic Health Program is a vital tool for low-income Americans. Subpoenas ignored or willfully unfulfilled, stonewalling witnesses, and lies, lies, lies. Sound familiar? "The most transparent administration in history" has a game plan when dealing with Congress and they play it out to the letter. They even defy federal judges, daring the judicial branch to sanction them. What president Obama has done is empower the executive branch to do pretty much whatever it wants, whenever it feels the need. The next president, be they Republican or Democrat, will inherit this power and, given the nature of power, try to expand it. The Constitution is becoming an inconvenience for the executive, rather than a rulebook to be followed. When the president refuses to "faithfully execute the laws" of the US, what do we have? A monarch? An emperor? What we don't have is a president as envisioned by the founders - wielding power carefully balanced with that of the Congress and judiciary. At biggest risk is the individual liberty of the citizen. For without the protections guaranteed in the Constitution, our freedoms are frangible and can be taken away with little trouble. Trees have long life spans, but eventually they too die of old age or succumb to diseases or get damaged in thunderstorms and hurricanes. When trees in urban spaces die and show signs of toppling over or breaking off, the city might decide to remove them for the safety of those around. The remaining stumps then provide a wonderful opportunity for wood carvers to showcase their talent and liven up the neighborhood at the same time. Here are nine towns that show us that not all pieces of public art has to involve steel, granite and concrete. Orr Park Tree Carvings The Orr Park in Montevallo, Alabama, the United States, has over thirty carved trees located along the parks walking trail along Shoal Creek. The trees were carved by local artist Tim Tingle. In 1983, a storm had hit Montevallo and caused a lot of damage to the wooded area of Orr Park. The city wanted to remove the damaged cedar trees, but local artist Tim Tingle stepped in and offered to have the dead trees turned into works of art. Tim began carving the trees in 1993 and over the course of several years carved figures, faces, and story book characters on the trunks of over thirty trees. The carved trees are now known as Tinglewood. Photo credit: www.montevallo.edu Photo credit: Rivers Langley/Wikimedia Photo credit: eeviac/Panoramio Hurricane Katrina Tree Sculptures Carved in the years following Hurricane Katrina, the tree carvings along Highway 90 in Biloxi, Mississippi, are one of the most popular attraction of the city. Hurricane Katrina that came through Biloxi in 2005, took down a lot of trees leaving only the trunks. The trunks were carved into various sculptures by wood sculptors Marlin Miller of Florida, and Dayle Lewis of Indiana. There are now approximately 50 sculptures throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast with the world's largest eagle sculpture standing 17-foot-tall and located in War Memorial Park. Photo credit: John Wenzelburger, Lynn Photo credit: Bill/Flickr Galveston Tree Sculptures In 2008, Hurricane Ike struck the town of Galveston, Texas, and brought storm surge of 6 to 15 feet through the city. This salt water flood killed thousands of trees, many of which had been planted after the devastating 1900 hurricane. More than 35,000 of Galvestons trees were cut down after Ike. A few were saved through the effort of local sculptors. There are now over 35 tree sculptures dotting the island city. Photo credit: Galveston.com/Flickr Photo credit: Sarah Page, Galveston.com, valkrye131, A Yee Photo credit: A Yee/Flickr Art Walk of Tree Sculptures, Orangeville Since the early 2000s, wood carvers in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, has transformed their towns streets into a public art galley by carving trees that have come to the end of their life cycle. The town has over 60 carvings created by many different local artists, and they are placed all over town. Photo credit: www.jimmenken.com Photo credit: www.jimmenken.com Truro Tree Sculpture Project The streets of Truro in Nova Scotia, Canada, were once lined with beautiful, large, elm trees that had been around for more than a hundred years. But then they began to disappear due to the Dutch elm disease. In order to make the best out of the unfortunate loss, the town council started the tree sculpture project. The town initially made 43 sculptures. Unfortunately, as the years went by, the pre-existing internal decay started affecting the tree sculptures too. As of 2014, only 15 of these sculptures remain. Photo credit: www.wiredtotheworld.net Photo credit: www.champagnewishesandrvdreams.com, vagabondglovers.blogspot.in Tree Carvings at London, Ontario A few years ago, when the city of London, Ontario, Canada, had to cut down a massive number of trees when they started dying of diseases, someone suggested that tree trunks should be carved into sculptures. Now there are dozens of wonderful sculptures of different themes, sizes, and expressions, carved by skilled artists all over the city. Photo credit: keepcalmandwander.com Photo credit: keepcalmandwander.com The Tree Spirits of St. Simons Island These face carvings on old oaks on St. Simons Island, Georgia, United States, were done by local artist Keith Jennings to commemorate the countless sailors who lost their lives at sea aboard the mighty sailing ships that were once made from St. Simons Island oak. There are about 15 such carvings around this small coastal town. Photo credit: goldenislesinsider.com Photo credit: goldenislesinsider.com Photo credit: goldenislesinsider.com Legerwood Carved Memorial Trees In 1918, the residents of Legerwood, in Tasmania, Australia, planted nine trees in memory of the young men that went to fight in World War I and never returned. But time took its toll and by the turn of the century the trees were declared a safety risk and cut down. The stumps were preserved and carved into the likeness of each soldier. Various scenes depicting world War One were also carved on one tree. Photo credit: www.abc.net.au Photo credit: www.zizics.com Avenue of Honour Tree Carvings, Dartmoor The Avenue of Honour is a row of Atlantic Cedar trees planted in 1918 to commemorate the men and women who served World War One from Dartmoor, in Victoria, Australia. When the trees started dying, chainsaw artist Kevin Gilders carved them in 1998 to depict service men and women in the army, navy and air force. Photo credit: australiafree.com.au Perhaps the most memorable scene from the 2015 movie The Revenant was Hugh Glass, played by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, being attacked by a grizzly bear. It was arguably one of the most realistic depiction of bear attack in movies till date. Had it not been based on a real incident critics would have argued that it was impossible for Glass to have survived an attack of that magnitude and then crawl hundreds of miles through the forest to safety. Hugh Glass was a fur trapper, one of the hard-driving mountain men of the early 19th-century American West, who trapped beavers for their fur and sold them to hat makers in the US and Europe. It was a highly lucrative but dangerous trade where men like Glass had to live and hunt among the mountains for years at a time. The mountaineers were daring and rebellious men in their twenties and thirties who learned how to survive in the wild with limited supplies, a rifle and a few tools. But Hugh Glass survival against the odds was a story so amazing that it became legend even among the mountaineers themselves. Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass and a sketch of the real Hugh Glass In 1823, Hugh Glass was part of a fur-trading expedition led by General William Henry Ashley, traveling up the Missouri River. Somewhere along the banks of the river, in South Dakota, the expedition was attacked by Arikara warriors, forcing the men to split into two groups. One group of which Glass was part, chose to travel overland towards the Yellowstone River. Near the forks of the Grand River, near present-day Lemmon, Glass was scouting for the party, ahead from the rest of the group, when he surprised a grizzly bear and her two cubs. Before he could fire his rifle, the bear pounced upon him and severely mauled Glass. Hearing his cries, his companions rushed to help and shot the bear down. According to some accounts, Glass killed the bear alone with his knife. Glass was lacerated all over his back, his scalp was ripped, his throat punctured and leg broken. His companions were convinced that Glass would be dead by the next morning. But when Glass was still alive the next day, his companions built a litter and carried him along for the next two days. Hugh Glass being attacked by a grizzly bear, in 1823, from an early newspaper illustration, dated June 3, 1823. Photo credit: Wikimedia Caught Off Guard by Artist David Wright. Photo credit: hughglass.org With roving bands of hostile Indians in the area, the party was in a hurry to get to Yellowstone but Glass was slowing them down. So the party leaders decided that two men should stay with Glass until he died, and then give him a proper Christian burial. John Fitzgerald and the much younger Jim Bridger volunteered to stay behind. The pair watched over Glass for three days, and with each passing day they grew restless as their fellow trappers were getting farther and farther away from them. Finally Fitzgerald convinced Bridger to abandon Glass. The two men placed Glass is a shallow grave, grabbed the rifle, knife, and other equipment belonging to Glass, and took flight. Bridger and Fitzgerald later caught up with the party and lied that Glass had died. Although gravely injured, Glass regained his strength and started crawling and walking towards the nearest American settlement, at Fort Kiowa, on the Missouri River, driven solely by the will to survive and exact revenge on the two men who abandoned him. For survival, he ate wild berries, roots, insects, and snakes. On one occasion, he was able to drive two wolves from a killed bison calf and feast on the raw meat. Glass was later aided by friendly Native Americans who sewed a bear hide to his back to cover the exposed wounds and provided him with food and weapons. A still from the movie The Revenant. After six weeks of ordeal, Glass reached Fort Kiowa where he stayed for several weeks recovering from his wounds. Once his wounds healed, Glass set out again to find Fitzgerald and Bridger. He eventually caught up with them, but instead of the bloody battle as depicted in the movies climax, Glass forgave them both. It is said that Glass forgave Bridger because of his youth, but Fitzgerald had joined the army and was untouchable. Killing Fitzgerald, then a soldier, would have resulted in his own death. Glass returned to the frontier as a trapper and fur trader. He died a violent death ten year later on the Yellowstone River, in an attack by the Arikara. Glasss extraordinary story of survival has been recounted in numerous books and dramas over the years, and his legend has grown with each new version. According to one story, Glass allowed maggots to eat the dead, infected flesh in his wounds to prevent gangrene, and according to another, once a huge grizzly bear licked his maggot-infested wounds and saved him from further infection and death. The distance of his journey itself swelled from 80 miles to 100 miles to 200 miles. There are now two monuments dedicated to Hugh Glass. One stands near the site of his mauling on the southern shore of the present-day Shadehill Reservoir, in Perkins County, South Dakota, at the forks of the Grand River. The other, a metal sculpture depicting a grizzly bear attacking Hugh Glass, is in the small town of Lemmon, in South Dakota. The second monument was unveiled in August 2015, in anticipation of the release of the film "The Revenant. Photo credit: www.travelsouthdakota.com Photo credit: homesteading-guide.com Photo credit: www.sdpb.org Photo credit: www.dglobe.com Photo credit: www.johnlopezstudio.com Photo credit: www.johnlopezstudio.com Photo credit: www.johnlopezstudio.com Sources: hughglass.org / Wikipedia / Telegraph If you use Googles various apps on the web, like Gmail, Google+, Google Calendar, etc., then you probably have seen your name next to the app launcher on the upper right-hand side of the app. However, if youve loaded up any of these web apps today (or more specifically, in the last few hours), youll notice that the name is now gone. Google announced today that they are eliminating the first name for user names from the Google bar. In a slight effort to clean up that interface, but also because it was deemed redundant. Seeing as there is also your profile picture on the other side of the notifications icon. This profile picture is used to not only indicate which profile is loaded up, but to also switch profiles and get to your account settings. The reason why it is deemed redundant now is that those that dont have a photo uploaded, Google now shows pictures with your first initial in that spot. Making it easy to still decipher which account is opened up. And making it so that every account has a unique photo. Its a fairly minor update to the bar, but one that some users will definitely pick up on. Theres not much changing here in terms of functionality. As you are still able to click or tap (if you have a touch screen) on your profile photo in the upper right-hand corner and access all of the same information as before. This includes the name of the account, email address, settings and the ability to add accounts or switch between different accounts. But this does clean up that bar a bit more and makes it a bit more minimal. Advertisement Google is rolling out this change to the Google bar over the next three days. For many users, a quick refresh of the web app is showing the change has already been made. This change is coming to traditional Gmail users, Google Apps and Enterprise customers. So no matter what type of customer or user you are, you will be seeing this change, and seeing it pretty much instantly. Virtual Reality is widely believed to be the next big thing in consumer technology, and Samsung has been one of the companies at the forefront of the VR revolution with its Gear VR headsets, which bring mobile-based virtual reality to the masses. So convinced is Samsung about the pull of virtual reality that it has now announced a new promo, which promises free Gear VR headsets to buyers of premium Galaxy smartphones. At least six devices are eligible for the offer, including the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5. Samsung also says that the Gear VR will come with six free games from the Oculus store, which should certainly sweeten the already exciting deal even further. While Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge already came with a Free Gear VR offer during the pre-order period earlier this year, whats interesting is that Samsung is now offering the exact same deal to buyers of its four premium devices from last year as well. Additionally, unlike last time, buyers will also get the six free games from the Oculus store, so thats yet another upside to this deal. Anybody willing to take Samsung up on its offer needs to buy one of the eligible handsets between now and June 19th, before registering the product on the purpose-built promo page on Samsungs website to get your free Gear VR. Advertisement The promo has just gone live as of today, and in order to redeem the offer, buyers will have until the 30th of June to submit their claims, along with valid purchase receipts. One thing that Samsung has mentioned on its promo page is that it will only give away a maximum of 600,000 Gear VR headsets during the course of this promo, so in case of more valid claims been filed, the company will give $100 gift certificates, which can be redeemed on Samsung.com. While that doesnt immediately sound as interesting in theory as getting a Gear VR headset for free, the fact remains that users will still get their $100 dollars worth of freebies from Samsung either way. When Google sold Motorola to Lenovo in 2014, they bought $750 million in stock a few weeks later. Which was enough to give Google roughly a 5.94% stake in the company. In 2014, Lenovos stock was worth a bit more its wild fluctuations in price make it a bit of a gamble to buy these days. It seems that Google is now reportedly looking to get rid of their entire stake in Lenovo. To help it get out the door, theyve knocked the price down a bit, and are looking for only about $218 million to $221 million in total. While they did not keep all of the Lenovo stock that they scored with the Motorola deal, that is still quite a substantial discount. To be exact, Lenovo stock, at this time, is worth about 61 cents per share. Google is only looking to sell their shares for roughly 59 cents a pop, ranging between HK$4.56 and HK$4.62 per share, compared to the current going rate of HK$4.75 per share. This constitutes a discount of almost 4%. While that discount may not sound like much, consider the volume, here at 371 million shares, with a discount of about 2 cents USD per share, Google is throwing about $7.4 million down the drain, presumably just to ensure that theyre able to liquidate all of this stock. Naturally, both Google and Lenovo have been silent about exactly why ties are being cut like this. Advertisement Neither company made any announcement as to things like who any potential buyers were, whether the trading was open to the public, a timeline for the liquidation or other such details. The bookrunner for all Lenovo shares is American financial advisory firm Morgan Stanley, who also had nothing to say about the deal. With the deal shrouded in mystery, its unclear exactly what Googles intentions are. While $221 million is a substantial amount of money, this is Google were talking about, meaning theres a decent amount available for expenditures at any time. They could be cutting ties with Lenovo at last, or simply looking to liquidate stock that they only see going downhill. Whatever the case may be, it looks like Google wants all 371 million shares gone in the very near future. This week, the Code Conference is happening in Los Angeles, CA. This is a conference where a number of executives are asked to come and talk with members of Recodes staff, although its mostly Walt Mossberg talking with them. Todays agenda includes Google CEO Sundar Pichai who spoke about all sorts of topics during his interview with Mossberg. This included talking about machine learning and how that is going to help Google, and why its important to Google. Also speaking about Daydream which the company announced at Google I/O last month. Not to mention China, and possibly coming back to China, which has always been a big topic of discussion surrounding Google. But perhaps more interesting, is his thoughts on messaging and the new messaging apps his company announced last month, Allo and Duo. Pichai noted that they are working with carriers to evolve RCS messaging, so that it is an interoperable messaging standard. RCS stands for Rich Communications Services and is a platform that enables delivery of communication experiences beyond the simple voice and SMS messages. This platform provides users with instant messaging or chat, one to one or to groups, live video as well as file sharing across devices on any network. Pichai also noted that he would love to see users on iOS be able to message users on Android and vice versa. He also hopes that the industry heads in that direction. Its something that we have already with a few apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram. But in terms of just plain old text messaging or SMS, its possible, but not the same experience. Advertisement While Pichai didnt say a whole lot about Allo and Duo, which are slated to be launching later this summer, he did mention that Google is working with carriers on RCS messaging. This is pretty important, as changes to messaging need to go through carriers if they have any hope of becoming a new standard. Allo and Duo is an OTT (Over-The-Top) service, and is going to be available on both iOS and Android later this summer. This makes things a bit confusing, seeing as Pichai says Google is backing RCS, yet their new messaging services do not use it. OnePlus is a company that likes to do things a little differently, this much has been obvious since the Chinese brand first launched, without an announced phone to promote no less. The OnePlus 1 and the CyanogenMod days seem so far away now, but it was just back in 2014 that we all said hello to OnePlus and now the firm is getting ready to launch the new OnePlus 3 in a couple of weeks. Circling back to the idea of doing things differently, OnePlus is going to announce their latest and greatest flagship device in Virtual Reality. Those looking to tune in and see just what OnePlus has been working on can now download the required app from the Play Store. The Loop app has been added to the Play Store and it appears to be available on the majority of hardware, OnePlus or otherwise, and just like the OnePlus 2 launch app, is a simple affair. Right now, the app just counts down until June 14th, 2016, the official date of the launch, which makes this a download thats more of a preparatory download more than anything. Speaking of June 14th, thats one day before the official launch of the OnePlus 3 in China, with the news announced earlier today. OnePlus detailed the sort of launch that users can expect from the launch, which is going to be a Virtual Reality affair on a sort of space station set up. The idea behind such a launch is that users will be able to immerse themselves in the announcement much better than theyd be able to by watching a simple livestream on their laptop or smartphone. Weve heard a lot about the OnePlus 3 so far, and it appears as though the Chinese firm has discovered a way to cram 6GB of RAM into a smartphone as well as a Snapdragon 820 quad-core CPU. Even so, leaked specs point to a device that still has a 1080p display, something that many will feel as a resolution that smartphones should be leaving in the past by now, especially when they can boast 6GB of RAM as well. Regardless, those looking to tune in to the event will need to download The Loop, linked below, as well as have either their Loop VR headset at the ready come June 14th, or provide their own. With the help of fundraising campaigns, over the years, several small businesses and startups have proven that they have what it takes to compete even with the most resourceful companies in the world, so long as they have an idea that is good enough to sell. In response to this market shift, in 2012 Samsung Electronics Creative Lab division was formed as a way for the Korean tech giant to promote creativity in the companys culture, and to act as a launchpad for new startup companies. Today, Samsung has announced that 18 employees of five C-Lab startups have resigned from Samsung Electronics in order to officially establish five new companies under Samsungs umbrella, and engage in full-scale business. Last year Samsung chose nine C-Lab projects to become full-fledged startups, and today five new companies have been confirmed to join the market as independent entities aiming to release their first products sometime in the second half of the year. Among the products that have been chosen to become commercially available counts WELT, a smart belt that can measure the wearers waistline, track whenever the wearer is sitting down eating, and count steps along with the number of calories burned. Another Samsung C-Lab product which will become a reality is called the Idea Printer. As the moniker suggests, the product comes in the form of a small printer which can print ideas onto sticky notes. In addition, a third C-Lab company was chosen to manufacture Samsung Insulation, described by Samsung as a vacuous insulator with the highest insulation efficiency in the world. The other two C-Lab startups will apparently focus on software rather than hardware. One of the newly founded companies will release Locksa: an application for smartphones designed to manage photographs with your smartphone unlock function, and a Save Energy Cost application described as an intelligent software able to recommend optimal electricity pricing systems. Advertisement The official press release states that, as yet, Samsung Electronics has 130 projects in development under the Creative Lab division (5 of which have been demoed at SDC 2016), with 480 employees working on making these projects viable for the consumer market. According to Samsung, since the year 2012, 40 C-Lab projects have been transformed to become commercial products. Huawei has introduced quite a few smartphones this year already. The company has not only release their flagship P9 and P9 Plus devices, but also quite a few additional phones through their Honor company. The Honor V8 is quite probably the most notable Honor smartphone to be introduced this year, its not only sleek-looking, but it also offers a really nice set of specs. That being said, some of you are probably wondering when will the company unveil the Honor 8, a successor to their Honor 7 smartphone. Well, the Honor 7 was announced back in July last year, which has to mean the Honor 8 is right around the corner, right? Well, it might be, read on. We still do not know when will the Honor 8 going to be announced, but we presume it will happen in the next month or two. That being said, two variants of this handset surfaced in China, or at least it seems like it. The FRD-AL00 and FRD-TL10 models popped up, and according to the latest rumor, the Honor 8 will not only sport an aluminum frame, but also come with a 2.5D curved display, and a dual camera setup on the back. The phone will, reportedly, ship with two 12-megapixel snappers on the back, but dont expect to see Leicas lenses here, as it was the case with the Huawei P9 and P9 Plus. What about its specs? Well, the Honor 7 was a mid-range smartphone, but sported really compelling specifications. Some rumors suggest that the phone might ship with the Kirin 950 64-bit octa-core SoC, and even though that might be true, it is also possible that Huawei might opt to include the inferior Kirin 650 instead. The phone will quite probably ship with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and a Type-C USB port will be placed on its bottom. Advertisement The Honor 8 will be a metal unibody smartphone, and you can expect it to be quite affordable, just like its predecessor. The Honor 6, Honor 6 Plus and Honor 7 were selling really well for this China-based company, and they certainly expect the same from the Honor 8. As already mentioned, this device will quite probably arrive in the next month or two, though we do expect it to land in June, so stay tuned. According to the latest report from China, Xiaomi is still the number one smartphone manufacturer in the country, as far as market share goes at least. The company trumped both Huawei and LeEco back in April, but when you look at global market share, Xiaomi cant even come close to Huawei. Now, weve been talking about Xiaomis expansion to Europe and the US for a long time now, but that still didnt happen. There are a number of obstacles for Xiaomi in order to do that, and it seems like the company is still not ready to do that. Xiaomi did, however, expand to some other areas outside of China, like Brazil for example. This China-based smartphone manufacturer has released their Redmi 2 smartphone in Brazil back in June last year, but it seems like things arent going all that well for the company. Xiaomi expected that the business will take off in Brazil, theyve even opened up their South America headquarters in the country, and everything seemed ready to go. Well, not quite, not even a year after the Redmi 2 launched in Brazil, Xiaomi has recalled its handset team from Brazil, at least according to the latest report. According to a report from Digitimes, Xiaomi is having issues promoting their devices in Brazil, and has no plans to introduce new models in the future, at least not in the near future. Xiaomis Brazil team has returned to China due to this, and the source even shared reasons why Xiaomi is having such issues. Brazil has a complicated tax system, and that, in addition to high logistics costs and low popularity of Xiaomis devices, resulted in canceled Brazil operations for the company. This report was actually based on Hugo Barras interview with the China-based 21st Century Business Herald, says the source. Advertisement In addition to all this, Hugo Barra also mentioned that the company will do their best in order to modify its local production policy in Brazil, in hope theyll be able to cope with Brazils manufacturing policies which are constantly changing. If the company fails to do that, theyll have to import devices to Brazil, and not manufacture them in the country. As a side note, Foxconn has been manufacturing devices for Xiaomi in Brazil until now. That is more or less it, if any additional info surfaces, well let you know. As is customary in June of each year, the Caribbean will collectively showcase its vacation attributes to New Yorkers and visitors to New York City. The Region will be showcased as the premiere desirable warm weather destination through the Caribbean Tourism Organizations (CTO) Caribbean Week. An unmatched programme is being planned, offering CTO member countries and private sector partners unrivalled opportunities to marry and showcase all the appealing and attractive features of the Caribbean in one celebratory event. These features include culinary, culture and heritage, and many other aspects of the Caribbeans diverse product offerings and experiences. One of the main objectives of Caribbean Week is to offer opportunities for Caribbean government officials, private sector executives and industry partners to sell their destinations, and build relationships for year round business development. Caribbean Week creates and opportunity for the engagement of New Yorks Caribbean Community of over 60 million strong and growing focusing on the pride in our heritage as one of the most diverse cultures in the world, while aiming to generate significant brand exposure for the CTO, its members and sponsors. The week also includes the CTO Business meetings. Anguilla is being represented by a contingent that includes the Hon Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism Mr Victor Banks, the Hon Parliamentary Secretary Tourism Mr Cardigan Connor and the Permanent Secretary responsible for Tourism Mr Foster Rogers. The CTO Caribbean Week events will take place at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City. The Week of events runs from June 1st 5th 2016. While in New York, Mr Banks and the delegation will also attend the 20th annual Celebration of Anguilla Day events organized by the Anguilla Progressive Association of New York. The Hon Minister of Social Development Mr Evans McNiel Rogers will act as Chief Minster in Mr Banks absence. Transfer balls: Chelsea and Man United in race to stop Arsenal getting Morata (again) Transfer balls a look at iffy reporting in the mainstream media. News is that Arsenal are still after Alvaro Morata. The Mirror says Arsenal and Chelsea could go head to head in the race to sign 23-year-old Juventus striker Alvaro Morata. So only two clubs are in for the striker. It is a head-to-head race. The Mirror adds: Alvaro Morata has sparked an auction between Arsenal and Chelsea after admitting he believes the Premier League would be a great destination. Or as the player wanted by PSG (source: The Mirror) and who has an agreement to re-sign for Real Madrid should they want him says: Hopefully everything will be resolved before then, because it is uncomfortable to be helping your country with phone in hand. My wish is to succeed in Madrid There are some offers from England that are tempting, not only because of the contract. I think my characteristics mean the Premier League would be a great destination. If Real dont want him, then maybe hell look to the PL. Its a head-to-head-to-head race and one club has a massive head. As Spains AS put it: Alvaro Morata wants a return to Real Madrid In other news: The Evening Standard and Manchester Evening News saysManchester United have added their head to the race and United have a real bighead in charge: And the Liverpool Echo say Liverpool want him: Of course, Morata already plays for Arsenal. The Daily Star told us that: Such are the facts. Anorak Posted: 1st, June 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Rome, June 2 - Fighting organized crime and terrorism, dealing with migrants and developing economic ties in sectors such as technology and infrastructure are among the areas that southeast Asian States are most looking for cooperation with Italy on, ASEAN ambassadors said on Wednesday. "We are happy to see the role Italy is playing on the migration issue," Malaysia's Ambassador to Rome Dato Abdul Samad Othman told an ANSA Forum, referring to Italian demands for action and efforts to save lives in the Mediterranean migrant crisis. "I think Italy has a big role to play and we would like to share Italy's experience," he said, while stressing that his country's problems with asylum seekers were not comparable with those of Europe at the moment. "We are also looking to you on organised crime - how to reduce the threat of organised crime and terror. We want to see more cooperation," he added to the forum organised to present a report by the Ce.S.I (Centro Studi Internazionali) think tank on relations between ASEAN States and Italy and the European Union. Ce.S.I President Professor Andrea Margelletti pointed out that Italy's efforts to save migrants are nothing new, recalling the Italian Naval missions to rescue boat people in southeast Asia in the 1970s, even though it was not central to Rome's geopolitical interests at the time. "Human lives are a cornerstone of Italian policy. For Italy trust is a custom, not a fashion," Margelletti told the forum. "Unfortunately we are experts in fighting terrorism and organized crime. "Italy has expertise on how to destroy (criminal) networks without the use of special laws". Indonesian Ambassador August Parengkuan said Italian President Sergio Mattarella's visit to the region last year had helped raise Italy's profile there. "It was a very impressive visit. People commented on his peaceful face. A father figure," Parengkuan told the forum, at which several participants stressed the need for Italy and the ASEAN countries to know more about each other. He said that Indonesia, which is made up of over 13,000 islands, was looking to develop cooperation in infrastructure. "We need infrastructure to connect our islands, sea ports," said Parengkuan. "Infrastructure is a top priority and we can learn from Italy, which is surrounded by the sea. "Italy is not just spaghetti and lasagne. It's also high tech, economics". Philippines Ambassador Domingo Nolasco and Myanmar Ambassador Myint Naung were also among the participants at the forum. (ANSA) - Rome, June 1 - Moody's ratings agency said Wednesday that Italy is in economic recovery and analysts musn't "obsess" over its debt-to-GDP ratio. "Everyone looks at the the debt-to-GDP ratio but one mustn't obsess over this indicator," Moody's Italy chief Mauro Crisafulli told Bloomberg News in a May 27 interview released today. "Even though it's important, what counts is economic growth and this is returning in Italy, albeit more slowly compared to the rest of Europe". The government has made progress with its reforms of the labor market, the banking system, the civil service, the electoral system, and the country's institutional framework, Crisafulli said. "Investors are interested in what happens on the labor market and in public administration, but there is no information on these sectors outside of Italy," he said. Sailing: Carthago Dilecta Est regatta lands in Lampedusa 'Free to Navigate' motto of 18th edition (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, JUNE 1 - The international sailing event uniting Italy and Tunisia, Carthago Dilecta Est, is back this year with some new features that highlight the symbolic value of uniting Mediterranean peoples in new links towards friendship and peace. The 18th edition will take place on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, where the Italian and Tunisian teams will meet, said event organiser Ventotene Sailing Club. This year's course is long and challenging on a sporting level, as well as appealing for its symbolic value, running along the Phoenician and Roman routes with sailing once again representing a symbol of the Mediterranean Seas as a "sea open to life". The event will begin with departure July 31 from Rome Fiumicino to Ventotene, then proceed to southwestern Sicily's Mazara del Vallo before reaching Lampedusa on August 9, when the Tunisian regatta "Tunisie Sailing Week" from Hammamet will also arrive. The event is open to either crewed or double handed boats, and is organized by the Ventotene Sailing Club, the Ahab Yacht Club and the Lampedusa and Linosa section of the Italian Naval League, under the aegis of the Italian Sailing Federation and Federation Tunisienne de la Voile. Event organisers also include the Italian Naval League, the Italian Union of Offshore Sailing, the Yasmine Hammamet Marina, the Monastir Marina, and other Tunisian and Italian marinas and yacht clubs. (ANSAmed). (By Michelle Ruelle) ROME - Italian President Sergio Mattarella has inaugurated an exhibition of historic ANSA photographs at the Quirinal Palace, documenting the birth of Italian democracy 70 years ago, in honour of the June 2 Republic Day holiday. On Tuesday, Mattarella was joined by ANSA President Giulio Anselmi, CEO Giuseppe Cerbone and Director Luigi Contu in an afternoon ceremony to debut the photos that show the Italian Republic at its beginnings, based on a popular referendum held on June 2, 1946. In that vote, Italians chose a mature democracy, one that got its power from the legitimacy of the voting populace, over the Savoy monarchy. The referendum itself was the first act of the new democracy, which was finding itself after the dark interlude of fascism. Through the images of ANSA, visitors to the exhibition can relive the most salient episodes of that key moment in the country's history. The black and white photographs taken that spring 70 years ago bring back the atmosphere of passion and hope that enlivened the entire Italian population, beyond the divisions between those who supported democracy and those who favored the monarchy. Everyone at that time was aware of how the qualities of the Italian democracy were in play, but the electoral campaign and voting took place peacefully; there were only a few incidents that broke out during the king's imminent departure. It was a celebration of democracy, enriched by women, who were called to the polls for the first time in a national election. The photographs show popular demonstrations by both sides in the squares, the lines at the polling stations, the enthusiasm over the success of the formation of the Italian Republic, the Savoy's goodbye to Italy, the establishment of the Constituent Assembly, and election of the first head of State, Enrico De Nicola. These historic images are the work of professionals who were reinventing Italian photojournalism, after years in which photography had been reduced to an instrument of regime propaganda. The images come from ANSA's vast photographic archives, which contain over 12 million photos. In 1946, ANSA was already the country's primary news agency; then as now, ANSA has always been on the front lines. The exhibition is divided into five chronological sections: The Electoral Campaign, The June 2 Vote, The Proclamation of the Vote, The Constituent Assembly and De Nicola, and Those Days at the Newsstands. TUNIS - The main goal of the first-ever SITIC Africa trade fair, taking place through June 2, is to make Tunisia a hub towards Africa for Tunisian and European businesses, and to improve Tunisia's placement on an international level in the sector of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The event is an expo for hi-tech, telecommunications and new technological opportunities offered by Tunisian businesses to SMEs from around the world, with an eye on triangular Tunisia-Africa-Europe cooperation. Tunisian Communication and Digital Economy Minister Noomen Fehri highlighted that focus on Tuesday at the conference's inauguration, emphasizing how important the telecommunications sector is for Tunisia, a country that is decidedly advanced in terms of technology production and supply. The conference's inauguration was well-attended, with a large presence of African businesses, which are experiencing strong growth and have increased 50% in recent years. Hosting 300 exhibitors with 3,000 professionals registered, the event was organised by Tunisie Afrique Export (TAE) in collaboration with the International Tunisian Fairs Company (SFIT) and the National Federation of Information and Communication Technologies (FNTIC) of Tunisian industrial employers' association UTICA. The technology sector in Tunisia makes up about 7% of the country's GDP and employs about 8,000 people with 1,800 businesses across the country, as well as specialised technological hubs in various regions. It's a noteworthy effort by the government towards businesses in the sector, sending the message that investors can be successful in Tunisia's ICT sector, or at least successfully collaborate with companies that are already present offering services at an excellent level of technology. TAE CEO Farid Tounsi said he was satisfied with the first day of events, and said that cooperation, partnership and common knowledge are the future not only of Africa but also Europe, upon which the trade fair's second edition will place more attention. More than 10,000 visitors are expected at the trade fair, held in the 40,000-square-metre covered space of Tunis's KRAM Exhibition Centre. EgyptAir: ship to retrieve black box expected on June 10 Time is precious, data recorders last few weeks (ANSAmed) - PARIS, JUNE 1 - The French vessel that will try to retrieve the black boxes of the EgyptAir flight detected on Wednesday by the Marine Nationale will arrive on June 10, French media report, adding that time is precious as the flight data recorders are only able to function for ''four to five weeks'' before the battery dies. The Deep Ocean search u8DOS) vessel awaited on the site of the crash approximately on June 10 has a special robot able to retrieve the black boxes 3,000 meters deep. The location where the operation will take place is about 290 km from the Egyptian coast. The EgyptAir flight was en route from Paris to Cairo when it crashed into the Mediterranean. According to sources close to the investigation, the sea reaches a depth of some 3,000 meters on the site of the crash. (ANSAmed) (by Patrizio Nissirio) ROME - There are those fleeing war, those who travel by sea to look for a better life, and those who continue to sail because it's their life. These stories feature in documentaries - 14 currently in different phases of production - of the fifth edition of Inter-Rives - Stories of Travel and Sea, a co-production of COPEAM (Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators) and ASBU (Arab States Broadcasting Union). The partnership vies to promote the cooperation and exchange between broadcasters on the two shores of the Mediterranean, which is perceived not only as the scenario of huge tragedies of migration over the past few years, but also as an area of opportunities, a meeting place for different cultures, a creative space. The second workshop of the Inter-Rives V program was held yesterday and today in Rome, during which filmmakers discussed with experts and technicians to evaluate their work, get advice, find new inspiration. There are all sorts of different stories of travels across the Mediterranean: many concern migrants, but there are other ones too. A lot of interest was raised by Costammare, produced by Swiss television Rsi, which talks about the arrival in Genoa of the wreck of the Costa Concordia as seen through the eyes of Stefano, the commander of the fleet of tug boats that took the ship to its last destination. Also under the spotlight was Vapore, or vapor, a story of Sicilian immigrants in Tunisia and Tunisians in Sicily. ''I did not want to tell a negative story, as seen every day in our sea - explained Tunisian filmmaker Fedia Ben-Henda - but rather give a positive image of the sea. So I decided to start from a time when migration occurred in the opposite direction, from north to south, to return to the Tunisians who live in Sicily. And see how the two societies cross one another - a different way to talk about the sea and the cultural exchange it allows''. There are also stories of migration today, like Mamadou, produced by Tve (Spain): the protagonist, Mamadou, a native of Guinea, arrives in Spain after being told there is high-paid work there. Obviously, the reality is quite different. So Mamadou, who wants to advise on ''whether to stay or leave'', talks about the illegal migrants living in the country. There are also stories of travels through memory, like Minerva 1908 (Ertu-Egypt), which talks about the story of the Greeks of Alexandria of Egypt, the protagonists of the economic and social life at the beginning of the 1900s. For Sampiero Sanguineti, among the founders of Corsica's public television and today one of the experts evaluating these productions, ''there are different types of trips, from one shore to the other, in these documentaries'' - stories of people who are looking for another life, fleeing war, reaching an island. ''I was really struck by 'Gaetano's Journey (produced by Rai), the story of a skipper who crosses a ship of migrants, or stories from the Balkans, all very strong''. (ANSAmed) Libya: Misrata militias, 'we are on the outskirts of Sirte' Announced action to attack ISIS stronghold (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, JUNE 1 - Misrata militias, loyal to the Libyan national unity government of Fayez Al Sarraj, have announced that they have accessed the outskirts of Sirte, ISIS's stronghold in Libya. ''Our forces are advancing in all directions inside the administrative borders of the city of Sirte after pounding with heavy artillery groups of Daesh militants yesterday and today at dawn'', wrote on its Facebook page the ''Information center on the operation 'Solid structure' for the liberation of Sirte''. (ANSAmed) BEIRUT - Three Syrian families were killed in airstrikes by the US-led coalition in an area controlled by ISIS in northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). It said that 15 civilians, including three children, were killed in the airstrikes south of Manbij, a small city between Aleppo and Raqqa. Syria: TV, first humanitarian convoy in Daraya in four years Town besieged by government forces outside Damascus (ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JUNE 1 - For the first time since 2012, a humanitarian convoy reached Daraya on Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross was quoted as saying by pan Arab television Al Jazeera. Daraya is a rebel-held Syrian town outside Damascus besieged by government forces. The Syrian Red Crescent reportedly took part in the operation. On May 12, another humanitarian convoy with five trucks was forced to go back at the last moment by government forces. The aid reached Daraya today after Russia announced a local 48-hour truce. A reported 8,000 people currently live in Daraya, which had some 80,000 residents before the civil war. They have to survive on food that is produced locally. (ANSAmed) Gentiloni in Saudi Arabia to promote Italian ventures Foreign minister meets king, calls for aid on Libya (ANSAmed) - ROME, JUNE 1 - Intensifying political consultations, boosting commercial cooperation, developing investments and attracting Saudi students to Italy, as well as promoting Italian ventures in a country with a strong call for Italian technology and brands are the objectives of Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni's visit today and tomorrow to Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, the foreign ministry said in a note. Along with an audience with the king, which - the note stressed - is a highly symbolic gesture marking attention towards Italy, Gentiloni met today with the deputy crown prince and defense minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir. The visit aims to deepen the political dialogue relaunched with the Kingdom's top officials during the mission of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi last November, in particular to promote investments in Italy. Bilateral relations are picking up. On an economic level, Saudi Arabia is Italy's top commercial partner in the Gulf and Italy is Riyadh's third commercial partner after Germany and France. Saudi Arabia represents one of the top markets for Italian goods in the Arab world and, for Italy, the fourth oil provider. Italy aims to further develop the economic-commercial relationship and hopes for a growing influx of Saudi financial investments in the country. Talk in Jeddah will also focus on the joint engagement to counter Daesh: the Italian-Saudi co-presidency of the Coalition's working group to counter funding for the jihadists is an example of the excellent cooperation and an occasion to call on the Saudis to deepen their engagement ahead of the expected progress in the military campaign. Minister Gentiloni will also stress expectations for Riyadh to be part of the solution to ongoing regional crises, reassuring on Italy's engagement. He will also call on Saudi help for the stabilization process in Libya, a strategic country for Italy. (ANSAmed). PARIS - Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Wednesday announced a break with the incisive responses of Francois Hollande's socialist government on the migrant crisis, and said that the city would create a humanitarian camp open to migrants north of the capital. "Enough now; the Mediterranean is transforming into a cemetery and we can't wait any longer," Hidalgo said. "Paris won't stand by wringing its hands, we have a duty to humanity," she said, in contrast to the government's cold intransigence on hosting those freeing war and famine. Hidalgo told press gathered at the Hotel de Ville, Paris's city hall, that the situation has become "intolerable". In recent days yet another tent camp sprung up at the Jardins d'Eole, in the 18th arrondissement, following last year's clearing of the camp at Pont de la Chapelle. "Right now there are about 800 people sleeping on the ground, in deplorable humanitarian and sanitary conditions," Hidalgo said. "It's an indecent situation for Paris and for France," she said, adding that it was being worsened by recent heavy rains. Thus the mayor's decision to "take things into our own hands" and "move at a faster speed", with the "hope" that the government will back the initiative. "Continuing to see those people in the mud is intolerable for all Parisians and I have no intention of being accused of refusing to offer assistance," she said. Hidalgo said the structure would be built according to standards set by UN refugee agency UNHCR and should be ready for use by the end of this summer. She said it would be modeled after the camp at Grande-Synthe, about 40 kilometres from the "jungle" of Calais. That camp was inaugurated at the end of Feburary without any government funding, based entirely on efforts by mayor Damien Careme and humanitarian aid organisations such as Doctors Without Borders. Despite the fact that France's socialist government opposed that 2.7-million-euro project, last Sunday Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the State would allocate 9.90 euros per day for each migrant living at the camp. On social media there are those who are already drawing parallels between Hidalgo and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and those who fear that the new camp will bring "all the world's misery" to Paris. "Bravo Anne Hidalgo, the left is making a comeback," tweeted journalist Valerie Trierweiler, former partner of French Prime Minister Francois Hollande. According to UN dictates, humanitarian camps must respond to a series of precise criteria, with living spaces equipped with restrooms, electricity, a community kitchen, and public lighting. In contrast to the State structure in Calais, the Paris camp - whose exact location is yet unknown but will most likely be within a municipality north of the capital - won't have police checks or fingerprint registry upon entrance. In terms of capacity, at the moment the mayor spoke of "several hundreds" of people. Comic book creator Robert Kirkman has made a pretty penny off AMCs adaptation of his zombie epic The Walking Dead. And vice-versa. So its no surprise to see some of the writers lesser-known works making the leap from page to screen. Now Showtime has grabbed the rights to Kirkmans other Image Comics series Outcast, adding another chapter to TVs ongoing renaissance of supernatural chillers and contributing a couple more well-deserved bucks to Kirkmans bank account. Outcast plays in the seediest of Southern Gothic settingsall peeling paint and bleeding shadows. In the small town of Rome, West Virginia, we meet Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit from Almost Famous and Gone Girl). Kyle is hiding out in his parents abandoned, rundown dump of a house, doing his best to shut out the world at large. Hes evidently had a rough lifestarting with the fact that his mother was violently abusive to him as a kid. His adoptive sister (Wrenn Schmidt from Boardwalk Empire) does her best to keep him showering and eating, but its starting to look like a lost cause. At the end of his rope and desperate for answers, Kyle hunts down Reverend Anderson (Philip Glenister from the BBCs Life on Mars), the no-nonsense evangelical minister who advised him as a child that his mother wasnt mentally illjust possessed by some nasty demons. Kyle has never bought into that story, but hes clearly spent the last few decades battling a lot of metaphorical demons. Anderson, on the other hand, firmly believes hes fighting a holy war against Earth's evil forces. And when Kyle gets roped into an exorcism involving a troubled young boy, his past rushes forward to meet him head-on, giving some tangible credence to Andersons theories about the paranormal forces behind our protagonists troubles. The first episode of Outcast is directed by up-and-coming horror auteur Adam Wingard (The ABCs of Death, The Guest, Youre Next), who also serves as the shows creative consultant. The story is a slow-builder, concentrating heavily on atmosphere and on the sad psychological condition of our walking zombie of a main character. Even so, the show isnt afraid to goose audiences with some gross-out shocks. Tales of exorcism in todays cheap, shot-on-digital horror movie industry are a dime a dozen (The Last Exorcism, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Devil Inside, The Rite, The Vatican Tapes). But Outcast hints at a bigger, more epic tale of supernatural doom and gloom. What are these hellish forces surrounding Kyle? And why does he appear unusually equipped to deal with them? What on the likes of The CW would be just another hunky guys battle the monster of the week show is looking like a grimly humorless walk in the dark with plenty of realistic drama and just enough grisly jolts to keep you awake at night. In other words: It looks like one of Kirkmans. The award is regarded as a standard of excellence and is amongst the most prestigious recognitions the procurement and supply chain arm of an organization can receive. The CIPS award validates the outstanding work carried out by Abu Dhabi Airports Procurement team, and the role it has played in the delivery of procurement and supply services for the Midfield Terminal Building (MTB). This award is recognition by industry leaders of the well-established policies and procedures, robust governance, and effective supplier management of the Procurement team at Abu Dhabi Airports. It also highlights the crucial role that the team plays in the success of the company. said Saeed Khalfan Al Zaabi, SVP Procurement and Logistics at Abu Dhabi Airports. The aircraft is equipped with a 108 economy class seat and eight business class seat configuration. The B737-500 will be used on service in the North African region from Ben Ghazi. The Group and its partners will deliver a core economic contribution of US$7.4 billion and a tourism contribution of US$2.2 billion, said the report. In turn, they will support 62,100 jobs through core operations, with another 29,600 jobs supported through the tourism contribution. Further to the economic contribution, the air connectivity offered by Etihad Airways the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and its equity airline partners will boost the Abu Dhabi productivity by US$17.0 billion in 2016. This constitutes 5.9 per cent of Abu Dhabi Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is equivalent to 195,600 jobs in the emirate By 2024, the annual contribution to the Abu Dhabi economy from Etihad Aviation Group and its equity airline partners is expected to reach up to US$18.2 billion, including a core contribution of US$12.6 billion and a tourism contribution of US$5.6 billion. The productivity boost from air connectivity impact will reach US$27.1 billion. The report recognises the central role that Etihad plays, saying: Etihads impact in Abu Dhabi is a vital driver of prosperity for the emirate, the importance of which is set to grow in the next decade as the airline expands its service, bringing more visitors to the region. James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Aviation Group, said: Success for Etihad Airways translates directly into success for Abu Dhabi and success for the wider Group and its partners boosts that impact even further. As a major jobs creator and as a major spender with local suppliers, Etihad Aviation Group has had an increasingly positive impact on the Abu Dhabi economy, year after year. These are long term, sustainable jobs which make a long term, sustainable contribution to GDP. As our equity airline partners continue to expand their connectivity with Abu Dhabi, we are seeing even greater impacts on the local economy. The figures demonstrate the success of Etihad Aviation Groups equity investment strategy in terms of a positive impact on its home of Abu Dhabi. The core and tourism impacts from the partners will top US$1.1 billion in 2016, growing to US$1.7 billion by 2024, while the productivity boost from connectivity is worth another $1.0 billion. Etihad Aviation Group was established in 2014, as a key step towards the goal of becoming a wider travel and aviation group, beyond Etihad Airways itself. EAG comprises four business divisions Etihad Airways, Etihad Engineering, Hala Group and Airline Equity Partners. In 2015, all these major business streams experienced growth, further contributing to the development of Abu Dhabi. In 2011, Etihad Airways made its first strategic minority investment in another airline, in airberlin. It now has minority stakes in seven airlines in total. These investments have made a significant impact on Etihad Airways business; partnerships delivered five million passengers in 2015, contributing US$1.4 billion in revenues. There are also major cost and business synergies shared with the equity partners. In addition, Etihad Airways investments have helped these airlines improve their own business performance, thanks to recapitalisation, access to wider global networks and cost synergies. Hogan said: Our two-pronged approach is delivering results for Etihad Aviation Group and it is delivering results for Abu Dhabi. At a strategic level, our equity partners to bring network connectivity, generate additional revenues and create economies of scale. Every one of our partners is delivering on this level. Each partner also has its own business goals, which are the responsibility of their own management and Boards of Directors. Many of these, such as Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Jet Airways and Virgin Australia, are now delivering profitably on this level. Our investment in Alitalia is well on track, cutting losses by more than we planned in our first full year. Airberlin has faced greater challenges and has taken longer than we expected to reach sustainable profitability, but the underlying fundamentals of the business are trending in the right direction. In addition to the revenue contribution from Airberlin to Etihad Airways, which is significant, this Oxford Economics Group study shows that our investment is also having a strong impact on Abu Dhabi. The MTB roof span is 319m at the widest point with 18 arches, the largest of which is 180m wide and 52m high. With the main steel structure of the central processor roof now finished, the next major milestone will be the de-propping of the final arch in the central processor. Work is also progressing on the closure of the building envelope and fit-out of the four piers. We are delighted to have achieved this milestone, as we can now move forward with the closure of the central processor area by completing all de-propping works for the roof by the end of this month. Once the overall structural work and the closure of the building envelope are complete we will hand over the internal space to our concessionaires so that they can commence fit-out of their exceptional retail concepts, said Sulaiman Al Siksek, chief programs officer at Abu Dhabi Airports. When complete, the MTB, along with the existing terminals at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), will serve the increasing number of passengers who fly through the UAE capital each year a number expected to surpass 45 million within the next ten years. In 2015, a record 23.3 million passengers used AUH as their origin, destination, or transit point. The MTB will be the largest architectural structure in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, visible from more than 1.5 km away. The spectacular new terminal is situated between the two runways at AUH, providing the shortest possible journey from runway to parking stand and allowing a quicker and smoother experience for passengers. A Roman assault on a hillfort in Scotland The ancient author Josephus once observed of the Roman military that their training manoeuvres are battles without bloodshed, and their battles manoeuvres with bloodshed. The difficulty in distinguishing between these states is well illustrated by the residue from a Roman artillery barrage at Burnswark. Were they aiming at practice or to suppress defenders before an assault? John Reid reveals the latest discoveries at the site. The brooding eminence of Burnswark Hill, Dumfriesshire, is an arresting sight. It rises to nearly 1,000 feet from the gentle surrounding countryside and is one of the most prominent landmarks of the Solway basin. On a good day, the panoramic views from the summit are breathtaking, while on a stormy day the hill has a strangely sinister demeanour. But it is not just the daunting physical presence of Burnswark that has fired the interest of scholars over the last 300 years. Crowning the tabletop summit are the denuded ramparts of a 17-acre hillfort, which is held in a vice-like grip by two Roman camps. Both of these camps feature design oddities. The northern one displays an unusually elongated form, while the south camp is more conventional in shape, but was furnished with three wide gateways facing up the hill. Each of these gateways is shielded by a large tumulus-like earthwork, which are collectively known as the Three Brethren. This configuration of Roman camps straddling a hillfort is unique in Britain, and attempts to understand its significance have provoked considerable controversy for over half a century. Explore the earthworks from the sky click below to watch drone footage of the site: Practice camp or siege work? For nearly two centuries the Roman earthworks were identified as siege camps, but in the 1960s a new theory emerged. This held that the camps were practice works and helped to satisfy a growing desire to find tangible evidence for the Roman armys famous training regime. Further examples of this vogue include the camps at Cawthorn in Yorkshire and the earthworks surrounding the Scottish hillfort of Woden Law. Both of these sites have now been reassessed: the former is seen as an early Roman fort with adjacent temporary camps, while the latter appears to be a native earthwork complex. It is not difficult to see how the practice theory arose. Many archaeologists in the 1950s and 1960s were ex-military men with a grounding in the Classics and close associations with the training activities of the British Army. Indeed, the first to propagate the training camp idea was Kenneth Steer, then Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, and a real-life Monuments Man with an army intelligence background. Unlike many archaeological musings influenced by the zeitgeist, though, the practice interpretation of Burnswark has proved tenacious, entering the popular and academic literature as fact. Previous investigations Two major excavation campaigns have been mounted at the site. The first was conducted in 1898 on behalf of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, which involved surveying the earthworks and turning over the site. Numerous lead sling-bullets, stone ballista-balls, and other elements of corroded Roman military hardware were found, all of which appeared to attest to a bitter conflict. The second major exploration came in the 1960s, and was directed by the much-respected archaeologist George Jobey. In the 1978 publication of his work, Jobey came down firmly on the side of a practice work. He recognised that the stone rampart of the hilltop fortress had already been demolished by the time it was swept with missiles and reasoned that no self-respecting Roman general would besiege an unfortified hilltop, even though the ancient literature suggests otherwise. A quantity of lead slingshot was found in the hillfort gateways, something that Jobey attributed to targets being set up to create what was in effect a firing range. Over the years the arguments in favour of both training and actual warfare have steadily multiplied. As is so often the case, many observations have proven susceptible to conflicting readings. The unique design of the Roman camps, for example, has been attributed to either clumsy practice work or the demands of battle conditions. The absence of a circumvallation isolating the hilltop has also been much remarked upon, but the significance of this is blunted by such blockading ramparts being identifiable at less than 20% of known Roman siege sites. There is also the hillfort itself, with some arguing that the easy gradient leading to its gates eliminated any need to invest the defenders. Yet this is no minor settlement: the hillfort is the largest known in Dumfriesshire, while the slope leading up to it is comparable to many European sites. It was against the backdrop of such competing assumptions that the Trimontium Trust, based in the Scottish Borders, decided to review the evidence and secure fresh data. The data would be gathered using modern methods that have their origins in battlefield archaeology, reconstructive archaeology, and forensic ballistics. After a fruitful discussion with the landowner, Sir John Buchanan-Jardine, and in collaboration with the Dumfriesshire Council archaeologist, Andy Nicholson, a novel approach was devised. At its core was a systematic metal-detector survey to identify lead sling-bullets and plot their scatter. Unlike many battlefields that lie below featureless arable land, our site lay directly on top of a fragile and eroding hillfort from which massextraction of artefacts would hamper any subsequent archaeological investigation. We therefore proposed a non-invasive metal-detection survey. This aimed to use the latest metal-detecting technology to profile the nature of the metal targets without extracting the finds, and then carry out highly selective test excavation to confirm the projectile scatter. This was made possible by the use of a high-quality reference detector, which was harmonised to the signals received from sling bullets from the 1898 Burnswark excavations held by the museum in Dumfries. Of course, the use of systematic metal-detecting is not new: it has been around at least since the 1980s, when the pioneering work of Scott and Fox revealed what had really happened to General Custer and the men of the 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Little Bighorn. Indeed, metal-detection represents the primary survey technique for identifying and determining the extent of battles that have taken place since the advent of gunpowder; the Roman lead sling-bullets presented an ideal opportunity to investigate the true extent of the metal-projectile scatter at a site that saw action at a much earlier date. The Burnswark Project was also designed to review the Roman camp morphology and how this related to the hillfort defences (or lack of them) and the wider landscape. It would take a forensic look at the fabric and ballistic properties of the Roman missile assemblage too. In view of popular interest in the site and in line with the educational objectives of the Trimontium Trust, a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid was made in 2014 for a volunteersupported, community-based archaeology project to comprise an excavation phase followed by a touring exhibition. The work commenced in 2015, and two trenches were carefully selected by preliminary systematic metal-detection. Here, we were fortunate to be able to collaborate with Derek McLennan and Sharon McKee from Beyond the Beep, who head a group of expert detectorists based in Ayrshire. Roman camp morphology Despite Classical references to the reduction of numerous oppida in southern England, no siege works have so far been identified elsewhere in the UK. This absence is conspicuous, given that numerous examples have been identified throughout mainland Europe and the Near East. This anomaly led us to question whether the Roman camps at Burnswark were siege works in the true sense of the word, or rather an assault camp to the south and a blockade camp to the north. This would explain a number of unusual features. First, the south camp was aggressively positioned on the slope of the hill, within only 130-150m of the two south hillfort gateways. The three large openings in the camp face uphill (as opposed to single, narrow gateways in the other sides), suggesting an intention to allow the rapid movement of large numbers of troops from the camp towards the hillfort entrances. On the other side of the hill, the smaller, elongated north camp was set at a more respectful distance from the steeper and therefore more defensible north face of Burnswark. The position and irregular shape of the camp would work as a measure to block any attempt at flight from the single north hillfort gateway. At both camps, the ditches facing the hill are of an order of magnitude greater than those along the other sides, again suggesting practical responses to a real threat. Roman missiles Burnswark is witness to a greater number and variety of Roman projectiles on a native site than anywhere else in Britain. Indeed, one has to travel to the Near East to find another site as rich in insitu ballistic material. Prior to the current project, 130 lead sling-bullets, nine trilobate iron arrowheads, and 11 carved sandstone ballista-balls had been identified. Of these, the lead sling-bullets were recognised to belong to two main types. Stephen Greep, who published the first review of Roman sling-bullets from the UK, characterised them as type I, essentially a lemon shape, and type II, which resembles an acorn. What was not fully appreciated at that time was that the rarer acorn-shaped bullets were almost exclusive to a 50-mile radius around Burnswark Hill. Averaging 50g, these beautifully cast bullets were predominantly recovered from the east and central southfacing hillfort gateways, with a handful also found in the south Roman camp. Whether these concentrations were due to targets in the former hillfort gateways, as Jobey thought, was hard to assess, as these were just about the only areas of the hillfort he excavated. We hoped that our projectile distribution survey would provide a more accurate picture of their spread. Before turning to the field, a detailed study was undertaken of the missiles from Burnswark held by the National Museum of Scotland and the Dumfries Museum. This produced a number of insights into the events that had played out on the hilltop. The range and shape of the carved stone ballista-balls were particularly interesting. These red sandstone missiles, weighing on average 600g, were virtually all grapefruit-shaped and had at least one slightly flattened face. Alan Wilkins, an expert on Roman artillery, confirmed that the flat area would lie in the slider slot of the torsion catapult and help stabilise the ball prior to shooting. He also observed that the stone shot were in the lightweight class compared to some of their larger brethren loosed in Judaea. This suggests that they were selected not for their wall-smashing qualities, but their anti-personnel attributes. A number of trilobate iron arrowheads were found during Jobeys investigation of the southern hillfort rampart, despite heavy corrosion caused by the very acidic soils. These were of a type in widespread use during the 1st and 2nd century and often associated with Arabian or Syrian archers serving in the Roman army. It was an assessment of the slingshot, however, that produced the greatest surprise. Some of the type I lemon-shaped bullets were significantly smaller than the others, many weighing less than 20g. We had identified a third, previously unrecognised, slingshot subgroup. Even more interesting was the fact that these small shot contained a single circular hole, approximately 5mm in diameter and about 5mm deep. What could it be for? Was it a hole for fixing to a device, inserting poison, or even a very symmetrical air bubble? Field-testing replica slingshot soon offered another, equally remarkable, explanation for these cavities. Slinging experiments We undertook a ballistic assessment of the lead sling-bullets previously found on the site in order to assess the performance of this ammunition. A number of replica bullets were cast in lead and high-density clay, and one of our volunteers, an expert slinger, learned to weave slings from various materials. We found that the larger 50g bullets could be cast at least 200 metres depending on whether the low-trajectory direct (more accurate) or lob style (greater distance) of slinging was used. Other experimenters in the field have noted that a 50g Roman bullet propelled from a sling has only slightly less kinetic energy than a shot from a .44 Magnum! On our rugby-field firing range a number of results quickly became apparent. Despite painting the bullets Day-Glo orange, finding spent lead missiles was in most cases impossible, as they buried themselves under the grass, confirming that the Romans would not have been able to recover many after the action. When our slinger was pressurised to shoot quickly, he showed a tendency to drop approximately 5-10% of sling bullets while loading. This phenomenon of dropped ammunition has been noted by battlefield archaeologists across a number of time periods and theatres of war. It is almost certainly a product of stress, and means that the scatter of bullets in the south camp at Burnswark could reveal where the slingers had been stationed at the start of the action. Two extraordinary facts concerning the small bullets with holes (now dubbed type IIIs) also emerged. First, they could be successfully slung in small groups of three or four to create a form of grapeshot. This had been independently confirmed by T Richardson in his work on Roman sling-bullets at the Royal Armouries. Even more intriguingly, the mysterious holes proved to confer an aerophonic quality: in flight, these lead shot whistled, or more accurately gave off a mechanical buzzing sound eerily reminiscent of an agitated wasp. Remarkable as it sounds, the simplest explanation for this design modification is that it represents an early form of psychological warfare. To put it another way, the Roman attackers valued the terror that hearing the incoming bullets would instil in the defenders. Projectile distribution Out at Burnswark, the detecting team took seven days to survey the site. The metal targets identified were profiled and characterised by a master detector to ensure the accuracy of the results. GPS positions were recorded and mapped by Andy Nicholson. More than 2,000 new targets were identified, of which nearly 700 had the characteristics of lead sling-bullets. We positioned our two 10m 2m trenches so that the maximum number of potential sling-bullets lay within the excavated area, in order to test the accuracy of our metaldetector survey. The trenches were excavated over a course of three weeks by our volunteers, who were expertly supervised by David Devereux and Diane and Claire from Rathmell Archaeology. Trench 1, which lay within the hillfort, turned up its full complement of predicted sling bullets. Trench 2 was deliberately positioned to straddle the south rampart of the hillfort, west of the west gateway. It not only confirmed the presence of lead bullets but also produced two beautifully carved ballista-balls and a roughly hewn stone sling-bullet. As some previous commentators had suggested that no real action could have taken place without the presence of legionary troops, the discovery of one of their signature iron-tipped ballista-bolts was also a source of some satisfaction. Our dig confirmed George Jobeys conclusion that the missile barrage occurred after the destruction of the primary stone rampart, which encircled the hilltop. In areas where rampart and missiles coincided, the projectiles lay immediately on top of or within the tumble. All told, the Project achieved a 94% correlation rate of non-invasively identified to actual sling bullets in our excavated trenches. This provides a significant margin of confidence in our prediction of the projectile spread across the site. The assault on Burnswark Hill So can Burnswark Hill still be considered a training facility? The evidence against this theory is growing ever more compelling. Close examination of the two Roman camps suggests that the earthworks represent a real-world tactical response to the terrain and the level of threat. Their shape and placement betoken their intended purpose of allowing a covering barrage, frontal assault, and rearward blockade. The type of ammunition also appears to be significant. Rather than stone or clay shot that might be expected of expendable training munitions, the use of carefully moulded lead shot would support lethal intent. The presence of aerophonic missiles also suggests a desire to fray the defenders nerves, while the variety of missiles indicates the presence of a mixed force of auxiliaries and legionaries. As Freeman and Pollard observed unstratified artefact distributions are the physical evidence extent and character of action. In this respect, the Project confirmed that there was a massive missile barrage at Burnswark. This was not just restricted to the gateways, but extended along a full half kilometre of native rampart. The simplest explanation for this distribution is that defenders on the hilltop were suppressed by a hail of sling bullets with an accurate range of 120m and the stopping power of a modern handgun, as well as ballista balls, ballista bolts, and arrows. This presumably covered an attacking force sweeping out of the three huge gateways and storming the hilltop. Such a combination of missile troops and conventional infantry is likely to have been brutally effective. What now? We believe the results of the Burnswark Project allow us to move beyond the practice theory. We may now perhaps turn our attention to when and why these cataclysmic events took place. Could the Roman action have been exemplary force in retaliation for an attack on the newly constructed Hadrians Wall in the mid to late 120s? Or was it a blooding of the troops in the early stages of the Antonine assault into Caledonia in the late 130s? The sparse dating evidence leaves both scenarios possible. With these thoughts in mind, we plan further minimally invasive investigations within the camps and hillfort in order to unravel a few more of this enigmatic sites mysteries. This story appears in CA 316. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the extended buzz of the type III bullets: [sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=http://www.archaeology.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bullets-sound.mp3] The earliest-known written reference to London was revealed today (1 June) by MOLA archaeologists, as part of Britains largest, earliest, and most significant group of Roman waxed writing tablets. The reference forms part of an address Londinio Mogontio, To Mogontius [a Celtic personal name], in London, and appears on a writing tablet dating from c.AD 65, pre-dating Tacitus famous mention of London in his Annals, previously held to be the earliest, by half a century. The fragmentary tablet is one of 405 excavated by MOLA on the site of Bloombergs new European headquarters in the City of London a dig in waterlogged ground beside the Walbrook river, which also yielded the well-preserved remains of Roman structures, and a wealth of artefacts shedding vivid light on life in Londinium (see CA 280 for more on these finds). Made of wood probably recycled from barrels, the tablets are thin wooden cases originally filled with blackened beeswax. Text was inscribed into this using styli, and while the wax is now lost, the metal writing implements have left scratches on the base wood that preserve traces of the words once written there. Previously, only 19 legible tablets were known from London, but 87 of the Bloomberg finds have now been deciphered by Dr Roger Tomlin, and expert in Roman cursive, who in many cases had to unpick multiple layers of text from the frequently-reused objects. The Bloomberg writing tablets are very important for the early history of Roman Britain, and London in particular, he said. I am so lucky to be the first to read them again, after more than 19 centuries, and to imagine what these people were like, who founded the new city of London. What a privilege to eavesdrop on them: when I decipher their handwriting, I think of my own heroes, the wartime academics who worked at Bletchley Park. Appropriately, given their location in the city, this painstaking work has revealed the tablets to be mostly legal and commercial documents, preserving the names, activities, and concerns of people working in the city almost 2,000 years ago. Their contents include the earliest dated handwritten document known from Britain a financial document between two businessmen, both former slaves, dating from AD 57. It reads: In the consulship of Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus for the second time and of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, on the 6th day before the Ides of January [8 January AD 57]. I, Tibullus the freedman of Venustus, have written and say that I owe Gratus the freedman of Spurius 105 denarii from the price of the merchandise which has been sold and delivered. This money I am due to repay him or the person whom the matter will concern The tablets also provide rare insights into how the city recovered after its destruction at the hands of Boudicas Iceni army (together with St Albans, Verulamium, and Colchester, Camulodunum see CA 308) in AD 60/61. Very little evidence is known for how quickly London got back on its feet after the devastation, but a contract from 21 October AD 62, only a year or two after the uprising, confirms the order of 20 loads of provisions from St Albans to London clearly both cities were up and operating commercially again by that early stage, at least to some extent. Among these echoes of official business, there are also more personal insights: one tablet, dating from c.AD 60-62, is inscribed with the letters of the alphabet, possibly a demonstration of literacy or letter forms or, given that a few letters are missing, someones writing practice? Might this represent the first evidence for Roman schooling yet found in Britain? Meanwhile, the scribe of Tablet 45 the post-Boudican provisions order mentioned above also makes a slip of the stylus: in writing where the provisions were to come from, he begins to write Londinium in error, deletes this, discovers that he now does not have space to write the correct name, Verulamium, and carries on on the next line. Sophie Jackson, Archaeologist and Director at MOLA, said: We always had high hopes for the Bloomberg dig, situated in the heart of the Roman and modern city and with perfect wet conditions for the survival of archaeology, but the findings far exceeded all expectations. The writing tablets are truly a gift for archaeologists trying to get closer to the first Roman Britons. The tablets have been carefully conserved by MOLA specialists, using a combination of immersion in Polyethylene Glycol (PEG the same substance used to preserve the Tudor flagship Mary Rose see CA 272) and freeze drying. The teams research is newly published in Roman Londons first voices: writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 201014 and we will bring you the full story of the tablets discovery and deciphering in CA 317. Le CBD, cette molecule active du cannabis a aujourdhui le vent en poupe. Et cela est en grande partie du au fait quil permet... YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan issued a congratulatory message on the International Childrens Day, press service of the Yerevan Municipality informed Armenpress. The Mayors message reads: Dear children, respectable parents, I'd like to congratulate you on the International Children's Day. Children are not only the future of our country but also the most important group of our society as they need our protection, love and care. And we attach particular importance to children's health care and recreation organization, education and upbringing, thorough development, the responsibility of each of us is to provide appropriate conditions for children. It's not a secret that the system of values instilled in childhood forms the individuality of each person. And from this point of view the work of those people who contribute to the formation of positive system of values in children deserves special respect and appreciation. This day once again reminds us about the responsibility of adults for children. Dear children, Be sure that all the programs and initiatives related to you are always in the focus of Yerevan Municipality and personally me. We do our best to create available, comfortable and equal conditions for all children of the capital so that happy smiles will always shine on our children's faces. I wish all of you to be surrounded with love, care and attention. Let the high mood of June 1 accompany you throughout the year. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. The attorneys of the family of Hrank Dink, the Editor-in-Chief of Agos who was murdered in 2007, applied to the Constitutional Court. The prosecutors office had decided not to pursue a number of suspects of the indictment against officials. Attorneys of the Dink family objected the courts decision, but were refused. The attorneys have appealed to the Constitutional Court on the basis of violating the right to a just and fair trial. Best Automotive Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Automotive category or any of the sub-category below? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. Best Shopping Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Shopping category or any of the sub-category below? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. For every screening with live orchestra of Sergei Eisensteins Alexander Nevsky (music by Prokofiev), there should be at least a dozen screenings with live orchestra of Paul Strands Redes (music by Silvestre Revueltas). I supply three reasons: 1.Revueltass score is as great an achievement as Prokofievs, yet remains virtually unknown. 2.Unlike Nevsky, which Prokofiev turned into a terrific cantata, Redes does not readily yield a concert work; it requires pictures to make sense. 3.Alexander Nevsky is a galvanizing cinematic experience. Redes is only a galvanizing cinematic experience when the music is live. The original soundtrack, recorded in haste, is execrable. All this comprises the rationale for PostClassical Ensembles latest in its series of Naxos DVDs featuring classic 1930s films with the soundtracks newly recorded. In fact, this same DVD is the world premiere recording of the complete Redes score. A full-page article in last weekends El Pais (Madrid), by the eminent Spanish novelist Antonio Munoz Molina, takes it all in as follows: Revueltas is one of those composers who for various accidental reasons his disorderly life and premature death, the fact of his being Mexican does not occupy the place that he should in a present-day musical culture that clings so tenaciously to the sclerotic. . . . His music, so powerful in itself, highlights the rich artistic crossroads of the thirties, the tensions between modernity and mass culture, between formal innovation and political activism. PostClassical Ensembles . . . latest great effort of rediscovery is the premiere recording of the complete score composed by Silvestre Revueltas for a legendary 1935 Mexican film, Redes, in collaboration with the photographer Paul Strand and exiled Austrian filmmaker Fred Zinnemann. It is hard to imagine a more complete conjunction of talent. . . . In 1935 the best films still preserved the purity and expressive visual sophistication of silent cinema. In Redes, imagery and music combine so powerfully that the few spoken words are rather irrelevant. Revueltass love of Stravinsky and of the folk music of Mexico inspire a fiercely corporeal rhythmic sensibility applied to the collective choreography of fishermen. Almost twenty years later, in Hollywood, Fred Zinnemann would direct High Noon, in which we find a bedazzled white clarity of inflexible sunlight identical to Redes. Now, with a restored print of Redes and Revueltas soundtrack newly recorded by PostClassical Ensemble, the beauty of image and of sound register as never before. As Joseph Horowitz says, it is like experiencing a masterpiece of painting cleaned of centuries of grime. The exhausted and disillusioned Silvestre Revueltas of his final years would never have imagined such posterity. My English translation, abetted by google, does scant justice to this stellar example of what Americans call arts journalism. Especially pregnant is Munoz Molinas observation of the artistic crossroads of the thirties of the tensions between modernity and mass culture, between formal innovation and political activism. This perspective nails Revueltass high achievement. Prokofiev and Shostakovich excepted, has any other 1930s political composer think of Hanns Eisler or Marc Blitzstein so succeeded at mating originality, innovation, and popular appeal? As the Chaldean Church gets ready to meet, Mgr Warda talks about the work on behalf of refugees from Mosul and the Nineveh plain. We have to "tell the world" about their tragedy and suffering, that they may not be forgotten. Renewing the value of the faith and bearing witness are other goals. Muslims and Yazidis need help to favour "dialogue and reconciliation". Erbil (AsiaNews) The Chaldean Church is called to perform acts of mercy for Christian families "victims of persecution" in order to meet "their needs" and ensure that their "personal trials" and "history of suffering" in the past two years are "told to the world, said Mgr Bashar Warda, archbishop of Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan). The prelate spoke to AsiaNews as the Chaldean clergy gets ready to meet at a gathering three weeks from now organised by the Chaldean Patriarch Raphael Louis Sako to revive pastoral work and the mission in Iraq and among diaspora communities. On 20-21 June, Erbil will host the meeting of the Chaldean Church. The city and the Kurdistan region have given shelter to hundreds of thousands of Christians who fled Mosul and the Nineveh plain after the Islamic State (IS) group seized them in the summer of 2014. The pastoral care of refugees and assistance will be on the agenda. The meeting will be an opportunity, as the patriarch wrote, to look with fresh eyes at evangelisation and the priestly role in the community. "The persecution of Christians in the Middle East should push each of us to rethink seriously the value and depth of our faith, Mgr Warda said, so as to provide the clear and honest answer we must give to others." The words " faith or life are that much more meaningful for the refugees from the Nineveh plain. From this emerges the "fundamental value of faith" for many persecuted Christians "throughout the world". This is why, Mgr Warda added, Christians "who live in safe countries" and "protected" settings should give a deeper value to their faith and help and bear witness of those in distress, victims of confessional violence. Overnight on 6-7 August 2014, hundreds of thousands of people left the predominantly Christian villages in the Nineveh plain, from Qaraqosh to Karameles, finding refuge in Erbil and other areas of Kurdistan. Mgr Warda played a leading role in providing support and help. On behalf of displaced Christian families, AsiaNews launched the Adopt a Christian from Mosul campaign, which continues after the immediate emergency to meet long-term needs. "We must continue to listen to their voices and meet their needs, spiritual and otherwise, said the Archbishop of Erbil. We must take care of them, and help them live with dignity", which confirms that the refugee issue will be on the Chaldean clergys agenda. In this Year of Mercy, such a task must not embrace Christian families alone, but include Muslim and Yazidi in perilous conditions. "When we help them, we share with them food and the basics we received. We show them Gods love and love for all our brothers, a central element of our faith." This shows that, as Christians, we are always called to live "on the path of dialogue and reconciliation". Lastly, the Chaldean archbishop calls on Christians to bear witness and keep the spotlight on the Iraqi refugee plight in Iraqi Kurdistan, "praying and telling" their story "openly even if it hurts." As an Iraqi priest told AsiaNews a few days, a new sense of brotherhood is emerging among Christians and Muslims who fled IS violence. However, "There can never be true reconciliation in Iraq without an honest and truthful account of what happened, Archbishop Warda said. Meanwhile, I ask you to continue helping displaced families with donations, to meet their basic needs, he added. Please, do not forget us!" by Nguyen Hung Rice output has been halved. In many provinces, sea pollution has made fishing impossible. Mgr Vu inh Hieu, chairman of the Caritas Commission for social and charitable activities, calls on Catholics to help those most affected. Caritas youth bring food and drinking water to the most polluted areas. Hanoi (AsiaNews) Various experts warn that Vietnam could face its worst famine since the 1940s, based on two major environmental crises that have recently hit the country: sea pollution and drought. Caritas Commission for social and charitable activities chairman Mgr Vu inh Hieu has called on the countrys 26 dioceses, as well as on parishes and individual Catholics to mobilise in order to help those most affected. Large-scale sea pollution has created an emergency in Vietnams central provinces. Hundreds of thousands of dead fish have shown up on beaches, crippling the local fishing industry. No animal or plant species has been spared whales, shrimps, crabs, shells, algae since the Formosa Plastics-owned Hung Nghiep steel plant began discharging 12,000 cubic metres of wastewater through a sewage pipe into the sea. For weeks, the Church and civil society groups have criticised the Vietnamese government for failing to protect public health, and prosecute those responsible, whilst cracking down harshly on protesters. The second emergency is in southern Vietnams Mekong Delta. The El Nino weather phenomenon and Chinese-built upstream dams have provoked an intense drought. As water levels drop in the Mekong, sea waters have moved into the delta and flooded farmland. Increased ground salinity has made it unusable. The Mekong Delta provides food to 56 per cent (45 million people) of the Vietnamese population. As a result of the drought, rice production has been halved. For Vietnamese and foreign experts, Vietnam faces not only a decline in fish stocks, but also in clean food (unpolluted by chemicals) and clean water. This could lead to famine like the one that killed two million people between October 1944 and June 1945. "We are facing a tragic situation, said Mgr Vu inh Hieu on 25 May. Over the past few days, we have received messages from the central provinces that bear witness to the catastrophe that is unfolding there. "In the spirit of the Jubilee of Mercy, the prelate said, all Vietnamese Catholics (about 7 million) are called to join in prayer and contribute to charitable works for our brothers and sisters who are in difficult circumstances." Some Caritas youth groups have travelled to the polluted areas to help locals with donations, healthy food and drinking water. by Nirmala Carvalho Mumbai (AsiaNews) - "Gift Jesus to the world, witness with joy and bring Jesus with you. Like Mary, who carried the Living Word in her womb, serve others with love": with these words Msgr. Nereus Rodrigues gave his last blessing to the faithful as the rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount in Bandra (Mumbai). The prelate spoke in front of thousands of people gathered to celebrate the feast of the Visitation. The ceremony took place yesterday, during the last recitation of the Rosary at the conclusion of the Marian month. Since 1983, the festivity has been organized by the "Clan of Mary", a home for those recovering from alcohol addiction. Msgr. Rodrigues has just turned 93 years and has served the Catholic Church in India with loyalty and devotion for 66 years. Since 1995 he has been rector of the basilica, which also houses a Holy Door of Mercy. Previously, he was pastor of Sacred Heart Church of Santa Cruz where Card. Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai, was then his assistant. Msgr. Rodrigues also baptised the new rector, Msgr. John Rodrigues. The closing ceremony of the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary was an opportunity to bid farewell to his community, whom he blessed with a formula in Latin. The prayer then was followed by a group of musicians and fireworks, while the basilica was adorned with flowers and lights, as a form of devotion to the Queen of Heaven. Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) The "new psychoactive substances around the world" have China as a production and marketing hub. The Chinese pharmaceutical industry, in full development, has an increasingly large role in the international drug trade, according to the EU Drug Markets Report 2016 , which maps the illicit drug market in the EU, with the work of Europol and the European Centre for Drug Control and Dependencies. The importance of China as a international production and marketing hub is also confirmed by a UN study. It speaks of China and Hong Kong as the most important centers for the trafficking of drugs, with Guangdong as the main production base and the collaboration of pharmaceutical companies. The substances are shipped from China to Europe using express mail and companies that can deliver packages weighing one kilo to the buyer's door in two days or less. According to the researchers, market development has taken place thanks to modern transport networks, the internet, the low cost of labor and corruption of the pharmaceutical companies. Various drugs are in fact produced legally by registered companies, but production is then diverted to illegal uses. The Chinese government tries to regulate pharmaceutical companies, but without great results. This is due in part to the fact that there are many companies, big and small, dedicated to the production of drugs, making it difficult to control. Plus, with great cunning, when a substance - usually containing the basic element to produce amphetamine and meta-amphetamines - is prohibited, the companies quickly change production methods to similar substances, evading the ban. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Pride affects every good deed, empties prayer, distances us from God and from others", while the humble prayer "opens" Gods heart. This was the teaching offered by the Pope in the general audience today, commenting on the parable of the Pharisee and the publican in which "Jesus wants to teach us the correct attitude for pray and to invoke the mercy of the Father." "Both protagonists he told the 20 thousand people in St. Peter's Square - go up to the temple to pray, but they act in very different ways, obtaining the opposite results. The Pharisee prays "standing" (v. 11), and uses a lot of words. His is, yes, a prayer of thanksgiving addressed to God, but it is actually a display of his own merits, with a sense of superiority towards the "other men", described as "thieves, unjust, adulterers," as, for example, - and he indicates the other man who was present - "this tax collector" (v. 11). But here's the problem: the Pharisee prays to God, but in truth looks to himself. He prays to himself! Instead of having the Lord before his eyes, he has a mirror. Although located in the temple, he does not feel the need to bow before the majesty of God; standing, he feels safe, as if he is the master of the temple! He lists good works he has done: He is beyond reproach, observing the Law above and beyond requirements, he fasts "twice a week" and pays a 'tenth' of all that he has. In short, more than praying, the Pharisee congratulates himself on his observance of the precepts. Yet his attitude and his words are far removed from how to act and to speak to God, who loves all people and does not despise sinners. This man despises sinners, even when he points to the other who is there. In short, the Pharisee, who feels righteous, neglects the most important commandment: love for God and neighbor. " "It is not enough, therefore, to ask ourselves how much we pray, we must also question how we pray, or rather, how our heart is: it is important to examine it to assess the thoughts, feelings, and eradicate arrogance and hypocrisy. But, I ask, can you pray with arrogance? No. Can you pray with hypocrisy? No. We must pray to God as we are. But he prayed with arrogance and hypocrisy. We are all taken up by the frenzy of our daily rhythms, often at the mercy of feelings, dazed, confused. We must learn how to find the path to our hearts, retrieve the value of intimacy and silence, because that's where God meets us and speaks to us. Only from there can we, in turn, meet others and talk to them. The Pharisee has set out towards the temple, he is confident, but does not realize he has lost the road to his heart. " "But the tax collector - the other - presents himself at the temple with a humble and contrite heart," standing afar, he would not lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast "(v. 13). His prayer is very short, it is not as long as that of the Pharisee: "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." Nothing more. 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner'. Beautiful prayer, eh? Can we say it three times, all together? Let's try: O God, be merciful to me a sinner. O God, be merciful to me a sinner. O God, be merciful to me a sinner. In fact, tax collectors, were considered impure people, submissive to foreign rulers, were disliked by the people and typically associated with sinners. " "The parable teaches that people are just or sinners, not because of their social status, but because of how they relate to God and the way they act towards their brothers and sisters. The acts of penance and a few simple words of the tax collector testify to his awareness of his miserable condition. His prayer is essential. He acts humbly, he knows he is a sinner in need of pity. If the Pharisee asked nothing because he had it all, the tax collector can only beg the mercy of God. And this it's nice, huh? Begging for Gods mercy. Presenting himself with 'empty' hands, with a naked heart and recognizing himself as a sinner, the tax collector shows us all the conditions necessary to receive forgiveness from the Lord. In the end he, so despised, becomes an icon of the true believer. " "Jesus concludes the parable with a sentence:" I tell you, this - that is, the tax collector - rather than the other, went home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted "(v. 14). Of these two, who it is corrupt? The Pharisee. The Pharisee is the very icon of the corrupt pretending to pray, but only manages to preen himself in front of a mirror. He is corrupt but pretends to pray. So, in life those who believe themselves right and who judge others and despise them, are corrupt and hypocritical. Pride affects every good deed, empties prayer, distances us from God and from others. If God favours humility, it is not to demean us: humility is rather a necessary condition to be raised by Him, so as to experience the mercy that comes to fill our emptiness. If the prayer of the proud does not reach the heart of God, the humility of the poor opens it. God has a weakness: A weakness for the humble. In front of a humble heart, God opens his heart completely. This is the humility that the Virgin Mary expressed in the canticle of the Magnificat: " For he has looked upon his handmaids lowliness; [...]His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him"(Lk 1,48.50). Help us, our Mother, to pray with a humble heart. And we, we repeat three times more, that beautiful prayer: 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner'. Three times: 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner. O God, be merciful to me a sinner. O God, be merciful to me a sinner. ' " For the first time in 27 years, Tiananmen Mothers founder Ding Zilin has not written the annual open letter to the authorities on behalf of victims families. This year, the letter bears the signature of 131 people who have suffered all kinds of hardships for decades, but who now have nothing left to fear. Families still want the truth, accountability, and compensation. Signatories appeal to young people to resist brute force, and react in the name of justice. Beijing (AsiaNews) Overnight on 3-4 June 1989, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army ended a movement of about half a million students and workers who had occupied Tiananmen Square for a month to demand more democracy and less corruption in the Chinese Communist Party. According to the best estimates, anywhere between 200 and 2,000 people were gunned down or crushed by army tanks. Tens of thousands were arrested in the following days and convicted as "counter-revolutionaries" because they had threatened the Partys hegemony. Right away, the government began a cover-up, banning everything that could remotely be connected with the event. However, a group of families of victims, the "Tiananmen Mothers," has worked for years to keep the memory alive of their loved ones sacrifice. The group has always asked the same things: the truth about the massacre, charges against the perpetrators, and compensation for the victims. It also wants the Partys verdict against their children overturned. Here is this years open letter, signed by 131 living members of the group. In September last year, a key member of the Tiananmen Mothers group, Mr. Jiang Peikun, passed away. His death was followed by that of Ms. Zhang Shuyun from Shandong. And in April this year, Ms. Han Shuxiang from Dalian died of illness. To date, 41 members from our group of victims family members are deceased. Their final regret was not being able to see justice done and wrong redressed! Twenty-seven years have passed since the June Fourth Massacre of 1989. For us, family members of the victims families, it has been 27 years of white terror and suffocation. For 27 years, the police have been the ones who have dealt with us. For 27 years, they have also been our frequent visitors at home. Each beginning of the year, from the anniversary of the late premier Mr. Zhao Ziyangs death, to the Two Congresses, Tomb Sweeping Day, anniversary of June Fourth, to major national events and foreign politicians visitswe the victims families are eavesdropped and surveilled upon by the police; we are followed or even detained, and our computers searched and confiscated. The police use contemptible means such as making up stories, fabricating facts, issuing threats, etc., against us. All these actions undoubtedly desecrate the souls of those who perished in June Fourth, and insult the honors of the living. What is worse this year, the police have warned us, is that from April 22 to June 4, visits to Teacher Ding Zilin are being restricted. Those who want to visit her must apply for permission and may visit her only after approval by the Beijing Public Security Bureau, and they may not be accompanied by other victims family members. Teacher Ding Zilin lost two family members last yearwhat a cruel double blow to an 80-year-old woman. She is physically and mentally exhausted and her state is worrisome. The affection and friendships among us, the victims families, have been coalesced by the blood of our family members. Our affection is deep and our friendships are sincere, surpassing those among family members. But even this simple and unadorned affection has been deprived by the police in their detestable perversity and unreasonableness. For 27 years, we, victims families, have rationally maintained our three appeals: truth, accountability, and compensation, in an effort to seek a just resolution to the miscarriage of justice of June Fourth. But the government has ignored us, pretending that the June Fourth Massacre that shocked the whole world never happened in China, and refusing to respond to our appeals, while our fellow countrymen gradually lose the memory of the event. We must inform the world that this is the current reality of the living conditions of the June Fourth victims' families! As everyone knows, the June Fourth tragedy resulted from the governments flagrant mobilizing of the field army to kill peacefully protesting students and citizens. This was unprecedented in the history of China. If the government continues to not face the facts in good faith, and not resolve this problem from a legal perspective, then China will have difficulty preventing this type of tragedy from happening again in the future! Evidence proves that after the suppression of June Fourth the whole country was plagued with corruption from top to bottom, resulting in the current challenges in fighting corruption. A government that unscrupulously slaughters its own fellow citizens, a government that does not know how to cherish its own fellow citizens, and a government that forgets, conceals, and covers up the truth of historical suffering has no futureit is a government that is continuing to commit crimes! People need to live with dignity and die with dignity. As the families of victims, more than one-third of our individual lives have been lived under the shadow of our loved ones who were shot dead. But we live with strength and optimismbecause we hold the firm belief that we need to struggle, work hard, and persevere. In the 27 years of suffering all kinds of hardships, abuse by the authorities, and intimidation, we have nothing left to fear. We are convinced that the June Fourth tragedy will inevitably reach a fair and just resolutionbecause the truth is on our side, and we have the vigorous support of the just and kind-hearted people of the whole world. We use our immense maternal love to declare publicly to future generations: do not succumb to brute force, confront all evil forces with courage, and justice will prevail! The June Fourth massacre will forever be etched into the history of the worldno amount of power can rub this out! In the final government offensive for the city, thousands of civilians are held hostage by jihadists. They cannot leave the area and are used as shields. Jihadist spokesman: ready to fight "to the death", even that of civilians. Activist speaks of possible "humanitarian catastrophe." Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The United Nations has sounded the alarm about the fate of about 400 families in Fallujah, where the government has launched a "final offensive " to wrest the city from the militias of the Islamic State (IS). The jihadists have controlled Fallujah since 2014, and are reported to be using civilians as human shields, for shelter from aerial and ground attacks of the Iraqi military and international coalition aircraft. UN officials say they have received "credible information" that Daesh [Arabic acronym for IS] has gathered "families in the city center" informing them they "are not authorized" to abandon "these places of assembly". All of this, experts warn, suggests that the militants "could use them as human shields". The families are in "great danger", concludes the UN source, "in the context of a military confrontation" on the ground. On 30 May the army offensive to regain Iraqi Fallujah began. The Anbar governorate city is about 50 km west of the capital. There are at least 50 thousand civilians trapped inside; so far only a few hundred families (around 5 thousand people) managed to escape to safety. Yesterday the government soldiers encountered strong resistance from the jihadists, who repeatedly halted their advance and launched counter-attack operations. The United Nations has appealed for caution to the Baghdad government, to "slow down" because the families they claim to protect are "trapped by the operations. In a message released in recent days IS spokesman Abu-Muhammad al-Adnani, said that the militiamen are ready to "fight to the death" in all strongholds, even if this means the death of civilians and innocent victims. A further confirmation that the jihadists have no qualms in using defenseless people as a defense and weapon of war. Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, committed to the protection of displaced families from the town, warned about the danger of a "humanitarian catastrophe." Families, he adds, are "trapped in the crossfire" and have no "ways of salvation". The warring parties, he concluded, should "ensure a safe exit route, before it's too late." Together with Mosul, the jihadist stronghold in Iraq, Fallujah is one of the most important cities to have been captured by IS in 2014, at the beginning of the jihadi offensive. Before the rise of Daesh 300 thousand people lived in the city and, in the past, it was one of the "symbols" of Sunni "resistance" against the invasion of the US military following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Furthermore, it is known as the "city of mosques" for the more than 200 places of worship for Muslims. It wasnt until he finished university that Rishi Agarwal found the courage to tell his parents he was gay. When he was in high school, he knew of a gay Sikh student who committed suicide after coming out to his parents. And though he was aware of his feelings from a young age, he came to realise that he couldnt change when he was university. It was a tough time for me, said Agarwal, 35, an accountant by training, according to an article on scroll.in My parents were social butterflies, and in that time frame we were attending about 15 to 20 weddings in a year. I was very happy for my family friends. But it also struck home inside, the feeling that I am never going to have this marry a person I love, and share that with my family and friends. It was hard to accept that was the reality. But on a plane ride back home from a work trip to Vancouver in 2004, he knew he had to reveal his true self. During his two-week stay there, he had met someone. It was the first time I held someones hand in public, said Agarwal. Even though my parents had a large social circle of family and friends, it did not extend to Vancouver. So I was able to try something new. And that person gave me his heart, through poetry. He gave me a card. It touched me, but I threw it away in the garbage. I cried the entire way on the five-hour flight back. And in that moment I knew that no matter what other people feel, whatever the reaction of my parents, they have to know. While Agarwal recounted his story at the familys spacious home in Oakville, a suburb in the Greater Toronto Area, in Canada, his parents Vijay and Sushma Agarwal looked on. While the senior Agarwal carried a sheaf of papers for the meeting they had convened for the launch of a PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) chapter aimed at South Asians, his wife kept an eye on the kitchen timer. The smell of samosas being warmed in the oven wafted over. In many ways, Vijay and Sushma Agarwal are like your typical Indian uncle and aunty. During my visit, one of their main concerns was whether I was well fed and hydrated. You must have a samosa, Sushma Agarwal insisted, while ladling dollops of bhelpuri on my plate. I dont how this girl is not thirsty, Vijay Agarwal kept on saying. Im talking so much and I am thirsty. Here, drink water. But their reaction to their sons announcement was not your typical Indian uncle and aunty response. When Agarwal told his mother that he had something important to tell her, she ran to the garage to fetch her husband. I thought Rishi was in big trouble, maybe he had gotten a girl pregnant or something, she said. But she was devastated when Rishi made his announcement. I was just sitting quietly, all these different thoughts coming to my head. How will he travel? He loves travelling. I didnt know anything. I came from such a sheltered life. Vijay Agarwal, on the other hand, who describes himself as the person who does the most of the talking in this house, started asking his son a series of questions Was he sure? Had he read any books on the matter? Was it just a phase, a fascination? Agarwal, meanwhile, was on tenterhooks. After 90 minutes of interrogation from his engineer father with a logical mind, he wanted to know where he stood. Would he still be coming home for Sunday dinner, or not? I asked them if I was allowed back home, and my dad said, This is always your home. Dont even think otherwise. I felt like a ton of bricks had lifted off my shoulders, said Agarwal. For the next three days, his parents went into deep research mode. They went to the local library and borrowed everything they could find on the LGBTQ subject from books to DVDs made by the National Film Board of Canada. Sushma Agarwal talked frankly about her ignorance on the subject at the time. I grew up in India at a time when girls were supposed to get educated only to find a good husband, she said. My life was school and back, we didnt go out anywhere When we were taking out the books from the library, I was thinking what this librarian must be thinking of us. The Agarwals also started attending meetings of the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays chapter in Toronto that took place once a month. At that time, we really needed the support, said Vijay Agarwal. Because the thoughts were coming, why us? What did we do wrong? When we went to the first meeting, we felt thank God we are not alone. There are others like us. This means its not that unnatural. He added: We never missed that meeting. I was so impressed that we volunteered to be on the board for a year. And we formed our minds that when we have some time, we will do our part to help. This is so unfortunate for people who are born this way. Soon after Agarwal came out, his parents insisted he start dating. They wanted to fulfill their duties as Hindu parents, and see their son well settled with a life partner. When Agarwal met Daniel Langdon, and eventually proposed, his parents went about throwing a big fat Hindu wedding. This was in 2011. We had already decided that as far as we are concerned there will be no difference between our elder sons wedding with all pomp and show and my younger sons wedding, said Vijay Agarwal. We did all the Hindu ceremonies mehndi, sangeet, wedding, the whole shebang. But convincing a priest was not a simple matter. The Agarwal family approached eight priests, who refused to conduct the ceremony. Frustrated, Vijay Agarwal called his brother, who was visiting India at the time. I said get some wedding books from Dehati Pustak Bhandar, said Vijay Agarwal. And that if no priest is available, I will do the damn wedding myself Thank god we were able to find one priest who was willing to do it. It was a beautiful ceremony. With their parental duties fulfilled, the Agarwals are now taking action on the promise they had made to themselves. The retired couple recently launched a chapter of PFLAG that will be open to all, but will primarily focus on helping other South Asians whose loved ones come out to them. As it is, they have already been informally helping people in their social circle to come to terms with their queer identified children. The new chapter is scheduled to meet on the first Sunday of the month. When we used to attend the PFLAG meetings, there were so many conversations going, between people from all different backgrounds, said Sushma. One couple's son committed suicide on Fathers Day because his father would not accept him. And we realised that this is not something you can put under the rug and forget about. Added Vijay Agarwal: There are many myths and misconceptions in our community. And my message is very simple. If you take time to understand the issue and gather the knowledge, not only the kids will be happy, you yourself will be happy. As far as Rishi Agarwal is concerned, his parents support for the LGBTQ cause has benefited him on a personal and public level. Over the last 12 years, many of my friends, who saw the way my parents handled the situation, started talking to their own families," he said. "They told me how their relationships have improved. And those friends have now become some of my closest friends." He added: "In the broader community, this has also had an important impact on my life because I can be very proud of my parents. Already, I can see how much they have helped people, just by doing this launch. Images from Channa Photography. Guest Commentary By Peter Fassbender Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Residents in Metro Vancouver know two things: we need more housing supply and more transit. The Province is paving the way for more transit now, with $246 million over the next three years, which will allow TransLink to immediately get going on the transit investments clearly needed in the region. With this funding, we are doing our part to make sure TransLink can take full advantage of the federal Phase One Transit Fund, and enabling a total of $740 million in investments to flow to the benefit of the region. The opportunity of this funding, and of the work ahead on Phase Two investments, can also contribute to new housing, helping the region to construct vibrant new neighborhoods that are both affordable and accessible. This is because new investments in transit create a unique opportunity to generate higher density along major transit corridors, enabling new housing starts to begin while at the same time generating revenue to pay for the projects. It is vital these two initiatives be taken together. Additional and easily accessible transit, whether its Skytrain or Light Rail or Rapid Bus, is recognized as being highly attractive to home buyers, and experience shows us that significant value is gained in these corridors as a result. This value should, in part, be harnessed to support the transit investments which will then give rise to new housing. This source of new revenue will help municipalities provide their share of funding. It is that simple. Weve had success solving this problem in many of our regional centres places such as Surrey Central, Richmond Centre, Metrotown and Yaletown. We already have high-density residential options mixed with jobs and services, supported by our world class SkyTrain network. And Port Moody and Coquitlams high-density, transit-oriented town centres will soon be showcased when the Evergreen Line opens in 2017. Access to better and easily accessible transit means that residents can choose to drive less, make better use of the transit system and also walk or bike more. It also means reduced greenhouse gas emissions and a higher overall quality of life. By working with local governments and the development community, the opportunity is there to fund the rapid transit and build new, sustainable communities. Cities and regions all over the world have successfully used these ideas to encourage density where it makes most sense, and pay for transit lines that keep people moving. Copenhagen, Hong Kong and Portland are just a few examples of places that have found creative ways to fund and maintain major transit expansion. The British Columbia government is committed to developing this vision and we are committed to working with our partners to identify and capture a portion of the profits that predictably arise after rapid transit lines are built, and make sure these profits are part of the strategy for funding the municipal share of the projects before construction begins. Build more housing units, and build more rapid transit and build them together. It makes sense for the region, today and in the future. Photo Caption: HMCS Toronto flies a Canadian flag in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Altair with the US Navy, a 2004 mission to monitor shipping in the Arabian Gulf. Photo by MCpl Colin Kelley, Canadian Armed Forces By Jonathan Manthorpe: International Affairs Special to The Post One highly desirable result of an isolationist Donald Trump presidency is that it would expose in short order the philosophical, economic, political and moral corruption that has been at the heart of Canadian defence policy since the year dot. Trump says he wants to jettison those allies who are freeloading on the United States and its taxpayers. By any measure, Canada is the worst freeloader of the whole lot. What is almost worse, successive Canadian governments of all political stripes have been utterly shameless in the eagerness with which they suckle the American taxpayers milk. According to NATO figures, Canadas defence spending amounted to one per cent of gross national product last year, and is already lower this year. In NATOs league table, that puts Canada down among bottom feeders like the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia. Mind you, the country is still a bit ahead of Luxembourgs defence spending of 0.47 per cent of GDP, but heading in that direction. If President Trump took the U.S. out of NATO and the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), the corridors of power in Ottawa would echo with politicians shrieking like stuck pigs, while deputy ministers and the mandarinate of the Privy Council Office would be overcome by apoplexy and faint away in their corner offices. In its purest form, Trumps vision of the U.S. as a self-sufficient, gated community decorated with an endless supply of Stepford Wives would for the first time cast Canada out into the cold. For the first century of Canadas nationhood we relied on Britain to keep us safe. Since the Second World War we have happily clung to Washingtons coattails. In Trumps world, Canadas model for maintaining its security and defending its sovereignty would be Australia. Thats not such a bad thing. Canada doesnt pay nearly as much attention to Australia as it should. The countries have the same cultural and political heritages. They both have small populations relative to vast landmasses. They are both now immigrant societies wrestling with the challenges of multi-culturalism. Both economies are anchored by resource industries at one end and some of the worlds leading and innovative technological industries at the other. The big difference is that Canada has got fat and lazy because easy access to the U.S. market has driven the competitive and entrepreneurial genes out of its national DNA, and its handed over responsibility for its sovereignty and security to Washington. Australians, in contrast, have always had to be lean and mean. Their continent is out there at the end of the world. In trade, diplomacy and defence they have never had anyone to rely on but themselves. They have risen to the challenge with fortitude, pragmatism and imagination. In most aspects of international relations, Canada looks naive, irresolute and terminally short-sighted in comparison. Australia currently spends 1.8 per cent of its GDP on defence, according to the World Bank. The Canberra government announced in February it intends to increase that to 2 per cent by 2021. There will probably be an election well before then, but one of the significant differences between Australian and Canadian defence policy is that in Australia it tends to be a bi-partisan issue. Defence policy, and especially equipment purchases, tends to carry on relatively seamlessly despite changes of government. An excellent account of the criminal neglect of its armed forces by successive Canadian governments of both major political stripes was set out by Jack Granatstein in his 2004 book Who killed the Canadian Military? In Canada, of course, cancelling a previous governments plans to purchase new military equipment has become an almost essential demonstration of machismo. Thus when Jean Chretien became prime minister in 1993 he ostentatiously cancelled the previous Tory governments contracts to buy new naval helicopters to replace the ageing and dangerous Sea Kings. Officially that cancellation cost about $500 million though my contacts in the defence business say the real number was about twice that and 23 years later Canada still doesnt have replacements for the Sea Kings. It now takes 30 hours of maintenance to keep them in the air for one hour. The truth is Canada lacks a fleet air arm of any utility. Indeed, it doesnt have a blue water navy any more. What is left of the Canadian Navy cannot operate independently, and the only warships of any significance left 12 Halifax Class frigates are too limited in their range, armaments and surveillance capabilities to be allowed out alone. The best that can be said is that Canada has a coastal defence force on a par with that possessed by Bangladesh. The full horror of what has happened to the Canadian Navy was set out last year in a thorough and depressing article in Macleans Magazine by Scott Gilmore. It is worth nailing up this article and seeing what the Australians have done when confronted by very similar demands and pressures as Canada. As Gilmore describes, fulcrum moments in the destruction of the Canadian Navy came last year. One tipping point was the death form old age and infirmity of the three remaining Iroquois-class destroyers HMCS Athabaskan, HMCS Huron and HMCS Algonquin. With their superior weapons and radar, these warships were essential to putting a battle group to sea. But, like the Sea King helicopters, the destroyers had got to an age when they just didnt work properly any more. Without them, the Halifax-class frigates are of limited utility. The second important development was the beaching of the two supply and replenishment ships HMCS Protecteur on the west coast, and HMCS Preserver on the east. Without these ships it is impossible for Canada to deploy vessels for a prolonged operation, such as the anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia. But these supply ships were so old that it was no longer possible to get parts for them. Members of the crews are reported to have even resorted to eBay in their hunt for spares. Protecteur hastened its trip to the knackers yard by having a terminal engine fire while off the Hawaiian coast. An American tug was persuaded to tow her back to Esquimalt in return for the value of the fuel oil in her tanks. The ignominy doesnt stop there and this is a good point to start looking at what the Australians are doing and in this case the British Navy as well when they needed new supply ships in a hurry. For some years successive governments in Ottawa have been rabbiting on about replacing the supply ships. But they are still only in the design phase and sea trials wont be until 2021 at the earliest. So, when confronted by the brutal reality last year that the Canadian Navy couldnt go far out of the sight of land, the then Conservative government rushed to adopt a two-pronged rescue bid. One prong was to rent a supply ship from the Chilean Navy for the west coast and another from the Spanish Navy for the east coast for around $1 million a month each. Meanwhile, Davie Shipyards of Levis, Que., was contracted to convert a commercial tanker into a naval supply and refuelling ship. This will not be ready until 2017 at the earliest. This is all a classic piece of Canadian defence procurement tomfoolery. While failing to renew equipment in time, governments also insist for reasons of patronage, if not outright corruption, that new ships must be built in Canada. But by the time Ottawa gets around to each contract for more ships, the shipbuilding industry has died, because its last round of construction was a generation prior. So task number one, every time, is to rebuild a Canadian ship-building industry. To put it politely, that doesnt make much sense. In 2012 the British Navy decided it needed four modern, twin-hulled resupply and refuelling ships, known as Fleet Auxillaries, and it needed them quickly. So it went to the South Korean shipbuilders Daewoo Shipbuilding and Engineering and bought four tankers. The basic ships were then taken to Britain where they were kitted out with all the value-added, high-tech stuff that made them part of the Royal Navy. The lead vessel in the class, called Tidespring, was laid down in December 2014 and launched in April 2015 four months. The second vessel was laid down in June 2015 and launched in November last year. The keel for the third vessel was laid last December and it was launched in March. The first steel for the fourth ship was cut last December and it will be in the water any day now. All four ships will be in service with the Royal Navy by the end of this year. When a navy needs ships quickly it makes perfect sense to buy hulls and power plants from countries that make them fast and well, such as South Korea, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, and then focus on adding the CanCon high-tech components here at home. The Australians have become masters of this approach to building and sustaining their navy. Canberra also needs to replace supply ships that will come to the end of their usefulness in 2021. Australia is doing a deal with the Spanish naval shipbuilder Navantia to supply two fleet auxillary supply and refuelling ships. Navantia will deliver the basic ships and then Australian companies will supply and fit the combat and communications systems. Canberra has considerable experience of dealing with Navantia. It has already bought what are euphemistcally called landing helicopter docks, or amphibious assault ships. Again, Navantia supplied the hulls and the Australians put in the clever stuff. And to you and me these ships look like aircraft carriers, which is what they in fact are. Australia is only equipping them with helicopters at the moment. But that ski-jump over the bow is not there just for fun. If it ever needs to, the Australian Navy can fly warplanes off these ships, some of the 100 F35s Australia plans to buy, for example. But for now they will be used as, in essence, large and capable supply ships that can move large numbers of troops, equipment and humanitarian aid to wherever they are needed. Navantia is also a partner in the building of three, and perhaps four new Hobart-class destroyers. Again, Navantia is building the hulls in segments, which are then shipped to Australia for welding together and fitted out. The first of what are described as air-warfare destroyers, but which in reality are fully capable air, submarine and surface warships, will be delivered in June next year and the third by mid-2020. The Canberra-class aircraft carriers and the Hobart-class destroyers are good examples of the Australian Navys aspirations and the seriousness with which it takes its responsibility to sustain the countrys security and sovereignty. A major element in any naval fleet for a maritime country is submarines. These vessels provide security at many times their value because any potential intruder can never be sure they know exactly where all the submarines are. Australia gets this. Canada has never quite managed to make two and two add up to four. In the 1980s, when I was working in the Ottawa Bureau of what was then Southam News, I was given a copy of a letter from the Australian Ministry of Defence to the Canadian counterpart. At the time, then Canadian Defence Minister Perrin Beatty was toying with the idea of buying nuclear-powered submarines from either the French or the British. The Australians, meanwhile, were in the process of developing the program for what became their Collins-class submarines. The letter that I saw from Canberra asked if Ottawa would like to sign on to a joint venture with Australia to produce, use and perhaps sell the Collins-class boats. I was told the Australians never got an answer to their letter. Since then the Collins-class boats have been produced, served with mixed reviews and are now approaching the time when they must be replaced. Over the same 30-year period Canada went off the whole idea of submarines for a decade. Twenty years ago Ottawa finally plucked up the courage to again contemplate buying submarines. But instead of doing the sensible thing, Canada somehow got itself bushwacked into buying four old conventional boats laid up as surplus by the British Navy. Well, someone should have spent a little longer kicking the tires and checking the mileage. From the moment they were rolled off the lot the submarines suffered a series of breakdowns, including a deadly fire while one was in passage across the Atlantic. The repairs and equipment changes to make them compatible with other Canadian warships have cost twice the original sticker price on the British used boat lot of $750 million for the four. These modifications included, believe it or not, having to change the entire torpedo tube assemblies so they can fire Canadas stock of veteran Mk48 torpedoes. It is a feature of submarines that every time a hole has to be cut in the hull and patched it weakens the whole structure, and limits the depths to which it can dive thereafter. It also affects the life expectancy of the vessel. The four Victoria-class boats all finally got to sea last year, but what use they are will remain a question. In the Macleans article, Gilmore quotes the commander of the navy, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, as saying the capabilities of the Victoria-class submarines are fragile. Thats just what one needs in a warship. Australia, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with a $US38 billion program to acquire 12 long-range submarines to replace the ageing Collins-class boats. It looked for a while as though Japans Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in partnership with Kawasaki Heavy Industries had a lock on the contract for their highly-regarded Soryu-class submarines. So it came as a surprise late last month when the Canberra government of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the contract will go to the French armaments company DCN for a conventionally powered adaptation of its Barracuda nuclear-powered attack submarine. The Japanese made many mistakes in the campaign against the French and the other competitor, Germanys Thyssen-Krupp Marine Systems. Arms sales abroad is new territory for Japanese companies. Laws have been re-interpreted only recently to allow it to happen, so Japanese companies are still neophytes in the field. Their major mistake, however, was not to appreciate that Australia wanted between 70 and 80 per cent of the construction work to be done in Australia, even if it is under the supervision of the winning company. The Japanese companies have no experience of this kind of offshore build, and their negotiators shrank from putting this option on the table. Instead, the Soryu salesmen relied on the growing strategic partnership in Asia between the Australian and Japanese navies in the face of Chinese aggression. It was not enough. Australian governments of all parties are keen to keep their shipyards functioning and the shipbuilding skills constantly renewed. So while Canberra is never slow to buy in ready-made ships when it makes sense, it also realises that maintaining and sustaining an effective navy needs foresight and nurturing the necessary store of skilled workers. Ottawa finds that thought impossible to grasp. Jonathan Manthorpe is a founding columnist with Facts and Opinions and is the author of the journals International Affairs column. Manthorpe has been a foreign correspondent and international affairs columnist for nearly 40 years. Manthorpes nomadic career began in the late 1970s as European Bureau Chief for The Toronto Star. Since 1998 Manthorpe has been based in Vancouver, but has travelled frequently on assignment to Asia, Europe and Latin America. By Victor Ing, Special to The Post It has been over two years since June 2014 when the federal government permanently shut down the federal immigrant investor pathway to Canadian permanent residence. Under the former program, foreign investors and entrepreneurs could obtain permanent residence in exchange for a one-time lump sum investment to Canada. The program was finally scrapped over widespread criticism that it was not generating long-term benefits for Canadians and because many viewed the program as a way for immigrants to buy their way to Canadian citizenship. Not surprisingly, the new immigration Minister, the Honourable John McCallum, has already publicly stated that there are no current plans to restart or reinvent the troubled program. In the absence of a federal investor immigration program, many foreign entrepreneurs with business experience and capital to invest in existing or brand new Canadian businesses are looking for alternative pathways to permanent residence. Many of these entrepreneurs have begun taking a different approach to first come to Canada as Owner/Operators of their own Canadian businesses with a view to later applying for Canadian permanent residence. The Owner/Operator program, which is administered by Service Canada, allows foreign owners and co-owners of Canadian businesses to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to apply for work permits to come to Canada. Once approved, it is expected that these Owner/Operators will actively manage their Canadian business investment. To be successful, the owner or co-owners of the business must prove their ownership in the Canadian operations and that their services will be integral to the day-to-day operations of the enterprise. Furthermore, the Owner/Operator should be able to show that their investment and employment with the company will benefit Canadians by creating new employment opportunities or maintaining existing ones. The Owner/Operator program is not a direct path to obtaining Canadian permanent residence. If successful, an Owner/Operator will arrive in Canada and begin working in their Canadian business similar to other foreign workers. After obtaining their work permits, however, they can begin the permanent residence application process by applying as skilled workers under Canadas Express Entry System. As holders of work permits issued under LMIAs approved by Service Canada, these applicants will receive 600 additional points towards receiving an invitation to apply for permanent residence. Although the Owner/Operator is not a direct path to permanent residence it has many advantages that may be attractive to entrepreneurs. One of the primary advantages is that these applications can be approved relatively quickly, which will allow the Owner/Operator and his or her family members to live and work in Canada and see if permanent residence is right for them. Further, unlike other business programs offered by the provinces and territories that place a heavy emphasis on language abilities in either English or French, there are no set language requirements to be granted an Owner/Operator LMIA. There is little guidance published by Service Canada about what is required to successfully obtain an Owner/Operator LMIA. For instance, there are no set guidelines on what level of investment is required or what business experience the applicant should have to be approved. Without established guidelines, it becomes even more important for applicants to make a comprehensive business case about the Canadian operations and the economic benefits that will be created by the applicants. If the application is approved both Canada and the foreign entrepreneur stand to gain a great deal from this business program, which encourages both the injection of financial and human capital into the Canadian labour market. Victor Ing is a lawyer of Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre. He provides a full range of immigration services. For more information go to www.canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email victor@canadian-visa-lawyer.com. By Ted Alcuitas Special to The Post In the wake of a Parliamentary Committee reviewing the foreign temporary foreign worker program, a coalition of migrant workers in Vancouver this week called for the scrapping of the temporary status and to allow workers to enter as permanent residents. The Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights Canada also calls for the abolition of Project Guardian, a program of the Canada Border Services Agency that targets foreign caregivers. The press conference at the BC Teachers Federation offices heard a Filipina caregiver from Hong Kong who is working in Vancouver. The caregiver who only give her name as Jhinky broke down as she related how she was abused by her employer. I shouldered all my expenses in coming here but my employer held back my salary, she told the audience in between sobs. Otello Hernandez-Morales, speaking through an interpreter, said he was assaulted by a co-worker in the farm where he works. I reported the assault to the police and the Mexican consulate but nothing was done about it, the Mexican worker said, speaking through an interpreter. Work permits that tie TFWs to one employer at one address highly restrict their labour mobility and it makes them vulnerable to a range of abuses, said Jane Ordinario, a representative from Migrante B.C. Ordinario likened the TFWs as modern-day slaves. For more information go to www.migrantebc.com. Texas Town Erects Selfie Statue Trending News: Texas Town Erects Selfie Statue, Because The Endtimes Are Near Why Is This Important? Because it's not always fun to have the mirror turned on us. Long Story Short A Texas town recently erected a statue depicting two women taking a selfie near the town hall, prompting backlash from residents. The statue was privately donated and no taxpayer money was spent. Long Story People have long derided our obsession with snapping selfies, and while it can go a little too far, it's not as though it's something young people today had the good sense to invent people have been trying to photograph themselves since the invention of the camera. But while most everyone (even detractors) are comfortable with selfies being a topic within pop culture, we don't seem to keen on considering them a cultural component unto themselves. Case in point, the town of Sugar Land, Texas, which is getting a whole bunch of shit for erecting a statue of two women taking a selfie near their town hall. Reddit The town hall in Sugar Land, a wealthy city with a population of just under 84,000, sits adjacent to a public square. The square is a popular gathering point, apparently a sort of cultural keystone of the community. As such, a resident named Sandy Levin donated a series of 10 statues to the community with the intent of representing activities that occur throughout the community. One sculpture in the square is of a man playing a guitar, while the other is the aforementioned selfie statue. You wouldn't think a fairly benign statue would be any cause for concern, but you'd be wrong. Plenty of people are taking to twitter to voice their opposition. they really put up a selfie statue in sugar land oh god Alexyss (@jacellx) June 1, 2016 W/ tax payers' money, Sugar Land erected a statue of two girls taking a selfie. Most embarrassing TX thing since Wendy Davis or the Rockets. Yeoman's Play (@YeomansPlay) June 1, 2016 THERE'S A SELFIE STATUE IN TOWN CENTER WHAT THE EVEN HELL Zainab Jafri (@zainab_jafrii) June 1, 2016 If sugar land is gonna have a statue of two girls taking a selfie then can I have a statue of me twerking? Lee Drnes (@RATCHETKING2015) June 1, 2016 So is the city of Sugar Land expecting us to take pictures with that statue of 2 girls taking a selfie? I'm embarrassed for everyone. Gabby Vera (@GabbyVera3) May 26, 2016 At least one person has a good head on their shoulders: so sl is making national news bc apparently the "selfie statue" (which is part of an installation btw) is CONTROVERSIAL and like seph (@revivemateria) June 1, 2016 if a statue of two girls having fun n taking a selfie offends u even the slightest, i need u to take a step back n pull ur head out ur ass seph (@revivemateria) June 1, 2016 To repeat: the statue was privately funded, and was literally designed to depict activities that regularly take place in the square near the town hall. If you don't want a statue of people taking selfies in your town square, maybe do something more interesting than take selfies in your town square. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Why are people so bent out of shape over a statue? Disrupt Your Feed Selfies aren't going anywhere, so it's time to stop treating them like some "millennial scourge." Drop This Fact The first known photographic self-portrait was taken in 1839 by Robert Cornelius, and is one of the first known photographs of a person, period. The most senior lawyer at the EUs top court has said that companies may ban headscarfs if a general prohibition on religious symbols in the workplace is enforced. According to an AFP report, a Belgian woman working as a receptionist for security firm G4S Secure Solutions was fired after she insisted on wearing a headscarf for religious reasons. A ban on wearing headscarves in companies may be admissible, advocate general, Juliane Kokott's ruling said, she added that the company was under no oblication to find the woman a back office job. If the ban is based on a general company rule which prohibits political, philosophical and religious symbols from being worn visibly in the workplace, such a ban may be justified if it enables the employer to pursue the legitimate policy of ensuring religious and ideological neutrality. The European Court of Justice usually follows the advice of the senior lawyer, though reports say the opinion is not binding. While an employee cannot 'leave' his sex, skin colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or disability 'at the door' upon entering his employer's premises, he may be expected to moderate the exercise of his religion in the workplace, Kokott said. Samira Achbita had been working for the company for three years when she insisted on wearing the headscarf but was dismissed because the firm prohibits the wearing of any visible religious, political and philosophical symbols. Achbita was backed by a Belgian racial equality organisation when she went to court over the company's decision to fire her. But the case was dismissed by two lower courts before the court of cassation referred it to the EUs top court to seek clarification on discrimination laws. Its been an ongoing and heavy debate in Europe with a ban on full-face veils being introduced in France in 2010, despite claims it violate freedom of expression and religion. Donald J. Trump claimed hell win a lawsuit alleging his namesake real-estate school swindled students as documents unsealed in a related racketeering case showed the hard sell given hesitant prospects. Trump University team members were told to answer a prospective students first excuse for not signing up, but to jump in before a second one. Say, Stop!!! Its my job to get you to the next level, according to one of the scripts in the schools so-called sales playbook. You will never get ahead in life with excuses. Mr. Trump wont listen to excuses and neither will we. The presumptive Republican nominee for president said at a news conference in New York Tuesday that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in San Diego, who is overseeing both of the cases in California, "has been very unfair" and has "not done a good job." "I could settle that case, I could have settled it," Trump said. "I just chose not to. In fact when I ran they said, Why dont you settle that case? I dont want to settle the case. Because you know what? Because Im a man of principle, and most of the people who took those courses have letters saying they thought it was great, essentially." By Michael Kearney, Researcher in Evolutionary Biology and Ecophysiology, University of Melbourne Shutterstock/Dudarev Mikhail The latest in our Computing turns 60 series, to mark the 60th anniversary of the first computer in an Australian university, looks at how modelling can help the survival of our native species, including the koala. Life is found almost everywhere on Earth, but each species is limited in the range of places and environments within which it can live. Understanding the distribution limits of a species is an old and fundamental problem in ecology. It is also an important practical problem. We need computational tools to predict how the potential distributions of pest species, disease vectors and threatened species may change with the climate if we are to manage them properly. One of the classic early texts in ecology is The Distribution and Abundance of Animals, written by Australian scientists Herbert Andrewartha and Charles Birch in 1954. At the time it was written, tolerances and responses of animals to different environments were measured directly in the laboratory. These were then compared with weather station observations at particular sites. Distribution predictions involved hand-drawn contour maps based on this information. Computers can help In the 1980s, Professor Mike Hutchinson, from the Australian National University, revolutionised the field by developing computational methods to make continent-scale gridded climate layers from weather data. Methods soon developed to mathematically describe the suitable environmental space of a species by querying those gridded layers at places where a species was known to occur. And the computed environmental spaces could then be projected back onto the landscape to predict the distribution of species. This statistical approach to modelling the distribution of species has become one of the biggest fields in ecology today. A wide range of powerful computational methods are routinely used to understand where different species could occur under present climatic conditions. These models are also being combined with the outputs of general circulation models to predict where a species might occur in the future. Correlation vs causation But care should be taken when using these correlative modelling approaches. They are statistical descriptions and are thus only reliable within the range of environmental conditions under which they were developed. When correlative models are projected to novel environments, such as future climate change scenarios, they can be misleading. This extrapolation problem has encouraged the development of mechanistic approaches to modelling the distribution of species. These approaches start, not with known distribution, but with measured tolerances and responses of organisms. The field is now returning to biology-driven approaches from the days of Andrewartha and Birch, but with the more powerful tools and data now available. My research group is focused on developing mechanistic species distribution models grounded in the physics of heat and mass exchange. We use these models to compute the inputs and outputs of heat to an organism at particular times and places in its habitat. We develop algorithms of the behaviours and physiological responses that a species might use to buffer itself against harsh conditions. These include seeking shade, moving underground or changing colour. We then compute outcomes, such as whether an animal could survive and, if so, how much time it would have to forage, how fast it could grow, how much energy and water it could obtain compared to what it lost and, ultimately, how many offspring it could have. Predicting koalas This brings us to helping save the koala. Koalas, being warm-blooded like us, keep a very constant body temperature despite changes in their environment. But when it gets too cold, they need to expend extra energy to produce metabolic heat. And in hot weather, they need to lose extra water for evaporative cooling. We can compute the energy and water costs imposed by the climate at a particular location, accounting for subtle responses koalas have. For example, koalas hug cool tree trunks to lose heat without having to spend water. This cooling behaviour is something we discovered as part of our research. Knowing how much energy and water is in eucalyptus leaves, and how this converts physiologically into the production of offspring, we can estimate whether a koala could survive and reproduce at a particular place. By repeating solutions of these kinds of calculations across grid of environmental conditions, weve produced maps of potential distribution. The value of mechanistic predictions is twofold. First, we gain a greater understanding of what limits distributions. Second, we have a robust prediction that can be extended more confidently to novel conditions. Our predictions for the koala involved solving the heat budget algorithm 40 billion times (115,144 locations 20 years 365 days 24 hours two climate scenarios) with the aid of the Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative super-computing facility. These predictions indicate substantial range contractions towards the coast by 2070, especially in northern Australia. We can use this information to prioritise conservation reserves, and possibly translocation programs, to help koalas adapt to a changing climate. The combined computational arsenal of correlative and mechanistic tools that ecologists now have at their disposal would amaze early ecologists such as Andrewartha and Birch, and will help humans adapt to future environmental change. Michael Kearney receives funding from The Australian Research Council and the National Environmental Research Program. Originally published in The Conversation. Project: Appen is currently conducting a very urgent project collecting British English speech. Tasks: The work will involve recording short English phrases from a WebApp using an Android smart phone/tablet. Recording will take approximately 3 hours You will be paid AUD$75.00 upon completion of the task Requirements: Must be a native speaker of British English; A native British English speaker is someone who grew up in Great Britain and whose first and primary language is British English. Must be able to travel to head office in Chatswood, Sydney for recording. How to apply: If you are a native speaker of British English and interested in this project, please fill out the application form in the link below and we will contact you shortly: goo.gl/l8jKwf About Appen: Appen (listed on the ASX) develops high quality speech and language technology solutions namely used in car navigation systems, mobile phones, word processing packages, directory assistance, speaker verification tools and hand-held machine translation devices. Our staff comprises Linguists, IT professionals and Project Managers who coll borate to produce quality work in over 100 different languages for many of the world s leading companies. Additional Information: All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Hi all! Just wondering if anyone could give me some advice please. I'm currently living with my partner in the U.K. I'm British and my partner is Australian. We have lived in a de facto relationship since Jan 2015 - lived in aus for just under 12 months, then traveled to Thailand for a month before returning to the U.K. where we are now. I know this may sound silly but I'm really terrified of lodging my application, I know our relationship is genuine and like a lot of you must understand you love them to death but god it's hard being in this situation. I'm so stressed out, I'll be ready to lodge my application in about a week or so just need to get some identity documents certified, were applying online by the way. My problem is I don't think my visa application is good enough, particularly the financial part of my application. Back story is I came to Australia last year with 5,000 dollars and living in Melbourne and being restricted by the work and holiday visa it was difficult to find work. In hindsight I should have gone and done rural work to qualify for a second year visa but my partner wanted to go to the uk after and due to him studying didn't want me moving away. He has money and basically has supported me pretty much our entire relationship. We have joint bank accounts, ive attached documents of his support to me throughout the relationship. I think other than that section our application is very strong. We regards to my statements I've basically done the whole honesty is the best policy and just written the complete open truth about our situation. So really my question is does anyone have any experiences of this type of situation, where you dont really support your partner much in terms of financially. Or is there anything more we can do just to make our application as strong as possible. Hate to sound like a moaner but I'm just so scared of a rejection. I've poured my heart and soul into this application, just praying for the best! Thanks! Currently, there is a waiting period of up to four months on the Innova Crysta; TKM planning to ramp-up production in the future. Toyota has announced that the new Innova Crysta has recieved 20,000 bookings since launch and currently there is a waiting period of up to four months on the car. Interestingly, there is higher demand for the Innova Crystas top-end ZX variant which is equipped with an automatic transmission version and costs Rs 20.78 lakh (ex-showroom). The base variant is priced at Rs 13.84 lakh. The earlier-generation Innova did not have an auto transmission option. The company is currently producing 7,000 units per month at its Bidadi plant and is looking to ramp-up production. Speaking at Chennai today at the opening of the Toyota Driving School, he elaborated that the focus will be on the companys existing customers and taking care of them and also making TKM more competitive in India. The third focus area will be to develop our human resources in India at global standards. We do not want to only export vehicles but also export people from India as well, said Tachibana. Also read Toyota Innova Crysta review Toyota Innova Crysta photo gallery NHTSA Sands Chevrolet of Surprise, Arizona, has agreed to the $40,000 penalty it has to pay because federal regulators discovered that it sold two 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco units that were part of a recall without repairing them first.The vehicles were new cars, and were sold as new and without any mention of the recall that was targeting them. The worst offense here was selling the cars without repairing them, while not saying the recall part is the second worse thing that has happened in the case.The recall campaign that targeted the Chevrolet Malibu Eco sedans involved replacing a malfunctioning generator control module.Depending on the severity of the situation, the malfunction went from draining the battery and causing the engine to stall, to a burning or melting odor, smoke, and even a fire in the trunk. The latter was a rare occurence, but GM had to mention it when the recall was first announced, because it was a possibility.Theinvestigated the matter over two years, and posted a report on the case for public view. The dealership broke a federal law that prohibited it from selling new vehicles subjected to open recalls without fixing them first.As Automotive News notes, the dealership in Phoenix has changed internal procedures to ensure they check every vehicle for open recalls before delivering it to customers, and they will do this for used trade-in cars as well. Better safe than sorry, right?The dealership representatives explained that the sale of the two vehicles was a mistake, caused by the off-site storage of the vehicles. The Chevrolet dealer was storing them off-site because it was involved in a construction project. Fortunately, both customers took delivery of the cars after the units were repaired, so nobody was put in jeopardy, but the damage had been done from a legal point of view. Scrambler Shocking is based on a Sixty2 bike, the second Scrambler Ducati released in the new era that dawned for this family. The Scrambler Sixty2 aims at becoming the new "pop icon" of the new generations of riders, combining the affordable price, Ducati's motorcycle making heritage and the immense popularity of the bigger Scrambler.The Scrambler machines represent the entry point in the Ducati universe, and the initial model quickly rose to becoming the best-selling bike in Italy.Scrambler Sixty2, on the other hand, is powered by a 399cc l-twin desmodromic engine that produces 41 hp, and this makes it suitable for the owners of an A2 driving permit. Also, the lighter build is more lady-friendly, just like the tamer character of the bike, so seeing Ducati choosing the "shocking pink" color might be an indicator as to the maker's marketing intentions towards the female demographicIt's not clear yet if the Scrambler Shocking is a one-off machine created solely for the Notte Rosa 2016 Adriatic festival which coincides with the opening of the ninth edition of the World Ducati Week, or if this color will also be offered as an option in dealerships.Ducati, however, adds that admission to the "Pink Night" festival is free for the ladies, while men will have to pay a ticket. Also, the customers who bought their World Ducati Week 2016 passes will be admitted for free.If you ask us, Ducati could indeed consider adding more color options to their bikes, at least when it comes to the highly popular Scrambler. Early last month, the Tesla CEO announced a few details regarding the company's next car, the much-awaited Model 3. He said that the Fremont plant where Tesla currently assembles its car could deliver up to 200,000 Model 3s by the end of next year, with production scheduled to start on July 1.But probably sensing this number wasn't far-fetched enough, Elon Musk went not one, but several steps further and estimated that the factory in California could be expanded to produce 1,000,000 units a year With almost one month passing without any other big announcements, it was time Elon Musk struck again. This time, though, his ambitions are linked with the Gigafactory located near Reno, Nevada. The plant that will be responsible for the production of battery cell and packs to fuel those hallucinating numbers of new vehicles over the next years will open on July 29 , with production starting shortly.Speaking in front of an audience, Musk said that the planned output of his Gigafactory might be jacked up to 105 GWh of cells and 150 GWh of battery packs (with the 45 GWh difference coming from cells manufactured elsewhere) a year. To put that number into perspective, it's about three times more than the capacity of Li-ion batteries currently built in the entire world.Tesla isn't putting all of its money on vehicle production either, with stationary power storage units playing an increasingly more important role. The split between the two was initially believed to be at around 1/3 and 2/3 in favor of the battery packs destined for the company's electric vehicles. Now, though, Musk said that it will be "closer to even," which shows the increased importance the PowerWall and PowerPacks are receiving.There's no doubt about it: if the future turns out to be electric, this man has played more than a key part in it. But he's not alone. Tesla will be working together with Panasonic, and Musk revealed another important piece of information: the two companies will build a new 20700 cell format that's larger than the current 18650.In case you haven't noticed, Musk is a bit of a workaholic, so we can continue to expect more similar predictions from him. Let's just hope he'll be just as active in carrying them out as he is in talking about what his company can or is going to do. SUV His statement came in an interview for the Australians at CarAdvice , who talked with Mr. Manzoni while he was on his first visit to the continent.Manzoni was present Down Under for the launch of the Ferrari GTC4 Lusso . Naturally, reporters asked him about a potentialin the Ferrari range.The SUV topic is a natural occurrence, as the Italian supercar brand seems to be the only one thats against them, apart from for Koenigsegg , another hypercar maker that has said it will not consider making one.In the interview, Ferraris senior VP of Design explained that the automaker does not plan an SUV because it would be too heavy, and with a center of gravity that would be too high.Manzoni then reminded everyone on the features that Ferrari seeks when building a new model, including the constant strive for the best performance possible.Naturally, an SUV would not suit the Ferrari philosophy, because it will not match the performance of other models in the range. Manzoni also thinks the SUV craze is just a trend, and says the company will not copy other automakers to profit from a "marketing opportunity, because that is not principal at Ferrari.Flavio Manzoni went so far as to quoting Sergio Marchionne , the CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles , who has said many times that he would rather be shot than make a Ferrari SUV . If there is something we have learned by studying the automotive industry as car fans and journalists alike, it is best never to say never, just like in that old James Bond movie. Hint - it was in the title, and Sir Sean Connery was playing the 007 role, so we suggest watching it. TDI Tom Mutchler of Consumer Reports explains in the following video that the fourth generation of the Toyota Prius has been driven in real-world conditions... but only just. As anyone would expect from such a test, Consumer Reports installed a fuel meter to measure every single milliliter of gasoline used.On the city course, with stop and start traffic, the 2016 Toyota Prius managed 43 miles per gallon (5.47 liters/100 km). At a constant 65 mph (104.6 km/h) on the highway, the Japanese hybrid returns 59 miles per gallon (3.98 liters/100 km). As incredible as this may sound, the highway fuel economy is better than that of any four-cylinderturbo diesel-powered Volkswagen model ever tested by the publication.By comparison, the third-generation Toyota Prius makes do with 44 miles per gallon (5.34 liters/100 km) on the combined cycle. Tom explains that the guinea pig theyve used for testing is a mid-range trim level that retails for $27,323. The base trim level, on the other hand, is priced at $24,200.When all is said and done, the 2016 Toyota Prius is a tough sell for folks like you and me for a pretty simple reason: gasoline is not that pricey at the present moment. Another downside of the fourth-generation Prius is the styling. I, for example, adore the Evangelion Unit-02 exterior styling (provided that the car is painted red), but most people would rather something else, something more car-like.As a brief reminder, most models in the 2016 Toyota Prius range are rated by the EPA at 52 miles per gallon (4.52 liters/100 km) combined. Those who opt for the Prius Two Eco ($25,035) are promised 56 miles per gallon (4.2 liters/100 km) thanks to a lighter lithium-ion battery instead of the standard NiMH pack. Earlier this week, a delivery truck loaded with seven Cayman GT4s was rear-ended by another truck on the German Autobahn, with at least six of the cars being damaged in the process.The accident, which took place on the A1 Autobahn, close to Dortmund (about 70 miles away from the Dutch border) saw the Porsche transporter slowing down due to traffic. The driver of a Dutch truck that followed didn't see the vehicle in front of him, failing to stop and rear-ending the precious cargo.A car that was driving in the lane next to the trucks tried to avoid hitting them, but ended up plowing into another car, which blocked the highway. As you can see in the images above, which comes from Facebook user Ray Ox , the accident also caused a massive oil spill.Three drivers were injured in the crash, while the damage was estimated at over EUR1 million (that's north of $1,12 million at the current exchange rate)This is even more painful when you consider that the Cayman GT4 is a brilliant driving weapon with one great flaw - since Porsche's GT division only produces around 2,500 GT4s per year, these things are difficult to get a hold of.And when you have a mid-engined Porsche with a 911 Carrera S (991.1) flat-six, 911 GT3 suspension and a six-speed manual gearbox, people lust for it.Not only does the crash generate a delay for the owners whose cars were ruined, but with some of the GT4s here potentially being write-offs, Porsche might just have to add a few extra units to the overall production. This epic ride now reaches its 13th edition and this year will also see the debut of the Women's Odyssey. The 18-day ride will kick off in New Delhi on 9th July 2016, and will see a 75-strong party riding for 17 days, with two rest days.The longest stage covering 310 km (192 miles). 20 slots are also prepared for the bold riding ladies who will want to join this amazing 2500 km (1550 miles) journey.Riders will reach the Khardungla top that sits 18380 feet (5602 m) above sea level, and is the highest motorable pass on the planet, one of the main attractions of the Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey, and a major achievement for the die-hard motorcycle adventure enthusiasts.The scenery in the Himalaya Mountains is hard to compare to what other places have to offer to the tourer's eyes, and so far, no less than 53 riders have already signed up for the ride. The registration price is quite friendly, especially for riders in the western markets. Riders will pay around $650 or 585, while bringing a passenger will require double that sum.However, taking part in the 13th Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey will also require some extra expenses, as the organizers explain."Lodging and boarding arrangements are on a twin sharing bed and breakfast format. Dinner is also included in places except Delhi, Chandigarh, and Leh. Riders will be responsible for paying for their own fuel, meals (excluding the ones mentioned in the itinerary) and snacks and anything else not listed as included in the package."Even so, registration will only be completed after passing a physical exam. Check out the Royal Enfield website to find out more details about the 13th Himalayan Odyssey. SUV MaritzCX, a company that specializes in customer experience and research, monitoredsales from 2010 to 2015 in the USA.They discovered that 34% of the sale increase in the small SUV segment came from women , while the premium sector of the small SUV market rose 177% in the same period, most of the sales being made by women.The same research company discovered that 40% of female buyers monitored in the study were single at the time of purchase. Since we do not live in the 1950s patriarchal society, it is no surprise that women buy impressive numbers of cars. They also ride more bikes than ever before.However, as the director of the research company quoted in a Bloomberg article stated, dealers must learn to cater adequately to the needs of female buyers.Single, professional women out there need vehicles, and you need to be attentive to them. They are going to make money, make their decisions, and can be very loyal customers, says James Mulcrone.The loyal customers part of Mulcrones statement stands out. As Bloombergs article shows, there is a study from Women-Drivers.com, a car dealer review service, which discovered that around 60% of women who leave a dealership without buying never return. Interestingly, the same study found that women tend to be loyal customers.You do not have to work in sales to figure out a link between the two results we presented above. If you are a dealer that is inattentive to female customers, they might never return to your shop, ever. In extreme cases, they might not even buy from the brand you represent. The case is not the same with male customers, who might come back to the same dealer even if they do not buy a car from their first meeting.Over two-thirds of female buyers of new vehicles in 2015 said that the purchase decision came entirely up to them, shows the study from MaritzCX. SUVs were appealing to women because of their cargo room and improving fuel economy when compared to predecessors and equivalent sedans. Meanwhile, SUVs and crossovers are outstripping sedan and coupe sales in the U.S. market, and automakers are adapting to this trend by slowly killing off models that are not popular anymore. At this time, Skodas potential launch on the U.S. market is still unconfirmed, but reports claim that the Czech automaker has filed several trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Skoda wants to protect names like Superb, Octavia, Yeti, Skoda Superb, and Skoda.This would be the first sign of an intention to launch Skoda pn the North American market, as trademarking a name is essential for about any company with serious intentions.However, as many patent filings have shown over the years, the launch of the Skoda brand across the Atlantic might not happen so soon, if ever.Skoda might just be protecting its names just in case some American company might want to borrow them. As Auto Guide reports, there is still a high chance that Skoda might consider entering the American market.The Volkswagen brand lost significant image capital once the Dieselgate scandal erupted, but the launch of Skoda in the USA would allow the German corporation sell cars there until it manages to recover from its situation.The launch of the Skoda brand in the USA will give the Volkswagen Group a chance of a clean start in North America without all the hurdles that would usually come for a new automaker. Volkswagens platforms are shared with Skoda, but some of the carmaker's U.S. models are not identical to their European siblings borrowed for the Czech range.If Volkswagen decides to start selling Skoda models in the USA, the new automaker will have to pass EPA and crashworthiness testing, elements which it already must accomplish in the European market. Another hurdle would be the expensive homologation process, and then they will be ready to start selling them in North America.On the European market, Skoda made a name for itself as a value brand, with roomy interiors and modest design. It was Europes low-cost before the Romanian Dacia brand was bought by Renaul t and became prominent on the Old Continent. The latter is still not considering U.S. sales, so Skoda could get a head start in the worlds second-largest car market. Russias large-scale arms sales to Azerbaijan changed the Armenian-Azerbaijani military balance and greatly facilitated the April 2 outbreak of heavy fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, former President Robert Kocharian said on Wednesday. He also criticized Armenias current government for failing to thwart the Russian-Azerbaijani arms deals worth an estimated $5 billion and to provide the Armenian armed forces with more modern equipment that would have offset the Azerbaijani military buildup. Everyone wanted to believe that the military alliance with Russia at least guarantees the maintenance of the military balance, namely Armenias and Karabakhs security, Kocharian said in comments posted on his unofficial website, 2rd.am. Before the implementation of [defense] contracts signed by Baku and Moscow in 2011 the balance between the [conflicting] parties in terms of the quality of weaponry was maintained. But it turned out that things are much more complicated. While insisting that Russia is not interested in an escalation of the Karabakh conflict, Kocharian stressed: Supplies of state-of-the-art offensive weapons to Baku disrupted the balance, considerably increasing the likelihood of such a scenario. Those weapons included more than 90 tanks as well as dozens of combat helicopters, multiple-launch rocket systems, howitzers and heavy flamethrowers. President Serzh Sarkisian and other Armenian officials have publicly denounced their lucrative sale to Azerbaijan, saying that the Azerbaijani army used some of these weapons during the April 2-5 hostilities along the Karabakh line of contact. In public, Russian leaders have dismissed the Armenian criticism, saying that Russian arms supplies to both Baku and Yerevan have actually strengthened the military balance in Karabakh and reduced the likelihood of a full-scale Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Kocharian, who governed Armenia from 1998-2008, said the Sarkisian government could have scuttled the Russian-Azerbaijani arms deals had it acted immediately after their signing in 2010-2011. Armenia should have managed to halt the implementation of the Russian-Azerbaijani agreements or at least limit it in terms of the variety [supplied weapons] or synchronize that with commensurate supplies to Armenia, he said. It had more than enough arguments [to convince the Russians.] The ex-president claimed that the current Armenian government could have also countered the noticeable superiority gained by Baku by providing the Armenian military with more, relatively inexpensive equipment such as night-vision devices and radios. The existing shortcomings must be immediately eliminated, and efforts are obviously being made in that direction, he said. But this has to be done at an institutional level, not on a patriotic basis, as was the case at the start of the [1988] Karabakh movement. Volunteers must go to the frontlines not spontaneously but be sent there by military commissariats in accordance with their military skills, he added. Kocharian last month visited Karabakh and met with its leadership to discuss the fallout from what was the worst fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces since 1994. He also toured several sections of the Karabakh line of contact. Kocharian has avoided any direct contact with Sarkisian, underlining a rift with his successor and erstwhile ally. The ex-president has increasingly criticized Sarkisians policies in recent years, stoking speculation about his return to active politics. The speculation again intensified after former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and several other political figures widely regarded as Kocharian supporters set up a new opposition party in April. The ex-president denied having links with the party on May 13. Later in May, General Samvel Babayan, Nagorno-Karabakhs former army commander, returned to Armenia after several years of self-imposed exile in Russia. Babayan signaled plans to resume his political or military activities in an interview with a news website sympathetic to Kocharian. He cited the increased risk of renewed war with Azerbaijan. Babayan, Kocharian and Sarkisian are all natives of Karabakh who led the Armenian-populated region during its 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan. Kocharian is believed to have had a particularly close rapport with the once powerful general. 1 June 2016 10:14 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs as part of his working visit to Brussels. They discussed results of the meeting in Vienna held to prepare for the June summit aimed at finding a soonest possible solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry. Commenting on information that a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, allegedly scheduled for June, was cancelled, Hikmat Hajiyev underlined that there were not any proposal or plans to hold such a meeting in general. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day. A precarious cease-fire was signed in 1994. However, the Armenian forces commit armistice breaches on the frontline almost every day. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 14:31 (UTC+04:00) By Gulgiz Dadashova Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has confirmed a June meeting over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying we expect another meeting to make a tangible progress to change the status quo. Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia are expected to hold meeting in June to mull the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh meeting. The sides first met on May 16 in Vienna following the latest escalation in the frontline with the instigation and provocation of Armenia. Azerbaijan and Armenia have re-declared a ceasefire in Azerbaijans occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, halting the bloodiest hostilities in the region since the original ceasefire inked in 1994. Mammadyarov, addressing the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters within the framework of Azerbaijan-NATO meeting on May 31, emphasized that the current status-quo based on the fact of occupation remains the main source of tension. Reminding that all international community, including OSCE MG co-chairs accept the fact of unacceptability and unsustainability of the current status-quo, Mammadyarov stressed that in order to change the status-quo, the fact of occupation must be ceased and the armed forces of Armenia must be withdrawn from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan have been violated for more than 20 years with 20 percent of its territory under illegal military occupation by Armenia and more than 1 million Azerbaijani people have undergone bloody ethnic cleansing in the seized lands. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. The time has shown that an extended ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia wont stick, as keeping the status quo is like standing by a volcano waiting for it to erupt. The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh has erupted many times, making the status quo unsustainable and threatening the region with a large-scale war. Baku has repeatedly stated the need to take action toward a peaceful and complete reconciliation, and just resolution of the conflict. Mammadyarov also spoke about Armenias threats against Azerbaijan with dirty bombs and its non-fulfillment of commitments taken under the international conventions on non-proliferation of weapons of mass-destruction. Yerevan again pursues the deliberate policy of obstructing the negotiations process, the minister warned. Mammadyarov reminded that according to the UN Charter and Helsinki Final Act, Armenia committed itself to respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of other states, to refrain from the threat or use of force against them. "Thats what Azerbaijan expects from Armenia to follow and from international community to demand," he emphasized. Former prime minister, member of parliament and other officials of Armenia have declared this April that Armenia has a nuclear weapon, so-called dirty bomb, mentioning that these bombs can be used against Azerbaijan. Baku turned to corresponding international organizations to examine the statement and stop Armenian nuclear threat and blackmail. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 14:24 (UTC+04:00) Changing the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict requires the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The Azerbaijani FM informed the NATO secretary general on the negotiation process to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that the Vienna meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents created an effective opportunity to start substantive negotiations, said the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's press service June 1. Mammadyarov also noted that the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairs and the international community consider the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict unreliable, inconsistent and unacceptable, and it is necessary to put an end to the occupation in order to change the status quo. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. During the meeting, Mammadyarov and Stoltenberg also expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO, pointing to Azerbaijan's providing transit for the NATO forces in Afghanistan, as well as Azerbaijan's contributing to peacekeeping missions. The sides also noted that the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway will expand Afghanistan's possibility of entering the regional transport infrastructure. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 15:10 (UTC+04:00) The next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be an important step towards the conflict's comprehensive settlement, the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) James Warlick told Trend on June 1. He said that the OSCE MG co-chairs met with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Brussels May 31 to follow up on the outcomes of the Vienna meeting of the presidents that was held on May 16 and prepare for the presidents' next meeting. "We will see Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan in Paris June 2 to discuss the same issues," noted Warlick. "With FM Mammadyarov we exchanged views on a proposal to establish an OSCE investigative mechanism and discussed elements of a comprehensive settlement." Although there is no date set for the next presidential meeting, the OSCE MG expects it to take place in June, added Warlick. Warlick said also that the meeting will be important for the sides to reinforce respect for the ceasefire, reach agreement on the implementation of the investigative mechanism, and agree to a negotiation that can lead to a comprehensive settlement. The OSCE MG co-chairs will continue their efforts with the sides to advance a peaceful and lasting settlement, he added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 09:53 (UTC+04:00) A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on June 1. The new edition includes articles about that Azerbaijan`s law ensures everyone`s right to freely receive, spread information, Metsamor: a tragedy on gates of Europe, local beaches to be monitored for whole season, many Russian tourists turn to Azerbaijan, etc. AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az. 1 June 2016 10:41 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference and the 6th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition on June 1. "ITE Group Plc" Company representative Andrew Wood made opening remarks, welcoming the participants. The head of state made a speech at the event. The US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy in the Department of State's Bureau of Energy Resources Robin Dunnigan read out the letter of President of the United States of America Barack Obama. British Prime Minister's Trade Envoy Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne has read out the letter of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron. Following the speeches, the head of state viewed the pavilions of the exhibition. Caspian Oil&Gas 2016 brings together 240 companies from 30 countries including Azerbaijan, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and others. Caspian Oil&Gas 2016, the 23rd international exhibition and conference, the largest energy sector event in the Caspian region, will take place untill June 4 2016 at Baku Expo Center. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 10:37 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The state of Azerbaijan attaches great importance to developing its relationship with the People`s Republic of China, said President Ilham Aliyev. The president made the remark at his meeting with a Chinese delegation led by Zhang Gaoli, member of the Standing Committee of Central Politburo of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, Senior Vice Premier of the State Council in Baku on June 1, Azertac reported. Welcoming the guests in Azerbaijan, President Aliyev expressed his confidence that this visit would contribute to the development of friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries. Recalling his state visit to China that took place in 2015, President Aliyev underlined the significance of the talks held and documents signed during the visit for the future cooperation. Emphasizing that Azerbaijan and China enjoy excellent political ties, the President pointed to the development of the bilateral cooperation in economic, humanitarian, energy, transport and other areas. The head of state described the visit of the Chinese delegation as another step toward the expansion of the friendly ties. Zhang Gaoli, for his part, said that prior to heading to Baku he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who extended his best regards and greetings to the Azerbaijani head of state. Xi Jinping regarded Azerbaijan as an important and friendly country for China, he added. The official went on to say that he was deeply impressed by development processes taking place in Baku and the city`s beauty since the first minutes of his arrival. Zang Gaoli said that under President Aliyev`s leadership Azerbaijan was rapidly developing and the people`s well-being was being improved. President Aliyev described the fact that high-level Chinese delegations had visited Azerbaijan in a short space of time as a good indicator of the bilateral ties, adding that the development of relations with China was among key foreign policy priorities of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan considered a dialogue partner status granted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as the first step toward full integration into the organization, the president said adding that cooperation with this organization occupied an important place in Azerbaijan`s foreign policy. President Aliyev further reminded that Azerbaijan puts a special emphasis on its cooperation with China in combating terrorism and extremism. The head of state expressed Azerbaijan`s interest in working with China to create and develop the Silk Road infrastructure. The President said Azerbaijan was ready to play a vital transit role in the transportation of Chinese products to Europe and vice versa. "Work continues to build the railway in the country, the largest sea trade port in the Caspian basin, and to establish a free economic zone here. Azerbaijan is interested in Chinese companies` active involvement in this process, President Aliyev said. The head of state said Azerbaijan welcomed the Chinese investments made in different areas of economy. Reminding that Chinese firms were successfully involved in Azerbaijan`s construction sector, he underlined the existence of good potential for cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, energy, transport, high technologies, agriculture, communication and information technologies, and others. President Ilham Aliyev congratulated China on its strides in a variety of areas. Azerbaijan and China opened a new page in their relations after President Ilham Aliyev visited China in December 2015. During the visit, several meetings, negotiations were held and 10 documents were signed. Cooperation issues almost in all spheres were discussed. China is a huge opportunity and a priority market for Azerbaijan. More than 50 agreements were signed between the two countries so far. Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) has recently opened a representative office in China to support and encourage relations between the two countries businessmen, as well as expand Azerbaijani goods export to the Chinese market and attract China's leading investment funds to the Azerbaijan economy. The trade turnover with China reached $565.1 million last year, while its unit weight in the total trade turnover of Azerbaijan amounted to 2.74 percent, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Reel World Get your flicks on Route 66 The historic KiMo Theatre is teaming up with the Albuquerque Museums new exhibit Route 66: Radiance, Rust and Revival on the Mother Road to present a series of Mother Road Movies. Each of the films in this series shines a light on the history and mythology of Route 66 as it crosses our country and passes through our state. The series will start on Thursday, June 2, with the 1940 adaptation of John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath. Henry Fonda stars as Steinbecks hardscrabble hero Tom Joad as he transports his impoverished family to the fabled land of California during the Dust Bowl. The film starts at 7pm. Tickets are a mere $5, and you can snag them in advance at kimotickets.com. Future installments of the Mother Road Movies series include 1951s Ace in the Hole (June 9), 1969s Easy Rider (June 30) and 1971s Two Lane Blacktop (July 7). KiMo Theatre is located at 423 Central NW (right on old Route 66). Where the elite meet The New Mexico Film Foundation is hosting another of its essential filmmaker mixers. This one will take place at Whole Foods new Sandia Saloon Taproom (5815 Wyoming NE) on Thursday, June 2. This is a great opportunity for local people interested in the amateur and professional film industry to meet face-to-face. Find out what other filmmakers are doing. Get the scoop on jobs in our state. Track down that special technician youve been looking for to complete a project. Or, you know, just hang out with some cool, like-minded movie people. The event starts at 5:30pm. Admission is free. Discounted drink specials will be available. For more information, head to nmfilmfoundation. org. Jurassic in the park? Bernalillo Countys popular summer series Movies in the Park continues this Friday, June 3, with a free public screening of Pixars prehistoric animated adventure The Good Dinosaur at Los Vecinos Community Center (478 1/2 Old Highway 66). The show begins at dusk (around 8pm) and food vendors will be on site with some tasty food. Feel free to bring your own lawn chairs and blankets. View in Alibi calendar 1 June 2016 10:44 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan continues to play a critical role in the global supply of energy, says US President Barack Obama's message addressed to the participants of the 23rd International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and the 6th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition. The events kicked off in Baku on June 1. "These past 20 years had been a transformation time for Azerbaijan - politically and economically," President Obama's message said. "Throughout this period, the US has worked very closely with the government of Azerbaijan in the energy sector." "Azerbaijan continues to play a critical role in the global supply of energy and is a reliable partner in our common goal of increasing regional diversification, market competition and energy security," President Obama's message said. According to Obama's message, in today's environment, diversification of energy supply remains as vital as ever. "Over the past year, Azerbaijan and its partners have achieved significant milestone in making the Southern Gas Corridor a reality," President Obama's message said. "The continued cooperation between Azerbaijan and its international partners will ensure the competition of this significant project," President Obama's message said. "And the US stands ready to assist and continue to underscoring importance of the Southern Gas Corridor with our international partners." The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey. At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 12:16 (UTC+04:00) A book by Head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, Academician of National Academy of Sciences Ramiz Mehdiyev titled "Nagorno Karabakh: History read through sources has been published in France. The book has been devoted to the historical background of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and deals with the causes of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the regions belonging to the Azerbaijani states throughout the history, Azertac reported. The book highlights causes of occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounded regions by the Armenian Armed Forces, as well as the current state of the negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, position of the international organizations in settlement of the problem. The book especially highlights four resolutions of the UN Security Council on unconditional, immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan`s occupied territories. The book stresses the importance of settlement of the conflict within the territorial integrity, internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan in accordance with the norms and principles of international law. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 09:00 (UTC+04:00) In an exclusive interview with Azernews, Italian Trade Commissioner Luigi DAprea talked about the expectations from the Caspian Oil&Gas exhibition opening in Baku on June 1, and shared his views about the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy. Question: Mr. Luigi DAprea, how do you estimate the current dynamic of the relations between Azerbaijan and Italy? A.: The relations are excellent, especially the commercial relations. Goods turnover between Azerbaijan and Italy made up roughly 600 million euros from January to December 2015. The main sectors that we cooperate are related to consumer goods, interior design, building material, industry, ICT, and, of course, the energy sector that enjoys huge opportunities. This year we are having a very big Italian participation in the 23rd International Caspian Oil&Gas exhibition for the first time. STAND ITALIA, will host n. 12 Italian companies: Asco Pompe Srl Pumps and Fluids handling, CAPRARI SPA, pumping power, CIESSE SRL, heat exchanger, DRILLMEC SPA Oil Equipment, GORIZIANE GROUP SPA Pipe facing machines, Pipe Bending Machines, Mandrels, Internal Line-up Clamps, Double/Quadruple Joint Plants, Pipe handling plants for vessels, INDUSTRIE COMETTO SPA Road semitrailers, modular heavy trailers, self-propelled modular trailers and transporters RUBINETTERIE UTENSILERIE BONOMI Wireless and actuators SENSITRON SRL Gas detection Technologies . The Italian presence at the exhibition is not only limited to our stand but also fostered by the other Italian companies participating with individual stands for a total participation of 18 Italian companies and this confirms the extraordinary relationships in these sectors in particular. The Italian participation will be represented by solid and better structured companies focused for foreign markets, confirming their willingness to cooperate with Azeri companies. Q.: By the way, what benefits will the TAP project bring to the Italian economy in general? A.: . Italy is a strategic partner for (TAP) Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. The big project as the better enhances relations between Azerbaijan and Italy and now Italys SNAM company owns 20 percent of shares in the project. We could see benefits for our internal tariff in Italy and Europe as a provider of energy -- so for us its very important. It's a big challenge and opportunity for Italy, as well. Q.: Over the past few years Italy has remained the biggest trade partner of Azerbaijan. Do the two countries expect growth in trade turnover? A.: We hope to continue and increase bilateral relationships and of course the bilateral inter exchange, I mean export and import between the two countries. During the last five years the bilateral exchange, especially the export of Italian companies to Azerbaijan, increased by more than 70 percent. We know that we are very close to Azerbaijan and the country relies on Italian quality, style, and technologies and especially to willingness of our companies. Thats why I think that this will be a focus point to develop the relations. The Italian Trade Agency has a target to enhance bilateral cooperation and to help small and medium enterprisers to get in touch with new economic opportunities of this market. We operate in Azerbaijan for more than 15 years and act as trade promotional section of Italian Embassy, so we are a governmental agency. I believe the two countries will see very big successes in terms of future relations. Question: What is the expectation of Italian companies from the Caspian Oil&Gas exhibition? Q.: We have more different participants and new commerce, compared to other big companies, which are already present in this market. We have big expectations from this new commerce, because they are considering very interesting offers including pumps, fluid handling, heat exchanger, oil field equipments, gas detection technologies, and transport and logistics sectors specialized in oil and gas. Italy has an international leadership in Oil & Gas Industry, our products and high added value services such as valves, equipment, machineries, instruments, engineering, drilling, energy solutions, maintenance etc., are part of our economys sector which worlds export are more than 55 billion of USD (if we consider the entire valves sector the Italian worlds export is about 8 billion of USD. Italy is the second worlds leader in this branch). There are a lot of small sectors involved in oil and gas market, and for most of them this is the first exhibition, but there are also companies, which participated in many other large exhibitions around the world. They are interested to get in touch with local opportunities, economy and companies including big and small. We know that the Azerbaijani market enjoys very high level quality. So, Italian companies are ready to cooperate and compete with local and international companies in the Azerbaijani market. We are ready to prepare big offers. Of course, the participation at the exhibition suggests different steps for sides and they should better verify all feedback after the exhibition to stay in contact with companies and prepare the right offer. Azerbaijan invested a lot of quality products in this sector and of course requires very high quality in specialization to cooperate in this branch, because its not easy and not related to the consumer goods. All the technologies, material and instrumental and implants are involved in these sectors. And the offer of Italian companies is of high level: high level of technology, their expertise, and their customer assistance. They are ready to prepare tenders or to participate in the local tenders. This step will have challenges. Q.: May we see larger Italian participation in the oil and gas sector of Azerbaijan? How do you view the prospects in this regard? A.: Italy is a very long cooperator. Italian presence in oil and gas field of Azerbaijan has begun with the work and commissioning of SAIPEM, which is operating in oil and gas. I hope to arrange the next participation of Italy for the next year, as well. I would like to verify Italian participation at the exhibition. I personally guess that this exhibition is a starting point in terms of opportunities in this sector. Next year I wish to receive very big participation at the exhibition compared to this year. This year Italy is participating characterized with institutional stand with individual participations. Our target for the next year will be to arrange an Italian pavilion. This will not be easy, but we will work on it. Q.: Which other fields do you see as perspective to enhance cooperation? A.: We are the first partner of Azerbaijan, operating in the country for the past 19 years. Italy is ready to cooperate for better diversification of the Azerbaijani economy in agriculture, and ICT. We could offer very big support for this achievement. The main sectors of bilateral exchange are consumer goods, furniture, projecting, building materials, light system and all in this branch, which is relating to building, home, wood and interior design Italy is really a big competitor. 1 June 2016 09:00 (UTC+04:00) With oil prices staying relatively low Azerbaijans economy is transforming into a value creating economy. Large scale reforms aim to further improve non-oil sector and the countrys export capacity, in particular. While few international financial institutions, such as EBRD and Asian Development Bank, have forecasted 1% of growth in 2016 for Azerbaijan, this rate of growth seems to matter even more in terms of the countrys sustainable development. Against this background, we have decided to have a look at some of the opportunities we believe available for local and foreign investors. We also provide brief information about recent reforms in Azerbaijan. Equity Financing One area that has drawn our attention for quite some time is the area of equity investments as the form of financing. When we talked about equity investments to local companies few years ago, it seemed we were on a completely different page. The idea of sharing ownership in the entities they have worked to build seemed almost frighteningTo most local businesses borrowing funds from banks at very high rates to grow operations was a much better alternative. This is changing now. Equity investment and equity financing makes much more sense than ever before. Due to some reduction in government spending existing companies now have to search for new opportunities. This requires more creativity and investment in new technologies. While banks still lend money, given increased competition and change of economic environment, paying large interest on loans do not seem as attractive as they used to be. Equity investments are turning into much attractive financing option. Coupled with infusion of new technology and know-how, equity investments can provide to local companies significant competitive edge. Before making equity investments there are few issues to take into account. Firstly, despite being a traditional form of financing, many local companies may not be well aware of its implications. It is, therefore, necessary to make sure the local party understands how they would have to operate going forward. From legal point of view, the environment for equity investments is quite liberal. In particular, Azerbaijan does not have legislation on joint ventures that would afford greater protection to local entities. Instead, general laws regulate company and joint business formation andmost joint venture related matters can be governed based on agreements between parties. The investment of foreign entities is protected under relevant laws on protection of foreign investment. In particular, the laws and regulations provide for equal treatment for foreign investors. Agriculture Another area of interest for many companies is likely to be agriculture. Despite government support to agriculture, this area in Azerbaijan remains full of potential. Located in a climatic zone, which is favorable for many types of agro businesses, agro business related opportunities in Azerbaijan are very attractive. Most local agro businesses have lacked the modern technology. Bringing this technology and know-how to Azerbaijans agro sector will likely to yield significant returns, as agro products are likely to have the most export potential in Azerbaijan. Oil and Gas Azerbaijan has been known as the country with rich oil and gas resources. There are a number of production sharing agreements relating to Azerbaijans oil and gas reservessigned between multinational energy companies and Azerbaijans State Oil Company.Azerbaijan has developed a legal tradition of approving important and strategic PSAs into laws the Azerbaijani Tax Code and Customs Code do acknowledge the status of PSAs benefits they provide to contractors and sub-contractors who are engaged in certain oil and gas operations. Recent Reforms in Azerbaijan In order to support further economic growth the government has implemented several important reforms. One is the creation of the system of appellate councils. The system requires that local and centralized executive authorities (such as ministries and state committees) create their internal appellate councils.If an entrepreneur faces a challenge from any executive authority and it believes the authority has breached the law, it may appeal the matter to the appellate council of that authority. The internal appellate council must review the complaint and issue its decision. If the entrepreneur is not happy with the decision of the internal appellate council, it may appeal the internal councils decision to the Appellate Council in the Presidents Office. The Appellate Counsel in the Presidential Administration is the highest appellate body in the system. Another major step of the government was to suspend government audit of businesses.Starting from November 1, 2015, government audit of businesses in Azerbaijan is suspended for at least 2 years. Despite having a few exceptions in the field of health, banking and tax, this important measure is aimed at further improving the business environment and creating favorable investment climate in Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 11:30 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Azerbaijan has offered the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the private sector (ICD) to invest in creation of industrial parks and sites in Azerbaijan. The issue was on the highest agenda during the meeting between Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Khaled Al-Aboodi, ICD CEO on May 31. The minister mentioned that Azerbaijan and ICD have huge opportunities for the further development of cooperation. Mustafayev highly appreciated the support that the corporation rendered for the development of private sector in the country. So far, ICD has allocated funds to support 14 projects with the total cost amounting to $130 million. The sides also discussed the operation of Caspian International Investment Company which is considered to be an investment vehicle. The company is expected to realize a range of new projects in the country. Khaled Al-Aboodi in his turn expressed his satisfaction over the fruitful cooperation with Azerbaijan. Speaking about further expanding of ICDs operations in Azerbaijan, he said that the corporation will continue its participation in the implementation of different projects. Currently, Azerbaijan makes huge efforts to develop non-oil sector of the economy to diminish the side effects of low oil prices. In 2011-201, industrial parks were created Sumgait, in the village of Balakhani in Baku and Mingachevir. The country seeks to further boost this sphere and create industrial parks in other cities. In order to provide for the strengthening of this area the government took a decision to exempt residents of industrial parks in Azerbaijan from customs duties. The country also provides favorable conditions for other countries to participate in the industrial parks. Being established in November 1999 the ICD supports the economic development of its member countries through providing finance for private sector projects, promoting competition and entrepreneurship, providing advisory services to the governments and private companies and encouraging cross border investments. The corporation launched its operations in Azerbaijan in 2003. With its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the corporation provides funds for small and medium enterprises in the participant countries. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 17:26 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The fourth meeting of the Azerbaijani-Italian intergovernmental commission is scheduled for June 13 in Rome. Representatives of Azerbaijani and Italian business sector will join the event to explore ways of boosting the bilateral ties. The meeting, that will be open for participation of companies from both countries, could be a good opportunity to discuss cooperation and serve as indicator to the importance of relations between the two countries, in particular in the economic sphere, Italian Ambassador to Baku Giampaolo Cutillo told Trend on June 1. The Azerbaijani delegation is expected to be headed by Energy Minister Natig Aliyev, who will participate at the meeting on economic issues and business forum. The current state of economic relations between the two countries and prospects of enhancing cooperation will be discussed at the session. Signing of a Protocol is planned after the meeting, the ministry announced earlier. Luigi D'Aprea, head of the Italian chamber of Commerce to Baku, for his part, stated that Italy wants to increase the number of joint oil and gas projects with Azerbaijan. We have high expectations, and we are always ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan, he told Trend. Overall, Italy is one of the main trade partners of Azerbaijan. The country took the leadership in the list of trading partners of Azerbaijan with $462.44 million turnover in the first quarter of 2016, which accounts for 13% of the total bargaining of the country, according to the information provided by Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. During the first quarter, Azerbaijan exported goods worth $368 million to Italy that makes up to 21% of the general export of Azerbaijan. Half of Azerbaijani oil output of 2005 was exported to Italy. In turn, Azerbaijan imports oil pipes, tobacco, leather products and furniture from Italy. -- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 17:56 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Azerbaijans state energy giant SOCAR and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the oil-gas and petrochemical spheres. The document was signed by SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and CNPC Vice president Wang Shihong on June 1. The signing of document was held within the visit of the member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, Senior Vice Premier of the State Council of China Zhang Gaoli. Also an agreement between the Azerbaijani and Chinese governments on technical and economic cooperation was signed. The document was signed by Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov and China's Vice Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan. The signing of documents was held with the participation of Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and Senior Vice Premier of the State Council of China Zhang Gaoli. SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, as well as oil and chemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to the industry and the public in Azerbaijan. CNPC began to provide oilfield services in Azerbaijan since 2003. Being China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier CNPC operates and develops oilfields in Azerbaijan as well as provides oilfield services in the country. With its headquarters in Beijing, CNPC is one of the world's major oilfield service providers with its presence in almost 70 countries. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 17:50 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijans State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre will stage the opera "La Boheme" by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini on June 11, Trend Life reported. The theater management has invited leading soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine, Honored Artist of Ukraine, laureate of international competitions Olga Nagornaya (Mimi) and leading soloist of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of the Republic of Belarus, Honored Artist of Belarus, and winner of the international vocal competitions Vladimir Gromov (Marseille). Azerbaijan will be represented by the leading and talented soloists of the Opera and Ballet Theater, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Ali Asgarov (Alcindoro), honored artists Farid Aliyev (Rodolfo), Inara Babayeva (Musetta) and many others. The performance will be conducted by people's artist of Azerbaijan, Professor Javanshir Jafarov. The libretto "La Boheme" is based on Henri Murger`s novel, a collection of vignettes portraying young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. The world premiere performance of La Boheme was held in Turin on 1 February 1896. Since then, the play has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide. The storyline is about Marcello and poet Rodolfo, who are trying to keep warm by burning pages from Rodolfo's latest drama. Young philosopher Colline arrives, shivering and penniless, after failing to pawn some books. But it's not all bad - Schaunard, a musician, has just got a job, and turns up armed with wine, food and cigars. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 12:27 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is highly interested in participating in large-scale projects of Azerbaijans state energy giant SOCAR , said Wang Shihong, Board Member & Asst.President during a meeting with Rovnag Abdullayev, SOCAR President. Wang mentioned that China keeps a close watch on the sustainable development of Azerbaijans economy. A number of funds and export-import banks are showing interest in Azerbaijan and particularly in the sphere of energy, he added Emphasizing the successful development of Azerbaijani-Chinese bilateral relations and useful cooperation in many spheres, Abdullayev said that participation of Chinese companies in Azerbaijani economy, including energy sector contributed to the development of relations between the countries, Azertac reports. The sides underlined the importance of further strengthening and developing cooperation and implementation of joint projects. Abdullayev also informed the guests about the regional and global projects implemented by SOCAR, including Oil and Gas Processing and Petrochemicals Complex, which is expected to replace the existing processing facilities in Baku and Sumgait covering an area of approximately 4,500 hectares. Being China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier CNPC operates and develops oilfields in Azerbaijan as well as provides oilfield services in the country. The China Petroleum Technology and Development Corporation (CPTDC) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of CNPC opened its office in Baku in 2015. CPTDC which is engaged in the export of the petroleum equipment and materials provides stuff for CNPCs overseas projects. CNPC began to provide oilfield services in Azerbaijan since 2003. The corporation signed a production sharing agreement on the K&K (Kursangi-Karabagli) oilfield which is located in the Kura River basin covers an area of 470 square kilometers. In January 2003, the corporation bought a 62.83 percent holding in CGL (Commonwealth Gobustan Limited) and thereby acquired 50.26% equity of the Gobustan Oilfield which covers a total area of 600 square kilometers. Since 2005, exploration drilling was launched in the deep zones of the field. With its headquarters in Beijing, CNPC is one of the world's major oilfield service providers with its presence in almost 70 countries. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 11:43 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva Normalization is being observed in relations between Turkey and Israel, whose ties were tense during the past six years. The process of restoration of Turkish-Israeli relations is going in a positive way, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference, TRT Haber news channel reported on May 31. Relations between Israel and Turkey severed after the Freedom Flotilla incident in 2010 when a convoy of six ships, including one flying under the Turkish flag tried to approach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid and activists on board. The flotilla was blocked and stormed by Israeli forces, resulting in a fight with Muslim activists aboard the ships, in which eight Turkish citizens were killed. The incident led to deterioration of the diplomatic relations between two countries. Ankara laid out conditions for the normalization of the relations, stating that Israel should apologize for the Freedom Flotilla incident, pay compensation to the families of those killed and end the blockade of the Gaza Strip. "We wanted apologies for normalization of the relations, and we got them," said Erdogan, adding that payment of the compensation is also coming to an end. The third condition was the lifting of the blockade [of Gaza]. There are serious problems with electricity and water supply in Palestine. We have made several proposals to solve them. Things are developing in a positive way, it seems. If we are able to solve these problems, Turkey will build schools, hospitals [in Gaza], Erdogan said at press conference. Previously, spokesperson for Turkey's presidential administration Ibrahim Kalin stated that the talks on normalizing the relations between Turkey and Israel continue. He further noted that the parties have achieved serious results during the talks. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 30 that Israel is close to normalization of relations with Turkey, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported. Netanyahu noted that the normalization of relations is in the interests of both Turkey and Israel. Following the deterioration of relations between Russia and Turkey, some Turkish media outlets reported that Ankara and Tel-Aviv will resume the previous relations. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed earlier that Turkey and Israel had private talks. In April, negotiating teams from Turkish and Israeli met in London. Following the meeting, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that a reconciliation deal is expected to be finalized during the next round of consultations that will be held in the near future. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 17:37 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Ships of the Russian Naval Forces have launched military exercises in the northern part of Caspian sea. The crew of the Russian artillery ship Volgodonsk and support vessels of the Caspian flotilla left the port of Makhachkala in the Caspian sea to fulfill the tasks of ensuring Russian Federations marine security and conduct combat shooting, the southern military district of Russia reported. During the voyage, the crews of the squadron are to perform tasks on ensuring the safety of marine economic activities of the Russian Federation in the Caspian sea, work out the elements of search and rescue support, conduct combat exercises with artillery fire on sea, air and shore targets, and perform the objectives for joint maneuvering of ships group," the agency stated. Moreover, the ships will train for Cup of the Sea contest which will be held in August in the framework of the international army games. The ships will pass around 1,500 miles on the Caspian sea. Last summer, naval forces of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran participated in the Caspian Cup - 2015 international contest. Azerbaijan was represented by one rescue tug and two frigates. In the first stage of the competition, the naval forces of the participating countries tested their skills in artillery. Ships of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russian Federation showed high skills in the course of aerial gunnery. Azerbaijani sailors demonstrated their skills in the destruction of floating mines and obstacles in heavy hydro-meteorological conditions. After the first stage of the competition, patrol ship of Azerbaijani naval forces ranked the third place. During the second round crews worked through the transmission and reception of signals using colorized flags in accordance with the international code of signals. In this discipline, Azerbaijan was the first. In transition of ships to the areas of anchorages and anchoring them, Azerbaijan became the second. Overall, Azerbaijani Navy Forces keep systematically implementing their exercises and their volumes are growing constantly. Russian and Azerbaijani Navies have held their joint naval exercises repeatedly and plan to continue that experience in the future. Naval Forces of both countries are considered the strongest and most equipped in the Caspian sea region. Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 16:39 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Turkmenistan is currently engaged in the diversification and modernization of the construction sector of the national economy. The development of the building materials industry in Turkmenistan is stipulated by the growth of investment activity in the country. Alongside with the traditional types of building materials such as cement, non-metallic materials, clay and gas concrete, new innovative items of production appear in the building materials industry. New industrial complex, built in Ak Bugday area of Ahal region will engage in the production of such insulator materials as isogam and folgoisol. The company has brand-new equipment and its production is based on the use of local raw materials. The commissioning of the new industrial complex is expected to give a stimulus for the provision of the internal market with the waterproofing materials of domestic production. The country also has a huge potential for the increase in the volume of waterproofing materials output. The production of sandwich panels, which are widely claimed in the construction of objects of industrial and other significance have been recently started in the country. The manufacture of this kind of product is considered to be an absolutely new kind of production in the countrys building materials industry. To date, the country was importing this kind of building material from other countries particularly from Iran, Turkey and China. The perspective of building materials industry development is also closely connected with the growth of capacity in the production of countrys major items of production as well as appearance of new ones. Works on the production of super-thin basalt fiber and other composite building materials by means of processing local raw materials are also underway. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 June 2016 17:21 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva The Turkmen Oil State Concern carries out drilling works in 5 wildcat wells, as well as 10 operating wells in the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea at an accelerated pace. The state concern reported on June 1 that the drilling works correspond to the national development programs of the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan for the period till 2030. Under this program, the industry is assigned with a task to accelerate the development of new oil fields, increase the productivity of the exploited fields and output of oil reservoirs, to complexly mechanize and automate the production of hydrocarbons. Currently, drilling operations are simultaneously conducted in 3 exploratory and 11 producing wells in Altiguyu field in Balkan province of Turkmenistan. Turkmen Oil is equipped with cutting-edge equipments for drilling operations in ultra-deep wells, according to the information disseminated by the state concern. Turkmenistans reserves in the shelf of the Caspian Sea are estimated at 12 billion tons of oil and 6.5 trillion cubic meters of gas, excluding the already contracted blocks. Companies such as Petronas, Dragon Oil, Buried Hill, RWE Dea AG, Areti (Itera) and Eni have been involved in the exploration work in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. The total volume of investments made by the contractors operating in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea on the basis of the Production Sharing Agreements (PSA), was estimated at over $3.5 billion in 2015, compared to over $3 billion in 2014. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan aims to increase the production of finished goods, to improve oil refining within upgrade of the Turkmenbashy Complex of Oil Refineries (TCOR). Currently, the complex is increasing the volumes of oil refining and building up production of new types of oil products, according to the Ministry of Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan. More than 10 million tons of hydrocarbons are refined per year at the TCOR. Turkmenbashy Complex includes two refineries - one in the city of Turkmenbashy and the other one in the city of Seydi. The refined oil is exported to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Switzerland. Turkmenistan plans to increase the capacity of its oil refining industry to 20 million tons of oil by 2020, to 22 million tons by 2025, and to 30 million tons by 2030. At the present, the country produces nearly 10 million tons of oil per year and the major part of this volume is refined locally. Turkmenistan produced 0.3 percent of the total global oil output in 2014, according to the BPs statistical review of energy world 2015. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Swiss-Irish bakery group Aryzta Food Solutions, the company behind brands including Delice de France, has reported a 0.9% rise in underlying revenue. The 0.9% rise came as part of Aryztas Q3 trading update for the period to 30 April. The companys total revenue declined by 2.4% to 724.8m (949.8m). In the quarter, disposals, net of acquisitions, reduced revenue by 1% and currency movements reduced revenue by 2.3%. European operations fared well, as revenue grew by 3.6% to 320.79m (420.3m), and underlying revenue grew 3.9%. But North American revenue declined by 7% to 360.73m (473.5m). Excluding revenue with customers impacted by contract renewals, underlying growth rose by 4.7%. Owen Killian, Aryztas chief executive, said: Q3 revenue development confirms an improving trend in all regions. All outstanding long-term contract renewals are now signed, adding greater visibility to our revenue and validating Aryztas investment in the long-term customer partnership model. Looking ahead, Killian added: H2 margin weakness remains in-line with expectations and guidance; we have identified further potential for improved group-wide efficiencies and cost reduction initiatives. Aryzta Food Solutions launched a limited-edition strawberry and cream muffin last month, which will available from June as part of the Cuisine de France range. London-based baking mix producer Cookie Crumbles has announced it will sell products across the Middle East. The international supermarket chain Lulu Hypermarket will stock a range of the companys products in countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The firm has marked this move as an international footprint. Carola Weymouth, owner of Cookie Crumbles, said: This is a really exciting year for us, with investment in new POS stands, innovation and marketing. Lulu Hypermarket, which recently opened its 125th store in Jeddah, is the leading retail division group in the Gulf region, and offers customers a range of products and services. The range of products comprises: Awesome Wholesome Brownie Mix, Gorgeous Granola Energy Bar Mix, Fabulous Gingerbread Biscuit Mix, Marvellous Blueberry & Vanilla Muffin Mix, Glorious White Chocolate & Cranberry Muffin Mix, Sunny Oat & Raisin Cookie and Gluten Free Brownie Mix. Last year international retailer Casino Group introduced three Cookie Crumbles lines. Food industry charity GroceryAid has appointed a new director general. Steve Barnes, who is commercial and membership director at the Food & Drink Federation (FDF), will be staring his hugely exciting role in September. Barnes will replace Gillian Barker, who has held the position at GroceryAid for 14 years. Barnes told British Baker: This is my dream job; the charity raises money for a cause that is very close to my heart. He explained he was keen on keeping up momentum, to help more people and build on the companys work over the years. He added: This is a growing industry and the important thing is to have GroceryAid on the tip of everyones tongues. Barker, who announced her retirement in February, said: I am delighted that Steve has been appointed as my successor. I am more than confident that GroceryAid will continue to support our industry colleagues under his stewardship. Barnes will be working alongside Barker until her retirement in November he said she does a terrific job. A successor for Barnes at the FDF will be announced shortly. Elsewhere, GroceryAid is running the Grocery Cook of the Year Competition 2016. The finals will be held in October, in Lyon, France. Last month a rowing charity event in the Lake District, sponsored by Mars UK, raised more than 67k for GroceryAid. Blood tests from a spring vehicular manslaughter case have confirmed that alcohol was involved in the March death of a pedestrian. Morgan Donald Hill struck in downtown St. Pete in March Hill, 48, died a week later from his injuries Police charged Souvanna Thongdara with DUI vehicular manslaughter According to St. Petersburg Police, Souvanna Thongdara, 39, was driving in downtown St. Petersburg on March 18 when he struck Morgan Donald Hill, 48, who was crossing the street at Central Avenue and 3rd Street. Thongdara reportedly fled the scene but only made it a few blocks before police caught up with him. Hill, who police say was homeless, died from his injuries March 25 while being treated at Bayfront Health. Traffic homicide investigators said they recently received results of a toxicology report on Thongdara's blood drawn the night of the crash. Thongdara's blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was 0.217, investigators said. The legal limit is 0.07. Police said Thongdara turned himself into the Pinellas County Jail on May 30 at about 5:30 p.m. He faces DUI manslaughter charges. The Sunset Music Festival drew thousands of ravers to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa over the holiday weekend, but two people who attended the candy-colored event ended up dying, according to the Hillsborough Medical Examiner's Office. "We don't want this to happen to other kids," said Julie Vega, whose niece was one of the two. "Our family is just devastated." Vega said her niece, Katie Bermudez, 21, from Kissimmee, was transported from the event to the hospital on Saturday and died on Monday. They believe she died from a drug popular among ravers. "Basically the swelling was so bad that you couldn't even see the lines or the curves that go on your brain," she said. "We were told because of the symptoms she was having, the swelling of the brain, that it is ecstasy or molly." The other victim was a 22-year-old man from Melbourne who was transported to the hospital on Saturday and died on Sunday, according to the medical examiner. Dr. Mary Mainland said toxicology results are pending. Tampa Fire Rescue said they transported 57 people from the Sunset Music Festival to the hospital during the two-day event. Vega said Bermudez was not into drugs or alcohol but likely got caught up in the favorite drug for ravers. "What they're having out there is not safe and kids think, 'oh, this is not going to happen to me,'" she said. "Kids don't know the symptoms that are actually the bad symptoms when this is going wrong. And her friends probably didn't know and we don't blame anyone." The promoter for the event sent the following statement: "The health, safety and welfare of our fans and community is Sunset Music Festivals first priority and we take every measure to create a safe environment at our events. Any loss of life is a tragedy and we extend our deepest heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of those affected. Due to the ongoing investigation by the medical examiners office, Sunset will not issue additional comments at this time." Tampa police said they made 25 felony arrests at the festival and eight misdemeanor arrests. Symptoms of Ecstasy and MDMA Overdose From ProjectKnow.com. Ecstasy and MDMA overdose symptoms could begin within 20 minutes of ingestion and can last several hours. Signs of an overdose on ecstasy and MDMA include: PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Food News The Navajo Know Dave Nezzie wrote an interesting opinion piece for Food Safety News which points out that Navajo food taboos are stricter than current US food laws and posits that they might be better at keeping you away from pathogens. Avoiding lizard meat sounds easy, but I'll probably have trouble with the restrictions on beef and chicken. Jambomobile Jambo Cafe, the hip favorite of Santa Fe's African/ Caribbean- lovers, has taken to the streets in its very own food truck, dubbed Jambo Hapa (Swahili for here). The truck made its debut in the parking lot of Whole Foods on W. Cordova last Sunday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A North Texas man is accused of killing his girlfriend and posting photos of the alleged killing on Facebook. RELATED: Texas teen who killed girlfriend's parents, celebrated with sex to be released after 5 years in jail Kenneth Alan Amyx, 45, was booked into Collin County Jail in Plano Sunday on a charge of first-degree murder, according to county records. Plano police were dispatched to an apartment in the 2300 of Kathryn Lane Sunday where they found Jennifer Spears, 43, stabbed to death, according to NBCDFW.com. Amyx took a photo of himself and Spears and posted the images to her Facebook page with a caption that read,"Please pray for us," according to nydailynews.com. RELATED: Fight with girlfriend leads to man's death in south Houston The photos have since been removed from Spears' page. Amyx also faces charges of indecency with a child in Dallas County and continuous sex abuse of a child under 14 years old in Rockwall County, according to county records. He is currently being held in the Collin County Jail with a bond set at $600,000 total for all three charges. RELATED: Police: Central Texas deputy choked girlfriend after she got dog poop on him, pointed gun at her kbradshaw@express-news.net Twitter: @kbrad5 Sen. Ted Cruz enjoyed immense popularity in Texas and carried the state in the Republican primary, there have been some faithful supporters of billionaire Donald Trump, now the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, who filled Ford Park in Beaumont last November. Silsbee resident Dale Trove was one of those, and he continues to support Trump's bid for the White House with a large sign posted proudly on his property on Farm-to-Market Road 418. Trove is a somewhat recent convert to the GOP, and thinks the country needs to head in a new direction. And one issue moved Trove toward the Republicans and Trump. "Basically it was illegal immigration," Trove said. "I was a Democrat but the Democrats I don't think are taking care of the working man," Trove said. "They used to be ... primarily for the unions and that sort of stuff, but now I don't know what the Democrats stand for," Trove said. "I voted for Romney too. (President) Obama I think is another one that's letting the country down, Trove said. "I think that Romney and Ryan both are pretty dang sorry," Trove said of billionaire businessman and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romeny and current House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin. The pair were the GOP 2012 nominees for president and vice president respectively. "I don't know if Romney's got sour grapes because he didn't go again and Ryan, I don't know what his problem is but I don't think he is taking care of the GOP like he should," Trove said. "I'm not impressed with him." Trove has rented homes and raised cattle locally for more than a decade. Prior to that he served as a prison guard. He came to Texas from South Dakota, where he worked in a dispatch center. His experience in corrections helped shape the foundation of his support for Trump, a reality TV star and real estate developer who has profited off both legal immigration programs that unions and even conservative Republicans contend cost Americans jobs, and illegal workers who've helped build some of his real estate projects. "Illegal immigration was the big deal," Trove said. "I think we're spending too much money taking care of them," Trove. "When I was a prison guard, I think every time I was assaulted it was by an illegal. "They don't respect the laws," Trove said of those in the country with the legal paperwork. "They drive around without insurance or licenses." But immigration isn't the only issue that aligns him with Trump's philosophy. Like many people these days, Trove questions the priorities to which national resources are directed. "I don't think we have to spend all our money defending other countries," Trove said. "I think we need to build up the military and support our vets. That vet situation is a disgrace," Trove said. "And NATO, it seems like every time we turn around and we need some help, they are against us or not supporting us. I think it's a disgrace our supposed friends aren't trying to help us out. I'm not impressed with NATO." Trump gets a lot of attention from some of the things he says, much of which draws the ire of many Americans. Trove acknowledges some missteps in the campaign process, but thinks people need to pay attention to the big picture. "I think he isn't afraid to stand up and he's the only candidate who goes on any show he can to express his views," Trove said. "And he might stub a toe every once and a while, but at least he's saying something. "It might not be what the establishment wants, but I think we need someone who isn't afraid to stick his neck out once in a while and make a comment," Trove said. "You didn't see Jeb Bush or any of these other candidates, same thing with Hillary (Clinton), she's pretty much pre-scripted before she makes a comment," Trove said of the former Florida governor and the former U.S. secretary of state and one-time New York senator respectively. "Trump is out there talking, and I may not agree with 50 percent of what he says, but at least he's out there giving his opinion and you know where he stands," Trove said. In this election, there seems to be a swell of support for an "outside candidate" on both sides, as Bernie Sanders has been giving Clinton a tough competition for the Democratic nomination as well. Trove counts himself as one voter who is looking outside "the establishment" for a new direction going forward, and believes GOP voters will get past their primary loyalties in the general election. "I've seen more Trump signs around than I have Cruz," Trove said. "But I think Trump is going to carry Texas versus Hillary, or Sanders," Trove said of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. "I think everybody's pretty much fed up with the Democrats," Trove said. "I can see cleaning out the House and the Senate and putting people in there that support the taxpayers and the voters," Trove said. "I think that's the problem with Cruz, everybody in the Senate, no one was backing him," Trove said. "We need someone who can make deals and get things done. Like I said, I don't agree with all of what Trump does, but I think he can stir things up," Trove said. David Wilfong is a freelance writer. The Dairy Queen restaurant on Washington Boulevard was robbed at gunppoint Tuesday night, less than an hour after a gunman snatched a woman's purse at the Parkdale Mall parking lot. Beaumont Police Department officials say two men threatened Dairy Queen employees with a black semi-automatic handgun and stole money from the cash registers. Students and staff at Ozen High School returned to class on Tuesday to find that the campus had been vandalized over the holiday weekend. Beaumont ISD's Nakisha Burns said the vandalism, which could lead to criminal charges, happened sometime between the end of school on Friday and Memorial Day. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Houston Police Department on Tuesday said they're still not completely sure why 25-year-old Dionisio Garza III chose a car wash in west Houston as the location to go on a shooting spree Sunday. On Tuesday, police told media gathered at Houston police headquarters, located at 1200 Travis, that Garza fired off 212 rounds before a SWAT team sniper took him down at a car wash at 13210 Memorial Drive. Police said Garza had areas to hide behind at the shooting location, which is their lead reason so far as to why he may have chosen that area. "He had access to three corners and his back to a fence," said Lt. John McGalin. "That's the only thing we can surmise. Why he chose that location, there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason." THE SUSPECT: Police ID gunman as military vet Garza's family told police that he wasn't "feeling right" and may have suffered from depression. Garza, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, was exploring the possibility of moving from California to Houston, looking for work and spending time with friends. Police said Garza left California on Wednesday and arrived in Houston on Saturday. By 4 p.m. Saturday, he could not be reached by phone by family or friends. Officers suspect Garza spent Saturday night at Memorial Tire and Auto, near the car wash. Police said they found random writings on paper taped to the walls of the tire shop that seem to indicate Garza was going through a "mental health crisis." Officers would not disclose what was included in the writings. However, it was previously reported that Garza was railing against homosexuals, Jews and Walmart. Police believe Garza acted alone and he is not part of any terrorist organization. John Wilson, who lives near the scene of the shooting, was initially believed to be a second suspect. Police determined after interviewing him that Wilson did not know Garza. Wilson was trying to help police and was shot in the leg by Garza. On Sunday, Garza approached the car wash and shot Eugene Linscomb in the neck with a pistol, police said. Linscomb died at the scene. Garza then returned to the tire store to get an AR-15, officers said. He opened fire, striking six people, in addition to Linscomb. "He was shooting at passing cars and shot at arriving police officers," McGalin said. "He struck two officers." Garza's shooting struck a line at a gas station next to the tire shop, setting the gas station on fire. HPD received calls about Garza at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. Officers were dispatched to the scene at 10:17. By 11:10 a.m., Garza was shot by a SWAT sniper. The sniper fired off four shots from the roof of a residence that had a direct line of sight to Garza, police said. THE WEAPONS: Suspect was armed with an AR-15 and a pistol Police found a military backpack in the area of the shooting spree. Inside were several documents, including Garza's birth certificate, and ammunition. HPD Interim Chief Martha Montalvo said due to miscommunication between units, the bag was left at the scene. When the bomb squad arrived, they did a controlled detonation of the bag, since some of the contents inside it caused concern. Montalvo said the backpack should have been collected as evidence and police are investigating why it was left behind. She said police have interviewed the shooting victims. "I want to stress this investigation is still evolving. We have plenty of witnesses we still need to interview," Montalvo said. "We still have plenty of evidence to review." Police are investigating if Garza's guns were obtained illegally. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For the second time in three months, residents in parts of Tyler County are rushing to keep their homes and belongings from being washed out by thunderstorms predicted to cause rising lake levels about 90 miles north of Beaumont. Tyler County's emergency management officials anticipate more than 50 residents, from upstream Rockland down a 36-mile stretch of the Neches River to Barlow Lake Estates near Woodville, are at risk of having their homes flooded. Mandatory evacuations have been in effect around those areas since Saturday, after the county received at least 10 inches of rainfall. The Neches River crested Tuesday morning at Rockland at just under 30 feet, with about 22,900 cubic feet of water per second headed to Lake Steinhagen. Residents are frustrated, partly because they can't seem to escape the rain. Lonnie Etie, who has lived at Barlow Lake with his wife, Connie, for four years, said he was awake in the early morning hours Saturday to witness the water creep from the muddy, unpaved road separating two small homes on his property up to his Cavalier travel trailer. The couple was warned of the flood but not far enough in advance to prepare, both said. The Eties received an alert at 9 p.m. Friday that the gates would be open to 22,000 cubic feet per second, which still would have left passable roads near Barlow Lake. Lonnie Etie said he woke up Saturday at 2:30 a.m. and everything seemed fine, until he rose again a few hours later. "The water was already here to the camper," he said Tuesday, pointing toward the travel trailer in his front yard. "Once the water starts coming, you can't get out of here." Flood control The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District operates Steinhagen Lake, which locals commonly refer to as "Dam B." A major difference between Dam B and the Toledo Bend Reservoir, which unloaded billions of gallons of water and nearly wiped out Deweyville north of Orange in March, is the flood control capabilities. Any water that goes through Toledo Bend must come out downstream. With Steinhagen, the impact is lessened by 5 feet of storage space at Lake Sam Rayburn, according to Tyler County Emergency Management Coordinator Dale Freeman. Rising levels can be spread over a large area of the lake to absorb flooding. It takes about two days for the water to go from Rockland to Steinhagen. "But it's going to come up," Freeman said. Tyler County residents are all-too-familiar with inundation, despite the flood control measures. Over the weekend, the Eties lost 20 chickens to flooding. In the March flood, Lonnie Etie was unable to get his vehicles to higher ground, and it cost him his 2004 Honda Odyssey, which sits inoperative in his front yard. The water in his mobile home rose knee-deep, prompting the couple to start building 14-foot stilts as the base of a new structure. "If we could control it, no one's house would get flooded," Freeman said. "We deal with what nature gives us in the best way we possibly can." Moving for the weather John Dennis moved to his home on Sample Drive about six years ago because his father could no longer stand the cold weather in his native Alaska. Dennis spent Tuesday afternoon fitting rims for a new tires to elevate his 2001 GMC Sonoma pickup. He was unaware of the flood possibilities over the weekend until he was already trapped in Barlow Lake Estates. Like his neighbors, Dennis has a paddle boat used to get from his home to the vehicle parked on higher ground. Water was just inches away from creeping into his home, but it's costly to gas up and run generators for electricity for an unknown amount of time. "It is frustrating," Dennis said. "We'd just like to see less flooding, if possible." BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott In a recent ruling, the Internal Revenue Service denied an accountable care organization a tax exemption, leading many to question if the ruling will pose barriers to other ACOs, according to The New York Times. Here are four highlights: 1. The IRS argued the ACO failed to meet tax-exempt status as the ACO did not operate exclusively for charitable purposes. The IRS also claimed the ACO gave some physicians in its network private benefits. 2. The ruling will specifically affect those ACOs providing care to privately insured patients, rather than ACOs participating in Medicare. 3. American Hospital Association Senior Vice President and General Counsel Melinda R. Hatton said the ruling poses a "serious obstacle for nonprofit hospitals striving to coordinate care for their communities." 4. While the IRS says the specific ACO was putting forth efforts to enhance quality of care and reduce costs, the IRS made its decision because the organization allegedly negotiated agreements with payers on behalf of its physicians. More articles on coding & billing: Alaska House passes $55 million bill to stop collapse of health insurance market: 7 points Will the bronze plan disappear soon? 4 takeaways Ex-IRS official says agency had doubts over ACA payments' legality 5 things to know New Jersey owes its counties $37 million because they overpaid the state in Medicaid expenses under President Barack Obama's stimulus package following the Great Recession, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D) said Tuesday, according to an NJ.com report. The stimulus package, which the Congressional Budget Office says created or saved millions of jobs, gave extra funding to Medicaid as the recession forced many Americans to turn to the federal program for healthcare coverage. New Jersey counties contributed an additional $2.7 billion, but that was too high, according to the report. A July 2014 report by the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general said that 17 of the state's 21 counties may have overpaid the state to fund Medicaid, according to the report. Rep. Pascrell said Tuesday that CMS informed the state it must pay the counties back. "I applaud CMS for its decision to reimburse New Jersey counties for Medicaid overpayments they made during the recession," Rep. Pascrell said, according to the report. "I urge the state to act expeditiously to complete this process and redistribute these funds." However, Gov. Chris Christie's (R) administration plans to appeal the decision. In 2014, CMS Deputy Director Kristin Fan told the state it was "in compliance" with the funding guidelines created under the stimulus package. "The department continues to dispute the audit findings and now will move forward with a formal appeal to the federal Departmental Appeals Board," said Nicole Brossoie, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, according to the report. Pioneer Health Services, which owns hospitals in five states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. Now, the Magee, Miss.-based hospital network may close a facility in Tennessee. According to a 30-day notice filed with the state, Pioneer is considering closing Oneida, Tenn.-based Pioneer Community Hospital of Scott. However, hospital CEO Tony Taylor told the Independent Herald that the notice does not mean the hospital will close. "This is just a way of them fulfilling their obligation of notice," he said. Mr. Taylor added that the hospital will not close as long as it operates in the black. With the notice on file, Pioneer could close the Oneida hospital after June 26, according to the report. More articles on healthcare finance: Texas hospital closes, lays off 175 before new owner's takeover 11 recent hospital outlook and credit rating actions Erlanger prepares for tighter budget in midst of Epic implementation Forbes has dethroned the richest self-made woman in America and removed her name from all its wealth lists, the business magazine announced Wednesday morning. In light of her company's recent difficulties, Forbes revised the estimated net worth of Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Palo Alto, Calif.-based blood test startup Theranos, to $0 from $4.5 billion, removing her from the No. 1 spot on its list of "America's Richest Self-Made Women." It also revised Theranos' net worth to a fraction of its original valuation, downgrading it 91 percent. The Forbes estimate of Ms. Holmes wealth is based on her 50 percent stake in Theranos, which she holds as common stock. Her investors hold "participating preferred shares," which means they have precedence to Ms. Holmes' stock if the company is liquidated, according to the report. Based on the storm of negative news, investigations and lawsuits the company now faces, as well as insider information that Theranos revenues are less than $100 million, Forbes reduced its estimate of the company's net worth to $800 million from $9 billion. The business publication arrived at this number based on the $724 million Theranos has raised in venture capital, its intellectual property and a multiple of its sales. "At such a low valuation, Holmes' stake is essentially worth nothing," wrote Forbes staff writer Matthew Harper. Forbes wrote that the company's secretive business strategy, inability to deliver on its promises and potential lack of a target market support its decision to lower its value estimate of Theranos. More articles on leadership and management: Will the ACA help or hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign? 8 hospital, health system layoffs in May 5 must-reads for healthcare leaders this week Two reports on CEO pay have recently surfaced. One, from The Associated Press, claims compensation among 341 S&P 500 CEOs grew 4.5 percent last year. The other, from The New York Times, found compensation among 200 top CEOs decreased 15 percent between 2014 and 2016. Why the disparity? According to The Washington Post, it's because AP and the Times looked at different CEOs. The AP report examined "pay data for 341 executives, including some co-CEOs, at S&P 500 companies who have served two full consecutive fiscal years at their respective companies, who filed proxy statements between January 1 and April 30 [2015]." The Times report, which utilized data from the Equilar 200 Highest-Paid CEO Rankings, studied "the compensation of the chief executives of 200 public companies with annual revenue of at least $1 billion, that filed proxies by April 30[, 2016]." By that interpretation, CEO compensation seems to be doing a bit of increasing and decreasing, depending on the executive and the company. On top of that, the CEOs on both lists likely won't take home the list amount in one year oftentimes the compensation includes an amount that won't be available until after a certain period of time. After spending 20 years as a journalist with NBC, including six as moderator of Meet the Press, CNN political analyst David Gregory is well-versed in the complexities of the political environment challenges that often are not far removed from those in the healthcare industry. Mr. Gregory spoke at a special session sponsored by Prism Healthcare at Becker's Hospital Review's 7th Annual Meeting in Chicago on April 28, discussing the current political climate and his experience as a political journalist. He drew from eight years of experience as NBC's Chief White House Correspondent during President George W. Bush's administration, traveling with the president on Air Force One and often taking flack from politicians and citizens alike for his coverage. "Politics is a tough business, and covering politicians is a tough business," Mr. Gregory said. Though difficult, political discussion, particularly during election season, can produce a highly insightful picture of the progress we have made as a country and where we still need to improve. "The thing I love about campaigns and I love about elections is they really are a snapshot of where we are as a country. What we feel, what we care about, what our aspirations are for the future," Mr. Gregory said. "There's no question we're living in a moment of anxiety, frustration with big institutions and with big government and with the overreach of government." Here are three observations on politics today gleaned from Mr. Gregory's field notes. "There tends to be a greater emphasis on idealism versus pragmatism." The emergence of so-called outsiders and nontraditional candidates into the presidential election, namely Donald Trump and Bernie Senders, can partially be attributed to the frustration with politics many Americans are feeling, Mr. Gregory said, saying there's an overwhelming sense that Washington can't measure up to the challenges the country faces. But pragmatism, such as the kind Hillary Clinton vocalizes, holds the potential for action, Mr. Gregory said. "Hillary Clinton talks about how [she's] a pragmatist who gets things done. In the end, she's...going to get the nomination," Mr. Gregory said. "Democrats, many of them, have had a big love affair with a 74-year-old Democratic socialist, but in the end they're going to go to an ultimate party insider in Hillary Clinton." Mr. Trump presents a different story for Republicans, as he doesn't really reflect the Republican Party or conservatives at all, according to Mr. Gregory, who said he is something more of a demagogue. "He was never interested in running a typical campaign," Mr. Gregory said. "He's the King Kong of politics. He just wanted to climb TrumpTower, get to the top and scream and yell." However, Mr. Trump also embodies a certain type of pragmatism, even if his campaign is one that does not adhere to political norms, Mr. Gregory said. "I have no doubt that he would cut whatever deal is necessary to solve a problem, and that I think would be attractive to a lot of people, whether its healthcare, whether its the debt, whether its entitlement reform," Mr. Gregory said, adding that Mr. Trump just isn't worrying about the way things in politics work. "You don't say some of the things he said if you think the conventional rules of politics apply to you, because they have not applied to him." The media is playing an integral role to the rise of Mr. Trump. Part of Mr. Trump's success can be attributed to all air time news channels permitted him, according to Mr. Gregory. Any time Mr. Trump would speak, cable networks would broadcast him live. "Why? Because he would say something crazy," Mr. Gregory said. "That level of wide coverage without the scrutiny allowed him to just keep ballooning and ballooning and ballooning." And, Mr. Trump is capitalizing on this relationship he has with the media, approaching it as a manipulative game, according to Mr. Gregory. For example, Mr. Trump has not yet subjected himself to an in-person accountability interview, and so far he has gotten away with doing so. Mr. Gregory suggested Mr. Trump has not done so, instead opting to phone in, because he understands such an interview could have serious ramifications on his campaign. "You have to look at demographics." Many voters, both conservative and liberal, feel left behind by the political process and the candidates that have emerged from it. Mr. Gregory recalled the predictions of Republican political advisor and Trump critic Karl Rove, who forecasted that a sizeable number of voters will not vote for their party's candidate or will not vote at all in the 2016 general election. This identity crisis has hit the Republican Party particularly hard. Ideological conservatives who may not identify with what Mr. Gregory calls "xenophobic, sexist, outrageous showmanship" are alarmed, at least by the media's account in the troves of articles questioning if the GOP as we know it will survive the election. Mr. Gregory alluded to this sentiment and challenged Republicans to look at U.S. demographics. If the party is losing support from women, minorities and young people, it can't win the presidency, he said. "News flash to Republicans: If they want the White House back they can't be a party of white men anymore," Mr. Gregory said. "There are not enough white men to do it." Final thoughts For all his years covering politics, Mr. Gregory still is surprised at how much of this election season has played out. And while the political system is frustrating for many citizens, he encouraged voters to weather the storm. "The temptation in all of this is to be very bleak about our future," Mr. Gregory said. "This is still a great country with a very strong, if troubled and distressed, political system. We do have a lot challenges, but we also have so many great advantages that it's worth remembering our ability to endure and persevere through these kinds of political winds." More articles on leadership: Will the ACA help or hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign? These are the top 7 mistakes CEOs make on Facebook 5 must-reads for healthcare leaders this week Physician anesthesiologists on Wednesday established their opposition to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs proposed policy that replaces physician anesthesiologists with advanced practice registered nurses in surgery, and urged the public to tell the VA to reject this policy. The urging came during a press briefing in Washington, D.C. Daniel J. Cole, MD, president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, argued that the policy change, designed to help expand the pool of providers for the VA Health Care System, "would abandon a proven model of quality healthcare where physician anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists work together as a team to assure veterans get high-quality, veteran-centered care." Jane C.K. Fitch, MD, former president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and a former certified registered nurse anesthetist, echoed Dr. Cole, saying she believes the policy change "lowers the standard of care and endangers the lives of those who have served our country." Given her background, she also discussed the role of nurses. She believes the physician anesthesiologist she worked with as a certified registered nurse anesthetist respected her and relied on her. However, she knew she didn't have the same breadth or depth of her physician, and she needed physician supervision. "When we have a veteran on the operating room table with multiple medical conditions, seconds count. And all those [additional] years of education and training [physician anesthesiologists receive] can make the difference between the life and death of that veteran or brain damage or no brain damage for that veteran," she said. However, the policy is supported by various other healthcare and veterans' organizations, including the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the Military Officers Association of America and the Air Force Sergeants Association. ANA President Juan Quintana, who is a certified registered nurse anesthetist and Air Force veteran, said in a statement, "Veterans are waiting entirely too long to receive the quality healthcare they deserve and have earned in service to our country. The AANA strongly supports the VHA's plan to solve this problem by utilizing readily available healthcare resources such as CRNAs, nurse practitioners and other APRNs to the full extent of their practice authority." The AANA also pointed to a new study published in the June issue of Medical Care, which found scope of practice restrictions and physician supervision requirements for nurse anesthetists have no impact on anesthesia patient safety. The proposed rule, which was published in the Federal Register, is open for comment until July 25. More articles on integration and physician issues: Patients prefer dermatologists in professional attire, survey finds States look to create licensure system for midwives: 5 things to know Providers compromise patient privacy to defend themselves on Yelp An Op-Ed published by The Boston Globe suggests traditional healthcare institutions are blocking out urgent-care and retail clinics because they don't like the competition. Despite that walk-in, urgent care and retail clinics are growing in popularity across the country approximately 3,000 exist nationwide and 100 exist in Massachusetts the city of Boston currently does not have a single walk-in clinic, according to author Jim Stergios, executive director of Boston-based think tank Pioneer Institute. Why is Boston a "black hole" for walk-in clinics? "Simply put, many traditional institutions and players don't want competition even if it is good for patients," Mr. Stergios wrote. Research shows the clinics provide similar levels of quality compared to physician's offices or emergency rooms, and they can actually benefit hospitals that are dealing with increased traffic in their ERs, he wrote. Boston in particular could benefit form them it's residents wait an average of 66 days to get an appointment with a family physician and 45.4 days on average to get any physician appointment, according to Mr. Stergios. Yet Boston hospitals and healthcare providers have been stiff arming urgent care centers because they could increase fragmentation, are not held to the same standards as larger providers and because many are not staffed by physicians, he wrote. However, the point of these clinics is not to compete with ERs, physicians or hospitals. Rather, they are meant to provide care for minor illnesses or injuries. Fortunately, the city has potentially approved an application to open one for-profit clinic in West Roxbury, Mr. Stergios wrote. "They are long overdue in Boston," he said. Read the full article here. More articles on integration and physician issues: Patients prefer dermatologists in professional attire, survey finds States look to create licensure system for midwives: 5 things to know Providers compromise patient privacy to defend themselves on Yelp The following hospital mergers, acquisitions and general transactions took place or were announced in May. 1. HCA to buy bankrupt Dallas hospital for $135M Irving-based HCA North Texas, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America, will buy 84-bed Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas for $135 million. 2. California's NorthBay Healthcare joins Mayo network Fairfield, Calif.-based NorthBay Healthcare joined the rapidly expanding Mayo Clinic Care Network, making it the first healthcare organization in Northern California to do so. 3. Kaleida continues aggressive growth strategy Buffalo, N.Y.-based Kaleida Health signed a letter of intent to affiliate with Olean, N.Y.-based Upper Allegheny Health System. 4. Randolph Hospital enters into management services agreement with Cone Health Asheboro, N.C.-based Randolph Hospital entered into a management services agreement with Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health, effective June 1. Under the management agreement, Randolph Hospital will remain independently owned and governed by its current board of directors. 5. Dartmouth-Hitchcock eyes affiliation deal with Elliot Health System Elliot Health System in Manchester, N.H., will explore an affiliation with Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock. 6. Clarendon Health System, McLeod Health move toward affiliation Clarendon Health System in Manning, S.C., approved a management agreement with Florence, S.C.-based McLeod Health. 7. Central Georgia Health Network, Stratus Healthcare in partnership talks Macon-based Central Georgia Health Network entered into partnership talks with Stratus Healthcare, a collaboration of health systems, hospitals and physicians in south and central Georgia. 8. Sale of shuttered Texas hospital finalized Bowie (Texas) Memorial Hospital, which closed last November, has a new owner. 9. Lurie Children's strikes pediatric partnership with new Centegra hospital Crystal Lake, Ill.-based Centegra Health System is teaming up with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital to staff pediatric hospitalists around the clock at its new hospital in Huntley, Ill. 10. Methodist Health completes takeover of bankrupt Texas hospital A judge signed off on Dallas-based Methodist Health's purchase of bankrupt Forest Park Medical Center's campus in Southlake, Texas. 11. Lenoir Memorial Hospital decides to partner with UNC Health Care Kinston, N.C.-based Lenoir Memorial Hospital agreed to create a management services agreement with Chapel Hill-based UNC Health Care. 12. Memorial Hermann Health System reaches deal to purchase Northeast Hospital: 3 things to know Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System reached a deal to purchase Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital in Humble, Texas, from the Northeast Hospital Authority Board of Trustees. 13. MD Anderson, UTHSC exploring ways to expand cancer care in Texas The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston are exploring ways to expand cancer care in San Antonio. 14. Jennie Stuart Medical Center, Vanderbilt ink affiliation Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville, Ky., is now an affiliated partner of Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Networks and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 15. Navicent Health to manage Monroe County Hospital The Hospital Authority of Monroe County, doing business as Monroe County Hospital in Forsyth, Ga., has formed a partnership with Macon, Ga.-based Navicent Health that will allow Navicent to assume management control over MCH. 16. Beacon Health first in Indiana to join Mayo network South Bend, Ind.-based Beacon Health System became the first hospital system in the state to team up with the Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Care Network. 17. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to open affiliate clinic in Oklahoma The Children's Hospital at St. Francis in Tulsa, Okla., will house the nation's eighth affiliate clinic of Memphis, Tenn.-based St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. 18. Texas Health Resources casts highest bid for bankrupt Fort Worth hospital Arlington-based Texas Health Resources pledged $116.5 million to buy Dallas-based Forest Park Medical Center's campus in Forth Worth, Texas. 19. HCA to buy yet-to-open Texas hospital for $115M An Austin, Texas-based system, of which Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings is the majority owner, will purchase Dallas-based Forest Park Medical Center's yet-to-open hospital in Austin for $115 million. 20. UVM Health Network adds another NY hospital Burlington-based University of Vermont Health Network expanded its reach in New York by adding Malone, N.Y.-based Alice Hyde Medical Center as its third hospital in the state. 21. Following collapse of Novant and Memorial partnership, HCA enters with offer Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America emerged as a new player in the now wilted partnership deal between Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health and Savannah, Ga.-based Memorial University Medical Center. 22. Allina Health to merge 2 hospitals Minneapolis-based Allina Health System will merge Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minn., and Unity Hospital in Fridley, Minn., under one license. 23. Louisiana hospital looks to Texas management firm for financial stability Morehouse General Hospital in Bastrop, La., entered into negotiations for a management agreement with Plano, Texas-based Community Hospital Corp. 24. Texas Health Resources adds 27 freestanding ERs to network Arlington-based Texas Health Resources is adding 27 First Choice Emergency Rooms to its healthcare network in North Texas. 25. South Haven Health System pursues partnership with Bronson Healthcare South Haven (Mich.) Health System will pursue a partnership with Bronson Healthcare system, based in Kalamazoo, Mich. 26. Resurrection Health to merge with Cherokee Health Systems Memphis, Tenn.-based Resurrection Health, a faith-based health system that launched in December 2014, is merging with Knoxville, Tenn.-based Cherokee Health Systems. 27. Salina Regional, Cloud County pursue affiliation Cloud County Health Center in Concordia, Kan., and Salina (Kan.) Regional Health Center began an affiliation agreement May 1. 28. St. Vincent Healthcare partners with University of Utah School of Medicine, children's hospital St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, Mont., is partnering with Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital and the University of Utah School of Medicine, both in Salt Lake City, to enhance its pediatric care. 29. UPMC, Jameson Health System finalize merger Jameson Health System, a single hospital system in New Castle, Pa., merged with Pittsburgh-based UPMC and changed its name to UPMC Jameson. 30. CHS completes 38-hospital spinoff Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems completed its previously announced spinoff of Quorum Health Corp., which includes 38 hospitals across 16 states as well as CHS' hospital management and consulting business. 31. UHS buys out minority owner in 6 Nevada hospitals King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services agreed to purchase the minority ownership interests held by a third-party in its six Nevada hospitals for $445 million. 32. Capella, RegionalCare merge into $1.7B company Brentwood, Tenn.-based RegionalCare Hospital Partners and Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella Healthcare merged to create a combined company with 18 hospital campuses in 12 states. 33. Prime Healthcare expands reach in New Jersey Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services completed its acquisition of bankrupt Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark, N.J. 34. Southcoast, Care New England to merge and create $2B health network Providence, R.I.-based Care New England Health System and New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health System plan to join together under a new corporate entity. 35. Hospital Sisters Health System acquires Greenville Regional Hospital Greenville (Ill.) Regional Hospital joined Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System to become HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville. 36. Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics joins CHRISTUS Health: 6 things to know Tyler, Texas-based Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics and Irving, Texas-based CHRISTUS Health finalized a merger agreement, creating CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System. 37. UPMC and Susquehanna Health strike partnership Susquehanna Health in Williamsport, Pa., and Pittsburgh-based UPMC signed a letter of intent to pursue an affiliation agreement. More articles on healthcare industry transactions: Dollar value of hospital M&A falls 67% in Q1 2016 poised to be the year of the collapsing merger So many M&A deals collapse because leaders neglect this simple strategy Nearly two years after they were found unresponsive in their home, questions remain regarding the deaths of John Sheridan, president and CEO of Cooper University Health System in Camden, N.J., and his wife Joyce. The investigation is now at the center of a criminal case against the Sheridans' 42-year-old son Matthew, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sheridans were found unresponsive in the master suite of their home in Skillman, N.J., on Sept. 28, 2014. The room had been set on fire. Mr. Sheridan, 72, died at the scene, and his wife was pronounced dead at University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (N.J.). In March 2015, the deaths were ruled murder-suicide. Geoffrey Soriano, the Somerset County prosecutor at the time, concluded that Mr. Sheridan fatally stabbed his wife, set fire to their home and stabbed himself five times. The Sheridan family immediately responded to the murder-suicide conclusion, telling the media the ruling was a means to close the investigation and cover up the incompetence of those in the prosecutor's office and medical examiner's office, according to The Inquirer. The family hired a forensic pathologist who performed a second autopsy on Mr. Sheridan. Based partly on the fact that authorities never found the weapon that caused his wounds, the pathologist concluded it was more likely Mr. Sheridan was killed in an attack. Now, lawyers for Matthew Sheridan claim he is facing a drug charge because the family publicly criticized the investigation of the deaths. Police searched Matthew Sheridan's vehicle the day his parents died and found a small amount of cocaine. He was indicted on a cocaine possession charge in April 2016. In a memorandum filed Tuesday, Matthew Sheridan's lawyers request the drug charge be dismissed. They claim authorities lacked probable cause to search the vehicle and that Somerset County officials promised Matthew would not be prosecuted as long as he cooperated with the death investigation. "The state retaliated against Matthew Sheridan for his family's public criticism of Somerset County Prosecutor's Office handling of his parents' death investigation," the memorandum states. "This type of vindictive prosecution is discriminatory and unconstitutional." According to the memorandum, Mr. Soriano told Matthew Sheridan's brother that Matthew would not be prosecuted. There is also an affidavit attached from Matthew Sheridan's uncle, which states an assistant prosecutor told him in January 2015 that his nephew would not be prosecuted. Somerset County's prosecutor declined The Philadelphia Inquirer's request for comment. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: NY pharmacist pleads guilty in $2.7M fraud scheme Feds join executive's $50M false claims suit against Prime Healthcare Trinity Health hospital to pay $107M to settle pension mismanagement lawsuit Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has signed a bill into law that will avoid a ballot question concerning hospital pricing, according to a report on MassLive.com. The bill, signed Tuesday, creates a new $45 million trust fund for struggling hospitals over a period of five years. The fund would come from the budget of the Center for Health Information and Analysis. Under the new law, hospitals that charge insurers lower prices will receive more money, according to the report. The law also adjusts rates for MassHealth, the state's combined Medicaid and state Children's Health Insurance Program. Under the law, the state may raise up to $15 million annually from a new fee on hospitals, which will be redistributed back to hospitals through MassHealth reimbursements, according to the report. That's in addition to the $250 million hospital assessment proposal already included in the fiscal year 2017 state budget. The law also adds the chairs of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing as co-chairs to the Special Commission to Review Variation in Prices among Providers. This special commission will make policy recommendations by March 15, 2017, to address healthcare pricing in the long-term, according to the report. Gov. Baker's signature came less than one week after Massachusetts lawmakers announced a healthcare pricing compromise. The Service Employees International Union was the main push behind the ballot question, which would have aimed to limit disparities in the amount commercial insurers can pay different hospitals for the same procedure, to help ailing smaller community hospitals, according to the report. The Massachusetts Hospital Association, as well as Boston-based Partners HealthCare, opposed the question. SEIU now plans to pull the ballot question. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: Investigation into Cooper Health CEO's death linked to criminal charge against his son 15 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements Former healthcare CFO charged with bribery, fraud A federal inspection determined patients' rights were violated at the South Dakota Human Services Center in Yankton a state-run mental health hospital when workers misused restraints to control potentially unruly individuals, according to the Casper Star Tribune. The CMS report from the inspection, which began in February, states hospital employees used restraints excessively while failing to document their reasons for doing so. For instance, the investigation findings mention one patient who was kept in restraints for nearly six days, according to the report. Tia Kafka, spokeswoman of the state Department of Social Services, said the state has addressed the problems at the mental health hospital. "We submitted a plan of correction that was approved by CMS and have made the necessary changes," Ms. Kafka told the Tribune. After federal officials visited the hospital again last week, State Social Services Secretary Lynne Valenti said the implementation of the changes was satisfactory. More articles on mental health: 7 statistics on current costs, outcomes for mental health and substance abuse disorders Mobile apps geared to mental health on the rise Vermont hospital makes changes after citation for patient rights violations On Tuesday, a baby girl was born in a New Jersey hospital with severe Zika-related microcephaly, according to The New York Times. The mother is 31 years old and reportedly contracted the virus in her home country of Honduras. Manny Alvarez, MD, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Hackensack (N.J) University Medical Center, told the Times the mother knew she had the virus before coming to the U.S. to visit relatives. Physicians at the Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital in Hackensack opted to deliver the baby via caesarean section after scans revealed the infant was underweight for her gestational age. According to ABC News, this is the first infant born in the continental U.S. with Zika-related microcephaly a baby was born in Hawaii in January with microcephaly related to the virus. Microcephaly is a neurologically debilitating birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads. The infant is also suffering from intestine and vision issues. Regarding the birth, Dr. Alvarez told the Times, "It tells you that Zika is real...there is still a lot of work to be done insofar as controlling the virus." Find out where Zika has been reported in the U.S. as of May 27 here. More articles on the Zika virus: Many Americans unaware of how Zika spreads and 6 other survey findings WHO doubles suggested abstinence period after traveling to active Zika zones House speaker calls for relaxed EPA regulations to combat Zika-carrying mosquitoes Medical device and pharmaceutical companies paid Treasure Valley, Idaho, physicians and hospitals $3.8 million in 2014, according to Idaho Statesman. Here are five insights: 1. The companies also funded $2.8 million in clinical research in 2014. 2. Some of the physicians received more than $100,000 in benefits in 2014. 3. Companies paid for more than 100 meals or drinks for 24 Treasure Valley physicians in 2014. 4. ProPoblica reported physicians receiving drug company money are two to three times more likely to prescribe brand-name drugs at higher rates compared to other physicians in the same specialty not receiving company payments. 5. CMS provides an Open Payments page, where anyone may view all pharmaceutical and device company payments to physicians. New York-based Paradigm Spine agreed to pay the United States $585,000 to settle False Claims Act allegations, according to the United States Attorney's Office District of Maryland. Here are five things to know: 1. Allegedly, Paradigm Spine marketed its coflex-F device for surgical uses not approved by the FDA, between 2011 and 2013. 2. Consequently, healthcare providers submitted false claims to Medicare and other federal programs for using the device in spine surgeries that weren't approved. 3. The allegations also include Paradigm Spine offering false recommendations on how to code claims for procedures using the device, from 2012 to 2015. 4. Thus, healthcare providers submitted false claims to federal programs for spine surgeries that were not eligible for reimbursement. 5. Paradigm Spine denies all allegations. Tata is still assessing bids for the rest of its UK business Unions have welcomed the return of the British Steel brand after the completion of the sale of part of Tata Steel. Greybull Capital has bought the Long Products business, securing thousands of jobs at a huge plant in Scunthorpe. The company is renaming the business British Steel. Bimlendra Jha, chief executive of Tata Steel UK, said: "As a responsible seller, Tata Steel is delighted to have secured a buyer for this business and we hope that under Greybull Capital ownership, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement programme that has been initiated in the last 12 months. "Employees and trade unions have worked closely with the Long Products Europe management team to improve the business's prospects, putting it in a more competitive position than it has been for many years. It is through their dedication and hard work that we are in this position today in spite of continued challenges in the market." The Community union's general secretary, Roy Rickhuss, said: "Community warmly welcomes the opening of this new chapter in the course of the UK steel industry. It also demonstrates that there is the chance of a brighter future for steelmaking in the UK, with the right vision and investment. "British Steel is built on firm foundations with a skilled, experienced and dedicated workforce determined to make a success of the business. "They have a proud track record of delivering high-quality long products to flagship construction and infrastructure products around the world. The turnaround plan agreed between management and unions is already yielding positive results." The Long Products business includes the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, and associated distribution facilities, as well as a rail mill in northern France. The business employs 4,800 people - 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France. Tata continues to assess bids for the rest of its UK business. British Steel commercial director Peter Hogg said it was a landmark day for the business. He said: "Today marks the first day of business for our new company and we are delighted to be launching under the iconic British Steel brand. "It has taken a huge amount of effort and a strong partnership between our employees and their union representatives, our customers and our suppliers, and many months of hard work to get to this point. We also appreciate the help and support from both local and national government and our local MPs. "Our industry has faced challenging times over the last few years, but we are confident that our new venture, built on our core values of pride, passion and performance, will not only reinvigorate this business, but position it as a world leader. "Our heritage is important to us. For decades our skilled workforce has dedicated itself to producing the highest quality steel that has been used in landmark buildings and infrastructures projects around the world. The launch of British Steel will enable us to build a stronger future for both our employees and all those who do business with us." Unite's convenor in Scunthorpe, Martin Foster, said: "British Steel's first day of trading marks the beginning of a new chapter not only for Scunthorpe, but UK steelmaking. It is a massive vote of confidence in a world class workforce and the town of Scunthorpe with its proud history of steelmaking. "Bringing months of uncertainty to an end, it shows that steelmaking in the UK can have a future. Over the coming months we will be working with the new owners to make the new British Steel a success and ensure it goes from strength to strength. "It should not be forgotten, though, that today would not have been possible if it had not been for the sacrifices the workforce has made as part of the firm's transformation plan. For many it has involved tough choices about pay and their jobs. "They will be working hard to make sure British Steel has a bright future with the expectation that they will share in its future success." Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "Today's first day of trading for British Steel is testament to the skills of the workforce and their union representatives who have worked hard to secure the future of Tata Steel's former long products division." Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Today's deal is fantastic news for the steelworkers of Scunthorpe, Teesside, Workington and York. This investment is testament to the immense skill of the local workforce, the potential of these plants and a vote of confidence in the UK steel industry as a whole. "The name British Steel has a long and proud history and today's news underlines the Government's belief that there really is a viable, sustainable future for world-class steelmaking in this country." Pro-Brexit ministers cannot make promises about how any money saved from leaving the EU will be spent, a leading Leave campaigner has admitted. Cabinet minister Chris Grayling said Boris Johnson and Michael Gove were merely setting out "options" available to the Government when they said energy bills could be slashed if the UK votes to leave the EU. The Chancellor described as "fantasy economics" the claim that VAT could be scrapped from household energy bills, while the Remain camp claimed Vote Leave has made nearly 112bn of unfunded spending pledges. But Mr Grayling dismissed Britain Stronger In Europe's figures as "a complete fallacy" and "absurd mathematics". The Commons Leader also said Vote Leave had never claimed that all the money would be spent on the NHS. "I think the message from Vote Leave - and bear in mind that we're not the Government, although I am a Government minister, I'm not standing here today on behalf of the Government - the key message has been about us taking back control of that money and spending it on our priorities," he said. Anas Khaled Al-Saleh, Kuwait's deputy prime minister, minister of finance and acting minister of oil, arrives at a hotel in Vienna, Austria, ahead of an Opec meeting (AP) Oil prices have tumbled ahead of a crunch meeting between members of the Opec cartel, with hopes for an agreement to cut production fading. The price of Brent crude plummeted more than a dollar to 48.87 US dollars a barrel amid expectations that members will remain focused on maintaining their market share. Economist Patrick Dennis at Oxford Economics said members will be reluctant to cut output, as they fear a rapid rise in the oil price could see US shale producers reverse recent cutbacks and up production. He said: " The Opec meeting in Vienna on Thursday is unlikely to see a change in the policy of maintaining market share. "Saudi Arabia can claim its policy has been successful with oil prices recovering at the same time as non-Opec oil production has fallen back, leading to a more rapid global market rebalancing than expected." He added: " In addition, Saudi Arabia is keen to use oil policy to fulfil its geo-political aims, notably with respect to Iran." However, Saudi Arabia and its partners in the Gulf are said to be looking to reignite the idea of members taking co-ordinated action to help stabilise the market, a senior Opec source told Reuters. The oil price has climbed by nearly 80% from lows of 28 US dollars a barrel seen in the middle of January, but still remains well short of the 115 US dollar peak of June 2014. Brent crude broke through the 50 dollar mark last Thursday, after US government figures showed a larger-than-expected drop in fuel stockpiles, while supply was also disrupted following fires in Canada. Venezuelan energy minister Eulogio Del Pino has warned that the recent price rises have been driven by supply outages and the glut could easily return. He said: "More than three million barrels are out of the market. When those circumstances are removed from the market, what's going to happen?" He said the outages in Nigeria, Canada and Libya had been a "de facto" output freeze. He appears to be at odds with the United Arab Emirates oil minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, who said he was happy that the market was correcting upwards. Thursday's meeting in Vienna will also usher in the new Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih, who was the first Opec minister to arrive in Austria, signalling Riyadh's intent to maintain its dominant hand over Opec's output strategy. Since 2014, Saudi Arabia has flooded the market in a bid to keep oil prices lower and force some higher cost producers out of business. Walk tall: Julie Wilson and her sister, Lisa will be taking part in Fridays Bra Walk in memory of their late grandmother Lillian Ireland who died of breast cancer Exciting role: Sandra McCarry as an Action Cancer ambassador will cut the pink ribbon to start the 10k Bra Walk this week Breast cancer survivor Sandra McCarry, from Derriaghy, and sisters Julie and Lisa Wilson from Belfast, who lost their granny to the disease, will be taking part in Action Cancer's 10k Bra Walk on Friday. They explain why this event is so important. Feathered, sequinned or lacy - women will be showing their support for Action Cancer's life-saving breast screening service by donning pretty pink bras for the charity's 10k walk on Friday. The Bra Walk has become a colourful annual event with up to 1,000 walkers taking to the city in a sea of pink - and the charity is inviting all men, women and children - to come and join in the day, too. Now in its second year, the Action Cancer fundraiser, which is sponsored by SuperValu, will begin at Belfast City Hall at 7pm. And while the walk has a positive message, the purpose is a serious one - to raise much-needed funds for the charity as well as creating awareness of breast cancer. Action Cancer has screened a record-breaking 10,750 women during 2015-2016. And for every 1,000 women screened, an average of six or seven breast cancers will be detected - at an early and more treatable stage. The charity points out its life-saving work is made possible because of the continued, generous support it receives from the Northern Ireland public. And Action Cancer needs that support to continue now more than ever. Valerie Thompson, from SuperValu, says: "We are delighted to sponsor The Bra Walk and would encourage families and friends from across Northern Ireland to get involved in this fun event. SuperValu has been supporting Action Cancer's Big Bus for almost 10 years, helping to bring breast screening services to 235 locations throughout Northern Ireland. "Lending support to The Bra Walk is a great way to raise awareness of this live-saving service as well as an opportunity to get fit, walk in memory of a loved one or support someone going through breast cancer." Online registration is now open priced at 12 per adult and 5 per child, and everyone taking part will receive The Bra Walk bag for life and complimentary pink t-shirt. All participants are encouraged to raise a minimum of 80 in sponsorship, the amount it costs Action Cancer to provide digital breast screening for one woman aged 40-49 and over 70 'If I hadn't been screened, my outcome would have been very different ... now I want to spread the word' Sandra McCarry (46), who works for the health service, is a single mum from Derriaghy with two sons, aged 14 and 17. Sandra, who has suffered from breast cancer, is an Action Cancer Ambassador and will cut the pink ribbon on Friday to mark the start of the walk. She says: Working in the health service, I was always aware of Action Cancers screening programme for women in their 40s and aged 70 plus. As soon as I turned 40 and was eligible, I phoned up and booked an appointment. It was easy and convenient I had a 9am appointment at Action Cancer House, at Marlborough Park, just off Belfasts Malone Road, and was on my way to work by 9.15am. The mammogram wasnt painful just slightly uncomfortable for a few moments. Shortly afterwards I received a letter to say that my results were clear. Then, two years later I received a reminder letter to attend again on March 24, 2013. After this mammogram, however, I was told further investigation was required. While I was surprised when I received the letter, I didnt feel overly worried. I knew that lots of women are referred on for further investigation and for the majority of them it doesnt mean they have cancer. I went to the breast cancer clinic at Belfast City Hospital on April 22 and took my mum with me it was actually her birthday. When I was shown the Action Cancer X-ray of my left breast I saw what looked like a small, white round circle. It looked to be very deep inside my breast. I had another mammogram plus a biopsy and that same day the consultant told me I had breast cancer and that there was evidence it had spread to my lymph nodes. It was a lot of information to take in. I was so shocked that I had breast cancer I couldnt believe it. I asked the consultant to break the news to my mother, as I just couldnt do it. As it turned out we were both remarkably calm. The consultant suspected that the tumour was 2cm in size and that surgery and a lumpectomy were needed. I was told that the lymph node spread could only be determined after surgery. I had my operation on May 3 all my lymph nodes were removed and I spent five days in hospital. Once the swelling had gone down I couldnt really notice any difference in the appearance of my breast, so I was pleased with the outcome. Of the 27 lymph nodes removed, only two came back as being cancerous. That meant I needed six cycles of chemotherapy, which lasted from June 27 until October 15. The chemo was tough. The first week of each round, I felt sick but the next two weeks I felt relatively normal. The last three cycles were horrible. I developed mouth ulcers, my hair and nails fell out. I told myself to just make the most of the times I felt well. Before cancer I had long hair which I loved, so I decided to take control and got my hair cut after surgery, but before chemo. I had a haircut party with my friends. And actually Im glad I got it cut because I really liked the style. By the time it started to fall out Id time to process it. Before I began to completely lose my hair, my neighbour came over the night before the second chemo treatment and shaved it. Wed a great night. I Facetimed my sons, who were away with their father at the time, so they wouldnt get a shock when they came home. I managed to keep my eyebrows and eyelashes to the fifth round of chemo it was harder losing my eyelashes than my hair, I wore a lot of make-up to deal with the changes in my appearance as well as wigs when socialising. I continued to live my life during treatment I decided to face it head-on. In February 2014, I had a two-week holiday to Canada to visit family. It was a good time to get myself together, to reflect and to get ready to return to work, which I did on a phased basis. By 2014, I had my first mammogram since diagnosis and was told that no worrying features were detected. I have been on Tamoxifen for a number of years now and see an oncologist and surgeon every year. Now, I feel as though life is getting back to normal. I feel calmer. Things that would have made me anxious and stressed dont do so anymore. I dont really care what people think of me. Since having all my lymph nodes removed, I have developed lymphedema in my left arm. This causes swelling and discomfort and can be painful. I have been attending the complementary therapy service at Action Cancer to help me manage the symptoms of the lymphedema. Even three years after my diagnosis, Action Cancer is still there to support me. It was difficult for my sons to watch their mum go through this but I have had fantastic support. My family and friends have been amazing. My mum, dad and sister were all superstars. My social circle just came into their own. I would encourage other women to go for breast screening as it could be the difference between living and dying. It would have been a long time before I noticed anything because of where the lump was in my breast. By that stage it would have been very big and Im convinced it could have been a very different outcome for me if not for Action Cancer. Spread the word and encourage your bosom buddies, family and work colleagues to put their best foot forward and walk 10k on Friday. 'We are taking part to help celebrate our nanny's life' Julie Wilson (22), unemployed, lives in Belfast. She will be doing The Bra Walk with her sister, Lisa (21), a shop assistant, from Belfast. They will be taking part in memory of their late grandmother, Lillian Ireland, an auxiliary nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, who passed away last May from breast cancer. She says: Lisa and I decided to take part in The Bra Walk last year with two friends Robyn McKee and Kelly Witter, both 22. At the time, our nanny, Lillian had been diagnosed with breast cancer in autumn 2014 for the third time. She had been undergoing treatment for some time, but then decided not to continue as it wasnt having any effect. We wanted to do something for our nanny and raise a bit of money to help other people with cancer. But while we were raising sponsorship and before the walk took place, our nanny died on May 11 last year aged 70. We were devastated to lose such a special person in our lives and it made the walk even more emotional and significant for us. It was really inspiring to see so many people dressed in pink walking the streets of Belfast united by the same cause. We are taking part again this year to celebrate our nannys life. With the first anniversary of her death just passed, we are keen to raise more money so Action Cancer can provide more women of her age with mammograms. Last year we raised 650 which is enough for Action Cancer to provide eight women aged 40-49 or 70-plus with breast screening appointments. It only costs 12 to register and each person is asked to try and raise 80, which will provide a breast screening appointment for a local woman. Its really not that hard to do once you set up an online sponsorship page and ask a few close friends and family to donate. Lisa and I chose to fundraise for Action Cancer, as it is a local charity. And it was important to us that the money is used to provide services to people just like our nanny and anyone else affected by cancer. Not only do they provide this vital early detection service but they also provide support for families of people diagnosed or bereaved by cancer just like us. I urge all men, women and children to support Action Cancer by taking part in The Bra Walk, not only is it for a great cause its also a great night out and celebration of life for all those no longer with us as well as those who have survived to tell their story. The vice-chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast has apologised to his own school of history after claiming "society does not need a 21-year-old that's a sixth century historian". The comment by Patrick Johnston sparked fury online, with many members of Mr Johnston's own history department contacting the Belfast Telegraph. It inspired a critical article in the online edition of magazine History Today, and the row even earned its own Twitter account yesterday @QUBsixthcentury. Mr Johnston made the controversial remark in the Belfast Telegraph's Big Interview on Monday. He had been talking about the impact of last year's 8m Stormont funding cuts on the university. Mr Johnston said, in real terms, there had been a 24% cut between 2010 and 2014. The vice-chancellor announced major cuts earlier this year, including slashing almost 240 jobs and more than 1,000 student places. Asked by the Belfast Telegraph if more cuts were due to be announced, he said the university had resized and reshaped itself, amalgamating several schools. Read More He said it had stopped offering single honours degrees in sociology and anthropology, "but intend to strengthen those subjects by allowing them to partner with other subject areas which actually make their relevance more connected". Asked if such a move would make graduates in those courses more employable, Mr Johnston responded: "Two things I would argue. One is that, in other words a broader spectrum, because society doesn't need a 21-year-old that's a sixth century historian. "It needs a 21-year-old who really understands how to analyse things, understands the tenets of leadership and contributing to society, who is a thinker and someone who has the potential to help society drive forward. I don't talk about producing graduates, I talk about producing citizens that have the potential for leadership in society." In an article for the Belfast Telegraph, Tom Holland, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Making History, accused Mr Johnston of stabbing his staff and students in the back. "Quite what someone charged with the defence of university education thinks he is up to sounding off like David Brent at his most philistine, I am at a loss to imagine," he writes. "Any university vice-chancellor looking 'to help society drive forward' should be supporting the teachers and students of the period to the very best of his ability - not stabbing them in the back." Read More An article in History Today described Mr Johnston's remark as "astonishing" from a head of a university. Medieval historian Charles West wrote that "surely the VC of a university can hardly not know that history as it is taught at universities is essentially all about analysis. "To think otherwise is to profoundly misunderstand the skills that are honed in the course of a history degree." Mr Johnston met members of his school of history yesterday afternoon and later issued an apology on Twitter. "I was happy to have the opportunity to provide clarification on comments made within the Belfast Telegraph article of May 30, 2016 which related to the study of history," the statement read. "In the interview I wanted to stress that a university education is more than the study of any one subject and that the aim is to produce graduates who have the potential to become leaders within our society. History graduates at Queen's are thinkers who have the capacity to help drive society forward. "I sincerely apologise if there was any misunderstanding in the interview and would place on record that I have regard for students, colleagues and alumni from history." History - what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, if the vice-chancellor of Queen's University Belfast is to be believed. "Society doesn't need a 21-year-old who is a sixth century historian," Professor Patrick Johnston told the Belfast Telegraph. What it needs, instead, he opined, is "someone who has the potential to help society drive forward". Quite what someone charged with the defence of university education thinks he is up to sounding off like David Brent at his most philistine, I am at a loss to imagine. That the writing of history is incompatible with helping society to "drive forward" would certainly have come as news to Julius Caesar or Winston Churchill, celebrated historians both. What makes Johnston's comments truly shocking, though, is the area of study that he chose as the particular object of his disdain. There should be no more precious period, for anyone charged with fighting the cause of Irish universities, than the 6th century AD. Never before had scholarship in Ireland blazed to such potent or epochal effect. Despite never having been a part of the Roman Empire, the island lit a fire of learning which served to illumine the entire Western world. St Columbanus, travelling from Meath to Italy, established habits of study that would endure in the Frankish world for centuries; St Columba, travelling to Scotland, played a key role in bringing the heritage of classical civilisation back to Britain. Bede, writing in a Northumbrian monastery the first ever history of the English, was as much in the debt of Irish scholars as all subsequent English scholars would be in his. "It has ever been my delight," Bede wrote, "to learn or to teach or to write." A reminder from the so-called Dark Ages of what university teaching should properly be about. Read more Expand Close Historian Tom Holland presents Making History on BBC Radio 4 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Historian Tom Holland presents Making History on BBC Radio 4 Read More The 6th century AD, far from being a period of mockable obscurity, is one that anyone concerned to understand today's world can profit from studying. Haunted as it was by the question of what new order would emerge to replace the collapsed Roman Empire, it is certainly not without relevance to anyone wondering what will happen should the European Union implode. Throw in the fact that the 6th century was also the period that incubated Islam, and that climate change gripped it to catastrophic and measurable effect, and its fascination comes to seem self-evident. Any university vice-chancellor looking "to help society drive forward" should be supporting the teachers and students of the period to the very best of his ability - not stabbing them in the back. Health Minister Michelle O'Neill has been urged to overturn the ban on gay blood donations - just a week after taking office. The Sinn Fein minister has been sent a written Assembly question demanding action on the issue by new Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong. It comes after the Court of Appeal ruled the Stormont Health Minister should decide whether the lifetime ban on gay men giving blood here should be lifted. "Successive DUP ministers dragged their feet on this matter, allowing a discriminatory practice to continue long after it should have been removed," Ms Armstrong said. "Yet we are almost a week into the new Assembly term and the Sinn Fein minister has still to make moves towards removing the blood ban. This issue has been discussed at length - it is time to stop the talking and take action." After tabling her question, the Strangford MLA added: "It is time this era of blatant discrimination and second-class citizenship was ended, and true equality was brought to our society." In March the court dismissed an earlier ruling that former Health Minister Edwin Poots had acted irrationally or with apparent bias by keeping the ban in place. The Appeal Court judges also held there was no basis for concluding that Mr Poots' decision had been pre-determined by his Christian beliefs. On a 2-1 majority, the judges concluded the current maintenance of the lifetime ban was not "disproportionate or contrary to EU law". Originally put in place during the AIDS virus threat of the 1980s, the ban was lifted in England, Scotland and Wales in November 2011. The producer of a documentary that tells how thousands of Catholics from Londonderry fought for the British Army in the First World War has praised Martin McGuinness's decision to visit the Somme and Flanders. Gavin Patton's film The Derry Story: Great War, Great Slaughter is his second collaboration with local historian Seamus Breslin and looks at the role played by almost 2,000 nationalists in the trenches 100 years ago. "I will admit I really didn't know much at all about Derry men's involvement in the war," Mr Patton said. "It wasn't something that was talked about. A lot of my friends were surprised when I told them what the documentary was going to be about. "This is a story that needs to be told. It has been kept quiet too long, and I think Martin McGuinness's visit to Belgium and France will encourage others to find out if they have relatives that fought in the war. "Walking through the graveyards and seeing all the names so synonymous with Derry like McLaughlin, Doherty and Coyle is extremely moving. "I came across the name Michael Patton in one graveyard, which is my own father's name, so of course I wondered if this Michael Patton was a relative." In one cemetery there are 190 graves, 30 of them men from the Bogside, buried alongside a relative of PM David Cameron. Mr Patton added: "Making the film had a big effect on me. When I returned I looked at the War Memorial in a whole new light. This turns the history we were all told completely on its head." The idea for the documentary came from Mr Breslin, who began researching the subject 20 years ago, when it was still taboo. "I think from around the time of Bloody Sunday no Catholic from Derry would admit having any connection to the British Army," he said. "When I began looking at this, I came under attack from extremists. There were republicans who gave me hassle, and there were loyalists who accused me of trying to steal their history. "Thank God for people in the middle like the late David Ervine, who welcomed the interest. "Up until recently it was the story of the Ulster Division that dominated history, but in Derry there were 1,600 men who joined the 16th (Irish) Division, and later more than 300 from the Bogside. "They went to fight for Catholic France and Belgium "In the documentary we show a statue of Our Lady created by a Parisian sculptor and paid for by the men from Derry, which is a memorial to the war dead no one in Derry knows about. "In contrast to the way nationalists in Dublin and Belfast were treated when they returned from the war, the men who came back to Derry were well received. "Some of their names are on the War Memorial at the Diamond, but it is only now that people are taking an interest. This is a story that until recently people did not want to hear." Stormont's Minister for Finance, Mairtin O Muilleoir has said he will seek an early review of Air Passenger Duty (APD). Mr O Muilleoir said he believes the Executive should have full control of APD. He was speaking as he visited Belfast International Airport on Wednesday on his was way to New York. The minister said: "I met with International Airport management this morning and was encouraged to note the recent network growth and development at the airport, resulting in an additional 500 on-site jobs. "It's my view that the Executive should have full control of Air Passenger Duty so that we can make decisions in the interest of our community in terms of tourism, business and job creation. We need an early review of the ongoing application of APD by London on all short haul routes across Britain and Europe. The minister met with Belfast International Airport's managing director, Graham Keddie. Mr Keddie said the support from the Finance Minister was hugely encouraging and important. He said: "APD is a barrier to growth. The Republic of Ireland has done away with the tax, and Scotland wants to do the same, but there was, until now, a reluctance at Stormont to grasp the nettle. "I fully support an early review of APD and the damage it is causing this economy. There have been wild estimates as to what it would cost the Executive, but little by way of the very tangible benefits that would flow from reducing the rate or doing away with it altogether. "Zero-rate tax in the Republic of Ireland hands Dublin a great advantage over our airports in Northern Ireland. Even though we are seeing impressive passenger growth, much, much more could be achieved if APD didnt exist. "It is not fanciful to say that thousands of new jobs would be created if APD was consigned to history. "The ministers intervention gives us renewed hope. If other Ministers buy into his clear-sighted view, then we might just see movement in the right direction." During his visit to New York Mr O Muilleoir will undertake ministerial engagements with key Irish-American leaders. He plans to meet with Loretta Brennan Glucksman and John Kiernan, President of the NYC Bar Association. The Army shooting of a father of six after the van he was driving backfired outside a police station was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate, a coroner has ruled The Army shooting of a father of six after the van he was driving backfired outside a police station was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate, a coroner has ruled. Henry Thornton (29) died almost instantly when a soldier shot him twice through the rear of his Austin works van close to Springfield Road police station in west Belfast in August 1971. Mr Thornton, from Silverbridge, Co Armagh, and his colleague Arthur Murphy were driving to work early in the morning when the incident unfolded outside a police station that was repeatedly attacked during the Troubles. Coroner Brian Sherrard delivered his findings at Belfast Coroners' Court yesterday after an inquest into the legacy killing. He dismissed a claim by another soldier - Soldier C - that he had seen a gun being fired from the van at the police station and said no weapon or ammunition was found in the vehicle. He said the van had simply backfired twice. Solider C had relayed his account of a gun attack to Soldier A, a member of the Parachute Regiment, who then ran down the street after the van, dropped to his knee and fired his rifle at the back of the van. "Soldier A proceeded on the honestly-held but false belief that the van's occupants had been involved in firing shots at the station," said Mr Sherrard. The coroner said that despite his belief that shots had been fired, Soldier A should not have opened fire. "At the time Soldier A fired the fatal shots his objective was to stop the van," said the coroner. "He would undoubtedly have known that firing two high-velocity bullets at the driver of the vehicle was likely to result in the driver's death. There is no evidence that Soldier A considered a less forceful response to the situation than the death of the driver. At the time of the shooting Soldier A was not under attack." He added: "Other options to stop or pursue the vehicle were available. In such circumstances the shooting of Mr Thornton was neither a necessary nor a reasonable nor a proportionate response to the situation Soldier A either actually encountered or thought that he encountered." The coroner's findings were delivered in preliminary format pending a decision on whether the identity of Soldier A will be made public. Outside court Mr Thornton's widow Mary and Mr Murphy welcomed the coroner's findings. Mrs Thornton said: "I am just so glad these findings have come out - the truth is out at last, we can let him rest now." Nama probe: The PSNI is assisting the investigation by the UK's National Crime Agency Two men have been arrested by officers investigating claims of fraud in Northern Ireland's biggest property deal. The National Crime Agency (NCA) seized the pair in Co Down in relation to the 1.2bn sale of loans previously owned by Nama - dubbed the Republic's "bad bank" - to US investment fund Cerberus in 2014. A number of properties were also searched yesterday as part of the operation. A spokesman for the NCA said: "Officers have carried out two arrests and related searches in the Co Down area in connection with an investigation. "The operation is being assisted by the PSNI. As the investigation is continuing, we are unable to comment further." Sinn Fein MLA and former Finance Committee chairman Daithi McKay called the development positive and urged the reopening of a Stormont probe. He told the Belfast Telegraph: "I think it should be welcomed that the NCA have made arrests. I was concerned that the investigation was taking too long and wasn't making any progress. "I think it reinforces the need for the Finance Committee to continue its inquiry, and this demonstrates the committee was right to pursue this issue." The newly appointed deputy chair of the Finance Committee, SDLP MLA Claire Hanna, said reopening the Nama investigation was "firmly on the agenda for the first committee meeting". The investigation by the NCA was sparked by the discovery of a 7m offshore transfer to an Isle of Man bank. The money emerged in relation to allegations of a fixer's fee, which were raised by independent TD Mick Wallace in the Irish parliament. In March, a report by the Finance Committee said ministers and senior civil servants were out of their depth and had insufficient advice to deal with the sale of Northern Ireland's biggest loan portfolio. All parties involved in the 1.2bn transaction have consistently denied any suggestions of wrongdoing. US fund Cerberus won the auction by offering just 1.241bn for loans linked to the Northern Ireland properties when the reserve price was 1.24bn. Project Eagle, as the then-potential deal was named, was valued by Nama at 27p in the pound, with some assets as low as 5p in the pound. The photographs which were posted on social media of a gang of teenage girls in Belfast City Cemetery The photographs which were posted on social media of a gang of teenage girls in Belfast City Cemetery The photographs which were posted on social media of a gang of teenage girls in Belfast City Cemetery These are the shocking images which show a gang of teenage girls lying on graves before photographing themselves and posting the pictures on social media. Security is being stepped up at Belfast's City Cemetery in the wake of the incident. Belfast City Council, which runs the cemetery between the Falls and Springfield Road, says wardens will be increasing patrols and removing anyone behaving in an anti-social or disrespectful manner. Six teenage girls were pictured clambering onto graves, lying on some in the prayer position, and hanging over headstones to take selfies for Facebook. In one picture, a girl posed with a wreath saying "uncle" which the group removed from a recently deceased person's grave. The girls, who are aged around 16 and claim to be pupils at a Catholic secondary school in Belfast, are seen smiling and posing. In another photograph, two hide their faces as they are snapped by their friends. A spokesperson for Belfast City Council said: "This sort of behaviour is contrary to the council's published regulations relating to acceptable conduct in our cemeteries, which require people to conduct themselves in a quiet and orderly manner at all times. The council's park wardens will be stepping up their patrolling to try and stop this sort of behaviour." Residents in west Belfast say a number of wreaths were destroyed and they are revolted and disgusted by the teenagers' antics and have branded them "disgraceful, sick and classless." Many shared the photos in the hope of "naming and shaming" the girls, who one resident described as "vermin". DUP MLA William Humphrey condemned the act and urged people to be sensitive to those with loved ones in the cemeteries. "People should respect the likes of graveyards and places of worship and be careful of their behaviour there," he said. "These teenagers need to remember that people's loved ones are laid to rest there and that graveyards are a place that many go to for peace, to remember their relatives and to draw comfort. For people to disrespect graves in such a way is unacceptable and insensitive and I would like to ask anyone using the cemetery to remember the grieving families of those buried there." A PSNI spokesperson said anyone desecrating graves, causing a public nuisance or being disorderly during opening hours of the cemetery could face arrest. Anyone accessing the graveyard after hours would be deemed as trespassing, they said. They added: "Anyone with any concerns should contact PSNI by calling 101 in a non-emergency." Sammy Wilson has accused former PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde of treating voters like ignoramuses after he warned the UK would be less safe if it left the EU. The East Antrim MP and Brexit campaigner said Mr Orde was part of an elite using scare tactics to sway the vote their way. He also insisted the border with the Republic would not be closed because the Common Travel Area (CTA) was too valuable to Dublin. "I think Hugh Orde is wrong," Mr Wilson said. "It does not surprise me. He's part of that elite who want to try and scare people - that's what it's all down to. It increasingly angers me the disdainful way in which they are treating this campaign. They treat the people as ignoramuses who can be bamboozled by speculation. "People need to ask themselves, who loses most from losing the CTA? The Republic loses maybe more, and for that reason it can be preserved." Mr Orde used a letter to the Irish Times to call for Brexit leaders to set out how border security would be handled if the UK left the EU. "In terms of the border, the argument to leave becomes farcical," Mr Orde said. "It's inevitable that controls would have to return. If you shut the front door, leaving the back open would be stupid." But Mr Wilson accused the former PSNI head of resorting to personal abuse of Northern Ireland Secretary of State and Brexit supporter Theresa Villiers after he said she "continues to keep her head firmly stuck in a peat bog" over the issue. "When someone has to become personally abusive in that way, it's usually a fairly good sign the argument is weak," the DUP MP claimed. He also called on Mr Orde to listen to statements from political leaders in the Republic on the issue. "Taoiseach Enda Kenny this week has not been definitive in his view that there would have to be border controls - there could be, there might be, there's a possibility, and we have had some more positive comments that the CTA would be kept," Mr Wilson said. "Mr Orde should listen to the ambivalence of people who would want to sound a more certain note on this. "What is there in it for the Irish Republic not to keep the CTA and keep the current safeguards that exist? "Are they going to open their ports to people from outside the Irish Republic or the UK, then hope that those people will go to the UK for work? "There's been a despicable campaign by the Remain people... telling outright lies, scare tactics, treating the public with disdain and bringing in all these big hitters and those who appear to have some standing in society so that somehow the lumpenproletariat will fall into line." The Kingsmills massacre, which was carried out by the IRA in January 1976 Victim Robert Walkers sister May speaks outside Belfast Coroners Court yesterday after the development in the inquest into the Kingsmills massacre May, with other bereaved families, emerges from the courthouse after the hearing Forty years after 10 Protestant workmen were murdered by the IRA at Kingsmills, the PSNI has announced it has a solid lead to investigate. No one has been convicted of the killings, which took place in rural south Armagh near Bessbrook on January 5, 1976. But now a palm print taken from a dark green minibus believed to be the getaway vehicle used by the gunmen has been identified, the inquest into the atrocity heard yesterday. The victims' families were told privately of the information before it was disclosed to the public in court. Neil Rafferty, barrister for several of the families, told the inquest they were "stunned into silence" by the revelation. Counsel for the PSNI, Peter Coll QC, told Coroner Brian Sherrard that the palm print was matched last week. "As a result of further examination, last week an identification was made," Mr Coll said, adding that a senior investigating officer had been appointed by the PSNI to reopen the investigation. Mr Sherrard reacted by telling the inquest the news was "potentially a significant development". He also asked Mr Coll if there was any indication of how long the investigation might take. The coroner added that he planned to keep an open mind about how the inquest would now proceed. Yesterday's session also heard from a number of eyewitnesses who came across the scene of the atrocity. It was additionally given a statement from the man the getaway vehicle was stolen from. The testimony made by digger driver Michael Morgan, who worked for the Newry-based building contractor HG Campbell, was read to the hearing. He had been clearing a site at Ballymascanlon near Dundalk in the Irish Republic on the day of the massacre when a masked gunman ordered him to hand over the keys to the dark green minibus. "I felt something at my back and a male voice said, 'I want that van,' and I said, 'It's for you'," he said in a statement that was originally given in 1976. Another statement taken from Mr Morgan's colleague, Thomas Caldwell, reported seeing the minibus driving along Merchant Quay in Newry at around 3.15pm that afternoon. The inquest is scheduled to resume tomorrow, when it will hear information from the PSNI about how long the new criminal investigation could take and whether the inquest can continue while it is ongoing. Colin Worton, whose brother Kenneth was among the victims of the massacre, welcomed the development but admitted his first reaction was anger as to why it had taken so long. Speaking outside court, he said he and the other families had pressed police at the time and also pressed the Historical Enquiries Team during a review. He additionally claimed that they were led to believe the print could not be identified. "We have known about this palm print for 40 years, so why only now has it been matched?" Mr Worton asked. Sole survivor of Kingsmills, Alan Black, also queried why the palm print had taken so long to be identified. "It's nearly unbelievable that after all this time, and us now into the inquest, suddenly they have found a match for it," he said. "Shocking, absolutely shocking, but this is what we came here for, this is why we are here." May Quinn, whose brother Robert Walker was one of those murdered, said the most important thing was that the gunmen were "named and shamed". PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said the investigation would be carried out "as expeditiously as possible". "Due to a recent forensic development, detectives from the legacy investigation branch are now following a line of inquiry in relation to the murders at Kingsmills in 1976," he said. "We have been liaising with the coroner's office in relation to this and will continue to do so. "We are committed to progressing this matter as expeditiously as possible and will keep them (the families) updated as appropriate." Unionist politicians in Newry and Armagh welcomed the development, but also queried why it took four decades. DUP MLA William Irwin described the news as a "major step forward". "This was a brutal sectarian massacre, carried out in cold blood, and the revelation that such a key piece of evidence has lain untouched for four decades will deepen the pain of relatives who have waited so long for justice," he said. "Now that this process is under way, it is vital, however, that the investigation is carried out quickly and thoroughly. "The families deserve to see justice served and to know that all avenues have finally been pursued to bring those responsible to justice." UUP MLA Danny Kennedy urged that the investigation into the palm print be completed as soon as possible. "Kingsmills was a brutal and barbaric crime and I sincerely hope that the police now have a realistic prospect of mounting a successful prosecution of some of those responsible," he said. "Bearing in mind that the inquest only opened last week, it is imperative that the police investigation is properly and fully resourced with a view to completing it as a matter of urgency. "There is a saying that 'justice delayed, is justice denied'. The families and sole survivor have waited 40 years, and this fresh investigation must not be used in any way as a further delaying tactic to hamper their pursuit for maximum truth and justice." Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Cadets make final preparations at HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. General view of HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. General view of HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 Cadets during The commemoration which takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 First Minister Arlene Foster and Secretary of State Theresa Villiers during The commemoration at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 Prince Michael of Kent during The commemoration at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 Wreaths are thrown overboard during The commemoration that took place takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 A Video is shown during The commemoration which takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured with Jeff Mayton at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. First Minister Arlene Foster at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Local sailors take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Military bands take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Local sailors take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. General view of the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Members of the colour party take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies on board HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured with Admiral Sir Jonathon Bond, Secretary of State Theresa Villiers and First Minister Arlene Foster at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Wreaths in honour of the Irish sailors who died in the First World War were dropped into Belfast Lough yesterday beside the last surviving warship from the Battle of Jutland. The ceremony, marking the centenary of the pivotal sea battle, took place on Alexandra Dock next to the newly refurbished HMS Caroline. Prince Michael of Kent and other dignitaries attended the event, which heard testimonies from descendants of those who fought at sea and brought together British, Irish and German naval representatives and 200 relatives of those killed. At the close of the event Prince Michael cut a ribbon to mark the completion of the 15m-plus Lottery-backed restoration of the warship. The restored vessel today opens to the public as the latest maritime-themed visitor attraction in Belfast's dockland. Prince Michael said: "It is fitting that we remember and commemorate the sacrifice made by Irish sailors at Jutland and throughout World War One in the presence of Caroline in her Jutland grey paint scheme. "The story of HMS Caroline is the story of her people. It is the telling of the stories of all those who served in Caroline for over 100 years that makes the life of this ship so compelling." The ceremony paid tribute to sailors from across the island of Ireland and was attended by Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers, First Minister Arlene Foster and Irish Government minister Paul Kehoe. The Battle of Jutland was fought between May 31 and June 1, 1916 and involved about 250 ships. It saw the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, based at Scapa Flow in Orkney, clash with the German High Seas Fleet. Of the 8,000-plus who died in the 36-hour battle, 358 were from Ireland. Some 10,000 Irish sailors saw action in the Great War. Britain and Germany both claimed victory following the engagement. Despite the terrible British death toll, it was seen as the battle that won the war, allowing the blockading of German ports to succeed. Commodore Martin Quinn of the Royal Navy said yesterday was a huge day. "In 1916, of course, Ireland wasn't partitioned, so we were all one nation at that point," he added. "Many thousands of Irishmen served at sea including the merchants and the fishermen. The community involvement with the sea has been huge for 100-odd years and for thousands before that, so this is a massive day for all of us." Among the descendants who addressed the audience was Marie McCarthy, whose Co Cork-born grandfather Daniel Fitzgerald was a stoker on Caroline. "My grandfather experienced the horror of the Battle of Jutland while shovelling tons of coal in this ship," she said. "I suppose one could conclude he survived because he was buried deep in a coal dust-laden atmosphere within the confines of the stokers' area, tolerating temperatures of 150F. There was poor ventilation and it was exhausting, backbreaking work." Gillian Davies' grandfather James Weddick was a gunner on Caroline. He was born in Co Limerick but moved to Liverpool as a child. Ms Davies told the commemoration: "It is an honour for the Weddick family to remember not just our grandfather and great-grandfather, but all Irish sailors who lived and died in the 1914-18 war." HMS Caroline, which weighs 3,750 tons and is 136m long, was built on Merseyside in 1914 and was part of the screening force that sailed out ahead of the Grand Fleet to establish the position of the enemy. Six years after the war ended she was moved from Portsmouth to Belfast to become a training vessel for Royal Navy Reserves. Most of the rest of the fleet was decommissioned and broken up. HMS Caroline performed her function as a drill ship up until 2011, apart from during the Second World War, when she was used as an operations headquarters for the Allied efforts to protect the Atlantic convoys from German U-boats. The vessel, which is docked in the same shipyards where Titanic was built, was in danger of rusting away or being scrapped before moves to save it started to build up steam three years ago. The 12.5m grant awarded to the restoration project by the Heritage Lottery Fund represents the biggest single contribution in Northern Ireland. Sir Peter Luff, from the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "Caroline is a hugely important ship for the Royal Navy. It's one of only three survivors from the First World War and the only survivor of the Battle of Jutland. "It's also hugely important to Belfast, because she has been here for 92 years. "I think her restoration not only is a mark of her enormous contribution to the events of the tumultuous last century, but also it significantly increases Belfast's maritime tourist attraction." A man has been arrested in relation to the murder of 73-year-old Eugene Carr last year. The 30-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday in the Newry area. Two house searches have also been carried out in the Newry and Rathfriland areas. Mr Carr died in hospital last November following a violent attack at his home in Bessbrook in August. At the time police said they believed the widower had been beaten and stabbed with a sharp implement, possibly a hook, by thieves who ransacked his property and fled with an undisclosed sum of cash. Detective Chief Inspector Lee McNevison said:Mr Carr died in the Royal Victoria Hospital on the evening of Tuesday 17th November 2015 as a result of injuries that he received when he was attacked whilst in his bed at his home in Clogharevan Park, Bessbrook, in the early hours of Monday 31st August 2015. The 30 year old man has been taken to Musgrave Police Station in Belfast for questioning. A 26 year old woman and a 27 year old man who were arrested in the Newry area on Friday 4th September 2015 in relation to the attack remain on police bail pending further enquiries. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, back, laying a wreath alongside minister-president of Flanders Geert Bourgeois at the First World War monument in Belgium (Sinn Fein/PA) Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness has expressed hope that his visit to First World War battlefields will be another step toward reconciliation in Ireland. The former IRA commander and current Stormont Deputy First Minister laid a wreath as he paid tribute to fallen soldiers on a tour of Flanders in Belgium. Mr McGuinness will travel on to France on Thursday to visit the Somme. More than 2,500 soldiers from the 36th Ulster Division died in the first days of the Battle of the Somme in 1916 - and the battlefields continue to hold great significance for the unionist community in Northern Ireland. While the 36th Ulster Division was largely unionist in make-up, thousands of nationalists saw action later in Battle of the Somme as part of the 16th Irish Division. Mr McGuinness has declined an invite to attend the official ceremony to mark the centenary of the battle on July 1, claiming his presence had the potential to upset some participants. He said he hoped his visit ahead of next month's commemorations would help build a better future back home. Expand Close Sinn Fein of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (centre) visiting the Island of Ireland Peace Park with Minister-President of Flanders Geert Bourgeois in Flanders, Belgium. PA PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinn Fein of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (centre) visiting the Island of Ireland Peace Park with Minister-President of Flanders Geert Bourgeois in Flanders, Belgium. PA "I come here as a proud Irish republican to recognise the deaths of thousands of Irish men during the course of the catastrophic imperialist First World War, which claimed millions of lives," he said. "It is important I come here as deputy First Minister in a spirit of peace and reconciliation, showing leadership and reaching out the hand of friendship to unionists. "Tens of thousands of Irish men from across the island died in the First World War and it is important to recognise that. They are part of who we are. "Recently I have discovered that many republicans, including my colleague in the Executive Office, Conor Heaney - whose great grandfather was killed at the Somme, lost relatives during the First World War. "I hope this visit is a further step towards reconciliation. It is an opportunity to remember the past in a mature way and to build a better future for everyone." Sinn Fein vice president Mary Lou MacDonald and party chair Declan Kearney accompanied Mr McGuinness on his visit. Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has visited the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium as part of his trip to the Somme. Mr McGuinness tweeted a picture of himself alongside fellow Sinn Fein members, his special adviser Conor Heaney, MLA Declan Kearney and the party's deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald late on Tuesday night. The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is dedicated to those British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in Ypres. It records the 55,000 soldiers who died in Flanders and have no known grave. Winston Churchill said that 'a more sacred place for the British race does not exist'. "Names and enormity of #WorldWar1," Mr McGuinness said in his tweet. In Flanders Fields... unthinkable things happen. Martin McGuinness pays his respects to the British Army's war dead. pic.twitter.com/ioehPGkKuy David Blevins (@skydavidblevins) June 1, 2016 Speaking from Flanders, where he was joined by party Vice President Mary Lou MacDonald TD and party chair Declan Kearney MLA, McGuinness said: "I come here as a proud Irish republican to recognise the deaths of thousands of Irish men during the course of the catastrophic imperialist First World War, which claimed millions of lives. "It is important I come here as deputy First Minister in a spirit of peace and reconciliation, showing leadership and reaching out the hand of friendship to unionists. "Tens of thousands of Irish men from across the island died in the First World War and it is important to recognise that. They are part of who we are. "Recently I have discovered that many republicans, including my colleague in the Executive Office, Conor Heaney, whose great grandfather was killed at the Somme, lost relatives during the First World War. "I hope this visit is a further step towards reconciliation. It is an opportunity to remember the past in a mature way and to build a better future for everyone." More: Read More The Derry MLA has been invited by the Flemish government to Flanders in Belgium for a two-day visit, to visit the sites of the Battle of Messines in 1917 and the Somme. Men of the 36th (Ulster) Division were among the 100,000 Allied soldiers who went over the top at the Somme to fight the Germans on July 1, 1916. It was one of the bloodiest battles of World War One with more than one million casualties over 141 days. Mr McGuinness is visiting the site ahead of the centenary anniversary of the battle next month. Read More He said he was doing so as an act of reconciliation, to recognise human suffering and reach out to his unionist neighbours in Northern Ireland. The veteran republican, however, declined to attend anniversary services saying he wanted to avoid controversy after an outcry that he may have be planning to be at the centenary events. A Co Antrim mother has been warned she faces jail after pleading guilty to accessing information about three people on a PSNI witness protection programme. A judge told Charlene Pierce he was releasing her on bail to allow her to make arrangements for the care of her children. Pierce (34), of Harmin Park, Newtownbbey, will be sentenced on Friday after admitting to misconduct in a public office between June 25 and June 28, 2014. At the time of the offences, Pierce was working for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive as a claims builder, but had "wilfully misconducted herself" by unlawfully obtaining information about the identities and addresses of three people on the PSNI witness protection scheme. As a result of her actions, the court heard that the three protected people had to be moved to new addresses at a cost of 35,000 to the public purse. Ciaran Murphy QC, prosecuting, told Belfast Crown Court that Pierce was arrested on July 28, 2014 by detectives from the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch at her place of work in the Housing Executive's offices in Belfast's Great Victoria Street for an "unrelated matter". He said she was employed as a claims builder for individuals seeking benefit in the Belfast area and had permission to do research on them, but she did not have permission to carry out research on individuals in the Greater Belfast area. "She was not approved to research anyone other than claimants assigned to her," he added. Judge Gordon Kerr QC was told that detectives found her handbag under her desk and inside was a document containing the "personal details of three individuals" who were known to detectives as persons currently on the PSNI witness protection programme. Mr Murphy QC said that as a result of police finding the document, Pierce was re-arrested under the Terrorism Act. The court was told that she accessed information on the Housing Executive's computer system on June 25 and June 26, 2014, relating to the names and addresses of three people who cannot be named by a court order to protect their identities. A further examination showed traces of research having been carried out on the computer on June 27, 2014. The prosecutor said police accessed her Facebook account which showed she had been in contact with an individual about the three persons on the PSNI witness protection scheme and this person was listed as a "friend". "Her account showed posts between her and the other individual about the persons she had researched," he added. Mr Murphy QC said Pierce's phone was examined and showed a phone number for the individual "she had been in contact with on Facebook". The court heard she was interviewed on a total of 12 occasions by detectives but maintained a 'no comment' interview throughout, except to give police the pin code to her phone at her fourth interview. "She made no comment about accessing the information on the computer while under duress," the prosecuting counsel told the court. "The people she was accessing were protected persons under the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act. "They were subsequently informed that their personal information had been compromised. They have been relocated to new addresses at a cost of 35,000." The court heard that the three people on the witness programme had been "put at risk by the actions of this defendant which was a matter of a grave concern and which had been an affront to the administration of justice". Terry McDonald QC, defending, told the court that "it was quite wrong to access this information and it was a forbidden act". He added that Pierce had "effectively made herself unemployable in the public service and there will be no relaxation of that in the long term or in the future, if at all". Mr McDonald said Pierce was a mother of several children but had no partner to help her to look after them and was currently earning a living to support her family at a fast food outlet. The defence QC told Judge Kerr QC: "The fact of the matter is she tasted the forbidden fruit and the consequences for her are very, very severe." But he urged the court not to send her to prison immediately, saying there were "mitigatory factors to avoid such a consequence and I can put the matter no higher than that". Judge Kerr QC said he wanted time to consider a number of authorities on similar cases and told Pierce he would sentence her on Friday. Stormont's new education minister has insisted that scrapping academic selection would increase social inequality rather than reduce it. In his first appearance before his Assembly scrutiny committee, the DUP's Peter Weir acknowledged there would not be a meeting of minds between the critics and advocates of post-primary selection. Mr Weir has taken control of the department after a long Sinn Fein tenure, during which the 11-Plus transfer test was axed. Many schools have retained the right to use academic selection, but children now have to undergo different unregulated tests depending on what school they want to attend. On coming to office, Mr Weir made clear he would support schools that wished to select on the basis of academic ability and pledged to examine how to make the current testing system less complicated. In the education committee's first meeting of the new term, Sinn Fein chairman Barry McElduff asked the minister to clarify his position on selection. Mr McElduff described the policy as a "crude instrument for social selection" and said some within the education sector had raised concern that it would continue. Mr Weir responded: "I support the right of schools to use academic selection - it will not be for everyone." He said people on both sides of the debate had a "tendency to retreat into our respective trenches". "There are very well-defined and well-worn paths that all of us have on that but I appreciate the concerns that have been raised on the social impact on that side of things," he added. "I would simply say from my own observations and my concern that if you didn't have any form of academic selection there would be a danger that Northern Ireland would move much more to a situation that would happen, and it does happen in England, where it's a more crude form of social selection, where essentially you would have a series of very expensive private schools and everyone else would be left in comprehensive schools and that sort of division. "I think, from the point of view of the social impact, I think the alternative is worse." Committee member and former Sinn Fein education minister Caitriona Ruane said she was very proud of her contribution to end the 11-Plus. "I don't support selection," she said. "I think it is outdated, unnecessary and discriminatory and we are one of the few parts of the world where it happens. It doesn't happen in the rest of Ireland, it doesn't happen, by and large, in England, Scotland and Wales and actually if you look at the best achieving countries in the world - Finland, it certainly doesn't have it there." However, DUP member Lord Morrow branded Sinn Fein's handling of the issue "irresponsible". "I welcome your early statement in relation to the transfer test," he told the minister. "That's not because I think the transfer system is perfect, we don't live in a perfect world, but I think it was a very irresponsible thing to do to remove the 11-Plus at that time, with no replacement, and just leave everything hanging there, and it did bring into our whole education system a degree of chaos. "I think you will now be charged with sorting out the mess you have inherited. I feel you are up to it." It has long been alleged that a high-ranking paedophile ring preyed on vulnerable teenage boys at Kincora during the 1970s Security chiefs at MI5 and MI6 have told a public inquiry there is no evidence they knew about or covered up child abuse at the former Kincora Boys' Home. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has also rejected allegations that its staff deliberately withheld information about illegal activities at the east Belfast facility and used it as part of a propaganda operation, the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) has heard. In a statement, a senior MI6 manager, known only as Officer A, said a review of documents had found nothing to substantiate persistent claims of state-sponsored child prostitution and blackmail. He said: "I have seen nothing to indicate any involvement on the part of Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) officers in abuse at the Kincora Boys' Home or in any attempts to cover it up. "SIS does not exploit children or vulnerable adults for operational purposes nor tolerate their abuse by the staff or those that work in their behalf or in their support, including SIS agents." It has long been alleged that a high-ranking paedophile ring preyed on vulnerable teenage boys at Kincora during the 1970s. It is further claimed that the UK security services knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it, instead using the information to blackmail and extract intelligence from the influential men, including senior politicians, who were the perpetrators. In 1981, three senior care workers at Kincora - warden Joseph Mains, deputy warden Raymond Semple and house master William McGrath - were jailed for abusing boys. It is widely believed McGrath, who also led a shadowy Protestant paramilitary organisation, was working as an MI5 agent. In a separate statement submitted to the inquiry, the deputy director of MI5, who has been given the cipher 9004, said its officials only became aware of the Kincora abuse was when it was exposed by the media. He said: "The first MI5 knew about the allegations of sexual exploitation at Kincora was when the stories emerged in the media in 1980 and the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) investigations." MI5 also failed to find any papers to indicate McGrath was allowed to continue the abuse. "There's nothing amongst them to indicate that MI5 was aware of or suspected his involvement in child sexual exploitation at Kincora or that such abuse was permitted, condoned or encouraged in order to further any MI5 plan," the statement added. Military officials have also denied claims that the MoD was part of a cover-up. Jonathan Duke-Evans, head of public inquiries, claims and judicial reviews, said in a witness statement the MoD did not accept that information was deliberately withheld. He said: "Having carried out extensive reviews, the MoD has found no evidence that members of the armed forces or any other person employed by the MoD was aware of allegations that Mr McGrath had abused or been responsible for the abuse of inmates at Kincora. "It is not accepted that any such person held any such information from the police or sought to use it in any propaganda operation." It is the first time the long-running inquiry at Banbridge Courthouse has heard from the intelligence and security services. Barrister Joseph Aiken, counsel for the HIA, said the team had received full co-operation and was given unrestricted access to previously top secret files. MI5 has also pledged to make available a senior manager with responsibility for investigations in Northern Ireland to attend public evidence sessions, it was revealed. "All questions asked by the inquiry have been answered," he said. Such has been the level of co-operation from the MoD that emails were sent from Whitehall at 4am, Mr Aiken added. The inquiry was also shown an MI6 information card on McGrath, dated 1976, which claimed he may have been member of the UVF, ran a Christian fellowship centre which preached bigotry and anti-Catholic sermons, and was reported to be a homosexual. He was also described as being "eccentric and unstable". The HIA was set up by the Northern Ireland Executive in 2013 and has been examining allegations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at state and church-run residential institutions between 1922 and 1995. It is chaired by retired High Court judge Sir Anthony Hart, sitting alongside Geraldine Doherty, a former head of the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work in Scotland, and David Lane, who was director of social services in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Campaigners had hoped to have Kincora included in the nationwide child abuse probe chaired by New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard because the HIA does not have the power to compel witnesses. However, a legal challenge to overturn the Government's refusal was rejected as "premature" by a High Court judge last month. An appeal was also turned down. The inquiry continues. Later the HIA heard how police visited the three senior care workers in prison and quizzed them about the allegations of a paedophile ring at Kincora. William McGrath told officers in July 1982 he was "quite comfortable" in prison and while the cooking was not as good as his wife's, he had clean sheets and a bed and was prepared to serve out his sentence. Reading from a police report, Mr Aiken told the inquiry: "He emphatically denied a vice ring or prostitution ring. "He said he did not know civil servants British or otherwise at the NIO, nor policemen, justices of the peace or businessmen." Raymond Semple, who had become a committed Christian in jail, insisted he was telling the truth when he said to officers "there's nothing more", the inquiry heard. Meanwhile Joseph Mains answered "no" when asked if there was ever a prostitution ring at Kincora. Jude Collins replied to a tweet with an image of children at a masked parade in Lurgan There has been condemnation after children were present at a dissident parade in Lurgan last week There has been condemnation after children were present at a dissident parade in Lurgan last week The Boys Brigade have called on a well-known media commentator to apologise after he made grossly offensive and highly dangerous comments comparing the organisation to children taking part in dissident Republican marches. Jude Collins replied to images of a young girl and boy amongst masked republicans in the parade, which took place on Saturday, with an image of a Boys Brigade march and said A bit like this, then. Read more: Read More In a series of later tweets, he said: Why is 'brigade' in its title? And why do they march, military style? The BB is a 'brigade', it marches, it wears uniforms and berets...Odd echoes of something there Following criticism from some, he added: OK - not the same, fair enough. But are there any militaristic features in BB? Agreed. But do they march, have ranks, wear berets, have companies, squadrons, brigades?? In a blog post, he said that the organisation had militaristic origins and added: Im sure its true that the Boy Scouts and the Boys Brigade have developed from this early militarism, but its flying in the face of historical fact to go ballistic when someone suggests that at least in its origins, there might be military parallels. The Boys Brigade called on Mr Collins to withdraw his remarks and apologise. In a statement, they said: The Northern Ireland district of the Boys Brigade is deeply saddened by remarks made on social media by Jude Collins. Many of his comments about the organisation are factually inaccurate. The Boys Brigade is a Christian organisation. It is non-sectarian and it is non-political. It exists to further the Christian faith and to enrich the lives of boys and young men with a wide range of activities. To compare a youth organisation that exists for the good of all to a masked paramilitary group is both grossly offensive and highly dangerous. Speaking later on Talkback, Mr Colins said he would not apologise for the remarks as he believes his words have been misinterpreted. He said: "My comparison was not between the Boys Brigade and dissident paramilitaries. If you think it was that, I am telling you I didnt say that. I would suggest you misinterpreted my words then. "Its a question of the relationship between the paramilitaries and the children. What would be shocking about that would be, as I think Sharon ONeill originally intimated was, that they may be inducted in some way or brought into the ranks by republican paramilitaries and I admit that would be shocking. From the image I was looking at, I didnt see any children in any shocking situation. "My intention was to draw a vague parallel between the relationship between the paramilitaries and the children and the fact that there are militaristic overtones and history to the Boys Brigade." North Belfast minister Rev Lesley Carroll, who has worked as a chaplain for her BB throughout her life, spoke on the Nolan show. She said: I have been chaplain to the Boys Brigade for all of my ministry and I am shocked that anyone would think that the Boys Brigade is akin to any paramilitary organisation. I dont know if Jude was being deliberately provocative, or mischievous or he is just misinformed. I think he is looking in seeing young men in uniform and misconstruing completely what is going on. The Boys Brigade is about teaching boys discipline and self-discipline, enjoying sport, they have community relations, do drug education, they do charity work. There is nothing to compare with a paramilitary organisation. Its deeply offensive to people who have given their lives to working with boys over the years. North Antrim DUP MLA Mervyn Storey hit out at the comments. He said: Jude Collins is a regular commentator on our local media, usually seeking to defend republicanism in any circumstances. However, attempting to draw parallels between children participating in a parade of masked terrorists a youth organisation such as the Boys Brigade is disgusting and outrageous. The origins of the uniform of the Boys Brigade, the inclusion of Brigade in its name or the fact that activities such as drill have been part of the organisation can never justify any comparison with an illegal terrorist organisation. Far from recognising the offensive and inaccurate nature of his comments, Jude Collins has sought instead to dig deeper, penning a 750-word blog post attempting to further defending the indefensible. Our First Minister recently presented nearly 200 B.B. members with their Queens Badge in Ballymena and rightly paid tribute to the work of our youth organisations. Their contribution to our community is a world away from those who engage in violence and terror. Attempting to now claim that his remarks were some commentary on the history and origins of organisations such as the Boys Brigade only serve to deepen the offence. He should stop digging and now apologise for this slur on the Boys Brigade as an organisation, its members and all those who give of their time to offer such positive leadership to our young people. A high-profile loyalist has been arrested by police probing two sectarian murders almost nine months after detectives reopened investigations into the killings. The two Catholic men were shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in separate incidents. Winston 'Winkie' Rea (65) was arrested in Belfast yesterday. Police say he is being questioned over other serious crimes in Belfast in the late 1980s and 1990s. Last year, police were given access to interviews the former loyalist prisoner gave to controversial American university project, the Boston College tapes. Rea accused police of a "fishing exercise" after he launched a legal challenge to prevent police from accessing the tapes, but last June the PSNI was granted access to the interviews. In September, detectives from the force's Legacy Investigation Branch reopened inquiries into the murders, saying they had enough information to progress both cases. John Benedict Devine (37) was shot dead in front of his 13-year-old son at his home on Fallswater Street in west Belfast on July 23, 1989. John Joseph Gerard O'Hara (41) was shot at Dunluce Avenue in south Belfast on April 17, 1991. A church congregation that was torn apart by a row over its controversial minister last year has advertised for a new rector. St Matthias in Knocknamuckley, near Portadown, was split over the teachings of Rev Alan Kilpatrick, who is associated with the Bethel Church of Supernatural Ministries. The Bishop of Down and Dromore Harold Millar intervened last April after Rev Kilpatrick banned a Royal Black Preceptory church service and the Women's Group from holding meetings in the church hall. Parishioners also raised concerns about associations with the controversial American Bethel Church after details emerged of Bethel missioners hosting a service at Knocknamuckley in March. Bethel Church leaders talked of followers "trying to raise the dead" and witnessing "manifestations of gold" but Rev Kilpatrick insisted: "I am a Church of Ireland clergyman and I preach about the Kingdom of God. The bishop held meetings with the women's group, vestry and parishioners to try to deal with the complaints. In May Rev Kilpatrick formally stepped down and the church was split into two congregations - one remained in St Matthias, and a new missional congregation was set up in nearby Craigavon. Between May and October, when he formally left his post, Rev Kilpatrick's services were carried out by another clergyman and alternative pastoral cover was provided. Since October the post has been vacant, but the church is now advertising for a new rector to lead the congregation. The job advertisement reads: "This parish seeks to keep God's Word at the centre of church life and reach out with the Gospel to the wider community. It is truly inter-generational, and places a particular focus on young people and young families. There is a very committed congregation, which includes an enthusiastic leadership." When the church became riven in August, there were emotional scenes as some members of the congregation left a building that they had attended since childhood. A spokeswoman for the Knocknamuckley Concerned Parishioners Group, formed in opposition to the minister, said: "We are happy he is leaving, but we are disappointed that the church and congregation split as a result. It's no victory for anybody." A tearful female parishioner who supported the minister said: "It's very sad in a sense. A lot of us have worshipped here since we were infants, but we just have to keep believing that this is God's will and something really amazing is going to come out of this." A 57-year-old man added: "You can't, in a rural parish the size of this, have one man from Scotland come in and tell us what to do, that doesn't work - it doesn't work in any walk of life." Another female parishioner said: "I can see both sides. I don't think anybody would be happy about the decision, but I trust the bishop has put a lot of thought and prayer into the way forward." A 33-year-old man has admitted killing another who died in Belfast from multiple stab wounds. Ahmed Noor appeared at Belfast Crown Court and admitted killing 29-year-old Mohsin Bhatti. Noor, originally from Somalia, whose address was given as Agincourt Avenue in the city, was charged with murdering Mr Bhatti on January 29, 2015. When the murder charge was put to Noor, he replied: "Not guilty to murder, but guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility." Prosecuting barrister Kieran Murphy QC said that in light of this, the Crown was accepting the plea of manslaughter. Mr Murphy said a second charge against Noor - possessing two knifes with intent to commit murder - was being "left on the books, not to be proceeded with". Mr Murphy told Madam Justice McBride that this offence was "part and parcel" of the circumstances in respect of the manslaughter. Mr Bhatti, who came from Pakistan, had been in Northern Ireland for around a year and had been living at India Street at the time of his death. He sustained his fatal injuries in the early morning attack and died on Botanic Avenue. During yesterday's brief hearing at Belfast Crown Court both the prosecution and defence asked for time for the preparation of reports. Madam Justice McBride granted this request and said she would hear the plea on June 30. The judge then remanded Noor back into custody to a secure unit at Knockbracken Healthcare Park on the outskirts of Belfast. Proposals for a strategy to disband paramilitary groups across Northern Ireland have been sent to the Executive. The report of a three-strong panel is expected to be debated at the next meeting of DUP and Sinn Fein ministers along with new Justice Minister Claire Sugden. It is not clear whether the Executive will immediately make the document public. The panel was set up as one of the key components of the 'Fresh Start' deal between the DUP and Sinn Fein last autumn, with the panel tasked with reporting back within a six-month period. It was comprised of former Assembly speaker and Alliance leader Lord Alderdice, Women's Coalition leader Monica McWilliams and solicitor John McBurney. It held talks with a wide range of groups, including the four main church leaders, and has met its deadline of completing its report by the end of May. Now the Executive is expected to publish an 'action plan' arising from the report by the end of this month. Ministers also plan to commission research into the "social costs and implications of paramilitarism" along with a public awareness campaign. This, they said, is aimed at raising public understanding "of the harm done by paramilitarism and organised crime". The panel's report is also to be tied into wider programmes involving the Justice and new Communities departments and other agencies aimed at reducing community divisions A spokesman for the Executive Office said: "The panel met with the First Minister (Arlene Foster) and Deputy First Minister (Martin McGuinness) on May 23... the handling of the report will be considered by the Executive." Two men arrested by the NCA in connection with the Nama deal have been released on bail pending further inquiries Nama probe: The PSNI is assisting the investigation by the UK's National Crime Agency A Stormont scrutiny committee has requested a full briefing on a developing criminal investigation into Northern Ireland's biggest ever property deal to establish whether its own political probe can resume. Finance Committee chairwoman Emma Pengelly stressed the need to ensure its examination of the 1.2 billion sale of properties held by the Irish Republic's "bad bank" - the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) - did not prejudice the fraud investigation by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA). The committee convened for its first scheduled meeting of the new Assembly term just hours after two men arrested by the NCA in connection with the Nama deal were released on bail pending further inquiries. The criminal investigation into the sale of Nama's northern assets and property loans to US investment fund Cerberus was sparked by the discovery of a 7 million offshore transfer to an Isle of Man bank. The Finance Committee conducted its own inquiry in the last 12 months, as did the Irish Dail's Public Accounts Committee. The Stormont committee produced what was essentially an interim report earlier this year before the Assembly was dissolved ahead of last month's election. One of the first decisions for the new-look committee will be whether to resume its investigation into the transaction. Ms Pengelly, who is new to the committee's chairmanship, said it was important members received a briefing from the NCA before embarking on detailed discussions on the fate of the inquiry. "We need to be very careful we don't prejudice justice and the ongoing investigations into this," she said. The DUP MLA added: "I am indicating that I think we should have an early discussion with the NCA before we have any other substantive discussion around this matter just to ensure we keep ourselves absolutely right on this and we keep everybody else right on this." Searches were carried out in Co Down on Tuesday as part of the operation that resulted in the two arrests. A separate investigation into the affair is being run by the US Department of Justice's Securities and Exchange Commission amid a raft of allegations about fixer fees behind the deal. Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny has rejected calls for a state inquiry, insisting that no allegations of wrongdoing had been made against Nama. It is the so-called "bad bank" set up in Ireland at the height of the financial crisis to take property-linked loans off the books of bailed-out banks. It signed off on the Project Eagle deal in April 2014 by selling 800 property-linked loans to Cerberus, a multibillion fund which boasts former US vice president Dan Quayle in its ranks. But the sale has been dogged by controversy since allegations were first made under parliamentary privilege that some of the money in the Isle of Man account was destined for a politician. Further revelations, also under parliamentary privilege, separately claimed 45 million had been earmarked for fixers and there were five beneficiaries of the 7 million. All parties involved in the 1.2 billion transaction in 2014 have denied wrongdoing. Cerberus won the auction by offering 1.241 billion for loans linked to the Northern Ireland properties when the reserve price was 1.24 billion. During Wednesday's committee hearing at Parliament Buildings, Belfast, members stressed the need to continue the inquiry. Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd said the full truth had yet to emerge but he echoed the need for caution in terms of how the committee proceeded. "We fully endorse openness and transparency and full truth being revealed around that," he said. "It's a matter of deep concern on both sides of the border and in both institutions on both sides of the border and we don't believe the truth has been fully discovered in relation to it. "We need to be completely sure that the committee is acting within its remit and not impeding or impeaching any other procedures that are going on." Ulster Unionist committee member Ross Hussey said the inquiry had to be "top of the list". "We can't allow this to go away because this is something that really is certainly in the public eye," he said. "It would be the eye of the storm if we allowed it to disappear. We are talking about an awful lot of public money and I think even if it takes the entire mandate and beyond this is something that has to be taken and shaken until we get all the answers we want." The SDLP's Claire Hanna said there was no reason the committee's inquiry could not continue "in parallel" to the police probes. "A key part of our programme has to be a very rigorous investigation into the outstanding issues around the Nama sale portfolio," she said. Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said public confidence in the committee would be dinted if its probe was not resumed. "It is a matter of significant public interest and I think it touches upon the credibility of this committee that we continue to address it," he said. "If we turned a blind eye to it we would be doing the credibility of this committee a considerable disservice." Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Cadets make final preparations at HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. General view of HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. General view of HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 Cadets during The commemoration which takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 First Minister Arlene Foster and Secretary of State Theresa Villiers during The commemoration at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 Prince Michael of Kent during The commemoration at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 The commemoration takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 Wreaths are thrown overboard during The commemoration that took place takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 31/5/2016 A Video is shown during The commemoration which takes place at HMS Caroline on the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, as Belfast hosts a special all-island commemoration for Irish sailors who died in World War One. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured with Jeff Mayton at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. First Minister Arlene Foster at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Local sailors take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Military bands take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Local sailors take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. General view of the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Members of the colour party take part in the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies on board HMS Caroline. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st May 2016 - HMS CAROLINE MARKS 10,000 IRISH SAILORS IN WW1 HMS Caroline, one of the worldOs most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Moored in Alexandra Dock in BelfastOs QueenOs Island the ship which has undergone a major Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restoration programme, joins commemorative events across the UK including Jutland Bank in the North Sea and Kirkwall in Orkney where the British Grand Fleet mobilized ahead of the Battle of Jutland. Prince Michael Michael of Kent is pictured with Admiral Sir Jonathon Bond, Secretary of State Theresa Villiers and First Minister Arlene Foster at the Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Commemoration of The Irish Sailor and Centenary of Battle of Jutland ceremonies at Alexandra Dock where HMS Caroline is docked. HMS Caroline, one of the world's most historically significant war ships, is the focus of a unique commemoration of 10,000 Irish sailors who participated in the First World War on Tuesday May 31. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye The Battle of Jutland may have had no clear victor, but the sacrifice of those who died in the biggest naval battle of the First World War was not in vain, the Duke of Edinburgh has declared. The message from Prince Philip, who was unable to attend on medical advice, was carried in the order of service for commemorations held at the final resting place for more than 450 service personnel who died in the war. Read More Philip said: "Whatever the judgment on the outcome, the commemoration of the centenary of the battle is focused on the endurance and gallantry of all those who took part, on both sides, and particularly on those who lost their lives. "War may be senseless and the Battle of Jutland may have been inconclusive, but there can be no doubt that their sacrifice was not in vain." Earlier, David Cameron, Nicola Sturgeon and the Princess Royal joined descendants of those who fought at the Battle of Jutland for services on Orkney to remember the 8,648 seamen who died in the most decisive sea engagement of the war. British and German military bands played and crowds lined the street as the Prime Minister arrived at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall with the First Minister for the first memorial service of the day. Labour's shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry and local Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael joined other politicians, Government ministers and naval officers to pay tribute at the UK's most northerly cathedral. Guests and descendants later travelled by boat to Lyness Cemetery on the island of Hoy where hundreds of sailors killed at Jutland are buried. The cemetery stands close to Scapa Flow, from where the British Grand Fleet set out for the Jutland Bank to repel the German High Seas Fleet attempting to break a British blockade. A remembrance service was also held at sea, where British and German naval representatives scattered poppies and forget-me-nots - the German flower of remembrance - into the North Sea at Jutland Bank, where the sunken ships sit on the seabed. Anne represented the royal family at the memorial and arrived with German President Joachim Gauck. Mr Cameron said in the order of service it was a reminder that the First World War was not only fought in battlefield trenches. He said: "It is very moving that we are joined today by the descendants of some of those who served at sea during the war. "We stand together with them to pay our profound respects to their ancestors and to ensure that the events of a hundred years ago will be remembered and understood in a hundred years' time." Ken Livingstone said the furore was being used to deflect attention away from the Labour leader's policies Former London mayor Ken Livingstone has blamed "embittered MPs" for branding him a Nazi apologist over his controversial statements about Hitler. Speaking at the Oxford Union, he refused to apologise for the comments and claimed Jeremy Corbyn "had no say" in his suspension from the Labour party. In an appearance dominated by questions about anti-Semitism, Mr Livingstone stuck by his remarks that Hitler supported Zionism as "historical fact". He told members of the famous debating society that the furore was being used to deflect attention away from the Labour leader's policies. "I think this has been largely manufactured by people trying to undermine Jeremy Corbyn," he said. "If someone says something anti-Semitic they will be expelled but you can't expel someone for telling the truth." He said it was "damaging" to suspend someone for saying something "factual" and compared his comments to "1+1=2". Mr Livingstone said Mr Corbyn, who has branded his remarks "inappropriate", had been told by unelected party officials that he had been suspended. "Jeremy had no say in this," he added. Asked by the union's president, Robert Harris, if he could understand the outrage and disgust he had caused, Mr Livingstone said: "I put all of this in my autobiography five years ago and no one said anything then. "Embittered MPs (think) here we can start screaming at Ken Livingstone, 'Nazi apologist' and so on, and create all this stuff about anti-Semitism." He explained he had been attacked throughout his political career for his forthright views and has always refused to say sorry for his controversial opinions. "When I have gone through lots of people saying I should apologise to this reporter or apologise for saying Hitler was a supporter of Zionism... I have never apologised," he said. He defended his record on the issue while running the capital, insisting his tenure from 2000 to 2008 is "the best record in modern times" in terms of the drop in anti-Semitic incidents. "In this latest anti-Semitic row, I couldn't walk down the street without being stopped by people saying, 'don't give into them, we know what you say is true'. "One Jewish woman said, 'don't these MPs read history?'" The Labour party has been plagued by allegations of anti-Semitism in recent months but Livingstone said he had never heard any complaints before a row erupted in the Oxford University Labour Club (OULC). In February, Alex Chalmers, an undergraduate at Oriel College, resigned as co-chairman after claiming a large proportion of members "have some kind of problem with Jews" and some sympathise with Islamic militant group Hamas. Reports of slurs and songs sung that were said to amount to anti-Semitism were reported by the university's Jewish Society, known as JSoc. However, a review conducted by Baroness Royall found the OULC was not institutionally anti-Semitic but called on the student club to examine its culture and create a "safe space" for discussion and debate without discrimination. She said: "I do not believe that there is institutional anti-Semitism within OULC. "Difficulties however face OULC which must be addressed to ensure a safe space for all Labour students to debate and campaign around the great ideas of our movement." "Working class" Mr Livingstone claims he has been unfairly smeared throughout his career as a politician. "The establishment don't want people like me or Jeremy in positions of power. They will do anything to stop us," he said. Mr Livingstone explained how his latest controversy erupted on April 28, his wife's 50th birthday, in response to the question "Is what Hitler did legal?". "I pointed out there were two phases. The 1930s, working with Zionists to move Jews to Palestine, then some time about 1941 he went down this other route of genocide," he said. "They are two quite distinct periods." He also defended blaming Tony Blair for the London bombings on July 7 2005 that killed 52 people and injured hundreds more. "I don't blame him exclusively but he was told by the security services, if you invade Iraq it will increase our risk as a target for terrorism, and we knew from the day of 9/11 London was a target," said Mr Livingstone. An Italian appeals court has upheld the conviction and 16-year prison sentence for the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that capsized off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 people. Prosecutors had sought 27 years and three months for Captain Francesco Schettino, but the court kept the original sentence, according to the ANSA news agency. Both the prosecution and defence appealed against the conviction by a lower court last year. The prosecution sought to toughen the sentence while the defence argued that blame did not fall solely on Schettino. The Italian remains free and has one final appeal to Italy's highest court. Schettino was convicted of manslaughter and causing the shipwreck by colliding with a reef near tiny Giglio island and of abandoning the capsized vessel with people still aboard. Four people have died and 10 others were injured after an explosion at a tube network building site near South Korea's capital Seoul. The workers in Namyangju were welding iron bars 49 feet underground when the explosion occurred on Wednesday morning, Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters said. One was found dead above ground, his body possibly blown upwards by the force of the explosion, while three others were found dead underground. Three of the injured were seriously hurt. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known but an official from the Namyangju fire brigade said a gas tank used for the welding operations might have exploded. The accident is the latest addition into a long list of deadly safety accidents in South Korea, where, despite a period of soul-searching after a 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people, safety issues continue to be overlooked. There was public outrage about the death of a 19-year-old tube worker who was hit by a underground train on Saturday while carrying out maintenance work on screen doors on a station platform in Seoul. Critics have questioned the workplace policies at Seoul Metro, the tube operator, asking why the man was working alone when safety regulations required at least two for such jobs. Analysts say many safety problems in the country stem from little regulation and wide ignorance about safety in general - and a tendency to value economic advancement over all else. Ma Wenyi, whose father was one of thousands forced to work during the Second World War for Mitsubishi Mining, cries in Beijing (AP) Mitsubishi Materials, one of dozens of Japanese companies that used Chinese forced labourers during the Second World War, has reached a settlement covering thousands of victims that includes compensation and an apology. The deal was signed in Beijing with three former workers representing the company's more than 3,000 Chinese victims of forced labour, Mitsubishi Materials said in a statement. The victims were among about 40,000 Chinese brought to Japan in the early 1940s as forced labourers to make up for a domestic labour shortage. Many died due to violence and malnutrition amid harsh treatment by the Japanese. Under the settlement, Mitsubishi Materials will pay 100,000 yuan (10,500) to each of the Chinese victims and their families. The victims were forced to work at 10 coal mines operated by Mitsubishi Mining, what Mitsubishi Materials was known as at the time. Mitsubishi Materials said it would try to locate all of the victims. The company's payments would total 370 million yuan (38.98 million) if all of them come forward. At the signing ceremony in Beijing, the company "expressed its sincere apologies regarding its historical responsibility to the former labourers and the apologies were accepted by the three former labourers", the company's statement said. Mitsubishi Materials also said it would construct memorials at the sites where the company's mines were located and organise memorial ceremonies. The settlement comes two years after several groups representing the victims and their families filed a compensation lawsuit against Mitsubishi Materials. The sides negotiated a deal, though one of the groups, representing 37 plaintiffs, rejected the settlement that was finally reached, according to Japan's Kyodo News agency. Japan's government has long insisted that all wartime compensation issues were settled under the post-war peace treaties, and that China waived its right to pursue compensation under the 1972 treaty with Japan that established diplomatic relations between Beijing and Tokyo. Lawsuits filed in Japan by Chinese and Korean victims of Japanese wartime aggression, including former forced laborers and sex slaves, had previously been rejected. Japan's Foreign Ministry acknowledged the country's wartime use of Chinese forced labourers after wartime documents were found in the early 1990s. The settlement is the first ever that Mitsubishi Materials has reached with former forced labourers. At least two other Japanese construction companies - Kajima and Nishimatsu - have taken similar steps to compensate smaller groups of victims. Last year, Mitsubishi Materials apologised for its harsh treatment of former US prisoners of war, who were also used by the company as forced labourers. Most hailed the settlement as a victory for their cause. "World War II ended 70 years ago. Our forced labour case today has finally come to a resolution. We have won this case. This is a big victory that merits a celebration," one of the victims, Yan Yucheng, 87, told reporters. Representatives of other ex-labourers, however, said they were not convinced Mitsubishi Materials' apology was sincere and pointed to a desire by Japanese firms to ease widespread anti-Japan sentiment among Chinese, many of whom feel the country has yet to show true contrition for its invasion and wartime atrocities. "The company did it not for reconciliation, but to try to relieve the pressure on the Japanese government," said Kang Jian, a lawyer representing 60 former workers who filed a case against Mitsubishi Materials in a Chinese court. Responding to the settlement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing would pay close attention to how Japan deals with such matters. "China urges Japan to adopt a responsible attitude and properly handle the relevant issue of history," Mr Hua said at a daily briefing. The signals are thought to be from the plane's black boxes A French company has confirmed that its special undersea search ship has detected signals from one of the black box flight recorders on the EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last month. Alseamar said the Laplace ship started searching for the signals at midday on Tuesday, and "less than 24 hours were necessary ... to locate signals from a detector attached to one of the recorders of flight MS804". The French air accident investigation agency BEA said it is impossible to determine from the signals whether it is the flight's data or voice recorder. All 66 passengers and crew on board the flight were killed when the plane crashed on May 19. The development has raised hopes the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, known as the black boxes, could be retrieved and shed light on the aircraft's crash. Egyptian officials said a second ship, John Lethbridge, affiliated with the Deep Ocean Search firm, will join the search team later this week. Locator pings emitted by flight data and cockpit voice recorders, known as the black boxes, can be picked up from deep under water. The Laplace is equipped with three detectors designed to detect and localise signals from the flight recorders, which are believed to be at a depth of about 3,000 metres under water. By comparison, the wreck of the RMS Titanic is lying at a depth of about 3,800 metres. Shaker Kelada, an EgyptAir official who has led other crash investigations for the carrier, said half "the job has been done now" and that the next step would be to determine the black boxes' exact location and extract them from the sea. "We have to find where the boxes are exactly and decide on how to pull them out," he said, adding that search teams might need to send in robots or submarines and "be extremely careful ... to avoid any possible damage". Mr Kelada said he was confident the boxes will be retrieved. He had investigated the Flash Airlines Flight 604 crash in 2004, when the aircraft hit the Red Sea shortly after take-off from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 148 passengers, most of them French tourists, and crew on board. In the May 19 crash, EgyptAir Airbus A320 had been cruising normally in clear skies on a nighttime flight to from Paris to Cairo when it suddenly lurched left, then right, spinning all the way around and plummeting 38,000 feet into the sea, Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said shortly after the crash. However, Egyptian officials refuted this, saying the plane did not swerve or lose altitude before it disappeared off radar. A distress signal was never issued, EgyptAir has said. Since the crash, small pieces of the wreckage and human remains have been recovered while the bulk of the plane and the bodies of the passengers are believed to be deep under the sea. A Cairo forensic team has received the human remains and is carrying DNA tests to identify the victims. The search has narrowed down to a 3-mile area in the Mediterranean. David Learmount, a consulting editor at the aviation news website Flightglobal, said the black boxes' batteries can transmit signals up to 30 days after the crash. But even if the batteries expire, locating the boxes remains a possibility. "It's terribly important to find the black boxes, because if they don't find them, they will know nothing about the aircraft," he said, citing the 2009 Air France Flight 447 crash in the Atlantic Ocean, when black boxes were found two years later. Nearly two weeks after the crash off Egypt's northern coast, the cause of the tragedy has still not been determined. Egypt's civil aviation minister, Sherif Fathi, has said he believes terrorism is a more likely explanation than equipment failure or some other catastrophic event. But no hard evidence has emerged on the cause, and no militant group has claimed to have downed the jet. Earlier, leaked flight data indicated a sensor had detected smoke in a lavatory and a fault in two of the plane's cockpit windows in the final moments of the flight. Safety on board Egyptian aircraft and at the country's airports has been under close international scrutiny since a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula last October, killing all 224 people on board, shortly after taking off from an Egyptian resort. That crash - claimed by the Islamic State's affiliate in Sinai and blamed by Moscow on an explosive device planted on board - decimated Egypt's lucrative tourism industry, which had already been battered by years of turmoil in the country. Also on Wednesday, Egyptian authorities reported that they had evacuated all passengers from the EgyptAir Flight 960 from Cairo to Bangkok scheduled late the previous night after receiving security threats of a bomb on board. Tarek Zaki, head of security at Cairo airport, said the warning claimed an unidentified assailant had planted a bomb on the plane. A security official said the plane and the bags were searched but no bomb was found. The threat caused a delay and eventually led to the flight being cancelled. University of California in Los Angeles is currently in lockdown (File photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Security personnel search the University of California Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the Engineering IV annex of the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Dozens of police cars and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the site as helicopters hovered overhead. Some 43,000 students are enrolled at the massive UCLA campus, according to its website. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images People are escorted by security personnel at the University of California Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Dozens of police cars and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the site as helicopters hovered overhead. Some 43,000 students are enrolled at the massive UCLA campus, according to its website. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images Security personnel check people at the University of California Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Dozens of police cars and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the site as helicopters hovered overhead. Some 43,000 students are enrolled at the massive UCLA campus, according to its website. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images Security personnel escort people from the University of California Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Dozens of police cars and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the site as helicopters hovered overhead. Some 43,000 students are enrolled at the massive UCLA campus, according to its website. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images People are evacuated as Los Angeles Police Department officers and other security personnel search the University of California's Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Dozens of police cars and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the site as helicopters hovered overhead. Some 43,000 students are enrolled at the massive UCLA campus, according to its website. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images Security personnel search the University of California's Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Dozens of police cars and tactical response teams as well as federal agents rushed to the site as helicopters hovered overhead. Some 43,000 students are enrolled at the massive UCLA campus, according to its website. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images News photographers are reflected on a glass door as security personnel search the University of California Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the Engineering IV annex of the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. AFP/Getty Images Two men have been killed at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). The shooting, that led to a massive response on the campus in a bustling part of LA, was a murder-suicide, authorities said. Police chief Charlie Beck declared the campus safe about two hours after authorities received an emergency call. The shooting happened in a small office in an engineering building called Boelter Hall, and a gun was found along with what might be a suicide note, he said. No names have been released. Hundreds of officers from multiple federal and local agencies swarmed the campus, which had been placed on lockdown. Teams in tactical gear looking for victims and suspects ran across campus, some with weapons drawn, and stormed into buildings. People emerged from buildings with their hands raised or behind their heads. Expand Close Security personnel check people at the University of California Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Security personnel check people at the University of California Los Angeles campus after two people were confirmed dead following a shooting at the facility, June 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. AFP/Getty Images The shooting occurred the week before final exams at UCLA, a major campus of the University of California system with about 43,000 students. Many students posted to social media, many to let friends and family know they were safe. Some described frantic evacuation scenes and a large police response. Others wrote that their doors were not locking and posted photos of items such as photocopiers pushed up against them. The focus of police activity was a cluster of engineering buildings near the centre of a campus that occupies 419 acres in Los Angeles. At a mathematical sciences building near Boelter Hall, Swat officers with guns drawn cleared occupants who emerged one by one. One man walked out with his hands up and was told to get on his knees. An armed officer searched him and his backpack, then sent him on his way with his hands still in the air. UCLA confirms two dead in campus shooting https://t.co/v7Zv9cUrgS https://t.co/seXHT0j5Gv CNN (@CNN) June 1, 2016 Heavily armed law enforcement going into @UCLA building "as fast as they can" https://t.co/wcFEgxKWKy #UCLA Michael Gravesande (@OldBlackHack) June 1, 2016 Two people are dead in the #UCLA shooting, LAPD confirms https://t.co/Opd1SN7L6D Roger Simas (@SimasRealEstate) June 1, 2016 Bioengineering professor Denise Aberle said she could see "a lot of police activity with innumerable cars" and a police helicopter hovering over the engineering building. "Police keep coming," she said. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacts on stage at a United Food and Commercial Workers International Union hall, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, in Buena Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher) Hillary Clinton could lose the race for Democratic nominee as the focus shifts to California, where an influx of voter registrations threatens to derail her lead over Bernie Sanders. Mr Sanders will be looking to the state to boost his campaign with news of a further 1.5 million people registering to vote since January this year. The latest statistics from the Institute of California will be encouraging to Mr Sanders as a big win in the 7 June California primary, where the candidates are currently virtually deadlocked, could hand him hundreds more delegates. Mr Sanders currently has 1,501 pledged delegates to Ms Clinton's 1,769. The influx of additional registrants a 218 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2012 is likely to include large numbers of young voters and could make this scenario a reality. Expand Close A girl watches Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speak at a rally at Hartnell College, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, in Salinas, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher) AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A girl watches Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speak at a rally at Hartnell College, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, in Salinas, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher) Recent open primaries have shown that the Vermont senator tends to underperform in pre-election surveys and over-perform on primary and caucus days, thanks to the participation of new registrants and young voters. If Mr Sanders were to win in California it would seriously call into question Ms Clinton's candidacy in the general election and could result in a number of superdelegates, including distinguished party leaders and elected officials who are free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination, withdrawing their support. Mr Sanders said although Ms Clinton has received "a whole lot more" superdelegate support than he has to date, "they dont vote until they're on the floor of the Democratic convention". He said that his job was now to convince them of his electability against Donald Trump. Expand Close Democratic presidential candidate US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a press conference on health care on May 31, 2016 in Emeryville, California. Bernie Sanders is campaigning in Northern California ahead of the State's presidential primary on June 7th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Democratic presidential candidate US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a press conference on health care on May 31, 2016 in Emeryville, California. Bernie Sanders is campaigning in Northern California ahead of the State's presidential primary on June 7th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) He is considered the stronger contender against Mr Trump nationally, with recent surveys putting him ahead by about 10 points. Mr Trump and Ms Clinton, currently subject to a damning report on misuse of a private email server while she was secretary of state, are possibly the most disliked nominees in decades, while Mr Sanders is the candidate more liked than disliked in favourability ratings. Independent The Gotthard Base tunnel is the world's longest train tunnel (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP) The world's longest railway tunnel has been officially opened in Switzerland. The leaders of France, Germany and Italy were in attendance at a ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of the 35.4-mile tunnel through the Alps. It has taken 17 years to build at a cost of 12.2 billion Swiss francs (8.4 billion). The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease road traffic and take cargo away from pollution-spewing lorries trucking between Europe's north and south. Once it opens for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel will take up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came for a flashy celebration featuring musical bands, dancers and even a tunnel theme song. The project, while cutting a north-south axis through central Switzerland, has received financial support and industrial know-how from around the European Union. Though Switzerland is not one of the bloc's 28 members, the EU railway network will get a major boost from the shortcut through the Alps, notably on the route from Germany to Italy. "The new tunnel fits into the European railway freight corridor, which links Rotterdam and Genoa," said Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann. He added that the tunnel will boost access "to these two important ports" in the Netherlands and Italy. "Aside from saving time, more merchandise can be carried through the Alps," he said. In a glitzy show under purple neon lights, performers dressed up in orange miners' suits and protective helmets danced on top of a moving rail car. Trapeze artists hung from chains or ropes, a band blared out a thumping military march and helicopters buzzed overhead. The tunnel runs between the German-speaking Swiss town of Erstfeld in the north and Italian-speaking Bodio in the south. Split-screen TV images showed two trains in opposition directions entering and leaving the tunnel entrances nearly simultaneously on both ends. A test run by the European leaders turned into a mini-summit: Mrs Merkel, Mr Renzi and Mr Hollande climbed on board in a first-class carriage for a ride through the tunnel, sitting alongside Schneider-Ammann. A band played Rossini's William Tell Overture after they arrived. Mrs Merkel said it was a "wonderful feeling" to be on the train. She did note that "more than 2,000 metres of rocks" were above but that she had a "feeling of security because I believe in the security of the Swiss civil engineers". "We congratulate Switzerland because they were already so punctual, and also because the costs were kept within targets," she added. "That's something Germany still needs to strive for." At the peak of construction, as many as 2,400 workers took part in the project. The two holes were connected in October 2010, some 11 years after the first blast to build the tunnel, which took place in the last century. In the tunnel, freight trains will run at up to 60 miles per hour, and passenger trains twice that at first. The tunnel is to shave 45 minutes off the trip from Zurich to Lugano, Switzerland. Guy Parmelin, the Swiss minister of defence and civil protection, told national television that the tunnel gives his country a chance to display its "know-how" and show "when Switzerland takes on a commitment, it keeps it". Forces under Mr Parmelin's command were taking little chance with security for the inauguration. Almost 2,000 additional Swiss troops were called in to help keep watch this week, and air space restrictions were put in place in the area. The Gotthard Base Tunnel eclipses Japan's 33.4-mile Seikan Tunnel as the world's longest and burrows deeper - 1.4 miles - than any other rail tunnel. THE recent survey indicating that Christians are outnumbered by the non-religious covers only England and Wales but, although Northern Ireland is still the most religious part of the UK, the trend here is in the same direction. According to the 2011 census, 10.1% ticked "no religion" and a further 6.8% were "not stated". In total, this represents no fewer than 300,000 people, though it underestimates the non-religious, because many tick a particular denomination for cultural reasons. Most Christians will decry this growing secularisation, but it will benefit society in a number of crucial ways. Democratic states that are the most secular - such as Scandinavia, Japan and the Netherlands - are faring much better on nearly every single indicator of well-being than the most religious states - such as Colombia, Pakistan and the Philippines. Murder rates are also lower in more secular countries. Of the top 50 safest cities, nearly all are in relatively non-religious countries. According to research by Dr Phil Zuckerman in Psychology Today (October 13, 2014), secular nations also display greater altruism, donating the highest percentage of income and supportive aid per capita to poorer nations. Christians, Muslims and other faiths should take note of these findings. Millions of people throughout the world are good and thriving without God and our numbers are growing every day. Imagine there's no heaven. It is easy if you try. BRIAN McCLINTON Humanist Association Fermanagh councillor Raymond Farrell quit the UUP over a 'lack of leadership' before rejoining the DUP. But is his defection a flash in the pan, or are the tectonic plates starting to shift under unionism? Suzanne Breen reports. A member of a far-flung rural council defecting to another party is hardly a game-changer in our political landscape. Fermanagh councillor Raymond Farrell, who has just joined the DUP, is well-liked and respected locally but he is not a household name outside of his own bailiwick. Yet the DUP is playing up the former Ulster Unionist's move and, most significantly, is claiming it's the start of a trend that will become apparent over coming weeks as the names of new converts are revealed. "Let battle commence!" Mike Nesbitt declared as he announced that his party had made the brave, bold decision to go into Opposition. But, with Mr Farrell's defection, the DUP hollered its own war cry. DUP sources claim that a number of Ulster Unionists - allegedly uneasy about entering the "wilderness of Opposition" and unconvinced by Mr Nesbitt's leadership - have either already defected to their party or are on the brink of doing so. A senior DUP source said his party had recruited "a double digit number" of UUP grassroots members as well as several councillors. He claimed that some of Mr Nesbitt's 16 MLAs now felt "uncomfortable" in the party. Yet the DUP is not expected to secure any MLA's scalp. The DUP insider claimed that young UUP members were particularly concerned that the party was sailing into oblivion. "They don't know where their party stands on anything, whereas our message is crystal clear," he said. "UUP members complain that Mike Nesbitt is all over the place ideologically, that he flip-flops from one position to the next. While the party seemed to be on an upward trajectory, Mike got away with that. However, after the UUP's worst ever Assembly election results, the momentum has gone." The DUP source said that Peter Robinson had been a barrier to some disillusioned UUP members joining. "They saw Peter perhaps as too aggressive, whereas in Arlene they see someone who is not divisive and who is capable of being the leader of unionism," he added. UUP sources dismiss the DUP's claims as "pure propaganda" and say that the defection of "one councillor who actually left many months ago" should be kept in perspective. They insist that their party has been energised by the decision to go into Opposition and is "raring to go" in its new role of holding the Executive to account. The UUP points to its own enviable recent record of attracting defectors from across the political spectrum, including high-profile ex-Lisburn DUP councillor and whistleblower Jenny Palmer, who was elected as an MLA last month. Independent North Down unionist Alan Chambers - now also an MLA - and TUV councillor David Arthurs are among the new UUP arrivals. That a dominant DUP will continue seeking to pick off disgruntled members of other unionist parties is obvious. Once the party of protest, it is now the party of power, and like any swaggering, successful organisation it will attempt to put its rivals out of business and maximise its own position. "The DUP is very brazen about its intentions," said a well-placed unionist source. "If it sees talent in another party, it makes its move. It pounces on able, up-and-coming politicians. "It made a move on a young TUV Assembly candidate and a young UUP candidate at their election counts." Neither candidate was apparently tempted by the DUP's blandishments, but with those for whom raw political ambition is the driving force, Arlene Foster's party is an attractive option in terms of career progression. At the next Assembly election the number of MLAs per constituency reduces from six to five. "That will concentrate minds," said one unionist source. "In Newry and Armagh, for instance, there is only one unionist seat. I wouldn't rule out the DUP trying to court Danny Kennedy, although I doubt they'd get beyond first base with him." In Britain, once the glitz of the grand entrance of those who have defected to rival political parties has faded, they usually sink without trace. But those who have jumped ship to the DUP have fared famously well. Foster's ascendancy has shown just how far and fast promotion can be. New Education Minister Peter Weir is also a former Ulster Unionist Party member, as are most of the DUP's senior strategists. A DUP insider said: "Anyone from the UUP who joins us will be as warmly welcomed as Arlene herself was back in 2004. While there will be no special privileges, they will be on an equal footing with lifetime DUP members. Our party couldn't be more meritocratic." That's the recruiting call, but whether there is anyone as remotely talented as Foster waiting in the wings is another matter entirely. We only represent 3% of the UK electorate, but this place may prove crucial in deciding the outcome of the big vote on June 23, says Alban Maginness. The recent news that the net immigration figures for the UK have reached a record of 333,000 come at a bad time for David Cameron as he struggles to convince the electorate that the UK should stay in the European Union. Despite the fact that there is as much immigration from outside the EU as there is from within, it does not matter a hoot to many who are fearful - indeed - alarmed by immigration into Britain. This is a boost to the Leave side, who trade on rampant xenophobia and the fear of Britain being swamped by foreigners. Opinion polls indicate that the vote in England alone will be very close. More worrying for Cameron is that, even in Wales, there was an unhealthy surge in support for Ukip in the Welsh Assembly election, giving that party seven new seats. At 13%, the Ukip votes indicate that Wales could be extremely tight for the Remain side. On the other hand London, having just elected Europhile Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, should be predictably pro-Europe. London is a mega-city with a different political climate to the rest of England. It is highly unlikely that London would vote Leave given that it has benefited most from EU membership. To leave the European Union would inflict severe damage on the City of London - the biggest financial centre in Europe. The Scots, however, are about 65% in favour of remaining. This is confirmed by the opinion polls and the recent parliamentary vote, where an overwhelming majority of MSPs supported a motion to remain within the EU. Nonetheless, there is no certainty that there will be an electoral majority for the Remain side in Britain, such is the delicate balance of political opinion. Much will, of course, depend on voter turnout, and I would anticipate that the Leave side will be able to generate and mobilise a more enthusiastic anti-European vote. Given the apparent closeness of the vote in Britain, it may well be that Northern Ireland - although only 3% of the UK electorate - could be the crucial determinant in leaving or staying within the EU. All of this means that we should be looking at our own internal debate on the referendum. I think it would be fair to say that the debate here has made little traction with the local electorate. Yet there have been keen efforts made by local people, not least the business community, including the CBI, whose members have concluded that the best outcome for the UK is to remain in a reformed Europe. Our local trade unions have, likewise, overwhelmingly supported the Remain side. The Northern Ireland committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called on its members to use their vote to remain for "the stability of the economy of Northern Ireland, for the security of their jobs and for their rights as workers". Disappointingly, the Ulster Farmers Union, while making sympathetic pro-European noises, has refused to advise its members what way to vote. For a sector so crucially linked to the EU, it is very odd that this farming organisation has adopted such a non-position. But, perhaps more refreshingly, our local political parties have engaged in a civilised public debate about the merits of the European Union. Amazingly, under Northern Ireland Stronger In Europe, there has been a coming together of political opinion across the traditional sectarian divide, with the UUP in particular supporting Remain. In fairness to Mike Nesbitt (below), this is a brave step out of the unionist comfort zone and is to be warmly welcomed. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood enthusiastically supports staying in the EU and has rightly said that support for Europe is in the SDLP's political DNA. The party, with the probable exception of Alliance, has been the only consistently pro-European party in Northern Ireland. John Hume was a pan-European statesman who rightly saw the European project as a template for our own peace process. Sinn Fein has belatedly become a supporter of the EU despite the fact that it consistently opposed every major initiative to enlarge or reform the EU. Nonetheless, the support of all these parties, be it weak or strong, and in addition the business sector and the trade union movement, will be very helpful in achieving a pro-EU majority. Curiously, the DUP, which is officially opposed to European membership, has been low-key in its opposition within the Stormont Assembly. The active opposition to EU membership within the DUP is among its MPs, who are safely embedded in the Westminster bubble, where they can indulge their Eurosceptic fantasies without affecting the more pragmatic views of their colleagues in the Assembly. While Northern Ireland is on the European periphery both geographically and politically, a majority here in favour of or against EU membership could be crucial to the UK's momentous decision on Europe - and the future of David Cameron's premiership. Both Memorial Day and Taps, the bugle call most associated with the day, arose from the U.S. Civil War As we celebrate with friends, family, and community during Memorial Day weekend, Id like to encourage all of us to remember that Memorial Day is dedicated to those Americans who have fallen while serving in our nations military to preserve our freedoms, our way of life, and our nation. Decoration Day As important and solemn as this national holiday is to many Americans, its origins are surprisingly disputed and not completely clear. But what is undisputed is that it originated as a day to remember and honor U.S. military service members who died in the Civil War and was originally called, Decoration Day, because people went to cemeteries and put flowers on soldiers graves. Origins Decoration Day officially was established in 1868 by Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, the Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the primary organization representing Union veterans of the Civil War. Logan called for May 30th to be an annual day nationally to decorate war graves. But a Presidential Proclamation in 1966 gave credit to Waterloo, NY, as the birth place of Memorial Day (Decoration Day) on May 5th, 1866. But according to historian David W. Blight, the first recorded act of honoring Union Civil War dead occurred in Charleston, SC on May 1st, 1865. The Charleston Daily Courier reported at the time that former slaves African Americans honored 257 dead Union soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They reburied the bodies and gave them each a proper burial as gratitude for giving their lives for freedom. A parade, led by several thousand African American children followed. Thousands of people marched, sang and celebrated. Although the fact of this extraordinary event is undisputed, there is no agreement that this event led to todays Memorial Day. An Evolving Holiday After World War I the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars. Memorial Day was generally observed on May 30th, the date Logan had declared for the first Decoration Day, until 1968 when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May; the law went into effect in 1971 and legally declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. Official Memorial Day ceremonies call for the President of the United States to lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and Taps is played. Origin of Taps This year is the 154th anniversary of the creation and first playing of Taps, played by a 22 year-old Union Army bugler during the Civil war in July 1862 just 24 notes that have become part of our nations soul. It was used to signal lights out at the end of the day but also started to be used at military funerals that same year. Taps was a bugle call that was revised from earlier bugle calls having their roots in European armies, particularly the French. Taps may have originated from a Dutch term associated with the end of the day for soldiers. You can hear the shared European origins of the Taps bugle call in the performance of Il Silenzio The Silence which is played in the Netherlands on Liberation Day. In the Netherlands, on Liberation Day, just like Memorial Day in the U.S., there are memorial services across the country honoring Allied troops who died liberating The Netherlands. Much like Americans on Decoration Day, Dutch families still adopt graves of those troops and maintain them in their honor. As Taps is played at Memorial Day ceremonies in the U.S., since 1965, the Dutch memorial services conclude with the playing of Il Silenzio. Remembering the True Meaning of Memorial Day I had the humble honor of serving in our military. But my service was a privilege, not a sacrifice. But I had friends with whom I served who made the ultimate sacrifice. To them and their fallen brothers and sisters I am forever grateful. On Memorial Day, may we keep in our hearts the memory of those who are forever silenced, that we may speak and live and love. Safe and free. Joel L. A. Peterson is CEO of Student Planning Services, LLC, a national provider of comprehensive educational support services. Concurrently, he is Managing Partner and CEO of Pintoresco Advisors, LLC and he recently became an award-winning author of the book, Dreams of My Mothers. Political Graveyard/Flickr.com Would our Founding Fathers look in disgust, or shock on how our nation has developed? Maybe George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or James Madison would take a ship back to Britain, nodding their heads in disbelief over a glass of cognac (wine for Jefferson, which was his preferred beverage) in a smoke-filled pub. Since texting during that time is a definite anachronism, one could imagine what they would text or Tweet. Just indulge me for minute with the above scenario, and since we cant go back in time, we will guess how they would react. Honestly, there is still hope. America has made important stridesthis should be recognized, but we need to look at the darker side as well. Here is the good news, first. Weve come far on civil rights, social issues, maintained our liberties, and freedoms of speech, although there is a downward trend with freedom of religion. Big government is not what the Fathers wanted, and its tentacles are fast encroaching on the nation. George Washington didnt fight against the Red Coats so Americans would be over-regulated, getting involved in the affairs of others, and where there was religious persecution. In politics as in philosophy, my tenets are few and simple. The leading one of which, and indeed that which embraces most others, is to be honest and just ourselves and to exact it from others, meddling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved, said Washington. If this maxim was generally adopted, wars would cease and our swords would soon be converted into reap hooks and our harvests would be more peaceful, abundant, and happy." Today, the government has outreached way beyond it boundaries. We see this with the threat of banning sugar in Big Gulps in New York, prayer not being allowed in schools, taxes, and the government misusing its power in Washington to harm small business with taxes. Americans believe that the government is corrupt, according to a Gallup Poll. There has been a steady trend since 2009 that the government is a huge threat to the nation. Seventy-two percent of Americans say big government is a greater threat to the U.S. in the future than is big business or big labor, a record high in the nearly 50-year history of this question. The prior high for big government was 65 percent in 1999 and 2000. Big government has always topped big business and big labor, including in the initial asking in 1965, but just 35 percent named it at that time. Washington would not like whats going on with the morality of the nation and the discrimination against Christians (bans on public school prayers or crosses taken down from highways used as memorials are just a couple of cases over the years brought against believers). Hes not the not the only one. I can picture Thomas Jefferson was also called The Man of the People, wearing robe and slippers, sitting in his library at Monticello, and sipping on wine looking at us in the future with sadness. Why? The reason is not just the lack of freedom of religion, but there is an assault on the Constitution. There have been gross violations of the American Constitution under the Barack Obama Administration. People were lied to about the cost of Obama Care, there were violations of the Second Amendment to bear arms, more regulations of the Internet, and without Congresses approval, Obama changed the work requirements of the recipients of welfare. Americans are also dealing with so many taxes, it is impossible to get ahead for the middle class. Jefferson was an American Founding Father and the principal author of the Declaration of Independencehe desired a government that wouldnt infringe on individual rights. A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. Americans in general are fed up with the governmentmany of them believe that the nation is going in the wrong direction and the heck with the Constitution. I dont believe the Founders would support our ever-growing welfare state or the untenable size of the federal government. Nonetheless, Americans today enjoy a degree of freedom that simply isnt possible in most other countries, author Daniel Doherty at Town Hall reported. The Constitution is not merely an empty or largely symbolic piece of parchment; on the contrary, it protects real freedoms that allow every citizen to speak, write and worship as he or she so chooses. Of course, America is far from perfect (the IRS obvious decision to target conservative organizations is a huge moral and political failing), but the government they envisioned more than two centuries ago remains largely intact." James Madison helped with the Constitution, co-wrote the Federalist Papers and sponsored the Bill of Rights. Madison would do a lot of his thinking playing chess, and enjoying nature. If the mild-mannered Madison knew what was going on today, he might lose peace over both parties, and the entire political system. Conservatives are not without ridicule, either. They pander, just like any other politician and caved into Obamas demands. Both parties cant be trusted. It is the people who have the power and pay these clowns salaries. The American voter needs to remember this and they have. We see it in todays political movements with the non-establishment guys like Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sandersthey both captured the countries attention, and are the result of peoples disenchantment. Corine Gatti-Santillo is a freelance digital journalist, editor, and content producer. She is also the The Christian Post Voices Editor. She is also a former editor at Beliefnet.com. Madison, Washington, and Jefferson would be disappointed in the results of the government would join the revolt with Americans today against both parties. The people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived, Madison said. Power corrupts, and as long as We the People put up with it, the narrative will continue. Karl Rove was the Former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush. The now Fox News contributor explained how empathy is impacting our government. Empathy is the latest code word for liberal activism, for treating the Constitution as malleable clay to be kneaded and molded in whatever form justices want. It represents an expansive view of the judiciary in which courts create policy that couldn't pass the legislative branch or, if it did, would generate voter backlash. Presidential candidates and their spouses paraded through New Mexico last week just in time for our June 7 primary election. Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton each hosted rallies in Albuquerque. I attended all three events and found some interesting similarities among stark differences between the candidates. Bernie Sanders The first to come to Albuquerque was Bernie Sanders. The senator from Vermont is notorious for drawing huge crowds. But nothing could have prepared me for the long line that wrapped around the block and right out of Downtown. I must admit I was a little nervous. Thousands of people poured in to listen to the democratic socialist. Waiting for hours, the crowd erupted when Bernie finally took the stage. BERNIE, BERNIE! the crowd chanted. It looks like Albuquerque is ready for a political revolution! Bernie said. The crowd reignited with applause. Bernie then added reassuringly, We are in it until the last ballot is cast! With his finger waving high in the air, Bernie covered a range of issues from stopping global warming to the loss of manufacturing jobs to globalization, and of course, the growing income inequality between the super rich and the middle class. But perhaps the largest applause came when Bernie brought up equal pay. Every woman in the audience screamed when Bernie asked if they were ready to fight for their full dollar. Sanders rally was by far the most enthusiastic. Donald Trump Entering the Trump rally I was again a bit nervous. This time however, it was not an excited nervous but instead a more unsettled feeling. Unlike the other rallies hundreds of protesters lined the streets. Right away the Trump rally had a more combative vibe. The former reality TV personality put on a show. Huge stands, much larger than the bleachers behind Bernie, towered behind the podium. An offstage speaker boomed down instructions to the audience like the voice of God. I was actually disappointed there was no live band to accompany Trumps entrance. Protesters quickly began interrupting Trump, but he seemed to revel in the protesters, yelling, Get em outta here! to thunderous applause. Trump spoke about the failings of President Obama and Hillary Clinton. He also focused on economic stagnation and the loss of manufacturing jobs due to poor trade agreements. In contrast to Bernies ovation from women, when Trump said he was going to win with women, a more muted applause came from the crowd. Beside a few school yard taunts, Trump was surprisingly boring. His speech remained shallow, never delving deep into issues, policy or personal concerns. The simultaneous protest was not the apocalyptic chaos the national media made it seem. Yet the Trump rally was by far the most divisive. There was a clear us vs. them nature through out the event. Bill Clinton The next day I arrived at the Alamosa Community Center to see Bill Clinton. Hosting the event in the community center gymnasium gave the rally a more intimate tone. The turnout was impressive for the middle of the day, but came nowhere near the thousands that had attended Bernie and Trump's rallies. I began wondering, Where is Hillary? But once Bill began speaking in his hushed Southern voice, I realized it was a calculated move on Hillary's part. Unexpectedly, Bill was the best speaker of the three. Besting the boisterous styles of Bernie and Trump by interweaving anecdotes and quips into detailed plans for solving society-wide problems. The ex-president's presence was a friendly reminder to voters that if Hillary wins, Bill will also be back in the White House. The potential First Dude also discussed the loss of manufacturing jobs. But as the signer of NAFTA, Clinton instead focused on giving tax credits to companies that keep jobs in America. Clintons was by far the most relaxed of the three rallies. But that sense of leisure wont last long: Voters are ready to cast their ballots and the general election approaches. Muslim activists wait outside Malaysia's highest court in Putrajaya as the court weighs a bid by Christians to use the name "Allah," June 23, 2014. The ruling party in Malaysia has given preliminary backing to a proposed law in parliament seeking to give more clout to Islamic courts, raising tensions in the multi-racial country where non-Muslims fear it contradicts the countrys secular constitution. But legal experts who BenarNews spoke to Tuesday said that non-Muslims need not be concerned by the proposal of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to increase the punishments meted out by the sharia courts. In a surprise move last week, a cabinet minister from Prime Minister Najib Razaks ruling Barisan Nasional coalition fast tracked the PAS bill for debate. Only Muslims, who make up more than half of the countrys population, are subject to sharia laws and Najib has stressed that non-Muslims would not be affected by the proposed measure to amend the Sharia Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965. At present, sharia courts can impose a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment, a maximum fine of 5000 Malaysian ringgit (U.S. $1,214) and whipping up to six strokes. Under the proposed amendment, sharia court judges may be able to impose whipping of up to 100 strokes on those convicted of engaging in illicit sex and up to 80 strokes for consumption of alcohol, a group of non-governmental organizations said in a statement. Technically the bill merely sought to widen the powers of the sharia court; it is not about hudud, Abdul Aziz Bari, a professor of constitutional law, told BenarNews. Hudud is the Islamic penal code which sets punishments that include amputation of the hand for theft and stoning for illicit sexual relations. Experts said sharia courts will not cover crimes that conventional courts have jurisdiction over at present. A laughing stock The PAS bill would insert a clause stating that in the exercise of the criminal law, the Sharia Court has the right to impose penalties allowed by sharia law other than the death penalty, according to a copy seen by BenarNews. PAS is attempting to elevate the status of the sharia courts whose inadequate punishments have made them a laughing stock, the partys deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man told a press conference Tuesday in Kelantan, according to Free Malaysia Today. The conservative northern state unanimously passed a hudud bill in March 2015 but it could not be implemented until a parliamentary bill removed obstacles at the federal level. But that bill swiftly opened fissures in Najibs ruling Barisan Nasional coalition as several key members reportedly threatened to resign over it. Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president and Health Minister S. Subramaniam said he would quit as health minister if the law were implemented, following a similar move by Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysian Chinese Association president and transport minister. Sim Kui Hian, president of the Sarawak United People's Party, said the legal maneuver could cause the sprawling state in eastern Malaysia to secede. "The passing of the bill could motivate Sarawakians to part ways with Malaysia," CNN quoted him as saying. Najib attempted to smooth over the tensions. "I would like to state that it's not for the implementation of hudud. It's just to give the Sharia courts enhanced punishments. From six-strokes caning to a few more," he said, according to media reports. Opposition leaders called the bill an attempt to circumvent the Malaysian constitution, which names Islam as the state religion but guarantees a secular society. Clearly PAS is trying to bypass and get around the constitutional requirement of a 2/3 majority by treating this as an ordinary law which requires only a simple majority, Malay Mail Online quoted Lim Guan Eng, secretary general of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), as saying. He said the amendment could pave the way for two separate criminal systems in the diverse country, where religion and race often go hand in hand. Most of the countrys ethnic Malays are Muslim; many of its sizeable ethnic Chinese, Indian and indigenous citizens are not. About 61% of 30.5 million Malaysians are Muslim. Federal v. sharia Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar, president of Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia, suggested that many of the bills most vocal critics may not have actually read it. The law would apply only to Muslims and to crimes not covered by federal criminal statutes, he told BenarNews. Moreover, it must be approved by state assemblies before it can go into effect, since states have jurisdiction over religion in Malaysia. Among the more pertinent question is what would happen [under the proposed law] if, for example, a Muslim woman was raped by a non-Muslim man. Would the man be charged under the sharia law, or federal law? he said. The answer is very simple. That non-Muslim man cannot be charged under the sharia law because rape (as a crime) falls under federal jurisdiction Even if the bill is passed it doesn't make the crime shifted to state jurisdiction. Zulhazmi Shariff, a sharia law expert, said the amendment would not enable punishments such as cutting off a hand for theft. The crimes of theft and rape, which could be punished under hudud law, can only be brought before a civil court under the federal constitution. The sharia court has no jurisdiction over them, he said. Hudud punishments laid out in Muslim scripture include up to 100 lashes for illicit sexual relations; up to 80 lashes for false accusations of illicit sex; up to 80 lashes for drinking intoxicants; and death or banishment for apostasy, or abandoning ones faith. With the exception of Saudi Arabia, hudud punishments are rarely applied, although recently fundamentalist ideologies have demanded the reintroduction of hudud, especially in Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan, according to the website Oxford Islamic Studies Online. An official with Thailands Election Commission in Bangkok shows a sample ballot for an upcoming constitutional referendum, April 11, 2016. The Thai Ombudsmans office said Wednesday it would ask the Constitutional Court to rule on whether a government ban on misleading or rude speech about a referendum over a draft charter is unconstitutional. The office was sending a letter to the court to ask it to review, interpret and clarify Section 61, a clause of a new law that stipulates rules for speech during the run-up to a referendum set for Aug. 7, a spokesman said. The referendum marks the first time that Thais will be going to the polls since a military-led government seized power in May 2014. If the court rules that Section 61 conflicts with Thailands existing constitution, the section will be voided, Rakskesha Sae-chay, the secretary general of the Ombudsmans office, told reporters in Bangkok. It is unclear, ambiguous. Citizens will be confused by the wording and will not dare express their opinion, which contradicts the intention of the referendum. As well, each individual official may interpret it wrongly and unlawfully prosecute citizens, Rakskesha said of the language in the section. The Office of the Ombudsman is a public body led by three ombudsmen whose mandate is to consider and investigate complaints against civil servants, government employees or agencies. Among its duties, the ombudsman can refer a law or regulation to the Constitutional Court, if, in the opinion of the Ombudsman, a law, regulation or action of an individual is in violation of the Constitution. In this case, the Ombudsman is asking the court to review Section 61, which says that anyone who publishes inaccurate information via print, TV or electronic media or information that could be construed as being aggressive, rude, seditious or threatening people to vote on referendum day, could be prosecuted. So far, since the regulation was passed in April, at least 10 Thai citizens have been arrested for allegedly posting disturbing messages that contained foul language about the controversial referendum via social media, according to Thailands Election Commission. Because violations of Section 61 are considered a criminal offense, the law must be clear to begin with, Rakskesha of the ombudsmans office said, warning, In the end, the referendum will end up causing turmoil rather than creating order. People are vulnerable The ombudsmans referral of the case to the court stems from a complaint lodged by iLaw, a human rights advocacy group. Section 61 deprives people of their right to free speech and information about the referendum, which will be crucial to Thailands future, iLaw Director Jon Ungpakorn told BenarNews. People are vulnerable to being prosecuted with punishment as harsh as 10 years in jail. I hope the Constitutional Court will consider this issue sooner rather than later, he said. Thais have the right to debate with one another during the months leading up to the vote, he said. Each citizen has the right to listen to different opinions, and to agree or disagree with the draft charter. This is important because the new charter will be hard to amend, he said. The proposed future constitution has drawn widespread criticism from human rights advocates because it would allow the junta to hand pick all 250 members of the Thai Senate, including six officers from the militarys top brass. According to a survey done by People Poll Thailand, a group that conducts polls via a Smart phone application, the draft charter that was unveiled on March 31 is deeply unpopular. Eighty-four percent of 2,095 respondents said they would vote against the charter, compared with only 7.7 percent who said they would vote for it. Six percent of respondents said they had yet to make up their minds over the issue while another 2 percent declined to respond, according to People Poll. I cannot thank the NCPO In other political news out of Thailand on Wednesday, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) the formal name for the junta lifted a ban that had prevented political activists from traveling abroad. NCPO spokesman Col. Piyapong Klinphand told BenarNews that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha had signed an order on Tuesday that revoked a two-year-old ban for foreign travel by activists, critics and journalists who had been summoned for so-called attitude adjustment detention sessions by the military. The atmosphere is calm and is in order, Piyapong said in explaining why the ban was being lifted. This [ban] has been on since May 22 [2014] and I think it is quite long now, so I relax it, everyone can relax, Prayuth told reporters in Bangkok earlier this week, according to local media. Pravit Rojanaphruk, a senior writer with Khaosod English, was among local journalists who have been summoned for attitude adjustments. In his case, the military has called him in twice for such sessions in the 24 months since the junta took over in Thailand. I cannot thank the NCPO because, for more than two years, my freedom has been deprived and many more of us were summoned for attitude adjustment, Pravit told BenarNews. The Bible has been under attack in the western world for over 200 years but never more intensely than today. These attacks have taken different forms and have come from many different corners of the academic world, from philosophers, to scientists, to textual critics. In the specialized world of archaeology the attacks have increased dramatically in the past 50 years. Once a specialization filled with Bible believing individuals, the field of archaeology is now overrun with atheists and skeptics, agnostics and those committed to the destruction of the Bible as a source of true historical information. These attacks on the Bible are a part of a sweeping movement in western culture. Spearheaded by academic elitists in the university and the public educational system, the news and popular media, and the entertainment industry, these revisionists cloak themselves with supposed objectivity, purity of motives, and the superiority of science over the "uninformed", "unscientific", religious community. They regularly mock those who question their world-view and their conclusions by name-calling and the worst forms of anti-Bible and anti-Christian propaganda. They have powerfully infected the church by turning Bible believing Christians against the very Scripture which is the foundation of truth and life in this world. Instead of contending for the Bible, Christian academics, pastors, and lay-persons are making egregious accommodations to these destroyers of faith and truth. In these days of intense spiritual battle, God has called ABR to step into the gap to contend for the truth and to assist the church in this critical hour. ABR is a non-profit ministry dedicated to demonstrating the historical reliability of the Bible and to give answers to questions being asked by believers and non-believers alike. We do this by using original archaeological fieldwork and research along with studies in other apologetic disciplines. We take on the bold claims of skeptics and critics. We challenge the bizarre anti-biblical propaganda that is purveyed upon the public as gospel through television and print media. We uphold the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is God's message for the salvation of all mankind! We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For Immediate Release, June 1, 2016 Contact: Jonathon Berman, Sierra Club, (202) 495-3033, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org Brian Kaiser, Ohio Environmental Council, (614) 487-5837, bkaiser@theoec.org Marissa Knodel, Friends of the Earth, (202) 222-0729, MKnodel@foe.org Ban Sought on New Fossil Fuel Leasing in Ohio's Wayne National Forest Fracking Threatens Climate, Wildlife, Air, and Water MARIETTA, Ohio Environmental groups today called on the Bureau of Land Management to halt all new fossil fuel leasing in Ohios Wayne National Forest over concerns about the harmful impact of fracking. The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, Ohio Environmental Council and Friends of the Earth are also challenging BLMs plans to lease up to 40,000 acres of the Athens Ranger District, Marietta Unit of the Wayne National Forest, which would open it up to new oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Marcellus and Utica shales. In its environmental assessment, BLM proposed a finding of no significant impact, failing to take into account the impacts fracking would have on air quality, water quality, wildlife, and climate change. The Wayne National Forest is home to rare and endangered species including bobcats, Indiana bats, timber rattlesnakes and cerulean warblers. Its unconscionable that we could ever permit drilling in Ohios only national forest, said Jen Miller, director of Sierra Club Ohio. This forest is owned by the people for their enjoyment not for the oil and gas industry to destroy. Permitting fracking will disrupt wildlife, threaten clean water resources and reduce recreation and tourism. It should and must be preserved for this generation and those to come. In the letter submitted, the groups called for BLM to cease all new leasing of fossil fuels in Wayne National Forest, or, at minimum, defer the proposed leasing pending a programmatic review of the federal fossil fuel leasing program. The science is clear: avoiding the worst impacts of climate change requires keeping untapped fossil fuels in the ground, said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. Opening new areas to development let alone our public lands directly conflicts with that science and delays a transition to clean, renewable energy. According to the groups, BLM ignored the disastrous consequences of constructing pipelines and compressor stations in its analysis, stating that new construction would further scar and cut the Wayne into smaller patches of forestland. They added that many of the important wildlife species found in Wayne National Forest depend on large uninterrupted swaths of forest, and BLMs analysis trivialized the impact of segmenting the forest. Fracking in Wayne National Forest is inconsistent with the governments responsibility to sustain the health and diversity of the national forest, said Nathan Johnson, attorney for the Ohio Environmental Council. We call on BLM and the Wayne to reject fossil fuel extraction in Ohios only national forest. Exposing the Wayne National Forest to the devastation of fossil fuel development contradicts President Obamas pledge to address the urgent threat of climate change, said Marissa Knodel, climate campaigner with Friends of the Earth. Every new lease puts the brakes on accelerating the just transition to a clean energy economy. Present and future generations of Ohioans want a healthy forest, not an energy sacrifice zone. The Bureau of Land Management must ban new fossil fuel development in the Wayne National Forest and keep fossil fuels in the ground. BLM is expected to decide on the future of fossil fuel leasing in Wayne National Forest this year. Download todays formal comment here. For Immediate Release, June 1, 2016 Contact: Travis Bruner, Western Watersheds Project, (208) 788-2290 Andrea Santarsiere, Center for Biological Diversity, (303) 854-7748, asantarsiere@biologicaldiversity.org Gary Macfarlane, Friends of the Clearwater, (208) 882-9755 Bethany Cotton, WildEarth Guardian,s (406) 414-7227 Brooks Fahy, Predator Defense, (541) 937-4261 Talasi Brooks, Advocates for the West, (208) 342-7024 Conservation Groups Challenge Idaho Wolf-killing USDA's Wildlife Services Has Killed Hundreds of Idaho Wolves BOISE, Idaho Five conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging the U.S. Department of Agricultures Wildlife Services killing of gray wolves in Idaho. The agency killed at least 72 wolves in Idaho last year, using methods including foothold traps, wire snares that strangle wolves, and aerial gunning from helicopters. The agency has used aerial gunning in central Idahos Lolo zone for several years in a row using planes or helicopters to run wolves to exhaustion before shooting them from the air, often leaving them wounded to die slow, painful deaths. The agencys environmental analysis from 2011 is woefully outdated due to changing circumstances, including new recreational hunting and trapping that kills hundreds of wolves in Idaho each year, and significant changes in scientific understanding of wolves and ecosystem functions. Wildlife Services does most of its wolf-killing at the behest of the livestock industry, following reports of livestock depredation. For example, five wolves were killed outside of Hailey, Idaho in July 2015 for allegedly attacking sheep. Documents indicate that Wildlife Services has even attempted to kill wolves in the newly-designated Boulder-White Clouds Wildernesses. But Wildlife Services does not consider whether livestock owners took common-sense precautionary measures to avoid conflicts with wolves such as lambing indoors. Wildlife Services wolf-killing program is senseless, cruel, and impoverishes our wild country, said Travis Bruner of Western Watersheds Project. Killing wolves for private livestock interests is wrong, especially on public lands, where wildlife deserves to come first. In addition, new science shows that it does not reduce conflicts long-term. Wildlife Services has never even bothered to consider how much mortality a healthy wolf population can handle, said Andrea Santarsiere of the Center for Biological Diversity. Recent research indicates the state may be overestimating wolf populations something Wildlife Services must consider before killing more wolves. It is long past time that we base wildlife management decisions on the best available science, not on antiquated, disproven anti-wolf rhetoric, said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians. Wildlife Services needs to come out of the shadows, update its analyses and adopt practices in keeping with modern science and values about the ethical treatment of animals. The agency also kills wolves for the purported benefit of elk herds, including in the Lolo zone. The campaign waged against the Lolos native wolves in the name of elk is reprehensible. Science shows that the elk decline there is due to long-term, natural-habitat changes, not impacts from wolves, said Gary Macfarlane of Friends of the Clearwater. It is particularly galling that Wildlife Services is targeting wolves that mostly live in Wildernesses or large roadless areas. These, especially, are places where wolves should be left alone. Wildlife Services, formerly called Animal Damage Control, has been criticized for over fifty years by some of our nations leading predator biologists. It has a long, documented history of violating state and federal laws, and even its own directives, said Brooks Fahy, executive director of Predator Defense. Idahoans and the American public deserve a guarantee that federal programs like Wildlife Services are using the most up-to-date scientific information available. The five conservation organizations are asking the court to order Wildlife Services to cease wolf-killing activities until it prepares an up-to-date environmental analysis of its wolf-killing program. The groups Western Watersheds Project, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Clearwater, WildEarth Guardians and Predator Defense are represented by Advocates for the West and Western Watersheds Project attorneys. Read the complaint here. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. This is the male fiddler crab Uca lactea. The vibrations and pulses that male fiddler crabs produce when they are trying to lure females into their burrows to mate are surprisingly informative. These signals serve as a type of "Morse code" that the females decipher to learn more about the size and stamina of their suitors. This is according to a study by Japanese researchers Fumio Takeshita of Nagasaki University and Minoru Murai of the University of the Ryukyu, published in Springer's journal The Science of Nature. During mating season, the males of some fiddler crab species construct a raised mound or semidome near their burrows. They stay close to their burrows and wave their one distinctively large claw to attract females to their burrow's entrance. The ones able to wave their claws higher and for a longer period of time have the most success. Once a female comes closer, the male repeatedly emits vibrations to lure her even further inside his hide-out, with the intention to eventually mate. Takeshita and Murai went to the tidal flat of Nagaura Island in Kumamoto in Japan to investigate how these vibrations might be helping female fiddler crabs (Uca lactea) to decide on a preferred mate. The researchers used a female dummy to elicit courtship vibrations from several males. These were recorded and analysed further. The researchers learned that these acoustic signals consist of repetitive pulses. The lower the dominant frequency, the more likely it was that the male's body or carapace would be quite large. The length of the pulses decreased slightly when more vibrations were repeatedly produced. The interval between such pulses also increased when more pulses were produced. "These factors imply that the vibrations convey information on male characteristics, such as body size and stamina," says Takeshita. The production of vibrations and the initial waving of one large claw in the air therefore seem to go hand in hand. Both are ways by which males can signal their endurance and stamina to potential mates. Observing fiddler crabs mating with real females, the researchers also looked at what happened once the females were successfully lured to a burrow entrance. Females were more likely to enter the burrow of males that could repeatedly produce a higher rate of pulses in succession. "This indicates that the females use the male vibrational signals to decide whether to enter the burrow or not," adds Murai. The researchers found that once a female finds herself inside a burrow, the continuous production of vibrations plays no further role in her decision to mate. Aspects such as the protective structure of the burrow, in which she will possibly release larvae, might therefore also come into play. Source: Springer New research by Steven Laviolette's research team at Western University is contributing to a better understanding of the ways opiate-class drugs modify brain circuits to drive the addiction cycle. Using rodent models of opiate addiction, Dr. Laviolette's research has shown that opiates affect pathways of associative memory formation in multiple ways, both at the level of anatomy (connections between neurons) and at the molecular levels (how molecules inside the brain affect these connections). The identification of these opiate-induced changes offers the best hope for developing more effective pharmacological targets and therapies to prevent or reverse the effect of opiate exposure and addiction. These results were presented at the 10th Annual Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, taking place May 29 to June 1 2016, in Toronto, Canada. "Developing more effective opiate addiction treatments will require a change in the way we view the effects of opiates on the brain. Instead of addiction being a chronic, permanent disease, recent evidence is showing that addiction is controlled by molecular switching mechanisms in the brain, that can be turned on or off with the right interventions" says Dr. Steven Laviolette. Addiction to opiates is spreading and increasing exponentially, and is currently estimated to affect 15.5 million people worldwide. Opiate drugs' addictive properties are largely due to the ability of this class of drugs to produce powerful memories associated with the intense experience of pleasure and euphoria they cause. Environmental reminders triggering the recall of these memories can cause a relapse, and these memories can be considered the primary driver of the addiction cycle, from chronic use, to withdrawal and then memory-triggered relapse. For decades, clinical and pre-clinical research considered that opiate consumption caused permanent changes in the brain's reward circuits, resulting in a persistent vulnerability to relapse. However, more recent investigations have shown that opiates induce changes in multiple brain circuits, including reward and memory circuits, and that these changes are not static, but rather that many drug-induced adaptations could be reversed. "A critical challenge for addiction research is identifying the precise molecular brain changes caused by addictive drugs like heroin or prescription narcotics", says Dr. Laviolette. "Once we understand this process, we can develop more effective pharmacological interventions to prevent or reverse them" Among the targets identified by Dr. Laviolette are receptors and other proteins involved in signalling of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. More specifically, his work has shown that dopamine signalling in two connected brain regions involved in opiate-related memory processing, called the Basolateral Amygdala (BLA), a region deep within the brain, and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), located near the surface of the brain, is switched by opiate exposure. His research shows that in animals that are opiate naive, never previously exposed to opiates, the reward memory associated with opiates requires a dopamine receptor called D1R in the BLA, and a signalling molecule called extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). Following chronic opiate exposure, however, opiate reward memory formation becomes independent of D1R, and rather depends on a second dopamine receptor, called D2r, and a protein called CaMKII. As CaMKII expression has been associated with consolidation and permanence of memories in other brain regions, this switch may reflect the formation of a stronger and more stable opiate reward memory. Interestingly, when Dr. Laviolette's team looked at dopamine signaling inside another brain region also involved in opiate related memory procession, and located closer to the surface of the brain, the mPFC, they found that this signaling was also switched by opiate exposure, but opposite to what was observed in the BLA. In the mPFC, opiate naive signaling requires CaMKII, while it did not in opiate habituated animals. Taken together, these results highlight the precise changes and adaptations that occur in the brain following opiate exposure and development of addiction. New pharmacological approaches to target these changes will provide much needed and more effective treatments to reduce the power of drug-related associative memories that drive opiate addiction. Dr. Laviolette's latest results were presented at the 10th Annual Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, on May 31 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. Source: Canadian Association for Neuroscience Hemiphlebia mirabilis is a rare species in every sense: it is the most primitive dragonfly known to man, it has unique reproductive behaviors and was believed to be extinct. The dragonfly considered the most primitive in the world lives in Australia and Tasmania, and was believed to be extinct four decades ago. But it is far from being so. A Spanish researcher has observed thousands of these insects in one of the few habitats in which it has been detected and it displays sexual behaviour that is unique, not only directed towards reproduction. Hemiphlebia mirabilis is a rare species in every sense: it is the most primitive dragonfly known to man, it has unique reproductive behaviours and was believed to be extinct in the 70s. Fascinated by this living fossil, researcher Adolfo Cordero-Rivera travelled to Australia, where it is endemic, to gather information on the mating system of a population that started to be seen again in 2009. After an intensive month of observations, the researcher in the University of Vigo (Spain) showed that the species is far from being extinct: "I found thousands of individuals, which is very good news since there was much concern for this species." As he explains in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity. Although the work aimed to obtain basic information on the reproductive behaviour of this dragonfly and study the development of the sperm competition mechanisms in this very primitive species, the scientist also shows that, contrary to what was believed, the populations are large. "The number of individuals per generation possibly exceeds 1 million," he states in the study. This population that lives in the Long Swamp wetland in Victoria, in the south of Australia, has a life expectancy of one week for the males and four days for the females. Moreover, the males show little mobility and fly short distances, remaining inactive most of the time, especially in temperatures below 17C or above 35C. "This low mobility, together with its enigmatic colouring and the limited accessibility of its habitat could explain how these important populations have remained unnoticed until a very short while ago," Cordero-Rivera told SINC. Despite having experienced certain limitations due to carrying out the research alone, the expert could estimate a density of 100 animals for each 10 m2 in points of high population. For this reason, Cordero-Rivera suggests that this species of dragonfly should no longer be considered a species in critical danger of extinction. "With the information now available, Hemiphlebia mirabilis no longer satisfies any of the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and should be re-evaluated," says the researcher. Unique sexual behaviour But the aspect which undoubtedly makes them more visible to the human eye is their sexual behaviour. What surprised the researcher most was that both sexes showed frequent abdominal flicking displays and fast rotations over the perching support. "This behaviour is highly elaborate and is absolutely unique," says the scientist from the Galician university who immortalised the movements in video. The copulation behaviour has been analysed in a second article that has just been published in the journal PeerJ. This work is the first to quantify adult behaviour of the Hemiphlebia mirabilis using a large sample of both sexes. When studying these insects, the scientist observed that the unique movement is not only produced immediately after landing, but also while they continue to sit. Although Cordero-Rivera could not confirm whether the females and males use this abdominal flicking to attract the opposite sex, he could confirm that both sexes practice this movement even in the absence of any reproductive interaction. "This suggests that this behaviour is not an ordinary courtship display," affirmed the scientist. According to the researcher, the males use the abdominal movement in the pre-copulatory courtship, but the females don't. After more than 100 hours of observation, the scientist did not see any of the females lay eggs. "I observed 79 females for periods of 10 minutes between 9:00am and 7:00pm, and the only clear conclusion is that oviposition will not be in tandem, because in all cases males and females separated immediately after copulation," says the scientist who is continuing with the study of sexual behaviour of this peculiar and unique dragonfly. What has been demonstrated is that, like the most recent species of the Odonata order, the male H. mirabilis are capable of extracting the semen of rivals from inside the body of the female. "This suggests that this much specialised behaviour is very old in the evolution of the Odonata," he concludes. Source: FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia MTN, in partnership with the MTN Solution Space at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and Jumia, have announced that team MedRX from Ghana emerged as the winner of the inaugural MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia. Winning team MedRX from Ghana The Pan-African competition, which launched on 15 February 2016, came down to the wire on Friday, 27 May 2016, at the MTN Entrepreneurship Festival held at Philippi Village in Cape Town. The three finalists from Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania faced a panel of experienced business leaders comprising, Jeremy Hodara, co-CEO Africa Internet Group; Professor Walter Baets, director of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business; and Herman Singh, MTN group chief digital officer, as they battled it out for the US $25 000 cash prize to start-up their own unique business. The three finalists had to pitch their unique digital application or smart solution to combat a challenge faced in Africa and it was Victoria Acheampong, Hayford Brako and Yannick Kabu Bosomprah of team MedRX from Ghana who received top honours. The judges concurred that MedRX had the best online to offline capability, meaning that one can go online to get services offline. We were really impressed with the width of their functionality and the depth of the integration of the application, handling a very complex challenge that actually delivered astonishingly great human value, said Herman Singh, chief digital officer from the MTN Group. Winning application The winning application aims to connect patients, doctors and healthcare professionals like never before. The application is an interactive health platform which connects users to health personnel from various fields of practice including hospital, pharmacy, laboratory and academia. It's like having a pharmacy on your phone and having access to medication, says Victoria Acheampong from Team MedRX. It's such an amazing feeling. We actually just entered the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge to get exposure and it is such a great feeling to be announced the winner. Health is very important to move any nation forward and this trend can be seen across the African continent. "As a team we wanted to make this integral connection easier between medical resources and the people on the ground, and the MedRX application does just this. The implementation of our application will give us the opportunity to be more effective in our country and create positive change and it will be our ultimate goal to upscale and take this positive change to everyone across Africa. We truly hope that this is the beginning of a very bright future for us, adds Acheampong. The winning team also walked away with a year-long partnership with Jumia, a Facebook Start Program to the value of US $15 000 and the opportunity to be incubated at the MTN Solution Space at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and at Jumia. Team MedRX will have access to world-class marketing teams, mentors to help them along and the environment and structure to be successful. Congratulations to team MedRX. I have no doubt that they will go on to do even greater things and change the business and innovation landscapes in Africa. I would also like to commend our runners-up. The calibre of these young entrepreneurs and the potential they have shown is incredible. I am excited about their future and wish them every success, says Singh. Innovative runners-up The two-runners up each received US $5 000 towards their projects, which were team Pass.ng from Nigeria and Team Vicoba from Tanzania. Team Pass.ng came up with a web, desktop and mobile-based application based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that focuses on examination preparatory and testing that will assist candidates to excel in all the major Nigerian Examinations and tests. Team Vicoba developed an application that creates a collaborative platform to assist Tanzanians who do not have access to conventional bank accounts, to access informal investment groups. The application creates a collaborative platform that includes existing tools for financial and task management in a way that is adapted for the African market. Bankole Cardoso, head of communications at Africa Internet Group added, We recognise that the best way to have an impact in Africa is by investing in and promoting entrepreneurship. With that in mind, we launched this challenge with the simple goal to support the network of quality entrepreneurs around Africa and to help these entrepreneurs interact with accelerators/incubators and investors in their local countries and across the Continent. I am so pleased to see that weve met this goal and I am particularly looking forward to seeing how these three startups evolve over the next year and I am eager to discover even more African startups." This first of its kind challenge in Africa aimed to boost entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as stronger and more sustainable businesses on the continent. It involved a total of 26 countries, 61 Universities and 1529 applicants across the African continent, which included 734 big ideas, 30 hours of live pitching over seven days in 11 countries, 411 hours of judging to determine the finalists and the winner of the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia. Subscribe to daily business and company news across 19 industries SUBSCRIBE Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has awarded Samsung Electronics the 'Creative Marketer of the Year' for 2016, for its creative and meaningful strides in marketing. Terry Savage, chairman of Lions Festivals, said, When you look at Samsungs wins at Cannes Lions, even just last year, what strikes you is the diversity of Lions that it is taking home through its overarching commitment to creativity. It is excelling across the board, including in areas such as healthcare communications, craft and branded content, as well as picking up a Titanium Lion. Samsung has steadily refined its marketing approach to a more consumer-centric strategy, which focuses on how its products and technologies can create meaning in the lives of consumers. This has been evident in Samsungs campaigns in 2015, which include Look at Me for autistic children, Safety Truck for road safety, Every Day is Day One for athletes and Center Stage for an enhanced consumer retail experience. To earn these prestigious honours, Samsung collaborated with world-class creative agencies including Cheil Worldwide, Leo Burnett and 72&Sunny. We believe that innovation should go beyond creating cutting edge technology and that it should also create opportunities for people to reach higher and dream bigger, said Michelle Potgieter, director of corporate marketing and communications at Samsung South Africa. Samsung is honoured to be recognised as a game changer in the industry once again. This award is a true reflection of our aim to revolutionise the way in which modern society perceives marketing. Enriching peoples lives is at the centre of everything we do and our marketing reflects this philosophy, concludes Potgieter. For more: Startups with e-commerce stores may want to consider EFT payments for their products. Transaction gateway company SID Instant EFT has announced a new version of its solution. Feature image via SID Instante EFT. The new system dubbed SID 2.0 allows for compatibility across more devices and a responsive design. Customers will also no longer have to longer have to download the SID application in order to complete a transaction. Together, our goal is to provide the SID payment service to each and every e-commerce website in South Africa. Ultimately, this will ensure that South African consumers always have a secure payment alternative available to them when theyre shopping online, says CEO of SID Instant EFT, David Liu in a press release sent to Ventureburn. Read more on Ventureburn.com. The new controlling shareholder of liquor group KWV Holdings will have its work cut out to fortify profits in the brandy sector. Last month, Vivian Imermans Vasari proposed a more than R1.1bn deal to buy out the operating assets of KWV, which is controlled by Hosken Consolidated Investments-aligned Niveus Investments. The deal is still to be concluded, but Vasari clearly has big ambitions for KWVs brands, as part of a growth play strategy that straddles Africa and Asia. In recent years, Vasari has focused on the African and Asian beverages market, where it has developed beer, spirits and wine businesses. Where brandy will fit in, remains to be seen. KWVs operations aside from a sliver of market share in the domestic ready-to-drink (RTD) market is centred mainly on wine and brandy. While wine brands enjoy a presence in many export markets, KWVs brandies are marketed mainly in SA, where the categorys market share has been eroded markedly by scotch, vodka and, more recently, gin. Writing in KWVs just-released annual report to end-March, CEO Andre van der Veen said the company was dealing with a changing brandy market in SA. He stressed that KWVs brandy business was built on a South African market of more than 50-million litres. "This market has halved in the last 10 years, and for a business that ages its products for up to 20 years, this does create significant challenges." KWVs financial report showed that spirit sales mostly brandy dropped 17.5% to R434m, due mainly to a decline in bulk spirit volumes. The report showed that volumes for the KWV 3-year and KWV 5-year brands reduced, as the company "refrained from participating in excessive discounting in the category". Volumes for KWVs 10-year brand grew 7%, resulting in an 18% increase in revenue. Van der Veen contended that KWVs competitors mainly Distell (which owns the Klipdrift, Richelieu, Van Ryns, Oude Meester and Viceroy brands) appeared to have concluded that discounting brandy products would retain volumes. "We consider the opposite to hold true. Premiumisation is the only way that the profitability and growth of the brandy category will improve." Van der Veen said KWVs brandy premiumisation strategy required the adapting of procurement plans, and had reduced the amount of wine acquired for the production of brandy in future. He said KWVs brandy inventory exceeded requirements and that in the past four years, bulk brandy had been systematically sold off. Long-time KWV shareholder Chris Logan of Opportune Investments questioned the fixation on brandy premiumisation. "KWV is losing volumes and appears to be shrinking the business in pursuit of premiumisation. Surely, there is an opportunity to have both a price-beater brand, and premium brands?" Logan said KWVs main brandy rival, Distell, appeared to have brandy brands that could generate volumes and scale. "Part of Distells strategy in brandy is pricing." But Van der Veen maintained that KWVs efforts to position its brandies at aspirational levels higher than its direct competitors had started to bear fruit. The market capitalisation of the former Bidvest Group shot up more than 14% after the listing of Bid Corporation (Bidcorp) on the JSE on Monday, releasing "new energy" in the group's new food services business and in its mainly domestic industrial assets and Namibian operations. The new standalone domestic and foreign food services businesses that make up Bidcorp kicked off the day at R270 a share, closing well up at R304, giving the company a market capitalisation of about R102bn. The remaining listed Bidvest Groups share price plunged 67.99% from a close of R370 on Friday to just more than R118 at the close on Monday. This gave it a market capitalisation of about R40bn. This meant the overall market cap of the two new separate entities was about R18bn more than that of the original group at the JSEs close on Friday. "The warm welcome given to the new listing, Bidcorp, and the fact that the combined share prices significantly exceeded Bidvests pre-unbundling close, indicates that the market believes new energy will be released in both companies," Stephen Meintjes, an analyst at Momentum SP Reid Securities, said on Monday. Former Bidvest Group chief financial officer David Cleasby now Bidcorps said he had thought before the listing that the new standalone food services business was worth about two-thirds of the original total group value. "It has outperformed," Cleasby said. "I am sure it is going to be another anchor tenant in our Top 40," JSE CEO Nick Newton-King said on Monday, referring to both Bidcorp and the original Bidvest Group. The JSE was worth about R15-trillion, she said, and SAs capital markets had consistently ranked first or second globally for good governance. Bidcorp CEO Bernard Berson said after the opening on the JSE on Monday that he was happy with the stocks level. "It shows confidence," he said. The listing represented the next step in Bidcorp becoming a global leader in the food services industry, Berson said, "and positions us superbly for our next phase of organic and acquisitive growth". Outside of the US, Bidcorp had few rivals. Mark Hodgson, an industry analyst at Avior Capital Markets, on Monday said the listing had "materially unlocked" overall shareholder value, with the two new entities overall market cap increasing more than 14% on that of the old Bidvest Group. Bidcorps closing price and "very warm reception" by the market had far exceeded his initial expectations, he said. Bidcorp was being priced as a premium international food services company, Hodgson said. Nearly 72% of original Bidvest Group value now resided in Bidcorp. "The remaining Bidvest group listing had a subdued debut and was underwhelming in comparison," Hodgson said. The original Bidvest Group had its roots in the Chipkins and Sea World food businesses about 30 years ago. At the time, the group was under Bid Corporation, the "pyramid holding company". "I am excited about the prospects that lie ahead," Bidvest founder Brian Joffe said on Monday. "(Bidcorps share price shortly after the open was) about my expectation Bidvest is down a lot. Its a market," he said. Cleasby said the listing in Johannesburg was "proudly South African" and had given domestic shareholders an opportunity to benefit. "It was a no-brainer," he said. More than 50% of foreign institutional shareholders had gained a beneficial one-for-one share split in the two new entities, Cleasby added. Jacko Maree, former CEO of Standard Bank, who attended the launch of Bidcorp, said, "It is just amazing what Brian Joffe has achieved in such a short space of time." While Famous Brands' insatiable hunger for acquisitions has pushed revenue higher, its investment into logistics and manufacturing operations have been the major reason behind the company's 15 consecutive years of record results. Famous Brands CEO Kevin Hedderwick.Image credit: BDlive In the year to end-February, the manufacturing division increased revenue 43% to R1.8bn, while operating profit jumped 43% to R247m, compared with the year-earlier period. The operating margin remained at 13.7%. Vunani Securities small and mid-cap equity analyst Anthony Clark said on Monday the growth in manufacturing revenue and profit continued to power earnings for the largest franchisor on the JSE. Just last week, Famous Brands announced it was acquiring French fries supplier Lamberts Bay Foods from Oceana for an undisclosed amount. Lamberts Bay Foods is one of only three local French fries manufacturers. Famous Brands group strategic adviser Kevin Hedderwick said acquiring the manufacturer had been "a major coup" in advancing the groups goal to build capability and capacity across its logistics and manufacturing supply chain operations. "More goods and services are made internally to trap margin. The addition of more brands just expands this push. "But much in these results was acquisitive top-line growth, and the move they did into central kitchens, procurement, supply chain logistics to manage their margin has a lot to do with this growth," Clark said. Other acquisitions in the past month alone include the 51% stake in Mexican concept restaurant Salsa Mexican Grill, and the purchase of a 51% interest in KwaZulu-Natal-based Italian concept restaurant Lupa Osteria. A total of 184 new restaurants were opened across the brand portfolio, bringing the restaurant network to 2,614, the company said. The local restaurant environment has become extremely competitive with the added pressure of an ailing economy. Disposable income has decreased, while the number of eateries to spend it at has increased. Famous Brands services a range of living standards measures (LSM) groups. At one end, there is the quick service brands, such as Debonairs Pizza, Steers, and Fishaways. At the upper end, there are brands such as Tashas, Mythos and Mugg & Bean. Clark said consumers in the lower to mid-end of the companys brands were taking strain, while those in higher LSM categories were proving to be resilient. The diversified portfolio of eating brand offerings was helping growth, he said. Other JSE-listed players in the franchise business are not doing as well as Famous Brands. Data from Iress show that in the past year, Famous Brands share price has increased 5%. In the same time frame, Tastes share price has declined 28%, while Spur Corporation has decreased 20%. Famous Brands reported a 31% rise in full-year group revenue to R4.3bn. Operating profit rose 18% to R702m, while the operating margin was 18.4%. Headline earnings per share were up 16% to 541c. The group declared a final gross dividend of 215c per share, bringing the total cash dividend to 405c for the 2016 financial year. Hedderwick said the "stellar results" were evidence of how the business continued to flourish despite the adverse climate. "Famous Brands will continue to pursue further upstream manufacturing prospects and explore opportunities to grow the groups presence in the casual evening dining trade segment, as well as outside of the traditional food service sector. The board is satisfied that the platform for continued growth is firmly in place." At the close of the JSE on Monday, the Famous Brands share price was up 3.8% to R121.45, valuing the company at about R11.7bn. Commissioned by Discovery Networks CEEMEA, research and insights company Sense Worldwide investigated the topic of curiosity in seven markets across Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. As part of the research, it surveyed 2,100 people aged 16-55 among audiences that watch non-fiction content in the selected countries. The results were supplemented with ten media diaries, enabling respondents to describe their feelings and opinions better, as well as with in-depth interviews with a panel of scientists and reputed authors. The research results captured in The Age of Curiosity Report identify trends in consumer behaviour and their impact on the media industry. According to the study, 60% of South Africans will not be satisfied unless they learn something new every day. Findings reveal that satisfying this hunger for knowledge is easier now than it has ever been, due to the wide access to information and advancements in technology. Therefore, in todays world, knowledge and information are no longer exclusive or overwhelming. As with the other nations surveyed, the majority (91%) of South Africans feel a buzz when learning new things. The survey revealed that South Africans like to learn socially, activating the Phone a Friend mode (reaching out to a friend or even a stranger who can provide more colour or better contextualise to find an answer) more frequently than most nations participating in the survey (apart from Saudi Arabians at 54%.) Only 17% of South Africans look for knowledge without a specific interest in mind, whilst 16% go over familiar information and like to learn by experiencing the world. Despite the natural curiosity of locals, 88% of South Africans think they have a good general knowledge. This is the highest percentage amongst the surveyed countries, closely followed by Poles (86%), Romanians and Saudis (84%). In 2001, entrepreneur Jorn Lyseggen founded Meltwater with only US $15,000. Operating from an old shipping container in Norway, offered to him by a friend as a free workspace, Jorn brought a team together and built the company. Meltwater is now a global leader in online intelligence, with 50 offices on six continents and 25,000 corporate clients. As a serial entrepreneur, I can say with authority that being one isn't easy. As well as working alongside Jorn, I have been involved in setting up various businesses endeavours from design, event management and now with my brothers, I also run a luxury fashion brand. From coming up with a groundbreaking idea, then finding ways to make it happen and learning from mistakes along the way, entrepreneurs are constantly working towards success. This sense of achievement is even greater when it also changes or saves the lives of real people. Here are 10 African start-ups that are leveraging technology and combining it with entrepreneurial spirit for the good of the people: 1. dotLearn - Nigeria Online education makes it possible for those living in remote locations to improve their skills and brighten their future. But connectivity and technology challenges make this almost impossible for many students in Africa. The solution comes in the form of dotLearn, an open-source file format for digital education that enables edX style online courses to work 100% offline on mobile devices enabling students to download full online courses in less than 1 MB and view them offline on any mobile device. 2. WeFarm - Kenya African famers, especially those in remote areas, are vulnerable to the effects of climate change and face many challenges when growing food for their community. In an effort to survive, they develop a diverse range of innovative, low-cost solutions to overcome problems. WeFarm is a knowledge sharing platform for farmers in rural communities, allowing them to ask questions via SMS shortcodes and receive answers from other registered users. The platform is open to anyone, including experts and those wishing to do business with farmers. With almost 90,000 questions asked on the platform it is a mine of information. 3. CardiopadZang - Cameroon The Cardiopad is a touch screen medical tablet that facilitates heart examinations such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) to be performed in rural locations while the results of the test are transferred wirelessly to specialists who can interpret them. This life saving device means that patients living far away from medical facilities can get the care they need. 4. Funda - South Africa Funda is an online training platform that has been partnering up with South African universities to enable learners to access short e-courses online. This helps students to learn more and achieve better results. Ultimately empowering them to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. 5. Soko - Kenya Looking for the perfect unique gift? Look no further than Soko, an online platform where global shoppers can buy handcrafted accessories direct from artisans in Kenya. With Soko's mobile tools, artisans have access to a whole world of consumers, expanding their business horizons and entrepreneurial prospects. On average, within two months of joining Soko, artisans boost their income four fold. 6. Giraffe - South Africa Giraffe helps low and medium skilled workers to find work using mobile technology. Jobseekers sign up to Giraffe by sending a shortcode via SMS or visiting the Giraffe website. The platform asks a series of questions to formulate a brief digital CV, similarly employers post job listings. Giraffes algorithm automatically contacts all suitable candidates via SMS to ask if they would like to have an interview. Once their interest is confirmed, it automatically forwards their digital CVs to the employer and works with them to setup the interview process. 7. Vula Mobile - South Africa Health workers in remote areas are often faced with tough cases and very little in the way of resources. Vula Mobile is a mobile app that connects general health workers with specialists in hospitals. Vula Mobile allows health workers to capture patient information, take photographs, do basic tests and record a brief medical history before sending it directly to a specialist. They can ask for advice over a dedicated messaging platform and then help their patients get the care they need. 8. SafeMotos - Rwanda Since 80% of accidents in Kigali, Rwanda involve motorbikes SafeMotos encourages its customers not to become part of the statistics. Working much like Uber, drivers are equipped with smartphones that send data on how they drive. The system then works unsafe drivers out of their system by only connecting customers with drivers who meet their high safety standards. 9. Gifted Mom - Cameroon The high death rate of newborn babies and pregnant women in outlying communities inspired Gifted Mom's creator to develop an app that helps teenage mothers and health workers calculate due dates. It also collects and sends information to women in the community. It has more than 500 downloads offering women's health advice. New mothers can also access information on infant care and vaccinations. 10. CladLight - Kenya CladLight jackets ensure bikes are visible to other motorists. The jackets are equipped with signal transmitters displaying the direction in which a driver intends to turn when the bikes indicators are used. It also has a GPS tracker so that owners can track the riders. This helps to reduce the number of bike casualties. Emirates, on its mission to raise awareness about the threat the illegal wildlife trade poses to the survival of the planet's most endangered and iconic animals, unveiled its fifth A380 emblazoned with special livery in support of United for Wildlife. United for Wildlife is an alliance between seven of the world's most influential conservation organisations and The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Unlike its four jet-powered siblings, this latest Emirates United for Wildlife A380 aircraft is featured in situ, at the traffic roundabout leading to London Heathrow airport a highly visible site that reaches over million international travellers and their families and friends annually. One of the largest known aircraft models in the world, the Emirates A380 model at London Heathrows roundabout is built to an exact 1:3 scale of a real A380 aircraft. Weighing more than 45 tonnes, the model is the same size as a real Boeing 737. Over the past six months, Emirates has literally taken its message against the illegal wildlife trade to the skies and across the world. Since November, the airlines four eye-catching United for Wildlife A380 aircraft have flown more than 4.2 million kilometres on over 800 flights, delighting customers, global travellers and plane spotters in 34 cities spanning five continents. The interest, sharing and discussion generated on social media as a result, has helped spread awareness on the issue, with consumers encouraged to refuse products made from endangered species. Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline said: The illegal wildlife trade has brought many of our planets most majestic animals to the brink of extinction. It is unthinkable that a generation from now, there may be no more rhinos, elephants or tigers to be found in the wild. The need for action is urgent, and both the demand and supply side of the illegal wildlife trade has to be tackled. Through our global brand footprint, Emirates can help drive consumer awareness and interest in the issue. The declaration Earlier in the year, as a member of the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce, Sir Tim signed the landmark Buckingham Palace Declaration on behalf of Emirates. The Declaration, developed by representatives from across the transport industry outlines key actions to strengthen defences against trafficking by removing the vulnerabilities in transportation and customs, that criminals are currently exploiting. This agreement is a result of 12 months of meetings held in London, Geneva, and Dubai, and thousands of hours of work by legal, conservation, transport, and customs experts. The Rt Hon The Lord Hague of Richmond, chair of the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce said: "Emirates and Sir Tim have contributed enormously to raising awareness of the illegal wildlife trade and are setting a great example for the world's airlines. Their efforts are part of our work to eliminate the demand for illegal wildlife products. Through complementing other international efforts to tackle this issue airlines are disrupting illegal supply chains. Emirates' actions are bringing this issue front and centre, taking us one step close to eradication of this appalling crime against wildlife." In addition to consumer awareness efforts, Emirates is collaborating with international organisations to train and better equip its ground and cargo staff to detect and deal with illegal wildlife products in transit. As the required paperwork for movement of some wildlife products is often forged, Emirates also made the decision to ban trophy shipments. Kia Motors will build training centres for mechanics in Ethiopia and Kenya in a bid to contribute to their economies by providing education for young people. From left: Edward Brown, World Vision Ethiopia national director; In-Shik Kim, president of Korea International Cooperation Agency; Roman Tesfay, First Lady of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Jin-Haeng Chung, president of Hyundai Motor Group; Soon-Nam Lee, president of Kia Middle East & Africa regional headquarters. According to Korea Times, a Kia Motors official said Sunday that the company held a groundbreaking ceremony for the centre in Ethiopia on Friday and another in Kenya on Saturday. Chung Jin-haeng, president of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, participated in the ceremony held in the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa with First Lady Roman Tesfaye, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) president Kim In-shik and Ethiopia World Vision president Edward Brown. An official said that building the training centres in the two countries is a part of the company's charity Green Light Project (GLP). The GLP is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity run by Kia Motors to support developing countries by providing education and opportunities. KOICA, a governmental organisation that has vast experience offering grant aid programmes to developing countries, will help build the training centres and manage the education programme after completion. The two training centres in Ethiopia and Kenya are expected to contribute to job creation as well as boost their economies. The training centres will teach not only automotive engineering but also other vocational skills, including sewing, beauty and hairdressing, to boost jobseekers' capabilities. An official said it will also work closely with local companies to develop other employment programmes to help young job seekers. The training centre in Kenya is expected to be built in the capital city of Nairobi by the first half of next year, and Good Neighbours International, one of Korea's largest NGOs with more than 2,000 professional staff and 20,000 volunteers, will also help manage the training operations after completion. "Kia Motors will support developing countries' economies through education and job creation," said a Kia official. "The company will extend the GLP into other developing countries, helping young people's education." Rural communities or informal settlements in developing countries have to rely on open wood and charcoal fires or paraffin stoves to prepare their daily meals. There are a number of problems associated with these methods of cooking including fire hazard risks, rising deforestation and health issues related to excessive smoke inhalation. MIT professor David Wilson proposed a solution with Wilson Solar Grill, a cooker that stores solar energy for cooking at any time of the day. The invention was inspired by a trip to Nigeria. The professor was confronted with the numerous issues surrounding wood fire cooking in rural areas. The grill harnesses power from the sun and stores it to provide high-heat cooking (up to 200 degrees celsius) for a duration of 25 hours. The technology behind the grill consists of a compact lens used to concentrate sunlight onto a thermal battery made up of molten salts, which retain heat. During the day, the heat is stored and when the sun starts to disappear, the lens is substituted for a cover that keeps the molten salts piping hot for up to six hours. Cooking is as simple as opening the cover and placing food on the grill. Since Wilson came up with the solar grill, he has received backing from charity TATA Trust for two years of testing the product in India. More recently, the technology has also inspired a group of MIT students to develop their own prototype and launch a business to manufacture and distribute their grills. I recently had the honour of speaking to executive MBA students from the University of Columbia when they visited Cape Town for a summer school. I shared with them some of the key lessons I learnt during my first couple of years of running a start-up business. Ivan Epstein #1. Data doesnt tell you everything Most successful entrepreneurs trust their gut and instinct as much as they trust formal market research. Creating a new business is about defying the odds and finding opportunities. Its about heart and courage as much as it is about intellect and analysis. #2. Disputes can arise with business partners If you have partnered with other people to build a business, be ready for some potential disputes once the idealistic glow has worn off. Be sure that your partners complement your strengths and weaknesses and that you are able to turn the challenges in the relationship into a net positive. Conflict, if well managed, can create great opportunities. #3. The first employee is an important milestone When your business is a start-up, youll find it hard to attract the right people. Your budget will be limited which means your choices of potential employees will be too. Great talent usually wants to work for well-known and successful brands. Dont make a bad appointment out of desperation take your time to find the right fit. Remember that youre not just hiring a techie or a sales rep youre laying down the foundation for your future culture. #4. Dont be seduced by your own PR As your business takes off, you might get opportunities to attend gala events with established business people. You could also get some PR. Thats all great, but dont let it go to your head. Make sure you are focusing on your business fundamentals and not just your image. And remember, the press can be unpredictable. #5. As your company grows, your control may diminish Many entrepreneurs dream of securing venture capital funding, being bought out by a bigger brand, or even listing their businesses on a stock exchange. Its important to be willing to let your role evolve if you embrace such changes you may need to be more transparent and flexible as well as delegate aspects of the business to others. #6. Learn how to cut your losses If a product line or a division in your business is failing, act quickly. If its beyond redemption, dispose of it as cleanly and rapidly as you can. Dont let a failing part of your business disrupt your strategic direction. #7. Share the wealth As your business grows, make sure that your peoples prosperity grows, too. Making people feel that theyre recognised and valued is vital to employee engagement and retention of wonderful talent. #8. Change the world! Use your talent and organisation to make a difference in the world. Give something back. It instils in your people a wonderful feeling of being part of something amazing. It also attracts investors, customers, and other stakeholders who want to be associated with a company that has a heart. Agriculture is on the edge of a second green revolution which entails shifts in how the agriculture sector utilises and implements innovative technology to improve output in a sustainable way while addressing a greater need for global food security. This is highlighted in PwC's latest Africa Agribusinesses Insights Survey 2016 Paolo Gianfrancesco via 123RF "Currently, there is a second green revolution underway. There is a desperate need for food security and, therefore, higher agricultural output without compromising resources in the process," says Frans Weilbach, agribusiness industry leader for PwC Africa. Advances in technology and innovation are the key to the future of agriculture as agribusinesses strive to feed an increasing population against a background of climate change, scarcity of water and a host of environmental concerns. Innovative technology and advancements in productivity are becoming increasingly important as pressure mounts on food systems, says Weilbach. The global population is growing rapidly and the climate is ever-changing. Agribusinesses are making changes to go high-tech. From data-gathering drones to artificial intelligence farming, technology is making the agricultural sector more precise and efficient as agribusinesses push for increased profits. The agricultural sector is regarded as one of the most critical industries for the African continent due to economic potential and is projected to become a US$1trillion industry in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by 2030. More than half (58.8%) of survey respondents consider investment in Africa as an opportunity for their businesses to expand. The top four countries they are planning to invest in are Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa. Revenue growth PwCs Agribusinesses Insights Survey 2016 was carried out amongst a group of African agribusinesses that are mainly focused on delivering agricultural and related services to primary producers. The survey focuses on the strategic challenges that agribusiness leaders face in their businesses, while on the other hand it highlights areas where technological innovation is already taking place and where it can make a difference in the future. In addition, the survey provides viewpoints on the agricultural sector in Nigeria and Kenya. Survey respondents, however, are less optimistic about revenue growth over the next 12 months compared with their expectations a year ago. The majority of agribusinesses (46.2%) are expecting revenue growth of between 0-5%, and 26.9% of businesses expect it to be between 6-10%. Challenges The biggest challenges to business growth cited by business leaders were access to technology, the scarcity of natural resources and supply-side uncertainties. African agribusinesses also feel that there is a long way to go toward better support from government in the sector. For example, businesses are of the view that government does not offer sufficient tax incentives to ensure international competitiveness. Furthermore, they say government is not doing enough to develop skilled workers in the sector. Edward Kerich, PwC director in Kenya, says: Kenya relies heavily on the agricultural sector as the mainstay of its economy, with agriculture contributing 29% of GDP. Kenya is SSAs leading tea exporter and one of the worlds largest black tea producers. A significant development in the agricultural sector is growth in the number of privately owned tea factories outside of those owned by the KTDA and the large multinationals in the country. The contribution of the tea industry to the Kenyan economy is expected to continue growing, and the benefits realised will be enhanced as some factories move to cheaper renewable energy such as hydropower production. Rasheed Rahji, PwC partner in Nigeria, says: Agriculture contributed 24.18% to real GDP in Nigeria in Q4 2015. This is mainly due to mechanised farming and to other activities in the agribusiness value chain. It is being fuelled by the Government owing to its focus on agribusiness as a driver for poverty alleviation, and in part by continued investment by commercial farmers. Given the fall in the international price of crude oil over the past 18 months, the government has encouraged agricultural exports as an alternative foreign exchange earner. A number of challenges in the agricultural sector remain to be addressed. These include inadequate infrastructure, access to credit, and the training and education of smallholder farmers in modern farming techniques. Adequate focus on these matters would certainly assist in improving Nigerias food security, grow its GDP and increase its foreign earnings. Risk management African agribusinesses also indicated they have maintained focus on risk management, with the majority of survey respondents (95.2%) periodically conducting a formal risk assessment. It is also positive to note that 53.8% of respondents prepare an integrated report. Human resources Human resources (HR) models and processes are beginning to evolve, with more emphasis being placed on technology to improve networks and data. Agribusinesses are looking to their HR teams to provide not only basic services and transactional activities but also strategic insights and workforce intelligence. Businesses indicated internal HR capacity, labour unrest, employee turnover, and communication between employees and management as the most challenging human resources matters. Climate change Although there is widespread consensus on the reality of global climate change, much uncertainty still exists when it comes to the exact measurable impact of changes in climatic conditions on agriculture and food security. The majority of agribusinesses are of the view that climate change will have a significant impact on SSA agriculture in the future 41.2% indicated that there will be a significant impact in the short term and 35.3% that there will be an impact over the next 20 years. In addition, 35.3% of agribusiness leaders indicated that they are considering investment in renewable energy, while 29.4% have already done so. The main forms of renewable energy that agribusinesses have invested in are solar energy and biogas. Adoption of new technologies Increased pressure on the profitability of farming and agricultural business activities is forcing the agricultural sector to be an early adopter of new technologies in order that it may improve the productivity and profitability of the sector. Survey respondents noted the availability of real-time data as the biggest opportunity for technological innovation. In addition, drones are fast becoming a real green-tech tool. Global research also shows that artificial intelligence (AI) farming will be the main enabling factor in increasing the worlds agricultural production capacity to meet the demands of the growing population. This goes hand in hand with precision farming and other technology trends. The majority of survey respondents (76.5%) agree that AI farming will make a major contribution to increasing capacity in Africa over the next ten years. Only 47% of businesses had already invested or plan to invest in the development of AI farming capabilities for primary production. This could be due to the cost of implementation, which was noted as the biggest restriction to the use of AI farming capabilities (64.7%). Food security and corporate social investment All agribusinesses indicated that they felt a responsibility towards food security. Food quality and safety is the one pillar of food security that respondents indicated they can contribute towards the most followed by availability and affordability. It is also positive to note that all businesses indicated their agribusinesses contribute towards corporate social investment (CSI). The top three areas of investment are: healthcare, education and personal upliftment. It is predicted that technological innovation will act as a catalyst in lifting agribusiness to the next level in Africa. The winners will be those agribusinesses that seize the opportunity to create new opportunities through technology they will be able to reach their strategic goals faster and more efficiently, concludes Weilbach. In February, we published an article on a farming initiative that allows young farmers the opportunity to learn and earn as they learn - Future Farmers. It's Youth Month, and this particularly initiative stayed at the back of my mind because it embodies the kind of attention we should be giving South Africa's youth to take us into the world beyond today. I spoke to Judy Stuart, founder of the Future Farmers Foundation, about youth in the industry, their successes and what they need to go even further. Judy Stuart Tell us more about Future Farmers and its apprenticeship system Judy Stuart: Young people who are passionate about farming and who are prepared to work hard are welcome to become future farmers. After an interview, we will try to help them to find positions on farms. Here, they will start on minimum wage and work upwards. This is an Earn as you Learn system. The young people who do really well and prove to have integrity, an excellent work ethic and humility, move on to overseas internships. At the moment, there are 18 interns abroad. What kind of skills do Future Farmers apprentices gain? Stuart: Initially, as apprentices, they learn about hard work. They also learn all of the practical aspects of the operations, starting from the bottom and working their way up. Those who are successful in this two-year phase may be selected for overseas internships. These internships are life-changing. They will spend a year either in Australia or the USA, working with their particular speciality. This is a very exciting and stimulating event in their careers. More often than not, their leadership potential is revealed during the internship. Although they learn new technical skills, they are exposed to first world work ethics and attitudes. They are living in a different cultural environment. It is so different from South Africa. These young people really grow and mature during this part of the programme. Not all future farmers qualify for overseas internships. It is based on their performance over the preceding years, reports from mentors and the references from their employers. What skills do youth in farming and agriculture lack the most? Stuart: Most of the young people who want to enter this field lack practical skills. Many of them have diplomas in agriculture, however, there is often a lack of practical experience. Many of the people who study agriculture are more interested in office jobs than farming. At Future Farmers, we try to equip those who are interested with practical skills and an understanding of what is going to be required in a professional commercial farming environment. I feel that there is not enough focus on developing our young people as large-scale commercial farmers. The emphasis seems to be on small scale farming and subsistence farming. We also find that many of the people who join future farmers do not understand what is required of them. Even the graduates are often not punctual or may decide to leave the job without giving notice and this is in spite of their education. There are norms, and even laws, that apply to the workplace. These are either misunderstood or ignored. This is where our mentors are valuable; advising and guiding. The apprentices need to understand that without solid track records, employment in the future is going to be difficult to come by. Our book, Your Future: Our Future, deals with many of these issues. What is being done to address the lack of skilled youth in the industry in general? Stuart: There are some very good colleges that teach agriculture. Many of the graduates are not ready to work on farms. The theory is invaluable, but these graduates need to understand that they must be prepared to get their hands dirty and start from the bottom when they get to the farms. Sometimes it is difficult for them, however, we are working with many really fantastic graduates who are accomplishing a great deal. AgriSETA is providing funding to assist graduates to gain practical experience. This is significant. But there are not many programmes for the young people who do not have diplomas and have been unable to access tertiary education. Many of our most successful future farmers joined our programme after leaving school. We need to reach more of these disadvantaged young people. So many of them have the passion and the drive to become successful, but they lack opportunity. South Africas youth is its most valuable resource. It is more precious than all of our diamonds and gold. If they do not have opportunities, then an incredible asset is being wasted. How does South Africas youth view the industry? Stuart: There is a misperception that the youth of this country is not interested in farming. The numbers of aspirant farmers who come to Future Farmers for help, prove that this is not the case. We do not recruit people, they find out about Future Farmers and come to us. I believe that the ones who are really passionate will find their way. We welcome them. There are hundreds in our database from all over South Africa, there are probably thousands who would love to become farmers. So much of our good agricultural land is lying fallow. There are land reform farms that should be productive and profitable. We need young people to be prepared to turn these potentially valuable tracts of land into profitable farming enterprises. People see these failed farms, they know about the many failed cooperatives. They have learnt about what does not work. If we could do things differently and get competent young people to farm the land and to make it work, we would be addressing food security and we would be providing careers and employment for many future farmers. How can greater participation of youth in farming be encouraged? Stuart: We need the successful commercial farmers in all of the sectors of agriculture to become involved and create opportunities for the youth. We need mentors to help the apprentices through the apprenticeships, advising them and guiding them. We need funding to make all of this possible. At Future Farmers, we are prepared to work with anyone who shares our goal which is to help the passionate youths of this country to become successful commercial farmers. Our work is made possible by sponsors: Saville Foundation and Underberg Farmers Association for helping interns to travel to Australia, Bayer for core funding, AgriSETA and Kwanalu for funding for the WIL 200 project and the Future Farmers 15 project. On your about us page it says we want the boys to experience a new country, be exposed to other cultures and ways of life, and of course to learn farming. What about the girls? Stuart: When we started, there were only boys. They were from an agricultural high school and between us, we started Future Farmers. We do not recruit, but we do our best to help the people who come to us. There are many girls in Future Farmers now, but they did not start to knock on our door in the first few years of our existence. Our doors are open to any young South Africans who want to farm. What farms do you partner with and where? Stuart: We have future farmers on farms throughout the country. However, most of them are situated in KZN. This was our starting point and this is our hub. There are people on farms in other provinces, but it is impossible for us to go there to mentor them. We cannot deliver the service they deserve to those future farmers. We hope, one day, to have the resources to change this. There are a large number of participating farmers, but there are not enough. These farmers play a vital role in the programme. Tell us more about the successes of Future Farmers. How does it benefit the participants beyond the apprenticeship? Stuart: You really need to attend one of our Farmers Days to hear the future farmers share their stories! Most of the people who make it to the overseas internship become managers on their return and they are good managers. They have been in leadership positions overseas. They have achieved more than they ever believed possible. They have broken new ground in their personal lives. They have been judged, not according to who they are, but according to their ability and attitude. They learn to believe in themselves, discover that they are valuable. They return with a newfound sense of dignity. They have worked harder than they ever thought could be possible. They have worked alongside people of many different nations and they have been outside South Africa, they have discovered a whole new world. They bring back to our country additional skills, they learn about technology, but most important is the fact that they bring back a new approach to their work. Most of them are ready to take on anything and most of them will be successful. The best of our future farmers are ready to farm in their own right. Though none of them do, the opportunities have not been there for them. We are continuing to work to help them to accomplish this important step in their farming careers. According to a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, 37% of South Africans own a smartphone. But for Nick Caripis, founder and CEO of BNC Technology, the next big thing in innovation is going to be the smart home. "I love the environment," he says. "It's growing and evolving, so now is the right time to be involved. "The industry was shaken up about eight years ago, and the new breed of company is more dynamic. Some are still stuck in the old ways, and they are dying a slow death. But the future looks bright. Every home will soon have our technology." For Caripis, the need for an integrated home is evident. With one control system from a single supplier, mundane tasks will be taken care of and homes will "come alive", allowing people to do what they want, where they want, and when they want. "Full integration - one system to control the entire home - is a key positive trend," he says. "We've been specialising in it for years. It's new to some guys; they aren't getting it right, and their clients are paying for it. That's why you need a good, reputable, certified company to support you and service your system." BNC Technology specialises in upmarket home-integrated technology. This includes home cinema, home automation, networking, audiovisual solutions, and integrated security. The company caters to entrepreneurs and business professionals established in their lives and careers. And if the project is suitable, it will conduct business anywhere in the world. "Getting the architects, electricians and interior designers to change their mind-set is sometimes a challenge, but once they see our work or showroom, they start following our guidelines," he says. "We offer a CPD (continuing professional development) affiliate course for architects, called Designing Integrated Future Ready Homes, to improve their basic knowledge of our industry. We also provide them with templates to simplify their designs," Caripis says. Caripis is used to convincing others to follow the recommendations he makes. After working as a waiter from the age of 17, his first real job was as a salesman for an audiovisual company. He concedes he was terrible in this position, and didn't make a cent in sales for eight months. "I wasn't sure why they kept me on," he laughs. "There was no formal training on the technical side or sales side. So, I approached my boss to allow me to complete a sales course. I negotiated that they reimburse me if I hit a certain target. They gave me a six-month target, which I achieved in three months." The company couldn't keep up with all the sales Caripis brought in. Quality slipped, clients became upset, and the company battled to pay overheads. It was then that Caripis moved on so that he could "do it better". "In the beginning, I wanted to be in control of my own income and make a lot of money," he says. "But my focus changed in 2008, and it was then that I wanted to be the best in the industry. Since then, my business has evolved to what it is today." It was when BNC Technology "started taking things seriously" in the second year of operation that the business became profitable. Since then it has been short-listed for two top business awards, and consistently makes the yearbook for the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association, a global body made up of more than 3,500 member companies worldwide. "It shows that our work is constantly at the top of our game for Africa and Europe," Caripis says. "To do this in such a short space of time is a testament to my team's work and commitment." In March 2015, BNC Technology opened a showroom that allows consumers to see, hear and touch the technology the company can install in clients' homes. And although last year's profits were down because of that investment, Caripis has since seen a boost in the number of clients, and is confident about the future. "We work hard," he says. "And business is good. We have double-digit growth year on year, and we keep reinvesting in our business. "We're focusing on streamlining our processes and improving our client experience and service. You can never stop improving," Caripis says. The company's plans for the future include expanding its international footprint - not necessarily by opening overseas branches, but by doing work in other countries. As well as uplifting the industry standard and raising the skill and level of work performed, Caripis also wants to continue investing in his staff of 12, so that the company remains "small, streamlined, efficient and profitable". "People are not just staff," Caripis says. "Our company is family and we invest heavily in our people. Impacting lives - more than just financially, but helping them be better people - will help the community in the same way." Source: Business Day According to Natalie Muller, regional head of rentals at Jawitz Properties in the Western Cape, one of Cape Town's biggest demands in the rental space is student accommodation. But a lot of landlords are cautious to rent out their properties to students and are thus missing out on the lucrative opportunity this market presents, she says. Be it worry that students will wreak havoc at home or not be good for the monthly rent, there is a way for landlords to get past the fear and protect themselves. It is essential to bind the parents of the student to the student, so that all parties are liable for any defaults or destruction, Muller says. By doing this and signing the lease in both the parents and students names, landlords are automatically protected. Clauses in the lease agreement Landlords can even request that certain clauses be added to the lease agreement specifying no noise at certain hours, house rules and etiquette requirements. And because the parents are bound, it is in their best interest to ensure their student child adheres to these rules. When it comes to making sure the rent is paid, the parents who may in fact be the ones paying rent anyway, are now certainly responsible for the rent to come in, as it is stated in writing. They have co-signed the lease and are liable, Muller adds. While one can sign a contract at 18 years old constitutionally, it is unlikely that the majority of students have a sufficient credit rating, so the parents would be the ones who prove they qualify for a rental agreement or not. If it is a two parent-family, however, have credit checks done on both of them before they sign the lease. Dont assume that just because one parent is solvent that the other one is too. Its important to check all parties to protect yourself, Muller says. When signing the lease, also be sure the wording binds the occupier (the student) with the leaseholder (the parents). This will become important should you need to serve notice, Muller concludes. In a South African first, a smartphone app makes visiting the new Ndiza Gallery at the Krystal Beach Hotel , Gordon's Bay, a deeply immersive experience. Not only is the 200m gallery a significant focus of the hotel's lobby space but the art is also a differentiator in this property and much of it, even in the suites and in public areas, is curated and available for sale. The inaugural exhibition by veteran artist, Arlene Amaler-Raviv entitled Drone features many pieces in which she collaborated with photographer Dale Yudelman. What makes this exhibition special is that the Krystal Beach app, created by DigiCape, responds to blue-tooth beacons next to each image to automatically cue relevant media, in this case, videos of the artist discussing the work. Curated art a key focus Michelle Roelofsen, George Reeves, Michaela Limberris and Gavin Furlonger are the creative team behind the project and are working in tandem with the four-star graded hotel management to provide a quality and curated art focus, distinctly different from the usual cookie-cutter art as decor approach that most hotels employ. Even the hotels exterior is enhanced by artist brush strokes that make it pop against the blue sea and sky of its position on Gordons Bay Harbour Island, about 45-minutes from Cape Town. The Krystal Beach app extends to beyond the gallery space to other images in the public areas like striking black and white images by photographer Ken Gerhardt and photographer Roel Roelofsens composite skycaps. Into Africa The 112 roomed hotel, opened in March this year, is special in that its West African owners are using a Cape Town property to springboard further development in Africa including soon-to-open resorts in Douala, Yaounde and Kribi in Cameroon. Hotel interiors are fresh and contemporary with greys and muted turquoise tones that speak to its seaside location. I was impressed that even the furniture cushions were feather stuffed making for a luxurious and deeply comfortable experience. And, being newly kitted-out, wall-to-wall free Wi-Fi and desk level multi-plugs including USB chargers meets todays travellers needs. Operations manager Chris Eiserman, previously of The Upper East Side hotel in Woodstock and Devon Valley Hotel, says hes very excited about this project which also includes the Krystal Komfort Spa and an Art on the Boardwalk showcase for local talent on the first Sunday of the month. There are four conferencing rooms which combined can seat 260 people banquet style. Aside from a good food offering inside the hotel, there are affordable yet quality options within easy walking distance and Gordons Bays Bikini Beach is a stones throw away. Samuel Kerwin attended all three presidential candidate rallies last week and found some interesting similarities among stark differences between the candidates. Samuel Kerwin attended all three presidential candidate rallies last week and found some interesting similarities among stark differences between the candidates. Robert Maestas Newscity APD Stops Targeting Homeless, Mentally Ill in Reverse Drug Stings In line with its mission to place the spotlight on entrepreneurs from emerging markets, Seedstars World is travelling to more than 65 countries globally and 20 in Africa this year to identify the best seed-stage entrepreneurs and provide them with an opportunity to win up to $1m and network with investors and mentors from around the world. Its previous participants have raised over $61m collectively, providing employment to more than 360 employees worldwide. The event will take place at Mancosa with the startups to pitch to a panel of judges. The top three startups will be invited to Johannesburg, where they will compete with the best startups of Cape Town and Soweto (Gauteng), of which one will be crowned the most promising seed-stage startup of Seedstars World South Africa 2016. The South African competition is carried out with the support of Standard Bank, who will further support the startups on their path to success. The startups selected to pitch in Durban are: You, Baby and I: An online platform that allows moms to experience brands by matching them to location and interests. Vitls: The startup building a revolutionary wearable medical device for homes and hospitals, allowing vitals to be monitored continuously and undisturbed from anywhere. Guardian Angel Safety Solution: A GPS tracking product that offers an affordable personal safety solution for children, adults, the elderly and even pets. Pocketpa: An on-demand app for concierge services for busy individuals and households, offering personal assistance in anyones pocket. RhinoRecon Group: An app that helps women select a hairstyle and book on-demand hairstylist. UXFoundry Pty Ltd.: A platform for creating custom and enhanced instant messaging apps for businesses. Wango: A dating app that focuses on engaging conversations. Digital Sauce: The startup that is simplifying the process of receiving quotes for home renovations. After seeing more and more activity coming up from Durban, we decided to put it on the map of our 2016 tour, and so far we are very impressed with the startups and the ecosystem in general, says Marcello Schermer, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World. Entrepreneur Traction will act as the local ambassador across the continent and will represent the initiative throughout the year. Other partners include local and international organisations, such as Omidyar Network, Payfast, Startup Grind, Durban Hub and Smartspace. In addition Seedstars World has partnered with TRECC to bring the 'Transforming Education Prize', which will award the best startup in the education space from around the world with a prize of over $50,000. The event will take place on Wednesday, 8 June from 4-9pm, tickets are free and attendees can register here. #YouthMonth: The Instagram King, Gareth Pon When taking a scroll through Gareth Pon's insta feed it's easy to see why he was crowned Top African Instagrammer in both 2014 and 2015. Gareth manages to capture unique images that tell a captivating story wherever he points his lens. Not only being an excellent iger, Gareth also founded the official South African Instagramers community in 2013. We chatted to him about creativity and social media as part of Bizcommunity's #YouthMonth. What was it like winning Top African Instragrammer in both 2014 and 2015? What was it like winning Top African Instragrammer in both 2014 and 2015? It was really a huge honour. The first year it happened it really took me by surprise, I was just doing my thing, loving Instagram, and when it was announced on Twitter I actually had a very sudden reaction because of the shock! I then sent out another tweet a little later thanking the guys at African Blogger Awards. Its amazing that there are platforms like this that acknowledge influential people in Africa. Image by Lauren Randolph Your career allows you to travel and meet interesting people; where and who have been your favorite places and people to get acquainted with? Your career allows you to travel and meet interesting people; where and who have been your favorite places and people to get acquainted with? The list of friends Ive met through my travels is honestly endless! Ive met some of my closest friends, some of who I talk to on a daily basis. My favourite European city so far has been Amsterdam; I love the bicycle culture there and its just such a beautiful place to explore. The most memorable trip so far has definitely been Jordan; I travelled with my friends @lilyrose & @unclescrooch and got to meet a few other instagrammers along the way. Jordan is honestly the most beautiful place Ive had the opportunity to explore. How has Instagram changed your life? How has Instagram changed your life? In many, many ways. I would have never done half the things Ive had the opportunity to do if it werent for Instagram. I think the main thing for me has been the ability to connect with amazing creatives from all over the globe. When I initially starting taking Instagram more seriously it was quite a risk, I was on course to setting up my own production studio or using the money I had saved to travel and meet people Id connected with on Instagram. I had no idea if it would even amount to anything, but the one thing I did know is that I wanted to meet all the creatives I had met via Instagram. I took the leap and Im glad I made the choice that I did. Ive always been someone who really loves meeting new people and Instagram, at its core, is that its the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals who share your passion for photography and travel. The common courtesy of a subtle distraction. Featuring @mishka.patel Inspired by @bird.ee #latergram #spotthegprocket #gpmeetsmu #whatmauritiuslookslike A photo posted by Gareth Pon (@garethpon) on May 14, 2016 at 10:05am PDT Can you explain the process of setting up the official Can you explain the process of setting up the official South African Instagramers community as well as your current role in this community. The process of setting up the local community involved reaching out to Phil Gonzales, the original founder of the global Instagramers community. We then built up a connection and then I was appointed as the lead of the South African community. I then connected with individuals from different cities around South Africa and over the same weekend we launched the national communities in 2013. My current role is overseeing these ever growing communities and being a link for relating communities around the world. Its an organic process, a lot of the team get involved because of their passion for Instagram and its really directly translated into seeing some of the greatest instameets happen on the continent. What advice would you give people or companies when it comes to harnessing the power of Instagram? What advice would you give people or companies when it comes to harnessing the power of Instagram? Instagram is an opportunity to tell visual stories about yourself or your brand. People often overlook this and just treat it like another social media platform, hand it over to the intern and post random photos that, in reality, no one cares about. As an individual or a brand, you need to harness the power and opportunity of creating a visually appealing story that people can follow. How would you describe your approach to photography and film? What, for you, makes an engaging image? How would you describe your approach to photography and film? What, for you, makes an engaging image? I always joke with friends, I tell them I try to capture an image (photo or video) that you cant Google. That said, I try different angles, I think before I shoot and if I dont 'feel' it I wont take a photo. Whenever possible, I also try to capture an image that evokes emotion, if I can accomplish that then the way the image looks isnt really my priority, the feeling and narrative behind the image is what matters the most. We're all in this together #spotthegprocket #thisissouthafrica #meetsouthafrica #southafricaletsme A photo posted by Gareth Pon (@garethpon) on May 9, 2016 at 10:26pm PDT What type of images on Instagram get you pushing that heart icon? What type of images on Instagram get you pushing that heart icon? Lately Ive been really intrigued by really strong creatively thought-out images. Even though Im still inspired by travel photos, I feel that Ive been drawn to more of a curated visual consumption when I look at images I search for images that harness emotion and have strong creative concepts. There are so many new career options and paths for young people today. What would be your advice for any youngsters trying to forge their own path? There are so many new career options and paths for young people today. What would be your advice for any youngsters trying to forge their own path? Dont be scared of failure. Fail as much as you can, thats the only way youll find what you love and when you discover that passion let it kill you, because youll realise that all that failure in the past was just stepping stones leading to where you were meant to be. Our dreams in the sky, find us through the clouds #makeportraits featuring @solarisitu #spotthegprocket #thisissouthafrica A photo posted by Gareth Pon (@garethpon) on Mar 2, 2016 at 8:52am PST How do you see the phenomena of social media influencers developing? How do you see the phenomena of social media influencers developing? Ive always said that the term 'influencer' is a very loose term - its volatile and Ive never marketed myself as an influencer, but rather as a photographer, filmmaker and creative consultant who so happens to have a fair following on Instagram. With that said, I feel that the influencers who have a creative skill (in whatever form), are the ones who will find their way into the future of how this world of social media is evolving. You see, numbers will always be there and numbers will always draw attention/popularity but someone wise once told me that anything gained quickly is just as quickly lost. All my friends who are doing very well within the industry are those who have utilised Instagram just as another medium, not their main medium life outside of social media needs to still go on and in a very real way. Creation and creativity should always hold presidence over 'influence', whether youre an influencer yourself or a brand. If you could travel back in time and give a message to your teenage self, what would it be? If you could travel back in time and give a message to your teenage self, what would it be? Id quote my favourite film, Big Fish: I've been nothin' but myself since the day I was born, and if you can't see that it's your failin', not mine. In the hope that I would encourage myself to take more risks and to not be scared to pursue what I really love. @southafrica National Instameet 2015 from Gareth Pon on Vimeo. Do you still dream of being an astronaut? Do you still dream of being an astronaut? Every day and every night! What are you currently working on? What are you currently working on? A short film about Ruramai Musekiwa for Red Bull Amaphiko. What is your favorite emoji? What is your favorite emoji? The little poo or the Vulcan live long and prosper. But it depends who I am talking to ;) garethpon.com www.instagram.com/garethpon vimeo.com/garethpon On the next Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media radio show on Thursday, 2 June 2016, from 9-10am, show host Warren Harding takes a look at the upcoming Marketing Mix, Shopper Path to Purchase 2016 event, happening on 20 - 21 July at the Sunnyside Park Hotel in Johannesburg. We talk to one of the event speakers, Dana Buys, CEO of CloudOne.mobi, a leading expert in boosting business performance with technology, including digital in-store signage. Dana joins the show to tell us more about CloudOne.mobi, trends within the retail and signage environment and to chat about his talk at the event covering: Localising digital signage content via cloud computing Explaining the cloud breakthrough How store managers can now load content directly relevant to their store and their department Case studies demonstrating cloud digital competitive advantages We are entering a new age of marketing where all media are sales channels, all communications have buy now capabilities, and all marketing is essentially shopper marketing. Brand manufacturers must build shopper-centric thinking into the earliest phases of brand development. Retailers must partner with brands and vendors to enhance loyalty, improve the shopping experience and drive traffic sales. All partners must rely on deep insights to connect with shoppers along the entire path to purchase. Get all the info on the upcoming Marketing Mix, Shopper Path to Purchase 2016 event here. Tune into Biz Takeouts every Thursday from 9am-10am live from the 2oceansVibe Radio studio in Cape Town as we discuss the topics that matter in Marketing & Media. How to listen Comments or questions Podcast A podcast of the show will be available in the Biz Takeouts special section on Biz later during the week. It's never been more evident that the internet and mobile era is disrupting TV for good. Here's how the first day of presentations and panelists at Kantar Media's World Audiences Summit 2016 explained the implications. With addictive real-time ratings boards showing share of station in Brazilian households and a 'game of phones' 12 question touchscreen quiz - on which I scored an embarrassingly low 5/12 for all to see - it was obvious before the first day of Kantar Media's sixth world audiences summit even began on 1 June in Cape Town for the first time down in the Westin Hotel's Ballroom. For example, did you know that twice as many dog videos are watched over the expected cat video craze on YouTube; that Google is the most popular term searched for on both Google itself and direct competitor Yahoo; and that 26% of all apps downloaded are uninstalled again within 10 minutes? Peter Chalakov 123RF Perhaps best highlighting just how the internet - and mobile internet at that - is disrupting TV, the day was made all the more interactive as the audience was encouraged to participate in polls and ask the presenters questions and engage through the app. The fact that we were also introduced to new definitions for core TV, which is watched on a television set, and the new term 'extended TV' shows that visual broadcasting is no longer limited to the big black box in the corner of the living room but now incorporates all video content watched on any device. It's proof of the oft-quoted fact that the TV research industry of the past has focused too much on the pipes and not enough on the liquid or actual ratings data. Little wonder as that actual data is just colossal, with a quality representative panel at its heart. Welcome to the new future of research, said Richard Asquith, CEO of audience intelligence at Kantar Media. TV's new reality... Not reality TV but real viewer data Asquith explained that as homes have so many video-viewing devices nowadays, we need to better control the level of detail captured. TV's new reality thus lies in driving measurement standards, not in standardisation thereof. It requires a hybrid measurement system based on the best of both worlds. As a result, broadcasters are now embracing online video as well as programmatic trading, and feeling the tension of keeping up with global trends while still addressing local concerns. It requires the inclusion of time-shifted viewing as well as real-time ratings, programmatic API, cross-platform audience appreciation as well as cross-media measurement for a total view, all of which is happening at Kantar, right now. Justin Sampson, the chief executive of BARB UK, calls this 'people-watching in the internet era'. Imagine life without the internet, he said, to incredulous laughs from the audience as we factored in just how much it removes friction from our daily interactions and offers new opportunities, proving itself as the most accountable media platform ever, much as Marshall McLuhan predicted 50+ years ago... With that in mind, Sampson said to factor in the duality of device data, which is only strengthened by people data, with a future as both a planning tool and a trading currency, as well as the importance of both stability and innovation in hitting this mark going forward. Big data: People-based, not cookie-based We also gained insights into Thailand, China, Denmark, Norway and Pakistans broadcast measurement behaviour in 2016. Key among these are global trends such as audiences going multi-screen or second-screening. There's a related rise in time-shifted viewing and even out-of-home viewing, based on video devices in caravans and holiday homes. The rise of digital and set-top boxes also mean more low-tech broadcasters are now using YouTube as a gateway, pointing to the need for cross-media measurement. They also provided a reality check on the true figures for online video-viewing as online viewing definitely rises when TV goes down and binge watching is a notable new behaviour, but at the end of the day online TV ratings are actually pretty small. Fittingly, Nunu Ntshingila of Facebook Africa gave a brief overview of the power of social and video content for advertisers as part of an international panel. She explained there are now 120 million Facebook users in Africa, and that what started out as a purely social chat space has evolved and is now somewhere to discover new content, products and services. She says advertisers are slowly realising Facebooks true reach and confirms that measurement and marketing of the future will become people-based, not cookie-based. The day ended with a sense of embracing that notion of how we differ yet are all the same with attendees split into various Cape-based networking activities, ranging from swimming with penguins in Boulders Beach to a history-rich tour of Robben Island and taking in the beauty of the Constantia winelands. Watch for coverage of the second day's content soon and follow the #KantarOnAir hashtag. With the draft International Arbitration Bill soon to be tabled in Parliament, Bizcommunity asked Jackwell Feris and Jonathan Ripley-Evans, Directors in Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr's Dispute Resolution Practice, to give us some more insight as to what this means for the South African legal landscape. Why introduce an International Arbitration Act? International arbitration is a trans-national mechanism for the resolution of international commercial disputes between parties residing (or incorporated) in different states in a manner which avoids a foreign party from being subjected to the discretion of the courts of another state. The purpose of international arbitration is to encourage the resolution of disputes in a neutral forum, subject to the rules and procedure expressly agreed between the parties without the fear of interference from any judicial system. Almost 18 years ago, the South African law commission recommended the adoption of an International Arbitration Act. For a number of reasons the proposed International Arbitration Act was not finalised and tabled in parliament. However due to South Africa's ever increasing need to foster and support the resolution of international commercial and/or investment disputes by multinationals or other foreign corporations doing business in South Africa, including using South Africa as the so-called "gateway" to the rest of Africa, it has become important for government to ensure that the South African legislation governing international arbitration is harmonised through the adoption of UNICTRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration ("Model Law"). The Model Law was developed by the UN in an effort to establish a uniform international arbitration system that is acceptable to all member states with different legal, social and economic systems and to contribute to the development of harmonious international economic relations. South Africa has historically not differentiated between domestic and international arbitration and, as a result, all arbitrations in South Africa whether domestic or international are subjected to the oversight of local courts. Once the International Arbitration Act comes into force, it will be applicable to international arbitrations and the current Arbitration Act will continue to apply only to domestic arbitrations. This move is not only in line with international trends but is largely regarded as the absolute minimum requirement if South Africa is to encourage parties to resolve international disputes by means of international arbitration in South Africa. What does the introduction of the International Arbitration Act mean for access to justice? Whilst the promulgation of the International Arbitration Act will not directly "promote" access to justice, it will facilitate the resolution of international commercial disputes with minimal interference by the South African courts. By limiting the grounds for interference by South African courts, foreign parties will be encouraged to resolve their disputes in South Africa and to this end the new Act may promote access to justice, albeit in respect of foreign parties. In addition, arbitration in general, by its very nature, is a more expeditious form of dispute resolution than court litigation and may in this manner, further promote access to justice. How can arbitration bring legal cost down? The real benefit in using arbitration as opposed to court proceedings lies in the ability to provide a swift resolution to disputes (compared to court litigation). As a result of the reduction in time taken to resolve disputes, the costs associated therewith may very well be lower than those associated with protracted court litigation. This is however not necessarily the case. In any arbitration, the parties to the dispute will be liable for not only the costs of their own representations, but also the costs of the arbitrator and the institution (if nominated) appointed for the administration of the arbitration. The costs of the arbitrator and the institution involved are not costs which a litigant would have to bear in court litigation. What is the litigation arena like in the rest of Africa and how long will it take for them to get equivalent arbitration legislation? In relation to international arbitration in Africa, South Africa is anything but the leader in the field. It is intended that with the International Arbitration Act, the UNICITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration will be incorporated into law, in South Africa. As things presently stand, South Africa will be the 11th country in Africa to adopt the UNICITRAL Model Law (which is largely regarded as the framework upon which many countries have based their domestic laws relating to international arbitration). A robust international arbitration legislative framework is required in order to, amongst others, ensure that parties involved in international disputes in South Africa are not concerned with the unnecessary interference by courts in the proceedings and that international arbitration awards in South Africa are rendered effective without the need to debate the nature of thereof (whether a domestic or foreign arbitral award) when one is required to enforce such award in other legal jurisdiction. This does not necessarily mean, however, that the award will be enforced in another country. To this end, the convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards (New York convention) provides assistance in that signatories to the convention all agree to enforce foreign arbitral awards (subject to certain exclusions). South Africa is a signatory to the New York convention but not all African countries are. This in itself causes problems with enforcement in Africa. Notwithstanding the difficulties faced with the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Africa, the continent is alive to the need for the advancement in this field of law and recent developments (for example in Mauritius) are evidence of the continent's commitment in the cause. What is the best thing about these changes for South African businesses? Once the new regime comes into force, disputants can take comfort in the fact that the South African International Arbitration regime will at least accord with international best practice and this should encourage parties to agree to the resolution of disputes by means of international arbitration, in South Africa. Being a Model Law jurisdiction for the resolution of international commercial and/or investment disputes, foreign businesses doing business in Africa may well choose South Africa as the natural choice for the seat of such arbitrations, in the event of a dispute. There is no direct benefit for South African businesses, save if such business enterprise is conducting business in the rest of Africa it may be easier to convince parties to the commercial transaction to choose South Africa as, amongst others, the seat for the resolution of any potential future dispute. Will it require training of South African jurists? For many years, South Africa (and Africa in general) has to lesser extent been actively involved in the resolution of international commercial disputes. There are a number of historic reasons for that which we do not intend to deal with at this stage, thus international arbitration has mostly been driven by the western world, recently also certain Asian jurisdictions. South African jurists have been practicing domestic arbitrations for many years, so the concept of arbitration is not new to our legal practitioners. The above notwithstanding, international arbitration requires a particular skillset developed through a devoted interest and active participation in the field driving the need to upskill both practitioners and the judiciary (through training, seminars and actual exposure to such work). Such initiatives would highlight the fundamental differences between international and domestic arbitrations. Once the International Arbitration Act is promulgated, we foresee a need for specialised court rules to be developed, guiding judges as to how they should approach matters involving international arbitration, in order to ensure that the judicial officers provide the necessary support to the development of international arbitration in South Africa (without involving the courts in a manner which acts contrary to the foundational principles of international arbitration). Do we have enough desire to drive the change what is the UN's view? From a South Africa government perspective, we understand that there is a desire to ensure that South Africa adopts an international arbitration Act despite an 18 year delay in tabling the bill. In the interim however, countries such as Mauritius and Rwanda have already taken the lead by developing "centres of excellence" for international arbitration in Africa and South Africa cannot afford to be left behind in this field. From an infrastructure perspective South Africa is best place in SADC to develop a centre for excellence for the resolution of international commercial and/or investment disputes. The UN has set the framework for the development of a Model Law for international commercial arbitration, it is for South Africa as a sovereign state to decide whether it intends conforming with international norms for the settlement of international commercial disputes. Even though the Model Law was developed almost 31 years ago by the UN it still remains relevant today for the resolution of international commercial and/or investment disputes. The Model Law is periodically revised to accord with current practices and norms, the last revision being done in 2006. The proposed International Arbitration Act is a positive step for South Africa and demonstrates the political will from government with regard to the resolution of international commercial and/or investment disputes. Although South Africa may still find itself in the grip of a drought, the fully computerised coating facility of AGT Foods (formerly Advance Seed) is still working to supply farmers with "coated seeds". Aurelio Wieser via 123RF While the seed plant hums along in Chamdor, Krugersdorp, AGT Foods Africa is also attending to the business of making bread more appealing. Meanwhile, another production line in the facility completes 25,000 tonnes of packaged and bulk popcorn for local snackers and international markets. Brian Lever, managing director of AGT Foods Africa, is quick to point out that the multi-faceted business also includes a grain division which supplies peas, beans, lentils and other legumes to various markets, while the retail packing division is fully employed ensuring that microwave ready popcorn, already packed in patented packets, rolls into stores across the country. The mining side A wide variety of seeds - many according to closely-guarded recipes - are supplied to customers as additives to a variety of bread products. Research projects for the mining industry also form part of the companys diversified portfolio. Presently, says Lever, AGT Foods is active in the gold, coal, uranium and platinum arenas with producers. Research on pastures and lucerne also form part of the mix, something you may not expect from a company operating squarely within one of Gautengs busiest industrial areas. The research is focused on land rehabilitation projects from a mining perspective, while the other key activity is on the production of forage pastures for consumption by livestock, says Lever. The seed-coating business The seed-coating business concentrates on delivering seeds that are coated with the nutrients and fertilizers required to stimulate their growth. For the farmer, this technology enables seeds to be sown without the necessity of returning to the same fields to fertilise, spray with weed killer or any other activities. Individual seeds are coated with all the trace elements required to propagate and establish a crop. We work with the Universities of Pretoria and the North West who run trials on our variants, added Lever. With agribusiness and farmers constantly being called upon to participate in as many activities along the agricultural value chain as possible, the production of seeds are incorporated into the AGT Foods programme literally from field to table. We contract farmers to grow between 7,000 and 8,000 hectares of seed crops for us during the average year. A farmers entire crop is contracted for and we have agronomists who undertake inspections and ensure that documentation required for export is completed. The farms are situated across South Africa. If like this year, there is a drought, we contract outside South Africa to countries like Argentina, Brazil, Botswana or Zambia for product - basically, anywhere we can be sure that conditions are favourable, says Lever. Crops subject to weather Yields differ according to crop and region, but popcorn fields will typically produce upwards of eight tonnes per hectare. Peas usually return three to five tonnes per hectare. All crops, however, are subject to the vagaries of the weather. The primary damage caused to crops is through the heat that is produced by a very dry season. If pollination is taking place and the temperature exceeds 30C, the pollen dies. The damage caused by the drought we are currently experiencing is so significant because it began when the plants were pollinating. Export markets The prime concern for AGT Foods, however, is not meeting contractual needs within the country, but with export markets around the world. When it comes to popcorn, a single international clients consignment may equal that of the entire South African market. Delivery at a designated place, at a designated time, spells success or failure for a business. AGT Foods Africa is continually competing for a share of the market with major agricultural companies. In 2012, the former Advance Seed reinforced its position when it became part of AGT Food and Ingredients, a Canadian-based seed company which sources its products from more than 40 facilities around the globe. In this complex business, being part of an international giant is vital when it comes to servicing existing contracts and winning new ones. Often it is being plugged into the well-developed international seed intelligence markets that can make the difference when it comes to sustaining market share, says Lever. Our goal is to continue to grow from here. ANNOUNCING: 6 new experiences across 5 continents, filled with boundless adventure. Let Inspirato be your guide to discovering these once-in-a- lifetime opportunities: experiences.inspirato.com A photo posted by Inspirato (@inspirato) on Mar 8, 2016 at 12:32pm PST Johannesburg is much more than a business stopover or gateway city to Africa and with a new campaign '#Welcome2Jozi - Leisure is Our Tourism Business', the Johannesburg Tourism agency hopes to convince business travelers, including from the rest of the African continent, to stay a bit longer. Image by 123RF While a vast number of visitors arrive for business reasons or events, ever increasing numbers are staying to explore and experience Johannesburgs fascinatingly diverse, urban tourism and lifestyle scene. Johannesburg Tourisms domestic tourism campaign aims to share why Joburg is a destination of choice for business and leisure travellers. A media and advertising campaign, supported social media elements will keep travellers up to date with tips and suggestions on what to do in Johannesburg. The hashtag is #Welcome2Jozi . Records show that the African markets visit Johannesburg for mainly business purposes. Overseas markets travel for holiday, business, visiting friends and relatives, or often have a combination of these. Core markets, listed according to size, are Europe (including the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy); followed by North America, Asia, Australasia, Central and South America, Middle East and the African mainland. To date the most rapidly growing feeder markets emanating from the BRICS grouping are China and India. The development of the tourism scene in Johannesburg over the past 20 years has seen a dramatic increase in the number of precincts, museums and attractions to highlight the citys heritage story, developed by both the public and private sectors. Vilakazi Street in Soweto, the Maboneng Precinct to the east of the CBD, as well as Braamfontein further north, are just some of the lively neighbourhoods and precincts which have come into their own over the past decade or more. A host of new heritage sites have been launched, including the Origins Centre at Wits; the Apartheid Museum at Gold Reef City; Liliesleaf Farm; Hector Pietersen and Chancellor House Museums; and the Constitution Hill complex, home to South Africas Constitutional Court. A number of routes have been developed to take in the Citys diversity in terms of themes and attractions, including arts, cuisine, Indian and Chinese heritage, adventure and nature. A new initiative will use state-of-the-art science to help Asian and African societies to understand the role of climate change in extreme weather events and anticipate for future ones, to better prepare and protect their citizens and economies. Image by 123RF The Raising Risk Awareness initiative brings together scientists from World Weather Attribution (WWA) initiative an effort led by Climate Central with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, University of Oxford, University of Melbourne and Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute with the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). It will assess whether climate change has contributed to extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and heatwaves in several countries across East Africa and South Asia. The team will use peer-reviewed methods to discover the links and will distribute the information widely to the press, policy-makers and the public in these countries. These regions are particularly vulnerable to weather disasters, said Paul Hanle, Climate Central president and CEO. We are pleased to join CDKN in this important international alliance that draws upon the cutting edge climate science to manage climate risk. Scientists now can determine if human-induced climate change contributed to an extreme event or if the event would have happened anyway. Techniques for attributing such extreme events to climate change almost in real time have advanced in the last 10 years and are considered the new frontier of climate science. If climate change has played a role, scientists can indicate how often such events are likely to happen in the future and work with countries to brace for similar events. New conversations We are looking to kick off new conversations about how developing countries can reduce their vulnerability to climate change and construct more resilient societies after climate-related disasters, said Sam Bickersteth, CDKNs chief executive. Extreme weather events are not selective; they often hit countries that are least well equipped to deal with the impacts and this can set their development back by years. CDKN is delighted to bring its experience from years of work in climate-resilient development and climate communications to this new partnership. Maarten van Aalst, director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, another WWA member, said: It makes a real difference to policy-makers and planners if they can find out quickly after a disaster whether such extreme events are becoming more or less frequent. Some decisions about recovery and reconstruction need to be made within days or weeks. Take the example of heat waves, killing people and destroying harvests. In some cases, such extreme temperatures, which used to happen every 50 years, now occur every 10 to 15 years, because of climate change. Information like this has deep implications for how developing countries invest their scarce resources. Members of the public also have a role to play in assessing the role of climate change in extreme weather events. Friederike Otto of Oxford University, Science Lead for the new initiative, explained: For our regional climate modelling, we are entirely dependent on the computing time donations from members of the public. Volunteers can sign up to participate in climateprediction.net, which harnesses the power of thousands of personal computers to run our models. The Raising Risk Awareness project launched in May 2016 and will run until March 2017. Fintech is disrupting the way ordinary Africans manage and use money. And these fintech players are standing up to traditional institutions as a force to be reckoned with. Image by 123RF Accenture estimates that over one-third of mainstream financial services revenue is at risk due to disruption in the industry from fintech. Many reports show how the rapid development of African fintech, which exploded in the years following the 2008 global meltdown, is threatening established players in the mainstream financial services sector. Africa is fertile ground for new fintech services which are leveraging the power of communities and social media to make financial services more relevant, while using data to deliver more meaningful financial services on an ongoing basis. In my role as head of AlphaCode, a club for fintech entrepreneurs an initiative of Rand Merchant Investment Holdings, I meet these motivated and innovative entrepreneurs daily. The mushrooming of new and successful fintech companies on the African continent can be directly linked to innovations that meet the needs of historically under-serviced market the unbanked. This has seen fintech itself become a facilitator of economic growth in Africa. It is lowering the barriers to entry for consumers by playing a development role and helping to reduce financial exclusion. And financial inclusion combined with a strong financial sector is the backbone of any thriving economy. While infrastructure development, internet penetration and access to finance remain real barriers to economic opportunities in many parts of the African continent, the continent has overall experienced strong economic growth and made major inroads into poverty. An improvement in the quality of economic governance has also played a role. The costs of starting a business have fallen, as have the delays in starting a business. African fintech success stories There are remarkable fintech businesses that have developed into exciting fintech African success stories. We have seen innovators and fintech-preneurs build new platforms that consumers can easily understand, trust, and in a just click or two, can transact, borrow, save and insure. Critically, these fintech innovators first made sure they understood the system they intended to disrupt; they considered the competitive landscape; and niched their fintech solution to meet specific needs of a specific customer grouping. Today, fintech businesses like these are thriving: Zoona: A money transfer business operating in Zambia and Malawi. To date, it has attracted 1.5-million active customers and has processed over $1 billion in transaction value across a network of 1,500 agent outlets. Investors include Accion Frontier Fund and Omidyar Network. A money transfer business operating in Zambia and Malawi. To date, it has attracted 1.5-million active customers and has processed over $1 billion in transaction value across a network of 1,500 agent outlets. Investors include Accion Frontier Fund and Omidyar Network. Merchant Capital: A Johannesburg-based provider of alternative sources of working capital designed specifically for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. Investors include Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (the group behind Discovery, OUTsurance, MMI and FirstRand) and Capricorn (the investors behind Hollard, Nandos and Clientel). A Johannesburg-based provider of alternative sources of working capital designed specifically for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. Investors include Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (the group behind Discovery, OUTsurance, MMI and FirstRand) and Capricorn (the investors behind Hollard, Nandos and Clientel). TYME: Joburg-based digital banking business that launched Mobile Money for MTN and PnP which acquired one million customers and processed over R1bn transactions in its first nine months, making it one of the top 10 mobile money deployments globally. Acquired by Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2015. Joburg-based digital banking business that launched Mobile Money for MTN and PnP which acquired one million customers and processed over R1bn transactions in its first nine months, making it one of the top 10 mobile money deployments globally. Acquired by Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2015. Wigroup A mobile transaction solutions company based in Cape Town which provides a point-of-sale integrated, open and interoperable, mobile transaction platform. To date it has processed more thanR5bn in transactions. It was invested in by Investec Asset Management. A mobile transaction solutions company based in Cape Town which provides a point-of-sale integrated, open and interoperable, mobile transaction platform. To date it has processed more thanR5bn in transactions. It was invested in by Investec Asset Management. Rainfin: A Cape Town-based P2P (peer-to-peer) platform which is the largest in South Africa and focuses on SMEs. It is currently lending more than one million rand per day. It is backed by Barclays. A Cape Town-based P2P (peer-to-peer) platform which is the largest in South Africa and focuses on SMEs. It is currently lending more than one million rand per day. It is backed by Barclays. Snapscan: business providing a cashless, cardless payment app that consumers can use at thousands of different merchants across South Africa. Snapscan has scaled to more than 10,000 merchants nationally. It is backed by Standard Bank. Success hinges on distribution The difference between success and failure of fintech in Africa is often about distribution. People need to be able to access the product and it needs to have utility. I have found that many fintech businesses starting out do not pay enough attention to the distribution of their product they tend to focus on the technology. I always say that technology is a hygiene factor in financial services and the product needs to work but most of the innovation is actually in how you get the products to customers. This is where fintech founders need to really focus. Rather get a product that is 75% right out to a large portion of the population, than a product that is 100% right to a tiny base. What I see in a lot of fintech businesses is that they focus on tech and the product with no or little regard to its distribution. They have a great product and great tech but have no clear strategy on how to get to their customers. Ultimately, they do not achieve commercial viability. In financial services, distribution is everything and is where a lot of the innovation really lies. The failure of M-Pesa The African fintech case study that will go down in the history of the digital banking era on our continent is the roaring success of M-Pesa in Kenya - and its dismal failure in South Africa. Following the launch of the mobile phone-based money transfer service M-Pesa by local mobile network operator, Safaricom, in Kenya in 2007, the service came to record over 20 million subscribers in its primary market, Kenya, and some 7 million subscribers in its second biggest market, Tanzania. Meanwhile, it was reported that by March last year (2015) M-Pesa only had only one million subscribers and 76,000 active users, despite Vodacoms projections at its launch in 2010 that it would sign up 10 million users in three years. M-Pesa allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money and pay for goods and services using their mobile devices. M-Pesas dominance in Kenya was partly technology but mostly distribution: they had a dominant mobile network operator and significant agent distribution. Similarly, the failure in South Africa was not on a technology front it was because they lacked distribution and they lacked the network effect which is exactly what is required to make a closed loop wallet work. You cannot just copy a system and paste it into a new market. Also, each country has very specific regulatory requirements which need to be considered. South Africa doesnt have the same favourable regulatory environment for wallets as Kenya. We dont have the same set of circumstances. Wallets have historically suffered in this country because we have a significant banking infrastructure and it is difficult for closed loop systems to compete with our open loop architecture. Furthermore, financial services are very market specific. It is vital for new up-and-coming fintech businesses to understand the system they are looking to disrupt and where its weaknesses are. They must understand the cultural nuances of a market how customers interact with money, their relationships with each other. The product must have utility and be relevant to a consumer. It must help people. More and more people across our continent will need financial services in some form as real growth is entrenched and socio-economic upliftment occurs. Waves of disruption will certainly happen, but the basic needs to transact, borrow, save and insure will never disappear. Therefore, there will always be a need to innovate and deliver these services to customers. It makes Africa an exciting space for fintech in 2016 and beyond. Manufacturing processes can be replicated, products imitated and ideas copied. But, it is not as simple to emulate the authentic relationships consumers share with their favourite brands. Nor is it easy to contest the position these products occupy in the minds of their loyal patrons. In the face of technological innovation, globalisation and a bewildering array of traditional and online media, brands can and often do win... now more than ever before. Image by 123RF This is according to Gavin Etheridge, Cape Town Director of Epic MSLGROUP, who says that when a deep emotional connection is cultivated between companies and customers, its brand loyalty and not improved features, augmented services and innovative designs that protect their market share. A recent study published in September 2015 by Nielsen, suggests that all industries will soon need to start reconsidering how they communicate with their target market and stakeholders. Empowered consumers are fast losing their faith in all forms of traditional paid advertising. According to the study, six in 10 global respondents say they dont trust adverts on TV, newspapers and magazines, yet eight in 10 (83%) say they completely or somewhat trust the recommendations of friends and family. In a 2012 Corporate Executive Board study done by Saatchi & Saatchi, 64% of respondents in the cited shared values as the primary reason to build a relationship with a brand. Under these circumstances, the reputation of companies, encapsulated within the intangibles of their corporate brand and not the tangible benefits of their products, will become the main determinant of consumer choice, explains Etheridge. If we accept that a brand is your companys promise, then surely trustworthiness is the foundation of any branding strategy? In one sense a brand is a form of assurance, says Etheridge. A promise of legitimacy and security that differentiates your offering from the noise and the clutter created by your competitors. If you want the market to trust you, there needs to be an emotional connection - not only between the company and its target market - but with each and every stakeholder. Coca-Cola isnt the best tasting cola. Microsoft doesnt have the best operating system. But, its about the position these brands hold in the mind of the consumer, says Etheridge, quoting Steve Tobak of Entrepreneur magazine America. He concludes: South African consumers dont buy products, but instead they buy the benefits they derive from them. Loss of market share will not be as a result of uncompetitive products, but a companys inability to establish an emotional connection with their market. We connect brands with the mass market where it matters most-close to home. Activists demonstrated in Prague in support of an imprisoned hunger striker 1. 6. 2016 cas cteni 1 minuta About a hundred people demonstrated in Prague on Tuesday in support of Martin Ignacak, who has been accused of allegedly planning an "attack against a train". Ignacak has been held in detention for thirteen months now. He has gone on hunger strike after a Prague court has refused to approve his release from detention. Martin Ignacak was arrested in connection with the so-called Operation Fenix. This was a police action whose aim it was to uncover a "terrorist plot" allegedly hatched by left wing extremists in the Czech Republic. At the demonstration on Tuesday, political scientist Ondrej Slacalek pointed out that all the police accusations have turned out to be unsubstantiated. He added that it was shocking that the Czech media have ignored the fact that a "political prisoner is on hunger strike in the Czech Republic now". The prosecution of the "Czech terrorist group" is highly doubtful, says the website Denik Referendum. "Operation Fenix" was supposed to have uncovered a "terrorist cell" which was made up of five left-wing activists. But it has turned out that two of these activists were police agents. The "terrorist cell" set a car on fire, but the accused argue that the attack had been devised by the police agents. Czech prosecutors have refused to publish the wiretaps of discussions within the group from the time when it debated the possibility of carrying out this violent act. They have also refused to publish the reports of the police agents within the group from this time. Source in Czech HERE There are stories like this in the Czech Republic every day that never make it to the outside world because of a lack of translation. You can support us and help reveal what's happening in Central Europe today. Please make a contribution today on www.paypal.com and send your donation to redakce@blisty.cz. We fully rely on crowdfunding in our work. Thank you. 0 I hadnt seen anyone try do it, she told Mizzima Weekly. Rosy explained that selling via Facebook is more practical than setting up a dedicated website, as slow internet speeds would make page loading difficult and frustrate potential customers. However, Rosy was daunted by her lack of first-hand experience in running a business. No one in my family has any business experience and they werent at all familiar with online businesses. So I didnt have any business knowledge passed down to me. In 2014, Rosy leapt at the chance to take part in a start-up business course with the social enterprise Project Hub Yangon (PHY). The six-month course was the first to exclusively target female entrepreneurs in Myanmar. The incubation programme gave me the skills to refine my business idea. If I didnt take part in it, I dont think I would have started my business, she said. Like many people in Myanmar, where bank loans are virtually unobtainable without collateral, Rosy lacked funding to back her bright idea. Fortunately, the knowledge she acquired through PHYs programme helped her to develop creative solutions to counter financial constraints, which is an integral part of start-up business methodology. While still working at the hospital, Rosy began selling Chin fabrics for a handful of Chin women. She photographed the fabrics and uploaded them to her Facebook page, Rosys Chin Fabrics, so that she received orders instead of speculatively purchasing anything. I also used my colleagues at the hospital, 99 percent of whom were female, to do market research. They were all interested in Chin fabrics and I got to know the price range they were willing to spend. She also quickly discovered that Myanmar women are eager to wear fabrics belongings to a different ethnicity. Bamar women have no problem wearing different fabrics. If the price is right, they actually prefer to wear tribal fabrics because it makes them stand out, she explained. Once she had a sizeable number of orders, Rosy began travelling to Chin State to source the fabrics. However Rosys parents were dismayed to learn that their daughter planned to launch an online business rather than continuing her work as a medical officer. My mother wanted me to have a stable, respected profession. It took me six months to convince her that I wouldnt give up my medical career entirely and that I could balance it with my online business, she said. By day, Rosy runs her online business and at night she works as a medical consultant for a parenting website. Rosy has been running her business for 18 months now and has her familys full support. When she gave birth seven months ago, her mother volunteered to travel to Chin State to buy the fabrics. My mother works with my second cousin, who belongs to a group of weavers. However, although Rosy and her mother know a great deal about the traditions behind Chin weaving, which is considered the most intricate of any ethnicity in Myanmar and requires at least two weeks to complete a single piece, neither know how to weave. My mother cannot weave and I also cannot, so its unlikely that my daughter will learn either, said the 28-year-old. The number of Chin people who know how to weave is decreasing. Women my age dont know how to weave those who do are my grandmothers age, which makes it almost impossible to pass on the information. If the tradition of hand-weaving were to die out altogether, it would be a huge loss to a fascinating tradition. Whilst Chin fabrics have more than an ornamental role, with shawls keeping its bearers warm in one of the coolest areas of tropical Myanmar, many are rich in cultural significance. Shawls are highly specific to each of the dozen sub-groups of the Chin people and are also used to mark significant occasions, such as marriage and death. Special blankets, historically woven by the bride, are presented to a couple to mark their marriage and cover the corpse upon death. A red shawl, which incidentally looks very much like Scottish tartan, is given to a male who in earlier times fought and killed an enemy from another village, or killed an animal that threatened the safety of his fellow villagers. The shawl is worn during the celebrations that follow, and other men who previously received the honour also don red shawls. Women of certain Chin tribes receive a white, green and red shawl when they get married, and wear black and white shawls during periods of mourning. Orange is a popular colour for shawls worn by Chin people (who are also sometimes referred to as Zomi) in India, which borders Chin State. Rosys primary market is domestic but she also ships items to the United States, where a sizeable population of Chin people live. Rosy said that new fabric patterns are created every few months, but added that Chin weaving is becoming increasingly rare due to the lack of livelihood opportunities it offers in modern times. My dream and vision is to inspire young women living in villages in Chin State to know that they can still make a living out of weaving, she said. While machine-made alternatives exist, Rosy steers well clear of them: every item on offer is produced by a handloom. This is a socially responsible business products made using a machine simply wont work for me. When everything is done by a machine, theres no value in it. And machines cannot do the most complex work. Rosy is also keen to motivate other women to start their own businesses and follow their passions. I have always wanted to inspire other women to start something new and to follow their dreams. Even if there is a lot of pressure and a lack of support, just keep at it and eventually you will succeed you will get somewhere if you put enough effort in. When I started my business I didnt get enough sleep: I had to learn online skills and it took a lot of time. But finally its paid off, she said. U Chit Min, the director of the Rakhati Arr Man Ship Company that owned the ferry and was licensed to run the service told Narinjara News that none of the passenger on board the ferry, the Aung Takon 2, were injured. The Aung Takon 2 ferry aground near Ponnagyun He said: There were only around 30 passengers on the ferry boat. There wasnt any cargo. It happened while the boat was trying to enter Ponnagyun Port after departing from Mrauk U. The current was strong and the boat ran aground. He said that all the passengers were ferried to shore in motorboats and that later they were driven in cars from Ponnagyun to Sittwe. Many people in Arakan State rely on water transport, but there are no new ferries operating in the state. Ferry passengers regularly face life threatening situations because the ferries are so old and in such bad condition. Nearly 200 people died when the Aung Takon 3 ferry capsized whilst travelling between Kyaukpyu port and Sittwe on 13 March, 2015. The previous Burmese government promised to buy new ferries from Japan, but none have yet been delivered. At present all ferry services from Sittwe to Kyaukpyu, Myebon, Toungup, and Marnaung have been suspended. During a Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house of the Union Parliament) session on 2 May U Ba Shein, the MP for Kyaukpyu Township, asked if the government plans to recommence these ferry services as people are facing difficulties travelling between Sittwe, Myebon, Kyaukpyu, and Toungup. If the government was not going to resume the ferry services he said he wanted them to explain why they had taken that decision. U Thant Sin Maung, the Union Transport and Communications Minister, replied that local engineers were still designing the new ferryboats. Translated by Thida Linn Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI The 259th Hongsarwatoi Fallen Day fell on May 29 this year. Mon people, young and old, organized vigils to pray for the kingdoms collapse as well as for those who lost their lives during its descent including Mon monks, civilians and soldiers. Resettled Mon people in Indiana State, U.S. gather for Mon Holocaust Memorial Day (Photo: Facebook) Last year, I could only pray for the fallen Mon people. However, this time, I also pray for the people who are suffering at this present moment, said Mi Hongsar Htaw, a member of the organizing committee for the 259th Hongsarwatoi Fallen Day. Under the Mon youths leadership, the memorial events were organized in respective areas including Rangoon, Pegu, Karen State, Tenasserim Division as well as Moulmein City and Mon villages in Mon State. Likewise, resettled Mon people in Fort Wayne, Indiana State, U.S. staged a protest in front of the citys court office to remember the fallen Mon Kingdom Hongsarwatoi as they held the poster advertising the 259th Mon Holocaust Memorial Day in both Mon and English. Using slogans in both languages, the protesters declared We do not want the 2008 Constitution. The Burmese army must stop intruding into ethnic areas and launching attacks against them. Furthermore, they staged the protest with the objective of educating future generations about what happened and is currently happening in the country. Mon people in foreign countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Canada, Australia and South Korea also celebrated the 259th Hongsarwatoi Fallen Day. It was 259 years ago, on the 8th waning day of the second month in the year 1119 of the Mon/Burmese Lunar Calendar (Christian Era 1757), when the kingdom fell and was destroyed by the occupation of the Barman King Ahlaung Phaya (Aung Zaya), according to Mon historical records. Along with the fall of the Kingdom, hundreds of thousands of Mon monks, Mon people and soldiers were executed under King Aung Zayas occupation. Mon people have celebrated Hongsarwatoi Fallen Day each year to remember this holocaust. As the film, which is the first to explore the events surrounding Burmas 1962 coup, shows Sao Kya Seng died in detention shortly after his arrest under circumstances that have never been fully explained. A similar fate suffered by Burmas first president Sao Shwe Thaike, another Shan royal who was arrested in the 1962 coup, and who was also never seen alive again. Maria Ehrich, the German actress who played Inge Sargent, was at the screening in Chiang Mai along with some of the films producers. Many Shan living in Chiang Mai attended the screening including some who played minor roles in the movie. Apart from Ehrich most of the major roles in the film were played by Thai actors. During a Q&A conducted after the screening of the movie, which takes its name from Sargents memoir, Ehrich explained that coming to Asia to shoot the film was an interesting experience. She added that the tragic nature of the script posed a challenge at times during production. It was always the tragic story in my mind so I could not be very happy all the time when we were shooting the movie. Sometimes, all the crew team had a difficult time to shoot, for example, when Inge gets to know Sao might be dead. Everyone was crying on the set. It really touches you very hard. You can see in the movie how we felt. So, its real, explained the 23 year old Ehrich who has also starred in a number of German language productions including a kids film called My Brother Is a Dog. Ehrich traveled to Hsipaw where much of the film is set, shortly after the film was completed to see the palace where Sargent lived. Like many visitors to Hsipaw she was saddened by the poor condition that the dilapidated Hsipaw palace is in. In my mind I had already imagined Hsipaw, I was eager to see how it really is. My heart was really checking when we got close to it. We went up to the palace and talked with the person who is in charge. I told her that Inge did not take anything with her when she left and Id really like to take something to give her but she said there is nothing left. The Burmese military took everything. I almost cried. I was really shocked because I thought it would be beautiful from what I knew from the script and the book, but it is not. Its a little dirty and rotted. It really made me sad, she said. Inge Sargent eventually resettled in the US where she has lived for many years. She and her two daughters, Sao Mayari and Sao Kennari, wrote a letter to Burmas government concerning the disappearance of Sao Kya Seng. They never received a response to their inquires. Burmas newly installed consul-general in Chiang Mai Kaung San Lwin, also attended the screening. He told SHAN that did not know about the Inge Sargents letter and was unaware of the specific details of the case which he said took place before he was born. It remains unclear when the movie will receive its Burmese premier but the movie which would almost certainly would have been banned in Burma had it come out a few years ago, will likely receive a much better reception under the new NLD government. But some things have yet to change. Today more than 50 years after the 1962 coup, turmoil continues in northern Shan State where the army in recent weeks has been engaged in clashes with ethnic armed groups including carrying out airstrikes against positions held by the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA). It looks like you have reached this page in error ... The content you are looking for has either moved, or if you typed in the address there might have been a mistake. If you believe there has been a technical error please let us know. Most Popular Destinations Pawanmuktasana Or Wind-Relieving Pose To Get Constipation Relief Disorders Cure oi-Staff This problem is understood best by the one who faces it. Isn't it? Well, as it is wisely said, 'only the wearer knows about the shoe bite'. How to do Pawanmuktasana| | Boldsky Hence, with any kind of a disease, patient is the worst affected and doctors are the best gainers. Why don't you opt for a FREE method instead and try Yoga to find a great relief to any problem? Yes. Yoga is an answer to constipation as well. Your stools become quite compacted in such situation, i.e., they get dry and hard and stay in the body for a long time. It gets hard and dry as it stays inside the colon for a long time. Such stagnation gets decomposed due to bacterial action. You also face the problem of gas simultaneously. Also Read: Hanumanasana To Improve Abdominal Functioning Now, obviously, if you keep releasing gas, that too in public, how embarrassed you and the other person would feel right? Stools get too hard and there is just no escapism. You develop abdominal discomfort and your stomach starts to bloat. Hence, the best way is to cleanse the colon - enema with normal water. The pose suggested for this ailment is Pawanmuktasana. It also helps to improve digestion. Pawan means wind, mukta means relieve or release and Asana means Pose Now, starting with the pose, begin with your right leg first, followed by the left one. The reason being scientific, that right leg presses the ascending colon and the left one presses the descending colon of the large intestine. Just concentrate on your breathing while following this pose and the pressure exerted on your chest and abdomen. How To Perform This Effective Asana: 1. Just relax and lie down, with your legs wide open and your hands should be by your sides, straight, palms facing the ground. Inhale normally. 2. Now, without bending your right knee, lift your left leg up, and the right leg should be straight on the floor. Just inhale while doing this. 3. Now, bend your left leg, until your thigh gets pressed against your belly. 4. Just pull the thigh towards the body and wrap your arms around the knee. Make sure, your exert pressure on your belly. Take a deep breath in. 5. Exhale, and while breathing out, just touch your forehead on the knee, so that some pressure is exerted on the chest. 6. Be in this position for a few seconds and keep inhaling and exhaling deeply. Your grip should be firm while exhaling and should be left loose while inhaling. Do the same thrice. 7. Just follow the same with your right leg now, again thrice. 8. You can also perform this asana by bending both your legs. CAUTION: This asana is just not meant for pregnant women, or those who have undergone surgeries. Before you start with any yoga asana, you must consult your doctor or a yoga expert. Don't be a warm blooded for any pose and give it an excessive try the same day. Follow doing it slowly and gradually. Never overstress yourself. Also Read: Utkatasana Or Chair Pose To Help Get A Flat Tummy Single commodity dependent Botswana, risks losing some of its due benefits, that include sales taxes, following the signing of a historic deal between De Beers and Namibian government, Botswana Guardian has been told. This week, mining giant, De Beers signed ten-year sales, sorting and valuing agreement with the Namibian government. Under the new agreement, Namibia will see a significant increase in rough diamonds made available for beneficiation, with $430million of rough diamonds being offered each year to a 50:50 Joint Venture between Namibia government and De Beers, called the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC). NDTC will be sorting diamonds on behalf of Namdeb Holdings, a company owned by the same shareholders. According to persons familiar with diamond business, the De Beers/Namibian deal bear the same similarities with the deal, which Botswana signed with the same company some five years ago. For Botswana, the deal has all the hallmarks of reversing and affecting the gains made by the country since De Beers relocated its office from London to Botswana under a deal signed in September 2011. The agreement included the relocation of De Beers office to Botswana, where all sorting, valuing and selling of all De Beers mined diamonds, including those in Namibia, will be done in country. It was not clear, at press time what prompted De Beers to sign a similar deal with Namibia. De Beers will, for the first time, allow 15 percent of Namdeb Holdings yearly run-of-mine production to be made available to a government-owned independent sales company called Namib Desert Diamonds. On Wednesday, a source who is familiar with Botswana agreement with De Beers, said that the country stands to be affected. If the deal is implemented as it has been stated, then Botswanas sales will be affected as some of the produce it used to handle will now be diverted to Namibia, said the source, who could not be named, as the opinion may put him in a collision course with the three parties (De Beers, Botswana and Namibia). In a response to Botswana Guardian questions, De Beers confirmed that there will be a slight reduction in the value of rough diamonds imported into Botswana from Namibia for aggregation. However, the unlisted company said Botswana will still retain the lions share in terms of diamonds sold annually. It added that the Namibian deal will not affect its agreement with Botswana. It is exciting times in Namibia. The Namibian minister for mines and energy, Obed Kandjoze is thrilled about the deal which will propel the country to international stardom in the diamond business, which for years Botswana was the only one enjoying in the region. This new agreement cements Namibias position as an important international diamond player and will provide further stimulus to advance our downstream industry. De Beers and Namibia have a longstanding and successful partnership and I am pleased we will continue working together for the benefit of Namibia and the diamond industry, he was quoted as saying by Mining Weekly online edition. De Beers CEO Phillipe Melleir is also excited. This sales agreement the longest ever between Namibia and De Beers not only secures long-term supply for De Beers, but also ensures that Namibias diamonds will continue to play a key role in national socioeconomic development long into the future, he said in a statement. Botswana minister responsible for minerals, Kitso Mokaila could not be reached immediately for comment as he is currently in Angola on a working trip. When the Botswana/De Beers deal was first hatched, the country was supposed to sell diamonds in excess of $6 billion annually from De Beers mines. Head of Research at Motswedi Securities, Garry Juma stopped short of saying it is still early days. More information is still lacking such as current output that is coming from Namibia to Botswana for aggregation process. This can be used to measure the impact, if now more diamonds are being availed in the Namibia market under the latest deal. A file photo. NEW DELHI (PTI): India's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), on Tuesday made its maiden flight after much delay. The aircraft, the prototype of which was rolled out in January, is aimed at being used for the first stage training for all flying cadets of the three services. Built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), HTT-40 had completed ground runs phase last week. While the HTT-40 programme was almost junked during UPA rule, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar went after both IAF and HAL to ensure development of the trainer. IAF has already committed to purchasing at least 70 aircraft. "It is a good start as it is better late than never. HAL should ensure good programme management as it is the key to ensure timely flights tests and setting up of a parallel production line," Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (Retd), a distinguished fellow at the centre for Air Power Studies, told PTI. IAF had blocked funding for the HTT-40 by telling the Defence Ministry that the aircraft would be too expensive, heavy and that it will not meet their need. IAF had backed a Swiss trainer, the Pilatus PC-7 Mark II. The Air Force had purchased 75 of Pilatus in 2012 under a controversial deal but the requirement was for over 106 more planes. Parrikar had cut this down and cleared a plan to purchase another 38 of Pilatus aircraft. However, the contract is still stuck on pricing issues. Afghan National Air Corps MI-35 helicopters. A file photo. ISLAMABAD (PTI): Pakistan is in negotiations with Russia for buying its MI-35 attack helicopters and a deal could be clinched within two months, Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain has said. "I hope we will be able to materialise this project (to buy MI-35 helicopters) in two months," he said while talking to reporters here on Monday. Pakistan and Russia had signed a deal regarding the sale of four MI-35 attack helicopters in August last year, which was the first major defence deal between the two Cold War-era adversaries. Soviet Russia had banned the sale of military hardware to US-allied Pakistan after the Cold War period and the Afghan war in 1980s, but relations started improving after the two countries signed a bilateral defence cooperation agreement to strengthen military-to-military relations in November 2014. Hussain also said that the JF-17 aircraft, jointly produced with the Chinese help, were capable enough to meet all defence requirements of the country. Pakistan had a fleet of state of the art JF-17 Thunder aircraft which carried all specifications of any advanced fighter jet, Hussain was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). Pakistan was at top among the 10 countries having JF-17 fleet, he said, adding that the country's defence was impregnable and had the capability to meet all challenges. The minister's statement about the importance of JF-17 aircraft came even as the US Congress recently refused to partially fund eight F-16 jets which US has agreed to sell to Pakistan. JF-17 Thunder is a third-generation fighter co-produced by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A man who used a fraudulent cheque to buy a BMW from a Brandon woman and fled to Saskatchewan was arrested yesterday in the Boissevain area. The victim sold the 2008 vehicle to a man and a woman on May 15. She reported the vehicle stolen on Monday after learning the cheques account was frozen. The BMW was located by police in Regina, Sask., Tuesday afternoon and police were notified that the suspect may be returning to Manitoba. Brandon Police Servce Brandon Police Service Later that afternoon, RCMP found and arrested the suspect in the Boissevain area. The victim was able to identify the suspect as the person she sold the car to a week earlier, police said. The suspect is a 30-year-old resident of the RM of Whitehead. He faces charges of personation, utter forged document, theft of motor vehicle, and possession of property obtained by crime. More charges may follow as the man is also a suspect in other cases of theft and fraud in Brandon and Winnipeg, in addition to outstanding charges he faces in Saskatchewan and an arrest warrant in Edmonton for armed robbery. Brandon police said they will work with other agencies to either process the other charges here, or have the suspect returned to those locations. The accused will appear in court on Wednesday. Already have an account? Log in here MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - GE Canada is scaling back its plans to build a new engine factory in Welland, Ont., because of slow demand from the oil and gas industry. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO A nasty legal spat involving claims of fraud, owed money and abusive behaviour is playing out between a high profile employment lawyer and his former bookkeeper. In his statement of claim, Toronto-based lawyer Howard Levitt seeks $25,000 in various damages from Theda Lean for what he alleges was overbilling, fraudulent hours and double-billing during her time working for his new law firm Levitt and Grosman starting last September. Levitt, who writes a column on employment law for the National Post and appears on Toronto radio station Newstalk 1010, accuses Lean, a former auditor for the Law Society of Upper Canada, of being a fraudster involved in criminal activity that he says he reported to police and professional authorities. She seemed always, in the view of everyone present, to be concealing things, he states in court filings. The defendant was overbillingand concealing it in the manner in which she invoiced. Levitt alleges Lean resigned immediately when she was caught. Lean, however, in her defence and counter-claim, which also seeks $25,000 in damages for unpaid work, constructive dismissal and mental distress, tells a completely different story. Mr. Levitt is a bully and an abusive, incompetent manager, Lean asserts in her pleadings. He is unceasingly uncivil. Lean, who denies any fraudulent billing, says her only crime was to have taken a position with Levitts law firm. She says she made large personal sacrifices to do the work. She says Levitt accused her of causing losses for the firm and called her incompetent. While she says further details of her claim will be provided ahead of a trial, Lean also says she puts the mental health of Mr. Levitt in issue and states that he is not well. His media persona, she says, is the polar opposite of his true self. She calls him a disgrace to the legal profession and has filed a complaint with the law society alleging professional misconduct. It is embarrassing that a high-profile lawyer be allowed to behave in such manner to create a poisoned environment at a workplace, causing tension, fear and anxiety, her complaint states. Levitt, who bills himself as s Canadas best known and most quoted authority on employment law, denies owing any money or that he inflicted any mental distress on his ex-employee. (Lean) was already suffering substantial mental distress at the time, as her medical or psychiatric records will indicate, as a result of her own personal issues, he says. None of the claims and counterclaims have been proven in any court. A trial date before Ontario Superior Courts small claims branch has not been set. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/05/2016 (2338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. EDMONTON Alberta has made public its own draft regulations for physician-assisted death, but notes those rules will be superseded when the federal law is in place. The federal government has the primary responsibility for legislation in this area, and we intended for our regulations to fit within their legislative framework, associate health minister Brandy Payne told reporters Tuesday. In the meantime, Alberta needs to be prepared. The issued is now being debated under a motion put forward in the legislature. The Opposition Wildrose party said the government has not given enough time for debate. This shortened timeline imposed by the NDP government is simply unacceptable, Drew Barnes, shadow health critic, said in a news release. Less than an hour is not nearly enough time for any Member to prepare for the constructive and helpful debate that we would like to see on this motion, and that Albertans expect from their representatives. In the coming days, the regulations will go to Premier Rachel Notleys cabinet for approval. The federal legislation, Bill C-14, passed third reading in the House of Commons Tuesday and is now headed to the Senate. All governments are now scrambling to meet the June 6 deadline set by the Supreme Court to have rules in place for those who wish to take their own lives. The Alberta rules mandate that anyone who wants medical assistance to do so must be at least 18 years old and have a grievous and irremediable medical condition. They must be mentally capable of making a decision on their own health, makes a voluntary request for the assistance, and give informed consent to have it carried out. There is no mandated period of reflection between when a patient makes the request for assisted death and the procedure is carried out. Any doctor who is asked by a patient to assist in the death may decline on reasons of religion or conscience but must ensure that the patient has access to those at Alberta Health Services who can carry out the request. The drug used to end a patients life must be approved by Alberta Health Services. Physician-assisted death became a controversial issue after February 2015, when the Supreme Court recognized the right of consenting adults enduring intolerable physical or mental suffering to end their lives with a doctors help. The federal government has already said it may not meet the deadline. Bill C-14 has met with controversy, with concerns raised by constitutional experts, medical professionals and human rights advocates. Under the bill, in order for someone to be eligible for a medically assisted death, a person must be someone who is suffering intolerably and for whom a natural death is reasonably foreseeable. The person must be a consenting adult, at least 18 years old, with a serious and incurable disease, illness or disability, and be in an advanced state of irreversible decline. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Canada says it wasnt given enough warning and has asked Russia for more information about a rocket stage that is expected to splash down this weekend in environmentally sensitive Arctic waters. The Government of Canada has sought clarification from the Government of Russia regarding the lack of sufficient notification of this rocket launch, Austin Jean, a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, said in an email Wednesday. We have stressed to the Government of Russia the need for greater advance warning of planned launches to ensure that all precautions, relating both to the safety and security of our airspace and any potential environmental concerns, can be appropriately addressed. The Russian Embassy in Ottawa said the federal government was made aware of the launch. With regard to the inquired rocket launch, the Canadian side was informed it would be done in a way that no territory of Canada or its territorial waters would be affected while the fuel of disposed rocket stages fully burn out, Kirill Kalinin, press secretary for the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canada wrote in an email. In this context environmental concerns are seriously taken into account. Late last week, an international civil aviation authority issued a warning that a stage of a Russian satellite-launching rocket would be falling into Baffin Bay between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. The impact is expected to happen outside Canadian territorial waters, but within seas over which Canada has economic control. The area is heavily used by Inuit from Canada and Greenland. It is also within the North Water Polynya, a large area of ocean that stays relatively ice free all year. Its a known hot spot for a wide variety of mammals, including whales and polar bears, as well as millions of seabirds and shoals of cod. It is considered the most biologically productive ecosystem north of the Arctic Circle. The Russian rocket, a Cold-War-era ballistic missile repurposed for civilian use, is known to be fuelled by hydrazine. Hydrazine is highly toxic and Russia is one of two countries in the world that continue to use it as a launch propellant. Austin said the fuel in Saturdays rocket is expected to burn completely during re-entry. We therefore expect minimal environmental risks. Still, he said, Canada doesnt look favourably on such space debris landing on its land or water. We have also urged in certain terms that the Russian government make every effort to ensure that debris does not land on Canadian soil or within our exclusive economic zone. This issue is governed by a number of international treaties. Canada expects Russia to fully comply with its obligations in this regard. The North Water Polynya the largest in the Arctic at 85,000 square kilometres is highly valued by Inuit in Canada and abroad. The Inuit Circumpolar Council has established a commission to ensure it is managed sustainably as northern waters gradually open up. Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960 Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER McDonalds Canada has wrapped a pilot project to verify cattle ranches as producing sustainable beef, an initiative that one expert says could be a gamechanger for the industry. The Canadian arm of the burger giant announced on Wednesday the results of a two-year partnership with the beef industry to advance environmental and ethical standards. More than 180 beef operations in Canada were verified as sustainable after being assessed by a third-party auditor for principles including natural resources, animal welfare and community engagement. Cows are pictured on a Canadian ranch that has been verified sustainable under a McDonalds Canada pilot project. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-McDonald's Canada-Larry MacDougal MANDATORY CREDIT Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stilwell, senior manager of sustainability at McDonalds Canada, said consumers are increasingly interested in how their food is grown and raised. Canadians like that youre sourcing 100 per cent Canadian beef, 100 per cent Canadian chicken, 100 per cent Canadian potatoes, on and on. They really respond to that, he said. But then the next level is: Are you making sure that theyre being produced in a responsible and sustainable manner? A recent decision by Earls Restaurants Ltd. to source certified humane beef from the U.S. drew a backlash from Alberta cattle ranchers, prompting the chain to backtrack and say some Canadian burgers and steaks would be back on its menu. The fiasco drew attention to beef standards in Canada, with many ranchers insisting they already produced humane meat. But the industry is also recognizing that consumers increasingly want evidence that their animals were raised ethically. Betty Green, owner of G7 Ranch in Fisher Branch, Man., said getting verified under the pilot project is an opportunity to demonstrate the high standards she was already meeting. Its no longer good enough for us to just say, Were doing it. Trust us. We now have to step to the plate and offer some evidence, she said. McDonalds Canada serves all-Canadian beef from ranches primarily in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The company began working with the industry on the pilot in 2014 as part of a broader goal to source all its food and packaging sustainably. The principles by which ranches were assessed were developed by the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, a multi-stakeholder initiative created to advance sustainability in the industry. Now, the pilot results are in the hands of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, an initiative working towards similar goals locally. It will now create a verification framework based on the pilot to be finalized by late 2017. Fawn Jackson, executive director of the Canadian roundtable, said McDonalds helped bring the conversation about sustainability to the mainstream. The roundtable had recently formed when the fast-food chain first approached it in 2014. In Canada, we had a number of the different, what Ill call puzzle pieces, to sustainability. But the pilot project has really helped put those puzzle pieces together. World Wildlife Fund U.S. is one of the founding members of the global roundtable, and its beef director Tim Hardman said beef production impacts more natural resources than any other animal thats raised for food. Its critical to us that beef is produced in a way that delivers maximum benefit from finite resources. We know that in a world with a growing population and a growing middle class, global demand for beef is going to increase, he said. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said McDonalds is such a massive company that it has the power to drive lasting industry change. He pointed out that other chains followed suit when McDonalds announced last year that it would serve only cage-free eggs by 2025. McDonalds sneezes and everybody catches pneumonia, he said. My guess is that within the next decade or two, notions like sustainability and animal welfare may very well become mainstream. Follow @ellekane on Twitter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. North American governments arent living up to promises to protect their oceans and Canada is performing worst of all, says a new survey. Weve been concerned about just how slow the progress has been in protecting our marine environment, Sabine Jessen, who did the study for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said Wednesday. Canada, Mexico and the United States have all pledged to protect at least 10 per cent of their waters. For Mexico and Canada, that commitment dates back to international agreements ratified in the early 1990s. Jessens analysis found that less than one per cent of the oceans off the continent are in fully functioning protected areas with permanent legal status and a management plan. Commercial or industrial activity is banned from only 0.04 per cent. Canada, with the largest coastline of the three, has protected 0.11 per cent of it. The U.S. figure is 1.29 per cent. Mexico is the best of a bad lot at 1.62 per cent. And just 0.02 per cent of Canadian oceans are in strictly protected reserves that ban all commercial fishing, shipping, and industry. Canada has 14 marine protected areas under consideration, which could bring the total up to three per cent. Its the word consideration that is the problem, said Jessen. Consideration has lasted for decades. The Lancaster Sound area at the eastern gate of the Northwest Passage was first proposed for protection by the Inuit in 1987. Jessen recalls marine conservation icon Jacques Cousteau joining local advocates in calling for a marine park in B.C.s southern Georgia Strait in the late 1960s. Were still working on it, she sighs. I just dont think its been a high enough priority for government to do. The report urges Canada to streamline whats required to create new protected areas and that waters that come under such management should be larger. It suggests the three countries work together to establish jointly managed areas such as in the Beaufort Sea, which is shared by Yukon and Alaska. Nor should 10 per cent be a final goal, said Jessen. The latest science suggests that 30 per cent similar to what has been proposed for Canadas boreal forest is a more scientifically defensible threshold. Jessen said marine protected areas are important not only to protect beautiful and biodiverse waters, but also to preserve the health of commercial fishing grounds. The science is very clear that they in fact have wider benefits. Fish do move, larvae of fish move, and so providing refuges from our use will actually benefit those uses outside especially things like fishing. Modern fishing technology leaves fish few places to hide, said Jessen. Marine protected areas could give them safe water to reproduce and replenish stocks elsewhere. We have to make sure there are some places where Nature can thrive. Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960 Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The second of a three-day Brandon Court of Queens Bench trial for a rural western Manitoba man accused of molesting his step-granddaughter saw a debate over the admissibility of a journal kept by the complainant on Tuesday. The man, now 63, is charged with ofsexual exploitation, sexual assault, and sexual interference, based on allegations made by his step-granddaughter in June 2011, shortly after she lived in his home for a two-year period. A court order bans the publishing of details that may identify the complainant. The accused was originally found guilty on all three charges in early 2014, but successfully appealed his conviction later that year. Day two of the mans second trial on the charges began with a decision by JusticeJohn Menzies that the accuseds lawyer,Andrew Synyshyn, was allowed to question the complainant about several entries in a journal she kept during the period she made the allegations in question and while she stayed with her grandparents. The journal was apparently left at their house after the complainant was removed by social workers. Menzies restricted the questions Synyshyn could ask to entries she penned, as a 15-year-old, about strategizing how to stop lying to her grandparents during her two-year stay with them. The justice decided the probative value of those passages outweighed the womans privacy interest, but reserved the right to curtailSynyshyns cross-examination. In her response, the woman told the court that shed actually kept two journals at the time. The one produced in court was her happy journal, which she filled with positives that she knew her grandparents would read. I knew theyd read it because they went through my sisters journal, she said. The other journal, which the woman said contains negatives like bouts with depression and suicidal thoughts, hasnt been brought to court. When he was questioned on it later in the day, the step-grandfather said hed found the journal among the victims belongings only two weeks before the trial had started. He told court he had never found the second journal. The other Crown witness, a social worker assigned to the complainant through the matter, took the stand briefly on Tuesday morning. The social worker explained how she was initially contacted after the complainant told staff at her school that she had been assaulted with a belt by her grandmother a charge on which grandmother was later convicted. The worker then described how about two weeks later, after the teen had been removed from the home, she was contacted again by the school. This time the complainant, who had been removed permanently from the home after the assault allegations, had spoke about the sexual assault allegations before the court. The social worker told the court how she suggested, again, that the complainant speak to a Virden RCMP officer about the matter. She told court that her agency has a fairly substantial history with the family. Then the accused was up. The step-grandfather fielded questions fromSynyshyn and Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup for more than an hour. He was asked at several points about each specific allegation his step-granddaughter had made. He flatly denied each one. Court heard that the source of conflict between the teen and her grandmother was often about money shed earned through part-time work. The man said things would often boil over when the complainant was dishonest about how shed spent her money on things like food instead of saving it. It was one such argument that led the accused to take the teen to a shed on the property, court heard. On the stand, the man said he wanted to allow both his wife and his step-granddaughter space to cool down by taking the teen to the shed to speak to her. Many of the details he described line up with the complainants account, until the allegations of sexual contact which he flatly denied. We talked about the fight they had and her lying. I remember telling her dont lie to grandma, he said. The only physical contact they had, he said, was a hug before they returned to the house. How often would you give (the complainant) a hug?Synyshyn asked. I got hugs almost every night before she went to bed and a few times a month other than that, the accused responded. The man said that periodically, he and his step-granddaughter would hold hands. She read in a pamphlet that holding hands relieves stress. And my wife and I always hold hands and shed jump between us and hold our hands, he said In his cross-examination, Lonstrup challenged the idea that the complainant had been lying about how she was spending money and that by allowing her grandmother to see the bank statements the teen was actually being forthcoming about her finances. (The complainant) is the one showing you the spending thats still viewed as a lie? he asked. The final Crown witness, the wife of the accused and grandmother of the complainant, is expected to take the stand this morning. Closing arguments are also scheduled for later today. tbateman@brandonsun.com Twitter: @tombatemann Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. HALIFAX At any given moment on HMCS Windsor, you can reach out and touch another person. Space is at a premium on the submarine, and even the most experienced crew members admit to bonking their heads every once in awhile. Its a work environment that wouldnt appeal to most people, but for the crew of Canadas only fully operational submarine, being submerged in a tin can is a way of life. There are some people that technically and professionally would probably be very capable of doing this job, but it can be overwhelming for some. Its not a job for everyone, said Lt. Devin Matthews in a recent interview onboard Windsor, roughly 57 metres below sea level off the coast of Nova Scotia. Petty officer second class Tony Hamilton explains of HMCS Windsor's engines and motor work on Thursday, May 26, 2016. The Canadian Navy recently invited The Canadian Press aboard the Halifax-based long-range, diesel-electric submarine for an overnight voyage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aly Thomson But for those of us who love what we do, we always say that diesel gets in your blood. The Canadian Navy recently invited The Canadian Press aboard the Halifax-based HMCS Windsor for an overnight voyage to meet Matthews, the subs executive officer, and his 47 fellow submariners. Theyre a select group of Canadian Forces members a dedicated, knowledgeable and sometimes quirky bunch of sailors that can spend up to a month working in the cramped, fast-paced environment beneath the waves without surfacing. Guests slept next to long, black torpedoes on torpedo racks in the weapons storage compartment and brushed elbows with submariners in the control centre, listening to a pod of dolphins over its new state-of-the-art sonar system and peering through the periscope at the vast Atlantic. Dozens of tiny red lights faintly illuminate the operations room at night, allowing commanding officer Lt.-Cmdr. Peter Chu to see out of the periscope in night-vision. A few drips of sea water fall from the conning tower as the rotating periscope moves up and down. A sailor counts down from five during a simulated torpedo launch before Chu yells, Fire! The blowback from the blast filled a first-floor room with a dense, cold fog. Chu compared submarine warfare to a knife fight in a phone booth. When youre in that phone booth, the first one to stab wins, said Chu, referring to enemy submarines firing torpedoes at each other. The risks of submerged sailing are high, but so are spirits among the crew eager to talk about their duties and show off their life aboard HMCS Windsor. In the subs slender, steel-clad kitchen, master seaman Thomas Forrester blasts music from a tiny speaker as he cuts up scallops. Its steak night, which means a hardy dinner complete with mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes, salad and a homemade roll. Food is how we relieve stress down here. Anything can go wrong and you rely on each other to save each others lives. Because of that fact, it builds a very tight-knit community, said Forrester, one of two cooks onboard. Were the morale base for the entire crew. If were not happy, the crew will know were not happy. It shows through our meals as well as through our attitude so we try to be as positive as we can and keep the crew as happy as possible. The majority of submariners, some of whom work 16-hour days fuelled by coffee, volunteer for the role. Many on HMCS Windsor seem unaware of just how unusual their job is. You dont notice (that youre underwater) too much. If youre not a smoker, youre not worried about going outside, said petty officer second class Tony Hamilton. We just try to sleep as much as we can. Go to your time machine, we call it. Matthews said submariners are a team and a brotherhood. They know how to do each others jobs and they help each other professionally and personally. This team has a serious submarine addiction. Everybody here is passionate about what they do, passionate about helping each other and passionate about the program, the mission and the submarine, said Matthews, who has a wife and almost two-year-old son. But inside every submariner is a seven-year-old kid thats giggling saying, Im on a submarine. Follow (at)AlyThomson on Twitter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. WINNIPEG Canadas top First Nations leader says police should brace themselves for some blame in an upcoming inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde says fingers will be pointed during the inquiry, which is expected to last two years. You guys didnt do an adequate job. You didnt put enough human and financial resources into the research and the investigation surrounding all these cases involving First Nations women, Bellegarde said Wednesday in a speech to police chiefs from across the country. Thats whats going to happen. You know that. I know that. So what is your answer? Police forces should start compiling statistics and thoughts now, he suggested. They should figure out how to showcase what theyre doing well, but be equally prepared to examine their shortcomings. Many people still stereotype indigenous people as stupid, lazy, drunk, (and on) welfare, he said. Be big enough to show that more work needs to be done to improve the system. The federal government is expected to set a mandate this summer for the long-awaited inquiry into about 1,200 missing and murdered indigenous women. A report released Wednesday summarizing public consultations suggested law enforcement should address delays in responding to reports of missing indigenous women and girls. The government report also says police should address systemic racism and look at how officers treat indigenous women, girls and their families. Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill, head of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said some of the criticism likely to come out of the inquiry is justified. There has been a lot of controversy right across Canada for decades now about police involvement with missing and murdered indigenous women, Weighill said. I think the inquiry will hopefully lay some of that to rest or hold some people accountable. But he also said police have changed the way they handle such cases. They dont wait 24 hours to start investigating a missing person, work more closely with families and have put in safeguards to ensure cases dont fall through the cracks. A monument to missing and murdered indigenous women is being built in front of the police headquarters in Saskatoon, Weighill pointed out. The world has changed in the last decade. Nahanni Fontaine has been working for years with families who have lost loved ones. When an indigenous woman was reported missing, police did not devote the same resources to the investigation, she said. Many families took the search into their own hands by putting up posters and talking to anyone who might have information about their daughter, sister or mother. The situation has improved but there is still more work to be done, Fontaine said. For one, police need to build trust with the indigenous community. We still have racism. We still have sexism, said Fontaine, a newly elected Manitoba NDP member of the legislature. When you combine all those, the brunt of it is borne (by) indigenous women. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The Trudeau governments controversial assisted dying bill made its official debut in the Senate on Wednesday and the initial reviews were devastating. Conservative, independent Liberal and independent senators alike panned the legislation as they grilled first Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and then Health Minister Jane Philpott for four hours in the upper house. The depth and breadth of senators objections suggest theres little likelihood the bill will be passed by the Senate without some major amendments, which would take the government well past June 6 the day on which the ban on medical assistance in dying will be formally lifted in accordance with last years landmark Supreme Court ruling. Health Minister Jane Philpott to testifies about the federal government's controversial bill on assisted dyingl before the entire Senate in Ottawa, Wednesday, June 1, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Philpott went repeatedly into what she called plead mode, urging senators to pass the bill by the deadline or risk having doctors refuse to provide assisted dying due to the legal uncertainty surrounding it. That prompted independent Liberal Sen. Mobina Jaffer to go into a plead mode of her own. Im sure all my colleagues have heard from thousands of Canadians with great pleas about (how) this is not the right legislation, Jaffer told Philpott. Sen. Art Eggleton, another independent Liberal, said it would be better to get this right than to get it fast. The most frequent objection concerned the governments insistence that only those who are near death will be eligible for medical assistance to end their lives. Numerous senators said that flies in the face of the Supreme Court ruling and the charter of rights. You are excluding those who are not at the end of their lives and youre forcing those individuals to perhaps stop feeding themselves, to mutilate themselves or harm themselves to make themselves eligible for medical assistance in dying, said Conservative Senate leader Claude Carignan. Newly-appointed independent Sen. Andre Pratte said the bill will allow those near death to shorten their lives by a few weeks or months while forcing those who arent near death to suffer for years. From a logical and human perspective, it seems indefensible to me, he said. Conservative Sen. Kelvin Ogilvie said the bill offers no protection for the very most vulnerable Canadians, those who are suffering horribly from a disease that may last for years. How can you justify such a possible cruel interpretation (of the court ruling)? he asked Wilson-Raybould. In whats known as the Carter decision, the Supreme Court ruled that consenting adults have a right to seek medical help to end their lives if they have grievous and irremediable medical conditions that are causing enduring suffering that they deem intolerable. Bill C-14 sets out considerably more restrictive eligibility criteria, allowing assisted dying only for clearly consenting adults in an advanced stage of irreversible decline from a serious and incurable disease, illness or disability and for whom natural death is reasonably foreseeable. The children of Kay Carter, the woman at the centre of the court case, have said their 89-year-old mother would not have been eligible for an assisted death under C-14 because she suffered from a non-terminal illness spinal stenosis and could have lived for some years. But Wilson-Raybould disputed that, arguing that Carters death was reasonably foreseeable due to her age and frailty. That drew a sharp response from newly appointed independent Sen. Frances Lankin, who suggested the bill could lead to an inadvertent further devaluation of the life of seniors who are considered old enough to be dispensed of. By the governments reasoning, she said a 90-year-old suffering from a serious medical condition would be eligible for an assisted death whereas a 55-year-old with the same condition would not. There is something so fundamentally wrong and discriminatory in the application of this, said Lankin, a former Ontario health minister. Conservative Sen. Nancy Ruth said the bills overarching failure is that it does not trust us, it does not trust Canadians to make the best choices for ourselves. Some senators also questioned why the government is refusing to allow advance requests for assisted dying by those diagnosed with a competence-eroding condition like dementia. But the ministers heard from the other side of the equation as well, with some senators objecting that the bill already goes too far. Several demanded explicit protection of conscience rights for medical practitioners who refuse to take part in providing an assisted death. Wilson-Raybould reiterated her view that the bill strikes the right balance among competing interests, respecting an individuals personal autonomy while protecting the vulnerable and respecting life. Allowing assisted death for those who are suffering but not near the end of life could have an impact on public suicide prevention campaigns, she added. Both ministers said theyre open to considering thoughtful amendments, although all substantive amendments proposed by opposition parties in the House of Commons were rejected. If the Senate were to pass any amendments to the bill, it would have to be sent back to the Commons, which would have to decide whether to accept or reject the amendments. Theoretically, the bill could bounce back and forth between parliamentary chambers for weeks. Even without amendments, the bill wont be put to a vote in the upper house by Mondays deadline. Carignan has predicted the vote wont happen before the end of next week, at the earliest. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, June 1: FORT MCMURRAY RESIDENTS BEGIN TO RETURN TO CITY: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says Fort McMurray residents will need every ounce of the courage theyve already shown since a vicious wildfire tore through parts of their city. Notley says many hard days still lie ahead as the community rebuilds and evacuees who are returning wont find a normal life waiting for them. She says it will take years to recover from the wildfire that destroyed nearly one-tenth of the city, but promises the province will be there to help. Notley was in Fort McMurray to welcome back the first of more than 80,000 people who had to flee when the fire hit May 3. ___ Pilar Ramirez cleans her home after returning as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Wednesday, June 1, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Codie McLachlan HUNTER TOOTOO STEPS DOWN: Hunter Tootoos aunt says he likely hit a brick wall before deciding to step down from his Liberal cabinet post in order to get help for a drinking problem. Rose Tootoo told The Canadian Press its a struggle thats all too familiar to members of his family. Tuesdays surprise announcement touched off widespread speculation about what prompted the decision. Sources familiar with Tootoos career say he has a history of alcohol problems. __ CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER BERATES CANADIAN JOURNALISTS: Chinas visiting foreign minister is berating a Canadian journalist for asking a question about his countrys human rights record. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says it was irresponsible of a journalist from the web outlet IPolitics to ask about human rights and the jailing of a Canadian, Kevin Garratt, who is charged with espionage. Wang appeared visibly angry as he delivered the scolding in the lobby of Canadas foreign affairs headquarters at a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion. The IPolitics question was agreed to by a number of journalists representing several news organizations at the event, including The Canadian Press. ___ HOUSING MARKET TOO HOT: The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says Ottawa needs to cool down Canadas housing market. Its calling on the feds to introduce new measures to reduce some of the risk associated with soaring home prices and household debt levels in Toronto and Vancouver. An OECD report says the possibility of a housing market correction, particularly in those two markets, could threaten the countrys financial stability. Those two cities comprise a third of the countrys real estate market. __ SUSTAINABLE BEEF: An industry initiative called the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is praising McDonalds Canada for its leadership. McDonalds has wrapped a pilot project to verify cattle ranches as producing sustainable beef. More than 180 beef operations in Canada were verified as sustainable under the pilot after being audited for principles including animal welfare and community engagement. The industry group says it will now create a verification framework building on the pilot program. __ PEDOPHILE DUBBED SWIRL FACE SENTENCED: A British Columbia pedophile convicted of producing online child pornography in Cambodia where he disguised his face with a swirl has been sentenced to five-and-a-half-years in prison. But because of his time already served, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled Christopher Neils remaining sentence is just over 14 months, six months more time than the Crown had requested. The 41-year-old man pleaded guilty in December to five child-sex crimes that took place in Cambodia, as well as Vancouver and Maple Ridge, B.C., spanning a 10-year period. ___ RUSSIAN ROCKET TROUBLES: Canada is asking Russia for more information about a rocket stage that is expected to splash down this weekend in environmentally sensitive Arctic waters. Global Affairs Canada spokesman Austin Jean says Ottawa wants to know why it wasnt told in advance of the launch, which came to light through a notification from an international aviation agency. Austin says the highly toxic rocket fuel is likely to burn up on re-entry, but itll be coming down in an area known to be a hot spot for a wide variety of animals. __ EGYPTAIR BLACK BOX DETECTED: A French ship searching the Mediterranean has detected black box signals from a missing EgyptAir flight in the waters between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast. The development that could help solve the mystery of why the aircraft crashed into the sea last month, killing all 66 on board including two Canadians. In the two weeks since Flight 804 disappeared from radar en route to Cairo from Paris, only small pieces of debris and human remains have been retrieved. ___ CLINTON ASSAILS TRUMP AS A FRAUD: Hillary Clinton has assailed presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump as a fraud intent on scamming the American people following new revelations about the businessmans now-defunct education company. Clinton, Trumps likely general election opponent, cast Trump University as a get-rich scheme for the real estate mogul that preyed on vulnerable Americans, urging them to sign up for pricey seminars even when they were financially strapped. He is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump U, Clinton said during a campaign stop in Newark, New Jersey. Its important that we recognize what he has done because thats usually a pretty good indicator of what he will do. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. HALIFAX Genetically modified salmon will soon be on Canadas supermarket shelves, but are retailers and consumers prepared? After four years of testing, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have approved AquaBounty Technologies genetically modified salmon for retail sale in Canada. Given that the mighty U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the same technology six months ago, Canadas decision does not come as a surprise. Canadas regulators stated that genetically modified ingredients have been consumed by Canadians for decades. In fact, more than 70 per cent of the food sold in Canada contains ingredients that have been genetically engineered in some way. Until now, however, the technology has only influenced how we grow crops, not animals. The AquaAdvantage salmon is the worlds first approved genetically modified animal. The intellectual property to create the salmon was partially developed in Canada but championed by the American company AquaBounty. The AquaAdvantage salmon became possible when the genes from a Chinook salmon were crossed with an Atlantic salmon and an eel. It is perhaps not the most appetizing sounding genetic combination but it works. The AquaAdvantage salmon grows full size in almost half the time it takes farmed salmon to grow. The rapid development of the fish means that input costs will be halved and productivity increases dramatically. For Canada, one of the world largest exporters of salmon, this is welcome news. What makes this discovery particularly intriguing is the nutritional value of salmon, which is high on the list of foods recommended by nutritionists. However, several questions remain. One is about supply chain transparency. Many consumers want mandatory labelling of genetically modified content, and for good reason. The food industry does not have the most outstanding track record on long-term risk foresight. Trans fats, sodium, sugar these and other ingredients have been added without consumers consent and have become menaces to our health. Concerned consumers can hardly be blamed for fearing genetically engineered ingredients since no one has made a clear argument for the benefits the technology brings to our tables. The business case for genetically engineered crops is compelling, but its benefit for consumers remains nebulous. What makes the genetically modified salmon distinctive is that consumers will be offered a modified product free of any processing. Unlike crops grown in a remote field, genetically modified salmon makes the technology accessible and real. Similar to the newly approved Arctic apple, which will be available in a few years, consumers will have access to a genetically engineered, market-ready, finished product. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts, but first consumers will need to be told how genetically modified salmon can provide value to consumers. You could argue that the technology can make salmon more affordable, but with distribution forces at play, any claims that salmon would be cheaper will always be debatable. From an industry perspective, however, the arrival of genetically modified salmon may actually be more challenging. Without any clear labelling, the salmon may generate market confusion and that wont help sustain the salmon industry as a whole. Traditionally, fished salmon has been worth more in the eyes of many consumers and the industry may miss out on the chance to capitalize on market differentiation. Not all salmon are equal, particularly with consumers, who can be irrational beings. As well, the arrival of genetically modified salmon may actually add fuel to the fire for environmental groups and consumers who are uncomfortable with anything deemed unnatural. However, many multinational corporations, such as Campbells and General Mills, have moved to labelling that includes information on genetic modifications in their products. And Vermont legislation that requires labelling on all products containing genetically modified ingredients comes into effect this summer. But even as we slowly march toward resolution on this issue, allowing genetically modified animals to be marketed in Canada may resurrect the fear in many. Marches against agrochemical giant Monsanto continue but do not garner as much attention as they once did. In part, thats because science has demonstrated that there are not any particular risks related to the consumption of genetically modified products. Simply, the technology is not making our food unsafe. However, a recent Canadian survey suggests that while most Canadians are willing to purchase a product labelled as genetically modified, 88 per cent of consumers believe that genetically modified labelling should be mandatory. And as genetically modified salmon arrives in our supermarkets, it is time that our labelling regulations give consumers a chance to have the final word on the technology. Sylvain Charlebois is dean of the faculty of management and professor in the faculty of agriculture at Dalhousie University. Troy Media Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/06/2016 (2337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Canadas Conservatives decided on the weekend that gay marriage might not be such a bad thing after all. The party faithful, gathered in Vancouver for their annual convention, voted to remove the traditional definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman from Conservative policy. To many Canadians, it seems as if the Tories are joining the marriage equity party a tad late. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Liberals at their own annual convention in Winnipeg, same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for more than a decade. Who knows? Trudeau added, Ten years from now, they (Conservatives) might finally be willing to admit that climate change is real. Or that tax cuts for rich people dont help the middle class. Or that government shouldnt legislate what women can wear on their heads. Mr. Trudeau shouldnt be too sure his main rivals will take a decade to reposition the so-called Party of Confederation, though. Moving toward the centre, on issues ranging from same-sex marriage to climate change, has been a Tory theme since Mr. Trudeau roundly defeated Stephen Harper in the 2015 federal election. Calgary MP Jason Kenney put it this way over the weekend, Welcome to a broad, national political party. Will this strategy work? Liberals have traditionally been the big tent party in Canada. Mr. Trudeaus victory reinforced that notion. The question for the Conservatives is whether they can compete by imitating the Grits, by trying to steal their brand. By crowding the centre, in short. History suggests this is a risky bet. Liberals governed Canada for most of the 20th century, after all. While some centrist Conservatives won power (Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark among them) they were exceptions that proved the rule. Mr. Harper seemed to recognize it would be hard to beat the natural governing party on its own turf, so he claimed his own. He stayed in power for 10 years by talking tough on crime, focusing public attention on fighting terrorism, trumpeting that his party was a good economic manager, using grants to favour curling and snowmobile clubs instead of arts groups and the CBC and, yes, stealing some immigrant votes from the Liberals by championing family values rather than gay rights. Mr. Harper understood his base. And while the common perception seems to be his Conservatives were routed in 2015, they still took close to one-third of the popular vote. Mr. Trudeau is now seen as a coronation candidate, but his Liberals took just under 40 per cent of the popular vote, hardly a landslide. A centre-right Conservative party, under a leader who simply feels friendlier than Mr. Harper, might be the best bet the Tories have, then. History certainly suggests this would be smarter than trying to beat the Liberals at their own game. Halifax Chronicle-Herald, via The Canadian Press editorial exchange There is something very endearing about this video of a police officer and a young boy having a dance-off surrounded by the local community. This spunky young fella decided to challenge his local officer to a dance-off in Cincinnati and the whole thing took off from there. The Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan is in the UK today ahead of the country's vote on whether or not to stay in the European Union. Voters will go to the polls in the historic referendum in three weeks time on June 23. The Health Minister Simon Harris is being called on to introduce compulsory public inquests into the deaths of women during pregnancy and childbirth. It follows confirmation of the Read More: It is reported the 34-year-old woman died during emergency surgery to deal with an ectopic pregnancy on May 8. The National Maternity Hospital has said all maternal deaths are subject to a Coroner's inquiry. The Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (AIMS) has said it is saddened and shocked to hear of the woman's death. Spokesperson for AIMS Krysia Lynch has said new legislation is needed to ensure transparency about such cases. We would very much be asking Simon Harris, Minister for Health, to try and insure that there are compulsory inquests following a maternal death in Ireland - any maternal death, said Lynch. That to insure that this information becomes public and it goes into the public domain. The former Minister responsible for water bills has said the public either charge for water or face massive fines from Europe. Labour's Alan Kelly has been responding to reports that Ireland may face repercussions if we stop paying for water. Update 3.19pm: A man charged as part of the investigation into Gareth Hutchs murder has been refused bail this afternoon. Gardai objected to bail for Thomas Fox on a number of grounds, including the nature and seriousness of the charge. Chief Superintendent Pat Leahy also said he anticipated a further more serious charge to be brought. Thomas Fox, who is due to become a father for the first time in a few weeks, has been remanded in custody for a week. Earlier: A man arrested as part of the investigation into Gareth Hutchs murder has appeared in court charged with the unlawful possession of a handgun. Thomas Fox of Rutland Court in Dublins north inner city presented himself to gardai a few hours after the 35-year-old was shot dead. At around 10am on Tuesday of last week, Gareth Hutch, a nephew of Gerry The Monk Hutch, was shot a number of times in the car park outside his home at Avondale House, North Cumberland Street in Dublin 1. It is believed he was killed as part of an ongoing feud between two criminal gangs. Thomas Fox is charged with the unlawful possession of a Makarov 9mm handgun at Avondale House on May 23 the day before the shooting. He told gardai that he had nothing to say when the charge was first put up to him yesterday evening. A bail hearing is due to be heard this afternoon. The 29-year-old is the second person to be charged as part of the investigation. Yesterday, Mary McDonnell, who lives at the complex where the shooting took place, was charged with withholding information and remanded in custody for a week. Another woman is still being held for questioning. Security chiefs at MI5 and MI6 have told a public inquiry there is no evidence they knew about or covered up child abuse at the former Kincora Boys' Home. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has also rejected allegations that its staff deliberately withheld information about illegal activities at the east Belfast facility and used it as part of a propaganda operation, the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) has heard. In a statement, a senior MI6 manager, known only as Officer A, said a review of documents had found nothing to substantiate persistent claims of state-sponsored child prostitution and blackmail. He said: "I have seen nothing to indicate any involvement on the part of Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) officers in abuse at the Kincora Boys' Home or in any attempts to cover it up. "SIS does not exploit children or vulnerable adults for operational purposes nor tolerate their abuse by the staff or those that work in their behalf or in their support, including SIS agents." It has long been alleged that a high-ranking paedophile ring preyed on vulnerable teenage boys at Kincora during the 1970s. It is further claimed that the UK security services knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it, instead using the information to blackmail and extract intelligence from the influential men, including senior politicians, who were the perpetrators. In 1981, three senior care workers at Kincora - warden Joseph Mains, deputy warden Raymond Semple and house master William McGrath - were jailed for abusing boys. It is widely believed McGrath, who also led a shadowy Protestant paramilitary organisation, was working as an MI5 agent. In a separate statement submitted to the inquiry, the deputy director of MI5, who has been given the cipher 9004, said its officials only became aware of the Kincora abuse was when it was exposed by the media. He said: "The first MI5 knew about the allegations of sexual exploitation at Kincora was when the stories emerged in the media in 1980 and the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) investigations." MI5 also failed to find any papers to indicate McGrath was allowed to continue the abuse. "There's nothing amongst them to indicate that MI5 was aware of or suspected his involvement in child sexual exploitation at Kincora or that such abuse was permitted, condoned or encouraged in order to further any MI5 plan," the statement added. UK military officials have also denied claims that the MoD was part of a cover-up. Jonathan Duke-Evans, head of public inquiries, claims and judicial reviews, said in a witness statement the MoD did not accept that information was deliberately withheld. He said: "Having carried out extensive reviews, the MoD has found no evidence that members of the armed forces or any other person employed by the MoD was aware of allegations that Mr McGrath had abused or been responsible for the abuse of inmates at Kincora. "It is not accepted that any such person held any such information from the police or sought to use it in any propaganda operation." It is the first time the long-running inquiry at Banbridge Courthouse has heard from the intelligence and security services. Barrister Joseph Aiken, counsel for the HIA, said the team had received full co-operation and was given unrestricted access to previously top secret files. MI5 has also pledged to make available a senior manager with responsibility for investigations in the North to attend public evidence sessions, it was revealed. "All questions asked by the inquiry have been answered," he said. Such has been the level of co-operation from the MoD that emails were sent from Whitehall at 4am, Mr Aiken added. The inquiry was also shown an MI6 information card on McGrath, dated 1976, which claimed he may have been member of the UVF, ran a Christian fellowship centre which preached bigotry and anti-Catholic sermons, and was reported to be a homosexual. He was also described as being "eccentric and unstable". The HIA was set up by the Norths Executive in 2013 and has been examining allegations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at state and church-run residential institutions between 1922 and 1995. It is chaired by retired High Court judge Anthony Hart, sitting alongside Geraldine Doherty, a former head of the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work in Scotland, and David Lane, who was director of social services in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Campaigners had hoped to have Kincora included in the nationwide child abuse probe chaired by New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard because the HIA does not have the power to compel witnesses. However, a legal challenge to overturn the Government's refusal was rejected as "premature" by a High Court judge last month. An appeal was also turned down. The inquiry continues. The second person charged in connection with the gangland murder of Gareth Hutch will appear in court this morning. The 29-year-old man was arrested last week and charged last night with weapons offences. The Government is being criticised for not telling the European Commission about the country's housing crisis. Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan has said it is an insult to those affected. Irish campaigners will travel to Brussels later to discuss Europe's housing problems in the European Parliament. Lynn Boylan thinks it is wrong not to ask our EU neighbours for help. The EU Commission has previously confirmed that the Irish Government has never raised the housing crisis in Ireland in the European Institutions, said Boylan. While our delegation will listen to other European speakers, it will be important to make very clear that the austerity policies demanded by the EU and implemented by Fine Gael are having a huge human cost in Ireland. Our discussions will also include topics such as the Housing Crisis and Rent Certainty as well the availability of EU Funding for Housing. I am hopeful our visit to Brussels will bring a new angle to the Housing and Homelessness discussions taking place in Ireland and that we might learn from the experiences of others in Europe. Two former executives from Anglo Irish Bank have been found guilty of conspiring to defraud the public in 2008. On day 84 of the longest-running criminal trial in the State's history the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court returned the majority verdicts. The verdict comes after 38 hours of deliberations, the longest jury deliberations in the State's history. The jury is still considering charges against two Irish Life and Permanent bankers who were alleged to have taken part in the 7.2bn conspiracy. Anglo's former head of capital markets John Bowe (aged 52) and the bank's then finance director Willie McAteer (aged 65) were on trial accused of conspiring to mislead investors, depositors and lenders about the true health of Anglo. Judge Martin Nolan remanded the two men on continuing bail until Friday after hearing there was no objection to bail. Obviously you don't have to be here tomorrow gentlemen, the judge told McAteer and Bowe. There was no reaction from the men when the verdicts were read out. John Bowe Jurors will continue deliberations tomorrow on charges against former chief executive of Irish Life & Permanent (ILP) Denis Casey (aged 56) and his finance director in 2008 Peter Fitzpatrick (aged 63) Bowe from Glasnevin, Dublin, McAteer of Greenrath, Tipperary Town, Co Tipperary, Casey from Raheny, Dublin and Fitzpatrick of Convent Lane, Portmarnock, Dublin all pleaded not guilty to conspiring together and with others to mislead investors by setting up a 7.2 bn circular transaction scheme between March 1 and September 30, 2008 to bolster Anglo's balance sheet. The State's case was that the four men were involved in a setting up a circular scheme of billion euro transactions where Anglo lent money to ILP and ILP sent the money back, via their assurance firm Irish Life Assurance, to Anglo. The scheme was designed so that the deposits came from the assurance company and would be treated as customer deposits, which are considered a better measure of a bank's strength than inter-bank loans. The 7.2 bn deposit was later accounted for in Anglo's preliminary results on December 3, 2008 as part of Anglo's customer deposits figure. The prosecution alleged that the entire objective of the scheme was to mislead anybody reading Anglo's accounts by artificially inflating the customer deposits number from 44bn to 51bn, a difference of 16%. Lawyers for the Anglo accused had argued that their clients believed that the deposits were real deposits and were accounted for correctly on Anglo's balance sheet and so no fraud was carried out. The prosecution argued that there was no commercial substance to the transactions and their only purpose was to deceive. They take a vast amount of time and trouble and they amount to one large candy floss whose only conceivable purpose is to bolster up and artificially inflate the Anglo customer deposit. That is manifestly dishonest and was done with dishonest intent, Paul O'Higgins SC told the jury. Lawyers defending the former ILP executives argued that their clients had no control over how Anglo would account for the deposits and had no intention to mislead the public. The prosecution argued that it was inconceivable that high level banking professionals, who were trained accountants and in the business of supervising the financial industry and doing deals, wouldn't have known full well what Anglo were doing. Una Ni Raifeartaigh SC, for the DPP, said that if Anglo did not present the deal in the way they did, and so misleading the public, there would have been no point in doing the deal at all. She told the jurors: These are not stupid or inexperienced people. These are experienced bankers. Do you find it reasonably credible, that they did this deal, thinking Anglo was doing it as an exercise in futility? KARACHI: Gold prices on Saturday continued to fall on the local market, traders said. The prices slid by Rs 1000 to... Panadol is short in the market and this has been catching eyes of media, politicians, all and sundry. Everyone has ... When a group of local Moreland residents and I decided in early February to organise a local community rally against racism, we didn't expect the media storm the event generated. We were motivated by an alarming increase in racism, the federal government's brutal treatment of refugees, its plans to close several hundred Aboriginal communities and vilification of Muslim and African communities, in particular. The three key issues were: stopping the forced closure of Aboriginal communities, letting the refugees in and closing the camps on Manus Island and Nauru, and saying "no" to Islamophobia. More than 60 organisations endorsed the Moreland Says No to Racism rally, planned to be a peaceful community rally. Glen is Jarrod Slade, a wealthy self-made businessman and CEO of Slade Industries, who is an educated and approachable type (think Richard Branson), who appears to want to help the Hairies but may have an ulterior motive. Iain Glen, as Jarrod Slade, and Frances O'Connor, as his wife, Charlotte Slade, in ABC TV's Facing him edgily at the dinner party is Waaru West (played by Rob Collins), the self-appointed leader of the Hairies, and the estranged brother of Koen (Hunter Page-Lochard), who has, to Waaru's fury, inherited special abilities making him a Cleverman, a healer and a conduit between the Dreaming and the present. Directed by Wayne Blair (The Sapphires) and Leah Purcell (Redfern Now, Janet King), Cleverman follows how a series of murders in the city sparks authorities to clamp down on runaway Hairies from The Zone, where the poor and vulnerable live. In this controlled ghetto-like area, patrolled by the Containment Authority, the Hairies have found a haven from being hunted down as sub-humans in the city. While Koen struggles to deal with his new destiny, he and his older brother, Waaru, must find a way to unite and save their culture. Filmed on locations including the rail sheds of Redfern and the former cliff-top home of advertising titan John Singleton in Coogee. Cleverman has an 80 per cent Indigenous cast, including Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires), Collins (The Lion King), Jack Charles and rapper Briggs, who also contributes to the series' score. It also features Frances O'Connor (The Missing, Mr Selfridge) as Slade's wife, Charlotte, a morally-focused doctor who does pro-bono work in the Zone, and Stef Dawson of The Hunger Games. The inhabitants of The Zone in Credit:ABC Griffen spent five years respectfully and sensitively gathering stories from elders in Indigenous communities in NSW and the Northern Territory. The idea began as a children's story but Griffen, with Goalpost producer Rosemary Blight, soon realised it was a genre drama for an adult audience. "The original idea for Cleverman came to me over a weekend while I was playing dress-ups with my son," Griffen says. "Both of his parents are light-skinned Aboriginals and it was about finding a way to bring culture to him but also bringing the love of superheroes. He loves Batman, Ninja Turtles, all that sort of stuff, as do I." Blight says it is very rare for such a distinct and compelling idea to be offered nowadays. "We said: 'OK, let's give it a go, that sounds absolutely nuts'," she says. "What appealed was the idea was from a young Aboriginal-Australian voice, which is again very rare. And also that Ryan is a sort of pop culture, geeky guy, who brings something that we don't often do in this country. "We do drama very, very well but this was a bolt of fresh storytelling. Very rarely does someone walk in the door and say: 'From the stories that I grew up with, I'm going to take these stories and put them into a super-power world, of X-Men, Superman'. "It was simply: 'Wow, I've never heard of that before'. And we live in a world where there is so much drama that, in concept, we have seen time and time again." Uncle Jimmy (Jack Charles) and Waaru (Rob Collins) in Credit:ABC TV Cleverman, Griffen says, is a new way of telling Indigenous stories. "We're telling ancient stories but putting a twist on them that's universal," he says. "The benefit of that is that even in our own country, a lot of people don't know our stories." For years, Blight says, broadcasters have been asking for the Australian equivalent of Merlin or The Walking Dead. "But the Knights of the Round Table, or Harry Potter are not our stories," she says. "And what are our stories? Cleverman is our stories. And these stories have been here 60,000 yers and they've just been waiting to be told by the right people, by the people who are the keepers of the stories." Australia installed almost 1 gigawatt of new solar capacity last year but was easily eclipsed by cloudy nations such as the United Kingdom, which installed about four times as much, according to the REN21 Global Status report on renewable energy. Investment in new renewable energy and energy efficiency programs rose to a record $US286 billion ($396 billion) even as prices for most technologies, such as solar and wind energy, fell. Growth also came despite falling prices for rival fuel sources, such as coal and oil. "Renewables are now cost-competitive with fossil fuels in many markets and are established around the world as mainstream sources of energy," Arthouros Zervos, chairman of REN21, said in the report. Globally solar PV capacity added 50 gigawatts to reach 227 GW of capacity. New wind power capacity rose even more, adding 63 GW of new capacity to reach 433 GW. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is a father once again at age 68, his publicist announced on Tuesday. Wood and wife Sally, 38, released a statement to the BBC about the birth of twin girls, Gracie Jane and Alice Rose. Ronnie Wood (L) and Sally Wood attend The Masterpiece Midsummer Party in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, hosted by Heather Kerzner, at The Royal Hospital Chelsea on July 2, 2013 in London, England. Credit:Getty "The girls arrived on 30 May at 22:30 and all are doing brilliantly. The babies are perfect," the statement said. Wood is already the father of four adult children to two previous wives. Turkey sentenced a former beauty queen to 14 months in prison yesterday, after she shared a poem on social media that was deemed insulting to the country's president. An Istanbul court found Merve Buyuksarac, 27, guilty of insulting a public official, deepening a crackdown that has reached journalists, academics and even schoolchildren. Merve Buyuksarac walks the runway at the ADL & Cengiz Abazoglu show. Credit:Getty Images The court said the sentence would be suspended on condition that she did not reoffend within the next five years. The case is one of almost 2,000 defamation suits that have been brought against critics of Recep Tayyip Erdogan since he became president in 2014. Free speech advocates say the law is being used to silence and intimidate critics as far afield as Germany. Government employers should lead by example when it comes to domestic violence, Tasmania's Premier says, announcing a plan to offer his public servants an additional 10 days leave if they are victims of family violence. The move puts Tasmania's Liberal government sharply at odds with its federal counterpart where Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has dug her heels in against domestic violence leave for Commonwealth workers. Premier Will Hodgman said this week his government would offer the additional leave to State Service employees who were subjected to family violence, as part of the next round of public sector wage agreements. The leave would be on top of leave arrangements available to state public servants. The Queensland government will increase its crocodile management funding to $5.8 million over the next three years including a large-scale program monitoring crocodile populations. The program will study crocodile populations in the rivers and estuaries at several areas from Cape York to Gladstone. Environment Minister Steven Miles said Queensland's biggest comprehensive crocodile population survey was desperately needed as the search for suspected crocodile attack victim Cindy Waldron continues. "We don't know with enough scientific accuracy if crocodile numbers are increasing or decreasing in some river systems, and in light of a suspected crocodile attack in the Daintree we need to know," Dr Miles said. A Brisbane man has been found guilty of drugging and raping two Korean women, and attempting to rape a third, after meeting them on a language exchange website. At the start of his trial in the Brisbane District Court last month, Ashraf Kamal Makary, 42, had pleaded not guilty to charges including three counts of rape and three counts of administering a stupefying drug with intent to commit an indictable offence, The man posted advertisements on a website called SunBrisbane. Credit:Louie Douvis But on Wednesday, a jury convicted him of all charges except one count of rape, instead finding him guilty of the alternative count of attempted rape. In his opening address, crown prosecutor David Finch told the jury his three alleged victims were all young Korean women working and travelling in Australia with a view to improving their English skills. Technology that could ensure a safer passage for migrating whales along Queensland's coast is being trialled at the Gold Coast, but a whale expert has questioned its ability prevent entanglements. A data-logging buoy that detects and reports possible malfunctions of acoustic pingers to a monitoring station was set up near a shark net off Kirra Beach at the Gold Coast on Wednesday. Whale migration season runs from May through to November. Acoustic pingers make a continuous ping noise to try and prevent whales from approaching shark nets and getting entangled. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Leanne Donaldson said the pingers were "successfully" used in recent years, however University of Queensland associate professor and whale expert Michael Noad said the effectiveness of pingers was "debatable". A cattle thief has swiped an entire herd of cattle in Queensland - a few heifers at a time. Police say 265 cows, worth $185,000, have been pinched from Malden Station at Alpha in central west Queensland over the last year or so. Police say 265 cattle were taken from a Queensland property. Credit:Tamara Voninski An extensive search of the area has so far failed to find any trace of the droughtmaster-cross heifers, which are easily identifiable by their brand and earmark. Police want public help to find the animals. A state election held in Queensland now would be "too close to call" a new poll has found, with the ousting of Lawrence Springborg as leader not enough to put the Liberal National Party in a leading position, but closer to putting Tim Nicholls in a winning position. But it has not hurt it either, with the latest Roy Morgan poll of 941 Queenslanders' voting intentions, polled across May 20 to 22, finding Labor has dropped two points since March. Rising fortunes: Qld opposition leader Tim Nicholls and his deputy Deb Frecklington Credit:Scott Beveridge The LNP rose by 0.5 per cent over that same period, maintaining its stronger primary vote lead 40.5 per cent to 35.5 per cent, but losing out in preferences. The Greens lost 2 per cent in support to land on 10.5 per cent, while Katter's Australia Party jumped 1 point to 4.5 per cent. Independents won 7.5 per cent of the respondents' votes, up 3 per cent from the last poll. Taxi owners have sounded off at the man with their future in his hands, labelling his discussion paper poorly researched and questioning the integrity of his review team. More than 150 people from the taxi industry and one lonely voice for ride-share drivers made their feelings known to Opportunities for Personalised Transport Review Taskforce chairman Jim Varghese on Wednesday as the Uber-taxi fight came to City Hall in Brisbane. Opportunities for Personalised Transport Review Taskforce chair Jim Varghese on stage at a public forum on the issue in Brisbane City Hall. Credit:Jorge Branco Mr Varghese, the man in charge of giving the Queensland government a workable way to adapt state laws to a world where ride-share services disrupt traditional cabs, started the public forum by declaring "this review is not about Uber". But the spectre of the American company loomed large, dominating questions about how disabled people would be catered for, what would be done about surge pricing, taxi owners would be compensated and what would be done to enforce the rule. Apple is rumoured to be ditching one of the most complained-about features of the modern iPhone: the paltry 16GB storage of its base model. The new iPhone 7, expected to be released in September, will come with a minimum storage capacity of 32GB, according to Kevin Wang, an analyst at IHS Technology in China who claims to have links to Apple's supply chain. Mr Wang posted on Chinese social media site Weibo this week that the iPhone 7 would feature 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage as a minimum. Almost 300 people had to be evacuated after a fire broke out at a busy shopping centre in Melbourne's north on Wednesday. A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said the blaze was believed to have started in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant in Gladstone Park Shopping Centre's food court around 11.45am. A total of 200 shoppers had to be evacuated, along with 77 children at a nearby child-care centre. How did you go with today's brainteaser? Artist Matt Davidson's illustration is fantastic. Don't scroll down any further unless you're confident you know the solution (or if you've given up on working out the answer). Another good answer (which I wish I had thought of) was that his "machine" was his own body, which had allowed him to travel 50 years through time on a linear path. @grahamwkidd was first in with the answer on Twitter, while Melbourne Express reader Ann was first to email the correct response. Do you think you saw a lot of people in Melbourne getting around in shorts and T-shirts last month? If you think you did, your hunch was probably correct. Melbourne has just recorded a very warm May, with average daytime maximum temperatures of 18.6 degrees, well above the long-term average for the city. May the warm weather be with us. Credit:Leigh Henningham The warm month also delivered a record 22 consecutive days with daytime temperatures above 17 degrees, a record for May in central Melbourne. In Melbourne's west the mercury pushed into the high 20s early in the month, peaking at 27.9 degrees at Avalon Airport on May 7. The top temperature for Melbourne in May was 25.7 degrees, on the same day. Rival New Zealand crime gangs embroiled in a racially charged blood feud are making their presence felt in Melbourne. The Black Power gang has recruited Melbourne members, in the first sign it has made a push into the state, while its mortal enemy, the Mongrel Mob, has been linked to an alleged standover racket in the outer west. The Mongrel Mob has a growing presence in Melbourne Two suspected Melbourne members of the Mongrel Mob are alleged to have threatened a man by holding his head near a masonry saw when he refused to pay them $32,000. The gangs have fought countless battles in New Zealand, raising fears that an increased push into Melbourne could result in bloodshed. Paris: The Seine River has overflowed embankments in Paris as floods hit or threaten cities and towns around France. Paris City Hall closed roads along the shore of the Seine from the Left Bank in the east to across to the Eiffel Tower neighbourhood in the west as the water level has risen 4.3 metres higher than usual. Ducks swim on the overflowing embankments in Paris on Wednesday. Credit:AP City authorities are warning residents and visitors to be vigilant on Wednesday around the river banks, and said high river levels are expected to last through Friday. Unusually heavy rain in recent days across France has caused exceptional delays at the French Open and forced the evacuation of two prisons and left tourists soaking at sights around Paris. Latest News CBA-owned stockbroker acknowledges court decision relating to systemic compliance failures A total remediation of $6.5 million has been paid to affected customers Interest rate rises weaken home borrowing power 20% fall in just six months, says broker The former CEO of Mortgages at Barclays in the UK has told brokers they can expect their market share to rise significantly but they should also expect changing regulation to come with that.Speaking at the Finance Brokers Association of Australias ( FBAA ) 2016 national tour which kicked off in Brisbane this week, Steve Weston, who until recently was the CEO of Mortgages at Barclays UK, said there is every reason to believe broker market share will rise to the level it is un the UK.Brokers now account for over 70% of mortgage flow in the UK and given the similarities with the Australian market, there is every reason to believe that broker flows should increase significantly above the low 50% currently being experienced here, he said.However, with burgeoning market share, Weston, who was also the former general manager of broker platforms at NAB , told brokers they should be prepared for changing regulatory scrutiny.That said, Australia's robust economic performance and strong property price growth may have created a false sense of security that the way that business is being done today will still be considered compliant by regulators in five or ten years from now.The UK financial services industry has learned through painful experience that the interpretation of regulations can change over time.The FBAAs Peter White said Westons experience provides brokers with a good opportunity to get a glimpse into Australias broking future.Steve is a legend in broking circles with so much knowledge at hand, and the FBAA is privileged to have him as part of our National Tour, White said. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Brooklynites commemorated the Americans who have died serving their country and honored those who have returned at Memorial Day events across the borough on Monday, marking the occasion with traditions old and new. In Bay Ridge, heroes marched down Fourth Avenue for the 149th year of the Kings County Memorial Day Parade. While Downtown, vets and their loved ones gathered for a service at the Brooklyn War Memorial in Cadman Plaza. That event is only in its second year, but attendees say congregating at the massive structure which is inscribed with the names of the more than 11,500 Brooklynites who fell in World War II is fast becoming a cherished ritual. The memorial is such a beautiful, gigantic one, said 95-year-old Bensonhurster Max Nemerovsky, who served in the Air Force from 1942 to 1945, including a seven-month stint in Italy. It remembers all the Brooklynites who proportionality gave quite a bit to the freedom of the United States in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It was spectacular. The event included a wreath-laying ceremony, an Air Force drill team demonstration, and performances from the Navy Ceremonial Band and singing group the American Bombshells a self-described modern-day twist on the Andrews Sisters who had Nemerovsky up and boogying to Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy. Attendees also got a rare peak inside the memorials interior hall, which has been closed since 1986. Park volunteer group the Cadman Park Conservancy is currently raising funds to reopen the shrine for good and make it wheelchair accessible, and local patriots say they cant wait. Were so happy they opened the doors, said Crown Heights resident Bonita Blakely, whose husband, 96-year-old Rev. James Blakely, is a Pearl Harbor survivor and sometimes gets around via wheelchair. Were looking forward to the upgrade. Nemerovsky says the event wasnt always easy it is painful remembering friends who have died but it was an honor to attend, and he hopes to make it back to see the monument again next year. If Im alive, Ill come again, he said. Its quite an honor for Brooklyn everywhere in the country we have memorials, but this one is especially for Brooklyn. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams These dogs had their day! Nathans Famous on Surf Avenue sold hot dogs for five cents a piece on May 28, rolling its prices back to 1916 rates in honor of its 100th anniversary. The Coney Island mainstay has been feeding locals for a century, but the celebration was also a time for newcomers to taste a Brooklyn tradition, one eater said. Im from Brazil and arrived in New York three weeks ago, and so I had been waiting to try Nathans its very traditional, and thats why its special, said Manuella Cantauice. All told, about 18,000 waited an average of half an hour on line for a five-cent frank on Saturday, and the staff pumped out the plump crowd-pleasers at a rate of 100 per minute a pretty good clip, according to a spokesman. There was an extraordinary amount of coordination the [Transportation Security Administration] could learn a lot from Natahans Famous, said George Shea. The line stretched from Surf Avenue to the Boardwalk, but it was a good appetizer, Cantauice said. It was worth it, she said. Founder Nathan Handwerker, a Polich immigrant, got his start in the business slicing buns and delivering franks for Coney Island entrepreneur Charles Feltman the man who literally invented the hot dog in the mid-19th century. Handwerker reportedly lived on free hot dogs, slept on the kitchen floor of Feltmans Surf Avenue restaurant, and eventually saved up and borrowed enough cash to started his own frank stand, according to the Coney Island blog Amusing the Zillion. Reach reporter Max Jaeger at mjaeg er@cn gloca l.com or by calling (718) 2608303. Follow him on Twitter @JustTheMax. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams The owner of embattled Park Slope old folks home Prospect Park Residence will pay his elderly tenants $3.35 million as part of a lawsuit settlement, ending a high-profile and sometimes ugly two-year court battle between the two parties. The nonagenarians have been fighting eviction since landlord Haysha Deitsch and state health officials abruptly gave them three months to scram in March 2014, and while settling the suit means theyll still have to leave, the payout will help them find and fund somewhere they can live comfortably, according to their attorney. Our clients have always been worried about having the time and resources to move to an appropriate setting that was safe and not unduly restrictive, said lawyer Kevin Cremin of MFY Legal Service, one of several firms working on the case. We think this settlement will provide both the time and money. The lions share of the cash will go to the five oldsters who are still living in the 134-unit Prospect Park West assisted living facility who will then have three months to leave while a small amount will go to 10 residents who have already left but were involved in the suit, Cremin said. But this weeks settlement is bittersweet news for the residents, according to their loved ones the tenants had hoped to live out their final days in the Prospect Park-side property, and dont think they really will find a comparable abode elsewhere, even with the extra cash. Im happy for my friend, but she and some of the other residents would rather stay, said Nancy Rich, whose friend Anne-Marie Mogil moved into Prospect Park Residence just three months before she was told to leave. Its very traumatic to move, but that seems to be the only option. Mogil and her neighbors are just a handful of holdouts and their families who refused to take the facilitys marching orders lying down two years ago, and sued claiming its eviction plan was too hasty for such frail seniors, and didnt offer them enough support in finding comparable accommodation. A judge ordered Deitsch to keep the residence open during the case, but the battle became mired in sideshow litigation as the residents claimed he was trying to force them out by hiking their rent and cutting amenities depriving them of central air-conditioning during the summer and serving up moldy food while he filed a countersuit claiming their families were dragging his name through the mud. A lawyer representing Deistch and the Residence said his clients are glad to finally put both matters to rest. Were happy that component of the litigation involving the remaining residents has been resolved amicably, said attorney Frank Carone. But Rich also said she is holding off on any celebrations until they actually come through with the money. Its not over until its over, she said, quoting the late, great, Yogi Berra. The lawyers say there are contingencies for that in the settlement, though if Deistch doesnt pay on time, he will have to give the oldsters even more time to move and cash, said Frederick Millett, another attorney representing the residents. The court battles arent over, however the residents and their families are also pursuing a suit against the state Department of Health for signing off on the eviction plan. That case is still in its early stages, however, and isnt about financial compensation it is to get a court to decree that it was a crummy plan and force the state to make sure it doesnt happen again, Millett said. ABC has yet to unveil the official cast list for Bachelor in Paradise season 3 but Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss is aleady teasing fans by revealing the first three cast members of the much awaited summer spinoff series. Bachelor in Paradise Season 3: Cast Rumors and Speculations>>> Guess who is coming to Paradise!!! Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) May 26, 2016 According to Fleiss, the first person heading to Paradise is Caila Quinn. The 24-year-old third placer was originally slated to hand out roses as the star of The Bachelorette season 12 but the coveted position went to runner-up JoJo Fletchher. Later Fleiss also dropped the name of another fan favorite. And Lace, of course!!! he tweeted. Lace Morris was one of the controversial contestants who competed for Ben Higgins in season 20. She took herself out of the competition but was later invited by host Chris Harrison to join Paradise during The Women Tell All special. I would like to go to Bachelor in Paradise, she said at the time. Last but not the least, Fleiss revealed that Ben Zorn, who competed for Kaitlyn Bristowe in The Bachelorette season 11, is also joining the summer reality dating series. Ok And Ben Z! Fleiss wrote. Meanwhile, Fleiss also said that Chad, the most controversial villain figure on The Bachelorette season 12 thus far, would also be a good addition to Paradise if things dont work out between him and Fletcher. If she doesnt pick Chad for some reason, I think hed be great on #BachelorInParadise!!! Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) May 31, 2016 Bachelor in Paradise season 3 premieres Tuesday, August 2 on ABC. (Image courtesy of ABC) New smartphone app makes it easy to find -- and enroll in -- clinical trials Getting people to participate in clinical trials is a key bottleneck in medical research; a UB professors app can help overcome it When patients find a study that interests them, they just push a button and their contact information is sent to the study coordinator who can contact them to begin recruitment. Elkin's new app for boosting clinical trial recruitment takes advantage of the fact that text messaging has been found to be far more effective at reaching patients than landlines. BUFFALO, N.Y. It takes an astounding 17 years, on average, for laboratory breakthroughs to reach patients. A big part of the delay is the time it takes to recruit patients into clinical trials to test new treatments or devices: only 5 to 10 percent of eligible adults enroll in these trials and some studies have found that only 5 percent of patients who showed initial interest in a clinical trial will complete it. These inefficiencies pose tremendous barriers to getting life-saving treatments and devices onto the market. At the same time, great promise for boosting recruitment lies in the ubiquity of cell phones and recent findings showing that text messaging is far more effective at reaching patients than landlines. Now, a University at Buffalo researcher funded by the universitys Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) has developed a smartphone app designed to boost recruitment by taking advantage of these technologies. A key goal of the CTSA grant is to improve patient access to medical innovations available in our region through clinical trials, said Peter Elkin, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB and professor in the Department of Medicine. Weve developed a cell phone app that allows patients to quickly and easily evaluate clinical trials, the time commitment involved and the location of the study nearest their home. A second app under development will allow clinicians to more easily recruit patients into their trials by allowing them to search for local trials that meet their patients needs. One touch will refer them to the appropriate study coordinator. Elkin, who sees patients at UBMD Internal Medicine, will describe the new app June 1 at the 2016 Informational Technology in Academic Medicine conference in Toronto, sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The smartphone app is based on a participant driven science system, PartSci, which is integrated with UBs local clinical trial management system. PartSci will access information on registered clinical trials in the region and send them to a database, with data about the trials expressed using natural language processing technology developed by Elkin and his colleagues at UB. Patients can search for studies by typing in the name of their disorder or the kind of clinical trial theyre interested in. When patients find a study that interests them, they just push a button and their contact information is sent to the study coordinator who can contact them to begin recruitment, said Elkin. Once patients agree to be contacted through the app, they are presented with a message thanking them for being a hero in the effort to improve health care. This app has the potential to significantly speed enrollment in clinical trials and the translation of basic research into new therapies to benefit our patients, said Elkin. By allowing patients to essentially self-recruit, this app empowers individuals to more actively participate in improving their health and the health of their communities. Co-investigators with Elkin are Daniel Schlegel, PhD, a post-doctoral associate, and Edwin Anand, MD, a clinical fellow, both in the UB Department of Biomedical Informatics. The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) was recently invited by Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell MP, to join him and other party spokesmen at the Labour Partys State of the Economy conference at Imperial College in London on 28 May. Mr McDonnell and party leader, Jeremy Corbyn MP, outlined current Labour thinking and gave their economic and industrial outlook to a specially-invited business audience. Labour is looking at ways to expand local authority mortgage lending, and Mr McDonnell wants councils to copy Manchester, Sandwell and Warrington Councils by offering cheap, local authority-backed mortgages to help first-time buyers and boost levels of home ownership. He reaffirmed the partys policy, which is to build 100,000 new council houses a year, paid for by savings in Housing Benefit. On being invited to attend the conference, Brett Amphlett, policy and public affairs manager at the BMF, said: Its easy to ignore the Labour Party because they lost two elections and have had three party leaders in 10 years. But thats a mistake. Labour has 229 of the 650 MPs in the House of Commons, 210 out of 802 peers in the House of Lords, and 20 of the UKs 73 MEPs in the European Parliament. Away from Westminster, Labour is still a force in politics and government. The elected mayors of London, Liverpool, Salford and Bristol are Labour, as is Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales. Thirteen of the 41 police and crime commissioners are Labour. They also control significant local authorities, not all of which are in Northern England. Cambridge, Luton, Reading, Crawley, Hastings, Southampton and Plymouth are notable examples of Labour-controlled councils. Despite losing last years election, the Labour Party has been rebuilding existing links with business representatives like the BMF. For several years, the Federation has enjoyed good relations with Labour since it began attending all the Party Political Conferences in autumn 2009. Since Christmas, the BMF has met Labour representatives to discuss housing, small businesses, vocational training, and taxation - and to explain the role, value and importance of merchants and the Federation itself. When lobbying Parliament this year, the BMF briefed Labour MPs on several occasions - verbally and in writing - as MPs debated both the Housing & Planning Bill and the Enterprise Bill. Issues raised by the BMF included easing Change of Use Classes when granting planning permission for property conversions, and late payments and cash retentions in construction. New Adjacent Fest to take on Bamboozle next May in Atlantic City music HILLARY A Biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton Karen Blumenthal Bloomsbury 433 pages; Rs 599 To her right, Donald Trump calls her "Crooked Hillary". To her left, Senator Bernie Sanders does everything to back up that characterisation but to use that exact phrase. Many - perhaps a majority - of the general public distrusts her; the radical wing of her own party claims that a Trump victory is barely different from her being in office; and most moderate Republicans are more willing to support Mr Trump even distrusting him completely, than to see her in the White House. The proposed deal between the Mumbai-based group of real estate developers and Brookfield Asset Management in in line with market rates, say investors aware of the details. Brookfield is expected to buy 4.5 million sq ft of office and retail properties of for $1 billion or Rs 6,700 crore. Only Brookfield and GIC, the Singapore government's sovereign wealth fund, were in the final race. The latter withdrew, said a source. At Rs 15,000 per sq ft, the deal is in line with market rates. Even residential properties command that kind of value, said an investor who did not want to be named. Said Rubi Arya, vice-chairman of Milestone Capital, a Mumbai-based fund manager: It looks like a fully priced deal. They would have built the assets over the years and they expect a fair value for it. Global investors. she said, want a pie of commercial assets which can grow and are ready to pay for it. According to the investor quoted earlier, the family is looking to get an investor so that they can value the assets and divide the value among the brothers. A Hiranandani spokesperson declined to comment. There is a restructuring happening to convert the partnership between Niranjan and Surendra Hiranandani into a corporate firm. We are evaluating offers from investors and options to float a real estate investment trust and others but nothing is final, said a source in the group, who did not want to be named Realty such as the promoters of DLF and the Bengaluru-based Embassy Group are also looking to sell stake in office assets. DLF's promoters are looking to sell 40 per cent in their company owning office assets and expect to receive expressions of interest from buyers in the next 10 days. About 25 entities are in the race to buy the stake, expected to garner Rs 12,000 crore for the promoters. Embassy plans to divest nearly a third of its stake to raise Rs 5,000 crore, to fund expansion of new projects in commercial real estate, hospitality and warehouses. Investors are also betting on growing rents in office properties across the country. Prime rentals in Bengaluru and Mumbai grew steadily over the past eight quarters and rose 4.9 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively, during the first quarter of 2016, showed the Knight Frank Asia Pacific Prime Office Rental Index. German consumer goods major Henkel AG might invest in Jyothy Laboratories, the maker of the Ujala brand of fabric care and detergent products, this year. Ullas Kamath, joint managing director and chief financial officer of Jyothy, said all indications were positive that Henkel would put in a bid, though nothing had been finalised. The option is open for them to come and talk to us. We were waiting for the board meeting (on May 23) to get over. That has happened. They can talk to us now. The option for them to invest in the company will close in March 2017, said Kamath. Speculation about the German majors interest in the city-based fast-moving consumer goods maker has been growing in the past few months. For the record, Henkel had the option to pick up to 26 per cent stake in Jyothy five years after the latter acquired its Indian subsidiary in May 2011. The question, according to analysts, was whether the German major would exercise that option. It now seems that it will, they say. Henkel is said to be contemplating picking up the stake in Jyothy at Rs 500-600 a share, either through a fresh issue of shares or via a preferential allotment. Kamath declined to comment on the matter. A 25 per cent shareholding by the German major will trigger a mandatory open-offer clause. This implies Henkel will have to offer to pick up an additional 26 per cent. As on March 31, the promoter groups holding in Jyothy was 66.74 per cent. Foreign institutional investors and domestic institutional investors together held 23.79 per cent for the March quarter, while individuals and others held 9.46 per cent, data on Jyothys shareholding pattern on the BSE showed. The combined annual turnover of Jyothy, following the merger of Henkel India into it, was Rs 1,300 crore, which has since increased nearly 27 per cent to touch Rs 1,645 crore in FY16. While this is lower than Jyothys initial estimate of touching Rs 3,000 crore in net sales in five years, analysts say with Henkel looking at a possible re-entry, the dynamics could change for Jyothy, which could gain from its international experience and know-how. Kamath said business plans might have to be altered if Henkel came on board, since it might decide to introduce some of its products into the country. This could increase the heft of Jyothy in the marketplace, which has a clutch of brands including flagship Ujala, Maxo and Exo in the fabric care, mosquito repellents and dishwashing segments, respectively. Some other brands in its portfolio that came following the Henkel India acquisition include Henko, Mr White, Chek, Neem toothpaste and Margo. Of these, Ujala, Maxo, Exo, Henko, Pril and Margo are power brands giving Jyothy 80-85 per cent of its revenues, while Mr White is expected to join the power brands club in the immediate future. Chinese conglomerate Tiens goup of which has global interests in biotechnology, health management, tourism and investments, is hoping to corner a share of the Indian nutrition and healthcare market. Kevin Hou, President, South Asia Region tells Subhayan Chakraborty, why a foray into the e-commerce market in India will help it take on global multinationals operating in the country. What is the current state of the Tien groups business in India? We sell a wide range of healthcare and personal care products in the country. We have a direct selling model of business with a large distributor network selling products. The country headquarters at Chennai oversee branch offices at eight other places, including Guwahati, Kolkata , Hyderabad and Mumbai. Two more branches will open shortly including one in Chandigarh during this year. What is next on the cards for the India operations? We are currently developing an e-commerce website which we expect to go live by the second half of this year. Consumers in India will have the choice to buy more than 3000 products from our group, which are currently available in the country as well as those which are available in other markets. We are focused on India as it is a huge market with a 300 million strong middle class. How does you hope to battle existing players in the e-commerce segment? The website will offer a broad range of products from . We are also planning to introduce products from other sellers as well. We expect traffic to hold steady since our customer retention is high. Also, the pricing will be competitive, which we expect to help us in cementing our position in the Indian market. How independent is the India business from your global operations? Currently, we sell our own products as well as those from other players in the healthcare segment owing to our targets of sourcing at least 70 per cent of products locally. However, we are looking at setting up a manufacturing facility in the country. We have around 120 employees in the country and are looking to recruit around 200 people for our global headquarters in China. How is the companys global business holding up at a time when consumer demand has fallen worldwide? We have a presence in more than 190 countries with a total consumer base of an estimated 40 million people. While global headwinds do affect business, the large consumer base, coupled with high product quality has helped register a significant growth globally for . How significant is the recent opening of the South Asian Headquarters in New Delhi? Globally, we operate across 4 regions including Asia Pacific, Africa and Eurasia. We are now focusing on our South Asia business, which is poised to grow at the fastest pace among these. We have decided to base this expansion from New Delhi to leverage on our strengths in India. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. The direct selling model will be focused on. Marriott International today expanded its footprint in India with the opening of its fifth hotel in Pune, The Marriott Suites Pune. The addition of this new hotel means that Marriott International will be managing the largest number of hotels in the city of Pune. The Marriott Suites Pune provides an accommodation of 199 suites located at Koregaon Park area. Sharing close proximity to the Pune Airport and key business and IT hubs, this property will cater to longer stay, business and leisure travellers. :The opening of Marriott Suites Pune takes our portfolio to 33 hotels in India. This hotel further demonstrates our commitment to strengthen our relationship in Pune with the ownership - Panchshil Reality. It will be exciting as the team to position this all-suites hotel as one of the top in class luxury destinations in the city," said Neeraj Govil, Market Vice-President South Asia of Marriott International. The food & beverage selection the hotel will offer a mix of local and international cuisine. The hotel will have 5 senses - the All-Day dining restaurant, the Bistro (Italian & Mediterranean cuisine) and the Oak Lounge. One of the unique features of this property, the company statement said, is that it will allow housing pets. The hotel houses a fully equipped fitness centre, outdoor pool and a wellness centre. Marriott International reported revenues of more than $14 billion in fiscal year 2015. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands. After a robust double-digit increase of 11 per cent in April, sales growth of passenger vehicles cars, utility vehicles and vans from companies to dealers decelerated to over seven per cent in May. The growth was led by the top three players Maruti, Hyundai and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). Toyota, worst hit by the ban on diesel cars with engine capacity of 2,000cc or above in the national capital region, posted growth after nine months of decline. Tata Motors and Honda continue to report declines in sales, despite new launches. A key challenge for carmakers would be the jump in fuel prices. Following a price hike of Rs 2 a litre from Wednesday, petrol is at an 11-month high and diesel at an 18-month high. High fuel prices add to the running cost of automobiles and tend to impact purchases. Other roadblocks are in the form of a growing preference for petrol vehicles as diesel cars continue to face regulatory pressure. Maruti Suzuki, Indias largest carmaker, maintained a double-digit domestic sales growth in spite of a production loss of approximately 7,500 units towards the end of the month. The company sold 113,162 vehicles in the domestic market last month, up 10.6 per cent from 102,359 vehicles sold in May 2015. The growth was driven by an 11 per cent increase in sales of compact cars, driven by its Baleno (launched in October 2015). Utility vehicle segment sales doubled to 13,596 vehicles against 5,567 earlier due to Brezza, which was launched in March. ALSO READ: PMI shows manufacturing still subdued Maruti had to stop production at both Gurgaon and Manesar plants on Monday afternoon, owing to a stoppage in supply of car AC units from Subros after a fire damaged the component makers Manesar plant. The Gurgaon plant resumed production on Wednesday noon but the Manesar plant would take time. The company managed to grow at this rate in spite of losing production, since it had built an inventory to meet demand in June, when both plants will undergo a planned maintenance shutdown. June sales growth is expected to be moderate. The second largest player, Hyundai, sold 41,351 vehicles in May, up 10.4 per cent from the corresponding number of 37,450 units last year. Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president (sales & marketing), said the market was seeing challenges of stressed rural demand and uncertainty on diesel vehicles. Hyundai volumes grew 10.4 per cent on the strengths of strong performance of the Creta, Elite i20 and Grand i10. Utility vehicle major M&M continued to grow on the back of new launches such as TUV300 and KUV100. It sold 19,635 vehicles, growing eight per cent from May last year. The company said it was happy to grow in the midst of regulatory uncertainties. Pravin Shah, president and chief executive (automotive) at M&M, said: The favourable monsoon projections will definitely lead to improved buyer sentiment that would likely bring buoyancy in the overall demand across all segments. Going forward, we expect our wider product portfolio will drive growth. Data showed that the growth in May, like April, was supported by utility vehicles, especially compact ones such as Creta, Brezza and TUV300. Renault continued its good performance on the back of Kwid sales. Toyota sales grew six per cent in May, registering its first growth after nine months of decline. The growth was helped by the launch of new Innova Crysta last month. Ford managed to grow sales by 22 per cent on the strength of new models that were launched last year. Abdul Majeed, partner at Pricewaterhouse, said new launches would drive the growth in the passenger car segment. However, the sudden shift from diesel to petrol vehicles will put a lot of pressure on supply chain ecosystem. Srivastava said if fuel prices remained at these high points, it would add to the cost of ownership and create challenges. A plan by (R-Infra) to transfer its power generation business to a wholly owned subsidiary has not gone down well with Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS). Mumbai-based IiAS has recommended the shareholders of R-Infra vote against the proposal at the court-convened meeting scheduled the coming Monday. State-owned institutions Life Insurance Corporation (12.3 per cent), New India Insurance (1.5 per cent) and Oriental Insurance (1.3 per cent) are among the top public shareholders. Apart from this, at least 100 foreign portfolio investors and other institutions hold a little over 20 per cent in the Anil Ambani-promoted entity. A special resolution to approve transfer of the power generation business and windmill division to Reliance Electric Generation and Supply Pvt Ltd (REGSPL), wholly owned subsidiary, for an aggregate cash consideration of Rs 62.9 bn (Rs 6,290 crore) will be put to vote in the meeting. IiAS says its own recommendation flows from the lack of detail on the funding plan and uncertainties around it. While acknowledging the structural correction of businesses is likely to increase the, IiAS said it was recommending voting against based on the lack of clarity with respect to the need for a cash transaction and its funding plan which may increase the debt levels. In the first nine months of 2016, the power division had earnings before interest and tax of Rs 1,340 crore. Therefore, assuming REGSPL raises the remaining Rs 5,000 crore as debt, the ratio of debt to operational profit would deteriorate to 6, against 5.6 times as on March 2015, IiAS said. Its report added, The management has clarified that the consideration to be received from REGSPL will be funded through a mix of internal accruals, debt and capital infusion by promoters. However, all of these fund raising aspects are hinged on several uncertainties. This transaction will only increase consolidated debt levels, in the absence of sufficient cash flows or promoter infusion. R-Infra has three business segments electrical energy, EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) and contracts, and infrastructure. Under the first one, engaged in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, it has a 500 Mw thermal power station at Dahanu, near Mumbai; a 220 Mw power plant at Samalkot (Andhra), a 48 Mw power plant at Mormugao (Goa) and a 7.6 Mw wind energy farm at Chitradurga (Karnataka). Of the Rs 6,290 crore consideration, Rs 5,580 crore is for the Mumbai division, while the Samalkot and Goa facilities are valued at Rs 560 crore and Rs 110 crore, respectively. The windmill was worth Rs 40 crore. The EPC and contracts segment is engaged in the business of construction, erection, commissioning and contracting. The infrastructure segment develops, operates and maintains toll roads, metro rail transit systems and airports. In December, the company acquired management control in Pipavav Defence. Airtel Payments Bank on Wednesday appointed as chief executive and managing director, replacing Manish Khera, who has decided to pursue his entrepreneurial journey. The appointment will be subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India. With more than 26 years of experience across sectors, including FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), telecom, media, and banking, Arora has served in many business leadership roles in consumer-focused and technology-intensive sectors. Arora joined Bharti Airtel in February 2006 as chief operating officer (COO), Delhi circle, and was responsible for sales, marketing, and customer service operations in the circle. Since then, he has continued to rise in the group. Later, he became part of Airtel's mobile business, where he served as the chief executive of the upper north cluster as well as the Delhi circle. Arora was made chief executive of Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, that provides DTH (direct-to-home) services, in August 2011. Under his leadership, the DTH business doubled its subscriber base as well as revenues, with over two-thirds of the new customers coming from rural India, according to the company. "I am confident that under Shashi's leadership, our launch plans will gather further momentum," Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman, Airtel Payments Bank, said. "We look forward to delivering an outstanding banking experience to millions of customers across the country." His appointment has come at a time when Airtel Payments Bank is ready to roll out its services. The company began operations in 2011 as Airtel M-Commerce Services and currently provides money transfer services and semi-closed wallet services (Airtel Money). It became the first entity in the country to receive a payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April. The company, which has presence in 800-plus towns across India, plans to start rolling out its network in the second quarter of the current financial year, using Bharti Airtel's 1.5 million outlets across India. Prior to joining Bharti Airtel, Arora served as the Group Marketing Head of Kotak Mahindra Bank, and was part of the team that expanded Kotak's banking business after they procured the banking license. He started his career with Hindustan Unilever as a Management Trainee in 1990 after completing his MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. With the arrest of five persons, police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang which used to allegedly rob commuters with the help of a call centre cab driver. The alleged gang leader, Dinesh Kumar, after dropping the call centre employees, used to pick up commuters to Gurgaon. His other gang members posed as co-passengers. "They used to rob people in areas in south Delhi, including AIIMS, Ashram Chowk, Sarai Kale Khan, Lajpat Nagar, and allegedly committed as many as 22 robberies in a short span," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said. The commuters were robbed of cash and other valuables and dropped at secluded places in Noida, the Delhi-Noida- Flyover and Tuglaqhabad Fort areas. All the members of the gang were arrested from Delhi-NCR region in the last two days, police said. Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday alleged that a group of state government officials were summoned by the CBI, whose officers hurled "choicest abuses" at them and threatened to "ruin" their career if they sided with him following last year's raid at his office. Kejriwal also accused the Narendra Modi government of using the CBI to "silence" those who raise their voice against him. "The raid took place on December 15, but what happened after that was more dangerous. From December 15 to mid-April, the CBI summoned around 150 officers without giving notice. They would only call and ask them to come to the CBI office. Since officers don't want to get entangled (with CBI), they would come and tell me that the CBI has summoned them. They would call them, make them wait for two hours and then call them inside. They would hurl choicest abuses at the officers and threatened to ruin their career. They would ask them who comes to meet the CM? Who prepares his minutes, who prepares his notings? Is this the work of CBI?" he said. Kejriwal claimed that Delhi government officials were asked to "leave the side of the Chief Minister" or face consequences like Rajendra Kumar, his principal secretary, whose office in the CM's Secretariat was raided by the CBI. "They have threatened many officers, but they could achieve nothing," Kejriwal said, participating in a panel discussion on 'CBI X-Rayed' organised by Delhi Administration Officers' Academic Forum. CBI had raided his office premises over charges of corruption against Kumar, but Kejriwal claimed "I was the real target". Kejriwal claimed if CBI officers try to act freely in an unbiased manner, they are shunted out. "The officers know that if they show some independence then tomorrow they will be transferred out...It has happened so many times," Kejriwal said. Kejriwal said the judge who has passed "stricture" against CBI in the case pertaining to raid on his office has been transferred. The AAP chief alleged every government at the Centre has used the CBI to "threaten and arm-twist the opposition". "We all have been saying that CBI should be independent, but CBI directly reports to the PM. Earlier it would report to Dr Manmohan Singh and now it reports to Shri Narendra Modi. Every party or government in power misuses CBI, to threaten and arm-twist other parties. During the time of Manmohan Singh, when he had no majority, the CBI was used to ensure he has majority. "Now anyone wanting to raise his voice is silenced using the fear of CBI. They tried to do that with us. In December they raided my office and it was said that the raid was on the office of my personal secretary. But there is no separate personal secretary's office, the entire floor is my office. So they raided the floor. They had come to examine my files," he alleged. Making fun of the raid, Kejriwal said the exercise could not even "recover the cost incurred on undertaking it". "If you look at it honestly, the PM found me the most corrupt person in the country which is why he engineered a raid. Obviously the target was Arvind Kejriwal, to get some evidence against me," Kejriwal said. He said the talk of an independent CBI will remain a talk unless there is a person with a strong conviction at the top. "The talk about CBI's independence will keep going on till the time there is an honest person at the top who would say with conviction that I don't have to hide anything and the CBI should be independent. But I don't see anyone like this and I don't see it happening," Kejriwal said. "If the PM asks CBI to intensify investigation, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh get a sprain in their neck," Kejriwal said. The AAP chief said every political leader badmouths his opponent during the elections, but they unite afterwards. "Now that I meet everyone and meet many big leaders, I get to know that they badmouth everyone during elections. After polls, they unite. Is this their political compulsion?" he said. India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of people in the world trapped in modern slavery, with 18.35 million victims of forced labour, ranging from prostitution and begging, according to a new report, which estimated that nearly 46 million people are enslaved globally. According to the 2016 Global Index released by Australia-based human rights group Walk Free Foundation today, an estimated 45.8 million people, including women and children, are subject to some form of modern in the world, compared to 35.8 million in 2014. The report said India has the highest absolute numbers of people trapped in with 18.35 million slaves among its 1.3 billion population, while North Korea has the highest incidence (4.37% of the population) and the weakest government response to deal with it. In the last report in 2014, India had nearly 14.3 million people enslaved. Incidences of slavery were found in all 167 countries in the index, with Asian countries occupy the top five for people trapped in slavery. Behind India was China (3.39 million), Pakistan (2.13 million), Bangladesh (1.53 million) and Uzbekistan (1.23 million). The index said that these five countries combinedaccounted for almost 58 per centof the world's enslaved, or 26.6 million people. The Index presents a ranking of 167 countries based on the proportion of the population that is estimated to be in modern slavery. Modern slavery refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot leave because of threats, violence, coercion, abuse of power or deception. The research included over 42,000 interviews conducted in 53 languages across 25 countries, including 15 state-level surveys in India. These representative surveys covered 44 per cent of the global population. The countries with the highest estimated prevalence of modern slavery by the proportion of their population are North Korea, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Cambodia, India, and Qatar. The countries with the lowest estimated prevalence of modern slavery by the proportion of their population are Luxembourg, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden and Belgium, the United States and Canada, and Australia and New Zealand. The study also tracked the government actions and responses to the modern slavery and of the 161 assessed, 124 nations had criminalised human trafficking in line with the UN trafficking Protocol and 96 nations had developed action plans to coordinate government response. It noted that while India had more people enslaved than any other country, it had made significant progress in introducing measures to tackle the problem. "It has criminalised trafficking, slavery, forced labour, child prostitution and forced marriage. The Indian government is currently tightening legislation against human trafficking, with tougher punishment for repeat offenders. It will offer victims protection and recovery support," it said. It said that in addition to economic growth in India, ambitious programmes of legal and social reform are being undertaken right across the board, from regulation of labour relations to systems of social insurance for the most vulnerable. Those governments taking the least action to combat modern slavery are North Korea, Iran, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Hong Kong, Central African Republic, Papua New Guinea, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. The governments that have the strongest response to modern slavery are The Netherlands, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Portugal, Croatia, Spain, Belgium and Norway. Seeking strong laws to abolish slavery, Andrew Forrest, Chairman and Founder of Walk Free Foundation, said eradicating slavery makes sense, morally, politically, logically and economically, and called on the governments of the world's leading economies to provide an example to others by enacting and implementing robust anti-slavery measures. "We call on governments of the top 10 economies of the world to enact laws, at least as strong as the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, with a budget and capability to ensure organisations are held to account for modern slavery in their supply chains, and to empower independent oversight." Forrest said leaders of the world's major economies must bring the power of business to this issue, by requiring a focus on supply chain transparency. "I believe in the critical role of leaders in government, business and civil society. Through our responsible use of power, strength of conviction, determination and collective will, we all can lead the world to end slavery," he said. Forrest emphasised the key role that business needs to play in eradicating slavery. "Businesses that don't actively look for forced labour within their supply chains are standing on a burning platform. Business leaders who refuse to look into the realities of their own supply chains are misguided and irresponsible," he said. Adding fuel to the controversy surrounding alleged links between and defence consultant Sanjay Bhandari, the latter is said to have admitted to an email exchange with Vadra, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. Bhandari admitted that the email trail recovered from his computer was of messages exchanged between him, Vadra and Vadras assistant Manoj Arora. He acknowledged the email exchange that took place on April 4, 2010 and was on the subject of finalizing interiors for a London apartment. This was the only email sent from Vadras own email ID and signed off by him, the publication reported. The email contained an attachment which stated the hike in price for refurbishing the house from 28,000 pounds to 35,000 pounds on the back of additional work. Vadra is currently being probed by investigative agencies after the Income Tax (I-T) Department raided the premises of Bhandari. The search raised suspicions that Bhandari may have purchased a benami mansion in London for the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi. The house was bought in October 2009 and sold in June 2010. Reacting to these reports, the BJP on Tuesday attacked the Congress party, stating that Vadra had the backing from 10, Janpath (the official residence of Sonia Gandhi). "Vadra has the blessings of 10 Janpath. That is why he has earned so much money. He can't be dubbed as a private citizen. Whatever he has done has the backing of Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi," BJP Secretary Srikant Sharma had said. Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya sought a detailed inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate into the alleged involvement of Vadra. The Congress President countered the attack and said, This is a conspiracy for a Congress-free country. What is the meaning of a Congress-free India. Every day they make new excuses. They level false charges. If there is something, there should be an impartial probe. Everything will become clear." Prime Minister will embark on a five-nation tour from Saturday. He will visit Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He is also slated to head for a four-nation tour to Africa in the first half of July. While the itinerary of that visit is still being worked out, it is likely to include visits to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. It will be the first visit of his tenure to mainland Africa. The PM had visited the island nations of Seychelles and Mauritius in March 2015. The highlight of the PMs five-nation tour will be the visit to Switzerland on June 5 and 6, en-route to the US. In Switzerland, the PM will hold discussions with the President of the Swiss Confederation Johann Schneider-Ammann. Modi is also likely to take up early conclusion of an agreement on the automatic exchange of tax information. This agreement will facilitate the exchange of information between the tax authorities of the two countries and potentially help Indian tax authorities to track unaccounted money, or black money, suspected to be stashed away in Swiss banks by Indian nationals. Tracking down the black money was a key promise of the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. South Block has said the visit will aim to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas from economy to defence, particularly during the last two years under the leadership of Modi and US President Barack Obama. This could also one of the last meetings of the two leaders before Obama bows out of office. The PM will start his five-nation tour with a visit to Afghanistan to inaugurate the Salma Dam in Herat. The dam has been constructed with Indian help. In the past month, India along with Iran and Afghanistan has not only given a push to not only their trilateral dialogue but also decided to expedite the Chabahar transit project. The PMs visit to Qatar on June 4 and 5 will consolidate his West Asia outreach. He has already visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran. India-Qatar bilateral trade exceeded $15 billion in 2014-15. Qatar is the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India. In 2015-16, the country met 65 per cent of Indias total LNG imports and is one of the key sources of crude oil needs of India. Around 630,000 Indian nations live in Qatar and comprise the largest expatriate community of that country. Qatar is also slated to host the 2022 Soccer World Cup. The PMs visit to Mexico is aimed at discussing cooperation in areas such as agriculture and energy, South Block said. President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday offered his condolences to the families of the defence personnel, who died in the massive at the central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Wardha district of Maharashtra and called upon the state government to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families as well as medical assistance to the injured. "I am sad to know about the massive fire in which some persons have lost their lives and many others are injured. I understand rescue as well as relief operations are currently underway. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the families who have lost their near and dear ones," the President said in a message to Maharashtra Governor, C.Vidyasagar Rao. The death toll has risen from 16 to 19 on Wednesday, which include two officers, four Defence Security Corp (DSC) jawans and 13 fire fighters. 17 injured including two officers, three Army Jawans, four of DSC and eight fire fighters are now stable. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, announced a compensation of Rs. 5,00,000 to the next kin of those killed and Rs. 3,00,000 to the injured. Public Health Minister Dipak Sawant has assured that air ambulance will be made available if the need arises to shift the injured to Mumbai for treatment. Meanwhile, the fire has been completely doused and situation has been brought under control after an overnight operation, but the officials are still monitoring the accident spot. The blaze started around 1 A.M on Tuesday. The fire had spread to a number of sheds where ammunitions, bombs and other explosive were kept. The central ammunition depot at Pulgaon is India's biggest ammunition depot where stocks including bombs, grenades, shells, assorted rifles and other explosives from various factories comes here first and is then distributed to various forward areas. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday, expressed grief over loss of lives. "Deeply pained at loss of lives, they sacrificed their lives and managed to contain fire." Parrikar said. After Shiv Sena slammed Congress for fielding as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Maharashtra, the former Union Finance Minister on Tuesday said the saffron party will change its view by the end of his term. "I have no doubt in my mind that (fellow Congress leader and former Union Home Minister) Sushilkumar Shinde is an extremely deserving candidate and would have brought great honour and distinction if he had been nominated. "He (Shinde) is a dear friend of mine. But, having said that, I have also no doubt in my mind that six years after today, if I am elected, the Shiv Sena will itself change its mind," Chidambaram told reporters here after filing his nomination. Shinde who hails from Maharashtra was said to be a contender for RS nomination. To a question about Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Amarinder Singh's statement advocating change in party's leadership, Chidambaram said he was talking "generally" about the need for young leaders to take over. "What I think he generally said was that young leaders must be allowed to take responsibilities at different levels. He also said he himself was 74 and he wanted young leaders to take over," Chidambaram said. "I think we must understand the spirit of his statement. Young leaders must take over at different levels in the Congress party. This is something I have been saying for many years now," he added. Bengaluru, India's technology hub is witnessing a larger inflow of qualified professionals than it is losing talent to other cities in the country, according to social network firm that compiled data based on changes users made on their profiles on its platform.Nearly a third of its 2.3 million users in the IT capital of the country were working in the technology sector, while financial services, manufacturing and engineering, and hospitals and health care were also big employers of users in the city."Just in Bangalore we see about 1,00,000 recruiters active and across all cities Bengaluru actually has the highest number of searches - 16 million in the last one year. This has led to around 1,11,000 hires that influenced in Bangalore," said Akshay Kothari, head of LinkedIn in India.The biggest inflow of professionals into Bengaluru came from Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune, cities which have a presence in technology, financial services and engineering.While the largest recruiters on the platform continued to be large IT services companies, e-commerce giant Flipkart made it to the list for top ten recruiters in the country. With Bengaluru becoming a preferred destination for professionals, the city's infrastructure has come under tremendous strain. Bengaluru, with a population of 10 million has over six million vehicles on roads, according to March 2016 data by the Karnataka transport department. "Across all Indian cities we've seen that there are more people coming to Bengaluru than leaving Bengaluru. If you compare to Chennai for instance, 0.7% of members left Bengaluru but 1.3% of the people moved to Bengaluru," said Kothari. LinkedIn has moved to a larger campus, which can house 800 people as the firm expands its presence in the city. "We also see some outflows to the US, Singapore and Dubai, but specifically for India, there's more inflows into Bangalore than the people leaving Bangalore," said Kothari. To boost the production of pulses and oilseeds, the Centre on Wednesday announced massive increases in the minimum support prices (MSP) of kharif pulses and oilseeds, but kept it nominal for paddy. However, the previous experience with MSP hikes in pulses and oilseeds have shown that in the absence of a permanent purchase mechanism and with market rates ruling 72 per cent above the prevailing MSPs, the increases have limited impact on farmers to shift acreage. Also, in areas where paddy is grown, pulses and oilseeds are not preferred, which also stops any large-scale transition. But, with the Centre deciding to purchase pulses regularly to build a buffer, this might change in the coming years. The MSP of paddy, biggest foodgrain grown during the kharif season, was increased by a nominal 4.3 per cent for the common varieties, while it was increased 4.1 per cent for Grade A varieties. Among oilseeds, the MSP of groundnut was increased by Rs 190 a quintal to Rs 4,220 a quintal, while that of soyabean (yellow) was raised by Rs 175 a quintal to Rs 2,775. The support price of sunflower seed was increased by Rs 150 to Rs 3,950 a quintal, while that of niger seed was raised by Rs 175 to Rs 3,650 a quintal. The MSP of sesame seed was raised by Rs 300 to Rs 5,000 a quintal. The MSP of long staple cotton will now be Rs 4,160 a quintal, around Rs 60 more than the current rate. The Food Corporation of India will be the designated central nodal agency for price support operations for cereals, pulses and oilseeds. The Cotton Corporation of India will be the central nodal agency for undertaking price support operations for cotton, an official statement released after the Cabinet meeting said. Talking to Business Standard, Sudhir Panwar, member of Uttar Pradesh Planning Commission and president of Kisan Jagriti Manch, said: To me, these hefty increases in MSP of pulses and oilseeds only have a nominal value and will not have much overall impact on farmers; in crops where MSP is predominant like paddy, there has been a nominal increase, while in crops where it is not prevalent like pulses and oilseeds, the government has announced big increases. In a related development, the Union Cabinet also approved two proposals for Tamil Nadu just days before Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader J Jayalalithaas proposed visit to Delhi. These include allocation of extra foodgrains to the state and approval of extension of the Phase-I of the Chennai Metro Rail project, a long-standing demand. According to sources, these measures are meant to keep her happy so that she does not actively obstruct the goods and services tax (GST) constitutional amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session. Out of 18 MPs from Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha, 16 are opposing GST. The Centre badly needs Tamil Nadus cooperation to pass the Bill. The opposition to GST is being mounted both by the AIADMK and its rival, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. If Delhi can give some sort of assurance to AIADMK, which has 12 MPs in the Upper House, it will have succeeded in neutralising a part of the opposition. (With inputs from Aditi Phadnis) The Ministry of Coal has released Rs 210.33 crore as upfront payment to states towards auction of coal blocks. The amount is for coal bearing host states of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Odisha has the highest share in the payment among states at Rs 144.14 crore for auction of Talabira-I, Talabira-II & III and the Utkal D&E coal blocks. The amount has accrued from 14 coal blocks that have gone under the hammer in these five states. Auction of coal blocks is expected to mop up Rs 3.45 lakh crore to the national exchequer. Coal block auctions were initiated after the CAG had, in a report tabled in Parliament in 2012, pegged the notional loss to the national exchequer at Rs 1.86 lakh crore on account of improper allocation of coal mines done by the UPA government. The first round of coal autions is likely to fetch the Odisha government a revenue of Rs 45,630 crore. The projected amount would accrue to the state government by way of e-auction proceeds, royalty fees and fixed reserve price. So far, nine coal blocks from the state have been put to auctions. All blocks have been earmarked for the power sector. The Government of India has lined up 16 more coal blocks for auctions. Of the 16 blocks to be put up for auction, five are located in Madhya Pradesh, three in Telengana in southern India, two blocks each in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and one each in Odisha and West Bengal. In this round of auctions, it would be for the first time that commercial coal mining would be opened up. Presently, only central PSUs-Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries are allowed merchant sale of the dry fuel. The area under guar seed production in India, the biggest producer of the tiny seed used to extract shale gas in fracturing, could drop 20 per cent in the coming sowing season due to falling global oil prices. "Guar seed farmers are unhappy. They are likely to shift to pulses. We could see as high as 15-20 per cent reduction in guar seed area," said K N Rahiman, chief research officer at Ruchi Soya, a leading guar gum exporter. Guar seed prices have fallen to the lowest level in five years after the US shale gas producers cut guar gum purchases due to dip in oil prices. Guar seed prices have fallen 41 per cent in a year to Rs 3,100 per 100 kg, while the prices of pulses such as red gram have nearly doubled over the same period. "At the current price guar is not profitable. Pulses, paddy are giving better returns," said Balbir Arniawali, a farmer from Sirsa district of northern state of Haryana. Arniawali has not sold last year's harvest, hoping prices will recover, and has scaled back planting to 15 acres this year from 25 last year. Planting starts in June with the arrival of monsoon rains. Guar gum is extracted from the seeds and used to thicken the slurry of water, sand and chemicals pumped into wells during the hydraulic fracturing, and tap oil and gas. India, which produces 80 per cent of the world's guar gum, saw exports from April to February fall 48 per cent to 329,070 tonnes from a year ago. The US, whose shale gas surge has transformed it from the world's leading gas importer to a budding exporter, is the biggest importer of Indian guar gum. More than half of India's guar gum processing plants are now closed and nearly half of the guar gum from last year's crop remains unsold, said a gum exporter based in Bikaner in north-western state of Rajasthan, the country's biggest producer. The Modis governments March decision to disallow higher gas prices for output from fields involved in litigation with the oil ministry may have been meant as a healthy administrative measure to avoid complexities during the pendency of the cases but seems to be working to rid the countrys petroleum sector of the vast swathe of court cases that had been hurting growth for years. A little over two months since the Union Cabinet took that decision, and at least one company, billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries (RIL), seems to have relented. The firm, Indias largest private company, is understood to be considering dropping an ongoing arbitration with the Centre over an order that forced the company to surrender a large part of the flagship KG-D6 block. This comes on the backdrop of similar reports on how the company may be looking at not pursuing its age-old arbitration over gas prices allowed to be charged from the block. Business Standard had reported earlier this month that the company was perusing whether to withdraw the pending arbitration on the gas price issue. The companys top management is looking at two divergent views on the merits of dropping the arbitration which have been presented to the top management and the board will take a final call soon, a senior executive close to the development had told Business Standard. The addition of the case over surrender of KG-D6 area to the list of arbitrations that may not be pursued seems to indicate the governments bait of disallowing higher prices to litigants may be working. The oil ministry had, in 2013, passed an order that asked RIL to relinquish as much as 80% of the contract area of the KG-D6 block off the Andhra coast. The company initiated arbitration on the matter in 2014 last in a series of arbitrations by RIL against the government and the first one to be initiated after the Modi government came to power. The company has told the government it no longer wished to pursue arbitration in this case in a move that would help effectively end the dispute, said a media report quoting a senior official. The report also said, quoting an industry executive, the area RIL relinquished contains low volume of gas and, with oil and gas prices having crashed now, its commercial exploitation would not have made sense. The government had in March this year launched crucial reforms for the oil and gas sector based on which the ministry had announced a ceiling price of $6.61 per unit for gas from Deep Water, Ultra-Deep Water and High Pressure-High Temperature areas. This was more than double of the current domestic gas price of $3.06 per unit. The government had said the new liberal policy would apply to blocks involved in arbitration only after the arbitration is ended or withdrawn by the company. The will take longer to materialize as negotiations will resume after Australia completes its national elections in June, Australian envoy Harinder Sidhu said on Wednesday. Speaking at discussion session on trade liberalization, the newly appointed high commissioner said Australia was keen to conclude the agreement but refused to give a deadline for its completion. Pointing out that fruitful talks can only be held after a new national government takes charge in Canberra in early June, Sidhu added that the complicated nature of the talks demanded more time. "Australia would rather have a good outcome which takes time than one which doesn't satisfy aspirations on both sides", she said. The talks for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) were started in 2011 to boost both trade and investments between the two countries but progress has been slow due to disagreements over lowering tariff duties and access to services sector. The countries had missed the last deadline - January, 2016 set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australia's then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott in September, 2014. Australia is pushing for tariff reduction in dairy, fresh fruit, pharmaceuticals, meat and wines. On the other hand, India wants zero duty on auto parts, textiles, and fresh fruit, including mangoes and greater access in the services sector. Several rounds of negotiations have been completed for liberalizing trade and services regime besides removing non-tariff barriers and encouraging investments. The latest ninth round of negotiations took place in New Delhi on 21-23 September last year. After visiting India for the sixth time in April earlier this year, Australia's special trade envoy Andrew Robb said the deal may be completed in less than two months. It had been reported earlier that India wanted to defer the talks keeping an eye on negotiations regarding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which are also ongoing. The RCEP agreement involves the ten countries of the ASEAN grouping and six of its free trade partners - China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Australia. Under the RCEP, India has offered tariff elimination of 42.5 per cent of all traded goods to Australia, while that country has offered zero tariff on 80 per cent of such goods. India feels it may lose its leveraging power by finalizing a trade deal with Australia ahead of the RCEP deal, which is also languishing after other members complained India wasn't lowering tariffs enough. Uranium supply from Australia The high Commissioner also said that supply of Uranium will start from the country soon although ironing out contract issues will take some time. The Australia-India nuclear cooperation agreement permits Australian companies to commence commercial uranium exports to India. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has asked oil companies to roll back petrol and prices immediately. She said the price hike will lead to increase in prices of essential commodities. "I have pointed out many times that the price fixation policy followed by oil marketing companies (OMCs) is wrong. The price of petrol and has now been increased based on this wrong policy," she said in a statement. The bi-monthly determination of fuel price based on the Rupee-US Dollar exchange rate was "not the right policy", said the supermo. "Due to the hike in petrol and prices, freight charges will increase and prices of essential commodities will go up, affecting ordinary people. I urge that the hike announced by the oil marketing companies should be withdrawn," she said. Since November 2014, against the backdrop of the Centre increasing excise duty on petrol by Rs 11.77 and diesel Rs 13.57, the present hike was not correct, she said The government on Wednesday constituted the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and its appellate body, implementing most of the provisions of new and helping implementation of the Bankruptcy Code. With this, the Company Law Board (CLB), constituted under the old Act, stands dissolved. Retired judge M M Kumar would be the president of NCLT and retired judge S J Mukhopadhaya would take over as chairman of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. Initially, NCLT will have 11 benches - two at New Delhi and one each at Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. According to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, NCLT will not only replace CLB, but also handle various cases of companies currently with the high courts, the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, and the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction. In total, it will have 63 members and 21 benches. NCLT and Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) will be the adjudicating agencies for the recently-passed Bankruptcy Code. While NCLT will resolve insolvency cases of companies and limited liability partnerships, DRT will handle cases of individual bankruptcy. In May 2015, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had struck down several provisions of the 2013, which provided for establishment of NCLT and its appellate forum. However, it upheld the law providing for the tribunals and asked the government to set them up without further delay as litigation had stopped their establishment for years. Section 409, which allowed a joint secretary to be the technical member of the tribunal, was found invalid. The court wanted only secretary or additional secretary to be appointed to the post. Moreover, the provision for cost accountant with 15 years' experience was also held to be invalid. The court held that these provisions went against the "clear and categorical dicta in the 2010 judgment". A Constitution Bench had already examined the provisions in 2010 and found several legal hitches. The government, then, amended those offending provisions. "Tinkering with them would evidently have the potential of compromising with standards which 2010 judgment sought to achieve, nay, so zealously sought to secure," the judgment written by Justice A K Sikri said. Another serious illegality found was regarding the constitution of the selection committee. According to the apex court, the mandate of the 2010 judgment was not followed in the amended rules when it comes to the composition of the selection committee. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is planning to mobilise around Rs 200 crore by tapping CSR funds of corporate houses. The money will be utilised to fund some of the skill development programmes and to set up training centres across the country. Jayant Krishna, CEO, National skill Development Corporation (NSDC), said to boost skill development programmes in the country, besides government support, he will also be tapping corporate houses. Krishna was principal consultant of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) earlier. Formed in 2010, acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies and organisations that provide such training. is a public private partnership (PPP), mandated to involve the private sector in skilling 150 million Indians by 2022. Besides, using these corporate houses for training programmes and to set up training centres, is also planning to tap CSR funds of India Inc. The first CSR project under the modified Companies Act, 2013, was signed between NSDF, NSDC and Power Grid Corporation of India in January 2015. Krishna said that the public sectors, including ONGC, NTPC, Coal India and others have contributed funds to the tune of around Rs 50-60 crore last fiscal. "We want the private sector to support our programmes and we are planning to tap their CSR funds," he said. He noted, under the new Companies Act, companies need to spend atleast 2% on CSR and it can be used for skill development also. Besides its own programmes, NSDC is also responsible for implementing some of the government-run skill development programmes. For instance, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. For Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, around Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated to set up model centres in each district of the country. Till now, around 19 lakh people have enrolled and the target is to reach one crore in the next three years. Krisha said the government's Skill Development Programme is one of the largest in the world and and the target is to train one crore people through this programme alone. However, there are challenges. According to Krishna, skills are not considered as aspirational and it is imperative that we build respect for skills and that is exactly the idea behind our new campaign. The government has roped in Sachin Tendulkar to endorse the 'I Support Skill India' campaign, in an attempt to reach out to the youth and build awareness on the importance of skill development. NSDC has also roped in actor and social activist Shabana Azmi and a few more celebrities to speak about the necessity of skill development. The CSR funds will also be used to set up model training centres. NSDC wants to set up 500 centres and each would cost around Rs 70 lakh, which will be given as soft loan by NSDC. These will be modern/ aspirational centres, said Krishna. Recently, NSDC and Dalmia Bharat Foundation signed an agreement to impart vocational and skill training to 60,000 unemployed youth over the next 10 years across the country. Overall, the project cost is around Rs 4.65 crore, of which Dalmia has committed Rs 1.40 crore and the rest is the NSDC soft loan. Last year, NSDC trained nearly 35 lakh people and this year it expects to touch 40 lakh. Under the programme, 70% of the candidates will be assured employment in sectors and job roles in which they get trained. For all training that happens through NSDC's partners, it is mandatory that atleast 70% of the people, who get certified, have to be employed or self-employed. Then only NSDC gives soft loans to people who make this commitment. Krishna said that there is an agreement with training partners that after successful completion of a course, at least 70% of the students have to be employed, but he confessed that the actual number is a little less. The Corporation is taking steps to increase the percentage. A National Skill Certification Board will be set up for quality assessment of skill courses. Heat waves are set to intensify and stretch longer, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, meteorologist and secretary of the Union ministry of earth sciences, tells Nitin Sethi in an interview. Edited excerpts. Tell us about your findings in the new research paper you have co-authored on heat waves in India. We did an analysis of observational data of temperatures. We derived an index for heat waves. We analysed it over different parts of the country. We found that the frequency of heat waves is increasing in the key April-June season. We found that frequency is increasing that means the number of heat waves. Duration of the heat waves the total number of days during which heat waves occur is increasing. And, the maximum duration of heat waves is also increasing. When a heat wave comes it normally persists for 4-5 days. That too is set to increase. Earlier we used to have an average 4 days of heat waves, now it is 7 days. We tried to understand why it is happening. Some years there are no heat waves and some years there are more. We found that there are two forces EL Nino and another is the Indian ocean (sea surface temperatures). The year after El Nino we normally have more heat waves. Also Indian Ocean is a major controlling factor. It is not a regional or localised phenomenon. It is a large scale global pattern. The good news is, therefore, it is theoretically predictable. A local phenomenon is more difficult to predict. Our models will be able to predict four to five days in advance that a heat wave is coming. Will we able to narrow it down to what specific regions may face? Yes, exactly. May not be possible to do it at district level but region-wise and few states we can identify, such as central India and north-west region. One or two days before the heat wave we can identify with little more precision about region. We are trying to do it this year. This year we first issued an alert that the whole season would be above normal. That was based on our climate model predictions. There also we said the frequency of heat waves could be more compared to earlier years. That is happening now. I told you that El Nino and Indian Ocean are the two important factors. Future climate change projections show that frequency of El Nino will increase with increase in greenhouse gas emissions. So that can lead to more heat waves. Then, if you take all the oceans, Indian Ocean is warming at the highest rate. This warming will continue in the future. This is a very serious issue. Warming from Indian Ocean at large scale and higher frequency of severe EL Nino events is increasing. Put together that means heat waves are going to be increasing. It will be a very severe serious issue in coming years. The aridity we saw this year, which led to the drought we are seeing this year. Was it because of less rainfall in winters or was there more to it? We had two consecutive droughts. In between monsoons, especially over areas like Maharashtra, we dont expect much rains. Only in June September we get major rains. Winter one can expect rains only in areas like Punjab and Delhi. So theoretically only these four months are significant. Areas like Marathwada got less than half the normal rains over two years of monsoons. And, then people are extracting water from the ground. So that is the main problem. The characteristics of our rainfall is such that it doesnt rain every day of the 100-120 monsoon days. It rains only a few days. Even in a particular day it rains only a few hours not all 24 hours. So if you calculate the hours it rains, in most of the places, half of the total rainfall of a season comes in only 15-20 hours spread over the 120 odd monsoon days. So the intensity of our rain is very high. There is no time for that rainwater to go underground and it flows away as runoff and go aways. And this trend of intensive short-spells rains is increasing with climate change? Yes, that trend is increasing. So when it pours down it will pour heavily and it just flows off. Remaining rain comes after the big spells when temperature goes up. It comes in 1-2 mm and doesnt contribute much as it evaporates. So if you really want the water to go down you have to store the water. So rain-harvesting becomes all the more important? It is very important for our country. We should not allow water to flow away. So if am not mistaken, this also means greater challenges for farmers because the duration of rain and intensity of rain is going to change altering the windows for farming processes, such as sowing? Will it become difficult for farmers to understand when to sow, what etc? Yes, exactly. See, if rainfall was distributed uniformly with 5 mm of rain every day it would have been very easy. But actually few hours it rains very heavily and remaining hours it rains very little. So our agriculture practice has to be tuned to this. But this general trend of changes in monsoon have been available to us for few years for a while? Thats true. At least for past four to five years I would say. IITM Pune has been at the forefront of this work. That is true. How far have states been able to adapt to this information? So far, my impression is, they have not been able to do so. Probably we are not able to communicate properly. So last time we did a lot of state level policies when the last UN IPCC report came - projections and impact studies for state levels were done. So far we have not done it for the new report. You mean the Assessment Report 5 of the UN IPCC? Yes. We are doing it. The IITM is preparing downscale products (state specific reports). So I understand the union environment ministry is doing some state-level policies now (on climate change). We would be able to expect what are the state level scenarios of climate change impacts and then they can plan for their adaptation. You are a scientist and now also an administrator. What difficulties do you see in getting the government or states to respond to science? A general issue that impacts all countries of how governance and politics response to science. In the earlier days it was very difficult to convince people, especially state governments, to agree that these things are changing. Now of course that understanding and awareness of climate change is much more. People are now aware. If you talk to a state government official now they understand and try to accommodate it in their administrative system. They try to do some kind of action. Say this time when we talked of heat waves several cities drew up their heat action plans. For example, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhubhnewshwar, Nagpur did heat action plans. But was this because these are traditionally places where administration and people have faced heat waves? Yes in some ways. But say Delhi does not have a heat wave action plan. Rajasthan and UP do not have one. They can. When a heat wave warning is given by us what is the standing operating procedure that should be followed, they can develop one. Things like involving the health department, building shelters against heat waves for people who are on the roads. The people who die in heat waves are those who are on the roads or in open going somewhere. They are not giving enough warning that it can really harm you. So would it generally be people who are the poorest and marginal? And, people who travel on the road. They are exposed to the Sun for many long hours. Last year in Andhra Pradesh more than 2,000 people died in heat waves. I was told many people who passed away were those who were travelling in a bus, for example. They did not have water to drink. They did not expect it. It was very harsh and they didnt get to drink water and by the end of the journey they felt dizzy and many died. This kind of information system passing information through newspapers and radio telling people that when you go out be careful, use an umbrella, drink water these kind of warnings should be given. Your research paper says out of all the natural calamities, heat waves causes the largest number of deaths in India Yes, that is right. Cyclones lead to deaths but because our warnings are there people keep safer and the frequency of cyclones in India is not so high. But you can expect many heat waves in a year and they impact a much larger geographical area. For heat waves you are bringing new understanding now. But for issues such as meteorological drought, agricultural drought, there is a large understanding that has already existed. Why do the states sometimes fail to respond in time? Drought is not an instantaneous phenomenon. It persists for longer duration. So its not as if people are not aware that drought is happening. I dont want to comment on why people are not doing it. But they can do it. Unfortunately we do not have a drought policy in this country. We should. What would be the components of an ideal drought policy? It can vary from place to place. So accordingly we have to them specifically for different parts. But my feeling is you cant have one right away. One should start with dialogues and discussions how we want it and start writing some elements. In next two to three years we can have a drought policy. You think it takes that long? Yes, because India is not one homogeneous region and drought doesnt understand boundaries. See then, till last year our ministry used to say drought. We stopped it because of these regional variations that have to be accounted for. Yes, why did you stop calling it drought and instead announced deficient rainfall? When we announce a drought its not necessary it is going to happen through-out the country. If we say drought, the impression comes out as if we have a drought situation all across the country. It is usually not so. Drought we used to define for research purpose say when it is less than 10% deficiency. We used to assume that that a higher deficiency will effect a larger area but the area each year of where the drought hits and how badly it does can be different in intensity and spread. Then, we are basically stepping in to an issue that is in the domain of state government. Frankly speaking declaring drought is not in our domain. It is for the governments to declare. We dont want to jump in to kind of a declaration. We are not supposed to do that. We will say deficient monsoon, which can lead to a drought. Are scientists at greater liberty to talk about these issues in some countries than in others? We dont have any difficulty or obstructions. But normally in India we find that we scientists dont speak enough. Dont reach out to public Yes, dont reach out to public. We do our research and assume that we are doing our work. This is not good. This is why our ministry is now thinking of reaching out more to people. For example I am meeting you. We have got on social media. We want people to know more. My personal feeling is we are doing a lot of good things which is not being adequately communicated to the people as yet. We are going to change that. Not just to tell that we are doing good things but so that our products are used and utilised more. We are developing a strategy. Especially say our agro-met forecasts for food crops and farmers. They are very useful for people. But unfortunately we are reaching out to only about 20-30% of the farmers as of now. How do you reach out to them? Through different channels, radio, TV, newspapers and mobile. We find through third party assessments that the economic benefits of our agro-met forecasts are very high. So we can reach out to more. Similarly forecasts for our fisherfolk needs to spread. We are hardly reaching 10-15% fisherfolk at present. This shall be increased. An issue with your announcement of average annual monsoon is people think a normal monsoon prediction means normal monsoon all across the country whereas there can be large variations. This year do we have some inkling of how the distribution will be? We shall come out with the forecast by the next week or so where we shall be telling you about the four homogeneous regions. Unfortunately we cannot beyond that point at this moment. You mean we dont have the precision level to predict monsoon at smaller scales? Yes. We are planning to do it next year. Using the models we use right now we cant issue a state-specific forecast. But we have developed a dynamical, general circulation model which we are testing this year. Net year we shall be able to give state level predictions of rain. We shall give a spatial distribution of rainfall of which region will get more and which may get less. From there one can understand how the rains are going to be distributed. What resolution levels can we expect for these monsoon projections next year? At least at the state level to begin with by next year. Not beyond that. We know that is an urgent requirement. This year we are predicting an above normal monsoon but some pockets can have deficient rains. Every year its not the same so the spatial distribution of rain is very important. It may not be very accurate I should say. But we should get a good probability. Next monsoon we shall have this in place. What is the other information that you would be able to bring out at a more micro level because people react to this kind of information only when it is very specific? Next year our emphasis is to improve local city level forecast. At present we are going up to five days ahead but accuracy more than 2-3 days before rain is not so good at the moment. Sometimes people, in say towns like Delhi, want to know rain for the next hour that is not possible at the moment. The other thrust area is going to be tourism. Its a growing industry and there are many tourist destinations. So there we want to have a customised forecast. The people want different kind of forecasts based on the destinations. Say people going to Goa want to know whether they can go out to the sea and how the wind and Sun would be strong or not. Such kind of customisation we plan to do. Say someone going to Manali would like to know if it is snowing there or not. Does it divert away from your resources and main focus? Its a tough job but once you customise and automate it will work on its own. We are developing some mobile applications for people to use these customised forecasts. Do private forecasters give you a good challenge in creating such products that they are able to sell? So far there has been no impact of the presence of private forecasters. That is my personal feeling. Whoever are the current private forecasters they are not meeting the challenge the way our ministry is our work is much more. They cant reach our level especially in terms of quality of science in the way we do. They basically download someone elses forecast and giving to the people. Which everybody can do, even you can if you have a computer. What you need is a unique script and make a product. That is what they are doing. They dont have the infrastructure or science. But let them do it, we always welcome more. But I would like to say in none of other key countries such as US or UK, private entities dont generate forecast which is different from the national agency. Say Accuweather is famous. They take the information from the US weather agency and customise it and add value to it and give it to the users. In the US there are no two forecasters. You mean legally others are not allowed to forecast? Yes, legally. Whatever US agency produces it gives it to the people through website. Their rule is that it should be given free of cost to people. So raw data is available. All you have to do is download it, customise it and give it to people. And, if you make money out of it, the government doesnt bother. In the UK it happens the same way. Say BBC takes from the met office, customise it and give it to people but the actual forecast data is the same. In India this all is happening. They are downloading from someone elses model and making their forecast. So last year we gave a deficient monsoon and they have a normal monsoon forecast and there was a conflict. That is not a good sign. We are moving towards crop insurance systems, weather-based insurance systems etc. How mature is our information to facilitate this in terms of technology narrowed down to say the block level or even lower? We are right now giving agromet forecast say from 130 agromet units across the country. That we are going to reach a higher level and cover 660 districts with an office in each district. From that we would be able to give a block level forecast. At present its at district level and we shall scale it up to the block level by 2019. So farmers will be able to expect that by 2019. For the first time, the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has forayed into a non-member country by announcing setting up of a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India through its 100% subsidiary Islamic Corporation for the Development of the private sector (ICD). Based on the Islamic principle of not charging interest on loans, ICD will operate through a registered office in Mumbai, with prominent businessman from Gujarat, Zafar Sareshwala, heading its India operations as director. In an interview with Vinay Umarji, Sareshwala talks about how the NBFC will play a catalyst for small businesses by sharing their profits and losses instead of charging interest on extended. Excerpts: What kind of entity is Islamic Development Bank (IDB) setting up in India? How will it function? IDB is a multi-lateral bank like World Bank which does development work in its member nations and has an authorised capital of $150 billion. IDB has not worked in a non-member state before this. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent trip to Saudi Arabia, three developments took place. First, IDB announced donating medical mobile units worth Rs 380 crore. These are full fledged hospital which will be maintained by IDB for five years. These will be used in rural areas, beginning with 30 such units in Gujarat, followed by Bihar and Assam. Secondly, IDB has signed an agreement with Exim Bank for a $100 million line of credit which will result in IDB giving guarantee for Indian exporters in its member states such African or middle Asian Muslim nations. Thirdly, IDB's 100% subsidiary ICD will set up a NBFC in India as per RBI regulations with a paid up capital of Rs 200 crore. And it is an NBFC that it will function where it will engage in regular financing activities to businesses. How does the Islamic or participatory banking work? Under the Islamic or participatory banking, the NBFC of ICD will not charge interest. Rather it will share in the profit and loss of a venture. It is based on Islam's fundamental principle of being part of risk and reward both. The profit or loss sharing is pre-determined before disbursing after a thorough due diligence on the prospects of the business. The NBFC will go with a minimum share of 15% but it will vary from industry to industry. We don't want to eat into the entrepreneur's profits. We want to come to him as his catalyst and boost his entrepreneurial spirit. It is a win-win situation for both. Entrepreneur doesn't have to worry about paying interest while the NBFC could end up earning ample profits if the business succeeds which could cover losses elsewhere. How relevant is it to India? I think there is a segment in the industry, particularly the SMEs where it will be very relevant. These would people who have skills like Banaras weavers or carpet and glass manufacturers where artisans are involved. They don't require huge funds. And this is the segment where lot of jobs are created. And they are not serviced (by banks) because these industries do not have access to the banks and our focus would be to service such industries. The credit also goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership because this kind of money has not come in from IDB into any non-member nation before. It is being said that your initial operations will be in Gujarat. Why? Gujarat is densely involved in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Plus, my affinity is with Gujarat. Hence, we will start operations from Gujarat. What kind of businesses are most likely to make avail of the Islamic or participatory banking? Our focus would be manufacturing and engineering exports. This is where a small support is required. We will go with the lowest ticket size. For big people, is easily available. We want to get into the small businesses. NPAs are least among small businesses. What is the market for Islamic banking in the country and globally? How much share do you look to tap in this? EY has estimated the global Islamic fund at $1 trillion. We believe there is huge potential for Islamic banking in India. People have a wrong notion that this is only for Muslims but it is not so. Gradually, we should see larger acceptance. What kind of services will the NBFC offer? For now, basic NBFC activities of extending finance will be conducted. However, one area which IDB is looking at in near future is the Waqf fund where Waqf properties worth crores of rupees are lying in dilapidated condition. The problem with the Waqf board and trust which own and run these properties is that they don't have money. You need someone from the outside who can redevelop them. It will create huge potential for such properties such as slum rehabilitation under Waqf. The Waqf fund is worth billions of dollars and we have identified few properties which can be redeveloped initially. When and where will the next unit come up? What are your future expansion plans? We will have a registered office in Mumbai and we will work across the country. But Gujarat would be one of the important target markets for us. We have not set any targets for future expansion. RBI on Islamic banking A panel on financial inclusion headed by RBI executive director Deepak Mohanty came up with recommendations on interest free banking in December 2015. It had recommended that commercial banks in India may be enabled to open specialised interest-free windows with simple products like demand deposits, agency and participation securities on their liability side. The commercial banks may be allowed and to offer products based on cost-plus financing and deferred payment, deferred delivery contracts on the asset side. In the event that interest-free banking is allowed in India, the regulatory guidelines for capital and liquidity applicable for commercial banking would have to be made applicable to those (interest-free banking) as well. Amid growing uncertainty on whether the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor will get a second term after his tenure ends in September, the RBI governor himself has reportedly communicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relieve him of his duties after his term ends, Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika said on Wednesday. According to the newspaper, the RBI governor wants to return to the United States (US) to pursue his academic career, the newspaper reported, quoting anonymous sources. Rajan was a Professor of at the Chicago University's Booth School of Business before taking charge as the RBI supremo. His family has already left for the US, the newspaper reported. The 53-year-old economist may also consider associating himself with an university to carry out definitive research on the present state of the Indian economy, the report further said. According to the Bengali daily, Modi, despite strong opposition from lawmaker Subramanian Swamy, is reluctant to relieve Rajan after the end of term and wants him to continue as the RBI chief for a second term. minister Arun Jaitley has has also reportedly come forward in support of Rajan. The newspaper said that Jaitley is of the view that if Rajan is removed upon completion of his term, it may send out negative vibes to the national and international business community. Also, the policy and the outlook which the RBI took under Rajan's command, has aided the country's GDP growth. A bank job aspirant filed a case in madras high court against state bank of india for not allowing loan defaulters to apply for their recruitment of 17,000 junior associate (clerical cadre) jobs.He has also sought the court to direct SBI to cancel the recruitment & issue a fresh notification so that all candidates can apply. State bank of India had notified to fill 17000 junior associates & junior agricultural associates vacancies in March 2016. In addition to the regular eligibility conditions for age & educational qualifications, the notification had a clause In addition to the regular eligibility conditions for age & educational qualifications, the notification had a clause restricting loan repayment defaulters to apply for this recruitment. S Gurukrishna Gokul, an aspirant has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) on May 25 with the madurai bench of Madras high court against State Bank of India citing the above condition. This condition will prevent a large number of economically & socially backward candidates from applying for the posts.If they were appointed, after selection process, they would be able repay the loans", he contended. Instead of providing employment for candidates to make them repay loans, the bank is creating more educational loan defaulters by coming up with unreasonable & arbitrary ineligibility conditions". At a time when a large number of poor students were searching for jobs in government & public sector units, this condition made them ineligible to apply for these exams, he adds. The bench comprising of Justices R Mahadevan & SS Sundar have issued notices to the SBI chariman & central government asking them to reply within 2 weeks, on the petition seeking to cancel the clerk recruitment & issue a fresh notification. Will SBI recruitment be cancelled? Since the court has given two weeks time to explain their stand, what the union govt & SBI have to say on this PIL is yet to be seen. Whatever it is, their defense should be strong enough to convince the bench because the petition is about employment of lakhs of students. If you are wondering what could happen next, here are the possible outcomes: 1) If the bench finds fault with SBI, they may strike down the recruitment & order the bank to issue a new notification as sought by the petitioner. OR State bank may come up with an alternative solution of opening the application process again so candidates who couldnt apply earlier can register & appear for exams separately. 2) If SBI manages to convince the court by explaining the reasons behind such a rule, then the recruitment MAY NOT be cancelled.But loan defaulters wont be able to participate in SBI recruitments. Hence the final verdict of this PIL case will have a far reaching impact especially on those students who are completing their degree through loans & aspiring for bank jobs. Source: BankExamsIndia.com Ministry of Tourism has formulated an Action Plan for Incredible India Bed & Breakfast /Home Stay Scheme". The salient features of the Action Plan are as follows:- . . 1. As Home Stay / Bed & Breakfast is the need of the hour, it was decided to revisit the scheme guidelines and update it based on present and future requirements. . . 2. To ensure expansion of Home Stay Scheme in State where it is already prevalent and introduction where it is not there. . . 3. Move towards ease of doing business through rationalization of taxes, simplification of procedures etc. . . 4. Launch an aggressive marketing strategy to enlist more B&B Establishments. 5. Involve online travel agents in promoting this scheme and bring it on the fast-track. . . 6. Groups were constituted to study various aspects of this scheme and submit recommendations in a time bound manner. . . The Ministry of Tourism organised a Workshop on Incredible India Bed & Breakfast /Home Stay Scheme here on 30th May 2016. It was chaired by Shri Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, M/o Tourism and attended by officials from various State Governments, representatives from Hospitality and Travel Trade Industry, CEOs of online travel agents and officials of the Ministry of Tourism. . . This workshop was conducted with the prime objective of meeting shortage of rooms in accommodation sector specially the budget category. As construction of hotels has a long gestation period, it was felt that the desired additional hotel capacity can be supplemented substantially by giving impetus to the Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism as well as similar schemes run by the State Governments and Online Travel Agents. . . President of India condoles the loss of lives due to massive fire at the central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Wardha . The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the loss of lives due massive fire at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, Wardha district of Maharashtra. . . In a message to Shri Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra, the President has said I am sad to know about the massive fire at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, Wardha district of Maharashtra, in which some persons have lost their lives and many others are injured. I understand rescue as well as relief operations are currently underway. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the families who have lost their near and dear ones. . . I call upon the State Government and other authorities to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families as well as medical assistance to the injured. . . Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish speedy recovery to the injured persons". . . President of India to visit The Retreat in Mashobra near Shimla from June 2 to 6 . The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will visit The Retreat in Mashobra near Shimla from June 2 to 6, 2016. . . On June 3, 2016, the President will address the Golden Jubilee Convocation of Indira Gandhi Medical College. On the same day, Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Himachal Pradesh will host a cultural programme and banquet in honour of the President. . . The President will host a reception for senior dignitaries of the State, Ministers, officials, journalists etc. on June 5, 2016. . . The Retreat which is part of the Presidents Estate, is located in a picturesque surrounding, thousand feet higher than the Shimla Ridge Top. Originally constructed in 1850, it was taken over by the then Viceroy in 1895. . . The Union Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi today held another live Q&A session on Facebook India to discuss the achievements of the Ministry of Women & Child Development on completion of two years of Government. The interaction aimed to get a one-on-one feedback on citizens perspective of Good Governance and suggestions on the way forward for Transforming India. . . The live chat, which began at 9AM, received an overwhelming response with questions ranging from women's security to child health to the policies and schemes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Nearly 1500 questions received and 1,00,000 people were reached during the session with questions ranging from the recently released Draft National Policy for Women to Adoption, Violence against women, Harassment against elderly women to Child rights, Foster care, Gender sensitization, among others. The WCD Minister shed light on the various initiatives of the Ministry like digitisation of Anganwadis , One-stop centres to help women in distress, Training of women sarpanches, Panic buttons in phones, 33% reservation in police, Women volunteers in every village and several similar efforts for women and children of the country. She added that these initiatives have already started showing positive results and others would be apparent as time goes by. . . The chat had to be extended due to the heavy stream of questions. The Minister said, Facebook Live Chat will be a regular feature as it is one of the finest ways to connect with people in the tech-savvy world". . . As a pioneering initiative to connect with people, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has invited women journalists from across India to a common platform. This will be the first time that journalists from various corners of the country will be brought together with others from larger media houses on June 7, 2016 in New Delhi. This will provide them a platform to interact among themselves, as well as with the Minister and Ministry's officials. They will get an insight into the Governments initiatives for women and children which it is hoped will empower them to write constructively about the same. . . The WCD Minister, Smt Maneka Gandhi held the first Q & A session on Facebook India last year in September, in which she highlighted the new initiatives being taken up by the Government for women and children and also received valuable suggestions from the people. . . OPEC ministers gathering in Vienna for the group's biannual meeting said the oil market is moving in the right direction as a supply glut dissipates. While Saudi Arabia - the architect of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' current policy - remained silent, ministers from the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria signaled that the strategy of letting low prices eradicate surplus production is working. Some of the world's biggest oil traders said accelerating demand is also helping to rebalance the market. "From the beginning of the year until now, the market has ... A North Korean state media website has published an op-ed on describing presumptive US Republican presidential nominee as 'wise' and presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as 'dull'. A self-described Chinese North Korean scholar named Han Yong Mook, writing for DPRK Today, called Trump wise and a far-sighted presidential candidate. "The president that US citizens must vote for is not the dull Hillary who claimed to adapt the Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula, but Trump who spoke of holding direct conversation with North Korea," CNN quoted his writing as saying. The article translated by NK Today, an independent news site focused on North Korea, highlighted the New York billionaire's skepticism of American alliances in East Asia. Trump had earlier mused about withdrawing some or all of more than 75,000 US troops currently stationed in the South Korea and the Japan. "Japan is better if it protects itself against this maniac of North Korea," Trump told CNN in March. "We are better off, frankly, if South Korea is going to start protecting itself they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us," he added. The DPRK Today article said, "Who knew that the slogan 'Yankee Go Home' would come true like this? The day when the 'Yankee Go Home' slogan becomes real would be the day of Korean Unification." US' National Press Club President Thomas Burr slammed Donald Trump, ripping into the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for comments he made during a combative news conference. " misunderstands - or, more likely, simply opposes - the role a free press plays in a democratic society," Burr said in response to Trump's remark on Tuesday that journalists should be "ashamed of themselves" for digging into his fundraising efforts on behalf of veteran groups. "Reporters are supposed to hold public figures accountable. Any American political candidate who attacks the press for doing its job is campaigning in the wrong country. In the US, under our constitution, a free press is a check on politicians of all parties," Burr said. Trump has repeatedly called reporters "dishonest people" and referred to one journalist as a "sleaze" while speaking to reporters at Trump Tower on Tuesday, Politico reported. In February, the Manhattan billionaire raised alarms for warning that if he were elected president, he would work to "open up" libel laws to make it easier for public officials to sue media outlets. Later on Tuesday, Trump bashed his likely general-election opponent, Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton, for not taking more questions from the media. "I am getting great credit for my press conference today. Crooked Hillary should be admonished for not having a press conference in 179 days," he tweeted. are likely to may strong opening supported by robust gross domestic product (GDP) number which grew 7.6% in 2015-16, up from 7.2% a year ago. Besides, growth in the eight core sectors jumped to 8.5% in April, due to a sharp pick-up in refinery products and a commensurate rise in electricity generation. The countrys fiscal deficit for 2015-16 was Rs 5.32 lakh crore, about 99.5 per cent of the governments revised target of Rs 5.35 lakh crore, compared with 99.6 per cent for the same period a year before, official data showed on Tuesday. The early indicator, SGX Nifty has gained 19 points at 8,207 levels. Marking its first drop in six days, the Sensex on Tuesday came off its seven-month high, slipping 58 points, or 0.2 per cent, to end at 26,668, but managed to pull off its third straight monthly gain. On the global front, Asian stocks sagged on Wednesday as a slip in crude oil prices dampened investors' appetite for riskier assets, while the recently bullish dollar stalled against the euro and yen following a mixed bag of US economic data. Investors were also cautious ahead of official and private surveys on China's manufacturing activity which are expected to throw more cold water on hopes that the world's second-largest economy is picking up. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.8% as the yen firmed. CORPORATE NEWS Tata Motors-owned luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) broke the half a million mark for the first time in its history as per its latest vehicle sales results released this week. The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) will be in focus as they have increased prices of petrol by Rs 2.58 per litre and diesel rates by Rs 2.26 per litre in order to align the domestic rates of the automobile fuels with global prices. Countrys largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki will resume production of vehicles at its Gurgaon facilities from Wednesday. Reliance Industries (RIL) said it had signed agreements with Total SA of France for sale of its entire 76 per cent stake in Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (Gapco), for an undisclosed sum. ONGC Videsh (OVL), the foreign arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has signed an agreement with SOCAR Trading, trading arm of Azerbaijans government-owned energy firm, SOCAR, for foraying into oil trading business. IDFC Banks Bharat Banking division is eyeing government business such as disbursal of subsidy and scholarships in a big way. HDFC Bank, the countrys second-largest private sector lender, SmartBuy aims to double the spends on its marketplace. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday seized the properties of Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery, one of the countrys biggest bank loan defaulters. Reserve Bank has allowed Axis Bank to raise foreign shareholding to up to 62%, from the earlier limit of 49%. Public sector Andhra Bank on Tuesday said it plans to raise Rs 2,700 crore for 2016-17, as per the financial requirements of the financial year. International ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) on Tuesday affirmed the BBB+ rating on Reliance Industries with stable outlook, citing likely fall in its leverage due to improved operational performance. With Reuters input After a flat opening, gathered pace and continue to trade strongly on the back of better than expected GDP data. Indias manufacturing PMI stood at 50.7 as against 50.5 in April indicating an uptick in the manufacturing data. A strong rupee, decent fourth quarter results and advancement of monsoons have aided the sentiments. At 11:35 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 143 points to quote at 26,810 and the Nifty50 has climbed 43 points to trade at 8,203. SMART MOVERS PVR has hit a record high of Rs 907, up 3% on the BSE in early morning trade, extending its 5% gain in past two trading sessions, after reporting lower consolidated net loss at Rs 10 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q4FY16) compared to the same quarter last fiscal. Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest car maker maintained a double digit sales growth of 10% in the domestic market for May in spite of a production loss of approximately 7,500 units. The stock has inched up. IT stocks are witnessing buying interest with TCS, Infosys and Wipro up between 0.8%-2%. However, select banks continue to witness selling pressure with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank down between 0.5%-1%. Other prominent laggards include Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, Coal India and Sun Pharma down between 0.2%-2%. __________________________ (updated at 10:00 am) have gathered pace with Nifty trading above the 8,200 mark on the back of robust gross domestic product (GDP) number which grew 7.6% in 2015-16, up from 7.2% a year ago. At 10:00 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 163 points to quote at 26,831 and the Nifty50 has climbed 47 points to trade at 8,208._______________________(updated at 9:15 am)have opened the month of June on a flat-to-positive note as robust gross domestic product (GDP) number which grew 7.6% in 2015-16, up from 7.2% a year ago failed to build the momentum. At 9:15 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 52 points to quote at 26,720 and the Nifty50 has climbed 19 points to trade at 8,180. Geojit BNP Paribas in a technical note says last couple of indecisiveness has meant that directional move is maturing, and may unfold soon. Early bias is expected to be neutral, but a direct push above 8,225 expected to trigger short covering. But such an upmove is not expected to gain much ground, with 8,285 likely to pose challenges. Growth in the eight core sectors jumped to 8.5% in April, due to a sharp pick-up in refinery products and a commensurate rise in electricity generation. Meanwhile, the countrys fiscal deficit for 2015-16 was Rs 5.32 lakh crore, about 99.5 per cent of the governments revised target of Rs 5.35 lakh crore, compared with 99.6 per cent for the same period a year before, official data showed on Tuesday. Other major developments include price hike of petrol by Rs 2.58 per litre and diesel rates by Rs 2.26 per litre by the OMCs in order to align the domestic rates of the automobile fuels with global prices. TAXATION A slew of additional taxes announced in the Budget, including agriculture cess on services, equalisation levy, higher securities transaction tax on sale of options and tax collection at source on cash purchases for goods and services over Rs 2 lakh, will kick in from Wednesday. The 0.5% Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) on all services increases the total tax chargeable on services to 15 per cent, making it expensive to dine out or travel. GLOBAL MARKET Asian equities are trading in a mixed fashion in todays trade amid decline in the crude oil prices ahead of the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in Vienna on June 2. Japans Nikkei lost 0.8% on the back of a firming Yen. However, Chinas Shanghai is showing some strength after private surveys on China's manufacturing activity were roughly in line with expectations indicating a pick up in the economy. STOCKS Axis Bank is the top gainer of this hour up 2.6% after Reserve Bank allowed Axis Bank to raise foreign shareholding to up to 62%, from the earlier limit of 49%. Countrys largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki will resume production of vehicles at its Gurgaon facilities from Wednesday. Resumption of production at the Manesar plant may take more time. The Gurgaon plant has a capacity of 700,000 vehicles a year. Manesar is bigger at 800,000 units. The stock has gained 0.5%. Among other notable auto stocks M&M, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto have climbed between 0.5%-1% ahead of the auto sales numbers for the month of May. However, Tata Motors has shed 1% on account of profit booking. RIL is running at lower capacity at some plants and is undertaking shut down of two of its petrochemical units at Dahej in Gujarat in response to insufficient water to run the units, the company informed bourses on Tuesday. The stock is trading with marginal gains. Meanwhile, ONGC Videsh (OVL), the foreign arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has signed an agreement with SOCAR Trading, trading arm of Azerbaijans government-owned energy firm, SOCAR, for foraying into oil trading business. Tracking the development, ONGC has surged nearly 1%. Petrol price was hiked by Rs 2.58 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.26 per litre, the second increase in rates this month. Petrol will cost Rs 65.60 per litre in DELHI after the increase while diesel will cost Rs 53.93/litre. BPCL, IOC and HPCL have gained over 1% each. Sun Pharma expects 8-10% growth in sales in 2016-17, aided by "traction" across its businesses, and cautioned that a planned investment in the US is likely to impact short-term profits. The stock has inched higher. On the flip side, Banks continue to lose steam with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI trading lower between 0.3%-0.8%. Bata India Mentioned below is the Intra-day trading strategy on Bata India from Geojit BNP Paribas for today:: The momentum indicators are coming off the oversold region. MACD is about to cross the signal line. Volume has moved above 10 day average. Disclaimer: This report has been prepared by Limited (GBNPP), here in after referred to as GBNPP. GBNPP, a publicly listed company, is engaged in services of retail broking, credit, portfolio management and marketing investment products including mutual funds, life and general insurance and properties. Each recipient of this report should make such investigation as it deems necessary to arrive at an independent evaluation of an investment in the securities of companies referred to in this report (including the merits and risks involved). This document is not for public distribution and has been furnished to you solely for your information and must not be reproduced or redistributed to any other person. Persons into whose possession this document may come are required to observe these restrictions. Opinion expressed herein is our current opinion as of the date appearing on this report only. While we endeavor to update on a reasonable basis the information discussed in this material, there may be regulatory, compliance, or other reasons that prevent us from doing so. Prospective investors and others are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not predictions and may be subject to change without notice. Global index provider is expected to add mainland China-traded shares (called China A-shares) to its emerging market (EM) index, at its annual review on June 15. is Morgan Stanley Capital International. The move to include the worlds second biggest region in terms of market capitalisation is likely to squeeze others, including India, in the 21-nation index. Full inclusion of China A-shares (the likelihood is slim) could spark an outflow of up to $1.5 billion from the Indian . For, the EM is often used by global investors seeking exposure to developing nations like India. An estimated $75-80 bn worth of passive funds are channeled through this index. Additionally, a lot of active funds are also benchmarked to it. The mainland China shares have already rallied this week, in anticipation that they could soon be added to the global benchmark. Brokerages estimate the inclusion could lead to a flow of at least $16 bn into the Chinese . Currently, only Chinese shares traded in Hong Kong are part of the index, with a weightage of nearly 24 per cent. Indias weight is around 8.1 per cent. Morgan Stanley, the multinational financial services entity, says full inclusion of mainland China shares could reduce Indias weight by 170 basis points (bps) to 6.4 per cent, potentially triggering billions of dollars worth of sell-off. China A-shares could command a weightage of 18.2 per cent if included fully. Experts, however, see little chance of that happening and, therefore, dont see a huge impact on the Indian market in at least the near term. It is a 50-50 probability. Even if they do come in, it will be a relatively small initial inclusion factor. The announcement might be made in June but the inclusion will happen the following year middle of next year. It wont be negative for a market like India in terms of reshaping the EM indices, said Jonathan Garner, chief Asia & EM equity strategist, Morgan Stanley. Roughly, a 100 bps change in the index leads to passive flows of $0.8-1 bn. Experts feel the inclusion of China A-shares in the MSCI indices will happened in a phased manner. To begin with, mainland shares might have one to five per cent inclusion, as China is yet to address certain issues raised by MSCI. Saifullah Rais, quantitative analyst at Kotak Institutional Equities, who closely tracks flows into the Indian market, says full inclusion of China A-shares will take place in a phased manner. In a report earlier this week, Goldman Sachs increased the probability of inclusion of China A-shares in the MSCI indices from 50 per cent to 70 per cent. It said China had addressed two out of five concerns raised by MSCI in April. It added China would have to address the remaining issues like 20 per cent monthly fund repatriation limit for QFIIs (qualified foreign institutional investors), the anti-competitive clauses on index products and the daily quota limits on Stock Connect. The global brokerage said the road map by MSCI on how their global indices would change would be critical. A year before, MSCI had taken up the issue of including China A-shares in its global indices but had decided against it, due to issues such as limitations on foreign investors and ease of access. Credit rating agency Smera Rating Limited estimates that prices will be range bound between Rs 3,300 and Rs 3,900 per quintal based on a standard deviation of Rs 330 and average at Rs 3,600 by the next seasonal cycle that starts from September2016 and ends at April 2017. A forward contract price of Rs 4,000 will trigger a response from the government to cut import duty on raw and ease imports. However, Smera believes that this price point will fall further if, as expected, the monsoon remains healthy. Apart from India and other South Asian nations, sugarcane production has been very strong in Brazil and Latin American countries. Due to low Ethanol prices, Brazil has been using most of its sugarcane produce to manufacture putting downward pressure on prices. The recent upward trend (although not substantial) in future contracts is not only a result of adverse conditions prevailing in India but is also due to the appreciation of the Brazilian Real (Vs $). According to Smera perspective on Sugar, the currency will undoubtedly depreciate since the national economy is in contraction mode, thereby increasing export of sugar again. Furthermore, with Cuban trade restriction on the verge of being lifted, Cuban cane sugar will flood the market, cooling prices substantially. "Getting back to the domestic market, sugarcane remains an attractive crop and in Maharashtra alone, areas under sugarcane cultivation have grown on an average rate of 40 per cent in the last five decades. Even in drought years, production of sugarcane (harvested) increased on an average rate of 6-7 per cent," said Smera. In the September-April 2015-16 cycle, the production was roughly 26 million tons (just 2 million tons less than the previous year's) considering that the estimated annual demand in India is 25 million tons. Also, the rating agency believe that should monsoon be encouraging, farmers will cultivate sugarcane as their preferred crop since it offers better prices. The government is likely to take action once prices stabilise at the Rs 3,500 levels in order to offset rising production costs. In a protest against 'lack of cooperation' from Pakistani security forces, the Consulate General of Afghanistan in Peshawar has been closed for an unspecified time. An official at the mission confirmed that consulate closed operations on Tuesday after vehicles of their diplomatic staff were stopped at a security checkpoint. "The vehicles were stopped even though they had diplomatic registration numbers," the Express Tribune quoted the officials as saying adding the mission had stopped working to register protest with the Pakistan government. According to reports, the Afghan Embassy also confirmed the development. A day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the attack on Congolese national Masunda Kitada Oliver was not racially motivated, Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) on Wednesday criticised the central government regarding attacks on African natives. "Attacks on African nationals in the national capital tell that there is an jungle raj in Delhi," JD (U) leader K.C Tyagi told ANI. Hitting out at the Delhi Police for going smooth on the culprits, Tyagi said police are in quandary with regard to taking actions on the perpetrators involved in these attacks. "On the other side the relations are witnessing a setback due to these incidents," he added. When asked to respond on attack on a cab driver by six Africans after he refused to take on board more than four, Tyagi said he is against any kind of violence. "The government should act on it. We have the relations with Africans since the age of Gandhi and the clouds of uncertainty are looming over these relations due to these violences, Delhi must be saved from the ' jungle raj'," he said. The remark from the JD-U comes in wake of a meeting between the External Affairs Minister and delegation of African students in Delhi. "The incident is not only unfortunate but painful. Being a mother I can understand the pain of Oliver's parents who lost their son on a foreign soil," the Minister said. Oliver, 23, was allegedly beaten to death by a group of men in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, on May 20. The incident took place around 11.45 p.m. on Friday when Oliver had a heated argument with a group of three people at Kishangadh locality in Vasant Kunj. Swaraj assured that a thorough probe will be initiated into the case. "We have chalked out a plan as per which, our ministers will visit every metro city and hold discussions with African students. We will initiate awareness and sensitisation in areas with maximum population of African students,so that such incidents don't recur," she added. Professor Peter Hodgson, Interim Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Deakin University a top Australian expert and researcher in advanced manufacturing and material sciences is presently in India till June 17 to look at opportunities for collaboration with the country. Australia's High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu, has welcomed the visit, which began on May 30. "The visit offers an opportunity for both Australia and India to work together in developing newer and innovative technology for manufacturing. As the Indian government and industry implement Prime Minister Modi's 'Make in India' campaign, the need for a globally competitive manufacturing and research and development sector is greater than ever," Sidhu said. Professor Hodgson will deliver lectures on trends in advanced manufacturing and university-industry collaborations at institutions in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore. These include the Indian Institute of Technology and the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, and Anna University. In Bangalore, he will give a plenary address at the International Conference on Advanced Materials and Applications hosted by the Businayana Mukundadas Sreenivasaiah College of Engineering. The conference provides an interdisciplinary forum for young researchers, industry and academia to discuss innovation, trends and challenges. Professor will also hold discussions with key industry stakeholders to explore opportunities for university- industry partnership in the sector. He will also participate in the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), a Government of India program to deliver lectures on Advanced Steels for the Automotive Industry and other sectors at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Professor Hodgson has made important research contributions. He has over 600 research publications and has presented more than 40 keynote lectures at international conferences related to the physical metallurgy and modelling of steels. The visit is taking place under the Australia India Education Council's (AIEC) Eminent Researcher Lecture Program. The is a bi-national body co-chaired by the Australian and Indian Education Ministers, for driving the Australia India education, training and research agenda. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all Kharif Crops of 2016-17 seasons. Further, to incentivise cultivation of pulses and oilseeds , in the country, the Government has announced a bonus on these crops, payable over and above the approved MSP. The decision to increase MSPs is based on the recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which takes into account the cost of production, overall demand-supply, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the likely effect of the Price Policy on the rest of economy, besides ensuring rational utilization of production resources like land and water, while recommending MSPs. The CACP being the expert body, its recommendations are generally accepted as such. However, to incentivise cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, the Cabinet has decided to give a bonus, over and above the recommendations of the CACP, of Rs.425/- per quintal for kharif pulses, namely Arhar (Tur), Urad and Moong, a bonus of Rs 200/- per quintal for Sesamum and a bonus of Rs 100/- per quintal for other kharif oilseeds namely, Groundnut-in-shell, Sunflowerseed, Soyabean, and Nigerseed. There is an increasing gap between the demand and domestic supply of pulses and oilseeds and reliance on import is increasing. Government has, therefore, announced this bonus on pulses and oilseeds to give a strong price signal to farmers to increase acreage and invest for increase in productivity of these crops. The increase in cultivation of leguminous pulses and oilseeds will also have additional environmental benefits as these crops are less water consuming and help in nitrogen fixation in the soil. The prices would be effective from 1.10.2016. Food Corporation of India (FCI) will be the designated central nodal agency for price support operations for cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will be the central nodal agency for undertaking price support operations for Cotton. Besides increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of Kharif crops, Government has also taken several farmer friendly initiatives over the last one year. Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari has said the challenge for the modern is to accept diversity as an existential reality and to configure attitudes and methodologies for dealing with it. "In developing such an approach, the traditional virtue of tolerance is desirable but insufficient; our effort, thinking and practices have to look beyond it and seek acceptance of diversity and adopt it as a civic virtue," said Vice President Ansari. "We in India are attempting it, cannot yet say that we have succeeded, but are committed to continue the effort. We invite all right-minded people to join us in this endeavour," he added. The Vice President said that Indian Muslims have lived in India's religiously plural society for over a thousand years and that has impacted on modern India and its existential reality of a plural society on the basis of which a democratic polity and a secular state structure was put in place. He said that the framers of the Indian Constitution had the objective of securing civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights as essential ingredients of citizenship with particular emphasis on rights of religious minorities. Vice President Ansari said the Muslim experience in modern India is that its citizens professing Islamic faith are citizens, consider themselves as such, are beneficiaries of the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution, participate fully in the civic processes of the polity and seek correctives for their grievances within the system. "There is no inclination in their ranks to resort to ideologies and practices of violence," he added while delivering a lecture at the Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, today on the topic 'Accommodating Diversity in a Globalising World: The Indian Experience'. He said that in countries having complex societal makeup, accommodation of diversity in political structures and socio-economic policies is not an option but an imperative necessity ignoring which can have unpleasant consequences. The Vice President said that the Indian model was of relevance to our globalizing because in India, an attempt was being made to look beyond the traditional virtue of tolerance and seek acceptance of diversity and adopt it as a civic virtue. He further said even in distant India, the contribution of Moroccan intellectuals to modern thought and challenges is known and acknowledged. "Names like Abdullah Al-Arui and Abid al-Jabri readily come to mind; so do the contributions of feminist writers like Fatima Mernisi and Fatima Sadiqi. The challenge in each case was that of modernity and the contemporary responses to it," he said. Vice President Ansari said the misfortunes visited on Arab lands since the 19th century was in good measure a result of their proximity to Europe in the age of imperialism. "In current discussions in many places, the terms 'Arab' and 'Islam' are used together or interchangeably. But are the two synonymous? Is Arab thought synonymous with Islamic thought? Is all Arab thought Islamic or visa versa? Above all, can all Islamic thinking be attributed to Arabs?" he added. Vice President Ansari said Islam is a global faith and its adherents are in all parts of the . "The history of Islam as a faith, and of Muslims as its adherents, is rich and diversified. In different ages and in different regions the Muslim contribution to civilisation has been note worthy," Vice President Ansari said. "In cultural terms, the history of Islam 'is the history of a dialogue between the realm of religious symbols and the world of everyday reality, a history of the interaction between Islamic values and the historical experiences of Muslim people that has shaped the formation of a number of different but interrelated Muslim societies'," he added. Vice President Ansari said India counts amongst its citizens the second largest Muslim population in the world. "It numbers 180 million and accounts for 14.2 percent of the country's total population of 1.3 billion. Furthermore, religious minorities as a whole (Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis or Zoroastrians) constitute 19.4 percent of the population of India," he added. Vice President Ansari said India's interaction with Islam and Muslims began early and bears the imprint of history. "Indian Muslims have lived in India's religiously plural society for over a thousand years, at times as rulers, at others as subjects and now as citizens. They are not homogenous in racial or linguistic terms and bear the impact of local cultural surroundings, in manners and customs, in varying degrees," Vice President Ansari said. "Through extensive trading ties before the advent of Islam, India was a known land to the people of the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf, and western Asia and was sought after for its prosperity and trading skills and respected for its attainments in different branches of knowledge. Thus Baghdad became the seeker, and dispenser, of Indian numerals and sciences," he added. He said an Indo-Islamic culture developed in India over centuries of intermingling and interaction. Vice President Ansari further said globalization has many facets - economic, political and cultural. "All necessitate the emergence of a set of norms, values and practices that are universally accepted. A sociologist has defined it as 'the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole," Vice President Ansari said. "An obvious implication of this would be assimilation and homogenization. In a world of intrinsically diverse societies at different levels of development, this could only result in denial of their diversity and imposition of uniformity. Such an approach can only result in conflict," he added. The Moroccan University later conferred an honoris causa degree on Vice President Ansari. The Congress on Wednesday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for cornering party chief Sonia Gandhi over the land deal controversy surrounding her son-in-law Robert Vadra, saying the so called supreme power is 'no court of justice' and must proceed as per the law. Congress leader Salman Khurshid said the BJP is not playing fair and square, adding the ruling party should go ahead and hold a fair enquiry into Robert Vadra's land deals if they have any doubts. "Considering themselves the supreme power, they think they can run trials on people in the media or even outside the court. They have to understand they are not the 'courts of justice' and they cannot condemn anyone before they have a chance to say something in their defence," Khurshid told ANI. "Congress president Sonia Gandhi has just asked for a fair enquiry, now the BJP objecting over that as well is beyond my understanding," he added. The Congress president, who visited her parliamentary constituency Bareli in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, backed her son-in-law Robert Vadra against allegations that he owns a house in London, funded by an arms dealer, and dared the BJP-led government to probe the matter in an unbiased manner. "This is also a political conspiracy. What do you mean by 'Congress-mukt Bharat'? Every day, they give excuses and level wrong allegations," said Gandhi. "If this (allegation) is true, then they should conduct an unbiased probe. Everything will become clear," she added. The Congress president was also critical of the BJP-led NDA regime for celebrating its two years in office and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was behaving like a "shehenshah". The BJP hit back at Gandhi, saying the "blessings of 10, Janpath" was the reason behind Vadra's wealth. According to reports, Vadra is being probed after the Income Tax (IT) raids on arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari's office revealed alleged links between the duo and cryptic references to a London property. Vadra's lawyers, however, rubbished the charges. The Congress on Wednesday looked elated amid reports of Congress vice-president to be given the party's throne and said that the grand old party would strengthen under the leadership of a hard working leader. All India Mahila Congress president Shobha Oza expressed her delight over the news and said that the entire party was waiting for this moment. "The entire Congress has been waiting for this and we are very happy that is going to become the party president," Oza told ANI. She further stated that has been working hard for the revival of Congress from the streets to Parliament. Former Punjab chief minister and senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh on his part expressed hope that Rahul would do a good job as the party president. "It is high time that the youngsters should be given opportunities. It is for Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has served for 20 years, to take a call on her successor," he added. According to sources, Rahul Gandhi will soon be crowned as the Congress president. The grand old party is also likely to make major changes in senior positions following a series of defeats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the recent elections in various states of the country. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday questioned the authenticity of the forensic report, which stated that the meat found from Dadri lynching victim Mohammad Akhlaq's house was of cow or its progeny. "You (media) know everything. Everybody wants justice for the family. According to the Constitution, all citizens shall get equal rights. We are looking into the matter. We will ensure justice for Akhlaq's family. We will also investigate where the meat was actually found. There was nothing in Akhlaq's house which was objectionable, nothing in his fridge. Who eats what should not matter," Yadav told the media here. His remarks came after a report prepared by a forensic lab in Mathura concluded that the meat found in the victim's house was beef. Fifty-two-year-old Akhlaq and his son Danish were attacked by a mob at Bisada village in Dadri over rumours that they had slaughtered a cow in September last year. "On the basis of chemical analysis the sample belongs to cow or its progeny," states the final result section of the report, signed by the Joint Director of the Forensic investigation Laboratory, Mathura. The incident had sparked a nationwide debate over intolerance, with the opposition parties launching a full-fledged attack on the ruling government over the alleged growing intolerance in the country. Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai will be visiting Islamabad next month on the invitation of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. "I've received an invitation from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a couple of days back," the Express Tribune quoted him as saying. He thanked Premier Nawaz and prayed for his recovery from the recent heart surgery in London. Stating that cordial relations between Kabul and Islamabad were in the interest of both the neighbours, he praised Pakistan and its people for extending 'tremendous support and hospitality' to millions of Afghan refugees at a very crucial time. "The Afghans will remember their unprecedented support forever," he added. Karzai, who was known for his Pakistan-bashing during his elongated presidency also talked about Pakistan's Afghan policy. "The Pakistani establishment should focus on strengthening friendly relations with the Afghans instead of using pressure tactics. Strategic depth should not be imposed on us - this should be replaced with a policy of friendship," he said. He asserted that all issues between both nations could easily be resolved politically through mutual understanding and sought to quash the impression that the Afghan government could not take decisions as a sovereign nation. Fortis Healthcare was adjudged "Hospital of the Year in India" and "Digital Savvy Hospital of the Year" at the 2016 APAC Healthcare and Medical Tourism Awards held recently at Bangkok, Thailand. The awards event was part of the 2016 Asia Pacific Healthcare & Medical Tourism MindXchange Conference whose objective was to address the challenges and future of smart technologies in healthcare and the evolving role of healthcare service providers. A joint collaboration between Frost & Sullivan and the Global and Travel (GHT) publication, the inaugural 2016 APAC HEALTHCARE & MEDICALTOURISM MINDXCHANGE started as the premier Healthcare conference in Asia. With core themes around healthcare delivery, hospital efficiencies, hospital experience and Medical Tourism, this conference provided expert insight into the main trends that are expected to transform Healthcare delivery in the years to come. The 2016 Asia Pacific Healthcare & Medical Tourism Awards instituted jointly by Frost & Sullivan and Global and Travel aim to give recognition to organizations in healthcare and medical tourism across Asia Pacific. The key criteria for the winners included those who have maintained consistently high standards in delivering customer value and demonstrated outstanding performance in terms of initiatives that can improve the way healthcare is delivered through leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Bhavdeep Singh, CEO, Fortis Healthcare Limited, said, "It is indeed an honour to be adjudged "Hospital of the year in India" and "Digital Savvy Hospital of the Year" at the 2016 APAC Healthcare and Medical Tourism Awards. This is a recognition of the values we strive for through our continued and tireless efforts towards patient-centric healthcare. At Fortis, we believe in challenging ourselves to bring about greater accessibility, affordability and reliability in delivering quality healthcare. Driven by the values of Patient Centricity, Integrity, Innovation, Teamwork and Ownership, we strive to surpass our own exacting standards. Seems like producer Homi Adajania is having a gala time with pal 'Fat Cheeks' aka Deepika Padukone while shooting for 'Raabta'. The 'Finding Fanny' director recently took to Instagram to share a picture of him having fun with close friend Deepika in Budapest and captioned it as "Always fun to have fat cheeks back!" The 30-year-old actress who will be seen shaking a leg in a sexy item song for 'Raabta' has begun shooting for the movie. The song is composed by Pritam and is said to be a foot tapping number. 'Raabta' that stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon will hit the theaters on February 10 next year. Speaking at the NIKKEI Conference on the theme "The Future of Asia", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley emphasized the role of various reforms and measures by the government in improving the health of Indian economy amidst the tepid global environment and challenging domestic environment due to two years of bad monsoons. The high powered FICCI delegation to Japan accompanying Finance Minister participated in the NIKKEI Conference, which was followed by a roundtable on National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Jaitley spoke on the series of structural reforms that have facilitated India's high growth including large public spending on infrastructure, liberalization of investment regime, and improvement in ease of doing . He also highlighted the focus being laid on rural development and social security, which are critical for long term development of the country. With better prospects of monsoons this year, combined with improved urban demand and continuation of reforms, he expressed optimism in maintaining or even improving the growth rate in the current fiscal. Amongst the key legislative reforms, Jaitley highlighted the importance of recently passed Bankruptcy law, which will make the exit from unviable easy. He also expressed optimism for early introduction of Goods and Services Tax. Later, in the roundtable discussion on National Investment and infrastructure (NIIF) with various Japanese fund managers, the Finance Minister spoke about the potential opportunities in the infrastructure sector in India, especially in roads, highways, railways, ports and airports, several of which are being developed in a PPP mode. He urged the Japanese companies, having huge expertise and technology in these areas, to be an active partner in India's growth story. He also urged the Japanese investors to make use of the NIIF, which is a flexible way of investing in India's infrastructure development. Highlighting the potential opportunity for Japanese Investment in India's infrastructure, Dr. Saurabh Garg, Joint Secretary (Investment) said that over USD 700 billion of investments are being planned in infrastructure sector and significant reforms have been implemented to create financially attractive projects for investors. He said that NIIF is a unique vehicle to tap this opportunity and offers a good platform to foreign investors to make attractive returns. NIIF is an ideal blend of private sector entrepreneurship with government support. Harshavardhan Neotia, President FICCI complemented Japanese companies which have actively participated in India's mega infrastructure projects. "There is definitely no match for Japanese technology and expertise in high-speed railways and we look forward to many such partnership projects across the country," he said. Koichi Yajima, COO, Japan Bank of International Coop (JBIC) mentioned that JBIC surveys have ranked India as the most attractive and promising investment destination for Japanese manufacturing companies. He highlighted some of the key areas where Japanese companies are currently participating in India, including DMIC, renewable and other Make in India projects. Given India's infrastructure deficit and requirement of huge investments in this sector, Yajima also expressed hope that NIIF will provide good opportunity for Japanese companies for making investment in India's infrastructure. President Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the loss of lives due to a massive fire at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon in Maharashtra's Wardha district. In a message to Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra, the President said "I am sad to know about the massive fire at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, Wardha district of Maharashtra, in which some persons have lost their lives and many others are injured. I understand rescue as well as relief operations are currently underway. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the families who have lost their near and dear ones. I call upon the State Government and other authorities to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families as well as medical assistance to the injured. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish speedy recovery to the injured persons". The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday intensified its attack on Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse, alleging there was "black money" involved in the purchase of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) land near Pune. "The way MIDC's land worth Rs. 23 crores was bought for just Rs. 3 crores, the black money was used in it and it clearly indicates that there is a case of conflict of interest," NCP leader Nawab Malik told ANI. "There are serious allegations against Khadse, including his conversation with Dawood Ibrahim (Mumbai underworld fugitive) from Karachi," he added. Malik said when there are grave allegations against Khadse, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should remove him from his post. "But the BJP and Chief Minister Fadnavis and several others are trying to defend the Revenue Minister at a time when there are several cases registered against him," he added. The NCP leader's reactions came after there were media reports that Chief Minister Fadnavis had summoned the Revenue Minister. A delegation of Congress ministers also met the Maharashtra Governor and demanded the Khadse's resignation over the land deal and his involvement in calls made to gangster Dawood Ibrahim in Pakistan. However, Khadse had denied changing reservation of the MIDC plot at Bhosari, as acquisition process was in progress. The Aam Aadmi Party had recently demanded Khadse's ouster, alleging that calls were made from Dawood's residence in Karachi to his mobile phone, a charge the minister rubbished as "baseless" saying the phone number was not in use for last one year. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave approval for a new broad gauge line of length 51 kilometers between Mau Station of North Eastern Railway and Tarighat Terminal station of East Central Railway. The estimated cost of this project is Rs. 1,765.92 crore and the expected completion cost is Rs. 2,109.07 crore with five percent of escalation per annum. The project is likely to be completed in the next six years during the 12th and 13th Plan period. This project will provide alternative, shorter convenient and create better transport infrastructure to the area separated by river Ganga so as to remove the transport difficulties in the area and boost socio-economic development. The catchment area of project line will serve a passenger requirement and facilitate the people of the area for travelling to different parts of the country. In addition, this new line will provide an alternative route connecting of Northern and East Central railway via NE Railway. This project line has huge potential in enhancing railway traffic and it also gives opportunity to develop this area by providing more efficient transportation system. The new line, which crosses river Ganges at the downstream of existing road bridge for NH 97, is located almost parallel to it and joins the existing BG line from Tarighat to Dildar Nagar. This line will be alternative route for trains passing from Howrah to New Delhi. The construction of this new line will provide a link to Allahabad-Patna double line electrified section. It will also decongest the Allahabad-Mugalsarai-Patna route particularly around Mugalsarai yard. A senior official of the Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health has assured that there are no epidemics in the country weeks after the floods and landslides ravaged the island leaving over 400,000 people affected. Dr. Palitha Mahipala, Director General of Health Services confirmed that the flood affected areas are free from epidemics, reports Colombo Page. Mahipala said that as of May 31st, fifty-nine medical teams comprising doctors, nurses and dispensers were working in makeshift camps in the flood affected areas to provide the health care for the displaced people. He added that a decision has been taken to keep all the Out Patient Departments (OPD) in government hospitals in the severely affected districts of Colombo, Gampaha, and Kegalle open until 8.00 p.m. during the relief period. Mahipala, however, warned of the high possibility for the rat fever in those flood affected areas. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry's Epidemiology Unit has advised the people to drink boiled or bottled water, eat fully cooked foods and refrain from eating raw vegetables and greens. The unit also cautioned chances are high for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue to spread as the flood waters recede. Asserting that the US drone strikes were regrettable, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday said that it must stop, as it is a threat to the sovereignty and security of the country. Speaking after attending President Mamnoon Hussain's address to a joint session of Parliament, he said that the China- Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a national project and must be completed at any cost. "The security situation in Karachi and Balochistan is improving," Dawn quoted him as saying. He also said that border management with Afghanistan was improving, and now the responsibility lies with Kabul as there were fewer checkposts on the other side. "Operation Zarb-i-Azb is underway across the country and failure is not an option for us," said Sharif. "We have to maintain the victories of Operation Zarb-i-Azb. Terrorists will not be allowed to re-enter into areas cleared in South Waziristan and North Waziristan," he added. Earlier in the day, President Mamnoon Hussain addressed a joint session to mark a new year in Parliament, discussing national security and foreign policy. During the address, he said that Pakistan's democracy has been strengthened to the extent that it can now withstand various crises. Describing India as a major emerging economy that is gaining heightened prominence on the world stage, Australia's High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu, said Wednesday that it is pleasing to see the bilateral relationship between New Delhi and Australia in such good shape. "The texture of the bilateral relationship has become much richer than it once was. Some have described it as having reached 'a high watermark'. "Almost half a million, out of a total Australian population of 24 million, are of Indian origin. There are 53,000 Indian students studying in Australia today, our second largest source of overseas students. And 233,000 Indians visited Australia in 2015, making India our eighth largest source of visitors. There is an increasing network of collaborative work and other links between our universities and other institutions. And, commercial ties have developed significantly," Sidhu said. "Trade and investment between Australia and India now spans a wide range of industries, products and services - from mineral and energy commodities, to sophisticated manufactured goods; from large-scale services and skills training, to niche products in many different sectors. But, on the economic front, I have to say there is also a lot of unfulfilled potential in the relationship too," she added. One comparison that a number of observers have made is that, while Australia's two-way trade with India is at A$18 billion, it is barely more than one-tenth of our two way trade with China, which stands at A$150 billion. And investment, too - in both directions - is well below what it could, and perhaps should, be. Sidhu said leaderships of both countries have given a commitment in 2014 to reinvigorate negotiations on the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). She said that the opening of the two economies would have to be visualized through three broad themes: First, Explore perspectives on the relationship between trade liberalization and economic development Second, Look at the different types of 'trade architecture' which help both move collaboratively toward trade reform And third, Survey current developments in regional trade agreements and consider where these, as well as bilateral endeavours such as the CECA could take both nations. On the first theme, Sidhu said, "Australia has fared best when we have allocated our productive resources to the things we do best, using part of the income from these to import things we are relatively less efficient at producing." "India, of course, has a much larger population. And there is a view in some quarters that this means India can satisfy its growth requirements through its large domestic market. But I think India would be selling itself well short were it to take this stance. We can look at China, a country of similar dimensions to India, to see an example of the enormous contribution that international trade can make to national economic growth." On the theme of trade as part of the reform agenda, she said, "India is today recognised as an emerging economic giant - now the third largest economy if measured on a purchasing power parity basis. India has reaped substantial benefits from its reforms. GDP growth has risen to an average of around 6.5 per cent since the 1990s. The Indian government continues to press ahead with its program to improve the workings of the economy, including in important areas such as tax reform, bankruptcy legislation and cutting red tape. Australia welcomes these efforts." She, however, said that it is equally important to achieve reform on the trade policy front, because experience shows that reform contributes most powerfully to national growth when it is taken forward comprehensively, across the spectrum of economic policy areas. On the theme of trade agreements and trade liberalization moving together, she said, "With the benefits it offers, trade reform has often been undertaken unilaterally. Both Australia and India have done this at various times. That said, the fact is that trade liberalisation also often occurs through negotiated trade agreements - be they multilateral, regional or bilateral. Over and above the benefits yielded by unilateral trade liberalization, trade agreements can provide a further stimulus to trade through the greater access they provide to trading partners' markets." She added, "Modern trade agreements are not just about getting tariffs down. They are much more than that. They usually cover services and investment as well as goods. They are as much about removing barriers behind the border as at the border. Trade agreements also deliver that most valuable commodity to - confidence about the operating environment. They provide more certainty about the rules under which operates. And trade agreements should be comprehensive if the full benefits are to be delivered. They should set an environment that is broad enough for trade and investment between the partners to evolve over time - to grow into new areas, beyond products and services already traded between the partners." However, she said, trade agreements are not about balancing bilateral trade flows between partner countries. In a multi-country world, and one where imports from one source are often the inputs for exports to another destination, it makes no sense to try to 'even up' the exports and imports between individual countries. "The fundamental insight on trade is that both parties can benefit from the one commercial transaction. Trade is not about winning more than the other party. It's about win-win. This is so whatever the relative size of the partners. A bigger economy might have bigger markets, but it will probably also have more consumers, more businesses to benefit from global inputs, and more exporters ready to enter new markets," she said. "Australia, like India, sees the multilateral route as the 'first-best' option to achieve trade liberalization and reform. We believe that maintaining a strong and effective multilateral trading system should remain a core trade policy objective for us all. That said, at the present time, there seems no viable prospect of a big multilateral deal," Sidhu said. "From my perspective, India should have a regional voice commensurate with its size and economic weight. Australia supports India's growing participation in the economic architecture of the region. Our increasing reference to the 'Indo-Pacific', rather than the earlier term of 'Asia-Pacific', reflects this desire to embrace India as a key contributor to building regional cooperation and integration," she said. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to chair the throne of the grand old party, later this month, says sources. Congress Welfare Committee (CWC) is expected to meet this month and take the decision. With Gandhi being elevated as party's president, AICC reshuffle has also been predicted on the cards. Younger Congress aspirants are reportedly expected to get key positions in the party, where as the older party functionaries will be asked to step down. However, difference in opinion in this regard seems to exist within the party. According to reports, most of the Congress veterans are uncomfortable with what some described as the Rahul's brusque and impatient style of functioning and wish for incumbent president Sonia Gandhi to steer the helm of the party for some more time. The most spectacular celebration of Indian Cinema worldwide, IIFA Weekend & Awards are all set to take place in Madrid, Spain this year from 23rd to 26th June, and the talented and funny duo of Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor will be returning to enthral the audience with their extraordinary camaraderie. It's no surprise that this year's IIFA awards are going to be quite an extravaganza with 'Raju' and 'Pappu'! At the announcement press conference for the Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend & NEXA IIFA Awards in New Delhi, the multitalented actor Farhan Akhtar said that he can't wait to share the stage with Shahid Kapoor, with whom he shares a great rapport and has hosted the 13th as well as 15th IIFA Awards in Singapore and Tampa Bay respectively. Commenting on their chemistry, the 'Rock On 2' actor said, "This is the third year and I do promise you that both of us will be toiling hard to make sure it is an entertaining experience. There is a certain ease that we have and a very great chemistry. Shahid and me had a great time hosting twice before this, so it's going to be a reunion of Raju and Pappu". The duo had put up an interesting show as hosts of the gala in 2012 and 2014 and had christened each other with nicknames- Raju aur Pappu. Shahid Kapoor had previously admitted that he had the most fun hosting the 13th edition of IIFA Awards in 2012 with the 'Wazir' star and added that he has "awesome memories" from that time. Speaking about IIFA Awards being hosted in Spain, Farhan admitted that he is really excited to host the event and to go to Madrid as it is one of his favourite "go-to" destinations as well as he also starred in Spain-set road trip movie 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'. "I have fond memories of being in Spain especially having shot my movie 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'. Even now when I plan my holidays I prefer going to Spain. It is a different experience and I am so happy that the country is hosting this year's IIFA," he said. The awards ceremony will witness stellar performances by Bollywood A-listers like Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Sonakshi Sinha among others. Shares of two aviation companies dropped by 1.63% to 2.23% at 12:55 IST on BSE after the public sector oil marketing companies increased jet fuel prices. The jet fuel prices were revised by the public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 82.94 points or 0.29% at 26,745.29. InterGlobe Aviation (down 2.23%) and Jet Airways (India) (down 1.63%) declined. SpiceJet rose 0.66%. Indian Oil Corporation yesterday, 31 May 2016 increased jet fuel prices by 9.22% to Rs 46,729.48 per kilolitre in Delhi with the corresponding revision in prices in other states depending on state levies. The revised jet fuel prices took effect from today, 1 June 2016. Jet fuel constitutes over 40% of an airline's operating costs. Prices of jet fuel are directly linked to crude oil prices. PSU OMCs review jet fuel prices on the last day of the month based on the average imported oil price in the preceding fortnight. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for a new broad gauge line between Mau Station of North Eastern Railway and Tarighat Terminal station of East Central Railway. The total length of this new broad gauge line will be 51 kilometers. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.1765.92 crore and expected completion cost is Rs.2109.07 crore with 5 percent escalation per annum. The project is likely to be completed in the next six years during 12th and 13th Plan period. This project will provide alternative, shorter convenient and better transport infrastructure to the area separated by river Ganga so as to remove the transport difficulties in the area and to boost the socio economic development. The catchment area of project line will serve passenger requirement and will facilitate the people of the area for travelling to different parts of the country. In addition, this new line will provide an alternative route connecting Northern and East Central railway via NE Railway. This project line has huge potential in enhancing railway traffic and also gives opportunity to develop this area by providing more efficient transportation system. The new line crosses the river Ganges at the downstream of existing road bridge for NH 97 and is located almost parallel to it and joins the existing BG line from Tarighat to Dildar Nagar. This line will be alternative route for train passing from Howrah to New Delhi and back. Construction of this line will provide a link to Allahabad-Patna double line electrified section. It will also decongest the Allahabad-Mugalsarai-Patna route particularly around Mugalsarai yard. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Qatar for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism. The main objectives of the MoU are: a) To create favourable conditions for long-term co-operation in the field of tourism for the mutual benefits. b) To exchange expertise, publications, information/data and statistics related to tourism. c) To encourage cooperation through the exchange of programmes, propaganda and advertising materials, publications, films, promotion and marketing of their tourism products via media etc. d) To exchange visits of Tour Operators / Media /Opinion Makers for promotion of two way tourism. e) To encourage co-operation between tourism sectors, tour operators, travel agents and other tourism private sector's firms and bureaus in the two countries. f) To encourage public and the private sectors to invest in tourism. Qatar is an emerging tourism source markets for India (India received approximately 6313 tourists from Qatar in 2015). Qatar is a potential market for India in terms of Medical tourism and provides vast opportunity for India in this field. The signing of MoU with Qatar will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this emerging source market. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for Kharif Crops of 2016-17 season. The prices would be effective from 1.10.2016. The higher MSPs would increase investment and production through assured remunerative prices to farmers. The approved MSP is based on recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which takes into account the cost of production, overall demand-supply, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the likely effect of the Price Policy on the rest of economy, besides ensuring rational utilization of production resources like land and water, while recommending MSPs. The CACP being the expert body, its recommendations are generally accepted as such. However, in view of the gap in the demand and domestic supply of pulses and oilseeds, the CCEA has decided to give a bonus, over and above the recommendations of the CACP of Rs.425/- per quintal for Kharif pulses, namely Arhar (Tur), Urad and Moong, a bonus of Rs.200/- per quintal for Sesamum and a bonus of Rs.100/- per quintal for kharif oilseeds namely, Groundnut-in-shell, Sunflowerseed, Soyabean, and Nigerseed. This is expected to give a strong price signal to farmers to increase acreage and invest for increase in productivity of pulses and oilseeds. The Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all Kharif Crops of 2016-17 season have been increased and are given below: Paddy Common 1410 1470 60 4.3 ---Grade A 1450 1510 60 4.1 ---Jowar Hybrid 1570 1625 55 3.5 ---Maldandi 1590 1650 60 3.8 ---Bajra --- 1275 1330 55 4.3 ---Maize --- 1325 1365 40 3.0 ---Ragi --- 1650 1725 75 4.5 ---Tur (Arhar) --- 4625 (includes Rs.200/- Bonus) 5050 (includes Rs.425/- Bonus) 425 9.2 425Moong --- 4850 (includes Rs.200/- Bonus) 5225 (includes Rs.425/- Bonus) 375 7.7 425Urad --- 4625 (includes Rs.200/- Bonus) 5000 (includes Rs.425/- Bonus) 375 8.1 425Groundnut-in-shell --- 4030 4220 (includes Rs.100/- Bonus) 190 4.7 100Soyabean Yellow 2600 2775 (includes Rs.100/- Bonus) 175 6.7 100Sunflower Seed --- 3800 3950 (includes Rs.200/- Bonus) 150 3.9 100Nigerseed --- 3650 3825 (includes Rs.100/- Bonus) 175 4.8 100Sesamum --- 4700 5000 (includes Rs.200/- Bonus) 300 6.4 200Cotton Medium Staple 3800 3860 60 1.6 ---Long Staple 4100 4160 60 1.5 --- Food Corporation of India (FCI) will be the designated central nodal agency for price support operations for cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will be the central nodal agency for undertaking price support operations for Cotton. Other farmer friendly initiatives: Besides increase in MSP of Kharif crops, Government has taken several farmer friendly initiatives over the last one year. These, amongst other things, include the following: * The Government had declared a bonus, over and above the MSP of Rs.200 per quintal for Kharif pulses of 2015-16 season and a bonus of Rs.75 per quintal for Rabi pulses of 2016-17 marketing season. * A new crop insurance scheme 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana" has been launched by the Government. Under this scheme, the premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low 2% of sum insured for all Kharif crops, 1.5% for all Rabi crops and 5% for commercial and horticulture crops. The new insurance scheme involves use of simple and smart technology through phones & remote sensing for quick estimation and early settlement of claims. The Government has also launched a Mobile app "Crop Insurance" which will help farmers to find out complete details about insurance cover available in their area and to calculate the insurance premium for notified crops. * The Government has also launched a scheme to develop a pan India electronic trading platform under 'National Agriculture Market' (NAM) scheme with the aim to integrate 585 regulated markets with the common e-market platform by March 2018. The reform will result in three major changes - electronic trading, a single license valid for all States and single entry point market fee. It will also enable farmers to discover better prices for their produce. * Soil Health Cards are being issued to farmers across country. The card provides information on fertility status of soil and an advisory on soil test based use of fertilizers. As of 24.05.2016, 189 lakh Soil Cards have been distributed to farmers. * Under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) the Government is promoting organic farming and development of potential market for organic products. * The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana is being implemented in mission mode. Focus is on targeted competition of irrigation projects lying incomplete for a long period and on increasing water use efficiency by promoting drip and sprinkler irrigation. * A dedicated Kisan Channel has been started by the Doordarshan to provide 24 x 7 information in the hands of farmers regarding weather updates, agri-mandi data etc. * Government is also encouraging formation of Farmer Producer Organisations. * To stabilize prices of pulses and onions. Government has decided to create buffer stocks of pulses and has imported pulses and onions under the Price Stabilization Fund. * A handbook for women farmers 'Farm Women Friendly Hand Book' containing special provisions and package of assistance which women farmers can claim under various on-going Missions / Submissions / Schemes of department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has been brought out. Women farmers / beneficiaries could approach the nearest Project Director (ATMA) / Deputy Director (Agriculture) office at District or Block Technology Manager / Assistant Technology Managers at Block level for instant help and facilitation for availing the benefits. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the proposal for Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I Project from Washermanpet to Wimconagar. It covers a length of 9.051 km. at a total cost of Rs. 3770 crore. The project will be executed by the existing SPV of Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu having 50:50 equity of each i.e. Chennai Metro Rail. The project is scheduled to be completed by March 2018. This extension will provide improved access to public transport for dense population comprising predominantly industrial workers to move towards the central business district of the city for work. In the total project cost, Government of India's (Gol) share will be Rs. 713 crore and Government of Tamilnadu's (GoTN) share will be Rs. 916 crore. The share of GoTN included cost of Land and R&R of Rs. 203 crore. The balance amount of Rs. 2141 crore will be met from loan from multilateral/bilateral/domestic funding agency. The estimated ridership will be 1.6 lakh passengers per day in first year of operation. Powered by Capital Market - Live News In Vietnam Century Plyboards (India) announced that the Company's Subsidiary Innovation Pacific Singapore in Singapore has incorporated a step-down Subsidiary by the name Vietnam Innovation Pacific JSC in Vietnam. The said Subsidiary has been incorporated with the object of investing in and undertaking Real Estate activities, leasing of office/ warehouse/ factory spaces, trading/ processing of sawn timber, veneer, plywood and other wood products and providing related services. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Market is seen opening higher. Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 19 points at the opening bell. In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks were trading mixed. US stocks closed mixed yesterday, 31 May 2016, as investors eyed economic reports for indications on the timing of the next rate hike. The Fed has kept the benchmark fed funds rate unchanged after raising it for the first time in nearly a decade in December 2015. The Federal Open Market Committee next undertakes monetary policy review on 14-15 June 2016. Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 114.52 crore yesterday, 31 May 2016, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 60.28 crore yesterday, 31 May 2016, as per provisional data. Among corporate news, Shares of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) will be in focus after announcing a hike in petrol and diesel prices. Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) yesterday, 31 May 2016, announced an increase in the price of petrol and diesel with effect from the midnight of 31 May 2016. Petrol price was hiked by Rs 2.58 per litre and diesel price was raised by Rs 2.26 a litre at Delhi (including state levies) with corresponding price revision in other states. After the latest revision, petrol in Delhi costs Rs 65.60 per litre and diesel costs Rs 53.93 a litre. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that it will resume manufacture of vehicles at its Gurgaon facilities from second half of 1 June 2016. Certain operations in the Manesar campus, including casting and manufacture of transmissions, will also resume in the second half on 1 June 2016, MSIL said. Subros and MSIL are jointly working on options to obtain supply of components from other facilities and gradually bring operations back to normal, MSIL said. The company had to suspend operations at its facilities from second half of 29 May 2016, owing to a fire accident at the Manesar facilities of its supplier Subros. Axis Bank will be in focus after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) yesterday, 31 May 2016, notified that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 62% of the paid-up capital of Axis Bank, from existing 49% under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). The central bank further notified that the total foreign investment from all sources i.e. Foreign Institutional Investors (FII)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs)/Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/Non-Resident Indians (NRI)/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIO)/American Depository Receipts (ADR)/Global Depository Receipts (GDR) in the bank shall not exceed 62% of paid-up capital. The central bank has stated that Axis Bank has passed resolutions at its board of directors' level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs/RFPIs. The purchases could be made through primary market and stock exchanges, RBI said. Reliance Industries (RIL) announced that due to lower release of dam water and the significantly increased salinity of water supply to the company's Dahej manufacturing complex in district Bharuch of Gujarat, there is shortage of the right quality of industrial water at Dahej complex. As a response, RIL is running on reduced capacity in some of the plants and has temporarily shut down its PTA and PET plants. RIL has 2.3 MMTPA of PTA capacity and 650 KTPA of PET capacity at its Dahej manufacturing complex. RIL said it has initiated alternative arrangements for water and is closely monitoring the situation. It has also used the current situation to carry out planned maintenance and reliability activities. It is in a state of readiness to resume full supplies as soon as the water availability and water quality issues are resolved, the company said. RIL said it is ensuring a continued supply of PTA to the domestic market from its Hazira and Patalganga manufacturing complexes. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016. ONGC announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that its wholly-owned subsidiary, ONGC Videsh, on 31 May 2016 completed the acquisition of 15% stake in Russia's JSC Vankorneft from Rosneft Oil Company. JSC Vankorneft is a company organized under the law of Russian Federation, which is the owner of Vankor Field and North Vankor license. Rosneft, the national oil company of Russia continues to hold the remaining 85% shares of JSC Vankorneft. Earlier in September 2015, ONGC Videsh had signed an agreement to acquire not less than 15% shares in JSC Vankorneft for $1268 million. Vankor is Rosneft's (and Russia's) second largest field by production and accounts for 4% of Russian crude oil production. The daily peak production from the field is around 442,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). With 15% shareholding, ONGC Videsh's share of daily oil production would be about 66,000 bopd. The present transaction strengthens ONGC Videsh's presence in Russia and is consistent with its stated strategic objective of adding high quality international assets to its existing exploration & production (E&P) portfolio. This acquisition also has significant strategic importance to India, both in terms of augmentation of India's energy security, as well as adding a new dimension to the relationship between Rosneft and ONGC Videsh besides further strengthening the cooperation between the two countries, the Indian company said. Losses of index heavyweights ITC, Infosys, Reliance Industries outweighed gains for stocks of public sector banks and index heavyweight HDFC with the two key benchmark indices registering small losses yesterday, 31 May 2016. The Sensex fell 57.64 points or 0.22% to settle at 26,667.96, its lowest closing level since 27 May 2016. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.47% to Rs 4,187.45 at 10:41 IST on BSE, after after the company reported 7.1% growth in its total sales to 1.23 lakh units in May 2016 over May 2015. The announcement was made during market hours today, 1 June 2016. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 154.17 points or 0.59% at 26,824.68 On BSE, so far 26,121 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 81,764 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 4,199.90 and a low of Rs 4,157 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 4,789 on 23 November 2015. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 3,202.10 on 29 February 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 31 May 2016, rising 9.83% compared with Sensex's 4.14% gains. The scrip also outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 28.54% as against Sensex's 15.94% gains. The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 151.04 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5. Maruti Suzuki India's domestic sales rose 10.6% to 1.13 lakh units in May 2016 over May 2015. Total export sales declined 20.8% to 9,872 units in May 2016 over May 2015. Maruti Suzuki India announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that it will resume manufacture of vehicles at its Gurgaon facilities from second half of today, 1 June 2016. Certain operations in the Manesar campus, including casting and manufacture of transmissions, will also resume in the second half of today, 1 June 2016, Maruti Suzuki India said. Subros and Maruti Suzuki India are jointly working on options to obtain supply of components from other facilities and gradually bring operations back to normal, the company said. Maruti Suzuki India had to suspend operations at its facilities from second half of 29 May 2016 owing to a fire accident at the Manesar facilities of its supplier Subros. Maruti Suzuki India's net profit declined 11.7% to Rs 1133.60 crore on 12.5% growth in net sales to Rs 14929.50 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corporation held 56.21% stake in Maruti Suzuki India (as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 March 2016). Powered by Capital Market - Live News The plan aims to make India disaster resilient and reduce loss of lives Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). This is the first ever national plan prepared in the country. It aims to make India disaster resilient and significantly reduce the loss of lives and assets. The plan is based on the four priority themes of the Sendai Framework, namely: understanding disaster risk, improving disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction (through structural and non-structural measures) and disaster preparedness, early warning and building back better in the aftermath of a disaster. Salient Features of the Plan The plan covers all phases of disaster management: prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. It provides for horizontal and vertical integration among all the agencies and departments of the Government. The plan also spells out the roles and responsibilities of all levels of Government right up to Panchayat and Urban Local Body level in a matrix format. The plan has a regional approach, which will be beneficial not only for disaster management but also for development planning. It is designed in such a way that it can be implemented in a scalable manner in all phases of disaster management. It also identifies major activities such as early warning, information dissemination, medical care, fuel, transportation, search and rescue, evacuation, etc. to serve as a checklist for agencies responding to a disaster. It also provides a generalized framework for recovery and offers flexibility to assess a situation and build back better. To prepare communities to cope with disasters, it emphasizes on a greater need for Information, Education and Communication activities. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Shares of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) will be in focus after announcing a hike in petrol and diesel prices. Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) yesterday, 31 May 2016, announced an increase in the price of petrol and diesel with effect from the midnight of 31 May 2016. Petrol price was hiked by Rs 2.58 per litre and diesel price was raised by Rs 2.26 a litre at Delhi (including state levies) with corresponding price revision in other states. After the latest revision, petrol in Delhi costs Rs 65.60 per litre and diesel costs Rs 53.93 a litre. Reliance Industries (RIL) announced that due to lower release of dam water and the significantly increased salinity of water supply to the company's Dahej manufacturing complex in district Bharuch of Gujarat, there is shortage of the right quality of industrial water at Dahej complex. As a response, RIL is running on reduced capacity in some of the plants and has temporarily shut down its PTA and PET plants. RIL has 2.3 MMTPA of PTA capacity and 650 KTPA of PET capacity at its Dahej manufacturing complex. RIL said it has initiated alternative arrangements for water and is closely monitoring the situation. It has also used the current situation to carry out planned maintenance and reliability activities. It is in a state of readiness to resume full supplies as soon as the water availability and water quality issues are resolved, the company said. RIL said it is ensuring a continued supply of PTA to the domestic market from its Hazira and Patalganga manufacturing complexes. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016. ONGC announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that its wholly-owned subsidiary, ONGC Videsh (OVL), on 31 May 2016 completed the acquisition of 15% stake in Russia's JSC Vankorneft from Rosneft Oil Company. JSC Vankorneft is a company organized under the law of Russian Federation, which is the owner of Vankor Field and North Vankor license. Rosneft, the national oil company of Russia continues to hold the remaining 85% shares of JSC Vankorneft. Earlier in September 2015, OVL had signed an agreement to acquire not less than 15% shares in JSC Vankorneft for $1268 million. Vankor is Rosneft's (and Russia's) second largest field by production and accounts for 4% of Russian crude oil production. The daily peak production from the field is around 442,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). With 15% shareholding, ONGC Videsh's share of daily oil production would be about 66,000 bopd. The present transaction strengthens ONGC Videsh presence in Russia and is consistent with its stated strategic objective of adding high quality international assets to its existing exploration & production (E&P) portfolio. This acquisition also has significant strategic importance to India, both in terms of augmentation of India's Energy Security, as well as adding a new dimension to the relationship between Rosneft and ONGC Videsh besides further strengthening the cooperation between the two countries, the Indian company said. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that it will resume manufacture of vehicles at its Gurgaon facilities from second half of 1 June 2016. Certain operations in the Manesar campus, including casting and manufacture of transmissions, will also resume in the second half on 1 June 2016, MSIL said. Subros and MSIL are jointly working on options to obtain supply of components from other facilities and gradually bring operations back to normal, MSIL said. The company had to suspend operations at its facilities from second half of 29 May 2016, owing to a fire accident at the Manesar facilities of its supplier Subros. Tata Steel UK yesterday, 31 May 2016 announced the completion of the sale of its Long Products Europe business to Greybull Capital LLP. The announcement was made before market hours today, 1 June 2016. During the last twelve months, the Long Products Europe business has implemented a transformation plan including a portfolio restructuring of assets, underpinned by committed support from employees and their trade unions. This has focused the business on higher-value markets supported by a more competitive cost base. The Long Products Europe business, which in the UK includes the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, and associated distribution facilities, as well as a rail mill in northern France, will trade under the name of British Steel. All together the business employs 4,800 people - 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France. The sale follows an accelerated process of negotiations between Tata Steel UK and Greybull Capital. Bimlendra Jha, Executive Chairman of the Long Products Europe business and CEO of Tata Steel UK said that Tata Steel hopes that under Greybull ownership, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement program that has been initiated in the last 12 months. Axis Bank will be in focus after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) yesterday, 31 May 2016, notified that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 62% of the paid-up capital of Axis Bank, from existing 49% under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). The central bank further notified that the total foreign investment from all sources i.e. Foreign Institutional Investors (FII)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs)/Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/Non-Resident Indians (NRI)/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIO)/American Depository Receipts (ADR)/Global Depository Receipts (GDR) in the bank shall not exceed 62% of paid-up capital. The central bank has stated that Axis Bank has passed resolutions at its board of directors' level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs/RFPIs. The purchases could be made through primary market and stock exchanges, RBI said. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that the issuance committee of the company approved raising of up to $200 million through foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The FCCB issue was launched yesterday, 31 May 2016. The floor price for conversion of the FCCBs shall be Rs 861.84. The company had earlier received approval from its board and its shareholders to raise up to $500 million through issuance of securities including equity shares or equity linked securities, including through qualified institutional placement (QIP), convertible bonds, warrants, depository receipts. Great Eastern Shipping Company (GE Shipping) announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that it delivered its 1999 built Aframax Crude Carrier "Jag Laxmi" to the buyers. The vessel was contracted for sale in April 2016. The company's current fleet (excluding "Jag Laxmi") stands at 31 vessels, comprising 22 tankers (7 crude carriers, 14 product tankers, 1 LPG carrier) and 9 dry bulk carriers (4 Kamsarmax, 5 Supramax) with an average age of 10.1 years aggregating 2.4 million deadweight tonnage (dwt). Andhra Bank announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that its board of directors has reviewed the projections of ICAAP (Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process) requirements for the financial year 2016-2017 and estimated the requirement of capital/funds of Rs 2700 crore by way of equity/tier 1/tier 2 bonds. The raising of capital will be made at an appropriate time depending on the market conditions, to meet the additional capital requirements during 2016-2017, the bank added. Gayatri Projects announced after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016, that it has executed agreements with MG Goyal Gases for sale of 1.8 megawatts (MW) Machine, Make V- 100, located at Kutch District in Gujarat and 1.5x5 MW, Total 7.5 MW, Vensys V77 make (WECS) located at Theni District in Tamilnadu for a consideration amounting to Rs. 7.73 crore and Rs. 26.36 crore respectively. The wind energy plant, installed in collaboration with Suzlon Energy, will be inaugurated on 2 June 2016. The 8.4 MW wind energy power plant is expected to generate around 170 to 180 lakh units of power per annum. This is in addition to about 98 lakh units power generated per annum by the existing 5.5 MW wind power plants of BEL. All these plants put together are expected to generate around 270-280 lakh units in the coming years, meeting about 90% of BEL's power consumption through renewable energy resources. The estimated reduction in carbon emission per annum is around 26,500 kgs equivalent of carbon dioxide (Co2). With this green initiative, BEL's Bengaluru Complex is all set to achieve carbon neutral status, the company said. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Tata Steel gained 0.6% to Rs 336.55 at 10:35 IST on BSE after Tata Steel UK announced the completion of the sale of its Long Products Europe business to Greybull Capital LLP. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2016. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 165.64 points, or 0.62%, to 26,829.37. On BSE, so far 2.45 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 11.09 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 338.05 and a low of Rs 334.60 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 364.15 on 21 April 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 200 on 29 September 2015. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 31 May 2016, falling 4.59% compared with 4.14% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 34.26% as against Sensex's 15.94% rise. The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 971.22 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. Tata Steel said that during the last twelve months, the Long Products Europe business has implemented a transformation plan including a portfolio restructuring of assets, underpinned by committed support from employees and their trade unions. This has focused the business on higher-value markets supported by a more competitive cost base. The Long Products Europe business, which in the UK includes the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, and associated distribution facilities, as well as a rail mill in northern France, will trade under the name of British Steel. All together the business employs 4,800 people - 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France. The sale follows an accelerated process of negotiations between Tata Steel UK and Greybull Capital. Bimlendra Jha, Executive Chairman of the Long Products Europe business and CEO of Tata Steel UK said that Tata Steel hopes that under Greybull ownership, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement program that has been initiated in the last 12 months. Tata Steel reported consolidated net loss of Rs 3213.76 crore in Q4 March 2016 compared with consolidated net loss of Rs 5674.29 crore in Q4 March 2015. Tata Steel's total income fell 12.33% to Rs 29636.69 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015. Tata Steel is Europe's second largest steel producer, with steelmaking in the UK and Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The combined Tata Steel group is one of the world's largest steel producers, with a steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and 80,000 employees across five continents. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Highlights of the National Disaster Management Plan Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). This is the first ever national plan prepared in the country. Minister of Home Affairs Shri Rajnath Singh, Minster of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju, and senior officers of the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Home Affairs and National Disaster Management Authority were present during the function. Following are the highlights of the NDMP: The NDMP has been aligned broadly with the goals and priorities set out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The Vision of the Plan is to Make India disaster resilient, achieve substantial disaster risk reduction, and significantly decrease the losses of life, livelihoods, and assets - economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental - by maximizing the ability to cope with disasters at all levels of administration as well as among communities. For each hazard, the approach used in this national plan incorporates the four priorities enunciated in the Sendai Framework into the planning framework for Disaster Risk Reduction under the five Thematic Areas for Actions: o Understanding Risk o Inter-Agency Coordination o Investing in DRR - Structural Measures o Investing in DRR - Non-Structural Measures o Capacity Development The Response part of the Plan has identified eighteen broad activities which have been arranged into a matrix to be served as a ready reckoner: o Early Warning, Maps, Satellite inputs, Information Dissemination o Evacuation of People and Animals o Search and Rescue of People and Animals o Medical Care o Drinking Water/ Dewatering Pumps/ Sanitation Facilities/ Public Health o Food & Essential Supplies o Communication o Housing and Temporary Shelters o Power o Fuel o Transportation o Relief Logistics and Supply Chain Management o Disposal of Animal Carcasses o Fodder for livestock in scarcity-hit areas o Rehabilitation and Ensuring Safety of Livestock and other Animals, Veterinary Care o Data Collection and Management o Relief Employment o Media Relations The Plan has also incorporated a Chapter on Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance. The generalized responsibility matrix given in this section summarizes the themes for strengthening Disaster Risk Governance and specifies agencies at the Centre and State with their respective roles. The matrix has six thematic areas in which Central and State Governments have to take actions to strengthen disaster risk governance: o Mainstream and integrate DRR and Institutional Strengthening o Capacity Development o Promote Participatory Approaches o Work with Elected Representatives o Grievance Redress Mechanism o Promote Quality Standards, Certifications, and Awards for Disaster Risk Management The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) provides a framework and direction to the government agencies for all phases of disaster management cycle. The NDMP is a dynamic document in the sense that it will be periodically improved keeping up with the emerging global best practices and knowledge bases in disaster management. Globally, the approach towards post-disaster restoration and rehabilitation has shifted to one of betterment reconstruction. The NDMP provides a generalized framework for recovery since it is not possible to anticipate all the possible elements of betterment reconstruction. The Plan also highlights that the disaster risk reduction will be achieved by mainstreaming the requirements into the developmental plans. Powered by Capital Market - Live News At least 15 Syrian civilians were killed in the past 24 hours by US-led airstrikes against the city of Manbej, which is controlled by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, a monitor group reported. The victims in the countryside in Syria's northern Aleppo city were from two families, and three children were killed by the US-led anti-terror coalition airstrikes, Xinhua cited the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying. The airstrikes were supporting the advance of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rebels, who are fighting to reclaim Manbej from the IS, as part of a new military offensive recently unleashed to strip the IS from their key posts in northern Syria. The British watchdog group said the SDF raided 16 villages near Manbej in the past few hours and were supported by the US coalition air fleet. --IANS py/dg More than 40 dead tiger cubs and a bear were found in the freezer of Thailand's Tiger Temple, which is being probed for wildlife trafficking, officials said on Wednesday. The grisly discovery at the Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province on Wednesday morning came after a raid launched on Monday for relocation of 137 adult tigers of the temple by at least 1,000 personnel. The raid was launched following complaints that monks at the remote forest temple in Thailand were mistreating and trafficking the animals. But the monks have denied the allegations. The bodies of the tiger cubs were discovered by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation teams on Wednesday together with the carcasses of other protected species, EFE news reported. They were stored in the freezer where the temple kept the food for tigers, said Adisorn Nuchdamrong, deputy director-general of the wildlife department, who claimed the temple had never registered the dead cubs. He believed the carcasses must be of some value for the temple to have kept them. The tiny tiger cubs found after authorities stormed the temple's secret stash were aged from birth to one week old. Observers said on Twitter that they appeared to have been killed recently. The raid that began on May 30 is the latest move in a tug-of-war since 2001 to bring the tigers under state control, which was being widely obstructed by the monks. The Buddhist temple in the west of Bangkok had become a tourist destination where visitors snapped selfies with bottle-fed cubs. The temple promotes itself as a wildlife sanctuary, but in recent years it was investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and animal abuse. Some animal rights organisations have claimed the tigers appear sedated when interacting with tourists and have accused the temple of being a facade to cover illegal animal trafficking. The temple has denied claims that the monks carry out irresponsible breeding programmes, traffic endangered species and sell the animals. Animal rights activists were long campaigning against the temple's illegal possession of the big cats, describing it as "hell for animals" and called on tourists to stop visiting animal attractions at home and abroad. The rescued tigers, some of them autochthonous to Thailand, will be taken to different specialised centres in the country. The temple in Kanchanaburi has been closed to the public since the raid. --IANS py/rn/dg At least 50 members of a hacking ring were arrested on suspicion of stealing over 1.7 billion rubles (over $25 million) from Russian bank accounts, authorities said on Wednesday. The group has created a malicious computer programme to gain access to accounts of legal entities and correspondent accounts of financial institutions, Xinhua news agency quoted the interior ministry as saying in a statement. The suspects have been detained in 15 different regions and transported to Moscow with the support of the newly-created National Guard, the Federal Security Service said in a statement. During the searches, a large quantity of computer equipment, electronic data storage devices, SIM cards, bank cards, rubber stamps and forged documents of legal entities have been seized. The investigation department of the interior ministry has opened a criminal case. --IANS py/vt Dedicating India's 7.6 per cent growth in 2015-16 to the "stringent financial management and economic skills" of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the BJP on Wednesday termed the achievement as more significant in the shadow of poor monsoons in the two preceding years and downturn in world markets. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led the country to become the fastest growing economy in the world. Under the stringent financial management and economic skills of Jaitley, India has reached the GDP of 7.6 per cent to become the fastest growing large economy in the world," Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Bhupendra Yadav said here at a press conference. "Our growth and success is even more significant because India has recently faced two consecutive drought years which affects agriculture negatively. Even then, the farm sector has grown positively. Farm sector contributes around 15 per cent to the GDP and almost 50 per cent of population is directly or indirectly engaged in it. This positive growth is more cheering," Yadav said. "Farm sector, mining and manufacturing have contributed significantly to this growth of the economy," he added. Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member, said the per capita income has grown by 6.2 per cent, which also reflects the increased consumption. "More importantly, the fiscal deficit of the government has remained on expectations. It was expected to be 3.9 per cent in 2015-16, which has remained at 3.92 per cent," he said. The BJP leader also took on the Congress and accused it of obstructing the government's development agenda. "Our government is working for financial inclusion and economic development of the poor of our country, whereas the Congress is opposing the government and its works for mere political reasons. The GST bill is opposed only for petty political benefits," he said. --IANS bns/rn/vt Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met a visiting delegation of North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Ri Su-yong, head of the delegation, delivered a message from top North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Xi, Xinhua reported. Kim, in the message, said North Korea hopes to work with China to strengthen and develop the bilateral traditional friendship, and maintain peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. Ri briefed Xi on the seventh WPK congress, held in early May, during which Kim was elected chairman of the WPK. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, welcomed the delegation, saying the visit was evidence of the tradition of strategic communication between the two parties on major issues. China highly values the friendly cooperative relations with North Korea, Xi stressed, adding the nation was willing to work with Pyongyang to maintain, consolidate and develop bilateral ties. China's stance on the issue of the Korean peninsula is consistent and clear, Xi said, calling on relevant sides to stay calm, exercise restraint, and enhance communication and dialogue to safeguard regional peace and stability. Ri is a member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, vice chairman of the committee and director of the party's International Department. --IANS py/dg As the US presidential election draws closer, political commentators have begun to speculate upon likely scenarios with the passage of each day and the newest theory is very interesting. A recent comment by political analyst Douglas E Schoen, writing in The Wall Street Journal, says there was now more than a theoretical chance that may not be the Democratic nominee for the US presidential elections. The inevitability behind Clinton's nomination will be in large measure eviscerated if she loses the June 7 California primary to Bernie Sanders. That could well happen, he writes. A recent PPIC poll shows Clinton with a 2% lead over Sanders, and a Fox News survey found the same result. Even a narrow win would give Sanders 250 pledged delegates or more a significant boost. California is clearly trending to Sanders, data from mid-May show that there were nearly 1.5 million newly registered Democratic voters in California since January 1. That's a 218% increase in Democratic voter registrations compared with the same period in 2012, a strongly encouraging sign for Sanders, the commentator figured out. A Sanders win in California would powerfully underscore Clinton's weakness as a candidate in the general election. Democratic superdelegates chosen by the party establishment and overwhelmingly backing Clinton 543-44 would seriously question whether they should continue to stand behind her candidacy, he asked. In recent weeks, the perception that Clinton would be the strongest candidate against Donald Trump has evaporated. The Real Clear polling average has Clinton in a statistical tie with Trump, and recent surveys from ABC News/Washington Post and Fox News show her two and three points behind him, respectively. Clinton also faces growing legal problems. The State Department Inspector General's recent report on Clinton's use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State made it abundantly clear that she broke rules and has been far from forthright in her public statements. The damning findings buttressed concerns within the party that Clinton and her aides may not get through the government's investigation without a finding of culpability somewhere. There are increasing rumblings within the party about how a new candidate could emerge at the convention. John Kerry, the 2004 nominee, is one possibility. But the most likely scenario is that vice-president Joe Biden who has said that he regrets "every day" his decision not to run enters the race, the comment reads. While questioning President Barack Obama, the writer adds that so far he has largely stayed out of the campaign, other than to say that he does not believe Clinton compromised national security with her home-brew email server. Aiming to fuel its telecom business both in India and other markets, Danish multi-disciplinary engineering, design and consultancy company Ramboll has launched a brand new engineering centre at Gachibowli here. Ramboll Group Executive Director for Markets and Global Practices, Soren Holm Johansen, formally inaugurated the facility on Wednesday. The 230-strong Ramboll Hyderabad team focuses on tower engineering which involves the analysis and design of masts, towers and monopoles in addition to tower marketing and technical support, manufacture and sale of towers. Ramboll's telecom services range from tower solutions including design, smart site, rapid deployment, camouflaged and individual solutions, tower reverse engineering (TLVA), software engineering services to radio frequency and electromagnetic field related services. Along with this, Ramboll will also provide its engineering and design expertise in transport and planning and urban design sector from its Hyderabad centre, Johansen told media after inaugurating the facility. He claimed that Ramboll had built a strong presence in the market worldwide as sustainable society consultants. "India is a key market for us and we will continue to make strategic technological infrastructure investments and pick top engineering talent in India," he noted. Founded in Denmark in 1945, the Euro 1.4 billion enterprise Ramboll operates more than 300 offices in 35 countries and employs more than 13,000 experts globally. In India, Ramboll employs more than 800 employees working from five principal offices in Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, with Gurgaon being the head office. --IANS pavan/rn/dg Unchecked cross-border movement of people across the Pakistan-Afghanistan international boundary was set to become more stringent with Islamabad applying a rigorous border control regime on Wednesday. With the expiry of a May 31 deadline, Pakistani authorities asked Afghan nationals not to travel without valid travel documents as Islamabad was yet to consider their request to relax the regulations at Torkham border across Khyber Pass during Ramazan and on Eid days. The Khyber Rifles personnel, Khassadars and other border officials made the announcement in this regard over loudspeakers near the Torkham border on Tuesday, Geo reported. They informed the Afghan citizens that they would not be allowed to enter Pakistan without a visa and other valid travel documents. Those who try to enter Pakistan illegally would be detained and prosecuted, the announcement said. Afghans were not happy with the new restrictions. Border officials said disallowing Afghans to enter Pakistan would create a gulf between the people of the two Muslim neighbours. Col. Nisar Khan, an Afghan border security force in-charge at Torkham, said Pakistan should relax the border, especially during Ramazan, and for those seeking medical treatment in Peshawar. He said they would be compelled to shut down Torkham border for all kind of movement if Pakistan did not show flexibility. He said they would not allow trucks to transport Pakistani goods to Central Asian Republics. Afghan officials at Torkham confirmed that Kabul was in contact with Islamabad to find a solution to the issue. Sources told Geo News that the Pakistan foreign office had received an official request from Afghanistan to extend its deadline. --IANS ahm/dg Veteran social activist Anna Hazare will try to create moral pressure on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as its most senior minister, Eknath Khadse, is facing charges of corruption, an aide said here on Wednesday. Social activist Anjali Damania, who met Hazare, said she will stage a sit-in outside the chief minister's official residence 'Varsha' on the Malabar Hill in Mumbai from Thursday to demand Khadse's resignation from the state cabinet. She said Hazare will shortly speak to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, as part of his anti-corruption agenda. Hazare conveyed his intention to Damania when she called on him at his Ralegan-Siddhi village in Ahmednagar. Damania showed Hazare the documents purportedly linking Khadse to certain scams and said the 78-year-old well known social activist was "shocked". Meawhile, Mumbai police slapped Damania with a notice prohibiting her from agitating in the sensitive VVIP zone. Some BJP activists and Khadse supporters too threatened to burn her effigy in Jalgaon, the northern Maharashtra district from where the minister hails. Damania hit back at the BJP with a tweet: "Achche Din... Great, BJP! Instead of burning effigy of those indulging in corruption, you are targeting those fighting against graft." Both Hazare and Damania have in the past targeted ministers, bureaucrats and officials for various acts of alleged corruption spanning several key government departments. The beleaguered Khadse -- number two in the state cabinet and holding around 10 key portfolios, including revenue -- has been accused of corruption by different opposition parties too, which have demanded his sacking or resignation. Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam on Monday led a delegation to Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao to demand Khadse's removal. On Monday, Pune-based businessman-cum-activist Hemant L. Gawande accused Khadse, his wife and son-in-law of various irregularities in the purchase of a piece of land. Gawande charged Khadse with misusing power and authority, subverting laws, bypassing norms, evading tax, pressurising officials and other wrongdoings in closing the land deal in April to benefit his family members. The ruling BJP, however, dismissed as "baseless and mala fide" the allegations against Khadse. --IANS qn/tsb/vt The Supreme Court has confirmed the bail of Rahul Raj Singh, accused of abetting the suicide of "Balika Vadhu" star and his girlfriend Pratyusha Banerjee and he is ready to put up a brave fight to prove his innocence. Excerpts from an interview: Q: The Supreme Court has refused to cancel your bail. This is a big reprieve for you? A: I knew I was innocent. I wanted the truth to come out on its own. People who hardly knew the truth about my relationship with Pratyusha, lashed out at me. I kept quiet. If I had retaliated, it would have seemed like a feeble attempt to defend myself. Q: Why were her friends so keen to attack you? A: They couldn't bear the fact that I had made a place for myself in Mumbai. Q: Who are these friends? A: Kamya Punjabi claims to be Pratyusha's friend. And if Pratyusha's call log for the entire year was checked, there might be just one or two calls. Q: What about those girls who went on record accusing you of defrauding them? A: I don't know who they are. Where were they for five years since that's when I'm supposed to have wronged them? Q: What about Saloni Sharma? A: She is my partner in an events management company. She'd meet me for business reasons. Stories about her and me are untrue. More people know me now than they did before. I'll be linked with any girl I am seen with. Q: Are you single right now? A: Of course! I don't know what will happen in the future. I was on anti-depressants until recently. Q: Looking back at the whole experience, how do you feel? A: Suicide is a very cowardly thing to do. I've gone through hell. I wasn't given a chance to grieve for Pratyusha. I had to deal with all the rubbish that was heaped on me, plus a 9-year-old son who never existed. Q: Where did this son come from? A: I want to ask Kamya that. I am sure she pays my son's school fees. I have no clue about the son. Q: Why was Pratyusha depressed? A: It was her financial mess that landed her in a depression. At a very young age, she earned Rs.5 crore to Rs.6 crore. Since she didn't know how to handle her finances, she handed over her earnings to her parents. When she asked back for her hard-earned money, they said there was nothing. Q: Her parents spent all her money? A: She had a loan of lakhs and lakhs to pay. Her EMIs had not been paid for months. All the loans that she had taken were in Pratyusha's name, not in her parent's name. Because her parents didn't earn anything. They own a five-bedroom home in Jamshedpur. Pratyusha didn't even own a shack. She didn't have one piece of jewellery. Q: What did her parents do with their daughter's money? A; She got Rs.30 lakh to Rs.35 lakh in 'Bigg Boss' and yet she couldn't pay back the loan. Nor were her EMI instalments paid back. Her car was purchased on loan. She had personal loans amounting to Rs.20 lakh to Rs.25 lakh. Q: Are those loans going to be written off now? A: According to the law, the parents have to repay the loans. And when they can afford to take me to the Supreme Court, I am sure her parents have the money to repay loans. Q: What are your future plans? A: I want to work hard. In spite of what has happened I love Mumbai. After Pratyusha's death, I haven't visited my hometown Ranchi even once. I don't want people to say I've run away. The police has sealed my house for the last two months. I am staying in a hotel with my father. Q: Why did the police seal your home? A: No reason was given. Contrary to belief that isn't Pratyusha's house. It's mine. Q: Has this experience put you off relationships? A: At least for now. Q: What do you say to those who blame you for Pratyusha's suicide? A: I did nothing to provoke her into taking such a drastic step. I found out about her financial distress only three months before her death. Q: So what did you do? A: I gave my share of the fees that we earned for 'Power Couple' to her. She stayed in my house. If we had fights she could've easily broken up since we weren't married. Why did she party with me days before her death? Why did she order her wedding lehenga if as her so-called friends say, she was unhappy with me? Q: What about her friends saying you were physically abusive? A: They claim to have a video to prove it. Why haven't they shown it to the court? Pratyusha had filed a case against her former boyfriend for physical abuse. If I was violent with her, she could've done the same with me. Q: So you don't hold yourself responsible in any way for her death? A: I've done nothing wrong. So I don't feel guilty. If the courts had any doubts about my innocence, they'd have cancelled my bail. May 29th was my birthday. A day later, I got this wonderful gift from the courts. --IANS skj/nn/vm With sectoral analysts predicting stable growth for the Indian automobile industry, major players have, for the second successive month this fiscal, posted a positive sales volume growth. India's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd closed last month with selling 123,034 units (domestic 113,162 units, exports 9,872 units) as against 114,825 units (domestic 102,359 units, exports 12,466 units) sold in May 2015. The company logged lower sales last month in the mini (Alto, WagonR) and super compact (DZire Tour) segments in the domestic market last month as compared to sales logged during May 2015, but on the other hand, saw sales growth in segments like compact (Swift, Ritz, Celerio, Baleno, DZire), mid-size (Ciaz), utility vehicles (Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross, Vitara Brezza) and vans (Omni, Eeco) last month as compared to models sold in May 2015. Hyundai Motor India Ltd sold 41,351 units last month up from 37,450 units sold during May 2015. According to Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Hyundai, the positive growth momentum was supported by heightened expectations of increase in demand on the predictions of good monsoon. "Fitch Ratings' FY17 outlook for the Indian automobile segment is stable, underpinned by the lower costs of owning a vehicle, which in turn is driven by new model launches and still low fuel costs," Nandini Vijayaraghavan, Director, Corporate, Fitch Ratings told IANS. According to her, Fitch Ratings' expectation that India will sustain a high gross domestic product (GDP) growth of around 7.5 per cent, and normal monsoons and replacement demand will support commercial vehicle demand. "The salary hike of around 23.5 per cent announced for government employees effective calendar year 2016 will provide a one-time fillip to automobile demand. The competitive environment in the passenger vehicle and two wheeler segments will intensify on account of new product launches," Vijayaraghavan added. Leading utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) sold 40,656 units during May, up 11 per cent from 36,706 units sold in the corresponding month last year. In May, sales of passenger vehicles which include SUVs, cars and vans grew 8 per cent at 19,635 as against 18,135 units sold in May 2015, while domestic sales stood at 36,316 units in the last month, up 10 per cent from 33,369 units sold in the year-ago month. The company sold 501 units of medium and heavy commercial vehicles in the month under review. Exports for May stood at 4,043 units -- a growth of 21 per cent. "The favourable monsoon projections will definitely lead to improved buyer sentiment that will likely bring buoyancy in overall demand across all segments of the automotive industry. Going forward, we expect our wider product portfolio will drive our growth," said the company's President and Chief Executive (Automotive) Pravin Shah. Ford India's combined domestic wholesales and exports in May grew to 17,279 vehicles from 11,714 in the corresponding month last year, the company said in a statement. Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland Ltd also posted positive sales last month at 9,875 vehicles, up from 9,280 units sold in May 2015. In the two wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL) - the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer - closed last month selling 583,117 units as against 569,876 units sold in May 2015. "Market demand was expectedly subdued in May, due to the heavy retail off-take that happened in April on account of the marriage season and regional festivals in different parts of the country during that month," the company said in a statement. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Ltd said it sold 436,358 units last month up from 367,167 units sold in May 2015. Two and three wheeler maker TVS Motor Company Ltd logged 11 per cent sales last month at 243,783 units as against 220,079 units sold in May 2015. On its part, Eicher Motors Ltd sold 48,604 units last month, an increase of 37 per cent over sales logged in May 2015. In a regulatory filing with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the company said it sold 35,354 units sold in May 2015. --IANS vj/vd A $35 million multi-dimensional sugar factory refurbished by Indian company Seftech, and financed by India Exim Bank, that will provide 7,300 jobs when fully operational and save the country $200 million in imports, has been inaugurated by Ghanaian President John Mahama. The factory, with a crushing capacity of 1,200 tonnes a day, is located at Kommenda in the central region. Simultaneously, the Indian government has approved a $24.5 million facility to support the cultivation of sugarcane with irrigation over more than 2,000 acres as well as provide support for out-growers to ensure supplies to the factory. The Kommenda sugar factory was established in the 1960s but was abandoned over the years. Two years ago, President Mahama cut the sod for work to begin on the re-construction of the factory with the assistance of the Indian government. President Mahama said the factory will save the country about $200 million yearly from importing sugar for local consumption, adding that the plant will also produce three MW of power, of which it will use two MW and feed the remaining one MW to the national grid. In addition, the factory would produce molasses which are planned to be sold to beverage producers in the country for producing alcohol and ethanol. It is also envisaged that the by-products of the sugar processing would lead to the production of composed fertilizer. Expressing his gratitude to the Indian government, the president commended the Indian construction team for completing the project ahead of schedule. He said the government was planning to establish similar projects in the Greater Accra, Volta and Northern Regions. Pradeep Gupta, the first secretary in the Indian High Commission, said the factory's construction was another example of the fruitful cooperation between the two countries, adding it would help provide the people of Kommenda with employment opportunities as well as reduce sugar imports. Trade and Industries Minister Ekwow Spio-Gabarh assured that everything possible would be done to ensure the factory's sustainability and that investors, both local and international, should show interest in growing the business in the future. (Francis Kokutse can be contacted at fkokutse@gmail.com) --IANS francis/vm Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the French efforts to organise a peace summit to restart peace talks with the Palestinians, saying peace is not achieved with international conferences. Netanyahu made the comments during a ceremony at the Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Medicine in northern Israel's Galilee, Xinhua reported. "The way to peace does not go through international conferences that seek to impose agreements, make the Palestinians' demands more extreme and thereby make peace more remote," the prime minister said, according to a statement from his office. He reiterated his position that the only way to achieve peace is through direct talks "without preconditions". The comments are made prior to a planned meeting of various international foreign ministers on Friday, in order to discuss the French initiative. No Israeli or Palestinian representative will be present in this forum. Another conference is in the works for the upcoming fall. A week ago, Netanyahu told French Prime Minister Manuel Valls during the latter's visit to Jerusalem to advance the summit, that he will be willing to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in person in Paris or anywhere else, stressing again the preference of direct talks over the planned summit. French officials announced the initiative, which would seek to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, in January, to the ire of Israeli officials, and the support of Palestinian leaders. On Monday, following the swearing-in of hawkish lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman as defence minister, he and Netanyahu both said they support the two-state solution, with Lieberman lauding a speech recently given by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the need to restart talks with the involvement of Arab states, including Egypt, based on the 2002 Saudi Arabia peace proposal. The proposal says that in exchange for peace between the two sides, other Arab countries would normalise their ties with Israel. Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories in the 1967 Mideast War. The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians took place between July 2013 and April 2014 with the mediation of the US, and ended abruptly without results. International calls to restart peace talks come amid an ongoing wave of violence which started in October and claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and 204 Palestinians. --IANS vr/ Karnataka on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the state high court judgment acquitting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others in disproportionate assets case was unsustainable both on facts and law and defeated the very purpose of cleansing the public life. The top court is hearing appeal by the Karnataka government challenging the acquittal of Jayalalithaa, her aide N. Sasikala Natrajan and her two relatives V.N. Sudhakaran and Elavarasi by the Karnataka High Court. They were accused of allegedly amassing disproportionate asserts to the tune of Rs. 66.65.crores during her first term as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996. Describing the defence offered by Jayalalithaa and three others as "cock and bull story", the vacation bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy was told that accepting the arguments by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister would amount to throwing the anti-corruption law - Prevention of Corruption Act - into the dustbin. As arguments by Karnataka government were concluded, the court said that one of the three options it may exercise would be either to uphold the high court verdict acquitting Jayalalithaa and three others, reverse the high court verdict and restore the conviction or still after re-appreciating the entire evidence, direct fresh trial or remit for the matter to the high court for fresh consideration. The bench outlined the three options available to it after senior counsel Dushyant Dave appearing for Karnataka described the judgment acquitting Jayalalithaa and others as "perverse beyond imagination", devoid of reasoning and based on "conjectures and surmises". He told the court it had the three options available to it but could not re-appreciate the evidence to find faults with the trial court judgment of conviction. Telling the court that the burden of proof of the legitimacy of the sources of the income was on the accused, Dave said merely that the income tax department had accepted their returns does not attach legitimacy to their incomes and assets. He said that the income tax department was only concerned with realising the tax and production of returns was not the end of the matter. He said that the burden is on the accused to show the lawful source of the money and on the basis of which property have been purchased. Senior counsel and Special Public Prosecutor in the case B.V. Acharya told the court that the disproportionate assets would be surface if the income, expenditure, and assets acquired by Jayalalithaa and the others were taken together and not individually separating one from the other. The high court, while acquitting Jayalalithaa and the others, had revered September 27, 2014, Bangaluru trial court order convicting her. After a trial that lasted for 18 years, the trial court in Bangaluru had convicted Jayalalithaa and sentenced her to four-year jail term and a fine of Rs.100 crore. --IANS pk/vd A senior Al-Shabaab commander, who was behind the Garissa University attack in April last year, was killed during airstrikes in southern Somalia on Tuesday night, Kenyan police said on Wednesday. Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said that Mohamed Kuno, alias Dulyadayn or Sheikh Mahamad, was killed by special security forces during operations conducted in Farwamo and Bulo-Gadud villages, about 30 km north of Kismayo, Xinhua reported. "We have reports that he was killed in an airstrike by special security forces. He was behind the Garissa university attack," Boinnet said. Security officials said the operation, which also killed two other militants, was conducted by the Somalian and foreign forces though information is scanty. Kuno is believed to have been behind the dreadful Garissa university attack which left over 148 people, mainly students, dead. Kuno, who hailed from Garissa in northern Kenya, was Al-Shabaab's Jabha leader for Juba region in Somalia. He was, prior to his death, incharge of external operations against Kenya. The police said Kuno was believed to be very religious and had been a Madarasa teacher for several years. He worked for Al-Haramain Foundation between 1993 and 1995 before the institution was closed. At the time he was known as Sheikh Mahamad. He later became a teacher and principal at Madarasa Najah in Garissa from 1997-2000 where his extremist tendencies became more manifested. --IANS vr/ Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday filed her nomination papers for Anantnag assembly constituency by-elections in south Kashmir, which had fallen vacant after the death of her father and then Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed. Mehbooba Mufti, who has never lost an assembly election in her 26-year-long political career, was accompanied by her senior Peoples Democratic Party leaders. Mehbooba Mufti has to be elected to either house of the state's bicameral legislature within six months of assuming the office of the chief minister of the state. The opposition National Conference has fielded Iftikhar Hussain Misgar and the Congress has given the mandate to Hilal Ahmad Shah from the PDP's south Kashmir bastion. Mufti Muhammad Sayeed defeated his nearest rival Misgar in 2014 state assembly elections by 6,000 votes while Shah of the Congress finished third in that contest. Independent MLA from north Kashmir Langate assembly constituency, Engineer Rashid has also said he will stand against the state chief minister for the Anantnag by-polls. Mehbooba Mufti presently represents the south Kashmir Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in the Lok Sabha. She has in the past won assembly elections thrice, in 1996 from Bijbehara, in 2002 from Pahalgam and in 2008 from Wachi assembly constituencies. --IANS sq/ahm/sar/ A Nigerian national, arrested for allegedly raping a 31-year-old woman in Goa last week, had been booked earlier for rioting, assault and illegally over-staying in India, police sources said. Kenneth Upwegdha, 41, was arrested on Monday at the Panvel railway station near Mumbai and on Tuesday was remanded to police custody for three days by a trial court. "Kenneth was arrested for rioting and blocking the National Highway in Goa in 2013. Our records also showed that he was booked at the Calangute police station in 2012 for illegally overstaying beyond his stipulated visa duration," police sources said. Kenneth, along with another accomplice, who is still on the run, has been accused of allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman at knife-point on May 28. The rape had caused outrage in the state, with Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar accusing Nigerians of trying to deceive the Indian legal system and committing crimes on purpose to prolong their stay in the country, using the judicial process as cover. --IANS maya UK land registry records show that no transaction took place in 2009 to link Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, to a house in London, allegedly funded by an arms dealer. The property in question, Flat No.12 in Ellerton House, Bryanston Square, London, is owned by Harold and Shirley Sacks, and not by any company allegedly fronting for Vadra. According to official documents, the current owners bought the flat for 9,50,000 pounds on September 23, 2005. Since then, the property has not changed hands, documents accessed by London-based Asian Lite reveal. On Tuesday, NDTV news channel of India had reported that the government was probing allegations that Vadra purchased the property through arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari for 1.9 million pounds in 2009 and sold it a year later. According to NDTV, the investigation was based on two reports by investigating agencies prompted by e-mails allegedly sent by Vadra and his executive assistant Manoj Arora to Bhandari. Vadra's lawyer had denied the allegation, saying his client had nothing to do directly or indirectly with 12, Ellerton House. According to Zoopla.com, the leading website that tracks the real estate market and transactions, the flat's current market worth is estimated at 2,524,000 pounds. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has termed the allegations against Vadra part of "a political conspiracy" and dared the Narendra Modi government to probe the matter "unbiasedly". (Anasudhin Azeez can be reached at md@asianlite.com) --IANS azeez/rn/vt President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday condoled the kin of those killed in the massive fire and explosions at the army's Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, in Wardha district of Maharashtra. In a message to Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, the President said: "I understand rescue as well as relief operations are currently underway. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the families who have lost their near and dear ones." "I call upon the state government and other authorities to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families as well as medical assistance to the injured." "Convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I wish speedy recovery to the injured persons," he added. The toll in one of the worst peace-time devastations in army depots climbed to 18 on Wednesday with the bodies of two more persons recovered, while One person is reported missing in the tragedy. --IANS sid/rn/vt The Russian government on Wednesday started a programme to allow local residents to lease land for free in the Far East, authorities said. People living in the northwestern part of Primorsky region and bordering Lake Khanka, will be the first to benefit from the programme, Efe news cited the administration as saying on its website. The programme will be expanded on October 1 this year to allow all residents of the Far East to lease one hectare of land per head for free. The programme will be expanded to cover all residents of Russia in February 2017, authorities said. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law in early May that allows citizens to lease land for free for up to five years in the Far East to attract more settlers. The land will become private property if, after five years of use, it is proved to have been developed. Otherwise, it will be returned to the government. --IANS py/dg Telangana is gearing up to celebrate its foundation day on Thursday. Elaborate arrangements have been made to mark the occasion across the state. Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao will join in the celebrations at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad. Telangana came into existence on June 2, 2014, under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of parliament. Public spaces and government buildings have been illuminated here. Tank Bund, banks of Hussain Sagar Lake, Lumbini Park, state secretariat, the international airport at Shamshabad and places of worship are sparkling bright as India's 29th state readies itself for the celebrations. Several cultural programmes have been lined up across the state. The state government has sanctioned Rs 30 lakh for each of the 10 districts to hold celebrations between June 2 and June 7. Adilabad Additional Superintendent of Police G.R. Radhika -- who scaled Mount Everest a few days ago -- will be felicitated along with 62 other noted individuals with a citation, cash award and a shawl. The chief minister has also directed that family members of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives during the Telangana movement be felicitated in Hyderabad and the districts. --IANS pavan/bim/vt A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced an actor to seven years and six months in prison for making an anti-monarchist speech during protests. The initial sentence of 15 years, five years each for three offenses, was halved because the 58-year-old actor Thanat Thanawatcharanont pleaded guilty to the charges presented last week, state-run daily Post Today reported. In November 2013, Thanat gave a speech for which he was later tried while participating in protests in support of the former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was overthrown months later in a coup. The actor, also known as Tom Dundee, was arrested in July 2014 and has since remained in prison, EFE reported. Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code punishes those convicted of insulting, defaming or threatening the king, queen, crown prince or regent with a jail term of between three and 15 years. Although King Bhumibol himself declared in 2005 that he is not above criticism, the prosecution for this charge has soared in recent years due to political divisions in the country. After the military coup in May 2014, the number of lese majeste prosecutions has multiplied. On various occasions, the army has sent suspects to military courts whose sentences are twice as severe as those of civil courts, according to the human rights defence organisation iLaw. --IANS ksk Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday asserted that failure was not an option in the war against terrorism and vowed that Operation Zarb-e-Azab would be completed this year. In an informal conversation with media at the Parliament House, the army chief reflected on the ongoing activities of the Pakistan Army and said that the operation to root out terrorism was progressing successfully. "I have earlier said that 2016 will mark the elimination of terrorism," he said. Gen Sharif said that 99 per cent terrorism had been brought under control and that the remaining one percent would be eradicated as well. Gen Sharif on his visit to the Parliament House met the executive parliamentarians in the capital. --IANS ahm/vt Prime Minister Narendra Modi was spot on when he told the Wall Street Journal that the public sector has a very important role to play and should not be done away with. But not, perhaps, in the way he intended. With reference to the editorial, Dangerous bottled water (June 1), the affinity to is fading, as environmental and health concerns about it are taking centre stage. Besides, using 1.6 litres of water to package one litre of water that tastes no better than tap water, and generating huge post-consumer trash seem unwise. Pepsico had admitted last year that its Aquafina brand of mineral water contains nothing but tap water. Sikkim became the first Indian state to ban packaged in government departments and events; Bihar followed suit. It would be a huge betrayal of peoples trust if were found to contain toxic chemicals even as processed food is under the scanner. For the regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to be inconsistent on the presence of potentially hazardous potassium bromate in bakery products and bottled water is tantamount to playing with the lives of people. The World Health Organization is right in recommending that bottled water should be totally free of impurities, which is what the consumer expects for the money she spends on the product. Effective techniques of filtration such as using nanomaterials, which render water completely safe, should be explored and adopted by companies. C V Krishna Manoj, Hyderabad can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi 110 002Fax: (011) 23720201 E-mail: letters@bsmail.in All must have a postal address and telephone number As the AgustaWestland helicopter bribery case occupies the headlines, the question of how the defence procurement system should react to such accusations has become even more pressing. Under the defence minister in the previous, United Progressive Alliance, government, a particular method was used: the blacklisting of any company accused of bribery. Perhaps the motivation for this was understandable, given the political sensitivity of defence bribery accusations. However, it rapidly became clear that it is a blunt tool and, furthermore, one which if used at length will seriously compromise Indias national security. Consider the case of Indias newest range of submarines, being produced under what is called Project 75. The decision was taken to expand Indias aging fleet of 13 diesel-electric submarines, many of which are long past their decommissioning dates, and which pose a threat to lives and security. Project 75 was supposed to deliver six submarines the design would be from the French Scorpene line. The first of these, INS Kalavari, is going through its sea trials at the moment, and is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of this year or the beginning of the next. But, incredibly, it will be commissioned without its main armament; it has now been reported that the heavyweight torpedoes, worth Rs 1,200 crore, that were supposed to be bought for the submarines have had their contract scrapped. Why? Because they are made by Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei, or WASS. And WASS is a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica as is, unfortunately for the torpedo contract, AgustaWestland. In the past couple of years, there seems to be a growing appetite among individual investors for Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). As a result, their total number rose to 9.3 million in March, from 5.2 million in March 2014. The amount invested each month through these plans more than doubled from Rs 1,206 crore to Rs 2,747 crore over this period. Given this, fund houses are trying to make it easier for customers to get into these. They are also offering interesting tweaks to this feature. Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management has launched an instant SIP registration facility. Says chief executive Sundeep Sikka: It can take up to 21 days to register an SIP through physical application or Internet. When you submit a physical form, there is a chance of rejection if the signature or other key details dont match. Internet registration also has a high drop-off rate, as investors are required to add the biller separately. The instant registration facility seeks to avoid these issues. After logging into the website, investors have to choose the scheme and plan, investment amount, SIP date, etc. Then, they are directed to HDFC Banks net banking page, where they can log in and authorise the SIP registration instantly through debit of Rs 1. The fund house is in talks to expand this facility to customers of other banks. ALSO READ: Popular equity schemes fail to beat bank RD returns Quantum Mutual Fund recently made the process of e-KYC and in-person verification (IPV) more convenient via the use of selfies. Earlier, you filled the e-KYC form online and then held a face-to-face session with the fund houses customer service executive via a webcam to do the IPV. Now, instead of scheduling an appointment, you send in a selfie video to complete the IPV. ALSO READ: Don't pull out of US funds yet Systematic transfer plans (STPs), where money is transferred from a liquid fund and invested in an equity fund, have been tweaked by fund houses to take advantage of volatility and boost returns. In HDFC Mutual Funds Flex STP, when the net asset value (NAV) rises above the level at which you entered, the investor keeps investing the same amount. When it falls, he invests more, in proportion to the fall. The fund houses Swing STP takes the idea a step further. You invest more when the NAV falls and invest less (based on a formula) when it rises. ALSO READ: Dividend yield funds brave falling markets A significant add-on is the top-up SIP. The premise here is that your savings and investment should grow in line with your salary. Says Nimesh Shah, managing director and chief executive officer, ICICI Prudential AMC: By opting for this, the customer doesnt have to start a new SIP or go through the formalities of changing the amount every time his salary goes up. The process of investing more is automated. It also allows him to reach his goals faster. ICICI Prudential allows customers to increase the SIP amount by five or 10 per cent or by Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 every six months or annually. An SIP is a suitable product, especially for the salaried class, as it matches their cash flows with investment. It introduces discipline and gives the benefit of rupee cost averaging. However, even an SIP cant protect you entirely from the short-term volatility of equities. When the markets fall steeply, dont stop your SIP, says Aditya Agarwal, founder, wealthy.in, a Bengaluru-based investment platform. For SIPs to work, he adds, investors should check fund performance and rebalance their portfolios regularly. Much hinges, or so claim defence lawyers fighting the case for those accused of murdering Mohammad Akhlaq, on whether the meat recovered from the house of the 52-year-old tailor was beef or not. On Tuesday, the defence made public a report from Mathuras University of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry that the meat was of cow or its progeny and not of goat. An earlier report by the Greater Noida veterinary officer had claimed it was goat meat. Akhlaqs family has rejected the report as politically motivated but relatives of the accused are now likely to push the police to lodge a case of cow slaughter against Akhlaqs family. Beef consumption is not banned in Uttar Pradesh but cow slaughter is a punishable offence in the state. While it should be unacceptable that people be killed for consuming beef, the latest twist in Akhlaq's lynching in end-September 2015 is likely to revive the controversy with UP slated to elect a new assembly by May next year. There is, however, also lack of clarity on whether the meat tested in the Mathura lab was indeed recovered from Akhlaq's freezer or the sample was from the spot where he was lynched. Akhlaq was lynched by a mob in Dadris Bishahra village on September 28, 2015. Akhlaq and his 18-year-old son Danish were dragged out of their home on the suspicion of having slaughtered a calf. Danish had survived. The police had arrested 18 people, including the son and relatives of a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. Now, the defence lawyers say the finding by the Mathura lab that the meat was beef would strengthen their case that the lynching was done by an emotionally charged mob. They argue that the lynching wasnt a case of murder under section 302 of Indian Penal Code but of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304. The punishment for murder is life imprisonment and it is a non-bailable offence. However, Section 304 is not only bailable but the punishment is significantly less stringent. The accused have been booked under Section 302. Akhlaqs family has rejected the report. Akhlaqs brother Chand Mohammad told reporters that he believed the report was politically motivated. The family has insisted from the beginning that the meat was that of goat and not cow. The lawyer for Akhlaqs family has told the media that whether the meat was of goat or beef didn't change the fact that Akhlaq was murdered. Whatever the facts of the case, cow slaughter and consumption of beef are likely to become emotional issues in the state as it prepares to go for polls in 2017. Western Uttar Pradesh has remained communally sensitive ever since the Muzaffarnagar communal riots of August 2013. There have been over a dozen incidents of low key communal violence in western UP in 2014-15 as well. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has extended its call of Congress-mukt Bharat to the for 58 seats due on June 11. The BJPs support for independent candidates for the in more than one state has queered the pitch for Congress candidates, particularly for Kapil Sibal in Uttar Pradesh and Vivek Tankha in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP is assured of winning one of the two seats of Jharkhand. But the BJP, by having fielded former party treasurer Mahesh Poddar, is not letting the second seat go uncontested. Basant Soren, youngest son of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren, could win the seat after Congress promised support. However, BJPs own nominations for the Rajya Sabha have been a snub to some of its senior leaders that they are out of favour. The decision on nominations has also been an unambiguous message to its upcoming leaders that they need to continue working for the party and shouldnt expect rewards this soon. The BJP leadership has nominated former state president Gopal Narayan Singh. He was selected from a list of seven candidates that had included former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, former MP Shahnawaz Hussain, Kiran Ghai and Rameshwar Chaurasiya. Singh is a long time rival of Sushil Modi. In its selection of 18 candidates for the on June 11, the BJP leadership overlooked the claims of some of its general secretaries while recognizing the decades of service to the party by some of its vice presidents. Party vice presidents Purushottam K Rupala, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Om Prakash Mathur have been given Upper House nominations. Of the BJPs eight general secretaries, the names of at least four were discussed for Rajya Sabha nominations. These were Ram Madhav, Kailash Vijaywargiya, Dr Anil Jain and P Muralidhar Rao. Party sources said that the leadership decided that the four should continue to devote time to strengthening the party organization. Madhav even tweeted that he wasnt in the race for a Rajya Sabha nomination. In Uttar Pradesh, the support of BJP legislators to socialite Priti Mahapatra could make Congress candidate Kapil Sibals election treacherous. Uttar Pradesh has 11 Rajya Sabha vacancies. There are now 12 candidates in the fray with the entry of Mahapatra that makes voting necessary. Other candidates include seven from Samajwadi Party, two from Bahujan Samaj Party and one each from the Congress and BJP. In the house of 403, a candidate to get elected needs 34 first preference votes. All others, barring Sibal and Mahapatra, are likely to get the requisite first preference votes. The Congress has 28 legislators and is hoping for six first preference votes for Sibal from other parties, especially the Samajwadi Party that has 224 legislators. But Mahapatra, assured of 16 extra first preference votes of the BJP, could make the contest interesting if she finds support from across party lines. Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh the BJP has blessed the candidature of state unit general secretary Vinod Gotiya. He filed his nomination as an independent candidate. Madhya Pradesh has three vacant seats with BJPs Anil Madhav Dave and MJ Akbar assured of victory. There will now be a contest for the third seat between Gotiya and Congress Tankha. It was earlier thought that the BJP might allow Tankha get elected unopposed given the lawyers rapport with CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. A candidate to get elected would need 58 votes in the 230-member assembly. The Congress has 57 legislators. With 165 MLAs, the BJP has an extra 49 first preference votes and is assured of support of three independent MLAs. Much would hinge on which way the four BSP MLAs might lean and whether any Congress MLAs decide to not turn up for voting. A special tribunal in Bangladesh today handed down death penalty to one person and imprisonment until death to his two brothers for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War by siding with Pakistani troops. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) announced the verdicts to the convicts, all in their late 60s, who faced the trial in person after they were arrested earlier this year. "He (Mohibur Rahman Boro Mia) will be hanged by neck until he is dead," pronounced chairman of the three-member ICT-BD panel of judges Justice Anwarul Haque. The verdict also ordered imprisonments until death for Mohibur's younger brother Mozibur Rahman Angur Miah and paternal cousin Abdur Razzak for carrying our atrocities at their neighbourhood in northeastern Habiganj raising a gang of paramilitary "razakar force" siding with the Pakistani troops. The judgment came 21 days after the tribunal wrapped up the hearing of the case but held the verdict, which can be challenge in the Supreme Court. On May 10, chief of Bangladesh's biggest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami Motiur Rahman Nizami was hanged as the last remaining top perpetrator of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan. Bangladesh has so far executed four war crimes convicts since the process began to try the top Bengali perpetrators of 1971 atrocities in line with the electoral commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2008. Two others - 1971-time Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam and ex-BNP minister Abdul Alim - were earlier handed down "imprisonment until death" penalty instead of capital punishment on grounds of their old age as they had exceeded 80. They subsequently died in the prison cells of a specialised state-run hospital due to old age ailments. The Supreme Court until now disposed eight cases of war crimes trial in the appeal process against ICT-BD verdicts while several of the convicts facing death penalties have fled the country to evade justice. In one of the cases, the apex court enhanced the life imprisonment of one of the convicts, Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah, to death penalty, finding the tribunal verdict too lenient and in another case, reduced the death sentence of another Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, ordering imprisonment until death. A 17-year-old youth was killed while two others injured when a truck ploughed into them near Chachoki village on National Highway 1 between Phagwara and Goraya, police said today. Vishal, a resident of Johal village in Goraya, was killed, while his brother Varinder and friend Baljit sustained injuries in the mishap that occurred last night, they said. The incident happened when a stationary truck was hit by another truck from behind, causing it to run over the three youths waiting for a bus to Goraya, on NH-1, police said. Varinder was referred to a Ludhiana hospital in critical condition, while Baljit is hospitalised here, they said, adding, a case has been registered against the erring truck driver. Thirteen persons were arrested by the Crime Branch of Odisha police today in connection with an alleged loan fraud in Dhenkanal Urban Co-operative Bank. On the basis of audit reports, 13 persons including bank's former President, Secretary and two members of loan sub-committee have been arrested in the first phase, said Special DG, Crime Branch, BK Sharma. Nine of the arrested were loan takers who had availed loans but have not yet repaid, he said. During investigation, it came to light that some officials of the bank had hatched a conspiracy and sanctioned loans to some people through fake documents. In some cases, loans were given without security. Loans were also given to relatives of bank officials, Sharma said. Some more people are suspected to be involved in the case and investigation is in progress, he said. The arrest was made after crime branch sleuths thoroughly interrogated the former President of the bank, the Secretary and others, police said. It was alleged that financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 11 crore took place in the bank between 1993 and 2001. The bank was closed in 2008. Acquiring assets "per se" is not a crime unless the sources are found to be illegal, the Supreme Court today said while Karnataka maintained that the High Court order acquitting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the assets case is "perverse". In an unusual hearing during summer break, a vacation bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy said that the disproportionate assets "per se is not a crime" and "it's a crime only if source of money is found to be illegal". The apex court, which generally takes up urgent matters during the vacation, had decided to hear the final arguments in the high-profile case after counsel for both sides had agreed to appear during this period. The court, during the hearing, outlined the three options available to it and said it may either uphold the High court verdict or reverse it or re-appreciate the entire evidence which may lead to fresh re-trial or it can also remand the matter to the High court for fresh consideration. The observation came when senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Karnataka, described the High Court judgment as "perverse beyond imagination", devoid of reasoning and based on "conjectures and surmises". The bench, hearing appeals filed by Karnataka government and DMK leader K Anbazhagan against the AIADMK leader who has come back to the power in the state last month, asked the state about the evidence to establish that money, allegedly circulated among various accused, belonged to the Chief Minister. It also asked about the evidence showing that the sources of the money in question was illegal. Dave, assailing the verdict, said, "The judgement of the High Court reflects violent miscarriage of justice and it is perverse beyond imagination. It is based on mere surmises and conjectures and none of the findings are based on evidence." He also assailed the observation made by the High Court that there was a culture of giving gifts in Tamil Nadu. "There is no need for such an observation. Every politician, who is involved in corruption cases, will then go scot free. This court has been saying that there was a need to cleanse the system and the corruption should be dealt with iron hands," the senior lawyer said. The approach of the High Court defied Parliamentary laws on corruption. The appellate courts cannot substitute the logical conclusions of trial courts without dealing with them, he said. "Not a word in the judgement (of the High Court) says that the trial court judgement is perverse and not based on evidence," he said, adding that there were "glaring mistakes" in the verdict which cannot be "sustained in the eyes of law". Dave also said that the apex court, since 1954, has been telling high courts to give "detailed and reasoned" verdicts. "The Supreme Court has several times told the high courts to consider the entire gamut of a matter if it is converting convictions into acquittals," he said. During the hearing, the bench dealt with the aspect as to whether it can "re-appreciate" the evidence brought before the trial court, the observation was opposed by Dave. "As per the principle laid down, the appellate court, instead of remanding the case to trial court for re-trial, can re-appreciate the evidence on some issues if materials are available before it and if the judgement of the high court is found to be perverse," the court said. Dave today concluded arguments, dealing with the roles of four accused also including Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala and her two relatives, V N Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, on behalf of state government. Now another senior advocate Siddharth Luthra would argue on behalf of Karnataka on June 7 to deal with the alleged roles of some firms including Indo Doha Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals in the case. The Karnataka government is arguing its appeal in the case as the trial was shifted from Tamil Nadu and a Bangalore court had convicted the accused including Jayalalithaa who later succeeded in her challenge before the High Court there. Besides Jayalalithaa, others acquitted by the High Court were her close aide Sasikala and her two relatives, V N Sudhakaran and Elavarasi. On July 27, last year the apex court had issued notices on Karnataka government's appeal seeking stay of the high court judgement to Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her relatives V N Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, asking them to file their replies within eight weeks. The Karnataka HC had on May 11, 2015 ruled that AIADMK supremo's conviction by special court suffered from infirmity and was not sustainable in law, clearing decks for her return as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. The special court had in 2014 held Jayalalithaa guilty of corruption and sentenced her to four years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore. Jayalalithaa and three others were accused of allegedly amassing disproportionate asserts to the tune of Rs. 66.65.Crores during her first term as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh, who is also president of All India Jat Maha Sabha, today appealed the Jat community in neighbouring Haryana to organise their proposed pro-quota protests from June 5 in a "peaceful and democratic" manner. Speaking to media after welcoming 62 Sarpanches from Fazilka in the Congress party, Singh said, "We don't approve of any violence and we strongly condemn it." "If anybody wants to pursue his demands it must be in a peaceful and democratic manner," he said. The Amritsar MP also clarified that "their reservation demand was within the OBC category for economically weaker sections among the Jats and excluding the creamy layer". He said there are tens of thousands of Jat families who don't own even single acre of land and they need reservation. Citing Punjab's case, Singh alleged that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is "deliberately sitting" over the matter. The PCC president also favoured reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) among general categories without disturbing the existing reservation policy. He said, during his interaction with students in different parts of the state, there were dozens of queries as to why EWS students of general category cannot be provided with some concessions like those from the reserved categories. He said his party is working on it and it will be incorporated in the party's manifesto. Singh said he will lead a dharna on June 18 in Badal village to protest against alleged multi-crore recruitment scam and stage another dharna on June 8 at Dina Nagar to protest against non-payment of sugarcane farmers "amounting to over Rs 200 crore". There will another dharna on June 13 at Jalandhar against "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state, he said. Amarinder said in the run up to the 2017 Assembly polls, he plans to hold 80 public meetings across the state. Referring to the "multicrore recruitment scam", in which selective leaks of question papers of recruitment for gazetted and non-gazetted officers allegedly took place by an organised gang, he alleged it involved "a person close to" ruling Badals. On law and order issue, he said, while a few months had already passed there is no clue about the killers of the Namdhari Mata Bibi Chand Kaur. He also said the police have failed to act in the case of attack on Sant Ranjit Singh Dhadarianwale. "For the same reason I have supported Sant Dhandrianwale's demand for CBI probe as Punjab police had failed to take any action," he said. Reliance Nippon Life Insurance chief executive Anup Rau has resigned from the company, purportedly after being asked to quit over alleged non-performance. Rau, who was chief executive of the company for three years, resigned after the company posted a Rs 200 crore loss for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, sources close to the company said. They said Reliance Nippon Life Insurance, a part of Reliance Capital, had asked Rau to resign after profits slumped from Rs 380 crore in the financial year 2012-13 to a loss of Rs 200 crore in the 2015-16 fiscal. Rau could not be immediately reached for comments. When contacted a company spokesperson declined to comment. He had joined the company in 2013 after Nippon Life Insurance, amongst the world's largest life insurers, had taken 26 per cent stake in Reliance Life Insurance. Rau's resignation was accepted by the Board of Reliance Nippon Life Insurance in a recent meeting and the regulator IRDAI has also been duly informed of the same. Reliance Nippon Life Insurance would be announcing a new CEO in due course. "Reliance Nippon Life Insurance had sought Anup's resignation for non-performance. The profit numbers had been consistently shrinking and the cost of acquisition was going up substantially. The management decided to make some changes at the top in order to arrest the mounting losses and costs," said a source. Reliance Nippon Life Insurance for the year ended 2015-16 recorded a dip in new business premium to Rs 1,560 crore from Rs 2,070 crore in the previous financial year. There was also a consistent decline in number of policies sold, which slumped from 7.7 lakh in 2012-13 to 3.6 lakh in 2015-16 along with a low market share of 2 per cent during the fiscal. A local court has rejected the bail plea of five Samajwadi Party suporters in connection with celeberatory firing incident in which an eight-year-old boy was killed here. Additilnal District Sessions judge Abhimanu dismissed the bail plea of the five accused includingthe husband of victorius candidate of block pramukh Gayyur saying that there is no case for the relief in the case. According to the prosecution, the 8-year-old boy Sami was killed in firing at Kairana town in Shamli district on February 7, 2016 when SP workers were celebrating the victory of a candidate Nafisa, wife of Gayyur, in local body polls. As Thailand's ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra made her way through a line of fans, some cried, others screamed and a few embraced her. "She touched my hand! She touched my hand!" one woman yelled at a Buddhist temple in the rural northeast where several hundred people came to see her Monday. This was not a political campaign stop. If it had been, the generals who ousted Yingluck two years ago never would have let it happen. She's banned from politics, and the military government has banned the entire country from trying to sway voters, who will decide August 7 whether to accept a new constitution drawn up by the junta. Yingluck says she's simply greeting and thanking her 5 million Facebook fans for their support, but she appears to be hoping that by touring the country, she can galvanize supporters without saying a political word. "She will show to her opponent and also to the public that, 'We are still here and there is a huge support for us,'" said Kan Yuenyong, executive director of the Siam Intelligence Unit think tank. "I think this is very important message, a hidden message, that she would like to send to the public." Yingluck herself conceded no hidden messages in an Associated Press interview. "I am still banned from being involved in politics for five years, even if the law from the constitution that was used to impose the ban on me is no longer in use," she said. "I still want to work closely with people in whatever capacity. Today I am meeting the fan page followers because during this time of economic hardship, people want tourists to visit their provinces. So we're using this as an opportunity to promote tourist destinations and make them well-known. This is one of the many ways to strengthen the economy at the grassroots level." The junta wants voters to approve the constitution and a related measure. They would, among other things, allow a non-elected prime minister to lead the country, create an appointed rather than an elected Senate and give unprecedented power to the Constitutional Court. "This draft will lead the country backwards," Yingluck and her Pheu Thai Party said in a March 30 statement. The military government, officially called the National Council for Peace and Order, has made it illegal for anyone but itself to advocate for or against the proposed constitution. Expressing a strong opinion for or against it before the referendum could bring a jail term of up to 10 years, a 200,000 baht (USD 5,600) fine and revocation of voting rights for 10 years. The probe into the financial dealings of arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari took a new turn today with the Enforcement Directorate serving him notice seeking bank accounts and details of his properties. The ED action has come even as the Income Tax has sought information from some countries about the properties purchased by him, one of which is said to have been owned and later sold by Robert Vadra in London allegedly facilitated by Bhandari. Bhandari is also likely to face a case under the Officials Secrets Act as Income Tax department had allegedly recovered minutes of the meeting of Defence Acquisition from his residence during raids in the last week of April this year. The ED has been shared with all the documents and information by the Income Tax department about Bhandari. Efforts to reach Bhandari did not fructify as he neither replied to phone calls or messages sent on his mobile telephone. The Enforcement Directorate may file a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once the Defence Ministry gives its opinion about the classification of defence documents is recovered and a case under OSA is registered against him. Income Tax returns of Bhandari and his set of companies besides Vadra's companies are being examined afresh by the tax sleuths before raising a tax demand on him. In the meantime, requests have been sent to various countries where Bhandari had opened a web of companies to share the bank information details, the sources said. The tax department has approached authorities about purchase of a property and subsequent sell off as they believed that it was purchased from the kickback received by him for over Rs 2,800 crore Pilatus trainer jet deal for the Indian Air Force clinched in 2012. The Air Force had purchased 75 of Pilatus in 2012 under a controversial deal but the requirement was for over 106 more planes. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had last year cut this down and cleared a plan to purchase another 38 of Pilatus aircraft. However, the contract is still stuck on pricing issues. In a related development, the probe is said to have found that Bhandari was constantly in touch with Civil Aviation Minister M Gajapati Raju's Officer on Special Duty Appa Rao, a charge denied by him. Officials said the department approached the British Virgin Islands, the UK, UAE, Switzerland and a few other countries in order to take its probe forward and obtain further details about the transactions and investments made by Bhandari and some companies he purportedly owned and operated. They said the case against Bhandari was launched in April after the department received certain inputs about the financial activities of Bhandari and later searches were carried out against him in Delhi. The department has reportedly recovered certain emails that talk about renovation of a costly apartment in London in 2010 which was allegedly owned by Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Vadra's legal firm has denied that he owned the London property directly or indirectly. It also denied Vadra has any business ties with an arms dealer or his aide. Sources said probe in the tax evasion and assessment of income after the searches are still on. The department has also written to the Financial Intelligence Unit to provide it with certain details of bank accounts and transactions which involve Bhandari and few prominent names in the political and bureaucratic circles. It is expected that the taxman will soon get in touch with the Defence Ministry as Bhandari ran a consultancy firm and is said to have interests in procurements related to armed forces in the country. Stating that "Congress-free India" is its commitment, the BJP today asked the ruling party why it expects the opposition party in Uttarakhand to give it a walkover in Rajya Sabha. "We are pitted against Congress everywhere and building a Congress-free India is our commitment. Why in a situation like this does the Congress expect us to give it a walkover in the Rajya Sabha?" Pradesh BJP President Ajay Bhatt said in a statement here. Replying to Chief Minister Harish Rawat's objection to BJP backing Independents who are in the fray for Rajya Sabha, Bhatt said the party had never made a secret of its intentions to support Independents. "The BJP had of course said it will not enter the fray as it did not have the numbers but we always said we may support Independents in the interest of the state and we have done exactly that," Bhatt said. If some people want to contest for the Rajya Sabha seat as independents what is wrong in that? he asked. BJP leaders Gita Thakur and Anil Goel have filed their papers as Independents. Bhatt also asked Rawat to explain to people what compromises did he have to make to quell the revolt in PDF and Congress sparked by Pradeeep Tamta's nomination as the party's candidate for Rajya Sabha. Burying their differences, ruling allies Congress and PDF in Uttarakhand yesterday fielded a joint candidate for the Rajya Sabha with former Lok Sabha MP from Almora Pradeep Tamta filing his nomination for the Upper House seat from the hill state on behalf of the alliance. Tamta's candidature had earlier raised eyebrows in the PDF which was expecting a Rajya Sabha seat in recognition of its consistent support to Harish Rawat during the recent political crisis in the state which finally saw him winning the floor test in the state Assembly and being reinstated as Chief Minister. It had also not gone down well with some contenders for the seat within Congress including former PCC president Yashpal Arya. However, last minute confabulations with the Congress high command assuaged ruffled feathers with PDF deciding to stay out of the fray and field a joint candidate with Congress for the Upper House of Parliament. BJP today suspended its Gandhinagar-based member Ashok Makwana who was arrested yesterday by the city police for molesting a minor girl on a Goa-Ahmedabad flight. "Gujarat BJP president Vijay Rupani suspended Ashok Makwana from party's primary membership with immediate effect," said state BJP's general secretary K C Patel. Makwana (41), a labour contractor, had been offered the post of vice president of Gandhinagar city unit recently but he had declined citing his busy schedule. Sardarnagar police here yesterday arrested him for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old girl on board a Goa-Ahmedabad flight of IndiGo Airlines on May 29. He was booked under section 354-A of IPC (sexual harassment) and sections 11 and 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. According to the FIR filed by the girl's parents, a male passenger sitting next to their daughter (who was travelling alone) sexually harassed her during the journey by trying to touch her several times and making inappropriate gestures. Police identified him as Makwana from the passenger's list. Government bonds (G-Secs) dropped further on heavy selling pressure from banks and corporates and the overnight call money rates also remained lower owing to subdued demand from borrowing banks amid ample liquidity in the banking system. The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2026 declined to Rs 100.6850 from Rs 100.7850 previously, while its yield edged up to 7.49 per cent from 7.47 per cent. The 7.88 per cent government security maturing in 2030 dipped to Rs 100.87 from Rs 100.9975, while its yield inched up to 7.77 per cent from 7.76 per cent. The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2029 fell to Rs 99.0500 from Rs 99.1925, while its yield moved up to 7.71 per cent from 7.69 per cent. The 8.27 per cent government security maturing in 2020, the 7.68 per cent government security maturing in 2023 and the 7.72 per cent government security maturing in 2025 were also quoted lower to Rs 103.0925, Rs 100.41 and Rs 100.3250 respectively. The overnight call money rates ended lower at 6.03 per cent from Tuesday's closing level 6.25 per cent. It resumed higher at 6.50 per cent and moved in a range of 6.60 per cent and 6.00 per cent. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), purchased securities worth Rs 27.03 billion in a 5-bids at the overnight repo auction at a fixed rate of 6.50 per cent as on today, while it sold securities worth Rs 77.90 billion from 26-bids at the overnight reverse repo auction at a fixed rate of 6.00 per cent as on May 31. India's Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea were today knocked out of the French Open men's doubles event after being handed a straight-set defeat in the quarterfinals here. Bopanna and Mergea, seeded sixth, went down 4-6 4-6 to third seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. In a lopsided contest, Bopanna and Mergea struggled to handle Dodig and Melo's fine service game. The Indo-Romanian combine was broken once in the opening set and failed to convert either of the two break points it earned. Bopanna and Mergea also committed a couple of double faults. The second set followed a similar script and once again, Bopanna and Mergea failed to break their rivals. Dodig and Melo, however, continued to be dominant with their first serve besides converting one of the three break points they earned to outwit the sixth seeds. Ahead of this month's key referendum, more than 80 British Indian business leaders have supported Britain's membership in the European Union, saying Brexit will have the "double whammy effect" by hitting UK businesses as well as impacting inward investment from countries like India. In an open letter, 81 signatories who represent companies which range from multi-million-pound businesses to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and employ thousands of people across the UK, warned that a vote to leave the EU would create "significant uncertainty" and put jobs and business investment at risk. They operate across a range of sectors including financial and legal services, hospitality, consultancy, real estate, care services, retail, media, technology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, construction and manufacturing. British Indian MP Alok Sharma, who is coordinating the cross-party anti-Brexit campaign group 'British Indians for IN' in the lead up to the June 23 referendum, claimed the views of the Indian-origin businessmen formed an important majority view of the country. "As the Prime Minister's Infrastructure Envoy to India I speak very regularly with business leaders in the UK and India. Their overwhelming view echoes that of the signatories to this letter, that a vote for the UK to leave the EU will be bad for British businesses, jobs and investment," Sharma said. "Brexit will have the double whammy effect of not only hitting UK businesses but also impacting on inward investment. Indian companies have informed me that some decisions on future investments into the UK have been deferred until the outcome of the referendum is known and, if we vote to leave the EU, there is a big risk that Indian companies will think twice before investing in the UK," he said in a statement. The signatories said they believe the UK's membership of the EU helps "strengthen the British economy". Their letter reads: "Some of those who want Britain to leave the EU suggest that doing so will somehow help to increase our trade with high growth economies like that of India. We disagree with this assessment. "Britain is a stronger economic partner with countries like India because we are part of the European Union. In our experience one of the key reasons that Britain is an attractive destination for inward overseas investment is because we are seen as a gateway to the European Single market of 500 million people." Some of the prominent Indian-origin businessmen who have signed the letter include Cobra Beer chief Lord Karan Bilimoria, Vitabiotics chairman Kartar Lalvani and hotelier Girish Sanger, among others. "The UK is the most important market in Europe for Indian FDI, and Indian companies have created more jobs in Britain than any other Asian country in 2015, according to UK government figures. A Brexit could cause uncertainty for FDI, immigration and trade relations between the two strong partners," said Pratik Dattani, Director - UK, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), also among the signatories. Government today cleared proposal to set up India Post payments bank with a corpus of Rs 800 crore and has plans to have 650 branches operational by September 2017, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "The Cabinet has cleared proposal of postal payments bank. We have 1.54 lakh post offices of which 1.39 lakh are rural post offices. 650 branches of postal payments bank will be established in the country which will be linked to rural post offices," Prasad said. The Minister said the payments bank, which will be run by Chief Executive Officer, will be professionally managed and there will be a representation from various other government departments including the Department of Posts, Department of Expenditure, Department of Economic Services etc. "Total architecture of postal payments bank is of Rs 800 crore which will have Rs 400 crore equity and Rs 400 crore grant. By September 2017, all 650 branches of postal payments bank will become operational. This we had planned for three years but now we will be doing it in a year," Prasad said. He said that all 'grameen dak sevaks' in rural post offices will be given handheld devices by March 2017. "We are reinforcing it further. I have had discussion with my officers to give iPad and smartphones to postmen in urban post offices," Prasad said. At present, core banking network of post offices is more than that of State Bank of India. SBI has 1,666 core banking branches while 22,137 post offices now have core banking facility. (REOPEN DCM 65) "We will start operations (of IPPB) in March 2017 in about 50 districts and quickly scale up to cover the entire country by the end of financial year 2018-19," Prasad said. More than 50 national and international banks, insurance companies, money transfer organisations are keen to tie up with IPPB, he said. "It will offer basic banking, payments of DBT benefits, utility bills, collection of taxes/fees, remittances etc," Prasad said. About 5000 ATMs will be set up for IPPB initially. It will have a focus on rural, semi-urban and offer mobile banking platforms, digital wallets, use emerging technologies such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI), e KYC, AEPS and catalyse the shift from a cash dominant to a less cash economy. The government on Wednesday gave its nod for inking of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. "The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Qatar for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism," an official release said. The main objectives of the MoU include creating favourable conditions for long-term co-operation in the field of tourism and exchange of expertise and information related to the sector, it said. The MoU also aims for exchange visits of tour operators,media persons and opinion makers for promotion of two-way tourism and encourage public and private sectors to invest in the sector, among others. Qatar is an emerging tourism source market for India with over 6,300 tourists arrival from it in 2015, besides it offers vast opportunity for India in terms of medical tourism, the release said. "The signing of MoU with Qatar will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this emerging source market," it added. Government today gave its nod to a proposal for extension of over nine km for first phase of Chennai Metro rail project at a cost of Rs 3,770 crore. "The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the proposal for Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I Project from Washermanpet to Wimconagar. "It covers a length of 9.051 km at a total cost of Rs 3,770 crore," an official statement said. To be completed by March 2018, the project will be executed by the existing Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)--Chennai Metro Rail Ltd-- in which the Centre and Tamil Nadu government have 50:50 equity. Out of the total project cost, Indian government's share will be Rs 713 crore while that of the state government Rs 916 crore, which include cost of Land and Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) of Rs 203 crore. The balance amount of Rs 2,141 crore will be met from loan. "This extension will provide improved access to public transport for dense population comprising predominantly industrial workers to move towards the central business district of the city for work," the statement said. The estimated ridership will be 1.6 lakh passengers per day in the first year of the operation, it added. The government today approved extra allocation of 62,307 tonnes of foodgrains to three states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Nagaland, that are yet to implement the National Food Security Act. The foodgrains would be supplied to below poverty line and above poverty line families through ration shops in the three states. Barring these three states, all the states and Union Territories have rolled out the NFSA, under which 5 kg of wheat and rice are supplied to each beneficiary at highly subsidised rates of Rs 2-3 per kg. "The CCEA has approved an additional monthly allocation of 41,800 tonnes of foodgrains for BPL families and 20,507 tonnes of foodgrains to APL families to three non-NFSA states," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the meeting of Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs. A total 62,307 tonnes of foodgrains will be allocated monthly to three non-NFSA states -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Nagaland -- for supply to BPL (below poverty line) and APL (above poverty line) families under Public Distribution System (PDS), also called ration shops. The CCEA has approved allocation of extra foodgrains to these three states from April to June of this year or till implementation of NFSA by the respective State, whichever is earlier, an official statement said. "Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Nagaland are still getting allocation of foodgrains under the erstwhile system of PDS. These states are in the process of implementation of NFSA in the coming months," the statement added. Poor families will get the ration at BPL rate while APL families at two-thirds of the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat and rice or MSP derived price. Last year, the additional allocation was made to non-NFSA states at BPL and APL rates. However, the government decided to de-incentivise so that these three states are forced to implement the food law at the earliest. Wheat and rice are priced at Rs 4.15 per kg and Rs 5.65 for BPL families while MSP is fixed at Rs 15.25 for wheat and Rs 14.5 for rice. NFSA, which came into force in 2013 and was to be implemented by all states by March 2016, aims provide foodgrains at Rs 2-3/kg to two-third population of the country. The National Conference today asked the Central and State governments to clear their stand for the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley and called for a concrete, time-bound rehabilitation and return plan. "Both the central and state government should form concrete time bound and actionable return and rehabilitation plan of KPs by consulting true and real representatives of the displaced peoples," M K Yogi, president of NC Minority Cell, said. A meeting of the Minority Cell was held at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan Jammu here under the leadership of former MLC and former Chief Secretary of J&K Vijay Bakaya, who is Political Advisory to NC Patron President, Farooq Abdullah. "Both the governments should clear their stand on mode and modal of return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants in the valley. They should speed up this process as it has been 26 years of exile for KPs," NC leader said. He said that the government should take confidence building measures including implementation of PM's employment package, construction of more transit accommodations for employees and displaced Pandits. He said that the Centre and the state government had discussed the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits but the representatives of the community were not taken into confidence. NC called for time-bound implementation of the PM employment package and claimed that only 1600 youths have got jobs. In a first for Sino-India ties, a kindergarten in Delhi is likely to be paired as 'sister school' with one in Kunming city as part of efforts to foster greater understanding of each other's culture, a top Chinese diplomat today said. Describing children as the future "special envoys" of Sino-India ties, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of China in India, Jinsong Liu, said that details in this regard are being worked out but from China side there is "no problem". "China and India are good partners, good neighbours, and good friends. And roots of friendship are in the hearts of kids. In future, they will grow up to be our special envoys, bridges of our future friendship," Jinsong said. "We already have sister cities or states and other bilateral tie-ups but we still need to innovate and therefore this sister kindergarten concept as this would also help the children on both sides to understand the two countries well from a young age," he said. Jinsong led a delegation from the Chinese Embassy which visited private-run 'Little Pearls' kindergarten and discussed with school officials the groundwork for pairing it with Education Faculty No 2 Kindergarten in Kunming as 'sisters'. "Kunming is a beautiful city is south-west China and known as the Spring City. The kindergarten there founded in 1911 and has 624 children and 112 teachers as of now. And, it is the first modern kindergarten in the history of Yunnan Province. "I hope you two could become sister kindergartens and hold international events jointly in the future. We are trying our best to facilitate visit of children and their parents to China as part of this new idea," he said. June 1 is held in China as Children's Day and the diplomat also left a message on a public board for the children and teachers of the kindergarten located in posh Vasant Vihar area in south Delhi. "The root of friendship in the hearts of kids will be the great harvest for China and India's future," the message read. According to an administration staff at 'Little Pearls', the kindergarten was founded about 20 years ago and today has a little over 100 children and it also caters to children of embassy staff in the national capital. "This is my second visit to the school. This kindergarten enjoys high reputation in Delhi and in India. And, with over 100 children from many countries, it is like a 'mini UN'. Also, five children from the Chinese Embassy are also here," he said. As part of a bilateral agreement signed in 2014, 'Visit India Year' in China was celebrated in 2015 and 'Visit China Year' in India is being marked in 2016. Presently, India and China have four pair of sister cities-- Delhi-Beijing, Bengaluru-Chengdu, Kolkata-Kunming and Mumbai-Shanghai. The inclusion of a Bible story for the first time in a textbook in communist Chinahas sparked a controversy as critics called the move a violation of the law which separated education from religion. Some "outraged" netizens criticised the book used in secondary schools in Beijing saying it spread Western values, following which its co-compiler said yesterday that the story was included to make students aware about Western myths. "(We) added some extracts from the Bible's Book of Genesis into the textbook to broaden students' horizons and introduce them to Western myths," an employee of the Beijing Academy of Educational Science (BAES), one of the textbook's two compilers and a textbook selection consultant for capital education authorities, told the 'Beijing Youth Daily'. The text, which also includes several Chinese myths, was published in 2006 and is used in Chinese language classes for first-year middle school students, the Daily reported. Wang Kai, director of the BAES textbook centre, said that the textbook has been adopted by about 40 per cent of secondary schools in Beijing. The book triggered heated discussion online as some netizens questioned why the "Christian content appeared in a textbook in a secular country," another official daily 'Global Times' reported today. A commentary by columnist Wang Xiaoshi published on Hainan-based site cwzg.Cn said that the textbook violates China's education law which mandates that the country adopt the principle of separation of education and religion. The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) largely remained atheist and bars its members from practising religion. Wang cited a comment by scholar and national political advisor He Xinthat humanities textbooks are a symbol of national unity and also reflect the dignity of education. However, professor Yao Xinyong of the Chinese Department of Jinan University told the 'Global Times' that neither scholars nor the public should read an ideological or political perspective into the textbook. "The purpose of basic education is to offer systematic knowledge of human culture, both domestic and foreign," Yao said. China's recent revision of its primary and secondary school Chinese language textbooks has received mixed reactions from the public and scholars. Some have complained that the textbooks excessively praise foreigners and belittle the Chinese people, the report said. Officials said the Chinese languagetextbookshave been revised on popular demand to focus more on traditional culture, which was largely destroyed during Mao-era, especially in the decade-long Cultural Revolution. A delegation from China Fortune Land Development Co. Today met Haryana Industries and Commerce Minister Captain Abhimanyu to discuss investment opportunities and establish a JV in the state. After Wanda Group of China, another company China Fortune Land Development Co. Ltd. Has evinced interest to establish a joint venture with the state, an official spokesman said. A five-member delegation headed by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company, Xingchuan Liu, called on Haryana Industries and Commerce Minister Capt Abhimanyu here, the spokesman said. China Fortune Land Development is in the field of setting up industrial parks. "The delegation discussed about their investment schemes in the field of electronics, automobile, aerospace and food processing in Haryana," he said. During the meeting, Xingchuan Liu said that their company would submit its proposal of schemes by the end of this month. Success of 'Happening Haryana - Global Investors Summit' has attracted a number of foreign investors to invest in the state and set up their ventures here, the spokesman said. The Industries and Commerce Minister apprised the delegation about aplenty investment opportunities available in Haryana due to its favourable geographical location for entrepreneurs from country and abroad. Chinese President Xi Jinping met a visiting North Korean delegation today, state media reported, in an apparent attempt by Pyongyang to mend frayed ties with its powerful neighbour. Although the official Xinhua agency did not give the names of those in the delegation, the encounter comes on the heels of a rare visit Tuesday by top North Korean politician Ri Su Yong, vice chairman of the country's ruling Workers' Party and former foreign minister. China is North Korea's largest trading partner and has been its key diplomatic protector for decades. But relations have soured following Pyongyang's internationally-condemned nuclear tests, with Beijing supporting UN sanctions against the hermit kingdom. UN resolutions ban North Korea from using any ballistic missile technology, although it regularly fires short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast. Ri Su Yong met Chinese official Song Tao yesterday, head of the international department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, to brief him on the North's once-in-a-generation party congress, according to the CCP. The isolated nation held its first party congress for nearly 40 years in early May, formally endorsing leader Kim Jong-Un's policy of expanding the country's nuclear arsenal. The lack of any official Chinese representation at the congress was viewed as a sign of friction between the two traditional allies. Kim has not visited China since coming to power and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has not visited Pyongyang. A Chinese university professor has called for a ban on romance between teachers and students in the campus here, much on the lines of some of the US universities, drawing sharp criticism from students and netizens. Yan Yiming, a professor of the Beijing Institute of Technology has said that ethical relations between teachers and students have become a problem in Chinese higher education, according to an article published in China Youth Daily on Monday. He called for an "explicit ban on romance between teachers and students." "It's already common sense in the US that teachers and students should not develop romantic relations," Yan said in his article. But compared with their US counterparts, the Chinese public has shown more tolerance of teacher-student romance, with 90 per cent of netizens believing that "free love" should not be banned on campus, a report in the state-run Global Times said today. Some netizens have cited the student-teacher romance of well-known figures as evidence, including early 20th century writer Lu Xun, who had a son with one of his students. Li Yinhe, a leading Chinese sexologist, told the paper that the US rules on the subject "mainly target the potential for sexual harassment." Meanwhile, a commentary published by the Beijing Times yesterday wrote that the ban on teacher-student romances at many of the US universities is derived from feminist theories that hold a dominant position in the US society. On the other hand, China has its own traditions that have shaped its people's understanding of love, the commentary claimed, saying it is thus inappropriate to directly copy Western methods. Several student-teacher sexual relationships have made headlines in recent years, including the case of a teacher in Nanjing university who harassed 14 female students and forced some of them to take half-naked pictures, the Beijing Youth Daily reported in March. "When it comes to power, students are relatively vulnerable and may be harmed in the relationship," Li Yinhe said. "A ban should be imposed on teachers' sexual harassment of students, rather than on affection between teachers and students," Li said, adding that love between students and teachers should be respected but is better left to develop after the student graduates. According to a regulation on teachers' professional ethics released by China's Ministry of Education in 2014, teachers are forbidden fromsexually harassing or having "improper relations" with students. But the regulation does not specify whether romances constitute improper relations. A Chinese peacekeeper serving with the UN's Mali mission was killed and four others injured in an attack on UN peacekeepers, China's Embassy in Mali said today. The Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said in a statement that the MINUSMA camp in the Water Tower neighborhood of Gao was "the target of an attack by mortars or rockets" at approximately 20:45 p.M. (2045 GMT) on Tuesday. The MINUSMA said earlier that one blue helmet was killed and three others were seriously wounded, while more than 10 members of MINUSMA, including civilians, were lightly wounded and have received the necessary medical care. The statement said part of container houses were destroyed during the attack and property damage is under evaluation, state-run Xinhua agency reported. The MINUSMA has dispatched helicopters to carry out air guarding and a rapid reaction force to patrol the city. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs today confirmed that one of the peacekeepers from China was killed and strongly condemned the attack on UN peacekeepers. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has urged the Mali government and the United Nations to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice. "This is a grave and intolerable crime. China strongly condemns it," she told a daily briefing, describing the incident as a terrorist attack on the UN peacekeeping mission. In a latest development, the North African branch of the Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the latest attacks in northern Mali. Recent attacks in Mali on UN peacekeepers, including another attack on a UN convoy that killed five peacekeepers on Sunday, have drawn strong condemnations from the international community. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law, calling for swift action to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. The Cincinnati Zoo, where a gorilla was shot and killed over the weekend after a 3-year-old boy climbed over a fence and fell into its enclosure, has an open viewing area that was among the first of its kind and is now common in many zoos around the country. The exhibit was at the forefront of zoos moving away from cages in favour of more realistic living environments and adopting a range of exhibits, from natural habitats behind glass walls to jungle-like settings separated from the public by hedges and bamboo fences. While police are investigating what happened in Cincinnati and federal inspectors are planning their own review, the zoo says it too will look at whether it needs to reinforce the barriers even though it considers the enclosure more secure than what's required. "The exhibit is safe, the barrier is safe," said zoo director Thane Maynard, who noted the exhibit is routinely checked by federal inspectors and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which also plans to investigate what happened. The breach, the zoo director said, was the first time a visitor had entered the zoo's Gorilla World, which opened in 1978 and was billed as the first "bar-less" outdoor gorilla habitat in the nation. A federal inspection less than two months ago found no problems with the gorilla exhibit, but earlier inspections reported issues including the potential danger to the public from a March incident involving wandering polar bears inside a behind-the-scenes service hallway. Some critics have blamed the boy's parents for not keeping a close eye on the child, who is now doing fine after being treated at a hospital, according to his family. At least two animal rights groups were holding the zoo responsible for the death of the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla on Saturday, charging that the barrier made up of a fence, bushes and a moat wasn't adequate. Most gorilla exhibits around the country now have open-viewing areas often protected by a combination of glass walls, mesh netting and moats. Zoo Atlanta, which boasts the nation's largest gorilla collection, has several outdoor viewing spots that are designed to give visitors the feeling of being very close, but they are still separated by a series of safety barriers. Gorillas at the Columbus Zoo are in two enclosed areas behind glass and mesh. The approach is an exception to the type of open enclosure in Cincinnati, which is the industry standard, said spokeswoman Patty Peters. Congress today stepped up demand for dismissal of controversial Maharashtra Minister Eknath Khadse over alleged corruption and wondered why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not taking action against him. Party spokesperson Sushmita Dev told reporters that Khadse, who has got embroiled in several controversies, should resign on his own, failing which he needs to be dismissed. "He must step down from his Ministry for a free and fair investigation. I hope that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who made many tall promises about eradication of corruption, about emancipation of the poor, will take these significant and important steps", she said targeting the Prime Minister. Dev alleged that Khadse should also be removed as his telephone records show that he has been in touch with Dawood Ibrahim, the underworld don hiding in Pakistan. "If you are so serious about corruption, then please apply the same rules, the same standards when it comes to Opposition and the Treasury Benches and his own Party", she told the Prime Minister. Dev said that though PM spoke against tolerating corruption, yet those accused of involvement in the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, PDS scam in Chhattisgarh and the Lalit Modi controversy, have "all gone unpunished" Allegations of impropriety in purchase of MIDC plot in Pune and alleged calls from fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim's residence to Khadse's mobile has triggered a political storm in the state. Congress workers in Punjab today gheraoed a police station here to protest a recent baton charge on Dalits. Led by Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Charanjit Singh Channi, along with Punjab Congress vice-president Surinderpal Singh Sibia, the gherao lasted for more than an hour and ended with the submission of a memorandum to Bhawanigarh Naib Tehsildar and Sangrur DSP, demanding action against the policemen responsible for the baton charge on Dalits and their release. The Congress workers were protesting against the action on agitating Dalits by Bhawanigarh police on May 24 at Balad Kalan village near here and seek justice for them, Channi said. The Dalits were protesting against auction of 105 bighas of panchayat land of their village, reserved for SCs, terming it as "dummy" auction and seeking entire 531 bighas reserved land at low rates for all Dalits of the village for joint farming. Channi demanded immediate withdrawal of cases registered against Dalits from Balad Kalan and other villages. He claimed as per rule, one third of this land was supposed to be auctioned to Dalits but the same was being grabbed as benami. A Delhi Police constable was today found dead inside a police booth on Roshanara Road in Subzi Mandi area of north Delhi. Kailash (29) was posted as personal security officer of a murder witness on court orders. He allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon around 1.30 pm when he was alone in the booth, a police officer said. When the beat constables reached the booth, they found his body on a chair with blood on the floor and the door locked from inside. Kailash's body has been sent for post-mortem and his brother-in-law, posted at Hauz Khas Police Station, was told about the incident who informed the other family members. They have reached Delhi, the officer said. No suicide note has been recovered, he said, adding Kailash was married. A native of Dausa in Rajasthan, the constable stayed at north district police lines in Civil Lines area. He returned from his home on May 29 and police are trying to find out whether something happened during his leave period which might have prompted him to commit suicide, the officer added. Aryan has just finished his school while Suhana recently celebrated her 16th birthday and their proud superstar father Shah Rukh Khan says the discussion among them is now more interesting. The 50-year-old "Fan" star, who has taken a six-day off from his work to spend time with Suhana, says the age of 16-18 makes kids want to be closer to their parents. "They are studying abroad, I miss them a lot but it gives me an opportunity to take some time off otherwise I am so embroiled in work. "I have taken six day off to spend time with Suhana as she is here. The age of 16-18 somehow makes the kids want to stick to the parents even more when they get this five-six days break," Shah Rukh told reporters here. While his conversations with Suhana and Aryan have become interesting, the actor, like any other parent, still treats them like toddlers. "It's really nice, it's quality time. It's quite amazing the conversations I have with them. I still treat them like they are two or three-year-old, but they are adults," he added. When asked if they like to be treated as 'kids', the actor quipped, "No, but they have a lot of respect for me." Shah Rukh was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of KidZania, a global indoor theme park, which the actor co-owns. The "Chennai Express" star also spoke about his wish to adapt American crime TV series "Breaking Bad" for Indian audience. Shah Rukh has often expressed his desire to adapt Hollywood shows here. Last year, when he spoke about making hit "Breaking Bad" into a film, it generated a lot of interest among its fans here. When asked if there's any development in that respect, the actor said, "I met the gentleman who had the rights or so he said but I haven't followed it up. Right now, I am blocked with three-four films." If and whenever it happens, one thing Shah Rukh is certain about is that the adaptation will be on the big screen. "I like the idea of Breaking Bad. I think it's too evolved for Indian television as of yet, the meth and everything... I think for a film it has a nice premise, a dying man to save his family and future and then can't give it up. I think that's interesting." "Breaking Bad" was created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The show originally aired from 2008 to 2013. It tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Together with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), White turns to a life of crime, producing and selling crystallized methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal world. Shah Rukh also extended his best wishes to actor Anil Kapoor for the upcoming second season of TV series "24". "'24' was awesome and I am sure season two will be as great as the first one," he said. "24" is adaptation of American series of the same name. The show, produced by Anil, revolves around his character, Jai Singh Rathore. The series debuted in 2013. Cooling down hot roofs by using reflective surfaces can not only beat the summer heat, but also help save money by cutting down your electricity bills, even in cities with colder climates, a new study has found. As the summer heats up, so do cities. Regardless of latitude, urban temperatures are typically several degrees higher than those of nearby suburban and rural areas. The resulting "heat islands" mean increased discomfort, higher air-conditioning bills and denser smog. Cooling down hot roofs by using reflective surfaces may be a viable solution, researchers said. Scientists from Concordia University in Canada confirm that, contrary to the belief that cool roofs would not work in colder climates, they actually provide net energy and monetary savings. "Using a cool roof on a commercial building in cold climates is typically not suggested based on the presumption that the heating penalties may be higher than the cooling savings," said Hashem Akbari, professor at Concordia University. "Our research shows that any improvement to a roof that limits the summertime solar heat gain actually results in energy-cost savings for the building owner, as well as a reduction in the building's overall environmental impact," said Akbari. For the study, researchers used modelling software to simulate energy consumption for several prototype office and retail buildings in four cold-climate cities in North America: Anchorage, Milwaukee, Montreal and Toronto. They found that cool roofs for the simulated buildings resulted in annual energy expenditure savings in all municipalities. A cool roof on a new, medium-sized office building would save USD 4 per 100 square metres in Montreal, USD 10 per 100 square metres in Toronto and USD 14 per 100 square metres in Milwaukee and Anchorage. The research also showed that cool roofs can reduce the peak electric demand of the retail buildings by up to five watts per square metre. "Our study proves that cool roofs for commercial buildings are a net saver of energy in all climates that use air conditioning during the summer," said Akbari. "In cooler climates, installing cool roofs may even prevent buying an air conditioner altogether. Even in non-air-conditioned buildings, cool roofs improve comfort during hot summer days, he said. "In extreme cases, these roofs may even save lives by reducing the risk of heat stroke," he added. Many municipalities already prescribe cool roofs in the construction of new buildings and for re-roofing existing buildings. This study proves that those rules should also apply in colder climates. "On a large scale, cool roofs can moderate the air temperature surrounding a building, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the urban heat island effect," he said. Weeks after the UK declined to deport embattled businessman Vijay Mallya, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said countries must cooperate when people flee after breaking law. Britain last month told India that it cannot deport Mallya, who had flown to London on March 2 just days before a consortium of lenders knocked on the doors of Supreme Court to recover Rs 9,431.65 crore of loan and interest, but could consider an extradition request. Mallya is also facing money laundering charges. "We do believe that in such cases where people break the law and escape into other jurisdictions, countries must cooperate with each other in checking such evasion," he said at a function at India Club here. Jaitley, who arrived here this afternoon in the second-leg of his six-day investor wooing trip to Japan, said the system was not helpless. "Banks are taking very tough position in order to recover their assets and investigative agencies, whenever there is a breach of law, will take laws to its own logical course," he said. "We are trying to take cooperation from the British." He was responding to a question from the audience that it was difficult to comprehend how some one like Vijay Mallya is able to escape from India to UK without the Indian government being able to do anything about it. "I don't think the system is anyway helpless as you sound it is going to be," Jaitley said in his response. After UK declined deportation request, the Finance Minister had in New Delhi stated that investigative agencies will make every endeavour to bring Mallya back to face law. "There are two separate procedures, one is deportation another is extradition. UK in deportation has conventionally never been helpful. They always take a plea that once somebody has entered with legitimate travel documents, they don't deport that person," he had said on May 16. "Then they expect you to go through the extradition process which is as per the law. The requirement is once you file a chargesheet in court, you start the extradition process and that the due process of law which taken forward. I think the agencies will make every endeavour under the options available," he said. India had on April 28 asked the UK authorities to deport Mallya, whose Indian passport was revoked in a bid to secure his presence for taking forward the investigation against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. A non-bailable warrant has also been issued against Mallya. Mallya had left India on March 2 using his diplomatic passport. The ED has registered a money laundering case against Mallya and others based on an FIR registered last year by the CBI. The agency is also investigating financial structure of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines and looking into any payment of kickbacks to secure loans. The judicial custody of five suspected operatives of Al-Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), arrested for allegedly radicalising youths and propagating terror agenda of outfit, was today extended till June 10 by a Delhi court. Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh extended the custody of the five accused -- Syed Anzar Shah , Abdul Sami, Mohd Asif, Maulana Mohd Abdul Rehman Kasmi and Zafar Masood -- after they were produced before the court. In its application, the Special Cell of Delhi Police told the court that they be remanded to judicial custody as the probe in the case was underway. All the accused have been booked under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police had claimed that Rehman is suspected to have international links in countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Dubai. It had alleged that the other accused were also trying to radicalise youths and propagating the terror agenda of AQIS in the country. The police had quizzed the five accused in its custody regarding conspiracy and funding of AQIS and also to ascertain the identity of their associates. A Delhi court today reserved its order on a criminal complaint filed against actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by entering the sets of a temple wearing shoes while shooting for reality show "Bigg Boss 9". Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vandana Jain reserved the verdict after hearing arguments of the complainant who questioned the action taken report (ATR) filed by Delhi Police in which the megastars were given a clean chit. In the ATR, police had earlier said that Shah Rukh and Salman were shooting at a makeshift temple, which was part of the sets in a studio for the reality show, and had no intention to hurt religious sentiments. The report was filed following court order on the complaint lodged by advocate Gaurav Gulati who sought registration of an FIR against the two actors, Colors channel and director and producer of "Bigg Boss 9" for alleged offences under sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 298(uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) and 34 (common intention) of IPC. The complaint alleged that in a video being circulated, Shah Rukh and Salman were seen wearing shoes on the sets of the temple while shooting for an episode of "Bigg Boss 9" where the idol can be seen in the background. "It is a disrespect to the Hindu religion and its belief as it is strictly prohibited to come in the temple with shoes and also they were showing their back to the idol which is also deemed to be an insult to the Hindu goddess... (sic)," it alleged, claiming it seemed to be a "well-planned malicious act to outrage Hindu feelings". However, the report forwarded by SHO of Roop Nagar Police Station in February, had said "No cognisable offence is made out. The promo was not shot to disturb the sanctity of a religious place or disturb or hurt the religious sentiments of any individual, group, community or section of the society." It its report, the police also mentioned that a similar complaint was filed in a Meerut court, which has already dismissed it. "As they (actors) had met after a long time, the director thought of an idea of showing them reuniting on the sets of 'Kali Mandir' in a similar manner as they had reunited in the movie 'Karan Arjun' in such a temple after their 're-birth' in the film. "This idea was not motivated by any intention of hurting any religious sentiments of any religious group and shooting of the promo was done in a studio and the incident never took place," police had said, citing the channel's reply. The Dadri lynching sparked fresh political sparring today over a forensic report on a meat sample that led to the attack with BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh targeting the ruling SP after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav questioned its authenticity. With a clarity from where exactly the meat sample was found yet to emerge, a report prepared by a forensic lab in Mathura concluded that it was beef, eight months after the attack set off a fierce debate over intolerance and political slugfest. The meat was said to have been found in a garbage dump outside the victim's house while some reports said it was recovered from the freezer inside. The finding was in contrast to the preliminary report of an enquiry by the Uttar Pradesh Veterinary department which said the meat over which Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was lynched on September 28 last in Dadri on rumours that his family stored and ate beef was mutton of 'goat progeny'. With UP headed for a crucial assembly polls next year, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath hit out at the Samajwadi Party(SP) for questioning the authenticity of the report, alleging they only want votes. He also demanded registration of cow slaughter case against Akhlaq's family. He said the report has put UP government, opposition parties at the Centre and a section of media in a spot. "They are mum on this report. The innocent Hindus arrested in the matter should be immediately released and a case of cow slaughter be registered against Akhlaq's family," he said in Gorakhpur. "I also demand that the state government should withdraw all facilities given to his (Akhlaq's) family," he said, adding the report has "exposed" those who questioned the Hindu community and the Modi government and who led the intolerance debate that had raged for months. Akhilesh Yadav said nothing objectionable was found at Akhlaq's house. "Where was the sample sent, who received it? There was nothing objectionable in his house. Every eye is on this matter. Everyone wants that the victim's family should get justice as murder had taken place. "After this incident, there was debate in the world regarding what to eat and speak. I think one should not get involved in such matters," Yadav told reporters in Ambedkar Nagar district. Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan said it was "really unfortunate" that Yadav was questioning the authenticity of a report since he wants to "politically satisfy" a particular constituency. The report has been submitted by a state-run university, he said, adding, Yadav must admit the report. The testing was done by the Forensic laboratory of the Uttar Pradesh University of Veterinary Services(Animal Husbandry) in Mathura. Akhlaq's brother maintained nothing objectionable was recovered from their house. Beef eating is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh, only cow slaughter is. Sanjay Rana, father of Vishal, one of the accused, demanded that a case be registered against Akhlaq's family. (REOPE DEL 43) BJP MLA Sangeet Som also hit out at Akhilesh Yadav for raising questions on the authenticity of the report. V S Tomar, deputy chief veterinary officer in Dadri, said the earlier report was based on "visual test" at that time and that the lab report is the "final verdict". "The sample was sent to the lab and the report has come. The lab testing is the final verdict and that has been done. It was visual test at that time," he added. (REOPENS DES47) Meanwhile Jaan Mohammad, brother of Akhlaq, said, "The matter should not be politicised. My brother has been killed and we want justice." Senior Prosecution Officer DSR Tripathi said, "Whether the piece of flesh was mutton or beef makes no difference in the case of murder. Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Anjali Damania today met social activist Anna Hazare and sought his intervention to seek action against Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse, who is embroiled in a series of controversies. Damania will also begin a fast here from tomorrow to seek a fast-track court to deal with charges against Khadse. Hazare, during the meeting at his village Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district, told her that he will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and speak to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the Khadse issue, she said. "Anna lauded my campaign against Khadse. He said he will speak to the (Maharashtra) Chief Minister and write to the Prime Minister on the Khadse issue," Damania told PTI. The former AAP leader said she, along with a few like-minded activists, will fast outside the Chief Minister's bungalow in south Mumbai from tomorrow. "Even if Khadse resigns tonight, I will still go ahead with my fast, to seek a fast-track court to deal with charges against Khadse and expect that the process be completed in six months," she said. "I won't give up my fast till the Chief Minister gives me a written assurance that the probe against Khadse will be completed in six months," Damania said. Meanwhile, supporters of Khadse burnt effigies of Damania and AAP spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon in Jalgaon district, condemning them for launching a "tirade" against their leader. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Sachin Sawant today said Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao should sack Khadse by using powers vested in him by the Constitution. Khadse, a senior BJP minister, has for the last few days stayed away from media after allegations of impropriety in purchase of MIDC plot in Pune and alleged calls from fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim's residence to his mobile triggered a political storm in the state. The Delhi Cabinet today discussed an ambitious app-based premium bus scheme after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung asked it to review the scheme again. Sources said the government will apprise Jung in a written communication as to why the city needs the app-based premium bus service which will help strengthen the public transport in the national capital. The scheme could not be implemented today after Jung asked the Delhi government to review it. The sources said that the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also discussed the sections of Motor Vehicles ACT under which the scheme was being introduced, adding that government may also seek people's opinion to implement it. Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi government has initiated a probe into the app-based premium bus scheme which was red-flagged by the Lt Governor on the ground that his approval was not taken before notifying it. "Government has prepared a list of rationales behind the introduction of this scheme and they will soon be sent to the LG's office," they further said. Under the scheme announced by Transport Minister Gopal Rai last month, people can book their seats in a bus through their smart phone on the lines of app-based taxi services. Earlier in the day, ACB chief M K Meena ordered an inquiry into the scheme on the basis of a complaint filed by BJP MLA Vijender Gupta who alleged that the Kejriwal government wanted to launch the scheme to benefit a Gurgaon-based private bus aggregator. A Delhi Police constable has been arrested by the Vigilance branch officials for demanding a bribe of Rs 7,000 from a labour contractor, police said today. Constable Raj Karan was arrested from Kalindi Kunj area on Monday after the Vigilance branch of Delhi Police received a complaint from the labour contractor, R K Jha, DCP (Vigilance), said. In the complaint, the labour contractor said the constable had on May 25 stopped his truck in Jaitpur and demanded Rs 10,000 and also threatened to seize the vehicle. After bargaining, the complainant agreed to pay Rs 7,000 in a few days. The accused repeatedly called the complainant demanding money, the DCP said. On Monday, the complainant, tailed by Vigilance Branch raiding team, set up a meeting with the constable near Kalindi Kunj on the pretext of paying Rs 3,000, Jha said, adding Karan was arrested at the spot. The constable was recently transferred from the South-East District and posted to the Security Unit, the officer said. The accused has been charged under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, he said. Many directors have come to Keira Knightley's defense after filmmaker John Carney slammed the actress during an interview with UK's Independent, saying he will never make a film with a supermodel again. Knightley, 31, and Carney have worked together on the film "Begin Again," which also stars Mark Ruffalo and Adam Levine. Filmmakers, who have previously worked with the actress have now come to her defense, reported People magazine. Knightley's "Never Let Me Go" director Mark Romanek took to Twitter to praise the actress. "My experience with Keira Knightley was utterly spectacular on every level. I have no clue what this guy is talking about," Romanek tweeted. Joy Gorman, a producer on Knightley's 2012 film "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," said that working with her was anything but unpleasant. "She was an absolute dream. Professional, prepared, kind and lovely," Gorman said. Director of the film Lorene Scafaria said she had a similar experience as Romanek. "I agree with Mark," she tweeted. "Keira was a joy to work w/. Present & easy & really, really good at her job. Just lovely." Lynn Shelton, who directed the actress in 2014's "Laggies," tweeted, "Working with #KeiraKnightley was magnificent, top to bottom. She is the real deal. In the interview, Carney praised Ruffalo as a "fantastic" actor and Levine for not being "a bit scared of exposing himself on camera," he said "Keira's thing is to hide who you are and I don't think you can be an actor and do that. A baby born to a mother with the Zika virus at a New Jersey hospital appears to be affected by the disease, according to a doctor who helped lead the delivery team. A woman from Honduras delivered the baby girl through a cesarean section yesterday at Hackensack University Medical Center, said Dr. Abdulla Al-Kahn, the hospital's director of maternal-fetal medicine and surgery. The 31-year-old mother was diagnosed with Zika in her native Honduras after lab results were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation of the virus, said Al-Kahn. She then came to New Jersey, where she has family, to seek further treatment, he said. Al-Kahn said the mother had a normal ultrasound early in her pregnancy, and that another one last week showed birth defects, including microcephaly, in which the baby's head is smaller than expected because the brain hasn't developed properly. The doctor said the baby looks "completely Zika affected," and while further testing is required to confirm the virus, he's "90 to 95 percent" sure it's Zika. "It was very sad for us to see a baby born with such a condition," he said. Al-Kahn said the prognosis for babies born with microcephaly, which also can signal underlying brain damage, is "generally very poor." The mother is "hanging in there" said Al-Kahn. "But of course what human being isn't going to be devastated by this " he added. Earlier this year, the CDC reported that a baby born in a Hawaii hospital was the first in the United States with microcephaly linked to the Zika virus. A total of 10 countries so far reported cases of microcephaly linked to Zika, which is spread primarily through mosquito bites and can also be transmitted through sex. With more than 1,400 reported cases, Brazil has the most, by far. The CDC has joined the World Health Organization in recommending that pregnant women avoid traveling to Zika-affected countries. If pregnant women get infected, there is no known treatment to prevent them from stopping transmission of the virus to their unborn babies. While Al-Kahn described the New Jersey case as "absolutely devastating," he said he hopes it will serve as an "awakening call" for the country to take strong measures to prevent the disease. India has done well on fiscal and economic parameters and the GDP growth can touch 8 per cent in the current fiscal with good monsoon, global headwinds notwithstanding, the Finance Ministry said today. "This year the projections for monsoon are good. We hope that the monsoon will be good. With a good monsoon, I think India will be able to reach 8 per cent growth in the current year," said Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das. He was talking to reporters along with Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad after the Cabinet meeting. Das said the fiscal deficit and the revenue deficit during 2015-16 were fully contained and targets were achieved. "Our fiscal and micro and macro economic parameters are very positive," he said. India's economy grew by 7.9 per cent in March quarter to consolidate its position as the fastest growing major economy, leaving behind China, with a five-year high growth rate of 7.6 per cent for 2015-16 on robust manufacturing growth. The growth was 7.2 per cent in 2014-15. Das said overall macroeconomic numbers and fiscal parameters of the country are "very very robust". Government was "bang on target" on the fiscal deficit front. The fiscal deficit during 2015-16 was contained at 3.9 per cent of the GDP, in line with the budget projections. Revenue deficit showed significant improvement due to increase in capital expenditure of the government. The deficit which was 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2013-14 improved to 2.9 per cent in 2014-15 and 2.5 per cent in 2015-16. The secretary said the Plan expenditure at Rs 4.71 lakh crore in 2015-16 was higher than Budget estimate of Rs 4.65 lakh crore. The capital expenditure has exceeded budget estimates for the first time in five years. "We can say with confidence that with all the reform measures, policy initiatives, the direction which the Budget has given this year for the economic growth, especially for agriculture and rural sector, all this put together I think we are beginning to see the results. This is reflected in the overall GDP and in the fiscal numbers," Das said. (REOPENS DEL37) The revenue and fiscal deficits, Das said, were in line with projections despite increase in capital expenditure, plan spending and devolution of share of central taxes to states. The Secretary further said during the current financial year, private sector investment is likely to increase due to increased private consumption and rural demand. In the Budget estimates of 2016-17, he said government has provided adequately for the requirements of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations. When the Committee of Secretaries looking into the recommendations finalises its report, the exact impact of the Pay Commission on the Exchequer would be known and "whatever adjustments are required that will be made", Das added. To a question, Das said government is keeping a "close watch" on international oil prices and there is no cause of alarm at present. "We are keeping close watch on world crude prices and it is under control so we don't see any cause of alarm as of now...Currently the oil prices are well under control," he said. On fuel price hike, he said actually prices have been lowered also many a times and many times have gone up. He said whatever excise collection is from fuel all that is going towards infrastructure sector and a small portion towards railways. On a question of related to extension of tenure of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Telecom Minister Prasad said: "Neither the finance minister nor me or anyone else has ever talked publicly about the issue related to Mr Rajan except to reiterate what the Prime Minister has said. Who will become the RBI Governor should not be media speculation". With a drastic decline in vulture population in country, the Ministry has decided to kick start this year's World Day celebrations with the release of vultures bred in the nation's first breeding centre at Pinjore in Haryana. Observing that his Ministry will work towards increasing the number of vultures in the coming years, Minister Prakash Javadekar said that he along with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will release the vultures into the wild on June 3. "The theme of the World Environment Day on June 5 is 'Go Wild' which means take care of the wild and nature. Vultures was in danger. In the last ten years, when diclofenac (medicine) was introduced for livestock, they used to get cure, but after their death, vultures used to eat them and it led to their deaths. "We had 40 million vultures. Ten years down, we have now not even 4 lakh vultures left. To revive that, efforts are going on at various places. Haryana Chief Minister and I will go and release the vultures into the wild. "They are not zoo birds and they have to live in nature. We have lost vultures in last ten years, in the next ten years, we will revive the vultures as they are the natural scavengers," Javadekar said on the sidelines of an event to 'Swachta Abhiyan' fortnight in his Ministry. The Environment Ministry has included three species - Oriental Rumped Vulture, Long-billed vulture and Slender-billed vulture in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Vulture has also been included as one of the 17 species identified for recovery programme under Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme. Ministry officials said the vulture recovery programme is intended for urgent recovery of its population and the Ministry has prepared an action plan for it. Haryana in collaboration with Bombay Natural History Society and other international agencies like Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), UK; Zoological Society of London and International Trust for birds of prey has established country's first conservation breeding centre for vulture at Pinjore in 2001. This centre has successfully identified the cause of vulture death - drug declofenac and also developed the techniques of captive breeding of vultures. The Health Ministry has prohibited manufacture of diclofenac for animal use and also restricted packaging of multi-dose vials of diclofenac to single dose. (REOPENS DES68) At an event to launch Swachta Abhiyan Fortnight, Javadekar said his Ministry has revised five waste management rules and introduced new construction and demolition waste management rule. "Secretaries and other officials will conduct meetings with officials at the district level as well with municipal bodies to discuss how these rules can be implemented in a better way. This will be our Ministry's contribution to Swacch Bharat Abhiyan," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has warned against expecting any announcement on the lifting of EU sanctions on Russia when he visits the country in mid-June. EU leaders must decide by the end of June whether to prolong the sanctions they imposed on Russia over the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which run out in July. Juncker will attend an economic forum in Saint Petersburg on June 16, where he will meet with President Vladimir Putin. But during a visit to Paris yesterday he downplayed the prospect of any breakthrough on lifting the sanctions on Russia's banking, defence and energy sectors. "My visit to Saint Petersburg, which has a more economic than political focus, will not be an occasion for the European Union to announce any sort of change in our attitude towards Russia," he said. "I will not change the European Union's general assessment of Mr Putin's actions," he said. Juncker has backed the position taken by the G7 summit in Japan last week that the lifting of sanctions depends on Russia implementing the Minsk accords, which set out a roadmap towards peace in eastern Ukraine. Yesterday, he said he had repeatedly told Putin "that the sanctions remain as they are until the Minsk accords have been implemented. BJP's move to field "tainted" leaders like Pravin Darekar and R N Singh among six nominees for the upcoming Legislative Council polls drew a sharp rebuke from AAP which today said the saffron party has gone "morally bankrupt" and seems "desperate" to garner funds. Twelve candidates, six from BJP, are in the fray for elections to 10 Legislative Council seats, scheduled for June 10. "Since the party's (BJP) whole concentration is on collecting funds, it has sold out the candidacy to the scamsters. The BJP in Maharashtra seems to have gone morally bankrupt and in desperate need of funds. "That's why it clings on to the likes of Pravin Darekar, R N Singh to raise funds from dubious sections and for vote banks. Every child in the city knows the credentials of these two people," AAP national spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon said at a press conference here. Interestingly, the nomination of former Darekar, a former MNS MLA, under whose chairmanship a fraud had allegedly taken place in the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank, has also caused a heartburn within the BJP. Preeti, however, supported the candidature of Sadabhau Khot, a farmers' leader from Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna, and Vinayak Mete of Shivsangram Party. Both the outfits are allies of BJP in the state government. "The party's (BJP) own nominee Pravin Darekar is a man accused of embezzling Rs 123 crore from Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank of which he was chairman. "Interestingly, the FIR against Darekar was filed by BJP secretary Vivekanand Gupta as at that time the former was with MNS. He then joined BJP and the scam investigation went into a slow mode," the AAP leader claimed. She alleged that R N Singh had allegedly purchased 105 acres of land in Ratnagiri district for a paltry sum of Rs 5.8 lakh in 2013. "This one (nomination of Singh) is a big shocker because Congress leader (former minister) Kripashankar Singh is under investigation in connection with the disproportionate assets (case) by the Enforcement Directorate and R N Singh was named along with Singh's wife as a scamster who bought 105 acres of land in Ratnagiri for a paltry sum of Rs 5.8 lakh in 2013," Preeti alleged. "Kripashankar is also known to have doled out 349 arms licenses out of which 102 went to his friend R N Singh. Such a dubious character joined BJP a few days back and has been given a nomination," she said. Kripashankar had served as a minister of state for Home in 2004 in the Congress-led state government. Preeti further alleged that R N Singh was trying to "usurp" the property and building of 'Uttar Bhartiya Sangh' headed by him and has appointed his kin on plum posts. "Aam Aadmi Party condemns this deal making of the BJP. We feel the stature of the Legislative Council will be diminished when such tainted candidates are nominated. We demand that the BJP withdraw the nominations of the scam accused. "If the BJP cannot find a single honest person in its fold, we will be happy to help them find eminent citizens from Maharashtra who will bring honour to the House," she added. Defending Darekar, the BJP state unit president Raosaheb Danve had already said that such allegations were part of one's political life. "Such accusations are common in political life. Unless and untill anybody is proved guilty (by court), he is not guilty," he had said yesterday. Six candidates in the fray from BJP include Surjit Singh Thakur, Pravin Darekar, Prasad Lad, R N Singh, Sadabhau Khot and Vinayak Mete. Manoj Kotak, also of BJP, is contesting as an Independent. The movement of four flights was affected this afternoon due to a repair work at the runway of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport here. "The air traffic was halted between 12.15 PM to 1.45 PM due to some damage to a small portion of the runway," airport director Manoj Chourasia told PTI. Two flights of the Indigo airlines -- one from Mumbai and another from Delhi -- were not permitted to land and diverted to Baroda. Jet Airways flight from Pune to Indore was asked to land in Bhopal whereas the airline's Indore to Delhi flight was postponed for a while, Chourasia added. He said after the repair was over, traffic resumed with three planes taking off. Four Afghans and a senior official of a firm managing cargo operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here, are among eight persons who have been arrested for smuggling gold worth Rs 3.5 crore. With their arrest, the officials of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) today claimed to have busted a syndicate of gold smugglers involving an international airline crew and ground handling staff at the airport. Acting on specific intelligence that foreign-origin gold was being smuggled into the country by a crew member of Afghanistan-based Kam Air flight arriving from Kabul, the DRI officials laid a trap on Monday and intercepted four gold bars weighing over 13 kgs valued at about Rs 3.5 crore, they said. "A flight engineer of Kam Air, two airport staff and five conspirators have been arrested," said R K Digvijay, Joint Director, DRI Delhi zonal unit. The modus operandi was that the crew member of Kam Air would hand over the gold bars to the airport staff inside the aircraft. The airport staff would then conceal the gold bars in their shoes and take them out of the airport from the staff gate on the tarmac side, he said. "Thereafter, they would deliver the gold bars near the airport to the other members of the syndicate for disposal in the local market," Digvijay said. The seizure by DRI has neutralised all members of the syndicate that were engaged in the smuggling of gold for the last year or so, he claimed. Those arrested include a senior staff of one of the firms involved in managing cargo operations at the airport, another senior DRI official said. The DRI has informed Afghanistan Embassy here of the arrest of its four nationals in the case. "The arrests expose a security lacuna. The syndicate might have smuggled in so many banned things. Further investigation into the case is going on," the official said. (Reopens DES 23) In another incident, two persons have been arrested by the custom officials at the airport here for gold smuggling. The accused were intercepted when they were passing through the transit area to board a flight to Mumbai. "They had concealed 2.690 kg gold in their rectum," said Sanjay Mangal, Commissioner of the customs, IGI airport. The value of the seized gold is assessed to be about Rs 77 lakh, he said. Four militants and one soldier were killed in Thailand's insurgency-plagued deep south today, police said, during an intense jungle gunbattle. "There was a clash between militants and rangers this morning. The clash killed four militants and one ranger," a policeman at Janae district in the southern province of Narathiwat told AFP, asking not to be named. More than 6,500 people have died -- the majority civilians -- since 2004 in fighting between Malay Muslim rebels and Thai troops and police who blanket the area. Thailand annexed the culturally distinct zone bordering Malaysia over a century ago. Bombings, drive-by shootings and executions occur weekly in the region, with little progress made in peace talks since the military seized power in Thailand in a coup two years ago. After months of relative calm that saw violence dip to a record low last year, there has been a palpable increase in attacks over the past few months. The insurgents are seeking greater autonomy from majority-Buddhist Thailand, which they complain has ridden roughshod over their culture and language. The rebels employ brutal tactics including shootings, beheadings and bombings, often targeting perceived civilian collaborators such as teachers and Buddhist monks. In April insurgents briefly seized a hospital and used it to launch an attack on nearby troops during a night of multiple coordinated assaults. The move sparked condemnation from the UN and a vow by Thailand's junta to tighten security in the region. The Bangkok Post, quoting army officers, said two of the insurgents killed in today's gunbattle were wanted for their alleged involvement in that hospital siege. The military also stands accused of routinely abusing human rights including torture and extrajudicial killings. Rights groups say peace is unlikely while a tight security net remains over the region. Critics also cast doubt on the army's sincerity and the ability of their rebel interlocutors to control the revolt's foot soldiers. France will on Friday host an international meeting in Paris in a bid to revive the moribund Israel-Palestinian peace process, even though its efforts have received a lukewarm response. After decades of failed negotiations and gridlocked talks, France launched a fresh push to resolve one of the world's longest-running conflicts earlier this year. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians will be represented at Friday's talks, which aim to lay the ground for a fully-fledged peace conference to be held by the end of the year. But Washington -- the traditional mediator -- has been hesitant to get behind the new initiative, with Secretary of State John Kerry stalling for weeks before finally agreeing to attend. The conference will nonetheless bring together foreign ministers from some 30 Western and Arab countries, as well as representatives of the United Nations and European Union. "We must bring back hope, recreate an international atmosphere that is favourable to a (peace) process," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The last, US-led peace effort collapsed in April 2014 and Ayrault warned of a "catastrophic" situation if there is no resumption of talks. While attention has shifted to unrest in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, there has been a surge of violence since October that has claimed the lives of 205 Palestinians and 28 Israelis. Most of the Palestinians were killed while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say. Many analysts say the recent unrest has been fuelled by Palestinian frustration with Israel's ongoing settlement building and by the repeated failure of peace efforts to end the occupation, but also with their own fractured leadership. Israel says incitement by Palestinian leaders and media is the main cause of the violence. According to French diplomatic sources, the fresh peace push would centre on the 2002 Saudi peace initiative. Under that proposal, Arab leaders said they would recognise the state of Israel in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied since 1967, and the creation of a Palestinian state. The proposal was largely ignored by Israel. But the French peace plan faces multiple obstacles, with the two sides trading blame even before the proposed talks get off the ground. Israel is fiercely opposed to the initiative, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responding by simply repeating his long-standing but so far fruitless offer to meet Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas for direct talks. The Palestinians, who are in favour of the French plan, have accused Israel of stalling, with experts saying they had very few other options to consider. Stepping up efforts to increase speed of freight trains in New Delhi-Howrah and New Delhi-Mumbai sectors, railways is mulling to use double locomotives to speed up goods movement in the two corridors. Currently the rail route to Mumbai and Howrah from here is highly congested resulting in slowing down of freight movement. An action plan is being worked out under Mission Raftaar to speed up freight trains by using two locomotive instead of the current practice of one, said a senior Railway Ministry official. Mission Raftaar was one of the seven important missions unveiled by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Railway Budget 2016-17. The Raftar mission envisages a target of doubling average speed of freight trains and increasing the average speed of mail/express trains by 25 km per hour in the next five years. The official said steps are being taken to avail the path for speedy freight movement so that goods reached destinations at faster pace. Generally goods trains are hauled by single engine in these routes. If two locomotives are pressed into service then the freight trains will move faster which will help in the movement of more trains including passenger trains in the route. Besides, initiatives are also being taken to increase the speed of passenger service. Railways has created Mobility directorate, a separate one, to deal with the Mission Rafaar. Action plan under the Raftaar mission has been chalked out in three phases - short term, medium and long-term. While short term plan is to be submitted to Railway Board Chairman by June 15, short and long term plans are expected to be submitted by June 30. The plans are likely to be executed once it gets approval from the authorities as for railways increasing the speed of trains is a priority now. The Indian economy is treading the upward curve in its growth trajectory and investors wanting higher returns should park funds in infrastructure and manufacturing sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Wednesday. As the economy clocked 7.6% growth rate for FY2015- 16 and the core sector output was at a 4-year high of 8.4%, Jaitley asserted that these are not "stray figures" and an analysis of the pattern shows inherent strength in the economy. "As growth would return to the world, consumer spending would pick up, hopefully the monsoons would be better, this trend which has been set in India it self could be improved upon. That we are on an upward curve seems evident," he said at a meeting organised by Japan-India Business Cooperation Committee. Jaitley said Indian economy clocked 7% growth in every quarter last fiscal despite an unsupportive global economy and two consecutive years of weak monsoon. This has been possible because of increased public spending, India's private sector and confidence which foreign investors reposed in India by investing the highest ever even in the slowdown years. "I'm sure Japanese investors and funds and other agencies who are looking forward for gainfully employing their resources would certainly look at the India story which offers attractive destination for investment," Jaitley added. He said that besides infrastructure, manufacturing sector is the top most priority and provides very large opportunity to international investors to participate in India growth story. India offers flexibility to investors and the impetus on 'Make in India', increased infrastructure and rural spending would help push growth. "The returns that India offers are extremely attractive compared to other destinations, the magnitude and volume of investment required is much larger and its a for a reasonable period of time that this investment is going to continue because infrastructure deficit has to be met," Jaitley added. Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today sparked a fresh row stating that people are "annoyed" with Nigerians because of their "different attitude" unlike other foreigners and that his government was looking for a place to detain foreigners illegally staying in Goa. His remarks came even as the Centre initiated damage control exercise over recent attacks on African nationals in Delhi. "In general, people are angry with Nigerians and not other foreigners. I feel they (Nigerians) have a different attitude," Parsekar told PTI. Parsekar, who heads the BJP Government of the coastal state that attracts a large number of foreign tourists, was responding to a question on recent allegations of rape against a Nigerian national in Goa and alleged racial attacks in Delhi. "We get people from all other countries, but in general the people of Goa are very much annoyed with their behaviour, attitude, their way of life...Because on many occasions I hear complaints against Nigerians," he said. Goa has sizeable number of Nigerians, some of whom are booked in narcotic-related cases, an official said. Opposition Congress slammed Parsekar for his remarks, saying it reflected the "racist attitude" of the BJP government. "First (MoS) V K Singh, now Goa Chief Minister belonging to BJP is passing disparaging remarks against people from African continent and nations including Nigeria," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said. "Don't they realise that we have historical relationship with the entire African continent including the struggle which Mahatma Gandhi led in Africa. The manner in which we are humiliating tourists, especially from African nations speaks volumes about the racist attitude of the BJP government," he said. Parsekar also said the state government is scouting for a place to house foreigners illegally staying in Goa. "Not just Nigerians. We will keep all foreigners staying illegally in the state in this detention facility," he said. "We are searching for a place to have a detention facility. We can even convert any of the existing establishments into the facility," Parsekar said. There have been a series of attacks on African nationals in the last few days including killing of a Congolese youth in national capital and assault on a 23-year-old Nigerian student in Hyderabad, drawing outrage from African envoys. The Chief Minister's statement comes two days after State Tourism minister Dilip Parulekar said that Nigerians are involved in creating trouble across the country. Parulekar had claimed that Nigerians come in conflict with Indian law so as to extend their stay and indulge in drugs and other crimes. "The problem of Nigerians is not only in Goa, it is across the country. They arrive here to study and create problems so that a case is filed against them," Parulekar had told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. "They try to stay in Goa or India and indulge in drugs and other unwanted things," he had said. He had also recalled how two years back a group of unruly African nationals had blocked the national highway at Porvorim, near Panaji. "We should have a strict law where we can deport them. But unfortunately there is no such law in India at the moment," he said. The state government's approach towards Nigerians was condemned by Opposition parties including the newly formed Goa Forward. "We condemn the Chief Minister's remark. We welcome all the tourists in Goa as it is a tourist destination," Durgadas Kamat, leader of Goa Forward party said. He, however, was quick to add that there is no doubt that in the entire coastal belt there is a nexus between police, politicians and drug peddlers. Kamat questioned why Parsekar did not react when a group of African nationals protested on Porvorim roads two years back after a fellowcountryman was killed in a gang war. "He should have reacted two years back. Most of the drug peddlers are from African countries. Why the CM kept quiet on the police-politician-drug peddler nexus, the detailed report of which was tabled on the floor of the house," he asked. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday announced a slew of steps including a country-wide sensitisation campaign even as she asserted that the killing of a Congolese youth in Delhi was not a "racial crime". Swaraj, who along with her junior Minister V K Singh, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and other senior officials met a group of African envoys and students in Delhi, also asserted that India, which is the land of Gandhi and Buddha and fought consistently against racial discrimination, can never have a racist mindset. The government has constituted the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) which would help in expediting adjudication matters under the companies law. The tribunal and its appellate authority are part of the Companies Act, 2013, whose many provisions came into effect from April 1, 2014. A notification for establishing NCLT and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) with effect from today has been issued by the Corporate Affairs Ministry. "Justice S J Mukhopadhaya, Judge (Retd), Supreme Court of India, has joined as the Chairperson of the NCLAT and Justice M M Kumar, Judge (Retd) has joined as the President of the NCLT," the Ministry said in a release. Initially, NCLT would have 11 benches spread across various cities, including the national capital and Mumbai. With the constitution of the NCLT, the Company Law Board constituted under the Companies Act, 1956 stands dissolved, the release added. A senior official of the ministry said NCLT would help in expediting adjudication matters under the companies law. Besides, insolvency matters would come to the tribunal once the new bankruptcy law is implemented, he added. Overall, NCLT is expected to help in further improving the ease of doing business in the country, a key focus area of the government. "Initially, NCLT will have eleven benches, two at New Delhi and one each at Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai," the release said. Companies Act is implemented by the Corporate Affairs Ministry. DJ Calvin Harris has returned to his native UK as he continues to recover from a car accident in Beverly Hills, California. The Scottish hitmaker, 32, was forced to pull out of two club gigs in Las Vegas last week so that he could continue to recover from the incident on May 20 when the vehicle he was a passenger in collided with an oncoming car. Taylor Swift's boyfriend has been keeping a low-profile ever since, but earlier this week, Harris returned to social media, revealing he had headed back to London. He took to SnapChat to post a photo of himself sitting in the backseat of a car, and used a picture filter which tagged his location as the British capital. There is no flight of industry from Himachal Pradesh and the charges of the opposition in this regard are politically motivated, state Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said today. "There is no flight of industry and no industrial unit has been closed or shifted from the state and the allegations of the opposition regarding closing or shifting of units was a part of political agenda of the opposition and contrary to facts," he told the media persons here. Agnihotri said even after withdrawal of Special Industrial package, the investors attracted to set up units in Himachal due to congenial investment environment, responsive government and incentives offered by the state government at its own level. Investment proposals worth Rs 12,571 crore are pending clearance with state level single window clearance and monitoring committee, which was happy augury as compared to tenure of special industrial package when proposals worth Rs 45,000 were received but only the proposals with investment of Rs 11,000 crore materialised. Investors meet organised by the government had yielded good results and response of investors was encouraging, he said, adding that an investors meet would be organised at Baddi in Solan district to showcase the potential, infrastructure and other positive factors for investing in the state. Baddi has emerged a Pharma Hub of the country and 35 per cent of the total drugs manufactured in Asia are produced in Baddi. A bulk drug park is in the pipeline which would give further boost to Pharma Industry, he said. Agnihotri suspected some 'design and conspiracy' against the drug industry in the state and said that it was intriguing that out of 28,000 drug samples drawn by drug authorities, 23,000 were drawn from drug units in Himachal. In the present scenario of recession, the government has adopted the policy of 'industry by invitation' to woo the investors and the incentives given by the state government at its own level have helped in attracting new investors, he said, adding that "Our primary focus is on improving and strengthening the basic infrastructure". An allocation of Rs 100 crore had been made only for Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt for providing facilities like modern rain shelters, toilets, metalling the roads, labour hostels and other facilities, he said. Efforts are being made to provide clearances online on a single application, he added. Besides one State-of-the-Art Industrial complex at Dabota in Nalagarh, two more such complexes with an investment of Rs 262 crore were coming at Kandrori in Kangra and Pandoga in Una, he said. A land bank has been set up, a technology centre was coming up in BBN area, several incentives like freezing the power tariff for five years for industry, 50 per cent concession was being given to industry on stamp duty. Referring to housing problems faced by the labourers in industrial areas, Agnihotri said that the government was constructing labour hostels on large scale and persuading the industrial units to purchase the hostels at highly subsidised rates. Australia today said as it has concluded the nuclear agreement with India, the supply of uranium will begin in a short period of time. Australian High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu said that concluding contracts and supply can take some time but active engagement is underway on supplying uranium to India. "I am hopeful that we will see contracts concluded and supply start in a relatively short span of time," she said here at a ICRIER seminar on trade liberalisation. The Australia-India nuclear cooperation agreement permits Australian companies to commence commercial uranium exports to India. Australia has about 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves and exports nearly 7,000 tonnes of yellow cake annually. India and Australia began talks on the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2012 after it lifted a long-standing ban on selling uranium to energy-starved India. India, which has nuclear energy contributing just 3 per cent of its electricity generation, will be the first country to buy Australian uranium without being a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. When asked Australia's stand on India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), she said that her government is "very very supportive" of India's entry into NSG. "We very much want to see India enter, engage and to make the contribution in the group," she added. India has been eyeing to get entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group. CPI(M) veteran and former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan today denied giving a note to CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury seeking a position for him in the government. "I can say with boldness that I have not gone after positions during the seven decade long public life. During my public life, the party has given me certain positions. I have accepted that proudly," the 93-year-old Communist leader said in a Facebook post. "If I want a position in the new LDF government, I do not have to handover a note to party General Secretary amidst swearing-in ceremony of the government", Achuthanandan said while denying the reports that he had given the note to Yechury during the new ministry's swearing-in ceremony on May 25. "On that day and before I met Yechury alone and otherwise many times. It is difficult to describe the imagination of the report that I have given the note in a bit paper during the swearing in function", Achuthanandan said. "What Yechury also had said on the issue was that certain suggestions have come and that has been handed over. The comrade has not said that I have given a note to him seeking any position", Achuthanandan said. Stating that he had entered into public life without an eye on positions, Achuthanandan, said because of that "I will continue to be one among the people". The veteran leader was not considered by the party for the post of Chief Minister this time considering his age and selected party politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, once a bete noire of Achuthanandan, for the post. It was reported that Achuthanandan would be accommodated in the government by providing him with a senior position. After the politburo meeting in New Delhi earlier this week, Yechury had said that a formal decision on providing post to Achuthanadan would be taken by the state government. The issue had become a talking point in the state last week when print and electronic media published certain visuals showing the veteran reading a note while attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet and giving it to Yechury. Government today gave its approval to a pact between India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the French civil aviation authority, DGAC, for technical cooperation in implementing ICAO standards and practices. The two sides --DGCA and Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) of France-- have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard. "The Union Cabinet, under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its ex-post facto approval to the signing of MOU between the DGCA of India and the French Civil Aviation Authority DGAC of France to implement technical cooperation programme for promotion and implementation of standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)," an official release said. The MoU would be effective for a term of four years, it said. ICAO is the apex aviation body under the United Nations. According to the release, the pact would also help in imparting training of engineers, technicians, managers, among others. The MoU will also include other issues relevant to the common areas of interest of DGAC and DGCA, it said, adding cooperation between the two sides will be by way of exchange of information concerning the various techniques used to reach the objectives. As part of the agreement, French and Indian experts or instructors would also visit each other's country for training missions, the release said. The specific activities to be performed by Indian aviation regulator and the DGAC of France under the pact will be carried out by mutual consent, it added. India has gifted 2,000 bicycles to poor dalit girls in Nepal to encourage them to enrol in schools and enhance the literacy rate among them. Bicycles were given to poor dalit girls studying in different government schools in Nepal, the Indian Embassy said in a statement. The gifting of bicycles to poor dalit girl students programme was conceived to enhance the literacy rate among girls in Nepal and also to encourage girls from poor and dalit families to enrol in schools. The bicycles gifting programme received a total financial assistance of NRs 13.65 million by the Government of India under its Small Development Project scheme, it said. The literacy rate in various districts of Terai is low and the region requires special attention in the field of basic education, community awareness and women empowerment, the statement said. The acute problem of girls dropping out of schools has to be tackled by innovative methods and this programme is an effort by the Government of India in this direction, it said. Apart from this, the Government of India has been extending assistance to various programmes for improvement of education and health services in all districts of Nepal. India has also gifted 59 ambulances, 7 buses and one eye care van in four districts to cater to the medical and educational needs of the local people. The India-Nepal Economic programme has an outlay of over NRs 76 billion with more than 529 large and small development projects completed or currently being implemented all across Nepal in cooperation with the Government of Nepal. These development projects mainly focused in education, health and infrastructure development sectors recognising and responding to local needs to help the Government of Nepal achieving all inclusive socio-economic developments. India's international traffic has logged a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5 per cent in the last 10 years, ratings agency ICRA said today. "The international traffic to/from India has also been growing at a steady pace over the past decade, registering a CAGR of 10.5 per cent between FY 2006 and FY2016," it said. Besides a 16 per cent growth in passenger traffic in the previous fiscal coupled with lower jet fuel prices has helped domestic airline improve their performance during the period despite increased competition, it said in a note. The ratings agency also said that with new carriers expected to enter the market, the competitive intensity in the domestic aviation industry is likely to increase further. The robust growth of 16 per cent in passenger traffic in FY2016, coupled with continued benign fuel prices has seen strong improvement in the performance of the Indian carriers in FY2016, despite increased competitive intensity, the ratings agency said in the note. "With the fuel cost accounting for about 40-50 per cent of the operating expenditure for airlines in India, there has been a 17-18 per cent reduction in the total cost over the last two years. Further, in view of the tight liquidity conditions in the past, the airline strategies have moved from chasing market share to one focused on improving profitability, resulting in the route rationalisation, cutting back on capacity expansions, fleet rationalisation, and renegotiation of maintenance contracts, among others," ICRA senior vice president Subrata Ray said. Rigorous cost rationalisation measures, including shutting down loss-making routes, renegotiation of maintenance contracts, and rationalisation of manpower should help domestic airlines to improve their operating performance to some extent going forward, it said. While Icra expect the domestic airlines to continue to sustain the improved performance in FY2017, on account of favourable jet fuel pricing environment and the improved growth in passenger traffic, the Indian aviation industry is still subject to structural challenges and intense competition, the note observed. According to the note, with new carriers expected to enter the runway, the competitive intensity in the domestic aviation industry is expected to increase going forward, with potentially significant over-capacity in the next 12-24 months if the demand growth is not sustained in the event of fare hikes due to an increase in fuel prices "Thus, it is crucial for the airlines to remain focused on cost controls," it added. India will move up "rapidly" on the Ease of Doing Business ranking within a couple of years following an array of reforms undertaken by the government to ease rules, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. India ranks at 130th out of 189 economies on the World Bank's Doing Business report, which is topped by Singapore as the easiest country in which to do business. Though India has moved four places up, it ranks way below China, which is placed at 84th position. "India has taken a number of steps to ease doing business and I have not the least doubt that over the next 1-2 years we will move up more rapidly in the Ease of Doing Business ranking," he said at a conference organised by Institute of International Economic Studies here. Jaitley, on a six-day investor wooing tour of Japan, said India's taxation system required some more reforms. "Major reforms are underway as far as direct tax system is concerned. It is work in progress because all exemptions have to be phased out and corporate tax has to be brought down to 25 per cent (from current 30 per cent)," he said. Stating that retrospective taxation can no longer visit an investor investing in India, he said that any form of unpredictability or surprise is being done away with. He advised Japanese investors, wanting to invest in India, to be "very patient. "It will pay to be very patient. As you say the Japanese companies have been very patient." A combination of Japanese innovation and technology with human resource of India can be rewarding in a market as big as India where the purchasing power of that market was rising. "And therefore the Japanese companies have a lot to look forward to as far as the Indian market is concerned," he said. India, he said, is passing through a phase where the per capita income of every Indian is going to increase significantly over the next decade. "With the purchasing power increasing...I think this is the right time for those who haven't entered India to enter India. The markets are open, the entry has been made far easier and wide open and as a fast growing economy in the world those who don't look at Indian market will miss a great opportunity," he added. A Qatar-based Indian banker has been awarded the 'Green Economy Visionary award' for his contributionin environment-friendly activities and for promoting green economy for nearly two decades. R Seetharaman, Group CEO of Doha Bank, was awarded at the 2016 Unionof Arab Banks International Banking Summit held in Rome on Monday. He received the award from Mohammed Jarrah Al-Sabah, Chairman of Union of Arab Banks. Itwas given to him forhis outstanding contribution close to two decades towards environment-friendly activities and thereby promoting green economy. Seetharaman is a recipient of multiple doctorates. Doha Bank was incorporated in 1978 and commenced its banking business (including its International Banking services) in Doha, Qatar on March 15, 1979. The Information Technology Department of Andhra Pradesh government will establish International Institute of Digital Technology, with five 'schools of excellence', at temple town Tirupati. The institute would have schools of excellence in Internet of Things and Cloud, Cyber Security, Big Data Analytics, Model Computing and Digital User Experience, Minister of IT and Information and Public Relations Palle Raghunatha Reddy said. "Experts in these fields from top IT companies in the world will provide training at the institute," he said, adding the state Cabinet which met here today approved the setting up of the institute. The Cabinet has also approved the launch of an insurance policy for 1.5 crore workers in the unorganised sector in the state, the minister said. Under the scheme, named 'Chandranna Bima' after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Rs 5 lakh would be paid as compensation in the case of an accidental death and Rs 3.2 lakh in case of disability. "We will also include journalists of both print and electronic media in the scheme," Reddy added. Each worker would have to pay only a service charge of Rs 15 while the state government would pay Rs 134.50 as its share of the yearly premium for the insurance policy. Iran's foreign minister says the nuclear deal reached last year with world powers can't be renegotiated despite Republican presidential contender Donald Trump's pledge to do so if elected. After a lecture in Stockholm, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the deal "is not an Iran-U.S. Agreement for the Republican front-runner or anybody else to renegotiate. It's an international understanding annexed to a Security Council resolution." Trump has denounced the deal and said he'd seek to renegotiate it if elected president. Zarif also criticized Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir for calling on Iran to stop intervening in Iraq, saying "we will leave Iraq whenever Iraq asks us to leave." Iran says its military advisers in Iraq are there at Baghdad's request to help Iraqi forces fight Islamic State militants. World oil markets have seen no negative impact from a doubling of Iranian exports following the lifting of sanctions, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday. The market is returning to a "balanced state", Bijan Zanganeh said on Wednesday before leaving for Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel meeting in Vienna. "A doubling of exports of Iranian oil has had no negative impact on the market and has been absorbed well," Zanganeh told his ministry's Shana news service. Tehran, which has the world's fourth-largest proven crude oil reserves, has been ramping up oil exports since sanctions were lifted in January following a deal with world powers on its nuclear programme. Iranian oil production has reached nearly four million barrels per day, around the same level as before sanctions were imposed. stayed away from a meeting in Doha on April 17 between OPEC and non-OPEC members including Russia that failed to agree on a coordinated output freeze that had been proposed to boost prices. Cartel kingpin Saudi Arabia refused to cap its own output unless its regional rival did the same. A global supply glut saw oil prices collapse from above $100 a barrel in 2014 to around $25 in January. Prices have since recovered to around $50 a barrel, easing pressure on the OPEC as its members prepare to meet in Vienna on Thursday. OPEC, which pumps around a third of the world's oil, has historically responded to a fall in prices by cutting production, but this time it has maintained output as it seeks to fend off competition from US shale producers. Iran's foreign minister said on Thursday that Tehran had no intention of leaving Iraq and criticised "arrogant" Saudi Arabia for accusing it of stoking sectarian violence. "We will leave Iraq whenever Iraq asks us to. And we will help Iraq to confront terrorism, as long as Iraq wants us to," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a press conference in Stockholm during a European tour to attract investors. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia accused of sowing "sedition and division" in Iraq and sending in Shiite militias, and urged Tehran to "stop intervening" in the affairs of its neighbours. But Zarif, whose Shiite-dominated country is an arch rival of Saudi Arabia, bristled at the remarks by the Sunni-led kingdom's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. "It's an absurd statement, it's an arrogant statement. Nobody should arrogate themselves to talk on behalf of other countries," he said in English. Tehran and Riyadh, a traditional ally of Washington, are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides. has advisors on the ground in Iraq and also in Syria to help the military in both countries battle armed groups fighting the national governments. Saudi Arabia is also taking part in a US-led coalition targeting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Without naming names, Zarif warned countries which consider groups such as IS and the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front as "leverages that can be used for political gains". "That's the worst miscalculation anybody has made in our region," he said. "I believe the sooner Saudi Arabia comes to understand that ISIS is first and foremost a threat against them, then, anybody else, the sooner we are able to confront this total menace for all of us, not only in the region but in the world," Zarif added, using another acronym for the Islamic State group. Iraqi forces stalled at the fringes of Fallujah, slowed in their advance on Wednesday by concerns over the fate of trapped civilians and resistance from the Islamic State group. Fighting also raged hundreds of kilometres further up the Euphrates Valley in Syria, as US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters opened a new front against the jihadists in the strategic Manbij pocket on the Turkish border. After a week of shaping operations aimed at sealing the siege of Fallujah, which lies just 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, elite forces launched a new, more aggressive phase on Monday morning. But they have so far been unable to reach the city centre and battle IS fighters in the streets of one of their historical strongholds. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said concern for the estimated 50,000 civilians the United Nations has said IS was using as human shields was slowing progress. "It would've been possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't one of the foundations of our plan," he told commanders in comments broadcast by state television. Iraq's parliament speaker, Salim al-Juburi, held talks with officials from Anbar province, where Fallujah is located, as well as commanders and tribal leaders on the humanitarian issue. He discussed "ways of rescuing the families being held hostage and opening safe corridors for them," his office said in a statement. Inside Fallujah, trapped residents were under increasing pressure from worsening shortages and nervous IS fighters preparing for a desperate holdout. No aid has reached Fallujah since September last year and residents have been living on dates, dirty water from the Euphrates and animal feed. The Norwegian Refugee Council said another 300 families managed to flee areas around Fallujah in the past 24 hours, bringing to about 5,000 the number of people who escaped since the start of the operation. The one-man inquiry panel, set up to trace the missing files related to alleged fake encounter killing case of Ishrat Jahan, will examine a few officers for the second time to find clues for recovering the documents which are yet to be found. The panel of B K Prasad, Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry, will call a few officers, including RVS Mani, former Under Secretary, who was in-charge of Ishrat case affidavits. "After examination of over a dozen officers, several new facts have come to light. To corroborate these new information, questioning of a few officers again became necessary," sources privy to the development said. The panel has already recorded the statements of retired IAS officer Deverakonda Diptivilasa and serving IAS officers Dharmendra Sharma and Rakesh Singh and serving IPS officer M A Ganapathy. All the four officers were handling the key Internal Security-I division in the Home Ministry as Joint Secretary in different periods. While Diptivilasa is currently serving as non-official Director of public sector Corporation Bank, Sharma is at present with Delhi government. Singh is serving in Karnataka government. Ganapathy is now Director General of Uttarakhand Police. Sources said the four officers explained their respective position and reportedly pleaded their ignorance about the missing documents related to the Ishrat Jahan case. A number of Director, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary rank officers were also examined by the panel. The inquiry panel has so far not been able to trace the missing files related to alleged fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan. The one-member panel was constituted after Home Minister Rajnath Singh had disclosed in Parliament on March 10 that the files were missing. Following an uproar in Parliament, the ministry had asked Prasad to inquire into the circumstances in which the files related to the case of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Gujarat in 2004, went missing. The papers, which disappeared from the Home Ministry, include the copy of an affidavit vetted by the then Attorney General and submitted in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 and the draft of the second affidavit vetted by the AG on which changes were made. Two letters written by the then Home Secretary G K Pillai to the then Attorney General late G E Vahanvati and the copy of the draft affidavit have also so far remained untraceable. (Reopens DEL 44) The panel has examined all officers who had handled the Ishrat Jahan related files in different periods. However, the inquiry committee has not sought any explanation from the then Home Minister P Chidambaram and the then Union Home Secretary G K Pillai and his successor R K Singh, presently a BJP MP from Bihar. The first affidavit was filed on the basis of inputs from Maharashtra and Gujarat Police besides Intelligence Bureau where it was said the 19-year-old girl from Mumbai outskirts was an activist of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba but it was ignored in the second affidavit, Home Ministry officials said. The second affidavit, claimed to have been drafted by Chidambaram, said there was no conclusive evidence to prove that Ishrat was a terrorist, the officials said. Pillai had claimed that as Home Minister, Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in the court. Subsequently, Chidambaram had said Pillai is equally responsible for the change in the affidavit. Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in the encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. Gujarat Police had then said those killed in the encounters were LeT terrorists and came to Gujarat to assassinate the then state Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Israel has arrested a correspondent for Iran's Arabic-language television in the annexed Golan Heights, police said today. Al-Alam channel identified the journalist as Bassam al-Safadi. Police said he was "suspected of diffusion (of information) supporting a terrorist organisation and incitement to violence and terrorism", without elaborating. A court in Nazareth in northern Israel extended his detention until Sunday, police said. Al-Alam said in a statement that he was arrested "for no reason" in Masada, a village dominated by the Druze minority. His computer, camera and mobile phone were confiscated, the statement added. He is being held in Tzalmon prison in northern Israel, the police said, calling him a 43-year-old Arab Israeli. Many Golan Druze, however, consider themselves Syrians. Fares Sarafandi who works for Al-Alam in the occupied Palestinian territories told AFP that Safadi was their correspondent in the Golan Heights. Iran is an ally of Syria, which is technically at war with Israel, and a sworn enemy of the Jewish state. Hussein Mortada, head of Al-Alam's office in Syria, said the arrest was part of a "systematic campaign" by Israel against the media. Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Jammu and Kashmir government today put implementation of various proposals made in the budget for 2016-17 on hold after opposition leader Omar Abdullah objected to it saying the Assembly had not approved the proposals yet. As soon as the House assembled, Omar raised the issue saying the budget proposals have been implemented by the government even as the House was still conducting the general discussion on these proposals. "We know you have the numbers and you will pass the budget anyway. But there could have come some good suggestion from here (assembly)," he said. Omar said the orders for implementation of the budget proposals were issued by the government the same day the Finance Minister made his speech in the House. "It is the contempt of this House. This house cannot be taken for granted. You (speaker) do not have to protect the government all the time. You have to protect this House also," the former chief minister said. Congress members led by Nawang Rigzin Jora also questioned the rationale of passing the implementation orders when the discussions had not been completed and the House was yet to approve the proposals. BJP leader Satpal Sharma also joined the opposition in opposing the move. "While this is an established practice at the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir has a special status due to which even laws passed by Parliament are discussed and debated in the state Assembly. "I agree with my friends (pointing to opposition benches) that these orders should be withdrawn till budget is approved by the House," Sharma said. Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said it was an established practice in the state and the Centre that notifications are issued after budget presentation. "If there is any discomfort on this account, we will put these orders on hold," he added. Speaker Kavinder Gupta directed the government to put on hold the orders for implementation of budget proposals till the same are passed by the House. (REOPENS DES6) Meanwhile, opposition National Conference (NC) raised the issue of implementation of various proposals made in the budget in Legislative Council also, saying there was no fun in having a discussion on the budget in the House if they have already been put into effect. "The government has implemented the proposals made in the budget and also issued orders in this regard. When it has happened, then there is no fun in having discussions on the budget. What is the aim of these discussions in both the Houses then?" NC MLC Ali Mohammad Dar said. He was speaking on the general discussion over the budget for the year 2016-17 presented in the state legislature on May 30. Dar said the budget neither focuses on daily wage workers and nor does it talk about panchayati institutions and the rehabilitation of flood affected people in the state. "There is no focus on daily wagers, on how to regularise their services. They are still getting meager daily wages of Rs 150. I request the government that till their services are regularised, their wages be increased. "Similarly, there should be an increase in the salary of panchayat members," he said. He said if there was a need to implement 7th Pay Commission in other states, why cannot it be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. Dar's party colleague Sajad Kichloo termed the budget as "directionless and visionless". Congress MLC Naresh Gupta said the government needs to take "practical approach" to resolve the issues of daily wagers and contractual employees. "The budget does not mention what policies the government will take to fight unemployment in the state. The finance minister has taken money from one pocket and put it in another. This is a futile exercise," he alleged. Terming the budget as "balanced", ruling PDP MLC Zafar Iqbal Manhas said it would help in taking the state forward on the path of development. There are many programmes to fight unemployment especially the new initiatives in private sector and enhancing entrepreneurship, Manhas said. He, however, said the finance minister should focus on electrifying those villages where there is still no power. Also, there is no mention about Paharis in the budget. They should be empowered economically and cannot be neglected, he said. Terming the budget as "objective", BJP legislator Ramesh Arora said the finance minister has dared to talk about negativity in certain areas. He first pointed out irregularities and then offered solutions to them, he said. However, he suggested the government should amend those proposals in the budget which could "pinch a common man". There is a tax of Rs 50 per connection per month on cable TV, that should be removed. Mobile phones and i-pads, which are a need these days, should be removed from the D-1 list, he said. Arora also said there was a need to further improve the working condition of police in the state and VAT on CSD items should be totally removed. Former "Twilight" star Jackson Rathbone has become a father again. The actor, 31, and his wife Sheila Hafsadi welcomed their second child, a baby girl, on May 31, he announced on social media. Daughter Presley Bowie Rathbone weighed in at 8 lbs, 2 oz. "Today!! Our daughter is born!! Welcomed into the world at 8:38 am with love & joy," Rathbone tweeted along with a photo of the proud parents moments after their newborn's arrival. In March, Rathbone announced there was another baby on the way when he posted a black-and-white throwback photo of his wife during her first pregnancy on Instagram. In the sweet snap, his wife is all smiles as she shows off her baby belly in a bikini while sitting at a table across from the actor. The "massive" deployment of army during the Jat quota stir in Harayna was enough to ward off a small-scale attack by an invading army, the Prakash Singh Committee, which has indicted several top state police and civil officials for failing to control the riots that left 30 people dead, has said. "The deployment of army in Haryana was on a massive scale. A maximum of 74 Columns (slightly over 5100 men) were deployed. This would roughly work out to about 12 battalions. It is a formidable strength, enough to ward off a small scale attack in a particular sector by an invading army," the report said. The Committee, headed by Singh, a former Uttar Pradesh police and BSF chief, had harsh words for the state's BJP government. It said the Manohar Lal Khattar government would never look back "with any sense of pride on these developments" and that the administration had "withered" away. "It is extremely unfortunate that army had to be deployed on such a large scale to deal with internal disturbances...," it said. Noting that the presence of army did not make any impact, the panel said there "have been disturbing whispers" that the rioters were not particularly scared of the army. "The Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of the State had no hesitation in saying that 'the agitators were not daunted by the presence of the army'", the report said, adding it was "not a happy situation and should cause us concern." The Committee said, "If this (agitators not being daunted by army) continues to happen, it will be good neither for the army nor for the internal security situation of the country. "Every force has a defined role and they should be able to perform that under normal circumstances. If there are any difficulties or constraints in the performance of the police, those difficulties need to be addressed and the constraints removed. Army should be called as a last resort only when all other efforts have failed," the panel said deprecating the use of armed forces in tackling internal disturbances. Questioning appointment of Deputy Commissioners for "extraneous considerations", the report also called for a review of the policy under which a Deputy Commissioner can requisition army in aid of civil power. "At present, any Deputy Commissioner can requisition army in aid of civil power. Looking at the calibre and the quality of district officers these days, and considering that most of them are appointed not for their merit but for extraneous considerations, it is necessary that this provision be given a second look. "The Committee feels that army should be sucked into internal security duties only if there is a well-considered request from the Home Department of the State," the report said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today announced a Rs 54.65 crore package to Cauvery Delta farmers including a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per acre for using modern equipment, to achieve higher yield and increase short-term 'kuruvai' paddy crop cultivation. Like in previous four years, 12-hour power would be supplied to six Cauvery Delta districts, including Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam, for agriculture, she said in a release here. At an outlay of Rs 40 crore, a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per acre would be directly transferred to the bank accounts of farmers who take up Kuruvai cultivation through farm implements. Jayalalithaa announced the package after chairing a high-level meeting in which Agriculture Minister R Duraikannu, and top state officials participated. She said the storage in Mettur Dam, the lifeline of delta farmers, was only 45.82 feet with storage of 15.281 TMC. Even if the state received 10 TMC water from Karnataka, being its entitlement for June, there will be only 61 feet and hence water could not be released for Kuruvai season. "The six Cauvery Delta Districts have received sufficient rainfall in the current summer season and it has led to a rise in the ground water table.I have ordered measures to encourage farmers to go in for large scale Kuruvai crop cultivation," the Chief Minister said. She said farmers will be encouraged to go in for timely paddy planting work by deploying farm implements, and by using the System for Rice Intensification. SRI envisages less water utilisation while fetching a higher yield. Similarly, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes will be provided at 100 per cent subsidy to efficaciously use ground water resources and increase the Kuruvai cultivation area. Micro-nutrients will be provided at 100 per cent subsidy which will be Rs 170 per acre for 50,000 acres of land that face nutrient deficiency. Also, zinc sulphate will be provided to one lakh acres of land and for this purpose a subsidy of Rs 400 will be given to farmers and Rs 4.85 crore will be allotted for it, she said. For the benefit of farmers where there are not adequate numbers of borewells and who had not carried out Kuruvai cultivation in the past several years, subsidy for seed will be given so that they could go in for short term millet (green gram) cultivation in 15,000 acres, she said. Besides, a subsidy of Rs 1,400 per acre will be given for millet cultivation and an allocation of Rs 2.10 crore will be made for it. Similarly seeds will be given at 100 per cent subsidy for farmers in the Cauvery tail end regions at an allocation of Rs 5.70 crore. "These measures will entail an expenditure of Rs 54.65 crore," she said adding due to these measures farmers will be able to get higher yield and go in for kuruvai crop cultivation in more areas. Johnny Depp played his Sweden concert as planned despite a social media campaign calling for a boycott of the show over his wife Amber Heard's domestic abuse claims. The 52-year-old actor and his Hollywood Vampires bandmates took the stage at Stockholm's Grona Lund amusement park which then got heavily criticized for letting an alleged abuser performer, reported Ace Showbiz. A spokesperson for the amusement park has defended their decision to keep the show going on amid Depp's domestic violence accusations. "We are opposed to any sort of violence, of course. But it's also equally important that we cannot judge someone beforehand. Everyone, including Johnny Depp, should be allowed to have the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty." Depp and the other Hollywood Vampires members including Alice Cooper and Joe Perry have been visiting European countries for their tour. Since Heard claimed that he attacked her during an argument, Depp has made stops in Lisbon, Portugal and in Germany. Jordan's new Prime Minister Hani Mulki formed his government today to prepare for legislative elections following the dissolution of parliament, the royal palace announced. The 65-year-old, who has held several ministerial posts, is expected to push for business-friendly policies to revive Jordan's lagging economy. He was appointed by King Abdullah II following the resignation of his predecessor Abdullah Nsur in line with the constitution after the end of parliament's four-year term on Sunday. Mulki will also hold the defence portfolio. The king swore in the new cabinet of 28 ministers, among them 17 newcomers including four women. Several key posts were unchanged, including Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Interior Minister Salamah Hammad and Finance Minister Omar Malhas, a former investment banker. Salama Hammad was named interior minister, a post he held in a previous administration, while Mohammed Momani remains information minister and government spokesman. Among the four women brought into the government was Lina Annab who replaced Nayef al-Fayez as tourism minister. Trained in engineering, Mulki has served as advisor to King Abdullah and ambassador to Cairo, as well as minister for water, energy, foreign affairs and industry. He was also deeply involved in negotiations with Israel that led to a peace treaty between the two countries in 1994. The last parliamentary elections in Jordan, held in 2013, were boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition party, which demands greater transparency and electoral reforms. New elections are scheduled for this year but a date has yet to be set. US Secretary of State John Kerry will host the third "Our Ocean" conference here in September to tackle key issues like marine pollution, and climate- related impacts on the ocean. The two-day conference beginning September 16 is expected to be attended by world leaders, according to an official announcement. The Secretary of State is understood to have sought the participation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The event titled "Our Ocean, One Future" will build on international commitments to protect the ocean made at the previous two conferences, and will partner with Georgetown University to engage the next generation of global ocean leaders, the State Department said in a statement yesterday. Kerry had launched the inaugural Our Ocean conference in Washington, DC, in 2014. Chile hosted the second meeting last year. Together, these two events produced partnerships and initiatives valued at over USD 4 billion as well as commitments to protect nearly 6 million square kilometres of the ocean, an area almost twice the size of India, the statement said. "As in years past, Our Ocean 2016 will bring together heads of state, scientists, business leaders, NGOs, and others to tackle key issues including marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts on the ocean," it added. Konkan Railways Corporation has scrapped its over Rs 100 crore Sky bus project as it may not be "commercially viable". The Konkan Railways Corporation Limited instead suggested that the Goa government can come up with a proposal of 'metro' for the coastal state. "The Sky Bus project was an experiment. We have scrapped it. The project required huge investment to the tune of Rs 100-150 crore and we were not sure whether it would be commercially viable," KRCL's Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Gupta told reporters here. The prototype of Sky Bus project was installed near Margao Railway Station, 40 kms away from here, which is currently being dismantled. Gupta said after conducting a detailed study, KRCL realised that it would not be wise to have a project like Sky Bus in Goa. Gupta said the KRCL has been concentrating on increasing the number of trains on the existing routes in the state. On being asked whether KRCL will introduce metro train service in the state, Gupta said it is for the Goa government to decide if the state requires a metro. "Metro rail system in every metro like Delhi or Mumbai is an initiative of the state government. However, if state (government) comes up with the proposal and willing to invest, then we are ready to have linkages within the cities," he added. Gupta said KRCL has already submitted a proposal to the Goa government to link the upcoming Greenfield Mopa airport to the rail services through a dedicated line. The Madras High Court Advocates' Association and Women Lawyers' Association would hold a rally here on June 6 to protest against the amendments made to existing rules under the Advocates Act. The high court had recently issued a notification making amendments to existing rules under the Advocates Act with a view to ensure peaceful conduct of court proceedings and suggesting disciplinary action to be taken against erring advocates. A notification issued by the Registrar General of the high court said, "In exercise of powers conferred by Section 34(1) of Advocates Act, the court makes the following amendments to the existing rules. The amendments shall come into force with effect from the date of publication." It said the court has power under 14-A of Advocates Act to debar advocates who indulge in activities such as trying to influence a judge or participates in a procession inside court campus or holds placards inside the court hall, among others. Such advocates shall be debarred from appearing before the high court or subordinate courts permanently or for such period as the court may think fit and the Registrar General shall thereupon report it to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, it said. A decision to hold protest rally on June 6 was taken by the respective associations at their general body meetings. The MHAA also requested the Chief Justice and other judges to withdraw the amendments immediately. Opposing the amendments, the MHAA requested the Chief Justice to call for a dialogue between the bar and the bench and evolve effective mechanisms to identify the key issues hampering the effective functioning of the judiciary and prepare both short and long term plans and programmes to amicably settle all the issues. Korean tech giant LG will launch more affordable and flagship devices in India this year as it looks to regain lost ground in the domestic smartphone market. The company, which competes with the likes of Samsung, Apple and Sony in the premium category, will launch 5-6 devices in the sub-Rs 15,000 category to cash in on the burgeoning Indian smartphone market. It launched its flagship smartphone 'G5' today, priced at Rs 52,990. "LG is a leader in consumer durables but that is not the case for mobile phones. We are starting to analyse that. We will prioritise (presence in segments)," LG Electronics India MD Ki Wan Kim told PTI. He added that LG is studying various segments and will launch products in the affordable category, which accounts for a significant portion of the Indian handset market. "We are looking at sub-Rs 10,000 and sub-Rs 15,000 range tentatively. Till Q3, before Diwali, we are looking at launching 5-6 models to test the market," Kim said. He added that depending on the response, the company may look at launching smartphones designed for the Indian consumers. India is the second largest smartphone market globally, after China. Samsung, Micromax, Intex, Lenovo, Lava and Xiaomi are some of the leading brands in the space. Asked about the contribution of the handset business to LG's overall revenues in India, he said it is not yet "meaningful". The G5, which features a modular design, is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 5.3-inch display, 4GB RAM, 32GB memory (expandable up to 2TB) and 2,800 mAh removable battery. Launched first in the Mobile World Congress in Spain earlier this year, the handset comes with two rear cameras -- 16MP primary rear camera and a 8MP rear camera for wide-angle shots. It has a 8MP front camera. "This phone will certainly amaze the smartphone users with its ability to be transformed into multiple devices like digital camera, Hi-Fi player and more. G5 will certainly redefine smartphone experience for consumers," Kim said. Along with the phone, the company has also introduced a range of companion devices like 360 Cam, 360 VR and LG Friends Manager. Malaysia has sacked 15 immigration department officers and suspended 14 others after an investigation found staff had colluded with criminal syndicates to manipulate systems that track entry and exit, the government has said. The subterfuge was centred at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and had begun in 2010, the department's director-general, Sakib Kusmi, said in a statement released yesterday. Around two dozen other department staff have faced administrative action or were under observation, 63 have been transferred, and criminal charges could be forthcoming, he said. "The syndicates hacked or breached our system with the help of the involved immigration officers," he said. Sakib added that the activity allowed the criminal networks - which he said included foreign elements - to manipulate information on who entered or left the country. No further details on the syndicates, or other specifics of the nature or scope of the sabotage, were given. Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi said last week that about 100 people, including both immigration officers and criminal syndicate members, were under investigation by authorities over the security breaches. The punishments were meted out beginning in February. Sakib said the immigration department also would implement a large-scale transfer of personnel at KLIA to guard against a recurrence. No mention was made of any terrorist or extremist involvement in the affair, and Sakib said no high-level immigration officials were implicated. Muslim-majority Malaysia has said that scores of its citizens had gone to join the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, and authorities have been on heightened alert against extremists returning to carry out attacks at home. A top aide to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju was today dragged into the controversy involving arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, with allegation that he made 355 calls to the official who denied any wrongdoing and insisted that the relationship was only "professional". The probe by investigative agencies is said to have found that Bhandari was constantly in touch with Raju's Officer on Special Duty Appa Rao. The agencies claim that Bhandari, who is being probed for allegedly buying a becnami or proxy-owned house for Robert Vadra in London, made some 355 calls to Rao in over one year time. "First of all so many calls would not have been there, I I tell you. It was a professional relationship..He (Bhandari) came to meet the minister 3-4 times, in the last one-and-a-half year. ..It was only a professional relation. "We got an acquaintance for the first time at the Bangalore Air show. He (Bhandari) had invited the minister to see his stall. Minister went and saw it. I don't have any personal relationship," Rao told a private TV channel. The Enforcement Directorate earlier in the day served Bhandari notice seeking bank accounts and details of his properties. The ED action has come even as the Income Tax has sought information from some countries about the properties purchased by him, one of which is said to have been owned and later sold by Robert Vadra in London allegedly facilitated by Bhandari. Mitsubishi Materials Corp., one of dozens of Japanese companies that used Chinese forced laborers during World War II, reached a settlement today covering thousands of victims that includes compensation and an apology. The deal was signed in Beijing with three former workers representing the company's more than 3,000 Chinese victims of forced labor, Mitsubishi Materials said in a statement. The victims were among about 40,000 Chinese brought to Japan in the early 1940s as forced laborers to make up for a domestic labor shortage. Many died due to violence and malnutrition amid harsh treatment by the Japanese. Under the settlement, Mitsubishi Materials will pay 100,000 yuan (USD 15,000) to each of the Chinese victims and their families. The victims were forced to work at 10 coal mines operated by Mitsubishi Mining Corp., what Mitsubishi Materials was known as at the time. Mitsubishi Materials said it would try to locate all of the victims. The company's payments would total 370 million yuan (USD 56 million) if all of them come forward. At the signing ceremony in Beijing, the company "expressed its sincere apologies regarding its historical responsibility to the former laborers and the apologies were accepted by the three former laborers," the company's statement said. Mitsubishi Materials also said it would construct memorials at the sites where the company's mines were located and organize memorial ceremonies. The settlement comes two years after several groups representing the victims and their families filed a compensation lawsuit against Mitsubishi Materials. The sides had since negotiated settlements, though one of the groups, representing 37 plaintiffs, has rejected the settlement, according to Japan's Kyodo agency. Japan's government has long insisted that all wartime compensation issues were settled under the postwar peace treaties, and that China waived its right to pursue compensation under the 1972 treaty with Japan that established diplomatic relations between Beijing and Tokyo. Lawsuits filed in Japan by Chinese and Korean victims of Japanese wartime aggression, including former forced laborers and sex slaves, had previously been rejected. Japan's Foreign Ministry acknowledged the country's wartime use of Chinese forced laborers after wartime documents were found in the early 1990s. Fin-tech company MobiKwik today said it will offer 6 per cent annual interest on the account balance to its mobile wallet users. The company, which competes with Alibaba-backed Paytm, has over 30 million wallet users in the country. MobiKwik claims it is growing at 250 per cent per year and expects to touch 70 million users by the end of 2017. "This is the first time in India that users can get higher profits than institutional savings on their mobile wallet balance," MobiKwik said in a statement. To avail the 6 per cent annual return, users would have to maintain an average of Rs 5,000 or more in their wallets per month. "Profits will be credited to users' MobiKwik accounts on a monthly basis only. The announcement is part of the company's plan to expand its services across solutions like instant micro loans," it said. This would mean a user maintaining a monthly balance of Rs 5,000 a month would get a reward of Rs 25 per month in his/her wallet. "This announcement marks the revolutionary transformation of MobiKwik into a digital institution - to fulfil every Indian's end-to-end financial needs by offering micro loans, profits on wallet balance and cashless transactions. Our mission is to enable users to pay, save, borrow and invest, all using their MobiKwik mobile wallet," the company's co-founder Upasana Taku said. Earlier this year, MobiKwik had started offering instant micro loans to wallet users running short on balance as part of its efforts to boost digital payment usage in the country. The company had recently raised USD 50 million in funding, led by Japanese payments firm Gateway and Taiwanese chip maker MediaTek. Its other investors include Sequoia Capital and Treeline Asia. Prime Minister has gone from somebody who was basically a "pariah" to someone who is now going to be celebrated in the course of just two years, a top American think-tank has said ahead of his meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House next week. "This would probably be the Prime Minister's seventh meeting with the President since he took office which probably is a record both for Modi and for the President with respect to meeting a head of government from a country which is not a formal ally of the United States," Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace said yesterday. "This speaks to the personal relationship that the two have developed over the last two years and also the surprising quality of it, given the history that Modi had with the United States," Tellis said ahead of the Obama-Modi meeting on June 7 at the White House. During his US visit, the Prime Minister will also address a joint meeting of the US Congress on June 8. "The close personal relationship that has now developed between Modi and Obama is one of the surprises of the last two years," Tellis said. Echoing Tellis, Milan Vaishnav of Carnegie said the personal transformation that Modi has undergone is nothing short of remarkable. "In the course of just two years, Modi has gone from just who could not step foot on American soil as a legal matter to addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress. He has gone from somebody who was basically a pariah to someone who is now going to be celebrated by Washington. "Despite that President Obama and the US Government having zero relationship as a matter of stated US Government policy, it is fair to say that the two have forged a close working relationship. It is an achievement that should not be minimised. The two have forged a pretty close rapport and Modi has invested in broadening and deepening ties with the US," Vaishnav said. Giving "full marks" to the foreign policy success of the Prime Minister in the two years that he has been in power, Tellis said it is "really hard to identify any conspicuous failures" and oddly the two areas where he has fallen short is within the region - Pakistan and Nepal. "The broader foreign policy of India (under Modi) has been remarkable successful," he said. Modi has demonstrated, if not in words, but certainly by his actions that he is willing to take the relationship as far as he can take, Tellis said. The India-US relationship, he noted, has a full agenda. "Defence and defence cooperation is going to be the flagship deliverables coming out of this visit," Tellis added. The mortal remains of a young couple from Kerala Shyam Mohan and his wife Anju, who were among 62 killed in the FlyDubai passenger jet crash in March, were brought today to their native place Vegola in Perumbavoor here. Dubai airliner, FlyDubai Boeing 737, crashed at Russia's Rostov-on-Don's airport on March 19 during its attempt to land in adverse weather conditions of strong side wind and rain. They were returning to Russia after their holidays in Kerala when the mishap occurred. Both were working as therapists at an Ayurvedic spa in Russia. It took long time to identify the bodies of Shyam Mohan and Anju as they had been charred in the air crash. The remains were identified by means of a DNA test. Indian authorities had sent blood samples of the relatives of the couple to Russia for DNA examination to identify their bodies. Relatives, friends and villagers gathered in large numbers in Shyam Mohan's residence to pay their tribute. Their mortal remains were brought via Dubai to Kochi this morning from Moscow and were cremated on the premises of Shyam Mohan's residence after performing religious rituals. Meanwhile, a release quoting FlyDubai said the airline will take all necessary steps to help the victims' bereaved families. Alarmed over reports of farmers throwing away their onion produce due to low prices, Madhya Pradesh government today announced that it would purchase the crop at Rs six per kilogram. "The Government has respect for farmers who toil hard in difficult conditions. We will not allow them to suffer losses and therefore we will purchase the onion crop at Rs six per kg. I have directed officials to make all arrangements for it," Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. He was addressing a programme at Tara Sewania village near here under 'Gramoday se Bharat Uday' campaign. Farmers in various parts of the state, especially in Malwa region, have thrown away the onions on roads after failing to recover even the cost of cultivation. In some places the prices fell to as low as 30 paise per kg. Chouhan also announced that a Farmers Welfare Fund will be set up to help them in the period of distress and directed the district collectors to make plans for formulating an agriculture policy. Terming the 'Gramoday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan' as a unique campaign, he said it will help in formulating schemes for the development of rural areas at the village level. He also administered an oath on the occasion to villagers on hygiene, saving water, sending children to school daily, saving electricity and making village free of liquor and drugs. State-run firm MTNL today said it expects to post operational profit at the end of the current financial year and turn profitable in 2017-18. "We expect to be operationally profitable in 2016-17 and completely profitable in 2017-18," MTNL Chairman and Managing Director Narendra Kumar Yadav told reporters. The state-run telecom firm has been running in losses since 2009-10. The PSU reported operating loss of Rs 526.42 crore for the Janaury-March quarter of 2015-16. However, it was able to post a net profit of Rs 174.58 crore for the quarter on account of refunds for surrendering CDMA spectrum. For the full 2015-16 fiscal, it reported operating loss of Rs 1,944.60 crore on standalone basis. For the fiscal ended March 31, 2016, MTNL's standalone net loss narrowed to Rs 2,005.74 crore, from Rs 2,893.39 crore a year-ago period. "Out of the total loss of about Rs 2,000 crore, about Rs 1,800 crore is from mobile services which accounts for only 15 per cent of MTNL's revenue. Now we will focus on basic telephone business for growth and look at partnership with BSNL for running mobile business," Yadav said. The company is looking at BSNL to provide equipment for its mobile services in Delhi and Mumbai circles as managed service provider on revenue share basis. MTNL is also looking to expand its basic or fixed services network in partnership with private players on revenue share basis. The telecom regulator Trai today issued a network test report which showed MTNL plunging in all service quality parameters. "Since last six years MTNL has not been able to procure equipment because of financial constraints. We expect our discussion with BSNL to show result in next 4-5 months to improve mobile services," Yadav said. He said that MTNL was given broadband and 3G spectrum for which it paid Rs 11,000 crore in 2010 which affected its balance sheet. When asked about frequent disruption in landline services, Yadav said "Copper cables of MTNL often get stolen which we are now replacing with optical fibre. This will not only stop cable theft but also improve service quality." He said MTNL keeps registering FIR with police in Delhi and Mumbai but no arrests have been made till date. Around a year ago, MTNL's even underground cable were stolen in diplomatic area of Chanakyapuri in Delhi which is a high security zone. Yadav said that MTNL has started new toll free number '1130' which can be dialled from any network in Delhi and Mumbai for registering complaints. The company is targeting to connect about 1.5 lakh buildings in Delhi and Mumbai with optical for providing its services in next 1-2 years. It is also looking to utilise rooftop space for generating 1 megawatt of solar power. A Muslim boy studying in an RSS-managed school has topped the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination in Assam this year with the Sangh Parivar claiming it "shattered the mainstream propaganda about RSS." "I am proud to have been a student of this school. It is because of my school that I have been able to secure the top position in the state," Sarfaraz, the student, told reporters. The 16-year-old secured the top position scoring 590 out of 600 marks (98.3 per cent) as per the HSLC result declared yesterday. Besides winning several awards in Sanskrit essay writing, he had also topped the all-Guwahati Gita recitation contest a few years ago. "I had no problem chanting prayers in Sanskrit, including the Gayatri Mantra," said Sarfaraz, who has always scored full marks in Sanskrit till Class VIII. Felicitating Sarfaraz, Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government would bear his educational expenses by giving him Rs five lakh by way of a fixed deposit. For the future, he aspires to be an engineer. School principal Akshay Kalita said Sarfaraz also has the distinction of being the first student from Sankardev Sishu Niketan at Betkuchi to secure a place in the merit list of the first 20 of HSLC exam. The youngster's father Ajmal Hussain, who works in a restaurant here, said he never thought it wrong to enroll his son in the school which is run by the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan or Vidya Bharati, the educational wing of the RSS as he wanted his children to get quality education. Sarfaraz, who lives at Jyotishree Nagar in Lalganesh area of the city with his parents Ajmal Hussain and Suriya Begum, says he worked hard despite financial problems of his family studying 12 to 18 hours a day before the examination. Sangh Parivar sources said Shankardev Vidya Niketan, Shishu Bharati, is one of the many RSS-run schools and teaches no religious fundamentalism. "There is no different syllabus for the schools and no one is taught to hate. Instead everyone is taught to love his or her country, which all schools teach." "Sarfaraz's success shows the acceptance of the much maligned organisation across all demographics and it shatters the mainstream propaganda about RSS ... Contrary to the propaganda, RSS is not anti-Muslim or anti any religion but is pro-India with no communal agenda. Its only aim is to serve the country through imparting quality education," an RSS source said. Nagaland Chief Minister, T R Zeliang has asserted that the state government is willing to grant 25 per cent reservation to women through nomination and not election to the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in the state. "The government will amend the Municipal Council Act 2001 in the state assembly, if the Naga Mothers' Association (NMA) accepts the proposal instead of fighting for 33 per cent women reservation in the state ULBs," Zeliang said on the sidelines of inaugural function of 'Short Stay Home' for people living with HIV constructed by NMA here yesterday. Asserting that there would not be any political nomination of women into any of the ULBs, Zeliang clarified that the Deputy Commissioner of the respective districts would nominate the 25 per cent women after thorough consultation with NMA and women's bodies of the district. Zeliang, however, regretted that the NMA is reluctant to accept the proposal and decided to wait for the final outcome of the ongoing case filed by their representatives in the Supreme Court. The CM rued that because of the pending case in the Supreme Court, Nagaland has been unable to avail ULB funds amounting to Rs 20-40 crore annually sanctioned by the Centre. (Reopens CES14) Meanwhile, NMA President Abeiu Meru reaffirmed that the women's body would not back out from their demand on 33 per cent reservation in all ULBs. Meru said that Joint Action Committee on Women Reservation (JACWR) taking into consideration the Supreme Court ruling of April 5, 2016, which upheld holding municipal elections by implementing 33 per cent women reservation, has already submitted a letter to the state Chief Minister and Election Department to conduct the municipal and town council elections at the earliest. "We are waiting action from the state government and expressed hope that the SC ruling upheld," she said. Meru also asserted that women's groups in the state would file a contempt of court if the state government fails to take action on the Court ruling at the earliest. The apex consumer commission has asked the Odisha government to "sympathetically" consider granting appropriate monetary relief to a farmer whose crop got damaged to the "extent of 84 per cent". The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) bench presided by Justice V K Jain, asked the state government to consider giving relief on "compassionate basis" to Kartika Biswal, a farmer based in Bolangir, who had sought compensation of Rs 25,000 from United Bank of India. In its order, NCDRC allowed the bank's review petition filed against an order of the state commission which had directed the bank to pay the money to Biswal. In its order, the state commission had accepted Biswal's submission that he had deposited Rs 800 with the bank for obtaining insurance cover for his crop but the bank did not do the needful. However, the apex commission noted that even though Biswal had deposited Rs 800 with the bank, "there was absolutely no indication in the document that the deposit of Rs 800 was being made towards premium for insurance of the crop sown by the complainant in his land." "In the absence of such an indication in the deposit slip, the petitioner bank was justified in treating the aforesaid amount as a normal deposit in the account of the complainant," the commission said, while setting aside state panel's order. "Considering that the complainant is a small farmer and his crop got damaged to the extent of 84 per cent, we would recommend to the state government concerned to consider the case of the complainant sympathetically and if possible grant appropriate monetary relief to him, on compassionate basis. "One copy of this order be sent to the chief secretary of state government concerned for information and consideration," it said. In his complaint before a district consumer forum, Biswal had said he had deposited a sum of Rs 800 in his account with the bank towards premium for obtaining insurance cover in respect of the crop sown on his land, along with crop coverage certificate. Later, he suffered over 80 per cent crop loss due to drought in his area, but did not get a compensation of Rs 25,000 (insurance amount) as his crop had not been insured because bank had not forwarded the necessary documents to an agency, which was to insure the crop and reimburse the farmer in case of loss of the crop. In its written version, however, the bank denied having received the premium or the crop coverage certificate from the complainant. In its May 2013 order, the forum had directed the bank to credit Rs 25,000 into the account of Biswas along with a Rs 2,500 for compensation and the cost of litigation. The state commission further upheld forum's order. Loknath Behara today took charge as the new Kerala DGP. The unsolved brutal murder of 30-year-old dalit law student, which had shocked the conscience of the state, was a 'challenge' to the police force, he said. "The case is a challenge to Kerala police", Behara told reporters soon after taking charge. First priority is to detect the accused and make a prosecutable case. "I will put my best foot forward" he said and expressed confidence that within two days, some new facts may come out in the case. Behara said as a professional, he does not want to leave even a single case as untraced. The DGP said he was confident that his officers, given proper direction and ideas, will bring out good results. Hinting that he was keen to conduct CBI model investigations, Behara said though the state lacked infrastructure, but there was no legal bar in using scientific facility elesewhere. That will do wonders. Behara was appointed by the new CPI(M) Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, after replacing T P Senkumar. There was need to improve investigation,which has taken a back seat. There were lots of cases lying undetected, including rape cases. There is need to have better infrastructure in police, he said. Women's security was among his priorities, he said. Behara was involved in the investigation of sensitive cases such as the Graham Staines murder case, Purulia arms drop case and Mumbai serial blast case. In 2009, he joined the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and headed the Terror Financing and Fake Currency specialized cell of the NIA and was also part of the team that travelled to the US to question David Coleman Headley in 2010. Prior to being appointed as the DGP of Kerala, he served as Director, Kerala Fire & Rescue Services. The CBI today searched the house of an alleged 'Sanatan Sanstha' member Sarang Akolkar, wanted by the NIA in the Goa blast case, in Pune, in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. 34-year-old Akolkar is alleged to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar, a rationalist who fought against superstitions all his life, on August 20, 2013 in Pune. Akolkar is believed to be linked to 'Sanatan Sanstha', a Hindu right wing organisation whose headquarters are located in Ponda, Goa. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case. NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down. CBI sources said besides Akolkar's house in Pune, searches were on at the premises of Virendra Singh Tawde in Panvel near Mumbai in connection with the Dabholkar assassination case. Two alleged Sanatan Sanstha operatives were killed when the bomb they were carrying accidentally exploded on Diwali eve in Margao in Goa. Six other accused, who had been charged with waging war against the nation in the case, were later acquitted by an NIA court. The blast had occurred at a place not far from where the then Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was attending a fuction. The NIA charge sheet was dismissed on technical grounds by a special court in December 2013 as the agency had not sought sanction of the state government against the accused who were charged under Explosive Substances Act. NIA has filed an appeal which is pending before Goa bench of Bombay High Court. The Bombay High Court had transferred the probe in Dabholkar murder case to CBI on 9 May, 2014 on a PIL filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar on the plea that there was no headway several months after the killing of the eminent rationalist. Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi today alleged that Punjab police is "totally managing a one sided show" on the issue of attack on Sikh preacher Sant Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale and said only a CBI probe can bring out the truth. After meeting Dhandriawala at Parmeshwar, he said, "We have is no faith in the inquiry by Punjab Police as it is totally managing the show one sided till now," adding a CBI probe was the only way out. Unidentified assailants had opened fire at the cavalcade of Dhadrianwale on May 17 in which he had a narrow escape, but his aide Bhupinder Singh Khalsa died. "An associate of the preacher was killed in the incident. How can the SGPC form a peace committee and try to make a compromise (with radical Damdami Taksal)," the Congress Legislature Party leader asked. On law-and-order situation in Punjab, Channi claimed that the ruling SAD-BJP alliance has utterly failed on this front. "The number of incidents related to various crimes is increasing day by day but Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal still claims the Punjab 'safe state'," he said. "I think either the deputy CM is not updated about the reality in the state or he is not having a professional PR guy who keeps him updated on the incidents happenings in Punjab," he said. Donald Trump appears to be finding some friends in North Korea. The presumptive US Republican presidential nominee has been getting good press this week in the North's carefully controlled media, first in an opinion piece that praised him as "wise" and full of foresight and then today in the official mouthpiece of the ruling Worker's Party itself. Both articles noted how his suggestions he would be willing to meet leader Kim Jong Un and wants to rethink and possibly withdraw US troops from South Korea have created a "Trump Shock" in Seoul. The state-run DPRK Today in Pyongyang started off the Trump praise yesterday by juxtaposing the "wise" Trump with what it called "dull Hillary" - describing leading Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton by only her first name. "The presidential candidate who US citizens should vote for is not dull Hillary, who says she would pursue an 'Iran-type model' to solve the Korean Peninsula's nuclear problems, but Trump, who said he would solve problems by directly talking with North Korea," said the column attributed to a "China-based scholar." In the lengthy column, Trump is described as a "wise politician and presidential candidate with foresight" for his comments about the US potentially withdrawing its troops from South Korea if Seoul doesn't bear the costs. It also noted his public willingness to directly talk with the North Korean leadership if he becomes president. Trump told The New York Times in March that South Korea and Japan should pay much more for the US troops based in their countries - about 28,000 in South Korea and around 50,000 in Japan. In a more recent interview with the Reuters agency, Trump said he was willing to meet with Kim. "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," he said. The removal of US troops from the Korean Peninsula and direct talks with a US president dovetail nicely with objectives Pyongyang has held for years - though undoubtedly for different reasons than the American real estate magnate. The North wants the US troops to leave because it sees them as a direct threat to the regime's security and has long wanted talks with Washington, ostensibly toward a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War, that would boost its international status and acknowledge that North Korea is a nuclear state. The Delhi High Court today expressed anguish over the recent attacks on African nationals in the national capital saying the city is now "becoming racist". Concerned over public taking law into their hands, a bench of justices B D Ahmed and R K Gauba said though there was "let up" from the crime against women, there have been attacks on African nationals. "There is a let up from crime against women. Now Delhi is becoming racist. There have been attacks on African nationals. We do not know what is happening in the city," the bench said. "We can only express anguish, you (government) are the executive, you will have to implement the directions given by the court," the bench further said while expressing concern that "public was taking law into their hands" and there was a need for government to take appropriate steps. The court's oral observation came during hearing of a PIL initiated by it after the December 16, 2012 gangrape case, in which it has been giving directions from time to time regarding improving crime investigation and protection of women in the national capital. The attacks on Africans took a diplomatic downturn following the May 20 attack on Congolese national Masunda Kitada Oliver who died in a brutal attack in south Delhi. There have been reports appearing everyday about alleged racist remarks and attacks on African nationals. However, the government has said all such incidents cannot be termed as racist. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has criticised the "talk of India's fragmentation" by elements who have made no sacrifices for the country. In an indirect reference to the recent controversy about anti-national slogans raised at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, Doval said, "some people who have made no sacrifices for the country are talking about fragmentation of India saying Bharat Ke Tukde Honge Inshalla". In such events, what is important is how rest of the society responds or remains a "mute spectator", he said adding that the challenge before the country was to evolve a "national will power" to discourage these tendencies. Doval's comments came at a 'Youth for Development' conference which he addressed at Hinjawadi IT park here last night. According to a recent report prepared by a high-level inquiry committee of JNU, provocative slogans including 'Bharat ko ragda do ragda'(India should be stamped out) and 'Pakistan Zindabad' were raised at a controversial event in the varsity by a group of masked outsiders. However, the report said video footages of the February 9 event does not show anyone raising the slogan "Bharat Ki Barbadi tak jung rahegi" (Fight will go on till India is ruined) but claimed that eyewitnesses have confirmed shouting of such slogans in their deposition. All government hospitals in Odisha will have to obtain fire safety clearance certificates from the fire prevention wing of the office of the DG (fire service) within one month, state's Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Naik said today. "This is necessary to prevent the frequent fire mishaps in the hospitals", the minister said after reviewing yesterday's fire mishap in the cardiology department of SCB medical college and hospital here. The minister also announced that the technical committee formed by the Cuttack collector to probe into the cause of Tuesday's fire shall have a third party expert member drawn from an independent agency for an unbiased finding. The probe committee, formed by the district collector comprising the district fire officer, an electrical engineer, a civil engineer and a hospital staff to find the cause of the fire and suggest measures to prevent the same in future, has been asked to submit its report within seven days. Worried over frequent fire mishaps and lack of fire fighting measures in government hospitals, the health minister at a high-level meeting here decided that the hospitals shall have fire prevention measures as prescribed in the National Building Code of India-2005. Under this code, the hospitals must have at least two number of 4.5 kg capacity each of carbon dioxide extinguishers for every 1000 square feet floor area or part thereof, so placed as to be easily available within 30 feet. The five-storied building that houses the cardiology department of the biggest referral hospital here had not a single fire extinguisher when the mishap happened on Tuesday afternoon. The Building Code also specifies that the fire extinguishers should be kept in efficient working conditions by regularly repairing them and filled. The hospital staff should be sensitized by conducting mock drills periodically, so that the staff members could use them at the time of mishap without getting panicky. US drone strikes in Pakistan "must stop", Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif said today, days after American special forces killed Taliban chief Mullah Mansour in a drone attack in the country's restive Balochistan province. Speaking with the media after attending President Mamnoon Hussain's address to a joint session of Parliament, Sharif said: "US drone strikes in Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop." Sharif's comments on the drone strikes comes in the backdrop of US drone strike in Balochistan on May 21 that killed Mansour. Hailing Mansour's death as an "important milestone" in efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama has said that American forces would continue to go after threats on Pakistani soil. "We have removed the leader of an organisation that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces. We will work on shared objectives with Pakistan, where terrorists that threaten all our nations must be denied safe haven," Obama has said, confirming Mansour's death. Sharif also said the operation against the militants was going on successfully. "We have to maintain the victories of Operation Zarb-i-Azb. Terrorists will not be allowed to re-enter into areas cleared in South Waziristan and North Waziristan," he said. General Sharif said that the border management with Afghanistan was improving and urged Afghanistan to take matching measures on its side of the border. He declared that USD 46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a national project and it would be completed at any cost. He said that the security situation in the country, especially in Karachi city and Balochistan province was improving. Earlier, the army chief attended the joint session of the parliament to listen the address of the president. The session was also attended by the chiefs of navy, and air force. A teenage Pakistani girl died today, two days after she was tortured and set on fire for refusing to marry a divorcee twice her age, the latest case that highlights rampant violence against women in the Muslim nation. Maria Sadaqat, 19, was attacked on Monday in Upper Dewal village of Murree hill resort in Punjab Province. Abdul Basit, her uncle, told the media outside a hospital here that she was pressed for marriage by the owner of a local private school where she used to teach. She had resigned due to the harassment by the school principal, a divorcee who was twice her age. "He attacked her with accomplices on Monday. First she was tortured and then doused in petrol and set on fire," said Basit. She was admitted in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) with 85 per cent burn injuries. In a statement before dying, the victim accused the principal of the school and his four accomplices for attacking her. Police official Muhammad Zeeshan said that one accused has been arrested and the raids being conducted to arrest others. Ayesha Isani, spokeswoman of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, confirmed the death Maria due to severe burns. Violence against women is common in Pakistan where every year hundreds of women are killed for honour. Nearly 1,100 women were killed in Pakistan last year in so-called honour-killings, the country's independent Human Rights Commission says. Campaigners say most "honour killings" are not reported in Pakistan. A Pakistani man, who accused JuD of running a Taliban-style parallel judicial system here, today said he was "kidnapped" by two unidentified men who warned him of severe consequences if he continued pursuing the case against Hafiz Saeed's Sharia court. "I have filed an application with the Lyton Road police station for registration of FIR against two unidentified men with long beard for kidnapping, intoxicating and threatening me," Khalid Saeed said. "Yesterday I was going to the Lahore High Court on a motorcycle when two unidentified men having long beard stopped me near the court and took me to Miani Sahib graveyard and warned me of severe consequences if I continued pursuing the case," he said, adding the men forced him to drink some juice before throwing him at the entrance of the graveyard in a semi-conscious state. Khalid was taken to a hospital where he received medical aid and was later discharged. "I have filed the application with the police but they have yet to register an FIR against the unidentified men," he said. Khalid is pursuing a case against Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), led by Mumbai attack mastermind Saeed, in the Lahore High Court (LHC) for receiving summons written on a letter pad of 'Darul Qaza Al-Sharia' of JuD with a direction to appear before its 'arbitration court of Sharia'. He also received telephone calls from the Qazi (judge) of the JuD court in threatening tone asking him to appear before him. The JuD's Sharia Court had summoned Saeed on the complaint of his former partner in a property business. The LHC disposed off the petition and ordered the home secretary of the Punjab government to summon all concerned and decide the matter "strictly in accordance with law". However, the petitioner filed an intra-court appeal against the decision. The LHC chief justice has constituted a division bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed to hear the appeal. The federal and provincial governments had told the court that the petition was not maintainable as the JuD is a "private organisation" and this matter could not be challenged in the court. A Pakistani schoolteacher has been arrested for allegedly making blasphemous comments in Punjab province. The FIR was registered a couple of days ago against Gabreel Ahmed on the complaint of Bilal, his student's father, under Section 295-C (blasphemy) of the Pakistan Penal Code which carries the deathpenalty. Senior police officer Sajjad Khan said that Ahmed,an Arabic language teacher at Government High School, Qasba Gormani, Muzaffargarh district, is accused of blasphemy. "Initially the police had arrested Ahmed for torturing Bilal's two sons of grade-VI in the school. But later Bilal complained that Ahmed committed blasphemy and his sons endorsed his allegation. On this blasphemy sections have been included in the FIR," Khan said. "We arethoroughlyinvestigating the matter. However it is a sensitive matter," he said. Ahmed's colleagues told police that he did not commit blasphemy as Bilal had tried to settle scores with him for torturing his sons. Rights groups allege that Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law is frequently misused to target minorities and to settle personal scores and disputes. A Muslim teacher in Pakistan could face the death penalty after being accused of blasphemy, sparking anger from school officials and activists who said the law is being abused to carry out personal vendettas. Arabic teacher Gibreel Ahmed was arrested at a government school in southern Punjab province on May 14 after allegedly beating two brothers in the sixth grade for not coming to class on time. The students' parents complained to the Government High School Gurmani in Muzaffargarh district, whose head told AFP the 40-year-old teacher had been suspended after an inquiry. But four days after the original complaint, the parents went to police to accuse Ahmed of blasphemy, according to local authorities. The school said no mention of blasphemy had been made before the police complaint. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in conservative Muslim Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can stir beatings and mob violence. Rights groups have said the laws are routinely abused to seek vengeance. Multan-based lawyer Shahbaz Ali Gurmani, who said he has spoken with the father of the accused, said this was one of those cases. "The case of this Arabic teacher seems fake and lodged to take revenge from him," he told AFP this week. "This is happening across Pakistan now, unfortunately, that wherever a blasphemy case is lodged there appears personal, social or political motive behind it in the most cases." The school's headmaster agreed, saying that the initial complaint from the parents had made no mention of blasphemy. The teacher did beat the students and was suspended for it, said Qazi Muhammad Ajmal. But the blasphemy allegation was "baseless", he said, adding that the majority of the school's 16 teachers agreed. Prominent human rights activist Hina Jillani said police at times act on such complaints as they are afraid of a backlash if they do not. "In Pakistan, these laws are used to take revenge, for vested interests, unfortunately," she said. Muhammad Bilal, the father who complained, told AFP that Ahmed would often beat students. "My son told me on May 10 that the teacher beat them for not carrying out a blasphemous act," he said. "We were angry and we took up the issue." The teacher is being held in jail as an investigation is carried out, said local police official Javed Akhtar. Ahmed's father Fazlur Rehman told AFP that police had refused to take his statement or clarify where they were keeping his son. The Delhi High Court today asked AAP government to constitute a committee for verification of beneficiaries of pension schemes for aged and disabled people. Justice J R Midha further directed all the three municipal corporations here to constitute a panel of five officers to help the government in carrying out the verification process. It said that the authorities should start the verification process of at least 500 beneficiaries per day, who were not getting old age pension for the last three years and simultaneously release pension to them. It has fixed the matter for further hearing on August 1. The court's direction came on a petition seeking contempt proceedings against the civic bodies here for not giving to Delhi government a list of beneficiaries of pension schemes for aged and disabled people. The plea has alleged that the government and civic bodies were "wilfully and deliberately disobeying and not complying with the court's order" passed on January 20. While disposing of the plea, a division bench of the high court on January 20 had directed all the three MCDs to furnish list of the aged beneficiaries of pension under MCD schemes to Delhi government within four weeks. It had also directed the government to process the payment cases after receiving the lists and other particulars from the MCDs. Advocate Ashok Aggarwal, appearing for NGO Social Jurist, submitted the authorities have failed to do so resulting in continuous non-payment of stipend/pension amount of Rs 1000 per month to over two lakh destitute for the last three years. Delhi government's additional standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi has submitted that they are very serious about disbursing pension to the beneficiaries but the civic bodies have not furnished them the requisite information, which is causing delay in payment of pension. The Delhi High Court today sought a response from AAP government on a PIL seeking prohibition on manufacture, sale, use and purchase of 'chinese manja', a kite-flying thread made out of nylon, alleging that it is "razor sharp" and has caused several deaths across the country as it is capable of cutting human flesh. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath issued a notice to Delhi government and sought its response to the allegations in the plea by August 1. The petitioner Zulfiquar Hussain has alleged in his plea that earlier the "victims" of the synthetic thread were birds, "but now humans are also under threat" and referred to the recent death of a 28-year-old man in East Delhi whose throat allegedly got slit by such a thread while he was riding a motorbike. He has also referred to deaths, allegedly caused as a result of injuries from the thread, in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The petition contended that use and sale of the thread has been banned by the Rajasthan High Court and that the Allahabad High Court has issued directions to take necessary steps to prohibit manufacture, use and sale of synthetic kite flying thread like 'chinese manja'. The plea, filed through advocate Tariq Adeeb, also said that Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh governments have banned this thread. The petitioner has contended that use, manufacture and sale of the thread is illegal under Environment Protection Act 1986 and sought directions to the government to "strictly enforce the prohibition throughout Delhi". The court was also told that a similar plea for ban on 'Chinese manja' was before the Supreme Court which has observed that since the issue relates to the protection of environment and wild life, the same should be adjudicated upon by the National Green Tribunal. The high court then asked the counsel for both the parties to produce the Supreme Court order on the issue by tomorrow. It also asked the Delhi government's counsel to inform the court whether the notification will be issued soon or it will take time, observing that the kites are flown on August 15. The plea has referred to deaths allegedly caused by injuries from kite flying thread in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The petition contended that use and sale of the thread has been banned by the Rajasthan High Court and that the Allahabad High Court has issued directions to take necessary steps to prohibit manufacture, use and sale of synthetic kite flying thread like 'Chinese manja'. The plea, filed through advocate Tariq Adeeb, also said that Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh governments have banned this thread. It has contended that use, manufacture and sale of the thread is illegal under Environment Protection Act 1986 and sought directions to the government to "strictly enforce the prohibition throughout Delhi". The Delhi High Court today said that the police team should reach the crime scene before the current time of ten minutes so that citizens of the national capital feel they are in safe hands. The court said that maximum response time should be "like a pizza boy delivering the stuff faster than the guaranteed half an hour". A bench of justices B D Ahmed and R K Gauba said that the "police will have to earn the faith of the public that they are always there for them in need". "We are concerned over the response time of the police team in reaching the crime spot," the court said adding that "they should reach quickly in order to give guarantee to citizens of Delhi that they are safe here." The court said "the response time as given by you (police) is very important. It is to check the efficiency of the police. You will have to ensure that you reach the crime scene before ten minutes." The bench gave the direction on the submissions made by Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain who, while reading the affidavit file by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), said that to "ensure safety and security of women in the national capital, response time of the Delhi police to distress calls reportedly reduced to 10 minutes". "The response time of police should be known to everyone so that the citizens here are aware that the police are always there on time at the crime scenes," it added. It asked the police to file an affidavit with regard to the concern raised by it. It also expressed concern over the way the police team is detecting the crime, saying in most of the cases the criminals "go scot free due to absence of strong evidence, like proper photos of crime scenes and lack of forensic experts". The bench said that the police team should comprise "experts, including a forensic pathologist, who determine the cause of death by examining a corpse". It said the Centre, AIIMS, Delhi government and municipal bodies here should file an affidavit before July 27 indicating whether there is any forensic pathologist working in their hospitals. The court's direction came during a hour-long hearing of a PIL initiated by it after the December 16, 2012 gangrape case, in which it has been giving directions from time to time with regard to improving crime investigation and protection of women in the national capital. The Ministry of Finance, during the hearing, told the court that they have agreed to creation of 4,227 posts for the proposal of separation of crime investigation and law order functions. "The matter for creation of posts would be processed as and when the report of the high-level committee is finalized and provided to the Department of Expenditure, the Ministry of Finance. "Since the committee report is yet to be received, this department has no specific timeline of the proposals and plan of action with regard to improving policing in Delhi," the Ministry said. To which the court said that the government must take some appropriate steps as the public is taking law in their hand. "We can only express anguish, you (government) are the executive, you will have to implement the directions given by the court," the bench added. The court was also told that the number of lines of police helpline no. 100 has been increased from 60 to 100, women helpline no. 1091 has been increased from four to ten and 370 and additional PCR vans sanctioned, which takes the fleet to 1000. "All civic agencies have initiated action to install CCTV cameras in their jurisdiction," the affidavit filed by the MHA said, adding that "we are taking every step to ensure safety of women, like we have also installed CCTV cameras in many DTC buses, bus queue shelters and schools." To this the court asked the agencies concerned here to advertise the facilities and help they have made available to the citizens. The Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi Police has launched a probe into the premium bus service scheme notified by the Arvind Kejriwal government, allegedly without obtaining the permission of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, a development that could trigger a fresh bout of sparring between the two. ACB chief MK Meena said that the probe has been launched on the complaint of Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, who has alleged that the government is "trying to benefit" a Gurgaon based private bus aggregator. "There are allegations that no prior approval of Lt Governor was sought before launch of the scheme and that it was aimed at benefiting a private company," he said. The premium bus service scheme was notified on May 20. "The Lt Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to notify that all premium buses which ply in Delhi in conformity with guidelines specified in the app-based premium bus services scheme shall be deemed to be used for the purpose of reducing pollution and shall be exempted from provision of sub section (1) of Section 66 of the said Act (Motor Vehicle Act 1998) to such an extent as may be necessary for operation of such buses," read the notification signed by Delhi Transport Commissioner Sanjay Kumar. Citing media reports Gupta said in his complaint that the Lt Governor's office had clarified on May 28 that no "approval" was given by him for the premium bus service. "It calls for criminal probe into how the AAP government under the signature of Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport) could misuse Lt Governor's name in this manner," he said. The Leader of Opposition alleged the AAP government "seems to be in extraordinary hurry to approve the Premium Bus Service Scheme and the procedure adopted leaves many questions unanswered." The entire scheme has been "designed to favour one particular Gurgaon-based bus aggregator platform that is already "illegally operating contract carriage buses in Delhi" as on date also, Gupta claimed in his complaint. The rules and regulations were "deliberately bypassed" that "smack of malafide intentions" of the decision making authorities in the government, he alleged. "The manner in which the decision was approved in the Cabinet without bothering to ensure that the due procedure was followed leaves no one in doubt that there was criminal intention to provide unprecedented benefit to the private operator," he alleged. "The government in place of penalizing an operator who is flouting law with impunity has chosen to legalize the system. It smacks of a big scam," he alleged and demanded a thorough investigation into all aspects of the scheme and its notification. CPI-M led LDF government in Kerala today made a reshuffle among IAS officers and appointed M Sivashanker, at present the Private Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as IT Secretary. Senior IAS officer P H Kurian, who was handling both IT and Industries, would continue to function as Principal Secretary, Industries. Raju Narayana Swami has been brought as Secretary in Agriculture Department, an official release said here today. Former Port Trust Chairman Paul Antony would be the new Power Secretary. Antony who hold the position of Additional Chief Secretary, is also the CMD of Kerala State Electricity Board. Rajiv Sadanandan is the new Health Secretary while P Marapandiyan the Forest and Excise Secretary. Senior lawyer C P Sudhakara Prasad has been appointed as the new Advocate General and Advocate Sreedharan Nair Manjeri as Director General of Prosecution. A South Korean student who committed suicide by jumping from his 20th floor apartment hit and killed another man walking home with his pregnant wife and son, a report said today. The 38-year-old local government employee was returning from work in the southern city of Gwangju yesterday when he was struck by the 25-year-old student, the Yonhap agency said. The man had been walking with his wife who was eight months pregnant and their five-year-old son. Both men were taken to a nearby hospital but neither survived, Yonhap said. The agency said police planned to charge the dead student with manslaughter in order to ease any insurance claim brought by the other man's family. Defending champion Serena Williams powered into the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday, but Timea Bacsinszky dumped out sister Venus as the Swiss continued her love affair with Paris. Serena reached the last eight at Roland Garros for the 10th time after pulverising 18th seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-1 6-1 in just over an hour on Court Philippe Chatrier. The world No 1 one continues her pursuit of a record-equalling 22nd Open era Grand Slam title against 60th-ranked Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. The 34-year-old American faces the likelihood of playing four matches in four days as she targets a fourth French Open crown, but Serena played down concerns about the schedule. "Four in a row? I think for us...When we play regular tournaments you play four, five matches in a row. It's what happens," she said. "In Rome I played four in a row? Five? I don't know. But, you know, in Miami and Indian Wells you just play every day. It's something you just get used to. It's totally fine I think for me and for everyone." Swiss eighth seed Bacsinszky ended any prospect of Serena facing sister Venus in the semi-finals after dumping out the elder Williams in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Bacsinszky, who reached the semi-finals in Paris a year ago, reeled off nine of 10 games after trailing 0-2 in the first set to lay the foundation for her victory. "If I could play here every day of my life, I would do it," said Bacsinszky, who will meet unseeded Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens next. Bertens reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final after defeating American 15th seed Madison Keys 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. The world number 58, who knocked out Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the first round, has now won 11 straight matches after arriving in Paris fresh from lifting the Nuremberg clay-court title as a qualifier. Putintseva, 21, the youngest player left in the draw, extended her best run at a major with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Spanish 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. A serving Bishop of Kerala's influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church today gave a new lease of life to a man by donating him one of his kidneys. The surgery was successfully performed at VPS Lakeshore hospital here. Auxiliary Bishop of Pala diocese Jacob Murickan and the recipient, a 31-year-old man belonging to a poor Hindu family, are recovering after surgery, hospital sources said. The organ transplantation surgery was performed by a team of doctors led by Dr George P Abraham, Urologist and Dr Aby Abraham, nephrologist of the hospital, they said. Last week, 52-year-old Bishop Murickan had finalised plans to donate one of his kidneys to E Sooraj, an employee with an Arya Vaidya Sala. He is the sole breadwinner of his family, comprising his mother and his wife. An authorisation committee for unrelated donors at Kottayam government medical college had cleared Bishop Murickan as the donor for Sooraj. Hailing the Bishop's noble gesture, Kidney Federation Chairman Father Davis Chiramal had said this was perhaps for the first time in the history, a serving Bishop is donating one of his kidneys to save a valuable life. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who underwent an open-heart surgery here yesterday, is "happy and healthy" and soon will be able to receive visitors beyond family members, a party official said today. The 66-year-old PML-N leader is "resting and recovering" with his family members by his side at The Harley Street Clinic in central London. "Everything has gone well, the operation was successful and he is stable, resting and recovering. He is happy and healthy," said a PML-N UK spokesperson. The spokesperson also said that Sharif will be moved to another room in the clinic tomorrow to be able to receive visitors beyond family members. "When he had come to London for his check-up in April, he had been advised by doctors to not undertake any air travel. But he wanted to go back to Pakistan. We were aware back then that another check-up and even surgery may be necessary," the spokesperson said. Sharif had arrived in London on May 22 and went in for the surgery yesterday, his second cardiac procedure in five years. Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who accompanied him to the UK, had been providing updates on social media. "All arteries successfully grafted... Surgery successful by The Grace Of Almighty," she had tweeted yesterday. Her last tweet after the surgery concluded read: "My father... The LOVE of my life... Allah bless you with a long life & perfect health... Ameen." Sharif is expected to stay at the clinic for a week and his date of return to Pakistan will be decided based on doctors' advice. Earlier reports had indicated the surgery would take place at the Princess Grace Hospital in London but it took place at The Harley Street Clinic, one of the UK's well-known private hospitals just off London's Harley Street - famous for medical specialists. A court in Los Angeles has found "The Shield" actor Michael Jace guilty of murdering his wife. He shot April Jace, 40, in the back and then twice in the legs at their family home in May 2014, while the couple's young children were present, reported BBC. Jace's son, now 10, told the court he heard his father saying, "If you like running then run to heaven," before firing the second time. Jace will be sentenced on June 10 and could face up to 40 years in prison. Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef said during the trial that the 53-year-old actor was upset that his wife wanted a divorce and believed she was having an affair, although no evidence was presented to support this. Jace waited for her to come home and shot her before calling police. The 53-year-old actor played Detective Julien Lowe in police drama "The Shield". He also had small roles in films such as "Planet of the Apes", "Boogie Nights" and "Forrest Gump". Rapper and actor Snoop Dogg is calling for a boycott of the new "Roots" miniseries in an expletive-filled social media post. In the video on Instagram and Twitter, Snoop Dogg, 44, rails about the remake of "Roots". The remake is based on ABC's landmark 1977 miniseries of the same name, taken from author Alex Haley's 1976 novel, which explored the horrors of American slavery, reported USA Today. "I'm sick of this. ... How the (expletive) they gonna put Roots on Memorial Day?" Snoop Dogg asked in the selfie video. "They just going to keep beating that (expletive) into our heads as to how they did us, huh?" He takes exception to the portrayal of slavery in "Roots" and the movie "12 Years A Slave", which won the best picture Oscar in 2014 and a best supporting actress award for Lupita Nyong'o. "I don't understand America. They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago. But guess what? We're taking the same abuse," he said. "Think about that part. When you all going to make a (expletive) series about the success that black folks is having. The only success we have is 'Roots' and '12 Years A Slave'?" Snoop Dogg says he won't watch "Roots" and calls upon other African-Americans to follow suit. "Let's create our own (expletive) based on today. How we live and how we inspire people today. Black is what's real," he said. Congress President Sonia Gandhi today directed officials to work on drinking water problem in her parliamentary constituency. The directive was issued during the meeting of district vigilance and monitoring committee chaired by the Congress President at Vikas Bhawan here, a party leader said. He said that during the meeting discussions were held on various development works in the constituency. She also inaugurated 'Suvidha Kendra' and an auditorium constructed from her MPLAD fund. On the second day of her visit, Gandhi met local people and party leaders at Bhuemau guest house after which she left for Delhi. On the first day of her visit yesterday, Gandhi had attacked the government over celebrations of two years of NDA government and described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Shahenshah" (emperor). "I have never seen anything like this. A Prime Minister is there, not an emperor. He is the country's Prime Minister. There is so much poverty in the country. There is drought. Farmers are in trouble. I do not find it appropriate (that government) shows off like this," she had told reporters. Gandhi said Modi's ministers have given him "this stature" and are busy in holding celebrations". She also hit back at the government on the charges against her son-in-law Robert Vadra saying it's a part of a conspiracy of levelling false allegations in its bid for a "Congress-free" India. She dared the government to order an impartial probe and if there is something, truth will come out. A new research in the UK has detected sound-like bubbles in DNA that is essential to life and which will change the fundamental understanding of biochemical reactions inside a cell. The research, which was carried out by academics from the University of Glasgow andpublished today in 'Nature Communications', describes how double-stranded DNA splits using delocalised sound waves that are the hallmark of quantum effects. DNA contains the code to life and holds a blueprint for each and every living thing on earth. Dedicated enzymes responsible for making new proteins read the code by splitting the double strand in order to access the information. One of the big outstanding questions of biology has been how these enzymes find the initial hole or "bubble" in the double strand to start reading the code. "It is believed that DNA has regions where a specific sequence of bases modifies the stiffness of the double helix favouring the formation of bubbles. This causes a break of the weak bonds between the strands showing the transcription and replication enzymes where to start their task," Mario Gonzalez Jimenez, a researcher said. Another researcher Gopakumar Ramakrishnan said: "It had been proposed by theoreticians that such DNA bubbles might behave like sound waves, bouncing around in DNA like echoes in a cathedral. However, the current paradigm in biology is that such sound-like dynamics are irrelevant to biological function, as interaction of a biomolecule with the surrounding water will almost certainly destroy any of these effects." Researchers in the Ultrafast Chemical Physics group carried out experiments with a laser that produces femtosecond laser pulses about a trillion times shorter than a camera flash. This allowed them to succeed in the detection of sound-like bubbles in DNA. They could show that these bubbles whiz around like bullets in a shooting gallery even in an environment very similar to that which can be found in a living cell. Thomas Harwood said, a reasercher said: "The sound waves in DNA are not your ordinary sound waves. They have a frequency of a few terahertz or a billion times higher than a human or a dog can hear!". Professoe Klaas Wynne, leader of the research team and Chair in Chemical Physics at the University of Glasgow, said "The terahertz sound-like bubbles we have seen alter our fundamental understanding of biochemical reactions. There were earlier suggestions for a role of delocalized quantum phenomena in light harvesting, magneto reception, and olfaction". The new results now imply a much more general role for sound-like delocalized phenomena in biomolecular processes. Some 500 Indian pilgrims, who were stranded in a remote mountain region in Nepal due to bad weather while returning from Kailash Mansarovar, have been safely evacuated, the Indian mission here said today and asked its citizens to avoid the route via Nepal for the journey. All Indian nationals, who were stranded in Simikot and Hilsa of Humla district in far-west Nepal, safely returned to Kathmandu yesterday. They were returning from Kailash Mansarovar, a famous Hindu pilgrimage site in Tibet, but due to the bad weather flights to Kathmandu were cancelled, which forced them to stay in the remote mountain region for 4-5 days. The Embassy of India had coordinated with the Nepalese authorities and the concerned tour operators and arranged for their evacuation, said Ruby Jashpreet Sharma, a spokesperson at the embassy told PTI. They were evacuated with the help of charter flights of helicopter and brought to Kathmandu, the embassy said. Issuing a statement, the embassy advised the Indian citizens to avoid the Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa route at this time as the weather conditions were expected to deteriorate in the weeks to come. Kailash and Mansarovar are famous pilgrimage destinations for both Hindus and Buddhists and every year thousands of Indian pilgrims visit the site situated in Tibet through western Nepal. Taiwan's new government has repealed controversial changes to the high school curriculum that led to widespread protests last year over what critics said was "China-centric" education. The order to overturn the changes comes less than two weeks since the China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party was sworn in, replacing the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) government. Outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou oversaw an unprecedented rapprochement with Beijing -- while new president Tsai Ing-wen has said she will maintain the "status quo" with China. Ties have rapidly cooled since she won the presidency in January vowing to restore Taiwanese pride. Education ministry officials said the decision on the curriculum, made late yesterday, had been taken in response to public sentiment. Dozens of angry students broke in to the education ministry in central Taipei last July over amendments to the curriculum brought in by the KMT, which they said favoured China's view of the island's history. Taiwan split from China in 1949 after a civil war and is self-ruling, but Beijing still sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification -- by force if necessary. Arrests of the protesting students sparked demonstrations across the island, stoked by the suicide of one young activist. At least 100 protesters were camped out at the ministry for six days. Deputy education minister Lin Teng-chiao told AFP today the panel that had made the original changes was "not representative" of the island and the procedure was "not proper". The protests over the curriculum came as concerns grew, especially among the young, over increased Chinese influence. Curriculum changes disputed by protesters included a reference to Taiwan being "recovered by China" instead of "given to China" after the end of Japanese occupation in 1945. The 50-year period of Japanese rule is also referred to as an era when "Japan occupied" the island, replacing the previous phrase "Japan governed". "We're glad to see the outcome, which could not have been possible without the efforts of many people," leading activist Lin Fei-fan said. "One person even died for this cause," he said. Titan Company Ltd, which sells jewellery under the Tanishq brand, has retained its 15 per cent revenue growth forecast in the segment despite a dip in the previous fiscal. "The company maintains its previous guidance in terms of targeted growth for the current fiscal year of 15 per cent revenue growth and network additions of 20-25 stores adding up to approximately 100,000 sq feet of retail space," said Titan in an investor conference in Singapore and Hong Kong. Besides, Titan would add up to 25 new jewellery stores this fiscal and launch "aesthetically superior and relevant collections" to boost customer walk-ins and new customers who are willing to spend on new products and collections. The Tata group controlled firm had reported a decline of 5.33 per cent in its consolidated total income to Rs 11,277.94 crore for the 2015-16 fiscal. Its net sales from jewellery segment was also down 7.55 per cent to Rs 8,717.40 crore as against Rs 9,429.97 crore during 2014-15. Titan further said that its Golden Harvest Scheme (GHS) is getting good enrollments and it has been able to influence the customers to redeem faster, thereby churning the customers faster and releasing limits for new enrollments. Under GHS, a customer needs to pay a fixed amount every month with Tanishq for fixed period and at the end of the scheme he can purchase jewellery from Tanishq with the matured amount. "We believe that with the revision of the net worth (after the end of financial year 2015-16) and momentum of customer redemptions, there is a healthy scope to scale the company's GHS scheme further," it said. Titan also informed that there was no 'material' impact on the sales of Tanishq this fiscal due to government's new rule which had made permanent account number (PAN) mandatory for all transactions above Rs 2 lakh. "The secular impact of PAN card threshold revision to Rs 200,000 is yet to become visible but the cash sales of the company between Rs 200,000 and Rs 500,000 is less than 10 per cent of the revenue of the division and we believe less than half of it may get impacted... Hence the overall impact should not be very material," said Titan. In the watch segment, Titan said that it was under pressure due to various market phenomena and the company has decided to take a two year period to redefine and rejuvenate this business. "The division has been affected as the relevance of the watches category amongst the young generation has been diminishing to some extent. Also, significant share of wallet has shifted, out of the category, due to heavy discounting on other categories and customers are moving towards snacking on e-commerce platforms," it said. Its eye wear division has plans for "aggressive brick and mortar as well as omni channel expansion" in the coming financial year and would target a double digit growth. "The gross margins in the business are very good and it will take two years for the business to ramp up to steady state EBIT margins," said Titan. Thailand may shut down its famed Tiger Temple, popular among Indian and foreign tourists, as wildlife officials found 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer, amid allegations of illegal trafficking and mistreatment of the animals by authorities at the Buddhist shrine. Pictures posted on social media showed the 40 dead cubs lined up on the floor. The site has been closed for public since the raid. Monks at the temple have previously denied trafficking allegations. But police and wildlife officials started an operation on Monday to relocating its 137 tigers, mostly Bengal tigers. In the first batch, more than 100 tigers will be taken away from Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno, popularly known as the Tiger Temple, said the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The popular Buddist temple at Kanchanaburi, 140 kilometres from Bangkok, where visitors can pet and take selfies with tigers, started keeping and breeding tigers 15 years ago and has promoted itself as a spiritual sanctuary where wild animals and humans can peacefully coexist. The temple authorities have been accused of being involved in illegal wildlife trade and animal mistreatment for almost a decade by government officials and animal rights activists. Suphitphong Phakcharung, vice-president of the Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Foundation, said the group opposed to the action because the temple had raised the tigers for more than 10 years without a problem. The Wildlife department's deputy director Adisorn Noochdumrong led the relocation operation himself on Monday armed with a search warrant from a provincial court. "We are trying to solve problems step by step," he said. The department hopes to relocate all 137 tigers in seven days. Most of the tigers will be sent to the Khaoson and Khao Prathap Chang breeding centers in Ratchaburi province. However, due to the temple's attitude, Adisorn admitted that the operation may take longer than seven days. Tensions were running high at the temple on Monday as officials and temple representatives met. Kasetsart University Faculty of Forestry lecturer Anak Pattanavibool said the authorities were right to relocate the tigers because the state was the animals' rightful owner. "The procedure to keep the tigers at breeding centers is the best choice we can do, because these tigers were raised in captivity and cannot be returned to the wild. Furthermore, many of them are Bengal tigers, which are not native to Thailand," Anak said. "We cannot give them to a zoo or other countries because they are the government's property, so the government has to keep them until they naturally die," he said. Thailand may close down its famed Tiger Temple, popular among Indian and foreign tourists, as wildlife officials have started relocating its 137 tigers, mostly Bengal tigers, amid allegations of illegal trafficking and animal mistreatment by temple authorities. In the first batch, more than 100 tigers will be taken away from Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno, popularly known as the Tiger Temple, said the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The popular Buddist temple at Kanchanaburi, 140 kilometres from Bangkok, where visitors can pet and take selfies with tigers, started keeping and breeding tigers 15 years ago and has promoted itself as a spiritual sanctuary where wild animals and humans can peacefully coexist. The temple authorities have been accused of being involved in illegal wildlife trade and animal mistreatment for almost a decade by government officials and animal rights activists. However, the monks who live in the temple grounds deny abusing the tigers or trafficking any animals and refuse to handover animals to authorities as the place earns thousands of dollars a month from tourism. Suphitphong Phakcharung, vice-president of the Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Foundation, said the group opposed to the action because the temple had raised the tigers for more than 10 years without a problem. The Wildlife department's deputy director Adisorn Noochdumrong led the relocation operation himself on Monday armed with a search warrant from a provincial court. "We are trying to solve problems step by step," he said. The department hopes to relocate all 137 tigers in seven days. Most of the tigers will be sent to the Khaoson and Khao Prathap Chang breeding centers in Ratchaburi province. However, due to the temple's attitude, Adisorn admitted that the operation may take longer than seven days. Tensions were running high at the temple on Monday as officials and temple representatives met. Officials have also found dozens of dead cubs at the temple site. The temple monks plan to take legal action against the department and ask the court to revoke the search warrant. Kasetsart University Faculty of Forestry lecturer Anak Pattanavibool said the authorities were right to relocate the tigers because the state was the animals' rightful owner. "The procedure to keep the tigers at breeding centers is the best choice we can do, because these tigers were raised in captivity and cannot be returned to the wild. Furthermore, many of them are Bengal tigers, which are not native to Thailand," Anak said. "We cannot give them to a zoo or other countries because they are the government's property, so the government has to keep them until they naturally die," he said. The wildlife department said seven tigers were given to the temple in 2001 to be raised on behalf of the state and the tiger population rose to the level it has reached today. However, the officials said the department's attempts to seize the animals were always rebuffed by the temple. Trained counselors at social services units of police stations in the national capital will now serve as interface for women and children approaching police with complaints. Social services units with trained counselors of TATA Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have now been made available in each of the 11 police administration districts and they will be at the front end for interaction with women and children coming in with complaints, said Delhi Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar Verma. A display board will be kept prominently at every police station to publicise this facility, he told a gathering of representatives of NGOs working with women and children. The project is being run by Delhi Police with funding from the National Commission for Women and technical support from TISS. The information about the crisis intervention centres (CICs) which comprises a panel of NGOs appointed by Delhi Commission for Women will also be displayed in all police stations, he said. The interactive session, participated by UN Women and 'Doctors Without Borders' and Nirbhaya's mother and founder of the Nirbhaya Jyoti Foundation Asha Devi, among others, witnessed concerns and suggestions regarding safety of women and children in the city. Installing CCTV cameras in police stations, investigation expenses for investigating officers and prompt medico-legal examinations in domestic abuse cases were some suggestions aired in the programme held recently at Delhi Police headquarters. Two Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who used to stay in a refugee camp in Bhavanisagar, were killed when a van hit the two-wheeler they were riding on, police said. Thilagan (30) and Ravi (24), were last evening returning to the camp from Sirumugai in neighbouring Coimbatore district after some work when the mishap occurred near Bhavanisagar. Both sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a nearby government hospital. Thilagan died on the way while the other man succumbed to the injuries at the hospital, police said. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has said there was never any truth in his upcoming film "Udta Punjab" being banned by the censor board and it was just a controversy stirred by media. There have been reports for past few weeks that the movie, which is based on the issue of substance abuse in Punjab, did not get censor board's approval due to expletives and portrayal of drug use. Kashyap, who has co-produced the Shahid Kapoor-Kareena Kapoor Khan starrer, however, said the film has gone to the revising committee of censor board like any other movie. "That controversy has been created by you (media), so you give a solution. You declared the film 'banned' when nothing of that sort happened...," Kashyap told reporters here. "Nothing much has happened, it is normal. They (censor board) referred it to the revising committee, when they will watch it, we will know," he said. The "Bombay Velvet" director was speaking at the special screening of Kannada film "Tithi". Kashyap has been at loggerheads with the censor board in past, with regard to his unreleased directorial debut film "Paanch", and also "Black Friday" and "Ugly". When asked about it, the director said, "This ('Udta Punjab') is not my film, it is Abhishek Chaubey's. I am just one of the many producers of the film. The films I direct have been at loggerheads with the censor. The ones I produce they are never at loggerheads." Besides Shahid and Kareena, "Udta Punjab" also stars Alia Bhatt and Diljit Dosanjh. The film is expected to release on June 17. A UK court has asked infrastructure major Punj Lloyd to pay USD 26 million to International Finance Corporation (IFC) for their claims. Punj Lloyd in a filing to the BSE today said, "The company is considering various legal options and shall take appropriate steps in respect of such order." "The company and its subsidiary, Punj Lloyd Upstream Limited (PLUL) have been ordered to pay by the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, UK sum of USD 26,173,659.16 (plus summary assessment costs amounting to GBP 75000), to IFC, towards their claims," the filing said. The company however did not disclose details of the case. Punj Lloyd has posted a net loss of Rs 467.99 crore on standalone basis for the March quarter on sharp decline in income. For the entire year, its net loss on consolidated basis stood at Rs 2,245.34 crore after taxes, minority interest and share of profit/loss of associates as against Rs 1,141.11 crore in 2014-15. Punj Lloyd Group is a diversified international conglomerate offering EPC services in Energy and infrastructure along with engineering and manufacturing capabilities in the defence sector. Shares of the company closed 0.50 per cent up at Rs 20.25 apiece on BSE. The UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process today accused a key ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "killing hope" for a settlement. Nickolay Mladenov spoke after a minister from the Jewish Home party, which holds several portfolios in Netanyahu's rightwing government, declared the party would never support a two-state solution. "The determination of some ministers in Israel to block progress and kill hope by promoting illegal settlements and rejecting a Palestinian state is concerning," he said in a statement to AFP. Netanyahu this week brought hardliner Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party into the ruling coalition, naming him as defence minister. The choice of Lieberman to oversee Israeli policy in the occupied West Bank raised concern about the lurch in government policy, but in his first speech he took a conciliatory tone -- committing himself to the two-state solution along with Netanyahu. In response, Jewish Home, another rightwing party in Netanyahu's coalition, said it would oppose any attempt at a two-state solution. "As long as we are in the government, there will be no Palestinian state, there will be no settlement evacuations and we will not give any land to our enemies," Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said yesterday, quoted in Israeli media. Mladenov said the comments were particularly concerning as they came "a day after encouraging signs by the prime minister". Netanyahu had also said that an Arab League-endorsed peace initiative dating to 2002 "includes positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians". Netanyahu's government, however, is widely referred to in Israel as the most rightwing in the country's history. On Friday, in a French-led peace initiative, representatives from 30 countries and international organisations are due to meet in Paris to discuss a potential action plan. The US has called for improvement in bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan, expressing concern over nuclear and missile developments in South Asia, saying a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours is important. "We are concerned by nuclear and missile developments in South Asia," a State Department Spokesman told PTI when asked about the recent statement of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, 80, the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, that Islamabad has the ability to target New Delhi in five minutes. "We are concerned by the increased security challenges that accompany growing stockpiles and the increased risk that a conventional conflict between India and Pakistan could escalate to include nuclear use," the spokesman said. Improvements in bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, the official said yesterday. "It is important that there be a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbours, and that all parties in the region continuously act with maximum restraint and work collaboratively toward reducing tensions," the State Department spokesman said. Meanwhile, the State Department said it is looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We look forward to the prime minister's visit and we want it to be successful," State Department John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from June 4 which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on June 7 at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. During his stay, he will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. A Congressional commission will hold a hearing to examine the current state of in India, coinciding with the White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. Tom Lantos Commission said the hearing among other things will also examine the challenges to fundamental freedoms, and opportunities for advancement in India. A "wide variety of serious concerns persist," the commission said in a statement explaining the reasons for holding the hearing on India. Despite Constitutional provisions abolishing the legal existence of "untouchable", the caste system remains deeply ingrained within Indian society, leading to ongoing discrimination, it said. "Dalit communities, which make up a quarter of India's population, are also disproportionately at risk of suffering from another major human rights concern in India, that of human trafficking. "Tens of thousands of individuals, including children, are believed to be trafficking annually within India for the purposes of commercialised sexual exploitation or forced labour. Religious minorities also face growing challenges," the commission said. A large number of non-governmental organisations supporting a range of causes, including human rights, have been added to government watch lists or had funding cut off by Indian officials, it said. "These actions, coupled with perceived crackdowns on groups or individuals critical of the Indian government, have many concerned that the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association are being increasingly curtailed," it alleged. The hearing will examine these and other issues, while seeking to provide concrete recommendations for how US policy makers can most effectively encourage the protection of human rights given the strategic importance and continued growth of the US-India bilateral relationship, the commission said. "In 2015, religious tolerance deteriorated and religious freedom violations increased in India. Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims and Sikhs experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups," the US Commission on Religious Freedom said in its latest report. Modi will embark on a five-nation visit from June 4 which will cover Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico. He will travel to the US on June 7 at the invitation of Obama, with whom he will review the progress made in key areas of defence, security and energy. During his stay, he will also address a Joint Meeting of the US Congress. A key American senator was today sharply critical of India on alleged human rights violations, extra-judicial killings and religious intolerance, and said these were "national challenges" that the country faces. Senator Ben Cardin, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called upon the Indian government to address these issues which, he said, he would be raising with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for whom he is hosting a reception in Washington next week. He made a specific reference to India's anti-conversion laws and said these had been framed long ago but were being used in some parts of India to infringe on people's right to religious freedom. Cardin alleged that there were extra-judicial killings in different parts of India which cannot be allowed to continue. Cardin also talked about alleged corruption, crime against women and human trafficking in India saying these challenges must be addressed by the government. The senator was delivering a talk on 'Role of Good Governance in International Relations'. Talking about "religious intolerance" in India, he said the "problem" has different dimension in different parts of the country and that there was an "greater and urgent need" to address it. India must address challenge of "human rights violations, religious intolerance, trafficking, he said, adding India's federal structure was creating impediment in effectiveness of various national policies to ensure good governance, he said "Good governance is challenged by India's federal system. We believe in federalism. It can help the country with the right type of policies. "However, the current federal system in India is challenging the effectiveness of national policies...There are extra-judicial killings in India. Its different in different areas of the country. That cannot be allowed to continue," he said. On anti-conversion laws, he said "they are being used in some parts of India to infringe on people's rights to religious freedom". "These are national challenges," he said while enlisting the "problems" being faced by the country. Referring to violence against women, he said the crime against them have been permitted to exist for "too long" and an aggressive national policy was need to deal with the issue. The crime against women should not be tolerated at any level, he added. Cardin said Modi has been invited to address the US Congress in his "capacity as Prime Minister of India". He said the US was trying to elevate standards of governance through implementation of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) The TPP currently having around 12 countries is aimed a enhancing flow of goods, services and investments among them, and to strengthen the rules on labour standards among others. Responding to a question that while Modi was a pariah in the US until recently, he is now being invited to address the joint session of the Congress, Cardin said, the relationship between the two countries is "not about one person". "The Prime Minister was not invited to address the joint session of the Congress because of his name but because of his country," he said, adding this is "representation of the importance of that relationship" between the two countries. He said the relationship between India and the US will continue to go strong beyond the election of the next administration in the US. "It underscores by the fact that here we are in an election year in a Republican controlled Congress and PM is to speak before the joint session of the Congress," Cardin said. "The PM has presented a platform for India that brings our countries closer together and shares so may of our same visions, including the human rights, including on religious tolerance, dealing with human traffic and all the issues that we care about. He has presented a package that brings us close together and the one we want to work with the Prime Minister in dealing with that," he added. Cardin, however, denied that raising this issue will have any impact on Prime Minister's visit to the US. Ruling out that by raising these issues of corruption and religious tolerance could hamper the relations between the two countries, Cardin said, "its in context to which the relationship is only getting stronger between the two democratic countries." Raising the issue of corruption, he said, "In the 2015 Human Rights Report, officials frequently engage in corrupt practices with impunity and corruption was present at all levels of the government and this should be unacceptable to the people living in India and it cannot be allowed to continue in a democratic country." Cardin said that Modi has "acknowledged" the challenges he has in his own country about corruption and has taken steps to deal with these issues. Noting that a strong economic foundation in India will allow a greater capacity to deal with some of the human rights challenges, he said this will help in providing sanitation and drinking water facilities to a number of families in the country. (REOPENS DEL70) Cardin said he was "impressed" with Prime Minister Modi's call for "zero tolerance" against corruption but it needs more strong laws. "The Modi administration has been speaking out against corruption. He is known to have a zero tolerance at least by language, but they need to act by strong laws and by enforcing those laws. That's where we will find that India is making the right action," Cardin said. The US Senator said he is in India to raise human rights and corruption issues and have raised them with the government officials. He added that sanitation and providing clean drinking water was a major human rights challenge in the country. Cardin said during his visit to India he has met Union Minister of state for Environment and Forest Prakash Javadekar and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. Referring to a UN report, he said India has been named in the tier 2 list of countries in human trafficking and the issue was "troublesome". "The Global Slavery Index report states that India has 14 million people trapped as forced labour, which they called slaves," he said, referring to a report that the figure has now gone to 18 million, which 1.4 per cent of the population. He said some "corrupt" officials protected suspected traffickers and "took bribe". Six policemen, including a sub-inspector were today injured when a group of villagers attacked Bardah Police Station here in an attempt to free a prisoner. Police had yesterday arrested Santosh Bhartiya from Nerve village on charges of loot. When villagers came to know about the incident they attacked the police station in the morning, Superintendent of Police, Ajay Sahni said. They not only damaged window panes and chairs but also four-wheelers that were parked inside the police station area, he said. "The situation has been brought under control and heavy police force has been deployed," he said. Atleast 25 people have been detained in this connection, the SP said. Chinese President Xi Jinping today called on all parties to disputes on the Korean Peninsula to exercise restraint and calm during a meeting with a North Korean delegation as the two close allies seeks to repair strained ties over Pyongyang's nuclear programme. Xi met the visiting delegation of North Korea's ruling the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and expounded China's stance on the issue of the Korean Peninsula, China's stand on the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear, Xi said and called on relevant sides to stay calm, exercise restraint, and enhance communication and dialogue to safeguard regional peace and stability, state-run Xinhua agency reported. Ri Su Yong, head of the North Korean delegation, delivered a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Xi. In his message, Kim said that North Korea hopes to work with China to strengthen and develop the bilateral traditional friendship, and maintain peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. Ri also gave a briefing on the seventh WPK Congress, which was held in early May, during which Kim was elected chairman of the ruling party. China in the recent past distanced itself from North Korea's nuclear weapons programme which has triggered international sanctions on the reclusive nation. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, welcomed the delegation, saying the visit was evidence of the tradition of strategic communication between the two parties on major issues. The visit also demonstrated that Chairman Kim and the WPK Central Committee attach importance to relations between the two parties and two countries, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Xi wished the people of North Koreagreater success in endeavours related to the economy, standard of living and socialism. China highly values the friendly cooperative relations with North Korea, Xi stressed, adding that Beijing is willing to work with Pyongyang to properly maintain, consolidate and develop bilateral ties. Indian oil refiners will clear around 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) of outstanding debt to Iran through Turkey's Halkbank soon, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday. India is one of the biggest buyers of Iranian crude and built up a payments backlog when Iran was under Western sanctions, with its refiners owing about $6.5 billion to Iran.They cleared around $770 million in euros through Halkbank to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) in May. "As per the instructions of the Central Bank of Iran, the local banks in India will transfer the money to Halkbank," Sadegh Akbari, Iran's general director for foreign economic relations, told reporters at a conference in Istanbul. Asked when the remaining funds would be cleared, he said: "In a short period of time" but declined to comment further. The refiners had been holding back some payments to Iran after a channel through Halkbank was closed in 2013, although payment of some of the funds was allowed after an initial temporary deal to lift sanctions. Last week, on the basis of an advisory from the RBI, India's oil ministry wrote to refiners saying the remaining dues can be settled in three months from May 30. It told companies to stagger payments and ensure foreign exchange demand was limited to $500 million per week in a bid to avoid volatility in the forex market. Iran wants to recover the funds owed by India and other buyers of its oil in euros to reduce its dependence on the US dollar, a source at the NIOC told Reuters in February. Europe is one of Iran's biggest trading partners, increasing Iranian demand for the European currency. Akbari said Iran wanted to complete the transfer from Indian refiners via Halkbank because of the "positive banking relations" between Iran and Turkey and said it needed the funds to import products from Turkey and Europe. He also said the Turkish and Iranian central banks had reopened their connection on the SWIFT global transaction network, in a sign of normalising banking ties. SWIFT this year reconnected a number of Iranian banks to its system, allowing them to resume cross-border transactions with foreign banks. Iranian banks were disconnected from Belgium-based SWIFT in March 2012 as sanctions tightened against Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme. ($1 = 0.8970 euros) Group Corp said it will sell at least $7.9 billion of shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - a move that will cut the Japanese firm's debt amid worries about losses at its US telecoms unit Sprint Corp. The transaction marks the first sale of shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant by its largest shareholder since began investing in the company in 2000, and will reduce its stake to around 28% from 32.2%. The two said they would maintain a strategic partnership. Investors have been worried about finances at the Japanese internet and telecoms company since its 2013 acquisition of a majority stake in No 4 US wireless carrier Sprint Corp, which has been burning cash amid fierce competition for subscribers. Hideaki Tanaka, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, said the move would be positive for SoftBank's shares. "Although is stepping up investment in Internet firms, it is also making serious efforts to improve its financial standing," he wrote in a note to clients. Shares in SoftBank finished flat on Wednesday and are down 15% from a year ago due to concerns about its heavy debt burden. Shares in Alibaba fell 2.8% in extended trading a day earlier. The planned share sale will include $5 billion to $6 billion of stock that will be sold by private placement to institutional investors by a SoftBank-controlled trust. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank will manage that portion of the sale. Another $2 billion worth of stock will be bought by Alibaba using cash on hand and $400 million will be bought by the Alibaba Partnership, a 34-person group made up of Ma and other Alibaba founders and executives. An additional $500 million worth of stock is set to be sold to an unidentified sovereign wealth fund. SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son will remain a director at Alibaba, while Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma will remain on the board of SoftBank. SoftBank had also entered into a lockup agreement with Alibaba under which it will not transfer any Alibaba shares held by the company for six months. Keen To Cut Debt SoftBank had interest-bearing debt of 11.9 trillion yen ($107 billion) as of end-March, including 4 trillion yen at Sprint. Its debt-equity ratio stands at 4.56, much higher than the industry median of 0.32, according to Thomson Reuters data. In addition to the Alibaba stock sales, media reports have also said SoftBank is weighing a sale of its stake in Finnish smartphone game maker Supercell to lower its debt. SoftBank is known as a canny investor in raft of internet firms, ranging from Yahoo Japan to Indian ride-sharing firm Ola. Its initial investment in Alibaba was just $20 million. Some analysts said the timing of SoftBank stock sale was not auspicious given that Alibaba unnerved investors last week when it reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating its accounting practices. But Stifel analyst Scott Devitt maintained a "buy" rating on Alibaba after the Softbank sale. "We do not view this as a shift in confidence from a major investor. In fact, it could remove an overhang of expectation of such an event," he said in a note. The news also comes amid speculation that US web company Yahoo Inc may be looking at a disposal of its 15% stake in Alibaba, along with a possible sale of its core business. An Alibaba spokesperson declined to comment on the Yahoo-owned stake, and Yahoo did not respond to a request for comment. ($1= 110.7400 yen) By Simon Falush LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday on expectations of OPEC inaction on output as its focus stays on retaining market share, while concerns about China's economy weighed on the demand outlook. Brent crude was at $49.19 per barrel at 1116 GMT, down 70 cents. It earlier fell more than $1 to the day's low of $48.86. U.S. crude futures were down 74 cents at $48.36 a barrel. Gulf OPEC members including Saudi Arabia are looking to revive the idea of coordinated oil-output action by major producers when the group meets on Thursday, a senior OPEC source said. Oil trimmed some earlier losses after the source spoke. Iran signalled it was not ready for any such deal and analysts said it was more likely that OPEC members would continue to focus on defending market share instead of propping up prices by curbing output. "The OPEC meeting in Vienna on Thursday is unlikely to see a change in the policy of maintaining market share," said Oxford Economics lead economist Patrick Dennis. "Saudi Arabia can claim its policy has been successful with oil prices recovering at the same time as non-OPEC oil production has fallen back, leading to a more rapid global market rebalancing than expected." Iran's representative to the OPEC said Tehran would not commit to any oil output freeze and that any discussion of rationing output would have to wait until the oil market had been stabilised. Many Middle East oil producers have ramped up deliveries to Asia in an aggressive fight for market share. But on the demand side, Morgan Stanley said it was worried about China. "Our economists worry that April data showed China may be slowing ... The oil demand data from China should reinforce those concerns," the bank said. China's official factory activity gauge expanded only marginally in May, data showed on Wednesday, while a private survey showed conditions deteriorated for a fifteenth straight month. Chinese port congestion and the impending refinery maintenance season will also weigh on crude imports over the next few months, analysts at BMI Research said. A rise of more than 20 percent, or almost $10 per barrel, since early April, has been powered largely by supply disruptions, especially in Africa and Canada, and as overall demand remains strong despite China's slowing economy. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; editing by Jason Neely aand William Hardy) In 2003, the global economy started growing rapidly, after two years of lacklustre growth following the great tech crash of 1999/2000. The growth peaked in 2006, and the year 2007 continued to be nearly as good. In the western countries, the growth was largely fuelled by a housing bubble and a boom in the financial markets that were creating and trading in all sorts of exotic instruments. Only a small fraction - less than 10 per cent by some estimates - went to businesses that were not in the real estate or finance sectors. In developing countries - especially the BRIC nations - growth was driven more by real industrial capacity creation and growing consumer demand. Among the corporate houses in India, this was a time of great optimism and most big companies and groups chalked out highly ambitious growth plans, which included big greenfield projects as well as domestic and overseas acquisitions. Companies were drawing up humongous investment plans in every sector. Most of them borrowed heavily from banks and also issued debt instruments to finance their plans. The period 2004-2008 saw an industrial credit boom in India, with a big chunk of money going to infrastructure and realty. In the US and Europe, the problems in the financial sector were apparent as early as 2007, but it was in September 2008, when the Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection that the real crisis hit. Lehman Brothers was the single biggest company to have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection till then. The Lehman Brothers' crisis roiled the global financial markets and most economies around the world were faced with an abrupt slowdown. In the US, the way to stave off the unprecedented crisis was a government stimulus. In India, though, the full effects of the global economic slowdown was not felt even in 2009. By 2010, the government had realised that India was not exactly insulated from the global crisis even if the worst had been avoided. To keep the economic growth from slowing further, the Indian government decided to provide a mild stimulus to the economy and encouraged companies, especially infrastructure companies, to take even more loans. The idea was that as more projects got off the ground, the economy would start growing fast again. In theory it was a good idea, but it didn't work out well in practice. Banks, especially public sector banks, lent money aggressively to all sorts of companies, without exactly examining cash flows or project feasibility too carefully. The fact that the UPA government itself was making all sorts of mistakes and was in the grip of a policy paralysis made many projects unviable. By 2013/14, Indian business groups and companies had enormous debt on their books, some of which could clearly not be serviced easily because their revenue projections were badly off the mark. Meanwhile, public sector banks saw their non-performing assets or bad loans rising to crisis proportions. In the past two years, several companies - especially the big ones - have tried to rationalise their debt. Some have done it proactively, while others have been pushed by banks (which in turn were prodded by the Reserve Bank of India). Some have just tried to sell off assets acquired during better times. Others have refinanced debt, swapping high-cost debt with low-cost ones. Still others have raised equity to reduce the debt burden. Our cover story by Managing Editor Rajeev Dubey looks at how companies have started managing their debt actively, and what are the lessons that can be learnt from the best ones. While preparing the Union Budget for 2016/17, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had found himself on a sticky wicket. He needed more money to fund the government's development plans without disturbing the fiscal consolidation roadmap that he had set in the previous Budget. In Budget 2015/16, Jaitley had promised to bring down India's fiscal deficit to 3 per cent of GDP over a three-year period. To his credit, Jaitley had met the first-year target of 3.9 per cent - down from 4.1 per cent in the previous fiscal - comfortably. However, this time round, he was finding it difficult to stick to the 3.5 per cent target for 2016/17, following demands for an increase in public investment to trigger economic growth. He came up trumps yet again through a mix of accounting jugglery and increased revenue projections, despite a 15.3 per cent rise in allocation for planned expenditure (Rs 5.5 lakh crore). Jaitley was not the only finance minister to have faced this dilemma. P. Chidambaram, during his tenure as finance minister, had to take the blame for compromising on development and giving more importance to fiscal discipline. His predecessor Pranab Mukherjee was blamed for exactly the opposite. In fact, every finance minister who presented the Budget after 2003, the year the Fiscal Respon-sibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act was introduced, had to either stick to a pre-determined fiscal deficit level, or face the ire for not treading the fiscal discipline path. The very purpose of the FRBM Act was to impose stringent fiscal discipline on the central government in its overall fiscal and macroeconomic management operations. The Act called for transparent fiscal management systems and long-term fiscal stability. The flipside, however, was the lack of flexibility when it came to addressing growth and development needs through increased public spending. On May 17, the NDA government found a way to tackle this problem. It formed a five-member committee headed by BJP leader and ex-bureaucrat N.K. Singh to comprehensively review the FRBM Act. The panel will submit a new roadmap by October 31. It must suggest a way to do away with the system of limiting government expenditure to meet its fiscal roadmap. It will examine the feasibility of having a 'fiscal deficit range' instead of the existing fixed numbers (percentage of GDP) defining the deficit target. The range could also be altered in accordance with national and international economic realities. India's move to have an independent committee to look into FRBM roadmap is, however, not unique. International Monetary Fund lists over two dozen countries where a permanent institutional structure, or an independent Fiscal Council, exists to advise governments on fiscal prudence in a dynamic manner. The FRBM committee may be a temporary arrangement, but its success can translate into a permanent body that would monitor the implementation of the suggestions it makes. Today, Jaitley is solely responsible for maintaining or ignoring the fiscal deficit targets. If the committee's recommendation leads to the establishment of a permanent panel, that will save finance ministers from facing the tricky situation of honouring fiscal targets at the cost of development. The S&P BSE Sensex on Wednesday rose 46 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended above its key support level of 8,200-mark after data showed country's growth domestic product grew 7.9 per cent in the March quarter. The headline indices rallied as firms reliant on consumer demand, such as cigarette maker ITC, advanced on data showing the economy grew faster than expected in the previous quarter. Key stocks that buzzed in today's trade: 1)Axis Bank: Shares of Axis Bank declined 0.44 per cent on BSE per cent even as the Reserve Bank has allowed the private lender to raise foreign shareholding to up to 62 per cent, from the earlier limit of 49 per cent. 2)Sun Pharma: Shares of Sun Pharma plunged 0.14 per cent on BSE even as the Pharma major said it expects 8-10 per cent growth in sales in 2016-17, aided by "traction" across its businesses, and cautioned that a planned investment in the US is likely to impact short-term profits. 3)Unichem Laboratories: Shares of Drug maker Unichem Laboratories surged over 1.28 per cent on BSE after the company earmarked a capital expenditure of around Rs 200 crore for the current fiscal, most of which would go into the company's upcoming API plant in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. 4)Maruti Suzuki: Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki declined 0.15 per cent on BSE even as the company will resume manufacturing of vehicles at its Gurgaon facilities from second half of Wednesday.The company, announced suspension of production due to fire at the factory of its component supplier Subros in Manesar on Tuesday. 5)Glenmark Pharmaceuticals: Shares of Glenmark tumbled over 1.23 per cent on BSE even after the company has launched an FCCB (foreign currency convertible bonds) issue from the Singapore stock exchange to raise up to Rs 1,340 crore. 6)ONGC: Shares of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) declined 0.38 per cent on BSE even as the overseas arm of ONGC has signed a pact with the trading arm of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR to foray into oil trading. Indian markets have been gaining ground at a breakneck speed over the past few trading sessions and once again the talks of Indian equity being at the cusp of a bull run has gained ground. It is in such a setting, that the Morgan Stanley 18th Annual India Summit was being held in Mumbai. Following are Ridham Desai, head of India equity research, Morgan Stanley's view on India and what he thinks are the highlights going forward. Global Markets Global economic outlook remains bleak due to low growth environment China slowdown, strengthening Dollar and lower commodity likely to remain the major concerns in the near term Dim view on China due to gradual slowdown in real GDP growth, surmounting debt to GDP and persistent disinflation Fed not in a position to hike rates in the upcoming Policy meeting Relatively limited upside from current levels due to turbulance in global economy India most likely to outperform emerging markets in the next 12-18 months On valuations basis, India is not a cheap market but considreing India's growth potential, valuations are not very expensive Incase of a collapse in global equity markets, India won't be spared by the downside will be realtively lesser than other markets Corpoarte debt cycle which was as bad as 90s has peaked (from a stock market perspective) Earnings growth likely to be in double digits starting next year India likely to continue to be the most resilient market among emerging markets Even though the Government has rendered a considerable push to public spending, private capital expenditure remains anemic Cyclically India is coming off a prolonged slowdown, thanks to the uptick in consumption, increased infrastructure spending and foreign investments Bets on the discretionary consumption space which is likely to rise. Therefore, positive on consumer discretionary and retail banks Earning and global market behavior - two most important factors to watch out for The Companies Act, 2013 ("the Act") considered to be one of the significant legal reforms in India, aims to bring Indian Company Law in line with global standards, and focuses on governance and ease of doing business in India. The Act may further undergo substantial changes as proposed in the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (the "Bill") introduced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely in Lok Sabha on March 16, 2016. The Act incorporated the recommendations of high powered committees such as the Dr. Irani Committee, Vepa Kamesan Committee, etc. This large piece of legislation comprising 29 chapters, 470 sections and seven schedules is being rolled out in a phased manner. Of the total 470 sections, 282 have already been notified. It is expected that the remaining provisions will also be notified soon. Most of the remaining provisions are sections related to proceedings before NCLT and NCLAT. NCLT and NCLAT are soon going to be a reality and so will be the sections dealing with them. The new Act mostly treats a private limited company on par with a public limited company, the differences between the two being almost negligible. However, considering the technical and practical difficulties faced by the companies, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ("Ministry") by virtue of provisions of section 470 of the Act - 'Power to Remove Difficulties' - has issued numerous circulars and has clarified various grey areas of the Act. In spite of many circulars, there are many grey areas that require immediate attention by the Ministry - especially why small and mid-sized private limited companies are required to comply with the provisions of the Act as if they are large corporations. Questions like these have been discussed threadbare by various stakeholders in various professional fora. However, even then there was lack of clarity, which led to numerous representations being made to the Ministry by the corporations, stakeholders and professional bodies. Considering the need for an amendment to the Act, the Ministry vide its notification dated June 05, 2015 exempted private limited companies from complying with certain provisions of the Act. The exemption notification has resolved many technical and practical issues that were faced by private limited companies, and has catalysed various business models and strategies. However, the said notification was in the form of a temporary relief and is limited to only the private limited companies. So, the question is: what about the other troubling issues? The Ministry encountered further challenges, including difficulties in implementation faced by companies, which adversely affected their businesses. To overcome such issues, the Ministry had set up a Companies Law Committee (the "Committee") on June 04, 2015. The role and responsibility of the Committee was to make recommendations to the government on the issues arising from the implementation of the Act, as well as on the recommendations received from the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee, the High Level Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Law Commission and other agencies. For the purposes of the Committee, various institutes such as industry chambers, professional fora and experts immensely participated and made contributions. The Committee also approached Comptroller and Auditor General, Competition Commission of India, National Housing Bank, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, Reserve Bank of India and Insurance Regulatory Development Authority for their suggestions. Considering the difficulties and challenges expressed by various corporations and their stakeholders and by the regulators, the Committee has taken a holistic and comprehensive view making requisite suggestions for the amendments to the Act and to the Rules made thereunder. On February 01, 2016 the Committee had submitted a detailed report to Jaitley, suggesting amendments in certain definitions, sections, sub-section and the rules made thereunder. Following are some key amendments as suggested by the Committee: a. Section 2(49) the definition on 'interested director' to be omitted. b. Bringing in more clarity in the definition of 'holding company', by including 'body corporate' in its definition. c. Time period for a Company to have its registered office-after incorporation, and notice of every change of the situation of registered office-to the Registrar, be increased to 30 days. d. An employee, duly authorised by the Board of Directors can authenticate documents, proceedings and contracts. e. Separate Annual Return format for small companies and OPC's, with lesser detail and omission of requirement of attaching extract of the Annual Return to the Board's Report. f. Allowing unlisted companies to convene Annual General Meeting at any place in India, subject to approval of 100% shareholders. g. Provision with regard to ratification of appointment of statutory auditors by the members at every annual general meeting to be omitted. h. Condition of minimum net worth/turnover/net profit for compliance of CSR provision should be considered for the 'immediate financial year'. i. For resident director, the period of 182 days shall apply during the financial year. j. Directorship in a dormant company to be excluded for reckoning the limit of directorships. k. Resigning director to be given an option for filing his resignation to the Registrar, instead of making it mandatory. Considering the recommendations and the concept of 'ease of doing business in India', the Bill has been introduced in Lok Sabha. There are high expectations on the consideration and approval of the Bill. In case the Bill is passed and then enacted as law, there will be a sea change in the provisions of the Act, which in turn will bring about change in the way the corporate world works. Hopefully, the amended avatar of the Act would raise the bar on governance, and not only bring Indian Company Law in tune with global standards but also ensure ease of doing business in India without many hurdles. The author is a Consultant with JSA, Advocates and Solicitors. The views expressed here are his own India's cultural, political, diplomatic and economic relationship with Mauritius dates back to pre-Independence days. Besides being a favourite holiday destination, Mauritius also became an obvious choice for routing investments into India. Over the past decade and a half, almost $93.65 billion, about 34 per cent of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into India, came from Mauritius. This preference is largely attributed to the favourable double tax avoidance agreement (tax treaty) between the two countries signed in 1983. According to the tax treaty, Mauritius has the right to tax capital gains arising to its resident from sale of shares of an Indian company. While India had no right to tax such gains, Mauritius does not tax capital gains arising to its residents. This, according to the Indian government, gave rise to cases of treaty shopping, double non-taxation and round tripping of funds. The Protocol that will change history After over a decade and a half of discussions and hard negotiations, the two countries on May 10, 2016, signed a historic protocol that seeks to plug gaps in the tax treaty. With signing of this protocol, India will have right to tax gains from sale of shares of an Indian company acquired on or after April 1, 2017. Protection has been guaranteed to investments in shares made prior to such date, gains therefrom would not be taxable in India. The protocol provides for a transition period for new investments. Capital gains arising on sale of shares acquired on or after April 1, 2017 but sold before March 31, 2019, shall be taxed at 50 per cent of applicable Indian tax rate on capital gains. However, such transitional treatment shall be subject to the inbuilt anti-abuse provision, the Limitation of Benefits (LoB) clause. According to the LoB clause, the investor claiming concessional treatment would need to satisfy the primary purpose test and bonafide business test. The former test acts as a check against entities who have arranged affairs with primary purpose to take advantages of the treaty benefits. The business test seeks to deny benefits to shell/conduit company with negligible/nil business operations or no real and continuous business activities carried out in Mauritius. Exception has been carved out to exclude listed companies or companies with total expenditure on operations in excess of Rs 27 lakh (Mauritian Rupees 15 lakh) in the immediately preceding 12 months from the date capital gain arises. After the end of the transition period and with effect from April 1, 2019, any sale of shares of an Indian company by a resident of Mauritius shall be chargeable to the full Indian tax rate applicable to such capital gains. Key Implications The capital gains taxation at full rate (other than listed shares sold after 12 months) will bring tax treatment of investments from Mauritius on par with Indian investments. Noticeably, the change in tax treatment applies only to shares. Therefore, right to tax capital gains on other instruments, namely debt securities, compulsorily convertible debentures, futures and options (derivatives), etc. may continue to be with Mauritius. The Protocol is set to impact the co-terminus benefit under the India-Singapore tax treaty. As per the Protocol signed by India and Singapore in 2005, capital gains on sale of shares in an Indian Company shall be taxed only in Singapore (and not in India) till such time as the India-Mauritius treaty provided a similar treatment to investment from Mauritius. Unless specific amendments are effected in Singapore tax treaty, the Protocol with Mauritius may end the favourable tax regime under the Singapore tax treaty. With domestic anti-avoidance provisions (GAAR) effective from April 1, 2017, whether concessional tax regime during the transition period is denied by invoking GAAR remains to be seen. Closing Remarks This initiative furthers the Indian government's commitment to the G20/OECD initiative on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) to address the issue of tax evasion by treaty shopping. By this tax policy move, the investor community comprising of foreign institutional investors, private equity funds, holding companies will be affected. While, the signing of Protocol may not be pleasing to some, the announcement has brought clarity and ended a long-standing suspense over the fate of this tax treaty. With the effect being prospective from April 1, 2017, the investors have a short time window to plan their affairs. While this may see a dip in investments routed from Mauritius and Singapore, it is not likely to impact plans of long term genuine investors seeing a stable economy with promising growth. The author is Partner - Direct Tax, BDO India Equalisation Levy, popularly being called Google Tax in India and coming into force from today, would most likely hit Indian businesses who use online platforms of foreign digital companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc to advertise their products. The government has decided to impose a 6 per cent levy on any payments made by Indian businesses for advertising in websites of foreign companies that are not permanent establishments. The new levy is part of the government's move to tax companies like Google, who are making significant earnings from India but not paying any income tax. The reason is that these companies do not fulfil the criteria of a permanent establishment, commonly defined as a 'fixed place of business' in a tax territory. Though the move is in line with the OECD's BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) action plan to tax the digital economy, the fact that equalisation levy has been introduced separately under Finance Act and not kept under the Income Tax Act leads to unintended consequence of Indian businesses indirectly paying the tax instead of the foreign digital companies. As the levy is not part of the Income Tax Act, foreign companies would not get credit for the tax in their home country and therefore, may refuse to pay the tax. in that case, the Indian company would have to gross up the fee so that the online company receives the original fee. For example, if Google charges Rs 100 from an Indian company for advertising on its website, the company may have to issue a cheque of Rs 106.38 in the name of Google so that after withholding a 6 per cent tax, Google gets Rs 100. "Though Equalisation Levy was introduced to put an end to this free run for global advertising companies, introducing equalisation levy separately under Finance Act and not making it part of the Income Tax Act could increase cost of doing business for Indian companies, as foreign companies would insist that this being a domestic levy should not affect payments made to them, which may lead the start-ups and ecommerce companies to bear the brunt of the Levy," says Rakesh Nangia, Managing Partner, Nangia & Co. The reason for not incorporating Equalisation Levy in the Income Tax Act is convenience for the government. According to the Committee on Taxation of E-Commerce (which recommended the levy), equalisation levy provides a simpler option that can be adopted under domestic laws without needing amendment of a large number of tax treaties. While the reason can be anything, Indian companies are at a loss. Earlier talking to Business Today, revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia had admitted that this may lead to internet companies grossing the charges up by 6 per cent and the burden coming upon the Indian company. However, he argued "to that extent, the internet company's competitiveness may come down, if it grosses up". While the government may think grossing up would bring down the competitiveness of the digital companies, but the truth is that there are few alternatives to companies like Google or Facebook. Tata Motors-owned luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) broke the half a million mark for the first time in its history as per its latest vehicle sales results released this week. The company said in its full-year results for the 2015-16 fiscal year released yesterday that its vehicle retail sales had risen 13 per cent to 521,571. "Jaguar Land Rover has produced and sold more cars than at any time in our history. We are now the largest automotive manufacturer in the UK and our vehicles have received more than 140 awards across the range for design, technology, safety and environmental sustainability," said JLR CEO Dr Ralf Speth. "During this fiscal year, we have delivered sustainable, profitable growth and introduced new models - such as the Discovery Sport, Jaguar XE and XF that have redefined their market segments. Furthermore, we are on track to deliver even more sensational products that will underpin the future performance of the business," he noted. The combination of an increased demand for new models, solid growth in markets including Europe, North America and the UK helped support full-year financial revenues of 22.2 billion pounds, up 342 million pounds on the previous 12-month period, the report said. "Profit before tax was 1.56 billion pounds after an exceptional charge for the Tianjin Port explosion of 157 million pounds (net of insurance and other expected recoveries to date) with strong free cash flow of 791 million pounds after total investment spending of 3.14 billion pounds. "Profit before tax was down from 2.6 billion pounds last year, primarily reflecting market conditions during the first half of the year - especially in China, model mix and continued investment," JLR said in a statement. JLR also unveiled plans to invest in the region of 3.75 billion pounds during the 2016-17 fiscal to support continued, sustainable, profitable growth in the future. This will include the expansion of global production capacity, new technologies and new vehicles, such as the Jaguar F-PACE and the Range Rover Evoque Convertible that will unleash the potential of both brands in the future. Seeking German investment in India's infrastructure sector, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said the partnership between the two countries "should and will flourish" as he invited participation of its business community in India's "urban renaissance". "Indo-German partnership should and will flourish. You will be able to see for yourself the winds of change in India. We are very keen to develop the sectors where you are strong. We need your involvement," Naidu said while addressing a conference on '100 Indian Smart Cities Conference' here. He said India is at the "threshold of rapid urbanisation" and is among the "fastest urbanising societies" of the world and is projected to be more urban than rural by 2050. "With 17 per cent of people living in urban areas at the time of independence, urbanisation increased to over 31 per cent in 2011 and set to reach 40 per cent by 2030," he said, adding that this demographic transition brings along with it "serious challenges and opportunities too". The High Powered Expert Committee of Indian Government in 2011 has estimated investment requirement for urban infrastructure over the 20-year period (2012-31) at over USD 650 billion and operation and maintenance (O&M) cost at over USD 330 billion. The total urban infrastructure requirement works out to about USD 1 trillion over a 20-year period. Naidu listed out various initiatives, including Smart City Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Swachh Bharat Mission for addressing the "huge" gaps in urban infrastructure. Noting that Germany is already assisting in development of Bhubaneswar, Kochi and Coimbatore as smart cities, he said, "My visit is to explore more investment assistance for remaining Smart Cities." Highlighting the potential of various shemes, he said the investment in the proposed 100 smart cities works out to USD 40 billion by 2020, while the total outlay under AMRUT is USD 8 billion over five years for 500 cities and estimated cost of implementation of Clean India Mission in Urban areas is USD 10 billion. He said government will also introduce Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill later this year for dispute resolution in infrastructure related construction projects, public private partnership (PPP) and public utility contracts. Stressing that an essential feature of "Urban Renaissance is 'green' development", the minister said, "This we will learn from Germany's leadership in environmental-friendly and sustainable urban development". Earlier, Naidu and German Minister of Nature Conservation, Forests, Building and Nuclear Safety, Barbara Hendrics, inaugurated the three-day conference. Leading global companies, policy makers and experts are attending the meet being organised to highlight investment opportunities in India's Smart City Mission. Rating agency Fitch on Tuesday said that telecom giant Airtel to may not bid for premium 700 Mhz band spectrum in the upcoming auction due to its high price and limited availability of devices. "We do not expect Bharti to bid in the upcoming auction of 700 MHz in India, given the high indicative price for this spectrum, limited device availability and the company's ownership of alternative spectrum (1800MHz/2300MHz) to roll out 4G services," Fitch Ratings said in a statement. The government is preparing for next round of spectrum auction in July in which airwaves worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore will be put up for sale. Telecom Commission has approved a record high base price of Rs 11,485 crore per Mhz for the 700 Mhz band. If all available radiowaves under this get sold at the Trai-suggested price, it alone will yield a whopping Rs 4 lakh crore. Fitch Ratings has "affirmed Bharti Airtel's long term foreign currency issuer default rating and senior secured rating at BBB-", the agency said in a statement. It also affirmed the same rating for Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV's bonds. This entity manages Bharti Airtel's Africa operation. The credit rating indicates ability of a company to pay back debt. While AAA ratings denotes highest credit quality, BBB is granted for good credit quality indicating that expectations of default risk are currently low. Fitch said that it also does not expect Bharti to make another large debt-funded acquisition given management's commitment to sell non-core assets to reduce debt. The company has been in acquiring spree with most recent being broadband wireless spectrum of Aircel for Rs 3,500 crore. Recently Bharti Airtel acquired spectrum of Videocon and Augere too. Fitch, however, projected capital expenditure of Bharti Airtel to be around Rs 22,000-23,000 crore in current fiscal. "Which includes its core capex of Rs 20,500 crore and around Rs 2500 crore for spectrum payments. The core capex includes investments to improve its 3G/4G networks to compete effectively against Jio and to reduce the frequency of call drops," Fitch said. The rating agency said that during FY2016, Airtel received about Rs 10,500 crore from sale and lease back of towers in eight African countries. "During financial year 2017, we expect Bharti to receive net proceeds from assets sales, including about Rs 4,500 crore from the sale of towers and African operations for Rs 5,800 crore. It will likely use these funds to pay for its spectrum acquisition from Videocon Ltd and Aircel Ltd for Rs 7,000 crore," Fitch said. A rejection or labored approval of a free trade deal struck with Canada could scupper the European Union's chances of opening access to new markets, the EU and Canadian trade chiefs said on Wednesday. The European Commission, which negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the 28 EU members, and Canada have concluded talks on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that could increase trade between the two by some 20 percent. It is likely to secure backing in the Canadian and European parliaments, but support from the 28 members is far from certain. "If the two closest allies in the world cannot agree a deal, then who can?" EU Trade Commissioner Cecelia Malmstrom told the European Business Summit in Brussels. Her view was echoed more bluntly by Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland. "If the EU cannot do a deal with Canada, I think it is legitimate to say who the heck can it do a deal with," she said. Malmstrom said her hope was that the deal would be adopted before the end of October when it could be signed during a planned visit to Brussels by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Commission needs to determine in the next month whether it can be cleared by governments alone or if each country needs to push the trade deal through their parliaments - or in Belgium's case four parliaments, one of which opposes the agreement. Bulgaria and Romania have also expressed reluctance given Canada does not extend its visa-waiver entry system to their citizens. The deal is also facing opposition from campaign groups and trade unions, who say CETA is as dangerous as their bete noire - a planned EU-U.S. trade deal called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). They say the deals hand power to multinationals and are a threat to democracy. Groups in Austria and Germany, which proponents say would benefit most from a trade deal, have staged a series of anti-TTIP and CETA rallies, with a large demonstration planned in Berlin on Sunday. The Dutch also voted against a trade deal with Ukraine in a referendum in April. "We must be mindful that all 28 countries and the European Parliament are very demanding institutions ... We can't have local referendums on all trade agreements," Malmstrom said. The commissioner also expressed frustration that politicians voiced strong support for trade deals at EU meetings then briefed local media about their doubts. A frustrated Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will urge EU leaders at a summit this month to back free trade talks with the United States in the face of growing skepticism in member states. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Ireland's digital economy represents 6% (12.3bn) of Irelands GDP and it is growing fast at approximately 40% since 2012. This is according to two reports which were published yesterday by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Denis Naughten. The digital economy is expected to expand to about 21.4 billion or 7.9% of GDP by 2020 and currently almost 116,000 direct and indirect jobs are supported of which 68,000 are directly linked to digital according to Indecons Assessment of the macro-economic impact of the internet and digital on the Irish economy. The report shows that approximately one in seven Irish people (13.5% of the adult population) make a supplementary income on the internet and the largest single contributor to the internet part of the economy is online consumer spending. Irish consumers spend around 850,000 per hour online, 24 hours a day, which represents more than a 20% increase since 2012 and Irish consumers expect this to grow by 25% in the next 3 5 years. The Minister was speaking in Dublin Castle where his Department was hosting a workshop for the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), who administer the Governments Trading Online Voucher Scheme. Minister Naughten said, "These reports give us a snapshot into just how important the digital economy is to householders and businesses, no matter where they are located in Ireland. As the digital economy grows, it is essential that the benefits are felt in every city, provincial town and rural area." He further noted that delivery of high speed broadband to every premises in Ireland is a top priority for Government. "A major procurement process is well underway in my Department, and will deliver at least 30mbps to every small business, home and school that cannot get access to such services," Minister Naughten said. "This will involve a major new telecoms network build across Ireland, covering 100,000km of road and 96% of the land area of Ireland, akin to rural electrification in the last century," he added. Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Both employees from Northern Ireland and from the Republic share major concerns about the upcoming Brexit referendum and its long term implications according to research from Irishjobs.ie and NIJobs.com. The research was conducted in mid-May amongst 1,351 Northern Irish employees and 3,228 employees from the Republic of Ireland. Sixty eight per cent of Irish employees and 61% of Northern Irish and say they are concerned about Brexit. When asked, about their view of Brexit, 46% of Irish and 36% of Northern Irish employees indicated they were against it. Forty two per cent worry about job losses and 52% worry about their ability to work in the UK due to Brexit Furthermore, 42% of Northern Irish and 41% of Irish Employees fear the reintroduction of border controls. However, some see a potential benefit of a Brexit with 75% of Irish employees believing a Brexit could bring more companies to Ireland. Commenting on the research, General Manager at Irishjobs.ie, Orla Moran said, "There are a lot of shared concerns and opportunities when it comes to the immediate effects of Brexit, especially when you look at free access to services, jobs and travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic. We also see employees express concerns about the impact on border controls and the potential loss of companies to the south and the impact on both economies in shared sectors, like tourism." General Manager at NIJobs.com, Sam McIlveen added, "From a Northern Irish perspective, there is major concern of an imminent recession caused by Brexit, 3 out of every 4 jobseekers we surveyed saw some major challenges ahead when it came to our place within the EU. Issues like access to markets, freedom of movement seemed to trump the freedoms that a Brexit would potentially bring to the Northern Ireland economy." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Linders Renault & Dacia opened a new car store at Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords, Co Dublin on Saturday. Linders Renault & Dacia currently operate two dealerships in Finglas and Chapelizod. Opening in Smithfield in 1938, the family business has grown to be one of the longest established car dealers in Dublin. Renault Group has enjoyed huge market growth over the last 3 years growing their share of the market from 5.5% in 2012 to over 9% in 2016 in cars and vans. Furthermore, Renault and Dacia are driving the market with the highest volume growth of any brand year to date up 48% and 42% respectively, helped in the main by the launch of the Renault Kadjar late last year. An All-New Megane will hit the streets next month just in time for the 162 registrations. The new store will be a one-stop shop, taking customers on a journey from solo test drives right through to financing. The new Linders Renault & Dacia Car Store will be staffed with Brand Heroes who are simply on hand to help and help customers make the most stylish and suitable choice for them. Dealer Principal, Paul Linders commented, "The concept of the car store seems like a natural progression for us. In any business you need to innovate to survive and the internet has played a key part in revolutionising how Irish people shop for cars. We are in the process of opening our third dealership Linders Renault & Dacia Swords Turvey just up the road and in the process, we spoke to a lot of locals while deciding about where to open." He added, "While we knew that the area had a large and growing population for an outlet to service, we didnt foresee the number of people that told us they would be interested in seeing an alternative to the traditional garage in the area. So, we simply listened and when we thought about it, it made sense." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams A local photographer recently captured the life and times of the people living only 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Walter Pofeldt, of Waerbury-LaSalle, will debut a selection of 20 prints from his 12-day trip to Cuba in October 2015 at an exhibit called The Faces of Cuba, opening at the Poe Park Visitor Center on Saturday, July 2. The exhibition opening is from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the photos will be viewable between 8 a.m and 4 p.m. until Sunday, July 31. Pofeldt said his images depict his impression of the Cuban people as individuals, and presents them in a non-political way. I hope people take away from these photos a good impression of the Cuban people themselves, said Pofeldt. I dont want to be political at all; I just feel like they are a group of people who are just like any other people trying to get along in life. The photographer, who has spent 15 years working at the Bronx Times Reporter both as a staff member and a freelancer, said that he encountered a people who are preservering under some difficult conditions. Regardless of the hardships that they endure, they are a warm, friendly and proud people, he stated, added that Cuba is a country that is suspended in time, and that music and art appear to be everywhere in the island nation. During his time in Cuba, he photographed Havana, Cienfuegos, the city of Trinidad, as well as a fishing village that many believe was Ernest Hemingways inspiration for his short masterpiece The Old Man and the Sea. The group he was with also toured Hemingways Cuban home, a coffee plantation, a senior center, a childcare center and visited a modern dance company that has performed in New York called Malpaso Dance, he said. There is very little crime or graffiti vandalism in Cuba, added Pofeldt, who said that a tour guide suggested it was because of the countrys educational system. While there are no overt signs of extreme poverty, people live a hand-to-mouth existence in crumbling Spanish-styled buildings, said Pofeldt. The photos in the exhibit, as well as the others the photographer took reflect all of this. I did not go to Cuba specifically to take pictures, but of course, I had my camera, he said. A lot of the pictures are portraits where I saw an interesting face and asked to photograph them. In the majority of cases, the Cuban people he met were obliging subjects, said Pofeldt. Poe Park Visitor Center is located at 2640 Grand Concourse in Bedford Park. For more information, call (718) 365-5516. The exhibit curator, Lucy Aponte, can be reached at lucy.apont e@par ks.nyc.gov . SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Hundreds of family members, friends and colleagues gathered Tuesday at a concert hall to celebrate the life of John Williams, a restaurateur and LGBT pioneer in Salt Lake City who died in a house fire. Mourners described the 72-year-old Williams as a generous man who took the citys dining scene to a new level. They talked about his love of the symphony and his quiet, yet influential work for the LGBT community. People who spoke at Abravanel Hall highlighted Williams energy and passion for life. They also detailed his many business accomplishments, including launching the popular Market Street Grill and other restaurants. Williams estranged husband Craig Crawford, 47, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and arson, authorities said. He remained in jail but has not been charged. It was unclear if Crawford has an attorney. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill was not immediately available for comment. The fire occurred less than three weeks after Williams filed for divorce from Crawford and sought a temporary restraining order that was rejected, court records show. Many of the mourners who gave speeches during the funeral didnt mention those circumstances and simply called his May 22 death unexpected. His long-time business partner Tom Guinney was the only one who indicated the circumstances were tragic. Somebody had to say it, Guinney said after the service. Guinney said Williams had been married to Crawford for about a decade. He described Crawford as a Canadian with a lot of energy, who started having problems after being prescribed opiates when he injured his leg. Williams opened the New Yorker restaurant in 1978 in a renovated historical building, showcasing what would become the two signature talents of his career running restaurants and renovating buildings, said John Becker, a spokesman for Williams company Gastronomy Inc. Detectives say Crawford was in the house near the Utah State Capitol when the fire started. He was later seen walking back to the house but never called authorities to report the blaze, court documents show. When firefighters arrived, they heard somebody inside crying for help. They found Williams and tried to revive him, but he died at the scene. Bob Bayn tracks phishing attempts at USU with the help of hundreds of "internet skeptics" who report the deceptive emails to him. LOGAN Utah State Universitys IT security analyst Miles Johnson was looking at a set of large monitors that cover the north wall in the universitys IT department. To an untrained eye, the network visualizer looks like a collection of random numbers and colors with lines and dots buzzing around like an old arcade game. Every computer in USUs network is represented by its own light on the screen, and their active, ongoing processes and connections are monitored. According to Johnson, on a normal day, the screens would be much livelier, but it was Memorial Day weekend, and campus was next to empty. That was an interesting thing right there, he said. That flash of red that rolled by was an attack. It went by and hit a bunch of sequential IP addresses. That thing targeted an area over at our research park. But there wasnt much concern in his voice. He said he sees those things come and go all the time. It most likely was random and not successful. Many of those attacks arent specifically sent to USU, they sweep computers all over the world until they find one they can access, and then they get in. But that isnt always the case. Some attacks are directed specifically at USU for malicious purposes, and some can be very dangerous. Johnson is one of a group of IT security analysts trying to prevent the bad attacks and keep USUs computers and information safe. The quick attack on the research park computers, according to Johnson, was a server-side attack, an attempt to connect to a server to either change or steal information. The university commonly sees these. Some are specifically sent to USU, either by foreign governments or others who want USUs information. Many times USU is targeted simply because it is a research institution. Sometimes somebody finds a way in to one of the campus web pages for a few hours, he said. Then we learn from that, make sure that particular attack doesnt happen again and push it back. Another type of attack is client-side attack, where some type of false service is set up online. When someone connects to it, it takes over the persons web browser, computer, phone or any number of things. Johnson said these can be the most dangerous, because it turns your own equipment against you. He said other universities have had to shut down their systems days at a time because of successful client-side attacks. The third type of attack is a phishing attack, which is usually designed to steal an individuals information, such as a credit card or social security number, through impersonating a trusted organization. The phishing attacks can be elaborate. According to IT Security Analyst Jared Hill, attackers in the past have completely duplicated the universitys website login page. Unsuspecting students or faculty follow a link received in an email and then enter their credentials in the fake login space. After it is received, the information is then used by the attacker to access the victims information. Thats a little more targeted, Hill said. But it happens to all the universities. IT Security Analyst Bob Bayn and his group have recently had success training and educating USU faculty to avoid these phishing attacks. When those attacks are reported to Bayn and his colleagues, they are then able to work on getting them shut down. In order to incentivize USU employees to report these phishing attacks they began offering Aggie Ice Cream as a prize to the first person who reported a new phishing attack on campus. The reported phishing attempts dramatically increased. According to a university release, more than 600 phishing attempts have already been blocked in 2016. Those who report the attacks are put on a university list known as internet skeptics. There are many reasons USUs security analysts to go to great lengths to protect the university from these phishing attacks. Once hackers have access to a USU account, they can use it to make money by using the victims account to send spam. If too much of it is sent by USU, all USU-hosted email accounts can be blacklisted by spam blockers, which could all but cut off the universitys email communication. In addition to the ability to send spam, Bayn said there is a lot of value to a USU credential for hackers that know what is available. They can use your USU credentials to get into the library information databases and get information that has been subscribed to for university use, he said. They can extract that information then resale it and redistribute it. They can make money that way. They can use it to get into our VPN system and become inside our network instead of outside our network. Once inside they can see things they cant see from outside our network. Bayn said when it comes to phishing, red flags include a message that has an urgent concern the recipient wasnt expecting or a link that goes to an unexpected place. He recently published a list that teaches how to recognize potential phishers. Murphy Givens Columnist SHARE An undated photo by Doc McGregor, probably from the mid-1930s, shows a highway sign in the Calallen area for Corpus Christi, "Naples of the Gulf." A photo taken by Doc McGregor in the 1930s shows a sign on old Highway 9 near Calallen. It identifies Corpus Christi as the Naples of the Gulf, one of the city's fanciful nicknames. Before the turn of the 20th Century Corpus Christi was known as the Bluff City, the Texas Riviera, and more recent times as the Sparkling City by the Sea, though that is often employed with a heavy touch of irony. Such nicknames, or civic slogans, betray a town's ambitions. In the 1890s, soon after its founding, Portland was called the Gem City of the Gulf. In 1914, when Aransas Pass was only a few years old, its slogan was "The City of Certainty, Where the Sails Meet the Rails." Aransas Pass aspired to be the next Houston with railroads connecting to a deepwater port on Harbor Island. Ingleside called itself the Atlantic City of the Gulf, then changed that to Playground of the South. Taft's civic slogan sounds like a copybook maxim or admonishment: "Where Permanent Prosperity Rewards Honest Effort." Robstown's modest slogan was, "God's Most Livable Land and Most Lovable People." Alice billed itself and still does as the Hub City. When Port Aransas was known as Tarpon, and famous for its sport fishing, the slogan was, "Where They Bite Every Day." And they did, too. Even President Franklin Roosevelt came there for the fishing. The slogan for Mathis was, "As Good as the Best and Better Than the Rest." The local Chambers of Commerce, I guess, once had a creative streak, though the idea of pairing Chamber of Commerce with creative gives one pause. Street work When going downtown I try to plot my course, like the captain of a ship at sea. I can't take Staples; it's all torn up by City Hall. I try to avoid the dogleg around Christus Spohn Hospital Shoreline, and Shoreline Boulevard has become an obstacle course without the view. There's no easy way to get from my house to downtown. This came to mind when reading a copy of the Corpus Christi Crony from 1902. It seems they had as much tolerance for the disruptions caused by street work as we do today. The Crony described how streets were improved with a crew of 30 men with 16 wagons and mule teams. The 30 men, said the Crony, get themselves with their wagons in the middle of the road where they can block traffic. When they have stood around for four or five hours, discussing various things, they move forward three or four feet and block traffic some more. After three days they become exhausted and stop. At this point a foreman arrives with a spade and searches until he finds a place where the road is particularly smooth. There he digs a large hole and into this the men each drop a gravel. The 16 mule teams are driven over the hole and after a prolonged bout of pawing at the gravel the men all go draw their pay. Sometimes, said the Crony, where the street is very good, they will improve it with a plow so that no one can pass that way again. But this is hard work and requires extra pay and two holidays. Another writer noted that the streets would not be so bad if they were repaired in the middle and on both sides. The streets of Corpus Christi, he said, were all paved with good intentions. You wonder, if you could go back even further, if they had similar problems with their streets in Thebes and Babylon. Roadwork has certainly changed. We no longer use wagons and mule teams. Otherwise, our modern world is not so different. It wouldn't take much to please us: just good streets and roads, paid for by someone else, that never need maintenance. The first district attorney D. for Daniel McNeill Turner came to Corpus Christi in the 1870s, got his law degree and bought a newspaper, the Gazette, then was elected to the City Council. In 1882 the office of district attorney was established and he ran for that position. Turner's opponent was a man named McConnell, who listed his accomplishments in a campaign brochure. Before coming to Corpus Christi he had had a large and successful law practice in Alabama. He had argued cases before the Alabama Supreme Court. He was running for district attorney, he said, for the honor of the thing and not for the money. D. McNeill Turner took the opposite tack. He wrote that he had never had a large law practice, that he had never seen a supreme court, much less appeared before one, and that he was running for the money, hang the honor. He won easily. Turner served 10 years as district attorney and then was elected representative to the Texas House. As district attorney he worked to convict evildoers accused of committing the worst offenses of the time: horse stealing, cow stealing, sheep stealing, murder. Turner was paid $50 for every man convicted "and I sent them off by the carloads, either to be hung or cool their heels in prison." Lynch law, he said, did him out of a lot of fees. "The law abiders (vigilantes) hung any thief they could get their hands on and if they figured a murderer had it coming they would hang him too." Turner once recalled an incident in Judge J.C. Russell's (25th Criminal District) court being held in San Diego (in the old courthouse that later burned in 1914). Judge Russell had a bald head and nervous disposition. To keep flies off his shiny dome he wore a black skullcap. He hated the loud sound made by pistol matches, so-called because they sounded like a pistol being fired. The judge had a sign put up stating that it was punishable by a $10 fine to strike a pistol match in his court. Two lawyers bought five boxes of pistol matches, cut the heads off, and scattered them in the courtroom. When the jury pool of 75 men came into court and their heels struck the match heads it sounded like the battle of Bull Run. Turner said Judge Russell went berserk, tore off his black skullcap, threw it down, and told the court he would give $100 to the man who brought in the culprit or culprits who caused the commotion, dead or alive. Murphy Givens is the retired Viewpoints Editor of the Caller-Times. Email him at givens.murphy@gmail.com. SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Rafael Davila, the guitarist for Cathouse, won the 28th Annual Guitar Wars in San Antonio on May 26, 2016. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Rafael Davila III performs at House of Rock. By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times Rafael Davila III rushed out of work Thursday afternoon and made it to San Antonio just in time for the 28th annual Guitar Wars show in San Antonio, which attracts the best performers around the state. Davila, a 42-year-old guitarist from Corpus Christi, didn't have much time to compose himself, but in the end, he said going with the flow is what helped him win the competition. "You can prepare all you want but when you see that crowd, everything you worked on usually goes out the window and you just go for it," Davila said. Davila has competed in Guitar Wars for the past 12 years. Most years, he comes home with a second- or third-place finish. After his performance last week, which featured technical finger picking and the sound of a laser gun from his key chain, he knew something felt different. "I felt really confident. I knew I stood out," Davila said. "It just felt right." Davila, who started playing guitar more than 25 years ago, said he hopes the award can bring some more exposure to other guitarists in Corpus Christi. He will be performing with his band, Cathouse, at Cole Park from 8-10 p.m. Thursday to kick off the city's summer concert series. Twitter: @Caller_Fares COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES file Construction workers install a roof on a home in the Rancho Vista subdivision Feb. 5. SHARE By Kirsten Crow of the Caller-Times The city's proposed comprehensive plan is slated for another hard look, this time by a newly formed subcommittee. The mission: to revise and reorganize the draft Plan CC, clearing the air about its purpose and how the goals and policies factor into it. It's hoped that the move will add clarity to a proposal that has led to controversy, which officials have pinned, in part, on ambiguity between what are considered goals of the plan intended to be overarching community ambitions and policies, which would amount to practical aspects of the plan such as directives. There have been allegations that the document sets the stage for local government overreach. There has also been heated debate on whether its recommendations would smother development or endorse urban sprawl, and whether its recommendations dictate a lifestyle or offer new choices. A process that will clearly identify goals and policies presents a path, said Philip Ramirez, commission chair. "We need to move forward as the Corpus Christi community, and I see this as a way to get the broadest consensus," he said. "Not only through the council, but also the public that is watching this process." The Planning Commission on Wednesday identified three from its board to serve on the subcommittee: Ramirez, corporate president of Turner Ramirez Architects; Carl Crull, an engineer and owner of Crull Engineering; and Frank Hastings, president of PlainsCapital Bank. The revised document is expected to combine the recent draft of Plan CC 2035, a draft submitted by City Councilman Chad Magill called Plan CC 2036, and comments by the City Council, staff and residents. Those pieces would then clearly establish the lines between the goals and the policies. A comprehensive plan is ultimately supposed to help steer the community's future development, acting as a guide for housing, infrastructure, economy, transportation and the environment, among other topics. The city hired Boston-based firm Goody Clancy under a nearly $1 million contract to work with stakeholders and city officials for a new comprehensive plan to replace the standing 1987 comprehensive plan. Composition of the proposed Plan CC has taken more than two years and seen multiple drafts. It's hoped that the revised draft, submitted by the subcommittee, would be prepared for consideration and discussion for the June 29 meeting. Once the commission agrees on recommending the document, it would be forwarded to the City Council for review. The council would have the option of adopting the draft or continuing to amend the proposal. Twitter: @CallerCrow COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES Premont High School seniors walk down the halls of Premont Elementary accompanied by kindergarten students Tuesday, May 31, 2016, during the district's first senior walk. SHARE COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES Premont High School seniors each addressed elementary school students Tuesday, May 31, 2016, during the district's first senior walk. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES Premont High School seniors walk the halls of Premont Elementary School with kindergarten students Tuesday, May 31, 2016, during the district's first senior walk. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES The Premont High School senior class sit in desks in the elementary school's gym Tuesday, May 31, 2016, during the district's first senior walk. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES Premont High School seniors, dressed in their graduation gowns, wait in a room with the kindergarten class Tuesday, May 31, 2016, before taking part in the school's first senior walk. By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times Whether it be for restoring faith in the future or inspiring youngsters to go above academic expectations, the "senior walk" is catching on in the Coastal Bend. The ceremonial event's basic premise is to incite youth to emulate what they see a graduating senior. Two groups of graduating seniors about 70 miles apart perpetuated the premise Tuesday. Clad in full graduation regalia, Premont and Moody High School seniors walked the halls of primary campuses that feed into their student populations. But the event served a slightly different purpose at each campus. Premont High School seniors, whose district has been on the brink of closure twice in the past four years, walked the hallways of the primary school to rekindle a graduation objective in the youth, organizers said. The event was a first for the rural district about 30 miles south of Alice. "Being that our seniors have gone through so much, our little ones reach a point to where they feel like they can't go on or it's too stressful," said Lily Sanchez Rodriguez, who is the Communities In Schools site coordinator at Premont ISD. "Our seniors are able to reassure them that everything they go through in life is just a speed bump." Seniors at Moody High, which is three times larger than Premont ISD, celebrated the event a second year. Principal Sandra Clement said the Trojan Senior Walk tradition is meant to not only model graduation but play off a youthful curiosity that can lead to a permanent memory and ultimately, an academic goal. "It's to inspire them to say 'I not only want to dress in that gown, I want to have that cord. I want to be in gold. I want to be the (Valedictorian) or the (Salutatorian) in white. I want that sash,'" Clement said. "It's not just a piece of cloth you wear. It tells a story of who you are." Seniors at Gregory-Portland, Odem-Edroy and Calallen high schools, among others, this month also walked the halls of schools some of the graduating seniors attended as children. Seniors in Freer and Robstown this week will partake in the event seen in school districts across the nation. Miller, Ray and Carroll high schools followed in the trend set by Moody at Corpus Christi Independent School District. CCISD Superintendent Roland Hernandez said the senior walk can have a lasting impression on the youth and graduating seniors alike. "It not only benefits the young kids, but also the graduates to see how big a deal it is to be graduates and serve as role models," Hernandez said. Twitter: @CallerBetty SHARE Contributed photo City Council District 3 candidate Rick Gomez By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times When the City Council was debating how to regulate the growing ride-hailing industry earlier this year, Rick Gomez was active in the conversation advocating for less governmental regulations. A smaller government is a better government, he argued. Now he wants to continue pushing for smaller government and less restrictive regulations, but this time from the other side of the dais. "(I'm running) to bring good government to Corpus Christi in the form of accountability, a limited government, and free enterprise," said Gomez, who owns Gomez Properties, a local real estate agency. "Ultimately, I am pro-growth and pro-business." Gomez formally launched his campaign for City Council District 3 on Tuesday at Kiko's Mexican Food Restaurant & Cantina on Everhart Road. About 60 residents attended the event and "dozens" signed up to volunteer on his campaign, Gomez said. He's running against incumbent City Councilwoman Lucy Rubio. He told supporters that "dissatisfaction is the mother of motivation." For Gomez, his decision to run came during the Uber debate. Rubio voted against the measures the leading ride-hailing company favored. Twitter: @reportermatt When is hurricane season? Here's what you need to know in South Texas Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, looks at one of special prosecutors during a pretrial motion hearing at the Collin County courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, in McKinney, Texas. Paxton is accused of encouraging wealthy investors to pump more than $100,000 into a tech startup called Servergy without revealing he was being paid by the company. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News Via AP, Pool) SHARE The sequence of events that got Texas roped into a lawsuit against the federal government over transgender bathroom regulation is best described with old-fashioned words like chicanery and skulduggery. To say that it just stinks, while true, borders on pun and inappropriately makes light of the serious matter of a person in power, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, sinking to the lowest level. Thanks to the Texas Tribune, we know that Paxton went looking for a school district to be his guinea-pig test case for filing the lawsuit, which accuses the federal government of overreach. The alleged overreach was the government's attempt to protect transgender people's civil rights by warning that discriminatory bathroom policies could result in forfeiture of federal education funds. When personal injury lawyers do what Paxton did shop for a client it's called ambulance-chasing and it's a crime. The Tribune reported that Paxton sent staff to solicit the school district in deeply conservative Wichita Falls, where the trustees decided that they already had an adequate policy and didn't need to be Paxton's pawn. A school board member actually used that word pawn in a radio interview describing Paxton's attempt to enlist Wichita Falls ISD. Another board member, in voting down the proposal, described it as "completely a waste of time and a distraction from our school business of educating students." Score one for a school district having its priorities straight. But Paxton later came up with his pawn, nearby Harrold ISD, which has 100 students, none of whom identify as transgender. Superintendent David Thweatt, who got to stand next to Paxton at the Austin news conference announcing the lawsuit, said his board adopted the policy for the "safety, security and dignity of the children." Other state capitol reporters took the Texas Tribune's dot-connecting an important step further to a Paxton campaign fund-raising email seeking "$25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or whatever you can afford" to "stand with the Texas Attorney General in his efforts to stop an out of control President." It took sick minds to have dreamed up the transgender bathroom issue as an issue in the first place. As Andrea Grimes of the Texas Observer put it: "There's a certain predilection for prurience in drawing a straight line between 'public restroom' and 'opportunity to sexually assault a woman or child.'" It takes sicker minds to exploit the issue politically. And it takes the sickest of all to try to make money off it. Republicans who received Paxton's solicitation should be offended and disgusted and at the very least should keep their wallets holstered. Fund-raising is a difficult prospect for an attorney general facing three felony fraud indictments. Paxton is accused of violating state securities laws by not disclosing to clients that he received compensation for the investments they made on his recommendations. He can't use campaign funds to pay his high-priced lawyers because the charges have nothing to do with politics or his duties as an elected official. Money, to him, is quite an object these days. But pursuing this lawsuit at state expense, shopping for the client and turning the case into a fund-raising opportunity are new lows even for Paxton. That this lawsuit was an embarrassment to Texas should have been evident before the connections were made to Paxton's client-shopping and donation-seeking. The people of Texas, especially Paxton's Republican supporters, should feel used and demand that a stop be put to it. | BY Ricki Green | Brother International is behind a novel new technology innovation, which has been used to help raise essential funds for breast cancer research. The Brother for Sisters campaign saw Brother, along with Sydney-based creative agency The Works develop the worlds first NFC-fitted tie, capable of accepting monetary donations that go directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Based on the insight that men want to support women with breast cancer #BrotherforSisters is a week long campaign encouraging Australians to raise money for much needed research by purchasing a pink tie from the Brother Facebook page. To promote the campaign, Brother developed three pink Tie-Tap ties that allow passers-by around the streets of Sydney to quickly tap their credit cards for an automatic $10 donation. The pink Tie-Tap ties have been fitted with a Near Field Communication technology chip thats connected to a smartphone and programmed to accept the payment and forward it directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Kelly Wilson, senior marketing manager at Brother International Australia said the campaign aims to help the National Breast Cancer Foundation reach its goal of zero deaths by 2030. Says Wilson: We have selected this charity as it holds importance to many of the women that work at Brother. Brothers and men are stakeholders in the journey travelled by many women living with breast cancer. This campaign demonstrates that males play an important role in supporting their loved ones during this illness. Says Paul Swann, creative partner at The Works: This is a great example of how new technology can take a traditional method of fundraising to the next level, making it simpler than ever before. It is great to see Brother throwing its support behind a fantastic cause. Client: Brother International Senior Marketing Manager, Kelly Wilson Paul Swann, Creative Partner Mark Harricks, Creative Partner Julia Dixon, Copywriter Maricris Llanillo, Art Director Lisa Mackenzie, Project Manager Chris Dwyer, Creative Design Lead Marcus Coblyn, Content Producer Kadir Gunduz, Technologist Maria Galang, Production Manager | BY Ricki Green | Australia has picked up four Gold Awards, eight Silver Awards and six Bronze Awards at the 2016 Asian Marketing Effectiveness and Strategy Awards held last night at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore. McCann Melbourne has scored the most gongs from Australia with 1 Gold and 3 Silvers for Tigerair Infrequent Flyers Club and 1 Silver and 1 Bronze for MIFF Emotional Trailers. Affinity has scored an impressive 2 Gold Awards and 1 Silver Award for Narellan Pools Diving into Data for Narellan making it Australias most effective agency. The final Gold for Australia went to Isobar for Uniqlo UMOOD which also scored a Bronze; Isobar also scored a Silver for General Motors CoDriver. Atomic 212 has scored a Silver and a Bronze for Double Robotics Lucy the Robot. Clemenger BBDO Melbourne has scored one Silver for NAB Fanshake whilst OMD, Leo Burnett Melbourne and Match Media all scored one Bronze each. Says Ben Lilley, chairman, McCann Worldgroup Australia: Each of these wins is a great achievement in its own right. And a truly great endorsement of the quality and effectiveness of our creative product. I couldnt be more proud of our national McCann team. Says Adrian Mills, MD, McCann Melbourne: Weve been the top ranked Aussie agency this year at both the APAC Effies and Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy Awards. This is on top of being the number 1 Melbourne agency at the Australian Creative and Effectiveness award. Its a great results for great results. | BY Ricki Green | Auswide Bank today launched its first brand campaign via Smart Queensland. Titled The Big-Hearted Bank, the campaign follows the transformation of a tiny, besieged, accountant mouse that lives inside the heart of the hero. After being rejected by a big bank, our campaign hero discovers Auswide Bank, and the tiny mouse becomes a confident young lion. The campaign signals the launch of Auswide Bank into the national market following a rebrand from Wide Bay Australia last year. The animated video was produced by Photoplay with animation by Eallin, Tokyo, and an original soundtrack by Uncanny Valley. Says Carly Ryder, head of marketing, Auswide Bank Head of Marketing: Our new brand campaign is both beautiful and endearing and pulls at the heart strings but, in essence, it really portrays who we are as a challenger bank. Says Benjamin Davis, executive creative director, Smart: It takes a brave client to first identify and then fully appreciate what can be achieved in setting sail against the winds of mediocrity, particularly in a category awash with expressions of faux empathy. Auswide Bank doesnt pretend to live in your world, they dont pretend theyre for the makers. They just believe in the positive, transformational power of great relationships, and they genuinely want to help their clients achieve their goals. Auswide Bank sees the good in people. Theyve got a big heart. So its a campaign built on a pretty salient truth. Im proud of the work weve achieved together. The campaign follows the appointment of Phillippa Netolicky as general manager and the relocation of former McCann Melbourne associate creative director Ben Davis to executive creative director at Smart Queensland. Says Netolicky: Weve created a solid brand platform that weve developed over several months. Were excited to see what the rest of 2016 will bring for Smart. The campaign will roll out in coming weeks, comprising TV, digital, social media, and OOH. Auswide Bank General Manager, Marketing and Products: Ray Linderberg Head of Marketing: Carly Ryder Agency: Smart Queensland Executive Creative Director: Benjamin Davis General Manager: Phillippa Netolicky Copywriter: Benjamin Davis Art Director: Benjamin Davis/Fiona Self Designer: Jackie Dewar Production: Photoplay Director: Armand de Saint-Salvy Executive Producer: Oliver Lawrance Producer: Ronald Roberts Animation Studio: Eallin Tokyo, Japan | BY Martin Trevaskis | McCann Melbournes Dumb Ways to Die for Metro Victoria has won Best of the Decade at the 2016 Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards held last night at the New World Hotel in Manila. A campaign that was first launched in November 2012, Dumb Ways to Die has become the most awarded campaign in advertising history, and in the history of Cannes (with 28 Lions, including five Grand Prix awards). The Best of the Decade is a special award on the tenth anniversary of the APAC Tambuli Awards. This special award celebrates the most outstanding campaign of the decade (2005 2015) that best exemplifies the creative idea and execution of human good, while simultaneously achieving impressive business results. The Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards recognise Human Good in mainstream brand communication. This is not an award based solely on charity, advocacy, pro bono, or CSR advertising. The focus is on mainstream brand campaigns that celebrate humanity, inspire purpose, and deliver results. The awards honor brands that do good and do well the seamless integration of creativity + human good + results. Receiving the award on behalf of McCann Melbourne was Charles Cadell, Asia Pacifc President of McCann Worldgroup (pictured above, middle). There were five other nominees for the Best of the Decade: Help a Child Reach Five by MullenLowe Lintas Group India for Lifebuoy, Unilever Its More Fun in the Philippines by BBDO Guerrero for the Philippine Department of Tourism Liter of Light by BBDO Guerrero for PEPSICO Philippines My Shelter Foundation Not a Bug Splat by BBDO Pakistan for Reprieve / Foundation for Fundamental Rights Pakistan | BY Ricki Green | In an increasingly fragmented travel market competing on price and DIY behaviour, House of Travel wanted to remind New Zealanders about the importance of getting the best holiday experience at the best value. House of Travels new campaign: The best holidays are created together reflects the way their travel consultants collaborate with customers to use their knowledge, buying power and passion for travel to create moments that people remember forever, building value into every holiday experience. And its this message that House of Travel and Colenso BBDO wanted to bring to life in House of Travels latest campaign. The campaign has been launched with a beautiful series of films shot by Kiku Ohe of Exit Films and Colenso BBDO on location in Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. These ads are the first piece of work in an ongoing series of executions that will be rolled out across every communications touch point. Says Ohe: House of Travel deliver an incredible range of tailored travel experiences, and I wanted to present this in an authentic and photographic way that explores personal memory. When we are on holiday the day seems to stretch out longer than when we are in our everyday routine, and it was a great challenge and joy to explore this concept of time. It truly was an exciting collaboration with House of Travel, Nick Worthington, Dave Brady and the whole team at Colenso Auckland. Says Andy McLeish, planner, Colenso BBDO: The real beauty of travel is the fact that you have experiences that enrich your life in all sorts of ways. The people at House of Travel get that better than anyone. So we wanted people to understand that the way to get the most out of their travel is to talk to an expert about their ideas. And the people with the most expertise and passion are at House of Travel. Says Nick Worthington, creative chairman, Colenso BBDO: By working with the consultants at HOT and pulling on their incredible knowledge you can create holidays that push a little further based on your own wants and comfort levels. We wanted to communicate this in a totally genuine manner and show destinations in a way that the viewer would feel, not just watch. To that end, we cast real people over actors and sent them on real holidays, filming them on their travels to document their experiences. As they say in the films its not just where you go, its where that place takes you. Says Ken Freer, marketing director, HOT: This brand campaign is the result of a huge amount of research carried out to understand how our customers think about travel in every aspect of their journey, from dreaming through to research, planning and travelling. We truly believe that our consultants and customers can create a better holiday together than either could do on their own. The beauty of using a House of Travel consultant is having an expert to provide advice on direction based on the specific needs of the customer. This has come through beautifully in our ads the best holidays are created together is a departure from any past brand positioning for House of Travel and really captures our direction as a business. As well as 60 and 30 films, the campaign also features a longer 2 20 edit designed to play in cinema, making the most of this environment to allow audiences to truly experience the special moments created in the films. Client: House of Travel Ken Freer, Marketing Director Paula Sundin, Head of Brand Experience Agency: Colenso BBDO Film Company: Exit Films Kiku Ohe, Director Editor: Simon Price & ARC EDIT | BY Ricki Green | Jetstar has unveiled its new campaign via J Walter Thompson Melbourne encouraging everyday Australians to fly more places, more often and Live for Today. An evolutionary step in the brands marketing, the heart-warming campaign speaks directly to the brands sole proposition: All day, every day, low fares. J Walter Thompson is responsible for all elements including planning and strategy, creative and digital. Michael Godwin, managing director, J Walter Thompson Melbourne said the new campaign for the airline is a pure celebration of the brands reason for being. Says Godwin: One of the things we were very mindful of during campaign development was that Jetstar has been incredibly disciplined in establishing some valuable assets over the past 12 years. These include an optimistic personality, an upbeat tone of voice, the colour orange and the brands end-line. Rather than throwing all of this equity out, we sought to re-fresh it and bring it to life with a bit more meaning. The campaign is the result of this strategic consideration. Through a tapestry of very real, very human moments made possible by Jetstar, it reminds Australians what it means to be able to seize the day and take advantage of Jetstars incredibly low fares and the vast choice of destinations on offer. Says Catriona Larritt, group chief commercial officer, Jetstar: For more than a decade, Jetstar has enabled everyday Australians to fly to more places, more often, making it possible for Australians to experience adventures that previously would have been out of reach. The campaign celebrates our reason for being and brings to the forefront the positioning proudly emblazoned on Jetstars planes: All day, every day, low fares. Filmed in multiple locations including Tokyo, Bangkok, Phuket and Melbourne, the 30 sec and 60 sec spots also highlights the reach of Jetstars international, domestic and regional network. The new campaign launches live across all of Jetstars channels, Pay TV (30sec), FTA TV (60 sec), digital, print, OOH, internal communications, cinema (60 sec), and social from this week. The campaign is the first to be released by J Walter Thompson since they won the business at the beginning of the year, after a highly competitive pitch. The brand campaign will be seen on air throughout the year interspersed with Jetstars ongoing retail campaigns. J. Walter Thompson, Melbourne Annie Price Creative Director Penny Flanders Senior Account Director Jacob Hewitt Account Director | BY Martin Trevaskis | Last night saw the MullenLowe Group crowned Network of the Year at the APAC Tambuli awards ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom of the New World Hotel in Manila. It was a great night for the network with MullenLowe Lintas Group India picking up the Agency of the Year award and were also honoured with a Grand Prix award for Unilevers Lifebuoy Future Child campaign. The agency also won a 4 golds, 4 silvers, and 5 bronze metals in the various categories. As a result Unilever India emerged as the Advertiser of the Year. MullenLowe Vietnam also collected a Gold for Unilevers OMO Gallery of Dreams. BBDO Pakistan were also a top performer awarded a Grand Prix for Moltyfoams The Worlds First Billbed in the Outdoor category. BBDO Pakistan also won two Gold awards one for Moltyfoams The Worlds First Billbed and the other for Reprieve/Foundation for Fundamental Rights Not a Bug Splat. BBH Asia Pacific Singapore also won a Gold for the emotional NTUC Incomes Last Day of School. Ms. Gina Lorenzana, Vice President for Personal Care, Unilever Philippines, was named the 2016 Chief Marketing Communications Officer of the Year (Lorenzana is pictured holding her award on left). For the Tambuli Awards tenth year anniversary celebration, two inaugural special awards were given out. The Tambuli Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on Jayjay Calero, past Chairman and CEO of J. Walter Thompson Philippines. Caleros more than 30-year career at J. Walter Thompson includes eight years as Chairman, fifteen years as President, and seven years as Regional Director International Vice President for Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines. The Tambuli Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an outstanding, highly respected, and accomplished leader in the marketing communications industry for at least 25 years, and known to uphold and believe in the mission and core values of the APAC Tambuli Awards (He is pictured above left on stage with his award). The other special award given on its tenth anniversary is the Tambuli Crimson. It is an award on leadership for good, honoring an eminent industry leader in marketing communications for his or her contribution to the advancement of the profession, while creating positive change and impact in ones country, region, or the world. This years awardees were Ramon Jimenez, Tourism Secretary of the Republic of the Philippines (pictured right on stage with his award), and Angel Guerrero, Founder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Adobo Magazine. Jimenez was acknowledged for his valuable contribution as Secretary of Tourism of the Republic of the Philippines, in promoting the Philippines globally through the excellent use of marketing communications, showcasing the beauty and treasures of the Philippine islands and its people. And for his exemplary achievements in Philippine advertising, notably through the eponymous ad agency he and his wife Abby co-founded now known as Publicis JimenezBasic which advocates authentic Filipino advertising in steering brands to success. Angel Guerrero (pictured right on stage with her award) was honoured in recognition of the success of Adobo Magazine as a major catalyst in bringing Philippine advertising and the Filipino creativity into the regional and global stage. Through its excellent and incisive reportage of local and regional industry trends, news and events, Adobo has made the Filipinos creative prowess and ingenuity more palpable across the international scene. The Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards is organized by the School of Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) based in Manila. The Asia Pacific Tambuli Awards 2016 Overall Executive Jury was headed by Charles Cadell, Asia Pacific President McCann Worldgroup. The jury included Jacques Reber, Chairman & CEO Nestle Philippines; Diego Granizo, President Coca Cola Philippines; Stephen Lau, GM Colgate Palmolive Philippines; Pam Takai, Asia Pacific Marketing Director Mondelez; Cheuk Chiang, CEO APAC OMD; Anne Rayner, TNS Global Head Comm Research; Dick Van Motman, CEO SEA Dentsu Aegis; Kim Shaw, Publisher, Campaign Brief Asia; Tom Doctoroff, CEO APAC J. Walter Thompson; and Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, CEO Inquirer. Honey-Caramel Apple Bundt Cake Photography by Jeff Coulson/TC Media Image by: Honey-Caramel Apple Bundt Cake
Photography by Jeff Coulson/TC Media Author: Canadian Living "We are very well aware of the things that people have to take into consideration when taking on their employer. We don't encourage them to be reckless in that area," she said. HARWICH The threat of rain did not deter an intrepid audience at the Memorial Day ceremony at Brooks Park on Monday morning, as residents came to hear Lt. Paul Doane, USN, a former four-term state senator of the Cape and Islands and active municipal volunteer. Doane focused on the importance of reflecting and honoring those Americans who died while in service to the nation. For many Americans, Memorial Day has become associated with the beginning of summer, a time for family outings and the running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race, he said. But it should be a day of remembrance and giving thanks to the 1.35 million men and women who have sacrificed their lives for the country over the past 240 years, from the first day of the Revolutionary War to more recent battles around the world. Doane, a lifelong Harwich resident, enlisted in the Navy during the height of the Vietnam War through the Officers Candidate Program. He served honorably as a lieutenant in the Navy from 1967 to 1974 in the Seventh Fleet where he was a gunnery officer aboard destroyers in the Pacific. He later was assigned to the Reverine Forces (Swift Boat combat patrols in the rivers of Vietnam), where he was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Stars. He also served as the liaison officer with the Republic of South Koreas Elite Marine Tiger Division, allies in the Vietnam War. The most famous Memorial Day speech, Doane said, was the second one made on Nov. 19, 1863, 107 days after Union troops, during the Civil War, repelled the most northerly advance made by the Confederate Army into sleepy Gettysburg. The first speech that day was given by Edward Everett, the nation's famed orator from Massachusetts, a former U.S. Senator, secretary of state and governor of the commonwealth, who spoke for two hours without notes honoring recently deceased Union troops. They had been interred adjacent to the town cemetery in what was then designated the first National Soldiers Cemetery. It was the first such Memorial Day address to the nation's war dead, Doane said. Everett was followed by President Abraham Lincoln, who in sharp contrast offered a mere 10 sentences commemorating those who made the ultimate sacrifice while in uniform during those memorable days of the Gettysburg battle. It is rather for us, the living, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us, rather, to be dedicated to the great task(s) remaining before usthat from these honored dead, we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion. That we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vainand that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that this government, of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from this earth. I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion (memorializing the sacrifice of so many) in my two hours as you did in two minutes, Everett later wrote Lincoln. Doane urged people to walk through one of the 147 National Cemeteries and examine the etched white stone markers. When you do, you cannot resist wondering, much more so than in traditional burial groundsabout the life of each young person lying there. Who they were and who they could also become. It's a very sobering and spiritually awakening experience. It brings a very real meaning to this day, Memorial Day. Doane when on to say: They one of whom was my brother left their everyday life, entered a remarkable and honored realm of military commitment, and then never returned to enjoy the freedoms that all the rest of us now experience. Doane spoke of walking among the graves in a National Cemetery in New Mexico where he found an engraved poem by Kentucky native Theodore O'Hara called the Bivouac of the Dead, written in 1847 in honor of the Kentucky state militia cavalry members lost in the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican War of 1846. It captures the spirit and meaning of those entombed there and for all our deceased military scattered throughout the world, Doane said. It read: The muffled drum's sad roll has beat The soldiers' last tattoo: No more on life's parade shall meet That brave and fallen few. On fame's eternal camping-ground Their silent tents are spread, And Glory guard, with solemn round, The bivouac of the dead. Board of Selectmen Chairman Peter Hughes also read a proclamation from the board, stating in part: We the selectmen of Harwich, urge all citizens to join in a reaffirmation of their allegiance to those whose memory we honor on this day, Memorial Day 2016, a day of remembrance. Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Employees State Insurance Corporation, Bengaluru has released a notification for the recruitment of 13 Tutor (Medical Teaching Faculty) posts. Please scroll down to know more about pay scale, eligibility, how to apply, selection procedure and important dates. Name of the Post: Tutor Number of Posts: 13 Name of the Disciplines: Anatomy: 3 posts Physiology: 3 posts Forensic Medicine: 2 posts Comm. Medicine: 3 posts Pharmacology: 2 posts Who is Eligible for the ESIC, Bengaluru Job? Qualification: Candidates interested to apply for the above post must be qualified as per the organisation's requirement. Qualification becomes manadatory to test the skills and their perseverance in doing a certain job. To know more details about eligibility criteria and age limit, Click on the PDF. How Candidates are Selected for ESIC, Bengaluru Job? Candidates will be selected based on their performance in the Interview. How to Apply for the ESIC, Bengaluru Job? Candidates who are interested in this job can attend the interview along with applicaion in the prescribed format. The filled in applications need to be sent to: The Dean's Office, Council Hall, 6th Floor, ESIC Medical College & PGIMSR Rajajinagar, Bengaluru - 560010. What are the Important Dates Associated with ESIC, Bengaluru Job? ESIC Bengaluru has listed out the important dates for the recruitment. The details are as follows: Runners & walkers dash around Delphi The Do It In Delphi Dash was Saturday morning with the 5K walk/run beginning downtown on the Courthouse Square. The... Special prosecutor issues report on Liggett campaign The Comet sponsored a sheriffs candidate debate on Sept. 29. After the debate, Sheriff candidate and deputy Tony Liggett provided... Delphi Council member Conner resigns post It has been an upward struggle for Delphi City Council member Gayle Conner to represent her constituents as witnessed at... Over the weekend, Toyota demonstrated Mirais abilities as an amateur racer, from Formula One to a rural British hill climb meeting. With water coming out of its tailpipes thanks to the hydrogen fuel cell system and Monacos Prince Albert II behind the wheel, the Mirai was demonstrated on a lap of honor around the Monte Carlo circuit, in the opening of the Monaco Grand Prix. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, at Gurston Down in Wiltshire, Toyotas FCV made its motorsport debut locally, competing in a hill climb speed trial. Sporting a mirror-chrome full body wrap, the car was driven by journalist David Finlay, who recorded a best time of 44.44 seconds over the 0.6-mile (1 km) course, with an average speed of 62.5 mph (100.58 km/h). Toyota Mirai is already offered for sale in select European markets since late 2015, and will arrive in North America this year. It has a single tank of hydrogen, which can be filled in just a few minutes, providing a driving range of around 500 km (310 miles). Accelerating from rest to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes 9.6 seconds and top speed stands at 178 km/h (110 mph). PHOTO GALLERY VIDEO Toyota Mirai at Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb from ToyotaGB on Vimeo. Sands Chevrolet of Surprise, Arizona, was fined $40,000 by US regulators after selling two new cars subjected to an open recall without fixing them first. The action fails to comply with federal law and the civil penalty was paid by the Chevy dealer after it reached a settlement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) two years after the investigation was made public, AutomotiveNews writes. In a brief interview, dealer operator at Sands Chevrolet, Jerry Moore, declined to comment and cited a confidentiality agreement with the feds: It was something that happened a few years ago and were moving on from it. However, dealer representatives explained that selling the two cars was a mistake and blamed off-site storage. Since then, Sands Chevrolet have changed internal procedures and are now making sure that all cars are checked for open recalls before they are being sold. The two recalled vehicles delivered to customers two years ago were Malibu Eco sedans, which were part of a safety campaign due to a malfunctioning generator control module, which could drain battery and causing the engine to stall, leading to possible fires in extreme cases. Both of them were repaired at a later date, after their customers took delivery. PHOTO GALLERY If nations are going to protect their people from disease, they're going to need to work together. The Carter Center helps them do that. Parasites and bacteria have no respect for international borders. Many international frontiers are marked by rivers and lakes; but the water fleas that host Guinea worm larvae, the mosquitoes that transmit lymphatic filariasis and malaria, and the flies that spread river blindness and trachoma don't care which side they're on. Microscopist Marino Castillo pricks the finger of 5-year-old Silvana Mayor to test for malaria in the Dominican Republic. The island of Hispaniola is the last reservoir in the Caribbean islands for malaria. (Credit: The Carter Center/ E. Staub) On the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, a jagged north-south line divides Haiti from the Dominican Republic. Thousands of Haitians some of them infected with malaria or lymphatic filariasis cross that line frequently either to do business on the Dominican side or to work as seasonal laborers in the agricultural, construction, and service industries. Mosquitoes, the vector for both diseases, also freely traverse the same line in both directions. So, while the two diseases are much more prevalent on the Haiti side, they are a concern for both countries. Hispaniola is the only island in the Caribbean with active malaria transmission, and Haiti accounts for 97 percent of cases there. It also accounts for about 90 percent of the lymphatic filariasis burden in the Western Hemisphere. In the Dominican Republic, the diseases occur mainly in areas along the border with Haiti and in areas with high concentrations of migrant laborers. Since 2008, The Carter Center's Hispaniola Initiative has assisted both countries' ministries of health by strengthening binational cooperation, providing technical assistance for elimination of both diseases, and helping to integrate activities between the countries' malaria and lymphatic filariasis programs. "What The Carter Center is doing is getting the two governments to sit down together regularly. The two governments need to talk," said Dr. Madsen Beau de Rochars, a Haitian-born University of Florida epidemiologist who consults with The Carter Center on the Hispaniola Initiative. "The beauty of that is you can have a big dispute at the top level, but at the technical level they're still talking because they know they need to stay side by side to carry out this process. We leave the politics to the politicians." Some countries have to work out disease surveillance and interventions with multiple adjoining states. Mali is a large, landlocked country in northwest Africa. It shares borders with seven other countries, several of which harbor Malian refugees fleeing political unrest at home. This makes cooperation with neighbors essential, said Dr. Marie Madeleine Togo, Mali's minister of health. "Culturally, Mali is a country of exchange information, trade, everything is exchanged with our neighboring countries," she said. "This covers multiple concerns agriculture, culture, the arts, commerce. Given this, Mali doesn't have any problem collaborating with its neighbors in different domains, and especially in health." With The Carter Center coordinating, Mali and Niger are working together closely to control the infectious eye disease trachoma in both countries. Representatives of each country's health ministry have attended each other's annual trachoma reviews, observed field activities, and even shared treatment protocols, said Kelly Callahan, director of the Carter Center's Trachoma Control Program. The cross-border partnerships go beyond the level of top officials, Togo said. Mali is divided into 63 health districts, each of which borders another country; all their medical officers are instructed to collaborate closely with their international peers. "They share information, they share data, they share resources, they share strategies, they share their experiences fighting disease," she said. Sudan also has seven adjacent neighbors, including Ethiopia. River blindness and trachoma are endemic to both countries, and coordination of elimination efforts is essential in border areas if either is to see sustained success. For example, transmission of river blindness appears to have been interrupted in Sudan's Galabat focus, but the same cannot yet be said of the adjoining focus on the Ethiopian side of the border, said Biruck Kebede, neglected tropical disease team leader with the Ethiopia Ministry of Health. The area in Ethiopia has received about 12 annual rounds of treatment with ivermectin since 2003. The differing status of the adjacent areas "is a perfect example of how we need to further coordinate our efforts and understanding of the disease burden on each side of the border to eliminate the disease in both nations," Kebede said. Kebede pointed out that all nations in the region have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support one another in the development of health systems. He noted that several Ethiopian health professionals have traveled to South Sudan for that purpose. Similarly, Venezuela and Brazil have signed a Carter Center-supported MOU to work together on river blindness elimination in their border area in the Amazon rainforest. "There are already ongoing activities, and all the governments know about the need for collaboration," Kebede said. "Because people are moving freely across borders, it's important that we agree on when to conduct mass drug administration or how we carry out vector control," said Dr. Isameldin Mohammed Abdalla, undersecretary of Sudan's Federal Ministry of Health. "Synchronizing this can be challenging, but it can be done if we involve our partners, local and state authorities, as well as the federal ministry." In the end, when it comes to fighting neglected tropical diseases, we're all in this together, the Hispaniola Initiative's Beau de Rochars said: "We need to keep talking, keep moving, keep walking together." The French software company TVPaint Developpement is celebrating a major milestone this year: 25 years of animation software creation. Since its debut in 1991 as a software package for Amiga (now thats old school!), TVPaint has gained an international reputation as the premier digital tool for 2D hand-drawn animation. Always adapting to both market and technical evolutions, the TVPaint experience seeks to make the digital animation experience as close to paper as possible. TVPaint Animation is at the core of some of todays finest 2D hand-drawn animation projects, from student films produced at Gobelins and CalArts to theatrical feature films like The Song of the Sea and the soon-to-be-released Ethel and Ernest, and all kinds of movies, TV series, and shorts. To celebrate the companys 25th anniversary, TVPaint Developpement produced a short film, Journey Through Creativity, that premieres today exclusively on Cartoon Brew: The piece was single-handedly designed, animated, and directed by Tevy Dubray, a twenty-two-year-old French-Cambodian animator. Dubrays work came to the attention of TVPaint Developpement when she participated in a summer internship at the company in 2014. Her animation is paired with the music of Louis Warynski (aka Chapelier Fou), an electronic musician from TVPaints hometown of Metz, France. As a gift to users of the software, the majority of the shorts files created in TVPaint Animation 11 will be made available this summer on TVPaints website. And heres a hot tip: the company is exploring ways to develop a program that would fund additional teams of artists to create shorts and projects using their software. TVPaint Developpement is also embarking on new educational partnerships to create video tutorials reaching beyond the technical aspects of the software. Sure, learning how to take advantage of the softwares sophisticated technical features, like its Colors and Textures Generator layer, is essential, but so is learning how to develop ones artistic skills. To achieve that aim, TVPaint has united with top animation talents to offer 2D online animation courses. The first lesson is from veteran Disney animator and Brother Bear co-director Aaron Blaise. In the first 54-minute-long video, Blaise walks viewers through the basic steps of creating drawn animation in TVPaint, from rough animation through timing and lip sync: TVPaint plans to offer sample files from various animation studios that agree to share their work, allowing users to see how professionals all over the world incorporate the software into their production pipelines. If youre still not convinced that TVPaint is the right software package for you, there are numerous ways to learn more. For information on software pricing, and current and future projects using TVPaint, subscribe to their newsletter at http://www.TVPaint.com. To speak with other people using the software, join the active community of users on their discussion boards: http://forum.tvpaint.com And dont hesitate to reach out directly to the company through their contact form: http://www.tvpaint.com/contact-us Opening Datsun has been in the Indian market for over three years now but has not tasted much success both with the Go or the Go+. It is now making a third attempt but this time in the extremely volume heavy A-segment where it will fight the seemingly untouchable Maruti Suzuki Alto 800. Their gladiator in the arena this time is the Redi-GO. Showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo as a concept car, this production version has not strayed too far from the former and may finally be the answer to Datsuns volume woes. We drove the Redigo in the City of Joy a.k.a Kolkata. It is one of Indias oldest metropolitan areas and currently fighting the battle of small roads and many cars; the seemingly perfect combat arena for Datsuns new hatchback to show us its capabilities. Appearance Exterior When you exist in a part of the market where price is king, then you have to get innovative in your pursuit to get the attention of the buyer. This has resulted in some small but rather funky looking vehicles. The Redigo is certainly a decent example of this train of thought as it does manage to stand out thanks to the sharp lines and high stance. This is their first vehicle to sport their Yukan design philosophy. Its face is dominated by the blue logo and chrome hexagonal Datsun grille whose edges point outwards and into the creases that run under the scythe shaped headlamps. Since our car was a top-spec model, it also gets tiny LED DRLs which sit above a contrast coloured pseudo bash plate element. The side is a typical Japanese hatchback thanks to the egg-shaped silhouette, flared wheel arches and flat roof. However, what does manage to stand out is the forward leaning stance and wide crease that run from the front door and merge with the tail lamps in the rear. If the side and face piqued your attention then the rear should have you staring in full concentration. There are multiple elements and all in various colours making this quite a visual. Noticeable elements include the silver bash plate, chrome strip at the base of the boot lid and the boomerang shaped tail lamps. Appearance Interior First things first, the cabin has now moved to a conventional setup as compared to the quirky design of the Go and the Go+. Gone are the three-seater front setup, twist and pull and handbrake and minimalistic dashboard. What you get instead is a conventional handbrake, 2-DIN music system with a digital display. The whole interior has been trimmed out in hard wearing grey plastics. As a cost saving measure, a lot of bits of plastic trim have been left out and this is visible in the front and rear doors and boot section. The cabin is tall, narrow and the seats are high which means that despite the tallboy design a six-footer like me sits high and closer to the roof than I would have been comfortable with. The front seats have a small sliding rail and this combined with the odd positioning of one of the storage spaces on the drivers side makes for a narrow space on the right hand side. However, the view in the front and around the sides is quite good thanks to the high seating and forward sloping design. The rear seat is realistically good for two adults despite the additional seat base space. The 220-litre boot is much smaller as compared to that of the Kwid but can hold about three pieces of airline-sized luggage. It can also be expanded by folding down or completely removing the rear seatback. On the features front, the car that we drove gets front power windows, music system with AUX and USB and an AC which has a large central vent designed to blow air towards passengers at the rear. Datsun has left out central locking from the feature list which is surprising considering that this is now an expected feature in all cars sold today. In terms of practicality and storage, you get nine storage spaces in front but none at the back. There is a drivers side airbag as well as a seat belt for the middle seat in the second row. Performance Drive The Redigo is underpinned by the same CMF-A platform as its French sibling the Renault Kwid. So it gets the same engine and underpinnings. The engine in this case is the 800cc three-cylinder petrol mill that produces 54bhp and 72Nm of torque with power going to the front wheels via a five-speed manual. Twist the key and the engine comes to life with an unbalanced thrum typical of small three-pot petrol engines. You feel the vibrations quite heavily when the car is idling but it smoothens out once you get moving. The light clutch action and relatively smooth gear shifts make this an easy car to drive around at low speeds which, in effect, translates to easy usage in city driving conditions. There are flat spots when you accelerate from low speeds and this means you will be rowing between gears more often than you would like to. Datsun has pegged the Redigos fuel efficiency at 25.17kmpl which is similar to that of the Renault Kwid. The Redigo has from the outset been designed as a city car so much so that even the company calls it an urban cross. This meant most of our test drive took place in an urban area. It has been fitted with high profile tyres and has a 185mm ground clearance. This mean you clear most speed breakers and pot holes without losing too much momentum. We were not impressed by the brakes as they felt wooden and non-progressive in terms of bite and feel. At low speeds the Redigo is a breeze to drive. The overly assisted steering, while devoid of any feedback, makes for easy manoeuvrability at low speeds. This is further assisted by the cars small footprint. Equally impressive is the low speed ride which is pliant and absorbs most bumps and imperfections with ease. Tech Specs Make Datsun Model Redigo Fuel petrol Variant Engine Capacity 793cc Max. Power (bhp@rpm) 54 @ 5678 Max. torque (Nm@rpm) 72 @ 4388 Gears Five-speed Length mm 3429 Width mm 1560 Height mm 1541 Wheelbase mm Fuel Capacity (in litres) 28 Tyre size 155/80 R13 Features Features 2-DIN music system Yes Detachable rear seat back Yes AC Yes 185mm ground clearence Yes Competition All Specs Specifications Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 Tata Nano GenX Datsun Redigo Variant Vxi XT Fuel Petrol petrol petrol Engine Capacity 793cc 624cc 793cc Max. Power (bhp@rpm) 47 @ 6000 37 @ 5500 54 @ 5678 Max. torque (Nm@rpm) 69 @ 3500 51 @ 4000 72 @ 4388 Gears Five Four Five-speed Length mm 3395 3164 3429 Width mm 1490 1750 1560 Height mm 1475 1652 1541 Wheelbase mm 2360 2230 Fuel Capacity (in litres) 35 24 28 Tyre size 145 / 80 R12 135/70 R12 Front 155/80 R13 135/ 65 R12 Rear Conclusion The A-segment is a tough nut to crack, mostly in part due to the existence and massive success of the Alto. Taking on something this far ahead requires a unique approach which in this case is the appearance of the car. Its sharp design and bright colour palette means it will turn quite a few heads where ever you go. Datsun says that it will price the car in the range of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh which will make it more expensive than the Tata Nano but on par with the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 and its sibling the Renault Kwid. The French automakers hatchback has been a major success for it and hopefully this car will bring Datsun the volumes it has been searching for since its relaunch in 2013. Photo Courtesy By : Kapil Angane Datsun redi-GO 3.98 Lakh Onwards Datsun | Datsun redi-GO | Redi-Go Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer A thin, sickly bear recently spotted in the Naramata area has been put down. Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen's Naramata director Karla Kozakevich said conservation officer Jim Beck informed her the bear, which had become habituated to garbage and was not suitable for relocation, had been killed. Zoe Kirk, WildSafeBC community co-ordinator, stated last week that the young bear appeared sickly. "When bears ingest plastic bags, plastics or even glass from unwashed containers, it can stop the digestive process and the bear slowly starves, becomes ill, or both," she said. Last week, there were also reports of a sow and cubs moving along the creek that runs past the school and through the village, but this bear family unit has not caused any conflict. To keep bears away, residents are asked to practice good habits including keeping garbage locked up until day of pick up, cleaning off barbecues and taking down bird feeders and removing all seed. It is also important to keep pet food or any other food source off of decks and the exterior of homes. Bears will even try out gas cans, so make sure containers with fluids are also safely stored away, Kirk said. When new residents move in, it is a neighbourly act to let them know about being bear smart, or provide the new residents address and names to WildSafeBC, so they can follow up with a package of information. Photo: Castanet Staff - File photo School District 23 will have an unexpected $1 million to use for the next school year after $25 million was made available for school districts province-wide Tuesday. The provincial government says the money was freed up by administrative savings that were made by the provinces 60 school districts. This administrative cost-cutting was previously mandated by the province, but the government appears to have changed its mind. In essence theyre giving back to districts what districts had already budgeted to give back to the Ministry, said School District 23 board chair Moyra Baxter. Its obviously welcome news. Baxter says the district was looking at a budget shortfall of $3.2 million for next year, and has had to make substantial cuts to balance their budget. She says they will have to decide where the unexpected money will go. We had to make a lot of cuts, Baxter said. Well talk about what to do with this money and where we should put it in the budget weve got a lot of things to think about. Baxter doesnt know why the province changed their mind on the administrative cuts, but she has some ideas. There has been an awful lot of pressure on the government and Ministry from school trustees, parents, teachers, about this ongoing situation where every year school boards have to make cuts, she said. Whether theyve been listening to those complaints and this is a response to that, I dont know. Funds returned to districts across the province range from $27,000 for the Stikine district in northwestern B.C. to $3.1 million in Surrey. The Central Okanagans School District 23 will have an additional $968,000 to use. The district will have the ability to invest in the classroom priorities of its choosing, said Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission. Students will benefit from the resources supported by these funds. Photo: FortisBC From left: Curt Jansen, Skaha Hills; Dave Eddy, Belledune Homes; Caroline Reid, Interior Health; Mayor Andrew Jakubeit, City of Penticton; Dayle Krahn, Baptist Housing; Jon Steinman, Heddlestone Village; Kyle Nixon, BNA Brewing; Doug Gallagher, Peller Estates; Ryan Martin, Hume Hotel & Spa; Cole Munro, Overwaitea Foods. Energy conservation efforts throughout the community have been recognized by FortisBC. The private utility, based in Kelowna, handed out its Efficiency in Action Awards to local organizations on Tuesday. In all, 10 organizations were recognized for their conservation achievements. Collectively, these organizations have saved enough natural gas to heat close to 150 homes and enough electricity to power close to 340 homes for a year, noted FortisBC. The attention these organizations have paid to energy use in their projects is impressive saving energy at this level requires commitment, careful planning and concrete action, said Roger DallAntonia, executive vice-president of customer service and regulatory affairs at FortisBC. Winemaker and this years industrial award winner, Andrew Peller Limited, earned the industrial award for replacing a large boiler. The company installed three smaller energy-efficient ones to regulate their use to their needs. The company processes about two million cases of wine every year at its Kelowna facility. We estimate the typical life of a boiler is 20 to 30 years," so this is a long-term investment, said Doug Gallagher, director of operations in Western Canada for the winemaker. We all have a role to play in managing our environmental impact for the people who come after us, and projects like this put us on the right track, he said. After six months, the new boilers have saved enough natural gas to heat water for 23 single-family homes for a year. The Overwaitea Group upgraded to energy-efficient refrigeration in Nelson and Penticton and switched over to LED ceiling lights at their Orchard Plaza Kelowna Save-On-Foods store, saving enough electricity to power 82 homes for a year. Other recipients included BNA Brewing, the Baptist Housing Ministries Society, the City of Penticton and the historic Hume Hotel in Nelson. Photo: CTV A Canadian man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of torturing, mutilating and killing a girlfriend whose bloodless body was found in their Southern California apartment last week. Prosecutors say Blake Leibel, 35, could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of 30-year-old Iana Kasian. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office says in a release that they believe Kasian was killed on or between May 23 and 26. U.S. authorities have said Kasian's mother had reported her missing. Deputies discovered her dead body last Thursday after forcing their way through a door that they say Leibel had barricaded with furniture. Authorities allege Kasian was tortured and mutilated before she was slain and that the blood was drained from her body. They say the couple had a child together, but deputies provided no further details about their relationship. The district attorney's office says Leibel faces a total of four charges: murder, mayhem, aggravated mayhem and torture. Prosecutors say he pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday. The National Post has reported that Leibel is the son of Toronto-area businessman Lorne Leibel, the owner of Touchstone Homes. Representatives from Touchstone Homes have declined to confirm the relationship between the suspect and the elder Leibel. The younger Leibel's lawyer declined to comment on the case. Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef said that a week before Kasian's body was found, Leibel was arrested on a sex-assault charge. He was booked May 20 and released later in the day on $100,000 bail, according to jail records. Leibel is being held without bail. He is due back in court June 14. Photo: The Canadian Press Residents of some rural southeastern Texas counties were bracing for more flooding along a river that reached a record high Tuesday as more rain was expected in the coming days. Large swaths of suburban communities southwest of Houston were underwater and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes before the Brazos River reached 54.37 feet in Fort Bend County, just two years after it had run dry in places because of drought. National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Roeseler said the 54.37 feet at Richmond early Friday was not yet the crest and the river was expected to slowly rise even more overnight. An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain expected later this week could keep the Brazos in major flood stage into the weekend. "I'm scared," said Abigail Salazar, standing in knee-deep water outside her home in Richmond, where she was retrieving personal belongings after the city issued a voluntary evacuation advisory. "My kids ask me in the morning, 'Ma, what happened? The water is here.'" During four days of torrential rain last week, at least six people died in floods in Texas. Scott Overpeck, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said that the Brazos will recede in the coming days but that its levels will remain high for up to three weeks, in part because water will need to be released from swollen reservoirs upriver. "There's so much water on the Brazos that it's going to take a long time to drain through the whole river and drain out into the Gulf of Mexico," Overpeck said. Four of the six people killed in flooding were recovered in Washington County, which is between Austin and Houston, County Judge John Brieden said Monday. Lake Somerville, one of the Brazos reservoirs, was "gushing uncontrollably" over the spillway and threatening people downriver, he said. About 40 people were rescued Sunday and Monday from low-lying homes in a flooded neighbourhood of Simonton, a Fort Bend County community of about 800 residents. The county had set up a pumping system to divert the water from the neighbourhood, but it was overpowered by the flooding, county spokeswoman Beth Wolf said. Wolf said any additional rain in the region would be a problem. "The ditches are full, the river's high, there's nowhere else for that water to go," she said. In the Fort Bend County city of Rosenberg, which is next to Richmond, about 150 households were evacuated and city officials were co-ordinating with the county's office of emergency management to have rescue boats in place, city spokeswoman Jenny Pavlovich said. Heavy rains moved across the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Tuesday. In Hood County, southwest of Fort Worth, several roads were washed out and authorities performed about 15 water rescues, including from homes and vehicles, said Sheriff Roger Deeds. He says they were still trying to determine how many homes flooded. Elsewhere, authorities were searching for the body of an 11-year-old boy who fell into a creek in Wichita, Kansas, and is presumed dead. Relatives have identified the boy as Devon Dean Cooley, who disappeared Friday night. Photo: Marshall Rasmussen Watching a loved one die of a debilitating disease and feeling helpless is crippling in itself, which is why a Kelowna man decided that feeling helpless doesnt mean losing hope. Brian Rasmussens father died 10 years ago after battling Parkinsons for many years and soon after his brother Blair was diagnosed at age 44. Blair continues his life with the illness, showing grace, insight, and humour, said Brian of his brother. Now Brian and his son Spencer, two men faced with a disease that targets their family, understand while there is no cure, extended research has allowed for Parkinsons patients to live enriched lives. They aim to raise money for the crucial work of Parkinsons research by kayaking 700 kilometres over five weeks from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island to Ketchikan, Alaska. The father son duo will portage through the Inside Passage, navigating the 100-plus islands and countless islets. While Brians other son Marshall says the journey will be gruelling, the feat is nothing compared to what those touched by Parkinsons experience. It will be hard to do. They will have to pack almost all of their food for the trip as there arent many towns to stop at along the way, explained Marshall. Brian is an avid kayaker in the Okanagan, but son Spencer who lives in Vancouver is not; however, Marshall believes Spencers outdoor experience will get them far. Marshall may not be going on the voyage with his family, but he is helping the cause. As a member of the Craig Thomson Quintet, Marshall has arranged a benefit concert for the Parkinsons Society. His jazz group will be joined by the Bjorn Kriel trio at Streaming Cafe on Friday, June 3, where the two will feature sets of original material. This is something they believe in and support, said Marshall. The fundraising event takes place at 7 p.m. and the cost is $10, or by donation at the door. UPDATE: 3:15 p.m. The pilot is sharing his account of the Tuesday night plane crash. Brent Miskuski says a malfunction of the onboard fuel computer gave him a misreading on the fuel level, causing the plane to run out of fuel. We were getting indications we had at least another hour-and-a-half of fuel, false indications, explains Miskuski. We had a double-engine failure, simultaneously, at 8,500 feet. As darkness was setting in, Miskuski said he had no other option than to try to land the plane immediately. We had to do a nosedive onto a field, says Miskuski. After surveying it, we flew under the power lines, took out the bottom wire, had to quickly pull up to clear an irrigation pipe, and then we used up 1,800 feet of grass, went through a fence and then navigated down the aisle of a Christmas-tree farm, taking out approximately 300 trees. Miskuski says the plane survived the crash very well, considering how they were forced to land, remaining mostly intact. The aircraft is relatively in good shape, but given the cost of repairs it is a total loss. He says he was confident he would land the plane safely. I've got 25 years of flying experience and did a lot of bush flying that attributed to my ability to make a quick decision, says Miskuski. I chose to scare the hell out of the passengers to put it into the dive, because that way I knew I could make the field. I made the dive, levelled out and then made the field. It was terrifying for the passengers, but we were ensured a good landing. I was confident we would make a smooth landing, but I literally had five seconds to make a decision. The plane will now be dismantled and taken out by truck. FortisBC is working to restore service to one customer in Rock Creek. ORIGINAL The spirit of Christmas and a talented pilot are being praised after a group of Kelowna residents survived a terrifying plane crash Tuesday night. The twin-engine plane was flying from Lake Havasu, Ariz., on the way back to Kelowna when the engines cut out just before Big White. Going from 13,000 feet to crashing into trees in 15 seconds ... in the dark, recounts crash survivor Kelly Mulzet. The crash itself was horrific, except we didn't die, that is all I can say. He says the group of six, including the pilot, had taken off from Lake Havasu, landed and fuelled up in Boise, Idaho, and were almost home when both engines cut out. The pilot acted quickly and was able to guide the plane into a field between Beaverdell and Rock Creek that was fortunately home to a Christmas tree farm. We were so lucky, says Mulzet. Both engines quit as we were just coming to the crest of Big White. Thank God we didn't go over the crest. We went back down into the grass and the only thing that saved our lives was that a lady had planted a Christmas tree farm. He says the plane hit the ground hard, heading back into the air, before sliding through the tree farm at more than 200 mph. We took out 1,000 Christmas trees, says Mulzet, still in disbelief. All the Christmas trees were two to three years old, just six feet tall thank god, that is what saved our lives, I am telling ya. He says as the plane began to crash down, they all thought they were going to die. The girls were screaming, we saw the props quit and it was dark. I didn't have a shadow of a doubt that that was it, explains Mulzet. We got so lucky. The lady told us that where we landed is the only place in that area with Christmas trees and we landed right there. If it had been any other trees at bigger size, even one tree of bigger size, we would be dead. Mulzet says they are incredibly fortunate they had a bush pilot with decades of experiences at the helm who made decisions in that moment that saved their lives. He knew exactly what to do, says Mulzet. Once the group was out of the plane and had caught their breath, they followed the sounds of barking dogs to find a local woman's house. The resident took them in and helped them call for help. They crashed at about 9:25 p.m. Tuesday night and eventually made it home to Kelowna, all in one piece, at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. It is just unbelievable, says Mulzet. The craziest thing to happen in my life. While crashing, the plane reportedly struck some wires and a pole, knocking out service to the surrounding area. Castanet is waiting to hear back from FortisBC regarding the service disruption. Castanet has calls into the pilot and the Transportation Safety Board and will update this story as more information becomes available. Photo: Dave Ogilvie A rear-ender collision caused a traffic tie-up on Highway 97 through West Kelowna, Wednesday morning. A one-ton truck, pulling a fifth-wheel trailer loaded with construction material slammed into the back of a compact car at the Butt Road intersection about 11 a.m. The collision closed the southbound lanes until the vehicles could be cleared. The small car received significant damage in the crash. It is believed there were no significant injuries in the collision. Photo: Big White While most people are thinking about summer sports, Big White Mountain Resort wants people to keep winter top of mind. The resorts early bird passes go on sale today and the price is dropping. The most significant cut compared to last year's pricing is to adult passes, dropping by $100 to $629. Prices for youth, child, 65 and older and student passes are also dropping. Its part of the resorts push to make people feel like theyre in the Big White family. The resort noted that season pass holders help keep businesses on the mountain thriving. Photo: Getty Images. RCMP in the Shuswap are urging scuba divers to use the buddy system following an incident Tuesday when emergency crews were called in due to an overdue diver. Police and other emergency resources were called to Eagle Bay shortly after 10 a.m., after the owner of a property scuba diving alone to check out his dock did not surfaced at the expected time. While RCMP and the Chase police vessel were en route the man thankfully surfaced safe and sound. He had just lost track of time, reports Staff Sgt. Scott West, commanding officer of the Salmon Arm detachment. In all sport diving courses, scuba divers are taught to use the buddy system and stay close to one another in case there is an equipment issue, physical issue, or a driver gets trapped or entangled in old ropes and lines, said Scott. It is never a good idea to dive alone. He said police, search and rescue and fire departments do not have divers on standby to perform an under-water rescue. In short, we are not equipped to perform this specialized rescue function and would be relying heavily on the military's search and rescue to dive after someone. Given their response time to our area from Comox any diver who is diving alone would be in serious jeopardy. We as the RCMP would urge all sport divers to use the buddy system and to never dive alone under any circumstances. It is a sport, so let's do it safely. I see that Ian Graham and a grassroots group are strongly opposed to the city hall initiative. These opponents are really a group of unelected mayors and councillors, telling the elected council how they should run the City of West Kelowna. This unelected council, or grassroots group, must come up with their own proposal for a new city hall. They should provide a second location. They should provide a building design. They should provide a contract cost for their proposal. They should provide a building insurance bond for their project. In a referendum, the people of West Kelowna can decide if $10-15 million on the first proposal is their choice, or wait until costs rise to $20-25 million in the future. Another proposal could be setting up a bunch of temporary portables in some gravel pit in West Kelowna. Costs may be $3-5 million dollars. There are probably 10 different proposals for the new city hall. The City Council of West Kelowna has provided a proposal for a city hall in the central area of Westbank at a reasonable cost. They were elected to represent the people of West Kelowna Build it before the costs increase. Ron Ganczar Photo: Google Street View Guests at the Howard Johnson Kelowna did not get a good sleep after they were all evacuated shortly after midnight. Ministry of Transportation crews working on the six-laning project of Highway 97 past Highway 33, struck a gas line at about 10:30 p.m. and alerted FortisBC crews. Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure guests' safety, power to the hotel was temporarily shut off and 12 guests were relocated to the nearby Quality Inn hotel, says Kate Mukasa with the ministry. Power was restored to the hotel and Howard Johnson staff were allowed to return to the property this morning, but FortisBC is still working on restoring gas service. We are aware of the damaged gas line, says Erika Schade, communications with FortisBC. We want to thank everyone for their patience. As always public and employee safety is our top priority and we are working to undertake repairs. Schade says they received notification about the damage to the natural gas line late Tuesday night and arrived on scene shortly after. We are still looking into the cause of the gas-line damage, says Schade. We certainly encourage everyone, including contractors, to call before they dig to obtain information and know the location of varied gas lines. Schade could not say whether the ministry had made the proper calls or not, but did say 99 per cent of all gas line hits are avoidable and less than one per cent of line breaks are due to incorrect mapping information. There is a lot of construction taking place in Kelowna, which is why we do work very closely with the contractor community and have seen a nearly 50 per cent reduction since 2007 in overall damage to gas lines, adds Schade. The ministry says their contractors always work closely with FortisBC and the proper calls were made, but sometimes mistakes are made. Our crews work very closely with FortisBC and they take every precaution, but unfortunately some accidents do happen, says Mukasa. Here are the three easy steps for safe digging: If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,... YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Parliament Speaker of Armenia Galust Sahakyan issued a congratulatory message on the occasion of International Childrens Day. The message reads: Dear children and parents, I congratulate all of you on the occasion of the International Childrens Day. The role and significance of children for the state is the same as for every family. To not value this role and importance, to not contribute to the development will mean being idle for the progress of the country. The states goal is the peaceful and safe childhood of all children, the bright future, and prosperity of all citizens. With the birth of a child the foundation of every household becomes even stronger, the future becomes more visible, and love becomes even more present in the families. The same applies to the state, when each birth means the increase of potential for the state, one more guarantee for the strengths of its foundation, one more solid rock on its rising wall, one more defender of its peace, and one more supporter for that defender. As each and every one of us is the state, and the state is our alls, the fate of each child born in our country, his present and future should concern us all: both state structures and citizens, the protections of rights of every child, accompanying and guiding them and providing opportunities should be the duty of each and every one of us. And all of this should be accompanied by love and warmth, because every child is the future of our country, and a motherland without love and warmth is not a motherland. Once again I congratulate the International Childrens Day, and I extend my best wishes to all children of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and the Diaspora. Let peace and success be the inseparable companions of their destinies. Media Statement For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 31, 2016 Contact: Media Relations, (404) 639-3286 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is part of a coordinated public health response after the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the discovery of the first mcr-1 gene found in bacteria in a human in the United States. CDC is working with DoD, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, local health departments, and others to identify people who have had contact with the patient and take action to prevent local spread. E. coli bacteria carrying the MCR-1 gene was found in a urine sample from a Pennsylvania woman with no recent travel outside of the U.S. The mcr-1 gene makes bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin, which is used as a last-resort drug to treat patients with multi-drug-resistant infections, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). The mcr-1 gene exists on a plasmid, a small piece of DNA that is capable of moving from one bacterium to another, spreading antibiotic resistance among bacterial species. The CDC and federal partners have been hunting for this gene in the U.S. ever since its emergence in China in 2015. Despite some media reports, the Pennsylvania State Health Department investigation has determined that the woman did not have CRE and the bacteria identified is not resistant to all antibiotics (referred to as a pan-resistant infection). The presence of the mcr-1 gene, however, and its ability to share its colistin resistance with other bacteria such as CRE raise the risk that pan-resistant bacteria could develop. The investigation is currently focused on identifying close contacts, including household and healthcare contacts, of the Pennsylvania patient to determine whether any of them may have been at risk for transmission of the bacteria containing the mcr-1 gene. Beginning in fall 2016, CDCs Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network will provide the infrastructure and lab capacity for seven to eight regional labs, and labs in all states and seven major cities/territories, to detect and respond to resistant organisms recovered from human samples . State labs will be able to detect new forms of antibiotic resistanceincluding mutations that allow bacteria to survive the effects of the last-resort drugs like colistinand report these findings to CDC. With this comprehensive lab capacity, state health labs and regional labs that are part of the network will be able to investigate emerging resistance faster and more effectively, generating better data for stronger infection control among patients to prevent and combat future resistance threats. CDC will also provide new resources to state health departments to support their efforts to stop antibiotic-resistant outbreaks and prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens across communities. Consistent with the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, CDC and other government agencies will continue efforts to track, slow and respond to the emergence of antibiotic resistance. For more information on the mcr-1 discovery, see http://www.hhs.gov/blog/2016/05/26/early-detection-new-antibiotic-resistance.html. ### U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. On June 1 President of the Nagorno Karabakh Bako Sahakyan sent a congratulatory message on the International Childrens Day, press service of the NKR Presidential Administration informed Armenpress. The message reads: "Beloved children, Dear parents, I convey sincere congratulations on my own behalf and on behalf of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic authorities on the International Children's Day. Children are our wealth, joy and future. Our entire life changes with their birth, acquiring new meaning and significance. And from this very moment on we bear responsibility for their healthcare, education and upbringing. The NKR authorities do their best to secure peaceful and prosperous life for our children, to make them healthy, happy and carefree. Diverse programs annually implemented in our Republic pursue this aim. Unfortunately, the April Four-Day war has left an indelible mark in the memory of the NKRs little residents. Thus, each of us ought to do everything possible to see laughter and smile, songs and joy on our children's lips, for their life to be filled with the brightest colors and hues. Dear children, I once again congratulate everybody on this wonderful holiday and wish clear blue sky, green-lit and smooth way as well as great success in your entire life". YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday her campaign has been in contact with the campaign of rival Bernie Sanders about unifying the Democratic Party, reports Reuters. Unifying the party will be a central challenge once Democrats choose their nominee, with Clinton heavily favored to win the nomination but facing a protracted battle with Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont In an interview on CNN, Clinton said the contacts are likely to intensify after next week's California primary. "I will certainly do everything I can to unify the Democratic Party. Our campaigns have been reaching out to one another. We will continue to do that," she said. She said both she and Sanders "are going to do everything we can" to prevent Republican candidate Donald Trump from winning the Nov. 8 presidential election. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred to the upcoming discussion over the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the German Bundestag stating that Turkey doesnt have the so-called Armenian Genocide issue, Armenpress reports, Anadolu says. We have nothing to worry over this issue. Currently more than 3 million Turks live in Germany, and our relations are at the highest level. If Germany would go to such a step, it will damage the diplomatic, trade, political and military relations with Turkey. I think that Germany will take into account all these factors, Erdogan threatened. He said Turkish government will observe in detail and give appropriate assessment to the decision made by the German Bundestag. However, I would like to say this decision doesnt impose anything on us from the standpoint of international law, Erdogan stated. The draft resolution of the Armenian Genocide will be discussed in the German Bundestag on June 2. In 2005, Germany's parliament adopted a resolution recognizing the Armenian massacres, deportations and ethnic cleanings. However, in the Bundestags decision, the term Armenian Genocide was avoided, and instead "massacres of Armenians" was used. On April 24, before the Bundestag hearings, Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced that he supports those MPs, who are in favor of calling the mass killings of Armenians Genocide. On April 23, during the ceremony in the Berlin Cathedral dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide, German President Joachim Gauck used the term Genocide in his speech. In March of 2015, the President of the German Parliament Norbert Lammert said: "what happened in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War in front of the whole world, was genocide. And it was not the last genocide of the 20th century. During the session the leaders of various party fractions also came with their pro-Armenian statements admitting what had happened. However, the discussion of the resolution indefinitely postponed. The heated discussion of the Armenian Genocide on February 25 at Bundestag did not terminate with voting in 2016. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson is looking to set up a super PAC to support Donald Trumps presidential campaign, a move that would add financial firepower from one of the most prolific donors of the 2012 cycle, Armenpress reports citing The Wall Street Journal. Creation of the super PAC, which also would support Republicans in key congressional races, hasnt been finalized, according to two people familiar with the talks. But it marks the latest sign that more of the party establishment is coalescing around the New York businessman after a bitter primary fight. Adelson endorsed Trump in early May, saying the election of another Democrat in 2016 would be frightening. Adelson, chairman and chief executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp., is aiming to ensure that his funds be used effectively after his experience in 2012, one of the people said. In that cycle, he spent close to $100 million on Republican causes, supporting one winning and eight losing candidatesincluding former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney. Sheldon Adelsons backing would help Mr. Trump overcome a current financial gap with likely general-election opponent Hillary Clinton. At the end of April, according to campaign-finance reports, the Democratic front-runner had $30 million in the bank, to $2.4 million for Trump, who until recently was largely self-funding his campaign. The latest group would join a cluster of other super PACswhich can raise unlimited funds from groups or individuals but cant coordinate directly with a campaignthat already formed to back Trump. Great America PAC, headed by longtime GOP strategist Ed Rollins, has raised $2 million to date for Donald Trump and recently notched the backing of oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens, media mogul Stanley Hubbard and some major bundlers for Romney and 2008 nominee John McCain. Another group, headed by former Ben Carson campaign staffer Doug Watts, has said it plans to raise $20 million by June, but wont have to disclose its fundraising to the Federal Election Commission until June 20. Real-estate investor Tom Barrackwho hosted a fundraiser for Trumps campaign and the Republican National Committee at his Santa Monica, Calif., home last week that raised $6 millionis also considering starting a pro-Trump super PAC, according to a person familiar with his plans. The person said Barrack would help start the group, but wouldnt run it. We cant stop people from supporting Donald Trump, said Hope Hicks, Trumps spokeswoman. There has been a tremendous outpouring of enthusiasm for Donald Trump as well as a desire to ensure the resources are in place to defeat Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in November. Trump spent the Republican primary railing against super PACs and the donors who gave to them, and accused candidates who accepted their support of being puppets. He has so far refrained from endorsing a super PAC, but called Rollins, a co-chairman of Great America PAC, so tremendous in a recent MSNBC interview. His campaign website also trumpeted news articles about new donors to the group. Trumps rivals in both parties have had allied super PACs whose fundraising operations moved into action as soon as the candidates began their campaigns, if not earlier. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush raised $100 million for his super PAC, largely before he officially entered the Republican primary. The super PAC backing Hillary Clinton raised more than $75 million through the end of April. So far, Mr. Trumps fundraising efforts have largely centered around a joint committee the campaign formed with the Republican National Committee in mid-May. Under the agreement, donors can write checks of as much as $449,400 to the committee, most of which is transferred to the RNC. Through April, Donald Trump raised $14 million for his campaign, on top of $43 million in personal loans. Hillary Clinton raised $213 million in that time period. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christiewho dropped out of the presidential race in February and has since endorsed Trumphas also been involved in the discussions, the person said. Christie now serves as head of Trumps transition team to prepare for the possibility of the presidency, and any role the governor would have in the group would have to be limited. Catholic Family News A Monthly Journal Preserving our Catholic Faith and Heritage Home Latest Archives Subscribe CFN Media - videos Contact Us CFN Bookstore Oltyn Library Services 2017 CFN Daily Blog Originally started as a daily Blog update of news reports on the Papal Conclave and ongoing news on Pope Francis, it is now a general Blog updated daily on traditional Catholic topics Updated Regularly Book mark this page click here Luxury hotels in the historic center for a Catholic family. Only luxury hotels can provide a paradisiacal vacation for a big Catholic family. A high-level vacation for families, children and not only. 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Savannah Luxury Hotels Naples, FL, United States Naples is known for its stunning white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters. Its also home to a wide variety of attractions, including world-class golf courses, vibrant nightlife, and interesting cultural experiences. Here are five places to visit in Naples, Florida: Naples Pier: Stroll along the pier and enjoy panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico. Fifth Avenue South: This popular shopping and dining district is home to eclectic boutiques, award-winning restaurants, and lively bars. The Ritz-Carlton, Naples: This luxurious resort is set on 26 acres of pristine waterfront property and offers superb amenities, including a world-class spa and championship golf course. The Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens: This zoological park is home to more than 700 animals representing 150 species, including flamingos, lemurs, and tigers. 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The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theatre puts on a variety of shows, including "The Legend of the Shepherd of the Hills" and "The Catfish Fry." puts on a variety of shows, including "The Legend of the Shepherd of the Hills" and "The Catfish Fry." Table Rock State Park has fishing, swimming, and hiking trails, as well as a nature center. has fishing, swimming, and hiking trails, as well as a nature center. The Titanic Museum features a half-sized replica of the ship, along with exhibits about the history of the Titanic. features a half-sized replica of the ship, along with exhibits about the history of the Titanic. Branson Landing is a shopping and entertainment complex on the waterfront. There's something for everyone in Branson, Missouri come visit and see for yourself!. Branson Luxury Hotels Panama City Beach, FL, United States The white sand beaches and emerald waters of Panama City Beach, Florida, are a popular tourist destination. The city is home to numerous hotels, resorts, and restaurants, as well as amusement and water parks. Visitors can also enjoy fishing, kayaking, and surfing. Panama City Beach Luxury Hotels Panama City Beach Luxury Resorts Monterey, CA, United States Monterey is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, United States. It stands at the southern end of Monterey Bay, on the Pacific coast. The city is also the home of the Naval Postgraduate School. Monterey is the largest city in the Central Coast region of California. The main attractions in Monterey are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, and the downtown area. Monterey Luxury Hotels Norfolk, VA, United States Norfolk, Virginia is a great place to visit for its historical places and military bases. Some places to visit in Norfolk are the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk Botanical Garden, and the Norfolk Naval Station. Norfolk Luxury Hotels Palm Springs, CA, United States Palm Springs is a vibrant city located in the Coachella Valley and is known for its year-round sunshine, resort atmosphere and Mid-Century Modern architecture. Top places to visit include the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Palm Springs Art Museum, Indian Canyons and Moorten Botanical Garden. For a truly unique experience, be sure to check out the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale the worlds largest vintage furniture and design event. Palm Springs Luxury Hotels Palm Springs Luxury Resorts Palm Springs Luxury Villas Rochester, NY, United States Rochester is a city in western New York State and is the county seat of Monroe County. Rochester is known for its annual festivals, including the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Rochester Fringe Festival, and the Holiday Folk Fair International. Places to visit in Rochester include the George Eastman Museum, the Strong National Museum of Play, the Rochester Museum and Science Center, and the Seneca Park Zoo. Rochester Luxury Hotels Pigeon Forge, TN, United States Visit the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge for a unique experience. This museum is dedicated to the Titanic, one of the most infamous ships in history. Tour the ship and learn about the passengers and crew who were on board. You can even see the actual artifacts recovered from the shipwreck. If you're looking for a little more excitement, head to Dollywood. This amusement park is home to roller coasters, a water park, and plenty of other rides and attractions. Plus, the park is themed around the life and music of Dolly Parton. No trip to Pigeon Forge is complete without a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains. These mountains offer a variety of activities, including hiking, fishing, and horseback riding. Plus, the natural beauty of the area is simply breathtaking. Pigeon Forge Luxury Hotels Jacksonville, FL, United States Jacksonville is less than an hour's drive from the beaches of Amelia Island and St. Augustine, and a little more than two hours from Orlando. The city has a lot to offer visitors, including a riverwalk, museums, and a vibrant arts scene. Jacksonville is also home to the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team. Jacksonville Luxury Hotels Minsk, Belarus Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is a city that has something for everyone. If you're looking for a little history, Minsk has plenty of it, with churches and monuments dating back to the 12th century. If you're looking for a lively nightlife, Minsk has that, too, with plenty of bars, clubs, and restaurants. And if you're looking for a little nature, Minsk has parks and gardens to enjoy. Here are just a few of the places you can visit in Minsk: The Holy Spirit Cathedral, one of the oldest churches in Minsk, is a must-visit for history buffs. The National Library of Belarus is a huge library with more than 18 million items in its collection. The Opera and Ballet Theatre is a beautiful building that hosts performances of both opera and ballet. The Victory Park is a large park with a war memorial, a children's playground, and a lake. And for a little bit of nature in the heart of the city, the Botanical Garden is a great place to relax and take a break from the hustle and bustle of Minsk. Minsk Luxury Hotels Jaipur, India Jaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. It is the capital of the state of Rajasthan and is known for its palaces, forts and temples. Some of the places to visit in Jaipur include the Amber Fort, the City Palace, the Jantar Mantar Observatory and the Hawa Mahal. Jaipur is also a great place to shop for traditional Indian handicrafts. Jaipur Luxury Hotels Chicago, IL, United States Chicago is a city full of culture and history. There are plenty of places to visit, such as the Willis Tower, Buckingham Fountain, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicago is also home to many restaurants and bars, so there is something for everyone. Chicago Luxury Hotels Auckland, New Zealand Auckland is a beautiful city located on the north island of New Zealand. There are many places to visit in Auckland, including the Sky Tower, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the Auckland Domain. The beaches in Auckland are also worth visiting, especially Karekare and Piha. Auckland is a great place to visit, and I highly recommend it!. Auckland Luxury Hotels Auckland Luxury Villas Amsterdam, Netherlands If you're looking for a city that's got it all, Amsterdam should be your go-to destination. From the city's lively and vibrant nightlife to its charming and quiet neighborhoods, Amsterdam has something for everyone. Be sure to check out the Anne Frank Huis, the Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum, as these are some of the most popular attractions in the city. And if you're looking for a little bit of nature, be sure to take a walk or bike ride through Amsterdam's many parks. Amsterdam Luxury Hotels Berlin, Germany There are so many great places to visit in Berlin that it can be hard to know where to start. From the iconic Brandenburg Gate to the fascinating Reichstag Building, there's something for everyone in this vibrant city. If you're looking for a bit of history, make sure to check out the Berlin Wall Memorial or the DDR Museum. And for those looking for a bit more fun, there's always the Alexanderplatz Christmas Market or the Zoologischer Garten. No matter what your interests, Berlin is a city you won't want to miss. Berlin Luxury Hotels Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok is a city of contrasts with its gleaming temples and skyscrapers, chaotic markets and tranquil canals. While it's a popular tourist destination, Bangkok is a city that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages. Some of the top places to visit in Bangkok include the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, the floating markets and the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Bangkok Luxury Hotels Bangkok Luxury Resorts Bangkok Luxury Villas Bruges, Belgium Bruges is a city in Belgium that is worth visiting. It is full of medieval charm and there are a lot of things to see and do. Some of the places to visit include the Markt, the Belfry, and the Begijnhof. Bruges Luxury Hotels Brussels, Belgium Brussels is a city in Belgium that is best known for its chocolate, waffles, and beer. But there is much more to see and do in Brussels than just indulge in the local cuisine. There are a number of interesting historical landmarks to visit, such as the Grand Place and the Atomium, as well as a variety of parks and gardens. And, of course, Brussels is also a great city to explore on foot. Brussels Luxury Hotels Budapest, Hungary Budapest, Hungary's capital, is a city of thermal baths and medival, baroque and art nouveau architecture. Crowded with tourists, the city is bisected by the Danube River into the hilly Buda and the more developed and flat Pest. Among the main places of interest are the neo-Gothic Parliament, the Chain Bridge linking Buda and Pest, the Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion on the Buda bank, and the State Opera House and Heroes' Square on the Pest side. Budapest Luxury Hotels Playa del Carmen, Mexico Home to some of the best beaches in Mexico, Playa del Carmen is a favorite tourist destination for visitors from all over the world. With its lively nightlife, gorgeous coastline and ample shopping opportunities, there's something for everyone in this tropical paradise. Don't miss the opportunity to visit some of the area's most popular attractions, such as the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum and Coba, or the eco-friendly Turtle Beach. With its friendly people, delicious food and stunning scenery, Playa del Carmen is a place you'll never want to leave. Playa del Carmen Luxury Hotels Playa del Carmen Luxury Resorts Playa del Carmen Luxury Villas Denver, CO, United States Denver is a great city for visitors. There are so many places to see and things to do. Some of the top places to visit include the 16th Street Mall, the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Denver Art Museum, and the Colorado State Capitol. There are also plenty of great restaurants and shops to explore. Denver is definitely a city worth visiting!. Denver Luxury Hotels Dublin, Ireland Dublin is a city located in Ireland. It's a city full of culture, with plenty of places to visit. Some popular tourist spots are the Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College, and the Dublin Castle. There are also plenty of pubs and restaurants to discover. Dublin Luxury Hotels Dusseldorf, Germany Dusseldorf, Germany is a city with many different places to visit. The city has a mix of old and new buildings, and a variety of activities to do. The best places to visit in Dusseldorf are the Konigsallee, the Rhine Tower, and the Oktoberfest. The Konigsallee is an open-air shopping mall that has many high-end stores. The Rhine Tower is the tallest building in the city and offers great views of Dusseldorf. The Oktoberfest is a week-long festival that celebrates German culture and food. Dusseldorf Luxury Hotels Edinburgh, United Kingdom Edinburgh, Scotland is a beautiful city to visit. The architecture is very old and unique, and there are plenty of historical places to visit, like Edinburgh Castle. There are also plenty of parks and gardens, and lots of shops and restaurants. Edinburgh Luxury Hotels Rome, Italy Rome is a city rich in history and filled with beautiful places to visit. Make sure to stop by the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. Also be sure to visit St. Peters Basilica and the Sistine Chapel while in Rome. If youre looking for a little more nature in your trip, head to the Villa Borghese gardens or the Janiculum Hill for some wonderful views of the city. And of course, no trip to Rome is complete without a gelato!. Rome Luxury Hotels Rome Luxury Villas New York, NY, United States There are many amazing places to visit in New York State. Some of my favorites are the Niagara Falls, the Adirondack Mountains, and the Finger Lakes. If you're looking for a city break, New York City is definitely worth a visit. There's endless things to see and do, from touring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to visiting world-famous museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. No matter what your interests are, you'll be able to find something to enjoy in New York State. New York Luxury Hotels New York Luxury Villas London, United Kingdom London is a city rich in history and full of amazing places to visit. Some of my favorite places are Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. There is so much to see and do in London, you could spend weeks here and never run out of things to do. If you're looking for a city full of culture and history, London is the place for you. London Luxury Hotels London Luxury Cottages Madrid, Spain Madrid is one of the most beautiful and culturally rich cities in the world. From the Royal Palace to the Prado Museum, theres plenty to see and do in Madrid. If youre looking for a little bit of nature, Madrid has plenty of parks, like the Buen Retiro Park, to relax in. And dont forget to try some of the delicious tapas and wine while youre in town. Madrid Luxury Hotels Memphis, TN, United States The birthplace of rock 'n' roll, Memphis is a city rich in history and culture. From Graceland to Beale Street, there are plenty of places to visit in Memphis. Be sure to check out Sun Studio, where rock 'n' roll was born, and the National Civil Rights Museum, which tells the story of the African-American civil rights movement. Memphis is also home to some amazing food, so be sure to try some of the city's famous barbecue and soul food. Memphis Luxury Hotels Miami Beach, FL, United States There is much to explore in Miami Beach, from the famous Art Deco district to the vast beaches and crystal-clear waters. Outdoor enthusiasts will love the opportunities for fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding, while history buffs can explore the ancient burial mounds at Miami Beach. Shoppers and foodies will find plenty to keep them busy, with vibrant neighborhoods like Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive offering unique boutiques and award-winning restaurants. And of course, no trip to Miami Beach is complete without a visit to world-famous South Beach. Miami Beach Luxury Hotels Miami Beach Luxury Resorts New Orleans, LA, United States You can't visit New Orleans without trying some of the local food. Beignets, Po' Boys, and gumbo are just a few of the must-try dishes. While you're in town, be sure to check out the French Quarter, Jackson Square, and St. Louis Cathedral. If you're looking for some nightlife, Bourbon Street is the place to be. And, of course, no trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to Mardi Gras!. New Orleans Luxury Hotels Milan, Italy Milan is a city located in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is a popular tourist destination because of its historical and artistic heritage. Some of the places you should visit while in Milan are the Duomo, La Scala, and Castello Sforzesco. Milan Luxury Hotels Naples, Italy Naples is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in Italy. There are countless places to visit, such as the Royal Palace, the Museum of San Martino, and the Church of Gesu Nuovo. Naples is also home to excellent shopping and dining options. Be sure to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the city's many cafes and take a stroll through the picturesque streets. Naples Luxury Hotels Paris, France Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It's home to iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum, as well as a thriving nightlife and restaurant scene. If you're looking to explore all that Paris has to offer, here are some of the top places to visit: The Eiffel Tower: This iconic landmark is a must-see in Paris. Climb to the top for stunning views of the city, or take a ride on the elevator to the bottom for a closer look at the structure. The Louvre Museum: This world-famous museum is home to some of the most famous works of art in the world, including the Mona Lisa. The Notre Dame Cathedral: This beautiful cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks in Paris. Make sure to climb to the top for some amazing views of the city. The Champs-Elysees: This famous avenue is a popular destination for shopping and dining. Be sure to wander down the street and take in all the sights and sounds. The Arc de Triomphe: This towering arch is another iconic landmark in Paris. Climb to the top for some amazing views of the city. Paris Luxury Hotels Paris Luxury Villas Prague, Czech Republic Prague is a city rich in history and culture. There are plenty of places to visit, including the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, and the Old Town Square. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars to enjoy, and the nightlife is vibrant. Prague is a truly unique city and a must-visit for anyone traveling to the Czech Republic. Prague Luxury Hotels Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Located on the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana is known for its beautiful beaches and turquoise waters. This paradise is a favorite destination for travelers looking for a Caribbean getaway. Punta Cana is home to a wide variety of resorts and activities, from enjoying the sand and surf to golfing, spas, and shopping. Nature lovers can also explore the areas jungles, caves, and waterfalls. Punta Cana Luxury Hotels Punta Cana Luxury Resorts Punta Cana Luxury Villas Marbella, Spain If you're looking for an idyllic and luxurious Spanish escape, look no further than Marbella. Located on the country's Costa del Sol, Marbella is home to stunning beaches, top-notch resorts, world-class golfing, and much more. A visit to Marbella is the perfect way to experience all that Spain has to offer. Marbella Luxury Hotels Marbella Luxury Villas Marrakesh, Morocco Marrakesh is a city in Morocco that is full of culture and history. There are several places to visit in Marrakesh, including the Palace of the Bahia, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, and the Saadian Tombs. The souks (markets) are also a must-see, where you can find everything from souvenirs to spices to traditional clothing. Be sure to enjoy a meal in one of the many restaurants or cafes in Marrakesh; the food is delicious and the atmosphere is always lively. Marrakesh is a wonderful city to explore and definitely worth a visit!. Marrakesh Luxury Hotels San Francisco, CA, United States San Francisco is a popular tourist destination, and for good reason. There are plenty of things to see and do in this vibrant city. Here are some of the top places to visit: 1. Fisherman's Wharf: This neighborhood is home to a variety of shops and restaurants, as well as a popular pier where you can enjoy views of the bay. 2. The Golden Gate Bridge: This iconic bridge is a must-see for any visitor to San Francisco. 3. Alcatraz Island: This former federal prison is now a popular tourist attraction. It's a must-see for fans of history and crime dramas. 4. Chinatown: This colorful neighborhood is home to some of the best food in San Francisco. Be sure to check out the Dragon Gate entrance. 5. The Mission District: This trendy neighborhood is home to hip restaurants, bars, and art galleries. San Francisco Luxury Hotels Moscow, Russia Moscow, Russia is a beautiful city with plenty of places to visit. Some of the most popular tourist attractions are the Kremlin, Red Square, and Saint Basil's Cathedral. Other great places to see include the Bolshoi Theatre, Gorky Park, and the Tretyakov Gallery. There are also many churches and other historical buildings to explore. Moscow is a lively city with a lot of culture and nightlife. There is something for everyone to enjoy in Moscow. Moscow Luxury Hotels Venice, Italy Venice is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The city is built on a lagoon in northeast Italy and is known for its canals and gondolas. There are many places to visit in Venice, including the Grand Canal, St. Marks Square, and the Rialto Bridge. Venice is also home to many museums, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Venice Luxury Hotels Vienna, Austria Vienna, Austria is a city with a long and rich history. There are many places to visit in Vienna, including the Hofburg Palace, the Ringstrasse, and St. Stephen's Cathedral. Vienna is also home to some of the world's best shopping, including the Karntner Strasse and the Graben. Finally, no visit to Vienna is complete without experiencing the city's world-famous nightlife. Vienna Luxury Hotels Zurich, Switzerland Zurich is a marvelous city located in the heart of Switzerland. It is a city that has something to offer for everyone. From amazing restaurants and beautiful architecture to exciting nightlife and gorgeous parks, Zurich has something for everyone. Some of the most popular places to visit in Zurich include the Bahnhofstrasse, which is the city's most famous shopping street, the Lindenhof, which is a beautiful park with amazing views of the city, and Grossmunster, which is a stunning Romanesque church. Zurich is also home to some of the best museums in the world, including the famed Museum of Art and the Swiss National Museum. With its mix of old-world charm and modern amenities, Zurich is a city that is definitely worth exploring. Zurich Luxury Hotels Acapulco, Mexico If you're looking for a Mexican vacation spot with plenty of history and culture to explore, Acapulco is a great option. From the archeological wonders of the ancient city to the stunning coastal views, there's something for everyone in Acapulco. Plus, with its temperate climate, it's a great escape from colder winter weather. Acapulco Luxury Hotels Acapulco Luxury Resorts Acapulco Luxury Villas Nashville, TN, United States One of the United States' most interesting places to visit is Nashville, Tennessee. There's plenty to see and do there, from the Grand Ole Opry to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Music is a big part of the city's history and culture, so be sure to catch a show while you're in town. Other popular attractions include the Ryman Auditorium, the Parthenon, and the Jack Daniel's Distillery. Nashville is also a great place to eat, with a wide variety of restaurants serving up everything from barbecue to Mexican food. So if you're looking for an exciting and diverse city to visit, be sure to add Nashville to your list. Nashville Luxury Hotels Nashville Luxury Villas Atlanta, GA, United States What's not to love about Atlanta? From the iconic Georgia Aquarium to the World of Coke, from the Fox Theatre to Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta offers a wealth of destinations for tourists. Sports fans will want to check out the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and history buffs will enjoy the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Braves fans can take a tour of SunTrust Park, and shoppers will enjoy the many boutiques and malls in the city. There's also a great restaurant scene in Atlanta, and music lovers will want to check out the many venues offering live music. Whether you're looking for a fun family vacation spot or a place to explore on your own, Atlanta is a great choice!. Atlanta Luxury Hotels Miami, FL, United States The Magic City is a top tourist destination for a reasonthere are endless things to do in Miami! From exploring the trendy neighborhoods and dazzling beaches to soaking up the Latin culture and nightlife, Miami is jam-packed with amazing places to visit. Here are a few of our favorites: 1. Wynwood Walls: This outdoor art exhibit is a must-see for any art lover. The colorful murals are awe-inspiring and definitely Instagram-worthy. 2. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: This estate is dripping with luxury and opulence, from the grandiose architecture to the expansive gardens. It's the perfect place for a day of relaxation. 3. South Beach: This world-famous beach is a must-visit for any sun-seeker. The crystal-clear water and soft sand make for the perfect day-long beach getaway. 4. Little Havana: Experience Cuban culture at its best in Little Havana. From delicious food to lively music and dance, there's something for everyone in this vibrant district. 5. Art Deco District: This district is home to Miami's most iconic architecture. Take a stroll down the charming streets and admire the colorful buildings that make Miami so unique. Miami Luxury Hotels Miami Luxury Villas Tokyo, Japan Tokyo is a must-see destination in Japan. There are endless places to explore in this city - temples, shrines, gardens, and more. The Shinjuku district is a great place to start, with its neon-lit streets and myriad shops and restaurants. For a taste of traditional Japan, visit the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa or the Imperial Palace. Nature lovers will enjoy the Hamarikyu Gardens or the Hama-rikyu Teien Garden. And for a unique experience, take a trip to Mount Fuji. Tokyo Luxury Hotels Tokyo Luxury Villas Buenos Aires, Argentina There are plenty of places to visit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some popular tourist destinations include the obelisk, the Casa Rosada, and the Puerto Madero district. Every barrio (neighborhood) has its own unique culture and flavor. San Telmo, La Boca, and Palermo are some of the most popular barrios. There are also many parks and plazas, such as Plaza de Mayo and Plaza de la Republica, that are worth checking out. Buenos Aires Luxury Hotels Hamburg, Germany One of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany is Hamburg. From the lively and colorful harbor district to the grandiose City Hall, there is plenty to see and do in Hamburg. Some of the other popular places to visit include the Reeperbahn district with its pubs and nightlife, the Planten un Blomen botanical gardens, and the architecturally stunning Rathausmarkt square. Hamburg Luxury Hotels Lisbon, Portugal The capital of Portugal, Lisbon is a city of fascinating contrasts. From its coastal location, visitors can enjoy stunning ocean views, while its hilly, narrow streets are home to a maze of charming traditional homes and lively nightlife. A city of 7 hills, Lisbon is a bustling metropolis with something for everyone. Here are some of the top places to visit: The Belem Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of Lisbons most iconic landmarks. This 16th-century fortress and lighthouse is a must-see for visitors. The Alfama district, with its winding streets and tile-roofed homes, is the oldest district in Lisbon. This is the perfect place to get lost and explore the citys history. The Lisbon Zoo is a great place to enjoy a day out with the family, with over 2,000 animals from around the world. The Christ the King statue, located atop a hill in the suburb of Almada, offers impressive views of Lisbon and the river Tagus. The Lisbon Oceanarium, located in the Parque das Nacoes district, is home to more than 12,000 marine creatures and is one of the largest aquariums in Europe. Lisbon Luxury Hotels Lisbon Luxury Villas Malaga, Spain Malaga is an attractive seaside city in southern Spain with a long history. There are many places to visit in Malaga, including the Gibralfaro Castle, the Alcazaba fortress, and the Malaga Cathedral. Malaga is also home to a variety of museums, including the Picasso Museum. The city is well known for its beaches, and there are many delightful places to relax and enjoy the sun and the sea. Malaga Luxury Hotels Malaga Luxury Villas Munich, Germany When planning a vacation to Munich, Germany, be sure to include these top places to visit: The Marienplatz is a must-see square in the city center, featuring a beautiful Glockenspiel show and the Old and New Town Halls. The Englisher Garten, Europes largest city park, is a great place for a relaxing stroll or a picnic. OlympiaPark is home to the famous 1972 Olympic Stadium as well as a huge amusement park. The Frauenkirche is a stunning church in the old town with a Glockenspiel of its own. Beer lovers will want to visit the Hofbrauhaus, the worlds most famous beer hall. For a bit of history and culture, check out the LudwigMaximilians-University and the Deutsches Museum. There is so much to see and do in Munich these are just a few highlights!. Munich Luxury Hotels Granada, Spain Granada is a city in southern Spain that is known for its Moorish architecture and history. The city is home to the Alhambra, a palace and fortress that was constructed in the late 1300s. Visitors can also enjoy the citys many churches, including the Cathedral of Granada. Granada is also a convenient base for exploring the other cities and towns in Andalusia. Granada Luxury Hotels Bucharest, Romania Bucharest is a city full of history and culture. There are many places to visit, such as the Palace of Parliament, which is the world's largest civilian building. Other places to visit include the old city center, which is full of charming streets and buildings, and the Botanical Garden, which is the largest botanical garden in Romania. Bucharest Luxury Hotels Bologna, Italy Bologna, Italy is a beautiful city with plenty of places to visit. Some popular tourist destinations include the Piazza Maggiore, the Tower of Asinelli, and the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. There are also plenty of museums and churches to explore, and the city is full of charming restaurants and cafes. Bologna is an excellent destination for a vacation, and there is something for everyone to enjoy in this amazing city. Bologna Luxury Hotels Porto, Portugal Porto is a port city in Portugal that is well known for its wine. It's also a city with a long and rich history. There are many places to visit in Porto, including the old city center, the Dom Luis I Bridge, and the Clerigos Tower. Porto is also home to the famous Port wine caves, which are a must-visit for wine lovers. Porto Luxury Hotels Cologne, Germany Cologne, located on the Rhine River in western Germany, is a city well worth visiting. The city has a long and rich history, dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. Some of the city's most popular tourist attractions include the Cologne Cathedral, Hohenzollern Bridge, and the RheinEnergieStadion. Additionally, Cologne is home to a wide variety of museums, shops, and restaurants. In fact, the city has been ranked as one of the best places to live in Germany. So, if you're looking for a great European city to visit, be sure to add Cologne to your list. Cologne Luxury Hotels Istanbul, Turkey If you're looking for an exotic and affordable vacation destination, look no further than Istanbul, Turkey. Filled with historical places to visit and bargains to be found, Istanbul offers something for everyone. Be sure to visit the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque while you're there. Don't forget to bargain for the best prices when shopping in the bazaars, and enjoy some delicious Turkish cuisine while you're at it. Istanbul is sure to leave you with a lasting impression. Istanbul Luxury Hotels Istanbul Luxury Villas Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai is a fascinating and exotic city that offers visitors a mix of traditional Middle Eastern culture and modern, cosmopolitan life. There are plenty of places to visit in Dubai, from the towering skyscrapers of Downtown Dubai to the luxury shopping malls and luxurious hotels of the Palm Jumeirah. Don't miss a chance to experience an Arabian night out on an epic dhow cruise, or take a trip out into the Arabian Desert to see the stunning sand dunes. Dubai Luxury Hotels Dubai Luxury Resorts Dubai Luxury Villas Antwerp, Belgium Antwerp is a city located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital of the province of Antwerp and has a population of over half a million people. Antwerp is a popular tourist destination due to its many historical buildings, museums, and art galleries. Some of the most popular places to visit in Antwerp are the Cathedral of Our Lady, the City Hall, the Rubenshuis, and the Antwerp Zoo. Antwerp Luxury Hotels Lyon, France Lyon is a beautiful city in the south of France that is full of culture and places to visit. Some of the most popular places to visit in Lyon are the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere, the Place Bellecour, and the Vieux Lyon. The Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere is a beautiful cathedral that is a must-see when visiting Lyon. The Place Bellecour is a large square in the heart of Lyon that is full of restaurants and cafes. The Vieux Lyon is a district in Lyon that is full of old buildings and is a great place to wander around and take in the sights. Lyon Luxury Hotels Athens, Greece If you find yourself in Athens, there are definitely some spots you won't want to miss. The Acropolis, Parthenon, and Olympic Stadium are all essential stops, but there are plenty of others, too. If you're looking for a bit of history, the National Archaeological Museum is a must-see, while nature lovers will enjoy a visit to the botanical gardens. If you're looking to relax, take a walk along the beach in Glyfada or head to the Plaka district for a charming and picturesque setting. No matter what you're interested in, Athens has something for you. Athens Luxury Hotels Athens Luxury Villas Helsinki, Finland While in Helsinki, make sure to visit these popular tourist destinations: The Senate Square and Lutheran Cathedral The Sibelius Monument Ateneum Art Museum Market Square Helsinki Zoo. Helsinki Luxury Hotels Vilnius, Lithuania The capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, is a picturesque city with a rich history. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is full of charming churches, narrow streets, and pretty squares. There are also lots of museums and other places of interest to visit, including the Hill of Crosses, Gediminas Tower, and the Presidential Palace. Vilnius is a great city to explore on foot, and there are plenty of cafes, restaurants, and bars to enjoy in the evening. Vilnius Luxury Hotels Reykjavik, Iceland A city of remote beauty, Reykjavik is teeming with interesting places to visit. One of the worlds most northern capitals, Reykjavik offers stunning landscapes and a wealth of cultural experiences. From the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church to the popular Golden Circle tour, theres plenty to see and do in Reykjavik. Be sure to check out the citys lively nightlife scene, too you wont be disappointed!. Reykjavik Luxury Hotels Glasgow, United Kingdom Some of the most popular places to visit in Glasgow include the Gallery of Modern Art, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Riverside Museum, and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. There are also many wonderful parks and gardens to explore, including the Botanic Gardens and Glasgow Green. For those interested in history and architecture, there are many fascinating old buildings to see, such as the Glasgow Cathedral and the University of Glasgow. And for those looking for a lively nightlife, Glasgow has no shortage of pubs, clubs, and restaurants. Glasgow Luxury Hotels Los Angeles, CA, United States As the birthplace of Hollywood and home to some of the world's most recognisable landmarks, there's no shortage of places to visit in Los Angeles. Start by exploring the city's iconic neighbourhoods like Beverly Hills and Hollywood, then venture out to attractions like the Griffith Observatory, Venice Beach and Disneyland. And don't forget to savour the city's world-famous cultural scene, with its abundance of museums, theatres and restaurants. Los Angeles Luxury Hotels Los Angeles Luxury Villas San Diego, CA, United States San Diego is a city located in California and is a major tourist destination. One of the main reasons people visit the city is for its many beaches. Coronado Beach, Mission Beach, and Pacific Beach are some of the most popular and are all within close proximity to the city center. Other attractions in San Diego include the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego, and the USS Midway Museum. Restaurants, bars, and shopping can be found throughout the city, and world-renowned museums, like the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, are also located in San Diego. San Diego Luxury Hotels San Diego Luxury Resorts San Diego Luxury Villas Washington, DC, United States Washington, D.C. is a city full of history and places to visit. Some popular places to visit are the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the Smithsonian. D.C. is also home to a number of monuments and memorials, like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial. There are also a number of museums in D.C., like the American History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum. Washington Luxury Hotels Cancun, Mexico Cancun is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Aside from its beautiful beaches, there are plenty of places to visit and things to do in Cancun. Some of the most popular attractions include the ancient ruins of Chichen Itza, the eco-park Xcaret, and the nightclubs and bars in the resort district. Cancun Luxury Hotels Cancun Luxury Resorts Cancun Luxury Villas Virginia Beach, VA, United States Virginia Beach is one of the top tourist destinations on the East Coast. From the Virginia Beach Boardwalk to the miles of sandy beaches, there's something for everyone to enjoy. There are also plenty of restaurants, shops, and other attractions to keep visitors busy. Some of the most popular places to visit in Virginia Beach include: The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center : This aquarium is home to more than 20,000 animals, including sharks, dolphins, and rays. : This aquarium is home to more than 20,000 animals, including sharks, dolphins, and rays. The Virginia Beach Boardwalk: This 3.5-mile boardwalk is one of the most popular attractions in Virginia Beach. It features a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and amusements. This 3.5-mile boardwalk is one of the most popular attractions in Virginia Beach. It features a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and amusements. First Landing State Park: This park offers miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as a beachfront area for swimming and sunbathing. This park offers miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as a beachfront area for swimming and sunbathing. Cape Henry Lighthouse: This lighthouse is one of the oldest in the country and offers stunning views of the Chesapeake Bay. There are plenty of other things to do in Virginia Beach, including dolphin and whale watching tours, kayaking, and golfing. Whether you're looking for a fun family vacation or a romantic getaway, Virginia Beach is sure to please. Virginia Beach Luxury Hotels Virginia Beach Luxury Resorts Beijing, China If you're looking for an amazing cultural experience, be sure to add Beijing, China to your travel bucket list! With beautiful temples, charming hutongs (traditional alleyways), and a lively food scene, there's something for everyone in this bustling city. Plus, Beijing is home to some of the most iconic attractions in China, like the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. So if you're looking for an unforgettable East Asian adventure, be sure to add Beijing to your list!. Beijing Luxury Hotels Seoul, South Korea Seoul is a metropolitan city that is home to over 10 million people. It is a city full of culture, history, and a vibrant nightlife. There are plenty of places to visit in Seoul, including the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace, and N Seoul Tower. The Jeongdongne district is a must-see for anyone interested in art and culture, and the Itaewon district is a great place to go for a night on the town. Seoul Luxury Hotels South Lake Tahoe, CA, United States Known for its dramatic lake and mountain scenery, South Lake Tahoe offers visitors plenty of places to visit and things to do. Some of the most popular attractions include floating down the river on a tube, hiking the trails in the summer and skiing or snowboarding the slopes in the winter. The city also has a variety of restaurants and nightlife options, as well as casinos for those looking to try their luck. South Lake Tahoe Luxury Hotels South Lake Tahoe Luxury Resorts Daytona Beach, FL, United States Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It is approximately 40 miles northeast of Orlando, and 85 miles southeast of Jacksonville. The city is known as "The World's Most Famous Beach." Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Fun Coast region of Florida. The Daytona Beach area is a popular tourist destination. It is well known for its beaches, sports events, and motorsports. Daytona Beach was the birthplace of NASCAR and home to its first track, Daytona International Speedway. Dayton Beach also features a large number of tourist-oriented businesses, such as motels, restaurants, and bars. Daytona Beach Luxury Hotels Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The coastline of Rio de Janeiro is breathtaking, and the views from Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain are unforgettable. Rio's world-famous beaches are the perfect place to relax and enjoy the sun and the surf. The city's rich culture and history can be experienced in its many museums and in the lively nightlife. Rio is also a great place to shop for souvenirs. Rio de Janeiro Luxury Hotels Rio de Janeiro Luxury Villas Jaco, Costa Rica Jaco is a town on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. It's about an hour drive from San Jose and is a popular spot for surfers, sunbathers, and tourists. There are a number of beaches in the area, as well as restaurants, bars, and hotels. If you're looking for a place to relax and enjoy the Costa Rican sun and beaches, Jaco is a great option. Jaco Luxury Hotels Oslo, Norway Oslo, Norway is a city with plenty of places to visit. You can find the peace and tranquility of nature parks and green spaces, experience the city's vibrant nightlife, or take in the historical and cultural sights. Here are a few of the top places to visit in Oslo: The Royal Palace: Oslo's Royal Palace is the official residence of Norway's king and queen. The palace is open to the public year-round, and offers a glimpse into the lives of the royal family. Oslo's Royal Palace is the official residence of Norway's king and queen. The palace is open to the public year-round, and offers a glimpse into the lives of the royal family. Vigeland Park: Considered one of Oslo's most popular tourist destinations, Vigeland Park is home to over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. The park is a great place to spend a sunny day outdoors. Considered one of Oslo's most popular tourist destinations, Vigeland Park is home to over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. The park is a great place to spend a sunny day outdoors. The Maritime Museum: This museum is home to a variety of exhibits on Norway's maritime history. Visitors can explore everything from Viking ships to modern submarines. This museum is home to a variety of exhibits on Norway's maritime history. Visitors can explore everything from Viking ships to modern submarines. The National Gallery: The National Gallery is Norway's largest art museum, and home to a vast collection of paintings and sculptures from the country's most famous artists. The National Gallery is Norway's largest art museum, and home to a vast collection of paintings and sculptures from the country's most famous artists. Aker Brygge: Aker Brygge is a popular waterfront district in Oslo, home to a variety of bars, restaurants, and shops. The area is a great place to people watch and enjoy the view of the Oslo Fjord. Oslo Luxury Hotels Lima, Peru If you're looking for a city that's bursting with culture and flavor, Lima, Peru is the place for you! This vibrant destination is home to some of the most amazing places to visit in all of South America. From ancient ruins to lush rainforests, there's something for everyone in Lima. Here are just a few of the must-see attractions in this amazing city: The Larco Museum is one of Lima's top tourist destinations. This incredible museum is home to one of the largest collections of pre-Columbian art in the world. The Historic Center of Lima is a must-see for any history lover. This vibrant area is home to some of the oldest architecture in Lima, including the iconic San Francisco Monastery. If you're looking for a little bit of jungle in the city, head to the Parque de la Reserva. This lush park is home to beautiful gardens, a zoo, and even a butterfly farm! No trip to Lima would be complete without a visit to Machu Picchu. This ancient Inca citadel is one of the most iconic sites in all of South America. Lima Luxury Hotels Ankara, Turkey Ankara is the cultural and political center of Turkey. The city is home to many museums, including the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, and is a popular destination for tourists. The Citadel, the Ataturk Mausoleum, and the War of Independence Museum are all popular tourist destinations in Ankara. The city is also home to a vibrant nightlife and is a popular destination for students. Ankara Luxury Hotels Birmingham, United Kingdom There are plenty of great places to visit in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Some of the most popular places to go include the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the Black Country Living Museum. These places are all great for tourists, as they offer a variety of attractions, including beautiful gardens, interesting art, and a recreation of an old-fashioned town. Additionally, there are plenty of other great places to visit in Birmingham, such as the Jewellery Quarter and the German Christmas Market. Birmingham Luxury Hotels York, United Kingdom With a rich history that spans back over 1,000 years, York is a must-visit destination in the United Kingdom. Explore the city's medieval architecture and narrow cobblestone streets, or enjoy a leisurely walk along the River Ouse. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of cultural experiences, such as the York Minster cathedral, the Jorvik Viking Centre, and the National Railway Museum. There are also plenty of shops and restaurants to enjoy in York. York Luxury Hotels Inverness, United Kingdom Inverness, Scotland is a must-see destination on any traveler's list. Filled with rolling green hills, historical sites, and plenty of outdoor activities, there's something for everyone in this charming town. Start by exploring the city center, which is home to a variety of shops and restaurants. Make sure to check out the Inverness Castle, which offers commanding views of the area, and the Inverness Cathedral, a beautiful example of medieval architecture. Outside of the city center, there are plenty of other attractions to explore. The Loch Ness Monster is said to make its home in the loch here, and visitors can take boat tours to hunt for the mythical creature. If you're looking for a more active adventure, take a hike in the hills or go fishing on the loch. No matter what you choose to do, Inverness is a beautiful and welcoming town that is sure to charm you. Inverness Luxury Hotels Marseille, France The Vieux Port (Old Harbor) is the oldest port in France. It is a beautiful place to visit with its sailboats, restaurants, and cafes. The Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica is also worth a visit. It offers stunning views of the city. If you're looking for a more lively atmosphere, head to the La Canebiere. It's a wide avenue with plenty of shops and restaurants. Marseille Luxury Hotels Marseille Luxury Villas Honolulu, HI, United States Honolulu is a city located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, United States. It is the most populous city in the state of Hawaii and the county seat of the City and County of Honolulu. Honolulu is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world and is located in Honolulu. Other places to visit in Honolulu include Diamond Head, the USS Arizona Memorial, and Hanauma Bay. Honolulu Luxury Hotels Honolulu Luxury Resorts Honolulu Luxury Villas Bar Harbor, ME, United States Famous for lobster and stunning ocean views, Bar Harbor is a popular destination in Maine. There are plenty of things to do in the town and its surroundings, including hiking, biking, whale watching, and exploring Acadia National Park. Bar Harbor Luxury Hotels Colorado Springs, CO, United States There are many places to visit in Colorado Springs. Garden of the Gods is a popular park with beautiful rock formations. Pike's Peak is a 14,115 foot mountain that offers great views and outdoor activities. The Broadmoor is a world-renowned resort with lovely gardens and a championship golf course. Royal Gorge Bridge is the world's highest suspension bridge and a popular tourist spot. Colorado Springs Luxury Hotels Fort Myers Beach, FL, United States Just an hours drive from the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach is a popular tourist spot, especially in the winter when the snowbirds migrate down. The seven-mile-long beach is known for its white sand and clear water and is a popular spot for swimming, sunbathing, fishing, and kayaking. There are also a number of restaurants and bars in the area, as well as a few stores. Fort Myers Beach Luxury Hotels Biloxi, MS, United States There are plenty of places to explore in Biloxi, Mississippi from the citys iconic Beaches to the picturesque Bay Saint Louis. Venture into the citys downtown area to check out the many shops and restaurants, or take a walk along the shoreline. No matter what you choose to do, youre sure to have a great time in Biloxi. Biloxi Luxury Hotels Palermo, Italy If you're looking for a city with a rich and diverse history, Palermo is the place for you. This coastal city in Italy is teeming with medieval architecture, churches, and cathedrals. Be sure to check out the Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Europe, and the Palazzo dei Normanni, the seat of the Sicilian government. Don't miss out on the city's vibrant nightlife and vast array of restaurants that serve up some of the best food in the country. Palermo Luxury Hotels Palermo Luxury Villas Manila, Philippines The capital of the Philippines, Manila is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant culture. There are plenty of places to visit in Manila, including the walled city of Intramuros, the Rizal Park, and the Manila Bay. The city is also home to a large number of churches, including the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church. Manila is a great city to explore on foot, and there are plenty of restaurants and shops to enjoy. Manila Luxury Hotels Zermatt, Switzerland Zermatt is an alpine village in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is famous for its ski resort, mountaineering and hiking trails. The views of the Matterhorn from Zermatt are iconic. The village is car-free, making it a cyclists' and pedestrians' paradise. There are many places to visit in Zermatt, including the village's beautiful churches, impressive museums, and great restaurants. Zermatt Luxury Hotels Basel, Switzerland Basel is a city located in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel has a population of about 176,000 and is the third most populous city in Switzerland. Basel has many interesting places to visit, including the Basel Munster, the Basel Rathaus (town hall), the Basel Zoo, and the Munsterhof, the old town square. Basel also has a number of art museums, including the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Fondation Beyeler, and the Schaulager. Basel is a great city to visit, and I highly recommend it!. Basel Luxury Hotels Copenhagen, Denmark There are a number of places to visit in Copenhagen, Denmark. Some of the most popular tourist destinations include Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn, and the Rosenborg Castle Gardens. Tivoli Gardens is a beautiful amusement park that has something for everyone. It is perfect for a day of fun with family or friends. Nyhavn is a charming canal district that is popular for its brightly colored houses and lively atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing cruise down the canal or take a seat in one of the many cafes and restaurants. The Rosenborg Castle Gardens are home to a majestic castle as well as beautifully landscaped gardens. There is plenty to see and do in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen Luxury Hotels Steamboat Springs, CO, United States Steamboat Springs is located in northwestern Colorado. The town is named for the steamboats that traveled up the Yampa River in the 1800s. Today, the town is a popular tourist destination, known for its skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and rafting. Steamboat Springs Luxury Hotels Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and is home to many tourist attractions. Some popular places to visit in Abu Dhabi include the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Ferrari World Theme Park, and the Yas Island Waterpark. There are also a number of museums and shopping malls in Abu Dhabi, making it a great destination for those looking for a mix of culture and leisure. Abu Dhabi Luxury Hotels Abu Dhabi Luxury Resorts Abu Dhabi Luxury Villas Bogota, Colombia There's a lot to see and do in Bogota. Some of the top places to visit include the historical La Candelaria district, the cobblestone streets of Plaza de Bolivar, the Monserrate mountain, the Bogota Botanical Garden, and the Gold Museum. La Candelaria is home to many brightly-colored colonial buildings, churches, and plazas. Plaza de Bolivar is the center of Bogota and is surrounded by important landmarks like the Presidential Palace and the National Capitol. The Monserrate mountain is a popular tourist destination due to its stunning views of Bogota. The Bogota Botanical Garden is the largest in Colombia and features a wide variety of plants and trees. The Gold Museum is home to the largest collection of Pre-Columbian gold artifacts in the world. Bogota Luxury Hotels Cebu, Philippines Due to its location and its rich history, there are plenty of places to visit in Cebu. Some of the most popular tourist destinations include the Cebu Taoist Temple, the Fort San Pedro, the Yap-San Diego Ancestral House, and the Magellan's Cross. Cebu Luxury Hotels Cebu Luxury Resorts Lagos, Portugal Lagos is a small town in Portugal with a population of around 22,000. It's located in the Algarve region and is a popular tourist destination. Some of the places to visit in Lagos are the beaches, the old town, and the Marina. The beaches are beautiful and there are a lot of them to choose from. The old town is a maze of narrow streets and alleyways with lots of shops and restaurants. The Marina is a great place to walk around and watch the boats. Lagos Luxury Hotels Medellin, Colombia Some places to visit in Medellin, Colombia are: the Botanical Garden, the Ethnographic Museum, the Jardin Botanico, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Park of Lights, and the San Pedro Claver Church. Medellin Luxury Hotels Genoa, Italy While there are many places to visit in Genoa, one of the must-sees is the city's cathedral. Dedicated to San Lorenzo, the church features an intricate Gothic facade and a Renaissance interior. If you're looking for a place to take in some stunning views, head to the Genoa Aquarium, which is located on the promenade stretching along the city's harbor. Genoa Luxury Hotels Hoi An, Vietnam Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Vietnam. Its a bridge town thats best explored on foot. The narrow streets are a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese architecture. There are tailors, artisans, and lantern shops galore. The food is also some of the best in Vietnam. Be sure to try the local specialties, like Cao Lau and White Rose dumplings. Hoi An Luxury Hotels Hoi An Luxury Resorts Baku, Azerbaijan Baku, Azerbaijan is a city with a lot of culture and history. There are a lot of places to visit, like the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower. There are also a lot of great restaurants, like the Flame Club, which has a great atmosphere and delicious food. Baku Luxury Hotels San Luis Obispo, CA, United States San Luis Obispo is a city located in the central coast of California. It's known for its natural beauty, relaxed vibe, and abundance of things to do. Some of the top places to visit in San Luis Obispo include the Madonna Inn, Hearst Castle, and the Paso Robles wine country. The city is also home to a variety of beaches, parks, and other attractions. In addition, San Luis Obispo is a great place to live, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and other amenities. San Luis Obispo Luxury Hotels Colombo, Sri Lanka Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The city is located on the west coast of the island and is the administrative, commercial, and industrial center of Sri Lanka. Colombo is also the center of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, with numerous Buddhist temples. There are a number of places to visit in Colombo, including the Galle Face Green, the Dutch fort, the Pettah Bazaar, and the Sri Lankan National Museum. Colombo Luxury Hotels Yogyakarta, Indonesia The city of Yogyakarta in Indonesia is home to some of the most stunning temples and historical landmarks in the country. The city is also a great place to enjoy traditional Javanese culture and cuisine. Some of the must-see places in Yogyakarta include the Borobudur Temple, the Prambanan Temple, and the Sultan's Palace. Yogyakarta Luxury Hotels Cefalu, Italy Looking for a beautiful and historic place to visit in Italy? Look no further than Cefalu. This town is teeming with history and stunning architecture, and its location on the coast makes it the perfect place to relax and take in the stunning scenery. Don't miss the Duomo di Cefalu, a 12th century Norman church that is definitely worth a visit, or the Palazzo dei Normanni, a former royal palace. Cefalu Luxury Hotels San Jose, CA, United States San Jose, California, is home to a variety of tourist destinations. Some popular places to visit include the Winchester Mystery House, the Tech Museum of Innovation, and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. There are also a number of lovely parks, such as Kelley Park and Plaza de Cesar Chavez, that are well worth a visit. San Jose is also home to a number of great restaurants, so be sure to check out the local cuisine. Whatever your interests, San Jose has something to offer visitors. San Jose Luxury Hotels Hong Kong, China Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in China. There are many places to visit in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Victoria Peak, and the Temple Street Night Market. Hong Kong is also a great place to shop, with many high-end malls and markets. Hong Kong Luxury Hotels Hong Kong Luxury Resorts Orlando, FL, United States Orlando is a city in the central region of Florida, in the United States. The city is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the metropolitan area also known as Greater Orlando. Orlando is well known for its theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando. Other tourist destinations in Orlando include the Holy Land Experience, the Orlando Science Center, and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, one of the largest universities in the United States. Orlando Luxury Hotels Orlando Luxury Resorts Orlando Luxury Villas Philadelphia, PA, United States If youre looking for a place thats rich in history and culture, Philadelphia is the place for you. The city is home to numerous iconic landmarks, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Theres also a great variety of museums and other attractions to explore, such as the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum. And, of course, Philly is the birthplace of Americas favorite sandwich, the cheesesteak. So why not visit Americas most historic city and see for yourself what all the fuss is about?. Philadelphia Luxury Hotels Nice, France France is known for its many beautiful places to visit, and Nice is no exception. With its stunning coastline and mild climate, Nice is a popular tourist destination. Some of the most popular places to visit in Nice include the Promenade des Anglais, the Castle Hill, and the Old Town. There is also a wide variety of shops and restaurants to enjoy in Nice. If you're looking for a beautiful and relaxing place to visit in France, Nice is definitely worth considering. Nice Luxury Hotels Nice Luxury Villas Singapore, Singapore Singapore is a popular tourist destination, brimming with cultural and natural attractions. From award-winning restaurants to serene gardens and pristine beaches, there is much to explore in this diverse city-state. Here are some of the top places to visit in Singapore: 1. Marina Bay: This iconic waterfront district is home to stunning architecture, world-class landmarks, and a vibrant nightlife. 2. Gardens by the Bay: These stunning gardens feature a mix of plants from around the world, as well as towering sculptures and a biodome. 3. Chinatown: This lively district is home to traditional Chinese shops and restaurants, as well as vibrant street markets. 4. Little India: This neighborhood is known for its vibrant culture and colorful temples. 5. Sentosa Island: This resort island is home to sandy beaches, lush rainforests, and a variety of entertainment options. Singapore Luxury Hotels Singapore Luxury Resorts Nottingham, United Kingdom Nottingham is a city in the East Midlands of England. It is one of the United Kingdom's major cities, with a population of over 321,000. The city is home to two universities, Queen's Medical Centre, and seven football grounds. Nottingham is known for its lace-making and bicycle manufacturing. The city has a rich history, dating back to the Bronze Age. There are plenty of places to visit in Nottingham, including the Nottingham Castle, the Sherwood Forest, and the National Ice Centre. The city also has a lively nightlife, with a variety of pubs and bars. Nottingham Luxury Hotels Cannes, France Cannes is a city located in the south of France. Some of the places to visit in Cannes are the Palais des Festivals et des Congres, the Boulevard de la Croisette, and Le Suquet. Cannes Luxury Hotels Cannes Luxury Villas Park City, UT, United States Park City, Utah, offers visitors a wealth of places to visit and things to do. Main Street, with its charming shops and restaurants, is a must-see. The Park City Museum tells the town's fascinating history, and the Park City Utah Temple is a beautiful sight. For outdoor enthusiasts, there's plenty of skiing and snowboarding in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer. And don't forget to visit the Olympic Park, where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. Park City Luxury Hotels Park City Luxury Resorts Port Angeles, WA, United States If you're looking for a quaint, small town to visit in the US, Port Angeles is worth a stop. Located in the state of Washington, it's right on the Pacific coast with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. There's plenty of things to do in the area, from hiking and fishing to whale watching and enjoying the local restaurants and breweries. Port Angeles Luxury Hotels Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States If you're looking for a fun-filled Florida getaway, look no further than Fort Lauderdale! With its miles of pristine beaches, world-famous shopping and vibrant nightlife, there's something for everyone in this seaside city. Here are some of the top places to visit in Fort Lauderdale: Las Olas Boulevard: This popular shopping and dining district is home to some of Fort Lauderdale's most upscale boutiques and restaurants. The Beach: With its wide, sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters, Fort Lauderdale's beach is a major draw for visitors. The Everglades: Just a short drive from Fort Lauderdale, the Everglades are home to an abundance of wildlife, including alligators, bald eagles and manatees. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts: This world-class performing arts center is home to a variety of theater, dance and music performances. So what are you waiting for? Book your trip to Fort Lauderdale today!. Fort Lauderdale Luxury Hotels Fort Lauderdale Luxury Resorts Myrtle Beach, SC, United States Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a popular tourist destination. There are plenty of places to visit in the area, including amusement parks, beaches, and golf courses. Myrtle Beach also has a lively nightlife, with plenty of bars and restaurants. Myrtle Beach Luxury Hotels Myrtle Beach Luxury Resorts Salzburg, Austria Salzburg is one of the most visited places in Austria. It is a city rich in history and culture. There are many places to visit, such as the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Mirabell Palace, and the Salzburg Cathedral. There are also many hiking trails and parks to enjoy. Salzburg Luxury Hotels Pattaya, Thailand Pattaya is an amazing city with plenty of places to visit and things to do. One of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, Pattaya offers something for everyone. There are lovely beaches, interesting temples, great shopping, and exciting nightlife. With its moderate climate and affordable prices, it's no wonder Pattaya is a favorite destination for tourists from all over the world. Pattaya Luxury Hotels Pattaya Luxury Resorts Pattaya Luxury Villas Dallas, TX, United States Dallas is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the ninth most populous city in the United States and the third most populous city in the state of Texas. Dallas is also the main city of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States. The city's prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position as a major transportation hub for the South. Dallas is home to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, and transportation. The city is home to the world's largest airline hub and the third largest cargo airport in the United States. Dallas Luxury Hotels Kolkata, India Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. The city is located on the east bank of the Hooghly River. It is the second most populous city in India, after Mumbai, and the third most populous metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi. The city is notable for its colonial architecture, art and culture, and for its overwhelming poverty. Kolkata is home to the Indian Museum, the Calcutta Stock Exchange, the National Library of India, and the Indian Statistical Institute. Kolkata Luxury Hotels San Antonio, TX, United States San Antonio is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Texas. There are plenty of places to visit in this city, from the well-known River Walk to the exquisite Spanish missions. If you're looking for a fun place to spend the day, you can't go wrong with San Antonio. San Antonio Luxury Hotels Seattle, WA, United States There are many wonderful places to visit in Seattle, Washington. Some of the most popular attractions include Pike Place Market, the Seattle Space Needle, and the Museum of Pop Culture. There are also many parks and gardens, such as Volunteer Park and Seattle Chinese Garden, as well as plenty of restaurants and shops. Located on the other side of the world, Western Australia is a great place to visit for those looking for something different. Some of the most popular attractions include Rottnest Island, the Margaret River region, and Monkey Mia. There are also plenty of beautiful parks and gardens, such as Kings Park and Botanic Garden, as well as restaurants and shops. Seattle Luxury Hotels Liverpool, United Kingdom Liverpool is a city located in North West England and is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom. The city is known for its football teams Liverpool and Everton, The Beatles, and its maritime history. Liverpool is a popular tourist destination and is home to various tourist attractions including Mersey Ferry, Liverpool Cathedral, and Albert Dock. Liverpool Luxury Hotels Malmo, Sweden Malmo is Sweden's third largest city with a population of over 310,000. It is located in the province of Scania on the country's southern tip. Malmo is a vibrant city with a strong arts and cultural scene. There are plenty of places to visit in Malmo, including the Malmo Castle, the Botanical Gardens, and the Turning Torso skyscraper. Malmo is also home to a large shopping district and a lively nightlife. Malmo Luxury Hotels Gothenburg, Sweden Goteborg, Sweden's second largest city, is a major port on the country's west coast. It's a popular tourist destination, known for its lively nightlife, beautiful architecture and delicious seafood. Some of the city's highlights include the Liseberg amusement park, the Botanical Garden, and the charming old town district. Goteborg is also home to a large number of museums, including the Volvo Museum, the Maritime Museum and the Universeum science center. Gothenburg Luxury Hotels Ljubljana, Slovenia Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia and is a city full of culture and history. There are many places to visit in Ljubljana, such as the castle, the old town, and the cathedral. The city is also home to many museums, art galleries, and parks. Ljubljana is a great city to explore on foot, and there are many restaurants and cafes to enjoy. Ljubljana Luxury Hotels Sydney, NSW, Australia Australia is a vast country with plenty of stunning places to visit, but Sydney is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist destinations on the continent. From the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge to the beautiful beaches and lush national parks, there's something for everyone in this lively city. There's also a thriving food and nightlife scene, so you'll never run out of things to do in Sydney. Sydney Luxury Hotels Sydney Luxury Villas Melbourne, VIC, Australia There's a lot to love about Melbourne its lively arts and culture scene, its parks and gardens, its diverse range of restaurants and cafes, and its stunning architecture. Here are some of the best places to visit in Melbourne: - Federation Square: This iconic square is a great place to people-watch and take in the city's impressive architecture. It's also home to a number of museums and galleries, including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the National Gallery of Victoria. - Queen Victoria Market: This vibrant market is a must-visit for foodies and shoppers alike. It's the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere, and offers a vast array of fresh produce, meat, seafood, and souvenirs. - Melbourne Cricket Ground: If you're a sports fan, be sure to check out the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is the largest cricket stadium in the world. It's also home to the Australian Football League, and has hosted a number of major sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby Union World Cup. - Royal Botanic Gardens: These beautiful gardens are a great place to relax and take in some of Melbourne's natural beauty. They're home to a number of different gardens, including the Australian Garden, the Sculpture Garden, and the Japanese Garden. Melbourne Luxury Hotels Melbourne Luxury Villas Vancouver, BC, Canada The top places to visit in Vancouver are Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown, and Chinatown. These are all must-see attractions that offer an array of activities, scenery, and history. Stanley Park is a world-famous urban park that features greenery, beaches, gardens, and a stunning view of the North Shore Mountains. Granville Island is a vibrant neighbourhood with unique shops, restaurants, and art galleries. Gastown is the city's oldest neighbourhood and is home to charming cobblestone streets and funky boutiques. Chinatown is one of the largest and most vibrant Chinatowns in North America and offers delicious food, interesting history, and vibrant culture. Vancouver Luxury Hotels Toronto, ON, Canada From the CN Tower and Hockey Hall of Fame to the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Distillery District, there are plenty of amazing places to visit in Toronto, Canada. With something for everyone, Toronto is a great city to explore. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip today!. Toronto Luxury Hotels Montreal, QC, Canada Montreal is a vibrant city with something for everyone. There are plenty of places to visit, including the Notre Dame Basilica, the Olympic Stadium, and Mount Royal. The city is also home to a lively arts and culture scene, with theatres, art galleries, and music venues. Montreal is a great place to visit year-round, with festivals and events happening throughout the year. Montreal Luxury Hotels Seville, Spain Seville is one of the most visited places in Spain for a plethora of reasons: its stunning architecture, tapas bars, flamenco and great weather. The Giralda Tower is a must-see when in Seville as is the Plaza de Espana. Andalusian culture is heavily present in the city and is best experienced by wandering the narrow streets and alleyways, popping into a lively tapas bar for a drink and some snacks or enjoying a flamenco show. Seville Luxury Hotels Seville Luxury Villas Ocean City, MD, United States Ocean City is a seaside resort town in Worcester County, Maryland, on the Atlantic coast. It is well known for its long promenade, its fishing, and its crab cuisine. There are plenty of places to visit in Ocean City, including the boardwalk, amusement rides, shopping, and restaurants. You can also visit the Assateague Island National Seashore, which is home to wild horses, or head to the nearby town of Berlin for more shopping and dining options. Ocean City Luxury Hotels Cambridge, MA, United States If you're looking for a quintessential New England town to visit, Cambridge, Massachusetts is the place for you. With its elaborate architecture and Colonial history, Cambridge is a lively town with plenty of things to see and do - perfect for a weekend getaway. Some of the places you won't want to miss include the Harvard University campus, the charming and lively shops and restaurants in Harvard Square, and the leafy paths of the Cambridge Common. Cambridge Luxury Hotels Laguna Beach, CA, United States Laguna Beach, California is a place known for its stunningly beautiful coastline, excellent restaurants, and art galleries. But there's more to Laguna Beach than meets the eye. Here are some of the best places to visit in Laguna Beach: Crystal Cove State Park: This state park is known for its coves, tidepools, and bluffs. It's a great place to go hiking, swimming, and snorkeling. Heisler Park: This park is a great place for a walk or a picnic. It's also home to some of the best views of the Pacific Coast. Downtown Laguna Beach: This charming downtown area is home to art galleries, boutique shops, and excellent restaurants. Aliso Beach: This beach is known for its excellent surfing and swimming conditions. It's also a great place to take a walk or enjoy a picnic. Laguna Beach Luxury Hotels Hot Springs, AR, United States In downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas, you'll find historic buildings, antique shops, and art galleries. For nature lovers, there are also plenty of places to visit, including the Garland County Arboretum, Ouachita National Forest, and Hot Springs National Park. Spa enthusiasts can enjoy a relaxing day in one of the area's hot springs. And no trip to Hot Springs is complete without a visit to the world-famous Bathhouse Row. Hot Springs Luxury Hotels Sedona, AZ, United States There are many places to visit in Sedona, Arizona. Among the most popular are the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Boynton Canyon. The town's unique red-rock formations and ancient ruins offer plenty of photo opportunities. Visitors can also enjoy hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Sedona is a great place to relax and take in the natural beauty of the Southwest. Sedona Luxury Hotels Sedona Luxury Resorts Boulder, CO, United States Boulder, Colorado is a breathtaking city nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The city is home to stunning views, ample outdoor recreation, and a lively arts scene. Outdoor enthusiasts will love exploring the city's many trails, parks, and open spaces. History buffs will enjoy checking out the city's museums and historic sites. Culture seekers will appreciate the city's many theaters, art galleries, and restaurants. No matter what your interests, you'll find something to love in Boulder. Boulder Luxury Hotels Key West, FL, United States Key West is a small island off the coast of Florida that is filled with history, charm, and fun places to visit. Its lush tropical setting and the laid-back vibe of the island make it a popular destination for those looking for a relaxing getaway. There are plenty of places to explore in Key West, from the charming historic district to the crystal-clear waters of the Florida Keys. Here are some of the top places to visit in Key West: -The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum: This iconic museum is dedicated to the life and work of Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Key West for over 20 years. -Duval Street: This lively street is the heart of Key West's nightlife and is home to many bars and restaurants. -The Southernmost Point: This landmark is located at the end of Duval Street and is the southernmost point in the continental United States. -The Key West Lighthouse: This picturesque lighthouse is a popular spot for tourists and offers stunning views of the island. -The African American Heritage House: This museum is dedicated to the history and culture of African Americans in Key West. -The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory: This attraction is home to over 2,000 butterflies and a variety of other tropical plants and animals. Key West Luxury Hotels Key West Luxury Resorts Key West Luxury Cottages Key West Luxury Villas Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm, Sweden is a city with many places to visit. One place is the Vasa Museum, which is home to a ship that sunk in 1628 and was raised from the ocean floor 333 years later. The ship is preserved and on display in the museum. Another place to visit is the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Swedish monarch. The palace is open for tours, and visitors can see the royal apartments, the throne room, and the Hall of State. Stockholm Luxury Hotels Destin, FL, United States Looking for a place to visit in Florida? Look no further than Destin! This city is home to beautiful beaches, wonderful restaurants, and plenty of places to shop. No matter what you're looking for, you can find it in Destin. Be sure to check out the Destin Harbor and the fishing pier for amazing views and plenty of things to do. If you're looking for a place to relax, head to the beach and enjoy the sun and sand. There's something for everyone in Destin, so be sure to visit this amazing city!. Destin Luxury Hotels Destin Luxury Resorts Ashland, OR, United States There are many places to visit in Ashland, Oregon. Some of the most popular places are the Shakespeare Festival, Lithia Park, and Mt. Ashland. The Shakespeare Festival is a great place to see some of the best plays in the world. Lithia Park is a beautiful park with a river running through it. Mt. Ashland is a great place to go skiing in the winter. Ashland Luxury Hotels Seaside, OR, United States One of the most beautiful places on the Oregon Coast is Seaside. With its wide, sandy beach and majestic promenade, Seaside is a popular tourist destination. There are plenty of places to eat and shop, and the Seaside Aquarium is a must-see. Visitors can also enjoy fishing, whale watching, or just taking a leisurely stroll along the beach. Seaside Luxury Hotels Newport, RI, United States Newport is a picturesque town located in southern Rhode Island that is home to some of the most visited tourist destinations in the United States. The city is known for its miles of beaches and historic mansions that line the coast. Some popular places to visit in Newport include the Cliff Walk, the Breakers Mansion, the Museum of Yachting, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Newport Luxury Hotels Siena, Italy Siena, Italy is a popular tourist destination, thanks to its well-preserved medieval city center. The city is famous for its art, food, and wine. Siena is located in the heart of Tuscany, making it the perfect base for exploring this beautiful region of Italy. Don't miss the Duomo (cathedral), the Piazza del Campo, and the Torre del Mangia. Siena Luxury Hotels Reno, NV, United States Home to the University of Nevada, Reno and a wide variety of cultural and natural attractions, Reno is a great place to visit. Some of the top places to see in Reno include the Nevada Museum of Art, the Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center, and the Reno Events Center. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy hiking and skiing at Lake Tahoe and biking and kayaking on the Truckee River. In addition, Reno is home to a diverse array of restaurants and nightlife venues. Reno Luxury Hotels Atlantic City, NJ, United States Atlantic City is a popular East Coast tourist destination, known for its boardwalks, beaches and casinos. There are plenty of places to visit in Atlantic City, from the Boardwalk Hall and the Absecon Lighthouse to the Atlantic City Aquarium and Lucy the Elephant. For a more thrilling experience, head to one of the city's casinos, where you can try your hand at blackjack, slots, roulette and more. Atlantic City also offers a wide variety of restaurants, from seafood spots to pizza places, so you're sure to find something to your taste. And if you're looking for some nightlife action, the city has you covered there too. Atlantic City is definitely a place worth visiting!. Atlantic City Luxury Hotels Atlantic City Luxury Resorts Lake George, NY, United States Looking for a place to visit in upstate New York? Look no further than the stunning Lake George. This picturesque locale is located in the heart of the Adirondacks and is known for its pristine beauty and terrific recreational opportunities. Visitors can enjoy hiking, biking, boating, fishing, and skiing, among other activities. Don't miss the chance to take in the spectacular views from the summit of Prospect Mountain or from the water's edge. Lake George Luxury Hotels Buffalo, NY, United States If you're looking for a city that has it all, Buffalo is the place to be. From its vibrant downtown district to its abundance of parks and nature preserves, there's something for everyone in Buffalo. Here are some of the top places to visit in Buffalo: 1. The Buffalo Zoo - One of the top zoos in the country, the Buffalo Zoo is a must-visit for animal lovers of all ages. 2. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery - Buffalo's answer to the Louvre, the Albright-Knox is home to some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. 3. The Buffalo-Niagara Heritage Village - This living history museum offers a glimpse into what life was like in Buffalo in the 1800s. 4. The Buffalo River - Take a walk or bike ride along the Buffalo River, one of the city's most picturesque areas. 5. Delaware Park - This large park is home to a variety of attractions, including a zoo, a golf course, and a nature preserve. Buffalo Luxury Hotels Rochester, MN, United States Rochester, Minnesota is a city with plenty of places to visit. There's the Mayo Clinic, the Apache Mall, and several other shopping areas, as well as a variety of restaurants. There are also a few parks and golf courses. For those who love the outdoors, Rochester is also close to several state parks and the Mississippi River. Rochester Luxury Hotels Duluth, MN, United States If you're looking for an amazing place to visit, Duluth, Minnesota should definitely be at the top of your list. This city is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States, and there are plenty of things to do here that will keep you entertained for days on end. Some of the most popular places to visit in Duluth include the Aerial Lift Bridge, the Glensheen Mansion, and Chester Creek Park. Additionally, there are a number of excellent restaurants and shopping areas in the city, so be sure to explore everything that Duluth has to offer. Duluth Luxury Hotels Maputo, Mozambique Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and a city full of culture and history. There are many places to visit in Maputo, such as the Jose Eduardo dos Santos Museum, the Maputo Cathedral, and the Rua da Independencia. Maputo is also home to the Maputo Bay, which offers beautiful beaches and great seafood. Maputo Luxury Hotels Barcelona, Spain Barcelona, located on the northeast coast of Spain, is a renowned tourist destination and one of the most popular cities in the world. There are plenty of places to visit in Barcelona, such as the Gothic Quarter, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia, and more. The city is also home to a lively nightlife and some of the best restaurants in the country. Barcelona Luxury Hotels Barcelona Luxury Villas Split, Croatia Split is a city on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It is the second-largest city in Croatia and the largest city in Dalmatia. It has a population of over 200,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area, which includes the City of Split and the surrounding towns, has a population of over 330,000. Split is a popular tourist destination and is the home of the Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other popular tourist destinations include the Riva, the Peristyle, the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, and Sustipan. Split Luxury Hotels Split Luxury Villas Dubrovnik, Croatia Dubrovnik is a city on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, a seaport and the administrative center of Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Dubrovnik is nicknamed "The Pearl of the Adriatic". Dubrovnik Luxury Hotels Dubrovnik Luxury Villas Byron Bay, NSW, Australia Byron Bay is a magical place. It's no wonder that it's one of the most popular destinations in Australia. The town is set in a beautiful location, surrounded by rolling green hills and the bright blue ocean. There's plenty to do in Byron Bay, whether you're looking for a relaxing beach holiday or an adventure-filled trip. Some of the top places to visit in Byron Bay include the iconic lighthouse, the stunning beaches, and the lush rainforest. There's also a great nightlife and plenty of restaurants and cafes to enjoy. If you're looking for an amazing Australian getaway, be sure to add Byron Bay to your list!. Byron Bay Luxury Hotels Wellington, New Zealand If you're looking for a little slice of heaven on earth, look no further than Wellington, New Zealand. With its gorgeous landscape and plethora of activities, there's something for everyone here. Whether you're a nature lover or a city slicker, Wellington has something special to offer. Top Wellington attractions include the Zealandia eco-sanctuary, the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens, and the sprawling Te Papa museum. For those who love getting out into the great outdoors, there are plenty of hiking and biking trails, as well as lovely seaside towns and villages to explore. And of course, no trip to Wellington would be complete without trying some of the delicious local cuisine be sure to sample a traditional Maori hangi feast! So what are you waiting for? Book your flight to Wellington today and start planning your perfect holiday!. Wellington Luxury Hotels Saint Louis, MO, United States If you're looking for a fun place to visit with a rich history and plenty of things to see and do, look no further than Saint Louis, Missouri. This vibrant city is home to a variety of interesting attractions, including the Gateway Arch, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. There's also no shortage of restaurants and shopping options in Saint Louis. So, whether you're looking for a place to explore new cultures and cuisines or you're just looking for a place to have some fun, Saint Louis is a great option. Saint Louis Luxury Hotels Bloomington, IN, United States The city of Bloomington, Indiana is home to a variety of attractions and places to visit. The Indiana University campus is a popular destination, as is the city's historic downtown district. Monroe County Courthouse YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Expert in Turkish studies Ruben Melkonyan says the adoption of the Armenian Genocide bill in the German Bundestag will lead to the wide response by the international media, as well as will become a topic of discussion within German and Turkish public circles. According to the expert, the Bundestag bill includes two important points: first of all, it is said in the bill that genocide took place in the Ottoman Empire 101 years ago. This is an interesting "message" since it helps to expand the international recognition processes after 100 years of the Genocide and the perceptions of the Genocide within the international community, Melkonyan stated. Secondly, the common formation of the bill which says that genocide was committed against the Armenian and other Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire, can have both positive and negative consequences. Turkish response is the same, however, we can notice a return to the previous methods. New Turkish Prime Minister Bilani Yildirims policy is similar to the 1980-90s rhetoric, Melkonyan said. In this context, the political field in Turkey is being consolidated, since the two powers represented in the Turkish Parliament support the authorities. He said the Bundestag bill is a challenge for Turkish policy after Davutoglus resignation. Melkonyan stated that it is important to remember about the 3 million Turkish citizens living in Germany. Moreover, Turkish-German relations have a long history, and this bill can harm their relations. Unfortunately, the Armenian Genocide again becomes a subject of the international political trade, the expert said. In general, the expert doesnt believe in the adoption of the Bundestag bill. Of course, the statement and the use of the word genocide by the German President are encouraging, however, we should take into account the Presidents institute and its role in Germany, Melkonyan stated. Recognition by Germany will create new problems since not only condemning, but also reparation issues will arise. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. In an interview with the German BILD, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has urged German lawmakers not to be intimidated by Turkish President Erdogan's warnings of damage to Berlin-Ankara relations and to go ahead with a motion declaring the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces genocide. "I am sure: the politicians in the Bundestag see it the same way and will not allow themselves to be intimidated. If one makes compromises for short-term political interests, then one ends up doing so again and again. And that is bad for Germany, that is bad for Europe and the world, he said. "I have the feeling that this deal is anyway built on sand and, with a partner like Turkey, will be difficult to implement over time," Sargsyan said regarding the EU-Turkey migrant deal. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. In an interview with the German "Bild", President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said there was no solidarity within the international community during the Azerbaijani attacks against Nagorno Karabakh. Referring to the current situation in the region, the President said: The situation is currently calm, there is no gunfire. However, when Azerbaijan unleashed a military attack, the international community did not show solidarity. We would like the international community to stress that it was Azerbaijan who started the attack. To the question what will be the Presidents call to the international community, Serzh Sargsyan stated: Armenia is a small country. We understand that we present less economic interest for others. Our concern is for the injustice to be called accordingly. For us, first of all, it would be sufficient to hear the calls of Europe condemning the Azerbaijani actions. If it would not have been sufficient enough, the next step could be the sanctions. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Forty dead tiger cubs have been found in a freezer at a Thai Buddhist temple accused of wildlife trafficking and animal abuse, reports BBC. Police and wildlife officials started an operation on May 30 to remove all the living tigers at the Tiger Temple. Pictures from journalists at the scene posted to social media showed the 40 cubs lined up on the floor. The site in Kanchanaburi is a popular tourist attraction but has been closed to the public since the raid. Police colonel Bandith Meungsukhum told AFP news agency that wildlife officials would file new criminal charges after the discovery, and added that the cubs were just one or two days old when they died. He said it was not yet clear how long they had been dead for. The dead cubs "must be of some value for the temple", Adisorn Nuchdamrong, from Thailand's Department of National Parks, told Reuters news agency. "But for what is beyond me." In a statement on its Facebook page, the temple said the mortality rate for tiger cubs at the temple was "comparatively low" and that it used to cremate dead cubs but the policy changed in 2010. The statement did not say why the temple started freezing cubs' remains, and also denied selling cubs. Body parts from other animals were also found in a freezer, Tom Taylor, from Wildlife Friends Foundation, told the BBC. Dozens of living tigers have already been removed, out of 137 at the temple. The 1,000-strong police operation is due to continue all week. Some workers and volunteers at the temple spoke out against the operation. On Facebook, Canadian Gary Agnew, who has worked at the temple for more than a decade, said "the fatality rate could be catastrophic" as tigers were being transported in the heat of day before being fully sedated. He said the cats were not being moved to spacious surroundings and would be auctioned off for "the highest price". He said hearing the tigers would be moved was "news worse than [staff and volunteers] could have ever dreamed". But the World Wildlife Fund welcomed the news and called on the Thai government to prohibit the temple from keeping tigers in future. Since 2001, authorities have been locked in a battle with the monks at the temple to confiscate the tigers after allegations of wildlife trafficking and abuse surfaced. The monks deny any wrongdoing. The temple, officially known as Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, has been a stop on many tourists' itineraries for decades. Visitors could pose for photographs with the tigers or help with their exercise routine. But animal rights campaigners have long campaigned to close it down. Peta said animals there are "imprisoned and denied everything that is important to them". YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Parliament Speaker of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov on June 1 had a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Argentina Gonzalo Urriolabeitia in Armenia. Sharmazanov stressed the importance of the works of the two Parliaments and the friendship groups aimed at developing and deepening the bilateral relations. He also highlighted the necessity of mutual visits stating that Argentina is a friendly country of Armenia. Sharmazanov said the traditional friendly relations should be maintained with the states with whom we are united with common Christian values, as well as with the existence of the Armenian community of Argentina. Armenian Deputy Parliament Speaker also stressed the role of Argentina over the recognition process of the Armenian Genocide. Referring to the regional issues, Sharmazanov said: We would like the Parliament of Argentina to have a complete perception over our region and understand that Azerbaijan is a serious threat in the South Caucasus. Eduard Sharmazanov expressed willingness on behalf of the Friendship group to make all efforts to deepen and develop the cooperation between the two states. Gonzalo Urriolabeitia, in his turn, said there are great opportunities to develop the bilateral relations. He ensured that strategic, economic and other issues of bilateral interest are in the focus of attention of the Argentine authorities. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. MPs of the Bundestag have received thousands of death threats by emails from the Turkish community of Germany, regarding the upcoming June 2 Bundestag debates on the Armenian Genocide bill. Over 500 different Turkish organizations in Germany have sent out emails to their local MPs and journalists covering the subject, Germanys Spiegel Online reported. Turkish citizens have also reached out privately via social media. Some emails crossed the line, intimidating politicians and threatening the lives of journalists. Chairman of the German Greens, Cem Ozdemir, who is of Turkish origin, was one of the MPs who received abusive messages via email, Twitter and Facebook. It's always the same terms: 'Traitor,' 'Armenia's pig', 'son of a bitch', 'Armenian Terrorist' and even Nazi',"he told ARD. Journalists covering Germanys attempts to recognize the Armenian genocide also received threats such as: You will be eliminated, or Your end will be like that of Hrant Dink [the Turkish-Armenian journalist who was shot in January 2007 by right-wing extremists in Istanbul]. Armenians also sent out letters supporting the resolution. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is important to prevent other genocides in the future, the spokesman of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Tigran Balayan, told AFP. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Germany that if it proceeds with its Armenian genocide resolution, it would hurt the bilateral ties between the two nations. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on June 1 the USD exchange rate was 477.88 AMD which is an increase of 0.33 drams compared to the previous day. Armenpress reports that the Euro increased by 1.08 drams forming 533.31 drams. British pound dropped by 6.93 drams forming 691.01 drams, Russian ruble decreased by 0.10 drams reaching to 7.14 drams on June 1. The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 246.75 AMD, gold-18,622.94 AMD, and platinum-14,918.64 AMD. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. An assessment of the new Electoral Code of Armenia by the Venice Commission is expected on June 10, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia Matthias Kiesler told the reporters. Referring to the changes of the Electoral Code, I think we should wait for the final report of the Venice Commission. I believe it will be on June 10. I think that the recommendations of the Commission should be taken seriously. We feel that there is an environment of distrust between the authorities, opposition and civil society. It is very important to fill that gap and demonstrate mutual understanding, Armenpress reports the Ambassador saying. YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. The US made anti-tank missile systems discovered in south eastern Mardin province of Turkey, that were in the arsenal of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) contradict the allied relations between Ankara and Washington, Armenpress reports, citing Ria Novosti, Turkish PM Binali Yildirim said. The concept of allies assumes strategic partnership and mutual respect of the law. Turkey expects the support of all its allies in the fight against terrorism, Binali Yildirim announced during his visit to Northern Cyprus. Since the resumption of the armed conflict in Turkey in 2015 PKK rebels have killed over 480 Turkish servicemen, while the General Staff of the Turkish armed forces reports nearly 5000 rebel casualties. Auburn officials want to build a "world-class welcome center" in downtown featuring information about Harriet Tubman. AG signs agreement needed to formally establish Harriet Tubman park in Auburn A major hurdle has been cleared in the process of formally establishing the Harriet Tubman N One mile from the city's center, where Tubman's residence, the Home for the Aged and other properties associated with the abolitionist are located along South Street, there are plans to construct a new visitor center for the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park. When city leaders unveiled their plan Tuesday for the state's $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative, the downtown Tubman welcome center was No. 1 on the list of investments. The purpose of the 14,000- to 16,000-square-foot facility, called the "Harriet's Hometown Downtown Visitor Welcoming Center," would be to provide tourists with information about local Tubman landmarks her residence and the Home for the Aged on South Street, the Thompson Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church on Parker Street and her gravesite in Fort Hill Cemetery. The proposed center would also feature "technical interactive displays" highlighting themes associated with Tubman's life the Underground Railroad and the women's suffrage movement. But would this serve as the visitor center for the future Tubman national park? Harriet Tubman film project finds its star in Tony winner A forthcoming film about the life of Harriet Tubman has found its lead. According to Karen Hill, president and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, the answer is no. Hill said there are still plans to construct a new visitor center on the Tubman property. The project would also include restoration of Tubman-related structures. The visitor center referenced by Hill was included in the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council's plan for the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, a $1.5 billion competition held last year. Central New York won $500 million to fund various economic development projects. Through the region's URI plan, the Tubman project is slated to receive future aid. A specific dollar amount hasn't been disclosed. "We have the only documented resources from Harriet Tubman's life that we'll be able to have as part of the interpretation of our visitor center," Hill said. "All the important pieces of history as it relates to the abolitionist movement in central New York." She added, "We've got a lot going for us at Tubman and maybe the (city's welcome center) serves as a segue to pull people further down South Street as well." Hill said Tubman Home officials weren't consulted on Auburn's plan for a welcome center. But she thinks the city's facility and the park's visitor center can coexist. "If it helps the region, we're very supportive. If it helps the city of Auburn, we're very supportive," she said. Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said the city isn't attempting to compete with the Harriet Tubman Home by proposing a downtown welcome center. "Our desire is to have a visitor's center to assist with all attractions in our area and hopefully a seasonal transportation center for visitors with no real means of traveling between Syracuse and Auburn and also the same with Rochester," Quill said. Auburn City Clerk Chuck Mason noted that there is a "significant difference" between the city's proposed welcoming center and the Tubman park visitor center. The welcome center, Mason said, would be a "teaser" for tourists interested in visiting local Tubman sites. The facility also would have information about other historic locations, such as the Seward House Museum. "The city of Auburn is in complete support of all plans the Harriet Tubman Home and the National Park Service will be looking to establish at the NPS designated Tubman sites," Mason said. "Their mission will be to preserve the Tubman legacy in an intensely historically accurate manner and educate visitors accordingly. "The 'Harriet's Hometown' Downtown Visitor Welcoming Center will be designed to welcome tourists to Auburn in a central, well-traveled, visible location in our downtown and encourage them to spend time here. It will in no way be designed to duplicate or overlap on what NPS will be doing." While the Tubman park's plan for a visitor center is part of the URI, the fate of the city's proposal is up to members of the CNY REDC. The council will review all of the submissions for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Cortland and Oswego are among those competing with Auburn for the $10 million prize. One city will be nominated by the panel. That selection will be made by the end of June. Chattanooga has a 59 page sign ordinance, something else to keep lawyers in business. Somewhere in there it gives a length you may have temporary signs displayed, seems like someone told me it is 90 days. I hate elections because our beautiful city gets littered with thousands of signs for people running for office. But really...signs for a November election in May? Where are the sign police who were after Koch's Bakery? Why aren't they at the headquarters of Congressman Fleischmann demanding he remove his signs and fining him for all the ones that are at entrances and exits to freeways, along the river and dozens of other places specifically disallowed by ordinance. Why are Marty Haynes' and Tom Greenholtz's signs all along the public right-of-way where they are prohibited? Why aren't they and Mark Siedlecki being forced to remove their signs from the view of the Veterans Bridge and Cummings Highway, both areas specifically forbidden by ordinance? Don't vote for anyone who has a sign up before August and maybe they will learn. The reason they do it is because they can, they are our lawmakers and they can ignore laws if they wish. Please don't litter our beautiful streets with signs. If people want them in their yards, great but keep them off the roads and public properties, please. Max Pettit Chicago-based mobile marketing technology company Vibes announced Wednesday it had raised $45 million as part of a new partnership the company said will allow it to expand globally. Vibes, founded in 1998, runs a technology platform that helps clients like Home Depot, Sears and Gap run mobile marketing campaigns through text messages, push notifications, the mobile web and mobile wallets. Advertisement Chipotle customers who participated in the restaurant's free burrito campaign in February are familiar with the company's work: The restaurant worked with Vibes for that mobile marketing campaign and others. Syniverse, a Tampa, Fla.-based company that offers technology for telecommunications companies and other businesses, made the investment. Syniverse will take a minority stake in Vibes. Advertisement The investment will help Vibes' clients run campaigns in new countries. The feat would have been time-intensive and costly to go at alone, since it would require connecting with carriers in each country, CEO Jack Philbin said. Syniverse, which has employees in more than 30 countries, already had that infrastructure in place, he said. "If we raised money from your average private equity fund and (said), 'We're going international,' and I had to set up a presence and hire distribution and sales teams and get the connectivity in each of those countries to each of those carriers, that would take an extraordinary amount of capital and an extraordinary amount of time," Philbin said. Mary Clark, Syniverse chief marketing officer, said the partnership makes her company a more attractive option for potential clients considering mobile marketing technologies. Syniverse plans to incorporate Vibes' technology into its own offerings. Where some customers dodge communications from marketers by blocking ads, "Mobile engagement becomes really driven by permission and it's driven by saying, 'I want to interact with you,'" she said. The partnership will help the company shape how marketers are interacting with mobile, Clark said. In addition to global expansion, Vibes plans to expand its business beyond retail companies. The company, which has 130 employees, previously raised a $15 million Series A round of funding in 2008. mgraham@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @megancgraham It was in early February when state Sen. Jim Seward received a call from his urologist informing him that he had bladder cancer. "When he called that day, I immediately went into a meeting with a group," Seward, R-Milford, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "My mind wasn't quite on the meeting, I can tell you that." Seward's doctor made arrangements for him to be seen at Albany Medical Center, which is affiliated with the Urological Institute of Northeastern New York. A group of physicians at the Albany hospital developed a treatment plan for Seward, which included surgery. The good news for Seward is that the cancer was caught early. Doctors told him it was treatable and noted he is "young and otherwise very healthy." "I've always believed in early detection and diagnosis," he said. "But I'll tell you I'm a true believer now." Seward underwent surgery on April 13. After a short hospital stay, he returned home to recover. While Seward acknowledged that he needed to focus on his health, he couldn't stay away from work for long. He was in communication with his staff and some of his Senate colleagues. Being out of work for more than a month, Seward said, was tough. But he received an outpouring of support from constituents, including hundreds of cards that aided him during the recovery period. "It really lifted my spirits," he said. "It was very touching." Seward returned to work Wednesday in Albany. He chaired a Senate Insurance Committee meeting. The panel approved legislation focusing on insurance coverage for Lyft, Uber and other ride-sharing companies. Allowing ride-sharing services to operate in other parts of New York the firms are permitted in New York City is one of the issues Seward and his colleagues will tackle during the final few weeks of the legislative session. Other issues on Seward's to-list include the heroin epidemic. The state Senate has already passed legislation to address the problem, which is plaguing many parts of the state. He's hopeful that the Assembly will act on legislation before the end of session. Education, ethics reform and regulatory reforms are also on Seward's radar. "I'm pleased to be back for this part of the session," he said. "It's going to be a hectic time." The Justice Department is poised to approve Anheuser-Busch InBev's takeover of SABMiller in an agreement that may include measures to keep the beer behemoth from edging craft brewers from shelves, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. clearance of the $107 billion combination is on track for later this month, according to three people familiar with the process. The accord could include limits on the combined company's ownership of distributors, said one of the people. U.S. antitrust approval would bring the maker of Budweiser a step closer to completing the industry's biggest merger ever and redraw control of the global beer market. The merged company will be followed by Heineken and Molson Coors Brewing in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots by market capitalization. Following divestitures to win regulatory approvals, the deal will keep Budweiser, Beck's and Stella Artois under AB InBev's roof, while selling brands including Miller in the U.S. and Peroni and Pilsner Urquell in Europe. AB InBev erased earlier losses to rise as much as 1 percent in Brussels, while SABMiller shares gained 0.6 percent in London. The transaction, which was agreed to in November 2015 in a bid to boost sales by gaining access to emerging markets, has already won antitrust approval in more than a dozen jurisdictions, including the European Union. On Tuesday, South Africa's Competition Commission recommended the deal with conditions, including a sale of SABMiller's stake in local drinks producer Distell Group. AB InBev is still seeking approval in China, where it has agreed to sell SABMiller's stake in Snow Breweries to joint-venture partner China Resources Beer (Holdings) Co. In the U.S., smaller brewers raised concerns about the merger from the start, complaining about AB InBev's ownership of wholesalers and the incentives it offers to distributors to promote its own brands. The Brewers Association, which represents 2,800 craft brewers, complained during a Senate hearing in December that those rewards effectively limit the sales of competing beers. "If you want to grow your business as a craft brewer, if you want to get your beer into a chain store, if you want to get your beer into the stadium, you need to use the Anheuser-Busch distributor or the MillerCoors distributor," Bob Pease, the chief executive officer of the association, told lawmakers. "Those are the only two options in most markets that have the horsepower to effectively bring your beer to the retail market." Spokesmen for the companies and the Justice Department declined to comment. The Brewers Association has demanded the combined company divest its own wholesalers and change incentives to encourage the sale of competing beers. The smaller brewers don't appear to be getting much traction in meetings with Justice Department officials about their complaints, said a fourth person familiar with the discussions. In fact, most of the resources in the section reviewing the deal are dedicated to investigating the two pending mergers in the health-insurance industry -- Anthem Inc.'s bid for Cigna and Aetna's deal for Humana Inc. -- another person said. The merging companies offered early on to sell SABMiller's stake in the MillerCoors joint venture to Molson Coors, ceding global control of Miller brands, to resolve any antitrust problems in the United States. That makes it harder for the brewers to argue about competitive harm from the merger because AB InBev's competitive position in the U.S. will be essentially unchanged. The companies have also faced complaints from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters about the planned closure of a MillerCoors brewery in Eden, North Carolina, saying it would lead to higher prices. AB InBev Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito told lawmakers in December distribution won't change as a result of the takeover. He committed to limiting the volume of beer distributed by wholly owned distributors to "around" 10 percent from between 7 percent and 8 percent currently. He also said there would be no termination of any distributor or renegotiation of contracts with distributors. Thomas Buckley contributed An employee displays merchandise at Luxury Garage Sale's Old Town Triangle store in 2015. The consignment retailer, which sells designer fashion online and at stores in Chicago and Dallas, has raised $5 million that it said will go toward expansion and technology improvements. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) Chicago upscale resale company Luxury Garage Sale has landed its second round of funding in the last year and a half to bring its gently used designer fashion to new cities. The $5 million Series A investment round was led by Boston-based Data Point Capital and includes investments from Chicago Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Pallasite Ventures and Trunk Club CEO Brian Spaly, who also took part in Luxury Garage Sale's $1.5 million seed funding round last February, the company said. Advertisement That money helped Luxury Garage Sale open its first store outside Chicago, a Dallas boutique that opened in June, said CEO Lindsay Segal, who co-founded the company with Brielle Buchberg in 2011. With the new cash, Luxury Garage Sale plans to open two more boutiques this year. The company hasn't signed leases yet but is looking at markets where it already has an online following, Segal said. Advertisement Luxury Garage Sale got its start five years ago with a series of pop-up shopping events. The company still sells through pop-ups in addition to its retail boutiques to build its audience of consignors and shoppers, Segal said. There's a pop-up in Hinsdale until June 7 and another in Highland Park starting June 15. A pop-up at 900 North Michigan Shops turned into the retailer's second permanent Chicago retail location. It also has a boutique in the Old Town Triangle neighborhood at 1658 N. Wells St. Customers also can buy the company's curated, pre-owned designer clothing, handbags, shoes and accessories online, either piece-by-piece or mailed in a "Luxbox" picked by a stylist, a service that started in January. In addition to the new retail stores, the funding will help Luxury Garage Sale build an in-house team focused on improving its technology, which has been outsourced until now. Keeping track of 30,000 individual items that are constantly changing as new consignments come in is a challenge for online customers, who sometimes find the experience "overwhelming," and employees, who need a quick way to keep on top of what their store has in stock in a shopper's desired size and style, Segal said. Secondhand shopping is losing its stigma, and retailers have trained customers to expect discounts, she said. "Now modern shoppers, even wealthy individuals, shop resale because it's the smart thing to do. You can trade in and trade up," she said. "People still want high-status items but know they can get them more inexpensively than walking into Neiman Marcus and paying full price." Other secondhand retailers seem to agree. Although interest in some "flash sale" websites appears to be waning Toronto Retailer Hudson's Bay acquired Gilt Groupe, reportedly valued at $1 billion in 2011, for a quarter of that sum earlier this year and Amazon is shutting down its competitor, MyHabit some resale sites have been expanding. ThredUP, an online marketplace for used women's and children's clothing, opened a new distribution center serving Midwest customers in Vernon Hills in March. Luxury consignment shop The RealReal opened a jewelry and watch valuation office in Chicago earlier this year, and the city is also home to eDrop-Off, a designer consignment shop that sells online and at its Lincoln Park boutique, with an option of a personal shopping service. Advertisement Segal said Luxury Garage Sale's wide range of buying options helps the company stand out. "You need to hit all the ways customers want to shop, where they want to shop, and make it 24/7," she said. "We're making sure our consumer has access to us to shop however she's comfortable." Segal said Luxury Garage Sale's customers range from first-time luxury buyers who want designer goods but don't want to pay designer prices to "sport shoppers" who want to keep up with the latest trends but also want a good deal. Luxury Garage Sale also gets about 20 percent of its merchandise from overstock sourced from boutiques around the country, an option for customers who would still rather buy new, Segal said. How big a discount shoppers can expect depends on what they're buying, with best-selling brands like Hermes and Chanel often selling at close to retail value, Segal said. Consignors get up to 65 percent of an item's selling price. Luxury Garage Sale lets people consign by mail, dropping items off or through a "white glove" in-home service. About 75 percent consign multiple times, Segal said. Advertisement Segal declined to disclose the company's revenue or the share of customers and consignors who shop online versus in markets with brick-and-mortar boutiques but said revenues in the first quarter of this year are triple what they were during the same period in 2015. Scott Savitz, founder and managing partner at Data Point Capital and founder of online retailer Shoebuy.com, said he was impressed by the pool of active consignors and buyers Luxury Garage Sale's team attracted on relatively limited capital. "They've been able to build it very fast, and very smartly," he said. lzumbach@tribpub.com Twitter @laurenzumbach Rejuvenation's Portland, Ore., store, shown above, is in a building from the early 1900s. The lighting and home goods retailer, which was purchased by Williams-Sonoma in 2011, plans to open a store in Chicago in November. (Rejuvenation) Lighting and home goods retailer Rejuvenation plans to open its first Chicago store in the Lincoln Park area in November. The 6,000-square-foot store at 1000 W. North Ave., will be the Portland, Ore.-based company's seventh store. Advertisement The current occupier of the space, American Eagle Outfitters, will close on or before July 15, that company said Wednesday. Rejuvenation specializes in products made during "every time period between colonial and midcentury," said Vice President and General Manager Alex Bellos. Advertisement It was founded in 1977 by a Portland man who restored Victorian homes, ran out of materials to use and decided to manufacture his own reproductions, Bellos said. "We take historical influences and interpret it for today," he said. "A home is most people's biggest investment, and we see ourselves as a partner for that." Rejuvenation sells everything from lighting including a "Chicago Chandelier" based on fixtures in an 1883 S. Bergmann & Co. catalog to bathroom faucets and fixtures, furniture and home hardware. Drawer pulls sell for anywhere from $8 to $249 on Rejuvenation's website. Much of the company's lighting and home hardware is manufactured at its Portland factory, Bellos said. Rejuvenation also sources vintage home products from across the country, which are restored and sold online and in retail stores. The Chicago store also will sell in-home design services, said Rejuvenation spokeswoman Valorie Wallace. Chicago has been one of Rejuvenation's biggest markets for online sales, Bellos said. Its neighborhood does have some competition. Next door is furniture and home accessories shop West Elm. A Crate and Barrel and Hortons Home Lighting sit a couple blocks down North Avenue and less than a half mile away is the NewCity mixed-use shopping and residential development that opened last fall and includes home decor retailer Z Gallerie. But there also could be more business to share as a rise in home sales and prices means more Americans are investing in home improvement projects. National home remodeling spending is expected to hit $309.9 billion in 2016, up 8.6 percent over 2015 spending, although the 2016 figures also include home repair spending, according to researchers with the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. "Ongoing gains in home prices and sales are encouraging more homeowners to pursue larger-scale improvement projects this year compared to last with permitted projects climbing at a good pace," Chris Herbert, managing director of the Harvard program, said in a statement last month. "On the strength of these gains, the level of annual spending for remodeling and repairs is expected to reach nearly $325 billion nationally by early next year." Advertisement Rejuvenation was purchased by upscale San Francisco-based kitchen and home furnishings store Williams-Sonoma in 2011. Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber mentioned the new Chicago store as part of a push to expand Rejuvenation's brand during a call with analysts discussing the company's first-quarter results last week. Rejuvenation also has stores in Portland; Seattle; Los Angeles; Berkeley, Calif.; Palo Alto, Calif.; and Atlanta. lzumbach@tribpub.com Twitter @laurenzumbach In this Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, photo, Andrew Miles, chief operating officer at Sams Club China, right, listens as Anna Duan, general manager of Sam's Club in Shenzhen's Futian District, displays a package of one of the store's best-selling items, Jujube fruit, at a Sam's Club in Shenzhen, China. (Ng Han Guan / AP) SHENZHEN, China Zhong Guoyan sifted through piles of fish at a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, one of China's largest cities. She studied the fins, to make sure they were bright red and firm. She peered at the eyeballs were they bulging? "I like when the products are fresh, and the quality is good," she said. "When I come here, I have a look. If it's good, then I will buy it. If it's only cheap, I won't buy it." Advertisement In American Wal-Marts, customers are not offered the opportunity to fondle their fish. But America is not China, as the world's biggest retailer has learned. If the Arkansas-based company wanted to win over foreign consumers like Zhong, it would have to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions that are fast changing. In the U.S., Wal-Mart conquered the marketplace by offering "everyday low prices" to penny-pinching, bulk-buying customers, but Chinese shoppers have good reason to look for quality first, bargains second after scandals involving tainted and mislabeled food. And Chinese shoppers seek fresh food daily because their tiny refrigerators don't give them room to stock up. Advertisement In this Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, photo, Andrew Miles, chief operating officer at Sams Club China, talks during an interview near large televisions displayed at a Sam's Club in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. Wal-Mart is expanding its array of foreign imports and spicing up the offerings with eye-catching fancy TVs to attract the affluent Chinese. That strategy has helped turn Sams Club stores into Wal-Marts biggest success in China. (Ng Han Guan / AP) Zhong eventually tossed a couple of fish into a plastic bag a small victory in this massive retailer's struggle to build an international empire. The stakes are high: Wal-Mart can't count on much sales growth from its U.S. business it's facing challenges at home with intense competition from online leader Amazon.com and dollar stores, which offer low prices and convenience so the retailer is depending more on its operations overseas. China, the world's most-populous country, is the ultimate prize. Right now, it represents just 3 percent of Wal-Mart's global sales of $478.6 billion, according to estimates from IBISWorld, a research firm. And the company has just over 400 stores in China, compared with more than 5,000 in the U.S. But the Chinese grocery market, already the world's largest at $1.1 trillion a year, is expected to grow to nearly $1.5 trillion in just the next four years, says IGD, a global consumer products research firm. "China remains a strategic market for our future," Doug McMillon, CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently told investors. Getting the food business right is critical for Wal-Mart. Shoppers buy groceries more often than anything else. If Wal-Mart can get them in the door to buy food regularly, perhaps they will visit more frequently for items like pajamas and coffee makers and eventually become loyal online customers, too. Still, markets in China and elsewhere in the world will not surrender to Wal-Mart, just because it's Wal-Mart. In particular, global players like Wal-Mart have found that food retailing doesn't cross borders easily because it's a largely local business. After struggling on its own in China, Britain's Tesco PLC decided two years ago to team up with China Resources Enterprise, a state-owned company. Wal-Mart has also taken some lumps. Overall international sales growth has been uneven, dropping 9.4 percent last year largely because of the strong dollar. And while Wal-Mart's overseas business had a strong start to this year, it faces long-term challenges. Wal-Mart gave up in Germany and South Korea, abandoning those markets back in 2006 in the face of tough competition. It's closing 10 percent of its stores in Brazil. And it's locked in a price war in the United Kingdom, slugging it out with no-frills German discounters Aldi and Lidl. In this Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, photo, a worker prepares cooked ducks for sale at a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. If Arkansas-based Wal-Mart wants to win over foreign consumers, it has to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions. China is the ultimate prize. (Ng Han Guan / AP) Overseas, Wal-Mart lacks the scale to squeeze local suppliers on price as it does in the U.S. It also faces nimble competitors who are entrenched in foreign markets. It has not always found it easy to duplicate its bedrock strategy of constant bargains outside the United States. But Wal-Mart has learned over the years from its missteps, discovering that it can't just impose its culture on the world, that it needs to adapt to local ways, that patience does pay off. Advertisement In countries like Mexico, Canada and Japan, Wal-Mart has won shoppers over time. After the setbacks in Germany and South Korea, the company established a team to ensure it does a better job integrating international acquisitions, while avoiding the impulse to force employees overseas to adopt all its ways. In Chile, it launched a corporate culture campaign and worked closely with suppliers to coax them into its way of doing business. It's using its global clout to find and import products from around the world, catering to increasingly sophisticated and demanding middle class consumers. There is a huge level of distrust in this market. Is it fresh? Is the price right? Sean Clarke, CEO of Wal-Mart China Wal-Mart also has come to realize that it can thrive without being the biggest player in every market, says Bryan Roberts, global insights director at TCC Global, a London-based marketing consultancy for grocery retailers. But the company also knows that it needs to succeed in China, now the company's fourth largest international market by sales. And he believes it will do just that. "Wal-Mart," Roberts says, "is a very determined organization." WINNING OVER PICKY CONSUMERS Except for the signs, most Americans wouldn't recognize a Wal-Mart in China. At a store in Shenzhen, shoppers sniff bins of rice or use tongs or their hands to examine the piles of local sausage, whole chickens and pigs' feet. Nearby, tanks brim with live fish, frogs and crabs. Americans may like to touch products, but in China, many want to buy live fish, or smell the meat. Advertisement "It has to smell like fresh blood," said Lina Wang as she examined loose pork. Meanwhile, Huang Xiulian stood at a nearby Snickers display, studying the expiration date and where the candy was produced. In the massive, unruly Chinese market, some competitors have cut corners, mislabeling products or even selling tainted foods. The risks have made Chinese consumers unusually wary: If a carton of milk or a piece of fish seems too cheap, Chinese shoppers wonder if it's safe. If items stay on sale day after day, they worry if there's something wrong with them. Sean Clarke, CEO of Wal-Mart China, based in Shenzhen, previously worked in Britain, Japan, Germany, and Canada. China, he says, "is easily the most challenging market to operate." "There is a huge level of distrust in this market," Clarke says. "Is it fresh? Is the price right?" In this Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, photo, a woman smells rice on sale at a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. If Arkansas-based Wal-Mart wants to win over foreign consumers, it has to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions. China is the ultimate prize. (Ng Han Guan / AP) Although China still has plenty of bargain-conscious shoppers, overplaying the price message can also "alienate the increasingly affluent middle-class shoppers, less sensitive on price but (who) value more the quality and assortment of merchandise," says Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China, which specializes in research on Chinese shopping habits. Advertisement In particular, Wal-Mart had a difficult time promoting "everyday low prices" promising the lowest prices on a basket of goods every time consumers shop. Early on, Wal-Mart undermined its own claims for consistently low prices by running lots of short-term promotional gimmicks. Then some rivals poached the "everyday low price" message, confusing customers. Wal-Mart scrambled to find the right slogan. In 2010, it switched to "Low Prices." Two years later, it trotted out "Worry Free" a message that employs the Chinese characters for "save, heart, price," implying quality and reassuring shoppers who worry that deals will expire before they get to the store. "Worry Free" is Wal-Mart's key weapon to lure shoppers: 85 percent of the discounts in the Wal-Mart stores in China now last anywhere from four weeks to six months, said Clarke. Unlike in the U.S., Wal-Mart had to build trust by spelling out in signs how long the low prices last. I usually buy things online. It's more convenient. Sissy Xiao, Chinese journalist The company's message: Efficiency and good management, not cutting corners, make everyday low prices possible. When Wal-Mart came to China, it was slow to tailor its offerings to local tastes. Southern Chinese like rice. Northern Chinese like noodles. Folks from Hunan like their chili peppers. The Cantonese crave chicken feet. Realizing its mistake, Wal-Mart gave local managers more leeway to run their businesses. For example, it let them decide when hot deli food was past its sell-by date and gave them free rein in ordering from different local suppliers. Advertisement But that approach backfired, leading to a series of food-safety violations. In one particularly embarrassing episode, Wal-Mart had to recall donkey meat a delicacy in China after DNA testing showed it contained traces of fox meat. The misstep came at a time when Chinese consumers were especially wary, because tainted baby formula had sickened hundreds of thousands of infants. In response, Wal-Mart slashed nearly two-thirds of its 20,000 suppliers, including food. Now, Wal-Mart knows exactly where each product comes from. Wal-Mart also took back some of the responsibilities from local managers, though they are allowed to decide on such issues as whether meat should be loose or packaged in their stores. Wal-Mart increased its investment in food safety. It broke new ground in China by adding mobile testing labs that go around from store to store in both the Southern and Eastern regions of China, checking for pesticides on vegetables and fruits. It's using handheld devices in South China to check temperatures of meat products. "It's quality first," Clarke said, "and then we will have the lowest price." GAINING CONTROL OVER SUPPLIERS, COSTS In America, Wal-Mart consistently delivers low prices to shoppers largely because it has the clout 25 percent of the U.S. grocery business to force suppliers to do things the Wal-Mart way. That means cutting costs to the bone. In return, the suppliers enjoy steady demand from Wal-Mart, so they don't have to spend so much on advertising or worry about staffing their factories. Advertisement Mujeres revisan el pescado que vende una tienda de Wal-Mart en Shenzhen, China. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Wal-Mart's pull is so strong that more than 1,500 suppliers have opened offices near its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. But replicating that model has proven tough overseas, partly because it takes time to work with new suppliers to cut costs. In Brazil, for instance, it's still a work in progress after two decades. In China, things are tougher still. Wal-Mart accounts for just 2.3 percent of the overall grocery market. In fact, the top 10 grocery retailers in China account for just 18.5 percent of the market, says Euromonitor International, a global market research firm. Suppliers are scattered, too. Ninety-five percent of all products Wal-Mart sells in China are supplied by local companies. It's tough for retailers to have influence over their network of Chinese suppliers. The Chinese supply chain is also notoriously inefficient. For years, Wal-Mart and other foreign companies haven't dealt directly with their suppliers, working mostly instead through a labyrinth of middlemen who handle distribution. One supplier could potentially have 100 distributors, handling delivery to just three or four stores. Wal-Mart would have to work with each distributor. Wal-Mart had been making some efforts in centralizing its food distribution. But it didn't get serious about breaking up the system until three years ago. It decided to cut out, or at least reduce, the middlemen and route as many goods as possible through 20 of its own distribution centers. It built 11 centers for fresh food, and increased its packaged-food distribution centers from five to nine. Now, 85 percent of packaged goods is being sent through distribution centers. For fresh food, that figure is about 50 percent. Wal-Mart says it was a challenge to convince many suppliers to unravel their way of doing business. But by eliminating the go-betweens, Wal-Mart could negotiate directly with suppliers and knock down costs often by 10 percent to 12 percent, says Lesley Smith, senior vice president of the supply chain at Wal-Mart China and the woman behind the move. Advertisement The change also gives Wal-Mart more control over the quality of the food being sent to its stores and the efficiency with which it gets to them. Before the switch, only about 75 percent of orders would actually reach Wal-Mart stores; now 95 percent do. Before, it took three days for products to arrive; now it takes a day and a half, Smith says. In this Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, photo, a shopper looks at products at a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. Wal-Mart's "Worry Free" message uses the Chinese characters for save, heart, price, seen on the red signs, implying quality and reassuring shoppers who worry that deals will expire before they get to the store. (Ng Han Guan / AP) Nestle S.A., for instance, used to go through 81 Chinese distributors to reach 400 Wal-Marts. Now it's using Wal-Mart's national distribution network, which it says is resulting in fresher quality of goods at the store, higher sales and lower costs. Another supplier, Beijing-based noodle and flour maker Cofco, is also coming to appreciate the Wal-Mart way. In 2003, it started supplying 11 Wal-Marts. Now it's selling to 398. Wal-Mart demands that state-owned Cofco keep prices low and stable. "At first, we had concerns, especially when the raw material costs had some ups and downs," says Cofco general manager Liu Hongwei says. But Cofco has learned to be more efficient. And Wal-Mart stocks Cofco products in the busiest parts of the stores and markets them under the "worry free" slogan. Cofco sales to Wal-Mart rose 40 percent last year, compared to 10 percent to 20 percent increases for other customers. Liu says he negotiates prices with his other customers every two weeks. With Wal-Mart? Twice a year. Advertisement FIGHTING COMPETITORS Often, Wal-Mart enters new markets by acquiring competitors, but that doesn't guarantee success. Buying the top player, as it did in Chile and Mexico, seems to work best. In Chile, Wal-Mart's intense marketing paid off. Chileans are so sold on Wal-Mart's supercenter, Lider, that they believe the gap between its prices and rivals is twice what it actually is. But in the United Kingdom, Wal-Mart's Asda and traditional British supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsbury's are all being undercut by the rapidly expanding Aldi and Lidl chains. In response, Asda is stepping up sustained price cuts and joined the European Marketing Distribution, which pools the buying power of 250 supermarket chains. In vast China, Wal-Mart competes with a swarm of regional rivals. At first Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour had China's big-box retail business pretty much to themselves. But Chinese rivals, learning fast and exploiting close ties to local suppliers, erased their lead. Advertisement Wal-Mart landed in China in 1996, a year behind Carrefour, opening two stores in Shenzhen a Wal-Mart supercenter and a Sam's Club. They were the first foreign retailers to offer the big-box shopping experience, which offers everything from clothing to food. That's a big change from traditional wet markets and mom-and-pop stores filled with counterfeit goods. After investing in a Taiwanese-owned retail chain in 2007, Wal-Mart became China's biggest super-sized store chain and expanded its lead for over the next two years. But Wal-Mart and Carrefour were hobbled. The government restricted foreigners to opening three stores per city. But even after China dropped the store limit in 2001, Wal-Mart and other foreign retailers have faced unfavorable treatment. Government officials have investigated the foreign retailers' pricing and highlighted their food scandals. Meanwhile, local and regional competitors quickly closed the gap. The local players can sometimes undercut Wal-Mart prices because they have closer ties to local suppliers and can negotiate better deals, says Kantar's Yu in Shanghai. Wal-Mart insists its share of the big-store sector has increased three years in a row. But Euromonitor says Wal-Mart's market share has fallen steadily since peaking at 11.6 percent in 2009. By last year, Wal-Mart held 9.6 percent of the market, good for No. 3. Wal-Mart closed about 30 lackluster stores, but it has spent millions to renovate 50 it thinks are promising. Last year, it announced that it plans to add 115 stores by 2017, bringing the total store count to 530. It's concentrating in markets where it's already established, including the west, central China and its stronghold in the south. From the start, Wal-Mart has had some advantages, including its global clout. It's able to stock its shelves with foreign imports and sell them at a bigger discount than its rivals can. And it's been pressing that advantage in the wake of a changing consumer mindset. Three years ago, Wal-Mart imported 212 containers of products into China. Last year, it imported 2,800, including milk sold under its Asda brand popular with the exploding ranks of middle-class Chinese who can afford to buy better goods. Advertisement But, Wal-Mart faces another challenge in China, and it is not from other big box stores. Across the globe, shoppers who are increasingly shifting away from buying at big stores and toward buying online or at small stores. But in China, that trend is more dramatic. It has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest online marketplace. That's meant declines in traffic at Wal-Mart and other big-store rivals, both local and foreign. So Wal-Mart is expanding offerings at its website, which is run by Yihaodian, a Chinese startup Wal-Mart fully took over last year. And it's blending its online services with its own stores and adding hubs in key cities to deliver goods to shoppers' homes. Sissy Xiao, a journalist, represents the future. Xiao had her hands and nose in the bins of rice at a Wal-Mart store in Beijing. She compared the scents. Her elderly mother was elsewhere in the store, buying food. Xiao, however, was not planning to take any home. She'll do her shopping later, online. "I am spending less time at big stores," Xiao says. "I usually buy things online. It's more convenient." Advertisement Associated Press Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel has offered to take charge of a film celebrating Donald Trump's presidential campaign that would air next month at the Republican National Convention, Trump said in a new interview. "He's a very good friend of mine," Trump said about Emanuel in a story posted online Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter. "He calls me a lot. I call him a lot and we talk. He's very political. Even though he's not political, he's political. He gets it." Advertisement Emanuel's agency William Morris Endeavor once represented Trump, according to Variety, but it's unclear what their business relationship is now. A William Morris spokesman said in an email Wednesday the agency has "no plans" to work on the convention. MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Advertisement Trump sold the Miss Universe Organization to Emanuel's agency in September for an undisclosed amount. Emanuel, whose older brother is Mayor Rahm Emanuel, has contributed to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. Trump is expected to officially receive his party's nomination at the July 18-21 convention in Cleveland. RELATED STORIES: Texas road signs hacked to say 'Donald Trump is a shape-shifting lizard' Donald Trump should pick Ivanka as his running mate North Korean state media calls Donald Trump a 'wise politician' Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP) In many cases there's no sound defense for works of fiction that make millions weep. If there were, "The Bridges of Madison County" and "Miss Saigon" would be, in some way, defensible. This brings us to "Me Before You," written by ex-journalist Jojo Moyes. Moyes came to her 2012 romance between a wealthy, dashing quadriplegic and his maniacally upbeat caregiver with a confident, reasonably witty prose style. In England especially the book turned into a monster of lucrative pathos. Advertisement Now we have the film version, adapted and streamlined by Moyes and directed by stage veteran Thea Sharrock. It stars Emilia Clarke as Louisa "Lou" Clark, provincial English country girl hired on a six-month contract by the richest family in town to care for the recently paralyzed Will Traynor, played by Sam Claflin. When Lou learns of Will's plans to end it all, she doubles down to make him realize his life is not over simply because it's not what it was. Meantime sheltered, blinkered Lou, who's dating the most obviously ill-suited boyfriend since the heyday of "Bridget Jones's Diary," learns so much from Will: How to enjoy a foreign language film, for example. And what she's missed by never scuba diving off the coast of Mauritius. And what love really means. Advertisement Various disability support groups have hated this thing from the first, long before there was a movie version. (Or a sequel; Moyes followed up "Me Before You" with "After You"). Because Traynor has decided, at story's outset, to commit suicide in a posh facility in Switzerland at the end of his six-month trial, the narrative's perceived by many to be a snuff romance novel. It is at that, I suppose. MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR More critically to the movie's overall resistibility: There's a thin, crucial line in stories such as these, and with protagonists such as Lou, between life-affirming positivity and sociopathic exuberance. Clarke is seriously delightful on talk shows, sharp and funny. On "Game of Thrones," in case you hadn't heard, she has become a phenom as Daenerys Targaryen, Khaleesi of the Dothraki, Mother of Dragons, the hostess with the mostest on the ball. The prospect of playing someone like Lou, who doesn't deal with dragons or rape or nudity, must've been mighty appealing to Clarke. She's more than actress enough to handle a role requiring both comic and dramatic chops. So what happened? In "Me Before You," Clarke's Lou zooms straight past adorable into the land of needy and pushy and enough, already. As Lou and Will warm to each other's company, the side characters tactfully recede to the background: Lou's jolly working-class parents (Brendan Coyle and Samantha Spiro); Will's imperious but empathetic mother and father (Janet McTeer and Charles Dance); the strapping physical therapist (Stephen Peacocke) aiding Will: They're all there for emotional support and conflicting bits of advice. The story belongs to Clarke and Claflin, and it plays like "Pretty Woman" one scene, "Whose Life is It Anyway?" the next. Even if you question what "Me Before You" says about life as a quadriplegic (i.e., it's no life at all), the movie could've made its argument more persuasively. Clarke has loads of talent, but in "Me Before You" she's undermined by director Sharrock's technique, and an endless slew of overeager reaction shots (She's clumsy! She's twinkling!) exacerbated by editor John Wilson. The romance remains a thing of cinematic emoticons. Maybe it'll draw a huge audience, but I doubt it. The movie has many more obstacles to hurdle than the book did, chiefly and surprisingly a leading actress of considerable natural charm, here inflated to the point of giving the phrase "charm offensive" another meaning entirely. Michael Phillips is a Tribune Newspapers critic. mjphillips@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @phillipstribune MPAA rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements and some suggestive material) Running time: 1:50 "Me Before You" 2 stars Opens: Thursday evening RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Summer tearjerker 'Me Before You' is a different kind of love story - but you'll still cry 'Me Before You' perpetuates idea that the disabled should consider suicide Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) Watch enough nature documentaries and you'll hear no judgment from the narrators, even when the footage shows a mother animal rejecting her baby fawn or pup or chick. It happens, the calm voice will explain as a dispassionate camera observes from afar, sometimes for no discernible reason at all. Humans have been known to abandon their young as well, unfortunately, but who can remain detached and clinical in the face of this cruel abnormality which perhaps isn't as abnormal as we might hope? That's the narrative engine that drives British playwright Deborah Bruce's spiky drama "The Distance," now receiving a very smart, serpentine production from director Elly Green for Haven Theatre. Advertisement RELATED: MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Having ditched her young family in Australia for reasons left unclear, 40-something Bea (Abigail Boucher) has escaped to the suburban London home of her friend Kate (Megan Kohl) to lick her wounds, or at least catch her breath. The spare, clean lines of designer Joseph Schermoly's set cleverly suggest the modernist architecture of a high-end home built from glass and steel and concrete; everything is terribly stylish and exposed and uncomfortable-seeming. Bea and Kate are joined by their friend Alex (a vulnerable floozy played by Allison Latta), Kate's husband Darragh (Layne Manzer, as a man not as dim as he first appears) and Darragh's ne'er do well brother (Patrick Gannon, who kicks his righteous indignation into high gear when the moment demands). Advertisement The wine and chatter flow endlessly, as do Kate's single-minded efforts to figure out how to get Bea's kids back. Except Bea doesn't want them. At all. Ever. "He's better at it than me," she says of her soon-to-be ex's parenting skills. She feels trapped by her marriage and repelled by the demands (and perhaps also the joys) of parenthood, and yet we never get a real sense why she is so eager to wash her hands of two little people she has brought into the world. Boucher's performance is enigmatic to the point that you wish the script had given her a bit more to play with here; the character withdraws entirely into herself rather than engage in debating the logic of her choices. We never really hear her arguments, which deserve an airing no matter how socially unacceptable. Ditching one's kids is nasty business whether or not there's malicious intent (a detail that rarely matters to those left behind), and playwright Bruce holds everyone's feet to the fire. Alex has children from three different men, one of whom is completely unreachable. And Darragh has a daughter from a one-night stand whom he has never acknowledged. This is a story full of ambiguities are children better off without a parent who is entirely uninterested in raising them? told from the point of view of the neglecters themselves. It's a smart play about an ugly reality, delivered like a shot and flecked with sharp, comedic dialogue and witty asides, including an attempt to get a corkscrew to work only to realize the wine bottle is a screw-top. Kohl in particular finds a way to give Kate's amiably bossy (sometimes insufferable) personality a human dimension. She is a control freak who can't lay off, which gives the following exchange some of its tang: When asked about dinner plans that night, she explains that her husband is in charge. "How'd that happen?" comes the surprised reaction, to which Kate replies: "Just supper. I'm still in charge of everything else." It's a joke, but also very much not a joke, and both Kohl and director Green nail the rhythm of it, just so. nmetz@tribpub.com Twitter @NinaMetzNews "The Distance" - 3 STARS When: Through June 26 Advertisement Where: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes Tickets: $28 at haventheatrechicago.com RELATED STORIES: Superhero play 'Prowess' isn't perfect, but it is super relevant Resonant story is lurking somewhere in 'Spinning' Advertisement Da classic Chicago accent is almost entirely gone from TV, movies Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP) Early in "Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976," the new knotty-pine-kitchen play by Rebecca Gilman at the Goodman Theatre, a character named Kyle is watching election returns. A young, union guy with a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kyle works and organizes at a family-owned cheese factory in a small town in verdant southwest Wisconsin. He's buoyed by the possibility of Jimmy Carter in the White House. "The workers are gonna " he says of his union, "they're gonna get stronger from here." Advertisement That's what they call dramatic irony the situation where the audience in 2016 knows a lot more than a character from 1976, the latter being blissfully unaware that the ensuing years actually would see a dramatic drop-off in union power, solidarity and membership. Culminating, you might reasonably assert, in Scott Walker and Donald Trump. RELATED: MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Advertisement But in 1976, Miss Universe and the Trump Taj Mahal were but a gleam in the fledgling Donald's eye. And Walker, a notorious governor among union members in Wisconsin, had yet to slide into the saddle of his union-busting Harley-Davidson. Gilman's bleeding-heart liberal play, though, is set on the eve of the pro-business revolution and, it feels to me, is acutely interested in (and greatly exasperated by) the question of why the American lower-middle-class votes against its own interests. It's known as the thorny "What's the matter with Kansas?" question, after Thomas Frank's superb book. An alternate title to this play might have been, "What's the matter with Wisconsin?" For, at another moment, Kyle (Ty Olwin) has more news to deliver: "These guys in suits came in and said, 'We sold the factory.' " Men in suits in progressive plays like these rarely portend well. And so it goes badly for the workers in this Chicago premiere, directed by Robert Falls. The men in suits from Consolidated, Conglomerated, Corporatized Chicago plan to replace those good union jobs with seasonal, piecemeal work maybe even full automation. Their main man on the ground is unseen in the play (strangely), but we do meet his wife, Elaine (Angela Reed), a mercurial, wealthy, restless woman who is most displeased at being relocated from Highland Park. She infiltrates the small-town community, represented by the extended family of factory worker Kim (Cliff Chamberlain), his smart and generally terrific wife Kat (Cora Vander Broek), their spunky teenager Kelly (Lindsay Stock) and the crusty surrogate grandmother JoAnne (Ann Whitney), who delivers lessons of history and who is most displeased when Elaine offers to buy up all the copies of the titular community cookbook that Kat has yet to sell. That's emblematic of the main temptations in the play dangled by the Chicago-based food conglomerate, which has a management job for Kim if he sells his family and community down the river, and also a few sexual temptations courtesy of the parasitical but needy Elaine. It would be a Faustian dalliance. Kim is akin to a character in an Arthur Miller play, or, if these were African-Americans rather than whites of Scandinavian heritage, an August Wilson drama: He's a sexually weak and economically frustrated character who must learn not to take The Man's diabolical and divisive gifts and focus on what is important in life, i.e., those classic small-town virtues of community and shared sacrifice. Advertisement Despite its unusual title (given that no one cooks), "Soups, Stews, and Casseroles" does not contain many surprises. Much of what will happen in Act 2 is easy to predict in Act 1. The characters are familiar types. And this is hardly the first play to probe the issue of a small community divided by an external, big-business invader Lanford Wilson's "Book of Days," which I first saw 20 years ago, even featured a cheese factory under siege. Wilson's enemy in this fight for the small-town soul was Christian fundamentalism (it was the late 1990s); Gilman's is corporate America and its anti-union allies in Midwest statehouses. Certainly it's a timely issue given the fights in Springfield and Madison, and, as a longtime student and admirer of Gilman's work, I detect a new level of political engagement and frustration in her writing. By the time she and Falls are done here, you've got less an homage to Miller and more an homage to Clifford Odets. They surely hope Gov. Bruce Rauner will show up, the better to understand the value of a union. Or maybe a few rural Trump supporters. Good luck with both. The piece is generally very well-acted, with Vander Broek, playing the author's most sympathetic character, bursting with so much heart, energy and vitality that you intuit what this woman could have achieved with more opportunity outside of Kevin Depinet's period-specific Wisconsin home setting. Chamberlain is similarly moving, and the supporting actors all feel similarly authentic, with Reed doing her considerable best to focus on the cracks in the steel of her mostly malevolent character. Life as it lived in small Midwestern towns should be explored at a theater like the Goodman in the Midwestern capitol, and the combination of Falls and Gilman has a distinguished history thereof. This is not their most ambitious collaboration, and certainly not the most distinctive, but it is surely the most fervent. Clearly, Gilman consciously set out to create a moral tale of the old school. For the contemporary moment. You can see her and Falls try their best to even up the battle enough for the drama to fully work, and maybe even challenge the liberal audience, but their heart is clearly not there imagine asking a Democrat to write half a play about the 10 things he or she loves about Trump. No can do. This is a play for a divisive moment, and it uses old techniques to take a clear side. When I showed up at the Goodman on Tuesday, I'd just spent much of the weekend in small-town Wisconsin; much of the state did indeed feel like a cultural battleground. I had stared out at Paul Ryan's Janesville, wondering about political stuff. And then, back in Chicago, I found myself at an alternate version, as proffered in broad strokes by Falls and Gilman although Ryan can, for the record, claim the more authentic connection. He lives there. Advertisement Someone once told me that Wisconsin is the most interesting political state, not because the battle of liberals and conservatives is so closely matched but because there is such strength on both sides. That bipartisan Badger truth mostly is missing from this show. But then again, this is a year when people are taking sides. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@tribpub.com Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib "Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976" - 3 STARS When: Through June 19 Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Advertisement Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes Tickets: $10-$40 at 312-443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org RELATED STORIES: Fire damages Goodman Theatre marquee in Loop REVIEW: "Luna Gale" at the Goodman Theatre Why Steppenwolf's new Front Bar signals a big change in the business Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) The Big Shoulders Fund honored its president and CEO, Joshua Hale, with the 2016 Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Humanitarian Award at its biennial celebration dinner May 26 at the Hilton Chicago. Before a crowd of 1,100, Hale accepted the honor from co-chairmen Monsignor Ken Velo, John Canning and Jim O'Connor. This is only the 14th time the award has been presented. The first honoree was Bob Hope in 1988. Before the program and dinner in the International Ballroom, students from schools that Big Shoulders supports played hoops with guests as they enjoyed ballpark fare. Participating schools included St. Malachy, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, St. Sabina, St. Francis de Sales, Leo, Our Lady of Tepeyac and Holy Trinity. Dan McGrath, president of Leo High, called Big Shoulders "an inspiration and a lifeline for us." Advertisement RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR Canning, Velo and O'Connor welcomed guests and then sat onstage as Broadway's Jenn Gambatese serenaded them to "Popular" from the musical "Wicked." Archbishop Blase Cupich offered a blessing and spoke about Bernardin's vision for the organization he founded 30 years ago. Advertisement Joselyn Reyes, a Big Shoulders Fund scholar, addressed the donors in the audience. "You are helping to open doors across the city, strengthening schools that are critical to people like my parents for helping their children realize their dreams." Reyes, an honor student at Our Lady of Tepeyac, plans to study engineering. Canning spoke about honoree Hale and described his energetic style as "kinda like having a large chipmunk on speed." Velo shared the impact Hale has had on the organization. "Under Josh's leadership over the last 10 years, Big Shoulders has raised more than double what was raised in our first 20 years, reaching over $300 million today." The Q Brothers performed a custom hip-hop musical based on Hale's life accompanied by students from the Big Shoulders Fund choir. During his acceptance speech, Hale announced the establishment of a new scholarship endowment in the name of founding chairman James J. O'Connor with a $1 million initial commitment from Rita and John Canning, a $1 million donation from Beth and Bruce White and a $500,000 donation from David Herro. Richard Driehaus was acknowledged and thanked for underwriting a "significant" portion of the dinner, and Elizabeth Cole, O'Connor's daughter, was thanked for her work as chair of the arrangements committee. The event was the most successful in the history of the organization, raising more than $12.5 million. The funds will provide education and leadership development and operational support for 82 inner-city Catholic schools that educate nearly 21,000 children, of whom 80 percent are minority, 61 percent live in poverty and 30 percent are non-Catholic. Ninety-five percent of Big Shoulders Fund students graduate from high school. Hale concluded, "The future is so bright for Big Shoulders, and we believe, without a doubt, that our schools are central to the fabric of the city, keeping families and children rooted in their communities." Freelance writer Candace Jordan is involved with many local organizations, including some whose events she covers. More coverage Find more photos and events at www.chicagotribune.com/candidcandace. Visit Candid Candace's website at www.candidcandace.com, or follow her on Twitter @CandidCandace. Advertisement RELATED STORIES: Make-A-Wish Ball celebrates 30 years of granting wishes Celebs attend Steppenwolf Gala that honors past and looks to future SAIC Gala celebrates 150th anniversary Police arrested at 12 people and issued 23 traffic citations over Memorial Day weekend, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. From 9 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. Saturday, the sheriff's office teamed with Illinois State Police and the Fox Lake Police Department to monitor traffic, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. The patrols resulted in two driving under the influence arrests, two arrests for possession of cannabis, three arrests for possession of drug paraphernalia, two arrests for alcohol consumed by a minor, two arrests for fake identification possession and one warrant arrest. Advertisement Additionally, police issued nine speeding citations, two citations for not wearing a seat belt and 12 other traffic citations, according to the release. mejones@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter: @MeganAsh_Jones Karl Eikenberry, a former Army general and ambassador to Afghanistan, was hired by Northwestern University to run the Buffett Institute for Global Studies in November, but by April had withdrawn from the post after a debate over his qualifications. (Massoud Hossaini / Getty-AFP) Northwestern University struck a deal with Karl Eikenberry last year that he believed would be a capstone to his career as a global citizen with military, diplomatic and academic credentials. The retired three-star Army general and former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan would move from Stanford University to Northwestern to become the first executive director of a new global studies institute, backed by the largest single donation in the university's history. The deal, announced in November, fell through months later, after a surprising debate erupted about Eikenberry's qualifications and his views on the value of the humanities and social sciences as elements of "soft power" in U.S. foreign policy. The dispute at the elite private university in north suburban Evanston reflected the power of faculty dissidents as a check on university administrators, as well as conflicting views on the value of military and diplomatic experience for advancement in academia. Advertisement Forty-six faculty members signed a letter in February describing Eikenberry as a "non-academic career military officer" who was a bad fit for the job. An online petition emerged to oppose Eikenberry's appointment. "An ex-U.S. general will likely think about international politics in terms of war and from the perspective of the U.S.'s interests, and the research agenda will be negatively skewed as a result," wrote Charles Clarke, a Northwestern graduate student and one of the petition's backers. "Instead, why not appoint someone who will encourage research that is less belligerent and tainted by U.S. bias?" Advertisement The Faculty Senate voted to support the appointment, but opposition proved so persistent that Eikenberry decided in April to pull the plug. He planned to return to Northwestern on Tuesday to give a speech on civilian-military relations. Eikenberry told The Washington Post that he bears no ill will toward the university over an episode that proved a significant embarrassment for its leadership. But he took exception to the label "non-academic career military officer." "This is the worst stereotyping I can imagine and an affront to any veteran," Eikenberry wrote in an email. "What is it about a military officer's career that makes her or him unqualified to serve as the executive director for an institute of global studies? Their familiarity with leading large organizations, securing resources, directing strategic planning, and implementing institutional change? Their experience of living in diverse cultures abroad (in my case Korea - twice; China -- three times; Hong Kong -- twice; Italy; Belgium; and Afghanistan - three times)? Or their experience in the field of national security decision-making and international security issues? "As for 'non-academic' -- if no Ph.D. makes me 'non-academic,' then guilty as charged." But he said two master's degrees and a range of other experiences in the academic world "should offer some standing in the academy." There was no hint of the controversy to come in January 2015, when Northwestern President Morton Schapiro announced a record-setting gift of $101 million from Roberta Buffett Elliott, billionaire investor Warren Buffett's sister. Her donation endowed what is now called the Buffett Institute for Global Studies, which aims to advance issues such as "the spread of democratic political systems, economic development in impoverished regions of the world, immigration policies and forced migrations, the impact of cultural exchanges on societies, global religious movements and global communications, media and technology," according to a university news release. To lead the institute, the university sought "a renowned expert in global affairs . . . someone with high-level experience in government and/or academia." Someone, Schapiro thought, like Eikenberry. Eikenberry, now 64, graduated from West Point in 1973 and rose to become deputy chairman of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels and commander of the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007. After he retired from the Army in 2009, he plunged into one of the most challenging diplomatic assignments in the world, serving two years as ambassador to Afghanistan under President Obama. He became known as a voice of skepticism about the Afghan government's failings and the deepening U.S. involvement in America's longest war. Advertisement Then he took a position at Stanford as a distinguished fellow at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. He is a "professor of the practice," a title Stanford bestows on "exceptional practitioners" from business, government or other fields whose path into academia is outside the norm. Eikenberry does not have a doctorate, but he earned a master's degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University in 1981, and a second master's in political science from Stanford in 1994. In announcing his appointment on Nov. 23, Northwestern heaped praise on him. "He has played a highly visible role on the world stage with his frank and insightful ideas about some of the most critical issues of our day and will play a central role in taking the scope and impact of our global programs to an entirely new level," Schapiro declared. But even before the appointment was announced, some faculty members who heard of Northwestern's interest in Eikenberry were expressing concerns privately. "There were a number of extremely committed faculty that found it appalling this appointment had been made," said Jorge Coronado, chair of the department of Spanish and Portuguese. "We were very concerned about the direction this meant for the university." Coronado said he had no qualms about Eikenberry's military or diplomatic record. Instead, he questioned Eikenberry's academic record. Why would the university cede control of a major research enterprise to a man without a doctorate and with what Coronado and others viewed as a thin portfolio of scholarly publication? "It wasn't because the guy was military," he said. "That's not the case at all. ... He did incredible leadership working in his roles as ambassador and in Afghanistan. But that has little to do with running a research institute." Advertisement Jacqueline Stevens, a political science professor, said it is essential for the institute's leader to have a Ph.D. "It's just all backwards, for somebody in that position to be calling shots when it comes to hiring scholars," she said. She said she also was suspicious of why Northwestern would not release a formal curriculum vitae, or CV, for Eikenberry. (Asked about this, Eikenberry pointed to his biography page on a Stanford website.) On Feb. 9, the critics went public with a letter published in the Daily Northwestern student newspaper. "As faculty who are deeply committed to academic integrity, we believe that it would be irresponsible to remain silent while the University's core mission of independent research and teaching becomes identified with U.S. military and foreign policy," said the letter, which Coronado and 45 other professors signed. They were a small fraction of the 3,300 members of the university's full-time faculty. Schapiro and Provost Daniel Linzer responded with a letter the next day strongly backing their choice. "Among the finalists, and consistent with our goal for this new position, Karl stood out in his global engagement and visibility; access to a broad array of scholars, government officials and world leaders; and ability to integrate the diverse backgrounds and viewpoints of the military, diplomatic corps, and academia," Schapiro and Linzer wrote. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Eikenberry had bought a house in Winnetka, getting ready to move from Northern California. But the debate continued. The Faculty Senate discussed the issue in March and then voted 30 to 5 on April 6 to support the appointment, according to the Daily Northwestern. There were nine abstentions. Opponents called that vote a "travesty," saying they were given little advance notice. Advertisement Also in April, Stevens criticized a visit Eikenberry had made to a Rwandan defense college in early 2015, saying his appearance ignored "assassinations and civil rights abuses" in the African nation. Eikenberry told The Post that he spoke at the invitation of the Rwandan defense ministry to a group of military officers and police officials from several nations on national security decision-making, civil-military relations and other topics. He said he received an honorarium of $1,120. He acknowledged that Rwanda's current government has faced criticism over human rights violations, restrictions on political activity and extrajudicial murders, but he said the country has made impressive strides since the genocide of 1994. "To not engage with a state because it is flawed is not a wise precept," he said. Eikenberry said he withdrew on April 13, telling Northwestern officials the conditions weren't right to take the position. He told The Post he is a stout advocate of the humanities, noting that he is a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. "I have spoken extensively across the United States and in the United Kingdom, expressing concern over the waning support for the arts and humanities in the United States," he said. Northwestern declined to comment on what lessons it drew from the derailed appointment. What lessons did Eikenberry draw? "When people are uncertain about their organization's future, and conclude that they are not being consulted, they assume the worst and withhold their support," he said. "This is widely known -- not only by change management specialists -- but to most who work in the world of institutions. Still, it is surprisingly easy to overlook." A man who has spent much of the last two decades in prison has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a parking lot in Logan Square in 2012. Oscar N. Aguilar, 36, has been a suspect in the June 16, 2012, attack in the 1700 block of North Lawndale Avenue since at least 2015, when the woman who was attacked identified him, but detectives were unable to secure charges against him at the time, prosecutors said Tuesday. Aguilar, who previously has served time in prison for a half-dozen crimes dating to at least 2001, was ordered held in lieu of $750,000 bail in a hearing before Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas after being charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, according to court records. Advertisement Aguilar, of the 4700 block of West Warwick Avenue, attacked the woman, who was 32 at the time, as she was walking home from a bar about 4 a.m., according to prosecutors and police records. Aguilar pulled up in a car and asked the woman if she needed a ride home, and she accepted but jumped out of the car at a red light after she started to feel uncomfortable, prosecutors said Tuesday. The woman started walking away, but Aguilar circled the block in his car, and she hid under a parked truck. Advertisement Aguilar got out of his truck and started looking for the woman, who saw him and ran away, with Aguilar pursuing her, prosecutors said. Aguilar caught up with the woman in a gravel parking lot on Lawndale, pushed her down and slammed her head against the ground. Aguilar removed the woman's clothing, raped her and forced her to perform a sex act on him, prosecutors said. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > A witness heard the woman calling for help and ran toward her screams, prosecutors said. The witness saw Aguilar standing over the woman, who was on the ground, half-naked, and yelled at Aguilar, who then ran off. The witness covered the woman with his shirt, then called police, prosecutors said. The woman was taken to Sts. Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, where she received treatment for a serious head injury and scratches and bruises elsewhere on her body, prosecutors said. A sexual assault kit from the attack was sent to Illinois State Police, and the agency completed its analysis on April 17, 2015, prosecutors said. A mixture of two male DNA profiles were found, and Aguilar's profile cannot be excluded as one the men, according to a search of a criminal DNA index, prosecutors said. The victim looked at a photographic lineup of possible suspects and identified Aguilar as her attacker, and the witness also identified him in a photograph, prosecutor said. Aguilar was arrested May 28, 2015, but had to be released without charges because detectives had not completed their investigation, prosecutors said. In March, detectives were able to finish their investigation and issued an alert for Aguilar to be taken in for questioning in the case. He was arrested about 10:15 a.m. Monday in the 5000 block of West Van Buren Street, according to police records. He's due back in court June 20. Advertisement Chicago Tribune's Steve Schmadeke contributed. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY Graduates Mitchell Joseph Hart, of Auburn, received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and management, with a project management minor Jenna Maria Bruno, of Auburn, received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering Cirro Nicoletti-Watson, of Cato, received a Bachelor of Science degree in history Olivia Z. Durham, of Sterling, received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in chemistry ELON UNIVERSITY President's list Andrew J. Marangola, of Auburn, son of Charles and Laurie Marangola FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY Graduate Emily Mastropietro, of Tallahassee, Florida, and Auburn, received a Master of Science degree in interior architecture and design. She received her Bachelor of Arts cum laude from SUNY New Paltz in 2008 and is a graduate of Auburn High School. She is the daughter of John Mastropietro, of Auburn, and Catherine Li, of Seneca Falls. GROVE CITY COLLEGE Dean's list with high distinction Micah Quigley, a sophomore political science major, is a 2014 graduate of Tyburn Academy and is the son of Michael and June Quigley, from Auburn. ITHACA COLLEGE Port Byron native Dominick Recckio received a Campus Life Award, recognizing his contributions to the college community through participation and involvement in campus life. A member of the class of 2016, Recckio received his award May 21 prior to commencement. Recckio was a Park Scholar and served in student government as a senator, vice president and president. He also worked with the United Way and Big Brothers Big Sisters on a number of community service projects. "This is a great recognition not only of the work that I did, but of the work my peers did to change the campus for the better," Recckio said in a news release. Recckio plans to pursue a career as a social entrepreneur. Dean's list Chandler Coleman, of Auburn, son of Craig and Michelle Coleman, earned a 4.0 GPA. Chandler is a sophomore majoring in finance. NAZARETH COLLEGE Dean's list Olivia Bauso, of Auburn, is majoring in communication and media. Madeline Burns, of Aurora, is majoring in psychology. Gabrielle Charles, of Auburn, is majoring in health sciences. Sean Doyle, of Auburn, is majoring in business administration. Michaela Groth, of Aurora, is majoring in musical theater. Elizabeth Marek, of Auburn, is majoring in nursing. Joseph Netti, of Auburn, is majoring in economics. Kristina Netti, of Auburn, is majoring in visual communication design. Chelsea Pettigrass, of Auburn, is majoring in occupational science. Rachael Podolak, of Auburn, is majoring in marketing. UNVERSITY OF VERMONT Dean's list Brock Gibian, from King Ferry, is a mathematics major in the College of Arts and Sciences. Maryville Academy will stop taking in children at its two suburban campuses and its city-based shelter when its contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for residential care ends June 30, state and Maryville officials said Tuesday. As a result, about 70 boys and girls placed by DCFS at Maryville's Des Plaines and Bartlett campuses, and its John and Mary Madden Shelter in Chicago's West Town neighborhood, will be moved into foster care. Advertisement In a 2 1/2-page letter sent to donors Tuesday, Maryville Executive Director Sister Catherine M. Ryan said DCFS was cutting the amount of money it allocates for residential care. "This has become a financial burden we can no longer sustain if we are to continue serving Illinois' at-risk children," Ryan said in the letter. "We are grateful to be providing this care for the children. We would have been happy to continue to do so," Ryan said in an interview late Tuesday. "But we understand that (DCFS) wants to make this change, so we will work with them to help make these moves as good as we can for the young people who are moving." Advertisement DCFS Chief of Staff Neil Skene said Maryville decided to end its residential program on its own, and that the state hopes to continue to work with the organization. "We have always valued the relationship with Maryville. We are, in fact, talking with them about a different program that we'd like to create there," Skene said. Skene said it's not yet known exactly how the DCFS policy change would affect next year's financial allocation for residential programs such as the one at Maryville, although it's clear the academy would be getting less money. "I don't know how much it would be reduced. We haven't made final determinations about how much it would be reduced, but certainly residential programs are all being reduced next year and Maryville is probably no exception," Skene said. Beginning as an orphanage in 1883, the 133-year-old Maryville Academy continues to offer health care and mental health services, family support services and youth development programs. wlee@tribpub.com Twitter @MidNoirCowboy Lawyers for a Hillside man accused of plotting to detonate a car bomb outside a Loop bar will argue at an upcoming hearing he is mentally unfit for trial despite two evaluations by government psychiatrists that concluded otherwise. The latest report finding that Adel Daoud was mentally fit came after he was evaluated at a federal facility in Springfield, Mo., records show. Advertisement In court Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman set a trial date for Feb. 7 based on the findings. But Daoud's lawyer, Thomas Anthony Durkin, asked for a competency hearing before the trial so he can present his own mental health expert who determined that Daoud was too ill to understand the seriousness of the offense. Coleman set a competency hearing for August, even though she was "not certain that it's necessary" given the previous findings. But the judge warned she would not be moving the trial again after three earlier delays. Advertisement "The trial date is going to be the last one I set," the judge said. "This case takes precedence over all others." The latest finding on Daoud's mental fitness comes a year after he was charged with attacking a fellow inmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in May 2015. While the indictment does not spell out the alleged motive for the attack, Durkin has said Daoud had been enraged by the inmate's drawing of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Daoud also has been indicted on charges of soliciting the murder of the undercover FBI agent in his terrorism case after his arrest in 2012. In several court appearances, Daoud has launched into rants accusing prosecutors, the judge and even his own lawyer of being part of a secret society of "illuminati" conspiring to lock up Muslims. "This world is united in a war against Islam," he told Coleman in August. "They will detain us on the pretext it is for our safety." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Durkin has said that a finding of mental competency is a "very low bar" that means only that a defendant can understand the nature of the proceedings and cooperate with his counsel. He said keeping someone with psychological issues locked up in solitary confinement without treatment has made matters only worse. Now 22, Daoud was 17 when he came under FBI scrutiny in 2011 after posting messages online about killing Americans, according to court records. FBI analysts posing as terrorists exchanged messages with Daoud and eventually got him to meet with the undercover agent, who was described as a "cousin" interested in waging jihad, according to the charges. Over several months, Daoud and the undercover agent met several times in the Chicago area to discuss potential targets for an attack, the charges allege. In one meeting in Villa Park in August 2012, Daoud allegedly told the agent he wanted to maximize the carnage so he would feel like he "accomplished something." Advertisement "If it's only like five, 10 people, I'm not gonna feel that good," the charges quoted Daoud as saying. "I wanted something that's ... massive. I want something that's gonna make it in the news like tonight." In a motion filed in December, Daoud's attorney wrote that the case was "replete with evidence that should have put the FBI, the intelligence agencies, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney's Office on notice that (Daoud) suffered from some type of mental condition and harbored absurd and fanciful ideas such as employing 'flying cars' to conduct alleged operations." jmeisner@tribpub.com Twitter @jmetr22b Pages pack computers and clean the Illinois House chamber after the final vote of the Illinois General Assembly at the State Capitol in Springfield on May 31, 2016. No budget plan or education bill passed. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Topspin State lawmakers are headed home on Wednesday morning, hours after failing to send Gov. Bruce Rauner either a budget bill or a separate school funding measure. Advertisement For his part, Rauner is hitting the road, spending two days touring Illinois talking about the need for rank-and-file lawmakers to pressure Democratic leadership into passing a stopgap budget and a "clean" education bill. Day One is Downstate, with stops in Alton, Vienna, Mahomet, Quincy and Pekin. The road trip is one of Rauner's favorite political moves, a tactic he's used several times since taking office in January 2015 in trying to sell his economic agenda. It allows him to be in campaign mode. Advertisement This time, Rauner gets to talk about Democratic dysfunction, given that House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton could not come together to send him a budget despite controlling supermajorities. It'll be interesting to see how hard he hits Democrats since he spent Tuesday blasting them up and down and now must try to carve out a compromise in the coming weeks to avoid school funding going off a cliff. As midnight approached, Cullerton held a news conference where he told reporters that it was "not embarrassing" that the Democrats could not come up with a budget agreement. Cullerton said he thinks he and Rauner are close on coming up with a stand-alone education funding bill. "The question is how much more money do we need to spend to make sure the schools don't close?" Cullerton said. Left hanging is Chicago Public Schools, which has a major teacher pension payment to make at the end of June amid huge financial problems. The district sent out a statement early Wednesday asking the General Assembly to "continue to stay in session until an education budget is passed. For Chicago students, we will continue to aggressively pursue equal funding so we can prevent the worst of the draconian cuts that are inevitable with a $1 billion budget deficit." Last year, Rauner vetoed all of the state budget that Democrats sent him except the school funding bill. That took place the last week of June. This year, Rauner doesn't even have a budget to act on. While July 1 marks the start of the new budget year in Illinois, there's some question as to how much of a deadline that will prove to be. There's no state budget for this fiscal year, but a series of laws and court rulings has kept more than 90 percent of state dollars flowing. Universities and some social services have been shut out, however. What's on tap *Mayor Rahm Emanuel's public schedule was not available. *Gov. Rauner will head out on his two-day tour (see above). Advertisement *The Illinois House and Senate have gone home. For now, at least. What we're writing *Democrats can't agree on budget to send Rauner, who vowed to veto anyway. *Photos from the last day of spring session at the Capitol. *Emanuel regrets bringing Rauner's wife into political scrape, does not apologize. *Emanuel insists city didn't settle whistleblower suit so he could avoid testifying. *Judge rejects Emanuel's assertion that emails are exempt from disclosure. Advertisement *Obama archives to be stored in former Hoffman Estate furniture store. *New top cop Johnson talks crime at City Club. What we're reading *More than 1,000 immigrants die in Mediterranean shipwrecks in last week. *Drew Peterson, guilty again. *Police investigate "parents" of boy rescued from Cincy zoo gorilla (who was shot and killed). From the notebook *Key roll calls: How about some roll calls from the late night Senate action? Advertisement How they voted on Speaker Michael Madigan's state budget (which failed): The 17 "yes" votes were all Democrats. The 10 "present" votes were all Democrats. And of the 31 "no" votes, 19 were Republicans and 12 were Democrats, including some potential GOP targets. How they voted on the Senate education funding bill (which was sent to the House): 36 Democrats voted yes, and one Republican (Sen. Sam McCann, who fought off a primary challenge backed by Rauner allies). Of the 19 "no" votes, 17 were Republicans and two Democrats (Sens. Mike Noland of Elgin, Dan Biss of Evanston). *Automatic voter registration update: With an hour or so to go in the session Tuesday night, senators sent Gov. Rauner a measure that would make Illinois the fifth state in the last year to enact automatic voter registration. People getting new or updated drivers' licenses would automatically be registered to vote or have their registration updated unless they opt out. The opposite is now the case: Motorists getting a drivers license are simply asked if they want to register to vote at Secretary of State drivers facilities. *State musuem may reopen: The Rauner administration says it plans to re-open the Illinois State Museum -- but only if a legislative panel approves a new $5 admission fee for adults. The move follows Rauner's closure of the museum and its satellite locations across the state last year amid budget concerns. The proposed new admissions charge is a compromise lawmakers agreed to after Rauner used his veto power to say the facility and its other locations can only continue operating if funded through such fees and private donations. The committee isn't scheduled to meet until June 14. Advertisement But Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat who has been pushing efforts to reopen the museum since it closed its doors, contends Rauner could open the doors tomorrow if he wanted, noting employees are still showing up for work even if the public isn't allowed inside. "Employees are reporting to work, the lights are on, taxpayers are paying for electricity," Manar said. "All of the operations are ongoing today at the museum, as they have been for years." "All that we're missing if the doors were unlocked tomorrow is one month's worth of that revenue. That's it," Manar added. "That doesn't take an act from the General Assembly, it doesn't take a bill, it doesn't take an override on the veto. It simply takes the administration recognizing this is something they shouldn't have done." (Celeste Bott) *Capitol spelling bee: Senate President John Cullerton from time to time publicly displays a patronizing side (in addition to his would-be stand-up comic chops). So it was on Tuesday that he got to gloat a bit about the notion of a stopgap state budget. The North Side Democrat floated the idea last week, only to see Republican leaders immediately cast it as Democrats "pulling the plug" on negotiations. In addition, Rauner's budget director, Tim Nuding, dismissed the idea as "not a viable option at this point." By Monday night, Rauner was embracing the notion. And after emerging from the morning leaders' meeting with the governor, Cullerton took his opening, saying that Rauner had referred to him as "prescient" for having thought of the idea first. Advertisement "It's prescient. It makes my comments prescient," Cullerton said, when asked for his thoughts about the Rauner proposal. "P-R-E-S-C-I-E-N-T." *I've got you, babe?: As the hours of floor action dragged on with no budget progress, one House Republican broke into song. It was a response to Democrats again pushing an override of a vetoed bill that would send stalled contract talks with state worker unions to arbitration. Sponsoring Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, D-Hillside, said he felt motivated to try again after seeing a letter sent to Gov. Rauner that urged him to come back to the table and negotiate with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It was signed by seven Republicans, and Welch called them out by name. The override failed again, but not before Rep. Chad Hays of Catlin performed a rendition of "I Got You Babe," a hit for Sonny and Cher that's featured in the film "Groundhog Day," where a character played by Bill Murray is forced to relive the same day over and over again. "That was a song on the radio every morning on 'Groundhog Day.' We just heard it again," Hays joked on the floor. "I think there was a Bill Murray sighting out in the hallway." Advertisement It's not the first time Illinois politics has been compared to the film's plot. On Tuesday, the sentiment could have applied to any number of efforts, as lawmakers struggled to reach a budget agreement by the spring session midnight deadline. (Celeste Bott) Follow the money *Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash Beyond Chicago *Presidential race, Republican side: Big Trump checks to veterans groups sent on day of WaPo report. *Presidential race, Democratic side: Clinton scores Jerry Brown endorsement ahead of California primary (checking to make sure we haven't traveled back in time a quarter-century). *How Paul Ryan thinks about Donald Trump. *FBI wants to exempt huge fingerprint, photo database from privacy protections. A Cook County judge ruled in favor of the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday by declaring that Mayor Rahm Emanuel's emails, texts and other communications are not exempt from disclosure simply because they are transmitted over private devices. The judge denied Emanuel's motion to dismiss the Tribune's lawsuit, which alleges the mayor violated the state's open records laws by refusing to release private emails and text messages about city business. Advertisement The Tribune asked a judge to order the mayor's office to comply with a state Freedom of Information request and produce the documents. The lawsuit, filed in September, also seeks to have Emanuel declared in violation of the Illinois Local Records Act if he failed to preserve emails and texts he sent or received relating to city business. The ruling comes down as the issue of personal email use by government officials remains at the forefront of the presidential campaign. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has continued to face questions about her use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state. Last week, the State Department's inspector general found Clinton broke department rules when she used private email for government business, concluding she created a security risk and violated transparency and disclosure policies. Advertisement The former secretary of state has maintained she did nothing wrong. Likewise, Emanuel has said the city complies with records requests and that he conducts city business on his government devices and accounts. City Hall asked the judge to dismiss the Tribune's lawsuit, arguing the requests constitute an "unprecedented and unreasonable invasion of personal privacy" and the "alleged emails are not public records." The mayor's office had argued that the law allows plaintiffs "to enjoin a public body from improperly withholding public records. But a public body cannot 'withhold' a record that it does not possess. Indeed, Plaintiff does not identify, nor does the Act provide, any means by which a public body such as the City could force its officers and employees to grant it access to their privately owned accounts and devices." But the judge disagreed. "There is no merit to defendants' argument that the mere storage of communications pertaining to the transaction of public business on personal electronic devices (or in personal email accounts) categorically shields those communications from the FOIA," Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen M. Pantle wrote. She ruled the FOIA law does not distinguish between records kept on publicly funded devices and private ones. The judge said it should be up to the court to decide whether the communications are "public record" and wrote that communication on private devices or within private accounts "does not ipso facto mean that the communication is personal in nature." The city vowed to keep fighting the Tribune's lawsuit. Advertisement "While we are disappointed in the ruling, the judge only ruled on the motion to dismiss and not on the merits. The City will continue to vigorously defend this case," Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the city Law Department, said in a statement. The Tribune, meanwhile, welcomed the ruling. "It's wrong for a government official to claim that if they conduct business on one phone and email account it's a public document, but if they use another phone or account to conduct the same business it is a private matter," Bruce Dold, the Tribune's publisher and editor-in-chief, said in a statement. "We are committed to pursuing this case to the end." The judge gave the mayor's office 28 days to answer the complaint. "This surge of electronic forms of communication has been a huge challenge for public information and transparency and public access," said Dan Bevarly, the interim executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. When public officials use private devices or message accounts, Bevarly said, "it automatically adds a whole layer of suspicion." Advertisement Cases involving elected officials trying to shield electronic correspondence on private devices from public view is becoming increasingly common, he said, and including high-profiles cases stretching from New York to Florida. The Tribune's lawsuit claims the mayor's office in recent years has been uncooperative with FOIA requests. The lawsuit alleges Emanuel's use of private phones and personal email allows the mayor to conduct city business out of public view and contributes to a "lack of transparency." The city's position that turning over the messages would be an invasion of privacy is up for debate, the judge ruled, because the law only protects against "unreasonable" invasions of privacy, not all. The courts would need to examine the requested communications to determine if the records should be produced, similar to weighing whether or not to issue a search warrant. Illinois law says written communications by government officials are subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. The law covers "electronic communications" but does not spell out the rules for the use of personal email and text messages on private cellular phones, experts said. Bevarly said some states, including Florida, have recently adjusted their laws to include language about conducting public business on private devices. When the Tribune filed its lawsuit in September, its attorneys sent a letter to the mayor's chief lawyer requesting that "any and all documents, information and electronic data (including emails and text messages) that are or may be relevant to the Tribune FOIA Request are preserved and retained." Advertisement The suit itself sought an order declaring that any failure to retain such electronic communications would violate the state's open records act. In Tuesday's ruling, the judge wrote, "The Local Records Act provides in pertinent part that public records cannot be damaged or destroyed except as provided by law." The Tribune lawsuit against Emanuel grew out of a FOIA request in June. Tribune reporter David Kidwell sought emails, text messages and other electronic communications between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 30, 2015, related to the city's scandal-plagued red light camera program. The Tribune's reporting led to a bribery indictment of a former city official and revealed inconsistent enforcement and lax oversight. The Tribune's FOIA request also sought communications during the same period that included the mayor and Michael Sacks, CEO of a Chicago-based hedge fund, who has donated to Emanuel's campaigns and was named to lead World Business Chicago, which Emanuel formed to try to bring business to the city. The Tribune, in its reporting, has sought to learn more about Sacks' role in advising the mayor on economic development and other public policy issues. Kidwell's request also sought all texts and electronic communications to or from Emanuel between May 1, 2015, and June 30, 2015. It specified that the entire request applied to correspondence on city and personal communication devices. In its July 15 response, the mayor's office agreed to produce some logs. It said some of the request was "unduly burdensome," an exemption under Freedom of Information Act law, because it would require workers to produce thousands of emails. And it said it had no texts, which typically are not stored. The mayor's office also said it had no records responsive to the request for emails and texts in which Emanuel conducted city business on personal devices and argued it was not required under the law to produce those. Advertisement In 2011, in a case involving members of the Champaign City Council, Attorney General Lisa Madigan's public access counselor determined that written communications about government business on personal email accounts and private cellphones are subject to FOIA. In essence, the office said it was not the device that mattered but the person using the device and the content of the communications. The case went to the Illinois Appellate Court in Springfield, which took issue with some aspects of the attorney general's opinion. But the court agreed that emails and texts on personal devices sent by council members during a public meeting were subject to FOIA. Judge Pantle cited that case in her ruling. Anticipating more disputes over the issue, the appeals court also suggested that the General Assembly clarify the law. Despite that recommendation, lawmakers have yet to pass legislation to resolve what is considered a public record under the Freedom of Information Act. Several public statements by the mayor have referred to his use of electronic communications. In 2011, he told the Tribune he used a cellphone for work but would not say whether it was a city-paid cellphone. poconnell@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @pmocwriter Many slain journalists in the Philippines had been corrupt and had "done something" to warrant being killed, the country's president-elect said. "Just because you're a journalist you are not exempted from assassination if you're a son of a bitch," Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reported. The brash, tough-talking former mayor, who will be sworn in as president on June 30, was responding to a question about how he would handle the killing of journalists. He has previously attracted international outrage for his comments, including remarks about the rape and killing of an Australian missionary in 1989. Human Rights Watch has deemed him the "Death Squad Mayor." The Philippines ranks as the second-deadliest country for journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. At least 75 journalists there have been killed since 1992. Journalist Alex Balcoba was fatally shot this month in Manila, the Philippine capital. On Tuesday, Duterte said many slain journalists had accepted bribes or criticized people, who then retaliated, the Associated Press reported. He also said a radio commentator killed in Davao City was "rotten." "Most of those killed, to be frank, have done something," Duterte said, according to AFP. "You won't be killed if you don't do anything wrong." He also said journalists who defamed others weren't necessarily protected from violent attacks. "That can't be just freedom of speech. The constitution can no longer help you if you disrespect a person," he said, according to reports. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemned Duterte's "crass pronouncement" as disrespectful of journalists who have been killed. "He has also, in effect, declared open season to silence the media, both individual journalists and the institution, on the mere perception of corruption," the organization said in a statement. The organization said it "does not gloss over the fact that corruption is among the most pressing problems faced by the media. Nor do we deny that this could be the reason for a number of media killings. However, it is one thing to recognize a possible reason for murder; it is a totally different thing to present this as a justification for taking life." Also Tuesday, Duterte said he would pay police and military officials bounties for every drug lord they turn in, AP reported. "I'm not saying that you kill them, but the order is dead or alive," he said in a televised news conference. AUBURN Before Gilda Morina Syverson began writing books of her own, the Syracuse native read the works of author and literary journalist Gay Talese. Born into a Catholic Italian-American family, Talese often embraced his heritage in his writing and inspired other Italian-Americans to share their stories. (He) said, 'If we don't tell stories, if the Italian American doesn't talk about their experience, then it will disappear, Syverson recalled. "We all have a story. And if we don't talk about it, then it won't exist." So Syverson started writing, and now, the author of My Father's Daughter: From Rome to Sicily teaches memoir writing, encouraging her students to share their own stories from around the world. Syverson is one of several central New York authors featured in a short film about storytelling that will debut at Auburn Public Theater Thursday. "Penning Our Stories: A Transformation Journey" showcases a collection of stories from six local authors and two APT staff members who discuss the importance of writing. The idea came from publisher and award-winning author Laura Ponticello, who realized many of her writers shared a common theme: transformation. "I had this inspiring idea of taking this theme of transformation and creating a short film using real-life stories," she said. Ponticello reached out to APT Artistic Director Angela Daddabbo and Cinema Development Staff Bria Holness for help with her idea. And together, Ponticello, Daddabbo and Holness created the short documentary. "Almost without planning it, the universe lined everything up perfectly," Ponticello said. "Bria filmed longer segments of eight people's real-life stories, including our own, and she pieced parts of each individual's film together." The 30- to 40-minute film shares each person's answers to two questions: "How did you change or transform through the process of writing a book or telling your story?" And "What does transformation mean to you?" For Barbara Huntress Tresness, author of the memoir "Beyond a Charmed Life: A Mother's Unconditional Love," it meant healing. The mother of a child with special needs, Tresness wrote about her search for hope and published a guidebook on communication. "Sharing our stories out loud helped me and helped others," she said. "It got easier as I began to tell some of what had happened to us." Tresness described a scenario in which a person said hello to someone, and that someone didn't say hello back. "Probably you're thinking they're rude or they're unfriendly, but it probably never occurred to you that they couldn't use their voice to say hello," she said. "That's what I want to shift. I want communication to shift for the world." Still, Ponticello said, not everyone has to publish a book to share their story. "There's great power in sharing our journeys, whether it's in a book form or with our kids and grandkids at home," she said. "We all come from a different perspective in life and this is about bringing people together for simple conversation. I'm hoping that people who come (to this event) will be inspired in their own way." Anthony Perry kayaks down Escambia Way Drive outside his house in the flooded Rio Vista neighborhood in Richmond, Texas, Tuesday, May 31, 2016. (Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle) RICHMOND, Texas Residents of some rural southeastern Texas counties were bracing for more flooding along a river that reached a record high Tuesday as more rain was expected in the coming days. Large swaths of suburban communities southwest of Houston were underwater and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes before the Brazos River reached 54.37 feet in Fort Bend County, just two years after it had run dry in places because of drought. Advertisement National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Roeseler said the 54.37 feet at Richmond early Wednesday was not yet the crest and the river was expected to slowly rise even more overnight. An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain expected later this week could keep the Brazos in major flood stage into the weekend. Advertisement "I'm scared," said Abigail Salazar, standing in knee-deep water outside her home in Richmond, where she was retrieving personal belongings after the city issued a voluntary evacuation advisory. "My kids ask me in the morning, 'Ma, what happened? The water is here.'" During four days of torrential rain last week, at least six people died in floods in Texas. Scott Overpeck, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said that the Brazos will recede in the coming days but that its levels will remain high for up to three weeks, in part because water will need to be released from swollen reservoirs upriver. "There's so much water on the Brazos that it's going to take a long time to drain through the whole river and drain out into the Gulf of Mexico," Overpeck said. Four of the six people killed in flooding were recovered in Washington County, which is between Austin and Houston, County Judge John Brieden said Monday. Lake Somerville, one of the Brazos reservoirs, was "gushing uncontrollably" over the spillway and threatening people downriver, he said. About 40 people were rescued Sunday and Monday from low-lying homes in a flooded neighborhood of Simonton, a Fort Bend County community of about 800 residents. The county had set up a pumping system to divert the water from the neighborhood, but it was overpowered by the flooding, county spokeswoman Beth Wolf said. A Travis County Sheriff Deputy, Tuesday May 31, 2016, looks at a truck that was swept away in a flood and recovered from a pond near SH 130 and FM 812. (Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman ) Wolf said any additional rain in the region would be a problem. "The ditches are full, the river's high, there's nowhere else for that water to go," she said. Advertisement In the Fort Bend County city of Rosenberg, which is next to Richmond, about 150 households were evacuated and city officials were coordinating with the county's office of emergency management to have rescue boats in place, city spokeswoman Jenny Pavlovich said. Heavy rains moved across the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Tuesday. In Hood County, southwest of Fort Worth, several roads were washed out and authorities performed about 15 water rescues, including from homes and vehicles, said Sheriff Roger Deeds. He says they were still trying to determine how many homes flooded. Elsewhere, authorities were searching for the body of an 11-year-old boy who fell into a creek in Wichita, Kansas, and is presumed dead. Relatives have identified the boy as Devon Dean Cooley, who disappeared Friday night. Associated Press Kenneth Amyx is shown in this handout photo provided by the Collin County Sheriff. (AP) PLANO, Texas Police in suburban Dallas say a 45-year-old man has been charged with murder after posting a photo on social media showing his girlfriend's lifeless body. Kenneth Alan Amyx was being held Tuesday at the Collin County jail. Police say they forced their way into a Plano apartment after being called Sunday by the sister of 43-year-old Jennifer Lee Spears. Advertisement Officers found Spears dead from knife wounds. Amyx was bleeding from superficial wounds that appeared self-inflicted. Police spokesman David Tilley said investigators don't have a motive. Advertisement Amyx took a photo of himself, bloodied, that included Spears' body and posted it on Facebook. Tilley says the post was obtained as evidence and the image has since been removed. Online jail records did not indicate an attorney who could speak for Amyx. Associated Press Jack Schaller, shown behind the bar at Schaller's Pump in 2012, died Saturday at 92. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) John "Jack" Schaller was the patriarch of a family whose neighborhood saloon, Schaller's Pump bar in Bridgeport, has been called the oldest continuously running tavern in Chicago. Schaller's grandfather, George, began the business in 1881 and ran it with Schaller's father, also George, serving food and drinks in the 11th Ward neighborhood that has been home to a raft of Chicago politicians, including two mayors named Daley. Advertisement Jack Schaller took over in the early 1960s and ran it ever since with the help of his children, who started helping out while still in grade school, said his daughter, Kim Shinnick. "We've been running the business with my dad since forever," she said. "He was just a great individual and a great part of the community," said Cook County Commissioner John Daley. Advertisement Schaller, 92, who lived in an apartment above the bar on South Halsted Street, died of natural causes Saturday, his daughter said. He was born in Chicago and grew up in St. Sabina parish in the city's Auburn Gresham neighborhood. After attending Leo High School, Schaller joined the Army and fought in World War II in the Pacific. At the end of the war, he took a month off, then headed right back to the restaurant, his daughter said. And he was still at it at the end of his life, coming down every day from his apartment. "People were waiting for him to come down," Shinnick said of longtime customers. "He was a great storyteller. Once you met my dad, you knew him." "He was such a fixture," said Ald. Patrick Thompson, 11th, a member of the Daley family. In an August 2015 story on "Chicago's most historic taverns: Our list," Chicago Tribune writer Rick Kogan said Schaller's held "the lingering memory of deals hatched, promises made and careers broken." Kogan noted that Schaller hadn't had a drink in decades, but knew better than almost anybody that "a good tavern is about a lot more than just booze." Schaller also is survived by his wife of 50 years, Betty; daughters Jill Nolan, Sue Weber, Colleen Sheehan and Betty Jo Bailey; sons James and Jay; 18 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Advertisement Another son, Jack, died in 2012. Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, 653 W. 37th St., Chicago. Mass will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in the church. Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter. People stick their heads out of the windows at the LaSalle Hotel during a fire on June 5, 1946. The Tribune wrote, "As flames shot as high as the seventh floor level from the street, the loop echoed to the screams and cries of men and women standing at open windows." (Hugh Sinclair / Chicago Herald-American) The LaSalle Hotel was booked solid on June 5, 1946, and its guests were mostly asleep, when a sprinkling of night owls in the Silver Grill Cocktail Lounge noticed the smell of burning wood. A patron and several employees squirted seltzer water and poured sand on the flames that emerged from beneath the bar's wood paneling, but it was in vain. Arriving in the lobby about 12:30 a.m., night manager W.H. Bradfield saw fire shooting out of the bar and asked if the Fire Department had been called. "'We called them,' they told me, 'but we'll call them again,'" Bradfield recalled afterward to a Tribune reporter from a bed in Illinois Masonic Hospital. Advertisement Sixty-one people were killed and more than 200 injured in the disaster 70 years ago that was thought to be impossible. When it opened in 1909, the 22-story building at LaSalle and Madison streets was touted as "the most comfortable, modern and safest hotel west of New York City." In fact, it was a tragedy waiting to happen, and made of chance and dereliction, compounded by mendacity. Advertisement Whatever Bradfield was told, the Fire Department got its first phone call at 12:35 a.m., about 15 minutes after the fire started a delay that firefighters dread, knowing it can be deadly. A guest from Des Moines, Iowa, William Poorman, returned to the hotel a few minutes before that phone call and heard what sounded "like a gas explosion" as the lobby ceiling "lighted up almost immediately." Arriving a few minutes later, Battalion Chief Eugene Freemon saw a wall of flames in the hotel lobby and knew he needed reinforcements. Today a firefighter would call in an extra alarm, but in 1946 radios were almost nonexistent in the Chicago Fire Department. Freemon's driver had to run to the nearest fire-alarm box and tap out 2-11 on the telegraph key inside. Freemon led firefighters from Engine 40, Squad 1 and Hook and Ladder 6 on a search for victims. As they passed through the lobby, part of a mezzanine collapsed on them. They were rescued by arriving firefighters eventually there would be 300 on the scene but Freemon died of smoke inhalation. By now the inferno, having fed on the two-story lobby's highly varnished woodwork, was moving up through the hotel's two staircases. Doors planned for each floor had never been installed, turning the stairwells from escape routes into chimneys, sucking smoke up into the corridors. Subsequent investigations raised, but didn't answer, the question of how the hotel got away with such elementary safety violations. A police order had interrupted a 1935 remodeling of the Silver Lounge because combustible materials were being used. But the record showed the work had been resumed "by agreement." As the inferno grew, Bradfield, the night manager, came across the hotel's operator at the switchboard, alerting guests. He urged her to get out. "No. I'm going to stay at my station," replied Julia C. Berry. There she died, having saved hundreds of lives, officials later said. With the staircases unusable, firefighters saved guests by raising ladders to the windows of lower-floor windows. Those on upper floors had to be brought down via fire escapes, which luckily were in working order. Tribune war correspondent Joseph Hearst and his wife had just returned from China and were in a room on the 19th floor. "Someone in the hall yelled for everyone to get out," he said. "We wrapped wet towels around our faces, felt our way down the corridor to the fire escape and descended safely." Advertisement A number of newly discharged servicemen staying at the hotel joined the rescue effort. Seaman 1st Class Joseph O'Keefe, aided by three civilians, dragged 27 guests from fifth-floor rooms after discovering the hotel's fire hose was useless. "It just went drip, drip," he said. His buddy, Seaman 1st Class Robert Might, helped people down a fire escape before being overcome by smoke and taken to Henrotin Hospital. Two more sailors, Bernard Traska and Robert Higdon, dragged hose lines into the hotel and helped raise ladders. Fawn, a seeing-eye dog, guided her owner down a fire escape. "I can't see and I can't smell, but I tasted the smoke and nudged Fawn," said Anita Blair of El Paso, Texas. "We followed the crowd around a corner, and then a man helped me and my dog over the windowsill and onto a fire escape landing." The Anti-Cruelty Society gave Fawn and Blair an award: "For exceptional kindness done by a human being to an animal, and the other way around," the Tribune reported. The Chicago Telephone Traffic Union established a college fund for John Joseph Berry, the 16-year-old son of the operator who died while alerting others. Merritt Penticoff and his wife spent an agonizing 45 minutes in their 18th-floor room before a knock on the door suggested it was safe to leave. "'We got dressed after that pounding,' Mrs. Penticoff said," as the Tribune reported, without using the woman's full name. "'Then my husband laughed for the first time I had automatically put on lip rouge, despite my haste, acting absolutely subconsciously.'" Not everyone maintained his dignity or acted heroically. A fire marshal saw a firefighter looting rooms. A judge dismissed charges brought against him a denouement that seemed fishy as he was a stepbrother of a Democratic ward committeewoman. Nonetheless, he resigned upon the discovery that he had lied about his age on his application to join the Fire Department. Advertisement Still, even thieves can have a guilty conscience. Jewelry worth $1,500 was taken during the fire from the 10th-floor room of Gertrude Cummings. Eleven days later, the jewelry was mailed to the hotel with a note saying: "Please return to owner." Shortly, seven separate investigations were launched, some in hopes of preventing future disasters. Other inquiries were inspired, a Tribune editorial observed, by "the natural desire of politicians to get their names in the paper." Blue-ribbon panels recommended reforms varying from stricter building codes to equipping all emergency vehicles with radios. But even the experts had to be reminded of perhaps the No. 1 rule of fire safety. During one hearing, the coroner agreed with the LaSalle Hotel's president that it wasn't necessary to call the Fire Department for every whiff of smoke or a few flames. That was too much for Capt. Frank Thielman, a fire prevention investigator, who jumped up. "Delayed alarms cause loss of life," he shouted. "We have been preaching this for years and have fought a losing battle." rgrossman@tribpub.com My sister always wanted built-in bookshelves. So when she bought a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Washington, D.C., she hired a carpenter. Soon there were glossy cookbooks as you stepped through the front door, fiction when you crossed the living room, travelogues by her desk, academic tomes at the foot of her bed. I remember admiring all her novels, saying I wished to have read all she had. So little time to read everything. Emily turned 39 in November 2010. Her breast cancer was diagnosed three months later, and she died on May 16, 2012. Advertisement In late July of that year, near the peak of the punishing Washington summer, I flew to the city, which had been hers but which now bears for me the horror of what happened. I enjoyed the capital once; now, all I see are hospitals. But she had asked me to deal with her affairs, so I went to empty her apartment. My first evening was so quiet, each room haunted with recent memories. I mumbled, addressing her when I stood before the shelves. "Dude," I said, a term of affection we used reciprocally, especially when things were bad, "I can't believe this happened." I saw her shrugging. Advertisement Before me were pages into which she'd poured thousands of hours, from early childhood until a few months earlier. There were books with my inscriptions to her, others from a shared past that I now share with no one. If you crave books, covet them, slam them shut in outrage, then they accumulate around you, becoming rows of memories: an edition lent at the start of a passion, never returned at the end; a volume cautioning against peril, or luring you to it; a book whose characters were your allies, even if you rarely frequent them today. But at the sight of that particular copy, you remember. I am my books Emily's library remained like a silent repository of her, and I had to dismantle it. I hesitated before taking out a first clutch of books, knowing that they would never slot back again. I found a kids' book, "The Snarkout Boys & the Avocado of Death," that I always considered mine and she always believed was hers a summation of how we had viewed childhood generally. Only later did our competition recede, each gaining affection for the other's skills and craziness. I found books on psychology written by our parents. Books she'd started but never finished. Books with sticky notes in them she was passionate about sticky notes. I discovered packets everywhere, in neon pink, yellow, green. Each time I found a note in a margin, it made me scour the text for why. Marked in the "Oxford Dictionary of Quotations": "Beauty is no quality in things themselves. It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them." David Hume. Many of her books I associate with her childhood bedroom in Vancouver, where she read one astonishingly thick book after another, such as the red hardcover of "War and Peace" that bears our father's handwriting inside: "To darling Emily, With fondest love on your 12th birthday, from Mum & Dad. x x x x" There are books I forgot I had given, such as "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," in which I, at 15, printed in pencil, "Dear Emily, happy 18th birthday, I got you this book because it is very funny, and overall ace." Advertisement A life of words The textbooks in her Washington bedroom charted Emily's route after leaving home: the University of Toronto (two degrees in archaeology before quitting a Ph.D.); next to Boston (teach-yourself books on HTML from her days at dot-coms; volumes on mortgage-backed securities from the MBA program at Northeastern University, where she studied with Mike Dukakis, who encouraged her to take up public service); copious books on conflict in Afghanistan (first at the Government Accountability Office in Washington, then at the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, finally joining the RAND Corporation days before her diagnosis). I found books such as "The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression" that made me wonder if there were aspects of her life I hadn't known about. Closer inspection found a marked page on alcoholism not a problem for her, but for a man she was once with. I found reminders of joyful times, too, including an evening she'd passed kidding with one of her favorite comic writers, John Hodgman, who inscribed his book "The Areas of My Expertise" in silver marker with the words, "To Emily I'm a Zeppo man, myself." (They'd been discussing the respective merits of the Marx Brothers.) One book that remained unread was "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," which she bought during her illness but could not bring herself to open. Another volume was "Griftopia" by Matt Taibbi, which our brother gave to Emily during the final stages of her life. It was, I believe, the last book she began. The corner of Page 65 is folded. I considered shipping her entire collection, perhaps 800 volumes, to my home in London. But my apartment, small and bereft of shelving, was already overwhelmed by reading material. More important, not all these books had been of value to her, including potboilers she'd hidden behind rows of classics. And the academic tomes would be better in the hands of experts. Pleas for help Advertisement I phoned charities to donate, if only they would kindly pick them up, because I was visiting the capital and had no car. None agreed. One offered grandly to let me deliver the books at a certain hour, at which point they'd sort through them, and send me away with those they didn't care for. I tried used bookshops next, offering them for nothing. I explained the situation: I just wanted homes for my sister's books. "The owner's gonna call you back," one store clerk said. He never did. I tried another store. "I'll box up the books," I offered. "I'll wait for your delivery truck." Nope. "If I rented a vehicle and brought them to your store?" They told me I had to trek to a warehouse somewhere far away in Maryland; my offer seemed like a hassle to them. With time running out before my departure, I hired a removal company that promised to donate the books to the local Goodwill charity. I recoiled at the sight from her fourth-floor window: movers tossing boxes of Emily's books onto an open-backed truck. I kept about 250 volumes. The books sat on the floor behind me in my study, piled where my girlfriend and I had spent two afternoons writing "Emily Rachman" in the front of each, to ensure that they never just dissolve into my collection. Months passed before I could alphabetize hers among mine. My study remained impassable with Emily's books. I devoted myself exclusively to reading as many as I could an imagined dialogue, as happens whenever books are borrowed, one reader hearing the perceptions of who preceded. Advertisement I dipped into her Maupassant short stories and "Droll Stories" by Balzac. I finished "Eating the Dinosaur" by Chuck Klosterman and "The Executioner's Song" by Norman Mailer. I reread "84, Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff, not intending to but unable to stop after the opening page. I went through "Learned Optimism" by the psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman, a family friend who dedicated this copy on Sept. 14, 2011: "For Emily, with high hopes." A sister's life Once, a successful novelist took me aside after dinner. We had been talking about death, although I can't remember why possibly an offshoot of an exchange about poems. As if confiding a secret, speaking softly so other diners might not hear, he said: "We, as writers, get a bit of immortality. We live on in our books." Emily never wrote a book. She would have; I know that. Indeed, for months before she died, she had been working on an anthology of food in great literature. A book on Afghanistan was possible, too. And more still on whatever else she would have pursued, her life being a whoosh of activity, and sure to go on in that surprising fashion, had she lived beyond 40. When I left her apartment, the built-in bookshelves were empty but for the dust. What, I wonder, have the new owners placed there? Books? Something else altogether? They'll never know the jubilation those shelves once brought to a young woman. Washington Post Advertisement Tom Rachman is the author of two novels, "The Imperfectionists" and "The Rise & Fall of Great Powers." Last week, a student-organized event at DePaul University ended in a melee because some audience members didn't like the guest speaker, British journalist and provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. At least two people stormed the stage, and there was angry shouting by protesters offended by Yiannopoulos and those angered at the disruption. The student newspaper, the DePaulia, covered this story aggressively, so yes, the First Amendment is alive and well on campus in Lincoln Park. Up to a point, anyway. A brief video clip at Breitbart.com shows where free speech went off the rails: It's the moment when one of the protesters ripped the microphone from the moderator's grip, effectively ending the event. Advertisement If you're wondering about Yiannopoulos, he's the tech editor for Breitbart, the conservative news outlet, who says things like "feminism is cancer" and, despite being gay, questions the role of biology in homosexuality. So he's made a career of saying controversial things. Add him to the list of digital age oafs or truth-tellers, depending on your own point of view. Of course, if you're a DePaul student, you may still be unsure because the Yiannopoulos event collapsed after 15 minutes. Yiannopoulos was invited by the school's College Republicans group, which seemed to anticipate a potentially rowdy audience. According to the DePaulia, extra security guards were hired, but the campus public safety department decided against trying to restore order. Chicago police, called to the scene, also were not asked to intervene. Advertisement In the aftermath, someone in authority at DePaul needed to deliver a clear-eyed message about the perils to democracy of shutting down speech for being disagreeable or even vile. Encouragingly, the voice of reason at DePaul was the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, the university's president. The day after the fracas he sent an email to the student body defending the College Republicans' right to bring Yiannopoulos to campus, while excoriating the speaker's views as "unworthy of university discourse." Holtschneider said protesters were wrong to interrupt the event. He said he was ashamed to see a student rip the mic from the moderator's grasp, and he apologized to the College Republicans. Holtschneider capped his statement by saying he was writing from Normandy, France, where he was visiting the D-Day memorial. The soldiers who fell there many the same age as DePaul students today died "for all the freedoms enshrined in our Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech and assembly," Holtschneider noted. The next step for DePaul, Holtschneider acknowledged, is doing more to protect campus free speech: "We at DePaul have some reflecting and sorting out to do." Since DePaul needs to strengthen its commitment to free speech, it might look at the University of Chicago's 2012 Statement on Principles of Free Expression, which cites long-ago University President Robert Maynard Hutchins. Hutchins, defending a visit to campus by a communist, said the "cure" for repellent ideas "lies through open discussion rather than through inhibition." The statement makes clear that free speech is necessary for the school to function and, short of anything threatening or defamatory, must be protected. If that principle isn't enough to preserve order and civility, there's another U. of C. "cure" for DePaul to invoke: meting out real punishments. In 1969, President Edward Levi waited out student protesters who illegally occupied the Administration Building. Then he expelled 42 of them and suspended 81. This is not an easy moment for college administrators. The issues of the day are fraught, and students, raised on social media, are politically engaged and eager to espouse their beliefs. That's wonderful for society, and crucial for the future. But the tripwires are still there, among them learning the hard lesson that being offended is part of life in the public spaces of a democracy. How each of us responds to the insults and indignities counts for a lot. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. A photograph made available on May 30, 2016, shows Kurdish Peshmerga forces moving in Mufti village after it was recaptured from Islamic State, in the Kurdistan region, north Iraq, on May 29, 2016. (Andrea Dicenzo, EPA) Along the Euphrates, the waterway that gave life to Fertile Crescent civilizations stretching as far back as Babylon, two cities Raqqa in Syria and Fallujah in Iraq face military campaigns bent on further eroding the Islamic State's dreams of a Middle East caliphate. Both operations are sure to be complicated, lengthy endeavors. Civilian tolls are likely to be devastatingly high, and after all the fighting is done, there may not be much left standing in either city. Advertisement The cities also represent major moments in a two-year war against Islamic State. Raqqa is the group's de facto capital and a key supply hub. Fallujah, the first stronghold Islamic State established in Iraq, perches perilously on the doorstep of Iraq's capital, Baghdad. They are not, however, the ultimate prize. That distinction belongs to Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Here's why: Retaking Mosul would rob Islamic State of the largest urban area under its control. Overrun by the group's militants in June 2014, Mosul was a conquest that, more than any other, forced the world to take notice of this new, grave threat. It's a city of 1 million and an economic hub that made the militant group vastly wealthier, thanks to the millions of dollars that it swiped from Mosul's central bank branch. Mosul's capture also gave Islamic State a materiel bonanza rather than stand and fight, legions of Iraqi soldiers and police left behind their Kalashnikovs, U.S.-supplied Humvees and armored vehicles and fled. Advertisement (Tribune graphics) Tackling Fallujah, while important, has sidetracked at least temporarily the bid to kick Islamic State out of Mosul. Iraq had started building up its forces outside of Mosul in anticipation of a battle royale to retake the city this year. But with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi now switching the focus to Fallujah, that buildup has stalled. If the battle for Fallujah drags on, President Barack Obama may have to shelve his goal of nearing the recapture of Mosul by the end of the year. In Fallujah, the challenge isn't just about entrenched Islamic State fighters geared up for street-by-street, house-by-house warfare. Alongside Iraqi soldiers and police converging on the predominantly Sunni Muslim city are fighters from Iran-backed Shiite militias, which have a long, post-Saddam history of persecuting the country's minority Sunni population. Washington would rather see the Shiite militias sidelined, in part because of their allegiance to Tehran. But given the ramshackle shape the Iraqi army is in, Abadi's Shiite government leans heavily on help from these Shiite militias. The U.S. can only hope that the militias will stick to their pledge to remain on the outskirts of Fallujah and let Iraqi soldiers do the dirty work inside the city. Raqqa has a similar snag. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces advancing toward the Arab-majority city are made up primarily of Kurdish fighters. If and when the Kurds retake Raqqa, someone will need to govern the city. And the Arab population in Raqqa isn't likely to welcome Kurdish overseers. The bid for Raqqa will work only if Arab fighters in large numbers join the invading force. The U.S. has roughly 250 special operations troops in Syria tasked with training Arab fighters for the Raqqa offensive. They'll need to fare better than Obama's failed $500 million mission to train and equip Syrian rebels: Last fall, Washington learned that U.S.-trained Syrian fighters had been handing over vehicles and ammunition to al-Qaida's arm in Syria. The Obama administration may have to resign itself to waiting for Raqqa and Fallujah to play out before the march into Mosul starts. And even if Mosul eventually is retaken, something else has to happen in Iraq to thwart any kind of Islamic State comeback: The backdrop for the militant group's sweep through northern Iraq in 2014 was the Shiite-led government's systematic marginalization of the country's Sunni Muslims. Alienated by Baghdad, Sunnis in the country's north either refused to resist the Islamic State incursion or supported it. So far, Abadi has shown no signs of including Sunnis in government in any significant way. Involving Sunnis in Iraqi governance, however, is paramount to a lasting strategy to defeat Islamic State and more broadly, to long-term stabilization of one of the most important nations in the Middle East. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. As the final days of the current state Legislature's session wind down, there's growing calls for lawmakers and the governor to do something about ethics reform. The funny thing is, many of those calls from good government groups and voters have been met with support from individual legislators and the governor's office. But then that support is quickly qualified with an excuse: It's the governor's fault, it's the Senate Republicans' fault, it's the Assembly Democrats' fault ... take your pick depending upon the politicians speaking. That said, Albany's leaders must be getting a little concerned that they can't ignore the issue for an entire session the first session since both the former state Senate majority leader and Assembly speaker were sentenced to prison after being convicted on corruptions charges. For years state legislators talked a good ethics game, but rarely worried about doing much about it because they knew their re-election prospects were safe. That can happen when you enjoy the incumbency advantages in fundraising, taxpayer-supported marketing, pork-barrel grants to hand out, etc. However, there's finally some indication that voters are seeing past all of that and may demand more from their incumbents. A Siena College poll released this week shows that 53 percent of voters say they are less likely to support their incumbent legislators if they fail to get anti-corruption legislation approved this year. With numbers like that, we'd be surprised if the Legislature and governor don't come up with something. One measure that seems particularly close to an agreement is the elimination of taxpayer-funded pensions for officials convicted of public corruption. We're all for such legislation, but we also caution voters not to allow that piece of the ethics pie to satisfy their appetite. The pension bill is, at the end of the day, a reactionary measure that likely would have limited impact on the way Albany does business. Yes, it would feel good and justice would be served if Dean Skelos and Sheldon Silver didn't get state pension payments, but that won't stop the next Skelos- or Silver-like scandal from happening. What Albany needs desperately is a vastly improved independent ethics investigation body, the elimination of outside income for elected officials and better campaign finance laws that give challengers a fighting chance to oust entrenched incumbents. Those measures should be addressed in the next two weeks in Albany. If they're not, voters must demand better in the fall. On Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, the seventh annual Flagstaff Hullabaloo returns to Wheeler Park in downtown Flagstaff. Hullabaloo is a community festival and a celebration of summertime. Hullabaloo has been voted Best Annual Event or Festival five times by Arizona Daily Sun and Flagstaff Live readers. Flagstaff Hullabaloo has raised over $65,000 for local non-profits since 2010. This festival is presented in partnership with Grand Canyon Youth, Flagstaff Shelter Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff which will receive proceeds from the event. The Hullabaloo will kick off with a free bike parade which stages at 9 a.m. and departs at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 4. The festival then opens at 10 a.m. and includes a huge kids area with bungee trampolines, face painting and much more. Live music from national, regional and local artists will include internationally-acclaimed Calexico, psychedelic rock from Prescotts Spafford, the bluegrass influenced Americana of Muskellunge, New Orleans style funk from Wes Williams Band, Cumbia from Tucsons Vox Urbana, Americana soul rock from The Watters (formerly The Oak Creek Band), the 80s New Wave theatrics of Sedonas Yin Yang and Zen Some, vaudevillian swing by Tucsons Jimmy Carr & The Awkward Moments, bluegrass and Americana with Viola & The Brakemen, rock and roll from Flagstaffs own Le Trebuchet, as well as a second stage featuring performances from Circus Bacchus and more. Prescott-based Living Folklore will provide giant puppets, stilt-walkers, clowns and childrens parades. Flagstaffs Lumberyard Brewing and Phoenixs Four Peaks are the official beer sponsors and food will be available from local restaurants including Fratelli Pizza, Primos and Arizona Roasting Company. There will be costume contests with great prizes going to the best costumes. Hullabaloo will run Saturday from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. The festival is open to all ages. The event is free to the first 250 people with two cans of food to benefit Flagstaff Family Food Center and $7 thereafter. Advanced tickets are available for $5. VIP tickets are available for $75. Tickets are available at Rainbow's End Flagstaff (12 E. Route 66), Rainbow's End Cottonwood (1046 N. Main St.), online at www.flaghulla.com or by calling 877-435-9849. Dancing on the Square starts Wednesday Head to Heritage Square on Wednesdays this summer for free dance lessons. The annual Dancing on the Square series starts Wednesday, June 2. Starting at 7 p.m., volunteer local instructors will teach all the steps you need to spin out to popular swing and Latin tunes. After the hour-long lesson, there will be open dancing from 8-10 p.m. All ages, families are welcome, no partner needed. The armed Tuba City man shot and killed by Flagstaff and Northern Arizona University police officers after an attempted carjacking last week left behind a wife and two small children. Friends of Verl Bedonie, 25, have set up an online fundraiser to cover funeral expenses and support his family, whose names have not been released. Verl Bedonie, a son, a father, a friend (. . .) has left his family, organizers wrote on the Verls Family Go Fund Me page. His kids are left without a father. His mother lost her oldest son. Renee Wilson, who is a friend of the family, said it was too soon for Bedonies loved ones to speak about him publicly. Police still have not determined why Bedonie was inside the empty High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff with a 9 millimeter gun in his hand shortly before 8 a.m. last Monday or why he pointed that gun at them twice as they chased him on foot from the northernmost edge of the NAU campus to the Plaza Vieja neighborhood. A witness first reported a suspicious person holding what looked like a BB gun entering the High Country Conference Center, located in the 200 block of West Butler Avenue, the morning of May 23. Officer body camera footage shows Flagstaff and Northern Arizona University police found Bedonie in one of the conference rooms with a real gun in his hand. He left out a side door but officers caught up to him in the Drury Inn parking lot shouting for him to drop the gun. Thats when he pulled the gun back out of his pocket and pointed it at the officers just a few feet away from at least two civilian bystanders. Bedonie did not fire but two police officers did. They broke the window of an unoccupied vehicle but missed the suspect, who walked across South Milton Road with the gun still in his hand. NAUPD and FPD officers chased him through Plaza Vieja, where they believe he fired one round in an alley between South Florence Street and South Park Street. An undercover officer in an unmarked vehicle then saw Bedonie get into the passenger side of a vehicle near the intersection of South Park Street and West Phoenix Avenue. The driver later told police the suspect pointed the gun at him and demanded to be taken to Phoenix. The undercover FPD officer rammed the vehicle to prevent Bedonie from taking the driver hostage. Bedonie then exited the vehicle and ran behind a set of trash cans on the north side of the street. Instead of following multiple officers orders to drop the gun, he pointed it at a cluster of officers using a police truck for cover. According to information from FPD, he got off one shot before an FPD and an NAUPD officer fatally shot him. Before the armed confrontation that ended in his death, Bedonies only encounter with Flagstaff police was an October 2012 drunken driving arrest. He also received a traffic citation from the Department of Public Safety for walking along Interstate 17 near Mountainaire May 12. The investigation into the officer-involved shooting is ongoing. PHOENIX -- Saying there no reason for further review, a judge has thrown out the last bid by an organization to unearth texts between state utility regulator Bob Stump and others. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner acknowledged that an examination of Stump's phone by an expert hired by the attorney general's office did not produce the documents that Dan Barr, attorney for the Checks and Balances Project contends are there. And he did not dispute the contention that the organization may have an expert who could recover more of the deleted texts. But Warner, in a ruling released Tuesday, said all that's legally irrelevant. "The legal standard is that a custodian must make a good faith search," the judge wrote. And he said the burden is on whoever has the phone to show it "adequately" searched for the records sought. "Based on the evidence submitted, the court concludes as a matter of law that the attorney general's forensic examination of the phone was an adequate search," Warner wrote. But Scott Peterson, the group's executive director, said this ruling, the second by Warner in the case denying further review of Stump's phone, may not be the end of the legal road. He said an appeal is possible. "The judge overlooked what we believe is compelling evidence," he said. That includes a contention that there is other data available in the phone, information a better examination could uncover. Stump said he was not surprised by the possibility of an appeal. "I suspect they'll invest yet another cockeyed excuse to push on and keep suing me because they wish nothing more than to seize my phone and publish my personal texts," the commissioner said in a statement. "This is Dan Barr's witch hunt," Stump continued. "He should be embarrassed and ashamed for abusing the legal system in this manner." Barr, however, said the evidence suggests there is more information to be had. He said just the circumstances that have created the barriers to getting the texts merit a deeper review. "Here you have a public official who did everything in his power to evade the public records law," Barr said. That includes Stump's admission he routinely deleted text messages from his state-issued phone and that he later threw away that phone without approval of the Arizona Corporation Commission. National Forest fire officials are managing two new lightning-caused fires that were started on Sunday. In addition to the Mormon and Pivot Rock fires, fire managers are now actively managing the Jack Fire a lightning-caused wildfire that began on May 29, located approximately 14 miles north of Clints Well and the Bert Fire, about 10 miles southeast of Valle. Fire managers use the lightning-caused wildfires to reduce forest fuels, while protecting power lines, communities, archaeological sites and sensitive habitats. Smoke from the Jack Fire is visible from Lake Mary Road, Clints Well, Happy Jack, Payson, Pine, Strawberry and the Verde Valley. The managed fire has burned around 320 acres. There are no closure areas at this time. Fire managers are using burnouts to protect powerlines in the area. Smoke may settle in the Blue Ridge and Clear Creek areas overnight. The Bert Fire is burning in a pinion juniper and is being managed to reduce hazardous fuel, improving wildlife habitat, and restoring overall forest health. The fire might grow over the week as weather conditions become warmer and drier. The managed fire has already burned around 50 acres. Smoke will be visible from the community of Valle and on highways 64 and 180. Residents of Mountainaire and Munds Park will be pleased to learn that fire managers with the Coconino National Forest will be reducing the amount of smoke from the Cowboy Fire. Fire managers will be suppressing the lightning-caused fire to the point that it will continue to smolder but there will be no new growth to the fire. Smoke may still affect motorists on I-17 near the Kelly Canyon Road and Newman Park exits, but the smoke will be much lighter. The Forest Service used the fire to clear approximately 2,170 acres of fuel from the forest eight miles south of Mountainaire. The fire was caused by a lightning strike on May 17. The Forest Service is still managing two other lightning-caused fires, the Mormon and Pivot Rock. The Mormon Fire was caused by lightning on May 15 and is located six miles east of Munds Park. Fire managers were using helicopters and hand ignitions to do burnouts Monday morning east and south of Antelope Park. The burnouts will help protect communication towers and wildlife and watershed areas near Mormon Mountain. The managed fire has burned around 2,167 acres. Fire managers are warning that smoke from the Mormon Fire may settle into low-lying areas in Mormon Lake, Munds Park and Sedona at night. The Forest Service is also looking at expanding the closure area for the Pivot Rock Fire. The managed fire has burned around 3,708 acres. The current closure area is north of the intersections of State Route 260 and 87. The fire was caused by lightning on May 19. Smoke will be visible from Route 260 and 87 as well as Payson, Pine, Strawberry, the Verde Valley and Happy Jack. Smoke from this fire is expected to settle in the I-17 corridor, Munds Park, Sedona, Toms Creek, Clover Canyon, Pivot Rock Canyon and West Clear Creek overnight. Information and details about the wildfires, including their specific objectives, will be updated on Inciweb at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/unit/303/. Were not privy to what goes on behind closed doors when the Flagstaff City Council meets with the city attorney on a lawsuit like the one filed by the Hopi Tribe against the city for selling reclaimed wastewater to Arizona Snowbowl for snowmaking. And we also dont have access to the results of tests conducted by the tribe and city of Flagstaff on various wastewater filters and other media that are the basis for supplemental treatment. But we do know that voting 5-2 to table indefinitely a proposed settlement doesnt further the goal of transparent city government and accountable representation. How is it that city staff, presumably under the direction of the council, can develop a settlement proposal that the Hopi Tribal Council endorses, but five members of the City Council effectively reject it, then decline to comment. And if the agreement opponents couldnt comment, why could Coral Evans, who favored it? On its face, the deal seems straightforward. In return for the Hopis dropping their nuisance claim (which a judge has allowed to move forward), it would have required the city to build a $1.6 million earthen filtration system and spend another $181,000 per year in maintenance and operations costs on the project. The filtration system would have been installed underground near Thorpe Park, where a pumphouse pushes water from the citys reclaimed wastewater system uphill to Arizona Snowbowl. The treated effluent is already rated A-plus by the state of Arizona, and the Hopis contend the additional treatment would filter out 75 percent of the remaining hormones and other contaminants. But Evans, in her comments, hinted at some additional considerations that were left out of the document. More broadly, she said, if the lawsuit continues, no one will win in the end. But specifically, regardless of whether the city wins or loses, it may lose its relationship with the Hopi and Navajo tribes, which are jointly pursuing a settlement with Flagstaff and other northern Arizona cities of water rights relating to the Little Colorado River. That agreement, because it likely will affect drawdowns from the C Aquifer, is potentially worth far more to the city financially than the cost of the snowmaking settlement. Flagstaff has long been insulated from regional water politics because of its self-sufficiency: enough well water from the C Aquifer is supplemented by Lake Mary and Inner Basin wells to supply city needs in all but the driest years. But even with conservation and future conversion of some of its treated effluent to potable water, Flagstaff will eventually need to seek outside water that currently has other claimants, including the tribes. It might be that the council majority has determined it can defend and win the lawsuit at less cost than the settlement. Or perhaps it is chafing at footing the bill by itself Snowbowl and other tribes arguably have stakes in a successful resolution. And its possible that the council wants more negotiations with the Hopis, who at this point arent budging. In any case, breaking off negotiations with a motion to table indefinitely sends the wrong signal on an issue that should be part of a much larger and continuing discussion. Flagstaff is no longer a water island unto itself -- it became a regional player back in 2002, when it first sold water for snowmaking outside the city high up on the San Francisco Peaks. Whether current councilmembers would have made the same decision is immaterial the contract has a 20-year extension through 2034, and Hopis are now willing to negotiate. As Evans noted, nobody really wins if a judge has to make a black-or-white call on something that reasonably could be worked out in a shade of gray. At the least, the council should vote to take the settlement offer off the table and back into play. You are here: Home Quotas of 81.1 billion U.S. dollars had been awarded under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program by the end of May, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced on Tuesday. It was a slight increase from 80.1 billion U.S. dollars recorded at the end of April. As of the end of May, the outstanding quota under the RMB-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program totalled 502 billion yuan (77.2 billion U.S. dollars). The government introduced the QFII and RQFII programs in 2003 and 2011 respectively. They give foreign investors the right to move money into the capital account to encourage controllable flows. A clerk counts money. [Photo/Xinhua] Shanghai-based New Development Bank is set to issue its first renminbi-denominated bonds, and is eyeing future funding for infrastructure projects, said Paolu Nogueira Batista, the bank's vice-president for economic research, strategy and partnerships and chief risk officer. The bank was founded by the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to finance sustainable development in the emerging markets and developing countries. Its first five-year yuan-denominated bonds, also referred as green bonds, will be issued after receiving a rating from international ratings agencies as well as getting authorities' approval. Batista outlined the bank's plans on Monday at the closing ceremony of the Shanghai Forum, an annual meeting of officials, academics, business chiefs and world opinion leaders, that discusses issues such as business solutions and social governance. Batista said that more bonds denominated in local currencies of the BRICS countries, including the rupees in India, will be issued if the bank's board and local authorities endorse the project plans. He said that as a result local investors will be more engaged in projects financing sustainable development because they will be exposed to less currency exchange volatility with bonds issued in local currencies. These, Batista said, would benefit the projects as well as sustainability in these markets in the long run. Ambitious yet humble, the bank has been working with efficiency and neutrality, and aims to become a global lender that helps the developing countries to grow in a sustainable manner, Batista said. The NDB announced its first batch of loans on April 16, providing $300 million to Brazil, $81 million to China, $250 million to India and $180 million to South Africa. There are many more new projects in the pipeline, including projects in Russia, which are at various stages of consideration or appraisal, according to the bank. "Each loan modality is different based on project-specific features and borrower preferences. Government approvals, where necessary, will be sought as part of follow-up procedures," the bank said in a statement. So far, the projects the bank has been working on are all financing sustainable energy projects, such as solar power and hydropower, an initiative that is included in the bank's articles of agreement. Batista said that although the bank's founding countries have been facing challenges of economic growth at different levels, be they slowdown or recession, this condition would not affect the NDB's long-term plan and commitment to finance sustainable growth. The NDB aims to be a global lender instead of being limited to being an institution for just a handful of countries. Batista said it wants to expand and be involved in more countries in the future, on condition that the emerging markets and developing countries take a majority of shares and voting rights in the bank. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in Beijing, capital of China, May 26, 2016. [Xinhua/Liu Weibing] Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's four-day visit to China on May 24-27, 2016 was of much more than symbolic importance. Contrary to the customary perception of a presidential visit as one loaded with ceremony and lacking in content, Mukherjee's mission was strategic. And, as a strategic interlocutor, he covered significant ground with finesse and savvy, as only he could have done. President Mukherjee's main achievement was to bring a balmy touch to Sino-Indian relations which have been going through a rough patch in recent months. His talks were calculated to reassure his hosts that India values its relations with China, that India was not a part of any containment games aimed at China, that the country was prepared to do business and welcome investments from China, and that "enhanced cooperation" can resolve both the trade and trust deficits. This has to be viewed in context. In the Indian scheme, although the President is the head of state and Supreme Commander of the armed forces, his position is very different from that of President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama. He was not directly elected. Instead, he was elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Indian Parliament and state legislative assemblies. He is a titular head with a largely ceremonial role. The powers and functions of the President are exercised by the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers. Generally, the President acts on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and his Council. However, Pranab Mukherjee is one of the world's most accomplished political leaders with vast and varied experience in international negotiation, diplomacy, economic affairs and finance. His 50 years in politics, government and foreign affairs, and strong grasp of Sino-Indian relations imbue his role with a certain power and force that is also recognized in China. He is no stranger to China, having visited the country as India's Defence Minister (2006), External Affairs Minister (2008) and Finance Minister (2011) before he became President in July 2012. Therefore, given the series of prickly issues which had cumulatively cast a shadow on Sino-Indian relations, Mukherjee's visit was very important. It was an occasion for India to convey its messages that would put the Chinese leadership at ease without being defensive in the pursuit of its own interests. There have been many high-level exchanges since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in May 2015. Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited China towards the end of 2015. From China, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, and Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, traveled to India. In the early part of 2016, there were high-level visits to and from both sides. The foreign ministers of India and China met at the Russia-India-China Summit and also engaged in bilateral talks during the occasion. India's Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited China as did National Security Advisor Ajit Doval for the Special Representatives' talks on the boundary issue. For all that, both Beijing and Delhi were at odds when it came to India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and in getting UN sanction against Masood Azhar as a terrorist. Beijing was also angered when Delhi issued (and, later revoked) visas issued to Uygur and other Chinese dissidents for a conference in Dharamsala, which is home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. One of the Uygurs given a visa was designated as a terrorist by Beijing and there was an Interpol notice out on him. These developments further muddied bilateral relations already characterized by irritations and a lack of political trust. The erosion of trust was causing concern on both sides as more high-level interactions, including those of multilateral and strategic importance, are scheduled for later this year. In September, Prime Minister Modi is billed to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. In October, President Xi Jinping will be going to the BRICS Summit in Goa. Understandably, either side felt a need to clear the air and create conditions conducive to more pleasant and productive exchange. Doubtless, President Mukherjee's visit served to drive home the point that India greatly values its relations with China and reassure the country that at all times India shall strive for a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship. Thus, more than another high-level interaction, it turned out to be "the highest of high-level visits" in 2016 because of Mukherjee's political stature. Such high-level exchange is necessary in stabilizing Sino-Indian ties, particularly when there is a glaring lack of trust. To that extent, the Mukherjee Mission had a tremendous impact. It may have a positive bearing on the issues that have upset the equilibrium of Sino-Indian relations. In the meantime, both the political atmosphere and tone appear to have changed for the better. The writer is an independent Indian political and foreign affairs commentator. He is a Senior Consultant & Editor of China-India Dialogue, published by China International Publishing Group (CIPG). Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Flash Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Uganda late on Tuesday on the first leg of his two-country tour that will also see him go to neighboring Kenya. This is the first time a Turkish president is visiting the east African region, an economic bloc that brings together Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Strengthening ties with the economic bloc is expected to be a front that Turkey is opening up in deepening its political and economic ties with Africa. Erdogan in February this year had visited four western African countries that included Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Guinea. Last year, he visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. According to figures by the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs, Turkey's trade volume with Africa reached 17.5 billion dollars in 2015, representing a three-fold increase in volume compared to the records of 2003. Flash The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that at least 880 people died the previous week trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Europe, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday. In that regard, "2016 proves to be a particularly deadly year for migrants and refugees using the Mediterranean route": so far 2,510 people lost their lives compared to 1,855 during the same period in 2015, and only 57 in 2014, Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. The North Africa-Italy route is reported to be considerably more dangerous than the other Mediterranean routes: 2,119 of the deaths reported thus far in 2016 had been among people making that journey, he said. "According to some unconfirmed accounts, the recent increase in fatality numbers is linked to efforts by smugglers to maximize income before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, in the coming week," he said. On Sunday, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that at least 700 migrants may have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe after hundreds of others were missing after their boats capsized in the waters. UNHCR said that several shipwrecks had taken place over the weekend as migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea in flimsy vessels. The latest drownings, which pushed the death toll for the year to more than 2,000 people, reportedly originated from human trafficking along the North African coastline. Taking advantage of calm conditions, smugglers in Libya send out more and more migrants toward Italy, often on unseaworthy vessels. Drowning deaths are inevitable, even as Italian Coast Guard and Navy ships race to answer distress calls. Last year, more than 3,700 migrants died in the Mediterranean, a figure that could be surpassed this year. In a statement on Sunday, the United Nations Children's Fund said many of the migrants who drowned in the past week were believed to be unaccompanied adolescents. Flash Dutch TV personality and neo politician Sylvana Simons on Tuesday announced she would issue a declaration with the police against "racist, sexist, and discriminatory comments" following her entry to the political movement DENK. "It is time that the public debate on racism moves into the political arena," Simons said in a press statement. "I consider it as my duty to file a complaint, because fighting injustice begins with reporting it." "It is time that our society realizes that there is a clear red line: perpetrators of discrimination, sexism and racism will be traced and punished," Simons added. "This realization can only occur if all of us are brave enough to mention injustice." Earlier this month, the TV personality agreed to join former Labor (PvdA) members of parliament (MPs) Tunahan Kuzu and Selcuk Ozturk, who founded the political party DENK. She hopes to enter the parliament after the next elections, scheduled for March 2017. Since the announcement, Simons, a 45-year-old Dutch citizen born in Paramaribo, Suriname, received a lot of racist and other comments, especially through social media. "The responses are typical of what many men, women, Muslims, Jews, ethnic minorities, migrants, people with disabilities, older people and gay people experience day in, day out on the job, at the market, at school or on the street," Simons added. "It is of the utmost importance that this climate of intolerance is contested." The national politicians reacted to the racist comments. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: "Disgusting, these reactions stand in the way of a normal debate." "It's the most disgusting form of racism," said Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher. "I hope it leads to prosecution." The Dutch public prosecutor had earlier announced there would be an investigation into the statements against Simons. Flash As many as 26 women have reported sexual assaults at a music festival in the western German city of Darmstadt, German media reported on Tuesday. At the end of the four-day music festival that hosted a crowd of 400,000 visitors, three women were the first to inform the police late Saturday night they had been touched inappropriately by several men, local media Spiegel Online reported. Similar to the New Year's Eve assaults in Cologne earlier in the year, the victims, mostly young women, were each surrounded and harassed by small groups of men. According to a press release from the Darmstadt police, the women believed the perpetrators to be "from the South Asian region." The suspects are alleged to have approached the young women and touched their "intimate areas" without consent. Shortly after the complaints were lodged, the officers arrested three suspects, aged 28 to 31, who were later released. A police spokesman was quoted as saying there were no grounds for detention. According to the police, they were from Pakistan, and at least two were asylum seekers. The German police will start an investigation into sexual assault and sexual harassment. On New Year's Eve, a group of around 1,000 men surrounded, harassed, and robbed mostly women in the western German city of Cologne. According to eyewitnesses and victims, the perpetrators were from Arabic or North African regions. Flash The investigations on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers conducted jointly by the UN Office of the Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), Burundi and Gabon are continuing in the Kemo prefecture in the Central African Republic (CAR), a UN spokesman told reporters on Tuesday. "OIOS informed us that so far, more than 60 out of the 106 complainants have been interviewed by the joint teams," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "Witnesses are also being interviewed in order to corroborate the testimonies." "The interview process is expected to be finalised in the coming few weeks," Dujarric said. "The allegations date back to 2014 and 2015 and there is a lack of medical, judicial and other physical evidence which means that the work of the investigators relies primarily on the testimonies of the victims and witnesses," he said. "There is progress but it is going to take time to identify the alleged perpetrators and carry forward the investigation," he said. "While the investigations continue, the United Nations is keeping eight to 10 staff in the area at all times." In addition, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and their implementing partners continue to provide medical, psycho-social and legal assistance in the area, he said. A UNICEF partner, Association des femmes juristes Centrafricanes (AFJC), is assisting all victims, both minors and adults, during the interviews with OIOS, he added. Most of the allegations relate to Burundian and Gabonese contingents present in the Kemo region between 2013 and 2015, as well as to the separate French Sangaris force stationed in the same region in the same period, UN reported. The United Nations has formally notified the troop-contributing countries in question, as well as to the French authorities, informing them of these allegations. These countries have been requested to send investigators immediately to participate jointly in the ongoing investigation. Flash Hospital officials confirmed that an American woman was apparently bitten by a shark off the coast in the southeast of Los Angeles and she remained hospitalized on Tuesday. Maria Korcsmaros, 52, needed to be hospitalized for at least another week and that only time will tell if she will have full use of her right arm, doctors said at a hospital news conference. The woman was pulled bleeding from the ocean off Corona del Mar, Newport Beach at 4:15 p.m. local time Sunday when lifeguards on a patrol boat noticed she was in distress, according to Newport Beach spokeswoman Tara Finnigan. Authorities said her wounds appeared to be consistent with a shark bite. Officials at Orange County Global Medical Center identified the woman as Maria Korcsmaros, who is an aerobics and fitness trainer in Corona. She is a mother of three, who are aged 16, 22, and 24. Doctors hailed her, a fitness instructor, for staying "remarkably calm" through the ordeal and credited her level of physical fitness for helping her survive. Dr. Philip Rotter, director of orthopedic surgery at Orange County Global Medical Center, said Korcsmaros suffered what appeared to be one large bite on the right side of her body, stretching from her upper body to her pelvic area. Her right arm was seriously wounded. The wound was "very obviously a mouth," he said. "You can see individual marks from individual teeth." Hospital officials said Korcsmaros was attacked when she was swimming about 150 yards (about 137 meters) off the coast, training for a half-Iron Man competition scheduled for July 10 in Canada. The attack prompted authorities to clear the ocean water of swimmers from the Balboa Pier south to Crystal Cove State Beach. The stretch remains closed. Lifeguards searched the water for signs of sharks but "have not spotted a shark or any significant marine life activity," Finnigan said. Flash Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, welcomed here Tuesday the visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, the UAE state news agency WAM reported. Sheikh Mohamed discussed with Hammond the bilateral relations between the UAE and Britain as well as ways to enhance them in the best interests of the two peoples and countries, said WAM. Both sides also reviewed the latest development in regional and international issues, especially the ones involving Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. They also discussed the international efforts to fight violence and terrorism and how to achieve security and stability through joint coordination to address the existing challenges. The UAE and Britain are traditionally strong economic and political allies. Around 4,000 British companies have businesses in the UAE, which is Britain's 12th largest trading partner, according to the British consulate in Dubai. You are here: Home Flash The Syrian air force carried out airstrikes against a camp which belongs to jihadi rebel groups in the northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, leaving many casualties, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported. Two airstrikes targeted the camp of the Jund al-Aqsa group in the northern countryside of Idlib, said the report. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said tens of rebels from the Ahrar al-Sham Movement were killed by airstrikes against their camps in Idlib. The UK-based watchdog group said senior trainers from the commanders of Ahrar al-Sham were at the camp in the town of Sheikh Bahar in Idlib countryside. The fresh strikes came after airstrikes targeted positions of the Jaish al-Fateh rebel group in Idlib at midnight, killing over 25 people. The Jaish al-Fateh accused the Russian air force of carrying the strikes, which was later denied by Moscow. The al-Mayadeen said the midnight strikes killed rebels, while the Observatory said civilians were among those killed, including children. In retaliation, the Jaish al-Fateh fired at the government enclave of Kafraya and Foa towns in Idlib countryside, leaving unknown losses. Both towns are Shiite and besieged by the rebels. The Syrian army was said to start an offensive against Idlib, much of which under the control of Jaish al-Fateh and other rebel factions. Still, it's not yet clear whether the strikes were a prelude for an offensive in Idlib, near Turkey. You are here: Home Flash The Chinese embassy in Kenya on Friday donated foodstuffs and school supplies to a children's home in the capital Nairobi, ahead of Children's Day on Wednesday. Li Ping, wife of the Chinese ambassador to Kenya, handed over the donations to the Thomas Barnados Children's Home, which cares for orphans, destitute and abandoned children. "Caring and taking responsibility for children is a virtue of the Chinese people," Li said. She said Chinese companies had in the past aided schools in Kenya, some constructed or renovated school buildings for them and some made donations. She said the Chinese embassy would continue to support the children's home. The chief administrator of Thomas Barnados Children's Home, Agnes Kiraithe, expressed gratitude to the Chinese embassy. "We appreciate the goodwill and kind gesture from the Chinese people for remembering the home. Whatever you have given us will reach these needy children," Kiraithe said. The children's home takes care of more than 500 children, with some 200 of them boarding at the facility, according to Kiraithe. Flash The UN Security Council on Tuesday renewed sanctions on South Sudan for another year to support the implementation of a peace agreement in the country. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-nation council decided to renew the travel bans and asset freezes imposed on individuals obstructing the peace deal and meanwhile extend the mandate of the panel of experts who monitor the sanctions for 13 months. The council also expressed its grave alarm regarding the conflict between the government of South Sudan and oppositions forces which emanated from internal political disputes. Fighting erupted in the world's youngest oil-rich nation two years after it gained independence in 2011, when South Sudan President Salva Kiir accused the rebel leader Riek Machar of plotting a coup. The Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan signed on Aug. 17, 2015 ended the 21 month-long civil war which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more. Late last month, South Sudan formed a Transitional Government of Nations Unity, which the Security Council hailed as an important milestone in implementation of the peace agreement. Flash Chinese government on Tuesday donated logistic supplies worth one million U.S. dollars to South Sudan for implementation of security arrangements in the country. Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan Ma Qiang donated the supplies, which included 20 prefab houses, 1,080 military tents, 10,000 boxes of instant food, 4,300 blankets, 2,000 mosquito nets, 50 diesel generators, 10 solar generators, 500 electric fans, and 500 flashlights. Ma said the donation followed a request extended by the government of South Sudan at the end of last year and would help facilitate the transitional security arrangements by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), the body which oversees the implementation of the peace deal and Joint Military Ceasefire Commission (JMCC). "I am very glad to see that through the coordination of JMEC and JMCC, a distribution plan of these materials has been made. We hope that a fair and effective distribution of the donation could be carried out to bring those materials to proper areas," Ma said. The Chinese envoy said China will always remain committed as a true friend and sincere partner for the world's youngest nation as Juba embarks on reconstruction. Endit You are here: Home Flash Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is fast recovering after an open heart surgery in a London hospital on Tuesday, his family said. Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said surgery of the prime minister was successful. The PM Office in Islamabad said Nawaz Sharif was shifted to the Intensive-Care Unit after nearly four-hour surgery. The office has also issued a post-operation photograph of the prime minister. "Doctors are satisfied that the surgery has been successful more than their expectations," Maryam told Geo television. She said that the surgery was conducted around 5 p.m. Pakistan time and continued for four hours, adding the prime minister will return home after three weeks. She disclosed that her father wanted to undergo surgery after two years but doctors suggested him to do it now. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) arranged special prayers across the country for the early recovery of Sharif. On Monday, the prime minister, presided over cabinet meeting via video from London and gave approval to the budget for the year 2016-17. The budget will be presented in the parliament on June 3. Endit You are here: Home Flash Four people have been confirmed dead, with 10 more wounded, in a collapse accident in South Korea of the subway construction site, Yonhap news agency and local broadcaster YTN reported Wednesday. An official with the firefighting authorities told a briefing, televised through the broadcaster, that a subway construction site collapsed for an unidentified reason at about 7:27 a.m. local time. Four people were found dead, with eight more injured. Among them, three were heavily injured, and five suffered light injuries. According to Yonhap, two more have been found wounded, sending the total casualty number to 10 injuries and four deaths. Flash A 29-year-old man is in a critical condition in a Perth hospital after his leg was severed in a shark attack while surfing off a beach in Mandurah. A man attacked by a shark off a beach in Western Australia (WA) while surfing on Tuesday is fighting for life, the ABC reported on Wednesday. The 29-year-old man, Ben Gerring, is believed to have lost a leg above the knee. WA Department of Fisheries staff will set up traps at the beach on Wednesday morning to attempt to catch the shark, believed to be a three-meter long white shark. A spokesperson for the department said, "a serious threat to public safety exists" at the beach in Mandurah, south of the city of Perth. Mandurah Boardriders Club President Brian Williams told the ABC he arrived at the scene as fellow surfers dragged Gerring onto the beach. "By the time they got him to the beach somebody had already applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and they were just trying to do CPR to get him back breathing," Williams said. "We had to stop on a number of occasions to maintain CPR, but I was holding the stretcher as we were getting him into the ambulance." He noted Gerring had lost a lot of blood. "It's pretty harrowing seeing somebody you know lying there motionless, hoping that everything's going to be OK." There have been a number of shark attacks in the Madurah region where Gerring was bitten in recent years, including the death of a diver in 2014. Flash A total of 129 out of 249 Myanmar fishermen, who had served their prison terms in India after being detained for illegally entering that country's territorial waters, have been released and brought back home, official media reported Wednesday. The return of the first batch of the Myanmar fishermen, held at Open Distress Camp of India, came after several rounds of negotiations with the Indian authorities. They arrived at the Yangon International Airport Tuesday, the report said, adding that the remaining fishermen will return on Thursday by chartered flight. The Myanmar fishermen were arrested by the Indian navy while floating in the territorial waters of India due to a storm and engine failure. Flash At least six militants were killed in an exchange of firing with police in Pakistan's central Layyah district on Wednesday, local Urdu media reported. Geo News said that Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police conducted a search operation acting on an intelligence tip-off regarding presence of militants in Chobara area of Layyah, a district located in the country's east Punjab province. The militants attacked the police party with hand grenades and also opened fire at them when the cops tried to raid their hideout, during the search operation in the area. Six militants were killed in the shoot out while their two accomplices managed to flee the scene. Police said that the militants belonged to Al-Qaeda and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and were planning to carryout terrorist activities in the Punjab province. The bodies of the killed militants were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Layyah for autopsy. The CTD personnel also recovered arms including suicide jackets, guns and hand grenades from the militants' hideout that was sealed for further investigations. Police has sped up the intelligence-based-operations (IBOs) in the province on the directive of the Country's PM Nawaz Sharif, following a blast at a public park in March this year which killed over 80 people and injured hundreds others. At least 26 militants were killed in various IBOs by police in Punjab in May, according to Xinhua tally. Flash Brazil's interim President Michel Temer said on Tuesday that Brazil will set up a specialized organ to fight the violence against women, in response to a recent gang rape of a 16-year-old girl that shocked the South American country. The decision was made at a meeting held on the same day of public security secretaries from Brazil's 27 states. Temer said at the meeting that the Brazilian society is ashamed of the abhorrent incident that took place on May 21 in a slum in the western part of Rio de Janeiro. "We are all concerned and we should work together and if we can't eliminate it, we can at least reduce this evil," he added. The gang rape, which is now under police investigation, possibly involved more than 30 men. It came to light after a video clip and images were uploaded to internet social media sites. The organ to be established will coordinate nationwide efforts to crack down on the violence against women, Temer said, adding that the Brazilian government will increase related funding despite fiscal difficulties. Data from a Brazilian public security forum show that more than 47,600 Brazilian women suffered sex assault in different forms in 2014. Tuesday's public security meeting was called by the Ministry of Justice to assess the security situation in Brazil, and to coordinate security work for the Rio Olympics to be held in August, among other issues. Flash Photo taken on April 5, 2016 shows the lighthouse on Zhubi Reef of Nansha Islands in theSouth China Sea, south China. [Xinhua file photo] A recent New York Times editorial that criticized China's rightful territorial claims in South China Sea is misleading by misconstruing and ignoring facts and international norms, said Ben Reynolds, a U.S. foreign policy analyst. The Times editorial, "Playing Chicken in the South China Sea," accused China of escalating tensions between itself, its neighbors, and the United States. The editorial has vastly overstated the importance of the South China Sea to an audience that is increasingly skeptical of overseas interventions, argued Reynolds in a column piece with China-US Focus, an open-platform website focusing on China-U.S. relations based in Hong Kong. Overinflating the sea's importance The editorial misstated and overly exaggerated the fact of the South China Sea being rich in resources, wrote Reynolds, pointing out that the only resource currently being extracted from the region in significant quantities is fish. Regarding other energy resources like oil and natural gas, the vast majority of their reserves lie outside disputed areas according to the U.S. Energy Information administration, wrote the columnist. Reynolds acknowledged the argument that the South China Sea is of vital strategic importance because it contains major trade flows is partially correct, but he argued that no party to the territorial disputes believes or suggests that China's claims pose a threat to peacetime trade. Ignoring facts The Times editorial blamed China's land reclamation and construction activities in the South China Sea as an "aggressive and outrageous tactic," but it ignored the fact that U.S. allies and partners involved in the dispute have also expanded or constructed islands in the South China Sea in recent years, argued Reynolds. Reynolds continued his rebuttal on the Times' innuendo from bringing up China's rising military budget, noting that the editorial deliberately omitted the fact that the 2015 U.S. military budget was 601 billion U.S. dollars, more than three times than that of China. Reynolds pointed out that the Times editors offered little criticism on the United States' own astronomical military budget and its deployments in the Asia-Pacific. "I should not have to remind the reader, much less the editors of a major global newspaper, that the United States is not located in Asia," wrote Reynolds. Mouthpiece for U.S. interventionist foreign policy Reynolds proceeded to point out the hypocrisy of the editorial's argument that China is attempting to dangerously revise the post-World War II international norms. The argument ignored the fact that the post-war order in Asia was designed by the United States to hedge against the influence of the Soviet Union, wrote Reynolds. "It was not designed to promote freedom and democracy". "Again, we see that the object of the Times' critique is not militarism, threatening behavior, or the revision of international norms as such...Rather, the Times is critiquing Chinese behavior because China is a geopolitical rival of the United States," wrote Reynolds. Misleading the American people about U.S.-China rivalry in the South China Sea with omissions and half-truths is the job of the Defense Department, not the press, said Reynolds. The New York Times has been on the wrong side of history in almost every proposed foreign intervention since World War II, which in its history endorsed the Vietnam War, the 2003 Iraq War, and the bombing of Libya, according to the columnist. "Let us hope that the New York Times is more thorough and careful with the facts in future pieces, lest it sell the American public on yet another disastrous foreign intervention." Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping (R), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with a visiting delegation of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) led by Ri Su Yong, a member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, vice chairman of the WPK Central Committee and director of the party's International Department, in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2016. [Pang Xinglei/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping met with a visiting delegation of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday. Ri Su Yong, head of the delegation, delivered an oral message from top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un to Xi. In his message, Kim expressed that the DPRK hopes to work with China to strengthen and develop the bilateral traditional friendship, and maintain peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. Ri also gave a briefing on the seventh WPK congress, which was held in early May, during which Kim was elected chairman of the WPK. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, welcomed the delegation, saying the visit was evidence of the tradition of strategic communication between the two parties on major issues. The visit also demonstrated that Chairman Kim and the WPK Central Committee attach importance to relations between the two parties and two countries, according to Xi. Xi wished the people of the DPRK greater success in endeavors related to the economy, standard of living and socialism. China highly values the friendly cooperative relations with the DPRK, Xi stressed, adding that the nation is willing to work with the DPRK to properly maintain, consolidate and develop bilateral ties. China's stance on the issue of the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear, Xi said, calling on relevant sides to stay calm, exercise restraint, and enhance communication and dialogue to safeguard regional peace and stability. Ri is a member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee,vice chairman of the WPK Central Committee and director of the party's International Department. Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi also attended the meeting. You are here: Home Flash The North African branch of Al-Qaeda has claimed the attacks in northern Mali that killed four people, including a Chinese peacekeeper, monitoring group SITE said on Wednesday. Flash More then 40 bodies of tiger cubs and a dead bear were found frozen at Thailand's Tiger Temple, wildlife officials said on Wednesday. The grisly discover came after the relocation of the remaining 137 tigers of the temple operated by at least 1,000 personnel at the remote forest temple in western Thailand since Monday. The dead cubs and bear were stored in the freezer where the temple kept food for the tigers, said Adisorn Nuchdamrong, deputy director-general of the wildlife department, who claimed that the temple had never registered the dead cubs. He believed that the tiger cub carcasses must be of some value for the temple to have kept them. The tiny tiger cubs found after authorities stormed the temple's secret stash, aged from birth to one week old. Observers said on Twitter that they appeared to have been killed recently. The raid began on May 30 is the latest move in a tug-of-war since 2001 to bring the tigers under state control, which was widely obstructed by the monks. The Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, had become a tourist destination where visitors snapped selfies with bottle-fed cubs. The temple promotes itself as a wildlife sanctuary, but in recent years, it has been investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and animal abuse. The temple has denied claims that the monks carry out irresponsible breeding programmes, traffic endangered species and sell the animals. Animal rights activists have been long campaigning against the temple's illegal possession of the big cats, describing it as "hell for animals" and called on tourists to stop visiting animal attractions at home and abroad. Flash The Russian government started a program on Wednesday to allow local residents to lease land for free in the Far East, local authorities announced. People living in the Khanka area, located in the northwestern part of Primorsky region and bordering Lake Khanka, will be the first to benefit from the program, the local administration said on its official website. The program will be expanded on Oct. 1 this year to allow all residents of the Far East to lease one hectare of land per head for free. The program will be further expanded to cover all residents of the Russian Federation in February 2017, authorities said. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law in early May that allows citizens to lease land for free for up to five years in the Far East to attract more settlers. The leased land will become private property if it is proved to have been developed after five years of use. Otherwise it will be returned to the Russian government. Flash A vessel from the French navy participating in the search for the Egyptian airplane that crashed over Mediterranean last month has received signals from the seabed that might be from one of the data recorders, Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Wednesday. In a press release, the ministry said the French vessel "La Place" of the French navy, has received through its search equipment signals from the seabed of the wreckage search area, assumed to be from one of the data recorders. Extensive search efforts are being carried out to locate the two data recorders in preparation for their retrieval by "JOHN LETHBRIDGE" which is a vessel that belongs to DOS "Deep Ocean Search," that will join the search team within a week. The Airbus A320, en route from Paris to Cairo, disappeared from radar screens on Thursday at 2:45 a.m. Cairo local time (0045 GMT) with 66 people aboard, including 30 Egyptians and 15 French. On May 20, the Egyptian army found debris from the crashed EgyptAir plane 290 km north of the coastal city of Alexandria. Search operations for the victims and data recorders have been going on. Latest model launched, and another promised by end of year as firm aims to boost sales Customers experience Lenovo Group's latest smartphone ZUK Z2, which it unveiled on Tuesday. The newly released smartphone has a 5-inch screen and is equipped with a Snapdragon 820 processor by Qualcomm Inc. [Photo provided to China Daily] Lenovo Group Ltd unveiled its latest smartphone on Tuesday, the ZUK Z2, which it hopes will rejuvenate sluggish sales and return it to the top tier of phone makers within two years. Priced at 1,799 yuan ($273) and equipped with Qualcomm Inc's Snapdragon 820 processor, the newest device features a smaller 5-inch screen than the previous ZUK Z2 Pro model, which was only launched in April. Chen Xudong, senior vice-president in charge of Lenovo's mobile business group, said: "We will release another generation of ZUK, and an epoch-making Moto smartphone that target high-end users, in the second half of this year." He added that huge attention in the future will be paid to building brand image and expanding the company's retail channels and marketing effort. The remarks come shortly after the Beijing-based firm reported its first loss in six years, which it blamed on the cost of restructuring and declining sales of both smartphones and PCs. According to its annual fiscal report, released on Thursday, the technology giant reported a net loss of $128 million for the full-year ended March 31, compared with a net profit of $829 million in the same period last year. It sold 66 million smartphones globally in the period, a 13 percent slide year-on-year, which shaved 1.1 percent from its share of the global smartphone market, to 4.6 percent. James Yan, research director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, said Lenovo's efforts at rebuilding its image are now squarely focused on the ZUK smartphone brand, but that it would find it "difficult to get back into the top three, or five, of the domestic smartphone market within a short time". He predicted that could take two years, and only then, if its competitors make a mistake. The latest figures from consulting company International Data Corporation show Lenovo shipped 74 million smartphones in 2015, which gave it a 5.2 percent market share globally, ranked it in fourth place. A kid plays at a amusement park in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, May 31, 2016. [Photo/VCG] Chinese online shoppers are bargain hunters. But when it comes to the well-being of their children, they can be pretty generous. A report released by the internet finance arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd showed that on average Chinese parents spent more than 80 yuan ($12.15) in 2015 on each online order made for their children. The report, published on Tuesday by Ant Financial Services Group, showed parents in Shanghai are the top spenders for their children. Statistics showed that Shanghai parents spent 136 yuan on average each time they shopped online for their children. They are followed in order by parents in Beijing, Zhejiang province, Tibet autonomous region and Jiangsu province. About 41 percent of their online spending for children involved clothes, followed by 23 percent for toys, 22 percent in diapers and baby strollers and then 14 percent in baby food. Wang Fang, a mother in Beijing, said she has no idea how much money she had spent on her two-year-old son in the past year. "I shop online quite often. For my husband and myself, I mostly go for products sold on local websites and for those with a good cost performance. But for my son, I shop via overseas websites for him. I want him to have the best we can afford," said the 33-year-old. Smart internet firms are tapping into business opportunities created by loving Chinese parents, especially on children's day on Wednesday. Didi Chuxing, China's largest car-on-demand service provider, said it will launch a service on Wednesday to help parents book rides for their school-going children via its mobile application. The service, which will first test the water in Beijing, targets children between the age of four and 16. The service is dedicated to helping busy working parents carry their kids from home to school. All the third-party cars chosen for the project are medium-end cars worth 200,000 yuan and each car is equipped with a car safety seat. To ensure the safety and the heath of children, Didi Chuxing has set a high bar for drivers who want to shoulder the special task, including minimum five-year experience in driving and a track record in providing high quality service. "The drivers will receive training organized by Didi Chuxing, including first aid and child psychology, so that they are prepared for all kinds of emergencies during the ride," said the company. A clerk counts money for a client at an Agricultural Bank of China branch in Hainan province. [Photo/IC] Shanghai-based New Development Bank is set to issue its first renminbi-denominated bonds, and is eyeing future funding for infrastructure projects, said Paolu Nogueira Batista, the bank's vice-president for economic research, strategy and partnerships and chief risk officer. The bank was founded by the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to finance sustainable development in the emerging markets and developing countries. Its first five-year yuan-denominated bonds, also referred as green bonds, will be issued after receiving a rating from international ratings agencies as well as getting authorities' approval. Batista outlined the bank's plans on Monday at the closing ceremony of the Shanghai Forum, an annual meeting of officials, academics, business chiefs and world opinion leaders, that discusses issues such as business solutions and social governance. Batista said that more bonds denominated in local currencies of the BRICS countries, including the rupees in India, will be issued if the bank's board and local authorities endorse the project plans. He said that as a result local investors will be more engaged in projects financing sustainable development because they will be exposed to less currency exchange volatility with bonds issued in local currencies. These, Batista said, would benefit the projects as well as sustainability in these markets in the long run. Ambitious yet humble, the bank has been working with efficiency and neutrality, and aims to become a global lender that helps the developing countries to grow in a sustainable manner, Batista said. The NDB announced its first batch of loans on April 16, providing $300 million to Brazil, $81 million to China, $250 million to India and $180 million to South Africa. There are many more new projects in the pipeline, including projects in Russia, which are at various stages of consideration or appraisal, according to the bank. "Each loan modality is different based on project-specific features and borrower preferences. Government approvals, where necessary, will be sought as part of follow-up procedures," the bank said in a statement. So far, the projects the bank has been working on are all financing sustainable energy projects, such as solar power and hydropower, an initiative that is included in the bank's articles of agreement. Batista said that although the bank's founding countries have been facing challenges of economic growth at different levels, be they slowdown or recession, this condition would not affect the NDB's long-term plan and commitment to finance sustainable growth. The NDB aims to be a global lender instead of being limited to being an institution for just a handful of countries. Batista said it wants to expand and be involved in more countries in the future, on condition that the emerging markets and developing countries take a majority of shares and voting rights in the bank. Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, speaks at the annual board meeting of the Asia News Network held at China Daily in Beijing, May 31, 2016. [Feng Yongbin / chinadaily.com.cn] Membership to rise from 57 to nearly 100; first projects to be announced this month The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will earn international trust and credibility through its performance, the bank's President Jin Liqun said on Tuesday. Jin dispelled mistrust and skepticism about China's motivation for creating the multilateral financial institution. He said the bank will see its first group of infrastructure projects by the end of June and will raise the ceiling on its membership numbers from 57 to nearly 100 countries and regions this year. While the United States and Japan have declined to join the AIIB, Jin said countries can work together regardless of whether they are members of the bank, which will soon appoint a Japanese national to serve in a senior position. "The door has been open and will remain open," he said, adding that Japan and the US will be treated equally and fairly by the AIIB. In a rare meeting, Jin sat down with a group of senior editors from major Asian news outlets to discuss the mission and operation of the China-led bank. "The first batch of projects will speak volumes for the AIIB," Jins aid, adding that the bank will unveil the second and third group of projects by the end of the year. Jin's remarks came ahead of the bank's first annual meeting on June 25 and 26 in Beijing. Governors and representatives from its 57 founding members will attend. In his discussions with the editors from the Asia News Network, Jin used a quote from English author Jane Austen to hit back at skepticism about China's motivation for creating the bank. "Skepticism must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure," Jin said, replacing "selfishness" in the original quote, with "skepticism". He shrugged off suspicion and misconceptions about the bank, saying it has no intention to challenge the international financial order or to pose a threat to other multilateral development banks. The bank is working seamlessly with international institutions, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to cofinance infrastructure projects, he said. Jin said priority will be given initially to Asian member countries when it comes to funding infrastructure projects. But the bank will seek to expand its investment scope to non-Asian countries with strong economic ties to the continent and will look beyond the geographic boundaries of China's Belt and Road Initiative. In addition to funding infrastructure projects, the bank will finance sectors including education, healthcare and urban planning and management, Jin said. He also said the bank is not interested in taking a venture capital role by investing in new technologyunderscoring the rational and cautious approach of the bank's investment philosophy. Jin said the projects being eyed by the bank must be financially sustainable, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable. John Nery, editor-in-chief of Inquirer.net, a Philippine media outlet, said Jin gave a clear presentation of the AIIB and addressed some of the most common misconceptions about the bank. "I found him to be a very articulate and learned man. I think the AIIB is in very good hands," he said, adding that he looked forward to the announcement of the bank's first projects later this month. Chen Mengwei contributed to this story. BEIJING - There are now more than 500 million 4G users in China thanks to government measures, a minister told a conference Tuesday. China owns the world's largest 4G network with more than 2 million 4G base stations, Industry and Information Technology Minister Miao Wei told the First Global 5G Event in Beijing. The country's mobile Internet users processed more than 4 million terabytes of data last year, 103 percent more than the previous year, according to Miao. China has formed a 5G R&D team to research and test the technology with a view to commercialize it by 2020. BEIJING - Quotas of $81.1 billion had been awarded under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program by the end of May, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced on Tuesday. It was a slight increase from $80.1 billion recorded at the end of April. As of the end of May, the outstanding quota under the renminbi-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program totalled 502 billion yuan ($77.2 billion). The government introduced the QFII and RQFII programs in 2003 and 2011 respectively. They give foreign investors the right to move money into the capital account to encourage controllable flows. BEIJING - Chinese retailer tycoon Huang Guangyu, currently in jail, was granted an 11-month commutation by a court in Beijing on Tuesday. Huang, born in 1969 at Shantou city in South China's Guangdong province and a permanent resident of Hong Kong, was once the richest man on the Chinese mainland and former chairman of Chinese retailer giant Gome. The Beijing No 2 prison, where Huang is serving his time, suggested having his jail term commuted on the grounds of his good behaviors in prison. The procuratorate agreed to the proposed commutation. Huang was sentenced in 2010 to 14 years in prison, a 600 million yuan ($91.2 million) fine and confiscation of personal assets worth 200 million yuan after a court in Beijing found him guilty of illegal business dealings, insider trading and bribery. His sentence was shortened by ten months in 2012. According to the court, Huang had turned in the 800 million yuan fines and personal assets and 23.66 million yuan of illegal gains as per his sentence. After the commutation, Huang will finish serving his jail term on Feb 16, 2021. CHANGSHA - Chinese construction equipment maker Zoomlion said Tuesday that failure to agree on price was the only reason for terminating the deal to acquire US crane maker Terex. Sun Changjun, vice president of Zoomlion, told Xinhua that it is tempting for foreign companies to attribute the failure of a Chinese takeover to non-market factors such as government control. Zoomlion proposed acquiring Terex at $31 per share in March. After Terex decided to sell its material handling and port solutions (MHPS) business to Finland's Konecranes, Zoomlion asked that its bid be revised down. Terex said in a press release on Friday last week that Zoomlion "was unable to provide a fully financed, binding proposal for the purchase of Terex with or without MHPS. This ends the prolonged period of uncertainty that this process has brought to Terex and its customers, team members and shareholders." Previous media reports have suggested that the deal could have fallen through on foreign exchange controls, a funding shortfall or lack of Chinese government support. However, Sun said that Zoomlion had already secured written approval from China's National Development and Reform Commission ahead of the first round of non-binding bidding in November last year. The deal is also not subject to foreign exchange control as authorities encourage equipment manufacturers to seek cooperation abroad. Zoomlion's offer, Sun said, was 40 percent funded by the company's own cash and 60 percent by bank loans. He said the company had received commitment letters from several Chinese banks, refuting concern over Zoomlion's ability to secure funding. Though talks with Zoomlion are terminated, Terex said the sale of its MHPS business to Konecranes for approximately $1.3 billion will proceed. Customers experience Lenovo Group's latest smartphone ZUK Z2, which it unveiled on Tuesday. The newly released smartphone has a 5-inch screen and is equipped with a Snapdragon 820 processor by Qualcomm Inc. [Photo provided to China Daily] ZUK, one of Lenovo Group's smartphone brands founded last year, issued a 5-inch Z2 in Beijing on Tuesday. "Lenovo plans big moves in the smartphone sector this year, " said Senior Vice-President Chen Xudong, who last year was named head of Lenovo's China mobile business group to revive its faltering smartphone business.. The Z2 is the second launch of ZUK this year, followed the ZUK Z2 Pro model in April. "We are going to unveil another new product at Lenovo's TechWorld on June 9 in San Francisco, the United States," Chen added. Declining sales of smartphones and personal computers resulted in the first loss of the Chinese technology giant in six years. According to its annual fiscal report released on Thursday, the Hong Kong-listed technology company registered a net loss of $128 million for the fiscal year that ended in March. Only one year earlier, Lenovo reported a profit of $829 million. "Based on our strengths in technology innovation, Lenovo plans to expand our smartphone business from the sectors of the product, brand and channel this year ," said Chen. The flagship, small-screen ZUK Z2 is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor. Priced at 1,799 yuan ($273), it will be available on June 7. An investor browses stock information with his smartphone at a brokerage in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to China Daily] As much as 300 billion yuan ($45.5 billion) in pension funds are expected to march into the stock market in August, as China's huge social security fund is closing up its hiring by June, Securities Daily reported on Wednesday. The National Council for Social Security Fund, the agency that oversees the pension fund, in early May posted rare job openings for 29 positions for fund managers and accountants on its website, hoping to find professionals to run the fund. August will just be the country's initial push into riskier assets investment, which account for 15 percent of the pension fund's total net assets, the newspaper said, citing Li Lifeng, an analyst at Sinolink Securities Co. A new guideline issued on May 1, the first of its kind by the central government, regulates that the fund's maximum investment in stocks be 30 percent of its net assets, or about 600 billion yuan. The regulation allows the country's pension funds to invest in riskier products, including fixed-income products, stocks and private equity funds. China's total pension funds stood at 3.99 trillion yuan at the end of 2015, according to a report from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Monday. The funds drew an annual revenue of 3.22 trillion yuan, up 16.6 percent from a year earlier, far more than its expenditure of 2.79 trillion yuan, the report said. With new regulations being rolled out, the pension fund is expected to usher in a new era of development, said Xu Peidong, an analyst at the Everbright Securities Research Institute. A visitor looks at imported dairy products at an international food expo in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily] Talking cheese can be an emotional thing for some Chinese people. Once I saw a Chinese woman distressed at the mention of it, on an internet video blog. From her remarks it seems some European men are less than culturally sensitive when faced with a plate of chicken's feet, while the woman, for her part, was openly uncomfortable at the prospect of a partner consuming cheese, particularly those boasting richly pungent odors, like mature camembert. Though a China "newbie" freshly off the plane in Beijing, I thought I had the necessary research before arriving. It involved in part watching hundreds of hours of video blogs by Chinese and expats in China and I believed I knew where things stood when it came to cheese. But how wrong I was about the supply, at least in Beijing. A colleague took me to one market displaying a veritable cornucopia of cheesy comestibles. And then my local Ito Yokado store revealed a bountiful range. As my canny New Zealand pal told me, the number of expats would never support such stocks. The local Chinese were doing most of the buying. The array is almost breathtaking, at least on a par with any well equipped supermarkets in the West. On one foray into Ito Yokado there was an entire section of butter with product names among them Westgold (New Zealand), Anchor (also Kiwi), Paysan Breton (French), President and Lurpak. In the almost decadent milk section, there was Meadow Fresh (New Zealand), and Oldenburger UHT semi skinned (German) among dozens of brands. Among the yoghurts there were such favorites as Yoplait, Perle de Lait, and Danone and many more. From very near these dairy items, came the wafting, warm smells of fresh bread in all its forms from a shop called Paris Baguette. And, naturally, there were wonderful French cakes and other delights. A couple of bottles of white wine had been thoughtfully placed in a chilling display cabinet, next to the cheese. In all, a completely Western shopping experience in a Japanese department store in a Chinese city. And so it came to me: it's not just the high tech, upscale autos and luxury watches, where the consumption revolution is taking place in China, although they seem the most visible. Cheese and the wider dairy products sector is a truly global businessand it's coming to China in a big way if New Zealand's Fonterra Co-operative Group has its way. Indeed it's already here. But the wheel of brie and the number of milk cans and butter churns seem set to grow exponentially. The New Zealand dairy cooperative has just launched its new brand, Anchor Food Professionals, in Shanghai, in a move to take advantage of China's "fast-expanding" dairy market, estimated to have an annual compound growth rate of more than 20 percent. Their move is shrewd. According to data compiled by Dianping Holdings Ltd, China's biggest online food services rating website, the food services market on the Chinese mainland that uses dairy goods expanded from 71.2 billion yuan ($10.9 billion) in 2012 to 187 billion in 2016 and will rocket to 550 billion yuan in 2020. It also comes at a time when the outlook in Australia for its dairy industry is smelling a bit off, with a reported "price crisis" sparking calls for emergency government aid funding. And the deepening Chinese lurch into dairy consumption, as with other sectors from electric cars to wind turbines, could have global ramifications ultimately for the international dairy industry as the tastebuds of a billion plus consumers turn more to milk, butter and cheese. Might it be time for canny investors to quietly accumulate on weakness some Australian dairy sector shares? SoftBank's human-like robot named "Pepper" performs to welcome as a concierge at an entrance of Mizuho Financial Group's Mizuho bank branch in Tokyo, Japan, July 17, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] HANGZHOU - SoftBank announced Wednesday that it will sell a 4-percent stake in Alibaba Group, its first time selling shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant since it invested in 2000. After the transaction, the Japanese telecom operator will remain Alibaba's biggest shareholder with 28 percent. Alibaba announced that it has agreed to pay $2 billion in cash to buy back shares from SoftBank. In addition, Alibaba founders and executives agreed to acquire $400 million worth of Alibaba shares at the same price. According to SoftBank, it will sell Alibaba shares worth $500 million to a sovereign wealth fund. It will also issue $5 billion in mandatory exchangeable trust securities exchangeable for Alibaba shares in three years. What is it with pandas? No editor seems to be able to resist the temptation of carrying a story; and the cute creatures have long been a staple of global media. No wonder then that the front page of the inaugural issue of China Daily prominently carried the story of Chia-Chia returning from Washington Zoo to his home in London Zoo after failing to stir the romantic interest of Hsing-Hsing in the US capital. But, of course, it wasn't just for panda coverage that China Daily was launched on June 1, 1981. It was meant to open up a country which until then was closed to the world -- and tell the story in English. Today, anyone anywhere in the world can read China Daily in print or on a whole range of new media platforms. It is the most quoted source of news, comment and opinion on China as it informs readers of developments in the world's second-largest economy. Back then, a growing stream of tourists, businesspeople, consultants and "foreign experts" making their way to the country found themselves almost isolated from the outside world - and didn't know much of what was happening in the country, either. In today's plugged-in world, it might be difficult to comprehend that news in English was then at such a premium. The reason for starting the paper might have been prosaic: keeping foreigners in China apprised of news in the country and around the world. But soon, our mission was clear: Going beyond mere information to presenting and explaining China to the world - and vice versa. Design was blessed with fortuity when the birth of the paper coincided with reform and opening up - which perhaps resulted in the biggest economic and social transformation in history. We have not looked back since. What started as an eight-page broadsheet - in itself bucking the trend of the then four-page Chinese newspapers, and using bigger pictures - is now a multimedia platform with a 24-page flagship newspaper. The journey has been eventful with continuous growth the constant. Along the way, we added more offerings such as the 21st Century stable of publications catering to young Chinese learning English. We now have editions in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. And we were pioneers in embracing technology as well as the first newspaper in the country to go online. The one-year sentence of a man surnamed Li, who was convicted of molesting a 5-year-old girl, was upheld by Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday. CAO BOYUAN/CHINA DAILY The right to be a child's guardian must be removed whenever parents and guardians are found to have sexually abused minors, officials from China's top court said on Tuesday in response to a rise in such cases in recent years. The Supreme People's Court asked courts at all levels to strictly deprive guardianship, a move aimed at protecting children, said Ma Dong, a judge in the research department of the top court. Chinese courts sentenced 6,620 offenders involved in 7,610 cases relating to child molestation between 2013 and 2015, according to the top court. During that three-year period, the number of such cases before the courts rose by a staggering 48.9 percent. "The significant rise has made people in all walks of life pay closer attention to the issue," Ma said. Of the 12 high-profile cases publicized by the top court on Tuesday, in which courts deprived parents' rights of guardianship over their children, one-third of them were because of rape, sexual abuse or other molestation, Ma said. In one case, from January 2015, Tongshan District People's Court in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, removed a couple's right of guardianship over their child after finding the father had frequently sexually assaulted his daughter and that the mother had done nothing to stop the abuse. The father was sentenced to 11 years in prison and the 12-year-old was taken into care, the top court said. "Withdrawing such unqualified parental guardianship is required by judicial guideline issued by the top court in 2013 in which teachers, parents and civil servants who sexually abuse children are identified for severe punishment," Ma said. "What we are doing is strictly enforcing that legal document to better protect children." Yue Lin, a researcher at the top court specializing in cases involving children, said work to protect children from abuse needs cooperation between judicial bodies, civil affairs departments and NGOs. "After all, a court can only sentence those who injure childrendeprive them of their guardianship and order them to keep away from children,but the real problem is not rooted out," Yue said. "It's understandable that these children are too young to report what they are suffering, but it's not understandable when people such as teachers and neighbors who know these kids are being damaged ignore it." Both Yue and Ma called for grassroots efforts to be made, especially in local communities, to fight against the exploitation of children and report abuse in a timely manner. Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court said it has worked with medical facilities, schools and communities to try to reduce sexual assaults. It said it also provides psychological services for young victims. In addition, the court has sent judges to primary and middle schools to make children and parents more aware of the laws and the rights of minors. China's first mandatory national textile standards for childrenboth infants and older childrenwill take effect on Wednesday, International Children's Day. "The standards are expected to guide manufacturers to improve the safety and quality of children's clothing to ensure infants' and children's health and safety," said Li Jing, spokeswoman for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The new standards categorize textiles into two types: materials for infants aged 36 months or below, and for children aged 3 to 14 years. New rules enhance several safety requirements and ban the use of six plasticizers and two heavy metalslead and cadmium. "Clothes for infants and children under 7 are not allowed to have straps or rope around the neck or head," said Dai Hong of the National Standardization Technical Committee. Because many clothes for infants and children are designed with some accessories, the new standards also include specific requirements for how those items are usedfor example, no sharp points or edges. The standards break safety categories into three groups based on different criteria. Class A, which includes all textile products for infants, is the most stringent. Products designed for direct skin contact must meet or exceed Class B standards, and those not intended for direct skin contact must meet Class C requirements. Under the standards, an item's safety category must be attached to the clothing inform buyers. Li said the new standards will have a two-year transition period for full compliancefrom June 1 to May 30, 2018. During that period, the sale of products manufactured before the effective date and which met the previous national standards for textile products can remain in the market. After the two-year window closes, however, all textiles for infants and children must comply with the new standards. "The transition period allows manufacturers to make technical improvements, and it gives sellers enough time to empty their inventory," Dai said. To help smooth the way for the new standards, the technical committee will host promotional activities in several cities. Last year, the quality supervision administration inspected a number of textile products nationwide. About 10 to 20 percent of the products designed for children and infants failed to meet standards. Problems included excessive levels of formaldehyde and substandard materials. Wang Xiaodong contributed to this story. When I met Zhai Meixiang in Beidouxi township in Hunan province, she was celebrating her 12th birthday with a group of school friends, who were all left-behind children and shared birthdays in May. Unlike most girls of her age, Zhai approached her party seriously. When the candles were lit and she made a wish, her face assumed a serious expression as though she were making a life-changing decision. "If I make the wish seriously, it is more likely to come true," she said. Zhai made two wishes: that her parents would visit soon, and that they would enjoy good fortune at work. I asked her: "It's your birthday, so why are all your wishes about your parents?" She replied, "If they are well, I will be good." I asked her if she ever complained about her parents leaving her alone at home. "I was not happy at first. But I know they are working hard in cities to provide me with a better life," she answered. Her maturity broke my heart. At 12, most girls are just beginning to fight with their parents about wearing nail varnish, or they may be experiencing their first "puppy love" relationship at school. They are usually described as "picky", "bad tempered" and "rebellious". But for left-behind girls, being young and rebellious is a risky business. They have parents, but a lack of parental care means they grow up extremely quickly. When China started to open up in the late 1970s, the first generation of migrant workers left their homes and children and moved to the cities for work. The first generation of left-behind children has already grown up, and many have repeated their parents' lives, leaving their children at home and heading out to work in cities. However, few ever become full-time urban citizens. When they begin to grow old and their physical strength fails, they return home to care for their grandchildren who, in turn, have been left behind by their migrant worker parents. In recent decades, China's economic development has resulted in higher living standards for families in rural areas, which means they have a wider range of options and life choices. Some young parents are able to quit their jobs in the cities and return home to be with their children. In addition, local governments are more aware of the plight of left-behind children and many have adopted creative approaches to providing care. In Dushi village, Hunan province, the local government hires volunteers to provide support to left-behind children. One of them, Zheng Lijuan, has taken two children under her wing. "I visit them every day, and I go to the community center after work. They can always find me there," she said. Her son is boarding at a high school in the township, which leaves her a lot of time to kill. "I like to spend time with children," she said. A train pulls into a station in Luoyang city, Henan province, June 30, 2015. [Photo/IC] The social changes that high-speed trains have wrought add up to far more than the hours and minutes saved When Zhou Fengying took the 320-kilometer train ride from Wuhan to Yichang about 35 years ago, her employer gave her a day off - to sleep off the rigors of what seemed like an impossibly long journey. Zhou was an employee of the urban construction administration of Yichang at the time and she frequently made such trips to the provincial capital of Hubei on local government business. The trip lasted between 11 and 12 hours, partly because there was no direct rail link between the two cities, and the trains had to use a track on which their speed was restricted to less than 40 km/h, says Zhou, now 60. In addition, those crammed into the trains had to survive the journey in dowdy green carriages that were grubby and had no air conditioning. "The trains were absolutely packed. People occupied any space they could find. I used to have people lying under my seat and others beside my feet." So in the 1990s when long-haul bus services began running, they were like a breath of fresh air, and Zhou seized the opportunity to use them. These buses were more frequent than the trains, they were air-conditioned and suddenly travel time was halved, to less than six hours. Another couple of decades on, those buses, which had seemed so advanced, themselves took a back seat when Zhou decided to travel to Wuhan to see her son. That day in 2012 she took one of the sparkling new high-speed trains that had been put on that year linking the two cities. The stifling, rackety trip that had once taken as much as 12 hours had now been transformed into a leisurely, smooth jaunt lasting just two hours. "The train was so clean and quiet," Zhou says. "You could do a lot of different things on the trip, like writing and reading. I guess one reason the train was so clean was that it looked so good that anyone inclined to litter felt too embarrassed to do so." In this 21st-century travel, too, noisy arguments over seats had given way to peace and civility, Zhou says. "I guess one reason for that is that since it's just two hours to Wuhan, people were not as hot-headed as they used to be if they had to stand." Li Fangwei, a graduate from Hunan province, works as a designer at a technology and innovation company in Zibo, Shandong province. Last year, the city set up an entrepreneurship center for graduates that offers favorable policies to encourage budding businesspeople to start their own companies. [YAN SHENGTING / CHINA DAILY] Country's future rests in the hands of the bright and the young Thirty-three years ago Chen Bin decided to quit his job in a State-owned maternity hospital in the northwestern city of Lanzhou and to go into business on his own. First he sold T-shirts in a night bazaar, then owned a karaoke bar, which did not last long, and later opened a bakery on the main road. Chen is among millions of Chinese who, after economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping in 1978 that encouraged private business, decided to embark on the entrepreneurial road. However, he says he soon found that managing a business was a lot harder than he had expected. "Most of the entrepreneurs lacked a basic knowledge about how to make things work. That was why becoming self-employed was called xia hai (diving into the sea) - a lot of them were going to drown." A lot did, too. There were a few exceptions, such as Wang Jianlin, the real estate tycoon, and Liu Chuanzhi, founder of the Lenovo Group Ltd, who would make their mark not only in China but around the globe, and others who did reasonably well, or even better, and retired. In 2002, 15 years after Chen opened his bakery business, it folded amid fierce competition, and these days there is a cafe across the road that has become a hot-spot for young self-employed to exchange ideas. "I envy those kids sometimes," Chen says. "They are better educated and have the know-how in particular fields, which I think is the biggest difference between today's young entrepreneurs and those of my generation." Now, nearly four decades after China began opening up, there is a new boom in startups, but rather than selling fabrics, cheap plastic toys, cakes and the like, these ventures have a sharp technology bent and are looking to serve markets the size of which their earlier counterparts could barely have conceived of. In these fledgling companies the country sees the opportunity to give a fillip to innovation, in turn spurring domestic consumption that can help ensure the country's future prosperity. Two years ago Premier Li Keqiang sounded a clarion call to the young to start their own businesses and take up the challenge of technological innovation, and he pledged the government's wholehearted backing. Following up on that, last year the government unveiled dozens of measures aimed at helping grassroots entrepreneurs, including giving them tax breaks and easing their path to obtain finance. Lin Nianxiu, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, says the aim is to cut red tape and help the startups solve practical problems. With thousands of Chinese students planning to study at foreign universities this year, the one big question is: are they sufficiently prepared? The answer is probably not. Last year, more than 520,000 Chinese went abroad to study, with about 90,000 choosing educational institutions in the United Kingdom. But while the numbers of Chinese students attending UK universities is a success story, new research shows that when it comes to academic attainment, the picture is not so good. According to the latest figures from the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency, nearly 68 percent of all students - and 52 percent of overseas students from outside the European Union - graduated with a first or 2.1 last year. For Chinese students, it was just 42 percent. I know from experience in the UK that many students from China are simply overwhelmed on their arrival. And who can blame them? They have to come to grips with many issues before they even start thinking about their chosen study program. Although all will have achieved the required level of written and spoken English for entry to a British university, it is a very different matter from having to speak and read every day in English. Many universities and education recruitment companies are doing their best to help Chinese students to manage what for many is a difficult and stressful transition. There are induction courses to help orientate international students, and there are also pre-session courses in English to help students better prepare for the amount of reading and written work required. Despite all this, students are simply not prepared to adjust - and adjust quickly - to the different teaching and learning methods in the UK compared with those in China. Some students are better able to manage these changes than others. However, with so much more information to process before a course has even started, having a good understanding of the different skills needed for effective study is not always a priority for them. Of course, students and their families can do more to prepare for overseas study. But organizations such as universities and recruitment agencies also need to do much more to help students acquire these key study skills - and well ahead of their arrival in the UK. The writer is a former senior policy adviser to the UK government on education links with China. Becoming famous overnight in China is not a dream anymore. When China Daily photo editor Bruno Maestrini learned that a young American wished to be famous in China on the Facebook page "Praying for Dorian", dozens of colleagues jumped to help this little warrior who had been fighting cancer for four years. We took a group picture on Jan 13 showing our support and put the story on China Daily's front page. We then left a message on his Facebook page, telling him that he would be very famous in China. The BBC website reported the story and used our group photo. On the same day we took the photo we used our website and all our official accounts on domestic social media to spread Dorian's story. The news soon went viral. More than 3 million readers read our post and reposted it 35,000 times, including the US embassy in China. The next day we shared on our Facebook page all the reactions to the boy's story and his wish to be famous, including the front page of the newspaper, a screenshot of the Weibo and WeChat pages and some of the messages our Chinese readers left, both on the Praying for Dorian page and on our page. A friend of Dorian's family left a message expressing her gratitude. On March 10 we sadly lost Dorian. All our social media accounts posted farewell messages and told the story of his bravery, reaching more than 3 million readers. This was the first time the China Daily newspaper, website and all its social media platforms pulled together to help a little boy fulfill his dying wish. The harrowing story of another boy, a 3-year-old Syrian who drowned while seeking refuge from conflict last September, also illustrated the power of social media to move people in powerful ways. That story was captured in the shocking image of the boy's body washed ashore on a Turkish beach. It went viral and millions of people forwarded the photo overnight, making it a global focus in a short time. Reposting messages not only spreads information, but also emotions. The wave of sympathy from online users prompted European authorities to review their refugee policies. This was a striking example of how in the era of new media, an eye-catching post can change events on a worldwide scale. According to Facebook's latest quarterly report the social media site boasts 1.6 billion users globally. In China, WeChat, the biggest instant messaging service, has 600 million users, which means 90 percent of Chinese netizens are WeChat users. Generally, netizens join a topic as mere spectators. However, if a specific hashtag is added on social media, each individual can become an independent participant, which allows the public to join the debate on major social issues. When Nepal was hit by an 8.1-magnitude earthquake last year, some social networking websites quickly added functions for searching for missing people, helping people find their families. Because social media spread news faster and in a wider range, people are more aware of information. Thus people with similar experiences or ideas can find each other more quickly and come together. However, social media is a double-edged sword, and if manipulated with ill intent can have a catastrophic impact. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have become a major channel for extremist organizations to recruit their members. Both media and governments need to look closely at how to play an appropriate role on social media. The writer is deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily. I remember that on the first anniversary of China Daily, on June 1, 1982, the paper's Opinion Page carried a short letter from Willbur Schramm, the then director-emeritus of the Institute of Communication Research, Stanford University; and the East-West Communication Institute, East-West Center, in Hawaii. Schramm said China Daily's potential readers would include "the millions outside China who cannot read the People's Daily and other official publications in Chinese, but nevertheless want to hear the voice and feel the pulse of China if they can". "This group is hard to reach because it is so widely scattered, hard to serve because it holds diverse ideas of the path a China paper should walk between information and persuasion. Yet it may be potentially the most important audience to which the daily might seek to expand its future years." The professor didn't say what people this group would include. But a front-page lead that had appeared just three weeks earlier, on May 7, 1982, indicated who they might be. The headline reads: PRC likely to seek out overseas investment. The bulk of the story was based on a talk given by Ji Chongwei, a senior economic official, upon his announcement of a newly established Foreign Investment Administration Committee under the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade (now part of Ministry of Commerce). That was the time when the paper was an eight-page black-and-white product. I had just joined the staff, freshly graduated from college after receiving "re-education" on farms during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). Things were only beginning to change. But I was not clear what overseas investment was and why it was so important as to deserve to be a front-page lead. Most young staff members like me, even though we had majored in English, had never heard of the expression "mergers and acquisitions". Soon enough, changes taught me that overseas investment was an indispensable driving force in China's modernization. But change was hard, as many foreign business people complained of difficulties. To make a profit would be a great trial of patience. Negotiations could drag on for months, if not years. It was not until the early years of the 1990s when the concept of market economy was written into China's top-level official document. Foreigners' equity in a Chinese company was an issue subject to the universal standards of law, and no longer politically sensitive. What followed was a golden time. China remained a leading recipient of foreign direct investment for over two decades. In return, the country witnessed the most rapid growth in GDP and in foreign trade. Mergers and acquisitions, as a matter of course, became a daily phenomenon between Chinese and foreign companies. In 2016, the country is moving rapidly toward a balance between inbound and outbound direct investments. In the first quarter of 2016, China was the largest M&A player in the world. The writer is editor-at-large of China Daily. Chinese tourists take pictures near the Palace of Westminster in London. [Photo/Agencies] Heading out of the country on holiday used to be the preserve of a privileged few In the early 1990s Ma Ding, now in his 50s, joined a tour group traveling to Thailand - almost the only option the group could find to travel overseas. It was a luxury package, and members of the group had to pay 9,000 yuan, a small fortune. But when they reached each destination, the group was asked to pay extra for shows or encouraged to buy local medicines. Ma and his wife returned to Shanghai with a big bag of medicine made of snakes but never had the chance to use them. It was a time when obtaining a tourist visa for the United States or Europe was even difficult for many wealthy people in China like Ma. It would not be until 2005 that Ma, who owns two pawnshops in Shanghai, had the chance to visit the United States for the first time. He and his wife were among five out of 19 people in their group to be granted a tour visa. "The United States as the world's most advanced country was the place I dreamed of visiting," Ma says. "The trip was also something I promised my wife when we got married." The couple traveled for 14 days, taking in both the east and west coasts, and splashed out more than 60,000 yuan. Since then they have barely stopped traveling. Ma and his family - two children - now travel four or five times a year, and he says that on average they spend about 1 million yuan ($153,000) a year. For instance, they have stayed in Seattle for a month or two in summer so their children could attend a local summer camp. "Traveling is like an addiction," Ma says. "You feel bored after three months staying at home. The world is so big, and there are so many things we haven't seen or done." Ma was one of those on the first luxury world tour organized by the country's largest online travel agency, Ctrip.com, in 2010. He has been to more than 100 cities in about 50 countries and regions, and traveled a total of 400,000 kilometers, he says. "Traveling is not just going abroad to see the world. It's also an opportunity to relax and change. It helps you see things from a different perspective." When I was assigned by China Daily to study at the University of Hawaii two decades ago, the question I most frequently faced in Honolulu was: Are you Japanese? Asian tourists swarmed Waikiki beach and shopping malls in the island but they were mostly Japanese, with a sprinkling of Koreans. It was rare to see Chinese there. But how things have changed. Figures from the World Travel & Tourism Council show that Chinese travelers made 120 million overseas trips last year, spending $215 billion on goods and services. Big-spending Chinese tourists were mostly welcomed in their destination countries where they boosted the local economies but also faced some resentment. For example, mainlanders buying up milk powder in Hong Kong resulted in a short supply for local families and forced authorities to restrict sales to visitors. Overseas tourism of Chinese should be viewed not only from market or economic perspectives but in the context of cultural exchanges. The Chinese, having lived with a closed-door policy for a long time, are keen on knowing more of the outside world - and their rising affluence now makes it possible. That explains why world news is carried prominently in Chinese media, both in print and TV, with an avid audience running into hundreds of millions. Interaction between Chinese tourists and local people is also good for Chinese to better understand foreign customs and cultures, and lays a firm foundation for friendships. One example is the ties between China and Japan. Bilateral relations have plummeted to lows in recent years because of the Japanese government's refusal to admit historical mistakes as well as its claims of sovereignty over China's Diaoyu Islands. But that did not stop Chinese making 4.99 million trips to Japan last year, while the flow in the other direction was 2.5 million trips. Tourism on such a large scale helps the two peoples to look at each other in more rational ways. A Chinese saying goes: it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. So when Chinese tourists see advanced foreign societies, they are keen to learn good practices such as in Japan or South Korea. I recently met a city mayor who had just returned from Germany. He waxed eloquent about the advanced drainage system that protects its cities from flooding. He said he plans to revamp his city's drainage and I believe millions of residents in his city will benefit - a good byproduct of overseas trips. The writer is deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily. For an average family in China now, owning a car is no longer a symbol of wealth or social status. But two decades ago, it was an enviable luxury few could afford. I still remember vividly one evening 18 years ago: I was trying to hail a taxi when my wife suddenly asked: "When will we be able to buy a car?" Frankly, I wasn't ready for a family car yet. I didn't even have a driver's license at the time, and a car wasn't something that I could afford with my meager income. But I told her all the same: "We'll buy a Daihatsu Charade in two years' time, I promise." The Charade was an inexpensive model from Japanese carmaker Daihatsu assembled in Tianjin, which was then one of the most popular cars in China. But even that would cost at least 50,000 yuan, more than two years' salary for me. But I was confident of the future. I did believe that a resilient Chinese economy would create wealth both for the nation as well as ordinary citizens. And my job at China Daily would give me a better chance to outpace average social income growth. I was wrong, however, in predicting the time before I did lay hands on my own car. But I was right about income growth of the Chinese people that brought buying a car within reach. My wife and I bought our first car five years later, three more than I had planned. The localized model of the Citroen was nearly triple the price of a Daihatsu and much better. For those born before 1980s, a car wasn't merely a means of transport but a dream come true. While I was young, private cars were virtually non-existent, and taxis were hardly seen on the streets. I remember coming home late during weekends in the 1970s when public buses were too crowded to get on. Occasionally my father would hail a cab. A short distance of 5 kilometers cost 10 yuan, one-tenth of his monthly salary. Such experiences were unique to my generation or older people who were used to rationing for almost every item of daily necessities. An automobile belonged only to officialdom, and a professional driver was a coveted job. Profound changes have taken place since the 1990s when families began to own cars. Reforms unleashed dynamism and creativity unparalleled in history, which have created fortunes for ordinary citizens. The relaxation of rules and the continuous rise of incomes have led to an explosive boom in auto production and sales, and China has been the world's biggest auto market since 2009. The writer is deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily. Chen Qiuju, 25, has been teaching for eight years at the Leyang Primary School in Lezhi county, Ziyang city of Sichuan province. [Photo by Chen Weisong/China.com.cn] Chen Qiuju, 25, has been teaching at a village school in Sichuan Province for eight years, ever since she graduated from a local teachers' training school. She has devoted herself heart and soul to the children in this rural area. Leyang Primary School, where Chen teaches, is located about 300 kilometers from the county town of Lezhi in Ziyang city. Built in 1978, the school currently has 16 teaching and administrative staff with an average age of 48. Chen is the school's youngest teacher. There are a total of 268 students from nine villages in the area. Though her main duty is teaching Chinese, Chen is also in charge of the fifth grade and sixth grades. It's not hard to imagine how busy she is every day. The students' family situations differ to some extent. Nearly two-thirds of the 37 students in the fifth grade are children left behind by parents seeking jobs in far away cities, and most come from single-child families. As a passionate teacher, Chen is very familiar with the family background of each student she teaches. She thinks it is the duty of a teacher to pass on knowledge to students and let them know how to best conduct themselves in society. "Children are easily spoiled by parents, and they are more willing to do as they are told by their teachers," said Chen, adding that "many rural children nowadays actually have enough to eat and wear and only lack care and love." This situation makes her feel a greater responsibility to educate students in a well-rounded way. The students in Chen's classes are mostly equal in terms of academic performance, so Chen pays more attention to moral education. "I hope my students will become people who know gratitude, hard work and love," she said. Chen's father and grandfather were village teachers, too. Her parents currently live in the province's Luzhou city. She said her grandfather in particular has given her lots of advice and help throughout her teaching career, for which she is very grateful. The beautiful young teacher has wide interests. She likes literature, photography, travel and online shopping. On weekends, she likes to go fishing and have picnics with her friends. As the old saying goes, long-time friends hate to part. Chen has given up two chances to work in the county seat, reluctant as she is to leave her school and her students. Looking at the great changes that have taken place in the past few years, she is full of hope for the future of her school, her students and herself. I began working with China Daily as a copy editor on the night desk; and to fill the long hours of the day I would seek interview assignments from editors who were short of hands. By then China was in the throes of the first wave of startups. When the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping revitalized the process of economic reforms in 1992, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of government officials, university faculty members, researchers and other public sector employees gave up their "iron-rice-bowls" to set up private businesses. The prospect of making big money or just to be one's own boss was a big incentive. The mass exits spawned a new profession - entrepreneurs. Their stories would be covered extensively by the Chinese media. I too got the opportunity to write a few news features on entrepreneurs. I had begun to think I wasn't too bad a reporter after all, and would have asked my boss for a transfer to the reporter's section, were it not for a senior colleague who poured cold water on my aspirations saying I was yet to figure out what the term entrepreneur really meant. "What you call an entrepreneur is almost always a businessman." he said wryly. "Does it matter? Aren't the two the same thing?" "No. They are quite different. You are yet to meet an entrepreneur in the true sense." I realized what he meant only after I met Xiao Helong. In his early 50s, Xiao quit his job in research and set up a health drink manufacturing company based on his own patented formula. After my interview with him was published in China Daily, several companies, including a South Korean conglomerate, called me. They wanted to either buy the formula or start a joint venture with Xiao and I helped set up the meetings for him. I was quite curious to see how he went about making deals with a foreign investor. He once told me emphatically that the venture was his "baby". He didn't really want to sell it to a stranger. "Being an entrepreneur is the closest a man comes to giving birth," he said. Years later I read an interview in which a top foreign business leader made the same assertion. At the time, Xiao was desperately in need of new funding to scale up, but never budged from his position. If he did not have the funds, the "baby" wouldn't grow the way he wished, but that was not good enough reason for him to sell it off to a richer adoptive father. Whenever Xiao visited Beijing, he would find time to see me. I helped translate a few company profiles for him. He would consult me on media relations as well. His businesses, however, declined steadily for lack of fresh investment and went bust in two years. Today as China is focused on transforming itself from a world factory into an innovation hub, more and more young people are encouraged to go the startup route, and entrepreneurship is the buzz word, I'm reminded of Xiao and his short-lived enterprise. Among the many who ventured into new businesses in those years more than half were failures. Xiao has stayed in my memory not because of his achievements but his refusal to let go of his dream as long as he could. US-based research organization IdeaLab studied 200 cases to arrive at five factors - idea, team, business model, funding and timing - that determine the success of a company. The most important and decisive among these turned out to be timing. At times I can't help wondering: Would Xiao have better luck if he started his company now? The writer is a member of China Daily's editorial board. I would like to convey to the authorities of China Daily my sincere appreciation for these 35 years of tireless work in terms of dissemination of news of China toward the international community; without this effort it would have been much more difficult to understand the diverse and special processes that have taken place in this great country in recent decades. Since 1981, China Daily has been a key tool for understanding contemporary China. Its international editionsamong them we count the recent launch of China Watch in Argentina as the first Spanish edition of this important supplementenable the presentation of Chinese culture to readers throughout the world, which has an outstanding value in terms of international cultural relations. Congratulations to China Daily; I wish you a prosperous future and I know you will keep strengthening your role as a key actor in Chinas international image. Diego Ramiro Guelar, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic It is my pleasure to sincerely congratulate China Daily on its 35th anniversary! Throughout the years China Daily has grown to be an important pillar of the Chinese media landscape, offering the world valuable insights into Chinese society and economy. Moreover, I am convinced that China Daily is ready to tackle the next 35 years thanks to its impressive global network and firm presence on the web. Your anniversary happily coincides with the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium. The friendship between our nations is strong and we are looking forward to intensifying cooperation and dialogue on a broad range of topics. With China Daily we will have a trusted partner to report on this, to which the significant presence of its journalists in Belgium will surely contribute. May we all achieve our common goal of increasing mutual understanding between nations and people! Michel Malherbe, Ambassador of Belgium to China The first thing I read every morning with my austere breakfast of coffee, fresh orange juice and muesli cereal is China Daily. It gives me a first cut on what is happening in this vast country, a sense of the momentous changes China is undergoing, plus a healthy dose of "soft news"reporting on various aspects of life in the provinces and villages in what used to be known as the Middle Kingdom. For obvious reasons, I pay special attention to the editorial pages, which bring together a gamut of different opinions not only from China but from around the world. I published my own first op-ed piece in China Daily in 2008, on the G20, long before being posted here. Eight years later, China is chairing and hosting the G20 Summit, to be held in Hangzhou in September. Happy birthday, China Daily! You have come a long way! Jorge Heine, Ambassador of Chile On behalf of the Embassy of Colombia in the People's Republic of China, we would like to offer the warmest congratulations to the 35th anniversary celebration of China Daily. Thirty-five years could be an instant of human history, but also could be known as an extraordinary landmark of an era. Therefore, we would like to express congratulations again for your invaluable dedication and achievements through all these years, and especially the important role as a bridge of cultural exchange between China and the world. Nowadays, ties between Colombia and China are more solid than ever, and the credit also belongs to the perspirations of journalists in China Daily. Please accept our most sincere congratulations and very best wishes for still further success. Carmenza Jaramillo, Ambassador of Colombia We would like to express our warmest congratulations to China Daily on its 35th anniversary, based on the long history of friendship and cooperation we have built together. We want to extend the assurances of our sincere esteem to this media's staff, which we know for sure is a highly professional team that boasts the highest precepts of truthfulness and objectivity. Be confident that in its future endeavors, China Daily can always count on the modest cooperation of the Embassy of Cuba. Alberto J. Blanco Silva, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba On behalf of the people and the government of the Republic of Ecuador, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to China Daily on the occasion of its 35th anniversary. For all the foreigners who are residing in this country, China Daily is one of the most used mass media, as it provides objective and high-quality information about the daily events in China, as well as China's participation in foreign affairs and its impact on the International System. We hope that China Daily, as one of the most prestigious newspapers in China, continues with its hard work and celebrates many more anniversaries at the service of communication, providing first hand information to the audience. Jose M. Borja L., Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador China Daily is one of the prominent English language newspapers. Its deep analysis of events, wide coverage of the news, expressive pictures, and eloquent writing style, qualified it in a few years to assume a unique position among well-established and much older newspapers. China Daily gives us a clear picture about daily life and important events in China and worldwide. It also elaborates the political, social, and economic strategies and orientations to the readers inside and outside China. We often refer to China Daily to decode the newly-coined terms in the Chinese media and politics, like the "Four Comprehensives", "the Belt and Road Initiative" "supply-side reform", etc. China Daily is a bridge between China and other countries. It embodies the spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative. I truly appreciate China Daily's objective coverage of developments in Egypt and the role it plays in enhancing the relations between China and Egypt. On its 35th anniversary I seize this opportunity to wish China Daily more and more success and prosperity. Dr Magdy Amer, Egyptian Ambassador to China Since its establishment in 1981, this paper has served as a symbol of China's openness, great development and economic strength. I have lived in China for almost 4 years, and every day I start my morning with China Daily to catch a glimpse into the Chinese way of life. I congratulate China Daily on your 35th anniversary and wish you many more years of success. Matan Vilnai, Ambassador of Israel to China It gives me great pleasure to congratulate China Daily on its achievements over 35 years as "the voice of China". During the last three decades, China Daily has helped the international audience to gain a more in-depth understanding on the many developments occurring in China, attaining tremendous and well-deserved popularity. Indeed, ever since the day of my arrival, China Daily has been a faithful companion. I extend my warmest greetings to the team of editors, writers and journalists, as their hard work, perseverance and determination has helped the newspaper reach this place. Best wishes and many more years of success! Ettore Francesco Sequi, Ambassador of Italy On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the China Daily, I would like to express my sincere congratulations and the best wishes for the successful future to the founders and the team of this important media. Since its establishment, China Daily has grown through different platforms and became one of the most important media in China. It is of special importance to foreigners in China and abroad, as it helps in better understanding of every aspect of China, to hear the voice of China and therefore to learn about China in the best possible way. With its objective and realistic attitude, and the prompt information given to the readers, China Daily became one of the most respected media worldwide. My mornings start with China Daily, and I am convinced that this is the same routine for millions of readers all around the world. Milan Bacevic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia Warmest congratulations to China Daily on its 35th anniversary! As the leading English language newspaper in China, China Daily has played an important role in providing accessible, insightful and timely reports on key developments in China. China Daily has served as a window for the world to better understand China and its perspectives on key issues. China Daily has also contributed to the healthy development of Singapore-China relations. I wish China Daily continued success! Stanley Loh, Singaporean Ambassador to China I profoundly congratulate China Daily on its 35th anniversary and express my best wishes for its continued success. Your newspaper provides solid information and insightful commentary on the social, cultural, political and economic developments in China and the world. You cover Africa in a positive light and reflect a balanced situation on the continent. Your coverage of the state visit to South Africa of President Xi Jinping in December last year and the Summit of the Forum of China/Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was excellent. This was an eloquent testimony of the cordial and excellent relations between Africa and China. I hope your newspaper will continue to flourish and that we will see more interesting articles from you in the coming years. I wish China Daily and its readers all the best and many more anniversaries to come! Dolana Msimang, Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa I am delighted to send my personal greetings to China Daily, renowned as the "Voice of China", on the occasion of its 35th anniversary. I take this opportunity to convey my best wishes for the achievements of China Daily which has proven to be among the most prestigious publications in China. This new century will be marked by further technological innovation and creativity. The world will be even more interlinked and news will be more accessible. I believe that, in such a world, China Daily will continue to play an important role for providing information about the local developments and the country's international perception. I wish China Daily success in its future endeavors. Ali Murat Ersoy, Ambassador of Turkey Congratulations to China Daily for 35 years of bringing an official Chinese perspective on events in China to readers across the globe. Over the course of those 35 years, the US-China relationship has become one of the most consequential bilateral relationships in the world. Key to the success of that relationship is providing the kind of objective information that helps people on both sides understand the full range of issues and challenges we face, as well as the benefits we can gain from working together. In its next 35 years, I hope China Daily will be in the forefront of expanding the space for journalists from both countries to cover the full range of issues in US-China relations and about China's place in the world. Max Baucus, United States Ambassador to China Jimmy Carter, Former US president China Daily began publishing two years after the United States and China established diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979. Working with Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping to normalize the US-China relationship was one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of my political career, and it is with great pride that I have watched this relationship grow stronger. China Daily has played an important role in that by informing Americans in the United States and China about China's progress toward opening up and reform and by promoting the importance of the US-China bilateral relationship. I hope China Daily will continue to use its influence and platform to encourage healthy US-China relations as The Carter Center strives to reduce misperceptions and increase mutual understanding between our two countries. Rosalynn joins me in sending our best wishes as you celebrate this historic occasion. Henry A. Kissinger, Former US secretary of state The 35th anniversary of China Daily underscores three realities of the contemporary era: first, that the relationship between China and the United States, two great nations in the world, has become one of the key determinants of global peace and progress. Second, that the evolution of Sino-American relations in the direction of cooperation depends largely on the cultivation of mutual understanding and respect between our peoples. And third, that the service the media providesinformation and, as a consequence, educationis critical to this evolution, which President Xi Jinping has described as "potential adversaries" choosing to cooperate as partners. Historically, the challenge of rising powers has been to increase tension with established ones, but President Xi has articulated the importance of charting a different and more productive course for China and the United States. For 35 years, China Daily has sought to increase mutual understanding between our two countries, becoming the seminal resource for Western expatriates in China, Chinese speakers endeavoring to learn or improve their English, and now, foreigners all over the world attempting to stay abreast of the transformation that China is presently undergoing. China Daily, thank you for your historic contribution to the Sino-American friendship. I wish you every success as you continue to work to enhance it. Happy 35th anniversary. Romano Prodi, former European Commission president and Italian prime minister Dear Friends, I am very grateful for your invitation on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of China Daily because it gives me the opportunity to express my congratulations for the great success that the newspaper has obtained. Since its foundation in 1981, China Daily, with editions distributed not only in the Chinese mainland, but also in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia has become a reference point not only for the many overseas Chinese communities, offering them the possibility of keeping alive the bond with their country, but also represents for us Europeans and for many other societies in the world, a source of information and knowledge on China, its economy and its great culture. Your work reduces geographical and cultural distances and facilitates mutual understanding of worlds which are increasingly destined to interact on strategic issues, such as economy and security. This is a great responsibility that the China Daily carries with professionalism and competence. I wish you all a happy birthday and great success in the future. C Y Leung, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region It gives me great pleasure to offer a congratulatory message on the 35th anniversary of China's national English-language newspaper, China Dailya flagship publication that has stood the test of time in the changing media landscape. China Daily came into being back in 1981, just a few years after the launch of opening up and reform program of our motherland. The timing could not have been better; the newspaper has not only made great strides in professional journalism and spawned many print and digital of shoots since then, it has also mirrored the phenomenal growth of the Chinese economy. China Daily has evolved considerably from its beginnings as a journal reaching out to expatriates, visiting business people and tourists to establishing a print presence near and far, with editions in North America, Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia in addition to the Chinese mainland. On the digital front, the newspaper is leveraging its domestic advantage and multimedia strengths to bring to the international audience news and views about what is now the second-largest economy in the world. Indeed, it is not without reason that the China Daily can proudly live up to readers' expectations as "the voice of China". I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations to the China Daily teampresent and pastfor achieving this significant milestone. It is my sincere hope that the newspaper will go from strength to strength and stay relevant to the global interest in all things China. June 1, 1981: China Daily launched as an eight-page national English daily, also printed and distributed in Hong Kong. June 1983: China Daily printed in the United States. September 1986: China Daily printed in Europe. 1992: Launch of Reports from China, a bi-monthly eight-page publication distributed by the trade newspaper of the National Newspaper Association in US. It is later replaced by China Watch, which is distributed in North America and Europe. 1993: Launch of 21st Century English newspaper series, the most popular English education weekly for English learners in China. It has nine weekly publications for primary, middle school and university students and teachers, with a total circulation of more than 1 million. 1995: Launch of China Daily website, the first national English-language Webportal in China. The site has become China's most influential English-language website. It has more than 30 subsidiary websites and 300 channels under seven website clusters. Daily page views exceed 31 million, with about 60 percent of visitors from overseas. Jan 2, 1995: China Daily expands from 8 pages to 12 pages, publishing from Monday to Saturday. Oct 6, 1997: Launch of China Daily Hong Kong Edition. Nov 15, 1999: China Daily uses color printing. Jan 5, 2004: China Daily expands from 12 pages to 16 pages. 2005: China Daily becomes the "Exclusive English-Language Chinese Newspaper" of the Fortune Global Forum and publishes the official journal for the Beijing Fortune Global Forum. Jan 4, 2007: China Daily expands from 16 pages to 24 pages. China Economic Outlook series since 2007 The publication, which coincides with the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is written and compiled by China Daily with advice and support from experts in various industries and professions. "Grow with China" special edition series since 2007 The special edition coincides with the annual New Champions - World Economic Forum meeting, also known as the Summer Davos. "Grow with China" includes a selection of articles based on exclusive interviews with CEOs and presidents of multinational companies, along with their histories and strategies for growth in China. Summer Davos Summit offi cial report since 2007 China Daily is China's exclusive English-language newspaper for the Summer Davos Summit. It publishes official reports through special daily supplements during the forum. 2008: China Daily Bilingual Mobile Newspaper launched as China's first bilingual mobile newspaper, including China Daily Mobile News (China Mobile version and China Telecom version) and China Daily PDF edition on China Unicom. With paid subscribers peaking at more than 600,000, it was China's second-largest mobile newspaper. Feb 23, 2009: Launch of China Daily US Edition, which publishes 16 pages from Monday to Friday. Its subscribers include the United Nations Headquarters, government agencies of the United States and Canada, universities, think tanks, major financial institutions and many multinational companies. September 2009: China Daily releases its iPhone application at the App Store, becoming China's first print media to provide such a service at the App store. March 1, 2010: China Daily implements the largest revamp of the paper since it was founded. April 2010: China Daily's iPad application released at the App Store, the world's largest mobile application soft ware store. Aug 1, 2010: China Daily Sunday Edition launched to realize the paper's goal of "Meeting Readers Every Day". December 2010: China Daily's Android and Blackberry applications released. Dec 3, 2010: Launch of China Daily European Weekly. It targets readers in governments, diplomatic missions, think tanks, multinational companies and other movers and shakers in Europe. The weekly also has a monthly journal published in the International Herald Tribune. Dec 10, 2010: Launch of China Daily Asia Weekly. Its circulation covers India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It also reaches policy-makers and high-end readers through 20 other English-language newspapers under the Asia News Network. September 2011: China Watch, an eight-page supplement edited by China Daily, started to be publishing in the print edition of The Daily Telegraph (UK). November 2012: China Daily launched its official WeChat account. WeChat is one of the most widely used instant messaging applications in China. Dec 14, 2012: China Daily launched its Africa edition, the first English-language newspaper published in Africa by a Chinese media enterprise. May 31, 2013: China Daily launched China Daily Southeast Asia Weekly. Sept 30, 2013: China Daily's foreign expert, Ravi Shankar was awarded the China Friendship Award in the Great Hall of the People. The award is the highest prize for foreign experts who made outstanding contributions to China's economic and social progress. Oct 8, 2014: English.gov.cn, the official English-language electronic communication platform of the State Council of the People's Republic of China was launched with technological support from China Daily. Dec 12, 2014: China Daily launched China Daily Canada Weekly. April 2015: Zhu Ling, editor-in-chief of China Daily, was re-elected as President of Asia News Network Union (2015-2016). May 2015: China Daily launched its first French edition China Watch in partnership with France's largest newspaper Le Figaro. Feb 26, 2016: The State Council launched a Chinese-language mobile app, with technological support from China Daily, to publicize major decisions and policy documents. March 15, 2016: China Daily launched its first Spanish edition China Watch in partnership with Argentina newspapers UNO and EL Cronista. Premier Li Keqiang, accompanied by China Daily Publisher and Editor in Chief Zhu Ling (right), meets Suthichai Yoon of Nation Multimedia Group of Thailand and other Asia News Network executives in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/CHINA DAILY] Editor's note: On the afternoon of 31 May 2016, Premier Li Keqiang met and had dialogue with senior editors from Asia attending the annual meeting of the Asia News Network (ANN) in China at the Great Hall of the People. The following is the transcript of their dialogue: Li Keqiang: It's very good to meet you all. Let me extend, on behalf of the Chinese government, warm welcome to you for coming to Beijing to attend the annual editors' meeting and congratulations on the success of the meeting. The ANN members are media of influence not only in Asia but also around the world. I hope the members will strengthen communication and build a platform for Asia to make its voice better heard, and I wish you greater success. I am happy to answer your questions. ANN Executive Director Pana Janviroj: The ANN is one of the biggest of its kind in the world, with 21 members from 19 Asian countries. Our motto is: we know Asia better. It is a privilege to have this meeting with you this afternoon. Allow me to invite a few colleagues to speak. Suthichai Yoon, chief adviser of The Nation of Thailand: China has been developing very fast and its influence in the world has been rising. Southeast Asian countries have followed China's development closely as friends and partners. Meantime, China is a big country, or a superpower. Some small countries may feel that China may act as a "big brother" to use its political and economic muscle to advance its own purposes in negotiations. How can you make them reassured that China is not a bad "big brother" but a good "big brother"? Li Keqiang: Let me first make two points. First, China is no superpower, but a developing country. Though being the biggest developing country with one of the largest economy in the world, China still ranks behind some 80 countries in terms of per capita GDP. We don't have the basis to be a superpower, still less do we intend to be one. Second, in developing relations with its neighbors, China has never posed itself as a "big brother". China follows an independent foreign policy of peace, a neighborhood policy featuring amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and believes that all countries, big or small, are equals. We could all be good brothers and good friends when we share such sincere wish. There is no such thing as one being the "big brother". China has 20 neighbors, sharing land border with some and facing some across the sea. China has more neighboring countries than any other country in the world. We and our neighbors are entwined in a community of shared future. China still has a long way to go before it can achieve modernization, and we need a stable regional environment and peaceful international environment to reach this goal. Hence, China is committed to upholding regional stability. In the meantime, we do have certain disagreements with some neighbors, but these differences are not the mainstream of China's relations with those countries, and our common interests far outweigh those differences. In addressing differences, China believes that countries should seek peaceful solutions through consultation on the basis of equality and mutual respect. In keeping with such principles, I believe, China and all neighbors, in good faith, can be good friends, good neighbors and even good brothers. Endy Mouzardi Bayuni, Editor-in-Chief of The Jakarta Post: This morning, we had a dialogue with head of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) about the Belt and Road Initiative. One important part is to build with relevant countries the maritime silk road. I am from Indonesia. My government has expressed support to this initiative, as it will help strengthen peace and cooperation between relevant countries. Meanwhile, China is making great efforts to build a blue water navy. They seem to send conflicting messages about China's intentions. How would you explain such discrepancies? Li Keqiang: China has proposed to build the maritime silk road, which can be aligned with the development strategies of relevant countries, including Indonesia's maritime power strategy. Peace, cooperation and development have been the underlying spirit of the Silk Road. China follows a defense policy that is defensive in nature. The development of our navy and the building of the maritime silk road do not conflict with each other. China has all along called for upholding the freedom and safety of navigation in the South China Sea and other maritime areas, a right enjoyed by all countries under the law. Freedom and safety of navigation provides enabling conditions for us to expand trade and exchanges, and engage in cooperation in wider fields for peace and security on the sea. One should bear in mind that the Chinese believe in "not doing to others what one does not like oneself." The Chinese people suffered aggression and oppression in modern times, and we do not want to see similar things happen to other countries. By living in peace with other countries and developing its defense capability, China is upholding its own sovereignty and territorial integrity and contributing its part to regional peace and security. Chon Shi-yong, chief editorial writer of The Korean Herald: The international community has put sanctions on the DPRK for its nuclear and missile provocations. Do you think the sanctions are strong enough for the DPRK to give up its nuclear and missile programs? If the DPRK is still defiant, will China put more pressure on North Korea? What more will China do to ease the tension on the Peninsula? Li Keqiang: Chinas position on the Korean nuclear issue is consistent and clear-cut. We are committed to upholding peace and stability on the Peninsula, achieving the denuclearization of the Peninsula and settling relevant issues peacefully through dialogue and consultation. The UN Security Council has adopted relevant resolutions in response to the DPRKs nuclear test and satellite launch. As a member of the UN and a responsible major country, China will earnestly and fully implement the relevant resolutions and uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. To impose sanctions is not the only means to resolve the issue. The fundamental solution to many problems ultimately lies in the diplomatic means of peaceful negotiation. We always call upon relevant parties to carry out negotiations, including the Six Party Talks, and hope that relevant countries will talk to the DPRK directly to push for the denuclearization of the Peninsula. China will honor its commitment and make its due efforts. Phonekeo Volakhoun, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Vientiane Times: How do you view the prospects of China-ASEAN relations? Li Keqiang: China and ASEAN have maintained sound relations. From day one, China has supported the ASEAN integration process and its community-building. China and ASEAN are interdependent and highly complementary. This September, I will go to the Lao PDR to attend the ASEAN-related Summits, including the 10+1 Summit. I hope that this meeting will further boost China-ASEAN relations. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the dialogue relationship between China and ASEAN. We hope that by holding a series of commemorative activities, China and ASEAN will further enhance political trust, synergize development strategies, and expand practical exchanges and people-to-people contacts. China-ASEAN relations are generally moving in a positive direction. Our shared interests are far greater than the differences between China and certain ASEAN member states. We should further expand common interests and continue to send the message of jointly upholding regional stability and promoting regional development to let people see that this region can maintain peace and stability. As for the differences between certain countries, the two sides have the ability and wisdom to resolve them. China-ASEAN cooperation is a force for stability in this region and will further unleash the potential of Asia as the most dynamic region for growth in the world. Zaffar Abbas, Editor of Dawn of Pakistan: I wish to raise a question on South Asia. China has proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and launched in Pakistan cooperation projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. We believe that this will bring economic development and prosperity to Pakistan. But recently, Iran and Afghanistan are also rolling out infrastructure projects including sea ports and road, financed by India. Does China view this as an irritant to its own initiative or welcome it as healthy competition that will boost economic development in the region? Li Keqiang: The world economic recovery remains sluggish. The WTO forecast that we may have a weaker performance of global trade this year than any of the previous several years. Hence, it is the common task of all countries to bolster growth and expand trade, in other words, to make the pie bigger. China all along holds that one important way to emerge from the world economic and financial crisis is to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. Hence, it is good news to China to see a new growth point in any country, as it may bring more opportunities to Chinese companies too. Competition is only natural in a market economy and we welcome it. Without competition, bad currency may drive good currency out of circulation and there will be no chance for good companies. We have no wish to protect the backward. What we hope to see is a level playing field on the big world market, and we also wish to see peace and development in all South Asian countries. For Asia to truly become the new engine driving world economic growth, there must be inputs from all parts and directions of the region, be it the east, south or central. Opening-up has been essential for China's achievements in economic and social development over the past three decades. To tackle the global financial crisis, one needs to stay open in this globalized era. To fight a trade war or currency war delivers no solution to the crisis. Warren Fernandez, Editor of The Straits Times: My last visit to China was in the 1990s as a correspondent. It is great to see the development achievements of China and Asia in the past two decades, which is largely attributable to the peaceful and stable environment you just referred to. Meanwhile, we still have anxiety about the South China Sea. My question is: will China take the lead in a new form of superpower to put the issues behind us by reaching the COC with relevant countries, or seeking a neutral international solution? Li Keqiang: Your question shows you are a senior journalist, though you look so young. (laughter) This is a good thing. You may care to share your secret with your colleagues. I wish to emphasize that China is not, and has no intention to be a superpower. We believe that all countries, big or small, should work with each other on the basis of mutual respect and equality. So there is no such thing as China being a "leader", or a "big brother" as mentioned by your Thai colleague. On the South China Sea issue, China has taken a constructive approach, and calls on regional countries to find solutions through consensus building on the basis of respecting history and the international law. This led us to concluding the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), an anchor for peace and stability in the South China Sea for over ten years. In the past couple of years, there has been suggestion and call from relevant countries for advancing the consultation of a COC, which can be viewed as continuation of the DOC. China has taken a positive approach to this process. I believe that regional countries have the capability to maintain peace and stability in the region and the wisdom to address the existing issues. Just as provided in the DOC, it should be the sovereign states directly concerned to peacefully resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes through friendly consultation and negotiation. We have also put forward the idea of shelving disputes and pursuing joint development. These are the principles that China has all along followed. Ravindra Kumar, Editor and Managing Director of The Statesman of India: President of India recently paid a state visit to China. There seems to be much high-level interactions between the two countries. But why hasn't the boundary question been settled? Li Keqiang: We should first be mindful of the long history of the boundary question. This is a long-standing issue left from the past. Such a complex issue that has existed for a long time couldn't be resolved in a short span of time. That would be too much to ask. This will take time, just as when one has his meal, he should eat one mouthful at a time. Second, the boundary question should be put in a proper place in China-India relations. Now both countries have the wish to maintain stability and security in the border areas and to seek settlement step by step through negotiations. There are also an increasing number of channels for communication in managing differences. China and India are fully able to properly manage their differences. China and India should stay focused on enhancing political mutual trust, expanding practical cooperation and increasing people-to-people interaction. This is the win-win relationship that both sides, especially political leaders from the two countries, should work to advance. This era is presenting China and India a great opportunity. At a time when the world economic recovery remains sluggish, the dynamism of Asia is needed more than ever. With a combined population of 2.5 billion that accounts for 1/3 of the world total, China and India represent an enormous market. If China and India work together and forge synergy, it will deliver benefits not only to the Chinese and Indian people, but also to Asia and beyond. Kumar: Thank you, Mr. Premier. Li Keqiang: There are still more delegates sitting in the back row. Due to time constraint, we couldn't have each and every one to ask his/her questions, and I hope to have your understanding. In conclusion, let me say: First, China is still a developing country and there is a long way to go before it can achieve modernization. Even if it becomes a modern country, China will not seek hegemony or bully others. I believe this is only a fair conclusion that one draws when he takes into account China's cultural tradition and historical experiences. Second, to modernize our country, we need a peaceful international environment and a stable neighborhood. And China, its neighbors, and all other countries need to treat each other as equals and respect each other irrespective of the size of our country. Only in this way can there be harmony and the necessary conditions for development. Third, as one's own teeth may accidentally bite one's lip, it's only natural that neighbors may have differences or disagreements. The key is to keep the peace of mind and handle differences, through diplomatic means in a calm way. What's more important is to put differences in a proper place. To blow them out of proportion would only hurt our common interests. The call of our time is peace and cooperation. We should keep expanding common interests, and in this process, differences and issues will be gradually resolved. I have faith in a bright future. You are welcome to visit China often and I look forward to more objective and truthful coverage of China from you. Beijing is calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into the attack in Mali on Wednesday that killed one United Nations peacekeeper from China and injured four others, the Foreign Ministry said. Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday that China has sent its deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the victims and their families, and "China strongly condemns the grave crime, which was aimed at UN peacekeeping personnel." "We urge the Malian government and the UN to immediately conduct an investigation into the terrorist attack and bring the perpetrators to justice," Hua said. Al-Qaida's North African branch has claimed responsibility for the attack, the US-based monitoring group SITE said on Wednesday. "Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb reported that its al-Murabitoun battalion engaged in a clash with 'Crusader occupation forces'," referring to the UN mission in Mali, Agence France-Presse quoted SITE as saying. Al-Murabitoun, led by one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has claimed responsibility for several attacks in sub-Saharan Africa. Soldiers of a UN peacekeeping mission have been stationed in northern Mali for three years, along with French forces, after separatists joined jihadists to seize the region from the government in Bamako, according to Reuters. Li Wentao, an expert on Africa studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said Chinese UN peacekeeping forces in Africa have contributed greatly to ensure local peace and stability. "It is an inevitable trend that China will continue to contribute to UN peacekeeping in the future as a responsible nation," Li said. However, it is important for permanent members of the UN Security Council to reach consensus and push forward political settlement of the conflicts in Mali and other African countries, he said. President tells DPRK delegation that stance on Korean Peninsula issues is clear and consistent Chinese President Xi Jinping (R), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with a visiting delegation of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) led by Ri Su Yong, a member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, vice chairman of the WPK Central Committee and director of the party's International Department, in Beijing, June 1, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] China's stance on the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear, President Xi Jinping told a high-level Democratic People's Republic of Korea delegation in Beijing on Wednesday, urging those involved to maintain regional peace and stability. Speaking with the delegation led by career diplomat Ri Su-yong, Xi said that China hopes the parties concerned will stay calm and restrained and enhance communication and dialogue on peninsula issues. The delegation arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit. It was the first by a top DPRK official to China since the DPRK conducted a series of nuclear tests and missile launches early this year, defying United Nations sanctions. Ri served as the DPRK's foreign minister from April 2014 until he was named a member of the Politburo during the recent Korean Worker's Party congress. The visit reflected that DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un and the DPRK Workers' Party Central Committee attach great importance to the relationships between the two parties and the two countries, Xi said. He also expressed his wish that the DPRK's people will accomplish more in developing the country's economy and improving people's livelihoods. Zhang Liangui, an expert on Korean studies at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said that Pyongyang has two main purposes for the delegation's visit: pushing China to lift sanctions and to acknowledge the DPRK's status as a nuclear country. "China should firmly stick to its longtime principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which is among China's core interests," he said. Ri conveyed a message from Kim to President Xi, in which Kim expressed willingness to work with China to strengthen and develop the DPRK-China traditional friendship, and to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. Ri also briefed Xi about the Seventh Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, which was held in early May and was the first such DPRK congress in nearly 40 years. During the congress, the country formally endorsed the policy of expanding its nuclear arsenal. "For the DPRK, it is important to improve ties with China to ease the impacts of international sanctions," the Republic of Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted Kim Heung-kyu, head of the China Policy Institute, as saying. "But it is too early to say that Ri's visit will lead to the onset of an improvement of their strained relations." anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn Yantai Port in Shandong province welcomes an 180,000-metric-ton bauxite ship from West Africa's Guinea every week from a route jointly developed by four companies across three countries. "We can realize freight volume of 10 million tons this year, and 30 million tons of capacity will be achieved in 2018," said Sun Siyuan, the assistant to the chairman, Sun Xiushun, of Winning International Group, a developer of the route. China imports more than 50 million tons of bauxite annually from countries such as India, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Guinea has rich bauxite resources, with its storage volume accounting for one-third of the world's proven reserves. In early 2014, an alliance was established by Singapore's Winning International Group, Guinea's USM, China's Yantai Port Group and the Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Co to build a sea route to annually transport 10 to 30 million tons of bauxite between Yantai and Guinea. This initiative, which lowered costs from an original construction plans for the deepwater pier from more than 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) to 1 billion yuan and the construction time from three years to four months, has allowed Guinea to double its export of bauxite to become the world's most important bauxite exporter. The coalition has also built two hospitals for residents and mine workers in Guinea. Nearly 5,000 residents are employed in the mining area and at Guinea's Katougouma Port. On March 15, the alliance announced the opening of the weekly direct sea route from Yantai Port to Africa's western coast. An empty transport ship for bulk cargo now takes 45 days from China to Guinea. Next year there will be two sea transports a week. The second phase of the construction of Katougouma Port is underway. Located by the side of the port, a 10-square-kilometer logistics industry park has been approved by the government of Guinea. It is also stepping up construction, and attracting domestic and foreign investments. It will become an important trade and logistics distribution center between China and Africa's western coast. It is expected to become a strong and convenient logistics and trade passage for more than 10 countries in West Africa. juchuanjiang@chinadaily.com.cn Intellectual property service providers in Singapore will have easier access to growing opportunities in China, thanks to a newly opened China representative office of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. Located in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City in Guangdong province, a cooperative project for innovative companies and institutions, the office is designed to help the area become a model zone for IP cooperation between China and Singapore, officials from the two countries said at the opening ceremony on May 24. As the first representative office of IPOS outside Singapore, the China office is expected to "help an increasing number of Singapore's IP service providers reach out to the increasing number of Chinese innovative enterprises, especially technology companies seeking to expand overseas", according to the IPOS website. It also aims to provide IP services to those companies in their international business and introduce Singaporean IP service providers to China. Chen Zhiying, Party chief of Guangzhou's Huangpu district, where the knowledge city is located, said the representative office is a key measure to strengthen the two countries' IP collaboration, and it would promote exchanges and interaction between the two and attract high-end IP service providers. Ong Ye Kung, Singapore's acting minister of education and co-chairman of the Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council, said the knowledge city is an "important flagship project" aimed at catalyzing the economic transformation of Guangdong. "As more companies from Guangdong bring their innovations to the rest of the world, the first IPOS representative office overseas will facilitate their linkup with IP service providers in Singapore, to protect and manage their innovations in the Southeast Asian region and beyond," Ong said. Daren Tang, chief executive of IPOS, said that IPOS is "delighted to support the increasing flow of ideas, knowledge and innovation between China and Southeast Asia" through the representative office. "We want to help Singapore's IP service providers connect with innovative companies in China, and also promote Singapore's suite of IP products and services to Chinese companies that have set their sights on the dynamic ASEAN region," Tang said. The representative office was proposed by the provincial government of Guangdong and endorsed at a meeting of the Guangdong government, IPOS and the State Intellectual Property Office of China in April 2015 in Guangzhou. Tan Yih San, then-chief executive of IPOS, said the project would "facilitate the establishment of a fast lane for Chinese companies to access the world market, and for multinational companies to enter China". The office is also intended to facilitate the exchange of IP services and talent development between China and Singapore. (China Daily 06/01/2016 page17) Yang Jiang (left), her husband, Qian Zhongshu, and their daughter, Qian Yuan, in 1981. Photos provided to China Daily Yang Jiang will long be remembered for her witty writing and popular translations, but her independent outlook may be her greatest legacy, Yang Yang reports. Among all the apartments in the 19 three-story buildings near Yuyuantan Park in Beijing, only one has maintained its original look, with neither interior decoration nor the balcony being enclosed with glass. The apartment in Nanshagou Community, where the famed Chinese writer and translator Yang Jiang lived until her death on May 25 at the age of 104, is typical of her modesty. The space is almost unadorned-whitewalls, cement flooring, an old-fashioned sofa and desks worn by years of use. Yang and her equally famous husband, Qian Zhongshu, moved into the unit in 1977, just after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). But Yang lived there alone for nearly two decades after the deaths of Qian and their only daughter, Qian Yuan. While the couple had become household names in the 1980s, they were always indifferent to fame or wealth, and few reporters or readers managed to visit them. Well-known for her subtle and witty writing style, Yang wrote her first play in 1941. A prolific writer, she became famous for her novels, essays, plays and translated works. Her most popular novel, Baptism, was translated into English, French and Italian. It depicts a group of intellectuals from the old society adjusting to a new one in the early 1950s. Yang never stopped writing. At 94, she started writing a book Walking onto the Brink of Life to reflect on her life, which won China's top book award in 2007. At 100, she was still writing articles for newspapers. Tibet Short Documentaries consist of 30 documentaries ranging from 4 to 6 minutes. The series bring you to the daily lives of farmers, herdsmen and city dwellers and let you sip their moments of happiness. The documentaries showcase the enchanting sceneries in the snow land and the charm of local culture. Tibet today is stretching its arms to welcome visitors from all corners of the world. Related: Buddha display at Drepung Monastery Village making Buddha statues in Karma valley For more Tibet Short Documentaries, click here A Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) huanghuali table on show at the International Antiques Fair, hosted by William Chak's company. Photos provided to China Daily In a typically inspiring story, William Chak has evolved from an apprentice to a connoisseur. Lin Qi reports. Antique collector and dealer William Chak has a hectic schedule of traveling between Hong Kong, where he lives, and the mainland that connects him with a growing base of buyers. A few weeks ago, the 58-year-old also made trips to auction previews in cities like Xiamen in East China's Fujian province, and Shanghai, to advise local collectors. The annual International Antiques Fair, organized by his outfit, Chak's Company Ltd, an antique gallery and advisory firm, is being held through May 31 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, gathering dozens of antique galleries and auction houses worldwide. Launched in 2005, the fair features Oriental art, mostly Chinese antiques. As an associated project of the annual Le French May Arts Festival, this year's International Antiques Fair includes classical and decorative European art catering to Asian buyers. Chak will be back in Beijing at the weekend to deliver a lecture on Tang Ying, a ceramic artist of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) who oversaw official kilns. Chak became a television personality in 2006, when he appeared as a regular guest for about six years in Tianxia Shoucang (the world of collecting), the high-rated weekly show on Beijing Satellite Television. He sat on a judging panel with experts from academic institutions who examined the authenticity and evaluated antiques brought by common people. His cheerful face and easy explanations of art made him popular with viewers, helping him to reach out to an increasing population of collectors on the mainland. His Sina Weibo account has more than 420,000 followers, and he replies to people who post photos of recently purchased wares or family heirlooms discovered in their storerooms. French portrait photographer Olivier Roller [Photo by Ruan Fan/chinadaily.com.cn] French President Francois Hollande, never thought he would have to climb up all the way to the top of an old building in Paris just to get one photo out of a one-hour shoot. And he probably didn't expect that in the presence of his two bodyguards, he would be cuddled and at times, was ordered to pose as told. But that's how it went when he accepted the invitation to have his photo taken by French photographer Olivier Roller, under whose project Figure of Power, the president is only Francois representant" (Representative Francois). The project, which features dozens of important figures, including politicians, financiers, media moguls and diplomats, confronts the audience with the question of what is power and how does one think about it. Roller said that no matter how people adore and praise power, he himself always tries to play it down. In mid-May, he had a short meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who paid a visit to one of his power exhibitions at the Temple Restaurant in Beijing during a lunch break. Roller gave Cook a short tour of the exhibition, and told him that he could also be part of the exhibition, only he is not identified as Tim Cook, but "Cook tech-power, perhaps". He also showed Cook his phone not Apple of course, but an LG. Cook laughed. "The problem of these people is they are too powerful, that people around them are so simpatique' with them, saying all beautiful things to them. But what they say is not always real, even if you're an important person," he said. "I have to see them nude intellectually, if I want to make a good picture, so I always work my way to do it." Li Min/China Daily There was a time being a model was a thing to be ashamed of In the summer of 1994 Su Mang rode a bicycle half-way across the city looking for the office of a magazine in a hutong in the Xidan area of Beijing. The office was inside a courtyard, and Su, 22, needed to hoist her bicycle on to her shoulder and carry it across a threshold to gain access. At the time she was studying the traditional Chinese instrument the guzheng at the China Conservatory of Music, but what really appealed to Su's ear was wordsshe wanted to write. In that quest she had been rejected by a few publishing houses. So this day, in a sense of desperation, she was calling on the offices of Trends, which had been running for barely a year. During her interview with the magazine's founder and editor-in-chief, Wu Hong, she fell of her chair, she says. So she was surprised when he agreed to take her on. Su thus became Trends' eighth staffmember, and as with many reporting debutants in those days, she found that getting her foot in the door did not deliver her to the high altar of journalism. Instead her duties included cleaning, cooking and answering readers' letters, but she did get the chance to do some writing for the magazine too. In those days only a handful of Western fashion houses had entered China, and when it came time to interview brand managers and designers, her trusty bicycle was at her service. Attending a show on a cold winter's night demanded something a little better and, wearing a dazzling dresswhich was borrowedshe could often be seen on Beijing street corners waiting for a taxi. In early spring in 1997, nearly three years after joining Trends, Su had risen through the ranks and was assigned to go to New York to meet Helen Gurley Brown, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, with which Trends' owners hoped to form a partnership. The importance of mass media, as a means to inform, inspire and connect people across the world, can never be overstated. That is especially so today, when the world is flat and we are at the dawn of the information age, which is characterized by the wide use of new media that makes information more accessible and interactive than any time in the history of communication. That is where the Asia News Network, one of the world's biggest media alliances, can play its due role. Its two-day annual board meeting, which ended in Beijing on Tuesday, provided an opportunity for editors from major Asian media organizations to explore ways to better share their resources and make the Asian voice louder for an international audience. Thanks to differences in culture and history, and sometimes restrained by ignorance, prejudice and stereotypes, the Western media, when reporting about Asia, do not always meet their professed standard of objectivity, giving rise to misinformation and misunderstandings. It is thus imperative that the Asian media tell Asian stories from Asian perspectives. There is much that can be done. On maritime disputes, the Asian media can encourage reasoned debate, not whip up nationalism. They can highlight common ground and mutual benefits, so that peace can be preserved, not foster fears or fan enmity. On economic development, they can highlight Asia's great growth potential and broad prospects for cooperation. And the Asian media can do more to respect cultural diversity and strengthen communication among countries worldwide, helping create an accommodative environment where differences, whether in values or development mode, can be bridged. Asia, which accounts for one-third of the global economy and trade, deserves being served by media organizations of commensurate influence, those that can help it set its own tone and get its voice spread far and wide. After all, as one of the ANN's slogans puts it, "We know Asia better". Li Min/China Daily Editor's note: After a 10-year silence, Han Chunyu, aged 42, an associate professor at Hebei University of Science and Technology, published a paper in the journal Nature Biotechnology about DNA-guided genome editing, which is a big breakthrough in research in this area. Han's story once again raises questions about how research funds are distributed in China. Xiong Bingqi, vice-president of the 21st Century Education Research Institut, comments: When deciding how to distribute their research funds, it is always senior professors from famous universities that are considered first; a young researcher of Han's age has little hope of receiving funding. However, the reality is, young researchers who are at the peak of their talent can produce the most fruitful research results if properly and sufficiently funded. When a researcher gets a higher title, that title always earns better funding support but the recipient may lack the drive he or she had when they were younger. Such an administrative system is rather unfriendly and unfair for young scholars. Worse, it is detrimental to the nation's scientific research because it fails to exploit the full potential of researchers. Hopefully, Han's example will change the deeply rooted prejudice against funding young researchers. Besides, it is with relatively poor equipment that Han made his achievement, which should also teach us a lesson. The academic administrative system has long blindly worshipped having the latest equipment; guided by this mentality, they invest hugely in equipment but little in researchers. As a result, the pay researchers get is too low compared with the money spent on devices, and many researchers jump to private enterprises that provide higher salaries. That deserves our attention, too. Han's story reveals the problems with the current academic administrative system, which needs reforming. The Philippines has initiated arbitration proceedings on the South China Sea through the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration. Its No.1 and No.2 arbitration requests are to let the court rule that China's historical rights in the "nine-dash line" area of the South China Sea are against the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was concluded in 1982, so as to deny the legality of China's interests. To realize this purpose, the Philippines has intentionally distorted the facts, made guesses about China's historical interests and interpreted UNCLOS to suit itself. Manila pretends to be blind to the basic historical facts, claiming that historically Chinese people had no activities in the South China Sea, and China lacks historical connections with the sea. But history is history. Chinese people have engaged in maritime activities in the South China Sea for more than 2,000 years. They discovered, named and developed the reefs and islets first. The Chinese government of every dynasty has exercised jurisdiction over these islands and their waters by setting up administrative regions, military navigation and marine salvage. Japan invaded China's Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands during its war of aggression. The Cairo Declaration in 1943 and the Potsdam Proclamation in 1945 clearly stipulated that Japan must return the Chinese territory it occupied in China. Accordingly, the Chinese government sent military and administrative officials to take back the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands, and garrisoned the islands. China resumed the exercise of its sovereignty over the reefs and islet and their surrounding waters. Manila denies China's historical rights over the reefs and islets in the South China Sea and the waters within the "nine-dash line", alleging that China did not claim its historical rights in the South China Sea until 2009, 17 years after UNCLOS came into force. This is a malicious interpretation of China's historical rights over the South China Sea. The Chinese government has repeatedly stressed China gradually acquired its sovereignty and relevant rights over the reefs and islets in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters over centuries. And the Chinese governments of different times have always adhered to this stance. The Chinese government renamed the islands and reefs in the South China Sea after geographic measurement in 1947, and drew the nine-dash line on its official national map in 1948, reiterating and confirming its sovereignty and relevant rights over this area of the South China Sea. The Chinese government has adhered to, and taken concrete actions to maintain China's historical rights in the South China Sea since Oct 1, 1949. To dismember China's historical rights, Manila claims, groundlessly, China's rights in the "nine-dash line" are not legally binding, according to UNCLOS. However, the drafters of the Convention and countries signatory to it have given full consideration to the complexity of countries' historical rights acquired via customary international laws through long-term practices, and thus UNCLOS does not rule on various kinds of historical rights, which are not changed by the Convention, and continue to be decided by the customary international laws. Therefore, UNCLOS does not have binding legal stipulations to judge China's historical rights in the South China Sea, and the arbitration court does not have right to make a ruling beyond the power of UNCLOS on China's historical rights. The Philippines has included tendentious points of view by some scholars in its arbitration filing that fabricate the Chinese government's stance and facts about China's historical rights. The views of these academics are by no means objective and factual evidence. Using personal views is not a valid way to prove a government's stance is legal. No serious, just and professional international judicial procedures accept scholars' personal theses as factual evidence. Meanwhile, China has large amounts of historical materials and state files proving the opposite of the Philippines' claims. Manila's contrived "evidence" is support of its claims only makes the arbitration farce more absurd, and harms the UNCLOS' authority in ruling that disputes should be solved in a peaceful manner. China's historical rights in the South China Sea are not influenced by the Philippines' distorting of the facts, or the arbitration proceedings based on Manila's abusing of the UN convention. China's historical rights over the South China Sea will continue to apply in accordance with customary international laws, and are respected by UNCLOS. The author is an international issue observer in Beijing. (China Daily USA 05/23/2016 page12) The unilateral arbitration case forcibly pushed forward by the Philippines is a provocation against China under a legal cloak. Essentially, it is not aimed at resolving the country's territorial disputes with China, but a naked attempt to repudiate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. By partitioning China's Nansha Islands in their entirety into different ones in its arbitration case submitted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and asking the court to make a ruling on the maritime rights of the islands and reefs "occupied or controlled" by China, Manila is deliberately falsifying the nature of its disputes with Beijing on territorial sovereignty and maritime demarcation in the South China Sea. This partition trick is a serious infringement of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. China enjoys sovereignty over the Nansha Islands as a whole and such a legal fact has gained international recognition and acquiescence. In its arbitration case, the Philippines intentionally shies away from mentioning some islands and reefs, including those illegally occupied or claimed by itself, in an attempt to deny China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and whitewash its illegal occupation of some of China's Nansha Islands. The exclusion of Taiping Island, the largest of the Nansha Islands where Taiwan stations its troops, from the islands and reefs "occupied or controlled" by China, also constitutes a serious violation by Manila of the one-China principle. All these testify that the Philippines' arbitration appeal is an unconcealed challenge to China's territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the basic fact of the integrity of China's Nansha Islands should be taken into full consideration in defining China's maritime rights. In a note to then secretary-general of the UN on April 14, 2011, China's permanent mission to the UN pointed out that the stipulations of the Convention and China's maritime law endow China's Nansha Islands with the right of territorial waters, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. However, in its arbitration case, the Philippines is attempting to fragment the Nansha Islands, proposing that the legal status of the listed islands should be determined one by one. Manila has also argued that these islands belong to atoll or low-tide heights that it says only enjoy a right of 12-nautical-mile waters under the UN Convention. Such arguments are a wanton challenge to China's maritime rights based on the nature of Nansha Islands as an entirety. The intrigue to partition China's Nansha Islands also highlights the Philippines' attempt to evade territorial sovereignty and maritime demarcation disputes in its arbitration case. The settlement of territorial sovereignty disputes is beyond the scope of the UN Convention and thus inapplicable to international arbitration or other compulsory procedures. In 2006, China also excluded the settlement of maritime demarcation disputes by compulsory arbitration based on the Convention. In this sense, the court in The Hague has no power of jurisdiction over the Philippines' arbitration case and Manila's enforced arbitration requirement is essentially an abuse of the Convention's compulsory settlement procedures. Aside from its lack of jurisdiction, the arbitration court's indiscriminate endorsement of the Philippines' partitioning of China's Nansha Islands is a serious departure from the fair and a prudent attitude a court should hold. According to Article 9 of Annex VII of UNCLOS, in the absence of one of the two conflicting parties, the arbitration court should verify whether it enjoys jurisdiction over the case and whether all the requirements are factual and have a legal basis before making a ruling. The court should dismiss the Philippines' unreasonable arbitration appeal and fully respect the fact that China's Nansha Islands have an integral geographic existence if it strictly bases its work on facts and laws. The non-identified endorsement of the Philippines' fragmenting of China's Nansha Islands demonstrates the court has already been reduced to being Manila's agent and lacks objectivity and fairness. The illegal and invalid arbitration farce staged by the Philippines and the court does not alter the fact China's Nansha Islands are an entirety nor China's legal rights and interests. The author is a Beijing-based observer of international issues. (China Daily USA 05/24/2016 page12) In its compulsory arbitration proceedings with respect to its disputes with China in the South China Sea, the Philippines has accused China of interfering in the Philippines exercising sovereignty and jurisdiction in its territorial waters. The Philippines claims that the region extending 200 nautical miles from its coast, except the 12-nautical miles of high-tide land, is its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. It also claims that China's claim of historical rights within the nine-dash line in the South China Sea violate its sovereignty and jurisdiction over the non-biological resources in the seabed and ocean bottom. But there are mistakes in its claims, as well as in its proving of them. The Philippines' claims are based on a false pretext. China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and the domestic laws of China quoted by the Philippines make it clear that China's territory includes the Nansha Islands. Before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Institute of International Law raised the concept of the regime of islands as early as 1924; this was later included in the Convention. Even the regime of islands defined by the Convention does not exclude the rights of Islands that are considered by customary international law as a group. Therefore, the Nansha Islands as a whole have the right to claim territorial sea, economic exclusive zone and continental shelf. Besides, UNCLOS does not exclude continental countries from exercising the system in their overseas islands and many countries govern their overseas islands as a whole. The Philippines is also distorting the facts by saying that China did not claim historical rights within the nine-dashed line until 2009. On that basis, it claims exclusive jurisdiction over the resources in the said zones and claims China has opposed it exploring for oil at Liyue Tan (Reed Bank). The fact is, China issued a statement opposing oil exploration at Liyue Tan, which is part of Nansha Islands, as early as 1976. The Philippines also claims that China has deprived Philippine fisherpersons of their traditional livelihood, which is against UNCLOS. By "traditional livelihood" they mean fishing rights; they even quoted a 1734 map, drawn by Spanish colonialists, to prove that Philippine fishing there can be dated back to the colonial era. They also quoted two documents, one in 1953 and one in 1973, to support their claim. The problem is, they quoted the map from an academic essay in 2014, which in itself does not prove anything. The two documents they cited only have conclusions such as Huangyan Island being a main reef fishing area for the Philippines, without any actual support. They lack supportive materials such as what kinds of fishing vessels they use, their maritime charts, materials about the fishing staff, as well as what fish products they have. China has sovereignty over Huangyan Island; therefore it has the right to chase away Philippine fishing vessels that intrude in the said maritime zones. By doing so China acts in accordance with international laws, and the actions it takes are common practice. Therefore, the Philippines has committed several mistakes in trying to prove China "interfered" its exercising sovereignty and jurisdiction, and in the livelihoods of Philippine people fishing around the Huangyan Island. Its arbitration proceedings is on the wrong pretext, distorted facts and is self-contradictory. The author is an associate researcher at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. (China Daily 05/25/2016 page9) The South China Sea arbitration case initiated by the Philippines in 2013 is being watched closely by the international community as the court's ruling may be announced before the end of June. Whatever the outcome, the case, which aims to overrule Beijing's time-honored legal interests in the South China Sea, ranging from navigation and fishing to administrative management, is built on shaky legal ground. To begin with, the issue of territorial sovereignty is beyond the scope of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, thus the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has no jurisdiction over the case, since in essence it is concerned with territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea. Turning a blind eye to the fact that Chinese people first discovered, named, and developed the reefs and islets in the waters, as well as the Chinese government's consistent jurisdiction over these islands, Manila instead bases its claims on written evidence taken out of context. For example, it claimed that Xisha Islands are the south end of Chinese territory, "according to" an official document issued by the Chinese government in 1937. But the truth is, this refers to comments by some geographical experts that are later refuted in the document. The Philippine government keeps ignoring the abundant evidence against its arbitration, and claims China neither named any islands in the South China Sea before 1947 nor extended its fisheries to the waters. Yet, as a popular sailing guide called Geng Lu Bu records, Chinese fishermen fished there in the Ming and Qing dynasties between the 14th and 20th century, and dozens of islands in the South China Sea already had their Chinese names. Many of these names, including Subi Reef and Namyit Island, have been widely adopted and used by international sailors until now. Despite Manila's repeated smear attempts, such as confounding Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands with some Vietnamese islets, China's sovereignty in the South China Sea has been explicitly reflected in the world maps issued by countries such as Japan, France, even Vietnam, in the aftermath of World War II. Worse still, the Philippines has even gone further and challenged the one-China principle, which was enshrined in Beijing-Manila diplomatic relations, arguing that Taiwan's presence in the South China Sea after 1949 has nothing to do with China's territorial interests there. Such distortion, which seeks to nullify Taiwan's routine cruises and civil development in the waters near Nansha Islands since the 1950s, not only violates its diplomatic commitment to China but also infringes upon the country's irrefutable sovereignty in the South China Sea. But no matter how hard Manila tries to invalidate Beijing's legal territorial claims by overstating the "evidence" provided by a selected few scholars, its efforts will only prove futile in the face of history written by all navigators who traveled across the South China Sea. The author is a researcher at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Hainan province. (China Daily 05/26/2016 page9) HAVANA - Cuban Minister of Agriculture will lead a delegation to the US to enhance cooperation between the two countries, a foreign ministry statement said on Tuesday. According to a press release by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Gustavo Rodriguez will visit Washington from June 1-3 and will hold meetings with his US counterpart Thomas Vilsack, and other officials from the departments of agriculture and commerce, as well as organizations that support Havana's demand for a complete lifting of the US economic embargo. The Cuban delegation will also visit the state of Iowa to tour agricultural research centers and farms, accompanied by Vilsack and other senior US officials. "The visit will enhance cooperation in areas expanding from organic food production to scientific exchanges as the two countries have agreed last March," said the press release. The accord also allows both nations to deepen cooperation in other agricultural areas. The Cuban delegation will be composed of government officials from the ministries of agriculture, science and technology, and foreign affairs, said the statement. Vilsack visited Cuba in November 2015 and reiterated Washington's interest in cooperating with the island in various fields, particularly organic crops and biotechnology research for agriculture. The US Secretary of Agriculture also confirmed his nation's will to increase food sales to Havana and create favorable conditions for bilateral commerce, which is still hampered by the ongoing blockade. This will be the second high-level Cuban delegation to visit the US this year after the Minister of Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca paid a visit to Washington in February. BERLIN - As many as 26 women have reported sexual assaults at a music festival in the western German city of Darmstadt, German media reported on Tuesday. At the end of the four-day music festival that hosted a crowd of 400,000 visitors, three women were the first to inform the police late Saturday night they had been touched inappropriately by several men, local media Spiegel Online reported. Similar to the New Year's Eve assaults in Cologne earlier in the year, the victims, mostly young women, were each surrounded and harassed by small groups of men. According to a press release from the Darmstadt police, the women believed the perpetrators to be "from the South Asian region." The suspects are alleged to have approached the young women and touched their "intimate areas" without consent. Shortly after the complaints were lodged, the officers arrested three suspects, aged 28 to 31, who were later released. A police spokesman was quoted as saying there were no grounds for detention. According to the police, they were from Pakistan, and at least two were asylum seekers. The German police will start an investigation into sexual assault and sexual harassment. On New Year's Eve, a group of around 1,000 men surrounded, harassed, and robbed mostly women in the western German city of Cologne. According to eyewitnesses and victims, the perpetrators were from Arabic or North African regions. YANGON - A total of 129 out of 249 Myanmar fishermen, who had served their prison terms in India after being detained for illegally entering that country's territorial waters, have been released and brought back home, official media reported Wednesday. The return of the first batch of the Myanmar fishermen, held at Open Distress Camp of India, came after several rounds of negotiations with the Indian authorities. They arrived at the Yangon International Airport Tuesday, the report said, adding that the remaining fishermen will return on Thursday by chartered flight. The Myanmar fishermen were arrested by the Indian navy while floating in the territorial waters of India due to a storm and engine failure. As China sees its population decreasing, the country needs to better educate its people to sustain long-term growth, said experts. A Chinese couple will have, on average, only 1.4 children next generation, and calculated at that rate, the population as a whole would be reduced by a fourth after four generations, said Li Hongbin, a visiting professor of economics at the Stanford Center for International Development. "If we can't increase the quantity, we can improve the quality, which is through education," said Li, at an annual conference of visiting scholars on Saturday at the university. "China's problem in a sense is how to deal with a stable population or an aging population when you've lost a stimulus that comes from constantly having to provide for new entrants, new generations, new jobs, new students to be trained," said Nicholas Hope, director of the center and its China research program. Last October, China initiated a second-child policy, putting an end to the one-child policy instituted in the late 1970s. The new policy is expected to address the country's aging trend and potential future labor shortages due to the low birth rates of recent years. "Many women choose not to have a second child despite the policy, because the cost for women is too high," said Li. Hope agreed. Once women have experienced the freedom that comes from not having to deal with half a dozen children and being constantly engaged in childbirth, many decide that one child is enough, he explained. "To enable the process to continue in a country that's now emphasizing innovation and entrepreneurship, and movement to the front-tier and cutting-edge technological advancements, you need to educate people much better," said Hope. He said while he was working with the World Bank as country director for China and Mongolia, he used to visit the rural areas of Guizhou, Gansu, Jiangxi, in the underdeveloped west of China. "When you looked at where people were living," he said, "this was not a place that would support people in a decent standard of living 25 years from now." President Xi Jinping told a rare high-level delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Wednesday that China's stance on the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear. Speaking with the delegation led by career diplomat Ri Su-yong, Xi said that China hopes relevant parties will remain calm and show restraint, enhance communication and dialogue, and maintain regional peace and stability. The delegation arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit. It was the first visit by a top DPRK official to China since the DPRK conducted a series of nuclear tests and missile launches, defying sanctions by world powers, earlier this year. Ri served as the DPRK's foreign minister from April 2014 until he was named a member of the politburo during the recent Workers' Party congress. Ri transmitted a message from DPRK leader Kim Jong-un to Xi, in which he expressed willingness to work with China to strengthen and develop DPRK-China traditional friendship, and maintain peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast Asian region. Ri also briefed Xi about the 7th congress of DPRK Workers' Party held in early May. The visit reflected that Kim and the DPRK Workers' Party Central Committee attached great importance to the relationship between the two parties and the two countries, Xi said. He extended his wishes that the DPRK people could make more achievements in developing the economy and improving people's livelihoods. An aerial photo taken on Sept 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows cruise vessel Haixun 1103 heading to the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in the South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua] With the Shangri-La Dialogue a high-profile regional security convention set to begin on Friday, observers predicted that Washington will try to further pressure and isolate China on maritime issues. They also cautioned that the United States should not let the South China Sea issue overshadow China-US ties. Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is scheduled to give the keynote speech at the influential gathering of senior defense officials from within and outside the Asia-Pacific region. The 15th dialogue, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, will be held from Friday through Sunday in Singapore. Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said that the dialogue this year has a new twist the arbitration sought by the Philippines against China regarding the South China Sea issue. Zhao Xiaozhuo, a researcher at the Center on China-America Defense Relations at the PLA Academy of Military Science, said it is common to see conflicting ideas debated between Chinese and US military officials during the annual dialogue. He said Washington will likely use the opportunity to pressure and isolate China, especially militarily. Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, will lead a Chinese delegation and deliver a speech during a plenary session. The South China Sea, China-US military ties and the Korean Peninsula are on the top of the Chinese delegation's agenda. Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said, "It is time for both sides (China and the US) to evaluate how far they will allow the South China Sea issue to go." It was unclear whether Sun will have a meeting or other contacts with the US participants, who will include Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Sun is also expected to hold bilateral and multilateral meetings and introduce China's policies and practices of "strengthening Asia-Pacific security cooperation and regional security governance", the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. Tim Huxley, executive director of IISS-Asia, said in an online article that "there is much speculation about China's next steps in the South China Sea". Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 (Photo : SpaceX) Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy Advertisement Odds are SpaceX will beat NASA in the contest to land the first humans on Mars but that hasn't altered NASA's current view of SpaceX as a partner and not a competitor in the "Race to the Red Planet." Stephen Jurczyk, Associate Administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, said NASA views the proposed landing of the Red Dragon spacecraft on Mars by 2018 as an opportunity for both NASA and SpaceX to share the load in the campaign to get humans to Mars. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement He said SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk, needs NASA's Deep Space Network of communication stations and other space flight infrastructure to successfully make the Mars landing. For its part, NASA could learn a lot from a successful landing of the Red Dragon spacecraft and is excited about SpaceX's plans to land Red Dragon on Mars using the untested supersonic retro-propulsion technology. "Landing the Red Dragon there would definitely be an advancement," said Jurczyk. "We know how to land one metric ton on Mars, the Red Dragon is five to six metric tons. "We are in collaboration with SpaceX because we want the entry descent and landing data from that landing, and particularly we want the supersonic retro-propulsion data." Jurczyk said that since 1976, NASA has used supersonic parachutes to slow down from supersonic speeds to subsonic speeds on re-entry. NASA then used retro-propulsion and later airbags and most recently a sky crane landing. "But we've never used supersonic retro-propulsion to get a craft from supersonic speed to subsonic speed for landing on Mars. So we really want that data." If SpaceX and NASA can keep to their promises, SpaceX should land humans on Mars by 2028. NASA plans to accomplish this feat by 2035. Jurczyk emphasized NASA will stick to its three-part plan to get to Mars. The first part is the "Earth-dependent phase" in low-Earth orbit (LEO) where activities and experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) advance the research and technology necessary for a trek to Mars and staying there. Part two is what NASA calls the "proving ground." This includes missions to the vicinity of the Moon or cislunar space. Among these missions is a lunar habitat that will go into a stable lunar orbit in the cislunar space around the Moon. This space station will be NASA's base in the lunar vicinity. It will test NASA's very high-efficiency propulsion technology; environmental control and life-support system technologies. The proposed lunar space station was recently unveiled by Orbital ATK and consists of mating together two upgraded versions of their Cygnus spacecraft. Orbital ATK wants to have the habitat in lunar orbit by 2020. Another project is to land the Resource Prospector Rover (now under development) on the Moon to look for frozen water in shadowy craters. This will tell NASA how difficult it might be to liberate frozen water from the Martian regolith. Martian water will be used for drinking and its oxygen and hydrogen components for fuel. Part three is the Mars landing. Jurczyk said NASA must develop the capability to land 19 to 23 metric tons, or the weight of an unfueled ascent vehicle for a crew. That weight assumes the astronauts will have the capability to produce fuel in-situ on Mars. "Then there is all the surface infrastructure," noted Jurczyk. "That's the technology we need to develop over the next 10 years so that we can have people on the surface in the 2030s. We need to be able to land much heavier payloads, develop and generate surface power, in-situ resource utilization, habitation, better spacesuits, etc." Advertisement TagsSpaceX, NASA, Mars, Stephen Jurczyk (Photo : PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images) Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe is currently on a state visit to China. Advertisement China's President Xi Jinping and Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe have agreed to boost cooperation and promote bilateral relations between both countries. The announcement was made after the Togolese president visited Beijing this week. Xi, who welcomed Gnassingbe said diplomatic relations between both countries started 44 years ago. Since then both countries have supported each other in their respective development process. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The Chinese leader said the relationship with Togo had become a model of relations between large and small countries. He added that the bilateral exchanges between China and Togo involved equality, mutual benefit, trust, and sincerity. Xi called for a strengthening of the political trust and high-level contact between China and Togo. Xi invited Gnassingbe on his ongoing state visit which began on May 29. The Togolese leader is set to leave the country on June 2. China will support Togo's industrial development by encouraging businesses and financial institutions to invest in infrastructure in the African nation. China is also ready to support Togo's agricultural technology to add value to the country's produce. Both leaders also discussed national defense and security cooperation. China said it is willing to strengthen bilateral ties with Togo to combat piracy and transnational organized crime. Xi noted that China and Togo should also cooperate in culture, education and travel. He called for an increase in exchange between youth, women, media, and think tanks from both nations. Gnassingbe said his country appreciates China's long-term support and assistance. He added that he hopes China will continue backing his country in different aspects including agriculture, infrastructure, peace, security, port economic development, and many more. The two leaders signed bilateral cooperative documents on the deals they reached. Advertisement TagsChinese President Xi jinping, Togo president Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, State Visit, bilateral relations, improved cooperation, small and big countries, China-Togo relations, economic development (Photo : Getty Images) BJP member Subramanian swamy said on Monday that China may cooperate on the Masood Azhar issue if India provides hard evidence. Advertisement A member of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Subramanian Swamy said on Monday that China may rethink on the Masood Azhar issue if India resubmits its plea. Swamy, who is currently on a visit to China, urged India to focus on offering hard evidence rather than censuring Pakistan. "My impression is that India can expect cooperation from China on the issue of declaring Masood Azhar, leader of Jaish-e-Muhammad, as a terrorist who should face trial in India, if India in the United Nations concentrated more on him than seeking to censure Pakistan as a sponsor of terror," Swamy said. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Swamy has met with several important Chinese leaders including Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin during his ongoing visit. The Indian official said that based on what he has learned from these personal meetings, he would be surprised if China continues to obstruct the move to blacklist Azhar in the UN once hard evidence is provided. Swamy also suggested a pre-UN trilateral consultation between India, China, and Pakistan on the issue. The Masood Azhar issue also figured in discussions during Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to China last month. President Mukherjee is said to have categorically told Chinese leaders that there are no 'good terrorists' or 'bad terrorists.' The Masood Azhar issue has been a bone of contention between India and China over past couple of months. India has accused China of shielding Pakistan after Beijing vetoed New Delhi's plea in the UN to blacklist Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar. Since then New Delhi has been taking up the issue with Beijing at various summits and diplomatic meetings. China's effort to block India's bid to secure membership in the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) has further dampened the relationship between the two countries. Advertisement TagsMasood Azhar., china, China and India, Subramanian Swamy (Photo : GHAITH OMRAN/AFP/Getty Images) A picture taken on October 14, 2014 shows a large explosion allegedly hitting a Syrian army military outpost in the southern part of the city of Maarat al-Numan in the Idlib province. Advertisement Opposition activists have confirmed that at least 23 people including seven children have been killed after air strikes hit the Syrian city of Idlib. According to reports, the air strikes were carried out near two hospitals and a mosque on Tuesday night. Several people are believed to be trapped under the rubble of their homes. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that a Russian aircraft carried out the strikes. However, Moscow has denied the reports. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russia did not perform any combat tasks or air strikes in the Idlib province. Idlib is currently held by many militant groups such as al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front. Despite Russia's denial, an activist based in Idlib, Ahmad Ariha, claims the Russians are targeting the Nusra Front. Around 250 people were wounded in the attack, according to Ariha. He added that the Nusra Front has since evacuated all their civilian centers in the city. Ariha also claims the bombings destroyed vaccination centers in the village of Kfar Takharim. Videos of relief workers using flashlights to rescue people trapped under the rubble have since surfaced on the internet. A boy in one of the videos is shown being rescued from a crushed building. The Russian military's campaign supporting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his forces started last September. Russian is fighting the Islamic State in Syria. Another activist, based in Turkey, Hassan Dughaim, said air attacks are either a way to set the ground for the offensive on Idlib or to make the resistance surrender. Some people allegedly tried to flee the city but the bombing followed them. Some bombings are said to have even even struck refugee camps. Advertisement TagsSyria, Islamic State, Nusra Front, idlib, President Bashar al-Assad, Russian military, Airstrikes, seven children dead (Photo : Bruno Vincent/Getty Images) Professor Stephen Hawking delivers his speech at the release of the 'Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' on January 17, 2007 in London, England. Advertisement One of the world's most renowned scientists, Stephen Hawking, has revealed his opinion of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during an interview this week. During a 'Good Morning Britain' interview, Hawking was asked if he can explain how Trump was able to succeed in his White House bid. Trump is the inevitable GOP nominee as his opponents Ohio Governor John Kasich and Texas Senator Ted Cruz backed out after the Indiana primary. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "I can't. He is a demagogue, who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator," Hawkings said. The scientist is not the first British public figure to comment on the controversial GOP nominee. Most people in the United Kingdom have condemned Trump for his comments concerning Muslims. Trump had suggested banning Muslims from entering the U.S. after the Paris attacks. His statement that Britain has a massive Muslim problem did not sit well with many people. British Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have both condemned Trumps comments. Cameron said the remarks were "divisive, stupid, and wrong." While Khan, who is a Muslim, said if Trump becomes the president of the U.S., he will stop going to the country because of his faith. He added that this means he will not be able to engage with American mayors and swap ideas with them once Trump is president. British parliamentarians have also debated the possibility of banning Trump from entering the UK. Mexico is another country that feels there will be chaos if Trump gets into the White House. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said that there will be a trade war if Trump wins the election. His comments come after Trump criticized Mexicans for causing unemployment and bringing in drugs, crimes, and rapists into America. Trump and his team have not yet commented on Hawking's statement. Advertisement TagsStephen Hawking, ITV, Good Morning Britain, donald trump, a demagogue, Presidential elections 2016, Birtain, United Kingdom (Photo : Purdue Agriculture/Tom Campbell) Pollen balls made by Indiana honeybees. Variations in color reflect differences in flower species. Advertisement A new study reveals some alarming findings, how honeybees also transfer and absorb harmful pesticides during collecting pollen from plants even if they are not farm crops. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Bees that are living in agricultural regions regularly collect the majority of their pollen from non crop plants however, these insects can still experience the harmful effects of these pesticides that are used for commercial crops and otherwise. Now, researchers from Purdue University in Indiana, have monitored and traced back pollen sources along with pesticide levels from honeybess for a period of 16 weeks. Scientists obtained samples from pollen inside their hives that where they foraged them from about 30 families of plants. Results revealed that samples apparently contained pesticide remnants that originate from nine different chemicals that also include neonicotinoids, which is a pesticide that causes colony collapse disorder. According to entomology professor Christian Krupke from Purdue University, crop pollen was just a minor part of what these bees collected however, in this new study, it suggests that bees are far more exposed to a wider range of chemicals that first expected. The different kinds of pesticides found in our pollen samples were simply overwhelming. Krupke adds that agricultural chemicals are not the main problem here, since some of the major sources of these chemicals are from communities and urban landscapes, even when these hives are far away from these crop fields. Apart from harmful neonicotinoids, scientists also discovered a significant amount of pyrethoids, which is an insecticide that are commonly seen in homes to repel wasps, mosquitoes and other bugs that can become a nuisance. More studies supporting this one now trace major threatening sources to honeybees, such as disease, pesticides and even habitat loss, which are the main reasons why honeybees are continuing to decline in population numbers. This new study only confirms how pesticide exposure is even more widespread than ever before, where non crop plants are already suffering from dangerous pesticide exposure, and in turn, the insect world is also experiencing its adverse effects, making pesticides a major stressor for bees. This new study is published in the journal, Nature Communications. Advertisement TagsBees, honeybees, pollen, bees pollen pesticides, pesticides, non crop plants pollen pesticides, insecticides (Photo : Reuters) Samsung's new SSD will come in 512GB, 256GB and 128GB capacities. Advertisement Samsung has started the mass production of its solid-state drive (SSD) PM971-NVMe, a 512GB component that is smaller than a postage stamp. Designed for the next generation of super-thin ultrabooks, the PM971-NVMe comes in at 20mm x 16mm x 1.5mm, and weighs a gram. Samsungs says the PM971-NVMe will hit 1.5GBps read speeds and 800MBps write speeds. The PM971-NVMe is built using 20nm NAND chips and includes 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM as a cache. The NAND is triple-level cell but uses a portion as a write buffer. The drive will come in 512GB, 256GB and 128GB capacities. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Samsung claims that the drive is the first mass-produced 512GB SSD with non-volatile memory express (NVMe), a host-controller interface with a streamlined register for speed, in a single package. Unlike other hard drives in multi-chip packages (MCP), Samsung's new drive is organized in a ball grid array into a collected unit that makes it simpler to fit in and connect to other parts in the device. This makes the drive ideal for the ultra-slim notebook PC market, where space and weight are at a premium. Samsungs new BGA NVMe SSD triples the performance of a typical SATA SSD, in the smallest form factor available, with storage capacity reaching up to 512GB. The introduction of this small-scale SSD will help global PC companies to make timely launches of slimmer, more stylish computing devices, while offering consumers a more satisfactory computing environment, said Jung-bae Lee, senior vice president, Memory Product Planning & Application Engineering Team, Samsung Electronics. Samsung did not specify OEMs that might be interested in purchasing the new SSD module, but Apple with its penchant for thin-and-light laptop designs is likely on the short list. Aside from iOS device components, Apple looks to Samsung for a variety of Mac parts, including current issue SSDs. Advertisement TagsSamsung, SSD, 512GB SSD, small 512GB SSD, small Samsung SSD, PM971-NVMe (Photo : Getty Images) Xiaomi has bought 1,500 patents from Microsoft for undisclosed amount. Advertisement Xiaomi Corp. has purchased around 1,500 patents from Microsoft Inc. as the Chinese smartphone manufacturer seeks to expand beyond China and other emerging markets. The patent deal covers wireless communications, video, cloud and multimedia technologies. The financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The patent deal is seen as part of a broader cross-license agreement that both companies announced earlier this week. The cross license agreement will allow Xiaomi to preload Microsoft Office and Skype on several of its devices including the Mi 5, Mi Max, Redmi Note 3 and Mi 4S. "This will help our ease of operation in new markets," Xiaomi spokeswoman Kaylene Hong said. For a long time, Xiaomi has been planning to enter into the developed markets of US and Europe. However, its apparently small mobile patent portfolio has been a major hindrance to its entry into the US and European market. Experts say that without a large mobile patent portfolio, Xiaomi may find itself in legal entanglement over intellectual property in the tightly-regulated US market. The patent deal with Microsoft is widely seen as Xiaomi's attempt to avoid any legal troubles once it enters into the US market. The company said it plans to enter into the US mobile market soon. However, it did not provide any specific time-frame for the move. Since its sensational debut in 2014, Xiaomi's affordable smartphones have been selling like a hot cake in China, India, and Brazil. However, oversaturation in emerging markets coupled with increasing competition from other Chinese manufacturers has forced Xiaomi to look at other markets to raise its profit. Advertisement TagsXiaomi, Chinese Mobile Companies, Chinese Mobile Manufacturers, Microsoft Inc (Photo : Getty Images/Justin Sullivan) An Instagram news feed is displayed on an Apple iPhone on December 18, 2012 in Fairfax, California. Advertisement Instagram has unveiled Business Tools, a new feature that will allow small and large entrepreneurs to better communicate with their customers. The photo-sharing company said that the upgrade will be rolled out in the US, Australia, and New Zealand in the coming months. According to Tech Crunch, Instagram is launching Business Tools to help businesses to fully-connect with their customers while also helping their profiles and posts attract more attention. The new set of features will include new business profiles, analytics and the option to convert Instagram posts into advertisements directly on the platform. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement As part of the new features, Instagram will add a 'contact' button on a business profile, making it easier for customers to interact and forward their questions to companies, Mashable reported. Other contact information such as email address, phone number, and the company's physical location can also be added, depending on a user's preference. Just like Facebook, Instagram will also launch an analytics tool within the app to give businesses an in-depth view of how their daily posts are performing and better insight to which demographics their business is reaching. According to Forbes, Instagram is hoping to attract more small businesses to use their digital platform by launching business tools. "We built [the tools] for a smaller business, but we think that larger businesses will use these tools when they're on the go," said Instagram's Global Head of Business and Brand Development James Quarles. "This is useful for businesses of all sizes." Advertisement TagsInstagram, business tools, Facebook, james quarles China's new problem: soldiers that are too fat to fight. Advertisement The People's Liberation Army (PLA), the army of the Communist Party of China and not the Chinese state, is losing "The Battle of the Bulge" and has again adjusted weight requirements for new recruits "to allow more portly young men into the military." The intractable problem of bulging waistlines among combat and non-combat personnel in the PLA's three services was brought to public attention in Feb. 2014 when the official People's Liberation Army Daily reported the average Chinese soldier was now five centimeters wider at the waist compared to 20 years ago. There are some 3.2 million personnel in the PLA. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement These big bellied men are having trouble getting into their tanks that were designed over 30 years ago for slimmer men. They also feel more cramped in the already cramped interior of Chinese tanks. The study that brought out these findings recommended upgrading military equipment to take into account these realities. Recently, the semi-official Global Times said the PLA now accepts male and female recruits that weigh 30 percent and 20 percent above the "standard weight." These numbers are five percent higher than in 2015. The problem of overweight and obese teenagers derided as being "Too fat to fight" has remained intractable, a problem brought about by China's former one child policy. This policy gave rise to spoiled - and fat - children ridiculed as "Little Emperors." In an admission of this inconvenient reality, the PLA softened its physical requirements for recruits at least four times since 2008. That move included lower height requirements and an increase to the maximum male weight "to allow more portly young men into the military," said China Daily. Two years ago, overweight Chinese soldiers were warned to stay in shape or be denied promotions. "It is strength but not weight, muscle not fat that is to be compared on the future war field," said Rear Admiral Luo Yuan, social commentator and military theorist at the PLA Academy of Military Science. Advertisement TagsPeople's Liberation Army, Communist Party of Chin, overweight, obese soldiers (Photo : Getty Images.) Chinas President Xi has called for peace in the Korean Peninsula. Advertisement China's President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met North Korean envoy Ri Su-yong amid the recent strains in the bilateral relationship between the two communist countries. Ties between Pyongyang and Beijing have suffered due to North Korea's defiance of China's call to curb its nuclear ambition. Ri, one of the top lieutenants of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reaffirmed Pyongyang's commitment to its controversial nuclear program soon after arriving in Beijing for a three-day visit. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement After meeting with the North Korean envoy, President Xi called on all parties involved in the Korean peninsula to exercise constraint. "China's position on the (Korean Peninsula) issue is consistent and clear. We hope relevant parties maintain calm and restraint, strengthen communication and dialogue, and safeguard regional peace and stability," Xi said, according to Xinhua. Xi noted that China attaches "great importance" to its friendly relation with Pyongyang and is willing to make an effort to consolidate the relationship further. According to Chinese state media, Ri reciprocated Xi's gesture by passing Kim's verbal message, expressing the North Korean leader's sincere desire to work with China to maintain peace in the Korean peninsula. It is not clear whether the US' plan to deploy its highly-advanced 'THAAD missile system' to South Korea was discussed during the meeting. However, experts say that an issue of such importance is likely to have come up. China opposes the plan to deploy the missile system to the Korean peninsula due to national security concerns. Experts have touted the meeting between Xi and Ri as immensely important to cool down the recent tensions between the communist neighbors. The relationship between China and North Korea has been frayed since Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear missile test earlier this year, in clear defiance of warnings from the international community. In response, China has voiced commitment to implementing tough United Nations sanctions on North Korea. Advertisement TagsNorth Korea, china, Xi Jinping, Ri Su Yong, China and North Korea Fans criticize Babylon Bee for lampooning TBN's Jan Crouch same day she died Guest Reviewer | 31 May, 2016 by Michael Foust CHICAGO (Christian Examiner) The Christian satire "Babylon Bee" website is known for its edgy humor, but some fans said it went too far Tuesday when it posted a story about the death of TBN co-founder Jan Crouch. The 78-year-old Crouch died shortly after suffering a stroke, and two and a half years after her husband, TBN co-founder Paul Crouch, passed away in November 2013. The Babylon Bee said a satirical Hinn told reporters "that Crouch must have spoken her own death into existence." The Crouches were well-known for being leaders in the health-and-wealth or prosperity gospel movement a point the Babylon Bee story noted under the headline "Top Prosperity Theologians Puzzled Over Death Of Jan Crouch." "Various baffled prosperity gospel preachers have begun offering theories Tuesday on how Crouch could possibly have passed away, given her overabundance of faith, her supernatural ability to name and claim health and wealth at will, and her decades of collecting donations while promising that God's will is for everybody to be wealthy and healthy," the story read. Like other Babylon Bee stories, this one carried no byline. It included fake quotes from prosperity gospel preachers Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes and Kenneth Copeland. "Maybe she read a really mean tweet or some criticism of her theology, and she spoke the words out loud and gave them life. How else can you explain someone who possessed supernatural health from God dying four years before the average female life expectancy in the U.S.," the satirical Osteen quote read. The Babylon Bee said a satirical Hinn told reporters "that Crouch must have spoken her own death into existence." "I can't think of a single other reason that can explain why she would die of a stroke during 'healing month' on TBN, when the network is reminding its fans that 'God wants them well and whole,'" the satirized Hinn quote read. The story concluded: "Whatever the reason for Crouch's sudden passing, Trinity Broadcasting Network has announced an upcoming month of solemnly and aggressively seeking donations in her honor." Barry McCarty, professor of preaching and rhetoric at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, told the Christian Examiner that the story should not have been posted. "I have been a fan of the Babylon Bee. I have appreciated their sometimes irreverent and stinging satire. I would also say that ordinarily I appreciate wit and satire and I am no fan at all of prosperity gospel and televangelists but this struck me as being beyond the pale today," McCarty said. "This is not a day to poke fun on the day she died. I think it would have been best to have said nothing than to have lampooned and satirized someone on the day she died. She was a wife and mother and people love her," McCarty added. "Today is a day to extend condolences to those who grieve her loss." On the Babylon Bee's Facebook page, fans were divided. "Being in the funeral industry, the bee has lost me on this one," wrote Brad Root, who noted he's not a fan of TBN theology. "She does have a family who is grieving her loss. Pray for her family that they may see the truth and be brought closer to God. Don't make fun of her after she passed. What would Jesus do? I love ya bee, but you crossed the line this time." Angela Gabrielle Soles wrote, "I normally think everything BB posts is gold.... but this was completely insensitive. Satire and jokes are fun, but this crossed the line." Rhett Kelley wrote, "Normally a big fan, but this is way too soon. Regardless of their heretical doctrines, we could demonstrate some charity as her family and friends mourn. There's plenty of time for satire later." Others, though, said the story did not go too far. "Satire works because it offends and in offending shocks our senses to the reality behind the joke," wrote Nate Schlomann. "It is in the very moments of life and death and pain and suffering that the hellacious Prosperity Gospel does its most damage. Sad to have seen this pastorally first hand too many times. So this is the perfect time, there can be no other. Go BB." Mike Chaney wrote: "Truth is not always comforting and can be offensive. The post sarcastically addresses a legitimate question. It is far less offensive than teaching a doctrine that causes people to live in doubt, guilt and shame for not having enough faith to claim perfect health and abundant wealth." With reporting by Joni Hannigan Korean-American missionary had 30 guards in North Korean prison camp 01 June, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | NEW YORK (Christian Examiner) An American missionary who was imprisoned in a North Korean prison camp for more than two years has written a book about his experience, complete with details of his daily interactions with the 30 guards assigned to him in the detention center. According to VICE News, which interviewed Kenneth Bae, the Korean-American pastor arrested for fomenting dissent with religion, the guards watched Bae as he spent an hour in prayer every morning before heading to the fields, where he worked for eight hours a day with little food or water. All of the guards, only familiar with the state propaganda they've heard about the United States since their youth, believed 99 percent of Americans were poor and homeless, Bae said. "I told them that's not true," he said. "They want to know how much money you need to live with a family of four, things like that. I told them most people own a house and a car, and they said, 'That can't be right.'" "At the beginning, it was difficult," Bae told VICE News. "But because I speak the language, I was able to communicate." Bae was jailed on his 18th visit to North Korea after accidentally carrying a hard drive with missions information on it about the repressive country. Bae was removed from his hotel by agents and forced to write a confession. Read the full story here. Saudi man shoots doctor who delivered his child for seeing his wife naked 01 June, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | RIYADH (Christian Examiner) A Saudi man, angry with the staff of a Riyadh hospital because a female doctor was not available to assist his wife in childbirth, shot and very nearly killed the male doctor who delivered the child because he saw the woman naked during the procedure. Mohannad al-Zubn, a Jordanian physician, helped the Saudi woman give birth to the child in April. But according to a religious edict a fatwa issued by Saudi clerics in 2014, the physician violated the country's laws on virtue when he saw the woman unclothed. Saudi religious law permits a male doctor to treat a female patient provided a "male guardian" is also present. It expressly claims, according to Qais al-Mubarak, a senior Islamic scholar, that a male physician should never see a female patient naked, "especially during child birth." Al-Mubarak, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said there are exceptions to the rule. "Women are prohibited from exposing body parts to male doctors in Islamic law, especially during childbirth. This does not include medical emergencies. Islamic jurisprudence makes exceptions," al-Mubarak said. Women are prohibited from exposing body parts to male doctors in Islamic law, especially during childbirth. This does not include medical emergencies. Islamic jurisprudence makes exceptions. The case in question was apparently not an emergency and the father of the child returned to King Fahad Medical City last week under the auspices of thanking the doctor for delivering the child without complications. Instead of thanking the doctor, the unnamed man shot al-Zubn at close range at the outset of the meeting. Al-Zubn was not killed and was rushed inside the hospital for treatment. He is reportedly in stable condition and recovering. According to some Arab media outlets, most Saudis on social media have been supportive of the doctor and see little wrong with his assistance of the woman in birth. Some, however, believe the woman should have been sent to a female physician. Female physicians are not exactly easy to find in Saudi Arabia, a country where women still do not have the right to drive a car. In 2011, a group calling itself "Pure Hospitals," led by a Saudi woman, began a campaign for the kingdom to establish all female hospitals. The woman behind the movement had the same concern as did Saudi males that the mixing of the sexes in a hospital would result in a collapse of virtue and lead to un-Islamic practices. In 2014, the Saudi Ministry of Health issued slightly different guidelines than those offered by religious leaders. Those rules claimed a male physician could examine a female patient, provided that a female nurse was also present. Steve McQueen: He knew where he was going! 31 May, 2016 by Ron F. Hale , | HOLLYWOOD (Christian Examiner) Steve McQueen was born in 1930 at a time when the Great Depression was clamping down on the "Roaring Twenties." His mother struggled with alcoholism while sometimes earning quick money as a prostitute. His father abandoned them early while working as a stunt pilot for a flying circus. Young McQueen would grow up tougher than a two-dollar steak. School gave McQueen little refuge as dyslexia brought frustration. Trapped in a vicious cycle of stays with his grandparents, his great-uncle in Missouri, and several attempts with his Mom's second and third husbands made McQueen's childhood topsy-turvy. Stealing hubcaps as a teenager landed him in a private reform school for troubled boys. The California Junior Boys Republic gave McQueen some needed stability and a three-year stretch with the United States Marine Corps nurtured discipline. Blazing blue eyes softened his tough guy persona. McQueen's rough and tumble life prepared him for the cruel and unusual punishment many young bit-part actors suffer climbing the rickety ladder to Hollywood stardom. He was labeled "demanding" and "brooding" for being a hardnosed negotiator before accepting film roles. Maybe his wounded childhood defined the rest of his life driving him to grapple for some illusion of control? With a pocket full of dreams, McQueen began acting lessons in 1952 and received several minor theater roles. He earned extra bucks as a week-end motorcycle racer to avoid shut-off notices and eviction letters. Several acting parts in cheesy B-movies parlayed into the 27-year old actor's leading debut fighting an invading alien amoeba in The Blob. This 1958 low-budget sci-fi filled drive-in theaters and eventually evolved into a cult classic. Television would introduce McQueen to America in 1958 playing a bounty hunter named Josh Randall in the series Wanted Dead or Alive. With an unruffled demeanor and unique sawed-off Winchester model 1892 carbine saddled in a fast-draw leg holster, McQueen started earning his nickname as the "King of Cool." The show was a hit! Beginning with the movie Magnificent Seven in 1960, McQueen was able to turn his box-office success into becoming the highest paid actor of his day. His newfound millions afforded him Malibu homes, fast cars, bikes, beautiful women, two divorces, alimony, child support, drugs, alcohol, and airplanes. In good times and bad, McQueen never forgot about the at-risk youngsters at the Boys Republic in Chino Hills, California. He made many visits, gave talks, and wrote personal checks to this non-profit school and treatment community that helped him and 30,000 others since 1907. McQueen's fast-lane lifestyle increased the gravitational pull of his fading Hollywood star by the late 1970s. He retreated from the heart of Hollywood to the small town of Santa Paula with this third wife Barbara Minty. They made their home in a well-worn airport hangar surrounded by his bikes, cars, and a newly acquired vintage yellow Stearman bi-plane. Strangely enough, his long-gone father may have flown the same kind of plane. With a strong desire to recondition the old plane for flying, McQueen found a mentor by the name of Sammy Mason. Mason was a legend among aerobatic flyers. His background as a daring test pilot and having been the highest paid performer in national airshows quickly won the respect of McQueen. They spent a lot of time together. McQueen started noticing something authentic and genuine about the aging dare-devil and his loving family. Getting dead serious one day, Mason was able to explain that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ had made the difference in his life. Miracle of miracles, McQueen started showing up at Mason's church, the Ventura Missionary Church, pastored by Leonard Dewitt. Weeks later, after a two-hour Q & A session with Pastor Dewitt, McQueen confessed that he had called on Jesus to forgive and save him during a recent church service. With surprised joy, McQueen declared, "I'm a born-again Christian!" With the help of DeWitt and Mason, Steve began soaking up the Scriptures like a sponge. A radical change was seen in his life by the people around him. Eleven months later, that nagging cough was officially diagnosed as pleural mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer. In its latter stage, the cancer was aggressive and mean. When his doctors spoke of his care instead of his cure, Steve sought unconventional forms of treatment. Steve told Pastor Dewitt, "Now that I am a Christian I really want to live but if He chooses otherwise it is okay because I know where I am going." Hearing that Billy Graham was in California, the dying actor reached out to the evangelist for a possible meeting. Graham spent some time with Steve in November of 1980, just before he was being flown to a hospital in Mexico. Steve shared his story with Graham as they rode to the airport. Having misplaced his Bible, Graham inscribed his own Bible and gave it to Steve before they prayed together. Four days later, Steve was found with Billy's Bible cradled on his chest. He had quietly slipped into eternity reading the greatest promise the world has ever known: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). If Steve's crazy childhood defined his adult life, the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ defined his eternity. The lavishing love of his Heavenly Father was being poured out on this once unwanted boy. Hollywood's glitz and glitter paled in comparison to the glory of God in heaven. Steve knew where he was going what about you? North Korean defector and Christian missionary Kim Chung-seong takes gospel music to his countrymen through a radio show 'Hello from Seoul, the Republic of Korea,' Reuters reported. He sends a mix of gospel tracks and news to his homeland to tell people about Jesus and true worship, and to caution people against cult or personality idolism. He came to South Korea in 2004, and works at Far East Broadcasting Company. Though tunable radios are banned in the North, many access foreign shows through smuggled Chinese radios. "I am desperately praying that North Korea's Kim Jong Un and all administrators under him kneel down in front of God and repent for their sins, leave the path of tormenting their people," Kim told Reuters. Kim isn't the only defector who has been trying to penetrate the barriers of the North to share the gospel. Another North Korean defector, Jung Gwang-il, makes songs which are identical to the patriotic songs played by state-run radio, but change the devotional references of their leaders to Jesus and Holy Spirit. "It sounds exactly the same as what you would hear in North Korea, the same accompaniment, the same type of voice, but the names have all been changed," Jung said. Jung, like many others, has been smuggling these songs, foreign films, and TV programs through USBs and DVDs into the country. Patriotic songs glorify the leaders' efforts to keep the country happy and prosperous, the progress which North Korea has achieved, and the strength of people. A theme song conceptualized by Chairman of the Workers' Party, Kim Jong-un, celebrates the "exploding mental strength of our million citizens." Kim Kyoung-ok was still a child when she and her mother had to undergo the ordeal of making their way into South Korea over a long and dangerous route. They were living in Chinese caves before entering Vietnam. From there, they moved on to Cambodia, where the mother and daughter took refuge at a Cambodian Christian church. Finally, they arrived in South Korea in 2008. Kim recalls chasing after the flyer balloons sent from South Korea, carrying the contrabands, Korean noodles, and letters from children across the border. Defectors report that an increasing proportion of people in North Korea are becoming aware of life outside the isolated state through information that sneaks into their nation, raising them up from a brainwashed state to long for a free life. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Gloucester County School Board's request to re-hear a case ruled by a three-judge panel allowing a Virginia transgender student to use the bathroom in accordance with gender identity rather than biological sex. The Virginia school had provided the transgender teen, known as Gavin Grimm, a "private, alternative" restroom. However, Grimm said that the private restroom was too far from most classes. In April, a panel of three judges in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the policy implemented by the board which mandates use of bathroom in accordance with birth gender is discriminatory, and that Grimm must be allowed to use the bathrooms according to gender identity. The board appealed to the full Fourth Circuit Court, but was denied review of the earlier ruling in a five-page decision. One judge, Paul Niemeyer, who had previously also ruled in favor of the school, wrote a dissenting opinion about rejection of the case by the federal court. "Bodily privacy is historically one of the most basic elements of human dignity and individual freedom. And forcing a person of one biological sex to be exposed to persons of the opposite biological sex profoundly offends this dignity and freedom," he said. "Somehow, all of this is lost in the current Administration's service of the politically correct acceptance of gender identification as the meaning of 'sex'." Niemeyer urged the school board to appeal in the US Supreme Court, and the case may now be headed to the highest court for review. "While I could call for a poll of the court in an effort to require counsel to re-argue their positions before an en banc court, the momentous nature of the issue deserves an open road to the Supreme Court to seek the Court's controlling construction of Title IX for national application," he continued. Grimm is being represented by American Civil Liberties Union. They allege that the board's bathroom policy violates Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and Title IX's protections against sexual discrimination. By rejecting the school board's request to hear the case en banc, the court allows Grimm to move forward with the lawsuit on its merits, as well as the request for an injunction to stop the policy. If successful in obtaining an injunction, Grimm would be able to resume using the boys' restroom while the case works its way through the courts. "Now that the Fourth Circuit's decision is final, I hope my school board will finally do the right thing and let me go back to using the boys' restroom again," Grimm said in a statement. "Transgender kids should not have to sue their own school boards just for the ability to use the same restrooms as everyone else." I wake up pumped that I get to go to work. Its a perfect fit for me. You might assume that Dave Collins spends his days in a high-powered, prestigious profession, but the Colorado natives job is simply to keep a hotel lobby clean and answer room calls. Collins, 57, is a housekeeper at the Denver Marriott, a 600-room business hotel next to the Colorado Convention Center. His joy in serving Marriott guests starts with his own journey. Two years ago, Collins reached a low in his battle with alcohol abuse. He lost his job, then his home, before checking into the Denver Rescue Mission, a large faith-based nonprofit. I shouldnt even be alive for all I did, Collins recently told me. God had a plan for me, though. As Jerry Garcia said, What a long, strange trip its been. Everything Ive gone through has been to make me who I am and put me here to serve others. As someone who has known life without a place to live, he understands others wanting a place to call home, even if for one night. Hospitable Posture Collins, the son of a military father, has lived most of his life in Colorado, growing up near the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He worked warehouse jobs for close to 25 years before his renewal of faith and transition to Marriott. Kindness exudes from Collinss face as we meet over lunch at the hotel lobby cafe. Housekeepers, front desk staff, and waitstaff stop by to say hello. Collins, who celebrated one year on the job last month, is like a celebrity among his co-workers. When does a job feel meaningful? Whenever it allows us to generate delight or reduce suffering in others, writes contemporary philosopher ... 1 The largest distributor of Christian products in the United States has announced plans to wind down operations due to competition from online retailers and the financial hit from the bankruptcy of Family Christian Stores (FCS), a major client. Send the Light Distribution (STL)which shipped to more than 10,000 Christian retailers, mostly US bookstoreswill wind down its 42 years of service to the global Christian supply chain this summer. The Tennessee-based company used to ship more than 25,000 Bibles a day. But these days, its a lot easierand often, cheaperto get a Bible on Amazon. When companies get creative and find new and better ways to do things, like Amazon Prime at the end of the day, that kind of thing also destroys the current or past way that business had been done, STL president Glenn Bailey told CT. Thats our basic problem. While Amazon was one of STLs biggest customers, the majority of its business was conducted with independent Christian retailers. Theyre being put out of business left and right, said Bailey. Many of our best customers are no longer what they once were. Christian bookstores have been closing by the dozens in recent years, amid mixed sales trends; sales of Christian fiction have dropped, while nonfiction and Bibles remain strong. STLs decision comes a year after FCS, Americas largest chain of Christian retail stores, filed for bankruptcy and erased the $127 million it owed to creditors such as STL, which was among FCSs 20 largest creditors. Losing about half a million dollars on the FCS bankruptcy was a contributing factor that probably sped up STLs demise by a year or so, Bailey said. The company just moved into a less expensive warehouse space last Memorial Day. It will now have to lay off its 85-person staff. The route FCS took to stay in businessdeclaring bankruptcy as a way to shed debt and restructureisnt an option for STL, Bailey said. What Family Christian Stores had going for it was space in 275 locations, and the Christian publishers didnt want to lose that kind of spacethey wanted to keep their products in that space, he said. Our vendors have the option of selling through secular companies like Ingram or a Christian distributor like Anchor. When they write off $1 million to us, they wont come back and extend us credit again. STLs closing will leave about 150 of its 500 vendors looking for new ways to place their products in the supply chain; the rest already use other distributors, Bailey said. What this means for the industry is [there is] one less major distributor to feed the Christian store market, Christian literary agent Steve Laube told CT. If their demise had been six months ago, I would have made the correlation [to the FCS bankruptcy]. But today it is merely a reflection of the shift in retail buying patterns. Ironically, it doesn't mean books aren't selling, when in fact they are. Instead it only means they are being purchased in a different place. "Its a loss to independent retailers like me to be able to order quickly and to combine a wide variety of products together in one shipment, Lorraine Valk, owner of Parable Christian Store in St. Joseph, Michigan, told Christian Retailing. Thats the reason a lot of stores are still in business, because you need a distributor. Its a huge time-saver. CTs previous coverage of book publishing and Christian retail includes the many, many, many twists and turns of Family Christians bankruptcy; a cover story on how to save the Christian bookstore; and Karen Yates discussing the evolution of Christian publishing on Her.meneutics. New Christian Fiction Book: Dear God, It's Maddie Bell TALLAHASSEE, Fla., June 1, 2016 / Author LaShaunda Jackson-Williams grew up in Dayton, Ohio in her family church. Now she taps that experience in the first of a three book series about a ten-year-old girl named Maddie Bell. Maddie's grandmother, Bertha, dies and Maddie is left in the care of her Aunt Faye. She is quickly put into a foster home. LaShaunda K. Jackson-Williams shows us a confident yet frightened child through her letters to God and her granny, letters that cry out for help and reveal events that are leading Maddie into danger. LaShaunda K. Jackson-Williams' novella, Dear God, It's Maddie Bell, draws you in with the sweet and innocent letters written by a ten-year-old girl to her only friend, God. As Maddie waits for God's answer, her life goes from bad to worse. LaShaunda K. Jackson-Williams demonstrates the power of the faith of a child as we watch Maddie trust God in the sometimes frightening situations she encounters. Find this book on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Books-A-Million. com. Find LaShaunda Jackson-Williams, Author on Facebook. Share Tweet Contact: LaShaunda Jackson-Williams, 937-36-4742TALLAHASSEE, Fla., June 1, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Dear God, It's Maddie Bell is an endearing story that encourages us to reach out to those in crisis and to trust God with the simple faith of a child. A moving and well written story with well-defined characters that will tug at your heartstrings.Author LaShaunda Jackson-Williams grew up in Dayton, Ohio in her family church. Now she taps that experience in the first of a three book series about a ten-year-old girl named Maddie Bell. Maddie's grandmother, Bertha, dies and Maddie is left in the care of her Aunt Faye. She is quickly put into a foster home. LaShaunda K. Jackson-Williams shows us a confident yet frightened child through her letters to God and her granny, letters that cry out for help and reveal events that are leading Maddie into danger.LaShaunda K. Jackson-Williams' novella, Dear God, It's Maddie Bell, draws you in with the sweet and innocent letters written by a ten-year-old girl to her only friend, God. As Maddie waits for God's answer, her life goes from bad to worse. LaShaunda K. Jackson-Williams demonstrates the power of the faith of a child as we watch Maddie trust God in the sometimes frightening situations she encounters.Find this book on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Books-A-Million. com. Find LaShaunda Jackson-Williams, Author on Facebook. Catholics for America Releases a Video Showing Hillary Clinton's Support for Men in Women's Bathrooms Contact: Peter Hodges, OKLAHOMA CITY, June 1, 2016 / The video is a Spiritual Work of Mercy. In this video it is declared that every woman and child in America deserves a safe bathroom. It confirms Hillary Clinton's support for men using women's bathrooms despite the danger it brings to women and children. The video shows that she encouraged Houston, Texas residents to vote for an ordinance (Proposition 1) that would have allowed this to happen. It then shows the federal legislation (S. 1858 and H.R. 3185) she supports that will allow men in women's bathrooms if it becomes law. At the conclusion, Catholics and friends of good will are called to action to help in sharing this video message. "In this Year of Mercy, our video is a Spiritual Work of Mercy in that it incorporates the works of counsel, instruction, admonishment and comfort to the afflicted. Everyone can be assured that we are prepared to complete the Spiritual Works of Mercy outside of this video by forgiving offenses, bearing wrongs patiently and praying for all of us including our opponents," said Peter Hodges, Co-Founder and volunteer executive director of Catholics for America. Catholics for America's mission is to educate and encourage Catholics in the United States of America to actively support Catholic social teaching and to protect and defend those teachings in the public sphere. Catholics for America is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization. Our website is For more information, please contact Peter Hodges at Share Tweet Contact: Peter Hodges, Catholics for America , 405-456-9541, info@CatholicsforAmerica.org OKLAHOMA CITY, June 1, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Catholics for America released a :30 second video yesterday, May 31st on its YouTube channel ( https://youtu.be/abPCl-HIGOA ) titled; 'Hillary Clinton Wants Men to Use Women's Bathrooms.' The video was produced to bring forth the safety concerns many have with the recent bathroom issue in our country.The video is a Spiritual Work of Mercy. In this video it is declared that every woman and child in America deserves a safe bathroom. It confirms Hillary Clinton's support for men using women's bathrooms despite the danger it brings to women and children. The video shows that she encouraged Houston, Texas residents to vote for an ordinance (Proposition 1) that would have allowed this to happen. It then shows the federal legislation (S. 1858 and H.R. 3185) she supports that will allow men in women's bathrooms if it becomes law. At the conclusion, Catholics and friends of good will are called to action to help in sharing this video message."In this Year of Mercy, our video is a Spiritual Work of Mercy in that it incorporates the works of counsel, instruction, admonishment and comfort to the afflicted. Everyone can be assured that we are prepared to complete the Spiritual Works of Mercy outside of this video by forgiving offenses, bearing wrongs patiently and praying for all of us including our opponents," said Peter Hodges, Co-Founder and volunteer executive director of Catholics for America.Catholics for America's mission is to educate and encourage Catholics in the United States of America to actively support Catholic social teaching and to protect and defend those teachings in the public sphere. Catholics for America is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization.Our website is CatholicsforAmerica.org and we are on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.For more information, please contact Peter Hodges at info@CatholicsforAmerica.org or (405) 456-9541 home World Orphan's Heart Christian mission organization starts medical missions in four countries A missions organization that focuses on meeting the needs of orphaned and disadvantaged children is gearing up for a new ministry: medical missions. Orphan's Heart, established in 2008, sends 90 mission teams across 15 different countries every year to cater to children's physical and spiritual needs through activities like feeding programs and providing shelter. This year, the organization has decided to venture into medical missions. "With the other ministries that Orphan's Heart does on the mission field with nutrition or shelter or feeding programs and such, it seemed like the next logical step was to add health care into the mix," volunteer physician Jason Holmes, who is also the organization's medical director, said in a report. The organization's assistant vice president of operations, Andrew Tattrie, explained in the same report that people in the places they go to often have no access to basic health care. Many times, the places they visit have not seen a doctor in years. At present, Orphan's Heart is doing medical missions in four countries: Uganda, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. Tattrie said that while they operate a clinic in Uganda, they are not able to do the same in the three other countries, where they only bring mobile clinics. Sometimes, in locations where getting medical help is difficult, the people are already suffering from health problems yet remain unaware of it. Tattrie cited the case of five-year-old Zahara, who had anemia and a weak immune system because she was extremely malnourished. Through Open Heart's ministry, she was able to receive proper nutrition and doctors were able to treat her anemia. The medical missions provide an open door for the teams to minister to the locals through prayer and share the Gospel to them. "The Gospel is definitely something that we want to be a part of our medical missions teams, and it's actually a great avenue to share the Gospel," he said. Tattrie said people often ask them why they go their community to help, and this opens an opportunity for them to tell people about God. Acer Liquid Zest Plus release date, specs: $199 smartphone to arrive in North America in July Acer has released its latest smartphone, called Liquid Zest Plus, ahead of the Computex 2016, which is currently ongoing in Taiwan until June 4. The 5,000 mAh battery-equipped smartphone will arrive in North America in July and sell for US$199. The Acer Liquid Zest Plus's impressive offering does not end with its humongous battery, which is said to last up to three days and can be quickly charged up to 50 percent in less than an hour, or its very enticing price tag. The latest smartphone also offers impressive camera features. The company has equipped their latest smartphone with "an ultra-fast hybrid tri-focusing system which intelligently focuses various scenes in 0.03 seconds" with its 13MP main camera. It also comes with "Pause-N-Shoot" selfie feature that will respond to a simple shake from its user. This is aside from the automatic face-detection of its 5MP front-facing camera with an 85-degree shooting angle. Additionally, the Acer Liquid Zest Plus offers a 5.5-inch IPS HD display screen that gives a 720 x 1280 screen resolution and is loaded with a MediaTek MT6735 processor with a Mali-T720 GPU. It also comes with a 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and a microSD slot for an extra storage space. The Android Marshmallow smartphone is also featuring dual-SIM capability, LTE, FM Radio and BluelightShield technology, which will help minimize blue light emissions coming from its display screen during the night. Music aficionados will also appreciate the DTS-HD Premium Sound and 3D audio feature that the phone can offer, and the FlipUI will work flawlessly with its optional flip case. It is also featuring a USB OTG (On-The-Go) technology that will let its user charge other device. The Acer Liquid Zest Plus will be offered in two colors, Moroccan Blue and Andes White. European countries can also expect to see the phone's arrival any time in July, with a starting price of 199. Canada's Conservative Party members vote to accept same-sex marriage, over 10 years after it was legalised Members of Canada's Conservative Party have voted to accept same-sex marriage, more than 10 years after it was legalised in the country on July 20, 2005. At the party's national convention, delegates voted 1,036-462 on Saturday to change the party's position to no longer define marriage as "the union of one man and one woman," the National Post reports. It also removed a policy statement that Parliament and not the courts should define marriage. Delegates from majority of Canada's provinces and territories supported the move except Saskatchewan. "I think our party got a little more Canadian today," Calgary MP Michelle Rempel said after the vote, according to CBC News. "Yes, it took us 10 years to get to this point, but I think this is something that is a beacon for people around the world who are looking at equality rights. Canada is a place where we celebrate equality." Quebec MP Maxime Bernier also supported the measure and said it is "about freedom and respect." "It's about us and it's about telling to Canadians that you can love who you are, who you want, and that you can be in love, and I hope that also having fair policies at the federal level," said Bernier. Statistics Canada listed 42,035 same-sex married couples in Canada in 2011. Conservative delegate Goldie Ghamari told same-sex couples that the "government does not have a place in your bedroom." Among those who opposed the action was Brad Trost, a Saskatoon MP, who said, "If we as a party start to waffle on this, that line in the sand moves very sharply and becomes much more difficult." He said he will not leave the party but stay and fight. Rural Manitoba Conservative MP Ted Falk described the result as an "attack on our values and principles." The delegates also voted to support "conscience rights for doctors, nurses, and others to refuse to participate in or refer their patients for abortion, assisted suicide or euthanasia." Christian grandson of Hamas co-founder wins sanctuary in America The Christian grandson of the founder of Hamas has won sanctuary in the United States, after Canada threatened to deport him to the West Bank, according to VICE news. John Calvin, 25, was born in Palestine to the son of Hamas co-founder and Muslim Brotherhood leader Said Bilal. He fled to Canada when he was 19, after converting to Christianity, and has renounced the militant organisation. In November 2015 a Canadian court decided to deport him from Edmonton Alberta back to the West Bank, which led to Calvin fleeing to the US. That was eight months ago, and he was put on immigration hold until March, when he was released. Last month it was announced he is able to stay in the US indefinitely, due to a deferral of removal granted to him by a Massachusetts immigration court. "I've literally been to hell and back, so it's going to take a while for me to rebuild my life," Calvin told VICE News in his first public statements since learning of his release. He does not have permanent immigration status and can be deported if an immigration judge finds he is unlikely to be tortured if he returned to the West Bank. "I'm in New York, and it's one of the greatest places on earth. I'm trying to focus... and gradually trying to make it home, but it's still not home," said Calvin. "To use a biblical term, I was literally forced into exile from Edmonton." In Canada, immigration officials found there were reasonable grounds to believe he was an active member of Hamas. A report with the verdict stated: "Having been indoctrinated by family does not excuse membership in a terrorist organization... Growing up as a 'Son of Hamas' does not relieve the respondent from responsibility for his actions." However, Calvin insists he has not been involved in the organisation since he was 16, when he converted to Christianity a move that almost cost him his life. Upon discovering his conversion, Calvin's father tried to stab him. He jumped out of a window and went into hiding. A number of threats on his life followed. If he returns to the West Bank, he said: "My family, close and extended, has the right to retaliate. I'm pretty sure there's a whole procedure of torture". Although he will never be able to apply for a green card in the US, he will be able to obtain a work permit and is currently in contact with New York University about potentially studying there next year. European Kurdish female warrior says ISIS militants 'are very good at sacrificing their own lives,' hence 'very easy to kill' A 23-year-old European Kurdish woman who dropped out of college in Copenhagen, Denmark to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) says the jihadist militants are "very good at sacrificing their own lives," hence are "very easy to kill." Interviewed in the website Broadly, Joanna Palani says she left college in November 2014 to fight, first for the People's Protection Unit in Syria, known as the YPG, and then for the Peshmerga, the Western-trained and backed army of the Kurdish Regional Government. "ISIS fighters are very easy to kill," Palani says. However, fighters loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are much tougher. "ISIS fighters are very good at sacrificing their own lives, but Assad's soldiers are very well trained and they are specialist killing machines," she says. She says her most recent role in the war against ISIS was to train young Kurdish fighters. "The young girls are amazing they are exhilarated after coming back from the front lines," she tells Broadly. "They are very brave, more brave than I could ever have been at their age." Born in a U.N. refugee camp in Ramadi, Iraq, in 1993 during the Gulf War, Palani, together with her family, fled and settled in Copenhagen when she was a toddler. The daughter and grand-daughter of Peshmerga fighters, the Iranian Kurdish girl says she lived a "normal, comfortable life" with her family in Copenhagen. However in the fall of 2014, she left college and her comfortable life and headed to fight in Syria for the Kurds. Palani says she wanted to help defeat ISIS and Assad and "fight for human rights for all people." She recalls her first night on the front line. While on night patrol with a foreign fighter from Sweden, they were attacked by a sniper who had seen the smoke from a cigarette and shot her comrade between the eyes. In Syria she gained a reputation for firing at the right time and keeping quiet at the right timetwo skills essential to being a good soldier, she says. Her military career in the Kurdish army appeared to be on the rise when she decided to take a 15-day leave to see her family in Copenhagen last year. However, the Danish government confiscated her passport under laws intended to stop the movement of Danish people to war-torn areas in the Middle East either to support or fight the ISIS. Palani subsequently returned to her studies in Denmark. She says she's disappointed she can't go back to the front line to join her Kurdish comrades in the fight against ISIS. "I am a European Kurdish girl," she tells the website. "Most of my beliefs and morals are European. I couldn't live in Kurdistan for more than one or two yearsit is not very comfortable there as a woman for me. I would rather choose public justice than personal happiness. I would give my life for Europe, for democracy, for freedom and for women's rights. I feel like I have been betrayed by those who I was ready to sacrifice my life for." Franklin Graham says Islam wants to put women 'behind a veil of horror' the opposite of what Christianity does Rev. Franklin Graham is once again criticising the religion of Islam because of the horrible treatment it allows men to commit on women. "Where are the Gloria Steinems, the Bella Abzugs, or even the Hillary Clintons, that call themselves champions for women's rights when it comes to the teachings of Islam? Why aren't they screaming about the way Islam treats women?" Graham asks on his Facebook page. The evangelist is upset because Mohammad Khan Sheerani, the leader of the powerful Council for Islamic Ideology in Pakistan, has proposed that a law should be passed allowing husbands to "lightly beat" their wives should they do something that is not pleasing to them. "Oh really?" says Graham. "According to them, that is permissible if she defies his commands and refuses to dress up per his desires, does not wear a hijab, interacts with strangers, speaks too loudly, or declines other more personal things. And get thistheir proposal says using only a 'small stick' is necessary to instil fear. Somehow that's not very comforting, is it?" Graham says Islam wants to put women "behind a veil of horror," which is the complete opposite of what Christianity does. "With true Christianity, women are treated with dignity and respect. Jesus Christ elevated women, and if you put your faith and trust in Him, He will never let you down," he assures. Earlier, Graham warned that Islam is not just a threat to Christians, but also "to Jews, to Hindus, to anyoneanywherewho is a nonbeliever in their god." "Islam is a real threat to freedomto all those who love liberty," he says. This was his comment after the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf beheaded their Canadian hostage John Ridsdel in the Philippines last April. The perpetrators of the "heinous act" placed Ridsdel's head inside a plastic bag and dumped it in the town of Jolo, much to the shock of both the Philippine and Canadian governments. Hillsong Church launches 'life-changing' new 24/7 TV channel Hillsong Church has launched a 24-hour television channel giving world-wide access to their worship, Bible teaching and conferences. Hillsong Channel, a collaboration between Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and Hillsong Church, seeks to "reach and influence the world by building a large Christ-centered, Bible-based television channel that changes mindsets and empowers people to lead and impact in every sphere of life," said Hillsong pastor Brian Houston. Hillsong, which began in 1983 with a small congregation in Sydney, Australia, has grown to include 15 church campuses across six continents with a combined weekly attendance close to 100,000. The Hillsong Channel is predicted to reach nearly 165 million households around the world. Houston described the channel on his blog as sending a message "around the globe through their televisions screens, bringing JESUS into homes, palaces and prisons alike. "A channel that is constantly looking towards the future filled with a vision that inspires and influences many." Rather than being a substitute for Sunday services, Houston predicted the channel will be a resource for "pastors and parishioners alike every day of the week". Hillsong is famous its worship, having released 47 worship albums so far, and hopes the channel will lead the church in "revolutionary communication of an ancient message through media, film and technology." It aims to encourage "unity through diversity" by "showcasing the body of Christ in all her glory with different styles of worshipping and different ways of communicating; encouraging every viewer to be all that God has called them to be." TBN's influence is also global, with more than 30 networks carried by more than 80 satellite channels, nearly a dozen of which will be dedicated to the Hillsong Channel. "That's how important we feel it is to get the life-changing ministry and worship of Hillsong to every corner of the earth," said Crouch. Attack on Christian grandmother fuels anger in Egypt Soad Thabet's house no longer has a door. Inside, its walls are blackened with soot and a television lies shattered on the floor. The remains of a red nightgown stand out among the ashes. Thabet, 70, describes being dragged outside by Muslim villagers and stripped naked in the dirt roads of Alkarm, the Egyptian village where she spent her most of her adult life. Her crime? Her son, a married Christian, was rumored to have had an affair with a married Muslim woman. The woman has since denied the affair took place on national television. "They burned the house and went in and dragged me out, threw me in front of the house and ripped my clothes. I was just as my mother gave birth to me, screaming and crying," Thabet told Reuters a week after the attack. Orthodox Copts like Thabet, who make up about a tenth of Egypt's 90 million population, are the Middle East's largest Christian community. They have long complained of discrimination in the majority-Muslim country. Sectarian attacks occur so frequently in Egypt that they rarely attract wide publicity. But Thabet's ordeal, the public humiliation of an elderly woman, prompted an outcry among Copts and led to the case becoming national news. "If it were just a burning we could handle it, but what can we do about what happened to the woman? How can you compensate for this insult?" Ishak William, Thabet's neighbor and relative, told Reuters at his house in Alkarm. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has denounced the Alkarm attack, which underlines that Copts remain vulnerable three years after he took power and pledged to unite the country following years of political turmoil. Sectarian violence often erupts on the back of rumors about inter-faith romances or suspicions that Christians are building churches without the required official permission. Homes are burned, crops are razed, churches are attacked and, occasionally, Copts are forced to leave their villages, say human rights groups and residents of the southern province of Minya, home to Egypt's largest Christian community. Then come the reconciliation sessions, processes informally backed by the government that see local Coptic priests and Muslim clerics attempt to mediate a communal peace without resorting to the legal system. Christians interviewed by Reuters said the sessions often end with them making concessions, such as agreeing that certain families leave town or that the church not bear a visible cross, while those who perpetrated the attacks often go unpunished. Muslim residents and religious officials say the informal process helps broker compromises to avoid a cycle of escalation and retribution. Copts often go along with it to avert more trouble. But the latest attack has left a new bitterness among the Copts of tiny Alkarm, in the agricultural hinterland of Upper Egypt. This time, they say, reconciliation is not enough. "We answer to the law, not to reconciliation sessions. Whoever did this must be held accountable," said William. 'People won't have it' Thabet's ordeal led to the Diocese of Minya releasing a statement demanding justice. The attack subsequently drew condemnation from the government and Al Azhar, Cairo's ancient center of Islamic learning. "We have people getting killed and there is no one answering for it, money stolen, houses looted, girls kidnapped ... and we bear it all and let it pass, but now there is escalation," Bishop Makarios, the highest Coptic church official in Minya, told Reuters by telephone. "We get told, take reconciliation because it is better for you than other bad scenarios and people are simple and just want to live in peace, but this time people won't have it." Since the case went public, 15 men have been detained in connection with the violence and will be investigated, according to security sources. Before then, said William, the attackers were freely walking around the village. Neighbors who witnessed the incident told Reuters it took place on May 20, when a group of Muslim men set fire to seven Christian homes and stripped the grandmother naked in the street after rumors of her son Ashraf's inter-faith affair. Ashraf fled with his wife and children on May 19 after receiving threats, said William. His parents went to the police, fearing for their lives, said Ishak Ibrahim of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. The mob burned down their house the next day, Ibrahim and several local residents said. The Governor of Minya initially denied the attack took place in comments to local media. On May 26, after it became public, Tarek Nasr, said it was a "minor incident." Nasr did not respond to repeated attempts to reach him on his mobile phone. He visited Alkarm on Friday, after Sisi denounced the attack. "What is happening in Egypt is unacceptable and must never happen again ... anyone who made a mistake no matter how many they are, will be held accountable," Sisi said during a speech at the opening of a housing project on Monday. On Friday, a joint delegation of Cairo-based Muslim and Coptic clerics visited Alkarm, where several armored vehicles and dozens of police patrolled the streets. Local Copts refused to meet them. 'Locked ourselves in' With deep scars visible on his head, face, and arm, Ishak Yakoub, a Copt who lives next door to Thabet, says he almost died the night the grandmother was attacked and wants the law to take its course and put an end to what he sees as mob justice. "I heard gunfire so I got out of the house and stood at the doorway. People advised me to get back inside, so I did and locked the door. I climbed up on the roof and saw smoke coming from her house so I called the fire department," he said. "I came back down and found they had broken in and were in my house. One of them hit me on the head but I don't know with what, then they dragged me onto the street and beat me." Yakoub later found Thabet hiding in the home of a Muslim neighbor. He took her to his house. "When I heard what they did, that a woman was stripped naked in the street, I took her to my room and we locked ourselves in," says Yakoub's wife, who declined to be named. Umm Magdi, the Muslim neighbor who sheltered Thabet, played down the incident as "threats from silly youths". "My son came in with (Thabet) and told me to dress her. She came into my house and I dressed her. I told her to sit but she wouldn't ... it was like she didn't feel safe with me," Umm Magdi said. "I've known her all my life and lived by her side like a sister. She's Christian and I'm Muslim but I won't take sides." Thabet, wearing a black gown and headdress and looking shaken, appeared in an online video on Friday, saying: "I didn't ask for anyone's help. I forgive them." But Copts from Alkarm said forgiveness would not prevent future attacks. "Show me a (Christian) woman that will be able to walk in the street after the authorities leave," William said. Iran: Christian prisoner on hunger strike in serious medical condition An Iranian Christian prisoner has gone on hunger strike as authorities continue to refuse her essential medical care. Maryam Naghash Zargaran, a friend and former colleague of Pastor Saeed Abedini, started a hunger strike on May 25 in protest against prison authorities refusing her access to essential treatment for long-standing health issues. She has also refused to accept visitors to Evin prison where she is incarcerated. Zargaran, known as Nisim, underwent heart surgery around nine years ago and needs frequent medical attention which is being denied because it would mean leaving the prison facility. "Maryam hasn't left her bed in four days. She is burning with fever and has been on hunger strike to raise her protest against prison authorities' indifference toward her health, her request for temporary release or leave which every prisoner is entitled to," one of her family members told Mohabat News. "She is suffering from serious health issues. Before going on hunger strike she had lost 25 KG and her health issues had intensified. Authorities do not show the slightest concern over Maryam's health. In addition, she is suffering from depression and takes depression medications for it," they added. It's reported that her fellow prisoners have showed solidarity with Zargaran by forgoing family visits alongside her in a form of protest. Zargaran, 36, is a Christian convert from Islam who was arrested in early 2013 for her faith and charged with "action against national security". She was initially apprehended on 6 January 2013 and later transferred to Evin prison. She was charged with "propagating against the Islamic regime and collusion intended to harm national security" and sentenced to four years in prison. Abedeni took to Facebook in April this year to plea for the release of Zargaran, who was involved with Saeed Ministries. "She was the first underground female leader and one of the five leaders who helped us start churches before I became a pastor," he said. Abedini, also a convert from Islam, added: "Every time I got arrested, some leaders became afraid to work close to me and some left. But Nasim was the only one who stayed beside us until the end when I was put in Evin prison. This woman never gave up or chose fear and doubt. She always stayed beside us in Saeed Ministries until prison broke apart our ministry." Mexico: Church pastor stabbed in suspected religiously motivated attack A prominent church leader has been stabbed in Tijuana, Mexico, sparking fears of rising religious intolerance, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Pastor Guillermo Favela, the president of the Tijuana Minsterial Evangelical Alliance, was stabbed on a street near his church on May 18 after he refused to pay a bribe. Favela, pastor of the Rios De Agua Viva Church, was assaulted by a man who demanded he pay 30,000 pesos (approximately 1,112) per month in protection money for the church. The man threatened to cut off one finger for each time the pastor refused, according to Dr Carlos E Perea Zaldivar, the president of the Baja California state Evangelical Alliance (AEBC). When he refused to pay the money, the man stabbed Favela under his left arm before fleeing the scene. The injury was not serious and Favela filed a formal complaint. The assailant was apprehended by authorities but has since been released. Zaldivar told CSW the incident "could be an attack on religious freedom borne out of intolerance". The AEBC released a statement publically condemning the attack, and demanded a full investigation and the prosecution of those responsible. Government "should not allow these types of abuses and should persistently pursue these types of attacks, which are on the increase in our city of Tijuana," the letter reads. "We are extremely concerned that governability is being lost, and that now the religious sector is being targeted for harassment and intimidation in order to obtain more resources through the sowing of fear." The AEBC has said it will be "closely monitoring the performance" of authorities as the case develops. Over the last decade, churches have increasingly become a target for extortion by criminal groups in Mexico. The Catholic Multimedia Centre has documented the murder or forced disappearance of 13 Catholic priests and two church leaders since 2012. "Attempts to extort churches and attacks on religious leaders, like this one, can have a chilling effect on religious freedom as those targeted come under pressure to compromise their beliefs and actively cooperate with illegal criminal groups," said Mervyn Thomas, chief executive of CSW. "We are concerned by the increase in attacks on church leaders and deterioration in the rule of law in many parts of Mexico and call on the Mexican government to strengthen its efforts to fight impunity." Muslim group sues U.S. firm for religious discrimination after it dismissed 15 workers over prayer break policy An Islamic group has filed a complaint for religious discrimination against a Wisconsin company on behalf of 15 Somali Muslims who were terminated for failing to follow break policy. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) lodged the complaint before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Milwaukee against Ariens Company in Wisconsin. In the complaint, the fired workers said Ariens, which makes lawn mowers and snow blowers, discriminated and retaliated against them on the basis of their religion (Islam), national origin (Somali) and race (black) in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They also accused the company of creating a hostile work environment. Islam requires Muslims to pray at designated hours five times a day. Ariens implemented a policy that only allows employees to have two 10-minute breaks. The company previously allowed the workers to take three breaks to pray, but it cancelled that particular policy after finding out that it cost the company money to implement. "On the economic hardship to the Ariens company, we've demonstrated that it's at least $1 million in line stoppage per line whenever someone takes an unscheduled break," CEO Dan Ariens told television station WLUK in February, according to Christian News Network. However, the Muslims complained that the new policy violates their faith as they are required to pray five times a day. "If someone tells you, 'You pray on your break,' and the break time is not the prayer time, it will be impossible to pray," Green Bay Masjid Imam Hasan Abdi told WNCN. Before Jan. 25 this year, the day the new policy was implemented, Ariens allowed Muslim employees to individually leave their work stations to pray. The complaint said allowing the Muslims to have breaks is the same practice used by employees when they request breaks for non-religious purposes including smoking, making a phone call and buying a snack. Starting Jan. 25, the complaint read, Aries retaliated against the Muslim employees who requested for prayer breaks. Each time a Muslim employee requested to leave his workstation for the prayer, the supervisors would allow them but when he came back, the manufacturing leader would issue a warning slip that said that "if you continue to violate the company policy and leave work without permission, you will be subject to discipline up to and including discharge." Aries said it was disappointed with the filing of the complaint. "We have had Muslim employees working for the company for nine years," Communications Manager Ann Stilp told Bloomberg News. "We currently have 27 Muslim employees who continue to work here, and the company continues to accommodate them with prayer rooms. We respect their faith and we respect the work they do." Nigeria: Christian man killed for 'blasphemy' as religious violence grows A Nigerian Christian was killed after he allegedly made blasphemous comments about the Prophet Mohammed. Methodus Chimaije Emmanuel was attacked and killed by a mob in the town of Pandogari in central Nigeria on Sunday, the army confirmed. Violence escalated and three others were killed as the mob rampaged through the town, burning a church and looting dozens of shops. The Nigerian army said it has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew and restored order on the town which lies on one of the main north-south connection roads in the West African country. A statement from Major NC Agwu, the assistant director of the army's public relations, said arrests had been made in connection with the violence and suspects handed over to the local police. The statement read: "At about 6pm on Sunday, 29 May 2016, one Mr. Methodus Chimaije Emmanuel, a 24 year old trader based in Pandogari, Rafi LGA of Niger State was attacked and killed by a mob in the town on allegation of posting a blasphemous statement about Prophet Muhammad on the social media. "Troops of 31 Artillery Brigade of 1 Division, Nigerian Army... quickly intervened and restored law and order while a dusk to dawn curfew was imposed in the town. "Early Monday morning however, the rioters embarked on further violence, looting shops and blocking the Lagos - Kaduna Road, a major artery connecting the northern and southern parts of the country. "Again, troops in conjunction with the personnel of Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) took control of the situation to forestall escalation of violence and any threat to the peace in the town." Attacks on Christians are not uncommon in Nigeria as the country is divided between a predominantly Muslim north and a Christian south. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom last month branded Nigeria a "country of particular concern". It reported "high levels of distrust towards people of other religions and high levels of concern about religious conflict". North Korea backs Donald Trump for President Donald Trump has received an unusual endorsement from North Korea, which on Tuesday hailed the New York billionaire as a "wise politician" and the right choice over "thick-headed Hillary" for US voters. In a column in state newspaper DPRK Today, Trump was described as a "prescient presidential candidate" who can liberate Americans. It criticised the most likely Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton over her proposal to apply Iranian-style sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons fears on the Korean peninsula. In contrast Trump told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program, and that China should also help solve the problem. North Korea, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is under UN sanctions after it carried out nuclear tests. DPRK Today also said Trump's suggestion that the US should pull its troops from South Korea until Seoul pays more was the way to achieve Korean unification. "It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate," said the column, written by a China-based Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk. DPRK Today is among a handful of news sites run by the isolated North, although its content is not always handled by the main state-run media. It said promising to resolve issues on the Korean peninsula through "negotiations and not war" was the best option for America, which it said is "living every minute and second on pins and needles in fear of a nuclear strike" by North Korea. The North has for years called for the withdrawal of US troops from the South as the first step toward peace on the Korean peninsula and demanded Washington sign a peace treaty to replace the truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Its frequently strident rhetoric also often threatens nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States. Additional reporting by Reuters. Syrian Christians march for peace on International Children's Day Pope Francis has called on Christians around the world to join a special prayer event for the millions of Syrian children who have been killed, displaced or orphaned by the country's brutal civil war. June 1 marks International Children's Day and the pontiff extended the invitation to both Orthodox and Catholic Christians in a joint Day of Prayer for Peace. Syrian children were the "protagonists", said Francis, as they invited all the world's children to unite with them. The initiative was backed by Syrian Christian leaders who will gather hundreds of children from different denominations to process through war torn cities such as Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Tartus and Marmarita. In a joint message Syria's Catholic and Orthodox leaders said the children will pray so that "peace may come at last". The message said: "We pray to him -- the Christ, the king of the universe, who carries the world in his hand, in the arms of his mother -- to bless all the children of Syria. "We implore him, who alone can bring peace: 'Protect and save the children of this land! Hear our prayers, now! Delay no longer in granting peace to our land! Look upon the tears of the children; dry the tears of the mothers; let the cries of grief at last fall silent!'" The cross-denominational event is supported by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, and was promoted by Pope Francis after a mass on May 29. "This Wednesday, June 1, on the occasion of International Children's Day, the Christian Community of Syria, both Catholic and Orthodox, will participate together in special prayer for peace, which will have children as the protagonists," said the Pope. "The Syrian children invite children from all over the world to unite with them in their prayer for peace," he added. His words came the day after he told a gathering of children about a Syrian girl who drowned in an attempt to reach Europe. He said he did not want to make the children sad but wanted to tell them the truth. "They are in danger many boys and girls, small children, men, women they are in danger," he said. What Matthew 6.33 tells us about the biggest hindrance to breakthrough It's so easy to repeat the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." But more often than not, we can easily find ourselves seeking many other things aside from the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and that can sometimes be our stumbling block in the pursuit of God's breakthroughs in our lives. I've recently spent some time reviewing the faith goals that I had set for this year that I wanted to see God give me. Some of the items included a house, a trip to Hong Kong with my family, financial breakthrough, a double-portion growth in our church leaders and many others. I looked through the list and saw that God had probably answered only two or three out of a list of fifteen items. I couldn't help but ask, "Lord, am I doing something wrong? Why am I not seeing breakthrough this 2016?" Have you ever found yourself in a similar spot? If you have then welcome to the club, and this might probably be one of the biggest clubs amongst Christians. Often God puts us through a period of breaking before He brings a surge of breakthrough in our lives. God does this to check one area that can easily be compromised when blessings come, and that area is the area of His absolute Lordship over everything. Sometimes people chase the breakthrough and blessing instead of chasing the God of the breakthrough and blessing. God makes it clear over and over again in scripture how utterly important it is that He remain the number one desire in our heart. When we place blessing and breakthrough as more important to us than the will and presence of God, we fall in the trap of making blessing and breakthrough an idol. God wants to bless us no doubt, but He also wants to make sure that the blessing will never become a hindrance to us pursuing God. That's why God tested Abraham and asked Him to sacrifice Isaac - to check whether God really was number one in Abraham's life or not. Mark 8:35-36 says, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. 36What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" When we set our eyes on things of this earth, we could as easily lose everything, but when we set the prize that is Jesus Christ and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, God adds everything into our lives including blessings. Who was Justin Martyr? The second-century saint tortured and beheaded for his faith It's the feast day of Justin Martyr (100-165), one of the earliest of the Early Church fathers and one of the most important. He did crucial work in defending the faith against its attackers and developed some fascinating ideas about how ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle anticipated Christianity. Here are 10 things about him you might not know. 1. He was born in Nablus in modern-day Palestine, but he was a Roman. He was fascinated by philosophy from an early age and studied in the famous libraries of Alexandria and Ephesus. 2. Philosophers, unlike clergy, wore distinguishing cloaks. One day when Justin was walking along the seashore an elderly man engaged him in conversation about Judaism and its promised Messiah, who he said had already come. Justin had never read the Hebrew scriptures before and eagerly perused them. Through reading the scriptures and seeing Christians die in the arena as martyrs he was converted. 3. Justin did not take off his philosopher's cloak after he was baptised. He believed that only after be became a Christian was he qualified to wear it, as Christ was the key who unlocked all the doors of pagan knowledge. 4. He went to Rome and gave public lectures about the faith at a time when it was very dangerous to do so. He also wrote two defences of Christianity, addressed to the Emperor and the Senate, answering charges that Christians were atheists who practised incest and cannibalism. 5. He was very critical of the pagan morality of his day, which was marked by adultery, promiscuity and paedophilia. He condemned homosexual practice, prostitution and abortion, and said Christian living was marked by purity. 6. He also condemned the idea that there were no moral absolutes, saying that the "greatest impiety and wickness" was the idea that "there is no real virtue or vice but only by opinion are things considered good or bad". 7. A very learned man, he found lots of parallels to Christianity in the writings of pagans. He argued that this was because Christ, the 'Logos' or Word of God, was responsible for the creation of the world and had left traces of himself everywhere. But pagan wisdom was to be judged against the yardstick of Christ. 8. In rebutting pagan charges of cannibalism provoked by the language of Communion about eating flesh and drinking blood Justin offers the earliest account of Christian worship we have. He writes about baptism, communion, preaching and even the offering. 9. Justin's Second Apology (or defence) is addressed to a philospher named Crescens. Crescens reported him to the prefect of Rome, Rusticus, who had him arrested. 10. What may be an accurate account of the trial survives. Rusticus presses Justin on whether he believes he will go to heaven when he dies. "I don't think it, I know it," says Justin. "I have no doubt about it whatever." He orders Justin to sacrifice to the gods, to which Justin says: "No one in his senses gives up truth for falsehood." Rusticus threatens him with torture. "We ask nothing better than to suffer for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and so to be saved," says Justin. Together with others, he was scourged and beheaded. Justin's life and works represent early Christianity struggling with intellectual challenges and political oppression. He was a profound thinker and a courageous Christian who was faithful unto death. For more about the early Christian saints and martyrs see Who Were the Church Fathers? by Marcello D'Ambrosio. Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods Why banning hijabs at work sets a dangerous precedent for religious liberty An EU judge has issued an opinion for the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) saying that a Belgian security company is within its rights to forbid a Muslim woman from wearing a hijab at work. Advocate General Juliane Kokott says G4S Secure Solutions NV did not directly discrimate against Samira Achbita because it has a general company rule prohibiting the display of visible political, philosophical and religious symbols in the workplace. She says that while it may have discriminated indirectly, such discriminations may be justified "to enforce a legitimate policy of religious and ideological neutrality pursued by the employer". However, there is still the legal test of "proportionality" is this indirect discrimination proportionate to the end the company wants to achieve? It's all very difficult, says Kokott, suggesting that national courts should be given a "measure of discretion". An opinion by an attorney general is not binding on the CJEU, as the Law and Religion blog points out, but it tends to indicate how the court will go. In this case, anyone concerned with religious liberty ought to hope and pray that at the very least her words about letting national courts decide will be heard. The details might vary, but this is a question that keeps coming back. Should Nadia Eweida and Shirley Chaplin have been allowed to wear crosses at work? Should French Muslim children be told "it's pork or nothing" at school dinnertimes? Just what, exactly, should be regarded as "proportionate" in making reasonable allowances for people to manifest their religious allegiance at work? Kokott is a senior legal figure, and one shouldn't lightly criticise in such cases. However, what she says raises questions about whether she has really grasped a fundamental point. Because though she speaks of G4S enforcing a policy of religious and ideological neutrality, the policy is arguably not neutral at all. It takes as a benchmark an absolutist, values-free, secularist position. It does discriminate disproportionately against people of faith, because it fails to take into account the extent to which their sense of identity can be and no, it isn't invariably bound up with certain external symbols. Britain has traditionally been more relaxed about what people wear at work, which is what made the Eweida case so irritating. But this is an example of how the law can be used to force a grey conformity on to a society in the name of a specious 'neutrality'. The assumption by G4S, backed up by Kokott's opion, is that by preventing religion and any other kind of political or ideological statement from being manifested in the workplace, some sort of secular nirvana can be achieved. In fact it represents a very modern fear of difference and a sad reluctance to celebrate diversity and the fact that it is a Muslim who is the target of this attack will do absolutely nothing for broader community cohesion. World Council of Churches Israel airport row continues A row over the detention and deportation of World Council of Churches (WCC) delegates to a climate change conference in Israel and the Palestinian Territories shows little sign of cooling down. Several WCC staff and other representatives were detained earlier this month by security staff at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in conditions the WCC described as "intolerable" before being deported. It said in a statement: "Others were ultimately admitted to Israel after exceptionally long and confrontational interrogation. All reported aggressive, accusatory and abusive questioning, threats and intimidation above and beyond what the WCC is prepared to consider tolerable." The WCC and its general secretary Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit used exceptionally strong language to characterise Israel's actions, describing them as "deeply regrettable" and calling for an apology. The Israeli Embassy subsequently contacted Christian Today accusing delegates to the conference of not answering questions "in a truthful manner" and alleging they "attempted to mislead Israeli border authorities regarding the purpose of their visit". It said: "We believe they were instructed to so behave by the WCC, in a manner that is irresponsible, endangers the public safety, and needlessly raises suspicion." It stressed the need to maintain border security and said: "Israeli authorities were not at fault and did not act overzealously. We believe it is the WCC which needs to explain its highly irregular behaviour." However, the WCC has strongly denied wrongdoing. Following a meeting last week with the Israeli Mission in Geneva, where it is based, it issued a statement reiterating its objection to the "intimidating and traumatic" experience of its delegates. "At the airport, some travelers were interrogated repeatedly for up to eight hours and accused of lying," it said. "They said Israeli officials accused them of arriving for an entirely different reason than for their stated purpose: a meeting on climate change hosted by member churches in the region. They were threatened with a 10-year ban on entry to Israel and with being listed on Interpol watch lists; and they were detained in prison-like conditions for up to three nights before being deported. The treatment of these travelers is unwarranted and unacceptable." Speaking to Christian Today, Tveit said he believed delegates had answered questions truthfully at the airport. However, he said that 10-year-old guidance to WCC visitors to Israel might have led to a misunderstanding by Israeli authorities. It stressed that visitors should always answer questions truthfully, but advised them not to volunteer information as it could lead to confusion. Tveit said the guidance would be rewritten. At the meeting in Geneva, he said: "We also emphasised that there was no illegal activity by WCC participants at any time. There was no intention to do anything illegal or immoral." However, he added: "Even if there was some misunderstanding here, it didn't warrant this sort of reaction, with them being accused of lying." A further question is why the WCC delegates to the Israel conference were singled out for such treatment. Tveit said of those held at Ben Gurion airport: "When they said they were representing the WCC that caused a kind of alarm and that's when the interrogation started. They were even told by some of these interrogators that the WCC was a very bad organisation, it was almost described as an illegal or criminal organisation." However he said he had been told by the Israelis at the meeting in Geneva that the WCC had not been "blacklisted" by Israel and that the state of Israel had no issue with the WCC as such. "They know we make critical statements on the Palestinian issue about obstacles to peace; that is part of our witness," he said. "However, their message was that there is no connection between our position in that sense and what happened at the border control. Whether that is the reality in the end we will have to see." Google has joined the convenience revolution and added its mobile shopping service in Houston. Google Express on Wednesday launched service in the Houston area and large parts of Texas and Oklahoma, according to the company. Shoppers can use Google Express to order overnight delivery from Barnes & Noble, Costco, PetSmart, Walgreens and Whole Foods Market. Two-day delivery is available from a larger selection of retailers including Fry's, Guitar Center, Vitamin Shop, Ace Hardware, Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond. Shoppers can either buy annual memberships or pay a preorder fee. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 1001 Bissonnet; mfah.org SHADOWS: The film depicts two weeks in the lives of three siblings on the margins of society - two brothers, who are struggling jazz musicians, and their sister. 7 p.m. Friday TOO LATE BLUES: A ghost leads a jazz ensemble and struggles to stay true to himself while pursuing fame and romance. 7 p.m. Saturday Houston Museum of Natural Science 5555 Hermann Park; hmns.org SECRET OCEAN: Jean-Michel Cousteau and marine biologist Holly Lohuis take viewers on a breathtaking underwater journey. Filmed in the Bahamas, Fiji and Bimini. Multiple screenings daily. DINOSAURS ALIVE: 3-D adventure follows paleontologists around the world as they uncover evidence that the descendants of dinosaurs still walk or fly among us. Multiple screenings daily. NATIONAL PARKS ADVENTURE: Join world-class mountaineer Conrad Anker, adventure photographer Max Lowe and artist Rachel Pohl as they bike, hike and climb their way across America. Multiple screenings daily. 14 Pews 800 Aurora; 14pews.org ALMOST HOLY: An Ukrainian pastor, Gennadiy Mohknenko, stirs controversy in his attempt to fight child homelessness by abducting street kids to bring to his private rehabilitation center. 7 p.m. Friday Culinary Institute Lenotre 7070 Allensby; culinaryinstitute.edu NO RESERVATIONS: A master chef runs her life and her kitchen with intimidating intensity, however, a recipe for disaster, rivalry and romance develops when she becomes the guardian of her young niece while crossing forks with a chef who just joined her staff. 1:15 and 6:15 p.m. Thursday Asia Society 1370 Southmore; asiasociety.org/texas WAITING: A tender and humorous story of a special relationship between two people who befriend each other unexpectedly in a hospital while nursing their comatose spouses. 7:15 p.m. Saturday River Oaks Theatre 2009 W. Gray; landmarktheatres.com THE GOONIES: An adventurous tale of suburban kids battling frighteningly funny bad guys for the claim to an ancient pirate treasure. Midnight Friday and Saturday Discovery Green 1500 McKinney; discoverygreen.com TORTILLA SOUP: A Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters has lost his taste for food, but not for life. 7:30 p.m. Friday JURASSIC WORLD: A theme park populated with genetically resurrected dinosaurs erupts in chaos when a newly created dino escapes, forcing the park's animal behaviorist to save the day. 8:30 p.m. Saturday This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Click through the slideshow above to get learn tips on how to have the best Free Press Summer Fest ever The eighth annual Free Press Summer Fest kicks off this Saturday at NRG Park. Here's what you need to know before you go. It was announced this past weekend that the two-day music festival would once again be held just west of NRG Stadium due to flooding concerns at its usual venue, Eleanor Tinsley Park. Last year's Memorial Day flooding necessitated the 2015 move to NRG Park's Yellow Lot. Note: parking will be available in the NRG Park Green Lot on site for $15 per vehicle. This weekend Houston is set to encounter another round of heavy thunderstorms and just days away from the weekend, rain chances appear to be extremely high in the area. The festival grounds at NRG Park are mostly grass and concrete which means that flooding should not be an issue. RELATED: Free Press Summer Festival adds 2 Chainz, Lil' Wayne, others to musical lineup According to area weather reports there is a flash flood watch in effect through Friday, but that could be extended into Saturday. Three to six inches of rain are expected with higher amounts over the next four days a distinct possibility. The hope is that if it does have to rain, there is no lightning involved and it instead cools down the festivities. Each year the festival is known for being paired with some of the hottest temperatures of late spring, or some of the rainiest. RELATED: What to wear (and what not to wear) to Free Press Summer Fest You know what they say about Texas weather... On a related note, umbrellas are prohibited but ponchos are OK to bring. For a full list of what is and isn't OK to bring to FPSF check out the event's official site. No drones, hammocks, or fireworks are allowed. Who was bringing in fireworks? RELATED: Tubing-friendly Float Fest announces its 2016 musical lineup The event is held rain or shine, unless there are reports of lightning in the area, which would call for an emergency evacuation of the festival area. This previously happened at the 2014 event, sending thousands of festival-goers into Downtown Houston seeking dry places to ride out the rain delay. Festival organizers and NRG Park have an evacuation plan in place if lightning becomes an issue during FPSF which will be communicated throughout the venue and via social media. Per festival organizers on Thursday afternoon: "In the event it becomes necessary to evacuate the site due to a weather emergency, all guests will be advised to exit the venue to their vehicles or if they arrive some other way they will be instructed to the NRG Convention Center Exhibition Hall E. The NRG Center is located on NRG Parkway and Stadium Drive. This evacuation announcement will begin with video messaging from stages that have the capability to broadcast. It will then be followed by public address announcements from each stage as scripted and social media/mobile app messaging will be pushed out by Public Relations staff. Once the weather emergency is cleared, all patrons will be directed to return to the Main Gate for re-entrancing." But enough about boring weather reports. The event has grown by leaps and bounds each year since it debuted in August 2009 at Eleanor Tinsley Park. The main stage at that first event would pass for a smaller side stage in 2016. The crowds weren't as sprawling either and it seemed like we knew everyone there, from the sound-man to the lead singer of every local act. What was first seen as a crazy idea from the guys at Free Press Houston and Pegstar Concerts has now turned into one of the most popular music festivals in the state of Texas, attracting fans from all over the region. Check out the FPSF weekend battle plan for Houston Chronicle reporters Andrew Dansby and Joey Guerra over on HoustonChronicle.com. They suggest leaving the little ones at home and riding the MetroRail over to NRG Park. The party is just a block or two away from the rail's nearest stop. Tickets are still available for the two-day event on the official FPSF website. Crime Stoppers of Houston is offering up to $45,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the killer of 11-year-old Josue Flores. The increase from $20,000 last week to $45,000 was announced Wednesday. It comes after Flores' Near Northside neighbors raised $5,000 over the Memorial Day weekend and donated it to Crime Stoppers, said the organization's spokeswoman Tania Cruz. For the second straight day, some schools are closed in water-logged areas in Fort Bend County. Austin, Frost and Jackson elementary schools as well as Wertheimer Middle School, Briscoe Junior High and Foster High are closed Wednesday because flooded roadways and other conditions make traveling to the campuses unsafe, according to officials with Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Rain-weary Southeast Texas faced another round of heavy precipitation Wednesday night, and more is expected through Saturday. Merging weather cells were apparently behind heavy rain battering some parts of north Harris County on Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service. Storms that sprang up near Hobby Airport on Wednesday continued to move north and later collided with a stationary line of storms over the Spring Creek area. The system was expected to produce rainfall amounts ranging from 5 to 7 inches. Minor flooding occurred along Cypress Creek at Kuykendahl. Almost an inch of rain fell in the area around Cypress Creek and Interstate 45 within the space of only 15 minutes, forecasters said. There were several roads blocked by high water. Houston airport officials reported flooding on roads entering and leaving Bush Intercontinental Airport. The right lane of Will Clayton at IAH was completely flooded on Wednesday night, they said. For a full list of high-water spots, go to TranStar. A flash flood watch is currently in effect for parts of Southeast Texas, including the Houston area, through Friday evening. Some schools will be closed on Thursday. Lamar CISD announced on Wednesday that classes are canceled at the following schools: Austin Elementary, Frost Elementary, Jackson Elementary, Wertheimer Middle School, Briscoe Junior High and Foster High. Forecasters with the National Weather Service's Houston/Galveston office say that most of the region over the next few days will see between three and six inches of rain, with some areas getting up to eight inches or more. The heaviest rain is expected to fall on Thursday and Friday, much of it coming in strong downpours like the kind that caused flooding in both April and May. "It's these clusters of rain that really scare us as opposed to the kind of scattered storms we'll see today," said Kent Prochazka, a National Weather Service meteorologist with the Houston/Galveston office. "In the past few weeks, these clusters have produced the kind of events like we saw in this area and the Corpus area where over 17 inches of rain fell in places." The culprit behind this week's rain is a large, slow-moving low pressure system that's now over New Mexico and moving east toward Texas. "Unfortunately, there are high levels of moisture across our forecast area and that's what's going to tip this system to produce rain," Prochazka said. Over the past month, some areas of west Harris County have seen up to 10 inches of rain, causing widespread flooding in those areas. Brian Kyle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said water-logged communities along the Brazos River in Fort Bend County and along the Colorado River near Wharton could see a significant amount of rain, adding to their flooding woes. It is difficult to determine what spots will be hit hardest, Kyle said, but excessive rainfall is possible and there is a potential for flooding anywhere in southeast Texas. The Brazos River has hit a new record of 54.57 feet in Richmond today and water continues to rise downstream. Any additional rain will exacerbate flooding in Fort Bend County and other areas impacted by the recent heavy rains. SCHOOL CLOSURES: High water forces schools to remain closed around Houston area "Were going to have periods of on-and-off thunderstorms today," Kyle said. "Most people will get wet sometime today." Temperatures will range from highs in the lower 80s to lows in the lower 70s for the next few days. READ MORE: Astronaut photo shows Brazos River flooding A high-rise apartment building in southwest Houston was evacuated Tuesday night after a fire erupted in one of the units. The blaze broke out about 7:45 p. m. at the Conquistador apartments at 7575 Bellaire near Fondren, according to the Houston Fire Department. Michael Ciaglo Four people were hurt and a pet dog died as flames ripped through a home Wednesday morning in northeast Houston. The one-alarm blaze broke out about 6:40 a.m. in the 7400 block of Glen Manor near Elbert, according to the Houston Fire Department. POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING: Andy Samberg wrote and stars in this mockumentary about a world famous pop star. (R) TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Same turtles, different threat, this time Shredder has enlisted a mad scientist to create devious mutants. (PG-13) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Continental Airlines became Houston's hometown airline in 1983, a year of bankruptcy, employee strife and lingering impacts from industry deregulation. But for travelers, Houston became "the home of a major U.S. airline with a nationwide route structure," the Chronicle reported when Continental merged with the much smaller Houston-based Texas International Airlines. "The public was prepared to have more airline service out of Houston," Pete Garcia, Houston-based airline consultant and former Continental executive, said in a recent interview. Continental's first flight was July 15, 1934, when its predecessor carried 100 letters and no passengers. Robert Six joined the company two years later and, over more than 40 years, turned it into a formidable commercial airline. More Information A flight path through Houston Nov. 25, 1981: Frank Lorenzo's organization amassed 50.8 percent of Continental's stock. July 1982: The boards of Continental and Houston-based Texas International Airlines voted to merge. 1983: Continental's headquarters are relocated from Los Angeles to Houston. Sept. 24, 1983: Continental shut down operations and filed for bankruptcy protection. It reopened three days later, flying to fewer cities and with fewer employees. 1987: New York Air, People Express and Frontier Airlines are folded into Continental. 1990: Lorenzo leaves Continental. December 1990: Continental filed for bankruptcy again. Comes out of bankruptcy on April 23, 1993. February 1994: Gordon Bethune joined as president and chief operating officer. He became CEO later that year. 1995: Continental goes into the black, reports annual net income of $224 million 2003: Continental worked in partnership with the Houston Airport System to open Terminal E 2004: Bethune leaves Continental at the end of the year 2010: Continental is merged with United Airlines, headquarters move to Chicago See More Collapse But the industry changed abruptly in 1978 when Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act. Airlines no longer needed government approval for fares and routes, so they began aggressively competing on price. Carriers with large labor costs found it especially difficult to adjust. Continental lost $20 million in 1980 and $60 million in 1981. On Nov. 25, 1981, Frank Lorenzo's organization amassed 50.8 percent of Continental's stock in a hostile takeover. Lorenzo, with Texas International and its parent company Texas Air Corp., has since been praised for his business acumen and criticized for employee relations. "Lorenzo's relationship with his employees was rocky and his focus on mergers and acquisitions certainly didn't make for the running of an excellent airline, as results showed," according to the book "Working Together Works" that Continental had published. "But after deregulation, Continental was a small airline in danger. It was grow or perish, and under Lorenzo - painfully and probably in the most difficult way possible - still Continental grew." In July 1982, the boards of Continental and Texas International voted to merge. In 1983, Continental's headquarters moved from Los Angeles to Houston. This deal, the Chronicle reported in 1982, "will make Houston the home of a major U.S. airline, but one in a somewhat shakier financial position than the scrappy regional airline it replaces." Labor costs and union battles were sticking points. On Sept. 24, 1983, Continental shut down operations and filed for bankruptcy protection. When it reopened three days later, Continental flew to 25 cities, down from 78, with roughly a third of its former employees. Returning employees accepted longer hours and pay cuts. Garcia said the airline changed daily. It added routes and rehired workers. After the merger, employees vied for seniority, and union workers who crossed the picket line were scorned by those who remained on strike. Lorenzo started gobbling up airlines. In 1987, he folded New York Air, People Express and Frontier Airlines into Continental. The different corporate cultures clashed, and top management was a revolving door. "When we vilify Frank, it's with some reason," Gordon Bethune, former Continental CEO, said in a recent interview. "Did he have the idea to get all these disparate, failing companies together and pull them in? Yeah. Did he get ahold of Newark Airport by buying People Express? Yeah. Smart move. But he's like the dog that caught the bus: 'I got it, but what am I going to do with it?' " The Lorenzo era ended in 1990. That December, the airline filed for bankruptcy again. "Continental made these decisions reluctantly," CEO Hollis Harris said then. It came out of bankruptcy April 23, 1993. The following February, Bethune joined as president and chief operating officer. He became CEO later that year. Rob Britton, adjunct professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, said Lorenzo played his role in Continental's history by merging the various airlines. Bethune brought the people together. "He had the charisma and the business knowledge and the aviation knowledge," said Geoff Scripture, collections manager for the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Hobby Airport and a former senior manager at Continental. Bethune created open channels of communication and gave employees financial incentives. One program was a $65 bonus each month Continental's on-time performance ranked in the top half of airlines. That first month, employees earned the bonus when Continental went from last to fourth place. It ranked first the next month. Continental eventually raised the bar, giving employees $100 for first and $65 for second or third. Continental also faced obstacles. Investment partnership Air Partners, led by David Bonderman, had more than 50 percent of the voting shares and arranged a deal to sell the company to Delta Air Lines. Bethune brought Northwest Airlines to the table - with the understanding Continental would remain its own Houston-based airline - and later bought the shares back from Northwest. Being financially independent helped Continental raise money after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when people were fearful of flying and the industry took a hit. Continental was the first airline to announce layoffs. Bethune left Continental at the end of 2004 in an arrangement that also saw Bonderman and his business partner leave the board. Larry Kellner became the airline's CEO through 2009. Kellner, the Chronicle previously reported, "will be defined, in part, by what he chose not to do: merge with United or file bankruptcy." Jeff Smisek did the opposite, merging with United Airlines in 2010. Its headquarters relocated to Chicago. "Every department was tasked with doing whatever it took to merge the two operations," said Scripture, with the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. People were worried about their jobs and many were reluctant to move to Chicago. Scripture was asked to retire early but received full retirement benefits. "In its 76 years, Continental Airlines' story has been shaped by acquisitions and mergers," the Chronicle reported the day before the merger was finalized. "One acquisition gave birth to the Continental name, and a merger lured it to its Houston home. Now, another merger will mean the airline no longer claims the Continental moniker or calls Houston its headquarters." Cooking is as big a passion as ever for Diane Gelman; so she promises to bake cookies for the June 4 reception that spotlights an exhibit of her paintings and collages at Urban Eats through Aug. 31. Complimentary beer, wine, champagne and hors d'oeuvres also will be served 3-5 p.m. at the market, bistro and bar at 3414 Washington Avenue in the Heights, said owner and culinary director Levi Rollins. Gelman's display of 60 works includes many depictions of sweets for the palate, said the Bellaire artist, a self-described "foodie" who followed a master's degree in food and nutrition from the University of Cincinnati in 1975 with a certificate of fine arts from The Glassell School of Art in 2012. "My food-related art is mainly downstairs in the market area of the restaurant," said Gelman, a Detroit, Michigan native who is 63. "Upstairs has a mixture of paintings, including tango dancers locked in a passionate embrace and mixed media pieces with collage and metal leaf." "Her art is so much fun!" said Rollins. "Each piece delights me in different ways, some with laughter, others with intrigue and thought." The artist is married to Dr. Benjamin B. Gelman, a professor of neuropathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. They have three children and one grandchild. The couple was living in Galveston 25 years ago when Gelman, overwhelmed by the prospect of changing the wallpaper in their home, painted all the walls white "using a cheap acrylic paint." She also painted a vegetable "about a foot high" on a kitchen wall. "When my husband came home and saw it, he said, 'You're ruining our house,' " the artist recalled. "I am so perverse; that was like a call to arms," she said. "I painted 50 more vegetables." After moving to Bellaire in 2001, Gelman pursued art seriously with classes at Glassell. "I took many, many classes of collage, to learn how to best integrate collage into paintings so that it doesn't look like the items are just 'stuck on,' " she said. "I apply layers over layers, sometimes arranging, sometimes disarranging, gathering, surrounding, weaving, digging, distilling, stretching and expanding, sometimes painting over and carving back in, in order to find the real, hidden scene underneath every painting." Gelman wanted to show her work at Urban Eats after a friend, Carol Simon, who lives in Memorial, enjoyed the experience of exhibiting her artwork there last year. "I think my food-related art especially engaged him (Rollins)," said Gelman. "Right now, I'm on a roll, and I think I'm finally at a place where I can recreate on canvas how I respond to food, the magic I feel when I see food." Gelman and Simon, who met as members of the National Jewish Women's Council, recently collaborated on a mixed-media piece and hope to launch a fundraising event and art exhibit to help fight breast cancer. "We've both been touched by the loss of dear friends and family from this scourge," said Gelman. "I've lost two special and very precious friends who struggled and fought valiantly but eventually succumbed to this disease." Gelman's artwork at Urban Eats ranges in price from $75 for Giclees, which are fine art prints, to $2,200 for complex mixed-media pieces. The artist said her husband has become "supportive, mostly" of her adventures in art. "I am still painting at home. "He doesn't appreciate the mess, but aside from the mess, he's come a long way," she said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Five alumni were inducted into the Cypress Creek High School Wall of Honor during a recognition ceremony May 18. The wall recognizes outstanding lifetime achievements and significant contributions by former students. The 2016 class includes: Dr. Kevin Beam, class of 1990; Lt. Col. Jason Colbert, class of 1984; T.J. Farnsworth, class of 1996; Yehudi Mercado, class of 1992; and Dr. Courtney Robertson, class of 1985. Kahla band wins festival sweepstakes The Kahla Middle School beginning band, under the direction of Bernadette Walls and Carlos Cabrera, won three First Division ratings for a sweepstakes award at the Pride of Texas Music Festival May 18 in Houston. "We are proud of our students' hard work and dedication throughout the year, and this trip was a validation of their efforts," Cabrera said. Enrollment begins at LSC-CyFair Incoming students can take advantage of multiple opportunities to enroll at Lone Star College-CyFair through a simplified college admissions process. Students who attend one of several information sessions can receive hands-on assistance with enrollment and financial aid. In addition, students can receive a bacterial meningitis vaccination shot for $20. Sessions are: 4-6 p.m. June 27 and July 27 in the Center for Academic and Student Affairs, Barker Cypress campus, 9191 Barker Cypress; 4-6 p.m. June 21 and July 21 at the LSC-Fairbanks Center, 14955 Northwest Freeway; and 4-6 p.m. June 14 and July 14 at the LSC-Cypress Center, 19710 Clay Road. To register, email your name and high school to: CFOutreach@Lonestar.edu. Call 281-290-3420 for additional information. Shadowing project pairs trustees, youths Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District trustees recently recognized 11 high school students who participated in the 22nd annual Board Shadowing Project. The project pairs students with district board or administrative team members, allowing them to observe firsthand the officials in action. Participants included: Anthony Boutros, Langham Creek; Brittany Echeta, Cypress Ridge; Erika Hall, Cypress Ranch; David Hawkins IV, Cypress Lakes; Geruine Lim, Cypress Creek; Natalie Marshall, Cypress Woods; Carla Rivera, Cypress Springs; Claudia Ruiz, Jersey Village; Paris Stuckey, Windfern; Jay Thomas, Cypress Falls; and Brittany Ulbaugh, Cy-Fair. "I didn't think I would have one of the most memorable experiences of my high school career in the last two weeks of high school," said Cypress Falls senior Jay Thomas, who shadowed trustee Tom Jackson. "I am thankful for this opportunity to get my foot in the door, to meet these incredible board members and to see from the inside how local government works," Thomas said. District recognizes top educators Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District honored 87 teachers, two paraeducators and two support staff members during its 31st annual Spotlight Awards ceremony May 9 at the Berry Center. The 2015-16 Instructional Strategist honorees are: Amy Aguilar, Pope Elementary School; Robyn Banks, Millsap Elementary School; Shanna Barger, Rennell Elementary School; Brandon Batchelor, Anthony Middle School; Brittney Boyd, Hemmenway Elementary School; Megan Breidenthal, Keith Elementary School; Lansing Brown, Carlton Center; Amy Camp, McFee Elementary School; Stacy Daniels-McFarland, M. Robinson Elementary School; Janea Dennis, Cypress Ranch High School; Kayde Freeman, Black Elementary School; Dana Gentry, Francone Elementary School; Tammy Hawkins, Yeager Elementary School; Isabel McHan, Gleason Elementary School; Jill Miedke, Lieder Elementary School; Kelly Powell, Cypress Springs High School; Callie Romero, Watkins Middle School; Amanda Tanton, Cypress Falls High School; Susanne Taylor, Matzke Elementary School; and Andrew Vitek, Arnold Middle School. Creator of Student-Centered Environment honorees are: Nicole Bridges, Ault Elementary School; JeQuila Broussard, Campbell Middle School; Kristi Bruns, Birkes Elementary School; Brooke Bunting, Truitt Middle School; Jennifer Bygness, Sampson Elementary School; James Chase, ALC-East; Lisa Connell, Reed Elementary School; Jaclyn Frasure, Holmsley Elementary School; Joleine Garcia, Holbrook Elementary School; Jose Lynn Gomez, Jowell Elementary School; Jennifer Gonzales, Frazier Elementary School; Kelly Graser, Aragon Middle School; Lenora Grier, ALC-West; Lisa Hughes, Owens Elementary School; Jill Johnson, Windfern High School; Melissa Judson, Swenke Elementary School; Laurie Junewick, Cypress Creek High School; Meredith Kippes, Labay Middle School; Angela Leggett, Wilson Elementary School; Latoya Lewis, Duryea Elementary School; Cindy Locke, Sheridan Elementary School; Amy Moore, Salyards Middle School; Trina Moore, Willbern Elementary School; Sherrie O'Brien, Fiest Elementary School; Kimberly Patton, Emmott Elementary School; Joan Pearson, Hamilton Middle School; Tracey Petway, Jersey Village High School; Eunisha Prudhomme, Kahla Middle School; Sharon Quinilty, Walker Elementary School; Ana Radu, Emery Elementary School; Rebecca Roberts, Moore Elementary School; Christie Schnabel, Copeland Elementary School; John Simmons, Smith Middle School; Adrian Sralla, Bane Elementary School; Laura Stewart, Post Elementary School; Mae Sutton, Spillane Middle School; Sonia Tallon, Cypress Woods High School; Katrina Vollmer, Bang Elementary School; Bonnie Wass-Jones, Cy-Fair High School; Ellen Whiteley, Hairgrove Elementary School; Jamie Williams, Thornton Middle School; and Tammy Winsmann, Cypress Ridge High School. Positive Role Model honorees are: Charles Ament, Langham Creek High School; Stacey Anderson, Cook Middle School; Sabrina Berard, Warner Elementary School; Anthony Helton, ABC; Lindsey Housson, Hopper Middle School; Rebecca Huynh, Danish Elementary School; Agnes Gonzalez, Adam Elementary School; Tiffany May, Hamilton Elementary School; Chris Pittman, Bleyl Middle School; Kelsey Rostron, Dean Middle School; Kate Stoneham, Lowery Elementary School; Carianne Stroud, Andre' Elementary School; and Louis Yang, Farney Elementary School. Lifelong Learner honorees include: Beth Seiter, A. Robison Elementary School; Elizabeth Soontiraratn, Lamkin Elementary School; Matthew Wells, Cypress Lakes High School; and Sherica Wil liams, Goodson Middle School. Team Player honorees are: Chuck Carlson, Tipps Elementary School; Gwendolyn Fontenette, Postma Elementary School; Rida Qurashi, Lee Elementary School; Teneal Reinecke, Horne Elementary School; Liz Skinner, Woodard Elementary School; LaWanda Nikki Williams, Kirk Elementary School; and Dora Zanelli, Metcalf Elementary School. Paraeducator honorees are: Stefani Bolt, Postma Elementary School; and Eileen Tessitore, Moore Elementary School. Phillip Hoffart and Todd Webster were named Support Staff honorees. A grassroots group known as Concerned Parents of Humble ISD is circulating a petition opposing the selection of Douglas County Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen to succeed outgoing Superintendent Guy Sconzo. The Humble ISD board of trustees May 24 voted unanimously for Fagen to be the next superintendent of schools. According to state statute, districts must wait 21 days after naming a lone finalist, which is typically little more than a formality. A formal motion to appoint Fagen is anticipated to occur at the June 14 school board meeting. More Information Petition details For more information: To view the petition, go to www.change.org/p/humble-isd-board-of-trustees-dr-fagen-is-not-the-superintendent-for-humble-isd? See More Collapse "My family and I are excited to become members of the Humble ISD community," Fagen said. "As an educator, leader, and parent, I am delighted to have this opportunity. I want to thank the Humble ISD board of trustees for selecting me to be part of their Team of Eight. I have enjoyed getting to know each one of them throughout this very thoughtful process, and I am grateful to be the lone finalist." Fagen brings 20 years of experience in education, including eight as a superintendent leading large school districts. She currently is superintendent of the 67,000-student Douglas County School District in Colorado. Started petition Vanessa Fuentes, who is a member of the grassroots group, started the petition the day after the school board voted to name Fagen as the lone finalist. "I learned she was the lone finalist late Tuesday and I started doing research," she said. "As soon as I Googled her, nothing great came up. "Nothing positive." Much of the negativity centered around some controversial initiatives included a new teacher-evaluation system and market-based pay salary structure, according to media reports in the Douglas County News-Press and educational nonprofit Chalkbeat.org Douglas ISD also is involved in legal challenges surrounding its attempt to create a voucher system. Fuentes, who lives in the Eagle Springs community and has two children in Humble ISD schools, researched more and decided to start the web-based petition on the Change.org website, demanding Humble ISD reconsider naming Fagen as lone finalist. Since launching the petition, May 25, more than 1,900 people have signed their name, asking the board of trustees to think again. "We moved here solely because of this district," Fuentes said. "When I found out (the good district rating) could be jeopardized, it scared me." Fuentes said she and others members of the group have tried to contact Humble ISD and express their concerns about Fagen, but have not heard back. Social media While Humble ISD has remained relatively quiet about this petition, Trustee Keith Lapeze took to the social media airwaves to express his views on Fagen's selection. "While there are obvious concerns in certain sections of the Douglas County community, I learned that they were not beliefs held by all," Lapeze wrote on his Facebook page. "Indeed, we met with teachers and principals who were honest about their disagreement regarding some of the board's decisions, but were visibly shocked and upset that Dr. Fagen was leaving Douglas County." Lapeze added that the district would not be making any drastic changes under Fagen's leadership, and vowed to stay the course in providing students with quality education "We are excited about getting the best education mind in the country," Humble ISD School Board President Robert Sitton said. "It's powerful what she is going to be able to do. When people talk about education, we want them to say, you really need to go see what Humble ISD is doing. She is, in our opinion, the leader to take us there." Hiring process On Dec. 8, 2015, Sconzo announced his retirement during a meeting with trustees. Six weeks later, the district announced the hiring of Illinois executive search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates to find Humble's new superintendent. The search firm engaged the community and district personnel in a series of informal meetings, interviews, and launched an online survey to ascertain the qualities they wanted to see in the next superintendent. The search firm presented a pool of 43 candidates selected nationwide, which was narrowed down to seven candidates for round one interviews, which consisted of a two-hour session with each of the seven candidates as well as individual research conducted by the school board. In addition, each board member individually researched the candidates using information provided by the search firm and public sources. Three finalists were invited back from the pool of seven candidates to participate in a second round of interviews, which involved a three-day process and 12 hours of discussion with each candidate. Letter on webpage A letter posted on the Humble ISD webpage indicated the board was aware of the negative reports on Fagen, but are confident she is the right candidate to replace Sconzo. "Based upon all of the extensive research and process above, our school board was well informed on all aspects related to Dr. Fagen's candidacy. We are aware of the posts from Colorado on our district's social media page last night and today. "We have reviewed the posts, and we want you to know that none of the comments posted were a surprise to us, as we have done extensive research on all seven of our superintendent candidates, including Dr. Liz Fagen. We care deeply about this community and take our responsibilities to replace a wonderful leader like Dr. Sconzo very seriously." Sconzo approves Meanwhile, Sconzo, who plans to stay on to consult with the new superintendent until Dec. 31, supported the board's selection of Fagen, and the effort the board made to selected the candidate they feel the districted needs. "The board has worked very diligently to find our next superintendent of schools," Sconzo said. "She is a true leader for learning, and it is only and always about the children for her. "I'm thrilled they have found someone with a successful track record leading large, complex school districts. I know Dr. Fagen will be a significant asset to our schools and community." However, Fuentes said she and other members of Concerned Parents of Humble ISD will be there to present the petition and ask the board to consider another qualified candidate. Details: www.change.org/p/humble-isd-board-of-trustees-dr-fagen-is-not-the-superintendent-for-humble-isd? The Houston Housing Authority's proposal to construct a 233-unit apartment complex at 2640 Fountain View, targeted to those earning between $25,000-$41,500, concerns some residents and parents whose children attend nearby Briargrove Elementary. A group has mounted a campaign against the apartments. They say the construction would further crowd Briargrove, 6145 San Felipe St,, which has been forced to turn away children in recent years because the school cannot accommodate them. Both sides are awaiting the outcome on a vote of no objection from the Houston City Council. The vote has not been scheduled. More Information Heights Fun Run When: 6:15 a.m. Race begins at 7:30 a.m.. A walk starts at 7:35 a.m. and a Kids 1K is slated for 8:30 a.m. June 4 Where: Marmion Park in the 1800 block of Heights Boulevard Details: houstonheights.org, call 713-861-4002, ext. 7 or email funrun@houstonheights.org. See More Collapse In the meantime, housing authority officials are moving forward should the vote go their way. "We're working on construction drawings and preparing for the project," said Tory Gunsolley, president and CEO of the authority. The $53 million apartments would be financed with federal Housing and Urban Development disaster-recovery funds, low-income housing credits, grants and bonds. Rents would be based on tenants' income percentage of the area's median income, currently $69,300. Twenty percent of the 233 units would be leased at market rent, 10 percent would be for tenants whose salaries are 30 percent of the median income, and 70 percent would be for those people who earn 60 percent of the median income. If approved, construction would begin later this year and the complex completed in 2018. Gunsolley, along with the housing authority board, met with community members in March to explain the project and address residents' concerns. Many Briargrove parents and neighbors rejected arguments in favor of the project. Briargrove parent John Luman heads the group Stop HHA's Fountain View Project that is leading the charge against the project. In addition to the crowding issue, he and others argue the authority isn't acting as a good steward of tax money. "The price tag is staggering and comes to over $250,000 spent per unit, nearly three times the cost of other similar housing," Luman said. "HHA could easily serve more people at another location." The opposition says the authority has other location options where crowded schools aren't an issue. Parents also said children living in the proposed apartments aren't guaranteed a spot at Briargrove nor at the Mark White Elementary School opening in fall 2016, which may start at enrollment capacity. They say those kids may be bused to schools miles away. Earlier this year the authority said HISD said the Mark White capacity estimate includes children who would live in the proposed complex. However, HISD spokesman Jason Spencer recently said that it is "very likely" both the Mark White and Briargrove schools will already be at or over capacity if and when the HHA apartments open in 2018. "Construction of the proposed project will result in 60-70 students zoned to Briargrove being redirected to other HISD schools," Spencer said. In response to whether residents of the proposed housing complex would be able to attend Briargrove, HHA stated on its website, "We will share with prospective families information provided by HISD regarding the school conditions when that time comes." For more on the opposition group, go to www.stopfountainviewproject.org. For details from HHA, call 713-260-0705, visit www.hhadevelopment.com or email DevMgmt@houstingforhouston.com. Joel Sandel had to shave extensively to play his first two drag roles in Charles Busch comedies, but the upkeep is easier portraying a nun in the production of "The Divine Sister," playing until July 3. "I only have to shave my legs for this," said the Spring Branch actor, who previously appeared in Busch's "Red Scare at Sunset" at Main Street Theater and "Die, Mommie, Die!" at Theater LaB. In the new show, he said, "I play a nun, Mother Superior, but she's a tongue-in-cheek nun, a Hollywood nun. I wear a nun's habit, but there is a flashback to when my character was a girl reporter in the 1940s, which is an homage to 'His Girl Friday,' where I show my legs." The 2010 off-Broadway spoof mainly references such films as "Doubt," "Sister Act," "Agnes of God," "The Trouble with Angels," "The Singing Nun," "The Song of Bernadette," "The Bells of St. Mary's," "The Sound of Music," even "The Da Vinci Code." More Information Want to go? What: "The Divine Sister" Where: Celebration Theatre, at Classical Theatre Co., 4617 Montrose Boulevard When: Half-price preview at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 26, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sundays through July 3 Details: 832-330-5478; www.celebrationtheatrehouston.com Wis nim vullut nulla facidunt nim exerilisim ver sim volenisit ip eugue ver summolor ipiscil landiamet ipis aliquating etuero core See More Collapse "Every time we turn around, we discover another movie reference in the script," said Sandel. "It's ingenious." The play is being presented by Celebration Theatre, 4617 Montrose Boulevard in Chelsea Market, where Classical Theatre Company regularly performs. Celebration's Ron Jones, who lives in Oak Forest, has previously directed in the space, when MST performed the musical "The Light in the Piazza" and the Wendy Wasserstein comedy "The Sisters Rosensweig." Sandel is an MST regular who will portray the late Robert F. Kennedy in the one-man show "RFK" in July on MST's Rice Village stage. "It's a bear," said Sandel. "It's just me for two hours." Sandel learned that Jones was interested in producing "The Divine Sister" but Sandel wasn't sure if Celebration could afford to hire him under an Actors' Equity Association contract. "For years, I was disappointed," said Sandel, who is the union's liaison chairman for the Houston-Galveston chapter. Cut to a couple of months ago and Ron told me the project was really happening. I wasn't sure that I could do it and learn all the lines for 'RFK,' too, but eventually I decided, 'I'm an actor. This is what I do. I will be able to manage it. I will be fine.' " Jones also hired Heights actor Randall Jobe to portray a sidekick nun in drag. "In New York, Charles Busch played Mother Superior, so that role is now traditionally played by a man in drag," said Jones, "but I saw Randall in the role of the German nun, Sister Walburga, and thought he would be hysterical. Why not have two men in drag? Two is better!" Jones added that Jobe "is well-acquainted with the acting style we wanted" from his years as a comic at the 1980s Montrose cabaret Risky Business. Rounding out the cast are Elizabeth Marshall Black, Michelle Britton, Brad Goertz and Skyler Sinclair. Costumes for the production are by Toni Whitaker, sets by Craig Allen and Maredith Swiger, and lights by Greg Starbuck. Jones cautioned that "The Divine Sister's" bawdy humor is "for adults only." When the show enjoyed a completely sold out run off-Broadway, the New York Times wrote, "'The Divine Sister' transforms vintage movie making into irreverently relevant theater, in which affection and subversion live in happy, bawdy harmony." DEWITT -- Earlier this spring DeWitt marked the one year anniversary of the floods that led to the town being evacuated when it submerged streets, yards, and even vehicles in some areas. Continuing to support recovery efforts more than a year later, the DeWitt Area Recovery Team (DART) held a "Dirt Day" on Monday after being postponed several times because of inclement weather. The idea for Dirt Day emerged after a pattern began to appear in interviews with home owners, many of whom said they needed dirt to help solidify their foundations, DART Vice Chair Gina Weise said. An anonymous donor provided the dirt and the Southeast Community College Ag Club volunteered to help move and spread the dirt around homes in the community. Several loads of dirt were donated to replace the dirt that washed away from home foundations during the flood. I think the community is excited to get help, Weise said. There are still people that need help from the floods. Weve helped 28 families so far, building a staircase for one family and helping with foundation repair with another, but the problem is that we have almost run out of funding. Its good to be able to volunteer and help people who need it, she added. Truckloads of dirt were distributed Monday afternoon as the DART volunteers began crossing names off their list and didn't stop until the trucks were empty. Nineteen houses on the list, well work until the dirt is all gone, Weise said. Basements throughout the area experienced as much as a foot of water during the floods. By 5 a.m. that day, the entire town of DeWitt was practically submerged and it took until later that evening for the waters to recede. Volunteers are hoping to work against that happening again. Dirt helps the water run away from the foundation when it rains, Weise said. Residents hope they don't have to go through another flood. I got about a foot of water in the basement. I wanted to stay but my sons wanted me to get out of town at least for a few days, said homeowner Eleanor Schwan, who was the first stop on Monday. For some homes, foundation repairs were estimated to cost from $5,000 to $28,000 each, DART Chairman Tim Garrison said earlier this year. There are some houses that are not livable. At this point most are at least livable. We just have to be put back to where we were pre-flood, Garrison said. Garrison estimated three or four homes in DeWitt are not occupied today as a result of flood damage. DART was set up to help individuals and families affected by the May 2015 flooding after the Nebraska Emergency Agency spoke to the village board about the need for a recovery team. In addition to the funds raised by DART, more than $20,000 in in-kind donations and more than 700 hours of volunteer service have gone toward helping DeWitt residents. Though its been more than a year since the flood, the town is still feeling the residual effects of the heavy rainfall. Donations for the flood recovery can be mailed to Blue Valley Community action, reference DART, 620 Fifth St., Fairbury NE, 68352. Or visit the website of Blue Valley Community Action to donate. Pheasants Forever, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Nebraska Game and Parks, along with Homestead National Monument, will host Flowers for Fish at Homestead National Monument Thursday, June 9 starting at 9 a.m. Water quality is an important issue for private landowners as well as resource professionals. Activities on land can greatly influence the water nearby. This event is planned to improve water quality while benefiting pollinators and birds. The event will demonstrate how water quality is sampled, important indicators of water quality, and what caretakers can do on land that will benefit fish and the bees. Fish and invertebrate sampling in the Cub Creek will be demonstrated. The activities will be held at the Homestead Education Center. Following a noon lunch, an optional plant ID and hike in the restored prairie will take place. For additional information, contact Jenny Frisch, Farm Bill wildlife biologist at the Fairbury NRCS office, 402-729-6134 ext. 3. RSVP at the same number or with Ashley at 308-850-8395 to reserve a lunch. Sheriff's deputies are investigating whether a shooting that sent a man to the hospital by LifeFlight was the result of a road rage incident. Deputies said the driver of a sport utility vehicle swerved in front of another motorist at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday along FM 529 and North Eldridge Parkway. Mayor Sylvester Turner reacted sharply to news coverage questioning the transparency of his search for a new permanent police chief Wednesday morning. Referencing a front-page story in this morning's Houston Chronicle that discusses the mayor's decision not to release records related to the search, which is being conducted pro bono by a private search firm, Turner cautioned council members, "Let's be careful about what we read." "Everybody's agendas need to be made very clear, and elected officials are not the only ones with agendas," he said. "Everybody needs to put all of their cards on the table. That goes for the people around this table and it goes to the people who are covering those of us who are around this table. Everyone and every organization sometimes has agendas, and I think the public deserves to know what the agenda is for the people who are covering us." Turner said positive news from last week -- the council's unanimous passage of a budget for the coming fiscal year -- did not receive the prominent placement as today's story about the chief search. The budget story ran at the top of page A3, and the police chief search story ran at the top of the front page. "These are issues when it comes to flooding, when it comes to the zika virus, when it comes to getting our house in order financially, these are the issues that have consumed most of my time," Turner said. "I know there are some people who are fixated on personnel. I am not fixated on personnel, I am fixated on results. People are wanting me to operate on their time schedule. I'm not going to do it." The mayor went on to praise acting Chief Martha Montalvo, whom he appointed to her post upon the retirement of former chief Charles McClelland earlier this year. He pointed in particular to her handling of the murder of 11-year-old Josue Flores last month, and the shooting in the Memorial area last weekend. Councilwoman Brenda Stardig, who chairs the council's public safety committee, echoed those thoughts, saying Montalvo handled the Memorial incident "respectfully and professionally." "I'm not in a rush to make any changes," Stardig said. "We need to make sure the culture of what you expect and what this council expects moves forward, and not any old mindset." The spelling-impaired are looking to Google's search engine for aid, and the technology company has recorded all their attempts. Recently, Google Trends pulled the wraps off some data they've compiled: "America's Top Spelling Mistakes." The city of Houston recently purchased 18 acres of vacant land in the Minnetex neighborhood of south Houston for the development of a new 120-bed state veterans' home. Funding for the $35 million project is set to be split 65-35 between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the state of Texas, said Carl Salazar, director of the city's Office of Veterans Affairs, with groundbreaking aimed for later this year. AUSTIN -- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Comptroller Glenn Hegar plan to order state agencies to stop giving former employees de facto severance pay, the Houston Chronicle has learned. Abbott and Hegar plan to tell all agency heads Wednesday afternoon that they must "refrain from using emergency or other leave for the purposes of severance or settlement with departing or departed state employees," according to a draft memo. "Pursuant to this directive, the use of emergency leave, administrative leave or other mechanisms to continue paying state employees who have ceased to work will be prohibited," the draft memo says. "All agencies subject to the direction of the governor must not make such payments to departing or departed employees." The draft clarifies that agencies will still be able to reimburse ex-staffers for earned vacation time. Still, the directive will mark a major change for some state officials. The memo follows weeks of media scrutiny about the practice of paying former employees, which experts have said is a clear violation of rules prohibiting state agencies from giving severance pay. The Dallas Morning News reported in April that Attorney General Ken Paxton kept paying two top aides after their resignation dates by putting them on so-called "emergency leave," which officials are allowed to use when they believe there is "good cause" to do so. The Chronicle reported last month that several other officials, including Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, had paid former staffers -- and that no one had done it more than Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who has directed the General Land Office to spend nearly $1 million to entice at least 40 former employees to agree not to sue him or the agency. Bush, Paxton and others have defended themselves. Bush's office said he was "wise" to avoid the possibility of a lawsuit, and Paxton's office said he "acted in a compassionate, legal and ethical manner" in granting pay to staffers "who had worked tirelessly for the state." Bush, Paxton and Miller will not be affected by the directive because it only applies to state officials under the direction of the governor. Rules regarding statewide elected officials must be implemented by the state Legislature. State lawmakers have said they plan to address at least the use of emergency leave to pay de facto severance to former employees. On Wednesday, House Speaker Joe Straus sped up that process by ordering the House General Investigating and Ethis Committee to discuss this issue before the Legislature convenes in January. The draft memo from Abbott and Hegar says the directive "will remain in place until the Texas Legislature has an opportunity to review this matter and enact legislation regarding the use of employee leave." The agencies that will most affected by the move will likely be the state Department of Family and Protective Services, the Teacher Retirement System and the Water Development Board, according to a Chronicle analysis of emergency leave published last month. The memo comes one day after a liberal advocacy group asked the Texas Department of Public Safety, State Auditor and Travis County District Attorney's office to investigate whether Bush, Paxton and others had broken the law by paying ex-staffers. The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. Archived Results for 2016 Newer Older Entries Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 In light of continue developments, primarily since 2008, there exists in these United States a Legal System that operates on a proved Two Tiered approach to justice rendered that primarily benefits Democratic Elites and Woke Ideological Virtue Signalers, and their co-dependent wards, to the expressed exclusion of normal hardworking American citizens: What is your suggestion in remedying this widespread injustice and, if not corrected, its existential outcome for our Constitutional Republic? Complete overhaul the Department of Justice and their enforcers - the FBI - to reflect a far more honest justice system to keep patriots remaining calm. Disband the FBI, and request that congress investigate all unethical and non patriotic practices to partially right the wrongs of a distrusted and politically weaponized "Department of Justice." Take the sexor the lack of itout of the new Anthony Weiner documentary and you have something far more compelling, and bleaker. Weiner, directed by Elyse Steinberg and former Weiner staffer Josh Kriegman, is a story about New York Citys 2013 mayoral race, the contest that gave us Mayor Bill de Blasio. The movie reminds us that the election lacked any deep discussion of real issuesand the city suffers for it today. Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after his Twitter blunder exposed the fact that he and multiple female pen pals, as he calls them, had privately exchanged sexually explicit messages and photos. In resigning, he showed that he had more integrityor less media staminathan politicians such as former Louisiana senator David Vitter and former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank. Both men stayed put after prostitution scandals involving real sex with real people. Weiners 2013 try for the Democratic nomination for mayor, which the film chronicles, was his chance at public rehabilitation. To clean up the mess that I had made, running for mayor was the straightest line to do it, he says, without explaining the reasoning behind this conclusion. To try to avoid having my scandal, as he calls it, overwhelm everything else, Weiner stuck fast to the issuesand its worth revisiting them, as the movie allows us to do. Weiners biggest strength in running for mayor, Weiner reminds us, was that he represented a classic constituency, the same one that elected mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. Weiner spoke to those voters slipping from what he called the decaying foundations of middle-class life in the Big Apple. His smaller-bore policy ideas reflected this strategy. He understood that middle-class New Yorkers had quality-of-life concerns. He said, for example, that he would end tourist-helicopter flights over the city, reducing noise for hundreds of thousands of people. Weiner was relatively nuanced, too, on the issue of the NYPDs stop, question, and frisk tactic. He notes on a campaign stop that one reason to reduce stopssomething the Bloomberg administration was already doingwas to make younger black residents more comfortable about approaching the police with crime complaints and tips. The film also captures Weiner talking about his most intriguing policy proposal, one that had the potential to change the tone of the Democratic primary. Speaking of New Yorks public-sector workforce, he tells voters that every dollar available for salaries is being eaten up by healthcare costs. This was true. By 2013, employee and retiree health-care expenditures and other fringe benefits were costing New York taxpayers $8.9 billion annually, up from $4.9 billion a decade earlier. (Next year, theyll cost taxpayers $9.9 billion.) To address this crisis, Weiner proposed asking city employees to pay a portion of their own health-care costs. The other candidates, terrified of the public-employee unions, wouldnt dare float such an idea. They instead stuck to their line that they wouldnt negotiate union contracts in public. The press should have pushed them to take a position on the issue. Weiners idea to make union members pay more didnt cost him politically. He led in early polls. In the movie, we see him romp through the real work of campaigning: not policymaking or explaining, but having the energy to get through dozens of city parades, press interviews, and neighborhood town halls, plus all the car rides, phone calls, and pizzas in between. We get an inside look, too, at campaignings hardest task: the soul-deadening work of fundraising. Both Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, then and now a top Hillary Clinton aide, are seen dialing for dollars. We see the cynicism behind the flattery. Youre a leader in the community so theyre willing to listen to you, says Weiner via phone to one unseen potential donor. Are you married? Weiner asked one target. A married couple can give $9,900 instead of $4,950. The candidate who won the electionBill de Blasioexcelled at making such calls. Were seeing the results now: the mayor has acted on goals that top donors pushed, from trying to ban horse carriages to finessing real-estate deals. A new set of sext messages crippled Weiners campaign. After Weiner announced his run, Sydney Leathers, one of Weiners pen pals, leaked her dirty exchanges with Weineror Carlos Danger, as he ludicrously called himselfto a website. She then decided that it would be a good career move to come to New York and tell the worldin between self-deprecating gigglesabout her text-ventures with Weiner the previous year, after he had resigned from Congress. Make no mistake: voters understandably refrained from voting for a candidate who engages in compulsively risky behavior after similar behavior has already ruined his Congressional career. And both voters and the press were understandably angry with Weiner for having lied about when he stopped engaging in this behavior. Still, though, reporting and commenting on the news often crossed the line into plain meanness. Weiner is right to note that acting morally superior to a person who has e-mailed photographs of his penis to female strangers is not that hard, and I just dont respect it all that much. Anchors and journalists went well beyond reporting the news so that voters could make up their own minds. MSNBC anchor Lawrence ODonnell, for example, eerily tells Weiner in an interview that, Im looking at the totality of your life, as if he were omniscient. At one press conference, Weiner gets no questions from the press on the topic at hand (a nonprofit czar, probably a silly idea). Reporters only want to badger him about how many women he sexted, as if the voters hadnt heard enough. Weiner compares his relationship with the press to that of the scorpion and the frog. The frog agrees to carry the scorpion across a river, but the scorpion stings the frog halfway across, even though they will both drown. The scorpion just does what is in his nature. The voters, though, should also have a say. At another event, in the Bronx, a woman exhorts the press to stop asking Weiner about the texts. Instead, she says, she wants to hear what he has to say about housing in the Bronx. Weiners sexting scandals effectively made him a superficial candidate, but others ran superficial campaigns, too. The movie shows a debate in which Democrat John Liu and Republican George McDonald spend more than a few minutes criticizing Weiners morals rather than putting forth their own policies. Ill contrast my values with Anthony Weiners values any day of the week, says McDonald to a chorus of boos. Liu, as city comptroller, well-positioned to talk about the fiscal pressures the city faces from its union contracts, instead promised that he wouldnt be taking pictures of himself at night. Running on his tale of two cities theme, de Blasio won. Nearly three years later, New York is just as unequal as everand were not saving the money we need to make the right investments in transit and elsewhere, to improve the citys quality of life. While few passed up a chance to condemn Weiner for his self-involvement and self-destructiveness, comparatively fewer noted the cruelty of someone like Sydney Leathersan adult woman who engaged in private interactions with an adult man and then chose to violate his confidence in order to harm him. In the movie, she says blithely of Weiners mayoral-race comeback that she ruin[ed] that for him, so, sorry, except Im not. At Howard Sterns behest, she chose to stalk Weiner at his election-night headquarters, preventing his wife from accompanying him to his speech. Why would one human being choose to humiliate another in such a fashion? Leathers still does porn movies as a result of the notoriety she gained. I hate bullies, Weiner says. He has a point, the viewer thinks, as the filmmakers watch Leathers chase Weiner through a McDonalds back entrance and up the stairs of the Manhattan office complex where he will give his concession speech. New Yorks Democratic voters didnt think that Weiner was their best mayoral choice. But the Upper West Side audience in whose company I attended Weiner two weekends ago laughed hardest, not at Weiners antics and the headlines and visuals they produced, but at an image of then-candidate de Blasio marching grimly in a pre-election parade. They groaned, too, at the films final scene: de Blasio taking the oath of office in January 2014. De Blasio doesnt appear to have a sexting problem, but hes a poor mayorand his own burgeoning scandals should remind us that lust is not the only fatal character flaw. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Audio Transcript Brian Anderson: Big Data is changing life in cities for governments and citizens alike. In a previous episode of 10 Blocks we heard from journalist David Black about how sophisticated data analysis is helping the police to predict where crime is likely to occur. Additionally, we heard from Harvard Business Schools Mike Luca, who helps cities and companies work together using data to create better policies and better customer service experiences. There is no doubt that Big Data is shaping the way todays cities run. Today on the 10 Blocks Podcast we take a broader look at how data shapes the modern urban environment. Joining us is City Journal contributing editor Nicole Gelinas, who is also the Searle Freedom Trust Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and a regular columnist for the New York Post. In The Fourth Urban Revolution, which can be found in the Spring 2016 issue of City Journal, Nicole gives a fascinating account of the history of Big Data in New York City as well as some thoughts on how it might continue to improve life in the city. Nicole Gelinas, thank you for joining us on 10 Blocks. Nicole Gelinas: Hi, Brian. Thanks for having me again. Brian Anderson: Now, in your piece you note that New York City has been a pioneer for decades in the use of data to improve the delivery of government services. Can you give our listeners a brief overview of that history? Nicole Gelinas: Sure. We tend to think of the data revolution as new and whats new is the sheer amount of data points that we have now and how easy it is to transmit them. I mean, taking pictures used to be something youd save up for two rolls of film when you went on vacation and be very careful about which pictures you took because they would cost money and now you can take hundreds of pictures at an event in an hour and send them to everyone you know and think nothing of it. But weve long had this idea that we make policy through data, and New York has been a pioneer in that. If you go back to the 1970s, the era of Watergates and people really beginning to distrust their governments, New York public interest groups got the state to enact one of the nations first Freedom of Information laws, where journalists and regular citizens could go and petition their government and ask for information. So if you wanted to know how many environmental sites the city was monitoring for particular chemicals or how many traffic stops there were in a particular year, and so forth, you could go and ask for that data and use that data to write articles and formulate policy. And as technology has outpaced the law, New York has continued to try to make its government keep up with the law, so... Brian Anderson: In terms of transparency. Nicole Gelinas: Right. We got out first public access to databases back in the early 90s where people could start to access and analyze databases because they were starting to have the technology to do that. And then, under Mayor Bloomberg, we got the citys first open data law where government agencies have to put certain data sets online without being asked, so you can go and look at 311 calls, and go look at information about taxi pickups, information about who was making noise complaints - all kinds of things, really. And so its an imperfect process. The government never wants to give information out but as long as people keep up and keep asking questions and keep forcing the government to do this, it works, I guess, as reasonably as it can. Brian Anderson: How does Big Data become open data, and why is open data so beneficial, or at least potentially beneficial, to cities like New York? Nicole Gelinas: Well, there are two things that make Big Data open data. First, the legal structure that we just talked about, and second is just the ability of people to use todays technology to look at and analyze and then put out ideas about this data, and so now you have a generation of civic hackers, people at places like BetaNYC, Ben Wellington at I Quant NY. They can go out and look at these data sets that the city puts out and put out interesting information so people can make decisions based on this information. For example, just a few weeks ago, Ben Wellington, who runs the I Quant NY blog, he looked through all of this new data that the police department is now putting out and he said the most frequent time for robberies is in the afterschool hours, which makes sense. And that allows the public to see are the police doing what they need to do to make sure that the resources are on the streets when the number of people on the streets and potential victims is much, much greater with everyone on the trains going home from school and so forth. And so, things that we would have had to spend months trying to get the data from these agencies, trying to parse it, and then maybe getting it out to a couple of newspapers and having some people look at it. You can put out, in a quick graph, people look at it on Twitter, on Facebook, on elsewhere, and get some interesting information about their city. Brian Anderson: The NYPD use data to shift its focus in policing, from responding to crime to trying to prevent it. Does that experience hold lessons for other policy [inaudible]? Nicole Gelinas: Sure. For example, weve been doing this in trying to manage traffic safety. Going back, again, you know, this is a place where its gotten more attention in recent years with Bloombergs Transportation Commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, using intersection points and data points of where crashes occur, where people are most likely to be injured or killed in a car crash, to calm those intersections so that you have lower speeds, less crashes at these intersections. But even going back two decades outside of government groups, like transportation alternatives, were asking for this data and putting out maps of where people were getting in car crashes. I mean, you can remember the Boulevard of Death, Queens Boulevard, going back to the Giuliani years, where people were using data to really push their government to make changes on the streets, and so certainly traffic management but even things like vending carts on the streets. We could be using data much, much better to address quality of life issues, where the carts are parked, are they putting our grease and smoke, and so forth. And even using data on tracking peoples complaints on things that may not be life or death. Like, theres a person next door renting out his apartment as an illegal hotel - were not using the data points well enough yet to do enforcement where youve got so many complaints from this building so the enforcement should be targeted here, but were starting to see the potential of how we can do this across government. Brian Anderson: Might the availability of all of this data also be useful to businesses in the city? Nicole Gelinas: Yeah, you look at some of the apps that have started to use the data that the city puts out to give or sell services to the citys small businesses. Aileen Gemma Smith, after Superstorm Sandy, she went around Staten Island where she is from and other parts of the city, and she found that business owners were having trouble figuring out when - when are they going to start picking up the garbage again after the storm, when are people going to come out and inspect this block and get the power back on and so forth, and so she launched this app, Mind My Business, that even when youre not in a disaster time, a store owner can look and put in his address and find out this street is going to be closed next week for repair work, or my subway stop is going to be closed because they are going to be fixing up the stairs, and so maybe Ill have less foot traffic, or the person who owned this store before me, he used to get tickets all the time for not sweeping the sidewalk and so Id better be careful about those things. So just trying to give people the information that they need about their government so they dont have to go through all of the information that they dont need as a good opportunity for private sector entrepreneurs. Brian Anderson: You suggest in your article that cities often dont do what the data suggest they should do. Can you expand on that point and what examples have you seen in New York and other cities? Nicole Gelinas: Yeah, you know, there can be maybe this tendency to think data is going to solve all of our problems. If we just know what the right information is, the government will do the right thing with that information. But we dont necessarily see that that happens. At some point Big Data meets big politics and big politics can still easily win. If you look at just two examples, people who live on - along Manhattans riverfronts have been complaining for years and years about the increasing number of helicopter tours, and, you know, the helicopters take off, they do a quick tour, they come back, but its constant, constant noise for people who live on the waterfront. And they went, they did a Freedom of Information request, they found out how much more frequently these helicopters take off compared to five years ago or ten years ago, they went to the government and presented this information, but the de Blasio administration, which has happened to take money from the lobbyists for these tour groups, decided to allow these helicopter tours to continue to operate. And we see that in other places, too, where people on 57th Street are worried about super tall, 100-story plus towers blocking out the light in Central Park. They even amass data about shadows and what times of day these shadows will be in the park, and so forth. The data part is very, very clear. The city council and the mayor have had this data for years but they havent even started studying the issue yet, so sometimes the facts are not enough - youve still got to have some kind of old-fashioned political and public coalition to go up against the big politics coalition of the powerful special interests. Brian Anderson: For more background on todays episode, find Nicole Gelinass City Journal article from our Spring issue, The Fourth Urban Revolution, on our website, www.City-Journal.org. Nicole Gelinas is also on Twitter, @NicoleGelinas, and you can follow us @CityJournal. We would love to hear your comments about todays episode on Twitter with the hash tag #10Blocks. Lastly, if you like our show and want to hear more, please leave ratings and reviews on iTunes. Thanks for listening, and thank you again, Nicole, for joining us. Nicole Gelinas: Thank you, Brian. The number of motorists pulled over by Connecticut State Police through the use of license plate scanners has skyrocketed in the past few years. The high-tech cameras mounted on some cruisers can scan as many as 1,800 license plates a minute and instantly run them through databases. Troopers stopped 383 drivers in 2013 from June to December, the first months the cameras were in use, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. Stops based on the scanners hit nearly 1,600 in 2014, then ballooned to nearly 6,800 last year. Troopers have stopped nearly 2,400 drivers so far this year after getting hits from the readers. State police now have the cameras, officially known as license plate readers, or LPRs, mounted on 20 of the 400 cruisers assigned to patrol. The devices receive information about wanted people, missing people, stolen vehicles, unregistered vehicles and other violations from Department of Motor Vehicles and police databases, and they instantly alert troopers. Not only do LPRs allow troopers to monitor a higher volume of traffic for vehicles involved in incidents as serious as Amber Alerts, stolen cars and wanted persons, it allows them to do so in a safer and more efficient manner, said Col. Alaric Fox, the state police commander. Like many other departments, however, state police do not fully track the outcomes of the traffic stops initiated by license plate readers. State police records show only 35 arrests in 2014, 43 arrests last year and 25 arrests so far this year based on the readers. Officials say the real arrest numbers are probably much higher because troopers apparently dont always check boxes on reports indicating whether readers prompted traffic stops. There are no details on what the arrests were for, except for a few cases noted in police news releases. On May 14, a troopers license plate reader identified a car stolen from Colorado being driven on Interstate 84 in Danbury. The trooper arrested the driver for motor vehicle theft and drug possession. In January, a troopers license plate reader detected a stolen car on Route 39 near the Danbury-New Fairfield line. Two men were arrested after leading the trooper on a chase and colliding with a parked car. Police departments across the country are using the scanners, including many municipal departments in Connecticut. Civil liberities advocates say they have privacy concerns and are calling for government regulations, because the information could be used to track peoples movements, it could be sold to private companies, and data retention policies vary widely from department to department. The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut says state police have a model policy with short data retention period 90 days, with an exception for license plates linked to crimes. Theres a place for it, but theres not a need to keep this data for an extended period, said David McGuire, the state ACLUs legislative and policy director. McGuire said he believes most drivers in the state have had their license plates scanned by state and local police. After a 2012 public records request, he said he found his name four times in a database kept by 10 departments in the Hartford area. The database included more than 3 million license plate scans. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Generally, the duty to defend extends to cases in which the complaint contains several theories or causes of action against the insured and only one of the theories is within the policys coverage limits. See, e.g., Country Mutual Ins. Co. v. Bible Pork, Inc., 397 Ill.Dec. 712, 42 N.E.3d 958 (Ill. App. 5th Dist. 2015). This proposition can extend to the prayer for relief of the complaint. As an example, the Illinois Court of Appeals in Country Mutual Ins. Co. v. Bible Pork, Inc., 2015 IL App. (5th) 140211, 397 Ill.Dec. 712, 42 N.E.3d 958 (2015), found that while a lawsuit sought injunctive relief against the insureds hog farm operationa claim for equitable reliefit was nevertheless a suit for potentially covered damages because the complaint also sought other relief deemed appropriate. The Court found that the plaintiffs prayer for other relief established the lawsuit as a lawsuit for damages and one seeking damages would be covered under the language of the insurance policy in question. This finding was consistent with prior Illinois law. See, e.g., B.H. Smith, Inc. v. Zurich Ins. Co., 385 Ill.App.3d 536, 221 Ill.Dec. 700, 676 N.E.2d 221 (1996) where the Court held that the insurance company was obligated to defend its insured notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff in the underlying lawsuit sought injunctive relief. In B.H. Smith, Inc., the plaintiff not only sought injunctive relief but also asserted in the complaint that the plaintiff was seeking such other and further relief as [the] Court may deem just and proper. The Court noted that even if equitable relief was granted, the trial court was empowered to award money damages as well. Under Illinois law, the term damages as used in a CGL policy, covered money that the insured was required to expend to remedy an injury for which the insured was responsible whether such expenditure was compelled by a court of law in the form of compensatory damages or by a court of equity for compliance with a mandatory injunction. Bible Pork, Inc., 397 Ill.Dec. at 718, 42 N.E.3d at 964, citing Outboard Marine Corp. v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 154 Ill.2d 90, 116, 180 Ill.Dec. 691, 607 N.E.2d 1204, 1216 (1992) (suit seeking damages will be construed to include suits seeking either or both compensatory damages and equitable relief). In the Bible Pork, Inc. case, the Bible Pork company began the process of seeking regulatory approval from the Illinois Department of Agriculture to construct a new hog factory facility. Construction of the facility required compliance with the Livestock Management Facilities Act and numerous other state regulations and requirements. The Department approved Bible Porks plans and construction began on the facility in October 2005. The construction of the facility was completed and began operating as a lawfully permitted facility in June 2006. However, during construction of the facility, 21 plaintiffs filed a nuisance action against Bible Pork seeking to have the facility declared as a nuisance before it became operational. The plaintiffs claimed that Bible Porks facility would be a source of disagreeable noises, odors, dust particles, surface water contamination and loss of property values which would interfere with the plaintiffs lives and render the facility a public and private nuisance. Although the plaintiffs amended their complaint twice, in all three complaints the plaintiffs sought not only declarations that the facility constituted a public and a private nuisance, but also sought such other relief as deemed appropriate. Martin Senn, the Zurich Insurance Group AG chief executive officer who stepped down in a December reshuffle, has committed suicide, the company said in a statement on Monday. He was 59. The family informed Zurich Insurance that Senn had taken his own life on Friday, according to the statement. We are profoundly shocked by the news of the sudden death, the company said. Senn was found in his holiday house in Klosters, a Swiss ski resort, Blick newspaper reported. The cantonal police of Grisons wouldnt confirm the death but said officers had been deployed on Friday in connection with Senn. Huge Loss This is a huge loss; Martin Senn was an amazing person, said Martin Naville, CEO of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, where Senn had served as president. Human beings are hard to understand but we have to accept his decision. Senn in December acknowledged setbacks in the months before his departure after higher-than-expected claims at the general-insurance unit forced the company to abandon a takeover bid for RSA Insurance Group Plc. The company later announced an overhaul of the general-insurance business. During Senns five years as CEO, Zurich Insurance rose about 19 percent and paid out record dividends of 17 Swiss francs a share. In his biggest acquisition, he bought a 51 percent stake in Banco Santander SAs insurance division for $1.67 billion in 2011. Two years later, Chief Financial Officer Pierre Wauthier committed suicide and Josef Ackermann quit. Conservative Approach Senns conservative approach helped Zurich Insurance perform well during the financial crisis, when he was the chief investment officer, said Andreas Schaefer, an analyst at Bankhaus Lampe. Zurichs asset side never caused any problems and the company did well compared with its peers, he said. Schaefer has a hold rating on the stock. Mario Greco, the former CEO of Italys Assicurazioni Generali SpA, assumed Senns role in March. UBS Group AG CEO Sergio Ermotti was set to take over as president of the chamber of commerce in June. Senn started at Zurich in 2006 as CIO and became CEO in 2010. He joined from Switzerlands biggest life insurer, Swiss Life Holding AG, and held several positions at Credit Suisse Group AG. When he was 26, Senn became treasurer of the Hong Kong branch of Schweizerischer Bankverein, today known as UBS Group AG. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. In the last few years, hail damage lawsuits have crowded Texas courts. Using the same model employed in the Lone Star state, hail damage litigation is beginning to impact other states where large hail events have occurred, including Colorado, Oklahoma and Minnesota. Colorado, in particular, has seen a significant uptick in insurance claims and suits relating to hail damage. One reason is that Colorado, like Texas, has favorable consumer protection laws. In fact, Colorado allows contractors to file bad faith lawsuits against insurance companies resulting from disputes on a claim, according to Steven Badger, a Dallas-based partner with Zelle LLP. Thats similar to the situation giving rise to all the lawsuits in Florida, he explained. Florida recognizes a formal assignment of benefits that allows insureds to assign claim benefits to the contractor. In Colorado, the contractor is considered a party with an actual remedy under the bad faith statute when the carrier doesnt fully pay for the alleged roof repairs, Badger said. In addition, Colorado is seeing increasing use of the appraisal process, with increasing abuses during the process by certain public adjusters. professional appraisers and attorneys, Badger said. Interestingly, we are seeing a significant influx of individuals from Florida getting involved in Colorado claims and appraisals, Badger said. For whatever reason, most of the disputed claims and appraisals that we are working on for our clients in Colorado involve individuals from Florida. This may be due to minimal hurricane activity in Florida in recent years, as well as the fact that Texas already has a ripe market of appraisers, public adjusters and policyholder attorneys, he said; whereas Colorado does not. Its a market where they can come in from Florida and set up shop, he said. Badgers firm has taken an aggressive and vocal stance on behalf of the insurance industry in not only defending hail litigation, but also in responding to improper conduct by those involved in the claims and litigation process. Recently, Badger filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of a group of homeowners against a North Texas roofing contractor alleged to be involved in improper claims handling conduct. Several of Badgers articles on the subject have been published by Claims Journal. In one article, he offered several possible solutions to the problem in Texas. He said these same solutions can be applied in other states as well. One idea that would be applicable anywhere is to mandate the use of Class 4 hail rated roofing products in areas of severe hail exposure. There are products out there that are more hail resistant and would not fail in small hail events, Badger said. In fact, Underwriters Laboratories recently submitted a proposal to the International Building Code drafters, proposing a revision to the codes that would require hail rated products in areas of severe hail exposure, he explained. That proposal was voted down as a result of overwhelming opposition from roofing contractor and roofing manufacturer trade groups. Another solution is stronger enforcement in the various states of what I call the no negotiate statutes that prohibit contractors from involving themselves in the insurance claims process, Badger said. Most states already have statutes or insurance regulations in place that prohibit such conduct, but unfortunately the conduct remains rampant. Contractors routinely act on behalf of building owners in negotiating insurance claims. Laws in place prohibiting such conduct should be enforced. If the barrage of hail damage lawsuits continues, there is the possibility that insurers will exclude these type of claims, Badger said. Its something thats already happening, he said. In Hidalgo County, where there were over 10,000 lawsuits filed after the 2012 hailstorms, at least two major insurers have completely pulled out of the market. We will continue to see this market response wherever hail lawsuits are proliferating. Badger said he wouldnt be surprised to see a Texas Hailstorm Insurance Association created, much like the windstorm insurance association. Will it happen? It could. But Id sure like to see another solution to this crisis, and that can be achieved by restoring some balance and fairness to claims and litigation process, he said. If we could address the problems without changing any laws or having to restrict coverage, that would be ideal, Badger stated. Badger said that he doesnt see that happening in this current climate. One positive trend in the right direction is that courts are beginning to take notice, he said. There are federal judges writing opinions clearly indicating that they understand whats happening in these lawsuits and they dont like it, he explained. To bring an end to this problem without legislative action or policy form changes will require assistance from the courts, from the Texas Department of Insurance, from the State Bar of Texas and from local criminal authorities. As a result of the articles Badger has written on the subject and his recent class action lawsuit filing, he has had numerous communications with investigators from the Texas Department of Insurance, the State Bar of Texas and a couple of local district attorneys. They are paying attention to the complaints being filed and are beginning to take action against illegal conduct, said Badger. Badger recommended that insurers facing an onslaught of hail damage lawsuits seeking damages that are clearly not covered should stand by their policy forms and applicable law. They need to break the model where a public adjuster or lawyer knows that if they can get someone to sign a contract allowing them to file a lawsuit, all they have to do is file the suit and the insurance carrier will pay something regardless of merit. That model has to come to an end, explained Badger. Also, the carriers need to spend the time to root out the illegal conduct going on in some of these claims and report that bad conduct to the authorities. These days, Badger has a team of coverage attorneys spending their days defending hail damage lawsuits. Thats allowing me to spend all of my time in focusing on addressing the fraudulent and illegal conduct we are seeing, he said. This includes the class action we just filed against a roofing contractor for the unauthorized practice of public adjusting, reporting building owners to the authorities for fabricating replacement cost invoices and working with reputable lawyers who are bringing lawsuits against other lawyers for illegal case running. While it may all seem negative, Badger said he is encouraged by the calls of support he has received from reputable contractors who are tired of dealing with fellow contractors that illegally waive deductibles; from experienced public adjusters tired of new entrants into their industry who have no desire to actually adjust and settle a claim, but just want to get their matters into the hands of a lawyer; and from real policyholder attorneys who are ashamed to see what is happening within their ranks. Everyone knows there is a problem in Texas and that the problem is spreading to other states, Badger said. We just havent agreed yet on the solution to the problem. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal by State Farm contesting a jury finding that the insurance company defrauded the federal government when assessing damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 along the Gulf of Mexico coast. The court will review a 2015 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the verdict in a suit brought under the federal False Claims Act, which lets people sue over allegations that the government has been defrauded. The court will consider a lawsuit brought by sisters Cori and Kerri Rigsby, former claims adjusters who worked with State Farm after the hurricane. People win a portion of the damages if such a False Claims Act suit is successful. The jury found that the U.S. government had been defrauded of $250,000 over a house that had sustained Katrina-related damage in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Rigsbys said the damage was caused by wind, which would be covered by the owners policy with State Farm. But State Farm concluded that the damage was flood-related, which was covered by the federal governments flood insurance program. The court said State Farm would have to pay $758,000 in damages. The Rigsbys were awarded $227,000 under the False Claims Act. State Farm argued in part that the lawsuit should have been thrown out because the Rigsbys former lawyer, Dickie Scruggs, had distributed information about the lawsuit to members of the media. False Claims Act lawsuits are required to be filed under seal and remain private for 60 days. In 2008, Scruggs was convicted of conspiring to bribe a judge in a different case. He was sentenced to five years in prison. The court will hear oral arguments and issue a ruling in the case during its next term, which begins in October and ends in June 2017. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) A proposal to require new oil and gas wells to be at least 2,500 feet from homes and schools in Colorado would leave 90 percent of the state off-limits to future drilling, regulators said Friday. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission released a report on the impact of a proposed constitutional amendment that backers hope to put on the November ballot. The report said that in the states top five oil and gas counties, 95 percent of the land area would off-limits to new wells and other energy facilities. Those counties are Garfield, La Plata, Las Animas, Rio Blanco and Weld. A group called Yes for Health and Safety over Fracking is gathering petition signatures for the measure, known as Initiative 78. It isnt known yet whether it it will be on the ballot. A spokeswoman for the group didnt immediately return a call. The proximity of oil and gas development to residential neighborhoods is a contentious issue in Colorado. The Denver-Julesburg Basin, described by the American Petroleum Institute as one of the richest natural gas fields in the nation, overlaps the northern Denver suburbs and surrounds Greeley. Drilling rigs, storage tanks and active wells sometimes stand within a few hundred feet of homes. That prompts frequent complaints from residents about noise, odors and traffic. Others worry about health and safety issues. Industry groups said the commissions report shows the proposed constitutional amendment would do serious damage. This setback measure would devastate Colorados economy, put thousands of people out of work and allow the government to take private property from Coloradans without compensation, said Karen Crummy, a spokeswoman for Protecting Colorados Environment, Economy, and Energy Independence. The report was compiled at the request of Oil and Gas Conservation Commission member Tommy E. Holton, mayor of the Weld County town of Fort Lupton. Fort Lupton is in the Denver-Julesburg Basin. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AKRON, Ohio -- Police are searching for an Akron teenager charged with aggravated murder in connection with a Monday night shooting that claimed the life of a 23-year-old man. The victim's name was not released as of Tuesday afternoon. Detectives obtained a warrant for the arrest of 18-year-old Fred Taylor Jr., of Beechwood Drive, police said. He should be considered armed and dangerous. The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. near the intersection of Nadia Court and Dahlgren Drive. The victim was shot several times. He was attempting to run away when he collapsed in the 1000 block of Nadia Court. He was taken to Akron City Hospital, where he later died. Police did not give a motive for the shooting. Taylor is about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has a thin mustache and light beard. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt. Anyone with information about the case or Taylor's whereabouts is asked to contact the Akron Police Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490. If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Like Chanda Neely on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter: AKRON, Ohio -- A 27-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint while trying to buy ecstasy, police said. The victim was not injured, but the robbers got away with more than $2,000 in cash, Akron police said Tuesday. The robbery happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday. The victim, who lives in Parkersburg, West Virginia, told police that he was inside an apartment in the 1000 block of Grant Street when two men with guns came in and robbed him. The victim was in Akron visiting relatives, police said. Police identified one suspect as 24-year-old Dominique J. Guess, of Archwood Avenue. Police have issued an aggravated robbery warrant for his arrest. He is still at-large. Guess has four other warrants for disrupting of public service, felonious assault, criminal damaging and aggravated robbery, police said. He should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. Guess is accused of being part of a group that pistol-whipped and robbed two men during a home invasion at a drug house in April. The second suspect is also at-large. Anyone with information about Guess' whereabouts or information on the second suspect is asked to contact the Akron Police Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490. If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Like Chanda Neely on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter: AKRON, Ohio -- A 21-year-old woman was shot in the neck while riding in a car, police said. William Congrove Jr., 23, of Clay Drive was arrested and charged with felonious assault. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Akron Municipal Court, a court clerk said. He is due back in court June 15. Congrove remains in the Summit County Jail on a $35,000 bond, court records show. The victim was a passenger in a car about 10 p.m. Monday as it drove along Grant Street near Jewell Drive. Someone fired a shot from a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction, according to police reports. The driver took the woman to Akron City Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries, police said. If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Like Chanda Neely on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter: Biagiois hallmark: top ingredients, freshness Biagiois Donut Shop & Pizzeria Biagio's Donut Shop & Pizzeria in Eastlake, has a great variety of donuts, including usual standbys and many specialty kinds. Photo by David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com (David Petkiewicz) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The cleveland.com "Best Of" team are big fans of all national holidays centered around food, and one of our favorites is coming up this Friday: National Donut Day. But we wouldn't want to use up all those calories on just any donut. So we want to know: who makes the best donut in Northeast Ohio? Here's how you can nominate your favorite: Write a comment below describing your favorite local donut shop, or send us an email with your donut related musings to Be sure to tell us what you love about your favorite donut shot. Send along any photos or those tasty looking donuts, if you're so inclined. Be sure to send us your nominations by midnight tonight. We're looking for the best locally made donut, so chains like Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme are exempted in this contest, although we recognize that they have many faithful local fans. Voting will take place on Thursday from 9-7, so be sure to check back tomorrow morning for the poll. We'll share the winners ranked by popularity on Friday morning, giving you plenty of time to plan a donut shop visit into your day. For some inspiration, here are the results from our lengthy search for some of the best donuts in Northeast Ohio from a few years back. Jack casino signs Higbee Building Workers install new awnings for JACK Casino Cleveland on the historic Higbee Building in early May. Quicken Loans plans to move its Cleveland office to the building's fourth and fifth floors in late June. (Michelle Jarboe/The Plain Dealer) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Quicken Loans will nearly double its footprint in downtown Cleveland with a late-June move between buildings at Tower City Center. On Wednesday, the Detroit-based mortgage lender confirmed that its local offices and more than 400 full-time workers will jump from the Post Office Plaza building to the Higbee Building. Quicken representatives have declined for months to discuss the planned relocation, which was a poorly kept secret in real estate circles. The move will put the company, founded and chaired by Dan Gilbert, in a building that the Michigan billionaire and majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers controls. Gilbert's gaming group bought the Higbee Building in 2013, after installing a casino on the lower levels of the former department store at 100 Public Square. Quicken currently leases 45,000 square feet at Post Office Plaza, a historic building owned by Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. At Higbee, the lender will fill 81,000 square feet on the fourth and fifth floors. "Over the past 10 years, we have built a team of hardworking Clevelanders who are passionate about two things - delivering our clients the best mortgage experience possible and continuing the momentum taking place in downtown Cleveland," Jeff Perry, vice president and site leader for Quicken's local office, said in a news release. "Our move to the Higbee Building will be [a big boost] to both of these objectives." Quicken has 75 job openings in Cleveland and expects to keep growing. The company said its new offices will highlight architectural features of the historic Higbee Building, which opened in 1931. A Detroit-based firm called dPOP!, part of Gilbert's Rock Ventures family of companies, is handling the design and furnishing work for the $7 million renovation project. Quicken's hop will create yet another vacancy at Post Office Plaza, at 1500 W. Third St. Online real estate listings show that CBRE Group, Inc., is marketing roughly 267,000 square feet there - more than half the building - for Forest City. Post Office Plaza is the sole piece of Tower City that Forest City, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, will own after selling its iconic Terminal Tower to an apartment developer later this year. K&D Group, Inc., plans to buy the tower for a partial-residential conversion project that could start in 2018. Forest City's headquarters offices take up 250,000 square feet on the tower's lower floors. The company has launched a headquarters search, and Post Office Plaza - under Forest City's control, with ample space - is one logical landing spot. But the company also is considering other existing buildings and new construction. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- "Disney execs in a panic over upcoming 'Star Wars' film." The New York Post's headline caused a disturbance in the Force on Tuesday, when Page Six reported "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" would undergo "four weeks of expensive reshoots in July." Disney is "demanding changes, as the movie isn't testing well," a source told The Post. Later, a story in the Hollywood Reporter brought some balance to the Force, reporting the film hasn't yet been tested before audiences and the reshoots were being done to "lighten the mood, bring some levity into the story and restore a sense of fun to the adventure." "Rogue One," starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Forest Whitaker, tells the story of rebel spies who steal the plans for the Death Star. When the first trailer was released in April, "Star Wars" fans couldn't wait for December 16 to arrive. Now? Many are wondering what director Gareth Edwards may have done to their beloved galaxy far, far away or if a meddling studio will ruin the dark, gritty "Star Wars" movie they've been craving. Here's why to worry/not worry about the reshoots. NOT WORRY: Reshoots, especially in big tentpole movies, are so common they're actually built in the cast and crew's schedules. Filmmakers get to the editing room and notice a thing or two that may be missing or "off." Sure, the final lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" turned out great, but did you know part of it was reshot in a studio in Santa Monica? WORRY: According to THR story, the first cut of the movie was "tonally off with what a 'classic' Star Wars movie should feel like." The reason why the "Rogue One" trailer excited many fans is that it didn't look like a classic "Star Wars" movie. It looked like a war movie with Stormtroopers and AT-AT walkers. Now, that's cool. That's the movie I want to see. But exactly how much levity does Disney want Edwards to add? Someone saying "I have a bad feeling about this"? Fine. A wisecracking droid? Um, no. NOT WORRY: "This is the closest thing to a prequel ever," a source told The Hollywood Reporter. "This takes place just before 'A New Hope' and leads up to the 10 minutes before that classic film begins. You have to match the tone!" 10 minutes before the opening crawl of the original "Star Wars" film? If that means we see Darth Vader on his Star Destroyer before boarding the Tantive IV or Grand Moff Tarkin overseeing the opening of the Death Star, then, by all means, reshoot away! WORRY: Look, we get that Disney spent $4 billion on LucasFilm and probably around $200 million making "Rogue One." They want a sizable return on their investment. But if execs are overly concerned about selling toys or the movie not appealing to young children, then why even hire a visionary director like Edwards? NOT WORRY: According to Deadline, "the first cut was lacking the edge that Force Awakens had, and the story needs to jell." Fine. As previously mentioned, J.J. Abrams did a lot of last-minute tinkering on "The Force Awakens." He even cut characters and vehicles that had already been made into toys. Here's hoping Disney gives the Edwards that same kind of freedom to listen to their notes, improve the film but keep his vision intact. WORRY: There's been speculation the reshoots could afford "Rogue One" the opportunity to insert Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo into the movie. The temptation may be tough to resist -- the Han Solo standalone movie is two years away -- but working in the scruffy-looking nerf herder into this particular story just sounds out of place. If they must, maybe this is the right time for the first post-credits scene in a "Star Wars" movie. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, after returning from a trip to the Middle East, last week shared his frank observation with an audience at George Washington University: A worldwide terrorist exodus is underway, and we are woefully unprepared to deal with it, he said. We are not winning this war, McCaul said. Violent extremists are not on the run, as the president says. They are on the march.During former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency, neither she nor her acolytes will even hint at the current state of Islamic warfare occurring in the nation of Libya . In fact, the majority of American news outlets - hotbeds of Clinton advocates -appear to be intentionally or unintentionally oblivious to the jihad that was concocted by President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton through their incompetence.After pushing for - and achieving - the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi that Arab nation has been and continues to be in a state of chaos that cost the lives of many more Libyans than were killed by Col. Gaddafi and ended the lives of four brave Americans including a U.S. ambassador.Intelligence analysts Friday informed Conservative Base that evidence exists that reveals Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists' plan to deploy hundreds of fighters to reinforce the ranks of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in locations in Libya such as Benghazi. According to Homeland Security News Wire, this is just the latest intelligence that points to the growing cooperation between the two Sunni Muslim groups in North Africa.Unfortunately, despite his rhetoric to the contrary, President Obama allowed the Islamic State of ISIS's international jihad to spread into Afghanistan, Yemen and now Libya. It followed Obama's toppling of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak which led to thousands dying at the hands of Islamic terrorists and the Muslim Brotherhood rising to power.According to intelligence analysts at the Israeli non-profit, think-tank Meir Amit Information Center,The analysts claim ISIS plans to make Libya its base-of-operations for terrorist and anti-government operations in North Africa and southern Europe countries. ISIS could establish itself in Libya because of the chaos prevalent after the execution of Gaddafi. The U.S. government under Obama and Clinton failed to offer help for fear of appearing to be "occupiers."As in Egypt, Iraq and Syria, the overthrow of the central government almost instantly advantaged several nationalist and Islamist organizations as well as tribal militias. The Libyan branch of ISIS is filling the vacuum left by the absence of a functioning government and the absence of the U.S. and European nations. ISIS has established itself in the region around Sirte and plans to spread throughout Libya.The British Telegraph quotes U.S. deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken who said that there were "reports" Boko Haram fighters were going into Libya, where ISIS now has an estimated 6,000 fighters.he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS that is favored by Secretary of State John Kerry. There were also reports of material and logistical aid being funneled into Libya from Nigeria.According to the Meir Amit report on ISIS:Unfortunately, because of the sensitivity of Hillary Clinton's Benghazi scandal , many observers aren't holding their collective breath for the Obama administration to do anything substantial to save Libya or stop ISIS. Died: May 29, 2016 Thomas Warren Wahab, a longtime resident of Belhaven and Kinston died Sunday, May 29th at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. He was 93 years old.Memorial services will be 11:00 am Saturday, June 4, 2016 at St. James Episcopal Church and will be conducted by Father James Lupton. Burial with follow in Belhaven Community Cemetery with full military honors provided by the United States Air Force. There will be a reception at the church following the committal service at the cemetery. The family will receive friends other times at the home.Thomas Wahab was born February 22, 1923 at the small crossroads of Lynnsburg in Hyde County, North Carolina. He was the youngest of seven surviving children to farmers Charles and Alberta Wahab. His mother died less than a month after his birth, and Thomas was raised by his Uncle and Aunt, Carl and Emma Wilson of Belhaven. Thomas graduated from Belhaven High School in 1940.With World War II looming, Thomas joined the expanding armed forces by enlisting in the US Army Sergeant Pilots Program in the Summer of 1941.He earned his wings in October 1942 and would go on to serve 30 years as a pilot in the US Army Air Corps and later the US Air Force, retiring in 1970 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Thomas accrued over 6,000 flight hours across 45 plus aircraft during his military career. His primary aircraft were the C-47 "Gooney Bird" during World War II; the RB-47E Jet Bomber during the Cold War, and the C-130E "Herkie Bird" in the Vietnam War.After retirement from the US Air Force in 1970, Lenoir Community College (LCC) of Kinston, NC hired him to be the Program Head for their newly created Aviation Department. Thomas taught for 20 years at LCC until another retirement in 1990 as the Dean of Technical and Vocational Education.Thomas was an avid fisherman, hunter and sportsman. A 1960 graduate of North Carolina State University, he was a diehard Wolfpack fan. Other hobbies included Federal Aviation Administration written test examiner, raising three Eagle Scouts, serving at Mary's Soup Kitchen, Church Elder, Sunday School Teacher and messing about in boats.Married twice, Thomas was preceded in death by his eldest son, Scott Wilson Wahab. He is survived by his wife Karen Neilson Wahab and three more sons: Mr. James W. Wahab of Badin, NC, Mr. Bradley W. Wahab of Waxhaw, NC, and Major Neil W. Wahab, US Army. He is a proud grandfather to 10 grandchildren, including Mrs. Naomi Sawyer of Plaistow, NH, Mr. Benjamin S. Wahab of Charlotte, NC, Mrs. Emily Jakubison of Richmond, VA, Joshua and Jordan Wahab of Denver, NC, Ethan and Katie Wahab of Waxhaw, NC, Grace, Creighton and Lanie Wahab of Honolulu, HI and step-grandchildren Samantha and Christopher Johnson of Badin, NC, along with an additional six great-grandchildren.Memorials may be sent to St. James Episcopal Church, Belhaven, NC; First Presbyterian Church, Kinston, NC or Disabled American Veterans.You may address condolences to the family visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com Paul Funeral Home of Belhaven is honored to serve the Wahab family. watch now Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos says we're at the earliest days of artificial intelligence and the influence it will have on consumers' lives. "It's hard to overstate how big of an impact it's going to have on society over the next 20 years," Bezos said on stage Tuesday night at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Bezos said the Seattle-based company has 1,000 people dedicated to its Alexa voice-powered platform and spent four years working on it behind the scenes before bringing it to market. Amazon's Echo, the consumer device that lets customers ask questions, play music and order groceries, has been flying off the virtual shelves since it went on sale last year. Beyond its own device, Amazon lets outside developers embed Alexa into other products. Bezos said the company's constant building of algorithms, vast computing power and decades of training data from its recommendation engine makes Alexa possible. And it's only going to get smarter. "Those three things are coming together to solve some previously unsolvable problems," he said. "They're going to drive a tremendous amount of utility for customers." watch now Of course, Amazon is becoming a bigger part of all of our lives, thanks to its ubiquitous e-commerce site. Even as the company invests heavily it its Amazon Web Services cloud-computing division, an increasingly popular movie streaming service and consumer products like the Kindle and Echo, online shopping drives the $100 billion behemoth. "We really like that business," Bezos told the audience. "I encourage you to shop early and often." But now some of that shopping can happen in stores. After decimating much of the country's physical retail business, Amazon has its own book store in Seattle and is looking to add more. It has one coming in San Diego. Bezos said the experience is a highly-curated one with 5,000 titles based on the data the company has about what consumers will likely want. It's for browsing, not targeted buying. "If you know exactly what you want to buy we already have this thing called Amazon.com," he said. Another Amazon product that's booming thanks to customer data is the subscription service Prime. Softbank, Alibaba's largest shareholder, is paring its stake to roughly 28 percent of the company as it looks to cut down on overall leverage and boost liquidity. The Japanese bank plans to sell $2 billion worth of shares to Alibaba, $400 million to the Alibaba Partnership and $500 million to an unnamed sovereign wealth fund, the company said in a statement. Shares of Alibaba fell about 6.5 percent Wednesday after Japan's SoftBank announced it would sell at least $7.9 billion of equity in the company a day earlier. "As SoftBank looks to strengthen its own balance sheet, Alibaba determined that it was the best use of our capital to reinvest in our own business through an efficient buyback of a large number of shares in our own company that is accretive to our stockholders," Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma said in a statement. Yahoo , which owns roughly 15 percent of Alibaba, tried to spin off its stake last year but called off plans in December after the IRS said the divestiture would have been a taxable event. Instead, Yahoo is now planning on selling its core business. Last week, Alibaba announced U.S. regulators are investigating its accounting practices, sending the shares down more than 7 percent in the wake of the news. The Chinese e-commerce giant said that the Securities and Exchange Commission requested documents and information related to the way it adds earnings and how it reports transactions with other companies. watch now China is preparing an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, two years after it announced a similar one in the East China Sea, according to sources close to the People's Liberation Army and a defense report. But one source said the timing of any declaration would depend on security conditions in the region, particularly the United States' military presence and diplomatic ties with neighboring countries. "If the US military keeps making provocative moves to challenge China's sovereignty in the region, it will give Beijing a good opportunity to declare an ADIZ in the South China Sea," the source said. The revelation came ahead of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a security forum attended by defense officials from various nations, including Admiral Sun Jianguo and US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Disputes in the South China Sea are expected to head the agenda of the three-day event, which starts on Friday. watch now Top Chinese and US officials will also meet next week for their annual strategic and economic dialogue in Beijing. In a written response to the South China Morning Post on the zone, the defense ministry said it was "the right of a sovereign state" to designate an ADIZ. More from the South China Morning Post: 'More PLA drills mean more military jet crashes' as China ramps up combat readiness Beijing says it has ensured stability with air defence zone Taiwan scrambles fighter jets after PLA spy planes 'repeatedly' breach airspace "Regarding when to declare such a zone, it will depend on whether China is facing security threats from the air, and what the level of the air safety threat is," the statement said. China set up its first ADIZ in the East China Sea in November 2013 to cover the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls the Senkakus. Both countries claim the uninhabited outcrops but Tokyo controls them. The ADIZ triggered a backlash from Japan, South Korea and the US. Tensions between China and neighbors Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines over sovereignty in the South China Sea have risen since Beijing embarked on major land reclamation work on disputed islands and reefs in the area. Everything's really big in Texas except when it comes to how much Obamacare has helped poor people. Texas has seen a nearly 30 percent drop in the number of adult residents who lack health insurance since the Affordable Care Act began taking full effect, according to a report released Tuesday. Getty Images But among poor Texans, the percentage drop among the uninsured was a lot less impressive just 15 percent. And even after that decline, a whopping 46 percent of Texans whose household income is below $16,395 still remain uninsured, according to the report by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation. Poor adults had the least-dramatic reduction in uninsured rates of any group broken out by age, gender, ethnicity or income group in the report. And the poor have the highest uninsured rate overall of any group in Texas. The big disparity, the report notes, is due to the state's refusal to expand its Medicaid program to cover more poor adults. "The ACA as implemented in Texas offers little hope for Texans with the lowest incomes," said Elena Marks, Episcopal Health Foundation's president and a nonresident health policy fellow at the Baker Institute. The report looked at the rate of uninsured Texans as of September 2013 the month before private Obamacare health plans became available for sale on government-run exchanges and compared it with the rate of this past March. In the fall of 2013, the uninsured rate among nonelderly adults in Texas was 25.5 percent. By this March, the rate was down to 17.9 percent a 7.6-point decline. "For more than a decade prior to the ACA, the uninsured rate remained above 20 percent and was rising," said Marks. "It's now clear that it's moving in the opposite direction, and the ACA deserves the credit." Adults ages 50 to 64 saw the biggest drop, with their uninsured rate being cut by more than half, to 10.3 percent, according to the report. Among ethnic groups, Hispanics had the biggest drop an 11.9-point decrease, down to 30.7 percent. Their uninsured rate, however, was still more than twice the rate of blacks and three times that of whites. watch now Despite such drops, Texas' lack of success in reducing the uninsured rate among its poor people has left the state remaining as the nation's leader for percentage of residents who lack insurance. Texas' overall uninsured rate is about 8 percentage points higher than the overall U.S. uninsured rate. The big disparity between the success of the poor in getting insured under Obamacare and that of every other group in the Lone Star State stems from the refusal of Texas to expand Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program that covers poor people, pregnant women and children. Texas and Florida are the two biggest holdouts on Medicaid expansion, which has been embraced by 31 states and the District of Columbia. Louisiana's expansion program began Wednesday. Obamacare allows states to expand their Medicaid programs to cover adults whose household incomes are as high as 138 percent of the federal poverty level just below $16,395. Under the ACA's expansion provision, the federal government promises to ultimately pay no less than 90 percent of the costs of insuring the newly eligible for Medicaid, in contrast to traditional Medicaid, where it splits the costs of covered people roughly equally with the states. In non-expansion states, such as Texas, it's common for adults without children to be ineligible for Medicaid. And such states often have very low cutoffs for Medicaid eligibility for adults with children. In Texas, a couple with children who earn more than $3,628 annually are ineligible for Medicaid. The low income cutoffs in non-expansion states have led to a phenomenon among many poor Americans known as the Obamacare "coverage gap." People who fall in the gap are those who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little below 100 percent of the poverty level to qualify for federal subsidies to help pay for private health insurance purchased through Obamacare marketplaces. The Kaiser Family Foundation, in a recent report, said that 766,000 poor Texans fall into the coverage gap. Kaiser noted that Texas accounts for about 1 in 4 Americans in the coverage gap. "Unless Texas expands Medicaid or comes up with another system of coverage, they will remain uninsured," Marks said. watch now watch now McDonald's has until mid-June to respond to a federal lawsuit accusing it of discrimination for refusing to serve blind customers who walk up during late-night hours when only the drive-thru window is open. The plaintiff, Scott Magee of Metairie, Louisiana, said in court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago that he was laughed at and turned away from the drive-thru window at a McDonald's in the New Orleans suburb late at night last August. It wasn't the first time that had happened, Magee alleged. Many McDonald's restaurants nationwide continue service through their drive-thru windows late at night after the main restaurant entrance has closed. But the company's policy is not to serve pedestrians at the drive-thru, and blind customers can't drive, so they're effectively barred from patronizing the world's largest fast food chain by revenue, according to the suit, which seeks class-action status for all blind Americans who may have had difficulty ordering at McDonald's. More from NBC News: AMC Theatres Sued for Discriminating Against the Blind Gunman Slain in Houston Shooting Spree was Army Vet Mom With Zika Gives Birth to Baby With Birth Defects at NJ Hospital "While McDonald's sighted customers can independently browse, select, and pay for products at Defendant's drive-thrus without the assistance of others, blind people must hope for a companion with a car or paid taxi services to assist them in selecting and purchasing McDonald's food," according to the suit. The suit says it wouldn't take much for the company to make its drive-thru windows work for blind people, "given the sophistication and size of McDonald's Corporation as well as the advanced technological society in which we live today." 2016 maybe the "year of reckoning" for some OPEC member countries, RBC Capital Markets warned on Tuesday, ahead of the oil cartel's meeting in Vienna this week. No agreement to freeze oil production is expected from the meeting, as OPEC, spearheaded by de facto leader Saudi Arabia, has repeatedly opted to maintain output in the face of plummeting prices. Now, OPEC's weakest members the so-called "fragile five" may be at breaking point, with oil prices still too low for them to thrive, RBC said. Daniela Primera Algeria Iraq Libya Nigeria Venezuela "2016 is shaping up to be the year of reckoning for the weakest members as crises unfold across OPEC," commodity strategists Helima Croft and Christopher Louney said in Tuesday's report. "The crises across the cartel have taken different forms. Nigeria faces militancy, Venezuela a humanitarian crisis, and Iraq acute political and security challenges," they added. Crude oil futures have rallied for the last two months, topping $50 per barrel on Thursday and trading above $49 since then. However, prices remain far below the $100-plus level at which crude traded before the market rout of June 2014 onwards. Croft and Louney said $50/bbl was "unlikely to look like a victory" to the fragile five. "These states, which were not structurally sound even when oil was above $100/bbl, were collateral damage of the policy to force the burden of adjustment onto high-cost producers," they said. Energy Futures Nigeria Nigeria has suffered a wave of attacks to its energy infrastructure this year that have knocked around 800,000 barrels off its daily oil production. These disruptions could last for a long time and potentially worsen, according to Croft and Louney. In the meantime, unplanned outages from both Nigeria and Canada, which has suffered wildfires, have helped boost global oil prices by bringing supply and demand into better balance. Pius Utomi | EKPEI | AFP | Getty Images Venezuela Although Venezuela has not suffered outages like Nigeria, its economic collapse means the Venezuelan energy sector lacks investment and suffers from power and service provider cuts. Should the Venezuelan government prove unable to pay workers at state-owned oil company PDVSA, Venezuela too could suffer large production outages. Operations might also suffer if PDVSA defaults in the second half of 2016, as the government struggles to service its debt. Iraq Iraqi oil production continues at record levels, according to RBC, but the country is grappling with a political crisis in Baghdad and a dire security situation. The country is likely to experience power cuts and rolling blackouts this summer, RBC says. Plus, the government has been forced to strengthen security around oil facilities in southern Iraq due to a spike in protests because of the alleged lack of economic opportunities generated by the energy sector. Carolyn Kaster | Reuters Libya So-called Islamic State (ISIS) militants have expanded their presence in Libya, as in Iraq. Croft and Louney said ISIS represented a direct threat to oil production in Libya, having sabotaged infrastructure and killed workers around their operational base in the east of the country. The International Monetary Fund sees Libya's economy shrinking by a steep 2 percent this year. Reuters Algeria "Algeria is facing the twin challenges of a fiscal crisis and a serious terrorism threat at a time when the aged head of state is largely incapacitated due to health problems," Croft and Louney said. BP and Statoil temporarily withdrew workers from the country after a rocket attack on a major gas plant in Algeria in March, for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. Croft and Louney added that Saudi Arabia appeared "unmoved" by the plight of poorer OPEC producers. "We think continuity will carry the day in Vienna on June 2. We believe that the only real uncertainty is how divisive the meeting will be and how much discord will be put on public display," the strategists concluded. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. European stocks finished in the red on Wednesday as sharp declines from European banks and miners weighed on sentiment, ahead of a number of key policy events due out later this week. Market movers: China PMI, OPEC and ECB European markets Investors are also keeping an eye on oil ahead of an OPEC meeting that takes place on Thursday, in Vienna. Oil prices and stocks were in the red on Wednesday, as concerns around China's economy and the Middle East's production output added pressure to the markets. However, both Brent and U.S. crude came off session lows by Europe's close, after four OPEC sources said the producer group would consider a new oil output ceiling at this week's meeting, according to Reuters. ECB ahead And the European Central Bank's (ECB) meeting on Thursday was also closely-watched. Investors will be looking to see if the ECB changes its inflation forecast and gives any hints about further monetary policy moves. In peripheral markets, Spain's IBEX 35 was one of the worst performing bourses, closing 1.3 percent down. This comes after Markit data showed that the growth of Spain's manufacturing sector had slowed in May, coming in at 51.8, down from April's 53.5. For the euro zone as a whole, manufacturing PMI hit 51.5 in May, down from 51.7 in April. Elsewhere, U.S. markets traded mostly lower at Europe's close, weighed down by concerns on sluggish global growth. Italian banks slide Italian banks came under pressure after a report in Il Messaggero said that the Bank of Italy could ask the country's lenders to put 1.5 billion euros ($1.67 billion) into the resolution fund. Investors are concerned about the bad loan portfolio of many of the Italian banks. Veneto Banca also announced a price range of 0.1-0.5 euros per share for its upcoming 1 billion euro initial public offering. Due to low demand, the country's backstop fund - Atlante - has agreed to buy any unwanted shares. If Atlante steps in, it would be the second time it has taken action after it underwrote Banca Popolare di Vicenza's 1.5 billion rights issue. BMPS , Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano were all off more than 3.5 percent each, by Europe's close. Ahold posts strong earnings watch now So instead of simply using keywords to categorize posts so you can find them later, Facebook would be able to understand the meaning of a post and make recommendations or take action as a result. Google , Facebook's chief business rival, is also pushing similar AI tools that tap data from its users on search, YouTube and maps, etc. to direct consumers to other online services and offline commerce. Understanding everything on Facebook is no small feat. Users post hundreds of thousands of new items every minute in dozens of different languages. But Facebook claims it can already process 10,000 posts every second in 20 different languages using Deep Text, and it's starting to deploy the technology to its user base, albeit for a very small number of use cases. Deep Text currently does two things in the wild: Ride hailing If you use Facebook Messenger to tell a friend you need a ride (or something similar), Facebook will automatically surface a small alert asking if you'd like to request an Uber or Lyft. Selling on Facebook If you post that you're looking to sell something, like an old bike, Facebook will detect that you're trying to sell a product and automatically recommend its selling tools. Facebook obviously wants that to list to grow think things like comment moderation, using Deep Text to help determine which comments to push higher (or lower) in the queue. But all of this is going to take a very, very long time. Teaching a computer to read like a human isn't quick. And the applied machine learning team working on Deep Text was created in the fall, so this project is less than a year old. "I think this journey is still one percent complete," Mehanna said, "but it's still far more revolutionary than what we had a few years ago.... There are far more challenges ahead of us." Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and CTO Mike Schroepfer spoke at Recode's annual Code Conference on Wednesday and discussed the importance of AI to Facebook's longterm vision. "It's another one of these transformational technologies," Schroepfer said. Among the use cases Schroepfer and Sandberg highlighted for the future of AI: self-driving cars and cancer prevention. Facebook doesn't do work (that we know of) in either of those areas, yet, but perhaps that's in its future. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he believes that European anti-competitive charges relating to the company's Android smartphone operating system will be resolved. "I feel like the right outcomes will emerge," said Pichai on stage at the Code Conference on Wednesday in answer to an audience question from a concerned investor. Alphabet' s Google is facing an monopoly lawsuit brought by the European officials, related to the company's dominant position in search. "We are very popular, users use us a lot," said Pichai. Google has a team dedicated to this very issue, but it is not something that consumes the company, said Pichai. "We don't want the whole management team at the company to think about it," he said. The Commission has said it believes Google had broken the law in a number of ways and held a . They include requiring manufacturers to pre-install Google's Chrome browser and Google Search and set it as the default search service, preventing manufacturers from selling smartphones running on competing operating systems and offering incentives to manufacturers and network service providers if they agree to exclusively pre-install Google Search on their devices. "We are engaging thoughtfully with them," said Pichai. "We view it as a thoughtful process. It plays out significantly in the press, we are responding thoughtfully to it." European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told the media at that press conference in April that Google's practices could have a potential impact on a large number of companies, stifle competition and restrict innovation. Vestager has defended accusations that she was attacking U.S. companies to defend European competitors. Greece's economy minister said on Wednesday he was confident the latest debt deal struck with creditors will be completed as the country races to prevent another default, but conceded some points of concern remained. "I think that 99 percent of what has been agreed has been practically completed... There are some extra things but I think that in the last few days we have reached more or less an agreement and everything will go through smoothly," Giorgos Stathakis told CNBC at the OECD Forum in Paris. "There are three points remaining, there is some concern on our behalf on the fiscal issues, in 2017. But I think there will be a solution," Stathakis told CNBC. "Some issues are very sensitive, it is a very tight program until 2018 it is frontloaded, that's why the first assessment is that important on both sides so I think people are looking at small details lately." Last week, euro zone finance ministers agreed with Greece and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a deal that will address Athens' requests for debt relief. Greece agreed to another round of austerity and reform measures in exchange for 10.3 billion euros ($11.42 billion) in aid. According to media reports however, IMF senior officials later said they would not present the new proposals to the organization's executive board until more details on specific debt relief plans for the country were given. The deal has the backing of fellow eurogroup members, with Luxembourg's finance minister telling CNBC the Greek government has "done its part" in carving out the bailout deal. Pierre Gramegna, speaking from the OECD meeting in Paris, said, "The Greek government has done its part of the deal by passing a lot of legislation, part of which is very drastic for the people of Greece, which we must recognize. So I think we're moving ahead and Grexit is now not an option," he said, referring to fears Greece might exit the single currency. watch now The U.S. presidential race is capturing the interest of every nation as onlookers look to see who becomes the next "leader of the free world." According to Bob McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Group, countries in the oil-producing Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, are hoping for Hillary Clinton to become president. The presidential election is scheduled for early November and the two leading contenders are viewed as Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Clinton, front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Getty Images "It is no secret that the Saudis and other Gulf Sunni powers are rooting for Mrs. Clinton," McNally told CNBC from Vienna ahead of Thursday's widely eyed OPEC meeting. "(There is) a lot of concern and anxiety about what Donald Trump would mean," he said. McNally added that President Barack Obama might as well be out of office already, describing his administration as "very much a lame duck." Trump has criticized Saudi Arabia in the past, saying the U.S. should stop buying oil from the kingdom if it does not help fight so-called Islamic State militants. Trump advisor and North Dakota Republican congressman Kevin Cramer recently urged the billionaire businessman to criticize OPEC of which Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader for manipulating oil prices. "We have to look at the global playing field and see which of our partners OPEC, Iran, Russia are playing fair in the global marketplace," Cramer advised Trump, according to a Reuters article citing the congressman. Trump laid out his energy plan for the U.S. in a speech at an oil conference in North Dakota last week. His plan involves complete independence from overseas oil imports, less regulation and more drilling. "America's incredible energy potential remains untapped. It's a wound that is totally self-inflicted," he said, according to media reports. Trump also said he would approve the Keystone XL, a proposed oil pipeline in Canada and the U.S. that has been blocked by Obama, but would demand a cut of any profit Canada made. IBM has no plans to break out Watson financials for investors, said CEO Ginny Rometty. The cognitive system that first became known to the public in 2011 when it won at "Jeopardy," is not an independent business but something that will be used across IBM's products, Rometty said on Wednesday at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. "If it's digital, it will be cognitive," Rometty said. She said there's no value in disclosing Watson financials while "I nurture and grow it." IBM is using Watson to understand complex problems with mounds of unstructured data and aiming to present answers. When asked how he would respond to threats from Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos invoked the steeliness of the late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham in the heat of its coverage of the Watergate scandal. More from Recode: Jeff Bezos on Gawker vs. Peter Thiel: 'Develop a thick skin.' Jeff Bezos thinks we need to build industrial zones in space in order to save Earth Here's how Amazon decides when to kill new projects Bezos, who has succeeded the Graham family as the newspaper's owner, said Trump should expect and welcome press scrutiny as he seeks the White House. The Seattle billionaire says he's won't cave to pressure from the Republican party's presumptive presidential nominee, who has repeatedly criticized the Washington Post's coverage of his candidacy. "The only thing I would say, with Katie Graham as my role model, is I'm very glad to have any of my body parts go through a big fat wringer, if need be," Bezos said in remarks Tuesday on the opening day of the Code Conference at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Donald Trump claims he is worth billions, but another wealthy businessman has his doubts. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee's real estate success has not necessarily yielded the wealth Trump claims, entrepreneur Mark Cuban told WABC's "The Bernie and Sid Show" on Wednesday. He added that Trump is "not transparent enough for us to really know." "I'm not so sure Donald knows what he's not good at. What he's done well is put his name on big buildings, right? He appears to have done well putting his name through a licensing arrangement on hotels and buildings. He's good at that. Now, whether or not that's made him a billionaire, I don't know," the Dallas Mavericks owner and "Shark Tank" investor said. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella speaks during a fireside chat at the Tsinghua Management School in China on June 1, 2016. Microsoft Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella has become the latest in a string of major U.S. technology bosses in recent months to visit China, following Apple's Tim Cook and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. The world's second-largest economy is seen as a key growth driver for many technology firms, but the path is often rocky with regulatory issues and stiff competition from local firms. Beijing was the last stop of Nadella's tour of Asia which included India and Singapore. A spokesperson told CNBC the Microsoft CEO did an opening speech at a developer event and also had a fireside chat with the dean of Tsinghua Management School. But beyond the public engagements, here are three key reasons why Nadella is visiting China. Getting developers on board Microsoft has Windows 10 its operating system that can run across a number of platforms from PCs to its HoloLens augmented reality headset. The so-called Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected to the internet is a big focus for Microsoft and China could play a big role in this. In a speech on Wednesday, Nadella said that not only is China the manufacturing hub of the world, but it will be the "intelligence behind all manufacturing". Essentially, not only will IoT products be manufactured in China, the software for them will be coded in China too. Nadella announced the company would open an Azure IoT lab in China, but gave very few details about what this would entail. Azure is Microsoft's cloud platform that can be the backbone of IoT devices allowing them to collect data, connect to the cloud and analyze that information. Juniper Research predicts that the global number of IoT devices will rise 285 percent from 13.4 billion in 2015 to 38.5 billion by 2020. Microsoft is not interested in making the devices. It is hoping developers will build applications on its cloud, thus helping it to boost revenue in what is already one of the fastest-growing businesses for Microsoft. Apple and Facebook have both made similar moves in China in a bid to get developers in one of the hottest tech hubs in the world making apps for their platforms. Dealing with regulators In 2014, China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) opened an investigation into Microsoft regarding the country's anti-monopoly law relating to "compatibility, bundle sales, file verification issues related to Windows and Office software, and potentially other issues," according to the company. Inspections of Microsoft's offices were carried out. The investigation is still ongoing. A Microsoft spokesperson could not comment on whether Nadella would be meeting regulators over this issue, but a Reuters report suggested that he would. It would not be unusual for Nadella to meet the authorities. Last month, Apple's Tim Cook met with China's internet regulator while Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg met the nation's propaganda chief when he visited in March. Resolving regulatory issues is key for technology companies because it could threaten revenue. "Certain foreign governments, particularly in China and other countries in Asia, have advanced arguments under their competition laws that exert downward pressure on royalties for our intellectual property. Because these jurisdictions only recently implemented competition laws, their enforcement activities are unpredictable," Microsoft said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing along with its fiscal third-quarter earnings in April. Pushing products It's an endorsement the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate was probably least expecting. In an opinion article published by state media outlet DPRK Today, the "hermit state" of North Korea came out in support of Donald Trump, NKNews.org has reported. According to an article on the South Korean website, the DPRK Today piece praised the likely Republican nominee as a "wise politician" and "far-sighted presidential candidate" for his proposal to hold direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't. Hello, I am trying to make an ASP.NET application that uploads a file to a server on a domain. When I provide my username and password to the application, I can upload but, I need to use credentials who uses the web application that time. I am using HttpWebRequest object and tried CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials but it didn't work. Because of security rules in my company, I have to exclude passwords in my app. How do I get NetworkCredentials of the current user? I couldn't find any solutions? Please help. Thanks, Can DOGU. candogu wrote: How do I get NetworkCredentials of the current user? Look into impersonation, Using IIS Authentication with ASP.NET Impersonation[^]. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't. C# Copy Code HttpContext.Current.User.Identity I wrote a diagnostics program for my web app, Submit a Bug Report. At the time of submission, I call the page in the controller and grab the HTML with the error, sort of a page snap shot. This way I can see what happened such as a unhanded exception, misspelling or whatever the issue is. So Now on the resolve program, I want to display that HTML. I'm not if I'm over thinking this or not. I do have the page Url to use, which works. But I thought the page from the actual time it happened would be better. I tried src=""Data: text/Html, charset: utf-8, the html"" but I get the Url of the page, and not the page. I suspect that the render engine is changing it. I would just be nice to make it happen. I did get the page to size down correctly, maybe that was the hard part. Copy Code
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